FCPS Special Called School Board Action Meeting - February 2, 2026

001up. world. The world Uhoh. down. N Heat. Heat. Regular meeting of the County Board of Education to order. Miss Jackson, good evening to you. Would you please take role? >> Good evening. Amanda Ferguson, [music] >> present. >> Amy Green, >> present. >> Tyler Murphy, >> present. >> Annie Christian, >> present. >> Monica Mundy, >> present. [music] >> Thank you. Thank you, Miss Jackson. I'd like to welcome everyone joining us for tonight's meeting, both in person and online as we're continuing to brave the cold, snowy, and icy weather. Before we begin our agenda, I want to briefly remind our community that prior to endearing board meetings, we do have district staff available in room 159. Um to uh [music] provide uh hands-on uh displays of our dashboards and support and training for anyone who would like

002to better understand how to access the information or the information that's available on the fcps.net website. >> [music] >> Uh the purpose of these dashboards is to clearly communicate how the district is managing resources, tracking progress, and aligning decisions with student outcomes and long-term [music] sustainability. Um this is a reflects our ongoing effort and commitment for transparency informed governance and [music] meaningful engagement with the public. At this time, I'll ask Board Vice Chair Amy Green to lead us through our observation of a moment of silence, followed by the pledge of allegiance and the reading of our district mission [music] statement. Vice Sher Green. >> Thank you, Sher Murphy. Good evening, everyone. Tonight, we would like to acknowledge [music] the tragic death of some of our members. Joselyn Josie Berdogo Hernandez, who was a freshman [music]

003at Tates Creek High School and who has also attended East Side Technical Center, Southern Middle, Southside Technical [music] Center, Letown Middle, Cardinal Valley Elementary, and Meadoworp Elementary. Joshua Collins, who had been a member of team FCPS for more than 15 years, having taught [music] at either J. Hayes Middle, Martin Luther King Jr. Academy, Brian Station Middle, and Crawford Middle. James Emerson, who joined Fyet County Public Schools in 2021 and has served as both a bus monitor and a bus driver. And finally, Hi. Helen [music] Wit McQuinn, who served on the Fyet County Board of Education from 1997 through 2000. Our hearts remain [music] with their families, friends, and all those touched by their passing. Please join me in a moment of silence. I now invite you to stand if you are able and join me

004in the pledge of allegiance flag which stands one nationisible and justice for Thank you. The mission of Fyet County Public Schools is to create a collaborative community that ensures all students achieve at high levels and graduate prepared to excel in a global society. >> Thank you, Vice Chair Green. Our first order of business is adoption of the agenda. I'll entertain a motion to adopt the agenda as presented. >> I move we adopt the present the agenda as presented. Motion by Bormer Green. Is there a second? >> Second by Bormer Monday. Other questions on adoption the agenda. All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. 5-0. >> We like to open our schoolboard meeting celebrating our talented students. And I invite fine arts director Miss Katherine Lther come forward introduce tonight's

005spotlight on a visual art project at Paul Lawrence Dumbar High School. Sl. Good evening, board chair Murphy, uh members of the board, Dr. Ligins, and our invited guests. I'm excited to share with you on this cold and snowy evening um something that'll hopefully warm your all's hearts. We have a collaborative presentation with Paul Lawrence Dunar High School Visual Art. And one of the key elements of our arts programming is how we are able to collaborate with our community members. So, in a moment, I'm going to invite um Paul Lawrence Dumbar, visual art teacher Jamie Montlair, and art student Ame Shu to share a little bit about the collaboration that they had with one of the um community members that has worked with us since the beginning of my time here in Fate County Public Schools,

006and that is Seth Tusca. Seth Tusca's father, Tusca, um, is a well-known local artist and beyond, honestly. And Seth is with us here today in the back. Seth, if you wouldn't mind to wave or stand up. [applause] He has been working with our students um, at Paul Lawrence Dumbar since last year. So, I'm going to leave it up to uh Jamie um Monontlair and Ame Shu to introduce a little bit about the project and then we'll enjoy the video that shows how it all came together. If school is preparing students for life, where are we teaching them how to process it? Our students are navigating stress, uncertainty, identity, and pressure every day. They are expected to perform, adapt, and succeed. But rarely are they given structured space to slow down, reflect, and make meaning of

007their experiences. For many students, the processing doesn't come from tests or lectures. It happens through creation. Art is a place where thinking, emotion, and identity meet. It is not just about what students make, but about how they understand themselves and their world in the process. That belief is what led me to the Mythos experience. Over the past year, our students have participated in the Mythos Reflection Project, a unique experience designed to help them explore who they are and how they see the world. I came to this work with a background in art education and a master's degree in counseling, and I intentionally bring both into my classroom. My goal is not just to teach art skills, but to support students mental well-being while they create. Mythos wasn't just about creating art. It was about thinking

008critically, expressing themselves, and exploring ideas they might not have words for. Collaborating with Seth Pusca elevated their experience, showing students that their voices and perspectives are valued beyond the classroom. Through Mythos, students discovered resilience, hope, and confidence. The process resulted in a student built reflection exhibit highlighting not only their creativity, but their growth as thoughtful, self-aware individuals. Art like this is not optional. It is essential. It supports the whole child, builds empathy, fosters reflection, and shows us who students are becoming. Thank you for supporting our students growth. So I think I would like to provide a students perspective on this project because I think my experience in art is valuable because I can bring like what students see art as. So before I begin, I'd like to give a brief introduction of who I am.

009My name is Ame Shu and I'm an 11th grader at Dumbar for MSTC. My hobbies consist of competitive Pokémon, finishing my homework on time, and animation. Currently, I am enrolled in the Art One class at Dumbar. Now, as a student who's been in school for 12 years, I think that I figured out generally what schools want. They want good grades, good attendance, and good graduation numbers. And I totally get that this is a win-win. Students get good college prep, and we get ready for the real world. and you guys get funding to continue giving us this education. But high school is rough. You know, we have 7 hours of school and then 2 hours of extracurriculars and then 4 hours of homework and then another hour of like high school anxious overthinking. It's exhausting. And

010it's no wonder that one in five students have reported feeling depression and nearly one in three have clinically diagnosed anxiety. Sometimes we have so much going on that the only place we can turn to relaxation is ironically school. It's been long accepted that art has had positive effects on students. Mayo Clinic says that it can help unwind stressed minds, improve focus, and help people self-explore and sort out their emotions, but that's been said hundreds of times before, and I'm not going to go into that can of worms. I'd like to draw a distinction between art for students and art in school. Art in school is more than just a way to express yourself. To me and to hundreds of other students, it's a comfort zone and it's a safe space. It's a place that I

011can look forward to going to to take a break in my day where I don't need to be thinking about my calc test or I don't need to be thinking about my AP Lang essay. It's just a place where I can go to sit, draw, and unwind. That I think is what people get wrong about art in schools. I have upwards of 3 hours of homework a day. Students in sports have to stay after school every single day until 6:30 for practice. And some people have jobs that they have to go to where they don't even get a break after school before going to a 6-hour shift. We as adolesccents need this break more than anyone. Writing, drama, music, and visual arts are all these little breaks in our day that we can look forward

012to. Classes like these are less expensive than individual therapy and they work better than one-on-one counseling. I would know from experience. Sometimes we just don't want to think about the graduation or the grades or the attendance. We just want the chance to be high schoolers. We want to be able to be happy and we want to be able to relax without feeling guilty. I'm a firm advocate that we should still keep our classes in school. They're important to our growth and self-exression, sure, but they're also best for our mental health. They're just as important as academics, and they're even more important when it comes to finding out who we really are and finding out that we're more worth than just a name on a piece of paper or a multiplier for how much money the

013district gets. Thank you, and please enjoy the video that we have prepared. Art's really important for school because it allows for kind of a creative place where you can put in your your creative your creativity and and what you enjoy. I think it's really good for conveying emotions and kind of showing people new experiences. >> Art is an [music] expression of my inner thoughts. >> You can express yourself or you can [music] show what you like. >> You can express what you're feeling, what you want, what you need. an outlet for my emotions [music] and different things I'm passionate about. >> Art runs much deeper than what is perceived by the general population. The value behind what we do in the classroom [music] is students are figuring out who they are and who they will

014become. They are self-reflecting. [music] A key component of Faget County Public Schools portrait of a graduate which [music] requires students to be reflective and resilient. A huge project that we undertook last [music] semester was the mythos experience. The mythos experience is a reflection project [music] requiring students to think deeply about where they have been, where they are now, where they [music] are going, and what inspires them. The Mythos experience is a passion project of Seth Tusca. >> I was challenged [music] by an art director to create an exhibit about healing [music] using my father's works and philosophy. And that's how Methos was was born. I'll call it a a passion. It's a family thing, but it's about my father who taught at the University of Kentucky [music] for 35 years. And when it became clear

015that the life was coming to an end, I I asked what he wanted me to do with all of this, share my life as an educator. Whenever I was approached by [music] Seth about presenting the Mythos experience in the classroom, I thought it was the perfect combination [music] of art and finding out who students truly are and where they are [music] in life. >> This time I spent with him for 20 months, I learned that what he had [music] to offer was not just the process and technique, but his true understanding of wanting to make his students better through [music] what they experience. These works behind me demonstrate how students are articulating who they [music] are. This is representative of what the arts do in the educational [music] system. The Mythos project allowed me to

016really think about like myself like and my place in the world. >> I really got to look at like the things that I was stressed about and the things like how I saw myself. This [music] art project gave me time to reflect about my entire life and [music] the people and experiences I've had that have shaped that. I believe art is for every student. >> The reality is if if you're not well inside, [music] doesn't matter what you're being taught, you're going to be overcome by that. I want to feel that what I'm offering can't do anything but enrich them [music] and the and the school system. The well-being of our students in Fyet County is [music] far more important than any technical thing you could teach them. [music] [applause] Thank you both. Thank you

017for sharing. Thank you for the work that you do. And I, you know, I appreciate uh how you tie that back to um a portrait of a graduate um and it really reflects the whole uh component of teaching and education learning. So, and is art something that you hope to continue pursuing in college uh beyond high school or >> Right. >> Um I think that art isn't like a career option for me, but it's definitely a hobby I want to take with me cuz school life balance and home balance are the name of the game in my opinion. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, we appreciate you sharing with us and keep up the great work and keep doing what you do for our kids each and every day. We appreciate you as well. >> Thank you

018for listening. >> Thank you all. >> [applause] >> At this time, I'll turn the agenda over to uh Dr. Ligins for the superintendent report. >> Thank you, Chair Murphy. Uh first up this evening is recognition of our January Kids Champion Award recipient. Uh I'd like to invite Tracy Bruno uh to share more details. Thank you, Dr. Ligins. Good evening board. We want to um recognize our um kid champion for the month of uh February and that's or January, excuse me. I'm the threw me off. Miss Laura Duffy. Um she's an aid instructor at Brian Station Middle School and her nominator shared the following. My nominee should be recognized because this teacher always finds a way to make each lesson engaging. And when the students don't like a topic that they are learning, she always tries

019to come up with a new idea to make the lesson more understandable for us. And she will always teach us a life lesson within the topic we are learning. When I first got to when I first got put into AVID's class in sixth grade, I hated it. I had no desire to go to college. I did research on the class outside of school. Everything that came up was about college prep and organization. I didn't want to go to college and I thought it was a waste of time. But by the end of the quarter, she convinced me that this class wasn't just a college prep class. and it was more of getting ideas for what you might want in life. Getting your foot in the door to new ideas and how we can change the

020world. She convinced me to sign up for the year-long class. Now, this is my third year with AVID. To this day, I feel like everyone should get the opportunity to take this class or at least try it because this class changed my life and can change others, too. This stuffy will never let you come into class with a with anything but a good mood. If anyone is in a bad mood or comes in and just isn't their normal self, she always stops or pulls that student to the side and ask if they're doing okay or if there's anything that they can do to help. Even if it's not doing homework that day in class, she always finds a way to make the outcome of your situation better. For example, in my seventh grade year, my

021family was really tense and I missed a lot of school to take care of my family issues. When I showed up the next day, she would ask if everything was okay and if there was anything that she could do to help. Having a teacher like this is really life-changing. I truly wish everyone got the chance to have a teacher like that. Miss Duffy is also Tik Tok Tik Tok's AVID teacher. By doing this, she has inspired many students to join AVID at their own school, not just Brian Station. Next, going into advocacy, Miss Duffy will not only help students within her class, but also offers to stay after school or even come early to school to help other students in her class or with a different class that they are struggling with or if they

022just need someone to talk to. Along with that, Miss Duffy has partnered with many clubs this year, a book club, Bible study, FCA, and archery. She's always willing to do something that a lot of other teachers wouldn't even think or consider doing, which takes a lot of courage, and she has helped improve her class and the school for for better as a whole. I can't think of another teacher I've had that would be willing to do all of these things. It's rare to find a teacher like this every but every day I'm thankful because when school started to feel like a place I had to survive, she was there to change it for me. She helped me u start liking and enjoying school again, and she's even helped me make friends. All this is why

023my nominee should at least be considered. Please join us in celebrating Miss Duffy's incredible impact. We invite you to watch the special video by FCPA FCPS Creative Media highlighting her story and the difference she makes every day. >> We're going upstairs. >> You guys ready for this? I just saw them all. >> Mrs. Duffy. This is Duffy. This is for you. Congratulations. I've heard such amazing things. You are this month's kid champion >> and your kids adore you and they also clamp this for you. So, all this for you. >> Thank you so much. >> You're very, very welcome. >> Oh, wow. >> It's a championship belt. >> All right. Cool. Thank you so much. [laughter] >> You're very welcome. >> [music] >> And I heard you're a Tik Tok teacher, so you a lot

024on Tik Tok. So they thought this was quite appropriate for you. So this is awesome. >> Thank you so much. This is like really unexpected. >> You are so so welcome. >> I was completely shocked when uh students started leaving my classroom and I started to worry a little bit like what was going on. I had no no idea. [laughter] I think I'm still a little shocked. >> Miss Duffy makes the perfect kids champion. Um [music] because her class and herself as a person is always centered on students first. >> My definition of a kids champion is somebody that actually cares instead of just being there to be there. She cares. She wants to help us and make us better. She will always try and go out of her way to help a student. There's

025been multiple times this year where students like [music] will come in just like really upset and in a bad mood and she will immediately try to find a way to help them. [music] >> As much as I want them to be successful academically, I look at those kids and I also know that when they [music] leave this building, they've got so much going on at home and so much going on within their lives. And so when they come here, you know, I want them to know that they have somebody who's going to not just care that they academically are successful, but [music] that, you know, they're successful and feeling good about themselves. >> She is absolutely worthy of being a kid champion. Miss Duffy is passionate about what she does. >> She makes everyone feel

026wanted in her class. >> A [music] lifechanging experience. >> The students say that she really genuinely cares [music] about them as individuals. >> I'm Laura Duffy and I am a kids champion. >> [music] [applause] >> Miss Duffy, please come forward. Let's give her a round of applause for her dedication to service to our students and community. Congratulations. [music] Thank you, board, and congratulations again, Champ. We're very proud of you. Um, for our next presentation, since 1982, the National Blue Ribbon School Award program has stood as a mark of excellence for schools across the nation in the United States, recognizing public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels are where significant improvements are being made in students academic achievement. Um, America's Blue Ribbon Schools share the following qualities. Other

027leaders not only articulate a vision of excellence and hold everyone to high standards, but they also stay close to the real action of teaching and learning. Others mutual respect and trust um that runs deep within their culture. The whole school community embodies a sense of collegiality and commitment to members. Oh, and commitment and the members are supported by mentoring and professional development. Um data from um many sources are used diligently to adapt teaching and learning um to support every student and families and education and educators worked well together um in partnership. Fewer than 1% of our nation's more than 130,000 K through2 schools have ever reached blue ribbon status. Here in Faget County Public Schools, we are proud to share that 16% of eligible schools have earned blue ribbon honors. [applause] Although the program was

028discontinued this past August by the current administration in Washington DC, the Kentucky Department of Education continued with its announcement to se the celebration of four schools in the Commonwealth that were recognized this year. two of them right here in Faget County Public Schools. Uh that is Maxwell Spanish Immersion Elementary and Meadow Thorp Elementary. We're excited to honor them this evening. Beginning with Maxwell under the leadership of Principal Matthew Spotswood. There he goes. All righty. So, let's um begin with a video. I'm here with Senor Matthew Spotswood who is the principal [music] of Maxwell Spanish immersion program and we're really excited about the fact that you just won the Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award [music] and so um tell us a little bit about the the award and uh what it means to you. >>

029The award is a great piece of validation for the work that's happening in the classroom >> and the credit I can take a small piece of it. it really belongs to our teachers, our students, our support staff. >> There's lots of uh [music] schools that try to close the achievement gap between student groups and part of the criteria to being a blue ribbon [music] school is doing just that. Um to what do you attribute that success? >> The quality of our staff here. We're attracting the best of the best [music] talent. So our intervention in our MTSS system is topnotch. We're able [music] to meet kids where they are. And then we also have a really strong gifted and talented program as well. So, it's not just, [music] you know, intervening on the low students.

030It's making sure that every kid is growing and every kid is giving their best chance at success. >> I will tell you, it's amazing to [music] see kids not only with their language abilities from all the way in first grade all the way to fifth grade, but [music] just to see the learning that takes place here. And I will tell you that has a lot to do with the leadership here. And so, thank you for your leadership and all that you do. It makes a huge difference in um making a school as quality as this one is. So, we appreciate your leadership, sir. What really has been the factor that's made this happen is seeing the potential in every single member of this community and then helping them reach that. >> Let's talk a little

031bit about the fund. Tell me when when you found out [music] when your staff found out when your students, your families, what what what happened? What did you do? Have you celebrated yet? Are you waiting? What's what's the deal [clears throat] with that? >> We have been celebrating. We are very uh very excited about it. We put it in our newsletter. And [music] one of the things I'm most excited about is inviting back some of our sixth and seventh grade students who were a part of that blue ribbon year. It's really cool to have this momentum going right into magnet season and looking forward to our next group of Maxwellitos and Maxwellas next year. So it should be a lot of fun. >> Well, you know, a lot of people think that uh [music] Maxwell

032is just about Spanish immersion. But your kids are learning science, social studies, math, and English and Spanish and excelling at it. So that that that's really um attributed to your leadership and the amazing team and [music] you you seem to be very um very big on ensuring that uh it's a team effort in doing this work. >> Well, and that's what it really is attributed to. If you wanted to kind of like narrow it down, it's collective efficacy. We all believe that we can do it. We have a common mission. We believe in each other. We believe in ourselves and that we have the supports from the district and internally to move mountains with anybody and everybody. That's where the success comes from is just all of us believing in each other and that we

033c that we're capable. >> All righty. Well, keep up the good work. I'm so excited to see what comes next for you guys. >> Thank you. [applause] >> Could we have did you bring any staff with you? Any staff also, please feel free to come on up. Our students board. Can we go take a photo? Now for our next presentation of our Blue Ribbon Schools, uh we salute Meadow Thorp under the leadership of Principal Stephanie Price. Let's watch her video. I'm here with Stephanie [music] Price, the awardwinning blue ribbon principal of Meadow Thorp Elementary and uh really like to just have a conversation about this exciting [music] award. A blue ribbon school is a school of excellence. It's the model for others. Could you [music] tell me what the teachers do here differently at Meadow

034Thorp to make it a blue ribbon school? >> Well, [music] I say I have the hardest working teachers in the district. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. They invest everything they have into [music] growing the Metorp students to meet their potential. >> So, do you guys do [music] anything um with all of your different type of leaders and um other people on campus, assistant principles, counselors? [music] I've noticed that everyone seems to pitch in to be involved. So, could you tell me a little bit about that? >> All of my leadership team is actively involved in what is going on in the classroom, supporting [music] teachers, planning with them, looking at data. Everyone is all hands on deck >> teaching all of the time. It takes [music] all of us. >> Good. I've

035noticed that. That's very evident here. Uh we ran into a new student earlier and so let's talk about when a new family comes [music] here or a visitor comes and sees that you are a Blue Ribbon School. What do you want them to know and [music] think about Meet Thorp Elementary? >> I think one thing that I want them to know is we want this to feel [music] safe and like home. We really invest in sense of belonging. Um, so [music] kids feel safe to take risk. We want them to know that we can't do this work without them. Good. >> So keeping them informed of what [music] students need to know and how they can support that at home is really important to us. >> Well, you know, we have 70 schools and programs

036here in Feya [music] County and very few get the honor of being a Blue Ribbon School. So tell me when you found out, how did you feel? How did you celebrate with your staff and your [music] families and everyone? So, we had a big party in the library with >> [music] >> um cake and all the things that we do with staff. We were all blue that day. We have a big celebration planned for students soon. Um [music] that will be outside when it's warm with all the snacks and fun things that kids love [music] to do. So, we're excited about that. Well, I will tell you, you give so much credit to your your staff and your families and [music] your students, but I just want to compliment your leadership and just let you

037know, you know, none of this happens without a great principal and a great leader at [music] the helm. And so, I just want to say thank you for all that you do for our students every single day. And congratulations [music] to you because this is quite the honor and um welld deserved. So, we're very, very proud of you. >> Thank you. We couldn't do it without your support, too. Thank you. >> We appreciate you. Come on up, Miss Price. And any staff, students, spouses, anyone, come on up. [laughter] Congratulations to both those school communities including the staff, students, families, partners at both Mwell and Meadow Thorp. Uh this is indeed a significant achievement. Um, next on our superintendent's report, uh, we will learn how the community partnership with Edland Renewables is impacting students. uh our

038executive director of public engagement, Miranda Scully, is with us this evening to introduce our guest. Good evening board members, Superintendent Ligins, and those joining virtually and in person. Tonight we are spotlighting Eatland Renewables in their Haley Pike solar project in partnership with Locust Trace Agra Science Center and the Office of Innovation. This living lab empowers students to design community benefit plans and prepares them for green energy careers. Please welcome the Elen Renewables team. With us tonight is Amy Samples, the chief operating officer, and Brad Clark, the vice president of social impact, alongside Locust Trace students Shelby Blair and Grady Salsbury to share more about this historic work. Good evening. Thank you all so much for having us. We're pleased to be with you all and energized by um the shared um we're we're just genuinely

039delighted. >> I'm sorry to interrupt you. Do you mind to pull Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Brown. >> Thank you. Um they were very nice words saying thank you for having us. um um we are genuinely energized by um what we see happening um with the project that we're collaborating on and and some of the other things that we've seen here this evening. So um just want to say thank you to the district for making our presence here this even possible. Um to Dr. Roni for making our evening um and this whole collaboration possible. Um and for the leadership um for in public education here in our community to look for opportunities to raise up voices of these young people who are our future. um a mom of three raising kids here. I am

040genuinely happy to see people like Shelby, Grady, and Kenzie, who's not with us this evening, um taking a real leadership role and finding their voice and stepping into their power about what is possible here and not being intimidated by working with a private sector partner. Um thank you to my colleague Brad Clark who who's been a real um kind of day-to-day point of contact for these students. Um, as COO, one of my jobs is making sure that our our firm in the private sector um has a good plan for what we're going to do and how we're going to achieve our goals. Um, I my background is in academia and uh nonprofit, but I'm really excited and enthused about the opportunities to cross these bridges um with public private partnership to take the best of

041best of each world. So to look for opportunities to move fast to do big things to take innovations like our young people are identifying even already what where they are on on sussing out what's possible here at the at the Haley Pack landfill and a solar project there. Um and to the the thought of a portrait of a graduate, I can't think of many more opportunities that could be stronger in terms of um raising up the opportunity for civic engagement both with our merge city county government um and sense of place understanding what it means to tackle the climate crisis in a way that's um tangible, real in our backyard stands us up as a community that not just discusses thought leadership but acts upon thought leadership. So with that I think we could please

042move to the next slide. So just a little bit about our firm and what this project is for those who may not have uh familiarity with it. Eland renewables is a firm that does renewable energy projects. So we are interested in greening the grant making a more sustainable future that uses business for power for good in communities. Um specifically we select projects that emphasize social impact solar. So we only choose projects where we think that we can work with our local partners in this case including FCPS to deliver community benefits that leave a lasting impact, a positive social impact, a legacy. So what you see before you is a schematic of solar panels on a retired landfill. So this is land that has very little future use um and is is largely um not being

043actively used. So this is an opportunity where we could place solar panels um in a way that um safeguards the cap of the landfill and the center section the black indic indications there of those ballasted racking um that we can take a step toward our comprehensive plan and our net zero goals. So this is a project that could go up to 67 megawatt uh but that is dependent on capacity. So that's part of what our students are helping us navigate is that whole line. So welcome to entertain any questions but the real stars of the show are so >> thank you Shelby. Thank you Amy. Uh thank you Superintendent Ligins and Chairman Murph for having us here today. Um can you hear me? Okay. Is that all right? I'll use my teacher voice. As a

044former I will have to say as a former Metorp employee I actually wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't have my experiences that I had as an educator at Thorp Elementary. If id have known that I had to wear my mustangs outfit that I can't wear anymore because that was a long time ago, uh I would have shown up with that on. But um I want to talk to you all today about the community benefits plan. Yes, I want to share sort of what our proposed plan looks like so that you all are engaged early and often. But uh more importantly, I really want to invite our student community liaison here to share their experience and to help uh highlight some opportunities that we see in the future to engage more students. And so, uh

045I'm not going to read off the slides because I don't believe in doing that, but there's quite a bit of content here that you can look at, uh a after the meeting. You know, whenever we think of social impact solar, we do think of creating jobs and what workforce development and economic impact looks like at the local level. Uh there are a lot of construction jobs on these projects. There aren't as many operational jobs on the back end of these projects. We know that. Uh and going into um our workforce development plans and our community benefit models, we try to employ as many local people as possible, make sure that they get access to free training, stackable credentials. These are great jobs for uh recent high school graduates from the CTE programs. Uh but they're

046also great jobs for adults returning to the workforce. And so we have models that have worked in other places that we're excited to deploy here. But we're not going to do that without student leaders helping us determine the best approach and removing barriers and creating opportunities for folks. Um, as part of that, we do build coalitions of education and workforce partners and nonprofits. Uh, we do collaborate with our our union partners uh, here in the state to build out a community engagement model that creates as much opportunity as possible as part of the community benefit plan. Another large component will in involve our environmental stewardship strategies. uh how the vegetation is managed, how we make sure that the infrastructure out there is um managed in such a way that it's nothing but a value ad

047to the community. Um and as we were able to work with Grady, Shelby, and Kinsey, uh they actually really pushed in from the get-go on things that we should consider as we look at storm water and erosion, as we look at vegetation management, leech. Um, and you know, I'm I'm sure that uh they'll push in a little bit here as we get going on on their side of the presentation, but uh Grady came up with a a solid proposal for what this might look like uh going forward that that our team is considering. And I'll actually go ahead and pass it off over to you all uh to share a little bit about your all's experience. >> So, hello everyone. Um, my name is Shelby Blair and I'm a junior attending Frederick Douglas High School

048as well as Locust Trace Agra Science Center. I'd like to thank you all for your time in this opportunity and I'd also like to publicly thank El Renewables for giving us this opportunity and inviting us in on the front end of project. Now, while most of my peers are spending their days in typical classrooms, I've been partnering with Edland Renewables on the Haley Pike Solar Project, and I'm here today to discuss how we can move Bait County from just preparing for the future to actively building it. We are turning a once wasted landfill into a source for clean renewable energy. And one of the most valuable resources on this lot is solar energy. One of the most surprising resources is the innovative local high school students. I'm here to urge you to scale this model

049of work-based learning across the district so students have the chance to be invested stakeholders in our community and to serve as a nationalwide example. I've learned throughout this project that students offer a unique youth dividend. With no corporate guard rails or standard procedures, we're able to offer creative innovation that legacy industries could benefit from. We are not students or interns or even apprentices in this in this context, but rather collaborative business partners. In our brainstorming sessions, we don't just follow the script. We offer agile problem solving and a native understanding of the newest techni technology and operating system. By involving us, employers get a fresh unbiased perspective on industry problems. In return, we get transferable skills, mastering professionalism, direct accountability, and high stakes presentation, professional synergy, building a network and a resume of practical experience

050before we can even step onto a college campus, and career clarity. This experience doesn't just prepare us for a job. It could guide our path of higher education and it creates a talent pipeline that feeds back into Lexington and our community. This project has changed how I view Fate County as a whole. When you're part of a team turning useless land into a powered outcome, you develop a deep sense of civic ownership. We aren't just observing the decisions made from adults. We're crafting the direction of the land we live on. This is the ultimate non-traditional learning ecosystem. It empowers students to look at abandoned buildings and empty lots in our city and see opportunity where others see waste. We're moving from being students of the community to being architects of our tomorrow. To make this

051the new standard for FCPS, I propose we formally recognize these contributions, which we can do in a few different ways. We can implement industry innovation scholar seals, a special distinction on our diploma, as well as cords or medallions to recognize those who have completed highlevel community partnerships. And in the future, corporate partners may find it beneficial to incorporate continuity scholarships to students who have brought value to their project. So together, let's level up our educational model. Let's trade the classroom guard rails for a launchpad. Thank you for investing in our tomorrow. [applause] Good evening. My name is Grady Salsbury. I am a sophomore that attends both Locust Trace and Lafayette. Um, one of the first things I would like to get out of the way is Hi, Dad. But I want to pose some very

052important questions that we definitely need to consider in our modern day economy, our modern day education, and just our everyday life. One of the biggest questions that has been asked with this project is how do we expand student involvement outside of this? How do we take opportunities that are typically limited to specialized programs like the Hill or Lux Trace? How do we bend it to our everyday students? We have programs such as Elevate that exist and you can create records of all your portrait of a graduate things, but how do we make that a tool besides just resume building? How do we make that something that students look forward to help them create a pathway in their career rather than just something to grumble about whenever a teacher says we need to take the first

05315 minutes of class instead of building education upon some academic flowchart that we need to predict everything that students are going to do. Predict how education is going to flow out. How can we make it truly organic and adaptive to that of student interest? And furthermore, how do we take those students and put them on the front end of creativity and innovation that they're so close yet so far away from being able to retrain? How do we involve students as a whole? And how and why should we put these students in a position where they aren't limited to an academic cage where peer become where peers and yourself become business partners and a teacher becomes the catalyst for that role of new young generation innovation. Student development can involve things like co-op jobs or other

054work-based programs, but handing them a packet and telling them that this is what you can and can't do and leading them to purely instructional work that can imply that their fast food job, their job bagging groceries is all there is for their career. Also known as saying you can only have a career in Wendy's instead of a more explored path college. We need to redefine this. I am part of this project that does this. But even with such a huge opportunity, it doesn't mean I'm special in the sense of some lottery. So many other fields can benefit a structure based on a younger generation, new sharp ideas, sharp minds. We are told that developing skills to advocate for ourselves and to learn critical thinking skills is important. But an entry- level job that requires 5

055plus years of work experience tells us the exact opposite. that it's clearly not enough to simply have these skills. But that's not entirely true. It's shown right here that I have been able to expand my creative ideas and scientific research to a productive proposition of immense scale. I've used scales from my AP pre-calculus class to develop complex equations to calculate biomass based on specific growing techniques. And I've used those said employability skills in my year and a half of research over plant genetics to study micro remediation which has fungi, plants, and mycelium being used such as in areas such as California to help create healthier soils and ecosystems from the aftermath of devastating wildfire. Furthermore, interest has let me interest has let me get so much closer to seeing how bioengineering can help build a

056future environment that won't be in detr conditions. If you were to look at my transcript, you may assume with a weighted GPA of 4.625 that I'm an just overzealous student and that's why I put in so much work into this project. I'm a part of the archery team. I play in the highest of four levels of orchestra at Lafayette. But that's not a prerequisite to innovation. That's one of the biggest problems that we see in socioeconomics and education. Where is the chance for the so-called little guy to the people who have so many ideas that are just brewing in their head waiting to get out wishing for a lucky opportunity to be that big business partner? But when will that happen? They might ask college a decade from now 2 3 4. But the answer

057is sooner than they might think. If we can put together that generational gap and just use that brewing revolution inside of the younger brain, we can tap into a world that is simply surreal. Don't let that passion and strive waste or go to waste. Don't let it be left in that empty space all alone. Let nature to grow and live expand into something new, something different, and something impactful. Thank you. [applause] As you all move into the Q&A, I I I just want to double down on a few things that you heard. uh the level of employability skills that these folks have demonstrated in working with us, adaptive intelligence, problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, communication, teamwork is just off, right? And and the internship model doesn't often allow for students to be co-designers and building

058with us. They're here building with us. I think that that's just such a cool opportunity for us as industry to learn some new perspectives. um and and help us solve a uh industry challenges that require a lot of adaptive intelligence because things are constant right and we have new systems um and you know the idea that Shelby shared of like how do we document this how do we make make sure that it's represented in what they do and their academic experiences and then the the question that that Grady added like how do we scale this right how do we get more and so we're really going to rely on our student community liaison to help us determine how best to engage students going. So this is should this project completely move forward. This is a

059long-term project. It's a 30, 40, potentially 50-year project. So what this looks like over time, uh having students help us determine that, make sure that the community is I'll let y'all ask any questions that you have. Sorry. >> Thank you so much. Thank you, Shelby and Grady. I'm frankly on a point of personal privilege, I'm glad to be up here and say Mr. Salisbury and refer to a different Salisbury. So, uh Grady, thank you for that. No, I'm just kidding. Um I really shall be I'm really intrigued by your um scholar Sills idea and that's something I think um Dr. ligans that is certainly worth exploring um and that recognition the chords and so forth but also because we have the biiteracy sill we have sills for industry certifications and so forth um and that

060could also be another way to entice community partners so thank you for sharing that that's an incredible idea um one thing that I I typically ask and I think and you've answered it somewhat in your uh presentation but for both of you um what is something about Fate County Public Schools that you think someone who is completely new or completely unfamiliar with our district. Uh what is one thing you think they should know or they might be surprised to know about what's happening here in FCPS? >> So the first thing that comes to mind for me, thank you, is just the amount of opportunities in many different fields. So I am someone who's very interested in both science aspects and arts. I'm in orchestra, but I also compete in science fairs. And through the opportunities

061that Banny County has provided me, I've been able to compete in everything from PMEA with orchestra competitions to small power and engine building competitions. And I think that's just a great way to be able to explore all the different opportunities and possible career paths that you can possibly dive into before you get to college and have to make a million-doll mistake. >> Great. What about you, Brady? >> Um, I would have to well, first of all, agree with Shelby. The amount of opportunities that we are given is so much more than some of surrounding counties such as more rural counties that you had just have small elementaryaries, small cafeteria, not much but basic education just to get somebody through it. Cuz if you take say a few decades ago, say when my parents were in

062school, there wasn't many options foration besides finance or block. But even with the talk of asking how do we improve these opportunities, I would like to say that FCPS gives so many starting opportunities to this that we have grown to a point where we are further along than most of the surrounding districts, surrounding schools and any other education facilities. Well, and a great that's a good segue to my next question is what what what could we be doing to improve or to enhance the work that's already happened in your >> as I stated in my speech beforehand making it so it's not just some instructional based thing don't try to predict in a way students pathways yes open up these opportunities but we have to be more organic And we have to be able to

063adapt and we have to let our educators, our teachers, and all the other staff be able to help be catalysts instead of just regular instructions. And I think kind of going along with that, something that could really boost the education, which is actually what we're here to discuss today is so we attend Locust Trace, which is a tech school, where we're able to practice things in a bunch of different pathways such as equin and forestry and wild, where we are able to explore these things in a hands-on way instead of just reading out of a textbook. But could what could really level this up is what we're doing here today, which is a business partnership, allowing us to create our own handbook rather than reading an assignment, doing the instructions, and then go do whatever

064it is even though they are already hands-on. >> Excellent. Thank you both. Any other questions or comments? >> Board member Green. >> First of all, I I wrote down so many things, but there was one thing that you all brought up and really you said it in many different ways. is the youth dividend or the catalyst that you bring. Um there was many ways that you said it, but the the value that the young minds and the creative thinking and the unguard railed thought that haven't already seen what the industry expects of them that haven't already seen like these are the only kind of answers we can see. This is the only thing that could be possible because this is what the government says X Y and Z and these are what my partners will

065only agree to X Y and Z. And so I think Edel and for you all to reach out and to see that and to say I'm I want to bring these students in as equal thought partners kudos to you and thank you. I think it's a fantastic model. I hope we start seeing many many more of these projects. And for the students to step up and know that your voice has value and that you belong at that table and that your thoughts um they don't it doesn't matter if they're confined or if you even know what the guardrails are. So because it's good that you don't know what they are. Um, and so I'm so grateful for this moment, this like ecosystem of thought that you all are creating and I'm really excited to see

066it grow. I'm grateful that you guys are bringing ideas to us about what we can do to better support that that ecosystem of creating that catalyst of change within the students and I look forward to whatever we can do to kind of take your all's ideas and push those and and as you said u what it is um scale it up. So thank you all for being a part of this and I'm so excited about your all's futures. I'm sure they're going everywhere. So, thank you. >> Thank you guys for being here today. And I just want to echo the thank you for the reminder, um, that the opportunities that you have, um, just lead you to getting that experience that you need when you, you know, leave us here. Um, and I hope you

067know that the experience that you're getting now, it counts. So, you know, if they say five years, well, you've got one. um and you're able to tell them those experiences and good references, you know, as you're moving forward. Um but you're right, creating those opportunities for other students and making sure that they're those barriers aren't in the way um is pretty important. So, thank you for putting that the front of our mind. >> Thank you. And I I will echo what board member Green said and uh praise Edeland Renewables because this is truly a model of a corporate partnership with the district and then also being a strong corporate citizens of uh Lexon and Fate County. Um because I say all the time, it takes a village and it's it's easy to the the the

068term partnership in the in the world of business is thrown around quite a bit. Um, but you all are living it, right? It's not just it's not just boilerplate language. Um, and we see it demonstrated with these students here. So, that that means a lot and that's how um a community like Lexon Fyet moves forward. A strong public school system butressed by a business community working handin glove with the system supporting our students because you all are our future. So, we we greatly appreciate that. Chair Murphy, >> thank you. Bor Christian, [clears throat] >> excuse me. Thank you. Um, I want to start with Brad Clark. Hello, Brad Clark. >> Hello, Penny Christian. >> Um, I know your background in terms of teaching and how you tend to uh I mean, you do more than

069just pour into kids and you identify the best course of action especially for our gifted babies. And I just can you tell me what is your vision for attracting students? What is your vision not just for attracting but keeping? And at the same time I' I'd like to ask the students what drew them to it and what kept them there. >> Sure. Do you all want to start with with what drew you to it and kept you there and then I I can talk about how we might engage more. So for this project first of all the way we were invited to this was a industry partner Kevin uh Kevin Schinger he invited us or rather asked our teacher Miss uh Alyssa Thompson uh select students in her environmental science pathway who would want to

070attend this and who would be a good fit for this. So he reached out to us and eventually we met with Brad Carr, Amy Samples and plenty other of the staff members over at Elen Renewables. And for me personally, I am heavily invested in not necessarily in solely being solar but in the idea of sustainability, especially with things such as uh vegetation management. That was one of the things that I really wanted to contribute to in this project. I've had a year and a half long research project over plant genetics and how we can further use bioengineering in order to improve the environment by actually putting it out there instead of being keeping it in a lab. But I would say just the overall one the scale two resume builder obviously if for things like

071I said with for entry- level jobs that take that say you need years of experience that students just don't have because they're just trying to find that entry- level job. And I would just say overall this is such a complex project that just has piqued my interest and has piqued the career and pathway that I'm really interested in. >> So I think I'm coming at this from an interesting perspective because as Grady said, Kevin emailed a few kids in the environmental sciences pathway. I was not originally in the environmental science pathway from the get from the beginning and therefore I did not receive this email. I just happened to be lucky enough to be sitting next to Kinsey and Grady when Kevin came to pull them aside and go to the library and have a

072meeting. And I love exploring everything I can. I want to learn anything that I can. And I just honestly I just asked, "Hey, can I come to this meeting too?" And I am so glad that I did. I'm having so much fun in this project. And what really helped me to stay is one of my favorite things is problem solving of any kind. I even just riddles. I love riddles. And another example of this in quote form, as Walt Disney once said, it's kind of fun to do the impossible. And this partnership has really allowed me to just dive into my creativity and problem solve with everything from how to not puncture the cap of the landfill itself to how to manage the greenery and the grasses that are going to be on the mound

073and it's just been a really fun experience and I can't wait to see where it goes. >> I would like to No, no, please. I would like to add to Shelby on the interest in creativity. Part of this whole idea of improving the education model is I am taking a lot of advanced classes. I'm interested in a lot of more complex topics that some students may not be interested in. Those for over a year have been just sitting in my head just me h theorizing making a bunch of hypotheticals thinking this would never happen. But this project has allowed me to come so much closer to all these ideas brewing in my head. And not just my head. So many of my peers that I know have talked about all these things. And I know

074that if they were giving a similar opportunity to me in the field that they are interested in that they would have so much innovation taught and you know uh Penny the uh the idea of engaging as many students as possible. you know, we're going to need to engage with students that are interested in communications, right? The storytelling on this, if this is going to be a national model, this is going to be the largest landfill of solar project in the US, it's going to get a lot of attention. We're going to need help in thinking through how we engage the community and how we tell this story more broadly. uh whenever it comes to workforce development, this is a great opportunity for folks that might be marginalized in some way from the educational workforce systems

075and the employment systems that are uh present locally. Uh we we need insight into how to how to do that. We have insight into how to do that in coal communities and former energy communities. What that looks like here in central Kentucky will look a little bit different. Um there are environmental considerations, but there there are a lot of other considerations on this project that uh we're really going to want to engage with the students to understand which groups across the the district and at the school level or even just individual students might be interested in participating in this. We did not Amy and I don't have energy background, right? Um I'm a history major and a former social studies teacher, right? So this is about civic engagement on my side. Uh the more students

076we can engage in that conversation the better how best to do that will determine over >> Thank you. One last question I do have uh is you know as we look at these opportunities um as and I may be looking too far down the road and if I am please correct me uh but if might there be opportunities for partnerships with our uh facilities when we look at opportunities for renewable energy in the district because you know the FCPS is just like every family right now where we see utility rates rising. Um so are there some opportunities that this type of partnership might leverage opportunities in the district uh operationally? >> Uh absolutely and you know I think we have a good example of how we've been able to work closely with the arch dascese

077here uh in in Lexington that serves most of eastern Kentucky and central Kentucky uh on how they're pursuing their uh net zero plans. Um and then you know I I also uh am the director of the state solar energy industries association. We have members that do residential commercial industrial. So we have the subject matter experts here in Kentucky to make that a homegrown effort and so happy to work with you all to understand how best to do that. I think there are excellent opportunities there and another way to engage our students as well because I'm sure students would love to be involved in those processes. Excellent. Thank you both. Anything else? Board members, >> I have something. >> Okay. Uh Grady, I wanted to share. You mentioned elevate and the dreadful 15 minutes at the

078beginning of class. Um I will tell you the amount of students I hear that from has been um a lot. And so one of the things that my student advisory council is actually working on right now is with the high school office and myself is improving that to a point to where it's much more meaningful. and um robust for you guys. So, thank you for pointing that out. >> I'd like to also mention something that's a bit more personal to specifically Lafayette that I go to. Um as to if this will change in the future, I'm unsure, but currently for um 2026 graduates, like seniors, they have to fill out a certain amount of elevate moments. for us like people who go to tech school and whatnot and there's certain teachers that they just don't

079have enough time to get their content out of the way. It's just very difficult for us to complete those. And while walking, we still get our diploma. The like accomplishment of being able to walk graduation is just kind of not there without us being able to spill out some of these moments. >> That's we're working on all of that. Thank you for the feedback. And when those changes are made, you can go back and tell your friends that you were responsible because you brought it up at a school board meeting. Mr. Clark, did you have that? Okay. >> Anything else, board members? >> Thank you all so much. We appreciate it. >> Thank you all for your time. >> Thank you. [applause] >> Thank you all. Finally, tonight we pause to join communities across the

080country. actually that did this last month, but we had to put hours off for National School Board Recognition Month. Uh the five members of the Faget County Board of Education um are truly public servants with hearts for students, staff, families, and community at large, and we're grateful for the time and energy you guys pour into this role. Um at this time, I'd like to start with a short video. [music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] >> Hey, [music] hey, hey. >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Hey, hey, hey. [music] [music] Heat. Heat. N. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hey. [music] >> [applause] >> At this time, I'd like to invite Katherine Lther to come forward and lead the special recognition and honor. Miranda made it look so good. Oh, okay. There we

081go. All right. So, I want to thank the um board for their continuing support of all of our students. We do have a special presentation for you this evening. Um the past several years of um sharing the board presentation performance videos with you. Um I hope that you all understand how much we appreciate that you are valuing the whole child. uh whether it is students who are in various um um industry pathways or our arts students or our athletes. Uh we really do appreciate that you're helping us provide an education beyond expectation. It's with your support that the teachers and our district leadership are able to do the wonderful things that we are currently doing to support all of our students. So, thank you very much uh for for your commitment to public education. In

082that note, we do have a special presentation. Uh you can see that we have uh some students here who have joined us. I'm going to ask them to come up when I call their name and they're going to stand up here next to you. Um and if you will come down to join them when I call your name um then you'll see what we're going to do here in just a second. First of all, I'd like to invite um let's start with um Jamie Montlair is the teacher at Paul Lawrence Stumbar representing Nico Joe who is not able to be here today. Uh Nico is going to um partner with Amanda Ferguson. So, if you'll come down here, we'll just hang out here for just a second. Next, we'll go with board chair Murphy is

083going to partner with Reese Hooks, an 11th grader from Frederick Douglas High School. Could it be? Next, I'd like to invite um let's go with Dr. Monica Mundy is going to partner with Gia Seth, a 10th grade student from Lafayette High School. And then Audriana Farfan is going to come up and uh join us down here on the front uh to represent Penny Christian. Audriana is a 12th grader from Brian Station High School. And then not to leave out Amy Green, if you'll come to that spot, I'll join you here in just a second. Um, Quincy Adams, an 11th grader from Tates Creek High School, uh, paid close attention to Amy Green. So, what we're going to do, I think Amy, you can handle this without me. Um, what we're going to do is if

084you and your partner will each take a corner or Amy, you're going to have to do it by yourself. um each take a corner of the cloth and carefully pull it back. Let's see what we have under there. These portraits were painted by our students. Um some of them started over winter break and some of them just picked it up after. So, thank you so much. These are our gifts to you and hopefully to um uh Penny and to who is uh left over there to Amy. Um perhaps your students can uh join you at a different time uh to meet you in person. I don't know Penny if you can see yours but it is a striking likeness there. It's it's wonderful. So thank you uh for supporting our students. Thank you to our

085students uh for um making these wonderful portraits come to life. And if we could have uh you all join together, hold your portraits up. Um and then we'll take a lovely photo for posterity. And then you can hang these on your walls at home or just hang them around your neck at graduation. [applause] Again, thank you board members. There are um other gifts and things that some have been at your stations, others are still being delivered due to the weather. Um there's been some delay in some of those. So throughout February, which is not technically board appreciation or and recognition month, but we will continue to make sure that you're celebrated and truly appreciate all that you do. Um, that concludes the superintendent's report for this evening. I will turn the meeting back over to

086you, Chairman Murphy. >> Thank you so much, Superintendent Ligins. Thanks for the recognition. Thanks to our incredible student artists. We appreciate you all as well. Very well done. Uh, yes. Let's give one more round of applause to our artist. [applause] At this time, our uh we have a period for public comment on items that are on the agenda. Bay County Board of Education policy 01.45 states members of the public may address the board during the period set aside by the board without submitting an item for the agenda. No action shall be taken during this portion on issues raised by the uh public unless deemed an emergency. At the beginning of the meeting, members of the public who have signed up prior to the meeting are invited to speak on items that are on the agenda.

087Speakers will not be allowed to make any disparaging or critical remarks by individuals or employees. Instead, those issues are processed through the complaint procedures which afford the individuals to whom comments or complaints are directed the opportunity for response and due process. Furthermore, members of the public are encouraged to model civil and respectful discourse and conduct. This is not intended to be a time for debate or direct engagement with the board. However, the board will take the public's input in consideration when making final decisions this evening. Um, at this time we do have uh two individuals who have signed up to speak on matters that are on the agenda and I'll ask them to uh come forward to the podium where you just saw Miss Lther and to keep their remarks to 3 minutes or less.

088Our first speaker uh this evening is um Sarah Flood Bowman who has had time yielded from Steven Dorsy. So that'd be a total of six minutes. Go. Hello. We good? Okay. Hi everybody. I am here as a second grade RISE STEM Academy parent and I am here to ask that decisions about RISE and George Washington Carver be datadriven, transparent and on time going forward. And first make no mistake and I want to say everybody say this to everyone in the room, everyone watching at home that RISE will welcome these boys next year with both kindness and safety. Those boys will not and must not pay the price for this district's failure to give them a permanent home. That is non-negotiable. And second, our numbers don't lie. The lottery just closed and Rise had over 400

089applications, including more than 100 for kindergarteners alone. And yet, because of co-housing, RISE can now only accept 48 students total for kindergarten. Those 48 seats already include our current roster. So that means RISE will have a weight list. A wait list. Our elementary program has effectively been cut in half despite repeated promises that co-housing would not impact enrollment. And if anybody doubts that promise, I assure you I can produce that evidence in those time codes from those promises made. And now let's think about this. When GWC moves out, will our girls be blamed because we can't instantly refill refill those classrooms? When families learn that their daughters were weight listed? What happens to community trust? Will they reapply next year? Will they then uproot their children? Nope. Probably not. This district created sloppy track conditions

090for Rise from day one. And mark my words, when GWC moves out, our girls will be blamed for a bad run in a race that they didn't even design. So, let me be clear, pushing for a permanent GWC home is not me knocking down these boys. The GWC community deserves a safe, permanent, single gender state-of-the-art home. A space that reflects their identity and allows their population to grow. Leaving their old dilapidated building was absolutely necessary. But Rise, as I've said before, was not the only option, and better options still exist today. So, let's course correct. here. We have just over 18 months to fix this and to secure a home for these GWC boys. So, I ask this, do we have a clear timeline of milestones going forward? Has coordination between contractors, budgets, and data

091collection happened? Has holistic cost analysis of all viable viable facilities been reviewed? Have surveys of teachers, staff, and families been planned or completed? If not, that is a failure of this board and this district to uphold its promises again. So now here is the urgent part. We are seven months away from the first day of school. And one issue that rises above the many logistical questions I have is what the status is of the urinal waiver. I know it seems small, but has the Kentucky Code of Enforcement approved this waiver? If not, what is the timeline for demolition, approvals, purchasing, and labor to ensure that these boys have bathrooms on day one? And what is the plan if neither school can then move in because these facilities aren't even available? The walls right now at

092Rise are already being painted. The lights are already on. Final touches are already underway. And this is not a theoretical question or concern I have. This is happening right now. These boys and these girls are watching. Our Lexington parents are watching. We will track your progress. We will hold this district and board accountable. I have submitted and will continue to submit open records requests to ensure both transparency and timely action. Allowing any of our students, boys or girls, to live in ambiguity under vague timelines is not student centered. It contradicts the very values that this board and district claims to uphold and it undermines the success of both RISE and GWC. So let's course correct, build the timelines, set your milestones, base your decisions on data and research, be transparent. So I ask that you

093guys roll up your sleeves and please get to work. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Flo Bowman. Our next speaker is Erica Pennington. Miss Pinkton, you will have three minutes. Hello. I didn't really prepare anything. Just wanted to say thank you all so much. You really are um appreciated. I know that especially in the current climate, you're all under a lot of scrutiny a lot of the time and so it does not go unnoticed. So, we really do appreciate that. And the thing on the agenda, of course, you're going to go over the policy updates tonight and so we just want to continue to push the importance of those employee care days that were added um that we looked at at the the planning meeting. And so, we really appreciate that. Thank you. >> Thank

094you, Miss Pennington. That concludes uh this public comment period. We do have two additional uh people who have signed up for comments that are not on the agenda that we will hear from after our um action agenda. So I'll turn this agenda actually. Next on our agenda will be approval of routine matters. Uh a motion is in order to approve the minutes of the January 12th, 2026 planning meeting of the County Board of Education. Is there a motion to that effect? >> So moved. >> Motion by board member Mundy. Is there a second? >> Second. Second by board member Christian. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. Uh I'll now entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda as listed. >> I move we approve the consent agenda as

095listed. >> Motion by board member Green. Is there a second? >> Second. >> A second by board member Christian. Uh questions on approval of the consent agenda. I will clarify um just to make sure there was a typo on the uh professional leave uh for the football defensive fundamentals. Um that's Springdale Arkansas, not Alaska. So I didn't want anyone to see that and think someone was going to Alaska. So um especially for football, right? Although we've gotten our plenty of taste of Alaska over the past week. So uh with that clarification, is there any further discussion? All in favor of the consent item say I. I. I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. At this time, I'll turn it over to Superintendent Ligins to take us through rest of tonight's agenda. >> Thank you, Chair

096Murphy. I would like to invite Rodney Jackson to come forward to present the monthly financial report. Um, after Mr. Jackson's Mr. Jackson's presentation, I would like to have a conversation with board regarding implications of the 2026 budget as well. Good evening. This is the monthly financial report for the ending December 31st, 2025. As you can see, total revenues are 55% for last year and 59% this year. Expenses for last year, 32% versus 31% this year. The fund balance is 150,000 last year versus 150 million, excuse me, 186 million this year. And incumbrances are down from 9 million to 5.7 million. This reflects the difference of showing the revenue by by using the charts accordingly, which reflects $37 million difference. When you take out the beginning balance, it'll be $52 million difference in revenue. On the

097expense side, they're practically flat at 27 $217.5 million for perfect years. This is a breakdown of general fund revenue, including all the revenue sources, average taxes all the way through other and you can see the $44.3 million. I'm going to go into details about this at the checkpoint later on expense size. I will also do that. This shows all in functions of instruction all the way through contingency and we spent $217.5 million. As far as the safety tax at this point to date, we spent 9 approximately $9.5 million of the $19.5 million that we have budgeted and received money for. This leaves $10 million we have 48%. As far as investments that we have to mature, we have $3 million on the horizon to mature over the course through June. We will keep making investments

098and I'm pleased to announce that we will exceed budget in this area. So for the checkpoint analysis that I've been promising that we will do um there's a few things we want to talk about related to this when we get into the details. Reviewers should consider actuals budget appropriation available budget for remainder of the year as well as percentage used. that say percentage you off quick effective status check related to current bud budget figures. So for example we are in December which is 6 months that's 50% throughout the year. We have several staff that work for us that are less than year round. So which means that a PCA check is put aside so we can pay it out in July for July 15th, July 31st and August 15th. So doing the math on that

099that means that salaries infringes should be about 37.5%. poor staff that are year round like it's myself and um Dr. Ligies and so forth we should be at 50% in those categories. So when we go through this that's what I'm referencing when I'm talking about the predictive analysis where we can see that we're doing now. So on the first item that we're going to discuss, this is related to the salaries, and it's hard to read on the screen, but um basically we did a detail analysis of all the salaries and where we're at related to those. And it's detailing of all of the different categories related to salaries and fringes. In the second or third box down on the right, um the majority of these expenses related to attributed to overched out transportation. So that's

100a big thing that you need to know in that category. And then also related to the fourth box down is related to unemployment. Unemployment is based off of the calendar year. So that's why that category is real low because we're at the second half of the calendar year. So when we started in January, you will start to see that pick up considerably. >> So I'm I'm sorry. >> Go ahead. >> Can I? >> Yes. >> Um so we're looking at So it's it looks like we're on target because certified we've got 37% expended so far, right? >> Yes. >> And that's what our expectation should be. Mhm. >> And then for what about what did you say for classified 02 >> classified for like function 2500 which we'll talk about later in this >> okay

101okay I'm sorry >> you'll see that 50% so far >> okay other things I want you to be aware of some various factors is purchasing factors the timing of certain things that we have to have >> so again 50% throughout the year would be as of period six however upfront costs such as contract renewals fall event registration initial supplies and facilities emergencies to significantly increase actual uses during the year, but also can allow for overspending. One specific object code department of spending remains within the budget. As a prime example of this, we just now went through a real bad ice. We're still going through it actually, the ice storm and so forth. So, there's things we don't know right now. How many schools are having issues with plumbing, whether it's ice or we're going from

102there? Is there other things we have to fix and so forth? We put stuff in the budget to deal with that, but this is lasting longer than we thought something would last. So as we do these checkpoints through every month, we will bring anything to your attention that we see that we have to talk to the co's office and so forth. Other things is scale. So what I mean by scale is that when you're talking about millions of dollars comparing dollars, the percentage may look smaller. But if you see something that's thousands of dollars versus 100, it can be very large. So I want the scale to throw people off when they see stuff that's 146% because they still may be very small dollars. as we discussed that um in relation to the function um

103is on track we're all for the function instruction which is what our teachers and pair educators primary pay from we're at 25%. Some key areas to reflect that is related to 0400 series 146% used. The major influence on that is 55,000 expense and encumbered against a zero budget at the stables land and building rent which is coming up under that or object and project that's listed above. Expense was not included in the working budget. when the 0500 series reflect 90% use the major influence of tuition cost 28,000 of that is against 32,000 budget opportunity middle college and impact from rollup codes and usage and go from there for those who don't know rollup codes is is like any category so what I'm saying 0500 series anything inside of that can be rolled up and over

104the overall budget everything is rolled up so you may have not a budget in one area but you do have it in another and all those combine and roll up for transparency um abundance 0700 series was primarily technology, equipment and fixed assets. 84% used and a major influence of that is 423,000 was on renewal of infinite campus against a budget of 395,000 and that's located under project tech. Again, all these things can be pulled when you go to the um transparency module that you can we talked about earlier up under function 2100 on overall utilization 34.5% again salary fringes of 12 months and school support are both in this area. So we we think we're on track there. As function 2200 instructional staff support on track overall budget 43.9% salary infringes again has administrative staff

10512 point month and support staff less 12 months. Some other breakouts are 0400 reflects 89% of 103,000 budget and 0687% used. The major influence there is 4.9 million of the 5.8 has been used on commerce to date. Um 4 million against a budget 3.8 A for curriculum with spend pain benchmark curriculum associates and savis. I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing that last one right but that's how it looks. Um function 2300 district administrative support on track overall onation 71.9% salary infringes is just over targeted 50%. Again this is mostly 12 month staff so we're pretty much where we need to be there. 0300 95% use the major influence is tax collection. So tax collection as you know starts in October and it's still going on right now and we have to pay the share of

106that. So that's why you see that big influ that will start to die down tremendously as we get into February and March and all the way through June. Function 2400 school administrator support is on track over all utilization is 382% salary franchise most of principles and principal's office support which is 12 month and do have some less than 12 month staff function 2500 this is business support activities track is monitoring overall budget utilization 56.7%. 0500 reflects 108%. The major influence is insurance approximately 90% of a $5.9 million budget. Prem will pay for the 26 years beginning of the year and overall approximately 740,000 over budget. This coding issue is going to be resolved in January as we expect to be back on track in February as we have to make them changes that we discussed

107related to um during the audit last month. 0700 series 94% the major influence it cost us for something called 2Q um related to some kind of technology we have additional over expenditures of PBA of $180,000 against a um $71,000 budget 800 reflects 89% major influence of retirement fees as I've told you last year related to the end of the year we had a lot of things come related to retirement um which end up being 2.7 million at right now it's 530 so it's 30,000 of a budget but We hope through all the process that we've been doing over the last few years that that amount is going to keep on going and lowering and lowering and lowering. Plan operations again adjustments to be given pending budget amendments to affect recoding related to nickel 2 and

108audit comments related to that 0300 and 700 reflectance overages related to signing control payments and salary of are running slightly high. Student transportation salary should be closer to 40% utilized. Um overall utilization in this area is 41% 0700 reflects 98% users of transact communication bus tablets and subscription purchases 29 function 100 function total budget is 43.6 southern fringes again has a blend of 12 month and less than 12 month and then finally the function 5200 reflects um 328% use transfer from fund to 2.2 2 million and then budgets 800,000 for cats ASP which is after school program offset approximately 1.6 million of general fund salary expense a net general fund expense approximately 600,000 related to the workbook reconciliation that will perform later this fall overall in the current categories let's break down instruction 25% student

109support 34.5 instruction 44% district admin 72%. Again, this is real high because the timing and related share of tax fees timing. School admin 38%, transportation 41%, plan operations 51% and total general fund at 31% which is 1% less than last year. Key factors expenditure slightly lower this year than last year at the same point. They're running practically the same actually. Revenues are $36.7 million higher in commerce committed but not yet spent are down 3.3 million. audit results, coding management comments um implemented related to fund 320 you will start to see next month and there's no financial signal of overspending. The district's cash position is materially stronger than last year. The actual financial evidence shows spend is flat over year to year. Revenues are higher, cash balance are stronger, and commerces are lower. Budget execution is

110ahead of schedule. On the revenue side, property tax is trending ahead of schedule at this point for the general fund. Note building fund 320 also receives property taxes and will be 100% by the end of the year. Motor vehicle taxes is trending to outperform last year by approximately $2 million. Utility taxes trend to be flat at this point knowing the reporting structure of revenue has changed and thus information on collection is delayed monthly. What I mean by that is how the department of revenue gives us information related to that. We have to go into the system and by the time that I have to submit the reports to you to be inside of the report, it's usually about a fifth or sixth of a month, not to you, but we have to start processing. Let

111me clarify that. Then we may not have got the information yet. We can see it in the system probably a day or two later so we know it's there. Also, sometimes people think because we have bad storms like what we're going through right now and utility bills will go higher, we will get more utility revenue, but the offset of that we will also have be paying higher utility bills. So, we need to realize that investment earnings are trending approximately 600,000 more than budgeted. If trends continue, we will we will may exceed over $1 million more budgeting this source. Seek revenues currently trending approximately $4.3 million more than last year. At the same time, inter fund transfers trending of 942,000 less than last year due primarily to less federal grant funding for indirect cost. However, the

112trend is currently indicated that we'll meet the budgeted amount. We're still looking at occupational license tax, Medicaid funding, and sale of assets. Um, as I report to superintendent um earlier this week, we have figured out what's going on Medicaid funding and that will be corrected next month. >> May I ask a couple questions here? >> Yes, sir. the seek revenue that in that increase also includes local effort, right? That's not just state contribution. >> Yes. >> That Okay. And then on the you mentioned Medicaid funding, we're not yet certain given the current climate with Medicaid funding, the impact that it might have on Bay County Public Schools. >> Well, we actually um as you will see next month cuz we had to dig deeper what was going on there because it was throwing me for

113a loop. I couldn't it was we had $2.2 million budgeted and and there was nothing coming in related to that. The coding on it is now showing up under a 1900 series and it should be in a 4810 series. So next month you will see that change. We moving out of that and go. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. >> Checkpoint summary. As of December 31st, 2025, the general fund expenditures total $27.5 million. This essentially unchanged from the same point last year. At the same time, revenues are more than 36% higher. Arizona general fund balance of 186 8 million compared to about 150 million the year before. In other words, district currently in a better financial position. Now worse, approximately 85% of district budgets driven by salaries and benefits for employees. Those costs are being managed

114within the board approved budget and attracted at a below plan level. The district also carrying fewer outstanding commerce than did the previous year, further indicate that spending commitments are being carefully managed. Again, what we had not been doing that we aren't doing now is predictive analysis and thinking about the people that are less than year round how we can do that. So, we don't get into June that's in there saying we don't know that effect. We're also looking and working on which is not on here um verifying that stipens are turned in timely cuz that's also an unknown that we faced in the past when people turn in time to stipens they've been carrying for the whole year. Taking together the financial data shows financial public schools financial f county public schools, excuse me, is

115not overspending. Revenues are higher, expenses are stable, fund balances going to be stronger, and budget executes ahead of schedule. The district actual financial condition remains aligned with the board approved financial plan and focus on long-term fiscal stability. There is no indication of structural operational overrun function at this checkpoint in time analysis. And again, as I was reiterate, we do not know the effect of what this storm has done yet until we get into that know what's going on, what the cost of that's going to be and expense and so forth, then I'll report to know more about that. Are there any questions or concerns? >> Thank you. And I I'll just say this is important because we've talked in September when we looked at the unodudited reports and we had identified and then it was

116confirmed in the audit that uh some of the overages were caused by those uh salary expenditures. Um and so one of the new control protocols that was discussed with the board in September was tightening the monitoring and the forecasting and included in that was were these forecasts these quarterly forecasts. So I'm glad to see this data uh and see that we're tracking that. Um what what is the how is the work going? Have we onboarded the ERP transparency software? Is that >> Yes, that's what she was talking about earlier. That's okay side. >> Okay. and we we are satisfied with the way that that's working. >> Yes, I haven't heard any complaints or anything about it. >> Okay. Okay. Very good. And then are we um I know another control protocol that was introduced to

117the board was um slowing discretionary spending. Is that something that we're monitoring and are we achieving? >> Well, we're monitoring all spending across the board. Um, and although we said earlier we probably do this quarterly, we decided to do this monthly so you will see a checkpoint every single month so the board always know how we see salaries and fringes and everything related to that. We're also working with the ERP team to get a better um using the percentages is helping us but we want to see if we can get deeper analysis related to that so we don't have any surprises again related to other things like subs and stipens and so forth related to that. >> Okay, very good. And that would include overtime as well. But >> yeah, overtime is being monitored. I

118mean, I actually got called um like for instance Christmas break, we have to pay two checks back to back and there's a lot to do that and with hiring freezes and so forth, we had a few. So we have to have some things to get things done during that time frame. That's same thing is going to happen during spring break. >> So we are monitoring overtime. I can tell you again I got called and say, "Hey, who is this person? Why are they getting three hours and 3.5 hours of overtime?" So, we are looking at that and addressing it. And every time prior approval, I go to the superintendent and say, "This is what we're about to have. This is what we're facing. Are you okay with this? We're going to contain it." Also, as

119we're going through this budget process, um, as we're working with each department up under each umbrella, we're discussing overtime and what are needs through a zerobased budget with guardrails, how we going to get there to make sure everything stays in place to achieve the objectives of the superintendent and the board. >> Very good. And one one last question for you. How are we feeling about the interfund balance, the managing the inter fund balances because I know that was something we discussed in the fall when you look at especially nutrition services and our retirement obligations. So we have staff dedicated to that right now and literally had a meeting with the superintendent again today talking about the importance of having one person as a point person for that. So, we're looking at a structure that would

120include dealing with who handles general fund, who handles fund two and um which is grants, who handles fund 51 and 52 with the enterprise funds which is nutrition and our school program and so forth because a lot of times we get different conversations happening. It confuses people. It confuses principles. We want to avoid that all together and make sure that the appropriate people are concentrating on that area of specialty. >> Thank you very much. Any other questions? Board members. >> Mr. Murphy, >> board member Green. >> I would just like to a thank you for putting this together because every month I go through the 58 pages of the mun document. I make notes about which ones kind of catch my eye. And this month, every single one that I had written down my two

121pages, you went through and you articulated what really what it means behind just the numbers. So, I'm very excited about this format. I really appreciate the extra time that you're taking um because not only is it helping to further inform the board, but the public as well. And so you're making 58 pages digestible in this moment, but you're covering the things that that catch my that caught my eye throughout the mun report. So thank you for that effort. >> Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions? Board members. >> Yes, sir. >> Board member Ferguson. >> Thank you. Um I think it's about four slides back. Rodney, the um additional information that the next sorry >> this way. >> Oh no. additional information that one. Yeah. So >> maybe I wasn't listen the the percentage spent

122of each area. This is the >> So instruction we've spent 25% of what was budgeted for that area or yes >> instruction is 25% of the current budget. >> It's 25% of what's spent in that function. >> Okay. So can you explain then this district admin support why does the percentage of what's spent on that why how is that affected >> why is it 72% why is it so high >> well how is that that affected by the tax fees if it's the 72% of >> because yes >> it's a timing situation so as we discussed cash flow at the school district back in September October everybody talked about the es and flows when revenue comes to us >> and so in addition So that when we start to get that revenue that comes in

123in millions related to property taxes and so forth, we have to pay the sheriff out at that same time. So paying the sheriff tax collection is happening in October, November, and December at a large amount. So as the property taxes die down, which they're going to start to do that in February, there's less that we're paying out. So, it will work its way out over the course of the year, but the timing of it is very high because of that 4.9 or whatever number I told you earlier is coming in paid out already. >> Okay. So, you're saying the the part that we pay to the sheriff is part of that? >> Yes. >> Is listed under that as an expense? Yes. >> Okay. Okay. Thank >> you. Any other questions for Monday? Um, I

124also want to say thank you for the additional slides with the specific codes on them because I too had several questions as to why um some of the expenses were where they were and I think you covered all of them but maybe one or two but I'll send those in >> um later. Um but thank you that was very helpful. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? If there are no further questions I'll entertain a motion to >> Let's wait. Let's wait. Let's >> I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Um, I wanted to have a discussion with the board before we it it it's about finances, but it's about as we talked about the weather. I wanted to talk to you about I have to make some tough decisions and I've had to make a few lately

125about NTI versus snow days. We talked at the beginning of the year and I mentioned the fact that our nutrition budget suffers every time we have a really a snow day or an NI day. There's no revenue um coming in for those days. Snow days, however, can be made up. NI days count as just regular days without students and so they do not have to be made up. Um, we lose approximately $223,000 a day when we have NTI days because there's no way to recoup those funds because students do not come to school to make those up to um actually get a lunch and get the reimbursement and all of those things. Um, there's been a question, this is just for your information, it's irrelevant to the um the topic today. um we save on

126diesel about $9,000 a day when we're not running buses. So it doesn't quite 223 versus 9,000 doesn't offset each other. But if we were to continue to have snow days, that is something that and obviously I I will make a decision, but I would like to have a discussion as we're talking about the budget and where we are currently. If we continue with snow days, um that means those days can be made up. we can recoup that $223,000 uh a day. However, that does extend our school year at the end of the school year. Um if we have NTI days, that's about $223 that we will not recoup each day that will ultimately impact the nutritional um budget and have to come out of the general fund. So kind of just wanted to have a

127discussion surrounding that, answer any questions and obviously I do realize that is a decision that I have to make and that's something I certainly don't want to lay at your feet and I I don't want to have it myself quite frankly but I would like to hear since you uh are in charge of the purse strings um just a discussion surrounding surrounding that four cream. >> Thank you. Can you go back and just remind us why we said with a budget that we could afford quote afford the four NI days? >> Well, we didn't say we could afford it. We would have we would have lost that money anyway um simply because we have four days built in. the board usually if we do four days historically the five years I've been here the board

128has always said let's forgive those four days because we've met the statute. Um so it's and then I had my student advisory council was adamant about having some NTI because of advanced coursework and the the classes and tests and all of that. Um and so we have exhausted um those four um NI days and we're currently tomorrow will be snow day number six. >> And then just um to to thinking of the calendar. So that snow day number six we're already making up one. Is that March 20th? >> Yes. >> And then are there any other possibilities between now and graduation for makeup snow days? >> No. There's one I think the day after, no, the day after school and supposed to end on the regular calendar now. Um, but so tomorrow is the last

129day that would that has not been built in before graduation. >> Can I ask Thank you for addressing it. I was going to bring it up too because I'm was a little confused myself and obviously getting a lot of questions about it. And so I know that you had decided for the four NI days is and the state allows for 10. >> Yes, ma'am. >> But we don't have to ask for more. I mean, you could choose >> up to 10. >> Six more. Okay. >> Yes. >> And then I saw something somewhere about like that we can't obviously this is not the case. So we can't use a snow day until we've used all 10 NI days. >> No, that's not true. >> That's not correct. Okay. That's what And then I guess just

130bringing up um what Amy mentioned the I know in the past we have used um President's Day as a makeup day. Is that not allowable now? Not something you're interested in? >> No, we have to have in our calendar four holidays and President's Day is one of our four holidays. So we can we can't do that. That's by statute as well. You have to have four holidays. >> Just so I and everyone else understands. Um, and then that also I guess it's been asked about the Monday after spring break. Um, >> that is >> a possible makeup >> currently. Is that a I think that's >> that's a staff day. >> That's a staff professional learning day. >> Um, >> it would it possibly require an amendment to the calendar, but it has been advertised

131as a non- studentent workday. um I mean non- studentent day so what what usually happens people say they've had vacations planned etc and >> and that's going to happen regardless I mean when we're going to school in June true >> true so I know the >> I mean I just know from serving on the calendar committee for the perfect calendars in the eye of the beholder and >> um I mean I do think it is worth most of your all of your on your advisory council are in a high school right and I I do feel that they are just from having my own high school or in school during co they're more adaptable in TI and being able to progress in their studies. Obviously, I've just heard from a lot of >> elementary parents

132that it's >> and we know equivalent not equivalent, but I just think it affects that the younger our students are the the more it affects them the in >> and I think the main consideration right now is my understanding because again I don't want anyone to think there are enough people who think that the board is out checking the roads at 2 a.m. the board doesn't make decisions about snow days or NI cancellations, but this is you're you're bringing this as more of a financial absation, right? >> Um so my question would be um you know, we just heard the finance report. Um is there >> is there room for absorbing X amount of NI days beyond the four that we initially said? Is that something that's kind of been gamed out? Would would we

133be willing to go up to 10 or is there another threshold if we went up to 10 for Are you talking about snow days or NI days? >> NI days. Yes. That would we would lose that 223 for the next um six days that we had it if we got up to 6 days, which would be well over a million dollars. um with so much still we really don't know. I didn't want to use um Rodney and I talked about not using the C word to confuse people. Um the the reserve [laughter] that we have in the budget is um you know cuz everything has a little bit of reserve there just in case um things change. could very well be eaten up with once the pipes thaw out. We I mean we were talking

134today about the possibility of sprinklers may or I mean we don't know. Um it could be we could say today yes we can absorb it but then once it gets above freezing we could also say well we have 10 campuses that are flooding that we have to fix that will take up that amount. So, it's not as cut and dry as saying at this very moment, yes, we could possibly absorb it. Um, this time Friday, we may say absolutely not. So, it just really depends and we don't know how many more ice we're going to have. >> Well, especially looking at the forecast. >> Yes. And today the groundhog saw a chat. So, six more weeks. >> Board member Monday. >> Um, thank you, Dr. Ian for asking the question. I do know that like

135you probably want some guidance cuz I know I have a kindergartener and I've got the packet and it takes time for those antias for staff to be able to put those things together and get them home to families and communicate what the plan is to families. Um, so I don't know if it would be helpful if there's maybe not the full 10 days, but if there is a even a smaller amount, if we think that maybe two or three would be manageable that we could um think about just so that there's plenty of time to prep um because it is Kentucky, we're going to be 50 next week, but we've also like blizzard 1994, right? March, anything can happen. So, um I just want to make sure that we're making these decisions in a timely

136manner and that staff have the time that they need to to prep. Um especially for those elementary school, I think are the ones that really need the paper packets and things um as well. But I would be amendable if it's doable within the budget, even if it's just a few days. um if that would possibly help and then you know looking at the any suggestions um for the calendar that we might be able to amend next year if it's maybe thinking of a different holiday or going ahead and marking some days as possible snow days um just to give a little bit of cushion for next year um because this seems to be our new normal for a little while >> and and there is a provision we will have to um build in the

137same number of snow days next year as we experienced this year, right? And so we're we're now up about to six. Um but um I would be curious to to board member Mundy's point as well if there's time maybe asking our principles um to get some feedback from their families and staff as far as what prep work would be required and so forth. But again, the ultimate call for snow day and NTA NI days are up to the superintendent. This is just the financial balancing the financial response. Um so so I guess what so this this conversation is twofold. I'm letting I wanted to hear your feedback which I think I've heard and I also it's an FYI that when we do have NTI days that that will be a loss on a daily basis.

138So I think >> Dr. Yes ma'am. >> Um I appreciate the feedback from your advisory council um especially when they're thinking about AP and advanced classes. Uh, we've just had four NTI and we've had two snow. Tomorrow's going to be a snow day. I think when you if you talk about feedback, I think it'd be too much to try and ask everyone, hey, what do you want to do? That's, you know, we're going down a rabbit hole. However, I think and I'll agree with board member Monday if we had to put more in put more NI days. I think I would I would be amenable to maybe two. I think that if you put them strategically, especially for our high school babies, if we put them in strategically, they won't feel that they're losing as

139much and those snow days will be more palatable for them cuz she's uh board member uh Mundy is correct in terms of the prep that these teachers do. So I think if any conversation is had maybe converse with yes all principles but have a specific conversation with the high school principles and teachers who are well the teachers who are doing the advanced work so that the kids don't feel that they're losing it. Um I do think financially we need to not consider 10 days but that's just that's my take. >> Thank you. >> How many snow days have we used? Did you say six? >> Tomorrow will be six. >> Tomorrow will be number six. >> There was a snow event. >> I've lost track >> before this one. Yeah. >> December 7th. There was

140a snow event. So, do we I mean I'm looking at the end of the year calendar and families probably don't want to look at I mean the possible weather makeup day goes all the way to June 10th. >> It does. >> Now, let's not make news tonight. We're saying we'll be in school till [laughter] June 10th. But knock on wood. Blame Pakatani Phil though. Uh board member >> just trying to see where we would be already if we couldn't use if we have to use some of those days. I mean >> uh board member Green. >> Thank you Chair Murphy. Um I think there's been a lot of good as you said Dr. Ligans a lot of good feedback and and opportunity kind of to be flexible. One to look at if there's any opportunity

141in the calendar before the end of the school year and let people see if that's a you know a chance for a makeup. And then um to to the point that there may be unintended consequences as soon as we open these buildings, we may not know. So taking the slow roll approach that Dr. Mundy and uh Dr. or Mr. Miss board member Christian, I'm trying to give everybody their correct titles. board member Christian um mentioned about taking it slow and so maybe saying two or three giving the teachers time to prep because I know it's not just elementary school that need to prep for MTI but to make it um highly engaging work our middle schools and high schools need that time as well to prepare so it m fits in with their curriculum so

142I think a slow roll out might be the best way to take it and then we'd see after the snow event we can you know have a further discussion about what that costs at the building level looks like how many pipes busted, how many of those kind of things, you know, do we break any plows, those kind, you know, there's going to be some real costs there, but then come back to it a little bit later if needed. And then there, as Rodney has shared, there are spaces in the budget with hopefully the projections like with the investment um will pan out to where we're a little bit above budget and our our spending is lower. And so I think a slow approach might be a fiscal fiscally wise approach. >> Yeah. Also, quickly, uh,

143uh, Dr. Ligins, do we know at what point with this event, the governor declared a state of emergency? At what point do we get to either KDE or or Frankfurt forgiving some of these snow days so that we're not still in school on June 30th? >> That that is being discussed. I don't know if it's going to make if it's going to happen, but it is being discussed. I know that. >> Yeah, we're certainly not the only district in the boat. Currently the regulations are once it's 20 as you get if you get to 20 in the regulations then they can start forgiving hopefully we're not at that point. Um but as Dr. Lian said since so many districts across the Commonwealth are dealing with this the legislature may act. We just we just don't

144know yet. So we we aren't able to take any action tonight. I don't think you're asking us to take action tonight. Um but if you can um do you have enough sense of the board based on Okay. >> Plenty. Thank you. >> Okay. And and the ultimate decision um of course is up to the administration but the funding constraints that were discussed tonight are relevant to that decision. And um if you can next week is a planning meeting. So if you have some uh more precise calculations about these are the future cost of potential NTI days, this is where we could find those monies. Um and then maybe we can get some some more clarity at next week's meeting if that works for you. >> Sounds good. >> Yes, sir. >> Any further questions or

145discussion? Okay. Uh, I'll entertain a motion to approve the monthly treasures report as presented. Is there a motion? >> I move we approve the monthly treasures report as presented. >> Is there a second? >> Second by Bormer Christian. A motion by Bormer Green. Any discussion? U all in favor of approving the monthly treasures report, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> No. No. >> Motion carries. uh 32. Dr. Lincoln. >> Thank you, board members. That concludes our action items under theformational items this evening. The agenda um contains seven written reports for your review, including the bannual construction report, the winter map assessment performance data, the school activity funds, the personnel changes for January, the running board approved contracts, the budget transfer report, and the procedures update. We do have a need to go

146into close session and I will now turn the meeting back over to you, Chairman Murphy. >> Thank you, Superintendent Ligins. Uh before we move on, I do want to point out one of the umformational reports is the winter map assessments. Uh just to highlight the incredible growth that we've seen uh in our students we've seen and I encourage everyone to go and look at that report because um there has been some significant growth across the district. Um at this time the next portion of our agenda is where members of the public may address the board on any topic of district related concern on items that are not on the agenda. Uh again this is not intended to be a time for debate or direct engagement with the board and members of the public encouragement model

147civil and respectful discourse and conduct. Uh we have two individuals signed up to speak on matters that are not on the agenda and I'll ask them to keep their remarks to three minutes or less. Our first speaker this evening is um Sarah Faster Bailey. Good evening. As we are all aware, one of the founding principles of our country is the democratic process. AFT has been advocating publicly for a collective bargaining agreement for well over two years now. At the November board meeting, Mr. Salisbury confirmed the process for moving forward with collective bargaining as we understand it. This is an opportunity for the board to show its commitment to the democratic process and its respect for local agency and autonomy. I'm here tonight to ask once again that this board followed the democratic democratic process, pass

148the resolution, and let the staff vote on if they want to unionize and who they'd like to represent them. If changes are needed to the resolution, we are requesting to sit down and discuss how we can move forward. At a time when the democratic process is under attack from multiple agencies, open lines of communication are essential to continue to protect public education, its staff, and students. We want to ensure the passage of a resolution that is fair, democratic, and representative of all Faget County teachers, staff, and students. We look forward to a response. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Faster Bay. Our next speaker is Heather Cherry. Miss Cherry, you have three minutes. Thank you, Mr. Cherry. Um, at this time, I entertain a motion to make the agenda date of February 2nd, 2026, on

149which action has been taken this meeting a part of the minutes as if copied in the minutes verbatim. Is there a motion to that effect? >> So moved. >> Motion by Bor Mundy. Is there a second? >> Second by board Christian. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? [clears throat] Motion carries. 5-0. This time, as Dr. Lincoln indicated the board does have a need to go into close session pursuant to KS61.810 uh section 1 paragraph C for the discussion of proposed repeating litigation in KS61.810 section 1 paragraph F for discussions of allegations that if substantiated may lead to personnel actions. The board will reconvene in open session and if necessary take any action required pursuant to those discussions. I'll now entertain a motion to enter close session for the stated reasons. >>

150I move we enter close session for the stated reasons. >> A motion by Boran Green. Is there a second? >> Second. Second by board member Monday. All in favor of entering close session for the stated reason say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. It's 8:12 p.m. The board is now in close session. We'll reconvene and take any action if necessary. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> up. Woah. Woah. >> [music] >> W [music] up Pap. Wo. Pap. of the world. Up the wall, of the world, [music] of the world. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. Oh, wait. Heat. Heat. N. >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] >>

151Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> every [music] single >> [music] [music] >> I don't know. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Uh-oh. Whoa. Whoa. W. [music] Wow. All right. >> [music] >> of the world. The world of the world. Pap [music] up the of the world. I'm the [music] >> [music] [music] >> You love me. >> [music] [music] >> Oh, hey. Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey. Wow. Heat. Oh, I feel I want Heat. Heat. Heat. >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Hey, Heat. [music] [music] Hey, hey, hey. [music] Oh crap, we did not think about money. 8:46. Everyone was just eager to

152get out. Any of you in favor of leaving close session? >> Sorry, you're fine. >> Yes. I Yes. Sorry. >> Is every Are we good back there? Okay. Uh, thank you everybody. The board uh left closed session on a motion by board member Green, a second by Bora Monday uh in a vote of 50-0 at 8:46 p.m. No further action being necessary. I'll now entertain a motion to adjourn this meeting of the County Board of Education. Is there a motion? I move we adjourn tonight's meeting. >> Motion by Bormer Green, second by Bormer Christian. All in favor of adjournment say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. Stay warm everybody. >> Too late for that. [music] >> [music]