001(gavel banging) - [Donald] Welcome, all, to the school board meeting of Independent School District 624. Before I'll ask the Clerk to read the roll, I just wanna say that due to the governor's curfew at 7:00 PM, we've kind of got a hard stop, if you will. We've gotta stop at 6:45, but wanting to be respectful of all the agenda items. So there may be some agenda items that may get pushed back a little bit or pushed to the side. We're gonna assess that as we acknowledge the timing of the meeting to make sure that everybody gets a chance to be heard, but that also, too, that we can get through our business of the day. So with that, I would ask the Clerk to please call the roll. - Chapman. - Here. - Ellison, here.
002Mullin? - Here. - Newmaster? - Here. - Thompson? - Here. - Arcand? - Here. - Beloyed? - Here. - [Donald] All right, if you will all please rise and remove your hats, and please join me in saluting the flag, or pledge allegiance to the flag. - [All] 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. - All right, the superintendent, Dr. Wayne Kazmierczak has a statement that he'd like to read before we proceed, so I will turn it over to him to read this statement. - All right, thank you, Chair Mullin. Okay, in recent days, our students, staff, and community have been working through strong emotions brought forth by racist, hateful, and threatening
003messages that were sent anonymously to several of our students of color. Our students have felt anger and disgust, and they have taken action in the face of the injustice against their fellow students. At the onset, we are committed to disrupting racism and systemic racism. Hate has no place in our schools or community. Over the last week, we have worked with the FBI and local law enforcement who investigated the racist, hateful, and threatening messages that were sent to several of our students of color from an anonymous Instagram account. The messages have caused great pain to our students and caused immaterial and substantial disruption in our school. This afternoon, a young person took responsibility for posting hateful messages on social media. While we are working to learn more about the motives behind this action, we understand that
004race is at the center of this incident and any use of hateful language against another student is unacceptable and won't be tolerated. Our anger around racist acts and bullying remain critical to our work as parents, educators, and community. We are united in supporting our students and speaking against racism and in support of our students of color over these past few days and will continue to work toward ensuring that White Bear Lake Area Schools is a community that advances racial equity and inclusion. We know from listening to our students that our continued and sustained commitment to educational equity is a critical part of how we achieve our stated mission and close gaps that currently exist in our student outcome measures. Thank you. - Thank you, Dr. Kazmierczak. Now, Chair Clerk Jessica Ellison is the Board's representative
005to equity alliance. She has a statement that she'd like to read on behalf of the whole Board. And if so, I will turn it over to Jessica to read that statement. - The School Board of White Bear Lake Area Schools unequivocally denounces the racially-motivated threats against Black students via social media. The deliberate, disgusting actions of some are not consistent with the core beliefs of our school district. As a school community, we stand united in our commitment to ensure a safe, respectful environment for our students. Racist statements and threats in all formats and on all platforms against our White Bear Lake Area Schools community have impacts and consequences. Racism and racist behavior will not be tolerated. Racist statements will not be tolerated. This, or any behavior like this is not consistent with any part of our
006mission statement, especially the key attribute that ours is a culture that respects diverse people and ideas. We will continue to use our equity commitment to guide our work, to nurture the whole student to disrupt systemic inequities by recognizing, honoring, protecting, and embracing all cultures with humility and respect. The outpouring of support for our students of color provides hope that we will become the community that all of our students deserve. But support must be met with action. We, as a school board, commit to the public and personal work necessary to move our district forward. And we ask that all of you as colleagues and community members, join us in our action as we listen and hear students' experiences, feedback, and suggestions, provide support to staff members who hear concerns and provide direction on suggested approaches to
007supporting students, provide culturally-responsive leadership, teaching, and equity professional development to school board members, administrators, teachers, and staff, continually examine our daily practices, curriculum, policies, and school climate, and hold one another accountable. Launch a centralized reporting system for incidents of racism, bias, and/or discrimination to create a more rapid, consistent response. Acknowledge and intentionally address our own conscience and unconscious biases, examine data, policy, and funding through an equity lens. Work with local organizations, partners, and municipalities to create a welcoming school community for all students and families. We acknowledge that our school communities have not been the supportive cultures that our students of color deserve and that there is work yet to be done to dismantle systemic racism and barriers. Over the past four years, we have worked diligently to change our system, including adopting our equity commitment
008and equity decision-making protocol, conducting an equity audit, and examining and changing discriminatory school board policies. We reiterate our expectation that our leaders, educators, and staff work to change our system and daily practices to be more equitable, examine their own biases, and mindset barriers, and listen to our students and families as we work to become the school district that we all know we can be. We commit to this work with humility, hope, and gratitude for our courageous students. - [Donald] Thank you very much, Ms. Ellison. So with that before us, we have a agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? - So moved. - [Donald] There's a motion by Ms. Beloyed. Is there a second by Ms. Thompson? All in favor of approving the agenda, please say aye. - Aye. - Opposed, same sign.
009The ayes have it. The agenda is approved. Also before us is a consent agenda. This is our sundry items that we normally have month-to-month. Field trips and the thing that continues to amaze me is the generosity of the community to our schools. So before us is a consent agenda. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? - So moved. - There's a motion by Ms. Ellison, is there a second? - Second. - A second by Ms. Thompson. This will require a roll call vote. I would ask the Clerk to please read the roll. - Chapman? - Aye. - Ellison, Aye. Mullin? - Aye. - Newmaster? - Aye. - Thompson? - Aye. - Arcand? - Aye. - Beloyed? - Aye. - [Donald] And the motion passes and we have our consent agenda as approved. It
010is now time for, in our school board meeting, where we accept public forum. And just a couple things that I wanna take note. Honestly, just due to the timing around the meeting, I wanna make sure that everybody that can be heard is heard, but I also wanna make sure that everybody understands that due to the timing, that there's a 30-minute time limit on the public meeting. And typically, the way that we work it is three people can talk about the same subject for three minutes per speaker. Understanding that there's a lot of people that wanna talk about the same subject or subject of, so I'm gonna be a little bit flexible there, but where I'm really gonna not be flexible is overall of 30 minutes, 'cause I really, we need to keep the meeting moving
011to make sure that we're managing those times. I did wanna make one thing, and in the public forum document it says, school board policy and data privacy laws preclude the school board from publicly discussing personnel matters or data including information which, if discussed in a public hearing could violate the law of policy. Complaints or concerns regarding individuals, school district employees, should be presented in writing to school administration and signed by the person submitting the complaint or concern. Just wanted to make sure that everybody knows that what I'm really saying is that if you're gonna start talking about members of the school board staff or the staff that you understand that I'm gonna tap the gavel and ask you to stop. So with that, I will... Ms. Beloyed has just passed me a note saying that
012she has a statement that she'd like to read. So I will let her read her statement and then we will start. And that will not be included in the 30 minutes, but I will let her read her statement and then I'll start calling names. If you would like to speak and you haven't filled out the white piece of sheet, please do so for the record so that we can then move that through. Ms. Beloyed? - So I'm reading this on behalf of one of our students, Ashante Cox, who's a senior at South campus. I had reached out to her mother to offer her the chance to use my voice as her voice tonight. So I'm reading this on behalf of her. "When entering a new district as a student of color, you never know what
013to expect. You're told at a young age that people will say things to you that you don't like and you're supposed to ignore them to solve the problem or tell an adult. But neither option will help the people of color in this community, or any, for that matter. When I, Ashante Cox, moved here in first grade, I was bullied immediately because of my hair. I would get it permed, straightened, everything just so I could put an end to the bullying. In fourth grade, we had a throw back day at school for spirit week, and we were sitting in class watching a movie. Two white students stuck 50 pencils in my afro and tried to put other objects and trash in there because they thought my hair was funny. Now, the pencils may have seemed an
014innocent joke, but this was not okay. What was really telling is the teachers just watched it happen. Just sat there, didn't say anything until I felt it happening and screamed. This is elementary school at Otter Lake Elementary, fourth grade. Can you imagine how much worse it gets as the years went on? Some of us students have established some propositions for the school board. One of the main is an actual zero tolerance policy for racism and racist actions. There needs to be more of a definition and clear consequences for any actions. Amends need to be made with students who were and are actively being hate crimed. We would also appreciate a formal apology to the students who've experienced this at your district. As far as the students of color go, we need more of a voice
015on the board. We may be heard and seen, but we do truly need real action. We also do believe that the teachers do play an important role in this. People believe that there needs to be some type of bias test or interview established in order for teachers to be hired who are truly fit for this role and a high increase in staff of color. Teachers also need to be held accountable for their actions. There have been staff members that have said racist things that should not be employed anymore. And the staff who don't say anything when they hear these hate crimes, you should be punished just the same. Staying quiet is acceptance of these actions. This change has started with us, but it ends with you. Ashante Cox, senior at South campus, class of 2021."
016(audience applauding) - [Donald] Thank you, Ms. Beloyed. And so the first sheet that I have in no particular order is Tiffany Dietrich from the White Bear Teachers' Association. - Good evening. Given the curfew, I've amended my remarks to ensure I stay under three minutes. A complete copy of our statement is available upon request. On Friday, many of us joined with our students to combat anti-Blackness and to support the fact that Black lives matter. We listened as they shared how the horrific statements posted on Instagram account that emerged last week impacted them. We listened as they recounted traumatic incidents of racial discrimination and bias that they have experienced as students of color from elementary, to middle, to high school. We were forced to acknowledge our complicity when they shared how very tired they are of the
017racial paralysis of many adults in our system who have listened to their courageous voices at convocation, read the results of the equity audit, yet have failed to move beyond fear to act on behalf of all students. White Bear Lake Area educators believe that Black lives matter. In saying this, wearing this, and displaying this, we publicly condemn all hate, bias, racism, and crimes of violence. As educators, we feel compelled to learn about and address the false narratives that have created misunderstanding of Black Lives Matter, a global civil rights movement whose goals are to combat racism, affirm the humanity of Black people, and attain social justice. For centuries, structural racism has plagued our society and its institutions, including our public schools. It has created alarming disparities that continue to hurt students, and staff, and families who are
018Black, Indigenous, and people of color. In Minnesota, Black students are less likely to have educators who look like them, less likely to have educational experiences that value their culture and identity, more likely to experience suspension and expulsion, and less likely to graduate from high school. This history, as well as current experiences, demonstrate the need to affirm the inalienable human rights of every student, particularly those who have been denied the rights in the past and the present. Our schools reflect the problems of society and fully addressing these problems will require all of us working together to build the future our students deserve. Our Black students' lives matter, yet we know words mean nothing if unaccompanied by action. Therefore, White Bear Lake Area Educators has identified a list of eight actions we will take to achieve the
019results required to truly demonstrate that the lives of our Black students matter to us. Among them are immediately interrupting all situations of hate, discrimination, racism, and bias, committing to continuous learning and reflection in our own equity journeys to ensure we serve all students, especially those from marginalized communities who have not always felt welcome, supported, or safe. Listening to, centering, and uplifting Black, Indigenous, and people of color's voices and values to ensure they become part of the fabric of our community. And nurturing safe and brave spaces in which students, staff, and families can openly share their lived experiences. Thank you. - Thank you. (audience applauding) So I apologize if I mispronounce anyone's last name. Amy, is it Vulner? - Varner. - [Donald] Thank you. I apologize. - [Amy] It's okay. - [Donald] I've just not been
020able to kick that part. - Pardon? - Nothing. - Okay. - Appreciate it. Thanks, Amy. - Good evening, everyone. My name is Amy Varner, and I graduated from White Bear Lake High School in 1995. I currently have two children in the White Bear Lake School District. One is in the elementary school district and I have a senior at South campus. Both are persons of color and it's been a long journey throughout the White Bear Lake School System. The recent racist events that have occurred at White Bear Lake have spurred me to come forward and express my disappointment with the school system as a whole and to discuss with you just the multi-generational racism we've encountered over the last 20-plus years in the system. In high school, I dated an African-American male, and I was taunted,
021and teased, and I was, I guess, considered in the popular group, but I was alienated from that group because I chose to date a Black guy. And it kinda changed my life a little bit. It was very hurtful for me in high school. And now, here I am, standing here 20 years later, sharing with a crowd that my child, both my children, actually, are pretty much going through the same, if not worse situations in the school system. I feel like throughout their experience, they've been in very hostile environments, some which are abusive, hurtful. I feel like racism is something that starts at home, it's taught there, but it should not be allowed in our schools in any shape or form. I personally have witnessed school faculty and authority turning their cheeks when racial incidents have
022been brought to their attention over the years. When my oldest was at North campus, she was at a lunch table and another child called her and used the N-word at the lunch table. And my daughter, she was first was like, oh my gosh, I can't believe this child used this word. And she's said, "Don't say that". And she walked away from the table to cool down. And when she came back, the word continued to be used, and they laughed at her, and she ended up taking a bowl of chili and throwing it on the child. And I was called up to the school. I was very shocked that my child was punished. Not real sure what happened to the other child. I just know that the parents were very concerned about his outfit. And I
023was very concerned about how this was gonna affect my daughter through the rest of her life. Not an outfit that you can replace, obviously. My daughter played sports since the age of five. She was bullied by a coach, called out in a lineup of players in front of everybody and said, who do you think you are? Do you think you're entitled? You think you're special? Or how 'bout when her and a group of other African-American girls were late to a practice and they were told, oh, this must be CPT time. If you don't know what that stands for, it means colored-person's time or colored-people time, meaning you're late 'cause you're Black or whatever. It was brought to my attention that there's a group of kids that drive to school with Confederate flags flying on the
024back of their cars, and they park in a row in the back of the parking lot. Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable. How 'bout when kids last year dressed up like the KKK in the library of South campus? No punishment there. Or how 'bout when the kid drew a picture of a lynching on a chalkboard and the school videotaped it and shared it on social media and started laughing? People called racial slurs, teachers looked on and laughed. My daughter's been called everything from the N, to an orangutan, to Bozo the Clown. Teasing started as early as first grade and has gone all the way through Sunrise, to North campus, to South campus. Two African-American liaisons have quit White Bear Lake School System. The last one I talked to said, "I'm sorry, Amy. Not much I can do. The
025racism is so deeply-rooted in White Bear Lake School System, I can't invoke change there". And he quit. I thought that he was gonna bring some sort of hope, but I guess not. Just last week and last year, my seven-year-old returned home from school, crying. She was called brown-skin girl by another kid. Nothing ever happened. I guess what I'm trying to say is that racism is a cancer that starts in the home and breeds in social environments based on deeply-rooted stereotypes and misconceptions. While some forms of racism are dramatic, brutal, and hostile, there are many forms of racism that are sly and hard to put a finger on. Promoting understanding and respect for diversity, as well as enforcing intolerance are the key to a peaceful and harmonious educational environment that all of our students deserve. Creating
026an atmosphere that welcomes diversity and appreciates differences in humans starts with the school administration and faculty. How do we expect our students to embrace diversity and respect others when the teachers and staff are tolerant of the occurrences that happen in our schools? Thank you. - Thank you. (audience applauding) All right, Sophia, I'm gonna give it a try. Sophia Todgey. - Yeah. - [Donald] Hey, I might be getting a little good at this. - Hi, my name's Sophia Todgey. I'm 17 and a junior at South campus. I came to the district in second grade, where I went to Otter and then went on to go to Central for middle school. I, like the majority if you, love these schools. I love this town, I love the people in it. But what I don't love are the
027people holding us back from having a culture that respects diverse people and ideas and safely nurtures inspiring experiences. Because frankly, I no longer feel respected and I no longer feel safe. Now, I don't have to go into detail regarding the grotesque, abhorrent messages that were sent to my six Black peers only mere days ago, but in case anybody needs a refresher, "Leave my school, nigger. You should get hanged, dirty African girl. Your dad will rape you, nasty nigger. Hope you and your people will die like George." I remind you only because many online in response to this incident and the subsequent walk out were so quick to dismiss it, saying, when I was in school, there never seemed to be a problem. Someone forgot to teach them sticks and stones. Anything to get out of
028school. Now, unlike them, I'm not as quick to disregard one's experiences and how it may play into their perspective on certain matters, because to me, that's what this all boils down to. Perspective. I'm only assuming here, but I'm willing to bet not a single one of those people have had to step foot into a school everyday for nearly a decade surrounded by faces that don't look like theirs to be met with intolerance and bigotry from students and teachers alike, and feeling like the only version of yourself that you can be is the version that they'll be okay with. And knowing deep down that version of yourself is by no means who you really are or representation of what you're truly capable of. For years, you have prioritized the needs and wants of the white families
029in this district. Why? Because you're scared of them potentially leaving and turning their backs on you. Scared of them doing exactly what you have done to your students of color for years now. Now, let me be perfectly, absolutely, 100% clear. I'm not saying you don't care about us. I'm just saying that every chance you have to show us that you do tend to come up just a little bit short. I'm just saying that you've yet to gain the perspective that so many non-POC students in this district have, that my white boyfriend has, that my white mom standing to the left of me has. Well, now you have this chance to gain that perspective, to show that you have learned, and listened, and are willing to do whatever it takes to make things right. But if
030you somehow wind up blowing that, too, then you have lost my support. Thank you. - Yeah! - Thank you. (audience applauding) Jerome Treadwill. - Did you wanna go before me, man? - [Man] Can we have somebody go first? - Yeah. - All right then. (indistinct) puts anybody else ahead of him? - [Donald] Sure, you had a white form before? You got a sheet that's filled out? We've got two more. So who's working first? Which one is first? - The one on top. - [Donald] Is it Pastor Penny Patterson? - [Penny] Yeah, you should have another one from him. - [Woman] I think that we (indistinct). - [Man] Oh, okay. - Okay. - I think we can go to the other one. - Okay. - And I got one more for you who's present right now.
031- [Donald] Okay. He's here? Precious? And I'm gonna, is it Beachton? - Boiman. - Please excuse me. I apologize. - It's all right. I'm gonna be honest. I didn't really come here prepared with anything to say. But I just have to say when, like, I was a recipient of those nasty messages. The stuff that Sophia was reading came from my Instagram DMs. That's stuff that I reported posted to my Snapchat. And when she was reading those, I started to cry. And that's a problem that things have gotten so bad that I cry. Because it takes a whole lot to phase me. I dislocated my shoulder, as in it came out of the socket, and I still wanted to play in my soccer game. I've gotten messages like this before and stuff, and it hasn't phased
032me. I've just sent it on to the school board, or sent it on to administration and just been on my way. This happens so much that I am no longer phased. But it's not that way anymore, because after these messages, I just had a deep realization of how much the people in this city must hate me. Because, I mean, think about it, if teachers see you getting bullied for your race everyday, just continually being called the N word, dirty African girl, African booty scratcher, people pulling at your hair, putting their hands on you because of a different skin color, and they don't say anything, you have to assume that they hate you. When you report stuff like this to administration and they don't say anything about it or nothing is done, the person isn't properly
033punished and the behavior continues, and continues, and continues, you have to assume that they hate you. And so Wednesday night, I was just sitting in bed. I was looking at the messages after I reported them. And I realized I came here in second grade. Nothing has changed. Things have gone downhill, even. And the fact that things have gone downhill to the point where I am crying. (alarm ringing) (indistinct) - [Donald] Keep on going, Precious, you're good. - Okay, anyways, the fact that things have gotten so bad that I cried, means that there is a deep hatred for people of color in this city. And I don't know if any of you feel that way, I don't know if anyone here feels that way, but to me, I walked in this room and I was like,
034"Wow, aside from my friends and the other people of color, these people must hate me." I walk into school everyday and I'm like, "Gees, nobody likes me". I go to track and I find my small group of friends, but I look at the people that I don't know and I'm like, "Do they hate me?" I go to Cup and Cone and I have to wonder, "Does that white cashier who gave me a dirty look hate me or is she just tired of her job?" And that is a horrible feeling to feel. I'm not even 16. I haven't taken driver's ed. I can't drive, I can't vote, I don't pay taxes. I should be being a kid and being worried about my sports and the choir concert that got postponed. But instead, I'm worried about whether
035someone hates me so much that they're gonna come into school with a gun, or a knife, or something else, and gut me or shoot me because of my skin color. That is a problem and that's been going on since I was in the second grade. I was, like, seven in second grade. I'm turning 16 this August. Enough is enough. It's been eight years of this stuff that I've experienced. I forgot your name, but someone who went to White Bear when my mom was in high school said that she's been experiencing this. I'm pretty sure if we talked to African-American grandparents who were maybe in the city passing through or whatever, that they would have experienced this. Enough is enough. I heard the statement and it sounds good. But I've heard countless, countless statements like that
036and nothing has happened. And now I'm standing here looking stupid and crying. That is an issue. So I just want to say to you all, personally, you all are looking me in my eyes. You really need to work for change. Because I can't have my little cousins going through this. When I come back here for a reunion or whatever and I'm 40, I don't want my friends' children coming up to me saying, hey, Aunty Precious, this person at school called me a nigger. That's not gonna be happening. I'm telling you right now. You guys will work for change or there will be problems. Because people are fed up, okay? I'm tired of worrying about whether somebody hates me so much that they could kill me. I'm tired of worrying whether I'll pass a class or
037not because a teacher is racist and decides that they want to fail me and not help me grow. I'm tired. We are tired. This city is tired. This state is tired. And so to help us a little bit to not be tired, work for change. - Yep! - That's all (drowned out by applause). - [Donald] Thank you. Theresa Miller. - Okay, so I also kind of shortened mine due to time restraints. I kind of been working on this since Friday. As, like, Amy, my good friend, we kind of have a bond because we both have biracial children. I graduated from White Bear Lake, '87, was a cheerleader, came in from a city school, and very proud to be a cheerleader for White Bear Lake. Back then, I was making signs, go Bears, and now I'm
038outside making signs that say my kid's life matters. Is someone gonna listen to me? 'Cause I'm super loud. I was probably one of the loudest cheerleaders. So I graduate, now we're back. I bought my grandma's house, smack dab a few blocks from South campus, so this home has been in the community probably 60 years. So at that time, one was going to North, the older one was out of school, the little one was at Willow. The one who went to North, she's a girl, immediately came to North, and as a mom, I noticed she just shut down. Her face just looked gray, she kinda just, like, completely went in to just this zombie. Like, she never smiled, she was miserable. And so we made a deal. And my dad is kinda like, you move to
039a new house, they go to the school, you say, who's the mom, you or her? But being a humanitarian and an empathetic person, I was a daycare provider for years, my intuition was telling me my daughter's not gonna thrive in this school and I need to do something. So right off the bat we checked out SBCPA, which is an arts school, downtown St. Paul, the Landmark Center. So she caught the express from White Bear over to avoid what I have to agree with Amy, was a hostile environment. My daughter was terrified. She is a Larkin dancer. And now all the sudden she's, like, yeah. So her grades failed, I'll try to hurry up. We met with the counselor at North campus 'cause her grades were failing. So I felt like she personally attacked me. And
040when we told her we were leaving, she kind of just looked me up and down and said, "So, Mom, every time her grades are bad you're just gonna move her from school to school? That's your answer?" We bought a new house, her grades weren't bad when we got here. So I did an evaluation on that counselor. My daughter's name was Samantha Walker. So I don't know, probably 2010, Walker. I made an evaluation, I worked on it all weekend. The counselor gets, she failed my daughter. - [Donald] Ms. Miller, Ms. Miller. Please, if you can refrain from- - That's not how you, I'm sorry, I apologize. - [Donald] It's a personal data thing. We just need to be very cautious of that. - Well, then I'll verbally say that I gave her an evaluation, I decided
041she gets an F. She failed my daughter. That's not how you counsel a student to succeed. The hostile environment is what, so skip that. She did graduate. She has two degrees, two bachelors degree. She went on to Los Angeles and she works for a multi-million dollar recording artist as a personal assistant. So you just keep judging, you just keep doing this. And I called her in LA and I asked her, I said, "I'm gonna speak about you tomorrow. Is there anything you want me to tell since you're not here?" She said, "Just tell them I felt alienated, unsupported, not heard, and judged." I said, "Okay, I'll pass that on for you, Samantha. I'll let 'em know." So fast forward super quick. My son, Nico, who is now graduating here in two months, he was at
042Sunrise and unfortunately, I'll just skip that part as to why I think it happened, but someone who we had invited to multiple birthday parties approached him in the hallway and called him the N word. I'm sure, I don't know 'cause I'm not Black. But after being called that so many times you just can't take it anymore and Nico did punch him. And I'm not condoning that whatsoever, but I'm also not Black. So I'm not sure what I would do in that situation. And when I went to ask, the principal called me and that was the first and only phone call I've ever gotten about Nico, I was told that he was gonna be in in-school suspension. So I chose to just take him home rather than punish him for standing up for himself, whether it
043was right or wrong the way he handled it. The principal at Sunrise, I asked for a parent meeting and she said that they don't get involved in that and that's something we'd have to do on our own. And then I was ushered out the door very quickly and swiftly. So I guess I'll just wrap it up by saying he's a senior and he is disgusted with what's been happening. He just wants to go to college, so he is pretty quiet so I came to talk today. But like I heard every person in this room say, this is a hostile environment. It makes me, I haven't been able to, I mean, if my piece of paper offended you guys, I haven't been able to eat, sleep, I'm physically throwing up. I walked on Friday with the
044kids and I actually thought I was gonna throw up I'm so upset. So the experience, I told my kids when we moved here, you're gonna love it! It's the best school ever. I had so much fun. You guys, it's gonna be great. I know we're switching and it's gonna be hard. And at the end of the day, like that other girl said, you made a fool out of me. I feel like I betrayed my own children and tricked them. And here we are today. As an alumni, I'm sick to my stomach. I have not been able to eat. I'm physically, do you hear what I'm saying, throwing up. And you guys are all looking at me. I feel like you're looking at me like I'm a problem. These are my children. I gave birth to
045them. I pay a lot of taxes to live here. I uprooted to come to my grandma's home and move to White Bear Lake to have my kids be terrorized. Thank you and have a great day. (audience applauding) - [Donald] Thank you, Ms. Miller. We have two more white slips, two more slips available and we've got about six minutes. So I would just ask the speakers to be mindful of the time so we make sure that both of them can be heard. So the last one I have, is it Pastor Ronnie Patterson? Is it Ron, Ronnie? - Ronnie. - [Donald] Thank you. - Want me to take this off or do I need to keep it on, sir? - You're fine. - Okay. My name is Ronnie Donnell Patterson, Sr. I'm the senior pastor at New
046Hope Baptist Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Also, I am the President-Elect of the Minnesota Baptist State Convention, a member of the NAACP, a member of the St. Paul Black Interdenominational Minister Alliance, and a member of the Afro-American Leadership Council in St. Paul. I just want you to know I represent all of those groups tonight. I'm here because I received a very disturbing phone call from parishioners at my church who has a student here at your school. I was on vacation with my family last week in Las Vegas when I received the phone call and they shared with me on the phone of some texts and some screenshot that they had received and also some threats that their daughter has received from students here at the school. They sent me some screenshots. And I was appalled
047of what I had seen and what I had read. Coming from the great state of Mississippi, which is one of the racist state in the United States, I thought I had seen it all, because there in Mississippi all of my life, my first 38 years I dealt with racism upfront. Been called the N word, been in protest, been in bar carts, had dogs, water put on me as a young teenager. So I moved here 16 1/2 years ago to pastor the great church of New Hope Baptist Church, and when I got here, one of the voices that was given to me was the Minnesota theme was Minnesota nice. And after being here for just a few months I discovered that we needed to take the N off of nice. 'Cause it's not Minnesota nice, it's
048Minnesota ice. Not just the cold weather, but some cold-hearted people in this state. I never thought I would come to another state that I believe was more racist than the state of Mississippi. It's very common here from one who had been to the religious circles, to the school system, to government, all over. I was very disturbed because as a pastor of New Hope Baptist Church over the past 16 1/2 years I have funeralized over 40 young people, most of them Afro-American young mens because of gun violence, gang banging, and just pure racism and hatred. And so when I saw the statements that were saying, niggers go back to Africa, statements saying, we're gonna rape you, we're going to kill you. Nigger lovers, go back to where you come from. That was very appalling. I never
049thought we will be seeing that here in Minnesota within the school systems. So these were screenshots that I received from my parishioners. I take this seriously because when we turn on the news, we never think a school is gonna be shot up. I never thought as a Black pastor that we would see a church a couple years get shot up. We hear all the time people going back to their workplace and they fighting death all around them. So I take this very seriously. And I said to my parishioners when I got back in town, we will get on this. Matter of fact, when I received the phone call Thursday and Friday morning, I was one of the person that called Channel 5. I was one of the person that called Channel 4. I was one
050of the person that called Fox and I said to them, "While y'all are covering the trial of the man that took the life of George Floyd, you better make your way out to White Bear Lake so that none of our children, whether they be white or Black, rich or poor, democrats or republican, lives are being taken from them." It's a serious matter going on there at White Bear Lake. And I pray that the school board, the Superintendent, the faculty, the staff take this serious. My son went to Woodberry. He played football and basketball. Worked for me with White Bear Lake. I've heard all kind of rumors. I never really wanted to believe them. And I still, as a parent, as a preacher, as a pastor, as a community leader, pray and hope that what we're
051seeing is just from one individual, it's not from a system out here in White Bear Lake. If not, things are gonna happen. And I promise you, our state convention, NAACP, ANLC, St. Paul Minister Alliance, we will be more involved in this district with our eyes open. I pray that you will be concerned about every child in this district, just like as your child. And if your child received threats, if your child received hate messages, you would take it just serious if it was somebody else child. We don't wanna hear any bad news coming for White Bear Lake District. If you really concerned about your child, then be concerned about every child. - Thank you. (audience applauding) Jerome Treadwill. - That's all that needed to be said. - Okay. There's a minute and 16 left. Is
052there anybody else that would like to address the board? All right, thank you all very much. All right, we will now move to our first informational item, C1, which is the student recognition. Or you know what? We'll just move to the Superintendent's report. - [Wayne] Thank you, Chair Mullin. Actually, I will delay my report. I will yield my time to Jennifer Adams for the student portion of my report. - [Donald] Thank you. Ms. Adams. - So what do I start? I guess I'm kind of one of the reasons why you're all here. I was one of the main organizers for our student walk out. And like everyone's been saying, this is honestly nothing new. I've had my own experiences and I will save you all from hearing them because like somebody said earlier, like, the
053school has had so many opportunities to do something and they haven't. So that's just one thing that, like, I have to keep reminding myself. Also, like, the timing of this could not have been any worse. Like, right now, I literally just came back from Brooklyn Center from this man who just died last night from the police. So, like, being here is really overwhelming right now. So yeah. But I'm really thankful for everything that you guys came here and said today. Really appreciate all the support that we've been getting. So yeah, yeah kind of a little unprepared. But I really just wanted to express my gratitude to everybody here tonight, and the teachers that have been supporting us since the day we walked in their classrooms. But yes, I'm really here just to hear what you
054all have to say, because I've heard it and I've said it with my own mouth multiple times, and I'm gonna save myself, I'm gonna save my energy because, I don't know. I've been working with the school board, with higher ups since, like, middle school. Everything I'm saying, I'm sure this is not the first time they've heard it. So keep telling them what's happening to you and of course things are gonna be done, but like, honestly it's on them now. So yeah. - Thank you, Jennifer. And then, Bemnet, did you wanna take a couple of minutes, too? - Can you hear me? - If it's blinking green, you're good to go. - Hi, I'm Bemnet, I'm in 11th grade. And I have never personally, well, coming from immigrant parents, people talk down. - Yeah, so this
055is what I mean. It's just really overwhelming for all of us. To be given a space in front of people who have authority is still, once again, like, really intimidating. So holding space for us is wonderful. Keep doing it. But you guys- - Excuse me, Ms. Adams? - [Jennifer] Yes? - [Donald] I apologize for interrupting. But Ray's telling us to put the mic down onto the table so that we can make sure we hear you. - I got it. Making sure that you hold these spaces and that you guys have the right people there. Because at the walkout, I think it would have been so beneficial to have our counselors out there. I don't know if they were. But the counselors, because like I said, like, we were so emotional because the school has literally
056traumatized us. Like, it's just so hard to put into words now because, like, it's literally everyday. It's even worse with distance learning because like, these numbers, like, 80% of the students of color are at home. Nobody wants to go to school anymore. So yeah. - I'm sorry. Coming from immigrant parents, I've seen people talk down to them all my life. Last Friday at the hardware store, this guy tried to tell me, oh, nevermind. But I just want to say what hurts me the most is of course there is what happened to Precious. Like, if that was me, wow, I would, wow. Like, thinking, like, it's not if that was me, that could be me. I'm Black, I'm Ethiopian, I am far from privilege. My parents are custodians in the district. My mom is at Hugo,
057my dad's at North. But what really, really hurts me is the people at my school who try to tell me Black Lives Matter, who tell me that they're on my side, and then over the weekend they go and hang out with their friends who use racial slurs, who say the hard R, who literally think it's okay to say the N word with their friends. Like, how is that acceptable? How are you gonna go party with them when you know what they say? And they just sit with me. I sit with them in my classes, I sit with people who have said things and they have no consequences and it hurts. Once again, what happened to Precious, that could have been me. I don't have Instagram, very strict parents. But I could have been in that
058group chat. And Miracle, she had, I'm sorry, you know what? That's not my place. I'm not gonna say what's wrong. Or what happened. But yeah, seeing what happened on the news, another man being killed. How do you? I don't even, Jennifer said it all. But yeah, I am really hurt. I did not think I was gonna cry. But there's just so much I wanna say. But for the sake of time, I'm just, thank you, guys. Thank you to all the teachers who came out on Friday. Wow, it was really cool. And shout out to my calc teacher, Mr. Anderjohn with his poster in his room. He makes me feel comfortable. I want more teachers like that. More teachers with all are welcome here signs, more teachers who I don't even have to guess. There are
059some teachers who I have to guess if they're gonna be racist towards me. Walking into Mr. Anderjohn's classroom on that first day of school, I knew he wasn't gonna be racist towards me. We need more teachers like that at White Bear Lake. In first grade I had a racist teacher. But I didn't go to a White Bear Lake school district. I moved here in elementary school. The only teacher of color that I have ever had is Mrs. Anderson. I'm trying to think. And when there were people at the school board meeting trying to come for her trying to teach stuff that everybody should already know. Black people are oppressed. You cannot come and say what that woman said about a kid in a wheelchair, not be a white kid in a wheelchair being leveled at
060the same as a Black person, I was sitting there and I was like, did you just compare being Black to being a disability? And I just, there's just so much more to say. And thank you to those teachers, to those people, to the community members who came out to Jennifer's walkout on Friday. That was really powerful. Those girls, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'm done. (audience applauding) - Thank you. - All right. Chair Mullin, I'm going to suggest that we move to the operational items. - Okay, so- - And then we'll convene afterwards and come up with a plan for moving agenda items to the next board meeting. - Okay, but before we do that, I actually wanna just take note of the school board policies that are up for
061their first reading. And would tell all the board members if you have concerns or anything that needs to be addressed for that, I would ask you to direct those to Dr. Kazmierczak so that we can make sure that we continue to work through the school board policies for the first reading. And then, we'll move into our first operational item, which is E1, which is the action on the fiscal year 2019-2020 single audit report. Ms. Johnson, I believe you're gonna present on this. - Good evening. (indistinct) Sure. - Sorry. It's quite a few slides. - Uh-huh. - [Employee] All right, you're all the way down. I'm sorry. - No, it's okay. - [Employee] All right, we'll get you there. - [Andi] It's gonna be short and sweet. - [Employee] Sorry. Oh, wait. Yep, keep going. There
062we go. There you are. All right, I apologize. - That's okay. - [Employee] There we go. - Good evening. If you remember, in January, Jim Eichten from MMKR was here to present the fiscal '19-'20 audit report. Typically, the single audit report is approved at that time, but they were waiting on guidance from the Federal Government related to the CARES Act funding that we received. So that guidance has now been issued. We've been able to finally complete the audit report. And so it's presented to you this evening in your audit packet. There's three different federal programs that went through the single audit this year, special education, child nutrition, and then the CARES Act funding. There were no findings reported in either the child nutrition or the CARES Act programs. There was one finding in the special
063education program. That was related to salary reporting. So each year, staff who are quoted to the federal programs have to do a time study. That time study was completed, but we just missed dotting the I in getting our financial records matching exactly to the time study. So that's the only finding that we had related to the federal programs. That's been corrected this school year, so we don't anticipate a finding like that going forward. So now that we're 3/4 of the way through the next school year, we're excited that the audit report's done and ask this evening that you approve that. Any questions? - [Donald] So what I think we'll do is we'll ask for a recommended action is approval of the fiscal year 2019-2020 single audit report as presented. Let's get a motion on the
064table and we'll get a second and then we can open it up to discussion and answer questions. Is there a motion to approve the recommended action? - So moved. - There has been a motion by Ms. Beloyed, is there a second? - Second. - Second by Dr. Newmaster. Any discussions regarding around the motion or the audit? Seeing none, this will require a roll call vote. - Chapman? - Aye. - [Jessica] Ellison, aye. Mullin? - Aye. - Newmaster? - Aye. - Thompson? - Aye. - Arcand? - Aye. - Beloyed? - Aye. - [Donald] All right. Thank you all very much. We will now move to our second operational item action on the secondary distance learning academy application. Is this Dr. Gillespie, or? - Yeah, Dr. Gillespie and Jen Babiash will, it looks like Jen is gonna
065cover it. - Welcome, Ms. Babiash. - So Jen, if you could, yeah, if you could summarize the key, just the main key points. And I know we talked at length about this with elementary, so this is a similar proposal as an agenda item that we talked about prior. - Absolutely, Dr. Kazmierczak. - Yeah. - Hello, Chair Mullin, members of the board, Dr. Kazmierczak. Tonight, I want to bring forward the secondary distance learning academy application. After talking with the middle school principals, we really felt that we wanted to offer the opportunity for our middle school students, next year, to have a full, comprehensive online learning academy. And so if you can advance the slide, please? It's in back. Okay, thank you. (indistinct) - Yep. And so with this, we would have a K8 distance learning academy,
066which would be comprehensive. It would all be online. We'd do both synchronous and asynchronous schedule for the students. And as you remember, it would include literacy, math, social studies, science, and social-emotional learning. We would focus on whole group, small group, and one-on-one instruction. We would offer electives to our middle school students while our elementary students would be in their specialists. And they would get support for intervention, and EL support, and also with our special education services students who have individualized educational plan. For the high school, we're proposing a supplemental online learning provider for 9-12, so this will mean that we would offer a self-paced learning environment for our students and it would be three classes out of their six-period day each semester. So it wouldn't be fully online, it would be up to three courses
067that they would be able to take online. We would meet all the graduation requirements with those courses. Students would have mainly asynchronous learning and then check-ins with their teachers. Our grading policies and practices would follow the same expectations as in-person learning and obviously they would have the same technical support that they would have for all the online learning. All right. - All right. - [Donald] Okay, thank you, Ms. Bab. - Yep, so with that, I can certainly read the recommended actions on 'em. Would you prefer me- - Yeah, I was just gonna say that the recommended action is to approve the secondary distant learning academy application as recommended. Is there a motion to do so? - So moved. - [Donald] There's been a motion by Dr. Arcand. Is there a second? - Second. - [Donald]
068A second by Mr. Chapman. Is there any discussion regarding the application or the action? Hearing and seeing none, is there a financial implication to this? Somebody tell me that. We'll just do a roll call vote. - Yep. Chapman. - Aye. - Ellison, aye. Mullin? - Aye. - Newmaster? - Aye. - Thompson? - Aye. - Arcand? - Aye. - Beloyed? - Aye. - [Donald] All right, thank you very much. The motion passes. Thank you, Ms. Babiash. We'll now move to our third action item, action on the acceptable of the bid for the domestic water piping replacement project at Lincoln Elementary. Mr. Wald? - Thank you, Chair Mullin, members of the board. We have two bids that we're bringing forward tonight. That's agenda items E3 and E4. First one is on the acceptance bid of the bids
069for the domestic water pipe replacement project at Lincoln Elementary. Very competitive bidding for this project. And with us tonight is our Director of Building Operations, Dan Roeser, who's gonna tell you about the process and the bids. Mr. Roeser? - Hello, everyone. Just a quick summary. Over at Lincoln, the domestic water piping was galvanized piping. It's original piping from the 1950s. Over the last few years we've experienced many leaks, discolored water, so at this time, we're looking to replace the hot and cold water supply pipes with copper piping. We bid it out. We had seven bidders. And we're recommending we go with the low bidder, Climate Makers, $274,000. The alternate bid we're gonna include since we're under budget, that includes replacing the hot water system. - [Donald] Okay, the recommended action is to accept the bid
070for the Lincoln Elementary domestic water piping replacement project in the amount of $274,000. Is there a motion to approve the bid? - So moved. - Motion by Ms. Beloyed. Is there a second? - Second. - [Donald] Second by Ms. Ellison. Any discussion? - I just have one question. - [Donald] Go ahead. - [Deborah] Does this money come from the LTFM funds, or- - [Dan] Correct. This isn't referendum money. It's LTFM-funded. - Okay, thank you. - [Donald] Is there a state Davis Macon relied into this? - [Don] Prevailing a wage job, yep. - [Donald] Okay. Any other questions? Okay. Hearing or seeing none, this will require a roll call vote. - Chapman? - Aye. - Ellison, aye. Mullin? - Aye. - Newmaster? - Aye. - Thompson? - Aye. - Arcand? - Aye. - Beloyed? - Aye.
071- [Donald] All right, thank you all very much. On E4, which is the action on the acceptance of the security bid package. Mr. Wald? - Yeah. So as Mr. Roeser just said, that plumbing project is an LTFM project. The next bid is on the safety package for new construction. So this is part of the bond referendum. As we explained when we approved the bids for the projects that are currently underway, we parceled out the safety bids and we're gonna do those at a later time. And so now we're presenting those to you. And with us is our Safety and Emergency Supervisor, Kevin Klecker, who'll explain the project and the bids. - Hello. Good evening, members of the board. The project we worked on, we worked very closely with a consulting group, True North Consulting. It's
072a very big firm, very experts in the field. They previously were known as Ellard and Associates. Done a lot of large school districts, counties, universities, so they have some really good projects under their belt. And we went through the bid process. The platform we're using, we wanted it to be very integrated, all the security systems and the safety systems kinda tied into one. So we picked a platform that did that. That being said, there's only eight groups that met the certification level we wanted to do this work for us because of the level of complexity. So we only ended up with two bids. They were both from pretty large groups. But this overall package includes 11 total buildings. So it's Birch Lake, Hugo, Lake Aires, Lincoln, Matoska, Venice Heights, Willow Lane, the Hippodrome, Central, the
073District Office, the new transportation building, as well as ALC. And then, this also encompasses part of the project that's gonna kind of extend all the rest of the projects, so the head end equipment, the servers, all the storage, all of that stuff. So the security group kind of includes security door card access, it includes intercom systems for the docks, the kitchens, the front doors. It includes surveillance system, it includes burglar intrusion alarms, and it also includes some different tie-ins to building security. So like, during lockdowns, having some different things happen throughout the building to maintain safety and secure the building in those situations. So the lowest bid we got was from Allstate Communications for $1,891,550. The other bid was from another group and it was for $2,325,923. So that being said, we did get a
074letter of recommendation on the group that had the low bid. Comes highly recommended and qualified for this project. And we ask that this project be approved (indistinct). - [Donald] Thank you. We have a recommended action of accepting the bid for the security bid package in the amount of $1,891,555. Is there a motion to approve the package? - So moved. - There's been a motion by Beloyed, is there a second? - Second. - Second by Mr. Chapman. Any discussion regarding the recommended action? Hearing or seeing none, this will require a roll call vote. - Chapman? - Aye. - Ellison, aye. Mullin? - Aye. - Newmaster? - Aye. - Thompson? - Aye. - Arcand? - Aye. - Beloyed? - Aye. - [Donald] All right, thank you very much. - Thank you. (indistinct) - [Donald] Dr. Kazmierczak, we're
075bumping up against it. I think the next two are gonna be, do you wanna find a time where we can figure this out? Or do we have to make decisions on those last two? - [Wayne] Well, I would ask how the board would feel. I mean, do we want to take on the next one and bring it on the table and have a discussion within the action, or how would you feel? Board members, I'll leave it up to you. - [Donald] I'll open it up and let others, I mean, if there's a series of questions, which my assumption is that there are, because we've been getting a lot of feedback. I mean, I wanna be respectful of the time, but I also wanna be respectful in allowing board members to discuss the topic at hand.
076So if there's no questions, then we'll move through and we'll answer some. - We'll have time for a few, yeah. - Yeah. Conversation? - [Deborah] Which item are we talking about? - The start times. - Wanna clarify. - Yeah. I'm looking for some feedback. Dr. Newmaster? - [Margaret] Well, you've probably all received the same emails and maybe phone calls that I have. And I do know that the proposed elementary early start time has a lot of people concerned. And they sent many articles with information and they've also looked at surrounding districts. And we would be an outlier. I'm concerned about the impact on the kids and the impact on our enrollment. And I just think that we need to spend some time and get more input from people who felt like they weren't included in
077the process. We've talked about secondary for a long time. But elementary starting that early, that's a new, that's something people never really thought about and I know, unless I missed it, we didn't have a series of community input or a survey that covered everybody. I look what Mohtomedi did before they tabled theirs, and I just feel like we need to respect what people are saying. And at least give them some input and time. - [Donald] So respectfully, Dr. Newmaster, I think what we need to do, Dr. Kazmierczak, is probably add it to an agenda item for a work study or we need to look at some timing where we can make a decision on it. And I know that the timing of the decision is pretty high priority just with the making sure we can
078get the information out to families. So with that, after this meeting, we can figure out a timing piece. And if we need to call a special call meeting, we can do so. Just because- - Yeah, we may need to call a special meeting then, to act on this one. - [Donald] Then we got where we can spending some time on it and kind of- - Sure, yeah. - Be able to- - I agree. - Work those through. - Yeah. - [Donald] And I think we'll do the same thing with the next policies for the agenda. We'll just finish the last two things at a special meeting. I wanna give the board a chance. I know that they've heard a lot tonight and there's been a lot of comments. I know there's some that had to
079go to make sure they meet the curfew time. But if any board members have a short statement they would like or they wanna say, I just wanna say, for me, I appreciate all the information. I appreciate, I know there's a lot of passion around everything that's been going on inside of the district. And I know there's a lot of concern. And please know that I heard everything that everybody said tonight, and I take that to heart. I know, as the rest of my colleagues do, also, in wanting to make sure that we have a school system that works for everyone. So with that, I will open it up and allow others to have a short speech. But I just wanna remind everybody, and I apologize for this, it's gotta be short. So with that, Ms.
080Ellison. - I attended the walk out on Friday, where students of color courageously shared their experiences and spoke truths to power. And I heard their anger, pain, frustration as they illuminated patterns of racist behavior in our schools. And I heard fear that I, as a white parent of white children, will never have to confront. And I heard their demands for systemic change and therefore, I'm calling in our white community members, students, and parents to be co-conspirators for this change. To our Black and brown students and families, I am sorry that you're hurting. You told those of us who are in power to take action. Must do so and we must hold each other accountable. And that we must speak up. And thank you for your wisdom on that. These words will lead me. - [Donald]
081Thank you, Ms. Ellison. Others? Dr. Newmaster? - I'm gonna make this really short because I can't begin to come up with the passion that I heard earlier from the people that gave true expressions of lived experiences in White Bear. And we have a current crisis in racism and we need to give it our full attention and not rush it. But we have to have a safe and equitable school for all of our kids. And when I listened to former graduates, my daughter is a former graduate who grew up as a person of color in this school district. And what they said is what she said. And she didn't tell me at the time, but I've heard it later. And I haven't looked at her Facebook lately, but I know she's posted. So it's there. It's
082been there. And sometimes we're all complicit by not immediately being active. And if you wanna be anti-racist, you don't just have a mission statement and say good words. You put your foot out, you step in it, and you have to do action that makes you uncomfortable, sometimes in your own families. But we need to 'cause our kids are hurting. And they're hurting 20 years after graduation. It's not new and it's way too old. We can do better. - [Donald] Thank you, Dr. Newmaster. Others? Dr. Arcand? - [Scott] We need to let our students know that we've heard you. And we understand that we can sit up here and say as many things as we want, but until we can show action, that's when it's gonna really matter. This is just not a school district problem.
083This is a community problem. We need to all work together to move this forward. As a graduate of 1982, I'm sad to say that in the last 40 years, nothing has seemed to have changed. And it's time that we see change in this community. Thank you. - Thank you. Ms. Thompson? - I am gonna pass because I have anger. I am a student from this district who has suffered the same things I listened to tonight. And I thought I could do it, but I cannot. - [Donald] Okay. Thank you. Others? Mr. Chapman? - Yeah, I'm just gonna make this brief as well. I've got a brother. His family went through this district, three children, mixed race. And unfortunately, what I heard tonight is exactly the kind of stuff that I heard when they were going
084through, which is a long time ago. And it just broke my heart to hear the statement tonight that, if anything, things seem to have gotten worse. And again, it's not, I totally agree with Dr. Arcand. I don't think it's a district matter, it is a community-wide situation that needs to be dealt with and rectified. We all have implicit biases. And certainly, I have had them and I have them. But it's what we do with those biases and how we respond or how we react and try to make ourselves better that is most important. And so it just is very disturbing to know that the situation, instead of getting better is at the very least, not, and probably gotten worse. - [Donald] Thank you, Mr. Chapman. Others? Okay. Ms. Beloyed, I'm sorry. - I just wanted
085to reiterate that instead of using my voice to give platitudes of what I think we should be doing and what we are going to be doing, is why I gave my voice to one of the students. - [Donald] Thank you. The last thing I wanna say before I ask for an adjournment, and I know we're running out of time. Dr. Kazmierczak, I know through the public forum there were probably some parents that we needed to reach out to to ask some questions. I know that you were taking notes and I appreciate that. So with that, I will make sure that we can all get home before the curfew. And what I will ask for a motion to adjourn. - [Scott] Chair Mullin, I move for adjournment. - [Donald] I will second that. All in favor?
086- Aye. - Opposed? (gavel banging) We are adjourned. Be safe going home, please. (group chattering)