001[Music] 6 o'clock. If everybody's ready, we'd like to go ahead and call to order. Erin, you good back there? Okay. We'd like to go ahead and call to order this regularly scheduled meeting of the Henderson County Board of Education for uh what is today's date? 19th. May 19th. Thank you, Tracy. Before uh we get to moving too far along in the agenda, I'd like to commend Dr. Lawson and his administrative team with regards to our decision last Friday. Uh most of you folks are aware we let school out early last Friday because of the uh what might have been inclement weather that was coming towards us. And uh Henderson was somewhat fortunate uh not to be hit. However, there were some areas in our community and some folks in our community that were hit extremely
002hard by that inclement weather. Uh it was it was in my opinion uh an an excellent decision because it got folks home and where they needed to be and uh where where all of our youngsters should be. But there were some people in Morganfield that were severely impacted. There were some people in Henderson that were impacted and further eastern east in Kentucky uh some people in uh Wes's hometown area London were severely impacted. Uh 17 people were killed there and uh it it was quite a storm. So if you would join me, I'd appreciate it in a moment of silence. Thank you. Thank you very much. So, Dr. Lawson, we're going to start out with our pledge of allegiance. You've got some youngsters here that are going to help us. Yes, sir. [Music] Test. Can
003we test? We good here? Okay. Okay, I'm going to ask our student ambassadors to come forward and lead us in our pledge. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Waller, the board, and all of our folks in attendance tonight, we know what a fantastic program our student ambassador program is. And so, uh, it's such a high bar. It's a rigorous program. We talk about the pursuit of excellence. This group certainly does that. And so, I'd like to ask them to take just a few moments here, introduce themselves, and tell you a little bit about maybe what their high school experience is or what their future plans may be. Start with
004Mr. Dr. Aoryo here. Um, as y'all know, I'm Jackie Aoyo. Um, I'm in the marketing program and I'm the senior out of the juniors here and I plan to attend Henderson Community College and major in education. Woohoo. Hi, I'm JC Bills. I am a junior at the high school. I am in the health science program and I plan to attend Lindsay Wilson and major in nursing. Hi, I'm Bailey Wamik. Um, I am a junior currently at Henderson County High School. I plan to attend University of Kentucky and major in entrepreneurship. Thank you. Hi, I'm Taylor Wamik. Um, I'm involved in the marketing and the accounting pathway at Henderson County High School. I also plan to go to GSSE this summer and study at the University of Kentucky. And my plans are to attend Belmont or
005the University of Alabama and major in marketing and a minor in fashion and merchandising. Good afternoon. I'm Jack Logan. I'm the junior class president and I plan to enroll at the University of Mississippi in the fall of 2026 and I'm undecided in what I want to major in as of right now. Nothing wrong with that. We want to thank you folks for being here tonight. We thank you for how you represent our high school as well as you represent our community. Excellent. Thank you so very much. Next item would be to approve the agenda that's been presented to us for uh tonight's meeting. Is there any questions or changes needed for this agenda? If not, I'd entertain a motion. We accept the agenda as presented. Have a motion for Mr. Alvis. Second for Mr. McGar.
006All those in favor signify by saying I please. I vote unanimous. We'll use this agenda. Uh Miss Mortis, we are you Oh, I didn't I didn't see her come in. We have student and staff recognition, please. Tonight, we'd like to recognize Niagara Elementary student Addison Basket for being selected as Niagara's judges scholar. Miss Hollesmire, if they'd like to come forward at this time and Addison, if you'd like to join Dr. Lawson for this recognition. And after we take your picture, Addison, we'll ask your family to join in for a photo op. I know she's got some folks here with her, doesn't she? She has a whole crew. All right. Addison Basket has been selected out of all Niagara Elementary School students for several reasons, including leadership. Addison is a natural leader. She truly does the
007right thing, and she encourages others to do so as well. She has taken advantage of many leadership opportunities at Niagara this year, including cheer, national elementary honors society as president, principal council, individual STOP, and Niagara news crew. In addition, she has pursued her passion of bringing awareness to ALS by attending and supporting her mom through various government meetings and events, creating a PowerPoint in third grade to bring awareness to her peers, attending ALS walks with her mom, singing the national anthem at the Henderson Flash Ball Game on ALS awareness night, and reading her mother's acceptance speech for winning the hero award from the ALS association. Academic achievement. Addison earns excellent grades in all subject areas. In fact, her most recent report card reflected all A's. This can only be accomplished through hard work and dedication.
008As a third and fourth grade student, she scored distinguished in all areas of reading, math, and science. She always gives her best effort and sets high goals for herself. So for KSA this year, her goal is to achieve the honorable level of distinguish in reading, math, writing, and social studies, and I have no doubt she will meet that goal. As far as citizenship, Addison is friendly and respectful to everyone. She recognizes the importance of friendship and kindness and always thinks of others. It's not surprising that Addison also received the Cindy Williams Spirit Award this year. This award was presented to Addison as a member of the Niagara cheer team for being kind, thoughtful, determined, motivated, optimistic, authentic, and a good leader. Mrs. Nally, Addison's fifth grade teacher, wanted to express her thoughts regarding Addison as
009a student in her classroom and for receiving judge a scholar. She says, "Addison Basket is a perfect example of a well-rounded student and citizen in our classroom and school community. She displays positivity and a gentle spirit regardless of the circumstances. She shows empathy, understanding, and patience with everyone around her. Addison endeavors to make the most of every lesson and experience we offer her at our school. She is consistently recognized as a leader on every level and impacts all who work with her for the better. Her schoolwork is exemplary and her level of awareness and professionalism even as a student is noteworthy at such a young age. She is determined to perform to her potential and beyond. She brings those around her into fellowship and as a consequence encourages everyone around her to be the best
010best version of themselves. even her teacher. Addison's accomplishments are only outdone by her citizenship and genuine care for others. She has and continues to overcome circumstances beyond her control with grace and persistence and in that cannot represent Niagara any better than she does today. And that is why Addison Basket is Niagara's judges scholar. Thank you. So, Addison, it has been such a joy to watch you grow up and everything that Miss Holes Meer said along with what your teacher said. I would have to agree with every bit of that and uh so and it's quite an honor to be the judges scholar and I know that it was a lot of fun for you that day and it's it's quite an honor. So tell me, would you mind telling me some of your favorite parts
011of that day or your favorite parts of being a judges scholar? One of my favorite things about being Niagara's judges scholar is probably getting to represent Niagara and learning about how Henderson is ran and just watching everybody's like effort to make Henderson the greatest place it can be for their citizens. That's right. That's right. I I love your pride for Niagara. If ever a family was Niagara, it is this family. And so I'm going to ask Miss Holeser to come on. And then Do you have family here? Uh Katie, come on. Oh, there. Miss Nally, I didn't see Miss Nally here. Whole family. Miss Debbie. Miss Nelly. We'll all kind of We're gonna put Addison right here at the HC. And then we'll all get around her. Congratulations again, Addison. [Applause] Our Central Academy judges
012scholar Madison Bristo is sick tonight, so she is not able to be here. So, wanted to share that with you. But we would like to recognize Henderson County High School student Anna Carrier for being selected as the judges scholar for Henderson County High School. Miss Thomas, if you'd like to come forward at this time and Anna, if you'd like to join Dr. Lawson and then after we take your picture, we'll ask your family to join in. Good evening. Henderson County High School is proud to select Anna Carrier as our 2025 Henderson County Judges Scholar. While in high school, Anna has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to her education, maintaining a GPA above 4.0 by balancing multiple extracurricular activities. Her academic achievement is evident through her involvement in advanced placement courses where she achieved scores of four
013on both AP statistics and AP chemistry among others. She also proudly signed the ACT 30 plus wall at HCHS this year. Additionally, she participated in the Kentucky Governor Scholar Program at Center College this past summer, which is evidence of her exceptional achievements as less than a thousand students from all of Kentucky are selected each year. Beyond her academic achievements, Anna has also been an active participant in various extracurricular activities, including the mock trial team, where she has taken on roles both as a witness and attorney. Her leadership skills shine through her positions as a class officer and in the student council and she is the establishing member of the science club at Henderson County High School. Additionally, as team captain of the cross country team, she's demonstrated resilience and teamwork, essential qualities for any aspiring
014leader. After high school, Anna will attend the University of Evansville to major in actuary science and pre-law. with future aspirations of attending law school. Her long-term goals of practicing geriatric and real estate law along with her ambition to become a juvenile court judge and eventually a county judge illustrate her profound commitment to serving her community and advocating for justice. Anna Carrier is a model student and citizen, which makes her the perfect choice for the Henderson County High School Judges Scholar. Her academic achievements, leadership qualities, and community involvement make her a standout individual who is dedicated to making a positive impact in the legal field. We look forward to welcoming her back to Henderson someday to continue to serve in her hometown. Those are high marks for Miss Thomas and her team. And uh so all
015those accomplishments are stellar and I really love her attitude. Uh when we were talking just a second ago, I said, "Anna, you made a four on the AP chemistry exam," which is that's unbeliev. That is such a hard test. And she said, "I had the flu. I would have made a five. I love your pursuit of excellence and congratulations on being a judges scholar. You mind telling us about the honor that is and maybe some of your favorite parts of that?" Uh, being a judges scholar, I got to basically play along with the county judge, which is what I eventually want to do today. So, it brought a lot of insight to what I hope my future holds. And it also showed me how not only in my future, I have to put my academics
016first, but I also have to put people first like the citizens of Kentucky in Henderson. So between you and Addison, your answers and your your your blend of your pursuit of excellence in the area of academics, but also on the humanistic side of caring about people, the future's bright for Henderson. And I think I saw some of your folks here, your we bring them up and Miss Thomas and if we have any teachers or anybody else here for her. We'll put her right center. We'll kind of all around her there. Congratulations, Anna. Wow, what uh what great answers Anna and Addison had. Wow, our future is uh bright right there. Um today I'm uh honored to uh read our community partner spotlight. Our Henderson County High School CTE students helped provide an honorable resting place
017for unclaimed veterans. Students at Henderson County High School are playing a meaningful role in honoring America's forgotten heroes. Recently, in the CTE unit, they built a handcrafted wooden urn to hold the cremations of a US Army captain whose remains had gone unclaimed for years. The remains were interred during a ceremony at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West in Hopkinsville. Additionally, 10 cadets from the JOTC program participated in the service, paying tribute to these individuals. Thanks to the collaboration between Henderson County High School students, staff, and dedicated volunteers, these individuals were laid to rest with dignity they earned in the service of their country. Tonight, we have Fred and Claudia Binky with us, as well as students from the high school to be recognized during our community partner spotlight. [Applause] Who's coming up? Mr. Rush, I'm sorry
018I couldn't hear you. There it's um we have any Henderson County High School students or the Fred and Claudia Binky? Are they do they Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. Were you one of our cadetses? Who who who performed this? Thank you. Yeah. So, you were the commander here. Fantastic. That's right. Um so earlier we were talking about the extraordinary experiences provided in the school district here. Obviously, you're using some skills, their skills learned uh to create the woodwork and things like that. Then all this learned with JRTC, but also to honor these veterans who deserve this honor is uh when I think about the whole development of the child and and as you all grow into young adults, how important is it for you all to have opportunities like this? This has been one of the most
019honorable events I've ever been to and surely to say participated. It's even more honorable. Um, not just as a member who is currently in a service, but as a ROTC cadet. It was a great learning experience to figure out how veterans are laid to rest. And I was truly honored to be a part of it. Thank you. We're so proud. We're so proud. And then can I ask for you to introduce yourself and tell us about your part in this? Uh my name is Fred Benkey. This is my wife Claudia. Uh we are the only Kentucky volunteers for the Michigan America Project where we locate, identify, and intern unclaimed remains of veterans, their dependents, and their spouses. There was four down at the Kentucky West Veteran Cemetery that we uh entered. They made four beautiful
020urns. the Woodcraft class did and the RTC cadets did a great job. There was a captain in the army. He flew in the Air Force in the in World War II, the Army Airore. We had a Navy person. We had a private in the Army. And we had a spouse. Uh she was also sitting on the shelf unclaimed. Uh we take we send all that information off to the VA. They come back. Now, this spouse um her husband was buried out in California, not in a veteran cemetery, so she couldn't be buried with him, but she did get buried at the veteran cemetery uh here in Kentucky. My wife does all of the engraving on the backside. She keeps all my measurements right when we're making hers. But we were lucky enough to have the
021carpentry class do that. And both of these classes want to continue doing this. The carpentry class this fall, um Tony said he wants to start making and having the class do that. So we have them on hand because we also donate earns to the veteran cemeteries for those that come in in plastic boxes or in cardboard boxes without any families. And the ROTC class, they said they wanted to continue uh participating in this also. So that'll be interesting. Well, thank you for this service. And she's the boss. That's exact. That's always the case. That's right. Well, this is such an important thing to do and we appreciate you all carrying out this mission and of course our students and all the departments partnering to do it. We're very proud in H County Schools to be
022part of this. If we can get you guys here in the center, come right here. We'll scoot over a little bit more that way. Miss Thomas, would you mind coming up here please? Mr. Yeah. So, I know Miss Thomas and her team, I see Mr. Payne, Mr. Rutled, our JRTC leaders, uh, Mr. Bailey, Miss Wolf. I'm trying to think of who else might have been involved there. When I start naming names, I always leave someone out, but it's been a fantastic project. KPL shortc Not at all. I think that concludes our recognition portion of the meeting. Uh those of you that want to stick around for the rest of it, feel free to. Those of you that uh have other things that they want to do, feel free to go up and get up and
023go ahead and leave. The next item on the agenda would be the public participation. Uh at this time, if there's anyone here that wants to address the board for any matter that is not on the agenda, uh we wished you would have filled out a form and given it to Miss Robin and we'll give you some time right now to address this board. Anybody? Nobody. Then we'll move right along. Then next item would be to approve the minutes from our meeting of April 21st. We've received the minutes prior to the meeting. Any questions or changes to the minutes? Not have a motion, Mr. Albus, to approve the minutes as presented. Have a motion, Mr. McGar. All those in favor signify by saying I, please. I votes unanimous. Next, Mr. Miller from Kodell Construction. We have
024a uh construction manager report, please. So, obviously, as you heard me talk last time, I said we'd be getting into concrete and stuff like that. We are a little slow rolling here at the beginning. That's one thing you can count on. I'll come up here and I'll tell you the truth. So, we are a little bit slow rolling, but we are looking to get into footers once this next rain passes. So, tonight and tomorrow, once that finally rolls over, you know, we get a little break here. We'll be moving into footers. Um, we've been really focused on the summer renovation work because obviously that's coming up here right around the corner. met on site with all the contractors involved with that last week and I think we got a really good plan together and a
025really good team. But as far as the outside work or when you drive by you can see a lot going on. You're going to start seeing a lot more here fairly soon. So that's all I have as far as Anybody have any questions, Mr. Miller? Okay. We we understand that weather plays a big part in this business. We're all associated with that. But thank you so very much. Dr. Lawson, you have a strategic plan update, please. Yes, sir. M Robin video. Yeah. So, Mr. Robin's going to pull up a video here. It's a short video about a minute and a half, but every other month we update on the strategic plan. And we mentioned this earlier, how we want to go through through that piece by piece and address every area of it. And so,
026and then also couple that with our mission to create extraordinary educational opportunities. In fact, we just heard about one of those. So, Robin, you don't mind? Guided by our strategic plan for every student every day. The arts are alive, sparking creativity, expression, and joy to STEM challenges, racing cars. Our students are growing through hands-on learning and unforgettable experiences. One English learner student even had a chance to go behind the scenes at a local television station. Jake is going to be a future Thanks to a teacher at a recent career fair possibilities from Mother's Day. [Music] Happy to clean my room. Make my bed. I'll put my toys away. I'll be good just for you on this Mother's Day. [Music] At every level, we're preparing students with the skills, confidence, and education they need to thrive.
027[Music] We are Henderson County Schools and we pursue excellence. Thank you, sir. You're welcome. Just a quick update from our strategic plan. Again, thanks to all the principles really u and our department leaders who bring that to life. Thank you. Appreciate that, Dr. Lawson. And appreciate Miss Mortis. Miss Mortis is our she's the voice there behind that, but she also does all the video compilations. A lot of work. Thank you, ma'am. Next item, Mr. Thompson. Yes, sir. Um, we have three items uh for your Back off of this. A little hot. U first we have the BG5, which is a closeout for South Heights Elementary HVAC project. That's just a close out of BG5. Then we have a uh approval for a change order number four for BG22506. It's for CT inter renovation and that
028is a credit uh for $3,891 in some switchover of some windows. And also the last piece I have for your consideration this evening is we have bid the first part of the South Middle School uh HVAC project. Uh we bid the demolition and so for your consideration this evening uh we have a bidder uh and we would ask for your consideration of all three of those this evening. Any questions? U be happy to answer any questions. Also Mr. Miller is here. Be happy to answer any questions about the project that you may have. Any questions with regards to the close out for the South Heights or the change order where we're going to get back $3,891. We like that as well as the bid from Logan Logan Constructions for the South Middle School HBAC. I
029move we approve as presented. Have a motion for Mr. Alvis that we approve each of these which would be BG20-249. Close out BG22-506 and BG25-225. Have a second. Second. Second from Mr. Smith. All those in favor signify by saying I please. I vote unanimous. Thank you very much. Next item is the consent agenda. We have 12 items. Uh approving a uh school activity fundraiser request for the football fundraiser. Uh school activity budgets from all the various schools. Uh school fees for the various middle school and high school fees. We have a bid list that was presented for various items. Uh grant applications for Henderson County High School in South Heights. And we have transportation requests for the summer for various uh groups to use a bus. And uh we have surplus bus and vehicles uh
030which would be eight buses and a couple of cargo vans and two suburbans to be donated to the uh police department in kind for SRO services if I'm not mistaken. Approved student overnight triple request. one for the bass fishing tournament and JOTC in Greenville and the track and field in uh in Lexington bid recommendations various services. The district comprehensive school improvement documents for professional development English learner plan and the NIT instruction plan as well as shorten school day for two students, one in high school, one in elementary and approving the uh bond for Miss Clers. Any questions or any item on the consent agenda that needs to be pulled for discussion? Not to entertain a motion. We approve the consent agenda as presented. So move. Motion for Mr. Albus. Second from Mr. Smith. All those
031in favor signify by saying I. Please. Votes unanimous. Next. Miss Clier. The financial end of the business. Okay. Short since we're moving along so fast. Did I catch you by surprise? Yeah, we like moving fast. Get the business done. The tentative budget in your packet is required to be approved by May 30th and submitted to KDE. So, this is the second step in our three-step budget process. Um, the total operating budget is 134.9 million. Uh, this budget includes the special revenue fund which was not required to be included in the draft budget is the main reason for the increase of 8.7 million. Uh the primary portion of this budget is the general fund set at 105 million. Some of the highlights from this budget is we included a 3% general wage increase for all staff.
032This will cost approximately $2 million. We have built in a million dollars for the one to one initiative to be continued. Um when Casey changed the calendar, we had two um additional paid extended learning days in there. We now have one, so that saved us about $200,000. So that was a good move. Uh we have budget for four buses. Um approximately $600,000. The price of buses has gone up 40% in the last two years. So we can't really purchase more than four. and contingency is still at a healthy 12% down a little from the draft budget mainly because of the shift to the for the general wage increase. As always, thank you for your continued support and this could possibly be the last time you have to hear me do a budget presentation. Any questions?
033Yeah, hopefully I'm passing it to the next one. Any questions on this budget? You gave us a pretty good uh summary of how where the taxes were going, where the taxes money was coming from, where the seek money is going, what budget, and again, still 83% of her salary and benefits. Uh Dr. Lawson, any comments? It's team effort on the budget. Cindy is our leader in finance and so we we know we can always she mentioned that soon that it'll be her last time through this as if she's almost looking forward to that. But it takes the work of a team and we earlier we talked about how our board over the years uh has been able to make sure that our staff is compensated, make sure we're doing well operationally both in facilities and
034in the personnel side of things. I appreciate our leadership of our assistant superintendent and what they provide to our our principles and our principles. Um they lead the charge and I think the budget reflects our values and those things we find most important. So the money makes the mission happen. Appreciate everybody working together for that cause. So with that I'd request the board approve the tenative budget uh for 20 2526. I look at this and see that the local property taxes are 44% the state seat portion is 46% and I know that's a significant change from years past and uh that's the only comment I'm going to make. It used to be something like 6040 or somewhere in that neighborhood. And we're carrying the load here, folks. So, you've heard Dr. Lawson's recommendation. Entertain a
035motion to accept the recommendation as presented. Have a motion, Mr. Alvis. Second for Mr. McGar. All those in favor signify by saying I please. I vote unanimous. We have tenative budget approved. 134.9 million. Thank you very much. Treasur Oh yes, treasury report. Okay. The treasur's report for the month of April includes total receipts of $6,280,1001 and total expenses of $8,242,32 for a net decrease in all funds of 1,962,21. Any questions on the treasures report? Any questions, Miss Cloter, about the treasur? Still got 94.4 in the bank. Dr. Lawson. If there are no questions, I'd request the board approve the treasures report as presented by Miss Clotier. Superintendent's recommendation. Entertain a motion. Have a motion. Mr. Alvis, second, Mr. Begar. All those in favor signify by saying I. Please. Votes unanimous. Paid warrant report. Okay. The
036paid warrant report covers the period of April 22nd through May 19th and includes total paid warrants of 5,739,2728. Any questions on the paid warrants? Any bills of question? Dr. Lawson. There are no questions. I'd request the board approve the paid warrant report as presented by Miss Clotier. Superintendent's recommendation. I have a motion. Mr. Alvis. Second, Mr. Smith. All those in favor signify by saying I please. I votes unanimous. Mr. Robin, would you let the record reflect that we've uh received and reviewed the personnel actions since the last meeting? and that uh at this point in time we'll uh move into an executive session for uh KRS61.810 1B and 1 C. So we appreciate y'all being here. Have a good rest of the evening. We're going to close this session. Oh, and there will be no
037action taken after this meeting. So y'all don't have to stick around. Wait to see what we're going to do. We just hunker on me