001[music] Heat [music] up here. [music] >> [music] >> Good evening. I would like to call the school board meeting for Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 for the De Moines School Board to order. Miss Rios, could you please take the role? >> Yes. Miss Alonso, >> here. >> Miss Compos >> here. >> Mr. Dixs, >> here. Miss Hopkins >> here. Mr. Howell. [clears throat] >> Thank you. Miss Marrono here. Dr. Mayberry Mace >> here. >> We have quorum. Thank you. The first item of business is approval of the agenda. May I have a motion and a second to approve the agenda? >> Dix so moved. >> Hopkins. Second. >> I have a motion by Dixs and a second by Hopkins. Is there any discussion or does anyone have any questions? Board members, please cast your votes. Ryan.
002>> Yes. >> Thank you. The motion or the vote is approved 7 to zero. Next on the agenda is public forum. Miss Alonzo, [snorts] we provide speakers at the forum an opportunity to address the board for up to three minutes regarding items that are not on the board agenda and up to five minutes for an agenda item. If anyone wishes to speak during any portion of the business meeting, please email rosa.reos riosdmschools.org. The same speaking protocols apply to all individuals who wish to address the board. Speakers will be called individually and we ask that they state their name and zip code prior to providing comments. Students and miners do not have to provide their addresses. Guests of the board are encouraged to speak to matters relating to the programs, services, and operations of DMPS. Please
003remember that Iowa law prohibits us from discussing specific employees or their job performance. We ask all speakers to avoid references to personalities or character attacks as those types of comments do not contribute to the purpose for which this public forum exists. The use of inappropriate language will not be tolerated and individuals choosing to do so will be gled out of order and asked to um excuse themselves from the premises or escorted out by district security. As a reminder to the board and public, the board will not engage in a discussion with public forum speakers as it is our obligation to discuss only matters posted in the public agenda for the sake of transparency and opportunity afforded to all community stakeholders. Matters requiring attention will receive appropriate staff and our board followup at a time after
004the meeting. Thanks for your participation. We appreciate your feedback and input. Miss Rios, do we have any speakers? >> Yes, we do. First up, I'd like to call Britney Roseboom. Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak. I want to begin by saying that I recognize the work this district is doing. I see the effort to modernize school structures, to move away from punitive models, and to acknowledge mental health and trauma as real factors in education. My purpose tonight is to call attention to systemic gaps that are actively undermining these goals. >> [clears throat] >> Recently, I reached out to school administrators with specific written questions about two newly enforced school level policies that were sent out about a month apart and how or if accommodations that intersect with trauma-related needs would be
005handled. These were specific practical questions [clears throat] that impact many students and families, not just my own, as evidenced by other staff included in my email asking me to share what I learned once clarification was obtained. [clears throat] I did what the school asks parents to do. I read the policy. I asked clarifying questions. I documented concerns. And I attempted to resolve them collaboratively. What I encountered instead were deated responses, unanswered emails, and repeated attempts to move written requests into phone conversations. Despite clear requests that communication remain in writing, which is an accommodation staff has repeatedly been made been made aware I require due to the way I process and retain information. [laughter] That pattern does more than create frustration. It erodess trust and actively prevents and discourages participation from all sides. A significant percentage
006of students in this district have experienced some form of trauma, whether from family instability, community violence, poverty, systemic inequities, or the collective trauma of the COVID era. [clears throat] Every single student who attended school during that time was affected in some way. Trauma impacts behavior, emotional regulation, attention, learning, and relationships. This is not controversial. It's well established. What is inconsistent is how trauma-inforced practices are applied across our schools. I have been told more than once that staff are trauma trained, and I believe that's true for some staff. What I am seeing, however, is inconsistency in how trauma-infor practices are understood and applied. Some staff clearly recognize disregulation and respond skillfully. Others misinterpret trauma responses as defiance, trauma, or non-compliance. When training is uneven, even well-intentioned policies can become harmful in practice. I also want to
007share that staff from Blank Children's Hospital Trauma-Inborn parenting workshop, a program that's free for parents and caregivers, have shared that they attempted to reach out to the district for collaboration in the past and have received no response. I was told directly that they would be more than willing to work with the district to tailor something specifically for schools if the district were open to it. 30 seconds remaining. >> Because of this, trauma-informed education should not be limited to select roles. And [snorts] I just want to be clear. I know schools were not designed to navigate trauma, especially not at the scale we are seeing today. But this is where forward thinking is taking us. This is where dedicated staff are already trying to fill gaps well beyond their original scope. And this is where support
008is now most urgently needed. >> Thank you. >> Next speaker is Lynn Castle. Good evening. Lyn Castle 50310 is my zip code. Um I'm a parent of two children in the DMPS system who love who attend and love Moore Elementary and I'm sure that many other parents can corroborate that they feel that way about their school and their district as well. Um, I want to thank I want to take this opportunity to thank the superintendent for being responsive to messages from the parents at my school. And I also want to thank you, board member Dixs, for coming to PFM and answering and speaking directly with parents um about this issue. Um there's an obvious appetite to support DMPS as evidenced by the bond issue and I recognize that the bond money and the general fund
009are separated from each other and that they're not together. um transparency and choices made that impact staff and children directly fa interfacing with those kids is welcomed and it is critical to moving forward. Decreasing time and thus the relationships of individuals like our extended core teachers at more elementary and other schools who work directly with students is not a retention strategy for either the staff or for students in the district. My kids elementary school is in the Northwest Theater. As far as I know, that is destined to be steam, which includes arts. My kindergartner will see the fruition of reimagining education. And I'm not sure how removing contact time with our extended core individuals is going to foster any individual like any um love or introduction of the arts and anything in extended core to
010go to that signature school. I'm seeing a disconnect in that. Well-resourced families um may be prompted to leave the district which creates further budget issues for the district. So what is my ask? because I know you know all of these things. My ask is to please consider the levers and methods to move into the fiscal deficit in the future with minimizing the impact to students and while also continuing to support the teachers without taking away incentives for them to be in this district. They will also leave this district if they are disincentivized to spend time with the students that they love. I know this is hard work and I appreciate all of the work and the considerations that you are doing. I know this is not easy. I thank you for your attention and for
011this opportunity. >> Thank you. [snorts] >> Next speaker is Scott Weiderstein. [clears throat] Good evening board members of the De Mo public schools. Uh my name is Scott Weiderstein and I am the music teacher at Pleasant Hill Elementary where I've been the music teacher since 2012. I've been a teacher in De Mo public schools since 2006. I'm here tonight to address a concern that stems from some information I've learned about my position for next year. I along with my art and PE colleagues at Pleasant Hill have learned that our positions will be changed to be shared with other buildings and perhaps not even including Pleasant Hill where we currently teach. Uh this is very disappointing and frustrating for us um as um uh for us as a very strong and concerted effort was made back
012in uh 2022 to make sure art, music, and PE teachers could be one for each building in a full-time capacity to avoid the situation and make sure continuity with a teacher could continue. Schedule conflicts between buildings could be avoided and avoid rapid turnover in the positions. Furthermore, as a full-time as full-time staff members at Pleasant Hill, we have duties and volunteer roles to assist many other areas of the building, which will now go either uncovered or be very difficult to cover with staffing becoming reduced in certain ways. For example, each of us has taken a volunteer role in sponsoring extracurricular activities at our building for students to participate in. This will probably be eliminated with the staffing changes that are proposed. My question then becomes, how is this best for students? At many teacher inservice,
013I hear talk and guidance about building relationships with students. By being a full-time member of the Pleasant Hill Elementary staff, I've been able to develop very good relationships with not only the students, but with the school community, including parents and fellow colleagues. By not being able to stay in a building at a full-time status and traveling in between, it does not give ample time or opportunities to develop those relationships. I'm privileged and proud to say I know every student's name at Pleasant Hill because I've been able to stay there and learn about the community. I've also developed many great family relationships which have led to other opportunities for kids to participate in additional activities and experiences with their support. I would like to ask members of this board and other members of the administration to
014please find another way to resolve funding issues that takes this idea somehow off the table. Please remember that we have students that come to school because of the areas of art, music, and PE and those are very, very important to them. Without good continued support from you and making sure we have the time and connections with the students, they will be negatively affected as well. >> Thank you very much for your time. >> Thank you. [applause] >> Next speaker is Calvin Schnucker. Kristen Anderson. My name is Kristen Anderson, zip code 50310, and I'm a more elementary parent. We recently learned of the proposed change for extended core teachers to be dropped down to 0.5 positions in schools with two sections per grade, including more. And these teachers would then have to split their time between
015two schools with this proposal in order to maintain their full-time status. The extended core teachers at Moore are wonderful at their jobs and essential leaders of the school community. They also support students in ways that don't show up on a budget balance sheet or aren't represented merely in their total hours of instructional time. When my daughter was in kindergarten, she struggled with anxiety and sensitivity to loud noises in large groups. PE was especially stressful for her, and at one point, it was so bad that she didn't want to go back to school. We worked with the principal to come up with some accommodations, and the PE teacher, Mr. Johnson, led the way in being flexible and curious about how he could support her and help her get comfortable with being in PE at her speed.
016Every other day, kindergarteners had PE. And every one of those days, we checked in with him before school so he could explain what would happen that day in PE, show her what they'd be using, and answer her questions. He often came up to me at pickup time and shared an observation of how she was adapting, what seemed to be helpful or not helpful for her. By the end of the year, she loved PE. She still does, and absolutely overcame the anxiety that she felt about being in the gym. I credit Mr. Johnson with his enthusiasm, patience, silliness, flexibility, and curiosity. This allowed my daughter to get used to his class and allowed her to be successful. He made himself available to us to have these informal check-ins, which wouldn't be possible in the same way
017with this proposed change. This change would make these teachers responsible for double the number of students across separate buildings and would result in a loss of attentiveness, care, and presence that made such an impact for my daughter. I could share similar stories of Miss Williams and Miss Maul from Art and Music, as well as a list of other roles and responsibilities that they all take on for the Moore community beyond their extended core instructional time. Their involvement in all aspects of the school day is beneficial for the students in the school at large. These are adults that have had up to six years of experience with our children and have formed relationships of trust and accountability. There is a cost and impact to our community that I do not want to be overlooked when considering
018the anticipated economic savings. Finally, I'm concerned with this change's impact on teacher retention and morale. One teacher described the communication regarding this change as sneaky. I worry that these changes could drive stellar teachers out of our schools and the district. I'd ask that future communications be transparent and provide the most information possible so that our teachers know that they are valued and can trust the information that they receive. Thank you. >> Thank you, [applause] >> Brittany Kohley. Good evening, Britney Culie, 50310. My name is Britney Kulie. I'm a longtime supporter of DMPS. I'm a mental health provider and a parent of three more elementary students um fifth, fourth, and third grade. As a proud DMPS graduate, it's always been important to me to keep my children in this district uh because of the strong sense
019of community, care, diversity, and opportunities. I am deeply invested in DMPS. I'm here to advocate against the proposed reduction of related arts teachers to five positions being split between two buildings. From a mental health perspective, consistency, connection, and a sense of belonging are essential to children's well-being. Research shows that strong relationships with trusted adults at school, it reduces anxiety, improves emotional regulation, and increases engagement. The related arts teachers, music, art, and PE, they play a vital role in supporting these protective factors through creative expression, movement, and meaningful connection. For many students, these classes are the best part of their day in the spaces that they feel most supported, confident, and successful. At Moore, these educators go above and beyond to help students feel safe, valued, and loved. They greet kids with high fives. They ride
020in the bike bus. They show up to the afterchool events when they don't have to. They consistently spend time with the students who need the extra support. They know the children by name. They understand our family stories and they help carry the emotional load that the classroom teachers already manage every single day. This level of connection is possible because they're fully present in one building. Splitting them between schools would reduce that consistency and that relational support that students rely on, weakening their sense of safety, belonging, and emotional well-being, especially for those chasing those children facing anxiety, behavioral challenges, and difficult home situations. Let's be honest, a lot of our students fall into one of those categories. My son fell in love with soccer thanks to our PE teacher, Mr. Johnson, who shared his passion for
021the game. During a challenging year, he provided steady support and guidance while maintaining those high expectations um in a caring way. He brings so much laughter and silliness to our community on a daily basis. Our art teacher, Mrs. Williams, she fundraises for our school through art. She designs our yearbooks. She inspires students to bring their creativity to life. Her thoughtful lessons, special projects, they fill our hallways and our homes with joy. Students know they're loved and genuinely cared about. music teacher, Miss Maul. She's helped my children grow in confidence and excitement um in music. Again, they love music class because they use movement, hands-on learning, and they have concert speaking roles, helping them feel brave um and they feel a sense of belonging with her. The theme here is relationships and time. Our current school
022schedule allows this to be possible. Our related arts teachers are the heart of our building. They build meaningful long- lasting connections that have powerful impact on students mental health and sense of belonging. Reducing these positions to.5 would be a detriment to our students. It would change the connectedness, the culture, and the climate of our building and students, staff, and families will absolutely feel that loss. >> 30 seconds remaining. >> The loss of that connectedness will greatly impact attendance, the initiative that the district has worked so hard on. I implore you to do your research here and make researchbased decisions focused on prioritizing students mental health and overall well-being. Let's choose people over money. I urge you guys to reconsider this proposal and prioritize students mental health by m maintaining these positions to be full-time. Thank
023you. >> Thank you, >> Madam Chair. Those are all the signups for today. Thank you. The next item on our agenda is our district recognitions. Superintendent Smith, are there any recognitions for today? >> Uh, there are. Um, just last Wednesday, we announced that we were awarded a 50,000 Iowa STEM best grant to expand the award-winning welding program here at Central Campus. The grant was awarded by the Iowa Governor STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education. The funds will be used to create eight additional workstations along with other upgrades to our welding lab at central campus. This will enable the program to increase its capacity by 40% beginning next year. Central Welding program is a success thanks to some great partnerships that provide students with mentorship, dual credit and apprenticeship opportunities. Those partners include
024John Deere Iron Workers Local 67, Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 33 and DMAC. This grant aligns with our reimagining education initiative and our work to expand access to career and technical education programs across the district. [applause] >> Can I ask one more? Can I do one more? >> I was going to wait till the the items of privilege, but um I'll go ahead and get it started. So, in front of me is the community impact award. Um and so yesterday uh along with many others um we celebrated um Martin Luther King Day and we were um able to participate in an event sponsored by the YMCA and the De Mo public schools was awarded the community impact award because of the district's work both during the school day and outside of the school day in serving
025students and families across the the city of De Moines. And so, um, while they didn't have, um, you know, 5,000 of these to hand out, they did hand out one of them. And, um, there was a sincere appreciation for the the staff, um, and all those, uh, that show up every day, um, to do everything they can, 110%, to serve our kids in every single capacity. So, um, while you will find this award in my office, um, please know that you are always welcome to come look at it. Um, and I will gladly u hand it over um for anybody that would like to um to take a further look at it or take a picture with it. Um, but just wanted to uh thank the YMCA um and of course uh Cameron Nicholson who
026facilitated and hosted the event yesterday. Uh, it was a tremendous success and um a lot of good work going around in the community. >> Thank you. [applause] >> We will move to our consent agenda. As a reminder to the public um and board, the board will not engage in discussion or deliberation with the speaker regarding comments made to agenda items. Discussion [snorts] and deliberation will remain remain among board members at the board table with speakers comments informing the board's discussion, deliberation, and determinations as deemed necessary. Miss Rios, do we have any speakers? >> No speakers. Thank you. Miss Alonzo, I believe you have the consent agenda. I move that the board approve the consent items in accordance with the recommended action for each item on the consent agenda, including bills previously authorized, certified, and approved
027for payment by the board secretary in the amount of 5,70,9224 and procurement card transactions in the amount of 465,2 $270.15. Is there a second? >> Dick. Second. >> We have a motion by Alonzo and a second by Dixs. Is there any discussion or does anyone have any questions? Board members, please cast your votes. >> Mr. Howell. >> Howell. Yes. >> Thank you. The consent items are approved 7 to zero. Next we have our information only items. E1 are the board members conflict of interest forms. E2 is a list of bills paid. E3 the naming request for East High School. E4 um our fiscal year 27 school calendars. E5 is a list of new hires. um with E3 um requiring a committee. I would like to authorize an ad hoc committee under Mr. Dix's leadership. Is
028there anyone interested in joining Mr. Dixs on the naming committee? Let me know if you would like to. >> Y means I me. [laughter and gasps] >> Miss Alonzo and >> I could be the third one. >> Miss Campos. Thank you. Um, and then regarding the school calendars, I know I've received um questions from fellow board members and there are board members that have questions regarding that. um if you'll just provide those questions to the superintendent um so that we can discuss those at our next board meeting during the public >> um >> yeah the [laughter] >> public hearing thank you there's a public hearing regarding the calendars at the next meeting scheduled um next on the agenda is items of privilege. I would like to ask board members if they'd have anything that they
029they'd like to share. I will go first. Um so I got two things. Um first of all, I want to thank uh Toyota of De Moine. They uh donated $15,000 towards um girls flag football. So DMPS uh is um starting this I think they started last year and we have four teams last year and we're looking to um add more to another high school. Uh this is something super exciting. Uh flag football is gaining popularity in the United States and it is now an Olympic sport. So, for our young girls to um be able to have that help from Toyota De Moines, um it's it's really awesome. And you never know, maybe we'll have Olympian in one of our schools. Uh and then um second thing is on Saturday, I was a I was invited
030to a career fair uh done at North High School. And this was done by our BFLs or uh bilingual family liaison. And this was uh more geared to our multilanguage uh learners and our families. Uh so that was really a really really good event to go to. Uh and yep, that's what I have. >> Thank you, Miss Campos. Anyone else? Go ahead. >> I Oh, there you go. >> There you go. >> Yes. Um, you know, I um just wanted to say that I'm really really looking forward to working with the people at this table. um spent some time last week listening to all of you [clears throat] and you listening to me and I appreciated that. Um I'm looking forward to to the work um that is ahead of us. I know that we
031have a lot coming up. Um, thank you. Just thank you for being willing to be here and to do the work. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. [laughter] [snorts] [clears throat] >> All right. Thank you. So, this week, uh, many people around the country and the world paused to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a leader who believed deeply in the power of education as a pathway to both justice and opportunity. Uh Dr. King understood that public education is not simply a service, but it is a public good and the cornerstone of our democracy. As a school board member, we are entrusted with ensuring that every student, regardless of zip code, background, circumstance, or aspiration, has access to highquality education that nurtures their potential and affirms their preparedness. As we reflect
032on Dr. King's legacy. I wanted to take this moment to be a reminder that the work of educational excellence is ongoing and it requires courage, consistency, and it also requires care in every decision that we make. So, thank you for those of you who stand at this microphone and voice your concerns. We must continue showing up and standing together to support our schools and our students because the work ahead demands collective responsibility and shared resolve. Lastly, and equally important, I wanted to say thank you to our educators, my board colleagues, our staff, family, students, and our community who continue to do this work in partnership every day and oftentimes very quietly because the because of you, the outcomes of our students are greater. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Um, I too want to share
033my gratitude for the board. We engaged in a board retreat last week and um had the opportunity to engage in a great deal of learning together and also committed to additional time to spend together um to continue our professional development together. So I am grateful for each of you for committing that time um being away from your family and your loved ones and on behalf of the students of De Mo public schools. So, thank you for that. And I certainly echo Dr. Mayberry May and his comments and may may Dr. King's spirit live within us, not just on the celebration um that was held yesterday, but throughout the year as we as we take on many decisions and our advocacy moving forward. Um, Superintendent Smith, do you have a report for us? >> I do
034not. I already gave my report. [laughter] Just did it early. Thank you all for being here tonight. >> Wonderful. Thank you for joining us this evening. We greatly appreciate you all. This meeting is adjourned at 6:01 p.m. We will transition directly into our work session to discuss the budget and after the budget work session, we will transition into a presentation from the executive cabinet. So, I will turn it over to Superintendent Smith for our budget workshop. >> Yeah. Um so, good evening. Uh tonight uh we're just going to continue our our series of budget conversations as um our chief financial officer Shashank Aurora is setting up. Um tonight's budget is um sort of the the next iteration of strategic plan investments uh aligned investments. And so, uh, what we'll do is we'll begin with a
035recap of the overall, um, assumptions of our budget, some of the cost drivers, the major cost drivers in our district, and the impact, um, that these investments will have on these drivers, and how we're looking to um, not only um, you know, reduce a significant amount um, in order to to meet um, the demands, but also to rep prioritize and reinvest our dollars in our strategic plan to meet our goals. and guardrail outcomes. So Shashank, >> good afternoon board. First of all, I wanted to thank this deck. I received a lot of help from my team members. There is Neil, there is Rainey and Jason, there is Brenda and people from their team. So in case there's something which gets asked and I need their help, I'm going to leverage them. And I definitely wanted
036to thank them for the time and effort that they have spent on putting this deck together. Yeah. So I wanted to just ground the board as to what is the statutory requirements of the board. Yeah. And this is a slide which I had presented in November. So hopefully everyone would remember that we cannot exceed the spending authority limit. The budget needs to be balanced and we have to set a property tax rate. These are the three main requirements that are needed over there. You wanted to say something Matt or >> always but keep going. [laughter] >> Okay. So this is a slide that we had shared. I think it was uh November December meeting and this is an evolving slide and all the other slides related to the financials are evolving slides. The reason why
037I say that as we get closer and closer to April 30th we'll keep evolving these numbers. So at this point in time the only change that we had was in the right direction which is the new expenses which is the last item that $5.4 $4 million actually was $5.6 million last time. Yeah. So that's it's it's a trend in the right direction. Yeah. This slide also has got a trend in the right direction. If you remember the slide where we had said that our assumption is that salaries are going to increase by 3% and benefits by x% health and benefits. This is this is a good point I wanted to highlight. We had taken an assumption of 6% increase in health benefits when we when we had done the earlier presentation. Yeah. Some of you
038may remember last year Kathy and myself had done an RFP where we had engaged a third party consultant to help us and we changed not shouldn't change a PBM we negotiated better pricing with our PBM sir pharmacy benefit manager. Sorry for using jargon. [laughter] As part of that FI27 cost is actually going to increase only 3% and not the trend of lost 8 to 10 years which is 6%. That change from 6% to 3% helps reduce the expenses by almost $2.5 million. So that effort really panned out. Now for FI27 and beyond, this is what the expenses are. The only thing I wanted to highlight in this slide, it's the same slide that we had last time, except that the cost of re-imagine education is still being analyzed, which is the last bullet point over
039here. That could make these numbers again changed based on the year and the amount that we dial in. And I don't expect to have those numbers for the next four to six weeks. And that's why I said these slides are evolving and we'll continue sharing updates as we come to the board. Yeah. >> So, >> yes. Yes, please. >> So, am I on there? Yes. Uh, so Shant, how do you do that then? Because if reimagining education went up by something ridiculous like $14 million, >> we're not in compliance with our spending authority then, right? I mean, I I I don't understand how you're supposed to put a budget together when you don't know what you're going to get. So, if you remember the spending authority slide, I'll go back to this one just to
040ground everyone. It is the current spending authority plus carryover spending authority. >> We would leverage spending authority of the carryover, but is it an ideal situation? Patrick, to your point, no it's not. >> It's not. >> Do we have a sense of what our range is that we might be off? I mean, know I know construction costs can be rough. >> So, this would not include construction costs at all because that is coming from the geo bonds. >> What will be coming over here if we having any signature programs, Montasurer schools, any of those kind of things, those kind of cost would come in over here. >> Okay. But that's a great cl clarifying questions because that is where at times people start thinking about those costs. So those cost will not be here Patrick.
041[clears throat] Is this slide clear now? Okay. [snorts] So this again we have got only two scenarios right now. I am aware that the governor has proposed 2% SSA but we have heard all murmurss about 1% and 0%. So I've got two scenarios that I'm sharing with the board. If we have a 1% increase in SSA, our gap for FI27 that we need to work as a team is $16.2 million. Something to highlight over here is if you see this third last row which says increased decrease in state funding from previous year in 2027, it is $2.5 million positive. But in FY28 and beyond it's all negative and the reason big biggest reason is declining enrollment. So the other way I would like to highlight the way to look into this number is going from
042positive 2.5 to a negative 2.8 is actually a $5.3 million swing. So, so that is another reason why you see that in FI27 the the gap is 16.2 but it is jumping to 23.3 in 28 and beyond because this is a negative. It's a swing of over $5 million. >> So, just to emphasize that it's an assumption of 1% supplemental state aid and an assumption of a loss of 550 students in enrollment every single year. So we are putting together sort of worst case scenario. >> Absolutely. Thanks. Yep. So this is [sighs and gasps] the gap that we are working for. As you can see on the top line identified gap. The facility retirement that we're doing walnut would add $2.2 million. The staffing changes which last time when we had presented the slide was
043$13.3 million which is now $8.1 million. And early retirement number remains the same. Facility that we are planning to retire we had 3.5 it is 3.3 right now. And since we are planning to shift the people from floor and the 3.3 and 27 is sale of floor to walnut instead of renting in some additional space. The sale of walnut which was dialed in FI28 is now in FI38. So those are the basic things and the health insurance. We would be having another exam session which Matt will speak to all of you. We we intend to bring some plans and we'll have a robust discussion and basically the unspent authorized budget we are still evaluating what exactly the scenario. So $16.2 million gap and what we have identified for FI27 is at this point in time
04414.6. So we still have to work at a minimum for $1.6 $6 million lot to digested the slides. So if anyone has questions, please feel free to ask. >> I have a question. So with reimagine education, >> you're assuming a decrease of 550 each year. Do we have a plan for increasing based on reimagining education? >> That >> not in our assumptions. >> Yeah, we have not dialed that. the assumptions we're utilizing right now are just to again give us a a worst case scenario with the idea knowing that for every increase that we get it's to the good in terms of our revenue services. So um at this point we've not started doing that. Um I mean once we start breaking ground and once we get a little bit further into the the actual
045programming aspect of reimagine education it would be natural to assume to begin that our we would begin to see a a reversal of the enrollment trends over the last decade. The same thing with a 0% assumption of SSA. I just hope this scenario does not come to fruition of 0%. And the gap obviously in 27 remains the same but in 28 29 onwards it increases and even the the remaining gap to close keeps increasing in the 0% scenario. So this is some financials that I wanted to present before we move to our to our uh board goal costing related to strategic goals or guardrails. >> You know how to cheer us up. [laughter] >> Yeah. Shashank, would you back up one slide, please? Um >> I'm sorry. >> Yeah. [laughter] as we as we sort
046of level set. Um I just wanted to to lift up that um when you see the UAB there um evaluating um last year um as an organization we we utilized um a percent and a half of our reserves, 2% of our reserves. Um so just want to level set we want to continue to put this on the table even though we're right at 15%. And so just based on our policy and where we're at, because we've talked about reserves before, um whether or not that's a viable lever that we want to pull this year right now, well, sitting at 15% right now wouldn't wouldn't make it a viable lever going into FY27. So just wanted to lift that up. I Matt, I feel like I have to to not push back but to make sure
047that we clarify for the people who are watching and the people who are here listening the worst case scenario of this because I I what gets confusing about this I think for our families is that they look at this and they go well that's the budget that's what's going to happen and there is a there are a lot of assumptions here and I appreciate the worst case scenario of it that's the responsible thing to do so that we know and can plan ahead that's what we asked you to Um, can you give us any uh little bit of positive to take out of this so that we're not sitting here going, "Okay, you know, where are we going to find 23 24 $25 million?" >> Yeah, I think the the positives are the that there's
048many actually, right? And so when you think about um the staff members that we've got and um the vast majority of um the millions in reductions are through attrition. It it's it's not through um cutting staff, right? It's it's maintaining staff. Um the other aspect of it is that we continue to find some leverage in um working with um our insurance companies around finding more benefits with our health insurance companies. Right. So, um, other folks are coming to the table recognizing economically where the state and our country are right now, um, and what we need to do to actually pull together to get some things done. Um, other positives are that, um, there is a tremendous vote of confidence that was even lifted up earlier on regarding the reimagined plan and what's possible for us
049moving forward. And so, um, the team is hard at work and accelerating those plans and making sure that we are breaking ground, you know, uh, even this coming summer. And so, um, there's still a ton of, um, incredibly wonderful things that are happen day in day out. Um, and our opportunity moving forward. And one of the investments that we talked about even last meeting or two meetings ago was a um uh a more significant investment in communications and marketing around all the things that are happening. And so um you should expect to see some a real turn in that um you know in future months. >> And I want to say I appreciate particularly like all of our stakeholders coming to the table willing to be creative. Um, we have not seen any of the
050large players in this uh dig their heels in or say you're not doing it right or you don't get it. I think everybody understands the position we're in. So, I just I I do want to acknowledge particularly um our teachers and our other union representative represented employees being open to discussion and being creative about finding a solution for us. So yeah, the other thing I would lift up to to your point is that um this is the first goround for us actually looking at a multi-year 5-year budget um projection, right? And so um for the last many years, we've looked at just the very next fiscal year, right? So the fact that we're actually getting ahead of it in a multi-year budget strategy allows us to create a multi-year stabilization of our budget. Right? So,
051we're going to go through some tough decisions this school year to get us to a point where we are actually much more stable and predictable moving forward in the years to come. So, you don't see such volatility moving forward. >> Trust me, Patrick, that thought has been crossing the mind of all of us. Exactly the same thought. uh in fact the health insurance thing when we share it in the next session in an exam session depending on the appetite I think that is not only going to take make the deficit of 27 go away it's going to reduce even the deficit of future years so so that is definitely going to help and again to Sarah's point if reimagine education kicks in and enrollment is no longer declining at 550 students it comes down to
052200 250 or zero which is the ultimate game that I mean goal that we have. These numbers could change significantly and and and and something I would again repeat for the benefit of community. I know all of you heard me is these are work in process. These numbers will continue to change and evolve as we further keep fine-tuning it. These are not set in stone right now. We are not asking the board to approve this budget right now. It is just sharing as we are working on the budget. And can you remind me when we get those final when we know what the SSA is? >> So we have Oh, so typically SSA should be final within 30 days. >> New over here. >> No, absolutely fine. That's a legit question. Yeah. Jan 12th is
053when the session started. The governor announced the SSA in on Jan 12th. Strictly speaking, it needs to be approved and communicated within 30 days. Has that historically happened? No. Last year, I'm going to speak from memory. It was sometime almost in April that it got approved. >> What the rough timeline is? >> Yeah. Yeah. It But by law, it should be done within 30 days. I I don't remember that happening in the last at least four to five years. >> Is April pretty standard? >> March to April. Last year it was a different political game that happened. That's why it got delayed. Some of you who were following it and tracking it may remember. >> And then once you get that then you will finalize then we'll work to finalize the budget. >> So the
054problem is and I'll come on the last slide that we have to send the property tax rates before it gets finalized. So and and the challenge is that we cannot increase the rate but if an SSA is given at a lower rate the rate can come down. So we are we assumed a 4% increase because in case it came out 2% I think everyone in the room knew that if you get 2% we should be good. Yeah. But we assumed 4% are in case some two and a half 3% came. We don't want to be feeling sorry that we left half a percent or percent on the table. And if it is not decided again within 30 days by the time we come to submit the budget to the department of management, we may have
055to make a simpler assumption knowing fully well that I mean I'm not going to make zero 1% assumption for that. I'll probably make 3% assumption >> because I don't want to be in a situation that I'm leaving money on the table there. Gotcha. Thank you for explaining that. >> No, absolutely. Yeah. And those are legit questions because especially first year, you wouldn't know the whole process. Trust me, neither did I. So, what we we're still sticking to the same process. I don't want to repeat this a slide which we have done. As you know, last time we we we discussed community and collaboration. Today is operational effectiveness and next next week will be I mean next Feb third will be well-being. This is our basic agenda. So we have already spent half a million dollars
056in community and collaboration that was shared last time and we have others to go. So we're going to be switching to organizational effectiveness. uh the only thing I would say is the the basic thing that we are trying to accomplish by this guardrail is to modernize our physical and technological infrastructure to support equitable access to innovative programming for all students. So, just for everybody that's sitting here and um the thousands watching at home, um just a reminder when we talk about pillar four, we're talking about what's in the strategic plan. And so, this was um it's an organization of strategic actions that many many folks um spent time on, pulled together with consultants and experts um to determine what are the most um high lever actions that as a district that we can invest in
057to make sure that we are going to meet our goals and guard rails and our student outcomes. um year after year after year. And so that's what you're seeing in terms of how we're going about in making investments in these strategic actions. And so um as we think about organizational effectiveness, you'll see some things around technology investments and things like that. Um what's important to note is that when you look at the strategic plan, when you begin to cost out all of those actions, it's a significant amount of money. And so we have to prioritize year over year what we're going to um invest in first. so that it has a multiplier effect in years two and in year three. And so you're going to see some investments um related to pillar four in terms
058of organizational effectiveness um that allows us to set some foundational um uh stages um for our staff moving forward so that we don't have to make those investments yet again that we're going on to the next phase, the next prioritization list in the strategic plan. So that's what you're going to see referenced tonight. >> Thanks Matt. So let's talk about technology which Neil and team worked at. So we have divided that into system upgrades, infrastructure and security access. The ticketing platform is a new platform that we are implementing with the intent to track and improve the response times. A digital storefront which is going to be a far more efficient and user-friendly process for ordering supplies and managing inventory. >> Sorry for ticketing platform. Do you mean like bound? >> No. Sorry. What are you?
059This is >> work tickets. >> Yeah, work tickets. >> Uh, improving on infrastructure. Some of you who remember the >> Neil, do you want to add any commentary? >> Do you want to add something? >> I hated I hated for you to walk halfway up and not be able to say something for just a second. >> Sure. Absolutely. >> Absolutely. >> Sorry. And we do have a deeper dive in technology in February. So we'll we'll certainly cover more. But um the one thing I do want to mention here is these investments. So the ticketing platform is called incident IQ. That's something that we've approved. But what we wanted to call out specifically was a lot of these investments are not competing with the rest of the strategic plan because we're basically either realigning existing funding
060streams, sometimes saving money or just doing uh other activities that are not necessarily uh net new costs in a way that compete with the strategic plan. So, we have made and are making big investments, but you don't see this as numbers or competing with all those other things Matt laid out. >> Yeah, 100%. The other thing I would add to that is is um considering these investments, right? And sort of like ticketing as an example. Um it creates um efficiency and sort of optimization of staffing so that we are not fumbling with multiple spreadsheets and things like that. It's very very clean. that allows the individual that's actually responsible to get it done in a couple seconds and then they're the that they're serving children, they're serving staff members um they're making sure that their
061schools are operating efficiently. So, it allows us to get to the work much much quicker and um and and get a job well done so that teachers can teach and and leaders can lead. >> And one I I do also want to call like the network upgrade that I brought. This is we're we're the beneficiary for for our new members of the the federal um FCC -ate program which underwrites 90% of the cost of network connectivity for uh our district. So again, a largecale effort, but the net cost for the district is is very uh small. So again, we aren't having to compete that against a lot of the other great priorities we have. >> Here you want to add on [laughter] anything or slate? Yeah, I mean you like I said we'll go through
062some of this when I when we talk uh technology but yeah we we um have completed a wide area network upgrade with our um partnership through metronet and leveraging -ate funds. We are in the process of bringing a proposal forward on a new uh telephone system. So this I think is going to be an exciting opportunity that'll come forward to you all uh very soon. Um and then in the security, you know, we're continuing that journey out of the the cyber event. We're working on overhauling our student passwords, how we manage that. Um and we also have some exciting discussion about devices and that'll all come together. And then our kind of the first step in a journey around translation as we're trying to figure out how to leverage tools to in in starting in
063the front office to take a little bit of the friction that language can bring uh when conducting uh business not perfect but it's kind of the the first step in that area. So those were some of those key modernization themes that that we're working on. >> Thanks Neil. When everyone started laughing I said what's going on and [laughter] you were behind it. Okay, thanks. Resource allocation. So, budgeting software implementation. I think some of you have heard that I've been trying to implement a new budget software across our district for a district of our size of budget, number of staff and students. So far, we have managed it through Excel spreadsheets, which makes me extremely uncomfortable. So we went through the RFP process and did the whole thing and we're now in the process of implementing
064with a company called Anna plan based on Gartner. It's amongst the top five for the public sector to implement. Once implemented the hope and plan for this is it'll be far more interactive. We'll have budgets school building level where we can't start with everyone but we'll pilot 8 to 10 schools systems and uh we'll work with the with the team over there with our team have a budget for them we'll do it for all the all the categoricals the departmental budget so we want to make it far more interactive this thing will be integrated to Tableau so all the reports which the administrators are used to seeing reports from Tableau. They would still see those reports. So hopefully when it gets implemented, it'll be in a far superior method than where it is today. Today
065ERP system business plus sends reports in a jargon which the common person does not understand. We accountants and finance people do understand. We want to send reports in a jargon which the user understands. So it's it's been a work in process. We've been spending almost last 6 months to implement it and it's still a few months away but once done it should be great. Staffing standards I think Josie has discussed this before which basically trying to align our workforce with enrollment trends and basically investing based on our strategic plan. aligning all our investments on that. >> Just a >> sure >> quick comment about that. Um it's one thing to have a plan. It's another thing to invest in it. Right. And so um we've probably heard the phrase what gets talked about gets done.
066What what I would offer is that's a start, but what gets funded actually gets done, right? So, we got to make sure that we're funding the strategic um actions in order to actually see those key results to see outcomes move for students. And so, it does take quite the lift to shift funding from where um money was going throughout the district. Not that it was going to someplace bad, but it was these are our strategic strategic actions. And if these are our priorities, then that's actually what we have to lift to the uh the surface in terms of our overall funding. We don't have enough money to fund all the actions, but we can do many of them for next year. that lays a foundation that gets us to the next year. >> Thanks Matt.
067Portrait of a graduate and if Brenda and team wants to come forward please do. So basically what we are saying is resilience persist through challenges and seek support as necessary. This is what what what we want our graduates to be empowered. Take initiatives to act with integrity and self- advocate. civically engaged, contribute to the communities, self-sufficient so that they can plan, organize, and follow through independently. So, this is what we are trying to build as far as a portrait of a graduate goes. Anything to add, Brenda? will fully flesh this out once >> athletics and activities which uh Rainey and uh Jason had worked on the capital improvement for student activities as you can see in the five high schools and central campus that 20 plus projects going on all backed by save and peple
068dollars the as part of what We have been investing in athletics. The participation trends are pretty high. Middle school remains extremely strong. High school is holding steady. Thousands of students are engaged in at least an activity each year. And as we know activity and attendance helps in students GPA as well. Anything to add rainy or Jason? >> Great job. >> Reimagine education. We have a later work session today which Becca will be presenting. So I don't want to talk too much about it. So basically we're talking about building changes that is going on which is walnut which is being closed and the kids moving out of Molton. There's signature programming working. We add adding four Montiser schools. There's some CT uh spaces that are being added performing arts stems. All those things will be discussed
069with Becca later just today. So I'm not touching touching on it right now. Yeah. So this is again grounding the board that as we had said that as part of this process we came across $13.5 million which we had presented last January meeting for the five pillars but we have only $2 million that we have set aside over here for strategic plan in FI27. Yeah. Same process we identified nine tasks. The ask was $1.8 $8 million. We did not go with that whole amount. We prioritized it. Same process as last time. And basically the prioritization process was let's define effectiveness, develop accountability systems so that we can evaluate the effectiveness for the end users and prioritizing resource allocations. So this is a big project in in in uh over here that we are spending which
070is a half a million dollars and this is for the molten transition plan that we have which is part of reimagine education and I've not seen Becca's deck but I'm sure she's going to cover part of it basically to ensure that there's smooth transition and integration and continuity for our students and staff as we are doing this thing. Yeah. And as I had mentioned, half a million dollar over there basically for additional bus routes, staffing adjustments, and we'll continue monitoring transportation needs and see whether that needs to be tweaked or not. This is no change from last time. Basically, our the impact is that we want to achieve our board goals and guardrails through a cross departmental and crossdist work. and the goal two goal three and guardrail I don't know whether I want to
071repeat that the only thing I would say is in the next steps just reminding you of the same slide so we'll cover well-being next time next time this is the slide I wanted to say I think uh Skylar you had asked what exactly are the asks as a board so basically Feb 17th when we do it we have to set dates for public hearing budget hearings budget guarantee we'll have to the board has to approve pro if we go for a budget guarantee and the reason why board has to approve a budget guarantee that is paid out of property taxes. So that does impact property taxes. So three board actions that will be on February 14th se 17th sorry where we set dates for public hearings then March 24th where we have the public hearing
072one for the proposed tax notice. I I I presume the county would still be sending the information to all the residents and then April 21st we'll adopt the budget to certify and we have to submit it to the state before April 30th and April 30th is set in stone we don't have any give the other dates we have some gives but we have to send as you see on March 4th we have to send submit the the tax notice to department of management and this is where I was saying where I may use a percentage which would be different than zero or 1%. That is what I have today. Any questions? So, >> just going back a few slides, Shashank. Sure. Um, >> just so I'm clear, the district identified $13.5 million to get our
073strategic plan done to get what we need to get done done. Yes. >> And we have a half million dollars to do it. >> No, half a million is only for organizational effectiveness. $13 million is for all the five pillars. So we are it's not like we have 13 million in priorities and we're only able to use we only set aside 2 million. >> Correct. That is the accurate thing. So we have >> so we do have that gap of >> if we're going to achieve our strategic plan we need to have the resources to do it and >> yeah we are reallocating resources to make it happen. >> Okay. >> Because we cannot fund what we are currently funding districtwide. Okay. But are we putting it aside or are we finding it someplace else?
074Is that the I guess what I'm trying to understand is are we going to move ahead with executing on the strategic plan or are we saying look we don't have the money to do this. We're going to have to put it off. >> No, we're we're executing on it. Um it just won't be every single action in FY27. >> Got it. >> That's the 2 million. >> Yep. >> Right. >> Of actions. >> Okay. Correct. >> Shawn, can I ask a quick question? I'm sorry. This is Ryan and I'm remote today. >> That's fine, Ryan. >> Yeah. To clarify, 1.8 million is uh the pillar 4 and then am I understanding right that 500,000 of that is the molten transportation. I that >> help me understand what goes into the 1.8. >> So the ask
075of organizational effectiveness was $1.8 million.5 million for the molten transportation is part of this $1.8 $8 million. So yes, 1.8 ask we we have identified for FI27 half a million because we are capping it at this this point of time to $2 million as a investment in 27. Does that help Ryan? >> Yes. Thank you. >> You're welcome. I I appreciate the presentation, Shashank. And while I heard the comments earlier, it does come off very um down. I I guess um but what I do appreciate is the reality of forecasting in a conservative way. I think it's important for us to do this and I think it's a good reminder for us um as a board, but also as a staff and as a community how important not only the um budget allocation from the
076government is, but also student enrollment. there are some really lowhanging things that we could be doing to increase enrollment and I think it's time that we start taking those things seriously uh because every email that we receive from these parents every comment we receive at this day is um is essentially $7,000 times four. So we need to start taking some of these things a bit more not that we're not taking it serious. We need to start truly understanding that the the things that we're hearing from our community are directly impacting our budget. And if we don't take those things seriously, if we're not responding adequately and in time, this is the reality of those results. >> That's true. >> Additional questions or comments for colleagues? >> Thank you, Shashank. I appreciate the presentation and the
077time and we look forward to the next iteration. Um board colleagues, the time is 6:38. Let's go ahead and take a short recess to 6:50 and we'll begin our next presentation. Rosie wanted to let me tell Yeah, back. Wow. >> Two minute warning. All right, we're going to go ahead and get started. [snorts] Right, Superintendent Smith, I'll turn it back over to you. >> Yeah, just a a brief introduction um to Dr. Rainey Briggs, our chief operating officer. So, um tonight given the um budget focus on um pillar number four of operational effectiveness, we thought it fitting um to bring in Dr. Rainer Briggs to just to give you a little bit of insight into um the departments that he oversees um which is vast. Um there's a number of them and so I know
078he's got several colleagues here in the audience too uh that are more than willing to step in and answer any questions that might come up. But without further ado, uh Dr. Briggs. >> Thank you. Thank you. Um, I want to first off say, um, it's been a pleasure. This is like my 6 and a half month, uh, being here in the district, and it's just been a pleasure, uh, being here, working in the district. Um, and the team that I have here tonight, um, is a team that I've worked with since I've been here. Um, and I do want to point them out so because I think they've been they've been just amazing and supportive of me being new here as well as being a part of the work that we're doing just across the
079district. So, um, I do have Jason Allen here. Um, Jason Allen oversees um, athletics, uh, activities and community education. Um, we have Jamie Wilkerson. Um, he oversees facilities and custodial Um, and then you have Sam Sonnetson. Um, she oversees transportation. We have Gina Brookard Nukem who's the um, executive assistant. And Chad is probably going potty. Chad Chad linebacker. He oversees uh, construction. And then there's health services um, who is which is overseen by um, Missy Abbott. Then you have also safety and security. So public safety. Um that's Terry Mitchell. And then I feel like I'm missing one. Food and nutrition. Um by Amanda uh Grim who um like I said, this team has just been amazing to work with and we've done a lot of really cool things over the short period of my time
080of being here. So um wanting to get into the context, the operations mission is to create and maintain exceptional infrastructure. um to support ser support services and learning environments that remove all barriers to students uh success and enable every student to learn at high levels. Um, one of our number one thing to do is to make sure that there's a connection not only from just, you know, operations, the things that we we do, we may build, we may fix, um, or we may make or whatever or feed kids, but our we want to make a connection and have a connection with teaching and learning, right? This is a a we mindset as opposed to a operation mindset only. So we have really encompassed um focusing on making sure that there's that that success for students
081uh and having an impact for not only them but also our staff um based on the needs that they have. So I have a a video here that I want you to to watch. I'm going to try I hope it it goes. So we're going to give it a couple seconds to see if it if it takes off. So this is a pretty cool video. How do I know? A lot of people when they think of the phrase, how do I know? They always want to put the what behind it. How do I know what I'm supposed to do? The the question that you really should ask is how do I We're going to increase our investment in Wi-Fi. [laughter] >> Checking on it right now and and it's okay. We we don't need to
082watch it. Um, but what it what it really brings to mind are are the things that fall into um Maslo's hierarchy of needs. When you think about all of those departments that you really just got to hear about, there's nothing that's on Maslo's hierarchy of needs that aren't met by these departments that um we do in operations. Um, so like I said, I wanted to say kudos to this team because every aspect of what you see in Masso's hierarchy of needs are things that we touch on, things that we impact. Um, because we want to make sure that our students and staff have the best of the best that they need. And our goal is to make sure that we we impact that as we kind of do the work that we do. Um, you
083heard me introduce um all of the individuals that are part of the operations team. You see here the organizational chart and then you get to see all of the people that they kind of oversee and the work that they put in to ensure that what's needed for for our students and staff is happening um by the people that they lead. And when I came before you, I think it was earlier this year in first quarter, um the three priorities establishing relationships uh built on doing what's best for uh students and staff. Um the strategic connection was to objective three um and really looking at strategic actions and alignment. So defining effective operational supports, creating communication and feedback systems and then monitoring effectiveness um and then leaning into implement uh implementation uh functions uh by establishing
084trustbased relationships which are really really important when it comes to operations and just about anything you do is are those relationships. So, I really leaned into um those relationships as a team to really begin to build and meet and have a cadence with uh this team. So, we had one-on-one meetings. We have one-on-one meetings bi-weekly or monthly with um the directors and then we have bi-weekly operational team meetings. Um and then there's departmental level meetings that um the individuals leads with with their teams. And this one, the school visits, um by December 23rd, um I wanted to go into every school and tour every school with the chief custodian. Um I'm very close, um to being done with that. U when I did this presentation, we're a little bit about 50 schools out of the
08572 buildings that we um we work with. But the tours with the chief custodians, there's just great connections that I've been able to make um in the buildings with the principles, the nurses, food service staff, um and those that fall into our department because I want them to know that we care, that we want to make sure that they're having an impact and that we trust and believe in the work that they're doing. And then, you know, it gives us observational feedback. So the things that I'm hearing from those chief custodians, things that I'm hearing from food service principles um has played a huge part in some of the lowhanging fruit of things that we can take care of, you know, right away uh while also keeping our systems in mind of our um you
086know, work tickets so that we can respond to those in a timely manner. And then the communications and expectations. So clear agendas and and notes to to circle back to when we we need to. And uh shared priorities and next steps. Um in all of our our meetings and works that we do, we ensure that who's responsible for those things that need to get done so that you know people aren't waiting um for you know considerable time to to have things kind of taken care of. And you know the strategic connection um to priority one uh was relationships um support effective teaching and learning in safe and clean environments. We want to make sure that every staff member, every student um are in clean and safe environments. You think about Maslo's hierarchy of needs. Safety
087is a huge part of making sure that our students feel like they're in a space that they belong in, people care for them, people love them, um, and want to support them. You know, the strategic alignment is the cadences of the director and operational meetings that we have uh, which is really directed on engagement um, with principles and nurses and food service um, staff members to make sure that they have what they need. And then the implementation focus implementation, you know, predictable meeting agendas, making sure that when we visit those schools that we're keeping track of the things that they've indicated are important and needed for them um to feel like they're they're getting what they need in the schools. And leaning into priority two, creating a data uh literate mindset with actions to support
088what the data is telling us. Um just thinking about objective number two, uh 100% of resources are effectively allocated and monitored based on DMPS strategic priorities and impact outcomes. Uh while leaning into the strategic action alignment, so design systems for prioritizing resources, implementing accountability systems and align resources to strategic, you know, priorities. And then the implementation focus is really thinking about data literacy, right? Um and we'll talk about that here in a second. Um you all received a a packet um there. You don't need to quite look at it yet, but every one of our departments um in operations have created smart goals uh where each director d you know they drafted those goals based on data um and they've been submitted to me for um tracking purposes and also ensuring that we have ongoing
089conversations around those goals and the progress that we'll be making on those goals and I'll talk about that here in a second. um the communication is to share the purpose of these goals is to make sure that we're sharing the status of in our operational meetings. So as we as I meet with um each of these directors in our cadences u making sure that the progress that we're making on those goals are touched on processed and understood. Um and then again looking at the strategic alignment to priority two uh data literacy connects to effective resources um for use and student outcomes. We want to make sure that there's data that connects us to students and staff and the outcomes that we want to see. Um looking at strategic alignment uh directors create the smart goals
090uh using baseline data and targets um and monitoring routines. I'll talk a little bit uh here in a second around our uh data dashboard that will be utilized for that as well. Um and then the implementation focus implementation um to review during our one-on-one meetings um for that process. And number three is creating a culture of goal setting. And you all have in front of you uh the goals from each of those departments that will be utilized for um this year. And each year we will reset goals and make sure that those goals are um continuing to be pro um progressed and make sure that there's some focus on the connection at the school level with these goals. Um as well and thinking about the the strategic alignment um the goal setting is uh culture
091um the culture drives coherence and continuous improvement. continuous improvement is really critical to the success of any goal that you you set. Uh making sure that we can return back to those goals and see the progress that we're making and what progress we're not making that we're putting some plans in place to kind of lean into those goals to make sure we're continuing on that that um level of progress. Um goals are tied to strategic connections uh from quarter 1. Um leaders own their targets. So these goals um these leaders have taken the responsibility and accountability um for these goals and then you know we're implementing uh monthly review cycles and in our one-on-one meetings is what we will do to ensure that we're having that progress and seeing that progress that we want to
092see. Um and you heard me talk about the operational goal dashboard. Um I don't know if um someone can click on where it says operational goals and you can really see the dashboard in its entirety. Um there's if you see at the bottom there there are tabs that where you really look at each of the goals based on the action steps for the uh department. Um and this is what we will progress monitor. Um and this is some some trial and error that we will kind of lean into uh with this with the teams. And some of the challenges um you know just consistency across uh a large and diverse operational footprint uh time and capacity constraints while maintaining you know the school visits. um and aligning expectations and communications across departments and creating predictable
093routines that strengthen school level uh supports and some of the choices uh maintaining a monthly director and operational team meeting cadances. We want to make sure that we're continuing to do that and we have a really solid cadence uh in place right now prioritizing school visits um as relationship anchors for uh operational supports. We want to make sure that we're in buildings um but also making sure that we're not getting in the way of the things that need to happen and connections with teaching and learning and uh use structured agendas and artifacts to improve clarity and uh follow through. So making sure that what we said we're going to do we do and that is an expectation that uh the principles and others that we are um connecting with have of the work that we're
094doing and then aligning all actions to the district strategic plan um and guardrails and the impact uh strengthening trust and transparency with directors, school leaders and staff. um clear expectations and improved responsiveness um from operations. um wanting like I said making sure that what we said we're going to do that we do um based on the systems that we we have in place and safer and cleaner environments that better support teaching and learning and a foundation of datainformed and goal aligned work uh in quarter 2 and beyond and needs uh these were first quarter needs um that we had was really uh that I had um was really commitment to collaborative leadership data sharing and analys analysis uh partnership analysis of partnerships and then accountability for department and goal alignment and going into um second
095semester um support for operational priorities and school engagement um and then support for datadriven decisions and resource alignment and support for a clearer aligned communication and messaging and then support for goal setting culture which I really think We're we're heading in the right direction as you think about goals that you are able to look at in front of you there questions. >> Remy, [clears throat] this is >> I got a couple of questions. Um >> this is a a really data heavy um and trackingheavy system that you've put forward here which I can't applaud enough. It leads to a lot of accountability and as somebody you don't want you do not want me in charge of your data systems but I do appreciate it because it allows you to see where you're going. >> It
096can lead though sometimes when you implement it to some challenges with staff feeling like maybe they're being watched all the time or you know like they're going to get tracked down to >> the minute. >> Yeah. >> How do you deal with that as a leader? How have you dealt with that as a leader since you've come into the organization? >> Yeah. Um, with with my team, um, I would say that they all know that number one, I'm not a micromanager. Um, they are expected to do the the great work that they've been hired to do while also having those opportunities to meet with them one-on-one and then also as a team often to kind of see how they feel um, things are going, but also asking them what do they need from me, right?
097This isn't just a one-way street. I want to be as supportive and of them um as they are uh of me in the process, but it's really just continuing to have those relationships and connections and conversations um with them so that they understand that this isn't like me breathing over their back to make sure that they do this. But a part of the process is having those those connections and in meetings to kind of see how we're doing and where we need to make adjustments, you know, with the continuous improvement process. So, this isn't a I got you. Um, you messed up on this or you didn't do this. That's not what it's about. It's really establishing those relationships so we can support kids and staff um as best we can. >> The other thing
098I think it does to to add to Rainy's point is uh the absence of data I think often times can lend itself to feeling micromanaged because I'm constantly asking what are you doing? Where are you going? As opposed to allowing the data to speak for itself. And so there is a a degree of um freedom for sure that comes with being very very clear about the data that you're after and the deliberate actions you're taking in order to meet the data set. I think the real opportunity comes in is what happens when we meet the you know the goals and what happens when we don't right and I think at that point in time the conversation does look similar in that it's a growth opportunity. how did we meet the goals and what did we
099do to get this and um and if we didn't meet them how did how come we didn't and what can we do differently moving forward in you know the next iteration so there is some freedom that comes with having a very um quantifiable goal metric system >> um you mentioned I I wanted to ask another question about the data surprises about what you've tracked so far has anything stuck out to you that was either a pleasant surprise or a challenge you didn't expect [clears throat] >> I would say um no Um, we literally just finished up um the smart goals that you see in front of you. Um, so now is the time to >> get the tracking going for that >> so that those leaders know what we need to be doing differently and
100celebrating as well. >> This board hears quite a bit about how we need to improve communication with our all of our constituencies. >> You point out communication of decisions. How flesh that out a little bit for me. Where would you like to see your department uh either do a better job, be more collaborative with your what do you want to see out of your communications and to what end with our end users? >> Yeah, I think by way of some of the systems that we have so whether it's our um work flow, our work systems in terms of when people put in work orders um you know making sure that we have some a legit uh response time, right? Um, there's nothing worse than someone putting in a work ticket, for example, and it takes
101us three months, four months to at least respond to them. So, communication is really important. So, identifying that, yep, we received it. you can expect to hear or see something done within a certain period of time across the board whether it doesn't really make a difference what department you're in but the acknowledgement of receiving certain concerns or challenges um so that those things can be celebrated that that you as a department have this building's best interest leaders in the building's best interest and students best interests at heart so yeah >> just lastly a real kudos to your team every de public school I've ever been in. Um there is a clear sense of pride in the upkeep of the environment that the our kids are in every day and and that obviously is a whole
102staff effort, but certainly starts with your team >> um and the environment they walk into. So just a a kudos. >> Thanks. Uh this is really this is really good and I appreciate um the work that you and your team have um invested to get this done. I'm curious your team receiving this plan moving forward. What would you say is maybe their greatest concern? >> When you say what's their greatest concern, is it receiving >> Yeah. Receiving this knowing that they have to do this that this is what's going to be implemented? >> Yeah. >> What's what's their their biggest concern? I I don't know if I would say there's a big concern because I think um each and every one of them have expressed the importance of ensuring that students are first along with
103staff needs. So I'm not sure if I would say there's a concern that they have because I think they are the ones who really got to write these goals. Um and those goals are measure I mean like there's they know what the let me sorry they are um they have looked at these and understand the attainability of of these goals as we kind of go go forward with them. So I don't think there's a concern um that any of them >> challenge >> but but I I I can look back and and ask them to do you see any challenges that you feel based on the goals that you >> opportunities just around the world and >> right I mean I think um you know plans that are set in place we all do our
104best to make sure that we're kind of operating within the scope of those responsibilities but then there's things that happen in the course of that that sometimes you to have to realign and and to make some changes unexpected where it's budget related and or something happens in a building facility things that just was not was not planned for. >> Again, I think those are more opportunities because then we learn a lot. It helps us to plan future forward from things that we're >> looking and and I would say that's a part of the continuous improvement process. Mhm. >> So, as we run into things, we we take a step back and we reassess and then we make some decisions on what needs to happen based on what we've learned. >> So, that's a part of
105that continuous improvement process of what I think Jason is talking about as well. Others, anything you want to add to that? >> What would be the what's the most exciting thing for you? >> Oh man. Um, I think the most exciting thing for me is knowing that I have one of the best teams, a teams that team that I would put up against any school district operational team in the country. And I really mean that from the bottom of my heart. They are amazing. Um, they do really good work. They lead really good work. Um, they're connected really well, not only in the school, but also in the community. um they've they've all introduced me to many people um in the community and that has caused me to really uh understand number one who they
106are, what they stand for, what they believe and value um for the De Mo public schools. >> So, how many directors do you have here from your team >> here? One, two, three. >> Can you raise your hand? >> Right. >> Yeah. What's the most exciting thing for you doing this work knowing that you have to you're going to be you're the the people leading this work? >> I think it's exciting. You know, we're here for the right reasons. We're here to support each other. You know, if I need something, I know I can pick up the phone, call Jason, call Sam, call Chad, and they've got you. You know, it may not be the most pristine moment you're dealing with, but that's why you need them. [cough and clears throat] You know, i.e. you
107know, put some water on Roosevelt's basketball court this week. That wasn't our plan. >> And how do we recover? But it takes all of us to recover. And, you know, it's it's fun to come to work every day because it's different. Something's always going to be in your way. Figuring out how to navigate it and move forward. People >> people. >> Thank you for what you do. All right. So, I kind of got a difficult question. No, I'm just kidding. Um, [clears throat] tell me a little bit more because I know we've talked a little bit about your school visits and um, do you have a matrix that you're going through when you're going on these visits? How long are you staying? Who are you talking to? >> Yeah. >> Um, I mean, you mentioned
108the custodian going around. Do you have uh connections with like the staff or the teachers? Um, even the students. >> Yeah. So, there's a a couple different things. Is there a matrix? There isn't a matrix, but what I did prior to starting the visits is I sent a a message out to all the chief custodians. I met with actually all the chief custodians at uh I think it was maybe on a PD day um and kind of shared with them, you know, like um my beliefs, my values, and all that good stuff. And then I kind of told them that I want to come to your buildings. I want to take a tour of the building. I want to hear from you the things that you love most about the school that you're in. Um
109I want to also understand the things that are some of the the biggest challenges that you've had u while in the position of a chief custodian and um with that capture that information during those visits and then I meet um I think it's bi-weekly with uh Jamie Wilkerson and his team to really unpack some of those things that we're we're getting at the building level from those chief custodians and then what are some of those things that are lowhanging fruit that we can take care of, right away, but what are also some of those things that are probably going to take a little bit more time for us to get into the system and get some things into place to kind of take care of those things. So, that's what the visits have kind of
110been like. And in the process of that, yes, I connect with kids. Um, I think I was just at Walnut um street the other day and um um a teacher comes out of a class and a student was wondering who I was. So having a conversation with kids or um you know talking about some shoes that a kid may be wearing and how I have those same shoes or um kids talk about my ties all the time. So like there's some of those different connections that u we've made on this journey of uh going into the buildings with with students. Randy, can you talk a little bit about for the board and for the for the folks here that are listening um the relationship between those visits with buildings um and building um chief uh
111you know operational things versus the safety committee meetings and how that safety team is actually visiting buildings and walking and looking for very specific things. >> Yeah. So the um chief visits are a little bit different than the safety team meeting. So, um, every Friday there's, uh, a safety team meeting and, um, over the last 6 months, we've kind of talked about what's what's our purpose, um, of our safety team. Um, and we've come to a place where, um, we want to be in the buildings. So, um, two Fridays a month, um, we are doing safety walks in the buildings. That's where we're really taking a look at, um, some of our, um, standard response protocol things. We're taking a look at, you know, some of the practices that we have of ensuring that doors
112are locked um and what are some of the needs that the safety we meet with the safety team or members of the safety team um at the schools as well. Um just to get some understanding of what are some of those things that they feel would make their school even better if we were to take care of some things, you know, that are lowhanging fruit again, right? Um and then two of those the the other two Fridays um our hope is to start looking at scenarios of things that we are encountering in our district and how we can you know counter those things or dig deeper to understand you know what we can do differently to support some of those challenges that we may be running into from some of the different scenarios of things
113that we have encountered um in the district as well. So it's a little different there. There's about four groups. Um so the safety team is is broken up into four groups. So we may visit in u one Friday we I think we visit about eight schools um on those Fridays and that's something that will continue throughout the year because we want to continue that continuous improvement process mindset as well. >> Yeah, thank you Matt for that. Um, I did went I was out of school and then saw the safety team um there doing um their checks or I I missed them or they were getting ready to leave. But Terry Mitchell um I just want to give props to Terry because he this is your first year, right Terry? >> Yeah, he's not here right
114now. >> I thought he's newly in this position and uh the security officers um you know they do a lot. I see them even around the neighborhoods and um when I drive by and take my kids to school or something, they always have a present um around our school. So, I just want to give a shout out to them and that team. >> Awesome. Thank you. >> Yeah. Thank you, Dr. Briggs. I just wanted to acknowledge just the the diversity of your department and the types of work that you're all doing. Um, and I share this as a reminder to the board even that I know we oftentimes will reach out to schools to do tours of the schools, but I'll tell you, um, going and and doing a ride along on the buses with
115Samantha and her team is equally as exciting and fun. So, I think sometimes we, um, forget about all of the other things that help operate this district. And there's a lot of value in being able to sit with the the transportation team, sit with the custodial staff. I'm fortunate that my DMEA liaison is a nurse. So being able to sit with the nurses in the school and hear how they're also impacted through some of the decisions we make and how they're directly supporting our students. So I just wanted to acknowledge that and say thank you for the work that your team is doing. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Ryan, did you have anything? >> Yes. Can you guys hear me? >> Yes. >> Thank you. Uh Ramy, thank you for the presentation. Um and
116I just wanted to echo the comments about data, right, and about uh how exciting it is to hear about the data journey and gathering collecting. And I wanted to follow up on the, you know, strategic objective number two that you referenced uh the return on investment utilization of our resources. And to that end, I I don't I can't see if the smart goals or the detail behind it has been passed out there, but are we developing or building or maybe even already have the ability to track the utilization of our facilities? And what I mean by that is central campus gymnasium. Is it being used and how often? and be able to do that across our district to know if you are utilizing all of our resources uh that might be available for other uses
117outside of school hours. >> Yeah. Um we we do have a a system where um a facility use um where it's you know people will reserve the gym or there's different activities um that utilize or different programs that utilize our our gymnasiums or other parts of our schools too. It's just not like the gymnasium as the only thing that's utilized. there are sometimes classrooms um that are utilized um just based on you know what people's needs are um in the community. So, but we do have we we should be able to pull that data to see um what usage is like. So, I could definitely pull that and and share that back with you all. >> Ryan, are you looking for the data on that or are you just wondering if it's being tracked? Yeah.
118No, I appreciate and yes, I think that would be very helpful to the board to understand and kind of where my head's at with that question is, you know, we're all very aware of the budget situation um that we are in and are there any opportunities? This data shows us where we might have opportunities to uh generate additional income for the district by utilizing those facilities, be it a classroom, a gnasium, a turf field, whatever that is. and look at those opportunities in a very strategic way um that maybe we can't if we don't have that data. And so um that's kind of where my head's at. The other thing is, you know, there's partnerships out there that are are maybe available if we know we have uh facilities that we can can offer and
119to our community and to our our students and their families. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ryan, I I'll I'll take a look um and kind of pull um what type of usage has been there as well as I mean I do know that when people do um submit um usage um forms for our our schools and our you know particular spaces, there is a charge um so I can kind of take a look at what um those charges are and kind of get a rough estimate of what it has looked like over the last year or So, uh, in terms of maybe fund funds that we've, um, or revenue that we've generated for that, take a look at that. >> Thank you, Doc. Oh, go ahead. >> I had one one question. This is probably more
120for Jason. I don't know if you wanted to start heading up or not, but [laughter] >> it's not difficult, but u just looking at getting >> his coat off. >> One of the or some of the objectives for the student activities. I see a few of the objectives. um focus around increasing the participation of extracurricular and co-curricular activities for students. Can you talk a little bit about about what percentage of students are currently participating and is there an interest that students have that maybe we aren't fulfilling? It reminds me of uh Anna's comment earlier about some of the growing sports and activities and just some of those types of things. >> And if you don't have that tonight, you can always provide it to us later. >> Yes. Thank you, Kim. Madam chair, [laughter] >>
121thank you Kim. [clears throat] No, actually I you know I think on average when we look at the last three years uh for middle school about 66% of our students participate in at least one activity. It's about 54% for our high schools. You know typically the there's five things that could impact you know participation. Uh the first is the obvious is the athletics rate. You know can we get kids engaged? Do are we offering the right things? So most of what we offer now and we should be doing this is all about the sanctioned sports. That's both for high school and middle school. We got 22 high school sports and 11 middle school. The second thing that we would look at is our XR clubs. That's both stipened and unstipened clubs. And really the larger
122challenge there is just trying to make sure that we have enough staff that has the interest um to participate. Our goal is um specifically with something that we call wild cards is uh is to create opportunity and space for students who may have something more unique and it might be defined differently at different buildings for them to participate. With that said, we got to find sponsors. Um the I guess a a third thing that we look at and we try to prepare for is actually looking at our community partners. Um because that in those uh from their supports it allows us to kind of maybe offer some new and um innovative things. Um sometimes it's costly sometimes it's not. Um I think over the last uh probably three years not counting this year they account
123for somewhere around I think it's uh probably about 14% of our total uh you know engagement specifically for activities. Um, the other things that play a role is our performing arts, um, which we are super excited about, looking forward to growing and, uh, really interested in what happens at at our new Molton facility. And so, um, that's that's remained pretty steady. Um, but we want to grow it because it's not just about band, choir, orchestra. It's also about sculpture, you know, it's also about some of these other areas that we've not really dove into, but that also requires uh, you know, some dollars. And then the final thing is is that as as students continue to age up, you know, then the participation number starts to starts to decrease. And partly is that because they're
124thinking about next stages and phases. And so um you know, we always have to continue to look at, you know, what what really makes sense and and not just take just a look at it from a district level, but also consider the uniqueness of the areas that we serve because it it is vastly different. So then we can determine and look at what are some of our emerging sports. Um some that we didn't expect. Uh boys volleyball, you know, it's actually something that's early on. Um it's not sanctioned, but it is certainly something in our district. All five high schools typically have some type of boys volleyball program, girls flag, you know, so thanks uh Miss Compos for actually alluding to that. We are we've had some great partnerships with that. it's growing with both
125the Minnesota Vikings um with Nike and then as well as now with um with some of our local Toyota dealerships. And so there's there's real opportunities um but we just have to pay attention. We've seen growth um in in soccer um for boys soccer, you know, over the last three years. We're over 125 students, you know, in terms of the growth. Girls is about 75, you know, students. And so it's up in an upward decline, but then other things may be decline, which also affects our percentages. Football is down by 85 students over the last 3 years. And so there's there's a vastly there's a lot of things that we look at. We try to pay attention to the data. And um our I would suggest that our 80s and our uh student engagement coordinators
126and our middle schools just do an excellent job of really uh working directly with students and trying to figure out what is it that they they need and how can we do our best at the district level to help to support their efforts because really they're at the ground level. And so, um, I'm super appreciative of of every all the staff and we're talking about by the time we're done, we probably close to 600 people that are invested directly in our students for after school extracurricular and co-curricular activities. >> Thank you. I know you're doing a lot of work and I I was not trying to ask to trick you into some percentages, but certainly appreciate it. And another shout out to your team. I really appreciate one of my favorite things in the um
127newsletter is seeing the community ed stuff. Uh >> you're going to see me in a class one of these coming days. I'm >> Yeah, come on. You know, we've >> It won't be line dancing. >> Well, you know, come on. We've expanded. You know, we we'll offer over 600 classes by the time we're done. And so, um that staff led by uh you know, Jacob Burke has just done an excellent job and we're really excited about the opportunities to continue to partner with other areas within our district to um to identify, you know, those unmet needs and and really seek out some real opportunities. I'm super excited. >> Yeah. Just to highlight that real quick as a as a very specific example, one of our former graduates, Jayvant, who many of you know and have
128met, who served on the reimagine education committee, does a lot of work in our community, is a realer, uh, graduated from Hoover High School in 2021, and he's now going to teach a class starting in February on reality. Um, so yeah, he's wanting to give back. Um, and so it's it's just a it's a full circle opportunity for many folks. >> I want to give a huge shout out. I don't know if everybody knows that it's not super common for districts to have sports start in seventh grade. >> So, that has been huge to allow the kids to try things that they maybe haven't tried before. I know I have a lot of friends in different districts that are just they're very envious of the fact that our kids get to start sports in seventh
129grade. So, big shout out for that. >> Thank you. And and thank you to the board for helping us and supporting us with some budgeted dollars. And hopefully as we continue on, we know that things are tight, but um as much as we can do, we try to do our best with uh with what we have. >> Jason, just say those engagement numbers again. Would you >> across all activities? What are our engagement levels like in high school right now? if you if you had to put a percentage on it. >> Uh I'll say over the last three years because this year we're still, you know, we're just actually just a little bit over the halfway point because we still have our spring >> and uh in our summer sports, but typically we average about
13054% of our students are engaged in at least one activity, you know, and in uh middle school that's about 66%. So, I'm mindful of that again for our conversation around diploma plus because what we know is if we get two, >> you know, if we get 80% of our kids in two or more activities all four years of their high school, >> you know, we're we're going to impact that number. And so, that's a it is a great number to have that engagement. I'm glad that there are those kids who are participating. I hear that number and I think you want to impact our graduation rate. Yeah, >> there it is. you know, and so when people say why are we funding activities because we know that engagement matters >> and and I think the
131data is so clear when you look at even uh you know as it relates to the GPA you know kids that participate attendance man that's anywhere from 12 to 18% higher percentages for kids that are actually attending participate in at least one or more activities and so it's a it's it's a it's a strategy um and it works um and we believe in and I know you do too. >> So, what I'm hearing from Sarah is that for the friends and parents that have children in sixth grade looking for a seventh grade option for their students to explore sports, DMPS does have open enrollment opportunities. >> Absolutely. There you go. Come [laughter] on over. You know, whether they say well, we'll actually leave the lights on. [laughter] >> Thank you, Dr. Briggs. I just just
132a follow-up question. >> Thank you. Um Jason, I know that we are talking a lot about students using facilities and I know that we've had individuals here inquiring about the use of facilities for sports. >> Yeah. >> And um you know, Ryan was mentioning the ability that we actually have to be able to have some funding come to our district. Um, we have a lot of families that seek to use facilities. >> Um, and I'm just wondering what families need to do. I know that there is a sign up. You have to register and see what facilities available. >> There's insurance. >> What are the requirements and and how feasible is it really for families to be able to use them if there is such a thing as liability insurance that is required? No, I
133can appreciate um what you're asking. I I'll tell you that over the last year, and this is actually per the board, so I'll give you the credit on this is that we've worked to actually to uh lower prices. Now, there's certain things that we have to do as it relates to compliance. Um but I think as it relates to what we do in the community, we've been pretty intentional about creating prices that are actually lower than what it has been probably in the last, I don't know, at least five years. And so um what I would say is that the first step begins with getting online and actually you know u you know following the process. It gives us a chance to look at it and determine you know what what are the options and
134I can tell you staff work really hard to try to identify areas and um and and means um you know to to to see those opportunities come to fruition. The other thing is is that you know um you know continue to encourage those uh you know not only families but those who are part of our community partners you know to be engaged. Um you know again I know there's a few steps but um there's a lot of people to help in that regard. And so um I I think our message is we have we have facilities and we want the public to use them and specifically we want our community to use them. >> Yeah. >> Thanks Dr. Briggs. >> Dr. Briggs. Um, I just wanted to um share my gratitude for starting your presentation
135off with Maslo's needs um and the hierarchy of needs. We know that our students um don't learn unless those needs are met. And so um that really stuck out to me and I'm grateful for the the goals setting as well as the monitoring and tracking. I hope that the board is a role model for you and your department in that area as we um monitor our goals. I also do recognize that I if I counted correctly, there are over 40 goals here that you're working on and monitoring. So I I just want to recognize what a lift that is um for you and your team and um offer uh and I think I probably speak for the entire board. please let us know um how we can be supportive of you um in achieving these
136as as you transition into your continued monitoring. So, thank you so much. >> Madam Chair, can we do a followup? Can I just ask for a followup in a work session at a future date? Doesn't have to we can get past budget, but I particularly would like a little bit deeper dive on transportation. I know that's going to be a challenge moving forward. So, I'd just like to hear about more of it and be able to discuss it at the board table. And then safety and security would be the [clears throat] other one. What's the result of those walks? How are we being intentional about safety and security? I think a public discussion about that as we start talking about what our what the image of De Mo public schools is versus the reality of
137De Moines public schools. I think that might really be able to help to talk about how intentional you are with your teams about uh the the safety uh that we have in our schools. >> Certainly. I've made note of it and we'll discuss it with Matt and team. >> Cool. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Thank you. Hey, Dr. Briggs. Um, as we are transitioning to Dr. Becca Harris, um, who's got some slides on reimagining education and just some updates, um, for the board. Um, I just want to lift up again, um, Rainey and the team and and and Phil, because this is the team that, um, when bad weather hits, right, or something takes place in our that's unanticipated, um, in our community or in our schools, um, there's a there's a
138number of folks that assemble very very quickly. um to reroute buses to make sure that kids are fed if if something's going on in the you know in the cafeteria if we have to you know um alter the school day somehow someway. So there's a number of folks that um in very short amount of time coordinate with one another their services to make sure that there's no break in what we're offering children and making sure that they're safe and that they're fed and that their parents are communicated with. So, um, just want to continue to lift up that that's no small feat. Um, and when it happens, it happens very, very quickly and oftent times, um, without warning. So, that team does a tremendous job. >> Okay. >> All right. >> Speaking of tremendous job,
139um, I want to formally introduce you all, if you have not met her yet, to Dr. Becca Harris, who is our lead project manager for the reimagining education work. Um so shortly after the bond passed on November 4th at 74% overwhelmingly um there was an immediate hire uh and it was Dr. Becca Harris and it was to make sure that we had all the the programs lifted up and again working in concert with the construction that takes place. So, uh, Becca obviously will do a much better job of explaining all the work that she does and all all the project planning that she pulls together and the number of folks that she meets with and coordinates a number of details. Um, but just certainly want to recognize and honor her and the work that she's
140done in a very short amount of time and uh, and the lift in front of us. So, Dr. Becca Harris, >> hello. Hi. >> Hello. >> I'm excited to be here tonight to um, share some of the exciting things that are already happening with Reimagine Ed. um to share some of our plans for the future. Um my goals for this presentation, one are are to to do some of that information sharing and then two kind of as a a sub goal is we've created a project plan um specifically for you all in our oversight committee that I want to orient you to tonight. It's going to be an opportunity for you to have ongoing updates um even um between board meetings. Um we're going to be sharing a lot of the same information with the
141public, but just wanted to name that it won't explicitly be through the project plan that you're going to see tonight. We're going to utilize um websites um our parent square plus because we know that those have the translation opportunity so we can reach the most families. So when you see the plan and when the public sees the plan at home, you'll have access to this information um but not the project plan specifically. That's for the board. So to start off, just to kind of orient you to what you're going to see on the project plan, we're going to be using um a platform called Smart Sheet. Um I have images in a slide deck tonight um just to to reference, but you'll get access to the Smart Sheet tomorrow and it will be updated regularly
142for you. Um so you can kind of see if you look from left to right um a couple of different categories. We have notes where we'll just give you kind of narrative updates of what's happening with projects. Um we have status and deadlines for you. Um you'll notice that you already see three statuses in progress, complete and not started. Um those correspond to the deadlines right next to um to the status. We want to name that and when we were planning this out, we really looked for midmon and end of month deadlines um which are obviously um kind of rounded deadlines, not specific dates where if we don't meet um by a day or two that it's going to impact the project. Um there's a fourth status category that um our goal is for you
143to never see which is critical. And so if you see critical that means that um we are at a place where we may have to look at adjusting deadlines um long term. Um, but if you see an in progress past due for two or three days, not something we want anyone to worry about. We've built in a lot of contingency time to make sure that we are meeting the goals that we've promised to our community. Um, next little middle section you'll see tasks, projects, and milestones, and then dependencies. Those task numbers directly relate to the dependencies on the right. That's just so that you can see the relationship between different things happening. Um, and then over to the side you'll see decision makers, operators, and support. Those are the district staff that are working on
144different individual projects. Decision makers are moving the work forward obviously with decisions. Um, operators are the people who are doing the day-to-day work. Um, and then support our various staff that are helping the operator. I'm working across projects, so I'll generally be the the point of contact. If you have questions, I should be able to share the larger vision for you. Um, but we wanted you to know who was working on a project at any given time. So, that information is there for you as well. So, what we want to do tonight is we kind of want to walk through um three different types of projects that you're going to see both on the project plan and you're going to see big picture over the next five years. Um, construction projects, our programming projects, and
145then what we're calling ancillary projects, which is just anything that supports construction and programming. Um, specifically building changes. So, anytime you see a school closure, um you can see action steps related to that on the project plan. Um and then anytime we need to build um or update processes and systems to prepare for our new signature school um openings, then you'll you'll see the projects in that section. So, what we wanted to do tonight is knowing that you'll have access to this project plan long term and knowing that the public is just generally interested about nine weeks out from the bond passing about what's been happening um to kind of share status um and also walk through what's happening behind the scenes so that everyone has a clear idea of what it means when we
146say that a construction project is active. Um and so that's what I'm going to try and do relatively quickly. Um but if you have questions, please stop me and I'm happy to to slow down and answer. So starting with construction projects, um we're going to update generally around five main milestones. Um architect selected, management model selected, project design phase, construction firm identified, and construction. So when we select an architect um in DMPS, we actually select from a roster. We have a roster of nine architectural and engineering firms um that we equitably assign to DMPS projects. Um we don't do it randomly. It's very purposefully. Um we look at previous knowledge of the building, their areas of expertise, um their workload and availability. Um those are the three main areas we use to assign architects. Um
147one thing we wanted to name just so that everyone was on the same page is that legally we're not allowed to use pricing as a selection criteria. So just wanted to flag that because you won't necessarily see that as part of the selection process and that's why. Is there a reason? >> I believe it's that's legislated. >> Sure. Sure. But like what was the thinking behind it? Is it just so you don't have the cheapest be the the lowest bid as as the architect? Is that pretty much it? >> Nach now the best >> best best value for the district. >> Okay. Okay. >> So what you can expect related to architects um is a yearly roster and maximum spend for approval that will come to you. um you will not see RFPs um because
148of that. And then um Kim, you'll obviously get individual contracts to sign for the architects as they're they're um assigned to projects. So our next um major stage in construction is a management model. Um so we have three options um legally that we're allowed to use um in order to um see the life of a construction project through. um design, bid, build, construction manager as agent, and then construction manager at risk. And I'm going to walk you through each of these um high level and give you kind of pros and cons, but wanted you to know that we also select um our management model on a variety of of um different variables. Budget cost comes into this um timelines, specialized needs of a project. And the other one I just want to flag just to
149keep on our radar is also the capacity of the market to complete our projects. Um we were really excited to pass a bond that is going to have a lot of construction um over the next 5 years to improve our schools, but we're not the only district that passed a bond. So um using different models kind of gives us some flexibility to meet needs and work with the availability of the market as well. >> Dr. Harris. >> Yep. >> I typically like to wait until the end to ask questions, but I'll forget this one. >> So the a few slides a slides ago you referenced that we have 19 that are equitably chosen from. Are there more than that available that would not constrain us with capacity issues or are 19 what's available in this
150area or how do we come up with that number? >> Yep. I there is a I believe Chad jump in an RFP process that we use to select them yeartoyear. From my understanding, um, we have a fairly solid roster of architectural firms. Where we're really keeping an eye is on, um, the construction firm, the the active constructive work, um, where we're seeing the potential for competition, um, right now with across districts. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Y, absolutely. So, let's talk about what each of these mean at a high level. So design bid build is what um we has been historically um the most used um model. Um we after design phase we go out for public bid. We kind of package the whole construction project into a single bid. We go out for RFP
151and then one firm is selected um to complete the entire project. Pros is it's a fast and linear process. Um it's familiar and widely accepted because it's been used for a really long time. Um, cons is it requires us to select solely based on the lowest bid. Um, if you look, we've got some quoted language here. It's the lowest responsive and responsible, but really they're we ground in cost. Um, and so there's not a lot of um there's not a lot of quality evaluation. Um, and there's really no opportunities for contract specialization. You're not going to get to pick um a a dirt firm or a electric firm. you're just going out for a general contractor that does all of the things for us. And so this model is really best for projects that are
152less complex or highly specialized. So what you can expect if we go with design bid build for one of our projects um is a public hearing for contract bid and then an award of a single contract. So that's what you'll see come across your desk. The second model um is called construction manager as agent. Um, so we hire a um, CMA to act as a general contractor on behalf of De Moines um, throughout the project without being directly responsible for construction contracts. So they do project management for us, risk management, and they bring a lot of expertise to the project, but we still actually manage all of the individual contracts. Um, so pros is it adds some additional capacity to our team. Um, budget estimates are typically more accurate from the start. Um, and then
153there's those opportunities for subcontractor specialization. Um, some of the cons, budget risks are still held by the district because we hire this person, but then we also hire all of the individual contractors. Um, and then it adds a little bit of time to the project to hire a CMA. Um, so we really like to utilize this model for projects that are larger or more complex where we want a high level of oversight throughout the process. Lastly, oh what you can expect is there'll be um an RFP process to select the CMA um an award of contract. There'll be public hearings for each individual aspect of the construction project and then also an award of contract for each individual aspect. So lots of lots of little pieces here that you'll see come through. Um and then
154lastly, we have a new model um as of 2023 called construction manager at risk. very similar to um the CMA except this person not only provides that oversight risk um and expertise. They also take on the risk of individual contracts for different components of the construction project. So they we will hire them, they will hire the individual contractors, come back to us with a guaranteed maximum price and then they take on that additional financial risk. Um, similar pros to the CMA model with the addition that we don't really hold the risk of budget overruns with this model. Um, some of the cons include that longer lead time to hire the CM and the contractors. And I think generally one thing we'd name here is it's just a new model and we are still really learning
155the the process and the pros and cons. Um, because this is so new across the state, we also can't look to other districts for their learnings yet. we're really leading the charge in use of this work. And so, um, we're really still like determining the criteria for selection between CM and CMA at this point. Um, and what we're really grounding in is, um, how can we set up processes and systems upfront that allow for this to be a really cost-effective model for us long term. So what you can expect um is an RFP process to select the CM and award of contract and then there'll eventually be a contract amendment that will come back to you with that guaranteed maximum price which will be the max that we'll pay for that construction project. Um moving
156on to the design phase. Um this is a multi-stage process that results in the full schematics that will eventually um guide the active construction process. Um things to know high level the con complexity of the stage of the design phase is really dependent on the complexity of the project. So when we talk about the design of the new molten building that's going to be a much more complex design phase than if we're doing a threeclassroom edition somewhere else. Um so that will impact the length of the design phase. Um, and that we just want you to know that multiple district stakeholders are engaged, operations, teaching and learning, technology, and school leadership at various stages of the process so that we're getting good input along the way to make sure that we're meeting programmatic needs, um,
157operational needs, and then we're taking in that school perspective. So, um, there's a couple of different design stage phases. I'm not going to walk through them with you, but if you look at these high level, you'll see that it's very silical. Um, we start very big and then we kind of narrow down to to very specific blueprints at the end of the design phase. Um, and what you can expect from us is just key updates and then public facing images during that last phase. We want to make sure that we're anything we're putting out to the public is not likely to change um and is detailed enough to to be useful information. And so, um, that's just know that when we hit that phase, that's when we'll have documents on our website or images on
158our website for the public to be able to see. Um, construction firm identified is is pretty straightforward. Um, in the design bid build in the CMA model, that's where we're going to hire our contractors. Um, just as a reminder with CM, you won't see that because the CM will hire those for ourselves. Um so you can see a little bit of a difference here. A single contract versus multiple contracts. Um and then timeline design bid build comes after design whereas CMA comes during design so that we can bring them on board to help kind of operationalize costs and then construction begins. This is what I I typically think of when I think about construction. Um we have multiple site supports that will be um around to make sure that our projects are on time, utilizing
159resources effectively. Um we'll have an inspection specialist that is kind of a DMPS specialist that's assigned um a construction project that monitors throughout the life um to ensure that we're on track, meeting budget, and that um the construction is going to plan. We'll have some type of project superintendent, whether that's a general contractor or our CMA or CM model. And we'll have our contractors on site and we'll also have our architect on site. They actually stay with us throughout the life of the process to um continually help us ensure that we're um working towards the goal of our project schematics. >> [snorts] >> Um, and just so you guys know, um, to ensure that projects are completed in a timely manner over the next 5 years, anytime we're doing a new build or addition, those
160are going to be year- round projects, um, that will, um, happen during the school year, whereas renovations will occur over summer months. That way, if we're we have spaces that children are actively in, they're not going to be a part of an active construction site. Um, whereas a a new build can kind of happen without interrupting the flow of the building. Um, so what you can expect is notification of when a project breaks ground and then just any relevant updates on the construction process. All right. Lastly, construction ends. Um, so when when I think of a construction project ending, I think of major work being finished and kids being back in the building. And that's actually stage one of four. Um, so occupancy is granted is when kids are back in the building, but our
161construction team is not finished at that point. um they have several additional phases that will eventually come to your to your table. Um they complete a pretty extensive punch list before they're willing to call a construction job complete. They want to make sure that the work is high quality, that it has met our needs, that we're getting the quality that we've paid for. Um and so they will do a walk through to ensure all of those things even after kids are back in the building. So if there's little changes that need to be made, we get those made. um then they complete co closeout paperwork and then that will come to you to certify final acceptance of the project. And so when we talk about deadlines, we're going to talk about that occupancy being granted.
162We're going to update you on um when kids can be back in the building, but know that there are several stages that are happening afterwards. And so that's why you might see a little bit of delay between kids in the building and that final acceptance paperwork coming across your desk. Okay. So, if we go back to our project plan, um we have 12 active construction projects already, which is super exciting. Um we have seven what we're calling year 1 projects which will break ground next year and then um a few more year 2 projects which will break ground in see 27 28 26 27 so 27 28 um so I've given you two examples here and again tomorrow you'll be able to click through these and look at them in more detail. Um most of
163our active construction projects for year one um are already in the design phase. Um we have two that we're scheduling our kickoff meetings that are a little bit smaller projects, but they're all underway. Um and you can kind of see here that when an architect's been selected, we've noted that for you in notes. When a management model is selected, it's there for you as well. Um we'll keep you updated with with some of that information here um just so that you have access to it when you want it. If you look at this next slide, um if you look at north, this is a project that's a little bit farther out. So in that note section, what we've done is just given you anticipated deadlines. So if you're ever just wondering, hey, I know that
164this project is coming up. I'm interested to know when this information will come across my desk, then you have this to kind of start as a first reference. All right. Programming. Um, I think we we we spend a lot of time thinking about the bond in terms of um the construction, but we also have this programming piece that needs to pair with it as well. We have to have beautiful, gorgeous buildings and we have to have great programming that goes into them. So, we want to talk a little bit about um what's happening in in terms of timelines and plans for when you can expect more information about signature schools. >> [snorts] >> So, we've we've broken our project plan into three main buckets at this point. Um, signature school working groups, um, planning phases,
165and implementation phases. Um, this is not going to be as clear-cut as construction. That's pretty linear um, process that repeats itself. Programming is never that simple. Um, and it shouldn't be because we really want to personalize the work that we're doing to each of these individual signature schools. Um, but you can expect these kind of three buckets. Um, so under signature school working groups, we'll talk more about this in a second, but we're going to create a draft proposal this spring. One of the things that we identified is when we named our our signature schools, our performing arts signature school, our dual language um signature school, um there's a lot of different ways that that could look in a school building. And we felt that before we jumped into designing a day and selecting curriculum,
166there was really an opportunity to engage our community further around a vision and really build capacity and knowledge about what will be happening in those schools. And so the working groups are going to um focus on creating a vision, getting community feedback um and kind of finalizing that vision um as a community before moving into planning where we'll be looking at curriculum selection and professional development planning um and then implementation where we're purchasing doing professional development for our teachers and staff and preparing for launch. And so the way that we kind of see this playing out is a four-year process. Uh, year one is a vision year where we set a vision, which again we'll talk a little bit more about in a second. Um, year two is a planning year where we're identifying or
167developing curriculum and creating a professional development plan for our teachers. Year three, we're purchasing, inventorying, distributing curriculum. And we have a full year to implement some type of professional development plan. It's not going to be perfect. We're not going to catch every staff member. Um, we know that we may be bringing in new staff as Signature Schools open, but rather than one or two people going into that launch year with with a solid understanding and vision. Um, we want to make sure that all of the staff that we can get a hold of that year before has that full year of implementation um of professional development so that they feel comfortable with the school launch in year four. And so what that means for timeline right now is that um we've launched four working groups
168this month for Molten Performing Arts, for our dual language school at Hort Brewaker, for our four Monttoauri schools, and then for our middle school maker spaces. Um and then we'll repeat that process and kind of restart that four-year timeline again next January for our steam at Hoover Meredith, our STEM at North, and our CTE at Kurts. Um, and those were chosen. It worked out nicely that the age groupings worked together, but those were chosen based on launch dates, starting with the the signature schools that launched first and then coming back the second round for the schools that launched a few more years out. So, let's talk about what the working groups are going to do. Um, so we're essentially going to set a vision for programming at our signature schools. Again, this is not going
169to be as deep as the individual curriculum level. What this is really going to hopefully surface is what's happening in the building. What's the structure of the school day? What can parents expect if they send their kids to a signature school? Um once we kind of have a draft proposal created, um we're going to have several opportunities for community feedback. Um we're going to have um one-on-one sessions for affected staff. So, for any of our new signature schools, um for the communities that those schools serve, um we're going to work with district community engagement teams to figure out too how we're continuously engaging families um in these new signature school models. Um and then we'll have a citywide period for public comment in June so that everyone has a chance to see the presentations and
170give feedback on the presentations. Um and then we'll kind of call this process final when two things have happened. um when we feel like we have a good vision and we're ready to move forward and when we've done some communication back to the community about how and why we've incorporated their feedback and the impact of that moving forward. So the things that you can expect are just ongoing updates this semester on vision development and we plan on creating the proposals between now and midappril um doing community engagement end of April into May and then moving into the full city public comment in June. Um you'll you'll get an overview of the feedback provided by the community. You'll get an overview of the how the feedback was incorporated into the vision. Um and then also any
171anticipated vision impacts and outcomes. So that will be the immediate work that you can expect in the next five months or so. Um from there moving into planning and implementation. This is going to be really individualized um and driven based on the vision set during the working group phase of the project. And the one thing we really want to name at this point is we expect this to be really silical. Um we have a list already in the project plan of general um action steps that we know that we're going to have to take. But to do our best work, those are going to have to refine as we get deeper into the vision. And so those are um highle placeholders, but you should see that project plan continue to evolve over the next couple
172of years as we get deeper in the work and we get more specific about the individual actions we're going to take for each of our signature schools. Um so high level like I said planning um also it it could be we'll talk about selection of curriculum but we also just want to name that we're keeping the option open for also selection of curricular expertise. It may be that for one signature school the the best plan is to identify a curriculum. In other instances, it might be to adapt a curriculum or to create. Um, and so we are throwing that out now for future conversations. Um, and then obviously those professional development plans will meet our unique programming needs after those selections have been made. So what you can expect is a highle plan for each
173signature school that continues to evolve over the life of the project, updates on budgetary impacts of new programming, and then eventually just your traditional agenda items that are related to curriculum purchasing or contract work. And you can kind of see here, um, I just wanted to give an example already of how some of these programming action items might look a little bit different. Um you can see the dual language signature school has 11 action items between the draft proposal and school launch because it's a single building launch. Um whereas middle school maker spaces because those are going to roll out over five years um have 18 action items. And so just continuing to flag that those are going to look different and they and they should because we want it to be personalized to the
174work. All right, ancillary projects almost done. I promise this is a lot of information. Um, I want to flag that we have prioritized at this point construction and programming, getting those up and running. So, these projects we're about to talk about are not yet in the project plan. We're working to get them fleshed out, so you should see those in the next couple of weeks. Um, but they generally fall into two categories, which you heard um earlier. Um, buildings and um systems and processes. So, two things that are currently active right now are Walnut Street student and staff transfers. for matching kids to schools. And then our next step from there once we know where kids are moving will be then to place teachers to make sure that um everyone has a lot of advanced
175notice of where they're going to be going next year. Um we're also doing a lot of work right now preparing for the Moltton transition to Kurts. You heard an ask earlier for a lot of money uh for transportation and part of the reason for that is is in current state Molton uses one shared bus with King because so many of their students are walkers or drop offs. Next year we're going to need 14 buses to move Molton to Curts and back. And so identifying some of those places where we need to build in infrastructure to support the plan um is what will fall into this category. Um future things that you should expect to see from us um fairly quickly is looking at signature school enrollment processes and transportation planning. Um and then I'm sure
176that there'll be additional projects that pop up along the way. And this is where that information will live in the project plan for you. And so you can see right now we've got placeholders there for you. And then again um we'll continue to build this out um so that you have this to reference. So that was a lot of exciting things happening. Um a lot of energy with the project. We have a lot of people here tonight who have already contributed. Um and we're really excited to see the impact that this makes um for our students and our our district. So what questions can I answer? Thank you, Dr. Harris. This is very thoughtful and um very clear. I loved seeing exactly what the board can expect um and when we can expect it. Um
177I'm grateful to see that you are incorporating diverse stakeholder input as well as community input. My question um that I have is what will community engagement success look like for you and your team in May once um you've completed that work? >> Yep. So for this first round, I think there are are two things we hope to see. Um I think we'll look at attendance of our in-person sessions with the the affected groups, staff, community. um you know we want to make sure that we're promoting in a way that we have the most voices in the room so that we get diverse opinions. Um I also think that we will be looking at in that public comment section which will likely happen on the website um looking at percentages of engage engagement um who has
178completed um percentage of starting versus completing a survey will be some of those like metrics that we'll look at. I also think generally my hope would be um on a [clears throat] a less metric based level that we have learnings from this process that we can then apply to refine our processes when we we redo this with our high schools or our upper grade schools next [clears throat] year. So um doing a great job now but also taking lessons learned to make sure that we're improving the process as we go will be important. >> Thank you. Can >> Oh, sorry. Go ahead. My light's not working either. >> It's on. >> Okay. >> I'm really excited. Um, and I know we were just talking about communications >> and your last comment about one bus being
179used for two schools and how that will change next year to 14 buses. and just wondering how you hope to work effectively with our communications department in order to communicate with families in a way that we maybe can guarantee that they're getting and understanding the information. >> This is really exciting. >> Yes. Mhm. >> Um I think that um some of the initial things that I I kind of referenced earlier that we plan to lean on is any place that we can put out communications where we have translation options because that's how we're going to reach the most families. Um two, I think anytime that we're talking specifically to Molten where it's a small affected community is how can we personalize engagement to the needs of that community. So, working with Eddie to say, "How
180do you best engage with your families?" And then modeling um the communication off of learnings from the principles will be really important. Um I think specific with the communications department, I know Matt referenced earlier that we're about we're out for RFP for um for someone to come in and evaluate. And one of the big things that I believe as a project manager is I'm an expert in project management and then I need to rely on the expertise of a lot of other people to bring in content. So, I'm really excited um to I mean just generally leverage the amazing staff that we have at De Moines Public Schools with the communications department and then also any external partners um to hear what they think that we need to be doing. So, we have some short-term
181plans around the website and around um community engagement, but we're also I'm really excited to hear what we learn as part of this kind of evaluation process um and let that direct our communication as well. take those recommendations um for implementation. >> Can I Oh, sorry, Maria. Go ahead. >> It's just very refreshing to >> I don't think I need that. >> I'll turn you. Yep. Go ahead. >> Oh, you're on. Turn it off. >> It's okay. You're on now. >> It's just very refreshing to hear you speak and um you do it in a way that is very encouraging, very reassuring. Um, and I feel very hopeful right now. >> Oh, I'm glad. >> Well, that's that's the fun thing about reimagining ed is this is a really joyful process. And so I I
182think that there's an opportunity to really capitalize on that. >> I'm really excited for families and our students and our educators, teachers, everyone like all the departments that the department that was here tonight. Really excited. So I just need to say thank you. >> Well, thank you. >> Yeah. Can I just add on to what Maria said and make an explicit request and be from me but I think it would be the sense of the board that we not only communicate with our families but that we validate that communication particularly on the translation side it is going to be critical that our families understand what is happening so that you don't get misinformation because someone assumes and so we have a translation service I think Maria was right to point out last session with communications
183that just because it is communicated does not mean that that communication is validated or understood. And so I would ask for an explicit validation of the communication as we get going. And I think that'll be a good learning process for us because as you go through the 5 years, you'll know how to do it after a couple of times. Maybe a couple mistakes will be made, but we can have patience and grace with that, but then learn as we move forward so that we can But I would like to see that we have when we get a report back that there was actually somebody has said, "Yep, we went back, we looked at the translation, it was accurate." Sometimes forms, maps, graphics don't translate well. The words don't translate well. And so, um, just if
184somebody could validate that, that'd be great. And I think I'm um you know there are other there are other ways to communicate with families um you know besides translation. I think that uh we would be uh naive to think that just because we translate something we know that people are understanding. And so um you know I I think that that's what I meant. know how you um engage with communications department to communicate with families and make sure that people, families, parents, students are receiving the adequate information would be would be good for me to just hear that that's happening. >> Good. >> How are uh I also wanted to ask you talked about the development of the curriculum and I it's wonderful that education experts are going to be a part of that and obviously
185that's the baseline. um for our STEM, for our STEAM, for our fine arts. What are we doing to engage the community in that process so that we understand before we build a program? Maybe we already have a program that is absolutely willing to fold into what we're doing at a signature school or resources that might be able to fold into that. And I'm thinking of organizations like the Technology Association of Iowa who would be happy to work with and to maybe develop some partnerships with De Mo Public Schools in order to uh in the end do what we're trying to do here, which is build a a workforce uh for the future. So I I guess I would just ask as those working groups go forward. Awesome. You know, you have things that the business
186community would never think about, but there are also some nonprofits and some organizations that might be able to be helpful to say this is where we think things are going so that we build a program that lasts into the future. >> Yeah. And [clears throat] I think what's not lost on us either too, um, to capitalize on on your comments there, uh, Patrick, is that we're sitting in a facility that actually is like the pinnacle of leveraging partnerships, right? And so they do it incredibly well. So continuing to to replicate that model um in our signature schools will be important. >> Yes. >> Dr. Harris, I didn't see it on the project plan and possibly it's just out of scope, but what are we doing to celebrate these >> Yeah. >> these things when once
187they get to that final stage of the I forget the process, but it was like box four maybe on a a plan. Once they get past all these stages and they're done or we're inviting the occupancy or something, the language you use is is so foreign to me, I've got to admit. But once it's finished, how are we celebrating? Um, particularly that 74% that voted in favor of this so they can see there is progress being made. Not necessarily needing to do a ribbon cutting for everything, but how are we celebrating? >> Yeah, I think that that's part of our communication planning that we think about long term. I'll be honest, it's it's hard to conceptualize a signature school opening because it still seems so far away, but it's not. It's two years. And so
188I I think part of that is really intention intentionally um looking at like you said, how do we celebrate? Like what events can we have? Like is it um doesn't necessarily need to be a a ribbon cutting set ceremony, but like how are we inviting our community in? Like even if you're not going to be attending Molten, how are we showcasing this beautiful building that we are we're putting up that our kids are going to have access to? And so, um, it's it's not something that I have an answer for yet, but it's definitely something on my mind as we I mentioned refine the these action steps to build that out. >> Right. Thank you. >> Yep. >> I just want to say thank you. As you're going through your presentation, I have my mom
189hat on and I'm trying to decide, do I want to send my kids to Pleasant Hill for Monastery or if I want to send them to Brew Breaker for um the dual language. Um, so that's something that our community had asked for and um, this is just awesome for us to get that through and that our parents are going to have a choice um, in our little districts, I think. Are we calling them districts? >> Regions in our little regions to decide where we're going to um, have our kids go. And I'm just super excited about this work that we're doing. And um, yeah. Well, thank you all for championing championing the bond and the work and it's it'll be an exciting journey for all of us. >> Board members, I'm going to ask if
190you have any additional questions that you go ahead and um share those with Matt and leadership and we will determine we I I know that this is not the only update that we'll get from you, Dr. Harris. Um but we can determine um how the frequency at which you're sharing updates with us. and uh we look forward to receiving future communication on that project plan and how we access it. Um I'll turn it back over to Matt. >> Yeah, I I don't know that I have anything um to share other than um just gratitude for Dr. Becca Harris and the the incredible amount of work that she's pulled together in a very short amount of time. It hasn't been that long since the bond passed. So um just want to continue to say thank you
191and also that just to point out uh which may be intuitive that um reimagine comes with a significant number of details um and um the way that Becca and team and these other department leaders are pulling together on a daily basis to ensure that we don't miss anything um is um is really nothing short of incredible because it's a it's a major project and we have all the other things going on at the same time. And so just a lot of gratitude for each of you. Um and your work will never actually be fully appreciated even though the folks up here um are constantly singing your praises. Um just know that um that uh is multiplied 10fold. So thanks for all you do. >> Thank you. See everybody next Tuesday, same place, same time. [laughter]