Gilbert Public Schools Board Meeting 2/10/2026

001Okay, first time doing this, so my apologies for any mistakes. Um, all right. Well, thank you all for being here tonight. Um, we have to do our call to order, correct? And do do we take roll call first for this? >> No, not >> not for this one. The next one. See, already messing up. >> Okay. Okay. So tonight we are starting off with the work study meeting and we have presentations by um the for academic review first. Correct. >> So um do we bring them we bring them up? >> Yeah. >> Awesome. >> 2.01 01 we have middle of the year MOY academic review data review by our teaching and learning department Dr. Jared Ryan soon to be superintendent still have a few months >> yeah allegedly >> you get all the big phone

002calls still >> that's right Dr. McCord, Miss Murray, governing board, thank you so much for allowing us to present this evening. I just want to briefly share with you the day we had today. Um, today was our quarterly district continuous improvement planning session. We spent around seven hours together today. not just the three of us, but 30 to 40 of us together from every uh every kind of certified position that you can that you can name in the in the in the school district. So everything from instructional coaches to principles, assistant principles, coordinators, specialists, directors. And uh what we do during that time is we review the last quarter and we review our goals. Our goals tied to the district continuous improvement plan. and we look and in all honesty we just review what's working

003and what's not. Were we seeing positive movement? Were we seeing anything plateau? Uh were we satisfied? And where do we need to keep keep working? And so uh the day was full of celebration, but also as the name implies, we also have a ton of work in front of us. And so tonight we're going to share a portion of what we discussed today. Obviously we're not going to be here for seven hours. We have food waiting right after from uh Natalie and the uh and the crew. But uh we do want to share some of the the movement that we have seen from our middle of the year data analysis and some of the discussion today along with some of the steps that we've taken the actions that we've taken to lead to some of

004these results. So I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Cox and Mr. Burcher who are going to kind of walk us through what we've witnessed over the last quarter. >> Okay. Thank you so much for the handoff Dr. Ryan. The first thing I wanted to point out, if we can switch to the next side slide, is everything we're looking at is going to be middle of the year comparative to different fiscal years. So, we're not looking at end of year versus middle of the year. Everything is like December from the following years. So, the first one I'm you're going to see right here is first grade CBMR. CBMR is a reading assessment and it's how many words can you fluently read in one minute. Okay, this is super important is we've got new research

005coming out from the state of Arizona that says 88% of struggling readers at the end of first grade still struggle by fourth grade. This is an important marker that we take very seriously. You're going to see that year-over-year we've made steady improvement starting with 52% proficient. Now we're at 56. Um, while I would love that to be a 100% um there's also some I am I'm really focused on that there was steady improvement as I feel like it's not as volatile and we can kind of replicate the results that we're seeing. One of the things that we've got is we had the literacy summit this year. The literacy summit we were able to do for all kindergarten through sixth grade teachers. We had one teacher from each campus come for a full day PD focused

006on literacy engagement strategies. What we wanted to see and inspire our teachers to do is let kids that can do the reading do the reading. That's really what we want to do is if the kids need different scaffolds and supports, we're all in. We'll give it to them. But there are students in every one of our classes, even in kindergarten, that are ready to read. And we have to give time during the instructional day for them to read. I also wanted to note that this assessment is the first time that first graders see this. We introduced this assessment in December of first grade. So, we expect for that to continue to go up as they become more comfortable with this assessment. Okay. Okay. The next one is I pulled fifth grade um ELA and this

007is an ASA mimic. So, ASA Mimic, our assessment platform, designs assessments that mirror the blueprints we get from the state of Arizona. So, they pull together and they use psychometricians to determine what proficiency bands should be so that we can make accurate predictions for what a student will get in the springtime assessments. The MOI data we take very seriously because it's still actionable. We still have time um to improve upon what you're seeing in the data here. Fifth grade, we really want to celebrate. Check out the jumps from there. Two years ago, we were at 57% proficient or passing, which we're going to consider proficient plus highly proficient and we're at 70% this year. And you'll notice that highly proficient went up and minimally proficient went down. So, super excited. I've got to attribute a

008lot of this to the district impact checks that we did today. Um, our sites are doing impact checks. We have more data than we've ever had before and we're really taking the time to dive into those. Um, what pivots do we need to make um before the end of the year assessments come? Additionally, I have to brag our special education department. It came up so many times today. The collaboration we have with special education is like we haven't seen in our district before. We had an 8% proficient jump which mirrored our general education students this year um from 62 to 70. SPED also had an 8% jump this year. So it again it's that collaboration between all departments that we've previously been in silos. Okay. The next one I want to talk about is math.

009So, fourth grade math, while we're not happy with the numbers you see in front of you, um you can see that we're steadily improving. And I'm really optimistic about this data because we switched math curriculums last year. So, we hear about the dreaded implementation dip all the time, and you'll see we didn't skip a beat when you compare MOI versus MOI data. Our teachers have really taken the curriculum uh made it their own and they're providing engaging lessons for our students that meet the standards while they're learning it at the ex exact same time. We also have set a new bar for what implementation looks like in the history of Kilbert public schools. Traditionally, we've kind of been like, "Hey, here's your books. We're going to teach you one day and good luck. Um we'll

010check in with you later." i has been amazing and they have continued to provide uh professional development for our teachers even this year. So we're in the second year of adoption and they still are doing semesterly trainings for our teachers uh to ensure that we're following it with fidelity and to best practice. Okay, we've already switched to sixth grade math, which again, we're not happy with the numbers you're seeing, right? But we are steadily improving. Sixth grade math capacity is an initiative that we've taken on as we've seen that sixth grade math has been an area that we could improve and we targeted specifically 20 teachers across the 20 campuses across the district and we are actually bringing them in for full day planning sessions before they teach the upcoming unit. So we just were

011getting ready for uh the measures of central tendency. So me, media, mode, things like that. So we brought them in, trained them on that chapter, did the planning with them, gave them hands-on lessons so that they feel more prepared to present it to their students within the coming weeks. So we anticipate that this number goes up as well. I also wanted to point out how highly proficient has gone up year-over-year. I've got to give credit to the number of accelerated campuses that have fully embraced um an accelerated model of teaching. We're getting more kids um identified as gifted and accelerating their mathematical learning. And then our traditional campuses continue to be a gold standard in what we do with math instruction. >> Good evening. So, switching over to seventh and eighth or secondary. We're going

012to start with our seventh grade where we are seeing encouraging trends within our ELA. Passing rates have increased to just over 76% driven by growth of students performing in the proficient and highly proficient. And you'll notice that we're also seeing the uh percentage in minimally proficient and partially proficient decrease, which is exactly the trend you would like to see. and it reflects stronger core instruction in math. While our passing rates are still an area of focus, we are seeing improvement year-over-year, which tells us that the instructional adjustments are beginning to move students in the right direction and math remains a targeted priority. As Mr. Mr. Burchcher mentioned, we know that our new curriculum and the work that we're doing with CUAS and our teaching and learning maps, um, there are a lot of action steps

013that go into the success that we're seeing and we believe that these trends, we know that these trends are going to continue in this positive direction. For our eighth grade, we saw a noticeable increase this year with passing rates rising to 51%. That's a significant gain from the prior year and important indicator of readiness for students as they transition to the high school curriculum. What's most encouraging from these gains are the students that we were able to move out of the lower performance bands. So, it is easy sometimes to just look at that overall percent passing. Uh but there's so much more to the story and you have to keep an eye on each of those areas. So for eighth grade mathematics wanted to bring some of the data that comes from the curriculum so

014that the board could see uh some of the diagnostic measures that our teachers and our staff are able to utilize to uh shift instructional practices on the day-to-day. So what you'll see on the left side of this slide is the I ready diagnostic growth data. You'll see this is from fall to winter and the categories uh they mimic the titles that are in the right bar. um on the HMH data. So those color coordinating the red and the pink are below level and far below level. The yellow is going to be more of your approaching and then your light green is on level and the dark green is above level. So if you kind of look at the two tables, the colors are similar. And you'll notice that uh from BOI to MOI, we have

015seen um students shifting upward in each of those areas. This mid-year growth is crucial um especially as we prepare students for algebra coursework and within 8th grade mathematics. You'll notice that I also included a chart to the right when I mentioned the HMH algebra 1 because we do have uh hundreds of students that are not in the I Ready because they are taking algebra 1 as eighth graders. So the chart on the right is going to show the increase and even for our uh typically with our algebra 1 students that are in eighth grade, they have been in accelerated or gifted in their previous years and um we're still seeing those same trends even with our higher achieving students that are placed in algebra 1 and the eighth grade. >> So shifting gears to high

016school. >> Sorry, can I ask real quick? this the um bar chart on the left is is that the that's the BOI and MOI >> correct. So the first chart it yes seventh grade fall which is the BOI the winter is the MOI and then eighth grade follow suit. >> Okay terrific. Do you know I mean obviously these are different groups of students. >> Um so we we're at 20% um above level seventh grade which is awesome and then we'll have end of the year right. Do do we know what like end of the year of seventh grade to beginning of the year 8th grade >> looks like? >> Yes. Yes. Um and what I will tell you is if you look at the fall 8th grade that is showing the skills and where they're

017at starting and one of the reports that we do have and I don't mind sharing it after uh this meeting with the entire board is it does show kind of the prediction of how they're going to do in the next grade level and how much information they're retaining. So there's a part on that report uh if they ended the year in their EOI and it's showing that they're at a certain percentage and then summer happens, we also want to know uh what the retention of that information is. So I don't mind sharing that as well. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. So shifting gears to high school, things look a little bit different. Um at the high school, our teachers are responsible for teaching to the Arizona state standards in addition to the state test

018which is not Arizona State standards. It is the norm referenced ACT and ACT Aspire. So our high school teachers um get to wear uh extra hats and get to teach to both of those uh things. So what we have to do is we have to have diagnostic and evaluation of both to make sure that we are um adequately preparing our students for the next grade level the skills and to perform on the state assessment which is Norm referenced. So on this slide you'll see um I know it's a little bit smaller to see but you'll see the 9th grade as the first four years and it's going to show longitudinal as you go down that's predictive of the ACT Aspire and then the next four lines is your 11th grade and that's predictive of the

019ACT. So what you can see very clearly with these color trends is that we are increasing our students um ability on the mathematics ACT and ACT Aspire. And I want to celebrate again because it's it's a a really great trend that we're seeing in Gilbert public schools is that even in our areas where students are typically minimally proficient, struggling students, our special education students tend to fall in that minimally proficient. And if you look at the trends that are happening there, that's even more exciting. And then on the right side, uh everything that I just explained is the same for our science category as well. >> Continuing question. Sorry, I was looking. >> So, so tell me what what are the district lines I'm seeing? So, we have the red, >> orange, and green. And

020then there's like the district lines as well. like uh if we look at 2526 for mathematics. So the very bottom one like there's the district line that goes a little into the orange and then into the green >> kind of portion. >> Yeah. So >> I you know what I find it interesting that it's kind of hovering that way but when you click on these they're interactive dashboards and it just allows you to click on it and then it generates the list of students. >> Okay. So that line's not really anything. It's it's the colors that >> correct. It's the colors. Yes. >> Yeah. The shaded portion behind is not relevant to >> Okay, perfect. >> And then when you see the numbers that are within there again on the the screen when you pull

021the presentation up, it's a little easier. The numbers will be indicative of what those percentages are to match the colors. >> Awesome. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Well, I appreciate that because I was trying to figure that out when I was reading it the other day. >> I was like, what are those lines? >> All right. So, moving into the other portion of the ACT. uh comparison, we have our reading and our English. Similar trends are evident in reading and English. Students are steadily improving across grade levels with gains that mirror what we're seeing earlier in middle school. This reinforces the importance of our district-wide literacy focus, not just in ELA classes, but across other content areas. So, we have spent a lot of time, I know Mr. Burchcher mentioned the literacy summit that

022his team did. It was incredible work and um I think everybody wanted to be a part of those trainings. Um we've also put into things into place like a a reading class for our seventh graders. We have done literacy uh training for all of our junior high social studies and science teachers. So we really have taken a focus on um making sure that literacy strategies are a priority in all of our classrooms. And I am really pleased with the reading um growth there. I know in English um the numbers tend to be a little bit more stagnant. So that shows us that although the last few years we put a lot of emphasis in reading, what we've been doing is working and now we need to uh spend our time focusing on diving into the

023English portion of the ACT. Moving into high school mathematics, this slide highlights that high school math has grown from the middle of the year to the beginning of the year to the middle of the year. So, this is similar to what I showed for the eighth graders taking algebra 1. You'll have a line for um each of the 9th, 10th, and 11th grade, beginning of the year to middle of the year. And these are all students at the grade level and course that they're in for that cohort. Um again, at the nth grade, you could have students in a variety of different math classes. So, the nice part with this diagnostic tool is it takes your entire 9th grade cohort and it's showing you if they're on grade level, um above grade level, or um

024struggling with those skills. >> So, This takes special education honors everybody sorry is on that chart. >> That is correct. >> Okay. Thank you. Even even if it's a different like math class. >> Correct. And um I will share that the consistency across these grade levels again suggest that both the instruction and intervention supports that came with the math curriculum uh that we were able to begin implementing last year are very quickly showing uh to be successful. and um we're looking forward to seeing those trends continue to move in that direction. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. So, at the middle of the year, the high school, everything else that we've shared tonight is truly middle of the year. Uh I think of a race. We're not done. They the teachers get all this

025information and it outlines very clearly what's next. And it's all diagnostic and they get to continue to work and shift instruction and do everything that they can until the end of the year. at the high school. However, we do have some summitive assessments which are our final exams. The way that high school classes are with state standards and um being given credit, uh obviously there needs to be a summitive measure. So, we implemented final exams a few years ago and on this slide you'll see that we have some upward trends going on in all of our English final exam courses and our four areas of math have been steadily increasing. Um, we do note that algebra 1, although is a little lower than we would like to see it, you still see that positive increase.

026And again, we believe that all of the interventions and uh curriculum supports that now are in place, all the other data points show that that's going to continue to have an upward trend. And then this continues on into our science final exams and our social studies final exams. And these outcomes reflect systemwide improvement. And it shows that as a teaching and learning department with all four core areas that we are showing the in the the same uh positive trends moving forward. The one thing I will note um is if you notice in science there are two percentage numbers this year we we constantly are getting feedback from our teachers. they were a part of some of these uh task force groups that helped to give feedback on the creation of if it be CUAS or

027final exams uh when they were first created. We felt like that was really important. And one of the things that we got feedback from was in our chemistry. We have some of our campuses that teach it in a modeling. Um the pacing guide follows more of a modeling uh method whereas some of our campuses follow a traditional. The modeling is a type of scope and sequence that is often taught out of ASU. And so when you have students that are graduated, um that's how we've done it for a while. And our final exams didn't reflect that. So we we got feedback from teachers that they felt stressed or that they didn't have time to teach a unit based on if they were modeling or traditional. So those two numbers represent uh the first one is

028the modeling classrooms and the second one is the traditional. And I was excited to see that um they felt heard and they appreciated their feedback being heard and they really love the idea of being able to do that and it kind of motivated them to to increase their um proficiency on that exam as well. >> Jill, do you have a question? Well, I was just looking at the difference between the modeling and then the traditional and there's quite a bit of difference in those two scores >> considering this is the first year you've done it. >> So, it if the modeling >> you're going to have to explain a little bit more to me cuz probably what I would recognize is a more traditional. So, what does the modeling look more like? And you say

029that that's what they're doing at ASU. Do we know what other colleges are doing if students go to other places like BYU or or NAU? >> So, a piece of that I think what Dr. Cox was referring to was the graduates coming to us, that's how they've been trained. >> Okay. >> So, the teachers walking into the classroom, that's their background, >> not necessarily preparing our kids to walk in. >> Okay. >> So, in terms of all the universities, ASU is one of our primary feeders of professionals coming into the coming to us. So that's where the college experience and training comes from. That's >> Sorry if I was confused on that one. >> I thought you were talking about more as that's how we're getting kids ready to go to ASU is the way.

030>> No, no. Definitely the teacher training and I will share um this is the first year we've done that. We tend to like to have three years of baseline data um to make sure that we're making a decision if we were to make a recommendation one way or the other. right now when you look at all of the other um proficiency rates up there that we've discussed tonight, I'm really proud of what our chemistry teachers are doing and I think that both of those are great numbers. I would I would like to just see what happens in the next couple of years with that. >> Well, we've we've come a long way since 2023. That's a huge jump. I was like, okay, now we need a little bar graph for all these because then you

031see this >> 2023. >> Oh, I was told to limit my data points and my talking points. So, I'm trying to keep it concise, Jill. Okay. But I I would love to see it in a bar graph. I may have to go home and graph it. >> I'll gladly share so much more with you. >> When when Dr. Ryan shares that we spent seven hours today, that is I mean, if you you love the data and the number, like that's what we I mean, it really goes into those in-depth pieces. So, anything else you're looking for, wanting to see, just reach out. Yes. >> Well, it's it's not that I love the numbers. is that I love to see that students are really learning and that this shows that they're grasping the concepts. Absolutely. And

032being successful. >> If I can share briefly, the biggest takeaway from today and the biggest takeaway I think from our visits on campuses is that there is complete alignment between groups. It doesn't matter if it's special education, advanced learning, traditional, accelerated, gift, you name it. the conversation is just identical in terms of we're all kind of going the same direction and our teachers have just embraced so much of what of what we're doing and I think getting into classrooms for us and visiting and hearing and listening and to Dr. Cox's point, understanding the training and their comfort and creating assessments based on the work that they're doing is just providing that I think value to their their experience and a value to what the students are going through. And so, um, the biggest takeaway today

033is that yes, we're in the middle of the process and we're excited about some of the direction and we know that students are walking away with more than they have been before, but we're in the middle of of of the work right now. So, um, it really is a celebration, but it's all attributed to our faculty members, our teachers and support staff and our administration on campuses and their openness to to work in this direction together. >> Yes. But I mean sorry but when you see 2023 in chemistry 44% and now 3 years later 75 almost 76% or 81%. That is a huge jump. So I really you know I really appreciate the hard work. I mean others are similar but that one jumps out to me. >> Yeah. >> And and sorry can you

034tell me what what these numbers are? Are these the percentage of students or is this the actual score on the test? >> The average score on the test. >> Average score on the test. >> Thank you. >> And I I had a question for So there's significant growth, but what does it look like across the schools? Is it are all schools steadily growing or is it certain schools that are um you know, hidden out of the park? You know, how does that >> Yeah. So that's part of our our district improvement um planning um and why we have these regular impact check meetings and we hold our campuses to that as well and they're individually doing that. So we're giving you all the overarching district trends. Um we do dive into that and we we

035put so many different things into place. I'll just share a couple of examples. I know that uh Miss Taylor and Mr. Canon have started principal collaboration meetings this year where they get to come together with their data and the principles that maybe on whatever data point we're talking about there's um maybe two principles that are off the charts with it. So they'll share what their process is for that if it's academic in nature culture attendance data like you name it and then the other principles kind of just steal ideas and try new things. So, it's almost like we've taken a true PLC process, which is what we ask our teachers to do with their teaching and um evaluate their student learning and we have adapted that to a district continuous improvement plan that allows us

036to do that. And then from each of our areas, if there is a campus that tends to show uh a decline in an area or maybe isn't performing at that level, we go and have those individual conversations with them and address that. And I think because we um it's never been a gotcha. Sometimes there's valuable reasoning behind why something looks like that and it helps us to understand like the chemistry is a perfect example. We were giving all students the same final when half of them were not even taught all those same units and until we heard their reasoning why we were able to pivot a little bit. Yes, it created a little bit more work for some of the adults in the room, but that's a better assessment for our students and that gets

037put in the grade book and that's communicating and helping students have confidence knowing that their grade is more reflective of their true learning. And so, it's just being open to that feedback and um discussing those things and then turning over to our team if we feel like something needs to be addressed if it's for maybe a different reason. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, you're welcome. All right. So, with that, I will share finally uh I saved my favorite data point uh for the the end of our presentation. Our advanced placement participation continues to grow. This is data from 2021 through this last year. And you will see that for the fiscal year 26, the registration for AP exams has uh closed. And we are on track to facilitate 6,200 exams this year. And I will

038also share that if it were up to me, I would have loved to have taken this longitudinal data back even five more years because you will see this significant of an increase in exams for even four to 5 years prior to this. And so where we went from being known for having a couple of strong AP schools, we now are a strong AP district. Um, and what I find to be um I know we don't have 2026 exam uh pass rates yet. We'll get that in July. So for the sake of a middle of the year presentation, all I have for this year is the number of exams. However, I did want to share in the last 2 years um our pass rate has increased by 10% over two years and um our pass rate

039last year for these 5570 exams was above 80%. So we are providing some incredible opportunities that are rigorous and advanced to all of our students. You heard us talk about the growth that our special education students are having and we are growing these opportunities and success opportunities for our students as well all the way up into AP. So in summary, this data tells a a pretty clear story that we're seeing some consistent academic growth across all grade levels and subjects, early indicators aligning with summitive outcomes and increasing access to more rigorous and advanced opportunities. Um, our next steps do focus on strengthening math outcomes, uh, sustaining literacy gains and continuing to expand access to rigorous instruction. Even though, uh, we have nerded out all day and have loved celebrating, all of us left today's 7-hour

040meeting like ready to put in another 7 hours right now, uh, cuz we're, we're really excited about what our next list of action steps needs to be. So, thank you. Um, we'll open it up for any questions that you all might have. Well, I I did have a question about AP um and students taking AP because probably back when I first got on the board, I attended an ASBA session with uh Yuma High School District and they were talking about increasing the um the diversity of their AP student taking the classes because in Yuma they had at before they started doing that they had, you know, the rich white kids in the AP classes and they were working to broaden that and she discussed that. So, I want to know what we're doing to increase

041the diversity and giving all of students this opportunity. Obviously, we have a lot more students. So, can we address the diversity of our classes? >> Well, I would just say that we're addressing access for all students and by nature of that, the diversity is is growing, right? So we want it to be reflective of our entire student body. And so in terms of specific actions being taken, uh the reality is when we um invest in in teacher feedback and we look at identifying students who academically we know are performing at a high level and teachers are recommending that they could uh be successful in higher level courses. um student surveys, uh teacher surveys, um academic data going back a number of years. By nature, what happens is is the breadth of students grows. Um I

042wouldn't say that there's anything specific related to AP. On the gifted side of things, we've spent a significant amount of time um with assessing our title schools and hundreds of students being identified who previously weren't in our title schools um to ensure that services are provided there. Historically, we've been a bit underrepresented in title schools and that therefore not necessarily having a full-time gifted teacher or investing in personnel in the same way because of volume and numbers being located on specific campuses. So, um I would say at this point in time across the board and all accelerated learning, you'll see a growth of diversity and just a growth of students in general across the board. And so, we we celebrate that for sure. >> That would that's awesome. I I really want to see that

043the kids in our AP classes represent the entire school. >> Sure. >> Um I I did have another question. If we go back to the other end of the spectrum, the first grade reading, um what are some specific steps that we're taking if we have readers that are struggling a little bit um and maybe need a little additional help? >> Yeah, absolutely. So number one, we have a certified reading specialist at every single one of our campuses. So if we've got a student that needs tier three intervention, uh they receive that within every one of our master schedules of our elementary schools, we have at least a 30 minute win time, which rep it's an acronym that represents what I need. And that's a time devoted to either intervention or enrichment based off a specific

044skill. Part of the literacy summit that we just did with first grade was trying to connect intervention opportunities within our core curriculum because at this age in particular, the phonics instruction needs to be explicit and systematic. A lot of the research coming out says that um up to 95% of students are able to learn how to read. Um and we need to push that and give them as many opportunities as possible to display that they're they're ready to they're reading. >> Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Awesome. Well, um, this is so exciting. This is incredible and and I appreciate the the way you're presenting it is is very, uh, tempered and that we're not happy and we want to continue improving and that's true, but man, we should also celebrate this. I mean, these numbers are

045incredible. And I mean almost across the board, I mean there was there was like maybe one or one or two um that weren't. But also I just want everyone to realize like so if we look at like 11th grade high school mathematics and you go from 18.9% um far below to 8.1% far below. That's not a 10% decrease. That's a 57% dis decrease. Right? So that's over half of the students. Um, and that's incredible. Or if you look at the above level from 5.5 to 28, that's not a 23% increase. That's an over 400% increase. And so these these numbers really are incredible. And it's congratulations to to everyone involved, which is everyone. So appreciate all the work that that you and your department's putting in that uh school administrators are putting in that teachers

046and staff, parents and students just across the board takes takes everyone and it's it's really incredible numbers. I think this is so important, something that we should be excited about, something that we again when you look at the increase um it's incredible when you look at just the number without any reference point. Yeah, we there there's still room for improvement. We need to keep pushing for that. But I I do want to just say to those that say public schools are failing or we just throw more money at public schools and we see no difference. We see no change in results or worsening results. That's not true in Gilbert public schools. So you can stop saying that. So we're seeing change. We're seeing improvement. We're changing lives and and the money is making a difference.

047And and I will just say that the money in schools in today's dollars is actually less than money that was in in past years um when you change for inflation and when you look across the nation it's one of the smallest amounts. So in Gilbert public schools with little money doing amazing things. So really incredible across the board. Um just want to say that first. Um, I'll also just say, um, just as a side note, I do think that the best way to lift up any certain group or to to diversify is not to target a a specific group, but to build a culture of excellence across the board. And I think that's what we're doing. And I think um I think that's the best way not just to lift up the whole district, but

048to lift up any individual in any district is you create that excellence across the board. You create that expectation of rigor and of excellence and of pushing yourself. And so I I do applaud that and I I think that that's the way to continue and and that's that's the way to help kids at whatever level they're at. For kids that are far below, for kids that are approaching, for kids that are above level, um that's that's the way to lift everyone and I and I think that I think that's what's being done and that's being shown in the numbers. So I I think that's awesome. Um you answered most of my questions going through which was great in your limited time and limited slides. I would love to see more slides. Um, but I would

049was writing down questions as you were going and then you answered it about a minute later. So, most of my questions got answered. I did want to uh just I don't know if we can dive into it a little bit right now or if it's if it's a longer discussion, but with Mr. Briner was asking about about the difference between schools. Um, if there's a short synopsis of that or if it's really just hey, we got to we got to talk more about that. I'm just wondering if if we're seeing some schools that are are really kind of lifting the numbers and others that are falling behind or if everyone's kind of more in the middle of the pack and and maybe just maybe a little bit more detail about about what we were seeing

050with that. >> Sure. So, I'm fortunate to sit in impact checks elementary, junior, and senior high school. I've been afforded that opportunity the last few years. this year more elementary schools than previous years just to spend a little bit more time gaining understanding of where we are and I will tell you across the board a a bit as you mentioned across the board we're seeing improvements there are spots however where we're not and we're analyzing deeply in those areas um Mr. Martin um Miss Hansen when we're going through with Mr. Bircher the feedback is immediate to the campuses. So when we go through the impact checks and I'll tell you a few years ago I think it was the feedback was being was being um taken as something that was a criticism where now campuses

051are walking in just you know books wide open honesty sharing where their struggle areas are sharing where their positives are. Um, but across the board we're just seeing improvement. And so I don't want to say that just to kind of skip over the question because there are areas of improvement. Can I say there's one high school campus that's really struggling? No. Can I say there's one elementary campus? Absolutely not. Are there specific content areas at specific grade levels within specific campuses? Yes. Are there teams on campuses that maybe aren't high functioning? Yes. But what we're hearing is a principal walk in, an instructional coach walk in and share the story and say, "Here's our plan moving forward. Here's how it's being addressed. Here's what we've done over the last 45 days to ensure that that

052doesn't continue." So where before I think as we started the process, it was a bit more guarded and and and um maybe not as open to the feedback, now it's just dialogue. And so I think as we've progressed in this process, and to be honest, as Dr. McCord told us, "Everything's on the table and we're not hiding a thing. We're here to get better for our kids. We're here to get better for our community." I think that's just trickled to to every position. And so, it's an open book. Um, I can't tell you right now that there's one campus where there's extreme concern or there's one campus where we feel like we have it figured out. Uh, but there are pieces in there of every bit of that and our job is to go in

053strategically and ensure that they have the supports that they need to be successful. So, we'll leverage our team. There was a meeting we were in a few weeks ago. I looked at Mr. Burchcher said we need to leverage our team. We need to get a few people out to this site. There was a specific grade level, specific questions that had come up um based on some things from last year, but immediately we're addressing it. So, um that's the the strength that comes of that process. So, I don't anticipate that we will ever see a full campus slide or or drop without it being um addressed really early on in the process each year. So, >> thank you. And then and then we do have a few different models um at each at each level, but

054specifically at elementary school, are we seeing are we able to separate out our our campuses that are I don't know what the where we have mixed are we able to separate that out and are we seeing differences there? >> Um we do see some differences. Um, but a lot of times is like the Canyon Rim or the Spectrum where we've got part traditional, part conventional, those are both school choice options, you know, so it's not always fair to do apples to apples because they're not necessarily. So, but yes, we do have that data. Um, we do question the schools on their data and what's your plan moving forward. >> And and then I guess the ones that aren't split like uh and so we have some that are accelerated as well. Are we able to

055sep and we're able to separate like the accelerated class versus >> our new data and research. So what are we two three years in on data and research? We have more data than I've ever dreamed of. You know, I can disagregate by subgroup, we can disagregate by teacher, we can disagregate by almost anything. And then if it's not there, one email and Peter in 10 minutes will get it to us. So it's pretty impressive. Are there any takeaways from that that you want to share tonight or do we want to that that you see from from our different programs from a traditional from uh accelerated from >> so I will share early on with the acceleration adoption um or implementation we saw significant gains in growth num growth measures at the accelerated campuses. Um we're

056now starting to see some differences between the accelerated campuses. So now diving in to see implementation wise what's happening in certain locations um we'll have a campus like Neely which is full traditional where we won't see as much growth but the proficiencies through the roof right so how do we dig in and focus on growth and what support do we need there um so each campus to your point I think has a little bit of its own story are we seeing trends of course and are those being you know addressed in both positive ways we need to replicate some things in some other areas where it's working and we need to be able to spread that. But um certainly happy to sit down and go through detail at any point in time that any of

057you would like to to sit and really go through and see the work that we're doing on the back side based on what we're what we're discovering through any of those implementation processes. >> Great. Thank you so much. And again, congratulations. >> I had another question for the I think for the fifth grade. showed that there's a 10% uh jump from 2024 to 2026. My question is how do we track um you know that fifth grade class at 57% um which is you know now in seventh grade. How do you fill in those gaps? Because there's you know the 2026 um passing percentage is 10% more. So how do you um support those students so that they because there's maybe additional strategies that was provided later on? Totally agree. That's that's something we are always

058watching is cohort data, right? Is you don't want to roll up, you know, a cohort where 57% of the students are meeting the state standard, but that's absolutely we work with the principal and develop a plan to attack the deficits of the 43% while still enriching the 57% that are there. Um I'm very very excited that the last two years we have either been tied or beaten our East Valley peers in sixth grade ELA proficiency rates um on state testing. I'm hoping to repeat um not hope. Sorry we don't do that Dr. Ryan. We we don't hope we do it. Um and we're excited for those results. But again it's part of the transparency that he had mentioned. We are in the data constantly and it's going and talking to principles. Hey, tell us about

059this, you know, and just they know I feel like we've created great relationships with the buildings and they will call um, hey, can we borrow this person? I need a PD for sixth grade over here. And we're just kind of it's a two-way communication that has been pretty phenomenal the last couple years. >> Great. Thank you. And again, you know, kind of going after um what Blake said, you know, I think the growth is amazing and I think it's, you know, I appreciate all the work that you guys have done and others involved. Okay, any other questions? Good. >> Sorry, I'm not done. Just one more thing. Um, so obviously I would love to see way more numbers. Most people would love to see way less numbers. Um, is is there I don't know if

060it's just kind of picking a few of these or can we get a a few numbers that summarize this and blast this and like send this out to parents, put it on social media, like let's let's get this out there. Yeah, it would have to be in a format that we understand these differently probably than the general public would. So, it' have to be something that highlights some of those extraordinary areas put together. >> We I know um to go even further, I we absolutely there's some ways to do that. But I will share that I know for like AP um our PR team works with us and they've done an incredible job putting those things together, but it usually comes um once those scores come out. And then um with some of our other

061more like growth in the numbers. So I know we didn't hit on them today, but even when we talk about like our GAMS growth and things like that, we've celebrated some of those. So I think that's a great idea and we can take that back to the team. U but they're always finding ways to like celebrate us. So they'll be excited to hear that. I and I'd just like to point out again, I think as we came out of CO, you know, our our eyes were glossy, our heads were foggy for a lot of different reasons cuz we were going in a lot of different directions as was every district. And I think we took it as an opportunity to hit the reset button when it came to academics. and we dedicated uh ourselves to,

062you know, we talk a lot about culture and I think people think culture is all about people feeling good of where they're at and and you know, loving the space that they're in, but there's that academic culture and I think that was a big reset for for us. And as I sat in this uh district uh continuous improvement plan meeting today and and just listened, I didn't I don't do any talking in there. This is the work of all all of these folks and the others that are in there. It is incredible to see from the very first time we sat down as a group to where we are today. Uh the language is different. The first few meetings were very direct, honest about who we are, what we are, and where we want to

063be. Today, it wasn't we weren't drudging up the past. We were talking about how are we going to continually improve and what do we need to do better? And we continually add goals and markers to this. And and I'll say it, you know, in 31 years, this is this is the most and the most focused we've ever been when it comes to academics. And that's attributed to their department, all of our folks out there, all of our departments, uh, being lock step with what's important, our teachers in the classroom, understanding that, um, student success is paramount to Gilbert public schools. And I think everybody's on board with that. So, I appreciate that. Thank you guys. >> Okay. Well, thank you guys again. Um, I love my data as well. So, I very much appreciated all

064this and it's it is exciting to see that the numbers are trending upwards. So, thank you guys so much for all of the hard work that you're doing. >> Thank you. Do I have? >> Yeah, just say the next one. Yeah. >> Okay. Okay. So, moving on to 2.02 monthly financial report for month ended December 31st, 2025 to fiscal year 2026. >> So, you just saw our academic data. Lot of numbers. Now, here comes some financial numbers. This is Bonnie's wheelhouse. And I know that you all would prefer to see the academic numbers and not so much of the financial numbers, but I am uh wor I was so worried about running out of power that I failed to turn on my computer and get my >> Well, good. I'll add in while you're sitting

065there. Going back to what I just said and when I talk about every department, you know, our finance department is extremely important to the academic success of what we do. And when we go to Bonnie and her team about here's what we want to do, here's what we need to get it done. Can we do it, she doesn't say no. She finds ways to say yes to make it happen because she knows that even as a finance department, it is our number one goal is to make students successful. And so, uh, her and her team make that happen. >> Was that long enough? Did you power up? >> And I'm very proud to be a part of that team with that academic achievement. So, just so you all know, I'm almost there. Oops. A duo.

066Yeah. God bless John. >> God bless John. God bless John. Sorry. Yeah, I'm calling John. John, help me. Okay. Okay. And then I have to do my Windows K. Okay, good. It remembers me. That's good. Okay. Good evening, governing board members. Um, thank you for welcoming me back. Very happy to be back. um want to make sure that you knew that Amber Morgan was here uh with me today and to know that I have nothing to do with creating this report at all. Um that Jackie and Amber actually work really hard to create it on my behalf and then we spend an hour to two hours every month going through the data to make sure that we understand the changes that have occurred month over month. And as you know, we only share with you

067what we think is notable for those changes month over month. So this is a very short report. We're just sharing the district operating funds as well as the other district funds. So, as we've shared the last three months, I think the maintenance and operations fund is trending as we would expect at this point in time. Couple of reminders. Remember that we have not seen the final budget revision reflected of the reflective of the annual financial report. So, that will be coming to you the end of February. I think we will be presenting the U revised budget number two. Um uh so you can see that we are still assuming an available balance of $4 million. That will go up. But also you should know that we have implemented the additional 1% which amounts to a

068half a percent pay increase that was implemented the last pay in January. And so all of our employees have seen that additional uh 1% half a percent reflective of the half year. So just so you're aware of that. And then finally, you can see on unrestricted capital, we have an available balance of 27.2 million. Year-to- date expended encumbered is 20.7. If you remember from our adopted budget, we anticipate spending about 30.6 million, I think. 30.6 million. Um, and so we are expecting to see an incumbrance of another $10 million reflective of Albert Dutchover's work in operations as well as technologies work in doing the next round of the device refreshes for all of our students. Okay, before I go on, are there any questions about that? Okay, great. And then finally, the other district funds

069grid. Just wanted to point out the 90X versus the 95X and giving you some um definition of what distinguishes those two fund levels. So keep in mind that the 90X's are the enterprise services. Those are funds that are related to external uh organizations that are actually paying us. So think about dual credit where we are actually partnering with the community colleges. Um there are other numerous IGAs within the 90Xs. Uh we have had enterprises where we had professional development offer opportunities for other teachers from other school districts come and join us. Think about our advanced placement where we were we are taking in revenue so that other teachers throughout the East Valley primarily are able to take advantage of our advanced placement um institute every summer. So that is the 90X funds uh versus the

07095x funds. Those are totally truly those funds that are relevant to our various departments providing services to other schools and departments in Gilbert public schools. Best example probably is the print shop. And the most notable example is the employee benefit trust. It's not a 95x, it's a 96x. Um primarily due to the fact that it is a a benefit trust. Um but both of those are in that same category of providing services to internal clients. Just wanted to take an opportunity to make sure that that those distinctions were understood by all of you as a governing board. And that actually concludes my report. >> Does anybody have any questions? Short and sweet. >> Okay. >> Also an incredible job. >> Well done. Thank you, Amber. >> Thank you very much, guys. >> Okay, so now

071we're moving on to 2.03 update on nutrition services and school lunch taste testing. >> Well, this is exciting. >> It's that time of year again. >> Yes, >> one of our favorite board meetings. >> Yes, of course. >> And this is something we started what, two or three years ago? >> Yes, it's and hopefully it's annual >> and that we will be forever moving forward. Right. We we teach the kids, we provide finance for them, but if they're not fed well, they're not going to learn. So, >> here comes nutritional services. >> And also, I just wanted to share I'm going to be handing this presentation over. I will be driving the presentation, but I want you all to know that um that Natalie and I instituted this three years ago. This is our third

072year, I think. Yeah. >> Uh just because we're just so proud of the work that our nutrition services department is doing. They're very innovative. They're constantly looking for ways in which they can entice our students to participate in breakfast or lunch. They're looking at the data to determine when is that opportunity where one of our schools can become a community eligible um program which means that all the students at the schools are able to um get free free lunch and breakfast. So we have three schools now that are identified under the C program. So they're constantly looking at their labor costs and the food costs and most importantly which is really our focus for today is on the use of our commodity entitlement. So I'm going to I'm not going to take away the thunder

073um from uh Natalie. Um but that's that was the the piece of learning we were hoping to share with you today. And so everything that we do tonight will be related to our commodity entitlement and the foods that are processed and created based upon those commodity entitlements. So with that, I am going to uh just drive and be quiet and allow Natalie to take over. So it's all yours. Thank you, Miss Vets, Dr. McCord, Miss Murray, esteemed board members. Thank you for having us here tonight. I know I always have problems with this. Okay, >> you just tell me when to turn the page, Natalie. >> So, the title of our presentation tonight is nutrition services discussion on NSLP, which which stands for National School Lunch Program, Commodity Foods, and Taste Testing. Today's report includes

074introducing our team, statistics, defining the commodity foods program, taste testing some school food products, and then a small discussion on the reimburseable breakfast and lunch definition and possible changes in the future. First, I would love to bring our team up. They are all ready and waiting. You guys look so official back there. Come on up. You don't have like a walk up song or anything like that? >> We do. >> Great. Next year. >> Okay. So, we'll start uh right to left. Here we have Julianne Shelton. She is our secondary school supervisor and helps with financials. >> Thank you. >> Woohoo. Then we have Linda Price and she is new to our department. and she is our new department admin and she's doing a great job and she's excited to be at her first board

075meeting ever tonight. Next we have Michelle Shear. She is our area manager for elementary schools and also a department buyer for the nutrition services. Um and then Jessica Turnbo. She is brand new. This is her sixth day on the job. Seven. She's still here. Seventh day on the job. She's loving it. She is our new registered dietician and the junior high supervisor. And then we have Rachel Bratton, uh, our elementary school supervisor, SNS, school nutrition specialist. So, um, we are really excited to be here tonight and they will be our servers bringing out all of your options tonight. So, thank you very much for taking time to do this. Um, in addition, because Michelle Shear is the buyer and the one who determines how we're going to use our commodity pounds, they always I always

076say commodity dollars. Like, no, Bonnie, it's commodity pounds. Um, she will be she will be sharing um her process. So, just so you're aware. >> Yes, it's going to be an exciting evening. So, we will start first with some statistics because I did hear that you love your numbers and statistics and these are all really good news and uh celebration points too. We had 2,447 154 student lunches served in uh the 2425 school year, which was an increase of over 240,000 more meals than the year before. And then we had 432 297,000 uh breakfasts which were also an increase of about 20 something,000 24,000 uh from the year before. Uh the reason I like to highlight that is because it's not that necessarily enrollment is going up, but if participation's going up, then maybe we're

077doing something right. if the students are choosing to eat our meals and then they are getting nourished to be able to learn in the classroom during the day. Currently 9,743 students are qualified for free and reduced price meals through the national school lunch program which is a great benefit to those families in our district. So that is quite a large amount. The nutrition services department is a $15 million operating entity with over 200 employees and we are the largest restaurant in town and I said that last time so I wanted to add a caveat to that and that is we are also the cleanest restaurants in town. The health inspector said that they will eat in our places anytime because we keep it so spotless and clean. Okay, we will dive right into the United

078States USDA commodity foods program. Uh it's a little bit complicated but I feel like um we are going to explain it in such a way that it is crystal clear to all of you. First will be the definition. It is a federally funded initiative granting American grown highquality minimally processed foods to support participating NSLP school nutrition programs. It helps provide some of the nutritious, cost-effective food for lunches and breakfast. So, it's not the 100% of the food we order, but a large percentage of it. Funding and allocation. Districts receive an entitlement in dollars. That's why she likes to call it dollars. We spend those dollars in pounds. So, to us, it's pounds, but it's the same thing kind of. Um, based on the number of meals served in the previous year. So obviously if you're

079serving more meals then you can get more entitlement. So that's a good thing. The product types include varieties of beef, pork, poultry, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, eggs, cheese. They even do some things like, you know, flour, things like that. Benefits. They help schools lower food costs as each dollar awarded from the program is a dollar saved in food cost to keep meal prices low for our families. So it goes straight to the food cost. History of the program is the USDA commodity foods began in the 1930s to purchase surplus food from American farmers and provide it to the schools. In 1946, it became a permanent part of the National School Lunch Program, supporting student nutrition nationwide. Some of the advantages include lowering food costs, making school meals more affordable for families. Foods are USDA compliant,

080meaning they meet all of our requirements for whole grain, low sodium, low sugar, etc. You may not be able to find that in other retail foods. So, this is good because it's custom made just for us. Promotes access to nutritious foods and greater menu flexibility and provides a reliable food supply chain to school food programs. So, sometimes when you can't buy things at the store, you could still use these. Okay. Now, we're going to go through a small history of our entitlement dollars awarded to Gilbert Public Schools. We decided to go back all the way to 2019. Why not? And that way we would get precoid, postcoid, everything like that. And so if you notice, the entitlement awarded goes down the middle. And then the cost per plate is assigned every July by Congress, um,

081which is based on a three-month average of the producer price index. So that's a formula that um we don't have control over, but we do have control over how many meals we serve to try to uh up our entitlement. So for example, if you were to take like the 202122 school year and say, okay, you got $971,000 something dollars, that would be based on the plate cost that they made in July times the full year of meals served previously. It's on the prior year, right? From 21 the 21 >> because it has to be a year that's already finished. >> That was just my question is so is it that we get they do the calculations and at the end of the year we get the allocation that we use for the next year. >>

082That's a great question. So right now we just got our bank loaded. So it actually is the 2324 number. Oh, it is >> because we haven't finished the 25 or it's the 2425 number cuz we haven't finished the 25 >> 26 school year yet. >> So, it's actually two years in a rears then from the >> Yeah. kind of like FAFSA. It's like two years back. Yeah. So, um >> and then you times it by the plate cost and we get it. So, we just got it about a week ago, Michelle. About one week ago. It's in our bank right now. >> So, it's like comes in one big lump sum. miss >> all at once and we have to tell them by March 20th this year. Every year it's right around the middle of

083March how we're going to spend it next year and you get one chance to tell them and that's it. So you have to plan accordingly. >> Yep. >> So that means you have to plan out for your whole year pretty much. >> Yes. So right now is a very exciting time in our department. In fact, Bonnie, you were telling me I haven't even seen you at all today. And I'm like well so we are working our menus for next year and the food for tonight. So, right now is very slammed for us because we need to know exactly what we're serving next year so that we know exactly how many pounds to give to each food. And then we have to tell them how much of each food item we're going to use all of

084next school year. So, it's it's it's a a lot of calculating, but we do it so that we will have exactly enough food for all of our students. So, one of the things I was hoping to drive home, you can see the 1920 entitlement awarded of 765,000. So, keep in mind that that was based upon meals served in the 1819 school year. No, no, the 1718 school year. >> So, remember our if you remember, our population was higher then. Um, and so it's was only $765,000. Whereas today we're over a million dollars in entitlement with smaller enrollment, but it's an indicator of the success of our nutrition services program and the fact that our students and families are choosing to breakfast and lunch at Gilbert Public Schools in spite of Uber Eats and Door Dash.

085So, it's been a positive thing. >> Do those numbers include VIK before and after school as well or is that separate? So Vik does choose at some of the elementary schools to eat breakfast with us, not lunch and not after school snacks. >> Got it. >> So, uh, depending on the program, some of them like to make their own little side things, but most of them will participate with us, but not all of them come in and eat with us. >> Okay. >> But that's a good question. Uh, so I know what you're saying. How much is in your bank right now for this? Yeah. Ready? Next slide. 2627 newly released uh entitlement for us is 1,113,93140. So uh we are working on letting the government know exactly how we're going to spend these dollars

086and assign these pounds to the food for next school year. Next. So, you're thinking to yourself, how does Gilbert Public Schools Nutrition Services calculate and decide where to assign these entitlement dollars to certain foods? We decided it'd be really fun to bring up our buyer so she can actually, in her own words, describe how she goes about doing that and you can get a peak behind the curtain and how we do this. >> Okay, Michelle, come on up. You can sit next to that. >> This is Michelle Shear. She has worked with uh Gilbert Public Schools nutrition services since 2003. >> 2004. Uh she started out working as a substitute in the kitchens and then part-time full-time kitchen manager uh helped with different things in our office and now was our buyer for the last

087I want to say 5 years. It happened in 2020. >> 2020. So starting in co and the best part is when I was training her how to be the buyer I would say this never happens. Like every scenario we would get I'd be like but this never happens because it was so crazy that year. She finally said she finally was like really really I said well it's a special time but >> we're ready for anything that >> we're always ready. >> So what's interesting is I've I've Michelle has shared with me that she actually makes a recommendation to Natalie and then they duke it out to determine how they're going to allocate out the entitlement. So Michelle, before you begin though, you should turn on your microphone. >> I've never done that before. >> Okay.

088All right, Miss Murray, Dr. McCord, and board members. Okay, I'm going to go over the product evaluation and taste testing. We have two ways that we do our >> Sorry, can you speak into your mic just a little more because I think it's kind of >> closer. Okay. We have two ways that we do our taste testings and our product evaluations. We have our supervisors, a rotation of nutrition service managers on a weekly basis and we meet for products that we will try in our district office. Some of you have been to our taste testings. So all right and then uh these taste testing m meetings are scheduled on Thursday mornings from August to the first week of December. From these meetings, we determine which products to sample with our students during their lunch times.

089The students give us feedback on which products they would like to see on our menus. We use student feedback, supervisors, managers, and registered dietitian analysis for the future products that we will use on our menus on all grade levels. Now, let's discuss how we use commodity dollars to drive down the price of the most expensive menu items utilized for breakfast and lunch. A few years ago, we determined that it was $20 cheaper per case to order frozen broccoli at retail price from our distributor instead of receiving this product from the USDA. Therefore, we did not assign any of our entitlement dollars to frozen broccoli from the USDA, and we decided to save the money and order it retail. This school year, however, the same frozen broccoli is $30 less from the USDA than ordering it

090from retail from the distributor. So, this year, we'll use our entitlement dollars to receive the frozen broccoli from the USDA. We will always adjust to procure the food products whichever way makes the most fiscal sense. The nutrition service department and me as the buyer are constantly researching and evaluating the cost of our food items to bring down the plate cost to keep prices low for district families and to continue to receive the highest quality products for our students. All right, a few examples. Right now, as Natalie said, it is a very important time. We're finalizing all of our menus for next school year. So, each spring, we estimate usage on how many cases of each item we will use for our entire upcoming school year. Then every March, we lock in our choices to the

091USDA of how we're going to spend the awarded entitlement dollars to each food item, every single item on the menu. Lastly, we must provide estimated usage amounts for the products to the manufacturer as well as our distributor. That way, these products will be available for our students for the entire school year at the best possible price. A great example of processes to receive the best possible price would be our JTM seasoned beef that we use for nachos on our school menus. The cost per case of JTM seasoned beef without using commodity entitlement dollars is currently $168.74. The cost per case of JTMC's and beef utilizing these commodity entitlement dollars is only $51.74. This is a significant cost savings of $117 for every case of beef. For perspective, each case of beef provides servings of nachos.

092So in conclusion, we're receiving the same brand highquality product that students enjoy, however, at a much lower price by utilizing these commodity entitlement dollars. We are constantly looking for ways to get the most bang for our commodity dollar buck. Thank you very much for your time and interest in our cost analysis and our menu building process. >> Great job. Before we go on, are there any questions about any of that? >> Well, I just want to say um I' I've come across sometimes um at different events maybe um at conference that there are vendors that want to come in and do our food. And I'm like, "No, we're Gilbert Public Schools. We do not need you. We have our nutrition services department." and I really appreciate the hard work you put in to taste things

093and make sure that they're going to taste good for our students. I think that's one reason why we're able to bring serve more lunches and more breakfast is cuz it is it is good food. It does taste good and and I like to brag after this night about how wonderful everything tasted. Um, and I really appreciate the hard work that you're watching fiscally as well as culinary so that the families are getting a really good product for their money. Thank you. >> Thank you, Michelle. >> Yeah. I just I had a real quick question. Um, just cuz I I live in the free and reduced lunch world at my school. So, it's slightly different. So the the dollars that you're talking about, this is just the lunches that like our our parents, our families would

094be paying for. That's a separate totally separate is the free and reduced. Does that come out of the same pot of money? >> So are you talking about buying the food or buying the meal? >> Yeah. Well, I just know there's a lot of very strict rules regarding the free and reduced lunch program and how it's served and all of that. I was just wondering if it was if they were separate entities or if they were >> I love this question. Good news. Good news. It's completely the same. And the reason is you wouldn't want a student to feel discriminated against. So every food item that goes to someone who's free and reduced goes to someone who's paid. So it's all the exact same foods regardless of how much we're getting in a reimbursement for

095a free meal, a paid meal, or a reduced price meal. So th this is um across the board universal and that's the best way to do it because you know I think you're right. In the olden days they'd have you know you have a different color ticket if you're free and reduced or something you can only go in this line. The days of that are completely over. That's completely illegal. We can't do that. >> Oh yeah, sure. No, I was just cuz I know when it comes when it comes to counts things like that for like our breakfast and our lunches, we have to be exact on the numbers. So, I was just I was just curious process-wise when it came to the free and reduced lunch versus the kids who pay, how it works

096on our end, just cuz I I see it from the classroom and how I have to do the counts every morning for how many kids eat breakfasts and then how they do the counts at the lunch, you know, things like that. So, >> so they ask you at your school who's free that's eating. >> We we all are. I'm at a totally different My setup is slightly different. So, >> they're in a C school. She's in a C. >> So, I was like, "Wow." >> Sorry if that was confusing, but >> wow. It's a it's a very different dynamic, but I just know I just know the rules around it. >> So, we definitely do the counts and there are lots of rules, but there are separate rules if you're a C school. There's even

097some stricter rules for us to check to make sure that certain things are being done exactly according to C regulations, which are slightly different, but we would still buy the food and go through the same procurement process for that food as we would for a school that's not C. So, that's a good question. >> Yeah, thank you. Sorry, I didn't mean to. >> No, that's good. That's good to derail you there. >> The difference is how much revenue we receive from the federal government regarding the nutrition services program, right? So, for every meal that's free, we receive a higher reimbursement than for any any meal that is paid. >> That's the biggest way to distinguish those two things. >> Okay, perfect. Thank you. >> Yes. And and so um with the CB school, we don't

098get all of it considered free. it has the multiplier. So, it's it's kind of a slightly different playing field when you're a C school. Any other things for Michelle before we dismiss her? I I had one more question for um since we have more students who are purchasing um our you know, our food here in the district. How do we um how do we buy the right amount of food? You know, with you have to do the commodity purchases all at one time. So how do you know so you don't have a surplus of a certain kind of food or not enough for you know that increased population of students you know eating. >> Thank you. >> So we have planners that we do and all these planners have to um figure out just like

099I said the nacho beef is 177. So we do the math on all of our schools in the district and how many cases we believe we'll use by our menu rotation. So then we fill in the planner and at the bottom it gives us a total of pounds and dollars that we'll use for that specific item. So all of these get added into a system and we tell them these are where we want our pounds to go to this manufacturer. >> And that's usually based on lunch count and historical data from >> we go on this year. We go off exactly this year what she just said >> and then we meet with the supervisor and we say are you going to serve nachos one more day a week or are you going to do

100it more often? Is it going to go up down or is it going to go down? Oh no, the kids are getting tired of nachos. We're going to do it one less day, whatever. Then she goes a little up or a little down. Then we add some padding in because we want to make sure to get through summer school and before the banks. So we start here in July and they don't sometimes load the banks to August or September. So we want to make sure we have a little bit rollover for next year. So then we'll add some padding. So if she says, "Yeah, I really think we need 8,000 pads." We'll be like, "Hm, let's try 9,000." And then we get to the end of our money, we didn't have any, we might have

101to go back and adjust a little. But we're going to do the best educated guess we can. Yes, it's a slight gamble because what if all of a sudden no one wants to eat it? But based on our historical data, we usually knew I mean, and if you do run out, this is the best part. Are we allowed to talk about? >> Yeah. If we do run out, they have bonus pounds. So, we can we can reach out to the vendor and say, "Ah, we gave £8,000 and it's April and we're out. Do you have any?" And he look in the state account and they'll be like, "Oh, we have some surplus. Would you like it?" And we get it for free. So, it's not the worst. If you're right at the end, you can

102get some bonus pounds. So, then we'll even stretch our dollar further. >> Thank you. I I appreciate all the work that you guys do. Um I was grateful to attend one of the taste tests earlier uh this year and um I think uh people don't always realize how much you know you know physical responsibility that we have to focus through this as well as making sure there's meals that you know students enjoy and you know want to eat when they come to school. So thank you so much. >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Michelle. Now we get to a very important part of our meeting where we actually eat some of the school food. We are definitely focusing mostly on commodity foods tonight. So we'll be able to highlight that for you. Thank you

103team. >> Our first uh >> so you know this is just an overview. So, our first thing will be in the little cup is the jalapeno bites. So, if you can't have spicy food, definitely don't eat what's in that little cup. They're spicy. Real jalapenos in there. So, that's the jalapeno bites. Bonnie loves them, huh? Yes. And then separate from the cup is three cheese bites or pepperoni pizza bites. And we have marinara sauce for your dipping pleasure for the three cheese and the pepperoni. And then we have a special treat. On the black plate is all your condiments and side items. There is a cup of our homemade salsa that we serve in the Oh, one more slide over one. This is served in the secondary schools. We make this fresh. And so, um,

104we'd like to thank Judy Pearlman at Gabbert High School for making this for us for tonight. So, you can dip your jalapeno one if you want into the fresh homemade salsa. This product, what I'd like to highlight about it, it is a sold retail uh by Wild Mike's made with commodity mozzarella cheese, which we've assigned to that vendor. And so students would be able to see these stuffed crust cheesy bites with the jalapenos in them as you see on this picture, so they could recognize them and know them. It's the same brand you could get at the store, but we're getting it much cheaper for the schools and in a more healthier, clean label. So, it's whole grain, things like that. I know it's spicy. You need to be careful. We got water here. Um,

105we are currently taste testing these samples with GPS students. So, one of uh your most favorite uh things is the stuffed crust sticks. And one of our schools was saying, "Oh, the kids are getting a little tired of them. You know, are they aren't they?" We were going to go check the quality and everything, but what if we spiced it up with some jalapeno bites and said you couldn't choose the regular cheese or the jalapeno? Then you get a choice and and it um it helps fight menu fatigue to be able to introduce new and novel things to the kids at school. So, uh the actual bites are made with the mozzarella cheese from commodity and the homemade salsa is made with commodity diced tomatoes. So, the brown box is about 319 a case right

106now. And you can get six giant cans of diced tomatoes and they pour it in with all the ingredients and use immersion blender and make fresh homemade salsa. This is an actual picture of it at Gilbert High. Now, here's where you guys uh I mean you board members get to uh participate in this meeting while we have a board feedback form. >> Okay. >> So, it's the next page and I put them they're they're stapled. Um the first one is bites and salsa to talk about if they look appetizing. >> It's actually separate so you can fill that right next to >> Does anybody not have it? >> That way you don't have to give up your your presentation. M >> yes. So maybe evaluate the taste, uh texture, seasoning, spice level, size, um things

107like that. And then do you like the taste of the homemade salsa recipe? Provide feedback. And do you think students would like the bites? If so, which flavors? And do you think students would like the salsa? just to help us with feedback. We also do a lot of taste testing, as Michelle said, with the students themselves. And sometimes that gets them really excited when we say, "You have the power to decide what all the elementary schools are going to eat next year." They really love that. And we will compile your results and share it in the next um board report so you can see how you all felt. >> Yes. Thank you for your feedback. Okay, we'll go to the next slide while they're writing. >> Yeah, why not? >> What the heck? Okay, let's

108go. >> The next one is uh onion rings and boneless barbecue chicken wings are coming out next. >> Here they come. >> Oh my goodness. >> I know. Get ready. Hope you hope you didn't eat dinner yet. >> Onion rings and boneless barbecue chicken wings. >> They're coming around. As you notice, you do have uh celery and ranch for dipping. You could This one's the ranch. It's organic ranch. There's no MSG in it. Everything's gluten-free. Also, uh >> Oh, yes. >> This celery, carrots, whatever you want to have with it right here. Or if you want to dip in barbecue sauce. Got it. Here's your um Oh, you're already up one and ready. Okay. Onion rings. They are whole grain batter, low sodium, low fat, and baked in the oven. So, they are not deep

109fried. They are currently on our junior high school menus only. They get it special in seventh and eighth grade. We do call it the Western Bacon Cheeseburger, similar to what you could get at somewhere like Burger King or Carl's Jr., things like that. Students really like the texture and the flavor of these onion rings. And um we can't give them a whole side order of onion rings, so we put one on the burger. And um we are taste testing these onion rings for additional menu options. And if you notice the picture to the side, we are highlighting that we do use commodity turkey bacon, commodity hamburger patty, commodity American cheese slices, commodity barbecue sauce, and we serve it with potato wedges. So, of course, the potato sides are all commodity, including our tater tots, cringle

110cut fries, curly fries, all that is commodity products. Then along with your onion ring is boneless barbecue chicken wings. They are made with commodity chicken pounds from Yangs, which also makes our orange chicken and teriyak chicken. They utilize both white and dark meat pounds. So something interesting is we have to use the whole bird. So we have to keep our percentages balanced. You can't just use white meat or just use dark meat. Then you run out of one and you just have the other one. So you have to be able to balance it. These um wings are very Oh, we had them at the FAM meeting once. Yeah. These wings are very popular with both junior high and high school students. And they also like the spicy buffalo sauce version. So we offer both sweet

111barbecue or spicy buffalo sauce on these wings. Hopefully they're nice and fresh cuz I think they just mixed the sauce on them. >> Okay, >> so now's your time to give your feedback and uh be honest and let us know. Do the onion rings look appetizing? Do you like the taste of them? Cuz they are um school compliant and baked. Do the barbecue wings look appetizing? Do you like the taste of the boneless barbecue chicken wings? Please provide some uh feedback on the taste, texture, seasoning, size, etc. And I just threw this one in there. Please list any creative suggestions you have for use for the wings or the rings because we're always open for ways to uh jazz up the menu and make something new and fresh for the kids. if there's anything you've

112seen at restaurants or at home that you think we would want to try. And then do you think uh students would like the onion rings and do you think students would like the barbecue wings? One other thing I wanted to point out is that for every reimburseable meal, the students have the choice of all of these sides and in fact they can have as many of these as they want. >> Yes. All fruits and vegetables are unlimited. Yes. >> So >> fresh fruits and vegetables are unlimited >> because um ever since they did the healthy hunger-free kid act back in 2010, they have shown studies that the younger the students are exposed to trying these, eating them, including them with their meals, then uh the trends were that all of that went up in uh

113secondary school because they had already started eating it younger. All right. So, next one. >> Uh, has everyone had a chance to taste that one? Okay, we'll go on to starting to explain the next one. >> Okay. >> The next one, they sometimes call it mac and smack. It's macaroni and cheese with popcorn chicken bites, which are called smackers because they're a mixture of white and dark meat. Okay, here it comes. Inside the cup with the lid is the macaroni and cheese. It's a three cheese kavatapi. And then next to it the bites. And as you saw, we have ketchup, barbecue, salsa, anything ranch, you can dip them in. The three cheese kavatapi is made with commodity cheese by the JTM food group. It is a whole grain pasta for the USDA compliance. It has

114a creamy elevated look. So, it's not the bright orange with the powdered cheese with the sticks like um you might make with at home. It's it's a thicker, richer, creamier version. And it is a fan favorite at all school levels. And the reason I highlight that is we were having a hard time getting our mashed potatoes for our special mashed potato bowl. And I said, "Well, you've got the popcorn chicken. why not do it with mac and cheese? And immediately we had some schools saying, "Oh, that's babyish. The older kids aren't going to like mac and cheese." We started selling it and there they told um at one school where we were evaluating it, they had 40 more people by that day. So, they definitely weren't voting with their feet by walking away from it.

115They they wanted it. So, uh, it's a it's a temporary change because, you know, we're going to work to get the other thing back there, reformulating it to meet some requirements. Next is the popcorn chicken smackers. They are made with commodity chicken by Pilgrim's Pride. They are convenient for dipping and a nice small size so they get a good serving. And students love it at all school edibles. And the other applications we use for it are chicken and waffles. We also use it for popcorn chicken bowls, which have the mashed potatoes on the bottom, corn, gravy, cheese, and the popcorn snackers. I have some pictures to show you of those meals. Okay, any students that go to elementary schools that are looking at this presentation, they will notice that this plate came from Carol Ranch,

116and we don't have these Belgian waffle sticks anymore. It is now a circular waffle. So they will notice that. And then you have the popcorn chicken next to it. And then they have syrup for dipping for the waffle and sauces they can dip for their chicken. Next to it, this was taken at Desert Ridge High. This is the popcorn chicken bowl. As you can see, we have a white fiber bowl that we put it in and um it's a good amount and it's very popular. That's on Tuesdays. It's very popular right now. It's coming with mac and cheese. Okay, that brings us to our next feedback form. We would love it if you could help us evaluate the macaroni and cheese, the look and taste, and then also the popcorn chicken with the taste, texture,

117seasoning, etc. And any creative suggestions for use of either of these items? And do you think students would like the macaroni and cheese? And do you think students would like the popcorn chicken? So hopefully it was all hot and fresh and you were able to get a good taste of it. So feel free to continue eating and Natalie will go ahead and go through the next section. >> Yes, go ahead and eat at your leisure and fill out your forms while I discuss the last part of our presentation. The last subject is the reimburseable meals and changes to the current approved meal plan. We start with a historical look at the regulations that we're following in uh the National School Lunch Program. In 1992 to 2005, we were using the FDA food pyramid. And if

118you notice on the food pyramid, it talks about two to three servings of dairy, three to five servings of vegetables. It was very specific on how many servings from each category you should have. And the base of the pyramid was made of whole grains. Then it went to fruits and vegetables. Then it went to protein, so dairy and meats. And then the very top was fats, oils, and sweets used sparingly. So the top tip would be what you would eat the least amount. and the foundation would be what you eat the most of. And then um every five years they release a new dietary guidelines for Americans. And so that was in place all the way till 2005. In 2005 they decided to tip the pyramid on its side because they wanted to be able

119to show the rays coming down with about how much. So they're showing you this much of your plate should be greens and this much should be vegetables and the person on the sides, you know, walking up to the top. And if you see the yellow, which again, it's not at the tippy top anymore. That's like the oils, fats, and sweets. And then they have dairy and then ends with uh meats and protein. So you can see it's still very um grainheavy as far as the percentage. Then in 2011 uh our current dietary guidelines were released which is the choose my plate. It was a representation of a plate so that a student or a person even an adult could look at it and say okay this much of my plate should contain vegetables. This much

120should contain fruits, grains, protein and dairy products. So that way if you were building each of your meals you could say this is a well- balanced healthy meal. Um we are currently following this. However, it is changing because our meal pattern um according to uh the laws of the government for the national school lunch program and the USDA, our meal pattern must follow the most recent dietary guidelines for Americans. And last month in January, they released a new one. So, we're going to talk about that in a second, but let's talk about what we're doing right now. Sorry, I forgot that we changed the order and apologize for that. >> Sorry, baby. >> It's okay. She likes to keep me on my toes. We're good. So, the breakfast, uh, students must choose at least three

121of the four components. And like we said, um, grains is the highest, um, thing that we're focusing on right now in school meals. So, they must be a minimum of 51% whole grain. Fruits and vegetables u are fresh fruits on the side or 100% fruit juice. Fluid milk. We have to offer different varieties including different fat levels. I think you've seen in the news re recently they've been saying whole milk for schools and things like that. That counts as a variety. And then meat and protein are not required at breakfast. They they will let you count a protein as a carbohydrate or a grain at breakfast. So they were really focusing on grains at breakfast. And so we decided at Gilbert public schools to offer a more balanced breakfast to fuel the students for learning

122in the morning. And so we do offer as you see in this picture the eggs are protein and the turkey bacon. So we do offer both and those are just counted as grains in the morning on the meal pattern. Next is the reimburseable meal pattern for lunch which follows the current guidelines which are changing. Students must choose at least three of the five offered lunch components and one component must be a fruit or vegetable. So, as you see here, we have a picture of our teriyak chicken meal. We have the grains. Um, we no longer serve the fortune cookie. It is now two scoops of rice instead for the grains. Then we have the vegetables, the fruits, and the fluid milk. And so, um, colors matter whether it's red, orange, dark green, starchy, legumes, others.

123Um, and then fluid milk, we must offer different varieties. So, the next slide is just a slight overview. You don't have to study this one. This is just a summary of our current meal pattern for NSLP. This meal pattern has been followed for the past 15 years. So, ever since I've been helping make the menus, we've been using this one. However, it will be changing because here is a picture of the new dietary guidelines for America, hot off the press in January. These were released in January and they are in effect through 2030. By law, the NSLP meal pattern must follow the current DGAS. When that memo is released by the USDA, which could happen any day, any month, any year, we have no idea. Uh we will adjust our school menus accordingly. So, we

124have heard from the USDA that they are fasttracking the meal pattern so that we will get it, but we don't know what that means. How long that would be. Um, will it be before next school year starts? Will it be before this school year ends? We don't know when. >> Do you have to change if it's middle of the school year? >> You have to change when they release it. Yes. >> And when they release it, they will tell you when you have to implement it. So they have the choice to tell us you have till this time to do it or you must do it right now. So they they put that in their memo when they release it >> because I would think that'd be a challenge if you've already encumbered all kinds

125of money and if you've bought all kinds of these meat boxes and then all of a sudden some things change. So hopefully they'll >> the way we're choosing to mitigate this because you're right. It would seem like that we are assigning our entitlement dollars blindly. Correct. That's how it would seem. But the way that we're choosing to offset that is we are choosing more center of the plate options such as proteins, meats, cheese, eggs. They're only either going to give more of it. Do you see what I'm saying? It's not going away. I don't think they can completely eliminate grains. Do you see what I'm saying? So, so you're right. It's an educated guess, but we're putting a lot of stock in the fact that if the new guideline has protein, dairy, healthy fats at

126the top, the biggest again, no serving sizes are noted on here as you noticed in the past. And then vegetables and fruits, kind of the fruits trail down. And then whole grains, look, are the bottom of the inverted pyramid. So, we're doing the best educated guess as we can using foods that are popular for the students and making sure that we assign enough things to protein. One, you do get the most bang for your buck on it cuz it's most expensive. Think when you go to the grocery store, if you're buying meats, it's going to cost the most. So, we're not going to use things like flour to make sub rolls. We're going to use our dollars more wisely to go towards the more center of the plate entre and and proteins for next school

127year and we're not sure when they're going to release the numa pattern but we will adjust accordingly and be ready. >> So keep in mind if you look at breakfast already we're putting more protein in there than required. So we've kind of in a way anticipated >> the fact that uh things are changing. So um also the nutrition services department has pivoted even the current year because there was a problem with potatoes which is as she said that's why they had to go to mac and cheese which was very sad for me because I really loved the mashed potatoes and gravy and corn and the and these >> so good news it's coming so good news it's coming back. So, the state of Arizona decided to uh make a slightly more narrow definition of what

128were uh unhealthy additives and and colors and you know, things like that. And so, we looked at our menu and starting in July when school starts again next year, we can't use that potato cuz it has an ingredient called titanium dioxide in it. It is an anti-caking agent, but it is also a whitening agent. it is not considered healthy and it is on the band list. Well, we're moving along using it because we know in J July we can't and we're waiting for the manufacturers to provide products that don't have that in it. And so they quit making the old one cuz they knew they couldn't sell anymore, but the new one wasn't ready yet. Does that make sense? They did not have runs of the production of the ones without it in it. However,

129Michelle in her constant research, she is a really good sport. If I come up to her and say, "Well, let's evaluate lettuce or something." We can have a conversation for hours about lettuce. And and so I was telling her, I was like, "So, let's look at We knew a brand that was advertising the fact that they didn't have titanium dioxide in their potatoes, and we're like, "Well, you know, we can't get enough of it. We're going to have to bring it in special to our warehouse, you know, cuz it's that new. You you can't just order it, right? It's special order. Yeah. So, we we brought in like 60 cases to our warehouse. Well, they're a third of the amount of servings of our other cases. So, are we going to pay three times as

130much so that we don't have titanium dioxide in it >> or are we going to say, "hm, we're going to menu mashed potatoes left often, or we're going to take it off the menu, or what are we going to do?" So, she went ahead and started researching and she found a different brand. I would say it's the generic brand of shamrock, right? That doesn't have that in it. And so we um was it yesterday that we made those potatoes? We ordered them in. We got a bag. We went in our test kitchen. We made the bag of them, tasted them ourselves, see if they're going to be anything like the kids would want to eat, and they were fine. And we loved them. And we've already made a new recipe, and we're going to start

131ordering those in. So, we are always ready to re-evaluate and find whatever will work for the regulations and for student acceptability because it doesn't help to follow all the rules and it doesn't no students like it and they won't eat it and it's just going to go in the trash. >> So, can you go back to the new I I would say triangle? That's what I'd call it because it's um how because Okay, when I saw this I thought it was very confusing. It's very hard to tell how much meat versus how much um fruits or vegetables and definitely grains are way cut back. So, how are you going to I mean I guess you can wait for guidance, but how are you going to figure out kind of what amount of each type of

132food? Cuz I thought this was very confusing. So, I'm not sure if they made it vague on purpose because I don't work for them, but it's possible they did this to leave it open to interpretation until they figured out how they're going to do it. But, um, a lot of people have been trying to guess. I know our new dietician threw her for a loop because she's been doing special diets for hospitals and um severe uh yeah people with eating disorders and things like that and she's like I don't know how this fits in. So a lot of people are asking the same question you are and we just don't know yet. >> Um but we are going to do it as soon as we find out. Okay. Okay. A lot of our business, which

133is so crazy, is based on the unknown. We don't have a crystal ball, but I feel like we have a good attitude and we're flexible and we're ready for it. I just don't know what's going to happen. Um, it will definitely look something like this as far as it will definitely have servings when we get the meal pattern. This page, this page is called a meal pattern. It is taken from the dietary guidelines of Americans and it is implemented by the USDA. So it is made in equivalence. So if you see like a half cup counts as one serving of fruit, it will tell you the exact measurement we have to use and the exact amount of servings. So we will be required to follow it if we want to be part of the National

134School Lunch Program. So, I feel like once we get something like this, we would love to share it and we'll we'll let you know, but we do not have the answer right now. >> So, this is this is the amount of food per week and then in the parentheses, it's the minimum per day. Is that >> Correct. >> Okay. >> Yep. And so, it does change if you have like a holiday or something in that week, but if you were on a 5day week, it would be 2 and 1/2 cups or a half a cup per day. And then if you look at the bottom, the grains, it says ounce equivalents. So it could be a muffin that's 2 ounces, but it counts as one grain equivalent or two grain equivalents. It'll we have uh

135child nutrition fact labels that tell you exactly how much each product counts for. And then we make sure we have the right amount per day and per week. >> Okay. All right. Well, it certainly takes a lot of work, a lot of thought, but again, I tell everybody, we don't need any vendor coming in because I think you're doing a marvelous job and I really appreciate all the hard work that everyone's put into this. And before we go on to any other questions, I wanted to point out it's because of this grid that it's really important that we have a registered dietitian on board here in Gilbert Public Schools. And so, we did lose our registered dietitian. and she had a baby and she decided not to come back to work. And so we're very

136very happy to have found a replacement. Um, and so that I think uh totally completes our nutrition services department even though I will say this as well, Julianne, Rachel and Natalie as well as Michelle are all very well-versed on all these requirements as well. So the registered dietitian just gives us that one extra step of credibility that I think that we need in our community. So that's another celebration. >> Yes. And it helps keep the students with allergies >> or special diets safe because we want to make sure that we are ensuring that they can eat safely with us. >> So now we're to the questions or comments. >> I had a question for the um USDA um uh food requirements. Is that tied to like the federal money? Is that like to get the

137federal money you have to go you know go by the requirements and is there any state requirements other than what's passed by statute like is there any >> I believe and you should you can correct me when you should answer these I believe that the state can be more strict than the federal government which happened with the titanium dioxide as an example. Um but yes, in order for us to be allowed to have a reimburseable meal, we have to follow these guidelines very very um clearly. >> Well, I thought it it was all very delicious. So, thank you very much. Even though I would prefer more color on my a macaroni and cheese. >> That's a good comment. Make sure you put that down. >> I did. Okay, good. If I do make macaroni and

138cheese from scratch and because I use cheddar cheese, it is very yellow. There's no color add. >> We do have those those bottles of Italian spices in your office. Maybe we can look at adding that. >> Okay. Well, um, as someone with celiac disease, I very much appreciated all the effort that you put into my side over here and it everything was wonderful and thank you so much for all your effort putting all this together. It was really great. Um, I really enjoyed it. So, >> our pleasure. And I like to thank our whole team for uh meal prep and serving it. Thank you. You guys are amazing. I forgot to take pictures. All right. So, um, we now need to move to adjourn and then go into our brief board business meeting. >> Should

139we take a couple minutes to Yeah. clean up and we can come back in a couple minutes and get started. >> I'll leave my I'm gonna take my veggies home. >> I'll just take the whole plate. >> Yeah, go for it. >> Maybe I'll I'll keep my salsa. >> No, I'm supposed to be finished weighing on a diet now. I'm Oh my god, they're giving me pizza right now. Okay, >> we're coming for it. Okay, let me >> I'll bring you home and I'll eat them tomorrow. >> I'm going to give you my >> perfect. Thank you. >> Thank you. I think this I'm just going to carry home >> and eat all the >> welcome. >> No, I commented. I was like, "Oh, well, yeah." I mean, it's like it's hard to put a

140comment on a chicken breast, but like it would be great on cut salad. So, but we were trying to think outside, you know, I knew that you guys did this and when I heard about it, I didn't mean to expect I just figured I would just like observe. >> No, we had everybody. >> Thank you. >> I meant to take a picture of each thing as it came to me. I took a picture of this. >> You should have done it while we were green. >> Yes. >> Mommy, do you want more? >> Thank you all. >> Thank you. Oh, I guess I could have >> Jill. Everything good? >> It was delicious. It was delicious. In fact, you want my papers? >> Oh, you know what? I don't know what N wants me to

141do with them, but I'll take them. >> Well, she they said they were going to come back and tell us how we liked it. >> We'll see. We'll see if you all have the same opinions about >> Well, I remember on the pizza, I didn't like the spice. The kids like more spicy things. >> My kids love spicy things and I I'm a beige woman. Yeah. >> Yeah. Is it on? >> Okay. I'd like to Oh, hello. like to call our meeting back to order. Thank you. All right. Um, we are going to move into our brief board business meeting. Um, do I have a call to order? Do we do a roll call? >> Yes. Murray >> here. >> Miss Humphre >> here. >> Mr. Jesse Brainer >> here. >> Dr. Blake Roberson >>

142here. >> Mr. Chson is not present. Madame clerk, you have a quorum. >> Okay. Um, so we're moving in for consent agenda items. Um, 5.0 and approval of consent consent agenda items. Um, we don't >> Oh, yes. We have to do a motion. Uh, do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda items? I move that we approve the consent agit consent agenda items as presented. >> Second. >> Okay. Um, so do >> discussion if we >> No, we don't discuss consent. Sorry. >> I'm just putting on record. I did actually study this before I came here and I'm failing miserably. I'm so sorry. Looked it them up. Um, okay. Okay. So, do we have any discussion on any of the consent agenda items? >> We can't discuss it. So, we just go to

143the vote. >> Oh, okay. So, we're going to we will vote on whether or not we approve the consent agenda items. >> Okay. So, all those in favor of approving the consent agenda items, say I. >> I. Any opposed? Excellent. Okay. So, now we move on to >> Adjournment. Well, that was I made that way harder than it needed to be. Okay. >> All right. >> Um, do I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So, moved. I have a second. >> Second. >> Excellent. Okay. All those in favor of adjourning say I. I. I. Any opposed? Great. Thank you guys. Thank you.