001all right good evening everyone thank you for joining us tonight and welcome to the I almost said October the November 20th meeting at the Community School District District Board of Directors I will call the meeting to order and entertain a motion to approve the agenda appr the agend say hi pass 5 and we will now put our purpose statement up on the screen and would invite you to take a moment to read it okay thank you uh our first agenda item this evening is our celebrations and recognitions and this evening we are recognizing our stake cross country um participants and I will turn it over to to director Amman good evening congratulations to our AP High boys and girls cross country teams for their appearance of the 2023 saate me heal and for Doge the
002girls team was led by three time top 10 finisher Claire Helmer and the team is in the back corner here if you all want to come over as I say your name so they can recogn than you Al rol was 21st Marley Turk 25th and rounding out the top 25 finishes for the cycl the girls team finished 11th we want to also recognize Emma Stanley Mar fren I got Cole and Caroline c um they are coached by head coach Cole Anderson and assistant coach J Smith congratulations to the girls [Laughter] team and the boys team had a scheduling conflict tonight so it was difficult for them to be here but we do want to recognize the boys team three individuals qualified for State Brenan Isaiah Knight and Eric Anderson of qualified for State for the
003boys team so congratulations to them as well [Laughter] thank you all for taking the time to join us tonight we always appreciate getting to see our students and accomplishments than representatives of school district all right our next agenda item is our discussion items and we'll begin this evening with updates discussion item and and we only have this evening we'll have the teaching and learning committee I was only there for part of the meeting so I'm going to allow meeting ER to F in just a moment so the teaching learning committee meeting uh it's all there in the minutes um we had a good meeting talking about a number of different things all right any questions or com for teaching and learning committee and we do not have anyone signed up for public comments on discussion
004items I will go ahead and open our public forum and read our statement on public comments residents of the district students attending the district parents or Guardians and students attending the district and District staff members May address the board about any topic relevant to the district whether on the current agenda or not those who wish to speak must sign up at the beginning of the meeting speaker participation is limed to to 3 minutes once per item the views and opinions of citizens addressing the board do not necessarily reflect those of the Board District administration or staff speakers are to remember that I will allow prohibit support from discussing specific employees students or their performance student speakers will state their name at school others will state their name and address and I'll just double check thank
005you all right and this evening we have Missy spring hello it's spring hop actually thank you I'm here today just talk half of the Middle School specifically the Middle School teachers um because I am very concerned about uh seeing me disconnect or Overlook of what's Happening currently at as middle school and I'm not talking about videos that get posted online um I know about our middle school and high school we got a lot of um clashy things related to fights and um kids being kids type of thing um and kids are always going to be kids and there always going to be issues when it comes to behavior but I am worried that if this board and this leadership doesn't take action soon we will not have enough people left to staff Middle School I'm
006sorry I should have sem My5 um I substitute of the middle school I'm a former Middle School teacher name Middle School um I work a full-time job at the University so I can only s a couple hours here and there but when we moving an AP away from the Middle School despite many people warning that this would be a major concern that they would need all the help they can get um and it's very clear if you spend even five minutes in the middle school that people are drowning and I think an immediate action that could be taken is if this board could look at things like referrals and incident reports teachers and EAS who have been injured or harmed while working at the middle school that we need another a feedb back switched from
007wherever they were taken and if we could compare referrals and incident reports from other schools that maybe have AP that don't need one that could be ANM thing when I see our um Mission at the beginning where it says we're rooted in strong community and family Partnerships where are they where are they at the middle school because we need that we need as many adults as possible and not helping um we need to raise EA pay if at all possible because people are going in there they're being hit they're being attacked they're not being paid enough to go through with that if you look at the sub list from the Middle School our special ed needs are there not a single day where there aren't multiple sub jobs going on specifically at the middle school
008where our teachers who are already hurting are being asked use whatever spare time they have to cover and I know a mention of fixing the problems in our schools is teacher building relationships with kids but I need this board and this leadership to work onar relationships with teachers because right now teachers at the middle school do not feel supported and we know in the education world that maslo comes before blooms so human needs need to be met before learning can happen and right now our teachers needs need need to be met before they can adequately be those people who support our students so please help thank you missy okay and we do not have anyone else sign up to speak in public forum so I will close our public forum and move on to our
009consent agenda and I'll entertain a motion I approval of consent as second move by Franc second Titus all those in favor say I oppos name a 6 and that takes us to our final item of the even well of this meeting so for those of you who may not be aware um this is our annual organizational meeting and so we are closing out our old business members and we'll have another meeting so um our last agenda item for this meeting is recognition of our retiring board members um and so I just want to take a moment to thank you Michelle and Alisa for your leadership on this board um for your support of all of us and assistance ining board MERS um helping us bring up a new superintendent you have put in an incredible
010amount of time and energy into this board um and we will we will greatly miss you so I'm going to offer you each an opportunity as well to um say a few words short so first uh serving as a member of the Comm School District board directors has been one of the greatest honors of my life my heartfelt congratulations to the newest board members God Brier and Angie the Lord I wish you the very best in your new role congratulation and thanks to Sabrina and Alan for your continued service those who choose to serve on a school board do so because of their commitment to public education and it's availability to all children I grateful to each of you for your service providing an education our children is the greatest investment and benefit that we
011can provide to our society as we develop our Future Leaders I leave this role is made at the I legislator's continued failure to financially support our Public Schools since 2017 the funding provided to through 12 schools I was also deeply concerned about the mental health of our students and wanted to work towards a community-minded solution to help address the needs of our kids I'm still concerned about these issues and I always will be but I feel there has been continues to be progress in this area I'm proud of the contributions that I've made and I hope to continue to be involved every day I'm amazed at the talent dedication and commitment that I see in our teachers and administrators I feel blessed to have been able to work with each of you I'm confident that
012great work will continue under the direction of superintendent Julia slon and I'm excited to see what the future holds thank for the past few days I've been thinking about how I'd like to close out the past eight years I can't even get through one sentence how i' like to close out the past eight years of my service to this governing board how do I capture in 3 minutes the turbulence of this time period coupled with the successes that lie between I won't stay in three minutes how do I graft a statement without offering a Critic a sound bite to land ask me on social media but most importantly how do I convey the appreciation and gratitude I have for this community the educational Professionals in our district my colleagues and the students that I have
013had the honor to serve when i r School board the first time in the summer of 2015 two primary topics community members brought to my attention for a new high school and a swimming pool both were were very outdated and in need of replacement the community was ready for action shortly into my first term the questions expanded from these topics to include literacy instruction and how we were not serving the needs of our best life students as a member of the teaching and learning committee I found myself in the midst of passionate discussions with parents on how we could improve our efforts the district developed a word study team and they learned the meaning of structured literacy explicit instruction decoding andic awareness May 14 2016 the de register ran an article calling achievement gaps in
014all of the school districts across the state it was an important call out they pushed the district to openly address how we struggled to reach every student and yes we have stumbled but I believe you also leaned into those conversations as a board member we to figure out how to provide leadership and what can be a very uncomfortable space we were publicly challenged to look at our whiteness a fair challenge yet tough to hear in a public SE when you wir with a high level of empathy I realize the piece of our improvements have been frustrating for many but I hope all have seen my commitment to have those discussions and being for all of our kids March 2020 brought upside down online learning hybrid learning return to learn plans masks metrics oh call metrics
015and everybody every state every District it seemed like every governing entity had a different approach trying to provide stast even killed leadership during an uned time the pmic put a spotlight on our most vulnerable children and the shortfalls in society we fed kids provided hot spots for wireless AC ACC to countless other steps all in an attempt to provide every child the pandemic division across this country school board meetings gain State and National media attention and non nonpartisan School Board elections became politicized challenges to the Dei orts in schools book Banning public money funding private schools state laws devaluing so many of our students false accusations of CRT in schools and underfunding schools are several of the issues plaguing public education in Iowa parent permission is now required in our state for our staff to
016utilize the social emotional learning Moor in our classrooms which simply asks the child how do you feel most concerning is that lgbtqia plus students and families do not feel valued and supported by our state in the a school district you are seen you are valued and you are loved my intent in recting some of the challenging times is not to seeing sympathy or drud up the past it is toine perspective on where we've been and the importance of the district's efforts moving forward I believe in the a Community School District I have been humbled by the opportunity to provided leadership for a school district with such a rich history we are known across the state for our excellence and education to all of the engaged stakeholders your cash and for school district pushes us to
017be better our community's commitment to our educational Excellence was evidence in our referendum passing with an impressive 84.7% the D flam pool Wayne H hon Performing Art Center and our $139 million facility are among the finest in the industry in fact just last week I had a superintendent Sher with me they visited our new facility to drain for their construction project my husband and chose this community to plan our routes and raise our four children we knew the reputation of being having high academic standards and incredible opportunities for kids and Athletics the Arts and school clubs and it has for our kids and others which which is why I am honored to have served on this FL for eight years I've been proud to be a part of this team will to be to change
018and our commitment to all of the students in our district I've had the privilege of working with so many dedicated professionals those of you that sit at the side table on Monday nights ready to answer the board questions or respond to our requests as crazy as they may seem thank you I've appreciated the opportunity to work with you and to get to know you multiple superintendant have served the a ases community during my tenure on the board Tim Taylor was instrumental in the building and remodeling of almost all of the buildings in our district his impact can be seen every day Paula Vincent's steady unflappable leadership was welcomed at an incredibly difficult time for our district her courage is a guide for all of us to emulate and Dr Lawson you came to us despite
019our Brokenness and are working tirelessly to bring about academic improvements throughout the district and the way we reach all of our students the level of instruction we delivered the high expectations we set for our students thank you for being here leading us to educational excellence to the teachers staff and building leadership thank you seems insufficient for the message I want to Cony to you nothing can capture the admiration respect and pride I have in all of you your jobs are not easy in fact they become much more challenging as you work diligently to help your students discover their best uncovering hidden talents learning difficulties emotional challenges and promoting growth in our kids thank you for everything you do to Mentor our most precious commodity our children the recent news coverage of the success of Mitchell
020Elementary is something we should all celebrate I'm so proud of Justin Jess and his staff creating a kind welcoming sta space where your kids feel like they have a second family the staff is driven by by dissecting the data to adjust their approaches to meet the needs of every child I know this is representative of a lot of work happening in this District keep pushing forward these instructional efforts will make us a better district and more importantly help us in e in our effort to reach every child to my fellow board members past and present thank you for your commitment to all of the students in our district the job of a board member can be so frustrating that at times especially when we continue to educate concerned Comm community members and parents on what
021our governance role looks like it is not managing the daytoday of the district I am grateful to have had all of you as my colleagues Angie and Scott thank you for stepping up to serve our community I encourage all of you to keep in Focus your role as board members and support Dr Lawson and his staff Michelle Alan and Sabrina we've navigated the past four years together and I'm so thankful for the friendships that we've developed over the years Michelle you build me up in ways I'm not sure I deserve and Allan you keep me grounded and you're willing to push back on any topic with me validating and challenging my positions thank you Sabrina your incredible communication schools were needed when you stepped into the board pres board president position three years ago thank
022you for your commitment to this position and our district we often laugh that the two of us have voted differently than maybe any other board members yet we continue to be very supportive of one another and have very Frank conversations and rely on one another I'm proud of be friend my grandfather and father both served on Schoolboard in the local community ities during my first campaign my grandfather had moved to an assisted living center here in Ang when I went and asked him for my advice for his vote his advice was don't be afraid to vote no I don't know if I won his vote but I have to think if he was still living he would be proud of me Mom and Dad thanks for your endless conversations dad for helping me to Think
023Through IA School finance and for hauling our kids when I was at yet another meeting your support has made this possible to my siblings and good friends you have been in my Village to support us through this thank you Matt and my kids thank you for your endless support I know we have been stopped in the aisles of Heidi P decided school events he I even left to grab a cheeseburger to a softball game and I never returned you've shared me with the community it's not easy when tough decisions have to be made and it's your mom I hope I've made you proud and demonstrated for you how to be courageous levelheaded leader that cares for everyone and finally to the students of ases which many are in attendance tonight you are at the center
024of everything we do you are our why we have a responsibility to you to provide the best education possible one that supports you and challenges you to be your very best you are the future of our community and I am amazed at the things you do it has been an honor to serve all of you thank [Applause] you any other items from student reps board or staff I move we adjourn second all those in favor say I I oppose nay passes 6 Z and again we will adjourn and then call to order a new meeting for all of you in the audience elect um a vice president so I will entertain um nominations for the office of Vice President I nominate Sabrina Shield cook second are there any other nominations for the office of Vice
025President seeing then I'll close the nominations and we'll do a roll call vote and you'll re again vote for for the person you are the name of the person you are voting director beer bum Shield's cook director Shields cook Shield's cook director drer Shield's cook director Becker I'm sorry I forgot to take him out director he was last of the last one director Smith Shield's cook director W dward Shields cook director Winfrey Shields cook okay director Shield's cook and director beer Bon if youall come or I'm sorry Smith Winfrey I can't get my names correct tonight I'm sorry oh yeah we have to do her you raise your right hand do you solemnly swear that you will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Iowa and that you
026will faithfully and impartially to the best of your ability discharge the duties of President and Vice President in the as Community School District as now and Hereafter required by law I do congratulations thank you now I can move and not mess up anymore now I get to be the n and mess up welcome Madam president thank you I get to okay we do have yes we doe I'm sorry there's one down there oh thank [Laughter] you thank you J now that we're organized um our next item on the agenda is the appointment of legal counsel I'll entertain a motion I move the board approve allers and Cooney as legal counsel second hang on let me get myself in order all right uh moved by beer bomb and seconded by Shields cook discussion all in favor
027say I I I opposed passes 60 up here um next up uh discussion items the 2425 board meeting schedule don't know uh we have the the schedule presented is there any discuss discussion on I don't know do we usually disc yeah I would just say this is our um schedule of when the board meetings will be and when the agenda setting meetings will be so I would I would presume if you know of any conflicts especially on the agenda setting days if you let JD know then as they are figuring out who will slot in where he can take that into consideration if I could I would not you'll see that there in April there's an a third meeting to be determined that's because of the new requirement that the board hold a meeting where
028the only item on the agenda is the public hearing on the new taxpayer statement and we don't know the timing of that yet our next item public comments on discussion items sorry can I ask uh so that uh new meeting will be held this year as well right I mean sorry what 2024 this is the meeting so this this has April of 2025 but we're also going to have one of those in April 2024 correct or no I'm s the date on the top I think you're correct there there will be another April meeting to be determined in April of 24 yes as well as in 20 yes okay and I guess I'd add then thank you for pointing that out because I was thinking about this earlier the 20 if you have questions about
029oh you're right 20 spring of 24 those board meeting dates have been set yes but if you have conflicts around agenda setting then let JD or I know thank you for that um any other items related to the calendar all right uh next up uh public comment on discussion items nope and we do not have any so next I will open our public forum and read our statement residents of the district students attending the district parents or Guardians students attending the district and District staff members May address the board about any topic relevant to the district whether on the current agenda or not those who wish to speak must sign up at the beginning of the meeting speaker participation is limited to three minutes once per item the views and opinions of citizens addressing the
030board did not necessarily reflect those of the Board District administration or staff speakers are to remember that Iowa law prohibits the board from discussing specific employees students or their performance student speakers will state their name in school others will state their name and address do we have no there I don't I don't have the zoom so um nobody on the zoom and nobody on Zoom so I will close our public forum next on the agenda are consent items I'll entertain a motion I move the board approve the consent agenda as presented second was was that beer bomb okay uh move by Shields cook seconded by beer bomb discussion all right superintendent Lawson gives to the district yes thank you the superintendent's office received the completed form for and recommends acceptance of the following gifts $384
03152 cents from Northminster Presbyterian church for the benefit of Hope pantry and hi ve donated C valued at $50 for the benefit of the ases Community School District and those are the two um GI to the district that we have this evening thank you um next are action items oh oh we I do um vot to approve the consent agenda in favor say I I I opposed okay six Z and then the action items I move to approve the request to the school budget Review Committee for modifyed allowable growth for increased enrollment of i i i opposed it passes 60 do we have a second motion associate I move the request I move the request to the school budget Review Committee for modified allowable growth for limited English proficiency instruction Beyond 5 years in the
032amount of $ 71,7 second mve by De seconded by Shields cook discussion all in favor say I I I opposed passes 60 uh next item the aim cental renovation phase two approval I move the board approve plans and specifications form of contract notice to biders advertisement to bid and estimated total cost for the aim Center renovation phase two project second moved by beer Bomb seconded by Shields cook discussion all those in favor say I I opposed passes 60 uh is there a second motion I move the board set the date of public hearing on December 18th 2023 and direct the board secretary to publish the notice no sooner than November 28th 2023 second moved by beer Bomb seconded by Shield cook discussion all those in favor say I I opposed passes 60 uh next item
033on the agenda is the uh 10-fold architecture agreement for the aim Center I move the board approve the agreement between owner and architect for the aim Center renovation Phase 2 project second moved by beer Bomb seconded by Shields cook discussion all right all those in favor say I I I opposed right passes 60 and next is the new high school construction project change orders I move the board approve the change orders for the new Ames High School construction project as presented second moved by beer Bomb seconded by Shields cook discussion all those in favor say I I I opposed passes 60 and the next item the new high school final acceptance I move the board approve the final acceptance of work forbid packages 08- one aluminum and glazing by Ford Metro Inc 0 9-7 athletic
034Flooring by h2i Group Inc and 11-2 food service equipment by Rapids food service contract and design thank second moved by beer bomb second by Shields cook discussion all those in favor I I I opposed passes six go uh next item Ames Middle School tracks resurfacing I move the board approve the final acceptance of the work for the Ames Middle School track surfacing project 2023 second moved by beer Bob second advis Shields cook discussion I just want to say if you haven't been out there and seen it it's awesome it's a huge Improvement the kids are extremely happy with it and I am looking forward to seeing them run on it in the spring all in favor say I I I I opposed passes 60 um next uh student Representatives uh board and staff items are
035there any items from our student Representatives tonight we do not all right thank you um I haven't noted noted any items for staff okay any other items from the board items from the superintendent well both uh last meeting anyway um kind of missed the boat on that one so both Michelle and leis are gone and I'll send them personal message but congratulations and uh welcome to direct the dryer and uh Angie down there so great to have you eager to work alongside you and the last item is the board planning calendar our next meeting is I believe December 11th s right yep okay um and next we will move into our work session so we will end our Zoom live stream and three minute break and then we'll do move work session great oh yeah
036we not yet thank you Sabrina and Alan for