001by standing and do the pledge of the allegiance. [Music] I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. I have roll call to confirm or Mr. S present. Dr. Woods present. Attorney Irving myself Mr. Johnson present Mr. S I know attorney Irving is online. We have four confirmed and one online that we did not hear. We have a legal meeting. We have quum. We may continue to conduct the business of the school board. I'd like to move on um to agenda item number two, approval of the minutes from the April agenda item for today. I'm sorry. May I have a motion? Some move. Second. It's been moved and properly seconded. Any
002discussion on this motion? Hearing none. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Extensions. The agenda has been approved. Let's move on to item number three. And I'd like to welcome Miss Winningington and the Gary Westside Leadership Academy girls track team. I am here. I apologize for the delay. Thank you, sir. Good evening, Dr. Stokes, school board members, and this amazing community here in our beautiful city of Gary, Indiana. My name is Chelsea Whittington, and I am the chief public and community relations officer. And as you know, Gary Ready snapshots is our opportunity to highlight the positive things happening across the district. We had a additional hearing today which has our schoolboard meeting starting a little later. So, if you would allow me to move out of order of our snapshots and I am going
003to ask uh Miss O'Brien if she would move to the final slide of my presentation where uh the big crescendo we're going to kick off in essence of time. If you've watched the news, if you've looked on the magazines, you have seen these young ladies take us to the top down state in Indianapolis. It is my pleasure to present the ladies of the North [Music] Carolina in the four00 region. I want to hear from him on what it's like to make history starting with our athletic coordinator Mrs. Jer proto guider and then we will hear from the champions. Good evening everyone. Good evening. Um thank first thank you all so much for having us. Um, it is an honor to be in this position as the athletic coordinator at Gary Westside and the track coach.
004Um, this is just something that I've been dreaming of since I was a little girl. So, to be in this position and to be their coach and to be in front of you all is like a dream come true. Um, two weeks ago at the Who's Your State Relays, uh, our girls, we actually qualified and stayed in the shop put the 4x2 and the 4x400. Um, which is a huge accomplishment. Um, our girls, we don't have an indoor facility, but every single day they are at practice working extremely hard and their hard work paid off. and them placing third at state with girls and other people who have a little bit more resources than they do just kind of speaks of their character. Um, so I am extremely proud to be their coach. I'm excited
005about the future and what outdoor season can bring. Um, but I also wanted to kind of just introduce the girls. Uh, we have Kayla Williams who is a [Applause] senior K. Uh then we have Priscilla Burton who is a sophomore. We have Michaela Bird who is a [Applause] senior and Karen who is a junior. I wanted to bring um our captain up, Kayla Williams, to kind of just share a couple words on um her experience and uh what she has planned for the [Applause] [Music] future. Um good afternoon, evening. [Music] I'm Baby K. My name is Kayla Williams. I've been a member of the girls westside track team for four years and I am proud the accomplish accomplishments that I have made joining this team. I'm proud to be a captain. Also, I wanted to
006say that coming in third place with no indoor facility, running through slippery hallways, not being able to put your spikes on, you know, it's really a blessing to become, you know, the top in the state right now. Um, I really appreciate Coach Proto for everything that she has done. [Applause] Uh, they're a little shy. They're not usually like this, but it it's fine. And um but they are extremely extremely proud and they are very humble. And our outdoor season starts this week. We have our first outdoor meet Friday at Westside. So if you all are available, your support would really be appreciated. It starts at 5:00 p.m. [Applause] [Music] I don't have [Music] One more time for the Lady Cougars. And again, we look forward to supporting them on this coming Friday. That would be
007April 11, 5:00 p.m. 900 Jerry Street, Westside Leadership Academy. And now, if you will travel back to me with me to our first slide of Gary [Music] Snapshots. I'd like to take this time to highlight our out of school time program. And this program is some incredible work that is being done within the afterchool hours. And we all know that statistics and data shows that those hours between 3 and 700 p.m. are critical times for when our young people are active. We want to make sure that they are engaging in things that are positive. and the out of time school program have initiatives that directly support our secondary schools. So that would be middle and high school in their afterchool initiatives and it was brought to our district through the 21st century community learning program.
008This program supports the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during nonchool hours for our young people. It helps our youth meet state and local student standards in core academic subjects. And it offers a broad array of enrichment activities that support social, emotional, and behavioral development and offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating youth. The program is currently being supported by our out of school time coordinator, Dr. Victoria Crumb and she comes to us with a long history of program and experience in the nonprofit sector. One of the one things we want to highlight about this program is the Hoover Clubhouse and it's something that's across all of the sites in the middle schools as well as Westside and it's focused on combining academic support with meaningful student
009engagement and it's already making a difference. and beyond academics. We are creating a safe environment that's an enriching space where our students can grow and connect with one another. And we are very thankful to have a variety of community partners who also support our efforts after school through mentorships, guest speaking engagements, field experiences, and much much more. Across all the sites, we have 17 active afterchool clubs running strong. And these clubs include something for everyone, including STEM, creative arts, and helping our students explore their interests. We are here in the district to educate the whole child. And the out of school time program is another nice caveat for us to help our students be the best versions of themselves. On Monday at 10:00 a.m., the director of our out of school time program, Dr. Victoria
010Crump will be one of the guest speakers at Silver Monday at Jay's Breakfast Club 2601 Broadway and Gary where she will discuss in detail more about the program and how our community can get involved. So I thank you for your attention on the out of school time program. There's more information on our website at garyschools.org. And then our next slide and final slide today is extremely important and you will continue to hear about this initiative. We ask that you mark your calendars for Saturday, May 31st from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. We will be at Westside Leadership Academy for the power of partnership parent conference. And at this time, we will be partnering with our first lady, Mrs. Crystal Melton, who will serve as our keynote speaker. And the focus is fostering academic success and
011emotional well-being. This is an amazing opportunity not only for parents, but those who are supporters and community stakeholders of the Gary Community School Corporation to get involved and get some secrets to successful parenting and just being a responsible village member to embark on journeys that help raise remarkable young people. You can register by using this QR code. We have copies of the flyer here for you this evening. And again, we want to dispel those myths that our schools are not open to community. We want our parents to be involved in this. Power of partnership parent conference is one of the ways that we are showing that we're working together. So again, Saturday, May 31st, 8:30 a.m. We hope to see everyone there so that we can wrap our arms around our children and continue to
012help them move forward and close the school year out with the bang. Thank you so much for this opportunity, Mr. Suds, members of the board, and I will turn it back over to you. Thank you. Moving on to line item four, public comments. Vice President Johnson, would you read item 4.1, please? Sure. Uh, thank you, M. Mr. Chair. Uh, pursuant to Indiana Code 5-14-1.5-3, the Care 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 three minutes per individual and 30 minutes total discussion of items on the agenda or to express concerns relative to the operation of school, city, school board actions and other items of general educational interest. There are many
013people wishing to address the board but may limit the amount of time person may speak. Comment should be directed to the board not to individual board members. Statements shall not be abusive or adminive. Persons making comments shall not debate statements made by others. Shall not be permissible to orally present or discuss complaints against individual employees of the de community school corporation at any board of school trustees meetings. Issues related 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 the 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
014limited to interrupting a speaker if the statements to not be unduly repetitive or otherwise violates the rules. The president may terminate the address of any speaker who violates these rules or limit the amount of time devoted to public comments if there's a huge number of people wishing to address the board or there's a large agenda of other business you vote for. Thank you sir. Dr. Dr. Spangler. [Music] Um, having gone to the public hearing that we just did, having had this placed on the agenda as a recommendation that took place before the public hearing was even had, which was strange because the function of the public hearing is supposed to be to determine whether someone's going to be removed. But you made the recommendation which I question where was that discussed? at what meeting, what
015notice was provided for that? Um, because all of that to me sounds like a ODL violation. Like there was a discussion that happened about removing somebody somewhere at some point perhaps in some executive meeting that nobody knows about which again it would be nice to see where that complaint came from and at what point. Anyhow, what I also find to be ironic about this, and again, lots of people feel lots of ways about different individuals. We don't all like each other every day of the week. But if somebody's actually done something wrong, it's important to hear about it. It's important to hear about it in the right format. Ironically, sometime in the past, Mr. thoughts was in the very situation you are tasked with removing a library board appointee. Oddly enough, he followed statute. There
016were some aspects like he he did understand there was difference between a public meeting, a public hearing. There was at least an attempt there. There was a discussion of what had occurred. What had occurred was already a matter of public record. Like there were back and forth between lawyers. everything was very probably a little too legal. Um, and not everybody necessarily agreed with that action, but it was followed. And if there were concerns about even that conduct, should they have been raised sooner? What is the timing of all of this really about? because it doesn't seem to be about anything relevant, as somebody else said earlier, to the education of these children. Doesn't seem relevant to the support of our libraries, which are now under attack by SD1, by the way. Doesn't doesn't seem to
017relate to the support of our libraries by our schools or the relationship between those two things. And we have two different accounts from the library. one which was I guess not planned but written out and somebody wasn't going to speak and yet they did with a written statement which was odd who's also your appointee which is also strange and then you have other people in the library saying we don't know what's going on and that's the sentiment of the public too I think we all know what's going on thanks Can I resto it? Good evening again board. Wanted to share information about a program where we've been having all year thus far. Actually started a little bit last year. It is the 100th anniversary of the birth of brother Malcolm X born May 19th 1925.
018And so we've been having a lecture series all year. We're going to continue it throughout the year. And the next lecture series, the next event takes place this Saturday, April 12th, which is also the anniversary of the mouth who gave a speech of the bullet in Detroit. We have coming in town brother Malikini from Detroit and he's going to speak on urban farming, controlling the businesses and the politics in their community. And he was very instrumental in the creation of a large food cooperative on Wood Street in Detroit. If you haven't been there, uh should check it out. If you do go there, you should check it out and support it. And that's something that we pretty much need in our community. A lot of times we're referred to as a mini Detroit with the
019conditions that we struggle with and deal with here in Gary. So that's going to be this coming Saturday, April 12th at FA Faith Farms appropriately and it's Black Lives Matter Gary United Africa Movement and also the Gary Food Council has put that on. So we encourage people to please come and check that out. Definitely. What time, sir? That's at 1:30 1:30 at Faith Barnes Progressive Community Church. Oh, when we look at Gohead and get the address. The address is 656 Carolina Street. When we're there, though, we look across the street and we see Emerson in in the horrific condition that's in. We also see plenty of schools like this in our community. And I'm not sure if you all had anything to do with it or if there's any more schools that are available for
020sale. Um but I just think we need to be careful too because um coming up at the city council meeting this Tuesday they are seem to be hearing about uh having a final about allowing for the former veteran school to have a large light industrial type facility put at that space and that is something you just don't do. schools are zoned in residential areas where you also may have some churches and parks and things like that, but not industrial areas. They're trying to get spot zoning. And we just as school board members, as a school system, we don't want that in neighborhoods where our children are going to be catching the bus, going to school where people come home, they want to relax and not want to have that extra pollution that we already struggle
021with or that extra noise. Well, again, it's truck traffic. I mean, they compare this to one in Chicago where they have like these truck days there that nobody's in yet. It's been like well there's like one tenant there that's been there for three years and they're talking about putting this in the middle of a residential neighborhood. They're talking about putting some baker something else at Dark Alaska. No, no, you don't do that in residential areas. That's why they have zone. So I would encourage us go to the city council meeting and not allow speak out against the spot zone they're trying to do for this corporation. It's not good for our community, our schools or our children. Linda Collins. [Music] I thank you once again for the opportunity afforded me to speak and um I
022regret that some people left because I did have a correction. I know there is a person here directly connected to Mrs. Mororrow. So I'm sure she will know that I had a correction on something that was said. But to get back to uh this unfavorable um comment section, hearing whatever the case may be, please know that again I say this out of love and without hesitation. Um it was so embarrassing. I'll give you one example and I implore everyone here to get involved. Start coming to library board meetings, school board meetings. I used to bring my children to the school board meetings. We bring the young people so that they can see it's an educational uh experience for them. But while in training, the library board uh were was in training on Zoom with individuals
023from Indianapolis. We had just completed, excuse me, a uh an executive session. Mr. bugs brought to those people and it was embarrassing the problems that he aired to them things that was discussed in the executive session. Our president tried to stop him and told him this is not the time these are not the people for you to discuss that with but being Mr. Bugs and I love him dearly don't misunderstand me you know it was totally out of order and it was so embarrassing and we had to take a recess Dr. Washington called for a meeting and then corrected him and told him you need not do this now. This is not the time nor place. So for those of you that do not know, you know, you've not been to the library board meetings
024and seen him in rare form. You know, I've seen different sides of him and I was surprised to see him, you know, carry on the way that he did. Even today at the signing sheet, he confronted me and I had to stop him. this is not the time. He was surprised that I spoke the way that I did regarding him just as I am surprised at his behavior because I've seen him in a more positive note. It's intelligent man. I I don't discredit him in any way. You know, kudos to all that he's done and all that he does, you know, in our community. I applaud him for all of that. But it comes a time when we've got to step back, you know, in order to move forward. Let's continue to stress the positive,
025you know. It's time out. There's so much negativity going on now. And quite frankly, I'm just tired of it, you know. So, let's do what's right. Stand up for what is right. I have a problem. And I have tell some church folks, even in church, we don't always speak up and tell the truth. But we've got to speak up, tell the truth, and correct people when they're wrong. It is okay, and we must agree. It's okay to disagree. With that being said, wishing everyone a wonderful day and an awesome rest of your lives. Robert Bugs. [Music] Good evening, boy. Robert Buzz again. I don't normally comment on comments about me, but but since the public, I want to clarify something. The confrontation to which she replied to, I said thank you. That's all I said
026was thank you. And uh that came up to a confrontation. But I just want to let the board know about the laws that you all did break. And it says the removal of a board member. A member may be removed from the board because of a specific written charges filed. The person to hear the charges shall fix a date for public hearing and give public notice uh days in advance of the hearing. At the hearing, the member is entitled to present evidence and argument to be presented. Now I'm a Christian. My pastor was not allowed to speak. He sit here patiently. And Mr. Sugs had his name on the list. But yet again, they dictated to who can speak and who not to speak. What was the pastor going to say that was so demeaning
027that he was not allowed to speak? 11. Now I get some uh there was a couple here that left or smiled with victory that they got rid of Robert Bugs and the board got rid of Robert Bugs out the library board. Why? You know I sleep very good at night and I will continue to represent uh the interest of the people and the students. I will continue to let you all know that when you voted not to hear an expulsion of a student from a school in Gary, Indiana, you violate the law because the Greek school corporation handbook says that the school board is the last process in the appellet process. So what you're saying by voting not to ever hear any extortional cases is saying whatever they did was wrong or right, we don't
028care. And that student is going to be recipient of being denied due process as is in the handbook for Gary School Corporation. So I guess you all can do your little victory laps and everything like that, but when I speak and say about me being argumentative at the library, it was a training session when we have we were allowed to ask questions about certain codes in there codes that I did. Now somebody don't know what a code means or can't understand it, then that's up to them. But it was a training session by Zoom. They didn't complain. I knew what the codes meant and I asked questions about those codes. Thank you, Mrs. L. Tindle. [Music] Thank you to the superintendent and the board and all in attendance this afternoon. My question, what's the graduating
029student status? What are the numbers? Tell us about the ranking. Tell me the word regarding the yearbooks of Westside High School, year 23, year 24, and year 25. What's the word regarding reading scores? What preparation has been made to accommodate students who failed the third grade reading test? Thank you very much. like to move on to item number five on our agenda, consent agenda. Miss, [Music] but give us one moment, please. Can you make Can you make sure you gave us all the forms? We're sorry. There was a form left. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. We'll go back to the public comments and this would be Maryanne Greus. No, this is She says, "I thought I 10 seconds while I walk up here." Okay. Uh, we'll we'll go in order. I'm sorry.
030Okay. Thank you. [Music] Good evening, Lord members. I'm Maryanne Kanty Reus, a retired teacher from 29 years of service and I now work at Bever School with 15 autistic children nonverbal. I came to you because I had talked or sent a memo to human resources asking for a raise for retired teachers that are in your system. Every one of us are licensed. Most of us have life license. If not, we're licensed from 10 to 15 years. Licensed master's degrees. And all I'm asking when you do your proposal to give us $2.50 more. That's all I'm asking. My next thing is at Bever School, we do not have a librarian. I have talked to Dr. elves before to use maybe some students from Indiana University or IU who are working in the education or trying to
031get a degree in the education department. Maybe they can come in on Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday and give us a little time so that could be one of our specials that our children can come out of the classroom, go to the library, listen to a story, get a book, and then bring it back the next time. I read to my children every day so they have the reading in the classroom. But it would be nice if they could leave out of the classroom and go to what I would call a special. Thank [Music] you Christie. Excuse me. Christy. Okay. I almost didn't come today because I'm tired of trying to say things that we never get answers or anything, but I'm glad I came because that was very entertaining about the library
032board. Speaking of the library, um it's the branch in Miller isn't open on the weekends. It's only open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and it's not open on Saturday. So, I spend a lot of time tuning at school with reading, but the kids can't go with their parents on the weekend to get a a book. So, I just thought since there's people care about the libraries, you know, put in a word. And I did try and go to a library board. I went to the library board meeting. They were half an hour late letting the public in. Then I signed up to speak and I found out that they do their um comments at the end. And I thought, God knows how long this is going to go. So I left. So I'm saying here, please open
033a Woodson library on Saturday. And ditto to the library at uh Banaker doesn't have a librarian either. And um you know the kids need to get books. We hope the border to read and then they don't have any books. Thank you Sandra Starling. [Music] Good evening board members. Superintendent Stokes and fellow concerned citizens. Today, I want to make a public declaration of appreciation for Superintendent Stokes and all the hardworking members of the Dair Community School Corporation for leaving no stone unturned to get our McCulla students back into the safety and education. At a time when many would have been satisfied with housing our scholars in another environment, you work with all your might to get them back to finish the school year in their own school. For those of you who are making the decision
034about where to send your children for the next school year, I urge you to send them to the Gary Community School Corporation schools. Our system is led by a smart, caring, innovative, and accountable superintendent. We have a union president, Glenny Van, who is a fighter for our children to have a quality education. We have caring employees in our system who put the education of our children first. They are not just there for a paycheck. They love and work hard for our youth, not just for their education, but for their total well-being. Shout out also to our mayor, fire department, police department, NISCO, and other utilities members who work tirelessly to provide a safe environment for our students. Thank you. Hopefully I didn't miss anyone again, but um let's move on to item number five, consent
035agenda. Item 5.1 entertain the Senate. Mr. Chairman, I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda items 5.1 through 5.5. There's a motion on the floor. May I have a second? Second. It's been moved and properly second. Is there any discussion on this motion? Hearing now, may we have roll call for approval, please? Mr. Suggs? Yes. Dr. Woods? Yes. Attorney Irving, Dr. Mloud, yes. Mr. Johnson, yes. With a response of four, yes and one uh no response. The motion carries. Move on to item number six, action items on the agenda. a recommendation on the Gary Library Board appointee dismissal. Um I'll entertain a motion. Mr. Chair, I u make a recommendation for dismiss of library board appointee. There's a motion on the floor. Is there a second? Second. been moved and properly second. Any discussion
036on this motion? Hearing no discussion, may we have roll call? Mr. Suggs, yes. Dr. Woods, yes. Attorney Irving. Dr. Mloud, yes. Mr. Johnson, yes. With a vote of four, response. The motion carries. Mr. Bugs has been dismissed. Item number 6.2. Um, recommendation for an appointment on the Gary Library Board. Mr. Chair. Yes, please. I'd like to recommend Crystal O'Brien to serve as our appointee to the Gary Library Board. There's a motion on the floor and it has been properly second. Any discussion on this motion hearing? No discussion. Um, may we have roll call for approval, please? Mr. Sug, yes. Dr. Woods, yes. Attorney Irving. Dr. Mloud, yes. Mr. Johnson, yes. With four favorable votes and one no response, the motion carries. Welcome. I'd like to take this opportunity to have our new board uh board
037member come up and speak to us and say hello for Dr. Stokes and community. Thank you so much for this appointment. I'm sorry that it came at this time and this circumstance, but I am a mother uh of a student who is in our district at McCulla Academy. So kudos to McCulla students being back that was on on my shoulders as well. Uh I work as a public relations specialist and in the community in a number of capacities and I am so honored to be chosen uh as the um appointment for the Gary Public Library board. It is more than a privilege. It is a personal passion of mine. My daughter and I frequent the library and um it just shows me the light that still exists when it comes to the offerings of our
038library and I want our children all the children in the Erie schools to be able to experience that and sometimes there's that disconnect. So, I'm hoping that in this role, I'm able to help with that bridge and the relationship between the public schools and uh the library and be able to really utilize the resources that exist there because it's underutilized and it could be so much more. So, hopefully I'm able to um hit the ground running and um my heart and my energy and my love is to fulfill this role. Thank you. Congratulations. Item number 6.3. I will entertain a approval for the approval of the heritage committee proposal. President Sugs. Yes, please. So the heritage committee proposal is essentially um a proposal to have Senator Spencer as we all know as Mr. Mark Spencer
039who also works for Harry community schools to be um have the auditorium named after him. So um we so graciously ask that you approve the heritage committee's proposal to have that honor. Thank you Dr. Stokes. I will entertain a motion please. Mr. Chair. Yes. Uh, I make a motion to approve the heritage committee proposal. I'll second. Been moved and properly second. Um, you know, entertain any comments on the motion on the floor. I second the motion. Thank you, Dr. McCloud. And I'll fifth, sixth, and seventh the motion. Um I it is my honor to be a part of the vote to honor um Senator Mark Spencer. Um he's been an amazing leader in this city and uh it's been such a privilege to be entertained by his uh presentations that he's made over the years.
040So this is certainly my honor. Dr. Stokes and Senator Spencer would be with us if he could. However, he is doing the gracious work of representing us down at the state house. So, we felt that that was a little bit more important than seeing his beautiful face here. So, he would normally be with us. I just I'm under the impression of talking with uh Senator Spencer that his mother would be here tonight. Well, I just want to honor her having such an amazing son. Thank you for the gift to us. [Applause] Do you want a roll call? Yes, please. Mr. Sugs, yes. Dr. Woods, gladly. Yes. Attorney Irving. Dr. Mloud. Yes, Mr. Johnson. Yes. With a vote of four yes and one nonresponse, the board eagerly and happily approves the renaming of the Gary Community
041Westside Leadership Academy Auditorium to the Mark Spencer Auditorium. [Applause] So, we will officially name it the Mark Spencer Westside Theater Hill. Sounds wonderful. Item 6.4 on our agenda request approval for field conference experiences. I'll make a motion. There's a motion on the floor. I have a second. Second. It's been moved and properly second. Any discussion on this motion? Hearing no discussion, may we have roll call for approval, please? Mr. Sugs, yes. Dr. Woods, yes. Attorney Irving. Dr. McCloud, yes. Mr. Johnson, yes. With a vote of four, yes, one no response. The motion carries. Item 6.5ou between Indiana University Northwest and Westside Leadership Academy. I'll entertain a motion, please. So moved. Second. Been moved and properly seconded. Is there any discussion on this motion? Hearing no discussion. May we have roll call for approval? Mr. SS.
042Yes. Dr. Wood, yes. Attorney Irving. Dr. Mloud, yes. Mr. Johnson, yes. With four yes, one no response. The motion carries. I'd like to ask Mr. Linda Z Mr. Mrs. Linda Zabarowski to come up for uh item 6.6 through 6.8. Good evening, Gary Community School Board members, Dr. Stokes, and community. As you all know, McCulla was hit with an E1 tornado. Um, it it's it's wonderful news that nobody was injured while this tornado came down on our building. Um, we have had such a process with this trying to get these students back into the building. With that being said, um, what I am doing right now in this process, the students are back in the building, but we will have to renovate. So, I'm working with our insurance company and the state board of accounts. Um,
043and the reason the state board of accounts is because normal bid process for any type of renovation that would exceed um an a large amount would need to go through a bidding process. but state board of accounts and I am working on I would like to read the Indiana code that represents a declaration of emergency Indiana code 36-1-12-9. The code says says the school board upon a declaration of emergency may contract for a public project without advertising for bids if bids or quotes are invited. At least two persons known to deal in the public work required to be done. The minutes of the school board must show the declaration of emergency and the names of the persons invited to bid or provide quotes. So, as it stands right now, we do not have any quotes
044because I have to work with the insurance company first to get a scope. But what we have done is we have reached out to several vendors um that are willing to once they do get the um the the the bid and the specs they will be bidding on this job. The the vendors that we invited was Cassie Construction Company, Powers and Suns Construction and the Skilman Corporation. So, we've exceeded the the Indiana code with two and we've asked three to come. So, with that being said, um I request the board that they approve this declaration as an emergency. I will entertain a motion for the approval of the declaration of emergency. So, move a motion on the floor. May I have a second? Second. It's been moved and properly second. Is there any discussion on
045this motion hearing? None. May we have roll call for approval, please? Mr. Sugs, yes. Dr. Woods, yes. Attorney Irving. Dr. Mloud, yes. Mr. Johnson, yes. With a vote of four yes and one no response. The motion carries. I would just like to take this opportunity to thank uh Dr. Stokes and staff for the amazing job um that you uh carried out during that that E1 tornado. Um I was there the night of the tornado and the day after and um the destruction that happened in that neighborhood and at that school and we were all safe and you did in an organized manner uh relocate the school and now have our students back home. And I just want to congratulate you for doing an amazing job. [Applause] And hopefully just on that one one more note
046um we have approximately two months to renovate. So that's why we want to really get this process started uh immediately. Thank you. I appreciate it. Item 6.7. So, um, slide 6.7 is a resolution, um, to transfer funds from the referendum to the operations fund. Um, Dr. Stokes mentioned at our last board meeting that I was evaluating our process with how we allocate the referendum funds. Based on the language outlined in the community approved referendum, the most efficient method for accounting for these funds is to make monthly transfers from the referendum fund to its respective fund that is tied to our human capital and our operations. [Music] I will entertain I'm sorry. So I I I respectfully request the board to approve resolution number 11. I'll entertain a motion for the approval of resolution number 11.
047So moved. There's a motion on the floor. May I have a second? Second. It's been moved and properly second. Any discussion on the motion that's on the floor? Hearing no discussion, may we have roll call for approval, please? Mr. SS. Yes, Dr. Woods. Yes. Attorney Irving. Dr. Mloud. Yes. Mr. Johnson. Yes. With a vote of four yes and one no response, the ref referendum fund to uh transfer to operations fund has been approved. Resolution 11. Thank you. Slide 6.8 8 again is the other piece of this and this is the transfer of funds from the referendum to the education fund. I request the board to approve this resolution number 12. I'll entertain a motion to approve resolution number 12 transferring of funds from the referendum to the education fund. So it's a motion on the
048floor. May I have a second? Second. It's been moved and properly second. Any discussion on the motion? Hearing no discussion, may we have roll call for approval? Mr. Sugs, yes. Dr. Woods, yes. Attorney Irving, Dr. Mloud, yes. Mr. Johnson, yes. With a vote of four yes and one no response, the motion carries. Resolution number 12, transferring referendum funds to the education fund. Thank you. Thank you. I would like to now ask Dr. Stokes to uh address item 6.9 on our agenda. Thank you Mr. Sugs and our board. So basically what we are trying to ask of the board is to assign what is called the lesser the lesser representative for bonds certification of good standing. Typically you have to have a bonds board that will look at the information with regards to our bond. But
049for this resolution, we're going to talk about asking you to assign Linda Zaparosi, who happens to be our wonderful chief financial officer, to hold this role until such a time that the board can put out any information that you would want as qualifications for a bonds board. And then we ask that you have at least three members on that board. All of the members that we used to have have either gone on home to glory or um have chosen not to be a part. So, we do need to have a board, but until such a time occurs, I am asking the board to um have Linda Zabarowski be our um lesser representative for bond certification of this standing. I do want to read one requirement. Whereas the Gary Community School Corporation has entered into trust
050and dentures related to various funds. And whereas the trust and dentures require the submission of a certificate of good standing for the calendar year ending 2024 which means we have to make sure that all we were confirming all taxes, insurance premiums, reports and fees that we're reporting that they have been duly paid in good faith and they have. We have to do that. But I need Miss Zabarowski to do that because we don't have a bonds council board. So I'm asking if you will allow her to be our lesser representative for bonds for certification of good standing. Thank you, Dr. Stokes. And based on the determination that it is the president's opportunity to approve this, I approve the CFO uh Linda Zabarowski to be the lesser representative for BAS. Thank you. Thank you. We'll move
051on to item seven on our agenda. Uh Dr. Stoopes and Linda um please represent Good evening everybody. This is a very exciting time. Um we had to go out for an RF for our food service and um we really didn't that we get that many vendors that wanted to bid. We actually had nine, which is a lot. A normal district typically, you know, would get three, four bids. We received nine. So, we are very pleased with the turnout. So, what I wanted to go over just quickly is the timeline because the timeline actually had to be adjusted just a little bit based on, you know, some state requirements. Um so in February we sub we did submit uh to request a proposal. Um we had to advertise in the paper we advertised on March 10th
052and March 17th and had to provide proof of that advertisement with uh the IDOE Indiana Department of Education. Um March 25th we walked through all these vendors. There were 19 people here walking through. We walked them through five buildings. We visited uh two elementaryaries, two middle school, and the high school. On April 1st, bids were due, sealed bids by 2:00 that afternoon. And we actually opened the sealed bids. We had a committee um created and we also had the state representative present via Zoom. We opened the bids and now we lead to the process of evaluating all of these vendors. And I have to tell you, some of these vendors, they submitted proposals that are 500 pages long. It's it's been a process. So, it is going to take us a little bit. our original
053timeline, we were going to actually recommend a vendor today at the board meeting, but uh we need more time because we want to make sure we're very thorough with this evaluation and what we propose. And then the next part of that process is we have to actually submit it to the state and the state will go through their process of evaluating those vendors and making sure they are with Indiana code that they're representative in Indiana and that they can service our students. So we plan to present the um nomination um of course the board will approve it on the May 8th board meeting. Dr. Stokes, would you like to add? You've done a wonderful job. Nothing else to add. Thank you. Thank you. Item eight on our agenda, administrative [Music] report. Miss Morris and Dr.
054Treadwell. [Music] Good. Good evening, members of the school board, Superintendent Stokes, and members of the Gary community. I am Melanie Morris, the director of teacher development. I am honored honored to present to you an update on our progress, our partnerships, and our vision for the future. In our department, we take individuals who want to teach but don't yet have the background, and we give them the tools they need to succeed. And at the same time, we help our certified teachers continue to grow because teaching doesn't stop at certification. When teachers are wellprepared and continually supported, students thrive. If you want strong schools, we have to invest in the people leading the [Music] classrooms. Our vision Thank you. Our vision is to make sure that all students have access to meaningful instruction that challenges them and
055connects them to the lives that and their experiences. We support this by using curriculum that is relevant and culturally responsible, rigorous as well. And we back it up with systems to help our students and teachers at every level. At the core of our work, we have five key values. Service, support, equity, accountability, and academic excellence. When these come together, we create the conditions for real academic success in every classroom. So, now that we understand our vision, our next step is knowing how to bring it to life. And that's where teacher development comes in. Our objective is to help teachers grow so that students can thrive. We do we do that by offering high quality ongoing professional development that is grounded in proven practices and is not a one-time training. It's about building a culture of
056continuous learning, collaboration, instructional excellence at every grade level and every subject. So we have some priorities to bring our objective into action. We have identified two key priorities that guide our work. The first priority is Instructional coaching is not instructional coaching is all about support not evaluation. It's a partnership between teachers and experienced educators who serve as instructional coaches. Their role is to collaborate, share proven strategies, and help strengthen teachers practice in ways that directly improve student outcomes. It's the results focused. It's a results focused venue and teacher centered approach that encourages growth through meaning meaningful reflection, feedback and shared [Music] learning. So please note that we have literacy cadre coaches and district instructional coaches. In having these two types, both play vital roles with different focuses. While district coaches pro provide long-term embedded support
057with math and literacy within our area schools, the literacy cadre coaches were assigned by the IDOE, the Indiana Department of Education, and they specialize in the science of reading and provide targeted support aligned with the state goals. And together, these coaches create a supportive environment that emphasizes growth, collaboration, continuous improvement for both our educators and our [Music] students. Our instructional coach coaches team are the heart of the work. Let me say that again. Our instructional coaches are the heart of the work. as our team is structured to provide comprehensive prek through 12th grade support. And we additionally, I want to say the literacy coaches, the five of them in the elementary schools, they focus exclusively on literacy for K through three, ensuring an indepth expertise in a critical area. The remaining nine coaches cover our
058middle and high as well as the elementary schools including subjects for math, STEM, English, SEAL known at I'm sorry, SEAL known as social emotional learning and then that support is given K through 12. [Music] Priority number two, teacher development. This continuous process is designed to help teachers build knowledge, skills, and practices they need to ensure their students succeed, providing both formal and informal learning opportunities that are aligned with our district goals. Why teacher development? At the heart of teacher development is the goal of improving instruction to better student outcomes. It is the process that's deeply connected to our district objectives. Ensuring that every student is on track to graduate, ready for employment, enrollment, enlistment, or entrepreneurship through continuous coaching and opportunities for collaboration. We aim to create an environment where educators are constantly growing and
059refining their skills. [Music] Instructional coaching and teaching development go hand in hand. One more time, please know that instructional coaching and teacher development go hand in hand to create more effective educators. Together they build continuous cycle of improvement that enhances teaching, teaching quality and ultimately student achievement. So here are some highlights from our professional development thus far this year for shall I for literacy foundation we've been strengthening reading instruction in the K5 classrooms through workshops numerous workshops you fly integrity balance literacy we've had a moment of datadriven instruction but We focus on helping teachers analyze the data to guide their the students reading information. And then finally, our coaching support through modeling, co-eing, and feedback cycles has directly impacted classroom [Music] practices. Teacher feedback is invaluable in shaping how we move forward with these professional
060development opportunities. One teacher shared that including all the steps in the process is crucial for the student process and another emphasized the importance of feeling comfortable with the material before she presents it to the class. These insights remind us that effective teaching is not just about strategies, the strategies we use, but also about ensuring teachers feel confident and they're well prepared. As I wrap up, I want to leave with you a few final thoughts. At the core of our efforts is the commitment to growth. At the core, we want everyone to grow, both our teachers and our students. Investing in our educators is ultimately an investment in our students. When we empower our teachers with the tools and the support they need, they create engaged learners who are better prepared for our future. This is
061about more than just professional development. It's about transforming teaching and learning across our district. Together, we can create a positive and lasting impact on our scholars educational experience. Thank you for your time and attention today. I appreciate your support as we work together in this district. And now open the floor for your questions. Thank you for the presentation. U certainly concur with some of the most of what was shared. Are there any opportunities for metrics to be assigned that we will know or can kind of see how many programs an individual teacher would be going through and the results of that uh training or I'll defer to to Dr. [Music] You give me that question one more time. I I'd like to know um based on the um the ambition of the presentation um to
062help bring teachers up to the quality that we all um would like. Are there any metrics that can be assigned that the board can review um how teachers have how many have went through a particular uh uh training session? uh the results of the training sessions, any observations of how much of it they they learn, how they're practicing,