001[music] Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hi, my name is Haley. I'm a senior and I attend Mccclure High School. >> [music] >> Um, what made me decide to join the dual enrollment program was when I found out that I know that I knew I can earn my associates [music] degree. Sign up. When I first signed up, it was smooth and easy. Everything went nice. But then when it came to coming [music] to my first class, I was a little confused cuz I was new. decided nowhere to go and everything. [music] Um, I want my school to become a place where everybody feels included, supported and excited to learn in. For like example, we can have student voice programs and maybe like mental health
002resources [music] and like career based clubs and college prep to help students like plan early for stuff. [music] Heat. Heat. N. [music] Heat. Heat. N. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Heat. Heat. N. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. [music] [music] Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. N. [music] >> [music] [music] >> and excited to learn. Like at example, they have student voice programs and maybe like mental health resources and like career based courses and college points to help [music] our students like plan for stuff. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> My name is Haley. [music]
003I'm a senior and I attend Mccor High School. Um, what made me decide to join [music] the Ring program was when I found that I know that I knew I can earn my associates degree. So, I knew [music] when I first signed up, it was smooth and easy. Everything went nice. [music] But then when it came to coming to my first class, I was really confused cuz I was new. So I didn't know where [music] to go and everything. [music] Um I want my school to become a place where everybody feels included, supported [music] and excited to learn in. For like example, we can have student voice programs and maybe like mental health resources [music] and like career based clubs and college prep to help students like plan early for stuff. [music] [music] Heat. Heat.
004[music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Hey, Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. N. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] Yeah. Heat. [music] [music] including [music] [music] excited to learn it. I feel like exactly they have student voice programs and maybe like mental health resources [music] and like career based programs and college prep students like plan stuff. [music] [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Ah, [music] [music] hey. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hi, my name is Haley. I'm a senior and I attend McCory High School. Um, what made me decide to join the development program was [music] when I heard
005that I know that I knew I can earn my associates degree. [music] Signed up. When I first signed up, it was smooth and easy. Everything went nice. [music] But then when it came to coming to my first class, I was a little confused cuz I was new. I don't know where to go and everything. [music] Um, I want my school to become a place where everybody feels included, [music] supported, and excited to learn in. For like example, we can have student voice programs and maybe like mental health resources and [music] like career based clubs and college prep to help students like plan early for stuff [music] for our meeting. And before we before we start, I'd like for us to um first of all stand and acknowledge we had services today for one of our
006students. And I I wanted to take the time to acknowledge him and and to have a a moment of silence for Colin um Hill. So, if we could stand at this time and may we have a moment of silence for his family and for Colin, for our students who uh were affected by this Mccclure High School and administration and teachers. Um, may we have a moment of silence, please? Thank you. And remain standing for the pledge, please. 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. >> [clears throat] >> under provisions of the public meeting law of the state of Missouri. The board must adopt a roll call vote an
007agenda that includes the time, date, place, tenative agenda for the meeting. A copy of the notice and agenda for this meeting was posted on Tuesday, January 21st, 2025 at the administration center at 8 located at 8855 Dun Road, Hazlewood, Missouri online and sent to local newspapers. May I have a recommendation to adopt the agenda as posted? >> You want to I'm sorry. >> I can you call for the vote, please? Uh, Dr. Courtney Graves, >> yes. >> Mr. Terry Tyson, >> yes. >> Miss Vivian Maseray, >> yes. >> Um, me. Yes. Uh, >> Dr. Thurman. >> Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much. [snorts] >> This portion of the meeting is allocated Oh, first of all, I want to say that Dr. Dr. Martin is out. Uh he has um an event at his school,
008so he's out today. I'm not sure where our student is for today. Okay. Oh, why are you not up here? Okay. And then also I think Dr. um Power Walker will be down. Okay. Um, this portion of the meeting is allocated to show a short video for the Missouri School Board Association to provide a report for the current activities and events that may be of interest to the board members and to our community. Welcome to the November edition of the Missouri School Boards Association's Board Report. We begin with a look at the 2025 MSBA annual conference in cooperation with NASA and MoASBO. This year's event was once again held in Kansas City. MSBA President Shelley Mantel got the conference off to a great start at the first general session. During her remarks, she stressed the
009importance of local schoolboard service. >> When I was a student e and even though my father was a teacher, I had no idea there was a school board in the background guiding those places of learning. The work of school board often goes unnoticed, but our work is critical to the success of our districts. As leaders in public education, it is our greatest duty to ensure that our districts have the administrative and fiscal strength to provide the best possible education to our students. It is imperative that we advocate for fair and consistent funding for our children, that we represent the people who elected us, and that we take very seriously our fiscal responsibility to our patrons. >> During the third session of the conference, Missouri's 2026 teacher of the year, Kimberly Sixa, was recognized. She told
010the crowd that whether you're a teacher, an administrator, or a board member, everybody has a role to play as a champion for public education and our students. and that every single student deserves to feel success. Every single one. And they deserve to have their potential recognized. So, I know when my students leave my class that they most likely won't remember the 27 amendments that I've tried to drill into them to be ready for EOC testing. I mean, there's a hope. But I know that they will remember how I made them feel. And I want that memory to be a good one. I want it to be something that they can hold on to and say she believed in me. So to all the school board members out here tonight, I want to say thank you.
011Thank you for the time you devote to our young people and to the education staff across the state. It doesn't happen without you. Thank you for working diligently to problem solve educational issues that often feel insurmountable. I know they do. Thank you for taking those late night phone calls from teachers who need help or the parents who have concerns. And thank you for fighting for Missouri schools and for the value of our educational system. This work doesn't happen without you. It doesn't happen without all of us. Also during the third session, Suzanne Luther of the Jefferson City School District was presented with the Paul Morris Community Service Award. >> But I do want to say I am so honored to be awarded this with this company because I feel that everybody who steps up as
012a school board member qualifies for this award. and Seymour R2, Republic R3, and Hazlewood were all awarded MSBA Future Builder Early Childhood Education Program of the Year Awards. In addition to the outstanding general sessions, the conference featured more than 80 concurrent sessions on a wide range of topics. Missou's premier education trade show, the Education Expo, MSBA student showcase of public school programs, and much more. MSBA's delegate assembly also met in conjunction with the annual conference to establish the position statements that will guide advocacy work during the coming year. And finally, each year, the Missouri School Boards Association's Future Builders Foundation awards $18,500 in scholarships to students in MSBA's member districts. A winner is selected from each of the 17 MSBA regions and one overall state winner is selected. Student nomination forms are [music] due by
013December 18th. Visit the MSBA website for more details. That's it for this month's edition of the MSBA board report. Thank you for allowing us to have some time at your board meeting [music] and we'll see you in December for the next MSBA board report. >> You may have noticed a few um famili familiar faces in these videos because three of our our um board members were present. Okay. Okay, now it is time to for the declaration for candidacy. Ferguson, Florison residents interested in running for the April um running for the April 7th, 2026 Ferguson Florison Board of Education election will need to file for candid candidacy at the St. Louis Board of Elections located at 725 Northwest Plaza Drive in St. Anne. The filing period for the April 7th election opens Tuesday, December 9th, and
014closes at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 30th. Three positions will be on the ballot on the three terms. The three terms that are up would be myself, Donna Plet Thurman, Kevin Martin, and Mr. Jamal Bailey. Missouri law requires a person to be a US citizen at least 24 years old, a resident taxpayer of the district and have um resided in Missouri for one year immediately preceding the election. In addition, the candidate must follow these procedures. Foul a declaration of candidacy fouling pursuant to district policy 403. The Ferguson Florison School District board election in April 2026 will be conducted by cumulative voting a change ordered by the federal court some time ago. The cumulative voting voters voters must cast as many votes as there there are seats. Voters are not limited limited to giving only one
015vote to a candidate. Instead, they can give their votes to one or more candidates. For instance, in this election for three open board seats, voters can choose to give one vote to each uh each to three different candidates, two votes to one and one vote to another candidate, or all three votes can go to a single candidate. If you have any questions or concerns regarding board candidate filing, please call 314-6871912. Again, that number is 314 6871912. At this time, we're going to go into our public comments. Pursuant to to board policy BDDH1, public participation at board meetings, the board allocates a portion of this of each meeting to allow stakeholders the opportunity to comment on agenda items. The board president will read aloud comments that have been submitted in advance. Read aloud comments. I'm I'm
016sorry. All written comments will be included in the board materials for this evening and may be viewed under public comments. The board may limit the number of comments read aloud based on the length and repetition. The total time allocated for in-person public comments shall not exceed 30 minutes before the public comment period begins. In-person participants are asked to complete a comment card including your name, your address, phone number, email address, and topic to be addressed. Speakers will be allowed up to three minutes to to present their remarks. Individuals wishing to address the board are asked to speak from the podium, identify themselves, and in keeping with policy BDDH1 and personnel law, refrain from making personally identifiable or negative comments about individuals. While the board will not directly res uh respond to speakers during the public
017comment period, the board president may provide brief clarifying remarks at the end of the of the session to correct any misstatement of facts. Following the meeting, Dr. Fields will confer with the leadership team of the Ferguson Florison School District and privately assign a staff member to respond to public comments. If a response has not been received within five business days, please contact Dr. Fields uh directly. And is this the only one that we need? Okay, we have one coming from Don Williams if you would like to come to. Hi, how are you? and she's talking about suggestion on enrollment help and high school schedules. >> Good evening. >> Speaking to the mic because is is it on that better? >> Okay, stop the clock. Um at the um the address we talked about the enrollment
018and one thing that I've noticed as being a parent in the district the enrollment can go up if we get our sports up. A lot of people come to support the sports. So if you have sports that are winning or at least having a better record, you get more support. I hear it from the fans. I hear it from the parents. I even hear from the players. We don't have it. So, we get maybe our coaches some training, our coaches some help, switch the coaches around, get somebody younger in there. Maybe that'll help us. I know that's what pulls a lot of people to other school districts because I go watch games everywhere and they crowds are out there whether they winning or losing because they have that morale. We lost it. We need to
019get it back. So if we need to help our coaches, get them some training, put them out there to do other thing, bring some new life into it. Bring a new coach, whatever we need to do, and that's at both schools. We not winning nowhere. So if we get that help, they that definitely brings because that brings out the support, that brings out the sponsors, that brings out everything because they coming to watch, they coming to see where they money going. The second thing, the schedule with the high school, it's not working. The new schedule I've heard from students and teachers, the way the schedule is going, it's too much. they not getting a chance to really understand what's going on in class. It's the policy of what they need to learn is a lot
020in that time framing. And the teachers when the you hear teachers complain about it and they ask me, "Can you speak about it at the board meeting?" I got you. I'll walk up there and say it, but we got to do something. If they both struggling, if they struggling to teach and they struggling to learn, we not having an impact. We just going to fail. So if we can get those that help in those those areas, we can bring our district back to life in greatness, not just in sadness and what we the bad. We we want to hear about the good things as well. We coming, but we got to work together and we got to get those things pulled up. Especially when you have your teachers not wanting to teach because they can't
021do it. It's frustrating and your students not learning. We not making it. That's all I have for today. We do have one written [clears throat] comment from Rhonda Bostic and she writes, "I have been waiting to hear back from a social worker to get my child in school and still haven't heard back. Uh, she is 5 years old and still has not been accepted or approved because my name is not on the lease forms." Um, Is this something that we need to handle? >> Okay, that's that's something very personal. >> Mr. Bost. >> I Wait, just sir, just a second. Just a second, please. Um, Miss B Rhonda Bostic, Miss Dr. Fields will be getting in touch with you. Um, in terms of comments, we need comment cards before we don't have people. We we
022don't address from the from the audience. >> Try board. >> I'm okay with it as long as >> Okay. Come on. >> Thank you. >> Yes. >> I'm going to ask him. >> They told me that I need to be here. I tried as best I could. >> Do you have May I have your >> Oh, my name is Raheem Muhammad. >> I know your name. Yes. >> No. Did you have a form filled out? >> I had a form filled out. >> Thank you. That's what I need. >> Um, thank you. Thank you very much for extending me grace. I tried to get here. Um, but the traffic was just backed up. So, good evening, uh, board of education and superintendent Dr. Harvey Fields. Um, anytime I come before the board, Howard Fields, I'm
023sorry. Harvey Fields is a professor at WashU. >> That's close enough. All right. So, anytime I come before the board, I try to include a glow and a grow. A glow is something that we have done well. A grow is an area that we can improve. I would like to say that the college and career testing day is a glow. Um I was impressed. Um, I debrief with both of my sons and I am eager to uh when they have the interpretation nights of the results, I'm eager as a parent to attend and see how I can better support my child to be better in those areas. Um, one area of growth for everybody including parents, teachers, administration, board, we have an opportunity right now to get and stay out of the weeds. We all,
024parents, administrators, board members, teachers, we need to get out of the weeds. This past week, I revisited one of my favorite hiphop albums. Uh, it's an album called No Fear of Time by the group Blackar. If you know the group Black Star, the members are Talibi and Yasin Bay. And one of my favorite songs is called the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. All right. I would like to encourage all of us to keep the main thing the main thing. Let us not be distracted by noise. Let's keep the main thing the main thing. I am encouraged by the leadership of Dr. Fields. I logged on to view the state of the district last week and as a parent, I was very happy to see a presentation with no fluff.
025The data that Dr. Fields presented spoke for itself. There are many difficult decisions that we will have to make in the coming months. And if we keep the main thing the main thing which is focus focusing on our instructional core and making decisions that are in the best interest of our children, we will get through this rough phase and the community will accept those difficult decisions. To the parents, let's do our part. Let's make sure our kids arrive on time to school ready to learn. Again, to the parents, let's do our part to make sure our kids arrive on time and ready to learn. One last note, I was very happy to see on the agenda that the boiler for Steam High uh swimming pool is going to be replaced. So, kudos to taking action
026on that. Um, [bell] and can we get an activity bus at least one day a week at Steam High? Thank you for your time. Thank you so much. You know, we're always wanting to hear from from you from from parents and from the community. So, uh thank you. And I know things happen. Things happen and we have to pivot sometimes. So, don't do it again. Just joking. Just joking. Okay. um a student rep. >> You don't want You don't want to say at least I can call on him and ask him. You sure? Okay. FFNA. All right. Good evening. There we go. I lost my spot. I'm so sorry. All right. Good evening, Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. Fields, FFNA members, Ferguson Flores family and community members. Tonight, I want to take a moment to
027recognize a group of individuals who are absolutely essential to the success of our schools, our incredible educational support personnel every day. They are the steady hands and caring hearts that help keep our schools running smoothly. From the office professionals who greet students and families with a smile to the custodians and facility team members who ensure our buildings are clean, safe, and up to code. From the cafeteria teams who provide nourishing meals to the bus drivers who transport our students safely each day. From the nurses who care for our sick and injured students and staff to the technology specialists who keep our devices running and remind us how to spot those tricky fishy emails and to the security officers who protect our campuses and ensure that everyone feels safe. Each one plays an indispensable role in
028the life of our district. Their work might not always make the headlines, but their impact is undeniable. They are often the first to arrive and the last to leave. Making sure classrooms are ready, technology works, and every detail is in place so that teachers can teach and students can learn. The past few years have tested all of us in education, but our support staff have shown extraordinary resilience, flexibility, and compassion. They've adapted to changing needs, stepped up in unexpected ways, and continue to serve our students and staff with dedication and pride. As we celebrate them tonight, let's also remember that appreciation should extend beyond words. We must continue to show gratitude through action by investing in professional development, recognizing excellence, and ensuring that every member of our support staff feels valued, respected, and supported. So
029tonight, on behalf of the FFNA, we say thank you for your hard work, your commitment, and your kindness. You are truly the heart of our schools and we could not do this without you. Your work makes a real and lasting difference in the lives of our students, our staff, and our community. Thank you. >> Thank you. And yes, [applause] that's we appreciate the hard work. And before we even go further, I I do want to say something. I want to recognize our veterans. Yesterday was Veterans Day. And um are there any veterans in the audience today? If if you are, please stand. [applause] Thank you. Thank you for your your your service and thank you in the community for for those who are listening. We want to recognize you as veterans and we thank you
030for your for your service to our country. And at this time, I'm going to turn it over to our superintendent. Thank you, Madam President. Good evening. I want to thank the veterans, also thank our staff as well as support professionals. Thank you, um, Dana, for sharing that. This is um, arguably one of my favorite nights because we get an opportunity to have celebrations and recognitions from all of the hard work that our scholars are involved in. And so, before we even dive into this, I do want to thank our parents. I am a firm believer that your sacrifice goes unnoticed nine days out of 10. And so rather than having you stand, I just ask that you continue to be a great partner and continue to pour in to your children. They're doing a fantastic
031job tonight. You will only see a fraction of the great work going on in our schools, but it does not go unnoticed. And so with that, I'll yield over for the first aspect of the superintendent update for celebrations and recognitions to uh Miss Holman. >> Thank you. Good evening, board members, superintendent Dr. Fields, and members of our community. Thank you for giving us a little time um in a few moments this evening to share some of the district's awards and honors. Tonight's recognitions will look a little different from our usual monthly recognition celebrations. In previous years, we've held board recognitions quarterly, and this evening's awards and honors portion of the board meeting will highlight a broader collection of recent achievements and distinctions across our schools. When your name or recognition is called and announced, please
032come forward to receive your certificate and remain at the front. Once all honores have been recognized, we'll take a group photo to celebrate everyone together. First, we will start. Um, congratulations to Mr. Shane Prather, teacher at Steam Academy Middle School, who has been named a 2526 outstanding project lead the way teacher. This national recognition celebrates his leadership and commitment to providing students with hands-on career connected learning experiences through Project Lead the Way. Project Lead the Way programs empower students to develop in demand transportable knowledge and skills through pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomed science. Congratulations again to Mr. Prather on this well-deserved honor. And we have principal Dr. Chris Reese who will accept on his behalf. We are proud to announce that Steam Academy Middle School has been recognized as a 2025 blue ribbon
033school by the former US Department of Education. This school received this honor just before the program's sudden conclusion. The National Blue Ribbon Schools program celebrate celebrates public and private schools across the country for their overall academic excellence and success in closing achievement gaps. Steam Academy Middle earned um earned recognition in the exemplary high-erforming schools category, placing it among the top performing schools in both Missouri and the nation. Adding to this incredible achievement, US News and World Report has ranked Steam Middle School the number three middle school in Missouri for 2025 26. This recognition reflects the dedication of students and staff and families who make Steam Middle what it is. So, congratulations to the entire Steam Middle community community. the rest of your >> Congratulations to our newest members of the Ferguson Florescent 30 plus ACT
034club. We are proud to recognize our outstanding high school scholars for their exceptional academic achievement. First, we're going to recognize our ACT scholars. The following students scored a 30 or higher on the ACT, placing them among the top 7% of test takers nationwide. We have Robert Flick, and I don't know if he's Some of our students have other commitments. There's the Red Tail Cadetses um program. So, if I call your name and if you're here, you can come up. Um, and if not, we will definitely make sure that they get their certificate. So, we have Robert Flick, we have Joseph Ross, [applause] Jared Carter, [applause] [cheering] Cameron Ford, Isaac Gates. [applause] Josie Renard, [applause] Tori Shedu, a Poyet [applause] Next, we have our preACT scholars. These students achieved high marks on the pre-SAT preac indicating
035that they are on track to score 30 or higher on the ACT. We have Philippa Gutting and we have Dean Miller. >> [applause] >> Next, we have our Work Keys scholars. These students earned a perfect score level six or above on the Work Keys assessment, demonstrating top level workplace readiness skills. We have Joy Buchanan, [applause] Kai Davidson, [applause] Sydney Lun, [applause] and Ryan Tracy. Next, we have our ACUPPLACER scholars. These students scored in the highest bands in reading and math on the ACUPPLACER, showcasing strong college level academic readiness. We have Deniah Clark. [applause] Hey there. We have Terron Brooks. [applause] We have Kyra Hughes. [applause] We have Jan McFersonson. [applause] We have Malia Hughes [applause] and we have Malik Merryweather. Congratulations to all of our students for their hard work and academic achievement. [applause] [cheering]
036Next, we are proud to recognize Missouri American Water and the American Water Charitable Foundation for their generous support through the hydration station grant program. Thanks to the grant, Lee Hamilton Elementary and Hallsfair Intermediate received new hydration stations, giving students and staff greater access to water throughout the day. We are grateful to have our wonderful partners like Missouri American Water for investing in the health and well-being of our students and our school communities. So, thank you to Missouri American Water. [applause] And lastly, we have four schools who have been awarded as exemplary PBIS schools. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recognizes schools across the state for their exemplary implement of positive behavior interventions and support, otherwise known as PBIS, through the schoolwide positive behavior support awards of excellence. These awards honor schools that demonstrate
037a strong commitment to creating positive, inclusive learning environments where all students thrive. We are proud to celebrate Commons Lane Primary, [applause] Homeman Primary, [applause] Lee Hamilton Intermediate, [applause] and Steam Academy Middle. [applause] They earned this recognition for their highfidelity implementation of PBI practices in their schools. You'll take Okay. And congratulations to all of tonight's honores. If we can just give them another round of applause. [applause] Okay, we're going to take a quick photo. Okay, everybody. Thank you. [applause] Madame President, if I may, for the second item on the superintendence um update, we have the um district medical and health services presentation by Dr. Imhof. >> Well, at least I know how to clean out a room. [laughter] >> Well, Madame President, board, uh it's a a pleasure to be with everybody tonight. Community, uh I'm
038going to kind of give an update in regards to uh our medical uh needs over uh the entire district. And so I'm going to provide a variety of different information. And but before I do that, I would like to say uh a special thank you to our nursing department, our row health, human resources, finance, business administrators, teachers, support staff, and office pro professionals because it it's taken a collective effort to to make sure that the needs of our students um have been met uh throughout this year so far. So the the purpose of of the update is the presentation provides an overview of the health, medical, and various support services with the Ferguson Florison School District. The briefing will highlight staffing as well as identify needs to support the district's wide spectrum of medical conditions.
039The health and services update will focus on the following key findings of notable medical conditions. Distri distribution of medical needs by grade level. Prevalent chronic medical conditions. An analysis of 504 plans. Also a cost comparison between the 2425 budget and the 2526 schoolyear budget. Uh reduction in expenditures for purchases and contractual services. re-evaluation of of nursing staff across the district and also utilizing a hybrid model to support the needs health care needs through a combination of in-house employees and agency staff to provide comprehensive health services. Also, beyond the direct medical care, the district offers a robust network of mental health and family support services. These include multiple counseling and mentoring partnerships, social worker-led case management partnerships with with school uh special also partnership with special school district and a comprehensive list of family and student
040support services. So the next part what we're going to end up doing is we're going to take a look at analysis of the current student health needs. The data provides an understanding of medical conditions uh distributed across all grade levels with a notable concentration among younger students. While the medical needs are are present across all grades, an analysis of the district data reveals a significant concentration of conditions requiring treatment in elementary levels, particularly from first through fifth grade. The schools with the highest reported numbers of students with documented medical needs are K through two, Deshawn Primary, Deshaine Hullman, and Parker Road. uh grades three through five, Robinwood and Combmes. Middle school is Cross Keys. And in regards to the high schools, they were pretty equal distribution of students with medical needs. So the health condition
041data according to the data extracted from infinite campus our health services staff manages approximately 235 documented cases of chronic health conditions among the student populations. These most prevalent conditions represent a significant majority of these cases are asthma allergies and food allergies. Beyond these high volume conditions, the district provides daily medical support for students with with high needs that carry significant risk, including students with diabetes, seizures, sickle cell disease. The management of these complex class cases requires constant professional nursing oversight. In in addition uh to managing the chronic condition, the district provides mandated individualized services for students with 504 plans. Each plan is customdesigned to accommodate a student's specific disability and needs. These student health needs create a critical requirement for adequate professional medical staffing in every school to ensure a safe, supportive learning environment. Now
042if you take a look at the next you'll see an actual chart and these are for the uh the medical conditions across the students that are actually reported with medical conditions and that are um documented with our medical staff. Now when when the enrollment also takes place, there are other additional medical uh conditions that are put in infinite campus, but these are actually documented according to uh records that are on file with um our nursing staff. So if you if you take a look for for example um you'll see the the chart and then if you look at the grand total uh let's take a look at uh grade one you'll see a grand total of 15. However if you add up all the conditions that's going to come to 23. But the the number
043of 15 represents the student, the number of students. So one student may have multiple conditions, but it's only going to count the student once. So it's not saying that it's 23 students. It's saying 23 conditions with and it's 15 students and and so one or two might have a couple different conditions. Now, in addition, you'll see here on the students with 504s, it breaks it down according to the school and then the grade level across. So, you can actually see the number of 504s um throughout the district and and um the numbers in each one of the buildings and by grades. So now the the next portion of it, we're going to take a look at the staffing uh matrix. So where we were at last year to where we started this year. So uh
044from where we started at where we ended last year, there was a reduction of the total number of staff um from last year to this year. And in essence, the the main reason why and and we've kind of talked about that throughout the year is, you know, the initial reduction from prior year to this year was budget cuts, funding shortfalls, declined student enrollment, increased operating cost, restructuring, and in inability to fill the the vacancies. So those were um kind of where we began the year and and throughout from the start we had to reassess where we were at what the were the specific needs of our students. So that we kind of uh restructured a little bit and and did what kind of a hybrid staffing model to address these challenges and guarantee comprehensive health
045service coverage. We delivered a hybrid staffing model for the current year. The model strategically combines district employees with contracted agency professionals to ensure every building has dedicated medical support. So when you when uh you take a look at the chart here, you can see the the Ferg floor students and to the right row health. That's our agency. And so uh we have nine registered nurses, four licensed practical nurses and four building CL clinic aids. Those are Ferg floor employees. Ro Health, we have two registered RNs and five licensed uh practical nurses. So this blended approach provides the the stability of the district alongside the flexibility of agency support to allow us to meet the needs of our students. Now the next portion of it is kind of the financial analysis of where we were and
046to what where we're at. Th this section provides it's a transparent financial breakdown of the proposed budget amendment. The proposed hybrid staffing model budget amendment covers the increased cost of the agency service. The increase is driven primarily by the need to expand our partnership and and make sure that all our buildings are covered. So, the original budget allocated $100,000 for agency staff. This amendment is going to increase that allocation by $287,718 to a total of 387718 to ensure full coverage for all buildings across the district. So when you look at the table, you're you're going to see the original budget of where it was at, which is 1375514. Two, the the amended budget, which will be coming out um with Mr. Chance and and working through that and staffing that's going to be 1,63562. So
047the the required increase is going to be 259548 and that's where you come up with the total of 387718. The rationale of this increase is grounded in four strategic imperative essential uh to the district's core mission. Ensuring full coverage to allow and assign full medical professionals to every building in the district. Managing the students needs uh for especially the high-risisk chronic conditions. Immediate medical care in for emergencies. Also making sure that everybody has the proper vaccinations uh state required health screens etc. and also supporting the well-being of all of our students, both uh mental, emotional, and wellness. And if you take a look, you can see every one of our schools have a uh health care professional in our schools. So, uh, we are proud to say that every one of our buildings is there
048with with, uh, adequate staff to make sure that they're, um, providing service needs to the students. Questions? >> This is not for board action. It's just for information. So if you have any questions board go ahead. >> Thank you uh for the information Dr. [clears throat] um I was encouraged to see that um per the last slide we have medical support in place in all of the buildings. Um, I wanted to ask if you I didn't really get to look at it in great detail, but based on the buildings that you've identified that seem to have the greatest needs, um, is that where your RNs are placed, have you tried to, you know, place sort of what we would call your higher skilled medical personnel in those spots? It's we're in the process of kind
049of cross- referencing each one of those buildings. But um let's say for cross keys and also for secondary we also have an RN and we have a building clinic aid. Cross keys is is kind of the same. We have um uh also a building clinic aid because we've also identified where those um you know students also with IEPs and specialized programs that are there. I would have to go and take a specific look at each one of the buildings, but I know that they definitely have an RN or um a licensed professional. >> Okay. And then um I want to ask you one more question and I'm blanking on it. Um oh, I wanted to ask um and I want you to know that as I ask this question, I [clears throat] feel like this
050is something that uh school communities are facing across the nation. there's just a shortage of nurses. So, I was curious to know when when you have people who have to be out for illness or other things, how are you um I guess I'm wondering how easy is it for you to manage the sub? You have people in the pipeline or how do how do you manage that? >> Well, we are dealing with a nationwide shortage and also especially in the north county region. So uh like I said every building is covered and then we have four building clinic aids. So uh you know so if there is a need we can always pull a building clinic aid and send them to another you know one of another one of those buildings. So that would be
051you know kind of one of one of the options. Um you know the others are you know sometimes like at the beginning of the years administration um office professionals had to to partner together you know to to to make it work. However with the increased amount of our agency staff along with the uh additional you know the four building clinic aids it allows a little bit of that flexibility. >> All right. Thank you. Are there any other questions? If not, thank you so much for your report. Very thorough. Um, appreciate the information and it's it's looking a lot better than I thought it was going to look and espec especially what we start than better than what we started out with. So, thank you Dr. Fields and thank you all for your work and and
052trying to get making sure that we are covered. >> Absolutely. And thank you Dr. I'mh for your work here. And madame president, that does conclude the superintendent update for today. >> Thank you so much. Let's go to the uh consent agenda. The items listed under the consent agenda have undergone board subcommittee review. Documentation concerning these items have been provided to all board members and the public in advance to assure a thorough review. The consent agenda is voted upon in its entirety. Any board member may ask to have any item on the consent agenda removed to be voted on separately and we did not have anything removed. So at this point may I ask that we approve the consent agenda as presented? >> Someone >> second. >> All in favor? >> I >> me and Terry.
053No Terry first. >> Okay. So nothing was pulled from the agenda. Dispersements. Um, Mr. Chance and he's in in his spot, ready to go. All right, here we go. Okay. Good evening, Board of Education, Dr. Fields, administration, and community members. Tonight, I will be presenting the dispersement report for the month of September 2025. The mission of the Ferguson Florison School District is to provide highquality instruction to every student in every neighborhood while prioritizing equity and compassionate relationships. The vision of the Ferguson Florent School District is for all learners to graduate believing anything is possible and prepared to realize those possibilities. For the month of September 2025, payroll is $8,56,935.32. Operational dispersements are 2,349,21986 for a total monthly expense of 10,46,15518. So this chart um is a description of the four funds that are used in
054the budgetary process for our revenues. Total revenues uh for the month of September the budget is 151,848,82927. Uh the current revenue received thus far is $18,999,883. The total percentage collected thus far as um the representation of the percentage of the budget is 13%. And this graph shows the actual revenue to date compared with the budget by fund. So, we're just a couple of months into the uh about a quarter of the month quarter of the year in to the budget thus far. Uh the total expenditures for the month of September. Um the budget is 157,000 of million284,55. Uh year-to- date expenses are $24,823,35 with an available budget of $132,460,750. And that represents 15.8% of the overall budget. And this graph represents the um expenditures so far versus budget. Uh this chart depicts the six object
055categories used in the budgetary process for expenditures. Salaries for the month of September. The budget is 90 million uh 547,278. Uh the yeartodate expended is $14,425,984 and the available budget is 76,121,294 which represents 16% of the budget. Benefits expended for the month budget is 31 million 569,04. Total expended is $4,728,496 with an available budget of $26,840,58. And that is all that is 15% of the overall budget. Purchase services for the month of September. The budget is 17,849,430. The total expense for the month of September is through the month of September is $2,79,08 and the available budget is $15,140,422 and this is 15% of the budget. Supplies the budget is 8,54,489. Year-to- date expense is $2,22,50 with an available budget of $6,32,439. Uh percent used thus far is 26%. Capital outlay, the budget is $5,70,500. Year-to-
056date expense is $76,276. And the available budget is $4,364,224. And this represents 14% of the budget used. So the long and short-term debt, the budget is $3,743,354. Uh expense so far this year is $51,491 and the available budget is 3,691,863 which represents 1% of the budget. A district is currently ahead of its collections amount as compared to this same time in the prior year by just a little over $419,000. And that's the uh finance report for this month. >> Pardon? >> You have a recommendation? >> Yes. We would ask the board to please uh approve the uh expenditures for the month of September 2025. >> May I have a motion, please? >> So move. >> Second. Discussion. >> I just got a quick question. U Mr. Is there any line item um where um as
057you're seeing now that the budget is going where it's going where it's kind of over from what we did last year just is there any line item that you are aware of that maybe we might need to start monitoring a little bit closer as we are moving into the school year? >> Um I I think there's some I think as categories. No, I think they're they're within budget. We've been very conscious of trying to make sure that we monitor expenditures very well. Um so those categories are not really over as of this particular point in time. Um revenues of course um you'll see that we only had about oh what was that 15% thus 13% thus far. As you know, the uh revenues for um the the taxes, the local taxes will start coming in
058in December and January, and you'll start to see that percentage really shoot up during those two months. So, >> you're welcome. >> I think that's a great question. Uh Dr. raised. I just want to add that myself and Tony, we've had a lot of conversations, especially about as we go into December assuring that all accounts and all it line items are going as projected. The board can expect the um amended um 2526 budget to come at the next board meeting and then subsequently in January the first preliminary budget for the 2627 school year. And so, um, Tony's team, um, doing a fantastic job. Um, but we're going to be looking at all of that in December to ensure once our leaders and those who are, um, using funds come back in January that it is
059as aligned as we would need for it to be or there will be an amendment. We can go from there. >> Thank you. Excellent. >> Yeah. My my question too, are we on pace to if we keep this pace, are we going to be okay by let's just even say December? Yes. Yes, we should. Um we we have projected out uh thus far and you'll see uh some of the the changes and um the different um things that have affected the budget in the uh next month's budget amendment. And so there's some things that uh have definitely helped uh the district's budget thus far. >> And how are we with our reconciliations? the reconciliations. Yes. So we were able through our auditors to uh procure a third party uh independent third party that will uh
060that actually is currently helping. Um so we are through the month of April uh 2025. Um so um in um May and June will probably be finished next week. So we will have that all reconciled by sometime next week. >> Say again the last part you'll have what by next >> um the final two months of the 202425 here. Um that is a necessary item for the audit. >> Okay. And just as a reminder to the community, the audit um is for last school year. So for the 2425 school year, I don't want people to watch and think, oh, you all are only at um August and you have to move forward. That is for last school year. The other thing that I want to be clear with the board as well as the community
061when we talk about some of the goals that we have from a financial standpoint, stop deficit spending is one of the first as well as to increase our fund balance. And so, um, that is what we're looking at and hopefully we anticipate we were projected to deficit span this year. Um, Tony has been doing a lot of great work and we're doing everything we can to make sure that that does not happen essentially that we do not deficit span for the current 25 26 school year. So, I wanted to make sure that is a reminder. >> Great news. Any other questions or comments? If not, can we call for the vote or Everyone in favor of accepting the um report say I. >> I. >> Any oppose? >> Motion passes. >> Bond redemption. >> Yes.
062The next item on the agenda is bond redemption. With us tonight is Lorenzo Boyd from Stifel and he'll be going over um what that all entails. Madame President, if I may, I just want to thank um Lorenzo publicly for all of the work that you all continue to do for the district. Um I spoke briefly at the state of the district, the importance of having community partners and so for you being identified as one of our community partners and the work you do at Stiff, u we're certainly lucky to have you. So thank you so much for not only being here, but thank you for the work you continue to do with the district. >> How many years now? This is uh I'm sorry working with the school district >> with us >> uh since
0631996. >> Wow. >> 1996. So I've been in financial services 33 years right after my time in the military. I'm not sure what I did here, Tony, but >> do I just go? >> Is somebody controlling? >> Yeah, upstairs. So, while they're getting that started, uh, good evening to the board of education, uh, superintendent Fields, Mr. Chance, the administrative staff, and the community members. As mentioned, uh, my name is Lorenzo Boyd. I'm managing director of investment banking for Stiffel. I've worked with the school district since 1996, and I'm very proud of the partnership that I've had with the school district thus far. Um, and do I just Is it going to come up there? Okay. What I wanted to do today before we get into the bond redemption, I wanted to give the school district
064a brief overview of the outstanding indebtedness of the school district as it stands right now. Um, that indebtedness, I think uh Mr. Chance talked about it. Two comes out of your fund three and then also the school district has uh a certificates of participation um issued that was issued back in 2016 uh that comes out of your operating funds. So from this slide what you'll see is the school district has five series of general obligation bonds that are currently outstanding. Um there were general obligation bonds back in 2016 that were issued in the original principal amount of 4,790,000. uh those the principal outstanding with that issue is 2,875,000. Those can be called for refinancing or savings uh in May of 20125. Um and what you'll see is that that has already passed, but right now
065interest rates are slightly higher than the rates on those bonds. So it doesn't make sense to refinance those bonds at this current time. Then you have your 2016 bonds. Those were issued for 9,380,000. There's 9,155,000 remaining. Those can be called for savings May of 2027. Uh recently, uh about 6 years ago, um there was a new law implemented that stated you cannot refinance your bonds for savings until within 90 days of your call date. Within 90 days, that makes those bonds eligible for um refund refinancing in February of 2027. Then you have your 2018 bonds for 8,60,000. There's 7,475,000 remaining. Those can be rec can be called for savings uh on May 1st, 2022 as well. And then you have your 2020 bonds which were issued uh for 10 million. There's 7,985,000. Those were a
066private placement. So there those can be called at any time. And then you have your last series of bonds which were your 2023 bonds which were refinancing bonds as well for 7,145,000. There's 3,840,000 remaining. So those all come out of your fund three uh your debt service fund. Um your you have one series of certificates of participation outstanding that was issued back in 2016 for almost $5 million. Uh those can be uh that's 3.3 million that's currently outstanding. those can be refinanced for savings u right now but rates are a little bit higher than the rates on those bonds uh according to um the way we look at refinancings you can only refinance if you save at least 1.5%. So we've looked at refinancing those bonds several times and currently they're below that threshold. Real
067quick, this is kind of a summary of what you saw on the previous page which just kind of was an aggregate of all your outstanding debt. This shows the actual interest rates on all those series of bonds um that was on the previous page. So your 2016 one thing I'll uh kind of note here uh all the bonds in 201617 18 were issued through the Missouri direct deposit program which is rated double A plus by the state of Missouri. The school district currently has an A+ underlying rating on its underlying uh on its underlying bonds. So an underlying credit rating is kind of equivalent to an individual credit score. So the higher your your credit rating, the lower interest rate you're going to pay in the municipal market. So you're right now sitting at A+.
068The highest rating that you can receive is AAA and then it goes in this order. Double A+, double A, double A minus, and then A+. There are only three school districts in the state of Missouri with a with a perfect rating. They are Parkway. Can you guess the other two? >> No, they just got downgraded. Clayton and Rockwood. The next page has the other two series of general obligation bonds that are outstanding, the 2020s and the 2023s. And then your loan certificates of participation, which as I mentioned, you'll see the different maturities and when they mature. Um, you pay principal on all your bonds annually. And so those bonds will actually uh mature in 2030, looks like 2036. and those have an A underlying rating. So, as with all bonds that are issued through your
069operating levy, you have an A+ on your general obligation bonds in terms of your underlying rating. All bonds that are issued through your operating levy are one notch below your general obligation bonds. So, those are rated A. Here's just an aggregate. This is of all your bonds, your geo bonds going from left to right. This includes principal and interest. So, as you can see there, total principal and interest over the next um let's see 12 years or so, uh it's 40,929,344.34. And you see your debt services roughly um on average for the next several years. You're looking at right around $3 million. And then you dip down to about 2.72.8 million through 2034. And then you're up around 3.3 million up to about 3.8 and 36 and 37. and then back down to actually 3.4
070million in 2038. So this does represent principal and interest as I mentioned. Then your certificates of participation which uh retire in 2036, you're paying roughly $370,000 a year through 2026. So total principal and interest that are that is due for that entire issue is $4,140,425. This page is kind of where we are right now and with the bond redemption. Uh this is a spreadsheet I created probably um back in 1997 to kind of depict where any issuer is doing what they're doing in their debt service fund. So going from left to right um the school district actually sets his tax levy in October of each year is to pay debt service the following year. So what you'll see the next the next column after that is AV your assessed valuation and then that's your assessed
071valuation growth in terms of that fourth uh column there in terms of what you've recognized in your assessed valuation growth and you'll see in those reassessment years you've had 15% and almost 9% last year I mean this current year I'm sorry and currently your debt service tax rate is 26.7%. So, um, your tax collection rate after kind of consultation with the school district, we're using a 90% collection rate, but you'll see there that your average, uh, on the bottom, your last five years, the delinquent and current taxes was right around 94.2%. The next column is your sorrel uh, revenue. That stands for status assess railroad utility. I'm using a 5year average year, a fiveyear uh, average there uh, pretty much throughout the entire uh, schedule. Then you'll see your total revenue that you're generating from
072your collections plus your state assessed for railroad and utilities. And then what you'll see there is your debt service. So what you'll see is you're bringing in about 3.7 million. Let's just take 2026 next year. You're bringing in 3.7 million in total revenue. Your debt service is right around 2.9 million. So that means your required levy is right around 21 cents and you're levying 26 cents. So that use of fund balance column is what you're adding to your fund balance each year. Now you'll see to the far right the green column you have 28% in terms of your debt service fund uh reserves. By state statute you're only allowed to have uh as much as 100%. So hence we're here today to pay off some bonds so that you can keep your levy at 26
073cents. So you're looking very healthy on your debt service side. Um, so we have to actually do a bond redemption to bring that under the required levy. So that Tony has already submitted that paperwork to keep your debt service levy at 26 cents. Here I wanted to talk about bonding capacity. Uh, any school district in the state of Missouri can issue bonds up to 15% of their assessed valuation. Uh, when I first started um in 1996 that was 5%. Uh then it went up to 10% I believe right around 2002 and then right around 2007 went up to 15%. I've I've had some talks with some legislators to actually increase that to 20%. So we're had some active conversations to uh get that capacity. Ferguson and Florescent being a school district having you know a
074lot of assessed valuation um you have a lot of capacity but probably 90% of school districts in rural Missouri at 15% they can barely do 5 million of general obligation bonds and as you know to to to build a new facility to build a new middle school it takes around $30 million just in terms of 500 students a high school these days are costing 120 million So, we're we're in conversations with some state legislators. I've had some active conversations in Jeff City to actually increase that to 20%. So, going from left to right, you'll see there that your bonding capacity is 227 million at 15%. Your total end of your debt at the end of fiscal year 2026 is a little over 29.4 million. That means you have capacity of of 198 million roughly. And
075that's not to say you can issue 198 million of bonds at your current tax rate. That's just up to your capacity. Then you're allowed to use your fund balance, which we're going to bring that fund balance down, but since we haven't officially done it yet, I kept it at 16 6.2 million, but that gives you available capacity up to 204 million. And you'll see as you pay off bonds, um, you'll see your capacity grows each year. So, let's see, right around 2029, presumably if everything stays steady, you'll have right around 220 million of capacity. This next page, comparable tax rates. So, what I what I wanted to do here is after talking with the school district is show you where Ferguson Flores was in terms of their debt service fund levy of school districts in
076and around um North County. I actually live right down the street in Hazwood School District. Um so you can see here that Normandy School District, which is school district I grew up in, their debt service tax rate is $180. Hazwood School District is $1.24. 24. Riverview they're at $1.13. Jennings school district is at 99. Rittner is at 84. University City at 73.8. Patentville at 49. And Ferguson Florison is at 26.7. The debt service is where you actually the debt service levy is where you actually fund your capital improvements to the school districts re whether for renovations, improvements, building new facilities, and things of that nature. So, I just wanted to give you a glimpse of where you are in terms of your debt service levy, how you compare with other school districts in and around
077the metropolitan area. >> Yes. So, um I think we have a resolution. So, giving this brief presentation, um I had a presentation that was going to go about 40 minutes. Mr. Chance and Dr. Fields told me to break it down to five minutes. So, I think I succeeded in that. I was very thrilled that when I came into the audience that I thought everyone was here for me, but they're not. Um, so I believe we have a resolution that looks to um actually pay off and redeem some of your 2020 bonds. So, we're going to take four if if you pass the resolution this evening of that little over $6 million uh in I think later this month on uh November 25th, Mr. Chance will wire $4.1 million roughly to pay off $4.1 million of
078bonds. I'll kind of go back that 2020 issue. We're going to pay off the 28th and 29 maturity all together. So that issue will actually have its final maturity in 2027 after we pay those bonds on November 25th. November 25th. So we'll pay off that entire last two maturities of the 2020 issue and that'll allow you to keep your debt service levy. We have to do that by the end of the calendar year. So we've already filled out those reports. So we're going to use that money from the debt service fund. That's 6.2 million and take around 4.1 million. And you'll still be fairly healthy. you'll be at right at around 65%. Because you're allowed to actually go up to 100%. Uh but if we take 4.1 million, that's going to bring you around 2.1
079million remaining. So your debt service is right around 2.9 million the following year. So you still have, you know, 70% fund balances, which is still fairly healthy. So with that, I think the resolution is already on the agenda. >> May I have a motion to accept the resolution for bond redemption? Second >> discussion >> questions. You mean you don't have any questions? >> Oh, okay. >> He's processing. >> While he's processing, >> okay, >> thank you so much for your service first of all uh again to the country and also to us. You've been around for a very long time and >> I know I don't look that old. I have I have >> I was like >> I have four grandkids now. [laughter] >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for
080this report. This is really helpful to me as a person who this is not my background the numbers and all that but but it makes sense to me. So thank you for explaining it so well and uh thank you Mr. chance also for the work that you're doing to keep us on track so that we can keep our um our finances in order. >> And and I must say that this is a lot safer than being I spent nine months in Desert Storm, so it's a lot safer than being in Desert Storm. >> I don't know. [laughter] >> I'm liking this a lot better. >> Okay. Any other any comments, questions? If not, we're going to call for the vote for each um each board member if you would. U Dr. Cow Walker. >> Okay.
081Thank you. >> Um Mr. Bailey, >> yes. >> Miss Manserie, >> yes. >> Um Dr. Martin is absent. Dr. Graves, >> yes. >> Uh Mr. Tyson, secretary votes yes. Uh Dr. Thurman. >> Yes. And thank you. >> And I think Mr. [clears throat] Chance will give you the copy of the resolution >> and then he'll fax that to me. I'm sorry. Email it. Show him my age. Facts. Do we even use fax machines anymore? He'll email it to me tomorrow. >> Thank you so much. Appreciate it. >> Do you have that you want to say anything? >> Just want to say thank you again and thank you to um Mr. Chance and his team. >> Okay. At this time, uh Mr. Murray, doc Mr. Murray, APR update. How are you today? >> Good. How are
082you? Good evening. All right, good evening board members. It is my pleasure to bring tonight our annual performance report uh update for uh the 2425 school year. Some of these are a view of slides that Dr. Fields covered in the state of the district. Here you'll see the four categories that DESIE classifies school districts into based on performance. As you all already know, um our district maintained our fully accredited status by scoring higher than 70% um in this past year's APR, which is really something um that we are proud of and um really is a testament to all of our hardworking educators and leaders across our school district. You'll see here our last four years trend and we are most proud of the fact that we have continuously improved uh four years in a row
083and this year at a high of 75.75% which is firmly in the accredited range. Um again that is really a testament um to our teachers from prek up to grade 12 each and every one of the individuals in this building and all of our school buildings support staff and others uh that make this possible. And so this is something that while we know we have a lot of progress still to make, we are really proud of how far the district has come already. Um particularly in light of everything that went on last year, the fact that our staff were able to stay focused on the work of educating our students is certainly something to celebrate. As a refresher, uh this is a category that DESIE uses to categorize um students a little more specifically. In
084the past, uh it was called subgroup. Um now they call it student group. And this basically encompasses students that are black, that are Hispanic, students that have disabilities, uh, qualify for free or reduced lunch, as well as English language learner students. So, you'll see this pop up um, as we get into the specific subjects and categories. So, just wanted to make that clear for the board and for the viewing audience. So, starting with our status for ELA, uh, you'll see that our district earned half the points um, in both all students and the student group. So an MPI of 300 and above um puts us squarely into that range of approaching. And over the fast the last four years trend there you can see that overall our MPI is about flat but firmly in that
085approaching range earning half of the points. For math we're also in the approaching range. Um a little bit lower and basically just barely into the tier for um approaching. You'll see a pretty similar trend over the last four years as well that our scores are holding steady um but by and large aren't seeing huge improvements from an MPI perspective um but still earning half of the points for status for math. For social studies, we saw um actually a pretty significant uh jump this year. You'll see for 2025 a significantly uh higher MPI and you'll see um we're at the high end of approaching there for all students um almost into the ontrack category. And for the student group, we did score in the ontrack category, which is something to really be proud of. And the
086social studies testing is only tested in uh government. So, this is a reflection of our students that took um and tested for government. In the science category, we also saw a pretty decent jump in MPI. You'll see in 2025 for the all of our students as well as the student group. And that we scored half the points and are firmly in the approaching category for science. At this point, we'll look at the growth categories uh for each of these subjects. This is where our district earns a lot of points and really where we are kind of rewarded for the fact that no matter where our students are starting every year, um it's looking at kind of how they're growing compared to how the state projected them to grow. And so you'll see for ELA um
087for our student group, we earned 75% of the points and we were in the category of on track um which is certainly something uh to be proud of. So that's capturing all of our tested grades from grades three through eight as well as English 2. Moving on to math, we have a lot of success to be proud of. You'll see there in our student group, we earned 100% of the growth points and are on target according to Desessie. And then for all of our students in the ontrack category, you can see there over the last four years, that's the the highest that we have scored over that time. And so that's something uh really to celebrate and to be proud of and something that we think that we can build on. Moving on to social
088studies, again another uh area of highlight. We saw that the MPI increased for social studies and you can see here based on our growth, we got 100% of the points that were possible for growth for all students and student group again for that government assessment and social studies. Uh so really exciting progress for us there. And then in science, uh you can see as well looking at our student group, um we got 75% of the points. We are on track. And then for all of our students, uh, earning half the points for science growth. And science is tested in fifth grade, it's tested in eighth grade, and it's tested in biology. Moving on to success ready, there are two different categories where we earned half the points. That is CCR. There's um some definitions of
089what that includes below. That includes ACT, SAT, work keys, ACUPPLACER, and ASAB. And then the advanced credit uh which is a weighted formula that gives students credit for points on AP tests, IB, their grades in AP and IB, dual credit, dual enrollment and uh again earned half the points there. This metric also lags um a year. So this is the graduating class the year before. We also earn points for graduation rate. So we earned 100% of the points that were possible for not only our graduation rate but our graduate followup. There are a lot of folks in the district that work very hard to follow up with these students and find out what they're doing uh when they leave us. And you can see in the past we haven't always earned that and that was
090really due to a lot of intentional work um from staff to make sure that we earn those points. And then um at the bottom is just asterisk. So this isn't saying that our graduation rate is 100% but it's saying that once your graduation rate is over 92 or above you're in that category of earning 100% of the points. and a lot of work went into um working to get those students across the finish line. Um and so we're really excited about maintaining those points there. You'll see here a district comparison comparing us to other districts surrounding us in the north and northwest county region. As you can see there, we are the second highest in northwest St. Louis County. Uh so again uh we are stacking up pretty favorably when compared to our peers and
091uh something that we are are proud of and so 75.7 you know is a lot of a lot of work goes into that across a lot of different categories and it's really gratifying to see that pay off. A couple trends and observations. Uh we saw that our academic achievement growth for math is on track. We saw our social studies earned 100% of the growth points. Wanted to highlight a couple schools in particular. So Wedgewood earned 100% of their points possible in ELA and in math. They absolutely maxed out those categories and for several years now have had some really impressive APRs for us. We wanted to highlight Principal Laroo and the team there. And then we'd also like to shout out Ferguson Middle, Steam Middle, and Mccclure North that they have increased two straight years
092um in APR which again doesn't happen by accident and that is a a testament to the hardworking staff, students, teachers and leaders in those buildings. As far as some growth areas and observations based on the data, we observe declines across our intermediate buildings. That's something that we are continuing to dig into. And the other area of growth is that one of our schools received an L & D, which basically means uh we are required to test 95% or more of our students to receive points in those categories for the different subjects. And one of our schools had a testing rate that was under 95%. It didn't impact us as a district for APR. Um but that building's APR was impacted pretty significantly and we'll be talking about some next steps I think here on the
093next slide. So in terms of what is next uh Dr. Field shared with building leaders their building APR data basically as soon as it was available. So all principles have already begun to process and to review that data as a district leadership team. Uh folks here have already met this past week to discuss APR trends by school and across the district. And this upcoming Tuesday, we have a principles meeting where we'll be doing a deep dive into um all things APR. Really making sure that folks are comfortable with what their data is saying and why. And then we will be spending a lot of that time focusing on action planning and what we will do with the data. And then the other piece is that we will be taking our winter um star benchmark screener
094the first week of December. We are um very much anticipating looking at student progress there and seeing what kind of growth we have. And I anticipate we'll share that data pretty soon um after that window closes. And with that, I'll open up to questions from the board. Okay, board. This is for information only. So if you have any questions, comments. Um so Mr. Murray, thank you for the information. Um, one of the things that I'm always curious about are is the the the extra things that we have to do to level the playing field for the kids who are in what used to be called the subgroup, the student group. And so I was I'm just curious to know what are some of the things that we do and if you don't have that information
095tonight uh because I don't want to put you on the spot. I would just like to know some of the things that we are doing to intentionally um address you know that particular group of students. >> Yeah. I think it's really trying to be creative with um any of the extra dollars we have. I'm working um very close with federal programs to make sure that we're maximizing each and every one of those dollars. we are exploring things like high dosage tutoring and other initiatives to really leverage um specifically targeting students that are in those groups and that are not testing on grade level. Um so that's one of the things that we're exploring, but really it just comes back to grade instruction every day. And so that's the work that we're doing with leaders and
096with teachers in terms of professional development to make sure um that we're supporting each and every one of our students. Um but those are a few things that we're working on. >> Okay. Thank you. Sure. >> Mr. Murray, I just want to thank you again publicly. Um, while you went through the data in great detail, um, you you kind of shied away from the level of work that's going on in the CNI department as well as with building principles. This is addition to the number of cuts that we are all aware of that took place um, last year. And so I just wanted to just ask the question publicly in terms of uh what are we doing and specifically um the work that you're involved in to really try to ensure that the trend line
097continues to go up even with those cuts. >> Absolutely. We're definitely all taking on additional responsibilities. I think that um Dr. Fields has really set a cadence for us to have very frequent touch points with um not only principles. So, our team is presenting monthly and working closely with principles on our instructional priorities, meeting with ISLs monthly. We have another ISL training uh this Friday coming up. Um, and Tomoya Rose Watson, our PD coordinator, uh, is also kicking off an assistant principal cohort uh where she's getting together with them in small groups. So, we're really trying to work intentionally with each of these different employee groups because we know that if they're all working synergistically um, and in alignment, we can expect to see great results. And so, um, really that's that's a testament to
098you, Dr. Phils, for setting up the structures that have allowed, um, our team to be successful. >> Well, thank you. And I'll deflect over to our, uh, ISLs and our building principles, as the board and the community know, um, we have a number of positions that are held by long-term subs. And so, as you can imagine, the level of work that goes into bringing people into our school system that may not be um certificated yet and trying to acclimate them into the teaching and learning is not a a task that's anything less than monumental if you can accomplish it. And so, the work that we have been doing with trying to support our ISLs and building principles so that they can support all teachers, but in addition to all teachers, our long-term subs um does
099not go unnoticed. So I want to thank those individuals publicly because again the work happens when we are able to communicate be in alignment and do the best work we can for our kids. So thank you for being part of that process. >> Dr. I just have one question for the school that um received the L &D. What strategies, if we can know, would would be put in place so one that school would never happen again, but that that other schools will never have that because that's just not being tested. So, what are the some of the things that we're going to put in place? >> Yes, it's certainly something that we feel like is uh is preventable. Um Bradley Johnson led a really powerful meeting uh with the school with the school counselors, with
100the school leaders. um just a couple days ago. Uh we feel like it's a solvable problem. It's a preventable issue. I think that just with all of our different focuses, we're focused on graduation rates and many other things. Um and unfortunately that one thing got overlooked. I don't anticipate that it'll happen again. Um we have a pretty strong plan in place and um essentially yeah, we're just working on kind of moving on and preventing it. But um something that definitely concerned us as a district and something we've taken quick action on. Any other comments, questions? If not, thank you so much for your report. We appreciate it. We appreciate all the teachers and administrators and everyone who's working with our our students to uh have them be successful. We had to we had some grows
101here. We had some grows. We have some things that we do need to to work on, but but I think we're headed in the right direction. Mr. more. >> Yes, ma'am. >> It's up for policy >> for policy updates. >> Yes, ma'am. Good evening, board members, Dr. Fields, and members of our community. Um, tonight I'm presenting nine separate policy updates for first read. These updates stem from recent court cases and state and federal requirements. Collectively, they strengthen our alignment with Missouri law, classify or clarify district uh responsibilities, and reinforce our commitment to student safety, reporting, and compliance. Um, as usual, at the top of each policy draft that you have received, you will find an explanation outlining why the policy is being updated and how the districts uh should apply the changes. I will briefly
102summarize a few of the recommendations um about three of the nine and then open it up for any questions or feedback the board may have. Should be coming up pretty soon. Yep. Hit first reading. Yes. Thank you. There we go. Sorry about this, guys. Awesome. Thank you. So, the first of which is policy EHBD, artificial intelligence use. Um, the prior version of this policy required at least one professional district stay up to speed on AI developments. Um, since then AI has just been blossom and has boomed more than we ever could imagine and it's not even at its greatest level yet. Um, so this policy update just ensures that we have multiple people staying up to speed. Um, Dr. Fields Dr. Fields met with uh Samantha Stern, Mr. Rich Miller, our technology uh gurus. They're
103going to incorporate uh Mr. Murray and his team in there as well. So we will make sure that we are staying on top of some of these AI developments and how we can improve on its usage in the future. Another one that I want to highlight is policy JFCJ. With all these policies, one of the new laws that took effect is that there can be no zero tolerance for any um offense in school. Whether that's tardiness, uh school uniforms, whatever the case may be, there can be no zero tolerance. Now there is one nuance in policy JFCJ. It essentially states that if a student brings a weapon to school that the baseline suspension is 180 days or an expulsion. The carveout to meet the requirement that there is no zero tolerance is that the superintendent
104can modify that suspension. So I just want to reiterate that we we we've had a couple of incidents here lately. The baseline is a 180day suspension or an expulsion and then once uh DEEC or Dr. Amhof brings a recommendation to the superintendent only he may modify that suspension. And the final one um is reporting child abuse and neglect. Um it is a very minor change but it just changes the definition of neglect. Um it is meant to comply with House Bill 737. So, I know that that was a broad overview, but in your packet you will see um each policy and in gray it summarizes that policy. I'm open it up for any questions or any suggestions that the board may have prior to bringing it forth uh at the next board meeting in December.
105>> Is this only for information or is this for >> It's just for first read. >> First read. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Okay. So, we won't be voting on it. Any other any questions about any other changes on this? >> No, it's not it's not a question. I'm just glad that we're taking a a bold move in the AI space. >> Yes, sir. >> That's something that has been on my mind and I've spoken to other board members and spoken to Dr. Bills about we have to kind of be a breast of what's going on because that's >> kids are are use like they're getting they need to get that structure because they're trying to apply for jobs that don't even exist yet. >> Um so they need to understand how to use those components.
106I'm I'm glad that we're like incorporating that. I'm glad that we're having the education and the curriculum instruction involved in the AI components of that as well. I appreciate that. >> Yes, sir. >> Can you go back to the weapons? >> Yes, ma'am. >> I have a question about that. Okay. So, it says um safety threats that involve a firearm, explosives, knife, or other weapon as defined. >> Yes, sir. One of the updates is they updated what is the definition of a weapon within that specific clause. Yes ma'am. Uh last year as a being a part of DEC there were like nine elements and some was for instance if if a student had a knife then the blade had to be a specific length for it to be called a actual uh a dangerous knife
107within a school. So what we're saying here is that the policy has been updated to reflect that the there has been changes within the state law. >> Okay. So what we're saying here is just a little bit of what um what this change is. It doesn't explain exactly what those changes are. >> Correct. >> But we when we make decisions will refer back to this >> and uh Yes ma'am. That is what has changed. Yes ma'am. >> Got it. Okay. Any other comments or questions? >> Just wanted to thank um Mr. Moore for um his work. As you recall, Madam President, the district shift from the policies and went to MSBA and MSBA does provide updates on a u frequent cadence, I might add. And I think Mr. Moore is the only person I've ever
108met that loves policy more than than I do. And so I do appreciate you u keeping the board a breast and essentially making those changes so that we can have updated u policies um to convene in our schools. So thank you for that. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> All right board, is there any new business? >> Seeing none, may I have a motion to adjurnn? >> Second. >> All in favor? I >> any opposed? Thank you all so much. Thank you to the community for tuning in. Thank you for uh coming out tonight to the meeting and have a great evening. We appreciate you