June 2026 Olathe Public Schools Board of Education Meeting

001Good evening And Good evening and welcome to the June 2026 board meeting. To those of you in the room, and there are a bunch of you tonight, that's so exciting. So many students even in the summer. So, thank you for coming. Um, and to those at home, we will start with roll call. Miss Meyer, >> Mr. Boyd >> here, >> Miss Reagan >> here, >> Mr. Keon >> here, >> Mr. Babbot >> here, >> Dr. Jükovich >> here, >> Mrs. Steel >> here, >> Mrs. Johan >> here, >> and thanks to Miss Carrie Meyer for being here tonight as as board clerk. Um, if you would please rise and join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it

002stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Happy document. >> Thank you. Board item 2.01. 01 is to adopt the agenda for tonight's meeting. Is there a motion? >> I move to adopt the agenda as presented. >> Second. >> Motion by Miss Reagan. Second by Miss Steele. Miss Meyer. >> Mr. Babbot. >> Yes. >> Mr. Boyd. >> Yes. >> Mr. Cune. >> Yes. >> Miss Joanne? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Reagan? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Steel? >> Yes. >> Dr. Jükovich? >> Yes. Motion is approved. 70 and Miss Groupoff, we have a bunch of recognitions. Thank you. >> Dr. Jükovich said it is so exciting that in June we have a room packed full of students. So, welcome to everybody who's here tonight. To begin, I'd like to welcome our culinary

003arts team from the public schools innovation campus up to the front who placed at both the state and national levels. They are joined by their instructors Erica McIntyre and Philip Shaw as well as career and technical education administrator Amy Stoulles. Well, the culinary arts team is no stranger to both the state and national stage. The annual ProStart competition is where their skills are put to the test as they demonstrate their ability to plan, cook, and manage under pressure. This team placed first in the state and fifth in the national competition. We cannot wait to see what these young chefs achieve. So, please join me in giving the culinary arts team a round of applause. >> Congratulations. Next, I would like to invite our outstanding students who earned first place at the state HOSA competition for

004future healthc care professionals. Now, we have several students representing a variety of competition categories. So, I'm going to call groups up by building. And we can begin with bringing our students from the two-year healthcare science academy at OPSIC up to the front along with instruct instructors Sherry Parker and Tara Wolf and administrator Amy Stoles. HOSA is a national student organization with a mission to promote career opportunities in health care and enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people. Tonight we have two out of our four students who won um from the innovation campus and they earned first place. We have Kaia Gant and Sha Wessle who won in the EMT event. So congratulations to these students. congratulations. >> All right, continuing with our HOSA champs, we had six students from THA Northwest High

005School who placed first. So, can my OHA Northwest friends please join us at the front? [clears throat] So, as they make their way up there, we'll talk about their accomplishments. We have Ashot Agural who won in the home health aid and ATC human heredity competitions. Antara Bot won in healthcare administration. McKenzie Kennet and Alexandra Chavez won in forensic science. And Soni Sineni and Zade Ashcar won in public service announcement. So, congratulations bestile. >> All right. >> Okay, good. I was just going to say it's not very often that someone's very last day at work before they retire, they're at a board meeting. So Kathy Hillyard, thank you for spending your last evening with Ala with Alif at a board meeting tonight. It's awesome. I love it. Well, next I would like to invite our ninetha

006North High School students who also placed first at the HOSA competition in their respective competition categories. The North friends. Okay. So tonight we have Marshall Heimoth who won in sports medicine. Ellie Johnson won in respiratory therapy. Rya Mazundar, Elliot Zultan and Maggie Menddees won in mental health promotion. Bennett Morris, Zelian Ci, and Ali Albadrali won in biomed debate and Isaac Wong won in ATC microbiology. Congratulations to these students. Parents, you are welcome to come up and Jay will take a picture as well. >> One more parent. Hold on. [laughter] Awesome. Congratulations to those future healthc care professionals. We'd now like to welcome our Skills USA state champions from our two-yearmies up to the front. So, Skills USA is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry professionals working to ensure America has a skilled workforce. There

007are state and national competitions in several fields. And the following two-year academy students took first place in their competition at the state level. Elliot Barber in nursing assisting, Carter Code and plumbing, Emily Etche and first aid and CPR, Gavin Hester and related technical math, and Nicholas Roert in automotive maintenance and light repair. Congratulations to these students. We got a little squished over here. >> All right, we have another group from Tha North. Our next group of honores excelled at the Kansas Job Olympics competition held in March at the Johnson County Community College. So, please welcome up our tha North High School centerbased resource teacher and job coach, Candace Clark, along with our job Olympics champions and Altha North assistant principal, Jennifer Noteboom. So, for those who do not know, Job Olympics helps promote employability skills

008for a wide range of high school students in special education. There are basic, advanced, and intense events to challenge our students. And this year, our North team excelled and took first place at the job Olympics. We are so proud of this group of students. And please join me in giving them a round of applause. [applause] Congratulations. >> Great. Congratulations. >> So, yeah. when I decided to start spontaneously getting involved in recognitions, [laughter] um I just was secretly saying to Becky, "Is Amy Stole coming back up for anything else?" And uh she's not. So Amy is with us tonight, too, who is retiring after a tremendous uh career in tha and we just appreciate you coming to one last board meeting tonight. >> Well, our high school recognitions continue. Next, we are recognizing our speech and

009debate champions um who earned titles in the Kansas 6A speech and drama championships last month. So, would Elsie Cordell and Altha Northwest assistant principal Kathy Hillyard um as well as Annabelle Owens and Altha West assistant principal Heath Sig come on up to the front. So, Elsie earned first place in the dramatic interpretation event while Annabelle took the title in impromptu speech. In addition, Elsie took second in humorous interpretation and joined with Bridget Simmons to take second in duo interpretation. Uh we also had Landon Weaver from Lake the South who placed first but was unable to be here tonight. So please join me in congratulating these talented orators. Well, that completes our high school recognitions, but I'm excited to welcome some of our middle school friends here tonight for our final recognition of the evening. We

010would like to welcome the top medal winners at our very own Quest Olympics along with their principles and any Quest teachers and sponsors who are here. So come on up to the front. Quest medalist. So the Quest Olympics is ana competition where our gifted students from across the district come together to compete in games designed to challenge their intellectual, physical, strategic, and teamwork abilities. These students up front represent the best of the best from each of our 10 middle schools, winning the most medals for their buildings. A special shout out to Dean Chapman from Indian Trail and Henry Skunover from Summit Trail, who each won four medals a piece, the highest of any competitor. Please join me in congratulating these top quest medalists. You guys want to hang out? >> All right. Well, that does

011conclude our regularly scheduled portion of the awards and recognitions tonight. However, tonight is a very special night because it's the final board meeting for two very special members of our team. They don't know we're doing this, but we would like to take this opportunity to recognize Mr. Matt Johnson and Dr. Tim Reeves. Now, um this month both Matt and Tim will be retiring from Altha Public Schools after years of service to our district and more importantly incredible careers in education. So, I'd like to invite them both up and I will start with Mr. Johnson to just share a little bit about his career and impact on the public schools. So, this year marks Matt's 30th year in education, 15 of which have been spent serving in an athletic director role either at the building or

012district level. Matt started his career in education at Shauny Mission Northwest as a psychology and sociology teacher and also shared his love for sports as a basketball and golf coach. He eventually transitioned into a split athletic director and teacher role before coming to tha in 2016 where he served as athletic director of THA South and has called home for the past several years. About 5 years ago, Matt took over the role of district director of athletics and activities. And during his tenure, he has supported the district through countless team and individual championships, including several firsttime championships like our THA Northwest girls tennis team, who secured the district's first ever tennis championship and then did it again this year. Uh the North's first ever boys basketball championship this spring. Um countless wins under Matt's uh supervision.

013So Matt is known fondly among his colleagues for his sense of humor, his heart, and most importantly, the strong relationships he builds. Those qualities are not only recognized here within, but within the broader athletic and activities community. You may recall that earlier this year, Matt was awarded the 2026 KIAA athletic director of the year and Kansas athletic director of the year distinctions. We're so incredibly grateful for Matt's impact on our system. His leadership here will be missed. Matt, we wish you the best in your next adventure and know that no matter where your journey takes you, you will always be cheering on team from the sidelines. And last, but certainly not least, I would like to recognize our chief academic officer, Dr. Tim Reeves. This year marks Dr. Reeves's 35th year in education, including more

014than two decades here in THA. Tim's impact on our system is both significant and long lasting. From his early days as a building leader at Heritage and Cedar Creek Elementary to his roles as assistant superintendent of elementary education and most recently chief academic officer. Tim has helped shape the academic direction of our district in countless meaningful ways. He leads with a steady focus on what matters most, which is our students, and also invests deeply in the growth and development of those around him. And for the past several years, he's led some of the most important work our district has done, including strengthening the use of high-quality instructional materials, embedding TNTP practices across our system, and just reinforcing practices that have long been in place here in THA. This work has required vision, persistence, collaboration, leadership,

015and will continue to positively impact our district for years to come. Tim is not only known for his work ethic and track record for success, but most importantly for the way he leads with humility, authenticity, humor, and a genuine care for people. He has made better, not just through the work he has done, but for the relationships he has built and the lives he has touched. Tim, we wish you all the best in your next chapter, returning to the building level as an elementary principal. The students and staff who are gaining you as a leader truly don't know just how good they have it. You will be missed and thank you for all you've done for you. Congrats to Matt Johnson and Dr. Reeves. Okay, we have three presentations this evening and our first Dr.

016Liz Harrison will provide information related to the behavior support interdisiplinary team uh through PBIS and including some information about compass I believe as well. Thank you for being here. >> Yes. >> Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to share a little bit. Uh Dr. Fluke is actually going to start and just share with you some updates and some information about PBIS now that it is fully implemented across all of our buildings. So I will let him start. Thank you, Dr. Harrison, and good evening, everybody. Glad to be here. Um, I like Liz said, I'll uh briefly update us on where we're at with our PBIS implementation, and then we'll show how that connects down to supports that we're able to provide at uh Compass at Westview Campus. Um, when we think about what we

017want our students to have when they leave us, we think about both academic and social skills as being key components of what makes them effective citizens. um to try to support that for all of our students, we use what we call a multi-tered system of support approach. And to to take the jargon out of that, basically what that means is we try to provide what each student needs to student in the most efficient way we can using evidence-based practices all along the way. Um so we do that for both academic and behavioral supports. And in fact, PBIS really just is this MTSS concept applied to behavior. That's all it really is. Um and to frame it um more more specifically um we we expect at the universal level that most of our students the large

018majority of our students can be supported by things that all of our schools are doing every day. And I'll get into examples of what that looks like here in a moment. Um but we can also expect that some students are just going to need a little bit more. We don't always know which students at the beginning of the year, but we want to be ready for that eventuality. So we have both targeted and intensive um interventions ready to go both on the academic and the behavioral side to support those students. So at the universal level, what we're doing to support all students and now all of our schools six years into our PBIS implementation, um all of our schools have schoolwide expectations. Um those expectations serve as the bedrock, the foundation of what we want

019students to emerge from those schools having mastered. So, for example, at Pioneer Trail Trail Middle School, um they've adopted we are accountable, we are respectful, and we are engaged as their schoolwide expectations. And to make that more explicit, um this poster shows at events, at schoolwide events, they can show that respect by using kind word and actions, being a positive sports person, and keeping their hands, feet, and body to themselves. Always good to do in the gym. Um and then we we teach those to all of our staff and all of our students at that at that building. Um, but we want to we want to build an environment that's richly reinforcing for those positive expectations that we've set for students. We want the the environment to be so reinforcing for that that students naturally

020begin to choose to engage in positive behaviors instead of some of the things that middle schoolers may choose to do um in in other circumstances. Um, so all schools adopt a schoolwide acknowledgement system specifically built around those expectations where staff let students know when they've done a good job. So, at Walnut Grove, for example, they have a Starbucks system where um when students follow their expectations, they receive that that little piece of paper. But most importantly, we've we've worked with staff to connect with students around those expectations. Use that expectation language and let them know, hey, I see you. You've done an awesome job. This is exactly what we're looking for here at school. But we also know that sometimes um students make mistakes. They're humans just like we are. Um so, we're prepared for

021that eventuality. All of our schools now have a specific PBIS flowchart that outlines who's responsible for addressing what sorts of behavioral challenges and what we would expect those staff members to do. Um, those flowcharts divide behaviors into what we call minors that we expect our staff to be able to handle at the classroom level. And when more intensive supports are needed from building level supports or administration, we've outlined what behaviors qualify for that and how administrators can respond to that. And we use data um every day in all of our schools to track how often these incidents are occurring specifically so that we can know what are the large-scale patterns at the building level. There's a team at every building that's been trained to use that data to proactively look for those patterns and make

022changes at the building level so that they can prevent future challenging behaviors from happening. With all of this in place, we would predict that most of our students can can be successful. And in fact, this school year, what we've seen is 94% of our students have either zero or one major challenging behavior that's occurred, which means that it's a tremendous majority of our students that are being successful with those core components in place. But we want to be ready for the 6%. They deserve to have a successful educational experience, too. So, we're ready with what we call targeted interventions. We have a wide variety of these and I I won't go into all of them, but they range from things like in our early childhood setting, they have an intervention called banking time where the

023staff are taught to just sit and play in a specific way with students to build their relationships up to the high school level where we're teaching them how to organize their backpacks or providing mental health services. Our most common intervention is called check-in checkout. Um we talked about this last year at the board meeting. This is a very powerful intervention where we pair a student with a mentor. they meet with them at the beginning and the end of the day and get a little extra feedback from their teacher throughout the day. Um, we have about 420 students that receive this intervention this school year and about 80 85% of those students were successful with this level of support which is just it takes staff upwards of two three minutes a day to provide this amount

024of support and to get that amount of payout from that that much success is is just a really efficient use of our of our most precious resource which is staff and student time. And then at the at the more intensive level for students for whom those those sort of off-the-shelf quick and easy interventions just aren't quite what they need, that's okay. We're ready to support those students as well. Um we roll that into what we call a student intervention team process. That process is where we move away from sort of standardized quick interventions to something that's really customized to meet the specific needs of the student. The student intervention team is made up of experts at the building level such as the classroom teacher, the administrator, school counselor, school social worker, and so on. Sometimes

025district level supports, often community supports, and very very frequently the parent is involved um in these conversations as well. And student intervention team may make one of many decisions to support a student. It really at this point is deeply customized to the why behind the situation and an understanding of the students specific strengths and needs. um a a a a piece of the puzzle that we've been working for two years now is basically to expand the options at this level to include a referral to the Compass program at Westview campus. So when we think about where that fits into this larger framework of support for all of our students, this is the level where that may or may not be an appropriate fit for a student. And we would invite administrators to really think through

026when a student is at this level when when when their when their supports are requiring requiring just a little bit more that might be the appropriate time to consider that that referral. Um and just to kind of uh clarify where the student intervention team may make different different kinds of decisions. um if the student intervention team suspects that a disability is sort of the root cause of a behavioral challenge, we're we're ready and we've we've always had supports ready to go to support those students. Um we have a very wide special education continuum um prepared to to offer supports at various different levels um depending on what the student needs. Those range from resource supports at the building level. All of our schools have resource classrooms ready to support support that need to social emotional

027resource programs available at a handful of our schools um to our special day school Prairie Learning Center provide more intensive services for the general education side of things. We've we've long had Mil Creek campus offering supports for juniors, seniors, and other other older students um who the the they may have a an IEP in place, but for whom the disability is not the primary driver behind the behavioral concerns. A gap in our system has long been kindergarten through 8th grade students and who do not have that that disability or who the disability is not the driving factor behind behind behavioral challenges. the Compass program has been designed to fill that gap. So, we invite our administrators to um put referrals in for that specific uh students who have that specific profile um so that we

028can be ready to wrap around and provide those services. Um I'll pass it over to Liz who talk a little bit more about what those that referral process looks like. >> Thank you. So, we've talked a little bit about our interdisciplinary team and I thought I would just do a quick um kind of recap of some of that, but then also share some of that work that we did this spring. So, this first piece is from our handbook and this just really in one page captures what Scott just shared that there are tiers of support for all students and then for some students and then those few students. And like he shared, we have in the past got to a point where for our K8 students, we didn't have another general education option and now

029we do with Compass. So when schools feel like a student's needs have risen to a level that they make a Compass referral, that comes to our interdisciplinary team. That team is made up of district um and building leaders. There's a school psych um and they met together all semester. Um during third quarter we met and did some training and calibrating on what the compass referral form looked like, what we were looking for, what questions to ask. Um because anytime you're doing something for the first time, it's a lot of learning and you you can plan for a lot of things, but when you're thinking about students and student needs, you want to make sure you've really thought through as best you can and know the questions that you want to ask. And then starting in

030first or fourth quarter when we return from spring break, schools could start making those referrals to the team. And so at that point, our interdisciplinary team met every week and we looked at those referrals as they came in. And something we learned very quickly is that we wanted to be really clear in what the referral was, but we knew we were going to need to follow up with the schools to get a little bit more information and learn a little bit more because each situation is so unique. And so we would meet weekly to review and then um a couple of the members would reach out to the building and then the next week we could come back and that way we could calibrate. And then as we accepted referrals, we could then work with

031the schools and the families to talk through what the Compass program is, um what it would look like. Uh Beth Bowdenhammer, who will be the administrator at Compass, was able to then be involved and have some conversations with some families, but it really allowed us to be able to have that objective decision-making team that was separate from the schools that really helped to be able to look and say, did they have those really good tier 2 and tier three supports in place that Scott shared? were we doing the right things to make sure we were supporting the school and are we really ready to say this might be the most appropriate next step. So something that I thought might be helpful to see is kind of how that looks in a picture. So when the

032compass referral comes in [clears throat] um I'm going to start with the bottom because it's shorter. Um so if we got a referral and we said you know what we really feel like this is not the right compass is not going to be the right placement. That could be for a variety of reasons. So, it could be that we followed up with the school and said, "You know what? We wonder about trying check-in, checkout. We wonder about trying some different tier 2 supports." Um, it could be that we say, "You know what? Your sit team might get need to get back together because it sounds like you suspect there's a disability. So, this might need to be a different conversation." But the nice thing about having that interdisciplinary team is the answer to a building

033was never. And then, sorry, there's not any more help. it was this is not the right choice right now, but here are some other ideas and we're still here to support you. And then if the answer was we feel like Compass would be the right, you know, next step for this student, then we're here to partner with you to talk about how do how does that conversation work? Uh what are the next steps? Uh and then we were able to help be a part of those conversations to help make sure that as we start the year with Compass, uh that those students and those families were really set up for success. And again, it will look very different once a program is up and running, but anytime you're starting something new, if you're a parent

034that is agreeing, you know, that your child's going to participate in a program that's brand new, you want to make sure that their questions have been answered. And that was really nice to have that interdisciplinary team be able to help have those conversations with families. So, with that, we would be happy to entertain any questions that you guys have. >> Questions board? I don't necessarily have a question, but just want to say thank you um for the presentation and I got I a little bit emotional because my son has been a part of the check-in checkout process and it's been really fantastic honestly to see the changes that have happened with him through the school year and um just really positive people that have engaged him and given him little pep talks and it's been

035really neat. You know, second grade I didn't know that this would be something but I love it. So, thank you. Yes. >> Yes. Mr. Boyd, >> thank you for the presentation. Is it a requirement that the the building at the building level they work through all three of those steps before they are given a green light to compass? >> Yes. I So all students should be receiving the tier one supports and then the next step would be the tier 2 and the hope would be that that would help to meet the need that they have. But if we learned that the tier 2 need wasn't being met, then we would go to tier three. Part of what we would want to make sure is before we would look at moving a student to participate in

036a program that's outside of their neighborhood school that we really had thought through have we tried all of the most appropriate steps we could. >> Thank you. >> I changed my mind because I was thinking sorry. Well, with the check-in checkout, I felt like, you know, it was a good match. And so perhaps that may be a conversation that you might say also, have you considered somebody else with this student that may be a better option for that? >> Um, so that's I I guess that was more of a thought of like a recommendation that you would give back. >> Do you have students already ready for the fall then? >> Yeah, we we plan to open with students. >> Oh, perfect. That's wonderful. Thank you. >> Could I ask a question first? Um, Dr.

037Harrison, I wondered if a referral is declined and you talked about um the team making some suggestions, what does that look like? Is it a face-toface sitdown with the school and the parent conversation or how is that communicated? >> It really is what works best for the team because we also want to be timely. We know that you sometimes they may say, "Can you hop on a phone call?" They may say, "Could you hop on a team's call?" They may say, "We have a meeting next Thursday. could someone come to it and we really want to make sure that we're being timely in our response is is our first consideration. It also might be that there are more than one step. It might be that we hop on a phone call but then we also

038come to meet and um it may be exactly what um you shared that we may say you know what it looks like you tried check-in checkout but you know maybe that wasn't the right match or we might offer sometimes there are other interventions that we just haven't thought of and as a building like having a different an outside person come in and be able to help have some of those conversations. The last thing we would want is to just say no compass doesn't make sense right now but we're not here to help you. We want it to be very clear that we're still there to partner with them and make sure that the school feels good about what a next step is and that if the parent has questions that we're able to help answer

039those as well. >> Thank you, Dr. Jagger. >> I was just going to mention um that you all certainly know, but um this is blazing a new trail for us doing this at the elementary and middle school level and and really I think setting a hopefully will set a standard for school districts around us. you know, we have been challenged for a number of years. Um, always really for some students that demonstrate some challenging behavior, but that number has grown over time. Um, I just appreciate our staff, but also this board of education and being supportive of the development of this program. Um, you know, I don't think any of us are under the the the misimpression that it's going to be perfect immediately. Um, but I am excited about the people that are involved.

040You know, from Dr. Fluke and Dr. Harrison and Dr. Smith and Dr. SIG were all involved initially, but um we have really smart people working on this and and the thing that I do know is that as we move forward um you know we will continue to probably massage some things to get it just right. But, you know, the conversation that that has been shared in many ways tonight about figuring out how to individually support kids and their success is is really cool and you know, many ways special education has kind of been the only avenue for that and it will continue to be for many kids and that's very appropriate. But um you know, I'm excited to think about what will hopefully be a decent number of students who with some interventions, some more

041specific tier three support and the things that we value and know work in tha um that will get them on track to be successful in their neighborhood schools for uh years to come. So I I think the possibilities are excited, but I didn't want the moment to pass without thanking the board and and thanking our team that have worked tirelessly on trying to create something new that um really hasn't been tried, at least in our area before. So, >> if it's okay, can I sorry, can I add one more thank you to that? Yeah. >> Um, Beth Bowdenhammer and the Compass team were together on the district April 24th PD day and they also were together in person all three days during summer conference with Dr. Fluke. Uh, really coming together and doing some professional

042learning and some work because they didn't want to wait until we came back in August. They really wanted to start building those relationships and making sure they were ready to welcome students. And so I just want to give a shout out and say how much I appreciate that team being willing to come together in that way. Also, >> we we do have two Compass teachers in the back of the room this evening at least. We may have more, but we have at least two. So, um it's exciting to see them. And I've actually had the opportunity to talk with both of them and the the energy and enthusiasm that that they're bringing to the program is exactly what we need. So, just wave so they know who I'm talking about there. There you go, Angie.

043All right. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Reagan. Um, I just wanted to say as well, I mean these the tiering structure and the interventions, they are most certainly to support kids, but this is going to support our educators. This is going to support our staff. Um, I think at, you know, I don't know if it was the genesis, but the um district dialogues we had across all of our buildings, one of the common refrains in elementary school is we need help. behavior is wild. Um, that's putting it nicely, lightly, levity, everybody. But um I just yes this serves our students but more so it supports staff and I look forward to seeing how it can ease some stress and anxiety for the professionals in our classrooms um and create a more positive environment a

044more positive working place for the the teachers in our classrooms. though. Thank you [snorts] so much, >> Miss Steel. >> Um, I was just going to say kind of along those lines is Miss Reagan when these this data points are really amazing and we have to be so data driven with the decisions we make for kids. So, these percentages are amazing, so impressive. Um the thing I want to say is 100% of kids are benefited when we are helping um reduce the disruption to learning. >> And so that's the that's a a great data point and the reason why all of this is existing and I think that is we're having great success. have no doubt that Compass is going to bring us even um more satisfaction not only as Miss Reagan said for our

045educators but also for all kids in the learning environment. So, and and I loved what you said, Dr. Fluke, about you know those those kids that are in the let's see what was it the 6% that aren't responding to some of those initial helps that we're putting in place. We owe it to them to figure out what we can do better so that their education isn't disrupted so that we aren't um um realizing that they too are having massive disruption to their own learning process. So I love that and and look forward to Compass being a part of that. So anyway, thank you for it's a lot of work lifting a program that we don't you've gotten to see a few models but nothing here locally and it's going to be really cool. So, thank

046you for all your hard work. Appreciate it. >> Thanks to both of you for the presentation. Dr. Fluke, your leadership the last few years with the MTSS, PBIS, and Dr. Harrison, most recently with the Compass program. Thanks to both of you. Dr. McMullen is presenting information about the facility alignment preparation that's been going on the last few weeks. >> Well, good evening and uh thanks for the opportunity to provide an update on the work of the facility alignment task force. Um, as you may recall, this task force was convened to really uh study our our data in our district um enrollment uh past, present, and future um our building footprint and really to to come up with some input and feedback on on the future um alignment and number of educational facilities in our district.

047Um it's a large task force we created over 125 members. We had a parent and a staff member from every school, early childhood through high school. Um, and then certainly had building and district administration uh involved as well. Uh, was really excited. Um, not only the commitment of the folks on the task force, but their engagement. Um, we had three two-hour sessions in April and May. Of course, the busiest time of the year to have such a task force. Um, but our attendance was exceptional. And I tell you, every minute of those two hours each night were were utilized um with with lots of information. Uh we reviewed school finance, um student enrollment history, future projections, our current footprint, boundaries, impact on that, how we determine capacity. Um lots of data, lots of information um

048shared with the group. Uh we also had one session where Chris Dick who's the principal of data analytics advisors um that group is out of Virginia and he really uh did a nice job of showing the group kind of how we compare to what's going on nationally and it's very similar in terms of demographic patterns um reduction in um number of students you know across the the school systems across the country um birth rates are impacting everyone um across the country um you know schools are districts are having to make hard decisions about um reducing their footprint um and certainly forecasting the future of their schools. So a lot of work done by this committee and I I don't want to be remiss in thanking all those parents um and all those staff members who

049participated. So at the end of of uh the third session, we provided uh an individual survey for each task force member to fill out because at our third session, they worked in groups to to really analyze our data and provide a group recommendation on future footprint for our district. Um and and we reviewed that as a group at the end. But then what I really wanted was each person's individual voice uh to be able to share back with the board. And so I'll share those survey results with you. So, uh you'll see we had 100 um 110 folks take the survey pretty even split between uh parents and staff members. Uh 53 parents, 57 staff members. Uh we asked the question, do you believe uh the district needs to reduce the number of elementary schools

050in its facility footprint? And I will tell you part of that question also talked about in addition to the closing of Westview, repurposing of Westview and the two consolidation sites that were a part of bond 2026. And what was surprising interesting was 110 all 110 respondents agreed that we need to reduce our footprint at the elementary level. And you'll see the numbers there in that um 12 folks uh thought we needed to reduce by an additional two. 47 was the uh three schools at 47 members um was the the highest feedback, but you'll see four was right there at 41. Uh then we had eight people indicate five schools and two people indicate six. So, you know, when I look at that, I see 88 of the 110 thought we landed in that 3 to

051four range. Um, and again, as a reminder, we weren't looking at individual schools or things like that. We were looking at our current enrollment, future enrollment, and really the number of facilities we felt would be appropriate to align with that. The middle school level, um, similar results, but different just based on the number of schools. So 97% of the respondents, so 107 out of 110 felt like we needed to reduce our middle level footprint. Um but the data was pretty clear. 90 of the 110 felt that uh reducing by one uh would meet our future needs. Uh we had 17 folks felt like um two would be appropriate and then those three there were obviously the three that didn't think we needed uh to reduce our footprint at middle level. Um, in terms of the

052experience, and this, uh, this is a credit to all the folks that were involved in this, from John Hutcherson to Chris Growup, um, Becky and her team, others, um, because we really were as transparent as we could be. There really wasn't any data we didn't share with this group. Um, and concurrently with the public, uh, we've got a facility alignment website on our tab on our district website. all the presentations, all the work we did um is there. Uh but you'll see when we asked um our members, was the information helpful and informative? 104 out of 110 marked agree or strongly agree. And really what really uh made me feel good about the process was 106 out of 110 felt their participation was worthwhile. Um and and for that time of the year and as

053busy as everyone was, there was really good feedback there. Um obviously the next step in the process is to move into that steering committee work where we reduce that large group down to about 20 um and we had almost 70 folks uh from that 110 volunteer uh to be on the steering committee. some general themes um from the feedback overall, you know, uh more data. Um some folks just wanted more and more data. Um some folks were like, "That's too much, you know, just a little bit of everything." Um lots of steering committee interest. Lots of questions about the timing, what's the schedule going to look like? Um etc. Some wanted to really get into the specific buildings and we kept reminding them the purpose of the task force and then just lots of of

054of positive feedback. So, I'm not going to read these off, but certainly these are just um a sampling of parent uh comments um which were optional on the survey, but just a lot of um appreciation for the transparency, the amount of data shared, the type of data shared, and frankly for just being a part of the process, and heard that from parent after parent after parent that they really appreciated being able to be a part of that and give the input that they did. So, our next steps, our our steering committee um will be sending out those invitations on Monday to those uh 20 folks. We'll meet four times from June to August. Um, and again, that that group will be charged with really digging in and looking at specific buildings and specific areas of

055our district and ultimately looking to provide the board a recommendation on which schools we think should um be uh closed um moving forward in our district. Um those recommendations will be presented to the board at the September 3rd um board of education meeting. Um and again at that point in time when we do come with recommendations for specific buildings we'll also come with a timeline as well because the reality is we want to take care of our staff um make sure we can place staff in other like positions and if we were to close x amount of schools in all of them in one year we wouldn't be able to absorb all the staff etc. So there will definitely be a a 2 to threeyear plan presented to the board uh timeline in terms of

056which buildings will close and when. So that being said, I'll stand for any questions. >> Miss Reagan, >> thank you Dr. McMullen for all of your hard work on this. Um, I think when processes like this occur, a lot of people assume that a system as large as ours already has a plan. Like, we've already picked it all out. We've already landed where we're landing, but we just need to show that we're getting feedback. I would love for you to share how we ended up with the Westview Rolling Ridge um, consoliding Ridge and how that wasn't even part of the plan. Yeah, you know, when we um looked at at, you know, repurposing Westview, obviously there was a need for space for the Compass program, um Westview's enrollment has been historically low for many years

057and uh was was below 150. And so, as we went into that boundary process, as we look to to make sure to find a new good home for those students, you know, you always plan ahead. So, you have ideas and thoughts and and options A, B, and C. But the reality is that entire um attendance area of moving to Rolling Ridge wasn't A, B, or C. It ended up being option D based on parent input um and feedback that we got through our boundary meetings. So, um you know, Chris Gw uh really presents the initial um reports to us to our boundary study group and we review those. But um that was certainly a case where parent feedback was was really important and really ultimately changed the course of how those boundaries looked. >> Well,

058and I also love the transparency of sharing that that was parent and community feedback, right? Um because it shows that we don't have all the answers and all the ideas um and we really are um a community. The other thing I wanted to ask about was um there is because there are two different things happening right now. We've got the bond consolidations and then we have these facility alignment buildings. Um will the bond consolidations be done before we have to move forward with the timeline of closure? >> Um that's a good question. So um short answer is no. Um so the uh Mr. plan and and his team are working through uh timeline on on the consolidation schools. Um we're looking at a 2930 opening for sure. We're exploring whether 2829 will work, but again

059we've got um architecture services to go through um permitting, all those things, plus just a new um design of a building um that will go on on those two sites. It'll be our first twotory elementary schools. Um, so there's a lot of work to do. So the the reality is we will most likely have um, you know, schools closing prior to those consolidation sites forming from 2 to one. Um, and again, we're also keeping that timeline in mind and and need to have that nailed down prior to the September meeting because certainly as we combine two elementary schools into one, there'll be most of those staff certainly will come together, but there'll be others that will need to go to another building um, to serve in a like position. So that'll be part of the

060plan. >> Well, and just um because there is so much happening, making sure that we are clear and proactive in the communication, which I the website for facility alignment. I I love that information being shared, but the making sure our community knows that these are two separate timelines. Um because I imagine there will be some confusion because people be like, we voted for this and it this is happening first. So, thank you Dr. Mr. McMullen and for um your hard work and the hard work yet to come. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Babbot. >> Hi, Dr. McMullen. Um I'd like to thank you guys for their hard work, but also the task force for just the huge amount of extra work that none of these parents or teachers had to do, but they wanted to,

061and I really appreciate that from them. Um, two quick questions. One's pretty simple, I think. Was there ever a talk of needing to consolidate a high school and is that something that we think could happen down in the future? >> Yeah, good question. Um, no. We, as we study our enrollment moving forward, um, you know, with just having five high schools across the district and where we project to level out uh in 2034 at 25,500 to 26,000. um you know really there there will be a need for five high schools uh with that enrollment at that time. >> Okay. And one thing I did want to bring up that's been talked about a bit is even however many schools we close. It's going to affect more than just those two, three, four schools. Can you

062talk a little bit about how the it's not just the students from the school getting up and moving to another school that everything can change affecting many different schools and so we can manage some expectations on the parent side. >> Yeah, it's a really good point. So I'll give you an example. You know, Westview was a bit of an anomaly because of the size of it. You know, we had 143 students there and actually just 115 of those actually lived in the attendance area and then another 30 on transfer. So, [sighs and gasps] we were able to actually move that entire building to um Rolling Ridge. Most likely that will not be the case with any of our other school closures. Um, and so the reality is since you can't pick up school A A

063and drop it all in school B, there will ultimately be boundaries within those geographic area boundary changes to where a student who is currently enrolled at at school B may be moving to school C as students from school A move in into B. And the reality is a big piece of the data that we studied as a task force and that the steering committee will dig deeper into is really our our capacity at all of our buildings. And we've got so many buildings that are sitting in that 50 to 60% capacity. So through this this alignment process, it also gives us the opportunity to really try to utilize our buildings, get our capacity more into that 70 75% range. Um, which is a really healthy number. um and and you know to make sure once

064we go through this that we're getting it all right and setting us up for future success and and frankly no future changes. Um because the reality is what we don't want to do is be back every two years saying oh okay we probably going to need to move some families from here to here or here to here. So the reality is both at the middle school level and the elementary level there'll be buildings impacted certainly that aren't being closed. So it's a really good question. >> Right. It's something I just want to make sure that parents are tuned in to this. You know, it's not just because your school's huge or isn't on the list at the end. Keep paying attention because this is important and it's going to impact lots of kids. One thing

065I may point out is as as you all are familiar with from you know doing Westview and others all the schools that are impacted by the boundary adjustments whether they're the school that's consolidating or not we would have meetings and things in all the schools that are impacted impacted be a very busy fall but there will be a you know a personalized meeting if you will at each school that's impacted whether they're you know a few kids are moving to go somewhere else or they're getting kids from other schools that kind of thing. So, we'll work really hard like we always do just to make sure certainly that the broader community is aware, but when we know there's a specific school community that may be impacted, we'll go out and schedule a meeting and meet

066with those communities. >> Jim, you didn't have anything else on your calendar, right? >> It'll be a busy fall, that's for sure. >> Um, the last one is I know we've talked a little bit about scheduling. When when would the first potentially when would the first school closure be? like are we talking next 2728 or >> Yes. So um there'll be no changes um for 26 27 so this upcoming school year but certainly part of that recommendation will be certainly a couple schools for 2728 and then others in 28 29 and potentially 2930 again that depends on when the consolidation sites once we determine when those will open. So >> okay thank you >> Miss Steel. So just to talk a little bit more kind of on the heels of Mr. Babbot and Dr. Joerger

067the timing can you clarify um the task force will come back with recommendations of of and and you will bring us recommendations of the actual schools but until the board votes on that we can't really know at that time the boundary change potential. Is that correct? So we need to it's kind of a step process. Correct. Like even though I know our community is going to want to know right then and there how is that going to affect it's going to take some work after we approve the recommendation. >> Absolutely. And that's that's a great point to clarify. You know we we'll come with a recommendation in September um and then we'll ask the board to take um action in October. At that point in time that action will be on you know the buildings

068that are closing and which years in which they're closing. Um, from there then we get right back out into those communities and and start meeting with them about boundary changes. The reality is whichever buildings are selected for 2728, those will be the first communities that we go out and and visit with. And as soon as we get that process wrapped up, we'll be back to the board um with recommendations for boundary changes. And then we will continue uh working on boundaries with the schools that are two years out or three years out. um after that, but the priority will be getting those buildings that are impacted for 2728. >> One of the things I would say that we definitely learned with with Westview and um big thanks to the Westview staff, by the way. They

069they were incredible to work with through this process. Um one of the things that I think we learned that maybe other school districts haven't always done quite as well is providing as much advanced notice as we possibly can. and and that remains I know from administration our commitment as these decisions are made to get in very quickly and work with those school staffs and and that's you know part of the reason why the the what I would say is a pretty tight schedule next fall is so the schools that will be closing the following year we can very quickly you know start wrapping our arms around the staff and the students and all those pieces so there is time to work through that process appropriately as well so great I appreciate the question >> Miss

070Johan Well, you kind of spoke to it. I was just going to ask about the staff impacted and I know we we did a really really good job or you all did a really good job taking care of the Westview staff and that transition. Um, and so that was really what I wanted to lean in because we've talked about our families, but there will be staff members that will be impacted and I feel like with the plan at least, you know, over the next few years, we'll have opportunities for adjustments. >> Yeah. And I want to be sure that we level set too and, you know, are realistic about it in some ways. And you know, certainly we will absolutely do everything we can to take care of our staff, but you know, there may

071be a staff member or two at Westview that didn't get their primary choice in terms of where they're going. And the reality is as we reduce the number of schools and have, you know, fewer positions and that kind of thing, there may be staff members that initially may have to go somewhere that they're maybe not exactly thrilled about, but over time we have enough movement in our schools that hopefully they can get back to the spot they want to be. But um you know our we're as good as our staff in the school system you know and so having that as kind of our north star as we work through this process obviously to take care of our kids but also to really take care of our staff too. Um but but it won't be

072easy. I mean that's that's the reality. You know Dr. SIG reminds us in every meeting we have about it that um you know there's a limited number of spots and you know there there may come down to a point in some of these where there's not a ton of choice you know in terms of that but um you know certainly we're committed to doing everything we can to get our staff members where they want to be and make sure they continue to have employment with us. >> Thank you. I I just noticed I I went to the website to check it and it's you know very easy [clears throat] to find right there on the homepage and and that question is addressed on there. So, just thank you. I didn't thank you yet, but thank

073you for all of the work that you did getting this uh presentation together and the work of the task force. I know um it's a tough job, but you do it well. So, thank you. >> I I would add to Dr. Jagger's comment about the West View community um and include Rolling Ridge because those two schools and communities worked so well this second semester and spring to really put some systems in place that when we consolidate these other four schools, two sets of two, they have some models of events and activities and focus and um so it it really has been a a positive lots of emotion obviously but um but positive Dr. McMillan I had a question pretty impressive 69 people are still interested in getting more data >> right >> yeah with all

074and I'm I'm curious then what criteria are you using to take it down to 20 >> um we really started with public school foundation donations and then um no I'm kidding [laughter] But yeah, just in honor of Matt, I had to throw one joke in there [laughter] last meeting. Um, >> those of you watching at home, that's not true. >> That's totally true. No, the reality is, you know, with only 20 because we've got to get this group narrowed down and and um as we get into some more intimate information on on buildings and things. Um we we're looking at right around um nine staff members and nine parents uh on that committee and really just looking to make sure a we don't double up on buildings. So I don't have we don't have a

075staff member and a parent from the same building. Um and then also probably a heavier presence on the elementary side because the reality is as you saw from the survey data that's where more of the work going on. So we certainly have middle school representation um as well. Um and then certainly on on the administrator side, we've cut that back as well to where we'll have um early childhood um a couple elementary principles and one middle school principal. So um where before we had about 10 building administrators on the task force and so that group's all being narrowed, but again we're just looking um to make sure we have representation from each area of the district um and and certainly making sure we don't double up buildings as well. >> Thank you. I I would

076say too, Dr. McMullen, the other thing that we reviewed at SLT this week, we're also working to make sure that the folks on that committee are representative representative of the student demographics that we serve in our district as well. So, obviously, we're, you know, we didn't look at somebody's free and reduced status to be in there or their ethnicity necessarily, but but we did consciously think about that as that group was put together. Um, so there, you know, the other thing I mentioned is we have school parents, staff from title schools, non-title schools, um, a couple parents of color, staff members, that kind of thing. And so we tried to really look at it from all those different angles to make sure we're representing the community that we serve. >> Right. And did you say

077that you would be sharing all of the open-ended responses with the board? >> Yes. Yes. Yeah. We'll get >> Great. Board, any other comments, questions? look forward to the next presentation. Thank you very much. Dr. Jagger is going to uh give an we needed to have a walk up song. I can't believe we didn't think of that. Um >> interrupt you. >> It would be fine if she did. [laughter] It would be fine if she did. You know, I was thinking of this as I was uh driving this afternoon just uh running a quick errand and I remembered that for years I stood here and I was always just a little bit nervous. Um but I don't feel that way anymore. I don't know if that's good or bad. I don't know. And and then

078I was thinking a little bit about my time in learning services and I probably never shared this with the board, but when I would give uh board presentations, they always gave me a word that I had to work into my presentation somewhere. Um, and then that would be a check mark on the bingo board. So, um, and then we quickly remembered today that Mr. Cune, I think, was the last person to work in a word during a presentation. So, uh, [laughter] noon shot. Was that it, Mr. C? Yeah. Yeah. We're we're brothers in that, my friend. So, um, you know, I I appreciate the opportunity just to kind of talk about some of the practical impacts of this last legislative session, and I so appreciate Dr. Little being here as he has been. and he

079offered to be here again tonight and I said, you know, I'm going to give it a run tonight and talk about it a little, but I so appreciate the attention that he has paid for our school system and his presence in Topeka and and what's seen and unseen. Obviously, what's seen is the work he does when he comes to our meetings and the reports that we get, that kind of thing. But I don't know that there was a day during the legislative session that I didn't talk with him. I didn't text with him. Uh, same for John. Angette's not here tonight, but obviously a lot of conversation around special education. special education funding. So having that presence there that knows when to reach out and get information and connect with us continues to be excessively

080valuable as as we you know navigate so many things right now. The other thing I would say is as I look to prepare this presentation for tonight um we probably and you all know this I know we could talk about the legislative things probably for the next four hours if we want to because there's a lot that's constantly moving that impacts education in the state of Kansas. um and it probably will continue to be that way. So, so my goal tonight is really to share a couple of things. One is kind of the direct impact, some immediate, some a little bit more long-term for our system, but also to think about some of the things that um are happening to us. Um and I and I mean that in a way, you know, in terms

081of our legislative priorities that you all sat last year, the the the whole idea around local control and, you know, you all as an elected board in this community responding to the needs of our community. Uh there's a number of things I'm going to talk about tonight that you did not decide to do, but we are um thrust into those situations and and we'll continue to to work on that. The other thing that I would say just quickly before I go through this, you know, I've had a number of questions about a lot of proposed legislation and some that's happening this year. What happens if we just decide not to do it? Um what does that look like? And uh there's really two answers to that. Um actually there's one answer, but there's two ways

082it happens. So, you know, in some ways we have two governing bodies outside of our board of education. One is the state legislature who obviously puts laws in place and has statutes that impact us and what we do. And then there are times the state board of education also puts things in place that we don't have an option to do or not to do. And ultimately, you know, if we look at those things and we don't comply, it can impact our accreditation as a school system. And um, you know, we could say, well, that's not a big deal. But the challenge with that is you then are known as an unacredited school district. But then as our staff goes to get new teaching licenses and to get things renewed, that doesn't happen because they don't

083work in an accredited school system. So um we are in a place then obviously where we have to pay attention to those expectations that come to us from Topeka and what that looks like. So um anyway, I'll go through a number one all of these. Feel free to interrupt me. We don't have to wait till the question slide at the end. I'm happy to talk about any of this as we go through. Um, this is the cell phone bill is the the first piece I wanted to talk about. You know, I want to commend our board for uh doing this before it was the cool thing to do. Um, you know, this board struggled with putting a cell phone policy in place. Gosh, I think three years ago now. This fall would have been three

084years ago. Um, you know, through a lot of communication, a lot of dialogue with our community and our staff and and I will say I think we landed in a really good spot. Um, ironically, you know, p right before this conversation geared up, our policy committee was getting ready to look at some revisions to our cell phone policy. Um, you know, based on feedback from staff and and parents and that kind of thing. So, we had to turn quickly obviously to how are we going to implement the statute that was put in place regarding cell phones. Um, you all know this, but at a high level, it's that cell phones are turned off all day. Um, not allowed to be used or seen during the school day at all. Um, the law says that they

085have to be stored in a place where they're not accessible to students. Um, I will tell you in the the world of Kansas education people, there's a lot of debate about what that actually means. What is not accessible to students mean? Does that mean that if it's in their pocket, but they don't touch it, it's not accessible? Does it have to be in their car or locker? Um, I will tell you, you know, the the big three districts around here, you know, we've spent a lot of time talking. Clint Alers has kind of been our connection point about what does this look like and how do we practically implement this in a system our size. Um, you know, so what I can say is we're going to give it our very best attempt, but there's

086some tenants that we've looked through, you know, as as we've we've talked about, we've had principal groups meeting and the reality is what we don't want to do is negatively impact our teachers and our staff who are in our classrooms that are working with kids every single day. Um, they have a lot going on and their number one most important job is to educate the kids that are in their classrooms, not to collect and distribute cell phones um, you know, multiple times each and every day. So, that's kind of our our frame that that we're approaching it with. And I wish I could come to you right now and say here's what the policy will look like and here's here's the plan. Um, I'm not able to share that tonight because I'm not 100% sure

087yet. We got some information from the governor's office two weeks ago. Um, that kind of changed the way we're thinking about it. And so, you know, Clinton, others are are navigating with other districts. Um, but what I do know for sure is a couple of things. One is we don't want it to impact the people that are working in our classrooms and the work they're doing with their kids. Uh the other thing I clearly want to say is that uh we have zero intention as a school system of searching kids when they walk into our schools to see if they have cell phones. Um as we send information out, I did this earlier um I don't know in the spring sometime. I got a lot of feedback from parents about this. Uh two things. One,

088there's a general misunderstanding that our board of education is the one that put this in place and also a misunderstanding that we are literally going to search kids as they walk through the, you know, as they come through the thresholds of our school every day. We have zero desire to do that. It's not what we want our people spending their time doing. Um, we know that most of our kids in our system, maybe 94% or so, uh, will make I got that from Dr. Fluke. um will make a great choice about what they're doing with their cell phone during the day. Um but but I just want to be clear that that that's not what we want to spend our time doing as a school system. So we will have a policy recommended to the

089board of education. It'll be future action in July. Uh action in August, although it's not required to be in place until September 1st, but we feel like we probably need to start the school year by having that policy in place. Um so we will get there. There's going to be a lot of work over the next several weeks to to kind of make there, but also calibrate with our neighbors to try to be sure that we're all on the same pageish with what it is that that we're expecting across our schools. So, um I would expect that at the elementary level, we may not be drastically different than we are today. It may be students keeping devices if they bring them to school in their backpacks, uh in their cubbies, that kind of thing. Um

090we have been given some information that maybe lockers do work at the middle school level. We initially were told that that wouldn't um so that maybe is a possibility for us moving forward. The same would be with high school lockers, cars, that kind of thing, but we're working through the details of all of that. And I wish I could be more succinct in my, you know, definition of what we're going to do. But we're going to keep working uh through it and get the feedback of those people who will be directly invol involved with it. I would say the other thing I put on there that is important to recognize is this is another unfunded mandate um that that we will be dealing with. You know, initially we just started looking at some of the

091individual storage pouches, if you will, those sorts of pieces. Um it'd be about a million dollars if we put those in place in our system. Uh that's probably not affordable for us with some of the decisions that we're having to make right now. Um, but again, we're going to do everything we can to comply with the law, but also not have an undue burden on our staff and our students or our families in our system. So, I may just pause there briefly and see if there's questions about that. >> Dr. I have a question, but the bill um >> the bill goes further than cell phones, correct? It's personal devices. >> It does. Yeah. Yeah, it does. Thank you, Brad. I appreciate that. Yeah, it does talk about personal devices. So, earphones, uh, smartwatches, all

092those kinds of things. Earbuds. Yeah. Yeah. What I call it? Earphones. Sorry. [laughter] I'm almost 50. I say those kinds of things. After we done here tonight, I'm going to turn on my Walkman and go home. So, [laughter] I love it. I love it. It's kind of fun to be down here, actually. Other questions about this piece? >> Just Just three things. >> Yeah. Can you say very clearly again that line that you said about searching students? >> Yeah, we have zero desire to search students for cell phone. No, zero. Um we have far more important things to be be doing than that. Um the reality is that if kids are great about complying will be in good shape. >> Great. Yeah. >> Um and then you mentioned although I always think um we need

093to over overeducate and overstate when you said the same thing will continue likely to do the same thing we've done in elementary schools and I think a lot of us know what that means but can you explain for people who haven't read the policy our current policy and don't know what does that mean? >> So at elementary school currently the practical application is that kids leave them in their backpack during the school day. elementary kids different than middle and high school kids don't have their backpack at their desk. It's in their cubby or in their locker within the classroom during the school day. So that's where myself and other districts we've talked to around think we will probably be okay there. The difference in middle school and high school and you all spent time in

094our schools, they don't really use lockers anymore. And so typically their backpack is with them on their shoulder, you know, under their seat next to their desk, that kind of thing. So those are the kinds of practical things we're trying to figure out. And interestingly, you know, you think about Altha West, the only lockers in that school are for instruments or gym lockers, sports lockers. There are no regular lockers in that school. So, we're having to look a little differently even school by school and what that will look like, which again is a complexity that we're working through. >> Okay, great. And then lastly, you mentioned we probably cannot afford as 17th of the people who makes the decisions about what we can afford. I would like to say if we have to afford private

095lockable storage like pouches, it will come at a loss at something else in our budget. >> So if you want to read that as we cannot afford we cannot afford it without there being a loss. >> It's about 14 teachers >> somewhere else. >> That's the equivalent. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. Uh part two of the cell phone bill. It's not just cell phones. Um actually cuz again to our board you you have been working on this you've instructed us as a senior team to work on this for about the last year and a half and that is uh what I would say district owned communication between staff and students you know we have some guidelines in place you all are well aware of um that we've had in place the last couple

096of years you know that our tech team along with communications and Matt Johnson have been working on a two-way communication um piece for us to use um districts use a variety of different services for that. But essentially what it means is anytime staff members are communicating with students, it has to be on some sort of divi, not device, some sort of program, if you will, some sort of app. I'm trying to use 21st century words here >> [laughter] >> um that um that they can communicate on that can be seen by the district. So there's never private communication. And and you all know we've been working on that um as a school system. The thing that's always safe is email because we, you know, we own every email that's comes on and off of our

097networks. But with this, um, we will have a two-way communication tool. Um, Final Site is who we use for web services. That's who you've approved for us to use for this as well. So it will be an opportunity for coaches, staff members to interact directly with students uh where we can see and retrieve anything that happens within that communication which of course we want that to be the case because that's how we ensure the safety of both our students and our staff in those situations. So we were headed down that road anyway. Um there's a plan to start that in the fall. Uh the challenge with this one is new bills become law on July 1st. Um, so you know, our our coaches and people running summer camps and all those kinds of things starting

098July 1st are going to have to get really good at this. So we are gonna have a pilot that we didn't know we were going to have um starting July 1st with with those staff members. But again, this is this is an area where as a board of education, you know, you've pressured us as an administration to get this done, rightly so. Um, we were 12 steps down this road. It's just now going to be codified into law. So, >> Miss Reagan, >> I just want to make an observation that this was a cell phone bill and it is covering a myriad of other things that are not directly tied to cell phone bills. So, everyone's calling it cell phone ban. It's like the cell phone ban and then some, right? And so I just

099it's frustrating that we are already 12 steps down the road on some things but then this gets lumped in with this other bill along with a lot of other stuff. So it's not so much a question Dr. Joerger is just a frustrated observation. >> It's a good point and you know I think it's one of the things that we constantly struggle with. I think on the face value of it when people hear cell phone ban it's easy to get on board with that and say that makes sense for our schools. But the reality I think this bill is about 13 pages long. So it talks about the things that that you did, but it also has things related to quesa board of directors. It has related to our accreditation processes. Um, a lot of things

100that don't have anything to do with this. And so, you know, that's one of the things that I think has really stuck out this legislative session is it's really important to read the entire bill because the headline of the bill often doesn't get after all the meat and potatoes of the bill. Yeah. Yes, I said meat potatoes. >> Yeah. No, it wasn't actually. [laughter] It might be next time. Um, the next one I wanted to talk about is just fentanyl abuse. Of course, you know, as a system, we've we've long had an emphasis on fentanyl abuse in education. Um, helping our students, you know, know what's going on around around this and around them. Sarah Gilland and Matt Johnson have both done a lot of work in this area for us. Um the reality though

101is again now it's it's it's in law and so the school districts us included obviously we must have educational programs um for grades 9 through 12 uh to combat and prevent fentanyl abuse and addiction which of course all of us agree with. We know there's an academic an [clears throat] epidemic and it's challenging. So, um, you know, one of the things that all school districts are doing right now is trying to figure out what is the resources that we're going to use to do that. Where is it best taught? All those kinds of pieces. And the expectation is that that will be in place starting school school next year. Um, the other thing that that's part of that bill is we're required to stock the lock zone. Um, we have it right now, again, thanks

102to Sarah and her team, uh, we have it in all of our schools. I checked online, it says it's good for two to four years. um it was provided through a grant that time, but we don't know that that's the case in the future. So again, you know, maybe an expectation without the funding that matches that expectation. I will say that, you know, we have examples all around us in our community where Nlloxxone has saved people's lives. So obviously we want our kids to be safe and we're behind that 100%. Uh but again, you know, we feel like we've done a really good job in this area and in many ways been that, you know, a step ahead of most in terms of the work that we've done that if you think about the work

103that Heidi has done with us and others in our system. But anyway, that's that's something that that we're navigating before we start school next year as well. um active shooter drills. Uh one of the things that's really disappointing that we have to even talk about in schools, as you know, it's a it's a reality of the world we're living in, uh right now. It requires that the state board of education establish best practice for active shooter drills. Um you know, I'll probably just skip to the to the last bullet. Um you know, we we have a great team in place uh with Brent Kiger and Brad Cwell, with the leadership of Dr. McMullen that interface with experts around the country all the time about what age appropriate best practices are and what that looks like.

104Um but the state board of education through the last legislative session will establish best practices for all of us in the state. Um the guidelines must be age appropriate, trauma informed, accessible for students with disability and informed by research, which is good. I'm I'm glad to hear that that's uh the foundation for it. But local school boards will make policies annually with those guidelines. So, I'm not exactly sure what that will look like yet. We've not really received guidance on that yet. There are some plans, things that we have to submit annually to the state board of education. I suspect maybe that will be one of them. Um, but I I will tell you, you know, you all know that we just changed to standards response protocol this last school year. Um, there was a

105lot of work and a lot of effort that went into that and the practice and everything that goes along with it. So, we'll work hard to do the dance between whatever comes there and what it is that we believe is, excuse me, most important for our district and responsive to the needs of our community. >> Answer any questions about that one? >> Okay. >> One question. Do we anticipate additional cost >> related to this as well? >> Yeah, I would say if we have to buy curriculum, there would be cost for that curriculum. Yeah. Yeah. and not knowing what the staffing components will look like and and those kinds of things which again is the challenge sometimes of the timeline of the legislative process. So yeah um every uh Kansas every child can read act

106um you know in theory this is a really good thing. I mean we absolutely are you know behind every child in Kansas should read every child in should read. Uh there are some challenges with this and some redundancies with things we already have in place in THA. Uh the first one is not something we have in all of our schools, but requires districts to have a licensed reading specialist available at each elementary school beginning during the 2930 school year. Um for us, that cost right now based on the number of schools we have would be $2.2 million to add those staff members to our schools. Of course, there was no additional appropriation made to pay for that. So that's something that um we would have to navigate and work through. The other thing that I

107would say and this leads to the second bullet is you know uh students much have must have individual literacy plans for all students who score high at high risk. Um much of what Dr. Fluke said with PBIS is is the exact same thing with reading. So most kids are taken care of in terms of tier one reading supports and the things we have in place. Tier two is kids that MT MTSS need more support and you know tier tier three is kiddos that need a lot of support in reading. We have those processes in place in our district. Our our staff does a great job of looking at fastbridge data to determine kids that are low risk and high risk. Um they work very quick quickly with our student intervention teams to make sure that

108we're providing the right interventions and support. I don't know that we call it a um individual literacy plan, but all of it's tracked within ION, which is our data warehouse that we use. So we have plans and information on what our kids are doing in in the area of literacy. Um, having a reading specialist in every school may be a great thing. It's not something our district has ever invested in. That is largely how we use our title one and at risk funding and our schools that have higher free and reduced populations. We have some of those supports, but the MTSS process and the intervention that we have in place that are researchbased supported by statistical information over time has really been the approach we've taken as a school system. Any questions on that one?

109Okay, this is the >> Yeah, please. >> Um, well, and we've made, not we, but society, there have been some major shifts in how we teach children how to read in the last 5 to 10 years. >> Um, and I think we brought this up when we were talking about the literacy course in middle school that we don't actually see the fruits of that labor yet. I mean, it's already growing fruit, but those kids have not gone through the entire system. Yeah. And so to keep trying to solve a problem that we've already been solving Yeah. >> and not give us time to generate results, right, >> feels really porative. I'm just going to say that. >> Well, and and I would go as far to say too, even practically, most schools in the state

110of Kansas don't have reading specialists working as reading specialists. So by that school year, every district in the state is going to be looking for one for their elementary schools. Um there could be a problem there, too. So yeah, um this is the student walkout um budget bill proviso. Um I'll [clears throat] just be frank, that's that's what it is. Um that's Stewart wouldn't have said that. I I said that because I talked to members that of the legislature as this was was taking place. Um you know, this one is one that obviously I think over time likely the Supreme Court will have to make a decision at some point where this this one goes. Uh but what has been put in as a budget proviso this year is a couple things related to student

111walkouts. The first one is um for students to leave to participate in a walk out we have to have written parental permission. Um you know I have had the opportunity to talk to our high school principles a couple times about this and um said how how do you plan to follow that rule? Well you all probably know this. The fire marshall surely knows this. We cannot lock our doors from the inside. we can't lock people in our building. So, the reality is is um schools aren't supposed to organize or help or prepare the walkouts, but we're supposed to make sure we have written permission. Um there's a little bit of conflict right there in in terms of what's been there. Um I don't know what happens with this one, how how much the practical application

112is there, but you know, if you think about some of the experiences we had this last spring where at one high school, I believe we had 700 kids leave. Um, you know, you think about Jason Herman standing at the door saying, "Okay, nobody can leave until I have written permission." Um, you know, I think the intent really is to keep our kids safe, but the reality is, um, there's an impossibility to the first bullet there if if students decide to exercise that. Um, the the second one is if a walkout happens, it doesn't, uh, count towards our instructional minutes for that day, meaning that school would have to pay back, if you will, the instructional minutes from that day. Um the next one is um no news for us. Our our staff has done a

113good job with this in the past, but no district staff may be complicit in organizing or encouraging the events. Um you know, our staff has done a good job of of walking that line regardless of their own political feelings and beliefs. And then um troubling the last bullet is that if someone complains to the state board of education um they can levy a fine um for the the day that the district would have to pay um for the walk out for each school and then that goes back to the state's general fund. Um maybe it would come back to us wasted funding. I don't know. But um my team can't believe I just said that. But >> hey Dr. Jagger, that actually brings up a point from earlier in the in the uh presentation. You

114were saying that we have two places that are giving us US us instruction, the state board of education and the legislature, but we also have the federal legislature >> that we've already run into this as a board before that they're opposite of each other sometimes and what do we do? And >> that's likely what's going to happen with this one. >> Yeah, you're exactly right. No, that's I think I appreciate that point very much because often times we found we find contradictions in the laws um that we're supposed to file and following poor Chris a lot of times we look at him and say okay which one do we follow here you know and there's there's a lot of that happening. So great point. Thank you >> Mr. >> Uh you said that if the

115walk out happens it doesn't count towards the day of the school where it occurs. >> Correct. So, what if I'm just playing devil's advocate here. What if that school does it six times? >> Mr. K, same school. >> I appreciate the question, but we'll have to ask the state board after they figure out how they're going to manage it. >> Okay. >> Kids walk out. >> Yeah. Well, and kids walk out. I mean, that >> Okay. >> I mean, I the way I read it is unless we have written permission from their parents. >> Yeah. It will not take long for someone to test the validity of this. Um, I hope it's not us. We have enough having happen happening right now. But but but but some but someone will test the validity of it.

116We'll see what happens. I I have a feeling this one's not going to take long for the courts to kind of intervene and figure out what's right. Okay. Um I put some things to continue to watch on here and and this is a little bit redundant with things Dr. Little has mentioned in the past. The education funding task force has been working um gosh I think for a couple of years now. Uh they just completed two meetings on May 26th and May I'm sorry, May 27th and 28th. Um Susan Estus right now, Representative Su Susan Estus is the chair of that committee. Um lots of conversation. I watched most of it that when they met the last couple of days. Uh she requested to legislative leadership to have an additional 14 days um for that

117committee to convene and meet. Um they were approved for two additional days only. Um, and so there the the word is that that will probably happen sometime between November and the beginning of the legislative session. And you remember this is the group that is supposed to decide on a recommendation for the new school finance formula for Kansas. Um, right now they've built no recommendation. They've analyzed a lot of data. Um, the last meeting they had, they spent a lot of time looking at student data from across the state of Kansas. um also analyze just different funding models, but they've not really either they've not altered our current funding model. They've not come up with a funding model that they're all working on. So, the reality is is with only two more days approved for the

118task force to get together. Regardless of who's represented on the task force, knowing that school finance in the state of Kansas is exceptionally complex, I think it will be really hard probably for them to have something ready to go before the legislative session. Um, so that would lead one to think there's probably conversations happening other places about what that looks like. Um, because the school finance formula in the state of Kansas expires on June 30th, 2027. So, something is going to have to be in place to take us somewhere after uh the next legislative session in the next school year. So, that one's really important for us to continue to watch and follow and um, you know, be be part of what's going on there. So, so that's one piece. Any comments about that one

119before I go? I just noticed your green light, Mr. Steel. Okay, >> I can wait. >> Um, the other thing that that I would say is worth watching and this is out of the state board of education. Actually, they just announced they're having a special meeting on Monday to talk about this. Um, but it's a conversation about device times in schools. And, you know, I would say as a school system, we're proud of what we do with devices in our schools. Does that mean we can adjust and get better and focus and and do some things a little bit differently? No. Um, but what they're looking at, I think, is some some recommendations for each level. U maybe even some things like at elementary, and again, this hasn't qualified anywhere yet, like not using devices

120at all in elementary schools. And so, one of the things that I would say, and we can't do it right now, that, you know, as there are questions and things like that, our elementary principles would be happy to, you know, walk board members or other community members through our school to see what's happening with devices during the school day and and what that looks like. But, uh, that's something we'll continue to watch as well. And then the last one I put on there was the primary ballot measure that will be on August 4th. And that's an amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would change the way our Supreme Court justices uh arrive at their their role. Um, right now they're appointed through a a process that um is a bipartisan process with an ultimate appointment

121by the governor. Um, the reason why I think it's important for us to pay attention to what happens with that and the information about that is the Supreme Court in Kansas has really been the correcting mechanism for school finance. You can go back for decades and and see when a new school finance formula has been put in place. Um, oftentimes what happens is school districts come forward typically sue uh the state of Kansas, the legislature, the Supreme Court gets involved um exercises authority over that and essentially fixes it. if you will. And that's been kind of the rinse repeat we've had in in Kansas for a number of years. Um just just because of that, I think it's important that people involved in public education specifically pay attention to what happens in that election. And

122um probably just in terms of listening to, you know, people that will un undoubtedly get out and, you know, try to sway the vote one way or other, I'll really look at all sides of the issue and think about what that looks like as as we have the opportunity to vote in August. So with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions. >> So I just wanted to bring up um to our community, but also thank um you know, Dr. Jükovich, Dr. Joerger, and myself made a really concerted effort that Topeka not um be in a vacuum outside of what's happening in THA public schools. So, we invited all of our representatives and senators that serve OPS um to tour our schools, go to coffee, ask us questions, talk to us about what's going on.

123Um thank you, Representative McDonald, for being here tonight and for coming and and visiting our schools. It was really important time with them because we didn't want them going back to Topeka and either speaking falsely about what is or isn't happening here, but also not be able to say that they hadn't been invited in a school and to take a tour and to see for themselves. That was really valuable time. I'm I'm still questioning um the effectiveness of it, but one thing they can't say is that we didn't invite them and they haven't been in. But what I want to say about that is, you know, when Topeka reaches in and decides these things for us. Um, example, I I'm leaving in the morning to go to Salina for to KASB for a couple of

124days and I will be with districts that have 200 kids and then tha there with 28,000 and um, you know, Witchah with 47,000. There is no way Topeka can construct things that work for all of those districts. So, when you're talking about reading specialists and active shooter drills and cell phone policies and the walkout provisions, um it even I'm even thinking about the line about staff complicity, but keep our kids safe, which we're all about, >> but at what point is a staff member complicit in a walk out when really the goal is keeping children safe or creating a space for them to have their walk out so they can practice using their voice? But then are we complicit because we've created a safe space where they're not on a curb two inches from cars

125driving by. >> So it it's so complicated. So maybe if if if what you know the state board Topeka wants us to be doing is develop policies around that really turn that over to local control so we can decide for ourselves because the district with 200 100 kids they exist in rural Kansas and then tha and witchah we cannot have the same policy. So anyway, um I I'm glad that we had everybody in. I'm thankful for our public ed friendly. And I will just mention about the task force in the guideline. I don't know if it's statute. [clears throat] I don't know my words around that, but it did say that they would have um something to present at the end of January so that schools would have time to get their heads around what

126the new funding formula meant. And if they're not going to allow this to happen during an election season and they're going to wait be forced to wait till after November to have two days of meetings. >> Yeah. >> And we're to expect something at the end of January, I'm very concerned that either something has already been decided and we will just be presented that or perhaps the best case scenario we don't sunset in June and we give some more time. >> Yes. And and I would say, you know, all the different education organizations, that's been the typical advocacy over the last period of time is let's let's give this a reasonable sunset. Let's look at it so we can have an inclusive group coming to the table so we can look at how it impacts

127a district of 100 kids, a district of 25,000 kids, a district with 80% poverty versus a district with 15% poverty. I mean, there are so many nuances and pieces to making sure that the needs of every kid in Kansas, their their educational needs are met. Uh, the other thing, I'm glad you mentioned this, that I would say, and you know, I'm not going to call people out by name tonight, but there are people on both sides of the aisle who will actively have conversations with us, who call and ask questions and engage with us and and do have a true desire to help support local control in our schools, in our in our district. And um you know that doesn't go unnoticed. And that's one of the things that I think is a little bit

128of a challenge for us sometimes is it's it's easy for us to you know kind of do the broad sweep of the legislature to you know and unfortunately what becomes law becomes you know that group. But I do want to acknowledge that there are many people who continue to have those conversations who understand everything that we're trying to work with in terms of supporting our students and and our staff here in Altha. So, >> any other comments, questions, board? >> Dr. Jagger. Thank you. >> Thank you. [laughter] Okay, Will Babbot has uh information to share before we go into public comments. At each regular board meeting, the At regular meeting, the board of education reserves limited time for individuals to address the board. We ask that your comments be gerine that is related to the

129business this board effectuates. Non-compliance may result in the president interrupting to redirect. We request that individual speakers limit their comments to 5 minutes. The clerk will monitor the time and notify the speaker when the five-minute time limit has expired. Please direct your comments to the board and not the guests or staff. If a response is appropriate, the president will respond or refer to another individual. In an effort to respect privacy, we ask that speakers refrain from discussing personal complaints involving individual staff members or students. Audience disruption is also not permitted. Those speaking are advised that public comments are videotape recorded for broadcast on the district's educational access channel and audio tape recorded as a matter of public record. Individuals addressing the board should come to the podium at the front of the room and state

130your name, city, state, and relationship to the district. >> Thank you. Our first speaker this evening, and please correct me if I mispronounce your name, Kate Gimblelet. >> No. Oh, >> no one gets it, so it's okay. Okay. Well, >> unless you speak French. It's Gimalo. >> Gimbo. >> Gimalo. >> Well, good evening. Uh, my name is Kate Gimalo. Uh, I'm a proud parent. So, 13 years ago, I enrolled our son Jack in the THA public schools. We moved here for that purpose. He was a kindergartener who wasn't yet tying his shoes. Uh, last month, he walked across the stage at WW as a member of the class of 2026. This fall he heads to KU where he will earn his bachelor of science degree with a very clear sense of purpose and a life

131that is full of possibilities ahead of him. You know that journey didn't happen by accident. It happened because of you [snorts] because of the educators and the staff that you lead and the community that you have spent years building. Our schools gave Jack so much more than academics. You gave him coaches who pushed him past what he thought he could achieve. You gave him theater in the arts which taught him how to command a room and believe in his own voice. You gave him teachers who saw him for who he is. And that's not a small thing. That is everything. What I want to speak to most about tonight though is something that's harder than what you might put in a mission statement. Because over 13 years, we got to build real relationships with the

132people inside these schools. Teachers who partnered with me, allowed me to serve as a room mom, who answered every email, spoke on the phone, and in a couple cases have become lifelong friends. Principles who listened to our concerns, who engaged with the PTA, who genuinely connected with every single student. I will always remain amazed that Mr. Low called Jack by his name on the first day of kindergarten when he had met him only one time months before at kindergarter signup. I don't know how he did that. And with the counselors, the ones who allowed Jack to serve as a peer mentor and to help him to value inclusion in his classrooms and to every staff member who celebrated Jack having two moms, not accepted, but celebrated. It really meant a lot to him as a

133little guy. When I think about Jack's journey through the allegal schools from kindergarten to senior year, I figured out that he was shaped somewhere between 60 and 75 direct teachers who literally taught him curriculum. 60 to 75 people who showed up, who invested, who cared, who were responsible for our son's life directly. You make hard decisions in this room. You deal with a lot of stuff. So did the teachers and so do the administrators in the schools. And that kind of partnership, it doesn't happen in a school that's just going through the motions. It happens in a culture and that is a culture that you have built and that you have sustained where staff believe their job is bigger than a single classroom or a single child. I have watched these professionals show up for

134Jack and I have watched them show up with for every one of the students around him with the same commitment. And that is what this board gets to hear tonight [snorts] because there's a lot of stuff that you hear that's not so positive and not just from my son who had a great experience but that I witnessed up close over the years educators who treated every child. That is the whole point. So every year when you make decisions, budget decisions when the state abandons us, staffing decisions, program decisions that directly shape what was possible for my son and for the thousands of students like him. I want you to know that parents are paying attention. We notice when our children come home on fire about something that they just learned. We notice when a teacher

135refuses to give up on a kid and we carry those things with us. So to this board, to every administrator, every teacher, every coach, every counselor, every social worker, every staff member, the lunch ladies who have all walked alongside our son for 13 years, I want to thank you. You helped raise him. You helped secure his future. And on behalf of a mom who has watched it with a full and grateful heart, I'm honored to stand here tonight and say it out loud to each of you. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Gimalo. >> Well done. >> And rock and rock chalk to Jack. >> Uh Megan Bricks. [snorts] Good evening, Board of Education. My name is Megan Brics and I'm a proud elementary music teacher here in our Letha public schools. Since the end of

136the school year, I've been able to take some time to pause and reflect. Firstly, tonight I want Firstly, [laughter] the school year is over and my brain has entered a new space. So sorry. Tonight, I want to highlight this year's Altha Summer Conference. It was beyond amazing getting the opportunity to learn from my fellow educators on topics they were passionate about, as well as from some of our outstanding leaders from within THA. Sessions I personally attended ranged from topics including introductions to AI by Karen Bishop back here. The collaborative approach to the THA keep appraisal system that is a part of theou theou that the board will vote on later this evening. Understanding how special education funding impacts in the future of Kansas schools. Understanding the elementary experience in the public schools related to the

137epic teacher retention and engagement survey. understanding your negotiated agreement, navigating change together as a school district, and collaborating on professional advocacy. I also want to highlight the broad array of virtual sessions that participants could access for day three of summer conference. One virtual session that I want to highlight tonight is entitled expanding access using Sora to explore ebooks in world languages and beyond. through a fall 2025 women's circle grant. Alyssa Zer, my best friend, um the library media specialist at Countryside Elementary School was able to purchase 607 books in 26 different languages on a reading app called Sora for all elementary students to access. This is an exceptional example of our educators using their voice to support our very own students to be able to continue reading even in their own native languages. As a

138participant and a presenter at this year's Altha Summer Conference, we are extremely lucky to have this opportunity each year to learn. I want to personally thank Jenna Cter and Ashley Murden for all of their work in organizing this event along with all of their committee members. I also want to give a huge shout out to Main Street Credit Union for supporting educators with giveaways and presenters with Amazon supplies for their classrooms. Now, as a school district, we will be entering a time of change, and it will be imperative that we stand strong amongst one another as we navigate these changes. As I think about the future of our THA public schools, I want to ensure that we all continue to focus on putting our students first in every decision, every student, [snorts] every day, because

139their future is our future. As board of education members, you were elected to make hard decisions about the future of our district and navigate the best path forward to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our students each and every day. One last thought I want to leave you with tonight is related to change. Today I was reminded that change can impact each of us in different ways at any time, especially when unexpected. As an educator, my motivation to wake up each day is my students. We give our time, our efforts, and our energy to give the best possible learning opportunities for our students. And it's just a part of who we are as educators. We give our all and even more. As I continue to reflect on the future of THA public schools,

140I take pride in knowing that I work in a school district who values my position as an elementary educator and the expertise that I bring to the classroom related to music. As we na navigate through future changes and building closures, I hope that we will wrap our arms around one another, knowing that these decisions are helping us provide the best opportunities for our students. I appreciate you listening to the eb and flow of my random comments tonight. Change is hard. Change is something new, [snorts] but change can bring about thoughtful conversations and provide opportunities for collaboration, including continued adv advocacy efforts for our state to fully fund special education. I appreciate you all and the focus and attention you provide when making decisions that impact the future of our THA public schools. Thank you. >>

141Thank you, Miss Briggs. Katie Longhouser and board. Um, the information I provided before the meeting this evening is from this speaker. Thank you. Little nervous. Um, good evening. Um, my name is Katie Longhouser. I'm a registered nurse, a mom, and founder of the Screen Guardians. The screen guardians is a K through2 digital wellness program that we recently piloted and for schools across Kansas and Texas. Um the screen guardians was created because we know cell phones, social media and technology is reshaping the culture of our schools and technology is not bad. We are actually pro technology but also in a um prior to that pro child development. Technology has moved faster than our kids have been educated on how to use technology. So that's why we're here. As a district, you already we already talked about

142a little bit the cell phone restrictions and your district is already thinking what will come next. As you mentioned in your presentation, restrictions like the cell phone restriction alone is not enough. It is not a solution by itself. The truth is technology is the primary driver of youth safety concerns, behavior issues, and the mental health crisis. Limiting access alone doesn't build the skills students need to navigate this digital world. We can't restrict our way out of a problem that follows kids home every afternoon and evening. Restriction rinse compliance and education builds it. We believe education is the greatest form of protection. Like most districts, you're balancing real budget constraints. We heard that a lot tonight, right? But your goal is to prioritize teacher and student well-being. The freedom to make decisions on your own local

143control, as we consistently heard tonight, needs to reflect your values as a community and not just reactions to mandates. That's why I'm here to share why technology education improves student and community outcomes. So, the Screen Guardians program, it's a research-based digital wellness program, kindergarten through 12th grade. It focuses on brain science and takes a whole community approach by educating students, teachers, and parents together. Rather than stopping at restrictions and rules, the Screen Guardians program gets to the why. What technology is actually doing to the developing brain. Remember, brains aren't fully developed until they're 25 to 30. the dopamine loops, the intentional platform, the design, intentional platform design, and the way constant stimulation rewires how kids think, feel, cope, and behave. When students understand that, they make different choices. Fewer end up in crisis and prevention

144costs a fraction of what treatment does. Our program includes embedded professional development and parent engagement tools designed to be practical without adding burden to already stretched teachers. The program was developed from a team of subject matter experts, a neuro feedback clinician specializing specializing in brain health, a retired internet crimes against children task force detective, and a curriculum director who taught K- through2 education for 33 years. The result of our program reflects the real threats students face online, the brain science behind why those threats impact developing minds, and the tools for how to navigate them. When students, teachers, and parents are speaking the same language, the conversations that start in the classroom continue to at the dinner table. The shared language is what changes outcomes and prepares students to thrive for a lifetime ahead. As you

145can see in the documents I provided for you, our pilot program results were incredible across all three audiences. Um you can also go and see the feedback from the school district we worked with when you if you go back and look at um it's USD494. They spoke at the state board meeting on May 13th. In closing, when we hand our kids devices without this kind of education, it's like [snorts] giving them car keys without teaching them driver's ed or the rules of the road. Digital wellness education is overdue. [snorts] My team and I have spent thousands of hours building this program because we believe students deserve more than what schools are currently offering. Our ask is simple. To find a time to meet with us and explore what it could look like to bring this

146to the school district in some capacity. Our goal is to be a part of the solution to protect and preserve childhood. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Longhous. >> Karen Bishop. I am Karen Bishop, a resident of THA, librarian at Mission Trail Middle, and proud mother of three successful otha graduates, if I haven't said that yet. Um, and I again want to address the potential changes to district retirement benefits, especially the HR. This is the final installment in my trilogy of comments to you. So, take that early. But, um, but I do have some things left to say. First, although it's summer, you are still here. And so, I thank you for not taking off June and July. I appreciate that. I wish I hope that most of my colleagues have their feet in the

147water someplace but um I know that many of us are still watching these meetings closely because you guys are doing really important things. Secondly, I never previously said that I believe that financially ending these retirement these retirement benefits doesn't make any sense. Eliminating HR is very likely to cost more money than paying. I'm not going to go into the details of the sub costs versus the benefits, but at best we're just shifting money around. Um, cancelling this retirement benefit would zero out a line item in the budget, but you're certainly going to see increases other places. And while we can argue about the potential savings of this uh policy does two other really important things. It reveals priorities and it drives behavior. So, this board has a chance to speak to educators um through decisions

148on this policy and then educators will have the chance to um act on the message that they hear from you guys. The third thing that I want to address is the way that this topic has hit a nerve with educators. I know we always wish for more money, but this is something that hits us very targetedly. It's personal. Uh it's not just this theoretical pocketbook of you know minimal w raises or no Christmas bonuses but this is our retirement accounts. These are our concrete plans for our retirement. From my perspective people came out of the woodworks to talk after my first round of public comments with you. I've never seen so many people so eager to try to affect a decision. And this is where I have to admit that my grappling with this issue

149has really changed. Swung wildly over the past couple of months. I've gone through all the stages of anger and denial and you know bargaining. I am not at acceptance. I assure you that. But I do have a different understanding within the first time that I came and talked to you. Um I am becoming fearful of our district's finances. I'm I'm really afraid of the next couple years. Um and I know that I myself need to do more to fight for the one obvious legal remedy and that is the state's obligation to fund our schools correctly. The state legislature, as you all know, withheld tens of millions of dollars of legally obligated money. Um, they have done this for years and they voted to do it again next year. They have the money in their coffers

150now. I know you guys know this. Um, but they chose not to distribute it and it's just really despicable. And that's really a solution to these smaller concerns that we're having here. Um, in the last few weeks, I heard from more than a hundred educators. Um, I urged them to contact you, to speak out, to write out, to show up. Um, and I'm grateful that they got involved. But what I should also have been doing was asking them to to address the root of the problem. I should have been asking them to contact their legislators in addition to you. Instead of having conversations, angry conversations at work, have those conversations with their neighbors and take that to the voting box. So to close my diff my [clears throat] trilogy, um I ask that all of

151us, board members, certified staff, classified staff, folks with offices in the headshed, that all of the tha public schools maintain our focus in these upcoming difficult times on the humanity of our school district. Um we always make sure that the kids are taken care of. That's just what we do. Uh I know that that's going to happen, but I also hope that we can all honor the humanity of the adults in the system. and I've heard that several times tonight from this dis. Um, please keep your policies people focused and use them to show what the district values in this current case that you value keeping teachers in classrooms dayto-day. That you honor the sacrifices of long-erving educators who so often put student needs ahead of their own. And make a statement that education is

152still a noble and viable long-term career. That we've got some reward at retirement. I hope we can do more to fight for you to make sure that the funding is correct. Um, and I do want to thank you guys for your for your legislative fight, especially for the newly created Kansas Public Schools Funding Coalition. Keep forgetting how to say that. I know that you are fighting like heck on this front. U, but if we don't all get in this fight, then we're going to have to learn to accept much more dire cuts than these retirement benefits. So, thank you for listening to my trilogy. >> Thank you, Miss Bishop. Our last speaker this evening, Michelle Roberts Bower. Miss Ba Roberts Bower. Okay. Okay. Um, actually in response, Miss Bishop, um, I would before we move

153to the next agenda item, I do have a a statement from the board regarding the voluntary early retirement program in the HASS. The voluntary early retirement program, including health reimbursement account, has been a topic of conversation during recent meetings, as you've shared, and within our school community. As a board, we want [snorts] you to know that we have read every email and message shared on this issue. As you know, um [snorts] it is policy that we would need to provide one year's notice before implementing any changes to retirement benefits with any such decisions needing to be made by June 30th prior to the start of a new school year. With that in mind, we want public school staff members to know that there will be no changes to retirement benefits provided by the district at

154this time. Any mention of VERP or HASS in this context has always been rooted in a commitment to openness and transparency with our staff. While these programs go beyond what most school districts offer as retirement benefits, they also represent a significant financial commitment because they are fully funded by the school district. Therefore, we want to be clear that future changes to retirement benefits may still need to be considered depending on the impact of special education funding and the new state funding formula that will be voted on during the 2027 legislative session. These decisions will help determine what we can maintain as a district. We along with district leadership will continue to be transparent as we navigate financial challenges related to the underfunding of special education, declining enrollment tied to lower birth rates and rising housing

155costs, and potential changes to the way public education is funded in the state of Kansas. We will face many difficult decisions over the coming year amid [snorts] these challenges, including the need to consolidate schools. However, throughout this process, district leadership remains committed to maintaining appropriate staffing levels and preserving as many employee financial incentive incentives as possible while continuing to meet the needs of our students and community. We value the dedication of our staff and remain committed to supporting our community through the decisions ahead. So, thank you board. With that, we are um ready to move to action consent items 6.01 to 6.16. I move to approve action consent agenda item 6.01 through6.16 as presented. >> Second >> motion by Mr. Boyd second by Mr. Keune Miss Meyer >> Mrs. Johan >> yes >> Mrs. Reagan

156>> yes >> Mrs. Steel >> yes >> Dr. Jükovich >> yes >> Mr. Babbot >> yes >> Mr. Boyd >> yes >> Mr. Thank you. >> Yes. >> Motion passes 70. Actions, bids, contracts, agreements, items 7.01 to 7.23. Is there a motion? >> I move to approve action, bids, contracts, and agreements. Items numbered 7.01 to 7.23 as presented. >> Second. >> Motion by Miss Reagan. Second by Miss Johan. Miss Meyer. >> Mr. Cune. Yes, >> Mrs. Reagan. >> Yes, >> Dr. Jükovich. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Steel. >> Yes, >> Mr. Babbot. >> Yes, >> Mr. Boyd. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Johan. >> Yes. >> Motion passes 70. Action. Other items we'll take individually. The first 8.01 sanitary sewer easement. Is there a motion? I move to approve 8.01 as presented. >> Second. >> Motion by

157Miss Johan, second by Mr. Babbot. Mrs. Meyer, >> Mrs. Reagan, >> yes. >> Dr. Jükovich, >> yes. >> Mrs. Steel, >> yes. >> Mr. Boyd, >> yes. >> Mr. Babbot, >> yes. >> Mr. Cune, >> yes. >> And Mrs. Johan, >> yes. Motion passes 70 8.02 revisions to the code of student conduct for the 2627 school year. >> I move to adopt the updated code of student conduct for the 2627 school year as presented. >> Second. >> Motion by Miss Johan, second by Miss Reagan. Miss Meyer. >> Dr. Jükovich. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Steel. >> Yes. >> Mr. Babbot. Yes, >> Mr. Boyd. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Reagan. >> Yes, >> Mr. Cune. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Johan. >> Yes. >> Motion passes 70. Uh, board, before we go to a motion or vote on

1588.03, Mr. Palangi, would you come to the podium and give us a little bit of background on this construction manager at risk process? Yes, good evening. Thank you. I made some prepared statements, so I'm going to do a little reading as well. So, um, what we're presenting tonight is our recommendation to use construction manager at risk as an alternative project delivery method on our new three elementary school projects that we're going to construct at the same time. It for short, it's called CM. So it it's an approved um delivery method by uh the state of Kansas utilizing a contract with one construction manager um in lie of typically we would hold 30 to 40 contracts on a normal project. So um we will work with the CMR firms for pre-construction consulting bidding and final project

159construction. Um the CMR um RFP and RFQ process um as outlined in the state of Kansas statutes encourages competition uh for the highly qualified construction managers that we um that would submit to us. Um then [clears throat] also they are really known for experience in managing complex designs and construction processes along with um our partners, our engineers and the district itself. So, for example, um our two consolidated schools are going to be um in residential areas. Our middle lane project will be next to the original Metal Lane. It's next to Seabback. It's next to the Northwest. Successful construction projects um of these type of environments uh require intricate um logistical preparation as well as integrated design and cost estimating throughout this process. Um the delivery method also allows for early planning as well. So required

160for phasing and cost estimating um throughout the design to ensure the project is completed on time and on budget. The delivery method will allow public schools to execute multiple complex projects at one time. These projects involve an overlap of a design and bidding phases by way of multiple early bid packages. These would allow the early procurement of critical materials and other equipment for um as well as reducing potential um cost escalation for materials that we're seeing as of as of today. Uh the the prices are doing nothing but going up. This process will minimize the construction delays caused by long lead time components and cost increases while remaining design efforts are being completed. So tonight, if if approved, the district will work alongside the CMR firms on a fair and equitable um bid opening for

161all subcontractors as well for these bid packages and award those bid packages to the most qualified and responsible low bidder. And as a reminder, the this and we do that on every project. So um and just we're going to continue that practice. And just as a reminder, the state of Kansas is a right to work state. So both union and non-UN contractors can bid on our projects. So that's what we're presenting this evening. >> Board, any questions, comment? Thank you for the clarification. Is there a motion? 8.03. >> I move to approve the recommendation as presented. Second >> motion by Miss Johans, second by Mr. Boyd. >> Miss Meyer. >> Mrs. Steel. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Reagan, >> yes. >> Mr. Boyd, >> yes. >> Mrs. Johan, >> yes. >> Mr. Cune, >> yes. >>

162Mr. Babbett, >> yes. >> Dr. Jükovich, >> yes. >> Motion passes 70. Uh, board. And next couple uh next policy is uh related to board policy updates 8.04. >> Um I move to adopt updated board policy JDDC bullying as presented. >> Second >> motion by Miss Reagan, second by Mr. Cune. Miss Meyer. >> Mrs. Johan. >> Yes. >> Mr. Boyd. >> Yes. >> Mr. Babbot. >> Yes. Mr. Cune, >> yes. >> Dr. Jükovich, >> yes. >> Mrs. Steel, >> yes. >> Mrs. Reagan, >> yes. >> Motion passes 70. Where the next couple of items will be the process to elect uh new board leadership for the 2627 school year. And we will start by um asking for a nomination for board president. The first motion that we would need would be to cease nominations and

163um and then a motion to elect that individual. If there are multiple individuals, then we will um call role for that. So, is there a nomination for board president? 2627. >> I would like to nominate Julie Steel. >> Second. Did we need that? >> That's okay. We did not need that. But but the support is is appreciated. It's appreciated. >> I move to cease nominations. >> Okay. Mr. Boyd has moved to cease nominations. Is there a second? >> Second. >> There we go. >> And Miss Meyer. And this is the vote to cease nominations. >> Mr. Boyd. Yes, >> Mrs. Reagan. >> Yes, >> Mr. Cune. >> Yes, >> Mr. Babbot. >> Yes, >> Dr. Jükovich. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Steel. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Johan. >> Yes. >> Motion passes 70. And now a

164motion is needed to um elect Miss Steel to serve as board president. >> I move to elect Julie Steel to serve as the 2026 2027 board of education president. Second >> motion by Mr. Boyd. Second by Mr. Babbot. Miss Meyer. >> Mrs. Johan. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Steel. >> Yes. >> Dr. Jükovich. >> Yes. >> Mr. Babbot. >> Yes. >> Mr. Cune. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Reagan. >> Yes. >> Mr. Boyd. >> Yes. >> Motion passes 70. Congratulations. Uh the next item is to elect a board vice president. We'll follow the same process. So we will begin with nominations. >> I would like to nominate Rob Cune. >> I move to cease nominations. >> Second. >> Motion to cease nominations by Miss Steel with a second by Mr. Boyd. Miss Meyer. >> Mr. Babbot. >>

165Yes. >> Mr. Boyd. >> Yes. >> Mr. Cune. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Joanne. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Reagan. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Steel. >> Yes. >> Dr. Jüker. >> Yes. Motion passes. 70. And now a motion to elect Rob Keun. >> I move to elect Rob Cun to serve as the 2627 board of education vice president. >> Second. Motion by Miss Reagan. Second by Miss Johan. Miss Meyer. >> Mrs. Johan. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Reagan. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Steel. >> Yes. >> Dr. Jükovich. >> Yes. >> Mr. Babbot. >> Yes. >> Mr. Boyd. >> Yes. >> Mr. Cune. >> Yes. >> Motion passes. 70. Congratulations, Rob. Item 8.07. Um and just as a clarification, Miss Steele, Mr. Cune will um be responsible for board meetings beginning with July meeting. Um memorandum of understanding for

166the 2627 school year. I might just note to the board um that there was 96% approval by the bargaining unit in this umou and they are it consists of agreed upon policies. It is not a negotiated agreement. The differential there uh or the difference there from what we've done in past years that we've had conversation. So I would welcome a motion. >> I move to approve the 2026 2027 memorandum of understanding. MOU. >> Second. >> Motion by Miss Johan. Second by Mr. Cun. Miss Meyer. >> Mr. Keune. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Reagan. Yes, >> Dr. Jükovich. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Steel. >> Yes, >> Mr. Babbot. >> Yes, >> Mr. Boyd. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Joan. >> Yes. >> Motion passes. 70. [clears throat] Item 8.08, the renewal of a contract for Superintendent Dr. Brent

167Joerger. >> I move that the board extend the contract of Dr. Brent Jagger is superintendent starting July 1, 2026 to June 30th, 2029. >> Second. >> Motion by Miss Steel, second by Mr. Boyd. >> Can I make a comment? Isn't that when we do that between? >> Sure. Thank um I I am so excited to vote for this. Um I'm excited to vote on a lot of things. Uh um Dr. Jagger, you are the absolute perfect leader for this time in our district. Um, you bring a combination of joy and fortitude. You have led with integrity. You I I could not be more grateful for the way that you steer our ship through these stormy waters. And I I the road ahead's going to be wild, kids. But I know that we're going to make

168it through because we've got you. >> I might also note that in this um contract, the board is familiar with this, but and it is public document that Dr. Jagger did not take a financial increase in his salary um in this contract. Also, any other comments board? Dr. Jagger, did you have a Okay, >> I'll I'll comment after you're done voting if that's [laughter] >> I didn't know if you changed your mind or Okay. Um, so we have a motion to renew the contract through June 20 June 30th, 2029. Uh, motion and a second. Miss Meyer, >> Mrs. Reagan. Yes, >> Dr. Jükovich. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Steel. >> Yes, >> Mr. Boyd. >> Yes, >> Mr. Babbot. >> Yes, >> Mr. Cune. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Johan. >> Yes. >> Motion passes 70. Dr.

169Joerger, >> I I would just say thank you. I truly appreciate the words and the trust you place in me. Um, you know, I I was trying to think of how to express it, right? But, you know, outside of being a dad and a husband, being the superintendent here is really the greatest honor of my life. So, thank you so much for your continued trust in me. And, uh, you know, kids, it will be hard, but I'm I'm excited that, um, you know, we're we're going to work we're going to work through this over the next couple of years, and we're going to get to a point where, um, we're going to have smooth sailing for a while moving forward after that. And I'm excited to hopefully be around to see that, too. So, thank

170you. >> Okay. [snorts] Uh the last action item 8.09 approval of bond resolutions bond series 2026A and 2026B. Is there a motion? >> I like reading a move. I move to approve the bond resolutions for bond series 2026A and 2026B as presented. >> Second >> motion by Miss Johan, second by Mr. Boyd. Miss Meyer. Dr. Jükovich. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Steel. >> Yes. >> Mr. Babbot. >> Yes. >> Mr. Boyd. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Reagan. >> Yes. >> Mr. Cune. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Johan. >> Yes. >> Motion passes. 70. Uh board. You [clears throat] can see the future action items. I'll draw attention to the last three on that list. Uh regular board meeting dates, times, and locations. Miss Beam sent proposed dates and um when we approve those then she will also add

171them send calendar invites and add them to to the board uh calendar. Also next month we will appoint board representatives to the public school foundation and the Head Start Policy Council which requires a a board member in attendance. If you are interested, please reach out to Julie or Rob. uh to share your interest and then there are some additional board policy updates uh on the agenda for next month. Um written information board there are a number of documents for um from the head start director's report. I want to just mention a couple of them and then you can take [snorts] your time reading through it because there is a lot of data. But one one of the attachments the child assessment um which is actually um information about the progress the students made and it

172is impressive the skill growth of the students um within the program at proficiency level and then decreases in the not yet c category. So, um, I'd encourage you to take a look at that. And then the other item, the end ofear parent survey, 76% of the parents um, whose children attend Head Start participated in the survey. 99% of them expressed satisfaction in the program and the success for their student. So, um, just want to highlight those because some really great work is being done in those programs. And then the 2226 bond issues. Um, appreciate Mr. Palangi, the updates and the photos and the exciting changes in libraries and auditoriums and um, all kinds and exteriors of school buildings. So, thank you for that board topics for discussion, Miss Steel. >> Um, so I'd just like

173to say um first of all, thank you board. I'm looking forward to um the next year, but I also want to mention that um you know, as it happens, we we spend a lot of our heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears doing this job, but we also have families and we have careers. And sometimes um those things don't align, allowing us to um serve in a board leadership position. And I am so thankful that as a I'll say a freshman member of our board, but a very experienced um educator um Dr. Jükovich was so willing to step into a space that really quite typical for our board for many years was atypical. Um, we had a lot of longevity for many years on our board of education and then all of a sudden we had a

174bunch of newbies and Brad was president for us um during that time and then um for a year and then his life has it and his son was going to be a senior that following year he decided I'm I'm going to go ahead and step down and we all looked at each other like oh no and thankfully Dr. Jükovich stepped in and she has been an amazing board president for two years and I'm very very thankful for her leadership. And then to Rob, I really look forward to leading with him. Um I think we'll be a great team and I'm looking forward to it. So thank you. That's all. >> Rob, you No, no, no. >> Okay. >> All right. Well, um June is Pride Month. It commemorates the Stonewall riot which began in June

175on June 28th, 1969. And it took 30 years for there to be an official Pride Month. 30 years. I think of this bracelet that my daughter made and it says, "You be you." I love that our district embraces our students and our staff as they are. You be you guiding light. I also it's so interesting um you know given the whole thing about walkouts and all of that you know um Dr. King is a northstar for our nation and the world in a lot of ways and he said and I said this last year you know a riot is the language of the unheard and riots and he's even said riots can be destructive but we cannot ignore what is the impetus behind and I would say that walkouts are disruptive to the school day

176but we can't ignore the impetus behind our students using their voices. And I would also say this too, our nation still fails to hear oh so much. So many feel unheard. I also um but you know what? Pride month is happy and rainbows are fun. So there we go. I also want to say this. I'm wearing orange because it is gun violence awareness day month where orange weekend is coming. Gun violence affects all of us in direct and indirect ways. And for a long time, this was an issue that meant a lot to me as a parent having children in school or as an educator being in a building. But in recent years, my family has been touched by gun violence. And I hope that it if it doesn't touch you, it won't. But it

177touches all of us. And it's interesting to me that we have people in the legislature who will make policies on how we conduct drills for active shooters but refuse to address the shooting. So I'm just going to say that. Um finally because you know you guys know my my song and dance. [clears throat] Um, so the education funding task force is an extremely important body, but it's super weird that they're not going to meet until after the November election. Weird. Um, in our report from Dr. Little, he said there is wide speculation but little certainty. Clarity is kindness. Budget clarity is compassionate and it is responsible. And not giving us clarity so we can play plan our budgets is malpractice and waiting to make hard decisions till after you're elected. That says a lot about

178your character. So um I also want to point out that legislators are sending out it's called franking. They're sending out um their newsletters, which is paid for by taxpayers, newsletters to the constituents. Um and I want everyone to pay attention to the words that are used on those newsletters. We have folks who have voted against the legislative platform of our district who say on their newsletters they support schools, they support funding education. There is a word missing from both of those public. When people don't put in writing that they support public schools and funding public education, that should raise some eyebrows for the people of the tha public schools community. So, please be watchful for for that. Um, we're all really sick of unfunded mandates, really sick of them, and they cost us great things

179that we can do and compensating our staff. Um, and it's interesting. The device debate is really, really an interesting one. Very nuanced. Thank you so much, Miss Brics, for bringing up the Sora purchase from Women's Giving Circle. Giving kids access to literacy in their own language while they are simultaneously learning English is so powerful that is possible through devices. This is not a black and white issue. Anyway, [snorts] I love ROHA public schools. Summer is here and I hope we can all remember that when we are working together and we find a way forward, we will be stronger. And I am so proud of this board for the journey we've all come through starting since the board started turning over different people. We are up here as a team. We don't agree on everything and

180we shouldn't. Disagreement is the oxygen of democracy. Disscent is its cancer. So, yay everyone. >> Thank you. >> Um, I want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to um take some leadership on the board. Uh, Julie, I look forward to working with you. Um, since I wasn't here last month, I want to congratulate the graduates um that graduated last month from all the high schools and our stepup program. Um, Dr. Yurkovich and I got to attend that one. Um, and then I guess uh Matt Johnson and Dr. Reeves, congratulations. Enjoy your summer >> and your lives. >> [laughter] >> Miss Joe, I just want to say thank you to everybody for making it through the month of May. I feel like that's a little bit of a celebration in itself. I don't

181know what happened May 1st started and now we're in June. Um I I don't know that I was standing at the end of it, but I'm I'm glad to be here. Um, you know, I just was thinking about all the things that happened personally for my family in that time frame. And we had um um music uh a music concert, an orchestra concert. And I really wanted to just uh share a quick story. Um Jenny Clinkenberg is the um director there. I don't even know if that's the right term anyway, but the the >> director court. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Anyway, amazing human. and um she did a a really cool recognition for the eighth graders um that were in the program, the orchestra program, where she um got a um oh, I can't even think

182about it. A vinyl album with a title of a song and for each student, she read the song and why it was a song for that student. And I thought that was just a really neat moment. She spent the last three years getting to know these kids and really really pours deeply into them. So much so on the last day of school she emailed me to let me know that there is a opening for um somebody in Lee Summit for my daughter to do string bass lessons if she wanted to, you know. So I just think about that as we talk about our staff and the dedication. Um all the things that they do every single day. The amount of time she sat thinking about each one of these albums just really hit home to

183me. It was a really great um moment. Um other than that, you know, we had honor celebrations, we had fit and fun days, we had last lunches in the crazy elementary cafeteria. Um amidst softball, baseball, gymnastics, all the games. And I just am I'm very grateful um to be here now and just see another year um of success for our district. And as we move into the next year and the coming years, I'm really actually very excited to be with this group of um people here in this room and outside of this room to to go through these decisions to weather these storms. As you said, Claire, I really appreciate that. Um and and be be a group of people that can talk about it and have discussions um differences, but come together here and

184and be united. So, thank you. Thank you, Dr. Joerger, for continuing to lead our district. Um really really happy about that too. So [snorts] that's all for me. >> Mr. Bab, uh two quick notes. The first one at a summer conference this year, uh my son attended space camp which was put on by the amazing Amy Hillman and her group uh at East. for the children of the educators that were attending the camp. And my soon to be middle schooler was not excited about going when he looked at the agenda and said, "This looks like school." And we took him in there and dropped him off. And when I came to pick him up for lunch, I was going to just take him out for lunch cuz I had some time. He refused to leave

185because he was having so much fun. uh we had to he was up early the next day because he was so excited about attending the second part of it >> and uh he had a fantastic time. I just want to give a big shout out to the staff that put that on uh Amy and everybody else. It was it was really really great for him. So big shout out to them. And I would like to echo the thanks that's been given so far to Dr. Jükovich for the leadership you've put on as the board of education president. you've been the president the whole time I've been on and it's been uh fantastic. And Julie, I look forward to uh your leadership as well. So, thanks to both of you. And one last piece, uh the

186board got to go on a retreat last month and the two of you put on an amazing presentation, well organized, uh very thoughtful and very insightful and it was it was really great to go to. So, thank you both for your leadership and uh look forward to more I just have a couple of of comments um in regards to moving on and away from being board president. It has been an honor um to serve in this capacity with this group of people at the dis. Uh I would echo Will's comments about the retreat. It was a wonderful opportunity um to spend time together and with Dr. Joerger and um to get to know each other in a little bit different uh way uh but to just have conversation um because as you know with our

187coma guidelines um that's a a little bit challenging sometimes to just meet as a group and and to have conversations. So appreciated everyone being there and being part of that. And I would also echo um best wishes to Julie and and Rob and look forward to continuing in another seat um for for the next year and a half at at least. Um and I also just want to say a thank you to staff uh for the end of the school year. our teachers, our support staff in the buildings, whatever role capacity they play, our building administrators. Um, May is busy as has been discussed. It can be challenging. Those at the high school are trying to get those kids across the stage and some are resisting or are not working as hard as as maybe

188they should have for four years. Um and and so I I do just want um to say an appreciation, a thank you to to all of those individuals and to encourage them to take some time this summer to regenerate. Um spend time with family, travel, reading books. Um I see another librarian back there sitting next to Karen, too. Um so um h enjoy your summer and uh we value as I said in the statement earlier we we value you as individuals and what you do every day for our kids. We've heard that repeatedly tonight. The special things I see it I saw it um on a daily basis in my career as well. So Dr. Jagger. >> Uh, thank you. I'd like to start tonight by uh wishing Dr. Waters a very happy 32nd birthday.

189Um, not many people get to spend their birthday here at a board of education meeting. So, uh, thank you Dr. Waters for choosing us over all the other things you could have been doing tonight to celebrate your birthday. So, there may be some cake somewhere. Uh, take a piece home with you this evening. [gasps] Um, as you know, school is out for the summer. You all have talked about the the graduations and, you know, the accomplishments of our seniors that that um travel across the stage. But I I do want to just take a minute to say congratulations to the the class of 2026. I believe their cumulative um scholarship offers are over $60 million. And boy, that says a lot about not only our young people and their hard work, but the amazing work

190our staff does and supporting them and uh working with families and what have you. It is summer, but uh we do still have some teachers and some educators still at work right now. Um we are in our uh extended school year program right now, which is our summer summer school program, if you will, uh for students with disabilities. And so we have kids and staff at Washington Elementary at Santa Fe Trail um right now uh continuing their their educational journey this summer. So um thank you to the staff that's there and working at ESY, but thanks to the students too for continuing to show up and uh stay engaged with us this time of year. Uh if you've driven around the district, you know that summer facility work is in full swing. Um there's cranes

191and parts of buildings coming off and and all sorts of things um happening across across the district. Um really kind of the the last big chunk of bond 22 projects uh across the district. Um those are obviously the real uh obvious things we see the things that are less obvious is the work that our custodial staff is doing in buildings every day. Um you know cleaning the carpet, fixing the things that have needed to be fixed. um you know, manicuring, the things that they can take care of when people aren't in the building. And there's a lot of work that goes into that each and every day as well. Um it's been raining a lot. Um the grass is really green right now. Our mowing crews are humming all over the district taking care of

192that. So, um a lot of work that's happening in in the district right now and just a tremendous thanks to Travis and and Brandon and Hassan and um you know, everybody that's involved in a massive amount of work that happens over the summer. you know, it's a three and a half, more like two two months and a week period where they do a year's worth of work. Uh, and so appreciate Travis and his team for all the work that they do with that. Um, it's already been mentioned several times tonight, but the success of summer conference, um, you know, that's a long-standing tradition in THA and as I've said before, it really rivals any national conference you could go to. Our team does such a good job. uh so proud of Jenna Cter and the

193work that she's done with our learning services team and Ashley Martin and the planning team that she has where she has teachers and educators that work with her um to make sure that uh the conference is meeting the mark and is a valuable use of everyone's time. So really something special that that we do here in THAA and just so proud that that continues to happen. Um there's been a lot of things on uh our different channels, social media, our website about the summer meal program that's currently under the underway. Um it started on June 1st. We'll go all the way to July 23rd. Um the summer lunch spots are Havencraftoft Elementary, North View Elementary, Pioneer Trail Middle School, Ridge View Elementary School, and Santa Fe Trail Middle School. Anyone ages 1 through 18 can

194stop by and have lunch for free. You don't have to be enrolled in the district. You don't have to be a student in the district. You just have to be between those ages and have a willingness to swing by one of those places and grab lunch. So, um really proud of our food services team for the work that they do to offer that um because they know it's needed to our community in the summertime. Next Thursday, um will be the third time in my life I'll be playing golf. Um that is the tha public schools foundation uh golf tournament. Um when I became superintendent, Dr. McMullen said, you know, you need to play in this one. So, he's so gracious to drag his old golf clubs out once a year for me to play golf.

195Um, I mostly just hit some balls and then they fix it. And I look at Jim and say, "Do I have to go get that one?" He's like, "No, just let it go." So, um, anyway, that that's how that goes. But, but but the real message there is that uh, you know, it's such an important event. Our foundation does a great job and the money raised for our golf tournament goes right back in our classroom supporting our staff and our students. And um I know you all are aware well aware of that. But you know like every good thing that happens there's lots of work that happens with not only our foundation staff but our foundation board of directors and just so grateful that that continues to be such a successful thing. It is uh

196really successful this year maybe in part to the fact we passed a large bond referendum and there's uh people wanting to do business with you like the public schools but uh some of those people are even in the room tonight. So, we we will uh we we will take that on and I just so appreciate that. Um this has also been mentioned tonight, but um since our last board meeting, we did release the press release and an RFP has gone out on the street for the Kansas school um the Kansas public school funding coalition. See, I get caught up with it too. Um, but that is a joint effort at this point with the Altha Public Schools, Blue Blue Valley School, Shiny Mission Schools, and the Dotto School District to really begin to identify who

197legal council can be to work with us to determine what really are the best steps and the best avenue for us to address um, you know, the the lack of funding in special education and and could be in some point too what happens with the the finance formula moving forward for our school districts. But I have to say that, you know, I think it's pretty um strong in terms of a message when, you know, four school districts from Johnson County band together and say, "Okay, we're going to figure out how to do this in a a structured and um collaborative approach to do what's best um for our students, our schools, and our communities." So, um just want to appreciate say I appreciate the board's um support and interest in us moving that way as

198well. Um it's a it's a big but very important step um for us as a school system. So thank you for that. I also want to thank um Dr. Jükovich and Mrs. Steel for the leadership over the last two years. Um you know I I had an opportunity obviously to know Dr. Jükovich when she was here. Um not that well though. Um but you know we've really gotten to know each other over the last couple of years and so I've appreciated you know your your passion and care for the tha public schools and and your leadership. So, thank you so much for for all of that. And uh Mrs. Steel, uh same, you know, you came on and we've we've gotten to know each other really well over the last couple of years and I

199certainly appreciate the last couple of years, but I'm excited to to work with you as board president. And Mr. Cun, same with you. Um you know, looking forward to to what that will look like. And uh three of us are going to be spending a lot of time together, so buckle up. And uh lastly, we did do this recognition earlier tonight, but I want to thank Matt Johnson for just an exceptional career in education, but uh more importantly rounding out that exceptional career right here in THA with us. Um thank you for all the work that you've done. But I would also say, Matt, one of the things I so appreciate about you, and I know I'm not the only one, but the time you take to check in on people, to care about people,

200it's it's very noticed and very important. So, just thank you for being you, but thank you for all the work that you've done in our system. And then to my friend Tim Reeves. Um, you know, Tim and I met each other when I first came to the district. He was here a couple years before I was, but um, I I feel like we've had a bond since you've come here. And it's just been such a a pleasure to work with you and uh have challenging conversations with you and do good work together and all those things. Um, you know, they often say it's going to be hard to replace somebody, but the reality is we won't be able to replace you, Tim. Um, and we're not replacing you, actually, as I as I think as

201as I sit here and think through that. Um, but um but but the reality is either way, it would be impossible to to replace you. Um, but okay, get it out so I can finish my sentence. And um [laughter] I see people in the left in the back that don't know me that well. There's Chuck Lane. That's great. Thank you. Um, but but Tim has had an exceptional career here and has been a true friend and colleague to to so many of us and and a mentor in so many ways. But I just want to thank you so much for all that you've done. Tim was my kids principal and took great care of them and uh when we moved and went to Cedar Creek, he knocked on our front door when Sam was really

202upset about switching schools with something Cedar Creek wise filled with some candy and that's all it took. But um I I I know that he didn't do that just because it was my son. Tim to took that kind of care of all kids that have been in his care and his his his lead over time. So anyway, we wish you great success and thank you for everything in Yep. >> Okay, board. At this time, we have one more item on the agenda in executive session 13.01 and we will need an hour and 30 minutes. So, >> okay. >> Please, >> sorry. [laughter] >> Please, someone make a motion. >> Sorry about that. >> I'll be the bad guy. But I will mention um my my my dear mom always watches every minute of every meeting

203and she always says, "I never know when you guys leave. Are you coming back?" So to those of you faithfully still in the room and those of you online, there will not be postexecutive session um action. So this is it. >> We'll come back and gabble. >> Yep. Um okay. I move to go into executive session for consultation with an attorney or the body or agency pursuant to the exception for matters which would be deemed privilege in the attorney client relationship under coma and that the board return to the regular meeting at 1000 p.m. [snorts] in this room. >> Second motion by Miss Steel, second by Miss Reagan. >> Mel, I'm I'm so sorry to interrupt. I I just realized something cuz Mr. Babbot was making faces at me. Um, let's do maybe a 15minute

204executive session first. >> Okay. >> So, we can talk about one issue separately and Mr. Bab can recuse himself. >> I'm sorry, I didn't think about that before. >> Okay, I will redo the motion. How's that? >> Scratch that. And one thing actually that I just remembered, I would like to thank our deputy clerk, Carrie Meyer, for being here this evening. Thank you. She took great care of us this evening. Okay. Two overs. I move to go into executive session for consultation with an attorney or the body or agency pursuant to the exception for matters which would be deemed privileged in the attorney client relationship under coma and that the board return to the regular meeting at 10:15 8:50 p.m. in this room. >> Second. >> Miss Meyer. >> Mrs. Steel. Yes, >> Mrs. Reagan.

205>> Yes, >> Mr. Boyd. >> Yes, >> Mrs. Joanne. >> Yes, >> Mr. Cun. >> Yes, >> Mr. Babbett. >> Yes, >> Dr. Jükovich. >> Yes. >> Motion passes 70. >> And please note, Dr. Yovich, please note I'll be recusing from this one.