001Can you guys There we go. It's on. Now, we're going to go ahead and get started. [sighs] This is awesome. So glad that all of you are here tonight. Uh we'd like to welcome everybody to our Tuesday, December 9th, regular board business meeting. Uh sorry, regular board meeting. Um, I'll call this meeting to order. I would like to recognize that our superintendent, Dr. Shane McCord, is out. Uh, he's, uh, a little under the weather and we wish him a speedy recovery. Uh, in his place tonight is our associate superintendent of business and operations and a few other titles in there, Miss Bonnie Betts. We will start with a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance led by Jesse Brainer. If you would all please stand. Could you please join me in the pledge?
002>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. Be seated. All right, I will ask Miss Wilson to please do roll call. >> Mr. Chad Thompson >> here. >> Miss Shaina Murray >> here. >> Miss Jill Humphre >> here. >> Mr. Jesse Brainard >> here. >> Dr. Blake Robersonson is not present at time. Mr. Present. Mr. President, you have a quorum. >> Thank you, Miss Wilson. Our first agenda item is uh the approval of tonight's agenda. Is there a motion to approve tonight's agenda as outlined? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Miss Humphre. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Brainer. All those in favor of
003approving tonight's agenda as outlined, say, "I." >> I. >> Any opposed? Thank you very much. We will move right into uh superintendence recognition awards. And I will turn the time over to Miss Betts. >> Good evening. Um governing board members, if you would join me down in front of the deis and um Dr. Ryan, would you please um help me out at the podium, sir? Thank you. [clears throat] never got a crowd. >> No, this a big crowd. They knew Dr. Ryan was standing in for Dr. McCord tonight. They're here to see it. Uh thank you all. We have so many wonderful people here to celebrate. Um as Dr. McCord would do to start. We will begin with a good evening. >> Good evening. >> That [snorts] was that was pretty good. Try number one,
004but maybe just a little bit more for Dr. McCord who we know is watching. Good evening. >> Good evening. >> This is our Hello, sir. How are you? Excellent. Welcome. Our first celebration of the evening is um is we're going to begin with cross country tonight. And uh we have so many people to celebrate. This is the highlight of our of our meetings each month where we get to bring in and celebrate our community, our students, our athletes, our teachers, our coaches, and and parents get to join us. So, thank you all for for being here. So, we'll begin by inviting up coach Josh Appelbach and the state runnerup division 2 cross country campovery boys cross country team. Come on up. [applause] Gentlemen, thank you. >> Over on this side, please. >> So, the way
005this will work as you come up, we'll we'll say a few things about your team. We'll turn it over to your coach uh to share a few words and then we'll ask the athletes to introduce themselves and give their grade grade and and whatnot. Um as we kind of move forward, they'll then shake hands with the governing board and you'll stay here for a photo afterward. Okay. So, everyone who comes up, that's kind of what we'll follow. This is a team who went to the state meet and uh just about surprised everybody by taking down the defending champion uh of Flag Staff all the way to the very end. Campovery boys finished second in the state. It's a testament to their belief and continuous improvement throughout the year. We're proud of all of these gentlemen.
006Uh Coach Applebach, if you could share a few words and then we'll have the boys introduce themselves. Um, I'm coach Applebach. Um, and I had the pleasure alongside coach Tamur at the end there and our friend Andy Jensen to, uh, coach these terrific young men and a bunch of other athletes who aren't here with us this evening. Um, but, uh, for those of you that don't know, cross country is a tough sport in the fall in Phoenix when it's really, really hot in the afternoons. So, uh, these kids woke up, uh, to be at practice each morning at 5:00 a.m. and would do the lonely work of running in the dark sometimes for many, many, many miles. and um they put in countless hours of sweat and hard work and when the odds seemed stacked
007against them, they uh rallied together and rose to a challenge and uh made us and their community very proud and we're really proud of them for uh all of their accomplishments. So, I'd like to uh just pass the microphone down and let them introduce themselves. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Bryson Maples and I am a high school senior for Campovery High School. >> Good evening everyone. My name is Nathan Lockach. I'm a junior at Campover High School. >> Good evening everyone. I'm Trent Weaver and I'm a junior at Campovery High School. >> My name is Mitchell Hall and I'm a senior at Camp Overde. >> I'm Romney Jones and I'm a freshman. >> I'm Jacob Nusca and I'm a senior at Campo. >> I'm Jason Tamura. I'm the assistant coach here at Campo.
008>> No more eligibility. Yeah. [laughter] >> Thank you all. Please join me in giving these gentlemen a round of applause and [applause] take a chance to shake the governing board's hands. >> Go ahead and turn around. Bye. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. Absolutely. All >> [clears throat] >> right, guys. Kind of get on either side of the board and scoot back behind. >> Yeah, we'll we'll part and you guys get in here. >> This is about you guys. >> We got room. [laughter] >> I know. I'm shorter. >> My face will be just covering [laughter] the sority squad. 3. >> Awesome. Good job, guys. [applause] >> Thank you, sir. >> What year did you start with cross country? >> Uh 2010. >> Yeah. >> 2010. Thank you. >> Coach Applebach and I had many years
009working together and so I just asked 2010 he's been coaching at Campo. So, thank you for all of your work. Moving on to Highland High School, um we have two big celebrations this evening. Uh the first group we're going to ask to come up was with uh Coach Carr and the head cross country coach with our boys program to come on up front, please. [applause] Anyone else have those moments driving early in the morning and all of a sudden just a barrage of kids running up and down the streets when you're sharing that story earlier? That's what I'm picturing. Coach Carr, thank you very much for joining us. I I did take a moment and look you all up online and where I get all of my latest and greatest information off X or Insta
010or one of those things and I saw this highlight that said upset alert. Highland boys are your D1 state champions. The boys team entered the state meet as underdogs but this year in stunning fashion they pulled out the win. Now the Highland High Hawks are your Arizona Division 1 state champions. Coach Carr, would you share a few words and have your team introduce themselves? Congratulations. [applause] Okay. I am uh Coach Carr. Uh this is my first year at Highland, but kind of an unfair thing. I didn't take over a program that didn't have anybody there because we all know the former coach David Montgomery put together a really nice program. These guys have been developed over time. I have to give him a little credit cuz I didn't walk into nothing. and I walked into
011a full kitchen and all I had to do is tweak a little things and and make sure everybody was tight at the end. I got a little problem with the surprise win as an underdog because if you follow the sport and look at it, we were ranked second going in. So to go from second to first didn't seem like it should be a surprise. I told the guys before this, we didn't win all the meets, but we won the right meet. So we got there and we did the right thing. Uh so we'll let the guys introduce themselves. I'm Brandon and I'm a sophomore. >> I'm Braden McGlaclin. I'm a junior. >> I'm Mason Osman. I'm a sophomore. >> I'm Tristan Hibs. I'm a sophomore at Highlands. I'm LJ Johnson. I'm a senior. >> I'm
012Phineas. I'm a sophomore at Highland. >> I'm Sam Davis and I'm a senior. >> Everybody, please join me in giving these gentlemen a round of applause. Congratulations. Huge accomplishment. Shake hands with the board and have your photo. [applause] >> Congratulations. >> Photo time. [laughter] >> And hop in the middle of the board there. >> Scoot back. >> There you go. Scoop back. Just couple steps. There you go. >> You guys squeeze in and we'll squeeze in around you. All right. [applause] Now, I I promise I am a gentleman and I wouldn't typically leave the girls for last, but this is pretty extreme here. here when you talk about what the Highland High girls have done. So, if Coach Hall and the girls cross country team would come and join us, please. [applause] So, we saved
013these ladies of our cross country crew for last because they haven't won one state championship or two or three in a row or four in a row, but this year was a five pete for these ladies for Highland High School. [applause] And which means if my intel is correct, a year from now when some of you return, you will have tied the state all-time record with six. Is that correct? Six in a row is what we're So seven is what we're aiming for. >> Let's We're going to go 67. >> Stepped into that one. Absolutely. Coach Hall, if you'd introduce the girls and say a few words. Thank you. >> Thanks for having us. Um, I've been able to coach the last five years um with Coach Monty and then this year with Coach Carr
014and um these girls are incredible. They don't come to us um being just mediocre. Their parents have a lot to do with that. So, um I'll introduce them, but I also wanted to point out that there's an an award that the state does and you have to pull their GPA. And so the our girls range from a 4.4. Lily, that's her GPA. Raise your hand, Lily. That's incredible. Um, and our I would say our lowest, but that's not fair, would be a 37. 3.7. So, these girls aren't just speedy, they're super smart. So, um, we have Do you want me to introduce them or they have them? >> Okay, [clears throat] go for it. >> Uh, I'm Caitlyn Anderson and I'm a sophomore. I'm Audrey Hefner and I'm a senior. >> I am Ella Bonnet
015and I'm a sophomore. >> I'm Natalyia Morris and I'm a sophomore. >> I'm Ariado and I'm a freshman. >> I'm Lily Opinger and I'm a sophomore. >> I'm Lana Capelli and I'm a junior. >> I'm Cameron Delansancy and I'm a senior. So I think five or six of you will get to com complete the entire 67 themed process here. Is that correct? >> All right guys, please join me in congratulating them once again. Five Pete. It's incredible. [applause] And turn around and shake hands with the board. [applause] Very exciting. >> Let's go. >> Can you see us all? >> Okay. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> All right, now we're back to celebrating Camp Overdie High School with the girls flag football championship. So, if Coach Koger and the girls would come on up and
016join us in front, that would be fantastic. [applause] >> [sighs] >> Now, these ladies didn't just win. These ladies went 15-1 this season. They won four playoff games by a combined total, if I'm correct here, 189 to zero. I happen to know a few of the girls they played against who are still weeping in their bedrooms right now, [laughter] but this group is incredibly talented. We're so proud of you all for for the way you represented Camp Over High School and Gilbert Public Schools. Um, coach, if you'd say a few words about the season and then turn it over to the girls to introduce themselves. Thank you. >> I'm Coach Brian. Um, I've been the coach here for a couple years. We were lucky enough to be in this position two years ago as the
017first ever state champions. Um, so our sophomores at the time are now seniors. So, we get to kind of put them out on a high note. >> Name, position, and age. >> Hi, I'm Mia. I'm a sophomore and I'm kicker. >> Hi, I'm Maddie. I'm a senior and I'm center. >> I'm Sophia Dryer. I'm a sophomore and I'm corner. >> I'm Maddie. I'm a senior and I'm a rusher. >> Hi, my name is Gabby Luris and I'm a defensive back. >> I'm Mila. I'm a senior linebacker and running back. >> Hi, I'm Izzy Pap. I'm a senior and I play quarterback. >> Hi, I'm Emmy. I'm a senior and I'm a a linebacker. >> Hi, I'm Ella. I'm a sophomore and I'm a wide receiver. >> Choice. >> Hi, I'm Serena. I'm a senior and
018I play linebacker and running back. >> Hi, I'm Zoe. I am a freshman. I play center. >> Hi, Coach John and I coach defense. >> [applause] >> So, for those of you that don't know, girls flag football is one of the, if not the fastest growing sports in our country and beyond. Uh, we'll be hosting the Olympics in Los Angeles where it will be played and and these girls are just on their way to doing incredible things. So, we're very proud of you. Uh, once again, congratulations. If you turn and shake hands with the board, go from there. Thank you. Congratulations. [applause] >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. >> Congratulations. Here you guys scoot back. >> Big crowd. >> Has the giggling died down yet? [laughter] >> [applause] [applause] >> So, we're going to change themes
019here for just a moment. We're going to ask Casey Farnsworth to come up front. Where is Casey? There he is. Saw case earlier. And uh his FFA National Competition students would join him. I understood a couple would be here. Wonderful. How are you, sir? Good. How are you? >> Excellent. Thank you. [applause] All right. So, Mr. Farnsworth and um a team of students and alumni recently traveled across the country to represent Arizona at the 98th annual National FFA Convention held in Indianapolis. Hosted by the National FFA organization, the convention brought together more than 71,000 FFA members, advisers, alumni, and supporters from across the nation for a week of competition, recognition, and leadership development. Among the thousands of participants, Gilbert public schools stood out for their achievement, earning a silver ranking in the meat evaluation event,
020seven students receiving their American FFA degree, and the Gilbert High School chapter being recognized with a three-star national chapter award. Gilbert High meat evaluation team members Mia Ki silver Dakota Hubert bronze Gunnar Mertlitch silver and Hyram Dornney silver demonstrated exceptional knowledge and dedication earning a silver team ranking and placing 18th out of 48 in the nation. Mr. Farnsworth, would you care to share a few words about this great group of young leaders you have with you here this evening? >> I think you summed it up really well. um been fortunate enough to coach this team. It's been uh quite some time since our meets valuation team at Gilbert High School has gone on to the national level and so this has been a very proud moment for us and to be be ranked as uh
02118th in the nation is pretty phenomenal. They've put in countless hours of work. Uh they might be few but they are mighty and I know that they're going to be going on to bigger and greater things. So you want to have them introduce themselves? I'm Dakota Hubard and I'm a graduate at Gilbert High School. >> I'm Mia Ki and I'm a senior at Gilbert High School. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> Thank you all. And shake hands with the board. Thank you so much. Congratulations. You guys come over here in the middle. Congratulations. [applause] >> There's so many things across our school district where faculty members and students are just putting in incredible amount of time and this is just another example of of one of those. We were so excited when they were going to
022Indianapolis and then when we heard about the results. So, congratulations again. State Swim Championships. I know that tonight conflicted with some club practices, so I'm not exactly sure who is here and who is not. I'm going to read some names and invite up uh the athletes to join us and and be recognized. Uh the first is Beckham Patience from Highland High School. Is Beckham here? No. Okay, good start. Um I do know that uh Beckham from Highland High was third in the boys 100 breaststroke and um and that's within the division one ranks. Division two Campovery I know a number of athletes had conflict tonight. Campovery boys finished fifth in the state. Porter Ellsworth was first in the 200 IM, first in the 500 free. EMTT Jones was first in the 100 freestyle, first in
023the 100 backstroke. Gage Sprints won the dive competition with a school record of 609 points. Gavin Sprints, his brother, took second in dive. Family dominated. Boys 400 freestyle relay uh also took third. Uh on the girls side, Campo finished third in the state. Uh Maddie Keller third in the 200 individual medally 200 uh breaststroke as well. Bin Bar third in the 100 breaststroke. Um, second in the 200 IM Relay along with Perry Bar, Keller, and Stucky. And then second in the 200 with Keller, Bar, Stucky, and Reed. So, congratulations to to all of the Campirdie athletes and and swimmers and divers. I'd like to welcome up now division 3 GCA boys as they finish third in the state this year. So if the team would come and join us, [applause] >> I'm going to turn
024it over to you guys to share individual results and information about Yeah. >> All right. Well, this is exciting. And um we were we were actually able to come last year cuz we brought home the state championship. And so there was a lot of pressure on these guys this year to try to try to repeat, but we had lost three uh three of our uh scorers, three of our medalists from last year. And so um going into the state meet, we were uh ranked fifth or sixth, I can't remember after that first uh uh first scoring I did. Um but our guys showed up and showed out and did a very great job. uh and we actually came within uh within just a few points of winning. It was a very tight race. So, super
025proud of them. Uh one of the most exciting things I would say about our program is that our girls uh jumped up from uh the low 20s to 10th place this year. So, we're on our way. Um I'm going to let the boys introduce themselves. Uh oh, I do. Gabe, come here. Gabe Marshall here got second in the division uh three dive, so he got his medal this year. So, I want to make sure Gabe gets that flower. He did a great job. I'll uh I'll let them introduce themselves. Uh just [snorts] say your grade and your events and pass it down. >> My name is Ivan Vhill. I'm a junior and I swam the 100 fly and 500 free. >> I'm Max. I'm a senior and I swam the 100 breast and the 2
026a.m. >> Uh I'm Andre Ramos. I'm a junior and I swam the 500 and 200 free. >> I'm Max Fessie. I'm a senior and I swim the 100 to 200 free. >> I'm Michael Wang. I'm a junior and I swim the 200 IM and the 100 fly at state. >> I'm Everson and I'm a freshman and I swim the 100 fly and the 500 free. >> I'm Jose Fuentes. I'm a junior and I swim the 200 free and the 100 free. >> I'm Pierce Wheeler. I'm a sophomore and I swim the 100 rest. I am Gabe Marshall and I'm in 10th grade and I dove. My name is Carter Carmichael. I'm a junior and I dove. >> I'm Brian Fierstein and I'm a volunteer coach. >> I'm Sarah Munoz. I'm the girls head coach. >>
027And Matt Ericson, volunteer coach as well. >> Congratulations to you all again. So, a big group. After you shake hands with the board, some of you are going to have to take a knee and make some room. Okay? So, go ahead and shake hands with the board. [laughter] >> Congratulations. >> [laughter] >> We did get out of the pool 10 minutes ago. >> All right, you guys. that. >> Come up on this side. >> All right. Come up on the sides here. Yeah. >> No, you're good. Cover me. >> Where are we looking? >> [applause] [applause] >> Mr. President, that concludes our celebrations for this evening. Thank you. boyfriend. Yeah. All right, that was pretty that was pretty awesome. We are It's that Napoleon Dynamite song. The I love technology. Okay, I'll just hold it
028up here like this. Okay, moving on in our agenda uh to our superintendence report. Uh Miss Betts, >> uh there's no report this evening. >> All right. And we there are no requests to speak to the governing board tonight, although we did uh receive a number of uh submissions online, and we wanted to thank those who took the time to uh to write to the board. We appreciate that. Uh, agenda item number six, uh, reports proposed school campus changes 2026 to 2027. Miss Betts, >> I'd like to Martin to present the proposed school campus changes for school year 2026 2027. >> Thank you, Miss Betts. Uh, Mr. President, governing board members, it's great to be with you tonight. Um, as you know, we have been on this process for approximately almost two months now. And
029part of that process is just to briefly go over the proposed changes as well as tonight we'll give a review of the um community feedback. And I first want to thank all of you for attending the four community forums um that were held approximately 3 weeks ago. That was lots of feedback. And then we've also garnered feedback online as well. And then we've also had one-on-one conversations with certain constituents from the community. So, I'll be reviewing all of these tonight. If you have any questions along the way, please stop me and ask. I am going to go through some of these slides fairly brief because we have shared them multiple times at public meetings. And so, this is kind of a review as well as some of the new um feedback that we've received. So,
030of course, enrollment management is not new to Gilbert Public Schools. that's an integral part of our school district to make sure that we are providing the best education for our students as well as being fiscally responsible with our precious taxpayer dollars. Um, each year we get a yearly enrollment and demographic enrollment report that helps us see not only the trends that are happening here in Gilbert Public Schools, but also across Arizona and the East Valley as well. That helps us forecast what's going to happen um in the upcoming 5 to 10 years. Now, we have our amazing GPS data and research team that you've heard about many times that helps us with many Tableau visualization reports. And they don't just help us with academic areas, but they also have um lots of different uh visualization
031tools that we now use to look at our various enrollment factors across the district um that we can use. District strategic operating plan also includes enrollment management, an important part of that. And then of course each school's continuous improvement plan has enrollment. Uh with that enrollment is everybody's business here in Arizona with uh school choice alive and well. It's not just a district um it's not just a district's job but it's everyone's job and not just principles but all employees um in the district. These are some ma of the major factors that are currently influencing enrollment um here in Arizona as well as in Gilbert public schools. So there are lower birth rates across Arizona in the United States. Homeowners, particularly here in Gilbert, are staying in their homes longer. The price of homes has
032continued to rise, making it harder and harder for some of our young families to move into our GPS boundaries. It's cost prohibitive. As I already shared, uh Arizona is probably the number one uh state in the United States for school choice. Uh we have many charter schools that we compete with. And then a few years ago with the uh ESA vouchers coming on board, that also is a factor as well too. And then just this is a great statistic that shows you the share of school age population here in Gilbert public schools boundaries. And remember Gilbert public schools boundaries don't follow the town of Gilbert boundaries. Uh approximately a third of our district boundaries fall within the city of Mesa. And we've gone from 23% of our population being 5 to 17 year olds to
033uh in 2024 18%. There are a number of ARS statutes and GPS policies there. Um if anybody wants to click on those, they can do that. Um and that helps guide this process that we've been going through over the last few months and that we will be continuing to go through. So, just to review the communication that has gone out to our community. So, an email notification was sent to all GPS staff and parents and families um from the district on October 24th informing them of this process and um the proposal to close Pioneer Elementary. We met with staff at each of the affected schools. So that's Pioneer Elementary, Carol Ray Ranch Elementary, Val Vista Lakes Elementary, and Harris Elementary to review the proposal so that they would also know how their school could be
034impacted should this proposal go through. We also wanted to make sure not just people that are currently GPS families know about this. So we sent out 70,000 postcards that were printed and mailed to all homes within GPS district boundaries by early November. Also too, in some of our newspapers, we uh put an advertisement, both the Gilbert Sun News and the East Valley Tribune as well, notifying them of the proposed boundary changes and where they could find more information on our district website. And then we've continued to have the notification posted at all GPS campuses um and included this information in all 39 of our school newsletters over the last month, letting the communities know. And then of course we held those community meetings at the affected schools between November 17th and November 24th. And then
035our district website there contains all the information about these proposed changes, the maps, presentations as well as where the community can leave feedback and the community can continue to leave that feedback in the next month and we will monitor that. Um currently there were 14 comments that were given um on the online feedback form. Um I'll summarize those here in a few minutes, but you also will get here in the next week the current 14 uh feedback forms so you can see the details as well. And then in January we will continue to monitor that. So Pioneer Elementary, this is that enrollment trends that we're looking at all of our campuses. This is a three-year uh review of the enrollment trends. As you can see, Pioneer Elementary um has lost approximately um over a hundred
036students over the last uh three years. It also in the righth hand column shows you the number of classrooms per grade level. And so Pioneer is our smallest elementary school in the district with two classrooms currently per grade level. And people want to say why or Pioneer Elementary because I will say that anytime we uh talk about closing a school, changing boundaries, we think very thoughtfully about this. This is not something we take lightly at all. um changing school boundaries and especially closing uh schools we know affects communities, but like I said, we also have to look out for the good of the entire district um long term to make sure that we stay competitive with all of the school choice as well as our surrounding districts. So, Pioneer Elementary for the last few years,
037as I said, it's the smallest school. When you look at the space utilization in the district, you could currently take all the students in Pioneer Elementary and if you evenly distributed them throughout the classrooms at Pioneer, it would average seven students per classroom. Um, it is one of the smallest buildings in the district. Uh, a and that includes uh six of those classrooms are in portable spaces. And so if you take out those portable spaces, it really is uh much smaller than most of our other elementary schools. Currently too, because of the open space, we have four classrooms being utilized for various uh district functions such as the family resource center and the district preschool evaluation office. As I said, we currently have two classes per grade level. And looking at the future enrollment trends,
038um we forecast that within the next year or two, we will have if Pioneer Elementary were to stay open, a grade level or two that would start to only have one class per grade level, which we know, as we've talked about, makes it incredibly hard when trying to meet all of the diverse needs of our student learners. Uh currently, because of Pioneer size, we have all part-time special teachers. So that includes PE, art, librarian, and general music teachers that come from other schools to service these students. Those eight special area teachers from other schools do a amazing job, but it is much different than having those teachers sitebased at your school full-time. This time, each one of them comes one day a week to service their particular special area. Um, we also know that they
039have less than two resource teachers and we've done a lot of thoughtful planning and reflection over the last few years. And when at an elementary school when you go below two resource teachers, it's hard to service all the students and their individualized education plan needs. Um, they currently have 1.5 resource teachers. And in talking to those resource teachers when they're trying to service students K through six in reading, writing, math, and sometimes behavior goal areas, um it makes servicing those students uh harder and more cumbersome. The building 2 Pioneer is one of our older campuses in Gilbert. Uh it's 42 years old and in the coming years it's going to need some upgrades. Just like anything, homes or buildings, as they get older, we have to reinvest in those buildings to keep them upgraded and
040up to date. So, some of those costs right here on this chart. Um, this is the facility renewals uh projected cost over the next four years. And you can see that um conservatively we estimate that we will need to invest $2.5 million in various projects such as secured entryway, fire protection, water heaters, HVAC controls, and interior and exterior lighting to keep the building up to the um condition that we would want to. There are also significant pioneer or operational costs. And this operational costs, as you know, the majority of the district's maintenance and operations budget is people. We're a people business. And so, administrators, certified staff, which is teachers, as well as support staff, um, costs money. And so, if we were to close Pioneer Elementary, we estimate that we would be able to save
041approximately 50% of that FTE. Some of those current FTE would have to go to other schools that would uh take in the current pioneer students such as Carol Ray, Valve Vista Lakes, and Harris. But we would be um not needing the 14, for example, K through six positions. We uh ex uh forecast that we would need approximately six to seven classroom positions, additional positions at the other campus. Obviously too, we don't need those non-teer positions. That's a savings. the building manager, the principal, the office staff, custodial, the pair of professionals, and that's a little savings over 1 million. And then there's obviously utility savings and other fund savings. So that also is $2.5 million then that we can continue to reinvest back in our maintenance and operations budget so that we can ensure that we
042continue to have competitive, for example, salaries and benefits for all of the GPS employees. We want to reiterate too, and as we've told the Pioneer staff when we went out and shared with them, nobody at Pioneer would lose their position through attrition in a district this large with 4,200 employees. Um we have retirements, resignations each spring. And so we would work um to place all of the pioneer staff um in those positions. And actually, if this proposal goes through, our office of talent management would meet with each employee to find out what their top choices are in terms of locations, positions, so that then as the positions open up, the pioneer staff will be given top priority and they will be placed first before uh we hire any other people or move internally other positions.
043This shows you the enrollment projection should uh we close Pioneer Elementary. And so you can see um the projected increases at Carol Ray Ranch, Harris, and Val Vista Lakes as well as the total population. The reason why we give uh estimates is of course down to towards the bottom. We do have um 70 students that live outside GPS boundaries that are in open enrollment and we want to work incredibly hard to keep those students and we've foresee that many of them would want to go to one of those three campuses but we also um foresee that some of those families might go to one of our other um 20 well there's 26 elementary schools in the district and they may choose to do that. One of the things that we will ensure that all pioneer
044students and families can choose whatever school they want to. So even if uh they are boundaried for one of these three schools and they would like to go to a different school, we will allow those students and families to go to those schools as well too. Also too, they house one of our specialized um special education programs, regional locations. Most of our elementary schools have one of a very one of our um specialized programs and Pioneer happens to be a regional program for academic skills. There are 25 students in that program with three classrooms currently that we are needing to locate. Um later in the presentation I will share, but we sent out an updated email to those families last week at Pioneer on uh December 4th, last Thursday, letting them know that the week
045we returned from winter break that we would be prepared to share with those families um where they would be going should this proposal go through. And the one thing that we will ensure is that the entire regional program moves as one regional program. So the students and the staff in this program can all continue to be at one program. It just won't be at Pioneer Elementary. So people ask if we choose to close Pioneer Elementary, what's going to happen? There are currently no immediate plans on what's to become of that campus. Um, we will ensure that the school uh is uh secured though obviously we don't want it to be vandalized. We have our cameras uh on campus that will still be up and running and we'll be we'll be sure that um the grounds
046and other things are taken care of as well too. Um to give an example, five years ago when we closed Houston Elementary and moved Neilie Traditional over to the former Houston site, we didn't do anything for several years with the former uh Neie campus until at that time we made the decision and worked with the town of Gilbert to sell that um uh Ney campus to the town. And so we have different options that we can do when looking at Pioneer in future years. So, this is the current map of all 26 elementary schools. And this shows there Pioneer Elementary, which is in the purple and um and highlighted with the the arrows area, shows the current areas of where Pioneer Elementary is and how we propose to move the current square mile where Pioneer
047Elementary sits would move shift east boundaries to Carol Ray Ranch Elementary. the area and these are in the city of Mesa between baseline and the US60 corridor between Val Vista and Greenfield would shift to Val Vista Lakes and then from Val Vista to Lindsay would shift west to Harris Elementary. We have this more detailed map that um doesn't show up real well here, but you can start to see the streets and some more of the details including the canals and other things that run through this community of the proposed changes. Also too, this is our current junior high boundaries. And one of the things we worked really hard about eight or nine years ago when we did some boundary changes, um was to make sure that our elementaryaries as much as possible fed into one
048junior high. And in the past, we've had uh eight or nine elementary schools that were split. And so those sixth graders that had been together many times for seven and if preschool, eight or nine years, then they would be split into two or sometimes three different junior highs. And so when we did boundary changes, we currently have three of our 26 schools and Pioneer is one of those that feed into two junior highs. And so taking that into consideration along with the proposed boundary changes for the current Pioneer Elementary, we looked at and the one portion that uh we have slated to move to Harris Elementary that's between Val Vista Drive and Lindsay Road, the US60 and Baseline Road. Um, all of Harris Elementary goes to Mosquite Junior High. And currently, of course, that part
049being in Pioneer Elementary goes to Greenfield Junior. And so we have proposed in this to move that those students to uh Mosquite Junior High to keep the feeder patterns as um smooth and clean as possible. People always ask about transportation. So busing will be available to current Pioneer families to their new boundaries school if they live within those areas. And then also for the junior high, one small junior high area affected. We don't want to um yank the current seventh graders at Greenfield Junior High from their school. Junior high is only a two-year experience. And so we would continue to have busing next year from that area between Val Vista and Lindsay north of Baseline for one more year to Greenfield Junior High. But we would also next year at the same time start busing
050to Mosquite Junior High so those seventh graders could move to Mosquite Junior High. As I've already shared, the academic skills program, we're working on letting those families know where their location would be when we return in January. And then also too, uh we are finishing up finding uh new locations for the family resource center and the preschool evaluation team. So this is that detailed view too of uh Dana of that half square mile that would shift from Greenfield Junior High boundaries to Mosquite Junior High boundaries. So, here's the feedback. I summarized it that we um received both at the community forums and we truly value those community forums. I know at the Pioneer um that can be raw for families because that's their school and they love that building and they love that community. Um
051and so we received some good feedback. One of the things of course was making sure that the academic skills families wanting to move together and not be split up. One of the things that we've received both um at the forums and then online is that the Dana Park and Heritage Acres area would prefer many of those residents to go to Val Vista Lakes and remain at Greenville Junior High rather than go to the proposed shift to Harris and Mosquite Junior High. So, we are going to take a look at that in the coming weeks and in January I will come back and let you know what that could look like. Either way, this is that area. So Dana Park and Heritage Acres is located in that area um between Valve Vista Drive and Lindsay Road
052between Baseline and the 60 that we have forecasted or proposed to move to Harris. Um and we've had about probably 7 to 10 families reach out to us saying they would like to go to Val Vista Lakes primarily because of the proximity. It is a little closer. We know we can't always do that, but we are looking at the numbers right now to see if it is a possibility. If it was a possibility to, then we would also um not move the junior high boundaries if that were and we would bring that back in January. >> Can you go back to the map and show us exactly where >> Yep. >> So, I'm going to go back to the elementary map right here. So, it's the one right there or it's the one on the
053left. So, Lindsay to Val Vista. And see, you can see right now we're proposing to shift it to Harris Elementary. And if you look, they're asking several of them, not everybody, to go to Val Vista Lakes Elementary, which is, as you can see, some of it is directly south of it. The school sits about a mile away from that. And I'll go to the more detailed view. Now, one of the things that we can look at, and we will, is the Consolidated Canal does go through that area. and um Dana Park and Heritage Acres are east of the Consolidated Canal. So they're east of the Consolidated Canal and west of Val Vista Drive or uh west of the Dana Park shopping center there. And so that's the area that we primarily have gotten the most
054feedback on requesting u to us to look at the possibility of going to Valve Vista Lakes and uh continuing to go to Greenfield Junior High. There is a portion and it's just west of that um or just um to the right of that arrow. That's where the consolidated canal goes through. So there's about a quarter of that uh mile uh that we would probably propose that would still go to Harris Elementary. Um and we have used the canal because if you go back and you look at the boundaries, they're actually between Burke, it looks like it's Neie traditional, but remember Neie traditional doesn't have any boundared areas. But if you see how it goes at the slant between Lindsay and Val Vista, that actually is the consolidated canal. And so if you take your finger
055and go directly north of that, north of baseline to the freeway, that's where it takes about a quarter of the mile and that we could use the canal as well. Uh and we use that several portions within GPS boundaries as well as the railroad tracks down by Mosqu Elementary. >> How many families total live in that Dana Park? >> Yeah, good question. >> So we looked at that and there are currently about 36 elementary families that live in that area. So not a huge number and of those about eight of them already open enrolled to Valve Vista Lakes Elementary which is not uncommon of course with open enrollment we have that internally across GPS all the time for a number of factors. >> So that was kind of my question because if if part of
056the argument that I heard throughout this process was the fact that we're not going to reboundry many of the areas because kids can just open enroll and go to the school that they want to. [clears throat] Correct. So, how many of these 36 families could we see just moving to Val Vista Lakes anyway? And what does that do for the Val Vista Lakes numbers? >> Yep. Well, at most we already have 10. So, if you or eight, so if you take that at most and that would be what another 30 uh 20 28 families that would be zoned then for Valve Vista Lakes Elementary or Harris. So, we're looking at that. doesn't mean that we're going to recommend that, but it's something we want to take their feedback, look at it, talk to both schools
057as well and and see. Uh we're also going to drill down to the grade levels for each of those students as well, too. >> Great. Thank you. >> Good questions. >> So, the other community feedback some of them will transportation be provided? Yes, if you live within the boundared areas, obviously if you live uh open enrolling to the school, we don't provide transportation. Um, lots of people ask about class sizes and a good question. We always have our GPS elementary class size ratios for kindergarten through 6th grade. We follow those at all elementary schools. And so um we would ensure that those class size ratios continue um to be met at um not only Valvest Lakes, Carol Ray, and Harris, but all of our GPS schools. Pioneer has had the fortunate that this year and
058in a little bit in the last year or two that most of their grade levels and this year I can say all of their grade levels have really nice class sizes and they feel like that's beneficial. Of course, everybody would love to have small class sizes. And as we've talked at our smaller elementary schools, we tend to see that the um class sizes tend to be either really small because they're just above that ratio or they're really large because they're bumping up uh with that. And so you can see at a lot of our smaller schools anywhere from 20 to 21 students all the way in sixth grade up to 33 students. And so Pioneer just this year, the way the numbers have worked and utilizing our class size ratio, they have nice class sizes.
059But that's not always the case. Two years ago, their sixth grade, for example, had 33 students in each class. And that happens and fluctuates at all of our schools using the class size ratios. So yes, while it's nice, it doesn't mean that just because if we were to keep Pioneer open, they would always have small class sizes. Some questions from the community, too, were can open enrollment be capped at other schools? the community was looking at how can we increase enrollment maybe at other schools. Well, as we know um families um m have very uh lots of choices in terms of where they want to go to school um and they obviously open enroll to schools for choices just like Pioneer has 70 open enrolled students from outside GPS boundaries. If we were to say
060um curtail open enrollment at Greenfield or Carol Ray or Patterson, it wouldn't necessarily mean those families would go to Pioneer Elementary at all. Um people have asked, well, what about shifting some of the boundaries from surrounding schools over to Pioneer? Well, if you look, all of our schools are most of our schools are currently declining Pioneer just at a more quick or at a faster rate. Um and so shifting boundaries while uh looks good on paper, we've also learned that people don't move boundaries necessarily. In fact, with the last time we did boundary shifts, uh we moved the Valveista Lakes area from the Highland Junior and Highland High area to Gil Greenfield Junior and Gilbert High and it took a good four to five years for many of those families to move. So it doesn't
061automatically happen. Families, even if you shift boundaries, might stay at their current schools. But people were asking obviously because they love their Pioneer Elementary how we can do that. Um or if we could uh one uh comment was could we delay closing Pioneer for one additional year? Well, of course we could, but I don't think it would uh make sense. I think now that we've started talking about it, too. There are less families that are probably going to go there, especially if they know that it's going to close in one year. U many families will say it's inevitable. um and so they would choose to go to a different school or maybe not go to Pioneer. One of the things that we want to celebrate is yes, we know Pioneer is an A-rated school. This
062year they had a fantastic um school grade rating um and they providing a great service to Gilbert schools for over 40 years. And so we don't want to diminish that at all. And we're not picking on Pioneer cuz they're, you know, there's something wrong with the school. it's simply the school population and how we can ensure that all of our schools that we have remaining stay uh with robust enrollment in the coming years. So, here's that timeline that we've reviewed. So, tonight uh we're already down to December 9th where we're reviewing this proposal and the next time that it will uh formally come before you is at the Tuesday, January 27th governing board meeting uh where we we will review and analyze any additional feedback information. Uh we'll talk about prior to then we'll talk
063um I if we get more in we will get more information on the Dana park and heritage a heritage acres we will get that information to you prior to that but that is when we have u signal to the community that we would put before on the governing board agenda a motion to approve the closure of Pioneer Elementary >> one question on that because there was an online comment so when We vote on January 27th, >> whatever our vote is. That doesn't mean that Pioneer closes in February. >> We have until the end of the year >> for for everyone to finish out the school year and then as we absolutely >> prepare for the new school year, we'll make sure that everyone has a place to go should that be the decision. >> No,
064the school Good question. The school does not close midyear. The school goes all the way through the end of the school year in May. And then this allows us to from January 27th till the end of May gives us four months then to work on these steps if the proposed changes are approved because we want to work really hard to make this as smooth as a transition for these families because we know we are um changing uh and moving them um from their school community of Pioneer. And so, as I shared, Pioneer staff would be given pri top top priority on open positions, particularly at the three schools where students would be going, but also too, sometimes staff uh may choose to go and talk to OTM about going to a school that's closer to
065their home. And so, that's why OTM would meet with each staff member at Pioneer Elementary. We would continue throughout the spring to have ongoing communication to families and that would include calling each family um to talk about the change and make sure that we get them into the right queue in terms of their enrollment for the upcoming school year. And so we would do that family by family one at a time. We would also the schools uh Carol Ray Ranch Harris and Val Vista Lakes are anxious. They're excited to have um new families and pioneer families to tour and gain information. And so we would uh have um specific evenings and afternoons where they can come, but they could also schedule a tour. Um we know some families may not automatically want to go to
066their boundary school. They may want to look at these schools or some of our other GPS schools. So we want to work closely with each Pioneer family. Just like that next bullet, particularly with open enrolled families, open enrollment, as you know, there's over 20% of our GPS um enrollment comes from outside GPS uh boundaries. And we want to make sure that these Pioneer openen enrolled students also stay in GPS somewhere at one of our amazing other GPS schools. Um and then of course this would help though with the savings of closing Pioneer that would begin in the fiscal year 2027 or July 2026. And of course we want to honor um Pioneer Elementary and the legacy that they they have contributed to Gilbert Public Schools in the community by having a display case here at
067the district office. And with that, if you have any questions, uh, please reach out to me. If you don't have any questions tonight, but you continue to have questions in the coming weeks, as I've been sharing, please feel free to reach out to myself or Dr. McCord. >> Any questions from the board? >> I just have one quick one. Um, for the open enrolled families that are currently there, have we reached out to them yet to see if we can kind of get an idea of what their plan is, if they're if they're open to the open enrollment at other schools or if they're planning on going somewhere else? So, we haven't reached out to all 70 of them, but we've reached out to a handful. Um, our Pioneer office staff has or they've had
068those uh ongoing conversations and yes, it does appear that many of them want to stay in Gilbert Public Schools and so that's where we want to work with them to find what's the best school for their needs. So, yep. >> Would we have that information by January 27th >> about >> just just the open enrolled kids because that's a decent number. >> We we would have an estimate. We may not have all because some may want to see two. We've had some, well, I'm not going to make a decision or I'm not going to we some of the responses have been, I'm not going to worry about it until January 27th and then we'll worry we'll ponder that for our our family about what would be the best school for them. So, but I will
069tell you they have one of the best um attendance specialist, Sher Herford, over at Pioneer Elementary. She actually trains all of our new elementary attendance specialist. Um and so she has a great pulse on that community and uh will be instrumental in working with not only open enrolled families but boundared families as well too to reach out to them one family at a time should this happen. And that would happen then after January 27th. So then we can work because we also don't want them to have to do a lot of paperwork of transferring from a school. We want to be able to do that behind the scenes for families in terms of not having to go through the whole enrollment application. and we want to be able to work with our technology services team
070to move those families where they choose to. So, >> great. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> What other questions from the board? >> I just wanted to make a comment. I really appreciate the hard work that's gone into this. Um, nobody wants to close a school. Our our community schools are the heart of our community. And when people come together in a neighborhood and they go to a band concert or they go to a PTO thing, it's a really a way of getting to know your neighbors. And so this is a very hard decision. And I appreciate um what uh Dr. McCord and Dr. um Martin have done in explaining and you know the whole cabinet in looking at the finances and the numbers. Um it's not something we really want to do. It's just
071that to be fiscally responsible with our taxpayer dollars, we have to consider it. And I I wish it were a different than that, but that's kind of where the chips are going to fall. >> Yeah. I just uh also want to echo that and and thank all the work that went into this and and also want to thank all the families that came to the meetings and gave their feedback or have given their feedback online. and that's really helpful and and it was it was good but also really hard to hear um how much everyone loves Pioneer and how passionate they are about their school and and and we we feel the same way. It's it's such a great school and it it is a really hard decision we'll have coming up. Thanks everyone for
072their input. Thank you. >> All right, Dr. Martin, thank you very much for that presentation. >> Thank you. >> All right, moving on to 6.02. 02 teaching and learning academic spotlight. We've got a presentation tonight by Darren and his crack team over there at special education and looking forward to hearing from you. >> No, try again. >> I know this one works. [laughter] >> Good evening. >> Don't yell at us. Good evening, governing board. We really do appreciate the opportunity to be able to be here tonight and share with you um a modified curriculum program that we use within special education that is not often understood and that not a lot of people um have a lot of information. I've brought a team of people, but two exceptional shining stars, Sarah Wallace, who oversees our
073skills program, and Abby Wefield, who oversees our [clears throat] spice program. They're going to kind of walk you through uh very specific information uh related to this program and then at the very end uh they'd be open to any questions that you have. So Sarah Abby. >> Okay. Well, hello. Good evening. I'm we're so excited to be here. Thank you for the opportunity to share about some of our specialized programs. I'm Sarah Wallace, as Darren introduced. >> I'm Abby Wheatfield. I support our K12 Spice One program and 7 through 12 Spice 2 and I support K12 olive skills there. We really want to highlight and share some of the great stuff that's happening with the Specialized program, specifically with the unique learning system and how we're able to reach and meet the needs of really
074a wide variety of students with those with the most significant learning needs as well. We're hoping to share with you the role that it plays and the daily routines of the teachers and the students in their classrooms and really just help you understand the value and what it's done to increase learning for all students. Okay. So, what is unique learning system? So, unique learning system is a comprehensive modified accessible curriculum that supports students from preK all the way through transition age which is 22. It's aligned to the Arizona State academic standards through core content connectors. And what that what that is is it scaffolds those skills, whatever those grade level skills may be, but at a level for students with the most significant learning needs. The curriculum covers academics, communication, daily living skills, as well
075as utilizing real world connections to make that um to kind of hammer in those concepts and those concepts. So it supports learning through those real world connections which really is one of its strengths. Lessons include functional activities, community themes, life skills and routines that directly support student independence. So examples of that may be following recipes, money skills, following a schedule, learning about community helpers and community transportation options, healthy living habits, hygiene, household chores, among a variety of other things. But it really is designed to be accessible, supportive, and developmentally appropriate no matter what a student's communication needs are, their motor abilities, or their cognitive profiles. So, ULS really is a learner- centered program. It really is focused on supporting the whole student and lesson structures structures are consistent. They're predictable. They really help increase learner
076confidence and their ability to engage in learning. So it supports growth across some very key areas including academics, independence, self-determination skills and communication all with a focus on active participation in the learning process. So all these components work together and reinforce each other and they really help students move towards that adult life readiness and that starts even at the lowest grade bands. pull it down a little bit. Okay. So, as we've mentioned, uls is used across our most intensive specialized programs. That includes life MD skills, functional academic skills, and spice one. So, skills stands for structured classroom for intensive language learning. SPICE is social pragmatics, independence, communication, and emotional regulation. So these programs serve our students with the most intensive academic, adaptive, social, and communication needs. ULS is that unified adapted curriculum that supports the
077diverse needs of all the students in these three programs. One of the strengths of unique learning system is that it provides an entry point, an access for every single learner. It helps to meet the student where they're at and lots of individualization. So the curriculum follows this simple instructional cycle. Learner needs and strengths are identified that helps to guide instructional practices which also guides the assessment practices producing data which again continues that ongoing instructional decisions. So teachers are able with built-in systems. It's all part of the system to be able to use that data to make instructional decisions that are going to support continued growth. ULS has been available to um teachers and students in these three identified programs for several years. However, we identified a need for teachers to implement um this curriculum. Well,
078with that, um, we identified a need to align expectations, training, and implementation across all of our campuses. And so now we're working on that improved consistent practice um so that there can be continuity amongst all of our schools who utilize unique learning system. Part of that is our training initiatives. Um we have trained roughly 60 teachers in unique learning systems on curriculum implementation as well as roughly 120 pair professionals on that comprehensive support to um support skills that teachers have previously taught um and just make that successful in our classroom with students with the most intensive needs. Because of that, we have had 353 students access Unique Learning System. Um, and we are just so excited to see this in action across all of our campuses and having kids have access to this incredible curriculum.
079We've received some feedback from our teachers who have been trained and who have been utilizing ULS. It's been very positive. They've shared that they have appreciated having clear materials, predictable routines, support for planning um lessons, and consistent assessment methods. Our next steps involve aligning expectations across stakeholder groups. So stakeholders being principles, um teachers, instructional coaches, department chairs and pair professionals as well as strengthening fidelity across campuses, meaning utilizing the structured lesson plans that are embedded in the curriculum as well as implementing evidence-based practices. We use consistent data to guide instruction and support. and our consistent assessment practices align to district timelines so all kids um are accessing those assessment pieces around the same time which is really nice and provide targeted implementation support where needed. So we provide ongoing differentiated supports for our teachers and
080pair professionals based on what we observe in the classroom feedback that they share with us and just those individualized needs. We are so thankful um to you for your continued support of accessible, meaningful instruction for all of our students here at Gilbert Public Schools. We'd love to answer any questions you might have. >> Go ahead. >> So, I do I do question first. Um is this in all subject areas or just some subject areas? For example, science or social studies or math or reading? What subject areas are we focusing on? or do we cover them all? >> That's a great question. So, unique is everything. So, it's reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and life skills as well. There's also a transition grade band. So, those students that are getting ready to enter out into
081the real world or working, there's an entire curriculum component to support those students as well. >> That's awesome. I appreciate that. I I'm I think it's exciting to see students get their grade level curriculum, their grade level standards um in a way that they can understand it. So, thank you very much. Appreciate that. >> Thank you. >> The board have any other questions? I want to just take a moment and say thank you to you guys and to all of our staff that uh that facilitate these this unique learning system and these the the skills program um and the other special needs programs in our district. Uh I I personally know a number of families that have students that participate in these programs and it's Gilbert Public Schools operates these programs like no other school
082district in the country and we've truly become a a destination and a soughta resource for parents that have students with special needs. And uh I am just we're all just so grateful that it's run and led by such competent individuals um and people that truly care about these students and want to give these students specifically every opportunity to become the the the most functional um and well equipped uh adults when they graduate from these programs. >> So thank you very very much. I do I do want to say I think we could um some of those social skills we do such a great job in special education on that that we need to transfer some of that to our regular students. [laughter] Sorry, they just they need I I we've come to this day and
083age where they need help in eye contact, shaking hands. I've always been impressed going into the special education classrooms when the teacher, you know, has the students come up and introduce themselves and they're very confident and they do a good job of, you know, looking me in the eye and shaking my hand. And I think we need to get that spread out a little bit more beyond our special needs classrooms to some of our other classrooms. >> Thank you very much. All right, moving on to agenda item number seven, our consent agenda item. Is there a motion to approve tonight's consent agenda as written? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Mr. Brainer. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Miss Murray. All those in favor of approving tonight's consent agenda as written, say,
084"I." >> I. >> Any opposed? Thank you very much. Uh, agenda item number eight, request for future agenda items. Is there anything that any board member would like to add to a future agenda? Okay. As always, if there's anything, please let myself or Dr. McCord know and we'll be sure to get those added. Thank you. And moving on to board reports. Uh, our Town of Gilbert liaison, Dr. Blake Robersonson. >> Nothing to report. Thanks. >> Thank you, Dr. Robersonson. Uh I don't have anything for the audit committee although we did uh meet recently and had I what I thought was a productive conversation in regards to the purpose of the audit committee and I found that um informative and uh validated the the benefit of the audit committee and having um having experts in our
085community uh help us with some review and some um I don't want to say oversight, but with with having a more eyeballs look at look at these things and and make sure that that we're not missing anything. And so I appreciate uh their efforts and their time and commitment. Um that's all I have. Uh Gilbert Education Foundation, Mr. Brainer. >> Nothing to report. >> Okay. Thank you. City of Mesa Liaison, Miss Murray. >> Nothing to report. >> Thank you, Miss Murray. And our legislative representative and employee benefit trust, Miss Jill Humphre. So we the employee benefit trust did meet and um as you may remember the recommendation for this year was a 6% increase for health benefits with a draw down of the employee benefit trust of $1.5 million. But with the renewal of our
086stop-loss insurance uh the conditions were not favorable. We've had four additional lasered out um claims and this leads to a draw down of of our fund balance of about $4 to5 million. So our claims are running high as we expected and going into next year we can expect a recommendation for a rate increase. I think just right now health insurance everywhere is struggling to um work with costs and and keep those costs contained. Um, on the legislative front, uh, we'll have the legislature starting up in January and, um, I think we should watch for what the governor's plan is. And, um, I would encourage our parents to give their feedback to their legislators because that's where a lot of, um, the finances and things happen. So, um, if you feel like you have a strong
087opinion on something, please send an email to your legislator about that. Um, and then I just wanted to say this is, uh, the time of year when we're having a lot of Christmas concerts and musical events, and if you can get out to one of those, they're just amazing. Um, I did go to a little, um, band and strings concert at Ply Del Rey and it was just absolutely enjoyable. Even though those students are just beginners, they did a great job and I'm looking forward to um, going to some other um, events as we come through towards the end of the towards the holiday season. There are concerts every night practically. So, um, if you get on the website and look for a school, you'll probably find a concert. So, that's my my report. >>
088Thank you, Miss Humphre. Uh, agenda item number 10 uh number 10, uh, meeting dates, Miss Betts. >> So, this is our last meeting of the, um, calendar year 2025, and you all meet again for the organizational meeting on January 6 of 2026. Okay, thank you very much. And uh like Miss Bett said, this is our last uh board meeting before uh before the or last board meeting of 2025. And so we wanted to uh wish all of our students and staff and families merry Christmas and happy holidays. And um I'm grateful for this time of year for the ability that I have to uh shift the focus outward and to think about uh think about others more than I think about myself. And I encourage all of you to uh to do that, to get
089out there to wish your uh your teachers and your neighbors and your friends and your family happy holidays. Uh and hope everybody has a a very happy and safe uh holiday season. So, thank you. Uh, and with that, we will, uh, call for a vote to adjourn tonight's meeting. Is there a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Miss Humphre. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Dr. Robersonson. All those in favor of adjournment, say, I. I. >> Thank you very much. We are adjourned.