001Good evening. Tonight, I'd like to open tonight's meeting by inviting Samis Saunders, a fifth grade student at Cedar Hills 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. [applause] We're going to get a quick p picture um tonight, but I know she's got a fan club over there in the front row with her. >> [applause] >> Tonight we have the privilege of recognizing several outstanding staff members whose dedication, talent, and impact are inspiring. To start off the night, um, with David Banks, please come forward with your supervisor, Matt Brooks. >> [applause] >> We are excited to recognize David with the Distinguished
002Service Award. David is a custodian at Prairie Star Middle and this is his 13th year in the district. Matt, would you tell us why David is so deserving of this award? >> Yes. Um, so David is one of the custodians and that you love to have in your building, especially as a lead custodian. um he comes to work, he does his job, does his job very well. And when you're not there as a lead custodian, he takes over and makes sure everything still continues to run smooth. And I think Eric, the principal in his building, will attest to that because when Gary's not there, who does he go to? He goes to David. And what does David do? David gets things done. And those are people we love to celebrate because they're not in the
003limelight, but they are so important to our district that without him um we'd be in a world of hurt. So that's why we celebrate you tonight, David, for all those unsung things that you do for us and for the 13 years you've been doing that for us. We appreciate that. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. [applause] Well, I'd like Oh, first of all, I'd like to thank my family, April, Trice, and Kim. I'd like to thank Eric, and I'd like to thank Matt. Um, like I said, I've been here 13 years. Um, I've learned a lot. Um, and I've seen a lot. And also, I want to thank my co-workers, Gary, Gail, Paloma, and Jonathan and thanks for the award. I appreciate it. >> You're welcome. >> Well earned. [applause] >> Oh, okay. >> Thank
004you. And congratulations Next, we'd like to invite Kyle Hayden to please come forward. [applause] [laughter] We are excited to recognize Kyle with the Excellence in Education Award. Kyle rejoined Blue Valley in July 2019, bringing with him decades of experience and a steady commitment to Kansas public education. His connection to Blue Valley began much earlier between 1998 and 2000 when he served as a teacher and coach at Blue Valley High School. Those early years in the classroom and on the sidelines grounded his understanding of what makes this district special and shaped his long-standing dedication to students. Over his 31 years in public education, Kyle has served in nearly every leadership role imaginable. from superintendent to district leader and finally to his time here in Blue Valley as deputy superintendent. In every role, he brought a thoughtful,
005measured approach that strengthen strengthened the communities he served. During his Blue Valley tenure, Kyle helped guide the district through two historic bond referendums in 2020 and 2023, each passing with over 70% approval, the highest in district history. Those outcomes reflect the community's trust in the district's direction and its confidence in the teams working behind the scenes. Kyle worked closely with the facilities and operations team as they improved learning environments, activity spaces, and athletic facilities across the district. In addition, Kyle also balanced the bond and capital project needs of Blue Valley with an awareness of the financial impact to taxpayers. Kyle, thank you for your years of service, your steady guidance, and your belief in public education. Congratulations on your retirement. [applause] >> Um she was really good. [laughter] Gosh, I probably Yeah, I probably had
006some help, I guess. But um so yeah, if I stumble on my words a little bit, I I um in the infamous words of Jan Kessinger, I'm on drugs. [laughter] So this is actually I think it's the first time I've had on like regular clothes. Um and I've I've I discovered uh Sketcher slip-ons [laughter] which are amazing. >> Oh yeah. >> Like they are incredible. So, I may never go back, but um but thank you very much um to the uh board. Uh first of all, I appreciate the time out of the meeting to recognize me. Um I [clears throat] excuse me, I'm an emotional person sometimes. um really appreciate the collaboration we've had over the course of the last seven years and accomplishing a lot of the things that Casey talked about. That takes
007a team and uh that's not just Kyle. Um so I appreciate the board, appreciate the folks back there. Um, [sighs and gasps] I have had um I've been fortunate, as Casey said, to be um invited into the Blue Valley family twice. Uh, once as a teacher in 1998 um in Blue Valley High School where I met my wife. Um, I disappeared for about uh I don't know how many years, 20. And in 2019, uh, [sighs] Eric Punwick gave me a call and and said, "You need to come back home." Uh, so I did. Um, I will say in all my travels over 31 years, the most talented people and most uh dedicated people that I know um are in Blue Valley and many are in this room and quite honestly in that corner over there.
008um and including my wife who's probably the best teacher I've ever known and my daughter Marin who I had the pleasure of working with the last year and a half. So, uh thank you again uh for the time. Um to uh Jake and Eric back there, I'm sorry. Even though the enrollment report is an alltime favorite of mine, um when Casey says that we can take an early exit, I'm taking it. [clears throat] And I'm returning to the cozy recliner um that um I think during the COVID season, many of those folks over there saw me uh relaxing in. So, it's calling my name. So, uh once again, I appreciate all you folks. And in my second act, uh, which will be as a director of business development with Macau Gordon Construction, uh, I hope
009to be seeing you all again very soon and, uh, working, uh, towards some more, um, outstanding construction projects and maybe your next bond. So, just a plug, right? [laughter] Uh, shameless, but thank you so much. [applause] For our final recognition this evening, we'd like to invite Jim McMullen to please come forward. [applause] >> [snorts] >> Jim McMullen is an outgoing board member who has served since January 2022, and we appreciate the time, commitment, and conviction he brought to this role. During his time on the board, Jim has been steadfast in upholding the district's responsibilities to students, families, and taxpayers. His voice added perspective, and he spoke passionately about protecting taxpayer dollars, strengthening reading, writing, and literacy, and ensuring that Blue Valley continues to prepare the next generation to lead in our community and beyond. We
010appreciate the time, dedication, and insight he brought to this role. Thank you, Jim, for your service to Blue Valley and for the impact you've made during your time on the board of education. [applause] >> I think I'll I'll save most of my comments for later when you guys are all gone. I'm kind of long-winded sometimes, but um and I've got some long-winded comments to make later, but um I I really do appreciate um everything that um the staff and the team, Dr. Chapman, my fellow board members have have done um to make this a a good place to serve the public. Um I think we have a really talented team of professionals. Um notwithstanding that I'm sometimes I've been, you know, vocal uh in disagreement on some things. I nevertheless, we are the by far
011the the bestrun public entity in Johnson County. And I don't I'm not comparing to the rest of the state, but I think it's probably the best in the state. I think from a financial perspective, from a you know, thought pro, you know, thought reflection, um discernment, I think all these things are are really, you know, highly, you know, highly, um, you know, valued [snorts] here. Um, I I really appreciate the support my wife for the last four years. you know, sometimes I speak my mind and sometimes she's like, "Dandy, you should have checked with me maybe before you said that." [laughter] And um so I appreciate her putting up with with that. And my grandkids are here and and two of my sons. Um and then one other thing I I wish the best for
012um Dr. Benson before I decided to run again. Uh Gina introduced me to Dr. Benson. had coffee and I thought, you know, I had this meeting and that this guy, he's not a bad guy. Um, and we're we're [laughter] going to we're going to do well whether I win or whether I lose. And I really believe that he's he's dedicated to the community. Um, and I just thought it's it's important to have a public discussion about important things, things that we value and the things that um are up for consideration. And so, but I wish him well. I'll support him in any way I can and the rest of my board members. >> So, thank you. >> Thank you. [applause] So, Blue Valley's known for having some exceptional staff, and it was an honor to
013get to recognize several of those people tonight. Congratulations again to David, Kyle, and Jim. Um, for those of you who are looking for that natural break or to find a better seat, here it is. Are we ready to go? Yes. Good. Okay. Welcome to 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 threeminute limit per speaker for up to 30 minutes. If you have handouts, uh 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 concerns of our patrons. If you're
014unable to address the board during the open forum, you may address the board by email. I [clears throat] have a few reminders about open forum that will help our speakers have a constructive and positive experience when discussing items with the board. So, when you're making your remarks, please be civil and use respectful language. Please limit discussion to the relevant business of the board tonight. Discussions of matters related to a specific student or employee are not allowed. Instead, comments should be submitted to the superintendent in writing. And please remember to limit your comments to three minutes and avoid repeating the concerns of a previous speaker. And please remain in a designated visitor area and refrain from approaching the DAS where the board of education is seated. If you have questions that need a response, someone will
015follow 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, introduce yourself before beginning your remarks. And as a reminder, we ask that all remarks are limited to three minutes. So, we'll get started. We have one speaker tonight, Arena Weaver. Uh, please don't. Okay. >> Good evening everyone. Tonight, I would like to express my appreciation of U. Jim McMullen, a voice of reason and common sense on this board. I'm thankful that you thought you fought against muzzling our children with masks while others took an easy route of not rocking the boat. I appreciate m Mr. McMullen's involvement in helping the parents blindsided and devastated by the action
016of a rogue teacher who was conditioning their daughter via text messages behind their backs. Your involvement led to changing your policy and ensuring that the similar situation would not happen again to another family. I'm thankful that you defended the teacher with more than 25 years of service in our schools who was loved and respected by many families. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas once said once said, "You can be in the middle of of a hurricane or you can be on a calm day. North is still north. You could be in a thunderstorm. No, north is still north. People can yell at you. North is still north. It doesn't change fundamental things. Right is still right. Even you stand by yourself. >> Thank you, Mrs. Weaver. That was very kind of you to come and to
017express that. We now welcome you to the monthly business meeting of the Blue Valley Board of Education. the time when the board publicly conducts its business of of governing the school district. While these meetings are open to all, public interaction is limited to individuals who have signed up for open forum. We kindly ask all attendees to contribute to a positive atmosphere by conducting themselves with the quorum. Please engage in civil and polite behavior toward one another. It's crucial that everyone present extends courtesy to both the schoolboard members and those presenting by listening attentively. Please refrain from making comments or sounds and foster an environment of respect. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in making this product a productive meeting for all. So, I'll call the meeting to order and the first item would be
018to approve the regular board of education meeting agenda. Do I have a motion? >> I move. Go ahead. I move the board of education amend the December 8th regular board of education meeting agenda by removing action item E3. >> We have it uh moved by Gina, second by Patrick. Uh all in favor raise your hand. It passes 70. There's a second um motion now to approve the board of education regular agenda as amended. I move the board of education approve the December 8, 2025 regular board of education meeting agenda as amended. >> Moved by Clay, second by Jody. All in favor, raise your hand. It passes 70. Now, 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 have
019been provided to all board members and the public in advance to ensure an extensive review. Items may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any board member to have a motion on a consent agenda. I move that the board of education approve the December 8, 2025 regular board of education meeting consent agenda as published with minor edits deemed necessary by legal counsel. >> Second. >> Moved by Jim, second by Clay. All in favor raise your hand. And it passes seven zip. That takes us to reports and discussion items. got make sure our uh so we'll talk from the board members. Uh first up would be academics and activities. Jody, I think you've got that. >> I've [clears throat] got that one. Um, so the committee met on November 20th, uh, 2025 from
0207:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Um, we first discussed, uh, screen time recommendations, um, and, uh, administration discussed developing screen time, screen time guidelines for the fall of 2026. Key committee priorities included strong family partnerships and possibly uh, sharing screen time data. um ensuring device use is purposeful not recreational supporting both digital and hands-on learning and special attention to K through two learners. Uh we also discussed extra and co-curricular programming update updates were given on Quesa's progress towards sanctioning girls flag football and on projected cost for expanding activities. um members present discussed funding for extracurriculars uh and what that entailed and I think it was very enlightening uh to those who were there um to discuss the costs um what it takes the district to to implement. Um the district celebrated uh three state champions, BB
021High's marching band, BB Southwest boys soccer, and BB West volleyball. The next meeting is scheduled for January 22nd uh 2026. >> Great. Thank you, Jody. Anyone have any questions of Jody on that report? Hearing none. Finance and operations. Clay, is that you? >> Yes, it is. Thank you. Um, finance and operations met on December 4th at 7:30 a.m. Um, three big things um that that morning. John Nyarger with Alan Gibson Hulik presented the results of the independent auditors report. The big takeaways were um it's an unmodified uh report back which is the best and highest we can expect no changes and that we have all proper controls in place to um have effective and uh proper accounting and financial matters. So that was a very good report. Um second thing was Eric Palm our assistant
022director of planning and operations came in gave our annual enrollment report which we will hear about in just a few minutes and then Dr. Chapman presented on our legislative priorities which we approved last year last month. [clears throat] Um that portion of the meeting invoked a lively discussion amongst the um patrons and parents that were um part of the committee. Um it really it focused a lot on our sped funding and the um shortage that the legislature continues to um cause for us where we must have $18 million out of our general fund to cover sped funding because of the shortfall um from the legislature. And one of the big takeaways I took from that is one of the parents asking that if the legislature is required to reimburse our special education funds by 92%.
023Um who says they get a pass and they don't have to do it? But we don't have an answer for them. So that was from that some of the uh um comments from our patrons from our families. So they were very interested in that. Our next meeting is February 5th, 2026, 7:30 a.m. >> Anybody have any questions or discussion with Clay on the finance? >> Okay, thank you Clay. And you've built up the anticipation for the enrollment report. So, let's get right to that. Thank you, Eric. about that. There we [clears throat] go. Uh, this is our annual enrollment report. Uh, I'm going to talk a little bit tonight about our current enrollment picture and then also our five-year outlook, which we update every year. And hopefully by the time I'm done, you'll have a
024better sense of where we're headed from an enrollment picture. And hopefully you'll also find yourself wondering Kyle [snorts] why why Kyle would have taken his early exit when he knew he had this to look forward to. Um but I understand completely and I accept his apology. [clears throat] >> Yes. So our current enrollment picture uh for this year 2526 uh our count day enrollment was 21,563. This was down about 140 from count day last year in our headcount. Uh you can see uh over time this shows our growth as a district since the '9s uh since 1990 uh when we had just unprecedented and hugely rapid growth. Uh you can see it's broken down by elementary, middle, and high school portions in the different colors. Uh and we had steady but tapering growth all the
025way up uh through 2020 uh when like other districts uh we had about a 3% hit to our enrollment and it's been fairly level ever since. We haven't recovered fully from from that enrollment hit. Um but that's something I'll show you is is kind of a shared experience in this area. One thing we like to keep track of is our kindergarten enrollment and look at that outlook over time. Uh and you can see uh after years of rapid growth um since about 2005 uh which was a big year for us. It's just been fairly steady with ups and downs between about 1,400 and550 students. Um we had our biggest year ever the year after the the worst COVID year. Uh, a lot of that was what we call, you know, people red shirting, holding kindergarteners
026out that could have started that year for an extra year. Uh, so we had a big bounce back that next year. And then in the years since, we've seen some decline in kindergarten enrollment. Um, not drastic, but we've had a few years in a row now of smaller kindergarten numbers. That's something we're keeping an eye on. Uh you may have seen recent reports from uh it looks like KASB had a report talking about declining birth rates in the state and migration things that are leading to a a smaller number of uh potential students in Kansas. Uh and so there's some element of that here as a move up district uh in Blue Valley. Um, we've tended to be somewhat immune to looking at those types of birth rates and demographic changes because when people start
027families, they tend to seek either a larger house and move here or intentionally seek out Blue Valley uh for their education for their families. So, a lot of times when when there are new families, uh we get them coming here and we're not just relying on the people who are already here. So, we will be keeping an an eye on that. Uh one positive from this year in our growth is what we call our cohort growth. Uh so that's uh our existing grades from last year. How much each class changed from last year to this year. So last year's kindergarten of 1392 became this year's fourth or first grade of 1439. And we actually had better cohort growth this year than the previous year. Uh the reason for us being down 140 students is simply
028that we had an outgoing senior class last year of 1847 seniors and to fill that hole we would have needed to have enough kindergarteners and then growth in every cohort to make up that difference and and grow beyond that. And so really even though we had robust growth in all the grade levels uh we had that small kindergarten class and that was just uh too much of a hole to fill. I mentioned earlier uh the experiences of our neighbor districts and enrollment changes uh year-on-year. Uh this shows FTE enrollment change which is what determines our funding ultimately. Uh so it it counts for partial enrollment. It excludes virtual students. Uh if you look at headcounts some of the districts that have virtual programs, you see kind of big spikes in in activity here and there.
029This is a a much better way to just look at what our our real observed experience in our our classrooms is. And what we see is uh ahead of 2020 uh our neighboring districts and us alike had really close together very moderate modest growth if any. U then everybody took about a 3% dip in 2020 and then a little bit of a recovery the next year. And since that time, uh, most districts in this area have seen either, um, level enrollment or some decline in their enrollment. Our share of public school students in Johnson County has essentially remained unchanged since the end of the 90s. Uh this takes a look at all public school students in Johnson County and how many uh what percentages in Blue Valley and we've been right at about 23 and
030a half% uh since the end of the '9s. So kind of as the area goes so have we gone. So that's where we stand right now. Uh taking a look forward which most people are more interested in our enrollment projections for the next five years. Uh our projections are made up of a come from a complex model that we've been cultivating for many years with lots of data behind it. It served us very well. It takes our existing students and then it makes adjustments going forward for the next five years at the neighborhood level uh for every neighborhood in the district and takes into account new housing and neighborhood turnover in existing and established neighborhoods. A big driver of our growth has always been building activity. Um, and as you can see, at one time
031we were doing over a thousand new homes, single family homes a year in the district. Uh, then we had the housing crash and the great recession and things dropped down below 100 one year. Uh, since that time, we've rebounded some and then settled into around 400 uh, a year. Uh but then we've had a couple of years after 2020 um there's just been some real disruption and changes in the markets. And so last year we had 214. This year was a bit of a rebound though. It was some good news. Uh we had 335. Um so one of the main reasons uh for some of the slow movement in the market is just that mortgage rates have been still pretty high. Uh we have conversations with the offices selling new homes in our new subdivisions
032and I talk to them every year about what they're seeing in their outlook. Uh what are the home buyers telling them and what they see as the the main reason why they did or did not sell a certain number of homes a given year. And most of them have said it's interest rates above 6% and people waiting for that to come down, anticipating it coming down. um this year when I asked, "Well, we had a better year this year." Uh but the interest rates are still um pretty much the same. And they said, "Well, people are tired of waiting." So, we're starting to see some movement just for people say, "You know what? I need to get in, get my home, get my family into Blue Valley, and I'll refy when things come back down."
033um part of the lower turnover in our existing um established neighborhoods when we talk about refinancing that 2.65%. A lot of people refied when rates were that low. So there's maybe some potential empty nesters and others out there that normally would contribute to the, you know, the next family coming in as they sell their homes. A lot of people are hanging on to their homes uh extra long because of of the rates they got when they refinanced. So that's slowing things down a little too. This chart um it shows what our projection outcomes were for every single school year and then the black line is what our observed enrollment was. So just focusing on this this year on the right hand side uh 21,563 was our enrollment. The purple bar all the way to the
034left was what we were projecting the range of possibilities was going to be for this year five years ago. And then you move to the right, that red bar is what we were saying last year was our high and low expectation range of possibilities. So if the projections uh are accurate and we are finding our way to the midline projection, that black line should run right through the middle. And as you can see, with the exception of the COVID year, which we're all tired of talking about, I know um that was a year where we had conditions that were about as uh harsh on enrollment as you could expect. And we came in about 10 students or so with above the low projection for that year. So, um, when I say we have a high
035and low projection that represents a major boom in enrollment conditions or a major bust, uh, that was a good test of the major bust conditions that year. And this is our district-wide enrollment outlook. And as you can see, it is just extremely steady. Um, obviously there's a wide range of possibilities that can come out of this. That's why we have the high and the low. Um if interest rates start to drop, we should be on the the high side of that purple line. Um and if things turn the other way, just on the low side. So this is the range of possibilities, but what we've uh been able to rely on in recent years is that we usually come in pretty close to that mid-range projection, which is just the average of the two. And
036uh we're at 21563 today. And it's suggesting that by the end we'd be right around this same enrollment at 21594. Yeah. >> 24,710 students. Do we have the capacity to meet that demand should it appear? >> Yeah. Well, and and we monitor uh housing and new housing starts um not just on an annual basis, but on a monthly basis. We if that started to really take off, we would be having some conversations very quickly. But as you'll see in the upcoming slides, we we're in a good shape uh capacity-wise within our buildings um and including in those areas where we expect the growth will come. >> Uh so so there are some solutions there. So, these are our elementary projections. Um, the idea here isn't to get into the numbers on all of this. Um,
037but what I can tell you is all of our elementary schools are projected to remain within the capacity guidelines. You can see the colors there um on that legend. Uh if a school is projected at any point to be above 110% capacity, that usually triggers a conversation uh whether there may be need for adjustment through boundary adjustments, planning for new schools, changes to whether they're open to transfers, moving program spaces around to create space. We have lots of lots of ways of dealing with changing enrollment. Uh but all of our elementary schools are expected to remain below that threshold uh and are in good shape. Aspen Grove and Stillwell are projected to experience the most growth. We have most of our new housing on the southeast and southwest corners of the district. Um but they
038don't reach numbers that would create a capacity problem in this 5-year outlook. Middle schools. Um so we have a new middle school opening next year we're all very excited about and it's coming at an excellent time. Uh if we were not opening Wolf Springs Middle next year, uh Aubrey Bend would be heading on their way to 900 kids. Um and they've done a fantastic job of managing their enrollment out there. Uh it's been it's been pretty high for a little while and so this is going to be a fantastic addition to this area and we're going to have both Aubrey Bend and Wolf Springs Middle um with a very positive different experience next year. Not just with a fantastic new building uh but just with really manageable enrollment in each building and plenty of room
039to grow in an area where we expect that new housing to come. Uh other than those two, our middle schools are also projected to be within guidelines. And with high schools, it's uh more of the same. All projected to be within guidelines. Um Southwest continues to grow into a good utilization. Uh they were a lot in the gray in previous years and so uh they're growing and every other high school's mid-range projection is all squarely in the yellow within that comfortable zone where we we want them to be. So, in summary, uh our new residential activity is somewhat unpredictable over the next few years. We'll we'll uh be keeping tabs on that and seeing what happens. Uh but district-wide enrollment is expected to be uh fairly steady uh for the next five years. Uh we'll
040update this again next year and and monitor any of those changing dynamics that we just talked about and uh that may push the line up or down in in future years, but for now, we expect that to be fairly flat. And uh all of our schools are projected to be in good comfortable limits for their capacities. So I'll take any questions you have. >> Okay. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Eric. Appreciate it. >> Dr. Chapman, superintendent. >> Thank you. As usual, uh we have a lot to celebrate in Blue Valley and um the uh Blue Valley Unmuted episode, it has been downloaded and Melissa Blevens and Dr. Alexander and Kelly June um talk about what it means to be a champion of learning um in all of our schools. So, that was a
041really fun episode to uh record together. Um we obviously have winter break coming up. So um for some two weeks um is a long time before winter break starts and for others it's going to fly by. But our our um students will be having semester exams toward the end of that uh the uh 17th, 18th and 19th. Um, we also have 10 Blue Valley Middle School students who were recognized at KMEA allstate uh middle school level choir, which is really exciting. We have a number of concert uh over the next two weeks. So, um, this would be an outstanding opportunity to check some of that out and some of these students would obviously be performing. Blue Valley Southwest Dance continued their record fourth straight championship. >> Yes. >> Oh, sorry. >> I forget. I'm clicking
042on my computer and [laughter] >> Thank you. Yeah, I obviously cannot multitask. I'm clicking away on my computer and enjoying these wonderful pictures. Um, [laughter] thank you. And thank you for Kyle for or Casey, whichever one of you got me going back there. Thank you. Um, anyway, um, Blue Valley Southwest Dance, the Glitter Girls um, record fourth straight championship season at the state dance. We also have uh, more activities and athletics to celebrate. Uh, Blue Valley Southwest um Taylor Stanley and Blue Valley West Payton Kubic were named the 2025 American Volleyball Coach Association as um girls high school first team all-ameans and um Taylor Stanley was also selected as the 2025 AVCA region player of the year. We also have nine Blue Valley High School student athletes that were named to the Greater Kansas City
043Cross Country Coaches Association all metro uh first team. And Blue Valley West Payton Kubic was named to the 25 Kansas Volleyball Association 6A Player of the Year. and Blue Valley West Jessica Horstick was named um the um KVA 6A coach of the year. Blue Valley Southwest Eric Jones was named the 20 2025 Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association 5A coach of the year. and Jack Punswick continues to excel as alumni uh graduate of Blue Valley West, the recipient of the 2025 James Connor Perseverance Award by Youth Sports Awards. So um again, lots to celebrate um in this month of December. So look forward to uh 2026 being as um strong as 2025 as our last 2025 report. Um, and that's all I have on the superintendent's report. >> Great. Thank you very much. Anyone have
044any questions of the superintendent? >> So, we'll move on to approving the series 2025A and series 2025B bond sale resolutions. Uh, Jeremy McFaten. Uh, good evening board, Dr. Chapman. [clears throat] Uh this morning the district conducted the competitive bid sale for the 2025A and 2025B series bonds. Um as a reminder the 2025A bonds was the uh remaining authority from the 2023 bond referendum. So, um, we had a, uh, successful bid, uh, this morning and Dave Artberry with Steel Nicholas is here to walk you through, um, the results of, um, the bid and Shelby Exposito with Gilmore and Bell was also here if you have questions on the resolution that you will be asked to approve u, as a result of the sale this morning. >> Oh, one other thing, you should have a couple handouts
045that Dave will go over with you. [clears throat] Thank you, Jeremy, and good evening. Um, first handout I'd like to take kind of go over with is it's a one-page handout or I'm sorry, a one-sided handout. Um, up at the top it says Johnson County USD number 229 1012 101,250,000 general obligation school bonds on it. Um, on this page, what you'll see is the results of the bidding for the two different series of bonds that were sold. Um the top is the um what I refer to as the new money bonds for um the $ 101.25 million of remaining bonding authority that the district had pursuant to its 2023 bond election. [clears throat] And then below that is a list of the bids that were received for um the refinancing bonds that refinance the district's
046outstanding 2015A bonds. Um, as you'll see up at the top there, um, the results of the the sale of the new money bonds, the district ended up receiving a total of six bids. Um, the best interest rate that was offered, the lowest true interest cost of all those bids. >> Oh, yes. >> Can we get this sheet up on the screen? Oh, there it is. Okay, >> there we go. Thank you. Um yeah, this is the result of the uh sale of the new money bonds. And um the firm offering to purchase the bonds at the lowest interest rate was um Morgan Stanley that offered to purchase the bonds with the true interest cost of excuse me [clears throat] 3.779289%. Um I think when I met with the board back in September, we were estimating
047at the time about a 3.85. And in fact, going into the sale today, I was still anticipating a rate of about 3.85%. So, I was very pleased to see um the bids come in, most all of them lower than that. Um, if you look to to kind of illustrate how competitive the sale was, if you look at the top three bids, um, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and JP Morgan, um, I think the difference between those top three bids is less than a 0.012%. So, all all those three bids were very very close. And then the next two were were pretty close behind that. Also, um, switching then to the next sale of bonds, um, the series 2025B, the refinancing bonds. Um, there we ended up getting a total of five bids. And in this
048case, the best bid was submitted by, um, Bank of America. I think they were the cover bid on the first sale and they were the best bid on this sale. Um, the interest rate that they were offering to buy the bonds at was 2.699047%. Um the the reason it's a lower interest rate than the other sale is that the the first series of bonds was for new projects and those bonds are being sold over a 20-year period of time. Um th this series of bonds, this second series is a refinancing of an outstanding issue that only goes out for another 10 years. So this is a shorter maturity. That's why the the interest rate is lower. Um I I had anticipated um earlier probably a rate of about 2.9%. So uh quite a bit lower
049than that. And in a just a minute here I'll I'll mention what that does to the actual savings from the refinancing. But I'm very pleased to see that um all of the bids were reviewed and they were all mathematically correct. Uh they met all of the bidding parameters and all of the um the biders the best biders provided the required um 2% good faith deposit. So, um, all of them, all of these were, um, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America were were good solid bids. Um, if you, if you don't mind switching then to, um, the other page of the other page that, um, Jeremy handed out here. Um, the two-sided page. Um, the first side I want to focus on is the one that says results of recent new money bond sales. Let's see
050if that's Yeah, there it is. Um, this should look familiar. I think I passed this out back in this when I was here in September. Um what this shows is over the last oh about 13 years. Um the new money bond sales that the district has conducted. And if you look over on the far right hand side, you'll see the most recent sale, today's sale, and you'll see the date that the sale occurred, the principal amount of bonds that were bid on, and then the true interest cost. So you can kind of see how this all compares to prior sales. It is we expect, as we expected, today is the highest rate that you've got on bonds over the last 13 years. That's just solely a function of market conditions. Rates right now are higher
051than at any other time during the last decade or so that you've sold bonds. Um you did end up getting a total of um six bids on the sale today. We actually had um about 10 to 12 biders signed up um at the beginning of the day to bid, but um a number of the biders, particularly the smaller firms, uh ended up deciding not to bid. And that's why we ended up with um six bids on the new money bonds and then, as you'll recall, five on the the refinancing bonds. Um, on the flip side of the page, um, if you pull up the sheet that says bond refunding history, um, this just shows the results of refinancing bond issues that the school district has done [clears throat] over the last um, oh, two decades.
052And I'd focus on that row towards the bottom there that says 2025B. That was today's sale. Um it it shows uh this table will show what the interest rate on the old bonds was which was 3.42%. U the the new rate 2.7%. And then in that yellow column there you'll see the total savings about a million264. Um I think earlier we're expecting somewhere around 1.1 or 1.2 million in savings. So that lower rate that I mentioned that we got today boosted the savings oh about $400 or $500,000 higher than we had previously been projecting. >> Hey Dave, I got a quick question. >> Yeah. >> On the refunding history on that 25B line, the 39,615. >> Yeah, >> that's a little bit different than the 39,745. >> That's correct. Yeah. when um when the bids
053are open um each bidder constructs their bids a little bit differently and the the bids submitted by the winner on that one, Bank of America. Um they constructed it a little bit different than I had anticipated and they ended up paying the district a little bit bigger of a premium. um that higher premium allowed us to then we we use that in lie of having to issue the the full amount of bonds we had originally projected. So it's really just a function of how they construct their bid that allows us to adjust the issue size. So the $130 million difference is >> 130 million >> 13,000 >> $130,000 >> 130,000 >> Yeah, it that's um they paid a premium of $130,000 more than I had originally been anticipating. Yeah, >> thank you. Um so that
054that's sort of a summary of the results um today and just sort of a look back on the history of refinancings and and new money issuances that the district has had. Um welcome any questions that you might have about it. >> Hearing thank you very much. Appreciate it and appreciate the job you do for us. >> Thank you. So, I need a motion to approve uh the bond sales. I [clears throat] move that the board of education approve the series 2025A and series 2025B bond resolutions authorizing the issuance of the series 2025AB bonds. Second. moved by Jim, second by Clay. All in favor, raise your hand. >> It passes unanimously. Thank you. Now, we look to approve the long-standing legislative priorities. Back to you, Dr. Shep. >> Thank you. This morning we reviewed in the
055workshop the long-standing priorities that had been previously approved by uh boards of education and um we hope we captured that conversation. But we wanted to um take a look at it one more time and see that we indeed captured that or if there are any other edits. We are happy to make those edits as well before these are approved. And then once approved, we will put th this together along with our um 2026 uh legislative priorities and send them back out to our delegation in a nice package so they have that available and continue to use that work as we advocate for uh Blue Valley over the next few months. Any questions on that from the board? And thank you very much, Dr. Chapman. And that takes us to board comments. >> Patrick. >> Oh,
056we we do have to approve them. >> Okay. So, >> do I hear a motion to approve the long-standing legislative priorities? I move to approve the Blue Valley Schools longstanding legislative priorities as presented this evening. >> Second. >> Moved by Clay, second by Jody. All in favor, raise your hand. Now we can go to board comments. Patrick. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Um, want to wish everybody happy holidays. This is our last meeting for the year. Um and uh wish Jim the best and appreciate the opportunity to serve with you. I also like to wish everyone a holiday happy season and Jim um I've already uh relayed to you uh what was in my heart and um I like the fact that um you were committed to what you felt and what you believed in
057even when you stood by yourself and I respect that and uh I wish that you have a wonderful uh life and whatever you choose to do that you have success and I just want to reiterate that I I think you have a beautiful family and and just know that your board members really respect you and appreciate you. Um, so Jim and I ran for the first time together on wildly opposing sides four years ago. And when we first got um when we both first got elected, um, he reached out to me right away and we went and had lunch. Um, and even though we have completely opposing views in most things, we we enjoy discussing that. Um, but also I've learned so much from you over the last four years and I have such a
058great respect for you, um, and your family and everything that you do for your community. Um, I've really enjoyed getting to know you. I've learned so much and um please know we will continue to push everybody to read great books in your honor and uh make I'll definitely make sure my kids read a book or two this year >> Jody >> Clay [clears throat] um yeah um I would say you know um echo u my cohorts um statements regarding um your service. Um much appreciated. I I really enjoy the dialogue that we have. Um I enjoy um picking apart, you know, um words and and pieces of information that we have and and hearing different perspectives. So, um I have uh um really appreciated your presence on the board and and uh thank you for
059your service. >> Jim, I'll leave you to the last so you can have the last word. Finally, Clay. >> Um, before I wax on about, you know, the glories of our of Jim, um, I do [laughter] I do want to, uh, thank Miss Weaver for speaking tonight in open forum. I also want to, uh, give a little shout out. I think we've got a couple students here in the front row who's who's they've both made it all the way to the end of the meeting here. Congratulations. Thank you. I assume you're here for a class. Is that right? >> And what? Yeah. What school do you guys go to? >> Blue Valley North. Both of you. >> APGV Mustang Civic Civics Project. And I hope you've learned a lot sitting here tonight. So, thank you.
060You made it through the end of the meeting. So, well, you got a few more minutes. Clay, an example of some seniors learning something their senior year. >> See, >> I know. Isn't that great? See how hard they're working and we need to continue with that. [laughter] [sighs and gasps] Um, so now, uh, Jim, it's been actually it has been a real pleasure to serve with you. I have learned, um, I've learned a ton from you. Um, similar to Gina's comments, we often do not see eye to eye on some things, but we can always sit down and discuss them and they're civil. It's a civil discussion. Um, even though we both may be very passionate and we are able to find a lot of common ground and I so appreciate that about you. So,
061um, you have been a valuable board member, and I do appreciate that very much. Um, I will miss you on this board, but like I've said before, we live in the same neighborhood. You're not going away. We'll see each other. So, uh, um, and I'm sure we'll be talking. So, thank you for your service. I have ever since I've known you and worked with you uh so much admire the questions that you ask. You're not telling us anything. You're asking questions to get information so that we can make smarter decisions. And I appreciate that because Jim, you've always asked questions that many times we have not considered and and that has made the board better. and you've challenged us to be different in what we do so that we can do better instead of well
062we always do it like that. Uh and I admire how earnest you are in your commitment to raise the performance of our students and that is good for Blue Valley and um I will miss your questions for sure which and we'll turn it over to you. You can ask all the questions you want. Okay, I don't have any questions, but I I do ask for your apologies in advance because I I wrote out and it's kind of long, >> but I just thought >> several pages long. So, it's only >> I said it was the end of the meeting. [laughter] >> It's only 500 words. Um, but my father taught me when I walk out the door um to leave words of encouragement. Um, so he always used this Bible verse where I at least
063imagine that he did. He's been gone for 35 years, but I remember him saying that things to this effect. So Hebrews 10 says, "Let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another." So I would just like to encourage my fellow board members I'm He was a crier. My dad was, so I inherited it. Um, so Clay, you're always very thoughtful and prepared, like like overly prepared. Um, so which, you know, I thought that I got that prize, but then you came along and then you helped me raise my bar. So I admire I really do admire your dedication. Uh, you bring your computer. I mean, it's just you must have been a
064gunner in law school, were you? >> I was. >> You weren't? >> Okay. [laughter] >> Okay. Well, I would have enjoyed being in law school with you. Um, [snorts] so Sonia, um, uh, you're professional, respectful, and dignified. I really appreciate that about that. came to the board championing removal of cell phones uh from schools and helped accomplish it through uh persistence but understated persistence and then when the time was right we were able to accomplish it and I don't think we could have done it without you. Um, so I look forward to future coffees where we can solve the problems of the world because I mean I think we're we're pretty good at that. Um, [snorts] so Jody, a few years ago you attended a United Nations dinner with my wife and my mother um
065and a bunch of my high school buddies. >> It was delightful. >> Yeah. And um my mother is in her in her waning days and she's got some um serious memory issues. So that was one of the last really awesome memories I have of my mom and she was a tough individual like you know she was I mean I don't know in that circumstance whether she was just delightful or >> she was delightful. She was she was a great date. Okay. Honestly she was a fantastic >> she was but anyway it's a great memory. Um uh and you were immensely gracious to sit there with all of us and uh you know belabor [snorts] my all these inside jokes with my high school buddies and my um but I also appreciate your willingness to venture
066into any environment and advocate strongly for what you believe in because you really you do and you obviously you you spend a lot of time going to events and representing our community. Um, [snorts] Jan, I knew that uh you and I would be able to bridge all of our disagreements when one night I saw you checking the Royals game score in the middle of a Blue Valley Wreck meeting and I go, "All right, I'm not the only one doing that." So, I felt that that was cover always have my MLB app on during the meetings. Um but you know I I found over the uh over the years um of serving together that we have a lot more in common than we have disagreements. The disagreements get elevated sometimes in the public in the public
067eye. Uh but they're mostly I mean this is true with all of us here. I think there's a lot more common that we have in common. We're all trying to achieve same things. Sometimes we have different ways of going about doing it. Um, and and uh I just think I just think I like your approach because it's it's uh you know it's got a air of comedy and practical practicality. So I [snorts] I like that Patrick. Um I I didn't know you from Adam when we when we like I ran for school board. I didn't know anybody. I was like I've got to run for school board. I did actually know Clay before before then. Um but um but I didn't know any of the existing schoolboard members and I thought oh so I got
068together with Patrick at HY and we had coffee. I don't know if you remember this but I it was a to me it was a striking conversation um because uh what you hear especially in that was a hyper political environment you know um as Gina mentioned and I thought well this guy's just like I thought about Dr. Benson. It's like this guy has really got some good ideas. Um, and you you actually think quite outside the box. Not [snorts] always. Um, you know, I always think I'm right and but sometimes you give me a perspective like I did not think of it that from that approach and I that's that's um that's a a skill that uh that I very much value in you. Um so I I thank I thank you for that. And
069[snorts] so, um, finally to Gina when when she and I ran, like I think my side, I didn't have anything to do with this, I promise, was calling her like a radical leftist. And, um, and then we got together, I'm like, she's really, um, you know, willing to sit down and listen to my perspective. And I always felt like that was the thing that um, stood out with you beyond anybody. like you know I'm agitated about something and you're like Jim let's go get coffee and you know and then you give me your perspective and you never really give any ground but you do listen that is really an important uh feature for a public body to embody and I don't think many of our public entities do it or do it well. Um, so
070you did it when you were president, vice president, and the board, but even when when we were just all just members, even when it got really contentious that first year we were on the board. Um, so I really appreciate that and I appreciate the future friendship that we're going to that we we have and and will continue to have. Um you're great at disagreeing w with um professionalism, respect, collegiality um and but you're also a fierce advocate especially for special education. We served on that special ed um board for a number of years and I learned a lot about um about it from you. So I thank you for that. And then Dr. Chapman, just my final parting words um on people I got a few more things to say. Um it's only been six
071months since you started your tenure, but I am really so pleased um that that we selected and I it was a it was a decision that all of us made. Um you're thoughtful, you're genuine. Um but you have some um difficult challenges I think because the techn the pace of technological change and and the advent of artificial intelligence is um is accelerating change. it's not slowing things down and um so it's a big challenge and I and I um look forward to seeing what you can accomplish. Um so just I just have a few parting comments on substantive matters and I ask the board to consider these closely. [snorts] These are not new themes. Um first I would urge you to be cautious when we go to the for a bond issue the next time.
072It would be next year or the year after I I suppose. Um, so in my view, the pop the the proper amount of that should be somewhere in the hundred million to $150 million range. I know I've heard higher numbers than that, but I do think that given where the district is today, of course things can change, but where it is today um that would provide a healthy level of investment to maintain um our infrastructure, but also give us some money to achieve new projects. but it would also um allow the board to be able to reduce the mill levy, potentially even reduce the overall tax bill for taxpayers. So, I just urge you to think that through and consider it when it when the time comes. Um secondly, and it sounds like maybe we're
073going a little bit in this direction, I I urge the board and the administration to drastically curtail the use of Chromebooks and iPads in elementary and middle schools, even in in high schools. Um, it's not just a colossal waste of money. Um, it's not proven to provide any educational benefit. That's my opinion. I haven't I've tried to look for like other opinions or other data on it, but I just don't see it. Um, if you haven't read Jonathan Hates, the anxious generation, I would urge you to do so. I gave that book to like six people this weekend. Um, it's just and that guy's a liberal. Um, so he's he's it's not just uh one narrow corner of the of the market that's saying this. Um, third, um, I I would urge the school district
074to to end the therapeutic approach to education. It's ascendant in Blue Valley and across the nation. It has been for some time. I even heard this morning during our discussion that the idea that that Blue Valley is in the business of educating the whole child. That concept, the whole child concept is loaded with political and cultural connotations. And and I'm not just raising concerns about it. I would urge you to reject it. I encourage you to end social emotional learning altogether in favor of a robust embrace of civic duty, citizenship, and the cultivation of wonder. I don't think they're compatible. I don't think you can have a therapeutic approach to education and a civic-minded outward philosophical approach to education. They're they're in conflict with each other. And it's the conflict that's it's eating at our
075um community, I believe. But the the ones that I identified, civic duty, citizenship, and cultivation of wonder are unifying concepts that families of all backgrounds can rally behind. And then finally, I encourage you to embrace great books across all subject areas, including math and science. I would encourage you to bring back Toill Mockingbird and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It's sad that those great American novels are not able to be taught in the Blue Valley schools. And while we're at it, there are many more books that should be added to the list. And I'm available if you need suggestions. Thank you. >> Thank you, Jim. Do you have anything to add, Dr. Chapman? Okay. And we stand adjourned.