001Good evening. I'm calling to order the special board meeting of Tuesday, April 14th. Mrs. Schul, can we get a roll call? >> Yes. Carol Fox here. Tom Henkins. >> Amy Levy. Megan Miller >> present. >> Brian Nichols >> here. >> Joanne Rule >> here. And Tia Johnson >> here. >> All members are present except Tom Henkins and Amy Levy. Thank you. May I get an approval of the agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Joanne Rue, seconded by Brian Nichols. Any discussion? All in favor? >> I >> Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Tonight we have a workshop style meeting and our first item we're going to discuss is budget guidance. The purpose of this is to have the board provide guidance to the administration to develop a comprehensive writen 2026 2027 budget plan.
002We uh started this discussion at the last regular board meeting and Mrs. Fox has uh updated the recommended guidance to district administration. Um Mrs. Fox, do you want to walk us through some of your changes? >> Uh yeah, the changes aren't terribly significant, but I did I I wanted to sort out, you know, what really we're talking in terms of what our priorities might be. And so I kind of put those at the at the top. Um and if anybody wants to add anything um but I put the maintaining um existing pupil teacher ratio guidelines. Um preserving the staff retention and recruitment by providing the 2.63 CPI increase and prioritizing district programs and initiatives that help drive our student enrollment like themy's model and the DLI um programs. So then the next section is you
003know some of the documentation that um would be needed in order to um make some good decisions. Um and that's pretty much the same but it's you know the written written plans um comprehensive lists of addendum contracts um the plan for the legal services and IT services etc. So um that wasn't changed. I did put the you know shortterm the facilities things kind of at the end and I think I explained that the last time is like you know facility especially selling facilities takes time and effort and may not be helpful to us at the in the short term um maybe a little bit in the long term but um and then again a recommendation that a district finance committee be be formed um so that stakeholders have more opportunity to weigh in on what
004some of these decisions are um and make recommendations. >> Thank you. And the district finance committee is not a board ad hoc committee. Correct. >> Correct. No, that it's just a district committee. So, um it it has um there's another name for it, but it's it's less formal. Um and you can have a whole bunch of different people on it without having to have board approval every time you want to do something. >> Megan, >> thank you so much. Are you able to hear me? Okay, >> perfect. Okay, thank you. U Miss Fch, this is beautiful. Thank you so much for taking the time to incorporate the feedback that um you know we discussed like last week and just this is really well organized. I really appreciate the thoughtfulness that went into this. Um the
005only other thing I would hang on I'm on the wrong screen here. Here we go. Um looking at documentation, excuse me. I love that you are looking for a written staffing um plan as well as program plans. I am curious, I guess, in your vision, Miss Fox, um, and and certainly anybody else, um, where do you think like some process reporting or like audits for like our current HR practices and things like that might live just because I know it's very expensive to recruit new staff and like we've gotten, I think it came up at this last meeting and it's come up at other meetings, some ongoing feedback that there are issues, I guess, with maybe the process or pipeline of how we recruit staff. I'm I'm gonna just kind of pause there. Um, Miss
006Fox, for your thoughts or feedback? >> Um, I I think that they can uh live in in conjunction with some of this. Um, some of the things that we're thinking about changing um may need more time and be looking, you know, we got two things going on here. the the the one we've got to get ready for next year. And then beyond that, um you know, the tale of two budgets, he said. So, um as we continue to work on budgets, we do need to be looking at processes for sure. Um we may need to get a little more into um what we need to do for next year's budget more quickly because we need to make some decisions quickly. Um but that doesn't mean we we ignore that other stuff. Does does that answer
007your question or get to what you're driving at? >> No, absolutely. And I guess I just wanted to make sure that like, you know, sometime like this is really I think you did a really good job explaining and detailing all of this. I want to make sure sometimes when people hear like staffing plan, we think we're talking about the same thing, but we're talking about different things, you know. So, I just just to clarify, I wanted to make sure that that's sort of like in orbit of what your your concept is here. And I agree with you. It's going to take time to work on some of those processes. I think we just to be good stewards of not just financially um you know just all of our district resources and respecting people and their
008time and their desire to work in the district. That should just be sort of part of this discussion. Um the only other thing a second I was looking at now I just lost my train of thought though. Sorry. Oh there it is. Um, >> you know what? Let me let me pause and I just want to hear from other people because I don't want to dominate the mic, but I did have a little bit of um, if could you circle back to new board President Johnson at some point? >> Sure thing. And this is this is a workshop. So, we're just talking through things. Joanne. Okay. >> Did you have any thoughts on this? So, is it just thoughts about this recommended guidance document at this point or are we discussing the other things that
009Dr. Anderson brought up that he would like for us to say yes, explore this option or >> I I have that one as the next agenda item, but if any of them you feel apply to this or should be incorporated, let us know. No, I'll save mine for that agenda item, I guess. >> Brian, >> uh, I I agree with board member Rue. I'll I'll wait till we get to the other section. >> Okay. Um, yeah, and I I'll um echo Megan Miller. I thank you, Carol, for doing this. I I really appreciate it. um the develop and update a short and long-term facilities plan to respond to facilities and maintenance needs. I think one of the things that um we need to decide probably sooner rather than later and this, you know, hopefully will
010involve some uh community uh discussion and dialogue, but are we going to start closing schools and which ones which ones make sense? We had we're going to have to consolidate. I know people don't um relish the idea of having to close more schools, but it's the reality of the situation we're in. Well, I I agree, but I also was looking back at reviewing what we discussed and what the questions are. you know, it's like, do we let the roof go on the the these two schools because um I I know it's a million dollars, but um you know, do we look for other ways to to cover that because I'm not sure we want to let that go. And um we were just at the Aldridge parking lot the other day and you know what,
011that parking lot needs to be redone. And how long do we not not do those things and make our facilities worse? And um you know, I don't know what else to say, but we we can't let our facilities go either until we're until we sell them. We can let them go then, I guess. >> Megan, thank you so much. Okay. Thank you so much. Sorry, I double clicked there. My apologies. Um, thank you for bringing up the school um, building potential closure piece. I'm really glad that even though I understand, Miss Fox, what your intention was with the facilities notes that you made. Um, I think that's really important um, just to keep to keep that in the conversation because of course that would make an dramatic impact not just on our kids, right, but
012just on the entire city. So, um, since, uh, since you clarified that our next agenda item will be just to go through those delineated questions, I guess I just I have three more sort of just like broad topics that I think should be part of the conversation that we don't necessarily need to deep dive into. One, um, building off really off of what board President Johnson was just saying, and I think I brought this up last time, too. I think we also in addition to this guidance as a board need to be prepared to work with the administration to put together some kind of a communication plan. Now that could um Miss Fox like I'm not exactly sure the scope of work that you're envisioning for the the finance committee that certainly could dovetail um
013and be part of the same kind of initiative. But as a board, I think we need to be very intentional like right now about setting a calendar for like where and how frequently will we be um putting together whether it's round table or just listening sessions to get people's feedback whether it's about the budget, whether it's about you know potential referendum stuff. I think it's a bit premature. I'm not saying like next week. I love that we're doing this tonight so we can really um everybody can get on the same page at least in a large level so that we can take something to community and say hey so here's the scope of what we're looking at we really want to hear from you also like here are some amazing things that are happening that
014we would like to continue to fund etc right so I do think that within the next few weeks um it would be responsible for us to put together some kind of communication plan uh in partnership with not just the board but with our administration as well. So, that's one broad piece. Another broad piece, I remembered my train of thought from last time. Um, I know that this is not ideal, but in the spirit of a tale of two budgets, I'm going to throw a I'm going to throw a third concept in there just to spunk it up. Um, short-term borrowing is not fun. It's not ideal. It's not terribly responsible, right? because we end up paying interest when it I think as part of our feedback that we get from from the community. We have
015to kind of keep that in orbit. Maybe it's far in orbit, but if there if push comes to shove and there is some kind of harm that could potentially come to children, maybe it's like a program that deals with like, you know, nutrition or whatever, whatever it might be. I think I would I would really like to hear from Dr. Anderson and Miss Elwood and the team about and I realize it's not something we want to do, but if for some reason we had to incorporate that in what what a good range or what our expectations should be for how best to utilize that option. I'm not saying right now that we should utilize that option, but I think it would be responsible for us to have considered it and to think about like if
016we did this, how would that factor into like, you know, the next three, five, etc. years down the road, right? Because that has long-term impacts. So, I did just want to bring that up. And then the last thing I just want to throw in here before we get into um the next agenda item, just because it's specifically reflected on this extremely beautiful document that I absolutely love. Thank you again. um just like urging us to think creatively too. So I don't want to mislead people by saying here's how we're going to avoid ever closing a school again. At the same time, I also don't want to limit ourselves. So I think if we could just like adopt a mentality of as we're looking at these very difficult choices that we will absolutely have to make
017asking the question like what possibility even if it feels like a long shot would there be to be creative about mitigating harm to kids in these cuts for example with our DI situation um we had asked or I I had called Dr. Anderson and Carol, you were in that conversation too. Um, just to ask like, you know, could we reach out to DPI to see if there's potential for a waiver? That has yet to be determined. The answer might be no. We don't know. But I really am so grateful to Dr. Anderson and all the administration that's helping him do that work that he's even making the effort and and and getting something out there and and creating a possibility where we thought like maybe there was no possibility. So, I again, I want to
018be really careful about misleading people. I don't want the message to be, oh, we're going to have like all these magic creative solutions and nothing will be cut, but at the same time, I just don't want I want to make sure we're not limiting ourselves. So, those are all of the kind of the pieces that I wanted to just sort of like, you know, weave into the conversation. Um, and again, just a lot of gratitude for the work that you put into this and and for everything that people shared tonight. >> Thank you, Megan. Mr. Mr. Henkins, we are looking at the recommended guidance to district administration in response to potential budget shortfall. Would you like to make any comments or have any questions? >> Megan, excuse my absence up till now, but um so
019I heard a little bit of what Megan was talking about. Where are we at? We're just at the, you know, and looking at this uh piece. >> We're we're looking at do we as a board agree this is a document that we should give Dr. Anderson so he can work with the administration understanding this these are the priorities of this board. >> Thank you. I understand that. So, this was draft was developed by Carol Fox and other people and we're we're approving because I remember correct me if I'm wrong in case I'm catching up. Um, there were some tweaks to it. So, this is kind of a a different but it's kind of the same thing. >> So, are we looking for Yes. I No, I have no more questions. Thank you. >> Anything you
020wanted to add or any other suggestions? Well, if you allow allow me, >> it's a workshop style meeting. So, >> thank you. Um, >> get it off your chest. >> Okay. So, I just want to go back to our last meeting and there were several items on our agenda that we did not address that Dr. Anderson, I believe, wanted us to address. And uh there was like four or five bullet points. >> Yep. And that's the next agenda item >> that's not part of this. >> Super excited. >> Right. Right. Yeah. Um Right. But I'll say to you the same thing I said to Joanne. If there's anything on those on Dr. Anderson's questions, bullet points that you want incorporated or embedded in this, let us know. Now, >> that is not this, >> right?
021>> Thank you. >> No, I have no more questions. >> Okay. May I say though that I when I looked at that list, there are some things that I I think, you know, might be part of one of these things that, you know, we may we may just say, well, that, you know, when we're looking at that, we want that to kind of go back and be part of a bigger picture. >> Okay. Go ahead, Joanne. So, um, just listening to what Megan was saying, um, something that stuck out to me was a communication plan and, um, as boards change. Um, I've, especially in doing the dual language, um, decision- making, um, there's holes, uh, where we don't have communication with different groups in our community. And so I love the idea of really thinking
022about our communication plan and um maybe um like figuring out what those groups might be and how we can as a board um as a district make sure that we're listening to all those different voices too when we're making these decisions. >> Thank you, Julian. Anyone else? Well, >> T, if I may >> go ahead. Um and just you know not say anything against what my colleague Joanne said but time is of the essence and we have to make a lot of decisions really quick and you know to to yes we'd all like to have community involvement in doing this and doing that and I I'm with that but we are at what April 14th right now and uh we have decision make for athletic department by May 1st we have referendum questions, but we
023all know that. So I community involvement is very important. I agree. But we have to temper that with getting our business done. Thank you. >> So this being a workshop, I can respond. Um yes, the referendum question, absolutely. We need community involvement though, like right now. Yep. May 1st coming Tik Tok. But the bigger stuff like I think that that will help us um in the long run. I think it's very very important. I've already made some contacts. So I'm trying to work on it from my end, but I think it's a it's a group problem like a group project if you will. So maybe we can figure something out. Um, can I just I think that is one of the beauties of a district committee because you have representation from or should have representation
024from every building, every grade level. Um, you know, it involve parents and then those people's task would be to go back and make sure that that information is shared with their building um and with other stakeholders and then you start involving community members as well. Um, and so that's a a good way to start sharing information and having it disseminate. >> Was that what we had when we had passed that the referendum our last referendum that passed? Is that what we had, Carol? Cuz you were Were you you were still No. No. No. Does anyone know, Michelle? Do you know? Is that what we had? because we I mean we we had a huge group of people that like went into all the different schools that went into the library had all these um different
025roundts and it wasn't the superintendent it was firefighters and police officers and PTO presidents and things like that. >> I I believe that was a group independent of the school district of blo because uh we can't do that. um board members on their free time. >> No, no, not Right. Right. Right. But I'm just I'm I'm letting I'm letting board members know and um new board members, incoming board members um on our free time when we're not wearing our board member hat and we're individual citizens, we can promote or um advocate one way or another. But when when we're board members and when we are administrators for the district um employees, you cannot. So So um yes, there there um are different community groups that are air quotes the yes groups or the no groups
026and um more power to all of them. >> So again, just for information sharing, you know, you you get your groups going and they can share information. We're not talking about we're talking about budget cuts and things like that. Not necessarily um a referendum thing that referendum makes it a different level, but information sharing and talking about, you know, direction of what we want for our district, that's a different thing. >> Correct. And and I don't know of any groups that went to any libraries or anything to talk about our budget unless it was a referendum. Um, so, Carol, do you mind if we ask to have incorporated another um item for developing a communication plan and then Mrs. Sche have this on next Tuesday's um regular board meeting for approval? >> Oh, that's fine.
027>> To present to the um district administration. >> Yeah, that's fine. >> Okay, Tom. Yeah, I just have one question and maybe it was covered. Um, Miss Fox and Tia, was this run by admin, i.e. Leah and Dr. Wayne? You know, these is this something that what we're asking them to do >> at at the last board meeting. And I'm I'm sorry, Dr. Malot, I did not ask you your opinion. Um, I figured you would have jumped in if you wanted to say something. Is did and do you have anything that you wanted to add or any questions or >> Okay, Tom, does that answer your question? >> Yes, it does. I just want to make sure I mean we are separate. We are together. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Oh, Megan, thank
028you so much. I'll be brief. Um I just just the I really enjoyed like the last conversation there and I just think a nice way to sort of braid braid those kind of those different conversations together is just under the larger concept right that like the budget is a tool that funds a vision. So while we may not in the past have gone out to the community to say hey here's what we're going to cut what do you think I think if we frame it as what is given the scarcity of resources we have what is the vision that you want to see like what should we fund right because the budget should be shaped around and and and be a mechanism of forwarding that vision so it to that point I do think it's
029important to get community input and maybe um as we move forward too at the superintendent selection. It's a nice way, and I'll just use this word again, to braid together uh community feedback on superintendent pieces, right? But potential referendum and uh the inevitability of some some big budget changes that are going to happen. Um also, uh Dr. Malot, um thank you so much for getting the staff survey out to folks. I'm assuming that like what we put forward from a board perspective uh like this document is that going to go in tandem with feedback that you get from staff or is that something that we need to include in our document? I'm assuming it's the former not the latter. >> We h we have that available if you would like it. >> So is that
030is that something that like you'll be I mean you obviously have received that feedback. Is that something I mean we would love to see it. I'm assuming as a board I certainly would, but that's not something you need us to put into this document like for the purposes of today. >> We'd be happy to share it with you today. >> Sounds great. Thanks. >> Okay. Thank you. So, our next um item is the one that Joanne I think you want to talk to and this is the um 2026 2027 budget. On Monday, March 30th, Dr. Anderson reviewed different budget options with the board for balancing the 2627 budget. This board discussion is to provide administration with how they would like to proceed budgeting in the following areas. Does the board want administration to add 100,000
031to athletic budget so that all current athletic teams can operate at the 2526 level or does the board want to have administration work with Dan Gratz to reduce our current athletic offerings so that it can operate under the budget levels established for the 2425 and 2526 levels? Vacant properties. Does the board want to sell vacant properties currently owned but not being used by the district? Fund 80. Does the board want to proceed with using fund 80 as a means to provide afterchool programming for local students at boys and girls clubs? Legal counsel. Does the board want to create a job description and posting to move forward with hiring an in-house attorney to assist the district with current and future legal assistance? Communications director. Does the board want to restore or create a new position to
032deal with district communications and OPED funds? Does the board want administration to use OPED funds to help balance any projected budget for shortfall for the 2627 school year budget or does it want to retain these funds to help alleviate projected shortfalls in the 2728 budget? If the second ch option is chosen, then additional reductions will need to be made to existing staff and programming. Mrs. Elwood, did was there anything that you wanted to add before we jump into discussion? Just that um we do have prepared tonight the survey that had gone out. if you want to go through that first or if you want to wait and do that after. >> Yeah, let's go through that first then. >> So, Dr. Melada, I'm not sure if you want to speak or >> I can we
033can just do it in tandem, I think. So, we were asked um to put together a survey for our staff. This survey went out to all district staff. Um I believe we got about 290 total responses. So um this went out to our um SDB staff. So not the AGS staff or Chartwell staff, just our our SDB staff groups. Um on the survey, you can see it's broken down by grade levels or excuse me um school bands, sorry. um elementary, middle, high school and district office. And this is by groups by the major groups that responded. The majority of the responses were from teachers. In our survey, we asked um what the district's top priority should be when making budget reductions. We asked staffs to choose their top two. Um so our the priorities were
034protect classroom instruction with 122 responses, maintain student support services at 156 responses, preserve class size, 92 responses, maintain extracurriculars, um 44 responses, I think. I can't read that. >> And retain staff positions, 114 responses. And then um not not too far out of the box was maintain facilities and operations with >> and then the remainder of the responses were people filling in the other. And this kind of summarizes what um the main ideas were from people. >> I'm not sure. Do you want >> Can I ask a question? Yep. >> Yeah. Um what what does it mean retaining staff positions when we talk about we're talking about protecting classroom instruction, preserving management of class sizes and maintaining student support. And then what else? I mean retaining staff positions is what else? Retaining staff position positions
035would be the positions that we already have staff in. So not cutting positions that we already have staff employed in. So that would be looking um differently from um reducing the positions that we have not filled. >> How is the what was the question? How did you how was it framed? >> I will have to >> This is the question. In your opinion, what should be the district's top priority when making budget reductions and retain staff positions was one of the items that they could choose to of? Anyone else? Joan, your hand is up. >> Yeah. What >> What are the things at the bottom of that? I wasn't understanding the rest of that slide. >> Sorry. >> Um, >> so there was a an option for other. So this that was where people >>
036Okay. So cuz some of these look exactly the preserve prioritize class size is listed again. >> So is retained staff um class like it it's the same things, isn't it? Or are they just people commented and >> some of them were the same ideas over and over again? Yes. And that's why we did kind of this um the summary here that the the majority of staff were looking to keep the staff that we currently have. So it it was basically a forced choice to pick two out of six things and the rest I mean they they picked two out of those one two three six things. That's it. That was the survey. >> No, no, no. This is one question out of the multiple question survey. Oh, >> we're not just getting we're just getting
037>> So, they could pick two out of those six things. >> Yes. This was just one question of I think there were 10. >> Okay. >> 10 or 12. Yeah. >> Okay. >> So, this was the second question. Um so out of all the budget reduction strategies um which were the ones that people were supporting and the biggest support was for non-essential spending such as travel material subscriptions reducing central office or administrative costs um eliminating unfilled or vacant positions. Michelle Can you turn your microphone off? Thank you. I'm sorry. I I was trying to get on my microphone, but too many mics were on, so I'm sorry, Michelle. Um, is it did the staff have an opportunity to um write write their thoughts or is this just a check this, check that? >> Nope. This
038one also had the option to to write in an other and that's all the all of the other ones on the bottom that have one person. Um the ones that have the most responses are the ones that were pre-filled and then the other is all of the responses. And this doesn't have all the responses obviously because it was super long. So these are just a sample of some of the things that people said. Uh, excuse reduce non-essential what? At 64%. >> Um, >> spending. >> Yep. >> And we can provide you with the what the survey actually looked like, too. Um, I guess I didn't realize that I had cut it off so much when I copied it. Is it possible to get all the comments too that that bottom part? >> Yes. >> Okay.
039I I have it in an Excel spreadsheet. It's pretty lengthy. And this one reflects the support that people have through reducing positions through attrition and not through um The next one here talks about um or is an opinion on what is most important to consider when making our staffing decisions. They have the option to pick two. Um so minimizing layoffs of course and maintaining studentto staff ratio. Um protecting high need students, retaining highly effective staff and um seniority considerations. And then continuation of programming and again all the ones with one were right on right in the same question. I have a question, but it's it's on point, but it's kind of off. Going back to attrition, and let's look let's look to uh 26 27. Uh what does that number look like? I mean, for
040retirees and uh I I know that we figure there's a maybe not a hard number, but at least a percent that we know won't be coming back. Is has that been out already? What the teachers have to come back? Thank you. >> Yes, we did send that survey out earlier in this calendar year. Um I can look up if you give me a few minutes what the uh percentage uh in those results were so that I can give you an accurate number. >> Thank you. That's always helpful. And the comment about um using attrition to reduce our budget and not having the right staff in place is a valid comment because if you need, you know, a high school technology teacher because somebody retired and not replacing that person because we need to cover budget
041shortfall, but we still need a teacher in that classroom. That doesn't really work. So yeah, we need to do some give and take with the with the retirements. >> No, I completely understand. I remember going back to ad hoc when Miss Fox was running that and it was the Swiss cheese effect. You know that. So it sticks in my mind and I totally agree. Just because we lost through attrition a position doesn't mean that we don't have to backfill it. And this next question was about program and service uh service considerations. Um and which which items that people wanted to protect the most um last on the list for reductions and the highest number was core academic instruction. Um that's the the and that has to be our our um most protective protected area because
042if we don't have a core academic instruction that's that's what our has to be the focus of our school district. Um but then the other two areas that they have a strong um opinion on about special ed services and student mental health should be noted here as well. And the next question was regarding um school health services. And again the um the survey results show a very strong support for our um school health services. And this next question was about if the reductions in health services was considered um which approach would you support and let's see reorganization was high on the list um or shared services and then the next was u making minimal reductions with careful prioritization. The next one was school safety and security. And again you can see that they have very
043high priority um with school safety and security. They value that as extremely important. Again the next one is safety and security and if reductions in school safety and security were considered which approach would which approach would you support? Um and they overwhelmingly avoid reductions whenever possible and then make minimal reductions with careful prioritization. So essentially keeping our kids safe wherever we possibly can. So overall our school staff our our FTB staff views that safety and health services very important critical pieces of our students day. >> And this next section is um techn technology planning. Um it was interesting to see how many people um were in support of moving away from a onetoone model. Um 41% uh reduced the number of devices um shared use models and 35% to phase and replacement over multiple years.
044Um the um it was interesting to see that they're more focused at the elementary level of removing that one to one model. Um just a suggestion that if we do move to a different model that we'll have to take into account curriculum needs at those levels as well because there's been a number of curriculum developments that have been dependent on those um technologies. And the next question was kind of an open-ended cost saving ideas and suggestions. It was a um just give us your ideas and this is kind of a summary of the items that came back. that I'm sorry. Did anybody have any questions on any of these? >> I'm a slow reader, so I'm just laughing because I I'm gonna have to just look at this later on and like be able to
045sit and really look through it. One question on that last slide. I thought we are no longer using Ford NGL formies. Is that true or not? >> They've been using it as an outside contracted services still. Um, I'm not sure as far as outside contracted service, but I know >> I know that I know they're still using the academy model, but I thought they were no longer >> there there was a payment before NGL this year. I can't tell you the exact amount, but I think it was under the 25,000. >> Okay. Did you want to talk about the retirement? >> Yes. >> Okay. So, in excuse me, in response to uh board member Henkins question, when we sent out the intent to return survey, um out of the 726 total staff that we have,
046464 responses were captured, of which nine identified their intent to retire, eight their intent to resign, 417 their intent to return. >> Thank you. >> Does that does that kind of fall in line with normal years those numbers? You don't have to be exact. Just >> I think sometimes our staff suffers a little bit from survey fatigue. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so I think that the approximate 50 something% response rate is very positive compared to some of our other surveys. >> I I agree with that. You know, and I go back to, you know, in policy and at the board, we just we did the exhibit A and the amount of resignations that happened. You know, who obviously somebody saw it coming, but you know, is that captured in the numbers that you just
047told us? And I'm not asking, you know, no, I mean, you don't know. It just happens. >> No, some people are very organized and they have their life planned out enough where they know back in January or February what they're doing for next year. >> Others are still considering their options, so they do not respond, >> right? >> Um, and then we see exhibit A where we have a considerable amount, right, >> of resignations or retirements that are not captured in the survey. >> Okay. Thank you. So, these next couple of slides, it's really tiny and I apologize. I did ask um for the survey to give me some um summaries of all the different areas and that's what's on the next two slides here. and we'll make sure that you guys get a copy
048of this. I have a question and maybe this might be a question for Rob or Lauren. um our our legal council. One I one of these that jumped out at me, several responses suggested holding parents and students financially responsible for repairs and replacement of damaged devices. Um and I wonder if it is is that limited to just the devices or damaged things. Sometimes when students, you know, are escalated and having a episode, they might destroy sometimes staff members personal effects. Can we legally require parents to be financially accountable for that stuff? So in the case of where say for example a student breaks a window in a school, yes, we do build a family. we go through um the police department and uh a fine is assessed basically and typically we do get those paid
049back. In the cases of the Chromebooks, we do charge a fee if for a lost Chromebook. A lot of the repairs and maintenance type things are covered under our warranty or our in-house repairs and we don't charge those to the student unless it's significant like if they like destroyed the Chromebook, then yes, we would charge the family a fee. and say a teacher had a coat on their chair and a student destroyed that coat. Does this does the district go after the parent for the cost of the coat? >> Those kinds of situations, I'm not sure. I'm not aware of if we do or not. Um I'm just aware the more the bigger ones. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you. And I think this is the second page of the summary. Are there any questions
050or comments, thoughts? Anybody want ahead? >> Sorry, I have my hand up if that's okay. Sorry. Thanks. Oh, no. Well, I mean, I'm like Joanne. I need a minute to to read and consider and process, I think, before I say anything that's like incredibly of value. But I do truly appreciate this. The turnaround time from administration to put this out was outstanding. And this has just been such a valuable addition to this discussion. And so, I just wanted to say thank you. >> Yeah. Thank you Stephanie and Dr. a lot for doing that especially on such short notice. We we really appreciate that. Um, one of the things that I >> Bever's help with that as well. >> Oh, thank you, Maverander helped with analysis. >> Um, thank you all cabinet members um and Brett
051Berg. >> The district has a policy 343.2 two, which is class size. Um, the student teacher class sizes listed below are intended to serve as guidelines for determining staffing needs within the school district of boy. The board of education ad administration will make every effort to implement the policy within the constraints of the budget space and staff available elementary levels. Um, 3K to three. It is 22:1 or 30-2 average goal for 4 to five. Grades four to five it's 30 to1 average. For middle school the core classes is 30 to1 average. Electives are 30 to1 average and a 15 to1 minimum. And fed is a 30 to1 average. high school education classes are a 30 to1 average and a 15 to1 minimum. I'm wondering do we know how many high school classes or middle school
052elective classes that we have that have fewer than 15 students is my first question. And then my second question is do we know how closely we are adhering to this policy and I understand these are averages and goals. So the last time that we looked at the offerings for electives at the high school or middle school they were still working on building out um their master schedule. So, we didn't have definitive numbers of students that would be interested in participating to see what we could cut, if anything. Okay. Um, that's why we need a staffing plan, right? I mean, that's how you figure out where u what the class sizes are and where the where the issues are or are not. um because we have um we have declining enrollment. So um and my understanding
053is that we have lost since the beginning of the year to the end of the year we lost about 100 students. So at some point that does translate to classroom teachers that even though we can keep it under the these um qualifications and restrictions. Um, the other thing we might need to consider is raising the minimum if we need to be doing some cutting, which which we need to do. But without looking at the staffing plan and uh what projected numbers we are having to roll up and and look at, it's very hard to make those kinds of judgments. But you should be able to say we ought to be able to decrease by so many teachers in such and such an area based on projected enrollment. >> Oh, certainly. Go ahead, Brian. >> That
054brings up a good question. So, where are we in actual pupil uh enrollment since the first of the year? I knew one of I knew one of you three would have it if not two of you. As of yesterday, our current enrollment is 4733. >> And how does that compare to the >> last third third Friday count? I don't I don't have that number right in front of me, but if you give me a second, I can probably find Do you have that number? >> Third Friday count versus enrollment is >> I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You're right. Just No, actual enrollment. >> Actual enrollment right now is 4,73. >> What was it at the beginning of the school year? at the at the end of September when I did the count >> at the end
055of September. I will give you September 22nd 4,842. >> Okay. >> Over 100 students. Yep. >> Thank you. Are we ready for like our thoughts on all that? Okay. So, um after our last meeting, I budget is not my strong suit and um and I didn't say much and so I figure if I just say stuff at the beginning, then I won't chicken out. So, um so these are the things that I reflected on. We passed the Hendricks proposal. We almost passed the last referendum. We've cut millions and millions already. And um I think I think our community is seeing that we are trying and are willing to invest in us now as a district. And so we've got this OPED money. I think we need to do a Hail Mary and use it. um
056listening to that gentleman that drove up from Rockford about how cutting sports affected his um co his classmates um that has an impact. Um all the classes that our students come here for um we want to keep them here. Um we've got a lot of stuff going on that are good things and there is nothing that is lowhanging fruit anymore for us to cut. So, I think Dr. Anderson asked us, look at these things. I think absolutely we need to look at fund 80 for the Boys and Girls Club. We need to look at having a lawyer for our district. We need to sell that vacant land. And I think the sports thing, we say yes this year, but then we need to have a real budget for it next year and not ever do
057that again. Um because a $100,000 over when it didn't work last year, we should have caught this before this point to know it wasn't going to work this year. So those are all my thoughts. >> Thank you, Julian. Anyone else? Tom? >> Well, I'm not sure if this is the proper time to be an overview of what my colleague just did. And I think we're going to attack them individually, I would imagine. Correct. because they are individual items that are uh >> all under letter B. >> I understand that. But >> did you >> Well, the I do I do like working with numbers and budget and being in business for a number of years and they do make sense to me. um you know money in money out and it's got to equal at
058the end of the day you know and why how we get there is a different avenue and we have lots of things to decide you know I I don't want to lump them all together there are several different things going on selling of properties you know they're all individual but yes we need to get our we have to show the community that we're doing our due diligence and sharpening our pencil once again and uh making sure that every dollar we spend is going back into the students. So, as an overview, that's just the overview. So, they're all to me they're all individual and just uh pardon me. Yes, I know >> we can go through them one one by one. >> Well, thank you, >> Brian. No. Well, if we're going to do that, I'll
059I'll wait. Okay. Thank >> Carol. >> Um, well, I guess I can I can hold off a little bit, too, but I I think I don't think we can just say we're going to use OPED money without doing the due diligence of looking at what can be done without using it. It's a one-time deal. Once it's there, it's gone. I believe we have about 4 million left or is it more than that? >> Over four. But that depends on whether we use any this year. But but I don't think we can just say we're going to use it until we we look at what else we can do. Um and then and then maybe um use some of it, but I wouldn't want to just say we're just going to use it. >> If if
060I if I could add on something to what Carol just said, it's going up at about 30 grand a month. Is that right? 30 to 35,000 a month >> approximately. Yes. >> Yeah. >> Right. Okay. >> It's getting a very good Yes. >> rate of return. >> That's my point. >> Thank you. >> How long has it been acrewing that much interest? Is that >> I've only been in the district for three years and it's been there since I started here. So the last um person that was drawing a benefit was in October of 24 and I think that money had already been there. >> Okay. >> A number of years before I I arrived in the district. >> Okay. So, so there is a benefit to hanging on to the OPED money for this
061year knowing that we are going to have a huge financial burden next year that we're going to have to look at and allowing that to acrue that interest. >> That is correct. Yes. >> Okay. Tom. >> Yeah. On that note, I remember this conversation kind of with uh Mr. Cheney. the downside of using that money and how it affects um state funding. Could you just give a brief overview of that? >> So the a shared cost effect of using that money is minimized when you have expenses that match it. If we were to bring it all over in one lump sum, then yes, it would have an effect on shared cost. But bringing it over as you have expenses, it minimizes that effect on shared costs, which shared cost is the piece of the equalization
062aid formula that affects our state aid. >> So what if you move that money over, it has to be assigned to a certain cost. Is that that kind of what you're saying? >> If you do it that way, yes, it minimizes the effects on Yeah, >> minimizes, but there still is an effect of moving it over. There is, but it's smaller when you have the expenses that go with it. >> Okay. Thank you. >> So, that is the total 4.6 million. Correct. >> As of the end of February. Yeah. >> Right. And we're looking at 4.5. I mean, that that means we had would have nothing left and we don't know if we're going to use the 1.9 for this year's budget or not. Do we have any idea of how much we may may
063or may not use? And back to going back to the first conversation about the $100,000. um would we have $100,000 in this year's budget to cover that? >> So, currently our budget is has been set and with the 1.9 um transfer over from OPAD, I have not done calculations for year end yet because there are a number of things that happen at year end that affect our balances. Um for example, we don't have I mean we won't have final health insurance numbers till we get closer to mid to the end of June. Um, so I can't tell I can't, you know, tell you right now whether or not we're going to use that 1.9. Now, going based on last year's numbers, we did fairly well and we did have a slight um surplus of funds
064at the end of the year, about $250,000. So, and we've been running pretty lean this year. We've been very careful about not spending as much money as we had in the past. We've been very careful. We haven't purchased any new technology. there's been very little um major upgrades or improvements for our facilities. We've been very very careful, but like I said, the health insurance because we are self-funded, those numbers could change when we get towards year end. And I would caution the board to be using up our savings or fund balance in a one-time cost or one time year because then the next year we are facing a very large deficit. if we lose 600 students. >> So the recommendation is spend fund balance before spending OPED. That's one option. I hesitate to use up
065fund balance either because it when you use up fund balance then it does cause other issues with with short-term borrowing. Um Megan had mentioned I'm sorry Mrs. Miller had mentioned earlier about short-term borrowing and the district has had to do shortterm borrowing for as long well the three years I've been here we've done it and I'm sure it was done before that with the fund balance being so low. But if you decrease the fund balance any further, that short-term borrowing is probably going to have to happen a few times during the year, not just once. >> Thank you, Brian. >> Well, I was going to wait, but now I'm not going to wait. Um I I think we should hold on to the OPED. Um I just do because of what you just said. Um
066there's a lot there there's a lot more in 2728 that we got to concern ourselves with and we do in the rest of this you know and then 26 27. So that would be my recommendation one of seven. Thank you >> Megan. >> Thank you. I just want to clarify we're on the bullet point the the very last bullet point. Is that right where it's specifically OPEP or is this like was this an offshoot of the athletics conversation? >> This this is this is the workshop style discussion. >> No, I just want to make sure that I'm Oopsies. I just clicked the wrong thing. I just I want to make sure that I'm not veering off into a direction. Okay. So, I would say in the spirit of it being workshop style, um I think
067like I agree with what's been said about OPED. I think that we need to protect our fund balance and our oped funds. I'm going to go comma but I'm going to go back to kind of the metaphor that I I threw out last week. Kind of a little concentric circle situation, right? Best case scenario, we don't touch OP. We don't touch fund balance. In reality, things get messy. And this is like I think um Miss Lwood, and you can call me, that's totally fine. But Miss Hollywood had said earlier, you know, our chief responsibility is our children and their education. If push comes to shove and you know, in theory things look good on paper, but then in practice it becomes something different. I am not opposed and I think it would be irresponsible for
068us not to have like some kind of a plan B. I think in the spirit of what um of what Joanne was saying too, like I I really agree that we need to be thinking about How do we how how do we most conservatively and responsibly, but still use those funds, whatever, whether it's through cuts or having to dip into things to make sure our kids get what they need next year. So, it it's a balancing act. That's why we're having this conversation. So, what I'm wondering in the spirit of this last bullet point before getting into the specifics with athletics or anything else, would it make sense for us to say like just like Dr. Anderson came to us with the here's the tale of two budgets. Scenario A where we use neither OP
069nor fund balance, you know, looks like this. Scenario B, like I think Tia, this is what you were just getting at. Would it be better to use OPED or fund balance? Like we're going to have to make a decision because at some point we probably will have to dip into one of one or two of those. So I really like the conversation that we're having, right? Like figuring out what are the pros and cons about Fund 10 versus OP. you know, like Brian was saying, you know, there's an interest situation one over the other. So, I would like to just like learn a little bit more information and maybe that's something that can happen right now. Um, if Miss Lwood, if you wouldn't mind giving us a if we have to um if we if
070we we're not going to cut our way to to the vision that we want to have, it's it's kind of likely that we'll have to dip into one or two of these things. would your recommend recommendation be, you know, not that we're just going to like cash out, but if we have to dip in, like which direction do we go first and why? Like in your opinion? That's a super interesting question and quandry and I and I um hear what you're asking, but I don't know that I could give you a definitive answer of which one would be better to choose first because >> and that makes sense. >> No, and I get it. Both of them have their pros and cons because once you use either one of them, the funds are gone. So
071that that's the big quandry right there is they're both equally important because they're basically our savings accounts and once you use those monies they're gone so you can't use them a second time. So if we're talking about two budgets, you know, 2627 and then 2728, 2627, we have a shortfall of about 4.5 million. And then I think that when we move into the next year, it's 14.1 if we do nothing. So if we use up fund balance or OPED in the first year, we have a shortfall of 14.1 million in the following year. And then your funds are gone. you have no safety net. You have no fund balance. You have no oped funds. And then you're running the district at a negative fund balance. And in my kind of researching a little bit, districts
072that have run into negative fund balances, if they don't pass a referendum, then there's other discussions about the state coming in and having to give guidance as to what happens next. And I would call >> Oh, that's okay. Good. I would caution the board to put us in that situation. I think we need to do some serious um research and review and make informed decisions about where to move to next because we don't want to be running into a situation where we're running a negative fund balance. So, we do need to talk about are we going to make the cuts or is it impossible to make enough cuts and we need to talk about referendum. >> So, so Miss Oh, that was incredibly helpful. I appreciate it. And here's what I'm here's my recommendation based
073on what you just said. So it sounds like >> without having more information than we have right now because there will be some kind of impact um to moving money from OPEB into our fund balance you Tom brought that up earlier. Would it make sense for us to say obviously our goal is not to um spend money we don't have. It sounds like if we needed to, the place to do that would be fund balance and not OPB. And then my my other kind of like thing I want to throw out there is I I don't see why we wouldn't go to referendum in November given that everything that you just said. So, like, you know, just like in we can almost maybe do an inverse. Like I think we don't need to approve a
074budget until I mean we don't this state doesn't even tell us what we're getting per pupil in in any finality until October 15th. So, we're not going to approve the budget until like just prior to November. I realize that that'll be before an election, but maybe as we get closer to that discussion, you know, things are going to change. I liked how in the past we said we don't want to touch OP, but if we have to, it'll be this much. Maybe we do that instead with like here. Hang. Sorry. I'm not trying to like I'm just trying to keep the two funds straight in my head. Um, if we were to pass a referendum in November is what I'm getting at. We wouldn't necessarily need to cut into something. I just I think we
075need to sort of and it sounds like without further research, it sounds like fun 10 would be the place to go to prior to OPAB. I think we just need to give ourselves that cushion because while all of this is important and nobody wants to get anywhere near a negative fund balance situation, we also owe our community's children an education. So, it's not going to be ideal either way. Tom and then Carol. >> Thank you. As I listen to this discussion and and if we're doing OPED versus fund balance to me and sometimes the answer is in the middle, you know, some of OPE, some of fund balance, so we're not depleting either one. And uh we need to I I know we need more information, but rather the you know the pros and cons
076of it, you know, we can talk about that. But as I have in my adult life, you know, sometimes the compromise is is is is good. And one I want to go back to one thing and ask Stephanie, you know, and and Megan brought up short-term borrowing. To my recollection, when we did use short-term borrowing, it was just used until we got a payment from the state. Is that correct? Or a payment from coming from whoever. >> That That is correct. Okay. >> So, it's used as like a >> a stop gag, right? And uh so it's not like something that's it's still on the books. We pay them off as we get our funds. >> That is correct. >> Okay. Thank you. But yeah, but I think, you know, I think it's to me
077it's an obvious thing to look at both of them. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. And I agree with trying not to use any of it. Our fund balance has never been what our policy says 18% which at that time was $18 million. Well, now we're down to a 90ome million budget. Um, you know, we we're now we're dipping down into the seven or 8 million fund balance. And uh I agree we don't we can't do it, but we have to do what we have to do. Thank you, >> Tom. Never say never. >> No, I understand that. I guess the fund balance has been um in line with uh policy in the past. Um and it from 2009 to 2012 when I was on the board previously it was um
078actually there were times when it was even above polic that's wonderful and I'm very happy you know I'm sure when the but we've been out of policy for I don't know how many years but anyways my I my point is I think just me that the answer may lay within using a some of OPED and some of fund balance. Thank you, >> Carol. Just I you know, we got to be careful about talking about October and and the referendum and and all of that. This budget starts July 1 and we have to be prepared to handle this budget um for next year. So, um, I I go back to what I was saying before. You know, we need to have the our department heads and our superintendent go back and come up with some plans.
079Um, you know, we this is what we could we could cut this many teachers and this is what it would look like. If we if we cut the these counselors or social workers or whatever, this is what it would look like. um you know and then we could do a different plan where if we did it this way, this is what it would look like. But we're we're talking um in generalities, but we we really need somebody needs to come up with some better specifics about what it is that we need to be looking at. How many classroom, you know, he said there were vacancies and cuts and but we can't necessarily not fill those. But so, you know, so what do you need to fill? How many teachers do you really need? How many
080teachers do we have? Um, you know, we have a hundred students less. We should be able to reduce just based on that. Um, so you know, where where is the plan and how does all of this fold in with the plan? You know, it's like um I don't want to cut nurses, but you know what what are we going to do about nursing and and you know, but can we keep health room assistance and do something with a nurse that goes around? I I mean I need to see somebody come up with some uh suggestions um and alternatives, right? It's like we could do this, we could do this, and then we could save this much money and then and then you could say, okay, um yeah, I we prefer that over that because it's
081say it's it follows our priorities, right? Um you know, should we should we do legal counsel? Right. Do we do do we do legal counsel and and cut cut the director of nursing? I mean, h does that play off one another? I don't I don't know. Without having better quality information to look at and and that's that's kind of where I am. I don't want to use OPED money, but if if all of the scenarios we see say, "Yeah, we can do this, but that's as far as we can get. We need to do another million." um or two million, then I do it, you know, but I we need to have it better planned out and, you know, go back to all of our directors and our athletic director, you know, cut come back
082with a plan where you cut $100,000 out of your budget or $200,000 out of your budget, give us both plans, let us look at it, see what it looks like, see what we can live with. But um you know we can talk all we want we want want about whether we don't use or don't use OPED but if we don't have an idea of how much money we're going to use or or need you know we don't have an idea of what to do. So that's why I that's why I came up with that other one. >> Thanks Carol Joanne. Isn't that what the tale of two budgets had? I can't find it right at this moment, but like there were all those line items like if we eliminate this then this is how much
083money we save. If we eliminate this, this is how much money we save. I think that's what Dr. Anderson's plan was was for us to look at that and decide where we were going to make those hard decisions at. That was just a beginning of discussion and it's like you know work in progress 10 pos um you know open positions possibly 10 eliminate estimate $1 million. I don't know what that is. Um they had security. It wasn't really a plan. It was just you know there that that's what we spend on security. Should we cut some of that? It's not a plan. um that's what we spend on professional development. There's not a plan for how much should we spend on professional development. Um that um you know the closest they got was the you
084know elementary guidance at at 4 and and nursing and cutting all the health room assistance. So, it's the guidance is actually counselors. Um, and Leah, are are you guys like looking for us to say here, these are the areas we want you to look at? Cuz I feel like we're just like spinning in a circle here and like what do you want? >> We're looking for um specifically what area do you want us give us permission to make some cuts, >> right? And like depending on who you ask, everybody's got a different idea of where to make the cuts, right? Like you ask the teachers, they don't care about the roof. They care about who's in front of them. But if you ask, you know, the people that are in charge of the buildings, they're
085going to say, "Oh my goodness, we need new roofs and parking lots and things like that." And so, like, I think >> Dr. Anderson, that's why I said I think we need to just first start with those things and say, "Yeah, go ahead with those cuz those are good ideas. Those are ways to save us some money." And then I mean I don't see a plan where we don't make decisions that severely impact our students unless we go into some pool of money. And that's I guess I wasn't wording it the right way before, but after listening to every I'm not saying spend the whole thing, but I'm saying I think it I don't think I can't see a scenario where we don't do that unless we're willing to do things that are going to
086be detrimental to the children that we serve. And so, like, I would just really like to start with the things on Dr. Anderson's list so we can at least say, "All right, we got that going and now where next do we look?" So, I mean, I think they don't have a plan yet because plans take a lot of time and so tell us where you want to cut and then we'll cut or we'll show you the plan for those cuts, right? Is that right, Leah? >> I would say that's correct. Um, there's been a lot of talk, we have done a lot of talking within our departments about things that we can cut per department. Um, a lot of things are small things that add up to big things. Um, the hardest part of course
087is cutting staffing. Um, you know, of course we want to do that those cuts through attrition and you know, not not hiring for positions that have been open for the whole year or plus. Um, but overall, you know, the high school is still get or less we know, the high school was still putting enrolling kids in the classes. So, we will be taking a look at what the enrollment in class sizes are like. Um, and that will be going through with our department and with HR. That's not a a single person effort. Um, because there's going to have to be some, you know, restructuring obviously. So, of course, cuts will come by way of that or not, I wouldn't say cuts, but collapsing or combining of courses as as much as we are able to
088do within the realm of possibility. um of course you know DLI but that's that's something we're still in process of meeting with principles and restructuring how that will go but again that is not a budgetary cut it's just a you know we're restructuring that kind of program um looking within um departments again like I said we we've cut down um we we are able to cut you know over $230,000 just in software alone um because we have programs that we aren't necessarily using to their capacity um or we have programs that are essentially duplicates so we can reduce in those areas as well. But it's those bigger cuts like what what do you want us to focus on? Do you want us to delay a roof in a parking lot or do you want us
089to focus on an athletic budget? What are what does the board want to focus most on for this next budget year? Because once we get that settled, we need to move on to 2728. So, so for sure we need to look at the athletic budget because we're over and so like we don't need to just I mean we at least need to cut a h 100,000 but probably more. Um I do know so um T and I talked the other day about like just you know like what's going on with the literacy program and stuff in our district because originally I was very nervous about saying we can't use or we could save money with um technology in our classrooms. But I've been talking to teachers and now the survey like it it it mirrored
090what I've heard too is that um our elementary schools um we we don't need to be dependent on on um onetoone devices like we thought we would needed to and I think we don't need to depend on them like we did but I do think that there is still a dependence but there that will come with a cost savings as well rather than having onetoone devices we can have sets that people can use for the instruction time. Um so when that comes around I do think that we will be able to have some some savings there. Um certainly at the elementary level but again like um director Elwood said when we are going through with our curriculum curriculum and planning some of our curriculum companies are exclusively dependent on technology as well. So you that
091that's something that we need to consider as we're um revamping curriculum um in the future. >> Is that something you and I could sit down and look at then? >> Yes ma'am. Megan, >> thank you so much. Um, first Joanne, I like a thousand% agree with everything you said. Um, further, I guess just in the spirit of like getting to like what Dr. Malot needs us to get to, I'm looking at these bullet points. I'm giving them numbers from 1 to six. Okay? So, like number one would be the athletic thing. I am not prepared to approve any additional funding for the athletic piece until I see a plan. So, like that's kind of where I'm at on that. Number two, vacant properties. Same thing. Of course, I would rather sell properties versus cut anything.
092I just I need more information. So, I don't know if Board President Johnson, if that's something I'm sure that's already on your radar to um you know, for a future board meeting if we could just like kind of get some of those numbers. But Leah, in a in a general way, absolutely 100% yes. Let's do that before we touch a classroom situation. Right. Fund 80. My specific request for that item is that um you slashdr Anderson slash any you know I don't know because I don't want to be in the weeds whoever like the administration believes is necessary should meet with not only the city of bo but with like community action with the boys and girls club all of the like amazing nonprofit situations like that we have our in our community right now
093that already do work with kids and figure out how do we dump all the Legos on the table that we already have and rearrange them in a way that uh doesn't create a ridiculous tax burden but better utilizes fund 80 and enhances uh programming to all children not just the kids and nurse but like our entire city all of our kids um you know it makes life better for everybody. Okay, so that's my opinion on fund 80. I would really love to see some followup and I'm not trying to be like I'm sure you have like 85,000 fires that you need to put out right now, but like in a timeline that you believe makes sense, but like sooner rather than later, I think we need to have those discussions and I would love to
094hear and I'm happy to participate too, but some kind of report out so that when we approve a preliminary budget in June, we have a a very specific sense of like what our fund plan is because I know the community is always very interested in making sure that those dollars are spent appropriately. Um the the legal counsel thing. Yeah, dude. Absolutely. It just wherever we can save money, I'm looking forward to seeing your plan for that. 100% would support what you guys believe is best. That will be a cost savings. Communications director, I would love to just see a cost analysis um just for the next two years since we're looking at 2627 and 2728. Would it be more cost effective to hire in-house versus doing some kind of contract with Hadley? I would love
095to see like a side or or like any other, you know, I would love to see a sidebyside because I really don't have a concept of like all of the costs that would be involved in that one way or the other. So, whatever makes sense there, I'm going to support. We already talked about OPED. So, last comment for me, um, Dr. Mallet, to your big picture view, um, the core like we do not touch unless it's like like the apocalypse would be services to students. So like when you present to us because we're you know we're giving you some some guidance. I hope it makes some kind of sense the guidance we're giving you. So like whenever you we can make sense of this when we come back. Um if we could categorize things in
096terms of services to students I want to touch those last or not at all. Um I would just to be clear like like DI for example I believe is a service. I know we call it the DLA program but these are instructional services to students. It's high retention etc. So like I'll just just clear up that one specific point and then the next thing out from that which nobody wants to touch either but I want to touch this before services would be programs and then outside of that the next outside thing like the thing that I think we need to go after is all of the ancillary stuff that that you have on this list right like legal communications how do we better use fund 80 etc. So, that is my um that is like
097my $5.37 opinion on kind of the large scope and all of those bullet points. >> Thank you, Carol. >> Um I would refer you back to this, you know, um maintaining existing district pupils, teacher pupil ratios. These are the these were the priorities that we've discussed. And from and from there um you can go forward uh as far as I'm concerned um if you if you need to um you know a point by point um which I I don't necessarily I I I don't know about the um I'm a concerned about the athletic budget for this year because we can't be starting to cut cut spring sports now. Can we? >> I don't think so. So, I think, you know, we're going to have to bite that $100,000 for this year. Um, never again. Uh,
098right. But, um, and it has to be less. So, um, you know, figure out a budget where it's less. Um, vacant properties, again, vacant properties to me are like OPED money. It's a one-time deal. You know, if we if it can work, fine. If not, it's fine. Um, fund fund 80. Absolutely. Yes. Um, I listened to that again. Um and um I can't remember Mr. Rand I think his name was. Um he said he gave a plan to Dr. Anderson. Be nice to see the plan. Um and again I agree with Megan. Anything else that we could put in there would be fine. Um legal counsel only if it saves us money. Communications director. I'm no I mean if if to me a trade-off between a communications director and health room assistance. I'd rather have
099health room assistance. Thank you very much. But I'm an old elementary principal and I know how many times the kids come to the office with health concerns. Um so I that has to be part of a bigger plan. Um and we already talked about OPED money. So that's my take if you want it that way. >> Thank you, Carol Joanne. >> Um so the legal council one that was one that did save us um a few hundred,000 at least two I don't remember exactly. It was either $200,000 or $300,000 savings. He thought So, I mean, I think we should look into it and I don't think that Dr. Anderson saying if we say yes, then he's just going to do it. I think he just is exploring the opportunity, right? Yes. Um, here's my two
100cents on that. Over the last two years, um, we do spend a a lot a lot a lot of money on legal fees. Um, and so much of it is avoidable, which is really, really frustrating because a lot of these things are avoidable. We have policies for a reason. We have expectations for a reason. And um it's you know to me sometimes mindboggling how and why you know we find ourselves in the situations we are. Um it's part of the painful process of making improvements. Change is slow, but we have to continue trying to get better and reminding people we have board policies for a reason to protect us legally and so that we're not spending money um over you know all kinds of different things that um employee orers employees or um people are
101doing. Um so we can potentially save money. Will we save money? Not not necessarily. And will we always have another outside legal firm? Yes, we we will. That that will always happen, but hopefully we can minimize the need for that. Tom, >> thank you very much. Um, as I look at this and as we discussed, as I the administration is looking for a nod. Do we want to proceed or not? And if we're going to swallow be Jonah the whale and swallow them all at one big bite, I say yes, please move forward with this for further review. Um that's the way my understanding was from Dr. Wayne and from Dr. Milot. Um there is one issue that is pressing and that concerns the um athletic department and Mr. Gratz needs to know by May
1021 if we want to enter in collaborations with other school districts to help fund next year's sporting activity. So that has to be done. I mean separately. I think he's here tonight to speak on that. But you know if we're looking for a nod I'm in the affirmative of letting administration explore what these uh bullet bullet points are. Thank you. >> Um Dr. lot is do you guys have a presentation for the athletic bullet point? >> I do I Okay. I do not have a presentation for the athletic department. >> Okay. Well, if if there's no objections, how about we just go through these one by one and um give the administration some direction. So the first bullet point um and and Tom I appreciate you um you know trying to move approval of all
103all of them forward but all of them have an eitheror. So does >> I I again I'm sorry to interrupt but yes but we started talking them as a whole. So I just thought you know let's if we're going to my colleagues are talking not individually and I said at the beginning they're individual but if we're going to take them as a whole let's just give the nod. So, does the board want administration to add 100,000 to the athletic budget so that all current athletic teams can operate in the 2526 level? Based on what I'm hearing, it sounds like most of us are not in favor of adding 100,000 to the athletic uh budget. Um, are there any board members that feel strongly one way or the other? Is that for this year or for
104next year? >> For next for next year. >> Okay. >> For next year. Am I understanding that right, Mrs. Elwood? >> I'm not sure because you did say 2526, which is the current fiscal year. >> And that's what it says. I'm just reading what was provided to us as board members. We aren't just >> because he is over or I'm sorry because the athletic budget is over by approximately $100,000. I'm assuming then they're asking for an approval to increase the budget for 2526. But then we also do need to look at 2627. >> Okay. So this is for this year. >> Yeah. Right. because I thought, if I'm not mistaken, that Dr. Anderson had at one point said to me he could find the hundred,000 without us having to have a board approval to move
105it from one fund to the other. >> Maybe we should table that one for tonight then. >> Okay. But if if you don't mind, then what we'll do is um so it sounds like uh Director Gratz can work with other districts to help offset costs for next year to looking at the 2627 budget for the spring weekend. If we uh go If someone's speaking, the volume just cut out. >> Dan, can you go to the microphone? Thanks. If we're spo speaking solely on co-ops, uh it's possible. Um we have about two weeks about 18 uh 15-ish days to get those things done. Other schools that have to do exactly what you all would have to do, which is approve um you know, and go through that process. I'm not overly confident that many want to
106share with us right now. Um but we we floated the idea. So we have options in in girls soccer and softball, which are two of our spring sports. Okay, Megan, your hand is up. >> Yes. Um, Mr. Gratz, thank you so much. I'm totally like down for like let's make something work if we can. I think one of the reasons we wanted to have this workshop was so that you could kind of talk us through and help us understand what the budget impact would be to go into those partnerships this year. So, I am like full I I want to do whatever we need to do, but I just I need a little bit more information so that I understand like if we were to vote or, you know, take action to say, "Yeah, let's
107go do co-ops." What is that impact on the district and where does that leave us? >> We we won't know that answer until we know how many players total we're splitting the cost between. Um so, we we use the example of hockey. Um and I'll let me back up. You're not approving um you're just approving exploration. So when you hear that we're talk I I've been talking with um you know Rock County Christian or TLA or Clinton or Park View or you know any of the schools around us um that there's not any surprises. So that's the first piece. But the second piece is um in hockey for example we split our cost between the 25 athletes. So that's where it saves us money. Each athlete is in is is you know given uh a
108bill. I shouldn't say athlete each school is given a bill based on the amount of athletes that they have without knowing. Um, for example, if we were to share with TLA, just because they're right here, um, we don't know how many athletes they would provide us at this point. We needed there's there's multiple steps to this part of that um, part of the application process is to list out the amount of athletes that would go through. So, that that is one step in that process. It's what we do every year uh, every other year, I guess, with our renewal with hockey. Um, and we have to kind of map that out from middle school through high school. How many are graduating? how many are coming in. I wish I could give you more of a
109clear answer. I don't think I think that's an option for cost saving. I don't think it is. If you go back talk the conversation around properties, I don't know that you're we don't know the answer. We don't know how much we're going to save. So, I don't know that that's an effective strategy right now. I think it's an effective long-term strategy, but right now I don't know that it's it's one that we can bank on for cost saving. >> No, that makes a ton of sense. Thank you so much. Um like I'm in FA Sorry, my kids are loud. Um, I am definitely in favor of like partnering wherever we can. I think that's great and I think Mr. Gratz, I think it'll it'll not only help us as a board, but I think it'll
110be a huge benefit to the community. Like you've done some really creative cool stuff if you could at some point in the near future. Um, it doesn't have to be like a whole presentation, but just like maybe provide us like a more detailed like overview of like here are all the moving parts in place here. like here's the extent to which and how just just generally like I hear what you're saying like we're not going to know specific numbers and stuff but like hey here are the current and like maybe future potential partnerships with other school districts with like youth sports through like city and like other nonprofit groups etc. I think having that big picture view will be very helpful um to community buyin and clarity for the direction that we're going to make
111sure that we're not leaving our kids behind in conversations about budgets. So I really appreciate the work you're doing. I really want you to be able to like share it so we can show it off with and for you. So, but yeah, just specifically to this ask, yes, let's do the partnerships. >> Joanne. >> Oh, thank you. Uh Megan, that leads right into what I was going to talk about. Um I've talked to you before, Dan. I know you have some really great ideas about our facilities and how we can um use them to um help us maybe get a little bit of money, too. rentaling out our pool or things like that. The parks and recck department having um um partnerships with them. Um and then like kind of like Dr. Anderson had his
112tale of two budgets. If we could possibly get >> Sorry. >> Yeah, I know they're fine. Um if you have like um your version of Tale of Two Budgets that would uh um help us see like what a real like in order to have it be fully funded next year, what that would actually look like and then where you would um make cuts if if you had to. Um, and then like like hopefully the the like the non-essential games and things being the first things to be taken away. >> Yeah, absolutely. So, I think when last last we met, you asked me to provide the information. So, I I had created a presentation in multiple budgets last year in anticipation that we weren't going to be able to fit under the current budget the allotment.
113So, I've kind of just given a fast what is, you know, a very detailed but fast snapshot. This is a this holistic plan to hit all of those pieces that you you just touched on has has been after my first six or so months, what do we need to do to to help this district move forward in a variety of capacities? And I obviously my role is athletics and activities, but we have many voids. Um, I spend an immense amount of time in the community talking with community members. is my role inherently just, you know, brings that in. And so listening to the community, talking through all those things, understanding what we have available for city parks and wreck, for uh YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, Rising Tide, um organized uh I should say established
114um youth organizations throughout there. There are so many options. Um I think we need to uh Miss Miller hit on it. I think we we need to lean into our community. We need to be creative. We need to find ways to establish options. Um, and we need to find we need to be creative as we go through our budgeting. The the snapshot that we provided. So, at the very top, it just talks about the year-over-year budgets, right? If we were going to get our budget to 255, uh, my which is a 20 to 25% decrease from the previous year's 321 from the previous year's 318. We needed to cut about 20 to 25% of our sports. Um I we we have those options. We don't want those things to be cut. Um and the community
115would would very much dislike that. So to offset those costs, we presented the option of cutting middle school sports. And again, it's not an it's not a viable option. It's just the best of the bad options were presented. So we were able to backfill um and still have those relationships built to be able to backfill with community partners and established community partners. There's a multi-step piece here and I'm I apologize. This is an incredibly long answer, but each of these pieces lays out how we can go from one to the next to the next. Um, and so when we cut middle school uh sports, if if that's the route that we go, that saves us, I think Dr. Anderson estimated 80,000. I think it's closer just B because I'm seeing the operational pieces. Um, I
116think it's closer to 100. I put 105. The addendum, the the issue with the range and where we're struggling is the addendums have a um have a salary range to them. uh a step-by-step pay scale. So, between the lowest and the highest amount is a range of for middle school um about $40ish,000, which is a lot of money. Um so, that's that's one piece there. Um the next piece would be replacing with community partners. To do that though, we need we need a substantial investment in Fund 80. Um, you'll see the Fund80 investment piece is buried a little bit in here, but it's it's a the page turned sideways where it just lays out every single piece that we would need. We would need um to invest in, you know, uh, community partners, we would
117need to have somebody to manage that. We would need to have, you know, if we wanted to open the pool up, we would need to make sure we provide lifeguards to protect ourselves from liability. To open the weight room, we need training to, you know, all there's there's multiple steps to that. So, um I'm happy to, you know, in more of a as this is a workshop setting to go through all these pieces. I didn't um intentionally avoid giving this to Miss Shop. It was I was uh summoned late to this meeting, so I was able to try to get everything together as fast as I could. Um we'll absolutely share this publicly. We want people to know about it. Um and in fact, people do because we've had to have those conversations with um
118ex, you know, established youth organizations to be able to do this. so people know that we're we're considering this as an option. Um and and you saw how quickly the even just the inkling of a conversation of cutting athletics created an uproar in the community. I'm very much trying to mitigate that and trying to, you know, um help people understand where we're at. I mean, everybody likes football and basketball, but um I can't in good faith, you know, can't in good faith try to argue to keep certain things um without making our own cuts to athletics and how we can replace those things. So, like I said, a very long answer and a lot to do there. So, what questions can I answer as you're seeing this? >> Thank you, Mr. Gratz. Um, getting back
119to collaborations and that May 1st deadline, fast forward to uh if if your budget is reduced by 100,000 and middle school sports go away, is there a timeline to have these u collaborations with middle school sports, i.e. you said um rising tide or inter mural or do you know if if your budget is reduced do we need to or do you need to have some kind of timeline so you get these pieces in line so in the fall at at uh Aldridge or and frozen there's a place for footballers to go and soccer blah blah blah Thank you. Yeah, we we have obviously time and distance is helpful in our in our world because we've already had these conversations. We have a few sports essentially ready to go with others. Um now we we there's
120still steps to be taken obviously um and there's still approval to be needed. So we we want to make sure you know that if the sooner the better because then we can start to establish those things and say hey we know this is gone. Um, we already know from a um, safety and and liability standpoint that we we have to move football. It has to go outside of the district as most have. Um, this past year um, we had to to it hadn't been done in the past. We had to refurbish uh, all of our helmets from both middle schools and that is a yearly thing at the high school uh, for safety and we lost about 45 of those helmets which means they hadn't been done in over seven years. That's a problem. And
121then to fix that, we then have to buy and replace those helmets, right? So just helmets alone, just for your knowledge, is about $450 per helmet. Um, so yeah, it's it all adds up. I think that's e that's an easy one. I've asked our middle school coordinators to help me with this to kind of lay out a step by step of if we were only kind of tear tier down cuts, which ones would it be and how would we go through that versus just all of them. Um, and then you know and if we do make that large substantial p cut then it has to I think I'm trying I try to articulate this we need to we're just reallocating those dollars to the high school so we can have see as little impact to
122the high school as high school athletic budget as possible. We excuse me we can keep going through those pieces. We can backfill middle school sports. Um I I put a note in here the the the current layout of middle school sports is not realistic. It doesn't work the way it does. six weeks there. The staffing model is poor. Um it just doesn't work. I think it was a good try. Um but we've seen Jainsville, not to rip on Jainsville, but we've seen Jainsville do this for a little bit longer than we have and it's really hindering the high school development. Um and so we're we're trying to we need to make a change, you know, if if we're just talking philosophically and anecdotally. Go ahead. So Dan, before you were here, the middle school did
123not have football for a little while and um the biggest downfall with it was the lack of communication with parents about what other opportunities there were to sign up for football in the community. So that will be really important once we get to that point, too. >> Yep. And as we're talking and I you know again you feel for I feel bad for asking but to advocate for the point you just made. We need somebody in charge of community programming. I mean that's really what it comes down to and that's that's a holist that's not just sports for the middle school and high school that is all things community related. So right now we've we've kind of absorbed with the business office um you know creating parks and recck opportunity in the fieldhouse or you
124know utilizing the pool with YMCA or Boys and Girls Club or things like that. Um it's the the if we want to keep investing and kind of leaning into that, which I believe we should because it selfishly is going to help us in any future referendum we do. Um the pie has to get bigger. It's just there's just not enough time between, you know, everybody absorbing more and more. Dan, a followup on uh middle school sports and and back filling through organizations. Is that more of a paytoplay >> type situation? >> Likely. Um but we already pay to play here. So I think to answer your question, we're paying $42 per sport right now um up to two. And so um our our intent is to if we can support as a district if we
125can support these things with fund 80 um we have the opportunity to drastically decrease costs for for any and all taxpayers in the city of boy that want to play in any of these sports. So that's the one limitation obviously is it's no longer just SDB students. We have to open it up to >> right right >> anybody. Um, but I think there is um there's a massive opportunity uh to be different here and just to to do something that matters for for these kids. >> And I agree. Thank you, >> Carol. >> Okay. I'm not a sports person, so bear with me. But you're looking at cutting the middle school programming to save $100,000 and hiring uh a position to to coordinate that. But you want to move all of that money into fund
12680. Is that what I'm hearing you say >> part partially? Yeah. So cut middle school athletics. Um, in order to do that, we need and and the vision, if you can follow it, is to uh or I guess, excuse me, if you can follow my my brain that's relatively um scattered in and large scale thinking. The vision is to backfill with community sports. To do that, we would need somebody in charge of managing community programming. We we don't have the ability to do all those things right now. Um we can, it's just never going to work the way that it should, right? And and be as efficient as it could be. Um, and so the middle school is a piece of what community programming K through 12 and with the city of boy would look
127like. Does that >> answer the question? >> I said not just sports but other things that you have other community things in mind besides just sports for this community director or no? >> Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So we so if we're talking about you know we have our sports from the middle schools. That's one piece. We have youth programming all over. We have theater. Um we have usage of the pool through um right now we have a you know a pool that doesn't work in the um uh in the city and there's a lot of conversations about what they're going to do with that. Um so I think the majority of it because this is the world that I live in the majority of it comes from uh comes from that sports side and and
128the usage the use of our facilities comes from that sport side right um I think it can absolutely expand it's just expand into what uh is needed for the community. So all of those um programs would include all students from from city of Lloyd no matter what school they attended. >> If if it were to go into fun that would have >> go into fun that's the way it would have to be. >> Mhm. >> Okay. Um my only other qu and I know you had a a quick um snapshot to put this together. um you know the the number of students who are in some of these events. Um and you know um how many students are we impacting when we have um these particular sports especially at the high high school level but
129even at the middle school at this point. But, you know, how many students are in some of these programs and what would be the impact be if we were needing to change some of those options? >> Talking about the middle school first, um, right now we're seeing about 250 um, not all uh, not unique athletes. So, we see 250 to in totality, which some can do multiple sports. Um at the high school again same not unique athletes but we last year we had about 825. This year we're on pace for that. We're going to be right around that senior classes is pretty small for this group. So um you know not again not unique. We have some kids that are two or three sport athletes. So we may be triple counting some of these kids
130but that number is not crazy. Um that's just a handful of student athletes. Okay. So, just back. So, we have wrestling, >> you know, >> how many kids are in wrestling? Do you need a a a coach and an assistant coach? Um that kind of thing. Um you know, can we would there be ways to to cut some of those? Um, you know, that's I think kind of what I'm looking at. So, how many kids are there? Do we really need both coaches? That kind of stuff. >> Um, which level? Just holistically, >> I think the answer is um we're we're about as close as we can get right now. Um, I think anytime we get to a one to multiple ratio when we're traveling and moving around and things like that, it creates um
131liability. Um, it's definitely possible, but um we have four total coaches for two teams right now uh for girls and boys wrestling. Um so we have one head coach for each and right now boys has uh two assistant coaches. Um essentially they work together as it is. Um, but that that program is serving about in total between girls and boys is about 60 athletes. So, we're right on par with the the the ratio minimum for a classroom. Um, although we would we treat athletics slightly different because of the liability side. >> Um, okay. So, I have been informed that there's some nasty weather heading our way quickly. So, does the board want to continue this uh discussion in person? Do we want to go virtual? Do we want to recess and reconvene and uh have
132>> or um what do we want to do? How concerned? >> I'm at home. I think you guys should recess and reconvene >> or we can do this another night. I'm all for reconvening as long as we can decide tonight when that is. >> 20 25 minutes. Sorry. >> I said I'm all I'm all for reconvening for safety reasons, but as long as we we the board makes a decision on when we can meet again tonight. Okay. So, let's um recess and we'll all >> reconvene virtually. Um Mrs. Shopee, I think then we'll lose our ability to finish recording it. Is that correct? >> Um no, I can start the recording again. >> Okay. >> Long as everybody logged in on their um Google Meet. As long as everybody logs back into the Google Meet,
133I can record again from Google Meet >> from your from your residency. Okay. >> Okay, then. Um, let's >> It's 7:30. Let's recess and reconvene virtually at 8:00. Thank you. >> Bye. Be safe everybody. >> Thanks, Dan. screen telephone number ending in 77. >> That's Dan Gratz. >> Okay, that's Dan Gratz. Okay, Michelle, you ready? >> Yes, I am. >> Okay, so it is 8:01 and we have a quorum. Carol Fox, Brian Nichols, Joanne Rue, and myself. And we are continuing where we left off and Megan Miller has just joined. Um, you'll have to forgive me. I forgot who had a question for Mr. Gratz and where we were in that process. Michelle, can you help refresh my memory? Or Megan? >> Yeah. No, I was just going to say I really appreciated um I
134don't know is Dan on the call still? >> Yeah, he's the telephone number ending in 77. Oh, it's okay. Oh, hey, what's up? How's it going? Um, I meant Mr. Gratz, but hi, Dan. Um, I was just I was just gonna say, um, Mr. Gratz, just to be clear, I really really liked the whole vision that you painted and particularly my suggestion, um, for next steps if if this isn't already on your radar. Um, if we're going to capitalize on current staff, because I liked what he was saying about needing like kind of that community coordination piece. Um, I'm just like people like Marielle and Fuentes and forgive me for not knowing who's at the other schools, but my kid goes to Todd or my kids go to Todd, so that's who I know who's
135been coordinating CLC for like ever. We have people already in the district also who have just such like depth of knowledge and community connections who've been doing things like the CLC programming already. I know like way back in 2017 2018 we used to have like a CLC coordinator. I I'm not I'm not an administrator. I don't want to make recommendations about what is or isn't wise like organizationally or for the structure of admin, but we already have people in the district who kind of know this. So like in in the meantime, you know, like in the short term, maybe convening those folks together to say like what are our next best steps? Um I think would be awesome. And I think that also works in tandem with kind of like what we were talking about
136earlier with fund 80 about having administration plus whoever else they, you know, deem necessary um meet with all of these local agencies, right? Um to kind of make that larger community plan. So I I'm just wondering if these things can segue together. But I just I just I guess I wanted to just express appreciation for the vision that Dan Sh Dan Gratz is sharing with us. Um, and I'm just like really in support of kind of that assets based community development. Like keep the stuff you have, like work with what you have and just like restructure it in a way that like achieves the vision that we need given the scarcity of the situation that we currently have. >> Thank you, Director Elwood. Um, so it looks like one of the recommendations that Mr. grads
137has is adding a position of an associate director of athletics, activities and community which um would come in and he's got the price tag there somewhere. I can't find it right now. Is that something that can be covered under fund 80? Can can staff positions be covered under fund 80? So the recommendation or the um the rules from the DPI on fund 80 and staffing is that you have to do a time and effort study for staffing if it especially if they're going to be split. If they were 100% in fund 80 and all of their duties were fund 80. That's there's no question there. But a split would need like a a time study to prove that what they're doing is related to that fund 80 piece. Okay. Do any other board members have
138any other questions or comments? Okay, Carol. Uh, is there something that you need from us right away other than we think this is a good plan and to go forward with it or do you need something more? I guess is my question. I mean, I think the biggest thing is I I I can't speak if we need a voter any on this. I I'm not sure of the the protocol for that side, but more or less I I want you all to be aware and nobody be blindsided when a community member asks you, are you here in the community that we're thinking about doing these things and planning really planning to do these things and you know, we're we're doing that. So, I I I I do feel like we need some sort of a
139a a blessing at least uh from you all to for lack of a better phrase. Um but I don't know what that looks like. >> Um well what I would like to see um we can have uh put this on t next Tuesday's agenda as um motion. Um so if we could get some clarity on what the athletic budget discussion needs. So, the $100,000 to the athletic budget so that all current athletic teams can operate in the 20 at the 2526 level if um is Leah on or Director Elwood if we could get some clarification. >> Oh. Oh, okay. On what that is. And then the other question was or does the board want to have the administration work with Dan Gratz to reduce our current athletic offerings so that it can operate under the
140budget levels established for the 25 and and the future years. So, if we do the um co-op community approach, that sounds like a really good first step to start ex exploring and seeing what we can do, seeing how much we can uh interest we can get. But we still have this huge budget issue that we're still looking at and having to deal with for um this year and next year. So, I guess I would like this fleshed out a little bit better so I have a better understanding and and I appreciate that um Mr. Gratz put this together and um at at last minute I think we need time to digest it unless any board members have any other suggestions at this moment. Right. I would agree. I think we need some more time to
141to peruse over this and study a little bit and give us some give us some in-depth, you know, a little more in-depth thought so we'd be ready for Tuesday. >> Thank you, Carol. >> Yeah, I agree too. Um, and the way I read it, it is a way to cut that budget somewhat by moving funds around. So, we it does need to be framed as as that. Correct. I believe >> that's correct. Yeah, we're we're re the goal is to I'm trying not to ask the district for the e to the money that you know the 100,000 overage. This presentation was given last year as a way to you know to figure out how can we create more money within the district and reallocate funds to cover necessary um increases that we're seeing at the
142high school. Kind of you know having foresight to be where we're at right now. unfortunately. Um, so I think yeah, this is this is absolutely the the the plan that I think we need to exhaust first and foremost. And if this isn't the answer, then um go back to the drawing board. >> Yeah, I had a question. >> Sorry. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Uh Megan >> and Joanne. >> No, you know what? I lowered my hand because I want to let other people go first. Is that okay? >> Oh, okay. I I my screen still has your hand up. Uh Joanne, >> so Dan Gratz, I think so. Is there a way for us to this this should help create revenue, right? Eventually, like renting out facilities, things like that. Is is that part of
143the paperwork that we have or >> No, no revenue projections are built in. I think it can um part of one of the uh policy pieces that we have right now is nonprofits. Essentially those fees are waved minus um cost to the district. So a lot of the groups that are renting right now are nonprofits or or established community partners. >> So the answer is yes it absolutely can. Uh as an example, we have um table tennis uh nationals coming up that was uh recruited I guess by city uh visit and that is an opportunity to generate revenue not necessarily from the rental fees. I think it does a little bit but from other avenues of generation if we run concessions or we run you know admissions or parking or things like that there. So
144there's both direct and indirect ways to generate revenue through facilities rentals that I think we are we definitely need to lean into. All right. Thank you so much. I wasn't even thinking about concessions and stuff like that. So, yeah. Okay. Thanks, Tom. >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Grass. You made a comment back in the board meeting and we talked about collaborations. Um, and you made a comment. You said, "Well, there hasn't been as much interest as you thought there would or they fell off the table." Could you clarify that? >> No. Yeah. I don't think maybe I misspoke. I think there is interest. Um I think the pace of which we would have to get those things done is is you know going to be it may turn some people away. I think exploring co-ops
145for the spring of 27 has to be done by May 1st. But if we can explore co-ops holistically for the future, it may not help you know we've this is a tale of two budgets. It may not help us in the 26 27 budget but it will definitely help us in the future. And so I think, you know, this this is more of a both short and long-term conversation. I'll I'll do my best in the next 16 days to try to facilitate co-ops um with other schools. Um I do, you know, to be transparent, I have a hesitant hesitancy to do it with certain schools because one of the reasons that people may come to Boy Memorial or to the school district of Bo is because we have things that other schools may not offer.
146However, I have to see it from both sides of protecting our programs and trying to reduce the budget, right? So it, you know, it's it's a it's it's a whole 10,000 foot view picture. To answer your question, I think we can definitely start that process now, but it's a process for the 26 27 and 27 28 years. >> Okay. Thank you. I was just wondering if something happened because we didn't because the board hasn't acted in the last month or two that put you behind the eightball more than you already are. But you answered my question. Thank you, >> Joanne. >> Um, oh, I I was reminded, Pia, of your comment earlier about policy. Is this something where we should be have a a policy eventually so that it it's not this laborious process over
147and over? if we have um uh something with athletics and fund. >> Yes, we should we should definitely look at our policies and see what would have to change there and um rely on um Stephanie and our um district administrators to help guide us what what needs to be done. Is Stephanie still on? >> Yep, I'm still on. >> Can you hear me? >> Yep. Yep. Do you know um in terms of moving to co-ops um model? Um is there much in terms of policies or in the um fi f uh fiscal management series that would need to be changed? So, not as not as far as co-ops go. I'm pretty sure there's no board policy on the co-op. Well, I don't know. Dan, did you look to see if there was anything on the
148co-ops >> for board policy? >> I did not. We We do have existing co-ops and I apologize if I start breaking in and out here. Uh, we have existing co-ops already in hockey and so I don't believe we have anything in terms of board policy. We just have practice in place and kind of the the WA dictates how co-ops are managed by member schools. >> Okay, Megan. >> Um, thank you so much. Okay. So, this has been a really great discussion and I'm I'm hearing a theme or maybe like just a pattern of like community partnership and outreach and I really like Carol in your original document how you identified and made a recommendation for the need for a finance committee that's not a function of the board. What I'm wondering is would it make
149sense and I don't know if it will or not. So, I'm I'm asking maybe this is just something to sit with and think about for another, you know, for Tuesday or whatever, but would it make sense for us to help because I don't want Dan to be on an island. I don't want, you know, Stephanie, I don't want anybody to be on an island trying to solve all the world's problems. Would it be wise to also kind of put together like a community engagement and partnership piece? And my reason for that is I want to make sure that this isn't going to like create work. I'm just hoping like it seems like we're all spinning our wheels in a similar direction and it seems like almost everything we've talked about almost every single topic there's
150a component where either in the short and or the long term there's going to be an efficiency a cost savings and ultimately a benefit to kids if we partner and do things you know more in yeah just in relationship with the community maybe in in creative ways that we we've never had to fully do before or we've just like done to some extent. So, I'm just like kind of putting that out there as a yes, we need to like have this high functioning like focused, you know, narrow scope group to look at finance. It seems like we also need something like that for community partnerships. That might also um kind of segue or touch into like one of those other topics of discussion that Dr. Malot talked about earlier, which is like that communications person
151piece. Like maybe we'll get some clarity about some of these things, those specifics that we're looking for if we kind of have a meeting of the minds. um through that lens. >> Anyone else? >> Okay. Vacant properties. Does anyone have any strong feelings on vacant properties? >> I'd just like to weigh in on one. Not vacant properties. So maybe it's not for this topic. >> Okay. Brian. >> Well, I you know, I think if we've got these properties, there's no reason to keep them. Uh I mean, if they're they're again, I don't know exactly where all of them are except the one, but um I you know, why why hold on to stuff? I don't know how long we've had them. I mean, you know, we had we had the uh we had the two
152schools on the west side. Well, then one school that we just got rid of after took almost three years. So, I don't think we need to hang on to onto vacant property for another year or two or three. We might as well move forward with with uh selling it. >> Okay. >> Does anyone Does anyone disagree that we shouldn't Carol? >> I don't disagree. No. But I think um you know I think it would behoove us to have um Mike Marquette put together a little packet of what the properties are, where they are, what they're worth. You know um we got a little bit of that, but I don't I mean I can't even picture where some of those properties are. And a lot of them aren't worth a whole lot. It didn't sound like.
153So and there might be some um that looked like there was one they were talking that is actually adjacent to the high school that maybe we don't want to get rid of. So, I think we need to look at the whole package before, you know, um, you know, certainly we can probably get rid of most of them, but maybe we don't want to get rid of all of them. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Can I weigh in real quick? >> Sure. >> Um, Carol, yes, I do I do have Mike Marquette uh got me a compilation of all what you're talking about. It's like an inch and a half thick of our properties that we own with all the uh abstract numbers in it. Um but going back to what you said. Um so we do
154have that information. I'll share it with you once I make copies once I buy a ZX machine to do it. But anyways, um I'm just a firm believer that the property we own in and around our our campus, which is the high school, we should not get rid of uh the vacant the uh the land. Uh to me, that's going to be our central hub, our uh campus as it is for the future. But that's just my two cents. But anyways, so I'll get you I'll get all the board members a copy of all the properties that the district owns. Um, and I I'll get it to all of you guys. Thank you. >> Tom, do you know if he has it electronically? >> Well, he may have said it that way, but he hard
155copied it to me and then he left town. He's in Vegas right now, but he g he left me a copy of section 21 and honest to goodness, it's an insight. It's an instinct. So, so anyway, I will uh I'll get it to you, Tia, and then you can disseminate it. >> Okay. Um I'll I'll ask Michelle to um scan it and get it to to all board members. Okay. So, it it sounds like nobody is strongly opposed to selling properties and um we will um give administration the nod to move forward with getting together this packet for us to know and move forward from there. Fund 80. Oh, wait a minute. Um, one of the things that I just noticed, the last bullet point, um, Mike Marquette as the listing agent, we will need
156to enter into a formal agreement with, uh, Mr. Marquette. Uh, Megan Miller, >> thank you so much. Um, yeah, actually, so I had my hand raised for the fund thing, but since you brought up Mr. Marquette's piece. Um, for President Johnson, I I just want to make sure that um, you know, we're being compliant with like our RFP policy and I appreciate all the work that Mike Marquette's done. Um, I just like if before we bring that forward, I just want to make sure um, I guess I just want to look into whether or not we would have to put out a formal RFP if like this is like since this would be a new project. Um, so I'll just just throw throw that out for discussion maybe for next time. But um regarding fund
157briefly again I really think that this like I think I'm hearing from people um you know one of seven we like the idea of community partnerships. We like the idea of using this strategically in a way that is going to benefit not just our own kids in SDB but all of our kids in Bo. Um, I really think I I would just like to hear more and it absolutely doesn't I don't want to put anybody on the spot tonight, but happy to listen, but maybe at a future meeting if the administration wants to kind of think about like what will best work for them and how can we best support as a board like the work that we're asking them to do like if there needs to be like some sort of like committee structure
158or or like whatever thing in place that will make that work uh so that we can work smarter not harder I guess to identify all those relationships um that we currently haven't had to capitalize and and engage in future ones. >> Tia, can I wait in? >> Oh, I'm sorry. Um, Carol and then Tom and I'm going to ask my kids in the next room to turn the TV down. >> Um, I think I said it earlier. Um uh the gentleman that presented the Boys and Girls Club said he had a plan um that he presented. It'd be nice to see that plan. Um you know, I I'm all for working with Boys and Girls Club if we can. Um so, you know, we need to see the plan and and uh move forward from
159there. >> Tom. >> Oh, yeah. Um, just to comment on that, you know, yes, I did see the plan and he actually presented to Dr. Garrison. Um, I don't want to go back to that far, but there is a plan and he's the he's crossed his teased and dotted his eyes, but going into fund 80, it really intrigues me about fund 80. And I I attended two uh seminars or whatever you call them at the state convention in January on fund 80. And it really is how you can't use it. I mean, there's so many reasons I think we could use it. I thought crossing guards would be uh no I mean there's so many rules and restrictions how you can't use it u but it is an interesting topic and uh I I got
160a lot of literature on it but I I do agree that it should be explored to the fullest just like 150 but thank you any other board members Dan Shu, are you still on? >> Yeah, I'm here. >> Okay. Would you um I'm sorry I forgot to um touch back in with you. Did you have any thoughts on or comments on any of the um bullet items we've touched on so far? >> Well, first of all, just uh I'll just make some broad comments and not take up too much time um late at night here. Um, so first of all, thank you uh to Tia and to the and to Michelle and everyone that invited the candid the candidates um in the last couple weeks if you've had workshops and then in this overlap period
161for Bill and I to be invited uh to be here. So really appreciate that. It's going to really help me uh hit the ground running uh when I'm sworn in in a couple weeks here. Um my broad comments I'll just take 30 seconds or a minute would be that I'm when uh a comprehensive um uh both this year budget next year budget you know tie in the idea of a possible referendum um when uh Dr. Anderson and Dr. Malot and the entire team are putting these things together. Um, I really want to make sure an option is uh there which is uh what I'd call a stability moving towards growth option because I I've listened to this group and I've been on the campaign trail with others um hearing about the challenges we have. Uh
162but as I said in a in a event was you know we can't we're not going to cut our way to prosperity. So we have to start thinking about what a high functioning high quality district like we have you know for the number of years how do we grow you know how do we tell our story how do we uh tell the story that's going on with our professional educators and you know that's something for me and my background I'm going to want to hear from the professionals that work at central office and that work in the buildings to collectively come up with a plan. So, I don't know exactly how that fits in with everything that's been said tonight, but I'm hopeful that there's an option there alongside all the difficult choices you've all
163had to wrestle with about what does growth look like, what would, you know, the things we would need to do um to to really um put stability underneath us and then move towards growth. So, that's really all I have. >> Thank you, Dan. I I appreciate that. The next legal point or bullet point was legal counsel and it sounds like everybody is um or leaning towards exploring this option. Is there anyone with any strong feelings one way or the other? >> Well, I as Tom Hanks say they definitely be I know that uh even Dr. Harrison said that our legal is the most highest paid uh person in the district and yes we do need to look at that and also transportation but I know that that's coming down the that's coming down line but
164yes we we need to look at it. Thank you. >> Okay. Okay. I will let them know to um ex continue moving forward with that communications director. Does the board want to restore or create a new position to deal with district communications? Any thoughts, >> Carol? >> I'm going to go back to what I said before. I need to see that as part of a broader plan. We need to have an idea of what Kolak's going to look like, what we want to do with um the positions there. Um, we may need to be beef beefing up our HR department or our finance department before we decide we need to do something for communication. Um, you know, um, we talked to we just were talking about a community person. Maybe we want to do a
165community liaison person in conjunction with a sports person or something. You know, there's other options of things that we could do. It's not that we can't do that, but I'd like to see it in the a broader context of what we need central office to be doing and what central office should look like. >> Thank you, Carol. I mean, um, Joanne. >> Yeah. Um, I just lost my thought. Hold on a second. Um, okay. Here it is. We need to come up with a plan for communications regardless on like whether it's a person or we have a plan within our buildings because right now or even just communicating better with the Blade Daily News, but I don't know that that's really well read anymore. We don't have we don't have control on the narrative that
166goes out into our community right now. And I think that is one of our biggest problems. And so, um, I I I don't I don't really want to spend more money, but I think this is an area where we probably do need to, um, I don't think we need like a someone at a higher level. There's a lot of kids coming out of college that with marketing degrees that this would be a great opportunity for someone like that. um or maybe even an internship like um through um WMadison or something. I don't know. I'm just ideas. >> Okay. Thank you, Joan. Anyone else? >> Okay, so this >> this sounds like another one. Um Leah, if you're still on, um if we could get some more information, um you know, before we before the board
167does anything with this, how does it fit into the bigger plan? >> Okay, we will work on that. and OPED funds. Does the board want administration to use OPED funds to help balance any projected shortfall for 2627 or does it want to retain these funds to help alleviate projected shortfalls for the following year? Joanne, >> well, my hand was still up from before. I just My thing is I don't want kids to get hurt in the process. So, if we need I mean, we're not using it for what we put it in the bank account for. I understand it's money that saves us in in dire straits. I think we're in dire straits, though. And so, like when when we're looking at things that are going to directly affect children, I think we do need
168to consider it. >> Megan, >> thank you so much. I'm going to echo what um Miss R said. I would say that the goal should be not to use OPB and fund balance, we know that in reality, so I mean I think if we're thinking about how we prioritize and like decision-m criteria, yes, the goal should be not to use OPED and not to use fund balance when push comes to shove. Like I'm not if I have money in the bank here, like I was I'll just be repetitive. If if I have money in the bank and I have a hungry child in front of me and I know I should save that money, but my eight-year-old needs to eat, I'm feeding my eight-year-old. And we have we are elected to to serve the community
169to support the education of our students. And so, while yes, it's going to hurt this is going to hurt kids. Like I just I want to be clear that I am clear on that. we have to decide at what point are we unable to accept the harm that will come to students if we don't use the OPED funding. And so I think kind of to the point that Carol has made quite a bit this evening, we have to see that there just a more filledin picture of how all of these things will work together to know if and when to kind of hit the OPED button. I do still want more information and um and I think Miss Elwood is going to do a wonderful job, you know, and I think she she already gave
170us a really great framework tonight and I think we'll get more information about when is if we are in that situation, when is it better to go OPED versus fund 10 because we do want to consider like the the uh funding model impact, tax impact, etc. Carol. >> Um, I guess I I'm really echoing that. It is just you know my my feeling is no but but if necessary um some I you know once we have the full fleshed out picture of what we can do without you know if it comes to really like Megan was saying really causing serious serious harm um then we may need to use some of it but um we got to have the plan first before we can decide how much or if any of that we want to
171use. Okay. Leah, did you have any other um things you wanted the board to discuss regarding the budget or um Stephanie, did you have anything else you wanted us to um mull over tonight? Oh, sorry. My dog is barking. He's not happy. Um, no. I think the clarity is a little bit better. So, we will get started on all of that. Sorry. >> Okay. Stephanie, are you still with us? >> Yep, I'm here. And I I'll just repeat what Leah said that yes, we need to um we we have some work ahead of us and we need to do some more conversations with with principles about our organization and our staffing plan. >> Okay. Well, it it doesn't look like we have a close session link for tonight and we were not expecting this storm.
172So, if there are no objections, I would like to postpone the next item until next Tuesday's >> board meeting. >> I would just >> Can I say something before we go in on that? >> Well, we don't we don't have a closed session link, so I'm I'm asking >> No, no, no, no. I'm not I'm not talking about that. >> Postpone this. Oh, you you still have a budget discussion? >> Yes. >> Okay. Go ahead. >> I just want to be clear. So, we want I I want I mean I as one just want to get through what administration wanted us to do tonight to get through these bullet points. So, what I'm hearing is does administration have a clear nod that they go ahead and go with recommendations that they made? Is that correct
173or incorrect? >> Well, they didn't make recommendations. They gave us two options. >> So, where are we at? >> So, if you look at the bullet points, well, a lot of these options, we actually need more information. >> Okay. All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thanks. >> Oh, okay. So for the any other budget is uh comments. Okay. For the close session, does anybody object if we postpone this? Megan, >> I was just going to move to adjourn. >> Okay. Thank you. So we have a motion to adjourn at 8:36. Is there a second? >> I'll second. >> Second by Joanne Rue. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? >> I >> Any any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you everybody. Have a good night and be safe. >> Thank you. Thank you
174so much.