001Constitute the official record of this meeting. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to theublic for which it stands under God. He just throwing me off. Um public comment you want to mention. Yeah. Card. Yeah, Jeremy submitted a card to the board. I put that in the packet. Um, you know, as as it says, he's retiring after 25 years. I'll keep you posted on kind of the unfolding of stuff as it starts to happen. Perfect. In case you want to participate, that would be great. Um, okay. We'll just move straight into discussion and action items. I would take a motion. Make a motion to approve the collective bargaining agreement as presented. I second the motion. Um, yeah. So, we finished up last week and maybe I'll I'll kind of let
002the negotiating team, Cara and and Danielle, hit the high points. It was a great result, I think. You guys want to um anything you want to mention? I would just say it was a really seamless negotiation. Um, we're really excited to see the STARS Act get pushed through kind of the legislative process here. Um so between that uh and what we've done here it looks like the average is we have the average 10 yeah 10ish average of a 10% raise for hardworking teachers so really that makes collective bargaining easy we do that every year some money yeah but I think the process went really well and everybody was super health professional there I was reading over it and there were just a couple things um that I wondered if we could just change the wording
003a little bit. Um is that okay too? I mean you could put it out there that way. It's really online too so we can go back and um do anything we Okay. It's just a couple language minor things and not a big deal. Go ahead. Oh, so there's uh in on page 13, section 13.5 when we were talking to it's uh item A, it says it's up to the teacher. I I just thought maybe the language would be it's the teacher's responsibility or the responsibility of the teacher. Just sounded a little more professional. And then uh in 13.4 four when we said it was suspended for fiscal year 26 and then it will be reassessed. Is that correct? Yeah, it'll just go along. Yeah. Should we put that in there or I mean I think
004all of that's getting reassessed as per that opening paragraph. Okay. And then um in 13.8 Nate, when we talked about um the $1,000 stipen, there's like this weird hash tag by the by the 1,000. I just wondered if that was in there for a reason or if that's just a type of Okay, okay, thanks. I'll follow up with those. Yeah, it's nothing big. Great. So, I think we can just still have the same motion to approve the collective bargaining agreement as presented with edits. Yeah, just like the title more title. Yeah. Great. Anything else? Thank you guys. Yeah, the language is 2 years and then the salary is one year. Um because it'll all again be based on how we fall within the stars act qualifications a year from now. Um so we'll just keep
005a close eye on that stuff and we'll know more about that as it gets further along in its process itself. Right. Um, so we we know now it should be for two years at least because it won't get uh changed at the at the legislative level, but we have to certify our salaries to make sure that we qualify and it's one of two things. It's a it's a number or it's an average. So, we'll just have to recalculate those averages next year and kind of see where we fall. Gotcha. Great. Okay. If there's no other questions, call for a vote. All those in favor? I I Any opposed? Passes unanimously. I'll make a motion to approve the petition to Madison County Superintendent of Schools for reconciliation payment for fiscal year 2026 as presented with the
006effect effective date to be completed once known. I second the motion. Long motion. Yeah, it's a good it's a good one. Yeah, it is. It's a really good one. So, I'm going to actually talk quite a bit right now. So this is House Bill 846. So when we've been talking about this probably for the last 3 months, right? It's going to get tucked in. This language is going to get tucked in with House Bill 260, which was the I guess I'll just call it the Big Sky Resort area district kind of boundary bill. Yeah. Issue boundary bill. Oh, thanks, man. Boundary bill. So this language is going to get tucked in there. So, the board is going to have one of two choices moving forward. Uh, it's to petition for this reconciliation payment, which is
007going to fall probably anywhere between $450 and $550,000 that we can spend directly towards our general fund and or move forward to make that boundary adjustment. Both would probably be doable. The one thing we're going to have to caution against because we've already been approached by some Madison County residents in our community to start this process right away. Well, the governor hasn't signed the bill yet for one. And then for two, you know, we're going to need to I believe we're going to need to find some kind of a backs stop if we want to change that boundary to that $450 to $550,000. Now whether that's Big Sky Resort Area District uh allocating and promising that money and um for a particular time that the board sees fit um then that could be one path
008that we go. But I think for sure for fiscal year 26 because it isn't an easy process for fiscal year 26. We we really need to to petition for this reconciliation payment calculate that payment in August work with NIS to get that. we'll get the first one right after first tax collections and the other half after the second tax collection. So, it won't be, you know, we won't get this August 1st. Um, but then I I highly encourage the board um to educate yourselves on what it says in there because you're going to get questions from the community. Um, and that we we're on the same page and that we're clear about. We can, you know, cut our deficit more by more than 50% almost with these reconciliation payments. And all we're seeking now is
009a backs stop to those payments or a backs stop to to the funding gap that changing the boundary frankly for 17 kids in our school um will will cause that gap. So my plan is we will discuss this again with once the new trustees are seated like in detail and then reach out to resort tax and say okay what where's the rubber really meet the road? This is easy to talk about, but where what are you really willing and capable of committing to the school district over this time? Because the bill I mean for Big Sky School District, this this legislative session should be celebrated because this bill allows us the opportunity to to bring in general fund dollars essentially. Yeah. Um and and so this petition is all this is is we're going to
010petition for a reconciliation payment. The governor has to sign it. So the motion reads without his uh without that date and I can complete that effective date, but the deadline to send it to the superintendent of Madison County Schools is the 1st of June. Um, and I know some some community members have have reached out to you, Matt, but I think it's really important that we everybody just understands it's it's a process. Even if we wanted to change the boundary, we wouldn't have that done by September 1st. No. Right. It would we would have to wait till the next legisl legislative session. Correct. No, we can start that petition. We can start that petition anytime we want. But the the key thing is it has to be a vote of this this board will be
011the one that says yes, we're willing to accept that boundary transfer or no. Yeah. Um and I and I think again I'm going to just go back to that reconciliation payment was a a work of genius. Yeah. By the school boards association. Um then those are the that's the decision we have to make. But that that backs stop is going to be important and there has been some again you know hallway conversations that oh maybe resort tax could help with that fine but I think we really need to get some kind of a longer term commitment from them before we start going down that road of of changing the boundary if if nothing else because it it it will it will reduce the burden of the of the individual donors and fundraising in the community
012to cover that deficit um year in and figure out. But will they be able to participate in like will they be able to run for the school board? Will they be able is the way it would tuck in is right now they would still have representation through a committee an advisory council in the interim until this is settled. Okay. And my only addition there is that I would really encourage the board to continue to act as a fiduciary to the school. Um, and it is a delicate position and dance, but at the end of the day, you're still managing a budget and right in the interim what is best for the kids at the school. And and so in in May, Corki and I and um probably you Matt Dodd will will bring into this
013conversation a little bit more in more detail. we'll be able to present like, okay, if the boundary adjustment changes, here's what that means from a tax base at a hundred,000 on, you know, the same way we report out now, like on a million-doll home, here's what the reduction would be should that boundary be changed, just so we all have the right information moving forward. Um, and and I can send out a text to that bill later today just so we all are on the same page um about when when community members do do approach us. What what's the difference in dollars? Like if the boundary changes, we get that tax. So yeah. So the difference is really this. If if the boundary doesn't change and we get a reconciliation payment, we can pay that money
014to whatever we feel like. Teacher salaries for example. if the boundary changes were limited almost exactly to what we're limited to now with our own budgets. So, you know, we wouldn't they wouldn't take on the debt service. That would still remain just with Big Sky Taxpayers, any debt that we had, but you wouldn't pick up any additional operational dollars. So that's where I think Danielle like the resort tax could just function as a granting agency and say okay similar to what they do with other government and fats in town we can commit $550,000 for 5 years a 5year time frame that combined with house bill 408 tax credit dollars we should be able to get the budget in a really good place um and hopefully over a fiveyear time frame there's we would be more
015kind of leveled out with enrollment and with programming and with staffing. Um, so that that's that's the biggest difference. So, how Lance Melton from MTSBA put it to Corki and I, you the two choices are get the money back into your budget and spend it on your students or lower taxes for for people a little bit. Um, and he's like, "My prediction is you get more thank you cards for what you're doing with students than you do for taxes, lowering people's taxes." Not my words, his. Yeah. And these reconciliation payments would go on for how long? As long as the boundaries stays the same. Stays the same. Right. Dustin, are they obligated to make those payments? Obligated. Yes. I mean, assuming the bills sign into law. Yeah. Assuming the bills signed into law, they're obligated
016to make that payment. And so the last time um Matt um Trusty Jennings and I were in Bose and in Helena testifying, all the NSP people got up and said, "Great bill. Thank you." So they they'll be prepared to make that because they'll they'll permissive levy that right to their tuition fund and then it goes I was going to say can't is there any chance that they run out of money and don't have the money to pay for that? I mean, the only way that would happen is if they just didn't put it in their budget and levy it. Um, and we'll we'll have a meeting with them immediately to say, "Okay, here's what it costs. Here's how much you have to levy." But no, they would be obligated to pay. And if they did
017levy it through their tuition fund, honestly, they'd have to pay it out of their general fund because the bill also contains a fast track to district court. And that's why I do think it's important to kind of keep it moving along. Yeah. because everything else can still move in tandem at the moment. But it's important to grasp those dollars, right? Exactly. Because otherwise they could not be right. And so I'll I'll send that again. I think it's just going to be really important that we educate ourselves because at the end and then what's the value Dustin of what? Uh of A and B. I see that I'm looking at the petition. Yeah. So that looks like their value is different than our value. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's that's how it's kind of designed. So
018if we were to um you know so we can petition for 19 FTE which is full-time equivalent students and let's say our final budget ends up being 40 mills that would be about $565,000. So, it's going to be based on how many students you have and then how many mills we we have to levy Matt to uh make our budget whole. I got you. So, what's is there an A and B per student? I mean, I know it may be a ratio, but yeah, I mean I I I can Cy, do you have that number? Are you talking about the conversion of FTE to A and B? No, I think you mean A and D. That's why I'm trying to use av factors is all the A and B calculation takes into account P days
019and the number of days the students are actually count or um in school. So you know where for for the Big Sky School District we might have a enrollment of 400 but our AM might be 410 based on the calculation. So there it's just a different the FTE calculation is critical because we don't get to count we only get to count kids in effect half of half year at a time or a semester at a time right so so if a student if if Sally is there in October and doesn't come is not there in February that's a 0.5 you know if so what's the FTE per kid is there a number or a calculation it's it's based on a 5 per semester. So it's five of a mill or some other number. It's based
020on it's based on it's based on headcount. So if we we had 26 kids there in October or whatever, I'm sorry, 26 in February, but there were eight of those kids that weren't there in in the fall. So we get to count five for those kids. So and each semester is looked at independently. So if kids are there in the fall, that's a 0.5. But and then if they're gone, they don't get to continue rolling forward. So it's really a floating. You have to look at it in effect two semesters at whatever each semester independently. Can can you Yeah. Can you see this spreadsheet? Yeah. I'm trying to pull up right now. So it's in the calculations are based on previous year's data, previous year's budget, current year's FTE, and future years budgeted mills. Okay,
021that's kind of what I needed to understand. The bill is not well written from that standpoint, but the spreadsheet kind of lays out how it's supposed to be calculated. So highlighted in turquoise. Um so last year we operated at what how many mills Corki 26 22.3 22.3 so if we budget so in fiscal year 26 I mean we already know that 300,000 that we was approved by the voters is going to improve our or increase our mills how much Corki I'm sorry how much is that 300,000 that was approved by the voters going to increase our mill uh budgeted mills by I don't know because it's not going to be 300,000 exactly. Yeah. Whatever. Let's say it's five. I don't know what our taxable value is going to be. It's maybe $12. So if we
022So that second column, Andrew, I think you you're an editor. So if we put if we had budget the exact same bills in that second column mills um budgeted mills first line turquoise um and we let's say we have to add five because of the 300,000 that would put us at 27 and enter. So then that reconciliation payment is I can't read it from here 380,000 it looks like. If we budget a few more mills for example to pay back the debt on the bus barn and get it up to 35 mills then that's going to increase the reconciliation payment to just south of $500,000. Um, so procedurally, right, and Corki is right, the bill probably wasn't written great from from this standpoint because it's fiscical year 25 um, students and fiscal year 26 mills.
023But it gives us a lot of a lot more flexibility to be quite honest in in what that reconciliation payment could and should be. um because we do have some permissive funds that we can add a little bit to moving into next year that have been down a little bit. Now, the other thing that's contained within this bill, if people are okay with me moving on slightly, if we take that reconciliation payment, change the boundary, we have to pay that back for three consecutive years to them through the tuition fund based on their budgeted mills. based on their budgeted mills which frankly would probably be the first year because then the the boundary adjustment happens over 3 years. So like 33.3% is taken one year then 33.3 then 33.3. So in the last year right
024their budgeted mills probably could be quite high because they would be making that up. Um, so that's it's it's based on the short answer is how much it completely costs us to run the school district without debt service and then that can they assess and do we know what our mills are going to be for next year? Our budgeted mills. I mean we can anticipate I think and I think right Porky and I have talked a lot about this. We can anticipate I think between the that 35 and 40 um at a at a at the high end and 30 to 35 at kind of the moderate level and what control if any do we have over setting that mill rate or the budgeted mills we have a lot of control um because right it
025would just be Matt so you know as I said if if we through those permissive levies if there's some funds that are kind of um you know being depleted over time We budgeted $100,000 in tuition some years ago in order to um you know in case we thought we might have some students who would need specified care. You can increase that. We still have significant debt on our bus barn. Um that can be budgeted in that can be milled into transportation which is permissive which would also up the our mills. Um you know there there's a number of of those funds. So it it's really through those permissive funds and then what we've what we've uh you know what the voter has approved. So we've already going to get an automatic kind of jump with
026that two whatever it's going to end up being 260 270 um that the voters approved the other day because that's that's going to be levied right back locally. So I would anticipate you know coming to with working with the budget committee and coming to something in August that's going to put us around 35 to 40 mills. So, a payment of, you know, roughly a half a million to um between five and 600,000 from from the in a school district. And is that 19 a solid number? Do we That's said already that's even written in the petition. Okay. But does that get assessed every year? That's cuz it's based on kids this year, right? That's what I thought. So, that not very much. That would be kids next year. So, I mean, it's hard to say
027what we'll have next year because, you know, one of the kids is kids graduating. I think there might be a family moving from up there. Um, so, you know, that number could 14 even, right? And then those budgeted mills are set in August. Yes. Yeah. So in August, we'll have the balancing act of how much do we increase local taxes while at the same time using the increase in local taxes to generate cash from through the reconciliation act, right? Because we got a pay to play in that sense. You that's exactly it. Yep. Somebody does. Okay. So we want to use so we'll use those permissive levies strategically to offset future debt um to and so that even if we were increasing taxes for one year we're reducing it going reducing those taxes going forward
028while in while putting c money into the flexibility fund to offset general fund expenses. That's the Yeah, the higher we go, the more flexibility we have or the more money we have to be flexible, but again, we got to pay in on the front side to then get in us to kick in on their side. Exactly. Yes. Okay. Thank you for helping me understand that. You're welcome. Anything else? Uh, that's all I've got. Okay. All right. Uh, no further discussion. We'll call for a vote. All those in favor? I I. Any opposed? passes unanimously. Thanks for talking us through all of that in length. Um, I'll make a motion to approve the hire of Allison Delaney as a full-time employee for school year 2026 2027. I second the motion. Uh, yeah. Uh, Britney and I
029worked with Allison. She's thrilled um to have her here. So I have a verbal acceptance from her and this will this will allow us to send her an official contract and that'll be for elementary school. Great questions. Call for a vote. All those in favor I I. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. Make a motion to approve the hire of Amy De Jesus as a full-time employee for school year 2026 2027. I got the name right? Yeah, I think so. Um, so this is for me a second motion. Sorry. This is for world language at the um middle school high school level. I have an official offer out to her that's reflective of what the contract you um approved earlier in this meeting uh with a deadline of tomorrow or Monday. So we'll be able to send
030her a full full contract and hopefully it it works. She was she looks highly qualified. She was highly qualified and there was someone even more qualified that we worked with up until about two weeks ago and just couldn't get across the finish line. Yeah, it' be nice to have her here for sure. So, any questions? Call for a vote. All those in favor? I I. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. Make a motion to approve the renewal of certified staff as presented. I second the motion. Anything to say there? There aren't any non-renewals, which is nice. Yeah, that's always nice. Call for a vote. All those in favor? I I. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. We'll make a motion to approve the renewal of classified staff as presented. I second the motion. So, with uh classified staff, we're
031working through the um kind of pay scale right now, anticipating a 5% raise across the board. Um yeah, sounds great. Call for a vote. All those in favor? I I I I. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. Uh future date. So, Tuesday 20th, yeah, at 3:45 is an important one. wouldn't be swearing in, you know, communicate with the with the incoming trustees, Daniel, uh, Barbara Rowley and Betsy Betsy Bigger staff. Um, and then just before we before we sign off, I think this will be the last meeting that that Cara attends. So, I personally want to thank Cara um on behalf of the school districts for for all that you've done, especially, you know, working at the state level and and hopefully you you can find a way to keep advocating for public schools in Montana in
032in some kind of role in those organizations. So, thank you. Thank you. I would echo that as well. It's been it has been a pleasure. Thank you so much. Cross off my state. I might take it. So, yeah. Thank you again so much. We'll we'll miss you for sure. So, uh that's it. Uh meeting a journey. Thank you. Thanks everybody.