001Okay. Yeah, I have it on my calendar. Okay. I'm planning on making it. I now call the board of education regular meeting to order at 5:31 p.m. Do we have a motion to approve Excuse me. Do we have a Do we have I don't Your mic is not on. Do we have He doesn't know. He doesn't know. Okay. Do we Is there a motion to approve the agenda for Monday, May 12th, 2025? So move. Is there a second? Second. All those in favor say I. I. All those opposed, same sign. We have two public hearings for the Cedar Rapids Community School District tonight. Our first public hearing is for the new elementary at the Hoover Elementary School site project bid issuance number zero. The second one is public hearing new elementary at the Van Beern
002elementary school site project bid issu issuance number zero. Board secretary styen. Have we received any written correspondence related to these public hearings? No. Thank you. Do we have anyone who is requested to address the board this evening regarding the published hearings relating to the new elementary at the Hoover Elementary site project? No. Thank you. The affforementioned public hearing is now closed. Do we have anyone who is requested to address the board this evening regarding the second published hearing relating to the new elementary at the Van Beerren Elementary School site? No. The aforementioned public hearing is now closed. We would like to start this evening with a special event for members of the board. It's our district's pleasure to recognize CRCSD staff who have reached a milestone in their career with us. I'd like to turn
003the meeting over to Darius Ballard for the introduction of the staff who have met those milestones. We're going to come down. We're going to come down. Do we come down? join us down low while while our our board members are getting to their seats. Uh this is or to their standing positions. Um this is always an exciting day. We have some of the most committed community members who also call our district their place of work. They commit to hours, days, and years serving our kids. countless hours a day um dealing with the ups and downs of every year. And today we're going to celebrate and salute people who have been doing it for quite a while. 25, 30, and 35 years in our school district. That is substantial. Um the amount of time and energy
004they put in. So we owe them a round of applause today. We're going to do that at the end, but I'm going to announce our folks who are here in attendance first. for 25 years. We have Shelley Antons, Angela Fowler, Amber Kellum, Rebecca Ralph, Susan Sein, Congratulations, and Angela St. 25 years. Please stay there. Let's give them a quick round of applause. That means if their years of service were old enough to be a person, they'd be able to rent a car. Now, up next, we have 30 years. And joining us in our 30-year anniversary, we have Miss Jennifer Hamill. Congratulations, Greg Okonnell. Congratulations, Tammyo. And Brian White. And let's give them a round of applause. And I like that after 30 years, they still have the same enthusiasm as they had on the first
005day. And finally, to celebrate our 35th year, I know that's commitment, isn't it? Sharon Wilcox. [Applause] On behalf of Cedar Raps Community School District, to all of our folks we recognize today as representatives, proud representatives of our district, we say thank you. Thank you for showing up every day, working so hard with our students and keeping them top of mind with every decision. One more round of applause for them. As our board is taking our seat, feel free to take your seat out. I'll also give a quick shout out to all those folks who were not able to join us. So other 25-y year folks include Christine Angerer, Jeremy Barnes, Candy Beckeris, Ash Brandon, Michelle Brown, James Bryant, Carrie Bulo, Sarah Carter, Terry Coleman, Deborah Davies, Christy Decker, Leslie Fleer, Marsha Frederick, Christine Hogerson, Hogerman,
006Janice Hanks, Teresa Hunner, Nicholas Hoffman, Janice Ya Ya Heinaman, [Laughter] uh, Michael Kaine, Molly Lamb, Anna Mile, Craig Murray, Sha Neely, Lisa Nickel, Nickel, Joanie Nogle, Jennifer Olsen, Amy Owen, Megan Pogan, class, Eve Renard, James Ruo, Christy Russ, Kathy Schulty, Charles Smith, Susan Stark, Deianne Stany, Becky Stevens, Ronald Suarez, Carrie Sutter, Kathy Zabbo, Jay Thorp, Pam Vasquez, Danielle Wangnesses, Timothy Wright, and John A. Urus. So that's our 25 years. And for our 30 years, we had also Gan Everheart, Maria Hoffer, Michael Kuba, Lynn Marsen, Karen Morse, Julie Pearl, Brett Rainard, and Mindy Southernthers. And finally, for our 35, we also had L Burns, Christine Buts, and Michael Hopkins. And so, while they couldn't attend us, we salute them as well. Thank you. each and every one of you for your years of service and commitment
007to our students, staff, and families of the Cedar Rapids Community School District. We recognize and appreciate your valuable contributions to help all of our students reach our mission of every learner future ready. I'm now going to turn the meeting over to Dr. Grover for board recognition. Thank you so much, President Garlock. Thank you for recognizing the service of our staff member. And now we turn our attention to appreciation for our board of education. First of all, we'd like to say thank you to all of our students, our children, the most important ones for their thank you. Shout outs to our board of education. Would you give our kids a big round of applause? Each May, we take time to recognize and honor the extraordinary service of school board members across the state of Iowa and
008right here in Cedar Rapids. The Iowa Association of School Boards designates this month as a moment to reflect on the vital role of these elected leaders and the role they play in public education. At Cedar Rapids Community School District, we believe in servant leadership and our board of directors, they model that belief each and every day. They work in a grounded manner, in a manner that shows shared commitment to equity, student achievement, and the future of our community. Over the past year, our board members have navigated complex decisions with integrity, courage, and compassion. They engage in thoughtful conversations. They asked hard questions and made decisions that impact the lives of our students, families, and staff across our district. Even in times of uncertainty, they stayed rooted in what they believe that every learner deserves access
009to opportunity and to tools to thrive. As CRCSD, servant leadership reveals itself in quiet strength and daily actions of those who are served, in listening before leading, in showing up fully in hard conversations, and choosing people over power. It's a leadership mark that one that marks purpose. One that puts people first, uplift others, and stays rooted in empathy. I often reflect on what it truly means to serve. When I think about our board of directors, for me it's this. They have ears that listen. They have eyes that see potential. They have hands that help. They have hearts that heal. They have feet that climb mountains for our students and a mind that is open to learn, discover, and embrace. That is the spirit of servant leadership we witness across our board of directors. In a
010typical year, their role is demanding. In a year of transformation and change that we've seen, their leadership has been nothing short of remarkable. These are unpaid elected positions. Yet the hours that they spent, the decisions made, and the weights they've carried, it reflects a deep and abiding belief in the power of public education. So to each of our board members um they bring a unique perspective yet collectively they operate as one team united by a shared vision to help every learner be future ready here in Cedar Rapids Community School District. While they may not always agree, they lead with respect, focus, and a deep belief in what's possible for our students. So on behalf of the executive council, our staff, and certainly our students, we are proud to celebrate and honor the extraordinary leadership of
011our board of education. [Applause] Congratulations. Thank you, Dr. Gover, for those kind words. I think we're going to take a short pause while Justin fixes up some of our technology. So, give us just a minute. Okay, we're back. Thank you. We are ready for the public comment portion of the meeting. Board Secretary Stiken, have there been any requests to address the board this evening? Yes, there has. How many requests do we have? There are four. Okay. Thank you. With four speakers this evening, you'll be given up to five minutes for your remarks. Please respect the time limit allotted to each speaker. Board Secretary Stiken 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
012of 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 time 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 everyone in attendance. The board has zero tolerance for profanity, vulgarity, demeaning language, or threats of any kind. Lastly, I'd like to remind our speakers that the board cannot address personnel and student matters. The board policy outlines a process for addressing and resolving those 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
013and their addresses when called to the podium. Board Secretary Styen, please call our first speaker, Kim Knap. regarding CRCSD teacher. Good evening. My name is Kim Nap. I live at 1264 40th Street Court Northwest. This is my 20th year as a teacher for CRCSD. The last 10 years being at Grant teaching kindergarten. I grew up in the Grant neighborhood and I'm committed to giving my students my best. I'm here to speak about the proposed bond issue and how the passing of the bond will positively impact students and staff at Grant. We currently have 322 students walking the halls each day at Grant. Our kids need better opportunities. Change is hard. It's not easy, but it's the right thing to do. The old adage of it was good enough for me, it's good enough for my
014for my kids, it doesn't make sense here. Most of us went to school 30 or more years ago when Grant was only 10 to 20 years old. Now she's 64 and she's tired. We all want our kids to have more to work with, better to learn with, so we give them the best opportunities that we can. Our parents gave us those opportunities and now it's time for us to give our kids and our grandkids those opportunities. Kids have different needs than you and I than you or I had 30 or 40 years ago. So spaces need to be different in these modern times. Sometimes we have outside therapies that come in and need a space to counsel our kids, but there isn't one. Our speech pathologist currently uses a former food storage closet for a
015classroom, and there is no defined space for behavioral health intervention services or adequate space for other counseling. Our Strat 2 teachers are two of them are sharing a classroom. These kids need more space to be able to regulate. An unregulated student has wide and varied needs, and sharing a classroom with a teacher trying to teach a small group isn't one of them. Our three reading interventionists share one former computer lab. Each teacher has roughly 120 square ft to teach, which is the size of the smallest bedroom in your home. This is also the same space they have to store all of their things. Did you know that only one classroom at Grant has a closet for storage? The other classroom storage is a bank of cabinets, roughly the same amount that a large kitchen would
016have. Our staff lounge is the size of an onsuite bathroom. Our school has roughly 60 staff members with an inadequate space to eat lunch or take a break. The lounge also doubles as a workroom. Today at Grant, there was no hot water. Thankfully, there was no school. What if it isn't fixed by tomorrow? I they said they have a plan. Some things sometimes I'm sorry the heating or air doesn't work in one classroom or a whole section of our school. There are two single sto toilets in a hallway at Grant and in my 10 years they've been largely unusable. At the moment, no solids can go down those toilets. Our one staff bathroom doubles as a changing station for students who have toileting needs. So 60 people are trying to use one bathroom. Every time
017we get a heavy rain, there is at least one spot in our ceiling that leaks. Our building engineer spends time every rainy morning checking and re-checking problem spots. Then we have the distraction of people walking on the roof to repair that current leak. Kids at Grant share lockers. Sometimes there's three to a locker. That locker is meant for one student. In the newer and remodeled schools, kids generally have their own lockers. We have no elevator to get to the basement where our gym and three classrooms reside. It is a more than four-minute walk without pushing a wheelchair outside onto city sidewalks in snow, sleet, rain, etc. Double that for the walk back, and that's more than eight minutes of instructional time. There is no indoor recess space at Grant. We have lots of indoor recesses
018due to inclement weather. There is nowhere for our whole staff to sit together for staff learning or meetings. There is no meeting space for confidential IEPs. In closing, I get it. Change is hard, but we can do hard things. The time to invest in our the future of our students is long overdue. I want to remind us about our childhood experience and our educational experience. It was good for us and I'm glad for that. But that was many years ago and times they are changing. Thank you for your time. Our next speaker is Iris Strong on students IEP. Hi, my name is Irish Strong. I live at 11:45 13th Street, Marian, Iowa. Um, want to say good afternoon to the board members and superintendent um, Glover. Um, I just wanted to address a couple of
019things. As a prior district substitute teacher, pared educator and a grandmother and previously a mother of stu to students in this school district. I'm here to address the critical issue of ensuring that all students particularly those with special needs receive the educational support that they deserve both from the school and as well as from the partners with their families. Although I appreciate the efforts of communication with our family since October, we have faced numerous challenges um navigating my granddaughter's special education service. Despite our persistent advocacy and dedication to her success, our experience has been marred by a lack of communication, inconsistent support, and the absence of proper documentation. In the spirit of partnership, we've consistently advocated for the transparency and collaboration. Yet, we've encountered resistance to fundamental steps like providing a complete individualized education plan,
020maintaining accurate records, and addressing issues of bullying and classroom behaviors promptly. As a prior district staff, I've always prioritized our students well-being and education. But I also expect the school system to uphold its responsibility in ensuring that all children with an educational IEP that is effective and that is actively updated and consistently followed. The lack of accountability, particularly in meetings, the agreed upon assessments, potentially helpful accommodations is preventing my granddaughter from progressing. my son's daughter. Okay, my son, my granddaughter. I also had to be his advocate when he was in school for the same reasons. My granddaughter is now going into fifth grade, yet she still struggles with math skills like double digits with addition and subtraction and multiplication and also with reading. This is not a result of lack of effort on the part
021on her part, but a reflection of a system that has failed to fully support her needs. The school's lack of properly document documenting meetings, follow through on communication and commitments or providing t timely and accurate information is not just an admin is not just an administrative oversight. It directly impacts the educational outcome of the student and undermines the partnership between the school and our family. We as a family have also met with people here at the administrative district level with the associate director of special services. unfortunately with the same result. And now I'm here tonight reiterating to you that we need an education plan not only for my granddaughter but for every student who requires special educational service. I implore this board to ensure that schools are held accountable for their timely and thorough implementations
022of their timely EP. I want effective communication with families and it is prioritized by ensuring that concerns are addressed promptly and comprehensively. Next, documentation is consistently maintained, including meeting notes, decision-m processing, and follow through on agreed upon action items. Next, teachers, administrators, and parents collaborate collaborate effectively to ensure the best possible education educational experience for every student. It is imperative that we all share in the responsibility for ensuring that students have the to have access to the tools, the strategies, and support they need to thrive. We ask for timely and concrete next step from the school, including a review of my granddaughter's IEP, a clear action plan for her academic success moving forward, and a commitment to maintain open lines of communication and support. This situation is not just about my granddaughter. It's about the
023future success of all students who depends on a system that will listen, respond, and ensure accountability at all levels. We cannot afford to let these mistakes continue. Thank you for your attention to this matter. As an educator, the fact that I showed up tonight here, it shows that I believe that you do want to partner with families. You want to partner with students and educators to ensure that all our kids are thriving. This is our job to serve all children in need to consistently maintain what each child needs. We look forward to your prompt response and commitment to meaningful change, not just for my grandchild, but for the countless others having similar experience to get their needs met. Thank you. Our next speaker is Laura Zimmerman on bond vote. Yeah, I know. Hello. U My
024name is Laura Zimmerman and I live at 315 Andover Lane Southeast Cedar Rapids. Um thank you Kim for sharing about Grant. So I worked at Roosevelt for 11 years. I'm going to allude to that a little bit and I can't get into the details, but man, if I could make a list. Wow. Um so, uh investing in our district is not just important for students and parents. It's essential for the future of the broader community. In our area, it's common to pass through four or five school districts on a single work commute. So, what sets Cedar Rapids apart? Why would families choose our district over our neighbors? If we're being honest, when it comes to buildings and facilities alone, we know we fall short. That's exactly why the current bond proposal offers a ray of
025hope, a realistic and responsible plan to reshape that narrative for our district. Throughout this process, leaders like Chad Schumacher and others have shown deep knowledge and commitment. They've taken a thoughtful, strategic approach to evaluating where we are now and what we need to move forward. But this hasn't been a top- down decision. It's been a true community effort. Parents like myself, educators, local businesses, and stakeholders from every corner of Cedar Rapids have come together to shape a vision for our district's future. One that honors our history while embracing innovation, safety, and sustainability. This plan is not just about new buildings. It's about responsible stewardship. Some of our oldest facilities are finally receiving the attention they've needed for decades. Like I mentioned, someone who taught at Roosevelt for 11 years, I've seen firsthand the state of
026that building. Soon, I'll have a child attending McKinley, and I want him to feel proud of his school and what it can offer. The schools directly impacted by the bond will benefit tremendously, of course. But the positive effects won't stop there. By freeing up PPE and SAVE funds, this bond will allow critical improvements to reach many other schools throughout our district. Our investment in these historic renovations will ripple outwards, touching every classroom, every student in every part of our community. So now it's time to invest not just in buildings but in the future of Cedar Rapids. Thank you so much. [Applause] Our final speaker is John Rostc on the air conditioning at Washington. Hi, John Rostack, 3211 Park View Court Southeast. Um, this is not a general overall statement about the state of the air
027conditioning, but one that pertains to last weekend in a very specific event. I was volunteering at the school and witnessed uh multiple students on the verge of passing out, one directly in the middle of a coral performance where we had to help her from the uh from the risers in the choir. So, Uh she was eventually joined by about four other students who were having similar problems due to heat exhaustion. The uh reason for this is that the choir prep preparatory room was extremely hot. As I understand it, air conditioning and general climate controls are taken care of centrally. Um I would encourage two things given the uh proximity of warmer weather. One would be if there is a larger event such as that one occurring and there's the in the classroom that Cedar Rapids
028EMT and that staff be made aware because it was frankly just this lay people handing ice out and hoping for the best from these kids for their recovery. The second thing that I would ask is be aware of the schools that are having these sorts of events so that it this is kind of climate control is planned. While it's maybe simple to set the temperature in a given room, I think being aware that there may be many kids coming in and out of that room is something to account for as well and that those climate controls may have to be dropped further in those particular parts of the school. So, last thing I would say is we were able to remedy the situation uh through the volunteers. I want to shout out to all the
029folks who were there trying to handle the situation as we were able to pull a bunch of doors open and thankfully there was a breeze though that is not guaranteed um every single time an event occurs. So just a little bit of awareness as we head into the season to please watch out for student safety, be aware of the climate controls and uh just review what upcoming events there are as the soon school season closes. And that concludes my remarks. Thanks. Thank you. Thanks to everyone who uh made a comment tonight. Uh we'll now move on to our student representative report by Malik Silver. Good evening to the school board and everyone in attendance. In one of our recent student cabinet meetings, we began by discussing updated changes to the bond proposal based on the
030recent survey that was sent out. We discussed the lowered cost and the new changes that were made, as well as our own opinions on it and how we thought it could be made more viable to voters. This bond is currently set to be voted on for November 4th. We also discussed many topics that we thought were pertinent, including how we think virtual learning day should be handled, school time length, and printing at our schools. Additionally, on the April 28th meeting, many students recorded messages for teachers appreciation week. I would also like to take a moment to congratulate the class of 2025 soon to be graduates of the CRCSD. And I wish other students luck on AP and final exams. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, Mr. So, I'll now give the meeting over to Dr. Grover
031to share the superintendence report. Thank you again, President Garlock. Also, thank you uh to our speakers that came forth um to for items for that we will certainly um bring attention to. Also um so let's start with some student spotlights. Um this is certainly becoming um a highlight of our board meetings. So tonight we want to take the opportunity to recognize our students who exemplify our portrait of a graduate. If you are one of our students uh here tonight, feel free uh to stand to be recognized. Let's start first with uh Estella Ekloo who is a fifth grader at Hoover Community School. All right. Thank you for being here. And I see you have your family as well. Estella exemplifies what it means to be a model student. She is friendly and respectful towards adults,
032genuine in her interactions, and consistently thoughtful and considerate of others. She's a quiet leader, as described, who is self-motivated. Estella approaches her work with diligence and care. Estella is a soft-spoken reminder that sometimes quiet people can have loud minds. She is known for her positivity and how she influences her peers in the best way possible, and that's through example. Congratulations, Estella. [Applause] Next up, we have Esther Davis, who's an eighth grader from Harden Middle School. Um, after I read, you'll probably understand why she's not here. Okay, so uh Esther, uh, if you ask anyone at Harden, she is just a great all-around student. If you look at her accomplishments, there are many, including scoring a perfect score on all three of her ISAPS tests. That's the Iowa State Assessments Test this spring. In class, she
033is described as a great team player, often trying to elevate other group members. One teacher stated that no matter who she works with, everyone benefits from having Esther on their team. Esther is also known to bring difficult math problems and questions to her algebra teacher and on some occasions has caused him um to need some extra time to be able to give an explanation. Esther always does her personal best and follows through with whatever task she is given. But Esther's talents are not just limited to academics. Esther recently received a safety leader award for helping contribute to a safe and secure learning environment. She also recently shined as a vocal soloist soloist at the final Harding Jazz Band concert this spring. She has participated in the National History Day this year doing a group performance
034on the Ken State protest and also state mock trials where she earned the best attorney award. She also has been on the five season ski team for several years. We are so lucky to have Esther as a student at Harden Middle School and in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. Next, we are highlighting Savannah Fiser. Uh she moved to Iowa. She's at Washington High School. She moved to Iowa and started the ninth grade at Wash. She jumped right into advanced coursework, taking an AP class as a ninth grader and a mixture of AP and college concurrent classes through her remaining four years. Savina has taken advantage of the many offerings of the Cedar Rapids Community School District, including being a valued member of the Washington High School cheer program, um, taking four years of world
035language um, in German and preparing herself for a future career in medical sciences. Not only will Savannah graduate with her uh high school diploma, she will also be graduating with her associates degree from Kirkwood Community College a week before she graduates as valictorian from Washington High School. But how about this? She also has a job offer to use her EMT certification once she passes her board exam. Savannah is a prime example of a future ready senior and we are so proud of all that she has accomplished. [Applause] Speaking of Washington High School, we have a new principal on the way for Washington High School, Teresa Hall, um who is also in the audience tonight. Would you stand, Teresa, please? I want to take the opportunity to introduce her to our board of education uh here
036tonight. Teresa will officially join our team um in July on July 1st. However, she's already been here meeting with different members of the WASH team. She's also been involved with conferences with them um and helping with the transition. So, we are proud to have her. we will have an official um open house. But I thought um I would be remiss if I did not say that during the interview process, the students had a huge role uh in interviewing for their next principal. And one of the things that they said about our incoming principal hall is that she is one of a us. She already has the warrior spirit. So welcome Teresa. We're glad to have you. [Applause] So, I do have a few official superintendent updates here tonight. I want to start with um and
037um especially after listening here uh to our public comments. I want to start with the DMG staffing uh study uh report that the board will have the opportunity to consider tonight um under your consent agenda. As we continue our work uh in prior priority area number one under safe and secure schools tonight we're going to uh take a look at how we can continue our work with the district management group. They will be reviewing our district system structures and practices related to delivering special education services and interventions. This review will align with our behavior support initiatives. This comes at a very critical juncture uh for us knowing that we are in year two of our DOJ agreement in regards to how we deliver special education services uh within our organization. um as we are out
038visiting with students, we understand that we want to make sure that we are servicing um our special education students um in the highest ways possible, but we also want to take a look at the living and working conditions of our teachers that have to also support those particular students. So, what that looks like is taking an in-depth look at our program offerings that we have within the district. Are they meeting the needs of our students? are they properly staffed um with the staff with the skill sets that we need? A big large component of this will involve a review of our par profofessional and also looking at the special education programs that are in each of our buildings. Are they located where students um have access to services that they need uh or do we
039need to consider um another way? Do we have too many programs or one type in one building? Is that a overload for our campuses? Uh so tonight um you will have more detailed information uh within your report, but I wanted to let our community know that we are committed to delivering highquality special education services uh that will help create better outcomes for our students um as well as for our staff members. Um and this is also separate and apart uh from our um staffing study. I want to note that. and the funding uh for uh our support for special education services. Uh this will be coming from our uh instructional support levy uh that is um specifically designed to support instructional needs. Um no other uh ways that we can spend those dollars. All right.
040So speaking of student safety, uh since our last board meeting, CRCSD, we celebrate National Youth Violence Prevention Week. Uh this took place during the week of April 28th through May 1st. in all of our CRCSD uh schools. They had the opportunity uh to celebrate our students as one was mentioned here tonight. Um recognizing students uh who show kindness uh promote peaceful conflict conflict resolution and consistently makes great choices. Uh thank you to our safe and secure administrator Janessa Carr who traveled to each of our schools to celebrate our students and for them being leaders um around safe and secure learning environments at their schools. I want to push us now over to priority area number two uh where we are discussing prepare for life. Right. So when we're preparing our students uh to be future
041ready, it starts pretty early around here uh in Cedar Rapids Community School District. Uh last week our preschoolers over at Truman Early Learning um they always know how to capture an opportunity. They hosted a Touch a Truck event. Um this event came about as staff noticed how much excitement the students showed whenever trucks would pass by. The kids would just plaster themselves to the window to watch, said um Truman Principal Monica uh Frey. Uh Monica Fry. we knew uh she said we had to find a way to bring that curiosity to life. So this event um it featured eight different uh vehicles uh from our local businesses here in town. Uh so that included uh like FedEx trucks, a cement mixer, firet truck, police SUVs, and of course I heard they had a semitr as
042well. So each vehicle offered children a chance to learn more about how it works, um what it's used for. So watch out there in the world of logistics. you might have some future drivers on the way to help us get things from point A to point B. Thank you to our communities for supporting the curiosity of our early learners. Speaking of being prepared for life, um I'd like to take the opportunity to recognize that the Cedar Rapids Community School District was awarded a career impact award from the University of Iowa for highly engaged employers. Um this opportunity is given to uh businesses uh organizations uh who show top-notch recruitment efforts. That means attending job fairs as well as using app and technology tools and having one-on-one conversations um with the work of our human resources
043department. Um we've done um I guess went above and beyond especially when it comes to our student teachers. This award has been given from the state uh from the University of Iowa for the last three years. So check this out. For the last three years, they've been given the award. Cedar Rapids Community School District has earned it each year. We are the only school district that has earned it for the last three years. Um since its inception, as well as we were only one of two schools across the state, school districts who earned this awards. So I want to say kudos to our human resources department represented um for this opportunity. um chief of human resources uh Darius Ballard and Tammy Warro for their tremendous effort in helping us to stay engaged with our employees.
044All right, let's move over to priority area number four, being physically responsible. So, the Cedar Rapids Community School District, we hosted the Take the Wheel, the yellow bus experience. Um, as we know, we're always looking for drivers. And so, with our take the wheel um event, this was a joint effort between HR and our transportation department. Uh, this year we had 37 of our community members who drove the bus on that day. They had an opportunity to get behind the wheel and you see those cones and things like that. So, they had a chance to practice. Um, and this was a tremendous effort. Even though it rained, we still had people to come out. 11 people apply on site for jobs and their interviews will start on May the 15th. Uh transportation director Scott Wing
045reports that this was the best event the department has seen. Usually we would only get maybe about seven or eight people out. So reaching 37 people who were interested in becoming bus drivers for us that was tremendous. And your very own superintendent I got a chance to drive the bus as well. They told they told me I passed. So we'll see. you're hired maybe. All right. Um so lastly here, I want to take um a very special uh celebration. I would like to conclude my report tonight with a celebration um congratulating uh Kennedy High School student uh Diva Ramdigu. She was awarded two unique awards. First, she was chosen for the Hoover Presidential Foundation Uncommon Student Award. Um approximately 15 Iowa high school juniors were chosen uh for this award and they do it each
046year. Her project involves writing a children's book and a supplementary lesson uh plan for elementary schools to promote Earth Day. Second, she was one of 16 from around the world chosen for the Burlo Ruin Internationalship through the World Food Prize Foundation. This internship will take her to Kenya this summer to work with leading research experts. That's what's happening in Cedar Rapids Community School District. Congratulations to Diva Ramdevu from uh Ramde Ramadoo from Kennedy High School. Would you all give her a big round of [Applause] applause? Thank you, Dr. Grover. A lot of celebrations there tonight. Uh, do we have any other directors who have board reports tonight? Okay, so next up we have Director Buyers who's going to do our staff highlight. All right, we'll keep the celebrations rolling. All right, so I want to
047make sure is Leverne Burns in the audience tonight? No. All right, tonight for our CRCSD staff highlight, the board of education would like to highlight a member of our transportation department, Leverne Burns. Oh, the many miles he has traveled and the countless students that he has delivered to our schools or to our events. He has been with CRCSD since 1990. So, when I was about three, that is 35 years of service. The transportation supervisor stated, "Lindgoing and a standby driver. We can always count on him to be here and drive any route we need him to drive. He also knows every corner of our district, having driven every route many times over. He's dependable, just like the postal service. Rain, sleet, or snow, Leverne will get in a bus and go. Congratulations, Leverne, on your
048dedication to our students, our staff, and your department. And we honor you as our CRCSD staff spotlight. Thank you, Director Buyers. Moving on to our consent agenda. Are there any items on which a director has a comment or question or requires the item to be pulled from the consent agenda for a separate vote? Do we have a motion to approve the consent agenda as written? So move. Is there a second? Second. All those in favor say I. I. All those opposed, same sign. Thank you. We now move on to administration. We have only one item for tonight, the approval of the Cedar Rapids Community School District's proposed bond petition language. So, I will turn this over to Chad and his team for their presentation. Good evening, board of directors. It is with great gratitude that
049we come to share our story with you tonight. Gratitude for the voice of the community and the final product of this bomb plan. Over the last two years, we have asked for the community's voice in this process. And time and time again, the community has stepped up and provided that voice. What we present to you tonight is truly a plan that was developed by the people of the Cedar Rapids Community School District, and we thank them for continually answering the request to be partners in this process. In November of 2023, we committed to improving students daily experiences in our district. And this would be made possible through the passing of a bond. We set out to improve our students daily experiences by focusing on student access, student safety, student well-being, and financial sustainability. But we
050also knew this could only happen with the community's voice, with the community's engagement, and with the community as part of this process every step of the way. During phase one, we set out to listen to the community. The community's voice was first heard through several one-on-one conversations. Over the course of several months, the district met with upwards of a hundred individuals from across Cedar Rapids, Hayawa, Robins, and Po. business leaders, religious leaders, parents, teachers, retired administrators, government officials, nonprofit leaders, and many, many more. We attended neighborhood meetings throughout the city, gathering feedback from those that live in the neighborhoods our schools are located in. In the spring of 2024, a survey was sent out to all of our 70,000 plus active registered voters asking for feedback on the bond that was voted down in November
051of 2023. Once again, the community answered the call, responding to the survey and providing insight through thousands and thousands of comments. Phase two, we set out to co-create with our community. All of those interactions with our stakeholders in phase one helped shape the work that the task force would focus on during their eight months of meetings. A task force that was made up of 80 plus individuals. These individuals were asked to dig into massive amounts of data to form a plan that would ensure student success across the district. During that time, we also brought together for the first time a separate group of parent leaders from all of our schools. The conversations we had with those 60 plus parent leaders again helped shape the bond that was to come. With the information from the parent
052leaders and the data that was provided to the task force, a bond plan was developed. And once again in the spring of 25, that plan was taken to the people for feedback through a survey to all of our again 70,000 plus voters. Additionally, the Cedar Rapids Economic Alliance made a commitment to supporting our efforts by carrying out a survey of their own. The voice of the community was heard through those surveys and they said we need they said we should we we see the need but this plan is just too expensive given the current economic climate. The community encouraged us to reduce the cost of the bond and to invest in our existing buildings rather than build build new. There was also a desire to provide an equitable educational experience across the district. The task
053force reconvened, redeveloped a plan and this is the plan that the task force developed in that um those meetings focusing on renovations to McKinley. Wilson, Roosevelt, and Kennedy. Renovations to McKinley that would provide modern facilities for our students. A Wilson renovation that would provide a spot for the elementarymentaries of CRA at Taylor and Grant to come. Renovations to Roosevelt, which would provide for Wilson students to come to Roosevelt Middle School. and renovations to Kennedy that would provide high school and college career programming and common and common renovations. What does this mean for the voters of Cedar Rapids? If you have a home of approximately $200,000, it's an ask of $90 a year or $1.72 a week. With this investment, again, we knew we needed to hear the voice of those who this plan affected the
054most. So, we the district made a commitment to visit every single school building sharing this new plan with every staff member across the district. To date, we have held an all staff meeting open to every district employee, presented this plan to all of our principles, the superintendent's teacher cabinet, and we have visited 16 of our buildings, including every building directly impacted by this bond, sharing the revised plan to more than 600 staff, answering their questions and asking for their feedback. Should the board approve the plan this evening, we will continue sharing this journey, ensuring we meet with every single building before the end of the year. We've also met with parent teacher, parent leaders, students, the school improvement advisory committee, and the superintendent student and community cabinets. Across all these internal stakeholders groups, more than
055750 people in all, the revised plan has received a 70.8% approval rating in the poll that we gave to those that we visited. In one more example of community involvement, the Economic Alliance once again facilitated an independent survey on the updated plan. And here to share with us the results of that plan is Ron Corbett from the Economic Alliance. Thank you, Director Garlock, and board members and Superintendent Grover. And my name is Ron Corbett. I'm the vice president of economic development at the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance. We're a membership organization of over a thousand businesses in Cedar Rapids and uh Lynn County. And as uh Chad said, we did conduct another survey. I was here a couple months ago when we conducted our initial survey. Uh we uh went out, we hired the same
056company to have some consistency. We hired a company called Victory Enterprises. We serve just over 500 surveys. These are all telephone surveys with a margin of error of 3.5%. We conducted this survey uh last week and this is the results of that survey. We asked the citizens that we surveyed, if the election were held today, would you vote for or against the Cedar Rapids School District bond referendum? And you see up there the the support shows 61.8%. If you remember, it was only two months ago when we conducted a survey and we shared with you that the likelihood of that bond issue passing at the amount was uh not going to happen. So within a two-month period, you've been able to flip the script going from what would have surely been a defeat to now
057something that we have a legitimate chance of passing. There's not a lot of wiggle room at 61.8% because in Iowa we need 60%. So the margin's going to be tight. There's still a lot of work to be done between now and November. Um Chad mentioned the anxiety that people have towards the economy right now, inflations, jobs, just an uneasiness. And we saw a very high level uh back in February. Well, believe it or not, that's actually higher today than it was uh back in February as if people have, you know, started to really not be sure about what's going on with the economy and then we also asked the next question is how do you feel about the future? And again, this number was a little higher. So in spite of the headwinds of the
058economy, you were able to punch through this last month and a half with this message about the revised bond issue. And what we also found out is the more that people learn about it, the more that they understand about the bond issue, the more they support it. So for instance, this question we ask about building safety and improvements to protect students and teachers from intruders and threat. Does knowing this make you more or less likely to vote for the bond issue? So as people learn this about the facilities plan, almost 70% of the people are more likely to support that. And I'll give you an example of another question. Chad, if you want to move the the bond referendum would replace inefficient facilities with modern learning environments, saving the taxpayers millions annually, reducing maintenance costs.
059Again, does knowing this make you more or less likely? The answer is more likely. So, the more that people hear about the plan, the more they like it. Chad, the next slide. So your decision this evening is yes there are economic headwinds and they may be a little stronger today than they were a couple months ago but there's a very strong compelling case that people are willing to overlook the anxiety that they may feel because they see the strong uh needs that the school system has. the business community is going to get behind this. And our our recommendation to you tonight is is to move forward to present uh the plan to the citizens of the Cedar Rapids Community School because uh we believe in Cedar Rapids schools and my gut, my heart, and my
060head tells me that on November 4th, the citizens will too. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, Veron very much. As we move into the final phase um where we want to engage the community, we focus on engaging with the community understanding that this is their decision to make. This is truly a community's decision. As spelled out in the bond language itself, it spec specifically states, "We the undersigned are eligible electors reside within the school district and petition the board of directors of the school district to call an election to submit to the voters of the school district the following proposition for this purpose that basically says that without the signatures the community was would not support this. The community has the ability to support this through giving us signatures. And as a former government teacher, I
061would be remiss if I didn't talk a little bit about direct democracy versus representative democracy. This is a exact example of direct democracy because not only do we have to be able to get the citizens to give us signatures, but they also had to vote um with a 60% majority to be able to have this pass. So on November 4th, again, the citizens will be able to come to the polls and cast their ballots and make that decision for us. Once again, here's the plan the task force brings to the board. Thank you to the community for their involvement in this process. It was the community who developed this plan. The voice of the community is strong, and we are grateful for all those that joined us along this journey, and we look forward to
062what's to come. Thank you very much. Thank you, Chad, and thank you, Ron. Um, on behalf of the board, excuse me, Ron, we appreciate all the work the economic alliance has done um to help us get the pulse of the public. And Chad, I want to thank you. I know you've been, excuse me, out on the road a lot doing presentations and collecting a lot of feedback from staff and from community members. So, thank you for that. I will open it up to the rest of the board for questions andor comments. I'm just so proud of all the work that's gone into this to prep for this bond. Um you guys have all been working very tirelessly and it shows and um this matters so much. So thank you for all of your hard work.
063I also want to just call attention to the fact that you mentioned it, but um these meetings that are taking place at each of our school facilities, that's a really big deal. All the teachers have input. they're coming to the table and offering um really important dialogue and ha engaging in conversation, asking incredible questions that have allowed us to continue shaping and refining this plan. So, thank you to all of the staff and educators who have attended those meetings and provided feedback. Um and like you said, I think that, you know, we can continue to educate um the public because we do have an incredible case for why this matters and um emphasize that compelling case at every turn. So, thank you all for all the work you're doing. Other questions, comments? Director Newman. Um,
064thank you, um, Chad. Thank you, Ron. And I really I do want to thank the committee for the hard work that they have done. Um, but I also want to thank our community um for showing up to meetings, for responding to surveys, for telling us what they think matters, and for being candid with us. um and um allowing us to shape this into something that that I like you uh Ron believe that our community um will get behind. I think some of the most important elements that we can talk about and we did in this presentation, we have to have safe and secure learning environments for our students. Um hands down, um the I believe the teacher from um Grant talked about we don't live in the the 1960s or the 1970s. We live in
065a different environment. We need an environment that not only keeps our kids safe, but is a great and equitable learning experience across the district. Um, and the the other thing and and while Washington isn't on the docket talking about the air conditioning, I have heard that from so many teachers in these middle schools and um, also we heard from Grant tonight and I heard from somebody um, at Cedar River Academy and Taylor um that the the things that teachers are dealing with during their day that impact the learning environment are intense. um being able to modernize these facilities while preserving historic structures at the same time um is an is a gift to the future of this community and I'm really I'm really proud of the work that's been done. So, thank you very much.
066Um I would just like to say thank you to the community because your input was so valuable to us as we move forward and and our children deserve this, our staff and our community. So, thank you. We listened and now it's time to move forward. Thank you, Chad and Ron. So, I'm going to sound like everybody else that has gone before me. Um, but it's true. Thank you so much. There's so many layers to this and I realize that there are has been so much hard work that has gone into this. Um, I was looking at Chad present tonight and he has said the same thing a million times. Can we just clap for Chad? Because let me tell you, I guarantee you that these slides haunt him in his sleep. But and thank you
067so much, Ron, for all that you have done. Truly having you all be a part of this has really made the difference and we are so grateful. Um I love that we heard the community's voice and went back to the table and sat down and really considered that. Um something I have said uh from the beginning of this is our communities, our schools, our bond. And that is such an amazing way to look at it that none of these people, whether it's the community, the staff, um the our board, district workers, we are not separate in this wanting the best for our students. So to really embrace it as our bond, it affects every person that's involved. And so thank you all so much for uh the work that you have done. I I'm really
068excited about what I see here tonight. Uh and so just wanted to say add another layer of thank you. All right. I want to especially call out the facilities task force. They have been working on this for months and months and they were literally given a binder full of data to sort through. So they had a really difficult job to make sense of all of the different data and distill it down into a plan that could be put out to the community in a way that was understandable by our community. So under Chad's leadership and the administration's leadership helped that task force really coalesce around a plan and and so I want to give a special shout out to them. That was a big commitment on the part of our community members. [Applause] Okay. All
069those in favor of the proposed bond petition language, please say I. I. I. Those opposed, same sign. Thank you. We have four close sessions tonight under board governance. Is there a motion to move into the first close session for confidential records pursuant to Iowa code section 21.51A? So moved. Is there a second? Second. This is a roll call vote. Director Buyers. Hi, Director Humbles. Hi, Director Newman. I, Director Taminsky. I, Vice President Roundry, I, President Gara, I. The board will now move into close session. It is 6:36. All right.