001I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> We have a couple special guests with us here tonight. >> And we were going to start the meeting off by inviting um Representative Davis and Senator Bray. They have a special presentation tonight to make. Wherever you feel comfortable. >> The microphone might be dead. >> [laughter] >> We talked about that, right? Where we were going to Anywhere near? All right. So, Dr. Long, Senator Bray, and I are here tonight representing um Governor Did I say Dr. Long? Dr. Long, Senator Bray, and [clears throat] I >> [laughter] >> are here tonight representing Governor Braun to present you with the Circle of Corydon, which is
002a prestigious award that the governor gives out. I'm going to take a minute to read it, if that's okay. Okay? To all to To all to whom these presents may come, greetings. Whereas the early leaders of our state gathered in Corydon in 1816 to adopt the first Indiana Constitution and to create the state of Indiana. Whereas Corydon was Indiana's first capital and center of leadership in the early and formative years of our state. Whereas like the founders of our great state, many others have made remarkable contributions to the betterment of Indiana and its people, and therefore are deserving of consideration for membership in the Indiana General Assembly Circle of Cordon. And whereas State Representative Michelle Davis has made known the illustrious benefactions of one William K. Long ED.D. I don't know I don't know if
003I should have said Dr. Long, sorry. >> [laughter] >> Who has demonstrated in life and in service to the people of the state of Indiana the qualities exemplified by our state's greatest citizens. Henceforth being deemed worthy of such recognition, the individual named above is hereby declared a distinguished member of the Circle of Cordon. In testimony whereof, the undersigned set their hands and caused to be affixed the great seal of the state done at the city of Indianapolis on this 18th day 18th day of June in the year 2026. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Yeah, you can get both. >> [laughter] >> Since I like totally messed up your whole speech, thank you. I think we're going to do a photo op, so yeah. Yeah, good. I will say that can you still have it? So
004that Dr. Long has been very instrumental in some school safety legislation that has really um put Indiana ahead of most of the other states up um on making sure that our schools are safe. And with your school police team, your school police department that you've created under your watch, I believe, and under Chief Jackson who's now gone, but they have done a tremendous job in leading the way, coming to the State House and providing testimony um when needed and when not needed even. >> [laughter] >> Um we've done a lot of work in the uh Center Grove has really led the way um especially with your facilities that you have here too. It's phenomenal. So I just wanted to say that it's been a pleasure Dr. Long you've been a pleasure to work with. Thank
005you. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Thank you for the time. >> Thank you. Thank you for coming. >> [laughter] >> I'm not going to cry at all this morning. >> Surprise. >> I know. >> All right, our next order of business is the adoption of the agenda. Do I have any discussion? >> Mr. President, I move that we adopt the agenda as presented. >> Thank you, Mr. Daniels. >> I second. >> [clears throat] >> Thank you, Mrs. Counts. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> All those opposed? Motion passes 5-0. Our next order of business is 4.1 which is the the dog report. I hate to call it just that. >> I can. It's I can. >> Dr. Long. >> Um Okay. >> All right, good evening everyone. Not sure that we can
006top that but we'll try with three cute furry animals. Um so I'm going to share a little bit about the dogs. I'll ask our helpers and handlers to share about their dogs as well. So go ahead Kristen. So I can we shared this last year when we got Hopper. We've had him for almost two years. And we partnered with I Can. They are one of the top maybe only canine assistant network in Indiana but what we love so much about their program is that they work with men and women who are incarcerated to raise the dogs. So, their role and their mission is helping on both ends of the leash. So, they get the dogs ready to help either in a facility or to help a person while helping the men and women who are
007incarcerated build some empathy and be able to give back to their communities. So, one service dog can really impact many lives and we're here to share about how these three have impact lives at Center Grove. Okay, so the benefits of the dogs First of all, I don't think I even said Hopper, Gouda, and Feta. You will hear about all of them. Gouda and Feta are sisters. They're from the cheese litter if you could pick up on the name. Um there's like Mozzarella >> Monteo >> Monte Monte for Monterey. >> Okay, okay. So, tons of cheese, but very cute that they're sisters. Um but the benefits of dogs in schools other than just being really cute. There are a lot of really great benefits that we're here to share with you all, but one to motivate
008our students to come to school, two to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, increase our positive school climate, and really focus on that student attendance. We use all three of these dogs to really encourage students in student attendance making sure we use them as rewards for students who come to school so that they can be here and ready to learn. So, we're going to talk a little bit about the dogs and their handler. I'm going to have Miss Olivia introduce herself when she comes up, but she and Mrs. Davis who's not here today work with Feta on the end in Pleasant Grove schools. Or excuse me, Pleasant Grove Elementary. And then Miss Leath and Mrs. Thompson work at Middle School North and they are with Gouda. And then as you all know, Dr. Long is retiring
009so I had to get a second handler to help out with Hopper and Mrs. Taylor over at Center Grove Elementary got trained so that he goes there two half days a week so that he can be with students there as well. So, we're going to share a little bit about the impact that they have had and I will let each of the handlers share a little bit and then we're going to do a couple of their cues so you can see some of the fun things they can do. So, Olivia. >> So, I'm Olivia Bellis. I'm one of the school social workers over at Pleasant Grove Elementary and this is Fedor. Her primary handler is Ms. Anna Catherine Davis. She is out of town, so I stepped in as her secondary handler to present her
010to you tonight. Pleasant Grove has been a much brighter place in the last semester and a couple months that Fedor has been there. She's been a wonderful motivator for students. She's built up a lot of morale both for staff and students. She's spent a lot of time in classrooms and just being there for emotional support of students both when they're happy and not so happy. So, she has had 2,713 student interactions since she got to Pleasant Grove in November and that's probably a a very >> lenient estimate. Yeah. And then she's done more than 68 classroom lessons, meaning she's gone into classroom 68 times to spend time with students, do fun things, but also to motivate them when they're they are doing fun things and doing awesome at school. So. I love having her. >>
011Thank you. >> Okay, the next slide is about Guda. I am Mrs. Leath. I'm Guda's primary handler. This is Guda. And Mrs. Thompson is her secondary handler. She's another one of our counselors. So, this school year Guda has had over 1,000 student interactions and over 50 classroom lessons. So, we do similar things as what Fedor does at the elementary. She participates in some of our small groups. She's had meetings in the dean's office which has been good for discussing self-control. But believe it or not, when we went to training there are some interesting things that dogs have to do to like settle themselves down too that I didn't know. And so, it's I think it's a a good thing that we can talk about with kids of how she handles herself and what she needs
012to do to take a break because we all need that sometimes. And then she's in our offices. She's around the hallway seeing kids and it really like just makes a huge difference just when kids are walking in the door and families are walking in the door like people are excited to be there. They're happy to be there. Kids get to earn a lunch with her with their PBIS rewards. And so it's just a pretty cool thing. If you want to play the video I don't know if Katie can do that. >> Sorry I didn't tell you that Kristen. It's PDF. >> It's okay if you can't play it. But it's so we took some cool videos of some of the cues that they can do. And one of the cues is crawl. And so when
013we do class lessons sometimes the kids want to see how many chairs in a row they can line up and sit on and get the dog to crawl under them. So the most we got this year was 13. But that is the video of her crawling under them. >> Wow. Harper's only gotten eight. >> Yeah. So I think that was her record is only like eight. >> Yeah. >> They can do some pretty cool things. Yeah. And then if you want to go to the next slide our yearbook sponsor had the kids respond in a yearbook poll of just what are your thoughts on having Gouda in the school this year. So I looked through these and I just want to highlight a couple of them. This one here was special middle school version to
014me. The Gouda is the most sacred powerful adorable quadruped which I had to look up. I think that means an animal with four legs. Of all time. And she deserves to be loved and cherished. And once I invent a cloning machine I will clone Gouda so the whole world can cherish her beauty and elegance. And that is middle school ladies and gentlemen. >> [laughter] >> But then they also said the best thing to happen to the school. So that was really cool. >> And and Miss Leath is really why we have this program. She has done a several gosh years of research on service dogs and what that would look like in schools and really champion this work and got Dr. Long on board. >> Dr. Long is the real reason that we [laughter] have
015this program because he let us look into it and figure out these programs and actually adopt it in our schools. So yeah. Thank you. So we want to show you some of the fun things that they can do. We did want to share too if you're out and about. They all have trading cards. And so they have become very hot commodity among the students. And um staff will be using them as a positive reward um for next school year as well. So, the last slide is Hopper and his is a little bit higher because we've had him all school year and um when I go to a building anytime a student interacts with him, I click my clicker. So, um we've had almost 6,000 student interactions um this past school year, which has been really
016fun. We work individually with 28 students across all nine of our buildings, so that's recommended by their school leadership team um just some students that need some extra attention. So, Hopper and I visit um them at least monthly. We've done 18 specific classroom visits and we've provided uh 11 lunch rewards for good behavior. So, really proud of the work that the dogs have done. Um and we'd like to take a few minutes if that's okay with the board to show you some of the cues that they um have learned over the couple years. So, we'll go one by one to not distract the dogs cuz they're used to listening to um their main handler. Stand. Stand. Yes. So, I'll do Hopper first. Um are you all good? We actually have a big audience today. I
017was like, "Oh, yeah." Okay, stand. So, again, this is Hopper. Sit. Yes. And so, when we say yes or give him a treat, that just lets him know that he's done the right thing. We're hopeful next year we'll be able to show you stealthy and smile cuz that's what we're currently working on this summer. Stand. Spin. >> [laughter] >> Reverse. And while all spin and reverse are super cute, um they are trained that way for like if I was in a wheelchair and he was my service dog and he went outside, got really muddy, I can't get down and wipe his paws, he can do it for me. So, spin. Boy. And then we do this fun one in kindergarten first or first grade. Hopper's really working hard on reading and so, he can read
018two different words. So, I'm going to show him this word and I was like, "Oh, he's going to say it." I'm like, "No, he doesn't say >> [laughter] >> He's going to do what's on this word and we've been working hard on it. Yes. Back. I'm going to show everybody this word. We don't say it out loud. Probably don't know what it means. You'll call me a cheater. >> Think about it for a second. >> We've also worked on six, seven this year, so you can pick out the number six, seven out of the deck. I know, but I pray now it's 41. So, I got to switch it out. >> Oh my god. >> Oh, should I do rock, paper, scissors? What do we do? Okay, we'll do rock, paper, scissors really quick. That's
019it. >> The kids love that the dogs can play games. >> It's been a very long day, so. Um if I do rock, paper is his little chin. If I do scissors, um his paw is the rock. So, win, okay? Rock, paper, scissors, shoot. Yes, go all the way. Sit. Just do sit. Cross. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot. Yes, go all the way. >> [laughter] >> Yes. And then bow. Tell them all done. Take. Bow. >> She comes to chewing. >> Yes. >> [laughter] >> Okay, Harvey, you want to go? >> Okay, sure. >> Stand. Sit. Okay, this is Scooter. Um I'm going to show you a fist bump. >> Good fist bump. >> So, it's something that's easy for the kids to do um when she visits class lessons. This is what she'll start doing
020is just offering me cues because she wants me to see the treats. High five. Down. Cross. You're fast. Fast enough for you? >> That's a cheat. >> Stand. Bow. >> [laughter] [applause] >> And this is Feta. We call her Feta cheese. Um, I'm going to show some tricks that she does with some of our students. So, if I could have a volunteer from the crowd Lillian, would you come up and join us? One of our former Pleasant Grove students. So, then we're going to do a hug, a kiss, and a secret. Okay, so if you want to get down on her level Hug. Very good motivated. Okay, this time we're going to give them the kiss on the cheek. Kiss. Yes, good And then this time she's going to tell a secret. So, put your
021hand up like you're going to receive a secret. Do it on this side. You're okay. Secret. Yes. Kids always say, "What did she say to say?" It's a secret. Um, and because Feta is a lady, she doesn't do bow, but she does do princess. Yes, good girl. Thank you all. >> [applause] >> And I'm sure you figured out, but I would just like to point out they don't put the dogs in a cage and go home for the night. The dogs have to go with them. Uh, that's why it takes two people to to each dog. Uh, cuz it's 24/7. Um, and they love their dogs just as their own. Um, and so do the kids. >> I did forget the sign. Um, sometimes we get our next step questions. So, Middle School Central and
022North Grove Elementary are on the wait list. And at times from other school districts, we get asked a lot, "How do you guys pay for that?" We use our Title IV dollars cuz it connects to that whole well-rounded education. So, that's how we are able to provide the dollars for the district. So, thank you for letting us share. >> [applause] >> Okay, our next order of business is consent items. >> No public comment. >> Oh, I'm sorry. There are no public comments. I'm skipping right over that. So, consent items. Are there any questions? Do I have a motion? >> Mr. President, I move we approve the consent agenda as presented. >> I second. >> Thank you, Mr. Alexander, and >> Ms. Janet Smith for second. All those in favor, say I. >> I. >> All
023those opposed? Motion passes 5-0. Thank you. Now, we'll move down to our >> Mr. Russell, can I introduce a few people? >> Yes, you can, since that was personnel report. >> Yeah. So, tonight we approved three new administrators, and I'd like to introduce them. First is Sierra Hunter. Actually, we sort of introduced her at the last board meeting. So, she has to come back for an encore visit. But, Sierra will be the next assistant principal at Pleasant Grove Elementary. And this is a return to Pleasant Grove for Ms. Hunter. She taught fourth grade at Pleasant Grove for four years before moving to Middle School North as the Dean there. And then, she was also um Pleasant Grove's Teacher of the Year in 2023. During her 23 years in education, she's also worked as an instructional
024assistant and the assistant director of preschool. She holds a bachelor's degree in elementary ed from Indiana University, home of the national champions in football. And a master's degree in ed leadership, uh and she replaces Martha Anderson who retired at the end of this school year. So, welcome, Sierra. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> The next person I'd like to introduce is Alex Bailey. Alex will be the next Dean at Center Grove Middle School North. Mr. Bailey comes to Middle School North from Clark Pleasant or Clark Elementary School at Clark Pleasant Schools where he served as a school counselor for the last 7 years. Prior to that, he worked as a as a guidance counselor at St. Barnabas in Indianapolis. Alex holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from DePauw and a master's degree in school counseling
025from Indiana University Indianapolis. They're still technically home of the national champions of football. He received his education Got to write it while you can, Scott. >> [laughter] >> He received his education administration certificate through Indiana University Bloomington and you all know what happened there. He replaces Sierra who was named the assistant principal at Pleasant Grove who we just introduced. And last but not least is Christie Wright and Christie's been chosen to be the new coordinator of special education. Is she here? >> Yeah. >> Okay, there she's hiding back there behind Senator Bray. >> Stand up, Christie. >> Yeah. Ms. Wright comes from Center Grove from Madison Area Special Services where she served as the last for the last 2 and 1/2 years as a special ed director. Prior to Madison, she spent 5 years working
026with the state monitoring as a monitoring team member for the Indiana Department of Education and a consultant for the Indiana IEP Resource Center. She also spent 17 years in various special education roles in Clark Pleasant Community School Corporation, Earlywood Education Services, Crothersville Community Schools, and Boone Clinton Northwest Hendricks Joint Services. Wright holds a bachelor's degree in speech and hearing science from Purdue University and a and a and a master's degree in speech pathology also from Purdue University. She received her direct >> Speak into your mic, please. >> [laughter] >> She received her director of exceptional needs licensure from Indiana University Bloomington, home of the national [laughter] champions in football. Uh this position replaces the director of secondary special education role as part of our restructuring of the special ed department. So, want to welcome uh
027Christie back to Johnson County. >> [applause] >> That's it. >> Thank you, I think. >> [laughter] >> I'll just say Purdue has a new football coach, so maybe it's our season. >> [laughter] >> Did you read over the DePauw Tigers with the W? >> I did. I did say DePauw Tigers, so >> Wanted to point out the Greencastle >> Yeah. >> connection. Okay. All right. Uh so, our uh first action item 7.1 is second reading of of amended policy 5136, which is a cell phone policy. >> No new changes from last month when I brought this before. You all so just bringing it again to make sure um we follow the law. And so, you'll see the policy here, and I will talk a little bit more in depth about it when we get to
028our handbooks. Nothing new to share. >> Okay. Any questions? Do I have a motion? >> Mr. President, I move to approve the amended policy 5136 as presented. >> Thank you, Mr. Alexander. Do I have a second? >> I'll second. >> Thank you, Mr. Denson. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> All those opposed? Motion passes 5-0. Thank you. 7.2, approval of the 2026-27 student handbook revisions. >> Yep, me again. All right, I'm going to share with you all some updates that we made to our handbooks for the next upcoming school year. I apologize that I am going to read from my paper just to make sure that I do not miss anything. Um first and foremost, I want to thank our handbook committee for all of their hard work this last year. This
029includes Amy Norman, Sierra Hunter, Alex Inglebert, Laura Burkhart, Teresa Owen, Allison Malter, and Olivia Preston. Appreciate their hard work as we move forward. So, the handbook provisions for the 2026-27 school year focus on alignment with new Indiana legislation, increased clarity around technology use, implementation of our district-wide behavior expectations, and updates to programs and services. I will say our biggest celebration is we took two middle school handbooks and made it one because it's been very lengthy for years to come. So, uh the first main theme of change was we updated all of our district-wide core behavior expectations. This came out of our strategic plan um for the belong and thrive pillar. So, you will see in all of the handbooks that we talk about the five district-wide behavioral expectations of regulation, adaptability, perseverance, connection, and collaboration.
030This will allow for that common language from K-12 buildings and from home to school. Our second biggest change was, as we just shared, the updated legislation around the bell-to-bell personal device requirements. So, the those key updates include that all personal electronic devices must be powered off and stored away from the beginning of the school day until dismissal. This is not only cell phones, it also includes smartwatches, headphones, Meta glasses, and other communication devices. Within this language, there are clarifications um about the Excuse me, the restrictions, which include passing period and lunch. We also added language about prohibiting personal hotspots and VPNs. Um, and also talked about if your student has a uh medical need or other need that will be handled within their health plan or individualized ice plan. Our third biggest change among all
031of them was expanded technology and our AI guidelines. We all know that this is changing. So, in the technology section, um you'll see the revised We revised to address modern technology use and emerging AI tools. The new provisions include approved generative I AI tools as a part of the district technology system. AI generated work must be disclosed. Submitting AI generated content as original work is a constitutes as plagiarism. Um creation of AI generated deep fakes or harassment is also considered under our bullying and cyberbullying. In addition, all of this was to align with FERPA, C 78, and Indiana's internet filtering requirements. That update has been changed. Our next change was we updated the language from our community health partnership to adult child who's actually becoming Centerstone on July 1st. So we've all talked about that.
032Um we also really have seen an increase this past year in 3D printed weapons or weapon-like materials. So that has now been included in our handbook as something that is prohibited on school property. Um in addition, we updated our drill language just to reference the compliance of the law, not necessarily the frequency that we are in compliance of the law, and we will continue to do all drills. We also saw some concerns with attendance, so we made some clarification with our attendance language that a medical doctor's note does not excuse you for the entire day. We are asking for there to be a time frame put on there. So some people were having a morning appointment but out the entire day. So we're trying to tighten that up so that our students can be in
033front of their teachers learning. We updated our curriculum and course offerings to the middle school as we've talked about how the middle school is changing. There's some new opportunities for our students in the elective courses, and we're excited to share those and offer those. Those have been updated. We streamlined our athletic and our extracurriculars and pricing information as well. And then I'm almost done. Two last high school specific um was we really took a look at our extracurricular um drug, alcohol, and tobacco policy and really revised some information there. So they were streamlined, um which meant that we took them to the appropriate handbooks. So, whether that's athletics, choir, extracurricular, um that speaks to their DAP policy speaks to their school-specific activity. Um we also made some clarifying that the random drug drug testing, if
034you are involved in one of those activities, is in violation of the DAP policy. So, that is new this school year. And then we updated our threat assessment process, um really talking about our district safety assessments. Students who are identified as a high risk of a threat in the evening will then be required to come to the EOC in the morning to do a threat assessment there as opposed to going to their campus. So, we were made sure that we added that. Those are the overarching updates for each of our five handbooks, excuse me, not five handbooks, four handbooks. Um any questions about the updates that you've heard? >> I think the only question I have, and I sorry I didn't think about this, um the AI policy on board with it. Do we have
035a way to, this is more of a Dr. Taylor question, do we have a way to gate down which AI technologies we allow through the filters and >> Yeah, and we will primarily allow Gemini moving forward as we use Google Docs. >> Okay. >> If we use >> That makes sense. >> Students will have access at home to other options. >> Well, I understand that. >> And many of our software tools to support our teachers have detectors built in now, too. So, we've always checked for a plagiarism now, which I think for AI-generated >> Okay. >> content as well. >> That we're going to try and limit it to Gemini. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> If if recommended. >> When recommended for coursework, that will be the recommendation. >> Okay. >> Any other questions? >>
036Any questions? >> Thank you. So, do I have a motion? >> Mr. President, I move to approve the 2026-2027 student handbook revisions as presented. >> Do I have a second? >> I >> Thank you, Mrs. Counts. Thank you, Mr. Daniels. Any discussion? All those in favor, say I. >> I. >> All those opposed? Motion passes 5-0. Next is 7.3, the approval of statement of benefits. And I assume that's Dr. Taylor. >> Yes, I'm uh pinch-hitting for uh Ms. Brown this evening on this topic. Um this is just an annual update. Um all of the changes that you see listed um are basically reflective of personnel items that have changed over the year. Um [snorts] this does include a compensation increase for administrative and support staff members. That increase was approved back in January in the
037amount of 1.6%. This just formalizes it in the statement of benefits. Um that matches the teachers base increase as well. They also received an additional half percent in catch-up provisions and other things that we have in the collective bargaining unit. Um most of these changes you'll see your uh insurance premiums also are adjusted to show the new rate starting in 2027. Um there [snorts] are some actual changes that are not items of personnel matters. One addresses when a when a support staff member switches from a job without certain time off provisions to a new one, there's still an introductory period before we apply those new time off um days. Um so that we don't have someone switching to earn a vacation level of vacation days and then resigning um shortly thereafter. So we'll prorate those
038days moving forward. Um some changes in the technology technology department to titles and length of contracts. >> [snorts] >> And also does apply this same um uh the same increase the 1.6 to our level D employees, which are typically our substitutes and our um non-recurring hourly staff. Um all of these changes are all credit to the HR department. They did a great job managing all of these and presenting them in an easy way for me to share them with you this evening. I will answer any questions I can. Okay. Do I have a motion? >> I move that we approve the statement of benefits. >> Thank you, Mrs. Johnson Smith. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Alexander. So, seeing there's no questions, all those in favor say aye. >> Aye.
039>> All those opposed. Thank you. Passes five five zero. 7.4, [clears throat] the approval to accept bids for the 2026-2027 food service. I assume we're going to >> Ms. Valerie Miller's going to come up for the food service. >> Good evening, board and President Russell. Thank you for the opportunity to present this evening. Um here I just have our contracts that we plan to utilize for the 26-27 school year and happy to answer any questions on those. Correct. We are part of the K-12 leading Indiana co-op group. Um this does We are part of the board of directors um for that group, which does allow us um rebates, contract agreements that are um at cost savings to us. >> But, just it's because of change in law that some of our prices are changing, right?
040>> No, they These are the meal prices, food and and stuff like that. Yeah, this is >> This is Okay, this isn't that way. >> Some of these are only available one-year term, so we will bring this every year, but many of them, as you can see, are multi-year. >> Okay, this isn't what I was thinking. Right, It's the next item. It's the next item. So, get ready for that question. >> Yes. Yes. >> So, in in >> Go ahead. We'll have her present the um the the term >> So, go ahead and do 7.5. Yeah, go ahead and do the next one. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> Yeah, they're two separate things. I got to balance that. So, that's why I was wondering. Okay, do I have a motion for 7.4? >> Mr. President,
041I move that we approve or accept the bids for the 26-27 food services presented. >> Thank you, Mr. Alexander. Do I have second? >> I'll second. >> Is that Amy? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Counts. All those in favor say aye. >> Aye. >> All those opposed? Motion passes 5-0. Now, we will move to 7.5, which is the approval of school meal prices and charge procedures for the 2026-2027 year. >> Perfect. Thank you. Again, thank you to uh President Russell and members of the board for the opportunity to speak tonight. Um I'm Valerie Miller, I'm the food service director here for Center Grove. Um so, tonight, I just want to provide a brief overview about how our department operates, how it's funded. I think in the past, we've kind of missed that opportunity, so I did
042want to take that chance to do that today. Um kind of the purpose is overview the programs we serve, how our department is funded through federal funds, other revenue sources, and some of our expenditures, and also review our proposed meal prices for 26-27. Um so, as you can see here, we are Our revenue comes from two sources, federal reimbursement through the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. Local revenues paid meal uh paid student meals, reduced student meals, adult meals, catering, a la carte sales, vendor rebates, as well as state matching, which is not listed here. Um unlike most departments in the district, we are self-supporting, meaning we don't receive any federal or sorry, any um district funds from the general fund. So, our responsibility is to cover our day-to-day expenses as well
043as our food costs, and I'll kind of go into more of our expenses from the next slide. Um we manage all costs associated with serving breakfast and lunch district-wide, including employee salaries, benefits, food purchases, kitchen equipment, sometimes with the support of the department through construction projects, um supplies, indirect costs, which are paid to the district, Professional development, travel, uniforms, all of the above as you can see listed. Um as many every sector over the past several years, we continue to see significant increases in food costs, labor, benefits, and equipment. Um we've worked hard over the past 2 years to try to mitigate any of these increases um through um programs um training in our kitchens to try to mitigate any issues with um inventory management um waste just you know, sometimes we over prepare food
044um to make sure every student is fed. However, with that does come an associated cost. Um so we try to mitigate some of these and we're still struggling to just meet that um kind of like net zero at the end of the year. So right now we're uh relying on our um funder our our um fund balance. So um it's dwindling not slowly, but we are losing money. Um so we're hoping that by increasing prices, which we'll talk about in a little bit, we can hopefully mitigate against some of those losses. Um so program rules and regulations to receive federal uh reimbursement, we have to um work within our federal regulations. So every reimbursable meal must meet USDA standards across fruits, veggies, whole grains, protein, milk requirements, sodium limits, uh added sugar limits, and calorie
045ranges. Um these standards continue to evolve. USDA recently released back in January um the 2025-2030 dietary guidelines for Americans and we anticipate potential updates to the meal pattern requirements that will further affect food costs and menu planning. Um changes uh no changes to state and federal legislation may impact our operating cost. Um our team remains committed to full compliance with our um federal and state um rules when it comes to providing nutritious and appealing meals daily. Um if you go on to the next slide, you can see your federal reimbursement for each lunch category here. So, for a free meal based on our 25-26 USDA um reimbursement rates, these aren't released until July. So, I won't know for 26-27 what our reimbursement rates will look like, but for a free meal, we receive $4.69. A
046reduced meal, $4.29. And then that reduced student pays that difference of 40 cents. And then on the end, you can see what we receive in federal reimbursement for a paid meal. Um The rates shown here reflect the current I already said that. Key point, reimbursement for paid meals is substantially lower than uh for a paid student than for free and reduced meals. The gap is exactly why paid meal prices matter so much. Federal reimbursement alone does not cover the full cost of um operating our department. And as a low free and reduced um district, we see more of our paid students participating in our program um on a daily basis. So, on to the next slide, um it's really tiny and I apologize for the small font. Um you can see here where we kind
047of stand in comparison to districts that are maybe similar. Um I will say the one that is not on here is Carmel. She did not disclose whether she was going to raise her meal prices this school year, but we are in line with Carmel at the moment. Um but as you can see, we are significantly less than other school districts with our most comparable to Bea Monroe-via. Um I won't say too much on that unless anyone has any questions on anyone I missed. Uh there are districts surrounding us that are able to offer meals for free, and that is because they're able to participate in the community eligibility program, which is CEP. Uh we just don't meet the threshold to be able to participate in that program. >> Now, that includes summer feeding, right? That's
048the you got to be eligible for that as well. >> eligible for summer feeding, yes. >> get that question a a in the summer time. Why don't we do that and again we don't qualify? >> We don't qualify at a building level, correct. You can go ahead and >> Any questions while we're here? >> Yeah. >> Oh. She's got a couple more slides. >> Oh, you got a couple more? >> Oh, yes. Couple more slides. Um >> [laughter] >> so, you know, our department revenue is no longer keeping pace with our current operating expenses despite trying to find ways to streamline operations, decrease staff in certain buildings, and just try to be good stewards of the money we have. So, I am proposing a 15 cent increase across breakfast, elementary lunch, and secondary lunch. Our
049reduced price meals would stay the same. Premium lunch would stay at 350. Adult luncheon lunch prices would remain the same. Um on the sheet that I did like our comparison, the last time we asked for an increase was in 2024. That came after USDA ended some COVID waivers that provided an additional 40 cents per meal and 15 or 40 cents per lunch and 15 cents per meal. So, now we're just kind of making up that gap that we're not receiving in reimbursement. Yeah, 2 years ago for the last increase of pricing. And so, in closing I just want to thank you thank the board for your support. We take our jobs really seriously in providing meals for our students. As mentioned many times in other presentations, we don't deny a student any We don't deny
050a student a meal. So, just wanting to making sure we our commitment reflects financially. So, at this time I respectfully request the board's approval >> [laughter] >> um to for our meal prices for 26-27. >> And and I know we want to keep the meal prices as low as possible. >> Correct, yeah. >> And the 15% or 15 cent increase, I appreciate the the uh background and and why we're needing to do that. >> yeah. that enough? >> That's a great question. Um I think it could be enough for a few years down the road. Now, I want to reevaluate it again. However, we play the like fine line of are we going to decrease participation by raising the price too much or are we going to increase our student meal debt if we increase
051the price too much? So, just trying to find a good balance between some of those really high threes and where we're currently at. >> So, you might be back next year asking for more, but we're going to try >> I'm going to try not to. Yeah, we're really hoping that this will be not an annual thing. Um but I think I will say to speak I can't speak for them, but some of those other districts that are closer to that $4 range probably just go for a raise every year where we're trying not to do that. So. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, thank you. >> Do we and excuse me because I've it's been a minute since I've had an elementary, but in elementary do we have parents and kids plan the meals that they
052want for the week? So, today is you get this choice and this choice and this choice and they have to pick one? >> Yeah, so currently on average we offer three options for each student. We don't take like a lunch count in the morning like we used to. Uh we kind of got rid of that practice. It was just a little tedious and it caused confusion in the lunch line cuz what a kindergartner wants at 8:00 a.m. is going to be very different from what they want when they see it on the line. So, we Yeah, like I don't know what I picked. >> food costs. You know, if if they pick then this is what you get and that helps with you know, >> Yeah, no that's a great point. I think just to
053um we try to batch cook. So, as students come through we're preparing what we went through or what we need to go through for that next next lunch. Our staff of course with federal regulations they do have to protect uh complete production records so they know every day like, "Hey, on this cycle day four we served 240 servings of a chicken sandwich and this time, okay, making note if there was a field trip or something like that cuz those do play into our numbers and how many meals we're serving. So, we work on a cycle menu at the elementary level that's 3 weeks. Um so, we're not creating a new menu that they have to guess what what they might be serving. So, we try to again foreshadow to see um what they're going to
054choose. After the third time of seeing a menu item, we usually know what those those elementary kids are going to be selecting. >> What's your most popular menu? >> Oh, pizza always. >> [laughter] >> Are they still rectangles or >> Yeah, they're still rectangles. >> They're still rectangles. >> We got squares, we got personal pan pizzas, yeah. I mean, my favorite is mac and cheese and pulled pork, but I think I'm the odd man out there. >> I want to add that reason that our department's able to keep these costs where they are is Valerie's hard work on this. >> Right. >> Um but we talked about opening the new kitchen and serving area in the academic pavilion, she restructured her leadership to keep that cost as low as possible using the high school she
055has. As we had a turnover in the assistant director position, again, she looked at it, determined what would be best for that position to move forward to try to avoid these types of recommendations. And that's why we've gone 2 years without one and pretty confident she'll go quite a while longer. >> Don't have no no pressures. >> Yeah. >> Don't jinx that. >> Yeah, don't knock on wood. >> And the last few years, the amount of costs that have gone up, you offset by >> Mhm. >> those efficiencies and really being focused. >> Outside factors that that could happen in 6 months from now. >> Yeah. Definitely. And and we don't know what the what the dietary guidelines are going to do to our meal pattern. They might They might change it completely. Um so,
056that could increase our costs as well. So, I The last rumor I heard was they were hoping for June, but here we are in June and I don't have any updates, so. Yeah. Okay. >> So, I one comment and then one question probably more for Dr. Taylor. So, first things first, kudos to you and your staff. In my 15 years of sitting in this seat, that the cost over time has been uh negligible as you think about inflation and all the other things that go into the to the world that you live in. So, that's That's kind of like these guys have said, that's a testament to your staff and the hard work that gets put in. Um and I mean, I know it's not easy to come ask for a increase in this every
057every couple of years, so. >> No, it's not. >> Um my question's more for Dr. Taylor. How are we I haven't seen a report in a while. How are we doing on the uncollected lunch debt category? >> Yeah, I can tell you about that. >> Okay. >> So, we kind of mentioned our charge policy. So, last year I came to the board with an updated to the charge policy that we would take any students that were $200 and above, and they would be sent to collections. If they were $200 and below, that negative balance would carry over to the next school year cuz we were previously at $20 and that was just almost impossible to keep up with. Um so, currently we have $10,000 in at our collections company with Kinum, and we have $35,000
058that needs to go to collections. Yeah. >> Wow. >> How's that compare his Do you know Do you have a historical uh >> Pretty close to last year. Slightly more, but we saw after COVID an increase because >> Yeah. >> we were funding we were funding meals for free. >> Right. >> Um and then we've seen an increase where you know, we've paid off someone's debt in the past, they accrue more debt assuming that we'll pay it off again, so. >> Okay. >> And to remind that that is a multi-step process. We spend a lot of time in the early steps working with them locally. The company works with them first before we really start talking about what we would consider a true collection. >> Yeah, no, I I know it before we get to
059that point, there's been multiple attempts and points of contact and conversations. >> are grateful for the Angel Fund and what it can provide to help offset some of that angling. >> So, they receive daily texts through Parent Square about their students' lunch balance. Whether or not that gets through to the parent is up in the air. They receive a weekly email from my managers. Now, this is a human process, so as long as that's happening, they receive a weekly from my managers and then a monthly from our department and then a 30-day collection notice before they go to collections. And then Kinum reaches out another five times before actually Yeah. >> Okay. >> And they sue the parent guardian, not the student. >> Great. >> [laughter] >> I think you said student. I just wanted
060to >> Yes. >> Yeah, some students are paying well. >> Okay. Any other questions or thoughts? Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thanks. >> So, I need a motion for school meal prices. >> Mr. President, I move that we approve the school meal prices and charge procedure procedures for 2026-27. >> Thank you, Mrs. Counts. Do I have a second? >> I second. >> Thank you, Mr. Donnigan-Smith. All those in favor, say I. >> I. >> All those opposed? Thank you very much. And now a fun one, 7.6, acceptance of a donation. >> Yes, actually our Northgrove principal, Ron Signer, received contact from the Case for Eight LLC. It's Joel and Emily Case, they're Northgrove parents. They're currently located in Greenwood, Indiana, but they're relocating to Florida and they donated a collection of headphones including JLab,
061Jay Buddy, and Hay Hayday brands. The donation includes approximately 1,050 units. We estimate the value at about $15 per unit on average for a total of 15,750. Those were distributed and offered to all six elementary schools as as of this donation. And we're excited for this and appreciate having great community members to provide that opportunity to our students at this time. So, we recommend the board approves this uh donation. >> Okay. Any questions? >> I Go ahead. Sorry, I assume the donation form will get updated with the amount and >> Yes. Yes. >> Okay. >> And this is a >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> We use these kind of headphones are compatible for >> work with our devices. Yep. >> Fabulous. >> Yep. >> Yeah, that's okay. Good. >> Just want to make
062sure we didn't have to provide >> Yeah, we were hoping to get some more >> buy buy [laughter] equipment. >> Yes. >> donation but we got >> Well, that's fabulous. >> We spent twice as much. >> Okay. Great. Always nice donations like that. I do need a motion to accept these. >> I move to accept the donation from Case Freight as presented. >> Second. >> And Mr. Duncan-Smith and Mr. Daniels. Those in favor, say I. >> I. >> All those opposed? Motion passes 5-0. Thank you everyone. Got through those pretty quickly. Under announcements, July 16th is the next uh executive session at 6:00 p.m. at the superintendent's conference. And then following that would be a regular board meeting at 7:00 p.m. That's the only announcements we have at the moment. >> One addition to that,
063we have a board retreat July 6th at 4:00 p.m. >> That's right. >> July 6th 4:00 p.m. >> Right. Yeah. And that's at IT. >> IT building. >> IT. >> Mhm. >> We'll send a note. >> A reminder. >> Okay. Time for uh board superintendent com- comments. Let's start with board. Mrs. Counts. >> I have nothing. >> Okay. Mr. Daniels. >> No, I do have something. >> Go ahead, Mrs. Counts. >> No, it's okay. Go ahead. No, go ahead. Do you have something? >> No, I just I wanted to say thank you to Dr. Long for everything [snorts] that you've done for our school corporation, and I I know that Lori is excited to have you home, and I know you're excited, but we're going to miss you a lot. So, I just wanted to
064say thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, Lori, for giving us one more year. When we were looking for a a superintendent, Dr. Long's name jumped to the top, and we asked him to stay one extra year instead of going into early retirement. He could have coasted in the time he was here, but he didn't. He's made a lot of positive change in the right direction, not only academically, but buildings, you name it. You look at Center Grove in the years he's been here, there's very little he hasn't touched. So many people, so many things, he's left an indelible mark here on Center Grove, and he'll be remembered. And to honor him today with with the special award from the governor is is a great way to uh to honor him on his last board
065meeting. It's been a pleasure to work with him. It's been a pleasure to get to know him over the the 9 years I've been sitting up here. He's, you know, we've we've got looking forward to Dr. Stonebraker taking over, but at the same time, you're not going to replace him. He's not replaceable. We're going to miss him, and Lori, thank you again for the extra year. >> Thank you. >> I didn't know we were making mini speeches. >> [laughter] >> Let me get out of here. >> You don't have to, yeah. >> No, um I would I would echo that. Thank you so much for all you've done. I've sent both of my boys to this these schools, and they had a great experience. That's one of the reasons I applied for this board position
066whenever it came open. Um you are the the best superintendent I've worked with as a school board member. [laughter] You're also the worst superintendent. I'm just kidding. No, it was it was really great. I mean, I think you've set a standard though that I think we'll we'll continue to uphold, so that has been awesome. And I'm going to really miss having at least one ally to help me cheer on my Hoosiers. >> I'm going [laughter] to have to sit here and hear a lot of boilering up or whatever you guys say, so thank you for everything you've done. >> [laughter] >> Mr. Alexander. I'm going to talk about the two business things first before I talk about Bill. Sorry, Bill. >> That's all right. >> Um Central 9 had the governing uh body meeting where
067you approved the budget for uh the next school year. Um I'm assuming we weighed in on that. Okay. Um that's good cuz I approved it, so it's too late. >> [laughter] >> Um and then the Johnson County Redevelopment Commission um had the uh annual readout of the excess funds from the TIF districts, and we're going to get a summary letter from them that we just got from the city agreeing with that that there's no excess evaluation to be >> distributed >> to be distributed or to be given. So, um we'll get a summary letter here in the next few weeks. Um And to Dr. Long, it's been a pleasure. Um you should go stand on the roof of the press box and just stand there and just overlook the campus. I I highly recommend you
068do that on you can I'll let you do it on July 2nd. How about that? Um and you know, all the 4:30 mornings of checking roads and >> making sure all those things haven't gone unnoticed over the years, and a huge thank you to Lori for letting us have him an extra year. Um I know when Dr. Long and I sat and had lunch at Ale Emporium, and he we were talking about the superintendent position. I said, "How does Lori feel about this?" I was more concerned about how Lori felt about it than I had than what Bill felt about it, but um you came in and did what what the district needed, Bill. You kept us moving forward. You made a lot of great changes in the in the two little over two years
069you came in and sat in the seat. So, appreciate all the work. >> Thank you. >> Well, we've been here a while, haven't we? >> [laughter] >> I've seen Bill in many different positions, and it's been a pleasure. Uh I've seen all the kids go through. And yes, again, thank you, Lori, uh for giving us these two years. I had to go in and tell Bill when he applied for superintendent that he wasn't going to get it that one time uh for various reasons. And he was very professional about it. Now, what he said after I stepped out of his office, I don't know, but >> [laughter] >> but uh he's always been very professional, easy to talk with. Uh he's the type of person that you can agree to disagree with, and we can
070move on. And that's who you want uh in uh in your business and so forth. What you see around campus is is directly related to you, Bill. Uh I mean, I never I had experience how building houses and stuff, but not big buildings. And And you really showed not how easy it is, but how it can be done in a methodical way. Um because I know uh from being on ASBA what a lot of other districts went through when they went through building programs, and we didn't have those. When it came time that we needed someone two years ago, it it wasn't it really wasn't a second thought. It was a speed bump. We all We all know that. And it was a very smooth speed bump. Uh in any of the two years what
071you've accomplished has been pretty phenomenal. It definitely has kept Center Grove going in a forward direction, which is what we always want to do uh with that. You're leaving under wonderful circumstances. Um you know, for once we're leaving a superintendent and getting a superintendent in a positive manner. Uh we haven't always had that history. So uh I can honestly say, you know, that you've been wonderful for Center Grove. I know you have a love for Center Grove and that's that is what has always since impressed me uh cuz you know I love it. >> [laughter] >> So thank you. >> Thanks. >> Two simple words, but thank you. Okay, anything else? >> [applause] >> Uh what do we have here? >> This is something for Dr. Long. >> Is it from you? >> No, it's
072from my mom. >> Oh, okay. [laughter] >> Mr. President, it's your job to award that. >> [laughter] >> I need a little help once in a while. >> want me to open it now or do you want me to wait? What's >> Can he open it now? >> Things are going to fly [clears throat] out. There's like everything flying. >> can open it now. >> You can open it now. >> I'll open it now. >> That'll that'll show up Friday night. >> We save We save the private gift for later. >> No. It's nice. It's a picture of us. >> He He can put it in the attic to keep the mice away. >> [laughter] >> I was waiting to see who was going to say that. I would have put it in the attic
073anyway. >> Thanks. >> Thank you. >> Thanks. Yeah. >> Garage wall. >> And Dr. Long, here's another personal item from the board to you. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, Jared. Thanks. And we we we expect you to take Lori out for dinner. >> [laughter] >> Of course. >> Okay, just checking. I wanted to make sure we set the egg one last expectation. >> Yeah, and now it's always there. >> No, I appreciate everything. [laughter] So, it's been been a pleasure. >> We tried. >> 28 years 28 years is a long time and it's time to relax a little bit, not set the alarm. >> Let me know what that's like. >> [laughter] >> 28 years here. >> 40 >> Three all together. Three all together. >> Yeah. >> I'm going to go off the roll
074call and ask if he wants to make a motion to adjourn. Would you like to make the motion? >> to. >> You can pound the gavel. >> Mr. President, I move we adjourn my last meeting. >> So moved. >> There you go. >> Second. We all second that. >> All right. We're adjourned. >> [applause]