001Okay, we're going to go ahead and get started. It is 5:30 now. I'd like to call our monthly meeting to order at this time. And if everyone please join me in a moment of silence. Thank you. At this time, would everyone please stand and join me for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. And at this time, we're down to um approving our agenda. We have an item to add to our agenda tonight under item G. And I'm going to make a motion to add item G to award topographic survey and private utility locator B. Second for Mr. Jar. All in favor of amending the
002agenda by adding action item G, please say I. All opposed. I hear. Are there any other additions to our agenda tonight? If not, I will need a motion to approve our agenda. So move second by Miss. All in favor of approving the amended agenda, please say I. I. All oppose. I hear none. Move down now to recognitions with Miss Green. Well, good evening you board members and all you fine guests out there. We have again some outstanding students that we want to recognize tonight. I have three in particular. Um, one I have that participated in the governor's scholar program, one who participated in the governor's school for the arts and then one who has been selected for a special council. So, I'm going to start with my governor scholar program. After our August meeting, if
003you remember, um it was brought to my attention that I had unintentionally left out a student who particip participated in this prestigious Governor Scholar program. And we know it's quite a task in the uh interview and the applications. Um this gentleman um attended Morehead State University for 5 weeks. So, Mr. Aaron Garrett, he's a senior at Muenberg County High School. I'm going to ask that you come forward and I have a certificate for you that Richard Aaron Brian and Veronica. All right, I'm going to have you let's stand right over there on that blank wall if you don't mind. Thank you. Congratulations. Then I'm going to go to the Governor's School for the Arts. That program is a 3-week program and is held at the University of Kentucky. The students discover the power of their
004art and their place as an artist. So again, high school senior Haley Keith was selected to attend. Ellie, I'm going to ask that you come forward and receive a certificate of achievement from Miss Ward. She's the daughter of Terry Lynn and Kevin. Thank you. And then my final student that I want to recognize, she's not a stranger to our our board office. She was selected as our first engaged citizen um last October and was recognized last um month for participating in GSP. This young lady was chosen to join the commissioner's student advisory council this uh for the school year to gain valuable feedback from Kentucky students and to engage student leaders in learning by doing. The commissioner created the commissioner student advisory council. This group meets with the commissioner and the Kentucky Department of Education
005staff both personally um in person and virtually. They discuss how decisions are made at the state level that are affecting students and schools throughout Kentucky. Um so Muinberg County senior Lily Dar, she will be representing Muenberg County in this state council. going to ask that she come forward and receive a certificate of achievement from Miss Ford. Lily is the daughter of Cindy and Todd Dar and I'll tell you something else. I don't know if you all saw it on um our social media page, but WKO came and did a very nice interview with Lily on Tuesday and she represented well. So, we're in good hands with Lily representing Miller County for the uh student council. Congratulations. Believe I just want to say that we are so proud of these students for their accomplishments and for
006representing county. Thank you. And for now, if those who I have uh recognized tonight, if you all would meet me out in the hallway, I'll take some more pictures and then you're welcome to come back in for the rest of the meeting or you can go. So it's now down now to our treasures report. Mr. Thank you chairman right here. Board members, these are the finances as of August 31st, 2025. Revenues, uh, this month we had 3.837 million. Uh, SE remained unchanged. Uh, federal is down 511,000. State was up 335,000. Taxes were up 1.2 million. Mother is up 422,000. Food service was down 294,000. And daycare was up 2,000. Uh these monthly receipts are down 23,000 from the last month and 1.1 million in the same period last year. Really a lot of that was
007in that uh franchise tax that we received. Then the expenditure side uh expenses we had 3.265 million last month. Uh that's up about 630,000 compared to the same period last year. Uh the significant bills in August were for Bluegrass International Trucks and Buses for 612,000. CNC contracting 453,000. Curriculum Associates 302,000. Danco Construction 260,000. Kentucky Flooring Distributors 178,000. Carpet Decorators about 170,000. Mechanical consultants 121,000. Construction about 107,000 Sports Turf 91,000 Scotty's Contracting 80,000 TMCO 75,000 and Old National Management of 66,700. You can see that they mainly fell in the construction of the significant payments. uh payroll was 3 uh3,26,74423 that is up 99,000 August of 24 for total 66 6,292,344 uh accounts payable breakdown so fixed and mixed expenses $814,000 and $815,000 variable expenses of 257,000 and utilities expenses questions on the transport. All in favor
008of approving the treasures report, please say I and down to payment of bills and salarations. Uh this this month I bring you $1,180,3472. Uh of that uh general fund was about $225,000. Uh you can see construction again about 861,000. So carbon decorators uh for 268,000 CNC contracting 92,000 mechanical consultants 87 fashion painting 68,000 about 60,000. Danco construction 55,000 IMAC environmental 2000 TCO 51 Ronald Johnson Associates who is the architect and contractor for the roofing roofing resurfacing projects that were going on for 6800 and mobile for any questions on those questions if not I need a motion to approve the bills and salaries motion second all in favor of approving payment of bills and salaries please say I post now to our public participation all All right, I'm just going to go down through the list.
009Our policy is that we have a 20 minute time slot allotted for public participation. So, since there are six people signed up, you'll have a little over 3 minutes to speak. Oh, sorry. I thought that was one was okay. So, never mind. You have four minutes. There's five. There's one workout I didn't have. Sorry. That's why you got glasses. So, all right. So, the first one on the list um to speak is um Montgomery Dall coming up to speak on dress code. Yes, I am. So, today I'll be acknowledging a well-known issue, the dress code. Hi, I'm a junior at Miller County High School and like most of you, I am here to speak about the unfair standards forced upon us this year. The other day, me and my friends were all put out of
010class by at least six administrators while taking a test. We were sent into the hallway and talked to about what we were wearing and a dress code. We were given three options. Go to ISD, go to the resource center, or go home. Considering that none of us wanted to wear the clothes that other kids actually needed, and of course ID, we chose to go home. Can you guess what we were wearing? Pajama pants. That's all. Our entire class was disrupted by six other people who pulled three students out and the rest of our day will be sitting at home rather than at school learning like we should be. No one would have known what we were wearing and no one would have cared. Everything was brought to their attention when we were pulled out of
011class. Whispers and looks from everyone trying to figure out what's going on. Last year the dress code was tensful and somewhat laidback, but the way we are enforcing it this year is ridiculous. Last year, we wore pajama pants, we wore leggings, boys could wear shorts, and no one was distracted, and class flows flowed as it should. I get some things changed in our favor, but we got that inch. We got that inch, but that doesn't mean we'll stop pushing for that mile. I think you also aren't looking into what all kids are wearing. You look into what you think is normal, but leave the students who, like me, who dress differently completely unevaluated. And I speak for students who are too scared when I say that you only value and consider the most popular students
012who play sports. Our voices matter to you. My voice matters. What you're doing is a waste of everyone's time. Administrators, teachers, and students. We are not simply complaining. We are using our voices and our right to protest these unfair standards and rules. This won't stop until you reflect on your decisions and make the change. Take into consideration how your students feel and get more involved with schools. Learn about us, our interests, and our styles. Then make your decision. Stop silencing our individuality, our creativity. Thank you. Okay, next we have Katie Perkins. I'm speaking on dress code and teacher concerns. Good evening. I'm Katie Perkins. I'm a teacher at Milber County High School. I teach English. This is my seventh year in education, my fifth in the county school district and my second year at West
013Nation. I come to speak to you guys about teacher concerns with the dress code and to call us back to our profile of learner. So this time last year I applied for my current position and I was overwhelmed with positive feedback that this is not the same school that we attended when we were in high school. The culture is changing and the kids want to be at school. Mr. Harper's mission was simple to care about the kids. This year, Miss LOL promised to continue that mission and she has and I fear that her mission has been overshadowed not only by new state legislature but by the board members policies as well. Board members, you are a part of my state nation. And as you know, your decisions trickle into every classroom and affect thousands of
014our students each year. In just 3 weeks, the new dress code has diminished student relationships, disrupted learning, and damaged the culture that we have worked so diligently to build. As we've just heard, students don't fix their dress code infractions and move on. They check out mentally and often physically as well. While I commend you for revising the definition of torso, I ask you to revisit the policy as a whole and make sure that it truly aligns with our profile of learners. A board member recently told me that that the dress code's purpose was to teach our students how to dress professionally. And I hear you're marking that. We want our students to be engaged citizens. But I worry that our students are here to learn, not work. And second, if we want to teach them
015how to dress professionally, then that has to be done intentionally. And we're already doing that. Each year, our seniors have to provide a defense of learning where part of their graduation requirement is to dress professionally. I've sat in on these speeches, and I can tell you that even our most financially strange students rise to this occasion every year. If our mission is truly to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful after high school, I call us back to literacy. I'm an English teacher. I know the importance of reading. Literacy is empowerment for our students. Their abilities to think critically, read critically, um make informed decisions. These are skills that see them pass high school. Our fall reading data shows that 65% of our freshmen are reading below grade level and
01644% of them being at a fifth grade reading level or lower. Our sophomores are at a 61% reading level below grade level. I can't teach these important skills if my students aren't in class and don't stay in class. Consider this. Mr. Watkins recently told me that 560 students are currently enrolled in homeschool. And that's only our students who have reported. That's the size of our largest elementary school in the district and the numbers keep growing. You wouldn't believe how many times a day I hear, "Well, I'll just go home school." When we upset our students, when we make them feel like they're not heard and listened to, they leave. I've taught kindergarten through 10th grade in our district, and I've seen the effects of this casual homeschooling. Our students often leave one year only to
017return the next with significant learning gaps. They need to be in school. They need to see teachers who care about them. And we have to get kids to come to school and stay in school. Just last week, I sought to talk to students in the gym, and one lady was especially down. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I hate it here. It's not like it was last year. It feels like prison." Her friends nodded in agreement. I'm confident if you surveyed our sophomores, our juniors, our seniors, they would echo the same sentiments. We have to get back to making learning engaging and fun. Teachers are already working hard to bring joy back into our classroom. Though we can't succeed if our board policies push students away. I'm not worried about our athletes
018and our rule followers. They will be fine. This affects our alternative students. the students that only come to school in the comfort of their pajama pants. Yes, we have to have a dress code. I understand that and I'm completely in agreement with that. But I can't teach our kids if they're not in school. So, I'll give you three action items. First, revise the dress code. Let them wear their shorts 5 in above the knee instead of three. Let them show their shoulders. Let them wear their pajama pants. Students need to feel seen and heard. Second, give a climate survey to our sophomores, our juniors, our seniors. Ask them why they're not coming to school. Ask them why they're not happy with the culture. And then listen. And third, most importantly to me, partner with your
019educators. We're in the schools. We see these students every day. They come to us. We know how to see them be successful, and you have the power to make that change happen. Our current framework tells us to do the work, and there's still more work to be done. I leave you with the same challenge that this ball has left each of us at the high school. It's time to level up. Thank you. Okay, next up is Zoe Deos for dress code. Where am I? >> Okay. I'm Z, a student from Yber County Hospital. Speaking on behalf of the dress code, I'm also here to express my opinion along with others that can't be here. While I understand the intention behind it, I believe that our current dress code infringes upon our rights of self expression
020and individuality. It's important to recognize that clothing does not define a person's character or ability to learn, nor does it disrupt the educational environment. I also understand that the that the dress code may be intended to prepare us for our future professional environments. However, our community colleges and multiple other campuses do not require a dress code. It is crucial to remember that our school is a fundamentally different from a workplace. The primary goal of education is to foster growth, critical thinking, and personal development, which should not be overshadowed by rigid dress requirements. Furthermore, the environment of the enforcement of the dress code itself can be a distraction. Pulling students out of class to address dress code violations, disrupt their learning, and takes away valuable instruction time. In the first few weeks of school, students are
021asked to turn around to check and see if their apparel was appropriate. This is inhumane and sexualizes them while also forcing teachers to sexualize students bodies. The way we handle dress code enforcements can affect students with traumatic past, especially those who experience sexual assault. For these individuals, which I've heard from personally have stated, being singled out and criticized for their clothing choices can trigger feelings of vulnerability, anxiety, and shame potentially causing more stress to them. It's essential to create a safe and supportive environment where all students feel comfortable and respected and a rich dress code can undermine this goal. It also places an undue emphasis on appear of appearance rather than academic achievement. There are more concerns that the dress code does not consistently enforce perception of unfairness where some students are dressed while others
022are not creating a sense of bias. Therefore, I propose we explore alternative approaches that promote a respectful and inclusive learning environment without over restricting partial expression. Um, this could include focusing on focusing on guidelines that address genuine disruption or inappropriate attire rather than specific clothing items. We could also implement educational initiatives that encourage students to make responsible choices about their clothing while understanding the importance of different context. I am not alone in this feeling. the student body and staff share these concerns and believe the current dress code is unnecessary and outdated. It's also important to consider the financial burden that the dress code places on families especially with the rising cost of clothing. It's important to acknowledge the increasing financial strain that a dress code place on family families uh with the rising cost of
023clothing and other essential items requiring students to adhere to specific dress code guidelines can create an additional burden especially for those from low house low income households. This can lead to feelings of shame and resentment resentment among students who are unable to afford the required attire. Our school community is incredibly diverse and cannot accommodate everyone's individual needs. I would like to discuss the possibility of reevaluating the dress code to better align these values segments and perspectives of the student body concerning the practical and financial implications for all students and staff. Ultimately, the current dress codes create unnecessary obstacles and challenges for students, forcing them to jump through more hoops to meet expectations that may not align with their personal values or financial circumstances. It's time to re-evaluate our approach and pro more inclusive and a
024supportive learning environment for all. Now, we're down to address Good afternoon. My name is Joey Tedar and I'm a junior at Muenberg County High School. I stand before you today because our community has reached a boiling point after something that should have never escalated this far. Stress, but I'm ecstatic that things have changed and I'm so thankful for that change. Many people, including myself, are still frustrated and disappointed in how this whole situation has been dealt with. It's taken countless complaints, heated conversation, social media posts, etc., etc. The fact that it requires so much attention and outrage just to start change speaks volumes about not only about how much the students of county are respected by the individuals who run the schools, but also the parents. Um, students and parents both have repeatedly expressed their
025concerns, but concerns were dismissed until things reached a breaking point. Last Tuesday night before the dress code was changed and everybody said it was a miscommunication. I created an online petition and I received 956 names and I feel that that number alone should be more than enough to let you all know that how like how many people are upset with this dress code. Um this year too many students mostly girls have been singled out and embarrassed because of their clothing choices. Um, being pulled out of class and publicly reprimanded for wearing something that is totally appropriate is humiliating. It disrupts learning shames students and sends a harmful message that how they look is more important than their education. Every student who has endured that deserves more than silence. They deserve a genuine apology from the
026board of education. Let me ask you all this. How many pe how many of you come to work with your bottoms fully covered? How many of you before you go out to run errands ask your parents, your wife, your husband, your friends, "Does this cover my bottom? Do you think I'll get in trouble for wearing this?" I highly doubt that anybody in this room does that. And while I understand that we were in high school and we're still kids, young adults, I think that being in fear of going to school and having to worry about getting in trouble or getting pulled out of class for what we're wearing is a little bit ridiculous. I don't think that it's fair. Um, this dress code has also broken relationships with teachers and students. A lot of students
027I've talked to feel that they've been um they've been like their bonds with their students and teachers are broken. They feel like they have been um give me money. I'll hold it. Um it's broken bonds with teachers and students. They students feel like teachers are out to get them. And while some of us understand that it's not our teachers fault, that's how it feels. Um I do believe that there should be a dress code this year. I understand that some things are not appropriate to wear in a school setting as and the whole work thing with preparing us for jobs and all that. I understand. But like um like she said earlier, we are not working. We are in school. We are learning. Um but I feel like you all I understand. I know that
028um I think it might have been this board if I have went around to a couple classrooms of school and apologized to a couple of classes, but I feel it would be more appropriate to pull out everybody in the gym or go around every classroom even if it took a couple of days to do and apologize to everybody because being pulled out of class in front of everybody and have everybody stare at you, I find that to be um ridiculous. Um but the truth is that change was overdue. Respect is overdue. An apology is overdue and our students deserve more from our administration than what we've received. And I hope you all take account accountability for all the outrage that has been brought up. Thank you for listening. All right. And our last one to
029Wilson Walker. >> Good evening members of the board. Superintendent or faculty and community. My name is Wilson Walker and I'm honored to serve as the class president of the class of 2027 at Gilder County High School. I want to begin by sincerely thanking you each of you for the time, effort, and care you give to our schools. I know that being on the board is not an easy job and I want you to know that your work does not go unnoticed to some students if not all students. I especially want to thank you for the recent clarification of dress code regarding the definition of course. That update may seem small to some, but it has already made expectations clear for both students and staff, and it shows that you are listening and willing to make
030adjustments when needed. On behalf of many of my classmates, I want to express our appreciation for that. Tonight, I do not come before you to argue or complain, but simply to ask for clarity. Recently, the dress code standard for short lengths uh and holes above the knee was changed from mid thigh to 3 in above the knee. My question is simply, why was the change made? Understanding the reasoning behind it, whether it's for professionalism, consistency, or safety, would help students accept and follow the rule more willingly. When we know the why behind the expectations, it builds trust and encourages cooperation. In addition, I would respectfully suggest that the online version of the dress code include more definitions, just like you did with the word torso. Clear expectations of terms would make the policy much easier
031to understand and to enforce consistently. This would help students, teachers, and administrators all be on the same page and reduce confusion. At the end of the day, we as students want to work with you, not against you. We want our schools to be places where learning comes first and distractions are minimized. By providing us with clear reasoning and clear definitions, you strengthen the partnership between the students and the board. And you know that our voices matter in the decisions that affect us every day. Once again, I thank you for your time, your service, and your dedication to the students of Milber County. I'm grateful for the chance to speak with you tonight, and I look forward to continuing this important conversation. Thank you very much. and thank you all for coming to speak tonight. Um
032I'm going to let him uh speak a little bit on behalf of the school um board and then I'll add to that as she finishes. I would like to thank everyone for coming out tonight. Um, we all may not agree on everything as you all have made very clear tonight. Um, but what we can agree on is you're here because you care and we are here because we care. None of us are paid board members. We all have full-time jobs elsewhere. We give of our time. We give to our community and we truly care about our students, our parents, our teachers. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here. So, I want to say that. First of all, I wrote this because I wanted to make sure that I made all of the points um so that I'm
033very clear. As I was getting ready to visit Neielenberg Middle School on Tuesday morning, there was a program on K at 7:00 a.m. As I busily rushed around my home, I stopped to listen after hearing these words. We've hit a pothole when it comes to polarization on social media. The speakers talked about grace and being part of the solution, not being part of the problem. When you're posting on social media, are you helping or are you hurting? And I'm not speaking to the students in this room tonight. I'm speaking to parents and people who posted without any information or without calling to clarify or calling a board member or calling a school administrator. Just posting on social media and jumping on the bandwagon does not help. It hurts our community. One very poignant thought regarding
034posting on social media. Make sure your video matches your audio. So when you post on social media, be careful what you post because everyone sees it. If your if your profile is public, we can all look at it. So, be careful what you have on there. Someone brought up that I have a bottle of whiskey in my hand on my personal social media page. I own a distillery in our county and I create jobs and I create economic development for our county. My brand sponsors my racing. So, that's why that is on my page, but no one asked me that. When I wrote that I sincerely apologize for the lack of clarity on the word torso in our dress code, I meant that with all my heart. I was going to the middle school to
035apologize in person. I did that. My video matched my audio. When I said I expect the same level of involvement that we have had about dress code in getting our students to school on time on target at school, I meant it. I'm a school board member who expects nothing less. We all have things we need to work on personally. I know I do. We will never agree on every topic. And just because we disagree does not mean I dislike you or that I mean you harm in any way. Disagreement is part of life. We discuss and work through our differences and we try to come to a solution. Students, I commend you for coming here tonight and parents and teachers for speaking up. This is how change happens. We said this in the last board
036meeting when people came to speak to us. We hear you. We listen. We have policies that we have to enforce and write, but that doesn't mean we're doing it against you. And the sooner we all realize that and can talk about this as young adults and as school teachers and administrators and a board, the sooner we'll move on from this because we all know there is a there are a lot of other things we need to be worrying about the dress code. And I see you nodding in agreement because we certainly do. There have been an an alarming number of politically charged words being thrown about on social media regarding our teachers enforcing the Millenberg County Schoolboard policy like bullying, harassing, staring, and even sexual harassment. These words are harmful to our culture and they
037are downright wrong. Teachers and administrators have been enforcing the dress code for decades. It is part of their job. Enforcing school and board policies should never be weaponized by our parents, students, or public. If you have an issue, please contact your board member personally. Social media has become a weapon in our country and our county. I use the word weapon intentionally. Weapons are designed to cause harm. It harms our community when our very own community members choose to stay behind a keyboard instead of meeting face to face and solve problems. We are here to help solve problems. We are here to listen and come up with a solution we can all live with. We serve for that very reason. I think it's important to say things face to face because things that are written, we
038can't see each other's eyes. We can't hear inflection in voices. My father was a lifelong educator, school principal, and superintendent. He retired when he was 80. He tried he tried to stay home with my mom from but he was bored to hear so he went back to work. He passed away at 89 still doing what he loved. One of the many many things he taught me many things is to never hold a grudge with someone you disagree with because during that difficult time you have a unique opportunity to serve. I have thought a lot about the things I've read online and the things directed towards our staff at our schools, schoolboard members and central office. Most of them who do do not voice their opinions because of possible retaliation. Some have personal values that keep
039them from responding to hurtful words or even hateful words. Words written on Facebook and on any other social media do nothing to solve a problem. It only divides our community. And the ones doing the writing are emboldened by the number of likes they get. I have many thoughts on this topic as I'm sure many of you do as well. But I would like to encourage everyone here and listening to this meeting. Face to face is the way we should solve our problems instead of posting things that you may not be in agreement with or in many cases may be misinformed about. And I'm not just speaking about dress code on that point. I'm speaking about other things that we've seen on social media since I've been on the board. And a lot of it's misinformation.
040And all you need to do is pick up the phone and call us, a teacher, an administrator, or one of us, a board member or Miss or the bandwagon is large and jumping on is easy, but sometimes the bad the bandwagon is heading in the wrong direction and it's harming our community. Just imagine a bandwagon where we can talk to each other, enjoy the ride, and understand that just because we don't agree doesn't mean we don't care about our students, our teachers, and our families. It means we need to work together to solve issues and come up with solutions together. Better together. Real conversations have far more power than any keyboard warrior I've ever read. On another note, there are two very dangerous precedents that are being set at this very moment. One of them
041is a viewpoint that if the schoolboard members amend a policy or change a rule that is viewed in the public eye as caving or weakness. The ladies and gentlemen that ladies and gentlemen is a lose-lose for policy makers. You ask us to reconsider and clarify, we do. And then we are called weak or told we are that we caved. We listened. If you call us weak or say we caved, you have just taught us that reconsidering any policy is weakness. You cannot have it both ways. The second dangerous precedent is if it looks like it's easy to get a policy amended or changed just because people are fussing about it on Facebook. Where does that stop? When you see what is viewed as push back by any elected official, it is done for this very
042reason. At what point are there no policies, no rules, no laws, and no structure for our society? After all, as many of you have said, we have many, many more important things that need our attention. And there are so many things in our schools and locally like Daryl Bowers walking in tonight who we haven't seen in a long time. He's a former school board member and he came tonight in support of his former schoolboard friends and dessert pizza before the board meeting. At last month's board meeting, Vicky Y talked about all the accomplishments with Soore. This program builds family and community in ways that we can't even fathom yet. Single moms and dads are supported and mentored. Children begin to achieve because they learn to read. This program will continue giving our family giving to
043our families for years to come. In August, our food service director, Joe Cooper, who loves everybody, shared how many children and families she fed over the summer break when many of our children seldom have enough to eat. Thousands of meals were prepared and delivered with absolute love and service for this community. The new Paxton Patterson career labs are now in use at the middle school. I saw those when I visited with Miss Orur and Miss um with Miss Rager. These labs engage our students in real life skills so they can experiment and discover career paths that they never may never have even dreamed of before. For example, uh Mr. Chapel told me that one of his expert welders who is now honing skills at school and at school in welding and my favorite part is
044one of our young ladies So many good things are happening in our schools and in our community every single day. We need to focus on the positive in order to change our climate and our culture. If I've offended anyone, I deeply apologize for that. That was never my intent. If you want to talk about things, please contact me. My correct email address is kim.bardenberg.kychools.us. us. We are better together. Thank you for listening. And I'm just going to kind of reiterate some of the points that Miss Laur made. Um I know she spoke about her father being a lifelong educator. Um she as well has been an educator and administrator at our middle school level, not here in Milberg County, but elsewhere. Um so if anyone understands education, she does. She is our one board member
045up here that does no education. But in Michelle Oh, and Michelle, I'm sorry. Yes, she she too. But you know, I've never been around. We're caring people. And I think a lot of what people don't understand is they don't know us and they don't know me. We're real people, too. Some of you out here I've been on beta trips with. Um, you know, I'm just a normal person just like everyone else. I'm a nurse by the day, a school board member by the month. you know, it's this is not my livelihood. I love to see kids succeed. I love to train new nurses when they get on the job. Um, it all starts with education where you all are now and working through to your future. Um, I do want to make some points though
046about our dress code and that uh everyone kind of thinks that we are unfair in our dress code. Um, I printed off some surrounding counties and just made a few little notes on their dress codes. And I don't know if anyone has taken the time to look at other, uh, districts and their dress codes, but for example, Davis County, all students shall wear shirts, um, blouses of appropriate length. They may wear shorts at or near knee length. Students shall wear skirts at or near knee length. Students shall not wear jeans with holes above the knees. Students shall not wear sleeve. Ohio County, no hats or headdresses. I've heard on Facebook and seen on Facebook where they're like, "Well, they won't even let them wear hats. That's ridiculous." Well, everyone just about in our surrounding counties
047have no headdresses or no hats um on their dress code. No sleepwear. Sleeveless shirts are not allowed. No tank tops, no halter tops. Garments that expose the bare midriff or back or hang off the shoulder are not allowed. Torn article clothing higher than 3 in above the knee or showing skin inappropriately. Clothing with holes more than 3 in above the knee. That was Ohio County. Owensboro Public Schools. Shorts dresses or any other pants on that are mid mid thigh length are acceptable. Leggings or yoga pants are allowed. However, should not be sheer or transparent. Shirt length must be long enough that no bare skin or underwear is exposed between the bottom of the shirt and the top of the pants when standing, seated, or doing any other activity. The waistline should be covered and the
048midrift should never be exposed. Shirts must have a sleeve that covers from the neck to the armpit. Bandanas, hats, bonnets, caps are not to be worn during the school school day. They actually um on going for a public school have a little diagram and it shows exactly where the shirt should hit which is now what ours reflects. Hopkins County. All clothing must be size appropriate. Form fitting or overly tighty clothing is not permitted. In my opinion that would be leggings. All students shall wear shirts, blouses of appropriate length. No bare midress, bear back or low cut neck lines. Students may wear shorts or skirts at or near knee length. Extreme should be avoided. Students shall not wear jeans with holes above the knees. No um pants or boots, anything like that. Um Mlan County, all
049shirts must be long enough that they can be tucked into pants, shorts, or skirts. No plunging necklines, no midrifts. Wear clothes. uh students will not wear clothes with holes, shorts or skirts above the fingertip length where the skin is visible. So just to show you, I mean we are not off on our we are not off on our our dress code um in accordance to other school districts. So, you know, if you left our school district and went somewhere else, you're going to be expected to abide by those same dress code guidelines that I just read off, which is basically what the issues have been to my knowledge with our dress code. I will say this, the p the um we had three open session board meetings that everyone was welcome to attend when uh
050dress code was being discussed. We listened to several students who came and spent their time. We have one young man that came to two different meetings publicly and did a very good job and we are proud of our students for doing that. Um, you know, this is the things that we want to see our students be able to do is come to something like this in front of a bunch of strangers and stand up and voice your concerns and your opinions. We are not knocking any of you for that at all. But with those things being said, um when school started, the intention was not at all to start out how it did for students to get in trouble and to be reprimanded um several times a day um you know, for what they were
051wearing. Most people that I know, most girls like to wear their leggings and their crew necks or their their t-shirts or whatever. You know, just about every girl I see, that's what you we went to the middle school. I bet 75% of the girls the other day at the middle school were wearing leggings and t-shirts or buns. That's fine. Um I know the initial discussion in our open session was that we had wished for bottoms to be covered. However, when we use the word torso in our um dress code policy, the actual definition of torso is what we have put out there now with the new drawing. The drawing that was given to the staff and the teachers and administrators at the schools was inaccurate. We have apologized for that. We have come up with
052the the actual diagram that shows them the torso and what that covers. Um, we reached out to Miss Orur who also got with our our principles to have all of the reprimands to that point removed from the students so that they were no longer in trouble. They started fresh and new, clean slate. All of those were taken away because we asked for that to happen once her new drawing came out. So, I feel like um we have tried to make a wrong right. Okay. We are not going to allow pajamas. No one else allows pajamas. We're not going to allow pajamas to be worn to school. We expect that our students um can abide by by the dress code, which as you can tell is no different than any other surrounding school district. Okay. Um
053you can still express all the individuality of yourself that you want. You can wear anything you want to wear that is within the guideline. As long as your leggings or your shirt covers your torso, you can wear your leggings. You can wear purple leggings. You can wear black leggings. You can wear striped leggings. Whatever you want to wear to express your individuality. It just has to be within our guidelines. And again, our guidelines are no different than the surrounding counties and their dress codes. Now, all of the um disciplinary actions from these dress codes, we did not touch that. This is my 11th year on the school board, guys. We've never upgraded the dress code until this year. So, that tells you how long the dress code's been in effect. And obviously, other p other
054districts have not um change theirs or they have and we've just not had to change anything else in ours. But the complaint that was brought to us was regarding the short dresses and all for the the dances. That was what got this dress code um top going on for our board members. The majority of the changes we made to our dress code were involving the winter formal and homecoming dresses of that nature because that was what was complained to us as from grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, you know, people in the community that were seeing everyone's pictures posted on Facebook and they're like, "What are you all letting these kids wear? Why are they allowed to wear these dresses?" Um, so that has that was kind of what got us going on. We really kind of
055need to look at this and do something with that. Okay. Um, and with all that being said, you know, at the end of the day, I feel like what started out as a ball of fire is now, you know, starting to settle down um, with the correct depiction of what torso is. So, we have now discussed this four board meetings. So, we're not going to discuss it anymore after today. The dress code is the dress code and everyone's just expected to understand what the dress code is and abide by that. And if you can't, then there's disciplinary action for that. So, and that's at the discretion of the administrators, the teachers, everyone um you know that is is monitoring this in our schools. I have heard that, you know, girls are being, you know, gked
056at, staring at. You know, our teachers are being we've been being called pedophiles on Facebook, which is ridiculous because our teachers and our staff care about our students. And if there is an issue with anyone inappropriately looking at a female or a male student of the opposite sex or whatever, then those complaints need to be brought forward and we can address those individually cuz that is unacceptable and we will not tolerate any of our students being treated that way. So, I think that's all I have to say about that. Um, but we listened to a lot of the concerns that the students had up until this point on the three board meetings that we had back in the summer about dress code. We did become more lenient on a few things that the students had
057requested that we do. We listened to them and we made those changes before the final dress code was released. So, just know that we do listen. we do here, but sometimes it's not appropriate to make some changes. Thank you all for coming and speaking tonight. All right. If not, we're going to move on down to our administrator's report and our superintendent in report with Miss. So, I'm going to let Mr. Shark Ruth Freeman go ahead. He is All right. Uh, good evening board members. want to talk real quick about what we have going on at Bring Elementary. Uh being September, we don't have a whole lot and uh I'll go through some of this some of our main uh models of our school are relationships over rigor, love before lessons, grace before grades, and then
058doing things right rather than being right. uh we all our staff really believe in all those things and we try to put that as the uh basis of whatever we do. So one of the big things we did we empower learner we really worked hard on uh decorating our school setting the stage for success. We had red carpet uh we had several decorations for our open house and uh kids really loved uh coming back to school. Give a big shout out to our custodians. They work tirelessly on keeping our school clean and effectively uh maintained throughout the summer. Very proud. Our effective collaborator, we have uh donuts and grown-ups. It's a big event where family members come in, parents, uh grandparents, stepparents, aunts and uncles, close family members. We have lots of donuts. I try
059not to eat too many of them, but I have to try one to make sure they're not poisoned or anything. Uh, but kids really love that. They love to see their parents. Sometimes it's tough cuz they don't want to see it leave, but that's something we do with quite oftents who read a book about the tree that was there during 9/11. We had all of our close area um first responders. Our students made cards and art projects for them as they capture their vehicles and it's always a lot of fun. We're celebrating a week this week. Agriculture is a big deal at Breeman Elementary. We are a big time farming school. Uh we had big tractor thanks to Miss Jarvis and her her family farm. We have tractor and we're going to have some cows
060on on on uh on campus tomorrow. It's going to be a big deal as well. Today was farmer's day off pajama fans. I'm sorry. >> It's allowed on me. >> It's allowed on too early for that. But not sorry. Those farmers take off today. This is our skill communicator. You can't really see that. I probably should blow it up a little bit. We're This is what our um myself and Miss Ginsburg, my new assistant principal. She couldn't be here tonight and I'm not happy that she didn't I wanted her to be here tonight. So, I told her sister that she may get up, start talking, but our classroom uh walkthrough document that we look for is basically informal document that we kind of look to. We're looking to see what the level of engagement is
061in the classroom. That's subjective, but we really look to see how many of our students are engaged. We look at what type of instruction it is, whether it's direct instruction, whole group instruction, or if it's a small group instruction, or if students were facilitating or teachers were facilitating learning throughout the small group. And then we also look for um compliments, questions, uh praises, and things like that. We send that to our teachers and and they kind of give us some feedback as well. We use that in part with our formal walk through system and I I use a Google form. The former superintendent a long time ago he had to write it on paper because he didn't do anything. Uh we we upgraded our staff lounge this year. Mr. Ginsburg really worked to do that.
062We painted it and there's a we did some pictures of uh our staff when they were kids. So, it was a really good project for staff. >> We got some new faces at B Elementary. Kimberly Greenwell is our new fourth grade math teacher. Destiny Myers, new instructional monitor. Crystal Hamburg, second grade teacher. Amy Wooley is our new financial secretary. And Michaela Piper is our new instructional monitor. Of course, our new assistant principal, Miss Lindsy Hinsburg. I don't know if I get this to work here. This is our little opening day fun. Heat. Mr. Can you see your son? All right. So, we have uh back. All right. The sun was dancing. And that is the end. You have any questions? All right. Thank you. Okay. Um, this is just to give you an idea. Um
063we've been doing the IRA testing um has started for the year. We see that for reading 96% of our students um our elementary and middle school students have completed their reading assessment and then we have 70% that have completed mathematics. Um for the October board meeting um Miss Jones will be able to share some results from that um the beginning of the year assessment. So, just trying to give you an update on on where we are with that um testing. Um you all have a packet that Miss Bridget made copies for you. Um profile the learner. You can see the calendar up in the top right. This is the same calendar we did last year. We're just going to do the same thing this year where we spotlight um the different competencies. This month for
064September, it is an overview, kind of a review. And so you all have in your packet the um competencies, engaged citizen, effective collaborator, creative problem solver, skilled communicator, and empowered learner with um the key takeaways from each of those competencies kind of for you all as a review. And I want to point out the two pictures. Mr. Perkins and I got to go to the high school today to see the um culinary classroom. They did a collaborative um activity with the Spanish class. They made tamali and Mexican hot chocolate. And so there was a lot of um collaboration, problem solving, and communicators and empowered learners in um in what we got to see today. and we tasted some really good tamali and some delicious hot chocolate. So, that was fun to be able to do
065and to see the um the learning happening there. The next thing that you all have I'm a little early on this because technically it doesn't have to be till October, but I have 100 cups of coffee to do, so I need to get started. Um, for those of us that were able to hear Ian Hill uh speak, he talked about um the 100 cups of coffee initiative, which um at the end of the year from my evaluation, we talked about and you all um noted collaborative leadership as being maybe an area um to improve upon. So that is what my growth plan is focused on this year. And with that um collaborative leadership, I felt like that cups of coffee initiative is perfect. And what that is is um I'm going to my my um
066people here at the central office are going to help me with that of creating the list of hundred people in our community in our schools that um I need I want to sit down with and ask these questions um of that person some things that they like some questions that they have and then suggest some suggestions that they have for our school district. So um the what you all have the actual um PGP is a little bit more spelled out more detailed but this is just kind of an overview and then also collaboration around our district framework for success that work will start on Monday of next week and so um some things that we're going to do to work on that part as well. I'm kind uh double doing tonight. Um, Alex, Mr. uh,
067Watkins is at a DPP conference and so I'm just going to share briefly a little bit about our attendance data. You all have that chart in your um, Google Drive in your folder. Um, and so just you can see the numbers as a whole, we are, if you look at the bottom, it's really small, kind of hard to see, but we are down 96 students. And um, we I sent you all some of those numbers. let you kind of know where those um students fail, but we are up as far as our percentage of attendance. So, um going to continue to look at that obviously each month, but this is just to give you a beginning of the year look at that attendance. Um Mr. Watkins sent me today information to say he wanted to
068say for the year we are at 95% attendance um from the beginning of the year forward. this the blueprint for success. Miss Stacy Jones um will talk with you all briefly about that um later on. And then just to give you a construction update, uh you get me too. Um uh this is these are two pictures of our kindergarten classrooms that have been remodeled at Longest. You can see that the teachers have done a phenomenal job of of making it uh feel like they're home again, of putting things on the wall. Uh we are we did a walk through myself and uh Mr. Browning and the construction people did a walk through to go over some punch list items and so they're going to be working on that over the fall break. We do still
069know that there's a lot of flooring that won't happen until next summer. Um even though it is part of this work, it'll wait until they can clear out the hallways and and get into the other classrooms. So, it's just to give you a sneak peek of those rigs and and how great that they look and the work that we continue. Okay, that is all. Um, make sure that's all right. Let's move down now to our board action items and item A is to approve construction management company for the MCHS auxiliary gym renovation. Um that is also me. Last month we approved the architect for that project and this is just approving Kodell which is the construction management company we currently use um for the um high school project as well. motion. All right. All in
070favor of approving as the construction management company for the high school auxiliary gym, please say I. All opposed. I hear none. And item B. And this is to consider the adoption of the blueprint for success. All right. So, I am here tonight to share, of course, one of a lot of people in the room were part of this work as I know you all got a chance to look over it as well. But I bring to you this document, our blueprint for success. The blueprint is designed to guide our district into the future. Uh this represents one voice, one purpose, one community, ensuring every decision we make together serves our greatest priority, our students. Uh the blueprint is our strategic road map laying out a 3 to 5year vision um at least that sets clear
071direction and unites our entire district around common goals. At its heart is the Mber County profile of a learner as Miss just uh reviewed just a few minutes ago which divine def defines the essential skills and qualities we want every student to develop. Um so here tonight I have what I wanted to share with you. Of course this was not a um task that was just taken lightly by just a small group. This was a large group over many years. We've achieved a lot uh over a short period of time and it's taken the collaboration of a lot of people as she mentioned uh the profile of learner that was designed and created in the 223 school year. It was based on input from staff members, parents, students and community and which now creates of
072course an image something that has become a cornerstone of our of our community. And I think I mean from the uh the billboard on the bypass to every every single classroom has a poster. This is coming alive in our classroom and it's exciting to watch that and watch the students uh give their defensive learnings which happened during the 23 24 school year. We came together to design the process where students could defend their learning and discuss how each of these competencies are visible in their learning each and every day. So that's been very exciting. Um a small group piloted that experience during the 23 24 school year but during 242 school year we had a full year of defenses that were completed in third grade, fifth grade, 8th grade and 12th grade. Um so then
073of course that started during the 2425 school year of the creation of the blueprint. So we had the profile established. We had students collecting artifacts and making connections to the competencies and now we have in print the vision of where that goes into the future. So we have outlined and when I say we again it was administrators, teachers, parents, community members and very excited that it was a a group of students too that gave a lot of input and had a voice in that. the the committee last year outlined the priorities or the outcomes that we wanted to make sure that we focused on student centered instruction, college and career readiness, which I'm very excited that you all got to enjoy the or got to visit the career discovery labs. Um that is up and
074running at our middle school and our elementaryaries. As a matter of fact, they have to be hearing more about later on. uh student assessment and again a big part of the student assessment though is the defense of learning. So not just the traditional assessments that we've been used to in the past but more authentic pieces of assessment. Educator growth and development is intentional based on individual pro uh professional growth plans not just a one sizefits all for our entire staff as a whole and community engagement. So through those priorities, I'm excited to uh announce, of course, many of you all know next week we will be coming together again with Dr. Katie Martin from Learner Center Collaborative. Of course, I know she's going to be working in a work session with our board members on
075Monday. And then on Tuesday, it's not all of the same voices. We we sit out and encourage staff members and different community members to sign up to actually serve on one of the committees to break down and make future more goals and how we are going to see this progress take place and we had over 55 people at this moment sign up that would like to be a part of this work and that's not even I've had a couple more say hey I want to come out and add we actually invited our new teachers again uh yesterday in our new teacher institute training. Um so we may even have more than that by the time it's said number eight we have 55. And so I just highlight this. This is just an of these outcomes
076that we have decided and and identified as our focus. Again remember this is a 3 to 5year plan. This is not something that we're going to do overnight. We're not going to finish it next week or at the end of this school year. We are going to bite it off one piece at a time as you might say or one bite at a time and identify what's our priorities first. So that is our blueprint for success. We do ask that you all at this time if you had a chance hoping to review over it and look at that. So, I recommend that the Millerberg County Board of Education adopt the blueprint for success as a strategic roadmap for our district. And this plan clearly defines our future vision and direction, aligns our efforts around shared
077goals and ensures that every decision we make advances our commitment to preparing all students for success in school and in life. I'll make a motion. At the same time, all in favor considering the adoption of the blueprint for success, please say I. All I hear item C is to consider adding a part-time reading intervention teacher at Raymond Elementary School. Mr. Chairman, board members. Uh so Reman Elementary, they had reviewed their title one parent survey and their ready reading data and so they would like using their title one funds to add a part-time reading interventions and I would recommend you have some of the additional notes there as well in the rationale but I would recommend county approve the part-time reading intervention teacher at Raymond Elementary using their title one funds. All in favor considering the
078parttime reading intervention teacher Raymond, please say I. All item item D is to consider adding a part-time instructional assistant at Milberg South Elementary. >> So this position would be sitebased funding at South Elementary for another part-time instructional assistant. As you know, we're always looking for ways when they find the money that they have that they can have areas to help with their students. Uh so this position would help with clical task in the school counselor department. Again, you have additional rationale in your folder and it is sitebased allocated. So it's sitebased funies and I would recommend that we approve the part-time instructional assistant at South Elementary funded by the sitebased allocations. approved. All in favor of adding the parttime instructional assistant at elementary, please say I. All none. And item B is to consider adding
079esports head coach and assistant coach position at county. So, similar to what we have at the high school, we have our esports team at the high school and this would expand that to now we would have an esports team at our county middle school. Uh, you know, you know, now the details of esports and the importance of getting all students involved and we've been successful at the high school already in just our first year. Uh, so there would be siphons for the head coach and the assistant coach and I would recommend that we approve the addition of the head coach and assistant coach in esports at number middle school. All in favor of adding the esports head coaching assistant coach position at the middle school, please say I hear. Thank you. Item F is to
080approve the 2526 working budget. Mr. Heat. Heat. All right. So, we're going to go over the working budget. It's the last iteration of the 26 uh fiscal year 26 budget cycle. So, um this is a brief overview of revenue of all the funds and then expense differences. So the funds that we're going to review general fund which is least restrictive just kind of so you'll understand again general fund is least restrictive we can do pretty much uh anything with those funds that we so choose uh without K intervention special revenue or otherwise known as fund two is is restricted funds. So those are the funds that are the title funds that he just uh talked about those sorts of things. Capital outlay that's equal to $100 per ADA of our student. So that's how the
081taxes figured out. So that's what we receive. The building fund equates to about five it's 5 cent tax rate that must be set aside and these funds are used for debt service in our district. So when you see those fund transfers that I do, um there are occasions when in fact I talked a little bit about this the other day when you see a negative in our tax revenue. I'm going to try to avoid that this year. Like so when we get an amount that's large enough that will cover that, I'm just going to do that fund transfer in that month. So uh approximately 1.4 million. So once we get like a large tax item in, I'm going to transfer that out. So you you'll see that um and I'll I'll explain to you when
082we when I do that when that occurs. Uh construction, you know, those are funds that are they're transferred into that fund and to the use of building renovations. Uh food service and daycare operations are both proprietary funds that have to are standalone funds. They have to operate on their own. So general fund is not supposed to really kick anything in. If there is a occasion where something happens and they have to that is allowed but fortunately most of our food service and daycare operations are are funded themselves. So any questions on the funds through those quickly? So total fund revenues general fund uh I will say that I pulled out beginning balance and the contingency. So it's 39 million uh daycare operations about 1.3 million food service 6.7 6.8 million uh that includes their that
083does include their beginning balance cuz they they do have quite a bit. So you'll see that that uh building fund is about 1.429 429 that's the that those funds I said would be transferred uh capital outlay plus you 410,643 and fund 2 is about 6.8 So that's total funds about 55,920,27. So um the expense line line item differences between the tenative and the working budget the decreases employee benefits were were lower even with that raise because of the lower CDS rates. So the rates that we paid for their retirement uh and the contingency was decreased by about 30,000. Uh increases were salaries and supplies. Um a lot of the line item budgets uh when you have excess funds, we drop those into supplies so that way it can be moved out if need be. So
084that's the big increase is that better there. Uh general fund expenses summary. Uh salaries is 33840. Employee benefits about 5.6 million. Uh purchase professional and technology services those are like our our tech funds software those sorts of items about 1.2 million purchase property and services. Uh those are items such as uh like the canal of the canals of the world. Um that sort of thing. uh anything that's that's a professional service that we would get. Um and other purchase services uh 1.3 million property is 2.6 million. Property is not necessarily land property when we say that you know we're talking about uh fixed asset things that we would purchase. So and then miscellaneous of 374,574. So are there any questions on on that? uh really the committed earmark funds. We have the major renovation construction
085items. Um on the you'll you'll you'll notice that when I did give you the budget, you know, the construction, it did have zeros in there. And really what that is is that we move those funds as we need them. So that's why there's really zeros in there. And then maintenance items, you know, we discussed our tended budget and then retirement commitment which is generally around 600,000. Are there any questions? budget, please say I. Thank you. We're down now to item G, which was our addition to the agenda, and this is to award survey and private utility locator. So, this came to us from Ross Hart, from our architects. They want to do this to be able to get a good sense um to have some um good working knowledge on the best placement for the
086auxiliary gym. Um doing these surveys and making sure they know what's underneath and what where the best place is for them. So, and so it's consulting. Yes, they were the lowest bid um at the $13,85. Heat. Heat. building engineering services. Please say I hear none. We're down now to our board and agenda items. This is to approve the minutes of board meeting considering the facility use fundraising request, field trip request. Approve shorten school day for student one, two, and three. considering academic team bylaws, approving the Miller County school start and end time for the 2526 school year and to surplus some of the MCHS items. Any questions on any of these items? All in favor of approving the consent agenda, please say I. All opposed and we are now motion second. All in favor, please
087say I.