Jamestown School Board Meeting May 18, 2026

001Yeah. Yeah. Good evening. I'd like to call this regular meeting of the Jamestown Public School Board to order. It is Monday, May 18th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. in the Thompson Community Room. We'd like to welcome and thank all those in the audience for attending this evening. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all >> outside of the previous declared conflicts of interest. Are there any other conflicts of interest? Any other conflicts of interest? Any other conflicts of interest? If not, moving on. Schoolboard norms. Jamie, would you be willing to read the schoolboard norms? Yes. The board developed norms are to share and respect opinions and speak with

002united voice once the decision has been reached, execute all duties of the school board in compliance with North Dakota Sentry Code, properly prepare for meetings, commit to assessing board effectiveness, and ensure high quality governance for all stakeholders. Thank you, Jamie. Moving on in our agenda, nothing under public communications. We have our consent agenda. Would anyone like anything removed from the consent agenda or clarification at this time? Anything removed? If not, is there a motion? >> Motion by Jamie to approve the consent agenda. Is there a second? Second by Melissa. We have a motion, a second to approve the consent agenda. Any discussion? Any discussion? Any discussion? Not. If not, assuming roll call vote, all those in favor say I. I oppose. Same sign. Motion carried. Moving into our regular meeting. We have lots of recognition

003tonight. So, this is fantastic. We're going to start with the um support staff of the year. So, we'll when your name is called, please come up here and then we'll take a photo. Then we'll move on to music and we'll take a photo for that. Then, Skills USA and we'll take a photo. And then food service last. And I think we have Jason, Dan, Aaron, and and Melissa doing the reading of the respective groups. Are we ready? Okay. When your name is called, please meet me over here for your gift. Please join us in recognizing Mrs. Wanita Herz from Guster Elementary as the support staff of the year where she is secretary. Mrs. Herz makes an incredible impact every day at Gusner Elementary in Jamestown public schools. As the welcoming face of Guser, Wanita goes

004above and beyond to support students, staff, and families with kindness, professionalism, and care. Whether assisting students, supporting families, or helping wherever needed, she helps create a positive and welcoming environment for everyone who walks through the doors. Her dedication, compassion, and willingness to help make her to help make her an invaluable part of the Guser community, and we are so grateful for all she does for JPS every day. I know how unc how uncomfortable it makes you, but we'll make you. >> Okay, moving on to our secondary support staff of the year, Miss Jennifer Ericson, kitchen manager at JHS. Please join us in recognizing Jennifer Ericson for the incredible impact she makes every day at Jamestown Public Schools. Jennifer's passion for feeding students goes far beyond preparing meals. She creates an environment where students feel welcomed,

005cared for, and valued. From the supporting scratch cooking in our schools to helping lead the summer meals program and serving the Little Blue Jay's Nest, Jennifer consistently goes above and beyond for students, staff, and families. Her kindness, positivity, and commitment to excellence shine through in everything she does, and we are incredibly grateful for the care and joy she brings to JPS each day. Others want to come take pictures now. Your time will take all the time you need. Okay. Okay, recognizing the music students. Students selected for the NDMEA All State Band Choir and Orchestra. We have Maya Tyson, Aaliyah Tyson, Finn Moer, Joy Taylor, Eden Ellingsson, Sarah Pearlyberg, and Ella Lean. for band. Uh, state star recipients for band we have for flute solo, Maya Tyson, flute ensemble, Maya Tyson, Matteline Grim, Riley Schill, Katie

006Ryan, Eloene, and Atlas Hasparen for their flute quartet. Maline Grim, Atlas Hasbaren, Riley Schill, and Maya Maya Tyson, flute duet, Maline Grim and Alice Hasbar, trombone solo, Tyler Buckton, and trumpet trio, Parker Wallace, Delia Stout, and Zoe Hay. Get a photo here. Come right across. Jesus. Okay. For choir state vocal star recipients for solos we have Brilan Gertis, Sierra Plyberg, Aiden Lorent, and Eden Ellingsson. Ensembles Sierra Sierra Pearlyberg, Aiden Lorent, Eden Ellingsson, Tyler Dominic Buckton, Ethan Ericson, Evan Loren, Ian Lean, Sophie Broton, Abby Beam, Maggie Godbold, Lily Reinards, Emma Hul, Eliah Tyson, Joby Taylor, Alice Sundine, Annabelle Pollson, Ava Conway, Ellen, Katie Hunt, Caitlyn Monson, Ivy Cordell, Siri, Annie Webster, Emma Fleath, and Maya Tyson. And for outstanding performance at state music for ensemble, Joby Taylor, Eliia Tyson, Mia Tyson, and Eden Ellingsson. pictures. Did

007you want to come up? Okay. >> Thank you very much. Congratulations >> for for state orchestra. State stars at orchestra WDA solo and ensemble contest. Senior ensemble. Maya Tyson, Maggie, Stegmiller, Autumn Roberts, Bel Shustrom, Patients Broadick, Luke Lefver, Hayden Olsen, Marissa Moltzen, Mackenzie Stoddard. for violin duet Maya Tyson and Maggie Stegmiller and cello bass duet Joby Taylor and Eliia Tyson And then for the Skills USA recognition, uh the Skills USA state leadership and skills conference provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate technical skills, leadership, professionalism, and career readiness through hands-on industry-based competitions that prepare them for a success in the workforce. Competitors compete uh complete a variety of industry-based tasks that reflect real world procedures and while demonstrating professionalism, accuracy and safety throughout the event. State was held in Watton on the NDSCS campus at

008the end of April. Uh the awards for this are um Malia Deetsz, state champion in first aid, CPR, and third place in pin design. For auto collision, we have Grady Eert, state champion. Hayden Nyise, second place, and Mason Gibson, third place. The automotive collision competition is designed to evaluate students technical knowledge, hands-on repair skills, and workplace readiness in the collision repair industry. The competition includes a collision repair general knowledge test covering industry standards and repair procedures along with a strong emphasis on shop safety practices. Students also demonstrate technical skills through small dent repair, metal shrinking, structural analysis, MIG welding, and both structural and cos cosmetic plastic welding. These events allow students to showcase their problem solving abilities, craftsmanship, and preparedness for careers in the automotive collision repair field. Thank you. Cindy Wald JPS food service

009director was awarded the North Dakota State and the Mountain Plan region food service director of the year. Miss Wall has transitioned the school meal program to focus on scratch cooking by investing in the necessary equipment, providing staff training and standardizing recipes. This wall involved students through taste tests and incorporated their feedback to guide menu improvements. As meal quality improved, student participation increased by 15% at lunch and 20% at breakfast, and food waste was reduced through forecasting and production planning. W Miss Wall stabilized food costs, maintaining financial responsibility and compliance. Miss Wall launched the district's first summer meal grab-and-go program, securing state approval, selecting community distribution sites and coordinating staff food safety and transportation. She developed convenient multi-day meal bundles for families and created clear communication materials to boost awareness of the program as a reliable

010resource for families. Miss Wall has been a champion for quality and excellence to students at Jamestown Public Schools since 2022. Congratulations to Miss Wall. Liz Zinc is the kitchen lead at Louis Lammore Elementary and was awarded the North Dakota School Nutrition Association employee of the year. Employee of the year award recognizes non-managerial school nutrition employees for their contributions they have made throughout their school nutrition careers. The nominee is judged on four categories. customer service skills, creativity, commitment to professional development, dedication to the school nutrition profession, and has an SNA certificate. Miss Sinc has been supporting students at Jamestown Public Schools since 2023. Congratulations, Miss Zinc. Jennifer Ericson, the food manager at the high school, has been awarded the North Dakota School Nutrition Association Manager of the Year. The Manager of the Year award in honor

011of Louise Sublit is named after her, a leader in school nutrition during the mid 20th century. For over 40 years, Louise worked in many areas of food service and nutrition, including public schools, colleges, hospitals, and elderly feeding programs. Her name is given to this prestigious award because throughout her life, Louise emphasized that the success of school nutrition depends upon the professionals who work in school nutrition programs. Louise was a past president of the SNA from Tennessee. The nominees in are judged on four categories. Cafeteria environment, management and staff development, SNA involvement, school and community outreach, and have has an SNA certificate or credential. Miss Ericson has been committed to supporting students at Jamestown Public Schools since 2024. Congratulations, Miss Ericson. Good work. Congratulations to everyone in the respective awards. Moving on our agenda, we have

012a couple of correspondents. We have um Okay, we have a thank you for retirement gift from Mrs. Carpenter. And we also have a thank you for the remembrance um of Larry Hoff from Lorie Hoff. Under reports, we have Belle here for our student council, her last student council report. >> Good evening, members of the school board. This year, Jamestown Student Council continued to work to represent students and support school activities. While student involvement was lower than we hoped, student council still showed up, showed their leadership, and worked on new ways to improve our school. Do you guys have any questions for me? How's graduation week going? >> Busy. Very busy. Yeah. >> Thank you for coming this past year and sharing insights um from the student council and all the great work that you've been

013been doing. and we do appreciate it and feel free to come back and visit us in the future. >> Thank you. And then >> questions. >> I have one comment. I just want to say thank you to Belle. I think as all we've had many different student council reps that have come. I I feel like you have done a fantastic job at representing uh the student body uh and have exhibited great skills as a leader. Uh so thank you for all the the things that you've uh brought to this board and communicated. So thank you. >> Thank you. there. Any other questions or comments from the board this evening? Okay. Thank you and best of luck to you. >> Thank you. And then we did elect our student council board for the following year. So

014at this time I would like to introduce next year's president, Miles Curtis. Hello, my name is Miles Curtis and I will be the JHS student council executive president for the 2026 2027 school year. Some things I'm involved in are football, basketball, track and field, DECA, and FCA. I look forward to working with you all in the future. Thank you. >> Thank you. and we look forward to your reports next year. So, thank you very much. Next on our agenda, we have Rachel Castid is here to talk about the Dina students. There came on. >> Am I on? Yes. It should be coming. Here it comes. All right. Um, I am Rachel Casset. I am currently the dean of students at Lula Moore Elementary School. And I'm here today just to kind of tell you about

015the role, what I've learned through it, the challenges I faced, the things um how it's helped me improve in the different positions that I have, things like that. If you have any questions throughout, please feel free to stop me. Otherwise, I might just ramble. Um but yes, I'm just going to go ahead and go here. So, just to give you a little bit of a background, I am the dean of students right now at Louis Lammore, but I'm also an instructional coach at Roosevelt Elementary. So, I've kind of had two roles this year. Um, my role as the dean, I feel my job was to help support a positive school culture and climate. Um, strengthen our behavior support systems, things like that. Um, provide leadership and support to the administration at Louis Moore. So, I'm

016currently working with Sher Schmidt. Um, she is the technical principal at Lula Moore, but I worked and learned from her there and was kind of the principal in action when she wasn't there. So, learned a lot and I'll kind of go over that, too. Um, and then obviously to build strong relationships with the students, the staff, and families at Louis Lammore. Um, some things that I did, some responsibilities that I had this year. Um, a big thing was I was just introduced to all the administrative responsibilities. Uh, this was something that I kind of considered thinking moving forward in my career path. Was this something that I wanted to do? So, I felt like this was a great opportunity for me to learn and experience some of those things and I learned a lot. Um,

017there's a lot of things that people don't know go into the job of an administrator. So just learning that, getting exposed to those things, learning from Sherry at Louis Lammore and then working with other administrators throughout the district during this time has been very beneficial for me. Um, I helped a lot with the MTSSB work at Louismore. Um, we did a lot of behavior support with check-in checkouts and building expectations and doing things with that team at the school. um family communication and problem solving through different through title one work and vital network work, things like that. So, getting my hands in all of those different committees and all of those teams to help better um Louis the more in that way. Um supporting staff with those behavior strategies like I talked about with MTSSB,

018assisting with schoolwide systems and expectations. So that goes along with like I talked about some vital network, some Cognia, some Title One things. All the things you guys are experts in. I got to get my feet really wet in those waters. Um and learn a lot from the people, the other administrators and and things in Jamestown. And then helping to maintain a safe structured learning environment. Those were kind of the scope of my responsibilities at Louis Lammore. Um, some of the challenge, the big challenge was balancing the two roles that I have. Um, uh, an instructional coach is a full-time job and indeed students is a full-time job. So, balancing that and making it work so that, um, I could be at Louis Moore sometimes when Mrs. Schmidt was there so that I could learn

019firsthand from her and have some of those experiences. And then still having the responsibilities of my instructional coaching at Roosevelt was difficult at times, but I felt like uh the administration in both buildings and the staff in both buildings were very flexible and willing to work with me in my schedule and to make that work smoothly. Um I feel like just managing my time proactively, knowing that there's certain times of year as a coach that are really busy. So, I knew fall, winter, and spring um at the start of the school year, middle of the school year, and end that coaching responsibilities are heavy, but they're also very heavy administratively at that time, too. But just finding the balance between them was kind of something that we learned as we went as well. Um, this

020kind of goes on this as well. um the challenges with time and and and working that out between the two buildings. But like I said, I feel like um the teams were very flexible with that. I also think that the the mindsets that I had a lot of times I'm an instructional I'm a data person. I've worked with data as a coach. So that mindset in the instructional coach setting carrying that over to administrative I feel like is really great. but also you deal with more um behavioral things and stuff like that in that leadership role as dean of students too. So um just learning how to balance that and switching those mindsets because some days I started at Roosevelt and then went to Louis Lamore and or went to Louis Moore and then went

021to Roosevelt afterwards. So just kind of turning one off and turning the other one on was difficult at times but learning as I went with that as well. Um the biggest things that I learned throughout this experience, like I said, um the behavior or the relationships that I built, um with staff and students and families, I came to realize very quickly that as a classroom teacher for 13 years, you realize that relationships drive everything you do. But I've learned in this role, it's the same. That your teaching staff and all of the individuals in your building need those relationships, too. your families need those relationships. So, I think that that's been um something that I've really grabbed a hold of and it's something that I prided myself on the classroom. So, it's something that I

022hope to continue to work on in this um in the role that I have moving forward. Um being proactive versus reactive. Again, just planning for what may come and having steps in place for dealing with different whether it be behaviors or academics and goal setting things like that. planning it ahead of time so that we're ready to respond in the moment and not trying to react. Um, communication I feel you feel sometimes like you've explained everything three different ways, but it's everything and having it in as many different formats for people and sharing it multiple times with people I've just learned is very important. and making sure that that message is as clear as possible and sometimes having someone else check it because I think it's clear but then someone else reads it and says

023this maybe needs to be revised a little bit. So being open to that as well. Um the systems matter more than one-time solutions. So again going to like the vital network system and the title one system and goal setting for building those systems are so much more important than um than people realize that they help build our whole foundation. So learning learning more about those systems and being firsthand working with those systems has really taught me that the importance of them and that sometimes it feels like another thing but it really does help build a strong foundation for us. Um, some other skills that I've developed, like I said, a lot of documentation, a lot of um, tracking things like that. Um, tiered support strategies for students. That's something that I worked a lot on

024academically and have been on behavioral teams as well, but just being kind of head of all of those has really helped me grow in those areas. Um, staff support tools and communication systems. again, just learning how to better communicate with families, with students, with the staff about what's going on and where we're going moving forward. Just being more consistent and finding new ways to to reach people. Um, and alignment with those schoolwide expectations, making sure that what we're doing in the lunchroom aligns with the same expectations what we're doing in the classroom and on the playground and in the hallways. Um, aligning those those things as well. um working with administrative throughout this like administration throughout this like I said um I gained a lot of insight into what goes into that job. I felt

025like I knew a lot but I had so much more to learn and that's why I feel like this role was invaluable to me and I'll kind of talk about that more. Um but just collaborating, learning from other administrators, working with Mrs. Schmidt on situations like things happen and you and you start to question, okay, how how should I handle this? What should I do moving forward? This is how I handled it when it was my classroom, but these are different kids that I'm not familiar with or that um I haven't dealt with extensively before. So, just learning that it's okay to ask for help and that doesn't show weakness. It's actually shows strength in my opinion, being willing to put yourself out there. Um, so just working with the team and asking, hey, I

026I'm not sure exactly what I'm supposed to do. Dr. Le told me I have to do this report and I have no idea what it is. Can you help me? And administrators being really open to to doing that because you're learning on the fly in some of the things. So, um, just the day-to-day realities, it was just very eye opening in some things. Um, but just building confidence in myself as a leader as well, I think was just huge for me. Um, so this is kind of why I think this role matters so much. This was something when I interviewed for this position, um, one of the things I talked about was that I I feel like I might want to be an administrator, but I'm not 100% sure. And I feel like this was

027a really really great way to learn more about it and kind of dip your toe in the water and see if it was something that I wanted to do moving forward or other people moving forward. Um, it just provides you real world experience without having to be the quote unquote administrator, if that makes sense. It gave me all the opportunities to try those things and to learn in the moment without being the principal. Um, and I got to learn, like I said, from Mr. Schmidt and the other administrators. Uh, it helped me build a lot of leadership skills, things that I hadn't had to do before. just you're you're in charge of a lot of little kids when you're in a classroom, but being in charge of adults is different. And working through some of

028those things was a great learning experience for me as well, or has been a great learning experience. Um, and it just offered exposure to those things that I talked about. I really truly feel like this is something that's ideal to people who are considering this kind of path possibly moving forward. I think just in general, it's a great experience. Um, but I think that if you're considering a leadership role, even if it's just to to be the dean of students, it just teaches you so much about how the school runs and how the systems work and how we need to be a team and work with, like I said, people in your building and people outside of your building. So I just feel like it gave me so much insight into into it and ultimately

029it made me decide that it was something that I wanted to do moving forward. So that's the path that I took and get to take next year. But um but yeah, so that's my kind of reflection on all of it that I think it strengthens the entire school. Um, I think that moving forward just something to consider as a board. If if you're aware, sometimes we're not aware, but if you're aware of a position that might like someone might be leaving and you think, you know, I think it'd be really great to get some people in these positions to see if it is something to give them opportunities to lead to see if it's something that they do want to move do move forward with to give them that kind of practice to do that

030to say because I could have said you know what this wasn't for me and that would have been okay too like having that experience and being in that leadership role and deciding that it wasn't for me or it was for me. I think it's just a great thing that you don't always have the opportunity to to do. Um, I know that's not always it's not always possible, but it's a it's something to even just consider like if you have people who are interested in leadership, is there is there a way to make that a part-time position when someone is there so that they can just learn the ropes and things like that? So, that's kind of my reflection and impact on on my role as dean of students. Sorry, I told you I would ramble,

031but if you have any questions for me, any questions at all? Jason, go ahead. >> Well, thank you for the presentation and your work between Louis and Roosevelt. Um, so going into next year, what do you what do you feel is your greatest need from the district? Um, I feel like, like I said, I feel like I would be in a completely different position had I not had this role this year. I learned so much. Um, at the start of the year, I would have there's just things that you don't know until you know kind of things. Like, like I said, I wasn't kidding when like maybe Dr. Lex says you need to do this and I look at someone, I'm like, what's that? I don't know what that is. Um, you just don't know

032until you have to do it because as a teacher, you don't see those things. So that's something that I've talked with Dr. LE about like is there a way to this is a a word calendarize some important events that you have to do as an administrator so you know oh it's it's January I have to get this and this done that kind of thing um I just think is helpful for someone who's new in the role but like I said I have to say that the administration is so supportive of each other that I don't have an issue asking when I get that email and I'm not sure there's multiple people who would be willing to help >> any Other questions? >> Okay. I think um just this deina of students position for my perspective

033has been a innovation in a very innovative thing that the board has done. It's kind of a win-win. While you feel like you've gained a lot and um learned a lot, it's also helps a little bit for opportunities of some succession planning and training. I think within the last of all the years I've been on the board, the last five years, we've done a much better job in in looking ahead and planning um rather than just um throwing people into positions and then finding out that you like you said, you had the opportunity >> if it wasn't what you wanted, you got to test test the waters of it. So, >> yes, absolutely. >> So, I think that that's um >> So, any other questions or comments? Thank you so much and thank you for

034taking a chance on on this position as well. for taking a chance on me. >> Moving on to uh strategic plan progress monitoring. The dashboard is there for your review. Um if if there's any questions, please comment. Okay. Next, we have board education professional learning opportunities in 2025 to 2026 school year. We have Amanda Schaeer and Chantel Har. Please come forward. All right. Well, thank you for inviting us and uh I'm just going to touch on a couple slides. They're going to talk about their experience on the professional development committee, professional development and curriculum committee. Um, and then we'll take questions from the board on what this committee is, what we do, and why we do that. We do have quite a few members. It's a it's a pretty big committee. Uh, but we also

035um are short some representation, particularly from support staff. We've had support staff on that committee in the past, but we do need more support staff. I know I think Jada mentioned that maybe there's somebody at Roosevelt that might be interested in in joining in, but um that's really it's very representative across all uh levels and we have I think we have a great committee that comes together and can pretty efficiently run a meeting and come away with some next steps. Uh we meet only quarterly and really what we're looking at is long range PD planning trends in PD planning. Sometimes we'll have a a professional development opportunity and get some immediate feedback. That means we need to change the next time that we're meeting or we discuss things that are important at each of the

036levels um and what they need for professional learning. Uh we do a lot of post survey analysis and um I think they'll talk a little bit about that, but really we're asking about impact. So how did the PD impact you and your professional practice? And then we're also asking for feedback and input both on the format and also the types. And then also we talk about timing because different times of the year we have kind of a a different need for professional learning. And so we've had a lot of good feedback from our educators that are involved and doing that survey analysis. Um we also have been bringing now starting this year bringing that those curriculum selections to that committee which I think is an important part of the process and also I think uh

037I hope kind of a little bit eye opening on what some of those expenditures look like and um what that why we have the six-year cycle for that um and really just overall making sure that we have good alignment between our strategic plan and the professional learning that supports us advancing that And uh this is got a little bit small. Uh you can see a num a number of PD opportunities. And this is really only um I'd say it's not the one-time opportunities like u Mr. Kubat going to Watton and and getting uh training there. Um there's a lot of one-time opportunities not included. These are just some of the ones that we had multiple people attending. Um when it comes to the role of this committee, it's really to just take um some of

038the inputs that we're seeing in trends in those surveys and also uh discussions that they're having at their sites and try to put it into action in the next PD. So a few of the things that we've changed um we you know changed to add some implementation and collaboration blocks of time in the back to school schedule. Uh I think one of the um best things that we did in the last year was really our personalized professional learning planning and this committee uh came with that idea and helped us refine through multiple iterations last spring. um and throughout this year as well just giving us feedback as the process was rolling out and then um you know as things come up the state say switches the student information system on us we need to be

039responsive to what people need and and uh support them through the professional learning process with things like that as well. And now uh if you guys would come introduce yourselves as well and just talk about why did you join this group. Hello. Um, I'm Chantel Har. I don't know if I need the mic. I have a teacher voice. Um, I I can't really say that I applied necessarily as Mr. Heiner called me and asked me if I would like to join and I said sure because I hadn't been on a committee and I thought it would be nice to participate. >> I'm Amanda Schaefer. Um, I teach first grade at Roosevelt. Um, I was trying to remember how long this committee is this third or fourth year. >> We took applications three years ago. >>

040Three years ago. Okay. >> Um, and I was I've always been interested in professional development. I want to keep learning. And so I was interested, how is the district going to go about this? I want to be part of that. I want teachers voices heard. And so that's kind of why I decided to join the committee. >> How do we use surveys? Um, we Adam sends out surveys like immediately after our professional development days and then we get a chance to kind of he kind of filters them out usually by elementary, middle school, secondary. So we kind of get in our groups usually look through all those. We kind of look at what was the positive feedback that we got out of it as well as the negative so we can look forward to what

041do we need to change in the future what's going well and just kind of looking through all those comments to determine what's needed and I think as a different departments especially in the high school we get together too and discuss well what would be best for the English department what do we need versus history and so on so there's a little of that too >> y so All right. Uh, so this is one of the pieces that they worked pretty hard on and I just want to talk about this as a model for good learning experiences. Um, this is sort of what we want for our students occasionally as well is how do we um get get them to look at our set of standards or expectations and set a goal. So our educators through

042this process are asked to set a goal based on our Marzano focused model. So that's the new model of Marzano that we adopted this year. They set a goal um and kind of score themselves on those and then they do some knowledge and skill building um that's independent and we've got some feedback this year on how to improve that process as well. Then they practice the strategy. then they practice the strategy supported with a a coach. Um, and I think that that was a really effective process this year. We got a lot of good feedback from people uh and comments that that was the best professional learning that that they've uh had. And I think that the incentive of um the flexible day then um if they participated in this process helped push some people

043into a coaching cycle that hadn't experienced that before. And I think they saw the positive benefits of that. And then at the end uh we did a celebration of learning that was on March 11th and I got a chance to sit in on Gusner's Mr. Meisner was out and so um that was a really powerful experience a lot of good feedback from people and a lot of just connections that maybe they hadn't made before even between peers in a a building that size to say like oh I you're working on that. I'm also working on that. uh can we get together and do some observation or um looking at some data together? So, is a a good process. We have some improvements for next year and u maybe they'll speak to some of those, but

044I think that overall um that was probably one of the highlights of the PD committee's work from the last year. So you want to talk a little bit about maybe how that went from your perspective and things about >> we just looked at a lot of the feedback you know what did teachers need what did they feel worked well what didn't work well what can we change >> and we just use that to guide us as we go and even last year when we were working on bringing this out um Adam had kind of had a format and then got our feedback what do you think will work what do we need to change. We even were able to play around with um Avanti is through Marzano, a platform where you can watch videos of

045like a strategy being used in the classroom. So, we were able to use that before it was an option for something we wanted to present to staff as an option for them to use towards this personalized learning. So, that was nice to kind of play around with that, see this something that's going to work, is this an option for us, and just always being able to input different ideas. even the we had like 10 or 12 different ways they could present their learning and so um even the committee shared oh well we should add this one or I don't know if you know a lot of people go for that one so just having all those options and being able to provide feedback and then this year we looked at again all of that information

046from the surveys and I I felt at our building really positive results like he like he shared a lot of people wow this is one of the best days I've had in a long time and just learning from your peers and just seeing what's going on in classrooms that you don't always get to go see. I mean, we're all busy throughout the days teaching and so just to almost step into somebody's classroom for a little bit and hear what's going on, that was huge to have that professional development for teachers. >> Yeah. So, high school as well, we enjoyed seeing what everyone else is doing because yes, we get caught your little corner of the world up there and don't get out to see what all the rest are doing and it's nice. All right.

047So, this was new this year. We added a piece on looking at curriculum. And honestly, we didn't have it was right at the end of the meeting. We didn't have a lot of chance to out process. So, I'm just kind of letting you guys go off the cuff on >> Well, I think for curriculum renewal, it was very ne this first year I've been on this, so it was very nice to for me to see what everybody has in the different uh levels and just to look at it and see is this being utilized? Is there a way we, you know, and cut costs and things like that? Um, and just to look at it as a group and, you know, I went back to the high school and said things to different departments too

048about what we're doing and what we have and how we can refine that a little bit. >> Yeah, I I agree with that. It was just nice to see we were able to discuss like, well, who uses that program? Is somebody is it really being used? Is that something we could get rid of? How many teachers? So, even Adam was talking about maybe diving into some of those statistics like how much is it being used and just seeing how much things cost. I mean, that's not what we're always aware of either. Like, wow, that's how much we pay for, you know, just being shocked by some of that and just wanting to make sure it's being used then appropriately if we're funding that. >> And even with the new possible curriculum development in departments, I

049know in the English department, we develop a lot of our own things. We pull from here, there, and everywhere to make the best possible units that we can. We don't necessarily use one textbook or one format. >> It's nice to have well-rounded >> um supplies. >> Okay. >> All right. So, um, maybe if you could kind of just pull all that together and talk a little bit about why you feel like this committee is important and why you're going to continue on it. I hope. >> Well, I think it's important because PD is not one-sizefits-all. And as a secondary teacher over the last couple decades, it seems like a lot of the PD, and no offense, is geared more toward elementary. When you go to a lot of these seminars and workshops and things like

050that, it's hard to find things that are geared just toward the English classroom. Granted, there's a lot that I can adjust and adapt and make useful, but I think this makes it so much better. And I was able to when I did the personalized PD, I was able to work with another teacher and we aligned our curriculum. She has a junior intervention class or excuse me, I have the juniors, she has the seniors and so we were able to align those a little bit better and make sure that we're hitting all the standards and everything that we need to. >> Yeah, I just feel like teacher voice is very important for this committee and so I just want to continue to represent that. Um I I've enjoyed being on it and just finding out what

051do people like about the PD? What do we need to change? How can we make it better? And then even just sharing at staff meetings and trying to get input from my own building has been helpful. So I feel like our voices are heard. Um um Adam had talked about that representation. That's probably the biggest one. We just need a little wider representation like you said, some pair of professionals, support staff, things like that. And we're working on it. So hopefully it'll come together. >> All right. So, um, just a couple things that we know crystal clear coming out of this year that we want to look at is what is the evidence of, um, you know, what is strong evidence look like for that personalized professional learning process? What does the goal setting process

052look like? How can we improve that? And so, we have some exemplars now just like anything that you do for the first time, now we have something to build on. Uh, so feel really strong about that. Um Shantel kind of talked about the different specialized roles and um you know the most ineffective PD is we're going to talk about something so broad that it doesn't apply to anybody and then it was just on that one day in that one time. Um, but I think they also highlighted that and Rachel talked about too, we have the internal expertise like and I know that the state superintendent Levi Bachmire says in our state for sure we have the expertise and we have you know a lot of people that are also involved in state networks that um

053are we're able to kind of grow our own and lead our own professional learning as a state. It's pretty inspiring. you know, we're not that we're not going outside as much for that because we have that internal expertise. Uh curriculum innovation, I think that that is is something we need to strongly consider. Uh I told them about my sickness that I have with getting the price from vendors down um and sort of obsessive about it that they're probably all the vendors are annoyed with me. But we uh have seen those costs escalate, you know, even higher than insurance rates in some cases. So, we're tracking those and um wanting to make sure that we're being treated fairly in that process. And I think that we also have the internal expertise in a lot of cases

054to develop our own resources or to to with a subscription that might not be as costly to support the development of those resources, pulling things from multiple places as Chantel said. and we've got the professionals and the the PLC process to help the collaborative structures that will help reinforce that I think. So just quick summary, we meet four times a year but a pretty impactful committee for four times a year. Um thank you guys for coming and representing those thoughts and I guess at this point we'd stand for any questions or feedback for us on the committee or how we could continue to get better. Thank you, Adam and Chantel and Amanda. Any questions from the board at this time? Jason, go ahead. >> So, what percentage of the staff Thank you for coming first

055of all. What percentage of the staff this year participated in the personalized um route? >> 167 teachers, right? So, and I think we had just over a hundred. >> Yeah. >> So, >> a good percentage of them. >> At some schools, it was almost 100%. >> Yeah. >> And I think just people it being new um some people kind of waited it out and I I think if we do a survey at the end of this year, we're going to see 90%. >> Yeah, I was going to say the same. what we heard from teachers. Some were very interested in the process uh and others wanted to see it in action to understand what the full scope of work and expectation uh and and as Mr. Mr. Gayler said we learned a lot about the

056process of how to roll out that there were you know some uh you know timelines along the way that you know could have been tighter uh and a little more clarity around this has to be done by this point have more checkpoints so things get completed on time and then having exemplars that people can look to to say okay this is what is expected this I think that you know the first time you do anything I don't know that you know those things uh and you certainly don't have the resource, but now that we do, I think you're going to see that increase quite a bit. The feedback has been generally positive. So, did this uh to Dr. Lex's point about some of the timeline things and I might be off base here, but is

057since since it is a lengthy process, is there an option to um allow our staff to get credit for doing this somehow like a credit >> cafeteria? >> Yeah. So yeah, I think that um you know a cafeteria credit is going to be 15 hours and I think with with a little bit more investment in the learning side of it, I think that a lot of people would be approaching that kind of commitment. I don't know um for you guys how that came out if you feel like it was equivalent. We were trying to have some parody with the investment of time for the flexible day then. Um, and so I don't know if we're quite at 15 hours, but you might disagree. I don't know. >> I would think for this year it was

058maybe about eight hours of work, about a day's worth of work, give or take. >> I guess I didn't keep track that closely, but >> I felt like it was very doable over the time frame we had. There was plenty of time to >> get done what you needed to, >> right? >> And the waters were a little muddy. Yeah. But like you said, I mean, it's it's our first time and we're learning and it's only going to get better. >> Any other questions from the board at this time? >> Thank you again. We appreciate it. >> Moving on our agenda, superintendent report. Dr. Luck. >> So, you have my written report. Thank you. Um, I want to bring attention to I I referenced this in our last meeting and it bears continued discussion. Uh,

059the federal tax credit, the K12 tax credit that was part of the big beautiful bill. This is one of those areas that I I truly believe if you look if you fast forward 5 years from now and you look back, this is going to be a significantly impactful uh piece of legislation. Uh there are terms that I'll share with you as part of this conversing awareness to the to the to the tax credit in general. Uh things like uh SGOs's I I think two five years from now are going to be common uh to the vernacular of education. This has an opportunity and in the likelihood of really pretty sweeping uh education impact. And so I think it's important I I don't believe to be completely honest that we are talking about it enough uh

060in our field. Uh and I think um we need to be talking about it more so we are prepared. We're talking about something that starts January 1st uh in 2027. Uh and uh we have not talked about it a lot in our in our profession. Uh I was fortunate enough uh to be a part of the AASA leadership meeting and we had a a nationally known uh speaker on the federal tax credit. I I uh and she was even introduced that way. If there's anybody that knows more about the tax credit than than Sasha does, um it it's it's um you know, the difference is nominal uh between what she knows and is has learned and applied. And so I I linked that uh that presentation to the superintendent's report and you can look at

061that at your leisure. It's a little heavy uh and dense, but I think there's good information in there. Um I just want to point out a few things. Uh and I I I like I said, I do believe that uh as the months go on, this is something that I think we should there should be uh revisiting of uh that you're always staying on top of as a board uh because I do think it has impacts. uh but at the you know at the very base level uh the federal tax credit is about the ability for individuals to give uh donations uh to these scholarship granting organizations these SGOs and the SGOs's uh the individual then receives a dollar fordoll tax credit so a dollar for-doll tax credit to give $1,700 that means that many

062folks are going to be giving $1,700 uh and uh Then these scholarship funds get used for a wide variety of different activities that individuals can apply for. They apply to the SGO that receive these the $1,700 or different donations. Uh and then they can provide services along the lines of tutoring, after school programming, transportation, technology, summer programming, private school tuition, and other educational services. And I'm going to talk broadly because that's what we know. We only know broadly. Even though this rolls out on January 1st, there have there has been one set of rules out and there's lots of clarifications that are yet to come. And so it's bears watching uh because things will change but essentially or will be clarified. Uh, and so $1,700 up to $1,700 from an individual. Individual tax credit goes

063to the SGOs's. Individual families then can write applications to these SGOs to receive these services and they get some form of uh scholarship based on their need and the service. As an example, it might be after school programming. In the past, I'm gonna kind of birdwalk a little bit, but in the past for us right now, as a matter of fact, we get 21st century afterchool federal funding. That's a grant that we get from the feds. I would imagine, and I'm just speculating, but I would imagine that things like this are going to replace federal grants like afterchool programming. And you know, um, the the feds are going to be losing some revenue from these tax credits and it's going to be replaced by SGOs's giving out after school programming grants. I'm just speculating, but

064I'm I I bet you I'm right on that. And so that's an example of how things might change a little bit. Um, what we need to be watching uh is how the process is going to work. Uh right now what's in law is the governor submits a list of approved SGOs. So if you think about all of the different entities that could provide a service an educational service to families that's a laundry list thousands of providers could be approved as SGOs. And so what the governor provides as a list is going to be important. you know, if there's only a handful of STOs, that's going to be somewhat easier to manage. If it's a laundry list of every possible provider, that's going to be harder to manage and track. Um, for I'll just give you

065an example. If the if it was approved to say there is a public school SGO and a private school SGO, that's easier to manage than here's all the public school providers or public school approved uh SGOs. There could be thousands from individual foundations, uh, you know, Jamestown public schools has a foundation, uh, different foundation groups. Um, and then private schools, you can list all the different private schools that exist just in our state. Those could all be individual SGOs or you could do two buckets, public, private. Um, so that's going to we're going to want to watch that. And while it says the governor submits, it does not say the governor selects. it says the governor submits. So legislation could direct the governor on what criteria are used for SGOs. So that's another some something

066to watch. Um and I put a few other factors in there that I think are are bear watching. Uh you know, we're seeing now a push to choice. And I don't mean that in choice just with private school vouchers, even though when we think of choice, that's kind of where our mind goes. But there's also we've seen in in in Jamestown public schools the growth of online providers and access to ND you know North Dakota u center for distance learning and those classes we've seen a desire for that kind of choice tutoring companies enrichment programs micro schools AI schools those are all factors that through this are likely th the the realization and viability of those are likely to be accelerated so it's something that we have to be thinking about Now, uh because all

067of those could access scholarships through SGOs's that makes me think about the risk and the pathways to school. Uh we're already seeing increased competition for enrollment that's going to uh accelerate through SGOs's. Um we have to think about do we need to shift resources into marketing uh and how we market public schools um more specialized opportunities to leverage what those SGOs provide. That's something that we should be thinking about as a district. Uh and just the ability in general to to access uh funding volatility when you consider um enrollment shifts and the changing preferences of our families. So, I think there's a lot of questions that come. I just think that we should be ahead of the game and awareness uh and continue to come back to this as uh regulations are shared throughout the

068course of the next six months. Uh but u I I just think it's something that the board needs to be continue to be on top of. I think this is something we want to be a leader of uh in the state and not just wait for others to start to to uh tell us this is what's going to happen. Uh, and I do think legislatively there's going to be some uh some directives on this. I'm sure that there's legislation that's likely already drafted in terms of creating criteria. I I think the board being on top of this and and advocating for what is best uh for public school is going to be important. So, I'm going to just pause for questions because that's a heavy a heavy topic. >> Any questions? Jamie. So, this goes

069into place January 1st. I would imagine that the the list of SGOs's would come out prior to that. Do we know when that would potentially come out? >> I don't. And those regs haven't been that that particular hasn't been created. Uh what I believe starts on January 1st would be the ability to donate >> um but SGOs have to be approved. So, I'm I'm not sure how that's all going to work with the with the legislative uh you know, I don't know when the deadline for that is going to be uh to create those. Uh I I do, like I said, believe that there's likelihood that our legislators will create some criteria that the governor has to follow. So, I'm not sure how that's all going to roll out. So, sorry, I don't have a

070great answer to your question. >> Any other questions? Okay, continue. >> Okay. Activities report and cooperatives. Uh you know, Mr. Mr. Rolson came uh last meeting gave a great uh uh informative presentation on our athletics uh and I've also asked him to come back and and share about our non-athletic activities. So you can see as well what the participation is in those uh different areas uh what the budgetary impacts those types of things also. So essentially the same presentation that was given for athletics uh but other things that the non-athletic activities that also fall under the umbrella of the activities department. We're looking at June 1st. Um in uh uh during the report on May 4th uh we discussed uh the high volume of athletic cooperatives. Uh and so just to help share the information,

071I created a a Google sheet with an activity cooperative. So you can see by activity uh how which schools uh participate in a cooperative with us. There's a lot uh and um how many students from those individual uh districts participate and what year you know is this a relatively new cooperative or is it a long-standing one? So it has a date in there as well. Um so I I I I bring it more just to share information uh related to that. We also talked about a reset uh a cooperative reset coming and a and a cost sharing um some cost sharing discussions for cooperatives that I believe needs to come forward uh in the near future. Uh so we can um you know continue to offer all of the programs that we have. Um, as

072a correlary to that, you have a a cooperative uh request coming from Ping Pingry Buchanan in Boys and Girls Swim and Dive. Uh, you know, there's really two ways to look at that and I can share with you why my recommendation is um to approve that knowing that we have a cost sharing discussion that's coming uh in the next year. There is a deadline for these things to be approved. Uh, and that deadline is coming up in June. I I wish I knew the exact date. It's the first week of June, I think, is when their meeting is. Uh, and uh, it doesn't give a lot of time for us to consider a cost share agreement. We would have to have a conversation with Pingry Buchanan. That would need to be consistent with what we

073do in other cooperatives. Uh and so it's a ve a very short runway for us in my opinion to determine this cost sharing percentage and agreement uh to do for uh for one group that would be treated differently than all of our other cooperatives. Uh but it's certainly possible, you know, you know, so so one avenue is just to say, well, this is what we do for everybody else. We give them $300. You know, that is the standard that we use for all of our other cooperatives in place. and but we share with them this is short term moving forward we're going to do a cost sharing if that's something that you want to do you know then know that that's coming in the near future the other option you would have is just toi

074conditionally approve it based on the agreement to cost share in the future so uh like I said the the reason that I didn't do that is the short turnaround for for Pingri they would have to have a lot of discussions and we would have to determine what that that that that process would look like and given the time frame I don't know that we have that. Uh but like I said that's the two pathways approve 300 or approve uh cooperative agreement with a cost share. Uh and you know they would have to decide if they want to participate in that or not. Uh but my recommendation is just to go with the $300. So with that I have a spotlight but you've recognized all of those individuals already. uh and they do fantastic work and

075we're very appreciative of the people. What a great thing to have all of our staff and students that were able to come here today and be recognized and um you know it really shows a lot about the quality of people uh that that uh live in this community or quality of our students that learn here and the quality of our staff that facilitate that learning. So with that I would stand for questions. >> Any questions regarding the superintendent report? Okay. All right. If not, moving on. Um, we have nothing under old business. Under new business, under activities, um, that we the approval of the activities cooperative agreement, boys and girls swim and diving, Pingry Bannon school, girls swim and diving, Pingri Bannon school one and two. And, um, as Dr. Luck mentioned, um, we probably

076have a couple different directions to go. We could approve it at the current rate that we have in place or we could approve it pending our um a cost share that we're looking at into the future. Is someone like to entertain a motion? Dan, >> I move we accept as presented. >> There's a motion to accept it as presented. Is there a second? Second by Aaron. We have a motion, a second to approve the activities cooperative agreement for the boys and girls swim and dive team with premier began in school. Any discussion? Any discussion? >> Yep. Owen. >> Yeah, I think we have the data in front of us already. I think you gave an example with the cross country. I I think it could be a plugandplay uh and start us on the path

077of updating these because I think you know either through open enrollment getting more students at our schools to participate as students um at JPS 66 students right there is uh a lot of revenue um and so I think if that's not in the best interest of the families then I think we need to be more cognizant of the the cost savings to the district and we have the data in front of us and I think uh especially with swimming it's a pretty high high overhead sport um and so I would support uh actually addressing or agreeing to the co-op with the actual cost from the 2526 uh year but not the $300. >> And Dan, your motion at this point was for the >> baseline >> the $300. Okay, just make just confirming that we're

078all on the same same page here. So, we have a motion and a second right now for the $300. Um, we haven't moved to the cost sharing yet. That's my only concern. Um, but I think it's certainly we could um approve this for maybe one year conditionally or something and then reset after that or is there some different options um with the contract language? >> Yeah, I think both options are viable. I mean, the $300, you know, there's there's pros and cons to both ways. $300 treats every existing uh treats treats our cooperatives all the same. There's equity between everybody's treated exactly the same. Uh and you know, that's the the reason I I picked $300. Is it unreasonable to say, well, we've got the data uh and we can go down a path and

079make a selection or or give that option. Yes, you can do that. The reason I didn't pick that is then you're you have different structures for different cooperatives. Um and you know and I I struggled with a recommendation that treated cooperatives differently. That's the only reason why. But we both are both are viable options. >> So my question is if we um pursue the the discussions that we've been having on a reset that could not take place until the following year, right? because of that June deadline of approval and all those kinds of things. Is that correct? We couldn't do it for next year for other the other contracts. >> Right. A reset needs it really needs to take a year so you can go back to districts and communicate. I don't know that we

080would have the time to do that for all right now. Okay. That's that would be my concern. >> That's what I assume. But I just wanted to clarify. So right now the motion is second on Aaron. >> Yeah. It's kind of just a a more so of a question. Um, we have several cooperative agreements in place that are basically in perpetuity right now. Correct. >> They're all in perpetuity. All the ones that you see are in perpetuity. A reset would uh erase all of those uh and and allow JPS to go back to those districts and say, you know, we used to have this model that said $300. Yeah. >> Now, we're going to have a model in which you pay on a per pupil per cost per activity cost. Uh do you still want

081this cooperative in place? >> Right. Right. >> Yeah. And I guess that would just be my position on that is to, you know, kind of take a a broad uh look at everything and do it all at once versus, you know, one at a time and and working through it that way. Just my preference. >> Okay. So, we have a motion. Melissa, did you have a I was just going to say on top of that, yeah, we we need to give the other districts some heads up on on that. We can't just be like, "Oh, hey, we're we're changing your agreement all of a sudden." And so, um, while I do agree we need to, um, do a little bit better job of recouping some of those costs, I think we need to give give

082those districts time to to absorb that into their budgets. So, okay. So, right now, we have a motion, a second on the table for the fee that we the standard fee. Um there's been some also discussion about looking into the future of um using the data for for cost sharing model. Any other discussion? >> If not, yep, Jason. >> So progressing that reset, would that be on uh Mr. Rolson's plate or uh central office staff? Um just kind of a timeline. If we're going to make this happen, what would that look like? >> Well, initially that would start with Mr. ROS and reaching out to the different districts and saying uh well I guess first it would be determining a consistent process to determine those costs per pupil that's going to be different for every

083activity. If we do it that way, if we base it by activity, if we take an average, that might be a consistent across, but I think the way we would want to do it is by activity. uh and um you know so we would first have to develop that structure then go to the to different districts share what that process is give them a sample of what that cost would be uh and at least and again knowing that it would change from year to year uh and then give that to them so by winter they're able to see okay we want to make that commitment now a number of the of the in my opinion of the cooperatives we have in place was started for one family and when that family graduated or left their

084district, that cooperative still exists, but we haven't accessed it for a number of years. Uh, and so they're probably just going to say, "We're no longer interested." Uh, and I think you're going to get to a smaller number of of uh cooperatives than what we have right now. So, Winter, >> thank you. >> Any other discussion? If not, assuming roll call vote. Again, we're approving the same fee, the 300 the $300 fee. Um, and we can do a roll call vote, I guess. >> Go ahead. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Melissa Gleason, >> yes. >> Owen McKenna, >> no. >> Jamie Bear, >> yes. >> Heidi Larson, >> yes. Jason Roar, >> yes. Jacob Meyer, >> yes. >> Dan Tweeton, >> yes. >> Aaron Roberts, >> yes. >> Steve Belcamp, >> yes. >> 821. Yeah. Pass.

085Motion approved. And just um a followup on the um discussion. Will that did to the board? Does it make sense just to put that back to the finance committee maybe to start some more detailed discussions on that or and then bring it back to the board and then as far as a process? >> Yeah, he I mean we definitely have to have him. Yep. The finance committee has looked through some of the bigger picture items of activities, but just kind of wanting some direction from the board also with the next move in this process because it seems like there's an appetite for looking it over. Yes, Owen. >> Yeah, I was thinking that Mr. Rolton has the data in front of him and I think um the big decision to me is do we just

086do the direct cost or the indirect cost as well because from what I've seen the from the swim team it's an extra thousand bucks on top of that 300 for direct cost but then indirect cost could be another extra thousand bucks on top of that. So I think those are the big decisions that I think finance committee could weigh in on but >> okay >> um yeah action is needed. Yeah, and I I agree on a very consistent process that that's very clear that that a district isn't saying, "Oh, this one's doing this and this one's doing this." So, I think we need a real clear process that's easy to understand. So, all right. Any other discussion on that and we'll we'll kind of send that for a follow-up. So, that's good. Okay. Moving on

087in our agenda under nothing under buildings grounds curriculum or curriculum assessment instruction under finance approval of the Jamestown Gymnastics Club rental agreement. Is there a motion? Motion by Jamie. >> Second by Jason. We have a motion to second for approval of the Jamestown Gymnastics Club rental agreement. Any discussion? Any discussion? If not, assuming roll call vote. All those in favor say I. I. Oppose. Same sign. Motion carried. And the general fund balance and the monthly financials are there for your information. Any questions for Christie at this time? Okay. Nothing under operations under personnel approval of the resignation at the conclusion of the 2025 to 2026 school year number one Sad um number two Dr. Rob Black three Kevin Kubat number four Paul Mson is there a motion motion by Owen second by Melissa you have

088a motion to second for approval of the resignation at the conclusion of the 2025 to 2026 school year Sadie Lech Dr. Rob Black, Kevin Kubat, and Paul Mson. Any discussion? If not, assuming roll call vote, all those in favor say I. I. Oppose. Same sign. Motion carried. And thank you to all of them um for their years of service to the district. And the next on the um agenda is transition. Um now that we've approved the resignation of our superintendent, um some transition planning. Um I I sort of outlined um three different options just to just for board discussion. Um and it doesn't mean it has to be one of those options but just for to guide our discussion. Um I think we've done some transition planning as I mentioned even before the um board

089has done a better job of transition planning um in the last five years and so I think that has been helpful. So option one would be to um very short term um more quickly appoint an interim um and see how that goes. Um we can um appoint an interim and open a position. And lastly, which I'm not necessarily in favor of, but I do need to bring that is just open the position without having an appointing an interim at this time. So go ahead and what are thoughts on that? I've had some disc. Go ahead, Melissa. When you're talking about appointing um an interim, is that something that you would ask people to apply for that or are you thinking just a group of people get together and say, "Hey, we like this person." And

090approach that person. How is that going to look? So, does the board any other comments from the board here at this time? Okay, Jason. Yeah, >> just just a question. I only heard two options there. >> Oh. Um, >> could you go through them again, please? >> The the one would be to um appoint an an interim um in the more immediate future. Um I'm thinking a special meeting probably within in the next week or so. Um the reason that I like that option is um we have um Dr. luck here for a shorter period of time here. Um, and we would want to use that time for some some trans more transitioning. The second would be to appoint an interim and open a superintendent position. Lastly is to just open a position, which I'm

091not necessarily in favor of at this um time of year. And um I've also um for the board's awareness, I've had a conversation with um Mr. Gayler and he is very willing and whatever the board needs him to do, he's willing to um step in and and serve in any capacity that that the that the board is wanting him to do. So I know this has all happened very quickly and we had a board meeting um you know last Thursday, Friday and a board meeting today. So I wanted to provide some time for discussion and and like I said my thoughts were then as give some time to for everything to digest in a special meeting. Yep. Owen. >> Yeah. I think the second option of appointing an interim and opening a search right away

092I think is runs into the same issue of just running a search right. I think with the timing of right now and this is when people are signing contracts and >> or signed. Yeah. Um, I think that's yeah, it's going to be a heavy lift from the board and I think um that's the that's what I've been thinking about is is it's a process we shouldn't take lightly and >> if it's something that we're going to speedrun and especially not during the school year when >> you know if we're bringing in outside candidates to see what we do and who we are. I don't know that that's the piece where it's leaning against trying to um open the position as well. So, >> any other discussion? Oh, Dan, sorry. >> Uh kind of a policy

093question. Do do we have do we have anything in policy that so in the absence or in the absence of a superintendent who get who's the second in the command or who makes that call? Well, I can answer that in the sense of the board could establish an interim candidate uh that in absence of that would essentially be and I'm not sure maybe I'm not answering your question but uh >> is that a board decision or >> that is a board decision you you could list a qualified candidate in an interim capacity. Uh and that was the the option number one that was shared is establishing you know the obvious the obvious reason for that would be to ensure continuity uh to provide clear direction for staff uh on you know procedures and that we're

094going to continue rowing the the boat in the same direction. uh that would be that that clarity would be provided uh in an interim who would that individual would uh would be qualified and would have all of the responsibilities. It's just not an opened position. And so what you would be able to do as a board is um say you're six months down the line, you have an interim established, you could then make a decision as a board, okay, we want to, you know, this is the person we want and that person wants to continue. the board without opening that position would be able to remove the interim label and just make that person the superintendent. Uh if uh you wanted to open the position, you would still have a a person acting as that

095superintendent throughout the duration of the next year while you're conducting a search. So from a continuity standpoint, everything would be consistent for staff and community. Yeah, I think the consistency as you mentioned is important, but I even just think of the day-to-day. I mean, documents need to be signed, things need to be, you know, there's a there's a lot of day-to-day operations that um you know, I don't I think we need some stability with that. Yes, Melissa. >> And maybe I'm remembering this wrong, but I believe too that when we first um were thinking about the idea of Mr. position. This was the reason for that is so that we would have somebody who was trained in so that they could step in. >> Yes. So, um yeah, you're you are correct on that and

096and I and I do believe that that has happened and with Dr. anytime in Dr. Lex's absence, Adam is the the one that's been serving in that role. So, it's sort of a dean of students sort of opportunity. Yeah, Dr. >> You're right, Melissa. The the if you remember the board memo from a couple of years ago when we talked about this position, uh we identified one significant organizational risk was succession. Uh and that was discussed as one of the benefits of the position was succession. Steve, >> if we do or if we would open up uh the application process, how much of that are we required to uh actually go through? Like do we have to have interviews and and do we have to hire or can you just walk away from that if

097if we don't have any qualified applicants or anybody we want to interview? >> You could open a position and close a position without hiring a position. You'd have to review obviously go through the reviewing process and and but just the time um you know if any of you just been on a principal search here just that timeline is is is quite some time and and people will would have um and a lot of districts signed contracts already. So I also look at the time that Dr. luck is still here here and he also has some educ or some um vacation opportunity as well and so that six weeks here five weeks is you know we want to take advantage of that time I guess is something I was also thinking about so that's why I

098was also thinking about even a special meeting within a week or so just to start moving the process forward so >> um just direction from the board I guess my thought was a special meeting um just to let it digest a little bit. But um I guess you know other thoughts, Jamie, >> I mean I guess I agree with Owen. I I think appointing an intern and then next year opening up something or >> or hiring whatever we decide at the time how that goes. But yeah, everything kind of time-wise needs to happen relatively quickly and so yeah, that would be >> Aaron um yeah, first of all uh thank you for your service. It's been a joy um working with you. I really appreciate uh everything that we've done together and then uh good

099luck to your new position. Um I in my opinion I think we have a very qualified candidate who could step in uh today um and we could assign him that interim position and give them the opportunity to see how that works out from a a mutually beneficial standpoint. Um evaluate him and if he would consider taking that on full-time, I'd fully support that. Um and then I think that we should also entertain the discussion then on is it a superintendent's position or is it the other position that we want to open up to back fill for that. Um I think that is a very um I think the district has benefited greatly from from having that position from what Adam has done um with all you know just with the presentation today and how um

100you know the support of staff and students and all that. Uh, I think it's a it's a needed position. Um, and if we do uh put Adam into that interim position, I think it's we need to make sure that um his duties are scaled appropriately so he's not doing two full-time jobs and expectations are there that um you know, maybe we don't get all the grants written that we want. Um other activities that he supports uh and he's able to focus on uh the primary position that we would assign him to. So, um I would support uh going down that path of getting that interim and then seeing where we go from there. >> Owen. >> Yeah. And to build off of that, I agree and I think um that would be wise at a

101special meeting too to not only think about the person that's going to be in the interim role, but what's going to how's that going to shift and how's that going to affect downstream as well uh at other uh admin and uh CTC and all those things. And so I think um if we can get out in front of that and not just assume those things will fall in place and people burn out, I think that's that would be really cognizant of us too. >> Yeah. I just want to build back on that um because there might be opportunities for uh other positions that we have um out there that other that they may need to step up as well and maybe we need to shift some job roles. So it might be a little bit

102more I don't want to say global but broad um adjustment that we might have to make in order to uh you know make it as smooth as possible. >> I do agree with both of you. I think um first and foremost we need to get that interim um position so the district can get things signed. Staff knows the process. But I think back how we backfill, we may just want to pause just for a little bit and and evaluate and just see um how you know I I think anytime you have a change it gives you an opportunity also to evaluate and see how you know how can is there should we do this differently or maybe we shouldn't um is there different opportunities. So I think you I I agree with both um Owen

103and Aaron. Jason did you have a comment? Okay, Steve, >> is there opportunity to appoint tonight or do we need a special meeting? >> I do have transition planning on the agenda. Um, in my mind at the time I was thinking a special meeting. Um, if we think that is clear enough on the agenda. >> Dr. Really, it's a board decision. It's what the board feels comfortable with. If you have a direction that the majority of the board wants to move forward with now, you could do that. If you want to give yourself some time to process uh and have a special board meeting in a couple of days, um you can do that as well. If you want to direct me to create uh some options that you could look to and um some

104of the questions that came up about, well, what do we do with other positions and what are options that we could look at? I could do that, too. Um those don't have to be the same discussion. Um you know those can be separate items. U my only suggestion would be to make sure that you have uh a decision in the near term uh because staff uh and community need to know uh what the what that process is and what and you know what needs to happen moving forward. I I don't know that two days is really going to make a huge difference to that decision. Uh but if you know and and you think you want to have a direction, you're very clear to do that. I would say >> Jacob first. Jacob, go ahead.

105>> Yep. I would just say that I think there's some issues have been brought up with backfilling Adam's current position um that probably needs some more discussion. Dr. Like, you just alluded to it. um that maybe finding some transition plans for that um is something we should maybe hold off on and um is in need of a larger discussion before we may make a um final decision. So I would be in favor of um a special meeting um with that information in place. >> Jason, >> yeah, I would agree with the special meeting too also from the standpoint of um what what salary might look like also. Um, and I I I think we all are consensus that we do have the right person here. Um, but maybe just a little more thought through what

106some of that might look like before uh taking that step. >> Okay. Okay. I'll have Amy send out a a doodle um on some times. I'll give get together with her and get some times for for a special meeting and it'll either be Yeah. probably this week yet. Um and um I'll have um maybe Adam and Dr. Le get together and maybe talk and talk with other folks as well um just to kind of get a a plan together short term so the board is really comfortable that everything's still moving in the in moving forward and and there's not going to be any glitches. So does that sound good to you? Yes. One more thing getting back to Melissa's original question. Um, as this discussion progresses and there is the possibility of maybe bringing in

107an external candidate, you know, if we decide that the backfilling of Adam's current position isn't, you know, the best interest, um, do we can we make sure that we're including for the next for the special meeting um, a process for potentially bringing in an external candidate or what that process would look like? >> Sure. Sure. Yeah, we can certainly do that. We'll have lots of lots of documents to read. >> Want to make sure we have all our options covered. >> I agree, Jacob. Yeah. No, we'll have we'll like I said, we'll I I wasn't actually kidding about that. We'll have lots of different um scenarios and options at that and and and maybe the board will decide to just even wait for a little bit and that's okay, too. But I think we need

108all the all the information that that we can get. Like I said, this happened rather quickly. Um, and you know, with the with the meeting being scheduled today, um, we we need to start moving forward with it, but I also, um, thought we might need a little time to process everything, process our discussions, and then, um, have gather some more information that the board is looking for and then schedule a special meeting. Okay. Anything else at this time, Dr. Luck? I, you know, contrary to popular belief, I'm actually a big softy and so I wasn't really planning to have any kind of comments, but Mr. Roberts kind of uh opened the the the gate on that. Um, and I just wanted to thank the board uh the opportunity to be here. Uh, 13 years of

109uh of leading Jamestown Public Schools has been a real blessing uh personally and professionally. Uh I think if you look poundfor-pound uh if you look at the team that we have at Jamestown public schools uh that is that'll rival anybody any district anywhere uh and I think you are making a really wise choice uh in naming interim and I think you're making a wise choice and taking a little bit of time these you don't you know even when you know the right things and the right person to put in place um taking a little bit of extra time to make sure the eyes are dotted uh and the tees are crossed you know um you know I think the message that needs to be shared is you have a good um person that's h is

110the right succession uh but you want to make sure that all the steps are in place first and I and I think that's the right choice to make uh even when you have the right person but again I just wanted to thank you all uh for the opportunity it is it has been a blessing uh for me and my family we've had you know two boys that have graduated from Jamestown High school and they're um they're who they are because of the teachers um their friends and the community and this is a community that supports education and um what a great thing that is uh and I know that the trajectory of Jamestown public schools is not um dependent upon the person that sits uh in a certain chair or that has a certain title.

111It's a collective of really really good people uh that are here leading the district. And I and I do apologize for the timing. I wish it wasn't the case. And I made this it seems like I made this comment a few times that um I never in a million years thought I would leave a district in May. I and I'm sorry that you know the position is what it is. I wish I had been able to control that variable, but I but I really wasn't. It just it is the way it was. Um, and so I wish that we weren't in an interim type of scenario, but I will say I think um, you know, I'm gonna tell you right now, Adam Gayler will do a wonderful job for this community, uh, in an interim

112basis or whatever basis you you place him in, uh, will do an outstanding job of leading the people, uh, and supporting the students of of this district. Um, so thanks for everything. I great appreciation and I will say that uh as a board you are a model board for how other boards other school boards should operate. Um and I I think you know that the reason we are moving in the direction that we're moving is equally as part of how good of a job this board has done uh as any other reason. So thank you. put yourself in another place >> and we'll we'll have one a final meeting in the future where we can um express our thanks to you. So, but thank you also for for your years of service. Yes. >> So,

113we do get cake. >> I'm hoping cheesecake. >> Cupcakes. Yes. >> Oh, >> okay. Um policies and procedures approval. Is that okay if we do them all together? Is everyone okay? Approval of policies. Number one, amended HBAA federal fiscal compliance and attachment amended HBA- AR1 federal fund expenditures and inventory requirements. Amended HCC AAA purchasing and three amended ICCB disposal school equipment and supplies with subsequent review of HBCC-e fundraising request form. Is there a motion? >> Motion by Steve. >> Second by Aaron. We have a motion. Second for approval of policies 1 through three with their subsequent attachments. Any discussion? Any discussion? Any discussion? If not, assuming roll call vote, all those in favor say I. >> I. Oppose. Same sign. Motion approved. Under tuition, we have approval of tuition agreement number one, Yellowstone. Is there

114a motion? >> Motion by Melissa. >> Second by Dan. We have a motion, a second for approval of tuition agreement number one, Yellowstone. Any discussion? Any discussion? Any discussion? If not, assuming roll call vote, all those in favor say I. I. Oppose. Same sign. Motion carried. Under other election report, do we is that just for information or do you do we need to go over that? >> Sure. >> Um, as you know, we have our school board election coming up uh in June and there are three city seats and two rural. The election will be um to elect two representatives from rural Jamestown public school district and three representatives from the city of Jamestown. The candidates for the city are Chris Kremlac, uh Jennifer Cross, Heidi Larson, Jason Roar, Mindy Skungberg, and Max Vanderberg. Max

115Max Post Vanderberg. Um for rural is Melissa Cleon and Steven Feld Camp. The polling locations are at the Jamestown Civic Center and then also American Legion for Stzman County residents residing in precinct 472910 and that is in Madina. Um 7 a.m. to 700 p.m. >> Thank you Christie. Jason go ahead. >> Qu is is there early voting in the primary? Does anybody know? Um I'm not a there you could get um yeah absentee ballots but I'm not sure about early voting. >> I could find out for you. >> Okay. Any items for f Thank you, Christie. Any items for future agendas? Any items? Okay. If if not, please let me know. Um board announcements and future meetings. We have teacher negotiations meeting on Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 at 4:30 p.m. in the Thompson community room

116at the middle school. JPS High School graduation on Sunday, May 24th, 2026, 2:30 PM the Jamestown Civic Center. Um Jamie Bear, Dan Tweet, Aaron Roberts, and Heidi Larson schoolboard meeting on Monday, June 1st, 2026, 5:30 p.m. in the Thompson Community Group at the middle school. We will be scheduling a special meeting um this week to finalize our leadership plans um for the transition. And there's going to be a strategic planning meeting and it's going to be the first week of June as soon as I give Amy my availability on that one. And um and and that will be posted on the on the school calendar. It will actually be after probably after our next meeting. Um any other meetings right now? Yeah. Owen, >> were we planning on doing a board retreat at all >>

117In June. >> June. Yeah, we >> that's coming up. Should we set a date for that? >> Yes, we should. Okay, >> another doodle. >> All right, another doodle. All right, maybe lakeside or something. We'll have to plan that. Um, any other one? Finance. Uh, I think there was a doodle just sent out. Yep, there's a doodle out for finance. So, that'll be in the next few weeks. Um, next week. That'll be next week. >> We talk strategic plan the week after. >> And strategic plan is is the first week of June. Yep. Yep. Dan, is there missing any other ones? That was the one. Okay. All right. Any other meetings? Okay. They will all also be posted on the school calendar, but I also like to announce them here. Um, possible executive session to

118discuss negotiation strategies. Aaron Owen, >> I believe that discussion with our negotiations and developing a strategy relative to the school board's petition in this matter in open session would have an adverse fiscal effect on negotiations position of the board. Uh therefore I move uh that the board enter into executive session and that the following members and negotiators be identified as being present. School board members Jamie Bear, Melissa Gleason, Heidi Larson, Owen McKenna, Jason Roar, Dan Tweeton, and Steve Beldamp. Superintendent Robert Le, Adam Gayler, and business manager Christy Grounds. the the date and time are Monday, May 18th uh at 7:15 p.m. and that the only topic will be considered in executive session is negotiation strategies and that the legal authority of this executive session is section 44-04-9.1 of the North Dakota Sentry Code and that

119this executive session will be recorded. Is there a second? >> I'll second. >> Second by Jason. We have a motion, a second for the possible executive session to discuss negotiation strategies. Any discussion? Any discussion? All in favor say I. >> I. Oppose. Same sign. Motion carried. The board will following executive session, the board will return to to regular session to close out the meeting. The only topic that will be discussed in executive session is to discuss negotiation strategies. Hey, hey.