001Have we scored yet? Nope. Haven't scored yet. >> Yeah. All right, I'm going to call our meeting to order. Um, we will start with our pledge of allegiance. Pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right. Tonight, instead of our um normal recognitions we do of students, we have um tonight we have invited all of our retirees to come and we'll go ahead and invite you guys to come up and start that. All of their supervisors should be with them and we're going to give them a moment to speak. Now, when we're done, we'd like for everybody to stay because we want to get a picture with everybody after. So, who
002do we have? We're gonna We're going to start with Brett Adams. >> We're excited to recognize Brett Adams. He spent 17 years in our transportation department. He's been the backbone of the transportation department. You call Brett, he knows every route, every street, every kid, and every parent. So, his institutional knowledge will be missed. And we hope him a happy retirement. >> You want me to go ahead and just do all three junior high while I'm up here? Okay. Do you want them up with us? she appeared. All right. Um, so Stacy AG, she is our ISS pair professional. Um, Stacy has been one of the calmst and most steady presences in our building. Anyone who has worked with her knows she has a special ability to balance accountability with compassion, especially with students who needed
003who needed it the most. Stacy held students to high expectations while also making them feel seen, supported, and cared for. When things got chaotic, Stacy stepped into our office without hesitation. her organization, positivity, and willingness to help will absolutely um be missed at OJH. Our other retiree is Kyle Templeton. Kyle has served OJH in a variety of roles over the years, including coaching, social studies, and project lead the way. Throughout his time here, he was always willing to step in where needed and take on different responsibilities within the building. He also spent some time at MS, and we wish him the best in his retirement. And then last but not least, this is Dana. Um, Dana was my first ever mentee. So, um, this makes me sad that she's leaving. Um, Dana Pepsil has been
004such an important part of 8th grade ELA and O.J. as a whole. Dana's thoughtful and considerate presence has made a la lasting impact on both students and staff. She has a unique ability to notice the little details others often overlook and always brings a fresh perspective to conversations and decisions. Dana consistently went above and beyond for students while also serving as a mentor and support system for colleagues, especially new teachers. She leads with quiet confidence, strong conviction, and a genuine care for kids. And I also want to point out that Dana is also in charge of our yearbook and newspaper. This is a very stressful time of year for that. Um, so we appreciate her. Um Dana, you know, junior high students can't drive. Um so Dana was always there taking pictures. She always went
005that extra effort to make sure our yearbook looked really great. And um we're just going to miss you so much. >> I know Kyle loves attention. So, make sure we're looking at him while I'm talking about him. So, tonight I have the awesome opportunity to get to recognize someone who's played a huge role behind the scenes in keeping Ozark R six school district running smoothly every single day and that is Mr. Kyle Anderson for 28 years and he actually was here helping before that while working for another company. Right. Yes. Kyle's been the person making sure our students and staff could connect, learn, communicate, and problem solve in a world that depends more and more upon technology. While most people only notice the technology when it's not working or stops, Kyle spent his career making
006sure that it usually did work. He even went so far in the beginning to weather an ice storm and climbed to the top of South Elementary to knock off ice on an antenna with a broken hockey stick he found in a room cuz he didn't have anything. He couldn't reach it. So he found it in the building, brought it back up to that point and got that ice off there and the pointto-oint wireless was back. So I won't talk about the summer of OIC prep because I think he still has PTSD from that moment. But whether it was solving problems before anyone else even needed them or noticed, helping staff navigate new systems or responding during those unexpected tech emergencies, Kyle has always been a trusted leader in technology with Ozark Schools. Kyle, thank you
007for your years of dedication to Ozark and to this community. We are incredibly grateful for your service and we wish you nothing but the best in retirement. And although we may still be tempted to call you the next time when the Wi-Fi goes down. Congratulations, Kyle. >> Thank you. Next, we have Belinda Bant. >> All right. I am honored to speak tonight about Belinda Bant. When you say that name in Ozark or educational circles, honestly, the reactions speak for themselves. She's simply adored in our building across the whole entire building, but also um the community. And so, the word mentor comes to mind. And so, her 20 years at uh at Ozark have all been at MS and all have been at the sixth grade special education department. And so the word mentor comes to
008mind, but that's not just in sped circles and mentoring those teachers. But um honestly um any new teacher in the building to veteran teachers to myself and she's just simply an an excellent friend and mentor and just a wealth of wisdom to any she comes in contact with. So, I know I have been honored to be uh her co-orker and boss, and I know our building is forever grateful for her expertise and care and just love for everyone within the building. So, Belinda, congratulations. Next, we have Rebecca Buffington. So, I've got the pleasure of recognizing Rebecca Buffington. Um, she's had a long career in education and for the last 14 years, she's been serving Ozark. Uh, and the high school definitely would not be the same without Rebecca Buffington next year. Um, when I first
009came to Ozark, she was the first person that greeted me and right away started to line me out. Um, and if you know Rebecca at all, you know that's what she does with everyone. She helps them know where they're supposed to be and when they're supposed to be there. And we greatly appreciate the hard work that she puts in. A lot of our events. We recognize the work that gets done behind the scenes. And Rebecca is often the person that does that, leads that, and makes sure that it happens. So, we're just so grateful that she has chose to give um as many years she as she has to Ozark. Uh, and I'm grateful for her mentorship and her friendship uh in the office throughout these last two years. and I'm just very grateful for
010for her and the work she's done. So proud to recognize Rebecca tonight. >> Next we have Jennifer Clark. >> And are we doing all of the West people at one time? Okay. Elizabeth Wilson was not able to be here today, but I will say some things about her. Um, she is retiring after 23 years of teaching, 19 amazing years with Ozark. And fun fact, she was my cooperating teacher when I student taught as a non-traditional student. So, we had a great time together and it was a privilege to return to West to work with her. She is truly the backbone of our media center. Whether you're a student or a staff member, she is the ultimate problem solver. You've got a computer tech issue, she is going to fix it. A book recommendation that will
011actually get a reluctant reader excited, she's already on it. She holds our students to high expectations because she truly believes in them and helps to grow their love of reading. She has worked tireless tirelessly with our PTA to secure funds needed to keep our library modern and vibrant. Elizabeth did not just manage a library. She cultivated a lifelong love of reading in this in our building. She is the calm in the chaos, a brilliant mind, and a dear friend. We will miss her terribly, and we wish her the happiest, most relaxing retirement. All right, next we are going to honor a legend of second grade, Jennifer Clark. Jennifer is retiring after 27 incredible years of teaching. All of them right here in Ozark. All of them in second grade. That's amazing. Um, with eight years
012at South and 19 years at West, Jennifer is without a doubt the most organized person in any room she enters. She is an instructionally sound literacy educator whose high standards ensure her students don't just learn, they absolutely thrive and grow academically. The Pizza Hut Booket program is definitely going to notice a drop in readership without her driving it forward. But Jennifer didn't just teach, she made school fun. She is our field trip planner extraordinaire and the mastermind behind our secret Santa and March Madness brackets. She brought structure to our classrooms and joy to our staff with these events. Jennifer, thank you for 27 years of dedication, excellence, and community. Second grade will not be the same without you. She's hiding behind me. Next, we celebrate a true cornerstone of our community, Shelley Hampton. Shelley's dedication
013to our families runs incredibly deep. She started all the way back in college working Tiger Care, spent six years as a parents as teachers educator, and has dedicated 26 years as a classroom teacher and interventionist. No matter what position she has held over the years, Shelley has consistently been the hardest worker in the room. Yet, she never asks for or wants, as you can see, any attention for the incredible work she does. She simply puts her head down and makes magic happen. As a reading recovery teacher, she is simply amazing with students helping countless children flourish. Shelley is a steady rock, faithful, loyal, and fiercely compassionate. She will always shoot straight with you, but she has a beautiful way of delivering the truth so it's always wellreceived. Shelley, thank you for your quiet humility, your
014unmatched work ethic, and for being our anchor. We wish you a beautiful, welldeserved retirement. Thank you. Next, we have Beth Clippard. >> All right, so I just have a few words about Beth. She is such a light at East. Um she has taught for 27 years. Most of them at the district over there, but the last four here. And she says she loves it. She loves it more. >> Yeah. Yes. She was an amazing classroom teacher, but she has also finished out her last couple of years as our technology teacher at East where she is able to impact every student in our building. And that is amazing because she just she is able to give them this confidence about learning and about themselves. Um and she makes learning fun and engaging. And she also has
015a way of just bringing her expertise to the team um to make it stronger while also just continuing to learn on a daily basis which is just so appreciated. Um she builds students up. She gives people confidence. her her other colleagues as well as students. Um she finds ways to pour in to others whether that's kids or adults and she will be the one always asking how can I help? How can I help? Can you tell me what I can do to take a load off of you or anyone else? And that's just so appreciated in our building. Um she is the hostess with the mostess and she always makes everything look amazing. So we are going to make her come back quarterly and decorate the building according to whatever theme she has in her
016head. U we will miss her presence so much in our building. She is just a positive positive person in our building. So according to >> and then I'm gonna go ahead and just talk quickly about Jerry Wilson. She's not here tonight but she is also in our building. She's a first grade teacher. She also taught special education for us as well. She is the calm in the chaos as Rachel said um about one of her teachers and she just she is now going to be a flight attendant. And I can think of no better job for Jerry Wilson than a flight attendant because she is able to just diffuse situations and make people feel comfortable no matter what is going on. And so even though she is not able to be here tonight, we wanted
017to recognize her and just thank her for everything that she does for East on a daily basis as well. Next up, we have Cindy Cobb. I have three amazing women up here who I excited to honor. First, we'll start with Miss Cobb. Miss Cobb has dedicated her career to teaching our youngest learners at both South and North Elementary, making a lasting impact on students, families, and staff throughout the Ozark community. She is known as a pillar of the community because she has a deep love and support for Ozark schools. You can often times find her at the gate and she's has a smiling face. In addition to teaching, Miss Cobb was an active member of the South PTA. We still have some playground equipment thanks to her and students still benefit today from the work
018and commitment she poured into our school. Her dedication and passion for children will be greatly missed. We wish her a joyful and welldeserved retirement. And then Casey Morgan. Miss Morgan has dedicated her whole career impacting the lives of South students, which is amazing. Throughout her years, she was a first grade teacher, literacy coach, and she's ended her career as an amazing techarian where our students have loved all of her readalouds. We will miss that. I will miss sharing this story. She's turns books into magic. Um, she has inspired countless students and created blasting core memories for so many families. Her kindness, her passion for teaching, and her positive spirit have been a light for both students and staff each day. Miss Morgan's legacy will continue to live on through many lives of the students she's
019touched. She will be greatly missed and we wish her a wonderful and also welldeserved retirement. She was yesterday voted on by our students as the most um like biggest Ozark fan. Yes. So that was exciting, too. Okay. And then we have Miss Little. Miss Little has impacted the lives of students for over 30 years with her dedication and love for for students. Throughout her career, both as a teacher and behavior interventionist, she has been a strong advocate for students and work to make school a safe and welcoming place for children. Miss Little has worked tirelessly along staff, students, and many families to ensure students feel supported and enjoyed coming to school each day with a smile on their face. She has created countless core memories for our students and leaves behind a lasting legacy of
020care and compassion. She will be greatly missed and we wish her a wonderful retirement. Yeah, there we go. >> She does not. >> She was hoping Roger Bill would get quite involved. >> Good. You can stand right beside me. Dr. Laura Akens is retiring as our executive director of special services. She has served public school children in Missouri for 28 years as a speech language pathologist, a process coordinator, a director of Tigerpaw and then our exe uh director of interventions and now the executive sped and uh she served NIXA and Straford in Branson and Ozark and her next steps are to be the best version of poolside Laura as possible. Dr. Akens will be greatly greatly missed. Her heart is always in the right place. She has an amazing gift to be able to uh
021backwards design projects and problems. And her ability to see a student issue and understand the intricacies and the holes that that student is missing is unlike hardly anyone I know. uh it's a technical skill that allows her to masterfully understand student learning and also our budget processing. She does marvelous with budgeting as well. Uh you have been a difference maker in the lives of students and I wish you and your family the best after a fantastic career of serving students who need the greatest need and I'm grateful and you've done very well. All right, next up we've got >> Linda. Linda Fugate. >> She loves this stuff. >> I want to thank Linda Fugate for her service to our district. There are three things that come to mind when I hear Linda's name. First, she's
022always calm, cool, and collected. If the world is burning down, you want her by your side. Second, she's always put what's best for kids first. She keeps an eye out for the struggling and the kid who just needed a little bit extra. Finally, she can truly say she left a legacy. She helped hundreds of kids with one of the most precious gifts somebody can be given, the ability to read. Um, when you can read, you can do just about anything. Um, that gift will pass on to the next generation and the next. And I hope her grandma era is the best time yet. >> You're birthday buddies. >> Birthday twins. >> Yeah, >> it's true. I'm old. >> Thank you. Next we have Carla Harrison. Carla could not be here tonight, so I'm going to
023state a few words about her. So, she has dedicated over 30 years to education, and it's impossible not to recognize the impact she has made in the lives of students, families, colleagues throughout her career. Uh, her extensive knowledge and expertise in special education in the area of assessment has consistently a standard of excellence for us here at Ozark. She's a trusted mentor and a valuable um collaborator. She's generous with her knowledge. Um, when you ask her a question, she can tell you more than you probably want to know at the moment, but it's also valued as you go through the process of assessing a student. Um, she has constantly provided guidance and encouragement and continuously worked to to support our staff. We're grateful for her dedicated service and the positive impact she has made throughout
024her career. We wish her well on her retirement. Next we have Christy Leverit. Christy was unable to be here tonight. Uh we get to celebrate her tonight. She spent nine wonderful years in our district. She was known for her hard worker, her kindness, and her ability to be a great cook. The students and staff will miss her, and we hope she has a great retirement. Next up, we have Claudia Little. >> So, Claudia couldn't be here tonight. Um, Claudia is probably one of the most fun teachers uh at Ozark High School. She's always laughing, telling a joke, um, doing something exciting. It's probably why she's so successful as a student council sponsor as well. Uh, the students just love her, but she also really gets it done in the classroom. Um she's been serving as
025a physical science teacher for us and and mentoring new teachers as they come into that program as well. Um Claudia's just an all-around great person, a longtime Ozark supporter. So I'm proud to recognize Claudia a little tonight. Uh Heath Wright's another high school recognition that uh couldn't join us tonight. Um Heath's been an a teacher for a long time. I first met Heath Wright in I think 1999. Uh I was a Ozark sorry I was a high school student and I came to uh an area officer training at Straford where he was currently teaching and so I was able to meet uh Heath and kind of be mentored under his guidance. I don't know how much mentoring he did but he definitely led our officer team through that process. Uh so it was a real
026treat to see Heath here and the impact that he has and as you've been at several different meetings or banquetss we talked about the impact that Heath Wright has had on this program. Uh it's tremendous. Uh the way that they've gr he's been able to help grow this program over the years and the legacy that they leave with the work that's being done right now in the egg program is is really something to be commended. So it's fun to recognize Heath Wright tonight as well. >> And the high school's got one more. I was out of order. I did Buffington and then I just left. So um I'm excited to also recognize Corey Roy. Um, everyone that's in high school athletics, at least in Southwest Missouri, I think knows who Cory Roy is. Um, fantastic
027person and a and a great addition to the Ozark High School staff for sure. Um, you know, the face of strength and conditioning at Ozark High School. He's definitely left an impact there, especially as we've seen the development and growth of our athletic performance program, uh, and the passion and energy that he put into making that happen and also making it successful. Uh so we're very grateful to have both his leadership and his knowledge and his wealth of experiences um supporting our kids every day. I think he's probably going to support us just a little bit longer. We'll try to milk a little more out of him before he leaves, we hope. But uh he's just been a fantastic person to get to know uh especially as a building leader. So we're grateful for Cory
028Roy as well. Okay, I think next is Yansancy Little. >> Maybe we should give you the mic. It's supposed to be less than a minute though, so I'll try to do that. Um, Yansancy Little. Uh, anybody in Ozark knows who Yansy Little is, so it's it's hard for me to to recognize Yansy. Um, but I distinctly remember uh I think it was the first day on the job I went and sat down in Yansy's office and he just talked to me about Ozark and the high school and our programs and our kids and he's it was clear that he was a person that is passionate about this community and the people that live in it and the students that uh come to school here. Uh so it's been tremendous to be able to work alongside
029him for two years as he ends his career and I was just starting in Ozark. Um a wonderful guy to get to know. um passionate about Ozark through and through. He's there now cheering on our soccer team as we're up one nothing. So very exciting for that and excited to recognize him. I think the real party will be Sunday though and that will be a lot more fun. >> Thank you Yansy Little. >> All right, next up is Deborah Parish. Uh, presenting Miss Deborah Parish. Um, Miss Parish has been a loyal member of Finley School since 2012. So, in 14 years, um, she has seen us through many phases of Finley and even before that, uh, did some time at the junior high. Um, we give senior superlatives. The seniors voted to give Deb the
030end of an era award on senior night and it certainly is at uh Finley. Her retirement will be the end of an era. Um as you can imagine in a small community you don't just get to be one thing. So Mrs. Parish wasn't just our secretary but she was um so many things to the teachers and me and to the students. She was our attendance secretary, our registar, our nurse, our um budget organizer, the person that filled out the POS, uh did so many things. Um and from my perspective, most importantly, she was the communication hub. But from most more important than that, from the students perspective, she was a safe place to go and talk and tell and share and give because when they tell me things, um I have to do things, but
031they don't always need that. Usually what they need is a safe place to come and share and be and exist. And that contributed so much to the culture of Finley School and it's what made it work. Um, which is makes Mrs. Parish's retirement um, and her as a person irreplaceable. Next we have Donna Reit. Well, joining me tonight are uh two of our retirees from North uh Mrs. Donna Reid and Mrs. Beverly Smart. And uh when you guys were able to join us at our PBIS parade, I made them an offer prior to the retirement float starting that it's not too late to change their mind. I would say that offer would still exist tonight. Um ladies, if you if you're having any second thoughts, but uh we'll start we'll start with Mrs. Smart. Uh
032uh Mrs. Smart has served in our scope classroom. So, a high needs parah and uh she had has immediately become a cornerstone in our special education team. Uh she came to North actually after serving as a Christian school administrator, school administrator. Um and so we knew she would bring uh lots of wisdom. Uh but she also brought compassion, consistency, and a servant's heart to our team, but also our school. Uh in almost no time at all, she became somebody that um everyone, students included, depended on. Uh and that has never changed. Uh in fact the most recent example of that was during a summer school meeting uh when we were trying to staff different classrooms and pair professionals and an argument broke out about who act who um was going to get Miss Smart into
033their classroom and so we we compromised. She's going to be in each spot a half a day. So um I think that sums up her impact pretty well. uh during her end of year summitive, she also shared with me uh as she often does uh her love for students and that they have taught her um more than she's taught them uh and they have given her more than she could have possibly given them. I'm not sure how that could be true, Miss Smart, but um it speaks to your character. And while we will miss her deeply, we're excited about her next chapter filled with grandchildren, travel, and adventures with her husband. Congratulations on your retirement. Smart. >> Wow. >> Next up is Mrs. Donna Reid. Uh Donna Reed again uh is would be a cornerstone
034of North Elementary already. Uh she's been our guiding coalition member of our related arts team. And when she came over to North, she actually got out of her comfort zone and gained her art certification and has served as an art teacher um for the last couple of years. Um, but from the day she walked in the door, she fully immersed herself in all things North and became a part of our family. Um, and made a lasting impact on students, staff, and all those around her. Uh, something really similar, uh, that Mrs. Kelly mentioned was, uh, her hallway decor always being so on theme. Uh, that's sounds really familiar. It's almost as if they could be sisters. Um, we too will, uh, solicit lots of, uh, help from Donna Reed over the next uh, next few
035years. Um but her creativity and energy and personality truly is um a huge part of our school. Um a small way we see that is she serves our Walker door. So our Hillstone and McGuffy families walk in the back of North every day. And for her to be that face to greet those families has just been incredible. To get to be a part of the way she welcomes students into our uh into our building. Uh but Mrs. Reid is truly leaving on top. Uh her time at North Elementary will always be home to her. and she of course joined us from our rival neighbors uh next door, but she shared with me that North will always be her home. And so that is something that has always stuck with me, something we're really proud of.
036But Mrs. Reid, I hope your retirement is filled with uh lots of Diet Coke and also time in your baseball chair. Congratulations. All right, I think that is it. So, if you guys did I miss anybody? All right, then it's time for a picture. You guys could all join us out here. >> Oh my goodness. All right. Next. Next on our list. >> All right. We're going to get back to our meeting. >> We're going to get back to our meeting. Okay. Next on the list is public comment, which we did not have anyone sign up. Which leads us toformational items. And the first thing on our list is we have a donor rec recognition. Um Landon, are you okay? There you are. >> So we have There we go. Uh, so Mrs. Garner at
037North um she wanted to donate $500 to the district to go towards um unpaid meal balances and that was in honor in memory of her mom and dad Bob and Brenda Low. So appreciate I know her personally great lady and I was not surprised to see her do this. So thank you very much. appreciate that. >> Thank you. We thank her as well. Next on the agenda is superintendent update. I just wanted to give a quick update on where we landed in legislative session this semester. Um, last year I believe there were 36 different bills and that caused schools to make changes, policies, um, things that they said that may be funded that are were not or may not be funded, but there's always a lot that comes out from an education standpoint. This year,
038I feel that we were very lucky. And um just a couple of things that I'll highlight that we are going to be responsible for if um it goes to the governor and and it's passed and signed by the governor. Uh something about school anti-semitism policies. Missouri schools and universities will be required to define anti-semitism and create policies barring harassment. So that is one. Another one is um the governor had I believe had an executive order surrounding Misha and that actually uh was better than what it could have been rather than to implement a full-scale takeover of disputed Missouri State High School Activity Association lawmakers added a new layer of government oversight for high school athletics and I really I think now that's actually the oversight's going to land with Desi. Um, under the proposal, a
039five member commission were will hear appeals of Misha decisions. So, it would go to the appeals committee, then it goes to the board, and then I'm assuming if the they don't like what the board says, then it would go up. Um, there's also a pass that requires voter approval, income tax elimination. Um, voters will be asked to replace Missouri's income tax, the state's largest source of revenue, with broader sales and use tax under a proposed constitutional amendment. Under the plan, a priority which was for Kho, the general assembly would begin eliminating the income tax next year by reducing the top rate of the individual income tax on revenue growth. Um, and that this would be replaced by higher sales and use taxes. As of this point, we truly do not know how this will affect
040school funding. Um, I'm general, this will fall into general revenue and we are funded through general revenue, so it may be a detriment. I don't know. Um, and then some items that we just need to that did not make it across the finish line that we still need to be aware of for next year in the years coming. Open enrollment. This one really took a backseat this year mainly because of the Missouri income tax as well as many bills that were on property taxes. Um, and then this one does say property tax reform. Disagreements between lawmakers in the House and the Senate derailed plans to reform property tax this year. I will guarantee you that is going to be on their top priority list for next year. So all in all, um it was not
041a bad year for education. So just to give you a quick update. >> All right, thank you for that. Um next on next item is district reports. I don't know if any of you have any comments or questions on those. I did mean to say was interesting um that I think it was our HR update. They said over our 25 or 26 retirees, we had over 400 years of service to over Ozark, which was pretty cool. Um, does anybody have any comments about those? Any questions? >> No, no questions. I I will just say, hey, we're in the last week of school and um, great job to everyone here. I mean, could not do it with I mean, we we're just here, you know, doing the meeting, but you guys are actually doing all the
042work. So, thanks so much for I mean all the administrators, teachers who were here who aren't here and I mean just running the show. So, great job. >> Yes, thank you. Just half a day left tomorrow. Um, moving on to future dates. The only two things that we have for the remainder of uh is to the end of our fiscal year would be our MSBA summer summit and then our June board meeting. Any questions or comments on this? Right. Um, next I would entertain a motion to approve consent agenda as presented. >> So move. >> Second. >> All right. Motion by Matt, second by Ryan. All in favor? Passes unanimously. Next we have new business. First up is student handbook. That is a first read. Um they have listed out every page that has a
043change on that. So if you guys can look through those and then if you do have any comments or questions, go ahead and send those to Lori before we would bring them back for a second read. But I do appreciate how you guys write those out for us so we can see exactly what's changed. So, if we have questions on that, so we just >> So, email them to Lori and then when we bring them back to be approved, Lori will bring us all of the um all of things that we've sent her and we can kind of talk through those. >> Okay. >> Um, next is MSBA policies first read. You want us to do the same thing or did you want to talk about those tonight? I mean, sorry, not Landon. Can I
044have uh Philip come out and say something? >> Say, I bet you don't want Landon. >> Uh, so what we have before you guys tonight is just a first read for our two uh leave policies that come back to both our professional and our support staff leave. So, this encompasses all our employees. And the proposed change is just um making it explicit what's already implied is that employees must uh use their PTO leave or their vacation leave prior to using unpaid leave except for instances of workers compensation. Uh this similar language is already stated in our FMLA policies. Um it's even stated at the very bottom of our policy in our child birth leave and our FMLA portion of our leaves. It's just not explicitly stated. Um, and just we want to make it make
045that clear. >> Okay. And then once we'll bring this back for a second read next time. Yes, ma'am. >> But then if there's any other policies that >> have to be changed because of this or No, >> no, we do not have any other. It's already this that language is already stated in our FMLA policy. >> Okay. >> So, we shouldn't have to touch any others. Does that need to be approved before the employee handbook or is that okay? >> I think we can probably approve those both in the same night. If not, if this doesn't get approved, then we can strike that from the employee handbook at that meeting. >> Okay. So, you've already put those changes in based on these. Okay. >> Yeah. >> All right. >> The caveat that it would be
046board approved first. >> Oh, yep. Okay. I think I saw that. Thank you. Again, if if you guys read through that, go ahead and send those to Lori if you have any questions or concerns. Next, we do have the second read on the MSBA policies that we've already should have reviewed um and that we have already discussed at the work session, which I appreciate you guys coming in for that today. Um I I mean right now I would entertain a motion to approve the policies as presented and then we can discuss. >> Yeah. Motion to approve the policies. >> Second. >> Okay. Motion by James, second by Rayanne. Now we can open it for discussion. I guess the only thing, you know, would be what I mentioned earlier and at last time as far as
047the the B1 >> schoolboard legislative program just changing that number four back to what it was previously. >> Sure. I will >> from that from the >> the one that was canled >> in that piece in there. It changes maintain membership that line in the MSBA uh excuse me the Missouri school boards association and it changes back to um it may be the policy of the board to maintain membership so it's a may versus have to >> right yeah >> okay we will make that change that was the only thing wasn't it >> yeah that's pretty much it >> okay so with that change we will if there's no other comments We can go ahead and vote. Questions, comments. All right. All in favor? Passes unanimously. Right. Next item is the Desi allowed fund transfers.
048Um I would entertain a motion to approve the fund transfers as presented for the maximum amount. Second >> motion by Dustin, second by James, and we are open to Dr. Gray. >> Thank you, ma'am. Uh just uh coming tonight to seek approval for up to the maximum um amount allowed by Desi for our fund for transfers to from our operating to our capital um budget. And the two main ones that we typically have utilized in the past are the 7% of now wham water transfer and that as preliminary allocation is $2.85 million and then the transportation fund transfer which is 1956. So doesn't mean we will be transferring that much but um just leaves that discretion when we work with our auditors in July and get the year closed down for the ASBR. That'll be
049some good information for us so that we can transfer what we can to capital while keeping that balance where we want um in our operating. Any questions from the board? >> That's why it says up to so we're just approving. >> Just approving. Yep. >> So I guess uh in the spreadsheet earlier today it talks about 2 million. >> Yes. >> Now what would I I guess what's where's the 2.850930? That is the maximum amount from the calculation of se like that's 7% wham water transfer like that's 7% of our wham water calculation. So that is what desi allows us up to to transfer that but utilizing what that cip measure of 20 to 30% where we want our operating reserve balance to land at the end of the fiscal year. That is where we
050work with the auditors and basically say hey if Dr. Wilson says, "Layon, I'd love us to be at 25% at the end of this fiscal year." Then I work with the auditors and say, "Hey, how much of that 2.85 and 195,000 can we transfer over to land at 25%." >> This is just showing the maximum amount allowed if possible. >> Yes. >> Okay. Any other questions? Everybody's good with that. I will call for a vote. Everybody in favor? Passes unanimously. >> Thank you. >> Next, we have the asphalt maintenance and uh preservation. I will entertain a motion that we approve the bid for a laser perfect striping and ceiling. I have a motion by Matt, second by Dustin, and we're open to discussion with >> Mr. Farewell. >> Yes, we wrote an RFP, received three
051bids for uh seal coating and striping at the high school, junior high, and district office. Laser, Perfect Stripe, and Ceiling have done the work here in the past, and I recommend we use them again to do the three schools this summer. >> Right. Any questions? >> I know you included in here, but just uh give us a quick summary of why this is an important project, not just for aesthetics, just it looks like there's actually functional purpose to doing this that I think in the long run. those problems. But tell or expand on that. >> Yes sir. Asphalt when it gets hot moves in and out. So we struggle with cracks. We have to fill the cracks. When we fill the cracks, water cannot penetrate to the base. If it penetrates to the base during
052the winter, that's when you get freezing and it will bust our asphalt. So therefore, we have to go back into the base and rebuild our base from the ground up. That becomes an expensive process. So if we can fill the cracks and seal, we help prolong the life of our asphalt. >> Can you kind of talk about the the order of these versus, you know, say other locations that might need it as well? I thought all of our parking lots needed to be upgraded. We're trying to get on a five-year plan. Last year, we did north and south. I went with the three most visible projects this summer being the high school, the district office, and the OIC, and the junior high. And then we will move to East and West. And then we will
053have of the student parking lot here, Bluff Drive in the career center we will look at and then we will go to the middle school. The middle school was probably in one of the best shapes of the parking lots we had not sealed yet. >> So when you say that order is that is that this year or what or will that be next year? >> We will try my goal is to do every parking lot we have in a fiveyear rotation. Okay. So every five years our parking lots will be sealed. >> Good plan. >> And what was I think actually you mentioned this earlier. What was the the Bluff Drive >> Bluff Drive goes by the high school which I don't it seems like a city road to me. Everybody in town uses it,
054but we're in charge of it. So next summer they're getting some big cracks in there. I'm concerned if we don't get it seal coated that we will have to do some maintenance. >> So all around the high school. What was that? >> Yes, sir. It goes to basically the uh the wrestling barn. >> Starts at the baseball field and goes around. >> Can we talk to some city people about that? >> Please. But >> is it special or city roads? >> No, it's ours. >> It's our road. >> So, we're saying that's a private road. >> That is basically what I've been told. >> Interesting. >> Because they were seal the city was doing the seal coating along it this year. They stopped right at where our our asphalt started right by the fieldhouse. >>
055Yes. >> If you'll also notice when the roads are bladed for snow and ice, >> there's a stopping point there, too. What he's saying. >> Oh, so we have to clear it. >> Interesting. >> That's defin >> Well, okay. >> That's definitely not a school road. >> Those little things you just don't know. Yeah, you never know. Okay, we appreciate that. Okay, >> there's no other discussion. All in favor? Passes unanimously. Next up, we have Oh, you're up. Stay right there. Next up, we have school buses. I'll entertain a motion to approve the bid from Central State Bus Sales. Motion by Dustin, second by Matt. >> An RFP was written to purchase 377 passenger buses, 171 passenger and 132 li passenger lift bus. We received two different bids in Central State was the low bid.
056I request you approve that post. >> Any questions? >> Yeah. So, we sometimes we hear issues with buses and, you know, maintenance and all that stuff. Can you kind of I know you mentioned this in the last few months, but um can you talk about where we're at, how many buses we have, and what we've done in the past and then going forward? >> Uh right now, we have 54 buses in our fleet. We have about six over six million miles on those buses. We have an older fleet. Our maintenance crew has done a good job keeping them on the road this year. I do appreciate that. Uh I think the optimal number we need to run our transportation is 61. Right now we're at 54. If we get these five buses, that puts us
057at 59. That gives us an opportunity to have a few spares if we have any breakdown and have five trip buses so we don't have to run short at any time. Richie, do we have any say so on where they source these? Do we know where they came from? >> I already told him we want nothing from up north. He told me that they would come from Melanie or the Missouri area. >> Okay, that's good. >> I already talked to Derek and said no. Back to you. >> How used are they? >> Uh they range from 18 to 30,000 miles. So some are 24, some are 25. I think we got a pretty good deal with a brand new one running $175,000. So I was pretty I thought they were going to come in more
058around the 500,000 mark and they came in but after looking at master's bid I was pleasantly surprised what central state did. >> Right. Okay. All in favor passes unanimously. Next item is the employee handbook and listed there there are the proposed changes um by page. So you guys can also look through those and make sure that you're giving any comments back to Lori so they can address them before the next meeting. We will be approving a lot of those at the next meeting. So do make sure that you're reviewing those. We also had the elementary from last month. Um, so that one if you had any questions on too because we will approve that next month. All of them like she said will be approved next month. Okay. Next up it it um I'll entertain
059a motion to approve Ozark's wellness plan for 2026 27. >> Motion to approve the wellness plan. I'll second >> motion by James, second by Rayanne, and it looks like we have Dr. Carson and Dr. Link. >> So, with the wellness plan, uh you can go to the next page. It is aligned. What we did, we've taken the wellness plan and align it to the uh district strategic plan that we created as a community. Uh the focus of our wellness plan is both students and staff wellness. And so, Dr. link uh does a lot of the staff pieces and then I do the student pieces. Uh what you will notice in here, we added in the wellness plan the fact that we are going to mainly buy local as local as we can and that's because
060uh the wellness plan is also tied to food service and it's tied to nurses. So there's a little of multiple people that uh the state requires us to have in our wellness plan. Uh but for food service because we have a local food grant then we have to uh agree to buy local which I absolutely love and so we source as locally as possible. Uh and so that is in this wellness plan as well. And on the 2020 challenge uh it was the 10 for20 challenge we had over 84 million steps uh in the district which is really really cool. Uh, I love that. This year, uh, uh, we were given by whom? Cox Health gave us some, uh, money to help, uh, engage people and to just celebrate wellness. One of the goals of
061the wellnesses committee is to figure out how to, uh, sustain that uh, those funds and how to make sure we're really engaging and celebrating people. And that's uh, one of Dr. links uh pieces he's working on uh even as we move forward. So the high school building won uh the building with the most percentage of people reaching their goal. So uh Josiah Johnson and Daniel Mullis had over a million steps a piece uh which is pretty darn amazing. And if you click there, this was this morning. uh the OIC was enjoying their uh their wellness celebration and then the high school the main campus enjoyed it uh two days ago. So uh we did get to celebrate that for the high school. Uh last slide. So the strategic plans that are taken directly out of
062uh our strategic plan. These are our goals and it's about attract attracting and retaining a talented high qualified workforce both certified and classified. And so what are the wellness pieces that help with that? Then it's also about uh fostering learning environments. And so that is about uh staff, but it's also about collaborations with the uh local community, which would be be people like uh smile uh center uh other community uh the the oh downtown the the health department. So it's it's a multitude of different partners we would have that we are going to partner with and keeping those going. Uh so it's for kids in that regard. It's also about partnerships for our staff and how we're partnering to help with their wellness and uh it's evidenced by our climate culture survey and there's a
063question in the survey that would uh link into that as well. So that is the wellness plan. Can you talk about any kind of like funding requirements associated with this? I look I I see the strategy 2.13. It's allocate fund to support PD. How does that how does that work? >> It's it is funded through our PD budget and I think you should have the PL plan next uh month but that is uh funded through professional learning plan. >> Okay. Any other questions for Dr. Carson? All right. All in favor? Passes unanimously. Next up, stay there. Um, I'll entertain a motion to approve the 2026 27 district curriculum assessment and instruction plan. >> Second >> motion by Sarah, second by James. So each year uh you approve the curriculum assessment and instruction plan. It's one
064of the uh plans that DESIE requires us to approve. So you'll notice that we're just aligning the same strategies that we have in the uh district strategic plan. We're aligning those in our CI. Uh last the strategic plan was written and approved after all of these. So this is really our first uh year to be able to align all of these goals. And so the aligned goals is uh is about uh academic rigor and about students um achieving mastery uh and looking at clarity. And so there's a multitude of strategies underneath that. The next goal would be uh you can go to the next slide uh that teachers utilize data to inform instructional decisions. We target uh in student needs and adjust strategies and that's our RTI process, the MTSS processes. And then the next
065one would be create a vertically aligned real world learning and we have a whole team working on real world learning. Uh uh Dr. uh who's Dr. Wilson and other people are in charge of that real world learning team. And so we have some strategies that align to that. And then the last two is uh enhance effectiveness of our professional learning and then uh maintain appropriate resources to accommodate the curriculum and uh you would find strategies that match those. And then the updates you will also find there are updates to our literacy plan. There's information about the district curriculum council and then our lab library advisory board. The committee work is listed in there. And uh the last thing that we have is a celebration. Our high school library is going to be renovated this summer
066and we thank the uh we thank Richie and his whole team for allowing us to do that project. has been on the list for a little while and uh we are so grateful that that space uh it's used by our community and it is in need of a refresh. So we're grateful for that uh from uh operations. Any questions? >> Looks like on page one I might need to update a couple of those. Uh Elizabeth Dawson moves up. I think Laura Eeken has just retired. Oh, on the names. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Well, no, that was last year's committee. That's the current committee. That's who was on the committee that wrote these plans. >> That's why those names are on there. >> Isn't this the It says 2627. >> It's 2627's plan, but the names
067on the front are the ones who actually wrote the plan that you're reading. >> Oh, okay. Gotcha. >> Yeah. So, those names are always a year behind. >> Good. Thank you. I didn't explain that. Other questions? We have no other questions. All in or no? All in favor? Passes unanimously. Thank you. Are you up again? >> I am one more time. >> Okay. All right. Next, I'll entertain a motion to approve the Renaissance PLA Renaissance platform for statemandated early literacy assessments and for the district interim assessments. >> Motion to approve the Renaissance quote. >> Motion by James, second by Rayanne. All right. So, I'll explain. Uh, this is a three-year quote and uh it'll be a three-year uh use of the Renaissance platform. The Renaissance platform has two different pieces. One is the uh early
068literacy screening that we currently used NWA and NWA was not on the list from Desi for the last two years and they gave us uh a variance to allow us to keep using it and uh NWA we were pleased with it but they uh they were not on the list again this year and it was their own fault and so because they did not get on the list, we had to change vendors. So it was our desire instead of having multiple vendors with NWA and evaluate and multiple things throughout the grade levels, we put it all underneath the same platform. So Renaissance is that platform and uh so the DRRA star it's not Dr. Star Reading and Star Math will be used uh from uh preschool with the kindergarten transition all the way through to
06911th grade EOC. And then the DNA is uh the other platform and any content can actually use that platform. It has test prep on it. It has test items. So teachers will be able to use that platform to go to a bank of questions when they're looking at creating their own assessments. We can upload our local assessments into that platform and so students can uh use that platform to take our own assessments uh and so then it would be graded on the platform. There's a lot of uses for the DNA uh platform which we did never had with uh evaluate. Evaluate was only ELA and math. Uh the reason it is so expensive, it's for three years. Uh but this first year it is heavy. So it's first year is a little over 100,000 and
070that will also take uh the training. So we'll have to train all of our staff this fall on how to use the new platform. And it is the transition of all of our data and setting all those pieces up. So this year it's a little more expensive. The next year it's a little less because there's less the the data transitions don't happen. The third year it's our cheapest and uh they total what is that 295? I can't see it from here but two something. Um and so they are uh yeah so 295 and uh the platform currently Springfield Republic uh Monet there's probably about 15 or 20 districts uh in southwest Missouri that use this renaissance platform. What questions do you have? >> So this replaces evaluate. >> It replaces Evaluate and NWA. It replaces
071both of those and they uh it runs around I didn't get a new evaluate quote because we were getting rid of evaluate so I don't know the new numbers but if you compare them to last year's numbers this is about 12,000 more than what we were paying in the past but it actually hits more students than what the other ones did >> uh star test, star reading, star math, and then the DNA is just a platform where they'll go on to take uh tesllets. They can take practice tests from the state. The the DNA will have all types of assessments inside it. >> It's going to be hard to get people to Oh, I'm still on. >> So, is this is this the only option or I mean, >> there was another option, but it
072only went to uh 8th grade. So this is the only option that has both elementary through high school. And that was one of the pieces that our team wanted uh was that it was we had one vendor instead of multiple vendors around um what your test. So, um, if they don't know what the tests are that we're giving for kindergarten through 8th grade, you choose a whole different program for the high school. They're going to be testing. I don't know how to describe. >> Don't they all call it evaluate though? >> Certain certain things that they learn in grade school need to be tested in grade school, junior high, junior high, high school, and high school. So there is some internal alignment when you have the same vendor, right? Uh >> yeah, there is some
073internal alignment. I think the other piece is for our technology department, they're not trying to work with two vendors continually. They've got one vendor that we are working with and partnering with. And even just the testing platform, if kids are used to taking the test in a certain way, if you stick with that, it's gonna be easier for them to use that platform in high school. They've been using it since kindergarten. >> So bottom line is there's this is the only platform and we have no choice. >> Uh yes. >> So we the state gave us four >> That's all you had to say. The state gave us four options of doing the early literacy assessment, but three options didn't have a K12 version and two of them we would never use anyway. And so,
074uh, this was the only option that clicked all the buttons. >> So, you're saying this is it? >> I am saying yes. >> And this and I mean, I know you said a lot of acronyms there, which I don't know most of what those are, but basically this is the testing for each grade. >> Yes, sir. So uh it's the interim we'll give it three times a year and then uh it gives us uh feedback on where students are at the current time beginning middle and end of year. It also helps predict how we're doing on the state test. It's just an external way to look at it >> and it's and it's state man this is a statemandated >> state mandated K12 three and four and five if we have moveins. So, so can
075we go back to the state and say you're mandating this, but yet you've cut us by uh where's Landon? 800,000, >> right? >> So, I mean, >> yeah, I bet they'll write us a check. >> Well, I mean, they need to know these things. How do we let them know that? >> Well, the first two years of this mandate, they threw a little money in a fund that we could get reimbursements for. The first two years of the mandate, they did reimburse it. Then, it was up to us to figure out the rest. year. >> First year is a little over 100,000. Second year is 96. The third year is 90 I think. So it it's broken into three years. >> Three years. >> Right. >> Perfect. Okay. >> Great. If you will do us
076>> No. Correct. >> No person. If you'll do us one favor. Um the star easy. No kickback. Can you make sure that when the older group is using the DNA platform that we come up with a different name so we don't have to hear they're DNA testing at the high school >> freaking out. >> So >> that's great. >> Do me a favor because I want to answer that. >> Okay. Very good. I love that. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> That's awesome. >> Good point. Good point. >> All right. There's no other questions. Are we good? All in favor? All right. Passes unanimously. Next on the list is adjournment. >> All right. Thank you guys all for coming. Appreciate it. Anything else? Right. Do we know who won? >> Baseball tomorrow. >> Yeah. Do
077we know who we're playing? >> Baseball finals tomorrow. >> And who are we playing? Oh, it is >> baseball. >> Oh, and that's Pikaoo and Nixa.