001This year in the Ferguson Florison School District, our students have been on fire, achieving, excelling, and making us all proud. From classrooms to competitions, our scholars are showing the world what they're made of. Tradesbound students are gearing up for success, stepping into skilled careers that keep our world moving. Our spelling be champions have spelled their way from regionals to state finals. DECA and FBLA competitors are proving they have what it takes to be in the world of business and leadership. Our wrestlers, they didn't just show up, they made it to the state championships. But it's not about medals and trophies. It's about the 7,400 students with no referrals, showing respect, responsibility, and resilience. It's about celebrating attendance because showing up is the first step to success. It's about students falling in love with reading, unlocking
002new worlds with every page. And when disaster struck with Hurricane Helen, our students stepped up. And oh, did we mention our artists are getting their work into museums and being celebrated on city stages? And through programs like Trio Upwardbound, our students are looking ahead, focusing on the future and chasing their dreams. This is the Ferguson Florison School District and this is what success looks like. And we have so much more to go. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Hello, Ferguson Florison. My name is Dr. Howard E. Fields III and I am truly honored and excited to serve as your next superintendent. [Music] When I think about Ferguson Florison, I think about strength. I think about creativity, innovation, and above all, I think about community. This district has a profound history of resilience and a commitment to
003equity and success, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. I know that we have some challenges ahead, but I want you to know we are more than capable of facing them and we'll do it together with transparency, trust, and a deep belief in what's possible for our students. Over the coming weeks and months ahead, I'm looking forward to connecting with each of you, our teachers, staff, families, and especially our students. I want to hear your stories, learn more about your experiences, and build on the strengths that are already here in Ferguson, Florison that make this a special place. I bring nearly two decades of experience in education and leadership. But for me, this is more than a job. This is home. My first college courses were right here at Florison Valley. I completed
004my student teaching in the district. And my wife Nancy is not only a proud graduate of Ferguson Florescent, but also a former teacher here. So when I say I believe in this community, I mean it wholeheartedly. Throughout my journey, one thing has always been clear. When a group of people come together, keep students at the center, and lead with purpose, great things happen. We can transform not only our schools but lives and communities. This is more than a new chapter for me. It's the start of our collective journey. Together, we'll build a strong foundation already set in place and work hand in hand to continue strengthening and growing our schools. Thank you for welcoming me into the Ferguson Florison family. I'm excited to get started and do great things with you, of course. >> All
005right. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] This year in the Ferguson Florison School District, our students have been on fire, achieving, excelling, and making us all proud. From classrooms to competitions, our scholars are showing the world what they're made of. Tradesbound students are gearing up for success, stepping into skilled careers that keep our world moving. Our spelling be champions have spelled their way from regionals to state finals. DECA and FBLA competitors are proving they have what it takes to be in the world of business and leadership. Our wrestlers, they didn't just show up, they made it to the state championships. But it's not about medals and trophies. It's about the 7,400 students with no referrals. showing respect, responsibility, and
006resilience. It's about celebrating attendance because showing up is the first step to success. It's about students falling in love with reading, unlocking new worlds with every page. And when disaster struck with Hurricane Helen, our students stepped up. And oh, did we mention our artists are getting their work into museums and being celebrated on city stages? And through programs like Trio Upwardbound, our students are looking ahead, focusing on the future, and chasing their dreams. This is the Ferguson Florison School District, and this is what success looks like. And we have so much more to go. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Hello Ferguson Florison. My name is Dr. Howard E. Fields the third and I am truly honored and excited to serve as your next superintendent. [Music] When I think about Ferguson Florison, I think about strength. I think
007about creativity, innovation, and above all, I think about community. This district has a profound history of resilience and a commitment to equity and success. and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. I know that we have some challenges ahead, but I want you to know we are more than capable of facing them and we'll do it together with transparency, trust, and a deep belief in what's possible for our students. Over the coming weeks and months ahead, I'm looking forward to connecting with each of you, our teachers, staff, families, and especially our students. I want to hear your stories, learn more about your experiences, and build on the strengths that are already here in Ferguson, Florison that make this a special place. I bring nearly two decades of experience in education and leadership. But for
008me, this is more than a job. This is home. My first college courses were right here at Florison Valley. I completed my student teaching in the district. And my wife Nancy is not only a proud graduate of Ferguson Florison, but also a former teacher here. So when I say I believe in this community, I mean it wholeheartedly. Throughout my journey, one thing has always been clear. When a group of people come together, keep students at the center, and lead with purpose, great things happen. We can transform not only our schools, but lives and communities. This is more than a new chapter for me. It's the start of our collective journey. Together, we'll build a strong foundation already set in place and work hand in hand to continue strengthening and growing our schools. Thank you for
009welcoming me into the Ferguson Flores family. I'm excited to get started and do great things with you, of course. All right. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Hello everyone. I'm glad you're here. We're going to get started with our meeting. I just want to say to the board remember our meeting norms and at this time we're going to stand for the pledge of allegiance. It's over there. 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. We may want to bring that up here. Under the provisions of the public meeting law of the state of Missouri, the board
010must adopt or by roll call vote an agenda, excuse me, an agenda that includes the time, date, place, tentative agenda for the meeting. A copy of the notice and agenda for this meeting was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2025 at the administration center, 8855 Dun Road, Hazlewood, Missouri, online and sent to local newspapers. May I have a recommendation to uh accept the agenda as posted? >> So move. >> Second. >> Oh, Dr. Graves. >> Yes. Dr. Martin. >> Yes. Mrs. Mansery, >> yes. >> Mr. Bailey, >> yes. >> Mr. Tyson, >> yes. >> Secretary Boltz, yes. Madame President, >> yes. >> We will now have our MSBA update. >> Welcome to the August of the School Boards Association report. Senate bills. >> We have no sound to school safety. >> CES's chief operating officer, John
011Mc. >> Welcome to the August edition of the Missouri School Boards Association's Board Report. We begin with a look at how the signing of Senate Bill 68 into law will affect Missouri school districts. The legislation, which takes effect on August 28th, marks a major milestone in Missou's commitment to school safety. CES's chief operating officer, John McDonald, says that while meeting the requirements of this law may take some work, CES is here to help every step of the way. >> We at CES had the opportunity to collaborate on what became Senate Bill 68, and we're incredibly grateful for that opportunity. Our voice was heard. We appreciate that. the voice of school safety professionals across the state was heard. We're pretty excited about where it's going, but we know there's going to be a ton of work
012ahead for us at the Center for Education Safety, including uh all of the training that now has to be done. You know, there there was a misconception out there that this bill uh would cost school districts a lot of money. It does not. It takes some time. It'll take some effort, but the effort is worth it and the time is well spent. >> Many districts have already contacted CES asking about what they should purchase to meet the new requirements. John has some simple advice. >> What I'm sharing with everybody here is don't buy a thing. U you're getting a lot of calls from vendors right now who are telling you that you need to buy their product to be in compliance with Senate Bill 68, and it's just not true. Uh most of Senate Bill
01368 has very little cost to school districts. Uh the cost is in the effort. The cost is in the time to get your team ready to go to be more prepared. It is not uh a huge monetary cost and those monetary costs that that are in the bill don't come online for a couple of years. So throughout Senate Bill 68, we tried to find ways to enhance foundational aspects of school safety that don't cost a lot of money. >> In addition to doubling the number of school safetymies to meet demand, the CES team will be delivering new updates and key training in new ways as well. >> We are launching a webinar uh series, lunch and learns. We'll get into specifics about a certain aspect of the bill that's critical for schools to know. It's
014not just school safety people that that should be listening or watching us. Um, our administrators, even our boards, our superintendent. I understand your time is limited. Your time is valuable, but this is a big bill. And uh you know I come from a place where I've learned over the course of my career that at the end of the day in the aftermath of crisis and tragedy, you'll either have to justify what you've done or you'll have to justify what you didn't do. >> To learn more about Senate Bill 68 and upcoming safety trainings, visit the MSBA website and watch the weekly for updates. Also, make sure that your safety teams receive the safety weekly emails from the CES team. John covered so much important information that we couldn't fit it all into the board report.
015So, visit the MSBA website or the MSBA YouTube channel to see the extended interview with John. CES is also proud to co-sponsor MSBA's AI and education symposium Wednesday, October 22nd, in conjunction with the MSBA annual conference in Kansas City. MSBA's director of digital initiatives, Mark Henderson, says that the event has something for everyone, regardless of your AI expertise or experience level. AI is transforming education right now. Are you prepared to lead the changes in your district? At this one-day event, we'll explore how AI supports learning and how school leaders like you can lead with confidence. We'll kick off with Kim Carr, co-founder and executive director of Digital for Good and I Can Help, a nationally recognized leader in digital wellness and online safety education. Then you'll experience expert sessions led by practicing educators, technology professionals,
016legal experts, and student voices covering AI implementation in classrooms, cyber security, policy development, career readiness, and more. Registration is open now for the AI and education symposium as well as the MSBA annual conference in cooperation with the Missouri Association of School Administrators and the Missouri Association of School Business Officials. The conference will be held on October 23rd through the 25th in Kansas City. The event will once again feature numerous breakout sessions and workshops, many presented by school leaders from districts throughout the state, the education expo, and another great lineup of general session speakers. And it's not too late to register for MSBA's fall regional meetings this September. The topic is phones and funds, tackling today's tough school policy and finance issues. Held across all 17 regions, these meetings provide a great opportunity to connect with
017fellow school leaders, receive important updates, and participate in regional discussions that impact your local district. Visit the MSBA website to register for your region's meeting. That's it for this month. Thanks for allowing us to have some time at your board meeting and we'll see you in September for the next MSBA board report. >> Okay, we're going to move on to public comments. The board allocates this portion of the meeting to allow stakeholders the opportunity to comment on both agenda items and non-aggenda items. At the start of each board meeting, the board president will read aloud any comments that have been previously been submitted. While all the other comments will be included in the board materials this evening and may be found under public comments, the board may limit the number of comments read aloud based
018on length and repetition. Prior to the public comment period, in-person participants are asked to fill out a comment card with their name, address, phone number, and email address and topic to be addressed and will be allowed up to three minutes to speak on the topic. Members of the audience who wish to speak to the board are requested to speak from the podium identify themselves and in keeping with policy BDDH1 public participation at board meetings and personnel law should refrain from making negative comments that are personally identifiable. While the board will not directly respond to speakers during the public comment period, the board president may make clarifying remarks at the end of the comment session to correct any misstatement of facts. Dr. Fields will meet with the leadership team of the Ferguson Flores District School District
019and will privately assign a member to respond to the public comments. If a response has not been given in five business days, please email Dr. fields directly. We thank you for that. So I have one card so far and it is for Muhammed and is this academic credit Mr. Muhammed? Hi, >> how are you? >> Good evening, board. Uh, first I want to apologize for my appearance. Uh, I was cutting grass and tending to my garden and if you know me in real life, you know that if I have to stop cutting grass and t to my garden to come to a meeting, you know it has to be important. So, um I have a a concern. Um and I want to point out something that I think is a blind spot. All right? Uh
020this is not a gotcha. This is not me trying to assign blame, right? This is an opportunity for us to grow. Credit recovery. Students do credit recovery when they lose academic credit during the school year. And credit recovery is a good thing. It gives students an opportunity to catch up. Uh gets students an opportunity to graduate with their class. Um recently, um I have two children in Ferguson Florison School District. Recently, one of them took a trip to Costa Rica that was school authorized. Uh in our initial meetings, we were told that, you know, this is a this is a good trip and field biology credit will be given for students who attended the trip. So they attended the trip. They had a great time. My s son son came back and was explaining his
021learning and then we found out uh that uh someone made the decision not to give academic credit. Um I just want to really stress and point out to the district that there are districts not even a mile or two miles away from us that give academic credit for personalized learning, project-based learning, and independent study. So I think this is an opportunity for us to correct an error and consider uh giving academic credit for authorized trips where students are engaging in learning in another country. This is an easy lift. Um uh you know I don't know if there's a policy a board policy on how we can award academic credit but this is an easy lift and this type of thing will make our district attractive for young families who move in our district and and
022want to uh be a part of where our district is going. So again this is not a gotcha this is not a placing blame. This is simply pointing out what I think is a blind spot. So um I'm available. So, if somebody can explain to me and and help us um determine what the issue was, then I'll greatly appreciate that. But, um Dr. Phillips, welcome. Um I wanted to come last month's board meeting, but I couldn't. But, um I hold you in high regard. Uh I've I've people who I know speak highly of you and then I'm so glad our district is in good hands. So, thank you and welcome. >> Thank you. And thank you for bringing that to our attention. and I'm sure you will be. Okay, next up is Kelvin Davis, teacher
023and coach. Darren Balden, remaining of Mccclure North High School as a restorative teacher. Okay, >> let me just start by saying I hope my penmanship was not that bad. >> No, it's my eyesight. >> Well, hello board members and all of you all here here. I wanted to come as an advocate for uh Darren Balden. We know him as Coach DB, restorative teacher at Mccclure North High School uh last year. Um he was definitely a very impactful individual in the lives of uh many of young men uh through his coaching and through his teaching and he also made a great impact in the classroom that he had of those who needed that extra individual to be able to understand where they're coming from and how in fact they can maneuver through um the lives that
024they do in fact have. So, uh, Coach DB has been, uh, removed from Mccclure North and has at another school. And I just wanted to come and advocate and say that, you know, Mccclure North has had its shares of challenges. And, uh, those young individuals are, uh, at the end of the road, if you will, with their education on secondary, uh, beginning to go into the real world. And I think we need to have as many uh instructors and uh valuable individuals as we can to stay in close contact with him. And I think Coach DB would definitely be a better service uh to the Mccclure North District or to the Ferguson Florison District. uh and more importantly to the uh Mccclure North High School which again I can only implore how important it is
025to have gentlemen of his impact, his stature, his education and his relatability to those young individuals seeing as though he is the closest in contact to them and would have the greatest impact on them to understand that there is a lot of possibilities outside of the high school world. And so I just really want to come and just ask that the board uh will reconsider uh restoring or reinstituting his position back at Mccclure North. And uh seeing this individual as something more than just a teacher, just a staff member. Uh but it definitely is a lynch pin. I believe that's in not only the behavior best practices for the school, but also in the impact of the individuals who will come out of Mccclure North. And I just think that would definitely be something that
026uh should be reconsidered. I know that the other school, I believe is Johnson Wallbash, uh does in fact need a restorative teacher, but I think that the the gift and the value that Coach DB brings to uh that position and to the children that he can in fact serve would just be of better service if he stayed at the high school level with those individuals who are getting ready to transition into the collegiate level and not only that into the real world. So, serious consideration for that. I'm definitely advocating for and I've seen the impact he's not only had on my son Raan Wilson who is now uh doing some great things at uh University of Sou Falls where he is a scholarship football player. Coach DB had a great impact on that and uh
027just as a side note to show his impact. He taught him some things about the collegiate level that I think uh was uh timeless and uh this year uh Ray Sean will be the only freshman that'll dress out, be on the traveling team and be playing for Sou Falls and that hasn't happened in a long time at the history of that university. So please consider that and that's the impact that that young man could have on the lives of those in high school. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. We have three written comments that I'm going to read now. And as we said before, we are timing uh the reading of these and I will read as fast as I can to get through these. And this is from uh Monica Manolken. Dear FS
028FFSD board members, I am the orchestra teacher at Lee Hamilton and Griffith elementary schools and I'm writing concerning offerings for our students in the sixth through 8th grades. When I'm teaching our elementary students, I often hear questions such as, "Can I keep playing violin in middle school?" and "Do I have to quit when I leave Lee Hamilton?" Students enjoy playing and I do my best to set students up well so that they can reach their full potential and play as long as they desire. However, I have recently learned that orchestra may not be offered at Ferguson Middle School this school year. As a former teacher of many of these students, I am extremely disheartened. Orchestra class offers an outlet for students, a place to belong, a chance to continue learning a subject that they may
029already been studying for the previous four to five years. As you probably know, the brain develops rapidly during the middle school years and the learning of the skills can flourish. Students tremendous make tremendous progress during this time and it is a critical time in their education. Removing orchestra class from the Ferguson middle uh schedule leaves a hole in their learning and could have devastating effects on the program within the Mccclure pyramid for many years. Additionally, students should have equitable access to arts and music classes districtwide regardless of where they live within the district. Removing orchestra class at Ferguson Middle would create educational inequities for our students. I urged the board to support the orchestra program throughout the entire district, particularly at the middle school levels and continue to search for a qualified orchestra teacher at
030Johnson Wash and Ferguson Middle to help our Fergus Ferg floor orchestra students excel. Thank you for your time and consideration. Okay, thank you, Monica. And someone will be getting back in touch with you. Uh Todd Todd Oberlin. Dear FFSD board and leaders, I hope this letter finds you well. I'm writing as a concerned stakeholder in our district's educational landscape, particularly concerning equity and continuity within the performing arts course offered for the sixth through 8th grades. Currently, there appears to be a significant lack of consistency and opportunity for students who wish to pursue coral or orchestra music uh education. Unlike much of the band program, which provides students with a long a year-long experience from third through 12th grade, there is no equitable equivalent or sustained opportunity to choir or orchestra. To date, there is no
031year-long choir offered for any sixth grade center or middle school. Additionally, the orchestra program at Ferguson Middle is not even scheduled, while the band classes are likely to be spliced to into semester classes with alternating enrollment. This gap disrupts the continuity of music education and place places our coral and orchestra students in at a disadvantage. These programs require long-term investment and consistent practice to flourish. Yet, the current scheduling and administrative support suggests otherwise. The result is a kink in the holes that ultimately impacts the quality, growth, and sustainability of our secondary and high school um ensembles. While I understand that that the need to provide a range of elective choices and academic in interventions, it it seems that these come at the cost of equitable access to performing arts, an area proven to support academic
032achievement, emotional well-being, and student engagement. Additionally, inconsistent approaches to academic support and elective scheduling further compound the issues. It's not just a matter of art access. The stakes are academic, emotional, and developmental. The performing arts can be the intervention. Ample research demonstrates that sustained music education, especially instrumental training, correlates with a stronger academic performances and well-being. I respectfully urge the board to re-examine the structure of performing and arts programming in our middle schools, prioritizing year-long opportunities in all music disciplines, including choir, orchestra, not only support student success, but also aligns with the district's state stated commitment to equity and excellence. Thank you for your time and your leadership and for your dedication to the students of Ferguson Florison School District. I hope you will consider taking steps to ensure our performing arts programs are equitable,
033consistent, and fully supported. And Todd, someone will be getting back with you. And this one is from Denita Lucas. As a parent, I'm confused. We get all these policy for our children. Where is the policy for staff? Example, answering phones speaks with a tone of respect. You would like to be talked respect us a two-way. I think that respect is a two-way street. And I could go on and on. as a parent who has has it says we t I I think she meant has gone through the Ferg floor district and had children graduate as well. It is a past poor district dealing with the kids and the academics call district office. You speak with everyone but the correct person. SSD never returns calls or deals with things in a timely manner. So, I'm just
034curious about this school and school. I'm not sure, but it's something about Mccclure North and it is the same team of people because day one orientation we got security guards out front smoking cigarettes and tell kids it ain't eight yet. get off front where we are dropping off these kids off AI even the time just gets getting rid of kids yet we were sent email from 7:45 TK 800 a.m. I guess at 8:00 a.m. arriving here at 7:50 video the entire thing so I can show while this district is Okay, I think you got the gist of it. Uh, and so someone will be getting back in touch with our parent and these are you want to put them in that folder. Okay, that ends our public comments and we will move on to We're
035going to be talking about uh the revision of public comments and we're going to have two of our board members present at this time and that's Miss Maneree and Mr. Bailey and this is for board action. All right. Good evening everyone. Uh so currently um public comments is part of board policy BDDH1. Um so there are some norms which I'm going to read just in case you are not aware when it comes to public comments. It says the board will establish a time limit for the public comment period. No individual will be permitted to speak more than once during this period. The board will establish a uniform time limit for each speaker. Discussion will be limited to items from the posted agenda. All speakers must provide their name and address prior to speaking. And if
036there is insufficient time for everyone to speak, the board will encourage participants to submit their questions in writing or to utilize the process for putting a item on the agenda. Um me and Mr. Bailey, we looked at surrounding districts. We looked at Riverview, St. Charles, Hazelwood, Parkway, Clayton, and the Rock Road school districts to see what they were doing when it came to public comment period versus what we may want to change things here in the Ferguson Florison School District. So, with looking at that, we came up with a f a few suggestions. Um, one of those is prior to the start of the board meeting, in-person participants are asked to fill out a comment card with their name, address, phone number, email address, and topic to be addressed. And no cards will be accepted
037once the pledge allegiance has been done. Next, patron comments will be limited to a 30 minute period for in-person comments, and that is still giving them three minutes to speak, but no longer than 30 minutes. Right now, we don't have a set time. We can be here all night if we had enough cards and people wanted to speak, but we are going want to limited that time for 30 minutes. Um, each speaker again will be limited to three minutes. Speakers may not yield unused time to another person. Each speaker will only be allowed to comment once during a regularly scheduled board meeting. Um, in order to facilitate a broader engagement in any individual who provides a comment at three consecutive board meetings on the same topic, they shall not be permitted to provide public comments
038for the next two regular scheduled board meetings. Um, these rules may be suspended by a motion and majority vote of the board at that specific meeting. Um and then our virtual comments will be limited to a total of 15 minutes. Each submitted item is limited to three minutes which will be read by the board president or designate. And then speakers may submit comments to our email address which is meetings comments floor.org by 12 noon the day of the board meeting. Um again due to time restraints we do ask that individuals um if there's multiple people that want to speak on the same topic if they choose one speaker to speak so that way everyone can have the opportunity to speak. Um we also have here that um the superintendent will filter um those responses to
039his leadership team um and then they have we'll get back to them. If there is no response within five business days, then we're asking that you email Dr. Fields so that way he can follow up. Um, and then discussion will be limited to items from the posted agenda. And of course, we're always asking when you speak at board meetings, you know, that personnel law, you should refrain from making negative comments that are personally identifiable. And that is what we've come up with so far. We're always looking for suggestions and concerns from the community. Your input is needed and welcomed. Thank you so much. There's a lot in there. Um I don't think that the board that this was not attached in our on our agenda. Um so we may need to have some more discussion
040around that and we need to look through some of those suggestions. Um, and I'm not sure did we may have to come back to this. I know it was up for board action. Uh, board, what say you? >> I just had a quick uh I think a to see all of it, but I guess for me if they could work with Mr. more to make sure that we get a redline policy and administrative procedure for that just so it's in format and that legal just reviews it to make sure that our policy just doesn't break any laws just because obviously that's our legal experts and then we just bring it up for a first reading and a second reading. But I I'm I'm personally comfortable with just hearing an initial hearing of it once we
041see it redlinined with the actual policy changes. But go for that. That's what I would say. Yeah, because I have a concern about the posted agenda. We we've never really had um a limit on what people could come up and talk about. I know it has been that way in some of the other districts where it says only what's on the agenda can be discussed. And I I'm not sure if that's u that hasn't been our practice, but we can have more discussion around that. Does anyone else have any comments? So, can we change this from board action to information and we bring this back for a second reading at our next board meeting? Is everybody in in favor? Let me hear you. >> I >> Any nays? Okay. So, moved. >> Okay. Now, we
042we're going to hear from our student representative. It's so good to see you here, Miss Gates. Uh, good evening everybody. >> Um, so to all the students who have emailed me about different changes and other things they want to see in the district, I will be talking with Dr. Fields and the rest of the board in the upcoming weeks about different things that you've brought up so we can figure out the best way forward. And again, thanks for, you know, trusting me to share what you guys want to see changed. So, >> thank you for being here. We really appreciate your input. He's our second student who had served on the board and we appreciate you and we appreciate your input. At this time, we're going to hear from FFNA. Good evening members of the
043board of education, superintendent fields, FFNA members, and value stakeholders of the Ferguson Forescent community. As we stand on the cusp of a new school year filled with promise and potential, it is imperative that we come together with a shared commitment to accountability, equity, and positive change. With the first day of the 2526 school year fast approaching, let us reflect on the importance of fostering a learning centered community where every individual plays a vital role in shaping the educational landscape for our students. The recent professional development day for educational support personnel on Thursday, August 7th, served as a valuable opportunity for growth and learning. However, it is disheartening to note that some ESP staff were unable to participate due to it being a non-paid workday. Moving forward, it is essential that we address this barrier to
044ensure that all ESP staff have equal access to professional development opportunities. Furthermore, with recent teacher moves across the district, it is paramount that every student has a certified teacher in their classroom. While this may lead to challenges such as overcrowded classrooms, we must adhere to the collective bargaining agreement and policy IHB regarding class sizes and reassessment processes. The upcoming dates for reassessment on the fifth day of school, which is Friday, August 22nd, and the 20th day of school, September 15th, are crucial milestones in ensuring optimal learning environments for our students. Looking to the future of our school district, it is evident that our collective efforts will shape the trajectory of success for the 2526 academic year. By holding ourselves accountable and working collaboratively as a unified force encompassing the board of education, Superintendent Dr. fields,
045FFNA members, administrators, district staff, and the wider community. We can pave the way for a year filled with growth and prosperity. Let us embrace this opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our students and set a standard of excellence that will resonate throughout our community. Together, we can achieve great things. Thank you. >> Thank you. and we look forward to working with you as the schoolard schoolyard school year starts. Um so thank you for your for your input and for your your dedication to our school district as well as FFNA. At this time we're going to have our superintendent update. >> Thank you, Madam President. Good evening colleagues, community, and the board of education as well as Mr. Gates. Um I'm excited for today's superintendent update. Uh we're going to start off
046with an to provide some information with regards to celebrations and recognitions. >> Good evening board, Dr. Fields and the community. Thank you for yielding some time for recognitions and celebrations. So tonight we would like to um we're proud to recognize Tim Ryan who's a teacher at Mccclure North who was recently named 2025 regional teacher of the year for the St. Louis region. Tim is only one of 10 educators selected for this honor by Ed Plus and the St. Louis Regional Professional Development Center. This recognition is especially meaningful as it marks our fourth consecutive year of having a Ferguson Florescent School District educator to receive this award. Tim was honored. Tim was honored and you can see in that photo there, I think it was Monday evening um with a special ceremony with the uh other
04710 other nine um awardees. So, we are just really um proud and congratulate him on this well-deserved achievement. Next, we would like to um we're proud to recognize Better Vending Company. No, we're not. We're going to skip that. We're going to go to D we are going to uh congratulations to DJ Beal. So DJ Beal is an alumni, graduated from um Steam High. If you remember, he received his pilot license in 2022. Well, I am proud to say that he has earned his commercial pilot license um after successfully completing his commercial check ride. He is a um rising senior at Southeast Missouri State University. He's pursuing his aviation studies um and he had earned his private license before he even graduated high school in 2022. And so he's on track to graduate from Simo this
048December. And uh we're just so proud of his achievements and we look forward to seeing where his career in aviation is going to take him. [Applause] And last but certainly not least, we are um excited to bring Better Vending Company. They are the provider of beverages and snacks for the district through our catering services. Their mission extends far beyond vending and they're deeply rooted and committed in reinvesting in our community. This evening they are donating $12,000 to the Ferguson Florescent School District and the Foundation for Education for scholarships to support scholarships for students. and we're just so excited for that partnership and their commitment to not only our students, but to our scholars, our leaders, um, and to the district itself. Joining us tonight to present this generous gift are Justin Stark and Michael Palmer
049from Better Vending. We also have Todd Horzooki, who's our food service general manager, Priscilla Urban, who's our food service coordinator, um, and Tony Chance, who is not here this evening, but he's our chief financial operations officer. So, we're grateful for that partnership. And if you want to come up, we're going to get a quick photo. [Applause] Thank you again, Ane. Just to reiterate a few um points, um congratulations to Mr. Tim Ryan. It is my understanding that the Ferguson Florison School District at the regional um dinner that was put together by Education Plus, we had the most consecutive representatives for the regional um teachers of the year. And so we are excited about that. In addition to that with Mr. Bill, um he is looking to um work for Southwest Airlines. And so as we
050have a community, if you have any um I guess um opportunities to engage or if you work with Southwest Airlines, we would love to speak with you as we continue to get our students ready um to go out and do some spectacular work. Um I'm so excited that the board allowed for the celebrations and recognitions to be part of the regularly scheduled board meetings because we want to celebrate all the fantastic things that are going on in our districts. And so thank you so much. Thank you to our community partners. Um we cannot do this work without you. And so with that, that will end the first element of the superintendent update. >> Can I go to a second? >> I will ask for Dr. Carl Ihoff to make his way towards the podium. Um
051Dr. Ihoff will provide the student enrollment and registration update for the Ferguson Florison School District. Dr. Imhof. Madame President, board, nice to uh see everybody, community, appreciate you giving me an opportunity to kind of give an update and um I'm really uh I came aboard on July one and I'm excited to be a part of the Fergor family. So, thank you. Uh, so what I want to do is kind of give you an update where we're at uh with with the enrollment process. But before I do that, I'd kind of like to uh um give a recognition to our admissions team, uh communications team, um our families in transition, families in trans transition, our technology, building administrators, counselors, and uh office professionals and in addition uh facilities too as well. uh we've had a a
052big task that uh we've been uh taken on and we want to recognize all the the key players that are are making our wheels on on the bus move pretty good. So, all right. Uh, with that being said, I want to kind of give a a little bit of a an update in regards to So, one of the things that uh we want to take a look at is we're we're really trying to ensure that the our records and our data and everything is um uh accurate and and so there's a few things that we've been looking at is historical data and I think you've seen this in a few other presentations. So, if you look at the slide, you'll see the um the enrollment history that has has been going on since 2021 is
053when it it started to uh when we looked back and the you can see the enrollment go from 8951 to a projected enrollment of 8,778. and and the 8,778 is is an average of of what we were projecting of where we would would be. So, we wanted to go back kind of see where we've been and and uh just for for individuals. Um these enrollments are based off of what we as a district provide to DESIE on the third Wednesday of September. So uh once all the records are cleaned up then we have to post and and we provide it to DESIE and and that is the enrollment is what we go with um for that moving forward for that year. And so uh that's where these numbers come and we figured it's best to
054at least keep it at um utilizing the historical data that we provide as a baseline for us. The other thing is uh this is also part of what we report to Desi as well. Uh but it's uh we break that information down and we provide it as far as a uh an enrollment projection from K through 12 and then uh what we've done is we looked at each one of the schools by grades and give an anticipation of what those counts are going to look at. and and our executive directors of both elementary and secondary have been wonderful as far as you know drilling down looking at those numbers uh trying to see where we're at as far as uh projected enrollments, what's coming in uh to make sure that we're we're uh ready for
055the year. So to kind of give a an idea of of where we started to where we're at right now, in June registration opened. Okay. So that we had a a um a welcome back where you know some parents could come in June and then July 7th through 11th that's where we as a as a district had to make some um we were shutting down vote and the entire operation moved from vote to here. Um, so everything was uh, you know, shut down. Facilities worked great, technology worked great, basically moving everything over there to here within a week time frame so we could get up and running. Uh, we had a a small shift here while we were operating on the other side to get everybody uh, up and running. So, as of July 8th,
056our um total submitted students was 18%. So, as of July 8th, that's where we were at approxim approximately 1569 kids were enrolled. Fast forward to August 13th, we're now at 64% of total submitted, 16% uh that are I I call that are in the funnel that we're we're uh finalizing might be a few uh different documents that they may need and then they'll be ready and active. And then there's a 20% of students that haven't started the enrollment. Now, some of that could be uh dupes, you know, uh duplications. Some of them could be students that have moved out. Some of it could be um uh you know, they just haven't made their way to the computer, you know, as as of yet. But I think um as we go through it, we're really monitoring
057those numbers actually daily now. and and to give us a good assessment as far as number one a baseline because we want to make sure that we have a baseline for future tracking and and to see at this date this is how many we had at this date this is how many we have and then make sure that we go through and and make adjustments accordingly uh after once we get everybody in then we're going to start looking at next year as far as uh what can we do uh what works well what doesn't doesn't So if you can kind of look at the chart, you can see it flipped. So July 8th, um you can see where uh we didn't have a many started. Now it's in August. Uh it is uh flipped the
058opposite direction. The uh the hopes are between the uh 64% and the like 15% we're going to uh by ends week we're hoping that we'll be at 80%. Um, as far as that's that's what uh the the the hopes are in regards to that and the you'll see up there uh community, families, anything, you'll see the there's a code and there's a link. So, if by chance you haven't had an opportunity to register, uh please go on and make sure that you register, go to the link. There's a lot of the directions in in um that's listed for you. Uh the admissions office will continue processing. Uh families in uh transitions will meet with the district or building level social worker. The ELLL families uh will receive assistance with enrollment. And then families for early
059childhood I we put the the number up there too as well. uh for for early childhood the registration process um the the instruction the instructions are listed and there's it's broken down in different sections within the website uh existing students one of the things that uh the uh prior to myself and and coming aboard and everybody working together it was uh decided that we would look at doing uh existing enrollment and put it back into the buildings. It used to be very similar to that, got away from it and now uh it went back to the buildings to basically to allow that opportunity for for parents to uh have uh a lot more access across many different buildings to to get serviced. Uh the also for new student enrollments that would be here uh at
060the Dunro building. If you if you look here, uh you'll see the registration list of uh what's required and and a lot of again this is I'm putting this up there for uh the community if if you're still haven't had an opportunity to to finalize your uh registration. Please make sure that that you're looking at the registration list. go to the link uh because we want to make sure that that uh your child is in school and ready to go on Monday. The the main update that I want to try to reiterate, families will need to complete the O uh online OLr, it stands for online registration. Please make sure that you submit that. Families will receive an approval verification email from the district once enrollment is complete. So you go on, you fill out
061the the information, everything looks good, it'll be clicked, you'll receive a verification emails. Families will not have access to the student portal until the OLr online registration process is complete. So, if by chance you haven't received that email, please make sure um to contact your school requesting assistance if you need additional support. We we are here to provide and to help. It's a busy time right now. Uh so, please uh you know, be patient. We'll work with you and try to make sure that we get everything set up for for your child. Please complete the online registration process so there is no delay with enrollment and the student is able to attend school on the first day. Uh also to be able to receive transportation and to be assigned a class schedule. So uh again
062it's really really important in regards to um getting all your documentation in meet the teacher night. Uh the uh elementary schools had theirs last night. Uh secondary is going to be tomorrow. So uh from the time frames you're looking at uh middle schools will be from 5 to 7, high schools will be 6 to 8. So, uh when the students come back the uh every building we have worked with in regards to um you know the executive directors of secondary and elementary there's been ongoing conversations looking at the data uh making sure that we are ready for uh operation day on arrival day. Transportation has been involved. Uh we we've looked at the meet and greet communication plan to the families, building level universal uh processes and procedures and then we also looked at contingency
063plans. And so we we have gone through a variety of different contingencies if by chance uh you know a student arrives and they haven't had uh their process complete. And so, uh, it's been every day we're we're reconvening and we're looking to make sure that, uh, we are, um, ready for for the kids when they start. Also, the, um, the the biggest thing is we just want to make sure that uh, if if families are needing assistance that they they reach out so we can help them out. And then the we like I talked a little bit earlier, we'll be doing a re a registration evaluation review. Uh we'll look at all feedback. We'll evaluate the processes and procedures. We'll discuss ongoing district and building level communication. We'll def identify areas of need, staffing, ensure
064uh we look at the uh the data collection and then again we'll we'll get everything ready before that third week of uh reporting to DESIE. Ongoing communications uh department is continuing. I'm sure families have been getting them uh regularly. As far as robocalls, a website is is updated with the registration information. Building staff are are contacting families. Office professionals are reviewing application during and after school hours and data progress reports are being reviewed and and reported out to the building. So we can actually uh monitor who who has uh finished their intake, who has finished who has finished their registration and and every building has list and and and everyone is actively contacting families to try to make sure that everyone's enrolled. uh with conclusion again the the QR code to assist with registration and
065the different website links uh that that are available for for our families if they need to um get additional instruction. So that kind of concludes the the overview of where we're at and I'll open it up if there's any questions. Let's start with Mr. Bailey and come down and see if we have any questions for for >> Dr. um I know you say that this information is constantly being updated. Is this is the information being updated daily? Because personally as a parent I know I got a phone call saying that I hadn't registered my child and I had two days previously but I still got a phone call. which could have went to someone else. >> Yeah. So there's it's a a massive So if you could have um and I'm not sure for there's
066going to be a variety of different um scenarios. So it could be once you enroll until it becomes active. So, so there are a variety of different uh reasons why it may be, but once once you submit it and then the uh there's a person on the other side that looks at the information and says yes, all information is correct and hit then then you should shouldn't be receiving the the roocalls. >> Thank you for the update. My question is around the 20% or so that have not registered. I know I've heard some some from some parents just like concerned about trying to say they're transferring elsewhere and just struggled to get them dropped. And so my question is when do we start reaching out to that 20% phone to phone and you might have
067doing that already to figure out are we dropping them are we keeping them so that way HR to uh Dana's point earlier that fifth and 20th day of school we really have a solid number of where we need teachers if we need to move people because 20%'s a lot to say if they don't show up and obviously you don't want to wait till butts and seats to make adjustments if you can because everyone wants their teacher on the first day of school if at all possible. So >> yeah. So the uh appreciate that the currently how it it's set up number one everyone is is is reaching out to families whether they're registered or they're not registered if they're showing up on our list. We're trying to contact them whether it be through emails, phone
068calls, etc. We also have um there's a group of of individuals that were um we're not sure if they're they're still within district or they're out of district. And so that's one of the reasons why we are are very uh I guess the team is very methodical looking at each one of the uh the checklist of everything that's being provided to make sure that the the residents that are the students that go here are here and and and so yeah in in regards to uh we will uh identify all those students basically they'll they'll be kind of looked at as non unenrolled and and then uh the challenge was is at the end of the year we have to roll those over because we report to DESIE at the end of the year and then
069what happens is once we report at the end of the year those students roll into our current count and then we have to work the the um you know monitor of who's showed up and who hasn't so that we're identifying them as not enrolled. hold as of yet. And then by the third week of September, that's our hopes to have everything cleaned up. Now, if if somebody is contacting us for records, we should be able to to get that out. They would um you know, they'd have to go through the process. Now, if we have a student transferring in, our buildings are reaching right out once they're active. The buildings are reaching out to the other districts to get that information. that what we're really trying to do is to make sure that our numbers
070we're trying to get the best um numbers and they've kind of been around you know through the years varied you know and so and then also uh when you look at our techn like infinite campus we went from CIS to infinite campus and then there was a large group of students that actually came over and so We want to make sure that, you know, there's not dupes. We want to and and so our goal is that what we've been reporting to Desi, um we can make sure that everything's cleaned up so we don't get hit with all of those um students that may have transferred out of district. Uh and so we're we're kind of identifying right now. So by the third week in Wednesday in September that we we have the most accurate reporting.
071>> Thank you. I have two quick other questions and if you don't know the answers, please don't feel that you have to answer them. Is there like certain schools out of that 20% that it's heavier at that maybe need or is it spread pretty evenly across the district? >> It's spread pretty evenly across the district percentage-wise. um you uh some of them are, you know, as secondary. Of course, we're going to have higher numbers there. Uh but for the most part, from the data that that we've been monitoring, looking at, um it's it's pretty evenly distributed. And we can and right now we're even tracking of of who's registered, who's in the funnel, who has not. and they're looking at and they're doing the the building principles and that are putting out contingency plans to
072make sure if the student shows up or if they don't show up, how are we tracking it? What what are we going to do? >> And that leads to my last question which you started answering. We it's inevitable we always hear from the board always hears from parents or from teachers about kids who are in that not registered group who show up and we don't have all the official documentation. Is there a plan for them? are they able to start classes or is the plan to put them somewhere else until we get them fully registered? >> So, um right now there is a a contingency plan that that we have the administration has prepared for each one of the buildings. We met with um uh secondary, elementary, middle school. We'll have another meeting tomorrow in
073essence in regards to all those. So, we have a a contingency plan. you know, we we we are able to identify what we're doing, how we contact, how we communicate to the families. Um, but yes, uh, you know, I appreciate that they've been the whole district is is trying to make sure that we're all working together to to make sure that that we accommodate that, too. >> Great news. Thank you so much. >> Good evening, Dr. Um, you alluded to earlier about the accuracy of data. Okay. And we have a phobia now of data this board does. Okay. So, >> and then you stated that 20% have not started and you gave reasons of why we might not see some of that 20%. So then my question becomes is this 8778 based upon that projected
074loss or are we because again if that's the number we're going to present to Desi then if we're not sure out of that 20% what's out of that 8778 and is that based upon the 2425 actual or a projection because to me that sounds like a fluctuated number because we're about $1,700 $ 1,700 off. If you look at the 87 5716 and the 30 1397 that is already is either registered and then those are in final approval. >> Does that help? Okay. >> Yes. >> I I I >> because I'm concerned I'm with you. I'm with you. Yeah, sorry about the 87. >> And and so the 8778 is one of the things that we wanted to try to do is to have when they did the projection is to do a baseline that is
075consistent at the same time over years. Okay. So when we looked at the 8778, it was based off of the the the numbers that we reported to Desi on the 3 Wednesday of September. So that we we anticipate that based off of historical data, this is where the 877 on an average is what the initial projection is going to be. And so that's where we we start and and so what we will report to Desi again on the third, you know, Wednesday in September with all of this current data and and what we're trying to do is because sometimes in the system it might have had different numbers, you know, um they could be dupes, it could be a variety of different things. We're trying to narrow all of that down so when we report
076and the the data as we move forward um we can even project in essence the hopes are even even better >> and again just to jump in on the second slide that was presented that is a projected number we won't have an actual number until September just to reiterate that point here >> I was hoping that nobody answer asked my question okay so I get to ask it. So, I noticed that you said um we're tracking who's registered, who's in the funnel, and who has not. >> Is there a mechanism that we have set up for parents to say, "My child is not coming because it seems as if we are um tracking ghosts that people have already decided that they're not coming and we already put them in this equation." But do we have
077a mechanism um if I was a parent to say that I'm not coming? So then that we can take that number off and then we're not actually looking for 20% and we might actually only be looking for 10%. >> I will say I'm glad you asked that question and the answer is that is something that would be a very good tool to make sure that we do moving forward. And so um as of right now it's it's if a school district contacts us for records then we send it and we can we can actually do it. the when a when a student finishes the year with us, they're automatically rolled over, you know, and so uh they stay with us until either they they're not here for for a certain number of days straight, then
078they they could be uh dropped. Otherwise, we would have to wait for a another school district to send a request. Then we would know for sure. Um but that is a very good um thought process and that would be something that as we do our post review uh I think that would be something good to to kind of look at because and even if they hit something to like you said yes or not we're not coming we're going to then at least it gives us that data points that we could work with. Yeah. >> I just think it's helpful because um we we have this thing where we lose students Mhm. >> And it might be that the parent just decide that I've decided I'm not going to enroll my kid anywhere. >> And so
079I think if we kind of implement that um we can at least track our students a lot better as well. >> Yeah. No, thank you. >> Hi, how are you? >> I'm doing good, thanks. >> Um I just wanted to ask um is there anything that we can do to support your effort? Do you have enough hands and feet? like do we I I was just sitting here thinking about do we need to canvas the neighborhoods? Do we need to have a Saturday event to try you know I don't know but I'm sure I'm not volunteering y'all but I kind of am. Um, I just am just curious to know if there's something that we could do to support your efforts to get the attention of families to try to even walk in the neighborhoods
080with iPads saying, "Come here, you know, let's talk. Is your child enrolled or not?" So, I don't know. That probably sounds a little drastic, but I'm just trying to figure out there's something more we can do. >> No, I number one, I appreciate everything that everybody's been doing. If if if you know a a constituent, you know, reaches out and says, "Hey, I need help." And then you send me an email or you or somebody, then then it kind of puts it on our radar so we're able to to kind of help. Somebody might be having some challenges that we need to try to figure out. It could be a variety of different reasons as far as the paperwork, you know, where somebody lives. Um, so if you ever get something like that, please feel
081free to to reach out to myself. I'll make sure. Uh right now it's all hands on deck. You know, uh Teresa Davis did that organization with the the churches uh earlier with you know the in the community where they >> sound like something to do. And so yeah, I do want to uh reach out because I mean she she is a a gold star. Um, but yeah, to the to the thing that if you if you hear somebody and they're having problems, Yeah. >> my recommendation is, you know, have them reach out to us or or you reach out to us, anyone, and and just constantly say, are you enrolled? I just want to say one more quick thing. My guess is it's something that's already been uh maybe talked about, but within our district,
082it's possible that we have some families where literacy may be a concern, whether it is just digital literacy, like getting on something, filling it out, or actually being able to read and work their way through the application. So what I'm wondering about is is have we done any planning around how to support those families and then secondly as we go forward when we become aware of who those families are is there something we can do in the system to mark them right so that not in a negative way but just so we know it's coded in a particular way that this is a family that may need some additional assistance. So >> yeah I think those are all great feedback. I mean, those are all things that as as we do our post evaluation that
083we we take a look at and we start uh saying what areas can we do better on, what areas can we communicate better on. Uh right now they're communic um Ana and her team is is sending out emails, sending out phone calls, uh buildings are making phone calls, uh you know, and letters. So, um, right now that's kind of the the the standard operation, but in in regards to those, yeah, the I I think that is a great idea of because some some families u may have difficulties with that. And then we could always potentially look at a a certain specific time and reach out where they can come and and get one-on-one assistance. Now, when they come here, we do have that um where if they show up, we'll have a person sit down
084with them. It's been pretty packed right now because the robocall is apparently working a few days going into uh the final stretch. So, um but >> I want to say one more quick thing and then I'mma be done. I really am. >> I I was going to also say too uh and we might have already done this. Are there places in the community that we could be? In other words, I know you you're going to tell me about the post and all of that because school starts Monday, but I'm just thinking the library or places where, you know, where you have a little table that just lets people know. So, you kind of take it out of the district and you're just out there. And it might not be something that you could devote a
085whole lot of, you know, manpower to, but it might be something to consider places in the community where we can connect with people directly um and just kind of help them work through the process if they just haven't found time to do it. So, >> as of right now, we don't. Um, however, that is another good option, you know, and and like I said, any anything as we get them uh from the community gives us ideas. We really want to get this right and we really want to make sure that we're supporting the families and that um across the board so that we can get them uh registered and um all our information so we can have the schedule so the start of the school year gets nice and smooth. So we'll all those will
086be you know put down as far as thought partner ideas and then moving forward we we'll already starting next year next week once we get everybody in. >> Yeah it was just one more thing and I was just thinking about um as Sheila was talking about us removing barriers have do we have an evening night schedule for admissions? So, because a lot of our parents do work and they may not have to do what we have to do to meet the need. And so, I was just wondering has that been something that we've considered at least um or even just attending one of the back to school fairs and maybe I know Dellwood is this weekend where we have a um table at Delwood to do enrollments over the weekend. Just was wondering. >> Yeah.
087Uh so one a few things you know they'll be looking um in the past they've they've had a a day right now because of all the enrollments that came in um real quick right in a in a certain period of time. the the decision um was they were working later in the evenings, but it was processing the paperwork, you know, um to to make sure that that data is or you know the they're reviewing the entries and and getting them and sending those out uh because it it does get difficult when you know you're trying to to do it and then then you're trying to help a family. However, that is an area that that we can do better on and that is, you know, picking certain times earlier, you know, as as opposed to
088like right before rush hour, I guess you'd say. um because of yeah it one of the things we tried to do is is everything be going online so that they're able to do it online but the weekends and evenings that is definitely something a goal that we want. Uh it's just we were going where the plan was. However, we felt that our time would be better utilized as far as processing because of all the applications that came in at once. >> I want to uh take the opportunity to thank you and all the people that you're working with to help this um process along. I know it's new this year and some parents may not have gotten the memo about uh what the changes are. Can you speak to our community and let them know
089where they're supposed to register because there's confusion and I've had a couple of phone calls about do I register at my school? What if I have three kids in three different schools and Okay. And and what do I need to do? >> So, can you speak to that? >> Yeah, absolutely. >> Okay. >> No. Did you have another >> Oh, okay. Yeah. So, the first thing I'd like, you know, I want to tell the community, all the ones that have have gone through the process and as uh if it was easier or or there was a little hiccups that that uh we want to say thank you for for your continued effort to make sure that that we get all the the documentation uh correct so we can get your student enrolled. For for families
090that that have not a couple things. One is if um if if you're a current student, you can go to any one of the buildings and you can register and that every office manager and every office professional are now trained and and that you they can take all that information right there in the building and they can do it for you know if you have a kid in elementary, if you have one in middle school, one in high school, the um so so Yes. Uh when when it comes to that, we also if you're a new enrollment uh and and you've filled all your paperwork out and then on the document it's tells what high school or where you may go, you can finalize and go to that building. Unless there's uh outstanding circumstances, uh
091you might be a family in transition and and housing, then that's where we encourage you, you know, to fill out what you can. There'll be a thing that says you need additional help with like a family in transition. Then you could come here to the building and and there'll be social workers in that here in uh actually if you come into the main building here at the um the center, the admission center is is right around the corner. So you come in, you'll see the security officer and they they'll point you right over uh to where our team is set up. >> And that's for new students. >> That's for new students. uh if if somebody does come, you know, we're we're going to, you know, help and and provide that. Sometimes it gets very
092um a lot of people are coming at once and then we encourage them that if they're an existing enrollment, you know, that you can do that in one of the in one of the buildings. So that way they don't have to to sit and wait while we're we're requiring, you know, somebody to sit and and have a meeting with, you know, a social worker or something to help them. We want to make sure that each one of our parents is getting good customer service u no matter where they go whether it's at the school or if they come here. >> Um and and also for our parents who are uh English as second language or ELLL students that we have something for them wherever they go >> that they can get the support to get
093their students registered. So, there's specific buildings that have um ELLL representatives in in those buildings. Uh we're also in the process of looking at a uh an ELLL specialist, you know, current currently as well. Um from a customer service standpoint, uh I can always say we can always get better and and and from a customer service standpoint, um we have high expectations. We got to get there. Uh we're not always there. And I I I'll be honest. Uh however, the goal is to to make sure across the board um we're providing that consistent highquality customer service. >> Okay. It would be great to get feedback from parents on how this went. This is, you know, us doing something new this year. And also one of the other things that I'm hearing is about our grandparents
094who are taking care of uh students who don't have that online experience in being able to uh register their their their child especially if they're new um and that they can get the support and and in the vein of customer service and we hear this all the time and I know this is this is everywhere returning phone calls >> making sure that when parents call in and they leave a message or because you know how they get frustrated and I would I would too, >> but uh if I'm not able to get my questions answered. So from uh again a customer service uh standpoint, we hopefully we can we can work on that. Of course, we can always improve on it. I think it would be really important for us to self evaluate oursel to
095go back and and and and look at those areas that we might need to improve in and so that we can give even better customer service because I know you guys are doing the best that you can do right now. And so, uh, PA parents, we we want you here and we want you to to, um, be able to come and and get enrolled >> and let it not be a a something that's really difficult to get through, >> but we're going to do our best and we ask for their patience as well, right? >> Yes. Absolutely. Thank you. And and again, uh, that post evaluation is going to be, uh, crucial. uh and and I agree with you 100% as far as we we want to make sure that uh you know our communication
096is is good you know and those are areas that you know we need to continue to grow in. >> I just had a quick clarifying question because I think I heard you say something but I need an example. Um did you say that if I was a parent I'm give you a scenario. If I'm a parent, Griffin's a block up the street, but my car is broke down, but my child's going to Mccclure. >> I can go to Griffin to enroll my child is going to >> Griffith Elementary. Griffith >> Nor uh >> th Griffith. >> Did I say it right? >> Yeah. So, >> so um >> because you >> I thought I heard you say you can go into any school, >> right? And so, uh, what we encourage is if if a
097student has a a kid in Griffith or a kid at Mccclure North that they could go to Mccclure North and then >> roll >> all all across. Um, that is something that we could relay to if if you know a parent does walk in, are we able to process it? Um the answer is probably you know um I don't want to say absolutely. I I because each school is like they only have access to so much you know and and and kids and families and so if they go to and I would have to look into that because if they go into a a school that their kid doesn't attend they may not be able to pull up or see that. But if they go into a building where the kid is, then it would
098show the family and then it could go through a registration process. So, I'm not saying that we can't. I'm just uh you know, I'm not sure. Okay. >> Thank you. We're going to transition to the next item of the superintendent update, which is the HR update and staff vacancies. It did. Madame President, once we complete this particular update, I just have four sets of thank yous and we'll be able to transition. But with that, I will go to Dr. Katie Chambers. [Music] So, I'll bring it down so everyone can hear me. Good evening, Board of Education, um, Superintendent Fields, community, um, staff. Thank you for being here tonight. um as as my presentation comes up. Um I am Dr. Katie Chambers, uh chief human resources officer for the district. I am here tonight for a
099brief update on where we are on staffing. I saw you all a month ago this time. So I am thrilled to be here to share with you the progress made um thus far. This slide that you're looking at uh should be something familiar to you. This was presented last month to you. Um just to orient you to the slides again in the top right corner you will see that the information on this slide most directly connected to um which strategic priorities and our FFSD anti-racist standards. So when we're talking about our staffing update, we're connected to the um people, culture, and human capital as well as paying attention to the financial and operational stewardship of the district. As we know, salaries and benefits make up a large portion of our budget and then also our
100anti-racist standards 7.1. So, this slide is a repeat of a slide that I shared with you. Um, these were the board allocated approved staff positions by type. Um, as you notice the date 625 2025. Um, that was prior to me beginning. These were the board approved positions in June. The reason that I bring this to your attention is as we're looking at staffing, these numbers remain um at the my focal point to ensure that our staffing numbers do not exceed what has been board approved um because as we know tied to board approved positions, our salaries uh benefits and our overall budget. So we're keeping a very close look on that. So this next slide, what you're looking at um as of last week, so we are looking at um 87205 is the red bar.
101The blue bars are consistent with the slide that I just showed you. So the blue bars were board allocated positions, administrator, certified, non-certified, and title staff along the side. And then the red bars that you see underneath are current as of last week, how we have filled positions. um within those categories. Now I do want to point out that where it says certified staff non-certified staff that is not necessarily people that is the positions that have been allocated. So certified staff positions non-certified staff positions and that will become critical in the next slide that I share with you. Okay. So our vacancy update as of now. So, um I'm first going to orient you to the bars. Um and the bar graph on the right, you can see that there are three colors bar graphs.
102The first the blue represent 6:30 2025. So, that was um information that was shared with you last month as to the vacancies that were um showing on our staffing list um when when we started a month ago. Um vacancies 723 25 are the red bars. So you can see the red bars um indicate uh the numbers indicate the number of positions of vacancies and then as of last week 872 so last week Thursday is represented by the yellow bars across the bottom you can see our administrators certified staff non-certified staff and our title staff. So, I would like you to draw your attention first to our blue and red um bars and yellow bars for our administrators, certified and title staff. These are individuals that we um put in front of students and the great
103students and provide instruction on a day-to-day basis. Um you can notice that those um the certified administrators and title staff all have a similar trend. The trend is going down. That's a good thing. That means that we have more individuals that are ready to go to welcome students on Monday. Um, I can only attribute the reduction of that to the amazing efforts of the school administrators who have been out recruiting and doing a an amazing job ensuring that they are fully staffed and ready to go. Um, as well as our HR team. um our HR team has been um instrumental in moving individuals who are being recommended through a hiring process. Um so as we know once someone goes through a a interview process and are recommended there are still a number of steps that
104have to happen before that individual is then presented to the board for approval. Um those steps are include um they have to accept the offer that is given to them and then they have to go through a background check to make sure that they are suitable to be in front of our children um beyond as they go through that process and we're waiting um for reports back. our HR team has been in touch with them. Ongoing communication to make sure they're certified, all of those pieces and then they are put on a board report once they are um we know that they are certified for the position that they're being recommended for and that they have cleared a background screening. So that is then when the individuals are put onto a board report for your
105approval. So that's great work. um that was leaving last week as to looking at 26.5 um vacants. Um the team has been just doing an amazing job. So we are we are working we are working but it is paying off because we do want to make sure that um our families feel confident that when they send their students to school um that our schools are ready to welcome them for an amazing year. So um the second piece that I want to attribute that uh reduction to is collaboration with the executive directors elementary um secondary executive directors as well as you heard from um Carl our executive director of student services. So we've also been taking a really deep look at the um enrollment projections as you just you just learned about. Um, so in taking
106a deep look and our executive director of secondary and elementary schools working with the principles and getting feedback from the principles, we've looked at the staffing list and we were able to hold 21 positions. And the reason that I use the word hold is because we know that on the first week of school and then the second week of school, we're closely monitoring how many students are actually going to show up, right? So we want to make sure that our class sizes are still remain still at a place that that are in alignment to DESIE standards and and alignment to um ensuring that we can provide high quality instruction. So the positions not been have not been um closed by any means. We're holding them to make sure we need them so that we don't
107end up in a financial situation that we have overhired and don't don't have the need for those that we've hired. Okay. So, that's a another part of why those positions have have reduced. And then great interest in long-term subbing. I'll tell you about that in a minute. Um, so I do want to take just one brief minute to talk about um what you may have noticed with the um the non-certified staff. You may have noticed that when we started in 6 on 63025, the blue bar there were 92 vacancies and then all of a sudden that went up to 140. That does not mean that that we have lost certified staff. um what our uncertified staff, non-certified staff. What that does mean is taking a deep look at um the vacancy positions. We did identify
108that there are number of vacancies that were not um embedded within the staffing um the staffing allocations and the staffing chart and rather we have been historically not able to fill certain positions. So we've been dependent upon outsourcing those costs and so those individual those 55 specifically in our food services department I do believe that with a concerted effort we can hire individuals who would want to work in Ferguson Florison in our food service department because it's amazing you saw they already received some accolades today. Um, so the efforts are going to be we're we're going to be very intentional once we get schools started to to shift our focus to our operational our um bus drivers, our um bus aids, our and our food service departments to ensure that we can begin to reduce
109some of those outsourcing costs and start hiring our own employees to to um start filling these vacancies. Okay. Okay. So, I'm just going to give you a little insight on our approach um on the the um human resources approach that we're taking to filling these vacancies so you know who it is that we're filling um filling the vacancies with and who is entering into our schools. I do want to point out in the top right corner, one strategic priority that has changed on this slide is our community engagement and communications. Um because we do so heavily depend on our partnerships with universities and outside agencies to ensure that we are staffing well. Um, so I'll start with if you see the picture picture, you're looking at an entire life cycle of an employee, somebody who
110chooses teaching as a profession. The very first step and first set of stars that you see are when we're looking at somebody who maybe has not thought about teaching or maybe didn't grow up thinking they were going to be a teacher all their life like I did. Um, these are individuals that maybe um later in life are choosing a different career and being encouraged that, hey, maybe you can come try substitute teaching. you would be an amazing teacher. So, there's three options that we have available for those that want to um consider teaching as a profession. One that we've always had, temporary substitute, flexible schedule. And I'll tell you, as we've been out recruiting, this flexible schedule idea is very attractive to a lot of individuals that are just looking, they really want to serve
111in the Ferguson Flores community. They want to serve our students, but don't aren't aren't wanting to commit to a full-time schedule. So, flexible schedule is our is our temporary subbing. They choose the day, they choose the place, they choose their availability and and and again go through the same hiring process that any other individual that we that we employ in our district goes through and then they are put on a subbing list to be notified when there's vacancies. Next level is a long-term sub. So this is uh a little more consistent. This is for individuals who do want to commit to one classroom, one space, one building and really want to invest in in growth the growth of students in that area. For these subs, the way that we are supporting their long-term development is
112we have also included um professional development days that they are in that they are um asked to participate in. Um so for our long-term subs, we have uh across the district, we have 36 long-term subs that we've hired. These individuals have been part of our orientation back to school. We're paying them for their participation in that so that they know what are the procedures, protocols, how are we opening school throughout the school year. they will also be able to participate in all of the professional development on instruction um and any other professional development that's that's allocated for the district. We've um run those numbers through our finance department and it still fits within um well within the salary of of if we were to hire a full-time certified. So, we're staying under our budget with
113that, but we're giving more of an opportunity for skills development and and growth. For those that are participating in our long-term subs, we are heavily encouraging those that want to seek teaching certification that they get involved in one of our partnerships on the bottom and they get involved in a teaching certification program. So currently we have six long-term subs that have signed up um this month in a teaching certification program and applied for and been approved in these programs and that is continuously growing as individuals know how awesome Ferguson Florison is and and how awesome our kids are. Um and then finally our retired teacher retired uh permanent subs. So um there there was a waiver that was signed in our government that allows for retired teachers to return to work in the schools while
114retaining their benefits. We calculated the numbers and did um identify that it is still financially um it smart for us to think about how do we ensure that Ferguson Florison is a great place for retired teachers and can offer the the the um health benefit while they're here on a one-year long-term subcontract. And so for that group of individuals, we have 15 retired subs that have come back to us. Um so they're ready to jump in and get to work and and we just honor and validate and respect that um that they're choosing us to uh come back and serve the students of of Ferguson Florescent. So that's pretty awesome. And then our HR department has done a lot of work on temporary probationary licenses. So these are individuals that are experts in the field.
115um they may have a bachelor's or master's degree in math, science, arts, literature, whatever it is. And so in our recruitment efforts, as we've been out at job fairs um that are not focused specifically on teachers, but are job fairs specifically focused on increasing our economy, particularly in North County, um we've been able to recruit quite a number of individuals with bachelors or master's degrees that are experts in their field that may have never considered teaching. and we have an alternative pathway through the department of elementary and secondary education to get them temporary or provisional certifications because they already have the education just not specifically in educ in in our field. Um so we've been working pretty closely with DESIE to um recruit individuals who may want to consider teaching that we can bring on
116as highly qualified teachers right away in front of our students. And then lastly, I just want to mention one final partnership, a couple of partnerships that we're still working on. Harris Stowe in development and then Washington University. The reason I want to point this one out is we've been doing some work with um in collaboration, our department, human resources in collaboration with um Mr. Murray and the professional de development department because we know two critical things. We know that we are bringing in a lot of individuals that are early into their teaching careers and we know that there needs to be heavy professional development and support for that group of teachers. So, there are a couple opportunities. We've been looking at grants and how do we really build a robust um professional learning program specifically
117for our early teachers. And so, we've been doing that work um to see where we can access those funds and access those opportunities. And then secondly, um mentor teacher development. We also know that as you teach beyond five years, um many people leave the profession because they're not given an opportunity to continue to grow and learn and develop. Um not everybody wants to be on an administrator track. Some individuals, highly qualified, amazing teachers want to share their skills with building other highly qualified amazing teachers. And so there's an opportunity with Washington University that we have to really build up a mentor um some some programming to to help support teachers who want to become mentor teachers and and we really have an idea or thought of of growing that and expanding that so that we
118can give opportunities for our five plus year teachers to really grow into mentor teachers and be supported in their growth and learning as well. So with that I'll pause for any questions. We're going to start with uh Dr. Carl Walker and go the other way. >> Um so the first thing I want to say to you Dr. Chambers is that I am uh just just really impressed um and uh just with your innovation and all of the things that you've been able to do in such a short time. I know you've had people supporting you, but I just want you to know that that means a great deal, right? I think we've needed to be in this place for a really long time. So, thank you for your efforts in this area. One question I
119did have was about the $200 a day for a substitute. >> Is that the same whether the person is certified or not? Is that just a person with a sub is that subcertification? Um will the people have subcertification? Will that be required or can you say a little more about that? >> Great question. Thank you for that. Um, so the $200 a day is a board approved um rate for substitute teachers, all substitute teachers. Um, so that is something that that was pre presented and and approved and it is a flat rate um this year that that is that is um the rate that that has been approved. Um, I will say in in regards to being able to be eligible as a substitute, all individuals have to have a substitute certification from the Department
120of Elementary and Secondary Education. However, I can say in our in our recruitment efforts, we have been doing a lot of work and and we have an amazing HR generalist um, Miss Ma Batchman who has been reaching out specifically um, to help people get that certification. So, um because it is there is a 20-hour course through um through DESIE that that they can take and they pay for and they can get the certification um relatively um easy in the sense of they have to go through some coursework to really understand the foundations of of you know being a teacher. Um but she's been doing an amazing job guiding people through that process and um and I think that's that's shows in just the the amount of interest that we've had for those positions. And I
121do just want to shout out one other thing. She did an amazing orientation today um with a with a group of new substitute teachers that were coming on to the district. One retiree coming back in and just popping in there and and watching her passion for our substitute teachers and the way that she works was just phenomenal. So, um really great um advocate there in the department. >> And because your mom does not happen to be here tonight, I'm just going to tell you I'm proud of you, girl. You're doing a good job. >> Oh, thank you. Um in the interest of time I don't want I don't want to say everything that uh Dr. Pow Walker said but the same sentiments as well. My um only um question is or is it possible that
122um we can tap into alumni um especially um some of our um people who just graduated from college now and kind of looking for those next steps. If we can send a warm letter to our alumni um those who could possibly um come back and teach, I think that would um be a warm welcome to some of our students, especially as they just got out of college and they're just trying to figure out what is their ne next pass. >> I love it. Love it. Thank you. You know, sometimes I have questions that I think are really kind of u I don't want to say dumb, but but I need to know um on this allocation positions compared to field. >> It says 76.2. What is a 76.2 positions? I mean, >> it's amazing question.
123>> What is the point? I mean, >> amazing question. >> Yeah. So, so it's an HR thing. Okay. And and I'll just give you the context for it. So point anytime that you see a point um so not a full number it means a part-time so when we yeah when we allocate we allocate by salary so part time great question number n I am so happy you asked yep 2 it's a whole person >> part-time y love it thank you >> great job I think this is the most we've had filled since Oh sorry you looked at me go ahead Mr. Gates. >> Um, yeah. So, you mentioned some of the partnerships you had with certain universities. Um, so like Harristo and WashU, do you know like when they'll be in place? >> I love
124that question. Thank you. So, um, soon I hope. Um, in communications um, and this is just a short list of my 20 I'm not sure what the count 20ome days of being being on point, but um, yeah, my my hope is that these are in place. um initially just with um looking at hiring um but to the point previously we're I would also like to see a program and some programming collaboration with um universities where we're also looking at our current juniors and seniors who may want to consider teaching and how can we ensure that we have some dual credit opportunities where they can get some foundations of teaching courses here um so that as they then go to their universities they continue on the teaching path and then come back home. So, um, so
125yes, I love the question and my my goals are within the year for sure. Thank you for the question. And do you want to be a teacher? Just kidding, but not. I was just making sure it's my turn. President Thurman, thank you so much, Dr. Chambers. I'm really uh impressed. I know I won't repeat too much, but great job. I think this is the most we've had filled to start a school year, certainly. So I look forward to your innovation continuing and getting us in a place and I appreciate your approach of everyone matters in the organization and we need to fill certified teachers and have a plan in place already to get the rest of those positions because everyone working our district as you alluded to impacts our our kids in some shape way
126or form. So thank you so much. >> Thanks. >> Um and I want to say thank you as well. Um I don't really have any questions. I just look forward to seeing what next month numbers look like. Hey, good. Thank you. >> And I want to say thank you as well. Uh and the energy is is is felt um for sure and we appreciate that. I hope we keep this uh the same energy into the school year and it's just it puts a smile on my face. >> Let's go. >> Yeah. Love it. Thank you. >> Any other questions? I want to sing your praises and say to you and your staff, I know it's not you working by yourself. other people standing behind you who who are helping you get through this. Um, thank
127you. Thank you for the work uh that you're doing and that you're paying close attention to those things that that really need to be um uh looked into and if you could give us a little bit of information about how you're working with the the CFO. >> Oh, love it. Yeah. So, we've so we've been in close collaboration our not only myself um but our director. So, we have a director of human resources as well as our director of finance. So, the four of us um are a team that have regular meetings. Um they're booked all the way through throughout the school year. Um we have a standing the first uh meeting we established our norms um our meeting norms and kind of how you know we put items on the agenda so that we're
128constantly talking about um you know how how the staffing impacts the budget, how the budget impacts the staffing. And so as matters come um come up then we work through them and then we have action steps that we leave with um as a team and then we come back and we start with what were our previous action steps and then how do we what's coming up next that that we need to talk about. I'll tell you the collaboration is the reason that we've been able to do such great things like um offer um health benefits to retirees um because that we had to make sure that that was fiscally responsible um but also gives us an added advantage as a district that we want to honor you know those things and then additionally the um
129professional development added professional development costs for our substitute teachers particularly our long-term ones. Again, um we couldn't make that decision without being really thoughtful about how how many people is that how does it overall have an impact on the budget? Is it going to stay within be fiscally responsible? So, um yeah, it's been awesome. >> You know, I I kind of already knew the answer to that one. I just wanted to say hear it out loud. Yeah. So other people can make sure that they >> that they heard. And I also know that Dr. fields has been really um kind of laser focused on making sure that you guys are are working um hand in hand. So, thank you again for the work that that you are doing and I'm going to turn it over
130to Dr. Fields. >> Great. Thank you. >> And I'm sorry. I want to make sure are there any other questions >> from the board. Thank you again. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you again, Madam President. Just a few just to round out the superintendent update. I have four sets of thank yous that are incredibly important. Some of these could have been recognitions and celebrations, but I wanted to come um from me just to make sure um we put an emphasis on certain pieces. The first of which is we do want to thank you as well as celebrate uh Dr. Martin who has reached the second level of board member certification. And so thank you to Dr. Martin. If you all can help me in that particular regard, you are leveling up as a board
131member. That is absolutely fantastic. Um the second set of >> just a note that is free certification. There was no cost to the district for it. Just to make sure you know that >> I appreciate that. That is very important. The second set of thank yous you all heard tonight from Dr. Imhof. Um it was incredibly important for us to go through with both consistency as well as precision with this newer layout for um the actual registrations. Um that decision was made. Dr. Imhof really embraced it. He and his team. And so not only do I want to thank Dr. Ihoff, I really want to thank our office professionals who are really doing some spectacular work. our district communication team, our social workers, they are really doing a fantastic job. So, if you all can
132help me thank Dr. Imhof and his team. And again, we're we're big on the afteraction review. So, some of the pieces that the board shared some areas um for us to really engage with our um community to see what can we do better. Again, that thank you is going to continue to help us get better, but I would be remissed if I didn't thank you for the work that you're doing. So thank you for that Dr. Imhof. Um you all just heard from um Dr. Chambers. So the third set of um thank yous are for um Dr. Chambers, the entire recruitment efforts, um communication departments, even our executive directors of both elementary and secondary education. It is truly a team effort to ensure that we are fulfilling these vacancies. When we first started, I uh
133provided Dr. Chambers with the um percentage as well as the number of vacancies. And if you know anything about Dr. Chambers, she just smiled and said, "You know what? We're going to get to work. We have work to do and we'll get there." And so she's kept her word, but she's also worked um hand in hand overtime as much as possible working with folks to get the message out about not only all the great things that are happening in the Ferguson Florison School District, but why they need to get on board now because that may not always be an opportunity for you to join such a spectacular team. And so if you all can help me thank um Dr. Chambers and her team. And last but certainly um not least um to our staff, to
134our faculty, um as I'm having conversations with people and they frankly are saying, "Well, Dr. Fields, you sound so confident when you say it's going to be a great year and we're going to do some great work for students." Where does that confidence come from? Well, I'll tell you where it comes from. I've had an opportunity to be in our schools, um, meet our teachers, meet our custodial staff, have some beyond surface level conversations, and it just reiterated that our staff here absolutely love the district. Um, they are brought to the district. They can go all types of places, but they remain in the district because they believe in this community. You're going to hear from some of our new administrators as well, who who continue to add to that level of confidence. And so
135I just want to say a sincere thank you to our entire staff, not only for being here, not only for being flexible, not only for understanding that we have to do everything we can for our students. Before we give the former thank yous, I also want to thank the the board of education. If you remember, um last time we were together, there was an emergency ad for getting together three classrooms um that there was some leaks and all of that. And not only did the board move swiftly, I want to say thank you to um Dan Fel and his team and the custodial and maintenance department, um they moved so quickly and made the rooms look so well that they look better than the existing rooms. And now there's a conversation over at the school
136in terms of how fantastic the rooms look. I also want to thank our our our students. I I want to thank um Ebony Shaw who continues to work with our community in terms of community partners and organizing everything. The confidence that you all see that I exude is one because this community has been spectacular understanding that we have some important work to do and we're frankly going to move forward. And so, um, if you all can help me thank not only yourselves but our staff and our community, I feel really good about next Monday and metriculating throughout the school year because we have some fantastic people on our team. So, thank you sincerely. And I'll pass it back over to you, Madame President, and I'll pick back up with the introduction of new administrators and
137district leaders. >> Then I'll I'll pass it right back to you. >> All right. That's that Dwayne Wade LeBron James type of pass. I like it. Um, if I can have um our new district leaders start transitioning towards the podium. What we're going to do today is I am going to introduce our new district leaders. And from there, speaking of past, I'm going to pass over to some of our new district leaders so they can introduce some of our administrators who are not only new to the district, who are not only new in some of their roles, but they are really doing tremendous work. And I want to sincerely thank them again. And so, I'll get started with Mr. Chance. Um, he's not here today. he got sick. Um he's been working countless hours as
138well. And so our new chief financial and operation officer is Mr. Tony Chance. Mr. Chance brings um broad experience in financial and operational leadership across um preK through 12 education and nonprofit organizations. He was the controller at CBC um where he oversaw fiscal strategy, budgeting, financial reporting, and compliance. Prior to that role, he served as vice president of finance and operations at the regional arts commission. Please join me in welcoming Mr. Tony Chance. And Tony, I know you're watching. I hope you get well soon. Next up, and this person can come to the podium, Dr. Katie Chambers, who is our new chief human resource officer. Katie served as director of equity operations and special school district of St. Louis County. Prior to that role, she served as the executive director of human resources for the
139Brentwood School District for 11 years. She also served as a secondary school principal in both Hazlewood and the Ferguson Florison school districts. Please help me welcome Katie Chambers. >> Next up, Dr. Carl Imhof, who is our executive director of support services. Dr. IMHoff served as the special education coordinator for the Ferguson Florison School District for nearly 10 years. He brings more than 25 years of experience in both education and leadership roles. Dr. Imhof began his career in education as a business and social studies teacher before moving into school administration. Please help me welcome Dr. Carl Ihoff. And rounding out, we also have Dr. Lucas Lamb, who also goes by Luke. He is our executive director of secondary schools. Luke Lamb brings more than 20 years of experience in education, leadership, and school improvement. Before before
140joining Ferguson Florison School District, he was the director of curriculum and high schools for the Francis How School District. Prior to that role, he served as the director of secondary education. Please help me thank Dr. I'm sorry, welcome Dr. Luke Lamb here to the Ferguson Florison School District. [Applause] Before I turn it over um to Charlie Moore, who's the chief of staff um to welcome some additional members to the team, if you all can just again help me thank our district leadership team as we're working and all of the individuals that I have a chance to meet with on a daily basis. Um they are approaching the work as an opportunity. They're not shying away from the work and they're really embracing the model of we have to get the work done. And so, thank
141you one more time to this entire team that are new as well as our existing district leadership staff members. I'll now turn it over to Charlie Moore who will introduce a new staff member before we continue with our executive director of elementary followed by executive director of secondary. >> Awesome. Thanks, Doc. We have two staff members. So, the first is Miss Yavon Barnes. If you could come to the front. Miss Barnes is our manager of custodial services. Miss Barnes, thank you. Miss Barnes has worked with the district in various capacities for the past 18 years. She's married with three kids, a strong public schools advocate. She has obtained an associates degree and in business administration, and I went to her office today, and she is hard at work every day getting us ready for the
142first day of school. Thank you, Miss Barnes. The next name is Mr. Daniel Farrell. Mr. Farrell is the director of operations and maintenance. Mr. Farrell has an extensive experience in facilities management, operations, and education. He served as a facilities manager of mixed use building, including office spaces and lab spaces. Prior to that, he worked in the Loo the Leoo school district as a general maintenance technician. Thank you, Mr. Pharaoh. I'm now going to pass it off to Mr. Shawn Joyce who is our executive director of elementary schools. >> Thank you, Mr. Moore. I have the pleasure this evening of introducing our elementary school leaders that are either new to the district or new to this role for or new to their role for this upcoming school year. So, I'd like to first uh welcome up
143uh Shannon Guzki. Shannon Guzeski is the assistant principal at Parker Road. Miss Miss Guzki previously served as a school counselor at McGrath Elementary and Brentwood School District and in the Stanton Elementary and at Stanton Elementary and Rockwood school district before transitioning to counseling. She spent 11 years teaching in the Rockwood, Patentville, and Hazlewood school districts, working with both primary and intermediate grades and mentoring new teachers. We would like to welcome Miss Guseski to our team. [Applause] Next up is Dr. Tiana Walker. Dr. Walker is the assistant principal at Halls Ferry. Dr. Walker has been a part of the Ferguson Florisonent School District since 2017. Before her current role, she served as the instructional support leader at Duchain Primary and prior to that, a classroom teacher at both Commons Lane and Johnson Waw Bash. We would
144like to welcome Dr. Tiana Walker as the new principal of or assistant principal at Hosf Fairy. Next up is David Dickerson. David Dickerson is the assistant principal at Robinwood Elementary. Mr. Dickerson has served as the assistant principal and dean of students in the Ferguson Florescent School District. Before joining the district, he served as the dean of alternative education and the dean of students at Confluence Preparatory High School. We would like to welcome Mr. Well, he's been in the district, but welcome him to a new position at Robinwood Intermediate as the assistant principal. Next up is Chares Given Williams. Chares is the assistant principal at Berkeley Intermediate. Chares brings a wealth of experience in literacy instruction, teaching development, and educational leadership. She previously served as an assistant principal of Walnut Grove Primary. Prior to that role,
145she served as the reading interventionist at Rittner High School. She also serves as the adjunct professor at Harristo State University where she teaches English composition and literature. We would like to welcome her to her new role at Berkeley Intermediate as the assistant principal. Next up is Chanel Higgins. Chanel Higgins is the principal at Commons Lane Primary School. Chanel previously served as an assistant principal at Cold Water and Townsen Elementary in the Hazlewood School District. Before that, she was an instructional support leader at Parker Road Elementary in Ferguson Florescent as well as an administrative intern at Duchain Elementary. She's returning home after working as a reading specialist in both Normandy Schools Collaborative and previously in the Ferguson Florescent School District. We would like to welcome Chanel Higgins back home as the principal of Commons Lane Primary.
146Next up is Carnella Williams, the principal at Berkeley Intermediate. Carnella brings over 20 years of experience in education and leadership. She began her career as an elementary teacher and the at the first campus of Confluence Academy and joined Ferguson Florison as an English teacher and reading interventionist specialist at Cross Keys Middle School. She has also served as the assistant principal at Griffith and Robinwood elementary schools and is has also previously served as the principal at Central Elementary School. We are welcoming Carella Williams back to the administrative team serving as the Berkeley intermediate principal. We are so excited about the leaders that were just introduced at the elementary level and we are excited about their abilities to support our school communities and serve our students, staff, and families. I would now like to turn it over
147to Dr. Lamers to introduce the secondary leadership team. [Applause] It's my pleasure tonight to introduce several uh new administrators and some of them are are also coming back. I think it says uh says a lot when we have people who worked with us have gone about and they come back to us. So first like to introduce Dr. Christopher Petty, assistant principal at Wedgewood Sixth Grade Center. Dr. Petty brings nearly 20 years of experience in educational leadership and administration. Most recently, he served as the assistant principal at Steam High School in the Ferguson Flores School District. He's held positions such as deputy superintendent of organizational effectiveness, dean of students, campus supervisor, and summer academy director across Normandy schools collaborative Hazelwood and the Clayton school district. Like to welcome Dr. Christopher Petty. Next we have Aaron Ko,
148assistant principal, Johnson Wawash Sixth Grade Center. Mrs. KO brings a decade of experience in education and previously served as an assistant principal at Mccclure High School. Before that, she held the same role at Kip Charter Schools and previously taught mathematics at McKinley Classical Leadership Academy in St. Louis public schools. Welcome, Dr. Ko, sorry, Miss Ko. Miss Ko, sorry, it becomes Yeah. Next up is Tiffany Buchanan, assistant principal at Ferguson Middle. Miss Buchanan most recently served as the assistant superintendent of curriculum instruction in the Riverview Gardens School District. Previously, she served as the secondary humanities curriculum coordinator in the Ferguson Flores School District. So, welcome home. She has also served as an assistant principal at Hazlewood West High School and held several leadership roles at Steam High School, including instructional support leader and English language arts
149teacher. Welcome back, Dr. Iris McClendon, interim principal at Mccclure High School. Dr. McClendon brings 17 years of experience in education with a strong focus on supporting students, families, and staff. Most recently, she served as an assistant principal at Mccclure High School. Before that, she was an assistant principal at Jennings Senior High and spent five years as a high school counselor at Mccclure High School. Congratulations on your new position. Next, we have Dr. Tracy Lewis, assistant principal at Mccclure High School. Dr. Lewis previously served as an assistant principal at Johnson Wabash Sixth Grade Center. Prior to that role, she was an assistant principal at Mccclure High School. She began her career in education at Berkeley High School in 1997, teaching English and alternative education. Congratulations on your new role. Next, we have Curtis Downing, assistant principal,
150Mccclure High School. [Applause] >> Mr. Downing brings nearly 30 years of experience in education and leadership and has held key leadership roles in Ferguson Florison, including serving as interim principal at McClure North High School and assistant principal at Ferguson Middle. Prior to these roles, he served 11 years as an assistant principal at Mccclure High School. Congratulations on your position. Next, we have Dr. Ben I, athletic director, Mccclure High School. Dr. I is a proud alumnest of the Ferguson Florescent School District and has served in the district since 2008. He brings a wealth of experience as an administrator. He's held previous secondary administrator positions having served at innovation mccclure north mccclure south Berkeley as well as Johnson Wawash and Wedgewood sixth grade centers. Congratulations on your new position. [Applause] Next we have Talia Hopkins, assistant principal,
151Mccclure North High School. Miss Hopkins brings more than a decade of experience in education with a focus on instructional leadership and school improvement. She has worked across public, private, and charter schools serving in various leadership roles including instructional support leader, founding principal, academic instructional coach, and educational consultant. Welcome. [Applause] Next, we have Bobby Hughes, assistant principal, Mccclure North High School. Mr. Hughes previously served as an assistant principal at Cross Keys Middle. Before joining Cross Keys, he was an assistant principal at Mccclure North. Prior to joining the district, he began his career in education as a high school science teacher, doing that for 14 years. Congratulations on your new position. [Applause] >> Next, we have Dr. Ana Harris, assistant principal at Steam High School. Dr. Harris brings over 20 years of experience in education and is
152a proud graduate of Berkeley Senior High School. [Applause] She previously served as the assistant principal at Parker Road Elementary. Prior to that role, she was an assistant principal at Mccclure North High School. Congratulations on your new position. And last but not least, we have Frank Williams, athletic director at Steam High School. Mr. Williams has served in the Ferguson Florescent School District since 2018. He brings a wealth of experience as an administrator. He's held several previous administrative positions having served at Mccclure North, Cross Keys, Ferguson Middle, and Restoration and Wellness. Congratulations on your new position. So, we've got a lot of new faces. I'm going to rejoin that team here in a minute. I turn it back over to I believe Fields. >> We're going to get a chance to grab some uh great pictures of
153our team. Um, but I will say this, we understand the significance that the research is clear on classroom teaching and the impact it has on our learners. But second to that is school leadership. And so the individuals that are you that are standing in front of you, their role is important. Um, oftent time it's thankless, but I just want to say I see you. I appreciate you. And I'm so lucky to be on a team with you. And so, thank you so much for your dedication and your approach to the 2526 school year. I'll turn it over to Madam President. >> Yes. At this point, are you going to you going to come up and take pictures? I'd like for you to be with them, too. Um, and we're going to take a break for
15410 minutes. So, we'll come back at 8:20. Is that cool? Okay. I I have a motion to approve the agenda as uh presented. >> I would like to pull item T off and I uh approve that we approve the consent agenda item with pulling item T off for further discussion. >> Item T will be pulled. May I have a motion to approve the agenda at >> second? Go ahead. All right. Dr. Graves, >> yes. >> Dr. Martin, >> yes. >> Mrs. Manserie, >> yes. >> Mr. Bailey, >> yes. >> Secretary Votes, yes. Mr. Tyson. Madame President. >> Yes. >> Let's go to our pulled item. Uh the compact track loader lease. >> No, it should be the health insurance renewals according to item T. >> T says cont compact >> RST. I'm looking at the
155one online, not the paper copy online. >> Well, then you are not Okay. Well, which one is it? >> The according to our online document that's most updated, it says T is 2025 2026 health insurance renewal. >> Okay, that's you for us. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Official document of the record shows that's T. >> We got it. >> Thank you. >> I move we approve item T so then we can have discussion on it. Did you mean second, Mr. Tyson? >> Oh, yeah. I just had a question and that the question was um I sent it in yesterday. Uh and so just for the board to know why I pulled it. So, health insurance around the region, if you've been reading other school districts and boards, it's gone up substantially and that's causing a
156lot of financial issues. and I want to make sure we're just aware of where we're at because we know we have financial issues and we are self-funded which means we fund our own health insurance right and so when I saw our cost is only going up 6.6% 6% and some of our neighbors is going up 25 26%. It just raised some alarms to me of like why is ours so much lower than everyone else's which then dove the question which we got from Miss McWell about the fund balance our self- insurance fund balance which is different than the reserve fund balance. So if you look at the document that we received some of our months for example July 2024 our self- insurance fund balance was $400,000 in the hole. Another month we were 2,000 in
157the hole. Another month we only had 5,000. It looked like on average we were carrying about 300,000. When looking at other school districts, many of them carry between 8 to 12 million as a balance at all times in it. So just raise the question of for me just to get some more insight into what is best practice for what our fund balance should be. Um, I'm glad our rates are low, but again, it just raises concern of is there going to be some big year coming and we can't afford it because certainly I know our stop loss insurance I know Mr. Draper is going to become answering the question especially can because Mr. Chance is going to be able to be here um picks up I believe at 250,000. Does that sound right Miss Draper?
158Something along those lines. So anything below $250,000 we have to pay cash for for the medical expenses. So, if we're only carrying $300,000, Terry and Kevin both have surgery and that's $500,000 that month. If we're only carrying $300,000 in balance, we might not have enough to cover, which is raises my question of what is best practice that we should be keeping. And I know I'm not trying to delay this process of approving it tonight, but I wanted to raise it to the board to become aware of what is the best practice that we need to be mindful of as we move to new fiscal year and budget of that. What should we be aiming for? so the district can figure out what we need to change because I don't believe $300,000 is the appropriate amount
159because if it was, we would not be seeing such large negative balances. We should never go below the account because if we keep digging deeper and deeper, then it raises other questions and concern. If everyone all of a sudden have surgery, we would be out of money and then what happens is you have to change your rates in the middle of the year, you have to do other changes and that just creates other issues that come up. And so just being aware for me of other school districts. Many have got rid of GLP1s. Uh they've had to change drastic things. They've seen 26, 28, 29% uh increases. Retirees, it impacts retirees insurance costs as well. And so it just that's where the question came from. I asked it yesterday. I just didn't have a chance
160to get the response just because um when I saw the fund balance receipt from the initial questions, that's where that came from. So that's why I pull again. I don't want to delay the vote on it. I just wanted to bring that discussion up because again I know we have to move forward with it because we have to approve a new insurance and all that but I do think it's important for the board to just be aware and mindful as we're thinking about budget and to see from Miss Draper and I know Mr. Chance's going to be here and and Dr. Fields of what is best practice around the fund balance because how can we make sure we're financially secure because again we can't afford any surprises moving forward financially in any of the areas.
161So that's why I raised the question >> and we appreciate you asking that question Dr. more. I think it's a great question as well as a great point and we appreciate your perspective. I'll I'll yield over to Levvenia. Levvenia, thank you um for being here number one and thank you for uh filling in for um Mr. Chance. So, um to the extent possible um you can provide some level of context and I'll also follow up with Mr. Chance um to ensure we get all of the responses provided to you. Miss Draper, >> good evening board, colleagues, and community. Um great question. Um just a little bit of background. Last year we did uh do a rate increase as well, which is why our rate increase this year does not have to be as significant. And
162so um that's the answer to that question. Um we will do some research on the appropriate fund balance for our self-insurance fund and get that information back to you um as soon as we can. >> Thank you, >> Madame President. Um, point of order. Um, I always wanted to say that. Okay. Okay. And I don't even know if I used it right, but I'm just saying it. >> Sounded so cool. >> Okay. Point of order. I would like to uh ask the board, should we amend the motion to state that it is item T as shown online insembly documenting that there is a discrepancy between the paper agenda and the one online. My worry is that if that's not addressed properly, it may it may it may get mixed up at some point. >> Point
163of order. >> I said it again. >> Bless your heart. >> I don't know what that's >> I mean I'm trying to change that motion that I made to read item T 2025 2026 health insurance renewal so it's clear the title of it if that suffices instead of just item T. But the problem is the paper agenda isn't item T. So do you want >> by adding the title of it? >> The title >> or I was going to say >> can you say what you said something about per the online agenda just in case you were to come up you know >> item T online and symboly pulled from 2025 2026 health insurance renewal or on paper copy item U 2025 2026 health insurance renewal. >> You talk so fast Kevin K, but okay.
164It was just your suggestion. Online T paper U. >> It's okay. I think I got it. >> Perfect. >> It's got it. >> And Mr. Tyson, I think second. Was that correct for that? >> Okay. So, let me make a note. >> Madam President, is it okay to call for the vote? >> Mrs. Manserie, >> yes. >> Mr. Bailey, >> yes. >> Dr. Martin. >> Yes. >> Dr. Graves. >> Yes. >> Secretary Bolts. Yes. Mr. Tyson. >> Yes. Madame President. >> Yes. >> And thank you, Madam Secretary. >> You are most welcome. So since we pulled that from the agenda, are we ready to vote on are we will for next time? Right. Okay. So, let's go on to item 10, college and career readiness, and that's Mr. Bradley Johnson. >> Hi there, Mr. Johnson.
165How are you? >> Good evening, Madame President, and to the board of education, Dr. Fields. Uh, I am before the board for a college and career readiness uh component. Specifically, uh, the administration recommends that the board of education approve the memorandums of understanding with St. Louisis Community College and Missouri State University. Additionally, the administration recommends the approval of dual enrollment and dual credit expenses, including tuition and books for the 2526 school year at a cost that will not exceed $160,000. The funding sources are the district's local budget and federal funds, Title 4. >> So moved. >> May I have a mo Okay. Go ahead. May I have a motion? >> Some move. >> Got it. Discussion. Oh, okay. Discussion. >> Call for the vote. >> I was asking, is that what you were? >> Well,
166go right ahead. >> Okay. Uh, secretary votes yes. Mr. Bailey, >> yes. >> Dr. Martin, >> abstain. >> Dr. Graves, >> yes. >> Mrs. Mansery. >> Yes. >> Um, secretary votes. Did I say me already? I did. Okay. Mr. Tyson. Um, and may I ask our student on the board how he would like to vote? >> Madame President. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> Just for the record, I abstained just for conflict of interest as I serve on the community college board as well. So that's why I abstained if you were wondering. Dr. Graves. >> I know she cared a great deal. >> Thank you, Dr. Martin. Okay, we're going to move on to item 11, June dispersements. And Levenia Draper is going to do this in the absence of Tony Chance. Get better, Mr.
167Chance. Good evening again. I will be presenting the June dispersements report. As always, we like to um start with our mission and vision statement. The mission of Ferguson Florison School District is to provide highquality instruction to every student in every neighborhood while prioritizing equity and compassionate relationships. And our vision is to is for all learners to graduate believing that anything is possible and prepared to realize those possibilities. As of June 30th, our monthly dispersements are as follows. Our payroll for teacher and non-teer totaled 13,185,9821. Our operational dispersements totaled 3,383,76463 for a total monthly expense of 16,569,672.84. As we look at our revenue and expenditures, we will consider the four funds which are listed here which are general, special revenue which is teachers, debt service and capital projects. Our revenue totals by fund. Um I would
168just do kind of an overview of where we are or where we were as of June 30th. Um for the total we ended above what we uh budgeted at $158,540,57. This picture graph right here just shows um a pictorial of our year-to- date budget versus actuals. And you can see that most of them, all of them are pretty level. Our actuals versus um budget. Our expenditure totals by funds. As you could see that our general fund came in under budget at 95%. Our teachers fund was right at 100%. Our debt service was at 99%. and our capital projects fund came in at 92% where overall we ended the year the fiscal year at 97%. Again this chart just gives a pictorial of those totals and um our budget versus actuals. We will also take a
169look at our expenditures based on their object category which tells how the expense was used. And these object categories are 6100s for salaries, 6200s for benefits, 6,300s are purchase services, 6,400s are supplies, 6,500's capital outlay, and for long and short-term debt. For salaries, our expenses came in for our general fund, which includes our non-certified staff at 93%. and our teachers fund came in at 100% where overall for our salaries we expended 97% of our budget for our benefits and our general fund again we expense 96% our teachers fund 101% so we went over a little bit but overall our benefits category came in at 99% of the budget for purchase services. Um overall we expended 96% of our budget for purchase services. As we look at supplies, we expended 96% of our supply budget. And
170looking at our capital outlay, we expended 95% of our budget in this category. And for long and short-term debt, we ended the year at 99% of our budget for uh long and short-term debt. And lastly, this is the comparison of our St. Louis County tax receipts for the fiscal year 25 versus fiscal year 24. And we have received a little over $894,000 more in fiscal year 25 than we did in fiscal year 24. And so again, these are numbers as of June 30th, 2025. Are there any questions at this time? >> Before we yield over to Madame President again, Levvenia, um not only for yourself, but Tony, but the entire U finance department. And I know you all are busy um around this time especially with the ASBR and that due date and I know
171you all will make that deadline but just appreciate it and and make sure you extend that out to the entire finance department. >> We'll do. >> Thank you. >> I echo that. Um board at this time can we approve all expenditures for the month? >> Some move. >> She read it already. I don't know if you want to read it again. >> Okay. So, who did the who did >> you second? >> Okay, discussion. >> Are there any questions? >> Thank you so much. Uh, it's every dollar that we save obviously matters. My question is it always seems to come up to be an issue in December and you don't might not have an answer yet. When are we starting this might be for Dr. Fieldsmore. When are we starting our audit so we don't
172have the same issue we've had historically of making sure our audit's not done in time to get our our points on that. So I'm just curious if we've started the audit yet and if not when are we starting our audit? And I know, granted, there's a lot going on with everything, but also we've had to rush a couple last couple years to make sure we get our two points in to make sure it's submitted in time. So, I'm just curious when we're starting it. >> In terms of Great question. In terms of the specific date, I don't have that in front of me. However, speaking with Mr. Chance, he know exactly how I feel and he sh has to share the same sentiments in terms of getting things in timely because of the two-point piece.
173So, again, I don't have the specific date in terms of when it will start. I will meet with Mr. chance and get that to you, Dr. Martin, as well as for the board. Um, but again, we are on the same page in terms of ensuring that we have timely responses and submission for our audit. >> Thank you. >> Are there any other questions? If not, let's call for the vote. Oh. Oh, we do have one. >> I have a comment. Levvenia, thank you for all that you do. You are a behind the scenes threat and I just want to salute you and give you your flowers for sticking through it all because you've seen it all. So, thank you for all that you do. >> Thank you. Thank you for that. >> Yes, we do
174appreciate you. Dr. Graves, >> yes. >> Dr. Martin, >> yes. >> Mrs. Manserie, >> yes. >> Mr. Bailey, >> yes. Secretary votes yes. Mr. Tyson, >> Madame President. >> Yes. Thank you. Okay, we're going to go on to item 12, board professional development. Dr. Graves is going to lead this discussion. >> All right. Um I had the privilege of um working on a committee um to address professional development for the board. So background information, board members in Missouri are required to complete a minimum of 16 hours of training through the Missouri School Board Association during their first year of service. In addition to meeting these legal obligations, ongoing professional development ensures that board members are equipped to govern effectively, engage with community needs, and uphold the district strategic priorities. Currently, the Ferguson Florison School District
175provides informal support for professional learning, but there is no consistent or yeah or documented permember allocation to support equitable access to training opportunities. Formalizing this support would enhance transparency, fiscal accountability, and individual planning for board development. While Missouri school board policies generally do not specify exact dollar amounts, through my research looking at Hazlewood, Rockwood, Springfield, and St. Louis public schools. It all reflect an annual support for MSBA and some of the different um um other conferences and workshops. Based on this available based upon the available documents and professional practice norms, comparable districts typically allocate 3,500 to about 5,500 per board member per year. And so, um, investing in ongoing development of our board of education members is essential to maintaining informed, effective, and equitable governance. This recommendation provides a fiscally responsible and forwardinking framework for
176supporting our district leaderships in alignment with strategic goals and community expectation. And the recommendation is for the board uh to approve their travel for the conferences for the 2526 school year. So, >> okay. So, I uh may I have a motion to approve our travel conference for the 2526 school year? >> Thank you. >> Discussion. >> Okay. I I have some something I I'd like to uh have for discussion. Did you have I didn't see Oh, do you want to go? Do we want to I was looking else anything? No, you go first. Mr. Bailey, did you not have anything? Miss Manserie. >> Um the only thing that I had to say was that um as a new board member um making sure that I have access to professional development is really important. Um getting
177the foundation and the up under me and making sure that there's no hindrance so that way I can be an effective board member. So >> um certainly I think the board all needs to be mindful of the fiscal situation. I think uh some of the practices the board has had before that we moved away from where if you're in your last year of your term, you don't travel um compared to other people. Possibly we think about that as one opportunity. But for me, I think um each board member needs to make their own decision of where they want to spend if they want to spend the money or put it back in the budget. Uh either way, I think it's up to each board member of how we've already approved the budget to be in
178line with the $28,000. I don't think people can use someone else's money, but I do think um for me, I would rather reallocate the money elsewhere, but that's just my own personal opinion. But I think it's important for people who need the development at this point in time that they have access to it if they so desire and it's in their frame of reference of understanding where we're at fiscally and responsibly. But it's ultimately up to each board member, I believe, to make their own decision uh where they stand and be able to justify to our constituents why why their PD was helping them as a board member to Dr. Graves point of professional developments needed. If they can justify to constituents, that's on each board member's mind and conscious to be able to do
179that. I just know it's my last year of the term. Whether I run again or not is irrelevant. But again, uh for me, I would rather just reallocate my money personally, but certainly to Vivian's point, it's just finished her first year. She might need to grow. Other people have other opportunities and passions to grow. So, uh it's already in the budget for me. So, that's one thing. The other thing is just if if I just tell like Dr. feels, hey, you can reallocate my 4,000 back in the budget elsewhere. I'm fine giving that directive from my own personal like $4,000 to take it out of the budget where other people might feel like they need it. The only thing that I wanted to add to the conversation is uh MSBA uh MSBA we have to
180have delegates there and I think that it's not necessarily fair for the allocation of the professional developments to be charged against the board member who has to go there. uh rotate. >> Yeah. And it it does rotate every year, but we as a board we elect who we want or we give the election of who we want to be the delegate. Well, that's that's a board directive. That's not necessarily a professional development directive. And I think when it comes to MSBA that the delegates have to be there, the delegates and are the um al alternate. >> Yes. Um, so somebody has to be there to represent the board. So when it comes to who that person is, whoever that is that cycle, that year, I don't think it should come against or be charged against
181that professional development of 4,000. Any discussions? >> Yeah. Okay. >> I proposed the recommendation. No, I'm good. >> Um, the only thing I would say is just that um I don't know. I I guess um Dr. Martin, I hear what you're saying about putting your 4,000 back into the pot and I think that's good. Um but somehow I guess I just wanted to be clear that no board member should be looked at as not being concerned about the budget because they didn't choose to do the same thing. All of us are at different places in our growth as board members. And when you go through that initial board member training, one of the things they tell you is that you have a responsibility to keep growing yourself so that you can be the best, you
182know, board member possible for your community. So, I just I guess I just wanted to make sure I know you kind of got at that right. Um, and I know that wasn't what you were trying to say, but I guess I wanted to say it for the sake of the community to just know that if a person decides to use their 4,000, they are doing what we have been asked to do when we first became board members. Should we be concerned about the budget? For sure. But I just wanted to say that >> I do want to I we're on the same line wavelength for that to just to be clear with the same piece. I think again the other big piece for me is we used to have a practice like if it if
183you're up for election April you didn't get professional I know it's not necessarily policy and so being also someone who's up in April it just makes natural sense that maybe that's part of the practice to save money that if you are up in April that unless you are a delegate or something else that you don't travel that year as well because it just to be mindful of what we used to practice right And I think you're right, Dr. Martin. We do have to be thinking about ways I think every all of us have to be thinking about ways to uh cut the budget and you know adjust practices especially based on where we are. So I agree >> madam president. I'm sorry I did think of one thing that I did not say. >> I'm
184sorry. I mean the other part about it is if you know if this does pass we have to just think about where can we catch better deals at. So we might need to look at the way we like that we try to get early registration instead of waiting to the last minute or you know just trying to figure out just different ways in which or we might have to choose a flight that's um with a layover or something or that we are more intentional in regards to um or I don't know about that one but um >> but I'm just saying just trying to figure out what are different ways that we can uh share um reduce the A lot of districts do that. They do share rooms and that would uh I know I
185I understand. Okay. So, I am going to play devil's advocate because what I would like to to ask looking at where we are with our finances this year, I do want to ask is it a good look for us to be traveling? Like I know this year we're supposed to go to to LA. um for professional development. Can we forgo profess professional development for one school year just one year and maybe reallocate those funds somewhere else. Now for new uh members absolutely not because I know that you need to get your professional development. Um, and also for delegates if delegates need to go, we can reallocate the funds to go directly to some of our classroom teachers, to certified staff who didn't get a um who didn't get a get raise this year. Um, and
186they're using their personal monies for their for their classrooms for the for students. We could boost morale by having a drawing every month where we could give some of our our monies to teachers. Like we could give up to two to 400 two to $500 uh four to five times with if we set up um um something every month that we would give give away some of this money. Um, we could also uh they would have to pre present receipts for what they spent their money on. Of course, we could also have many grants where the teachers could present um many grants for our for this money for this 28,000. Maybe not the full 28,000 because of course our new members need to go and our delegates need to go. Uh but that money could
187be spent on grants. This could boost the morale of our teachers. Um, or we could fund a few field trips. Our students are not having opportunities uh because we don't have the monies to to send them. Or we can donate something to Little Creek in the name of the school board. Or we could buy uniforms uh or our new teachers who are coming in who are spending their own monies to get their classrooms ready. We could reallocate that money to give to them. Uh when I personally look at we can look at teachers who are sitting in classrooms that I even know of Jennifer Brockman who's a first grade teacher, Kim Williams who's a counselor or Christy Fitzgerald who's a counselor over at North Julie Maji who's a teacher uh a music teacher. Uh these
188are all people who are sitting in classrooms. They're right there in front of our students. And if there's a way that we as a board could be the example, set the example for one year, I'm not saying forever, but for just this year, could we give up travel and some of our professional development to teachers for professional development because we don't have the money. you all. I I just feel like we need to set the example, set the standard, and that we as boards need to say, not only say it that we're trying to help and we want we're wanting to um do something special for our teachers and to boost morale that we have an opportunity right now to do a little bit of something where we could $200 to a teacher in a
189classroom is a lot. Even a $100 is a lot. And we can do that if we choose to forego travel and professional development for one year where it's with like um uh other organizations but we could still do professional development through Missouri schoolboard association. We have had people come to us to do to do uh presentations. there are people who are out there who uh will volunteer to come and do some uh professional development for us just for one year. So that's that's my ask of the board and that's just something I thought we we could discuss and and um um possibly do for one year for our teachers. Don't shoot me. >> Well, one if I can comment uh Dr. Thurman. Um I appreciate the um I think the sentiment there and the you
190know obviously the thought and planning that went into coming up with that. Um for me personally just because of the demands that I have on me at this point. I don't anticipate doing much if any traveling with the board this year. However, I I do not I'm not in agreement with taking that opportunity away from every other board member. Um, every uh everybody who works within the system, teachers and board members have a right to professional development so we can be better in the roles that we're in. Um, and you noted some areas where we could give, but a budget exists for all those areas that you noted we could do extra, but a budget exists for many of those things. And so, may not for all of them, but for many of those things.
191Um, so I think the other piece of it is, you know, I feel like was there a cut to this budget already? Didn't we already cut this budget to to sort of uh make sure that people knew that we were also trimming the fat on our end? We cut our PD budget already. Didn't we do that? >> Yeah. >> And I thought that was the rationale behind >> doing that. So, I don't know. So, for me personally, I don't anticipate traveling much anyway. But I, as one board member, am not in favor of taking that away from every board member because I just don't know what other people may need or feel like areas where they feel like they may need to grow. So, I respect that. I respect that. Uh the the things that
192I did um bring up are not things that are covered. Um >> I said not all of them. >> I know. I know. I'm just saying they're not. And so, um, I just thought it would be an opportunity for us to just kind of help with morale. And that's one of the big things that we're struggling with in our in our district right now is school morale. It's not just for teachers. It's it's for all staff. And how can we do every some little thing that will say from the board as a whole, we are saying to you, we want to give you something to let you know that we appreciate you. And here's something that we can do. At every board member, we're going to pull somebody's name out of a hat and you
193get a $100 for your classroom or for your counseling or whatever you do as certified staff. Um, I'd like to hear from our student and see what what you think about. >> Um, I think it could be a good idea. However, I also think that for the like the new members, like you were saying, they do need to get their professional development. So, um, but I think it's I think it would be a a good idea to, you know, allocate those funds to a classroom somewhere would be cool. >> I mean, I I have to say like I think um from a perspective of a new board member, I felt like I didn't feel like I know that the professional development really helped me grow as a person. I just go back and forth with
194where we at financially. I don't, like Sheila said, I don't because of demands that I have currently, I'm not really planning on using mine at all. Um, but I don't want to take away again from a new board member or a delegate. That's kind of my concern because I know professional development on a new board member is very helpful. Um, and you do need more than just that 16 hours within there because you might not have no knowledge of schools or a little bit of knowledge of how policy works and different things like that. But me personally, I mean, I'm not planning on using it. Use my money however is deemed a better, whatever. And that's my personal thing. But again, I also feel like to the point where if board members so choose to
195travel, that does not mean that they're not supportive of the school. That means that of the school district, that just means that where they are in their journey, where they are in their life um professional development wise. Um, everybody's at different points of their life where they need it. So that does not mean that you are not bought into our system at all, but I can only speak for myself and personally I don't really care where the money goes to. I don't plan on using it and I do understand that we're in financial restraints right now. >> Okay. And again, I just want to make sure that I um that you hear me that this is not to uh take money from our our new person who needs to have this the professional development for
196sure. uh we want to make sure that they get that and I know that you know most of us are working on different certification levels and and and that's really important and I also don't want to downplay professional development for for our our board members. I'm just asking for one year. I'm not saying for all and forever, but just for this one year just because I'd like to see something where we we're starting the school off where we're telling our teachers, we really do, you know, hear you. We know that you're not getting paid the way you should be paid. And here's something from the board as a whole that we would like to contribute to give uh putting a smile on your face and and giving you a little bit of something to just
197say that um this is money that we could spend one way but we decide to spend it another way. And again um we can we can call for the vote and the vote can be that we do it or or that we don't do it. I will not be using mine. I would like to reallocate all of mine towards um something in that vein and possibly working with um Dr. Shaw to set up some things that we can do to get uh some grants through from the board, a gift from the board. Um and just some ideas, just some ideas. So, at this point, we want to we want to uh and let's let's the vote will the motion is mic. >> You You want to read the motion? >> Sure. Sure. Sure. Sure. Maybe
198I can and maybe I can't. Let's see. Oh, here we go. Okay. The board shall approve their travel for conference for the 2526 school year. Um, and so we can we can vote to go with that or we can we can put up another um motion after we after we take the vote. >> Right. But the current motion on the floor is that the board shall approve their travel for conference for the 2526 school year. Correct. >> Exactly. Yes. >> All right. And are we ready? >> Point of clarity. >> Is it the $4,000? I just want to make sure. Is that what it is, Dr. Graves? Is that what you said in yours? I went with the recommendation that is listed on the um actual agenda. >> The actual agenda says the board shall
199approve their travel for conferences for the 2526 school year. And so we couldn't go outside of the 28,000 regardless if people decide to travel not to travel. We can't go because that's what's already been budgeted. >> Well, I guess that raises a different question then. I'm just raising it because >> if every board member went to all four of these things, we'd be above 28,000. It sure would be. >> So, I guess my question would be is are we going back to the $4,000 a person? Because if I say I'm not traveling and does that leave now other people just take the $28,000 to be able to go. I'm just curious of because that does change my vote of how it would be because how do we pick who goes to what then? >> I
200didn't write the agenda. I what I submitted I was put was what I put on the recommendation and that's not what was submitted. So this is what um was placed on the agenda. >> This is I just got your recommendation today I think. Well, can we amend the motion to just state um the board shall approve their travel for conferences for the 2526 school year um with board members having the option to elect to put their portion that 4,000 back into the >> I think if we just limit it up to 4,000 plus delegates get to go is is cleaner than just everything else >> that that you have $4,000 in delegates are also going to MSBA annual conference. So are you saying what I said works but add the part about the delegates or
201you saying >> I don't think we need to put in there about reallocate it back to other places. I just think >> oh just leave it as >> when we get a budget amendment we can work with Dr. Fields and Mr. Chance of how to reallocate that part of the budget when we do a budget amendment which we're going to have to do a budget amendment anyway. So once >> we can reallocate it when we do the actual budget amendment to reduce that amount of it. Um, >> it's because >> Go on. >> Yes. Because I think what's what was on the table to Kevin's point was allocating $4,000 per each board member. And I think the simplest to that point is to just that's the that's the recommendation >> is that the board approves
202this PD $4,000 per B member excluding >> MSBA. MSBA >> if you're a delegate, which is Dr. Graves, Mr. Bailey, and I'm the alternate. >> And also first year, >> first year, we're still providing PD regardless of what she might choose because she might choose to go to something else, not MSBA. >> Choice of what? >> Okay. >> So, whoever um did um make the motion, we need to say it's okay to change the motion. >> I say it's okay to change And I I I agree. >> Okay. So, the new motion on the floor is that the board approve travel for conferences for each board member at the cost of $4,000 per board member >> and just leave it at that. >> I was just saying not to exceed $4,000. >> Not to exceed
203$4,000. >> Now, okay. I thought we were saying board. The board shall approve their travel for conferences for the 2526 school year exclusive of fees for uh delegates. >> No, still 4,000. >> No, I'm saying ex meaning that that wasn't going to be considered as part of the 28,000. That's the purpose of me saying exclusive of that like that it's approved, but it does it is not it does not include that money that would go for delegates to travel >> is what I thought I was hearing. the $4,000 amount still needs to be somewhere in there that it's $4,000. >> So, we need to add that in there. Okay. >> Not to exceed the $4,000 because again, >> so that would apply to the delegates also because but that's what I'm saying. So, that's why
204I'm trying to put this piece in >> which is what I have in. >> Yes. I think we're just missing the part not to exceed 4,000. >> The 4,000 not to exceed that. Okay. Um, let me let me put that in here. Okay. Now, what I have is the board shall approve uh their travel for conferences for the 2526 school year not to excl exceed $4,000 per board member exclusive of fees for delegate travel. >> And I just have >> I just have one more recommendation >> and new. Okay. Um, I just don't like the sound of travel and conferences. This is professional development. >> Okay. Because it just sounds >> Yes, I think that's true. So people know what it's for. Okay. And that's why it's listed at >> professional development >> not to
205exceed uh $4,000 per board member. Okay, I'm gonna try it again. >> Board shall approve the board shall approve their travel well their professional development. I didn't realize I had it in two places. The board shall approve their professional development uh for the 2526 school year not to exceed $4,000 per board member exclusive of fees for delegates and new board members travel. Well, PD PD somehow PD. Okay, child. That was a lot. Okay, >> but we got it. >> We did. We did. >> We have the motion. Yes, I think we are. You ready for me to call? >> No. Who did Who's gonna >> Oh, we're ready for the motion. Okay. So, you want to call? >> May I have a motion? >> Point of order. We already have a motion on the floor.
206>> We already have the motion. >> We have a motion that we never voted on. >> We took it down. >> I thought they were amending it. >> Oh, Lord. Okay. >> The same two people who motioned that motion. We're against agreed to motion. That's what I thought. >> Okay. Let me tell you something, K. You already know that what that was about was that you wanted to say point of clarity. Like you just wanted to >> you wanted to say something like cuz I said something. Okay. >> Cuz it's only 9:06. I want to be here till midnight. >> Okay. So, are we are we the we're the two people and are we at a place where we can call for the vote? >> Are you Madam President, are we at a place that
207we can call for the vote? >> Yes, let's call for the vote. Okay. >> All right. Mr. Bailey. >> Yes. Based on the amendments. Yes. >> Yes. It this is based on the the one I just read that had the extra language in it. Um Mrs. Manserie, >> yes. >> Dr. Martin, >> yes. >> Dr. Graves, >> yes. Secretary votes yes. Uh Mr. Tyson, >> yes. >> Madame President, no. >> Motion passes. Okay, up next we have Mr. Moore on board policy updates. >> Awesome. >> Good evening board members, Dr. Field, and members of our community. Tonight, I am presenting the first read of nine policy updates for your review. I am Charlie Moore, the chief of staff for the district. Throughout the year, um, as new laws take effect, the Missouri School Boards Association
208provides recommended updates for your consideration and adoption. These updates reflect recent legislative changes from House Bill 199, Senate Bill 63, and Senate Bill 68. For your review, each policy draft includes a summary outlining the rationale for the proposed changes. And here are the nine proposed changes of which I would like to point out two. The first of which is policy EHBA, student use of personal electronic devices for instructional purposes. um that has been completely rescended. It is recommended that we completely resend that policy in lie of policy JFCD, student use of personal communication devices. Um one additional note is I will speak in more detail about this policy and how we plan to comply with the law during my next presentation on the 2025 2026 student expectation code. Um outside of that, in your board
209packet, you have received the updated policies. Each policy includes a brief explanation outlining the rationale for the update. It is highlighted in gray. Newly added language is highlighted in green and removed language appears in red. Again, this is a first read and it is only in response to recent updates from uh Missouri legislation. So, I am standing by for any questions the board may have. >> This is for board information only. So, >> yes, ma'am. >> I do have a point of clarity. >> Yes, sir. >> I I I do believe that we need to take action on two policies tonight in order to comp comply with the law of the cell phone use one because we do not meet till September. And so therefore, I would recommend that the board wave the first reading
210and resin policy EHBA and immediately go into in effect policy JFCD in order to be in compliance with the law around the cell phone personal electronic use ones. And I just would like to say the administration would support that 100%. >> And the rest would remain on a first reading. So I move that we resend. Can you go back to that slide? Yes, sir. >> Resend policy EHBA effective August 14, 2025 and uh policy JFCD. We wave the first reading and is implemented effective July August 5th 14, 2025. >> Second. discussion. >> Mr. Gates says he doesn't want to wear smartwatch anymore. So, that's why I want to make sure we pass that tonight so he's ready to go without his personal laptop device or his uh smartwatch. He won't be able to have >>
211you might not want to um Okay. >> Any real discussion? >> Okay. Hearing none, let's call for the vote. Dr. Graves, >> yes. >> Dr. Martin, >> yes. >> Mrs. Manserie, >> yes. >> Mr. Bailey, >> yes. >> Secretary Bose, yes. Mr. Tyson, Madame President, >> yes. Motion passes. >> Thank you. >> You talking about the one he just said? Yeah, I'm writing it down. Okay. Is there anything else that you need to on this topic or can we move on to um student expectation code? >> Yes, ma'am. >> While technology is getting it up. Um, tonight I'm excited to present the 2025 2026 student expectation code. On July 1st, 2025, policy JR1, student discipline, um, it essentially affirms that the student expectation code cannot list every possible offense that may result in disciplinary action.
212However, it does establish that certain offenses, if committed, will result in specific disciplinary actions. The SEC is designed to promote consistency across all of our schools, address disciplinary disproportionality, which often stems from subjective decision-making, and provide a clear shared framework for our students, staff, and families. Um, one addition that I would add is as this is an administrative procedure, we did share with families yesterday. Uh before reviewing our major updates, I want to publicly thank our SEC committee members for their time and expertise in shaping this year's document. I especially want to thank and recognize our teachers who met with us this summer as we were shaping this document outside of their contracted hours to share their insights um as they work most closely with our students. The revised SEC remains fully aligned with the
213board policy JGR1 and is largely consistent, excuse me, it is largely consistent with last year's version. However, there are four notable updates that I would like to talk about briefly um tonight. The first of which is the bullying reporting process. Last year, the district used PSST world to report all bullying incidents. This year, we have developed an internal bullying reporting form. submissions will be routed automatically to the building principal. Um it will be routed to myself and other central office administrators and this will ensure that we are timely investigating each bullying claim and we have a centralized tracking system so if there are any questions as to how many bullying incidences there was um we have a we have a identified method to be able to um answer that question um intelligently. The second of
214which is school uniforms. Um, last year we had a student reach out to the board asking for the ability to wear black pants. So, we are excited to share that black pants, skirts, and bottoms have been added as approved uniform options. The third of which is in K through two level five offenses. Unfortunately, last year we saw a few level five behaviors from students um in kindergarten through 2 grade. And what we noticed in DEEC was principles did not have the option to able to be able to suspend students when they committed those level five infractions. Um I want to emphasize it will be on a very limited basis. However, what we want to do is be able to um respond to those incidents. And then finally the most important one is device free in
215FFSD. We have sent out numerous uh elements of communication, but it is in response to Senate Bill 68. The updated SEC includes progress progressive discipline guidelines that comply with legislation. Um it was approved tonight thankfully. Um these guidelines will provide administrators with the flex flexibility to use interventions without defaulting to suspensions. And I just want to briefly speak to what those progressive discipline pieces will be. So, the first of which is the student will be verbally warned. Um, little Charlie, you shouldn't have your phone. Please put it away. Um, as the teacher or whomever warns the student, they will put that piece in infinite campus. Um, the second of which the parent will be called after that intervention after that intervention has been exhausted. The third of which uh the student will be referred to
216the main office where they will be asked uh to turn in turn in their device and I'm not just speaking about cell phones. It's it's earbuds, it's iPads, it's all electronic devices to the office professional. We are we have maintained and we've spoken with administrators. It is the intent is not to get into a power struggle but to give the student the opportunity to turn in the device um after which their parents will be able to pick up the device at the end of the day. Um and then the fourth element um is where we get into some real consequences. What we will do is refer the student for non-compliant. They're not complying with the stated goal or the stated intent, which is what the law says that you cannot have uh the electronic device.
217The consequence of that is level two and level three consequences um for each of our grade levels. So what we've done is is is tried to be reflective. We want students to meet the intent but also not to be so harsh where we handcuff ourselves into you have to suspend out of school for this many days. There are a number of districts in our region who um they have been really prescript prescriptive after the fourth offense is nine days. After the fourth offense is 10 days. Um and while we we definitely don't plan to go that route, we we want to ensure that families know that there is a punishment, there is a consequence to you not complying with the policy and with the law. However, we also want to have students have the op
218the opportunity to learn from those consequences and come back just a little bit sooner than other districts in the region. So, with that being stated, this is for board information. Um, we are in compliance with the policy and the policy states that uh the handbook is will be followed. So, this is what we believe an administrative procedure. So, um we are open for any questions that the board may have. Dr. Pow Walker, would you like to start this time? >> I don't have any questions at this time. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Moore. I just want to say um I know that um the K through2 level five offenses is uh something that um the SEC has battled with for a while now. Yes, ma'am. Um but I do know that the nature of uh
219what we have to um what teachers have to go through um is um becoming a lot more difficult. >> It is. Yes, ma'am. >> Um but I do um like that we put that it at least have to um if that's going to be the choice of decision made that it has to receive pri um prior approval from central office. >> Yes ma'am. So, um, that was one of the things that, um, >> I'm like, okay, I think I can, >> yeah, >> go with that. But my my hope is that we continue to put all supports in definitely at that level because, um, >> I mean, maybe that is that we have way more interventions. Instead of like stopping at five, it's like maybe six or seven more. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Um, because
220that is um something that this state have really tried to work on. >> Understood. Yes, ma'am. Well, my hope is that every child, every student in the district comes in and follows the rules. >> Yes, sir. >> But >> bless your heart. >> That is the expectation. Should there not should there be one or two that do not uh I do appreciate the uh the not not immediately discipline them or kicking them out of school or whatever like the the path but it does get to a point to where you're not compliant like we've given you >> all of these opportunities um there should be some consequences to that. So I do like what I've heard. So I do have a question. >> Yes sir. >> So you say earbuds are part of personal devices.
221Does that include like wired earbuds too or just Bluetooth ones? >> I would say yes. Wired as well. >> Okay. >> But there are some craw though I want to make clear as I as I said tonight. So students who have IEPs um I also just read the law before I got up here. If there's an emergency situation uh the law is waved. Um and if there are educational purposes that the teacher has identified um then they are allowed to have the devices. So you know there are carveouts it's few and far in between but again this is something that we have to comply with as state law. >> All right. Thank you. >> And just to clarify uh Mr. Moore when you say students with IEPs can we uh further clarify just just because
222a student has an IEP it has to be something that's written within the um >> Yes sir. My apologies. It has to be written within the IEP. So, you just can't say, "I have an IEP, so I got to have my device." No, it has to be written within it. >> Thank you for the question, though. >> Thank you, Mr. Moore. Uh, I know I gave you a heads up. I have some questions. And so, I appreciate all the team's work in all seriousness of it. And so, >> um, some of my concerns is just around the SEC and alignment to board policy, right? And so, the board's now approved policy JGR1. And um in there uh we no longer have levels and the policy clearly says you can't change from what we say for
223the consequences you can narrow. Yes sir. >> So the levels that are now in here do not align with the policy. >> For example, loss of privileges of recess for the one that was listed is not one of the options that the boards granted people to give. That's not an option for that. And so that's an example. The other one is for the cell phone piece. It says referral for non-compliance. Under our new policy, there's no uh non-compliance is not one of the prohibited conduct conduct that we prohibit uh that I could see that's listed as one of the things that you cannot have non-compliance listed. There's nothing that I saw in our policy code that says non-compliance is now an infraction of our district. Um and so my concern is that the policy and
224the SEC are not in agreement with each other because it does state uh building administrators are authorized to more narrowly tailor potential consequences as age appropriate for age level of students within the ranges established in the regulation. So we can't change what's in here, but we can make it smaller based on their age. So, we can't, for example, we can't just add no recess if the board's not authorized loss of privilege as one of the first consequences or subsequent qu consequence or offense. And then when it gets to the cell phone one, which I know I raised before, there's nothing about non-compliance in there. Um, so I don't know what we would be referring to because there's no infraction of non-compliance anymore in the infraction regulation code. Um, there's technology misuse, which I assume is
225one of those things that we're talking about. Uh, but there's not anything uh about non-compliance or insubordination, which should be something that we used to have in there that's no longer in our discipline infraction code. So, I'm just curious how that's working in congruent with each other because again, levels are no longer an option uh if they don't align with first offense and second offense uh based on each of these pieces of the regulation. >> So, I can take a stab at it and then I'll defer to Dr. Fields. So, one of the thing that one of the things that the policy does is it gives broad latitude. it says inschool suspension suspension for 1 to 180 days or other elements. Um so what the SEC does is as I spoke about earlier it it
226gives us a consistent way to discipline students across different schools with such broad latitude without an SEC. um an assistant principal at Mccclure for an infraction may suspend for eight days and a assistant principal at Mccclure North for that same infraction may suspend for 4 days. So what the SEC does is it gives us guidelines to say for this same offense in both schools we will have the same consequence. So I I don't interpret uh the SEC as being out of alignment with the policy. Um, I think this just gives us guidelines to progressively discipline and to ensure that there is no disproportionality across our schools. >> And I I hear that and appreciate that. I guess I'm saying is there are some things and I use loss of privilege as an example is not
227listed as an option that we provided the district to give. >> Okay. >> So when we're seeing loss of privilege of no recess, it's not listed in the SEC as an option. So like sometimes it's restitution, parent student conference, detention, inschool suspension, one to 180 days suspension to your point or expulsion. Those are the only options for that infraction code that we as a board have allowed the district to implement for the first offense. We then go to the second offense. Detention is no longer allowed for that offense. So the administration can't just issue detention for the second offense because we as a board have already set that that is not an option. >> Yes, sir. >> For for it. And so that's where I'm not seeing the alignment between the two. Um, and I'm
228just using the one example of recess, but I didn't see recess and I didn't see non-compliance as an infraction code. Just like I know we used to have insubordination, which is very subjective and one of the things that >> sometimes got us caught up in due processes and other things for suspending people disproportionately for insubordination because it's like respect. Respect is very much a subjective matter. And so some of those things got eliminated. And so I just >> am cautious because I'm not seeing the the connection between the two. And then with the cell phone one I'm not seeing because it's the second time I think we're in alignment outside of it. The first offense the minimum is a conf confiscation of the item principal student conference detention or in school suspension is the first
229offense for all levels regardless of it which I think if we look at the SEC let me scroll up to that screen. The first offense is a verbal warning redirection by a parent or teach redirection which would need to then be clarified that it's not a warning is not an option based on our code. It would have to be listed as a conference in order to align with what the policy is saying. >> Understood. So what I can commit to doing we met a few times in leading in leading up after the policies were already passed. um we will meet as an SEC team again. I can commit to um making sure that meeting happens sooner rather than later and we will take a close look at those um recommendations that you just gave, Doc.
230I appreciate you pushing our thinking though. >> Yeah, and I know school's starting. I do think it's important that we have this as much done as possible to start the school year because again >> if we're suspending based off the SEC and not policy then people can do process that and gets us into other legal trouble where then people then get other people involved with lawyers and then we are in court cases because we're not following our policy because SEC is not the policy the policy book is that. Thank you. Um, just one thing I want to add. I too have a love for uh assembly as much as uh many of our board members. And I I do agree with Dr. Martin from the standpoint and we we certainly want to look at that.
231But also want to be clear that um JGR1 is technically not a policy, it's a regulation. And so with that, it does mention the student expectation code. I'm not saying it's one way or the other. And there's also some language where sometimes with the cell phone for an example, it may be also insubordination. It could be a number of things. It's not a one list all. And part of that sentence is part of the third one says that um any conduct not included and it goes into a combination of offenses may result in disciplinary consequences that extend beyond this code of conduct. So again, there is a lot of language I think we have to continue to clean up. Um Dr. Dr. Mo, your your words are are certainly something well received. I appreciate u
232Mr. Moore as we go back and try to figure this thing out. Having said that, I do want to be clear in this particular regard. JGR1 is a regulation and we do want to make sure it's aligned with the student expectation code, but they're not necessarily synonymous with the policy as well. >> Yes, sir. >> I I will push on that regulation is by the board where the administrative procedure is administration. So I do think the board's still responsible for regulations and board policies. Uh the administrative procedures are the only thing the administration controls. But we can get clarity from legal if we want to as well. >> Thank you. >> I have no comments at this time. >> No, I just want to say that I share the same sentiments as Dr. Graves. Um
233you know, anytime you get um younger grades and stuff like that, I'm always it's to me I feel like it's always a teachable moment. Yes, sir. >> And not necessarily always have to be punitive. >> Yeah. >> Um so I just am grateful that you know we are putting some structure in place um when it comes to that and I appreciate that. >> Yes sir. It it it was one thing that was brought out in the SEC um and through DEEC last year. What I can tell you there were limited incidences but um there were a couple of incidents where some staff members were put in the hospital by students in grades K through two. And I think that that is an area where we have to be able to have um some language to
234say that that is clearly unacceptable. Yeah. >> Okay. Um point of clarity. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Just want to make sure that as our parents are listening to this, um I saw through social media the question going back and forth about parents are saying kids can't bring their devices to school. And then others are saying you can bring your devices to school, you just can't use them while they're in school and they can't be seen and they should not be used. And that means even at lunchtime, >> correct? >> Okay. So, make sure >> Yes, ma'am. So, two two elements of that. So, the first is the law explicitly states that it is from the start of school until the end of school. And it also states that you can't have it out during lunch
235during passing periods. So you you are correct in in that manner. Um and the second piece is at our high schools we have open gate technology. We have metal detectors. Last year the onus was on safety and security to confiscate devices before um they entered the school. This year the onus shifts back to the student. We're not doing that. We we are making sure that you don't have a weapon, but we're not taking your devices as you're coming into the school. As a student, it is very clear what our expectations are across the district and across the state. You cannot have electronics in school. We're not going to confiscate them walking through the door. If you bring them, do not have them out. We don't have the the staff. We don't have the capacity to
236be able to to sustain that throughout the year. Um, but what we will do is is be in alignment with what we have on paper. So, a level two and a level three consequence, we will continue to give them out. If it's two days, we'll give two days out. We give two days out, two days out. One additional piece is for those consequences, it doesn't restart every day. So if I went through one, two, and three yesterday, I don't start back at one. Tomorrow after the mom has picked up my phone, you go to a level four con consequence, which as of right now, it is non-compliance and a level two and a level three consequence. So just want to make sure that families are clear. We're going to hold out this year. >> Is
237there a way that we can get that message out to our parents again? >> Yes, ma'am. um before they come to school on Monday. >> Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. We work >> and make sure you list like the watches, the the earphones, the >> Yes, ma'am. We work an has created a beautiful graphic that has all of the different um options for technology, earbuds, and we have a slogan device free and FFSD. So, we will continue to make sure that that that is out as well as our uniform policy. >> Thank you. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Any other comments or questions on this? just to comment, but to be safe, just leave the phones and devices at home, right? >> Because I know with me, I be saying to myself, I'm not going to look
238at it while I'm driving. And I don't >> I'll wait till I get to a stop sign, right? >> I don't I wait till I get to a stop sign, >> but even then, it takes too much of my attention. But if I just leave it out the way, I don't pick it up. I don't bother it. I think it would be good to also communicate that the best way to avoid consequences or >> Yes, sir. >> Just leave the devices at home. >> Yes, sir. >> I think um Mr. Tyson, I understand what I understand the sentiment there. I think that there are families though where Yeah. >> the cell phone is a it's a it's a safety thing. It's, you know, it's how parents get in touch with their kids to make sure
239they're walking home and they're okay. But I I do agree that if there's a way you can leave it at home, if you're honest with yourself and you know you don't really need it, then I think the best thing is to leave it at home. But I do know we're going to have some folks who going to need it for safety and stay in touch with their families. So >> not during the school day though. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Any other comments or That's all. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Sorry, new business. Is there any new business? >> Okay, seeing none, uh, we're going to adjourn to closed. >> So moved. >> Call for the vote. Well, we don't do we need this. >> Graves, >> yes. >> Martin, >> yes. >> Mansery, >> yes. >>
240Bailey, >> yes. >> Secretary votes, yes. Mr. Tyson, Madame President, >> yes. Thank you all for hanging in with us.