FHSD Board of Education Meeting - March 21, 2024

001Tonight before we get started, I'd like to ask that we observe a moment of silence for two members of the Frasetop community who recently passed away. Let's take a moment to silently honor Tammy Ross, a bus monitor in the Transportation Department, and Travis Wolfe, a sixth grade student who attended Barnabas Middle School. We'll start with the Pledge of Allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all order like a motion to approve the agenda for march 21st 2024 as presented i want to ask that we modify the consent agenda and just move the curriculum approvals out for a separate discussion vote i'd like to have those We're going to approve that separately

002and not in the consent agenda. We can do that. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All those opposed, say no. Aye. Nice to have it. Thank you for special recognitions. I'll turn it over to Ms. Dingell. Thank you President Bertrand. We're actually going to begin this evening by recognizing you, our Board of Education. The Missouri School Board Association has declared the entire month of March School Board Recognition Month. And so tonight we celebrate you for the time and dedication you give to our schools and community. You give so freely of your time and talents in a purely volunteer capacity, and I know for many of you, your board responsibilities often require the same time and attention as a full-time job. We've left some small tokens of appreciation at your seats this evening. Let's give

003our Board of Education a round of applause. Next, we would like to recognize and celebrate the girls wrestling program at Francis Howell Central. Last month, the amazing student athletes here with us tonight brought home the first MISSHA team state championship in Howell Central history. And they are also the first girls wrestling team champions in the Francis Howell School District and in the entire St. Louis region. And so we're going to let you watch a short video clip from the pep assembly they had to celebrate the students at school. I'll turn it over now to activities director, Mr. Scott Harris. of Education, Dr. Rumpus, and Executive Cabinet members, and everyone in the audience, thank you all very much for inviting our girls wrestling program here tonight, and we are very excited for this opportunity to celebrate

004our girls and coaches. Even after almost a month, it still does not seem real. In what was the closest three-team race in 80-plus years of Missouri high school state wrestling, with only one point separating the top three teams, our Spartans edged out next to about half a point, a true testament that every point matters. I would now like to introduce head wrestling coach, Kirk Cruz, and let him tell you a little bit about the team and state title. In only five short years since House Center began girls wrestling, Coach Cruz and his staff have promoted the program. Girls wrestling is a thing, right girls? I've heard that hundreds of times in the hallway, they have recruited girls from the hallways and built one of the biggest and best programs in the state of Missouri. One

005that our entire school, community, and the Francis House School is going to be proud of. Everyone, Coach Cruz. Thank you Board of Education for this special recognition tonight. But before I introduce the girls and coaches, let me tell you a little bit about what our Spartan team accomplished this year. We went undefeated in duels. It was the third straight GAC South Conference title. Our tournament champions won the tournament championships won by our Spartans. We won our Gateway Athletic Conference tournament. the Hickman Invitational, the St. Charles Invitational, and the Fort Zumwalt North Invitational. And then we got to the postseason, where we won our second straight Class 2 District Championship, and then eight state tournament participants. We went for the first time ever in house Central history. We won a state team title. This was the

006first MESHA-sanctioned team title in Central's history. As stated, this was the first for Central. This was the first for our whole entire district. But beyond that, it was the first in the St. Louis area and in our region. So it is a special deal. And so for some individual recognition, this year we featured 38 individual tournament champions. This included five conference champions, five district champions, and our first state girls champion. Junior Kaylee Benson, who like I said is the first winner in House Central and also in the Francis House School District. And now let's meet our team and coaches and get a look at that trophy. Oh, it's pretty. So the team. First we have state qualifier Haley Paul. The cool thing that I do want to state, we took eight into the tournament and

007all eight of these girls scored points. And as he stated, we won by a half of a point. So every one of these girls made a difference to their title and to that trophy. So that was very special. We have state qualifier Haley Paul. Fifth place, Stevie Lupo. Second from the end. You can wave or something. Fifth place, Kaitlyn Guth, senior. Fourth place, Alana Brong, senior. Third place, Nevaeh Smith, who's a junior. Third place, Sophie Johnson Sr., one that is missing tonight because she's playing soccer for House Central right now, so go Spartans. Dana T. Sanchez. And once again, our 2024 Class 2 State Champion and St. Louis Area Girls Wrestler of the Year, 45-0, Kaylee Benson. And our coaches. I want to start with the legend. He mentored almost every single one of us.

008He brought me into coaching. Steve Cross, he retired last year. It was a long time. He was our first head coach in House Central history. He coached three of them up there. One that couldn't be here. And he got me into the coaching in 97. we wouldn't be here without that man. And then our second head coach in the school's history, Jacob Manson, took over this year, did some great things, and he'll talk in a minute about the boys. But class of 2015. Coach Brian Bitney, didn't go to Central, but we still love him. Michael Taylor, who could not be here, was a class of 2013 and also wrestled in our room. Kennedy Eggering, House Central class of 22. And Bryce Sanders, House Central Class of 2016, is your state champion. Spartan celebration tonight everybody.

009At the exact same time that Kaylee was pitting her opponent to become the first girl state champion in house central and district history, two mats over, literally 40 feet over, our boys wrestling team had Noah King compete for a state title. What an exciting few minutes that was. Really all the eyes of the whole state was on house central at that time. Noah, with a dominating performance, becomes the 10th member of the house central boys wrestling team to win a state title. 10-11 guys. I will now introduce our boys coach to talk about Noah. Coach Mattson is a very proud FAC alum, as you just heard, who came back to teach in our building and become only the second head coach in program history just this year. And as he keeps telling me, how is

010such a wrestling? We do not rebuild, we reload. And in his first year of head coach, he got that right. He helped coach an individual state champion as well as a top 10 state finish. We finished ninth in class four. The 16th top finish in program history. Ladies and gentlemen, Jacob Mattson. All right, so I'm here to talk about our individual state champion, Noah Keene right here. I could probably go on and on to talk about him, so I'm just going to try and stick to my notes on this one. Noah had an absolutely phenomenal season, not just on the mats, but off the mats as well. Noah is somebody who represents a leader in many ways, but one of the greatest qualities that he has as a leader is he's a leader by example.

011So not only does he tell people to do the things that it takes to be a champion, tell people the right things that they need to do in order to follow our Spartan life code, but he's always the first one to do those things. He's always the first one to pick up a mop if he needs to mop the mats. He's the first one to stay after practice and get a little bit of extra work in, whatever he needs to do. Just an absolute workhorse. Like I said, I could go on and on talking about him, but the biggest thing that I love about Noah is that he is a leader by example. So a couple things, kind of summarizing his season this year. He finished with a record of 47-3. He is our 10th

012individual state champion at House Central, along with becoming district champion and GAC champion this year. I remember at the beginning of the season when Noah was talking about, I'm going to win a state title. He told us that. He said, I'm going to win a state title. He didn't say he wanted to. He said he was going to. So he's a man of his word. But I remember when he was telling us about it, he said, I want the hardest route possible. I want this state title to mean something. And what I mean by that is he wanted to make sure that every single match that he wrestled was one of the hardest matches he's going to have to wrestle in order to win a state title. Going back and looking at the bracket, where

013he was placed and the wrestlers that he had to beat in order to accomplish becoming a state champion, he did exactly what he said he wanted to do. He had arguably one of the hardest brackets in the state tournament. There were some incredible other wrestlers. His first match of the state tournament could have arguably been the state finals. So he did exactly what he said he wanted to do. He went the hardest route possible. to go and get his goal of becoming a state champion. I know those qualities that Noah exemplified throughout this season are going to be the same qualities that he continues to demonstrate throughout his life and he's going to have some pretty great accomplishments. So Noah Keene everybody. Spartans for representing the district so well. And as you know, we're going

014to talk about the student board rep now. The purpose of the student board rep program is to honor and recognize talented students, elevate student voice, and provide growth opportunities in the areas of public speaking, leadership, and governance. Students are selected for this honor by their principal with input from the student body. They have an opportunity to prepare and deliver a short speech to the board and public that is focused on their school or the district. And with that, I'll turn it over to Dr. Erin Thurston to introduce our student board rep from Barnwell Middle School. Good evening. I am honored to introduce to you Tori Gripka. She is an eighth grader at Barnwell where she is a member of National Junior Honor Society, Webb Student Council, Renaissance Yearbook, and a leader for FCA. Within all

015of these roles, Tori mentors new students, leads transition day activities, plans our eighth grade dance, and organizes positive reinforcements for the student body. Tori has a strong sense of character and is a student leader in all of these ways and more. I got this. Thank you for leading me. I appreciate that, Tori. Tori has a strong sense of character and as a student leader, I just read that, her kindness and positivity shines bright. But beyond this, Tori is organized, studious, and prides herself in taking challenging honors courses and ninth grade classes. In addition to keeping up with her rigorous coursework, Tori plays club volleyball and club softball. Overall, Tori is a model citizen in our school community and we are grateful to have her representing Barnwell today and always. Hi, my name is Tori Gripka

016and I go to Barnwell Middle School. It's an honor to be here tonight. I'm in eighth grade and I've been attending Barnwell for three years. I just want to start off by saying how amazing all my teachers have been. From the first time stepping in the building to now, all my teachers have been there for me and never let me down. Even the teachers I don't have. I see them in the hallways and they're always smiling and saying hi. I want to give a big thanks to all my principals, but definitely Dr. Thurston. She has always been here for me and pushed me further and further every day and helped me become who I am now. I will miss her a lot in high school. Barnwell has been a great place for me and I

017don't want to leave, but I have a dream to hopefully accomplish and that's to become a teacher one day. Overall, Barnwell has been the best place for me and I will never forget. of the fun times here. Like I said all my teachers have been great but I want to thank one teacher and that's Miss Ferry. She's my eighth grade ELE teacher and I could tell you all about her for hours and hours but in the time I have right now I'll keep it short and sweet. I met Miss Ferry in sixth grade at a club meeting for SCA. The first time I came she gave me a warm welcome and that's when I knew she was the one to put a smile on my face as I saw her every day. Sixth and seventh

018grade I was in FCA and saw her every other Friday. But then over the summer when we got our teachers I saw her name. She was my ELA teacher. I got so excited to see her every day when I got back to school. She didn't just make one or two students feel welcome. She included every student in everything. Then there was one day she was talking to me and asked me to be an FCA leader. Which meant every Friday I would get to see her twice. Starting in the morning with her and seeing her towards the end of the day. To this day from the beginning she will always make me laugh and smile but mostly I'm gonna miss her so much and she's that one teacher I'll always look up to. One last thanks

019to all those people who have made my life so much better and made me a stronger woman. Welcome to the board. My name is Mark. Just a few things that we would like to go over with you real quick on behalf of the board What we just want to let you know is you're absolutely willing to ask questions of anybody You can basically do everything but vote if you have questions of me. Don't feel don't be afraid to lean over and say what does that mean? and Welcome to the to the club up here anything for us yet Thanks and welcome next we have public comments During patron comments residents of the district and staff members are invited to address the Board of Education on issues related to the school district. Students are called forward

020in the order of sign up and each speaker has three minutes to make their remarks. Please remember that only one speaker is allowed at the podium at a time and combining time or giving your time to someone else is not permitted. The board appreciates that you've taken the time to come this evening and we value both your input and perspective. I would like to remind everyone that we expect the speakers will remain civil and respectful and give remarks. If anyone fails to comply with the court policies, regulations, and rules, we reserve the right to cut those three minutes short. We welcome Adriana Kuhn. I'm Adriana Kuhn and on April 2nd I'm running for the Francis Howell School Board. This year there is a distinct difference between candidates. Sam Young and I are running to increase

021academic standards, support teachers with actionable plans, and keep radical political activism out of our schools. Our opponents want boys and girls restrooms. They want divisive political activist groups to dictate what's taught in our schools. And they support additional tax levies. Watch our recent candidate forum and previous board meetings to see these things for yourself. Also, our opponents are running on deception and lies. Teachers are not leaving our district because of our board. Teachers are leaving the entire profession and our district because discipline is out of control. Teachers want to focus on teaching and not push, as I quote from a teacher, woke ideologies. We need swift action to once again create optimal working and learning environments in our schools. I am proudly endorsed by Francis Howell Families, a grassroot organization built from thousands of parents

022and citizens in this district. Anyone who had kids in Francis Howell during 2020 knows this was the only organization standing up for our children. We all remember it. Now there's a political action committee, Francis Howe Forward, who is trying to confuse citizens with its similar name. And let's be clear, their purpose is not to protect parental rights or children in our district. Our opponents are endorsed by the NEA. Last year, our local NEA president demanded a seated board director introduce and successfully pass a policy to reinstate her non-teaching release position prior to an NEA election endorsement. This is political corruption. I did not seek endorsement from the NEA because it is unethical to take endorsements or financial support from an organization you will be negotiating salary contracts for while seated on the board. My opponents

023in this election speak in platitudes like love your neighbor, but directly lying about me and seated board directors is not loving your neighbor. These words they say are hollow because their actions show a true representation of how they behave. On April 2nd, use your vote wisely and vote Adriana Kuhn and Sam Young for the Francis Howell School Board. Next, we welcome Stephen Blair. The best school districts in Missouri do not act like our school district. They do not act like our board. In just one year, we've been known and become known for our board's politics instead of student success. The teachers are sick of it, and they are leaving for early retirement in other districts, and they do claim it's because of the board's politics. People leave managers, not companies, and our school board is

024endorsed by a political action committee that tells voters that our teachers are groomers, indoctrinators, and people who sexualize children. We shouldn't be surprised when we hear other districts say they are picking off our Franciscan teachers left and right. We shouldn't be surprised when we hear that the Meet the FHSD teacher recruitment event went from 252 attendees in 2018 to 125 in 2023, the first year after the creation of Franciscan families. this last year 2024 down to 88 from 252 to 125 to 88 that's attendees not resumes received while our last three years have had very high teacher retention thank you president Bertrand for posting that to show that we had great retention with the other board majorities our current board majority pushes teachers and respective teachers away you clap for teachers here but outside of

025this room you attack I've visited a lot of schools over the last few months. I've attended trivia for Francis Howe North, Cosley, Barnwell, and Becky David. Culture night and music bingo at Harvest Ridge. First responder appreciation event at Cosley and volunteered at their STEM day. I've been to basketball games and football games for all three high schools, including the halftime shows. High school art show, Daniel Boone event, Bryan Middle School, Music Man Jr., Barnwell's, Dr. Doolittle Jr. 13 parent-teacher conferences, concerts at Bryan Middle, Sager, Fairmount, Francis House Central, and when Independence first graders sang It's Raining Tacos, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. You can't serve the people if you don't know the people. I've had hundreds of teachers tell me that they're pulling for us. They need a change to happen right

026now. My name is Stephen Blair, and I'm running for the Francis House School Board with these faces in mind. We don't want to go back to basics. We want to be the best. Let's pursue one-to-one technology and robotics at every middle school. Let's increase parent involvement with trackable metrics, update curriculum that doesn't refer to DVDs and VHS tapes. Let's dream big. Let's solve real problems. I don't care if it's a red solution, blue or purple solution, as long as it's a solution. I've been a pastor for 22 years, I have a master's degree, and I've overseen budget, staffing, and I've experienced managing conflict and getting people to work together. I've earned respect to people from both extremes because I've treated them with respect. And I will bring those skills and that attitude onto the board.

027I will show up at your schools and be available for you as well. A lot has changed in one year, but I believe that our best days can still be ahead of us. If we dream big, We put the best school district in Missouri we could become that if we just put education over politics do everything for the students both Stephen Blair and Carolee Owens for the Francis House school board Thank you. When I was in the sixth grade my class staged a mock debate for our elementary school We got to play the parts of Walter Mondale Geraldine for our Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush We studied their policies and political stances, we developed questions to ask, and we performed this debate in front of our entire school. After that, the students were able

028to vote for their preferred candidates. Before you all do the math, that was 1984 and I was 11. Given the current political climate, I have to wonder if that would even be allowed here in FHSD today. Would we consider it too political for our young students? Would it be forbidden due to our new policy that prevents teachers from undue political influence on their pupils? I'll tell you, that experience in 1984 was fundamental to my lifelong interest in civics and my desire to use my agency for positive change in the world. I became a lifelong social activist. It seems that political and social activism have become insults that are flung around in lieu of real conversations. Labeling those you disagree with as woke or Marxist or socialist doesn't advance any conversations. Director Bertrand, you actually helped

029me make my point last night in your Facebook post, and Adriana as well did just now. By highlighting and labeling things that are admittedly hard to talk about as political, You're actually hindering the conversation and we need to be able to have the hard conversations. We do. Social and political activism has played a major role in ending slavery, challenging dictatorships, preventing workers from exploitation, protecting the environment, promoting equality for women, opposing racism, and that list could go on and on. It should not be used as an insult. It should not be used to insult people because maybe you don't understand what it is they want. Because like I said, you're stopping the conversations from happening. As a parent, I want our schools to produce young adults who can think critically, who have opinions, who have

030the fortitude to stand up for what they believe in, and who can have those tough conversations. And you know what? Even if you have different beliefs and values than me, I support your right as an American to participate in our political process. But talk to me. Stop calling me names. And that is why I support Stephen Blair and Carolee Owens, who will truly value all voices and support everyone's right to be a part of this community. Thank you. Next, we welcome Grayson Justice. putting out cultural war policies, blocking and deleting comments on social media, threatening a minor student with an investigation, to nodding and stay silent to an AM right-wing radio host on how school systems are trash and the NEA are pure evil. But she wasn't alone. Ms. Kuhn was there too, smiling, laughing,

031and nodding her head. Days after, Ms. Kuhn was joined by Mr. Young in another right-wing radio show. And he said, what does teachers really know how to get an engineering degree? I don't know, Sam. What do you know about what it's like being a teacher who's not getting the salary that they were paid to do and been called every name on every MAGA, Moms for Liberty, Christian Nationalist Mouth, Groomer, Pedo, Sex Offender. And this board member started all this negative media attention. Miss Jane Pushkar. This is not how an official school board member should behave. But I know two candidates are simply not like the ones I mentioned. Stephen Blair and Carolee Owens are the perfect examples of how a board member should have behaved and are definitely qualified for this position. By talking to

032all communities for, against, or maybe plans to improve our schools and never ignoring the people who care about this district. Think about that when you vote on April 2nd. Thank you. Up next, we welcome Jamie Martin. Board and Francis Howe community, my name is Jamie Martin. I'm a mom of four kids in our district, and tonight I want to talk about culture wars. Culture wars are nothing new. In fact, certain conditions bring recycled conflicts to the surface over and over again. The battle lines for these culture wars are also recycled. They stretch from staunch conservative traditionalists on one end to liberal progressives on the other. And you know, most people kind of sit somewhere in between and kind of wait out the battle and the noise. I can identify with both ends of the spectrum.

033We all want our systems to function with consistency, predictability, without disruption. Of course, we can see the value in guarding financial reserves and planning ahead for economic challenges that could disrupt our way of life. And many hold deep religious convictions, are fiercely proud of their heritage, or feel strongly about the natural order of things. But over time, I've also come to feel strongly about progress and change. A few years ago, I'm sorry. I've also come to feel strongly about progress and change. I've learned that some identities and cultures have historically had less freedom or opportunity than others, and that these impacts are seen today. And here's the thing. These liberal progressives we talk about have come in every age, and they're some of our biggest heroes. From the religious reformation in Europe centuries ago, women's

034suffrage, the labor movement, and the civil rights era. But a few years ago, conditions were ripe for our first culture war of the digital age, with economic uncertainty meeting significant social change. And high-level political strategists launched the CRT controversy. In Southlake, a Texas town with powerful political players in deep pockets, a PAC called Southlake Families took their school board by storm. And very soon after a how-to interview appeared in the National Review, the now President and Treasurer of Francis Howe Families spoke at a board meeting for the first time, concerned about the Black History and Lit classes. And they passed around a flyer aligning the classes with CRT. Somewhere along the way, the group was connected to the organizers in Southlake. By the July board meeting there were giant posters, mock checks to diversity consultants,

035in August there were t-shirts and organized talking points in patron comments. Today five of you who sit here were elected with the help of these powerful political players in deep pockets in Missouri. In fact the leaders of the new PAC here poured nearly $35,000 from just their family into supporting your campaigns. So here we are. All of us holding our deep convictions, but none of us untouched by the culture wars of our time. And while we are arguing over things that matter, social change that deserves our attention and perspectives, we're actually being kept from the most important argument of all, the most important debate we should be having. Please vote Stephen Blair and Carolee Owens. Let's learn to talk about things from both ends of the spectrum. Next, we welcome Beth Eng. Good evening. I'm

036just not sure what to do. I have my speech here. And I practiced it from about 1 o'clock on today to try and get it into three minutes. I've noticed several of you not even making eye contact with the people who are up here speaking today. And that breaks my heart. A few minutes ago, I was sitting in the back, and I asked somebody if I should just read my speech. And they looked at me, and they said, just talk from your heart. So here I am. I have had kids in this school district for 13 years. I've never gone to board meetings as much as I have lately. So you've awakened me to that and I appreciate it. I sat back there listening to Adriana and to Steven and I'm so insulted. I'm a

037college educated, middle class, hardworking mom. I'm in the middle. I'm conservative when it comes to financials and I think people should be responsible for paying their dues and you need to be responsible for spending our money wisely. But I don't think I should be vilified. for supporting ideas that are inclusive and wanting to learn history about groups that don't look like me. I've recently read a book by Trevor Noah called Born a Crime and it opened my eyes in so many ways to experiences that I would never have. And I worry that the way that the policies are going, that this board is setting, are restricting our kids from learning that. Ms. Buscar, you still haven't made eye contact with anyone. You just did because I called your name. Thank you. My concern is that

038politics have gotten in the way on both sides. There were things said tonight against you that I think were also damaging and shouldn't be said. But here's the thing, and I will pull from a few of the things that I looked at today. Members of this board have appeared on conservative radio stations multiple times supporting two of the candidates. A member of this board gave a how-to run for school board seminar to a conservative group in our county. Another member has been a guest speaker at multiple conservative political gatherings including the St. Charles Pachyderm Club. And that's okay. You can have those feelings. But you can't bring them to our schools or to our children. They need to have all sides. As I look at the past year and I look at what's coming up

039and I look at the vote, I am just begging you as a parent, as a property owner, as a taxpayer, to just stop focusing on the politically charged issues. We need safety. We need your service. Thank you. Your time is up. Next, we welcome Chase Craig. Hello, board. My name is Chase Prairie, and I'm a senior at Francis Hellenorf. I, while listening to the other patrons, just ripped my speech apart, and I'm now going to speak from the heart. Sam Young, that quote that Grayson just quoted, he did not read the full quote. I would have liked to read the full quote. I'm an engineering major. Like, what teacher really knows how to get an engineering degree? You know, I was in the Navy. You know what teachers know better than me how to lead

040a group, how to lead a team? You know, Adriana is a small business owner. What teacher knows that? So I think we do have something to say about what's being taught in schools. Mr. Young, my mom is a teacher in this district, and she has to come home every night and teach students. for three hours every night because she doesn't get paid well enough in this district. Do you know what it's like to have to watch your mom bust her butt every single night because she has to meet our financial needs? No, you do not. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. You do not. But Adriana, I want to talk about someone who, a group that you begged. for their endorsement on Facebook, Moms for Liberty. You know, the same organization that's been riddled

041with sex scandals in the past couple months. I believe you are a product of your company. If that is the company that you are wanting to keep, then you are not fit for this board. And Mr. Young, I would like to say to you, though, I do have the utmost respect for your service to our nation. However, that does not automatically qualify you for this school board. Ms. Puskar. Once again, you are not looking at me. I just you looked up when I said your name I was a student who attended two walkouts in my four years. One that Francis Health Families, one of your guys' biggest backers, said I should be suspended for. I'm a student with no prior disciplinary history, so should I be suspended for standing up for what I believe in?

042I also walked out in protest of the gun violence in schools after Uvalde, but I didn't see anyone calling for me to be suspended then. Should I only be suspended when the thing I'm walking out for does not fit your political beliefs? And then I do would like to say for I was originally going to advocate for student voters to go out and vote because we know what's going on in our schools more than anyone else. Just like when Jane said there's kitty litter boxes in the restroom. There is not kitty litter boxes in the restrooms. You know what is going on in our restrooms? They're falling apart. Every single restroom at Francis Hall North is a absolute, it's just terrible. I can't even explain to you. Just imagine the worst restroom possible, and Francis

043Hall North has a worse restroom than that. So, instead of saying there's kitty litter boxes in the restroom, and also like... Grayson said, going on to podcasts and trashing our district, how about you stand up for teachers in our district like my mom? And I would employ every student in our district who is eligible to vote to go vote for Stephen Blair and Curly Owens on April 2nd. Thanks for welcoming King Conters. Board, next Tuesday there is a critical school board election. It's a classic battle between David and Goliath. between candidates endorsed by Francis L. Families and candidates endorsed and supported by the Missouri NEA and two other progressive PACs. It's four powerful organizations against one. The stakes could not be higher. We all want and deserve academic excellence, a first-class education, a safe and

044inviting environment for our kids, teachers who are appreciated and valued, and a school district which is tops in the state. Look at what the NEA just rolled out nationally this month. 15 hours of professional development courses for teachers on CRT, intersectionality, gender identity, and sexual orientation. They adopted resolutions on white supremacy, reparations, institutional racism, and equity, not equality. Just this January, the legislative director of the Missouri NEA petitioned the Missouri House of Representatives with the following. The Missouri NEA believes that all gender-affirming students should have the right to choose their own bathrooms and locker rooms. In other words, they are advocating for biological boys in girls' bathrooms and locker rooms. The Missouri NEA has endorsed and financially supported candidates Owens and Blair, who apparently share their views. Ms. Owens, during the Candidates Forum two days

045ago, voiced their approval of social justice. It was the Southern Poverty Law Center that wrote the social justice standards that were recently rescinded out of the Black History and Black Literature courses by our courageous school board. The SPLC supports defunding the police, no cash bail, allowing criminals out of jail and back on the streets, and even supports the antics of Antifa. We've all seen the devastation that results from implementing social justice in New York City, in Chicago, and even here in St. Louis with the recent loss of lives and limbs. Josh Harvey cites the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hateful, fraudulent, bullying, and divisive organization. Also, during Tuesday's Candidate Forum, we heard Mr. Blair and Ms. Owens repeatedly, over and over, state that it's all about the teachers. With all due respect for our

046valued and treasured teachers, candidates Kuhn and Young believe it's primarily about our students and their education. Adriana and Sam will work tirelessly to advance responsible fiscal oversight, common sense bathroom and locker room policies. They will be laser focused on academic excellence, discipline, parental rights, and safety of our kids. Next Tuesday, Francis Howell family urges our community to vote for the two common sense candidates Adriana Young and Susan DeLancey. Up next we welcome Miranda Bell. Good evening to the board, the families, and the stakeholders of the Francis Howell School District. My name is Miranda Bell, and I'm standing here tonight because, like many of us here, I'm a person who cares a whole heck of a lot about what goes on in our communities and how it impacts our kids. I'm a teacher. I'm a reverend.

047I'm a musician. I'm a wife. I'm a grandma. But most importantly tonight, I'm a mom of black sons, two of whom attend school in this district. And there's not much I can say to you at this point that will change your mind on how you plan to proceed with the updated black history and black literature courses, but I will say this. My grandparents were two of the first black homeowners in Englewood on the south side of Chicago. My mom is sitting right over there and lives here now along with her siblings were part of integrating the public schools west of 63rd Street on the south side of Chicago in the 50s. They were chased home every day with bottles and sticks because like some in our community here today, people didn't want them there either.

048I'm here to put a face and a voice to the fact that we are Black history. And whether you choose to disappear the courses that celebrate the contributions of families like mine and other people of color to building vibrant communities or continue to ignore the impacts that things like rescinding the anti-racism resolution have on people of color, I'm here to say we're still here and we will keep showing up. The board's recent decisions tell me that our stories don't matter. I don't know if you mean to say that, but that's what it tells us. But I'm here to say that as a mom and as a wife and a minister and a singer and a musician and all those things I said earlier, I am highly intentional about how I choose to use my voice.

049So I'm here to say my voice matters too. Our voices matter too. And we will keep showing up and speaking up in places and spaces where many would prefer people who look like me to just be quiet. Women fought for the right to be part of the political process up until 1920. And then people of color fought for that same right all the way up until 1965. So as both a woman and a person of color, it is an immense honor to stand up in the middle of this fray and let my voice be heard imploring you to vote for candidates who will keep looking forward, not backward, in building a world that works for all of us. Thank you for your time. Thanks for your welcome. Carissa Figgins. Hi, again, my name is Carissa

050Figgins. I've been a Francis Howe resident for 25 years. I've been a Francis Howe parent for 22 years. If anyone needs any gold and blue spirit wear, I can probably help you out because I have been a basketball mom, a soccer mom, a swim mom, and a drama mama. I come from a long line of educators. I have been a Francis Howe employee in the past as a parent educator with parents as teachers. I have been a child advocate for 30 years and will do whatever is necessary to protect children at every stage of life. I love our community and this school district and the people in it. Tonight, I am here in my official role as the local outreach pastor at Harvester Christian Church. We believe it's important to pour into the adults that

051pour into children to allow children to flourish. I've watched for several years the continued fracturing of our community, and it breaks my heart. And I've wondered how I could help with the growing lack of unity. Tonight, I'm going to use my patron comments to briefly pray for peace and unity. And I want to make it clear I'm not here to endorse any candidate. I am not here to support any specific board member, specific initiative, platform, or curriculum. I am not here to preach or condemn or convert. I'm observing patterns of behavior, and it seems to me that a ton of people are hurting in our community. I simply look around to see what I could offer, and I have a prayer. I also want to offer to anyone that would like to have face-to-face civil

052discourse about any issue on any side that I'd be honored to try to facilitate that conversation. If you are comfortable, I would invite you to bow your head and join me in prayer. Hey God, thank you for being who you say you are and for doing the things you say you're going to do. Thank you for each person in this room and everything they represent. Father God, you are not blind to the struggles of our community. Lord, I pray for a peace that passes all understanding on everyone here. I pray that this peace permeates our schools, our churches, our community, our children, and our families. Lord, for those in decision-making positions, I pray for you to bless them with humility, wisdom, and knowledge. Lord, your scripture tells us you are a voice for the voiceless.

053For those who feel that they have not been heard, I pray for their healing hearts and minds and souls. For those who feel they need to be right, I pray that you calm those minds to do good instead. Father God, I ask that you grant us patience to work together with understanding and compassion in our hearts. Lord, for those that profess to know you, I pray that you continually remind us of your commandment, not your suggestion, to love. To those that know you, we are commanded to love you and love others, to love our neighbors as ourselves. Help us to remember, no matter what arena we are in, that our love will be evident in joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness. I'm Raquel Babb. the FHEA first vice president and negotiations chair for both certified staff

054and our educational support counselors. The Francis Howell Education Association is entirely made up of teachers, educational support counselors, coordinators, and content leads. We are happy to report that both our FHEA groups have ratified the 24 to 26 closure documents. In 2021, reserves fell below 15% and FHEA accepted being frozen to save 20 certified positions. But the district still had to cut 40 positions and our teachers absorbed that work by seeing class sizes increase. We were also asked to tighten our budgets. When COVID shrank our substitute roster, we gave up almost all release days and outside PD opportunities. Since then curriculum revisions have been put on hold teacher recommended resources were not purchased Positions of all kinds went unfilled across the district and all staff took up that slack as well Last spring we were only

055able to give 3% raises about $48 a paycheck as we tried to push off the fiscal cliff that was projected to hit Even though we were sure the district would end with more than 19% in reserves. We responsibly agreed to this small increase We were right though, because fiscal year 2023 ended with 27.61% in reserves. The sacrifices of all of our faculty and staff are the main reason for the now well over $30 million reserve balances that finally gave cabinet and FHEA the opportunity to revise our salary schedule so that FHSD is once again competitive in the county instead of last. We wish we could have done as much for educators that have been in the district for many years as we were able to do for newer teachers, but we had to work within

056the constraints of the guidance of the current board. FHEA and cabinet worked together this year to find more work time for everyone because class sizes and expectations don't fit in our contract hours. We make plans to study education teacher workloads, special education teacher workloads, and processes because these teachers are facing unprecedented caseloads. We finalized language for ESCs to receive stipends for national board certification, as well as solve other concerns that our great educators and counselors shared with us in November of last year. But we needed to do more. I'm proud of the work that my two FHEA negotiations teams have done to secure this two-year contract, and we look forward to collaborating with the cabinet to support all educators, ESC students, and their families through the next two years. Thank you. President Bertrand, Superintendent Rumpus,

057Cabinet, Board, and Guests. As the President of FEESPA, I want to thank those who participated in our negotiations this last month. Special shout out to Mark Delaney who has worked with us diligently on many of the edits to our closure document. I want to celebrate my team in FEESPA that worked tirelessly to present all the information and requests. We're very excited to finally reveal to our members the agreement we worked together to create. The collaboration that took place was very meaningful. We appreciate our voices being heard and your receptive actions. It is our intent to bring you a ratified agreement at the April board meeting. We want to celebrate our District Teacher of the Year, Nicole Ashraf, and our District Support Staff of the Year, Mary Merritt. Both of these accolades are so well-deserved. It's

058an honor working besides people of your caliber. Also want to shout out to our technology professionals that have put in the effort and hours to get everything back to working order. We have a truly impressive group. I want to wish everyone a relaxing spring break. Hope you get that time to relax, rewind, recoup, whether that's at home or on vacation. Thank you for all the teams that work during spring break. Facilities, all of your departments are what is going to bring back that beautiful shine to our schools. Vacation station, technology, admin, thanks for all you do. And we hope this week is just a little slower, a little more calm, and please enjoy. Thank you. like a motion to approve the consent agenda for march 21 2024 as presented push guard or ponder all those

059in favor say aye aye all those opposed say no i just have it more like a motion to approve the financial report as presented motion to approve the curriculum documents as presented good director discussion board some changes that were made recently since uh first read to five courses that I was able to, five courses at least, to the best of my knowledge. And they are around really courses that use books that are not textbooks. So these are the English language courses. So we're talking about English 1, Honors English 1, Black Literature, Journalism, and Mythology. There's been a question here among some of us on the board about why books that are being read in an English class aren't listed in this in the curriculum and It worked or talked with the administration about this concern

060over the past several weeks So on the second page of many of these on those five curriculum. There's a new procedure called family notification procedures And for those who haven't seen I'm just going to read it So there's three different classifications. So there are whole class books which are titles that will be assigned to the whole class and will be available on Canvas or on course overviews in Sillamite. If this changes during the class term, families will be notified. If a teacher plans to offer a choice from a small set of pre-identified books, those titles will be available on Canvas and on the course overviews in Syllabi. If this changes during the class term, families will be notified. So this puts a lot of that onus right on the teachers. Second classification is library books.

061Families may contact their school's library media specialist. This is not new. may contact the library media specialist in the school to sign for email notifications when your student checks out a book. This was implemented last year. And then the third classification is open choice books. When a class begins a unit involving the selection of open choice books, teachers will notify families and prompt them to ask their students. For classes where students can select choice books at a faster pace, teachers will send quarterly emails to families reminding them to regularly ask their students. I see this as a lot of work for teachers and a lot of room for people to forget. People are human and it seems like a lot of trouble for our many ELA teachers and teachers that are teaching these five courses.

062So one of my concerns is if we know what books are being taught in the class for an English class, presumably we would have some of the same books read certainly across across the hall, but ideally across all three of our high schools to give a same educational experience to each student so I I still have this concern about why we are not able to list those in the curriculum and if they change from year to year, then we can certainly bring back the curriculum and update that with a simple simple change, but Dr. Buchman, do you have any comments? Do you want to explain any of that? I would say that we heard the concern that there are some families that would like more information about what books their students are reading, and we

063have some teachers that would like some flexibility in the books that they offer to their students based on interest or whatnot. And so we felt like this process meets both of those needs. We did consult the ELA department chairs in the three high schools, and they felt comfortable that this process was manageable and met the needs of their department. If there is a book that, you know, if every ninth grader in English 1 is going to read a specific title and that's happening in every classroom across the district, those, it's a required read of the course, those are listed in the curriculum document. You are correct. We could if there's consistency across the entire district We could bring those updates year to year if they change I think the challenge we run into is over

064time book rooms and the different high schools have different collections of books and so what one high school may choose to read could be different than what I The other high school chooses to read because they have access to different titles Student interest is different. For example, we had a conversation, Hall North opening a new building. They have interest in reading a book that is specific to a theme that has to do with... It has to do with opening the new building. It wouldn't make sense that how central and how high would do that and we want to offer them the flexibility to make that professional decision. It is about teaching the standards. It's not about teaching the book and the specific title. So again, I think if the goal is that we want to

065make sure that parents feel comfortable with the titles and understand what books their students are reading and have the ability to weigh in and say, I don't want you to read that book or I'd like you to read a different book. We felt like this process brings parents into that conversation and it gives them an opportunity to have a dialogue with their child to say tell me about tell me about the book you brought home tell me about the book that you're reading if there's a concern it gives them an opportunity to weigh into that while still offering teachers some flexibility in the books that they're using in the classroom. How would the community know what's in the curriculum for what books are being offered to students here? No, I don't think it's a surprise

066that some of the library titles are scrutinized in the past, but I think it's fairly common knowledge that books that are as part of books that are part of curriculum or Board of Education and community have a lot of deference there on what is taught in the classroom as a compulsory instruction really as opposed to library selections, but so I understand teachers can notify parents via Canvas and on the syllabi, but if a community member who pays taxes here wants to, or even a student who's looking at taking an elective like mythology or black literature, they're wondering what books they might read in there, how would they know that? We have a blurb on the curriculum website that if you have questions about a specific course and the information isn't available that you're looking for

067on the website that you're welcome to email the curriculum email address. That would connect you with one of our content leaders. You can have a conversation with a content leader and then that content leader would be happy to sit down and have a conversation about what you would typically find in that classroom. To be honest, the questions that we've had were really about families and family members understanding the titles that their child was reading. And so that was the goal that we were working to put a process in place for, to communicate to family members so that you understood what your student was reading. And that was the process that we worked toward. One of the concerns I have is that... Many families either haven't read many of these books, especially if they're not, I

068would say, the classic books that many of us read in high school, after the riot and the like. Parents aren't necessarily going to know what's in these, and I look at it as our duty as the board to vet that for the community. That's why many of us were elected. So, whereas we might have hundreds of parents trying to, wondering, what might be in any given book. If it's in the curriculum, if it's reviewed by the community, on the agenda for the public to see, to provide input to us, I feel like that's a much more transparent process and really relieves that burden from the parents who choose to rely on the board for those decisions, which parents are still obviously free to read them themselves if they choose, but for those... any parents that

069it's everything to get your kid fed every night and get them to sports and everything else they don't have time to do this that's really that's the point of the board is to act as representatives for the community for the parents and I feel like it's a almost a service that we do here that that's what we do is review these curriculum documents the curriculum is some of the most important things we do here I think my main issue I think my main issue is transparency and unless it's readily available I think we're putting stakeholders in a position to expend more time and energy to find out what is actually being offered by stakeholders I mean parents and and the entire community we all know that We've heard on the board and as candidates that

070the community wants transparency and I don't think we're exactly gaining that by having to go through a two-step process or that it's not, the information is not exactly readily available. My goal, for me, would be to make it as transparent. easily attainable and understandable as can be because as Randy referred to getting your kids fed and off to whatever sport that they have and getting homework done doesn't leave me much time to even think about things like that. Maybe I can just to clarify this came from some community members I guess reach out either with concerns or with just questioning like hey how do I get this and so this is just a way to And clarify like this is the process that should be should be happening during the course right? We've heard from

071a couple people that they would like to know what their students are reading and then I Understood there was some concern. Yes So president Burton I would call for a single separate vote on mythology English one honors English one black literature and journalism Comma to amend the motion your columnist split them. It's dividing the dividing the motions as their individual items So there would be two two motions one for those five ones and one for all of the others one motion on basically all the LA Yeah, so one motion would be Mythology English one honors English one black literature and journalism No, I did not. I have methodology, English 1, honors 1, journalism. Mythology, English 1, honors English 1. I'm going to take a pause and just explain to everybody what happened just so that

072they understand. So we have a motion that is kind of a conglomerate of multiple items that could be separate motions in one. And based on Robert's rules... Anybody with an open floor can call for that to be split into different motions and so Director Cook is calling for that to be split into two motions based on the different courses. That's basically seven out of two motions. Any additional questions or comments? I'm still a little confused on this all so we can go over this one more time. Yeah, so Director Cook asked for the, because we have a conglomerate. Go over. So we have a conglomerate. So we have multiple courses that could individually be approved as a motion combined into one motion. He has asked that we split that motion into two motions, which is

073allowable under Robert's rules. So basically we have a motion for, I'm just going to call it the ELA courses, and a motion for everything else. That's probably the easiest way to get it. ELA, everything else. Any further questions, clarifications? So what's the point of the second motion for the ELA motion? What exactly are we voting for? So it's going to be the same thing to approve those courses? Same motion, just splitting basically the content areas. You're about to find out what the point of that was. Now I'm going to make a motion to postpone approval of Mythology, English 1, Honors English 1, Black Literature, and Journalism until the regularly scheduled April board meeting. that motion will need a second. Please let us continue with our meeting. So you are motioning to postpone the motion on

074ELA, all the ELA portions. Is that correct? Yes. Okay. Does that have a second? That requires a second. So first by motion to postpone, the Director Cook. Second by Director Fishgar. The reason here would be to give us some more time to work with the administration and ideally to get some of these curriculums cleaned up and titles listed in the curriculum that students would be given. You're asking to postpone so that we can work with administration to try to provide titles in the curriculum. That's right. And make sure everybody's clear on the board for the ELA courses. Questions, board? Comments? So really the postponement just gives them a chance to finalize the language to be able to come up with a list or provide more detail as to what will be used in the ELA

075courses. That's right. Yeah, this family notifications procedure, just being candid, this, you know, we just learned about this last Friday, and I think it needs some... I gave my thoughts on it. I haven't gotten many community, I don't think many in the community probably saw it. But I would love to get some feedback on it, but then also have, it would be my preference to have the books actually listed, but if others don't feel that way or need to have their own conversations with the administration, that's where I would go. So what would happen if we went forward with like it is and then if you didn't approve the way it is now you just vote no? Because then we'd be going out of curriculum. But instead we want to dictate and tell them what

076to do. No, we're asking for information. Just note that these curriculum documents are substantially trimmed down from the prior versions. I mean, we're going from dozens of pages for each curriculum document, which was approved in years past, down to... Less than a dozen now. These curriculum, there is much, much less information than was in there in the past, which is a whole other matter that has ongoing discussions to it. But I think at the very least, for an English class, parents and community members will want to know, what will you be reading in this class? I do not understand how a... three different classes across different high schools will have different main text assignments. You're offering a different education to each student at that point. President Bertrand, can I clarify one more time? The anchor

077text that would be offered in every course and used across the district is listed in the curriculum documents there. The process was being responsive to the request we'd receive for more information and that that would be provided to the parents of the students in the class at the start of the semester would be listed. Any changes that would be done would be communicated to those parents. So it's not that they're not being communicated. The anchor text that everyone would use. is listed we're talking about some of the other books that might be student choice small group lit circles where those titles will be shared with the parents at the start of that semester additional questions for all right so we have a motion to postpone the motion for approval of the ela court curriculum until

078next meeting oh all those in favor say aye aye all opposed say no no We do a roll call. I would like to do a roll call. Yes, I'd be happy to. Vice President Cook. Aye. Director Ponder. No. Director Harmon. No. Director Pushkar. Aye. President Bertrand. No. Motion fails. All right, so we move on to the motion to approve the ELA coursework. Additional questions, Board? All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say no. No. Ayes have it. Then we have back to our main motion on all the other curriculum. So that would be, we have a motion, final motion is a motion to approve all the curriculum that is not ELA. So everything else. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say no. Ayes have it. Moving on. More

079like a motion to approve the financial report as presented. Pushkar. We have a second. Good. December. Good evening, board. I will tell you this is my shortest presentation to date, but I will be back to the podium later for a few more things. So this evening, all that I've done is I've pulled excerpts of the budget amendment and transfer document that we are now posting for you each month. And I will highlight for you just a few things. Last month during the February 8th presentation, I mentioned some of the changes that we've been notified of in the current year. And that one primary change was relative to Proposition C revenue for the current year. And so what you have here, and I'm driving this presentation, aren't I? I should push a button. Thank you. So

080what we have here, the first slide shows you those revenue changes by object code. This does represent all funds. And you will note in total the increase for all funds is $3,411,455. We do have that Proposition C amount, the total included within that, and that is listed under local, and that's an increase of $1,739,299. And then we also are showing another primary increase is the current tax. That's an adjustment after the final information was received from the county. We'll continue to have some slight payments. An increase overall of $1,579,837. Excuse me. We are showing also earnings from investments. We know that interest rates have been very robust for us in the past months and so there's an increase there of nearly 2.9 million. I'll highlight for you also on the downturn side under basic formula

081and also financial institutions tax, we're required to split that revenue between those two codes basically because it comes from the state and also from the county and we are providing you a reduction on the financial institutions tax of $1,928,000 and on the basic formula portion that is mostly related to financial institutions tax and that's a reduction of $2,562,061. And so we've talked about that for most years we see a very stealth contribution to the Francis House School District. This is another one of those years where we have a significant downturn and so moving forward part of our budget recommendation will be because it's an unpredictable situation. We've explored all avenues to learn more about this revenue. Someone at the state level told me that's like a mystery black box that is hard to understand. So

082basically my recommendation moving forward will be that we budget for those revenues after we receive them each year and that we then would only consider attributing them to one-time costs which could include capital related items or other operational needs. That will help us maintain a consistent projection in terms of our operating fund balance as we look out our three years. So that's a primary thing. I'll move on to the next slide and highlight that... On the expenditure front, the net is zero. We do allow leaders throughout the district to transfer funds between different object types relative to the needs that they are experiencing. And as you can see in this situation, an increase in substitute salaries was made and reductions were then applied to some purchase service codes and supply codes. So again, net zero.

083The next slide shows you the breakdown from the revenue perspective. It's local, county, state, federal, and other district. And then on the expenditure side, it's by primary object type. And that is how the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has us look at those codes. So again, overall increase of 3.411, 455 for revenue and expenditure zero. The last slide provides you that operating trajectory that you'll need to blow up on your screen to see the small number, but it does show us currently anticipating an ending fund balance of 30.20, 2.28. I can't even read it on my screen. Close enough. It will change. We know that as new information is provided to us. That concludes that report. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer those. Questions for Mr. Hager? Okay. Thank

084you. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say no. Aye. We have a motion to approve your purchases as presented. Second. Discussion board. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say no. Aye. We have a motion to approve item number seven, benchmark, as presented. Second. Dr. Armpas, thank you for pulling this one for me. I just wanted to... Make it kind of make it clear to the community that this is a one-year renewal and then maybe yes Dr. Buckman the talk a minute on why it's a one-year renewal And what the path is going forward? Sure. It's a one-year renewal because we are in the middle of a Program you know for lack of a better word, so I'm happy to share just very second commercial about what it

085is that we're doing for the board's information So in early January we started with an internal review of our tier one which is kind of our core programming for k-5 English language arts or ela In general this included included some surveys of our teachers and administrators to determine What was positively impacting student achievement at that level where they saw a need for improvement what tools and resources they feel they needed and then we solicited their input around their professional learning needs. An internal team began collecting some data to look at, the state data and then also our local data, and a variety of ways to see strengths and opportunities for growth in all areas of ELA performance at the elementary level. Last week the program evaluation team came together and reviewed some best practices in

086ELA at the elementary level, those survey results, reviewed the district data, and then began working towards a recommendation. Ultimately the team is working to determine practices in ELA, working to determine the answers to four questions and really the four questions that they're trying to answer are what parts of the current programming meet latest research, best practices, and elementary literacy. What parts of our programming partially meet those needs and what parts of our programming don't meet those needs? We're looking to answer what does the data tell us about our student success in ELA? We're looking at how effective is the training and professional learning that we're providing around our current programming? And then the fourth question is in what ways does the program scope and sequence and components support our teachers and the planning instruction and

087then our students in becoming proficient in those state standards? And so in the coming weeks, the team will finalize the answers to those questions and they'll begin to formulate those recommendations as we move forward in the area of ELA. Ultimately, that'll impact the curriculum and resource recommendations that we bring forward. We anticipate curriculum work happening hopefully this summer. I don't want to jump the gun. We'll see what the recommendations are, but we anticipate that we would start some curriculum work this summer. And again, we would anticipate that there will likely be some recommendations that we need to make adjustments with our Tier 1 resources for ELA. And then we would begin that work in the fall, which again, I don't want to jump the gun, but if I had a crystal ball, I would say

088if all goes well in the spring, we would be bringing a recommendation for some type of resource for elementary ELA. So that's why it's a one-year recommendation request. Thank you very much. I should also give a shout out to dr. Sherry Jordan and dr. Melinda sheets literacy leaders They really put that program evil process together and are leading it out Thank you for the background. Thank you. I'll let the team Any additional questions? All right all those in favor say aye. All right. I was supposed to know And next we have a motion to approve the 2024-2026 Feesfa closure document and salary schedules as presented. FHA. FHA, sorry. Thank you, President. FHA. Push card. Second. Thank you, President Bertrand. I just wanted to take a minute to thank the FHA team and my fellow administrators

089for a very successful round of negotiations. The teams really worked collaboratively improving working conditions for our certified staff and greatly improved our overall salary schedule. The proposed salary schedule changes address the areas of the schedule where we were most far behind our benchmark districts. And collapsing those columns to allow for an increase to our starting salary will put us in a much better position to recruit high-quality teachers for our students. We know as a team that we still have work to do to address some of the other areas of compensation in the schedule, and we're committed to doing that as resources allow us to. And administration recommends the board approve the agreement. Brief discussion, as was alluded to earlier during the FHEA comments, there was some board priorities. One was to raise the starting pay

090for incoming teachers. We also narrowed down the number of lanes, columns on the salary schedule, which was another desire. And then it's a desire of this board, I think it's unanimous, to provide make-up steps to those teachers who lost steps in years past in prior negotiations. Any teachers out there that are still concerned about your steps I would encourage you to reach out to your FHEA building rep about those concerns in future years. Any other comments to support? I would say that I would say that I sat on those negotiations and I would echo Mr. Ginn's remarks that are very collaborative. between the administration and the negotiators for FHA. So I saw a lot of good conversations going on and really appreciate that from both sides. So look forward to seeing that work continue and

091things continue to improve. All right, it's time to go. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say no. Ayes have it. Take a quick recess to sign documentation. Board, I'd like a motion to approve the 2024-2026 FHEA ESC closure document as presented. Second. Mr. Carver, Director Ponder, Ms. Simpkins. I just also want to give a quick thank you to the teams involved in this process. We really did work, again, very collaboratively and worked together to support our educational support counselors and address their concerns. And administration recommends that the board approve this agreement. Questions for the board? All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say no. Aye. And we'll take another quick break to sign some more documents. I'd like a motion to approve letting bids on the Henderson Elementary

092project as presented. Director Pushkar, Director Ponder, Mr. Schatzik. Good evening, Board. Before you for consideration this evening is a recommendation to let bids for additions and renovations at Henderson Elementary. As a reminder, you approved Henderson schematic designs on October 11th and then design development on December 25th. Those approvals moved us into the next step in the construction document phase and this evening we're recommending releasing the bids, the construction documents and technical specifications for bidding. So pending your approval, the documents and specifications will be released on March 28th. A public bid opening would be held on April 25th and the recommendation for a construction contract would be brought back to the board for consideration and approval on May 16th. As a part of this process, we worked with Hohner Architects and a third party estimating company

093to provide additional cost analysis based off of the construction documents. And on the 26th of February, they provided an estimate of $17 million. $541,237. And as a reminder, at the December board meeting, owner's estimate was $17,435,880. So roughly a difference of $105,000 or 0.6%. So one of the things that I also want to make you guys aware of is we've done some additional benchmarking as we looked at this scope, and it's really just for your awareness. So pending a successful bid opening, you know, a board approval for a construction contract, and obviously completion of the project. Conservatively, we estimate that the district could realize some savings in terms of operational costs, $15,000 annually just on electric consumption. And then Ameren, who is our energy utility provider, electric energy utility provider, calculated about 90K, 90,000 in

094a one-time energy rebate. Obviously a large part of this scope is mechanical systems. Obviously the need that's really... driving the recommendation that we're bringing to you is we're growing at the seams there in terms of space and need to do some additions in order to accommodate instruction. But as a part of that, there's also some mechanical upgrades that we're making. So we thought it'd be prudent to go ahead and do some energy benchmarking there to be able to share that with you guys. And those are conservative estimates and lastly just for your awareness. You know we spend about a hundred and one thousand annually just for electricity consumption So with that I'd be happy to answer any questions that the board may have Can you just touch on real quick I know there's been some

095discussion, but can you touch on the need for a full-size gym? Yes, absolutely. So when Henderson was built, I believe it was 1983 if I'm not mistaken. I don't have that date right in front of me. It was built really to accommodate three sections of each grade level. Right now we're operating at about five to six and obviously that swings from year to year and is really driving the need to be able to provide. additional spaces for the classroom addition part but specifically to the gym for the gym right now obviously we're also accommodating additional physical education class sizes five to six of those and so the cafeteria right now is attached to the gym and the number of class sections that are needed to be able to you know receive instruction are in that

096space. And so during lunch while instruction is trying to take place, we have students that are moving through that area and it's just not a conducive environment for that. And that was 1986? 1986. Can you also touch on why you're confident in this estimate? Yeah, so we're confident in this estimate, about as confident as Missouri weather, right? But the reality of it is we We've done our due diligence in terms of talking to a lot of bond councils, looking at current projects throughout the state from a scope standpoint and what bid day numbers were on those. And we feel pretty good about the estimate that's been provided. For your awareness, there's approximately 46 bond issues on April's ballot across the state. and talking with a lot of bond councils and scopes of work those other

097districts are looking at that are similar. Those estimates are within those ranges. Any additional questions I can answer? Anything else? Thank you. Okay, thank you. Motion to approve letting bids on Henderson Elementary project. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say aye. Ayes have it. Next up we have a report from Ms. Embry on the bond program. Hello. So as... Hepler is pulling that up for us. This is simply a review of that which you experienced absent director laying who is unable to join us that evening, but I have compiled just a few slides to help us review that for the benefit of people who perhaps didn't participate as a viewer of that board meeting and provide you an opportunity for potential discussion or comments if you wish as we move

098forward. So the information that was provided during last Thursday evening's March 14th board work session included a packet of information and we sat around the table and you were able to review those documents. All of that information is posted for that work session agenda item as well as for this evening's agenda item for anyone who would be interested in reviewing it. We provided you the ballot language from the April 7, 2020 bond issue. when the voters approved that ballot. We also provided the original communications and they're labeled that that was one iteration of that which had been developed in the past. We also provided you the summary of the financial information as of February 29th and we are posting that bond financial update each month under the finance report. We also then went through the

099status and recommendation of projects, provided a summary of the recommendation the recommendation for those projects and Our commitment reminder on obtaining approvals so on this slide this breaks down for everyone the six categories in which we placed all of the 151 items that were included on that original list I mentioned to you during the work session that there were some redundancies so you might see something in here more than one time and we have journeyed through an evaluation of all of these projects and identified their status compliments to Director Stutzer and his team for all the work that they did in assisting through that process. So we provided you a list of all the projects that have been completed, the bond projects in progress, and the recommendation for utilization of remaining bond funds. We also

100then provided you a recommended list of projects we do have additional needs in the district and need future resources to be able to accommodate those needs. We also have a list of projects that require further evaluation. And then lastly, there is a list of projects that are no longer needed and are not recommended for moving forward. So all those detailed listings are available on board docs. And as you well know, you engaged in discussion about a variety of individual items. and move forward through that process. So this slide reminds us that the financial update as of February 29th indicates that we have available for a commitment $57,419,491. This shows you the estimated costs for project recommendations and that's from that financial summary that was provided to you and that totals $27,872,000 for actual projects. The

101next slide then provides the deferred maintenance and I realized after the fact that nowhere did I indicate this was for HVAC so I kept referring to it as deferred maintenance and that's how it's listed on that particular page. But the deferred maintenance is heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units for those sites that have been identified and a two-year sequencing process would be deployed. We also shared relative to the remaining funds if that continues to grow. We know we have other needs in the system. We did pull off the Sager HVAC replacement and that would be an item that we would recommend for that next potential remaining funds availability. I think that that was probably about 3.6 million, maybe something like that. It could be... whatever the bond funds are, the rest of it could be

102funded out of regular capital funds as well. So this slide reminds us of our spending requirements and we are estimating currently that with all of the expenditures that we anticipate incurring and also we discussed Thursday evening that we can shift part of the nutrition services cost for the kitchen that supports students. to the Nutrition Services Fund, and I've shared with you in a previous board meeting that that is a reserved balance of our fund balance. So we could utilize some of those funds to help fund the Francis Howe North Kitchen. With that, we still need to spend approximately $10.5 million of the work that needs to progress to meet the three-year expenditure rule. This is that reminder slide and just as mr. Stetzer provided you that construction document step that are bidding it rather that

103we would provide you each of these Stop sign processes where we would bring you information so that you could provide a vote for us to move forward to that next step We would deploy that same process for all of these projects unless the particular nature of the project needs to be handled in a different way. There could be some where it's a complete design build and really there's one process or even like the HVAC units where it's basically bid out and then we would proceed with that. It's not a real construction project. So depending on the nature of the projects, that would be the process moving forward. So if you have any questions or wish to just talk amongst yourselves, I'm happy to answer any or call Mr. Stetzer up to assist. I just have

104a, I guess I'll ask you to clarify something. For the scope of the amount of projects that we have undertaken, even before you entered the picture, I mean, it's just a huge thing to keep track of. Can you talk a little bit about moving forward, how we're going to track projects as far as? which one needs to be done, you know, the classifications that you mentioned. I thought you mentioned that there's some new process that we're going to have or different. Actually, one thing that we talked about is the need that we would need someone to help. manage all those projects at one time. Mr. Setzer has a full-time job as director of facilities and operations and so ensuring that we have someone else to provide eyes on projects would be critical. We already maintain

105within our general ledger system, our accounting system, a project management process so that we're able to easily identify the costs associated with each project. I thought you mentioned something about some software package. Or did I misunderstand? Well, we did talk Thursday evening about in December you approved a recommendation for new software that helps us manage all the work orders throughout the system. It also helps us manage our assets including that life cycle replacement, including changing out filters it will help us develop the capital budget moving forward that is exactly you are correct thank you and we're excited about that it's coming just around the corner implementation begins after spring break that's what you say now that's our plan no I meant exactly yeah there's some questions for you exactly all right thank you Ms. Embry

106I think you're staying up here I am hanging out Now we have budget development. Yes, and so I've shared this with you in the past. You'll see a screenshot as I journey forward that will be familiar to you. And I'll just get started on that. This will be the first of a few different presentations relative to the FY25 budget. Of course, FY25 means the 2024-2025 fiscal year that begins July 1 of 2024. This evening we'll talk briefly about the debt service fund. I did cover this information during the finance and audit committee last night and was asked is this the easiest fund to cover and absolutely it is. It's the easiest to project. And so we're providing that information. I won't run through all of those different objectives this evening. I'm sure you've already read

107that. But this is a familiar slide that tells you or reminds you of our budget development process that we start this work way back, I think. Mr. Myers believes that we actually need to start it even further back as we approach the next year potentially so that we will be well equipped to deliver the information needed prior to negotiations starting. And so as you can see, we're in that section where March through May budget updates at board meetings will be provided to help you understand priorities as we identify them. Then the budget recommendation would occur during the June work session followed by seeking your approval during the regular scheduled meeting in June. The Board of Education must statutorily approve a budget prior to July 1 when the new fiscal year begins. This is the budget

108development timeline and on the left is that familiar calendar where I've included a variety of topics relative to setting the tax rate hearing back in September to the negotiations that started in January and leading up to our recommendation for you. Just a reminder, we set the tax levy after the budget is set. So that's always an interesting dynamic and we'll cover that more as we journey forward. On the right side you can see the presentation calendar. So this evening is the debt service fund. We're doing this from a fund approach. Next month in April will be the capital projects and bond funds and we'll provide to you a recommendation for what those would look like for the next fiscal year. This slide reminds us that we are required by Missouri Statute 165.011 to maintain these

109separate funds and also that reminder that we have two levies that are set each year. The operating levy which covers the general teacher and capital projects funds and then the debt service levy that covers our debt service fund. Again, the focus this evening is debt service. I typically will include this slide every budget presentation I bring you so that stand alone it tells the whole story. So also noting that we have sub funds within our funds. That's a normal process in school districts managing fund accounting and everything that we do is compliant with Missouri statute and also the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. So for the debt service fund, this accounts for all the resources that are necessary to pay our long-term debt, and that's principal interest and fees. And primarily our revenue for

110debt service fund is the debt service fund levy, and that is applied then for that tax revenue based on assessed valuation. The resources are used to retire all bond, indebtedness, and associated fees. This is my attempt to provide you a visual of the connection between our bond fund and our debt fund. I've actually, over my career, been asked, I don't understand, how does this work? They're two separate funds, but basically voters approve, they're on the upper right, voters approve the bonds and they authorize the sale of the bonds. Then investors buy the bonds and at the same time provide a loan. They give their money in a loan to the district. Those loan proceeds get deposited into the bond fund account, and from that account, we pay the construction bills or whatever it is that's

111been authorized by the voters. And then simultaneously, a debt service levy is created and authorized that you approve in that September meeting that generates the revenue for the debt fund. And then using that debt fund, we pay back the loan in that cycle. So for debt service revenue, I mentioned before, it's tax revenue. We do comply with Missouri Statute 67.110.2 and Board Policy 3320 when setting the tax levy. In our county, St. Charles County, we are required to conduct that tax rate hearing in September because the levy must be set by October 1 of each year. A number of districts throughout the state are required to set their levy. by September 1, so they conduct their tax rate hearings in August. This shows you the actual budget requirement for the debt service fund as we

112look at the 24-25 fiscal year. You can see that the total principal is $15,440,000, interest $11,610,019, and fees estimated at $102,500. And again, it's all relative to the amortization schedule that is provided to us by our Stiefel public finance associates and that shows you the expenditures that we will likely bring forward as part of our budget recommendation the final that occurs in June. This shows you our debt and it's based on the series. So these are the remaining series now. As you know, we recently conducted the refunding issue and we set that up on a quicker retirement process. As a reminder, I've shared with you before that the typical life of a bond is 20 years and they carry a call date that's 10 years. So midway through, we have the opportunity to refinance that

113debt. There's also something that's called a defeasance, and that basically means we could, if we had the funds available, advance payoff debt. This is something I've never dealt with in my entire career. It's a unique circumstance based on assessed valuation data that is currently existing throughout the state. And what that means is we would pay that. 10-year call interest. We would have to pay all the way up to the 10-year call, but we could go ahead and retire that debt more quickly. This shows an amortization schedule of all of our existing debt, and I always like to just provide context that within a 10-year period, we will retire 120,460,000 of the principal amount. And again, this is a very standard reflection of most school districts throughout the state. This is a slide that the image

114is provided by Stifel Public Finance and it shows our debt service of all outstanding general obligation bonds. If you could read the tiny print you will know that that's identifying by the series type at the bottom and that's what the different colors represent. That dark green represents that new approval that you made just not long ago where we will be retiring that debt in very short order within these couple of years. Otherwise, it shows the debt all the way out to the final retirement of all the bond issues. This is a slide it could go on the bond fund or could show up for the debt fund, but it's regarding body capacity calculation So there is a Missouri statute that governs the amount that a district may borrow and it's basically the simple calculation is

11515% of total assessed valuation and so we've shown you here that the December 31 assessed valuation total of over 3.8 million is showing us, or billions, sorry, is showing us $578,189,000. Then we add to that our debt service fund balance at this point in time, then subtract our outstanding debt. That tells you then that we could borrow $315,000,000 at this point in time based on our data. Now I share that with you. I have worked in a district where we were a growing district, fast-growing district, and a bedroom population, meaning we did not have a lot of commercial growth or commercial AV in our community, and it was highly reliant upon the residential properties. And in districts like that, and we have a neighboring district that has had those similar growing pains, you don't have

116enough bonding capacity to meet the needs of your district to provide enough buildings to accommodate all the students. district not a big deal but in other districts it can be problematic it would require a vote of the entire Missouri patrons to pass it because it would be a constitutional amendment if any change was made to that so that concludes the debt service fund I know that was exciting and if you have any questions I would be happy to answer those debt service questions I think that's enough. Okay. All right. Thank you so much for your time. We'll see you next month. All right. Moving on to superintendent comments. Thank you president Bertrand I hope these are a little bit more exciting than that presentation We opened the meeting That was terrible I I appreciate miss

117Embry and the transparency and learning she is providing our entire community about our budget We opened the meeting tonight recognizing school board recognition month and I would also like to express my gratitude to the board for their dedication and efforts in serving the district and community. I often have to remind people again we also joke that you don't get a salary, you don't get cars, that this is completely voluntary. I did some quick math and starting with the reorganization meeting last April there were approximately 39 meetings. We've had 13 business meetings, 12 regular closed meetings, three work sessions. nine special meetings, two retreats. And so in addition to the 90 to 100 hours of actually meeting time, there's endless hours preparing for those meetings, other school and district events that you all sacrifice your personal

118and family time to attend, again in a fully voluntary role. So I extend my appreciation to the seven of you, your support for me, our team, and the students in this community. I would also like to thank you for your approval tonight of the revised Black History and Black Lit courses, the Henderson bid recommendation, as well as the Bond Project recommendation last week that you approved us moving forward with. I'd also like to thank you for supporting the FHEA and FHEA ESC closure agreements and salaries. You established an expectation for us earlier this year that our team would prioritize in our budget next year. Improving teacher salaries and restoring steps for teachers who didn't receive them when they were employed here and while we still have room to go We definitely recognize that this represents

119a significant step in that direction We've had some very unique situations since last month's board meeting between technology challenges and then last week having two tornado warnings on one day. Both were examples of our staff going above and beyond as they do each and every day to continue to provide a high quality education, to keep our students safe and operate the district. So I want to thank our staff for everything they did during the outage, during the tornado warnings. and also the parents last week for their patience and understanding in a unique situation right at dismissal time. I'd also like to thank our Francis Isle Central and Francis Isle High students who hosted the Board Candidate Forum on Tuesday evening and remind the community that the school board election is coming up on April 2nd.

120Several celebrations tonight on Monday of this week several of us on several board members and I and some of our team had an opportunity to attend the Sager community bands performance for music in our schools month. It was really an incredible evening there were 135 musicians including current students alumni current staff former staff parents and community members who all come together for five rehearsals and put on a great performance that evening. I would like to congratulate Mary Merritt, who is our administrative assistant to the director of alternative learning, who was selected as the 2024 district support staff member of the year. And Mrs. Nicole Ashraf, who is a fifth grade teacher at Cosley, who was selected as the district teacher of the year. We will recognize both of them and all of our building and

121district department winners at the celebration in May and Mrs. Ashraf also has the opportunity now to apply for the Missouri State Teacher of the Year program and Francis Howell has a very successful history of our teachers moving forward in that area since then. I want to congratulate Howell North Principal Jeff Fletcher, who was named the 2024 Administrator of the Year by the Missouri Interscholastic Journalism Association. And speaking of that journalism program at North, the North Star publication and FHN Today were recently named gold crown winners by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. This honor is one of the highest in scholastic journalism, and they have won it 15 straight years in a row, which is amazing. We also had 91 students from our high schools place at the 2024 DECA State Career Development Conference that was

122just held in Kansas City. So examples of high quality academics as well as extracurricular and co-curricular and as we heard earlier this evening, athletic programs, which is what we pride ourselves on, providing great opportunities for our students in all areas of their education. Last just a couple of quick reminders our culture and climate survey that we put out following the roundtable will close this evening So if you have not completed that we ask you to I believe actually during the meeting the automatic email went out Asking stakeholders to provide input as we move forward with the next steps in the strategic planning process around the four goal areas the board provided to begin providing some information that we will use there And last, I just want to remind everyone that spring break is starting next

123week. Our students will return to school on Wednesday, April 3rd. I want to wish our students and staff who will have time off a restful and safe holiday. And I also want to recognize that we do have a lot of custodial, maintenance, BES staff, and other office and administrative staff who will be working. And I appreciate that they'll be here helping prepare the district for everyone's return on April 1st and April 2nd, April 3rd. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Rumpus. Board of Trustees. Alright, well I have a few comments then if nobody else does. Number one, I just want to make sure. congratulate Ken and let's make sure the community knows that Ken's contract has been extended for one more year and we're I know the whole board is grateful for all the hard work

124that he's been put in and all the time and effort he puts in connecting with the Advent connecting with the community and all the different schools in the district so thank you Ken as well as I want to thank the team for all the support you give Ken and all the support you give us for all our questions and learnings that we go through and then I just saw an email go through not long ago announcing new work on strategy sessions. So anyway, let's check in their emails from the district. Their email went out on the work that continues on district strategy. So you can add your comments. It looks like there'll be some roundtables in the future as well. But they have a survey for commentary around academics, finance, great employees and safety and

125security. So please go give us your thoughts. Thank you very much. Any other comments from the board? Alright, we will be going back into close here in just a little bit. Thank everybody for coming. We would like to thank our board student representative, Tori. She did a great job. She was asking me questions the whole time, so she might not have asked you. Thank you very much for being here with us. It was a pleasure. And if you ever want to come back, let us know. Thank you.