001rest. Now call the January 22nd, 2026 film community school board meeting to order. Please stand for the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Welcome everyone. My name is Bill Hos and I am the school board vice president. Before we begin, I want to remind everyone that the agenda and meeting packet are made available on the district website at least 24 hours prior to the start of each meeting. Please note that while we strive to provide all relevant materials in advance, modifications to the agenda are permissible. Data is audience board recognition. All right, we are excited to recognize uh some staff uh from the district office. We'll have uh Dr. Lisa Gado Smith come up
002and introduce that and then we will take some time to recognize some employees. Good evening. So this month's award, as Chris said, is outstanding operational excellence. It honors district office staff who provide exceptional support behind the scenes. So, this is work that's essential to the functioning of our school district and our departments. Their work shows up in many ways. They are responsive. They are kind. They are detailoriented and they are focused on supporting staff in ways that supports teachers and students and families. And often these are the people that we don't see and the stories that we don't hear. Um I think about as somebody who has the honor of working at the district office, the number of times that I will go down hallways long after people are gone. it's dark outside and you
003will see some of these people in their offices sometimes until 6 or 7 o'clock at night um in order to you know do their very best get their work done and serve and so um it's just such an honor to recognize this team tonight. So a member of the cabinet uh each member of the cabinet is recognizing somebody from their department. So, I'll tell you who all of those folks are and then each of us are just going to talk a little bit about our person and why we nominated them. So, from business services, our nominee tonight is Jennifer Brownell. From uh human resources and payroll, we have Carrie Pulzine and Tammy Kirkham. From student learning, we have Kula Rup. From student support, we have Dr. Ellen Kavanaaugh. And from the superintendent's office, we have
004Lisa Walker Anderson. And just because I'm here, I'll go ahead and start with Kula. Kula is not able to be here this evening because she had um another uh appointment that she had to go to, but I am truly honored to um talk about her tonight. Kula serves three administrators. Uh, so not just myself, but she serves the director of student learning, Kendall McNut, and Kurt Forier, our director of assessment and student systems. And that is no small thing, coordinating uh and supporting three different administrators who support the entire school district. And so she functions a lot like an office manager. Um, she maintains confidential information. Um, it's a joy to listen to her on the phone. I always get such a kick out of it because she's so kind and she's always looking for
005ways to um to go the extra mile to help people. If she doesn't know a question, she'll say, "Let me find out about that." And call you back. Um, all of our uh office professionals up here take turns out at the front desk. And so, um, she'll step out there and do that piece and come back. But Kula is really the heart of our department. Um, she holds all of us together, keeps the trains running on time. I'll get the text, Lisa, do you know you have a meeting at such and so time? Are you on your way to YHS? You know, all those those sorts of things that um that also help us to do our jobs more effectively. So, I just am delighted to honor um Kula and uh just I I'm not
006sure what our department would do without her. So, with that, uh, I'm next going to turn it over to, um, Dee Buckingham, and then after that will be, uh, Shannon Powell and then Chris Woods, um, to talk about our other nominees. Gota get my stuff ready, including my Kleenex here. Um uh so good evening. As Lisa Gadero Smith uh stated, my name is Dee Buckingham and I am the director of human resources. Um, there's a saying in HR, um, that HR is the heartbeat of an organization. And I'm here to recognize two extraordinary individuals, Tammy and Carrie. Don't look at me. >> To say I couldn't do my job without them is an understatement. They are the backbone of our HR operations, but more importantly, they are the backbone of our HR payroll team spirit.
007As many of you know, the past couple of years have not always been easy. We faced challenging times and navigated difficult transitions. There have been there have even been moments where these two faced personal hurts and were unfairly shunned by those whom they used to work and or socialize with. But despite that, despite the noise and the external pressure, Tammy and Carrie show up every single day. They don't just show up to do their work. They show up with integrity and grace. They are the sunshine and the strength of the HR payroll department. Tammy, you are truly the sunshine of the HR and payroll team. No matter how many spreadsheets we're buried under or how stressful the deadline, your positivity radiates. An example of this is I often hear Tammy yelling uh from her office.
008Depending on the day of the week, it could be it's a marvelous Monday, terrific Tuesday, wonderful Wednesday, tremendous Thursday, or fabulous Friday as she's greeting people going through the hallway. Tammy, you have a way of lighting up the office and reminding us all why we do this work. Carrie, you are our mama bear. You are the fierce protector of our standards, our team, and people. Uh, for example, I've seen Carrie spend hours tucked away in her office working on a staff member's complicated certification process, being the go-between the employee and OSPI. She treats every staff member's problem as if it were one of her own family members. Carrie, your dedication is unwavering and your strength provides a shield that allows the rest of us to feel safe and supported. Tammy and Carrie, your contributions to
009Young Community Schools goes far beyond processing paperwork or managing new hires or resignations. You provide stability when things feel shaky. You provide kindness when the world feels a little cold. I am extremely grateful for your loyalty, your resilience, and the heart you pour into our team and YCS staff. Thank you for being the amazing, dedicated professionals and human beings that you are. We are very lucky to have you both as part of the district office team. >> Thank you. Is there one? I will try not to screw this up. Ellen, >> good evening. Tonight is my privilege to present the outstanding operational excellence award to Dr. Ellen. This award recognize the district's office staff who works whose work ensures accuracy, reliability, and smooth day-to-day operations across the district. Ellen exemplifies all these qualities and then
010some. Her work often happens behind the scenes, but it impact is felt everywhere. steps is run better, problems are solved thoughtyally early, and people feel supported because of her steady leadership and attention to detail. Ellen's approached her role with Ellen approaches her role with professional professionalism, sound judgment, and a general commitment to doing things the right way. She um she is someone who relies on not only for her knowledge, but her calm presence, willingness, and collaborate and ability to navigate complex situations with clarity and care. She holds high standards while maintaining a positive, respectful workplace, uh, which makes a lasting difference for those she works with. Operational excellence isn't just the process, it's about people. Ellen understands the balance and because of that, she strengthens our entire organization. Ellen, thank you for the dedication, your
011leadership, your support for the district. It's an honor to recognize you tonight. Please join us in recognizing Ellen Kavana as you receive this award. I have the honor of recognizing uh two staff members. Uh Jennifer Brown now had to go home early today. She wasn't feeling well. So, I will make sure that I share all the great things about her at our upcoming staff meeting, which um she probably won't like, but she deserves it. And so, I'll be sharing that uh at our meeting in February. Uh tonight, I'd like to recognize Lisa Walker Anderson. And so, if Lisa come on up here, I want to start by saying um we have amazing staff in this building. And um the the staff in this building um feel all the feelings that come with um leadership uh
012because they work so closely with those of us um who are in leadership roles. And so um they feel the hurt uh they feel the pain, they feel the happiness, um they feel all of that. And the other thing that I want to say before um I share specifically about Lisa is if you look around this office, there aren't as many people as there used to be because of cuts, but the ones that are here are still here. And I think that's important to note that even over the last two and a half years and the challenges we've had, if you walk around the office, um it's still the same faces. And I think that says a lot. Uh I'm honored to take a moment to recognize and congratulate Lisa Walker Anderson on receiving the
013outstanding operational excellence award. Lisa brings kindness. And that's probably the most important and the biggest thing that Lisa brings is kindness, professionalism, and a calm, steady presence to every interaction. She takes the time to truly listen, shows genuine empathy, and has a remarkable ability to deescalate even the most challenging situations so concerns are addressed thoughtfully and solutions can move forward. That's not easy. A lot of the phone calls or visitors that we get come to the district office because they're not happy with the way something has gone. And the first person uh that they get to talk to is Lisa. And she has an amazing way with people. Um I don't know how she does it. People trust Lisa because she is loyal, dependable, and consistently directs staff, families, and community members to accurate information
014with clarity and care. Lisa is also an exceptional problem solver. She approaches issues with patience and clear thinking, often making complex or stressful situations feel manageable. Her commitment to customer service does not go unnoticed. Staff and families alike regularly share how much they appreciate her responsiveness, guidance, and willingness to help. Lisa, I want to say thank you for your care, your professionalism, and heart you bring to our district every single day. And also, uh, I appreciate the fun and laughs that we get to share, uh, even when things are difficult. So, please join me in recognizing, uh, Lisa, who's truly welldeserved, and a big congratulations and thank you. It's the truth. Please That's right. I love you. >> My shoe came off. >> Next up, we have superintendent. Well, um before we get to that,
015we can't skip uh schoolboard appreciation. And um so, uh just real quick want to share um some some comments that I've written down. And uh before we move into tonight's agenda, I want to take a moment to recognize um schoolboard appreciation month and publicly thank the members of our Yam Community School Board of Directors and uh Casey who couldn't be here tonight. I want to sincerely thank Casey Shaw, Ryan Juel, Denise Hendrickson, Bill Hos, and Frank King. Each of you volunteers countless hours in service to our students, staff, families, and community. The work you do is often behind the scenes, long meetings, deep preparation, difficult conversations, and decisions that carry real weight and long-term impact. Much of that work goes unseen, and quite frankly, much of it is thankless. Schoolboard service also means being willing
016to hear criticism when people disagree with decisions, even when those decisions are made thoughtfully, with care, and always with students at the center. That takes courage, resilience, and a strong sense of purpose. And I want you to know that does not go unnoticed. On a personal note, I want to thank each of you for your support, your trust, your guidance, and your dedication. I'm very grateful for the partnership we share and for the thoughtful leadership you bring to this district. Your commitment to doing what is best for kids, even when it's hard, it makes a real difference. So on behalf of Yum Community Schools, thank you for your service, your time, your heart for this community and we are better because of each of you. So thank you. >> Okay, now superintendent comments. >> All
017right. um a few things and and so this uh will take a little bit of time but I think all important items. I want to start with athletics. Um this is something that has been uh talked about a lot as we look to next school year 2026 27. Um I want to start by thanking uh Phil Perry who's here tonight and his leadership team of coaches. Uh, I want to thank Ryan and Casey who have also been part of those meetings and Dee Buckingham. Uh, I think we've had some very productive meetings, good conversations, all of us with a goal in mind of how do we maintain athletics in some way uh so that kids have opportunities but still uh financially are able to do that. uh because we know any offering of athletics takes
018uh some sort of um compromise as far as financially because we don't get funding from the state for athletics. That's one of those areas that um is entirely funded by uh levy dollars. Um but we also know the importance of having uh some sort of opportunity for our students and we know if we cut everything completely that it would be years and years before anything comes back. Uh so with all of the meetings that we've had, we continue to have meetings with coaches to find ways that we can save money and do it more efficiently. Um where we've landed is that next year we will offer high school um varsity and JV athletics only. Uh we will continue to not have C team or transportation and we will not be offering middle school athletics next
019year as a result of the levy failure. Um but we are hopeful that we can continue to work with our community to find some ways to support our middle school athletes. And uh the nice thing is is that we will have facilities available for them for our community groups um if they choose to uh help provide some opportunities. For example, I know um the uh basketball program that our city runs uh said that they would be willing to include up to 8th grade um to try to help with uh providing opportunities and hopefully some other groups would be willing as well. But I wanted to stop there because this was not a decision that was made lightly and each and every board member um had some strong feelings and thoughts and ideas about this. And
020so I think it's important that we publicly uh take a moment and pause and allow you to each share um thoughts and and maybe how we arrived here. >> Go ahead. >> I get to go first. Okay. closer. >> Um, there's still challenges into how we arrive here, but there's been a uh there's a a commitment because there's a desire. I think our community uh has expressed how important this is to us and um many of the board members and uh staff that we've interacted with, there's um countless times and examples of sports being the turning point in students lives and and keeping them involved, keeping them engaged in school. And so this is something that is extremely important and we're we're all very aware. Um, with that said, this is going to be a
021constant effort working with our community and um, I can only hope that as as we uh, commit to continuing to provide these these programs that our community is going to help because it's it's a big ask. There's there's still cost involved. It's it's it's not um, free to play and so there's still going to be a lot of need. Um, we've had some really great conversations with uh coaches and with community and I think there we're going to continue to find a path. And so for me personally, I I can say I I I still don't know 100% how this will be achieved other than it is a commitment that we want to see happen. And so um uh I've spent a lot of time on the phone with Casey and so I know you
022know kind of where he's at as well. Um the rumor mills are are definitely something that we're going to need the community's help to get behind. And so the amount of times that I' I've heard um people say we're not having sports in Yelm and kids are encouraged to transfer out and uh I've not heard that communicated at this table or in the in the groups and meetings that I've been in, but I'm hearing it from the community. And so, um, I would just ask of y'all that this is now more than ever, um, to help us get the the message out and to get it clear. And if there is confusion, continue to ask. But my my phone has been available to anybody that would like to talk personally. And I I think anybody
023at this table is happy to have conversations on what that looks like. But, um, if you're getting information that's conflicting with what you're hearing from us, then please reach out and let us know where that's coming from so we can stop that. that we need to we need our community. We need to come together. We need we need less division and more working together. And there's there's no there's no possible way for this to work without full community support. So >> anybody else? >> Anyone else? >> I think this is the best case scenario given our situation. Um I'd hate to just cut high school athletics completely. Um, I don't think it'd be fair to those kids um that have worked, you know, the last 10 plus years to play at that level um then
024have to look for another school to uh play for. They want to play for the community, but like Ryan said, it takes a community to support those kids. I mean, it's it's it's a lot of work to bus drive kids to sporting events. My kids in eighth grade um next year and it's it's it's a task. You know, it's a 2 o'clock and you're making a 3:00 commitment. That doesn't work for everybody's schedule. And it takes a community, no different when a bus is canceled. It's, you know, I think every parent's on a text thread. Hey, who can take the kids to school today? Who can pick them up? Um, and that's what it's going to take. It's a community to make this happen. Um, it's not an easy decision. Um, like Ryan said, we
025just don't know exactly how it's going to work, but we're committed to it. And, uh, I think when we commit to something, um, we can see it through. So, and that's what we're willing to do up here. Well, I think the other thing is when you had um when you have an adult come and talk to you and say, you know, when I was in school, the reason that I stayed in high school was because I had the opportunity to play sports. It wasn't maybe necessarily that they were um the best athlete at all, but it was that they had an opportunity and was purpose in a hook and a reason to keep them coming to school. And so, um, I think if that's an opportunity that we give our kids, um, to come to
026school and that's their hook and the reason that they come to school and we can provide that, then we need to do that. It's it's the same thing for our CTE programs and music and art and we just had to cut so many things and it's like if if we can keep these things these hooks for kids in high school. I'm like, please, let's try to find these hooks for them so that they will stay in school because if they don't graduate and have that high school diploma, the doors are just closed for them. And so then their opportunities are shut and then it's so hard for them. And so for me, it isn't so much that they it's the sports aspect, it's the it's looking down the path, the road down further. And so
027I want those doors to remain open for me. If it means that a kid gets to play sports and they're going to stay in school and they're going to graduate, then let's look for that. They're going to be in band and they're going to graduate. They're gonna you know, they're going to be draw whatever we can do to keep our kids in school, give them those opportunities. I'm like, I'm going to look for it. >> Yeah, I agree with everybody everything everybody said so far. And we've got some so many good programs going on here at the district that I hate to cut anything, but we have to. And uh every department says cut that other department out. You know, we need we need and I know my grandson playing football that meant everything to
028that boy. And he probably wouldn't be in college today if it wasn't for football. Yeah. And I think what what people don't see is the study session that happened right here. Um two hours of looking at numbers and looking at data and then the meetings with our coaches. Um people don't see that. And so um we are working very hard um to be transparent and to be open about decisions and and the why behind the decisions. And so um the fact that we are coming out tonight and saying this is what we are going to do next year. Uh there was a lot of thinking and work ahead of this. We still have a lot of questions to answer. And again, I want to say thank you to Phil and the other coaches that came
029with lists of ideas. And so, we're still sitting down together to figure out exactly how we're going to make this happen. Under normal circumstances, we were spending about 1.4 million for athletics for sixth grade through 12th grade. And um that obviously is not sustainable without levy dollars. And so for us to narrow it down to what can we do and how can we find a way and then we'll continue our meetings with coaches to find ways to be more efficient and to make sure that our um high schoolers have these opportunities. And then the hope would be in the future that we can pass a levy and bring these extracurricular activities back um for students and that would be um that would be the goal. So, um, so what's next? Tomorrow, I will be sending
030out communication to staff and to families letting them know that we are going to have, um, high school varsity and JV and that we will not be having middle school athletics. And, um, I know that we have booster clubs that are standing kind of ready and waiting to find out what the decision was. and I know they'll want to um participate in helping fill some gaps where they can, but I'll be sending that information out to families tomorrow so that everybody will have the same information. But really wanted that to happen here first and for you as board members to be able to weigh in on that. Any questions on next steps with that? Could I just add something that um with this said there there's there's no there's no popular answer that's going to
031be perfect with with everyone because there's going to be some that are going to be disappointed that we do offer sports and there's there would be some disappointed if we didn't off sport offer sports and so there's there's going to be disappointed parties on both sides and uh I'll I'll echo something that Casey said multiple times and and I'm the new guy so I'm still diving into budget and trying to understand the inner workings But I haven't seen some magical pool of money sitting uh that waiting to be spent. And so I know that Casey's multiple times communicated there isn't some unicorn budget sitting around. Um this is going to come from somewhere. And so, um, I think it's just important to know that that we're aware that to we're prepared to stand behind the
032decision and we know we know what is involved and it is going to be challenging still and so wanted to add that. >> Uh, speaking of of budget, um, next on my list is binding conditions and wanted to um just kind of give an update on that. Um, also every other week, uh, just like my communication tomorrow, um, every other week, uh, I I'm sending communication out to staff and to families and that coincides with a board meeting. So, uh, we may be discussing something here and sharing something here and then tomorrow I send it out in, um, in an update. Uh, couple updates on on binding conditions. We continue to meet with um uh ESD and OSPI and uh have regular conversations. Some of those are formal uh check-ins on binding conditions and some
033of those are informal meetings in between. uh a couple of the things that we are going to do um financially to help offset the deficit um that we have this year and then also obviously the deficit that we have to account for next year. Um we have expenditures every year that could be expenditures paid for out of capital funds things uh typically around technology. Now, the reason you wouldn't do that on a regular basis is because capital funds don't have revenue coming in on a regular basis. Um, you have interest that comes in on in capital fund side, which I'm going to talk about here in a minute. And then when you run a bond, um, you'll have money come in there. Uh, maybe impact fees from building in the community. Um, but typically you
034won't do reoccurring expenditures from capital funds because it's kind of like a savings account. When it's spent, it's gone. But we do have about 340,000 uh dollars in expenditures that we would normally take out a general fund. and that's subscriptions uh for technology, um some hardware and things like that that we can use capital funds to help free up general fund dollars to help offset the deficit that we have. So, that's something we're doing right now is where we're going through all of our expenditures so far for this school year and then looking through the rest of the school year and what other expenditures can uh qualify to be uh paid for out of capital funds. So, that's something we'll continue to do. Um, another thing that I'll be bringing to you next month, I
035mentioned interest from capital funds. So oftent times uh districts will use interest from capital dollars to help uh maybe replace turf fields um every 9 10 12 years when they need to be replaced or uh for maintenance for emergencies and things like that. So they would earmark that interest um from each year specifically for a purpose and and usually revolves around facilities. Um however a resolution also can be made to move the interest from capital over to general fund. So, what I'll be bringing next month is a resolution to you to bring the interest dating back to 2015 to now um to move that over to general fund for us again to use that to help offset the deficit. And that's $1.1 million over the 10 years that has accured um in interest. And that
036legally can be moved over uh to be used. And again, that's one time um that's a one-time expense and then that interest is gone. Um obviously next year we'll have interest from next year, but um it's roughly 2 to 300,000 now. Um where back in 2015 it might have been 40 50,000. So it's acred over time. Um, but this is another thing that we can do to help offset the deficit that we're currently facing and it puts us in a better position financially to start next year in the positive rather than starting in a negative place and having to cut even more. So, in February, I'll be bringing a resolution for um you to approve those uh dollars, the interest uh to be transferred over to general fund to be used for uh general fund
037purposes. Any questions on that? Is my understanding that we don't have a million dollars here in a savings account. Is that held and managed by thirst county. >> What's that? >> The the funds are managed by us or the county? >> They're managed by us. >> Oh, the interest acrru and and it sits there. And like I said, typically districts will earmark that interest um for facility replacement. Most districts when they put in um turf fields and do upgrades like that then create um an account specifically to uh put money into to replace those fields because they're great when you get them, but you have to replace them too and they're expensive. And so most districts will use um funds from capital to replace those and earmark. It could be the interest that you acrew
038over the years. It could also be um impact fees. Some district will use impact fees from construction in the community that we get from Thirstston and Pierce County. Uh some districts might use um facility rental fees and put all of those into an account so that when it's time to replace fields and upgrade um on minor projects, again, not talking big huge ones, uh you would then use those dollars. And these interest dollars would often be used for that. But what that means is we won't have that. Um that 1.1 million is going to be going into our general fund to offset our deficit there. So then we have to think differently about how we're going to replace the turf when the time comes. So uh we're we're essentially kind of um pushing that down
039the road and it lessens uh the impact of the additional cuts we have to make. Now none of it is ideal but it is uh best case scenario for our current situation. So then can we So if we do that and move that lane right now, can we then set up replacement and start that now? >> Yeah. >> Did we start? Yeah, we talked about this at our study session. What I would recommend, >> which I did when was in the car listening to you guys. >> Yeah. Um I would recommend that we create a policy and procedures um that specifically earmarks um the interest on um the capital funds for uh maintenance and replacement of of facilities. Um, and you can get as specific as you want. It's not uncommon for districts to have
040policy around specific dollars to go to a specific purpose and and we've talked about that. It would be good for us um to have a very specific plan for the replacement >> and uh and uh any work that needs to be done. >> So, yes. Okay. That'll be a conversation coming up. Um, two more things that are going to be quick. the 2026 27 calendar. Uh we've got that done and finalized. So then what we do is we share this with each of the labor groups and give them a copy and give them an opportunity to look at it and share any questions they might have with us. Um couple highlights of this calendar. Uh currently starts on Wednesday, September 9th. Um, so that's the Wednesday after Labor Day. Then we would end school on
041June 16th, which is a Wednesday. Now, the challenge with the ending spot is it only gives us one day cushion, and then Friday is Junth, which is a holiday. So, if we go beyond one snow day, we're going into the next week. So, uh, something to think about. And then um it was asked by one of our labor groups of uh is it possible that we start the week before Labor Day so we could start sooner and and not push into that um that week in June. Uh it's certainly possible, but we do have some collective bargaining agreement language in a couple of our CBAs that uh we would have to come up with anou um in order to make that happen. But that was a question that came up and so it's something we're
042talking about. I will be bringing you a calendar for approval in February and um I'll also send this to you tomorrow in my update so that you guys can look at it. But um other than that, everything else um is relatively the same. >> Well, I remember hearing a few years ago the reason we have our present start date was it because if you started school a week before that because of the holiday weekend, you probably weren't going to get many kids to show up on camp. >> Yeah. I think many of us would also argue that even after Labor Day, there are kids that aren't there. >> So, um I I think uh no matter what, whether you start the week before Labor Day or the week um you know, right after Labor Day,
043uh families tend to use that as kind of their last vacation before school starts. And we see uh a difference in in attendance. um the following week for sure. So definitely impacts either way. Uh last thing I want to say is um just a a thank you. Um, Dee and I met this week with our PSSE bargaining group and and our labor management group, I should say, and had a very productive meeting and uh I think we were able to work through and and have um good discussion on uh many different topics. Also this week had our labor management meeting with YA. Um and that was productive as well. And really we had some conversations about um how do we move forward and build trust? And um so in our meeting in February, uh part
044of our meeting is going to be dedicated to talking about um what can we commit to um from the district standpoint and what can they commit to um in order to help us improve um those conversations and moving forward. because one thing that we know is even when we disagree, we got to continue meeting, continue having conversation and continue uh working through challenges. And so um I've appreciated all four of our labor groups and the leadership and their willingness um to continue to sit down and have difficult conversations. And uh we can't resolve differences without those face-to-face conversations. So, I just wanted to publicly say how much I appreciate um our coaches, our office professionals, uh public school employees, and our teachers um unions and their leadership. And um I I think it's a really
045good start. And that's all I have for Superintendent Comets. >> Superintendent Woods, are there any community comments? >> No, we don't have any tonight. Okay, good. Okay, item three, school board meeting minutes for December 18th, 2025. Move to >> approve. Second. >> Been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? All those in favor? >> I opposed. Motion carries. Item four, new business individual contracts. Move for approve. Second. moved seconded. Is there any discussion? >> Uh the only comment is typically this time of year um you would only see um positions that are um unique as far as one-on-one pair educators and those are specific to um students and their IEPs and then um some uh food service positions there. But obviously given our financial situation um you're not seeing much happening here in this area.
046>> All in favor? >> Opposed? Motion carries. Item B, acceptance of gifts. >> I move we approve. >> I second move and seconded. Is there any discussion? >> Thank you. Yeah. very much. >> Yeah, I think uh obviously every board meeting we have, we've got donations on here and I think it is just a demonstration of the generosity we have and and um thanks to the lack of PTO and then YHS connects um has been working really hard to to find ways to fill fill gaps. And I know um both of these groups will continue to try to find ways to support our students. >> Okay. All those in favor? >> Opposed? That carries. Okay. Item C, resolution 02-25-26, inter agency agreement with Washington State Department of Enterprise Systems. >> Approved. I second. >> Then
047moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? >> Uh David, were you going to speak on this or no? Okay, go ahead. >> Yeah. So, I'm David Fox. I'm the maintenance and ground supervisor. Um Terry couldn't be here, so I get to talk about this briefly. Um what this is is um YM Community Schools is receiving a 7 $743,000 indoor air quality grant through OSPI. Um this is for a project at YM High School, building 400, the stadium building. Uh there are 10 classrooms down there that will be getting new gas HVAC units and uh be getting updated with air conditioning, which is um huge. It's huge for us. We get we get the work orders that come in um 79 degrees in the classroom when it's warm outside. And so we're really excited about this
048project. Um the inter agency agreement allows us to partner with uh Washington State Department of Enterprise Services. Um so we can benefit from partnering with them. They're going to provide um project management expertise and guidance throughout the state funded process. Um that's that's what it is. >> Yeah. And this is a a big deal. Number one, that we got the grant. Number two, that project for anybody that's been in those classrooms, um we'll tell you whether it's hot out or cold, um it is it is much needed. So, uh I believe uh this coming summer, is that right, David? >> Yeah. So, they'll get started this summer and so that'll be uh make a huge difference. >> Okay. All those in favor? I >> carries item B, strategic plan. >> All right. Um I'll invite
049uh Dr. Lisa Gado Smith up and and um just real quickly um you guys are well aware of the work that we did last spring on our strategic plan. Uh we had about 30 people participate in that process and and we talked a lot about it being a living breathing document that we use to filter our decisions um in times of plenty and uh in times of less and and that hasn't changed. Uh every part of our strategic plan is measured by data. We uh we were very intentional about that because we want to make sure that we could assess how we're doing and where do we need to make adjustments. In addition to that, we said to you that we will uh bring a report to you three times a year and um that
050the team will continue to meet, look at data, assess how we're doing, um continue to adjust as we move forward. And so tonight we have our first um presentation on the strategic plan for this school year. And I'll let um Lisa tell a little bit more. >> That is exactly right. And I want to start out by um explaining that all of this work has happened under the um direction of Chris Woods. Um that this was a part of his work when he came in and he headed up and shaped this process. And then a lot of us including a lot of members of the community, a couple of us at the table um were an active part of that process. And one of the things that we uh that was very clear and that
051we acknowledged from the start was the importance of community that it's really one of our three pillars. And I think now is our opportunity to really really live that out. And as Chris said, the the importance of a plan is that it takes you through the good times and the bad. And so what we have is a plan with three big overarching goals around learning, uh, belonging and community. And within that, we have um 11 activities and goals. And our schools are all centered around that work through their school improvement planning process. And so the strategic plan team met on November 13th, came back together, and what we did was we did kind of a fall report. Um we talked about the communication that we had done thus far on the plan. Uh we showed
052the um all of the members the metrics that we're using to measure and then we got feedback um from the team about things to go back and work on. And as always, each time we have one of those meetings, we reflect that back out to the entire committee. We provide the minutes and and reflect the work back. And so, we're really getting started. We are in the building phase. This is a five-year plan. And so, we are looking at our systems. We're stress testing our systems. We are creating new ones where they don't currently exist in a way that's as effective as we need it to be. And most importantly, we are remaining open to our staff and to our community. This is a very recursive process. And as Chris said, these it's not a
053plan that goes on a shelf like we did it once and there it is. It's living and breathing and we'll be making adjustments to it over time. And so I'm so honored tonight to have um two people who are going to talk about uh the strategic plan. They are uh Darren Walter who is currently a teacher at Ridgeline Middle School and Darren is also doing his administrative uh internship and he's just getting ready to graduate as well as welcome a baby into his family. So this is a young man who has quite a lot on his plate and um he's also been a very active member of the committee. We also have Tanya Edwards. Um, longstanding member of our community, very, very supportive. She's a face you see at everything. And she's always one of
054the first people to raise raise their hand and say, "I'll step up. I'll do it. I'll help." And so, we think it's important that you hear from other people, not just us, um, but people who are present at those meetings. And so, we have just about four slides for you. And I'm gonna ask now if Darren and Tanya would please come up and walk you through that process. >> Good evening, Superintendent Woods, Assistant Super Smith, Vice President, uh Mr. Hos over there, the rest of the board uh community members behind me, and then we have our student life representatives here today. Um I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this evening and share the hard work our community has put into shaping the strategic plan for our schools. I have
055lived in Yelm since 1978. I began kindergarten here and have graduated in 1991. To say that Yelm is my home is an understatement. YM has always been my home and over the years I have witnessed many changes within both the social district, the school district and the broader community. Through it all, I remain proud to call Yelm my home. I am grateful for the collaboration and dedication of our students, families, educators, and community altogether. Tonight, I'm excited to share what we've accomplished together and how we continue to work to make Yam stronger, more supportive place for all. With that being said, first one Where is that? >> Hi. I'm gonna talk about data. Um, like I was introduced, I'm Darren Walter. I teach originally middle school. Um, what is it, year five or six now?
056I can't even tell. But I've been teaching for 11. And I I love y'all. It's a much different vibe than the district I came from before. I was from Federal Way Public Schools, as you can imagine. much different student clientele especially. Um but there's different vibes here. Like I love the small town vibe and I love the community aspect, you know, like I know there's lots of talk right now about levy failures and just things happening outside of our schools, but even with all that, I still feel the community um like in positive ways, not negative ways, but I feel the community and that's awesome. So again, I love being here. Um, speaking about the data, and I bring up the levy failure because I think the top bullet speaks to just how awesome we're
057doing as a district. Our student performance still remains consistent with state benchmarks. Um, so even with all the setbacks we're having, schools are still putting their best foot forward. Um, speaking as a teacher, um, yeah, it sucks, but we're not going to, you know, it's not the kids' fault that we're in the predicament that we're in. we're still going to show up every day and give them our best as best as we can with, you know, what we have. Uh key pressure points, um special needs is, um currently exceeding state averages in terms of need. Um you know, part of that's going to be just cuts. You need people and you know, services that we're doing the best we can with what we have, but obviously more support be awesome. Attendance is still a concern.
058Um, you know, I was just in a principal collaboration meeting with a lot of the people here. Um, we're getting outside help of just talking to people like, "What can we do? What's, you know, how can we get kids to show up and come?" Um, you know, as a teacher, maybe kids even talk about tomorrow like, "Yeah, I think I'm just not going to show up." And I just I never had those discussions as a kid. And I'm a millennial. I graduated in 2010. I don't even feel like I'm that far apart from them. And I never like had that thought in my head. I'm just like, "Yeah, I'm just not going to show up." up, you know, as a sixth grader, like they're 11. Um, so it's still a concern and, you know, I'm
059part of the attendance committee at Ridgeline, so like we're just always a talk like how can we get kids to show up and remind them how important is that they show up? Um, targeted growth in areas of support. Um, one of the big things that needs to happen is partnering with families more. Um, we just got communication about that. Um, what is it called that square? No, that square. >> Thank you. I think that's going to be a big help. And I love the communication teachers received today about that that we don't have to do a whole lot of anything that's going to come to our email, which is amazing. And that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to do more, but it's just convenient. Um, if I can have a better one-on-one with families if
060I'm unable to reach them on the phone and I think a lot of families it's going to be a lot more convenient for them just because as you guys are aware of the community work hours trying to find time within my contract time even just to call it can be a lot. So I'm looking forward to that. Um, and yeah, funding gaps. I mean I could talk about that all day long but we're in the predicament that we're in. Um, one thing I like about, you know, our strategic planning and just how we're going about it is we're using that fall data not as a judgment of of like where we're at, but using it as a directive of like where can we start and where are we going? Um, yeah, and I like the
061talks that we're having in terms of just being consistent and checking back in. So, that's where we're at with data as of right now. Hey, so with attendance and motivation, we are launching a goal setting Wednesdays and incentives like no tardy parties um to drive student engagement. Um across schools, there's a strong emphasis on attendance and student motiv motivation. Um we need to have counselor monitoring incentives like again the no tardy parties. um with the number two and the belonging and the voice. Um schools are also prioritizing welcoming and supportive environments through tier one and tier 2 supports, student voice and improvement of efforts and intentional practices that build student confidence and self-efficiency. Um with instructional focus, uh instructional improvement continues through regular walkthroughs and structured opportunities for staff to share effective teaching strategy strategies
062supporting consistency across all classrooms. And then with teacher recognition, utilizing student led nominations to celebrate and retain high performing staff. It's extremely important to hang on to the ones that the kids adore that the kids thrived uh with and grow with. Um we we lose um great educators. We tend to lose also great students and their interest uh to learn as well. Um principles have emphasized that these actions reflect early implementation. Schools are actively applying the plan with continuing to refine practices as systems mature. Again, thank you for the invite, guys. So, with all that, what do we do now? um the path forward is is clear and um again part of that early fall strategic planning was gathering you know what's our biggest need and as you guys can guess like a few of
063them are um just building a path forward in terms of communication building trust um trust that community trusts us um as teachers as a you know as educators as building leads and then shared ownership Um, and one of that is that, you know, just building communication. Again, that app web service I just talked about earlier, I think is going to help with that a lot. Um, just getting more voices to the table and more voices heard, I think, can also help with attendance. Um, just making sure, not making sure, but communicating with families about how important it is their child is here. And you know, I know school's not the most well sought thing all the time as a child, but if parents can talk to us or hang out with us, realize like this
064is actually a really cool space, like why don't you want to come? You know, I think those conversations go a long way with trying to get students in the building. Um, obviously more community partnerships. Um, I know YMS is, you know, partnering with bringing veterans in to speak with students. Um, at RMS, we're doing our second annual college and career fair in the spring that we're currently planning for. Um, so more opportunities of bringing the community in the building, the better. So they can see what we're doing live. They don't have to hear about it in a newsletter or, you know, etc. They can see it and feel it, I think, is, you know, the path forward. And it's being transparent. What's working, what's not. I've had meetings with Superintendent Woods where he's flat out
065said like, "This isn't working." and he's honest about it. Um, and something I would never see in Federal Way. In fact, I hardly saw my superintendent when I worked in Federal Way. So, just being transparent with staff, students, teachers, community members, here's where we're at. Um, you guys are having those conversations tonight and they're hard, but they're necessary. And then, yeah, upcoming milestone, March 5th, 2026 will be the next meeting to look at the data and where we're going. Are things working? are they not? What can we do? Um, and as an amate intern, I've been a part of a lot of these meetings and like I said, I just enjoy the transparency in the room and people helping each other out. You know, if Superintendent Woods or someone in the room like Lisa knows,
066you know, this team's doing a good job like they let that team speak, it's not direct like you need to do this. It's what are we how can we help each other? And I think that's working in positive ways as a district is to unify us together. So yeah, that's all I got for Path Forward. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, just again a quick thank you to these two. So, as they shared, we'll have another report coming out. What we'll be focusing on is the midyear data. So, we kind of get that midpoint. And the strength of midyear data is that you can still do something about it in the second half of the year. So, we'll be bringing forth um that information to you as well. And we um also appreciate your ongoing feedback
067and partnership. So, thank you. >> Have a question. Are we still working with our business partners? Uh, you mean the community business partners? Um, not as much as we were. Um, I think we're doing a couple events uh each year that we still have at the high school. I know the middle school is doing one where we invite those partners in um to do uh whether it's career exposure for our students and things like that. So, a couple dedicated events are happening. Okay. Item five, vouchers and payroll. >> Move to approve. >> I second. >> Been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? >> All those in favor? >> I >> opposed. Motion carries. Item six, operation report, public works. >> I move we approve. move seconded. Is there any discussion? >> Yeah, David and
068Paul are going to come up and tag team the report tonight. And I'm sure they're both loving this. So uh so thank you to both of them for um pinch hitting for Terry who uh had to be out of town. Um so thank you for being here. >> Yeah, happy to be here. Um, I just hear if there are any questions about the um any of the public works projects. If there are no questions, then Paul's going to talk about um a project he's been working hard on. So, let's just >> Well, I get the uh pleasure of making organic waste. Exciting. Late last year, we were uh told that we had to start uh collecting our waste a little differently. And so over the break, we brought in tools, started training as many staff
069as we had on campus. And um January 5th, uh we jumped into it. And what I have to say is that between the admin, custodians, food service, the cafeteria workers, they're amazing because they came together and realized what we were trying to do. And each school looks a little bit different. How they implement it is different. Uh but at the end of the day, they're getting it done. And it has been really amazing to see all of them work together like this. Uh so there are some slides. I'm going to keep this really brief, but if you want to show those. The the first slide is just some of the different layouts. Like I said, they're all they all look different. Um and uh staff were there to help the students, you know, know what
070what goes in which barrel. You know, liquids go in a liquid barrel, you know. So, we're trying to teach everybody, including all of you, that if you buy it or bring it, drink it, right? Um and if you're going to throw it out, don't throw it in trash. You have to throw it into a little white bucket or or liquid bucket, right? Um and then um if you want to go on to the next one, uh high school's doing the same thing. Um it is it is neat to see the um the elementary schools, those students seem to be catching on a little bit quicker than the high schoolers are taking, you know, it's it's going to take a little bit of time, but again, you know, they've been conditioned over how many years to
071do one way and now we're asking them to change it up. But, um, from what I've seen is is they are making great progress and and so kudos to Curtis and all of his crew at the school. Um, and then there's a quick video that the high school leadership put together. >> Throwing away is drinking. You didn't drink at all. smart. >> Well, I I just have one comment. Years ago, when the daughter was in middle school, she lost her retainer. She thinks she's alone. Lunchtime. I went dumpster diving and never found it. But I was shocked at how many full bottles of milk, whole apples, whole oranges were in that dang dumpster. So >> yeah, in my own >> Paul, what are you seeing? Um because I I get to hear, but as far
072as uh reduction of garbage um in the number of of bags that we're seeing across the district, Great question. >> So far, um, it's been two and a half weeks. Um, we have seen, um, the amount of food that has been thrown out. Um, the first week, uh, I think you're starting to see a pattern where kids are starting to eat more or not take as much food, right? Um, as the overall garbage that is taken out, there isn't as much. Um, so there is this balancing of the food waste that is going out is much heavier and they're in these smaller containers. Um, and and I think that's the overall goal is is to get that heavy stuff that can be compostable, you know, and and you know, the organic waste taken away and
073and not put into the land or the dumpsters. One of the things that we're talking about now that we have systems in place in all of our buildings um we can now actually start to reach out to our community and see if we have um farmers or people in the community that would want the food waste and rather than having that hauled away um it could go right back into the community. And so now that we have systems in place to be able to do that, um, we'll start reaching out to the community. And we've had people in the past ask us if if they could have our food waste. Well, the problem was we didn't have it sorted. And so we couldn't and we weren't going to let people come on campus and dig
074through the garbage either. So, except for Bill. Um, so, uh, now that we've got a system in place, we can start working with our community and community partners to see if they want it, um, and can use it. So, that'll be interesting. >> If they don't, is there additional cost with >> they come and haul it away? Yes. And we have to pay for that. Um, service. >> So, that is a service that uh, we have to pay for for them to come. >> What about even FFA? Is there a place where they could? >> I think that we've got a lot of uh places in our community that would use it. And like I said, we had one um farm by Southworth Elementary that was asking us last year and saying they would sort
075it, they would come get it, but uh we weren't in a place to do that, but now we are. And so I think a lot of it will get um picked up and then we can reduce services that way. It seems to me that I remember hearing years ago if you give it to a hog farmer, he's got to cook it 350 degrees for 20 minutes before he legally feed it to the ants. >> I don't know. I thought he was raising love that yogurt. >> Right. You need to vote on operations report. Miss P. >> All those in favor >> I post carries. >> Get to the next page. >> Okay. Item seven, financial reports. >> Yeah, we spent a lot of time on that at our study session last week. Uh two hours
076worth. uh and we will be scheduling another study session um to continue those conversations and uh I think it's important to note that that we did not have anybody in the audience for that study session um and that is where uh study session is the only place a school board can really gather and have conversation and dig into the information. Otherwise uh we can only have two board members in the same meeting otherwise it's a public meeting and we have to advertise open it to everybody. So study session is one of those public meetings where people can come and observe that conversation that takes place and listen to um the information, the questions, the conversation and um and it was a really good conversation and like I said two hours of finances and we'll be
077continuing that conversation at our next one and um the community is invited to that. Oh, my family listened to it. We listened to her table. >> Okay. Item eight, student enrollment reports. >> Yep. That's just updated enrollment. Um, one thing I do want to add on enrollment is our uh GED program that we are running here now. Um, as opposed to the ESD running that. Um as of this week we have 28 students enrolled. Uh one student has graduated and then six more in process. And um uh I think that's a good sign in that um the program is starting to to uh get some attention. Students are coming. We do have a small partnership with the ESD this year and that's more of a a guiding and supporting partnership um that over time we
078would phase out. But um a big thank you to Lisa and Felicia and Ally and um staff next door. But um 28 with one already graduated and six more uh in the works. That's that's really good. That's really positive. >> Um, can we uh right if they would like to have that small celebration. Let's celebrate that. Mr. >> Yeah, it's a big deal, >> I think. >> Okay. Item nine, board comments. >> Sophie, you get to start. I'm attached. Sorry. >> Um, going back to our earlier discussion of sports, I think I and many other students can say that we were very relieved when we heard the verdict um about sports. And I'm not entirely sure where the whole uh you know levy failure equals no sports um came from. But I believe that as
079a sports medicine student, I am surrounded with more athletes than the average non-sports med student would be. I clean up their blood. I listen to their petty arguments. I literally stand on the sidelines with them. And I've had my feet squashed by so many cleats. I think there's like permanent indents in them. It does hurt. Um uh but yeah, that proximity uh has led me to see uh subtle yet not subtle growth and panic. And I contradict myself when when saying that because each athlete has a different way of expressing that frustration. You know, sometimes they come into the training room and they're like yelling like, "It's so unfair. You know, I'm gonna I'm gonna switch schools if it happens." And oftentimes they do. Um we've had several athletes um you know switch to other
080schools for their sports and it kind of disrupts the whole dynamic of the team and then other athletes they just kind of get grumpy about it and they don't want to talk about it and uh shut down. But either way um each reaction is just kind of the result of uh what's going to happen to the thing that I grew up doing and that I love doing that I want to continue doing after high school. you know, even as a non-athlete myself in sports med, I I know that if athlete like athletics are gone, sports med is going to be disrupted. Um, and even academics for those athletes, you know, I hear it a lot. Uh, they go, "The only reason I'm even passing this class because I have to for football." Um, so you
081can imagine what would happen if the sports went away. And because yeah, um, sports is central to the American high school experience. And um just for another perspective, um my mom was born and raised in Germany. So she never went to an American high school. And every time I talked to her about, you know, sports and my extracurricular in sports med, she goes, "That's crazy. In Germany, we never did that. We had no sports, no clubs, no dances. You just go to school, go home, school, home, school, home. So boring." And so I took her to her first American high school football game last year. And when we got back home, she was like, "That was so fun. If I had that when I was in school, I' i'd go. I'd go all the time."
082And so even my mom who never grew up in an American high school and never grew up with um American high school athletics recognized the pull that it has um on students and you know uh more broadly um whether or not you believe that the more peripheral subjects like uh choir, band, art, sports um are peripheral, they're not to a lot of students it's central. It's the reason they go to school, the reason they do well in school, and it's how they figure out who they are. You know, if we didn't have sports med, I would still be a senior who has no idea what I want to do in the future. Um, that's the case with a lot of my friends. Earlier today, I had one of my friends in my sports med class
083come up to me and go, "Yeah, I'm not going to be here next semester cuz, you know, I decided sportsman's not for me." And he like kind of looked nervous when he was telling me that like I was going to get mad at him. I was like, "No, like do do what you want to do. Like, what are you going to do instead?" Um, he goes, "You know, I want to do art. I want to be like a illustrator, like a medical illustrator." I'm like, "Oh, that's great." Like, I was like, "Why do you look so nervous and tell me that?" Because I could tell he was excited about his decision. He felt good about it. Um, he had like this big smile on his face, a smile I'd never seen when he was in
084the classroom, for sure. Um, and so it's it's an important thing. Um, and I can talk about it forever, as you can tell. Um, and you know, just the core curricula just isn't enough. You know, not everyone's going to be a history nerd or a biology nerd, math, English, whatever. Uh, they need those other things to supplement and nourish their experiences. Um, and so, yeah, I'm glad that we get to keep sports and our students can figure out who they are. I'm done with that one. >> I'm not emotionally attached to this, but it's nice to have a microphone. Um, first of all, congrats to all the outstanding operational excellence award winners. Um, we really would not be here without you guys and it is genuinely so amazing to have you um on a amazing
085team as this. Um, also I'm about to ramble as well about athletics cuz uh I know I'm a senior. I'm going to be graduating. I won't be here to experience what we'll have next year. Uh, and it really is so amazing to hear that, uh, sports are going to be in our future. Um, high schoolers like below me. Um, I honestly do not know where I would be without sports right now. Um, I would not have found really who I am. I wouldn't be able to have the opportunity to go to college next year and say that I'm competing as a college athlete. Um, it's truly developed me into the person that I am. I've um been able to find a family. I've be able to find like people that I'm truly love being around
086and something that I enjoy doing. Kind of what Sophie was saying, it's something that like is able to put a smile on your face and like genuinely make you feel like so compassionate about something that like everything else disappears. Um which it shouldn't. Don't make everything else else disappear. Um, but it really is kind of going to need that community support. Um, that I think that was Ryan talking about. Um, because like I know social media can be such a helpful thing and so many people use it to put their voices out there and say what they want to say, but at the same time so much um misinformation can be spread about what is actually going to happen. Uh, we need to be able to have a community that's able to support. Put yourself
087out there and like genuinely be willing to be in the wrong sometimes to help the community be whole, if that makes sense. But, um, athletics truly are like the derived for both athletes. And whether it means like showing up, getting better grades, or even genuinely helping with mental health, it opens doors for so many athletes to have a future that they didn't know could be possible. Uh it teaches you lessons that you can't find anywhere else. And it genuinely is one of the reasons I am so excited to be part of this district because I found something that I can call home. So, I'm so excited for that to be uh part of this next year and so many high schoolers can enjoy the experience that I had. >> Yeah, I'm super happy to hear
088that our district office was shown some love tonight because I can only imagine what you guys are going through on the day-to-day basis because our community loves to point the finger at you guys when it comes to the levy. And I can just imagine, you know, it must suck. So happy happy happy you guys got some love today or tonight. And then of course you guys are going to hear it from everyone at the table. Love to hear that we're having sports next year. I myself am on football or play football for Yum High School. Um unlike these guys, I get to play next year. But um football has always been an outlet for me. I started in eighth grade and like when I got to the high school I was terrified. Um so many
089new faces, so many people I've never met. And on top of that are going into that year I got moved up to play with the older guys which was even more terrifying because all my friends were on a different team than me. And um it was actually Bill's grandson Chris that took me under his wing and over the off season we trained and practiced and all that. And it's really just connecting with the older people. And I think that that's a lot of a lot of what high school sports are is making connections with brothers that you would never have met without the sport. So yeah, uh I could go on and on and on, but I love to hear that there's going to be people that get to have that outlet next year. And
090yeah, that's awesome. And then board appreciation month. You guys are really fighting a fire right now. You know, uh, once again could go on about all the crazy things cuz not only is the district office getting the finger, but you guys especially, everyone thinks you can just snap your finger and, you know, fix everything when it's really you can't do it. But you guys are still here and we're forever grateful for that. So, thank you. Yeah. Uh, great meeting tonight, guys. Pretty sure he was talking about the pointer finger. >> Just wanted to clarify. >> We've gotten both. >> Um I do want to thank those at the district office. Um it could be a thankless job. Um a lot of times people behind the scenes, you just get blamed for everything. Um you're not
091the out in the face of a lot of things. So you get you get blamed for a lot of things. I do want to say thank you. um got to meet some of you guys tonight and just so thank you for that. Um I also want to thank the coaches for just really helping make this a possibility because without you guys coming to the table, it wouldn't be a possibility. We'd be sitting on here. Will this work? Will this not work? Can we make it? Can we cut over here? Can we not? And you'd be looking at five people trying to make that decision when we're not in the trenches every day. So I do want to thank you guys um for that effort out there. Um and thank you for Darren and Tanya for
092the strategic plan update. I do appreciate that. I love seeing it at every school when we go to visit. Um I really like that it's something that we just don't put on a shelf and it's a goal and I've said it before that we revisit in five years and be like, "Well, we didn't make it." You know, that's never a good plan. Um I like that we constantly revisit it, revisit a couple times a year, revisit it at every school. We're able to compare schools together, see where there's problems, and you know, data can drive a lot of decisions. I mean, it does in business all day long. Um and I do want to thank my board members. Um, I've learned a lot for you guys or learned a lot from you guys over the
093last 18 months and the sacrifice you guys make. You know, I just want to say thank you, >> Roy. >> Oh, yeah. I am next. I'm pretty sure I've gotten both fingers I starting starting this journey, just to be clear. So, um, uh, the appreciation is always joy to me. I love hearing um there's a lot of staff that I haven't met yet and I haven't encountered anybody that is not um serving with with all their heart. It's pretty obvious that people are are working hard to make things happen here in Yelman. So um I want to say thank you on behalf of myself just there's it's a lot of work and it's it is noticed and I'm excited to get to know each and every one of you and the roles that you're you're
094playing there. So I do appreciate that. um this the sports conversation. I appreciate y'all's personal stories and uh examples. Uh I wish I wish that folks that are transferring out would would know how many hours a day I spent on the phone talking to people in our community about making this happen when I should be with my family or uh managing a company that I own. Um, and it's it's on the phone because I know I know that this is important. And so for those that are still hearing the rumors and and those that are on the fence, uh, there's there's there's a lot of work being done to to make sure that this happens. So, um, I know people got to do what what you have to do for what makes sense for your
095family. Um, but if anyone's listening, there's there's a lot of people working really hard to try to make this happen. So, um, and man, we we spend a lot of money. Every time I see the vouchers and the different things, it just blows me away at the the dollars that are spent. And, uh, the state doesn't um provide all of it. It's it's short even for the basic stuff, even for the standard stuff. And so, as we're prioritizing um what's ahead, it's not an it's not an easy journey. And uh um and we all know we all know but there it's it is exciting to see community here tonight and uh the amount of conversations I've had with with community members that are get involved and and working hard is is pretty exciting and I
096continue to feel um to be filled with hope um with with the people that I'm interacting with and um I I expect that we will come out of this better. And um thank each and every one of you for being here tonight. >> Hey, >> I guess ditto for everything said. Um uh thank you for those that continue to serve at the district office. Um it's a thankless job, but we really appreciate you guys. um you're behind the scenes and people don't always see you and they do point fingers and we know what fingers they're pointing. Um but we know that you we know where your heart's at and that you show up every day and serve with a smile on your face. >> Appreciate it. Um, and um, I also want to say thank
097you to the uh, coaches that came and sat down at the table with um, with uh, Casey and Brian and Diddy just to kind of sit and go, hey, what can we do? What can we do for our kids? What can we do for our community? um because it's going to take a community effort and um you know we've been saying we got to come together. We can do this together. If we if we fight this battle together instead of being at odds, we can do great things together. We're stronger together. So I'm I'm glad, you know, that we can come together and do this. Um I also appreciate my seatmates. Um hello and I appreciate our student. They give us different perspectives for kids >> and and so sometimes we lose sight >> what's
098important and so they always can bring us right back around to okay this is what's important. So anyway thanks for being The one thing I can say about the oven mitt finger pointing is oven mitts. >> Yeah, >> I have an oven mitt. >> Yep. >> So, um like to thank everyone uh in the district office there that got awards tonight and thank my board members. I certainly appreciate them. I can get pick up my phone in the afternoon. I'm going What has Ryan been doing all day? >> He ain't working. >> Not working. >> Okay. Uh, thank you, student board reps. Also, uh, just like to thank everybody. >> Okay. >> Uh, just two things. Uh, wanted to share and, uh, say thank you to our administrators. Um today before the board meeting, um
099we spent time discussing discipline and and how do we improve in those areas and and help our students, help our staff and the discussion um was was great uh powerful. a lot of ideas uh being exchanged and thanks to RMS um their administrators shared um procedures and system that they have in place at RMS and working through uh discipline. But those are the kinds of conversations that we have as an admin team of of things that are actually happening in buildings and how can we improve and the conversation that they have with one another is pretty impressive to to sit back and listen to where you've got um high school administrators learning from elementary principles and vice versa and um asking questions about how things work. And it's pretty impressive to see a group that
100collaborates so well and works so well together and shares ideas and um so number one I wanted to share with you what um they were working on for this particular meeting but also say thank you to them for their commitment. um they show up every day regardless of what's going on. And um they have to um find productive and successful ways to work with students, um to work with all staff, to work with all families, to work with the district office, um to work with the school board. So they do all of that um daily regardless of what's happening in the community. And so I think it's important to recognize um how hard they work. And as a matter of fact um uh I was on the phone with one of them at 2:30 this
101morning um discussing an incident with a threat and um we had an administrator that was communicating with law enforcement and working through a situation with um her admin team at the high school. and uh we were on the phone at 2:30 figuring that out. So they don't sleep either. Um they are uh on call. They're kind of like doctors. So um the work doesn't stop. And uh anytime you get a call at 2:30 in the morning, um your stomach drops because it's never positive at that time. And thankfully um we hope that there'll be a positive ending to this and the student will get the support they need and nobody was hurt. Um so also like to say thank you to our admin team for what they do around the clock. Um and last thing
102I also want to say thank you you guys um you are so articulate and uh the thoughts and ideas that you bring. I I have uh never worked with groups like I have the last couple years. Um that you don't just sit here and play a part. Um you guys make a difference in what we do in this district and I always look forward to hearing what you have to say. Um because it's always something that I can learn from and uh appreciate. So, thank you and I look forward to our um next game night at my house coming soon. Um so that um I believe it's seniors and me. >> Am I with juniors? I can't remember. Whichever team it is, we win. And then >> Mrs. Woods gets to be with the others.
103And and you guys lost last time. So, >> yeah, you can get the LC. >> No, >> yeah, I'll take the juniors. But, um, thank you. I appreciate you guys and you do give up a lot of time to be here and I know you're busy as well. Um, so, thank you very much. That's it. >> Okay. The next board meeting will be February 12th, 2026 at 6 PM in Ridgeline Middle School.