001When you're >> ready to call the order the uh Leaport Community School Corporation School Board meeting for Monday, February 9th, 2026. I'd ask you to please silence your cell phones and uh please stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge algiance 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. Let's do a roll call. Mr. Arnold >> present. >> Miss Jackson. >> Yes. >> Monica present. Mr. Tucker >> here. >> President >> here. >> All right. >> Who are you? The first order of business is the uh school spotlight tonight. We have Kingsberry Elementary School here. >> Where do you want me to stand? >> Uh over there where she stand introduce
002you. So we have you want to go ahead? >> Sure. Yes. So with us this evening we have Mr. Kyle Dean who is our new this year principal at Kingsbury Elementary. So he is going to present a school spotlight this evening on Kingsbury and uh introduced us to some guests and some of the great things that are going on at Kingsbury. >> Perfect. Thank you guys for uh for having us. I'm excited to talk about Kingsberry because it truly is a special place. Uh so you'll see throughout the slides here uh it's you know we've our theme is learning in paradise and uh you'll see this uh definitely come through. So really what makes Kingsberry truly special is it's the people uh and so you'll see here the people the experiences that they afford our
003students is truly world class. Uh, and you'll see here as I kind of introduce and and go through uh just little snippets here and there. Uh, it you'll see a common theme where it's care, it's compassion, and it's consistency. Uh, it's across the board throughout the building. Uh, and so you can kind of see here on the first little video here. It was taken during our rock to school event. Uh and so part of the learning in paradise, we had some steel drums and uh this was only made possible by the people that uh not only work in the building but the families uh that help provide these opportunities that enrich our kings at Kingsberry. So again, what makes Kingsberry special? must be first I'd like to highlight are the the people. So, uh with
004us here we have some of our teachers, our staff. Uh and so um there's been a running joke, but um she's not just the secretary, she is more than the secretary, but she is uh the administrative assistant with Don Sprouse uh is truly when people come in. That's usually one of the first faces they see. And um the level of care and commitment and her consistency, give you a quick little story here. Uh so we have a couple of students that have uh some significant med medical needs and uh and one in particular uh not that she was asked to but that she had volunteered to even put it on her own device uh is to monitor uh the glucose level of one of our kids. Uh even to the point that she sometimes will
005let it run during the weekends and uh the summer. And it's truly just impressive that uh she'll jump up and, you know, get on the the radio and and radio out to uh the teacher the to keep an eye on our our our friend. Uh and the fact that she does that in addition to many many other things uh is really kind of all inspiring. That's she goes above and beyond. um she takes after all of the financial uh taking in money from all of our elementary clubs and activities and so she just rises above and beyond uh what is expected of her, what is asked of her. Uh and so that's one highlight. Uh we've got staff uh in the building that um I'm not sure what was going on in our second grade
006for breakfast, but on two separate occasions uh we had some friends that uh were choking and quickly uh reacted in a a positive and professional manner to the point where one person on the the grade level team said I guess it's my turn next. Uh but what was really inspiring was the fact that I went down there to uh check on the staff member and they were like, "Nope, give me I want to be back in with the room." Obviously, when someone is choking, that can be not only traumatic for the friend, but for the staff member as well. So again, just quickness, ability to get back into the swing of things, not only for all kids was really inspiring. Uh and so we have many staff that have spent their entire teaching career in
007Kingsbury and that's something that especially nowadays you just do not see. Uh so there's that level of care and consistency. Um we have some parents with us that uh they're in every day. It's almost like they are an employee. uh whether or not it's volunteering uh or helping lead one of the many events that I'll showcase here. Um but essentially legacy that Kingsberry when I uh was selected to to be a part of the Kingsberry family, one of my former assistant principles said I was a Kingsberry kid like just truly impressive of how um the pride that staff, parents, former students uh want to not only be a part of Kingsburg, but share the the the awesomeness that that goes on day-to-day basis. Uh and so we have our uh two of our PR team
008members that were former Kingsberry kids. Uh so they're also coming in supporting our kids um on a pretty regular consistent basis. So, they also happen to be a part of the slicer squad, which uh if you're not familiar with it, uh high school students coming and welcoming our elementary kids and it's truly uh that pay forward type mentality. So, it's like once a once a slicer, always a slicer, but for them to kind of come in and volunteer again leads to that that pride, that legacy that makes Kingsbury really special in addition to all the other elementaryaries as well. Um and so again, our students, as you'll see here, uh throughout the pictures, they're world class. They're topnotch. Uh even with um you know, taking on more programs, it's truly made Kingsbury more special. And
009you'll see here uh when we get going through the slides, it's the people that bring the experiences that then have people coming back and saying, "Oh, we did those." Some other things I'd like to highlight with our staff um you know bringing back Mr. Petrey parents were you know I remember when he was giving me uh jerky and whatnot and those type of legacy things you really don't um don't see too often uh and so especially when I talk about our first uh monthly activity uh was really apparent. So some other things but I'll go ahead. I know we've got three hours, right? So, so I can talk and talk all about it, but uh for sake of time and we'll move on to the next slide here. Uh so, it's the people that bring
010the events and the experiences to our students. So, there's a lot of things that Kingsberry staff, parents, um, community members really bring that I'll be honest, I think it's it's pretty unparalleled in what I've seen, whether it's at elementary or secondary. Uh, and so monthly activities. The first one there was that kindergarten uh popsicles on the playground and that was designed to get our Kingsberry families that are new to Kingsberry uh the ability to interact and form those partnerships that we rely on um every year going forward. And so um we host that right at the beginning of the school year and that's one of the reasons why we go on. So then grandparents day and our open house uh one of the things that really stuck out to me was talking with families and
011they said I was a Kingsberry kid. My kids were Kingsberry kids and now my grandchildren are also a part of Kingsberry. So that um you really don't see that multigenerational again kind of goes to that legacy, the pride, the care and the commitment. Uh so you can see there I mean there's a lot outdoor movie night um was one of our kind of incentives for the quarter. Um so we after getting some feedback from the students uh they wanted to play Minecraft. Uh and so um not seen the movie but chicken jockey uh was was really cool to see the kids uh you know getting really excited for that. So, we hosted that outside um so that way our families could again that community feel that that really kind of separates Kingsbury from from other
012other places. Uh our next activity uh was this wellness week. Uh we incorporated fire safety. Uh we got volunteers from um fire departments. Uh you'll see here too the amount of um parent volunteers up in the top left corner there is uh the hot family. They've uh they offer uh personal training but they came in as a part of our CQLA curriculum for our younger grade levels where we were looking at body systems. And so to enrich the bring the curriculum to uh to life uh they were doing yoga in the courtyard. You know stuff that um parent volunteered their time to really kind of um not only tie the the the curriculum but things that kids will will remember for for the rest of their their lives. Uh as that video is playing there
013um we had a little competition. Uh, I will say that I don't think the fire equipment that uh they gave me was regulation size, but uh I will say you probably don't want me trying to get suited up quickly because it uh definitely didn't happen as quick as the other two. But we had uh one of our staff members, Mr. Miller and one of our volunteer fire department members. Uh showcasing, you know, to the students what to do in a fire situation, getting low, uh showing what's um what they may see if if they're encountering um uh potentially traumatic experience. You know, if a house is on fire, in the bottom right video was just a simulation of what to do to get low. So again, this was uh something that the community came in
014uh to enrich what we were focused on for that week. Uh and you can kind of see there really unique opportunity that again it's the people that brought in the experiences uh that then kind of paid it forward and I think it kind of attests to the idea that going back to that, you know, multigenerational commitment to Kingsberry, what makes Kingsberry special. So on our next we offered our uh fund run uh and so our our families community um through fundraising put together uh all students and staff uh got a a fun run t-shirt and so this was a way to um get the kids excited. Uh again part of our quarterly incentives. Uh, and in that top left corner there, you can see we had probably, you think back there, roughly 20 volunteers that
015came in to help run fun run. So, again, really exciting. We had music going on, bubbles, uh, to get the kids moving. Uh, and so, uh, some of the community members got to join in and it was just a really neat experience that again wouldn't have happened without the people that, uh, that brought it uh, to fruition. So staff members uh to even community members. So our next one here, trickor treat. Um my first one at Kingsberry, but it was um pretty huge success. We had um from the the starts the line of families waiting to get in um was, as I was told by multiple staff members, the most that they had ever seen in their 30 plus years. Uh, and again, it didn't happen without um our our parent network, our community and
016our staff standing together and and putting that together. Uh, we had a costume contest. Um, wish I would have got the amount of pounds of candy that we distributed, but uh, we didn't run out this year, which I thought was impressive in the fact that it was one of the most well attended events that we've had this year. Uh we have parents that's that decorated and did trunk or treat. So again to meet the needs of all of our kids that maybe uh aren't as mobile as some of our other friends. Uh so it was a really unique experience that's uh that we provided by the next one here. Pastries with parents. Uh so again donations uh and support from the community. uh really neat opportunity to allow our kids to write letters to Santa
017may not be able to experience um you know that for whatever reason. So we hosted it on a Saturday and if I remember correctly I think uh that was our first like arctic shot of super cold uh but it was also well attended so they were able to come in and go as they wanted but putting together gingerbread men uh to write letters for Santa to join some pastries. So again, community feel that kind of showcases what makes Kingsberry so special. Go on to the next one here. So we just offered uh our STEM night last month. Uh and uh really big success. You can see there uh from robots to creating bouncy balls to um figuring out uh mathematically how consistently they could create paper footballs to you know again things that that tied
018into the curriculum but then enhanced it. You can see there we couple different activities that again uh really showcase. So again, the staff, the parents, um the community coming together and providing really awesome experiences for for our kids. Go to the next one. In addition to that, so a monthly uh activities that we have going on for our families, uh the amount of field trips, those experiences, I was just talking to a gentleman today that came in and was having lunch with their um grandchild. uh they had volunteered for our Cany River. Uh so again pulling in. So what the goal for this year with our new curriculum was to bring that curriculum to life. Uh these field trips definitely helped drive that. And so Barker Mansion the history of Leaport County being able to
019offer that. um talked to another father that lives in Leaport County, grew up in Leaport County, had never been to the Parker Mansion. Um so again, it was kind of neat to see that. Um two power of pets assemblies, a pumpkin patch brought in our um kindergarten, first grade to go pick out a pumpkin. And so that was brought by our um put together by our staff and community members. um do want to highlight uh in one of our classes uh they teach um kind of uh the read story and then incorporates um empathy, some care when it comes to taking care of gingerbread men. Uh you'll see later on there's a couple pictures, but I mean it's it's a big to-do. um if uh if they're not taking care of their gingerbread men, they
020could be referred to the There we go. On the top right there, uh the the gingerbread uh nurse who takes and evaluates the gingerbread. So, it's again kind of just highlighting what our staff uh our families do. They really go above and beyond. So, that care, that consistency um is truly evident. There you can see some pictures of our fourth grade uh classrooms. They do a text surgery. They use um uh text devices to uh put together and learn all the um different uh formats of literary devices. So again, uh the equipment's provided generously by community to then get them real world experience in a classroom setting. Uh and then to highlight again, if our our students are taking care of our gingerbread uh friends, they could be referred to uh gingerbread protective services. Uh
021it's really big to do that. Kids would come down to the office. You can see there our infirmary. Uh so again things that staff support each other uh for the betterment of our our students. So again really amazing things that uh the experiences are going to happen that have the people that we do. So here you can see again tied in the curriculum. So, we had our first uh unit of our CQLA curriculum was talking about polio. Uh, and so I'm not sure I didn't know it until um till the the students were telling me about it, but Candyland was actually created for students uh for people that have polio that were in a hospital setting. Uh so, again, tying in that curriculum. Uh so other pictures there you can see uh students were even
022learning how um that's what I'm looking for the when they're in there and uh physical therapy. There we go. So the physical therapy uh type of activities and exercises that they would do with uh those that have polio. So students were kind of getting exposed to that again that empathy uh being a really big important component. Uh and then milkshakes uh milkshakes was something that um that they would serve to uh children with polio. So again tying all all of that in I was not asked the staff to do that. that was something that they uh really dug into this new curriculum and wanted to bring that to life. So again, our our all of our grade levels are doing that. But just to highlight a couple of uh examples of that go >> that's
023the last one. So you can see here we go back to he's going okay owl pellets. Uh we just uh last week uh had humane Indiana come in and I'll be honest, I had uh a couple staff members said like this is what school is about. Uh so I don't know if you're familiar with an owl pellet, but uh it's basically the remains after an owl gets done consuming. So the students were it's been sanitized 400° in an oven. uh safety first obviously, but um bringing that that experience in and the kids, they were so engaged. It was it was awesome. Uh even to the part where they were still to this day or to today where I had a V or a VO I had a bird that that was in my owl pellet
024things that I remember when I was in elementary that's again pretty pretty easy. Uh so I mentioned the quarterly reading incentives. Um he brought in a character development program for the Ned show. So learning um to never give up um through the use of learning how to yo-yo. Uh so one other cool things uh every Friday we offer Kings ticket winners. Uh and so staff volunteer to support our kings that are caught doing things that they should be doing. Um so you can kind of see there. I also wanted to highlight uh our social committee that does a really good job. So, not only for our students but for our staff uh with um monthly events, potlucks um I've learned in a predominantly female building to have a steady supply of chocolate. So, there's chocolate
025available on every Friday. Uh, and so again, it's just something that um, no one has really asked or expected to, but they just do it because they have pride in in Kingsberry. They have pride in what they do, career, compassion, and consistency. So that is truly what makes Kingsbury a special place, place that we can learn in paradise. >> Thank you. So, I would let uh all the folks associated with the Kingsbury, you can do whatever you want. Don't feel like you have to stay for the whole meeting. Um we're going to drive on. The next order of business is public comment. There is none. Move to our consent agenda. There's seven items on the consent agenda. Uh the first is the approval of minutes of the January 12th, 2026 reorganization meeting. Approval of minutes
026of the January 12, 2026 board of finance meeting of minutes of the January 12, 2026 school board meeting. Financials for ratification and approval. Treasurers report. Teachers requesting retirement as part of the retirement buyout incentive. Personnel recommendations travel request. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> Thank you, Dr. O. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Jen. All those in favor say I. I opposed. Motion carries. There's one special personnel recommendation. Is there a motion to approve the special personnel recommendation? >> Thank you, Jen. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Amy. All those in favor say I. >> I. Motion carries. Next order of business is the superintendent report. Dr. Wood, >> thank you. Um, I want to begin my report tonight by providing the board with an update regarding the
027student walkout that occurred earlier today at Leport High School. Um, so approximately 150 students left the school during the day to participate in a student initiated walk out. This activity was organized by students and was not a school sponsored event. Little Park Community School Corporation, as you know, does not organize or promote student walkouts or demonstrations. And our role throughout the day was to prioritize student safety and ensure appropriate supervision while students were in our care. Student safety remained our priority throughout the event. Staff followed established protocols and the school day continued as scheduled for the majority of students remained in the building. Students who chose to leave the school property were no longer under school supervision. Um, families were communicated with in advance regarding attendance procedures and parents were encouraged to discuss expectations with
028their children as outlined in the Leaport High School student handbook. Students who leave school without approval from a school official or a parent or guardian are subject to our attendance and truency policies. Students whose parents contacted the school to verify their absence were marked accordingly. At this time, attendance records are still being reviewed. Any attendance or conduct matters will be addressed on an individual basis in accordance with the discipline policies outlined in the Lart High School student handbook. I wanted to ensure the board that the board was aware of the situation and the steps taken to date to prioritize safety, maintain order, and follow established restrict protocols. Um the second part of my report this evening is a brief update regarding our spring ABM, which is our enrollment count that is reported to um the
029Department of Education and connected directly to our funding for the second half of the school year. The spring count day was February 2nd and enrollment as of that date determines our funding for the second half of the 2526 school year. While these numbers are still considered an estimate until our final report is submitted later this week, our current spring count is 5,533 students. So this represents a decrease of 28 students from our October count, which was 5561. So while we are down slightly overall, it's important to note that several of our schools did see a modest enrollment increase between the fall and spring counts including Hileman, Hanley, and Kingsford Heights elementaryaries and Leaport Middle School. So in addition to that, Leaport online school experienced notable growth, increasing from 111 students in October to 163 students
030in February. Um, so that growth has played a critical role in helping us mitigate the typical enrollment loss we've historically experienced between the fall and the spring count day. So prior to the launch of Leaport online, which was the 2425 school year, our average decline between the fall and the spring was 71 students. So, since opening the online school last year, we've significantly reduced that loss by providing families with an alternative option when circumstances arise midyear that make traditional in-person setting less feasible for them. Um, so last year our fall to spring decline was 37 students. So this year at the 28 students, we've reduced that number even further. Um, and in fact, if we look back all the way to 2013, and that was the first year that they started doing the two count
031days. Prior to that, they only did one count in um September. Uh there have only been two years in which our fall to spring decline was smaller than what we're seeing this year. So um I think we have a lot to credit to Leaport online for helping us to really mitigate that loss that historically we've seen. And I also want to point out though that we do see movement in the other direction as well. Um so within Leaport online just this semester um at the start of this semester we have approximately eight students who started the year in the online program and were able to successfully transition back into in-person learning within one of our schools. Um so that two-way movement and reinforces that the online option is functioning as a flexible pathway within our
032district allowing students to move between learning environments as their needs change. And it also allows us to help ease the transition for students as they've remained in our educational care throughout both programs. So these numbers reinforce the importance of offering that online option within our district. As more families are choosing to change programming during the year, having Leaport online allows us to retain students we might otherlight might otherwise leave the corporation entirely. The impact of that option clearly is reflected in the stabilization we're seeing in our spring ADM. So, I wanted to share this context this evening because these enrollment trends matter both for our long-term planning and for understanding how strategic program offerings can directly influence student retention and district stability. That concludes the report. >> Any questions or comments for Dr. Wood. >>
033Okay, moving on. The assistant superintendent of student learning report, Dr. Tom. >> All right. Good evening. Uh, tonight I've invited Mr. Mr. Wilmington to give a brief update on the program of studies. Program of studies is a collection of courses and pathways uh graduation requirements that we offer to our students from uh the Kessen campus all the way up through high school and graduation. We'd like to give the board an update on new classes um pathways and graduation requirement changes that are happening in the state of Indiana. >> Thanks guys. >> Thank you Dr. Tono. Um each year as Dr. Connor said, "We look at our program of studies. We align with the high school. We look at the changes from the state of Indiana regard to school accountability um and everything to try to
034figure out um what's the best program for our kids. Um at the interate school, we have no changes. I'm very pleased with the structure of how we're doing things now and our progression from elementary to intermediate to middle to high school. Um, in regards to middle school, we had a couple changes. Uh, first off, uh, preparing for college and careers. At one time a couple years ago, we had that course at this level, uh, for high school credit. Things changed with the state. Um, now it's switched, it's moved the other way. So, we're going to offer that as a high school credit again so that every child going in high school, every student has at least one high school credit and start off with success. That's first off. And the second um a change that
035this year we had SRT plus was which was an opportunity for students who um wanted additional like study polish type um class where they could do their work. A lot of athletes um we're changing we're getting rid of that this year uh for next year. The reason for that is that we have a need for SRT class where um students who are a little bit behind in math and English language arts falling short of that benchmark pass I learn um to really set them up for success in high school. So to increase more time you know unfortunately we just don't have the staffing to do both just a little bit too much and there's so many kids who need that extra that extra boost. So instead those kids will have an opportunity to take another
036elective course. We used to do that in the past. So it was just a change that we see we saw that need to be done for next school year. So it's just some minor changes. Uh nothing major. Turn over to Mr. Al and talk about some of the high school changes. So at the high school level, we change depends on a lot of a lot of different factors, but we'll change for diploma requirements that the state has mandated, student interest, staffing, experiences that we had the previous year, any new initiatives, or basically any circumstances that benefit our students. So we've had a few more changes than what Mr. Wilmson's had at the Castle campus. We um we had a situation a few years ago where um a student was trying to get into a uh
037community college um struggled a little bit in school. One of the grades that he needed um our policy at the time when he repeated the course it didn't eliminate the previous grade. So to benefit the students, we now if you repeat a course, we eliminate the previous grade from the GPA, accept the new one. So that's in our language now. So we hope that benefits uh people uh our students in the future. Dual credit changes, we've updated that. That changes again. Uh the higher learning commission puts requirements on what teachers can and cannot teach dual credits. It's been coming for a long time. Mr. Tonal or Dr. time, sorry, when he was principal at the high school, we talked about this extensively. Now they they are here. They're much more um they're much more rigorous
038for teachers to be credentials, which makes it tougher for us to offer dual credits, but we're still hanging in there right now. So, that list was updated again based on the credentials of our teachers. Two other changes, business math and technical math are added to our course of study because of the new diplomas. Uh we've added AP physics C. Uh we already have AP physics B. We've added uh flag football and volleyball. I don't know again um talked about this in the past, but now with the state changes, students only need one PE credit in high school. So, in order to get students into some type of a physical activity, we're now trying to expand PE and a little bit more appetizing classes for students, not just PE. So, we've added flag football, volleyball, we've
039added um athletic strength and conditioning for girls. Uh there are um at one time we had it all together, but you know situations where girls feel a little bit more comfortable working out with with other girls versus a co-ed class. So we've added that for them and that's exploded. By the way, um we've added a statement in our strength and conditioning course that if a student takes a year-long course, maybe a fall athlete, and then decides in the spring that they are done lifting, they are done strength training, we then put them in a maybe a lesser uh PE course with not as high physically demanding course. Uh just some other things, CTE pathways there. We've removed a few of the pathways because the state has either changed the names or uh the program's really
040not as popular as it once was. Um every year we survey our students as to what interests them and then we try if we have the teacher credentiing we try and make that happen for them. We don't have the teacher credentiing we really can't do that but fortunately we've had very few instances there. really the new one that we have if you see hospitality management that's something that we're just starting this year looking at the numbers right now we are in the process of scheduling students looking at the numbers right now we'll see if that course runs or not of course we want to be frugal with the how many kids we have in each class we'll see how that goes uh financial responsibility uh we started making this mandatory with uh parent u parents
041could sign their students off of that course or off of that requirement if they wanted to. But now the state has decided that it is a mandatory course. We've been doing it for three years already, but it is a mandatory course now. But again, we've been doing that for three years already. And then as of this morning, um like I said, it changes quickly. Uh had a a math teacher that came in and said, "Hey, I'd like to teach AP physics." We're like, "Great." So got a hold of Dr. Tonible. Hey, do we have any money to get this teacher trained? He said, "Yes." So ball's rolling. Now we'll have AP physics in our course to study next year or AP stats, I'm sorry. taking stats in our course of study next year, which is
042all a good thing. It's about the changes we have for the four high school program studies. >> I would just add real quick, we these guys do a great job. We we can't um operate in isolation. We have we can't think of standalone courses. We have to think of sequencing. We have to think of graduation cohorts. It's a it's a super big challenge with the high school and you have multiple cohorts under different requirements and the tracking and things, but we have to plan early when there's middle school classes for high school credit. We have to look ahead years um to see how that's going to affect kids. And so we're doing a better job looking at this from a K12 standpoint. So I give these guys um you know kudos for that. And then
043um just the the constant changes to accountability. We we cannot turn the other way with these accountability changes. We want our corporation to be successful. We have to know what the target is and what the metric is that we're being judged by. So sometimes we have to add things at the last second. Sometimes we have to pivot. Um we we do our best to plan ahead as much as possible. But I just want you guys to know those things because uh we're doing I think a better job in the last few years than I remember in Leapor planning together from a 6 through 12. So thank you guys. >> Thank you. Yes, that looks like any questions or comments about >> I just I'd like to say it is very impressive that >> we're able
044to stay on the ball on all of it. I mean, it's really a lot of change every year. >> I think we might have mentioned this, Mr. King, but Mr. Up has a spreadsheet of every student, every cohort that has every requirement across the top because you have to track everything. That's a lot different. I just want I know I'm getting but they really are that in tune with these changing requirements and so you're exactly right. Thank you. >> Okay. Uh the next order of business is the assistant superintendent of operations report. Dr. Oni is field tonight. So Dr. Wood is going to take over for that. >> Yes. So um I am going to be presenting the financial um dashboard this evening. So uh we have a few slides prepared. This is also available
045on our website um under the tab for the business office. Um so we are reporting this evening on the month end of January of 2026. Um so the first slide here you see the total across funds at the end of January. Um so $ 8.15 million total cash balance. This down from about 9.2 million at the start of the year. Um and where we came into 2026 after closing out 2025. I will remind the board that as our property tax revenue comes in only twice per year that um the first installment of that was uh distributed to us in December. So we started out January with that full amount and now we will spend that down for the next six months until we receive the second dispersement of that um in uh May or June.
046So, um it will be typical that we'll see that total cash balance ticking down a little bit each month as we spend down and then it'll be um you know kind of filled back up in May um or June whenever we get our distribution. Um on the next slide you can see the breakdown by fund. Um so this is focusing on our education and operations fund here. Um so you can see the beginning balance in each fund there as we came into the calendar year 2026. Um in the revenue column here you will see um once again the operations fund revenue um is a small amount and that is due to of course the fact that the the main draw came in in December. Um regarding the expenditures in the education fund, I will note
047that that $5.2 million that you see there does include the education operations fund transfer. Um so that is included as money going out of the fund. um even though it's not appropriated money within the budget, we wanted to be able to show the board that that money did move from the education fund and was distributed to the operations fund. On the next slide then you'll see um you know sort of a a glimpse of both the education and the operations fund as our main funds that we focus on. Um so underneath each you'll see what the annual budget is set at and then the uh per month spending for each fund. So at 4.64 64 million. That is only the expenditures that were were spent um not including that transfer. So that's the difference between
048the previous slide and this. So the 4.64 was actual appropriated budget funds that were spent out of the education fund. That comes in at about 10.3% of utilization of our budget for that first month of 2026. Um I do want to note you to be on track with our budget. We'd expect to see no more than 8.3 spent per month. And you'll note that that is higher um than than where we uh would hope to be in the month of January. The reason for that is that in January paid out the um raises that were issued to all of our nonUN employees that all came through in the January 20th payroll and a lot of that was a lump sum payment which was retropay that went back to the start of the school year. Um,
049so that was an anticipated expenditure that that comes in a little bit higher for that particular month because it was that lumpsum payment. Um, so we would expect to see our education fund back on track on on target next month. Um, and then for the operations fund, you'll see coming in at exactly 8% of utilization with that $1.26 million of expenditures. Um, we are just a little bit under where we'd expect to be in order to meet our budget um, by the end of the year. And the last slide is just kind of an overview of our uh our key financial insights from this month. Um with the first month uh cash position decreasing from that 9.7 million to the 8.15. Again, remember we're looking at that to to track down each month until we
050receive that second distribution. So that's very typical that we would see that um at this point in the year. Budget pacing is on track again after we back out that retrop pay. We believe that we are on track at the 8% utilization and so we are on target for our budget so far after this first month. Um and then the operations fund um stability even though we see that fund decreasing because of that revenue um we are still in a healthy positive position to make it through the next coming five to six months until the next uh revenue stream comes in. If there are any questions I will take those. >> I have any questions? >> Okay. Thank you. >> Uh the next order of business is uh some Neiola board policies. >> Uh you
051want to touch on >> Sure. >> Okay. So we have two uh sections of mola policy that are up for second reading um that were introduced in uh the January meeting. And so now we are asking for um these two which is the volume 38 number one um which is the September 2025 update and the volume 38 number one non-discrimination update. Um so these two we are asking for uh a vote and approval this evening. Um again going back as we reviewed these initially in first reading last month. Uh the largest focus of this batch is on the non-discrimination anti-garassment updates as well as the September update that focuses on replacements, recisions, and technical updates driven by changes in state and federal law. Um so again, our uh Miola representatives typically work through two batches
052of policy each year, updating things with current case law and in new legislative changes that come out. Um and then in the case of the non-discrimination update guidance from the federal courts that come through to sure we remain in compliance. So we will ask for your approval of these two. We also have um two separate policies that we're bringing to the board for first reading this evening. Um and we'll bring these back in March for official approval. Um the first one is the 0.142.3 policy on vacancies and appointment of board members. Um, this policy has not been updated, I believe, since 2022. And we noticed that there was a change that was recommended at one point that did not uh make at that time. And so, as we're um currently in the process of looking
053at an appointment to the board, um we wanted to make sure that we update this. I do want to note that this policy will not go into effect for this current process of replacing Mr. Home Quest seat. Um but we will have it updated after this process is finished. So moving forward in the future, we are compliant. Um the main change is that it allows the board to narrow down candidates who receive an interview to the top three choices instead of the requirement to interview every candidate that applies, which can be cumbersome. Um the second one is policy 0167, which is public participation at board meetings. Um and after a conversation amongst the board um it was discussed that um we're looking to move away from the requirement that a public who wish to comment
054during the public comment portion of the meeting no longer would have to file the form um online to request that that uh public comment ahead of the meeting. um and we would move to a uh protocol where individuals who want to speak during public comment would just need to sign upon arrival um before the board meeting starts. So um again just first reading tonight and so we'll bring the both of these two back in March and they will go into effect after approval at the March meeting. >> Want to point out that the public comment one is still limiting three minutes. >> Yes. um and 30 minutes total which is the same as it was before but sign up. Okay. So let's uh we'll do two different votes on these first two. So is there
055a motion to approve the volume 38 number one September 25th uh board policy update. Thank you Jim. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you. All those in favor say I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. Is there a motion to approve item 38 number one non-discrimination update September 2025? Monica, is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Dr. All in favor say I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. The other two are just first readings, so we'll we'll vote on those in March. So, moving on to new business. First is consideration for recommendation to approve the acceptance of grants, donations, gifts, and requests. We have one donation this evening and this was a donation by uh Jersey Mike who is new to Leaport um has made a donation to Leaport High School in the amount of $2,280.
056Um these funds are going to be used to purchase this year's row the boat t-shirts um and also plan to hand out the t-shirts to students who are rowing the boat in the right direction at Leport High School. And I believe that Jersey Nex handed up with little cards um that first week that they were open which allowed individuals to get a sandwich for a donation to the school. And so that's where this donation came from. So a good amount of money that they were able to collect through that promotion. >> Is there a motion to uh accept a donation from Jersey Mike? >> So move second. >> Second. >> Thank you Monica. All in favor say I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. Next uh new business is consideration for the recommendation for the annual
057approval of the open enrollment student transfer policy. Dr. Wood. Um so this action item relates to our open enrollment policy for students whose legal residence is outside of district boundaries. Um, so Indiana code requires us to annually update our policy as well as determine the number of seats that are open to out of district students and then to advertise that information on our website. Um, so it's kind of hard to believe that we're already planning the enrollment process for next year, but we are getting ready to open all of this up. So we're asking um for board approval this evening. So the policy aligns with Indiana code um affirms our commitment to accepting transfer students throughout the school year as space allows which each with each grade level capped using cohort targets of 475 students
058in grades K through two and 500 students in grades 3 through 12. Um, so we will maintain the number of seats available per grade level on our website and when applying families will be able to indicate first, second, and third school preferences which really pertains mostly to the elementary schools. Um, internally we then maintain capacity tracking by building and we approve request requests based on building availability within the preferences that the families select. So, in addition to that, intra district transfer requests for students who live within district boundaries but are requesting a different elementary school um for their attendance zone that will open on February 25th for the 2026 2027 school year. And then the applications for our out of district students for next year will open on April 1st. >> Anyone have any questions
059for councing? None. Does somebody want to make a motion to approve the annual enrollment/ student transfer policy? >> So move. >> Thank you, Jen. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Amy. All those in favor say I. >> I. Opposed. Motion carries. Next order of business is a consideration for the recommendation for approval of the resolution authorizing the submission of House Enrolled Act 10003 flexibility waiver for the 2026 27 school year. >> Yes. Thank you. I am asking the board for special approval of a waiver that's granted by the Indiana General Assembly under their performance-based accreditation system. Um what this is is a uh special ask to wave certain statutory or regulatory requirements um for the school year. And with your approval, we would like to submit an application to the state board
060of education so that we can be strategic about the use of instructional time for teachers to engage in professional development activities aligned with our PLC uh goals. So um we're exploring how this might look. We don't specifically have that plan yet. We want to ask for your permission to apply, put our application together. But one of the things that we would be looking at would be using instructional time and offsetting that time uh for PD time. So that could look like a two-hour delay where instead of students coming in at their normal time, we would delay that by two hours and then use that instructional time for staff PD time, it could go at the end of the day so that um after a student's day could release a few hours early and dedicate that
061instructional time to staff PD time. So we're exploring different options and taking both of those um options into consideration. Um, I do want to know to the board, we're not planning on adjusting the start time of the school year or are we looking to extend the school year. So, we'd still be operating within that 180 instructional days. So, um, to do that, because the state requires 180 days, 5 hours for grades 1 through 5, 6 hours for grades 6 through 12, we have to ask for this special request to modify that day. Um, I can tell you just by doing some quick math, our elementary schedules have a surplus of instructional minutes. State of Indiana doesn't measure it by minutes. They measure it by hours and days at the high school. Right now, we are
062meeting the bare minimum. So, there's a surplus at that lower level. So, um I think our application would be strongly considered just looking at what other corporations have asked for this special waiver, but that's something we would like to put together with your approval of this special resolution that was included in your board packet. Be glad to answer any questions about it. have any questions or >> question back when that was that house bill 103 house 103 that was passed last year that's what you're talking about >> recently yes I I don't know >> it's effect now >> correct right now few years pardon >> it's been in effect for a few years >> the one they had going right now we have a big issue with two senators this afternoon Yeah. Any other questions
063or comments? Okay. Hearing none, does somebody want to make a motion to approve the resolution as laid out by Dr. Tom? Second. >> Thank you, Dr. All in favor say I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. Next order of business is the consideration for recommendation for approval of the plan for the 2026 summer learning program. Dr. Tom, >> it's been so cold and so we talk about summer. Yes, we're I'm a little bit early on this, but it's better to be early. We can make adjustments about summer. >> Yeah. Right. Um, so looking ahead, uh, I'm proposing to the board that we approve um the iAre summer learning reading program for grades 2 through six. At grades seven and eight, we would have the Boys and Girls Club, a summer learning lab, which is not sponsored
064by the corporation. And I say sponsored. Um, we're not directly paying for it. It would be a partnership as we did last year with the Boys and Girls Club. That's not finalized yet, but we believe that we will qualify and with Mrs. Sherk, and she believes that she will have the funds for us to do that again. I'll bring that back to you at another meeting, but that's grades 7 through eight. At grades 9 through 12, we would be uh having the supervised a experience as we've done in the past, in-person algebra credit recovery, grades 9 through 12. And then in late July, early August, we would do what we call jump start, which is another credit recovery program. The dates would be June 2nd to June 26th, which is Monday through Friday. For the
065in-person learning programs, it would be 8 to noon. transportation would be provided uh K through six and high school in-person algebra and then um on your spreadsheet there you'll see the staffing associated with each one of those programs. This is very similar to what we did last year. I just say very because it's not exact with new legislation surrounding retention and hiring. We're going to have some fifth and sixth graders that were granted good cause exemptions that still need to continue to test. So even though they were um not um held to the state retention law, we are required to test annually to still try to show proficiency on that test. So we're that'll be new for us this year. Other than that, the other programs are similar to last year. Um financially last year
066the program um was supported by the state about 50% across the state. Ours was a little bit better from what we paid, but we will apply for funding for all these courses, but that number isn't guaranteed because it just depends on how many other corporations apply for the funding. So, we'd love for it to be 100% covered, but due to the number of applications, like I said, we read about 50% last year. Any questions for Dr. Tom? Hearing none, does somebody want to make a motion to approve uh the plan for the 2026 summer learning program? So moved. >> Thank you, Jamie. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Monica. All those in favor say I. >> I. Opposed. >> Motion carries. The last order of new business is the consideration for the recommendation for approval
067of the 2026 through 2028 farmland lease. Uh, >> so this item relates to the lease of district-owned farmland that's located at the corner of A Street and 18th Street, right across from the Kesler campus. Um so following board approval in January to advertise this lease um legal notices were published on January 15th and January 22nd and bids were due on February 2nd. We received one bid um and so we are asking approval of this bid which will allow the district to proceed with a two-year lease um that will begin March 1st, 2026 and run through February 29th, 2028. And this will be awarding the lease to FW farms at a rate of $7,626 per year. >> Any questions for Dr. Wood? >> Yeah, it is the current holder of the lease um on the current
068contract right now. >> Someone want to make a motion to approve the 2026 2028 farmland lease? Tucker second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Monica. All those in favor say I. I opposed. Motion carries. There is no other business. Uh next board comment. And Mr. Arnold, give us legislative update. >> Yeah, real quick. Uh as of uh Friday, if you read your report, there's 35 bills active in education, 18 in the House and 17 in the Senate. And they're not all going to pass. I'll make sure you the big one that they're talking about is Senate Bill 78. That's a wireless device. I sat and listened about two hours of testimony at the state house uh Friday walks in what the hell. But uh there's been some sponsored by Senator Rex who's chairman of the education.
069They think they have roughly could go through with power or too many issues. They've got some issues that didn't pass clean. There are some opposition old parties to it. It's in the house now and I look for some amendments that came up. So don't know what the bill is going to look like, but it's going to be some form. There's no doubt about it. There's going to be a form of some kind of restrictions of cell phones school from bell to bell. That should have been the big uh big term they use now. Bell to bell. So the fast the 27th is what the target date is going. It's coming quickly. It's going to be over with before you know it. By the time we meet next session, it's over with and new laws are
070passed. So if you have any questions, let me know. But uh things are picking up speed down right now. Anybody else have any comments or Okay. Um, so, uh, as the public may be aware or, maybe not, uh, Mr. Just Homequist did resign from the school board. Um, and we have a a special board meeting, uh, where we're interviewing candidates that'll be open to the public 4:00 on February 11th, so two days from now. Um, and then we will be having a special board meeting on February 12th at 4:00. also here, also open to the public where we will be selecting a new board member. Um, and then our next board meeting is March 9th, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. So, we want to make a motion to adjourn. >> So, move. >> All right. >>
071Okay. Thank you, Dr. Thank you, Jen. All those in favor say I. I opposed. Motion carries your meeting.