Jan 11, 2022 Newberg School Board Meeting

001foreign all right we have everything going so I'm going to turn things over to tishri and to board chair Brown do you want me to say the interpretation piece that would be great thanks Vanessa gracias okay calling me into order and uh we are going to uh before we go to trishri we're going to start with the flag salute and uh we got a new screen type of thing going to happen tonight so uh Dr nevotny's got a I think where our pictures will be smaller but we're going to do the the flag salute first and Director D Hart's going to handle that for us director de heart are you good I would be if I was off mute goal thank you very much all right I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United

002States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all foreign appreciate that um before we start I just want to let everybody know that Dr Novotny and uh his uh secretary from limit ESD uh trishery Tucker is going to have some different format for us tonight uh so we'll be able to have the public follow along on screen so this will be kind of nice tonight it'll be something different so thank you guys for bringing that uh trishery do you have anything you want to add to that and I think at this time thank you okay we're good to go I'll just review the agenda real quick here um thanks Inez for uh give everybody instructions in Spanish um we will uh start

003off with public comment again we'll have everything read by our uh attorney from lemony SD Lisa freely uh then we will go to board comments then student representative comments uh we will have a presentation of a financial audit from Wilcox and ariadondo and Company after that we'll have uh our intern superintendent uh report from Dr Dave Novotny and uh after that we will have reports and presentations uh Nikki Fowler uh we'll be doing a monthly financial report under new business we'll have accept Financial audit from Nikki um we will have approval of the intern superintendent contract from Lisa freely and then we will reappoint budget committee members and again that'll be Nikki Fowler and so as we uh uh move into the the meeting now I appreciate everybody for being here tonight it's great to

004have you Dr Novotny thank you so much for uh coming to Newburgh and helping us out we really appreciate you very much uh so we will start off at this time with Lisa freely from lemon SD and we will have public comment time okay here we go again I will read these in the order in which they were received so the ones that were received the earliest um we'll start with members of the board I was most surprised to witness the indoctrination of Newburgh students into the Cults of racism and misogyny whether they express support of the board for the Marxist social socialist ideology of the black lives matter movement as detailed in your adopted anti-racism statement or the published Discord of the District staff and recruit recruiting students to the lgbtq plus plus constructs

005students are being led down a path that is not only destructive to the students personally but to a respectful society as well trying to hide the racist ideals of critical race Theory and the jargon of an Educators is futile we the citizens of Newburgh see by the teachings throughout the district that straight white male students are to learn their rightful place in society at the bottom tier of existence we see the destruction of female achievement by males masquerading as females we see the falsity of the din of chanting systemic racism we see the war on diversity of thought with only staff posters and flags touting leftist ideologies are present we see the attempt to deconstruct the nuclear family and replace it with the government we see what you're doing here and we will not allow

006it to have further purchase in our schools in our town or in our lives in other words quoting NBC reporter Kelly stavis let's go Brandon please enter my record comments into the record on January 11th Newburgh school board meeting Scott steckley School Board directors I'm writing to recount a recent interaction with the board chair I sat down for coffee with Dave Brown on January 6th early in the conversation he noted the tendency to label others and the need for stability in our discourse um parentheses with which I agree close parentheses I introduced myself and asked a few questions telling Dave I was trying to reconcile his words and actions as a board member I asked him the following question in your 2019 campaign statement you said we need to get to know each student and

007we can do a better job and spend less during the tenure of Dr Joe murlock as superintendent the Newport Public Schools report card showed an increase in on-time graduation rate even when the district added English language Learners mobile students and students with disabilities on-time graduation rates increased similarly for multi-racial and migrant students a dire budget shortfall was turned into a considerable savings balance and the district passed a substantial bond in an ideal time to capture history historically incredible interest rates saving the district Millions every year over the life of the bond this those results sound like exactly what you campaigned on quote doing a better job of spending less unquote what drove you to fire a superintendent who was succeeding in the exact goals on which you campaign they've responded by standing up and walking

008out saying quote I see a petty little person and you can quote that unquote board members please take any action you deem appropriate in accordance with existing board policies addressing respectful interactions with the public Aaron Dunlap PhD parent Newburgh School District research scientist and apparently petty little person my name is Sarah sarrow and I'm a parent of two students in Newburgh I want to share why I'm voting yes to recall Dave Brown and Brian Shannon I don't know them personally I didn't grow up here so no one in my family was coached by Dave I've never met Brian and we don't share close friends I don't know if they're good or bad people whatever that means most in favor of the recall and they come from all walks of life liberals conservatives religious non-religious young

009old Etc aren't concerned with the people Dave or Brian were years ago we are concerned with what they're doing now and what it is costing our schools I am judging their actions as members of the Newberg school board and I find them to be incredibly detrimental to our schools and Community as a whole indoctrination has to be the 2021 word of the year for Newberg Dundee most are using it as a trigger word to make people feel scared and don't seem to remember what it actually means quote the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically unquote or on parentheses close parentheses if anything most people want more critical thinking in our schools let's teach our kids that just because you don't have it haven't experienced something doesn't mean

010it isn't true learn from one another's experiences do we really want school to be just reading writing and arithmetic I want kids who have learned healthy conflict resolution history that isn't written by The Winning Side and maybe you know some geography and science Dave and Brian bringing bring up keeping politics out of school every chance they get but seemingly seem to be perfectly happy to accept money from multiple right-wing packs Dave doesn't even like Newberg after all he was said we were at Outhouse at a free Oregon meeting in December is that someone who should be leading our schools look around at the people around you and ask yourself what's at stake they have in the outcome what motivates them to feel the way they do I'm fighting for my kids and their friends and

011classmates they have broken countless public meeting laws they have taken the opportunity to exclude the community and regardless of stating how much they value our input and the two minutes is over okay um oh and that was well I think I told you Sarah sarrow um greetings board members the board of directors I'm a parent of two children in the school district indoctrination has to be a term thrown around repeatedly as a justification for the actions that the four majority board members are wanting to fight against I am all for preventing indoctrination as I've experienced lifelong damaging effects of indoctrination that was present throughout my entire childhood into my adult life indoctrination means the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs and critically indoctrination typically happens when information is

012controlled or banned when discussion discussion questions and differences are shamed and not allowed or where there is only representation or promotion of one set of beliefs true education is a feast of all viewpoints in World Views real education teaches critical thinking and then allows the Learners to draw their own conclusions no one is trying to teach about the BLM organization or force people to become lgbtqia rather these symbols are safeguards against indoctrination by adding more perspectives and representation to the diverse Express Expressions found in our community it says everyone is welcome to show up as they are that includes conservatives who disagree they simply don't get more voice and power than everyone else to only allow their views to be Amplified or expressed please do the work of preventing indoctrination by encouraging white literacy of

013topics making friends with people vastly different in your background and building critical thinking skills where people look at many angles as possible and come to their own conclusions just like I can critically know the difference between the phrase black lives matter and the organization black lives matter I can know the difference between the save our school slogan the majority around on and the group of my peers that are asking voters to save our schools by voting yes on both three calls sincerely Liz karaffa as a longtime Newburg resident as a parent of a child in the district and as a business owner in Yamhill County I'm writing today with a simple appeal please stop sewing Discord and Division in our community please stop sacrificing the well-being of our students and District staff to further your

014own political aspirations or Worse the agendas that are being hoisted onto our citizens by organizations such as free Oregon our children are upon our teachers are not your adversaries and the people who live in Newburgh should not be party to The Fringe alt-right ideologies of folks who do not even live in this area it is clear that the majority members of this board will come outside influences Open Arms they seek to leverage the situation for political gain their actions have done incalculable damage to the hearts minds and pocketbooks of the taxpayers that live here students are being removed from school precisely because of the actions of these four members my own child among them the seeds you choose to sow do nothing to benefit this community they do not Foster togetherness they do not help

015us navigate the pandemic they absolutely dig the lines of division more deeply so please before you choose to appear in an interview with an out-of-state homecoming homeschooling Advocate before you pile up alongside the proud boys and other extremists make before you make another hasty decision that costs the district hundreds of thousands of dollars I beg you think of how your actions might or as seems to be the case lately might not benefit the students and the schools you oversee Erin McCarthy she is president-elect Nats Cascade chapter founder Aaron G McCarthy Vocal Studio members of the board I was most surprised to witness the indoctrination of Newberg students into the cult of racism and misogyny whether the express support of the board for the Marxist ideology of black lives matter movement as detailed in your adopted

016anti-racism statement or the published Discord of District staff and recruiting students to the lgbtq plus plus construct students have been LED down a path that is not only destructive to the students personally but to a respectful society as well trying to hide the racist ideals of critical race theory in the jargon of Educators as futile we the citizens of Newburgh see the teachings throughout the district that straight white male students are to learn their rightful place in society at the bottom tier of existence we see the destruction of female achievement by males masquerading as female we see the falsity of the din of chanting systemic racism we see the war on the diversity of thought with only staff posters Flags County leftist ideologies are present we see the attempt to deconstruct the nuclear family and

017replace it with government we see what you're doing here and we will not allow it to have further further purchase in our schools in our town and in our lives please enter my comments in the public record on January 11th the Newberg school board meeting thank you for your consideration Mary steckley I am writing to as a parent whose two sons and two stepchildren graduated from the Newberg public school system as someone who has lived in Newburgh for half her life as an elder in my church and as a college professor who ardently ardently believes that critical thinking and diversity are the Cornerstone of good education I have watched school board meetings the last six months with increasing horror witnessing a once stable and functioning School Board becoming a place of chaos and disorder where

018any suggestion of consensus building and thoughtful dialogue is shut down by directors who seem unwilling to consider other viewpoints director perros's consistent message the committee should be established to build policies the way the positions of all stakeholders in our district is consistently shut down suggesting that the school board doesn't want to listen doesn't want to build consensus doesn't want to even entertain the idea that there is more than one Viewpoint in the district the final meeting of 2021 made me feel utter despair for my community and its fate now in the hands of four people who seem Dead Set against anything but their own narrow understanding of educational leadership even when student representatives were finally given time to speak thanks only director to director piros is urging the other board members folks who said they

019want to listen to students chose to ignore them and thus to display the board members ignorance more egregious in my mind was the board member's use of scripture to make their claims not only does reading scripture to board meeting transgress any understanding of the separation between church and state a principle on which our country was founded but is a deeply committed Christian I have I found the use of scripture to be Craven manipulative making a mockery of the Jesus Christ I love and serve Jesus would weep at the lack of clarity Mercy or empathy displayed by the majority of the board members of this board you have a chance in this new year to make things right and start working together if you truly want to be a public servant if you want to make

020the faith you express more than empty rhetoric you must consider all stakeholders of the public and that is Melanie Springer Melanie Springer mock Professor Department of English George Fox University dear board members I desire the following comments to be read into the record on January 11 2022. these recalls which I submit in my opinion are instigated by radicals many of whom do not even live in the school district has done nothing but divide the citizens of this District all under the guise of making students the priority these recalls are nothing more than using students as collateral ponds to further the radical beliefs to the proponents of these recalls these recalls are supposed to unify the citizens I asked how many people really believe that I submit all the radicals want to do is indoctrinate the

021students with their left-wing political agenda please name one positive accomplishment the radicals can point to that made positive gains with the school district I don't know Juan lastly I have heard that teachers are using school time and school property to campaign in favor of these recalls I thought that teachers were being paid to teach students they aren't allowed to use taxpayer dollars to further their political beliefs thank you for your attention Michael G Gunn hello I am the mother of a first grader at Edwards elementary and a Newberg resident since my child is only in the first grade I don't have extensive experience with school boards I must say though I have no idea I had no idea how much damage one school board could do to a district in such a short period of

022time the ban on political symbols was an inauspicious way for the school board tenure to begin the ban was poorly conceived and legally dubious the ban has dramatically divided this community and that is not what a school board is supposed to do you're supposed to be leaders to work together to find solutions to make our schools better this has not happened since the new majority took over everything about Dr morlock's termination disgusts me you terminated an excellent superintendent who brought fiscal stability to a district that had been struggling you fired him for no cause and have done little to explain this irresponsible decision to your constituents except to imply that his termination is related to declining enrollment without mentioning the role of global pandemic played or enrollment Trends across the state and Country we are

023left to assume that his termination has to do with the political symbol ban but in the same meeting when you fired Dr Morlock you refused to rule on the be known sign because it was a quote gray area unquote you were unwilling to a force your own bam but you fired a highly qualified and effective superintendent for the same I don't think I could feel more discussed but then came the process to find a replacement you voted for a quote compressed unquote um timeline so a superintendent could be installed before the recall votes you voted to keep the process closed so the community would have would not have any input you voted to hire an executive Search firm that promised to deliver a new superintendent in a matter of weeks and then that firm backed

024out the very next day what kind of circus is this it's not a circus it's my son son's school board making irresponsible and Reckless choices that will impact students negatively for decades I could go on and on I'll just leave it at this you were select elected to support our students and our teachers and the two minutes is up um to all Newberg School District board staff and Community I believe black lives matter but I don't support the violent BLM organization that wants to defund police and stands by saying acab I feel all BLM signs and symbols should be removed from Newburgh classrooms I also believe gender identity is a topic for home discussion and not school instruction the gender bred person as seen at genderbred.org has been used in Newburgh schools and I feel

025this is not appropriate similarly I don't want to have NRA Trump or religious messaging in our classrooms I would like us I would like to see us promote quote all are welcome unquote and get back to Reading Writing Math Science and sports Jim talt Newberg resident I write to you as a rational adult in the Newburgh School District my husband and I have lived here since 2003 four of our children have gone through the schools two of which are in high school now I see what you're trying to do you want to make sure everybody feels supported people without a special people without a special recognition are now feeling the way the marginalized used to feel and they don't get it I get it but I also think that perhaps she should compromise that is

026the essence of what our country was built on and what we strive to be instead of finding the compromise perhaps no Flags political science in the classroom they can be displayed at the office counselor's office front door question mark let's make people feel welcome tell them they are seen and give a neutral space for education to happen but that was too hard for anyone and instead we have this we have lawsuits and a stubborn who think cronyism and together for none is the way to go I disagree with any bands I don't shy away from educating my children about the world Denise Arnold foreign Davis I'm a school administrator and an educator with 26 years of experience and a Newberg resident of 16 years and I can clearly state that this board is anti-educator and

027directors Brown and Shannon must be removed for the health of our schools where is the support for school staff burned out after two years of pivoting on Ever Changing ever-shifting covet policy other districts have negotiated additional days off around holidays tokens of appreciation for educators with local businesses or proclamations of appreciation for the extraordinary efforts of Educators right now but not the Newberg School Board instead they and their supporters a sale our teachers with slogans applying our teachers spend too much time indoctrinating their children even go even going so far as associating with fringe bloggers who Pub who push hashtags like jail Newburgh teachers fire Newberg teachers our Educators want to provide our children with the skills they need to be successful satisfied citizens employees employers entrepreneurs neighbors and taxpayers they deserve our support and

028admiration not threats to their livelihood or libel aspiration aspersions to their character instead we get anti-educator policies that restrict topics of conversation from anything quote controversial unquote a subtech a subjective term that both creates a chilling effect for teachers and makes the board the Arbiters of speech this clear violation of the first amendment has even invited two lawsuits that our tax dollars must defend and here's the amazing thing if you believe your child is being indoctrinated by his or her teacher there's a complaint process if true you should use it if your child feels unsafe or offended by a poster or a symbol displayed in class there's a complaint process we don't need it in this extremist anti-educator board to accomplish the goal of keeping politics out of the classroom mark my words if this

029board is not held accountable for objections we'll be luckily lucky to retain 70 percent of our teachers we've already lost the best superintendent we've had since I lived here two minutes to the Newberg school board members one of the most divisive and destructive tactics in weaponite is to weaponize enter information by spreading it quickly and strategically even it even if it can be easily debunked the damage caused for a com for accomplishment for the propagator cannot be undone I believe this has been the primary strategy of the proponents for the school board recall elections to misrepresent those who seek to defeat may even prove to be a successful campaign move however there are always ways always Associated consequences to these methods one of which is that not only a no vote from this voter but

030also a no-confidence vote in the movement and their future endeavors breaking trust and alienating those who might have contributed to some of your legitimate concerns may give you a temporary win but in the long run proved to be a possibly tactical error for you as you please support her she will find less to work with the next time you ask to be trusted of course this principle Works in both directions thus I humbly plead for our community to renounce these shameful methods and try to truly identify the common problems and concerns that we all might make a positive contribution up to this point quote Better Together unquote has seemed to be one of to be a front for educational bullying and politicking however we actually would be truly better together if we sit down in

031honesty humility in the hopes of Fairly and civilly representing our opponents acknowledging both the strengths and the weaknesses of other parties and landing on action items have truly serve the interests of the kids in our community it's possible but not probable unless some unless we change our techniques the Temptation is to go to war with our neighbors but it seems that the option but it seems that is the option where everyone loses and this assigned Anonymous but the email address it came from was checks balance Isaac Lynn and that is all our comments for today thanks Lisa appreciate you okay uh we will move on from here to uh our board and student uh representative comments so we'll start with the board first and uh our first one up uh will be director pyros I

032want to thank everyone who who wrote in I appreciate hearing from everyone 's voice is important and I do listen to them all I want to acknowledge that 27 administrators the 17 confidential employees who work in the district office the 238 classified members of our staff and the 318 teachers and counselors that serve every day our students and go to work every day and and and work through this pandemic situation to make sure that our students learn what they need to learn to be to be successful in life and I just want them to know I really really appreciate them and without them we wouldn't have our schools and I hope you stay safe and I know that your your goal is to just to teach our students what they need to learn and um

033I appreciate them and just wanted to acknowledge all the the employees that work in the district to make sure that the lights are on the buildings clean the food is prepared the the students are are are checked in and and watched over and cared for our nursing staff I just um my hat goes off to all of you and thank you so much I know when with in the consent agenda there are new hires but there are also people who re who resigned from the district and every time there is a loss of of personnel I know what it's like to have to fill the fill the um the Gap until that that hole is is filled and um our our teachers and our classified and our district office has been doing a great job

034of of doing what it takes to make sure the schools are open and working for our students and for our parents so thank you very much thank you uh director Pinner Europe I want to start just by saying Happy New Year everyone acknowledging we've made it into 2022 which is always a cause for celebration even in challenging times and I hope that everyone was able to spend time with those that you love and to reflect on what you're hopeful for in the coming year and as always thank you to our student representatives and staff parents and community members who have taken the time this evening to attend our meetings and also for those who have submitted comments um Dr novotne's request I spent a little bit of time thinking about areas of focus for our

035board for the next 60 days and as we all know the Omicron variant is Regine throughout our community and coveted response is vital in ensuring that we're safe and that our students and staff are supported I am deeply concerned that we do not have permanent leadership during the height of this pandemic that can help us mitigate the potential loss of learning not having a permanent superintendent and missing an assistant superintendent have put more pressure and stress on and already overworked and overwhelmed staff the focus of the next 60 days is simple and yet daunting please focus on the immediate needs of students and staff to ensure we can ride this wave with the least impact on learning as a board goal I would like to agree that the drama and dysfunction of the board will

036not be Center staged during this critical time however in all likelihood this is wishful thinking but my sincere hope is that district and building leaders are allowed to do what they do best and that is to support our kids Dr Novotny I am thankful for your leadership in this desperate time while we have all been learning that things can always get worse I'm hopeful that this will be low for the Newberg School Board we need more compassionate and competent humans to run towards this fire to support our staff and students first and foremost thank you for stepping in and thank you for your ongoing support of the staff and students of Newberg over the last few months I've had the opportunity to begin to volunteer in schools again and it's great to be back in

037buildings seeing kids learning I've had the opportunity to support teachers in preparing materials and organizing supplies and while volunteers cannot directly interact with students like we used to there is still so many ways that we can support our Educators and our students I encourage all of you to reach out to your students teachers bus drivers support staff and check in just check in with them ask if you can help offer words of encouragement and be an ally for them uh the holiday season has come and gone but in the middle of all of this we saw such a spirit of giving giving trees were popping up at schools Christmas boxes and holiday meal supports sprang up at every one of our schools I saw people from across our community contributing time money and resources to

038provide a joyous holiday season for those with the most need I had the opportunity to connect with a local business and some staff to support getting a couple of bikes and helmets to some young kids and the generosity and spirit of giving in a time when we are all stretched thin and overwhelmed was a reminder of how caring our community is and when it comes to ensuring that our students are the priority our community continually shows up I also recently began serving as a mentor in the Aspire program at NHS this program pairs mentors with students to help them Envision and plan for their post high school life I met with students who are dreaming and hoping of a brighter future the possibilities and hopes that they hold are palpable these young people are on

039the cusp of their adult lives they are looking at the world and seeing where they can lend a hand and make life better for others this Spirit of serving others was inspiring and a reminder that the kids are already better than us they've got this with our support they'll fly without our support they'll still fly but they will not forgive us as a parent I am constantly reminded that the youth in our community are outstanding they are weathering a global pandemic political extremism division hatred and uncertainty with hope and with Grace they are telling us who they are and what they need we can choose to listen or we can choose to ignore them either way they're on fire and they're watching all of us finally tonight I want to encourage all of you to

040vote ballots are due next Tuesday January 18th by 8 pm and drop boxes can be found throughout the community if you have questions or need information regarding your Ballot or drop-off sites I encourage you to contact the Yamhill County Clerk As Americans our civic duty is to engage and participate in our local governance we are a government that is by the people and for the people and while this was written with only land owning white men in mind our nation has evolved to include all eligible voters regardless of gender race or income and like our National History I'm hopeful that our community will continue to grow and evolve into a place where we stand up and say unequivocally that our kids to our kids you matter your futures matter and your lives matter I hope

041that this community can come together to stand up to the overwhelming pressures of our time that call in us to be fearful divided and angry let us show the world that our town our children cannot be used to spread misinformation and their Futures will not be sacrificed to extremism education is foundational to the American dream and while that dream has been out of range for far too many for far too long we can change that here in Newburgh let our community be a Beacon of Hope and prosperity for years to come thank you director Pena Europe thank you I just wanted to thank Dr Novotny for stepping in and and supporting our our staff and students during these difficult times um as it is a new year I do have hopes for a brighter future

042um like brandy said you know our our students are already better than us um and I'm just so grateful for everyone that is getting engaged and participating at whatever level um for the education of these students um this really matters uh and I'm I'm just happy to be a part of whatever is meant to be because we're all growing and learning from each other uh from the mistakes and the positive outcomes as well and I'm just grateful to to be here tonight and have made it into 2022. we'll see what this what this means for us and in the district but um really excited to to see what this District calls thank you thank you uh director Shannon you are up I'll be very brief I just want to thank um everyone who's sent me

043messages of Support over the last month it's been really heartening and it's it's been amazing to see the community mobilize to take back their schools and and we're just getting started here so I think next week's gonna be a very good week for that movement thank you very much thank you director uh pal you're next foreign for taking on this role and I'm really really thankful for that and that you're able and willing to do this and um I would like to throw out that no matter what the outcome of the election um that I think it's important for us as a board to learn how to work together um and I had a thought of maybe doing if we could get together and maybe do like a work session with a um a mediator

044that could maybe help us through some of our um differences that we struggle with um because I feel like if the public can see that we on the board even with our differences can work together and then maybe there is hope for our communities and school so um I like to throw that out there and maybe we can do that in the future and get that scheduled I don't know but just a thought it was it thanks thank you director dehart you're up yeah well Happy New Year glad to see everyone's back um shout out to all our Newberg School District employees thanks for uh all you do and a big shout out to Dr Dave Novotny I just appreciate you standing up and taking on this challenging work I know you won't be able

045to resolve all of our issues in the next 60 days but uh you know I kind of looked at your um uh your presentation I just appreciate you leaning forward um talking to some of the District employees I I really look forward to speaking with you and talking about some of the ideas picking your brain on your experience as a administrator and teacher and uh kind of uh starting to formulate a vision that uh perhaps we can all rally around and benefit of the students so thank you thank you okay I'll close uh out the board comments there I was taking on Dr novotny's challenge also um but I got to to meet Dr Novotny over a month ago and uh we had a long phone conversation it was awesome um so Dr Dave thank

046you so much for coming and helping us out it is a difficult time it's a time where the uh the community of Newburgh is divided and we have people very passionate on both sides of the issues and uh it is uh it's great to have somebody with your character uh here to lead us um so you're very much appreciated um I'm going to stick to the goals and I don't want to get political tonight I think that everybody will will uh go vote and I think it is also a uh important thing that everybody goes and does it's uh we live in a great country in the world and we have that opportunity to vote we should take advantage of it and uh vote with your heart and it is a big decision and it's

047uh the direction of how our District's going to go is is probably on the line this might be the most important vote you ever make in the town of Newberg and I would uh you know weigh your vote uh how you think you want that to go uh the goal for me was um I've just seen in all my years to high school and everything that was successful between the classroom and Athletics and our school classes as a whole projects that were done was the bar was raised I would like to see the bar raised not lowered I'd like to see all of our students given an opportunity for a great education and it can start now it doesn't have to wait for 60 days or or anything like that when we lower the bar

048students will will probably let us do that and they won't like it they get off to college and they can't write an essay they can't read as well as they should they can't do the mathematics they should we need to raise the bar and and raising a bar doesn't mean we make it hard for people it means we believe in them and I believe in our students that they have the opportunity to get a great education however we move forward in this town we we do have everything here to make it great and uh that is my one of my two big goals is that we would raise this bar and we can't do that with too many distractions we need to get focused on education and uh our students when they get to 18

049and they go off to school military or the workforce they'll be very happy that we raise the bar my second one was to a challenge to the staff I know we have a lot of staff that are in favor of uh a recall and I know we have a lot of staff that are not I've gotten calls from both both sides I would say that um my my challenge to the staff is it a great place to work right now is it really a great place to go to work does everybody feel comfortable does everybody like their drive to work in their drive home are people being signaled out for for political reasons are they are they being signaled out for you know how they feel about vaccines and and all that the political type

050of stuff when I worked at Newberg High School for 20 years I felt like I was accepted for whoever I was at that time that people our staff would come and go and change but I was accepted I could come to school every day and and feel welcome and I could also feel safe at Newburg High School uh that's not the case anymore and why um not trying to be silly here but I got the opportunity over the Christmas break to go see Gladys Knight with the Oregon Symphony and Gladys Knight said something that was very profound and very simple she stopped her concert by halfway through and she said you know we could solve all of our problems in one minute if we would just turn to the person next to us and give

051them a hug and tell them we love them and tell them that we're there we're their friend she said we don't have to to hate and we don't have to be mean and we don't have to to go after people she said just get to the person next to you and give them a hug I know that sounds pretty quaint but uh she was sincere and if you think about it um with all the rhetoric out there and all the tough stuff being said um I would like to see our staff and I know as a board we don't get along and I think director Powell said a little bit ago as we move forward we will have to sit down and start to to have a recovery process and I would challenge our staff

052and our schools to look at every single employee that they go to school with every day and are they okay are they really okay or are they being left out are they being uh are they being shunned uh or are they accepted at school because I think we want that for our kids and I think we want that for for everybody that comes into our schools so that's that was my two challenges so again Dr Novotny thank you so much for coming to Newberg we really appreciate you and uh I'm gonna go to our student comments at this time so first up I'm going to go with uh Maddie Maddie would you'd like to speak first um well I just wanted to thank everyone for leaving a comment and specifically the students I feel like

053the students are often overlooked which is a little ironic considering a school board is for a school and a school is for students and you know people don't always see this because they're like you know they're just kids you know what do they know but the fact is that we're at school seven hours a day five days a week and we see a lot and we know a lot and we know a lot more than people might think that we know and I just ask that you listen to like our opinions because we do have a pains and we have thoughts and not even just listen but to also take it into consideration because you know you also have Rowan and I both here on the board that you know we were elected and so

054if you have questions you know you can ask us we're have we're both happy to answer them about you know what we feel about what goes on the school we're more than happy so I just ask that you just take all all of the students it doesn't matter what they feel about what just every single student just take what they think into consideration because it matters thank you great thanks Maddie appreciate that uh Rowan we'll go to you next um as we arrive at the at the end of the semester numbers of positive code cases are once again on the rise just today we had 8040 new cases in Oregon and 441 of those came from Yamhill County we are all sending good thoughts out to the teachers and staff of the district so let's

055because they are on the front line of covet exposure um we can all do our part at school and at home by wearing our masks properly in school and being responsible in group settings I just want to say a big thank you all to all the staff and all the bus drivers and everyone helping out in the district right now it's really appreciated by all of us and also I would like to agree with my sentiment we are always here for any answers or questions about the school and it's really important that we hear uh voices and public comments as well thank you everybody who submitted stuff thank you Rowan Ron when you made that hand gesture this way it's almost like Maddie was in the right sitting next to you but I know your

056rooms are different though but that was good so um thank you very much it's great to have a student reps here and hopefully as we move forward in the board you guys will get more of a a role and a voice and we will get those chances to to hear you guys more so thank you um so moving on next up we're going into a presentation um of a financial audit from Jeremy Gingrich of Wilcox and Arredondo and Company uh Jeremy get rich with Wilcox and Redondo will present the report um is in their fourth year as an auditing firm for the district they have performed thorough and complete analysis spending two weeks on site interviewing staff and reviewing records the report of the financial audit will highlight the following information uh Jeremy are you

057good to go I believe I'm here can you all hear me yes okay lots of nods thank you I first off want to start by thanking you for having me um and for your continued support of our firm uh I don't know if Nikki has had the opportunity to share I I'm on vacation so I'm a little scattered but I don't know if she's had the chance to share that we as a firm have had to take a long hard look at our business uh due to some staffing changes and things that have gone on um within our firm and we're going to have to step away from the school district auditing business uh actually all auditing and so if you were not aware of that um Nikki is going to be putting together unfortunately

058an RFP so that you can go out and find another Auditor in the coming years we want to thank you again for your uh support of our firm and for the confidence that you as a board have placed in us over the years we've had a good relationship um both with the board and with with the management of the district over the years and we've been very grateful for that being said what you're here for is to get our audit opinion and so I am going to share my screen and go right to the financial statements and hopefully I'll be able to do this correctly and you'll all be seeing a report on the financial statements is that what is showing on your screens yes I've got a thumbs up okay great thank you for

059that um so I'm going to start this is 12 actual 12 pages in in the PDF it's the first numbered page because we feel it's the most important it's what you've hired us to do we are reporting to you on the financial statements as a whole the entire package of of paper or this PDF that you're viewing um is encompassed by this report and on our on the second page at the very top we on uh excuse me on the very bottom of the first page we have our opinion and we have issued again this year an unmodified opinion in school district terms that's a grade A on your financial statements what the word unmodified simply means is that we didn't find anything during our audit procedures that Rose to a level where we felt

060like we needed to include it in our main report to tell you about um so great uh Good Start good good report I do want to walk through a couple sections of the report without going into great detail uh and explain briefly what they are I I won't use too much time I promise the first section is the management discussion and Analysis and this is the spot where Nikki has an opportunity to present to you not only a comparison with the prior year but her expectations or a few of her expectations of what might be coming in the future year um and so if you don't look at much else in this document I would at least spend some time and look at what your management is telling you about what's in these financial statements

061um you can see I'll briefly scroll through the pages where you can compare the government-wide financial statements from year to year here there's some charts and graphs uh to look at that that provide some information and at the very end is the the section that where she gets to share some of the things that will be coming for the future there's another section in here um there's there's two statements actually that are similar to business type financial statements and that's the statement of net position and on the following page the statement of activities these both provide information that is similar to what you would have in the greater business community and would be comparative comparable to a balance sheet and an income statement of continuing on oops I hit the wrong button there pardon me

062continuing on our budgetary financials or statements on the budgetary basis these are your governmental fund financial statements uh we've got a switch this year um this was great during your budgeting process to go to four main funds even though you detail out in your budget all of the uh funds that are within those different categories uh for financial reporting purposes they roll up into four main funds for you uh so it gives you a nice recap of what's happening in the four different areas uh in the financial world of what's happening with the district and these shouldn't be any surprise their their information that you have been receiving on a monthly basis through financial reports on the budgetary basis uh so those are the the balance sheet here and the uh statement of Revenue expenditures

063and changes in fund balance both of those statements have a Reconciliation I backed up one page here this is a Reconciliation where you go from the fund balance sheet so the information you're normally used to seeing is converted over to those government-wide or more economic business type financial statements that include your assets in life your greater assets and liabilities uh and that's true also for the uh statement of changes and the statement of activities uh directly following that we move into the notes to the financial statement I've often made a joke that if you're a person with insomnia if you start at the first note you might not even make it through the first page before you go to sleep that said mostly and yes there's a lot of information in here and there's some

064really uh useful information I think for board members and I always try to call attention to that so I'm going to do so uh with the capital asset schedule so it shows kind of a breakdown of your your various categories of capital assets of course with the bond passage you have construction process that's happening and so you'll see the addition of those items once they are completed they will move down and come become part of this Capital assets being depreciated down here uh and then on the next page is a schedule of your long-term debt we have some new additions this year and one um one bond that was completed that the payments were completed um this this past year so good schedule to see where the district is in terms with the various bond

065agreements that are out there uh moving on there's there's quite a bit of additional information here in the notes uh going over the um like the purrs and the other post-employment benefits uh that are a great part of uh School District expenses moving on even farther towards the back you have some more budget uh budgetary schedules where you can look at budget to actual and then moving on even farther back there's there's some additional schedules that are required for ode so that they can do their reporting to the federal government uh then we come uh to the second of the reports we issue you and this is a report for the state of Oregon so the state of Oregon requires you to have an audit every year and that is the greater audit that we've

066done but they also ask that a specific audit has done a certain compliance items with laws and regulations the items they ask us to look at specifically are bullet pointed here in the middle of the um of the statements we were we don't have an opinion paragraph here but we did not find anything uh within our audit procedures that led us to believe or or required us to report to you any um variances with those laws so another grade a report if you will our third report is uh not an opinion report this is a report where we talk about the internal control over financial reporting and this is required by the single audit which is required from your receipt of federal funds um this report does not have an opinion but it does have

067it does provide a place for us again if we were to have found something uh some sort of deficiency whether that would be a material weakness or a significant deficiency it would give us a place to tell you about that we did not have one of those and so a kind of a boilerplate report and again as we go through here grade A is kind of the school district term so we'll stick with that uh the last report in the uh the financial statements is the single audit report and we do have an opinion paragraph and again we have a an unmodified opinion uh grade A that says we didn't need to we didn't find anything during our audit of the federal funds that Rose to a level that we needed to discuss with you

068as a board that is a really quick run-through of what's in the financial statement package before I move on to the the last report is there anything anyone would like to ask at this time I have a clarifying question if I may yes um these grade A reports and your findings that we are in good standing they just to clarify they do go through June 30th of 2021 right nothing that we have been doing since July 1st no we we are opining on financial statements that end as of January 30th 2021. we do have a responsibility to consider things that we know that have happened up to the issuance of our report which I think was on January uh uh or excuse me December 30th and to look and see if there's anything that was

069so egregious that we would need to bring into the attention of whoever's utilizing the financial statements um but but the report itself focuses on that period ending excuse me June 30th of 2021. thank you so much good question thank you anybody else I have a question um I didn't notice that this information was in our packet is there a way of of us getting this information sent to us absolutely um I can coordinate with Nikki should have a PDF report of this um I don't have your contact information but I think yes go ahead Greg so Renee and all board members um the audit was emailed to you about two weeks ago when it was completed and then the packet has a link to where it is on our website so you and the public

070can look on the website and download the entire audit oh okay great thank you and any questions I I I did not mention this earlier but if if you haven't had or taken the time to review the report um if you do so and you have questions direct those through your management Nikki in this case and if there's something that she cannot answer that that needs to come on to us send that on through I know I've said we're moving on from the audit business but uh this is uh work we did for you and and we work for you as a board so if there's questions that that you have that you feel need to be answered please get those to us through Nikki if if necessary great question anybody else okay I'm not

071seeing anybody or hearing anybody please interrupt me if there is I I don't want to talk over somebody um I I get to going and into my presentation and forget that there's people uh that might have questions so just unmute your mic and and stop me the next report is a report that we are required by our Professional Standards to give you about some of the things that happen during the audit process again we are um most of this report is boilerplate language in fact if you would go to one of the other school districts that we perform audits for much of this is going to look very very similar and that is because again we didn't find anything that we needed to modify to tell you about um the first page here on this

072on our letterhead is just a letter of introduction of what's in this package and then the next spot is a place where we we call it a management comment letter it's a place where if we find anything we think you as a board might want to be aware of but it wasn't so severe or so important that we needed to include in our report this is a place where we can do that and we have a comment that we had last year uh and this is more of a an attention getter or attention grabber and obviously I've been listening to the whole board meeting I think you're all aware of covid-19 and the the chaos that it's created um from a work at home work in the school district uh kind of an environment and

073so just a reminder anytime you have those kind of disruptions areas The increased possibility or the increased opportunity even for bad things to happen in terms of financial reporting we didn't find anything this is just to put out to you as a board continue to take a look and ask detailed questions of Nikki as to what she's doing we we again we didn't find anything bad this is not a bad comment about her it's something to just be aware of at any time there's changes or stress in an environment those are opportunities for mistakes to happen and not get corrected or for for even worse things to happen uh the second item is an item that was requested from ode in order to be able to reimburse you for some funds we found during our

074bought it a calculation error in an Excel spreadsheet and it allowed you to recuperate some money none of this was at a level that would require needed to be required in the in the uh excuse me needed to be reported uh in the single audit but it's something that they wanted documented in a public document so that they have the ability to come back and reimburse the district for that so there's a comment regarding that and the rest of the report then is fairly boilerplate language I do want to call attention to um our engagement letter and the only reason I I bring this to your attention we include it in this packet it's so those of you who didn't get to see or read in detail what it is you contracted us to do

075here is that contract and the last thing in this packet is the items that we asked the management your your staff to sign off on as part of our audit and so this includes all the things that our Professional Standards save we need to get in writing from your management as a part of our audit process and we include it because we think it's indicative of the type of work we're doing for you it gives a good example of some of the things we go over with your management and so that's why we've included that in this report that's all I have except to answer any of your questions Jeremy I just want to quickly say thank you I um as a new board member had one experience with the previous auditing firm and it

076didn't go great there was a reason we went out for an RFP and found you all and I appreciate the service that we've received after the last four years and something I always um really look forward to is that like you know December 30th call from somebody in your office saying hey as a school board member do you have thoughts concerns questions you know anything you want to tell us here's what we found and um it's it's you know generally a fairly quick conversation because we have amazing staff here doing um amazing jobs but I just appreciate that extra opportunity for board members to directly speak um you know about concerns with with the firm and it's unfortunate but I understand things change and I wish uh Wilcox arendado all the best going forward thank

077you so much I it was a very hard decision I won't belabor the point and spend a lot of time on it uh we we felt like we did quality work and it's a very very hard thing to let go of um and I do want to express my gratitude um except for the first year I've been involved in uh the audit process along with Newburgh school district and have been very very appreciative of the approach that management has taken in terms of prioritizing getting us information and the things we need in order to complete that audit it's a very foreign I'm sorry did it catch up that's okay no problem okay um just it's really important though that those things are monitored and um taken seriously and we appreciate we have appreciated um the

078board in that they have made that a priority and also for the management um Joe is no longer here but Joe and Nikki in terms of their input and their ability to get us the documentation and Nikki's staff have been wonderful so thank you very much Jeremy thank you very much for all you're doing and uh good luck moving forward and Newburgh schools really appreciate all your hard work thank you thank you very much okay good night good night okay as we move forward in the next uh thing here uh we're gonna have a little presentation from Dr Novotny Dr Novotny serves as the superintendent of the Willamette e uh Educational Service District wasd he has offered to serve the Newberg School District as an intern superintendent for a limited period of time and he

079uh has some goals and some things he'd like to say to us so it's his time well thank you chair Brown members of the board it's a privilege to be with you this uh this evening uh if you don't mind I want to pause just for a moment and acknowledge the excellent work of Nikki Fowler and the staff in the business office it this is truly a high point of this board meeting to get such an outstanding audit report from our independent Auditors uh the Three A's uh or three grade A's is outstanding so kudos to those folks so uh when I met with chair Brown back on uh January 3rd it was uh to kind of design the agenda for to today's board meeting uh he asked Dave would you mind sharing your thoughts

080as far as what the next 60 days might look like for the Newberg school district and I accepted the challenge because as you know I haven't been with the Newberg school district for very long I think this is my seventh day and so I'll give it my best shot next slide please please so the overview of my presentation today is really designed to answer or address three key areas that you're probably wondering about what is the new interim superintendent up to what steps has he taken really to learn about the school district the staff and the issues that are important for us to address in the next 60 days what do you think my vision would be or my thoughts as far as leading the district over the next 60 days and then probably having

081a brief discussion as far as what the next steps will be then of course we'll leave time at the end of the presentations for questions and discussion next slide please so the next section here I titled my first Seven Days quote on the job unquote because as you know um I really don't have a signed contract at this time but I decided um to volunteer my time to help support the district to get us to this meeting and Beyond and so next slide please the first thing I want you to know is that I've received a very warm welcome from everyone that I've met in the district and I thought for the sake of transparency I should report out on what steps I have taken to learn about the district and to meet some of

082the key employees in the district and so on so at this point in time in the last seven days I've participated in two cabinet meetings one in person one via Zoom I met with the K-12 leadership team and participated in a two-hour professional development activity that was excellent it focused on danielson's evaluation system for teachers I had a one-hour meeting with the chair Brown to get to know him better as a member of the board and to design the agenda for today's meeting I met with a number of individual administrators that number is beyond six now it's probably seven or eight and I've met with District legal counsel to get a better understanding of some of the more pressing legal and policy issues that the board is facing right now next slide please we have

083of course developed the agenda for today's meeting prepared the presentation that I'm walking you through met with the district office staff and then I've scheduled meetings with individual board members so we're at least going through that process of scheduling individual meetings I'm of the philosophy uh that uh even though I'm going to be with you for a relatively short period of time I think I can be a better leader in the next 60 days if I get to know board members a little bit better and understand your goals and priorities for the school district over the next 60 days and thus far I've had three meetings with board members thus far I'm scheduling meetings with Union leadership and I've reviewed all current complaints and lawsuits so I have a better understanding of some of those

084issues facing the district as well next slide please so in the next several slides I'm going to try to outline my thoughts in leading the school district for the next 60 days next slide please and I hate to do this but there are some limitations that I need to make you aware of I think it's just practical that we put this on the table and make sure everyone's aware of it you know I need to recognize that I'm an outsider I've only been on the job now for seven days so I don't have all the information that I probably need to have in order to lead effectively but I'll work hard at getting that information so I can be a better leader for the district in the next 60 days we all know that there's

085been a significant reduction in executive Administration at the district office so in my organization executive Administration is identified as the superintendent the assistant superintendent and the board secretary and of course Newberg School District doesn't have any of those positions and I'm backfilling right now 16 hours a week when traditionally you'd have about 120 hours a week at the minimum working on behalf of the district so we're backfilling with about 13 or so of the FTE and we all know that your previous superintendent assistant superintendent board secretary worked far more than 40 hours per week so there's going to be some limitations in that regard and then there's a number of unknowns and challenges we're all aware of the surge in covid cases and I need to pause and just let board members know that covid

086has presented a really really difficult challenge for building administrators our teachers and our classified employees our students and Families we are having challenges in just making sure that we have enough staff in a school to safely run our schools and so we've already had to make as you know some difficult decisions about closing classrooms and other things like that and my concern is of course that the surge is going to continue to get worse for the next couple weeks until we start to see some relief maybe later in the month of January hopefully we have the unknowns related to the recall election and then if there are additional complaints and lawsuits that come our way that just kind of adds to the mountain of work that we have to process with limited uh FTE of

087course so next slide please and before I share a little bit more about um the concrete work I wanted to make a few General comments so in my personal and professional life I put a high value on Civility and professionalism and everything that I do whether it's my work as a school superintendent whether it's how I interact with people on a regular basis I really value those two things and my request for the board of directors is during the next 60 days and Beyond I'm hoping that the board of directors will help model these values for the Newberg Community as we do this really difficult work over the next 60 days I also wanted to make a promise to each of the board members that I will assume positive intent in everything that you say

088and do and I'm hoping that you will extend that same positive intent to me uh once again being new to the Newberg School District I may not be well aware of all of the processes the protocols the history the context for various conversations so I hope that you would extend that positive intent to me and others uh I've been real clear on this as soon as we possibly can I'd like to put the focus back on teaching and learning and have that be an area of emphasis in all of our board meetings now there are challenges of course because we have a lot of processes that we have to get through right but when it's possible we want to put that Focus squarely back on teachers and students and then of course I'm hoping that

089we can extend Grace to each other and be flexible and patient as we go forward in the next 60 days once again because of some limitations in FTE your board packets may not be as professional as they once were they may not be as complete there may be information that you're requesting that we just don't have the Staffing to get to you in as timely a manner as you did maybe a year ago so I hope you understand that and would extend that Grace next slide please so here's the important or the the meat of the presentation as far as the next 60 days so at the next board meeting whenever we know the certified final results of the recall election okay we have a lot of work to do and in my view we

090have to find a positive way to move forward no matter the outcome and I know that it may take a while to certify the election so we may have that information by January 25th or we may not have the information until the first meeting in February but regardless we need to start rolling up our sleeves and putting that important work in front of the board to start making some decisions I do think in the very near future maybe as early as the January 25th uh board meeting we need to have an executive session we know that we have two complaints that have been appealed to the board there's been additional work that's been done on them and we need to present that information to the board in the executive session and we think that the

091board would be able to make a decision on that in Open Session and we know as a matter of running schools that if a complaintant has an issue we like to try to get a response or resolve that as quickly as possible so I would encourage the board to address these type of issues and of course we want to put the spotlight back on students and staff I've already mentioned that a tremendously important decision that the Board needs to weigh in on I would hope at the January 25th board meeting is selecting a superintendent search firm and then we know that there's also going to need to be board approval to award a transportation contract um and we'll get that before you hopefully at the January 25th board meeting or the first meeting in February

092next slide please and then the next slide or excuse me this slide is really just a list of priorities if you had to ask me right now Dave what your overriding concern my concern is about the health and safety of students and staff period the surge in covid-19 cases is abundantly clear it is going to be problematic for us so we'll work through that we have building administrators teachers and so on um who are struggling just to kind to kind of make it uh to the next day and so I'll be monitoring that situation very very carefully along with the other leaders in the district office I think we need to continue to support teaching and learning especially in this really difficult environment right now especially if we have to Pivot to distant learning at

093any point in time because of the surge in Kobe cases selecting the new superintendent will be your biggest decision you probably have before you hopefully in the next 60 days also during this time we have to start working on the budget for next year and that's going to be a terribly important process for the board to weigh in on and even though I don't think I'm going to need to be heavily involved in the bond the bond implementation may need some support for me in the coming two months and I'll be prepared to roll up my sleeves and help support that work as well uh we'll need to have a presentation at an upcoming board meeting as far as how we're going to move forward and process the numerous complaints that have been submitted to

094the board I'll need to create a transition plan for the new superintendent so that the new superintendent whether it's a male or female can hit the ground running I have to tell you when I came to the district there was not a lot of information in one place for me to find out about the agency because of the abrupt uh departure of Dr Morlock and I want to make sure that the new superintendent has that information readily available and we help transition in the new superintendent so he or she can be successful and then if necessary we want to have a good plan to orient any new board members to the Newberg School Board next slide please so the challenge as I see it is advancing this really difficult work this is the important work

095of the district in the next 60 days and at the same time bringing people together and in my opinion both of these things need to occur at the same time and that's going to be like I said a real challenge we're going to have to be super dedicated we're going to have to work as a team we're going to have to be resilient we're going to have to be super focused uh and we're going to have to really keep students and staff at the Forefront of our mind as we kind of move forward in the next 60 days that is really the important goal next slide please so next steps is relatively easy next slide please at the end of this presentation I would love to answer any questions that you may have I'd like

096to hear your input any guidance that you care to share with me and you can do that after this meeting as well if you have any thoughts I'm very open to that but I really need to know if I'm headed in the right direction or if there's a course correction that's needed I will tell you that the meetings that I've had with individual board members have been incredibly helpful I have met with director pyros director Powell and of course chair Brown and I know that we have several other board members who have reached out we're in the process of scheduling scheduling those meetings but that's super helpful to get to know board members individually but to hear your goals and priorities so the last thing then of course is you have the unique opportunity to

097hear from me at this point in time before you approve the intergovernmental agreement between the Willamette ESD and your school district so if I'm moving in the wrong direction now is a good time for course correction or if there's anything that you hear here here during this presentation that doesn't resonate with you and think that you made a mistake you don't need to take action on that IGA of course next slide please this may present itself as a little bit corny but I really believe that there are some heartfelt beliefs among board members that we can take steps to come together and work more as a team and a lot of that hard work is going to happen in the next 60 days and I really do think that the next 60 days are going

098to be super critical for the Newburgh school district and for the board so I honestly believe professionally and personally that we can do this it'll be tough but we can do this so with that I'll say thank you and I'll go ahead and next slide open it up to questions Dr novarti yes I I was wondering if you could share any ideas you have to tr of of how to bring us together thank you director pyros uh that is of course the difficult question right and uh individual meetings with the board members that I've had right now I believe that there is an opportunity for members of the board to think outside of the box and uh to director Powell's um suggestion I think it was earlier um maybe there could be some sort of

099facilitated a work session where we can bring in a neutral person to start to address some of these issues that's certainly a Way Forward I would say that as an interim superintendent my job as I see it is to see if there's opportunities to find Common Ground between board members that's why I think those individual meetings with board members is so important so I get to know the board member as an individual hear their goals and priorities and maybe having that information will allow me to navigate a particular topic and find that middle ground so that we can find consensus on a rather controversial topic so those are two things that we can certainly consider and I'm sure there will be others as well but those are the two I'm happy to share with you

100thank you good afternoon thank you for the presentation and and for outlining your goals and and direction for the next 60 days um I think I probably know the answer to this but I'd like to to hear it's only been seven days that you've been on the job granted so um and without an approved contract at this point so thank you for that um I knowing that we're so incredibly stretched then at the district office specifically and of course in the buildings but not having anyone in that superintendent a super assistant superintendent position and you coming in um can you kind of just maybe 10 000 foot level tell us a little bit about the process around the covid safety protocols I mean I know we're you know we're following all the CDC and County

101Health guidelines and of course ode guidelines but you know Greg's been great about communicating hey we had 70 teachers out what does that mean um and like I said I understand that this is an ever-changing situation and you've only been here for seven days and everybody's filling in where they can but if you could just give us a little bit of an idea of kind of what that process is like every day and going forward of are we having school are we not and you know what that looks like from your perspective sure so thank you director Penner um there's a bright spot to share and then I'll share a significant concern the bright spot is my interactions with the administrators at the district office the leaders of the district is they have a really

102good handle on the day-to-day operations of our schools and our programs and so on they're very much in tune to the difficult staffing issues that we're facing the number of Kobe cases in the district we have a stellar nurse who is just doing tremendous tremendous work uh so that's really the bright spot the area of concern is we're running out of covet tests uh we're at the point where we're right at that margin where we may not have enough teachers in order to operate some schools going forward here in the coming days and it's it's a mad rush uh every uh day at the end of the day to find out if staff will be potentially returning the next day and then of course early the next morning to find out if there's new staff

103members that are unable to come in and so on and our ability not not my ability but the ability of District administrators to shuffle staff around to cover has just been incredible but I don't think that we can continue that for much longer if the number of cases continue to rise so that's my concern thank you yes any other questions there for Dr Novotny Dr Novotny is uh is that all you had or do you want to have some more time uh no that's plenty of time thank you very much and once again it really is a pleasure to be working with you folks um and the staff of Newburgh School District so thank you very much appreciate you very much thank you okay we'll move on to the consent agenda after that I'm gonna

104go ahead and read these out there's some important ones in there um you guys can kind of see that yourselves if you're looking on the screen so um you know we have donations for the gene called well trust uh fourteen hundred and thirteen dollars seventy eight cents to the Newberg High School scholarship fund uh that is great thank you uh the P flag Newburgh uh 1100 to the NHS gender and sexuality Alliance club uh the P flag eleven hundred dollars to the NHS black student union and the P flag eleven hundred dollars to the NHS Mecca club uh thank you for those donations um we have uh approving two uh licensed uh contracts uh Karen called kariako I'm sorry if I got that wrong apologize and Mabel rush and Sydney matney at teacher at Maple

105brush also the resignations of Noah Rios from Mountain View Middle School from Rachel Kaiser at Ewing Young Elementary School for Bridget fagu from a speech language pathologist David Groban a teacher at Salem Valley Middle School Dr Derek Brown assistant superintendent and David Jamie's from Edwards elementary school so that is our consent agenda as read and uh again thank you for the donations to our students at the school and thank you for everybody for serving uh in our schools uh if you're moving on good luck with your your next uh Endeavors uh reports and presentations is next with Nikki Fowler and Nikki are you ready oh Dave we've got a vote on the consent agenda oh I'm sorry thank you yeah I move that we accept the consent agenda as read my second all those in

106favor of the consent agenda please raise your hand we are 7-0 thank you very much you guys appreciate that Nikki Fowler are you ready I am ready thank you I think it will be presented here in just a second foreign so it's a fairly short I have a few short notes and I have some to add to this um and comparing this to our last report um then in front bounce numbers come down a bit the bulk of that is the beginning fund balance from the prior year as reported earlier we just wrapped up the audit we budgeted about 9.9 million coming in and we're closer to the 9.4 million Mark coming in from last year so that's a significant piece in there um um as Jeremy spoke about uh we will be going out

107for RFP for new Auditors for the upcoming year but our current Auditors you know are ready and willing to answer any questions from this year and also through the transition as we move to New Auditors because there's lots of things that they can pass on um so new Auditors don't have to rebuild all the history um that this company has put together and their time went best so they'll be very helpful and supportive in that process um and as far as our district business office and HR office we're beginning the work of putting together next year's budget so the groundwork of that is a lot of data pulling together and checking Staffing data getting the numbers aligned rolling folks into a new year so we can start building our staffing numbers as those are the

108biggest pieces to our budget so that's kind of where we are right now and doing our year and stuff from the prior year um one of the questions that was brought forward was where we put the Dundee property um we have purchased that um so the new building site in Dundee it's a it's a done deal we have it all purchased ready to go um so you'll be hearing more about that as we go along um can we move to the next slide please next page um so this page is the summary about of our other funds so the first part are Grant funds the middle part you'll see that we've made our first payment on our debt service so that would be our first payment for our new bonds and then our typical payment

109for our purse okay and then the last part you'll see under the 400 fund those are capital projects that's a combination between um our our new Bond funding in the previous Capital project fund that we have but the significant number if you look down they're under encumbered expenditures 11 million dollars you're starting to see some significant spending as we're planning all the projects we're starting to get things geared up for next summer hitting all those um contracts in place for those different things so you'll start to see a lot of money rolling through that area in addition to that you won't see it here but we're also watching the spend down schedule constantly so the money that is um not being spent over the next three months six months 12 months we're pushing out into

110Investments and trying to earn as much as we can on that um so we're constantly watching the cash flow between our general checking account and our pool accounts along with our extended bank account because our pool Can Only Hold up to 51 million dollars so we have another account that we have to put that overage in if they're not invested so so that just covers kind of a overall summary of our other funds I'm going to go to the next page please um this is the usual Report with our expenditures by function there were a couple items here that I received questions on um the technology line down at 2660 um yeah so it's significantly over right now but the reason that was looking like that right now is we received an additional Grant that's

111just over four hundred thousand dollars we had first put it out in a grant fund but the way it's written it needs to be paid for out of our general fund so we move those expenditures back over here I'll be following up the resolution to put the budget side along with that so it doesn't look so so out of whack before we get done here but just wanted to make you aware of that that's a significant grant that will be covering a lot of our technology purchases that are sitting in there um the other one is under psychology much smaller than that number but under psychology Psychological Services Under 2140. um we have a little bit of an overage there the majority of that will be going over to our idea Grant we corrected some

112Staffing in there and it looks like that we have a little more to move over there so um that is about all that stands out right there um can you go to the next page please again this these are this is showing our revenue on the top part um the main things that I want to point one of the questions I had here was near the bottom where the revenue line 3299 where it talks about 175 000. um it was asked um the question was why it's so much less than the prior year um that that money or that Grant comes from high cost disability students and so that's directly related to students that we spend more than 30 to 35 000 I forget which number it is um per student per year and we're

113able to fill out a collection data collection for that and then over the throughout the state there's a party money that's split up to reimburse district for those costs over that number so that can fluctuate from year to year depending on what students we have in the district and what students are in this category across the state so we estimate that in the current budget it's estimated at 175. um you know the prior year we have some estimates we're still reconciling the prior year but currently it looks like we might have about 204 000 coming in for that so that remains to be seen you won't have that final answer from the prior year until May when that gets reconciled so the main thing the bottom line here I talked about the ending fund balance

114I'm coming down a bit from the last report so we're about 7.2 but when we budgeted this year we talked about that we knew that this year we would have some enrollment issues um and so we didn't know and we're very aware that we're going to be spending that down a little bit but that is just a sign of the budget work that we need to do so when I was talking about starting a lot of that stuff looking at Staffing working through those projections that's just where we are right now with our enrollment I don't see any indicators of it increasing at this point so we're going to have to start preparing for what next year is going to look like um are there any questions not a question but more so comment Nikki

115thank you so much for all the work that you put into this um I know that I bugged you last minute with questions so thank you for answering those um really if anybody has questions Nikki's always willing to help um get those clarified for us and it just makes our process more transparent and clear um moving forward so thank you so much for all your work thank you thank you I agree it's not so much a question just to touch on a couple of things that you mentioned um the bond work that's ongoing and then of course the purchase of the property for Dundee these are massive undertakings when you have a fully staffed office and when you don't I mean I know you all are pouring your hearts and energies and talents into doing

116this work and it is incredibly important work that our community has said yes we need this and we want this and so I just appreciate your work with it but also all the staffs work with it because you know my my impression basically is that there's like three people driving the bond ship and that is not a lot so thank you um and of course that purchasing that that was in the works for you know a couple of years and it was so exciting that that got completed and can move on to the next stage of that um and then just really quickly you mentioned um the grants some some of the Grant income and I again I just want to say thank you because those grants aren't just checks in the mail that show

117up those are indications of staff staff who have put time and effort into looking for them into approaching you know businesses or organizations or state agencies in order to fill some of those budgeting gaps with funds and that takes time and a great amount of effort so thank you thank you to everybody who has has helped our students and staff immensely with your time and efforts and that grant writing area yes I'd Echo that I mean it's definitely a team Endeavor doing that certainly not something that I sit there and do by myself everybody's hands are in and everybody supports each other so it's it's a really good thing yeah okay Nikki as usual you do great job thank you so much we really appreciate you uh it's so clear thank you very very much

118um so we move on into the the uh the new business area and the next one is still under uh Nikki there she's like uh accepting the financial outsole Mickey I'll let you handle that okay so this is pretty straightforward um Jeremy presented the audit just a little while ago and so um you just need to make a motion to formally accept it um and unless you have any questions that's that's all we need is emotion and a vote right I will move that the Newburgh School District Board of Directors approve the audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30th 2021 as submitted well I think we had two there I think Brian might have beat you yeah that's okay okay Rebecca's always good about that thank you guys all right all those in

119favor of uh accepting this audit from uh Jeremy Goodrich and Wilcox and Arredondo please raise your right hand foreign thank you very much all right Mickey again thank you for all your help on those um our next one is going to be uh the approval of the intern superintendent contract and that is going to go to Lisa freely from lemon ESD okay we'll let history pull it up here and um just to be clear in this particular conversation while I'm housed at the ESD I am acting in this particular situation as Council for the Newburgh School District any legal advice that the ESD got was from an attorney different than me so um I did not advise Dr Novotny or any of the board on this particular issue okay so um the draft IGA you

120have in your packet is um a standard um uh intergovernmental agreement that the ESD uses and in fact this is um a form that many school districts um across the region use it includes the statutory language that talks about the sharing of resources amongst each other the real key components that are important are the duties and responsibilities that have been put into that section industry I think it's down like on page three uh yeah page three or something here we go um a little bit farther than the document okay so you'll see here that there are some duties um for the Newberg School District um and there are some all of the language that I inserted into these two sections came from the conversation that chair Brown had with Dr Novotny um as they were

121exploring whether or not this would be um something that would work for both parties so it outlines um what the ESD is asking um and what they will do so you'll see some Provisions in there um and to be perfectly honest from Dr novotne's perspective what he thought was more of boundaries of what he would not be asked to do um and so the terms in this um are talking about the that he is not going to be required to basically guide any of the the legal um causes of action that we have you have staff that is perfectly capable between Nikki and the staff that you have in the central office and you have legal counsel assigned it to all of them so there really is no need at this point for him to

122take any front and center um uh role in that process and um that he will provide uh he may Provide support kind of process support but he is not going to have to issue any decisions regarding any complaints which would be filed via the board's complaint process um and that he's not going to be asked to do anything that would um jeopardize his license or require him to um violate state or federal laws ordinances or regulations you'll notice that the ear there is no fee for this the ESB is doing it as just a function of a service to their one of their member districts and then you will see down below what the esds do these obligations ESD has committed to you is that he will be in the district at least two days

123a week then he will perform all those tasks which are required by state or federal law to be performed by a superintendent and there are several of those that only a superintendent can perform he will provide the support for students and staff so that they can focus on teaching and learning he will oversee day-to-day Administration with a focus on operations and that working relationship between the board and the district office and if needed he will provide assistance in assisting the board in developing a process to select a permanent superintendent for the Newberg school district and just generally provides some stabilizing via stabilizing force in the in the district office for you um and again they're uh you're not asking if you they're not asking if he it's um and so that's why we've used the

124not applicable in there are there any to be honest that's the nuts and bolts of this Beyond just the thing that you've agreed that you will um indemnify each other for whatever liability or responsibility you each bring to the table if if Newberg does something that creates a risk you will be responsible for it if um the ESD does something they'll be responsible for it we did drop some language in at the request of the wasd board and Dr Novotny that clearly states that the Newberg School District does not um intend to associate any liability for any of the legal actions that were implemented or started prior to Dr Novotny starting this position um to the ESV or to Dr davotny as a interim superintendent but I think that's that's the basics of this agreement

125Thank you Lisa any questions or anybody I'll move that the Newburgh School District Board of Directors approve the intergovernmental agreement between wusd and Newburgh School District as submitted my second all right thank you for that all those in favor of approving this uh intern superintendent contract please raise your right hand it passes 7-0 Lisa thank you very much for explaining that very well as usual thank you much appreciated good job right now we just need you guys to all put signatures on the piece of paper okay say again um Dave will just need to have you uh uh sorry board chair uh chair Brown you you will just need to sign it so that then we can get the ESP to sign it got it thank you very much Lisa again thank you very very

126much for doing that for us yep um item C is uh reappointing the budget committee Nikki Fowler do you want to comment on this again you're muted Nikki I stopped thought I hit that but thank you Brandy um so this is pretty straightforward as well all of our budget committee members um that were I'm expiring um have agreed to continue on so this we just need to reappoint those members um and I would recommend all of them they've all been very active and ask great questions and um and are not afraid to ask questions which I really appreciate in the process so we are looking for a recommendation to reappoint these members well it works I'm sorry I had a question for Nikki um do we need to um have new have people apply for

127um zone seven two and three or I mean because I know no they have staggering um uh dates so these are the only four that expire this year the other ones will expire on a different year and so then we'll go through that process with them at that time okay so they're still in place okay all right I'd like to move that the Newburgh School District Board of Directors appoint Beth stats for Zone one AJ Schwans for zone four Melissa daily for zone five and Kat McNeil for zone six as budget committee members serving from January 2022 through December 31st 2024. my second all right thank you for the Motions uh all those in favor please raise your right hand pastor 7-0 okay Nikki great job again thank you very much for that aren't we

128supposed to um approve the calendar there's one more chance to that yeah you're correct Rebecca we got one more we have one more piece with that oh okay go ahead so the second part of that is um approving the budget calendar um it was presented I believe early November I'm losing track of time um so at this point you are just approving that calendar so we can move forward just take note that we have some training coming up in early February so put these on your calendar so you can spend some quality time with myself and our staff at the district office um but we're just looking for a motion to approve this I'll move that the Newburgh School District Board of Directors approve the budget process calendar for 2022-2023 Budget as presented eight seconds

129all right all those in favor please raise your right hand that passes 7-0 thank you very much thanks Nikki very much all right uh Dr botany already kind of alluded to in our future agenda items uh the 25th meeting will be uh a lot of stuff on the uh uh the complaint issues have come before some of our things we've had in the past we need to get finished up on uh if there's an executive session uh we will get that out to you right away as far as scheduling that the superintendent search is a big one for us as far as that meeting goes also for all the board members if you have anything else that you would like to see added to that meeting please do please reach out uh um it'll be

130probably a little bit longer meeting than this one so I appreciate that um I'd also like to add um to everybody out there in the in the public this has been a difficult time for sure but I would like to ask everybody to maybe try to separate one thing out um in my two years and eight months on the board I would uh not question any of the seven board members as uh commitment to kids and staff we may go about it in a different way and we may think about things differently but the board does care all seven board members do really care a lot so before you you judge people too much um regardless of which board member you're talking about um I've had two years and eight months uh with most of

131the board members and uh been around them enough to know that they all do really care about our school district we're struggling how to do that together for sure that's easy to see and then hopefully something like Dr Novotny can help us to to move forward on that um I think all of the uh the harsh rhetoric uh whether it goes one way or another uh would would be better if we we put that towards uh trying to uh reconcile rather than uh trying to uh maybe get after or say harsh things to to people on either side and uh as a board members uh that's gonna be a big challenge for us and uh uh I hope for up for that challenge um I'd also like to to say uh to Brian Shannon um

132regardless of how this recall goes um it's been an honor uh he is my friend and we came in at the board at the same time we will always share what we had to walk into and what we've had to walk through and uh you will always be my friend Brian Shannon and regardless of how people perceive you or I um I thank you for your service to the school district with that said I'll adjourn this meeting and uh again appreciate everybody and