001Okay, if we could stand for the pledge of allegiance. >> Um, tonight I'd like to welcome Scei Germa, a fifth grade student from Valley Park Elementary to the front and she will be leading us in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge of 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. >> Thank you, Sosi. I know we're going to get a quick picture. [Applause] Tonight we also have the privilege of recognizing an outstanding staff member for their dedication, talent, and impact. with Devin Schwarz. Please come forward um with your principal Susie Martin [Applause] [Music] for this amazing excellence. First >> talk about his specialized training to support students with special needs. I can of course
002talk aimlessly about his quest to learn more about brain science and how it it will affect a student's ability to learn as well as an adult's ability to be the best teacher. I can easily talk about his powerful connections with students every day. I can always talk about his philosophy around helping adults to be the best teacher for students who may have those great moments or sometimes those challenging ones too. I can easily talk about his precise organization, coordinating dynamic schedules that change not only day-to-day, but minuteto minute. And maybe we have a sub or not. He manages it all. I can talk about his thoughtful and personalized IEPs that he writes, focusing on student growth. I can easily talk about his willingness to enhance teacher practice by coordinating professional learning and making us even
003better than what we were the day before. I can easily talk about his best costumes and spirit that he shows in our staff spirit days. I can easily talk about how he is, even though he's in one of the most specialized programs of our school, he's actually has the biggest footprint, I would say, impacting the most amount of students in their classrooms because he is such a safe person for so many children at our school. I can easily talk about how students feel about seeing him talking about the latest lyrics of the most released album and songs my staff knows because he has a way of really personalizing their work. I can easily talk about how he's an excellent educator because he cares. But ultimately, I find him to be humble yet passionate, creative, and
004a visionary. I find that he embodies what we want our teachers to be presently but also in the future. Congratulations Devin Schwarz. This is an excellent award for you. [Applause] um him here tonight and I didn't know if there was anything Devin had wanted to say. Uh yes, I would just like to thank my community that I have here. I would like some of my staff members to rise and I'd like to recognize you guys as [Applause] we have worked so hard to build at Liberty and this award doesn't to one person, it goes to everyone who makes that one person award. So, thank you to all of you. I appreciate your help and your feedback. [Applause] >> Okay. Well, thank you, Devon. Blue Valley is known for having outstanding educators, and you are clearly
005one of those. Um, for those of you who were just um here for the recognition this evening, this is kind of the natural break to sneak out. And for those of you looking to find a better seat, um this is your opportunity, too. Okay, it's time for our open forum now. I want to 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 threeminut limit uh per speaker for up to 30 minutes total. And if you have handouts, they can be shared with our campus officer for distribution. At the conclusion, the board will close the forum and proceed with its agenda items for the evening. We appreciate your presence
006as we value the opinions and the concerns of our patrons. If you're 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 experience 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. Discussion of matters related to a specific student are not allowed. Instead, comments should be submitted to the superintendent in writing. Please remember to limit your comments to three minutes and avoid repeating the concerns of a previous speaker. Please remain on a designated in a designated visitor area and refrain from approaching the dis where the board of education is seated. Now, if you
007have questions that need a response, someone will follow up with you at a later time. And we realize that there are speakers here tonight to discuss a personnel matter. Please respect the privacy of any students who may be involved in the matter and refrain from discussing any any information about a particular student. So on behalf of the board, I welcome you and I 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 let's get started. Our first speaker is Jenny Stilly. [Applause] [Music] I'm Jenny Stilly and my children attend Lakewood Middle School and Blue Valley High and Blue Valley West High School. Teachers
008make thousands of decisions every day. As parents, we hope that these decisions are reflective of the compassion they hold towards our child. As a Blue Valley graduate, as a past Blue Valley educator and a current Blue Valley parent to one special needs and two gened students, I have spent the last five days outraged by the implementation of Blue Valley's policy 3522. My daughter Abby, she's here. She has special needs. During her early education, she had a series of traumatic episodes of distress that escalated to the point of intervention from several staff members. It sickens me to know that Blue Valley's policy supports teachers in treating kids in disregulated states of mental trauma with such a lack of compassion and dignity. This policy needs to be adjusted to include the fact that mental harm is just
009as dangerous as the physical harm and demands the same immediate emerent care and intervention. Looking back at how these teachers could have acted under this policy, my Abby got lucky. My Abby was surrounded by teachers who put humanity and her needs first and showed care and compassion towards her when she was in a dangerous state of mental distress. These teachers made decisions based on Aby's best interest and helped her cope when I couldn't be there. I am forever forever thankful for these teachers. Aby's experiences taught us that when young kids have an emotional traumatic episode, it becomes a personal danger. Call it looping, distress, dysregulation, or mental trauma, it does not matter. They are all an emergency. The child is scared. They are looking for a trusted adult to guide them and to sometimes make
010decisions that ensure their well-being. If compassionate responses to these mental needs are punishable under policy 3522, then the system is failing both our teachers and our students. The Blue Valley website states as one of his core values, we put students at the center of everything we do, ensuring equitable opportunities for success and well-being. Is leaving a child in a state of mental distress without genuine help ensuring their well-being? Is it leading to an opportunity for success? Is the policy even helping the students who experience traumatic mental episodes at all? I also question how if this pos policy, if deemed broken, can so severely put teachers at the risk of losing their jobs. What are we telling our teachers? Only act in the best interest of a child if you are protected under an outdated blanket
011policy. only uphold our district's core values if if you know you won't only if you know you won't get in trouble. I know that is not the way I want teachers making decisions for my abbey. I have 15 seconds. We have social workers in all of our schools now. It appears to me that we as a district are moving towards traumainformed care, but this policy is holding us back from moving forward. Policy 3522 is taking the humanity out of the profession of teaching. How teachers compassionate, genuine, and gentle actions can result in such severe punishment under this policy is absurd. We have to do a better job in protecting our teachers. Please, 5 seconds. >> I gave you 15. You took 30. As a community, we have got to give our teachers who are caring
012for our kids the authority and autonomy to make decisions to keep them safe. >> Thank you, Jenny. >> Our next speaker is Lily Webb. Hi, I'm Lily Webb. Members of the board, thank you for having me here today. My name is Lily Webb and I am here to talk about consent education. My background in sexual violence education is that I am the vice president of Jay-Hawks Against Sexual Violence, a certified peer educator by Safe Bay, and a certified sexual violence advocate by both the state of Kansas and Moxa. But most of all, I am a survivor and a daycare teacher. When I was 18, I did not know what to do when multiple of the kids I taught came to me telling me that when my coworker would touch them, it made them feel uncomfortable.
013This is because I did not receive the proper education on consent and reporting child sexual abuse. The education that I needed to protect them. This is why we need consent education. The CDC defines consent as freely given, informed, and ongoing. This means that anytime someone does not explicitly and consistently say yes to anything invading their personal space, they have not given consent. We should be teaching kids from a young age about how to communicate their boundaries and respect others. That's consent. Currently, according to the CDC, one in four girls and one in 20 boys experience sexual abuse as a child. Without consent, education, and teaching ch children how to recognize and report abuse, we are complicit in allowing it to continue. From a survey of my peers, they report the average age at which they
014learned about sex being nine. However, they did not learn about consent until the ages of at least 13. Most reported experiencing sexual violence before learning about consent. I am here today because Blue Valley currently does not include consent education in its curriculum, but it's simple to implement. Let's look at some places we can implement it. In elementary school starting in kindergarten, the Blue Valley curriculum requires students to implement age appropriate implement um requires students to learn about safety and mental and emotional well-being. This is the perfect place to implement age appropriate safe and unsafe touch, boundaries, and consent education. In elementary school, Blue Valley also teaches kids about drugs and alcohol starting in second grade. We should focus on consent before focusing on drugs and alcohol. In middle school, the human sexuality portion of the
015curriculum is the perfect place to discuss consent when talking about sex and healthy relationships because healthy relationships include consent. Finally, in high school, during the three weeks spent on human sexuality, it is the perfect opportunity to spend a day or two talking about and emphasizing consent and the consequences without consent. I hope you will consider this proposition and I look forward to expanding on it further in the future. My partner Katherine and I also have a handout that we will be handing out to you guys later. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Lily. And that brings us to Katherine Goodwin. >> Hi, I'm Katherine Goodwin. Um, members of the board, thank you for allowing me to speak today. Um, I am a 2023 graduate of Blue Valley North High School. Um, my siblings
016and I went to Mission Trail Elementary, Leewood Middle School, and my younger brother will graduate from Blue Valley North in 2030. Now, a junior at the University of Kansas, I am the founder and president of student led and organized Jay-Hawks Against Sexual Violence. I have certified training from KU sexual assault and prevention education center courses and I will soon have certification from Moxa and KCSDB. Just four years ago, as a junior at Blue Valley North, I was coerced, guilted, and manipulated into sexual intercourse with my boyfriend for nine months. He attended Blue Valley North as well. We had a safe word, but I felt I couldn't use it because he would be angry or I wouldn't be loving him the way I should. at a party my senior year with Blue Valley students, I saw
017my then unconscious friend being kissed repeatedly by a CA classmate. Another time when I was cheering at a basketball game. My friend mentioned how an athlete raped another girl in our class. All of these stories and many more untold have two things in common. My peers and I did not understand consent or boundaries and that Blue Valley schools did not prepare us to. Now, as a college student who is a survivor advocate and a trusted member of my community, many friends and acquaintances confide in me. They tell me about bad or scary sexual experiences, and more often than not, they don't understand that they didn't consent to what happened to them. According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, in 2024, 77% of sexual assault victims are from under 10 years old to 19 years old,
018and nearly half of rape victims are under 20 years old. Consent education in early elementary and throughout K12 has shown to be a successful method of primary prevention for sexual abuse. Of the thousands of children who completed the Metropolitan Organization to counter sexual assaults education program, 98% of them learned the difference between safe and unsafe touches. The power of knowing consent in sexual situations is the power to prevent sexual violence. I urge members of the board to consider and work with our organization as well as our community to give our children the education the protection they deserve. Thank you and I yield the rest of my time to hand out a infographic. Katherine, thank you for your courageous testimony. Our next speaker will be Casey Adelin. Did I pronounce that last name correctly? >> Edeline.
019Okay. >> As Jan said, I'm Casey Edeline. a parent of uh two blue belly students. Um thanks for the opportunity to speak tonight. I am also speaking regarding the um application of policy 3522 emergency safety interventions. My remarks focus on how this policy is inter interpreted and implemented within our schools. Under the current district policy, restraint is defined as any physical force used to restrict a student's movement. Restraint may only be used when a student's behavior presents an immediate danger to self or others and when less restrictive alternatives have been found ineffective. Well, the intent behind this standard is sound. It's there to safeguard both students and sta staff, but its practical application requires clarity and professional judgment. There are many instances as uh one of my friends noted earlier where a student may become
020emotionally disregulated but is not violent or aggressive. So he may be emotionally disregulated. It's physical harm that you can't see. Emotionally disregulated but is not violent visibly violent or aggressive. In those moments, the act of transportation, calmly walking with, guiding, or in some cases briefly carrying a very young child to another space for comfort and deescalation can be one of the most effective and least restrictive strategies available. When done voluntarily, safely, and without resistance, this should not be classified as restraint. It's a supportive intervention that helps the child regulate in a calmer, safer setting before the behavior escalates. This approach benefits not only the student in distress, but also all those other students in the classroom. When a child is safely and calmly removed from a triggering environment, it allows the remaining students to continue
021learning in a stable atmosphere. It reduces fear, distraction, and emotional disruption among peers, helping preserve the classroom as a place of safety and focus for everyone. Preventing escalation through appropriate deescalation techniques protects the learning environment as a whole. So, this raises two very important policy questions for consideration. One, does picking up and carrying that is transporting a very young student to a safe place for comfort and deescalation constitute as an emergency safety intervention under our current policy? If so, we may be unintentionally discouraging staff from using an approach that is actually preventive and compassionate. Where is the room? Number two, where's the room for professional judgment within the policy? and classrooms there are moments when trained staff such as a special education teacher must make real-time decisions. If that teacher then defers to another staff
022member who's less trained in ESI procedures, the policy should make clear which which role carries decision-making authority and what constitutes appropriate collaboration. The goal should be consistency and clarity so that both safety and professional expertise are upheld. I will end this on kindergarten teachers have an especially challenging role. Think of your child if you have them going to school for the very first time. They are scared. They are building trust. This policy does not allow for our for our teachers to safely build that trust and make that child want to come back to school. So I urge you to please make some changes to this policy. >> Thank you. [Applause] Kathy Wy. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Kathy Wy and I'm speaking here this evening to address perceived discrepancies regarding teachers and accepted board
023policies that I believe may need to be reconsidered. This is my 36th year in education and 31 of those years was spent right here in Blue Valley. I learned from the best of the best. Blue Valley has a reputation for a reason. I have now since taught the last five years in somewhere else. It's not Blue Valley. Our mission statement. I also had three children that graduated from Blue Valley School. So, I've seen both sides. Our mission statement is student- centered excellence and community. I'd like to emphasize the community piece of that. We foster a culture of belonging, inclusivity, and respect where every student, staff member, and family feels valued and supported. Depriving a student or teacher of this dignity because it fits better with the wording of a policy should be rethought in a
024specific circumstances. An action driven by a caring heart that allows a student to maintain dignity in that moment should be taken into account when a teacher is questioned about their actions. Sometimes decisions need to be made in the moment and this is when a dedicated teacher will take into consideration what they know about the student, their relationship that they have built with the student and what is best for the student at that moment. Intent, grace, individual scenarios, tiered level of outcome. All of this is provided to our students. Teachers deserve the same. A continuum of options that are steeped in details of the event should be allowed for any teacher. Corrections or misconceptions can be addressed in multiple ways, not just termination or forced resignation. Elementary educators are who are still in the classroom after
02520 or more years are there because they believe in students. They care and they sincerely want their students to be successful academically, emotionally, and socially. If Blue Valley is truly committed to fostering a culture of belonging, inclusivity, and respect, then teachers who do everything in their power to make this a reality for their children should be appreciated and valued. Any policy driving an action for or against a student follows a sequential strategy that takes into account that specific student. Educators should receive that same consideration. Polic policies are in place for a reason, obviously, but a policy that allows for one and only one outcome without taking into account the intent behind the policy really has no place in a district as esteemed as Blue Valley. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Kathy Gary
026Fernando. Good evening. My name is Carrie Fernando and I am the parent of two general education children in this Blue Valley School District. My husband and I moved to Overland Park because we believed Blue Valley was the gold standard, a place where compassion and excellence meet. Until recently, I truly believe that I am not an educator. I am a parent. I see how our policies shape the way children learn, grow, and see the world. And I've come to understand how policy 3522 is applied. And honestly, it breaks my heart. When I was growing up, my best friend had a little brother with severe disabilities. Doctor said he would never walk. He would never talk. Well, believe it or not, through love, support, and relentless effort, he learned to walk and semicunicate. When we went out
027in public, people would stare. Kids would laugh. They'd mimic his movements and his sounds. Quite frankly, it crushed me. But it also changed me for the better. It's who I am today. It taught me empathy, compassion, and the importance of standing up for someone who can't stand up for themselves. That's why I am I was proud to raise my kids here in this district. I believe this district values every child and teacher or that is the intent. But now when I hear of students in crisis being isolated or barricaded in hallways, left alone to reeregulate themselves and teachers restrained by policy or face termination, I feel something inside me break again. Because while we may think we are protecting safety, what we are really doing is teaching every other child in that classroom a very
028different lesson. They see their classmate, they see them scared, crying, out of control, and they see adults pull away. They see doors close. They are told to keep learning, to ignore what's happening. And inside they feel confusion, fear, many, many feelings, guilt sometimes. We teach new parents that touch and connection calm a baby. Yet, when those same children reach school age, we tell teachers to only approach if in direct danger. Those moments don't just dis just dis just dis just dis just dis just dis just dis just dis just dis just dis just dis just appear. They stay with and desensitize our children. They teach them that when someone is hurting, you back away. That you separate instead of comfort. That you look away instead of help. That is not what I want my children
029to learn. I know safety matters, but compassion matters too. No policy can predict every situation in the ever evolving world of mental health that we are seeing these days. And we need need to trust our teachers, the people who know these kids best to respond with a heart as well as training. Policies are great until they get in the way of our humanity. Policy 3522 needs to be adjusted. We need to recognize that emotional dysregulation is also trauma and that the way we respond doesn't just shape one child's day, it shapes every child who witnesses it. Please trust our teachers. Equip them with the necessary training and support. Trust their hearts are in the right place. And show our children that compassion for others is the lesson that truly freaking matters. >> Thank you, Carrie.
030Ireina Weaver. Good evening everyone. I would like to reignite sorry reignite our conversation uh we had uh on uh the poet xbook which is part of curriculum um still uh on the list um and some of you you know we we had this we had this conversation uh before but why I'm trying to bring it now because I feel like in today's environment when um assaults and um violence against Christians rises. This is very important to look again with the fresh eye. So why I have problem with this book? Well, first of all, so the poet X by Elizabeth Avida I sorry if I mispronounced her name. Uh first of all it is um Lexile level is um 800. So and Lexile suggest u minimum 870 it's for 10 percentile and so that's already would
031be a disqualifier then um quickly okay so second of all um it's disrespectful useful use of scripture when author directly quotes the Bible and then give her frivolous uh interpretation for example Psalm 1119 19. The unfolding of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple. Her interpretation. The weird thing about the Bible is that almost everything is a metaphor. So, it seems to me when the Bible describes church as a place where two or more people discuss God, they don't mean just a cathedral like churches. I don't know what who or where God is. But if everything is a metaphor, I think he or she is a comparison to us. I think we are all like or as God. So first in teachers in the classroom they are not uh biblical scholars. They
032cannot correct a dis you know put this in perspective. Then uh problem I have another problem blatant mocking of church traditions and religion. So here's examples. bought tampons that I shoved into my body the way I would uh I was seen father seen father sea cork as sacramental wine I can feel the hot ice of the Jesus statue watching me hide the wafer beneath the beneath the bench where is the where his holy body will now feed the mice and also I have problem with promoting the sexualization of sins so I won't be quoting right No, but the whole chapter is about masturbation. So, can anybody tell me do we have books that which disregard the religion on Hinduism, Islam, uh and any others? >> So, >> thank you, Ireina. >> The fear of the
033Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Be be wise. >> Okay, that wraps up our open open forum for tonight. And on behalf of the entire board of education, I'd like to thank our participants. Uh we appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts with us. And please know that the board and the district administration took notes and we'll follow up as needed. We're going to take a fivem minute break before we get into our regular agenda. Let's uh try to reconvene. >> Yes, sir. >> Thank you. So, welcome to the monthly business meeting of the Valley Blue Valley Board of Education. The time when the board publicly conducts its business of governing the school district. While these meetings are open to all, public interaction is limited to individuals who have signed up for open
034forum which we just had and we kindly ask all attendees to contribute to a positive atmosphere by conducting themselves with the quorum. Please ex engage in civil and polite behavior toward one another and 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 understanding and your cooperation in making this a productive meeting for all. >> So we call the meeting to order. I need a motion to approve the regular board of education meeting agenda. >> I move that the board of education approve the October 13, 2025 regular board of education meeting agenda as published. >> Second. Moved by Jody, second by Patrick. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Any
035opposed? No. We need to approve. Oh, we did the agenda. Okay. Approval of the consent agenda. >> I move the board of education approve the October 13, 2025 regular board of education meeting. Consent agenda as published with minor edits as deemed necessary by legal counsel. Moved by Patrick. Do we have a second? >> Second by Gina. All in favor say I. >> Well, >> Jan. >> Yes. >> I'd like to take item >> you want to discuss. Okay. >> I just want to remove item five. Pull it from the consent agenda. Have it be a separate new business item. >> Do we need to vote on that one? Where is it? >> Point of >> Yeah. >> Does it need a second? >> No. >> Okay. It doesn't. >> So, he's amending the consent agenda.
036>> Can we need a vote on that? >> No. Our rule is allow for a member to pull something from the consent agenda. Put it as a >> new. So item five has been moved from the consent agenda. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as amended? >> I move the board of education approve the October 13, 2025 regular board of education amended consent agenda as published with minor edits deemed necessary by legal counsel. >> Do I have a second? Moved by Patrick, second by Jim. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Hearing none. Consent approve. Consent agenda as amended is approved. So it takes us to reports and nope went too far beyond. Not yet. I think it was down. It's an action item on five later. How
037about that? >> Reports and discussion items. First, um academics and acade academics and activities board advisory committee meeting minutes will be present. >> I believe that's me, >> Jan. Thank you. >> Um yeah, so the academics and activities board advisory committee met on Thursday, September 18th at 7:30 a.m. in this room. Uh we had a welcome um Kelly June and Dr. Collier um led the meeting. Um we talked about um our district strategic plan. Um Dr. Collier provided high level information about key components of the new district strategic plan and the process the community and district went through to create it and uh many in that room were involved in that process. So that was uh exciting. Um then let's see talking points. Uh Dr. Collier presented the district's new 5-year strategic plan built on
038the core values of student centeredness, excellence, and community uh with three strategic priorities. advancing academic excellence and student experiences, fostering supportive and healthy school communities, and empowering exemplary educators. She outlined recent and upcoming facilities projects in athletics and activities, as well as efforts to strengthen supplemental pay for coaches. Kelly June shared academic updates including structured literacy adoption, expanded career ready programs, new uh individual plans of study, MTSS implementation, and high school math symposium. Uh with a focus this year on the middle school experience, math interventions, and screen time guidelines. Uh the next meeting will be held October 16th uh same time at 7:30 a.m. >> Thank you, Jody. The next item is our community board advisory committee meeting. >> And I think that's me. Uh we met on September the 22nd from 4:00 pm to
0395:30 p.m. And basically um we talked about how the strategic plan connected with our community board advisory uh committee and the the things that we uncovered during our strategic plan. And one of them was fostering supportive and healthy school communities by promoting mental health, safety, and a sense of belonging. And a second one that was connected to the strategic plan was empowering exemplary educators and staff by supporting a collaborative school culture where all staff can thrive. And one of the topics that we talked about was that um the priorities with the st strategic plan were reviewed. Board goals for 2526 were highlighted. Organiza organizational structures were presented which ensure buildings are aligned to and focus on the strategic plan and the priorities and goals. The second topic was suicide prevention. The committee was provided an
040overview of district partnerships and district actions that are aimed at providing education and prevention of deaths by suicide. The committee provided feedback on current practices and had the opportunity to ask questions to gain a broader understanding of district efforts relative to supporting the mental health needs of students and staff. And the third topic was family resources. Committee members received an overview of potential additional resources that could be made available for students and families. Committee members will provide feedback to help inform how the district will utilize these additional mental health family resources along with how access to these resources can be communicated to families to ensure awareness and access and the take takeaway and talking points. The members became familiar with each other. The purpose of the meeting along with related strategic plan goals were reviewed.
041An update was provided regarding efforts associated with suicide prevention. Feedback from committee members was requested regarding availability of resources for parent access. The committee previewed the next agenda topics which will include understanding school culture and bullying prevention. Our next meeting will convene on October 27th. >> Thank you, Dr. Evans. And finance and operations advisory committee meeting. >> That would be me. Thank you, Jan. on October 9 um Thursday morning 7:30 a.m. Finance and operations committee met here in district office welcomed um the committee members after a brief discussion about the um school visits that Dr. Chapman and I went on and had our laboos from those visits that morning. We got right into the business of the finance and operations which included a review of design and construction um update reg all over the district
042um all over the capital improvements going on from the over the last year. And we reviewed the purchasing memo um which was approved under uh the purchases contracts that were approved under the consent agenda just a few minutes ago. Um, the next meeting will be held on November 6, 2025. And if you don't know what a Laboo is, then I suggest you ask your kids or perhaps watch the South Park episode about liaboos and check on eBay, buy some. Thank you, Clay. Turn to Dr. Chapman for our superintendent report. Thank you very much. The October superintendent report um is here and there's so many things to celebrate. It's a little longer than usual. Um uh once again uh the 2026 niche rate rankings, Blue Valley Schools was within the top 1% of the school districts
043in the nation, was recognized as the number one school district in Kansas and the number one district with the best teachers in Kansas. We're also uh celebrating 51 National Merit semi finalists. And to give you a perspective on this, um about 1.5 million students take uh the PSAT annually. And so this means that um in order to be named as a National Merit semi finalist, you have to score in the top 1% of those 1.5 million people that have taken that same exam. So, Blue Valley had the most in Kansas and actually has more than some states across the country. So, really exciting for um our students. We also are celebrating uh that Blue Valley Schools named the best public school in the Kansas City magazine, best of Kansas City 2025. And um during Rally
044in the Valley, we had an unfortunate um uh loss of power. And so our three students, PJ Cochril from Morris Elementary, Penelopey uh Moat from um let's see, Harmony Middle School. Yes, Harmony Middle School. And Madison Craft from uh Blue Valley Northwest. They joined me for a podcast. Um and that was a lot of fun. Uh PJ um took me on a tour of Harmony Middle School and um he was like being with a rockstar. He walked into classes um introduced me to uh middle school students. Um I think he has an added advantage because his mom teaches there, but he was uh Mr. Personality. So he's second grade going into like 11th grade, I think. Um big big personality, but that was a lot of fun. Uh the Blue Valley Today fall 2025 issue
045has um or maybe not yet delivered to district mailboxes. Um but there's lots of um things in that magazine. Um and on the uh front page, one of the comments that um I received is there's um not a real clear place where you can get more information or ask questions. And there is a um information link um at the bottom of the second page I believe that um if somebody has a question it will be routed through communications and then they'll make sure that we get it. But we're looking already planning for our next um issue and um encourage people in our community to come see some of the outstanding things that we have available to students today in Blue Valley. The next item we received uh last week notification from the Kansas Department of
046Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson. He has a 2025 Canens canstar recognition program and Blue Valley was recognized for the commissioners award, the uh gold award for graduation postsecary effectiveness and the silver award for academically prepared for postsecary. And our official count day was uh the end of uh September and we have 21,563 students. It's um down a little bit from last year. And coming soon um hopefully tomorrow you'll see a new district website and new school websites launching. So, um, anytime you have a change in the website, it sometimes there are some some things that need to be um fixed, but we think we've got all those uh links ready to go and a new website should be easier to navigate. Um, October recognition dates and holidays, National Bullying Prevention Month, High School Activities Month,
047uh, National Principles Month, Custodian Appreciation Day, National Coaches Day, and National School Lunch Week. And one of the things you'll learn in the podcast is um um our school cafeterias make unbelievable delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. So, I um, highly recommend them. And now I even have the recipe. Um, so I'm I'm excited about that. Um, really another amazing accolade for a couple of our graduates. Um, each state has two um, uh, presidential scholars. So in the state of Kansas, there are only two. and Blue Valley graduates um from Blue Valley North. Um Shiram Shini Vasa Kauki, he and um Lena Dudy um who was a graduate of Blue Valley West were named the presidential scholars and there are only 161 nationally who have earned this um prestigious distinction. So um pretty amazing. Uh last maybe
048two weeks ago, we had the 43rd annual marching band festival and it is such an amazing night to see and showcase our marching bands from each of the schools. It was so wonderful to see the variety and um just after every one I thought, "Oh, they were so good. They were the best." And then the next one came on, oh my gosh, they were so good. They were the best. They were so unique. Um it was really it was a beautiful night and it was amazing evening to um see so many students involved in the arts and uh Blue Valley High's Mabel Craig was selected to perform at Cahuda Songfest which is a two-day music festival in northwest Georgia and it showcases established and emerging singer songwriters. Um and she was also named as a
049youth finalist in the festival's songwriting competition. So, pretty exciting. Taylor Swift, you better watch out. Got someone coming for you. Um, and then some staff accolades. Indian Valley Elementary's uh Maddie Carter and Blue Valley Northwest Bla1 Smith were selected as the district's nominees for the 2026 Kansas Horizon Award. And this program recognizes up to 32 exemplary ed educators who excelled in a manner that set them apart um in their first year in the classroom. So that was really fun to surprise these exceptional educators and um students. They were with students when we came in and you could see that the students fully agreed uh with their selection. We also um recognized Lakewood Elementary's Madison Kundiff and Blue Valley High's Kimberly Thompson. They were selected as Blue Valley's nominees for the 2027 uh Kansas Teacher of
050the Year award. And this award is um brought forward by the Kansas State Department of Education and it recognizes exemplary classroom teachers with five or more years of experience and who are leaders in improving schools student performance and the teaching profession. And another um opportunity, the 2026 Kansas Master Teacher Award is through uh the Emporia State uh University and it started in 1954. This recognizes excellence in seven Kansas educators um each year. Our two nominees which will now go on to the um Emporia State finalist program is Abigail Booer and Heather Hall and they have been selected to represent the district. Um Abigail's from Harmony Elementary and Heather is from Blue Valley West and Oland Trail Middle School um Taylor Mills was named in the um inaugural roster of the Kansas City Astros. the newest
051indoor soccer club in the major arena um soccer league for women. So, um another sports team that we can add for us to cheer for. And lastly, Blue Valley West Marching Band was invited by the organiz organizers of the London Parade and Festival for 2027 to travel to and participate in the event. So that'll be a really fun event for 2027 festival. And that concludes the superintendence report this evening. >> You've been busy. We've been busy. >> Absolutely. >> And move give us a strategic plan quarterly update. >> I'll say it slower here. >> Good evening. Dr. Katie Collier, Deputy Superintendent. I'm here this evening to provide a report um to share with you the progress that's being made relative to the goals within um the strategic plan. Clicker. The goals I'll talk about tonight,
052the work that's happening um that has happened so far this this school year is linked directly to the strategic plan priorities. Again, as a reminder, those are um on the screen here in front of you. I'm reporting this evening for many individuals that are engaged in this work. So, I'm happy to report um about their efforts. The first action step I'm reporting on tonight is regarding support and monitoring of student learning growth, particular to on level learners in the area of math and in um English language arts. In the area of math at the secondary level, teachers have engaged in learning to uh further understand the depth of what the student experiences in their content area prior to and in subsequent um courses. This assists with instructional alignment and ensuring um that teachers have vertical
053knowledge of the student standards and the depth at which uh students are to learn those standards um in their particular courses. High school teachers have also had the opportunity to provide input to resource selection um in algebra 1, geometry, and algebra 2. Um because of that input, the district has narrowed those resources. There will be one more round of resource review with um vendor and staff input and then there will be um opportunities for teachers to complete a selection rubric to provide feedback on what will ultimately become a recommendation to the board of education. In ELA, our elementary teachers have received support um in the adoption of their new ELA resource. Um that occurred with some vendor professional learning in August along with separate professional learning opportunities for principles and instructional coaches. The district literacy
054team is meeting weekly with coaches to learn about successes and challenges uh directly from our teachers um to ensure that we are um providing a high level of implementation so the students benefit from the use of those resources in the classroom. At the high school level department chairs, principles and on level 9th and tth grade ELA teachers have been engaging in professional learning. The work is centered on ELA standards to ensure um alignment of the expectations within the courses tied to the onle student work um that our students are engaging in. Ensuring alignment to structured literacy that's embedded in the standards and ensuring that there is alignment between the standards instruction and the assessment tools available to ensure that students are progressing towards those grade level standards. The next action step is to explore creation
055of a CAPSlike experience for the uh middle school. This work is very much in its infancy level and being led by Shelley Nielsen, executive director of school administration. Middle school principles have um begun to engage in a book study on that topic. Um members of the CAPS network are partnering with district administrators to begin initial uh research regarding national trends of middle school practices. We are consider considering flexibility within the middle school schedule to vary the student experiences. Finally, the team will begin working to develop an implementation concept that combines one experiences that enhance um middle school student outcomes and two creates an opportunity for new events that inject authenticity and relevance to the middle school experience while building durable skills. You might remember durable skills um is a new phrase that's been interjected into
056the strategic plan. Those skills include things such as critical thinking, presenting to authentic audiences, solving real world real world community issues, conducting self-p profofessionally for different audiences. Uh the team will work with teacher input to prioritize and eventually define uh the dur durable skills that will be emphasized at the middle level. after researching and as I said gathering feedback. Again, this work, this goal is in its infancy stages and we do not anticipate a recommendation for full middle school level implementation next year um but potentially an early uh phase in or pilot for next year. Next, career ready programming. You received a early program evaluation report this morning during workshop. Again, uh this work here has been spent um so far this year studying enrollment trends to indicate um interest and enrollment in our 11
057career pathways. Um we see that this trend is growing as presented to you. Survey data also indicates student areas of interest is growing. What we know so far from this evaluation is that the district is outgrowing our current program delivery model and we will be coming to the board to highlight one K12 industry practices in this area and the board will receive recommendations regarding next steps for expanding these program opportunities for students. Tied to that is an action step uh where we have committed to analyze analyzing district transportation opportunities to increase student access to CAPS and all the career ready programming opportunities I just referenced. We have begun to analyze potential opportunities to increase enrollment in CAPS and other career ready programming opportunities. One way to ensure students have access to these opportunities is to
058actually analyze if transportation is a hurdle for some students. Um as the committee studies this topic further uh they may present uh solutions to this issue if the data and anecdotal data indicates the need for this. Um again this work too is still in its infancy stages um but it's corrected connected to career ready programming and we will have associated update on that goal for you as well. One thing we are getting ready to round out is our work in individual plans of study. So you'll remember last year you approved a new individual plan of study um planning book that we use with students and families. This work is a continuation of the high school study that began two years ago. The team is actually finalizing right now with teacher input a scope and sequence
059of lessons uh starting in middle school um through high school that support students and post-secary planning. We uh anticipate a full report to the board on this work at your December board of education meeting. Next, an action step is implementation of a district provided device screen time recommendation. This work is being led by Kelly June, Amy Farthing, and Brian Daly. This fall, the team has been planning, research, and gathering input from various stakeholders. Throughout October and November, there will be multiple listening sessions in various settings to hear from administrators, teachers, students, community members, uh bis the business community, and families. This input uh paired with research findings will result in a re recommendation to the board late second semester. This recommendation we plan will offer you um a balanced approach that allows students a balance
060of use between both digital and analog learning tools paired with a mindfulness about student health and wellness which is a related goal in your um board approved strategic plan. Next related to that topic um action step is to provide initial guidance and professional learning on um instructional uses of artificial intelligence. This work is being led by Brian Daly and Kelly June also. And what we knew right from the start, particularly as uh we really dug into research, this is really a multi-depart whole organization topic, not limited just to uh the instructional realm. The team plans to use a think tank advisory group approach to this work. will engage a wide spectrum of state stakeholders at the beginning with the intention to essentially conduct listen and a listen and learn tour on this topic. Um any
061recommendations will include a human- centered approach to instructional intelligence and learning experiences that will leverage our teachers focus on ethics and give students also the skills they need for their future. This work will need to be ongoing multiaceted and it's an area we know it's will be multiaceted because it's an area that's evolving just every single day. So we'll be mindful of that um and any recommendations that we put out prior to next school year. The board will learn of any recommendations we have regarding guidance for our teachers um prior to the start of next school year regarding uh the action step of maintaining and expanding coordinated mental health resources. You heard a bit about that from um your board advisory update from Dr. Evans. The district is consulting with additional foundations which emphasize mental
062health resource coordination and availability. The district is exploring a library of mental health and suicide prevention resources that would be available and accessible um via the district and school web pages. The community board advisory was introduced to these resources and um will be provided opportunities for feedback for guidance for administration. Additionally on this uh goal area training of administrators and our mental health teams was conducted at the beginning of the year regarding suicide assessment training updates for this school year. While Dr. Oh, I'm sorry. uh the slide here in the area of at risk and federal uh title one programming uh the team here um uh Kim Barney uh oversees quite a bit of our work in the instructional realm regarding at risk and federal title one. Um this work first uh quarter has been
063emphasizing our engagement to ensure compliance with at risk procedures as defined by KSDE but in the area of um looking for improvements is to ensure that we are reviewing our opportunities to utilize further evidence-based practices which assist with intervention for our students when they need that in the area of learning. and um federal uh funding assists us to acquire some of those evidence-based practices. Next, while Dr. Punwick is here, I'm just going to continue and give you just a few brief updates from human resources. Um this area here, the goal is to continue to attract and retain exceptional professionals. One of the things um that's been important is to ensure is an action step that we curate employee well-being um value and sense of belonging. One example of this work so far is October 24th
064the district is ho hosting a virtual vitality conference for employees as a wide variety of offerings for our employees. During the conference, individuals participating will learn about a whole host of well-being opportunities and topics along with gaining a deeper knowledge um about benefits offered by the Blue Valley School District which supports um their personal well-being goals. Next, regarding um the action step of curating employee well-being in uh fostering a sense of value and belonging, also in October, the district is providing awareness um and screening regarding uh breast cancer awareness that has uh impacted many of our staff and want to continue to educate our staff around that. Next, the action step of expanding and developing partnerships with post-secondary um universities. You can see work that is Whoops, let me get that slide change. You can
065see work that has been um occurring there with that list of um current partners. Um and so here we just want to show that um the um our staff and human resources has been working to utilize these partnerships to attract um graduates from these institutions to become informed about the opportunities and benefits of becoming a Blue Valley employee. This allows us to reach these partnerships allow us to reach out to potential candidates earlier rather than later during the hiring season and attracting these graduates is made much easier as a result of these very active um relationships. So again that's just a highlevel look at the work that is happening on multiple goals uh just this first quarter from the strategic plan. I'm happy to answer um any questions, but I would share with you that
066many team members across the district are working hard to operationalize the board approved strategic plan. >> Any questions from the board? >> Hearing none. Thank you very much, Katie. Jake, can you talk to us about uh design and construction? Of course I can. This is one of my favorite topics. I presented this at the finance and operations committee, but um this is always one of my my favorite presentations to be able to give because there's so much hard work that goes into this. I always have the privilege of standing up here and being the one to carry the message, but like Dr. Collier was saying, there are a lot of people behind the scenes that truly execute and make this happen. In the last year, we've done a lot of work and and I've tried
067to highlight some of the major projects here, but it's certainly not all-encompassing. In fact, this summer alone, we completed 97 capital improvement projects districtwide. 97. That's a lot. And that takes a lot of coordination between all of our departments to make that happen. I'm not going to go through all of these. You have this long list of projects. But what I will focus on today is our 2023 bond projects. And I show you this um calendar, the schedule, not so that you can test your vision and see if you can read all those lines, but so that you can see left of the blue line where it says complete. Everything to the left of that has already been completed. So my message to you is we're nearing the end of our 2023 bond. Again, this
068was supported by our community with over 70% of our voters supporting this. And I learned years ago that while I can stand up here and tell you all the great things we've done and the impacts that these facilities have, it's much better if you hear it from educators, from students, from parents. And so throughout this presentation, you'll see quotes on every single slide related to every project from people that we've interviewed. And this one means more to me than probably anything. And they said, "These are more than just buildings, additions, renovations. These are opportunities. Opportunities to enhance teaching and learning. opportunities to foster community, opportunities to grow and develop our students and staff into better versions of themselves, and we're forever thankful for these opportunities. And if I'm interpreting this correctly, they're thankful to you
069all for your support of these opportunities and to our community as well. >> So, that's not your quote. >> That's not my quote. >> Oh, okay. >> I mean, I would It's also from me. So, let me say that as well. Kick it right off and and jump into projects that we completed in April of 2025. We completed the Blue Valley North High School weight room edition and wrestling renovation. It's a fantastic space. I'm not going to read verbatim all of these quotes, but I would invite you to do so at your leisure. I'll highlight a few things. You can see um you know, they students and staff understand how fortunate we are and they're excited and proud to come in every day and and put in the work for the and use this space.
070And it allows our our teachers and our students to have flexibility in their workouts and lessons and overall greater workout experience for those students and those athletes. At Blue Valley West High School, we constructed and completed an auxiliary gym which also serves as an ICC 500 storm shelter for the entire building. Another fantastic space. This one was a fun project. We got to involve students from their leadership group and they helped us design the interior of the building. What does it look like? what does it feel like? And it's something they're really proud of and something that we're proud to be able to do alongside our our students. At Leewood Elementary School, we got rid of the mobile that everybody loved to see. Um, and we added a classroom addition. This is one that I
071get probably the most comments, not necessarily about this, but also we did a parking lot enhancement and drive lane enhancement. I hear about how amazing that is, so you'll probably hear that when you're out and about as well. Um, these are two quotes, one from a student at the top and one from a teacher. Now, they call it a trailer. I called them cottages or or mobiles, but um they're excited to see that go away and excited for the opportunities that the new space provides them. At Cedar Hills, we had a very similar project, mobile removal and classroom edition. Um, this is a couple quotes that I think are fantastic, especially that bottom one from a couple of our students. And they, you know, they they're fifth graders, the ones we talked to, and they
072said this, we we are able to gain a different perspective around the work we're doing in our classroom by having this additional flexible space. So, um, this is stuff that we talk about like architects and designers, and then you hear a fifth grader say that, it's it's pretty amazing. At Blue Valley Northwest, we completed a weight room addition and wrestling renovation as well. And this from the principal over there, Leah. She says, "You know, my favorite aspect is how the space combines functionality and inspiration, sense of community and school pride. And it's a space where students can grow, lead, and push themselves to new levels with staff there to teach, coach, and motivate them." And I can tell you, I walked in there on a random weekday, and there were 70 or so kids in
073there working out. And I asked coaches and the teachers that were in that room and they said this space is more than we could have ever imagined. Again, we involved them in the design process and they said it allows us to have all these students in here, have them in here safely and be able to give them tasks where they're not waiting constantly for equipment or space to free up. At Blue Valley North High School, we completed a performing arts edition. This is a band room. This is one of the few schools that didn't have three spaces for performing arts and so this was an addition that we put on there and again beautiful space and the opportunities for students. This is a quote from from a teacher there and um the acoustics are great
074allowing for better critique analysis and ability to enhance their future performances. This is a fun project across all of our high schools. We started this past summer at Blue Valley High, Blue Valley North, and Blue Valley West. These are our culinary renovations within our fax rooms. You'll note that we'll get the other high schools in the academy um next summer. But again, this is a a fantastic space that's designed to elevate that culinary experience beyond just a home kitchen, but what does it feel like to actually work in the professional industry? and teacher said one of her favorite things is that if you've ever had 30 high school students and you're trying to get them to clean a kitchen, uh this is much easier to keep clean and and just the way that they're able
075to teach them about industry standards. So, amazing opportunity that we've been able to provide our our students. Harmony Middle School, we're wrapping that thing up. It's going to be done this month if it's not already done. and I haven't walked in there in a couple days, but multi-purpose storm shelter edition for that building and a new traffic flow for parent and student drop off pickup. I'm really excited about this. And one thing that I want to mention is people often look at these and they think we're just building gymnasiums. Well, they're multi-purpose spaces and we called them that intentionally. And we did have one student that said, "I'm excited to practice band in the new space so that when we split up and practice our different instruments, we have more space to go to." So,
076it's more than just athletics. It's activities. It's all school assemblies. These are truly versatile spaces that we can use for a variety of of amazing things. Pleasant Ridge Middle School is having the same type of construction going on. This one will complete in January. And um we've had a parent who talked about the investment will make this the school true gathering place. again talking about assemblies, concerts, sports, youth leagues, and then a seventh grader who said, "I'm I'm not playing basketball yet, but when I do next year, it's going to be great to have an additional space and and be able to not have to have early morning practice and space for our physical education classes as well. And then last but not least, we're working on a new middle school that will wrap up
077in June of 26 and open up this coming August. I actually had the opportunity this morning to meet with the parent advisory committee and our principal and assistant principal and I can tell you uh they are beyond excited for what this is going to be and and this quote from from Mrs. is dominy, our principal, talking about shaping new traditions and new school culture. Um, you know, access to another outstanding educational experience within the Blue Valley Southwest community and they are the Coyotes and and being able to welcome everybody to the Coyote Pack. Super excited about this project. And I'll leave you with this. I I asked everybody, were there any surprises? Something you weren't expecting? in one of the quotes, many amazing surprises, but I don't think I was quite prepared for the amount
078of pride, smiles, and excitement our new space has brought to our students. They and our staff are truly grateful for the new spaces we've been provided to work, teach, and learn. And that's what it's all about. And that's why I could talk about this for a long time. >> Happy to answer any questions. >> Thank you, Jake. Any questions? No. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Eric, can you uh discuss policy 6610, temporary and personal illness leaves? >> Absolutely. This is a first read for policy updates. Uh we come to you with this policy update after we've done negotiations with the teachers association and the related service providers. The changes that were made during negotiations this summer can also be reflected in these policies for classified staff specific to grandparent leave. We've um
079expanded that to not be within the first four weeks of an event, but within that first year to give more flexibility to our folks that may need to go in different parts of the country at different times to be able to help their children with their grandchildren. Uh the addition also is in bereavement to expand that definition beyond what we currently have for immediate family. And then under the personal leave, we've expanded that to include 5-day increments up to a total of 14. if those individuals have the available leave in their uh balances. So they can take, for instance, if they did have 14, they could take up to five in a row, then another event at five in a row, followed by up to four days in a row to give that flexibility to
080our employees on the classified side. In addition, the last update in that policy is around um the amount of leave available for a retirement payout from 135 to 145 to reflect what the teachers have as well. So, this is a first read of these um policies. If you have any questions or concerns as we go about these um you can submit those to myself and u Melissa Hillman prior to bringing that back for your approval in the in the November board meeting. Um, just quickly, can you talk a little bit about the need for some of these this flexibility? Um, we we're seeing some different things and some different needs from our our staff. And so, can you >> You bet. Um, where we originally saw these and then um saw it for an entire
081group of employees centered around um what we say is immediate family. We were finding ourselves to be judge and jury over what is an immediate family and a loved one for bereiement. Um, and that really put us into a position of judging people as opposed to being open to this person was very close and we should be able to provide that person with bereavement leave regardless of what that looks like. So, we want to expand that. The other piece that we found is that in grandparent leave, we find so many times that if you're saying it's within the first first four weeks of an event, we found a number of folks that had um a grandchild that was was born and was in the NICU for an extended period. And then when that child was
082then coming home, they were needed more maybe six months down the road than they were at those first four weeks um of that child's birth. And so we found ourselves really like leaning in that direction but wanted policy to reflect how we were working with our employees because it doesn't always fit within that nice four-week box. Um, in addition to the personal leave, um, we expanded that for our teachers and we saw that it was not a situation that, um, we were providing our classified staff. And so they may have a situation in which, um, their spouse want a vacation and they needed to go on that vacation and at the same time later in the year, um, they wanted to be there for their, um, child's graduation from college and needed to travel. And
083so opening this up allows um both our classified and certified to have access to the available leave that they have without the restrictions um that were previously there. >> Yeah. >> Any other questions? >> Okay, great. This will be out in November for approval. Any questions you have again uh please let me know. And we think that this is going to be another way of uh retaining our great people. Okay, we're going to take a break now for our interpreter and for closed caption. Um, did she was that Thank you. How much time would you like? Five minutes. 10. >> Five is fine. Okay, just five minutes. Okay, let's try to get back together. >> Thank you. >> Uh We'll move on to action items and Jeremy talk about bond sale resolution. >> Good evening.
084Uh Jeremy McFaden, CFO, um here to talk about the 2023 bond referendum and the second installment of general obligation bonds for 2025. Uh so we've invited Shelby Epicto with Gilmore Bell to walk you through what's in the resolution in front of you for approval tonight. Uh and then after Shelby walks you through the resolution, uh Dave Artberry with Stifel Nicholas will talk about uh refunding opportunities on the 2015 A and B bonds. So Shelby, thank you. Good evening, board superintendent. Um, like Jeremy said, tonight you have in front of you a sale resolution which is the first step from the board's perspective in the process of selling bonds. And so this resolution tonight authorizes the sale of bonds for potentially two components. The first one would be issuing the remaining bonds that were approved at
085the 2023 election. So as we saw in the presentation earlier, lots of projects have already been done because 150 million of bonds was previously issued from that election. However, there is still $101.25 million remaining. So, the first component of this bond sale will be issuing those bonds to fund additional projects for construction around the district. The second component will be potentially issuing refunding bonds. The district issued two series of bonds in 2015 and Dave will get into the numbers on that in a few minutes. But if on the day of the sale of the bonds the market is such that those bonds can be refunded at a savings to the district this resolution would authorize us to proceed with that component as well. So under this resolution, you are authorizing staff uh your financial adviser
086CEL Nicholas and uh my law firm Gilmore and Bell as your bond counsel to take the steps necessary to proceed with selling the bonds which will include preparing a notice of sale, preparing an offering dark an offering document to tell potential investors about all the wonderful things happening at the district and also obtaining ratings on the bonds from credit rating agencies. If you approve the sale resolution tonight, the next time that you will see us will be at your November 10th meeting. November 10th would be the day that we plan to sell the bonds. So, we would sell the bonds in that morning. Then, we would be at the meeting that night with the results of the sale. Um, if if you approve the sale resolution tonight and the sale occurs as planned, we would
087also present a bond resolution for your consideration that night. If that were approved, then that would allow us to proceed with selling the bonds and closing on December 3rd. Um, and then if we proceeded with the refunding component, the bonds would be refunded after we close in December. So, I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have or turn it over to Dave to hear more about the financing aspects. >> Thank you, Shelby. And good evening, everyone. David Arterberry with Steve Nicholas. It's a pleasure to be here tonight. Um, as Jeremy and Shelby mentioned, the school district has two outstanding bond issues, a 2015A and a 2015B series. Um, both of which are currently callable, meaning that the district can immediately pay and cancel the old bonds. And the plan right now is to,
088um, issue two series of bonds. Uh, series 2025A bonds, which would be for the $ 101.25 25 million of what I'll refer to as new money for the new construction projects as well as a 2025B series which would um provide funds to repay the outstanding 2015A and maybe 2015B bonds. And and the reason I say maybe is because the 2015 B bonds there they're not very there's not very much of those outstanding and they only go out for a couple of years and they're at a low interest rate. So those bonds depending on where interest rates lie on the day of sale may or may not be refinanced. But the 2015A bonds are the ones that have a much bigger outstanding balance and uh much higher interest rate. So um in all likelihood that series
089of bonds will will want to refinance those. Um the 15A and B bonds on average the rate outstanding is about 3.42%. Uh right now we would anticipate that were you to be able to sell the refinancing bonds the rate and in today's market would be at about 2.9%. So a reduction of about half a percentage point in interest rate. That would equate to savings over the next 10 years of about 1.1 to$ 1.2 million. Um that's net of all of the costs of doing the refinancing. Um and and that's based on current rates. We don't know where they'll be at on the time the day of the bond sale. Uh it's just based on current rates. Um there would be two separate series. If on the day of the sale interest rates have gone up
090and there's no meaningful savings being generated, what we would simply do is cancel the sale of the 2025b bonds and just bring back to you that evening the results of the 2025A. I'm hoping that doesn't happen. I'm hoping we bring back the results of both good sales and show some nice savings. Um, but it's all dependent on on market conditions. So, welcome any questions you might have about um the sale process. Um, the refinancing, anything any other questions? >> Just um what's the the duration on the 2025A bonds that you're anticipating? >> Um I I'm trying to recall off hand. I believe the average it's a 20-year bond sale. Um, the 2025A bonds are going to be repaid over 20 years, and I think the average life on those is about a 12-year period or
091so. >> Dave, what's the balance on the 215A and the 215B? >> Uh, the 215A, the balance right now is um 43,850. And the 2015B, I don't have those in front of me, but I believe it's about 9 to 10 million. >> 12.2 million. >> Oh. Oh, I'll go ahead. 12.2 million. >> What's the duration? >> Um, the 25A go out to 2035. I'm sorry. The the 2015A go out to 2035 and the 2015B. I don't have those with me, but I believe it's 2027. Yeah. 2027. So that's why they're very short. So that's why I'm not sure there's going to be much savings associated with ref. >> And would we match the maturity on the >> Yeah, we would not be extending the maturity lengths on any of those. It' be the same final
092maturity date. >> Okay. Right. Thank you. Jeremy, that covered all. All right, that takes us to uh we need to have a motion uh to approve the bond sale. >> I move that the board of education approve the 2025AB bond sale resolution authorizing the public sale of general obligation bonds. >> Second. >> Moved by Gina, second by Clay. Any discussion on the item? All in favor raise your hand. Passes unanimously. Thank you very much. Our next action item is uh what was moved from the consent agenda. Uh there were three items moved as part of uh item number five. Uh we had an HR report and then two addendums and I think Jim, what you wanted to do was to move the second addendum. Uh but we still need to approve each one. So, I'm
093looking for a motion to approve the HR report. >> I move that the board of education approve the uh HR report. >> Yes, that's all I have to say. Second. Moved by Jody. Second by Gina. All in favor raise our hand. Passes unanimously. And by the way, on these consent agendas, there's no discussion um to be had. So, I need a second. I need a motion to approve addendum number one. >> I move the board of education approve addendum number one. >> Second. >> Moved by Patrick, second by Gina. All in favor raise their hand. Passes unanimously. I need a motion for the third item which is to approve addendum number two. I move that the board of education approve addendum number two. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Moved by Gina,
094second by Sonia. >> Oh, Jody. >> It's the hair. Um, where am I? So, all in favor of HR addendum number two, raise their hand. All opposed, raise their hand. It passes 61. And that takes us to our closing items, which are board comments. Start with you, Patrick. I don't have any tonight. >> I am so excited about uh CAP being more or less implemented in middle school. I am so happy about that and I think that that's a move in the right direction. Gina >> Jodie, >> I just want to do a shout out to um all of our uh arts programs in our district. Um we have a number of plays and music events coming up and so take a look at their schedules and and uh check it out. Um amazing theater
095um and arts programs are going on. >> Thank you, Jim. I just would uh extend thanks to the people that came and spoke tonight on all the various topics. So appreciate your coming and speaking in a public forum Clay. Um I also want to thank uh special thanks to um was it Lily and Katherine for coming forward. But I thought that was very brave of them to come up forward and speak tonight. Um so I do want to thank them especially for coming forward. Also want to thank um Miss Stilly and Miss uh Edelyn and Miss Wy and Miss Fernando. Um I think I got all of them to speak on our policy 3522. Um, I share a lot a lot of what was being said tonight. Um, I agreed with nearly everything that was
096being said regarding that policy. Um, it is based on the law, rules, and regulations that are handed down. So, we don't have a lot to do with the um, policy wording itself. Um, and also thank um, going on to Ireina. Thank you, Ireina, for speaking tonight. Thank you. And I'll echo what Clay said. I very much appreciate the Bless you. I very much appreciate the involvement and the outpouring of support from the community. Um, it helps us recognize that we can do a better job uh on different things and your voices have been heard. Dr. Chapman, any final comments?