001And thank you for your patience as we return from executive session and reconvene into open session. I will now turn the meeting over to Superintendent Kirby for the awards and recognition. >> Good evening and welcome. Beginning with tonight's recognitions. First, our graduating cadre members. The Superintendent's cadre is a group of students that I have the pleasure of meeting with monthly to discuss a wide range of issues important to them and their classmates. It has truly been a pleasure to watch these six seniors grow and become leaders over the last few years. I can't wait to see how you will change the world. Students, I want to thank you for serving your school in this capacity and personally bringing me such joy in our monthly meetings as we uh connect and hear um your ideas of
002ways to um continue to make sure students are having a great experience in our district. So, um we have some gifts for you. Um please come forward as I call your name. Chelsea Gibson. >> [applause] [applause] >> DEONNA HILL. >> [applause] >> FIRST, YOU'LL COME TO. AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO JUST wait there. We'll take a group picture. ANAYA LOCKHART. >> [applause] >> JAYLA SCRUGGS. >> [applause] >> NALA SIMMONS >> [applause] >> AND AUTUMN WRIGHT. >> [applause] >> ASK THIS ADAMS [applause] WHO co-facilitates the Cajah to also come and join us for the picture. >> Get out of the way. Oh, that's right. >> All right, I'm going to take a few on the count of three. 1 2 >> [applause] >> I want to know what you guys are doing next year. Can you
003take a second and just update us on where you're taking our world? >> Um so, I am currently enrolled in a pharmacy career tech program at Heights. So, I have >> Okay. >> I'm attending State University majoring in pharmacy on the road to getting my doctorate degree IN PHARMACY. >> YES! >> [applause] >> I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF THE GLOBAL CITIZENS PROGRAM. SO, I'm actually going to and I will be attending Bowling GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY. >> [applause] >> I WILL BE ATTENDING KENT STATE University for a BACHELOR'S IN NURSING. >> [applause] >> THANK YOU, GUYS. >> ALL RIGHT. >> NEXT, I'D LIKE TO recognize Baumgardner Middle School and Heights High School for receiving the Momentum Award by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. The Momentum Award is for buildings that have
004improved their performance index by three or more points and received a value-added progress rating of four or more stars. This distinction honors exceptional academic growth and a sustained commitment to student success. And we have leadership here from both schools, both present and past, who contributed to this award. So, please come up, Mr. Luton, Mr. Walker, Ms. Levy, Dr. Towns. I can't see who you're pointing to. Ms. Corb. Who Anyone else, Dr. Towns? All right, come on up, please. >> [applause] [snorts] [applause] >> Finally, the Tiger Team Members of the Month for April. These CHUH staff members were nominated by their peers for going above and beyond to contribute to the culture of excellence in our district. From Bomgardner, Alanis Schultz. If you're here, please come TO THE FRONT. >> [applause] >> MS. SCHULTZ IS A
005GIFT TO OUR eighth-grade students. They gravitate towards her personality and acceptance. From showing up on OST testing days in costume to making sure her feedback to students is personalized, we are so grateful for her efforts to make Bomgardner Middle School a positive environment for everyone. From the Board of Education, Taylor Smith. >> [applause] >> Taylor is a dedicated member of the IT team who works tires- tirelessly to support our staff and student technology. Taylor is organized and provides excellent customer service, always remaining calm and professional even under pressure. From Boulevard Elementary School, Deion Whitaker. >> [applause] >> DEION IS DEDICATED AND COMMITTED to excellence for her students and her colleagues. She goes above and beyond, working all hours of the night to get things done. From Canaberry Elementary School, Melissa Wymer. >> [applause] >> Melissa
006welcomed me and has been instrumental in guiding me through processes related to field trips, requisitions, and transportation requests. She is kind, compassionate, and welcoming to all who enter the office or call the school. From Fairfax Elementary School, Marissa Palutro. >> [applause] >> Marissa is one of our amazing kindergarten team members who pours her heart and soul into our youngest babies every day. She is a force in the classroom and her our kids here at Fairfax are lucky to to her. From Garrett Professional Development School, Wonder Clayton. >> [applause] >> WONDER IS A TRUE JOY TO WORK WITH. She is warm, consistent, and holds high expectations for the students she works with. She implements daily interventions and is a master at positive reinforcement. From Heights High School, Janet Corb. COME ON [applause] UP. MS. CORB IS
007PATIENT, UNDERSTANDING, KIND, and caring to students and staff. She takes the time to listen and communicate effectively, and she wants to see everyone win. She is flexible when teaching, realizing every student learns differently and is unique. >> [clears throat] >> Ms. Corb makes science interesting and fun. From Noble Elementary School, Gabriella Dedona. >> [applause] >> MS. DEDONA TRULY KNOWS EACH OF her students as individuals. She remains calm and composed in stressful situations, consistently supporting her students' social emotional needs, while also providing targeted, effective instruction. From Oxford Elementary School, David Gilson. >> [applause] >> HIS KIND REMINDERS TO PARENTS ABOUT the importance of being at school, and his willingness to organize and participate in our 95% Club celebrations make him an irreplaceable part of our Oxford team. He is quiet, but his sense of humor keeps
008the laughs coming. From Roxboro Elementary School, SHELLY PULLING. >> [applause] >> SHE'S BEEN A WONDERFUL AND understanding supervisor and mentor to me this first year on board with the district. I know she'll be greatly missed as she heads into retirement. And from Roxboro Middle School, Sam Johnson. >> [applause] >> Mr. Johnson is always quick to quick to a call, is very calm, and has a wonderful rapport with our kids. He plays at Tiger Time with students almost every day, and is always willing to help wherever help is needed. He's been amazing this year. All right. Thank you, winners. Please come TO THE FRONT. [applause] REPRESENTING OUR WINNERS FOR EIGHTH >> All right, let's do two claps. All right, I'm going to take a picture on three. >> [applause] >> This concludes our recognitions for this
009evening, and I'll now turn it over to our Heights seniors, Breon Hill, Anaya Lockhart, and Autumn Wright for our Superintendent Student Cadre Report. >> Last one. >> Good evening, Board of Education members, Superintendent Kirby, and Ms. Latham. >> Good evening. >> My name is Breon Hill. I am a senior at Heights High, and I have been a member of the Student Cadre for 2 years. >> My name is Anaya Lockhart. I am a senior at Heights High and I have been a member for 4 years. As members of the Superintendent's Student Cadre, we are here to give a brief report about what's happening at Heights High. We are honored to be here this evening. Thank you for the opportunity. First, I would like to tell you about our athletic teams. Baseball has seen an increase
010in hitting this season with three guys hitting over 300, including Marcos Alden who is hitting 396. Girls lacrosse junior Amara Rodney scored her 200th career goal on Saturday, April 25th against Ottawa Hills. Amara is currently committed to play lacrosse at Marquette University. Track sophomore Cassidy Thompson currently ranks top 10 in the state in both the 30 3200 m and 1600 m for Division 1. Girls 4 by 8 is currently ranked sixth in the state. Girls flag football completed their regular season with an impressive 7 to 3 record. And boys tennis has had a successful season increasing their win total by over 50%. The group also had over 25 participants this year, by far the largest group in some time. >> Here are a few important events that are happening in Heights High. >> The 13th
011annual AVID signing day on April 24th was a joyous and love-filled occasion where 44 members of the class of 2026 proudly proclaimed where they will attend college in the fall. The ceremony is patterned after the athletic signing day that many high schools host, but the AVID event is all about academics. Nearly every student speaker talked about the importance of their relationships with the AVID teachers and students and how much they have grown and appreciate the AVID support system. >> Upcoming events in May. AP testing began on Monday, May 4th and will take place through Friday, May 15th. The annual senior awards night took place on Tuesday, May 5th where seniors were recognized for their scholastic achievements and gifted scholarships from the community and Heights schools foundations. This Friday, May 8th, the IMD will hold their
012annual jazz night at 7:00 p.m. in the Heights High auditorium. This concert will feature performances by Heights High Jazz Ensemble and student-led jazz combos. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and there is no cost for admission. The VMD will have their final concert of the school year on Friday, May 15th at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium. This concert will feature all of the department's ensembles, the the superior rated sets that were performed by the a cappella choir and Heights Women's Choir at the OMEA state's competition and senior solo solos and duets. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the admission is $5 cash only at the door. Heights High is excited to honor our new inductees into the National Honor Society. Everyone is invited to join the celebration on Tuesday, May 19th for a reception at 6:30
013p.m. in the cafeteria and the ceremony at 7:10 in the main auditorium. Final exams for seniors will take place from May 18th through May 20th. Final exams for ninth graders ninth through 11th graders will take place from Wednesday, May 27th through Friday, May 30th. Now, I would like to share what being a Heights student has meant to me. Being a Heights High student has brought me countless opportunities to grow and learn. Heights has provided me with a comfortable environment for me to become who I am and to help me get down the path of who I want to be. Through the various sports, groups, and volunteering experiences I've participated in, I've learned many important life skills. Being a tiger has taught me compassion, determination, empathy, and perseverance. And I will be attending Kent State University
014for a bachelor's in nursing. For me, being a student at Heights has shaped me into the person I am today. I've been given countless learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom. One of the most impactful becoming a CNA through the clinical health career CTE program, as I wish to pursue a career in health care. Beyond that, Heights has been a place where I formed many relationships with friends and mentors who have supported me. I'm grateful for the experiences I've had and excited to take all I've learned into my future as I'll be attending Bowling Green. >> My name is Autumn Ray, and I'm a graduating senior. I have been a student graduate for 1 year. Something I wish I joined sooner. Being a Heights student has meant growth, resilience, and finding my voice.
015Over the years, I've been supported by teachers and programs that have pushed me to aim higher and believe in my future. Through both challenges and success, I have learned the importance of perseverance and community. Heights has shaped me into someone who's prepared, confident, and ready to take the next chapter. I will be attending Cleveland State majoring in pharmaceutical science. Thank you so much for your time. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> WELL, THANK YOU. IT'S ALWAYS SO amazing to see some of our uh students uh go from 9th through 12th grade and how they have blossomed. Um so, good luck and God bless to all of you in your future endeavors. Thank you. So, now we will take statements from the audience. >> I have a question. Audience first. >> Oh, we do have a
016question. Okay. All right. Sorry. It's the >> Right right here. >> Okay. Great. Um so, now we will move on to our requested audience uh statements. Where is it? >> I think their names are up there. >> Right here. From Gwen Donnelly and Madeleine McQueen. Oh, yes. Absolutely. >> I don't know how we're supposed to follow that. >> [laughter] >> All right. >> We'll try. >> Okay. If you can see this. Thank you. Going to wait till you can see the slides over there. That's why I'm looking at the side. Okay. Um, thank you all for agreeing to let us have some time at your meeting today. These meetings are obviously full of a lot of content and I'm really awed by all of the recognitions that you gave out by the student cadre participants.
017I'm just I'm blown away by what the schools offer and I'll share that I'm a product of the Heights schools K through 12. Left for a while, but something always seems to bring us back and so here I am again and now I have a rising kindergartner at Fairfax. Um So, I'm Gwen Donnelly and it's a belated introduction to myself um and that's part of why I'm here today is because of my history with the CHUH school system and because my daughter will be going through the same school system and I want her to have every opportunity that I had. And I remember fighting this fight back when I was in school. I remember writing a letter to the editor of the Plain Dealer about why our schools needed more funding and we are still
018here and we recognize that it's not the Board of Ed that's been making these decisions. We recognize that these have been decisions made at the state level. Um but parents need to make sure that their voices are being heard and taken into account with everything that's going on. And so that's part of what instigated both the creation of Parents United for Public Schools, which is uh the group on the shirts. We were out there with the signs and now we're in here. Um woo. >> [laughter] >> And uh we implemented a couple of processes. So for the last 6 months or so, um back in November, a lot of you may have attended our State of the Schools emergency meeting where we went over a lot of details in great granularity from Madeleine about our
019budget, how the funding works, all of that. Um and then following that we implemented a survey that we disseminated out to parents and caregivers and anybody who has a stake in our public schools to really understand what are these budget cuts going to mean for you, for your child, for the ones that you love. And we knew that we couldn't get at everything with just a survey that people could fill out in 2 minutes. So we also held six different listening sessions, structured kind of like uh focus groups, where we invited parents and caregivers to come and share what this was going to mean for their families as we move forward with the decreased budget for the CHUH schools. So that's what we're here to share out today. Um and again, why did we conduct
020these listening sessions and our survey? We really wanted to go into this season of cuts having a seat at the table and having our voices documented and taken into account as things are moving forward with decision-making. Um so we wanted to gain those insights. We wanted to explore where parents and caregivers felt that these cuts would be felt the most deeply and then also to identify parent and caregiver-provided strategies for cost savings. So again, we collected this information in two ways. We held the six listening sessions in March and April of this year and then we also got 87 survey responses between November and April. Quick description of the listening sessions. We covered all schools in the CHUH district. We held one at Canterbury, one at Fairfax that was for both Fairfax and Boulevard, Gerity
021Heights High. We had a North side session for Oxford, Noble and Baumgardner and then Roxboro Elementary and Middle. We would have loved to have held a session at every single school but we're a pretty small group of dedicated parents who also work full-time and so we did what we could but if anybody here is interested in getting more involved come talk to any of the people in the blue shirts afterwards and we will enroll you. >> [laughter] >> So these sessions were hosted by Pops volunteers. We had 62 attendees at our listening sessions which was really excellent and the broad topics we covered were the current state of our schools, the impact of the budget cuts and then what supports we feel like we need from the district. And then a quick description of our
022survey. Again we disseminated that starting at that November meeting. We got 87 responses and then the question topics that we covered were children's ages and schools, what we want to preserve at our schools, concerns we have about lower budgets, pay to play for sports and AP classes and then thoughts for you all. And I also want to share this is like the heavy boring wordy slide but very important is that this was like I'm a stats person and so this is a convenient sample. It's not representative. We didn't like get an equal number of people from all areas of the district from all different demographic categories. It was who we could get and who we were able to get into these listening sessions and to get survey responses from. So this is really helpful context
023and I think it's great information but I do not want anybody to take this as this is what on average every person in our district thinks or feels. So, please don't interpret it that way. Um and with situations like this, those who are more involved with or feel more strongly about these issues like us, um maybe the ones who are more likely to respond. So, just important to keep in mind. And then I'll show a little bit more on the next slide, but our responses more heavily came from parents and caregivers of elementary age children as opposed to older kids. And we also had lower representation from schools in northern Cleveland Heights than from other areas. And specifically when you compare that to where schools are located on the north side, we had lower representation
024from the lowest income areas of Cleveland Heights. So, please keep that in mind as we're going through our results cuz I don't want anything to be misinterpreted. Um this is just showing a little more and I'm sorry, I know the text is a bit small. You can see at the bottom chart the highest uh bar there shows the school age of children out of the survey respondents. So, most were at elementary school and then the schools attended by um their child or children. Uh Canterbury, we had really great turnout from >> [crying] >> Canterbury. So, good job, Canterbury. >> [clears throat] >> Um we're going to Oh, baby. We're going to organize our results into five sections here. What we love about our schools and we really want to support, where we don't want to
025see cuts, our thoughts on opportunities for reducing cost, what parents and caregivers and other participants think the BOE do can support parents and caregivers. Um and then there also were some specific teachers and staff highlighted, which um we're not going to include that particular part. But starting with what we love about our schools and want to support, unsurprisingly, it was hard to whittle down to our top themes here because what people love is almost everything. This was something that like this was the broadest section of notes in every single listening session that we held. Um but some of the things that came up time and again were teacher quality, staff and student relationships, and teacher-student ratios, um, diversity and inclusivity of our school district, social-emotional learning and assistance, and then arts, music, and extracurricular offerings.
026Did I get to Oh, yeah, I think I do one more after this one. Um, and so just just for what we mean by some of that in that first screen box, you can see teachers and other staff at the schools are just generally excellent. Student and parent-facing roles are really critical, and we want to prioritize supporting those positions. Um, for a diversity and inclusivity of our school, diversity diversity and inclusivity, um, CHUH schools feel safe for all types of families and children. Caregivers really take comfort in that in knowing that their child will be supported regardless of their needs. Um, for social and emotional learning and assistance, the in-class and in-school supports for social and emotional well-being, including are necessary, and we need more of these available. And then lastly, the music, arts, sports,
027and other extracurriculars offered are really a major part of what makes CHUH great, and these are some of the reasons that parents might choose to send their kids to Heights schools instead of other options. And then just tying this into what we saw in our surveys, and I'm sorry again for the small text for everybody in the room, um, but we asked, "What are the most important parts of your child's experience in our schools that you want to make sure we help preserve?" And the number one response with 86% was arts and music offerings, gifted programs, STEM classes, um, and then down you can see uh, fewer people responded transportation and bussing, career and technical education, but again, this is just asking like for this particular group of survey respondents, what feels the most important
028to you? And so, nobody said nothing was important to them, obviously. Um, now I'm going to pass it over to Madeline. She's going to walk us through some of the rest of this. Thank you, Madeline. >> Thank you, Gwen. I am Madeline Matay McQueen. I'm a parent at Gearity. Over there we've got Eleanor in the pink shirt. She's in kindergarten at Gearity. And then Margaret is in preschool at Gearity. And and their grandma, my mom, is feeding them snacks so that they will stay in this meeting. >> [laughter] >> Oh, okay. You you do being a parent eagle. Okay, >> [laughter] >> excellent. And I'm a part of pups and so I helped collect the data. Although all credit to Gwen for the analysis of the data and making the beautiful PowerPoint. So, yay Gwen.
029So, here are the the four categories we found where where parents are saying they do not want to see cuts. The categories are student facing roles, learning supports, transportation, and arts and music. So, we get you know, slightly different answers when we ask questions slightly different ways. Transportation was one of the answers with the fewest people saying it was important to them. But when we said what should we not cut, people said transportation. So, that's how you get different answers to to different questions. So, this is right. All right. So, sort of the flip side of people saying what they valued the most was those student facing roles. People are also saying what they don't want to have cut is those student facing roles. Including all the health roles, the the physical health, the sort
030of occupational therapists, and speech therapists, school nurses, etc. It includes the teachers, the power professionals, the aids, and pretty much anyone who contributes to student teacher ratios or who's a student facing role, the social emotional, [clears throat] etc. That's what they're saying, don't cut those. I think you know that already. People also were saying they really don't want learning supports cut. So, whether that's IEPs or English language support, as well as uh gifted programs, AP classes, MSSP, so kind of all parts of the learning outside the traditional way, parents don't want to see those cut. Um transportation >> Transportation. >> is bussing. Uh people don't want to see bussing cut. And then arts and music, that theme comes back again. Um all of the programming that's available outside of the traditional classroom setting. Um and
031people commented that many students can only get arts and music through their public school, that it's families who don't have the resources to sign up for private lessons or or, you know, a class they'd have to pay for outside of the school setting. Um so, those are very important to parents to keep um at the schools. We asked for ideas on reducing costs. Of course, that's always hard because I mean, I've looked at school budgets and they're almost entirely personnel. And we don't want to lose any of the people. Um but ideas parents voiced, they said we could reduce administrative costs, optimize unused spaces, with Wiley being not an unused space, but we're in it now. I mean, right where it's This is this property, basically, but spaces that are maybe underused or not populated
032by students. Um third category was Parents thought maybe we could reduce or support the costs of extracurriculars or sort of the arts and music bits through community partnerships. Um and then their fourth idea was partner with local organizations and stakeholders. And here's a little more detail on each of those. Um Some parents said that the district feels top-heavy with too many administrative roles, and that since those pay higher salaries, they'd like to see more cuts in that area versus teachers, paraprofessionals, etc. They wanted to know about streamlining and consolidating, and whether that would help free up any funds for teachers and students. Um yes, for unused spaces they talked about finding ways to lease Wiley, maybe, or ways to use the Cleveland Heights Community Center um as a space for the district so that we
033don't need other spaces we aren't using. I know this gets complex cuz I also study policy and there are laws about what you can do with underused buildings and who can buy them. I know it's complicated, but this was an idea that came from parents. Um for the extracurriculars, again, talking about local businesses or other, you know, arts organizations that could partner with the district and perhaps reduce costs that way. Um we asked about if people would be able and willing to uh pay for arts and music and sports. Um some said, "Yes, I'm willing, but I'm not able." Some said, "You know, we we don't have sports at our school anyway." Um they also Parents asked about partnering with foundations who could cover the cost of pay-to-play if we have to move to that
034kind of model. Um and then for the fourth category of partnering with local organizations and stakeholders, um people talked about partnering both with community groups and with the city, which actually it's three cities in Cleveland Heights University Heights cuz we've also got part of South Euclid. Um but partnering with these three cities for uh programming, for transportation, um and other ways to support students and families. All right, so this actually gets back to the pay-to-play that I was talking about a moment ago. Um the graph on the left was uh "Would you be willing and able to pay for things like arts, music, and sports if you are a parent?" Um we had, oh gosh, yes was 57.8%, no was 15.7%, and other was 26.5%, but in the other category we're seeing people say, "I'm
035willing to, yes, but I'm not able to." Like they value these these classes and these types of education enough that they would pay if they could, but they can't pay at the moment. And then for AP classes, it's even more clear how our our population skews to parents of younger kids because we asked if they'd be willing and able to pay for AP classes and more than half said, "I don't know. I don't have a high schooler. This isn't relevant to me." But the ones who do have a high schooler, 15% said yes, 15% said no, and 11% said other. And one comment was, "This would create a class system where only privileged students could take advanced classes." Which, yes, good point. So people are pretty divided on whether it would make any sense to
036have students pay for AP classes. It doesn't want to advance. Is this the end? No, it's not. All right, here we are. And then here are some answers to what the Board of Education can do to support parents and caregivers, especially while we're going through, you know, figuring out what to do about the $8 million in in shortage of funding from the state. And so parents said they would like to see the district challenge tax abatements, to seek feedback from the families, coordinate with city government, and also display transparency and accountability. Let's see if there is yes, data or details on all of these. Um I mean, for tax abatements right now I'm trying to think of an example and only coming up with Shaker examples. But of course, any developments that are allowed to
037not pay property tax, that's another way that districts are either losing money or not getting money that they could have gotten. So parents were aware of the tax abatements and wanted the the school district to help challenge those and kind of push back when businesses are seeking new tax abatements. Um they want to see the district seek feedback from the community and from the parents. Uh and incorporate the feedback into decisions. Um, parents said they would feel supported if they see communication and coordination between the the district and the Board of Education and the city governments. Um, and seeing support for the school district from Cleveland Heights and University Heights. And I know us as a pups chapter, that's something we've talked about where if we look over at Shaker, we see really good coordination.
038I'm not sure our city officials have stepped up in Cleveland Heights and University Heights and we're thinking about ways to engage them more. Um, and and try to get them to, you know, be out in front and supportive of the schools and helping to seek funding for the schools. Um, and then the fourth category, transparency and accountability. Parents are asking for transparency in administrative spending, justifications for high-paying roles, and accountability for poorly performing employees in both schools and administration. And here are some, um, quotes or excerpts lifted from our feedback sessions with parents. It might be excessive for me to read them all. >> [laughter] >> One is asking about they're saying, "Please don't disrupt the special education program." The second one is is saying that they care deeply about diversity, equity, and supporting public
039schools, but if the public school isn't able to provide the services they need, they would consider switching to a private school. Um, there are people saying the lunches and other resources for lower-income students are important. People asking for budget transparency. People asking that student and family-facing programs be the last to be cut. Um, there's someone talking about students who are different than others. Their own child has some differences and and they appreciate how the the district currently supports students, um, who learn differently or, um, need different supports. Some people are concerned about those who don't have equal access already, kind of the worsening disparities with less funding. Um, and then the last comment is about needing the They're calling them extracurricular. I don't know if I'd call them extracurricular considering I got a music degree
040as my first college degree, but this sort of non non-core class, the ones you don't test for, right? The the the arts and music, the STEAM part of STEM. >> I think that's it. >> I think Is that the last slide? Okay, so that's that's the end of it. Um, and we welcome questions from the board. And thank you again for letting us come and present and have more than the the couple minutes that public comments normally get. Thank you. >> you all. >> [applause] >> Any questions or comments? >> I If if I may, just to all of you who um, are, you know, the the coordinators of pups, the people who attended all of the listening sessions, um, the um, those who filled out the surveys, um, I just want to say thank
041you and wow. Um, this is an incredibly important, um, piece of information that uh I can tell you will be taken very seriously, um, by this board and and really will help to inform us. I think that there's, at least speaking for myself, none of this really surprises me, um, just because, you know, grew up in the community, went through the schools myself. We're all at the grocery store. Um, we're every We we get meet up with people all the time um, in Lee Road. Um, but to have it collected with intention, I also really appreciate the caveats that you gave at the beginning because who we didn't hear from are perhaps some of the people we need to hear from the most and so that tells us where we need to double down. Um
042so really appreciate that from the very beginning. Um yeah, so just thank you thank you thank you. You are an important important organization in this community and outside of this community. Um so bravo and thank you. >> Thank you. Yeah. And even calling parents to invite them to attend. Um whether it's sessions or evenings or weekends, I got so many answers of well, I'm working my second job then. Um so it is really difficult to engage parents who are working so many hours. Um but we try. >> No, I wouldn't I'm just thank thank you. You did a great job. Thank you for all this great information and I like to see it too, you know, all in one piece so we can take a look at all the different stats and the information. So
043thank you. >> So what one thing that I I think it's really great having you guys follow the student contract cuz I kind of got my gears turning a little bit um because there've been some other opportunities in the in the past for dialogue between parents and upper administration and I'm thinking about things like um the the coffees that the PTA has hosted like uh coffee with the superintendent and like opportunities for like direct uh kind of unstructured dialogue where some of this stuff can happen. Um but but hearing in in in hearing a presentation, seeing the data that you've that you've brought to us tonight um just as like food for thought makes me wonder if there's an opportunity um maybe with a a combination of of pups and the PTA system together to
044bring sort of like a an a a structured version of that, you know, with within the PTA world because we do have you know, PTAs across the elementary schools. Some meet more often than others. Some are have larger, you know, groups than others, but that might be one opportunity to to also get like the quicker feedback loops cuz that's the other tough thing is like like Dan said like we see this and this is great and then like we have a follow-up question and then it's like well, so who do we go to? Like we go to pups and then then who does pups go to? Does pups go back to the So it's like to kind of like answer those questions. Um but and then yeah, the the I think my thing that I
045thought was most impactful at least to me about the survey was the the the this part the bubbles with the like the percentages of things of people what people are least interested in giving up I guess I should say because when we get into this world, that's what it's all it's it's all it's all trade-offs like you you said before. So yeah, so I I'm incredibly thankful to your group for the I mean the the amount of time that goes into this is far beyond holding the X number of listening sessions. It's all of the prep and all of the afterwards you know, coalescing all the stuff together and I'm just in awe of all the work that went into this and we will not let it go to waste. >> Thank you. >> Um
046Gwen and Madeline, thank you so much for coming. The work you're doing is important. You know, the data-driven approach like we really appreciate but also it's kind of community building, right? Like you are talking to parents who don't have an opportunity to interface with the five of us or the superintendent or the treasurer, um and that is really important. Uh and we don't always get the feedback that you got might be getting. I will plug that we do try to get feedback sometimes, and if you have a child in the fourth through eighth grade, we sent out a technology study uh survey. Uh please answer that. >> Yes, guys. Yeah. Oh, the the one last thing and and this is just tacking on to what Tom said, and I'm sorry, I'm famous for jumping back
047in. Um I I I do want to say that that that it sometimes it's it's nice to have a group that isn't the board or isn't the school district that's collecting this information, and that that Mhm. The the [clears throat] board offered I offered personally that I said, "Hey, I we can we can get a board member at all these meetings." Um and and I think rightly Pub said, "No, it's it it's better for us to collect this information without the school board sitting in the room, sitting in the back listening." Um which I absolutely respect, and I think it was definitely the right call. Um so, I think I I I just want to call that out that, you know, that you guys doing this independently, I think was was uh very cool. So.
048>> And I'll just reiterate what my colleagues have already said. Thank you for all of your work that you do in our community to engage um our students, our parents and families, and other stakeholders. I also agree that we should work more collaboratively with our city officials and city government um to cuz we are all stakeholders uh in our communities and in educating our children and providing opportunities for them. Um but I also think some of the uh support that uh parents and caregivers are looking for, perhaps we can provide a little more education to the community on how uh certain things work regarding the transparency and accountability, and even with the tax abatements. So, thank you uh for all of the work and input and time that you put into this. So, thank you.
049>> THANK YOU. >> [applause] [applause] >> AND NOW WE WILL TAKE STATEMENTS FROM the audience. The board asks that you please refrain from mentioning specific students or employees by name in your comments. If your comments involve a student or an employee, the board asks that you please not address the individual by name. We ask that you remain cognizant that we are in an open meeting and possibly in the presence of students. Also, please limit your comments to 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, the microphone will be muted. Thank you. We will start with Angel Fasolo. >> Go ahead. >> Um before I piggyback on some of the points pups made, um I'm still waiting for public records requested a month ago. Um some are related to the light lay finance committee and the formation of this
050um new new lay finance committee. Some are related to the staff cuts and a reduction in force. Um so I'm looking forward to getting that those public records. As for upcoming cuts, yes, staff funding uh state funding is problematic and I'm in agreement with probably everyone in the room on that. Um but the district can do better with the funds that they do have. Um and this has been an ongoing thing that I've been talking about. Even though I'm no longer a district parent, I did attend a number of pups meetings and I thank them for their efforts and their welcoming tone and um inclusiveness. Um as for me, there are too many buildings in this district. Three no longer have students in them. Um please stop property hoarding. Yes, um yes, there were parents
051at the meetings who said this. Yes, they were talking about collaboration with the community, and that is one thing to consider, >> [gasps] >> but the district owns too many properties. Um you have too many lawyers um and indefen- indefensible legal fees. And yes, there's still an ongoing multi-plaintiff federal lawsuit against this district claiming multiple administrators violated civil rights of students who experienced sexual assaults by peers. That lawsuit is nearing its 2-year anniversary. Um and yes, some parents at PUPS meetings called out the district waste on legal services and fees currently. Um I see on the agenda a few central office cuts. I support some of the eliminated positions, not necessarily all, but I can say there should be more central office administration cuts. Yes, cuts can be hard, especially when there's low morale, but
052I think many families and staff would be elated to see the district cut the chief of schools position. Yes, I heard this mentioned multiple times at PUPS meetings, not initiated by myself. Um nobody asked for a chief of schools and some of the other positions, and nobody asked um and nobody in leadership can adequately explain why that position was created or why it was given to Rachel Coleman. Um and yes, the next >> Geneva, >> We've asked you not to >> mention an employee's name. >> It's inappropriate. >> Apologies. Um and yes, the next step in this process is elected and hired leadership heading out into the community, current and former families, residents who will be paying um who who have been and will keep paying taxes. Um that effort needs to go out into
053the community, not just to educate the community, but to also listen. Thank you. >> We now have Carla Bailey speaking in regarding AFS. >> Hello. Good evening, everyone. >> Good evening. >> I am Carla Bailey. Um been around the district a long time. I am uh currently the AFS for the AFS volunteer for Cleveland Heights, Shaker, Kenston, Rocky River. So, what AFS is is the international exchange program. It's been in Cleveland Heights High School for 70 years. And um I'm hosting. I've [snorts] hosted >> [laughter] >> I've hosted um 22 students, 21, 22 over the years. And it's been wonderful for me. And just today someone asked me, "Why do you host?" Because we don't get paid. And I said, "Because I found that it gave me transferable skills." Yes, I have a degree, but
054I got my degree later. But they send me everywhere. Carla, can you go pick up kids? Yes, I can. No, you we need you to go to Mozambique. Carla, can you uh host kids? Yes, I can. And it's it's not you know, I have to cook. They eat halal. They got to pray. They wear hijab. But it's fun. And they have a black mom. Nobody in their country has a black mom. So, I tell them this is when you write books. This is when you, you know, this is how you make money writing a book about me cuz anybody lives in my house, there's a book to be written and I tell them >> [laughter] >> Right. So, and I tell them I sent both my son and my daughter AFS Japan and AFS Thailand
055and it has just been fantastic for me. Um 3 weeks from now they asked me to go take 15 Americans to Beijing and I can come back when I want so I'll be back September 1st. Um I've had free I mean I just wonderful. I mean seriously. I was gone for 2 years and people were like, "Where were you?" because the State Department selected me to be a teacher trainer in small town Vietnam. There were no white people, there were no black people, there were no tourists, there were no foreigners. It was me and my daughter. So, all I'm saying is AFS has given me transferable skills. Um come on up girls just to say um they are going home um about 3 weeks for her and about 4 weeks for her. Um oh, somebody
056said, "Oh." >> [laughter] >> No, it's time. And and not that it's not that, you know, people like, "Are you going to miss them?" It's just that um like I have grandkids. I can't just go take off because I got kids. So, I I have to see my grandkids. Um [laughter] So, that's it. So, >> Yes, I just want to say thank you for the opportunities. >> Introduce yourself. >> I did. >> Your name. >> Don't worry about the time. >> Okay. Okay. So, um I'm Hafiza. Uh I'm an exchange student from Indonesia and I've been here for 8 months and everything has been great for me at school. I'm a senior in Cleveland Heights High School and everything's just it's been great. I my favorite parts are I got to go to trips and
057to California with the vocal music department and Washington DC as a class with a class and I just want to say thank you for the opportunities for letting me have an a great exchange year here for the support that for exchange students here and for having me for the past 8 months. And yeah. Um I'm just glad to be part of this school, of this community and my mom's house and it's just [laughter] yeah, it's just a really great experience for me and thank you. >> [applause] >> Hello everyone. I'm Anamta Khan. I'm an exchange student from Pakistan and I've been here for about 8 months now and I'll go back in June. I'm also a senior and currently at senior project. Um I'm just here to express my gratitude to the school board for
058making it possible for me to get most out of the um the typical American high school experience. I got to do a lot. I'm in VMD and the best part of this school year was the trip to California and the trip to DC. And oh by the way, we have a concert on May 15th. It would be lovely if you come. Um I would like to say thank you to my host mom Carla Bailey for coping for my shenanigans because [laughter] I'm quite troublesome. I might I must admit. And also I really want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to have a diploma which is very rare for exchange students, but um Heights gave me the privilege to graduate with a diploma and I think that it's going to bring a change
059in my future and build my profile stronger. So, thank you very much. >> [applause] >> And I just want to I just want to put out there one more time, if anybody anybody in this room wants to host a student, first of all, they we had very big funding cuts. So, you will have no kids from Africa, no kids from Asia, no kids from Middle East. They will only come from Europe for in the AFS cycle. So, but you still if you anyone wants to host, please find me, call me. Um I'm the success coach at Heights High School. So, I mean, I I do a lot, really. >> Miss Bailey. >> So. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Sharing your story, girls. >> Um next is Derek Crane. >>
060They always say they want to see civic engagement from our students. So, here we go. Good evening, members of the Board of Education. You know who I am. My name is Derek Crane. I am well, reside currently at 2260 Fenwick Road. Um we all know who I am. I'm a proud tiger. I think we are well acquainted with this kindergarten through 12th grade. I have been in our schools Geritty to Boulevard to Monticello back when it was Monticello to Heights High. And [snorts] I'm proud of many aspects of my Heights experience. I got a great education there that's now sent me to the Ohio State University, which I'm incredibly proud of. Great experience in athletics, in music, and the thing I'm really the most proud of when I think about my time in our schools
061is the education and character I got in in excellence, in integrity, in having respect for people who are you know, not like you. However, I was not very proud when I found out about this recently. This is a campaign mailer from Ms. Crenshaw, for board of or president of the board of education. >> I'm sorry, Derek. That's not from me. >> We're going to get to that. Campaign mailer with your name on it with attacking your opponent, Councilwoman Davida Russell of Cleveland Heights City Council. Um and in particular, you disparage her as a school bus driver. Or the mailer the mailer okay the mailer the mailer the mailer disparages her as a school bus driver. Fair. We'll take that. >> Here's my issue with it. You have a flyer out front. You have a banner
062out front saying, "Please join our transportation team." With language like this, I >> That's not from me. I don't know how I how I need to >> Ms. Crenshaw, it has your name and your image on it. It has Ms. Crenshaw in local politics when something like this appears and you don't disavow it, that means it carries your tacit endorsement. >> I disagree. >> That's the way it works. I'm sorry. But this is this is the issue, okay? There's no shame in being a school bus driver. From fourth through sixth grade, that's how I got to school. >> I agree. >> That's how I got to school. >> I agree. >> And I think it's absolutely shameful and absolutely disgusting to have something like this put out. I think it's disgusting that there was no
063disavow of it. I think there's no shame in being a school bus driver. I think there's absolutely shame in having your name tied to something like this. I think this is absolutely ridiculous. I'm very disappointed in it. This is cheap, vulgar, trash. Thank you. >> Welcome to America. We will now have Vincent Stokes in regards to community connection with city with the city of University Heights. >> I move slow, but I move well. >> Take your time. >> Somebody phoned over here. >> That's mine. Thank you. >> You're welcome. Good evening. I rise tonight as an elected official from University Heights, a second generation Heights resident, a parent of both CHUH alum and a current student, and as somebody who still believes in the mission and necessity of public education. I also rise tonight as
064a veteran educator in Cleveland and as a strong proponent of public education. Since joining city council in University Heights, I've intentionally tried to attend these board meetings because I live here and because I believe local government and public education must remain connected. I attend CMSD board meetings monthly because educational policy, public trust, and community partnerships matter to me professionally, civically, and personally, which is why I want to briefly address the April 21st work session conversation around the 100-year commemoration of Cleveland Heights High School. I understand that Heights the Heights schools foundation is leading the event and not the board directly, but respectfully, there's a larger issue underneath this moment that continues to come up among elected officials in the city of University Heights. Too often UH feels like an afterthought in conversations connected to this
065district. This is not about attacking Cleveland Heights. This is about not about competition between municipalities. This is not about diminishing the significance of celebrating 100 years of the great high school. This is about partnership, and this is about inclusion. Following the April 21st work session, I emailed every member of this board expressing concerns surrounding inclusion, communication, and scheduling conflicts with the city of University Heights Juneteenth celebration. To date, I received one response. I understand sunshine laws and open meeting requirements, but my email was not asking for private deliberation. It was asking for dialogue. It was asking for engagement. It was asking for partnership. And respectfully, when nearly an entire board remains silent, the message received in UH is not partnership. The message received is distance. And that matters because public education right now is under
066pressure. Voucher expansion and school choice programs are pulling students and funding away from public school districts every single day. And many families in UH are making those choices. I am not. I still publicly advocate for public education and support levies. I publicly do defend public education because I believe in educators and students and missions of the public education. But advocacy becomes very hard when communities repeatedly feel overlooked. Currently, there's only one public school physically located in University Heights while seven are in Cleveland Heights. There is currently no representation on University Heights serving on the school board. And while each of these realities may independently have explanations, collectively, they contribute to a growing perception that UH exists on the margins of district identity rather than the center of district partnership. Yet, when levies are placed on
067the ballot, UH residents are expected to support the district equally, fund the district equally, and advocate this for the district equally. And many of us still do. I do. I also want to acknowledge the symbolism surrounding the scheduling conflict with Juneteenth. Juneteenth is not simply another event on the calendar. It's a commemoration of the late freedom. And when meaningful conversations never occur beforehand, messages are sent whether intended or not. My time is up and I'll stop talking. Have a good day. >> Very much. >> We will now move on to our consent agenda. May I have a motion to consider the consent agenda? >> I motion we consider the consent agenda. >> I second. >> Is there any discussion? >> I can get over to it. >> I put the agenda before we do the
068other resolution cuz I want to be able to give a little context to the resolution. So, is it first consent or then resolution? >> Mhm. >> Okay. I just want to make sure. >> The new business >> Is Sam Is Sam here? Can I Can I ask him a question on um >> Come on up, Sam. >> Are you going to ask him why there's no air conditioning on here cuz I was going to ask [laughter] him that earlier? Ouch. Um >> He told me why earlier. >> Good evening, everyone. >> Good evening, Sam. >> The emergency HVAC work and all that stuff, is that stuff just stuff that just came up to over the course of the the I'm assuming it's on here just cuz it like wasn't this non-budgeted stuff. >> Um >>
069Or is it >> Right, and it was after the um PO deadline. >> Got Okay. >> So, that's why that stuff would get on be on there. >> I'm hearing that >> And once there's like you know for example of a motor might go which I think is on that list, there's lots of other things that are attached to that that likely have to get replaced at the same time. >> I I was just curious cuz like the amounts didn't seem that high and it just seemed like >> They weren't. It was just after the date and so we want to make sure we're telling you about it. >> All right. >> Okay. >> Yep, yep. >> Great. Thank you. >> Yep. Thank you. >> I'll work on that. >> No, no, no, no, no,
070no, no. It works. >> Thank you. >> I think that was it for me except um it's great to see all of the summer stuff rolling in in terms of gearing up for all the summer team stuff. >> Any other discussion? Ms. Latham, will you please call the roll? >> Mr. Hines? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Howard-Pryor? >> Yes. >> Mr. Hashkes-Lilly? >> Yes. >> Mr. Trimble? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Crenshaw? >> Yes. >> May I have a motion to approve the following position eliminations? >> Should I give the context before >> Yes, please. >> So, um I wanted thank you for the opportunity just to give context to the decision uh that the board will be voting on this evening. Um as every this actually goes back um to last year as we were able
071to understand um how the state was not unfortunately going to uh support um public schools and its impact um on our district as it relates to fair school funding. Um Ms. Latham and I have been um talking about this all year. Uh very thankful that pups had the opening session in the fall. We were able to share uh that information. Um and have continued to to communicate where we are from a fiscal perspective. Um this is a a dark day for me as a leader. Um, every name that is on the list of staff who will be up voted upon by the board in the reduction in force process is a dedicated member of this district. I know many of these folks personally. They have done um, excellent excellent work on behalf of students. There's
072any way that we could meet our financial um, requirements in order for the the district to to sustain itself, we wouldn't make be making these recommendations. Over the past several years, we have been able to make reductions through attrition, but given how large the gap is, we had to make more reductions than we certainly ever would have wanted wanted to make. Um, I really thank I join the board in thanking the pups group for their listening sessions. I was able to really um, understand what the what the pups members shared was very informative um, to me and my team. So for example, as we heard feedback around well, people don't necessarily understand what people who work in central office do. Though I understand it, right? that. I don't think anyone's really watching work sessions every
073year twice a year to see like how people you know, the role of the departments are tied to the strategic plan. It is that work. And so because our department leaders, you know, we have a cycle of continuous improvement. We have organizational charts. We have streams of work that we regularly share with the board. We were able to put some additional information on each department page in order to provide it just a little bit more context to the work. Typically, when you talk about districts making reductions, you know, it's not unique for folks to first look at administrative roles. And when you see the reductions, the highest percentage based on kind of each contractual area without question is in our administrative roles. But that does not mean that though the work that those folks do
074is not important. And we will do everything that we can to continue it, but it will mean a heavier load for the current administrators that are currently here. I just have to be honest about that. What we are happy about is that we initially thought we would have more names on the reduction in force list, but we were able to make some adjustments to that, especially as we started to get information about open positions, retirements, resignations. And and likely that list will continue to shrink as well, which is a which is a good thing. And I want to thank the team, especially Sean Patton and Carla Morris, are really working through this process and working with our union leaders as well, trying to make this least to have as few as possible while while also
075meeting our financial goals. And you know, the last I'm going to speak to the the role of our administrators, but especially our chief of schools in my report. So I'll come back to that later. But I do want to just so the community knows, this is year one. We also have year two. We have significant reductions we have to still make. I don't think the state is going to give us an infusion of cash this year. Um but we will continue many and so [snorts] I want the pumps group to know that um your feedback uh will continue to inform that process over um over the next year as well. Um it is a tough time in education. Um I never thought we would get here. [snorts] You know, with Ohio's different than Illinois, I'll
076just say that. Um but I I appreciate the spirit of uh partnership from all across the district, all across the schools, um you know, with the parent group too as well. It's definitely um has been um fruitful and informative um for me um in my role as superintendent. So, I'm just very sad that we have to make these um make these uh reductions um when we our preliminary number this will save the district approximately $3.4 million. Um um which is getting us towards our $5 million goal, but again we, you know, we we still have to continue um to reduce. So, just wanted to give that context as the board considers this. >> May I have a motion to approve the following position eliminations? >> Can we speak to it first? Can we do the
077motion >> first and second then discuss. >> Uh I motion we consider it. >> Uh second. >> motion to approve, right? >> And then there's a motion to approve. >> And then a second then discussion. >> So, motion to approve. >> Uh very well. I motion to approve the uh cuts. >> Second. >> Now we discuss. >> Is this where we can give our remarks? >> Mhm. You guys would like Do you like for me to start? >> Sure. >> Okay. >> Well, I did write down some remarks I feel very um led to share this evening. So, I just want to first say good evening everyone. And tonight, I want to speak from a place of honesty, compassion, and deep respect for the Cleveland Heights University Heights people who make our schools what they
078are. The past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for our district. The loss of state and federal funding has forced us into decisions none of us ever wanted to make, including the layoffs that have affected valued members of our Cleveland Heights University Heights community. I want to begin acknowledging the human impact of these decisions because behind every position is a person, a colleague, a mentor, a supporter of our students and in many cases a friend. These are individuals who have poured their time, talent, and heart into our students and the overall success of our schools. Their contributions matter and their absence will be felt. To those directly affected, I want to say we see you, we appreciate you, and we are deeply sorry for the hardship this creates for you and your families. To all
079our staff, I know this moment brings uncertainty, added pressure, and emotional strain. Nevertheless, you continue to show up and we appreciate it for our students with professionalism and care even when the circumstances are heavy. Please know that your commitment does not go unnoticed because you are the backbone of this district and we are grateful for all of you. To our CHUH families and community members, we thank you for your patience your questions and your advocacy. I want to just personally thank Pops. I know you have educated me personally. So, thank you. The financial challenges we are facing are real and they require us to rethink how we operate while still protecting the quality of education all students deserve. That's all students. Our district has weathered challenges before and we will do so again but together.
080What gives me hope is the strength of this community. I've lived here over 30 years. Our educators, our families, our students as well as all of our partners who believe in the power of public education. I ask all of us to extend grace to one another to check in on colleagues and to remember that our shared Tiger Nation mission has not changed. This board remains committed to creating safe, supportive and excellent learning environments for every child who walks through our doors. So, again, thank you for your resilience, your compassion and your continued belief in our schools. We will move forward not easily, not quickly, but with purpose and with each other and tonight I thank all of you. >> Thank you. Any other discussion? >> Uh, yeah. Um, I can't be as eloquent as Kathy.
081Uh, I also want to thank all of our outgoing staff for their dedication to our kids, their families, and the district as a whole. I I graduated from college in 2008 with a uh, license to teach uh, integrated social studies 7 through 12. Uh, of my class at Kent coming out of Kent State University, half of us got teaching jobs, none of which were in Ohio. It was the Great Recession, a terrible time to try to find a job in education, especially in the state. Um, so I can certainly empathize with with what a lot of our folks are going through, um, and with with the state of uh, public education right now in terms of state and federal funding and the political landscape with that and economic landscape that we're finding ourselves in. Um,
082I want to, like Kathy said, acknowledge the fact and like Liz said, the effect that this is going to have um, on the district to try to do the same with less folks around with less staff. Uh, it's going to be a challenge for folks, um, and uh, I'm I'm incredibly thankful to our our remaining staff and to our bargaining units for for continuing to lean in and like I said, try to um, provide the same uh, high level of of education and the same educational product with less folks around and I think uh, lastly I want to thank Liz and Angel and the team for the time the incredible amount of time and the care that they put into this process and the sleepless nights and all of the work because this has to
083be in the top five hard things that you all have to do in this job and so I'm thankful to to all of you for the hard work. >> Um I think I just want to lead with for what it's worth saying I'm sorry to the members of the staff who won't be here next year. Um I personally was riffed twice at the beginning of my career teaching. I got my first job teaching in the Cleveland schools. Um and unfortunately my program got cut. Landed in Chardon and the first year in Chardon I was riffed again. Um thankfully I was called back. But um I think it's important for folks to know that you know these these cuts are sometimes talked about in terms of you know how many FTEs full-time employees. I want you
084to all understand that these are families. And that Liz and Angel and those departments and Shawn's department understand that and feel that deeply just as we all do. We all understand that you know, this is a consequence of political decisions made over generations of students by the ruling party in this state in inflicting havoc intentionally on our public schools. And these cuts are the intended consequence of those decisions, that forfeiture of their responsibility. And it is heartbreaking work. Um hold each other close. And to those who we have the terrible burden of RIFing tonight just know that we feel this, too. >> Um the point has been made by Superintendent Kirby, but I want to emphasize it. Um the roles that have been reduced were not fillers, they were not unnecessary or unimportant. Um they
085were roles that mattered to students, that mattered to parents, uh and that mattered to our district. Uh this is not a moment the district looked around and found a lot of waste, a lot of inconsequential positions. Uh these were roles and people who made a difference in our district every day. And it is with all of our profound regret that we have been forced to make these cuts because of an unfulfilled promise by the state to fully fund our schools. So, I just want to make clear that these roles and professionals were valued. And it is to our sorrow that we will no longer have their help in educating our students. >> And I'll just say that tonight's discussion around reductions in force is an incredibly difficult one and not something that this board takes
086lightly. We recognize that these decisions impact dedicated employees and families and the entire school community. And we are grateful for the work and commitment every staff member that has been affected. And so with that, Ms. Latham, can you please call the roll? >> Do we need a motion to approve the resolution to reduce the workforce? >> We have. We have. >> You already did it. Okay. >> Mr. Hines? >> Yes. >> Mr. Trimble? >> Yes. >> Mr. Hashkes-Lilly? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Howard-Primes? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Crenshaw? >> Yes. >> And we do each one of these separately, right? So, may I have a motion for approval of suspension of administrative contracts due to reduction in force? >> I motion that we approve the suspension of contracts as a result of the reduction in force.
087>> I'll second. >> Is there any discussion? If no discussion, Ms. Latham, will you please call the roll? Mr. Hines? >> Yes. >> Mr. Hashkes-Lilly? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Howard-Primes? >> Yes. >> Mr. Trimble? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Crenshaw? >> [clears throat] >> Yes. >> May I have a motion to approve the following contract suspensions? >> I motion that we approve the contract What are they called? >> Suspensions. Forgive me. Yes. >> Second. >> Is there any discussion? If no discussion, Ms. Latham, will you please call the roll? >> Mr. Heintz? >> Yes. >> Mr. Trimble? >> Yes. >> Mr. Hashkes-Lilly? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Howard-Primes? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Crenshaw? >> Yes. >> May I have a motion to approve the suspension of classified non-teaching contracts due to reduction in force? >> I motion
088that we approve the suspension of the classified non-teaching uh roles as a reduction as a result of uh reduction in force. >> Second. >> Is there any discussion? If no discussion, Ms. Latham, will you please call the roll? >> Mr. Heintz? >> Yes. >> Mr. Trimble? >> Yes. >> Mr. Hashkes-Lilly? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Howard-Primes? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Crenshaw? >> Yes. >> We will now have our superintendent's report from Superintendent Kirby. Oh, I >> Yes. Yes, that's me. So, I will um I'm going to give my report first, then I'm going to um say some additional words as a part of my report. Um so, as always, we align um the monthly report to um our district um goals in our strategic plan. Um, under goals one and Thank you, Cayden. Um, under goals
089one and two, um, I want to congratulate our Roxboro Middle School writers for their performance at uh, the Power of the Pen. And a big shout out to Suzanne Nelson for her joyous um, advocacy and sponsorship um, of the Power of the Pen. Um, I was able to attend a tournament one of the tournaments, um, this uh, year that she put on. It was a great event and it's great, um, that that team, um, was able to advance, um, and we have two students who are set to advance to the state tournament this month. Um, Suzanne shares that coaching these young writers with the Power of the Pen is incredibly rewarding. And it is a joy to watch students express their imaginations through storytelling. I'm so proud of this team and the growth they've shown
090this year. Also, under goals one and two, um, we had a wonderful AVID signing day, um, at the high school on April 24th. Um, we also, um, had, uh, AVID showcase selfie at, uh, Baumgarten Middle School this year. So, the AVID seniors were able to talk about their experience in with AVID and talk about their plans for next year. Still running is the Creative Heights, uh, district art show, um, that, um, will still be up, um, in the Heights library on Lee Road and that will run through May 8th. Um, so, um, shout out to our awesome arts teachers and staff for putting this on, um, and offering opportunities for the community to see how great our kids are. Two more days. Um, under goal three, um, we are so excited that Layla Edwards was
091able to come to Roxboro Elementary School where she attended. Um with her gold medal. I don't know if she had it by her so you know she's a gold medalist. >> Oh, she did. She had it. >> Did she Oh, she had it. Okay. I was weird all the time, too. Um she spoke to kids about her time in high schools and she has a nephew in Miss um Musgrave's class. Um as you all know, she is the first black woman to play for the US Women's Olympic Ice Hockey team and they got the gold. Um and just we are so incredibly proud of her and just thankful that she was able to come directly back to her elementary school. Um on April 20th, we uh held the dyslexia simulation. Thank you, Lisa Hunt, for
092uh coordinating that excellent event. Um this is my second year attending and really um sheds light on the experiences of students who have dyslexia um and um has pushed me to continue to look into how we can deepen our support um for students um that have dyslexia. We do have um tools that we use, but this is it's a good reminder to go to go back in um do even more for our students. So, thank you for that. Um and that was held in partnership with our Reaching Heights parent mentor, Joy Howard, and No Beta. Under goal four, value professionals, uh congratulations to our communications department led by Cathan Cavanaugh. You see a picture there um of uh the department and the awards they won. From the Ohio School Public Relations Association, they received a
093mark of excellence uh for the website, a mark of excellence for the printed newsletter in the summer 2025 Heights Magazine. They received a mark of excellence special purpose publication for the 25-26 print calendar. Excellent. The mark of distinction for the printed news I like how specific they are. The printed newsletter for winter 2025, the CHUH City Schools update. >> Communications team. >> Absolutely. Uh four valued professionals, uh we had in the month of April, uh paraprofessional appreciation, April 3rd, 2026. For I like librarians um appreciation on April 4th, 2026. And administrative professionals appreciation, April 23rd, 2026. This year we celebrate This week we're celebrating both our teachers and staff um under staff appreciation week. Um and also um have special events for our teachers as well. So, I really want to thank our PTAs um
094and principals and um staff for uh coordinating opportunities uh to celebrate um celebrate our um staff for the wonderful things that they do every day to support our children. Um so, thank you. Everybody's getting fed very well this week. Oh, that's also I I covered that already under goal four. Um in terms of summer opportunities, um I do want it to use these next couple slides just to talk about opportunities and upcoming events. Um the music camp registration is open for the uh summer the summer music camp um June 8th through the 13th offered by Reaching Heights. Um so, the deadline to register looks like it passed, but I'm but they would take more. Um So, uh that camp serves 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who live in the Cleveland Heights University High School District
095and participate in their schools' instrumental music program. Uh Building Heights Filmmaking Camp is in season six, hard to believe. Uh they also have opportunities uh for kids in middle school through 12th grade who live in Cleveland Heights to join their camp. So, that information is also uh listed on the slide for those who would like to apply to the camp. Um we are actively recruiting students for our kindergarten readiness boot camp. So, if there families who are interested, please, please, please click uh that link there for more information or speak to um uh if you if you're a current family, you can speak with a principal who can give you more information there. We are doing outreach for incoming kindergarteners. It's a little harder because they're not quite in our district yet. Um but we
096want to make sure they have opportunities to participate in in this. Camp Invention is also returning to Cleveland Heights this summer, July 20th to the 24th. Um scholarships will be available for the first 30 students. The total cost is $285. It will take place at Heights High. This is always a hit and a great opportunity. So, again, as families are looking for um interesting and stimulating um things for kids to do, this is something that we hope that they can take advantage of. And it's hard to believe that the uh Tiger 5K Fun Run, I feel like it was just I remember being there. Um is uh happening Saturday, May 16th. Uh you don't have to run, you can walk. You can even just watch if you want. Um that's happening um at the Heights
097High track um and the 5K race is at 9:00 a.m. The fun run is at 10:00 a.m. This last slide just represents um over the next about 17 days of all the different things that are happening within the month of May. So, please, please, please, if you can attend these events, um help celebrate our staff, please do so. Um culminating uh the big culminating event will be is it is not the Board of Education work session on 6 on May 19th. Um it is the Cleveland Heights High School graduation where the 100th class um to graduate from the Lee Road uh location will be graduating Um on May 28th. Very, very exciting. At Wisting Center named for a very famous Heights family. So that is what's coming up. So you know, one of the things
098that I do in the report every month is talk about the goals. And so you know, I do want to address one of the first of all, one of the reasons why it's important that we don't name staff members is because uh it definitely can cause reputational damage during public comment. Um and you know, this and this is for all of our staff and this is something that we have put in place because we are sensitive to that. And in a school district, you know, people will disagree about things. People will not be happy about things, but we do want to not I and I am not a board member but having been in education for a long time um it's important that we do maintain those protocols. Um so the chief of schools role
099was brought up by one of the public commenters and um I I want to to to do at a counter narrative to some of the things that were shared based on my seven years experience here in the district and you know, my 30 year experience as an educator. Uh when I first interviewed for the role many moons ago. I think only Dan was here. >> [laughter] >> The leader from the schools that I met with is our current chief of schools, Rachel Coleman. Uh she at the time was um overseeing the Wiley campus. Uh she had been selected to be in that role uh based on her leadership experience. Um she was a trusted leader not only um by the superintendent um who had left, who I spoke with uh quite often and also sang
100her praises, but also uh by her colleagues. Today I was at a school and um a principal, unasked, started to sing the praises of Mrs. Coleman and how much critical support she has received from her in her role as an administrator. And really just talked about how essential it was as she uh was navigating her position um and how um important it was as well. This morning at one of our schools, uh one of our students, and this tends to happen, left school and then walked to school and then walked back into the house when no one knew it. And the principal was expecting the child. So everybody went bananas trying to find the child. Out in the streets in her car trying to find the child was Rachel Coleman. We have unfortunately had um
101multiple tragedies in our district. Um and for each one, the leader in the room that has the most focus, who knows how to manage a crisis, who knows how to get all of the troops marshaled to do what they need to do, is Rachel Coleman. In fact, um even on the weekend, in the evening, during vacations, um always working on behalf of our students, on behalf of our families, um on behalf of our staff members. The equity work that we do in the district, which is um a part of our identity, has always been led uh by Rachel Coleman and Lisa Hunt, and continues to be. It is always uplifted as a core principle and something for us to never forget. Rachel is the leader in the room that leads consistently and with strength, passion,
102and vigor from an equity perspective. One of the things that are critical to our continued growth and improvement as a district is a cycle of continuous improvement that happens at the building level with our teacher-based teams, our building leadership teams, and our district leadership team. Uh Rachel has strengthened that system. She has um ensured that there are more opportunities for staff to authentically engage around school improvement based on the needs of their buildings. One of the things that um the teachers really talked about is really wanting to have the freedom um within their teacher-based teams to really kind of think through what those processes and tools and artifacts are. Now, typically, central office central office people like to like This is just it's That's how it I mean, that's how I am. But she was
103very intent on putting the ownership of that work to our teachers, to our building leaders, to our principals. And though I wanted to lead the district leadership team, Rachel knew that she had to be the backbone and bedrock of that, given all the different things that happen in a superintendent schedule. Um and so as you know, in a school district multiple things happen. She is the steady hand that is guiding us. It is no surprise that all the principals, who I meet with individually, because I do know that leaders um sometimes have different conversations when you're one-on-one, they all speak to how supportive Mrs. Coleman has been, how she's allowed them to develop and to be great leaders, and has been a a true thought partner in making great decisions. Um so those are just
104some of the things that I can say as a counter narrative. There's only one person that um I have heard um um concerns around Rachel um in her central office role. First, she was director of principal leadership development, and then um the chief of schools role. That's a shift that I made because Rachel and all of the chiefs actually took on additional roles, um so and will be taking on even more roles um with these reductions. So it's um those roles are to streamline um our our work aligned to the fiscal reality of the district. Um I do not have an issue uh with people disagreeing. Um and parents and community members are quick to call me or email me or board members. They are. They really are. Um and I I want to say
105I continue to have um an open door, you know, open door peace with that. We did coffees with the superintendent last year, but they really weren't that well attended. So, we suspended those for this year as we kind of revisit what are some other opportunities to to get that feedback and which is why the pups piece was really very helpful. Again, thank you guys. Um but I do it I just want people to understand it's important that we respect um the rules that the Board of Education have laid out because these are people's um lives and livelihood. And um to say something on a mic and Rachel's [snorts] never going to come up and and um and debate nor would I want her to do that. Um but that's why we have those pieces. And
106so, I invite anyone to reach out to me since I have not received I've only one person. One Well, I I think I know my emails um and phone calls. Um I'm happy to talk to you Angela after this, not a problem. Um but I invite those um to to reach out on any issue actually. I always say what I always say to the students um and the families, I work for you. Right? You're my boss, not the other way around. And so, the feedback is important, but I don't want us to weaponize the space for agendas that are not um appropriate. Um and there are other again, happy to have conversations. So, I just wanted to share that um as a part of my report and I'll conclude. >> Thank you, Superintendent Kirby. Uh
107Chief Patton, I believe we are on the final reading of Group C policies. >> Correct. Good evening, everyone. Thank you. This evening, we have our final reading of our Group C policies. Uh we did make one adjustment. The policy committee met for the AI policy and made some adjustments based on the recommendations through the committee as well as working with legal counsel. And so the last and the final readings are presented for tonight's meeting. >> May I have um >> Lost Dan. >> All right. Um we're still in a quorum. Um >> Yeah. Yeah. >> May I have a motion to approve policy group C? >> I motion we approve policy group C. >> Is there any discussion? I second. >> I'll second it. >> Oh, great. Thank you. Is there any discussion? >> Um
108I am not on the policy committee, but I would request that the policy committee consider increasing the frequency at which we uh review the AI policy. I think that's going to be one that will require frequent review uh just as you know, the world changes. >> Sure. >> Um that's that's one that I think we had the a tough time just getting our head around and uh whereas you know, the uh Ohio School Boards Association thing that was in my mailbox today is about AI policy. It's just like what everyone's talking about. So, um I think uh what's our normal policy cycle, Sean? >> So, usually we will um review >> review >> the the next review will uh updates will probably come in early August. >> Yeah, but I mean like for a policies
109like life, like it'll it'll come around every >> Yeah, once the There's no That's a great question. And and the answer is every policy is different. It's based on the laws that the legislature does come up with and then you'll uh who's our policy group makes those recommendations presented to the school boards or and then the policy committee will review those. So, that's really the cycle, but >> Maybe the committee could put that one on a >> Yeah, AI policy. Yes, we will make that as a regular piece as we meet forward. >> 9-month >> Yes. >> Something like that. Inside of a year probably. >> Yeah, I I again we believe that this policy will have many revisions going forward as well. >> Cool. That's it for me. >> If no further discussion, Ms.
110Latham, will you please call the roll? Mr. Trimboli? >> Yes. >> Mr. Hotchkiss-Lilly? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Howard-Prime? >> Yes. >> Mr. Hines? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Crenshaw? >> Yes. >> Thank you. We will now have the treasurer's report from Ms. Latham. >> Good evening. Um this evening I am going to um talk about transportation funding um in light of our upcoming uh work session on the same [clears throat] topic. Um as always, our um report is aligned to our strategic plan goal five, objective three, which is to inform and educate our stakeholders regarding district finances and school funding in Ohio. Um so, the first thing I'll talk about um briefly is just the transportation funding formula. So, Ohio uses a formula where they look at um ridership and and density um and they take
111the higher of those. Um they then look at um what they they call the wealth index, which um that is also that percentage that impacts us with state funding. Um and so, it looks at the wealth of the district or how much the the district can contribute um through its ability to um raise local taxes. Um And then the For CHUH, the context there is because um CHUH is considered a district with moderate local capacity, its state um support for transportation is significantly capped. I'll talk a little bit more about this in future slides. Um So, when we think about the cost for transportation, we have um our eligible and ineligible expenses. So, that transportation is a state mandate um and it uh mandates that we um actually transport um those living um over a
112certain mileage. Um the state provides partial funding, so it's not a one-to-one match. Um we are also um required by law to transport students um that attend private schools. Um And we have to offer them the same that we offer um our students. Um and then things that are excluded, um high school busing is not required. Um students living under a mile um and and vehicle maintenance exceeding a certain um uh amount. So, I mentioned that we I would talk about like how this impacts um CHUH um in particular. And because it is such a high-cost and one of those costs that are rising, if you just think about in your own context, um the cost of fuel and how that fluctuates, how that changes, um and not being able to get a one-to-one match,
113um, the state share only covers approximately 56.4% of the total $5.2 million transportation costs um, for CHUH, and that's a it's they fund it in arrears, so they look at what we spent last year, and that's the allocation that we receive this year. Um, which creates a $2.24 million funding gap that must covered by our local general fund dollars. So, as we have conversations about what the state funds and what it does not, or the level at which the state funds, um, education, this is yet another way that, um, we have to use dollars, or divert dollars away from, um, classrooms. Um, and our bus drivers are incredibly important. This is the first face that a kid sees, um, before going to school, and the last face that they see when they, um, before they
114return home for the day in many cases. Um, and so, just keeping in mind that this is one of one of those, um, and I I think Ohio loves these unfunded mandates. Um, and so, um, these are the types of things that we struggle with and are up against. Um, and particularly, um, because of Cuyahoga County's high density, so how close our homes are together, um, and the the amount of private schools, um, particularly in our district, CHUH is one of the hardest hit districts. Um, when it comes to transporting non-public students. We actually transport, um, 2/3 more, um, non-public students than we do students who attend one of our buildings. And so, I will just leave you with that. Yesterday was election day and hopefully you exercised your right to to vote and that
115you voted with these things in mind. >> Any comments? >> One thing that is also worth noting that it was not that long ago. I'm guessing four or five years ago up until four or five years ago the state helped us with the purchase of new buses. That went away four or five years ago as well. A school bus, Sam, $120,000? >> 38. >> $138,000. They >> [laughter] >> They last around 10 years. And um that's just all money, money, money. Important money, you know, to spend, but it's it's the sort of thing that people don't tend to think a lot about. Um I love that you talked about you know, how the state barks and barks about unmandated fun I'm sorry, unfunded mandates from the government, the federal government. And the same legislature that
116complains about unfunded mandates is really fond of unmandated funding. To the tune of $1.7 billion being taken out of the public school funds to unconstitutionally fund private schools. So, they talk out both sides of their mouth on that one. >> If no further discussion, I will turn the president's report over to Vice President Trimble. >> Special guest speaker. Um So, this is a extremely busy time of year. This is probably the busiest time. >> The busiest time >> Uh yeah, I I've a a parent friend who calls it May-cember uh because it's it's so busy. Um and uh the school board gets invited to a ton of stuff, more stuff than we can go to. Um that said, uh I encourage uh parents and teachers and staff to continue continue to invite us. As an
117example, yesterday I went to the Avid College and Career Showcase at Baumgardner, which was awesome. Then I went over to City Hall for the Landmark Commission vote that named Heights High a city landmark. Uh we'll get our plaque at the 100th uh birthday of of Heights High at its current location. Uh and then I went to the high school for the senior scholarship awards. So, you can go you can party hop. You can go from >> thing to thing to thing. >> [laughter] >> Um I had a bullet uh to thank Pops for being here and and presenting, but we've thanked Pops enough. No, we didn't. Thank you, Pops, for coming. Um I want to um congratulate and thank um all of the honorees that are nominated for Teacher of the Year, Helping Hand, Rookie
118of the Year, and Administrator of the Year, and look forward to celebrating all of our staff at the staff awards later this month. Uh and then, as we wrap up the school year and head into summer, I want to give a special shout-out to all the our trades people, janitorial staff, and others who are going to be extremely busy all summer doing the hard work necessary to get the district uh back in shape for the first day of school. So, Sam and all of Sam's team. Uh and I want to close by congratulating Coach Terry Sailor, who will be stepping away after this season from coaching the girls lacrosse team after 31 years. Uh there will be an alumni game on Sunday, May 24th at 1:00 p.m. at the high school, followed by a post-game
119celebration at Boss Dog from 2:00 to 5:00 for all of Terry's former players. And you can RSVP for that at heights-cross.org. That concludes my vice president's report. >> Thank you so much. Are there any committee reports? >> Heights 100 6 2026 Biggest party in Heights High history, which at Heights High means something. >> [laughter] >> Uh Reaching Heights uh Superintendent Kirby mentioned you can I'm sure still sign up for Reaching Heights music camp on the website. Uh and I think they I saw some appeals for um scholarships for some campers um who could not afford camp. So, I think there's also some opportunities for philanthropy if people are interested in sponsoring uh camp. >> Thank you very much. Um so, under new business, we have a resolution um opposing any federal cuts to public education
120funding. Um I will read the resolution. Cleveland Heights University Heights City School District Board of Education Resolution Opposing Any Federal Cuts to Public Education Funding. Whereas the Ohio Constitution guarantees a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state, Article 6, Section 2. Affirming the importance of strong public education for all children. And whereas nearly 90% of Ohio school-age children and approximately 95% of students with disabilities attend Ohio's public schools. And whereas public schools rely on a combination of local, state, and federal funding to provide educational opportunities and essential services for students. And whereas federal education funding supports critical programs including title one services for students from low-income families, individuals with disabilities education act, services for students with disabilities, career and technical education programs, school nutrition programs, and support for English learners. And whereas
121Cleveland Heights University Heights City School District was shortchanged $7,382,177.50 in the current state operating budget. And whereas previous previous federal budget proposals called on cut cutting $219 million from Ohio public schools including $1 million from Cleveland Heights University Heights. Whereas reductions to federal education funding would directly impact students, educators, and school districts by limiting access to instructional resources, support services, and programs that help students succeed. And whereas federal investments in public education help ensure that students in every community regardless of income level, geography, or background have access to a high-quality education. And whereas Ohio public schools already face financial challenges including reliance on local property taxes for a significant portion of funding and uncertainty in state level funding commitments. And whereas any reduction in federal education funding would shift additional financial burdens on to state
122and local governments and could force school districts to cut programs, reduce staffing, or delay needed services for students. Now therefore be it resolved that the Cleveland Heights University Heights Board of Education strongly opposes any federal proposals or actions that would reduce funding for public education, including funding provided through programs such as Title 1, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and other federal education supports. Calls upon members of the United States Congress and the administration to protect and strengthen federal investments in public education that support students, families, and communities. Affirms its commitment to protecting equitable educational opportunities for all students, particularly those who rely on federally funded programs and services. Urges federal policy makers to prioritize and stable adequate funding for public schools to ensure that all students have access to resources and support necessary for
123academic success. Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to members of the United States Congress representing Ohio to communicate the board's strong opposition to cuts in federal funding for public education. Adopted this 6th of May, 2026 by the Cleveland Heights University Heights Board of Education. May I have a motion to approve this resolution? >> I motion we approve the resolution. >> I second. >> Is there any discussion? >> This is great. >> Agreed. If no further discussion, Ms. Latham, will you please call the roll? >> Mr. Trimble? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Howard Friedman? >> Yes. >> Mr. Heints? >> Yes. >> Mr. Hashkes-Lilly? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Crenshaw? >> Yes. >> For our unfinished business business, sorry, we have the early childhood task force. >> So, we had a work
124session couple weeks ago. Um, and it was focused, as we all remember, on the incredible work being done, um, in the district, uh, serving our pre-K and K students. And, um, over the course of that meeting, um, we talked a lot about things, you know, as varied as facilities. You know, we currently are operating pre-K in three of our buildings. We're at We're bringing some new, um, pre-K classrooms online, I think, aren't we Aren't we at one building, perhaps? >> think so. >> Yeah. Um, which is fantastic. You know, if you want to really move the ball, get the kids in the in the school earlier. Um, and in the course of that conversation, we sort of just began thinking about, you know, big picture vision thoughts. Um, should this be continued to be done
125at multiple locations around the district, or should it be done at one central location in the district? Um, you know, that being one of of a number of topics. And so, it was talked about that perhaps now is the time for us to re-re-re-re-convene for its fourth iteration. The early childhood, uh, task force, education task force. And, um, I believe that some of the staff have started to talk about Mhm. putting that together. And if we do that, if they do that, um, then we will need to identify one of us, if it is wi- Liz's wish, to join that work. And um so that's basically what I wanted to talk about is, you know, do we want to join it and if so, which one of us might be a good fit. I have
126done it the first three iterations and it was incredibly rewarding. I learned a ton. Um I would probably want to step out and let somebody else have that experience. >> That doesn't sound like you solved it. >> I didn't solve it. I didn't solve it. Maybe it has a better shot without me. >> Yeah, three times to try. [laughter] >> Yeah, that's right. I struck out. So that's why it's on the the agenda. >> Liz, is it your wish that we >> Yes, and actually Dr. Jenkins has started to kind of talk to different um staff um just as a follow-up from the work session. So that would be um certainly thank you for raising it. Um you know, we have um folks ready for that. >> Can I ask Kathy Howard Primes if she
127would consider >> [laughter] >> I think so. I think that that would be a good fit for me. >> I agree. It would have been my suggestion as well. >> Okay. Well, since we >> Dan. >> [laughter] >> Well, since um since we can technically have two people on, can Dan come the first maybe one or two just as a on-ramp to >> Give them historical historical knowledge. >> and I love signing Dan up for stuff. It's fun. >> [laughter] >> I've noticed. >> Yeah, yeah. >> Thank you so much. My wife really is fond of you. >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. >> [laughter] >> She paid me. Yeah. Uh do we need I'm we probably don't need to vote on that. >> No, I don't think so. But if we do, we'll do it the
128next meeting. But I don't think we do, but we'll check just to make sure. >> Thank you. >> A board memberly handshake between the two of you. >> Uh do we have any correspondence or announcements that haven't been mentioned thus far? No? All right, well, may I have a motion to adjourn? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Ms. Latham, will you please call the roll? >> Mr. Howard-Prince? >> Yes. >> Mr. Haskins-Lilly? >> Yes. >> Mr. Knight? >> Yes. >> Mr. Trumbo? >> I guess. >> Mrs. Green-Shaw? >> Yes. >> Meeting adjourned.