School Board Meeting 2/2/26

001evening and welcome everyone. We're sorry to be starting a little bit late, but I think it was worth the wait. That was three minutes well spent. This is uh February 2nd meeting of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation's Board of Trustees. We welcome you to the meeting this evening. Uh we have some special items. Uh there was a reception and there may still be some food or drink on your way out if you'd like to enjoy that. We start each meeting with the pledge of allegiance. So now I'd ask you to stand and join me in the pledge. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. Call the role. I know that Miss Wen is not able to be with us this evening. Mr. Major

002>> here, >> Mr. Nan >> here. >> Mr. Stener is here. Miss Lloyd >> present. >> Mr. Glick >> here. >> And Mr. Schultz >> present. >> Thank you. We have six members. We do have a quorum. And I'll call the meeting to order. Dr. Phillips, would you lead us through the mission, vision, and core values for BCSSE, please? >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Center. Like to start each meeting by reminding ourselves of our mission, vision, and core beliefs. BCSSE's vision is to be the choice to learn, work, and play. Our mission is to develop expert learners by partnering with our community to invest in people. And our core values include that we all can rise to the challenge of high expectations. That learning is most effective when we have choice, flexibility, and see relevance.

003That we thrive when our physical, social, and psychological needs are met. That our community and school district district are stronger when we partner with one another. That we flourish because of the diversity and variability in our community. and that we that our democracy and democratic institutions are strengthened by civic-minded citizens. >> Thank you. We like to start each meeting with recognitions and we have three great celebrations this evening. Dr. Phillips, would you talk about the Educational Hall of Fame award? >> I will. Thank you, Mr. Ster. uh this uh long-standing tradition in BCSSE to honor uh someone who has given the majority of their life to the children and the community of Columbus and Bartholomew County. Uh the BCSSE Hall of Fame award uh will be presented tonight to Miss Kathy Dell. And I want

004to first uh thank Kathy and her family and all of the guests who came to honor here this evening. And then also second, Columbus North Choir for being here, many of whom are former students of Mrs. Dell. And then uh last I would like to thank the members of the Hall of Fame committee for their work in going through the selection process and uh congratulate them on a terrific selection to uh to receive this honor. I know that uh that Kathy believes that she is just one of many in the long tradition of BCSSE educators who give their uh their best to our community and to our kids, but she stands out as special uh this evening as one of just a handful from the performing arts uh you know element of our uh of

005our teachers in this in this district in this community. So, I want to uh ask Miss Whitney Lloyd, a former student of Mrs. Dell's to represent the board. Mr. Mr. uh Schulz is usually he's the representative of the board on the committee, but uh he deferred [clears throat] to former student, Miss Lloyd. >> Good evening. Uh my name is Whitney Lloyd. I am a former Parkside Pirate. I'm a current board member and I am privileged to help celebrate Mrs. Dell this evening. Um, I'm gonna start with a confession. I can't carry a tune in a bucket. I can't really play an instrument and I've never been considered a performer of any kind. But that never stopped Mrs. Dell. She encouraged me to join the Parkside choir. She talked me into joining the band. and she

006even somehow got me to perform in the Parkside Pirate Talent Show. She poured her time, energy, and belief into me for years, making me feel like I was a vital part of every single performance. She made me feel special. And here's the truth. I wasn't, or at least not in the way that I thought. The truth is, she made every one of us feel that way. And I think those of you who performed would probably agree with me. Mrs. Dell treated each child like they were the most important person in her classroom or on her stage. She saw us, she valued us, and she believed in us long before we believed in ourselves. For more than 40 years in BCSC, she showed up with the same excitement, the same smile, and the same passion to

007share her love of music with every student who walked through her door. Week after week, we learned new notes, perform new songs, and explore new instruments. But now I realize she was teaching us far more than music. She was teaching us confidence. She was teaching us resilience. She was teaching us to find our voice literally and figuratively and to use it with courage. Mrs. Dell's energy and vision extended far beyond the classroom. She led countless musical productions and performances, each one full of life, imagination, and heart. Her programs were often unlike anything else in the corporation, combining music and movement and storytelling in ways that made every student shine. She always went far beyond the extra mile, spending countless hours creating something special and magical for her students and their families. Her compassion reached every

008corner of her students lives. Mrs. Dell had a remarkable way of walking alongside of families through life's greatest joys and hardest heartbreaks. After my younger brother Jared passed away at the start of his fifth grade year, she came to our home to see us and she brought us his choir shirt that he had been so excited to wear. And in the years that followed, Mrs. Dell, Mr. Walker, and Mrs. Coleman helped honor his memory by choosing a sixth grader who embodied the same kindness and spirit that Jarb that made Jarb so special through the spirit of Jay award. As a young person, you can tell when a teacher is special. [snorts] You can feel it. And Mrs. Dell was one of those extraordinary teachers who changed lives simply by showing up as herself, kind and

009patient and endlessly encouraging. [gasps] And now as a school board member, I see even more clearly what her work meant. Music isn't an extra. It's a cornerstone of a well-rounded education. It builds creativity, problem solving, and teamwork. The same skills that drive innovation in science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Through rhythm, harmony, and performance, she helped thousands of students think differently, connect deeply, and grow confidently. There's a quote that says, "A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart." Well, Kathy did all of that and then some. [snorts] She didn't just teach music. She helped shape who we became. One of my favorite memories of her is playing her piano and nodding along to the beat as we would sing. And when the song was over, she would smile and say so

010sincerely, no matter what, "Oh, that was wonderful." [laughter] [snorts] So tonight, Mrs. Dell, we are turning the tables and it is our turn to tell you it was all wonderful. You are wonderful. To honor your incredible impact, we are proud to recognize you as a member of the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation Education Hall of Fame. You have more than earned your encore. Thank you for making music with us. There's some really wonderful things. The 2026 Education Hall of Fame award presented to Kathy Dell. And then there's some wonderful quotes here. They say deeply values every student. Fosters a lifelong love of music. She taught students to sing, dance, and play a variety of musical instruments. Dedicated to the community through her extensive involvement with the Columbus Indiana philarmonic. Phenomenal music education experience for adults and

011students. Veterans Day program tradition at Parkside. Creative, compassionate, and caring, her legacy will continue to grow as her students share music with the next generation. She has instilled in countless members of our community a love of music that only make Columbus a better place to live. >> Congratulations. Oh, Whitney, thank you so much for that gracious introduction. >> [snorts] >> Your kind thoughts and your words and your memories just touch my heart and it just makes this evening so much more special [snorts] to know that you were a part of that journey. Thank you, dear. [snorts] And thank you to the school board and the selection committee. This is such a great unexpected honor for me and I truly value and I'm honored and I'm humbled to think that I'd be chosen for an award

012like this. I didn't go into education for the awards but for the rewards from students. And I'm going to talk a little bit about that. But thank you so much and thank you for all of those those that took the time to come. It's a very cold night and I truly appreciate you giving your time to be here this evening. It means a lot to me for you to share this with me. And where did that choir go? because that was an unexpected surprise to see some of my students performing tonight. [snorts] So, all of this has made it so very special. And [snorts] I want to tell you a little bit about how I became [snorts] a teacher. And I'm really going to try and hold it together. Now, those of you who know

013me know I can pretty much speak off the cuff. I've done it for a lot of programs. I can't do that tonight because this is just very emotional for me and I want to make sure that you [snorts] all are a part of what this evening is about. When I was about to graduate from college back in 1976, teaching was not a career path that I envisioned, even though my degree was in music education. Instead, I was planning on pursuing a performance career just playing my flute as I had been in college with orchestras and chamber groups. >> [snorts] >> Now, my parents had a completely different view on this matter, telling me that now I was going to have to support myself after graduation. And they both realized that the path of a performing

014musician was not going to be a sustainable income for me. The university that I attended had a job placement office at that time and one of my professors told me about a teaching job that I [snorts] should interview for in Hagerstown, Indiana. Well, I begrudgingly went for the interview and I was hired on the spot. So, I told myself I'll try it for a year. [snorts] Well, one year turned to 43 years [snorts] and I found that I rather liked teaching. Of course, there were those usual firstear challenges, but I realized teaching a classroom of students was still about making music, and that is what I enjoyed most about performing. I soon found myself at the end of class saying, "Thank you for making music with me today," which is a phrase I continued to

015use throughout my entire career. Teaching elementary students was so enjoyable because of their energy and their enthusiasm and their excitement of learning each time they came to class. And this was often their first introduction to music. So learning fundamental concepts of rhythm and melody was something brand new. they [snorts] were experiencing. It was also the moment when they discovered their singing voices and I had the opportunity to play instruments and they had opportunities to play instruments in the classroom. [snorts] Teachers in my life had introduced me to all these experiences and now I realized it was my responsibility and purpose to do the same for my students. One of my students during my very first year of teaching in Haggartown at the Nettle Creek School Corporation was a little blondhaired boy in the first grade

016by the name of Jeff Bachmire. There he is right over there. [snorts] And he's now the principal at Southside. Oh my, what a full circle moment that is. [snorts] When my husband Tom and I married in 1978, I moved back to Columbus and I continued my teaching career in the Decar County School Corporation for two years until Barney Halishack, I don't know if any of you remember Barney, [snorts] uh, called from BCSC one day and said they had an opening to teach music at Kent and Jefferson School. Well, both of those schools closed. So, I moved on to teach at Richards and Lincoln and Southside and finally at Parkside where I retired from in 2019. This award is certainly not just about me, but instead the people in my life that have collaborated, encouraged, and

017supported me throughout my career. I would first like to thank the many colleagues I taught with. In every school, there were always teachers who were eager to collaborate with me and incorporate music into their classrooms. Thank [snorts] you to Sandy Watts for the years of working together for the annual holidays around the world program with her classroom that always included students from a variety of ethnic backgrounds on stage singing songs to celebrate their cultures. I'm grateful to the late Candy Carr for helping with the square dance programs that we did each year together with all the fourth grade classes swinging their partners and dosey-doan around the gym for pioneer days. Thank you, Scott Raburn, who was always willing to help with musical productions, working backstage and alongside me as a stage director. I could not

018have done all of the musical productions with the students [snorts] without his help. His time, his dedication, and his expertise were so valuable to me. I was fortunate to teach with an exceptionally talented art teacher at Parkside. Paul Walker always created beautiful sets and sceneries that made every production on stage come alive. He was such an inspiration for me and he played an important role for the students to experience a great performance on stage each time. To Nora Coleman, I would never have been able to have all the years of the meaningful Veterans Day program with our students without her help. I always told students that it was the most important program that we did each year. and because of her dedication to lend a hand, [snorts] we were able to honor so many veterans

019in our community. I also want to thank John Picket, former executive director of the Indianapolis Opera Company, for the years of collaborating with Parkside by bringing the artists in residency programs to our schools. What an amazing opportunity the students and their parents had because of his generosity to have opera performances on our own stage at Parkside. It was such an exceptional learning experience for the students to perform on stage with professional singers and learn the magic of storytelling through opera. All of these performances were so vital in giving my students an appreciation of music that I hope lasted a lifetime. Making music really changes lives and I saw that firsthand. Especially when I taught students for their entire seven years of elementary school. There was the student that did not make the basketball team but

020could sing the national anthem at the game. There was the student that struggled with reading skills but just by listening to music could sing songs and play instruments. There was the student that was shy and introverted but given the chance to play a character on stage in a musical shined with confidence. And there was the student who had a difficult time making friends but joined the choir and easily found friends just by being in a group that loves to sing together. These are the moments that made my heart happy and told me that teaching was really the right path for my life. My teaching career also led me to IUPU, now IU Columbus, where I taught the teaching with the arts class to undergraduate education majors. It was much different to have adults in my

021class, but we both shared the same interest in educating young students. This class gave me an opportunity to learn more about elementary grade level curricula and ways to incorporate music with math and language arts, social studies, and science. Some of the students that I taught actually became colleagues after they graduated, and I had the pleasure of seeing them become educators in their own classrooms. Thank you to the many also to the many community organizations and civic groups that would invite my students to perform for their meetings and events. These opportunities not only gave my students a chance to perform but also showed them how important these organizations were in making our community a better place to live. I would like to thank the parents for your support you gave me by volunteering and attending programs

022and encouraging your children to make music. They say it takes a village and so many of you were always there to be a part of that village. Thank you to administrators that were supportive of the arts and recognized students talents by attending programs, congratulating them for a job well done and allowing the students to perform in the community even though they were missing some of the school day at times. [snorts] My family played such an important role throughout my career and I am so grateful to have their love and support. I was fortunate to have parents who made sacrifices in their lives so that I could have piano and flute lessons as a young child and made sure that I had a college education even though they were never able to attend college themselves. My

023husband Tom always encouraged me to dream big and reminded me that I could accomplish whatever I set my mind to. >> [snorts] >> I even had the pleasure of teaching my son Spencer at Parkside and I will always remember sharing those years of making music together with him. I now have the opportunity to make music with a new generation in my family. My youngest granddaughter, Berkeley, she loves music just as much as her Grammy does. In closing, I need to share with you that I was fortunate enough to still pursue a performing career as [snorts] I had originally planned alongside my teaching career. There were always regional orchestras, chamber groups, and musical groups to perform with throughout the years wherever I lived. And I even had the peri privilege of performing with the Columbus, Indiana

024Philarmonic as principal flute for [clears throat] 36 years before retiring in 2023 and I continue to be involved with her music education program. Performing music was always a passion of mine. Teaching music made a difference in my life. I will always cherish the memories of teaching music to the many many students that I had the opportunity to spend the time with and I would still say to them after all these years from the bottom of my heart, thank you for making music with me. Thank you, Mrs. Dell, and congratulations. I think there's going to be a photo opportunity. Congratulations. Thank you so much. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> You're the >> picture isn't for us. [laughter] The Hall of Fame award meeting is always one of the best meetings of the year. Uh Dr. Phillips, we

025had something unusual happen this year. Uh, next item on the agenda, our Lily endowment scholars >> did Mr. Geel is going to come up because uh, both students selected this year for, uh, the two winners of the Lily Endowment Scholarship from Bartholomew County are both CSA Newekch attendees. So, uh, Mr. Geel, take it away. >> Thank you and good evening, members of the board and Dr. Phillips. Tonight, I have the distinct honor of recognizing two students who have achieved one of the most prestigious awards academically in our state. [clears throat] The Lily Endowment Community Scholarship was established in 1998 with a very specific mission to ensure that the Indiana's most talented young leaders have every incentive to stay in state for their education. The goal is simple. invest in students who will ultimately give back

026to our communities through their leadership and service right here in Indiana. This truly is a life-changing award covering full tuition and fees for four years at any Indiana college or university. In Bartholomew County, the selection process is rigorous. This year, there were over 59 applica applicants from across the county. That group was narrowed to down to 10 finalists and after an intensive interview process only two recipients were chosen. I'm going to ask them to come up here now before I talk to them. I am incredibly proud to announce that both of this year's winners came from CSA Newekch, Zoe Jernigan and Kevin Whitikund. While their academic records are impeccable, they were chosen not only for their academics, but because they truly embody the qualities of our ideal graduate at CSA Newekch and in BCSSE. Zoe

027is a student who leads through immediate action. She's often the first to raise her hand for any task, even saying yes before she knows exactly what that task is. Um, and she she does so with excitement and eagerness and readiness to learn and serve. Her heart full of generosity makes her a fantastic ambassador for her family and our school. She doesn't just sorry she doesn't just wait for opportunities, she creates them. Kevin is a young man of remarkable depth. He possesses a brilliant and witty mind and his thoughtful insights enrich every conversation he joins. What stands mo out most about sorry what stands out most about Kevin is his genuine care for his peers and his tireless commitment to making CSA new tech a better place. He represents the kind of insightful leader we know

028will continue to make an impact for us in our community. Zoe and Kevin, you have represented your families and our school with immense pride. Please join me in congratulating our 2026 Lily Endowment Community Scholars. >> [laughter] >> suit on memorialize it. Now, our last celebration of the evening, Dr. Parsons is here standing in for athletic director Mr. Miller. And we'll introduce uh Coach Olds, who most people have to work a really long time as a coach before they see some state championships, but this is his third now, a team and two individuals. So, congratulations to you and thank you, Dr. first >> and thank you school board and Dr. Phillips for inviting us here this evening. I do have the pre the privilege to announce um or introduce you to our uh Columbus East wrestling

029team and coach Ty Olds. Uh this is our second year being here in a row which is really exciting. Uh we won the state championship last year and that is a big thing to follow up and they surprisingly did a phenomenal job with it. Uh these girls peaked at the perfect time and I think coach would say that and really we shined uh bright at at the state finals this year. So I'm going to go ahead and bring coach Olds up so he can go into the details about the uh the awards of our girls. Thanks. It's pleasure to be back be back. uh hope we can make this an annual visit. [laughter] There's first some people we need to recognize. Uh first I want to thank my wife Emily and my son uh Braden.

030They put up with me all season long. Even in the offseason they sacrificed so much uh to allow me to be able to do this and I wouldn't be able to coach without them. Uh thanks to the coaching staff, Dton Obblet, Dustin Cloud, Brian Bower. We're lucky to have them and their dedicated u dedication and knowledge to the group. Their wives Diana, Alexa, and Amy for allowing them to be with us. Uh thank you to the parents for trusting trusting us for miles driven for the help provided uh the weekend spent in the gyms. The program doesn't succeed with without the parents. H Thank you to our school administration. We appreciate Mr. Miller, Dr. Parsons for helping and supporting our team throughout the season. Uh there's a quote Wilmer Rudolph, an Olympic champion who overcame

031childhood struggles, said, "Believe [snorts] me, the reward is not great without the struggle." And this team defines that quote. Uh when we left here last season, to say the least, this year was going to be a little hazy. Uh we weren't sure how many girls we were even going to have on the team. Uh there was only one eighth grader that I knew was coming up uh and joining joining us and uh all of our captains were graduating. So uh the team finished last season by losing or graduating all but six girls and that was our state championship run full of seniors. At the start of this season, we lost multiple girls to injury including some season ending. one being our team captain and the only state placer from last year. Three weeks in the

032season, we had to relocate to a new practice area and a new routine. By the end of the season, there were only two girls who wrestled at sectional last year that were coming back to sectionals this season. No one outside our room believed in them, and they weren't even ranked in the top 20 in the state. There were sorry there were so many um excuses these girls could have used and no one would have judged them for it. But that's not what they did. Even though the start of the season was rocky, they kept pushing forward. They brought into they bought into the culture we are creating and believed in the coaches and each other. With so many new girls, they had to learn and gel quickly. Many girls stepped up to lead and put

033lots of extra time in getting better. When the dust settled, they'd finished fourth in the state and only a few points from state runnerup. With these girls accomplishments together, there was nothing short of spectacular. And the future now looks very bright with all but one girl returning for next season. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to introduce them. And then, uh, girls, as you come up, like you to shake everybody's hand um, in acknowledgement. Uh, first, our senior who couldn't make it this evening, Lucy Morales. She was one of our team leaders. Uh, next our state placers led by junior sixth place at 105, Tina Ditz. Sophomore seventh place at 235, Cadence Bradlin, [applause] one of our freshman sensations at 120, third place finisher Gloria Cloud. and our other freshman sensation, freshman state champion

034at 170, Annie Redmond. I'd like to go down by uh by by grade. We had junior Brayley Becks, Isabelle Wakefield, Ashley Manis. I don't think Smalls is here, is she? Nope. Sophomores Abby Morales, Doulce Santiago, and Kylie Trailer, for the rest of our freshman. Uh Leah is not here. Leah Tomlinson, Brilen Rodriguez, Tanya de la Cruz, Ellie Blightton, and Lupe Bon Rostro. And then the coaches, you come up here, too. Dustin, Coach Knobblet, Coach Bower didn't make this evening. Um, like I said, I hope we can come back again next year. We're looking forward to actually having a really great year. Top one, top two in the state. It's what we're hoping for. So, thank you guys very much. Appreciate it. Flex it up. [laughter] What you said? [laughter] We thank all of you who

035are able to join us this evening. The the funnest part of the schoolboard meeting is done at this point. So [laughter] >> Mr. Dell, you can leave if you want to. >> [laughter] >> Grab as many cookies as you'd like. You don't have to worry about making weight tomorrow. >> That sounds like good. >> Cheese balls. [clears throat] The next item on the meeting agenda is school board member reports and I'll just go down the line and see if board members have reports to give this evening. Uh Mr. Schulz, >> nothing to report from my side. >> Thank you, Mr. Schulz. Mr. Glick, >> uh we had the superintendent advisory council. Uh believe that was the 12th or 16th. Uh we all gathered at Indigo uh and basically discussed what makes Columbus great and how

036can we harness the greatness of Columbus to remain attractive and and bring in and maintain our students here uh that we tend to be losing. And so it was it was a good little round table that we had and had little breakouts to focus on different areas and came up with some good ideas. So it was real good. And then uh also coming up Thursday is the district and facilities uh meeting here at believe 8 o'clock or 8:30. >> Thank you Mr. Click. Miss Lloyd. >> Um the school foundation met January 22nd. The board elected new officers approved the foundation's 2026 budget and form committees for grants, fundraising, and scholarships. One exciting announcement um is that a generous family has made it possible for all fourth grade students in BCSC to visit the TC Steel

037State Historic Site for Indiana history. Um this is a new and immersive experience for students and we're super thankful for the community uh members who make these opportunities possible. >> Sounds great. Thank you, Miss Lloyd. Uh Mr. Alan, >> my committees did not meet, but I do have a school board association legislative update. Um, two bills that I'd like to mention that are currently traveling through the legislature. One is House Bill 10004. Um, and the Indiana School Board Association is in favor of this bill. It is um a deregulation bill that is um taking a basically giving more power to local school corporations to make decisions over over um quite a few different issues rather than um being bound by more state regulations. Um and the other one is H bill 1034. Um this is

038um the cell phone bill to actually prohibit students from having access to their cell phones or personal devices other than schoolowned devices during the school day. Um it is one of those complicated things that doesn't come without consequences because there would be um some and possibly substantial cost involved to schools to secure those cell phones during the school day if if the bill passes. >> Thank you, Mr. Non. U Mr. Major. >> Yeah, redevelopment uh met last week and there was some discussion around the downtown 2030 project. There's about 70 ideas that they've received from the community that they're working to try and figure out which are the best to implement. Uh Ramen Alley that is downtown restaurant was named top 10 in the US by Yelp and they talked about the winter market success.

039Uh they provided updates on the parking garages and uh the animal animal care building is going to move across the street from where it is today up by the airport and they're going to build a new building uh just because the building that they have is very old and is uh beyond uh serviceable. Um there's a lot of maintenance nightmares. So they're going to build a new building. Uh health trust met two weeks ago. There was nothing new. Um, it was really a year-end update and beginning to plan for 2026. So, >> thank you, Mr. Major. In addition to schoolboard member reports, we also have some cabinet reports this evening. Dr. Phillips. >> Thank you, Mr. Ster. Mr. Bringer will come up and provide the 2025 year-end financial report as well as the every semester

040we report on the extracurricular funds, balances, revenues, and expenditures for the previous six months. Good evening. It's uh it's always a little disappointing to follow that show. [laughter] I thought all my fans were here and dang it, they're gone. Um looking at 2025, we ended the year financially very strong. Um our revenues across the board were strong. In the education fund, uh we ended the year with 97 million in revenue, which was 1% over our budget and 1.3% over 2024, the result of strong investment returns. In the operations fund, it was down 2.6% to budget and 2.3% to um 2024. We did uh receive 35.6 million in revenue in that fund. Um the biggest uh difference there was we had budgeted less of a transfer between the education fund to the operations fund. That was

041a planned reduction um as we work to reduce those reserve levels we have in the operations fund. Um in the operating referendum fund uh we were 1.7% higher than budgeted and almost 6% higher than 2024 with a revenue of 10.6 million. And the biggest issue uh biggest improvement here was that um the referendum funds are not impacted by property tax caps. And so when assessed values go up, this fund will always reflect that. Our education fund expenditures within salaries, we were up 3.9% which was part of the negotiations for the year. Our benefits were up 5.3%. The reason they were a little bit higher than the salary increases was the state had mandated an increase to the teachers retirement fund uh portion of our budget and so that increase was slightly higher than the salary

042increase. Our other expenditures were up almost 10% um from 7 or excuse me from 7.9 million yes to 9.3 million. Nope. that was budgeted to spent. >> Sorry. And other expenditures 5.4% 5.4 million was what we budgeted. 4.1 is what we expended. 3.7 was in 2024. Um those were for um um professional services that were provided as part of um some of our um I'm sorry, forgive me. I just got in late last night and my brain's functioning. Um those were um counseling services and other things related for student improvements. Um other services uh our expenses were up again I just covered that transfers to operations 7.9 million uh was budgeted 9.3 for last year again that was a budgeted reduction as a way to reduce some of our operation reserves. new to this report.

043This is something new and we would like to spend a little time on this. That fourth column is curricular materials expenditures. In the past, there has been a specific fund for curricular funds. The state has provided monies to us as part of our student counts and we would expend those monies for curricular materials for our students. Beginning in July, the state is no longer providing those funds separately. Those are now part of our state education funds that we receive on a monthly basis. So back in the budget time when we talked about the state was committing 2.3% more money to the education fund, but it was only a 1.6% I believe was a percentage increase was because of this curricular materials funding that is now part of our education fund. So when we calculate that

044in um we spent $1.8 $8 million in 2025 on curricular material funds. Um overall the education fund uh we had budgeted when you count curricular materials expenditures 101.2 million we spent 100.8 million. It does show an increase of 4.6% over last year but again that's including the curricular materials funds. If you compare apples to apples, which is everything but the curricular materials fund, um it's a 2.6% increase over 2024. Again, I apologize for fog brain. Looking at operations fund expenditures and salaries, we were up 7.2% over 2024. As we discussed during the budget process, a lot of that was filling open positions. We saw a similar decline in our other expenditures because a lot of those positions we had been using temporary employees for. Um benefits went up about 5.3% over 2024. Uh other expenditures

045were down 1.5%. And then total expenditures we had budgeted for 38.8 million. We spent 36 million there which was a 2.7% increase over 2024. And I'm sorry to hold the microphone like this. I've been announcing at Columbus swim meets and if I don't hold the microphone in this way, it breaks in and out. I'll hold it the normal way. Sorry. Um operating referendum fund expenditures. Teacher salaries. We showed a 3.6% increase. This is a great thing. This is us holding on to teachers as a longer time. We had an average increase of 16 teachers more per pay in 25 receiving referendum funds than in 2024. Um support staff salaries, those were up 3.1% over 2024. Uh benefits up 5.8%. Again, that's slightly higher than the salary increase due to the increase in the teachers retirement

046fund portion of our budget. Safety and security, that looks like a huge drop. It's down 18%. Trust me, we will be spending that money. That is just timing of the billing from the city and county for our SRO's. We received some of those bills in January and have paid those. So, you'll see that in our first quarter report for 2026 when we get that in April. Um, STEM labs are up about 9.6%. And then the overall budget, um, we spent 9.3 million compared to 9.2 million last year. It's just over a 1% increase. And that note on the right is something we really want to point out to you. 570 teachers benefit from referendum pay. The average teacher pay increase as a portion of this referendum is $9,500. That helps us attract and maintain our

047teachers longer. I'm sure Dr. Stalbomb is very happy about those numbers. Support staff. If we have a,59 support staff benefiting from referendum pay, the average increase to support staff pay is $1,200. This is a look at our overall operating funds rep um reserves. We've discussed we've set um an ordinance to establish a minimum of 13 a.5% in our reserve level up to 19% as a maximum. As you can see in 22, 23, and 24 with post-pandemic monies being put into our funds from the federal and state governments, our reserves got up to 18.7% in our operating funds. as planned reductions to keep us in that level at the end of 2025, our reserves in the operating funds is 16.6%. That last column, those last pair of columns, is when you take out encumbered monies, that

048is money that has been approved as part of the budget for 2025 that we have yet to spend, but we have contracts in place to spend for capital work, um, things like that. When you take in our encumbered funds, our reserves are at 20.6 million, which gives us a reserve level of 13.76. Our rainy day funds, that orang-ish red color, has maintained at 6.2%, we've not put any money in there. We've not taken any money out of there since approximately 2016. This is a a a global look at our end of the year balances again for those operating funds, the education fund, operations fund, and operating referendum fund. There's a new column there. That second column is the education fund with those curricular monies included in that. Um revenues uh are listed budgeted versus actual

049with variances plus or minus. As you can see, except for the operating fund, uh we had better re revenues than we had budgeted. Again, with the operating fund, those revenues are down because of property tax caps. Um expenditures uh across the board listing what's budgeted. The encumbered monies from 24 into 25 are listed on that second line, which gives us our total appropriations available. And again, encumbered funds are monies you've approved as part of the budget that we did not spend in that calendar year, but plan to spend on different projects. Um, and then that fourth line in that area is the actual expenditures shows if we increased or decreased the monies in those funds with an ending balance listed below. and our unencumbered cash balances on the bottom. And that's where we got that

05020.5 million that showed the 13 point, excuse me, 76%. [snorts] Any questions? I went through that a little quickly. I think the the biggest thing I have that is a concern I appreciate the the the bleed down in and reducing the reserves. That's good. Um, we're above that lower threshold. I don't know if you've put together projections yet for new elementary school means, new principal. You're going to go in, you might have not a whole school full of new teachers, but there will be incremental add to teachers, cafeteria, bus drivers, possibly buses possibly, and then all the operating costs to maintain those building. So, have you put together a projection that might show where that lower level will go when we start operating a new building >> as we move into the 26th building, the

05127 budget? We will be doing that later, the first quarter of this year, and then um I believe later this spring, we're going to have three separate meetings with you. One to discuss the education fund budget going forward, the operating fund going forward, and the operating referendum fund. and we'll have those specific buildouts for you for each of those funds which will include any any new expenses related to the elementary school. >> Other questions or clarifications? >> Miss Lloyd, >> just regarding the curriculum materials, do you anticipate that putting pressure on other high priority areas like teacher compensation at all being in the education? I'm going to leave that answer to Dr. Boseman. >> Uh, in it's a good question. In a roundabout way, yes. Um, we we we no longer have the ability to

052track those revenues coming in because they're not separate, but we'll track them going out um and make sure and and um and our our union understands how that works and as we go into bargaining and such. So, um so we'll we'll track that as as our expenses go out. and we'll um we'll plan for those uh over the course of six years as they as they go through six or seven year cycles on textbook adoptions. >> And as Dr. Boseman said, we are still using what we call the 900 fund to expend those monies out of, but when we calculate what the education fund balances are, we count those monies in there. That way, we can keep those expenses separate when it does come time for the negotiations. I will say just to add to

053that from a different dynamic that the board will face as we look at it's the textbook adoption is what curricular materials is referring to. The states just started using that term to define it more broadly. But in prior to the last year, uh we would adopt the materials, the highest quality textbooks that we could find for students, bring them in front of the board, have those approved, and then fees were of course charged to families that weren't on free and reduced lunch to pay for those curricular materials. With the change in state law, um there's a lot more pressure on us from a price side, which is a responsible place for us to be. Uh but now those we've never been put in a position as a district where we had to put in the

054same from the same pot of money that we're spending uh choices between the quality of textbooks and curriculum materials that we're choosing and paying our teachers and other staff. So it's it's just a new dynamic for us as a district as we see those together and as we adopt curricular materials. Um I can tell you we will be focusing a lot more on efficiency and making We're using those to the greatest extent possible and there's no textbooks sitting in a closet somewhere that haven't been aren't being used. >> Thank you, Mr. Baker. I think that's it. Appreciate the report. >> Oh, another slide. >> Yeah, the final report I have for you is the BCSC extracurricular account report for the first semester of 2526. Um in December we received our two-year investment that we had

055used uh reserves from the ECA's back that is listed in the fourth column. Uh the first column shows you the bank balances that they had July 1 which is the start of the academic calendar year. Uh second column is total receipts for that first semester total expenditures. As you can see if you go down to the bottom uh our schools did a nice job. We had positive um returns there with receipts over expenditures. However, remember second semester is when a lot of those trips that the money was raised for take place. So when we give the second semester report in the summer, that number will shrink down a little bit. Um the investment returned we had invested um a little over $940,000. some of those the interest that was a part of that returned into

056those total receipts, but that is the amount that we invested that then came back to each of those funds. We are meeting tomorrow with our financial adviser to look at the next round of investing, whether we're going to do a a one-year or a two-year investment again and would be happy to answer any questions anyone has. >> Questions about the extracurricular accounts. >> Thank you again, Mr. Brer. >> Thank you. Good evening. Uh I'm Nick Williams here to do the technology update for 2026. Thank you for uh supporting us and allowing the time for us to do this. >> Um our edtech lead is Breny. she joins me as well. And Anastasia, our operations lead, is over there. Uh Laura Manette is also here and is our systems lead. And we also have Isaiah and

057Asher who are here. Our our best the best part about our department is our people. Um we really have a high performing group, hold each other to high expectations and um support a lot for the district. So, we do have one of the largest networks in the district that we support. We have over 14,000 user accounts, many students who are trying to get around all of our safety protections. Um, we have over a 100,000 assets, which include devices, but also microphones and mice and everything else. Uh, 2 million square feet of Wi-Fi, which expanded it over the years to include outside areas. We do have a 247 365 monitored network, well over a hundred systems at this point, which is just software and many of those are listed here. Um, and one learning management system,

058which is Canvas, which is certainly helped us the last uh week with snow days. For finances, uh, just kind of piggybacking some of what Jamie said as well, and apparently we need to fix the east microphone. Um there are 3.5 million in annual budget. Uh about two million of that though goes towards uh devices every year. And then since 2019 we've received over three million in grants. This includes federal grants which help pay for our internet and uh our access points and networking material. That's all through a program called -ate and it pays 60% of all of those for schools and libraries. Um but the other grants have helped us uh increase our cyber security uh professional development, family engagement and bring in some innovative things to our district. The latest would be some AI

059features. If you look past uh I found this in our 2001 2003 strategic plan to now um our department has certainly increased in size. Um and then we the budget for devices uh this is prior to going onetoone to having onetoone devices now. Um we only had 13 software programs back then. Um and again really now that covers everything from transportation to communication, food service, education, everything has lots of software um with lots of licensing fees at this point. And we had 2,000 computers all mainly in labs. That's when I was teaching. And now we have about 20,000 across the district. So, um, the the environment has certainly changed, but we have a a really nice foundation to be able to use all these devices and software platforms on. We do review all of our

060software and devices for usage annually. So, these are some things that um are pretty significant that we're going to look at changing. So, one of those is that we are trying to get longer uh usage out of our Chromebooks. So, for example, our we're on a four-year cycle. So, our first graders get new ones and our fifth graders do, but data shows that our K through two students are not nearly on devices as any other grade level. So, we're going to move those to classroom sets and hope we can get up to 10 years of use out of those, or at least that's what Chrome allows us to do. And then we also looked at uh damage all the way through middle school. Most of that damage um over the last few years is mostly

061student inflicted like picking keys off and things like that being middle school students and not hardware failures. So we're going to look at a six-year cycle buying new devices for third graders and moving those on up. But that's an annual savings of 250,000 forever um as we move on and look at Chromebooks. Our high school students when we went onetoone started with laptops. Um we eventually moved them to Chromebooks because they didn't they they could use Chromebooks successfully and they're much cheaper um and safer to use than laptops. And we moved them to touchscreen 360 Chromebooks at the time and we've recently talked to students and teachers about if they're actually using those touchcreens and mobility pieces and they aren't. So, we're moving them to the regular clamshell ones that they have K through eight,

062and that saves about $85,000 a year. And our teachers are also um going to have an option now. We've never really given them an option, but there is a Chromebook Plus model out now that looks very much like a laptop, but the battery life lasts forever. Um they're a little bit more secure, um and can handle all of the things that our teachers need. So starting this year, we're going to offer that as an option. They're about $300 difference between that and a laptop. So it's a potential savings over time of 200,000 um depending on if a teacher chooses that or not and software, everything else we continue to evaluate. So with that said, I'm going to pass this to Breny who's going to talk about edtech. >> All right. Thank you. Hi everyone. Um,

063as you know, it's been a little snowy and cold lately. We've had winter this year, and that's put us in a different position than we've had for the last few years. Uh, and the state offers us different ways to conduct school on snow days. So, we have our typical e-learning day, which is what we had last week and also in December of this year. And then there's also the option for virtual days. So, we wanted to clarify just some of the pieces and differences between the two because sometimes they get used synonymously, but there are some key differences to be mindful of. So, with our typical e-learning days, it's more of like a flexible student-paced independent type of schedule. So, teachers post assignments in the morning for students. They're available during contract hours to answer

064questions, to check in with students. They can provide virtual conferencing in Google Meet is an option, but it's not necessarily a requirement that a student has to be online for a set amount of time. Attendance isn't taken in real time, uh, but rather in the days afterwards when students have access to those assignments and those learning objectives, and they have a little bit more time to work on those until we get back in school. They're also limited to three of those per school year unless there's a waiver the state provides. and that was added into Indiana code in July of 2022. So fast forward to now, we've not gone through as many of those e-learning days as we have in the past. So the other option that the state offered in recent years is a

065virtual day. So a virtual day is a little bit different. You know, your students are still going to be on devices, but the timing is a little bit more structured. So there's a bell schedule that students will follow where they'd have to be online for a certain period of time for each class. Teachers would be taking attendance on who was there, who was on the Google Meet and participating, and it's that little bit different that the assignments would be due the next school day as well. Um, so the idea behind that is that it's a little bit more of a scheduled and structured day. The state allows you to have unlimited numbers of virtual learning days as long as 50% of the day is teacher-led instruction on a virtual conferencing tool, which for us would

066be Google Meet with our Chromebooks. All right. So, I'm sure there'll be questions about that, but we also wanted to highlight some of the awesome things that we've done this year. And one really amazing thing that one of the grants that Nick talked about is our conference we hosted this summer. The Indiana Department of Education's digital learning team has had summer of learning conferences for almost 20 years. And last year we were like, let's go for it this year and let's do something amazing for our teachers. We got the grant. We had an amazing day of learning last July. We had a wonderful theme. We always love a good theme in BCSC Tech and it was up in, you know, the spirit of adventure and an uplifting day of professional learning for our staff. So,

067we did have hot air balloons there which was amazing and fun thanks to our community partners. But we also had a really awesome opportunity to recognize our staff. The DOE also contributes an award is a part of that grant and that conference. So, our award winner was Kelly Culp. She's an amazing English teacher at Columbus North High School. We had over 370 attendees. This was open to the whole entire state. We had people from Kentucky. We had people from Ohio way up northern Indiana attending our event which was pretty fantastic. And it was a really awesome opportunity for our teachers to lead sessions and you know be in that leadership role and share with their peers as well as learn from each other. We had several different sessions and topics that we covered from STEM

068integration to literacy, educational AI tools, Google tools, researchbased strategies, family engagement, and more. So, those are just a few of the many photos from that day. Now, I'm going to pass it off to Laura for a state reporting update. All right, we're going to talk about state reporting and all that entails. And happy count day to everyone who that affects in this room. So, principles, some administrators, happy count day. All right. So, BCSC's goal with state reporting is to have accurate and transparent data with no conflicts or errors. So, there are some expected things. We have some concurrent enrollments with east and north students uh things like that. So there are some expected things but we try to get as close to zero as possible with our conflicts and errors. So back in 2122 the

069state put in a mandatory uh piece of software called data exchange or as we refer to it DEX and that is the way the state connects securely with all of the schools across the state. So um they connect with us, we send up our information nightly. We do have five certification windows but we do sync nightly with the state or whenever we can run a manual uh validation as well. So the five certification windows are July that is the biggest one. Uh this is where we report a lot of our staff reports, the course outcomes, graduation rates, attendance, it's it's the huge one. um in October that's our first count date which is ADM um which is our average daily average daily membership and our graduation rates ML learners and staff updates December is one

070of the special education reports February today was count day for the February ADM report and then another special ed report in April and then we report over 10 million data points a year for all of our BCSSE students combined. So, as students come into the corporation, leave the corporation, we're making sure that we have all of this correct either for the next corporation, or that we're getting the correct information from the previous corporation so that we get no conflicts or errors when we send that up to the state. All of that kind of has to match up along the students journey in public schools. Uh same with staff. We have over 500,000 [snorts] data points every year for BCSSE staff. So, some of those you can see listed below. um and a lot of those

071are tied to their courses and their positions. So, some recent changes from the state um they have a lot more visualization into ed data. Um some new reports requiring you know required staff and good cause exemptions which are the students who are exempt from is I I learn I learn I read um and then some special ed reporting. Special ed changed completely this year. there is a whole new special ed program that's tracking everything. So, that report actually got extended I think about a month um for the final date for that because it was it was a wreck across the state. So, um we're working through that uh the new special ed system. It's a a new system for everyone across the state. So, um we do help our staff. We do some we have

072some tools they can use some level data tools. We do trainings. We've started a powers school training series to help them get accurate data, pull the data they need to help them. We have recurring meeting with counselors to make sure our courses are set up correctly. Uh we have a system for signing off which was started a couple weeks ago. We sent out all the information to principles and today I think it went to curriculum directors because they've all signed off. So the enrollment center helps make sure everyone gets enrolled correctly and then our publishing page we publish that up. The state says no, this is wrong. This is not [clears throat] what we show. fix this or that and then we do that. So, I think that's it. I'll pass it off to Nick

073with question for questions. >> Thank you to the tech department for that annual update. We appreciate it. Uh questions, not even snow days. Nobody has a question about snow days or synchronous and asynchronous. Mr. N, >> I'll save the question on snow days. Um but we first of all um Mr. Williams kind of gave us a snapshot of what it looked like 20 some years ago and what it looks like now and and having been part of the um teacher core during that time. Um I would like to reiterate um that um the the staff of the technology department helped to make that transition really work. I mean the number of of workshops that were offered and continue to be offered and just all the support even like before the the e-learning days. I I

074I don't have to read them anymore, but I see the emails that come out about all the support that you can get and and I I just can't say enough about how this wouldn't have happened without your department and your folks. Um we also hear sometimes noise about technology is interfering with kids learning. Um and so I was teaching during the onset of graphing calculators and and I know that in terms of graphing calculators, research shows if if the graphing calculator is integrated into the instruction, students actually learn more and they achieve more. But I wonder about in using technology in general with our kids having Chromebooks and all that, what does the research tell us about how it impacts student achievement? Yes, absolutely. >> A brief summary of all that research, >> brief summary

075um >> with footnotes. >> So, we could talk about student stories or we have in the past during these meetings, but you know, our district really views technology as a tool and a flexible tool for students to be able to have access to highquality learning materials anytime, anywhere. And that is ingrained in our department as a goal. So, we have a large diverse population of students. So when technology is used like you said kind of like a graphing calculator but as a tool to help a student learn that is where the research shows that the students have the most to gain. Now are there are there pitfalls with that and do we need to teach how to use technology properly? Yes. Um absolutely and we do that with our teachers and have lots of resources

076for that. But it it really is a uh level playing field tool to help all of our students have access to the materials that were wanting them to learn and to help them learn. >> Okay. And maybe this is my research evening for questions. Um in terms of we've also heard in the news lately about synchronous versus asynchronous um for e-learning days. Is there enough research yet on whether we know the research shows e-learning days are not as good as being in school. Um but is there a difference? Do we have know anything about the difference between the impacts or the effectiveness of synchronous versus asynchronous? >> So like you said preference is in school. That's where students learn best. um just because of the the e-learning days that we're accustomed to and that we've

077used has high flexibility. So, if a parent is gone or let's say even at the FFY, like we work with them all the time, had a meeting with them this past week to help support a potential virtual day and what that looks like for a center that's going to have a lot of students in that now has very strict, rigid kind of time sets that all of those kids have to be on a Google Meet. So, um, it's just a little bit more difficult to support the virtual day, um, and have every student at their homes. The pandemic taught us a lot. Um, so we're ramping up kind of supports for that type of day, even just, you know, kind of tech checks in the morning before the 9:00 a.m. to make sure their Google

078meets work. And we're going to do that with staff as well. There's just a lot of variables at home when you're supporting learning versus in a more controlled environment in school. But in schools obviously the preference and these are again kind of like technology they're tools that the district can use uh to make sure that we you know can kind of stay on our calendar and ensure that learning occurs even in winter and floods and everything else that our community has had over the last decade. We know approximately how many of our students would have issues with Wi-Fi or connectivity in a virtual learning day. >> We've tried to collect data on that and we've worked with the county with some of their broadband efforts as well. Um, and it's I've seen it as high

079as 20% and as low as 10%. So, it'd be somewhere in there. It's it it's hard to to get good data because some people just consider their cell phone as a good internet device, which it can be and it can support a lot of our materials, but it's not true broadband that would be kind of the best for these learning environments. >> Thank you. >> And Mr. Non, I'll just add to that that just last week on Monday, I had uh I stayed home. I obeyed the red warning and stayed home and and had Zoom meetings all day long. And after many many months or even years of separated between the last time that we had to live like that, I can't tell you how many times the other people on the screen or myself

080had issues. We had issues with our microphone or our camera or whatever that is. And um an e-learn or I'm sorry, an in-person learning day is not only um the best way for students to learn. Um it's also a system that's in place every day that's predictable and we have structures in place. Whereas any form of online learning um particularly one that requires a virtual day that requires live interaction and the between the technology the technology you know being the interface between the two people or the group of people. Um there's just so many unpredictable things that make that very very problematic and it elevates stress for students. Not to mention I've heard from many staff members not just in our district that will have their two-year-old toddler with them while they're trying to teach

081the students on the other because they also have to take care of their child at home. So, um it's not an an ideal setting and we will do be doing everything we can in the coming months and year and and in the next calendar to make sure that we don't have to resort to e-learning whenever possible. >> My comments not so much as a schoolboard member but a parent. I I would just say that I I truly appreciate all of the tools and resources that you've integrated over the last few years, I with the ease of use and the open lines of communication with my child's school and staff, I I just feel more connected than ever. I feel like I'm part of that journey and I it just means a lot to me as

082a parent and as a schoolboard member. And uh e-learning went very well. We're only in first grade, so don't really feel like that's a great measure, but um we survived and uh I I really appreciate all the work that you put in to make that as smooth as possible. >> I know. >> Any other questions or comments? Mr. Williams and your department, we thank you all for the report this evening and for the work you do all year long. The next cabinet report is just a overview of the three updates to uh current BCSSE board policies recommended by our legal team. The first one being uh C525 medical needs at school. Um the uh attorneys recommend that we update the policy to allow the school nurse to stock and administer specific medications. These are things

083like Advil and things like that. Um, and then provides a statement protecting the school district against uh civil immunity as long as those uh meds are administered in uh accordance with the instructions and then um puts the AD requirements in place that were part of the 2025 legislative session. The second policy update is um the CDL and al alcohol and controlled substance uh policy for um basically our drivers, people who operate equipment and buses and vehicles for us. This is policy D300. Um, and this was just based on some uh a current case that the attorneys that we work with was were uh facing with another district and just reh recommended that we change the language to uh state that all safety sensitive position positions are required to have a pre-employment drug and alcohol screening.

084And then the blood alcohol content uh thresholds are now consistent throughout that policy at the 02 level. And then last, uh, F125 purchasing procedures just clarified that the board awards contracts as opposed to, uh, just awarding contracts and then, uh, clarifies that, um, specific notifications are published in a newspaper as opposed to just being published in general. >> Thank you, Dr. Phillips. Can you remind us of the steps in this process as we update our policies? We'll do the the board policy for adopting policy states that these will be published online two weeks before the first reading. And so these have been online since since that time a little over two weeks ago on the Friday proceeding. Then uh there'll be a second reading. This first reading the board can choose after the end of

085the first reading to vote to have a work session between now and the second reading. uh if there's any additional um conversation that uh you want to have and then the after the second reading they're adopted and that evening there's a vote to adopt in the evening of the second reading >> board members any questions about these three policy updates >> I've got some things I marked on here I'll just give them Dr. Phelps like I have in the past. >> Thank you. If uh any board member feels the need for a work session or feels a work session would benefit us, uh please let Dr. Phillips know. Otherwise, we'll uh calendar the second reading in an appropriate time frame. >> Mr. Ster, I'm going to add a an unannounced cabinet report here. I'd like

086to ask Miss uh Miss Jessica Vogle to come up. the the there's a policy or sorry um an approval item on a grant that's pretty substantial that the attachment that was in the board packet um did not have a lot of information about it. It was several pages but mostly mostly technicalities and just prior to a vote this evening I just wanted to um congratulate Mrs. Fogle on earning the grant because it's a substantial amount of money over the next three years, but also help have her help you understand what that grant will help us do. >> Thank you. This is item 8H that Dr. Phillips is talking about. >> All right. Thank you so much for um having me up here. Um so the department of um the DOE's office of elementary and secondary

087education recognizes that there is a shortage of school psychologists especially in rural um schools. And so because we have had um a difficult time filling a position um that we have had posted for a school psychologist and because some of our schools qualify as rural schools um we partnered with um IU's uh school psychology program um to apply for this grant through through the DOE. And so um we were awarded the grant um and the goal of it is to um support um the recruitment, training and retention of school psychologists. So, um we are excited. Um our um assistant director of special education, Dr. Heather Rimstead, um has worked in another district where they had a similar um grant and worked with um IU School of Psychology. So, she has familiarity with um with that

088um program and and how it works to try to recruit um and retain school psychologists. [clears throat] >> Questions? Mr. that one. >> Just if you could clarify since we're talking about the special ed department. Yes. What what's the specific role of the school psychologists in special ed? What do they do? Well, the school psychologists, they work with the schools um to um to talk on the front end about different strategies and interventions that can be um implemented um leading up to um doing an evaluation to determine if a student is eligible for special education. um looking at whether or not um you know it's appropriate to do an evaluation and then if that is ultimately the decision and we get um permission from the parent um then we move forward with um evaluating the

089student for special education and then determining whether or not the student meets eligibility requirements >> other questions. >> Yeah. So, um, one of the one of the questions I have is, uh, how many do we currently have today and then how many do we need for the future? >> Great question. So currently we have three and a half um school psychologists that work for us on site. And then because we were not able to hire somebody um last year to replace um uh one of our other employees who moved back to another state um we currently contract with a school psychologist who is virtual. So total four and a half. Okay. And so the the the other question I have is um the the funding it's like a million dollars, right? >> Over over a

090period of time, three years. Three years. Correct. >> So is that for all four and a half people or is that certainly not for one person? >> Correct. It is not for one person, but what that would fund would be um it would help fund um some things with practicum students that would come over from IU so that they would eventually um we would hope to be able to employ them as an intern. Um the school psychologist interns, they um they are on um they have a salary, they have benefits, so that would all be included in that amount. as well as a project lead who would supervise um the interns >> because I guess that's where it'd be one thing that would be nice in the future would be to have a budget tied

091to this so we understand because it's $300,000 a year roughly and if it's only for one person and interns it's it seems to me like there'd be extra money and just the the title was about psychologist shortage but the program name from the government with safe and drug-free schools. That's why my understanding of just reading that was like we go back a while back and we were talking about vaping and all that and how we get kids to understand this is not what they should be doing, right? And then tonight it's about special ed and so it just it would be nice to see that package so that we know exactly what the money is, where it's going, and how it's going to be spent. >> You can send that to your budget had to

092be Other questions or clarifications? >> Thank you, Miss Vogle. At each board meeting, we reserve time uh especially before we make decisions on action items at a board meeting. We make time for public comments so that the public can help us make the best decisions possible during our meeting. Uh this evening, no one signed up to make public comments, so we will go straight to our old business, Dr. Phillips. Thank you, Mr. Ster. Um the first item on the agenda [clears throat] for approvals is item 7A, old business. Uh the minutes from the school board meeting of January 5th, 2026. I request approval of item 7A as presented. >> Thank you, Dr. Phillips. Is there a motion? >> I move that we approve item 7A, minutes of the old meeting this time. >> Thank you,

093Mr. Glick and Mr. Major. I got uh positive feedback on the uh roll call votes. So, we we might continue to do things this way, I guess, for a while. Um the motion's been made by Mr. Glick, seconded by Mr. Major that we approve item 7A. Uh, I'll call each board member's name and we can vote in order. Mr. Major, >> yes. >> Mr. Non, >> yes. >> Chair votes yes. Miss Lloyd, >> yes. >> Mr. Click, >> hi. >> Mr. Schultz, >> hi. >> The motions carried 6. >> Thank you. Uh, item 8 through 8H are new business. That includes supplemental contracts, field trips, and professional leaves, school fundraisers. Uh the claims and payroll from the claims from December 19th through January 23rd, uh just over 20.3 million. That large dollar amount reflects the

094semianual debt payments that we make each year. And then also three payrolls from December 1st through January 11th. If you go back to the last board packet, you would notice that we did you did approve the first December payroll as part of that. So technically tonight you're approving the same payroll twice. Uh sorry folks out there, you're not that doesn't mean we all get paid again for that. It's just a repetitive happen to show up in the uh in this here slideshow twice. And then the docket claims for um that'll be paid in February for January of just over 1.16 million. Also includes item AE uh permission to uh approve the final change order and maximum guaranteed maximal maximum price for Johnson Education Center. That ended up being a decrease of just about $800 uh

095over the the initial contract. Item 8F is approval of bus purchases. That is uh total of five buses that will be uh hopefully delivered sometime in 2027. And then item 8G is the public library board appointment. We'd like to recommend that Dr. Laura Hack remain the board's appointee to the library board. And then uh last item 8H is that uh approval of the grant that Mrs. Fogle just reviewed. Thank you. >> Request approval of items 8 A through 8H as presented. >> Thank you, Dr. Phillips. We usually offer board members the opportunity to pull one of these. >> Mr. Stinner, if I could, just to clarify, Dr. Hack is one of your appointments to the public library board. Her term is still in force, but Mont Frasier is the current board member whose term is

096up to the library board. >> Mont Frasier. >> Both of them doing great things. >> Thank you, Mr. Macyver. Uh board members, is there an item here under number eight that we'd like to pull out of the package? I think that I'll be okay based on the conversation we had and conditionally pending that we'll get us something to show how that money is going to be spent >> budget on the grant. >> The grant. Yes. >> Thank you. >> So, >> all right. Um you've heard the recommend. Sorry, I apologize for interrupting. >> Want everyone to know that uh on the board that every federal grant that we have is reimbursement based. Not that Mr. Major is insinuating that we misuse any funds, but all federal grants that we have immediately the first dollar that's

097spent runs us into the hole and then we send every month or every quarter reimbursement requests after we prove that we've spent those dollars in the way that the grant was intended. Which is why the half of our fund cash balance report is all in the red because they're all they're all federal funds waiting for reimbursement. >> Just a clear point. >> And again, based on what I heard, I'll be okay with it. It's just what was in the packet, what we heard, two different things. So, I mean, I'll be okay, but in the future, it'd be nice to have that right when we come in because technically we just introduced this tonight. So, >> thank you. Uh, we've heard the recommendation from administration. Is there a motion? >> I move that we approve items

0988 A through H. >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Nan. And the second was Mr. Schultz. Um, so the motion's been made by Mr. Non, seconded by Mr. shells to approve items 8A through 8H. Uh, Mr. Major, how do you vote? >> Yes. >> Mr. Non, >> yes. >> Chair votes yes. >> Miss Lloyd, >> yes. >> Mr. Glick, >> I. >> And Mr. Schulz, >> I. >> Motions carried 6. Uh, human resources recommendations. Dr. Salvo. >> Thank you, members of the board. The eight human resources recommendations consist of one retirement, two resignations, one appointment, and four leaves of absence. There are no additional personnel recommendations. I request that you please approve items 9A and B as presented. >> I move that we approve items 9A and B as presented. >> Second. >> Thank you,

099Miss Lloyd. Thank you, Mr. Major, for the second. Uh any questions or discussion? Hearing none, we can go on to the vote. Mr. Major, how do you vote? >> I. >> Mr. Non, >> yes. >> Uh chair votes yes. Miss Lloyd, >> yes. >> Mr. Glick, >> I. >> And Mr. Schultz, >> I. >> The human resources recommendations are approved to 60 vote. We have an opportunity now for board input and review. Mr. Schultz, start with you. Yeah, I just want to congratulate uh Miss Dell and her 43 years of service and I know when the committee got the uh recommendation, it was a very easy choice and uh very happy to see the impact that she's had on all these students. Um as a parent, I want to thank all the staff and bus

100drivers and teachers that got our schools prepared in this time of snow and wintry mix and I know that a lot of folks brave through weather to make sure that we had the best situations possible. So, thank you. And then just thank the CN choir for being here and congratulations to the athletes and students that we recognized. >> Thank you, Mr. Glick. >> I'd just like to echo uh congrats and thank you for your service, Mrs. Dell. Uh 43 years is astounding u and it's amazing the impact that you had as we saw uh through Miss Ly's uh comments as well. Uh, congrats to the Lily Endowment Scholarship winners from CSA. Uh, hopefully they go on to do big and great things as I'm sure they will. Congat congrats to the East wrestlers. It was

101amazing to be there. Uh, I had the pleasure of coaching Annie for a couple years and it was really funny to see her walk through the line real quick, head down, shake hands, and get through. And but at the state meet to see how locked in she was as the center of attention because she doesn't like being out in front of people. And so, uh, she's going to go on to do great things and, um, next year there's going to be another repeat of them [clears throat] being here. I guarantee it. Um, between the team that they have and then there's a couple eighth graders who are coming up that are going to be just as good. Um, congrats to the wrestlers from this last weekend at sectionals. 16 BCSSE wrestlers are going to advance

102to regionals at Jeffersonville on Saturday. 11 from East and five from North. And high probability that those 16 will probably be in Evansville in two weeks as well. Um this Friday night is a steam night at the Commons. It's going to be at 5:00 pm to 7 pm for it's open to all families. So go out and enjoy that. And then also girls basketball sectionals is getting ready to start and before uh the next meeting boys basketball section should be starting. So good luck to all of them and that would be all my comments. >> Thank you, Mr. Click. Miss Lloyd, >> I certainly echo uh everything that Logan and Tom both had to say. Uh just a couple of other things I thought were pretty neat over the last few weeks. So, congrats to

103Rock Creek student Lucy Whittington on advancing to the state poetry contest. I thought that was really amazing. Um, congrats to Rick Slutter who was recently named the coach of the year by US track and field. And, um, I might butcher this, so I'm hoping Mr. Hack might be able to help me. East Jr. Ian, am I saying that right? Ian Madden placed first in the project MFG National Machining League. So, also really uh, awesome thing to celebrate. And of course, congratulations to Mrs. Dell. >> Thank you, Miss Lloyd. Mr. N. >> Um, I also want to offer congratulations to Kathy Dell and um, thank Mrs. Lloyd for her wonderful introduction of Mrs. Dell. Um, I have Rick Slutter on my list also, so I'll just say congratulations to him. Um, also probably not a lot

104of you follow Indiana Math League news, so I'm going to update you. Um it's a it's a statewide contest with six different rounds. So after round three, Columbus North is in first place in the state. Um and something that really stood out to me, there were in the last round there were eight students across the state that had a perfect score on that round and four of them were from North High School. So I want to offer commendations to and I apologize for the pronunciation ahead of time. um Advette Eris, Harshiel Gandhi, Isan Jasuja, and Alex Zen. Um also I want to give a plug for an event that's coming up hosted by Landmark Columbus on February 23rd, 6 PM at the Crump. Um Michael Cartwright is going to give a talk about the 1901

105Columbus High School graduation. And I don't want to give away too much here, but I'll tell you it was the second largest crowd ever recorded at the Crump. Um, the story includes a conflict between the superintendent of schools and the school board. That's got to be good. Um, [laughter] a black student being the head of the graduating class and police being called in to stop a riot that interrupted the graduation. And if you want to hear more about that, it's at the Crump February 23rd, 6 PM. Um, and finally, I want to say that Mr. Glick and I had the opportunity to visit Mcdow this morning and and Mr. Newell and his staff are are just doing a commendable job. Every time I go to to a school, I'm just blown away by the impact

106that our schools have on people. But McDow is is unique in that there are so many moving parts um between the high school section and the adult section and the the English learners and um it's it's just tremendous that to be part of a corporation that offers that many things to such a diverse group as McDall does. >> Thank you Mr. Non. Excellent teaser on the crump. Mr. Major. >> Yeah, as everybody noted Mrs. Dell, the Lily Endowment winners, the East Wrestlers. Thank you to North Choir that was here tonight. Um, uh, the 2425 school year, I helped, uh, quite often at the Columbus Enrichment Program. It's a small program here in town led by Miss Pette Roberts. She's a retired BCSSE teacher. Uh, they meet at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings in the basement

107of the Second Baptist Church at 132510th Street. Uh it's a really good way to um get a little extra help if your kids's behind or if your kid wants to get ahead. Uh they take kids all the way from kindergarten age all the way through the high school kids. Um and so I was there when I helped I helped with math and physics. So um it's it's really good to talk to some of these kids and give them just a little more guidance, a little more coaching, a little more help. So that's a that's a great way for people that to get out and do some volunteering. Another way that you can do some volunteering, robotics has got another event on February 21st at Columbus North and the theme is Star Wars. So uh we

108had a there was a great event that was down at the Toyota Recreation Center, the T-Rex building. They had a dinosaur theme. It was not as big as the prior event um because it was planned to be smaller. Uh, but we had teams all the way from Indianapolis to near Louisville. And then the last thing I just want to highlight too is uh uh next month I'm going to have a teacher safety reporting policy that we're I'm going to put out for everybody uh here to talk about for a first reading. Over the last two or three years, I've heard a lot of stories about teachers getting hurt in the classroom. And I know we've had some confusion on how we want to present to the state because it's not uh as clear as what

109uh most school corporations would like. So I think it's important that we define that for ourselves and how we interpret that report and then how we report to the board regularly so that we can teach our keep our teachers safe. So thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Major. Dr. Phillips, any reflections this evening? Um just the reminder that we have the community survey. We extended the deadline due to the weather last week and the fact that many people including me didn't receive it in my mailbox um until I think it was this just this Saturday that I received mine. So be looking for this if you haven't received it yet. The deadline was supposed to be today. extend it until next week and then before the next board meeting uh we will at 5 o'clock

110we'll have a work session in here. Uh you don't have to be here in person. It'll be uh streamed on YouTube because it's a public work session and we'll be joined by the vendor who administered the survey to review results and discuss those results before the meeting. If you did receive one of these, but you want an additional one for other adults in the household, uh, or you didn't receive it at all, and you want to make sure you get it before, uh, the deadline next Monday, you can reach out to Mrs. Chrisman at, uh, the admin building, 8123764220, and she'll make sure you get a code online or a physical actual paper that you can put in the mail and send in. Real real quick, one more thing. >> Sure. >> Which school should

111we thank for the school board appreciation month cards this year? >> Last year I think it was Mounty. >> Mine mine says Mount Healthy. >> Okay. Healthy. >> Yeah. We thank the students at Mount Healthy for the They recognized schoolboard appreciation month and we each have several uh handmade cards which is wonderful. Um, you know, my own input and review reflecting on the meeting, we we clearly have something going on here at BCSC. When you reflect on what we celebrated earlier in the evening, we we've got the best teachers in the state. I'm convinced of it. Uh, some of the best students in the state and the parents and community that supports them. Uh, the best staff. Um the Mr. Glick, Mr. Schultz recognized all the folks that made it possible for kids to get

112to school when they did get to school. Um we've the coaches and the parents. Uh it's just amazing to me and it's good that we have these board meetings where we can celebrate accomplishments like we saw earlier this evening. Um the next meeting Dr. Phillips talked about the the two parts on March 2nd, the 5:00 pm board work session and a 6:30 p.m. regular board meeting. Both those things will happen here in this room. Neither one is closed to the public and they both will be broadcast on YouTube. So without any additional business to come before the board this evening, we'll close the meeting. Thank you all for attending.