Board of Education Board Meeting - March 9, 2026

001Good evening. I now call the Board of Education regular meeting to order at 5:31 p.m. and before we start, I would like to thank the Kennedy Ensemble that played for us tonight. If you had a moment to take that in, I'm sure it was a beautiful moment for you, too. What incredible talent. They will be joining Washington and Jefferson at the Corridor Jazz Project down at the Paramount tonight. If you're with us here tonight, you're probably not headed there, but just such a great example of the talent that we have here in this district. So, thank you to those students. Is there a motion to approve the agenda for Monday, March 9th, 2026? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor, say I. >> I. >> Opposed, say

002nay. All right. Next, we'll pass the meeting to our area chiefs for student highlights. >> All right. Okay, so we would like to start this evening by honoring fifth grader Beckham Roode from Grant Elementary. Beckham is being celebrated because he exemplifies what it means to live out the Grant expectations: be kind, be safe, and be your best. Beckham is kind to all of his all of his classmates, good job, including welcoming new students, inviting others into his group, and working alongside any peer during structured or unstructured times. Beckham actively engages in his learning by start by by started on his work right away, taking turns with his teammates, problem-solving, and asking clarifying questions. Beckham uses his extra time writing creative stories or reading his library books. On top of all the ways he does his

003job as a student, Beckham is also an active member of our Best Buddies Club working and playing alongside students with disabilities and enthusiasm and care. Beckham's engagement at Grant is contagious. We are so grateful to have him as a Grant Dragon. So, here you go. That's for you. >> Good evening, everyone. I get the privilege of introducing Ms. Barnes. And so, when Ms. Olive um talked to me about presenting the student, she said, "Why don't you just not do it and have Ms. Barnes do it? She'll do it much better anyway." So, Ms. Barnes, the fifth grade teacher, will introduce Danielle Boyle. >> All right. Right there. Okay. Our second student honoree tonight is Danielle Boyle, a fifth grade fifth grader at Wright Elementary. Danielle consistently contributes to a positive school culture through her kindness,

004strong work ethic work ethic, and willingness to support others. She regularly volunteers her time to assist younger students, helping in art classes and reading with first and second graders, bringing encouragement and positivity to those around her. Her thoughtful actions and caring demeanor serve as a model for both peers and adults, fostering a spirit of generosity and respect within our school community. In addition to her leadership and service, Danielle is a dedicated student who demonstrates strong academic performance and a commitment to her learning. She is also a member of our of a She is also a member of Wright's newly formed student leadership team, where she continues to represent our school with pride and integrity. We are so grateful for Danielle's resilience, consistent effort, and kind-hearted nature. She is truly a role truly a model Kitty

005Hawk student, Danielle Boyle. >> All right. I'll stand here. Good evening. Um our third honoree tonight is a fifth-grader um from Nixon Elementary, Kaylee Merryfield. Kaylee is a shining example of what it means to be an engaged and dedicated learner. She comes to school ready to participate, gives her best effort, and takes pride in her learning each and every day. She is a hard worker who shows determination even when tasks are challenging and never gives up on herself. Beyond her academics, she is incredibly kind and thoughtful towards others. She is always willing to help her peers, offer encouragement, and make those around her feel welcome and supported. Her positive attitude and caring nature make a difference in every space she enters. We are so proud of the effort, perseverance, and kindness she shows daily. She

006truly makes our school a better place simply by being herself. Congratulations, Kaylee. Where's your There you go. You can take this, too. >> All right. I have the opportunity to share with you the staff spotlight tonight, and our recipient and focus tonight is Katrina Burke, a sixth-grade teacher at Franklin Middle School. Tonight, the Cedar Rapids Community School Board has the honor of recognizing one of our exceptional educators, Katrina Burke. As I mentioned, she's a sixth-grade math teacher at Franklin. Her principal, Jay Richardson, shared she's an amazing teacher. Recently, Katrina was given a staff shout-out and we wanted to share the exact words with the entire community. The student that submitted that shout-out said, "I want to take a moment to express my deepest appreciation for Mrs. Burke, whose kindness and unwavering support have left a

007lasting mark on my life. She's always ready with a warm smile, a caring word, or a reassuring presence that makes even the hardest days a little brighter." The student went on to say, "Mrs. Burke has an extraordinarily extraordinary ability to sense when I need encouragement or comfort, and she never hesitates to offer her help." Mrs. Burke, on behalf of the Board of Education, thank you for the work that you do every day in your sixth-grade classroom. Thank you for creating that middle school foundation and setting students up for success. We appreciate the lasting impression you've created on the student who honored you. That core memory of the relationship will carry with them their entire life. On behalf of the student and many other students who come through the classroom door, the Cedar Rapids Community School

008District staff and this board say, "Congratulations to you. Thank you, Mrs. Burke." >> If If we could have our student spotlights come up front for a uh picture really quick. >> Thank you. That is my favorite part of the night, every single meeting. Um congrats to our students Beckham, Danielle, Kaylee. Congrats to Katrina Burke. Um thank you for everything you do. You are shining examples of what makes Cedar Rapids schools great. Tonight we have one public hearing for the issuance of approximately $15 in school infra- infrastructure sales, service, and use tax revenue bonds. Board Secretary Shelton, have we received any written correspondence related to the public hearing on tonight's agenda? >> We have not received written correspondence. >> Do we have anyone who has requested to address the board this evening regarding the public hearing

009tonight? >> We have no requests. >> Okay. The aforementioned public hearing is now closed. Moving on, we will hear from those who have requested to address the board. Board Secretary Shelton, do we have any requests this evening? >> We do. We have 14 requests. >> Okay. With 14 requests this evening, you will be given up to five minutes for your remarks. Please respect the time limit allotted to each speaker. Board Secretary Shelton will serve as your timer and indicate when your time has expired. If you have submitted a request to address the board and choose to refrain from speaking in the interest of equality and fairness, your time may not be yielded to another speaker. To abide by the open meetings law, there will be no dialogue between board directors and the public during this

010time except to clarify the nature of questions or comments from the individual speaking. We ask that the audience and speakers refrain from using inappropriate language and outbursts as a matter of respect for all in attendance. This board has zero tolerance for profanity, vulgarity, demeaning language, or threats of any kind. Lastly, I'd like to remind our speakers the board cannot address personnel and student matters. The board policy outlines a process for addressing and resolving concerns. We ask that speakers refrain from using personal names and information during public comment. Before we begin, I'd like to remind our speakers to state their names and addresses if they wish when called to the podium. Board Secretary Schelty, please call our first speaker. >> Our first speaker is Craig Sealy on methods. >> Uh thank you for allowing me to

011have this privilege. Um tonight I want to talk about something that I don't want you to take it personally, but um it's very important because what's been going on for centuries in any type of schooling is the status quo. And I'll get into that, but first I want to mention how important people are to the triune creator God of the universe. It says in the 139th Psalm that he knows of your existence before you're formed in your mother's womb, and he literally weaves you together in your mother's womb. Now, that's really something when you think about it. But then when you go to Genesis 1:26, it says let us create man in our image. Two plural pronouns. What is that all about? Well, we're created in the image of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

012That's what is being talked about. And when God creates something like the whole universe, Christ spoke all the stars to existence, and he calls them by name. Christ did all the creating. The Bible talks about it a lot. That's the kind of God I want to worship and believe in. And Christ likes a lot of and the the Trinity likes a lot of crea- um creativity and different things in the universe that he created. So, why shouldn't there be differences in people that he weaves together in the mother's womb? There is, and there's four of them, and they're dominant in each children child, depending on which one he has. And it's um auditory, visual, kinesthetic, which is motion, and tactile. That means touching. And in this book that I just love, Cherishing and Challenging Your

013Children by Jody Capehart, she had one of each, even though she had three children and not four. She um connected touching and motion. It's kind of hard to touch something without moving. So, what about how does the public school or any school fit into this whole scenario? Well, believe it or not, and I haven't mentioned this before, only 20-some percent of the student body are readers. And that's kind of the way the buildings are set up. Blackboard, teacher, desk. This perfect for the readers, but what about the other children, the 75% of the children that have the other three dominant learning styles? What do they do? Especially if the teacher doesn't do much talking. Well, they feel left out. Their self-image goes down because the school just isn't set up for the other three dominant

014learning styles. And that And you can test for them, and you're going to have to test for them, or there isn't going to be any changes like there should be changes. Every child's self-image and their dominant learning style should grow to their ultimate ability so they can really know where to go in life and what to do. Einstein said, "You can't expect to make changes with the same type of thinking that caused the problems." So, you got to get out of the box. That's what you got to do. And you got to find out how you can test the children to find out what their dominant learning style is. They have subdominants. And you have to develop those, or otherwise they're going to get un- unhappy with themselves, and they're going to cause trouble in

015the school, and you're going to put them on Ritalin. And what's going to happen? They're going to end up not caring about anything, and they're going to go farther into taking pills, and then they'll probably get on drugs because that's all they know. It is an abomination to put children on psychiatric drugs and all the other things they've been doing to them lately because that isn't what God wants. Thanks for this opportunity. >> Our next speaker is Jaden Keller from Washington High School. >> Am I just good to speak whenever? Hello again Washington school or Cedar Rapids school board. If you don't remember me, I am Jayden Keller and I'm a sophomore at Washington High School. To start, I want to thank you all for your service to the board. Today I don't come with

016prepared with a fancy speech full of full of statistics and numbers. I don't come with patience because frankly, I have none. I apologize if I sound harsh in my statement, but honestly, I'm angry and I'm tired. I'm tired of having my education toyed with in front of my face. I'm tired of watching my teachers anxiously anticipate the status of their jobs and I'm tired of the choices this board has decided to make without considering the communities they serve and the impacts those choices will cause. I have a question. Well, a few. Who came up with this budget formula? In fact, where is the budget formula? Who thought it was brilliant to fire 7.2 teaching positions at Washington without considering the freshman academy you dropped $30 on while hiring over 50 teachers for Kennedy and Jefferson?

017Which one of you thought cutting required classes to graduate for our school and changing our only our school's AP and elective classes to every other year? These choices are very dangerous and quite frankly, stupid in my opinion. I have big big dreams and so do my classmates. Washington High School holds the fate of your future doctors, future construction workers, future lawyers, future dentists and you're limiting their chances of get achieving those dreams. I started at Washington a year after my fellow classmates. What if one of the AP classes that I need for my major gets moved to a year I can't take it? What if the last 14 credits I need to graduate are classes that get taken out of my building? What if that's the reality for the other thousands of students at Wash?

018Do you really want to harm your students because of where they live? Sorry. I have one small thing left to say. This code the codes this potentially violates if we even have them correct because you still have chosen to remain secretive with these plans and keep it between only you and a select group of people. I believe you and the public have the right to know about the protections this proposal breaks and let them make their choices to go to the ACLU if this comes to life. Title four of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination including policies with discriminatory effects in federally funded institutions. The Equal Educational Opportunities Act which is 20 USC code 1703 requiring districts to take action to ensure equal participation in educational programs. The 14th Amendment Equal Protection

019Clause which prohibits public entities from treating similarly similarly situated students differently and Iowa code 280.3 which requires equal educational opportunity. I list those codes. Molly Donahue posted these codes to her social media and all of these laws that this proposal could break. Washington is in a predominantly black district. This reflects badly on the board if we were to go forward with this proposal because it would send the message that we are singling Washington out because of the racial area it is based. I hope after hearing this you take just a bit more time to think about these proposals and choices before actually acting on them. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Mallory Wells from about Washington High School. Good evening. My name is Mallory Wells-Howe and I've been

020a teacher at Washington High School for the last 6 years. I serve on the building leadership team, the superintendent teachers cabinet and I've been fortunate enough to receive several teaching awards over the past few years. Not something I like to bring up but if I can't use that to add to my credibility to advocate for my students, I may as well not have them. I want to I you stepped into these roles like we all did because we care about our students, but the actions of this district are contradicting that belief. I'm here tonight because the board and the district are sending a very clear message to the staff and students of Washington High School, and I want to make sure you fully understand the impact of the decision you are making or have already

021made. The district often uses words like equal and equitable, but it fits the agenda being pushed, but your actions suggest a misunderstanding of what those words truly mean. You hear from parents and students at the last meeting and this meeting about how this decision would affect them. We'd lose programming, we'd have higher class sizes than other high schools, we'd likely lose some of our strongest staff members. I say lose intentionally because when educators are involuntarily reassigned, they may choose not to stay. Beyond staffing and class sizes, this this decision directly impacts students' ability to meet graduation requirements within their own building. Students should not have to leave their home school to access the courses they need to graduate. When one high school cannot offer the same access to the required course works as others in

022the district, that's not just an inconvenience, it's an equity issue. If we truly believe in equitable opportunities, then every student should be able to complete their graduation requirements in their own school without barriers. You're aware that several new charter schools are opening in Cedar Rapids and they need teachers. As a district, we're not as competitive as we once were when it comes to recruitment and retention. We continue to promote ourselves to students and families and talk about why they should choose CRCSD, but we also need to be asking and telling people why should teachers choose CRCSD? My students, my colleagues, they're not numbers on a spreadsheet. My students are innovators, artists, leaders, and problem solvers. I see their resilience, their creativity, and their brilliance every single day. They're capable of changing the world, but only

023if we choose to invest in them. When we cut their programming, we're not trimming excess, we are limiting opportunities. And they deserve the same access, the same support, and the same investment as every other student in this district. As a district, we say every learner future ready, but if we do not practice and support that commitment at the district level, then the message being sent to our students is that they are only future ready when it's convenient, and that is not the message Washington students or any students in this district deserve. Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Casey Prince on Washington High School. >> Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak in front of the school board on behalf of Washington High School. Um again, my name is Casey Prince. I am

024a Wash alum. I have a daughter that's a Wash alum, and I have another daughter that's a current student at Wash. Um my relationship with the school spans decades, and um on behalf of some parent volunteers, um I have the uh great and good honor to deliver the results of a petition um that we started last week um actually last Monday. And uh in a week's time, um we've had 1,426 as of when I printed this earlier, and it had upticked uh a few more signatures after I did print it, uh but approaching 1,500 signatures uh supportive of this petition, which reads uh petition to adequately and fairly staff Cedar Rapids Washington High School. Uh by signing this petition, we are urging uh the Cedar Rapids Community School District School Board to provide enough teachers

025to Washington High School in its general funding formula without using building discretionary funds to one, provide the necessary classes required for graduation on-site within the building. Two, protect all existing AP classes, fine arts, foreign language, and elective courses. Three, provide the same educational experience as the other two district high schools. Four, provide the same co-curricular activity experience as the other two district high schools. We urge the school board to act on this petition. Each signature agrees with and supports the above petition and its four aims. I did a quick check when I was printing this out and of the more than 1400 signatures, more than 1100 are Cedar Rapids residents, which is exciting, I think for the board to consider. 228 of the signatures are current and incoming students and 624 represent parents and family

026of current and future Warriors, which I also think is very exciting and gives you a sense of how people that fit that bill feel about this school and this petition. I was at the last meeting that's been referenced when there were also a number of folks here wearing red and blue representing and speaking on behalf of Wash. If I'd known we were going to be in the big room this time, I would have tried to help fill more of the seats, but still I think we have a strong presence here again tonight because the concerns remain strong. I agree very much with the comments and sentiments shared at the last meeting and I believe that will be the case as we hear from others this evening as well. As I look at the remaining time

027and my pages of notes that will definitely be in excess of 2 minutes and 20 seconds, I'm just going to skim from some of my thoughts and just humbly share with you maybe some additional ideas. It's hard for me to come just with an appeal without also trying to think about solutions. So knowing that you have to make difficult decisions with enrollment projections, which are probably difficult numbers to chase down and to really understand in real time, I guess I wanted to encourage the board to use as a litmus test any projections you may have uh on what uh the district may look like after the bridge year that's coming up uh when enrollment might change by building, uh when there might be uh closures that will have taken place uh because I would imagine

028if you're trying to make the difficult decision to cut a position in a building and you can look at those future projections post consolidation and the enrollment looks similar, it makes it a little easier to make a tough decision today. But if you look at those numbers projected out in 1 to 2 years and that building looks like it might actually grow uh because of the change in boundaries um and the change in the composition of the district. Um I would encourage a pause and to say why if the cut makes sense today but might not make sense in a year um is this the right cut to make? Um I think that is an important consideration and Washington's one of those schools uh that if we can support it through the bridge year could

029actually see potentially an increase in enrollment uh which would uh be very difficult uh to experience shortly after a cut. Um another consideration as I've read up on these uh class size minimums in the staffing model um a minimum class size of 15 certainly makes sense in a in a required course um but it gives me concern in those courses where maybe students have worked for 3 years to get into the fourth year of a language or they've gone through 3 years of science and want to take an AP science course their senior year and if there's only 11 people enrolled and there's a 15 student minimum and now they can't take that class. So I would encourage a more dynamic approach, maybe even a higher minimum for required courses so that you can have

030a lower minimum for higher level courses uh like third and fourth year foreign language or AP courses. I'd also ask you to consider um in aggregate if a if a teacher can have 60 kids in one section and less than 15 in an AP course, I think that should be taken into consideration as well. Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Elena Hopkins on Washington High School. >> Good evening. My name is Elena Hopkins and I'm a junior at Washington High School. I want to thank you for letting me speak today. I appreciate your time and all of your efforts. I'm here today with a more emotional approach because from what I have heard, there are multiple courses being put at risk at Wash, including social studies electives, band, theater and LA electives, and AP

031/ dual enrollment courses, as well as possible staff cuts. Throughout my high school career, I have taken courses like these and they have made a huge impact in my life. Not only have these improved my education, but my public speaking skills, confidence, social interaction, skills as a student and learner, as well as becoming a better friend and family member. I've seen how these courses and opportunities have changed lives, mine included, and I would hate to see that growth stop, especially in a school as diverse as Wash. My brother is a ninth grade student at a high school out of the Cedar Rapids Community School District. He has decided that he had would like to transfer to Washington this coming year. And his influence on this decision came mainly from arts programs and class opportunities that

032are at risk of being taken away. My brother is heavily involved in band and speech and would make a great addition to our school community, but he cannot do this if the opportunity to do so isn't available anymore. I'm not only worried about my brother's and my education, but the future of our community. Kids who are like my brother and I, who are at risk of missing opportunities that were once offered. These courses and activities influence many skills, some being public speaking and performance. These are used in everyday life for almost everybody. Lawyers, authors, politicians, journalists, even doctors and corporate office workers. If students in the future don't have these opportunities, it would affect everyone of those career fields. It would change the way they navigate in their future. It would become completely different from

033the way we navigate now in our district. If you keep a If you take away a very key part of their education and life skills that come from these advantages. And for some kids, these courses are their only opportunity to learn these skills. I'm here today asking you to please try and find a better way. I appreciate your hard work in the situation and I know how tough it is to make these decisions. But if I didn't believe there is another better way to change things, I wouldn't be up here today. Thank you for your time and I hope you consider mine and everyone else's words. >> Our next speaker is Elizabeth Bolt on on the topic of Washington. >> Good evening. My name is Elizabeth Bolt. I'm also a junior at Washington High School.

034Thank you for this opportunity to speak tonight. I recognize everyone here genuinely cares about Cedar Rapids schools. I appreciate your time as elected volunteer school board, district employees, and community members. My parents moved from North Liberty to a Southeast Cedar Rapids when I was only one because they knew the diversity and history of the area and schools offered. I had great teachers at Grant Wood and McKinley and am currently like and currently a junior at Washington High School. I am dual enrolled at Kirkwood with a 4.1 GPA and would like to continue to Iowa to become a NICU nurse. The opportunity to advance faster with Kirkwood in high school is incredible, but it can present challenges. I'm concerned about the possible reduction of teachers at Washington High School. Complexities exist beyond just exchanging a Washington

035teacher for a Kirkwood teacher. The process for signing up for Kirkwood classes is separate from the process for signing up for high school classes. Kirkwood classes have a competitive placement with other high schools. The computer system used to schedule high school classes can't determine if a high school block one and Kirkwood block have a schedule conflict. My older brother, Jacob, also took Kirkwood high school classes. During his senior year, the high school and Kirkwood separate scheduling systems could not detect a schedule conflict. His high school teacher kindly, but cautiously offered one-on-one class options to help him. Kirkwood classes are like college classes, so they're expected to be difficult. In college, however, most students take four classes a semester, unlike high school, where most kids take eight classes a semester. Last fall, I took four Kirkwood

036classes in addition to four high school classes and was involved in four high school activities. I'm proud to say I made it through, but it was very difficult. Taking college classes in high school presents a challenge that not everyone wants. Please do not reduce teachers at Washington High School so kids may have the may not be put in the situation to have to take the Kirkwood classes instead of choose to take the Kirkwood classes to graduate from Washington High School. Thank you for your time. >> Our next speaker is Grace Ridner Nolsch on library staffing in the school library program. >> Uh good evening. My name is Grace Ridner Nolsch. I live in Marion, but I was previously a CRCSD student and I currently work in CRCSD at Cleveland as a media secretary, and I

037hope that I have a future as a teacher librarian within the school district that raised me so that I can give back. Um I come here because I'm worried. CRCSD has a history of peeling away the teacher librarian or media specialist position. In 2016, high school librarians were cut, and last year multiple librarians were also cut. And now we have each librarian has at least two, if not more, schools to oversee. And yet, multiple studies show that having a qualified teacher librarian, meaning a teacher librarian with a master's in library information science, in the building increases test scores and increases the likelihood of students graduating. At Cleveland, as the media secretary, I am also a fully licensed teacher. I have over 6 years of teaching experience, and I'm getting my master's in library science. So,

038Cleveland has had, I don't know, the opportunity to see what possibly a full-time librarian in that building looks like. And in those 2 years, we have increased our ISASP English scores by 14%. We have increased checkout by two books per student. We have decreased our technology tickets. And this year, for our Scholastic Book Fair, we went from 2 years ago making like 2,000, last year 3,000, and this year 5,000 dollars. If not next school year, then at least once you have consolidated these schools, please consider fully staffing school libraries again. We are facing a literacy crisis, and yet, what is our solution? To continue to buy more curriculum? Teacher librarians are trained in teaching inquiry, information literacy, media literacy, and collaboration, along with their library management skills. If we are facing a literacy crisis, we

039should use librarians. If we're struggling to keep up with censorship bills that continue to get passed, we should use librarians. If you want cross-curricular collaboration, we should be using librarians. Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Sarah Hale-Kismant on school reconfiguration plans. >> Good evening, members of the board. Thank you for your time and care that you put into into decisions that shape the future of our students. I'm here tonight with a simple request. As you move forward with decisions about the district, please keep students at the center of every choice. My perspective comes from the classroom. Every day I see how school transitions impact students. For some kids, a transition is exciting, but for many others, it's disruptive and destabilizing. I'm thinking about the students with IEPs, the students who are living in hotels,

040the ones who have already attended several schools in just a few years, the ones who arrive to school tired, hungry, or struggling with the challenges that most of us never face. These are the students who transitions who feel the transitions the most. Each time they move to a new school, they lose relationships with teachers who know them. They have to learn a new building, new expectations, and new adults. Students who struggle with behavior often test boundaries again with each new staff member. And students who rely on strong relationships to stay engaged must start over every time. At first, I wondered if what I was seeing was just my own experience. But when I investigated a little further, I discovered something important. My lived experience is not just my opinion. These challenges are well documented. In

041fact, the independent outside research commissioned by the school district shows that school transitions consistently lead to declines in academic achievement, increased behavior challenges, and reduced attendance. Students often experience disruptions in peer relationships, instructional continuity, and lose their sense of belonging. In fact, the independent outside research is particularly clear about two points. First, transitions in the middle grades, especially around sixth and seventh grade, are strongly associated with academic drops and adjustment difficulties. Second, the research does not support intermediate schools that serve only five and six grades five and six. These models introduce an additional transition without clear academic or developmental benefits. Now, it's true that schools can implement strong transition supports. But here's the key question. If we know that transitions create harm, and if we know it takes additional time, staffing, and programming just to

042reduce that harm, why would we intentionally design a system that requires us to spend additional resources to do that? A model that adds extra transitions starts our students off at a disadvantage. Even with the best programming in place, those efforts are largely about mitigating damage. They help students recover from the disruption, but they rarely create a net gain. In other words, we would spend enormous energy simply trying to get students back to where they started. And I have to ask, in a district with this many buildings, this many dedicated leaders, is the very best solution that we can design really one that adds transitions and starts students at a disadvantage. But if we look towards reducing transitions from the beginning, we don't have to spend as much time repairing disruption. Instead, we can invest that

043same energy into strengthening instruction, relationships, support systems that actually move students forward. We can pursue a model where our work begins at zero and pushes students ahead, not one where we start in the negative and spend years trying to climb back. I understand that some models are easier to administer, but tonight I'm asking you to think boldly and creatively. This is a moment where your decisions will shape the experience of students in this district for years to come. If we want this district to be a district of choice, we need to improve the outcomes, support vulnerable students, and create schools where every child can succeed. We have to prioritize stability, relationships, and evidence-based decisions. The question before you is not simply which model is easiest to implement. The question is, how can we truly serve

044students best? I urge you to consider the research, listen to the educators and families, and make a choice that puts students first. Thank you for your time and your commitment to the children of this district. >> Our next speaker is Janie Jill Piersall on Washington High School. >> Hi. My name is Janie Jill Piersall. Um hello friends. I am I have a daughter that has graduated from Washington High School and another daughter that goes to Washington High School. Um I'm here today to please ask that you uh do not cut Washington High School's teachers and opportunities. Um because Washington serves students of many backgrounds and many socioeconomics, it offers unique access to all our students. Uh Wash is a special shared space that doesn't exist a lot of places in our very divided society. It's

045important because students feel included, welcomed, connected, and safe in their identities at Wash. So I'm asking you to please be mindful to make decisions in ways that reinforce that all students in this shared space of Wash have access to an equitable experience. Sorry. Equity considers the unique needs of each student to determine how to support them best. So that's it. Please don't take away the full opportunities for our students at Washington. Thanks. >> Our next speaker is Bo Brock on Washington High School. >> Hard to follow that one. Um yeah, Bo Brock. I'm I live in the Southeast side. My uh two kids went to Wash, but I'm not here to talk about the personal connection. I just wanted to I I tried to think of something unique to say, and I guess I'm going

046to take the tactic of the the NBA and talk about why teachers are important. Um and it's all about um it's all about the network, and you can think about I see your job, folks standing versus sitting before me, as maximizing the value of the network of students and teachers. Um in schools, the value created, we call it human capital, right? That's That's your job is to maximize the uh creation of human capital in the community. That's the job of any school district. Now, how that happens is that dynamic between students and teachers, that teaching and learning, you know, flip sides of the same coin. And each uh if you think of the school or the classroom or the school or the district as a network, each student, each teacher, staff member is a node

047in that network. And the value the human capital is created when those nodes interact, right? Now, the consequence of this is it's actually a math math it's a it's a mathematical model, and in in computer networking, it's called Metcalfe's law, in personal networking. I forget there's another name for it, but the value of the created in that network rises geometrically with the addition of each node. Uh so, you add a few more nodes, and the value just explodes, because everyone's interacting with each other, and then the secondary effects come on, where oh, a student interacts with this student, goes talk to that teacher, they go talk to that teacher, and they all bounce off each other. So, that's the kind of model you're talking about. Now, unfortunately, it works in reverse. The value, the human

048capital, decreases geometrically when you take out the nodes. Now, most of the value, in my view, in any school district is created by the teacher-student interaction. I think everyone here is going to agree with that. No one sitting in front of me is going to say teachers aren't important. That's not I don't think that's what we're up against. The reason getting rid of teachers is so damaging to that value is that it has a geometric effect. It isn't just taking the teacher out. All those nodes go they go away, and the value created falls dramatically. Now, there are two sides to the value creation, teachers and students. Let's set aside the students. There's not a lot you guys can do about that. I don't think. We can argue about who's at fault for declining enrollment

049and falling population, whatever. Set that aside. Your job is to maximize the value, the human capital created, given the resources you've got. And so, you've got to make damn sure that you you've exhausted all those opportunities to not cut those teachers because you're on the hook. You're not on the hook for the student loss of students, but you are on the hook for the loss of teachers and the the again, that value in the school and thus in the community as a whole, that falls geometrically with every single cut that you make. I think that's the right way to think about it. That's certainly mathematically the right way to think about it. It's analytically the right way to think about it, and I would argue I would submit to you that it is ethically the

050right way to think about it. Thanks. >> Our next speaker is Mr. Ghosh on Washington High School. >> Well, I I was not here to talk, but anyway, um my two children graduated from Washington High School. Many people know me as a Dr. Ghosh because I'm an oncologist. But I'm not doctor here. I'm Chirantan Ghosh. I want to share some of the experience that I have with the school district. 2007, Dr. Plagman was the principal. We decided to create an environment to encourage the people students to study that. We created AP scholarship program. So, what happened? Prior to that, the Belin Blank Center, University of Iowa, they ranked the school AP index. Top 10, Jefferson was not there. Kennedy was not there. Washington was eighth. Since we started that program, Washington remained number one year

051after year. And Kennedy was two. So, that told me that if we encourage the student, give the incentive to work hard, they do. Because I did not prepare to talk, I still get the letter from the Washington I'm going to stay with the Washington High School. Because really Washington High School represents the United States. Multi-diversity, different economical background, they come to Washington school. So, our experiment showed it works. One of the student I met in New York, he's a big shot in Goldman Sachs. He's African-American. He said, "Without this encouragement or the AP program, I would not be here." Another student, he got 58 college credit hours. And he works in Google. He said, "I had an interview, and I thought I'll never get it because most of the student most of the candidates were

052from MIT, Stanford, Harvard." He said, "I was surprised that I got the job." If Washington would not have offered that AP program, I never would have got the job. I don't know what all of you have to how you are going to solve the problem, it's not easy answer to me. So, for 2008 to to 2026, I have continued to support this AP program. I don't know how many of you know that or not. Anyone knows that I have supported that program? Okay. Today, I'm going to tell you what I can do. I'm an oncologist, deal with the serious situation. I come up with an answer. That's all I can do. So, I'm going to come up with a proposal. If the board member and the superintendent and the principal agrees, we will pay all

053the students their their um uh the applica- uh exam fees, 50% of that will pay. So, I will take out the pressure not to take the AP exam and we'll continue to pay the award system if if you do more than three. You know, there's currently there's a system in place which I don't want to take time to get into that. So, that's what I could do and I will do if all of you let me do that. Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Lindsey Alexson on Washington High School. >> Good evening. Um, my name is Lindsey Alexson. I'm a Wash alum, um, lifelong Cedar Rapids resident, and a mother of a freshman. Um, I'm actually so dedicated to Wash that my husband and I even met there. So, you know, uh, it's a

054pretty important place for me. Um, I really appreciate the difficult position that you all are in. Um, I know that the state continues to cut funding for public schools in favor of private schools. I know that they continue to push funding for private schools by way of vouchers, and I know that there is continued push this legislative cycle for that as well. And so, as a quick note for the audience, just an encouragement to remind you to all vote for people who support public schools. I know the school board is all in favor of that, but as a person, really support the legislators, governor candidates, all those people who support public schools. And I also want to speak tonight in favor of the staff and the students at Wash. I'm really proud of my experience

055at Wash. Um, it is a very diverse school. It was a very diverse school that when I went there, I think there was something like 36 languages spoken when I went to Wash back in 2007. Um, I learned Arabic at Wash. My daughter and my husband both took Japanese at Wash. My husband took it with Dr. Julie Cain back here. Um and that's what I'm really proud of is all these like little cool opportunities I had at Wash. I had AP classes. My daughter has AP classes. She's taking AP Human Geo and AP Human Biology as a freshman. And those are the things that she really loves about the school. Um it was a challenge for her. I would also like to take a second to to compliment the staff at Wash. Uh I mean,

056having a freshman in an AP class is definitely hard. Um but then also Wash is the first time that my daughter has enjoyed math in her honestly academic or time in in school. Like it is the first time that she has genuinely enjoyed math. It's a diverse place. It's accepting. It's a place where she's really found community and home. Um she's really loved going into Color Guard and has become very passionate about it cuz I hear about it all the time and about all the stuff that happens with Color Guard. And so I just would encourage people to think about the cuts that they're making to a school that is very special. Um to the community as a whole. Um I guess on one last note cuz I jump around a lot in reading things.

057But freshmen like my daughter do plan out a lot of what they want to take starting their freshman year. And so making cuts is going to have a big impact on what she is able to take um and what she can do cuz those are things that she's thinking about more for her career at this point, too. So, thank you guys. Um and yeah. Please keep on staff. >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Polly Arroyo. >> Am be I apologize for my attempt. >> Not many Polly's, so that's okay. >> Uh respected members of the board, thank you for listening to me again. Uh my name is Polly Afridi. I'm a mom to a junior and a

058fresh- freshman at Wash. I have two seventh graders that are on their are on their way to Forest Drive. Um and I have one alumni who today interviewed at the Royal College of Music in London for an MSC. Um this is all thanks to the Washington High School stellar fine arts department. I would like to add some points as to why it's so imperative that Washington High School have no teacher or staff cuts in the following fiscal year and beyond. With boundary changes and model changes for elementary and middle school offerings happening next fiscal year, Washington would be hurt twice and for no reason this coming year only for more changes to occur again. My proposal would be to one, have no staff or teacher reductions in the next year. Two, no adding of the

059minimum requirement of the 15 per class section required to run a class. And the reason I say this is cuz there are examples of AP classes that have less than 15 students in them. I'll give you AP Music Theory as as one example. There are around 12 in the class this year and most years probably a maximum. It is a requirement for any music degree in the UK to have the AP Music Theory as a as a minimum. Pushmina could not have gotten to her music degree unless she did the AP Music Theory. She's very grateful for that. The Environmental Science AP at Washington High School has two sections this year. One with 21 students, one with 12. My freshman kid is in the um section with 12 students. If If was to move to

060the section with 21 students, she could not take Japanese one. I think a language is very important, especially when she diligently wants to learn it. And something like Japanese is out of any Iowa ones wildest dreams, I would say. Um three, I would also propose um that the lifting of restrictions of the freshman academy core teachers and the 10th to 12th grade teachers not being allowed to teach freshman class. And I say this because a smaller school like Washington High School, it is imperative for us to use each teacher to their capacity and more than likely to be able to provide more sections and have less clashes for students wanting to take the desired schedule. I think it affects Washington High School more than any other school in the district. The situation at Wash is

061dire for us. We just about piece together a coherent schedule with enough sections to allow all students to take a rigorous and all-round variety of classes in their four years here without teacher cuts. Please, please, please consider waiting a year until your decisions on the funneling of the intermediate schools and other closures are finalized. Boundaries needs to be moved. We are landlocked and have many older families that still live in the southeast side without high school children. Quite frankly, sections lost are sections lost. Programming lost is programming lost. Teachers lost are teachers lost. In conclusion, I want you to look at the definition of equity. I found that it is the quality of being fair and just, especially in a way that takes account of and seeks to address existing inequalities. In order to achieve

062this at Wash, equity in numbers, ratios, enrollment numbers, and minimum class sizes will in reality create inequity, and that is both unacceptable and against the ethos of the CRCSD district. Let's be bold and think outside the box for solutions um to the budget deficit. Let's look at future connotations that would happen if something so drastic is to be enforced. Let's slow down and take stock of all the valuable and essential programming that will be lost uh with cuts and make sure they are protected and work on instead adding to our school as it continues to thrive. Let it all Let it always be a great day to be a warrior. Thank you. >> Our final speaker today is >> Ashlyn Clark on Washington High School. Good evening. Thank you to everyone who's spoken already on

063behalf of Washington High School. I don't have too much more to add, but also wanted to say thank you to the board and the administration for the work that you do during what I know is a very difficult budgeting process. I want to start by acknowledging something important that hard decisions and real cuts need to be made, and none of us envy the position that you're in. My family has three children who will be will be entering Washington High School over the next few years. We're thinking about the long-term strength of our schools. As you make these decisions, I would encourage the board to ensure that any reductions maintain a baseline of equal opportunity for students across all of our high schools. Every student in Cedar Rapids should have access not just to core academic

064classes, but also to the programs that make schools great. Activities, like has been spoken about tonight, speech, performing arts, and other extracurriculars, as well as AP classes that build confidence, creativity, and community. As we make hard choices, those choices can also create space for new pathways. For example, the International Baccalaureate program was central to my own public high school's success. Differentiating itself from other public, uh private, and suburban public options. Programs like IB could help differentiate our public schools and strengthen them against private and other alternative, um alternatives. I would also encourage the board to keep a 5-year horizon in mind. Decisions made today will shape enrollment, teacher commitment, and family engagement for years to come. Thank you so much. >> That concludes our public comment, and I would just like to thank, uh specifically,

065our students, Jayden, Elena, Elizabeth. I think I got you all. Thank you for your courage in speaking. I know it's not hard, or it's not easy to get up and do this. It's not easy to get up and do it when you're an adult. So, I especially want to thank you for speaking out tonight. Um impressive future school board presidents right there. Next up, are there any board reports this evening? Director Timinsky. >> Uh I can start. I've got, uh the finance and facilities, uh committee uh report. So, during a recent facilities update, Chad Schumacher announced the opening of the third and final bid package for the Hoover and Van Buren projects. While initial figures are already promising, district does still plan on, uh to utilize value engineering to further savings. Uh, notably, change orders

066across Harrison, Washington, Jefferson, Hoover, and Van Buren sites remain below the 3% industry average. Um, I think I actually asked for a few slides, so please don't be jealous on other community reports that don't have slides. Um, but if you can switch to the next one, uh, Justin. This is, uh, you know, the folks that are on the committee, uh, when we saw this, this red line represents really an industry average of 3%. I think our district always tries to use two, cuz we're always trying to be better than industry average. But, I wanted to just remark that we're significantly below that already on the Jefferson, Washington, and Harrison projects, and we'll we'll soon find, I think we'll see uh, precisely that, potentially even lower, maybe, uh, for the Hoover and Van Buren. So, just

067wanted, uh, comments on that. Uh, Chad Schumacher also outlined the district's use of three distinct construction models. Uh, some might remember, cuz I do think we did this in a work session, but I thought I think we we thought that it um, it was it was worth kind of reiterating. Three different, uh, models that are typically used. Design-bid-build is probably the most common one. Uh, so, just the for me, the first comment is the model that we choose dictates who carries the financial risk and how early the builder gets involved. So, design-bid-build, as you can imagine, build, uh, the builder gets involved closer to the end than the beginning. So, you're working with the architect on the design, you send it out to bid, and then you're typically working on, uh, lowest cost, um, price

068to um, contractors then compete primarily on on price to win the work. Um, construction manager as agent, uh, is a model that actually shifts the dynamic of bringing the professional manager on board early to act as the owner's representative, but the district will still then manage all of those subcontracts. And then finally, the construction manager at risk CMAR as a model, um which is a gap between consulting and contracting. So, this brings that consultant in early, and then it also has that um person involved throughout the process to manage manage that risk. So, to note on the projects that we we're currently working on, which are five, uh Harrison is a design bid build um construction construction manager as agent, and Jefferson and Washington and Hoover and Van Buren are that CMAR project. So, um

069again, I thought that was worth mentioning cuz I think that the the one of the notes that we learned, I think uh Chad had commented that uh the district is currently managing 25 different contracts for the Jefferson project and 22 contracts for the Washington project. So, if you can just imagine the amount of work that that takes internally to do that. So, Chad was not the only one that spoke at the meeting, so if you bear with me just a few more seconds. Uh Chris Gates did provide progress reports on active sites, noting that Harrison Elementary is undergoing demolition while footing and foundation work begins. Similar foundation work is underway at Hoover Elementary, while Van Buren has completed its geo walls and is transitioning to build building pad preparation. Uh interior work, including drywall insulation,

070is advancing at the Jefferson CCR and the Freshman Academy wing at Washington CCR is nearing uh full enclosure. Uh during these updates, Chris Gates also reviewed the pebble budget. Carlette Hogan discussed integrating uh district reductions into the 2027 certified budget. Also, the district continues to evaluate consolidation models. Uh the district will be selling $116 million of save bonds and maintains an A+ bond rating ahead of a scheduled uh bond issuance in April. And that was a long report, so thanks for bearing with me. That's all of it. >> Thank you. Do we have any other directors who have a report? >> I have a legislative advocacy update here. Um, so, uh, it's been a busy um, couple weeks, months for those who've been um, paying attention to what's been going on in Des Moines. Um,

071but I think it is important to always mention that what's moving through the legislature right now um, has real consequences for our students, our staff, and our budget. And I know lots of people came up tonight and spoke about that as well, so thank you. Um, so first of all, school funding. I think most of us are aware of this, but um, the state supplemental aid, SSA, was set at 2% and has already been signed by um, the governor. And I just want to talk for a minute about what that means um, in practice. So, if I got my numbers right, this is the sixth consecutive year that SSA has come in below the rate of inflation. And for 89 of our school districts in Iowa, that uh, 2% increase actually represents a net budget

072cut despite that increase. Um, low SSA continues to be a significant driver of that pressure. Secondly, um, the second funnel deadline is March 20th, so we're just um, a few weeks away from that. Um, what that means is that bills that don't clear a committee in the opposite chamber by Friday the 20th are effectively dead for the year. Um, so that makes the next two weeks um, critical. And so now is the time to be contacting, emailing legislators. Um, of note though, even though the bill may be dead, there's still an opportunity before the end of the session for amendments and things like that to be added in, so always important to continue to pay attention. Um, which next that brings us to our unfunded mandates that I'd like to just uh, talk about for

073a second. Um, because our SSA was set at 2%, that means that um, it's going to be really hard for us to fund anything additional. Um, so this session both chambers have advanced a number of bills that would require districts to take on brand new responsibilities like nutrition standards, expanded physical education, play-based learning in early childhood, and more. Um, some of these reflect ideas that have broad support even across our party lines, and we want to recognize that that matters. Our legislators have been doing a lot of work, especially today. Um, in today's climate, just to work together to get things done for our kids. Um, the challenge is that those good intentions, they don't pay for staff time, training, new materials, or even scheduling restructuring. And so, when mandates arrive without funding, even our

074well-meaning ones, um, make it really difficult to enforce things. Um, when our implementation timelines are tight, the districts don't have adequate time to await state guidance, develop local policies, train staff, or being proposed for us that we want to, um, be able to enact, um, we have to just tell our legislators repeatedly that, um, at this point, you know, if you believe in this work, we need you to fund it, and give us the time also to do it right. Secondly, thirdly, I just want to give a quick update on what our committee has been up to. Um, last month, our legislative committee hosted the Public School Strong team from Iowa's Citizens for Community Improvement. Um, Public School Strong is a nationwide initiative advocating for increased public school funding. If you'll remember, we passed our,

075um, a resolution to advocate for 5% um, SSA. We have two, um, and then to phase out our, um, voucher program in the next 5 years. Um the next meeting, so you're all invited to attend, everyone watching or here um tonight. Um our next organizational meeting is March 18th at the Cedar Rapids Public Library in Beems Room A. Please join us if you can. Your voices are incredibly important. You know, our job is to make sure that legislators hear from the people who run these schools, who send our kids to our schools, and the families who depend on them, and community members. Um just as a reminder, the second funnel deadline is March 20th. Make your calls, send your emails. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any other board reports? >> Uh mine will be very

076quick because we're going to come back to it as part of the uh regular agenda, but continues to be an honor to serve with a number of community members on the strategic plan executive committee as we've met the options and determined recommendations to bring back to the school board based on that board resolution that was passed. Um the committee did meet again Friday afternoon for a couple of hours, and when we get to the item on the agenda, we'll talk through some of the things that came out from that. So, that's the first part of the board update. >> Okay. Director Garlock? >> Yes, I have a couple board reports actually. Uh first we'll start with the academic and achievement core committee. Uh we met on February 16th. Uh we got reports from all three

077of the executive directors in that department. Sarah Cruzi, the executive director of special ed, talked about the various types of outreach they are doing to the community. Uh they've uh started a department newsletter that is going out. They have a parent panel that they have participated in. Uh they are also trying to establish a corridor-wide collaboration effort. Um in addition to that, they're also paying special attention to the reorganization models and how that might impact the special special ed. Nicole Brown from curriculum and instruction talked a little bit about the winter screening data, the assessment data. We'll be getting some of that data shortly, but she was quite confident that there were some improvements being shown and we'll get an update at a board meeting. They're also doing some planning for their professional learning for

078next year. Also working on how to transition the instructional empowerment model so that we are using our own staff here to further train other staff members. And as well, her department is studying school consolidation models and helping that executive team with data to support their decisions. Jen Van Fleet, who is the executive of student services, executive director of student services, gave us an update on behavior and we always like to report the the great news and there was definitely good news in the behavior data. Our major referrals are down 5% across the district. Physical aggression is down nearly 10% across the district. And while this might sound a little odd, it's actually a good thing. Our in-school suspension rate is up significantly because our out-of-school suspension rate is down significantly. So, it is much better

079for us to be able to keep students in school and provide them the support rather than an out-of-school suspension where there is no support. Jen also reported on discipline practices and just how the district is emphasizing supportive measures rather than punishment. There was a piece of legislation that we talked about briefly that was a bit concerning House File 2122 which actually makes it better for schools to expel or do out of school suspensions. It actually moves the school district up in safety rankings which for us makes not much sense. We want to keep our kids in school where we can provide support and services. And the last area that Jen reported on was the priorities in student services, curriculum, attendance. I don't know if anyone has seen our our friend Justin and his attendance Olympics.

080If you haven't seen it, find it on the Facebook page because it's pretty incredible. They are also looking at community partners and how to equitably distribute peace facilitate facilitators and therapists, working on standard operating procedures and how to deal with the budget reductions. So, that's academic and achievement core committee. My my last report I'm going to take you back in time for just a moment back to December of 2023. We were invited to a meeting at the time Director Timinsky who was board president and we were invited to a meeting with the gentleman by the name of John Zakrasek. He represents the Linn County Clean Energy District. We, Director Timinsky, myself, Chad Schumacher, Chris Gates, we've had ongoing conversations with John Zakrasek and what we've been looking at is the feasibility of looking into using

081solar energy in some some of our buildings to see if we can reduce our carbon footprint, to see if we can reduce our expenditures on energy costs. Those conversations have been ongoing, but we are now sort of at a point where we need to make some some decisions. John has been working with a gentleman in California at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. They've been doing some modeling of our costs to see if investigating solar is feasible for us or not. And it looks like at this point there is some potential. So, with sort of a quick timeline here, we are going to be asking the board to attend a special session on Thursday, a special work session, to learn more about this project and determine if we want to go forward. Basically, the next step

082would be to issue a request for proposals. And have the providers look at our school buildings, do their own studies, and tell us whether this would be feasible or not. It's uh We're sort of under the gun here because there are tax incentives that that will be expiring soon. And in order for the providers to providers and investors to to take advantage of the tax incentives, we would have to have the project started by July of this year. So, we're you're going to hear a lot more about the details. Right now, broad general picture is right now there is absolutely no risk to us as a district. There is no financial input by the district at this point. It would be a group of investors who uh the materials, do the installation, do the maintenance,

083and we would enter into an agreement with them to purchase electricity from them at a cheaper rate than we currently are. Um according to the modeling that that um Gerald and John have come up with, there is potentially a substantial savings for the district. So, in this time of budget cuts and trying to figure out how we make a little bit go a lot further, this would be one area that I think definitely we want to look at and investigate and see what the potential is. So, Thursday, I think you got a calendar invite for a special work session where we will Chad will be here to walk us through more of the details on that. Thank you. >> Director Byers, do you have a report? >> I think the final one, right? >> Okay.

084That's a lot of reports for us today. >> Um I do want to uh take a moment to clarify something that I previously shared in an earlier conversation about GS-JSA, I stated that it had the highest population of black and brown students in our district. Uh while it is one of the buildings with a higher concentration, it is not the highest. Um and I take a moment to share this because in our role, it's important that we're willing to think critically, reflect, correct ourselves when we get something wrong. And I'm really gracious to our grateful to our uh building leaders and educators who trust us enough to have honest conversations uh that deepen our understanding of what's happening in our schools. So, when we speak from the dais or in this very large room at

085the front, um it may not always be representative of the full picture, and it's important that we acknowledge that so we can improve and grow. All right. Uh the HR report here. Okay, the recruitment and retention core committee met this morning and received updates from human resources on several key areas. There was a lot of buzz. There's like a buzz of excitement in the room um because we were celebrating some really strong recruitment efforts. The HR team attended a career fair at the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa last week where there was significant interest in Cedar Rapids. They returned with over 30 potential candidate resumes which are being shared with principals as we prepare for anticipated vacancies. I think this is just a reminder that there's some really incredible stories coming

086out of Cedar Rapids schools and these recent graduates and young teachers are hearing about those which is wonderful. We also reviewed the district's current staffing picture by building. HR shared that district expects significantly fewer staffing adjustments than last year and remains committed to minimizing disruptions for students and staff. For any employees who may be impacted, HR will provide individualized support throughout the placement process. And as decisions as the decisions are finalized, buildings will communicate any course offering adjustments with students and families. Finally, we received a reminder about the STARS Principal Pathway Capstone night which is taking place on March 25th and we learned that two HR team members serve on the district's strategic plan executive committee to ensure alignment between staffing work and long-term planning. I'm sure Dr. Lanman will go into further detail but

087the community cabinet meeting was also past week and I just want to say it was really well attended and we appreciate the steady engagement of members of that committee. Makes a huge difference. So, thank you. Thank you. Any other board reports? Okay. We will now hear from Dr. Lanman. >> Wonderful. Thank you, President Newman. I'll try to move through my eyes. Just maybe just to build on some of the reports that were presented earlier. I'll start with priority area number one as we continue to be focused on our four key priority areas. Safe and secure learning. Just do want to acknowledge that we received a bronze tier in the Crisis Go Safety Innovation Certification Program. This achievement is a testament to our district's commitment to safety, our adoption of key security measures. This is the

088first year that all of our administrators, they've been working on crisis go behind the scenes. This does allow us to have more timely responses to any concerns in our schools and having coordinated messages and hopefully we can respond in a timely manner to support our schools. Hopefully our parents have been experiencing um increased communication in our ability to be able to address needs. The next one is priority area number two, prepare for life. So, Director Gerlach, you mentioned about our attendance. I would have to echo. I think the exciting part is watching just to do the videos, but I'll give just a couple of highlights here. As we think about historically within our school district during the winter months, we usually see a little bit of a decline or slump, what we call our February

089slump. So, the team decided to come up with an attendance Olympics competition. So, thank you to the student support services and our communications team. So, they've been running a little bit of competition. All right, I guess they say a little competition doesn't hurt anyone. And so, with that being said, you can kind of see some of the medals that's been earned across our areas, feeder patterns. And so, really appreciate all of the efforts. And while we enjoy celebrating our students, I think the most important thing we just want to say thank you to our families. We know life happens, a lot of things to address, but it really is important to us that our students attend school so that they can get the best education possible. And that will help us to continue to work

090towards our goal. We do have a goal of at least 980% of our students will attend school at least 90% of time. And right now we're at 72.7%. I will say also with your efforts, while we're still working towards our goal, that this is the highest attendance that we've seen in the month of February in years. So, please keep bringing your students to school every day. The next one is priority area number three in regards to partnerships. And as mentioned by Director Byers, we did have our community cabinet along with our teacher cabinet to continue to make sure that we are keeping engagement going and healthy conversations so that we can have ambassadors out there, but also so that they can give us feedback as we continue to move through different frameworks. One of our

091frameworks definitely is around having data-driven decisions and how we invest and utilize our partners. And just to give a really quick example of how important our community partners are, and I'm just going to shine a light tonight on Tanner Place and Kids First. As we've been working through some of the budget considerations as well as our staffing, our ability to partner with agencies in our community, it allows our dollars to go further. So, our community partnerships such as Tanner by partnering with them, we can provide professional therapy services within our schools for approximately $14,000 a therapist. We could never be able to hire at that rate ourselves. And that's an so for all the people that support these organizations, please know that it's making a difference for us. This is the first time that we've

092used more of a very data-driven approach to it, and now all of our schools have a level of services based on the number of students and students' needs. And that concludes my reports for tonight. >> Thank you. Moving on to our consent agenda, are there any items under which a director has a comment, question, or further discussion? Hearing none. Do we have a motion to to the consent agenda as written? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> This is a roll call vote due to the personnel report. Director Twinsky. >> Aye. >> Director Burns. >> Aye. >> Vice President Rozinsky. >> Aye. >> Director Byers. >> Aye. >> Director Garlock. >> Aye. >> President Newman. >> Aye. >> Thank you. Tonight we have updates on two topics. Actually, before we do

093that, I just want to make sure does any director require we take a recess or need a recess right now? We Everybody's okay? Okay. Tonight we have updates on two topics. The first is an update from the strategic plan executive committee on the work done so far as it relates to the board passed resolution on January 19th. I will now hand the meeting over for introductions from our strategic plan executive committee representatives. >> We're going to get a different perspective here. >> Yeah, it's a different view, right? Are you going to be able You want to go first? >> I don't care. >> Okay. >> Good evening. Jocelyn Hanna, principal at McKinley Steam Academy, member of the strategic planning executive committee. >> Hi, I'm Jason Klein, principal at Kennedy High School as well. >> And

094you know me, Scott Rozinsky from the school board, but also pleased to be part of the the committee that's working on this. >> Can you spell that last name? >> Yeah. >> So, we're going to go over just a few things about what the program's been doing, what the strategic committee's been doing, and then we'll go through the two different meetings that we've had. >> You want to go with me? >> Go ahead. >> All right. So, this committee has met now twice and it is made up of different community members, business leaders, and building principals. Our work is really grounded in that board resolution and those several key key priorities. So, some of those are listed right up there for you on the board. Making sure that we are looking at long-term financial impact

095to ensure strong return on that change that will happen for the community. We're looking at program access for our students. So, making sure that we're district-wide, we have we're able to compete with other districts, expand our access to early learning, fine arts, extracurricular activities, and athletics for all students across the district. We're looking at long-term facilities and that planning for that, especially around the facilities master plan. Looking at the feeder pattern and how we're making sure we ensure that feeder pattern and then that best geographical location. So, considering those high school boundaries, enrollment balance when we're looking at the locations. >> Sure. Sure. Yeah, sure. So, I I'll just mention the the reason I came out here and sit here is because we've we've got a couple of folks who are helping lead this as

096well as other members and apparently the weather is nice or something. They weren't able to be here. And so, I'm glad to be able to be part number one, be part of this group as well as be able to to speak and and serve as the board representative for this committee. So, obviously when we get all the the folks together in the room, we also have our subject matters matter experts from the district who are able to support us as well. And and lead us as Kyle Keep Weber and Jamie McGrath have stepped up to be our co-chairs from the community and then these two fine people next to me as well have been helping support that from a building admin perspective. >> So, our first meeting really focused around the research. So, we were

097able to get that was one of the things you guys had asked for in your board resolution was really focusing on the research and what does that research say for us? And the research that was provided to us really focused on the 5-8 model and then that 5-6-7-8, the intermediate model. And that was helped compiled and presented by Professor Dr. Liz Hollingsworth. And some of the key research themes as we went through that whole thing was that we know our grade configurations influences students belonging. We know transitions and academic that continuity for students is really important. We know fewer to school transitions support stronger student relationships and stability is what it shared in the themes. But the research did indicate fifth-graders should remain in the elementary setting as well as sixth-graders thrive in the elementary

098setting. So, that kind of our whole team was like, "Okay." with that piece of things. The 5-6-7-8, the intermediate model does raise concerns when we look at the number of transitions or that academic dip that occurs during those transition years. But the research did emphasize the need for intentional supports in transitions with that. So, if that is the model, it does really talk about what do those transitions and intentional supports look like? The K-6 model did show strong outcomes around relationships, stability, and during those critical years for us. A couple questions that came out of the committee really was, "What's the research about having preschool in buildings?" And those pieces of things cuz that was one thing that we talked a lot about that we're losing a ton of kids around. And then also the

099benefits of cohorting kids when they start in that fifth grade were two things that we just had questions after we went and reviewed all of that research as we talked things. And because that research really had a lot of strength around the K-6 model, the team really wanted to move to like look at does K-6 even work in what we do have for buildings. And so that really came out as a leader uh when we did a forced choice ranking at the end that the K-6 model came at the top, but understanding we don't know if it's going to fit within our current building inventory that we did have. Um then the intermediate model and then the 5-8 model. So those were kind of like the order as we did the forced choice um because

100we did really want to explore that K-6 model. Does it even work within our inventory? Cuz we can't just go build new buildings. So we have to fit it within our current inventory of models. >> So the second meeting we we uh brought back uh evaluations of what um we could do with the buildings that we do have. And what we found was that um although the research and the research really did focus actually on uh K-8 as a model, we already knew K-8 was not a feasible uh solution for us in this district. But even when we looked at the K-6, uh it was determined that we would be substantially short in classrooms uh throughout the district in being able to put that together um for the K-6 model. As well, the 5-8 model

101um caused uh significant strain on the buildings that we had in terms of being able to um actually offer what we're talking about offering at all of the buildings. Um and so we uh were short somewhere between one to nine classrooms depending on how you configure those models together. And that didn't take into account where the buildings were located, um geographic location, location to populations, uh etc. And so um we presented that information to uh the group uh and asked them to think about what does it look like if we try to go with a model that doesn't physically fit. Uh and the group um made the decision uh at that time to focus solely on the intermediate model because it will work within the configurations of the buildings that we have. In part uh

102because it will fit, but also in part because the research that Dr. Hollingsworth presented to us um did say that the transitions were problematic but could be overcome, but also emphasized that keeping fifth and sixth grade closer to an elementary setting is better than putting fifth with a middle school setting. Um and so by doing the intermediate model, we did discuss the fact that you can operate a fifth-sixth building very similar to an elementary school uh while still providing them with the benefits of uh what we what we can do uh program- program- programmatically. Uh-huh. We also discussed the transition supports that we would be able to provide uh including um pairing the fourth graders with their rising um intermediate school early on uh bringing them up to those schools for tours, uh doing activities

103between the two schools throughout their fourth grade year. Um we also talked about how the expectations could be strongly aligned because we would have pure feeder systems, and so every school and every student would know exactly where they're going. They would also know that they're going with their classmates to the next building and the next building and the next building. Um and we also looked at how we would be able to streamline IEP services, transitions for students with special needs by having a clear feeder system. Again, right now it's very broken. Some of the students go to one building, some go to another, and a lot of those buildings are in different areas and have different uh ser- uh special services supports. So, that would provide some more consistency there. Um and then uh working

104with PTAs and PTOs across the different buildings would allow for continuity with those programs as well. Uh parents would be encouraged to go from the intermediate to the middle school to the high school and continue on as leaders in their PTOs, um and they would be again with the same groups of people year after year. Um we did a protocol to decide discern um the strength that the room had for the intermediate model. We asked one was there any dissent to them intermediate model going forward and there was no dissent in the room. And then we asked for a fist to five with zero or one being I can't support this and five being I'm a champion of this and the entire room was fours or fives with the majority being fives. So we were

105very excited to see that we were able to get something forward with that group and we are going to take that information and go on to the next meeting looking at what we can do with boundaries and other logistical things that we need to solve. Are there any questions that we can answer for anyone? >> This is a usually inquisitive board. So this has been quite a process, right? We started with the ELT conversations, we went into the we gathered the community coalition, now the strategic group here. So I'm curious looking back at this process from your vantage point being involved from the beginning. Is there anything you wish the board or community better understood about how these decisions were made? Anything that we maybe haven't clarified or that you feel is important to note?

106I could go back way to the beginning. >> That is a tough question. Well, we could I could say that you know making sure that we um are clear with the community about one the transition supports that we can provide. I think that's going to be very important. I think as well making sure that we can show the pro programmatic benefits that we'll be able to offer most notably the pre-K in every every elementary school. Being able to offer sports and arts in the fifth sixth grades, getting students started in band orchestra choir in fifth grade instead of sixth grade as we do now. I think making sure the board is able to champion those parts of this because I think again the the community has said very clearly that that is what they want.

107That is what they're asking for and we want to make sure that we're offering a school system that our constituents want to take part in. Anything you can think of? >> Yeah, it's kind of weird to answer the what does the board need to know by being a board member, but but there's a couple of things and again we all receive a lot of the same emails. So one of the things that was really interesting to me was we've explored this is you know, we kind of think about that transition now of 6 to 8 as being middle school and obviously this changes things and so I know a lot of the emails that I've received were questions about how you run a middle school you know, in in a intermediate model with fifth and

108sixth graders and and what I've learned is you you don't. The the intermediate school is truly the next step of an elementary school and it allows you to start the transitions into middle school and get used to some of those things, but you're still operating much of it as an elementary school with again some of the opportunities around the fine arts and that sort of thing. So again something that's come up a lot and I've talked to a lot of people about but I I think it's important there. I'll throw out one other thing too. You know, with the the intermediate model is obviously the one that came out first. It's the what the community saw first. I'm this is me speaking not speaking for the board here, but I'm pleased that we took the

109step back. I think it's been the process has been important and the community coalition was hugely important to our process because I can now myself as a board member say, okay, we took a step back. We tried to put as many models that we could come up with on the table and we started working through those and and even that taking the time I know you know, it was a little bit jarring to say we've got these two in the in the resolution and then to step back and say but but this K-6 that the research shows that um I'm glad we took the time to go back and and check that and and see if that would work. I mean, the reality is here we're we're weighing a bunch of things against each other.

110And I said, if we were playing SimCity and we could do the demo button and then build a building to meet the exact need in the exact spot we need, this would be easier. I'm not sure it'd be cheaper, but it would be easier to do. And and but we are working under constraints of of budget. We're working under constraints of the buildings that we have available in the locations they are available and where our students live. And so, again, I I appreciate the the patience and the time of the board and the work of these two individuals as well as that whole community coalition and now this uh the strategic planning executive committee in taking a look at this. >> I think it's the first time tonight is I appreciate your comments, but hearing

111that, you know, fifth, sixth, almost treating it like an elementary logical next step from, you know, pre-K to four, but I just want to make sure that what I'm not hearing is that we're taking opportunities away from sixth graders um because right now people would say 6-7-8 is middle school. So, treating sixth graders more like elementary school, can you maybe just elaborate on that so that we're clear on what the opportunity might look like um in the new model for sixth graders specifically? >> I wrote that on my feedback sheet. When I had to do my first choice is I don't want a model that takes things away from sixth graders cuz they do get a lot of opportunity. And so, it's like you would plan that with each other, but we didn't. I think

112sixth graders in this model, actually fifth and sixth graders are going to get more opportunities. So, they are looking at having those same music opportunities. So, choir, orchestra, um band for them, intramurals, which is harder to do right now for like sixth graders because the gym space is consumed by seventh and eighth graders all the time starting at 6:45 in the morning. We'll be able to expand some of those opportunities. Um looking at what type of and we haven't gotten in the nitty-gritty of that yet of like what exploratories do they get, you know, in a traditional elementary they have art, um, music, PE. What does that look for a 5-6 as we take the next step to get them used to what is in middle school where they have tons of choices from that.

113So, that is we don't want to take away from sixth graders because that's when they start to shine and figure out who they are. And so, those are some of those things that we have talked about really about the music part of things. >> If I can just one more question. So, we've heard a lot about transitions, right? And that the more transitions it's it's just clearly not better, right? So, the least amount of transitions as possible. Clear that the K-6 just doesn't work in our system, but do you anticipate that the committee talk at all about potentially needing additional staff because the transition? So, if you go to that intermediate where you got 5-6-7-8, more transitions, do you anticipate there needing to be more staff in that model? >> If I say yes, will

114you give me more staff? We did not discuss that. Uh, there was there was not, um, a specific, um, discussion about whether we would need more staff. It's really how you use your staff and how you connect those students to the new building. Um, one of the things that Dr. Hollingsworth pointed out was that the the best model that she advocated for was the K-8 model. Um, so, never taking kids out of a building and keeping them in the same place all the time, uh, which is not in all way any way feasible in our district with the buildings that we have. But, um, when you look at those transitions being, um, challenging, it's not really the number of people that you have working with kids. It really is, I think, about how those people

115work with kids. And also again that social connection that kids have together moving together from building to building. The other thing, too, is that, um, one of the things that she didn't explore was the transition from pre-K to kindergarten. And that transition will be eliminated for most of our students under this model. Um so, we add a transition in one point, but we reduce a transition in another. And we also know that um our families, when they start in pre-K with us, they tend to stay in the district, and that to us seems like a really logical step in keeping them here by starting them in our buildings early on. >> I also think with the transitions, I'm in a very lucky spot that all of my feeder elementary schools come to my middle school.

116So, I get to spend a lot of time transitioning, and I get to go do things with my schools cuz I have my three elementary schools. So, I started at America Reads Day. I go down and I read to them. Um I've attended some of their PTO meetings, and so those things are much easier cuz I am one of the only middle schools that has a straight feeder in my system, and so I get to see things. I get to know what's happening. We can have our kids go down, and so I I can see the benefit of those things now. >> Director Garlick? >> Yeah, can you talk a little bit about the thinking around Truman Truman Early Learning? I know we maybe haven't come to any final decision on that yet, but um

117on the graphic, it looks like that could potentially stay while we get pre-K organized in the buildings. Is that sort of the predominant thinking right now? >> Yeah, we haven't really gotten to the details of that piece of things. So, if that was one that would close once we get pre-K in there, then that does add an additional savings for us. But we also know we need to be thoughtful in how it all rolls out across all the buildings. >> One of the things that we um don't know is if we can offer full-day pre-K in every single elementary numerically at this point. So, keeping Truman open at least for that first year is going to be important to making sure we can make that available to our families. >> I know we've um yeah,

118I know we've just had lots of time to examine and ask questions about some of these specifics. So, some Some may, you know, already um be covered, but I really just want to I know that there's a lot of teachers that are wanting to kind of get to these next steps, right? We want clarity on like uh where what to expect when moving forward. So, I'm just grateful for all the groups that have been involved in participating in this. I think it's also important to, you know, many of the people that are on these groups have families, they have commitments, and they're spending their evenings with us, and so I just think that's really huge. And to our executive team and our our cabinet leads who are, you know, spending hours when I'm sure they

119want to be, you know, also with families or maybe out at some events and other things in our community that are pertaining to the school district. So, I just I think that I'm really excited to kind of get to get to this point where we we see what's ahead and we can create those levels of of supports for that next phase and and what that looks like going forward. So, I just wanted to uh pay respects to everybody that's been involved in the process and all the amount of hours that have gone into this. It's much appreciated. Thank you. Any other directors have questions or comments? Okay. Thank you very much, and I echo Director Byers' sentiment. Thank you so much for your work on this and to the community coalition before that. Um more

120to come. Thank you. All right. Back to my agenda. Okay. Uh the second topic tonight is staffing impact report, and we will hear from the chief of schools. Good evening. Mark Zimmerman, chief of schools for area three, and I'm going to start off the first couple slides talking about timeline and the process that we used, and then we're going to talk about budget and things like that, and then actual impacts on schools. So, um our first slide um it just talks about the timeline that we discussed uh in the past and the voluntary retirement program kicks us off. That's in February. And then the slide that has the dark band around it, the next slide gets into greater detail about that. But that's where the process about where people learn of their staffing allocations in

121the campuses and then the Chiefs follow up and talk about what does that mean and bring it back to cabinet and back and forth. Um, after spring break, uh, any staff that find out that their position might be eliminated, um, go into the surplussing process and our our HR department and union work very hard to try to make sure those people are placed in positions where they're certified to teach and that they have a position in our district. And that uh that I I remember that from last year how diligently they worked on that. So it's it's really remarkable that we got so many people placed. Uh, after that, then people notify, um, HR notifies the people that are in the surplus pool and then kind of how the process is going. And then from

122April through July, as either other resignations, um, happen or occur, we try to keep that in mind for our current staff so we can fill those within. So that moves us to our second slide, which is this is the process, um, that we followed. And so first of all, all the all the principals receive the staffing, um, prospectus is what it's called and it's their buildings allocation for staff and it lists everything. Um, everything from secretaries to nurse, counselors to teachers to para like not paraprofessionals, um, but other um, support staff in their buildings. So that is when they get that information. So then for the next few weeks, we allocated three weeks for the Chiefs of Schools to meet with every principal individually uh in their school to talk about what's the impact, uh

123how does um making any additions or reductions affect their their staff. Um, through that, Chiefs bring that information back to um our own small group of Chiefs, but then to the cabinet to talk about the impact in the schools as we see it and then we have further discussion like is that what we want to see going forward do we have to make adjustments because the staffing model is essentially an algorithm it's not a person and so what we do is we bring the human side to it so we talk about so how's that impact people how does it impact kids how does that look like in teaching and learning in the schools when we suggest these either additions or reductions. Moving forward then the fourth phase which is going to be after spring break

124so the first three bullets that's refining and just learning about the staffing as it's been presented and that's where we're at right now on March 27th we hope to land on a final staffing model so we can make decisions and move forward with the surplusing process and then finally phase five is May June and July and the Chiefs and Carla and anybody else that can be helpful around what does our enrollment look like where are schools filling up where are they not as full do we have to adjust where staff members are because we want to make sure we have the right number of teachers in the schools that have larger classes and so on. And so that's what our spring May June and July and summer look like trying to adjust and make sure

125we are appropriately staffed in each of those places. From there Carla takes us to the financial part of it. >> Thanks Mark. So we've talked about the strategic budget and in December we ran the staffing model and so in January we presented numbers to the board for the strategic budget and so we talked about during the reductions that we would be decreasing by 33.3 or 2.8 million dollars that was our anticipated reductions and um through a lot of conversations Uh the Chiefs going out and meeting with all the buildings and the building principals and leadership talking about what does that actually look like and how are all those buildings impacted? And so we're coming back tonight uh with an adjustment to the the FTE. And so uh we're looking to decrease uh teachers by 19.7,

126which is 1.56 million dollars. And so over here on the left-hand side, you'll see all of the secondary schools and what their December staffing model projection looked like and what the proposed revision is to those staffing numbers. Um and so we're asking um that they re- revised uh to uh 7.7 uh 7.7 FTE reduction um at the secondary, so our middle schools and our high schools. And um we will continue uh with the elementary uh FTE reduction of 12. Um So, our original And And so, the modification of the reduction plan is actually 1. Uh 24 million dollars. You can go to the next slide. There you go. 1.24 million dollars. And so, in the middle of the screen in the box, you'll see um what our deficit was that that we projected in um

127January. Our original budget deficit was approximately 12.15 million dollars. And during January uh through those decisions of taking reductions, not taking reductions, um we came up with 12.87 million dollars in reductions. Uh so, the board approved um 720,000 dollars in excess reductions. And this created flexibility in staffing allocations for the district. So, as the district followed the staffing process through the model to allow for right-sizing, we had a contingency plan in case additional allocations were necessary. So, tonight we're going to use that $720,000 of excess and then about $500,000 of of vacancies from FY26 to cover the $1.24 million. So, um the $500,000 in vacancy is about 300,000 or or 5.875 FTE in certified staff, 150,000 or 4.875 in FTE of transportation, uh $50,400 one FTE in buildings and grounds. And those vacancies have uh

128been there all year. So, if it was a vacancy that is a position that started on which should have started on July 1, that vacancy has been there the entire school year. If it's a vac- if it's a position that would start during the school year, it was a vacancy that has been unfilled that entire time. Um so, then we will use the rest of this year to monitor all of all of the rest of the vacancies for the district and validate which ones can be pulled for uh our FY27 budget. So, when we look at the $4 million deficit uh from FY26 that we're rolling forward, we're saying now that we know that that could be will be uh less than $3.5 million. Now, Riles and Adam will share information on staffing allocations by

129level. >> Hi, Riles Parker, Chief of Schools for Area 2. So, I'm going to talk a little bit about the impact of these reductions on our elementary buildings. So, like Carla spoke to, we are recommending that we keep the reduction of 12 FTE across all of our elementary schools. Um just for context, so far um, we have 10 FTE, um, leaving our district through retirement or resignations. Also important to note that our biggest months for retirements or not for retirements, for resignations is May and June. So, we're we're yet to get there. So, we pretty feel pretty confident we can do, um, these reductions with people who are choosing to to leave our district. Um, it's also important to note that with these, uh, changes, our class sizes and caps will remain the same. There's

130no change to that for the upcoming year. And what really drives where we are able to add staff or where we maybe need to make reduction is the flow of students in and out of different buildings. Um, especially with our smaller elementary, a couple families moving in or out can really determine, uh, how many sections of maybe a grade we need to offer. So, that does shift a lot, um, even between now, um, and the beginning of school for 26-27. That would be like a plug for please enroll, please submit a permit if you want to do that, please verify. That really helps us know where everybody's going to land and really limits the movement of teachers across our district as we move through the spring and the summer. Some highlights for what we've been

131able to do is that next year we're going to increase our special ed programming specific to functional communication classrooms. Um, not everybody kind of understands what that is. That's, um, specialized programming generally for students who are on the spectrum. That's That's what that is. Um, we will be able to maintain our SEBH supports that we've added to our elementary buildings this year and had a lot of good initial success with that. So, we want to maintain that. It's been the feedback from our administrators. We are going to remain, uh, intact when our with our specials FTE. We've gotten that message loud and clear from our folks. And we also know that we may be in a bit of a bridge year year next year. So, we don't want to do any adjustments to our specials,

132um, at that time. Our principals have autonomy when it comes to their backpack funds. I know you've heard a lot about the backpack. Darris does a good job of explaining that. Um, we have some positions up there that our principals have chosen to use those funds for going into the upcoming year. Some things that we're adding are large elementary facilitators to those four buildings. That's going to help us create a blueprint for how we want to better support our large elementary, especially knowing that next year again might be a bridge year towards some larger elementary that will be opening in our system and we've gotten feedback that we we love these new buildings. We love all the the opportunities they provide our students, but we need to make sure we provide equitable access to supports.

133We're going to start uh walking into that space next year so that we can learn a lot from those positions and better understand for the 27-28 school year of what we need to provide those buildings for our students and staff. >> Yes, when we look at our secondary schools, um we went from just over 21 uh FTE to a proposed 7.7. Um similarly with the backpack funds and autonomy, um that's where uh schools and principals got to say this is what we need. Um I think that what as we have heard tonight and just a special call out to the Wash family um and the principals that have worked with us, um electives have been a huge portion of what we've been talking about and of what we're adding back to protect. Um knowing that

134we're walking into a bridge year likely, um we wanted to say how do we protect those this year? Um how do we make sure that those opportunities are made whole for the kids that are in there and we work towards future years building those opportunities into our staffing model that can catch those on the front end to say what is the standard. I think um Tyler Olson said it at the end of his remarks um last meeting. What is that standard? It's a great question for us to answer in this next version um where it's built into the algorithm so we can answer that collectively um and work forward in that. And so I'm I'm grateful for the principals. Um these were lots of hard conversations, lots of saying how are we going to do

135this? How are we going to get there? Um and I think we've largely um made great progress in that um and we're not all the way there. Um we still have until March 27th that we'll be working with them um to finalize. And with that, we can take questions and I invite the other chief schools Carl up. >> Okay. Thank you very much. Questions from directors? Director Byers? >> Yeah, I just wanted to clarify then that just so I have this right, the 720,000 is excess. Those are from the cuts that we had in that resolution that were sort of baked in as additional funds for us to utilize in these purposes. And then kind of tagging on that way walking up is um you're saying that we we achieved that through that and then

136also the supplemental and backpack. Is there anything else I'm missing? I just want to get a full picture of where those funds are coming from and how we're allocating them. >> Yep, so the 720,000 is from what our assumptions were and then we know that in January we approved a board resolution for the 12.87 million dollars in reductions. The supplemental backpack adjustments that were made through the resolution are still there. So that's based on enrollment. So any school that had declining enrollment will have less funds in their supplemental backpack. It also depends on how many free and reduced students they have. So if their free and reduced percentage went up then they'll have more funds. If it went down, they'll have less. >> Anything else to add? >> No. >> Did that answer your question?

137>> Okay. >> Are there questions? >> Man, I would just commend you on finding that, you know, it's I think that when we were looking at all the budget cuts over the last few months just looking at this stuff, I I remember that number was higher than we needed it. So I appreciate everybody getting creative and just going to work and and doing this cuz this is obviously a major concern. Um Adam, maybe a question. I just want to make sure there's the clarity that you know, this isn't like a want like we're talking about a gap, right? Cuz it's a lot lot of stuff in the community about like, "Hey, there's lots of changes that are coming up. So, why would we cut now if we're going to add back?" Um but I think

138I'm also hearing you say that these electives are clearly important. So, making sure that we find a way in the model to to keep those not just like, "Hey, let's put them back this year just hopefully everybody gets quiet." And you know, it's like this is clearly important to everybody. So, I just want to make sure I heard that correctly. >> Yeah, that's right. And so, there is some one-time money being used um this year with the intention of planning for that into the next year. Um but we've looked at all of our funding sources to make sure that in this bridge year we can make the schools whole and make sure that those opportunities still exist and plan forward. >> Maybe just one more thing. Just you know, I think you know, we have

139the luxury of hearing what the staffing model over and over again. This is one of those places where I think that you know, talking about the back back trying to like figure it out in terms that people can understand. The staffing model is trying to make that as clear as possible so everybody truly understands how that's working. You know, to know that declining enrollment means less teachers is one thing, but then there's all these other add backs. So, you know, just for us to continue to work and I think that's for all of us board members to make sure that we fully understand it and then when we're getting questions from the community that we're able to explain it in a way that there is a long process. And so, I do think that effort

140of being transparent and showing people all of the work that goes into it does create some uncertainty. So, trying to figure out how do we eliminate that uncertainty and just say trust the process. We're going to find a solution. So. >> Thank you. >> Thanks again. >> Hey, David, you took the words right out of my mouth actually. Um I don't really have a question, but I think um our conversations around the staffing model and our conversations around the reorganization model do show exactly what Director Timinsky is referring to. These big decisions are process. And we start in one place and it's not necessarily where we end up at. So it is really critical for the community, the public to understand that we are trying to like show you how the sausage is getting made

141and sometimes it's a convoluted path and I I appreciate everyone that shows up to advocate for their school and their community. Like you guys that know me know I'm all about showing up and speaking up. So I appreciate that. I'm also asking that you always have some patience with us as we let this process work its way through. So I think the reorganization model that we heard about, we started in one place, we went through the process, took a little side roads, came back to the same place. Here we started in one place and we're ending in a different place. So it every process is different, but it's definitely a process. So thank you. >> Thank you. Director Timinsky, Vice President Timinsky. >> That's okay. I'll do it by anything. Hey, again, yeah, thank you.

142I'll reiterate the appreciation to those here in the room and and to our building leadership as well and the time that they've taken and to those of you that have spoken here tonight or sent us emails and shared your thoughts. The the beautiful thing that comes out of that is you get to see the compassion, the care and the the fight that our community has to make sure we're providing equitable and and quite frankly fantastic educational experiences for our students. I I did just want to kind of throw out there and I think you kind of touched on this, Director Timinsky. This will work for this year, but the work that is at the strategic planning executive committee today that was with the community coalition before that that's been through the conversation here and through

143the work of many people. That is critically important that we don't come back and have the conversation again because that will free up the the staff to be in schools where the students are at a larger number that we may we can apply the staff more efficiently to that process. It helps us to equalize and and right-size the attendance numbers and buildings which is going to be critical to making that model work and and making sure we're doing this and and can do it in a fiscally responsible manner. So, we've got some work ahead of us, but appreciate you helping us get through this year to to put us on the right track for that. >> Thank you. I just have a couple. So, again I'll echo everyone else and say honestly thank you. As

144we look at what's happening around our neighboring schools in other districts and across the state, it just I'm really proud of the work that that you all have done. Just knowing that there are some districts making some really tough decisions and I feel like we are in a as decent of a place as we possibly can be given the situation. A couple of questions that and I think Vice President Dziwinski did a good job of kind of answering with this. And a lot of questions I've been getting from community members involved things like why don't we just leave everything the same this year? Why are we putting a staffing model into effect right now? And I think you answered some of those questions, but I would just like if you could just for the record

145just to clarify why that's so important that we're making these changes now. >> I can talk at least I can speak about the elementary level cuz we see a lot of shifts there. So, the reason we can't leave everything the way it is right now, is because the students have moved to other places. So, if we kept the staff um exactly where they are now, we wouldn't have adequate staff in some buildings to meet the needs of either people moving into those neighborhoods because we do have places in our city where we have new homes, new apartment complexes going up every week. So, students are moving there. So, we have to reallocate staff to those places. Um we also have a very robust permit process where we allow school choice within our district and that

146means students do move um to other schools. We want to honor those choices as best we can within our district. That means staff have to have to be there to serve um the needs of those students. So, that's why we can't leave things exactly as they are. >> Justin, could you go back to the slide with the secondary reductions on? The chart. You got it. The chart. Yeah, that one. Thank you. I think the other point I would add to is that these numbers are an algorithm and they say exactly what Royal said is that this is where kids are moving from. Um so, if we want the experience to stay the same, we need a higher concentration in those spaces to be able to offer the programming. Um and so, if we see those

147December models, that just tells us it's just information for us to say kids have left. Um and so, how are we going to fill that revenue gap um to make sure they get the the programming that we know they deserve and that we're capable of providing. Um and so, this new model making changes that affect our infrastructure are critical to making sure we're not in this position next year. >> Yeah, so we've been we've been sitting with this decision for a few months, right? And it has given me and all of us kind of time for to pause and reflect and um and there are just a few key areas, some of which have been touched on, but I felt uh it was important to just kind of jot some things down as I was

148thinking about it. So, I did pull it into more of a uh written statement. I I'm Sometimes when I get up here, my thoughts are a little jumbled or we talk in circles, but we're human and and these are complicated topics. So, I do want to make sure that we're clarifying that I'm being clear so there's not like any confusion. But so just kind of going the chain of events earlier this year, we talked about that the 12.8 million in reductions and it was just a lot there was a lot of information that we processed at once, right? It's pretty unprecedented. None of us have been in that situation before and there were areas we were really thorough and then others where we may have where room to grow, right? That we we can slow

149down and engage even deeper in that moment. But I'm really grateful that we just took the time to closely examine these concerns across the board. Um, bringing things to here now for tonight's meeting, I you know, I did request the specific staffing numbers ahead of the meeting. We are seeing them tonight in real time here. And for an item that really has generated this much concern and feedback, it does put us in a in a tricky position as a board. So, from a governance standpoint, I do think it's necessary that we have the information in advance so we can take the time to process, you know, any implications that this might have before making a decision in the moment. But looking ahead, I wanted to send out a a few items for our board just

150to consider and we can come back to it, but I do think we have this opportunity to provide greater clarity about we what we do expect from high schools. We've talked about that here tonight. I really like the idea of us being able to truly say, you know, what is a strong, well-rounded and equitable high school experience across all of our schools in our district, specifically to high schools and in tonight's conversation. Um, and then what are the minimum standards we believe every student should have access to regardless of which building they attend across all grade levels. Defining this clearly I think would help all of us guide our future decisions and ensure that we can continue to operate in fairness and with intention. Um specific to you know sort more in the middle and

151high school but I also want to recognize that when we have new principals stepping into leadership roles or current leaders are asked to sort of navigate these new staffing realities, they may be doing so under very challenging circumstances. It's important that you know we we have made these adjustments but it's important that we ensure they're supported and not placed in situations where the expectations are really high but the structures needed for the structure or for that success is missing. So you know we can see that across some of our middle schools. I understand we have changes coming but I just think something for us to recenter on and because our responsibility is to make sure the conditions exist for them, the leaders and the entire school community to succeed. And then the third as we

152make the decision, I'm also thinking about just longer term implications. So buildings, you know, we have asked buildings for what I can see to adjust without the funds they were previously relied on. So they've had to pull to really get to where we are right now, right? So from a district perspective, trying to understand what are some steps that we can take to ensure we don't find ourselves in the same position this year. I know we've touched on that but really figuring out if there's an opportunity for us to have a more strategic plan around this that involves building leaders, community input so we can just have a more grounded and sustainable path forward. Um and then just wrapping up with you know we the purpose of the model is to create consistency across the

153district. Um so when the inconsistencies appear, you know, it is really important that we sit and take a look at them. So I'm really grateful we've done that. Um we are in year two. Uh we're we're always making adjustments along the way. We are learning. Um so if we are learning then there's certainly questions that the community has and I'm really um grateful people have stepped up to ask them. Um I'll end with we balance a strong process with thoughtful outcomes allowing our procedures to guide us while remaining flexible enough to respond to real challenges, we can demonstrate what collaborative leadership looks like. So, I'm feeling really encouraged about where we're headed, um not because this is easy, this is very much not easy, none of us have found this to be easy, um but

154because we're working in organization uh with ourselves around that bigger picture. So, educators, leaders, community members engaging in these conversations um in a respectful and productive way that really has kept the bigger picture in focus, which we heard public comment, we've heard through emails, we've heard in conversation with our board at these meetings, um it just reminds us that we're um operating as a community. So, appreciate the time. Thank you. Anyone else? Thank you very much. I would just like to round this out with um for all the passion and um celebrations that we heard and achievements that we talked about tonight of all these great students, um let's take this fight to our community. Let's take this fight to our legislators and demand funding. Let's tell our neighbors what makes our schools great. Let's

155tell them what makes it the right choice for their family. Help us celebrate your students. Help us celebrate staff by being uh a part of the team moving forward. You're all a part of the team tonight and all of the input that's gone into this so far. I This is a hard process and I really appreciate our community sticking with us through this and um and thank you for your time tonight. With that, we now have five items to approve um under administration tonight. So, the first item is the approval of the strategic budget realignment staffing allocation adjustments 2026-27 school year. Um on item one, are there any questions from board members? Is there a motion to approve the strategic budget realignment staffing allocation adjustments 2026-27 school year? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All

156those in favor say I. >> I. >> Opposed say nay. Motion passes. Moving on to the resolution supporting the proposed issuance of approximately $15 million in school infrastructure sales service and use tax revenue bonds. Are there any questions for Carla? Okay. Is there a motion to approve the resolution supporting the proposed issuance of approximately $15 million in school infrastructure sales services and use tax revenue bonds? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor say I. Opposed say nay. Motion passes. Next is the resolution declaring an official intent to issue debt to reimburse the school district for certain original expenditures paid in connection with specified projects. Do we have any questions for Carla? Is there a motion to approve the resolution declaring an official intent to issue debt to

157reimburse the school district for certain original expenditures paid in connection with specified projects? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor say I. Those opposed say nay. Motion passes. Next is the resolution budget guarantee 2026-27 school year. Are there any questions from directors? Okay. Is there a motion to approve the resolution budget guarantee 2026-27 school year? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor say I. Opposed say nay. Motion passes. The last administration item is a request school budget review committee special education administrative cost 2025-2026 school year. Are there any questions? Is there a motion to approve the request school budget review committee special education administrative cost 25-26 school year? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor say I. Those opposed same sign. Say nay. All right. Motion

158passes. Um we will take a recess before we move into closed session. Um so Oops, sorry. Get to the right. The board will now take a recess. Is there a motion for the board to take a 10-minute recess? >> I move we take a 10-minute recess. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor say I. Opposed say nay. All right. The board is in recess. >> Mhm. >> Okay. Tonight we have a closed session under board governance for litigation strategy discussion with counsel pursuant to Iowa Code Section 21.5 1C. Do we have a motion to move into closed session pursuant to Iowa Code Section 21.5 1C? >> So moved. >> Second. This is a roll call vote. Director Chiminski. >> Aye. >> Director Burns. >> Aye. >> Vice President Rozumalski. >>

159Aye. >> Director Garlock. Sure. >> Aye. >> Mr. Director Byers. >> Aye. >> President Newman. >> Aye. >> The board will now move into closed session.