Blue Valley Board of Education Meeting 5-11-26

001Mhm. >> Mommy. >> Where do all these people come from? >> Good evening. My name is Casey Bruto and I'm the chief communications officer and tonight I would like to invite Ethan Kolb, a fifth grade student at Hartland Elementary, to the front to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Okay, and we're >> [applause] >> we're going to have you stay up here just a minute. We're going to grab a picture. Is Dr. Chapman and the board president come down? Hey, technical difficulties. Okay, 1 2 3. 1 2 3. And I know Ethan has a fan club out here tonight, so I

002know his principal and his parents and his sister are in the house, so if they want to give a wave. THANK YOU SO MUCH. TONIGHT WE also have the privilege of recognizing several outstanding staff members whose dedication, talent, and impact are inspiring. Uh for our first recognition tonight, would Karen Tolar please come forward with your supervisor, Jeremy McFadden. We are excited to recognize Karen with a distinguished service award. Karen is the budget manager for Blue Valley, and this is her 10th year in the district. Jeremy, can you tell us why Karen is so deserving? >> I can. I'm not ready for this, but let's do this anyway. Um I'd like to introduce Karen Tolar, this month's distinguished service award recipient. Karen is Blue Valley's budget manager. Before I tell you why Karen is receiving this

003award, let me start off with one of my favorite quotes. Lou Holtz, college football coach, once said, "Your talent determines what you can do, your motivation determines how much you are willing to do, and your attitude determines how well you do it." This perfectly captures Karen's contribution to Blue Valley: talent, motivation, and attitude. First, Karen is extremely talented. You should see her work in Microsoft Excel. It's like watching Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. >> [laughter] >> More importantly, everyone take a moment to recognize the talent needed to manage a $300 million budget each year. It's not easy work, but Karen has the talent to do it. Second, Karen is very motivated with a great work work ethic. Her car is always one of the last in the parking lot. It's easy to spot with her

004Florida Gator license plate. >> [laughter] >> Third and most important, everything Karen does is with a great attitude. Managing taxpayer funds, navigating special education audits, working with departments on budget needs. She always handles herself with grace and professionalism. In short, Karen never has a bad day. Karen, as you enjoy retirement with your husband Jay and travel the country in an RV that makes me super jealous, take pride in the impact you had on Blue Valley and all of its students. And while it's great to be a Florida Gator, it's even better to be Blue Valley's Distinguished Service Award recipient. Congratulations, Karen. >> [applause] >> Would Karen like to say anything? >> No, she would not. >> [laughter] >> nominating me and getting us through these last four years, which has been challenging. Well, yes, and

005then Sue, my my partner in crime, who uh has helped me figure out school finance and couldn't have done it without her these last >> Couldn't do it without you. >> Thank you. >> Congratulations, Karen. Next, we'd like to invite Elizabeth Brassfield to please come forward with your principal, Keith Waggoner. >> [applause] >> SO, WE ARE EXCITED TO RECOGNIZE Elizabeth with the Excellence in Education Award. She is a fifth grade teacher at Oak Hill, and this is her 22nd year in the district. So, Keith, tell us a little bit about Elizabeth. >> I mean I'm I'm not going to go too wordy and it's that's a tough act to follow, too. Um Elizabeth is the most humble human being I think I've ever met and she would hate for me to stand up here and

006brag about her because that's who she is. What she cares about is kids and she creates a classroom that is a family and she speaks to that all the time. And any students that have ever been in her class, her colleagues that are here watching as well, will attest that when she says family, she means family and her kids love her and she cares about those kids like they're her own and her own kids are here as well. And so she has just an amazing classroom environment. Kids are wildly successful and she is the again most humble human being that she's going to pass that on to other people. She's going to say we're successful because they did this or they did that. When [snorts] in reality, it's people like Elizabeth Brassfield that make O'Connell

007what it is. Um and she is better or she we are better because we get to work with her every single day and so I'm so proud of Elizabeth. There's nobody that's more deserving of this recognition even though she probably doesn't want to be standing here right now. >> [laughter] >> Would Elizabeth like to say anything? >> Thank you very much. >> Okay and I and I think she's got um some friends, some family, a cheering section it looks like. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Thank you all VERY MUCH. >> [cheering] >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> NOW WE HAVE some student recognitions tonight. Would our shooting star recipients, please come forward. >> [applause] >> So tonight we are joined by a group of very talented students who are recently

008recognized as shooting stars by the Arts Council of Johnson County. The Shooting Stars program celebrates student artists and their art educators with recognition and college scholarships. Since 1997, more than 1,000 high school seniors throughout the Kansas City metro have been recognized for their artistic excellence. This year, four Blue Valley seniors were selected as first and second place recipients and received college scholarships. Um what an amazing accomplishment and I'm sure your parents feel that as well. Um so we have one senior um from Blue Valley High who couldn't join us tonight, Carolyn Merritt, but I wanted to make sure to recognize her as a recipient and then I'm going to ask that the rest of you go ahead and introduce yourself, what school you're from, and then what area you were recognized in. >> Um my

009name's Haley Tam. I go to Blue Valley West and I was recognized for poetry. >> I'm Daniel Chan. I'm from Blue Valley High and I was second place in 2D art. >> I'm Devika Krishna. I'm from Blue Valley Southwest and uh 2D art as well. First place. >> Congratulations. I I also have a a Oh yes, LET'S GET THE UM THEN I ALSO HAPPEN to know that Devika and Daniel were also recently named National Scholastic Arts and Writing Award Medalists. Um Devika received a gold medal for her piece titled Construction on Our Block and Daniel received a gold medal for his piece titled Bone Museum. Um this program gives students opportunities for recognition, exhibition, publication, and scholarships. Over the years, the program has recognized well-known writers and artists like Stephen King, Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath,

010and Robert Redford. So, congratulations again to you guys and your wonderful accomplishments. >> Uh, Casey, if I could mention, too, I know at least one person up there who has a heart in the parade of hearts this year. And which one Which person up there has one? Yes. So, we're well represented in Blue Valley. >> first. >> I I've got her bio. I know it. >> Okay. Okay. Congratulations again. Okay, if you didn't hear, the heart's in the Zona Rosa area. Okay. Well, we're so fortunate to have outstanding educators and students, and it was an honor to highlight a few of those tonight. So, congratulations, uh, once again, another round of applause for everyone tonight. And then, for those who are recognized, who are looking for a natural, uh, break to sneak out, here it

011is. >> Now, it's time for open forum. Uh welcome those of you who are here for the open forum. Our goal is to allow a time for individuals to address the board in an orderly, efficient, and dignified manner. The board will enforce a 3-minute limit per speaker for up to 30 minutes. If you have handouts, they can be shared with our campus officer for distribution, and at the conclusion, the board will close the forum and proceed with its agenda items for the evening. We appreciate your presence as we value the opinions and the concerns of our patrons, and if you are unable to address the board during open forum, you may address the board by email. And I have a few reminders about open forum that will help our speakers have a constructive and positive

012experience when discussing items with the board. So, when making remarks, please be civil and use respectful language. Please limit discussion to the relevant business of the board tonight. Discussion of matters related to a specific student or employee are not allowed. Instead, comments should be submitted to the superintendent in writing. Please remember to limit your comments to 3 minutes and avoid repeating the concerns of a previous speaker. Now, please remain in the designated visitor area and refrain from approaching the dais where the Board of Education is seated. If you have questions that need a response, someone will follow up with you at a later time. So, on behalf of the board, I welcome you and appreciate your interest in Blue Valley as we provide the very best education to our students. When your name is called,

013introduce yourself before beginning your remarks. As a reminder, we ask that all remarks are limited to 3 minutes, so we'll get started. Our one speaker tonight is Marcus Polio. Did I pronounce that close? >> Better than most people say it. >> And how do you pronounce your name, Marcus? >> Uh my name is Marcus Poliot. >> Poliot. Thank you. >> Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the Blue Valley School Board. I am AT1 Poliot. Uh I'm an aircraft electronics technician who became a recruiter to move my family into Johnson County and and establish my children in Johnson County schools. So, this is a personal thing for me, not just a job. Um I'd like to start by talking about my first person that I ever put into the Navy. His name was Ryan Spratlin, and

014he graduated from Blue Valley North. Ryan went on to ISU, and in his junior year, he realized that civil engineering was not his path in life, and came to talk to me. He is now a rescue swimmer in the United States Navy. However, Ryan had to forego thousands of dollars in bonus money, and he will not get his GI Bill until his next enlistment because he needed our loan re- forgiveness program. I have called all year seniors from all the school districts, and none of them are aware of how predatory student loans can be. That student loans cannot be forgiven simply with a bankruptcy even. It takes a higher level of court. So, they are not being informed at the school level of this problem. I also went around to to the Blue Valley schools

015that I have been assigned and have found that no Blue Valley school has a career fair. And Blue Valley West does not allow anybody in the building from any of the branches, from trade schools, or unions after the month of October. Which is a problem because seniors often don't find out that they didn't get that highly competitive scholarship or that they missed out on their first choice in schools until January or February. So, we're not being allowed to provide them with a backup plan or a pivot. So, I come before the board to ask for three things. Number one, create a district career fair to allow not just my fellow recruiters and I, but also trade unions and trade schools to come in and show these kids that there are other paths to success in

016life. Number two, I ask that you empower the the principals to open the doors to us at least once a semester so that we can provide backup plans for children who might need it. And number three, I ask that you encourage counselors and principals to get in touch with us even for academic-based presentations. I have 18 years of experience fixing electronics and aircraft. I can come in and talk to math, physics, shop principals, leadership, and geography. Um but I am not allowed that opportunity. Thank you for allowing me to speak. I hope you consider these ideas. >> Marcus, thank you very much. Thank you for your service and also thank you for being here and we are all we will take everything you've said under consideration. >> All right. Thank you very much. >> Yes,

017sir. That concludes our open forum and we will now turn to our regular Board of Education business meeting. Uh that's the time when the board publicly conducts its business by governing the school district. While these meetings are open to all, public interaction is limited to individuals who have signed up for open forum. Um So, we hope that all attendees will contribute to a positive atmosphere, conducting yourselves with decorum, and please engage in civil and polite behavior toward one another. It's crucial that everyone present extends courtesy to both the school board members and those presenting by listening attentively. And please refrain from making comments or sounds and foster an environment of respect. And thank you for your understanding and cooperation in making this a productive meeting for all. So, call the meeting to order. We need

018a motion to approve the Board of Educ- regular Board of Education meeting agenda. >> I move that the Board of Education approve the May 11th, 2026 regular Board of Education meeting agenda as published. >> Second. >> Moved by Jody and seconded by Dr. Evans. All in favor, say I. I. Any opposed? Nope. The agenda is approved. Which takes us first item as the consent agenda. So, our rules of parliamentary procedure provide for a consent agenda listing several items for approval by the board in a single motion. Documentation concerning these items has been provided to all board members and the public in advance to ensure an extensive review. Items may be re- removed from the consent agenda at the request of any board member. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> I

019move that the Board of Education approve the May 11th, 2026 regular Board of Education meeting consent agenda as published with minor edits deemed necessary by legal counsel. >> Second. >> Moved by Gina, second by Dave. He's on the record now. All of All in favor of uh approving the consent agenda, say aye. >> Aye. >> Any opposed? It passes unanimously. >> President, um thank you. This evening under the consent agenda, um the board approved a number of um administrative changes and um some appointments. So, I want to spend a couple of minutes introducing this new system. Um as you know, we have extensive um budget reductions that we're currently in the middle of making. And in an effort to streamline our support and services for our school district, we have reorganized our staffing into a

020feeder pattern system. And so, um what we'll be doing in the feeder pattern system is we'll have a uh director or an executive director of administrative support as well as an assistant director of special education staff that will be supporting a feeder pattern system. So, we recently unveiled our feeder pattern system. And so, I wanted to show you just um some pictures and also um to uh introduce each of the director of school administration um that will be taking on that lead in this feeder pattern system. So, um the first one is uh Blue Valley High School feeder. And we have our principals and the uh director of special education, uh Jenny Perdue. and um the leader of that will be Chris Legleiter. So, I'm going to ask Chris to stand so that we can

021I can read and he's it's just going to be an awkward moment where you have to listen to me read about you, but um we're just delighted to have Chris be the director of school administration for the Blue Valley High feeder system. He's joined this evening by his wife, Julie. Their two daughters, Riley and Kinley, are currently busy with their activities as Riley's in college and Kinley with uh volleyball practice. Chris is most excited about working alongside school leaders to create environments where every student can thrive, support teachers for continuous school improvement, and continue to build meaningful relationships with parents and families in the community. His 30-year career includes 23 years of experience in Blue Valley as a high school science teacher, assistant principal at the middle school and high school levels, and principal positions

022both at Leawood Middle School and Aubrey Bend Middle School. Chris has actually been in all of our feeder systems. Um so, we had um some difficult decisions deciding which feeder pattern uh for Chris. Outside of school, he enjoys exercising, reading, and spending time with their family and their activities. As an educational leader, he values supporting other leaders in their growth, a focus on continuous improvement, and fostering a supportive school culture. Chris would like the board to know he's very proud to serve in the Blue Valley School District, and he's eager to begin his new role. So, congratulations, Chris. The next slide is uh the Blue Valley North feeder, and um Scott Roberts gets to remain as the um Blue Valley North feeder. Well, he's had some schools in the Blue Valley North area, but he

023will be the um Blue Valley North um as uh executive director of um school administration. So, Scott needs no introduction, so I'm not going to make you awkwardly stand. >> [laughter] >> Sad, I know. Um but I would like to um introduce uh assistant director Colette Borack, and she will be the assistant director of special education. Please stand. Thank you, Colette. And Colette is joined by Paul, um her husband. This is her 23rd year in education with experience in both public and private school settings. Throughout her career, she's served in a variety of roles including elementary general education teacher, kindergarten through fourth grade, college-level instruction, technology coach, special education education teacher, and special services consultant. She's most excited about this position because it allows her to do what she loves on a broader scale, helping

024ensure all students receive what they need to succeed. Colette is passionate about strengthening systems that support support both students and educators, and she looks forward to collaborating with teams across all levels to promote this. Congratulations, Colette. >> [applause] >> The next introduction I'd like to make is the um Blue Valley Northwest feeder, and uh we're joined this evening by Dr. Lisa Grooman, and Lisa will be the director of school administration for the Northwest feeder. Lisa and her husband uh Dr. Dan Grooman have two adult children, a son Noah who lives in Oklahoma, and a daughter Hannah, um who's in med school in Wichita with her husband. Um Lisa's excited to build new relationships and connections as she serves the students, staff, and community in the Blue Valley School District. Her 30 years of educational experience

025include 8 years as a math teacher and 22 years as an associate principal and principal at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. She values working closely with staff to create a professional learning community where the success of each individual student is a central focus. Outside of school, Lisa and Dan enjoy traveling, spending time with their family, and home improvement projects. Lisa would like the board to know she's grateful for the opportunity to join this team and champion learning through collaboration and fostering school cultures to ensure every student thrives. Welcome to Blue Valley. In the Southwest area, we have Dr. Tyson Ostroski. And Tyson will be the leader of the Southwest feeder as the director of school administration. He will be joined by Kristen Askwith as the assistant director of special education. This evening, Erica, Tyson's wife,

026is here as well. Tyson is extremely excited to take on this new role in his 21st year of education in the Blue Valley School District. His career in Blue Valley began as an English teacher at Blue Valley West and Southwest before becoming an administrator at Blue Valley North. In his last 8 years as the head principal at Blue Valley North, he has taken great pride in leading such a phenomenal school community. He puts students' best interests at the center of every decision he makes in the educational setting, and he builds relationships with all professionals to meet the needs of the organization. He's thrilled to work with principals on every level in the years to come and do whatever he can to help them succeed. Tyson, welcome, and we're so glad that you're leaving North. I

027know it feels like home and a family to you, but the Southwest area is lucky to have you. So, congratulations. The West feeder also needs no introduction because Amy Farthing will be continuing in that area. So, the West feeder is actually had the least amount of disruption, but we're we're glad to have you continue in that feeder system. Another awkward introduction. I'd like to have Brad Page stand. Brad will be the principal at Blue Valley North High School and Brad is joined this evening by Carrie and their two children, Wilder and Lenny. And Brad is excited to rejoin the Blue Valley North High School community where he previously taught and coached in 2014 and to serve the community in which he and his family have lived for the past four years. His 17-year career in

028education includes experience as a high school special education teacher, a football and a wrestling coach, and most recently the past four years as associate principal at Blue Valley High School. Brad would also like to express his sincere appreciation to Dr. Golden, the amazing staff and students at Blue Valley High School and the families for their support, their partnership, and the collaboration throughout his time there. Outside of school, Brad enjoys coaching his children's teams, fishing with his family, tackling home improvement projects alongside his wife. As an educational leader, he values community, collaboration, and fostering a positive and kind school culture. He'd like the board to know he's proud to serve the North community and eager to begin his new role next year. Congratulations, Brad. I'd also like to ask Brooke Ash to stand, please. Brooke will

029be the principal at Aubrey Bend Middle School. And Brooke is joined this evening by her husband, Nick, and their three children, Peyton, who is eight. Peyton, wave to us. She's shy. Barrett, five, and Jensen, who is two. Brooke is most excited about continuing to work with the outstanding students, staff, and community, the relationships she's valued for many years. Her 12-year career in education includes experiences as an elementary and middle school teacher, a secondary instructional coach, and 4 years serving as assistant principal at both Lakewood Middle School and Blue Valley Middle School. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time outdoors, playing sports with her children, coaching softball and volleyball, and taking walks to the park with her kids and their Great Dane, Pepper. I imagine some of those times might come to an end as you

030become the principal. Um As an educational leader, she prioritizes building strong relationships, fostering a positive and supportive school culture, and ensuring all students have a meaningful and positive middle school experience. She's excited and wants the board to know that she's honored to serve at Aubrey Bend Middle School and is really excited to start her new role. Congratulations, Brooke. And last but not least, uh the uh newly appointed Blue Valley Academy uh principal, Dr. David Sharp. And Dr. David Sharp is not new um to uh our community. He brings more than 30 years of experience in public education, including 15 years as a high school principal in Kansas and Missouri. Throughout his career, he has served as an assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, leading schools focused on academic excellence, innovation, and strong student support systems. A

031US Army veteran, Dr. Sharp is deeply committed to collaborative, student-centered leadership and building meaningful relationships with students, families, staff, and the community. He's excited and he's honored to serve as principal of Blue Valley Academy and looks forward to helping each student discover their strengths, build confidence, and create pathways for future success. Dr. Sharp and his wife, Heather, have three grown children, Ashton, Austin, and Allison. Couldn't get past the A's, apparently. >> [laughter] >> Um and they're all graduates um who grad- Oh, and Allison, who graduates this week from University of Missouri. So, congratulations and and welcome back to being a principal again in BLUE VALLEY. >> [laughter] >> CONGRATULATIONS. AND I KNOW THAT SOUNDS like a lot. Um done a lot of work over the past few months and um bringing this um change to

032our school district in an effort to really align our resources in the best way possible. We know we don't have the funding available to um hire additional staff, and we feel like this is uh the best way to realign and ensure that our um students, our families, and our staff have the support that they need real time and in the moment instead of um spreading it across for a such a small team. So, we're really excited about this feeder pattern and look forward to um the continued success of Blue Valley. Um and it's I know the board is is budget conscious. It's also a budget savings for us. Um so, while it seems like there was a lot of change and moving parts, there were a lot of positions that we hadn't filled in order

033to make this plan work and become a cost-savings measure for us. So, congratulations to the new leaders um and and thank you for saying yes. It's a significant change for our our system and I think it's going to be a good one. I couldn't be more proud of each and every one of you. So, thank you for saying yes to Blue Valley and and choosing us. So, congratulations again. And that is the conclusion. Next are board reports. >> Do you want to give them a chance to run away? >> Oh, yes. You're welcome to stay, but should you have other things to do on this beautiful evening, you might go ahead. >> [laughter] >> They're leaving? Nice job. >> Thank you. >> She needs a second water. >> [laughter] >> I especially like the comments

034about nice job. This guy's backing >> Yeah. Mhm. >> [laughter] >> They cut that one. >> No. >> Okay. >> Now it's from here. Board of Education reports. >> Time for our Let's hear the Board of Education reports uh to have someone from Finance and Operations to share some information. Go ahead. >> You got Finance. >> Yeah. >> Finance Committee met um just last Thursday at 7:30 a.m. with a good turnout. Um almost everything we discussed will be discussed later in this meeting during other reports. I can report that we had very good feedback from the committee community members on the committee and we'll learn more about that as we move through the agenda. Next meeting for the finance and operations board advisory committee is June 4th. >> Thank you, Clay. Academics and Activities Board

035Advisory Committee, who would like to give that report? >> I would love to. >> Jody, we would love to hear from you. >> Thank you. Thank you. Jan, appreciate that. Um let's see, the committee met on April 23rd and received updates on key district matters including participation in the 7 Days event and legislative actions expected to place financial and operational strain on schools, particularly due to new mandates and continued underfunding of special education. Members reviewed progress on the district screen time initiative noting clearer data and continued support for balanced classroom technology use. Updates were also shared on athletics and activities including emerging sports, a plan district-wide athletic pass for 26-27, communication tools for families and upcoming state events. The meeting concluded with discussion focused on future planning emphasizing legislative awareness, which is a big deal

036for us, and increased student involvement in advisory work. >> Thank you, Jody. Community Board Advisory, who would like to give that report? >> Patrick. >> I No, go ahead. >> I think I was the only one that was there from the board. >> Who then, Clay? >> Um so the committee met on April 27th. Key topics included legislative impacts on uh district funding including the legislative legislature's failure to reimburse our district for the required special education um costs that they're um obligated to do. We discussed um steps that we went over last month here that we uh approved as a board. We went through those. We discussed the survey that we will discuss later in the agenda as well, the two surveys on bond and um facilities, I think. And we also discussed uh future

037use of artificial intelligence in the district, um including instructional implications and the student experience. That was the last community uh board advisory committee meeting for the year, and we will recommence next year. >> Great. Thank you, Clay. Superintendent's report, Dr. Chapman. >> Well, I know there's a lot of excitement about graduations and class day this weekend um and then the the final day last day of school. I know there's a lot of excitement and joy about that, but frankly, I think the last day of school is the worst day of school. Um it's just the first day of school and every day that we're in session is so much better than the last day. Um so, I for one am not excited about the last day of school. Um but uh we have a lot

038to celebrate in Blue Valley um and Blue Valley schools received the 26 best communities for music education award um from the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation, and the district is one of only five in Kansas to receive this honor. Um this month we had a uh Blue Valley Unmuted and it was really uh fascinating to learn about three um of our current and then two graduates um Ash, Swetha, and Bridget. Um Ash is a current student and she was recognized uh for her work in AI um and she is a freshman at Blue Valley West. Swetha is the owner and chef at a course and a local uh community and Blue Valley West graduate. And Bridget is um a graduate from Blue Valley High and um a Kansas City Royals host and sideline reporter.

039And it was just fascinating to to talk to all three of them about how they're making history in their fields. Um lots of happenings this month of May um including as I said the worst day of school. Um we also um celebrated some students um that you met earlier Olivia um Wang and she earned first place in the Congressional Art Competition for the second year. We also um had students that were recognized uh Devica, uh Daniel, Carolyn, and Haley. Um you saw them as well earlier this uh evening. And then Blue Valley Northwest earned the 26 All Kansas Award honors from the Kansas Scholastic Press Association for their news website and eight Blue Valley High School students earned Class 5A or 6A awards in the 26 state contest. Uh we also have the uh Broadcasters

040Student Awards um from Blue Valley Northwest earned first place in the high school visual category. Again, Devika's heart in the parade of hearts, the water lilies. It's just stunning. I didn't think I'd like the new design, but I I do think I like the new design. It just looks fantastic. The only regret is it's at Zona Rosa. So, the next time you're headed to the airport, we'll have to go check it out and and maybe we can get it back to Blue Valley back home here to Blue Valley. Seven Blue Valley Middle School students earned top 20 honors at the Northeast Kansas qualifier fire of the National Civics Bee. I was able to join the audience and was fascinated by how quick the students were and just their knowledge was simply impressive and they were

041not at all nervous. It's not at all like being up here with you guys. >> [laughter] >> They were poised. They were great. Prairie Star Middle School's Erica Hammock was named the Blue Valley Schools School Health Excellence Award honoree for the 25-26 school year. And today was a really fun day. As you can see I have the same outfit on, so it was actually this morning. Oak Hill Elementary Sarah Byrd, Oxford Middle School Sarah Babkin, and Blue Valley North Anna Porter were selected as the 26 recipients of the Blue Valley Educational Foundation Champions of Students Award. What makes this really special is these were nominees from all across the community and some of their packets they get a copy of the letter that nominated them. Some of them were so thick because they had multiple

042people writing in and these are parents, students, colleagues that really wanted to recognize their staff members and Neil and Angela Sharma uh donate 25 $100 for each recipient for them to use however they would like and it's just such a wonderful opportunity and way to recognize staff. So that was a lot of fun this morning. Blue Valley Northwest Evan Michaels was named the district coach of the year for the Three Trails District of the National Speech and Debate Association. He was also named a Diamond Coach Award honoree. And Blue Valley West Aaron Davidson was named the Blue Casey Coaches with the character of the month of May and that I think is a real significant honor to be um also an exemplary coach but also one of character. Blue Valley schools teacher of the year

043and master teacher building nominees were honored and recognized um at a staff awards and reception recognition and it was just so delightful to be amongst all of our honorees and to congratulate them one more time all together because they all got their awards separate. So it was really the only time that they get to be all in one spot at the same time. So it was really special. Blue Valley West ProStart Restaurant Management team won the national title in the restaurant division at the national ProStart Invitational. This is a huge huge deal and they worked really hard last year. They were I think I can't maybe ranked 16th or something like that and this year they won it all and it's just an incredible honor. So I know a number of our board members went

044and and listened to their their practice and gave them some some great feedback and it's just fantastic to see them win. We also have a local businessman that's very helpful at Nick and Jake's that also really helps them and coaches them. So huge honor. Kevin Timmons was very excited about this. I think I got a a text at like 10:00 at night. Call me immediately. I have exciting news. It can't wait. >> [laughter] [gasps] >> Um I didn't see it actually till the next morning and it was like 5:30 and I decided he probably would like it to wait until since he works at a restaurant, he probably would like it to wait. Um Blue Valley High's Luke Gollian and Henry Yem finished in first place nationally in the BPA Economic Research Team event. So

045congratulations to them. Um also Grant Ash and Thrope earned first place in the United States Extemporaneous Speaking event at the 6A State Speech and Drama Championship. So congratulations to Grant. Don't want to get in an argument with him. Uh Kansas State High School Activities Association named three Blue Valley High School students as the recipients of the Capital Federal 26 True Blue Scholarships. From boys bowling, Blue Valley Northwest Zachary Reeves. Boys swim and dive, Blue Valley Southwest Dane Winegar. And unified bowling, Blue Valley West Alex Toll. So congratulations to them. We have a lot tonight, don't we? Blue Valley West was named the Eastern Kansas League recipient of the Activity Association Sportsmanship Award recognizing outstanding sportsmanship during the year for the basketball season. So congratulations to Blue Valley West. Lakewood Middle, Pleasant Ridge Middle, and Blue

046Valley West Science Olympiad teams advanced to the 26th national champion competition based on their results at the state event. So, Science Olympiad, we've got three teams that are advancing. It's very exciting in that national competition. And that board concludes all the recognition for this May. >> Do you need a break now? >> I know. >> [laughter] >> Thank you, Dr. Chapman. Um bond community survey >> Good [snorts] evening. Jake Lovett, chief operations officer for the district. I've been up here a lot recently talking about a future bond referendum, and one of the last major steps that we've talked about is a community survey. This April, Don Lifto and his company, The Morris Leatherman Company, called 500 of our community members to get us a statistically relevant survey. And I don't want to give away all

047of his results. What you're going to see tonight is a parsed-down version of those results. Don wanted to present 65 slides, and we parsed him down to in the 20s. So, we have lots of information behind the scenes, but Don will give you a high-level. And what I can say is the results are very positive. Really guiding us directly where we thought we wanted to go. And so, with that, I'll turn it over to you, Don. >> Is this okay? >> Yep. >> Okay, thank you, Jake. Um, it's great to be back here. This is my third trip to Blue Valley doing survey work first coming here in 2019. So, um, happy to be back again and happy to be contributing to your work. As Jake said, the presentation that I'll go through tonight is

048a very short version of the data that has been presented to your staff uh, covering the highlights, uh, and kind of the big picture things that uh, you need to know, uh, for planning moving forward. >> Middle button. >> Okay, thank you. So, this particular, uh, scientific random sample survey included, uh, 500 registered voters living in within the boundaries of the Blue Valley School District completed in mid to late April. There were, uh, 41 questions and the average length on the phone was just over 11 minutes. The, uh, sweet spot for timing for, uh, phone calls of this nature are between 10 and 15 minutes, so it was right right in, uh, where it needs to be. And the margin of error was plus or minus 4.4. Uh, if it's been a while since your

049statistics class, uh, all you need to remember is that if if I show you a slide and 50% of the people said the sky was blue, if you if you add 4.4% to that and subtract 4.4% there's a 95% chance that what you're seeing on the screen represents what uh, all registered voters, uh, in Blue Valley believe. There were demographic targets uh in the representative sample of voters uh and the extent to which any target was under or over sampled, the the weights were adjusted mathematically to compensate. Uh all of these were very, very close. And the areas that were controlled included age, gender, parent status, uh voting history, and geographic area, uh meaning where people live within the boundaries of the school district. We did track cell phones and home ownership, but they were

050not tracked uh in the survey. The main section of the survey asked voters to share their reaction to potential improvement projects for the district's facilities. The survey measured the initial reaction uh in broad terms, and then measured reaction to specific improvement projects. Then the participants were asked for the reaction again about hearing about those projects. So, this is the uh first uh introductory um question. The school district is currently considering plans to make improvements to existing school facilities, build or expand new facilities, update technology in classrooms, and improve school safety and security systems. Based on what you know today, would you favor or oppose such a proposal? And the blue area of this circle graph is the percentage of the respondents who favored uh the project uh as it was discussed in that initial question.

051This is a very, very positive place to start. More commonly in most of the projects that I work on, that first reaction typically might be in 45 to 55, maybe 60. So, this is a good strong reaction. As mentioned in the introductory slide, once they responded to that general question, then they had the opportunity to say whether they supported or opposed 14 potential facility projects if funding was approved. As we went through those 14, the order of how what people heard was was randomly changed so that there wasn't any positional bias on whether you heard something first every time or heard something last. There was one split sample question, which is that third bullet. And in a split sample question, half of the people, so 250 in your case, heard one version of the question,

052but not the other version. The other 250 people heard the second version, but not the first. Those are typically done to see if a change in a word makes any difference in how people react. So, here we're going through the 14 statements, asking people if they would be more likely, somewhat more likely, somewhat less likely, or much less likely to be supportive of that particular project. So, I've got two slides that look like this. And I'm not going to go through all the detail on each of those slides. Uh but what you're looking at over on the left is a shortened version of of what was presented to people and what they reacted to. And then in the uh chart on the right-hand side of the screen, I'll just touch on that top one for

053a moment. The 76% that you see is adding together the percentage of people who would be much more likely to support it along with those somewhat more likely. So, it's adding together the top two uh positive responses. Uh to the right of the 76, you see the 10%. Uh that's adding together uh the two um most negative responses uh to each of those items. So, it's the somewhat less likely, much less likely. Uh and over on the right in the gray, it's it's no opinion. So, as you can see here, the uh seven that's that are presented in this slide uh are very tightly uh clustered together, uh all between 72% support to 76% support, uh which is a good thing. Here's the same information on the on the second seven items. Uh here you're

054seeing the support ranging from 55% uh up to 71% uh and the opposition ranging from uh 8% up to 23%. On question uh 21 and 20 and 20 at the bottom, you see a little asterisk on each of those. That's just telling you that those are the two uh that were the split sample uh questions. And in this particular case, uh half of the people heard uh CAPS and half of the people heard Center for Advanced Professional Studies. Uh and as you can see, the difference between the two was almost non-existent. Uh however, those two items had uh by far the largest percent with no opinion, uh which might suggest that uh there's a lot of folks who don't know what those things are. So, now we've gone through those 14. Remember, they were done

055in random order. Uh we're coming back and saying, uh "Okay, uh we've told you a little bit more about this Facilities Plan. Tell me again, uh are you supportive or are you opposed?" And here you're seeing the uh support level move from 73.3. That was before they heard anything about those 14 items. And then the 77.8 is after they had additional information. Down at the bottom, it notes uh that the the difference between those two is 4.5. The margin of error is 4.4. They overlap with each other a little bit. Uh so, there's no statistical significance uh between those two responses. The 77.8 is a very positive place to be uh after people have uh gone through the survey. Remembering that somewhere around 75% of the respondents are not parents of school-aged kids. The last

056piece of the survey that's important is testing people's reaction to the the cost of doing the projects. So, in this particular probe, people were told that the total was around 200 million. Uh but because of uh debt dropping off or retiring debt, uh that these projects could be financed without an increase in property taxes. With that particular scenario, would you favor or oppose? And here we're getting to 84%. Uh this is a very very positive uh high response. Again, remembering that 75% of the respondents aren't parents. We did have some qualitative questions in your survey as well. Uh this one is when telling people that students are often time times given grades of of A B C D and fail to denote the quality of their work, what if uh Blue Valley School District had

057the same grading scale, what grade would you give them? And here's a result of that with 83% giving an A or a B, which is excellent. 2% had no no response. Nobody was in the lowest grades. Participants were asked to grade other aspects of the district leadership and management, spending tax dollars wisely, planning for future needs, getting citizens involved in decision-making, quality of teachers, and safety and security of students in the schools. In these next few slides, I'll go through each of those one at a time. This is This is spending tax dollars wisely. We can see 78% A or B, which is very good. Planning for future needs, 81% A or B. Quality of teachers, 89% A or B. Safety of students in the schools, 84% A or B. After grading each aspect of

058the district, participants were asked to a set of questions about their perceptions of the school district and and its place in the community. And respondents were asked to tell us their level of agreement with each of these. 89% agreed that the school district can be trusted to spend money wisely. 94% agreement that having good public schools maintain strong property values. And last, we included two slides from the open-ended responses. Open-ended meaning people were gave us their opinion without picking a list or giving us a number. So that on the greatest strength, teachers and academics were the strongest. And you're seeing on the bottom of that chart how many people said each of these responses. The biggest challenge facing the district uh funding uh nothing doesn't tell you too much. But facilities needs uh to see

059that in the top three uh I I would say is a very positive response. Uh in summary um I've I've done about probably 500 of these projects over the years and uh this is as as as positive as it gets. Uh so the the responses to your survey were uh very very good. Uh Thank you for the opportunity to work with you on it. And I'll stop there and take any questions before I head out. >> Gina. >> Thank you, Don. Um do you have data on our last couple of surveys and see like the growth in the grades and the perceptions toward the district and things like that? >> Yeah. Uh got uh survey data from 2000 19 and 2020 two or 2023, I can't remember. So, there are opportunities um there were some

060questions that were uh asked in more than one survey, so the opportunity to compare and contrast uh is there, yes. >> Will you share with us the information >> We've got all that, Gina, and and I would say we left that out of this because we could spend a lot of time here tonight. Um but relatively the numbers didn't change. Um, A or B it might have changed a little bit, but overall A and B it was almost identical from from what we saw in the last survey. >> The support levels in all the surveys were in the 75% to 85% range. So, very strong. >> Yeah, I'm just more thinking of trend wise like if we're it might be 84, 83, 82, but you know, if it's going down then >> Yeah, we got

061all that. >> Okay. >> Clay. >> Um, you had a question in there about asking if um, the respondents would approve a bond a no tax increase bond. Did you ask a question if they would approve a bond that included a tax increase and if you did not, why not? >> Uh, the the short answer is no, we did not ask about a tax increase. Um, and um, the information that we were given as we worked uh, with your staff to design the questionnaire what was that that wasn't being considered. And therefore was not asked in the survey. Yeah, that same [clears throat] um, element was in both of those other two previous surveys as well. And in all three um, people were told that uh, retiring debt or restructuring debt or some combination thereof

062uh, would make it possible to do the projects without without a tax increase. >> So, even in the past we haven't asked that question. >> Not since 2000 19, I guess. >> So, we did ask the tax increase question in 2019? >> No. >> Oh, okay. We have not. >> No. >> Okay. >> Any other questions by the board? Okay, Don. Thank you very much. We appreciate the work you did and your presentation. >> Thank you. >> That takes us to our career and technical education student survey. Adam. >> They They're leaving. Must not >> [laughter] >> Uh Adam Wessel, director of career ready programs. Uh pleasure to be here with you this evening and Um I have the privilege of uh sharing some information from uh who I think is maybe our most uh

063important group of stakeholders in this whole conversation and that's our students. So, um we conducted a CT survey with current eighth graders through juniors. We worked in collaboration with Halston Miller um on that survey. And it was given over a 3-week period in February. Um the survey did differ slightly based upon grade level. The middle school students were asked um some different questions just because um their context of all the offerings um that they could potentially take advantage of in high school differs from that of their their high school peers. So, um we did have some two different surveys, but I'm going to show you some data from our high school students uh that I think is relevant obviously and then as well as some information that came out of the middle school survey that

064um I also think is relevant to this conversation. So, um Thank you, sir. Where do I There we go. Okay, somewhere around here is the computer running this. Um, so we had um 3,421 total responses. 2,267 of those were from our high school students. Um, 1,154 from middle school. So, if you if you do the math on that, um, and we are very pleased with the amount of students that did take this survey. It's about 43% of our um eligible high school students who could have taken the survey. So, um a large increase from a similar survey that we did in 2022. So, we feel really good about the um representation of students that had access and did take this survey. You can see the grade breakdown there um by our high school levels um

065on the number of students who did take the survey. The next slide um is in response to it's actually two different questions that they were asked. This is of just our high school students. The blue line on the graph represents uh answers to the question "Which of the following program areas sounds interesting to you? Select all that apply." So, students were given that whole list there. Um, they could select multiple options. The green line on the graph represents um responses to the question "Among the programs you might be interested in, select which one would be your top choice to participate in." And obviously they can only pick uh one response to that. So, um also of note uh the top six um on that list are all of the current CAPS strands offerings. Um, so

066I don't think there was any surprise there. Um, these are programs that students who took the survey could be currently enrolled in. They have access to this information of what is offered every year when they go through the enrollment process. They have access to these strands when they go and tour CAPS when Chad Ralston and myself go out and visit all nine middle schools in the spring. This is information that has been shared and students are familiar with this programming. So, no surprise to us that these would come out on top. The ones the bottom five from cyber on down, those are the current program offerings that we are have been talking about internally about a potential expansion to CAPS, a potential expansion to current tech ed offerings in Blue Valley. Um Yes, you know,

067the percentages when you look at it, 3% 2% but I think it's more important to look at that number beside that percentage. Um you know, those 47 31 61 that's 61 students interested in programming and construction and trades. And so, that gives you a a good breakdown of where our students interests lie. Um Also, like I I'll re-emphasize the point of you know, what they are familiar with as opposed to program that we have not had conversations with students about. Um we've not talked to them about what that program might look like and what those course offerings might be. So, despite that um still a lot of interest and we were pleased with the results. When you survey students, you never quite know what you're going to get. And um we had some predictions and

068and really the data sort of solidifies, I think, um, of the thoughts that we had in the direction that we've been working towards. Of course. >> you for a minute? >> Yeah. >> Um, I know that the law one is extremely, extremely popular. I'm curious because they're lumped together, if cuz and the teacher one and the law one are very different and I I know law is very, very popular, so I'm curious how popular the teacher one is. >> Right. Yeah, um, we had the same conversation in the committee meeting. Um, I made the comment that no offense, I have nothing against lawyers. I hope all 172 of those kids become teachers. Um, but, uh, that is strictly based on the strands in which they are sort of advertised and promoted with students. Um, sort

069of a human services pathway. There's also a, uh, criminal justice component to all of this and so, um, to your point, I I think if we were to survey again, we might break those two out separately. Um, yes, the the law pathway is more, uh, popular among our students than the education pathway, um, but, um, the education pathway certainly has value with the students in that program and, um, obviously I'm biased as an educator, but the career that >> So, certainly has value. >> Yeah, yeah, and and the success that, you know, those students have in and, uh, >> Yeah. >> you know, we we have had success in retaining some of those students in those programs and hiring them here in Blue Valley. >> So, yeah, that's current enrollment for the kids the teacher

070program? >> Uh, I do not off the top of my head. Um, >> I do have it. >> Okay. >> Um, there are, uh, 60 students enrolled in the teacher ed for next year. >> And and how many is the law? >> How many is the law? >> How many kids enrolled in the law one? >> Don't have that one. >> I mean, that would help delineate that. >> Yeah. >> I will say, uh, 60 is a very encouraging number. That's an uptick that we've seen post COVID. I would say compared to the years prior to that. So >> Is that 172 in teacher and law so >> Yeah, I mean that's 172 that said if if they had to pick one as their top choice, they would pick that. So I don't think it's

071a 172 minus 60, but maybe you know, we could draw that the law is double what we're seeing in the education pathway. >> Sorry, I feel like the law one's usually full and there's kids on waiting list to get [clears throat] into it. >> As are yeah, a lot of our top strands. It's it's it's a popular place. >> So Adam, just to address I know this is the survey, but kind of to what they were talking about, but we know even though >> [clears throat] >> we've got auto repair, cybersecurity, welding, construction trades and stuff are you know aren't high on this chart. Remind me again of what kind of waiting list we have in some of these areas. >> Yeah, so as you all know we we do have a relationship with Johnson

072County Community College and and they've been a great partner. Frankly they've done such a good job and our students are showing such a level of interest that they cannot meet our needs and if I'm honest it's it's not close anymore. Um I have some data of this last enrollment cycle across electrical, HVAC, plumbing, auto repair, welding, and metal fab, and cybersecurity we had 95 students interested and we were only able to offer an opportunity to 26 of those students to enroll based on seats that were allocated to us. So do the math, you know, unfortunately that's a lot of students that we either had to waitlist or um ask them to wait until senior year to do that. Some of the real standouts, um you know, in auto repair, we had 26 students interested, we

073had five seats. Um HVAC, we had nine students interested, we had two seats. Welding, 27 students interested, and we had five seats at Johnston County Community College. So, um again, I want to reiterate, this is no knock on Johnston County Community College. They've been a tremendous partner. Um our students that go over there do very well, but um it's clear that they can no longer meet the needs of our students, just in the sheer numbers. Um I will also tell you that our students that go to JCCC do very well, but it is not as an exploratory environment as we would be able to offer internally. Um these are college-level courses. They go on college transcripts, and the stakes are higher. Whereas, internally, uh we can meet students where they're at, and expose them to

074a pathway, and it's much easier to, if they make that determination that I do not want to be a welder, we can work with them to find the next thing. And um the stakes are a little bit lower, and it's much more exploratory than what we're able to offer to our students at JCCC. >> So, where do the other Where do the other 70 kids go if they can't get into the program? >> Uh back to their high school to enroll in >> No, I know, but what classes? What's the trend of classes we're seeing them enroll in? Is it just >> Electives that, you know, we could get them involved in some of our industrial technology courses. Um but, you know, the way that we are currently set up with course offerings, um they're

075not going to get the the deep dive that they might if we were to offer a construction and trades pathway um or a auto pathway. Most are going back and working with their guidance counselor on what electives they've chosen to take at their home high school. >> Right, so they're forgoing the opportunity and they're enrolling in PE? >> You name it. >> Okay. >> Yep. Culinary, business classes, um graphic design, I mean all we offer, you know, several career tech ed pathways in our high schools, but for a student who is interested interested in welding, we don't have a welding program at our high schools. So then we are trying to, you know, expose them to it to some extent as best we can, but we're obviously limited in right now what we're offering in

076our comprehensive high schools in some of these areas. >> So so in terms of the programming, I mean that comes down to about 15 kids per high school. Is that that's distributed across three different trades? That comes down to five kids per class, so that's kind of the challenge, right? >> Can you restate that again? So >> have those 70 kids that expressed an interest and they're not given the opportunity. >> Right. >> They have to re-enroll in something else, but for us to consider the opportunities of making that internally, that's about five kids per class per high school, right? Or you have one centralized location where they have to go to, right? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Yeah. And [snorts] yeah, those are students that may have a very clear idea of this is

077what I want to do, um but I think more importantly, these are students that know what that they like to um would like to explore more in these areas and and that's where we're really limited and more students are leaving our system without as clear of a picture of what their opportunity might be or what I'm really interested in. >> So, really quick question. Um of those kiddos that that we haven't been able to accommodate, um do you have any data on um I don't want to use the term, but I'm going to use it. Um are we losing any of them? Are they kiddos who have been because the the the the um classes that we're looking at are ones that are very hands-on, right? Experiential. And so, um sometimes that's just that's what

078works for some some kids, right? People in general. And so, I would be curious to know, you know, are they are they able to engage um back at their home high school or do we lose them in some capacity? Are they being successful or are they graduating? Um are are are they going to the academy for some additional, you know, assistance? I guess I'm curious. >> Yeah, I mean, I I think our you can look at obviously our graduation rates. They're still very high in Blue Valley. So, I wouldn't say we're losing them in that regard. Where I would say we are losing them is that we are not equipping them with all the information that they could have to make very informed decisions about where I want to go when I leave here. Um

079I think that's the biggest loss. Um we we do the best we can and I'll point to a couple recent events. Um we hosted a skilled trades night back at the end of April at Hilltop in collaboration with the Olathe School District. We had about 30 business and industry partners from construction and trades. Um completely optional on a Thursday night. And we had 115 Blue Valley students and families show up. And this was just a panel discussion with some people in the trades, a conversation around the current labor market, what's happening in Kansas City and the construction related trades, and then just an opportunity to interface with these folks. And it was first time we've done it. We didn't know what the turnout would be. And to have 115 kids show up on their own,

080I thought was a pretty big statement. Um Additionally, the week after we took 151 students down to the I Build Showcase, which is similar to what we did, but on a much bigger scale, hosted by the National Institute of Construction Excellence for schools all across the KC Metro. Again, voluntary. Um they had to fill out field trip form. We had buses, but we had 151 students choose to go down there on a Tuesday morning and and learn more. So, um I think those are important numbers to note as well. >> I just quickly I don't I don't want to correlate um trades pathways with low performance. Um which is kind of what the question was implying with dropout rates. >> And I I didn't I didn't mean it to be that way, but I'm just

081looking at I guess I'm interested in in different ways of learning and learning with your hands rather than sitting in a classroom environment. And I just want to make for sure we're engaging in whatever it is, whether it be debate, music, the arts. And I do feel as though there's a little bit of a gap here. >> Yeah, I I think the gap is if I'm honest, because we don't offer some of these things, I think we struggle to make that point to our students that this does not have to be plan B. Um this is a good career. You can make a living. You can raise a family. These people take great pride in the work they do. And they're extremely valuable careers. So, I think when we don't have those opportunities or kids

082can't see themselves in those roles, that's where we lose. >> And we also have to we we have to overcome the narrative that it's for low performing students because it's so we have to get away from that. >> And I think one interesting yes to that point and at the skilled trades night we had several folks who were there and they talked to our students a lot about the opportunity to career mobility in all of these areas. Just because you graduate from high school and you start as a laborer that does not mean if you don't want to you don't have to be out in the field all the time. There are opportunities to get promoted internally to become a project manager, a superintendent, an estimator. I mean great jobs and some of the best

083people that do that are the ones that start right out of high school in the field and the amount of upward career mobility in all these areas it's it's there for the taking. I think to your point the next slide which is relevant and this was more aimed at our middle school students but I think it's telling and I would guess that the numbers would bear out very similarly with our high school students is the way that they like to learn and it's hands-on it's mentor led it's class projects it's on-site going out learning in the field having the opportunity to interact with people in industry and really getting a good sense of what these careers entail. And then not sure which is a very middle school response. >> [laughter] >> Um so you know

084with all of that said I think just some key takeaways I think we feel like the student responses in this survey indicate support for expanding what we're doing at CAPS. Um we think it will increase engagement and it's not just going to take kids out of one pathway and put them in another one and to go back to the way that kids like to learn that the way that they do that is the exact learning model we used at CAPS and it would very much be replicated if we were to expand those offerings to some of the programs that we are discussing this evening. >> So, I do have a couple questions. >> You bet. >> Um before I ask them, I want to make it clear I'm a big proponent of CTE and I

085think this is great stuff. Um and this key takeaway slide is helpful because I'm trying to understand, especially this high school survey, um what we are to take away from it and I'm looking at these takeaways and they're very broad. So, I want to make sure that really when we look at this, we can't look at those and say, "Oh, there are 25 people that were interested in X field." That doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to get 25 kids enrolled. Um of course, it's only a 43% of the high schoolers. >> Yes. >> But, it doesn't include freshmen. >> kids enrolled. >> Right. >> Yeah. >> Or two. >> Yeah. >> It We shouldn't be using that for such a deep dive or specific information. Is that correct? >> I think that our students

086are telling us not only in this survey, but in some of the actions and the things that they're signing up for and the information that they're seeking out that they are interested in learning more about some of the pathways that we are off discussing. And I think, you know, it's we do a lot very well in Blue Valley. I think this is one area that we there needs to be some improvement upon just to meet that growing need of students not only who are, you know, interested at some level, but, you know, I think another key data point is if you look at our national clearinghouse data, we are following a very similar trend line nationally and that we have less kids going to college. Um so, to me then the question becomes what are

087we doing when they're with us to prepare them for after they leave us outside of, you know, the the Blue Valley diploma, which certainly is valuable, but I think there's more we could do. >> And I want to clarify you made a comment about um uh it was back in the high school CAPS program area of interest all the way from medicine and health care to advanced manufacturing and avionics. You said this was if you had to choose one as your number one. >> Yeah. >> Was that the actual question that they had to choose one of these? >> Yeah, that was verbatim from the the survey. Um it said "Among the programs you might be interested in, select which one would be your top choice to participate in." >> Okay. And were they given

088um the option that none of these were of interest to me? >> Um I do not believe so. What I will tell you is if you look at the data and the numbers, we did have students who opted out of that question. So, they they it wasn't a required response or an answer. Um I have like the grade-by-grade level breakdown and I can I can certainly share that data. There There were students who did not answer either question um or answered some other questions. So, you know, to say it we had 23 roughly hundred responses at the high school level, if I remember correctly, I think we had maybe in the ballpark of like a hundred to a hundred fifty who opted out of a couple of those questions. Like they they answered one, but

089they didn't answer the other one. But I do have specific numbers I can share. >> Okay. And then um So we have this list, some of the things that we're offering, other things that we're considering that e- either because of research you've done, the staff has done on what other offerings other schools uh that other schools have offered was there an open-ended question where students could um input something different that they might want to be interested in? >> Um there was not an open-ended response question. Um There was not. Um the whole, you know, the the attachment is the comprehensive report. Uh that question was not asked to say what you wanted, you know, what what else might there be that um you know, we could be thinking about. >> Okay. >> Quick quick question.

090Um so um the last survey we had just discussed before you guys came up here, um you know, talked about uh a lack of knowledge from the maybe community or people surveyed on what CAPS is or what professional learning is, right? Um Not every kiddo also knows what what CAPS is. Um there's still a lot of parents that don't understand what what CAPS does. So I guess I mean I I see I see there's some work to be done in at least understanding and what the program does for sure still even after all these years, right? And so I'm wondering if some of that plays into some of your your responses just a little bit. Um >> Yeah, I mean I can't speak to the community survey. That that does not surprise me that there

091would be some people who don't know what CAPS is or they don't know that CAPS stands for the Center for Advancement We love our acronyms in education. Um you know, I I will say I think CAPS, when we talk CAPS and we talk career and technical education, CAPS is career and technical education. Um that is what it is at its, you know, every course that we offer at CAPS is in a CTE pathway with the state and it is CTE. Um I feel like our students, I can't say all of them, but I know a majority of them would know what CAPS is um at some level, even if it's just like, you know, that's the building over there. Um you know, like I said earlier, we we do do a lot of engagement with

092our middle school students um in regard to not only CAPS, but our career ready programming, CTE. Um we do our best to inform and so I feel like our students and and honestly um the staff that they interact with day in day out, our counselors, our teachers, you know, our CTE teachers are know very well what CAPS is and they teach a lot of similar content areas and uh also take a role in counseling students and you know, say hey, this is something that seems like you really enjoy. Have you looked at the CAPS experience your junior senior year? So, um yeah, I I there's always work to do, obviously, to promote and to educate about what we offer because we do offer a lot. Um but um I think, you know, the the people

093that interact with our stu- students day in day out are trying to get as much of that information as they can to not only students, but our families as well. >> Any other questions from the board? Okay, Adam, thank you very much. That was very informative. We're going to take a 5-minute break for our closed captioner to have have and then we'll get back and talk curriculum. >> Mhm. >> will reconvene. >> Good evening. My name is Jennifer Luzensky and I serve Blue Valley as director of curriculum and instruction and I'm here this evening to present you with our draft curriculum documents for your review. You will note there are more than 600 pages of curriculum included in this this packet. These are the final product of work over the course of this entire school

094year. Soon after the school year begins our instructional design team members recommend courses for curricular updating. Reasons we may do this would be new standards, perhaps new resources or part of that cycle we have per board policy for for review and updating of curriculum documents. In the document you have linked for you, please note that the cover page contains the names of the content areas with draft curriculum documents. Those are hyperlinks so you don't have to scroll through the 600 pages of curriculum. If you click on that header, it will take you into that content, and the first thing you'll see is a short summary with information specific to the work in that content area over the year. Representative groups of teachers serve as lead curriculum authors working closely with our ADCs, but all teachers

095of the grade level or the course review the phases of our curriculum work and provide feedback. That feedback is strongly considered and often leads to even stronger draft documents. Some highlights you'll notice in the packet include the ELA curriculum for students in grades K through 10. These documents more clearly illustrate opportunities for reading and writing daily and include the selection of power standards. Our math curriculum documents reflect work of the math symposium group. That's a two-year project. Uh and these uh their documents will support our teachers in designing instruction using their new math resources. Another example is uh in the science documents, you'll see the Earth space high school science course was rewritten really with two aims. One being to better align the standards to the curriculum documents, but even more importantly, perhaps, is to

096reflect more real-world learning opportunities for students within that course. We appreciate your review of the documents. They represent a great deal of hard work and investment from our teachers for the benefit of our students. >> I would say this evening it's just informational only. Um so, you'll have a month to to look at them and uh if you have any questions, be sure to send them Jennifer or my way, and we will uh be back in June for to ask for their approvals. So, if you have any questions, we're happy to answer them now or we can do that in June or anytime in between. >> I guess that covers it. 600 pages of we get to go through. Beautiful. Thank you very much. Now, we'll turn to the public hearing on amending the 2025-2026

097budget, Jeremy McFadden. Come on down. >> Uh Board of Education, Dr. Chapman, Jeremy McFadden, CFO. As you recall, the district estimates legal maximum budget authority per fund at the beginning of each fiscal year. We do this every September. Uh based on actual September 20th waiting counts and actual special education costs incurred throughout the year. Uh school districts may periodically amend the legal maximum budget authority. Uh you may recall back in June of 2024, we amended the general fund for special education aid flow-through purposes. So, similar reason tonight um uh and this amended budget um in accordance with state statute, the 25-26 amended budget notice for Blue Valley is published in the Kansas City Star at least 10 days prior to tonight's public hearing. None of the proposed budget amendments, however, will impact the local mill

098rate. The amended budget is affecting three funds, the general fund, career and post-secondary education, and special liability. Uh quick summary of the amendments is as follows. The general fund budget amendment is primarily due to increased special education transportation costs during this fiscal year, which results in 80% state aid reimbursement. To receive the increased reimbursement associated with the transportation cost that has to flow through our general fund, which that turns into an expenditure from the general fund, which is why we're asking for an increased general fund authority. Simply to flow through the special education transportation state aid. Also, our special education state aid will not be finalized until the end of May. Our final aid will be determined will be determined based off of all staffing levels across the state of Kansas. All 285 school districts,

099how many special ed paras, teachers that they have on staff. All of those things affect the final state aid calculation. So, just to be safe, we're trying to give ourselves legal maximum authority to receive whatever aid that would be. So, more to come on with that with that final aid amount will be at the end of May. The career and post-secondary education fund budget amendment is primarily due to declining enrollment. And really, it's an ultimate cash cash strategy for trying to preserve contingency fund reserves. When we started this fiscal year, we were projecting to spend down some contingency funds. You know, however, going through a rating call with Standard & Poor's and Moody's in the fall on our 2025 bond sale, we think it's wiser to you know, preserve some of the contingency funds. And

100so, this adjusted budget for career and post-secondary education is to spend down some of the reserves in those funds instead of the contingency fund. Lastly, the special liability fund budget amendment is primarily due to general liability defense claim costs higher than budgeted during 25-26. In short, we're taking costs primarily internal payroll costs and moving the goes from the general fund into special liability. Um so, that's really a summary of the three in front of you on the notice document. On the far right, you'll see the proposed amended amounts. And as a refresher, this is the legal maximum ceiling. It does not represent what we actually will spend on June 30th. It's just giving us the authority as we close the books to um essentially charge general fund, career and post-secondary ed, and special liability with

101the needed expenditure amounts. So. Happy to answer any questions you have. >> [clears throat] >> Before we open the hearing for public I sorry, go ahead. You have another question? Look like you did. >> Yeah, just so we understand the graph. So, we're So, we're looking at what roughly a 7. 45 million dollar increase? >> I'm sorry, can you say that again? >> So, just so we understand the slide, so we're looking at an increase over last year of about 7 and a half or so million dollars. >> Yeah, so at the beginning of this fiscal year, we set our general fund based off of estimates, estimated enrollment, estimated um weightings. And when we go through that process, um some districts choose to have some um cushioned estimates. However, the last couple years we've been

102very precise with our estimates as precise as we could be. And the reason we do that is to give ourselves an LOB calculation, which impacts our local tax rate that is as precise as possible. So, what we're asking to do here is essentially move from approximately 193.9 million in the general fund to 195.2. It'll probably be something less than that, but as we go through this process, it doesn't impact the LOB. That rate's already set. Clearly doesn't impact the general fund. That's set at 20 mils. So, we're just giving ourselves the ability to flow through more special education aid if it comes our way at the end of May. Uh the other two, like I said, the career and post secondary ed, uh the 1.8 million was the initial ceiling in that fund uh because

103we were planning to spend more down in contingency, um but I think we're going to switch our strategy on where those ending cash balances are and spend more out of career and post secondary ed and retain more cash in our contingency reserve fund. So, that's really what that second line item is doing. And then the third line item is just giving us uh more than enough authority, but we are moving some payroll costs out of general into special liability to to really help us with our general fund and spend down any balances in special liability. >> And And so, do we have the on the on the last two items, do we have that money in the bank that in theory we could spend if we need to? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Yep. >>

104Jeremy, what's the um balance of the career and post secondary ed fund? >> Um >> Where did And where did the revenue initially come from if we're not levying anything for it? >> So, we carried approximately $5 million in carryover cash reserves into that fund at the start of this fiscal year. Um and then we get additional weightings on September 20th, which which comes with more uh aid associated to career and tech ed. So, that $7 million is essentially the prior year cash carryover plus the new money that we're allocated for this year. And that would represent the maximum expenditure, obviously, allowed on this fiscal year by setting it at $7 million. I think it'll be somewhere 6 and 1/2 is probably where where it will end up when we close the books. >> So,

105do we usually spend about 1.8 in our >> No, we usually spend closer to 5 to 6 million dollars. So, if I could go back in time, which I cannot do, I would have set that legal max on career and post secondary at higher, quite frankly. I should have done that. >> I have a non-budget question. Uh you said the legal notice was published in the Star. >> Mhm. >> Were we not going to do it in Johnson County Post also? Didn't we pass that last year? >> I think we did both publications last summer. Um and I believe Anna can step in if I've got this incorrect, but on our organizational documents, I think we specifically listed the KC Star as our official public notice paper. But, we did both last year. >> Yeah,

106I I recall something where the Star could only do things that Post could not, if I recall. Any other questions on the budget? >> Jeremy, um can this be characterized as a necessary accounting move in that there are no additional expenses other than increased special ed expenses, which we are required to fund? Is that correct? >> Yeah, so the career and post secondary ed is where we want our ending cash balances to reside. And so, again, changing our approach after visiting with Standard & Poor's and Moody's on, you know, some of the factors they consider, we really wanted that contingency fund to remain as as flat as possible. So, that's why that second line is being proposed. >> So, no increase in mill levy, no increase in spending other than the special necessary special ed.

107>> That's correct. >> Okay, well, I will now open for the hearing. The 2025-26 amended budget hearing is now open for comment. Is there anyone in the audience who wishes to speak to the Board of Education about the 2025-26 amended budget? If so, please limit your comments to 3 minutes as noted in our open forum instructions. Seeing none, >> [laughter] >> seeing none, uh I will close public comments uh on the amended budget hearing. Uh do I have a motion to approve the 2025-26 amended legal maximum budget as published? >> Yes, you do. I move that the Board of Education approve the 2025- amended legal max budget as published. >> Okay. >> Second. >> Moved by Dr. Benson, seconded by Jody. Discussion. >> I do have one additional question, Jeremy. Sorry. Um because Clay had

108asked if there was additional funds besides special ed. If If I'm understanding this correctly, the special liability fund transfer is due to additional uh general liability defense claim costs. >> So, the special liability fund is strictly a tax levy fund. So, we have tax levies coming into that fund, and really where I'm going to find uh the necessary revenues for whatever the final expenditures are, it'll come from our interest income on reserve funds. So, um I can uh receive interest income into our special liability fund in addition to the levied amounts from I think it was about a point three mill levy from this past September. The combination of those two will give me the necessary monies to spend all costs out of special liability. So there will not be any transfers from the general

109fund. It's essentially interest income and levied dollars. >> So this is spin down of another restricted fund or of a >> Yeah, spin down a special liability. I'm trying to relieve costs from the general fund into special liability. So that's >> So it's not an exceeding budget situation. >> So the initial budget was 1.325 million which is on that second >> Yeah. >> column to the right. That's what we set as the legal max >> Yeah. >> last September. Um I think the final expenditure amount is going to be roughly 1.7 million. Um and interest income plus the tax levies will get me the revenues needed. These legal maximums are just the ceiling, the legal authority. So I really doubt we're going to hit all three. It's just making sure we have enough legal authority.

110>> But to Clay's point there is a dish it is the transportation costs is one item, but there is the additional general liability expense. >> I Yes, I mean we have higher costs in the special liability than we've historically had in part due to payroll. And so we're prepared to pay those out of that fund. And then here's what I think will happen a year not a year from now in 2026-2027 when we set those mill rates, you'll see increased expenditure authorities in all three of these general fund, career post secondary, and special liability. So I was being very precise last September. I'd rather have a little bit of cushion but we do that to just keep our LOBs small as possible so >> [clears throat] >> not a mistake there's no unplanned costs it's

111really which funds can we pay this out of outside of special education. >> Any further discussion? So we will vote then on approving the 2025 amended legal maximum bubbly budget as published all in favor raise your hand right hand left hand. It passes unanimously. Thank you very much and Jeremy thank you for the all the work that you put into that. Now we need to approve the Kansas Association of School Board policy FC memorials funerals and naming district facilities. Dr. Chapman >> We edited to reflect the last month's comments but I think we have some additions so um maybe the board might want to consider giving us another month and I'll send those edits out to consider in June. >> Do I hear a motion to >> I think that's a good idea. Do we

112need to I don't think we need to move to do anything to put it over do we? Just move to table. >> Do I hear a motion to table? >> I will move to table item number three. >> F Yeah, or FC. >> Which is >> FC Memorials. >> Policy FC until next month. >> Do I hear a second? >> Second. >> Move by Clay, second by Dave. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? It passes unanimously. Takes us down to GBO policy. >> Thank you. GBO is the resignation policy. Um and I think there's an edit in here that can uh potentially be done assuming um Melissa Hillman agrees. Um I think it's a non-substantive edit. Um in this policy um two things that we have changed, one is um the

113negotiated agreement is something that needs to be considered um with the resignation of employees mid-year. And instead of saying and um breach of contract penalties may apply, uh we need to edit that language, remove the word penalty, and instead consider um either breach of contract or um >> liquidated damages. >> Thank you. Liquidated damages is what I was looking for. So, um if that's acceptable to say um to delete breach of contract penalties and instead say um liquidated damages may apply, it's still assuming that it goes through the um negotiated agreement process with the Blue Valley Educational Association. So, the word may apply is in there if it were approved. >> The Uh my suggestion had been breach of contract remedies. May apply. One more time. There you go. >> Is it like a magic

114three or something? >> Um it's a term and condition of employment that would be subject to negotiations. And it liquidated damages is kind of art for that in schools. >> I guess we're getting into legal territory because it could be other could be other equitable remedies other than liquidated damages I suppose. >> And I'm totally happy to work with you Clay on coming up with some language that uh works between now and next month. Is that what we're doing is tabbing this for next month? I'm sorry. >> We We can unless you feel like these are substantive edits. Cuz assuming that the board um the motion is approved with minor edits deemed necessary by legal counsel. So just depends on the board's comfort with that. >> I think if we're just talking about whether it's

115going to say breach of contract or liquidated damages, that's something we can edit um down the road, but >> The big concern was the word penalties. Which could pose problems later. >> We will >> I'll make a motion that uh policy GBO resignations be tabled till the next meeting and then I have a comment. >> Second. >> Moved by Dave and seconded by Jody to table the GBO policy. Any discussion? >> Yes. This is a uh difficult issue for boards of education to sit in quasi-judicial judgment of a employee's motivation. Uh we have no ability to research or to cause uh statements to be truthful. And it's a no-win proposition for the board. So, I'm making the recommendation in the next month that we eliminate uh the issue of breach of contract uh penalties uh

116and the waiver submitted to the board of education to consider. I don't know how I'd consider it based on what I would know for certain. >> Any further discussion on tabling this? All in favor of tabling >> Hold on. Can I I'm sorry. I apologize. I apologize, Jan. >> I apologize for not recognizing you. >> Um I just want to suggest that all of the edits get worked out well in advance of the meeting next time so that we're not continuously tabling these the same policies over and over again. To me, these should have been because it's been tabled and moved on. So, I'm I mean, almost want to vote against tabling it just because we keep pushing this and pushing this and there's ample opportunity to board smith and provide feedback. So, I just

117want to give that I would like to see this on the agenda and not tabled again next month. >> Um to address Dr. Benson's um issue that he raised, um it's very important topic to actually discuss. Um and I think just in response, a lot of this is in um it's part of the negotiated agreement. A lot of this is just going to be negotiated with um the association. There had been a suggestion to insert some language to allow um to allow the district to um encourage um timely um resignations, not in the middle of a semester, 2 weeks after a semester begins, that type of thing. Um and looking for some policy language in there. So, that's whether or not it even appears in the in in the policy is one issue. The language

118that's in there right now, I could not vote for because it's legally incorrect. So, um the whole issue whether it should be in the policy or not, or whether it should be in the negotiated agreement or not, um separate the those are definitely worth discussing and will need an opportunity to discuss those at some point. >> Any further discussion? All in favor of tabling policy GBO, raise your hand. All opposed. Everybody but Gina. Gina opposed. We'll give this one a try. Approve the Kansas Association of School Board Policy Indices I and J. Policies are recommended for adoption effective July 1, 2026 pending any minor edits deemed necessary by legal counsel. Do I hear a motion on this? >> I have two questions on these on these policies. I think they can be answered. I don't

119think there should be any need for >> Want to get a motion first? >> That's up to you. >> Well, that's the way we do >> Mr. President. >> I move the Board of Education approve the Kansas Association School Board Policy Indices I and J and take effect on July 1st, 2026 pending minor edits deemed necessary by legal counsel. >> Move. Move by Patrick, second by Gina. Any discussion? Clay. >> Yes. Um policy IIBGA that is Children's Internet Protection Act section. Um in there in two places we mentioned that we will restrict access to child uh restrict students access to child pornography and I'm my question is why are we not restricting access to pornography in general? >> The simple answer is that's how the law reads. Um so it is mirroring the law, which

120is what we normally do. >> But we can be assured that we're restricting access from all pornography, correct? >> Yes, thank you. >> 100%. >> Excellent. Just want to make sure that was cleared up. The other one is IIBE. And this is on AI. Um are we using any approved AI that actually meets the criteria that we're adopting tonight right now? Um such that if teachers are permitting or requiring any students to use AI agents like Chat GPT or anything like that, is every everything we're doing in compliance with what we're adopting here? >> Student It's not AI for the most part is not allowed on student devices. >> In the district. >> So they can't access Chat GPT or Squad or something on a student device. >> Okay, so AI, Claude, Chat GPT is

121not on student devices. They can't access it as part of >> That's on student devices on district property. >> Right. >> Teachers have access, students do not. >> That's my question. >> Um I have a question on JCDB. Um the dress code. Um It's uh Let me pull it up here. Um There we go. I'll just read the little um section uh "neatness, decency, and good taste are guidelines of the district dress code." I believe that's very uh broad >> Mhm. >> and open to interpretation. I'm not a huge fan of that because I believe there are difficulties sometimes in complying with it uh uniformly across the district. I do not uh want to see um uh inequitable uh enforcement. >> So, we have redlined that um that line out. >> Okay, not mine. I

122I maybe I'm not the right one then. >> So, the recommend the recommendation is to redline that out, Jody, to address your concerns. >> So, the one I >> The one that is also >> redlined in that one um is "dress code shall be published in the appropriate student handbooks." >> Yes, I saw that. >> yeah, that that first sentence is edited out because the second one is really the descriptor. So, you're talking about in the executive summary. Where are you looking? When you click on executive summary and you click on JCDB. >> Yes. >> That code, yep. >> That's where I went and I did not see a redline in that. >> I wonder if um you have to be logged into a Blue Valley email. Okay. We need to take a look at

123that again. Cuz >> See, this is I can't I can't have this on the side. >> that happened. >> I'm like I >> So, what does it say? >> So, that that first line, the line that you have a question about, that's been redlined out. Okay. The next sentence, um "students must dress in a manner that is not obscene, offensive, etc." That line is in there and it's also reflected in your board approved student code of conduct relative to student dress. So, that's why that was red line so it's not there. >> So, you have apparel that is sexually suggestive, promotes violence, illegal drugs activities, yada yada yada is still in. >> That's correct. >> Okay. I know sometimes people who wear things a little bit differently um um maybe have different body styles um

124can fall under maybe what some would deem sexually suggestive. Um but if someone with a different body style wore something a little different, it would not. How do you handle that? >> You know what I do? I compliment our building administrators who address and take on um student um dress code issues all the time. They're very mindful of the needs of the student, the context of the student um distractions. They work with family. So, honestly I think um kudos goes to our building administration, our school counselors who work through those things in a professional manner on a day-to-day basis. >> So, I do have a question. I might as well have a little fun here, too. So, um the um dress codes are challenging documents to to write and so if the building administrators are

125are enforcing them or interpreting them, ultimately it's a board policy and where does the final interpretation come from? >> The final interpretation would lay in with the building um administrator. If um a parent disagrees with a building administrator, they can reach out to a member of school administration or obviously just like any other concern that can be routed through the chain of command. But ultimately it land with the building administrator. >> I mean, I'm fine with policy but you do have some language in there that will open it to interpretation so just be ready. >> Sure. And again, I guess that would be also the pleasure of the board if you choose to want to table it. As I look at Melissa, I can think of the fact that dress code policy is one that

126typically is very narrow in handbooks and in board policies in general to your point Patrick because of the struggles of interpretation. >> All I can think of is Potter Stewart back in 1964 when they were having an obscenity case and he says, "Obscenity is I know it when I see it." But, he said that because it's so difficult to everybody has different views and we can table this forever. Or we can just make a decision. Should we have a vote? Do we have the motion? >> Were there any other questions? That was it? >> Now, if I find out where we are. >> Motion by Patrick, second by Gina. >> Yeah, motion by Patrick, second by Gina. All in favor, say I. I. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. Thank you. And thank you, Katie. Down here

127now. Approve. We're looking at the plumbing services request for proposals. Jake. >> Okay, fun fact. In a district of our size with 4.8 million square feet, we have about 640 miles of plumbing pipe in our buildings. So, this RFP is to help support those 4 40 miles of of plumbing. Uh we have two vendors that uh we're looking to award work with. Plumbing by Fisher. Uh, we have a long extensive history working with them. Quality by Quality Plumbing, we have a little, um, less history with them, but they interviewed really well, responded to the RFP really well. We are, um, looking forward to getting to build a relationship with them. This is a $1.2 million estimated expenditure for the next 12 months. And this is year one of five of the agreement with both of

128these vendors. Happy to answer any questions. >> So, this contract is, um, on call and we just pay them $1.2 million for whatever we need or it's like >> We don't pay them unless they actually give us services. So, right. We're We're estimating $1.2 million, but could be 500,000, could be hopefully not more than $1.2 million. >> Do I have a motion to approve the plumbing services request? >> Moved that the Board of Education approve the plumbing services request for proposals as presented. >> Second. >> Moved by Gina, second by >> Patrick. >> All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. Thank you, Jake. College Board agreement, Kelly June. Come on down. >> Good evening. I'm Kelly June, Executive Director of Academic Services, and I'm here, um, seeking approval for the College Board

129agreement. Um, we use Advanced uh, because of all of the testing for Advanced Placement, our families and students pay $110 uh, to College Board's total registration. It's kind of like a clearinghouse for those payments and registration for those tests. In turn, College Board gives us back that money minus $1.86 per exam, um, to use to pay for the tests, and then we use any pay for the tests that are $99, and then any extra, the extra is used to support um external facility rentals, administration costs, paying proctors, and those sorts of items. So, um it's essentially a pass-through. Parents pay College Board, College Board gives us money, and then we give back 99 of the $110 to pay for the exam. I think that if you have any questions. >> Hearing no questions, do we

130have a motion? >> I move the Board of Education approve the College Board agreement. >> Moved by Dave, second by Dr. Evans. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? It's unanimous. Other matters before the board. Anyone have other other matters to bring up? Board comments, Patrick? >> I'm good. Thank you. >> Dr. Evans? >> I just want to say I'm so excited for the graduations this weekend because I think there one, two, three, four of us on the board that have graduating seniors. And so, I am just ecstatic of the type of education that receipt that we have received for our children in the Blue Valley School District. So, kudos to the school district. >> Gina? >> Um I want to reiterate what Dr. Evans said about the seniors. Um I also like to

131point out this time of year that, you know, we give a lot of kudos in our superintendent's report to all the great things that our kids in Blue Valley are doing. There's a lot of kids who are graduating this year who maybe aren't on those boards, but they fought hard to get to this day. And they should be commended and celebrated as much as all of these kids up here on this board. So, congratulations to all of our graduating seniors. >> Thank you, Jean. Clay. >> Congratulations to all the graduating seniors, especially the ones that are children of the members of this board. Congrats to them. Want to thank AT1 Marcus uh Pollyette for coming in here and talking to us today. I really liked what he talked about the career fairs, though. Um something

132that we've talked about quite a bit. Um summer reminder, you may see construction projects out there in and around the district. And as a reminder, those are funded through special capital funds. Those are not impacted. Those are not teacher funds. Those are not classroom funds. Those are special capital funds raised locally for those projects. Um and one other monthly reminder, if we could just imagine a world where the state of Kansas followed the law and reimbursed us for our special ed expenses at the required rate set by law, all the things that we could do here in the district such as give our teachers higher wages, such as consider lowering property taxes, and pouring more money into our academics and classrooms. >> Well said. Dr. Bentsen. Absolutely well said. Just take a a brief moment

133to extend the board's appreciation to the administration, faculty, and staff of the entire school district. Every day, thousands of decisions are made by our staff all the way through that impact our students and those decisions are consistently outstanding. So, let's recognize our administration, faculty, and staff for their fine work. >> Thank you, Dave. Judy? >> [clears throat] >> Uh to piggyback on what Gina said, um the the kiddos that aren't up on the boards, um um just receiving a Blue Valley diploma is extraordinary. Um we are recognized across the nation as as um helping students reach a a point of excellence uh to go out into the world and do whatever they need to do. So, um the acknowledgement of receiving the diploma is is beyond um exciting. It's quality work. So, uh congratulations to

134everyone out there. I would like to throw out there, too, Jan and I uh a few weeks ago were able to meet with some staffers uh and some and and uh representatives from um uh in DC from Kansas. And um we learned earlier today that um Representative Davids has uh prioritized um the funding of IDEA um in some of her platform work. Um and I I a large part due to really explaining what is happening here in Kansas and in our school districts. Um and I just really appreciate um the attention at the federal level for that. >> And we should also mention Drew Shimmel uh Go ahead. >> Uh a favorite uh Blue Valley High graduate, Dr. Golden, thought there was paying attention. Yes. >> [laughter] >> Yeah, we were able to see one

135of our graduates what two years ago? From Blue Valley High, Drew Shimmel. He is working with Representative Davids and it was just such a delight to see a Blue Valley grad working in that environment and figure out what his next steps are. So. >> And he's a smart guy. Okay. >> [clears throat] >> Just a piggyback on the excitement for graduation. There will be so many graduation parties and I know that at each of the graduating seniors are very excited about it and are going to have fun. But as I told my girls as they would go out the door to party, I said be smart and I just asked that all all participants in grad parties this weekend, this coming weekend are safe and be smart. Am I supposed to say something else? Turn

136Oh. We stand adjourned. I closed everything up already.