001Good evening and welcome to those in the room and watching us um on YouTube this evening. Appreciate all of you being here and we have a lot of recognitions tonight. We're really excited for all of that and um some additional information to share. We are going to start with roll call. Miss Beam. Mr. Babbot here. Mr. Boyd here. Mrs. Johan here. Mr. Cun here. Mrs. Reagan here. Mrs. Steel here. Dr. Jükovich here. So, one of the groups we're recognizing tonight um is a group of fourth graders who are Mathwing champions. and we'll talk more about them later, but they are also stepping in to lead us in the pledge um because there was a an um inability of for the scout troop to be here. So, Math Wings team, would you please come to the
002front and lead us in the pledge? Fourth graders from Meadow Lane. [Applause] I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Oh, that was adorable. [Applause] [Laughter] Item 2 item 2.01. Um, I would welcome a motion to adopt the agenda for this evening. So moved. Second. Motion by Mr. Boyd. Second by Miss Steel. Mr. Cun. Yes. Mrs. Reagan. Yes. Dr. Ericovich. Yes. Mrs. Steel. Yes. Mr. Babbot. Yes. Mr. Boyd. Yes. Mrs. Johan. Yes. Motion passes. 70. Miss Gurba recognitions and awards. Yes. Well, as Dr. Jükovich shared, we have lots of folks to recognize tonight. We are so excited about that. So to start off, I would like to invite our Casey Bisfest winners up
003to the front, which includes Martina Leiddesma, Stephanie Garcia Rios, Andy Nijar, Beatatrice Miranda Rosa Menddees, Jazelle Martinez, Diana Valenuela Marquez, and Oscar Aro Roachcha, along with executive director of student and community engagement Erica Razo, and student and family support specialist Jean Pantero. These students recently competed in the KC Bisfest competition, which offers high school students in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area an opportunity to learn a variety of life skills and business techniques. Tha had the most students from any Casey Metro District at this year's 22nd annual Casey Bisfest with a total of 17 out of the 40 students participating. The final day of the 4-day event consists of students presenting to a judge in a preliminary round to determine six finalists. All six finalists receive an automatic scholarship that can be taken to any
004university of the students choosing. And as you can see, tha swept the finals, securing five of the six spots. Second place went to Beatatric, third place went to Indie, fourth place went to Stephanie, and fifth place went to Martina. And we also had several students take home honorary awards. Rosa received the most perseverance award. Jazelle received the most tenacity award. Diana received the most out of the box idea award. And Oscar received the most improved award. We are so proud of these students. Please join me in congratulating them. your friend. And if we have any family here, feel free to come take pictures. Any family? Okay. Thank you guys. Congratulations Okay, next we will invite up some familiar faces with our Math Wings champions. So, I would like to invite the champions from our April
005competition along with Meadow Lane Elementary principal Casey Welch and Mathwing sponsor Mrs. McCubbins as well as Regency Place principal Greg Bourney and math wing sponsors Stacy Anderson and Kelly Seard along with our district math facilitator Kelly. Come on up. For those who don't know, Math Wings is a district-wide elementary school competitive club. The meetings consist of intense mental math skills, problem solving competitions, vocabulary review, and various math scrimmages. There are three events held throughout the year, and these students up front represent the winning teams at the fourth and fifth grade levels for our final contest of the year. In the fourth grade category, Meadow Lane's Urav Madaya, Emanuel Matthew, and Madden Shamburgger took first place. While in the fifth grade competition, Regency play students Jeremy Chen, Arya Singer, and Dakshina Sintill Kumar uh were also
006our champions. Now, I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to also give an extra shout out to Mr. O and his Mathwing sponsors. For those who don't know, Mr. O is retiring at the end of the year and has led somewhat of a math wings dynasty during his time at Regency Place along with his wonderful sponsors. So, we are proud to have them here tonight for our final recognition of the year, but certainly are proud of all of these students. So, please join me in congratulating them. Okay, ready? Big smiles. Maybe we can do just in case. [Music] Congratulations. All right, parents, get in there. Paparazzi. Awesome. Congratulations, kid. [Applause] Okay, now from our youngest champions to our high school champions, I'd like to invite up all of our state FBLA
007champions along with their sponsor Tabitha Borger and Altha South principal Sha Demery. So over 1,700 high school and middle school students from 101 Kansas schools participated in the 2025 Kansas FBA or Future Business Leaders of America State Leadership Conference. Nine students from THA South High School earned top honors and will advance to the FBLA National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, California this summer. Tonight we are proud to recognize several students for their first place achievements. Sophomore Lily Long was named the state champion in management information systems and freshman Malik Jugun Juguna was named the state champion in entrepreneurship. Congratulations. [Applause] Thank you guys. And finally, we are proud to honor our first place winners from the State Technology Student Association competition. We had an unbelievable number of uh students who are first place winners. So, I'm
008going to call our champions up by schools. So, to begin, we'll have the West champions come to the front along with their sponsor Kevin Holen and principal Jay Novachek. The Technology Student Association is a national organization of students engaged in science, technology, engineering, and math. Open to students enrolled in or who have completed technology education courses. TSA's membership includes over 233,000 middle and high school students in approximately 2,000 schools spanning 49 states. These students now have the opportunity to compete at the national level this summer in Nashville, Tennessee. So, congratulations to the following West Owls. In the photo technology category, first place went to Sydney Verhagi. In promotional design, Ethan Wolf took first place. In dragster design, Talon Parish took first. And in the drone challenge, Will Brown, Ty Fenton, Ethan Wolf, and Isaiah Pagnazi
009took first. In forensic science, Kayn Ol and Sydney Verhaggy took first. In digital video production, Ethan Wolf, Ty Fenton, Will Brown, Isaac Mala, and Isaiah Pagnazi took first as a team. In flight endurance, Ethan Wolf was our first place winner. And then in audio podcasting, we are honoring Ty Fenton, Michael Hegodornne, and Ethan Wolf. Congratulations. Awesome. Thank you. [Laughter] TJ, which one is your girl? Awesome. Thank you. Okay, next we will have our Northwest champions come up to the front along with their sponsor Andrew Edmonson and principal Chris Zuk. So, we had several Ravens who were champions this year. Not all of them could join us tonight, but we will go ahead and share their names. Uh, in the computer aided drafting engineering, first place went to Andrew Hoshower. Debate technological issues, first place went
010to Connor Chaffen and Lauren Rice. In engineering design, first place went to Jackson Hill Sorenson, Emma Kilpatrick, Calvin Kilpatrick, Lily Shrek, and Grant U. In geospatial technology, first place went to Jackson Hill Sorenson, Roland Andrews, and Ver Dylan. In manufacturing prototype, first place went to Jackson Hill Saurin, Grant Uer, Andrew Hoshower, Ivan Ye, and Aramis Carander. In on demand video first place went to Roland Andrews, Connley Becker, Declan Claive, Ryan Ionianto Ver Dylan Aramus Carander and in prep prepared presentation first place went to Connor Chaffen. [Applause] Congratulations. Big smiles. Ready? One, two, three. Congratulations, you guys. Okay. And last, but certainly not least, we have our Olesa East TSA champions. So, they can head on up with sponsor Robin Schubert and principal Carrie Lane. Congratulations to the following folks. First place in extemporaneous speech went
011to Kalista Wangiku. First place in board game design went to Emily Wyatt, Safy Singhor, and Will Ray Walt. And first place in fashion design went to Eleanor Newman, Lauren Kingston, and Ara Carbasi. First place in CAD architectural drafting went to Viviana Romero. First place in architectural design went to Viviana Romero, Lauren Kingston, Eleanor Newman, Ara Carbassi, and Safi Singhore. And first place in structural design and engineering went to Brett Ditmiss and Lauren Kingston. Congratulations. [Applause] Okay, ready. Big smile. One, two, three. Good job. Awesome. Congratulations everyone. How are you? Thank you, Miss Gruba. And congratulations to all of our students from our fourth graders to our high school students and their great performances, their sponsors, their parents. Thank you for being here this evening. And you are welcome to stay, but if you would like
012to slip out, this would be a good time. We have a couple of presentations this evening and our first one will be our school spotlight tonight. It is on Santa Fe Trail Middle School. Principal JJ Liel is here and I might also mention he too is retiring this year. So congratulations. [Applause] Okay. Um well thank you. Thank you for having me tonight. I'm here to talk about I'm a little bit biased but the best middle school in Altha. Can I say that since I'm retiring anyway, Dr. Jerger? Okay. All right. You know how I feel. I I do. I do. and I'm I'm doing that for you too, Dr. Jükovich. So, um but I'm just really glad to be here tonight and thank you for having me. Um so, first of all, I'd just like
013to talk a little bit about what some of our students have said. Uh we had the opportunity to have a school from a neighboring school district um in our building a couple of weeks ago. And I promise I did not plant these kids. They were in the hallway. Um, but I just we were walking tours and we walked by and saw some kids and said, "Okay, what makes SFT a great place to be?" And this is what they said. Amy said, "I love the diversity at SFT. We had different groups of students. We celebrate diversity." Uh, Lilianne said, "Sft provides so many opportunities for students." And Rihanna said, "The staff at SFT is the best. They are patient with students and help you understanding, help you to understand what they're teaching." So, that's from our
014students. Um, really proud of our kids. We have the best kids at Santa Fe Trail. So, I I was thinking a little bit about this presentation. I could spend all night talking about SFT. I know you all don't want that. So, um, but I thought about a little bit about what we could talk about tonight. And really, I just kind of landed on this idea of opportunity for all. Um, and so you'll hear that through the presentation, but there will also be a quiz at the end of this presentation for everybody that's left in the room. So, if you want to leave now, you can, I guess. But, um, it'll be easy. Uh, I think it'll be easy. But really, what I want you to to to focus on is what themes do you see?
015And I'm looking for one particular answer here. What theme do you see through this presentation tonight? So, uh, taking a look at our diversity at SFT, we have 14 different languages that are spoken at SFT. uh 32% of our students receive ELLL services, 52% of our students are on free and reduced lunch and 32% of our students are receive special education services through the district as well. Um as as you know, we had the opportunity to move into a new building this year and so I want to share just some of the pictures of of the new building and and really I'm tying this all back to opportunity. That's not the word though. That's not the word. Okay? So I'm giving you a little hint. tying it back to opportunity. But this is a picture
016of one of my favorite places in in the building and that's our that's our library space. It is I would say triple the size of what we had in our own building. Uh we can we can have our entire staff in there for professional learning. Uh we have so many different spaces for kids to work and for kids to break out into spaces. We have a maker space. It's not shown here behind the circulation desk as well. The flexible learning spaces in our building. This is a picture of the seventh grade pod. It's our largest pod. We have two breakout rooms in this area and spaces for students to move out into these these areas. Um it's been great to see and I was talking to to Mr. Wagner earlier about the the teachers using
017the new technology, the new moni the new TV screens that are interactive. Um, it's great to see students being out in this area, maybe working with a resource teacher or paraprofessional or with their teacher in a small group, working in these spaces in small groups as well. The auditorium is amazing. Um, and so the auditorium is is we can we can see it about 460 people in the auditorium. um our our theater teacher jumped right in this year with a musical and I'm like you might want to start with like a one act or something and she's like no I'm going for it. So we started out we did our a musical this year combined with our theater theater teacher and our choir department. Um here's a picture of our choir in action. What's so
018great about these spaces? They're all located in one area. And then also the locker areas for band and orchestra are all outside of the rooms which allows for so much more space within the classroom. Did not have that in the old building. Just have to highlight art and teched. This is just a picture of art and teched and and what I love about the art room is just the light that comes in there and the natural light that's coming in that area as well. the tech lab and the technology space in our wood shop being right next to each other um is a bonus as well. Couple of other just amazing spaces. Uh our commons area is is is beautiful. Um you're going to see kind of in this picture here you see a lot
019like on our first level at SFT you're going to see a lot a lot of the school colors. Um and which you know this is the first time in tha my understanding or for a long long time right that that a school was existing and another school was built on the same the same property. Um and so the nice thing about that is we didn't have to select a mascot. I didn't have to select our colors. All that was built in. So you see a lot of legacy items here in the first on the first level. This this uh um this these learning stairs right here. I have to shout out to Mr. Pangi. This is not my idea. Um, but this is the actually the old gym floor um overlay on this as well.
020Um, they broke through a lot of saw blades working on this project um because I think there's a lot what 54 years of lacquer on the old gym floor. But this is just beautiful um to come in and see that. It's also can you can kind of see it here in this picture, but it also overlays the bench areas in our in our new facility as well. the pool is is a is a great space, you know, at at uh the middle schools, you know, that the high schools practice at the pool. So, now we're able to host North in a beautiful new space. Um, and so we're so happy to be able to use this um and and be able to provide swimming for our students as well through the PE curriculum. So, I
021want to transition just a little bit. Um, you know, before this year, uh, Santa Fe Trail was a redesign school. And so we we really were working at, you know, kind of what what are we going to bring over from redesign over to to the new to the new building and kind of keep those traditions alive. And I want to highlight one program here and this is the students cares. I know Dr. Joerger's familiar with this, Dr. Ericovich are familiar with this. I want to highlight this program because this is not just a Santa Fe Trail program. Um, student cares is is really something that's starting to become a movement. Um, it really started at Santa Fe Trail and Summit Trail and with a church partnership with one of our our faith-based partners and it
022really started with um this this church coming forward and saying how can we help students with their lunches to help on their lunch accounts. So, it literally started with gathering change. Um, in two years, three years now, this has become a movement where students actually present their project ideas to a Shark Tank. Dr. Joerger, Dr. Jükovich have sat on that Shark Tank. Um, right here in this picture over here. Um, and Kathleen Smith and Pastor Joe Crowder sat on this as well. And these kids got up and presented at presented their ideas Shark Tank style if you've seen the show. And those ideas were then funded by this this organization by by the church involved here. Dr. Joerger came through and came up with some funding for some ideas as well coming through. And so
023I wanted to highlight this is just you know community and really um what you know what kids can do um and the fact that they at middle school level are thinking about ways that they can make a difference in their community and and the world. So the OSA OSC schools now are Summit Trail, Indian Trail, Pioneer Trail, Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, and next year we'll be adding THA East and Letha North as well to to the mix of that. Uh we have a summer immersion uh program going on uh this summer um and using THA East students in their 3D program and their civic engagement program to lead that. And we do we we do a big check. So this is these are SFT kids receiving their big check for their projects last year
024at a pep assembly. So we recognize their work entire in front of the entire school. I want to highlight one particular project because this did make it into the new building. So thankful to the district that this could this could happen in the old SFT. Uh we had a cyclone closet and it's an open clothing closet hygiene products for our community. It was right in the middle of the building. I think it was above the old library at one time. Um, it's really important that we that we bring that back to the to the we bring that to the new building because just because you have a new building does not mean your needs going to go away. And tha recognized that, brought the cyclone closet um into at this go ahead here one spot
025then I'll back up back into this space um with this shelving and everything that you see in here has an outside entrance. So, we have been able to open it up. We're going to open it up tomorrow, excuse me, Saturday actually for a a um baby clothing and product giveaway that one of our OSC uh groups will be doing. Um but I also want to highlight the Hispanic Leadership Club three years ago at Santa Fe Trail proposed this idea of adding in these laundry facilities. So, when you take a look at this facility here, we have a stackable washer and dryer for our kids to use, for families to use, and we also have four sets of stackable washers and dryers on our receiving area as well that our community can use. I believe there
026are two laundromats in THA. And so, this is such a great resource for our families as well. And I do have a testimonial um from one of our OSC students. The last name's going to look familiar. It's Isabelle Fulo. So, um, Laney Fulo and Joyce Fusulo who former working in the district and Joyce is currently a teacher at Mission Trail. I'm a freshman at Altha North and I went to Santa Fe Trail before this. My second project at Santa Fe Trail was a cyclone resource center. So, we already had the cyclone closet at SFT and we just wanted to add on to it, make a bigger impact, and so instead of just having clothing that families in need could access, they would have food as well. Completing a project like that is really important because
027it teaches you so much about your community. I didn't know that so many people were struggling and so it really opened my eyes and I understood more what people were going through and I understood how I could help. Learning that helped me become a better person and I think that it's increased my initiative and my want to continue helping out. I've already started expanding to Altha North. Um the administration has had a few visits from me and so far we're all set to start LA the students cares at North and they'll learn some leadership skills and how they will be doing this project and getting some insight and then we will start next school year starting to create ideas and getting feedback and all the things required. The thing I'm most looking forward to is
028the diverse ideas because you have different like ranges. And so because the life of North is so big and so diverse, there are tons of projects that you could come up with and there are tons of things that you could help out with. And so I think that that's one of my favorite things is to learn about what I didn't know and sort of opening up my eyes and creating a bigger impact and helping more people. We give her a round of applause. [Applause] All right. So, that is SFT. It's time for the quiz. Are you ready? Okay. You may use you may you may work with a shoulder partner on this. All right. And I do have Cyclone cash to give away. The value is 1 1,000 of a penny. So, good l good
029luck. No, I I there's no cash value to this. Um, but I'd like you to just with somebody sitting close to you share what theme did you see running through the presentation. I may take more than one answer, okay? So, there might be several answers. So, share with somebody sitting next to you theme through the presentation. I'll give you 17 seconds to do that. Community You have five seconds. Four, three, two, one. If you can hear the sound of my voice, clap once. Clap twice. No waterfall, Dr. Joerger. Sorry. Okay. All right. So, who thinks they know what it is? Equity and opportunity. That's That's a good one. It's not the one I was looking for, but that's a good one. Kaylin, student involvement. That's a good one. That's not what I was looking for,
030but that's a good one. Pride. True. True. Yes. Diversity. Yes. Tradition. Yes. What? Okay, I heard it. Community. Cyclone Cash winners. All right. So, if you said community, see me. I'll put some of these in the back and you can pick one up because I don't want to take any more of your time. I do not have a thousand of them. No. No. Um, okay. So, that's Santa Fe Trail. Um, just thank you for um, thank you for allowing me to work in this district. Um, the people in this district are incredible. Um, consider them friends. Um, you know, and and thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for allowing me to lead an amazing building uh with such great tradition and such an amazing staff that care deeply about their students and so appreciate
031that. I'm going to end with a proud to be SFT. Thank you so much. [Applause] Mr. Liel, before you step away, are there any questions or comments board? Um, so I just want to take this opportunity to thank our community for passing a bond that allowed us to do this amazing work. And I think that's the special thing about tha that we care about all of our students. And then I have to tell you, Mr. Liel, there one day there's like I don't know 16,000 routes I can take from my house to the ed center. And I don't always go by Santa Fe, but sometime during the construction I'm sorry. Um, yeah, construction deconstruction process. So, the new building was there, but when the old building was in front, if you were at a certain
032angle, you didn't see it. And I drove by one day and it was starting to come down. And I too am proud to be SFT. I was there as a student back in the 1900s. and um the 20th century. It took my breath away because here was this building that I I can go there in an instant and open a file, but behind it was this amazing, beautiful building standing proud. So, it just it Thank you for being a leader through that process and being the leader we needed at this time at Santa Fe and good luck in retirement. I appreciate that. Thank you. Yeah. You know, I think um it just it's just such a testimonial to tha school district because there was a building there and we could have very well stayed in
033that building for a while. Uh you know, and and and the fact that the district stepped forward and said, you know, we we want to provide this opportunity for all um for all of our students, it doesn't matter what where they're at in THA, I think is just a testament to the value of education and how much we care about u students in this district. So, thank you for that. Will, do you have you figured out some way to fit hexagons into the new building and or No, thank you. And or do you wake up dreaming about hexagons? I know. I know. You know, I just when I had the building figured out that we had to go learn a new one. So, so no, I no that that Yeah, that was you know, people
034would come to the old building and they they would say, "Can I get a map?" I said, "I can give you one. It's not going to really help you, but Certainly welcome. You're certainly welcome to have one. I I toured it once at the very end and I immediately got lost. Right. Yeah. And you know, I have to say this about the old building. You know, that was a that was a tough process uh you know, to a certain extent because there was I mean there's lots of pride and legacy, you know, within the old building and I think we all work together to bring over those items and to make sure that the that the old SFT is represented in the new SFT. I mean that you can still see outside the outside the
035the old marquee is there outside the building and it says it's it's not a building, it's a legacy. And so we try to bring bring that over to to the new SFT. So thank you for that, Men. Um well and I you know being having the opportunity to tour a couple times and through the process I am just really impressed with the thoughtfulness in um you know cuz we've used this design in iterations right there's other schools like it but you know meeting the need with having the cyclone closet on the outside of the school to preserve the dignity of the members of our community who need to utilize that amazing service. I mean, that's something, you know, until you're there or you see others experiencing it, you may not think about it, but preserving
036the dignity of the patrons of our district is really important, and I I love seeing the expansion of that community service. Um, we're here for others. Um the I think the the OCS expansion is great and it's just a testament to I think the power of investing in um all of so thank you and I mean the closet is I mean blows me away when I think about it. Yeah. And I have to send a shout out to on the closet. I I had it in here and didn't mention it is we have some wonderful partners with the Letha Junior Service League uh that really come in and manage the that that that space for us. And so we don't do that alone. Um and so we have tremendous partners that come in there and
037manage that for us as well. And and so yeah, that that is has been such a gamecher. Um and it really it's open to the entire district. Um and so we you know often we'll work with with Heather Skoonover, others that will that will say, "Hey, we have a need." And just bring them over and we'll we'll we'll help. I I do want to um make two comments actually because now the the old building is gone and so the new football field and track and bleachers and looks like a storage area which is amazing. Whoever approved that to be able to have that right next to the the athletic field. So um that's fun and hopefully it'll stop raining so that construction can continue. But JJ, I I wondered um you know the um OT
038students who care, you referenced that in your video and I just want to remind people that those are middle school kids and um as as JJ said, Dr. Jagger and I've had an opportunity to sit on the Shark Tank panel, but um this organization also received a women's giving circle grant and Mr. Liel was at the meeting this week to give an update on some of the projects that the students um created from the monies that were donated and competed and then they were selected. Could you give us just a couple of examples of of those? Um yeah. Yes. So um really I can give examples from just multiple schools. Um, you know, one one that's u that's happening now is um uh it's called free mini essentials and it is if you've seen the
039the many libraries, the little libraries that are around uh these students had an idea of building of of doing something like that but instead of books it's it's hygiene products and it's essential products and they they've worked with Santa Barbara um the management over at Santa Barbara to put that there um to where students can access that over the summer and then they'll continue to restock it um throughout the school here so that students can just go what get what they need there. Um over at Indian Trail they've they've expanded their their closet um through um Altha Student Cares and so they've expanded um and and increased their selection of of items and organized their their their things as well. I can Summit Trail has done um um saber blankets and they've actually combined and
040worked with our students. So they will make the blankets and then we will actually put those in our closet. So they're the fleece blankets that that they that they put together. So those are just some example. One student focused on literacy um from Indian Trail and talked about his he wanted to help other students because he was struggling with reading and so he got a group of students that went down to I think Heritage Elementary and they worked with students there on their reading. So it's it's a it's a wide wide range. The thing about OSC is it has to fill a human need and so that we really focus on a need a human need out there in the community and and most of most of the things are happening in THA. Dr. Joerger.
041Yeah. Thanks. So, you know, it's such a unique opportunity to have a principal that's retiring um at one of these meetings. So, I want to offer my thanks, but I want to do it by way of story. So, you you may remember we had quite a bit of weather this uh winter and some challenges with having schools and school from time to time, that kind of thing. And one night I'm at the ed center and working on something. I don't remember what. And I get a text from JJ and he says, "I am worried about school tomorrow because of the walkways near a Santa Fe Trail and things." And um so I was driving home a little bit after that and drove by and I see the snowblower going on the sidewalk down Ridge View
042and lo and behold it's JJ out there snowblowing the sidewalks in the blizzard. And I sent him a text and I said, "Hey, we're going to have another day. We're day off tomorrow. You can turn your snowblower off and go inside." Uh but you know the the reality is that just exemplifies the kind of leader JJ has been in our system um forever and ever. And you know there's nobody that knows JJ that's surprised by what I just shared. But you know not only is he cared deeply about academics and you know what happens between the walls of the school each and every day but also just taking care of the comm the community in which he serves. So I just want to thank you for that JJ. you you're nobody that would ever stand
043on a mountain top and profess that, but it's the little things that are seen all the time about you that have made a difference. So, thank you. Appreciate that. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you for being here this evening and sharing those stories. Um before our next presentation, which Dr. Jill Smith and and Dr. Liz Harrison will be providing. Dr. Joerger wanted to make a few comments. Yeah, I'm really excited that Jill and Liz are going to present tonight and share what I would call a 30,000 ft overview of a K8 alternative program that that our district will be creating. And I say 30,000 ft very intentionally because they've they've worked a lot on getting kind of the wide parameters together um based on what the programming will look like to support our our district and
044our schools moving forward. But I also want to be clear that there's probably some questions that could come up tonight that we don't have the answers for yet. Um the goal for the program is implementation during the 26 27 school year. So, um, obviously the the highlevel pieces that they'll share tonight, but I know that this certainly won't be the last time we'll come before the board or our community to describe um what we're excited about and what's going to take place uh with this program in our district. So, all right. Well, thank you. We're very excited that that's going to be kind of a quiz because we have excited we noticed a lot in our notes. So we you can tabulate a little bit but um but we do anticipate launching this program in
04520627 school year. One of the things that we wanted to provide to you is just kind of understanding the why. Um and behavior data certainly speaks to us a lot. The first illustration on the left side of this are behaviors that are typically managed at the office level. And when we say office level that involves a principal or an administrator at that level. Many of these uh managed behaviors include physical aggression, alopement, severe disruption and property destruction. The second slide that you see on the right side are the frequent flyer slide is what we call them. These are displayed the number of students per grade level who have accumulated 10 plus major behavioral incidents. Here's a quiz. What's the highest number that you see? 23 in kindergarten. Right now up to April 21st, there are
04683 students that qualify in this category in kindergarten through 8th grade. As Jill shared, we've seen an increased need to support significant behaviors and social emotional needs. Our teachers and our data tell us that these intensive supports are needed for students with disabilities and students without disabilities. For this reason, we're designing the program to be accessible to both general education and special education students. This past year, we've been researching programs across our country to learn more about the best ways to support students with the goal of creating the opportunity for students to return to their school. We're excited to move our alternative learning program forward as it'll be the first of its kind in our region, allowing us to really lean into specific focus on supporting students with significant behavioral and social emotional needs. Based
047on our research, we're excited. Here we go again. Uh to share that our program is really solutionoriented. It's a short-term intervention that supports students while minimizing disruption to their educational experience. Over the course of time, a student attends the alternative program, a variety of supports and interventions will be implemented. These will be unique to the needs of the student with a goal of creating a tailored support program that is adaptable to their school setting when they leave the alternative program setting. As you can imagine, we're pretty proud and excited to bring this opportunity to our community. As families and educators hear about the program, we'll know we know that there will naturally be questions about eligibility and admission into the program. As you can see, we focused on supporting extreme behavioral or social emotional needs
048that have not improved even with the many interventions a school team has already worked to implement. Placement into the program will be a collaborative process ensuring each is reviewed by a district level team with input from the school students school team who know the student best and the alternative program leaders who know the program best. We wanted to go over some of the program goals that we think are very critical. We want to approach this in a holistic approach. The expectation is that all of our schools are doing these. We just want to develop a specialized individual programs that would come to this alternative program. I want to call your attention to eight of these. This this is not comprehensive, but it it does need to include all eight of these goals. Personalized support for
049students, a collaborative care approach, smooth transitions to the program and from the program, whole child wellness, confidence, executive functioning, social emotional growth, and life skills. We thought it might be helpful to see an overview of the process and how we think it might work in practice. As you can see, Liz has a history of ongoing extreme outbursts that causes significant disruption both to her learning and that of her whole class, even with ongoing interventions. Liz's school team submits documentation and a district team reviews and confirms that the alternative program is a good option to support Liz. Liz then participates in the 45 to 60day intervention where the alternative program team provides her and her family a variety of supports. As time goes on, the team finds interventions and supports that allow Liz to experience success.
050The alternative program team works with Liz's school team to develop a transition plan and Liz returns successfully to her school and there is followup to support lasting progress for Liz. Our goal is simple. We want to improve student well-being, reduce class class disruption, and build capacity success for success across our district. The ultimate goal in providing this programming is student success longterm in their school. In closing, we wanted to share a timeline of the work we've already started as well as our next steps and goals once the program is up and running. As we've shared, there's lots that we've already done, but we're excited to continue planning and preparing as we believe this will be a really awesome opportunity to provide support to both our students and their families as well as to our staff.
051We'd be happy to stand for any questions you might have. I wonder if you would share maybe um where you've gathered these ideas and and kind of samples of programs. How extensive has your research been? Maybe where have you been? Sure. We uh we reached out to EAB to ask them if they had any suggestions. It was really important to us that we looked at a variety of schools. So, we actually have been through the northeast of our country. We went to Georgia. We went to Texas. We went to a couple of schools also in the metro that are on the Missouri side as well um and really tried to look at a variety of programs. Obviously, if there were one that we found that was exactly what we were looking for, we would we
052would bring that idea forward. Um but there were great pieces in all of those that we really felt have helped us to try to start piecing together what we think could be something really great for our kids. And when we say a variety of schools, many of them were private schools. We went to a boarding school. We went to therapeutic sess um settings as well too. Some were affiliated and connected with public schools. When we visited in Texas, it's interesting in Texas that they have more of a um a disciplinary alternative school that all Texas schools have to provide an an educational environment for those students. I was just going to know really quickly, uh Dr. Harrison mentioned EAB. EAB is our research partner. So it's a group that we can go to and say
053what is the best latest information and research on a specific topic. So oftent times when we dive into something new that's one of the places we start just to get a comprehensive look at the research in the field about whatever a specific topic may be. Thank you Mr. Boyd. Thank you. um doing your research, did you come across any resources to help um parents in the home with this group of of students? There there have been a lot of different programs. Um a lot of them have some different costs and things associated. So, we're still looking through those. But another piece that that really allowed us to do is look and see what resources we have available already in Johnson County that we might be able to better partner with some different community resources um
054that might already be involved in supporting some families to really maximize opportunities that are already right in our backyard. Thank you, Miss Johan. Hi, thank you so much. I I really appreciate this and and I was curious about the evidence of the 45 to 60day time frame and and what the outcomes have been from the programs that you've studied. Is is that something you could share? Only one of the programs that we actually visited was a 45day program. Um one of the things that we don't want to necessarily tie ourselves down to just 45 days. We really need to look at an individualized approach for every single student. Some students may be ready to transition earlier. Some students may be an extended um opportunity for them to experience our programming in a smaller setting. Any
055other questions? Boy, thank you for your work um on this. I know others have been involved in it as well and for the presentation tonight. Appreciate it. I I was going to mention also um just briefly again thanks to Dr. Harrison and uh Dr. Smith, Dr. Sig was on the road show this and uh Dr. Fluke also was part of the the travel team that went around and analyzed different experiences. Um you know, one of the things that you all know and many know that we did our district dialogues in the fall. We're doing follow-ups to that now. But one of the things that we continue to hear in that process is concerns about student behavior within our system. Um certainly the impact of the students that are exhibiting the behavior, but also the impact
056on all the other peers in and classrooms and and the toll that's taking on on our staff who obviously has a large responsibility across the system. So, you know, we're we're not under any belief that this is going to be the the the perfect thing that's going to make it work immediately and help it immediately. But, you know, based on the research they've done, I'm optimistic about that this will offer some relief. Um, I think one of the beauties about us not taking somebody's model and dropping it in THA is we can steal from the best of those models that that our group has seen. um but then also adjust to to our expectations, our climate and and our needs of of our students, our staff and our families in THA. So, I'm just excited
057about where it goes. I think it holds great promise, but I'm also really pleased that I think it's responsive to uh the feedback we got this fall in our district dialogue listening sessions that we did. So, thank you, ladies. Miss Steele, at each 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 business this board effectuates. Non-compliance may result in the president interrupting to redirect. We request that individual speakers limit their comments to 3 minutes. The clerk will monitor the time and notify the speaker when the 3minut 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.
058In 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. State your name, city, and state and relationship to the district. Thank you. Thank you. Our first speaker this evening is Amber Grant. Good evening. My name is Amber Grant and I work for the Altha School District as a pair professional. Today, I want to take a moment to recognize a group of individuals who are too often overlooked, yet are absolutely essential to the success and safety of
059our schools, our custodians. In the Lake School District, our custodians do far more than clean classrooms. They are the quiet heroes who ensure our buildings are safe, functional, and welcoming every single day. Over 300 custodians in our school district handle everything from deep cleaning classrooms, setting up and taking down for lunch, responding to emergencies to dealing with stuff most of us wouldn't touch. They support students and staff alike, often without recognition. They're here before the first bell rings and work long after the final student has gone home. But their work doesn't stop inside the building. During the winter, when most of us were warm at home during snow days, custodians showed up to clear ice and snow from campuses, the entire campus at the South, where I work, was done this year by just three
060people. Think about that. Three people, working tirelessly clearing thousands of feet of sidewalks and steps so that hundreds of students and staff could arrive safely. I literally saw the struggles they faced. It was upsetting watching a video of my friend sliding on ice because the snowblower couldn't keep up, then later falling down icy steps while working hard to clear them. To be honest, it made me mad. I felt our custodians shouldn't have been placed in those conditions. Their commitment to our school is more than most would endure. And yet, despite their essential role, custodians have had to advocate over and over again for fair treatment and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. It was the custodians who first stepped up and pushed for union representation, seeking equal rights, fair pay, and better
061working conditions. Their courage set the groundwork for future bargaining efforts, not just for themselves, but for all classified staff. Now it's time we return that respect. Our custodians deserve more than just our gratitude. They deserve a seat at the table. They should have the right to bargain collectively, to advocate for themselves, and to be heard by the district leadership. If anyone has earned that right, it's them. So, let's stand together not just to say thank you to our Letha district custodians, but to support their right to organize and be treated with dignity and fairness. Because when we support our custodians, we strengthen our entire school community. When we fight, we win. Cuchamos gamos. Thank you. Thank you, Manny. Natsu. I got good evening. [Music] We are Fanny Diainto, Claudia Savala and Manuel and we have
062worked at El High School as students for 3, 12 and 14 [Music] years. We are here on behalf of the classified staff to talk you about being a custodian in your late school district. Custodians and classified stark are struggling. [Music] We need your help to retain our employees and ensure that our school district is a place that the employees love working on. [Music] Since the round table discussions, the following thoughts have been in our minds. This is what we've been hearing from the classified staff. [Music] Lack of interested in retain classified employees. After all, they are easy to replace. are the same. They are incapable of improving or contribute to the educational process each day. The job or a classified employee is so simple that anyone can do it. [Music] They adhere to the corporate
063definition of certified employees add value to work whether classified employees provide no benefits. our pound on chessboard. Why do we stay? And we are not just [Music] replaceable. All classified employees are not the same. We deserve opportunities to improve or contribute to the educational process each day. Classified jobs require skills and experience. [Music] During the last 60 years in Altha, we have been chosen with only certified people. Why? It has a value where you would not be doing it each year. [Music] So we are here asking with open minds and hearts. That is the reason that why we are praying for custodians as a first step to build a better future for our students together. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Jennifer [Applause] Curry, Jennifer Curry from Shaunie, Kansas. Good evening,
064members of the school board, staff, and community. My name is Jennifer Curry, and I'm an elementary music teacher. This is my 25th year of teaching and my 19th year at Washington Elementary School. I'm here tonight to speak about a group of indiv individuals who often go unnoticed, but whose absence is always felt. It's our custodians. Our custodians are not just employees who clean our classrooms and hallways. They're part of our school community. They greet our students by name. They offer a smile in the hallway. They're the ones who stay late after events. They're the ones who help when something breaks. They work behind the scenes constantly to keep our schools safe, welcoming, and running smoothly. When one of our custodians leaves for a better paying job elsewhere, it's more than just a vacancy on a
065payroll sheet. It's a relationship lost. It's a friendly face that is no longer there. It's a gap in the emotional fabric of the school community. We have to recognize that custodians are a core part of our school, not just the building, but the heart of it. They deserve to be treated with the same value and respect we give to any member of our educational teams. If we want our school strong, we have to support all the pillars. And that means making sure that our custodians can afford to stay here with us where they belong. And this starts tonight by recognizing that the custodial staff as a bargaining unit with the tha NEA. Our goal is for all classified staff to have bargaining rights. Thank you for your time and your service to our communities and
066our schools and our students and families. and I trust that you are considering the importance of every member of our school family. Thank you. Thank [Applause] you, Margarita Morphine. Dr. Dr. Yovich, do you want us to put some additional time on for translation? Would you do that, please? Maybe. Sorry. I'm I'd like to add some additional time for the translation just like we allowed Manny. Okay. Is one minute or two minutes? What What do you think's most appropriate? One minute. One minute, please. Thank you. Yeah. Margarita Lopez. Good afternoon. I am Margarita and I'm a custodian at Blackb Elementary. [Music] Ankl and Marta. I am the lead custodian. I want to share with you what is a typical day of my work. During snow days, a lot of people are at home. But I receive
067an email saying that I need to arrive 1 hour earlier to my [Music] job. I drive 45 minutes from Missouri to come to an in dangerous situation to my job. I come to the building and I clean, I check the principal areas and then I receive another [Music] email that I should be there two hours later, but I'm there working. [Music] My work never stops. I this after to after breakfast I need to go to check the restrooms and all the station and common areas. If something is broke, I need to go and fix it. If it's an emergency, they always call me. [Music] I try to finish every day, every single thing. But if something is pending, I always leave a note for my partner and that way we work as a team. [Music]
068I love to work in the schools and I always want to be a teacher. at my church. I [Music] am here. I'm close to the kids and I love to raise the flag every day and that make me so proud. I get excited because my work contributes to the important events that occurs, graduations, all the the festivities during Christmas and the spring activities. My principal, my teachers always let me know what time and we prepare everything together. We work with the students. They help me to keep everything clean and [Music] ready. In this school, I've been treated with respect. And for me to be respect and at my work, it means that they value what I do and value me as a person. [Music] Morphine. Time is up. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] Nick Crley. Hi
069board. Hi, Dr. Jagger. Hi, Barb. Um, I was thinking, you know, in 2020 when everything shut down, we kind of decided as a society that like school is a thing that happens in a physical space. Not really going to have physical space if the custodians aren't there to take care of it. I got to tell you, nothing ever makes my day crappier than whenever my night custodians had to take the day off and I my trash isn't changed. Like, that's actually like a really big bummer. It's a really important job. You take it for granted until it's like not done and then I'm like, "Oh man, I really appreciate the guy." But that's actually not why I'm here tonight cuz I am here to talk about you guys. Because the last several months have been
070really scary for people that work in schools. And every single time I talk to someone, I say, "Well, you know, you either should probably just come to Altha cuz I'm not scared. I'm not scared while I'm here because we have the board that we do." And you know, I think each and every single one of you does a really great job and I'm really happy to have you up there. Um, I wish that you didn't have to be the people to sometimes make difficult decisions and to be governing in this particularly difficult time cuz I know that it probably weighs on you. I really wish that you didn't, but um like in the Lord of the Rings. Well, well, it has. Um, so here's the thing is I get to tell all of my co-workers
071and all of my friends that are teachers like I feel safe cuz I'm in THA. I really hope that you will think about what it is about your decisions as board members and as a superintendent um that has made me feel safe so that I can honestly from the depths of my heart tell my co-workers I feel safe. I hope you'll find that element of yourself whenever you're making decisions tonight about what else you you what what else you need to decide because I trust you. That's that's it. I trust you and I think our classified staff can trust you too and I hope that you will show them that. That's all. Thank you. [Applause] Therone powers. Is it Therone or the Sorry. Oh, no. It's quite all right. I My whole life I've had
072on the fine. But anyways, hi, my name's Theon Powers. I've been um I'm thankful for the opportunity to speak. Um hope everyone's having a good evening. Um, now it's first board meeting. I imagine it's a little nervous for me, but you guys are probably used to that. Um, I have been in the district since 2005. I've been at every level of the schools, elementary, high school, and currently I'm the day lead at the Mission Trail Middle School. Um, I'm the only custodian during the day. A lot of the schools it's the same routine. We have one custodian for many students. Um I think there's about 700 at our school. Um the biggest thing I can say um from the years of being a district is I'm grateful for the time and the people I've got
073to work with, certified and classified. Um, I could reiterate what my fellow speakers have said, but they've kind of already said what I would say, but I just wanted to reach out and say that I really feel like we need to have um bargaining rights or maybe the steps into getting to bargaining rights so we can uh keep our certified or classified staff together because we don't want to lose really good employees. employees. We have a lot of employees that have experience like I have and I feel like it's not tapped into enough. Um there's a lot that we could share if we can have more opportunities to speak with you guys in person and perhaps if we can get to the next level of like the certified staff has we can really share our
074experience because over the years I feel like there's some things that well why we could do this it could be better or we can save money doing this. I've said that many times where like I understand why whatever is done but as a Gustoian we if you ask us about certain things we can tell you this is not necessary or we can spend your money somewhere else really saving money is hard to do for a school district I imagine and we're here asking probably for more money you could say that but that's not really the point the point is to be able to work with you guys and make our jobs better, but the real point is to make it better for the students and the teachers, which is our certified staff. Um, I know
075it's just custodians here, but really I'm here representing all the classified staff. I feel like our food production grounds, para educators really all need to be probably included, but I think the first step is for our custodians. Um, I really appreciate the opportunity and I really hope you'll give us this opportunity. I've said that twice, but I really appreciate your time. I really do. I hope you guys consider us and I hope you have a good evening. Thank you for your time. Thank you. [Applause] Michelle Samur. [Music] Good evening. Good evening. I'm used to talking to students, not adults, so bear with me. Um, my name is Michelle Samore. I'm a general resource parah at Frontier Trail Middle School. This is my sixth year in the role. I'd like to share a little bit about
076my big about my background, why I chose to become a PAR in the school district. Excuse me, a little nervous. I worked in early education for 10 years, five as a lead teacher and five as an assistant teacher. Then I stayed home for 14 years to raise my children. I've had two daughters graduate from the Eola school district. My youngest is going to be a senior next year. I love the school district. I saw firsthand how successful my daughters became because of the district. That was my driving force behind my decision to come back to work. I knew I wanted to be a part of something that made a such a big difference for my family. I chose to become a parah because I wanted to work directly with the students who needed just a
077little bit of extra help. Being a parah is incredibly rewarding. Watching a student grow from the start of the year to the end and seeing them meet most if not all of their goals. That's a feeling that's hard to put into words. On a typical day, I support students in a variety of ways. I'm part of a reading intervention group where I work with students to improve their reading skills. I help modify and accommodate assignments to meet individual needs. I help facilitate Canvas assessment tests. I also create study guides, quizlets to help students prepare for their quizzes and their tests. and I observe and collect data to support our special education teachers with updating accurate and timely IEPs. These responsibilities go beyond just being in the classroom. They reflect our commitment to help students be
078succeed in a meaningful measurable ways. Um but to do our jobs well, we need support. We need reliable computers, access to online textbooks, limited synergy access to check grades and missing work, better pay to keep and to attract quality peers. Right now, we're often short staffed because the pay just doesn't bring people in. And yet, Paris play a critical role in helping students succeed. With classified staff like Paris joining OEA, we're adding another valuable FO voice to Topeka when education funding is on the table. Thank you. We can share. Your time is up. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Jose Quesada Martinez. Jose is not speaking tonight. Okay. Angie [Applause] P. Good evening members of the board, Superintendent uh Joerger and of course our esteemed board clerk. My name is Angie Powers and I serve my
079colleagues and the students of in our district as president of THA NEA. Tonight, I want to begin by thanking each of you. I know you board members, you serve as volunteers, and you give your time and your energy to guide our district forward. I'm here to ask you tonight to take a meaningful step forward, grant bargaining rights to the custodial staff in the beginning of the 2526 school year. Doing so would allow us to work together in the upcoming months to share a fair to shape rather a fair and functional bargaining process, one that is tailored to our district that we can refine together. Our goal is to build a process that ultimately includes not only certified but also classified staff who are legally eligible and who serve our schools every day with pride. I've
080been doing a lot of listening this year, including classified staff, custodians, as well as others who wanted to be here but couldn't because of work or family obligations. In these conversations, themes have emerged and they are the desire for fairness, consistency, opportunity, and respect. I recently spoke with a custodian who has served in buildings at every level. He shared that one of the biggest challenges for custodians is the inconsistency in how things operate from building to building, not just in workload, but in expectations and procedures. While every building does have different needs, this variation can sometimes cause confusion in staff as they work across the district. But what stood out to me most was not just the issues, but our custodians desire to be part of a system where these issues could be addressed together,
081not in isolation, but through meaningful collaboration. I also talked to a pair this week who's been in the district for 11 years. She has 14 uh weeks of sick leave, but because of the fact that she simply can't make ends meet, she has to leave the district. She told me that her last day in the district is going to be one of the hardest days of her life. And this isn't just about her story. It's a reflection of the larger challenge that we face together in retaining committed, caring staff members that students rely on every day. Our classified deserve not only the same respect as our certified, but also a seat at the table. Our goal in pursuing bargaining rights is not to divide, it is to strengthen. When classified staff have a stronger voice,
082we are better positioned to work together. certified administrator board members to advocate for what our schools truly need. Ultimately, ensuring a living wage for all school staff requires increased sustained funding from the state. And that's something that we can all advocate for together. I want to end today by acknowledging that this request for bargaining comes on May 1st, Mayday, a national day recognizing workers rights. The saying, when we fight, we win, isn't about fighting the people in this room. It's what we're fighting for. For the conditions our staff need to do their work. For the future our students deserve. And for a school community where every voice field value. Thank you. Thank [Applause] you Lydia and Gaga. [Music] Uh good evening uh the board and uh good evening the community. Uh my name is Lydia.
083Um I live in OA. Um I'm a parent in OA. I'm here today to speak about a very sensitive um topic uh that is dear very dear to my heart. Um two years ago I lost a son in their final year to graduation in high school. [Music] Um like I have shared with many a couple of you uh I do I learn the policies of elementary middle middle school and high school with my kids. Of course I never went to school here. So, I did not know what to do after my son passed, but I knew something was wrong because I asked to be included in the graduation, but I was denied that space. I chose to respect the administration's [Music] words. But I knew something was very very [Music] wrong. There needed to be
084something in order. Uh like I said, I've lived in leather for so long. I consider myself a member of the community. I do vote. Uh my son went to Other North. He was playing football. He blocked his leg playing football. He had a surgery. And uh I remember we came home at 11:00 in the morning after the surgery. We slept until 5:00. There was a game and he woke me up to take him to the to the game after the surgery. That's how much he was committed to the north community. But uh he was denied a chance even though he was deceased to uh to receive his diploma. So today I stand in front of you to thank you uh that you're considering to put something in place in that in that in that honor.
085I might not go back and uh do what was you know what was done or what I was denied of me and my family. But uh I'm very very grateful to hear that you're even considering uh to talk about it to put something in order. Something else I know my time is over. Something else that I want to say I'm an immigrant or north is full of immigrants. uh we've been not we've we mental health has not spared us as immigrants and how we view mental health as immigrants is very different from how our normal Americans view uh mental health our children goes to school they get into the American system but when they come home they come home to an immigrant home uh doing immigrant things. So, they it's kind of they live in
086two different worlds. It's very confusing for them. I did not realize that until my son passed. Uh cuz I've been looking at things from a different perspective. Also, just so that you know um I'm very particular about the mental health uh with immigrant because after I lost my son, I went to the hospital. Of course, I was depressed and they screened me for depression and I I screened negative, but I knew I was depressed. So, I work with refugees and uh when I screen them, they screen negative for depression or anxiety. So, I have been advocating and this is outside of all the district. I've been advocating for um a screening sensitive to us. Um Miss Lydia, I'm sorry your time is is up. We are sorry for your loss and I would encourage you
087if you'd like to speak more on that topic to schedule a time and come back or reach out to someone and we'd be happy to have further conversation. Thank you. [Applause] [Music] because a number of the comments this evening were related to um our classified staff, custodial classified staff and organizing and working with our current bargaining bargaining unit um OEA. I would just like to comment that a the roundts were mentioned in some of the comments those are continuing with classified staff. We did start conversation last summer actually after a number of comments at board meetings and there's been a request that board have further conversation and continue um now that the classified staff are organizing with OA. So, we are working with Miss Powers um to identify a date and time to continue that
088conversation with representatives of the board and Dr. Joerger. So, thanks to all of you who were here this evening. Um appreciate your comments and your time and certainly we appreciate you and your work each day. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] board. We are at action consent and I would accept a motion for item 6.01 to 6.06. I move to approve action consent agenda items numbered 6.01 through 6.06 as presented. Second. Motion by Mr. by Brad Boyd. Second by Robert Cun. [Music] Mrs. Reagan, yes. Dr. Yurovich, yes. Mrs. Steel, yes. Mr. Babett, yes. Mr. Ke, yes. Mr. Boyd, yes. Mrs. Johan, yes. Motion passes 70. Um, before we go to the next section of action items, Miss Steel has some comments related to those. Um, as I was reviewing our action bids contracts, um, one thing,
089um, is is is quite apparent and and rarely do we get to sit up here and experience the, um, concept of of prices and things that we secure for the education of our students um, going down or lowering. And that certainly is the case with many of the things here that as I looked at what we um paid to secure some of those things last year is certainly not the number that we're looking at this year. So when we talk about um you know our budget and talk about um all the ways in which um public education is pulled, I just want to draw attention to the fact that there are things where the price has gone up. I know that our staff um does a really great job securing the lowest price cost possible.
090And um I think on one of those we did go to a three-year renewal because it was going to save us money as opposed to doing the one-year. Um but I think it's important for our community to understand that um rising costs is is a very real thing for us as a district. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Steel. I would welcome a motion for item 7.0. 01 to 7.25. I move to approve actions be its contract and agreement 7.01 through 7.25 as presented. Second. Motion by Mr. Boyd. Second by Miss Reagan. [Music] Mrs. Jones. Yes. Mr. Boyd. Yes. Mr. Yes. Mr. Yes. Yes. Mrs. Steel. Yes. Mrs. Reagan. Yes. Motion passes. 70 items. Uh action other we will review individually before we go to the first one. Mr. Hutcherson has some comments. Uh good evening.
091I just wanted to uh take a moment and point out a few highlights of uh the student fees and and activity fees that you see before you this evening. The first one I want to talk a little bit about is instructional material fees and just uh reexplain that this is a fee that we have in the district across the state of Kansas that buy um in the old days it was textbooks now it's online uh textbooks and resources and you'll see it remained relatively flat for many years. This evening we're asking for a 5% increase but you'll see it's been on the rise for the last five years. One of the uh driving forces for that is something that was mentioned earlier is online text. Uh in prior in prior decades uh if if uh
092funding was tight you would kind of forstall a textbook adoption or renewal and the books were still good in the classroom. software licenses have a very hard deadline date so that we don't have we're not afforded that opportunity and uh so I don't want to say disservice but we probably should have been moving those along every year not trying to hold them down for a decade we're not playing any catch-up this these fees do not fully pay still for all of the resources we still utilize general fund uh money but I just wanted you to have some of the history behind that particular fee John I may interrupt you just briefly one of the things we've talked talked about and I know many of you have heard this in the past as it relates to
093textbooks. Most of our textbook publishers now if we go to print an actual textbook there's a substantial fee just to print a textbook um versus you know directing towards an online subscription and things like that. So unfortunately the world we're living in, it's even harder and harder to get a print textbook because they're not really doing it unless it's, you know, emerging literacy in elementary school or a special setup and a special fee that's pretty large that we would pay to have textbooks printed. The next one I wanted to point out is the paywriter program fees. Uh this is for uh students that or families that choose to pay to uh for transportation to school uh because they're outside of uh the radius. Uh once again, for a whole decade, it sat at $290 and
094we're recommending a $25 increase. Uh comparative data, our neighbors are at $370. Uh just so you're aware, there is an early bird discount. Uh it's $255 if you sign up uh by an early deadline. So that helps with our routing. This is not to create money. This is really to pay for the additional routes that are created uh when we add it would be wonderful if you would just have about three kids every in every route that just uh and they all spread out perfectly, but the reality is we do add routes in order to accommodate this particular program. So, this is uh the $25 would go uh to recoup that uh cost. And John, I'm sorry to interrupt you. Sorry, I'm going to keep doing that probably while we go through these slides. the
095um the the um increase that we've had in our bus contract this year is nearly a million dollars. Yes. And does this account for that increase? It does not. Yeah. So still strain component of it. Still strain on the on the general fund. That's correct. Yeah. We could reduce routes if we didn't offer this program, but obviously um that would be detrimental to families that need the transportation. Just a couple others. Meal prices. You I'm sorry. Is the early version going up also or is that uh Dr. McMullen, do you recall if that's holding steady or if is it up slightly? It's a small it's an increase but it's it may be like5 or $10 different. I'm not quite sure. I'd be happy to get that for you though. Meal prices. We're recommending a 30
096cent uh increase in the meal prices. You can see these are um by levels. Uh the dark uh dark blue is elementary, red's middle, uh senior high is uh obviously the the light blue. Uh we uh have been able to hold those down. Food service is a self- sustaining division. Uh we do not transfer any general fund to support that and it is uh totally contingent on food prices in uh in the federal and state aid received. So, as you know, we're not immune to the food price increases that uh people experience in their homes. This would uh maintain that self sufficiency of the food service uh division uh by uh adding 30 cents to each of those levels meal prices. And finally, rel also related to food service is there is a 4 and
097a half% uh merchant fee attached to any credit card transaction uh on a meal price. Uh we are recommending that that uh be passed on. Uh there's still a cash or check option at the school uh if a family chooses to do that. If we do not do that, uh the analysis would say that that 30 cents needs to be 43 cents across every every meal price whether or not you're using a credit card or not. Just that that's kind of the mathematics of it. So our recommendation is uh similar to um many most businesses and other school districts uh that uh we do not continue to try to um uh subsidize that that fee. I just thought that would be valuable information as you uh look at the fees. But I have a question
098to be clear on that last part. We currently are subsidizing that fee. We are. Okay. John, is that fee every transaction or? Yes, it's a percentage of each transaction. So if you charge $100 430 anybody that anytime a a credit card is used three kids if I put it all on one card still yes and to be clear this is only food service we're talking about. So the other payments that families do, which honestly is not near the the financial impact to the school system because often student fees are paid one time a year, those sorts of things where our transaction and food services sometimes are weekly, monthly. Uh if your kiddo spends a little too much in one shot, it could be a daily thing for a little while until you interview or intervene.
099But um why food service is because it's so much more frequent. Dr. Jagger, may I interject? Um, a piece to go along with that is families still have the opportunity to uh send in a check or pay cash and there's no no fee assessed with that. So for families that that wouldn't want to pay the 4%, they would have the option of paying by check or cash. [Applause] Yep. Um, John, you mentioned food service being self-sustaining. If the fee wasn't to get increased, would that about $300,000 is the estimate on the general fund or increase that meal price by 13 cents across all meals? Another 13. It it wouldn't be against the general fund though, Mr. Boyd. It would be against the food service fund. If true if if food ser if food service though,
100which we can't make a profit in food service, if food services would go negative essentially by $300,000, which we could do for probably a year or so and we'd be okay. But the reality is at some point we'd have to subsidize from our general fund to for um food services or we'd have to embed that in the cost of all of our meals for all students. And honestly, that's one of the conversations we had a little bit was, do we just raise the price of meals to cover it? But the reality is we still have a lot of families who don't pay by credit card for lunch. Kind of shockingly actually the number of the amount of cash we still pull in for lunches and things as a district. And our recommendation, we didn't feel
101like everyone should be responsible for the the fee when it's a a decent number of families, but not all families by any mean utilizing credit cards for the lunch fees. Apologize, Mr. Boyd. I misunderstood that question. I probably ask the question, Miss Reagan. Um so um and this isn't directly tied but how does the reimbursement for free and reduced lunch work and impact like do we get extra reimbursement if we're raising like how does that work on the price shifts that we're making here or does the reimbursement doesn't change at all? It uh if I understand your question really it would be independent. It's we're getting, you know, uh federal dollars through the state for the uh free and reduced lunches. Um obviously they're being provided free or reduced and uh therefore it doesn't really
102impact it falls onto the um uh all the other meal prices. And does the free and reduced lunch reimbursement cover the cost of the lunch or is it just a portion of the lunch? Uh if I recall correctly, it it covers all of it. Okay. Uh, for example, when we when everybody during CO was on it, it uh it covered it. Um, I'm going to I shouldn't speak without having numbers in front of me because the more I think about that, one of the reasons we actually built balance during those years. So, um, I'm I'd rather take a look at that and get back to you. May I might assume that it does not pay completely FART, otherwise we wouldn't have to raise meal prices. Well, and so my line of questioning, you're doing a
103great job. What I'm saying is the legislature chose to not put $3 million toward reduced lunch costs for Kansas kids and that would have saved us, you know, that would have re I mean, that assists our community is what I'm getting at. So, this is not really about I just like putting a plug in for people need to vote for feeding kids and um when we have the opportunity to feed kids and support, you know, food service type things for a district as large as ours, we need our delegation in Topeka to do that. Thanks, John. Sure. You know, you make a you are consistent, Miss Reg. You stay on message. You do. I I'm that I mean it's maybe humorous but it's true. I'm not that wasn't a crit criticism. Miss Johan, this may
104seem like a silly question, but you referenced paying by cash or check. Could you also do a bill pay through your bank website and set that up as a recurring? That that's an option that I would consider and it would send a check from my bank versus doing a credit card. Is it? Yeah. For lunch, we can't really do a bill because we students pay for the food as they purchase it. Okay. So, we don't necessarily we would essentially what would happen is we'd end up fronting the money and then billing people for whatever kids ate. Uh because we don't know actually what kids are going to eat every day, when they're going to eat, things like that. So, it's it's very different from student to student. I I guess maybe I'm just thinking of
105setting up as an account on like a bill pay thing that I would do and proactively put money in it from that perspective versus writing a check and sending in the mail cuz I don't do that anymore. An agreement that's tied to where there'll be some charge. I won't I don't want to say exactly who there will be. I send a check with my kid. I just don't have any stamp. Okay. Well, I just thought I'd ask a question because I think it's a it's a option. Great question. Oh, Miss Babb tickets. Um, just to piggyback on what Claire was asking, I am curious if the as the price of meals goes up, if the amount we get from the government goes up also. Um, but also one thing I would ask should this go
106through is that we emphasize in some way to parents about the ability to pay by cash and check because I'm sure I was told at some point. I it never would have crossed my mind, but it's something to consider if we're if we're doing this. So, I I will say just a couple quick things. John and I actually had a conversation earlier today about making that thing very making that that part very clear in our communication and uh wherever we put that in the world that that that would be seen. You know, just a quick story, but one of our school safety specialists is one that does our money management within the district in terms of carding it around the district and and what have you. And I happened to run into him in the
107building one day and that week he had collected $1.2 million in in our district. And um it really surprised me because you know credit cards are convenient in our lives. Jim's looking at me like you shouldn't have said that. But but I on TV I can feel it. I didn't even I didn't know. I could feel it. But but but he's texting you, right? The the the reality is though, it's a very secure operation. It's it's it's not all in one vehicle at one time. It goes to the bank very quickly, multiple times a day. Um, it's been nice being the superintendent here. Um, point being that, um, many of our families still send cash with students and check with students and and and those sorts of things. And, you know, again, I think we
108also have to remember that the credit card piece is a is a reality of a lot of our lives, but it's also convenience that we're offering our community. That's not something we have to do. So, we're trying to, you know, meet the obligation every way we can with all of our families across the district. Sorry, Jim. Any any other questions? Board? Mr. Hutcherson, thank you for the additional information. I would accept a motion on 8.01, please. I move to approve the recommended student fees and miscellaneous charges for the 2025 to 2026 school year as presented. Second, Miss Johan. Motion seconded by Mr. Babbot. Are we able to make comments before we vote? I'm sorry. Are we able to discuss? Yes. Cool. I just want to make Yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Sorry. Um I just
109wanted to say I will be voting for this. Um it is not lost on me that the increase in costs is a burden and it is hard but it strikes me that um you know we are very cognizant as a system of those costs. Um as Mr. Hutchinson said our neighbor districts for busing have been far more expensive for a long time. Um, and everything costs more and there's it costs more for us, too. And I do I appreciate that it feels like the increases are modest and there was a lot of attention made to keep them minimal. Um, and I appreciate the hindsight and realizing if we hold fees down, we will pay for them later. And so let this be a step forward to where we can very incrementally increase things as the
110future comes. Um because while it is nice to be low for so long, it catches up with you in the weird economic roller coaster that we are all experiencing right now. So thank you. Thank you. Any other discussion? Miss Beam, Mrs. Johan, yes. Mr. Q, yes. Mrs. Reagan, yes. Mr. Boy, no. Mr. Babbot, yes. Mrs. Steel, yes. Dr. Jükovich, yes. Motion passes 61. Item 8.02, 02 KASB renewal. Is there a motion? Move to approve the renewal for Kansas Association of School Boards. Second. Motion by Miss Steel. Second by Miss Reagan. Mr. Boyd? Yes. Mrs. Reagan? Yes. Mr. Keun? Yes. Mr. Babbot? Yes. Dr. Jükovich? Yes. Mrs. Steel? Yes. Mrs. Johan? Yes. Motion passes 70. Um before we have a motion on the next one, Miss Reagan, did you have a question? Yes. I was curious,
111which kind of goes in line with my habitual thinking on my comments. Um if Dr. Joerger, since our next item is about um IDEIDA and things related to the federal government, if Dr. Joerger had an update on federal funding. Uh yes. Um I I probably could be a standing topic at at our board meetings for a little while. You know, it's it's an ongoing moving target for us. Um you know, there's there's a number of things that are happening at the federal level that are impacting us um at at the at the state level and obviously at the local school district level. You know, there's there's some items of note probably. Um one is related to ESSER funding. Um, as you all know, school districts, as a result of the pandemic, received ESSER funding to
112help learning loss and support re-entry, if you will, into schools across the nation. Um, school districts had to have that money spent about a year ago. And, you know, we we did a lot of important work in Altha with with a small amount of resources comparatively uh that we received in our district, but the state also had um ESRE money that they allocated for some state projects specifically. Um, of note were some leadership programs that they were doing, some teacher training programs they were doing, um, all educators that have an elementary certification on their license or um, secondary special educators, elementary special educators. A number of professionals across our state by 2028 have to get what they call the seal of literacy on their license. Um, there was quite a bit that the state was
113doing to support that work. And by the state, I mean KSDE and the state board and doing to support that work. Um, all those things in total were about $22 million to support uh things related to public education in Kansas and supporting our staff and the work that they do with our students each and every day. About 3 weeks ago, that money was taken back by the federal government um from the the state department of education. And really what that's done at at this point is uh created a lot of uncertainty for us in terms of you know what are the next steps? How do we help our teachers um understand the next steps to get the seal of literacy on their license? Um some of the leadership training that we've had people involved in.
114Um some programming across the state. I will say that the state board, the state department of education, um our members of Congress in Kansas, our governor, um beyond party lines have all stood together and said this money is important um to Kansas and education in Kansas and they've you know made that known if you will in Washington DC. Um the state department of education still has uh yet to receive any sort of notification on what's going to happen with those programs. So that's an imp piece that's in impacting us all in the state of Kansas, but certainly us and our educators in Altha. The other thing that I might mention in terms of federal uh pieces happening right now, the proposed federal budget um that has been uh moved forward um reduces or doesn't reduce
115removes funding for Head Start uh in the United States. Um that's a really practical piece important piece for us in THAA. Um I checked our numbers today. We have 180 kids um who are served currently by Head Start in our district. Those are students who um fall into one of several risk categories that uh research has suggested that early learning and that opportunity is critical for their continued school success. Um certainly we're you know pleased to have 180 kids. We've always wished we could serve more. Um one of the beautiful things about that in our district is we don't just serve kids from THA, we serve kids from around us as well. So, that's certainly an impact in our district, but also other districts that are are close to us. Um, that is one that
116I would say is, you know, our community thinks about our vulnerable youth and how we support kids if if that's an important thing. Um, for our community and something that, you know, they would like their elected officials to, you know, receive feedback on. Um, I would encourage folks to read out reach out to members of Congress, um, who represent us in Kansas, and Washington DC. Um, you know, I sometimes struggle to find the direct parallel to some of the things that are happening and how they will impact us tomorrow or next week, but that one's pretty clear in terms of what the impact would be fairly immediately in Altha if if that uh does in fact remain outside of the appropriation for the budget. Any other questions board related to that? Okay, I would welcome
117a motion for 8.03. 03. I move to motion. What was my motion to move it approve as presented? I was trying to read it. It didn't read right. Anyway, I approve it as presented. 8.03. Is there a second? Second. Motion by Miss Johan, second by Mr. Babbot. Mrs. Reagan. Yes. Mrs. Steel. Yes. Dr. Jükovich. Yes. Mr. Cune. Yes. Mr. Mr. Fabit. Yes. Mrs. Johan. Yes. Mr. Boyd. Yes. Motion passes. 70. Item 8.04. Is there a [Applause] motion? I move to approve action. Item number 8004 is presented. Second. Motion by Mr. Boyd. Second by Mr. Keune. Mr. Keune. Yes. Mrs. Mr. Reagan, yes. Mrs. Steele, yes. Dr. Ericovich, yes. Mrs. Johan, yes. Mr. Boyd, yes. Mr. Babbot, yes. Motion passes 70. Item 8.05 is in regard to some board policy updates. I would just edit the
118motion that is listed here. Um, we have pulled back on retiring that board policy GC AE and won't be do won't be retiring that at this time. So, you can delete that little phrase when you make your motion, please. Yes. Everything else is yes. I move to approve action item number 8005. Um uh removing JK JQA. No, adopting JQA. I believe the recommendation on board docs is correct. Are you looking at that one? I'm looking at the printed. [Music] So 805 on board is correct. Yes. Okay. Well, I move to approve 8.05 05 as presented. Second. Motion by Mr. Boyd. Second by Mr. Babbot. Mr. Babbot. Yes. Mr. Boyd. Yes. Mr. Ke. Yes. Mrs. Johan. Yes. Mrs. Reagan. Yes. Mrs. Steel. Yes. Dr. Jükovich. Yes. Motion passes 70. Sorry to confuse that people. Um the
119next section are future action items and as you can see we have about 30 for next month. Um so again read early, ask questions if you if you have those. Um submit those early. Mr. McMullen has some additional information on item 9.30 before we leave that section. [Applause] Dr. McMullen. Did I say mister again? I've been called much worse. Dr. Yovich, so it's all good. Um, so uh tonight I kind of wanted to give the board a a brief update on on a future action item that you see there. And um and it's uh for the repurposing of Westview Elementary School. And obviously you heard a presentation earlier tonight from Dr. Harrison, Dr. Smith uh regarding the need for Kate to alt programming in our district and and certainly uh we've been working um kind
120of in tandem between their group and their study as well as our boundary study group and and continuing to evaluate our enrollment and um trends in Altha. you know, I was here last month and presented an an update on enrollment in the district and you know, as you recall, the the theme from that was we are declining as a district. And you know, we were we topped out. We hit our peak in 2019 at over 30,000 students. Uh today we sit at around 27,800. Uh so you you know, you've seen a decline of over 3,000 students uh since 2019. Um, before I get into this, a a figure I'll I'll throw out there that is just something that continues to cause uh intensive study on our part is, you know, our our K5 enrollment, so
121all of our elementary students. Uh, today is the same that it was in 2002. And yet since 2002, we've added eight elementary schools in our district for growth. And so you'll see um as we get into into this talk as well um uh we just are going to have some decisions uh moving forward as a district as we continue to look at space uh and enrollment regarding the repurposing of Westview. Uh to give you a a visual of of the property there, the pink uh attendance area is is Westview there. You'll see their boundaries are Santa Fe to the north, K7 to the west, and the BNSF Railway to the south and the east. And really a comprehensive look at Westview's history, their enrollment, um, from their opening in 1965. Um, they actually peaked in
1221971, uh, at 456. Um, and you'll see they've they've been at 180 or less um since 2017. And this graph here shows Westview's enrollment the last five years and projections for the next five years. And you'll see um frankly just a very flat enrollment right around 150 students um with no growth um projected over the next 5 years. Um, and the reality is of those 150 students, we uh have 30 students there on transfer. So we currently have around 125 students who actually physically live in that attendance area. And how does that compare to some of the other schools that that we just talked about? Um, you know, in our district across our 36 elementary schools, the average enrollment is is 350. You'll see some other buildings there. um including Fair View sitting at 239,
123uh Ridge View's over 240, etc. This next slide really shows kind of the central core of our district and what the enrollment looks like there. Um you'll see on this chart we've got the student enrollment by grade level, the number of staff, um our capacity, and then the number of students on transfers. Um but you'll see that you know all of our neighboring schools in the central core there have an enrollment of around 240 or higher. So, our goals um for the repurposing of of Westview Elementary and again, I guess I should have opened with this. You know, the um future action item uh that we're asking the board to consider action in July uh is for the repurposing for the 2627 school year. So, Westview would continue obviously the remainder of this year and
124all of next year to operate as a K5 elementary facility. Um but really the goals of this move certainly to provide uh facility for our new K program. Um as we look at boundary adjustments, the goal would be to keep as many of the 120 Westview boundary students together as as they move to a new school. Obviously creating schools that have two to three sections per grade level is certainly uh best practice. Um, we certainly don't want to overburden any of our other schools though as we look at boundaries and that's something we'll work through with with those respective communities in the fall. Um, and then certainly work with the Westview staff. Um, Dr. Harrison and I were at Westview yesterday, met with the staff. Uh, gave them the courtesy of of conversation prior to
125this future action item tonight. Um, I'll be honest, it's it's not a fun conversation. um it's not one we want to have. I'm sure it's not one the board um wants to have, but the reality is, you know, we've got to deal with a declining enrollment in our district and um as well as at this time concurrently looking for space for a much needed KA adult ed program. So, our next steps um we'll be sending out a communication to the West View community tonight um after this meeting. Um, our goal is to continue to take great care of the Westview staff. Um, we'll be going out there later this month with human resources and general administration uh to really talk to the staff and answer questions about, you know, what that looks like in 2627.
126Um, obviously, you know, as we shared with them yesterday, all of our staff will move into like positions in the district. They'll certainly have priority uh staffing uh for those openings. Um and we'll continue to work with them on that. Again, we'll be back in July asking the board to take action on the repurposing. Uh then pending approval, we'll roll very quickly into boundary meetings into in the fall. Um and then eventually ask the board by November to take action on new boundary um adjustments because frankly that may impact staffing at each of those buildings too in terms of need needing to increase teachers and and other staff. So given that, I'll certainly stand for any questions the board might have tonight. Any questions, board? I wondered if we could get a copy of those
127slides. Yeah, with that that data. It would be helpful. And I also, this is not a question, it's a comment, but it's a pretty powerful statistic. I think which you started with that our enrollment is the same as it was K5 in 2002 but we have eight additional elementary schools to serve and actually the the numbers actually from O2 to 2009 include sixth grade being an elementary as well. That's true even. That's true. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for that Dr. Joerger. Yeah. I you know I want to thank Dr. McMullen and Dr. Harrison for going out and meeting with the the staff at Westview yesterday. Um, as as Jim said, those are hard conversations. You know, having been in the district for a long time, uh, my mentor when I came to the district was
128the principal at Westview. And, you know, starting then, I spent a lot of time at Westview. And, you know, it's it's it's kind of cliche to say, but, you know, school buildings really aren't about the buildings. it's the communities that exist with inside and um the staff and the students that we support and what have you. And you know, one of the the reasons why we're coming to you now and not coming to you in December next year or January next year or February next year, which frankly would have probably met a timeline to get something, you know, started the following year in terms of having an alternative program there is is really the Dr. Dr. McMullen, the boundary team, general administration, Cindy Capella, our principal there, uh really giving the staff the opportunity to
129one sit with this for a while because we know it's hard, but also the opportunity to really lean into next school year and what that looks like and be able to plan the next year knowing that it will likely be the last year that we'll know Westview in its current form. Um, you know, the fact that it will still be there and serve students, I think is, you know, a positive thing for our district, but it is an end of the chapter likely for a school that has a really important history in our district. And I just appreciate the foresight of our team to really think through how can we do this knowing it's going to be a hard thing, but also um trying to give the staff, the community, the time that's really deserved
130and warranted to just you know work through that and celebrate the traditions and um you know figure out how to become forward focused in the future and all those things. So, I just appreciate the forethought that was given to that in terms of trying to care for our entire Westview community is as we know this will be a hard thing. Thank you. [Applause] Uh information written. Are there any comments related to any of those reports? Miss Reagan? Um about the Head Start report. Um and I appreciated Dr. Jaggert talking about that um in regard to federal funding um and just looking at the numbers we're full and they are supposed to be full but there's also a waiting list of 14 children right now and so just thinking about the impact of that program um
131you know a lot of people you know become what they do as an adult because of something that influenced their life in a positive way as a kid and the person who the consultant who did the um accredit accredit, not accreditation, assessment. I can't remember what the word is, but um she was a Head Start student back when she was a little one. This is a woman from, you know, not even here because she came in and did the evaluation. I mean, and she went from being a Head Start student all the way through her schooling. She became a Head Start teacher. She became a Head Start director. And now she helps assess and evaluate Head Start programs. And so that's powerful. And I would just say, you know, keeping informed on those not so
132easy to stomach issues is important. Um, and we should be expanding early childhood education. Um, not threatening to take away funding. So, that's my only comment. We should be very proud of our program. Thank you, Miss Reagan, and thanks um to Mr. Palangi and Dr. Reeves for those written reports as well. Those consistent updates are are very helpful. Topics for discussion, board member [Applause] comments, Miss Johan, I don't ever go first, so we'll just mark this down. Today you Today I do. Um, today's my day. I just wanted to say um thank you for everything really because there's a lot of thankfulness coming up in the next few weeks, right? there's a lot of appreciation weeks. Um, next week, teachers appreciation week. Big week, right? Um, and so it's kind of led me to thinking
133of all the people here in this room. Um, I've recently decided to file again to to be in the seat that I've I was appointed to, I was lucky to be appointed to, and really thinking about Clara's comments tonight and and others that have said things, I found myself as an advocate. And I found myself in an advocate in a time that some things are not so certain. And I have found something of value from every single person in this room. Whether it be my daughter transitioning to middle school and Michelle saying, "I got her." You know, there's just a really a really great thing, a really great feeling about knowing that not just my children, but our children are in the best place. um and really thinking about our public school system and how
134it's supported and really advocating in the right way to take care of our kids every single day. So, I just want to say thank you to everybody here. Thank you for um you know, opening your arms to me, letting me be here, and I'm hoping to continue being in this space with you all. Um and really just enjoying this experience and learning quite a bit. So, that's that's all my comments tonight, and that's my first time being first and maybe my last. Anyway, let's set the bar high. [Music] Thank you, Mr. Boyd. It's my first time being second. Oh, right. Um, no, it's graduation season and I am excited to partake in um the graduation festivities. Um, and as I was preparing for tonight, you know, I was thinking about like, you know, what makes
135this 2025 class a little bit different from the others, right? Um so with the help of AI which you know fully impacted you know their education process um that has never happened before. So the class of 2025 is the first graduation class that you know um began their high school career without AI and now they get to end with AI. So um chat GPT helped me with some other stuff. Um no they have they applied to college during a moment where SAT and ACT were optional. Like we didn't experience any of that. Um they've grown up with climate change, political polarization, school shootings, um global crisis as background noise. Um good thing they're they're growing and uh there's a growing unprecedented openness and in institutional support around student mental health and this graduation class has
136helped um spread that awareness and increase the uh reduce the stigma around mental health. um this these this group of young folks are more in tune and and tapped into their own mental health and aware of it and are demanding that um going forward the adults around them um realize that um I was texting my son and I asked him like you know what was eighth grade transition to high school and he said you know I had to wear a mask as a freshman um going into high school and and I'm sure that was that was different for him and now he get to graduate without one. So, you know, this 2025 class have experienced some some unique challenges that that no one in the history of the world has experienced. And um I am
137glad and encouraged that um this district help navigate through those experiences and hopefully prepare them for the world that they're about about to enter into. Miss Reagan, um I've been kind of like with Mr. reliable thing, you know, what was the theme of this meeting and and whatnot. I've been thinking about innovative community. That's what I think of when I think of tha, you know, the K through8 behavioral intervention center that is innovative for our region. It will be gamechanging for our classrooms, for our educators, for our kids. Um, and it is it is meeting the moment. Um, and I am very much looking forward to seeing that develop. And then the community piece, you know, kids, the THA students care program, um, teaching people to care about each other through collective action that helps
138solve a human problem, as Mr. Liel said. I mean, that that that moves me because, you know, these kids, as Brad just said, they've been going through and watching and and and experiencing a lot, but they're they're caring kids and the program is expanding, and that that is really heartening for me. um as we've gone through the kind of you know embracing of a new district identity and brand um our schools means that every person who is employed by this district or volunteers in this district bolsters up the education and experiences of our students and um my heart is with the individuals who spoke tonight and those who were in the crowd on this international workers first day and just, you know, I remember my lead custodian from my high school back in Belove, Nebraska,
139Henry. I remember his name. I remember exactly what he looks like. When you're the captain of the dance team and you're, you know, getting ready for practice after school, you chat with the lead custodian, you know, and I bet you every kid in our district has a memory or a moment with those professionals who serve our buildings. And that community is what makes our latest school so strong. And finally, you know, um that that general fund of ours does a lot of work, pays for a lot of things, you know, and we don't fill that bucket ourselves. Our legislature does. And our community, we are great. We have professionals who are innovating. they are caring for each other and teaching our kids to do that. And our legislature needs to give us some help with
140our general fund. So, I'm just going to leave that at that. And uh yeah, we still have more meeting to go. I'm done. Mr. Bab, well, I'd like to piggyback on Miss Johan's comments about appreciation week. Uh, next week is also nurses appreciation week, so we can appreciate Joey. And Wednesday is school nurse appreciation week. So, I look forward to uh appreciating all of our school nurses here at the uh district. Um, this morning, myself and Julie and Stacy attended the academic military signing ceremony at the North. Thank you to Mr. Herman for inviting us and it was a really cool experience. We got to see boy a few hundred couple hundred kids go through and uh they announced which school they're going to on scholarship and or which uh branch of the military they're
141joining. The entire school was there to support them and sat perfectly still for 45 minutes which was incredible. Um and then I wanted to do a special shout out to John Macaulay for receiving the Johnson County Community College Presidential Scholarship. Mr. Herman um actually surprised him during the ceremony which the look on his face was classic. And the last thing was I attended the final culinary arts restaurant night uh the night after the last one. I noticed no other board members made it. You didn't tell us about it. I announced it. You weren't here at the last one. That's why I You didn't tell us on purpose because you didn't want to That is true. I didn't I didn't say the night. I was definitely gatekeeping. Um, so I look forward to uh signing up
142for next year's early so I don't have to keep it from everybody. But um, it was wonderful yet again. So thank you to those students and to that amazing program including uh, Chef Shaw and uh, the rest of the staff there. And that's it for me, Miss Steel. So um, we had a shorter time period between meetings um because our April meeting was delayed. But as I went back and tried to look at um all the things that have happened kind of you know throughout April I it's so much from um just bear with me uh our head start um celebrating 60 years um you know next week is educator educator appreciation week um we recognized national fentanel awareness day are doing great work in that area for our students it was also national volunteer
143per month, which in this district is a very big deal where our volunteers are clocking about 17,000 hours, which is a huge lift um for our district. Um it was also National Home Visiting Week, honoring our parents as teacher educators doing great work in the home with parents. Bus driver appreciation. Chef Shaw at um the OATC culinary arts program made dinner for those parents who are at the Ronald McDonald House. Um autism awareness month, our um special services site council was dedicated to teaching parents about the HCBS waiver and Medicaid. Such an important next step for many of our parents. Um it was assistant principal week, principal week. Um you know, National Association for the Education of the Young Child, it was their week. Um of course, Rachel Maau from Central is our region three
144finalist for the 2026 KTOY Kansas Teacher of the Year. That's exciting. Quest Olympics. I mean, on and on. Our construction trades built the cutest little mini house that is actually um up for auction. I don't know if that's over with yet. Paraprofessional appreciation day. Scar Bro had a wax museum of famous canons. How cool is that? Athletic trainers month. Women's giving circle. That's always a a a great honor to be a part of. We did an energized teen leadership council. I'm telling you on and on and on. And the thing that really hit me is Oh, excuse me. That's my son calling. He apparently doesn't know that I'm in a meeting. Uh sorry. Um but um as I looked at all of those and that's just what's happened between meetings. Um our district, our public
145schools is the tie that binds our community together. So whether you're five or 85, somehow our district has connected you. Whether you have a diploma, and if you don't, we have an answer for that too. Um or maybe you're a graduate that's an MD or a meteorologist. We have um one of those. Or an NFL player. We have one or two of those. Um this this district, our public schools are the tie that binds all these people together. And you know, the thing is um we need continued support to make all of those things happen. And it's going to take our entire community to pull together and do the work to make sure that we do not one grow tired or two um stop making it known that doing more with less is going to
146get harder and harder. And so if we as a community can realize our public schools are what tie us all together and advocate for that. Do something. Do anything as we wrap up this school year. take the summer to figure out what you can do. And I could I could give you ideas. I could give you websites to go to, but if you just start with googling who is my Kansas rep, who is my Kansas senator, who is my US senator, who is my US rep, and get in touch with those people. We need to be tireless because doing more with less is what we worked so hard to do, and it's going to get harder and harder. And all of those things I just mentioned touch so many people beyond just the district. It's
147what brings us all together. So, thank you for that. Um, and that's all I have. All right. Is that everyone? I'll go. Robert. Wow. It's a night of first. Um, I don't know, Julie. I don't remember if you mentioned this national you I think you said principal week national school principal day today. Oh, today's the day. Okay. Today's the day. So, um they do lots of great things, but I don't want to talk too long so I won't mention them by name. Um but you guys know who you are. Great. Great. Thank you for that. Um it is also mental health month um as of today and so I once again we mentioned them I know last month but want to give a shout out to the THA public school foundation and the taste of
148the town for raising over $350,000 um for that fund and for that purpose um and for the staff who who utilize those monies for our kids. Um, as has been mentioned, the opportunities at this time of year are endless. There's something multiple times during the day, every evening. Um, many of which we are invited to and um, and attend music events, athletic events, project demonstrations, work-based learning, internships. Um, last night I attended client connected project at the Northwest which were freshmen in honors biology who worked with the Alzheimer organization and they in teams of students produced um materials, educational materials related to Alzheimer's and it was songs and podcasts and children's books and a guide and I I mean it it was amazing. It truly was. So kudos to those two teachers at THA Northwest
149as well. And then um Will already mentioned this morning uh award recognition and of course there are multiple award recognitions at at every school and thanks to the schools for inviting us. Um, we wish we could be at everything, but um, Julie uses the the term it fills us up. It fills our cup. And it certainly does. It certainly does. Um, I think it was Claire who mentioned innovation and innovative. And Women's Giving Circle, it was mentioned, was this week and the grants were um, focused on innovation. And I'll I'll give a shout out to those um three educators and the people who worked with them. Um the women's giving circle has grown to 245 members which do the math $100 from each member each session is almost $25,000 that we are are donating gifting.
150Um the first place award went to Sam Rue who teaches at OATC. He's a welding teacher and it was for a laser cleaner device. Um which does a number of things. One, it speeds up the process of cleaning the materials that that they're going to use to weld, but it also provides the kids another certification that they can take with them when they leave and go to the workforce. Um so and special um relationship there. He was a PRT kid when I was their principal. So his memory of me is telling him to get off his skateboard on the sidewalk. Um Oregon Trail um uh also received a grant. Sarah Acriman, the um theater teacher at Oregon Trail, and she involved um some some other staff. and it's a Latinx theater project where she is
151bringing in a Latinx uh playwright to work with Oregon Trail students to write a play to tell their stories um their experience in the United States at Oregon Trail, produce the play and then the the play will actually be available to all 10 middle schools and across the state of Kansas. So, it's not just um the contacts not just limited to the students at Oregon Trail. It's a two-year project. Tha West, THA North students are also going to work with them. And then the last one um is a teacher at THA West, Kayla Barnes, whose PE teacher coach, and they have started a triathlon club, and these funds will help purchase additional bikes and helmets. So kids who don't have the the quality bikes to actually participate will be able to join and she's um
152working with the other high schools to expand that too. So innovative, exciting um just a a fun fun night always and thanks a shout out to the women's giving circle and their contributions. Um this was the 11th year um two cycles each year. some of the women in this room, many of the women in this room are part of that as well. Um, my last remarks are are actually, I guess you could say, a little bit of a message to those in our community. Um, as a board of education, we have a passion for Altha Public Schools and for the people in the schools and we have a desire to serve. Um, it's why we volunteer to do this work um that that that we do. We welcome feedback, input, questions, and we thank community
153members who reach out to us in person, email, by phone because those types of interactions allow for conversations and an opportunity for us to direct the questions or the concerns to people um who have more information than we do or to involve those in the district who have the answers or the capacity to work through the issues. I would encourage those individuals in our community who have concerns to reach out to us in those ways, not to use social media as a tool or a format to resolve a concern. That approach does not allow for conversation and most often engages others who don't have all of the information. They don't have the facts that are needed to find a solution. And in fact, often times it makes the resolution more complicated and difficult and sometimes
154impossible. So, thank you to those who work directly with us with district and building leaders and we look forward to continued excellence in the public schools. Dr. Gger. Uh, thank you. I I like to give an update uh when I say something off the cuff at a board meeting. Um, I have received just and then I'll get into my real comments. I've received 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 text messages um from some of my fellow colleagues in the room, but even some not in the room um about my comments earlier this evening. So, just want you to know that we have a strong culture of feedback here in the Altha Public Schools. Um no one in the district is immune to that. So, thank you. Um I I I
155also Right. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. So somebody actually Julie Miller is still here. We had a brief conversation before the meeting. I don't remember exactly how it went but the crux of it was the chocolate chips that one time that was interesting. So thank you Julie. I I appreciate that. So anyway, I just try to keep it fresh for everyone uh monthto month. But I want to thank you all for uh capturing so well all the greatness and all the cool things that are happening in our district. You know, this time of year is special um for so many so many things that you've already mentioned. Um I also want to mention today is school principal day. We are truly blessed in Altha to have the best of the best. Our principles um as was
156said about so many other people tonight are truly unsung heroes. You know, I shared the example of JJ out there with a snowblower and what have you. The reality is we have principles who um do many things that are seen but far more things that are unseen to support our students and our staff across the district. And I just want to give a great big shout out and thank you to all of our principles. We are so grateful to have each and every one of them within our system. I don't think any of you mentioned this one, so I'm kind of excited about this. But um tomorrow is school lunch hero day. Um which is an important day. Um, we have a tremendous food services team in Altha. You know, I've shared the stats and
157statistics about how big our restaurant is that, you know, we operate every day for breakfast and lunch, but uh truly we have so many school heroes, so many school lunch heroes. Um, just people that work every day to make sure that our students are wellfed and uh so appreciative of them. You know, I I'm not the earliest person to work every day. I I do generally get here on time, but the mornings when I come very early for something, the building next door where food services is, that parking lot is full and it has been full for hours. And you know, our folks get here early to move food across the district to take great care of our students. And uh more than that, relationships and everything that our food service staff does so well.
158So, I want to thank Scott Kangar and his entire team um over there that just really do a tremendous job for this. Uh you did mention that uh fentanyl awareness day uh was this week. Um I am very proud of the work that we're doing in that area. You know um it's a good example of how we are in touch with our community, how we pay attention to what we hear. Uh Heidi Tamasi who's leading those efforts along with Matt Johnson in our district. Heidi spoke about her experience at a board me at a board meeting and quickly we got together and we realized there's something we can do here to help educate our community. And you know, I really like to share that as an example of how nimble we are and trying to
159meet the needs, but also how open we are to trying new things to try to accomplish the goals. So, um, so many great things happening across our district yesterday with our facing fentanyl campaign and, um, it was great to see so many high school students involved, but thanks again to Matt, but also Heidi for, uh, her willingness to share her personal story and live that into action for other young people in our district. It's uh, truly amazing. You all talked about educator appre appreciation week next week and you know the name educator I like because it's all-encompassing of lots of people in our system uh certainly our teachers but our school nurses everyone in between that um you know supports our students being successful at school every day and again we heard great examples tonight
160during public comments of things our custodians and others do just to support kids and the reality is it takes all of us and so so grateful for all the professionals that that work in our education community um across the district. You have probably seen on social media, our website, school newsletters. The link is live right now to submit thank you notes to our staff. I think we were up to almost 700 on Monday, so we're probably far beyond that now. U but that is still up. Uh it's a really slick thing. So, I'd encourage anyone to get on, write a thank you note to a staff member. Our amazing graphics communication team prints them and they get a note uh delivered to them, which is really special. So, um thank you. Thank you uh board
161staff members, anybody for for doing that. Um most educators are probably like me in a sense that we have a special place where we put notes and files and things like that. Um I still have that today in my office and those days that are kind of tough, I go back to that and look at that and I know I did the same thing when I taught fourth grade. So um those kinds of things mean a lot to us in education. So just wanted to encourage our community to get involved with that. a special thing that continues to happen in tha that was kind of a ground roots uh ground roots that's not even the right thing to thank you thank you all um kind of a grassroots effort see this is a helpful team
162it's awesome um but kind of a grassroots effort in our community was the graduation walks that we have at our elementary schools we had a number of schools that did it but now it's grown and all of our elementary schools do it and it is just so cool to see the pictures and the opportunities for seniors who who are graduating to go and walk through the halls of their elementary schools. Certainly for them to have that experience. It's so fun for our staff to be able to connect with students ahead. But how cool for a five or sixyear-old to see a graduate walking through the halls of the elementary school. So really a special thing that we continue to do and I just want to thank everybody that that gets involved with that. Um Mr.
163Boyd already summed this up well, but the class of 2025 will be in front of us here in a couple of weeks celebrating their accomplishments in high school. Uh the other group of graduates that that we can't forget and they're not graduates but retirees. Uh this year we'll say uh farewell. We wish you well to uh many employees who've worked in our system for quite some time who've made a everlasting contribution in our district. So I just want to wish our retirees well uh in addition to our graduation uh our students graduating as well. And then I would like to send a special uh shout out thank you to our good friends at Clearwater Creek. Um, today they delivered Mayday baskets at the education center. And um, you know, I I don't know if I'm
164like some people, but there are days where I'm kind of like, today's been a challenging day. And these kiddos knocked on my door and they handed me a a Mayday basket and I almost got tearyeyed because I was just so happy to see them and they were delightful. And it was just a reminder, you know, today for I think many of us at the Ed Center. I'm not the only one that got one. Uh maybe they delivered them districtwide. I don't know. But um it's just a reminder of what we do and why we do it. But I want to thank the students and staff of Clearwater Creek for thinking of us today and and taking care of us. Your your superintendent and many others appreciated that. So thank you Clearwater Creek. So with that,
165I would just say um this is our last meeting uh prior to the end of the school year, which is really hard to believe that it's uh already here, but I wish everyone a great uh last few weeks of the school year. Thank you. Thank you for all of the comments this evening. Um, item 13.01 is an executive session and I would welcome a motion. We will need 20 minutes. 10. I move that the board go to executive session for the purpose of discussing matters relating to actions adversely or favorably affecting a person as a student under coma and that the board return to the regular meeting at 8:45 second motion by Miss Reagan second by Mr. Cune Mrs. Reagan yes Dr. Jükovich yes Mr. Boyd yes Mrs. Steel yes Mr. Babbage. Yes. Mr. Cune.
166Yes. Mrs. Johan. Yes. Does somebody have a motion? To take action. Oh, it's not on there. Well, it might be in board. I just didn't see it was illustrative content. And then we'll probably We want to see Okay. Do I have a motion? I move that the board of education adopt the recommendation of Dr. Jim McMullen, hearing officer, concerning the expulsion of student 2025-1A. Second. I'm sorry, I missed the second. Miss Reiken, Miss Johan, me. Miss Motion by Miss Steel. I know. Second by Miss Joanne. Mr. Boyd. Yes. Mrs. Reagan. Yes. Mr. Ke. Yes. Mr. Babbett. Yes. Dr. Jükovich. Yes. Mrs. Steel. Yes. Mrs. Johan. Yes. Motion passes 70. Item 14.01, 01 executive session and we will need 30 minutes. I move that the board go into executive session for the purpose of discussing matters
167relating to employer employee negotiations under coma and that the board return to the regular meeting at 9:15 p.m. in this room. Second motion by Miss Steel, second by Mr. Cune. Mrs. Reagan, yes. Dr. Mr. Jükovich. Yes. Mrs. Steel. Yes. Mr. Boyd. Yes. Mr. Babbett. Yes. Mr. Cune. Yes. Mrs. Johan. Yes. Motion passes 70.