001Ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this August 25th, 2025 Great Falls Public Schools Board of Trustees meeting. And um I remind us all that these meetings are being recorded and will be put up on our website at some point in the future. And now if uh Mr. Patrick, would you administer the roll call? >> Yes, Mr. Chair. Gordon Johnson >> here. >> Kim Scornagosski >> here. >> Bill Bronson >> here. Craig Duff >> here, >> Marley Sunshild, >> Amy Thompson >> here, >> Paige Trosky >> here. >> You have a full board present, Mr. >> Thank you, Mr. Patrick. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise and join me in the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the stands, one nation, indivisible, liberty andice for all.
002>> Thank you very much. Mr. Chair, >> Trusty Scorosski, >> I move we adopt the agenda as presented. Second. >> Been moved and seconded to adopt the agenda. Any comments from our board of trustees? Any comments from our gallery here with us this evening? Hearing and seeing none, I'll call for the question. All those in favor of adopting the agenda, please signify by saying I. I >> opposed. Same sign. Thank you. Roman five, approval of the consent agenda. >> Mr. Chair, >> trustee Terraski. >> I move that we approve the consent agenda as presented. >> Been moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda as presented. Any commentary or question from our board of trustees? Any commentary or questions from our gallery? Hearing and seeing none, I will call for the question. All those in
003favor of approving the consent agenda, please signify by saying I. >> I opposed. Same sign. Moving on then to communication. Roman six, superintendent report. Mrs. Hoyer. >> Well, good evening, Chairman Johnson, members of the board, and members of our community. thank you for bookending your day with Great Falls Public Schools and so we were um very happy this morning to have everybody attend convocation. Um it was just a fun way to kick off the school year. So when you take a look at my superintendent report, the first thing I want to talk about is all of the summer work. And throughout the summer, I have shared with you some of the fun things that were happening in our buildings as we worked on construction projects to improve or enhance our buildings. This type of summer
004work is a little bit different and this is the work that was being done the last two to three weeks up here at the district offices as our staff began to come back for their training. So, I wanted to just share with you um some of the trainings that happened and I had to chuckle today when Sydney Jakes mentioned bloodborne pathogen training. I hope everybody's done their vector training course for us. Thank you Mr. Decon for that annual um 20 minutes of fun. Um administrative assistance you'll see on the left. So, a big thank you to Denine Paint and Jerry Rowings out of the executive director's office. They organized the annual administrative assistance training. Um and it is a full day. It starts at 8. I think it gets done at 3:30 or 4. Um,
005and it is just jam-packed with a lot of information that our administrative assistants need to know, technology upgrades that they need to be aware of as they look to help students and families transition back into school. The executive directors then continued with the administrators. You'll see in in that gold color there, um, they had a guest speaker over at the the rural electric co-op building. Um, so thank you to Lance and Jackie for organizing the August principles meetings in additions to the additional professional development that our principles underwent. Um, we then rolled over into human resources and human resources did a bunch of training. They did substitutes and this room was packed with substitutes. Um, it was a lot of fun to see people who I considered my mentors. Um, when I was just starting
006the teaching profession, um, there was not much you could say to people like Jan Mater, Cindy Duffy, um, those type of people who, um, I grew up with in Great Falls Public Schools, and they are now subbing for us. I I joked and just said, you know, if you were going to sub, you might as well just stay in the classroom, but they didn't actually want to do that. So, um, we did our annual substitute teacher training. Then we had new teachers and the coaches and the curriculum department. So big thank you to Rachel Culler and Becky Frisbee and the coaches for organizing new teacher training. And then the opposite of that was the veteran teacher training as they looked at the curriculum specific training that they needed to do to kick off the year.
007So we were really really busy. There was a lot of energy, a lot of sound in this building. It was just a lot of fun as our professionals got ready for the school year. So last Monday, uh, Mrs. Minewearing and I took a road trip down to the University of Montana Western to set in on um one day of a two-day training for our core school, both the teachers who will be the adjunct professors um the first cohort and the second cohort of teachers assistants. So they were able to the teachers assistants were able to attend classes in person because it was the very first day of classes on campus. So they got to feel like they were part of that extended college family. Um for some of them it was their first day on
008their own home what they consider their home campus. They were having a lot of fun. They visited the bookstore. Um they visit the coffee shop. They told their stories. And the stories of the second cohort and the first cohort, but really the second cohort is are very very compelling as to the individuals who are entering the teaching profession. Some of them later in life, some of them coming to the United States, becoming citizens, raising their families here, being um aids and parents for us, and then entering the teaching profession when they never thought that college was ever in their future. We'll share some of their stories throughout the year. um they got to learn about their resources because they have access to all of the uh technological resources that any college student has and the
009teachers who are adjunct professors also have access to all of the resources that any of the onampus professors have. So they got to learn about all of those and then they also spent the evening camping at Birch Creek which when I was in college we had Birch Creek there. was a little rustic then um but it is being remodeled now and they had a great time around um the campfire and having pancakes in the morning and and had just a great time. Our partnership with the University of Montana Western um has has just really been good for us in that they are as creative and as excited as our teachers are and it's just kind of magic when you go to that that classroom. So, thank you to Jackie for road tripping with me on
010that day down and back. took her the back road through Twin Bridges and White Hall and that way. She'd never been that. Now she can't say she's never been on that back road. Um on our way home that evening and it was just a good trip all the way around. Great Falls Public Schools baseball. So we have been doing updates uh for you throughout the process and uh versus me tell all about it. I'm going to call the experts up to the lectern and so Mr. Boyd, if you would come on up and give us an update. And I believe you have some people that you want to um mention as well. >> Oh, Chairman Johnson, members of the board. So, baseball update. So, a process that started a year ago or more, I guess
011sometime one of these meetings. Uh ultimately, uh we have a great team uh that facilitated this process on that side of it. At the end of the day, a goal that was very lofty uh and far-reaching by July 31st at 5:00 uh was met. And at the end of the day, uh I'll need Cali Gene Tuckerman and Zach uh to come on up because them along with John Bolier were the community driving force behind this and the number of emails uh they got from me in the month of July leading up to what was are we really going to make it? The bank accounts showing X in the foundation. I'm not sure you're gonna get $25,000 in the next 10 days. I'm not sure you're going to get $8,000 in the next five days. Are
012we really there? Let me check the receipts and go. Uh, we made it. Uh, most definitely. So, as of July 31st at 5:00, after all receipts were in and double checked with Stephanie and her team in the foundation, they were able to reach their goal with $102,82 as of July 31st deadline. >> Oh. Where they stand right now uh in the bank account uh is as of Friday at five o'clock, they have $122,87 uh in the bank account. And what that means is remember this is a part one of a three-part series to be able to get to the end of the fundraising goal. Our next goal comes at the end of January where we have to raise another 95,000 uh to pay for the program costs uh for the entire year and prep us
013into the next uh season to be able to offset uh from there. But when you look at the community that we live in, the hard work of those two people and John uh on that side of it and the transparency that they were able to give me with some very hard conversations about these are things we're running into. Uh we're going to continue to work on it. Uh Mike is ready uh to press go for MHSA dues for us to be able to play baseball uh in the 2526 school year starting in March. So very exciting. And I guess next week Not next week. The week after I'll officially bring back back an action item so that we can accept the 102 807 into our general fund so that uh the teams can start spending
014it once coaches are hired later in September. That's a very inspiring report. Congratulations baseball people. >> We know very hard to raise that money. >> You could just stay up there >> real quick. Yeah. But real quick, uh, Zach and Cali, did you guys have anything you wanted to say? Are you good just hanging out? You tired? >> I keep reading and responding. It's okay. Yeah, I'm just I'm proud of the team that we formed uh that Mike helped facilitate. We did it the right way in this community and it will benefit us in the long run. >> Well, thank you very much, Mr. Boyd for your um for your efforts and guys, thank you very very much for what you did for students and student athletes all across this district. It's appreciated. Thank you.
015Well, thank you. Thank you again. Okay, next slide. The reason I'm having Lance stay up there is because each of you have a copy of this. It looks just like this. this um on August 19th, Schools of Montana received a court decision in the case of Disability Rights Montana versus the state of Montana and very soon after we received guidance from the Office of Public Instruction. Um I sat down with Mr. Boyd and the reason I'm having him stand there is because he is the expert in this area. So he will correct me um when I say something and I need to add a little bit extra to it. So, when you take a look at this document, um the page, let's see, I think it's page eight. I don't know if they're actually numbered.
016Um it looks it the top of it is titled LEA instructions on how to comply with updated graduation guidance. It's about halfway through the document. That's the information that the Office of Public Instruction provided us. Our 21-year-old Our 21-year-olds with IEPs, if they choose to leave with a certificate of attendance or a non-regular diploma, they could reenroll for services until their 22nd birthday. We have historically served 21 year olds. This extends that one year to the 22nd birthday. Um, in Great Falls Public Schools, we also work to support transitional goals as determined by the IEP team, and Mr. can speak to that if he wants and what that looks like. Um students are often part-time basis in the school and then we get them out into the community um doing job skills with them. Um
017we are reaching out to students who qualify to see if they're interested in reinrollment within 30 days. Mr. Boyd rolled that out. He can give us a quick update. Um, and we're also working with Gene for and Beia Caliba, our attorneys, um, for more guidance and training to be sure that we are completely in compliance with this court case and this court decision. So, Mr. Boyd, anything you want to add to that? >> Yeah, so we went with our school teams, all three high school principles and their leadership teams, uh, on Thursday morning of last week uh, to roll out the guidance. Really what it involves is us going through the rosters of students and their families that made a choice through the IEP to either take a certificate of completion or choose to graduate
018from Great Falls Public Schools through what's called an IEP graduation. And so those nine students uh will have letters sent to them certified tomorrow morning uh giving them a 30-day window where we would encourage them uh to come back and reenroll with us so that we can work on transitional goals based on their IEP. What transitional goals are is a it's a collaboration project between our teachers uh and community agencies uh working to figure out what are the next steps that our students need to be successful when they exit uh the educational system of a public school. Uh on that side of it, the bonus of Great Falls Public Schools is we've lived to the federal standard of 21 uh for a very long time, even though Montana's standard has been 19 uh for well
019past my career uh on that side of it. When you think about the secondary life skills program, it's not just students that are in the secondary life skills program. We also have students in our traditional schools uh that are 19, 20, or 21 working on transitional goals through their IEP. uh and we'll continue to educate. We'll reach out to these few uh allow them to make informed decisions and hopefully re-engage some of them back. What you do need to know is 19 to we get zero A and B for uh so there is no funding attached uh for the extension of an education through an IV. >> Thank you Mr. Boyd for adding that. So um is sticking kind of with the baseball theme. this was a curveball that was thrown at us. And because
020of our historic practices that we have had um and also the leadership with Mr. Boyd and his team, we are in a really really good place to support these students and their families if they make the decision to come back to us. So I did want to update you. I know it's been in the news um but we are on top of it and we are addressing it. Thank you. So, back to school blast was a hit and I said um it takes a community and a district and of course Becky Nelson um to help pull off things like back to school blast. So, huge thank you to our community partners. But just in case you missed these pictures on Facebook, um we had lots and lots of volunteers. So, on the left hand side,
021the young lady in the very top picture, she's on the right in the green shirt. Um, she is a Great Falls High School alumni. She has been working at a credit union. She wants to volunteer every year. She's in touch with Becky, so she's always signing up for back to school blast, working usually side by side with our high school kids. Um, so that's fun to see. Jeff and I for a while held down the free and reduced lunch table. Um, answered lots of questions for kids, not just for Great Falls Public Schools, but also for a lot of our local rural schools. some feedback that I have given to Alliance for Youth that um it would be nice to have paperwork at the table then for Vaughn and Belt and Centerville um because we
022were passing out a lot of information and while the form is the same the cover letter and the information of contact information is not the same um but we had some amazing volunteers and it wouldn't happened without it. I don't have the exact count on the volunteers from the United Way and Alliance for Youth. Kim, do you happen to know the number of volunteers? >> No, it's more than 200. It was it was amazing and it was at the fairgrounds. The flow was good. Um talked to a lot of students, a lot of very excited students. Um it was fun. It was a fun day. Um a very special thank you to two community partners who really stepped up and helped support our new teachers. A lot of community members give uh swag and give
023gifts, small gifts to put in a gift bag for our community teachers or for our new teachers. But Grand Canyon University hosted breakfast for us one day and came in and talked to our new teachers and then Breaa Bank did a barbecue for all of our new teachers. So, a thank you to those two um community partners and everything they did to make our new teachers just feel really welcome in the community of Great Falls. It sets the stage for these new professionals to really understand where about in the greater community. Staffing. I know you want a staffing update and I do have a change in this which is good. So teacher openings um when you look down underneath that special education we hired one I believe so we are down to 15. It's important
024to note that nine of those have been open for over a year. So six of those are just new additions. Um so special education is down to 15. Elementary counselor position is still open. our middle school family consumer science position. We do have a certified substitute hired in there until we can get that position filled. And then we're looking for a middle school industrial technology teacher. I believe we have interviews perhaps coming up. Okay. So, coming up shortly, fingers crossed. And then a high school world language was which is an incredibly difficult position to fill. We also have a long-term substitute hired. So if you take away the one special education teacher, we are down to 19 total. Um and we have those two substitutes filling in. So 17 with two substitutes. So um very
025very exciting that we're still just just working on it and chipping away at it. Data for the day. So this was something that Mrs. Maine wearing came in. She was actually um really excited about some of the adjustments that you'll notice. So MAP is a of course norm referenced assessment every 5 years well every 3 to 5 years but pretty consistently every 5 years they do a reorming because when you're doing norm referencing um it's used to compare an individual's performance against a pre-established group um called the norm group towards their peers. And so they have to re-evaluate our students in that peer group continuing as a whole group to score the same. So if you look at the 2020 norms and you'll take a look at math and I highlighted two. I highlighted grade
026three and grade six. They reormed them over the summer and we got new data down at the bottom that our kids when they're compared to their peers of today, not their peers of five years ago. um our students are actually performing better than they were compared to the peers uh five years ago. And there are a lot of things that NWA says that goes into that. Um the impact of CO 19 has adjusted the scores. Um evolving US demographics impact the scores and then also their item selection logorithm that they use um as they develop the test is also impacting the scores. But Karen Lewis had a great quote up there that if you think of this test like Google Street View, updating his imagery, we're still navigating the same streets, but what we're seeing
027in the neighborhood actually looks like today versus photos of five years ago. And so it's a great comparison between the two. So the scores we're going to reference for this year for math are down below. you'll see that our um especially our third grade is scoring higher um than what we did when we compared them to their peers of five years ago. Kids who would be eighth grade this year is that that cohort group of kids. And then English language arts is also there. Um you'll see down below keeping in mind that we want that blue bar to be above that diamond or at least in the midpoint of the diamond. And so looking at our scores, our scores also went up for English language arts and reading um for this this coming year. And
028and we look forward to continuing to give you updates as we move through the fall testing season and then of course the winter and the spring testing seasons. Those will be the the um scores that we refer back to. So you may notice some changes on that. If you have any questions, please feel free to let me or Jackie know. And with that, Mr. Mr. Chair, that is my superintendent report for this evening. >> Thank you, Mrs. Hoyer. I've had no requests to speak before this board of trustees this evening. So, we will move on to Roman 7, action items. Action item A, 2024 25, trustees financial summary. Mr. Patrick. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the board. Um, on a Thursday night budget work session, we talked about the trustees financial summary. That's
029the two documents that I'm holding in my hand. They're posted on our website for anyone to view them and they're the final report for the district for each fund. Uh, they provide the balance for each fund that carries over in many of the accounts into the next year. And u the importance um of the trustees financial um as a board member, it's like how do I understand this? Is it right? And just know that the auditors look at it pretty thoroughly as they do our audit each year. Um and and that's probably your checking point as well is just approving it um without the the basis for understanding it completely. And uh my recommendation um is to approve the trustes financial summary for the elementary district and the high school district as presented. >> Mr.
030Chair >> Trusty Terrasi. >> I move that we approve the trustees financial summary that closes out the 2024 2025 fiscal year as presented. >> Second. >> Been moved and seconded to approve the financial summaries as presented. Any questions from our board of trustees? Any questions or comments from our gallery joining us this evening? Hearing none, I will call for the question. All those in favor of the motion, please signify by saying I. I >> I >> opposed. Same sign. Motion carries. Mr. Patrick, thank you very much. Action item B, budgets for all budgeted funds for 25 26 fiscal year. Mr. Patrick. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate the board's um diligence and listening to the presentation last Thursday as we went through it budget budgeted fund by budgeted fund. And uh this agenda
031item covers the funds that are required by law to be approved by the board. Um your approval puts the dollar amount in the budgeted fund. U without that there would be no dollar amount there. And just a simple recap of the meeting. Um the general fund budget increased um substantially between the two districts. $4.4 million. 3 million of that was from legislation called the STARS Act. and that's the student and teacher advancement for results and success act. Um this money had some strings tied to it and and mainly in increasing beginning teacher salaries that was important to the governor and the legislature. Um taxable valuation decrease this year due to also due to legislative excuse me legislative changes and property tax adjustments. the percentages that are charged. Uh tuition um change in that fund basically
032boils down to any of our dis students in our district that attends outside our district rather than um maybe the parents paying for it. Now our district is tagged with that bill. Uh retirement uh there was a adjustment in that levy u not due to our mistake but due to the county levying the wrong amount last year. So now we're in the process of making that up. And in the transportation budget, it increased by the amount of the contract. We require the bus company to increase wages of the drivers so they can attract drivers. And um all that that was increased we covered in the permissive levy meeting last January is just the contracted amount of that. And just a simple message for the taxpayers of of Great Falls and every community around the state.
033The legislature was very good to local taxpayers. There were a lot of guaranteed tax base um increases by the state and examples in the transportation budget. It used to be a split share between the county and the state. Now the the count the state picks up 75% and the county picks up 25%. So it was a very good legislative session for schools with the stars act as well as increasing guaranteed tax base money. And on the screen um are the budgeted funds that the district board is approving tonight. Um and my recommendation will be to approve the um general fund budget, the transportation budget, bus appreciation reserve budget, tuition, retirement, adult education, technology flexibility and building reserve budgets. um and the amounts that are indicated there as and those amounts generate the mills that will
034be levied. >> Thank you, Mr. Patrick. >> Mr. Chair >> Trusty Terrasi. I move that we approve or adopt the 20252026 budgeted funds for elementary school district general fund 57 million800,6738 transportation fund of $3,999,9870 bus appreciation of $74,7867 tuition fund 3,535,13859 retirement retirement fund of 8 million or no yep 8,673,6549 adult education of $565,880 technology $398,10.33 flexibility $911,91067 debt service 3,461,643.76 and building reserves serve for 4,16,872.92 and the high school district general fund 27 million759366 transportation fund of1,991,9390 depreciation of $45,715.74 tuition fund of9 39, 36,575.36 retirement fund of 6,882,947.50 adult education $594,845 technology of $96,87645 flexibility of $519,9482. debt service of4,143,1001 $118126 and building reserve fund of 1,826,1806 as presented. >> Second. been moved and seconded to approve the budget um of 2025 as so skillfully offered and read by trustee Kasi. Thank you very
035much for that. Are there any questions or commentary? [Laughter] >> Thank you Brian for all of your work on all of this >> and your team. and Trustees Scarosski does have a question. >> Yeah, just a comment just likewise to thank Brian and his team um especially, you know, for all the work that led up to this, but also for taking the time in a separate meeting to go through this in detail so we have a good understanding of the impact on taxpayers and the um changes at the federal level as well. So, >> thank you, Mr. Chairman. >> Trustee Bronson. >> I I also want to make a couple of comments. I want to echo and make sure the public really does appreciate that. The legislature really truly did step up this year with
036changes in the funding mechanisms which have made it much easier for districts like ours to not only provide funding in accordance with the constitutional mandate for public education but uh at the same time doing it by relieving some of the stress on our local taxpayers. I also appreciate the fact that this district spent a lot of time in advance of waiting for the legislature to look at various budget efficiencies which we can undertake this year which also uh showed good faith to our local taxpayers as well in terms of managing our budget efficiently effectively. So the good news is uh we've come up with a good budget for this year but I caution everybody that uh one or two years down the road we may see some interesting changes so uh stay tuned. Any other
037questions comments from our board of trustees? Any comments from our gallery here with us this evening? Hearing seeing none of call for the question. All those in favor of the motion, please signify by saying I. >> I oppose. Same sign. Motion passes with thanks to Mr. Patrick and his team. Action item C, second reading of the new industrial technology KUDS. Mrs. Mayweing, welcome. >> Thank you, Chairman Johnson. >> Mrs. Frisbee, welcome as well. Members of the board, Superintendent Hoyer, we're going to shift gears a little bit and we're going to go through a second read of the new industrial technology uh KUDS and Mrs. Becky Frisbee, our secondary curriculum coordinator is here to share with us. Hello, Chairman Johnson, Superintendent Hoyer Trustees, and our community. Um I'm back tonight for um our second read on
038these. Our communities have been posted on the website and were available in our office for anyone that was interested. During the last two weeks since we've last met, I've received no comments. Um so at this time, I would request that you um approve that long list of KDs um so that we can apply those to the classroom this year. >> You're worried that I'm gonna make you read it again, aren't you? It would be easier than what page just read. So, >> thank you. >> Mine's shorter. >> Okay, >> Mr. Chair. >> Trusty Scorioski. >> I move to approve the updated standards for industrial technology as presented. >> Second. >> Been moved and seconded to approve the updated standards for industrial technology as presented. Any questions, comments from our board of trustees? Good work to
039you and your team. That's very impressive. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Any questions or commentary from our gallery hearing? None. All those in favor of the motion, please signify by saying I. I. Oppose. Same sign. It's approved. With thanks to you and your team. >> Thank you. >> Action item D 2526 school calendar amendment. Mr. Deacons. Good evening, Chairman Johnson, members of the board, Superintendent Hoyer, and members of the audience. Um, tonight I'm before you for several items, so if I start talking about the wrong one, please stop me. Um, first one we're going to start with is a 2526 calendar amendment. Um, over the last several years, we have modified through our work with Mr. Tom Cubbage, the GFA president, um, the end of quarter days. Instead of being early out, we have
040made them a professional development day and work time in their classroom. With the work of Mr. Cvage, uh, Mr. Boyd and Mrs. Mainwear, we have come to an agreement there again. So, this would be asking you to approve the amended 2526 GFPS school calendar to provide for the end of quarter non- studentent contact days for quarters one, two, and three as presented. >> Okay. Mr. Chair, >> Trusty Scornski, >> I move to approve the amended 2025 2026 Great Falls Public School calendar to provide for end of quarter non- studentent contact days for quarters 1, 2, and three as presented. >> Second. >> Moved and seconded to approve the amended 2526 Great Falls Public Schools calendar. Any questions or commentary from our board of trustees? Any questions or commentary from our gallery? Hearing and seeing none.
041All those in favor of the motion, please signify by saying I. >> I oppose the same sign. Motion carries. Mr. Deacon. Action figure E, collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teers Local Union 2. >> Thank you, Chairman Johnson. This CBA that we've been working on deals with our warehouse individuals that are over there. We have six members in that bargaining unit. Their CBA expired on June 30th, 2025. Work closely with them and the members of the teamsters to come up with an agreement. Quick overview. Um looking at this, you will see that for the 2526 year and all of these CBAs or agreements that we're talking about tonight, Mr. Patrick has taken into account for the budgetary purposes as well. It's just the timing um falls for approval at this point in time.
042But for the 2526 school year, there would be an increase of two or the total would be 266,718 for this this individual group and an increase of about $12,584. 2627 the increase would be $276,78 with an increase of $9,984. In addition with wages there um the wages there is a longevity statement as well which we increase by five cents at each particular uh step along the way. In addition to that, some important pieces to point out. Um, working with the language that was in there, making sure that we honor our obligation to make sure somebody who is an employee of our district in the warehouse would be eligible to sit for the foreman position should it come open. So, all in-house applicants who apply for the foreman will be guaranteed an interview. There is also
043the part about wagers which works to a 95 cent increase which I already told you about and then a dollar one increase the first year for the teamsters and then the second year be 75 cents across the board. Um and then there's also a piece under wages should there be a hardship that we have as a union. We have another way to rectify this. So, we took some language out about we have a riff process that we go through every spring which sets up if we're going to be short of money, how we would go about doing that process. This piece was brought to our attention by Mr. Andy Siver from the school boards association. So, we don't want to be in a conflict with it where we run the RIFF con the RIFF process
044and then we have a conversation about what we're going to do. We want to make sure that we have one pathway that we would utilize. So, we did agree to take that language out. And then finally with bereavement as we've talked about in the previous CDAS this year we've made sure to equalize that across all groups be five bereavement days rather than some being five and some being three. So with that I will ask the board to approve the two-year collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union number two for the years 2526 and 2627 as presented. >> Mr. Chairman Trusty Brownson, >> I move that we approve the two-year collective bargaining agreement with the International Teamsters two for school years 2025 26 2026 27 as >> second moved and seconded to
045remove the two-year collecting collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Any questions from our board of trustees for Mr. Defense regarding this motion? Any commentary or questions from our gallery? Hearing and seeing none, I'll call for the question. All those in favor of the motion, please signify by saying I. >> I. >> Oppose. Same sign. Motion carries. Mr. Deakons, is this the last of the seven? >> Uh, we still have a couple to go. We have one more to go and one to approve to this evening. A couple of >> personnel handbooks to approve, but we're getting closer. >> Well, thanks for your good work and your diligence. Now, let's go on to action item F, medically related professionals compensation 2025 through 2027. Excellent. Uh, Chairman Johnson, school-based medical related professional compensation. We're
046talking about our OT's, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech paths, and some nurses across the district as well for the 25 22 27 school years. This budget is basically comprised of about 28 people. That's really a moving target anymore. As Mr. Boyd knows, it's difficult to hire these positions. It's difficult even in the private sector to find people with these qualifications as well. So, we try to do our best by them when we get a hold of them and try to keep them here. Um, with these individuals, we work through their handbook. Again, we took it into account for the budgeting purposes for this next school year as well. In 2526 there is an increase of a 4% and then in 2627 a 4% or sorry a 3% as well. With that the total increase would
047be $78,757 in the 2526 school year and then in 2627 it would be $81,98 in the the following year. This does include items such as Medicaid reimbursement. We do encourage them all with it's Medicaid billable to make sure that that is being processed. So that's one thing that we added to their um handbook this year. In addition, we did take a look physical therapists are a little bit different in how they're certified. So we included the doctoral stipens specifically for the physical therapists. They also have something called calendar readjustment for staff shortages. So when we're running short, not on a planned outage, it's something that comes up mid year, they would be able to reimburse some of those hours a little bit ahead of time. They usually have to wait for 40 hours to reimburse
048any of that. Now they'll be able to if there's a shortage in the district, use 20 hours as our guidelines. Again, we upgraded their bereavement to five days. We also followed teacher language with reimbursement for property of losses. we know when we have losses that are liability that we could be held accountable for. Those numbers are continuing to go up. Early notification for retirement in December or prior to January 1 for $250 to make sure that was noted in there. And then a lot of the language of the next available workday that we utilized within the teachers agreement as well. So with that I Oh, and the $500 stipent for everybody after year 18. Thank you >> on there. So with that, I would ask you to approve the school medically related professionals compensation for
049the 2527 school years as presented. >> Thank you, Mr. Deakons. >> Mr. Chair, >> Trusty Terrasi, >> I move that we approve the medically related personnel handbook for the 2025, 2026, and 2026, 2027 school years as presented. Second and moved and second to approve the medically related personnel handbook for the 25 26 and 26 27 school years as present. Are there any questions or comments for Mr. Deacons? Any questions or commentary from our gallery hearing? And seeing none, I'll call for the question. All those in favor of the motion, please signify by saying I. I oppose the same sign. Motion carries. >> Action item G, collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters local number two food service employees. Mr. Deakons once again. >> All right. With our Teamsters local number two food service employees who work closely
050with Jesse Younger over in the food service and Mr. Patrick to make sure that we can make this budget work because it is not part of the general fund. it is a separate item price fund that we do work with. So this CBA did um expire at the same time June 30th 2025 and I've listed several of those items in attachment eye that we a that we have um worked through wages we did look at a dollar increase for this current school year across the board as well as a 75 cent increase for the 26 27 school year. In addition with this teamster language, we did um cross out the funding piece because we do have a rift process also within that CDA. So we did look at that other language and we did remove
051it. So we just have one way to go there. In addition, we did look at some high C pay and making it so it was more um congruent across all the groups within the food service. So it's the same no matter if you're working up for one or the other positions. And we did also tell them that they have to make sure that they mark it. They have to be held accountable for that. And with our new electronic time card system, that should be something they can do quite well. Otherwise, if it's not marked, that's going to be on the employee. You have to be marking your time as well. We'll do our best to support throughout the time with that. Um, but really making sure that people are taking care of it themselves. Bereavement
052leave also move that back to a five days to keep it the same across the board. And then the last piece that I attached on there were the new salary schedules as well. So with that, I'd ask the board to ratify the two-year collective bargain agreement between the district and the team service local number two for ser food service employees as presented. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Trusty Bronson >> move that we ratify the two-year collective bargain agreement between district team's local two food service employees as presented. Second >> and moved and seconded to ratify the two-year collective bargaining agreement with the local number two food service employees. Any questions or commentary from our board of trustees? Any questions or commentary for those in our gallery this evening? Hearing none, I'll call for the question.
053All those in favor of the motion, please signify by saying I. I oppose. Same sign. Motion carries. And again, Mr. Deakons, thanks for your good work. Action item H, CocaCola Bottling Company 3year agreement. Mr. Path. >> Yeah. What you have before you is an item that was tabled at our last meeting and um the correct process will be to first bring it off the table um so that it's it's on the floor for a motion and then probably a positive motion uh for the approval of it discussion and then a vote on that motion. And uh similar to what was presented last year, it's a three-year contract with a pretty thorough evaluation at the year end of year one. There are is a lump sum payment of $5,000 and then 8,500 per year which over
054the three years would be 25,5 or excuse me $30,500 for the district as a value of this contract. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. >> Trusty Bronson, >> I move that we bring back from the table the subject of the Coca-Cola bottling contract for further consideration by this board. >> Second. been moved and seconded to bring back the question of the Coca-Cola contract to this U board of trustees. Any questions or comments from our board of trustees? Any questions or comments from our gallery? All those in favor of the motion, please signify by saying I. >> I oppose. Same sign. We've got this motion back on our action item, >> Mr. Chair. >> Yes. Trusty Terrasi. >> I move to approve the three-year negotiated contract with Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country. >> Second. Been moved and
055seconded to approve the Coca-Cola Bott Bottling Company agreement. Um, any commentary from our board of trustees regarding this? Mr. Chairman, Trusty Bratz. Uh even though uh I have joined Trusty Terraski in seconding bringing this motion back, it should be noted for the record, it has come to the attention, I believe, of all the trustees that there are some concerns about the language of this particular contract as it was negotiated. If my understanding is correct, there are also concerns expressed by our principles at the two high schools where the machines are located based upon prior experience with this particular client. Given those particular concerns, I have reservations about going forward with this particular contract and when the motion comes to a vote, I intend to vote no on it. >> Any additional comments? Uh, Trusty Scoragoski,
056>> I guess I wanted to thank um Trusty Terovski for um bringing it to the attention of the full board that there is a uh local vendor that's interested in um pursuing this contract. And I want to thank the administrative team um for all of the work that goes into negotiating soda contracts apparently these days. um as if you didn't have enough on your plates. Um but we're hopeful that um by voting no um we can take this back to the drawing board and come up with a better option um for all of our schools. >> Any other commentary from our board of trustees? Any commentary from our gallery? If not, I'll call for the question. All those in favor of offering the Coca-Cola Bottling Company a three-year contract, please signify by saying I. >>
057Opposed, same sign. >> I I motion fails. Thank you. >> Trust. Uh >> Mr. Chairman, if I may, >> superintendent, >> I will reconvene since we do have Mr. Patrick um retiring after some extension of his contract. Um I will reconvene a committee and um bring this motion back to the board at a later date. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Action item I 2025 through 2027 legislative resolutions for Great Falls Public Schools. Mrs. Hoyer. >> Thank you, Chairman Johnson, members of the board. Um, one of the things that has come to my attention as I have worked on different boards and different uh with different groups and then also looked through previous superintendent um agendas, calendars and paperworks is the establishing of resolutions as we look forward to the next legislative session. Understanding that
058much of the work that happens for that legislative session is happening now. And so I want to thank the legislative committee uh made up of board members and a community member um who came together to give me guidance on this. So we elected to for your review to um take a look at really three pillars as we're looking at our legislative resolutions to look at local control which is empowering our community-led innovation. Um, we really hit on the concept of innovation, something that Great Falls Public Schools has been known for. Um, especially recently with our CTE education, which is a component or a thread through the STARS Act, looking at innovation over privatization, understanding that um, privatization diverts public funds from programs that serve select demographics. We firmly believe in educating all students and that
059we can innovate and customize to a level to meet the needs of all of our families. And then for funding, um the fact that we want to reinforce and support stability, consistency, and funding the true cost of education. Um we wo through these resolutions our stories. So for local control, we talked about Build Montana, Medachchieve, Central Montana Works, the partnership we have there, high school house, welding cohorts, um through innovation, we talked about core and the work that we're doing to take advantage of the charter school bills, um the online platforms for homeschool families and our pre-professional internships that show that parent choice and excellence belong in public education. And then for funding, we really wanted to focus in on a funding mechanism that adjusts for inflation um and operational realities, not just a preset
060percentage that is often well below the inflationary rate. um one that allows us to attract and retain highquality employees um no matter where they're employed with us with Great Falls Public Schools that it addresses infrastructure and deferred maintenance and it recognizes the rising cost in curriculum and high quality um educational opportunities. So that is the one pager um that we handed out. We wanted something kind of short and succinct that we could give that's digestible for our community and for members of our community um to understand to ask questions on and also for our leaders and our board to have um to be able to use as they move forward with conversations. Then the next um document that I had for you is actually our longer legislative resolution and this is where I got to
061learn how to write um legislative resolutions. I have really never written whereas statements whereas I've read them but not um necessarily written them. And so um when you take a look at this it really does reflect those three pillars. The support for local control is down below our whereas statements and our um now therefore statement. Also the protection of public education and the adequate funding for education. So, just to review for our public, it says, "Whereas the Great Falls Public Schools and Board of Trustees recognizes the importance of locally elected schoolboard action that aligns with the constitutional mandate to provide a system of free quality public education for all students. It was really important to us to capture the fact that local control is vital to public schools and communities in the state of Montana.
062Whereas the Great Falls Public Schools Board of Trustees is committed to ensuring every student has access to highquality public education that prepares them for future success and civic engagement. Talks about our comprehensive curriculum that we have and the opportunities to partner with our communities to enrich the education of our students. And then whereas the Great Falls Public Schools Board of Trustees with input from district leadership and community stakeholders has identified key legislative priorities that protect and strengthen public education in Montana and in the Great Falls community and which are funded for stability and reflect the true cost of education. Um, and we've had lots of conversations with Mr. Patrick about really what is the true cost of education and it's more than just the inflationary costs that we often get. So now therefore be it
063resolved that the Great Falls Public Schools Board of Trustees formally adopts the following legislative positions for the 2025 2027 bianium. So as a whole those are the um legislative resolutions that are um I am requesting that the board approve this evening as we move forward into our work into the next legislative session and beyond. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Trusty Bronson. >> I move that we approve the 2025 2027 legislative resolutions for Great Falls Public Schools as outlined by our legislative committee. >> Second. >> Been moved and seconded to approve the legislative resolutions for the Great Falls Public Schools. Any questions or commentary? Trusty Scorski. >> Uh just a quick comment. Um, I guess I wanted to thank the legislative committee and the administrative staff um for really getting ahead of the curve.
064Uh, I think that's just a necessity with how quick our legislative sessions roll these days. And I just wanted to say that I'm really um was excited to see that this um document um represents really and reflects really universal values um that I think everyone in our community could get behind um as well as reflecting the strategic education priorities of this district in particular. So um just well done on on putting this document together. >> Thank you. Any additional comments from our trustees from our gallery? Hearing none, vote on the motion. All those in favor of the motion, please do signify by saying I. >> I. >> Oppos same sign. >> Motion carries. Thank you very much. Action item J, designate clerk of the district and board and oath of office. And I'll refer you
065to page 84. or to the screen and this is a action to appoint the director of business operations to Mr. Deakons as clerk and district and board and officially swear him in as the clerk of the district until the next recognition meeting of the board that will be held in May of 2026. Okay. And do I administer that oath? Ally does. >> We have to vote. >> We have to second vote. >> No, there's a motion. There's a motion on the floor. >> He's under an indentured servitude. >> We wish. Anyway, any questions or comments about this uh this motion? And any questions or comments from our gallery? If not, all those in favor of the action to appoint Mr. Das to this position, please signify by saying I. >> I oppose. Same sign and
066motion carries. Ally, >> uh, real quick, um, Mr. Chair, I believe we need to have a motion and a second. >> We did. >> Did we have a motion in a second? Oh, I missed that. second. >> I I I asked to >> thank Bill. Did you not second? >> I did. Mr. Chairman, I will make the motion as outlined in the uh gender report so that there is no question that motion was made. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All those in favor? >> I I >> All those opposed. We're off to a rocky start, Mr. See, Luke, I told you it'd be easy. Congratulations. >> Let's give Mr. Patrick a standing ovation. [Applause] Thank you. And saying thank you h hardly covers the gratitude that we have for you and your service, Mr. Patrick.
067Thank you so much. Action item K, second reading of new and revised board policies 2165, 3110, 3121, 5123, and 8560. Mrs. Hoyer, >> thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the board, and uh members of our public. As of 3:35 this afternoon, I've had no additional input from our internal or external community on any of the policies that are listed um here for you. 2165 language changes is recommended by the school board's association and the committee. 3110 language changes is recommended by the schoolboard association and committee. and 3121 um language changes as recommended by MTSBA schoolboard association and committee policies 5123 5252 and 8560 those are new policies that bring us into compliance with new legislative um initiatives and so with that uh Mr. Chair I request to approve those new and revised board policies. >>
068Thank you Mrs. >> Mr. Chair >> Trusty Terraski. >> I move that we approve new and revised board policies 2165 3110 3121 5123 5252 and 8560 is presented. >> Second. Been moved and seconded to approve the new and revised board policies put before us this evening. Any questions or commentary from our board of trustees? Any questions or commentary from our gallery hearing? Seeing none, all those in favor of the motion, please signify by saying I. >> I oppose. Same sign. Motion carries. And again, thanks thanks very much to our policy committee and our administration for work on these policies. So such such important work. Um Roman 8 action other nothing was pulled from the consent agenda so we'll move on to Roman nine reports discussion and policies first reading of new and revised board policies
0692050 2100 2335 uh 2335 new 3141 3650 55 and 5255. Mrs. Oyer, >> thank you, Chairman Johnson, members of the board, and members of our community. Um, this is quite the long list as we started into this. We actually were trying to address um one policy that we wanted to get in place um as we're heading very quickly into the month of September. And then we realized that there were several of them um that we needed to go through and review as a committee that dealt with out of district tuition, non-resident student enrollment, um student discipline that we wanted to be sure were um reviewed and we started the process before students hit the ground running. And so I will just go over them with you briefly as to some of the changes that our
070committee saw and point out a couple of things. So, uh, policy 2050 for your review brings us into alignment with the proposed changes on our new open enrollment laws. You will notice on page 106, line 34, that there is one strikeout. Um, we there is consistency through MTSBA to remove content standards and just say standards proficiency. So, we made that adjustment as well for for consistency purposes. And then on page 107, lines 22 through 24, that speaks to the students who are enrolled in the district and physically attending school or off-site instructional settings. Lines 33 through 37 on the same page is also students and it talks to us about um enrollment counts for average number belonging and calculation purposes and um highlights the MCA. my apologies. Um, that this references through the school board's
071association. Ally has done a nice job over on page 109 of um noting those legal references and making sure that she updated all of the different cross references that these now intersect with. And there were quite a few on that one. So, thank you for that work. policy um 2100 that is an instructional policy for the school year calendar day. This was the one that first came to our attention. This brings us into alignment with legislation that specifically names or calls out days. Um and it began with freedom week which is on lines 37 and 38. But then in the legislation they named a bunch of them. So, we wanted to be sure that we enshrine those um as per the law requires um into our board policy, but we also have some that are
072coming up very quickly in September. And so, that's why we wanted to be sure that we got that in front of you. So, you will see that comprehensive list for you. Please know that as we move through these months, I will be giving you updates as to our activities and our appropriate exercises through my superintendence reports. And then when you approve the minutes, um that will represent your approval of these appropriate um or of these days and these topics. And so, um, curriculum was involved, um, in this conversation and, um, are already working with us on things that we already do, but then ways that we can enhance as well the highlighting of those holidays that the legislature now requires. Um, policy 2335 as written was struck completely. And then if you take a look
073at the new policy 2335, um, this is human sexuality instruction and identity instruction. And so since the inception, this was the original uh Senate Bill 99. So way back when I first started up here at the district office, I think it was three maybe four legislative sessions ago. And every time we have a legislative session, this bill is reworked and rewritten and we bring it forward for your review again. And so this has already been shared with our principles to be sure that they are in compliance with this and um the parent rights that go along with it. um it is consistent with changes per that last legislative session. So there is that one um for you to review and it talks about everything from additional notice to parents that is something new. Um cross
074references were also updated and changed in the summary of the curriculum as well. Policy 3141 um per open enrollment legislation we needed to align that one as well. You will notice those alignments on page 118, lines 15 through 17 where it talks about maximum student contract hours or contact. I believe it should be hours for teacher of the class or maximum class sizes under accreditation. And then lines 32 and 33 when it talks about school or out of school in any school district in which the non-resident student was enrolled. It also addresses transportation when we're looking at students who are out of district students who are enrolling with us. And that is addressed on page 119 all the way through 120, which is an important part of that open enrollment that I don't believe was
075addressed in the last legislative session, but it's one of those adjustments they make as as the bill grows and becomes part of districts and they realize that there needs to be support in different ways. So that is there for you as well to review. Sorry, this is so long. Um 3310. Um once again, it is alignment with legislation. When you look at page 123, it talks about the exceptions that are actually proposed within the law that was passed that deals specifically with student discipline. And that talks about students not being subject to disciplinary action for declining to um identify students pronouns, address a person by using a name other than the person's legal name. and that is uh taken right out of the legislation. Um Ally, once again, thank you for making sure that you
076updated all of the cross references and that because that one was fairly comprehensive. Um policy 3416, once again, updated language. Um, huge kudos to Erica Harp and her team who have worked really, really hard on this policy which deals with administering medicines to students um, who need to have their medication to allow them to safely remain in school. Um, I do believe that Erica gave some insight in this. She also did some testifying um, when the bill that impacts this was down in Helena. And so you'll see some clarifications of the definition of medication. You'll also see over on page 127 when it talks about opioid antagonists. Um that is something that we do have within our district. It's also something that Erica trains all of the schools on. Page 128 continues that um when
077it talks about individuals who are caretakers and relative educational authorities. So that information is there for you to review as well. Page 129, lines 32 through 36, is you'll see the term parent or guardian or individual who is an execute or who has executed a caretaker relative educational authorization affidavit. And that really is the addition on this one um that we'll see consistent throughout this policy. We still have more. It's really long, but these are really necessary because we do have um individuals who need this support. um 3655. This one has not been codified yet. Um but it deals with student safety. This is word for word out of the legislation. So it is um completely aligned with that and uh adopted through the MTSBA. And then 5255 is another one updated wording to align
078with legislation. Um and that will bring us into compliance with some more, not all, but some more of the legislative initiatives that impact school policy. So, uh, once again, I apologize for the length of this, but, uh, we're starting to get these in in waves, and we'll probably see larger segments of, uh, policy approval on your docket for review and eventually approval. Um, and then it'll get quiet, and then the next legislative session will come and we'll have the same. So, thank you to the committee., thank you to Ally for all of your work on this. It's appreciated. >> Well, thank you, Mrs. Hoyer. And there's certainly no need for apology on the length of these policies. Uh they are absolutely necessary uh for us to administer a school district of this size and to
079be compliant with the law. And kudos to our team, administrative team, our policy committee, and I think the Montana School Board Association, too, who's had a hand in advisement and going through these policies. So as uh as uh how do you say antiseptic as they appear on the page, they're truly and vitally necessary. So thank you for your work on this. >> Absolutely. Thank you. And also thank you to our attorneys June 4 and via Calva. Um they've also given us guidance which is um in in align with what MTSBA does. So we have some really good input on these policies. >> Thank you. Roman nine reports, discussion and policies discussion committee reports and comments. >> Who's going to volunteer to go first? >> Trusty Terraski. >> It's like school project. >> So brave. You
080read that motion with all the numbers >> and now you offer to go first. >> Well, it's like a school project or presentation. You you get it over with first so you're not >> There you go. Uh, first I want to thank Lance and and Mike left um Mike Henber and then our community partners for working on baseball. I got to go to a community or um one of the baseball committee meetings and it was I was very impressed with everybody's dedication and um how driven everyone is to get that going for our community. I think it's going to be a great thing. Uh I think comication this morning was wonderful. Sydney Jake did an excellent job speaking. I think she's going to be pretty hard to talk next year, but I think Heather, you'll
081probably find somebody. Um, but I I really liked that what she was saying was not just applicable to us in the district or us in our workplace, but us in our personal lives that we can use to connect with people. And I I really appreciated that. Uh, back to school night was chugging along while uh when I left to come here and kids are excited bringing in their heavy backpacks full of all their supplies and seeing their new classrooms and their new desks. And I know the teachers have a lot to do still to get ready for Wednesday, but they're excited, too. And then lastly, Brian, I just want to thank you for all your hard work for our district, everything you've done. Um, I appreciate all of your advice and insight and um and
082the knowledge you've shared with me over the past few years and I appreciate it and everything you've done and I just wish you the best going forward and hopefully you'll get to relax soon. >> Thank you, Trusty Trasi. Who's going to go next? Trusty Thompson. >> Uh, well, I'll second a lot of what Paige said, but um I also want to add um how excited I am about your trip to Western to um and the partnership that it and how exciting, you know, it is everything that we're doing at the core school. Um I'm also excited to be able to sub over there and it's a TA position, guys. So, if you'll recall, I got a live by third graders. So, I think I think we're all in better hands if somebody else is in
083charge in the classroom and and I can just help. So, I'm very excited about that. And then I really want to um say thank you to Brian for everything. And as sad as we are that you're leaving us, we are also very happy to have um Mr. Justin Luke Decon. I didn't know that. um now now helping us out and I I know um that you're going to huge um shoes to fill, but I I have every um I'm just I'm very much in your corner and I know that you're going to be able to um fill those shoes and do a wonderful job and thank you very much for um accepting the position. >> Thank you, Justice Scorowski. Um, I wanted to take a minute also to recognize um, Mr. Patrick and his contributions
084to the school district. Um, I've been serving on the board since 2017 and working with Mr. Patrick um, through kids education. Yes. Leading in the years leading up to that. So, I know um, you know, just what your leadership has meant to staff and to students in our district. There was a decade of incredibly hard decisions um that you helped us navigate um as well as helping us navigate out of a hole in helping us pass um you know gain that trust in um you know and build that relationship with our community. um to the point where we are we have been able to pass levies because they know that our decisions are transparent, our budget is transparent and that um you have led us in so many ways um with a a conservative a
085fiscally conservative hand and I think that means so much to our community and building that trust and you have done so much that you I've always heard that Brian is one of two people in the state that can actually describe school funding um to an average person. I've never heard who that other person is. So, as far as I know, it's only one person. Um but you've educated so many of us in this community um about such a complicated process. um you know obviously those of us on the board but also so many leaders in the community as well about that process and in every decision you make um you you truly have students at heart. Your your background as an educator um clear just clearly shines in in all that you do. um you
086know, no matter, you know, even though it's a it's a budget hat, um you know, there's just no doubt that that you are making decisions um based on what's best for students. So, um you know, truly no words can capture what you've done for this district, for our board, um for our teachers and staff and students. Um and in that same breath, I want to welcome Mr. decons um to this position. Uh you know, you clearly have stepped into big shoes before and have thrived. Um and so I'm completely confident that you'll be able to do that again. So, welcome to the to this position. Not welcome to the team, but welcome to this position. >> Thank you, Trusty Sunchild. I'm going to be very short and sweet with respect to the very long day
087that everybody has had here. >> Yeah, >> it was fantastic and you guys do a great job. And funny little antidote, one of my good teacher friends invited me to dinner the other night and she was all excited when I went to pick her up. She had her math textbook with her that um she wanted to go over with all the things she was excited to get going. And I love to teach math. teach the same grade, but um it was really funny. And so anyway, just shows you what the the teachers are thinking about now all the time. >> Thank you. >> And then there were three Mr. D. >> Yeah, like uh Paige, I came here from back to school night as well tonight and it was fun seeing all the excited kids.
088Um, fun thing with elementary school and I assume it's probably going to change in coming years with my kid. The kids are excited to be there and excited to get back to school. And >> I've seen mine over the years is enthusiasm Wayne as he gets older and peer pressure and stuff, but it's fun to be back in the school today and see the excitement and everybody's raring to go and ready to get started. Um, this morning's ceremony was also enjoyable. I enjoyed that. Thanks for the invitation. That was really nice. And yeah, ready to get the school year going and looking forward to new year challenges. >> Great. Thank you, Mr. Bronson. >> Fascinating. Uh, number one, I want to echo all the comments of uh, my colleagues about the convocation today. I think
089it was great and I especially appreciated the fact that our main speaker was one borrow willing to come back and as I mentioned to a few people today, the Thurberers didn't raise any dumb kids. That's for sure. But I very much appreciate uh her coming back and sharing her insights and I appreciate all of the folks here at the district who encouraged her to come. Uh second uh with respect to those legislative resolutions that we passed tonight, uh as Superintendent Hoyer pointed out, we are much far ahead of the game now in stating our position in advance of the upcoming legislative session. And I will be providing copy of the part of those resolutions to TSBA as your representative on your board >> and I can tell you right now they are already fully in
090alignment with the objectives that all of the schools have >> excellent forward. I know that Lance and his team will very much appreciate us uh entering these waters now and staking out our claim here. And then finally uh with respect to Bryant, I echo all the comments that have been made by my colleagues tonight. Uh but as Brian knows from some of our conversations, we highlight kids do pretty well all things considered. So I'm very proud of that. Um but I do want to say echoing something that trustee Scormagosski said, wherever you travel in our circles around the state, uh Brian star shines very brightly. He is so highly regarded by his peers, I know by the folks at MTB, SBA and others. And uh you will be greatly missed, sir. But I would be
091remiss if I didn't note the comment that your wife made uh during the budget meeting last week. She indicated to me and some of the others that you have no hobbies. Uh, and I will tell you as a retired person, you better darn well find some you or you will go start graving men. So, uh, I know your wife and your family will encourage you there. And, uh, I will make it known to her that if I hear you are falling by the wayside, I will be there to kick you in the behind to make sure you find something to do. >> Building budget. >> Yeah. The the positive note to that though is uh, Luke, I've much enjoyed working with you these past few years and all I can say is I'm going to
092continue to enjoy working with you in position. Thank you, Mr. Chair. >> Thank you. Yeah, thank you to to those who put together the convocation. Superintendent Hoyer, well done. I thought it was very effective. And um whenever whenever I miss Brian, and I know I will, I I'll just peek into my budget book with fond memories. So, thank you so much. Um, I've been on this board for seven years and I couldn't have made it without your guidance. So, thank you so much. And Luke, looking forward to the future. We're going to get a lot of good things done together. Thank you very much. And, uh, Mr. Duff, thanks for the souvenirs from Japan. Really appreciate that. Let's take a look at the upcoming events. I knew there was going to be more. They scrolled
093down to the next page. Right. Take a look at those dates. Put them on your calendars. Uh thank you board of trustees for the good things you do for our community and for our Great Falls Public Schools. And if there's no further business to come before this board of trustees, I would entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> Move to adjurnn. >> We are in fact adjourned. Thank you.