School Board Meeting 3/30/26

001Glad to hear the level of conversation. We'll be starting the board meeting soon. Good evening and welcome to the meeting of the school board of trustees for Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation. Uh this evening's meeting is a great one. It's an annual tradition and we look forward to the agenda. As we begin, I'd ask you if you're able to please rise and join in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance Our meeting has begun. We'll start with a call of the roll, Mr. Schulz. Mr. Glick. Present. Ms. Lloyd. Present. Mr. Stenner is here. Mr. Nowlin. Here. And Mr. Major. Yes. Ms. Wheeldon was uh had a calendar conflict and is not able to attend this evening, but we do have a quorum and we are meeting in order as we should be. Dr. Phillips, would you

002lead us through the affirmation of our mission, vision, and values? Work and play. Our mission is to develop expert learners by partnering with our community to invest in people. And our core beliefs include that we all can rise to the challenges of high expectations, that learning is most effective when we have choice, flexibility, and see relevance, that we thrive when our physical, social, and psychological needs are met, that our community and school district are stronger when we partner with one another, that we flourish because of the diversity and variability in our community, and that our democracy and democratic institutions are strengthened by civic-minded citizens. Thank you, Dr. Phillips. Item number Items number two and three on the agenda are a little bit unusual for us. Could you explain what's going on tonight? We have a

003special uh HR recommendation this evening. And so, because of the fact that the board will be voting on the special recommendation early um before any board action, we have to allow for public comments um on that action from anyone who is interested in speaking. So, prior to Dr. Stallbaum making this recommendation, uh we would open the floor for any public comments that are specific to the HR recommendation of the principal at Richards Elementary School. Like to make a comment, you can raise your hand or walk towards the microphone. Seeing no public comments, I think we can move on to the recommendation. Amy Mockus has been selected as the next principal at W. D. Richards Elementary School. Amy began her career with BCSC as an elementary teacher in August of 2019. She then served as an

004elementary counselor before becoming the assistant principal at Parkside Elementary School in July of 2024. Amy holds a master's degree and license in building level administration with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. The interview team at W. D. Richards Elementary School consisted of teachers, support staff, and a parent who are all here this evening. I want to recognize Kayla Rice, Sarah Kaufman, Courtney Bush, Sarah Eckerly, Rochelle Simpson, Lauren Huebner, Nicole Havenaar, and Sarah Jamerson as members of the interview team. The staff at W. D. Richards Elementary School identified the priorities for their next principal, and the interview team engaged in a comprehensive process to identify Amy Mockus as the candidate who aligns with those priorities. Darren Sprong, current principal at Richards, echoes the interview team's recommendation stating, "Amy is a passionate, dedicated, trustworthy, and exceptionally talented

005leader. Amy returns with a deep understanding of the Richards traditions and a proven commitment to our students, families, and staff. It is an honor to recommend Amy Mockus as the next principal at W. D. Richards Elementary School." Thank you, Dr. Stallbaum. Board members, you've heard the recommendation from Dr. Stallbaum. Is there a motion? I move at this time that we recommend Amy Mockus to be the next principal at W. D. Richards. Second. Thank you, Mr. Glick. Thank you for the second, Mr. Schulz. Any discussion? Questions? I think we're ready to move to a vote. All those in favor of the recommendation, please say I. I. Any opposed, same sign. Oh, I'm sorry. I was supposed to do a roll call. I messed that up. We're going to do a roll call vote. Mr. Schulz. I.

006Mr. Glick. I. Ms. Lloyd. I. Mr. Stenner votes I. Mr. Nowlin. I. And Mr. Major. Yes. Thank you. The motion is approved. >> [applause] [applause] [cheering] [applause] >> Congratulations, Mrs. Mockus. Congratulations to your family. And uh Mrs. Mockus was selected among a a high number of really talented internal candidates and some external candidates with lots with lots of experience um and she was the the preferred candidate by the cheering section in the back that you can see standing back there and their colleagues. So, congratulations, Amy. much. I think this isn't my notes, but the number of Richards Raiders shirts is just so exciting to see. So, um thank you to them for showing up in that way. Thank you, BCSC school board members for your approval and for your trust in me to be the

007next principal at W. D. Richards Elementary School. I want to thank the interview and selection committee for their time, care, and thoughtfulness throughout the process, and for their trust in me to lead the team at Richards. I also want to thank Dr. Phillips, Dr. Stallbaum, and Dr. Hack for this opportunity and for the ones that have come before that have prepared me for this role. I am so proud of the work that we do in BCSC and honored to lead the team at Richards in those efforts. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Chris Smith and Darren Sprong for their mentorship, guidance, and leadership, and for the opportunities they granted me to really grow as a leader at Parkside and at Richards. Also, thank you to my family for their support and encouragement. I

008have the best crew in the world and I'm so grateful. I am thrilled to be returning to Richards as the building principal, having previously served there as a school counselor, teacher, and a parent in that community. I have a deep familiarity with the students, staff, families, and community as a whole, and I'm so excited for this opportunity. I have loved and been so grateful for every role I've had at Richards, and I feel sure that this one will be equally fulfilling. I am committed to approaching this role with energy and with joy, intently focused on the well-being of every student and staff member. Prioritizing stakeholder and community engagement is key as we work for student success. I also have a history of really valuing collaborative relationships as we work to achieve excellent results for students.

009I as I return to Richards, I will really work to ensure that Richards Raiders continue to be excellent learners in a community of belonging and engagement for all. I also just want to offer a brief congratulations to all the students and and educators here tonight. It is inspiring to me to start this part of my journey being really reminded of how and why we do what we do. Thank you, and go Raiders. >> [applause] >> On the agenda we have some recognitions this evening. Dr. Phillips. Thank you, Mr. Steiner. Columbus North Gymnastics continues their run of excellence and we welcome Mr. Brian Lewis, athletic director at Columbus North High School. And coaches and girls come on up. Evening. So, I want to say thank you to the board for recognizing our girls gymnasts. They put

010in a lot of hard work over the over the year and obviously it showed. They made it to state and they placed fifth, but I don't want to take any credit for it. Our coaches have done a great job over the last 6 years since I've been here. Um, they've gone to state every single year and they and they clearly shows the passion and the love that they have for gymnastics. So, I want to give Bob a chance to actually speak about his his his team this year. Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Thanks to Dr. Phillips and school board for inviting us here to for this recognition. It's an honor. Um, also want to thank I wouldn't I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Mr. Clark, our principal, for the support that he gave Mr. Lewis.

011As I said, Jason Perry, Logan Haston by that is the athletic department as a whole because they have been very very supportive. Anyway, just to give you a little bit about of our accomplishments this year. We had a 9-1 dual meet season, one loss to New Palestine, unfortunately, but still a good record. On top of that, we did get first in the Connersville Invitational, which I believe was about six teams six to eight teams on that and we got our revenge with New Palestine in that one. We were the first team sectional at uh up in Indianapolis on the I'm going to blank stop it. What was it? Franklin Central, that's right. Thank you. And then we were runner-up at the Franklin Central Regional, unfortunately got beat by New Palestine once again, but we did

012redeem ourselves the final time at the state meet and got fifth place at the state meet and we went into the rankings before the tournament series ranked eighth and when we got through sectionals we had the sixth highest team score. So, we actually we outperformed where we were really expected to go. So, I'm very proud of the girls on that. Also, this is a a point that the girls can take some real satisfaction in it. This team took us to the state meet for the 20th consecutive year in a row, which is a new ICGAA record. So, so we're very happy with >> [applause] >> We also hold the second highest number of total appearances at 30 years and only 2 years behind Valparaiso. So, we're very proud of that as well. I you might

013keep an eye on coach Freshour. She said keep it brief. So, if you see this or see this, please let me know. I will move on to just the introductions. Like I said, Sandy Freshour and I have coached for many many years. She started here, I believe it was in 85, I believe. 86. So, she's got a mere 40 years in the program. I was I started in here in 80 82 83, but left for overseas for a few years and didn't get back in until the beginning of the 90s. So, we've coached together for 35 years. So, pretty [laughter] amazing when these girls sometimes if they start not being very respectful, I say girls, I've got t-shirts older than you and I'm not kidding. I do Also, Michelle Escher joined us this year. Michelle

014is there and and she has been a long time judge. She has coached also at various high schools, but when Claire was unable to come back, Michelle stepped in and she's brought a really good perspective with her years and years of judging experience. So, we really appreciate the fact that she was able to help us out and come do that for us. I'm going to introduce the girls and I've asked them just to raise their hands. We Our manager, Katie Castaneda, is here. Raise it up so they can see you. All right. We have some JV gymnasts. Quinn Carr is sick today. She was unable to make it. Kyla McGee, Elsa Murray, Kaori Takahashi and they were they've worked real hard and they're going to be part of that team moving forward and hopefully we'll

015get more experience and enjoy the varsity squad. All of our varsity gymnasts were actually part of the state team. They were following girls were alternates. Addy Gill, who also was sick today was unable to do it. Evie Richards was our floor exercise alternate and Megan Young was our vault and bar alternate and she's a freshman. Megan, you put your hand up. They can see you. Okay, thank you. All right. And then the competitors and and these are the girls who deserve the credit for where we ended up. Hayden Harper, Carly Haston. Carly worked bars. Hayden was an all-arounder. Peyton Hewitt. Okay. And you might see everybody's dressed up real fancy and I told Peyton she is in a cheer clinic right now and she ran over here. She was she said, "I don't think I

016can make it." And I said, "No, you got to be here. Don't worry about what you look like. That's that's not going to be important." But Anyway, and then uh Ellie McIntyre. Ellie's back there. Ellie was all-arounder also, right? And then Hannah Perry. And Hannah was also an all-arounder and those girls just really did all the heavy lifting most of the year and we have very appreciate it and we've got three of those girls. Ellie, Evie and Hannah are seniors. So, we will be without their assistance next year. So, we're going to count on the other ones the pull up their bootstraps and help us out. I believe I've got that. I think that's all I've got, but we do appreciate the invitation here once again. Did you Did you have anything fresh? Okay. Her

017affectionate nickname. Okay. All right. Well, thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Congratulations again, girls and team and coaches. The biggest laugh was there was from the girls when the coach said he was from the brief. I think they knew that was not going to be possible. I see some head nods back there. We also want to take a moment to congratulate this uh winter sports season academic all-state selections. Uh, you'll see those names uh from both north and east and new tech as well, but per uh uh competing for north or east. Um, and I'll remind folks that these are selected by the coaches association. So, each sport has a coaches association and the academic all-state criteria are determined by those associations, but congratulations to the students who not only show excellence on the court,

018the floors, and the bars and the beams, um, but also in the classroom. To Dr. Phillips next, uh Dr. Stallbom and Marsha Van Nayman are here to present the Edna Folger award. Uh, thank you uh for the opportunity to introduce the Edna Folger award presenter, Marsha Van Nayman. Marsha Van Nayman from the IU Columbus Center for Teaching and Learning, standing in for John Sattler from SIHO tonight. Thanks to BCSC leadership and board members for allowing us to recognize our Teacher. I also want to thank our other partners, SIHO Insurance Company, the Community Education Coalition, and the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce. This award is named for local teaching icon Edna Folger, who invested more than 46 years of her life educating students in Bartholomew County. The award was designed to recognize the profound impact teachers

019have in the classroom and across the community. The Folger award celebrates dedication to the teaching profession, ability to motivate students and or staff to reach their fullest potential, innovation in teaching style and curriculum, the ability to form strong bonds and relationships with parents, students, and peers, contribution to the community outside the classroom. It's a challenge each year, as you might guess, to select one recipient from a pool of impressive nominees. This year, Krea Hill of Rock Creek Elementary was selected as the Edna Folger Outstanding Teacher. Like all previous Folger winners, Mrs. Hill is a talented educator with an unwavering commitment to the profession, to students, to her school, and to the community. She encourages the personal growth of all students, encouraging their academic, social, and emotional development. Krea serves in leadership roles which include piloting

020and implementing the growth model report card that guides students as they become expert learners. She uses UDL principles in her teaching to ensure all students have equal opportunity to succeed. She shares her knowledge with colleagues about using data to help students set goals and achieve their fullest potential. Mrs. Hill checks in with parents, especially after a tough day or an off day. According to her students, she always remains calm and knows exactly how to teach each student so they will learn. Her students stretch themselves and feel heard and supported even when they make mistakes. She uses creative ways to make learning fun, like studying spelling words using shaving cream, practicing skills by making food in class, and motivational tools like brag tags. After reading Charlotte's Web, she coordinated with a local farmer to arrange for

021baby pigs to visit the classroom. Mrs. Hill helps students understand their emotions and make smart, responsible choices, like how to use their time wisely. She teaches them coping strategies, how to be a better friend and a school citizen. Krea seeks grant funding to support innovative ways to connect with students. Several years ago, she was awarded a grant to purchase and train a therapy dog that supported students and staff at the school. Krea owns and operates a local cheerleading gym, working with children from walking to seniors in high school. She probably had some of the young ladies who were up here from the gymnastics team. The gym features a team for students with special needs, ensuring that all students feel included and welcome. The cheer facility sponsors social events to keep students involved in the community,

022all while her teams place near the top in competitions throughout the country. Mrs. Hill is a selfless, compassionate is selfless, compassionate, and radiates joy. With her unique ability to connect with people, she inspires and engages students, colleagues, and families across the community. Please join me in congratulating the 2026 Edna Folger Outstanding Teacher, Krea Hill. >> [applause] [applause] >> Hear me? Now you can. Good evening. Um, I just want to say, well, first of all, I didn't know I was going to speak tonight, which is how I it was when I was sitting in the bleachers with my students at the convocation when I received this award two weeks ago. Um, just sitting there ready for a show, and then they said brag tags, and it just hit me. And the emotions were real, and my

023words that day were real. So, I'm trying to think back to what I said. I just remember saying that I was honored to be part of this community and this school corporation, and honored to be a Rock Creek Bulldog, of course. But I also my why is just focusing on the good. There is so much good in this community and in the corporation. Focusing on that, creating that, and celebrating that really just brings a different perspective into the profession and into your viewpoint each day when you're in the classroom. That doesn't mean every day is great or good, but if you do focus on that, it does make it a little bit better. So, thank you for this award, and I'm honored to represent what it means and who Edna was. So, thank you very

024much. >> [applause] [applause] >> Congratulations, Miss Hill. We appreciate you. As we move to the next agenda item, we'll begin with a video. We ready for that now? Hi, I'm Dr. Aaron Stallbom, assistant superintendent of human resources at BCSC. We admire the care our teachers place into creating engaging learning experiences for students each and every day. From targeted literacy instruction to captivating STEM lessons, our teachers' commitment to the academic growth of all students is unmatched. Recognizing distinguished educators throughout BCSC is a valued tradition. We are proud to introduce our BCSC 2026 Teachers of the Year. Thank you for your partnership in education. Okay, hold on. You got to be on the red court [music] though. You can't just play that. So, finding out about Teacher of the Year, it I had no idea. I was

025completely surprised. What was crazy was I looked down the hallway and I saw [music] my husband and my daughter, and my daughter's in college. And so, they were walking, I'm like, what are they doing here? And then [music] I saw the red congratulations sign. It was an amazing honor. Um, it was such a sweet surprise the way that it was done, cuz I you know, I had no no idea that it was coming. Mr. Finley put me in a cash grab [music] machine with all of our Husky Grams. And while I was in there, it's obviously loud because there's air blowing in it, so I can't hear what's [music] going on outside. So, while I'm in there looking ridiculous, [music] he's out there telling everyone that I got Teacher of the Year. So, eventually I

026come out, [music] and they're all clapping, and I'm like, what in the world is going on? It was [music] very surprising, very exciting though. >> [music] >> I had came back into the room, and um Mrs. Mahoney walked in, which is not something truly uncommon. The next thing I know, Dr. Volz came in and was kind of like, okay, [music] she comes in from time to time. And then they sat down and started to read a story with my students. And it took me about three pages [music] into the story, and and I was like, wait a minute, are you serious? What's happening [music] here? So, it was truly a pleasant surprise [music] and um something that was unexpected, but I was very glad to receive. So, there are many things that I love about

027teaching, but my favorite part [music] would probably be um seeing the kids grow. They get to kind of see new things [music] and become curious um about the world around them. I love teaching for so many reasons. Obviously, [music] the biggest reason is because the kids are so fun to be around and they make me smile and laugh every day. So, I think my overall favorite part about teaching is the fact that um [music] especially in kindergarten, I get to see the growth of students. So, they come in so young [music] and and kind of fresh and eager to see what school is all about. So, just being able to see that love and curiosity in learning. They're like little sponges. They're soaking everything in. We [music] get to do the crafts. We get to

028do the projects. Um but also, like they come in not reading and they're leaving kindergarten [music] reading, writing, spelling. So, it was either be a nurse or be a teacher. [music] And when I was in high school over at North, I um took cadet teaching my senior year with Mr. Nesvold Johnny over at North. And it was [music] an amazing experience. I've been here at Schmidt 20 years um and I've been teaching since 2001. [music] My first year, they didn't even have email. I've had parents who have came [music] back. I know that they I've had their child several years ago, and they still nominated me this year. And so, that just makes a big impact and makes me feel, you know, really good about myself. One of the reasons I wanted to go into

029teaching [music] was because I felt like it is truly a profession where you can make a difference. It it just makes me feel a lot of joy >> [music] >> that there are students that come back to me year after year wanting a hug or to tell me something [music] that they've accomplished in life that they're proud about. It makes [music] me proud. Those kids are truly not just my student for a year, but they're my kids forever. This is one of my favorite nights of the year. I love celebrating people, specifically the teachers that shape our students every day. So, I am honored to announce the 2025-2026 Teacher of the Year for each BCSE school building. Nominations were accepted from students, staff, families, and community members. The CIC in each building then met to

030engage in a process to determine their Teacher of the Year. As I call each building level Teacher of the Year up to the front, I do ask that the audience hold their applause in order to hear each person's name and kind words from their nomination form. We will begin with Kyla Lifferth. Kyla Lifferth is a music teacher at Clifty Creek. Kyla's passion for music and her enthusiastic approach inspires students to explore and enjoy learning. Through engaging, relevant lessons and unique opportunities like songwriting projects and the Battle of the Bands, she has expanded student involvement and made a lasting impact on the entire school community. Brittany Bozeman is a literacy coach at CSA Fodrea. Brittany demonstrates exceptional instructional expertise in early literacy using research-based practices and the science of reading to strengthen classroom instruction and significantly

031improve student outcomes. She builds teacher capacity through collaborative coaching, modeling, and data-driven support, creating a culture where educators feel empowered and confident. Melissa Sanders is a kindergarten teacher at CSA Lincoln. Melissa's dedication to her students is evident in the way she takes the time to visit pre-K classrooms to understand each child's needs and ensure a smooth transition into kindergarten. Through strong relationships, thoughtful differentiation, and high expectations, she ensures every child leaves her classroom confident, cared for, and prepared for first grade. Ann Lynn, grade two teacher at Mount Healthy. Ann consistently goes the extra mile to support her students, showing kindness, respect, and genuine care while building strong relationships with both children and their families. As a deeply influential educator and role model, she embodies the heart of her school community and leaves a lasting impact

032on colleagues and students alike. Julie Euler, grade one teacher, Parkside. Julie fosters a classroom environment where students feel safe, valued, and confident, intentionally building trust for growth both academically and socially. She demonstrates her impact by consistently seeking new ways to support both students and colleagues, bringing a positive, uplifting attitude each day, and serving as a leader who helps strengthen her entire team. Laura Coles, grade five teacher, Richards. Laura is a focused and driven educator who models hard work, kindness, fairness, and compassion while challenging her students to think critically and reach their full potential. She demonstrates a deep commitment to her students by staying actively involved in their progress and providing ongoing encouragement and guidance to help them succeed both inside and outside of the classroom. Kristen Davis, grade four teacher, Rock Creek. Kristen's impact extends

033far beyond the classroom as she continues to support her students by attending their events ranging from basketball games to ballets, and enthusiastically cheers them on as one of their proudest supporters. She holds students to high expectations while teaching character and life skills, a lasting influence reflected when former students invite her to special events to recognize the meaningful role she played in their success. Michelle Wells, grade four teacher, Schmidt. Michelle creates a classroom where students are excited to learn through hands-on lessons such as observing tadpoles and hatching chicken eggs. She not only keeps her students engaged and supported, but also uplifts her colleagues by sharing strategies, answering questions about curriculum and data analysis, and helping the entire grade level succeed. Amy Bidinger, kindergarten teacher, Smith Elementary. Amy brings incredible patience and care to every student, building

034confidence step by step through her work with reading foundations intervention groups that has led to measurable growth across the building. Beyond the classroom, she collaborates with colleagues, serves on committees, and brings positivity and heart that create a welcoming and supportive environment for absolutely everyone. Julie Risley, special education teacher, Southside. Julie is a student-first teacher who demonstrates exceptional dedication from individually preparing lessons for each child to literally running alongside a student so they could participate in cross country practice. With her experience, thoughtfulness, and collaborative spirit, she supports her classroom and colleagues through sharing knowledge and working closely with the entire school team. Rebecca Riker, grade six teacher, Taylorsville. Rebecca is a dedicated educator who prepares her students for middle school by holding them to high expectations and using creative strategies to make learning engaging, especially in

035math. She also uplifts her colleagues, offering support, constructive guidance, and teamwork that strengthens the entire school community. Peggy Williams, special education teacher, Central. Peggy goes above and beyond teaching academics by taking the time to support her students personally, listening to their concerns, celebrating their successes, and holding them accountable so they grow both academic and socially. She treats colleagues as family, valuing everyone's input, and stepping in to help whenever and wherever she is needed. Andrew Tucker, English teacher, Northside. Andrew is a dedicated educator who invests in his students, providing choice, scaffolding, and Spanish translations to ensure every child can succeed. He also leads and supports his colleagues by organizing data, planning collaborative projects like the Slam Poetry Contest and Outsiders Day, and sharing strategies for family engagement, UDL, and inclusive teaching across the school. Lisa Porter,

036science teacher, Columbus East High School. Lisa brings science to life for her students using unforgettable hands-on experiments like burning elements to reveal atomic properties and physically demonstrating electron behavior, making complex concepts both engaging and memorable. Beyond the classroom, she creates extraordinary learning opportunities, including trips like the Ocean Science Research Experience, giving students real-world applications that deepen their understanding and curiosity. Scott Sievers, business education teacher, Columbus North High School. Scott makes learning engaging and relevant by teaching financial skills from managing money and investing to planning for a debt-free future, all while fostering open discussions that encourage students to think critically and learn from each other. Beyond the classroom, he builds personal connections with every student, attending their events, writing recommendation letters, and supporting them individually so they feel seen, valued, and motivated to succeed. Bjorn Gaylord,

037English teacher, CSA New Tech High School. Bjorn creates a classroom where every student feels cared for and supported, helping them develop a love of reading while guiding incoming students to navigate the demands of high school. Beyond academics, he builds community by starting an intramural athletics club, mentoring new teachers, and bringing energy, bold ideas, and meaningful connections into every aspect of school life. Amanda Godwin, family consumer science teacher, C4. Amanda creates a classroom where students feel valued and excited to learn, helping beginners in sewing develop skills they will carry far beyond school. She also extends learning into the community by collaborating with other programs to produce the annual fashion and textile show, giving students a real-world opportunity to showcase their creativity and hard work. Sherry Ridgway, English teacher, CVP. Sherry builds strong, lasting relationships with CVP

038seniors, taking the time to meet with them one-on-one, and even visiting their home schools when needed. She goes out of her way to connect with students personally, making them feel heard, understood, and supported throughout their senior projects and daily learning. With over 330 years of BCSC teaching experience combined, please join me in celebrating the 2025-2026 building level teachers of the year. >> [applause] [applause] >> My uh congratulations to everyone for those well-deserved recognitions. As we move on in the agenda, the next item is school board member reports. Uh Mr. Major, I think maybe I don't know if you have a report or not, but you wanted to talk a little bit about the uh reporting policy. This might be a good time for that. No, this is not a good time for that. This is

039committee reports, so I'll talk about that later. Yeah, so uh redevelopment, there was a redevelopment meeting last week, but because we had two executive sessions, I was unable to attend that meeting. Um so, I'll give an update the next uh after the next meeting. Uh the health trust did not have a meeting since the last one, but our next meeting is on April 6th. This is the quarter three update for the high ability broad-based planning committee. Um the initial round of identification for the economic challenge program was completed the end of February. That's for grades 3 through 6. Um the appeals committee is actually meeting this week, and the final um decision on appeals will be out by April 1st. There's an AC parent meeting um for people who are interested in um AC economic

040challenge for next year. That's on April 2nd, and by April 6th, um families and students will let us know whether or not they have decided to be part of economic challenge for next year. Um also, in terms of professional development around high ability, three AC teachers, one instructional coach, one assistant principal, and the high ability coordinator were able to attend the Indiana Association of the Gifted in Indianapolis, and at our last professional development day, there was a breakout session devoted to high ability. And finally, Dr. Spears-Newsomeister um was here at BCSC on February 3rd as part of the external um audit of our high ability program, and we are looking forward to getting the results of that. She visited with building um building administrators, academic challenge teachers, classroom cluster teachers, and students at Southside, Parkside,

041and Schmidt. Um and in terms of the my role as the legislative liaison, um there is actually a meeting coming up sponsored by ISBA Thursday, April 16th, and as of this time, um Mr. Steiner, Mr. Schultz, Mr. Major, Mr. Glick, Ms. Lloyd, myself, and Dr. Phillips are planning to be there, and um Ms. Wilderness is pending, but it might be that all seven of us go. That's where we get an update on the um the latest legislation and what that's going to mean in terms of our policies for the coming year. Alan, um last Thursday, March 26th, Mr. Glick and I were able to attend districting and facilities committee meeting. Um I'll I'll start with the what I learned, and uh he can add to that. Um Mr. Bergman from the city-county planning department shared

042a number of new housing developments, including um and I might have the names a little bit mixed up, but Chase Point, which might be the same thing as Tipton Ridge on the west side of town on State Road 46. Uh mostly single-family homes. I think it started out as single-family with multi-family, but I think now it's narrowed down to just single-family. Uh that development would be or will be uh right across State Road 46 from uh Maple Grove. The Arbor Company is preparing a new development at Dever Road. Um that the name of that development is Timberland Springs. Uh Dever Road and uh close to State Road 11, I think um where you can access it from State Road 11. Uh several hundred single-family homes again on the west side. Uh Mr. Williams gave a

043preview of kind of what the criteria are for redistricting. Uh talked about the needs at the various facilities. And public information sessions are scheduled on this issue. Um They will be uh audio and visual presentations nights of April 7th at East, April 9th here at North, and April 21st at the Westside Community Church. I think each of those starts at 6:30. Uh Miss Lloyd? Congratulations to Council for Youth Development. They had their annual Youth Summit last Friday at the Learning Uh over 150 students uh in attendance along with youth service providers and even Mayor Ferdon uh to focus on leadership, confidence, and connection among local youth. So, it's a great day and thanks to Freddy King and the youth ambassadors that work so hard on this event. Um regarding the School Foundation, uh we're focused

044on next week's Mayoral Gala which helps support STEM activities here in BCSC. So, if you are interested in attending, you can visit southasiangala.com for more information and to purchase a ticket. Um and the Good Better Best 5K is set for April 25th at Southside. Uh this event helps support the foundation, but it also supports the Out of the Box Innovation in Teaching Award uh in honor of Russ Wallace and Chuck Grimes. So, this is a really special event um that also supports teachers. So, you can visit the BCSF Facebook page for the registration link. And probably most importantly, uh the deadline for the spring grant applications uh is this week actually. So, if you are looking for a grant to support your classroom, uh you can visit the website and still get that application in.

045Thank you, Miss Lloyd. Mr. Lloyd? Nothing much to add to the districting and facilities. Uh Mr. Stiner hit pretty much every point on that one. Uh if you didn't hear those dates or times, I know I've posted them on my uh personal and uh representative campaign pages on Facebook and throughout other media outlets. And then the Republic also just uh published an article yesterday or the day before outlining those as well. Um and then I didn't have a wellness meeting. Um that meeting will be April 14th, but just a reminder coming up in the next week or two, uh BCSC is participating in the Indiana Youth Survey uh and that is for grades 6 through 12, and that is an opt-out survey. So, you should have got a notification from your schools on whether or

046not you wanted your student to take those or not. So, that is it for me. Thank you, Miss Lloyd. Mr. Shaw? No meetings with my uh committees in the past month. Mr. As you know, our first strategic focused area is making sure that every student uh has mastered foundational reading skills. It'll probably be 3 4 months from now before we have final IREAD results, but the first administration is complete and Dr. Hack and her team have an update uh on that first administration. Good evening, Mr. Stiner. This is Jeannie Law, an instructional coach for the district and an instrumental part of the work that we do in BCSC. So, presenting is Dr. Jenny Detmer, principal at Taylorsville Elementary, whose leadership and knowledge around early literacy is invaluable to us as well. I'd also like to

047recognize the principals who are here still and a few instructional coaches that will be on your evaluation for those that did not show up tonight. So, good job, team. Good job, team. Tonight, we will review our students' progress in reading, the strategies we've implemented thus far, and our next steps to ensure every child is prepared to succeed. As a reminder, IREAD is a foundational reading assessment given to every second and third grade student in the state of Indiana. It has questions regarding sounds, blends, and comprehension, and it is a digital assessment which can be challenging when given to third graders. The scores are reported back to us as soon as students finish, and teachers then take that data and start to work on next steps with that child. Jenny will now share what our data

048looks like for our second graders who took IREAD. In the spring of 2024, we implemented universal second grade IREAD testing for across BCSC for the first time, establishing a baseline percentage of 44% of our second graders that passed in that year of 2024. Over the past 2 years, we've made intentional investments in instructional consistency with teacher development grounded in the science of reading. These efforts have yielded results, measurable results. Our pass rate in 2025, you can see rose to 50% of our second graders passing IREAD, and this year before any of our second graders have had an opportunity to retest, we have already had 54% of our second graders who have achieved mastery and proficiency on the IREAD assessment. Looking at this year's specific outcomes, of the 819 second graders that tested, 441 second graders

049passed, which gave us the passing rate of 54%. So, notable things to realize with the 441 that passed is 90 students um of the remaining that did not pass, but 90 of those students are on track to pass for sure in third grade um scoring at least 405 to 445. Um 288 students of the 378 are considered at risk, meaning they scored below 405. 50% of students passed in the spring of 2025, and 2% fewer students this year are at risk compared to 2025. So, not only is our percentage of proficiency growing, we are also closing the gap for students that are considered at risk, where we are 2% lower of those students this year. So, now we look only at our third graders who took IREAD this year. This is not the total of

050number students who have passed. It's just the number of third graders who passed this year. We show you this slide so that you can see that once we have identified students from second grade, our interventions are paying off. Please remember, this is an end-of-the-year third grade assessment. We continue to get better with what is happening once we've identified the students who might be at risk and can work with them individually on the skills that they need. So, our snapshot in third grade is we have a 800 I'm sorry, 810 students sitting in our third grade classrooms right now. 654 of these students have passed either in second grade or in third grade, giving us an 82% passing rate as of today. 72 of these students are on track to pass, and 74 students are at

051risk to not pass based on that first assessment. We still have intentional work to do with these students. This comes in the form of small group instruction and progress monitoring from now until the next two administrations. One will be in May, and one will be in June. And at this time, I would also like to point out that 93% of our students enrolled in Book Buddies passed. Another tribute to the dedication of our Book Buddies staff, volunteers, and students. With all this being said, we have a projected rate of 90% at the end of third grade. So, today I would like tonight I would like to highlight some of the found fantastic things that our teachers are doing within our classrooms. I would like to point out one specific strategy that has really made an

052impact in our schools this year that we just implemented, and that was the K-3 mentoring and coaching team. So, with this team, they focused on those teachers that are brand new in that career in our career of teaching. They also focused on on teachers that were maybe new to the primary grades. So, they really are focusing on providing targeted guidance around those foundational literacy components, and they're also working to really build some support with those um teachers around instructional procedures to really strengthen those early reading outcomes. So, as we look forward to the remaining year and looking at next year, we always look to see how we can improve our current practices. And with this coming up this the rest of the school year and next year, we're really going to look at that last

053bullet point. How can we strengthen tier one instruction within all of our grade levels, but really also focusing in on those primary grade levels. When we think about tier one instruction, we are looking at how do we prioritize clear, consistent, grade level expectations with rigorous content in all of those grade levels, no matter where you are on on track or at risk. That tier one instruction really prioritizing that grade level content. We also would like to align our current instructional practices around our Indiana academic standards. With that, we'll use data, especially prior to I read in our kindergarten, first grade, second grade. As you can see, we've made some of those shifts already as you've seen a 10-point growth growth point over the last two years. But how can we really look at identifying students

054practices that are best aligned with the science of reading? We also want to focus our support where students need that the most to really accelerate their growth. The biggest influence on learning still continues to be the teacher in the classroom who believes that every student can be a reader because they know that today and tomorrow's success depends on becoming that lifelong reader. Can you imagine what your life would hold as an adult who couldn't read? So, the relationship between the teacher and the student is critical. And when students feel known and cared about, they engage more, they read more, they achieve more. Our principals and teachers care and some are still sitting with us tonight to hear this presentation as I gave them a shout-out earlier. And I appreciate and value all that they do.

055These test scores are only of the work that they do and are attribute to the hard work happening in our schools. These 146 students that we still have to get over the hump have a story and the staff in our schools know those stories because those stories are part of the whole child and the whole child is who we educate. So, we will continue intentionally instructing with our students who are just learning the English language and still have to be tested. We will continue to cross barriers with our students who have significant learning disabilities and still have to be tested. We will continue to build relationships with our students and families who enroll in May from other states, other countries and still have to be tested. Success takes on many forms. So, thank you for

056letting us share a little bit about our reading journey and success in BCSC. As you can see, we are passionate about this work. It matters and our students deserve our very best. It's why we're here why we are here. What questions do you have because we are super proud of that 90% projected passing rate? I think for me, you you had an interesting comment about the number of kids that still have to be tested that are move-ins. And it doesn't need to be a presentation like this, but I think it'd be interesting to see and it could help establish how great BCSC is at teaching the the science of reading here and the success that we have on the test that maybe show some statistics of other areas, whether it's other states or other school

057districts that move in. Kind of break that out for us. I don't have a question, but um I'll tell you when we had um pretty close to prior to testing, we had snow days and late start days and e-learning days and every time I heard one of those, I actually thought about the the I read coming up and to me that's an extra um commendation that that the teachers came through even under difficult circumstances. I appreciate all the effort that all the teachers and uh their support staff around them, the aides as well. And And let's not forget about the parents that have uh been the primary source uh of early learning for children. Um I will I will ask this. I think I hope you have uh learned enough about me that you should

058have anticipated that I was going to ask about this is good for I read, but do we have anything for I math? So, you are going to get your wish next year. So, the uh new legislation that I know that you all hear so much about really talks about math math instruction. What does that look like? What are we going to do for our students that are at proficiency, above proficiency, or are not quite at proficiency? So, we my my partner Amy Elsbury and I, we have been going to all the sessions from the state that they've been offering on this new math legislation that will take uh place in the next school year. So, we are we are really uh now making all of our plans. A lot of time is being invested currently

059this year on what how do we meet those accommodations for the new legislation around a new K uh two math screener that has to we we're that's kind of our I math. Um it's a new legislative that we have to meet we have to they have to do an assessment. We have to report out on um those students. We have to report to parents in a certain timeline where their students fall with within that screener. Um so, we are diligently looking at the state is providing two options. Uh we have to choose one of these two screeners. Uh we had a team actually today that met with one of those companies to hear about their math screener and how we could use that intentionally within our schools. The legislation really is K-12 um and and

060encompasses a lot of different things. So, we'll be speaking quite a bit next year on this new math legislation, but we're we're getting math is getting its justice uh finally. So, we I feel like the state has uh feels like reading is is we're getting a handle on that. And so, now we're really uh looking into the math where our students are um reporting on that, reporting to parents, and then we will have a specific math screener um but they will have to take three times a year um and it will show how they're doing and how they're progressing on the Indiana academic standards in K2. The three-year assessments uh the checkpoints in the the I learn checkpoints will be the screener for uh 3-2-6 and and eight and 7-8 as well. So, we are

061we are a lot of emphasis is being shifted uh to math as well and I know all of our buildings um they're already in those conversations. What does that look like for math um instruction next year? How does that change? Uh how does that also the interventions and enrichment opportunities? How do we make those just like we've done for reading? Very much appreciate the preparedness. So, thank you for being out in front and hopefully we can be there faster than other school corporations around here. So, thank you. staff and principals, we will be. of the um reading skills program has been what they call the science of reading. Will there be an equivalent uh set of tools or professional development opportunities on the math side? thing, but then also what's the instruction behind that? The

062state has not given us guidance, but they look heavily at the floor at Florida State and the work that they do there. So, I wouldn't be surprised if we see some alignment there, but we've not been given any set of directions on what's the best research-based program. And so, we're going to continue using our best research-based program, which is our adopted series, and then look this first year on what the math screener is, how those work together, and then come up with the best plan for our students and staff. Mhm. So, it just depends on the number of students that I'm sorry, new teachers that we have. We have a small number, there may be some things internally that we can do. When we have a large number like 10 and 12, it is wonderful

063to have that extra support through additional staff, but if that's not the case, again, a low number, most of that can be done within our within our resources that we have. Mhm. But again, Gail shout-out to Gail Coors and Polly Major. They created resource um packets and research materials that we can continue to use. Thank you. Move from recognition part of the meeting through the reports before we get to action items. We have the opportunity for comments from the public which is appropriate. Any member of the public that wishes to speak on an action item that's coming up. I should probably There there are several rules. The most important is 3 minutes. And we have one person who has signed up to speak this evening. That is Katie Bush. And is this working? Can you

064see this? See the 3 minutes. I think we're ready to start. Thank you. Okay. Perfect. What a way to start a week. A lot to celebrate tonight. Thanks for the introduction. My name is Katie Bush and I am here just to publicly declare my intention to run for BCSC school board in the fall. I live in District 1. And there is no doubt in my mind over the coming months we will talk more, but wanted to use just a minute or two to tell you a little bit more about myself and what's driving that decision. So, I've lived in Bartholomew County most of my life. >> [snorts] >> I moved here with my family when I was in third grade. Growing up, my mom was a teacher and both of my parents owned a small

065business. So, education, service, and community was a big priority in my household. I graduated from Columbus East and married my husband David who hails from the Bush family who has been farming on the east side of Bartholomew County for I think over four generations now. We both went to Purdue. We moved back to Columbus to raise our three kids here. So, we have a past, a present, and a future student in BCSC. And in parallel to raising our kids in Columbus, I worked at Cummins for give or take 20 years and then most recently at the Heritage Fund, the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County doing work on scholarships. And for me, that was a great reminder, reinforcement that my passion has always been and continues to be with young people and in education. Which is

066why I'm here today. So, if I were to be elected to this position, my priorities or focus areas would be on supporting academic excellence. On we've heard and seen so many great teachers. We want to keep them around in BCSC, so retaining great teachers. And making sure our schools continue to be safe. I've got deep roots in Columbus and Bartholomew County and I'm a true believer that our local schools and all of the people that reside in those buildings are some of our communities' greatest assets. I'm actually really really excited by some of the current and future initiatives that you, the board, and the administration have developed and I look forward to the opportunity to potentially be a larger voice in that discussion in the future. So, again, thanks for the time. My name is

067Katie Bush and I intend to run for BCSC school board. Okay, that was our only speaker for the public comment section of the meeting. So, we're done with that. The first item up for approval is old business. Thank you, Mr. Stinner. Tonight, I request approval of items 8A through 8C. All minutes from the meetings from earlier this month. The public work session that was prior to the meeting on March 2nd, the regular school board meeting that followed on also on March 2nd, and then also the executive session from March 23rd. Thank you, Dr. Phillips. Board members, you've heard the recommendation. Is there a motion? I motion to approve items 8A Thank you, Ms. Lloyd and thank you, Mr. Glick. Then we can move on to the roll call vote. Mr. Major. Yes. Mr. Nowlin. Aye.

068Mr. Stinner votes aye. Ms. Lloyd. Aye. Mr. Glick. Aye. And Mr. Schulz. Aye. Thank you. Aye. Here that the motion is passed. 9D including supplemental contracts, field trips, and professional leaves, school fundraisers, as well as the claims and payroll for the payroll from March 8th and February 9th totaling just under 8.1 million dollars. Pre-run payments from February 1st to February 28th of just over 9.7 million dollars, as well as the docket claims from March 30th, tonight's meeting of just under 1.3 million dollars. Request approval of items 9A through 9D. Dr. Phillips, I think here we usually ask if there is an agenda item 9A through 9D that the board member would like pulled out for a separate vote. I would actually like to make a motion to include item E, which would be the adoption

069of the teacher safety policy including an update revision to that to match the law that would state the report goes semi-annually to the Department of Labor instead of the Department of Education. So, for the employee safety policy that was presented at the previous meeting in March, that was the first reading for that policy. You all at the March meeting elected to move forward with a work session on that. So, I think the initial motion which Mr. Major has made would be a motion to amend the agenda and I think we can all the agenda item policy and I believe that was D525. 525. So, the first vote that you all would be making would be to amend the agenda to add that item on for consideration. That would require four of you to approve this

070evening. If that vote is successful and it is added to the agenda, the second item that would need to happen, the approval for the work session would have to be rescinded to move forward. So, there would be a motion to rescind that approval. If that was successful, then if you all wanted to move forward with treating this evening as the second reading and voting on the policy subject to the amendments, you could do that. So, we have a motion from Mr. Major. I think everybody heard the motion. Is there a second to that motion? Second. Thank you. So, moved by Mr. Major, seconded by Mr. Schulz. I think the short version is that we would amend the agenda to add item 9E. What questions or discussion do we have before we consider a vote on

071this motion? I can give some details as in terms of why I think a work session is important here and why it makes sense. I contacted the Indiana State State School Board Association, sent them a copy of the proposal and asked for their input. And Julie Slavens from ISBA, who's the senior counsel and director of policy services, her first comment before she Her first comment was that five pages is excessively long for a policy and she said she would look through it and after looking through it, she got back to me again and said that much of what's in there could go into administrative guides rather than rather than a policy. So, I think there's some details that we need to work out. The other thing is with the change in the laws that Mr.

072Major referenced, the Well, even with this policy, the the proposal in the policy is to run a policy from July 1st through June 30th. We have plenty of time between now and that July 1st date that the reporting would start with this policy. So, I am still very much in favor of having a work session, which I would hope we could schedule before our next meeting and hash out some of these things before we vote on the policy. Yeah, I had great hopes that we would have scheduled the meeting before this meeting. The original policy draft was provided to every school board member On February 3rd, Dr. Phillips reached out and asked if we could work together. On February 14th, I sent my final draft. There were no other emails to me from February 3rd

073on to today advising me anything of what they just said. Um there was comments made last week after an executive session that this would not be on the uh meeting for tonight um because we had to look at the law more. The law really only states that uh the reporting structure would go from the Department of Labor to the Department of Education. That's a very simple thing to fix inside of this policy. I think the root of the policy was to uphold what had previously been done, which is look at no different than I wish wish Mrs. Weldon was here tonight cuz she could speak to it from an industrial perspective. Uh in industry, uh manufacturing facility, if there is uh what's called a near miss, that near miss is used for continuous improvement efforts

074to identify how to keep that near miss from becoming what would be called an OSHA recordable. Uh for us, we are doing a report that says there was something that happened to a teacher where a teacher was hurt harmed or injured by a student and that report would be the similar of the near miss. When we have a workers' comp, that would be similar to an OSHA recordable. The request was for us to have regular reporting monthly as a school board on the aggregate number of those incidences that occurred during the month to have some form of uh reporting at the end of a semester and at the end of a school year so that we could plan and prepare on how to improve our processes, procedures, and environment in the in the education area,

075whether it's in the classroom or outside uh to ensure that our teachers are in a safe area and that they are not getting hurt. We've seen numerous uh cases, at least I have. I mean, I've got one right here. I've got a picture of a teacher that's got bruises all up and down her arms because she was kind of beat up in a classroom. We talk about a teacher shortage. We need to figure out how to make sure our classrooms are safe for the teachers. Just as safe as for the teachers as for the kids. So, if they're hitting teachers, what are they doing to other kids that we may or may not see? So, we need to work on discipline. Also included, and I did not include this in my draft, but it also

076the law increases the penalty for battery on certain health care employees and school employees. So, I think that's something where we're going to have to also take a look based at that law on our discipline process to ensure that uh kids are not uh hitting a teacher. Um there's there's no uh there's no good reason why we can't move forward quicker than waiting 3 more months. During that 3 months, how many more teachers are going to get hurt? 2 years ago, we reported that there was a 100 plus I'm I'll be done. I'll be done when I'm done. Thank you. Um there was around 124 instances. Actually, it was 142. Um but the paperwork was incorrect apparently and it was 124. Last school year, there was a significant increase. Significant. Um when we've had our

077one and only one security discussion this year in October, we were already at around 80 to 85% of the prior year's full year incidents. So, I think that we do need to understand this better. We do need reporting and we do need to be able to keep uh our teachers safe. So, that's why I believe we need to move forward with this. We can always amend later, but we need to start our work now. I've I've got a couple as well. I I think when we talked about work sessions and we created I think Mr. Nalen, Mr. Stover, and I were on the subcommittee. The intent of a work session was not to delay. It was to give us an opportunity to discuss. And we've had over 30 days since that opportunity. And no one

078has taken any effort, at least by my emails or my records, to schedule that. And so, I'm concerned of what that looks like when it's a safety issue. I think the other thing is is I talked with a couple teachers coming into this. The documentation online shows that today is the second reading of this policy. It shows it on that policy draft right now on our on our board docs. I think the other thing is is like we talked about with July 1st, just cuz July 1st is the start of the school year doesn't mean we can't start monthly reporting now. I I don't have any access to that. I've had we I know we've had those discussions in the past, but I think we can definitely get some visibility and transparency to that today.

079I I it hurts me when I when I hear we're waiting for the state when we know that where the state's going to land and this is clearly above it and we can rise above the legislative requirements and definitely give that opportunity to be able to have that visibility. I think this if I recall correctly in our discussions when we started the superintendent search, this was the number one issue raised by the teachers union saying that teacher safety has been a um priority that they need and they have wanted to see this over and over and we've done nothing on policy related to that since. Um and again, similar to what Mr. Major says, we can always amend, but we have to be able to say that safety's our top priority and I don't think

080we have to wait for the state to tell us what we exactly have to put when we know that whatever is on this like I can see the policy. The policy is clearly above the state legislative requirements um regardless of the reporting institution and clarification of whether it's going to go between the Department of Workforce and the Department of Education. Just to be clear, I'm not asking that we put this off um until July. I'm asking that we put this off until we have a work session and then in our April meeting we can come back for a second reading. My question is for Mr. McIver. Uh just for cuz this is the first time that we've experienced where we've had an agreement for a work session and part of the next motion should be

081to rescind the work session, correct? Correct. >> So, if that was not an actual board approved item, how does that work in term just because we said we're going to have a work session, we never voted to have one. So, Robert's Rules would recognize multiple ways that the board can approve an action. Sometimes you have a voice vote, sometimes you have a roll call vote. Robert's Rules does recognize approving things by consent and generally for procedural process type things like that, that is what's most common. So, when Mr. Stover would say board members, do we have any interest in having a work session and somebody says yes and everyone else nods, okay, that that would be approving that step by consent. That supersede the fact that the second reading is labeled as today's date on

082the policy? I'm not familiar with what Mr. Schultz had referred to I on the agenda, I did not see it, but I don't know what part of board docs. >> Top right of the board docs for the policy in draft. Uh my bad. Top top right of the board docs uh uh policy in draft. D5 25 first reading 3 second 2026 second reading 330 2026 today's date. All right. Thank you, Mr. Major. I would tell you that the agenda is what we're working from and the agenda that gets posted and goes out to you is is the agenda. So, that your first step is to amend that agenda to add D5 25 back. And again, if that step is successful, then rescind the decision to have a work session. If that is successful, then you

083have a chance to vote on the policy or make amendments to the policy and then vote on it. Mr. Stover, if I could just just jump in there. We've I I believe that from a procedural standpoint, we've had multiple instances in which a work session was requested, but was not scheduled before the next board meeting, just depending on the timing. Um in this case, of course, we had spring break in between the last board meeting and this board meeting, which was 28 days ago. We also then had a uh an executive session on one of the other Mondays that fell in there. Um so, procedurally, it wouldn't be an exception for us to go multiple meetings in between considering a second uh first reading and a second reading. And I believe in those cases, as

084well, the assumption was that we would go first reading in meeting one, followed by second reading in meeting two, but when the board then requested a work session, we put that in there uh and then placed it on a second reading following the conclusion of a I'll say a successful work session. Um and then the only other thing that I want to add is that the uh Dr. Stallbom and her team have provided updates on these uh incidents and the numbers uh at least quarterly for the last at least four quarters, perhaps more than that, but since the uh you know, since the report came out the summer before last, we've been reporting those numbers publicly. Uh I'm sorry, in in your board uh notes that we send home and then also done annual annual

085reports in front of the board. So, the information is being shared uh and work is being done. All the people who just left this room um working very very hard to try to keep every one of our students and staff safe. Uh we do not not have problems. Don't don't hear what I'm not saying. Uh we but we have a very good track rate record of teacher retention right now and and uh won two different employer uh awards for the quality of uh what people feel like working in our workplace. That doesn't mean we're perfect. And it doesn't mean mean that we don't need to continue doesn't mean that we don't need to continue to share information. Uh but people are doing work right now to try to keep all of our teachers, staff, and

086students safe. Thank you, Dr. Phillips. Additional discussion or questions? One one last point. We have also approved policy after one reading. We have not always required to. So. A question again for Mr. McGuire. Uh if {slash} when we have a work session, would there be a necessity for a new first reading if we made massive changes? For instance, Mr. Nalen talked about the notes he received back from his parties that he discussed with uh five to eight pages is a little long for a policy. Uh would we need to have a new first reading or can we go directly into I've handled that both ways in the past. Um and I think generally, kind of what you're getting at with your question, I think the board has typically taken the position that if those edits

087are more significant and sometimes if the work session might even be, you know, the hour before the regular school board meeting, if there are opportunities to allow folks time to review them, sometimes you have put an extra meeting in there, but there have been other times when you have posted those edits online prior to the next meeting and just gone into that next meeting and voted on it then. Um so, I think it would be be a decision for you all to make depending upon the the uh extent of those edits. Seeing that we're reaching an end of the discussion, I'll remind everybody that the motion before us is to add a new agenda item uh item 9E, which is the new policy drafted by Mr. Major uh D525. Uh Mr. Major made the motion,

088Mr. Schulz was seconding. Uh I'll do a roll call vote. Mr. Major, how do you vote? Yes. Mr. Nalen, how do you vote? No. Uh the chair votes no. Ms. Lloyd, how do you vote? Yes. Ms. Lloyd, Mr. Glick, how do you vote? Yes. And Mr. Schulz, how do you vote? I. So, the motion's carried. We have uh item 9E added to the agenda. Uh I would suggest that we go ahead and pull out item 9E. That would be my preference. So, that we could vote on items 9A through D as a group if there's no objection, and then vote on item 9E after that. Am I allowed to ask a question now? Uh let's let's see if we can get a motion Okay. Okay. Okay. There. No, no, that's good. Let's let's get a

089motion and second. Uh I think the motion's already on the table for A through D, correct? Oh, yeah. And no, no. Yeah, no, he he he motioned an amendment after A through D. No. I added E. Rich wants to take it >> Now we need a motion to approve it. Separate. My knowledge, if if there's a board member ready, this will be the first motion to approve items 9A through 9D. I move that we approve items 9A through D as presented. Second. Thank you, Mr. Nalen and Mr. Schulz. Any questions or discussion items 9A through 9D? Hearing none, we can proceed with the vote. Mr. Major, how do you vote? Yes. >> Items 9A through 9D, just for clarity. Uh Mr. Nalen? Yes. Uh chair votes yes. Ms. Lloyd? Yes. Mr. Glick? Yes. And Mr.

090Schulz? I. So, that motion carries 6-0. Items 9A through 9D are approved. I think I neglected to say, but just to make sure that it gets in the minutes, the motion to add item 9E to the agenda tonight was carried 4-2 after the roll call vote. Okay. So, uh you've heard discussion on item 9E already, which would be the passage of item or policy number D525. Is there a motion to approve the new agenda item 9E? A- As a reminder, Mr. Stinner, I think the first step would be for the board to act to rescind its decision to hold the work session. Okay. So, is there a motion to rescind the work session that was approved at the last meeting? I will move to rescind the motion of work session from the prior meeting regarding

0919E. Mr. Schulz has made the motion, Mr. Major has seconded. Any discussion on the motion for rescission? So, here's maybe where my question fits in. Um we have our policy has been that we do work sessions when a policy's been presented. Um what we're talking about now is um a policy on um reporting injuries, which I am totally in favor of having a policy on that. Um but there has been seems like consensus that that we need to have a discussion af- if this policy passes on amending this policy, and I don't know how work sessions work um once a policy's been passed and there's not a new policy presented. Um it seems like a very cumbersome way I don't know how we get it at work session to amend this if if and when

092it passes. I under- Dr. Phillips, got a question for you. In any of the prior policy discussions, have I ever given you recommendations for change? Many times, yes. Have I ever tried to stall, stop, or deny the movement of a policy from moving forward because of those changes? Not that I can recall, no. And I put faith in you and others to make sure that those changes were put in place as best as possible, correct? Many times you've stated when it's appropriate as you adopt the next adjustment to the policy, you make these changes. Okay. I just want to make sure. So, I just want to make sure that when I had issues, I acted with you. I acted to suggest to you that I had comments, questions, or concerns. I didn't wait 2 months

093to do that. I didn't wait 6 weeks to do that. I didn't wait 4 weeks to do that. I did that at the meeting or before the meeting. And we had the conversation, correct? Correct. Thank you. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong. I I think we've motioned from a board uh recommendations for changes of policy of administrative state um and also adjustments based on legislative updates mid-session as I think the state house had two emergency sessions that impacted policy in the past 2 years. Sorry, the audio is horrible in here. Say the first Say the first part of what you said again. I said I I mean, Mr. Nolan was asking how it would be to make a change once the legislation, if there is any clarification. We've made multiple referrals for administrative changes

094and/or updates based on legislation including the latest mid-state session where there was an emergency house session, I believe. Correct. So, that there are there is the ability to make some administrative and technical changes based upon the language in the policy. Thank you. Question? I believe the motion in front of the board is to rescind the work session that was agreed to at the last meeting. If we're ready for a vote, I'll do a roll call vote. Uh Mr. Major, would you vote to rescind the work session? Yes. Mr. Nolan, would you vote to rescind the work session? No. Chair votes no. Ms. Lloyd? Can I make a comment? Am I allowed to do that? Um certainly. I I do think a work session would have been nice as a newer board member. Sessions that we

095have had have been helpful. I think we work much better when we're collaborative around a table and we can speak freely and openly about policy and other things. Um with that being said and you know, hearing my colleagues discuss the delay, I I don't want to get in the way of collecting information that could potentially support our teachers. I do think that the policy needs some work. Um I do have some comments, but I I certainly don't want to to get in the way of protecting our most valuable assets. So, yes. I'm sorry. Yes, rescind. The call for a work session. Aye. Yes, and Mr. Shawls? Aye. So, that motion is carried 4-2. Uh Mr. McIver, unless I'm wrong, we're ready for a motion on item 9e, the new agenda item. Correct. And to the

096extent that you are making edits this evening, those amendments would need to be made to the policy. I I would suggest at a minimum, so House enrolled act at prior to our prior to our last meeting, uh the state legislature was considering uh House enrolled Act 1249. That act had been passed, I believe, at the time of our last meeting by both houses, but hadn't been signed by the governor yet. Uh if I'm getting my timing correct, it has since been signed by the governor. That act repealed entirely the statute that required reporting to the Department of Education. So, that is no longer a thing at all. Um so, at a minimum, references to that statute, references to submitting uh reports to the DOE, those items should be pulled out. Um I would suggest that

097you have discussion uh or consider discussion around what constitutes an injury in this item. Um I think Mr. Major's done a a fine job of articulating, I think, the hope of trying to identify those near misses. The challenge with that and with some of the language around things like threats or potential harm is how do we define those? And what what I would encourage the board to put thought into is to try we've had had a couple years of a problem where we had a mandate to report and not clear direction on what it was we were supposed to report. And what I would encourage the board to avoid is creating its own policy that creates a mandate to report without providing clear instruction as to what it is that the administration is supposed to

098report. Thank you, Mr. McIver. Um given those comments, is there a motion regarding agenda item 9e? Earlier, I had used the verbiage to make the motion to include the teacher safety policy with the revision of the semi-annual report to the Department of Labor, which is what's required now. So, would that be sufficient for moving forward since I did define those are the two key changes that uh would be in that policy. No longer Department of Education, it's Department of Labor. And the requirement that there be a semi-annual, not annual, report. So, and I'm going to look to Dr. Stallbaum and hope that she jumps in here if necessary. Um the workers' compensation system as is under existing law requires submission uh of reports of certain injuries. If it is an injury that requires minor first

099aid, a band-aid, an ice pack, and a one-time type thing, a form doesn't get filled out, but beyond that, it does. Some of the reporting around some of the requirements around those reporting is what I believe is going to be changing. I do not know the timing of what the new new report will look like. I think what Mike is referring to is, and we've presented this before to the board, there's a difference between our information only reports, our medical reports, and our indemnity reports. At BCSC, we always send all of our reports to our workers' compensation administrator, a third-party administrator, because we want to document everything. We want to have a healthy reporting culture. And so, the question, what I what I think Mike is questioning, and I would concur, is that to the

100Department of Labor, that reporting structure has not been defined for us. And so, I can see a world in which we would no longer submit information only reports, and it would be medical and indemnity only, but I don't know if that's what they will determine. And so, that clarity is going to be important so we don't run into another situation where we're reporting something that we need to explain and maybe doesn't align with the guidelines that we haven't been provided yet from the Department of Labor. Dr. Stallbaum, uh I'm getting a little nervous about the amount of discussion that we're having here without um a motion on the floor. I- Is there a board member that's willing to make a motion to approve the new agenda item 9e? I I move that we approve 9e,

101teacher safety reporting policy, with the amendment of semi-annual report, and instead of uh Department of Education, Department of Labor. Second. Thank you, Mr. Shawls. Questions or comments on the motion to approve? Yes, this is a good time to say this. I am going to vote yes for this policy because I don't want to stand in the way of collecting data on teacher injuries. Um but I don't know what our process is for requesting a a work session for amendments, but I plan to find out what that how we do that because I still firmly believe that we need this this needs some work, and maybe that's when more information comes out about the legislation and how we fit them together. Um but if we need to move forward on um this reporting policy as stated,

102then I am going to support that. Nolan? Questions, comments, discussion? Uh just as a board member, uh I am nervous about passing this uh without the language being set. Um there are parts of the policy that seems to me should be in the administrative code and not in a board policy. Um and then there are parts of the policy that especially the parts that would go in the administrative code, I don't think are um good practices up to the standards of BCSC. So, when it comes to it, I will vote no, and I'd encourage other board members to vote no, as well. I would like to see fully formed policy that every board member understands, voted on at a future board session. Board meeting after we have an appropriate work session. Additional comments or questions?

103I'll do a roll call vote. Mr. Major, how do you vote? Absolutely. Nolan, how do you vote? Aye. Chair votes nay. Ms. Lloyd? Aye. Mr. Glick? Aye. And Mr. Schulz? Aye. So, that motion for the new agenda item 9E carries 5-1. Number 10 on our agenda this evening are the two human resources recommendations. Actually, I think tonight is just one, 9A. There's no I'm sorry. 10A and no 10B. Correct. Dr. Stallbaum. Yes, thank you. The 10 human resources consist of four retirements, five resignations, and one leave of absence. There are no additional personnel recommendations this evening. I request that you please approve the human resources recommendations as presented. Dr. Stallbaum, is there a motion from the board? I move that we Thank you, Mr. Glick. Thank you for the second, Mr. Major. Roll call vote.

104Nolan? Aye. Chair votes aye. Ms. Lloyd? Aye. Mr. uh Mr. Glick? Aye. And Mr. Schulz? Aye. So, that motion is carried 6-0. Board input and review. Mr. Major, we'll start with you. Yeah, I got a just a couple of things. One thing, congratulations all the teachers that were in here earlier. Uh we very much appreciate all the effort that you put forth in the classroom to help our our children or the young future citizens of this great country. So, we thank you for that. Uh also, congratulations to uh soon-to-be new principal Mocas. And uh you know, my daughter went to Richards, so I know that uh that's a very good school, and you know, Mr. Sprong has left some big shoes to fill, and I'm sure she'll do a great job. And then the last

105thing I have, um on Thursday night, uh there is going to be at Central Middle School from 5:30 to 8:30, an event uh fundraiser for the robotics teams from both Smith and Faureia, who qualified for the world championships in uh April on the 27th through 30th in St. Louis. Uh these um these students and their families and teachers that are going to be with them, uh the students need all the help we can get uh to generate some funds to help them travel. Um sometimes travel like this is a little bit difficult for some kids, so we need to see if we can get a bunch of people out on Thursday night to uh help support this good cause. Um They're They What they really like to have is people that would like to participate

106as though this they were the students uh driving the robots and participating in the games that the kids would, um just so they can get a feel of like what the kids are doing. So, it's it's a good way to be a big little kid. It's a good way to support a good cause, and uh even if you can't go, I know you can send a check to Smith Elementary, uh and they're collecting the money for the robotics trip. So, thank you. And and one last thing, thank you uh to those of you that voted to support the teachers tonight. Again, you know, we're hopefully we'll uh do everything we can to help ensure their safety in the classroom. Mr. Major, I'll I'd like to point out that I vote for the teachers with almost

107every vote here. And I think I voted for the teachers tonight, as well. Mr. Nolan? Aye. I was going to say prior to you saying that that um every vote that we do as a board is is for the teachers, so I I want to echo that. But, I also want to um congratulate the um teachers of the year from each of the building and buildings, and also um thank the committee that worked hard to make some of those tough decisions and the time that they put in um in that process. I also want to congratulate the um chess team from Parkside for coming in fourth in the state um in a um chess tournament. I don't know if we've participated in statewide chess tournaments before, but um if not, it's a it's a great

108start. And also, in terms of chess, the Parkside chess club, I guess it's a club. It's it's a club with about 80 or 90 members. Um they are hosting for the first time their own chess tournament um Saturday, April 11th from 1:00 to 5:00, and Saturday, May 9th from 1:00 to 5:00. I think maybe they're different levels or different grades, but um anyway, if you're interested in chess or you're curious about what's going on with some of our schools and uh um chess initiative, that would be a good time to check it out. Mr. Nolan, Ms. Lloyd? I don't have anything that's not already been mentioned. Just really proud of the incredible teachers we have in BCSC, and um congratulations to our teachers of the year. Thank you, Ms. Lloyd. Mr. Glick? Uh yeah, uh

109Mr. Major already got the Bosses, Bosses, and Buddies Gateway to Worlds event on Thursday at Central. Uh all I'll add to that is checks can be written to BCSF with the memo line robotics team {dash} Vex Worlds, and donations and checks can be mailed to Smith, as he mentioned, attention BCSC robotics. Um and then also, Thursday during the day, all fourth graders will be attending Ag in the Classroom or the Ag Expo. And uh as I believe Ms. Hill was talking or was mentioned about Ms. Hill that they had piglets come to the her classroom and everything, so all fourth graders will get to go out to the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds and see uh actual livestock and everything, so uh and they'll learn from all sorts of things. Uh last year, they had a talk

110about apiaries and bee uh hives and everything. In fact, I will be delivering a class on tractors. Um so, I'm sure I'll caveat or uh captivate the the audience on that one. Congratulations to North Gymnastics, as well. Um to the teacher of the year. Um and of course, I've gotten to know Ms. Mocas over the last couple years at at Parkside, and I I joked with her that keep in mind it's uh pending board approval, and she uh she at least got a good laugh out of that, so um she will do great things at Richards, as she's proven herself multiple times at Parkside, and just great foundation there. Congratulations to Cria Hill on the Edna Folger award. Um and then I just wanted to say thank you to the tech division, the BCSC tech

111division, on everything that they do, um especially where we are, where travel is very difficult at times on them, and they are able to come, set up, and tear down when we go mobile on the road, if it as it were. And so, thank you for everything you guys do. Um we couldn't do it without um And then also, thank you to Ms. Bush for getting up and and speaking to the to the group. Um it's never easy, and uh good luck to you in your candidacy. It's it's not easy. So, that's uh everything that I have. Yeah, I just want to reiterate, I mean, being on the far side, you you all the congratulatories are already taken, but congrats again to the teachers. I had actually two classroom teachers represented amongst that I have

112personally had, and such great great people, and great taking care of the students every day, and their their care for the students and their outcomes. I also want to say congratulations to CNH or the North High School Gymnastics. Uh it's been a long-standing tradition of their excellency, and I think it it's almost an annual reoccurrence at this point um at that podium. Um I do ask that board leadership um would consider in the next meeting a policy amendment um regarding working sessions. Although I do believe it was in good intent, I I don't think it was ever intended to not be done expeditiously ahead of the next meeting, so I'll introduce that prior to the next meeting. And then finally, I would like to see the administration present um the redistricting priorities to the board.

113I I saw them in the paper, and I requested them after I saw them in the paper. Um however, I think it would be good to have that back-and-forth dialogue, because what I'm hearing, and I'm I know I'm sure others are as well is not exactly match with what was presented at least in that initial article and the subsequent PowerPoint slides, but I think it would be good to have that dialogue. I I've I would like to seek that before we continue on with the public sessions. Here two congratulations. Number one with Dr. Hack who was highlighted in a publication as part of the Republic this weekend for her decades of dedication to this district, this community, and these kids. Thank you, Laura. Also, some of you might have read in the Republic a few

114days before that that Dr. Aaron Stalbaum has uh been selected as the preferred candidate for the next superintendent at Center Grove just up the street. I think just last year I made a comment in one of these meetings about beating Center Grove as often as we could at at some athletic events, but um congratulations, Dr. Stalbaum. Uh Got a few few more meetings left with us, but we're we're proud and happy for you and your family. Thank you, Dr. Phillips. Like Mr. Schultz, I'll just say that going at the end is uh mostly providing dittos for everybody else's remarks, so the next school board meeting is set for Monday evening, April 27th. We will be in this location again that evening at 6:30 uh for our regular meeting in April. There being no further business

115to come before the board this evening, this meeting is adjourned.