001school board meeting for Leaport Community School Corporation. Uh the date is December 8th, 2025. If you have any cell phones, if you please silence those at this time. Uh it is my understanding that we have some guests from Hyman Elementary School tonight to pledge. So, if they would please come forward and lead us in the pledge of 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. >> Right. Do roll call next. Mr. Arnold, >> present. >> Mr. King, >> present. >> Miss Batty, >> present. >> Mrs. Farley, >> present. >> I am present. Vice President Jackson and President Seabberger absent. So 5 to two we have a qu for quum. Uh let's see the next
002is a school spotlight. >> Yes. So we have Hman Elementary this evening. We are starting with our school spotlight. So I will introduce Mr. Zach Huber, our principal from Hileman, and he's going to introduce his guests and show us a short presentation about Hileman. >> Perfect. Thank you guys for having us. I'm going to try and be quick um but pack a lot in uh during the school spotlights. The the um the ask is to like to spotlight something in your school. What do you want to be known for? That's not it. >> That's fine. I'm so sorry. >> It's up there. Yeah. >> So, I'm going to talk about two things as quickly as I can. And I want to talk about CKLA, which is a new curriculum that we adopted that you all
003are invested in pretty heavily. And then the professional community learning work that also the district is invested in and that that's a part of the work that the board is doing. Why I put this tag in there is relentlessly doing what's best for kids. Um, when you talk about what do we want to be known for, that's what we want to be known for. And if you spent any time around the the staff at Hileman, you know that that's what they do. They relentlessly work to do what's best for kids. That may be true in a lot of different places, but every day it's a joy for me to go to work because I'm around a whole bunch of people that have that same goal in mind. And so when people ask us or talk
004about what do you want to be known for? That's it. Um I want to talk about just a couple of things. What I kind of remember there it is. Um uh knowledge is a part of the new curriculum. was a shift from what or the way people have taught historically. So I want to talk about that briefly, why it's important that we do that. We'll hear from some kiddos and a teacher. I want to talk about skills and intervention. They're all a part of that and how professional learning communities play a part in all of those things. So the shift that's that teachers are are doing in their classroom that's taking place are highlighted by these two things. CKLA is built off of a couple of different premises. One is that students listening comprehension is
005much higher than their reading comprehension until about age 13. And so the curriculum is built off of this model of listening comprehension. So we can read the text to a student that they can comprehend that and do those skills at a higher rate than if they were using their cognition to decode the words. So it's taking the cognitive load off decoding and allowing them to comprehend at a higher rate. So the curriculum is built that way. So it's teaching them knowledge through listening comprehension and then they're mastering the skills because their cognitive load is about the comprehension portion and not about the decoding. The second part is knowledge and why that's important. There's a famous study has been repeated and I'll give you a quick explanation that's the um highlighted on the right here's here's
006what happened. A whole bunch of students um were taken some that were very good decoders or readers and some that were struggling readers. some that knew a lot about baseball, some that didn't know anything about baseball, and they gave a reading passage, gave a gave them a test. What happened at the top and bottom is what you would expect. Kids that are really good readers that know a lot about baseball did really well. 86% of them passed. We would expect that. Students that were struggling readers or not very good decoders and didn't know anything about baseball performed the worst. Interestingly, what happens in the middle is that blue line is students that are struggling readers or don't decode very well, but know a lot about baseball. They outperform students that are very good readers but
007don't know a lot about baseball by almost 30 percentage points and they almost do as well as the students that are good readers that know a lot about baseball. Knowledge matters, content matters. Um, and so the curriculum that we have is built off of those premises, listening comprehension and some others, but these big ones, listening comprehension and knowledge. When we teach kids those things, um, they can perform well. It's also a reason why standardized tests don't give the full picture of what kids can do. Do they know that content or not? And that makes a massive difference as is replicated in that research study a bunch of different times. So as we started to implement the curriculum, we like you're walking through the hallways and kids inevitably are excited about the content which was sort
008of new and interesting. You're talking like, "Hey, how's your day going?" And they're like, "Let me tell you about the medieval times." And you're like, "I don't know about the medieval times." They're excited to tell you. They're telling me about the solar system and they're talking about Greek gods. I don't know anything about Greek gods. Um, and so we I don't know how you manufacture that, but I was like, let's bring a few kids and just have them tell you a few things because they're excited. They're joyful about it. I don't know if that'll translate into this setting, but um but that's what we're going to try. And so, and a teacher. I want I want you to hear from Mrs. Jackson, too. But so we have um Jackson and Aubrey and Sophie and they're
009gonna stand up here with me and be super brave and confident and they're just going to Can I flip this slide too? Can I slide please? Yeah. >> I don't just uh you can use the up and down arrows if you want. >> So um we're going to go in reverse order. I'm going to let Zophie tell you first just you know we we asked them a few questions like what are you learning about? We didn't script what they were going to say. Like I said, I don't know if it'll translate, but we're going to give it a go. So, can you tell them some of the things that you're excited to learn about or that you have learned about? >> I have learned about the body and I'm learning about the atlas, the globe,
010and the map. >> Tell me about your I know this cuz we're teachers. What was your favorite muscle that you were learning about the body? The glutius is naturally >> naturally. That would be her favorite muscle. All right. Anything else, friend? >> Can you tell him thank you? >> Thank you. >> All right, Jackson, do you want to go ahead? >> Go ahead. >> I love learning about ancient Greece because the minur um his son never came back and he was 18. And then now when they see the black ghost, they be they come and get seven girls and seven boys. And then they feed them to the minotaur. >> Okay. >> Anything else, friend? Okay. Go ahead. Tell us. >> And the Sphinx there was a riddle. Walk them 4 feet in the morning,
0112 feet in the afternoon, and 3 feet in the evening. >> Cuz a baby crawls and a person walks and a cane counts as a third one. >> Okay, good one. What else, Jack? Anything else? Okay, good, Aubrey. >> Um, um, my favorite unit so far has been the medieval ages because you learn about so much and there is at the end we celebrated with a lot of stuff. We made a castle with candy, graham crackers, and frosting. And we learned about the king and his sons and how his wife was sad when he died and how the his son his youngest son became king and he wasn't the greatest at it. >> Um, anything else? All right, friends. You guys want to sit down? Thank you. I also wanted TO if you stop by,
012just start asking kids like, "What are you learning about?" You're gonna get lots of that. Um, I also wanted to have Mrs. Jackson share. She popped in my office a few weeks ago and I wish I would have recorded what she said. She probably wishes I would have recorded it, too. Share about why content matters and what it's doing in her classroom. >> So, I never dreamed of the day that I'd be teaching ancient Greece and Greek mythology to seven and 8year-olds and that they would be able to not only like get into it, but like remember the names. I mean, we're remembering names like Thesius and Hippomies and Edipus and and they're they're taking it all in. They're soaking it in. Um, but I think what really strikes me is that this contentbased approach
013makes this information based. It's available to all students. All students, regardless of their reading proficiency, have access to this information. And I have one student who does knowledge with us that visits from our mild intellectual disabilities program. And right now based on the content portion of it, he's performing on grade level with his peers in my classroom with that information because it's all accessible to him through the the readalouds, the discussions that we have, being able to answer questions, you know, not just by reading the text and answering a question, but by talking about it, using pictures, like all of those things, like he's right there with us all. And I think that for me as a teacher is the biggest impact because it's providing access to all readers to this knowledge that then they
014can use, you know, later on to, hey, that's a vocab word. Now I'm hearing it in a different setting. Or, hey, that's a word I heard. So when I'm trying to decode that word and I'm sounding it out, it's got something to stick to. So I know when it's a real word that I can now read. So that that's what strikes me as a teacher the most is the accessibility of it. >> Thank you. I'm gonna highlight her again in a second. Sorry. Sorry. Um our professional community, professional learning community work um went right alongside of this. We started the year. I won't click on the link um but if you get the presentation I could share it with you you who have it. Um the teachers came and they started to say we need
015more time to plan. Like this is different than anything they've done. and the time that they had during the week wasn't enough. We have professional learning communities. They needed more time. So, we re we reworked our schedule to give them two hour blocks. Um, that's not easy to do after the year has started and people are in a routine and they have, you know, laminated all their things that say their schedule on them. Um, but they wanted that and so we provided the time and so, uh, it's a it's an unpacking. Mrs. Frankowski, her son was jacked up here. She did a lot of work on this. There's a protocol for the unpacking that we use. So when we come together, it isn't haphazard. We're not like, "Hey, what do you want to talk about?"
016We go through a protocol, taking the assessment, looking at the questions, do they match the standards? Do they match the learning targets? Do they match the item specifications from the state? And then looking at the lessons and saying, "Do the lessons get us to the level of mastery that we need by the time the students take the test." So they're using their 2-hour block now in order to do that. I put bring back the data in there because we got into this a little ways and then people were like we haven't looked at data in a while. What are we going to look at? We need to look at something because we got far away from that and that that's been important to us over the last few years and I'll talk about that again
017here in a little bit but um the the professional learning community was responsive to the needs of the students um because they needed the time to be able to prepare for it. Um another part of CKLA is the assessments that we adopted or that you all helped pay for was the assessments and interventions that go with it. We're used to doing a a phonics screener where we can look at every single specific need that a student has in every grade level and I can tell you exactly what they are. This is slightly different, but we're trusting that it's going to work as the independent research says it's going to work. It um this graphic here shows that's a group of our students. I took out their names, but um everyone gets tested their time fluency
018test. It's letter naming fluency. It's phone segmentation. It's uh nonsense words. It's oral reading fluency. they get a a composite score. MClass runs an algorithm in the background that tells us exactly what a student needs. I'm trusting that that works. That's very difficult. Mary Jackson and I talk about this. We're like, we're just trusting that the algorithm is working. Like AI is smarter than we are. There's millions of students doing it. So they so I trust that it's giving us the right lessons for kids. So what happens is kids show up yellow or red. They go into an intervention group. There are 10 adults at a timeish that are leading those groups because we built our schedule that way. Um, it's tier three intervention really because it's it's a foundational skills that students need. We
019ran it through a cycle. We started to see things like this. A student that was at 27 while below an oral reading fluency jumped to a 63. A student that was at 90%. Accuracy jumped to 95. I looked at Carrie Schroeder. She's a second grade teacher that came from Lincoln who's doing a great job. She came I looked at her class. She's sort of excited about it. On Friday, we put them side by side and um, you know, there was lots of not not red but lots of yellow in her beginning of the year. It's all like green and blue now. So, we just super excited. We're tracking it super closely for a couple of reasons. One, because it's best for kids, but also um last year our second grade team passed 72% of our
020second grade students on ivory 3. So, a year early, we're at 72% passing rate. Maybe you don't think 72% sounds great, but state wants 90 by the end of third grade. We're at 72 at the end of second grade. That's killing it. Mary Jackson passed 86% of her students in second grade last year. Um we talked at the beginning of the year and I sort of was like you could pass 75 and she was like what? Um because that's historically it's like 30 or 40% even across the state. Um so we dug in and then she was like haha 86 not 79. Um but across the board 72% of kids pass. I say that because we had some things that were working right and now we're shifting. It's a different intervention. It's a different curriculum.
021um it's just different for us. I'm not suggesting it isn't going to work. It's just different. So, we're tracking that data super closely because last year what we were able to do is tier three intervention, but also do some tier 2 interventions with every student. All of them got to tier two that was working towards I the I read assessment. And so, the way the time works, we're we haven't quite been able to do all of those things. So, we're looking at the data super close to make sure that we can get back to the point where we're passing 72% of our students in second grade. Um, the intervention lessons, I do want to make another note about it. They're 30 minutes long because I'm going to talk about this in a second. They're 30
022minutes long and they're there are five parts that are 5 to 8 minutes each. I think that's great for kids. It's a quick hit of a specific skill that's been identified that they are lacking in. And then after 10day cycle, they progress monitor on it. It gives them a new set of lessons. So, that cycle just continues to go. Um, but but there's always a there's always a game part of that. Um, and each day it's not something the sequence isn't new. There may be some new parts to it, but but there's familiarity with it. So, you're not teaching them new routines every day. It's a routine that they go through in those setup lessons. Um, so all that to say, our professional learning communities and our guiding coalition, who's like instructional leadership team, it's
023a term that professional learning communities uses for their instructional leadership team, influences all the decisions that we're making for kids. We want to relentlessly do what is best for kids in our planning. Like we rework the schedule if that's what that was best for kids. The way we look at data, we have a protocol for that. I talked about it last year. Um but we like time how we look at data for kids because we want to be intentional about what we look at and how we look at it. Uh we made that 2-hour switch. And then this last um it's a story really um tells about relentlessly doing what's best for kids. our kindergarten team um was like they came to me and they were saying like, "Hey, we're about six minutes short in
024our intervention time. We have a bunch of 5-year-olds. It takes them a while to like transition cuz they're five and there's 24 of them for whatever it is." Um and they're five. And so they're like, "How do we how do we figure out um how do we get that 30-minute lesson in 26 minutes? Like you can't you have to cut something out." So we like we're going back and forth. And I said, "Like creatively, what can we do?" So they go away and they come back and they're like, "Um, maybe we can switch lunches with somebody." If you've ever worked in elementary school, a semester into the year, switching lunches with somebody is not like that. Like you don't do that, right? Like it's I promise you like it's just not a thing. Like everybody's
025schedules are set. Their teachers are creatures of habit. So like changing the whole schedule is a big deal. >> So I was like, I'll pitch it to them. Like we'll see if it's what's best for kids. We'll work it out. So I like got up the courage to get not really. I went to the first grade teachers and and I said, "Hey, it would what would make sense is if we did this way and I got this like sideways look at first and then I don't remember which one of the three of them, but one of the three of them used this term. They said I mean it took them a minute, but they were like if that's what's best for kids, like we're willing to do it." That meant they were going to have
026to change in some ELLL in their schedule. They're going to have to change some special ed. Like it was going to mess with their day. But they literally used those words. They said, "If that's what's going to be what's best for kids, we'll go ahead and do it." We didn't have to because we worked it out another way, but just the fact that they were willing to shows their relentless work for kids and doing what's best for kids. So, I want to highlight CLA. I want to highlight students. I want to talk about PLC's. I can answer any questions. I could have talked about all those things for an hour, but I want to be respectful of time. So, if you have any questions, I'll certainly answer them. Otherwise, that's some of the work that's
027happening at Iowa. Stop by anytime. check it out too. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> So, I apologize for everyone myself being late. >> So, next is a slicer CTE health career. Yes. And we have uh Mrs. Jen Goss is here this evening and she is going to share with us a program spotlight on our Slicer CTE health careers program um which is the new program that we integrated here into this building um this year. And so um we have some really fantastic things happening and a new grant that we received as well which is helping us really kickstart the program. Um so Mrs. class and a few of her students are going to share a little bit about what's happening in health careers. Hi, good evening. >> Thanks for having us. Um, I'm Jen.
028This is Emma and >> they are all students in our health careers program. Each one of them at different levels. So, they'll you'll hear from them in a little bit, but also feel free to ask them questions um or any comments that you have um during our time for our presentation. Okay. So, last spring um health the health foundation of Leaport reached out to um me and some other people in the district and said that they had been um hearing about the health careers program that we had here and they were interested to learn more about it and see how they could support us. So, Dr. Wood, myself, Mrs. Hughes and Alicia Combmes, we kind of dug dug into all the data that was um happening and we came up with a um pretty large
029grant proposal to the health foundation. Um we put a lot of time and effort into it and um we were very um appreciative and thankful that we received a $600,000 grant. Um we Yeah, and all of that goes directly into the health careers program. Um and you'll see why we needed that in just a moment. So, so our mission um for the health careers program was to engage our community. Look for community school corporation um cultivates all learners pioneering initiatives um that elevate individual potential. So um you can see here it's kind of fitting. Highland Elementary was the um one of our schools that we got uh certified for the um hearts safe schools. I think they were like the second or third one that we did. So that was pretty cool that they got
030to be highlighted here tonight if you saw that. Um our project vision for this was that we uh sought funding to expand its growing health careers program with a new hands-on lab um an additional instructor in the future and enhanced curriculum. Um this initiative aims to provide certifications, dual credits, um and job experiences to meet student demand and address local health uh healthcare workforce needs. And we gather that data by partnering and working with several of um our area um health agencies. Uh Northwest Health we've had several meetings with and we talk with them. Franciscan Health um right across the street from the high school. We partner with them quite a bit. They offer all kinds of um field trips and just different opportunities for our students to go and find out. We also work
031uh within Leort Community Schools. Um you'll see these guys out at all the elementary schools providing hands-on CPR training to kiddos as young as kindergarten all the way up to um high school age. All right. So, why this matters? There's been an increased student interest in health careers uh since the 2021 school year. There's an in demand for health careers. All all things, physical therapists, nurses, CNAs, doctors, anything that happens to healthcare. Um there is a need for it. There's a lot of community and civil engagement happening. And then there's also lots of new Indiana diploma diploma requirements. So our current programming we currently offer principles of healthcare medical terminology healthcare specialist and healthcare capstone what we offer for certifications and you guys fill me in if I'm missing something please CPR first aid and
032basic life support EKG CNA dementia care and stop the bleed. >> We also implemented um this year uh my class is the first class that's taking it is a CCMA class. So it's your medical assistance license. So within that you get your EKG license and phabbotomy license. Oops. Okay. So we've had some pretty significant enrollment um tracking points here that I want to talk about. We started seeing interest in stu more students wanting to take the program in Leaport High School than were able to go to the career center in Michigan City. Um, and so we've really tracked that data in 2021 to 2022. In 2022 and 2023, um, I approached the I think it was you guys, maybe the former um the former administration and said, "Can you please I have a teacher. Can
033you just give this this program a chance? I've got some students that really want to do this. They couldn't get into AK Smith. Um, let's see what we can do." So, they thankfully agreed to do that. So, we had Mrs. Hughes come over and be our teacher. She's also a registered nurse. um and she taught six students and then she also taught um credit recovery throughout the rest of the day. If you weren't familiar with credit recovery, it's basically online classes that kids have to do. And in one school year, she grew that program from six students to 80. That's that's amazing. That speaks for itself right there. The second year after that, 2024 2025, we had 104 students. And this year, um for the 2025 2026 school year, we have 116 students. So, we
034expect our enrollment to continue to go onward and upward. We have several community partners. Play for Jake is a big one. The Zach Mag Foundation, HOSA, Northwest Health, American Red Cross, uh Victory for Kids, IvyTech Community College. I mean, there's just and and more keep coming. Um so these are just a few that we highlighted. Um the Play for Jake and the Zack Mango Foundation uh are very receptive to all the things that we're doing for the um health careers classes. Last spring we um what did we host at the high school? Oh, we hosted a mix between the Play for Jake Foundation and the Zack uh Mego Foundation and it gave out uh some of them were free uh and then others were about $20 um heart screenings to any high school student that
035was interested. >> So, normally kids would have to sign up and like you would go out to Knox community schools or wherever they were hosting them. um Play for Jake and Zach Maggo thought that we could use um that that we could use Leaport High School to to host one here. We hadn't hosted one in probably 10 years, I think. Um and then they knew that our students were getting their EKG certifications. So, the volunteers that they had come in um allowed our high school students to work with them and perform um all the EKGs and the and all the testing that they were doing with them. So, it was it was a outstanding example of a hands-on um opportunity for them. Okay. Um, again, you guys pipe up here if I'm missing something else,
036if I'm missing something out of this. So, our students right now that start the health careers program and take the principles of healthcare, the u medical terminology, the CNA, and then the capstone can earn a minimum of 20.5 college credits. So, they get introduction to healthcare, medical terminology, essentials of anatomy and physiology, CPR, medical law ethics, certified nurse assistant, and dementia care. And then Emma, you were saying the CCMA is an additional one. >> Yeah. So the CCMA is not through IvyTech, but it is still um an additional license. So when you're going into college applications and college things um things like that, I was able to uh actually get an offer for a program to only last 4.5 4 and a half years rather than a normal six-year program because of my experience in
037um CNA and uh with my upcoming CCMA license. >> All of these students pictured here, some have graduated, some have not. Obviously, Emma's right here. Um, but they all got to walk in a college graduation before they graduated high school. So, they earned um, oh gosh, it's called the technical technical certificate through IvyTech, which IvyTech recognizes as a degree and they allow them to go to um, I think it was Valpo University and walk the stage with IvyTech College graduates. So, we continue to make progress on that. Nick, do you know about how many dual credits you'll have before you graduate high school? Um, I'll probably have about >> 20. Yeah, about 25 total. >> Yeah. And Nick's not totally sure exactly what he wants to to study in college yet, but he knows it's
038something in health careers. So, I hope that this does this program helped you like identify different career interests and areas. >> Uh, yeah. Um when I first started last year, I was thinking about going in uh for travel nursing, but with more um like knowledge and learning. I like identified different pathways and careers I wanted. And currently I'm kind of settled on a labor and delivery nurse. >> So it's really So as you can see, they go in with wanting one thing. Um and then they leave learning all the new types of things. Okay. >> All right. So they um we do a lot of student teach students teaching students. that's super important to um our values and goals at Leaport High School and as this program and then also through HOSA. Um Elena, can
039you tell us what HOSA stands for? >> HOSA. >> I'm not in the program but sorry I can. Um I'm the president of HOSA. So HOSA stands for future healthcare uh professionals. And it basically is just this program where we come together once a month and um through December through March, we meet almost once a week. Um a lot of us get together and we do all these different um just learning these lessons to then give presentations and learn different uh skills that you need like prepared speaking and interview skills. Uh when going into different job forces, you learn how you learn how to take tests regarding this. Um, but you also get to go to I think it's three times you go to different um places. We just were in one in Indie and
040it's basically like a career exploration. So, they just bring out all these different careers and you just have like this whole day where you're just dedicated to just learning about all these different options that there are in healthcare because it's not just physicians and nurses. Um, there's so many more options. Mhm. So, while many of our students do go on to college after high school, some of them do just take their credentials that they've earned, their CNA, their dementia care, their all those kinds of things, and they do go straight into the workforce because that's their that's their goal and that's their plan. So, this program helps students of all from all different backgrounds and all different ways they want to go and and move forward. Um so our lab right now we with this
041grant um we really wanted to upgrade our facilities and what we are having we wanted the state-of-the-art um help me out here state of the state-of-the-art equipment for the kids. So I'm sorry you'll see later on um what's called an anatomage table. Um it's basically a 3D cadaabver. It's an AI 3D cadaabver that you'll see and you'll interact with and um it's it's amazing like the things that kids can learn from this are just I I'm blown away every time I see it. Uh Roman and and uh James right there, they're working on a wound kit. So, it's an actively bleeding wound and they're learning how to pack it and um suture it and all those kinds of things. So, it simulates real world stuff. If you're squeamish, don't go through that because you really
042do pump blood with it. But all of these things are are a lot of money and so through the health foundation and through the grant that we received we were really able to give our kids um and our future healthcare workers the things that they need to learn on. So our enhanced curriculum u as you heard we have the phbotomy the CCMA the pharmacy technician medical administrative assistant and billing and coding specialist. So the um the last three pharmacy, tech, medical, admin, and billing and coding will come within the next year or two. Um we wanted to kind of build slowly on that and we started we did the lottery last year and this year we added CCMA. So hopefully within the next school year we'll have the the final three. Okay. Um so some
043additional areas that we want to explore are physical therapy or sports medicine uh potentially dental careers and then um considerations for the impact of AI on the healthcare industry. We we think about those things too. All right. Um so later on you'll see the the Slicer Health Foundation way the hallway that we have it and the kids are going to show you all the things that they learn on. Okay. >> So, we'd like to take the board and and whoever else would like to join on a little field trip. At the end of the meeting, though, once the meeting has been adjourned, um because we have a lot of really cool equipment in there, and you really have to see it. So, >> if you have a few minutes at the end of the meeting,
044we'll we'll go down and take a little field trip and tour. And >> yeah, >> any questions that you have that we can answer? I'd like to add a comment and that is that I have a first grader >> and he had two appointments in the past week and at both appointments he showed the nurses that he has learned how to do hands only CPR. >> Oh wow. and and so and just the response of those medical professionals to find out that this little guy knows how to do CPR and has learned that and that we're doing that for our students, I think has been um really impressive. And so um this is definitely um something that we're doing as a differentiator here at Leaport and that we're reaching our younger students that are actually
045learning hands-on how how to help save lives. And I think it's also really cool to think about the exposure these kids are having to the program that we're developing here and how your numbers are probably going to continue to grow because we're impacting the the youngest kids and showing um you know real life role models of of some of the things that they can do when they get to high school. So I think we're going to really see a lot of increased interest. >> Absolutely. >> Dr. something. So I want to qualify that as well because I have a son on the other end who just graduated and was in some of those pictures and Tap Hughes and Jen Goss have done a wonderful job. He's in the nursing field and is very prepared at
046a quality education and and you guys just have taken it to another level. I know the students are just working so hard. So um as a parent of the children in this corporation, I've seen the the value of the investment that our corporation has made and the hard work of our instructors. As parents, we're just really appreciative. >> Awesome. >> Thank you. >> Great work. >> Okay, next item is a public comment. Uh there is no public comment, so we'll move to the consent agenda. There's four items on the consent agenda. You have seen those. Um one is approval of minutes of the November 10th, 2025 schoolboard meeting. financials for ratification and approval of the treasures report and personnel recommendations and travel requests. Is there a motion uh to approve the consent agenda? >> So
047move. >> Thank you, Tucker. A second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Justin. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. >> Okay. Consent agenda passes. The next item is the financial dashboard. Dr. Penrod. Okay. Everybody see with the the uh screen sharing. Okay. >> Yes. >> Okay. Um so we're looking at our dashboard. The uh uh for November actually the overall financial health our total cash position at 8.05 million decreased by 1.64 64 million in October representing 13.3% I'm sorry November representing 13.3% of the annual budget. Uh that's uh likely due like we've talked about before to the operations uh operations cash flow and the way we receive money uh for the state. The expenses at uh exceeded revenue by that same 1.64 million and the education fund now holds 87% 87.7% of total cash
048operations at 4.4 and raining day at 7.7. So the total cash balance uh 8.05 uh rounded so it's 8,ion48,148. The revenue in November at 5,20,908. Uh the expenditures in November at 6,66538 and that's 13.3% uh cash on hand. Um the education fund budget at 43.22 million. Uh we spent 40.50 million through that should be November. Uh it's 93.7% of the budget and that does not include any transfers from the education the operations fund because that's the not appropriated nonappropriated expense uh shows in your cash but since the school still owns that money does not show on the appropriation. Uh the operations fund at 17.10 million 13.68 million spent and that's 80% of the budget. Uh we can see fund balances here. The education fund uh began at 8.12 million, ends at 7.06 million, operations at
0490.9 or 940,000, ends at 370,000, and the op the rainy day fund, excuse me, at 620,000. The cash flows then at uh the education fund revenue of 4.27 million, expenditures of 5.34 million. So that's going to be the difference between the 8.12 and the 7.106. And uh that's a 1.06 $6 million uh decrease or change. The operations fund at uh 750,000 in revenue uh 1.32 million in um expenditures and $580,000 change there. I will point out, I know I've said this before, but I will point out the operations fund uh is funded twice a year. Uh generally twice a year in uh June and December. uh you may have each school or each county I should say may give advanced draws if they have property tax available but if they do not um the uh
050it's only in June and December and even if they do do an advanced draw that just comes off your June and December settlement then so uh monthend cash balance by fund 7.06 06 million in the education fund operations at 370,000 and raining day at 6 620,000 and then we can see the uh summary down here the education fund began at 4 million or I'm sorry 8,123,19 revenue of 4.273794 273794 million expenses at 5,335665. So we end at 7,61,000. Operations funds started at 943,294 revenue of 747114 expenses of a,ion 324873. So an ending balance of 36536 and rainy day fund no activity. So 621,463. And so then we end up seeing at the end the um uh at the beginning we we had rounded that to 8.05. We've got 8,48,148 in the um in those three
051funds and cash at the end of November. >> That would include or that would conclude the uh financial dashboard, but I'd be glad to answer any questions. Anyone have any questions for Dr. Penrod? Dr. Penrod, where do you uh where do you think we'll be at the end of the year? >> Uh I think on the uh it looked to me like the uh um education fund balance was going to start start leveling out in December and January depending on what um you know what kind of year end type of um uh expenses take place. Uh I would I would think that we'd have to watch the cash flow or I know we have to watch the cash flow because we're at 93% expended anyway and so we need to make sure we stay under
052100 or right at 100. Uh with that being the case then the um the the uh fund balance would end up in the same ballpark in that $7 million ballpark um as as it is right now. Um and then the same thing with operation not the same not the same dollar figure but the same concept with operations. uh that'll bounce back because we'll get the settlement. We um you can see we got uh uh the school got $747,000 in revenue. That's obviously not anywhere close to what the property tax settlement is going to be in December. And so that that balance be quite a bit higher, but I assume it'll be slightly lower than the um or I expect it to be slightly lower than the January 1 of 2025 balance. Um and then uh
053so you know, as we talked about, some adjustments need to be made based with Sen. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Overall, we're ending this November in a better position than we were last November. So, last November, you know, we always end up at this time of year overdrawn in the operation spend because of the way the revenue is distributed only twice a year. Um it's almost double um what how much we were overdrawn last year compared to how much we're overdrawn this year, which shows that, you know, that we're managing the cash flow. um a little bit more responsively this year as as has been our our goal to continue um to monitor very closely the money that's coming in and going out. >> Any other questions? All right. Thank you, Dr. Penrod.
054Uh next is the superintendent report. Dr. Wood, >> thank you. Um so it's hard to believe we already wrapping up the first semester of the 2526 school year. Um and in just two weeks we will be our students will be home enjoying their winter break. Um so as we wrap up this semester and are moving into the second semester in January, I wanted to provide an update on two opportunities that we have for teachers that will be available in the coming weeks. Um so first I want to provide an update on the changes to the teacher appreciation grant or the tag grant as it is commonly referred to. Um, so as we've discussed previously, the Indiana legislature made significant revisions to this program for the current year. So historically, TAG provided a stipend to all
055teachers who qualified um based on their local evaluation scores. Um under the new structure however the grant has shifted to a competitive award program um that is monitored through the state and it includes very specific state defined criteria and it can't be awarded to more than 20% of eligible teachers in each school district. Um so the state also did not fully fund the program at a level that would support a full 20% of all um teaching staff within each district. Um so locally for us we received an allocation which is um sufficient to award tier one stipens to 60 teachers. Um and that's roughly about 14% of our eligible staff. And then in addition to that, our special education cooperative received its own allocation and that will allow for 13 stipens to be awarded to
056teachers who are employed through the co-op. Um so to ensure a fair and transparent process, we've developed a locally created application that allows teachers to demonstrate how their work aligns to the state's criteria um that they've established for the award. The application was shared with teachers last week and it will be due the week that we return from winter break. So once applications are received, a review committee will evaluate submissions and make recommendations to our administrative team regarding the recipients of the tier 1 stipens that are available to us. Um and Claudia from the LFT has been a great help with that. She's going to help us form that committee. Um so we're looking forward to being able to work with with her um in the coming weeks through this process. Um, second, I wanted
057to provide an update on the retirement incentive that was included in our negotiated agreement with the Leaport Federation of Teachers in October. Um, this initiative represents a collaborative effort between the district and the association to align our staffing levels with long-term enrollment trends. So, as we've shared previously, our district has been experiencing nearly two decades of declining enrollment. Um, yet staffing levels have not been adjusted accordingly. So the retirement incentive was designed to help us responsibly rightsize the district by reducing approximately 12 to 15 teaching positions without adversely affecting class sizes. So these are positions that based on enrollment patterns should have been reduced over time but were not. Um, while some vacancies created through this process may ultimately need to be refilled, the incentive allows the district to achieve additional savings even for those
058positions by replacing some of our topofcale retirements with new hires at lower salary levels. So, it's important to note um that although eligible teachers will apply for the incentive this winter, all retirements associated with the buyout will take effect at the end of the 2526 school year. So there will not be any mid-year retirements that occur as part of this process. Um and that ensures that we have stability for our students and staff through the current academic year. Um the incentive is available on a first come basis with the application window opening January 5th. We set this timeline to occur very early in the second semester um to allow us several months to engage in thoughtful transition planning for anticipated vacancies and to ensure continuity of services for students as we prepare for the 2627
059school year. Um and then finally, I'd like to close by sharing two brief videos featuring some outstanding educators from our Why I Teach series. Um so these were filmed last spring as part of our EES marketing partnership. Um the first one highlights Hilleman Elementary teacher Esmeraldo Vargas whom we are recognizing this evening in conjunction with the Hileman school spotlight and the second features Leaport High School English department chair Brenda Cooper. So these videos serve as a powerful reminder of the dedication. I love working here at Hyman because I I love working here at Hyman because I am actually a former Husky who also attended my elementary years here. I also love working with my English language learners. They are some of the most amazing children that you could work with due to our community's diversity.
060Many of my students come from a Hispanic background just like myself. It is to make sure that I make a difference in the lives that they can be successful regardless of any language barriers that they may face. I like working here at Leaport because it's my alma mo. I went here, my kids went here, my mom was a teacher here for like 40 years. So, it just is home. The reason I've stayed all this time is I just really like the student body. I just really enjoy seeing their passion. >> I love working here at Hyman because I am actually a former Husky who also attended my elementary years here. I also love working with my English language learners. They are some of the most amazing children that you could work with. Due to our
061community's diversity, many of my students come from a Hispanic background, just like myself, it is very important for me to make sure that I make a difference in the lives of my students so that they know that they can be successful regardless of any language barriers that they may face. I like working here at Leaport because it's my alma moater. I went here, my kids went here, my mom was a teacher here for like 40 years. So, it just is home. The reason I've stayed all this time is I just really like the student body. I just really enjoy seeing their passion for everything they do and having that usually intersect somehow with what we're doing in class. So, when that happens, it's awesome. And I just feel like it's a unique place to be.
062To be a slicer is amazing and I wouldn't have traded my career to go anywhere else. So these videos serve a powerful reminder of the dedication, passion, and impact our teachers bring to the classrooms every day. And there are hundreds more just like these. So that concludes my superintendent report. >> Okay. Does anyone have any questions for Dr. Olen? Uh next will be the assistant superintendent of student learning report Dr. Tonicle. >> Yeah, good evening. So I too have been reflecting as we approach the end of the semester about the major um topics and issues that are uh facing our classrooms and our teachers and I want to expand a little bit on Mr. Huber's uh CKLA report since this is a big for us. So anytime you start a new program or you uh
063introduce a new curriculum, it's significant. But this uh program has been especially so so because of the shift that it's required of us. This approach to teaching reading is different. Uh it's challenging and it's it's very unfamiliar for students and for teachers. But even so, I want the board to know how hard our our students are working. You heard a little bit about that. Our teachers are doing a great job and we are seeing progress. So implementing a new program is challenging for students who must adjust to new ways of learning and for teachers who are adapting to new ways of teaching. The process isn't always smooth, but our teachers are fully committed to the program and they are applying the the training that they've received. It's a work in progress and it's going to
064take time and Mr. Hubert alluded to that, but we are clearly moving in the right direction with this new implementation. So, as a reminder, we adopted what's called the core knowledge language arts program for K through 8. And this makes it the first real time that we've implemented a unified curriculum across that large of a grade span. So I think that's important to show. Choosing evidencebased materials was intentional. Our data in Leaport shows clear areas for improvement in ELA on state tests as well as the PSAT and the SAT. We believe that by implementing this program with fidelity and aligning our instructional interventions to what the data tells us, our students are going to grow. While the results may not appear immediately on state assessments, we do expect long-term outcomes to improve. The CKLA program
065is based on the science of reading and it's set up for direct instruction in two blocks. And Mr. Hubert again um indicated this. The first is the skill strand and that's the phonics, the decoding, the fluency, the reading part. And then the knowledge strand which is content like history and the arts and the sciences. Students spend about 60 minutes on each strand per day in order to learn how to read while deepening their background knowledge and helping them uh improve their comprehension skills. The comprehension piece is very important so students um so they can't just decode a passage. Uh they have to understand strong readers have to read it and understanding the meaning of the vocabulary and have the prior knowledge to truly understand reading. The CKLA program includes knowledge units that build over time
066and let students starting in kindergarten start building knowledge about various topics that build on top of each other. Students read about all kinds of topics in these knowledge units. We have a quick um series of pictures and video I want to show you from a fourth grade class who recently had a unit on the medieval times. Heat. Heat. Heat. Thanks, Tammy. So, as you you heard from Mr. Hubers students and you can see in this video the students are having a great time building knowledge and that's going to help them become stronger readers. Um it's important to know that most state and national tests contain reading passages that require students to read like topics like this that they normally would not know much about. They might be able to decode the passage but they also
067might lack the prior knowledge about the topic that they tr that they need to understand to truly understand it. I'm going to give the board an example. Um, as Mrs. Van Hook pulls up a passage, I'm going to ask that you as a board read this. I'm going to put one of you on the spot to read it out loud. Go ahead and read it. All right, Mr. King, I'm going to call on you since you were my former student. Can you read it out loud for us? >> England's openers labored 34 balls before scoring their first boundary as Strauss cracked two fours through the lakeside. Cook made a patient start before motoring past his skipper. >> You go. What's this about? >> Soccer. >> All right. Good. Good. Educated guess. Anybody else want to
068take a stab at it? Now my guess is you all did read it and you can read it. You decoded it, right? But terms like openers, balls, boundary, leg side, skipper and innings are all standard cricut terminology. All right. So in order to stand understand this passage and if this was on the iLearn or a SAT assessment, you you'd be in trouble, right? You can read it, you can decode it, but you really truly can't understand it until you understand some of those terms. uh cricket's a popular sport in other countries and you might not have that prior knowledge or that background um where you stand. So this illustrates the point that Mr. Huber made and what some of those students were talking about. We need to start building that knowledge, that prior knowledge, that
069vocabulary over time so that the kids can do a better job on their state assessments. And it's not just about being prepared for those state assessments, but how fair is it to put students in a situation where they're reading about topics they have no background on? and truly doesn't reflect and that's why we commonly say these test scores don't truly reflect the work going on in our schools. Uh we believe that over time this is going to make a a big difference. So our students are gaining a lot of background knowledge. Thanks Mr. P. That's good. Yeah. >> And I want to share some other examples of topics that they're reading about the Civil War, poetry, the human body, the founding documents, geology, etc. And over time, these units that build on each other are
070going to build more background knowledge for the kids. They spiral. They build over time. And that the more more knowledge that is explicitly taught, the more reading comprehension improves in our students. So that's a little bit about the background. I want to share something that we're struggling with. So one of our concerns that keeps coming up with our teachers and we're listening to them as they implement this program is that it doesn't align real nicely with the I learn checkpoints or our curriculum maps. We put a lot of time into curriculum maps over the years and uh the new program isn't um lining up with the scope and sequence. So it's only year one though um and it's the year first year of our operational I learn checkpoints at the same time. So we plan
071to spend some time next summer mapping out um this program in coordination and you heard Mr. Huber say they're already kind of doing some of those things. He's a he's a high achiever and his staff does a great job. So this program might not teach those specific standards that are being assessed on the checkpoints at the beginning of the year and the middle of the year and the end of the year, but they're building a strong foundational base um for stronger readers. We also um have other programs that we use um that we need to be intentional about and one of those programs is a individual learning path that takes the results of the iLearn checkpoint puts it into a personalized learning plan for the students and when they spend 40 minutes per week u
072mastering eight different skills there's an independent research that shows they will have better outcomes on their next assessment. So, we're trying to make sure we are implementing that with fidelity to make sure um that we're showing growth on those state assessments. At the same time, we're trying to be uh faithful to implementing this program as it's intended to be implemented. Um there can be a a little bit of an urge to panic a little bit when you're doing a new program, when you're looking at these state assessment results. And like I mentioned, we've given checkpoint one so far and we're looking at those results. And you might say, "Oo, these results are below state average or they're right at state average." and we want to see more growth. So, I'm going to ask the board
073um and that's why I'm giving you this update to be patient. This isn't about teaching to the test. We're wanting to go deeper. We're wanting to set a stronger foundation. And we believe that due to this contentbased program, we're doing just that. At the same time, we are with Fidelity implementing those operational checkpoints that the state has put out in front of us. So, I just wanted to give the board a little bit more background. Again, expanding on Mr. you. I'm really glad this worked out for the kids to be here to talk about their excitement for this program. Um, we're going to get better each year with it. And that concludes my report. >> Okay. Any questions for Dr. Tom? I will say I'm glad you called on Tucker. I'm happy. >> Thank you.
074>> You did very well though, Tucker. I will say I appreciate it. Thank you. >> Um, all right. So, the next uh order of business is the assistant superintendent of operations report, Dr. on. >> Thank you. I I'll be brief. I just have a few uh comments. Um the first is the Indiana Department of Homeland Security is having their first inaugural school safety summit. They've done some restructuring at the state level. So that is for our school safety specialists. That's going to be held uh January 6th and 7th and they are offering that to five people in each district. So myself and four of our principles will be attending that. um the boiler that was approved a couple of board meetings ago that's been replaced and installed in this building um with the cold weather.
075That's very much appreciated. Um and just on that note, uh Ryan Kim, our facilities and maintenance guys have been doing a great job of trying to keep the uh sidewalks clear from ice and snow, all all this weather that we're getting and we're supposed to get some more. So, just want to give a shout out to those guys and all their hard work. Um, couple other financial notes. Uh, December 16th, we'll be closing on the GO bond for 2025. And then recently during that process, uh, we were, um, rated again through the S&P process. And I just I'm happy to report that the corporation's credit outlook has improved from negative to stable um, keeping our A rating. And this shift is because of uh, improved operating results that have strengthened our reserves. So that's good
076news to report. >> That's all I have. Any questions or comments? I want to pile on that S&P report is very good. >> Yeah. Right. It's hard work to do that stuff. Appreciate us doing it. So all right, next order is uh the board policies. So uh this is the second reading for these. So this required board action to approve. We did the first reading at the uh November board meeting. Um so first one is volume 37 number two April 2025. Is there a motion to approve these uh board policies? >> Make a motion we approve the policies. >> Thank you Monica. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you Tucker. >> All those in favor say I. >> I opposed. >> Okay. The next one is the special update from July 2025. This
077is the second reading. Does anyone want to make a motion to approve those? >> Some moved. >> Thank you, Jen. Uh, second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Justin. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Okay. So, both of those are approved. We move on to new business. The first order of new business is consideration for recommendation to approve the the acceptance of grants, donations, gifts, and bequests. Dr. Wood. Um we have two um approvals this evening. So the first is a $1,000 grant from the Unity Foundation um to to be used for Wiggle While We Work flexible seating um in Miss Stafford's class at the C Kesling campus. This is one of our life skills classrooms. Um a lot of research supports that the ability to move while focusing on classroom instruction is
078very important for kiddos as they're learning. So very grateful to the Unity Foundation for offering this grant to Miss Stafford. Um and then the second is a $2,000 donation from the Mil Creek Lions Club to Indian Trail Elementary to help supply their classrooms and create a welcoming environment for families. >> All right, very good. Does anyone want to make a motion to accept those two donations? So move. >> Thank you, Tucker. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Monica. All those in favor say I. I opposed. >> Motion carries. Uh the next order of business is the consideration for recommendation to approve the memorandum of understanding between the preserve historic Leaport and Leaport Community School Corporation. Dr. Wood. >> Um so as the board is aware over the past few months, we've had
079considerable discussion about the current condition of Kuanas Stadium. um in light of the fact that the stadium is 75 years old and is in need of significant repairs in order to meet the needs of a 21st century high school football program. Um so as you are aware the organization Preserve Historical Port has been in contact with us regularly over the past couple of years. Um recently we met with them and we have worked on a collaborative agreement to work together um to assess and identify the scope of work that would be needed to restore Kowanas Stadium to exceptional functionality. So this is the first step in our ongoing efforts to define a path forward for our football facilities and we are grateful for the support of preserve his historic leaport as they are offering to
080share the costs of a feasibility study with us. So theou presented to the board this evening outlines the terms of this collaboration. Um so I'd ask the board to approve thisou which allows us to begin moving forward with the study. So upon completion, we anticipate sharing the results of the study at a future board meeting and ultimately the results will then be shared with the committee that Dr. Oni has formed to to formally study the condition of Kuana Stadium and ultimately make a re recommendation on the path forward when we are ready to make that move. >> Okay. Does anyone have any comments or questions? I have one. All right. I don't think there's anywhere that anyone's talked about formally with this board to move Kuanas. So, I want that just to be out there,
081right? So, the the intent here is if all things line up, we would like to keep playing football on that piece of property for the next hundred years. So, I know there's been a lot of rumors floating around out there that we want to move this. It's not the case this board. So, um appreciate uh the preserve historic uh report coming alongside of us on this. So that's my two cents. Uh is there a motion to accept the memorandum of understanding as presented? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Justin. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Tucker. All those in favor say I. >> I opposed. Okay. Uh invite Mark Kurt. I think I saw you out there. Yep. Come on forward. Mark is the president of uh Preserve Historic Leaport. He wanted
082to make a uh just a short comment here. >> Thank you for being here. >> I'll keep it brief. I don't have slides. >> Okay. >> But I I do want to express really sincere appreciation for uh the board taking the first step in planning for a a better facility for uh Kuanas or for uh slices football and we hope also a better future for Kuanas. Um we we really look forward to being a good partner working together uh through this and uh arriving at a solution that'll benefit the students, the school corporation and the city of Leaport. So thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Thanks. >> Okay. The next order of business is a consideration for recommendation to approve the 2025 endofear claims resolution. Dr. Wood. Um, so this resolution authorizes the
083business office to pay any remaining claims that come in between tonight's meeting and the end of the calendar year. So this allows us to close out 2025 without carrying expenses into 2026 that should be charged to this year's budget. So this is a standard year in practice to ensure that expenditures are properly aligned with purchasing timelines and fiscal responsibilities of the current year. So >> we have any questions for Dr. Wood? Is there a motion to approve the resolution as presented? >> So move. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Monica. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. >> Motion carries. Next order of business is a consideration for recommendation to or approval to advertise an RFPRFQ in preparation for guaranteed energy savings contract. Dr. Wood. So, as the board is
084aware, we are facing significant financial challenges beginning in 2026 as a result of Senate enrolled act 1, which changed Indiana's property tax structure and will substantially reduce the revenue we can collect for our operations fund. So, when we presented the 2026 budget this fall, we shared that this change will create a shortfall of approximately $1.4 million next year. Um, so given that some of our largest operational expenses are tied to utilities, we believe one of the most effective ways to begin addressing this gap is through energy cost reductions. So to move forward, we are requesting approval to begin the process of exploring an energy savings contract. So this would allow us to issue an RFQ or an RFP to qualified school sector providers who can assess our facilities and identify opportunities for long-term savings. So,
085we already know that LED lighting um upgrades and mechanical optimization are needed in many of our buildings. Um and with 2026 quickly approaching, we want to begin this work as soon as possible. So, tonight we're only asking for permission to advertise for qualified firms. Once that process is complete, we will return to the board with any recommended providers and proposed contracts. And if approved, this work could begin as early as this spring and could be funded in part using the 2025 geo bond proceeds. >> Any questions for Dr. Wood? >> Hearing none. Uh, is there a recommendation or is there a motion to approve the uh advertising of the RFP and RFQ as laid out? >> So move. >> Thank you, Tucker. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Justin. All those in
086favor say I. I opposed. Motion carries. Uh the next order of business is consideration for recommendation for approval of the updated position of principal of Little Learners Early Childhood Center. Dr. Wood. >> Um so as you know in August of this year, Little Learners Early Childhood Center officially became a district school. Um so bringing with it significantly expanded operational responsibilities. Since that time, the center has grown to serve 318 students and 30, I'm sorry, 49 staff members, and now it operates with the same administrative structure and accountability expectations as our other elementary buildings. So, our director of early childhood education, Becky Jeffers, has led this transition, overseeing the move to the new facility, managing increased enrollment, and ensuring compliance with all state and district requirements. So, this evening, we are recommending a formal adjustment to
087Mrs. Jeffer's title so that it reflects her role as principal of Little Learners Early Childhood Center and aligns the position with our level one administrator structure consistent with our other elementary principles. This action simply ensures that the title and classification match the responsibilities of the role and if approved, her compensation and benefits would follow the same guidelines that apply to all level one administrators. >> Any questions for Dr. Wood? >> I'd just like to say I'm amazed by the learners. My daughter is a student there and the community events, the the scale of it, it seems like it's really coming together. So, very supportive. >> Okay. Uh is there a motion to approve the updated position uh as laid out by Dr. Wood? >> So, >> thank you, Jim. Is there a second? >> Second.
088>> Thank you, Tucker. All those in favor say I. >> I opposed. >> Okay. Next order business is consideration for the recommendation uh to approve a strength and conditioning strength and conditioning coordinator position for Leaport Community School Corporation. >> Um so this next item is to request to establish a strength and conditioning coordinator position to support all of our K12 athletic programs. As our athletic offerings continue to grow, it's becoming increasingly clear that we need dedicated leadership in this area. A strong, well-coordinated strength and conditioning program is truly foundational to any successful athletic system, improving performance, reducing injuries, and ensuring that student athletes are trained safely and consistently across all seasons and teams. So, this role would provide year-round oversight and alignment of our training expectations, help us build the kind of structure that high-erforming
089athletic programs rely on. It also supports the broader strategic work we've begun to elevate Slicer athletics as a whole. We are working hard to develop a long-term vision for our athletic program and this position is a key component in beginning to move the needle on competitiveness, student development, and over pro overall program quality. The position would sit outside of our physical education staffing model and be classified as a level four administrator, reporting directly to the athletic director. Approval tonight would allow us to finalize the job description and post the position internally with the goal of bringing a candidate to uh the board for recommendation in January. >> Are there any questions for Dr. Wood? >> Hearing none. Is there a motion to uh approve the strength and conditioning strength and conditioning coordinator position for the
090port community schools? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Tucker. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Monica. All those in favor say I. >> I opposed. >> Motion carries. Next order of business is the consideration for the recommendation to approve the updated administrative handbook. Dr. Wood. >> Um, so as I move further into my second year in this role, one of the areas I want to strengthen is the regular review of our personnel policies and procedures. For employees who are not part of a bargaining unit, our handbooks serve as the primary source of guidance on expectations, processes, and protocol. It's important that these documents remain current and my goal is to implement an annual review cycle each December so that any updates can take effect with the start of the next calendar year.
091So this evening we are beginning that process with the updated administrative handbook. You received the full document last week along with a summary of the key revisions. I'm requesting your approval of the updated handbook tonight so it can go into effect on January 1st of 2026. >> Is there any questions for Dr. Wood? Okay. Hearing none. Is there a motion to approve the updated administrative handbook? >> Thank you, Jim. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Tucker. All those in favor say I. >> I. Opposed. >> Motion carries. Uh, the next order of business is the consideration for recommendation to approve the support staff handbook. Dr. Wood. >> So, the next item then is the updated support staff handbook. So this handbook covers all non-administrative positions that do not fall under a designated collective bargaining agreement.
092Um so unlike the administrator handbook which has been reviewed more regularly, our support staff handbook has not existed in an updated or usable form for more than a decade. Um so over the past several months, we have developed a fully updated support staff handbook to ensure that our pro procedures, expectations, and policies for this employee group are clearly documented and aligned across the district. Um, so this new handbook provides a transparent, consistent framework that supports equitable equitable decision-making and offers employees a clear understanding of expectations during onboarding and throughout their employment. If approved, we will begin distributing the handbook to all covered staff and collect signed acknowledgements to confirm receipt and allow employees an opportunity to ask questions. This handbook would take effect immediately upon board approval. >> Anyone have any questions or comments for
093Dr. Wood? I would just say that I know that this uh is a lot of work and I appreciate you doing it. >> Thank you. >> Um hearing no other questions or comments. Does anyone want to make a motion to approve the support staff handbook? So move. Thank you, Justin. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Jen. All those in favor say I. >> I opposed. >> Motion carries. All right, we're round in third. The next order of business is a consideration for recommendation for approval of the raises for non-certified staff, non-union staff, food service staff, and administrative staff. Dr. Wood. >> So, my final um action item this evening is the recommendation for salary adjustments for our employee groups outside of the teachers bargaining unit um and outside of the other bargaining units that Dr.
094Onie is currently in the process of negotiating with. Um so this process began after the ratification of the teachers contract which occurred on October 13th. Um that contract included an average base salary increase of 3.4%. So to maintain alignment and ensure equity across our organization. I am recommending that we extend the same 3.4% base pay increase to other all these other eligible employee groups excluding those that are covered by separate collective bargaining agreements. Um, so for most non-certified groups, this increase would take effect on January 1st. For administrators, non-certified licensed employees, nurses, and academic and literacy coaches, the adjustment would be retroactive to the start of the school year on July 1st, 2025. Um, the fiscal impact of this proposal has been carefully calculated by fund. Um, and that was included in your board packet
095with a breakdown. um so that the board can clearly see how the costs are allocated across the education fund and the operations fund. We've reviewed our budgets and working with Dr. Penrod and Dr. Oni um we are confident that these adjustments are financially sustainable at this time. Um so additionally there are a few department specific recommendations included in this packet for food service um and those are outlined in your materials. Um, this reflects the fact that the food service program is fully self-funded and subject to federal guidelines that actually limit the amount of cash balance they can carry and retain throughout their fund. >> Any questions or comments for Dr. Wood? >> Okay. Is there a motion to approve the raises as laid out by Dr. Wood? >> Thank you. Is there a second? >>
096Second. >> Thank you, Monica. All those in favor say I. >> I. opposed. Motion carries. Last item on the new business is the consideration for the recommendation to approve the parttime concession support role. Dr. Oni. Uh so we have an employee that is retiring from the food service department at the end of this month. Um and she also assists the athletic department uh in a number of roles. coordinating and placing orders for concession supplies, maintaining organized and accurate inventory records, restocking, posted vet reconciliation, and communication with the athletic director. So, the athletic department would like to keep her on board with all the the ways that she helps them out. Um, so she's going to continue to be paid upon approval, uh, 1650 per hour through the athletic department, just in a part-time role. Okay.
097Any, uh, questions or comments for Dr. Oie? Okay, hearing none. Is there a recommendation? Is there a motion to approve the recommendation of the part-time concession support rule? >> Thank you, Jim. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Justin. All those in favor say I. >> I. Opposed. >> Motion carries. That is the end of new business. There is no other business or comment. Does anybody have any comment? Okay. So, the future meetings, we have a uh reorganization meeting, a board meeting, and a board of finance meeting on January 12th um at 6:00. Make note, Ryan. And uh with that, I will seek a motion for adjournment. So, thank you, Jeff. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Monica. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> You're in at the meeting now. Don't leave. If
098you want to go see the health careers,