001[music] >> Good afternoon. >> I'd like to call the regular meeting of the Gary Community School Board for March 12th, 2026 to order. Would you please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance? >> I pledge allegiance >> to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. May we have roll call? >> Sure. Dr. Woods? >> Present. >> Attorney Watkins? >> Present. >> President Suggs? >> Present. >> And I am present. Uh, Mr. Johnson is not here. We have four members present. >> With four members present, we have quorum and a legal meeting. We will now move on to item number two, approval of the March 19th agenda. I will entertain a motion.
002>> So moved. >> Yeah, just wanted to confirm that motion to approve the March 12th agenda. >> February >> The current state of the agenda. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. Current agenda. >> So, it's been moved and properly second to approve tonight's agenda. Any discussion on this motion? >> No. >> Hearing no discussion, all in say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Yes. I'd like to move item 5.5 out. I can't send it. I don't consent. >> So, we have three members voting yes and one voting no. >> That's right. >> The motion carries. Item number three on our agenda, Gary Readiness Snapshots. Is Chelsea >> Good evening. Dr. Stokes, school board members, and this great gathering here before me, as well as those tuning in virtually. My name is Chelsea Whittington, and I
003proudly serve as the chief of public and community relations for your Gary Community School Corporation. It's the time of the agenda that has come where we are able to highlight things that have happened and looking ahead positively in the district, the accomplishments of our youth, which why we're always gathered here for the school board meeting, for our youth. The first thing I want to talk to you about today is the highlighting of our swim team. Some people may not realize that we do have a swim team, and that they are showing up and showing out in their respective areas. And if you have our director of athletics here with whom from whom we'll hear from later, that can attest to this, but one of our team members, Jesse Thomas, wrote in to make us aware
004that our students of the varsity boys and girls swim teams competed in the swim meet sectionals, and despite them not qualifying for the state championships, they put all the other schools on notice that next year will be their year. So, we just want to clap it up for them for their showing up >> [applause] >> and showing out in the sectionals and not advancing, but that our swim team is still thriving. Next, I'd like to share the exciting news that some of our students and special pops scholars at Gary Middle School completed a new writing project and that they are now officially published authors. The name of the book is Leading With Impressions. And throughout this project, their students our students learned how to write, edit, illustrate, and they created a book that will be
005treasured as a keepsake for years to come. We're also happy to announce that as of last week, their book has been entered into a national book challenge, which will also help Gary Middle School with a chance to win funds for anything they need toward their literacy efforts. Can we give our young people at GMS a hand for publishing the book Leading [applause] With Impressions? And if you'd like more information about it, it's posted on their Facebook page. You can reach out to GMS directly or on our website. We'll post the link to the book there as well. Attendance matters. And on Tuesday, this past Tuesday, I had the incredible opportunity to head over to Bethune Early Childhood Development Center, aka the baby school. And we were able to highlight our youngsters with 95% attendance or
006greater since August. And they had a total of 114 students that achieved that milestone, which is amazing. >> [applause] >> Antoinette Dixon and her puts together a monthly traveling trophy and monthly events where we highlight attendance. And this is a photo of the students who won a T-shirt raffle, some of them, and they're posing. And if you want to watch the entire ceremony, it is on the Bethune and Gary Schools Facebook page and our YouTube page. So, again, congratulations to Ms. Canty, Principal Canty, and the entire team for attendance. And the battle continues amongst our schools on who's going to win the Attendance Matters award for the month of March. We are also excited to announce that we have re-engaged our partnership with One Church, One School. Um during the month of January, some of
007the representatives came into the district and met with Dr. Stokes, myself, Crystal, and others to talk about how they could get back involved in helping with our students. You may recall in years past how members of One Church, One School would come and participate in activities, walk our children to school, um mentorship. And they have recommitted to do that again, and they are rallying their troops to get started with attending events, providing mentors, and just being a part of our school community. So, we just wanted to acknowledge that partnership and thank them in advance for what they're going [applause] to be doing later today. Now, if you attended previous school board meetings, the previous school board meeting, or have tuned in online, I made a prediction, and my prediction came true. We said we smelled
008a three-peat in the Skill City Knowledge Bowl, and I am here tonight to say mission accomplished. The Gary West Side Leadership Academy was victorious in the Steel City Mayors Cup. All smiles, but even better, they are here tonight. Would you please come forward, members of the Steel City Mayors Cup along with their sponsor, Beverly [applause] Wilson. I'd like to also call up Dr. Stokes to just bestow them. They have medals, but we have medals for you, too, cuz we want you to be doubly appreciated for all of your hard work. And for those students who were unable to attend, we will send the medals by you. I will read their names whilst we move forward with the program, and then Ms. Ms. Goodson has some good news to share. Can you write that? And please
009stay for a photo. Everybody up. Yes. Mr. Ms. Would you like to join in for the Would you all like to join for the photo? All right. And our participants were Destiny Burnett, Jamie Jones, Michaela Hair, Joel Moore, Rachel Davis, Anaya Navarro, Kaylee Quarles, and Alicia Thomas. The team was coached and sponsored by Beverly Goodson, whose leadership and dedication continue to elevate academic excellence and competitive scholarship at Westside Leadership Academy. A round of applause for the three-peat [applause] champions. And you're going to take a brief photo. You all can stay where you are. And then Ms. Goodson, I invite you to the podium to share a little back history and one more bit of good news coming out of Westside. I'd also like to acknowledge that our assistant principals are here, Dr. Genora Holmes and
010Mr. Marcus Muhammad. >> Yes, sir. >> Uh-huh. >> No, no. I'm not going to make public comments. >> All right. >> I'm not going to make comments. >> I want those who are watching on the >> Now, why you think you got to take this? I >> All right. >> Why you think you got to take it? >> On the count of three, we're going to say three things. 1 2 3. >> Three things. >> Thank you. This is good, sir. >> Whatever. >> [applause] >> I just want to say thank you, especially to these children. Everybody think the knowledge bowl is an easy competition, but what happens is they give me a book that has over 600 pages, and I have to go through that book and make questions for these students to learn.
011So, I made how many questions, James? >> 2,400 questions. >> That's right. And out of that amount of questions, our students didn't know six. That was it. And so, I am so proud of you guys, and thank you for having me as your coach. >> All right. >> [applause] >> AND A LITTLE BIT OF MORE NEWS, so our ROTC department, nobody ever talks about our ROTC department. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week, I had the pleasure of being the chaperone for the JROTC ROTC department. Our students traveled to Fort Knox, Kentucky, where out of 300 schools, they were chosen to represent and post the colors for Brigadier General Maurice Barnett, who was doing a transformation command ceremony. So, he was leaving Fort Knox to go to Kentucky I mean to go to Colorado and
012he picked Westside JROTC to represent him and post colors at a ceremony. I will post pictures later, >> [applause] >> but I just want them to be recognized also. So, that's why I'm wearing this black t-shirt today in recognition of Westside JROTC Department. >> [applause] >> Thank you so much for always sharing the good news. You never get tired of it and I'll make sure that I reach out to Barnett or what we call him Mo and just thank him for that and I thank the board and Dr. Stokes for this opportunity. This concludes my report. >> Thank you. Any questions or comments board members? I do have a comment. I was fortunate to go to the Steel City Knowledge Bowl for part of it. And I just want to say the team, they are
013amazing. I say that for American studies in college and their knowledge is is amazing. I I was I was like starstruck because even when they first started asking the question they already hit the buzzer. I mean they was on top of it. It just really shows when you're prepared and you work hard the difference that it makes. I just want to say congratulations to the team. >> Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Thank you. >> I just wanted to say congratulations to them also. I just had a question when you uh talking about the swim team, where do they practice at? >> The Y W C A of Northwest Indiana and Paint were they also in >> They were in Munster. >> In Munster and now that the pool is back up and running here in Gary,
014that's where they are. >> Okay, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Let's move on to item number four on our agenda. Dr. Woods, would you read the statement, please. >> Absolutely. Uh and again, good afternoon, everyone. >> mic button, thank you. >> Okay. >> [clears throat] >> Statement on public comments. Pursuant to IC 5-14-1-5-3, the Gary Community School Corporation Board of Trustees welcomes comments from the community. As a result, the agenda for each regular meeting provides time for public expression. The period of public expression is limited to 3 minutes per individual and 30 minutes total discussion of items on the agenda or to express concerns relative to the operation of the school city, school board actions, and other items of general educational interest. If there are many people wishing to address the board, we may
015limit the amount of time a person may speak. Comments shall be directed to the board, not to individual board members. Statements shall not be abusive or argumentative. Persons making comments shall not debate statements made by other persons. It shall not be permissible to orally present or discuss complaints against individual employees of the Gary Community School Corporation at any Board of School Trustees meetings. Issues relating to personnel, individual circumstances, or an individual school will be referred to the building principal or an appropriate administrator in an attempt to resolve the issue prior to an appeal before the board. Speaker cannot transfer their remaining time to another person. The board president will enforce these rules and may take actions necessary to maintain order at the meeting. Such actions may include, but are not limited to, interrupting the speaker
016if the statement is too lengthy, unduly repetitive, or otherwise violates the rules. The president may terminate the address of any speaker who violates these rules. Limit the total amount of time devoted to public comments if there is a large number of people wishing to address the board or if there's a large agenda of other business before the board. >> Thank you, Dr. Woods, and I will just remind everyone of what we just heard that there are no personnel matters to be discussed. If we decide to discuss it, I will terminate your discussion. First [clears throat] on our list is Carolyn Gearing. >> Dr. Stokes, board members, good evening. Um, the mission statement that we have for the Gary Community School Corporation states that we do what is best for our students today, tomorrow, and every
017day. It says that our mission is to consistently prioritize the needs and the interests of our students, being committed to providing our students with the tools and opportunities they need to thrive. Our commitment to them goes beyond the sphere of academic success. We also value their holistic development, including their emotional well-being and social skills. So, to remove the current principal at Westside Leadership Academy negates the content of this mission statement. >> Excuse me. I'm sorry, but I wasn't clear, evidently. There are no personnel matters to be discussed at this meeting. >> Do we have a legal opinion on that? >> All right. I'm sorry. We just read the statement. Okay. We're not going to be able to discuss that matter. >> Okay. >> And again, in the statement it asked for you to talk to
018the administrative staff. >> Mr. President, given the the community um knowing about the termination that was on the agenda and the community um >> There was no termination. >> That was on the agenda last time and that people want to talk about it, I don't understand how they can't discuss it. I know maybe we shouldn't be discussing it now, but I had no idea that anybody would be stopped from doing it. So, I'm assuming you got a legal opinion about that. Could you speak to it um Shelise? >> So, a legal opinion is not necessary. The matter was on the agenda for the last meeting. There was public comment at the last meeting. It's not on the agenda this evening and the statement indicates that there would be no discussion of personnel matters nor items
019that were not on the agenda. Not a legal opinion necessary. The meeting agendas are posted on the website in advance of the meetings and this was on the agenda for the last meeting. >> So, Shelise, are you saying that they can't talk about anything unless it's on the agenda? >> I've made it clear. The statement is what it is >> We're going to move on. >> and further discussion of the person in the chair. >> You asked for an early spot and she did. >> All right. >> Marcus Muhammad. >> If we're going to keep the community involved, we should keep the community involved. That's just my opinion. And if we're going to have to make decisions that affect people to the point that they want to come out here and address us, they should
020be able to, and that's just my opinion. Not legal, just my moral opinion. >> Good afternoon to all of our board members, superintendent, school district personnel, students, and citizens of Gary. I come before you today hoping that you will hear my words and right a wrong. I'm a product of Gary Community School Corporation. I attended Washington, Banneker, Tolleston, and the mighty Westside, of course. After graduating from Southern University, I was committed to return home and serve the community that raised me. I've worked in this district for 29 years. I worked at Roosevelt, Tolleston, Lew Wallace, Bailey, Dunbar, Pulaski, NewTech, Work Emerson, and Westside. So, I've worked all over the city and crossed paths with great educators, mentors, one of them being my mother. I've seen many people come and go from outside of our community
021with the magic potion. I watched our school close. Because I cannot speak about personnel issues, I just want to leave you with one statement. No one from outside of our community is coming to save us. No one from outside of our community is coming to save us. It is up to us to save us. Westside is the only high school left in our school district. In the past 8 years, there have been five different head principals. I'll leave it there. Thanks. >> Thank you. >> We will move on in our agenda to item number five, consent agenda. I will entertain a motion for the approval of the consent agenda. >> So moved. >> There's a motion on the floor. May I have a second? >> Second. >> Then moved and properly second. >> discussion >>
022Is there any discussion on the motion on the floor? >> Yes, there is. Um I asked that we remove item 5.5. I did this before Shelise weren't here, but I did it um in the not approving the uh the approval of the March 12 agenda. I am making this motion because I think that we should discuss when central office is asking for $16,000 >> There's a motion on the floor. >> I'm discussing my motion. >> Oh, I thought you said a minute >> Oh, I'm discussing why I want uh why I'm not approving it or what in terms of what my motion is to to consent, why I think we should not consent. Is that there are uh $16,000 worth of central office um conference experiences as well as a $3,000 um for JROTC military
023ball. Now, I would like to discuss those items with the public. >> Any further discussion on the motion? >> Well, if if I don't well, let me just say and also my understanding is is that if um I ask to get it removed from the consent agenda, then it is? >> No, we voted and it takes majority vote. >> To pass it, but my understanding is that Shelise >> is correct. >> Shelise, please let me know. >> What is What is the question? >> The question is if there is a consent agenda and I ask that something is pulled from the consent agenda and be set over for full consideration, do there is there does there have to be a majority vote for that to happen? >> Well, the motion is, as I understand it
024here, is to approve the consent agenda. If you are not in favor of that, then you would vote no. Now, I don't know that what you're asking is a separate motion to remove something from that agenda. The motion that I heard was to approve the consent agenda. >> Okay, so you weren't here at first when I asked that it was removed in terms of an item two. So, just for going forward, my understanding is is that if one individual board member makes a motion to move an item from the consent agenda, then it's removed, discussed, and voted on later, but not then. >> There's the motion, if you make a motion to remove something, and the motion is seconded, and that motion does not pass, then it does not pass. There's not an automatic removal
025when you make a motion. >> Okay, so maybe that's And again, thank you for that, Shelise, cuz my understanding was for the consent agenda, that if there wasn't full consent, then it wouldn't be on the consent agenda, it'd still be on the agenda just for full consideration later, so the items can be discussed. >> For clarity, you actually didn't make a motion, you voted no. That was one vote out of four. That was it. You continued to speak out of turn about why you voted no, which was out of order. And now you have a chance to vote, and you're out of order again. >> And I probably am out of order because we have >> you are. >> That's maybe cuz I don't understand the order, so that's why I'm asking for clarity from
026Shelise. My understanding is that if it's a consent This is what I'm saying, not for any other item. Just if we're saying we all consent that we're just going to do all five of these on one vote, then we can do it. If there's not consent, meaning one person says no, I want this item pulled out of consent agenda, that that's not for a vote. That's just Okay, that's pulled out cuz it's not consent. >> Consent item. >> And then we discuss it and vote on that item later. >> Consent items were placed in the agenda and one vote doesn't outrule four votes or five votes. One vote is just one vote. >> think you're understanding what I'm saying. I'm not saying that it's going to be passed or not passed based on what I
027am saying to take it out. I'm saying that if it's a consent agenda, we all vote consent, please. >> So, I think what she's asking, and you correct me if I'm wrong, she wants to take it out and put it somewhere else in the agenda and at that time have it go on separately. Is that what you're trying to do? >> That's exactly what I'm saying. That my understanding of the law is that if one person doesn't consent, then it doesn't go on the consent agenda. Not that it goes up for vote. If we can have it on the consent agenda or not, just that if we all are in agreement that it's just on the consent agreement, that is routine things that you do, then one person wants to flesh it out and discuss
028it further, then that's what will happen. I don't understand why we don't want to discuss things, especially when we're talking about the finances finances of this district. I I just really can't understand what the problem would be in wanting to discuss why there's $16,000 worth of field trips. That's all. I'm sorry, conferences. >> So, if I'm understanding correctly, and I do apologize for my tardiness, there was was there a motion to remove >> There was a motion to approve tonight's So, agenda at the beginning. There was a motion. And there was a vote of three yes and one no. And the motion carried. The board member continued to speak toward their no vote and state why they voted no, which was not in order. >> Okay. And so, if I'm understanding member Lockett or attorney
029Lockett's request or what she's trying to figure out when can something be removed from the consent agenda to discuss separately. I'm understanding that correctly, right? >> Yes, thank you. And so, what I'm trying to get at is does that require a majority vote? Because my understanding is it doesn't. >> In In my understanding of parliamentary procedure, when you're approving when you have a motion on any of these items and you get a majority vote, that motion passes. If you make a separate motion to remove something and that motion does not pass, then it does not pass. Um there's not an automatic removal of something from the consent agenda because of the not having a unanimous vote. Because that's what I'm kind of hearing. >> That is what what you're hearing. That is what you're hearing.
030And so, if you're saying that that's not true, um I know that based on my interpretation, I have a different view from that. So, maybe I'll reach out to the pack about it, but we can move on. If we're not going to discuss it, just know uh community watching in here, I would like to discuss all finances out loud in front of all of you. Apparently all of us do not want to make it that. So, let's move forward. >> May we have roll call, please? >> Sure. Dr. Woods? >> Yes. >> Mr. Suggs? >> Yes. >> Attorney Lockett? >> No. >> I I I need to vote as well. I'm going to say no as well. >> So there's a vote of two two on the consent agenda. >> The motion does not pass.
031>> I think that if it's a no on the consent agenda, then we go through and discuss everything on there. I wouldn't think that as you you're just saying superintendent that we can't pay our staff. At least for me, I'm saying no on that one item. Pay the staff. Let's do that. That's routine. >> There needs to be another motion as to how to proceed with the items in the consent agenda since the motion to approve the items collectively as a consent agenda did not pass. >> Okay, so then I make a motion that we approve the consent agenda minus item 5.5, which we will set over for separate consideration next. >> There's a motion on the floor. May I have a second? >> Second. >> Motion has been properly made and second. Discussion on
032the motion? >> Yeah, I just say that I see no reason why we would vote no to this so we can as the superintendent just said, if we do vote no, then staff cannot be paid. I see no reason why punishing staff and not paying them and going through a whole rigmarole and having a big issue rather than discuss item 5.5. Thank you. >> And specifically as part of the discussion, item 5.5 the field trip and field conference experiences. What would you like? Is there something prior to the meeting that you would like? >> So can I interject? You guys need to vote on all of the others real quick with the motion on the table and then separate that out. >> There's a motion on the floor. So >> Can I ask a question
033just for clarity? >> Still discussion there. Yes, please. >> If we're separating one item out of the agenda, doesn't there need to be a motion to address that issue separately, that one item? >> And that's what I was just about to address. Her motion is to approve the consent agenda minus or removing 5.5. With consideration afterwards. >> After it's voted. >> So then with the removal of that from the consent agenda, we would then have to take action on how we want to handle 5.5. >> And I understand Attorney Tolbert. And And part of the process was discussion on the motion on the floor. We had one board member speaking and discussing. I attempted to speak and discuss. And after I finished, I was going to give other board members a chance to further discuss.
034And after the discussion, there's a vote. >> Right. And so what I what I thought was about to happen as you were asking how to handle 5.5 is so that you can have an understanding how to proceed after this motion on the consent agenda. >> just getting clarity on the motion. Yeah, I was attempting to get clarity on the motion. Any additional discussion on the motion on the floor? Hearing no discussion, may we have roll call for approval, please? >> Dr. Woods. >> Okay, just for my sake, can we state the motion again so I'm clear what we're voting on. >> Let Let me go ahead and get in there. So, the motion as I understand it is to approve the consent agenda to only include 5.1, 5.2, 5.16, and 5.47. Is that correct, Attorney
035Lockett? >> That's correct. >> Okay. And then Attorney Urban seconded the motion. >> Yes. >> So, Dr. Woods? >> No. >> Mr. Suggs? >> No. >> Attorney Lockett? >> Yes. >> And I'm going to say yes. >> So, again, you have a motion that has failed. So, there at this point >> The motion fails. Is there another motion for the floor? >> Without any motions regarding of the agenda. I'm sorry. >> That's okay. Um So, I make the motion that we approve item 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3. >> It's a motion on the floor to approve items 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3. May I have a second? >> Second. >> It's been moved and properly seconded. Is there discussion on this motion? >> Yeah, I'll tell you why I made the motion. I made that motion because
036um it makes no sense to me that we would punish the teachers and uh try to strong-arm the board mem- other board members who just wanted to discuss why central office is spending $16,000 on conferences or what the conferences are. don't understand why we are putting ourselves in a situation to be forced to um like I said, punish teachers by voting not to uh not to approve the payroll register, just trying to get this conversation done. So, that is why I make the motion to approve the payroll, which is the approval of minutes, approval of accounts payable voucher register, and approval of payroll register. Then everything else we can discuss later. >> Any further discussion on the motion on the floor? Hearing no discussion, may we have roll call for approval, please? >> Dr. Woods?
037>> Yes. >> Mr. Suggs? >> Yes. >> Attorney Lockett? >> Yes. >> And I say yes. The vote is 4-0 in regards to items 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3. On the consent agenda. >> Would you give me the results again? I'm sorry. >> Yeah, the votes were 4-0 in regards to 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3. >> With a vote of four yes, and zero no, items 5.1, and 5.3 have been approved. Um under consent agenda, is there any further action from the board? >> I would move to have us vote on 5.4, which is to approve approval of the personnel report. >> I second. >> There's a motion on the floor, and it's been properly seconded to approve item 5.4 on the agenda. Discussion on this motion? Hearing no discussion, may we have roll call for approval,
038please? >> Dr. Woods? >> Yes. >> Mr. Suggs? >> Yes. >> Attorney Lockett? >> Yes. >> And I say yes, the vote is four to zero on >> With the vote With the vote of four yes and zero against, item 5. 4 has been approved. I'm sorry. Any additional action on consent agenda? >> Mr. Chairman. >> Yes, please. >> Since there appears to be initially no dissension on on items 5.6 and 5.7, I would make a motion to approve those items. >> I'll second. >> There's been a motion on the floor to approve items 5.6 and 5.7 on the agenda. Is there a second? It has been properly seconded. Discussion on this motion, I'm sorry. Hearing no discussion, may we have roll call, please? >> Sure. Dr. Woods. >> Yes. >> Attorney Lockett. >> Yes.
039>> I say yes, and Mr. Woods. I'm sorry, Mrs. Sutton. >> Yes. >> All right, the vote is four to zero. >> With the vote of four yes and zero no, approval of item 5.6 and 5.7 has been approved. Any further action from the board? >> Yes, I make a motion that we approve item 5.5. >> There's a motion on the floor to approve item 5.5. >> Second. >> It's been moved and properly seconded. Any discussion on this motion? >> Yes, thank you. Um Superintendent, could you tell us what the uh This is all I wanted to do. Um what the trainings are or the central office conference experience. There's one for 3.4, 3.3 and 3.4 and 4.7 and 4.9. So, I'm assuming Oh, well, 33 and 34 just happened. Did Did that happen already?
040>> Is that IASBO workshops? >> Huh? >> Are you talking about the IASBO workshops? >> Yeah. >> Yes, that is in that is not here, but that Joe, can you come and talk about what you all did? It's basically the business officials workshop, and there are requirements that are things they have to learn. For example, they have to learn about the new banking system. But, go ahead and talk about that a little bit, Joe. >> Sure. The IASBO workshops specifically on March 3rd and March 4th and the upcoming workshops on April 7th and April 9th are attended by business officials across the state. They are specific to budgeting requirements and any changes in the laws and accounting procedures that will be expected from the business offices. >> Okay, and it says one person. Is that
041one Who's the one person? >> Linda Zaborski. >> Okay. And so, she went and then she's going to go to the next one. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Okay. And this uh amount $2,315.85 that's for conference, meals, and transportation. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Okay. Conference and lunch. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Okay. All right. And then, um we can hear more about um item number Well, the IASBO I'm sorry, what's I I A S B O stand for? >> We do speak acronym, don't we? IASBO actually stands for the Indiana Association of School Business Officials. So, anyone who works out of the business office is typically either a member and or attends for a variety of reasons. We are in order for region one, which means we have region one meetings that are floating meetings that happen
042all around our region on a monthly basis. However, this is the annual conference, uh which is where all business officials go for best practice, whether it's through HR, payroll, or a wide variety of um topics specific to business officials. >> Okay, there's three it says here? >> Yes, ma'am. That is Dr. Stokes, that is me, Yolanda Svitavich, and Linda Zeiglerowski. >> And it's $5,300 for one day? >> No, that's for all three of us to attend. There's a pre-conference that starts on Wednesday, and the conference goes Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. >> Okay, cuz it just says 5 5 on here. >> No, it says 5 27 on here. >> I know it says 5 5 26. Did you change it? Did I get a different one? >> no. I'm sorry. I'm looking at the wrong
043line. I apologize. >> The conference is uh Give me the exact dates. 5 5 is a Tuesday, which means it's in French Lick, Indiana, and that will be uh for half day on the 5th, and then uh the three of us will be returning on May 8th. >> So, it's 5 5 5 6 5 7 5 8? >> Yes, ma'am. >> And we'll get that corrected um and >> Thank you. That makes more sense for $5,300. See, if we didn't have this conversation, then it would look like you were spending $5,300 for one day. And that would look be a bad look for all. >> It might be a bad look, and I don't discount what you're saying, but if it was required by the state, we would have to do it regardless, but I
044understand what you're saying. >> [clears throat] >> Okay, and then if you could also discuss the 2006 National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference, that is 5 27 to 5 29, three staff for $8,000 total for $8,000. Who's the three staff? And could you discuss what that conference is? >> Sure. So, one of our major grants in the academic department is the effects grant that we've had for a few years. And as a part of that grant, we travel um, across Indiana, um, but also there are national conferences that are part of the grant that we must attend. Um, Natalie, uh, her last name is escaping me. Um, >> Stick say, thank you. Uh, she is the CEO. She's presenting there and that's all of the local, there's five, uh, regions across the state. We
045all have to go down, um, and generally there is an office, uh, staff member, which is Jamila Adams, as well as, um, a leader, that's myself and Dr. Craig that will also be attending, um, for those three days. Mrs. Adams is also presenting at the conference. Um, so that's the conference fee, the hotel, as well as the travel. >> And this is grant funded. >> Grant funded every choir. >> Thank you. And then just one more question in terms of the JROTC military ball for $3,216. I would think that the US military have more money than us. >> So, um, these, they are using their ECA funds to pay for this. And so in order to secure the, um, event space, they had to do the down payment for the event space and they're using
046their fund raised money for that. The students will pay the ticket cost of just $30 a student. >> Okay. So, this is money that they fund raised. >> Yes, so it's their money. >> Yes, it's their money. >> Thank you for that. I think it's very important that we, um, stay fiscally, uh, responsible when it comes to school board funds and making sure that the most dollars and most ways goes to the children and our mission here. And I'm not saying that what you all are doing is not part of the mission. I'm just saying I like to discuss it and figure out what's going on. So then when you say, "This is something we're required to do." we'll say, "Fine, thanks. That's good. Thanks for explaining." That is all. Don't mean to be, um,
047>> Any additional >> Sorry to anybody. >> I do need to correct one thing though. This isn't the school board's fund. This is the money that children getting them education by ADM or things of taxpayer dollars or things of that nature. >> I appreciate that. >> Any additional discussion on the motion? May we have roll call for approval, approval, please? >> Sure. Dr. Woods? >> Yes. >> Attorney Lockett? >> Yes. >> I say yes. And Mr. Suggs? >> Yes. >> The vote is four to zero for item 5.5. >> With a vote of four four yes and zero no, item 5.5 has been approved. Move on to action items on number six. The sixth please. >> Good evening, esteemed board members, Dr. Stokes, the community here present with us and those watching at home. This
048is simply a request for the board to approve the calendar for the 2026-2027 school year that was brought to the board last month for the school board meeting and has been posted and provided feedback. >> Thank you. Any questions, board members? I'll entertain a motion for approval, please. >> So moved. >> It's a motion on the floor. May I have a second? >> Second. >> It's been moved and properly second. Discussion on the motion? Hearing none, may we have roll call? >> Thank you. Dr. Woods? >> Yes. >> Attorney Lockett? >> Yes. >> I say yes. And Mr. Suggs? >> Yes. >> The vote is four to zero. >> With a vote of four yes and zero yes, item 6.1 has been approved. Dr. Treadwell? Thank you. >> Good evening, board members, Dr. Stokes, the
049community here. Um I'm here to chat for approval for uh item 6.2, which is an MOU between uh Gary Community School Corporation and the Center of Workforce Innovations um for the current school year and the upcoming school year. So, this MOU is uh designed for um the district to partner with CWI to provide um adult literacy instruction. If you remember a few board members a few meetings ago, we discussed wanting to have opportunities for our families to um gain access to adult literacy programs um as well as high school equivalency programs. And CWI has a a suite of resources um and they're actually here tonight. So, if there are any questions, they are free to uh answer them. Um and they are now they're wanting to be a partner with us to support the efforts
050that we're working towards to support our families. >> May we hear from CWI any comments? >> Uh good evening, State Board. My name is Samantha Smith, and I'm the director of adult literacy and training for Center of Workforce Innovations. Our headquarters recently transitioned here to um the city of Gary and um a few months ago, had a chance to connect with some of your senior leadership, and we found a great deal of synergy in the work that we are doing and activities that we wanted to. I have uh had the pleasure of working with the face liaisons as well as becoming a member of your parent partnership council. And so, we are really excited about some of the things that we are planning. Um I was recently invited to the conference. Community conference that we
051had where again we looked at the data and we aligned our efforts. And so this MOU and subsequent action plan, I [snorts] believe will really make a difference here in the Gary community not just for the students. I did share with them I'm not interested in taking s- students out of this building. I want students to remain in high school. Our focus is going to be on the parents because the parents are going to have the greatest impact on those students. So um you know, with your with your blessing, that's the work that we commit to do here in this area. >> Thank you. Any questions, board members? Before I entertain a motion on this item, I want to recuse myself from this item as I serve as center of workforce innovation board chair. So
052I can't but we can go ahead and entertain the motion. >> I'll make that motion. >> And I'll second it. >> It's been moved and properly seconded. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, may we vote? >> Yes, Dr. Woods? >> Yes. >> Attorney Lockett? >> Yes. >> I say yes. I know that you are abstaining. Um Mr. Suggs? And so the vote is three to zero with one abstention. >> With a vote of three yes and one abstention, the motion carries. Thank you. >> Um I'm also requesting the approval of item 6.3. Um it's an MOU between the School-Based Health Network and um Gary Community School Corporation, specifically Westside High School. As you guys are aware, throughout this year we have been working um to identify additional behavioral health or mental health partners. Um and this
053particular organization will work alongside our school counselors and social workers as well as Edgewater to provide behavioral health or mental health support for our students. So, they will provide a counselor to work in the school five days a week alongside our staff. >> Any questions or discussion board members? >> Yeah, um Are they there all day? >> Yes, they'll be there all day. >> Just one person? >> Yes. >> At Westside? >> Yes. It's a grant specifically for Westside. >> Okay. And that's with my last question, is it grant funded? >> Yes. >> Okay. How many counselors are there? >> There will be one counselor from this organization. >> But total? >> In our school? >> Yeah. >> Um we have five. >> Okay. >> Mhm. >> Additional? I'll entertain a motion. >> I'll make
054a motion to approve the MOU between School-Based Health Network and GCSC. >> Board member Shante Irving will second that motion. >> It's been moved and properly seconded to approve the MOU between School-Based Health Network and Gary Community School. Any discussion on the motion? May we have roll call for approval, please? >> Sure. Dr. Woods? >> Yes. >> Attorney Lockett? >> Yes. >> I say yes. Chairman Sutton? >> Yes, please. >> All right, the vote is four to zero. >> With a vote of four yes and zero yes, the motion carries. >> Thank you. And my last request is for the approval of the affiliation agreement with the Methodist Hospital and the Gary Area Career Center. This MOU is been a long-standing one. It supports our students' ability to get hours towards a of support. And
055so, they work alongside the hospital and are able to um gain the hours needed to become a a CNA. What's your five-year assistant? >> Any questions on the issue? I'll entertain a motion for approval. >> [snorts] >> So moved, Mr. Chairman. >> I'll second that. >> There's a motion on the floor that has been properly seconded. Discussion on this motion. May we have roll call, please? >> Sure. Dr. Woods? >> Yes. >> Attorney Lockett? >> Yes. >> Chairman Suggs? >> Yes. >> And I say yes, the vote is 4 to 0. >> With the vote of four yeses and zero nays, the motion carries. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> We'll move on to item seven. Dr. Treadwell? >> So, I did want to bring to our attention um the L Indiana Department of Education
056recently passed uh the new accountability system um for the entire state. Um this has not been a practice since prior to the pandemic. The last time we received a rating was in 2020. Um and so, they ceased it at that time um for a myriad of reasons, the pandemic, but also wanting to take a look at was this the best way to assess the effectiveness of our schools across the state. Um and so, they really wanted to move beyond just looking at standardized test scores to evaluate the effectiveness of our students. Um and so, now what they have done is have they changed the uh policy as well as the um the approach to the A-F system. And so, you guys are probably familiar with that language, um but they've outlined some very specific changes
057um that can really work in the benefit of a district um such as ours that's growing and moving in the right direction and improving outcomes for students. And so, uh what the initial uh goal was was to ensure that we take a more holistic approach and look at how our students are doing. Um and so, it's really around looking at the individual needs of each student in our district. Um and I'll get into the details of that in a little bit. Uh additionally, um it's it's been added beyond the standardized test scores is where we will also be looking at the unique knowledge, skills, and experiences that students engage in uh across our district. And so, now, each school's letter grade will be determined on the average points generated by students. And again, I'll explain
058um in more detail as we go. And so, there are key milestones and areas of focus for each grade level. The first one is for kindergarten through third grade. Um it's simply focused on literacy and math, the building blocks of a student entering into that space, making sure that they are prepared for um success as they matriculate through each grade level. For fourth through eighth grade, it's focused on knowledge and skill development. So, really moving them deeper into their academic capacity to be able to perform at grade level, understanding that those literacy blocks literacy foundational skills and math foundational skills happen in kindergarten through third grade. When we look at ninth through 10th grade, it transfers to um knowledge and skill development as well as career engagement. Really wanting our students to experience uh college
059and career readiness early in their high school career um to promote that access and opportunity for them. And then last but not least, in 11th through 12th grade, again focusing on knowledge and skill, but then credentials and then the experiences as well. You can go to the next one. And so, in your folder today, I I requested that um this document that you see on the screen is there for you to look at a little bit more closely, um as it breaks out of how every student can get specific points, um which will go into the comprehensive overall average um school grade. And so, if you could just take a moment, I want to make sure I have mine in front of me. If we look at kindergarten through third grade specifically, thank you. Um
060they will get points for their academic mastery on I-Learns specifically, so that is that state standardized assessment that every student third through eighth grade must take. And so, students will get generalized points for that, and I'll tell you about the grading scale in a moment. In addition to that, they will get points or can receive points for a passing I-Read score. Um and so, although they're again it's kindergarten through third, if they're in third grade they can in addition to those standardized assessments get I-Read um as well as accelerated, so not just looking at uh do they pass, but do they also grow. Um there will also be points for regular school attendance, and for our English language learners, um if they take WIDA um that specific assessment, they will get points for that. So,
061they'll take those, and for each student they will have a scorecard with all of those points that they would have achieved, and then they will take the average of those scores, and that school will get an overall score. Any questions before I get going? Okay. And then fourth through sixth, very similar to our early grades, um they will get a score for ELA and math for I-Learns, but as you can see the knowledge, skills, and experiences has expanded just a tad. So, students can still get that point or those points for I-Read, um but also because in our fourth grade they take um science, and then uh they you also have social studies, They will get points for that as well. The WIDA goal WIDA scores as well, regular school attendance, also looking at that
062growth. So, not just looking at student proficiency, meaning on grade level. If a student was at one level the previous year and then grew the next year, they can get points for that as well. And then, moving towards that proficiency, right? I won't go through all of these. You guys have it, so you can continue to read through. But, what I do want to highlight is that in seventh grade, they don't have as many experiences and particular as on the front side still, because one of their major point opportunities is completing a graduation plan in seventh grade. And so, what I B I B O E wants is that students begin to think about long-term plans in seventh grade. And schools are now required to ensure that that graduation plan happens in seventh grade and
063is documented so that we can begin to track with students as they enter into high school. So, that's a really um big point for seventh grade in particular only. Um again, you can see ninth and 10th and 11th and 12th on the back. And it highlights when they get to the 11th and 12th grade, there's a strong focus on ensuring that our students have work-based learning opportunities, that they have opportunities to take AP or IB courses, CTE, dual credit, Cambridge, which is also another opportunity that's available. And so on and so forth. But, this is where we're moving um in the future for our 8th through 12th. Keep going for me. And so, the initial grading scale, which will happen this year, looks like a traditional school grading scale. You see the letters A through
064F A through F, and then the no the number indicator for those. So, for this year and then the The after, it will increase by 2.5% depending on the overall average this year. For an A you would need between an 85 and a 100. For a B between 75 and 84.9. So on and so forth. Any school that has less than 54.9 will receive an F for that year. Keep in mind students, each student's score will count to the overall school score. So they take that average, which is really positive because we know our students have to grow. And so we get points for growth, attendance, so on and so forth. So it's just not that standardized assessment. And our students might not quite be there just yet. Um as you can see on the
065bottom it says to ensure rigor continues if 25% of the schools earn an A in the first year, the grading scale will increase by 2.5. With the the goal of it finally getting to that 10-point range, 92-100, and so on and so forth in the years to come. So this initial year, we will receive a letter grade this year, but we are held harmless. This is really just a year to see how we would fare. And then for the 2026-2027 school year, that's where the report card will be a factual grade. So they will be looking at how we do this year to determine what our letter grade will be. We anticipate getting that grade towards the end of December of this year. And so I just wanted to reiterate those points will be calculated
066by first how they did on those standardized assessments, and then how they perform in those other areas, knowledge, skills, or experiences depending on their particular grade level. Questions? >> Do you um can you share or do you know how the points will be per grade level. How would we know? Is it based on How would we know? I don't see any really defining ways to determine how an individual will score. >> So, if you go back Crystal to >> Especially for the elementary grade levels. >> So, if we start here, so for example, if I take I-learn, ELA, I will get points. If you can go to the next slide for me. Those points, one more, yeah. You will get an 80, 85, 75. You will get a score for that assessment. From this initial
067grading scale. So, imagine you took a math test, your teacher gives you a letter grade. >> So, individually you would get a point score. >> A point score. And if you can go back again Crystal for me. Then they will get additional points for knowledge, skills, or experience. So, let's just say you're a third grader and you additionally pass I-read, you will get points for that. That point range is depending upon that grading scale, okay? And then also, let's say you come to school 95% or better, you will get certain points for that. Does that make sense? Then they will take that average, so you'll get a total score, let's say I'm doing the math, I didn't add it up, let's say it's 200 points. You got 200 points, you got 200 points, they're going
068to put all of those 200 together and take the average. And then from there, that's going to be the school's letter grade. >> Okay, so my next question would be, can we use that formula to look at how we would have been graded under this system last year? >> Can you ask that one more time so I'm clear? >> Can we use the system that you articulated about how the points are determined >> Mhm. >> based on our students' performance last year and see how they would have performed on this scale. >> So, it's 24 25 school year. We probably could um >> I just would like to have some type of idea going in how our performance was under the scale and then what we need to do to get to the goal where
069we want to be as an A this year. >> It will take some time. Um but we probably could. So, we're going to get a grade for this school year for certain. >> Certain? >> Yeah, so for the 25 26 school year, we will get one after all of the assessments are done um and they go through the the rigorous process of evaluating each student. It's tentatively supposed to be in December. That's a great question. >> Is >> Go ahead. >> Is that grade going to include the academic mastery plus the additional >> Yes. >> Okay. And then is that like is each student given a grade 1 through 100? >> Each student will get a scorecard. >> Okay. With points? >> With points. >> Yes. 1 through Can you go to that slide, Crystal?
070And I I could have put a sample in here, but cuz it gets a little hazy, you kind of need to see it, but I didn't want to. >> speak to the projection on They're asking valid questions, but here's as somebody who's had to deal with this more intensely, there's a lot of other caveats. For example, students need to be our students for 162 days. They have to be here and test. For example, we just completed by reading and I'm going to thank parents later for our students showing up and showing out. I'm glad we had great attendance. But with that being said, we also have some students who are no longer with us. Initially, the state would count those and that would be a hit for us, but then we would have to prove
071they were here for 162 days. However, they moved away, they withdrew, and we should be held harmless because they're not here. So, I'm trying to say that there are other factors. When you get into the wash, sometimes you can initially get a lead, and then you realize, "Oh, you know, districts have gotten excited like my school building is a beam or what have you." Then they realize, "Not really because 25 of your students don't count for you because they weren't here for 162 days." They might not even count for another school because they might have not been there. We have a lot of um in in our school district and in others as well. There's a lot of inter, you know, trans mobility and you know, between school districts. So, there is a lot that
072goes into it. We can try and do it, but we can't tell you that it would be 100% because another district would say, "Well, no, they were with us for 162 days." Or none of us get to claim them. And it's really bad like when a child does well and they pass, you think you can claim it because they tested in your school district, but you can't claim it. >> So, we almost have to wait till it comes out in the wash because they do, they look at all of those details. >> But, we're happy to try. >> Yes. >> I guess this just speaks to what you just shared, Dr. Stokes. Did the state provide uh training on this and how did they kick this off? >> So, we actually uh when this first
073came out and I understand it just literally passed. It was supposed to have passed sometime ago. But, you know, when you're trying to get something right, you don't always rush it. So, kudos to the state for trying to just not rush it. I believe it still has to go to the um >> Yes. >> to the attorney general. He still has to agree, and I know that there's been some conversation about that. Um however, to answer your question, they gave us some guidance which I we shared, if you remember, we had Carl come in at one point and talked about this sometime ago last year. That was the guidance we had. They had some sessions. We talked about professional development for central office staff. We sent our team to some professional development to get a
074better understanding. Um but, will I say we were 100% certain on what they're requiring? Absolutely not. I think many of us are still in the process of trying to unfold and swallow what they're asking of us. >> Yeah, it's very nuanced. So, um we're going to continue that. There's another session April the 8th that we're planning to attend at uh Lake Lake Central High School just to keep digging into it because as it's unfolding, um they they get a little bit more clear each and every time we sit and listen to them. So, um we're going to keep engaging with it and making sense of it and starting. We wanted to make sure that you were aware that it was at least approved um and that this is coming so that we can be in
075the forefront of the learning and the implementation. >> So, is this a Indiana thing or is there a trend going across the country? >> Currently, Indiana's a trailblazer in this and Dr. Jenner actually spoke about that at that board meeting. That other districts are now looking um at what Indiana has done to be so robust in its uh school evaluation. >> I believe the goal is to look at not just a one assessment in time, but the whole child. Are they growing, you know, and you know, CTE certifications, things of that nature, they all weigh in. So, how are we developing our children for post-secondary education as well as education while they're with us K through 12 or pre-K, I should say, through 12. >> I I I really like the aspect of measuring the
076child's growth. I'm just wondering, do we need to relook at our process so that we spend more time on individual growth, as as opposed to grade level or classroom growth. >> I think it's a combination. Um it's it's a balance between the two. So, we always want to ensure that students are exposed to grade level content, right? We want them ready to uh to compete against their peers, right from the national norm standpoint. But, what we also know is true is that small group instruction and individualized instruction is just as critical because we all have different needs and um modal- modalities of learning needs and things of that nature. So, there's a balance between the two in in the classroom, for sure. >> Thank you. >> Number 7.2 Athletic Department >> Good evening, Dr. Stokes,
077members of the board, our awesome audience here today. Uh I want to take a little time to celebrate our students and their great accomplishments within our athletic department. I'm Nate Cannon, I'm the athletic director for Gary Community Schools. Um my assistant, Jerel Brooks, is got our kids with the track team down in Purdue right now running in the track meet. Um you know, introduce ourselves, you know, when we came I came here 60 years ago as a big agenda of mine to move all the rebranding of schools as Cougars. We're losing too many kids to other districts, to other schools, to charter schools. We thought, let's make everybody a Cougar. You see the elementary Cougar, kind of like the baby face Cougar, and then they grow into a full-fledged Cougar. We think that's really taken
078off well, especially having our elementary and middle schools playing games at Westside High School. Um this season started off with our football team. Um, this this group will graduate with the winningest four-year record of any team in West Side history. Their GPAs uh rose about point or one point from uh four years ago. Um, we did the photo shoot at the uh as you can see at the uh at the airport and really the kids absolutely loved it. They bounced around the school for a couple days after that. For the first time in 13 years, the IHSA ping pong balls gave us a home game in the sectionals, which was awesome. We uh played Kankakee Valley, came up a little short. The week before we beat our rival uh Kankakee by 36 to nothing in
079a crowd that was amazing. It was our homecoming, senior night, and really it was a great festive atmosphere. They really really had a lot of great Cougar pride. Uh this group has been a very special group to West Side High School. Another special group, first year ever girls flag football. I know I was a little skeptical about it when we first started. What's girls flag football? I'll tell you what, it's it's blown up. Girls are getting scholarships for it now. We've had college coaches calling about our girls. Uh we partnered with the Colts. Maybe we'll be partnering with the Bears soon. Let's see. Uh which would be my preference. But anyway, uh the girls had an amazing year. Coach Haskins, one of our teachers at uh at the elementary school in Kankakee, did a great
080job coaching them. A lot of great team spirit, a lot of success. We look for that program to continue to expand. Also, another new program, girls wrestling. Uh the girls got into it this year. You know, they wrestled as individuals before, but we didn't have a girls wrestling team. Now we have a girls wrestling team. We had five students compete. Two of them went into sections with undefeated records. Fell a little short, but we really did a great job. Coach Allen Starter Senior coaching both those teams did an amazing job for our our Cougars and Lady Cougars. The boys' wrestling team, we had a sectional champion, Dante Bird. Went to the regional. Two other regional qualifiers were Kameron Woods and Kamari Loggins. Kamari's a four-sport athlete. He would probably be six or seven-sport if we
081let it. So, there was a great group of kids that Coach had, and they had an amazing year on the wrestling. Our wrestling is really going really thriving as we speak. All right, head coaching involvement, middle school hiring and training. One thing I wanted to do is have our head coaches stamp on all of our programs at every level. We have to You want your teams running the same plays, having the same expectations, how you come up, how you walk, how you handle yourself with officials, how you handle yourself with opponents. And if our high school coaches are teaching that to the middle school coaches, the elementary coaches on down, that's when we'll have success and also build a great streak to keep kids at West Side High School. Our middle school program, we had
082a lot of fun this year. We had the Cougar versus Cougar game, Bailey versus JMS. It was probably like our third biggest crowd we had over a lot of high school games. It was a great atmosphere, and the game was won at the buzzer. As the ball went through the hoop, it was zero on the clock. So, look forward to doing more and more of that as as we move forward. Uh we're always looking to expand our community presence. We have a photographer, Jerome Lynch, does a great job. If you come into the gym, you'll see those banners at any given time. And we want to get those posted throughout the city, social media, websites, and celebrate all these individual achievements and team achievements obviously as we move forward. A lot of these kids are
083and have college opportunities afforded to them and that's what I'm most proud of cuz a lot of these kids move on to the college level and our coaches do an amazing job of getting our kids ready to play at the college level and affording them opportunities they otherwise wouldn't have. Uh this year we got to host the boys sectional for the first time since 2021, which was a COVID year, which really wasn't a big crowd, but we had a nice crowd out there. It was a lot of work. Uh Mr. Fayson, our new security director, jumped right in on his Oops, on his first foray here at Gary Community Schools did a great job of helping us uh get navigate through the security. Uh the sessions were a hit. The hospitality room uh I see
084several people in here hitting the hospitality room a few times. I know I did. Uh Mr. Fayson likes to eat. So, it was a It was a great atmosphere. We got a lot of compliments from the opposing schools, the media, the IHSA people, uh the referees loved it, probably a little too much. They ate like wolves for a while, but at the end of the weekend it was uh It was a great sectional. Look forward to hosting that uh in the near future again. Uh we're going to work on some of our athletic apparel merchandise. We have some of the online stores available. Um and we're going to be having a big huge order as we uh come forward here in between the winter and spring seasons as far as having in-house merchandise. Uh the
085feeder programs looking to do a lot of camps again this summer, getting our kids involved. Uh community engagement, I'm working with uh several former major league players that are Gary graduates and helping us organize some um some opportunities for those kids. And then as always, as social media explodes, we're trying to get bigger. We're looking at a possible deal on live stream all our athletic events. And you know, I don't know if we'll make a lot of money doing it or lose money. We're trying to explore every option we can to to get our kids exposure. It's not only grandpa and grandma in Florida, college recruiters in North Dakota, California, wherever it may be. The more we get our kids out, the better it is for them when they get more exposure. Uh what's happening
086now? There's no pause. We keep going. Winter sports are done. Track and field, like I said, they're down at Purdue right now running in a meet. Uh last season that our girls 4 by 400 relay team finished third in the state. Three of those four girls are back, so we have high expectations. Priscilla Burton won the regional title in the 400-meter dash as a sophomore. Uh several other state qualifiers are back. Tennis, baseball, softball are also uh underway. And we're excited to see their growth and success as they move forward uh throughout the spring. Uh this is what I'm most proud of. Um looking back, I had a lady call me the other day and say, "You're so lucky. You have two kids playing on TV." I guess I took for granted the success of
087our kids. And Layla Perry had an amazing story. Sophomore All-State, fourth fastest hurdle in All-State hurdle history in her first meet there. Outstanding lady, Michelle Christmas. I had to stay up till about midnight watching him play on TV last night. And Jaylen Washington, who earned his bachelor's degree from North Carolina, is almost done already done with his master's degree from Vanderbilt. He He'll be all up at Boston someday cuz he's he's a CEO What of guy. He was the uh class salutatorian here at Westside 2022. So, outstanding >> [applause] >> And otherwise what we like to do with any of our students signing to play in college is have the amazing studio that Lamar Spencer and Brooke have at the studio over there. Bring the families in, videotape it, take pictures, and celebrate everything we
088can because sometimes we don't have a lot to celebrate. Negatives can take over at times. When we have somebody do something good, let's celebrate it. We really enjoy celebrating our student athletes. In conclusion, um I just hope we continue to have a common vision with pride, excellent excellent sportsmanship. We have one of the best sportsmanship scores in the state every year. And that's kudos to our coaches, our kids, our leaders in the building, teachers, everybody that takes a part in that. So, let's invest in the future for all of us together. Any questions? >> Really want to take time to thank you for this presentation. It It's good information for us, so for me personally to see and hear. And uh I would just encourage you to continue to share and uh let the board
089know how things are going and if there's needs. >> That That'd be great. I'd love to keep doing that because uh we want this to keep going in a positive possible direction for our student athletes. Also important. Anybody else? >> Thank you, sir. >> Thank you for your time. >> We'll move on to item 7 point three and 7.4, Dr. Stokes. >> Okay, I'm sorry. All right, so um as I've shared before um the district is diligently trying to get up to speed with our policies and typical board meetings you might be bringing one to or no policies to a board meeting um because we are in a unique situation after state takeover. We often have several policies that we give to the board ahead of time so that you can review and look at
090them. So this is the list of policies that we're bringing. The one thing I just want you to see and the community as well is some of these policies have been revised and when I say revised, they've been portions of various volumes. For example, we might have what's called volume 37 number two, it might come out in April of 2025 or you might have um other various volumes that come out in July. We will get new volumes that come out again this July. As the laws change, policies change and there or then we try to bring them forward. Um so I want to highlight a few policies um that impact some of the things we talked about. For example, policy 2131 it is titled Educational Outcomes for Students. And in that particular policy is speaking
091to um some of the things that we want for various topics that will impact our letter grade, for example. A, for example, it talks about communication and collaboration skills and it speaks to students being able to efficiently solve real-life problems, things of that nature. There's another section that talks about just general education, them having sufficient fundamental knowledge and skills in traditional subjects as we know like art, music, PE, things of that nature, um English, math, so on and so forth. It has a pride and ethics section, um where they have to demonstrate work based on realistic assessments of higher ability and accomplishments. It has a section on integration of cooperation. I could go on, but there are many sections under that particular policy. Another one that I wanted to um talk about is I'm trying
092to give examples of revised, rescinded, and replaced. There was a policy 2131, which was the educational outcomes of former It's of course been rescinded because we are having the new policy. Um another one is under curriculum development, for example, 2210. It's been revised, um and for part of why it has been revised is because it gave districts the option to choose whether we wanted programs to be particular to one particular school building or to multiple. Of course, we chose to have it open-ended for our students. We don't want to be streamlined to just having a program in one building if we needed to spread out to other buildings. Often times that affects the then affects our students like in special populations and things of that nature or gifted programs, things of that nature. Um another
093one that I want to highlight is about assessments. Um as we all know, I believe it was And correct me if I'm wrong, Dr. Trewella, because my mind is moving quickly, but I believe was it last year or the year before that was the first year that our students didn't have I-Ready 3 that had to be retained. So, last year. Okay. So, things like that under student assessment, they talk about I-Ready 3 and, you know, how parents can appeal if their child is um considered to not pass and maybe where it's saying that they have to be retained. There are waivers that they could get, various things that they could do. It talks about that particular process and how we support parents, how we support exemptions for English language learners, um and mathematics screeners, and
094things of that nature. So, that is a policy. And one other policy that I wanted to, um, talk about a little bit, um, it's the policy that deals with, um, it was revised and it deals with determining legal settlement settlement and eligibility for enrollment of students without legal settlement in our corporation. Proof of Indiana residency basically is what it's speaking about. And I don't know if I said this at the last board meeting, but I have said it in some of my discussions with, um, leaders and senators. Districts that border other states, such as Indiana, sometimes we do have issues with students who don't necessarily live in Indiana, but they might live in like Illinois, for example. Um, we don't necessarily get money for those students if they don't live in the state of Indiana.
095So, there are some residency things that we try to do, not, you know, that we don't trust our parents, but there are residency things we have to do to make sure that they're legally settled in our state. Um, and with that, um, I yield back to board president Sans. >> Thank you, Dr. Stokes. Um, we also have item 7.4. >> Yeah, I'm going to go up to the podium for that. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Acronyms are here. GCS. What does that stand for, everybody? I should be asking my board. What does GCS stand for? >> Gary Community School Corporation. >> Wonderful. you get a name bless. With that being said, this is important to me. We're calling this the GCSC knowledge seekers and if you ask me why we are calling this and those
096of you who have your phones if you want to scan the code you can, but I'm going to talk to you a little bit about what GCSC knowledge seekers is. And then once they scan we'll give them a minute and we can go to the next slide after that. So, 30 seconds. Okay? Next slide, please. So, GCSC knowledge seekers is basically um a proposal of mine as the superintendent. Um and what it is is basically I listened to my board, I listened to our stakeholders, I listened to our community and I listened to my internal teacher staff and students. And what I have come to understand right, wrong, or indifferent, so I own this, this is my own. I have come to realize that there is a lot about supporting Gary Community Schools and public
097education that many of us are either not clear on, a little fuzzy on, or maybe we know a lot but we might want more information. So, what I am proposing and understand this isn't necessarily new to me, I've done this in other districts. What I am proposing is to have what I'm calling two cohorts, a cohort A and a cohort B. And essentially our job is to put out a Google Doc whereby citizens, community members, people who want to support our district can understand more about what we do in Gary Community Schools regarding specific topics. So, let me give you those topics. For example, these sessions will run for eight months from May to December with a graduation ceremony in December and the cohorts as you see would talk about like May 20th we have
098an 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and then we have a cohort B which starts at 4:45 to 6:45. And basically we want to talk about for example school finance. We heard a lot about money and budgeting and what I find is that often time when people talk about our internal processes about why and how we handle money there's not a clear understanding of public education and why we do what we want to do. So my job is not necessarily for you to agree or disagree with how we handle finances but for you to understand the why behind why we do what we do. The accountability behind what we do what we do. For example, I don't understand some things that are not in my wheelhouse. I'm not a doctor so then my daughter is. There
099may be things that I don't understand that she is a doctor of pharmacy can explain to me. So I would consider myself someone an expert in public education. I've been in it for 30 plus years. So with that being said we want to talk a little bit about school finance in our first session and board governance. People might want to understand well why do we move money from one fund to another fund? Well there's a reason for that. Why can't I spend money out of this fund for this particular activity? There is a reason for that because there are laws that govern it. So that's what we want to be able to do and as you see we've got school finance, board governance, we've then got academic priorities. Things like what Dr. Treadwell just shared.
100She would talk about those kind of things in the accountability from the state. Why do we have to use a particular brain and science of reading? Because the state says that we are required to do XYZ and we now even have science, math which will be coming forward the science and math. Um so we'll talk about things like that. Human resources support. Well why is it that I cannot share with the general public somebody's personnel information? Well there are legal reasons around why we cannot share with everyone things that go on with our staff members. There are guardrails around that legally. So, we talk about things like that. Operations, you want to understand more about transportation. Well, why do we have to have so many buses? Well, Gary Community School sits in what is it?
10152 or 53 square miles. We are a large district. We can't have a walk zone that's that big. Well, can we save money on transportation? We have to outsource it or we have to do that. We talk about all these things. Food service, building grounds and maintenance. Well, why is it that in our operations fund we transfer money from the education fund a 15% over to the operations fund? Well, if you look at our operations fund, some of that money is based on the collection of tax money and I think we collect around 53% somewhere around there. We don't collect all our money, but at the same time, we've got aging buildings. We have to be able to support the buildings. If something happens in a building, the HVAC system goes out, we've got to
102be able to fix it. We can't say we have no money to fix it. So, we talk about things like that. Special populations, what is special populations? Well, it's our students in our special education programs that we support and we talk a little bit about what is an IEP? Why do we have to support it? Things of that nature. Our athletics, you just heard Hank talk a little bit about that and he referenced security. Why do we have to have security? Why do we have athletics? Security is very much a requirement because his cattle aren't they don't feel safe, but it's incumbent on all of us, students alike, parents alike, community members to help us stay safe. We talked then about technology. We all know we're in the technology age. We often say our kids
103know more about technology than we do, but we talk about what are the state requirements around safety and as when it comes to technology and supports and resources that we need to further support our mission of educating students. We talk about policies. I just talked to you a little bit about some policies that have changed and policies change often based on Indiana code and we have to stay in front of that. We will also talk about building level supports and that will be our culminating activity where we have building leaders come in. That will be in December as you see. It will be a combined cohort. Both cohorts cohorts will be there. We will talk about policies. I'm sorry, we will talk about building level supports and volunteerism and what we will do after we
104talk about that for probably at that time about an hour. We then want to use the last hour to have a graduation for our cohorts and then to allow them to then go out and talk to each of the school reps. We'll have our school buildings there and talk about how they can support. So, essentially what I'm seeking to do is to help our community better understand why we do what we do. I'm not necessarily asking you to agree or disagree, but you do need to understand the why behind how we operate. So, with this we're calling it the GCSD Knowledge Seekers. We actually have you come up for me, please. Um come up for me, please. We actually have um information that I want Chelsea to share about how you can access the application.
105We're asking for a commitment. So, if you're going to access our application to do either cohort A or cohort B. There again, cohort A 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. cuz we wanted to help those who work in the evening and then for those who work during the day, 4:45 to 6:45. We're asking you to make a commitment because we actually will feed you at these events and we want 15 in each cohort with a total of 30. And I know this a little well and we'll reset the cohort and start again next January after the first two cohorts go through. Can you share how they can get connected? >> Thank you, Dr. Stokes. The link is now live for Knowledge Seekers at the following QR code that is posted here on our presentation, but it
106is also live on our website. You can go to garyschools.org. Again, that is garyschools.org. We also have hard copies of what you just spoke about to pass out to audience members tonight, and there is an email address affiliated with the entire project, our general info box if you have questions or have trouble accessing the link. We ask that you send us an email at [email protected]. I'll repeat that. [email protected]. k12 .in .us. I'll repeat that. [email protected]. csc .k12.in.us. And now that it has been made public as an initiative, we will move to our second phase of promotion, which would include social media posts, e-blasts, robo calls, um text messages, and we'll also craft a press release sent to the media so that they can give us that extra boost of promoting this opportunity. The deadline to
107submit your online application is Friday, April 3rd, 2026 5:00 p.m. Again, the deadline is Friday, April 3rd, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. >> Can you speak a little bit about the fact that there are Is it five questions that we have that they need to answer? Can you talk about that? >> One other part that question may arise, thank you, Dr. Stokes, is that who's who's going to review the applications? And so, the the applications will be reviewed and cohort participants will be selected by our superintendent and leadership team of chiefs. There are a total of five questions that should must be answered. The application must be complete in order to be considered. And the questions range in variety of areas that will help the team gauge the individuals' interests and qualifications to be a part
108of said cohorts. >> And by qualifications, what we really mean is why do you want to be a part of this? Everybody's qualified. Why do you want to be a part of it? And so, we just want to understand that you have a passion to truly help Gary Community Schools. That's >> all can go. And al- also, ho- hopefully to retain some advocates, some message holders as they seek the knowledge, they share the knowledge with their various networks so that we can further communicate our transparency and our daily mission for children. >> Thank you. >> Who are the stakeholders? >> So, by stakeholders, you're a stakeholder. By stakeholders, we really mean people who are in our community, in our schools, in our churches, our libraries, our families, people who support Gary Community Schools, live in
109and around us, and want to know more about why we do what we do. We often hear the word transparency thrown around. The reality is, what does transparency look like, sound like, and feel like? For me, it's this. So, this is why I want you to know this. >> I get it. >> Just want to applaud the effort going into this uh GCS GCS C knowledge seekers. I think it's a great opportunity to share and give kind of an inside view and perspective on what's going on in Gary schools. Uh this is exactly how Ms. Chelsea just shared, a way to build advocates and advocates can share within their span of influence so that people will get a clear understanding of what we're doing and how we're succeeding. So, I just want to thank you
110for this effort and um I eagerly wait to see how it turns out. Any other comments? >> Yeah. Yes, thank you. Superintendent Jess, you said that you had did this before. Was it successful? >> It was, and they actually became ambassadors for the school district. >> That's wonderful. Also, um when you do this, is are any Are they just learning or are they contributing and would any of their ideas then be um taken up by yourself or by the board? Um and I ask that question because and it wasn't you, but whenever the referendum was first passed and then it was, "Oh, we're going to do these referendum ambassadors." And I went to these meetings and we get talked about all this stuff. We had all these great ideas and then nothing happened. So, >>
111So, that's a fair question and thank you for asking. Um one of the questions we asked actually ask deals with how they would contribute with discussion in the group because this is 2 hours. There's a lot that we can say and I know myself, I talk fast, so if I'm ever talking too fast, you guys can slow me down. But, there's a lot of information that I pose, but we do want to give them time to ask a question if they don't understand something. But, as I said, this is more about helping our community or stakeholders better understand why we do what we do, what the law says, how we pivot when we need to pivot and things that are going on. There's a whole lot that people don't know necessarily about why we can't
112just, you know, spend $200 million in a particular school. You know, there are reasons around it, why we have bond payments or why we have to pay the common school loans. There are things that I don't think people understand, but more importantly to your question, there is a time built in where people get to ask questions. We ask them to partner and talk to your partner. If you face this situation, what would you do? So, we do get some of their input, but it's mostly about information, but yes, we get some good ideas and we can move those ideas forward. >> Is that the intention? >> The intention is to first and foremost educate, but a sidebar and an extension and a great asset of doing this is that we will get some information from
113our community. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? Thank you, Dr. Stokes. Item eight on our agenda is administrative report and we shared already that uh Ms. Sabaroski is at a session, so she's not available. Now it's item number nine, board member comments and I would like to open the floor up for board members to make a statement or share a comment. >> I do have a comment. I am so sorry. I apologize. Can we stop for just a moment? We missed a very very important step. Kenny Smith, are you here? Please come forward. Chris, can you go back, Crystal? Um I'm sorry, but with the information we shared during the consent agenda, we literally forgot to acknowledge our new director. So I want to do that at this time. I'm so sorry. >> [applause]
114>> So no, I'm not Linda, um but I did want to read a statement in her absence. Um she did ask that I share a few remarks regarding Kenny Smith. Unfortunately, she was not able to be here this evening, but she wanted the board to know how meaningful this moment is for our district. Kenny has dedicated many years of his life to serving the Gary Community School Corporation and over that time he has earned the trust and respect of the people he works with every day. When someone gives that much of their career to a district, it speaks not only to their work ethic, but also to the pride they take in the schools and the community they serve. Kenny understands what it means to take care of our schools. He knows how important our
115buildings and grounds are to the students and staff who use them every day, and he takes that responsibility seriously. Over the years, he has proven himself to be someone people can rely on, and someone who takes pride in making sure our schools are safe, functional, and well-maintained. I am truly grateful that Kenny accepted this position, and I'm excited about the leadership he will bring to this role. This position carries a great deal of responsibility, and I have every confidence that that Kenny will guide this department with the same dedication, pride, and steady leadership he has shown throughout his career. I look forward to the work we will accomplish together as we continue supporting our schools in this community. Congratulations, Kenny. >> [applause] >> Congratulations. >> Board members. Yes. >> Well, first I'll start off by
116saying congratulations and welcome, Mr. Smith. Please to have you. But, um secondly, I wanted to also make mention of all of the students that were acknowledged today with the Gary Ready Snapshots. We're so proud of them, especially those with the Steel City Knowledge Bowl. So, we talked about that last time, and uh just really happy that they were able to bring it on home. So, very happy about that. And then I do want to say to Dr. Stokes, kudos for your new initiative, and make sure that they get the thing right. Uh um GCSC Knowledge Seekers, because often times we don't always have all the information that we need to have in order to understand and contribute in a very positive way to what we expect as outcomes for the Gary Community School Corporation. And
117so, I think that the public would really like to have that information, and I think that by having that information, it allows us to ask more informed questions about the direction in which we're going and why we're going in that direction. So, uh this is just something I just think you should be applauded for because you always talk about being transparent and uh this is a very good way for that to occur. >> Thank you. >> Any other comments? >> I just want to say I'm very happy with all the positive new work that was shared today by our students, staff, faculty. >> And in addition to that, I am looking forward to our board retreat that we'll have at the end of this month so we can all be on the same page, you
118know, as a whole moving forward. Not that we'll always agree, but that we'll have the training that's necessary to move forward in the district. It's almost important. >> Thank you. >> Yes. >> Thank you. Um I do have comments, like usual. Um first I want to say um I neglected to say at the last meeting, which I should have said and I thought about it right after the board was in my mind then. But, um I just want to say rest in power, rest in heaven to the Reverend Jesse Jackson Jr. Uh uh not Jr., he's senior. Um so, I just want to say that. I kicked myself afterwards that I didn't um acknowledge and send blessings to our hero. Also, um I wanted to say that um the Steel City What do they call
119her? The um the biddy the biddy team. They are in the championship and they are leaving today from the Hudson Campbell Center at I'm sorry. I can't I just had They are leaving from the Hudson Campbell Center Center at 7:00 and they asked that um people come out and support them. So, this is the Steel City Biddy basketball and this is the um I want to say 10 U, 12 U. Don't get me wrong. I don't want to get to misquoting what I should be saying here, but they are going Okay, so it's 10 10 U, 12 U, and 14 U. And so, tonight the 10 U, 12 U, and 14 U are National Biddy Basketball World Tournament. They're going to it in Louisiana. They are boarding from Hudson Campbell. They had said we come
120out at 7:30 to support them. So, I just wanted to announce that. I want to say congratulations to those young athletes. We love to see our youth doing things positive. So, that's a really good thing. Also, I wanted to say in terms of the uh last meeting that we were at, when we had the discussion that the superintendent just brought up about moving things from the consent agenda and transferring funds. So, the community remembers on the last meeting, I wanted removed from the consent agenda so we could discuss the transfers from the education fund to the operations fund, which was resolution 23. And that was the transfer of to 15% in 2026 from the education fund to the operation fund. And so, I did some research on that, and I just wanted to share it
121with you all. So, what that is is that the law allows the corporation, the superintendent, the administration to transfer up to 15% of annual education fund to the operations fund. That must be approved by the board. And that is only to pay That must pay may pay for only non-instructional costs. And so, if it's over 15%, then any other Department of Education monitoring will trigger a a notice to them. And so, ideally it says up to 15%. So, I'm thinking in my mind that what it is is that you come and say, "Hey, I need this much or hey, I need that much." But, we did it all in one fell swoop, the whole 15%. So, it's not going to be coming back. So, we won't be keeping abreast on what it is, how much,
122you know, it's just already done. So, there won't be any discussions going forward, you know, in terms of when you're dipping into the 15%. Or maybe it would when Linda gets up here, but so, the education fund budget is about 36.2 million. So, that makes the maximum legal transfer that 15% about 5.43 million. And so, that that's from the education fund to the operations fund. And education fund is funded mainly by state tuition support. Correct me if I'm wrong. It pays for instruction, as teachers, classroom supplies, supplies, and academic programs. And right now, we have healthy reserves. Anybody correct me if I'm wrong. The operations fund is what's funded mainly by local property taxes. And so, that's where those tax caps that they discussed hit a snag. Also, there's some new legislation coming down in
123terms of additional uh taxes that are going to go back to the to the taxpayer, not to the community, not to the corporation. But, this is for non-instructional costs, which are the buses, the buildings, utilities, maintenance, uh support staff, support staff. And that fund is more financially strained uh because you know, property tax caps limited. Um and then those are the prices, the I'm sorry, the the money that comes that's needed for these aging buildings that we have. I know um since I've been on the board, there was a Uh, there was a water break. There was um just 2 days ago or something there was the a transformer went out. Yeah, HVAC. So, then for old buildings you're going to have to pay to um for maintenance. That's it. And so, also um when
124you think about fixed costs and you think to what what the superintendent was just saying about the buses, you know, well, we have this thing going on in the Middle East and how much is the gas costing about to start costing us. And so, I think that's something we should think about and they require more transfers from the education fund to the operations fund. But, that's something we should keep our eyes on because of course we want as much money as possible going towards education. So, you may hear that oh, Gary spends $15,000 on a student, you know, and it seems like oh, we spend more than Munster may spend a student. Well, our money is going towards fixing these old buildings and so forth. And so, um when you think about our healthy the
125health of this corporation going forward, um our budget has been stable, but we need to think about what we're going to do um because in terms of enrollment, I know that there was another charter school I believe that's coming Huh? >> Faylinn that's coming online. So, that may take even more students from us. Um so, I think that what this board needs to do is start about uh how are we going to be uh the the go-to place for our community to want to come to our school corporation because right now the vast majority of students in Gary don't come to Gary Community School Corp. You know, it's about 2/3 that are going to other places. And so, how do we get them back here? So, um uh Uh, attorney Tracy Coleman used to always,
126for years, uh, have this discussion about, uh, building a field house and having somewhere like a state-of-the-art, uh, place for kids to play sports at and that it would attract people into the city and I think that's, I mean, not to the city, but into the school course. So, I just would hope that this board start thinking outside of the box and start having the discussions because, uh, um, it's going to be time again where we're going to maybe decide that we want to go out and ask community for more money. So, they should know what our vision is, what it is that we're doing to attract people to our school corporation. I think that, and this is just a thought and I'm thinking during my comments right now, uh, that if we would maybe
127make Westside a flagship high school, that it would have, uh, um, state-of-the-art training for, you know, uh, like, like here at the Career Center, but maybe on the campus and maybe right here with Mr. Sutton works with the city. Maybe the city would want to give us Ivanhoe, we could build something over there, big, uh, I don't know, right? My brother. Okay. Uh, something over there with the high school that we send out a bond and we do some new building and we have something state-of-the-art nice and new for students that people want to come in to go to Westside and, uh, we could attract more students. Right now, our academic performance ranks at the bottom of Indiana. I think that us here on this board and in this room, we can make a dent
128in that. We could change that around, but I think that we need to have the energy to do it and when I talk about the energy to do it, which just made me think of something else. The students and their energy, when they didn't like what was going on, I thought that was wonderful. And I thought that that should have been not shut down because we want their energy. We want them to care. We It may not mean that they're going to change anything that's going to happen, but they should be heard. I think that they should organize around that energy. They should tell us what they want. They should tell us what they need, and we should make it happen. But so we just need to harness the love for Gary that is here
129for amongst the citizens, that's amongst the students. The students' energy that they have right now that they are caring about what's going on in their school. When we shut them down, the only thing that happens is the next thing is I'm just going to leave. They won't even listen to me. So I just think that we should make a collective effort to support the students when they are expressing how they feel to us. And harness that energy into something positive for Westside High School, for all the schools. And also, last thing before I shut up. I just want to say that at the last meeting I had asked if we did individual school budgets, and the answer was no. I just think that it would be important if we did maybe do individual school budgets
130because it may come to a point if enrollment is declining, that's the trend. And I hope that is not the trend. Um that we decide maybe we need to close this school building, you know, or maybe make sense to consolidate over here. If we can see the average daily members at each school and what's supporting each school, then I think that that would be a positive thing. Also, it would help you like just kind of visualize or see if it's like, okay, this school has a budget and this school has a budget of I don't know, $100,000 for the water bill a month. That That may be excessive, but who knows with Gary, right? But no, I'm I'm playing there. But if the school if it's a $100,000 for the water building, you looking at
131it and you're saying, "Oh, wow. Why is it up to 200?" But, now you found the leak because you're looking and you got the individual budget. So, I just feel that um it would be a good idea if we did break it down that way. Even though we're not, I think it would be a good idea. So, I just wanted to say that. And um just I have very high hopes for the city of Gary, for the Gary Community School Corporation, and with our city coming back, I just think it's important that we have um it would be nice to have a flagship school that's bright, shiny, attractive, new, and um providing the needs of our students to have the students want and be excited to come to Gary Community School Corporation and not one
132of the charters. Thank you. >> All right. Any other comments? Just want to quickly thank you all for taking time out of your day to show your passion for Gary Community Schools. I want to thank Dr. Stokes and her staff for continually to raise the bar. Um we know things are getting better better and we have expectations of great results. Um I also want to thank my fellow board members. It doesn't take you long if you're sitting in this room to understand that people are here with their heart and their their desire to make things better. And I applaud that effort. Um and I too uh look forward to our board and retreat coming at the end of the month. Um so, certainly when you move together as a as a fist, you move better
133than a person pointing their finger. So, I think we're going to be a fantastic board and we're going to do great things. Dr. Stokes, would you uh follow up, please? >> I will. Thank you so much. Um Crystal, next slide, please. Um so, um I wanted to read something that Shevette Grady sent out from the special populations department. She is our director. It's to our social workers. This is social worker bond and sometimes people behind the scenes go unnoticed. So, she wanted to just dedicate this to them and just say thank you for your compassion, advocacy, and unwavering commitment to those who often go unheard. You serve special populations with patience, respect, and genuine care, ensuring that every individual is treated with dignity. Your support brings comfort in difficult moments, guides through complex systems, and
134helps when it's needed most. The difference you make may not always be visible, but it is deeply felt in the lives and families you touch. With sincere gratitude, Shevette Grady and the special populations department. I thank her for that because my team often hears me say how you show up matters. How you show up matters. And at the end of the day, we can agree to disagree. Social workers often time will have family, sometimes even students that may not always agree with them, but how they show up matters in those moments. I also want to go on to our next slide and just say happy National Nutrition Month. For those of us who always talk about getting in shape and having better nutrition, well, guess what? This is a great month to start. Happy nutrition
135National Nutrition Month. Next slide, I want to thank our parents. If you heard me say this earlier, we can't do this without you. Takes you, takes me, it takes all of us to say thank you because Dr. Trevathan, we had almost 100% across the district. That's worth the clapping, guys. Thank you for showing up to test for [applause] I ready 3. It was really, really good. Um, I think we only had six students that didn't test and three of those, I believe, actually withdrew. So, that is good. Um, our next assessment, parents, if you're listening to me, is I learn. So, I need you to give me that same support. I'm calling on you. Be my babies. Get them here on time and have them ready to do their best on the I learn assessment.
136As we all know, after tomorrow evening we are on what? Spring break. March 16th through the 20th and I encourage my teachers, my leaders, my students, please take a break but come back refreshed and ready to learn because there will be school after spring break. Parent-teacher conferences, this is a reminder to our parents. Our parent-teacher conferences will resume Friday, March the 27th. Please, please, please make sure you have not already done so. Get in contact with your school and or your teachers. And last but not least, we have our draft agenda. It is our typical order of operations with our draft agenda. There is nothing particular that we're going to speak to unless we get some data back from the state and we may talk a little bit more about academics. But with that, thank
137you all. I appreciate you all and I yield the floor. >> I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. Is there a second? >> Second. >> All in favor say aye. >> Aye. >> Our meeting is adjourned. Thank you for being here. >> Can I have those flyers or are you going to do something with them?