001[music] >> You guys are good. Hey, um could we now stand for the pledge of allegiance? I'm going to call this meeting to order. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Under the provisions of the public meeting law of the state of Missouri, the board must adopt a wrote roll call a roll call on vote an agenda that includes the time, the date, place, and tentative agenda for the meeting. A copy of the notice and agenda for this meeting was posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2026 at the administration center that's located at 8855 Dunn Road, Hazelwood, Missouri and online and sent to local newspapers. May I have a recommendation
002to adopt the agenda as posted? >> So moved. Second. Call for the vote, please. Um may I ask who the second was? Dr. Mann, was that Who was the second? Dr. Mann. Dr. Mann. Thank you. All right, Mr. Uh I'm sorry. Let's see, Dr. Graves? Yes. Dr. Martin? Yes. Mr. Bailey? Yes. Mrs. Mansouri? Yes. Secretary votes yes. Mr. Tyson? Yes. Madam President. Thank you. Yes. Yes. At this time, we are going to go into the election of officers um and also the Missouri School Board delegates. >> According to the state law policy BCA board organizational meeting the annual organizational meeting of the Board of Education shall be held within 14 days of the annual board election. The newly elected members shall qualify by taking the oath of office as prescribed in article 7 section 11
003of the Constitution of of Missouri. The board secretary shall administer the oath to the new members. Following the administration of the oath of office the superintendent serving as temporary chairperson will conduct the election of the president and vice president. Once the president and vice president have been elected the president will preside over the remainder of the meeting. The board shall be on a be the board shall on or before July 15th of each year elect a secretary and a treasurer who shall assume their respective duties on July 15th. The secretary and treasurer may or may not be members of the board. The superintendent who will serve as temporary chairperson shall conduct the election of the of the president. All votes will be taken by uh voice voice vote show of hands or another method of
004voting that clearly uh reveals each member's vote. Secret ballots are not permitted by by law. In addition the board will appoint one of the members to serve as the Missouri School Board Association delegate and one to serve as an alternate. If pursuant to um Missouri School Board uh bylaws the district is entitled to more than one delegate and we will have two delegates um the board will appoint the number of delegates to which the district is entitled to and an alternate delegate. Appointed delegates will perform the duties uh as outlined in policy BCC A. The Board of Education will recognize uh for the 2026-2027 school year the oath of office will be administered by um administered to I'm sorry Mr. Jamal Dr. Kevin M. Martin and to Dr. Donna J. Paulette Thurman. So Thank you
005Dr. Thurman. Uh before I begin I would be remissed if I do not take the time to express our and I believe I speak for everyone up here our appreciation to Dr. Thurman for outstanding leadership and being dedicated to service as president of the school board during the 2025-2026 school year. You didn't know I was going to do that did you? Your commitment guidance and dedication to the students staff and community have been truly appreciated and we are grateful for your leadership. At this time we would like to present Donna Thurman with a plaque as a token of our gratitude for your service as board president. I am now calling the meeting of the newly elected Board of Education into order. Please help me thank Madam Donna Paulette Thurman for her leadership. >> [applause] [applause]
006>> All right. At this time I am going to ask um Donna Paulette Thurman Jamal Bailey and Kevin Martin to please join me in front of the stage. >> [snorts] >> Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Missouri and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of school director in and for the Ferguson-Florissant School District of St. Louis County state of Missouri to the best of my ability according to law so help me God. Congratulations and welcome back to the board. >> [applause] >> Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state
007of Missouri and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of school director in and for the Ferguson-Florissant School District of St. Louis County state of Missouri to the best of my ability according to law so help me God. Congratulations and welcome back to the >> [applause] >> Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Missouri and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of school director in and for the Ferguson-Florissant School District St. Louis County state of Missouri to the best of my ability according to law so help me God. Congratulations and welcome back to the board. >> [applause] >> Please join me in thanking our newly elected board directors. >>
008[applause] >> We will now proceed to the nominations for president. Are there any nominations for board president? I would like to nominate Mr. Terry Tyson for board president. Second. All in favor for Terry Tyson being the president of the Ferguson-Florissant School District Board of Education vote yay. Yay. Yay. Any opposed? All right. I think I'm supposed to say the motion carries right? >> [laughter] >> All right. Terry Tyson is elected as the board president. Please welcome and join me in thanking Dr. I'm sorry Mr. Terry Tyson for serving as the board president for the Ferguson-Florissant School District. >> [applause] >> At this time I will gladly yield the chair to the newly elected President Tyson. Okay we skipped a step. Yeah we skipped >> [laughter] >> he's so ready to do this you skipped a
009step. Oh okay. So the three incumbents Dr. Donna Paulette Thurman Jamal Bailey and Dr. Kevin M. Martin um there were three withdrawals. Uh the candidates filing closed on Decem- December 31st 2025 at 5:00 p.m. Uh so since there were only three seats even though there were six people who filed three dropped out so there were only three seats I mean three candidates and three seats. Since the six candidates filed for three open positions an election would had to be held under the provisions of Missouri statute section 115.124. If the number of candidates who filed is the same as the number of positions that it to be filled by the elect by the election which was three there would be no election. Since this was not the case elected candidates will be sworn into office at
010the Board of Education or reorganization meeting. Dr. Donna Paulette Thurman Jamal Bailey and Dr. Kevin M. Martin will each serve a three-year term. At this time I request that um all business come before the final meeting of this existing board be completed. Is there any new business that needs to Okay. >> [snorts] [clears throat] >> Hearing none, I will now yield the chair to the Superintendent of Schools and declare that this meeting of the 25-26 Board of Education be adjourned sine die. Adjourned sine die. Oh, I have to hit the gavel. Okay. I will now >> [laughter] >> I will now at this time yield over to the newly elected President, President Tyson. Hello everyone. Um bear with me. At this time, we will proceed with nomination for board officers. Officers. Please note, the nominations
011be do not need to be seconded. If there are one nomination for each off- office, I will I may request a motion to elect the nominee by um acclama- accla- acclamation. New President, um are there any nominations for office of Vice President? I would like to nominate Dr. Sheila Paul Walker as Vice President. Hearing no further nominations, I will accept the motion that Dr. Sheila Paul Walker be elected Vice President by vote. >> [applause] >> Call for the vote. But we can just say it out loud. Okay. All in favor? Aye. >> Any objections? Hearing none, Dr. Sheila Paul Walker is Vice President. >> [applause] >> We now proceed with nomination for office of Secretary. I'd like to nominate Mr. Jamal Bailey. Hearing no further nominations, I will accept the motion that Mr. Jamal Bailey
012be elected be elected Secretary by vote. All in favor? Aye. Any objections? Dr. Jamal Bailey. Next, we will accept nominations for Assistant Office of Assistant Secretary. I would like to nominate um Ms. Vivian Manzari. Hearing no further nominations, I will accept the motion that Vivian Manzari be elected Assistant Secretary by vote. All in favor? Aye. Any objections? Welcome, Ms. Manzari. We will now accept nominations for two MSBA representatives and one alternative. I nominate uh Dr. Courtney Graves as uh MSBA representative. And I would like to nominate Dr. Donna J. Paulette Thurman. Any alternatives? Do we do the alternatives as well? We got two. And I would like to also nominate Dr. Kevin M. Martin for the alternative. >> Awesome, thank you. Hearing no further nominations, I will accept the motion that Dr. Courtney Graves and
013Dr. Paulette Thurman be representatives be elected as MSBA representatives by vote and Dr. Kevin Morton be the alternative. All in favor? Aye. Any objections? Welcome to the team. >> [applause] >> Are there any nominations for office of Treasurer? I would nominate Mr. Anthony Chance for Treasurer. Hearing no further nominations, I'll accept the motion that Mr. Anthony Chance be elected as Treasurer by vote. All in favor? Aye. Any objections? Dr. Chance, welcome as the Treasurer. >> [applause] >> Are there any nominations for Assistant Treasurer? I nominate Jacqueline Maxwell. Hearing no further nominations, I accept the motion that Dr. Ah, Dr. Okay. Uh Jacqueline Maxwell be Assistant Treasurer. All in favor? Aye. Any objections? All right. Thank you so much, um Jacqueline Maxwell, Assistant Treasurer. [applause] The board has previously set the regular meeting dates for the
014ensuing year. These dates will remain as adopted unless otherwise modified by the board. This concludes the reor- reorganization portion of this meeting. We will now proceed with the remainder of the agenda. Which is here. The board authorizes the use of facsimile signatures, such as those produced with signature stamps or signature machines, on checks, other instruments of payments, contracts, and other documents requiring district authorization by signature. However, before a facsimile signature can be used, the manual signature must be certified under oath and on file with the Missouri Secretary of State, and the person whose facsimile signature is being used must have the authority to sign the document on which the signature is affixed. Prior to using the facsimile signature, the individual who affixes the signature on the document is responsible for verifying the accuracy of the
015documents signed and the authority of the person whose signature is used. The recommendation is to authorize the district to continue using the current signatures until new signatures for 2026 and 2027 President and Treasurer are received. >> So moved. Second. Do we roll call vote or is it all in favor? All in favor? Aye. Any objections? Motion passes. Uh next, section six, reaffirm the Code of Ethics. The board will review Code of Ethics and commit to the policy intent. Recommendation, the board the current board members re- reaffirm the commitments to the Code of Ethics. So moved. Second. All in favor? Aye. Motion passes. And number seven, the readoption of member conflict and interest of financial disclosure. Every two years, the Missouri school districts are required to approve a policy of board member conflict of interest and
016financial disclosure. The Ferguson-Florissant Board of Education is asked to readopt its current policies on board members conflict of interest and financial disclosure in policy BBFA to comply with the State of Missouri chap- statute chapter 105 on financial disclosure, the conflict of interest recommend to approve the readoption of policy BBFA. So moved. Second. All in favor? Aye. Any objections? Motion passes. And now we have our consent agenda. The items listed under the consent agenda have undergone board subcommittee review. Documentation concerning these items have provided have been provided to all board members and the public in advance to ensure a thorough review. The consent agenda is voted upon in its entirety. Any board member may ask to have any item of the consent agenda removed to be voted on separately. The recommendation is to approve the consent
017agenda as presented. So moved. Second. All in favor? Aye. Any objections? All right. And at this time, we will turn it over to Superintendent Howard Fields for Superintendent's remarks. Good evening and thanks again for being here. Um President Tyson, congratulations and we're happy for you to serve as President. The Superintendent remarks dovetail right into the restructuring recommendations that you will hear here tonight. I want to start by thanking all of our staff members as well as the Board of Education. If you recall at the April the 8th regular session, there was conversation about the recommendation to consolidate the number of transitions that we have in the district. You are about to hear more about that momentarily. In part, the reason why we wanted to yield off until the 22nd was because I wanted to make
018sure I got the opportunity to stand in front of staff, of those most impacted by the recommendations tonight, so they will not have to read and or hear about the recommendations. And so with that, thank you again, Board of Education, for allowing that, as well as staff for all of your questions, comments, um even concerns with respect to the 27-28 school year restructuring recommendations. And so I'll get us formally started, but I do want to lay the foundation in terms of a timeline. Before I took over as superintendent on July 1 um of 2025, there was a budget approval presentation for um the Ferguson-Florissant School District. And in that particular adoption, um you will see that the adopted budget for the 24-25 school year, which is different than the final amended budget, I want to
019draw your attention to the preliminary budget for the 25-26 school year. And what you will see is that the ending overall fund balance was projected to be at 6.80% and the unrestricted fund balance was projected to be at 2.06%. Those are numbers that we pay attention to, and certainly I paid attention to before formally starting, because of what we see in Section 161.520 Missouri State Statute, which speaks to the following are the statutory characteristics for identifying a district as financially stressed. You will see a negative fund balance in either the teachers or incidental funds or fund 11 or 20, or combined ending fund balance in the teacher and incidental funds less than 3%. And we like to call that the unrestricted. So as I pause there, the district was projected to actually have an unrestricted
020fund balance in the amount that would signify a potential state takeover. And last but certainly not least, the utilization of a TAN or the tax anticipation note borrowing between the months of February the 1st and June the 30th. The district has utilized the actual TAN, however, not during the months of February the 1st and June the 30th. I now bring us to September the 30th. September the 30th at McCluer High School, we had the community meeting as we looked at the impact of the restructuring for the Ferguson-Florissant School District. For those of us that attended, this particular slide should look familiar. We did an analysis and looked at 6 years prior to the restructuring, as well as 6 years since the restructuring, to see if there was any data that can lend itself in terms
021of what was occurring since the restructuring. November of 2025, which was the state of the district address, there was a lot of information conveyed, but one of which spoke to any observed challenges that I identified in the first 100 days on the job. This slide was um shown, but I do want to direct your attention to what has now been bolded with respect to declining enrollment and building utilization. At that same time, at the state of the district address, it was introduced Third Floor Forward, which is the commitment to immediate strategic steps that I will lead to help our district overcome current and existing challenges, while simultaneously making sure that all learners graduate believing that anything is possible and prepared to realize those possibilities. Those three goal areas for Third Floor Forward create a new
022future together, expand community partnerships with intentionality, and maximize every resource for learning. The last recap before I go into the essence of the recommendations speaks to the last board meeting that we had on April the 8th. As a recap, these data were shared. And so for those of us that attended, um you will see that from the to the 2025-26 school year, you will see a decline in our actual student enrollment here in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. You will also see, based off the demographer data we received, we have a projected additional um decline of students in the amount of 355 students. I also shared this slide, which is a breakdown of the year before implementation of the restructuring. So in the 18-19 school year, you will see certain numbers for the grade spans, followed
023by the 25-26 residential count, and subsequently the 30-31 mid-series report. And what you will see that we are projected to have a decline in K-5 by the 2030-2031 school year. We are bless you. We are projected to have an increase in the middle school, and there is a more substantive decline for our high school projected enrollment. This slide was also shown, and I want to make sure you have the context as it relates to prior to that red vertical line, which signifies the implementation of the actual restructuring. The district had an average unrestricted fund balance of 17.7%. Since the restructuring, that average has declined to 15.1%. One of the last slides I'll show from the previous board meeting, this notion of deficit spending. And so you do have a budget for the school district, and
024if you were to not expand all of those funds, it would be called what's called a surplus, and that is represented by the green. And if you were to spend more monies than you budgeted, that is shown in the red in terms of deficit spending. And what you will see with that blue vertical line, which signifies the implementation of the restructuring, there has been more frequent deficit spending now than there have been in the past. This piece gets the attention because it does speak to the year prior to the actual implementation of the restructuring. You will see the total fund amount, and then you will see from the 24-25 school year the actual increase across all areas. And so essentially, we can't say that the restructuring is the entire reason why the district is in
025the financial situation we're in, but what we can say, without a shadow of a doubt, it was a large reason as to at least a portion of why we are all the financial situation we're in. At that same community meeting, we did survey a number of stakeholders, and the question was just asked, to what degree do you believe that the reconfigured grade spans of pre-K through 2, 3 through 5, 6th grade centers, 7-8, as well as the high school have supported smoother transitions? And you will see the results on the screen. And so now, when we go to the recommendations, for the most part, our recommenda- our recommendations will be shifted from what you see right now. We currently have five transitions, and so we have pre-K through two schools, 3 through 5, 6th grade
026centers, 7-8, and 9 through 12. The recommendation will be that we primarily shift to three transitions starting the 27-28 school year. And I'll break these down, but I do want to be clear. This is not to start the 26-27 school year. It is in fact to start the 27-28 school year. That will consist of K through 5 schools, 6-7 and 8 primarily, and then high schools. Now, before I go into some of those areas, the decision-making criteria I want to make sure we're clear on. Starting with the best interests of students, staff stability, long-term district viability, facility condition, followed by equity across attendance areas. Now, when we talk about making decisions, it is important to ensure that we do our due diligence of not only looking at trend data, but what does this research suggest?
027To support the 27-28 restructuring review, the Ferguson-Florissant School District did partner with Washington University St. Louis Institute of School Partnership to provide independent research and policy analysis connected to grade configurations, student transitions, and district restructuring. Tonight's recommendations are not based on preference alone. They are being informed by district data, enrollment trends, community feedback, operational realities, and independent research review. Additionally, what does the research suggest about student transitions? The initial WashU research brief finds that school-to-school transitions can create measurable and lasting disruptions for students. Three areas that I would like to highlight, the first of which transitions are also associated with increased absences, more discipline concerns, lower long-term outcomes, including graduation related outcomes. The second of which, the transition penalty is greatest for students who are already more vulnerable, including low-income students, students with IEPs, and
028students performing below grade level. And the last area that I would like to focus on from this initial research brief, evidence also suggests that earlier elementary transitions do in fact matter. The current K-2 to 3-5 structure creates additional transitions that can carry academic costs that are playing out in many of our classrooms. So, because some Ferguson-Florissant School District already experience up to five building transitions across K-12 programming, the research supports reducing the number of transitions. And now I will reveal what those recommendations are, but I want to be clear. The 2026-2027 school year programming would stay as is. For Bermuda, it would turn into a pre-K early childhood center. Central Elementary School would be closed. Commons Lane would turn into a K-5 school. Duchesne, K-5 school. Holman, K-5. Parker Road, K-5. Walnut Grove, K-5. As
029I start from the bottom up on this particular screen, Robinwood would turn into a K-5 school again to start the 2027-2028 school year. Parker Road, K-5. Halls Ferry, K-5. Griffith would be closed for elementary programming and would turn into an alternative site. Combs would be K-5. Berkeley would turn into a 6-8 middle school. In terms of current sixth-grade centers, Johnson-Wabash would turn into a K-5 school. And Wedgewood would turn into a K-8 traditional school. Many of us may or may not be accustomed to the Remington Traditional School over in Pattonville, we would have something similar to start the 2027-2028 school year. It must also be noted that before we go into the middle schools, Cool Valley would be open as an elementary school for K-5. Middle schools would turn into 6-8 programming. And our high
030schools will remain 9-12. Alternative education, which is here at least half of the lower level, that would turn into the second of two early childhood centers. We would have an early childhood center on each side of 270. Before I continue and restate the actual recommendations, I do want to share some additional information with respect to capacity utilization. In the event that these schools were already set up, this is the utilization percentage you would see on the screen. For those of us that are just joining us, it is important to note that currently the district is operating at a 60% utilization rate, or 40% of the capacity utilization we are not utilizing at the moment. And if we do not make any changes whatsoever, in 5 years we are projected to be at 55% or utilization
031a little bit more than half of our buildings. This is significant because each building on average costs a little over $900,000 just for maintenance, grounds, etc. So, when we talk about opportunities to get a little bit more efficient in terms of capacity and finding funds to address other needs inside of the district, this information is incredibly important. Now, if you're looking at 4 years down the line, there was no reliable data for five, but we can project 4 years down the line looking starting with 2026-2027, and by the 2029-2030 school year, these schools as recommended for elementary, you will see the actual building utilization based on the projected residential enrollment. This is not the case for our middle schools. You will see that if we were currently having and operating with the middle schools, bless
032you, as well as the high schools that we have, you will see the utilization rate. And by the 2029-2030 school year, you will see the utilization rate as well. So, as we talk about the efficiency of elementary schools, we feel really good looking at all of the data that was just provided, and there is more. However, the utilization of the secondary schools is another separate conversation. While the recommended 2027-2028 restructuring places our elementary schools in a stronger utilization position, the same cannot be said for our secondary schools. Based on current projections, several secondary buildings are expected to remain below the efficient utilization levels by the 2029-2030 school year. This means that the 2027-2028 recommendations should be viewed as an important initial step, not as the final long-term solution for secondary programming. Over the next 4
033to 5 years, the Ferguson-Florissant School District will need to evaluate, as well as look at a number of metrics to determine the secondary model that best supports not only student student programming and course access, building utilization and operational efficiency, staffing stability, and long-term fiscal responsibility. The projected financial implications or impact is important. The recommended grade span restructure, which would be implemented starting the 2027-2028 school year, has a total projected cost savings of approximately $2 million. This figure is primarily based on conservative projection of about a 15% cost savings in transportation alone, as well as fewer transitions. And so, the current estimate assumes a few things that you will see on the screen. However, the final savings will depend on actual enrollment, transportation routing, staffing requirements, facility needs, and implementation costs. This slide is incredibly important
034as well because many of us that are paying attention to the decline of families, whether it's through Missouri, St. Louis, or North St. Louis County, our demographer provided us with information called the mid-series data. And so, these assumptions are being made on best practice, which is the mid-series. However, a few things could happen. A few homes could go up, a few apartment complex, etc. A few students who already live in the community could start attending Ferguson-Florissant schools. And then our enrollment would go up, and that's one thing to consider. In the event that the snapshot were to occur, where is the mid-series looks at the last 5 years of projected data and actual data, the snapshot only takes into account the last 2 years of data. So, if the snapshot were to come into fruition,
035we would decrease higher than the rate that you see at the mid-series. And last but certainly not least, if the decline of students were to accelerate, then we would be looking at a sharp decrease even more than what has already been projected. A few other things to consider starts with the fact that what you have seen tonight and what I will go over here in a moment, that was not the one and only option that was reviewed. It is important to note that restructuring alternatives were certainly considered. Provided below are just a few of those considerations along with why each option was ultimately not recommended. Starting with the top, which is maintain the current five transition structure, that was not recommended because it continues multiple transitions and does not sufficiently address the utilization concerns. It
036also perpetuates current financial challenges. Well, the closure of additional buildings right now, why was that not considered? It would create unnecessary disruption while elementary projections appear to be more stable in the coming years. Well, what about beginning this restructuring in the 2026-2027 school year? That does not allow time for thoughtful detailed planning nor implementation of necessary changes. And again, I want to thank the staff for all of the feedback you've been providing over the last few weeks in terms of things that we want to make sure we get right as we transition to the 27-28 school year. And the last sample in terms of other options that were considered speaks to recommending a broader secondary restructuring such as why not combine this school and this school possibly just one high school. Well, more analysis as
037well as engagement and planning are needed before changing the long-term secondary model. So again, we have to continue to look at those pieces, see what the actual enrollment entails, and go from there. I do want to continue to thank the community and everything for Prop S. Those funds will be part of the district to start next year. However, I bring up Prop S because we have to make sure we do not repeat the history. This is what I mean. What you'll see starting from 2008 going to the projections of 2030, you will see the historical fund balance. And you will see essentially this hypothetical in terms of if federal funds were never part of the equation. For those of us that did not get a chance to attend either of the prior meetings, essentially back
038in 2010, the district received a number of years of federal funds from the ARRA funds. That spoke to the actual um when there was a recession and all of that, the federal government provided schools with monies. Those monies helped mask the decline in terms of the actual fund balance. The same thing you will see right around 2020 in terms of ESSER funds. If it were not for the ESSER funds based off this model, the blue line would not have been our reality, it would have been closer to the red line. Well, I bring up this critical information because you will see in 2014 there was a 50-cent tax levy increase that did help the district go from 13.89% and it did go up until the actual restructure. Well, as you can see in 2026, there's
039a 48-cent operating levy increase. And part of my role is to make sure that we not only make difficult and necessary decisions for the immediate we never find ourselves in this financial situation again. And if we do not make changes whatsoever, I am convinced that by the 2030 school year, our fund balance would dip down lower than what it currently stands. So, this information is critically important not to just view the 48-cent operating levy increase as the silver opportunity for everything to be okay because it is not. And so, Board of Education community, before I yield back over to President Tyson, I just want to go over those formal recommendations again to start the 27-28 school year. Elementary schools are K-5, middle schools are 6-8. Central Primary would close. Cool Valley Elementary School would open.
040Griffith Intermediate becomes the Restoration and Wellness location. Bermuda Primary becomes one of two pre-K programming locations. That site is already licensed. Restoration and Wellness actually becomes the um second pre-K programming location. So, Restoration and Wellness would not be over here anymore, they would go to Griffin, and this location would be the second of two early childhood programming sites to start the 27-28 school year. Berkeley Intermediate will become a middle school. Johnson-Wabash 6th Grade Center to start the 27-28 school year would become a K-5 elementary school. Wedgwood 6th Grade Center becomes a K-2 traditional school. Continuously, these recommendations reduce the number of transitions, improve elementary utilization, and create more coherent structure. Taken together, they represent a necessary first step and initial step, but must be paired with strong implementation, staffing, communication, instructional alignment, and continued enrollment
041monitoring to determine the subsequent next steps. Speaking of next steps, upon receiving approval, there are list of things that need to get into motion including establish an implementation team with timelines, deliverables, and regular board updates. Initiate a staffing plan aligned to board policy, certification requirements, program needs, and the collective bargaining agreement. Finalize student assignment processes, attendance feeder patterns, transportation routes, and enrollment verification procedures. Launch a parent-guardian communication plan so families know which school their child or children will attend, the key dates, the transportation information, as well as the transition supports. As we continue with the next necessary steps, prepare each building for its intended grade levels and programs including classroom setup, instructional materials, furniture, playgrounds, safety procedures, signage, and student services. Establish an admission process for acceptance {slash} lottery and wait list and transportation criteria
042for Wedgwood Traditional School that it may not necessarily become the name of the school, but you get the idea. Most importantly, develop a transition support that includes a orientation orientation for events, records transfers, IEP, 504, EL review, course placement, and school culture activities. Continue monitoring our actual enrollment. These are very deliberate, intentional projections, but they are still projections. So, we have to monitor the actual enrollment, the building utilization, staffing needs, and the budget impact, and if needed, as we monitor that, adjust recommendations as actual enrollment differs from any current projections. It is important that we do support our students, our families, as well as our staff through this transition. To ensure students are supported before, during, as well as after the implementation, the Ferguson-Florissant School District will develop transition supports that will include many of
043the areas that you see on the screen including IEP, 504, EL, gifted, pro, and intervention review processes. And last, but certainly not least, the draft timeline because there have been a lot of information that have been shared. Board action followed by the summer and the fall staffing analysis, attendance feeder review, transportation modeling, um faculty and facility walk-throughs, um new programming criteria development by the winter. I've been saying November, but the winter and the spring, we want to have staffing placements finalized, family school assignments communication, student transition events, building preparation, and transportation routing. By the summer of 2027, which is the end of next school year, final building setup, staff onboarding, student review, records review, opening readiness checks, etc. And the 27-28 school year would be full implementation, progress monitoring, enrollment review, board updates, adjustments as
044needed. Again, thank you, Board of Education. Again, sincerely, the shift from the April the 9th meet I'm sorry, April the 8th meeting and giving me the opportunity to stand in front of those staffs that were most impacted was certainly beneficial. Your feedback and everything helped us inform these decisions, and I do believe at the end of the day we will not only be in a better financial situation as a result of these measures, but we will also be in a space where our students will be able to learn at a higher level. I'll yield over to you, the President Tyson, for any questions. Board, we'll start down with Jamal. I don't have any. Motion first. Okay, recommendation is to recommend that the Board of Education approves the district restructuring recommendation as presented by Dr. Fields
045to implement the starting in the 2027-2028 school year. So moved. Second. Now, discussion. The only school that I didn't see was like Lee Hamilton. That was um omitted on accident, but Lee Hamilton will be a K-5 school. Thank you for the clarification. Other than that, I don't have any questions at this time. Just a quick question around the I saw if you want to go back two slides, I believe. Uh nope, one. This one. Uh under summer, just says attendance and feeder review. I was just wondering when the board will actually be approving the attendance patterns cuz I assume that will just be something that parents might or community want to in partake Absolutely. Thank you for the question. Great question. We've been working very closely with our transportation department. So, if not May, certainly
046by the June meeting we would have those areas finalized. Thank you so much. Welcome. Can you talk a little bit more about uh for example, our uh primary student for alternative school? For next year. >> Yes. Great question. Um restoration and wellness, they are absolutely fascinating both from a programmatic standpoint in the work that they do with many of our scholars. Um some of them come to the schools and they actually would like to stay. So, it's not just a space by which students who have made um difficult decisions or unfavorable decisions go. Um it is something that's going very well. So much so that we have actually outgrown the location that we have right now. And so, I don't find great comfort in knowing that the facts are the facts and we have had
047a increased number of scholars that are younger than the high school level make some decisions that are frankly not safe for any of their classmates um or the school. And so, as we think about the actual programming opportunity in those spaces where those situations occur, right now we do not have an elementary um in this case alternative programming. This would be that. Again, I do not anticipate it would be something that is um massive in terms of the number of scholars. However, we absolutely need that level of support. Our staff have been asking for it. Our administrators and we believe this is the opportunity to do so. Great question. Uh my question just really had to do with um just the measures that will be put in place in regards to when we get ready
048to do the actual restriction restructuring and the things that um we're wanting to see and things like that. Have we kind of thought about like what are those goals or different things that we're going to look at to see if this is exactly the right positioning for us? Yes, no, as well as um on the way. Um I want to thank the board again for approving the partnership with one of our district partners, in this case being WashU. Um And so, what they are doing is I mentioned some of their research, but it did say the initial brief that they are conducting. There are two additional briefs that are not only helping with the data that supports less transitions and all of that, but they are also helping with the data with change management and
049what are some of those things that may have been part of the pre-K system or the 3-5 system or even 6th grade. I mean, it's a question in terms of well, 6th grade, will they just be with the 7th and 8th or will it be academy model? That level of research would be certainly um helpful. The other thing is um I do believe that we hire the best people and let them tell us their perspective in terms of the expertise. And so, speaking with the administrators, their leadership team, there's going to be a lot of conversation. Um as you know, we do have a staff as well as a parent advisory group as well as student advisory groups. We're going to take as much feedback as possible and try to make sure our students have
050an immersive experience. So again, all of that is part of the process. Um I just don't have it flushed out now cuz that would allude to me being ahead of that and not engaging with those applicable stakeholders. Thank you so much for your answer. Thank you. Um I have I have two questions. Um one to sort of piggyback on what Dr. Thurman asked, I'm curious to know if you know what grades will be served in the alternative space. Um and then my second question has to do with um the transportation budget and you know, how or if that's going to be impacted as a result of the restructuring. Hopefully in a positive way, but Absolutely. So, um the first question, um both of which are great questions. The first question speaks to the grades. Um
051elementary programming would now be available. We would still have middle school and we would still have high school. Based off the the few situations that I've seen and I don't want to jinx it, but there have been some situations where students at the intermediate level, so three, four, and five have done a few things that are frankly not safe. So, I would imagine in those isolated incidents um that would be part of the alternative programming. However, elementary would be all-encompassing in those situations. As it relates to the fi- the financial aspect of this restructuring, again, um the transportation department um they've done a absolutely magnificent job of working alongside of us. They've been looking at a number of not only um metrics that they have access to in our system, but they're looking at blocks.
052Um they were providing their perspective. We would be going from five tiers to three tiers, so there's a lot of flexibility that does not currently exist. They have been absolutely spectacular. And one of the things that they looked at conservatively, because you all saw the same data that I put up that it has been a nice increase stated modestly with respect to that transportation budget. We anticipate at least a 15 um percent decline in the transportation budget, which does equate to about 1.5 million dollars. And so again, that is conservatively stated, um but we do and we anticipate seeing a multi-million dollar um savings. Now, I did I want to caution because on that particular slide, it's too far to go back. This is also the first year of implementation of the electric buses. And
053so, I don't want us to let's just say hopefully it's a 4 million dollar savings, you're like, "Oh my goodness, Dr. Fields is a genius." No, I think I'm a genius, but it would be more along the lines of it's a combination of not only these measures, but also the electric buses. And again, the transportation department are not only doing this heavy lifting for the restructuring, but they are also helping with obviously the electronic the electronic bus piece and that's a massive lift in itself. Thank you. Call for the vote. Thought I was signaling for a second there. I forgot I became secretary in about 5 minutes, so I do apologize. Give me a little time, it's going to work. I promise you it's going to work. Um Dr. Martin. Yes. Ms. Massaray. Yes. Uh
054secretary, that's myself. Yes. Uh Dr. Thurman. Yes. Dr. Graves. Yes. Dr. Paul Walker. Yes. And President Tyson. Yes. Thank you. Motion passes. Okay. I turn the meeting to close. All righty. If there is no further business, we're going to adjourn the meeting to close. Recommendation to adjourn the meeting. Some of Second. Roll call vote. All in favor on roll call. Uh Dr. Thurman. Yes. Dr. Graves. Yes. Dr. Walker. Yes. Ms. Massaray. Yes. >> Secretary Rhodes, yes. President. Yes. Yes. Yes. Meeting adjourned.