001[music] me. >> [music] >> Come on. [music] [music] Come on. Come on. >> [music] [music] >> Ford was built on the belief that the world doesn't get to decide what you're capable of. You do. [music] So ask yourself, can you or can't you? Can you load [music] up a Ford F-150 and build your dream with sweat and steel? Can you chase thrills and conquer curves in a Mustang? Can you take a Bronco to where the map [music] ends and adventure begins? Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right. Ready, set, Ford. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. [music] Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> We've all been there before. Gift freeze. That terrible feeling when you just don't know what to get someone. But at Bob's Discount Furniture, you can score great
002gifts for everyone on your list. Give the gift of happy hosting with a stylish kitchen island. Gift big with a gliding recliner for the afternoon snoozers. I've even got stuff for the kiddos like my super comfy sploosh chairs. HOLIDAY THE BOB'S way for haggle and hassle-free gifting. >> Oh my [music] >> Bob's discount furniture. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hey. Heat [music] up [music] >> [music] [music] >> We're going to go ahead and call this December meeting of the board to order. Looks like we have um everyone present but our student representative. Is that correct? Y >> and with that we'll move on to if you stand for the national anthem. We have a video. Say you see by the [singing] dawn early light. [music] But so proudly we at this wild [singing and music]
003last gleaming whose cross stripes and bright stars [singing] [music] through the perilous fight for [singing] the red hearts we watch were so [singing] gallently streaming and the rockets [music] The bumps burst singing [music] air gave proof through the [singing] night that our flag [music] was still there. Oh, [singing] say does that are spangled yet. for the [singing] land of the free and the [singing] home of the >> And if you'll remain standing for the pledge led by students from Man Elementary. to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God indivisible. >> All right. >> We have still get to leave this Good job, by the way. >> They're bringing good. >> You sure about that? >> Who's your favorite superintendent? >> [laughter] >>
004answer. >> Always pick us over. [laughter] >> Thank you, >> Sean. Nope. All right, hold them up. We're going to get a picture. Are y'all ready? Did you guys want to thank the principal for >> They're running out of the room. My goodness. >> Places, things to do, play, people to see. All right. Uh, thanks one more time for the students from Man Elementary. We appreciate them being here. And with that, we move on to good news items, Dr. Housewalker. Uh, yes. Thank you, Chairman Parks. And good evening, everyone. December's break the mold award winner is Cooper High School chemistry teacher Melissa Hall. Miss Hall is said to have a tremendous uh impact on our students and colleagues with her positive attitude, her cand spirit, and her in infectious smile. She has talent to simp
005to simplify difficult content to make learning easier. And you're going to get a little glimpse into the work she does in this video. >> Good. >> Oh, wait. No. >> Yes. >> Melissa Hall has taught every form of chemistry class in her eight years at Cooper High School. In her classes, her students are scientists. Today, these student scientists are transforming ordinary chemicals into moments of pure colored light. >> That's very bright. >> I love Miss Hall. Um, at first I was really scared of chemistry cuz everyone says that it's like super hard. >> Today in pre-AP chemistry was the flame test lab. The task was to identify a set of unknowns by observing the color they produced when incinerated. students goggled up and pulled their hair back. >> Sometimes when I can get them out
006of their seats, it does make them engage with the content more and it just keeps their minds a little more active and they don't um drift off on me as much if we can get up and we can do something. This science lab with a faint smell of typical lab vapors erupted into a focused chaotic orchestra of Bunson burners and various chemicals as student scientists held individual cotton swabs, each with a different chemical to a flame. >> Oh, it's the fiery red. >> What I really like is that as a teacher, she's always uh really interactive with all the students. You know, she helps us on our work when we need it. even though chemistry could be hard for some, they can take risk and know that it's a safe place that she's going to
007help explain, break it down further uh to get them uh to the end result. >> She knows her stuff and she knows how to get students to get to that point. Um she's an all-star teacher in my opinion as far as chemistry goes, which is a subject almost no one likes to learn, >> except anyone that takes any chemistry class from Mrs. Hall. Cody goel, also a chemistry teacher, says she has an interesting way to teach her students how to focus to understand the lesson. >> For example, if you're losing weight, it's typically a positive thing. So, if we're losing an electron, becoming positive. If we're gaining electrons or gaining weight, it's looked at more negatively. So, that was like a quick little easy way that she's kind of had kids kind of remember some
008things. So, she has a lot of very cool, neat ways to kind of do those. >> Whether they're going to the workforce or they're going to college, they need critical thinking skills. And when you're in chemistry class, you have to figure out how things work. I've had classes um like advanced classes where the teachers aren't very intentional. And although it's a subject I really am interested and I really like, the teaching isn't very like hands-on. They're kind of just like, oh, like you do your own thing. Whereas Miss Hall, like she'll go out of her way and make you notes. She'll go out of her way and like actually try to help you or show you things. >> I think just the connection that she forms with students, you know, goes a long way. Um
009it's not just we come in class to learn, but we come in class knowing that we have a teacher that cares for us truly and, you know, looks uh looks out for us the best. >> And you're not her son. >> I am not her son. No. >> Just to be clear, Mrs. Hall's son is also in one of her chemistry classes. >> Her motto is kids don't care how much you know until they know how much you care and she embodies that. She sees a need and she feels it. And whether that's Cooper can that she works with another colleague with which is a very large serviceoriented group that we have here, Cooper Academy of Math and Science, she's on that committee as well. um to um uh the Hawksworth blood drive. There's if
010if there's a need, uh she sees it and is willing to help it. >> She's pretty much been my mentor as I've been here. Congratulations, Melissa, on getting Break the Mold. >> Congratulations, Miss Hall, on winning Break the Mold. We're so proud of you, >> Miss Hall. Congratul Congratulations on uh Breaking the Mold. Just I encourage you. uh you know from my own experience I've loved this class just the your teaching style in that so I encourage you to just continue uh just teaching the way you do Mrs. all thank you for all that you do in our classroom. The break the mold award uh going to you is so deserving. Uh you are caring. You are an expert in chemistry. You lead uh the team of teachers there in chemistry to leading our students
011in Cooper can to the Hawksworth blood drive and a committee member for our Cooper Academy of Math and Science. Uh you're involved in so many aspects of our school and it's much appreciated. Congratulations. [applause] Come on up, Mrs. Hall. [applause] family photo. And right there, >> if you talk in here, people at home can hear. So you can face family or the audience. >> Um, so I won't be able to say much because I'm too emotional person. Um, but thank you for this and thank you for letting me be a little part of your kids's life. That's all I can say. [applause] Good news item two. 12 Boone County schools reach gold PBIS status. Congratulations to the following schools rece for receiving the gold recognition for their high quality and faithful implementation of positive behavioral
012interventions and support PBIS which is an evidencebased pro framework for improving school climate and student behavior. The gold award signifies that the school has achieved a high level of success in creating clear expectations teaching and practicing positive behaviors. PBIS is a vital component of tier 1 MTSS social emotional behavioral implementation. Tara Hall from KDE is also here to recognize our schools. And the schools are Am I gonna do that or you're gonna do it? That'd be great. Absolutely. >> Elementary school. >> Oh. Uh, can you Well, hang on just a second. If you guys will stay up here, but if you'll speak into the microphone, people at home can hear as well. I know. >> You're welcome. We're glad you're here. All >> [snorts] >> right. Good elementary school. Kelly Elementary School. Yay Elementary School.
013[applause] Aurman Elementary, Man Elementary School, North Point Elementary School, [cheering] [applause] Urban Beck Elementary, [applause] Thorn Wild Elementary, school, [applause] Riyle High School, and Aerman Middle School. [applause] You have to ask >> [laughter] >> Not sure. Heather, you're not working anymore. >> [applause] >> Thank you very much for that. By the way, good news item three, Jones Middle School ENKU recognition. Congratulations to Jones Middle School. They were recognized by ENKU last week as a friend of the college. It's an award ENKU presents to valued school partners who go above and beyond to support ENKU students. Our very own Dr. Deweiler was the keynote speaker. Uh we'd like to thank uh Dr. Deweiler uh the principal Stacy Park uh Akaran Middle School U teacher Brent Ansat and who received the Friends of the College award. Uh
014if they would come forward uh to tell us a little bit about what this recognition means. And I believe uh that Dr. Deweiler is also going to read a statement. So I don't know who wants to go first but uh step into the microphone. So this is an award uh given to us by ENKU as friend of the college and it is because of our partnership with ENKU. Um Jones Middle School has a wonderful staff of teacher that teachers that uh represent mentors for our ENKU uh teaching students. They come in for observations. they spend time [snorts] um a as uh student teaching and we have a group of teachers that spend a lot of time working with them and uh this is a partnership that I have with Dr. Falner and Dr. Deco but
015primarily um it is earned by the teacher mentors so very proud of them they do a lot of work and it is um very helpful to Jones and to our community NKU community at large In addition to Jones being recognized for the partnership, also Brent Anststead, who is a middle school teacher at Auckerman Middle School, was also recognized at NQ for the work that he's done in partnership. And he has a statement. He couldn't be here this evening, so I told him I would read it for him. He said, "It's an honor to be recognized by the Northern Kentucky University, the college that prepped me into being the teacher I am today. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to ENKU for reaching out to Auckerman Middle School in Boone County to have us
016partner with them to help mold some of the best future teachers in our area. I truly thank ENKU for giving me the privilege to work with the remarkable college students. Guiding future educators, those who will soon step into classrooms and shape the lives of our youth has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. The collaboration, dedication here strengthens our community and inspires all of us to keep striving for excellence in education. Thank you, Brent and Stat. So that's for Brent. [applause] I think we have another do five and then all right we're gonna while they're here we're going to do good news item number five and then we'll come back to four tonight out as a reminder outside companies play a vital role in strengthening local schools by bringing in fresh resources
017diverse expertise and additional support and additional support that students and teachers might not otherwise have access to when businesses volunteer their time common services. They help enrich learning experiences, build students confidence, and show young people how their community works together for their success. These partnerships also foster a sense of connection and shared responsibility, demonstrating that education is a communitywide effort and that everyone has a part to play in helping students. This is a story of Jones Middle School in L'Oreal. And this is part of our uh efforts to recognize so many of our community businesses uh and organizations that play such a vital role. And we have a video to share at this time. >> Dude, this there's a lot of peppers. I'm not even done on the ghost peppers. In the heart of Jones
018Middle School, a vibrant partnership has taken root, transforming the school's landscape and community spirit. It all began when L'Oreal approached Jones about L'Oreal's Global Citizens Day program. >> We go out and uh give back to the local communities at all of our facilities, manufacturing plants, distribution centers. >> L'Oreal has a distribution center that employs 100 people just down the road in Walton. And with nearly 500 total employees locally, they approached Jones Middle School principal Stacy Park and family resource coordinator Jaylen Clark about the needs at Jones. JN in 2024 kind of explained to our employees when we came. We did a kickoff meeting and explained the why. It's very interesting to see the diversity of the kids here, the families and uh you know socioeconomic challenges of the community. I worked uh very closely with
019him on the garden project kind of designing it and refining it and uh making improvements over the year. the design of it. So, we built uh raised garden beds utilizing a an area in the middle of the school and then a year later we enhanced it. We added some irrigation. We added covers on all the gardens and uh did some touchup work. That space was just, you know, two two grass mounds and now it is this beautiful space setup that's been mulched. It's got like freshly stained wooded beds, lattice fences across the place, picnic tables that some of our other community partners have donated. I mean, it's really it's really awesome. >> The garden has has really blossomed for us in a lot of ways. Our students have learned how to grow um vegetables that
020they've never even had a gardener. And I enjoy watching the kids go out and just visit through the garden and talk about, oh, I'm watching for that tomato to get a little riper and then I'm coming back. >> We had looked at student access to the garden and kind of teaching them the process of growing from start to finish, harvesting, maybe a few tips and tricks. Year one here, it was let's just get out and get our hands dirty, put something in the dirt, see what happens. I started last year and then last year we like grew stuff and then it over the summer like more stuff grew and then in eighth grade we started like picking the plants and we would like wash them. In seventh grade we made a salad too and we
021tried it and it was pretty good. I I mean I didn't like it but the others did. >> The fruits of L'Oreal's labor with the start of one simple garden led to an invitation to a state competition a few months ago. >> Some way somehow shout out to everybody at district office that helped us out with the process. We took about eight kids down to the convention center in Louisville and the kids got to compete in the salsa competition. They came in third place, but we made a little mango salsa from directly from all the things from the garden and one mango from the store. And I mean, the people loved it. >> If you don't do the best, it can that means it can do better, which means you have to try to make
022it taste better. Feeling like you help the school is a good feeling. and like I don't know, it just feels good. It's calming. >> The Jones L'Oreal partnership has become a cornerstone of the school community. Students learned about gardening, sustainability, and the value of community service. >> The opportunity that the garden brings from my perspective um is the education of the children on how to garden, but also the fruits of that can be shared with the community. We packaged everything together and we sold it back to the community. We made about $140 that's going to go directly towards our winter program that we're working with the Kentucky State University. Kids are getting new gloves. Kids are getting their own personal spades from the garden. >> L'Oreal's commitment hasn't ended with the garden. Employees keep coming
023back volunteering their time for various other jobs. >> The people at L'Oreal, they are so genuine. They have helped us in so many different ways with donations, not even just the garden project itself. They come in, they clean the building. They take care of different, you know, paint jobs around the building, organizations, building things. >> We've had them come in and work with students. I've also sent parents to them. They were looking for workers at one point. The gratitude that we feel here at Jones for all the things that L'Oreal has done for us um can't be really said. The partnership makes us feel like we are part of the community. >> L'Oreal demonstrated that a company's success isn't just measured in profits, but in the positive impact they have on their community. This evolving
024story of Jones Middle School and L'Oreal is a testament to the power of collaboration and the idea that every small act of service can cultivate a better future for everyone involved. >> [applause] >> you on the microphone. It's a tremendation of everything you all do. So, we're going to get some And if we could have maybe Stacy if you'd like to speak from Jones and then maybe somebody from L'Oreal will also take the microphone but we'll do a photo first. Okay. We are presenting a crystal bowl for our community partnership uh recognition and you may see it there. But more important than the bowl is they can't come anywhere close to filling uh to to only putting the vegetables in that bowl. You saw the amount of produce that's been prod. It's truly amazing. Stay
025right there and would you like to say something and then I'll rep some of our partners. >> Okay. So L'Oreal um this partnership started two years ago. Um so we've gone through two different summers with L'Oreal. We are forever grateful. Um it started out kind of by happen stance just problem solving and thinking together with Megan and uh it's blossomed into this wonderful partnership and I just can't wait to see how far it goes and where it goes from here because it's just a kind of brainstorming ideas and things come up and we just make it happen. So thank you. Thank you. I don't Somebody has to >> We're not going to make you. We >> No, no, no. It's good. So, I'm here uh with members of the leadership team. We have two local
026facilities. If you don't know, we have a manufacturing plant uh in Florence and then a distribution center down in Walton. So, on behalf of uh the 500 employees that work uh at our facilities, uh we're very proud uh and very grateful to receive this award. Um, honestly, we have to get a copy of that video to show our teams. Uh, it honestly choked me up a little bit to see it. So, um, a special call out to, uh, the Ari Jones and Collins staff for for having us there, uh, helping us facilitate and coordinate all the volunteer activities. L'Oreal does this globally. They stop all operations and they get our employees out, um, to help the local communities. So, uh, again, genuinely honored. Thank you very much. And, uh, honestly, we do look forward to
027continuing this partnership to help, uh, you know, support the the local next generation. So, thank you. [applause] >> So, we do have a few gifts. So, for the board and the staffs of this school, you can take that later. Yeah. Okay. >> Thank you all so much. All right, Carol, you are next. Are we ready? Would you like me to read and then stand or you want everybody to stare at you while I'm reading it? Your choice. >> Well, you look Come on up here and we'll we'll flank you. How's that? When we read the This is a huge celebration. It's it's really hard sometimes to just stand up in front of everybody and and hear your accolades, but uh Carol, you deserve this. So, this is good news item four. Boone County Schools employee
028receives the NAACP presidents award. Congratulations to FAST team member Carol Alexander for winning the NAACP president's award at the annual NAACP Freedom Fund Gala last month. The President's Award is awarded each year to a person in the community for their outstanding community service and leadership. Miss Alexander has worked for Boone County Schools on the FAST team for almost 26 years. when she where she visits homes of students who struggle to attend school. She's a strong advocate for us for children to be present at school every day because she believes and she knows that they have the best chance for a successful outlook in life when they're in school. And I know personally uh last year Miss Alex is her 25th year and we were doing interviews and I had a chance to have a conversation
029with her at the district office and her dedication to Boone County schools and the students is just absolutely outstanding. So, let's give Miss Alexander just a tremendous round of applause. [applause] And we're going to get a photo, Miss Alexander. So, [applause] >> we're going to give you microphone. >> I just wanted to take the opportunity to read uh my award. It said that president's award Carol Alexander Boone County Schools dedicated to serving education dedicated to serving family. Dedicated to serving the community through inspiration and putting service before self. November 7th, 2025. And you know, you don't like to brag on yourself, but this hits me. I mean, it really hits me. [applause] >> Well, because I believe in being a servant of the Lord. >> That's so sweet. >> And how can you, you know,
030you just got to be useful and that's what all he wants you to do. And so this job has been so rewarding to myself. I'm sorry I get kind of choked up, but you know, being able to talk to parents and children and let them know the importance of their education and they have to be in school in order to get it. You know, some parents are really grateful that I talk with them. Know some a little bit crazy, but you know, but you know, most of all, it's been so rewarding. And what's rewarding is when you see the children after they've gotten out of school and they say, "Ah, Miss Alexander, I made it. I made it. And I'm doing this. I'm going there. I'm going to school." You know, that is so rewarding
031to me and it just puts all the effort that I put in my job well worth it. I'm honored to get this and thank you all for the recognition. [applause] [applause] >> [applause] >> Sorry. It's okay. Let's give this out. [applause] Okay. And that is the end of our good news because nobody wants to follow that. So, and nobody can. All right. I turn it back over to Chairman Parks. >> All right. Uh, so we our student board member isn't here tonight, so we're going to move on to item six, right? And turn the meeting over to Dr. Housewalt. >> Yeah, I could have just skipped over item five. I forgot uh that Mr. Wyoff was excused from the meeting tonight, but I don't have anything specific to share as part of the superintendent's report
032tonight. Thank you. Okay. All right. Multiple signup sheets. So bear with me. All right. We're going to move on to item seven. This the audience of citizens portion of our meeting. The board welcomes the opportunity to hear from the community and inform the board of your views on matters before the board. Please keep in mind the board of education agenda is set and by statute the board can only discuss the items that are present on the agenda. The board cannot legally nor would the board discuss any issues specific to an employee or a student in respect to privacy. These meetings are streamed live on YouTube. Please be respectful in your comments. If you have a concern that you'd like a response from the administration, feel free to leave your information with Mr. Eric Ball uh
033right over here. Keep your comments to two minutes so that all wish to speak may speak and gift giving of time to another person and yielding your time. I'm not permitting that. All right, with that being said, like I said, we have for whatever reason multiple signup sheets. So, I'm going to go with number one on one sheet, which is which is uh Bonnie Shbert. >> If I said your name wrong, I apologize. >> It's all good. >> Good evening. My name is Bonnie Shert. I am currently a teacher in Boone County. I stand before you today to request the board to create a policy that includes paid parental leave as Kentucky Senate Bill 9 requires. I began my teaching career in Ohio and accumulated over 10 sick 10 years of sick days before transferring
034to Boone County in 2008. Within the first two weeks of teaching that year, my husband and I learned we were expecting [snorts] our first child. To say we were ecstatic is an understatement. Unfortunately, later in the pregnancy, I was put on bed rest for several months. An expected joyous occasion quickly turned to fear of financial income and compromising my own self-care. Once having 10 years of sick days, equivalent of a paid year off work to no paid maternity leave and only 10 sick days, our blessing became a nightmare of financial concerns. Thankfully though, our daughter was born healthy. However, I had to plan to save sick days for the next three years before having enough to cover another maternity leave. Since then, I have consistently brought attention to the need for parental leave to be
035added to our teaching contract. Not only on my own experience, but countless co-workers have felt the torment of making decisions about creating a family based on the lack of pay paid medical leave. In a profession that is predominantly female, the discrimination between accumulated sick days of male teachers to those of female teachers is truly ridiculous. A mother should never compromise their own self-care and time with the newborn to return to work from financial strain. Our state legislators recognize this problem and passed Senate Bill 9 in April. Currently, 90 districts in Kentucky have already implemented this policy, yet not us. Why? No negotiation is needed because it is the law. Only a policy is necessary to grant teachers this precious time. And for the teacher expecting twins in February, those expecting in spring, and those to
036keep qualified young teachers in our district, I strongly request the board add this policy effective January 1st of 2026. You can even backdate it to the beginning of the school year like Lincoln and Cloverport districts did. There is no time to waste. Our teachers deserve the support from our county just as our state has already provided. Thank you. [applause] >> Charlie, did you sign this list? You were in a hurry. if you did. >> I said, "Okay, never mind. Go ahead, Mr. Buffano." >> Good evening. I'm Charlie Buffano, president of the Boone County Classified Employees Association. I'm here this evening to encourage the adoption and passage of a policy of all childbearing leave for all educators, including education support personnel. While there has been some discussion about constraint with the BCA contract, there isn't, but
037that is another matter. But since the BCCA does not have a bargaining agreement with the board, there is no incumbent to instituting a childbearing leave policy in line with Senate Bill 9. The Boone County Board of Education needs to be a leader and join the other 90 plus districts in the Commonwealth and institute such a policy. Why wait for 2030 to be a follower when you can be a leader now? Thank you, [applause] >> Kimberly Cox. Welcome. >> Good evening. My name is Kimberly Cox and I am a parent of a student at a Boone County School and a parent representative on their school sitebased decision-making council. I am also a constituent of board member Julie Maddox. I'm here to ask the board to please consider voting no on approving life wise lifewise services. I
038have nothing against children receiving voluntary moral instruction. However, I don't believe it should be during the school day. Of my various concerns, the major ones are logistical complications and disruption to learning. As a member of the sitebased council, I am aware of the daunting annual task of setting the schedule, ensuring that students receive a perfect balance of classes that meet their learning needs and set them up to be as successful as possible in meeting the state standards. We also need to account for lunches, recess, and the countless other activities that make up a student's daily routine. These schedules are catered to the specific needs of students at that school. So, each of the nearly 30 schools in Bu County have its own unique schedule based on grade level and classes offered at the school. Here
039are the potential issues I I foresee. It'll take longer than 1 hour for children to gather their things, make their way to the central spot for pickup, be signed out, travel to the location, get settled to their activities, travel back to the school, get signed in, and return to their school day, both mentally and physically. Two, the effect this will have on students who do not participate. The law states that these students shall receive nonredit enrichment courses such as study hall or tutorial assistance. These students will unnecessarily miss out on core related instruction due to decisions made outside of their control. Three, the potential disruption of this can cause teachers um can be a disruption for teachers in their lesson plans. My understanding is that teachers build their units over the course of weeks. Each
040day, the student is building on what they learn and it culminates in a project, test, or presentation. The loss of approximately 26 hours in a curriculum could put students behind in comparison to their peers in other districts. Thank you for your attention in this matter. [applause] >> Uh, Linda Ligus. >> Well, um, I am here to support Lifewise. I think it's a wonderful program. It's been passed by the Supreme Court in 1952. So that the we have the constitutional right as long as it is offsite. It is parent approved. So if you don't want your child to be a part of this, you simply say you don't. Um and that it is not funded by the school, it's funded by volunteers. Um I enjoyed watching the film of L'Oreal and the them the children learning
041how to grow vegetables. Well, you know, if we can take time to do that kind of thing and the parents would like their children to have one hour a week that could be during recess, we can make time for that. We can make time for the fruit of the spirit. We saw the sweet lady come up that had invested all those hours into students. And what did she say? She said that she was a servant of the Lord. Throughout their life, the children will be able to lead lean on their faith. Sometimes in life, it seems like the only time it's appropriate in the public to say prayer is when a tragedy happens. But how about we teach the kids, give them that extra tool of faith to know that they have a creator that
042loves them and they can have that the rest of their life. Thank you, [applause] [clears throat] >> Amber Hoffman. Welcome. >> Hello. My name is Amber Hoffman and I'm going to keep this short and sweet tonight. I wanted to discuss the Lifewise Academy and legal issues facing the Ohio program. There was a lawsuit brought by Lifewise against a parent for copyright infringement when the parent exposed the content of the curriculum taught within the program. Um, what this seems to me is to be an attempt to bully and intimidate this parent. There's also a director of Life Lifewise that got caught into legal trouble for sexing a student at a previous employment. um prior to taking her position at Lifewise. I don't know about the rest of Boom County parents, but I can assure you I
043do not want an organization associated with either of these legal issues in Boone County schools operating for any reason. The second issue I have is that I'm here as a constituent of the board member who sat on the board last month and said that they could not vote for the support of counselors that considered themselves LGBTQIA allies for essentially fairing of woke indoctrination concerns brought to her by her constituents. and I would like to publicly express my concern about this program, the Lifewise program, um, as her constituent and asked that she does not support a program that has already released their content showing that they will teach public school children anti-LGBTQIA rhetoric such as God only believes in two genders and being gay is sinful, which ironically is the exact opposite of the belief of
044the LGBTQIA allies, as this would appear as an endorsement for religious indoctrination and public school children. and I would hate for her to appear as if she is anti-LGBTQIA and has an agenda of her own to promote here on the board and in public schools. Thank you. [applause] >> Taylor Seismore, welcome. >> Good evening. My name is Taylor Seismore and I am currently the program director for Lifewise here in Boone County. I stand up here today not only in support of our program but in support of all of the parents that might not have been able to make it here tonight. Um a couple days ago we made out a call to the community and we asked if you want this for your students then speak up. And in that we have acquired a list
045of 150 individuals within the county that do want this. And on top of that we already have 78 students pre-enrolled to do this. So this is showing that this is something that is wanted in our county. This is not something that we're bringing in and it's not supported by the community. We do understand that there will be some religious differences, but at the end of the day, this program is is supported by Zorek versus Clawson as well as Senate Bill 19. It's not if students are allowed to do it. It's what programs are we allowing it, which I understand and I hope that we've turned in all the proper paperwork to show that to you guys. I want to reiterate that our goal is to not start off with all 20,000 students. That's impossible, right?
046We have a small team right now and it's constantly growing every single day. We ask give us one school, give us one grade level. Let us show you how this can work because LifeWise at the end of the day started in one school and now it is serving 30 in it is serving over a 100,000 students in 34 different states. This has been proven to be successful in those programs and we want to do this within full accordance of the law. We do not want to step out of bounds of the law. We want to do this within the one hour with parent permission with it being privately funded. And also, we want to do that in good standing with not only the school board, but local principles. We don't want to come in and
047bulldoze and make this program be forced. We want this to be parent choice. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Uh, Jacob, excuse me, [clears throat] Jacob Seismore. >> Welcome. >> Thank you. >> My name is Jacob Seismore and I'm here tonight to speak in support of allowing Lifewise into our school system. I want to begin by abs by being absolutely clear. Lifewise is optional. It's an opportunity for families who want this for the children. Nothing more, nothing less. No student is required to participate. This is simply another resource available to parents who believe it would benefit their child. Also know that when we talk about any program involving students, safety is the top concern. My wife is the program director and I have personally seen the level of care, organization, and commitment that she puts into
048this program. She's gone above and beyond to ensure that every student is safe, accounted for, and cared for in a structured environment. I've watched her spend countless hours working to make this kind of program any making this a program that any parent would feel comfortable sending their child to. I support Lifewise not just because of that, but because I know from experience what a program like this can do. When I was in school, I attended a similar program and it genuinely changed my life. It shaped my character and helped me become the person I am today. For many students, having one additional positive voice in their week can make all the difference. And I think we all understand that our kids today are facing pressures and struggles that are heavier and than ever. In our
049own county, we have tragically seen young people take their own lives in recent years. Our students are hurting. They need hope. They need to know that they matter. Lifewise provides an additional outside voice telling them exactly that, that they have value, they have purpose, and that there is a better way forward when life feels overwhelming. We can't fix every problem. And we can't give and we but we can give parents the option to face to place their children in a program that encourages them, supports them, and speaks life into them. For many kids, that voice can be powerful like it was for me. Thank you for your time and your commitment to doing what's best for our children and our community. [applause] Um, Caitlyn, if you're a student, you don't have to speak, right? Kaitton
050Morans, I don't know where you're at, but okay. move on. Um, Sean Maul, welcome. Who are these tall? I know stool. Good evening. First, let me thank you for your thoughtful conversation last month. The concerns and questions you brought up are the same I'm hearing from parents and staff members throughout the district. I'm here to urge you tonight to decline the application from Lifewise Academy to provide moral instruction in our district. This isn't a small local church program. Lifewise is a national branded organization that pays for lobbyists to expand its business models across the United States. There have been real concerns raised about the organization itself. In Ohio, a former Lifewise employee alleged that she was asked to falsify documentation for the organization. Those allegations were serious enough to lead to a complaint and legal
051action involving the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. Lifewise then argued through the Ohio Supreme Court that it should be exempt from investigation because it is a religious entity. I don't trust a company that has used the legal argument that it should be exempt from investigations. Uh they should be approved or should they be approved and something happens. How does this district feel about defending itself against this type of religious slippery slope? And at what cost to taxpayers? When public entities like our schools end up assisting a private organization like Lifewise or any other organization that should apply for a moral instruction program, we are effectively using taxpayer resources to support the private organization's mission. A mission many in our community do not agree with. Yet, our kids would still be impacted. In my opinion, from the
052concerns expressed in the November meeting, there are just too many logistical issues and unanswered questions for any organization to be approved now or in the future. For the sake of our students, our instructional time, and our already overtasked teachers, I respectfully ask that you decline the application for Lifewise. Thank you, [applause] >> Julie Brown. Welcome. >> Hi. Thank you. Thank you for the time to speak this evening, especially with the incoming weather. I appreciate you all being here. My name is Julie Brown and I am the proud mom to two beautiful boys who attend Long Branch. Um, I'm here this evening to urge you to not approve the proposal from Lifewise Academy to enter our school system. I've had the opportunity to read their proposal as presented to the board, and none of it would
053alleviate your previous concerns or the concerns of the teachers who spoke last month. concerns of safety, equity for other students, or simply the incredible burden of time restraints that will be put on teachers and staff to facilitate. While all of those concerns still remain, I want to spend my time focusing on Lifewise Academy as an organization. Lifewise is funded by private donations and largely backed by the National Christian Foundation, who as a fundraising organization funnels millions of dollars to recognized hate groups. A quick Google search will show you that Lifewise is and has been embroiled in lawsuits ranging from civil rights violations to suing the parents of their own academy for sharing their curriculum on social media. Additionally, there are plenty of stories of children who have faced discrimination or bullying based on their choice
054to not attend Lifewise Academy. Finally, I would encourage you all to read a document that's given to Lifewise instructors, which I have here and I'm happy to share entitled difficult questions from students, uh, which includes some really terrifying answers. Religious instruction, which is what LifeWise Academy delivers, does not belong in public school. There are around seven private religious schools in Boone County that parents can utilize if they wish for their children to receive that type of education. Facilitating Lifewise Academy attendance is not feasible for Boone County and nor should it ever impose on the very precious classroom time when it could so easily be done outside of school. Oh, and it's 2025. Give the teachers and staff paid paternal leave. Thank you, [applause] >> Micah Smith. Welcome. >> Yeah. So, thank you guys for the
055opportunity. Um, I'm here in support of Lifewise uh Academy. Listen, the thing is Boone County, your your motto is achieving excellence together. That's exactly what we're here to do. We're not This isn't a us versus them, them versus us situation. We're here to say, listen, these kids are so vulnerable at this stage that we want to take the time to speak life into them. It's not about indoctrinating them with Christian um ideologies and trying to push an agenda. It's about saying, "Hey, no, in this we're trying to build moralistic uh youth that are raised up in love, that are raised up in peace, that are raised up in in a place that they know that they can feel the love that they may not experience at home. It's just it's it's a program that is
056not trying to, as some stated, to to try to exclude other students." this note. Christianity is actually the complete opposite. It's about including. It's about loving others as yourself. Jesus taught nothing but to love others as yourself and to put others above yourself. We're trying to bring up students to love one another and to teach them a way that carries them through life. In life, you have differences. In life, you're not going to agree with everybody to your left or to your right. And why is school any different? If there's other clubs, if there's other opportunities for students to be a part of that don't support what we believe, we don't say those things should be shut down. And I get those are not during school hours or whatever have you. But why should we
057shut down our thing or not not approve it just because other programs don't approve of it? No, I say let's practice our freedom of speech as this country is built on and let's let's make it available for all students who want it. And if students don't want it, that's okay. We're not going to belittle them or ostracize them. No, we're going to say, "Hey, we still love you." And because here's what we're here to teach them. We're here to teach them respect. We're here to teach them inclusion. We're here to teach them uh things that are going to carry them not just through school, but through life. And that's what we're here for. It's not It's not us trying to build our own kingdom. It's us trying to build a culture of people who love
058one another. [applause] Angie Ryder Welcome. >> Hi. Thanks. I'm speaking about an issue that is not just policy, but profoundly human. The need for meaningful, great, guaranteed paid maternity leave for Boone County School employees, a workforce largely composed of women. I stand here as an educator and as a mother who faced serious medical complications during both pregnancies. My doctors put me on strict bed rest before and after childirth to prevent a possible stroke. That medically required time forced me into unpaid leave, and the consequences didn't end when my children were born. Unpaid leave meant losing income when my family needed it most. It meant losing retirement credit and step increases, both major financial setbacks to the retirement benefits I've spent my career building. This isn't just unfortunate, it's discriminatory. Pregnancy affects women and when a
059policy disproportionately harms women, discrimination is the result, intended or not. Boone County prides itself on excellence. So what do excellent districts do? Excellent districts lead. They don't cling to minimal standards. Kentucky Senate Bill 9 requires all districts to adopt maternity leave policies by 2030. 90 school districts in Kentucky already offer at least six weeks of paid maternity leave. Fixing this is not complicated. A maternity leave policy does not require reopening the contract. The framework already exists. What's missing is the will. The board is choosing delays and excuses while other districts are supporting their employees. Every day of delay also reinforces a troubling message from the Department of Education that they no longer see us as professionals. You have the power to prove them wrong by acting now. At its heart, this isn't bureaucracy. It's about
060people. It's about the teacher carrying a high-risisk pregnancy while caring for hundreds of her students. It's about a professional who can't afford unpaid leave but must follow her doctor's orders. It's about every teacher who gives so much to this district and deserves a fraction of that care in return. Boone County employees and their children deserve better. I urge you to choose leadership, humanity, compassion, and fairness. Boone County families are counting on you. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. [applause] I also have um what I really wanted to say instead of the twominut limit. So yes, thank you. I have one for each of you. >> Thank you. I will take that when I get over there. All right. Uh Brian Moore or Warner or Okay. Sorry, I could had a W or an M. I
061don't really know. >> Yeah. >> Welcome. >> Uh, good evening. My name is Brian Mau and I've lived in Boone County most of my life and I'm a product of Boone County schools. I was raised Catholic and for years I attended catechism classes every Wednesday night at St. Paul between 6 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. My religious education happened there at church outside of the school day where it belongs. What Boone County schools gave me was something just as important. A grounding in civics, American history, and critical thinking. And at Boone County High School, through speech and debate, I learned to evaluate arguments, weigh evidence, and stand up here tonight to speak. Just one month ago, this board voted four to one against allowing religious organizations like Lifewise to operate during an instructional time. That vote
062was thoughtful, deliberate, and correct. What has changed since then is not the policy or its impact. It's pressure. And persistent pressure, while admirable, is never a reason to overturn good judgment. John Adams warned that the union of government and religion tends to destroy government and degrade religion. And I believe he was right. Justice Sandra Day Okconor, a Kuckian, former Supreme Court justice and one of our country's strongest voices on religious liberty during her time, warned that when we blur the line between church and state, we risk trading a system that has served us well for one that has failed so many others. That principle should guide this discussion. Why weaken a boundary that protects and serves every student well? Why change something that's already working? After all, dividing students into religious and non-religious groups in
063the middle of the instructional day disrupts lessons, forces teachers to pause and adjust, and requires administrators to repeatedly coordinate student movement and supervision across classrooms and grade levels. It's unnecessary, inefficient, and divides students at a place that's supposed to unite them. This is not a rejection of religion. Religion is a fine thing that people should be free to pursue on their own time. I urge you to stand by your previous vote and continue to protect instructional time. do not divide the student body and keep Boone County schools focused on educating all students together. [applause] Lydia Jones, welcome. My name is Lydia Jones, teacher. I am here to advocate for the incorporation of paid maternity leave. As a teacher, we are allotted 10 sick days and three personal days per year. While these days do roll
064over, these are unrealistic PTO expectations to be utilized for the sole purpose of maternity leave. The average low-risisk pregnancy requires a minimum of 10 to 15 appointments for prenatal care. Each of these requiring a teacher to take a half day of their sick time. This equates to a total of seven and a half days that would have to be taken off prior to birth to ensure the health of mother and child. when the expectation is to only be able to utilize 13 days allotted by the district. This leaves a new mother with five and a half paid maternity leave days. As mentioned before, our PTO does roll over. However, mathematically speaking, a female teacher would be required to work four or more years without taking a single sick day off in order to have a
065paid maternity leave. I myself was blessed with a low-risisk pregnancy with my oldest daughter. However, the time taken for appointments and general illness has completely depleted my sick bank. I am 30 weeks pregnant with our second child and experiencing a much higher risk pregnancy. I can personally attest to the amount of days as I enter my maternity leave in January. I will have a total of three sick and two personal days. Five paid maternity leaves for my place of employment of 11 years. As I manage through newborn stages, I will be fervently concerned on how to make my mortgage payment and feed my children. If a new mother is able to take the legally required of six to eight weeks maternity leave, they will face face a financial burden long-term and short term as well
066as our lack of maternity leave not only affects our retirement age but our experience in step increases as well unless we are willing to buy it back. We are a district that expects the best out of our teachers and out of our students. As parents, we want the best for our kids. We're in a teaching crisis and more and more qualified teachers are leaving in a predominantly female field. This is the kind of incentive that would push Boone County over the top. I want to teach. I want to raise my family. I should be able to and it not be contingent on the financial stability of my profession. [applause] >> Just to confirm. from uh Hannah Schultz. Are you a student or did you want to speak? Okay, fair. >> Okay. Uh that's all we
067had to sign up this evening. >> Excuse me. I wasn't aware. >> Sure. Come on up. State your name. >> Thank you. My name is Paula Reburn and I'm a bus driver for district 4 is special needs. Things I'd like to talk about tonight are communication, HIPPA, and plain old respect. I could go on and on for this for hours. Communication is nothing in the transportation department. We get no no communication at all. What's going on? They routes. They don't ask us. It's just here, do it. And you tell the parents, "We're not It's not fair. These are special needs kids riding these buses that become attached to us. We're doing this job because we love these kids. The respect, we get no respect from the office staff in Not a hello, nothing. Bosses will
068walk by and not acknowledge anybody. I've never been in a workplace that that happens. The HIPPA. When you have special needs kids on your buses, it's usually medical. When you ask a pareducator, "How was his day? Did he have any seizures?" We can't tell you it's HIPPA. That is not a HIPPA violation. He is on my bus. He's under my care. Our routes are not three minutes from corner to corner. They could be a half hour. They could be 45 minutes. But nobody understands this. Everybody's sitting up there. Oh, it's just a job. No, you don't get it. The IEPs are out of control. And I know it's a law and everything. But you guys need transportation's input. And what better to get it from are the drivers or the aids. [applause] >> Okay. Um,
069thank you all for coming. We're going to move on to our consent agenda. >> Uh, no. We've moved on from the audience of citizens. Um, item eight is recommended action consent items A through double D. Dr. Housewald. >> Uh, yes. Thank you, Chairman Parks. I recommend the board approve the recommended action consent agenda items A through DD as presented with the treasures report by Miss Katie Nan. I believe Miss Katie or Miss Nan will now give the treasures report. >> Thank you, Dr. Hoswell. We began the month of November with an adjusted cash balance of 78,514,296. We had total receipts of 47.4 million and total expenditures of 16.5 mil million for a net increase of cash of 30,893,543. Our balance on hand at the end of the month was 109,47,839. Notable items for the month
070or that we continue to collect our tax revenues. We had uh 42.5 million in property tax of which 12.6 are restricted. We also collected 1 million in motor vehicle tax and we had debt service payments of 875,000. Thank you. I have a motion to approve the consent agenda items A through double D as recommended. >> Motion, Miss Bird. >> Have a second. >> I'm sorry. First motion was Miss Wolf and a second by Mrs. B. My apologies. Any discussion on any of the items on the consent agenda? Seeing none, we'll move forward with a vote. All in favor, please say I. >> I. Any opposed? Motion passes. 5-0. All right. Uh, we're going to move on to recommended action old business agenda item nine. Dr. Item A, Dr. Housewald. >> Thank you again, Chairman Parks.
071I recommend the board approve recommended action old business item A. This is the second reading for the 202627 school calendar. We've received ample feedback from that and again I would uh recommend approval as presented. Do I have a motion to approve old business item A the district calendar the second reading as recommended? >> Motion, Miss Wolf. Second. Don't all speak at once. Second. Any discussion on the calendar? Seeing none, we'll move forward with a vote. All in favor, please say I. >> I. Any opposed? Motion passes. 5-0. Move on to agenda item 10. Um, recommended action, new business item A. Do I have a motion to approve new business item A, Lifewise Academy moral instruction program proposal? Is there a motion? >> My motion. >> Motion, Maddox. Do I have a second? All right. Seeing
072is there no second? >> Seeing as if that there's no second, the motion will die. >> Can I say something? >> Sure. >> Okay. Can I ask some questions before we just terminate this? >> Well, we would need a second to move that forward to discuss >> later. Okay. >> And since And since there is no second, the motion would not survive. I don't I'm sorry. So >> that's all right. >> You're saying that uh now you're going to say is there a motion to discuss this, right? >> So part the parliamentary procedures or Robert's rules or whatnot would if there's a motion that's brought before the board, there would need to be a second to move that to the discussion portion. >> I'll second it. >> A motion. I can't. [laughter] >> That's correct.
073We have our Okay. >> Okay. >> Uh so that motion will not move forward to discussion. Move forward to agenda item 10. Recommended [applause] action item B, board policy revision, first read 03.1232 slash 03.2232. Since this is a first read, there's no approval needed. The policy is the the draft policy is provided online for the community and board review. Um and this policy uh for the board's uh edification is a revision a revision to allow the district to mitigate the impact of actual costs related to KRS 161 155 u while providing additional benefit options to employees. But again, as it's a first reading, there's there's no um no action required. All right, we'll move on to agenda item 11, information proposals. >> Point of order. >> I know this is a first reading of some
074pretty extensive policy changes. Um, we can't have a discussion on it. >> Absolutely. Do I have a motion to >> I mean, we're not making a motion to approve anything, but this is a first reading and this is the time to ask questions. >> My apologies. >> I don't know if anybody else has any, but I do. >> Do I have a motion to discuss the policy? The first read of of Do I need to say? Okay. 03.123232232 motion. Have a second. >> Second. >> All right. Move forward with a discussion questions. >> Does anybody else want to go first? I've got several pages. >> No, let's hear from >> Okay. Um I want to make sure I understood you correctly, Dr. House, because um I've got the board memo that put this on the
075agenda and it says we'll allow the district to mitigate the impact of the you said actual cost but actually it's actual aerial cost which is a totally different thing right >> yeah it does say actuarial I'm sorry all right I just >> this comes from HR so we may refer to some of them for their for the recommendation but I'm happy to answer what I can and what I can't we can I can get back for you later. >> Okay. >> So th this is what I I need answers to. When was this discussed in the budget committee? >> I I'm not sure. I I don't remember. Do you know if was this in a part of the budget committee or not? Because it was negligible in cost. I don't recall it ever being brought
076up in the budget committee and these types of policy changes that are going to impact the budget. I know it says there will be no budgetary impact, but I can guarantee you there will be a budgetary impact eventually. um always in past practice have been vetted through the budget committee to ensure that there's no budgetary impact that it's also sustainable because I I'll quote myself because I've said it many times through the years when we're considering something new is what's worse than not being able to give employees benefits is giving them and having to take them away because we can't afford them anymore. Um, and if I'm reading things correctly, and I may need our board attorney to kind of uh I pulled um the KRS um 161.155 that is referenced as the policies being
077where the where the statute is for the policies under consideration. operation. Um, and some of our speakers tonight have referenced the 10 days sick plus three personal um, and how this affects that. And, um, actuarial cost is trying to figure out today what something's going to cost you 10 years from now. And if you've ever heard the word inflation, you know that that's almost an impossible task. Um, we're being a and and believe you me, I'm I'm not against any benefits that we can add. I I think I agree we should talk about this maternity leave. Um, but that's another, you know, we've got to figure out the budget for this. And I don't see any procedures for this. I don't see any processes for this. Um in uh the draft of 03.1232 it says
078administration shall develop procedures to implement the sick leave carryover as described within this policy. From my perspective those procedures should be before the board now in approving the policy not after the fact. Um, that's kind of putting the cart before the horse. Um, and again, the fact that this hasn't been vetted through the budget committee, if it can't be vetted through the budget committee before it comes for second reading, I won't support this. Um, another thing is, uh, it talks about in the policy Uh talking about the carryover of sick days um to be eligible to carry over sick days in excess of 13 days which were recruited within the previous fiscal year may elect a payout of the sick days in excess of 13 into a 403b. That's the new option that's being proposed
079here for as opposed to what the other things they can do now. And then it says the payout shall be 125% of the employees current daily rate. The KRS only allows for 30% of that that particular process. Can we go above statute >> for the the 30 days? What what's your question? >> Well, it's we're we're in this new policy update. And you know, again, I'm not against giving employees options. I just want to make sure we can sustain it. And I I have serious questions with some of the other things that the board's taken on recently that that five years from now, this is going to be sustainable. and and if those projections haven't been run and and I don't see any procedures to manage this with this policy, I I just don't understand
080uh why it's before the board even as a first reading. >> So, uh a couple a couple responses, Miss Bird, we're happy to I know we can um have Olivia I know Olivia's out. Uh we can of course have her take a look at this and give a legal review. Um, this was discussed on the November 4th, but I had to pull up the agenda because I couldn't remember which one. This was discussed um on the November 4th uh budget committee. It's on the agenda and we talked about it in that meeting. Um, procedures um related to implementation are usually provided in the second reading. Um, and that's been our standard practice. So, we're have we will bring procedures back um when we bring it back to a second um to a second reading. And
081of course, um, the 403b is an option. It doesn't replace anything because this is a new option. And as we discussed, generally in the committee meeting, um, as you're well aware, um, there's a new law put in place that uh, in that requires districts to incur an additional cost for uh, employees that carry over more than 13 days. um and that comes in the end and that's the actual wearable amount that we don't know what it is. So um as an option to employees that carry over more than 13 uh the goal is to um avoid some of those unfunded liabilities uh that would exist in terms of our billing back from the state. Um because when a person retires, for everyone that carries over more than 13 days, the state has uh informed us
082that under the new law, we're responsible for the additional pension costs associated with that. And so, kind of back to your inflationary point. If we can um provide an option and we can buy that one, it's only one day. Um and this law, I believe, was put into place because some districts were providing many, many more benefit days. Um, but we only have the maximum any employee and there's not very many can earn is 14. So, the spirit of this is to reduce our unfunded liabilities long term. Now, that's probably way beyond um well, it depends. It could be two years down the road. Um but the the point is that anyone that carries we now have to report how many days are carried over and anyone that carries over more than 13 that will
083uh we've been informed um from the state from the Commonwealth that they will factor that in calculate the additional cost of carrying over more than 13 benefit days and build the district back. And so the purpose of this is not a mandate, not a requirement of those employees, but to offer them an immediate incentive because we would know that cost versus the un unfunded liabilities that are difficult to calculate but we anticipate being greater uh when they retire. And so this is simply um this is a we talk a lot legislatively of our concerns for unfunded mandates. This is an unfunded mandate. We were against it. We did not support it um when the Commonwealth said that we are not going to um pay for the impact of pensions for employees who carry over or
084bank more than 13 days. That's the line they drew in the sand. Now, in terms of uh our um 186 day employees, uh that's not actual that's not possible because they they don't they they can't carry more days. This is our year- round employees. Um, however, this is to be clear an unfunded mandate from the state. And so the conversation we had in the in the budget committee and the reason this recommendation was brought forward is that we have a known cost now um if employees would take advantage of that versus unknown cost that actuarial that actuarily the districts will be told how much they owe in the future for every year for every employee that carries forward more than 13. So our spirit here and our goal is to reduce those unfunded liabilities. That's
085that's the that's the goal of this uh of this uh policy recommendation, but the procedures would be brought forth in the um in the second reading. Would it be would it be okay with you if we got some answers to your your list of questions and then had another first read? >> We would need one. We could take the or in other words, get everything that we need answered answered and then we could have this conversation again or >> I would think that if I'm assuming there there is not a procedure currently created or it's in the works. >> I'll defer to Mr. Ball. >> Okay. Um, I would my recommendation would be we definitely have a budget meeting in January before the board meeting. >> We pick it apart in there and then you
086can come back with your second reading. Okay. >> In January because I would assume you want to get this uh in the works. The only other question is we're starting a whole new process. It's going to have a whole new set of procedures. is going to have a whole new administrative level added. How what's your staffing? Can current staff support this or is this something else like in light that we just added an outsourcing um last month to do something that we were trying to take off the plate of staff or you know where is this where's this going to go? Are we looking at we may have to create a position for this? >> Um, >> no. >> That's that's part of my questioning that you know I would think would >> we can
087we'll bring some numbers back >> committee. >> We can bring some additional numbers back to you to the budget committee. Again, uh we Mr. Ball has assured me this doesn't require additional staffing. This is just trying to avoid um long-term costs to the district and liabilities. Um, I know that and and you may remember the numbers. The purpose of getting this out here now is that we wanted to communicate to the employees that could be impacted by this to know that this uh could be an option um by the end of the year because they would have to cash that day out by the end of the year. And um when you were looking over these numbers, I I can't remember how many people this would have impacted last year, but it's it's a pretty
088minimum number. Was it 20 25? So last year it would have impacted 20 employees. So you know the the reaching out to the 20 employees um that would be impacted by this, they would communicate to us that they would like to to buy that day and then again um the the plan is because it's simple uh in terms of our accounting procedures uh to dump that into a 403b. that would be an immediate cost but would most certainly avoid some again unfunded liabilities because of an unfunded mandate from the state. And if we can get that number of 20 down to just a few that's going to save the district in terms of um actuarial long-term pension costs and that's the intent of this. But we can bring uh the number of employees impacted uh
089and add this back for a second conversation at the um January uh budget meeting. Okay, that yeah that and then just getting the interpretation of the the KRS under 10A where it says the daily salary rate uh the comp rate compensation for each unused sick day leave shall be based on a percentage of the daily salary rate calculated from the employees or teachers last annual salary not to exceed 30%. %. So I just want to >> we can have that reviewed >> know that we're the with this saying the payout should be 125% of the employees current daily rate. I just want to make sure we're not >> make sure that's copying with the state. >> And then my complaint, you know, the the fact that this again another unfunded mandate is this falls upon
090the uh responsibility of the last employer. >> That's exactly right. >> Someone could have worked >> in 10 different districts and >> come to Boon County because we're the best. >> Yeah. Right. what Miss Bird is talking about to those who are um following along, there are some states that were giving a a very large number of benefit days and um of course the state legislators want to wanted to curb that. But if we uh if you were to hire a person that has transferred more than 13 days, again, that long-term additional pension cost would um would fall on Boone County. So, um that was a concern we shared. Um we the idea here is to try to avoid uh and decrease u board costs um and pay a little bit upfront versus some uh
091expected larger costs in the end. That was the intent. I I believe we uh ran this I know we ran it by the state but we can make sure Olivia reviews it in terms of the the difference between uh buying out a day and the 30% provisions which is more the value of that at the at the end. So we will um have Olivia get and if you want to give me those questions at the end I can make sure that we don't misinterpret the questions or that I don't skip one because I might forget um to review that. But in essence, and that's where we we talked about even though we talked about the the budget committee, it is very difficult to to calculate on a case- by case example. But the goal here
092is to avoid um deferred deferred costs to the district these unknown costs because you know the person that carries um multiple days over every year for 20 years. Uh that's above 13. Then when you get to the end and you do the 30%, you roughly divide by three. You add that value into the to the last year and whether the last whether the pension is calculated for the guaranteed pension formula in three years of five years or five years based upon their number of service that cost and the difference in the increase of that cost because of the carried over days more than 13 would be a cost that would be build to the district for the life of the retiree. And so our goal is to simply try to avoid as much as possible
093those costs. And that's why we are trying to dangle an incentive uh locally or immediately for the employees to try to avoid those long-term costs. We we were against this and we spoke against I know um many people did in terms of these unfunded mandates that come from the state. We're just trying to respond in a way that in the end will have a net benefit to the district. It has a cost, but we're trying to come up with a lower cost by giving some money to the employee now and allowing them to in a 403 be invested versus the long-term pension costs that gets build back to the state and you have no and that amount will grow every year as more and more people benefit that. So, this intent was just cost avoidance
094and but we'll run all those questions by Olivia and we're happy to bring it back to the budget committee a second time. >> Okay. And I'll get I'll get more questions. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you. >> Appreciate that. >> Um, since that was a first read, there's no action needed. Move on to agenda item 11, information, proposals, and communications. Any board members have anything to report from their committees? >> I got a couple things. Um the first meeting for the middle school redistricting happened this week. Um there's going to be a board workshop scheduled for February for this according to the information given to us. The dates are not set yet, but there are also going to be two public forums that will be available for people to speak out about this. Those dates
095haven't been set yet either, but I just want to make sure everybody is aware that that's part of the process and that's going to be on our calendars next year very early. Um, I also want to recommend that when this is over that we really look at redistricting our elementary school. We really need to look into that. Um, then our legislative committee did meet last week and it was a solid discussion about priorities. We got um a pretty good brainstorm together. Um Dr. Housewald can probably talk a little bit more about that. >> I can I don't want to interrupt. You want me to real quick want me to interject that? >> Well, the only other thing I had was that I did senior exits this week at Connor. I did about 18 of them.
096Um, and a big thing that I think we really need to try to figure out how we can work into our schools is more access to trade school offerings or trade opportunities for like HVAC, electrical work, automotive repair, welding because we have limited slots in V school for this. And I am seeing every year when or every time I'm doing these senior exits, I'm seeing more and more and more trade push trade kids going into trades. And I think that we would do a good service to our kids by creating more opportunities like that within our schools. >> We're having a series of meeting with the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses. I know that I was talking to a superintendent before I came in here about and I know Miss Schaefer attended both of
097the meetings. I attended one in terms of looking at local demands um partnering with our local businesses, our chambers of commerce, some of our uh educational uh organizations, nonprofits in our community and again looking at uh at capacity, at demand uh at at many of those things and we're having that conversation uh regionally as well. So uh I I appreciate hearing that from you and on the legislative committee. Uh just an update to the board and I was going to say something but I was going to yield to you all. Um we had a great conversation um and we really um ended the the the legislative meeting with four primary uh legislative priorities. Uh the first one is adequate funding. Um and that adequate funding uh also relates to SEEK and a desire for the
098state to continue to increase SEK funding and to move towards returning back to the 60% uh 6040. Originally, uh, when SEEK was created, the state picked up about 60 and and locals were 40 and that's nearly flipped. And so, we'll have some specific dollar amounts, um, that we will bring back to the board in January and share with the public. Um, on that, um, oftentimes when we hear concerns about local property taxes and tax rates, it's lost on people that those increased amounts are of also as a result of of decreased uh, funding from the state. We gave examples and it's it's a public record. We we presented it October and November and we highlighted that we have lost $10 million in seek funding from the state over the last decade and that's at a
099time where our enrollment has gone up and so when that happens that pushes more of the funding responsibility uh on the local community and really puts the board in a terrible quagmire because uh you know we want to continue to increase salaries and wages and compensation uh and that sometimes requires um taking a look at the maximum rate even though our maximum tax rate has averaged um 65 cents over the last decade and that's where we are now. So our rates have I mean they've gone up and down a little bit but they've stayed steady over a decade but the reality is with increases in the state funding the board would have more options at its disposal to consider reducing the some of the local property tax rates. So that is a priority. The the
100second priority highlighted is uh early childhood education and our continued push for that. Early childhood education we will be defining as ages uh three to five including kindergarten. Kindergarten is part of early childhood education. Um right now full day kindergarten is not fully funded. Um and we want to advocate for that while advocating for um um of course increased uh funding for early child education. The third one really important is student health and safety. Uh, and that's student health, both physical f health, uh, behavioral health, mental health, um, and safety. And then the fourth one, uh, back to, uh, board member Wolf's point is preparing students for life in the workforce and really just setting priorities in ways state could assist that. Um, right now, um, in feedback, certification costs can be very expensive. Um,
101and internships, uh, uh, sometimes are ch there are barriers to that because of access. some of our students don't have access to some of those opportunities and um we're going to put as a priority that the state not only continue to uh expect rightfully so uh an increase in workforce readiness but some of the funding to go with that. So the next step is I have a meeting with some of the principles I know uh with the B uh BCA uh President Reid and some others and we're going to bring to you not only those four highlights but some uh very specific requests from those priorities um that we'll share with the public uh as part of the legislative committee as we get ready for the 2026 legislative session. So that's just a general overview.
102We'll give you some more information in January. Any other board members have things they would like to talk about or communicate? >> I have a question. >> Sure. >> So, according to Robert's parliamentary rules, uh, we cannot discuss life-wise at all at this point. Um you can I mean >> um can I communicate my thoughts? >> Sure. >> Like no no no questions can be asked of the organization. Is that correct? >> That would be correct. >> Okay. Um I would like to communicate that this organization is going to start small and build up and work with our principles. And I would like to communicate that I think we need to think outside of the box for our kids that are having anxiety, depression, and this isn't this is an outside of the box um
103type of opportunity for some of our kids to go and get a faith-based instruction. And I'm not, it's not that I'm trying to be religious. I just see our kids' needs. And this is another opportunity for us to do something that is not what we always do. And so I'm thinking of the one student who could benefit from a faith-based instruction. It's start small, works up, has to work with the principles. What about that one student who needs that encouragement? What about that one student who needs their faith strengthened or this is what they need? So this is my concern that we would provide things that are outside of the box for our kids and not because I want one group to work or one group or another group or opposing ideas. I just want
104as much opportunities for our kids to get what they need. And this is another opportunity. So I would say the law says that they have the right to go out, but the board has to approve the program. And I'm just thinking this is a program that will meet even if it's one kid's needs and it's parental consent. We don't have to make them do it. But, you know, sometimes there's that one kid whose parents don't take them to a faith-based instruction. They don't get it. But this might be the one chance that they have to hear something that is encouraging to them, that is positive, that is something that help can help them keep going. So maybe we just need to think outside of the box. And that's my concern. I just ask that the
105same courtesy is applied to future counseling that's put in front of us [applause] because our kids [applause] our kids my my kid she would need that kind word from a counselor that supports her. So this is something that needs to be applied across the board. You can't just say that and then deny a kid an opportunity >> without risking getting into a conversation. >> Okay. Um [applause] All right. Anyone else? Okay. I'd just like to say in a couple hour in a few hours it's going to snow a lot. Willard Scott over here. >> Yeah, right. >> That's the only one I know. >> Um, and there there if if there is a snow day >> one time >> here. Now you're going to get snow. >> Well, if there is a >> all the
106man elementary students leaving said, "Are you cancing school tomorrow?" >> Right. Believe me, my daughter is like the snow day liaison at Ignite. [laughter] I'm sure so >> I can't text. >> Anyway, so to if if there is a snow day and when there are snow days in the future, we I I always remind everyone that will listen to me, which is getting to be fewer and fewer people. [laughter] Um >> they're all going home. >> There is a whole bunch of people that come to work at Boone County Schools on a snow day >> and they do a lot of work. They plow the driveways. They shovel the sidewalks. They spread salt. They do a huge amount of effort to make sure that their schools, buildings, and everything else are ready for when this
107when the kids and the staffs and everyone else comes back to the building. So, a sincere really thank you for the hard work that goes into preparing the building so our kids can return to the school buildings. Um, very much. Thank you. [applause] Can you talk about who those people are? Like our custodians, our maintenance department. >> Yeah, >> that's >> I I don't know all their names. >> Well, not who they are, their names, but I'm just saying the the jobs that are doing that that are actually working. They are your custodians. They are your um maintenance crew. They're they're filling up their salt trucks because we do that too for some of our our roads. I mean, there's a lot of things that we do during a snow day that just are not
108>> seen. And and it's all of our year- round employees. So, we would add um you know, I know that within I look over here at Daryl and Katie, oftentimes we've had inclement weather and people have had to pick them up so that we could get payroll out. You know, that the business office has daily procedures as you Karen's well aware of this daily procedures that have to take place. And so, yeah, it's it's our it's our office, it's the office staff, it's the district office, it's the custodians, it's the maintenance worker, it's it's all of those year- round employees that that um are that are expected to come to work. Um and and you gave a good list of them, but yeah, you're right. And and they'll be there tomorrow >> come rain or
109snow. [snorts] >> I I couldn't help myself. Then the last thing I'll share is that um >> the the board attended a KSBA conference last weekend. Well, it seems like a long time ago now. >> Um and so I I just as chair of this board, I just wanted to say that I appreciate all of our board members attending those conferences. I know sometimes they're not the most fun. Um but they do provide a lot of uh helpful information for for board members. Um and so I Just wanted to say thank you for attending and making the time to uh you know professional improvement or whatnot. >> And then yeah, it is required, isn't it? Yeah, I forgot about that. >> Technically, >> I wish it weren't. Um >> it's a lot easier when you
110get to the point that you've been around so long. They only make you do four hours a year. >> What? >> They exceptions, >> but I have close to 30. So then the last thing is um we're about to enter into a new year and I just I I would like to just say that we this board has done a lot of work this year on a lot of things and I think we we we have we have a lot more work to do as pointed out in various topics on this board tonight. But this is a the we are the largest public employer in Northern Kentucky. Um we have the third most students of any district. I think that's still true, right? >> Um in Kentucky. We have the best community um in my
111opinion in Kentucky. And the debate that we hear at our board meetings is always in my opinion civil and worth it. And if you don't know this, I became [clears throat] interested in schoolboard politics by standing right at that microphone. Um that was my first experience in this room was being right behind that microphone on another controversial subject many years ago. So, I appreciate really wholeheartedly the civic engagement that our groups and our and our communities have and the discussions and I know topics don't always go whatever way we want them to go. Um, but keep working, you know, and keep having those conversations and just remember, please remember that we are are all neighbors here. We raise all of these children together. Um, we are a community of people that are traveling these roads
112hopefully at a safe speed tonight. Um, and really the this the we I I appreciate because I I don't know if you watch other entities uh business meetings, but sometimes they can get a little rowdy, out of hand or whatnot. And we've had one or two of those, >> right? But in the end, I really feel like our our community, our schools, the people that work for our schools, our kids that go to our schools, the families that we have are really worth every word that's said at these meetings. And so I really appreciate everyone that comes to these and and makes your voices heard. Thank you. Um, and [applause] with that, um, if there's nothing else, we'll move on to agenda item 12. There is no close session, so we'll move to 13, which
113is adjournment. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? >> Motion, Miss Wolf. >> Second, Miss Bird. All in favor of adjournment. I >> I motion