05/27/2025 - Board Meeting

001I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Get ready. We get to say that twice tonight. Thank you for your attendance. Next on the agenda is public comment. Public participation is encouraged in the Laurel School District. All meetings of the board will be open to the public except provided by law. Scheduled meetings of the board may be recorded. Audience members may address the board during public comment for non-aggenda interests or during the discussion of the relevant printed agenda item. Your attendance is welcomed. If you plan to speak to the board, please look over the information on the agenda, then complete the public comment card located in the back of the room. Provide it to myself or Superintendent

002Torres. To address the school board members, we ask that you come to the podium, identify yourself, and briefly state your concern. Public participation is a right that carries certain responsibilities such as informing oneself in advance of the issues being discussed. Voluntarily being as brief and gerine as possible, not unduly repeating remarks others or you have already made and showing respect of all times for the rights and opinions of others, whether citizens, board members, school district employees, or students. Thank you for your involvement in Laurel Public Schools. Do I have any non-aggenda interests for public comment? Not seeing any. All righty. Then we will move through. Uh we just have of course um our owners rep on. He is not going to be in attendance. So you want to just mark that because he was here

003last and we kind of got an update on a few of the buildings. Just know that he will not be there for this meeting. Next on the agenda is the consent agenda. Do I have a motion? Motion to approve by Renee. Second. Second by Chris. Comments, questions from the board. Not seeing any comments, questions from public audience. Not seeing any there either. Motion to approve the consent agenda by Renee, seconded by Chris. All in favor say I. I. I. All oppose say nay. Motion carries. Action item. Uh, certifying the election. Do I have a motion? I'll move to accept the results of the um trustee and levy elections from May 7. Motion to approve by Donnie. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by Jenny. Comments, questions from the board. Nothing. Comments, questions from public

004audience. Not hearing or seeing any action item. Motion to approve the certified election from Donnie, seconded by Jenny. All in favor say I. I. All oppose say nay. Motion carries. That we'll conduct that uh agenda for old business. And we'll go ahead and adjourn that meeting. Are you ready? We got to do it all over again. Open up the second meeting. call this meeting to um pledge of 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. To spare you, I will do my shortened version of public comments. If you need to address the board, please come to the podium, identify yourself, and briefly state your concern. Public participation is a right that carries certain responsibilities

005such as informing oneself in advance of the issues being discussed, voluntarily being as brief and gerine as possible, not unduly repeating remarks others or you have already made, and showing respect at all times for the rights and opinions of others, whether citizens, board members, and school district employees or students. Thank you for your involvement in Laurel Public Schools. Do I have any other I have non-aggenda interests for this meeting? All righty then and we are moving forward. This one we do have the approval from the commissioner of the political practices for the trustees and then next will be the oath of office. We do have the certification of the election that just happened. And then we do have two oaths of office for Jennifer Jones, Chris Larash, Kayla Gray, and Kelly Anderson. Would you like

006to all four of you? We can go up. You want to just do it all in one swoop? Okay. Go ahead and you can you want them up there or do you want to just have stand right there? Okay. All right. If you would please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear or affirm or that I will support that I will support protect and defend protect and defend the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Montana and the Constitution of the State of Montana. And that I will discharge the duties that I will discharge the duties of my office of my office with the death with the death. Perfect. Oh, she's coming, Chris. No, there

007was nothing. Mhm. Pretty much. That's okay. You were prepped and ready. Yeah. Thank you. We appreciate you, Lindsay. And then before I forget, um we do have to make sure that we have some signatures that Julie needs for the new trust or you know the new oath of office trustees and then the reorganization when that happens. So I have a note so I just didn't want to forget. So yeah, exactly. There's three of them. Okay. Next on the agenda is the reorganization of the board. um during this time. Uh so for a few of you of course that didn't know the history last year um the board discussed and doesn't not to say this has to happen. It was just a discussion between allowing you know some trustees to be able to either um understand

008the board position, understand the vice position just so there is some communication and understanding what that role takes on. Every school district can do it different. they can do it how they vote. But the discussion was last year, you know, to kind of be able to um change. I think change is good. I think being a board chair is one thing, but I think also having somebody be different in that position can strengthen a board as well. So for for me, I will not be putting in my hat again for board chair. Um I feel it is something that everybody should have the chance. So, I'm not going to be asking for myself to be nominated. Um, I really do think that it's this is a good board. We have um good camaraderie and good

009discussion. So, for those of you just to let you know, anybody else interested in the next spot, which would be board chair, do we have anybody who is interested in it? Would like to nominate. Okay. Do I have a second on that motion for nomination? I'll second uh discussion. I guess my only question and um do you have the time? Do you feel like you have the time to commit to it and the flexibility to it? And I know that Britney's done an awesome job and she has had that flexibility. Yeah. But but um I I do serve on other boards. Yes, that's true. Um but I I've talked I did uh talk to Matt a little bit about what his flexibility is, too. Um and I feel that I would have the bandwidth to

010to do that during the day. Um an extra meeting is probably okay. Um, so I did have that conversation with him just to make sure because I don't want to I certainly don't want to um short change the district um e this board or the administration from the time that they need. So um my job does afford me a tremendous amount of flexibility. So I do I do have the bandwidth to do that. Comments questions from Trustees comments, questions from public audience since I do have a motion on the table. Okay. Not hearing or seeing any. I have a motion um for Chris Lash to be voted as uh for chair by Donnie, seconded by Jenny. All in favor say I. I. All opposed say nay. Congratulations, sir. Well, guess what else gets to happen

011now? You do. You do. And you get to run the rest of the meeting. So, does Julian [Laughter] say again? Yeah, he can vote for himself. Oh, yeah. He could actually made a motion for himself to be honest with you. I know. See, my computer That feels nice, I bet. Oh, boy. [Music] I nominate Britney Hunter. Well, thank you everyone. I I appreciate your uh support and hope that I can do a good job for you guys. So, next under agenda item number five, is that my n Roman numeral? Correct. Uh the election of board vice chair. Do we have a motion? Like to nominate Renee as vice chair. Let's have a nomination by Renee or by for Renee by Jenny. Do I have a second? I'll second. Second by Donnie. Any board discussion. So

012she is she has question on your toes. So, excellent. Appreciate that. Do I have any public audience discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. Congratulations. Oh man, it's like 20° warmer over here. Move this fan like right to there. I know. So, next is the appointment of the district clerk and o oath of office. That So, I'm a noob. Does this take require a nomination or so she just needs to do the doesn't it have to be it has to be a motion right so I'd entertain a motion to Jenny would abstain correct I would move to appoint Julie Jones as the district clerk. A motion by Donnie. Do I have a second? I second that. Second by Britney. So, we have a motion to approve or appoint Julie Jones as this

013uh district clerk and a second by Britney. Is there any board discussion? Any comments or discussion from the audience? So, we have a motion again by Donnie to appoint Julie, a second by Britney. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Second to show that I Oh, yes. Record to show that uh Jenny abstained. Thank you. We can we'll do it before we move on. I do respect that I support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Montana and the I want this church to do my office. [Music] Yeah. And then there Did you see? I can't even see yesterday. So, uh, move on to the next agenda item, which is the retiree presentation. Matt will take it away. Thank you to Peggy Pollock for putting this

014all together and for uh, Lindsay and I think Maggie and them put out all the table and all that. We appreciate that. We have six retirees we'd like to honor tonight. I think we have five present. The first up is Miss Lynn Peterson. I saw her walk. Don't hike. Go ahead and stand up. You can't hide now. I didn't say that. Okay. After seven years of wrangling everything from lesson plans to playground drama, as our fearless elementary principal, Lynn Peterson is officially trading in her walkietalkie for a rocking chair. Her career began with a crash course in cow psychology, namely that cows only escape on Saturday mornings. Her first paying job was a was a maid at the land hotel in Sydney, Montana, where she learned that fif fitted sheets are a cruel joke invented

015by the devil, or at least by someone who's never tried folding one. Lynn's proudest accomplishment, always putting kids first, even when they're quoting Star Trek. Yes, a sixth grader once looked at her dead in the eye and said, "Star-Log update, the admiral is angry. I must sit down." And she did not in fact beam him up. That's that's good. Her her advice to her younger self, ignore the shiny stuff. Trust your common sense and maybe learn how to fold a fitted sheet. Or don't. Life's short. As far as what's next, she's moving to a cozy cottage in the mountains of Virginia with her dad where she plans to sleep in, plant flowers, and let mocking birds handle the morning announcements. Her parting wisdom for the rest of us still stuck in the working world. Kindness

016is underrated. Be kind. It's not that hard. Unless you're folding sheets, then all bets are off. Thank you, Miss Peterson. Next up, if I could have Jason Hill. Mr. Hill, would you stand up for us, please? After 21 years of cracking equations and inspiring teens to find X, even though uh even when they don't know that they even lost it, Jason Hill is officially solving for R as in retirement. Jason's first job was slinging newspapers Philip Billings Gazette where he learned two lifelong lessons. Show up on time and keep the customers happy. skills that have served him well even when his customers were sleepy sophomores and the occasional calculator thief. Among his proudest accomplishments being the tech trailblazer who brought smartboards to the high school math department be uh because nothing says math revolution like

017turning your whiteboard into a spaceship. He still smiles thinking about the time he delivered the commencement address to the class of 2022. though we're guessing it didn't include any type of pop quiz. His advice to his younger self, skip the scenic route and join the army sooner, preferably before your bank account hits zero. As for retirement, don't picture him napping. Jason's never been a sleeping kind of guy. Paper routes in the military life will do that to you. Instead, he's diving into long postponed travel plans and quality time with the grandkids, possibly explaining fractions of snack time. Uh, possibly explaining fractions at snack time, but we don't want to hold him to that. And to those of us who are stuck grading papers and hurting high schoolers, Jason paraphrases the wise sage Winnie the Pooh.

018Quote, "You know your life is blessed with friends when it's hard to say goodbye." unquote, especially when those friends still have to go to staff meetings. Thank you, Mr. Hill. All right. Next up is Tom Williams. Where's Tom? I saw him sneak in. All right. After 24 years of keeping the kindergarten kingdom clean, calm, and glitter, and confetti free, well, mostly. Tom Williams is officially retiring his broom. Before he was the hero of hallway spills, and tiny toilet catastrophes, Tom spent 14 years at Carne and Billings, where he learned how to make cars gleam. Skills he later applied to floors, windows, and occasionally mysterious sticky desks. Tom's proudest accomplishment, making people happy and keeping the building clean, which is no small feat in a school where the average shoe size is 10 in smaller than

019the average mess. The moment that still makes him laugh, well, his wife insists he never graduated kindergarten himself, and honestly, after spending decades surrounded by snack times, story circles, and spontaneous dance parties, were inclined to believe her. His advice to his younger self, be more confident. Though uh though anyone who survives decades of glitter, giggles, and glue sticks has hardly earned a ca has clearly earned a cape. As for retirement, don't expect Tom to sleep in. He's got cars to detail and a house to putter around at all. All at a crisp early hour. And to the rest of us, poor Sap's still working. Tom sends his best. Says he won't forget your smiles. and we definitely won't forget his. Kindergarten may be chaotic, but with Tom around it will always be. It was always

020a little brighter and a lot cleaner. Thank you, Tom. All right. Is Lin Hoover here? I saw Lynn, didn't I sneak in? Yeah. You stand up for us. After 33 years of being the calm in the storm at South Elementary, 15 is a sub and 18 is the official keeper of the front office fortress. Lynette Huer is handling over the handing over the intercom mic and finally telling her alarm clock to take a hike. Her first job was sanding cars for her Her first job was sanding cars for her dad the oldfashioned way. Bucket of water, sandpaper, and a slow erosion of Fingerprints. Somewhere between rock chips and ruined manicures. She also picked up the art of patience, precision, and politely muttering, "There's got to be a better way." I just keep thinking when you're

021like, "Wax on, wax off when you were I don't that's like proudest accomplishments go far beyond attendance lists and band-aid distribution." She's built lifelong friendships, learning to hold firm to her values and gracefully navigated every personality South could throw her, big, small, and occasionally covered in applesauce. One unforgettable memory, her office, located next to the little girl's bathroom, gifted her a moment early on when a young voice cried for help to be wiped. Lynette did what any seasoned secretary/life coach would do. Taught a you got a this hygiene pep talk from the hallway just like a true pro. I couldn't imagine that. Uh boundary setting, she mastered that. To her younger self, she'd say, "Don't go running into every problem, especially ones involving toilet paper. Keep God first. Love your people, and don't be afraid

022to protect your peace." Retirement plans. Nothing too crazy. just firing her alarm clock, slowing down her dogs, slowing down her dog's pace, which likely involves naps and zero spreadsheets, and living each day without a bell schedule. And to the rest of us clocking in, Lynette says, "Don't waste your life in a job you hate. She loved hers even on the hard days." And that, folks, is the dream. We're the ones wiping away the tears now. and that's why I was a high school principal. Toss a roll in there. Is the colonel here? Is Jess here? She's not. All right, we have the last two aren't here. Is that correct? Um, we'll go ahead and just take a moment to honor them as well. So, Aloma, Jess. Um, I'll just read through this. It's It's always

023fun to listen to the what they want to pass on to everybody. And Peggy did a lot to put type these out, so I don't want to I don't want to shell her short here. After more than 30 years of teaching, commas, cardio, and character, Aloma Jess is closing her gradebook, hanging up her whistle, and heading off into a well-earned retirement. Aloma started her career elbow deep in dishwater as a dishwasher, prep cook, and cook, and learned one important life lesson. Grease is not her calling. Thankfully, for generations of Laurel students, education was LM's proudest achievement, teaching not one, but two, not two, but sometimes three generations of Laurel school kids. and somehow remembering who belongs to whom without mixing up their essays to to or pushup counts. One moment that still makes her laugh

024that time she dramatically demonstrated Newton's law of gravity by falling backwards out of her teacher chair during freshman English. It was probably educational, possibly even poetic. Her advice to her younger self, keep calm and teach on. Count to 10 or 12 or whatever number it takes you to not throw a whiteboard marker. And now uh she's not uh she's not planning to sleep in some habits die hard. She is planning to give back to volunteering with veteran groups, Zoom Montana, and other community efforts, plus fitting in some well-deserved travel, maybe even a chair with a seat belt. To those of us still slogging through the staff meetings and lesson plans, LMA leaves this bit of wisdom, the effort, the chaos, the coffeefueled perseverance. It's all worth it when a former student stops you in the

025grocery store, smiles, and says, "Thanks." That's the real paycheck. And finally, Miss Amy James. She's 20 years after 20 years of bringing the US Constitution to life and expertly steering eighth graders through this wild ride that is American history. Amy James is closing her classroom door and stepping into a new adventure. this time as a tour guide on the east coast and the n and in national parks because apparently she just really can't quit history. Her first real job was working at a psychiatric hospital where she mastered the fine art of staying calm in sketchy situations and learned early on the early on the importance of mental health which let's be honest turned out to be an excellent training for middle school. Amy's proudest accomplishment. She was sharing her deep love of US history and

026the Constitution with her students and in the process shaping uh thoughtful informed citizens who mostly know that James Madison was a Virginia, not well something else entirely. Her advice to her younger self, be firm, but don't forget to have fun. her pro tip. Nothing says classroom management like laughing with your students. Not just at their creative interpretations of the founding fathers. As for retirement, don't expect her to be lounging in a hammock. She's headed off to lead historical tours like the history buff rockstar she is. And to all those of us grading essays and dodging uh hallway scooters, Amy leaves this wisdom. Enjoy the kids. Focus on them. Don't get buried by the bureaucracy. And above all, teach something you love because passion, like history, sticks. Just maybe not the Mr. Madison was a virgin

027part. He was a Virginia. See that? I thought it was good when you I honestly did. I thought they would get that. So kids would say he was a virgin and not a Virginia. See, I thought it was good. of. So before we move to the next item, we'll enjoy some cake if you want to enjoy. So we'll just take around five minutes or so to do that. [Music] Yes. I just wanted to offer up um I worked for a few years with Lynn Peterson and I know that she's coming to the end of a 40-year career in education and I just want to mention that I was uh I teamed with her as part of the elementary principles with Allison Roberus and we worked really hard to transition kids, help our sped kiddos and

028our kids go from school to school and 40 years is an awesome career and I know all of the retirees are welld deserving. There's a lot of longevity here with Laurel and you will all be missed. We had three main stays at South School and you guys rocked it. So congratulations to all the retirees and Lynn, you enjoy your next journey. Mr. James You remember being six, seven years old at the time. [Music] Good. How are you? Stop for me, baby. Oh, I know. I think he's here for the out of district. He's definitely I think he's for this. I think it's Jal misses her chance because we said that you were something on the agenda. Let me in. 7:30. I'm not It's a birthday. What? Okay. Wait. I don't know. It is probably get

029back into our uh Oh, Kelly. We'll wait for Kelly. [Laughter] All right. We'd like to just thank our retirees again. The employees of the district are what make this such a special place for our kids and we just want to express our appreciation to you all for the years you've put in. So, thank you so much again. We'll move down to our action items now. Starting with number A, uh, policy 3141 out of district students. So this is uh uh something that I put on the board agenda and asked that did it be put on the board agenda. I should say uh occasionally policy 3141 has a certain rigidity to it based on dates and this is for our out of district students who and there's nothing new about the policy but you I put

030it there so you can read it. We do have a um outer district a situation that doesn't arise very often and we don't really anticipate all those individual exceptions to our our big rules. But uh we have a staff member whose wife uh lost her position uh and at her school and um their their family they found out very close to the the dates and didn't know that there was a cut off date for out of district students and it's not something that has ever even come up and it's never been a problem and those kids go to Lockwood and this staff member um has asked for the board to consider their child who I believe will be a first grader, is that accurate? To come to Laurel Public Schools and normally uh when we

031have extenduating circumstances like this, this isn't something that that uh goes around the board. This comes to the board. The board's the one that can make exceptions to policies like this. 3141 is an April 15th cutoff for out of district students to apply. This was uh found out real close to that cuto off date and by the time he got to the office to figure out what's going on. It's a whole lot going on in his life and I don't want to overshare. I'll let you share those things. But um they need a safe place, a consistent place to bring kids, his child uh so they know that, hey, this is the drop off. This is the pickup time. And now that that won't be consistent, they don't know what uh Mrs. Arnison's going to

032be doing next fall, what position she'll hold in what area, in what vocation. So, uh they're trying to think ahead and make sure that their kids can be picked up and dropped off uh safely and on time. Uh which, uh they've asked that they we consider if you want to come on up to the podium if you would please, Dr. Arnison. Um want to consider u allowing his daughter to attend rural public schools. We know we've missed deadlines. We get that. Um I would encourage that the board allow this. Um I think that it's something we have an opportunity to help people out. We'll do our best whenever we can. We have room in that grade uh to to house one more child and uh we are making this recommendation. So I'll go ahead and

033turn it over to you briefly. And I want to thank Mr. Torx and Mrs. Fuches for hearing my case and bringing it to your attention. And so as Mr. Torque said, my wife found out she wasn't going to be working this fall in Lockwood where we live. Uh currently my son is a kindergarten student there. And you know, as we uh navigate her new employment opportunities, uh I we spoke about pickup, drop off, extracurriculars, and kind of came to the conclusion that to offer her the most flexibility, finding new employment, and to make sure that my son has the structure in his life that we want to provide for him and has the opportunity for those extracurriculars that it would work out best if he could come to school in Laurel. And so that's why

034I'm coming to you today. Uh I understand that I missed the deadline and that this would be, you know, considering extenduating circumstances. I certainly appreciate you all taking the time to to uh hear my case. I appreciate all, you know, everything you do for Laurel. And uh that's that's where I'm at. So thank you again. Thank you, Mr. Turks, Mrs. Fuches. And please let if you have any questions, let me know. Thank you. Do we have any discussion? on this item. Actually, I'd like to make a motion. Entertain a motion to allow student A of the employee of Dr. Arnison to be welcomed as one of our students. I have a first by Britney. Do I have a second? Second by Renee. Any discussion by the board? I guess I would just ask that we

035bring this policy back to leadership and learning so that we can rework that portion um that speaks to staff so that we can kind of remedy that. I have sent it off. I did send this policy off with some ideas and getting back from the schoolboard association as far as what the wording can look like or do we have to leave it in the hands of the board to make exceptions? So I have sent that off. That's kind of my question too. So yeah, Donnie, I just want to say that a perfect example of the kind of exceptions that we couldn't foresee when we were writing this policy, but I think this is definitely the sort of exception that we want to allow. We want the staff to feel welcome and have a balance. Any

036further discussion? Any discussion from the audience? With that, we do have a motion on the table from Britney and a second by Renee. All in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. You all very much for your time. Thank you. Moving to the next action item, which is for Yellowstone County to conduct school elections for the 2526 year. Do I have a motion? I move to accept the resolution requesting Yellowstone County to run our school elections for fiscal year 22. I have a motion by Donnie. Do I have a second? Second. Second by Jenny. Any discussion by the board? Discussion by the audience. So I do have a motion by Donnie to approve the Yellowstone County to conduct our school elections for the 2526 school year. Seconded by Jenny. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed?

037Motion carries. Number C, adoption of the five-year professional development plan. Do I have a motion? Would we like discussion first? I make a motion to uh approve the Laurel School District 5-year professional development plan. I have a motion by Britney. Do I have a second? Second by Kayla. Is there any board discussion? Donnie, I'd just like to hear more from Charlotte so I really know what I'm looking at. So what you guys are looking at is really big picture. So, um, we take that plan and then scale it down each year to the specific details of exactly what, um, PD we're offering and bringing in to the district. But this is just overview big picture like our targets and goals. Um how those align to the district strategic plan because we align everything all the

038way down to our school level goals and plans all the way up to the your guys's goals and targets that you guys are working on here. So this document that you see attached is just kind of that visual of how what we're working on with professional learning aligns back to the district strategic plan. um the committee that met I think we met three or four times this last year and reviewed things. One of the pieces that was missing off of the last five-year plan was that safety piece and we kept always like figuring out like how to add it in. So this year it's um added in as just one of the strands uh building in that communication and the the community pieces that we know we want to continue working on family engagement pieces

039like that and then that district safety piece is just a strand there. So we utilize this plan anytime we're having conversations about bringing in a presenter. How does it align to our goals? How does it align to the targets that we've already established? And if it doesn't align, then that brings up conversation about, well, why are we considering this? Why are we spending district money on this or time for teachers on this if it doesn't align to this plan that's in front of you? So, it is very big picture. It's just kind of categories or topics that we will consider as we move forward. Um, and then breaking it into the opportunities of when and how we can deliver professional learning. So, we have the summer PD that we offer in the summer before school

040starts, our new teacher orientation and some of the activities that we do in August, our throughout the year through our early out sessions. So all of the things that the principles plan at their buildings for early out um those all align back to one of these topics or one of these targets and then looking at any summer planning um for professional learning that we might be bringing in. For example, a couple years ago we brought in CHAMPS districtwide to work on that piece around classroom management and classroom structures and organization. And then we brought that piece back in for new teacher orientation. Had some staff in the district that were trained deeply on those strategies so that we can embed that into that orientation piece and keep that that continuity going. We're doing the same

041thing with um arts integration. We've done a lot of PD in the past on arts integration. We have a couple of staff members in the district, teachers that then earn their time as trainers of other teachers as we continue to build forward. So we utilize that plan as kind of our roadmap of having those conversations about what professional learning looks like in Laurel. Awesome. Any other discussions or questions for Charlotte? Awesome. Thank you so much. So, we do have a first by Britney and a second by Kayla. All in favor? Oh, sorry. Discussion. No more discussion. Any more discussion? Do you guys have anything to say out there in the audience? All right. So, we do have that first by Britney and a second by Kayla. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion

042carries. On to number D, which is an update of policies 3225P1 and 5012P1. Do I have a motion? 322 P1 and 12. Motion by Renee. Do I have a second? Second. Second by Donnie. Any board discussion? Any audience discussion? We do have a motion by Renee and a second by Donnie to update the policies 3225 P1 and 5012 P1. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Action item number E. uh update to the special education job description. Do I have a motion? I move to approve the updated job description for special education. I have a first a motion by Jenny. Do I have a second? Second. Second by Donnie. Any discussion by the board? discussion by the public audience. Hearing none, we do have a motion to approve the updated special education

043job description by Jenny with a second by Donnie. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Action item number F to affirm the contracts for coaches and activities for the 25 26 school year. Do I have a motion? I make a motion to affirm the contracts for the attached coach and activities staff in the list of the 2025 2026 school year. I have a motion by Britney. Do I have a second? Second by Renee. Any discussion by the board? Any discussion by the audience? comments. Sure. I just wanted to comment about how I appreciated the list showing the vacancies also rather than just the positions that we were filling to give us a better idea of where we stand. What's left out? Yeah, really appreciated that. Good point. That's great. Thank you, Donnie.

044So, we do have a motion by Britney and a second by Renee to affirm the contracts of coaches and activity staff for the 2526 school year. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. We got through all those action items. That's great. I did it. All right. next the information items uh which is our student board representative report. Take it away. Be a little longer because we're going to give you all the info we received from our interviews. Chase is gone. He did the first and second grade. So, we'll be doing that. But Michael will start. Okay. So, at South the kindergarten when we interviewed them, we had an exciting group. They were all very happy to be there. Um, so when we were talking to the students, they really expressed um the

045positive school experience. So we're doing really good there. Um, some of their favorite aspects while there included math, learning, lunch, especially the hot dogs there, um, sports, recess, and just spending time with their friends. Um some common things that just stressed them all out uh was some of the disciplinary actions just like um not necessarily that they're bad. It was just like I don't know like they're feeling like they don't want to do anything bad because of them which is a good thing. And then separations from their parents that was another thing that they brought up was they didn't want to leave their parents but you have to learn um Well, our staff is great at the kindergarten. So, yes. Um but um some of the things that they had like wanted to be changed

046was that they wanted uh longer recesses. Um obviously um some of them expressed dislike for the lunches. So maybe making more options there uh depending on the budget. Um also want shorter school days. No, that won't happen. Um and then um talking about like their social environment there. Uh most of the students that we interviewed reported that uh they have a lot of friends and that they feel like they're all very genuinely nice. Um there are occasionally bullying things that were mentioned like they just see it like it doesn't happen to a bunch of them. Um but in case of those that happen they do see that there is things that get adjusted as soon as the bullying is reported like the think sheets. Um so that was very good to hear. And then talking

047about uh teachers and staff all the students talked about um how good the teachers were and how they loved going there and learning with them. Um, I want to give a shout out to the principal there because when we asked them, is there a person that you feel that you can talk to uh when there's an issue and they all said the kindergarten principal? So, thank you so much and I think that speaks volumes. So, round of applause for her. Um, and then, um, talking about like their workload, um, math and reading and drawing were like the top favorites that the students had. Um, most of the students felt like their uh, workload was just right or a little slightly easier. Well, there was just a slight few that felt like it was just a

048little um, heavy, but they really enjoyed all the like the group work and working friends and all of that. And all of them were very excited to go to the new building as well. So, any questions for kindergarten? Okay. Okay, I'll do first grade. So, some of their favorite activities were math and they love counting to 400. We're like, "Oh my gosh, that's fire." And then they like steam drawing and activities like that and music. So, Chase and I when we were waiting and everyone was kind of just waiting for other kids to get there, we kind of gave them like a what are they called? Ribbon performance with Yep. dancing ribbon. They really liked that. Um, physical activities they really liked. PE was always mentioned and they really like rainbow tag and gym time.

049They liked recess. A lot of them highlighted it as a favorite activity of their day. We asked this girl, "What do you like to do at recess?" And she's like, "Well, we like to pull dance." Because they had a pole and they would like do tricks on it. And we were nothing. We were all like [Laughter] Yeah, [Laughter] [Music] that's played that's played no factor in our Yeah. Well, we had that issue at Elder Grove, too. So, it just happens. Yeah. We We asked them when they're happiest, and they said when they're playing games or outside, when their class earns 10 Buzz tickets, um when their teachers and friends show kindness or help each other or clean together. Um yeah and they just like interacting with a lot of people which is really good which

050means you know the social activities are really working. Um they did express concerns about noise levels in the lunchrooms and hallways. Um some find math games or concepts challenging at times but we did ask them do you know you can go to your teacher for help and they express that you know it's not a huge issue. They don't really like the cold weather in Montana, but like what can we do? Yeah. Um, they suggested teacher should implement a quiet coyote or similar quieting strategy to reduce noise. And then when we asked them, do you feel safe at school? Most of them did report that they felt really safe. They appreciated the presence of teachers outside during recess. And then they expressed nervous. some expressed nervousness that there was only one teacher supervising lunch recess. Um,

051but I don't really know like how applicable that is. Um, and then they all noted that the teachers were really helpful and caring, which is really good. They also did note that someone they could go to was also the principal and the counselor and they felt really safe with them. And then when we asked them one thing they could change, it was like the same as last year, like school made out of lollipops or like recess all day. And for the friends and social life aspect, there friendships are really strong over there. Some felt like kind of sad cuz they were moving to new buildings and they didn't know how it would go, but I think it would go great. Um, some stu like most students said the kids are generally nice. one did mention

052an incident of like being pushed around, but we talked to him and he did say that there was um a discussion that happened after that. Um students are pretty aware of conflict resolution tools like Kelso's choices and noted that teachers do intervene when necessary when asked. Then for the teachers and adult support, they overwhelmingly feel supported by their teachers. They described them as being nice, helpful, and skilled at explaining concepts like counting by tens or like picking out fun math games. And then most of them felt comfortable to talk about talking to their teachers if they're upset or having a problem. And they mostly all believe they're listened to. [Music] Um for the learning and school work, their favorite subjects include math, steam, and music. Most of them said that their schoolwork, we asked them,

053"Do you think your school work is just right, too easy or too hard?" And for the majority, if not all, they all said it was just right, which is good. And just right meant like they were being challenged, but they could still ask for help. And then they said that students learned best through a mix of working with their friends, independent practice, and clear explanations from teachers. That was basically it. Okay. Um, any questions for first grade? Okay, I'll move on to second grade. Um, we had a really energized group for second grade. Um, it was a very physical group and that showed through some of their responses. Um, because most of their favorite thing to do at school was like gym. Um, where they played games like jump rope, dodgeball, parachute games, uh, volleyball

054and wrestling and all of that just made them like really excited to come to school as well. Um and then um we asked them about some safety concerns and most of the kids if not all they were like yeah I feel really safe at school. They know that they have a trusted adult there as well. Um a few of them just expressed concerns and about the ongoing construction that felt made them feel a little bit unsafe but that's winding to an end soon. So that's something that we hopefully won't have to worry about next year. Um but that was just their one concern. So, with that coming to an end, we should be good there. Um, some improvements that they thought to the school, we got a couple more serious ones, and that was just

055like uh larger playground. It's not that serious, but um it was serious to them. [Laughter] Okay. Um so with um friends and then like their sher environment at the school u most of the students there um they felt like they have a really diverse and fun um friend groups um that they play with at recess and sit with at lunch and like have in school. Um most of the kids said that around the school generally most kids are nice. Um they noted that there were some unfriendly things but they were dealt with with like communication through teachers and also like the punishment system. Um then u moving on to like teachers and staffs we asked them like uh do you feel safe with your teachers like can you go and talk to them and um

056they were very positive towards their teachers. They spoke really highly of them which I was really happy about. Um they felt safe with them. Um, and then we asked them um like what helps them learn best and it was like partner reading. Um, then like um I think it was individuality like working on it by yourself and then some group work but they have to pick the groups obviously. Um, and then some fun things that they like to do at school that brought them into school and they're like I'm excited to do this throughout the day. uh reading, math, art, and then they really liked lunch, especially the cheese, bread sticks, and that was especially highlighted throughout all the conversation there. Um and then some other things that they liked throughout the school day was

057their free iPad time, um class dojo, and then art projects. Um so yeah, and they were also excited to switch schools. So any questions there? Wait, what? Oh, wait. Uh, we're moving on to fifth and sixth. We did not go to graph. Um, there was just like some uh constraints and restrictions that just didn't allow it to fit in the report and into our schedules. Um, so we'll move on to fifth and sixth grade now. Okay. So, general school experience there. Uh, when we interviewed the kids, uh, we did a combined uh, group uh, fifth and sixth. Um some things that they enjoyed for coming to school was making new friends. Uh they really like to learn things. Um uh they liked their freedoms during their break time and um they liked the freedom of

058going to multiple teachers and not being having stuck at like a home room. Um some things that they reported that was like kind of an issue were the school lunches. Um they just didn't really like them. and one of them mentioned chunky cheese. So that was just one thing that was brought up. Um there's also um another thing that was mentioned was increased teacher involvement with bullying. They mentioned that teachers are starting to like um intervene more and help out with bullying. So that was a good thing that we heard. Um, one thing that we did hear especially from the fifth and sixth graders from all of them was that um, the eighth graders were really mean and they were talking about how they would like them to be separated if there's any way. That

059was just one thing that they expressed which really was saddening to hear, but hopefully it's just that bunch of eighth graders and it's not just like a continual cycle. Um, another thing uh that they mentioned that they would like fix is just better school equipment. Um, so that was just another thing. And then we asked them about the safety uh questions. Uh kids really expressed that like the lockdown drills, the fire drills, all of that just like helped them feel more safe at the school just practicing those regular regular regular you know the word I'm trying to say. Um and then they also have really caring teachers that also made them feel safe. Um they also really like having the presence of a resource officer at the school that made them feel safe as well

060as well as their friends. Um, and then we asked kids like trusted adults at their schools. Many were named. Um, but a couple that were really highlighted were was Miss Cickle, um, Miss White, uh, Miss Anderson, and Miss Karns. Um, they also talked about the CA, uh, counselors, the nurses, and the principal. So, those were just really good things to hear that they did have a trusted adult to go to. Um, then the student relationship environment. Um they realized that like most people there are nice just the eighth graders were an exception. Um there was some things about bullying and uh fights and things like that that were starting to happen in Seymour uh when at the middle school. Um there's also more social clicks there and that's something that the kids like mentioned they

061didn't really like but it happens which is unfortunate. maybe there's something that we could do. But yeah, um uh some words that they we asked them like what describes the atmosphere at your school. Some of them were stressful, chaotic, moody, and it really depends on like the lesson that they're learning and like the things in school. And then with the student staff relations, um they felt that they were really emotional and academically supported by everyone there, all the teachers, like they all cared about them. Um if there was ever a serious problem, they all felt like it was handled and it was handled appropriately. Um and then with engagement in uh school activities, um some students uh when they were coming to school, they felt really excited to just see their friends. Um some of

062them struggled with tight schedules and then just stress from home. Um that was just some of them that brought that up. And then with uh school engagement, it was really social depended and like depended on like if their friends were there. A lot of them expressed like if a friend wasn't there, I wouldn't really want to go to school. Uh which was sad to hear, but other kids brought up like there were teachers that made them want to come to school, which I was also happy about. And then other things that made them like want to come to school was all there were some clubs that they mentioned sports and things like that, but they also felt like there weren't enough opportunities at uh middle school level. So maybe bring a couple more clubs in

063there or do something like that. Um we asked them like what type of learning do they work best in and they said that it was mostly independent work. Um working with teachers or groups. Um of course they have to choose the people in the groups as well. Um obviously and then they felt like their workload was pretty right. Is there any questions for fifth sixth grade? Okay. Okay. I'll do seventh and eight. So what students enjoyed most was their friendships there and then they felt positively about certain teachers. Um, their favorite aspects included lunch, which was burgers. And then they also like library time due to books and games and subjects like science and ELA. It seems like they're doing fun stuff in those classes. And then suggested improvements included eliminating or reducing restrictions during

064lunch and recess. Um, getting rid of planners. And then this one said improving like food quality and transparency because they opened up a chocolate milk and it was like chunky but happens to the best of us. Um and then students generally feel safe and they put a lot of emphasis on this um on drills like fire drills um other stuff like that. And then they said that the atmosphere was friendly, stressful, and they had good friends, which is really nice to hear. Um, for the student and staff relationships for positive interactions, they felt cared about when teachers had um offered open door policies and an example given was uh Mrs. Picowski. And then when they listen and show interest in students concerns and we heard Mr. Cooper, Mrs. James, is it Mr. Karns or It's

065Miss Kern. Miss Karns. Okay, that was a typo. Um, so yeah, they I feel like in the middle school, it's really important when teachers come forward and say, you know, you can come and talk to me about everything or whatever you need. That's really important instead of them kind of having to push themselves to do it. also explaining that you can email me if need be was something that was talked about. And then some areas for improvement. It was while some students feel supported, others felt that adults don't always listen or follow up on concerns. One student stated that none of the kids listen to it when a speaker discussed bullying and that was with the Jeff Neely. A good side to that is that all of the younger kids did appreciate that and they

066learned from it. So, it might just be repetitiveness and kind of forcing them to follow certain guidelines um for inclusion and fairness. Although most teachers were viewed as fair, students noted some inconsistencies. Some said no, teachers are very nice and treat um and treat kids fairly. Others said that teachers pick who they want to treat fairly sometimes. Excuse me. For bullying and inclusivity, students reported that bullying is addressed inconsistently. While teachers of often talk to students or refer issues to the office, some students felt that the actual change rarely happens and that just could be because of the child themselves and again implementing that repetitiveness could fix that. And then especially when bullying doesn't occur directly in class and then for activities and engagement uh they were excited for school most of them they said

067that it was attributed to their friends and enjoyable classes though others did feel tired or disengaged due to like peer issues or having the same schedule over and over. Their motivators though were enjoyable events, um, freedom engaging with teachers to help boost morale, and students also appreciated when teachers took time to explain material and offer group work flexibility. Um, and they students expressed eagerness for more freedom, more classes, less drama, and the opportunity to grow beyond the middle school experience. And we did assure them that high school is way better than middle school. um for the academic environment, their learning preferences. They said that they perform best when teachers explain things very clearly and repetitively, when they work in small groups or independently, and when group work is done in manageable sizes, and quiet focus

068time is provided. And some students felt that they have access to resources while others noted gaps particularly in terms of technology or consistent academic support. [Music] Um yeah that's basically it for seventh and eth. So, the favorite aspects of school for the juniors and seniors, they enjoyed seeing their friends, having flexible schedules like flex periods, open campus lunch, extracurricular programs such as music and sports, and also school to work. Um, freshman and sophomores also appreciate lunch and open campus flex time for work. that seems like it's really been productive and we've been really laugh and they are also really happy with certain supportive staff members. And then for some suggestions, juniors and seniors said that some concerns were raised about the current block schedule being either too demanding or not flexible enough. And that kind

069of just came from teachers not being able to change their schedules um and the workload. So I heard some in math just having a lot of work to be done and it there wasn't enough time within periods because you know some teachers were so comfortable with the blocks before. They also noted yeah they noted that much of their classwork followed the block schedule leaving a little work time. And then freshman and sophomores express need for better crosswalk signage and lighter phone policies, but obviously that's being worked on. And then for feelings of safety, students generally feel safe, particularly because of trusted adults like counselors and specific teachers such as uh Miss Fox, Mr. Stillson, and Miss Noel. And then some freshman and sophomores noted minor security improvements such as the bed or traffic signage. Um,

070for trusted adults, most students reported having at least one adult they feel extremely comfortable going to with a problem. Names repeated often included Mrs. Graves, Mr. Stilson, Miss Noel, and counselors, which is really good to hear. for care and support. Students mentioned that some teachers show they care through group activities, offering help with assignments and building individual relationships and through personal experience. Every teacher at the high school is willing to help either before school or outside of school or not outside of school, after school, which is really good. However, responses indicated that in some cases, students felt that encouragement for extracurricular involvement depends heavily on whether the staff member is personally invested. So, that's something that could be worked upon through some advertisement of some sort. And then for input on school decisions, students said

071that they're rarely or only occasionally asked for input on school decisions. And when they are, usually comes from the principles or from us. for bullying. Juniors and seniors reported that bullying was not a significant problem for most, but acknowledged that support for special education students could be improved. And then freshman and sophomores noted that daily bullying can go unnoticed and that teachers sometimes don't address it unless prompted. And most students did feel that the school does a fairly good job including all students and respecting differences. and some underassman suggested there is still room for improvement especially in supporting students who are different socially or academically. Upper classmen um were excited to attend school. They said they were motivated by social reasons, friends, music, activities, but less by academics alone. underassmen. Some freshman and sophomores admitted

072they would rather stay home but attend school for friends and to avoid missing work. And activities that brought joy were events, social activities, engaging classes, building relationships with teachers to make school more enjoyable. And there is interest in having more fun events and clubs that cater to a wider variety of student interests. And for academics and learning environment, students said motivation comes from engaging group projects, hands-on learning opportunities, and support from teachers when needed. They said that the best learning methods were hands-on activities. Group projects were preferred over purely online work, and students value creative assignments that allow for some personal freedom. A teacher that does really good with that is Mr. O'Neal and uh Mr. Gatley. And then for access to resources, most students felt that they have access to textbooks, technology, and tutoring

073when needed. And uh the for the last thing, it was pretty heavily talked upon with the upper classmen. They talked about preparation for the future in college and career preparation. They said that students generally feel while the school does do well in offering AP and college level classes that there could be more emphasis on basic life skills like taxes, mortgages, and job preparation. And then career center resources and hands-on preparation were suggested areas for growth. And then recently it was brought up that many students have shared that the current master schedule has been a source of frustration and they do appreciate the effort that goes into planning it but there were some concerns that the structure didn't fully support their academic focus and a more flexible or student- centered approach could better align with the

074needs of the students and improve daily school experience. But that's it. Sorry, we dumped a lot on you guys. Any questions or That was an awesome report and so much work. But like I was it fun? Did you enjoy getting to see all those kids? And and they were all really excited to see us. And um I think it was also a learning opportunity for them because at the end we asked we told them like if you have questions for us feel free to ask us and they all asked us questions. We explained what the board was, so we made them more informed as well. So, as much as we we got informed, they also did. So, and they're really nice to us. So, what do you think your uh biggest takeaway was from the

075K12? Well, so when I was interviewing students and then also alongside working at Alder Grove, I was surprised to how independent kids are becoming. I mean, I hadn't seen that before, which is really interesting and how open they are nowadays. So, I thought that's a really good thing. I I wasn't really surprised by that much, but I was just really really happy to see that um all the students, they really had a person that they could go to at school. seeing that our district um has like such exceptional um people that we hire and that they're doing their jobs to a point where they are actually connecting with kids and the kids are feeling connected with them as well. That's awesome. Anyone else have questions or comments? Jenny, I know you're graduating, but do you

076have anything talking to the students that you want to dig into more next year, Michael, or or did you accumulate a difference from last year in your in your question? Yeah. Well, the bullying responses did go down in the middle school from last year, which is really good. And so what I would emphasize is a repetitiveness either inviting Jeff Muy again or doing something of the sort even I know Caitlyn talked about this before allowing high schoolers to go into the younger schools and kind of be mentors for issues. I don't know the legality of that, but I think that would be really important because as of we're seeing from all of our schools, kids are doing pretty well academically, and that's really good, but there is a social aspect to bullying and inclusivity that

077could be cracked up. I think we covered a lot of the areas. Um, I don't think there's too many places that like is like a concern, but maybe like looking at all the data again and then like like seeing what ones we had like less responses on like they weren't um as clear as the other ones. Maybe going back to that, but maybe we do this again in like halfway throughout the year and see if the responses change. Um, but nothing that really popped out to me that we could do the report on next year that we want to dig into more. Be interested next year. Yeah. Yeah. So, maybe like the building transfers and all of that stuff. Yeah, I think that's would be really good and see how they like the new buildings

078and see if it actually is like what we hoped it to be. Right. Um, another thing that I wanted to point out is when we were doing the high school ones, um, all the kids when we asked them like, "What motivates you to come to school?" And like, "What makes you happy when you come to school?" Mr. Stillson had so many compliments of him being out in the hallways fistbumping the kids, knowing like all the kids names. And I just want to give a big thanks to him because he brought so many kids a reason to come to school. So, that was one thing that really stuck out to me at the high school level. Darn that guy. That's awesome. Well, we'd like to thank you. This is your last report. Um, especially for Jamila,

079thank you for two years of being with us and kind of helping shape this program now that it's in its third year. and uh we wish you so much success and luck and we're so proud of uh what you've accomplished in high school and look forward to hearing about what you do when you're when you come back and we see you and what you what you're doing. So, thank you. No, I could not be more grateful honestly for the type of career that I want to go to or the path. I think this has been so helpful and all of you are so different but you you know share good values and that's something that I'm definitely going to keep for my future. So I'm really really grateful for this opportunity. Thanks to Michael and

080Chase when we see him wandering around the hall. We'll have to say thank you to him too. I know he's at a track banquet tonight. So thank you to you both too. We hope to see you next year. Hopefully we didn't scare you off and you're still excited to be here and are talking this up because we would love to have more candidates next year to interview. It was it was awesome this year to have such a hard decision. We we picked you both. So, I think that uh we all hope that we have that same problem again next year. So, thank you both. And uh should we give them a round of applause for helping this year? Yeah, thanks so much. So, uh we'll move on. We just have one department report and that's

081from curriculum. And does anyone have any uh questions or discussion? Charlotte, would you like to share anything? Kind of interesting that um what they just talked about is also somewhat in my report here. the attachment, the data analysis for our climate culture surveys. This was a project that the district leadership team was working on all pretty much all year. Um, so we started out at the beginning of the year really looking at our goals as a district and one of the things that came up over and over is like, well, where are we starting? What's our baseline? And a lot of it came back to needing to develop some surveys. We had some surveys that we used precoid and then during COVID the consistency of those surveys just kind of dropped off and then we

082had a hard time kind of getting them back up and running. So just kind of starting clean. Um the district leadership team developed and spent probably the first three or four months of the school year developing some climate culture surveys for students and staff. Um we are almost finished with the one that we wanted to have go out to parents, family, and community members. Um so that will be one that we'll need to finish next year. And then we really went slow in order to go far with the data analysis from those surveys. Those surveys went out in I want to say March and then we took multiple sessions to go through them. So you guys have a copy of um the document that we worked through just starting with like what are we noticing

083in the data? What are the responses telling us? How many responses did we get um before we went into the second part of the analysis looking at what are now the implications that could help us improve on our goals. And so the question that you asked about like you know what do we want to dig into more next year? the information that that our student representatives have gathered and brought in from the students, you'll see mirrored in a lot of the responses that we gleaned from those surveys. And then um when we we have our committee groups or our subgroups in the district leadership team broken into these four cate categories, there's kind of a wonky weird extra column in there, so ignore that blank one. Um but our four groups around culture, leadership, engagement

084of learning and then the growth that we make in learning, those really are K12 targets. Um so we have representatives from all levels in those subcommittees so that they will use this information to springboard into next year in the fall and go back and look. Okay, culture for learning group looking at what the data was telling us this year. How can that impact our goals? Because then that information then trickles down to the building level teams that when the K2 teachers are together at their school level leadership team, they're working on the same targets to try to impact student achievement and the culture in their buildings um growing the leadership. The leadership is not just our district leadership team. It goes all the way down to teachers who are leaders in the classroom. Um you

085you heard many teachers names brought up that they're making great connections with kids. So we want to continue growing that. Um we have some really strong goals around engagement of learning so that kids aren't bored in school so that they feel like they have an adequate workload but yet they're feeling challenged. So a lot of the same things that you guys talked about. So thank you for that. um and then ultimately impacting our growth. And so we want to have we want to be like the schools of choice. We want Laurel to be the schools that people choose to come to and have high achieving scores and students that are doing amazing and great things by the time they graduate. So just kind of interesting that it kind of all fell on the same on

086the same meeting tonight, but you have a little bit more information from our surveys. Um, like I said, we still have that parent one to finish up and we'll wrap that one up probably in the fall and then determine a good time to deliver that out to the community next year. So, we'll have that community piece to add. Can you share the raw data? Um, yeah, I can. I just didn't have it attached here, but I definitely couldn't add that in. Um, yeah. Yeah, for sure. There were a couple of interesting things that um we like immediately got grabbed on to like we had the the we developed the middle school high school survey as one survey and administered it as one survey. So then it was hard to break that data apart. They were

087asked the same questions. So next year we were like well we'll still do the same survey. We'll just give it in two documents so that we immediately have those numbers because our response on the middle school high school one was a little lower than what we were happy for um or happy with um I don't remember what it was. It was like 60 63% and we were like well how much of that 63% are middle schoolers? How much of that 63% were high schoolers? Like we can't fix what we don't know. So yeah, I can I can pull some of that raw information for you guys. How did you pick? Was it just open to all the students? I'm thinking more like kindergarten specifically. Yeah. So there was um the the K2 survey was developed.

088It wasn't like a Google survey. It was more um like smiley faces, sad faces, kind of a neutral face. And it was the same type of questions like how do you feel at school? Do you feel safe? or you know which you know which little happy face would you pick? So theirs was administered where the kids had um that given in the classroom together as a class and then we did the data entry separate. Um all the rest of the kids grades three and up those were Google forms that the students gave or were given the link to. Um, it was administered in a couple of different ways like middle or intermediate third through fifth. I think they gave it by the classroom. So, the whole classroom came together and the teacher had them log

089in and gave them the link. I'm not really sure the specifics of how some like all of the buildings did it, but I imagine like it was different. I think they used flex time at the high school. Um, they used wind time at the at the middle school. So, but then when kids are absent, you know, it's hard to gather that information and they've got other more pressing things to do than take another survey. So, but we wanted to build something that we felt could be withstanding over time. So, we're not creating another new survey because it's really hard to look at it longitudinally and say we are making gains in this particular area if we're changing the survey and the questions every couple of years. And that's what we saw happen pre-COVID to during

090and then to after. And so this is our starting point. We're not changing the questions. We worked really hard. We had lots of conversations, lots of back and forth about, well, how is this question worded? Is it going to get us the information we're looking for? All of those types of things happened at the district leadership meetings. So, I I'm pretty proud of the work that the whole team did um to get to this point just because like I said, we went really like this is all we worked on this spring or this school year. You developing the questions, developing the surveys, being strategic about when to administer them, really pouring into the data, looking at it. um teachers and teams uh took extra time out of their own planning time to really dig in

091the data again, have good conversations like what does this really tell us and does it tell us what we really want to know so that we can make our district a better place. Yeah, I was maybe um I really like the idea. That's excellent. Um, and I actually like that the high schoolers, we have you turn on your mic just otherwise no one's going to hear you. I actually like that um that student report was done at the same time because just reading this report, it's like some areas looked a little flagged to me. Um, but I think part of it is the age of kids, you know. Um, it's interesting that being bored is so high because I just it's hard for me to picture that those kids are bored after hearing that, right?

092And then also, um, some of the comments that came out with them really reference enjoying the academics and looking forward to the reading and the math and, you know, what we're all about. So, um I think it's a great starting point and I really like seeing it. I would like to see the raw data too and maybe just the instrument format, but um kudos for doing it. And I think one of the real challenges is the impact on technology and how our our kids are so technicized, if that's even a word, that when they come to school, um you know, we're not Tik Tok videos. We're teachers teaching um to accomplish learning. And I think um I think that comes into play a little bit unfortunately in terms of maybe selecting board. But yeah, right.

093And and we also recognize that surveys are you know um personal reflections of our own experiences. Whereas a conversation with another person, you can glean different information rather than just picking, you know, pick the the four from the list of 10 that kind of rise to the top. It could have been a moment in time. It could have been just that particular day. Um, but we also know that we're working really hard to shift the cognitive load of learning with some of the curricular pieces that we're bringing into the district and teachers are starting to notice like the the shift with the math program this year that the way that the kids are having to have conversation and discuss and how did you get that answer and why is your answer the same as mine

094but I figured it out a different way and both ways are okay. And we're we're also going to see that next year with science um at the middle school with the new science program, actually fifth up through 8th. Um that that cognitive load is shifting to where the kids have to do a lot of thinking and a lot of discussion and a lot of conversation and that's hard. And and when you're doing that in math and in ELA and now in science class and in social studies, like you're doing that all day long, it's just like uh like that's a lot of cognitive thinking that we're asking of our kids and a shift in in how to teach. It's not the way I was taught how to teach. Um, so it's it's very different and

095it's challenging and it's hard and and we also do recognize that a survey is just anecdotal information that give but it's good information. It we have to know how our people feel and how our kids feel and how our teachers feel if we're going to make any changes to impact those things. Those are it how people feel when they come to work is really important. So So thank you. And just one other thing, I'd like to see classified higher than 30%. You know, I mean, I'm sure that's a goal, too. Y because there was 70% with the certified and for the classified and but then you read they're not bored. They're purposeful, but they're also hectic, rushed, and busy. Yeah. So maybe that opportunity to actually take the survey. Yeah, that was definitely a a

096piece also. I had forgotten about that, but that was a piece that we talked about. um at our last district leadership team meeting about how we can work with our directors of the different programs to you know build in time or to talk to them about the survey so that we can make sure that we get high high yield responses. So thank you. Great. Thanks. I would just say I I like how the survey is contextualized by what the students did and just to note a way for next year, Michael, to do that exact same survey just like the district's doing the same for consistency of response, same questions, I think would be helpful and maybe coordinate it again like we did this year, work with um Charlotte to do that again so that we

097can have this a similar discussion. I think that was super beneficial cuz it's having one without the other. I think um it would be really helpful. So that was really great. Thank you. Any other discussion on that? Any audience discussion? Great. We'll move on to the superintendent report. Any discussion? Discussion from the audience? We'll move on to our discussion items then. Uh number one, school banking change. So A and F are kind of a crossover. So we maybe skip A and go down to B and then we'll pick up A and F together. Great. I like that. We'll do that. We'll save the best for last. Coffee with a trustee. So, I had an idea just after watching our community struggle. that we moreformational based. Um perception, not understanding, you know, budgets, not understanding how

098a school works, just more hearsay or same thing with how the child is feeling that day instead of truly understanding what where where we're at as top all the way down to um our staffing. I'm willing to do and put on a schedule. I know that I would be sitting as an individual, not sitting as an individual. I cannot make any, you know, promises. This would be clearly just myself. But they wanted to ask questions. I know Julie even said she'd be willing to come in and talk budgets just so they can completely kind of ask questions to understand that, you know, we have money can go. have to do. But so just an idea um since I'll have some free time I'm willing to do that because I feel that the next two years

099are going to need to understand where we're at. Yeah. in all that's my we're going to come down to a point where we're going to need to feel that they need to understand. So do you propose that? Are you going to kind of do that at a coffee shop or is it like a standing like monthly thing? Is that kind of your thought? be every two weeks. It can be at a can be at a local, you know, business in town. Community can know where it's at, what day, what time, what place on a consistent basis. And if and if they don't show up, it's okay because my business is on the fly. So, I find myself to do anyways on the computer. It would just be and I would have a little something to

100say that she said, you know, remember I'm not sitting here at full board. So, I would put some together. It's not me making decisions. It's me just sharing information. Yeah. I think it'd be good if if you know like you do a schedule and you know maybe you know Kayla can come on a few days and uh you know just kind of rotate a little bit so it's not always just one person every time. Might be two people. It might be three of you just to come in and have a conversation with people. I wouldn't do more than three. Yeah. Keep it from being a corb. I was just going to say no. I think it'd be a good idea if you guys create that schedule and just and I know I would be willing

101to show up uh anytime. I know Julie would and I'm sure others will as well. Maybe a principal or or uh you know they could be a specific subject. Again, sometimes they don't take off real well and other times they take off, but it's worth something just to try to get people involved. Got it. I think if maybe we try over the summer and see how it goes and then we can maybe see about continuing it or not that I mean I think that's a great idea or you may think that summer is summer and people don't want to get it out. That's tricky when to start. It really is. What was your thought on that? September a good time. I just want to know what you guys I can put it on my calendar.

102and I can schedule it out. I can do kind of like the MTSBA report. Hey, you know, I had two people come. I guess it's just it's hard. The community is not coming to us. And and there were many comments I said on Facebook, well then come to a board meeting. If you truly feel that strongly, come to a board meeting. We're we're willing to listen. So maybe it's us need to go to them. Yeah. on their level instead of because I'll be honest with you, sometimes being in this boardroom can be kind of my first time here. I'm a little nervous. So maybe it's just we go to them. Donnie, how you envision getting the word out there? Well, I'm hoping by some social media and some young um individuals by our Facebook page

103um by sharing on just any of the Laurel Facebook groups, stuff like that, you know, inviting. I mean this is these are you know the same community members we just tell them hey share the word um stuff like that I'd say constant and consistent needs to be if we want it to take root it's going to take some spool up you know we might have a few meetings right we might have a few meetings where no one comes but having it all the time is the way to kind of I think to to build it up I like the idea Maybe even of like do we schedule it with community groups too? So you could have it at at the coffee shop or city Brew or wherever, but then could we also like you I

104liked you when you said like different businesses around town like so involvement of the chamber is great and then ro but we could do Rotary or other other groups in town the church groups or whatever and have us invite them a specific group too maybe. Do you think that would work or My only concern is is that then I'm trying to schedule my time around their meetings and that that that can get like I'm pretty good about shifting my schedule. Yeah. But if if it's consistent then I know I can be there all time. I mean, there might be some days that I might have to lean on somebody to say, "Hey, I can't make this day as any other trustee able, you know, and I don't want to take too much of Matt's time."

105But like I said, it's just a thought. Um because I do think it's going to take a couple months, possibly a year for it to feel like it's an actual open conversation. Yeah. So, it's just a thought. Ponder it. have to start it and tell you guys, you know, and if you guys don't think it's that, that's fine, too. It was just something to consider. I really like it. I don't know what anyone else's thoughts are. More ice cream. Ice cream. Yeah, ice cream with Oh, that might really be good. Ice cream with a trustee. Coffee and ice cream. I can do both. I can do both. Yeah. Yogurt shop, too, right? Good meeting place. But yeah, do a couple different like you can do coffee. Help me with Jenny. I just like ice cream.

106I'm sorry. I Yeah, I'm trying to I mean they're they they employ local and so I understand that. I also want to be very community oriented as well. So that um what are you talking about over there? Oh well unfortunately I don't drink so that would be boring for me. But like I said I mean if you if you believe that there's a certain day a certain community member a certain I I don't Yeah I think that's great. any specific days or anything that we'd like to discuss or did like a little survey right of some sort and said if you were to come to this how would you how would we get you to come you know would you come for a coffee would you come for a yogurt like when you know when

107would you be available like that kind of you know because if it's 8 am on a Thursday you know most people probably aren't available I know personally might go do dance starting in the fall and I could go zip over to the yogurt shop while they're in their dance class and just hang out for a little while and just be available. So that's what my envisioning with my calendar would be. So it way and I thought of like a little sign so people understand you're not just like because again some of them don't know our faces. Right. Right. So it would have to say you know school district you know you know who I am and then you know trustee or something but again you'd have to say remember I'm only here as an individual.

108So there is some you know that you have to make sure that they understand you're not sitting as the full board because again people I mean how many how many emails do we get that people think well I'm going to say it to the board and we can't make decisions like that right so it's really understanding how they can communicate with us but concerns or questions or Yeah. Yeah. that we're listeners and sharers in that moment not decision makers. Yeah, like it. I really like that. Any other things on that? Anything from the public audience about Yeah, I like the idea of mixing it up to Jenny's point. Different places, different times. And if we work as a trustee group, as a board to be available at different times in different places, that I think

109really helps. And you can always put it on the board packet for a future discussion like the next coffee with the trustee will be these dates this location. So then it's it's something that's consistently there too. Yeah. I think even reporting out just with something real a little paragraph on the district page, whoever's leading that meeting, you know, Rene's there and she leads and she says, "Well, I had three people show up. We talked about this. So, if you're interested, here's when the next one is." And just just, you know, you don't need a whole meeting minutes, but just a a little paragraph saying, "Here's what we talked about. There was some concerns brought to the board this, you know, as a board member." I think those are just what what you talk about important,

110too. Yeah. So, I wrote down, yeah, that we would if we implement this, which sounds like we would like to that we'll just we would make it a regular item much like the MTSBA and whoever was at that, excuse me, at that meeting would just report back because I think that it that I like adding the accountability piece that will keep it us honest and keep it going. Nobody showed up. We just move right by Right. A recurringformational item. Yeah. I think it's great. Yeah. Um another thing um just to think um me and Chase we could probably find a day to be available to go there too. And then parents could also ask from a student's perspective as well of why we might need a bond or levy to pass. Um because who knows,

111they might not have the greatest communication with their child or maybe their child doesn't um know fully about it. So maybe some of the things um if we're there, they parents might go to ask us questions as well. So yeah, just another thing on top of that. Great. Yeah. Ice cream though. All right. So, with that then I think if no other discussion, we'll move on to number C. Boardsmanship training dates. So, I'll go ahead and and start this. We uh every couple years and especially uh you know we've had some new people come on this year. I think it's it's always a good idea for boards to go through some boardsmanship training and it's not that you don't learn on the fly. That's all great, but I think there's there's always a chance for

112you to um ask questions as a board uh you know, so I've had Deborah Silk come in from schoolboard association uh do that and that is a service they offer. Sometimes they do it on um like a like teams call online. We've done those before. They've been here in person. I've also called and talked to Felt Martin and for a nominal fee they'll come over and do a two-hour training. Uh, and I think I think it would be positive to maybe even have both of them come on different nights. Uh, and we wouldn't have to do them both in in June or anything. We could do one in June and one in August or one in July, but I would uh like to set up some dates. Uh, I've tenatively uh scheduled uh believe it's

113the 24th. Uh but again I with Deborah Silk at schoolboard association to come in and sit down and and she has a presentation. She a lot of times she'll call and and talk to me or or I'll get stuff from the board about, okay, what do you guys want to know about? And uh sometimes Deborah will say quietly, hey, is there anything they're struggling with? And and uh I can say, well, they argue all the time or they they you know, so so she tries to bring some specific things to help Laurel out or things that we might be struggling with. And if you guys have things you're struggling with uh in the board, I'm more than happy to bring those to either Felt Martin or to uh to schoolboard association Deborah Silk. So I've

114tenatively just said, "Hey, the 24th 6 to 8 2hour board training on the 24th of June." Um is is what I've done there. If that date doesn't work, I know she had the 25th and 26th open, I believe. Um then Felt Martin I think it'd be a good idea. Maybe we'll bring them in later and I think it would be a good a different perspective. They're our kind of our private legal counsel that we use for different things and they do trainings all over the state as well. They'd be willing to come in. The guy Jeff Welen is who I always like to bring in and he's getting a surgery in early June. So if we can go a little bit later uh you know maybe July or August that be a little bit better

115for Jeff in his recovery. So if if if that's okay I'll go ahead and and confirm the 20. Okay. I know this. Well, it's not about E. It's just about be helpful to everybody. Is there another day that week that works better? Is there any issues with the 25th or 26th? I am out that whole week out of town. Okay. But that shouldn't stop any if it's works for the plurality. I wouldn't stop it. Okay. Well, if you guys want, I could see if I can push this off the later in July. You guys want me to do a a July one? Um, if it's okay if it waits. We're all functioning, doing fine. Um, I can push it off. I would like everybody there. I think it would be helpful for Chris to be

116there as the board chair just to see what's being told to the to the whole board. He can help fortify that training. Um, so I would like everyone to be there. Um, I I don't think we can do it earlier in June. I could check and see if they could do it the week before, but I don't think she had any dates then. U I believe her dates were all uh earlier if I remember right. I am I'm here after June for the duration. So as for my schedule, July, I'm fully here. U I'll go ahead and uh look at options. I'll get some new dates from her and I'll throw some out. And then what I'll have you do is is is I always ask for your bad dates. So if I send you

117out like six dates for Dra Silk, don't tell me everything that's good for you. Just say, "I can't be there on these days." Then I look I put all that together. Everyone's talking the same language, bad dates. Then uh then we go ahead and I I see if there's any common dates that works. So So there's all the dates are good. Okay. The dates are good. Uh, no bad dates, but I'll do my best to put something together. Uh, if I have to wait a little bit, that's fine, too. So, just looking at what other dates she sent me. U, yeah, those are the dates. 24th, 25th, and 26th is what she's had. She since filled up a few others. So, uh, I'll I'll see if what we can do. I only had her give

118me June, so I'll go ahead and and, uh, call her tomorrow and see, uh, You know what? She said the 12th potentially could work as of this email. Just look at June 12th and tell me if there's anything that you're out. Okay. All right. So, I'm going to send you some new dates, July and August type dates, and uh we'll set up something at that time. Okay. Does July work for everyone? Should work for the most part. I mean, I know when I'm not in July. That's okay. That's why we're sending out the dates because there may be dates you're just doing family vacations. Hey, awesome. Let's just look and see if we have any common date that uh works for everybody. Okay, great. Thanks, Matt. And then if you have any ideas or things

119you'd want to talk about how to communicate with the public, that's always a biggie that you talk about. But if there's other things you guys want me to get to Belt Martin or to schoolboard association, I would be love to do that. Awesome. We good with that? We'll move on to number D which is the graph brick project ideas and problems. There's probably several of both. It's always problems. The graph brick project was something that was just mentioned in in this group a while back about hey what can we do? We sell some bricks. Well, I did have one uh person call me uh name is Chelsea Hine and she's talked about putting together some people to do a fundraiser for the calling himself the Graph Legacy Alliance or something. I tried calling her back

120today, left her message and I haven't heard back yet, but she is she has said she would like to be a part of that and would help organize it. Um, I think a great idea would be to to have a Yeah, I don't think we can have unlimited bricks. Uh, who's going to store them? How you going to, you know, harvest them out of there? We we got I think we can get 50 bricks or 100 bricks or something like that. Wayne and I can work with the uh with the uh contractor who's tearing it down. One thing they don't like doing is, hey, we're going to come in and work and and we're going to tear down this building and then, you know, we're holding them up. Well, well, you can't do anything because

121we got to go get bricks later. And so these they they like knocking things down and piling things in trucks going. So, we're we're going to work with them and try to see if we could if they can even take a half hour break and we could get five or six people to go over there and if they knock things down and see what we can collect. And they don't have to be pretty. We'll just try to collect them and clean them up later, but let's try to collect what we can. If we can get a 100 bricks or something along those lines, I think we can do that relatively quickly. Um, we're going to try to work with somebody to get bricks. So, it's not always a real, again, I talking with Langless and

122talking with K2. Um, I'm willing to do that to see if we can't come up with a time to get some bricks. Wayne and I'll work on that. Yes, what if we did only forundred bucks and make it, you know, make it where it's a small a small amount of bricks, but then more people want to donate. So, it's more of a donation for a brick, right? And then we could utilize that the signs. So, the dedication for the signs. Yeah, I don't think a thousand thousand bricks. So limit the amount of bricks, you know, I think whatever you guys, but $50 $100 for a donationally and then that money gets donated back for the field, you know. I like that idea. Yes. Um, what about the idea when we hold the open house? Do

123we have people sign up if they are interested in being a brick person or are we getting the part ahead of the horse? Um, you mean for for like the bricks or buy 10 people? Yeah, it's it's and again that's why I'm thinking it'd be nice if we did have some help from an outside group. Um and then it does because otherwise it's going to fall in this group and it does take time to put those things together. We've had some people interested and and I'll know more when I get back with with uh I think it's Chelsea and to see exactly what they're what they're thinking, what their idea would be. Um I'm not sure how organized they are. I'm not sure how put together everything is, but if they're willing to do a

124little cleaning on some bricks, knock off some old mortar and uh and and and you know, help run that sale of those bricks and then donate the money. I think that'd be a great idea. Uh and then we'd put it towards, you know, like a graph sign, something like that. It go towards something and uh and it would be kind of a neat uh neat way to people to have a brick. again. May maybe we could do a sign up if you're interested for a brick. Yeah. The only I had sent out a thread to about a dozen people. You know, I was here back in the 90s and it's really kind of mushroomed on interest in terms of I think there's going to be a fairly good turnout for the open house. Um, and

125I think, you know, it's students, its parents, it's former educators. Um, the principal before me might be able to make it and he was there 34 years. So, you know, some people that really had longevity there. Um, hearing about it, it's like, yeah, we're coming. We we want to see grass before it's gone. So um it you know there was that mention about kids at the school having kind of some emotional and some sadness with that you know um I think that there's a there are people that are invested in that 71year-old building and I'll go ahead and work with with the gal and uh I can email you guys out information as I get it and hopefully she calls me and talks to me tomorrow. Um just went back and forth today on a

126couple calls. So I I'll get that information out and see if that's a group that we can work with and and uh if they want to they see the same vision that this board does. This was a disc this it's related to this this was a way way back discussion like in the planning phase was the bushes the the plants that are in the trees but then the plants that are in that planter in front to the right what's the viability of keeping that um and again in talking with the the and and Wayne can attest to this a little bit in talking with uh contractors they're like you want us to knock down on a building and have big equipment and excavators and and front and lower tiptoe around this little piece. Save this

127little thing right here. Um that's it's going to be a big ass. We might end up destroying it on the way. So, but maybe transplanting the plants. Is that the plan or what is the Yeah, I mean we're not sure what the new the new sign is. I've seen pictures of it. It's kind of a brick type sign with Yeah, I thought it had been similar. Yeah, similar. I mean, we we'd like to do something and the plants were donated through the FFA and uh they they replanted everything just to bring it up for the last month of school to have flowers in there. So, yeah. So, I remember the trees. I don't remember the bushes. Yeah, somebody It was just the candy. It's the Yeah, there's I thought there was some perennial stuff in

128there. There's not. Thought it was just the I thought it was just the trees that were planted. over here the trees. I've got multiple calls on the trees. Um I've got two calls in one day about hey this uh relative, I think it was a brother of some of the kids who died there. He said that he was kind of the last relative around of the families and he would like the plaque if we were tearing down the trees and I explained that the trees are going like to incorporate them and he's like, "Oh, awesome. Love to leave it there." I just didn't want to see that, you know, thrown away or anything. Um, so we're going to do our best to incorporate the trees. They're a little close to the building, so they're going

129to try to be as careful as they can and um we don't damage any trees in the process of tearing something down and they're aware of that. I I brought that up to the contractor already. Well, the landscape plan has a mark to save. Does it? They did a good They There was a couple trees at West that we marked to save and they did a good job working around those. I'm amazed. They're used to that. So, I'll know more and I was hoping to know more before this meeting just by talking with the sign, but um I'll hopefully talk to her tomorrow and get some feedback. Yeah. You know, just a reference on the trees that happened a few years before I came, but um the one of the kindergarten teachers of one that

130passed and a first grade teacher of another one, they're planning to be there. and Katie Thompson who worked for the district up until last year. I mean, she's the one that really made it go far and wide beyond me because of her connection with people. And um so I I think it's it's going to be a nice turnout for people that can make it. I hope we have great. Yeah, that's great. Any other discussion on that from the audience? No. Yes. All right. We'll move to number E, negotiations committee. Uh, is this just an update on how we're doing and where we're moving? A little bit. A little bit. Britney, knowing that he's already been selected. Um, does it mean that it's always asking the chair and the vice chair and that to maintain that

131committee because we are right in the middle of negotiations. I do believe that we are doing well. our discussions and trying to get everything. So, I would like to just encourage the board to allow how we have it set up um how we'll be communicating in that um setting just through and I guess I we talked about it last week at our board chair meeting and I I would encourage the board to go ahead and move forward. You know, Britney is the as the export chair, she was leading that. I think it's I think it's a good idea just to continue to do what we're doing with that negotiations that we don't change the format or anything because of the makeup of this group. Um I think it would be the best to continue to

132move forward with what we have. Y' I think it'd be I think it'd be a setback. I think Britney leading those from the board's perspective, call her the chair of the negotiations committee or whatever you want to call it, but I think that would be a positive thing to keep moving forward. Yeah, I'm very much in favor of that. That's all I wanted to say about that. My only question is since I'm not I'm part of the certified negotiation, so that that one would have no change in any dynamic at all. Um what is what are the thoughts on me attending the classified? Should I or is that a disruption? I mean you could well because we can't we can't make a change to our committee right in the middle. So I mean you could

133come in as public or if it's public you can't speak though because there's four people to I think I'd just be a disruption. But it doesn't mean that we doesn't mean that my position can't update you with where we're at within that like timeline or you know discussion on on implementation of what we're looking at. Right. Yeah. I think that would be the only thing I would probably need from that group because it's the same thing with like any other committee. We those committees do the work they bring it to the board and the full board. But if you plan to be updated you can certainly do that. Yeah. I think that would be the only thing I think I'm pretty privy to where it's at because some of it's kind of come up just

134because there's some overlap between certified and classified that I'm pretty privy to most what's going on already. So that should be fine. So yeah, I I would I won't join or anything. I I'll just part of our meetings. Yeah. Yeah. Matt, you Yeah, you could just update me on that. That'd be no problem. Any questions or comments on that? All right. And now for the main event, A and F together, uh, which is a school banking change and, um, that would involve, of course, less leaving the county, um, for banking services. So, I'll open that. Is Julie, do you want to open that up to discuss? county. So, and also so um of course there's lots of reasons why they would not like us or not to leave just because you know it would they

135just feel like you know they're invest we're we're invested in you know and then we haven't invest all of our money in their pool and they just feel like we get would be better off in their pool of money then to pull it out and have a little pool. We would wouldn't get as much interest and they have all kinds of reasons. OBI of course they reached back and they're not happy with the last they'd like to see a cleaner audit before they would approve it, you know. So these are things, you know, unfortunately we have to get the blessing of the county and then we'd have to get the blessing of the OPI in order to do it. Um, according to the So the county has authority over our departure. And the reason why

136we don't have a clean audit is because of OPI. Yeah. There you go. So it's kind of a weird circle. So, I guess I guess my opinion just sitting talking with Julie on this and I I think it's something that moving forward with I don't think it's a negative thing. I just think it's a really major time crunch to do it this spring and that's just my opinion. That puts a lot of pressure on I think Julie and and uh and and not to say OPI me just say you know what we we'd rather you die and I think a year gives us a chance to clean up any other odds and ends that we have the county just annoys the crap out of of Julie and I somedays she'll come in with some stories

137about well Huntley was paying for our insurance the last couple months and and those are very frustrating things. Um, and and I think that we need to probably do a better job of calling them out on the carpet, calling calling and and and maybe even occasionally if we have problems, make an appointment, going up there face to face and meeting with uh with with them and and trying to uh work things through and going up and saying, "Here's our issues. We'll be up at what time can we be up there to meet with you on this?" Um, I know it's got to be frustrating for other schools. Broadview was something happened in broad arms or something. No, it was actually the little town of our little school of Morren. That's right. In Morren and then

138Kuster and Huntley. I had problems. I mean there because all this money comes into the county and then they don't divide it out like school student, you know, they don't pay attention. Basically, if they were paying attention, they would do it right because we send out emails all the time, you know, this should be coming out of our account for flex, this should be coming out of our account for Ps or whatever, but they don't pay attention when the money goes. I'm worried about the time frame all that goes into June already, the end of year stuff. And then and I guess to to echo Donny's worries from the last meeting, I I worry about the same things. I'm probably as just as much almost as frustrated as Julie is. Um, but I just want

139to make sure if we're going to do this, we do it right. It's thought through and we plan out. You know, Julie had kind of a tenative plan, but it's something that I think that uh OPI has even told us, well, we're not sure we're going to approve it and well, maybe we need to I think last minute they're more apt than OPI. But I I am frustrated with the county and how they're handling things and not fixing things for months on end even though not returning emails. Uh here we have a concern and then it seems like goes unanswered and those are irritated. It's just not a service. You don't see that in a bank. They they they they value your business. Uh the county I mean I'm not sure they value our business.

140And I'm I'm okay with not trying to push it all because I understand timing is everything and we need to to really look at this. But I mean, I do think that we as a school district need to put all of this in and consider that what's going on and the errors. It might be time to see what that looks like honestly and give ourselves the entire year to see how many schools are doing it throughout the state and, you know, are they doing it well and is it beneficial that they did take themselves out of their county um uh banking system? Jenny, I agree. I think it's something we need to look into for next year. Julie, would you be able to take on researching this, contacting those other schools, figure out what their

141pain points were when they switched, if it's working, do they like it? Can you like report to us next year sometime? Yeah, I have no problem doing that. I already know several of the schools that have done it. In fact, when I talked to the auditor, he said that they were most of the schools he he's worked with that have done it are very happy that they're no longer with the counties. Um, so yeah, it just depends on who you talk to. We'll also uh next year at this time we'll be drawing all of our kind of bond money to a close as well and that may make things a little simpler with some investments and things like that. Uh right now the investments through the bond make things a little uglier frankly um because

142we're talking millions of dollars in interest and and uh all the issues that go along with that and getting the money in and out and So, so I think there's some benefits to that. I have an uh alternate idea and I like the idea of investigating leaving, but in the interim, what can we do to improve that dialogue with the county? And do we do we sort of form a coalition of schools right now and we're stronger together than we would be as disperate imp um district districts. So do we combine with them and say look enough's enough and if this doesn't improve we we are big enough and capable of leaving you in the future. It might not be today but we will leave you. Is that is that a way to sort of

143just have a a straight and open blunt conversation with the with the county? I think it's a great way to start. I also think that as we see problems we need Julie and I need to react to them in a way it's like okay send the email we don't hear back we call you know and then event we say hey when can we meet with you I think the face tofaces are a lot more powerful up there well and I also believe that then we can start data collecting and truly coming because if we have to have OPI's blessing and we say okay this is the history we've had with them this is the response we're getting with and this is what's not changing. I'm sorry OPI, you can't hold us to something that it's

144not benefiting our district. And again, if the coalition of other schools are saying, "Yeah, they're not benefiting us," then we at least have a case. Yeah. And some groundwork that I think proves it. Yeah. Best case, I think it it improves our relationship with the district or the district's relationship with the county. And and then in another case, it's building our case to leave. So, it's a it's it's kind of trying to solve both problems or create both options for us. Um, if we kind of refocus on the county and documenting those in a really systematic way, right, so that we can say, "Look, we've reached out. We've done this. You haven't responded. Now, OPI, we need to leave the county because here's all of our documented issues and now we're prepared. We we have

145we've done our research over the last year. These are the banking institutions we're contemplating. These are the offerings they're providing us. We could have a very well-laid out like exit strategy from the dis from the county if if we do that. And then like I said, the best case is m maybe they turn around and they say, "Oh gosh, if Laurel goes, Huntley's gonna go and now maybe, you know, maybe school is I don't know if school district 2 is with them or not. Are they?" So, you know, maybe you start. So, so maybe they start going, "Hey, maybe if little Laurel can do it. Maybe school district 2." So, we you could start something that makes them all start thinking about Donniey's like, "Nope." Did you? Yeah. So maybe if if if these issues

146get more aired and are more public among the districts, it maybe it creates some change at the county level. Can we add this to the district committee? Maybe you can put together from last year the what problems we had on the 2425 year and bring it up under committee and then bring it back to the board as a whole impact. That's a great idea, Jenny. Renee, so the county level, who is the who is who is overseeing this? Is it the county treasurer or is it the county superintendent or is it the county commissioners? Who's overseeing this? Treasure and the superintendent are the same person. So there's overseeing it treasure. now new news county superintendent and and um I think he you know I went and I visited with him and then the the guy

147the taught finance guy is leaving he's uh retiring in fact I think he might be already gone because he was only there he I think it was like his last few days when I visited with him so I visited with both of them and um of course neither one of them wanted to see asleep. And then I said, "Well, here's some of the problems I'm having." And so then we walked over to the treasur's office and I talked to one of the gals that works in there and I said, "Hey, here are some of the, you know, the dispersements I have that have been caught up in my account for, you know, for over a year that I've been trying to get with you on." Well, she went and she grabbed one and looked at

148it and went and looked it up. Went back to that year and found it. Yeah. It was the one that was stuck up in Morren. They took it out of Warren's account and it was our dispersement little town little school of Warren. And I don't know why Warren didn't discover that they were missing $17,000. But so I mean those are the kind of things that's why Matt and I decided Matt's saying I should when I started having problems I'd just go up there because then this county superintendent was standing right there when we found it. Yeah. But the problem is is that I mean the problem with all of this is is that how much time are we wasting as a district of yours and Matt's time? I mean, that's what the documentation would help

149us support our case for because that is a cost to the district that you're constantly having to go back and look and see if they've rectified it. See if they've rectified calling. I mean, it it's fine to do that, I guess, but it's like that's a waste of your time. And luckily, we're in Laurel and we can go to Billings. What about somebody that's farther? I mean, it's just and it's not just us having the issue because they've done it to us, which affects multiple other school districts. So, I mean, it's a bigger problem than what we can help solve for them. Pretty. Well, and I also think then if she does that, she should write her time down, her mileage. Yes. And then report back of, okay, I visited you on this date. This

150is what we discussed. This is what you discovered as well. because again that's all documentation and I know it's going to be more on her but at the same time I mean we have a year to to get this right so that we can make sure that we are making the right decision. I really agree with that especially in light of the fact that we need permission to do this which is like a little bit eh that's odd to me. I mean, I get I guess I get it if you're a smaller district or you know, Warren might have a harder time doing this than than someone with who has his someone with in their district with your skill sets or can attract someone with your skills to do that. So, I get I guess

151on a some level why they make you do that, but the fact that we have to docu we have to ask for permission, we really need to come with support. So, I know it's extra documentation, but you gota Yeah. [Music] Oh, Donnie, can I just point out that they don't grant permission. It's just agreement. It just makes the whole process a lot easier. Okay. If you really wanted to pull your money out of the county, the county can't really say no. OPI might give you some difficulty with the funds that they send. They may still send it to the county and then the county has to turn around and send it to you. there. It's just so much easier if everybody's in agreement. Okay, that makes more sense. What's better for it be better for

152us overall to do it that way? Any other discussion on that? Well, hopefully it doesn't affect our audit and we can this year hopefully they can't hold that over us. or you just make sure that your response is flamboy the uh the county when it comes to that, right? So, the district's response would be, "Hey, go talk to the county guy about this. We, you know, and bring all the receipts to the auditor." So, great. Any other discussion? Audience discussion? There's more. Okay, Wayne. Wayne was like giving me the gavvel. Any future discussion items that we need to discuss at a future board meeting? Britney, I don't know where they're at, maybe assignments. I don't know. New assignments or you were on district operations, right? Uh buildings, capital planning. Yeah. which is slowed down considering

153it's quite a bit slowed. Yeah. So, committee assignments I'll put on there and be a negotiations update or something. So, yeah, if you'd like to reach out and let me know if there's a committee that you're if you'd like to serve on the one you are or if there's one that you're interested in learning more about, just let me know. Just don't ask me to make them more exciting that Yeah, there there needs to be cake at each meeting. We still have the three committees, right? Yes. Nothing should change there. Operations and leadership and learning and capital planning. Great. That's it. Any other discussion items? All right. Thank you.