001this special meeting of the Muhammad seamour board of education is called to order it is 7 o'clock pm on Monday March 3rd at this time I'd like to remind anyone attending in person to please sign in which is right outside and silence their cell phones I'd also like to remind our visitors that in order to facilitate an effective meeting we ask those who wish to make comments to the board read the visitor guidelines which are on the table outside the door and complete this Orange um public participation form take those right over to Sarah um let's do roll call banister here Jordan here lamb here mome Rock here here mck Murray here all right to the flag of the United States of America and to theu for it stands one nation under God indivisible with
002liy and justice okay you have had a chance to look at the agenda is there a motion to approve the agenda as presented thank you is there a second second any discussion on the agenda okay this is a voice vote all those in favor of approving the agenda as presented say I I all those opposed okay um we do have a few public comment are there any additional public comment forms okay uh um first Andrea sing Andrea Andrea you'll have about three you'll have three minutes welcome come and then I'll kind of give you like a heads up when there's like 30 seconds is left okay um so okay I'm gonna try to read fast all right good evening uh my name is Andrea Singh I'm a local business owner and a mother to two
003children in the district one at Middletown and one at Lincoln Trail my husband and I decided to move to Mohammed from Champagne two years ago because we wanted to make sure our children were raised in a family friendly Community with good schools when we looked at other school districts in the area one of the deciding factors for us was diversity we wanted our children to have the benefit of smaller classrooms longevity from staff and other benefits Muhammad schools have to offer while providing them the opportunity to interact with peers from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities Muhammad has not always been synonymous with diversity while no official documentation exists to by knowledge It is believed that Muhammad was once a sun downtown not 30 years ago Muhammad was also known as a white flight community
004yet Muhammed for its smaller size has started to change and now has a minority enrollment of approximately 10% according to the 2024 report card this means approximately 342 children in the district identify as either biracial Hispanic Asian black or American Indian both of my children are part of the roughly 4% of students who identifies as two or more races imagine now how it feels to be the mother of a biracial child who has received a phone call from school about an altercation that took place between my son and another student as a result of this incident my son became familiar with the n-word to say I was horrified is an understatement while this provided a teaching moment in my home during which we talked about the history of a word and how it is sometimes
005encountered in Period literature I never imagined this word would be used freely by another student this tells me that children in this community are hearing this word at home they hear it from other adults and other children they interact with they are according to the latest edition of the trail times even hearing it while playing video games online and bringing it to school with them from what I have heard speaking to other parents in the district some of whom are also in this room tonight this type of language is not uncommon in our schools why do we allow this language in our classrooms why do we allow minority students populations to be subjected to inflammatory and racially demeaning language now add to this our current Administration issues executive orders to eliminate Dei and education and
006calls for Mass deportations schools which had previously been considered off liit stes on account of the trauma that often results from these encounters are now in play these executive orders pertain to Dei are at this moment in time not legal they are not legislative or regulatory changes that mandate changes in our schools the school board has many responsibilities which are outlined on the district websites these responsibilities include establishing equal educa Educational Opportunity policies that prohibit unlawful discrimination further the school district philosophy lists the specific goals and objectives which include creating diverse inclusive and Equitable Lear learning environment that supports all students I came here today to ask this board to continue to uphold its responsibility to the students of this district and more specifically to the minority students of this District all students deserve a
007safe space to learn and grow being part of the 10% versus the 90% is never going to be easy for a student they will always be aware that they are different if we acknowledge if we stop acknowledging celebrating and supporting these differences we become complicit schools should be safe spaces for all children full stop our children are watching and they are listening thank you daily sorry good evening board members and Dr Lee and members of our community uh my name is Melissa Dy I'm a parent in this District I serve on the PTO I substitute in our schools and I try to maintain and build strong relationships with teachers especially here at Middletown where my two kids are I care deeply about the students in this district and the environment in which they learn uh
008first I want to thank you for the time and the service that you give on this board I know this is not a paid position and I recognize the work that goes into serving on this board it wasn't that long ago that school board meetings were far more hostile uh fueled by misinformation about public education and we've seen how damaging that division can be and I believe that as a community we need to work work together not against each other to ensure that our schools remain a safe and supportive place for all students a few weeks ago you all received an email from me regarding my concerns about immigration raids and their potential impact on students the only response I received was from Dr Lee saying thank you for your feedback that response made me
009feel as though my concerns weren't taken seriously because of that I have opted to bring this issue forward publicly tonight and I am not alone in this tonight I am joined by other parents and community members who came alongside me tonight to say that these are values that they hold as well um we are seeing growing political pressure on public education including from our own elected officials congresswoman Mary Miller who is supposed to represent this district has publicly pushed for the elimination of diversity equity and inclusion initiatives in schools and encouraged her constituents to report schools that continue to uphold these values but diversity equity inclusion are not radical ideas they are basic principles that help ensure every student regardless of background ability or circumstances has the opportunity to succeed as a Christian I believe
010I am called to speak out for those who are the most vulnerable and that includes students who may feel unseen unheard or unsafe that could be a new student to this country to this school a new student with disabilities who may need extra support a child dealing with homelessness or food insecurity or simply a student who just feels like they don't belong schools should be a place where every child feels safe and valued not where they have to questioned if they are be to be welcomed I urge this board and our superintendent to reaffirm the values of our district values that prioritize inclusion safety and opportunity for all students that means ensuring staff receive training on supporting diverse student needs maintaining policies that protect students from discrimination and harassment and continuing to provide resources that
011help every child no matter their circumstances reach their full potential I ask this board to make it clear that our schools will remain a place where every student regardless of race religion gender identity ability or immigration status can learn and Thrive again I appreciate your time and your commitment to this District thanks um John B uh my name is John bck I'm here to address item seven on the agenda uh here in support of that given staff member and uh here just to observe if uh the district will act in accordance with employment law or not thank you okay any more SAR have any perfect um at this time a closed session is necessary for for um the appointment appointment compensation discipline performance or dismissal of specific employees is there a motion to go into
012close session for that reason so moved thank you is there a second second thank you um we do need a roll call vote to go into close session bister yes Jordan yes Sam yes Rock yes s yes McMurray yes um we will come back into open session and conduct business following close session so at this point in order to go into close session we do need to clear the room we will go into close session and then come back in Open Session and restart the YouTube thank you all right we are back in Open Session um we are moving forward to item number seven consideration and possible approval of termination of a non-certified support staff member um as you know we've been sitting in here having really long heavy conversations so this is not um
013this was we took all of this very seriously and this was not what we expected to be having especially as beloved as you are like our community loves you we all know you and respect you um but at this point based on everything we heard tonight we do um agree with the superintendent recommendation to terminate family and engagement specialist Suzanne Dill's employment by the district um I do need a motion to do that so moved let me I need to clarify um the statement before I um get a second as far as the live Chanel um oh my god um the rationale is due to unexcused absences from work in subordination falsification of documents and lying to the administration during disciplinary investigation can I have a motion for that reason thank you a second second
014okay and we do have to do a roll call vote banister yes Jordan yes no yes s yes MC Murray yes so that is um that does pass approval and then we're going to move on to item eight yes um if you'll look in your board packet in your in your board packet um there is a a board Bar for our FY 26 Staffing request and um you can see at the top uh part of it is we work together just a little background on this is that we work together generally um either late fall or early spring um and start talking about what our our needs are at the building level um as well as needs in different departments and needs at the at the district level um and um we finalize that um
015at our February principal meeting as a group and as a united front so when we bring this proposal to you it is as um our administrative team brings it we work with Heather in this in coming up with what is financially prudent and that we can afford also knowing that there is potential that if we see an influx in numbers in a couple of different places that we see we may see um that that doesn't break the bank if we need to add a couple more positions but what we're comfortable in going forward with at this point in time for next school year are the positions that I have in front of you um you approved the compass position so we can already we've already interviewed for that position and we appreciate that but I
016did want to be transparent and put that in this proposal that we have uh we also um have have a need for social worker here at mp uh we've got uh an additional one that that you graciously approved last year at LT uh we have our social worker as well as a a guidance or school counselor at at the Junior High that has made a big difference in speaking with Mr Mills and then we've got the two at the at the high school so um right now we've got Miss Larsson running around um about 100 miles hour uh with with her cart and she needs some additional Social Work support um here at MP so that is the reason for that request um our our vertical literacy team has spent a lot of time time
017all year uh with the implementation of what we look forward to being a new literacy curriculum next year and um then also uh when you look at the data as far as um with the evidence-based funding model um how many uh instructional coaches you should have uh for your student population we are are considerably behind in that so um and then we also just need additional K5 literacy support in our buildings and then couple that with adding in um our our literacy curriculum for next year and then also you know we're probably a couple what a couple years away from another math adoption so you know our instructional coaches will assist with that so that is the reason being um for that um this this next one I have is a nurse nurse coordinator I
018think we would like to flesh that out a little bit at the very least uh it's it's based on based on recommended members we are sorely in need of another nurse as well we've also seen an influx of our our U brittle diabetic students um and just a a bevy of of additional medical needs that we need a a second nurse um the reason that we have a potential nurse coordinator there is that I would like to flush out as we continue to massage this that it may make more sense to have that as as a supervisor as far as then this nurse would be a registered nurse but then she could also um evaluate our our our school nurse and then remember also we have um a healthy op in each one of the
019buildings and then that person could oversee those as well so um either way we're we're we just want want that on there for this position the difference in costs wouldn't be exorbitant so whatever we decide we would just like permission to do so with that um a district Technology support specialist is is an additional like what Zach does for us um we have continued to to increase the amount of Technology we have in our buildings we're one: one we've got Chromebooks we've got iPads here and uh keeping up with with broken ones and such is is be an enormous task and we need additional um and that's an entry level position is what that will be um and then the and then finally um I'm bringing to you a curriculum coordinator position um as well
020um when we look at you know when I first started as a as a superintendent and we would do um board goal setting is what it called was called back then and it really didn't make a whole lot of sense because you sat down as a group and you spent about three hours and you just came up with goals for the year and and one of the board members I never never forget said you know this goal setting is so great but it always costs money and certainly when we when we creating a strategic plan costs money and then implementing it cost money right um if we want to do it with with Fidelity and and our goal W of academics and achievement is as you guys have seen is there's a lot of very
021lofty goals in there and uh we need some support in the curriculum office uh when I first arrived um I was told uh by our outgoing superintendent that it's time to take a look at that position um certainly that's not something that we want to do anecdotally ever so we wanted to to take a look at going through the strategic planning process and now that uh we're going into to year four of working through and as an administrative team and the implementation of this um of the of the Strategic plan and and all the goals that are in it it's time for us to to bring in a curriculum coordinator with that as well um I've got a uh got some more information on that since it is something that would be new um but
022but it would be in direct support of of working with Dr Bagby and uh and Mrs Norr direct you one again all of these are are within budget and uh still leave a little wiggle room in the event that we have increased enrollment in the event that we have increased enrollment in our ml uh program which we we could have so um but these are all these are all fiscally responsible and we were all in in agreement as an administrative team moving forward with this I think when you look at the Strategic plan and you see all the areas under curriculum where it's where you are Meg like putting like doing this doing this doing this doing this doing this doing I'm like holy cow this is this is a lot so like just that
023data right there was when this whole notion of a curriculum coin coordinator came up yeah I feel like it's over um but I mean the rest of them makes sense too but this one I was like yeah you need that Dr Lee when you say administrative team um that extends to the building Administration as well right that's so so we have two administrator meetings a month uh one of them is Heather Dr bagy Mrs northri myself and the four principles and then the other one is all of our administrators so when we sit down and and Hammer that one out um we think that with the big group it'd be a little bit more Game of Thrones so it's just the four principles and the the four of us um and and that's where we
024figure that out where do these people work and I met Hunger Games not Game of Thrones sorry I mean it is 1025 what was your question um where where where do each of these individuals work are they moving from classroom to classroom mostly or okay so Compass is at at the junior high social worker is at MP the instructional coach you'll probably have at a building right because then that would give us a lit instructional coach that could be then be at each one of our elementary buildings with regard to literacy so want at MP want at LT um right but within those buildings are they think classrooms are they oh yes yes yes yes yes yes yeah they're they're in classrooms helping got it but are they going to take like an office space
025like where we have a compass teacher we have a classroom set up for that right yes we will there's space to add a social worker at MP yeah okay and the rest of them I feel like are all right superintendent recommends the board approve the addition of the five positions as presented so moved thank you I have a second second um any further discussion I just want to add I appreciate the leadership Heather Smith and into our and make sure that we're being responsible with adding these new positions um just being good stewards of the taxpayer money so I appreciate that we and she spends a lot of time and comes back with a number and and then we we'll live within that um okay let's call please gister yes yes yes m Rock yes
026yes yes that is approved post them get them fill um we are going to table items nine and 10 since those are just discussion items Kenny will bring those back in another time we do have additional closed session um reasons tonight so closed session is necessary tonight for the appointment employment compensation discipline performance or dismissal of specific employees that's the only um and then uh we do notp no I need a motion to go into close session for that reason my apologize so move thank you can I get a second thank you um let's do a roll call vote to go into close session banister yes Jordan yes yes yes yes M marray yes okay we will move into close session um we're going to take a comfort break we do not anticipate any business
027following close session um so we'll turn off YouTube and uh take a comfort break and over back in seven minutes we may rework