001like to call to order the regular board meeting for the Essis Wampton Public Schools. Uh stand for the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with all. >> Roll call, please. here. >> Here >> uh the next is the we need the approval for the agenda as presented. >> I will motion to approve the agenda as presented. >> Support. >> Moved and supported. Any discussion? >> Roll call, please. >> Nearing. >> Yes. >> Leavine. >> Yes. Yes. >> Yes. >> O'Neal, >> yes. >> Russia, >> yes. >> Sansbury, >> yes. >> Six. Yes. >> Any statements from board members at this time? >> Uh, just a heads up, the Garber Activities Association is
002holding a bowling tournament in January. So, it's a super fun activity. Raises money. It's very fun. They have payout prizes. It's tournament style. So, if you would like to get a team together, I know they still have spots available. It's a really good time. So, something to consider. >> Anyone else? >> Any statements from the superintendent? >> Uh, thank you, Mr. President. Uh, so uh uh December, just a few uh recognitions. Uh starting with uh uh December is the month where we celebrate and recognize Universal Human Rights Month. uh which uh ties very nicely with our deep values in particular uh respect uh and kindness and our community has a long and rich history of uh taking care of uh our neighbors whether it's from uh project angel tree to the Duke kind program um
003that's just something that we do here in uh Essex Hampton schools um uh want to encourage folks to uh think above organizations such as the United Way Bay Area's women's center which supports uh women who are survivors of uh domestic violence um and uh goods match and rescue uh mission which does a lot of work to support folks who are experiencing homelessness especially during these cold months um as uh just some local organizations that do great work in supporting uh universal human rights here locally. So, we really don't have to look too far uh when we think about universal human rights. Um I recently um came across the Robert and Anne Hatchel Theater at the Bay uh County Historical Society, which does a lot of great work uh in documenting and sharing uh just some
004of our uh region's uh history uh with things like human rights. And so I would just encourage folks to uh check out the uh uh Bay County Historical Society. I think it'll be a great activity for students and families to do over um uh the winter break. Um so as we prepare for the holiday season, I just want to encourage everyone to continue to model kindness and respect and um the fact that we all despite our differences have this shared uh humanity. Uh December uh also recognizes on December 2nd uh National Special Education Day. Um and so here in our district about 8% of our students um or 100 approximately 108 students um all qualify or receive special education services. Um and I want to extend my sincere appreciation for the folks who provide services
005um to these amazing and talented students. our special education staff at Bush. We have uh Miss Melanie Martin at Varela, Mr. Joe Courier, Herac Kramer, Miss Jennifer Wall, Miss Lorie Newkerk, and Miss uh Kelsey Fenton, and at Garber, uh Miss Allison Savage, and Miss Tanya Bowler, who's also the president of our teachers union. Um, all of these amazing special education teachers and par professionals and support staff make a profound difference in the lives of our students who receive special education um services. Um, to um those students um your uh unique skills and talents uh inspire us. to the families of these students. Uh thank you for your partnership, your advocacy, and the trust you place in us uh to serve um your very special students. Um December 2nd is marked as National Special Education Day
006because it recognizes uh when the IDA law um came into act uh in 1975. Um and so um this is just an opportunity for us to acknowledge and recognize and celebrate all of our district students regardless of their ability and unique needs here at Essexville Hampton Public Schools. Um we have the supports in place to make sure that they can uh grow and thrive and fulfill their god-given uh potential. Uh December in particular on December 5th is International Volunteers Day. Um, and so thank you to all the amazing volunteers across our district. Um, so many parents, uh, community members volunteer each and every day to help our district operate. Um, I want to, uh, recognize a special group of volunteers, our, uh, board of education. Most folks don't know this, but our board, um, this
007is a labor of love. They all volunteer. So although they are elected, um, they show up every day. um uh more what they do is more than uh what you see at these monthly board meetings. There are all these other meetings. Um they respond to all my text messages and emails and phone calls. They come to visit classrooms. There's just so much they do. Um but they are volunteers. So, thank you to our seven board members uh who volunteer. Um, and as we uh get ready for the holidays and celebrate this season of giving and generosity and humanity, I would strongly encourage our students and families um if they're looking for something to do over the winter break. Uh please volunteer with one of our local organizations, and I've listed a few here. Dual Inc.,
008which is located right here in Essexville on uh Center Street, uh Brian's House, of course, plenty of dog and animal lovers in our district. So, by all means, volunteer with either the Bay County Animal Shelter or the Humane Society. And if you're just interested in other volunteer opportunities, you can check out michigan volunteers.org to see plenty of volunteer opportunities uh during the winter break. Uh volunteering not only is an act of giving, but it builds uh community. So, please um it's something great you can do during the winter break. uh December uh during the week of this week actually the 8th through the 12th is also National Inclusive Schools Week and it's just an opportunity for us to recognize and embrace um just how unique each of us are and how our uniqueness uh adds
009to the tapestry and the mosaic of our um school district. So, um, our district and community shines brightest when we all embrace our differences. And I want to thank all of our staff, our teachers, our administrators who go above and beyond to foster um, schools um, that support inclusion and make sure that all students and families feel a sense of belongingness. So, um not just for the next um not just for this week and the month of December, but for throughout the year um let's continue to celebrate, recognize, and embrace um our uniqueness, our diversity, the things that make us um our unique selves and spread kindness and lift each other up. And finally, also this week in the month of December is National Computer Science Education Week. Um and uh our district is at
010the forefront of uh computer science and technology. I want to give a huge shout out to Madison um Kokowski who is Garber's student uh chief science officer um uh a couple weeks ago she already reached out to me eager to plan the fourth annual uh STEM night here at our district. I want to also uh recognize the many staff who play a part in making sure that STEM um continues to be at the forefront of what we do as a district in particular here at uh Kramer, Dr. David Gruber um at Garber, Mr. uh Steve Stein, who is leading our partnership with Central Michigan uh University um to implement virtual reality in his anatomy class. Um it's really cool. I had the opportunity to visit that class a month or so ago. They put the
011VR goggles on me and I could see and feel and touch the human brain and the human heart uh using um virtual um reality. Um and it's just really cool innovation um work. Again, we are at the forefront um in terms of uh technology and computer science. I also want to shout out all the amazing parents and community partners who support uh the uh computer science and technology work that we are doing here in our district. In particular, the Robo Alliance group. I met with that group of about a dozen or so parents a couple weeks ago. They do an awesome job of supporting Mr. Ethan Shannon and the robotics program. Um, and uh, for those of you who don't know, our robotics team at Garber is an amazing, award-winning robotics team, and they are
012really paving the way for our uh, junior high and elementary robotics programs this past weekend. Our fourth graders and fifth grade robotics um, uh, teams participated in an event at Freeland High School. Um and um again just to continue being on the forefront of technology and computer science, um one of the things you'll probably hear about uh this evening during the committee reports from the buildings and grounds committee chair um uh I believe will provide a quick update on phase one of our center for innovation and uh community education that we um still believe um is on track to being um uh built uh by the time we get to uh to next summer. So, uh not just for this week um but for the rest of the month, the rest of the year, uh
013let's continue to celebrate, recognize uh imagination, innovation, and the endless possibilities as a result of computer science and technology and that work that's being done here uh in our district. And those are remarks from the superintendent. Mr. President. >> All right. Thank you, Dr. Lewis. Uh any statements from the public pertaining to the agenda? Moving on uh to our consent agenda item F. We have a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. >> I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. >> Moved and supported. Any discussion? >> Roll call, please. >> Leavine, >> yes. >> Morasi, >> yes. >> O'Neal, >> yes. >> Rashau, >> yes. >> Sans, >> yes. >> Six, yes. >> Welcome, Mr. Shaw. Thank you. >> Uh, next is committee reports and we're going to begin with
014the Garver student representative. >> Hi. Um, this month is full of fun things with sports. Winter sports are finally underway. Basketball, wrestling, swim, bowling, cheer have all started their season. Students are showing up with great energy. Teams are getting comfortable with their schedules and building momentum. Clubs and activities clubs have been really active this month. Um the student council is planning our upcoming charity week which this week we're actually um finding the charity we'll be donating to. Um that week will include our week um winter formal and a lot of fun activities leading into it. There will also be a winter severe week and bake sales. SLS is starting to sell candygrams and participate participating in the angel tree. Um along with student council spent the day decorating our whole whole school for the holidays.
015>> Okay. So for NHS um we're doing a charity event. So it's a silent auction. every student put in $25 to um donate a basket and it's all online and all the proceeds go to Garber to help like revamp all like the programs like the car care program um wood shop like things that always don't get as much attention. um picture to buy mine. It was resisting the buttercup themed. [laughter] And for academically, students are starting to um study for midterms and SATs are coming up in May. So very, very nerve-wracking. That's okay. Um and yeah, I think that's it. >> Thank you. Any questions for our student reps? >> Moving on. Uh the next one is the building and grounds committee. Mr. Morski is our chair, but Mr. O'Neal took some copious notes and
016share that breakdown. Yeah, the uh yeah, the village and grounds committee had a a wide discussion especially on the uh um what's the the center for innovation and community engagement the used to be called the STEM center um the construction documents were sent to Michigan uh we have to submit them before the 25th and it's about one to three months before the state comes back to us uh so we can't concrete for that building until then. Uh the design is getting finalized. Uh the initial costs uh were a little bit higher than what we had anticipated. Um so we are working right now with the uh bid process and things of that nature uh to make sure that we have the uh the right financials in place for that. Um we uh this right now
017uh it looks as if we're going to have some kind of a building up um by August. Um so that's our goal right now and uh the uh the plans have been in place with uh the help of Ethan Shannon. Um so that is still ongoing as it is right now. Um, we have a vacant lot that is at the corner of Hampton and Jones. Um, we've had it appraised back in n 1989 and, uh, we've kind of directed the superintendent to sell it. Um, for whatever we can get for it, the committee agreed to that. We had uh uh the uh replacement of the scoreboards for the football and baseball diamonds. The uh the cost for it uh is in our budget right now. Uh the excess of it is going to be raised
018by the uh sports community. Uh so we that should not be a problem. Um what else? Uh yeah, Dr. Lewis is creating some administrative guidelines for naming and rights uh and commemoration for uh the the uh not only the scoreboards that are going to be up there, but any other thing that we can uh figure out as far as the the uh district goes. Uh golf came before us and wants a little practice space outside and right fields um baseball dial I guess it is. Is that correct? Can't remember yet. So, and they want to put uh some cement in there and and get a practice space for us, which is badly needed. Um, and we had a large discussion about um looking at Little Saints, whether or not uh that is a possible acquisition
019for us to uh put our um overflow and our burgeoning uh uh kindergarten and u other things going on down there. So, that's about what we discussed. Anyone else want to add to that or questions? >> All right, thank you. Uh, next up was our policy and procedure committee meeting. Miss Le, >> we met on Friday last week and had a lot to discuss actually for policy and procedure. So, school board members, we're looking first of all, we went to the Neola board policy updates. Those are fairly straightforward with recommendations um from Niola regarding like the non-discrimination policy, parent optout policies, equal opportunity employment, just updating the language and making sure everything is consistent with what the state wants with laws. Um so not a lot of changes with the new policies. Later on in
020our meeting, we'll have an adoption just to bring that language up to speed. Um we'll have a vote for that. Um so something to think about. So, Niola versus TR for future board policy management. We talked a lot about that. Um, and if we want to look to streamline our policies with trun and there are a number of reasons that we may do that or not do that. So, kind of put that in the back of your mind to think about for springtime. Um, a few questions that came up with that are how are the updates handled? Yola does a really good job keeping us a breast of new changes and making sure our policies are right up to speed. Um, does Trun offer those same policies? What support do they get? and if we
021decided to move away from Neiola to Truan, what would that conversion process look like? So, there's a few questions that we need to research a little bit before um we do that, but just kind of keep that in the back of your mind as we get into spring. Um the new administrative guidelines, so administrative guidelines are separate from our policies. Currently, they're not listed on our website, but we went through a number of things. There's a hiring manual that was started by Superintendent Rston that Superintendent um Lewis is trying to finish that up, modifying that, getting it up to par. So, we have a very clean outline to follow when we bring new employees into the district. Um school closures, a lot of things that were listed um for us to look at in our
022board packet. So, good discussion there. Um headlights was one we spent some time on. So, um, we're going to move to that a little bit. Hiring process for athletic coaches was discussed just to make sure everybody's on the same page, they're getting paid as they should be, and moving things along with background checks are done in a timely manner, and that everyone is onboarded um, in the same manner. And then lastly, thank you to Julia TA for all of her work on the annual RE certification. REP stands for the register registry of education personnel. So she's going through and making sure that every person that comes into contact with their school, whether it's a substitute teacher, facilities director, an assistant, coach, that they're all on this list so we make sure everyone is up to
023date and reported to the state as needed to be. So thank you for all of your hard work on that. >> I think that was about it. >> Anyone else have anything further with that questions? Mr. Naring, finance. >> Yes, thank you. The finance committee met earlier today to discuss uh several items. The first item that we discussed was the uh 31A funding. Um if you remember at our last board meeting, our board adopted a resolution to opt in to the 31A mental health funding uh from the state of Michigan. Um there are several districts that uh are pursuing a lawsuit against the state of Michigan through two different law firms uh with some action for this this uh this fund. Um and the kind of the opt in or out clause. Um they have
024until December 30th uh to make their decision. Um regardless of of that conclusion, we are not part of those lawsuits. We've decided to opt in. So, regard uh when uh the December 30th uh rolls around, we'll be able to determine the actual funding that we will get um when those districts uh have to make their final decision about opting in or out. Uh Maria has included the base amount um for that funding in in the uh uh budget amendment that we're going to be seeing and voting on later. The funding will not be lower than that amount. Um but depending on the amount of districts that uh opt out of the funding uh that uh that funding could could go up um based on that number as well too. So the schools uh have until
025December 30th to decide if they want to opt out depending on how that legislation or those lawsuits go as well too. uh we uh we talked about uh potential bond proposal um if we were to choose to go for a bond proposal sometime in 2026 if we would like to use the qualified or non-qualified bond proposal. Uh the one that we uh previously went with was a non-qualified bond proposal. there are differences um based on credit uh worthiness of the district and the the requirements that you would have to uh go through with the state of Michigan and how quickly you could get that bond proposal in front of the voters. Uh so we just had a good discussion about that. Um nothing that the the board has to decide on yet. Uh but like
026I said, the previous uh proposal that we did was a nonqualified um proposal and uh through our discussions, I think the entire finance committee would be leaning towards using the non-qualified approach again. Uh if we did if we decided to go with a a bond in uh sometime next year as well too, but uh we would have to make that determination formally when we got to that stage. Um Maria presented the uh 2026 budget amendments um that we'll be voting on later in this agenda. So, she'll uh she'll talk us through those and then we'll have a vote on that. And then we also had a discussion about the possible acquisition of Bull Saints and uh ways that we could fund that as well too if if that were to come to fruition as well.
027>> Anyone else? Any >> Mr. Perth? >> Yes. >> Just a quick clarification. We are not voting on the amended budget this evening. That would just it's it's a first read first. So, uh, if we do vote, it would be at the January meeting, right? Okay. Thank you. >> Just a quick question with the bond proposal, there's a parent community also, right? Was that >> Well, I think that we had uh for the bond, we had a a group that was uh like a like a bond support group that that was was out there kind of championing championing the bond as well. Then Dr. Lewis, did you do a second bond committee or is that a plan to potentially do that as we get closer to >> both? So, uh, when we made the decision
028not to try for a bond last month, November's election, I did consult with the last bond committee. Um, and we also put out a call for volunteers and we had about 48 parents, uh, students and staff who said that they would be interested in being on a bond committee if we were to pursue a future bond. Um, so if we were to decide to go after a bond in August of 2026, at that point I would activate that group of 48 folks who um registered on that survey and um move forward with them to support the effort. The discussion this evening was just um uh preliminary behind the scenes if we were to decide what would be the best option. But we didn't get into how much the bond or what the bond would cover.
029Um it was just for us to get a sense of what would be the easier route, qualified versus non-qualified. >> Okay. >> Yeah. So I just want to make sure that no one misunderstands that we we haven't done anything yet without engaging the community or anything like that. >> Okay. Is there qualified versus non-qualified [clears throat] or just two two ways of obtaining the bond kind of the application process and how how kind of in advance do you need to start planning for that? You need to go through the state for a qualified or do it kind of on your own not qualified. >> Thank you. >> Yep. >> All right. Next item H is why most of you are here today for the uh student showcase. I'm going to turn it over to Mr.
030McMart. >> The policies are very exciting. >> [laughter] >> Turn it over to Miranda. >> All right. Did you guys want to come down here with me? >> You can stand up here and then we can play it, you know. Okay. All right. So, good evening and thank you for allowing us to attend and showcase some of our amazing things that are going on here at Kramer. Um, if you remember, uh, last year we showed you our brain break video, um, which was mainly created by Cameron Zavara and then our students had like small components that they would add into it. But this year, um, led by our talented Mr. Martin. He um oversees these students and they meet with him once um once a day first hour and they work on our now it's
031called Next Up at Kramer. So um our SLT team came up with that new name. We kind of we sent out some options to our our students um giving them some choices of some different names that we came up with and that was the one that got the most popular votes. They even created their own like little logo and everything. Um so we have with us Ley manager if you remember her from last year. Um we have uh Ethan Hell, Elijah Badger, and we also have Calvin White. So they're very talented. They work extremely hard at this. Some of them even at home um outside of school hours to put together this video that our students are thrilled to watch every single week. They watch it during their home room class or their advisory class.
032And I'm honestly just blown away by their talent and how they're tying things in um with our Duke values, but also um with uh relevant things that are going on um different um topics. Um for instance, we one of our videos was um about like disabilities and like World Down Syndrome Day. So they really they've even did like a Hispanic heritage um video. So they are just doing an outstanding job. And even bonus, it's free. I mean they're learning from it but we're also because we were honestly paying for the other created videos before but I so they are getting a lot of you know knowledge from this and experience. Um we're going to even start um incorporating some of our seventh grade students so that way they can kind of prepare them as they
033sadly leave us to Garber. Um, but we're just we're really thankful for them and I'm going to turn it over to them and you'll see how they um tile this together with our deep values of perseverance, respect, responsibility, kindness, and integrity. And so we're just grateful for them. So I'm going to turn it over to them. >> Um, good evening members. I'm Kinsley. >> I'm Ethan. >> I'm Elijah. >> And I'm Cal. You are the student hosts of Next Up at Kramer. Each week with direction from Miss McMartin, our student production team writes, edits, designs, and films the entire episode ourselves. We meet during first hour and sometimes even a working lunch to make it happen. Every student involved has its own unique goal. >> We start by building the script including important screws or
034download updates, fun activities, and interviews. Then we film everything in different parts of the building using green screens, multiple cameras, microphones, and professional lighting. We take turns directing, acting in skits, editing, and filming. It's amazing to see each week our ideas come to life. Each week also includes a message from a staff member, a student of the week who exemplifies our Duke values, as well as a kindness one to one or a professional video segment to tie back to what matters most. >> The episode direct episode 12 is focused on red You ready to roll? All right, we'll clear out your way so you can see. Okay. Who put this giant jaw on the desk? >> That's the granny point. I heard every time you say one thing to grateful for, you know, >> and
035whoever the most points by Thanksgiving break gets the last slice of pumpkin pie in the teachers lounge. >> Challenge accepted. I'm grateful for the Kramer community, my awesome teachers, and warm socks coming straight from the dry. >> Wo! Rapid fire gratitude. Is that even loud? I'm grateful for studs, pizza sticks, and when the vending machine actually drops a snack. >> I'm grateful for my friends that I didn't forget deodorant today. >> All right, viewers. Before we start turning this into an emotional TED talk, let's jump into episode 12. >> [music] >> Do what [music] you want to do. It's gratitude week here at the perfect time to appreciate the big things, the small things, and everything in between. And to help us start on the right foot, we have someone who brings positivity. Positivity everywhere
036she goes. >> Hi Duke. This week, I want us all to take a moment and think about gratitude. Gratitude is noticing the good things around you, even on tough days. It's in the friends who check in on you, the teachers who support you, the staff who keep our school running, and the small moments that make you smile. When we choose to focus on what we're grateful for, it changes how we feel and how we treat the people around us. So this week, try to show your gratitude in your actions. Say thank you, help someone else, compliment a positive, be the reason someone else feels appreciated today. I'm grateful for all of you and everything you bring to our school community. Thank you. That's the perfect reminder that gratitude isn't just a thought. It's something we
037show in how we treat each other every day. All right, Dukes, it's time for a Duke down. On November 25th, our fifth graders head to the YMCA pool. On December 5th, the choir Halloween show off for grades 6 to 12 takes place at 6:00 p.m. in Marbor Auditorium. And on December 6th, our seventh and eighth grade band students will participate in a junior high solo and ensemble. Now for sports. On November 24th, volleyball plays the Swan Valley Vikings at home. On November 25th, wrestling takes on Ithaca, Alma, and Bridgeport at home. And volleyball travels to Alma. On November 26th, Thunder hockey is away at New England High. And on December 1st, girls volleyball hosts Frankie New at home. Lots happening, Dukes. So stay involved and show your support. >> Now it's time for our gratitude
038spee. We give students 15 seconds to list as many things they're grateful for. >> I'm grateful for my dad. I'm grateful for my mom. I'm grateful for the police department. I'm grateful for the fire department. I'm grateful for clothes. I'm grateful for food. I'm grateful for friends. I'm grateful for family. Mom, my dad, my family, my sisters, my teachers, my pencils, uh, my room, my lights, my house, my grandma, my grandpa, my cousin, Zilla, family, friends, spunky, um, murder drones, Five Nights at Freddy's, uh, [laughter] music, uh, Nightcore. I'm grateful for my mom, my dad, my grandma, my grandpa, my friends, God, the Bible, Tik Tok, my phone, um Roblox, um food, um Aubrey, Natalie, Lauren, Edith, Aaliyah, Riley, um Ari, >> mom, dad, brother, sister, um Jesus, uh God, the Bible, all books, uh
039Snickers, Kit Kats, Skittles, M&M's, >> uh Twix, Oh, tacos, nachos. My mom, my dad, my sister, my uncle, my aunt, my grandma. Oh, Aubrey, Lydia, um, um, her. [laughter] >> And I'm grateful for you for watching this right now. Short, sweet, and full of gratitude. That's the way it should be. And now it's time for something really special. Kids have created her own gratitude pet. Hi, I'm Kim and here's your official gratitude pep talk. The world gets better when you get grateful. Be thankful for the big things as family and friends. Be thankful for the weird things like Wi-Fi that actually works. And be thankful for the little things like when your pencil doesn't break in the middle of a test. Gratitude is like glitter. When you throw it around, it sticks to everybody. So
040spread some to them. Say thank you. Smile. Hold the door. Compliment someone. The world needs more grateful people. And it starts with you. >> [music] >> Up next, we've got a video that fits perfectly with our feet. This one is from the Kindness 101 series and it's called Kindness 101, a Western gratitude. Take a look. >> Good morning and welcome to Kindness 101. This, of course, is my daughter Marilyn. >> Hi everyone. Today's class is about gratitude. For definition, we go live to my brother EMTT at the dictionary. EMTT. Gratitude is a strong feeling of appreciation or thankfulness for someone or something. You know, you guys are always grateful to your mom and me whenever we take you on vacation or buy you a gift or something. But it's interesting. You've never once showed your
041appreciation for the bathroom sink. >> Not that I have. >> No, you've never thanked me for the sink. If I'm to go around the house and say, "I'm thankful for this carpet and that table might take a while." You don't have enough time to show gratitude for everything in the world. >> Yeah, being grateful for the things we take for granted is hard for everyone. Fortunately, I have a story to help with that. This is a recent addition to our archive, but destined to become a lifelong teaching tool for finding gratitude. What may look like a house to you is something much more magnificent to the boy inside. What did you think when you saw this place for the first time? >> We said it's second heaven. >> Second heaven. >> Yes. He passed through
042this before he looked at the big heaven as well. I believe so. >> He means that literally. And why would he? Abraham and his brother James are from Sierra Leon. They were homeless before finding their way to an orphanage and eventually to their new family outside Charlotte, North Carolina. >> Joe and Jamie Walker adopted them last year. And they say the boys have been wideeyed with wonder ever since. >> Every little thing that we take for granted, hit the button, open up front gates. Dad, >> everything is magic to them. It's magic. Whether it's a present just showing up on Christmas morning >> or something mundane like a car wash, the kids are constantly blown away. >> But the biggest surprise came on Abraham's birthday. You had birthdays before you came here. How did you
043celebrate them? >> Probably a crazy question. >> Why is that a crazy question? >> I never celebrate them. I never really chose my birthday. >> Happy birthday. So when the song started and his mom appeared with that glowing tribute, Abraham was overwhelmed. >> When I see the cake, I thought that is the most beautifulest thing I've ever seen. >> Birthday cake. >> It's not just a birthday cake. It's a blessing cake. >> A blessing cake. And what a blessing it is that once a year friends and family gather just to honor our existence. Most of us take that for granted, but not in this house. Not anymore. Just being reminded that we need to stop and be super grateful for what we do have. A good wish for America from this American dream [clears throat]
044come true. The boy who single-handedly renamed the birthday cake joins us now. Hello, Abraham. Hello, sir. >> When you blew out your candles, did you make a wish? >> Glad to keep my family alive and protect them and shout them with happiness in their lives. >> Uh, do you have any advice for people who look around their lives and can't seem to find much if anything to be grateful for? >> There's always something to be grateful for. Even the moment that you're alive, you need to be grateful for that. >> So even when you're homeless, one of the poorest people on the planet, you still found reason to be thankful. >> Yes. >> But it wouldn't seem to us like you would have anything to be thankful for. >> The one thing that I was
045so thankful for is I never get sick. >> You never got sick. >> So you were thankful for your health even when you were homeless. >> Yeah. >> A lot of people in this country across the political spectrum think that this country is going in the wrong direction. What are they missing? >> Give me some gratitude. I appreciate what you offer. Now, you always introduce dance in each and every second of whatever you were doing. >> Well, Abraham, thank you very much for the perspective that you've given to all Americans and and of course, we're very grateful that you joined us. >> Thank you. >> Bye. You know, for most of us, because we do take so much for granted, gratitude has to be a conscious effort. So, here's a suggestion. This is something that
046we've done in our family. At the beginning of the day, take 10 pennies and put them in your left pocket. >> Then, spend the day actually looking for things that you're grateful for. Once you find one, move one penny from your left pocket into your right pocket. >> And we guarantee at the end of the day, you'll have a lot more than a time. Thanks for watching >> and don't forget to stay kind. [music] >> A little gratitude really does go a long way. Let's try to live that loud today. Dukes, >> now it's time to recognize someone who really shows what it means to be a Duke. And to present our student of the week, here she is, Miss Kelly. [music] Shadow and I are very proud and pleased to nominate a student from
047our class, Adeline Thompson, for this week's student of the week. Adeline is a true expert at using all five of the Duke values. When it comes to being responsible, Adeline really shines. She consistently comes prepared to school and uses her class time wisely. When a classroom job needs to be done, especially cleaning up, Adelyn is always the first to lend a hand without ever being asked. Adeline is a friend to everyone and has so much to be proud of. Keep up the great work, Adeline. All of your classmates along with Shadow and I are proud that you are the student of the week. >> Thanks, Miss Kelly. And congratulations again, Adeline. You make Kramer proud. >> What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? >> Ribs and rice. >> What are you grateful for? >> My favorite.
048And what are you going to want for this Christmas? >> That's it for this week's gratitude episode. >> Thank you suffering more >> because gratitude doesn't just change your attitude. >> It changes the people around you too. >> Have a great week and happy Thanksgiving and gratitude week. >> [music] >> to get your What I do? [applause] >> Outstanding. Yeah, very nice job. >> I know my kids come home and talk about it. So, they're very excited to see what's on there and one was included and she was super excited and then they were it was just lots of talk about your program. So, excellent work. >> You guys just every single week that's a pretty intensive like you guys put a lot of time and energy into you can really see it shine through.
049That's it's amazing that you do that every week. >> That's crazy. There's a lot to it. >> Nice job. >> I'm very proud of them. They work extremely hard. Um, every once in a while we lose a day to a holiday and we're a little worried about snow days here because uh all of a sudden they have to try to pack it all in. We've uh we've had one every single week except for I think first week of school and our two day >> our Thanksgiving or two days. Those only ones we missed. Uh we'll have 15 in by um Christmas. So they're outstanding and I'm extremely proud of this group. They they've done great. >> You can see how entertaining they are. So the kids, they look forward to these every week. You know,
050>> they're very engaging and bringing in other students, too, that incorporate some excitement about it. >> It's incredible that you can fit it all in. >> Yeah. They're rock stars in the school. Yeah. >> Yeah. How what are the episodes? 15 minutes. >> They're from 10 to 15 minutes. So certain the length will vary. Um we try to since it is during an advisory time, we keep them, you know, 15 minutes to cap them off. But a lot of students enjoy like doing them while we're doing our homework or watching them said during our home or advisory. >> Thank you. Thank you all for coming. We're not going to do anything more exciting than that. So you guys, [laughter] you're certainly welcome to go. >> Thank you, Mr. President just also I say I watch
051this every single Friday. Um I look forward to it every Friday. Um um Calvin is a new addition the year just started with Elijah and Kinsley. So welcome Calvin. I think this is your second or third episode now. >> Uh second, third, fourth. >> Yeah. Um so uh the the other three started out at the beginning of the year. It's come a long way. It it's improved every single Friday. Um and it's something that I look forward to. I still uh think about uh one of the earlier episodes. They would ask just random questions to kids. What do you look forward to? Um each day the most common answer was 3:00 which was this [laughter] time. And then there was another question of the day. Which would you prefer? Um uh uh no homework or
052more recess? The answer is no homework, but a number of kids still uh chose more recess. Um so they are very innovative. uh creative. Um shout out to uh Mr. Mc Martin for uh working with the young people. When I go around Kramer, sometimes I can see them. I'm assuming they're not supposed to be in class, but they're always working. And you guys obviously um do a great job of balancing this work, which is a lot, with your regular studies. Um so keep that up. I don't know what your future aspirations are, but if you plan to be in journalism or media, uh but if you do, you definitely have the talent for it. Um, and next up, Garber. Uh, Garber does a daily video um, report that I watch every single day as well.
053So, I imagine when you guys go to Garber next year, hopefully I'll see some of you uh, in that Garber daily production. So, congratulations to you all. Um, I watched last Friday's episode today. I love that you guys talked about diabetes awareness. Um, so does a great job and keep up the great work. >> [applause] >> You sound just like me. I have the same thing as mother. >> All right. Next item on the agenda is the first reading of the budget amendment. Dr. Lewis, I'm going to turn it over to you. And >> uh yeah, I'm I'm going to turn it over to our wonderful director of finance. Um I will be the supporting cast here. Uh Mr. Jensky, you want to kind of lead us off on the uh budget amendment? >> Yes.
054Um okay. So, as we discussed last month, uh we're working on amending the budget as is um normal for this time of year. We typically prepare uh well, we have to prepare our first budget of the year prior to June 30th, the prior fiscal year. Um as we all know, that's a tough process in and of itself, but this year was especially tough since the state did not pass their budget till October. Um so it was a very I mean budgets are estimates but it was very much an estimate this year. Um we would typically prepare a first budget amendment December January um as we get more information about the leas the state does. Um I still have uh still hope hoping for a little bit more information on some revenue items um in the
055coming month. Uh hence why this is the first reading. Hopefully we'll have some more solid information. on some revenue items which I'll get into in a moment. Um and then I will do a final amendment obviously in June um typically right before we present our um first budget for the next school year. Um just kind of you guys should all have a um the budget in front of you. Does everybody have a copy? Um, I know the first thing you're going to notice is that I have a very different format than what you're probably used to seeing. Um, just in the education and and develop professional development classes I've taken, this was just a very I thought a very easy format to read. Gives you a little bit more detail without getting too far into
056these are the major class codes the state has this report under. Um, so we might have some bugs in the road, especially with the original budget to this first amendment because of how Steve used to classify things versus how I'm putting them in this um, budget. But the highlights looking at total revenue, um, we have an increase of revenue of almost $1.4 million from the original to the amended budget. Um, right off the bat, we're looking at $510,000 in the is 147 C. If everyone remembers that, that's the that's the in-n-out retirement piece that the state basically says like they literally give us a payment and they say pay the exact dollar amount out. Now, this is an estimate. Um, what I'm using is an estimate based on this year's wages. That number is probably
057going to change because the state bases it on last year's wages. So, it's it's a it's a moving target. It was a little hard to to put into a budget, but that's in and out. That's, you know, half a million dollars right off the bat of the 1.4. Um other areas that saw increases, our GSRP had carryover of um $38,000 from last year. We also increased our students in the classroom from 16 to 18, so it's another $20,000. Um some other areas are 31A which we talked about in finance committee. Um we did have rollover funds in 31A as well carryover I should say and then also um the $147 per pupil allocation that we have there. [clears throat] um our at risk funding if you that increased significantly. I'm sorry I'm just getting at
058my notes here. Um over $361,000 increase in at risk funding. That's based on students that qualify for at risk services. Um the per pupil allocation increased on that. Um, we also had a couple surprises uh since last month actually with the prior adjustment revenue. Again, another mixers or the retirement funds. Um, they gave us a little more that doesn't have to have a have a matching expense to help us with that expense of 40 just shy of $42,000. And then also um 27 L2 the midur healthcare offset. Again, another piece of revenue that doesn't it's to help with the rising cost of healthcare for districts. $118,000 increased revenue there. Um, sorry, can you go back one? I think I might have missed one. We also had um was it 18,000 >> six uh 18,000 >>
05918,000 in um CTE funding. >> Sorry, I just wanted to make sure I covered that. Um so then looking at expenses, we saw an increase in expenses of almost $900,000. Again, right off the bat, you have the matching um the revenue increases for GSRP, the one or I'm sorry, the um I get all my average the 147C the retirement in and out. So, uh right off the 900,510 for the 147 C is those matching. It has to match my revenue. Just like the GSRP, the increase in GSRP, my GSRP expenses have to match my revenue. So, you're looking at 600 of it right there in expenses. Uh, we have uh a partial year of the new principal at the elementary level and then the position at the board office as well. That's another $30,000 uh
060for the partial year this year. Um, a couple other items. The original budget did not include funds for Chromebooks. That was I added another $120,000. It's traditionally been about 100. We know that everything is rising in cost. Um, so that that pretty much accounts for most of the $900,000 increase expenses. So, looking at our original budget, which I know everybody was really very nervous to see back in June of a $870,000 deficit, um you know, the work that we've done and then the the changes in the revenue and as we understand more of what the year is going to look like, we're looking at closer to a $376,000 deficit, which is, you know, we 57% drop in that in that deficit. I did want to point out that of that $376,000 84,000 um is one-time
061spending related to cell tower funds. So if you look at an operating deficit, so like what what it takes to keep the school running an operating deficit, we're closer to 290,000 in a deficit. Um, we did, you know, we were able to increase our fund balance last year by over $700,000. We're trying to make steps to improve in so many areas. You know, excited to see where we're going. Um, there will be a couple other changes that come up. Again, hopefully I will have the information by next month so that we can pass the complete budget, but there's a couple items that will be in and out. So, it's not going to change necessarily that bottom line, but we all know that it has to be in the budget in order for us to spend
062the money. It has to be in the in the budget. Um, the 27L might have gotten my two and four mixed up, but the there's this one's two. >> Yeah. >> So, I called it the wrong one. The last one was the four was the healthcare cost one. This one's 27 L2 for teacher compensation. Um, that's funny coming from the [clears throat] state that we will educator compensation actually is what it's called. um we will have to bargain with our staff and um figure out how that'll be, you know, how we'll pay it out. It'll be an in and out. And then also the filter first grant which the work has been done. Um we're just starting to see uh the invoices come in for that and then it's a reimbursement grant. So once we
063pay that out, we'll get that revenue in. Uh that was about a hundred a little over $100,000. Um we got 99,000 for the grant. the difference is coverage and sinking fund that allowed us to do a lot of improvements with our drinking fountains and drinking sources of water in the schools. So that was a lot of information very quickly. Do we have another one? I have another slide. Sorry. [laughter] So, next steps. Um, we I did forget to also mention other those other two funds we still are waiting on information for 31A. I think everybody kind of knows that we're and things are really up in the air. Also, you know, we will as a district try for the competitive grant portion um and hopefully, you know, be able to use some of those funds.
064Yeah, our schools could use some some updates to security and safety. Um, we also will have carryover funds for title 2, title 4. I don't have those amounts yet. Um, but should those for sure I know he should have by next month. Um, 31A is kind of up in the air. We'll see how that goes. Um, we will have a finance committee January 12th again prior to the board meeting and have final run through hopefully for this budget amendment. um and have a a final first amendment for the board. Now, does anybody have any questions? Sorry, I missed my last slide. I don't I know it's a lot to look at and if anybody wants to have a conversation one-on-one, I would be more than happy to do that. It's a little again things were
065moving between buckets and how things were presented. So, it was kind of we had a discussion about that. um trying to explain where some of those shifts happened and stuff. >> Um I know I've asked this question before and I forgot already, but as Dr. Lewis pointed out, board of education is a volunteer position. What What is the money that's budgeted for Board of Education? >> That was a question that was brought up today. Um you think I'm going to remember the answer to it. >> Do you know how many questions I [snorts] asked today, Paul? You would be you would be impressed. It even exceeded math level questions. So that that covers >> 29,000 of it was >> questions, >> huh? >> You have that many questions? >> But 29,000 of that was just
066our audit, >> our financial audit of the 50. >> So it goes to like board of education services. So uh or dues for MASB. Yeah. >> Uh board members sometimes go to conferences. Um that's covered. Um uh I I believe some legal fees might be there as well or is it no or retreat fees um are covered there. So >> yeah, it's any um >> what am I saying? Workshops, conferences that you guys can go to and fees. >> Yeah. So it's just admin administrative fees to have the board operate. So it's not salary, it's not uh uh inind services or anything. It's just things that that the board needed to operate. Does that answer your question? >> Anyone else have questions? >> I like the new format. This is easy for what I do
067and what I prefer to see. So yeah, if you if anybody has any questions, I mean, I'd be, like I said, happy to talk to you or send me an email if you have questions about like what Paul just asked about what's included in one of the items line items, you know, I'd be happy to break it down. But, you know, trying to give you guys a little more information or enough information, but without, if you saw my spreadsheet, you probably close your computer and not even >> I would just say uh three or four key highlights, takeaways, the the top line headline is based on the budget amendment, the projected deficit is down 57%. Right? And that that's something to be recognized, celebrated. Certainly for me coming in as a new superintendent. I was
068not expecting that amount was certainly anxietyridden. So I'm glad that we're in a much better place than we were uh just 6 months ago. The second kind of key highlight headline is there's still some funds out there that we don't know yet what that will what that will be. Um so that current 397 um could look um a lot smaller uh in the next uh three months once we get those rollovers from title 2, title 4, uh 31A in particular, the competitive grant piece. Um the next uh uh uh key uh highlight that's out there that we uh ended last year with a with a budget surplus of uh close to $800,000. So, you know, we we could we are in a position to absorb some of the deficit for this year and still increase
069our uh fund balance given um the the the balance carryover uh uh uh from last year. I would say those are those are kind of like the three the three main uh headlines. Uh and then certainly um I will do everything that I can for next year's budget to make sure that we pass a zero balance budget um and not a deficit budget as we did um uh for this past year. But we we are making progress. So I do want to shout out acknowledge Miss uh Jinski for her hard work. Um, uh, she and I have had lots of conversations about the template, what needs to be included, what what things need to be involved. Um, so we we've made a lot of progress. So, thank you, Mr. Chensky, for all your hard work.
070>> Thank you for your partnership. I appreciate the support. >> Dr. Lewis, you guys all know that I just took this over and not a lot of historical things and it's been he's been a great support. done this obviously. So you had a question >> just on the GSRP that really increased a lot. Did we have an increase in enrollment for GSR? >> They increased the slots to 18 students. >> Okay. Yeah. From 16. So that alone is another 21,000. We did have a lot of carryover. Um almost 40,000 in carryover. But um we're going to get some extra support in the classroom and they they have plans. So great. Uh, next up is uh the Diola ball update. We talked about this a little bit earlier in our policy procedures. >> Thank you. >>
071It's your favorite part of the day. >> It is. Uh, Dr. Lewis, is there anything you'd like to add in regards to this? >> No service. I'm entirely present. >> All right. If you would like to say resend, we do not have to do a second reading of this rescended ones. >> All right. But I am reading off all these highlighted numbers. Correct. >> Yes, sir. >> All right. Well, then I will make the motion to approve um the Neola policies P 0 P22102266 212 4162 5517.01 7540.02 2, a resend of 7541, a rescend of 4122.02, 4123, and a resend of 4362. >> Support. >> Moved and supported. Any further discussion? >> Roll call, please. Rasi, >> yes. >> O'Neal, >> yes. >> Russia, >> yes. >> Lavine, >> yes. Sansburg, >> yes. >> Six,
072yes. >> Next item is the replacement of the school boards for the football and baseball. Um, again, we talked about this in policy and procedure. We talked about this in building grounds and I'm sure it was discussed not at all in finance. >> No, I'm glad disappointed actually. Yeah, I thought >> that that's that's because it there is no financial impact to the district. >> Well, so I mean here's my my two cents. It didn't come up in the um finance committee if we're using cell phone towers. Like I I feel like we need to come up with a plan. I thought >> Wait, I'm sorry. We're talking about >> You're I corrected. Sorry. I was thinking of something else. So here here's my scoop. I think we've talked about before that we need to
073have some guardrails because it feels like if the first person to come to us every time we just say yes to I get the scoreboards are in super repair but that cell phone tower is going to be gone in the blink of an eye and then we're still going to have lots of projects to work on and stuff. So not that this isn't a great but my perspective is at some point we need to have it's going to be gone. So, do we want to be proactive and looking for how we want to spend it or set guard rails for future or is it just as things come up, we just say yes? And if that's the case, that is what it is. But it feels like, you know, we're every time we talk about
074it after we make a commitment to some place, we we say we're going to create guardrails for when and how and plans for it, and then we spend it. >> I support the support. However, I do feel like Bush and Morellan have been significantly neglected in the cell and the benefit of the cell phone power, but I don't know what they need. So, if they would come forward and say, "This is what we need for our school. Can we use cell phone tower money for it?" Just want to make sure that all of our buildings are impacted positively from the cell phone tower money. So, and that's been I feel like I'm riding that horse all along, but can we get a new piece of playground equipment? Is there something that they need in the
075building that would be of value to the kids? >> And just as a reminder, I'm sorry, but you guys did allocate 50,000 to each building. >> Have they used it yet? >> Um, so Bush, they both bought some kind of logo or something that was like, you know, $300. Bush is spending about half on their sign like >> the front has sign. So I just want to put it out there. They they you guys have allocated them that they're still getting >> but they just I just you haven't got the request unless you haven't got anything. >> Yeah. So um I just want to put that out there. Also um I update that sheet that I gave you guys to but um uh we made decision finance last month I believe to pay for kind
076of putting some of this stuff back so you can use money for architect I support >> yeah I mean look they're they're glitching out and they're >> they're right >> well not only that but I think we were at a game and we had to stop the game so I could restart >> that's embarrassing >> scoreboard so so look I get it but at the same time just perspective that I don't know maybe on one or there's a whole separate maybe we create like a anytime a request comes in we have a committee that needs to review specifically cell phone tower so that it's like hey you use the same consistent guardrails and it's the same committee just throwing an idea out there but I just it's a super cool thing we have but I'm
077afraid it's going to be gone and then what is our plan for after that >> I know we have mentioned it before what is the balance in the cell phone tower right now. [clears throat] >> It was 186,000 before the allocation. >> That was uncommitted. >> Yeah, it was uncommitted before, >> yeah, >> that would be 270 minus this 45,000. So 235 after this 45,000 if we pass it. >> Yeah. I mean, that's still a lot of money. And so I feel like we should be pretty strategic about that remainder so that it's I mean I mean I'm looking in this room and there's tiles missing on the island like we can pick so many different projects. It's landscaping for our building. I mean you could pick all kinds of really impactful stuff and it'd
078be really nice to have a reflection of like hey this was something that the the board actively made a huge commitment on. So just perspective I I mean I support the scoreboards. I get the need but it's again a chance to talk about this discussion and be thoughtful on the future use of it. >> I think one [clears throat] of the one of the challenges or considerations is the the flexibility of having the fund and not necessarily being committed is that when push comes to shove we can move things around. Um, so potentially these missing tiles or landscaping or some of those other projects could be paid for through sinking fund because those are facilities landscaping upkeep type type of projects um potentially versus the sync the the cell tower funds um allows us more
079flexibility. So like we wouldn't be able to pay for the scoreboards out of syncing fund but we could pay for it here. So I I certainly agree that we want to be strategic but going back to the budget earlier being able to sometimes move things around and having that money there if push comes to shove we can if we can't pay for something out of general fund we can say okay we can pay for it out of this um is helpful. So, you know, as long as we're being equitable and making sure that [clears throat] all schools get some of the funds, I think that's um that's that's important. But potentially, I would caution us to not necessarily commit 100% of it because it does give us some flexibility when needed. And I don't know,
080for example, if we didn't have that fund right now that we would be able to replace the scoreboard and we all agree that it is something that needs to be done because we wouldn't be able to do it with a sinking fund and certainly our general fund is already tight. So, I guess my my challenge would be if we're going if we didn't have this top if we didn't have this fund, would we have been resourceful and found other solutions or is are we taking the easy way out because we have it? And that's the questions we need to ask. Like some of it, yeah, like we have these parents gaming and come and they're raising money and it's amazing. They're helping cut that cost. um if if we didn't just say yes, would they
081be able to come up with the incremental funds or more of it or are we giving it, you know, not necessarily easy out, but just something to think about and consider. Again, >> and they have raised the $12,000 and they're having a an event in May that is raising money for this again as well. >> Isn't that number supposed to be 62,000? That would be >> 69. So, I'm rounding it to 709. Um, but we expect that when all the fundraising is done that they should raise about 25. They already have about 12. They're they're asking GA for some contribution. Um, and they have this big event, a bazaar on May 3rd. Um, uh, I saw it earlier today. I I think maybe a 100 or so vendors and organizations will be there. All the
082proceeds, all the vendor fees, all the proceeds will go directly to this. So, so the district, so we will spend 6970, but the fundraising will offset the cost of the district of about to the tune of about 25,000. Uh, and certainly if they've raised more than 25, we're not going to not take it. Um but if we didn't have the cell power the cell tower fund I don't know that we'd be able to cover the cost of it right now in the way that we are because we wouldn't be able to pay for it with syncing fund and as I said general fund is not an option. So having that fund allows us the flexibility where um even if we can't quote unquote afford something we can do this right now and then make up
083for it in the future because the money is readily available. So that's also one of the benefits if that answered your question. >> For sure. And I I just know like an example is they needed a weight room and they used that golf outing, right? So there's examples where they've come and I I get it and and I'm not trying to say no to this. I just want to be have a plan in place to be thoughtful and good stewards because it is a really cool opportunity we have and I just don't want it to see it go away every time someone asks for something. So have some guard rails or some kind of thoughtfulness that goes into it besides just saying yes to every because it's every opportunity we have is a great one,
084right? Like there's people who put time, energy, and thought into it and I just want to make sure that um we're we're paying attention those details as well. >> So I'll draft some I'll drop some administrative guidelines for how folks can request make request of uh cell phone tower dollars. Um, so I'll draft some administrative guidelines and we can certainly discuss that at the next finance committee uh meeting so that those guardrails are in place >> or have like a review process or >> that will be included in the administrative guidelines. It >> seems to me that we do review >> Yeah. I the board meeting just like here's $100 here. >> Yeah. Before before this I think the last one that we approved was the the band uniforms. >> Yeah. and and like the
085band uniforms. >> I mean these are kind of >> presentation from them. having a thoughtful discussion around they presented their kind of like you know monumental investments >> that are outside of the guards like the band uniforms they've tried to raise for 10 years and were unsuccessful but they made a valiant effort >> and I discussed with uh folks who are heading up the scoreboard committee I asked them to come and present to us and just like give a picture of what they're thinking or and I haven't seen that yet that would be helpful I think it's just been to Mr. Schwarz and you know the the the bleachers in Kramer and Carber and things like that. >> A lot of presentations on those cost analysis >> the kind of seed money for the innovation
086center >> and yeah >> I think that's what the difference is is this one is the first time we haven't had that type of presentation right and that passion behind it. Maybe that's why this one feels like it's it feels like it's on a whim versus something that we every other one we've discussed for multiple board meetings and had like a thoughtful drawn out and this one feels like it came in and was rushed through versus the thoughtful, you know, every scenario. And >> it's just nice to see what we're spending our money. >> Yeah. And and and again, I'm not against it. It just something about this felt different. And I think that's when we talked it through. That's what feels different is we've had the presentations of the offers. >> There hasn't been
087>> they did come to buildings and grounds. I I I will I will say from like uh how the the process for us getting here was uh board members bringing it to my attention. >> Um I I up until probably a month ago didn't even know that we had a parent group out there that had raised $12,000. So uh a few board members brought it to my attention. I spoke with our athletic director about it, was made aware that there was this effort going on. Um, uh, I talked about kind of where we were in the process. Um, uh, and some, uh, individual board members in bringing it to my attention said, "Hey, is this is this is it time for us to just go ahead and give them a helping hand and have this
088move forward?" And so after speaking with the athletic director, I said, "Sure, let's have you come to the buildings and grounds committee, plead your case to the buildings and grounds committee, and then buildings and grounds would be the one to make the recommendation to the board." So we had buildings and grounds committee. Uh Mr. Schwarz came, we talked about it. Um and I felt at that point that we had the go-ahead from buildings and grounds. Um I I will uh fully own and apologize that I didn't recognize that in previous usage or allocations of u cell tower funds that uh there were series of presentations to the board. I >> followed what I thought would be the best process which is come to the committee and then the committee would make the recommendation. >> No,
089I think I think what you did was absolutely fine. And I think by going forward I think you know what Matt is saying you know kind of if you have some administrative guidelines I I think I'm fully on board with what Mina is saying is that I think we've done a good job in terms of as a as as a board as a whole >> kind of debating the merits of of the of the spending that we that we've done. So I I think that you know >> Yeah. It it just and and I'm probably stirring the pot for and I I just wanted to make sure that we're you know this one just seemed like it wasn't something that we had talked about for extended period of time and it's >> I'm all good
090especially since you guys talked about in building ground just bringing it up. >> I have a motion to approve the replacement of the scoreboards for football and baseball as presented. I motion to the building and grounds committee for the recommendation of the approval of the replacement of the baseball and football scoreboards and authorize [cough] the superintendent to proceed with issuing an RFP for these replacements. >> Support moved and supported. Any further discussion? Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Morasi, >> yes. >> Sansburg, >> yes. >> Six, yes. O'Neal says yes. Five guess. >> Yes. >> Now say yes. [laughter] >> I answer when I get called on. >> Uh we now need to adjourn into closed session. Uh do I have a motion to go into close session? I will move a motion to go
091into close session for the purpose of superintendent Daniel >> support moved and supported. I just want to add that um the support will also be included in that. And everyone else you you can step out. We'll shut the door when we open the door back up. If you have comments, you're welcome to come back in at that time. >> We got a vote on that. But yeah, we now motion we have discussion support. >> Yes. >> Are we back on? Are we recording again? >> Yes. I gave I gave I just copy. >> Do you need >> Do I have a motion to approve the superintendent's evaluation for 2025 as presented? Um 2.55 >> with an effective 2.55 score. I'll make a motion to approve the superintendent evaluation for 2025 of 2.55 in effective >>
092support. Moved and supported. Further discussion. Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Lavine. >> Yes. >> Morasi. >> Yes. >> O'Neal. >> Yes. Yes. >> Yes. >> Any statements from the public at this time? >> Oh. Uh, yes. I guess Hello. Um, >> I'm sorry. I just want to remind you you have five minutes to present whatever you have. That's >> I doubt I'll be that long. >> Okay. Go ahead. >> Hi there. My name is Austin Butterfield. Um, I am the new 10th grade English teacher over at Garber and I just want I've been filling in for the position and I just wanted to stop by and say my hellos. I've seen a couple of you in passing just cuz I've been over at Garber assistant directing with Mr. Helmer for the last couple of
093years. So like I see some familiar faces. Um but happy to be here and if you ever need me or anything just >> I'm here to meet you. >> Incredible dedication to stay to the very end. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Yeah. Thank you. Nice to meet you. >> Perseverance with the two values. >> Yes. Two values all the way. [laughter] >> Thank you Austin. >> Thank you. Congratulations. I don't typically do this, but I wanted this to public. I'm so proud of our district. I'm so proud of the mindfulness and the watching when Pat sent me that maybe a couple months ago and watching their program at Kramer and watching what they feed into these kids every single week of positivity and just and we're starting that at such a young young age with
094music and mindfulness and what Shinjuk is doing at a young age. I think what if we weren't doing that? And so everything we're feeding into them from the bottom up and I'm looking at my kids in high school now and everything that Brook Cunningham is doing. She is phenomenal as a 31 counselor. She's so great. Stacy Abs is so great. And now that I'm Vento liaison and watching what we're doing in that aspect and the needs that are out there and how we're meeting all of those needs, I'm just so proud of us. I wanted to say that because we're killing it. Thank you. >> Anyone else? Statements from the board. >> I motion to adjourn at 7:45 p.m. All those in favor I oppose saying.