001Okay. Okay. Good evening. I have six o'clock, so we will go ahead and get started. Um, we we're starting tonight at six o'clock for a public hearing related to our bargaining process. is going to start with the teachers union next week. So, I wanted just for awareness sake, there are several different types of meetings we do as a school board. Um, a public hearing is one. It's a little less structured and I would say the majority of the agenda is meant for public to give us information. Okay. Um, because there are a large number of you here, which we very much appreciate, which means we will get lots of information. So, we like that. Um we are going to ask that people stick to the three minutes just to make sure we get through people
002as many people as we possibly can. Okay. Um the other types of meetings we have are a regular board meeting that will take place at 6:30 tonight. Um just remind everybody you can also come and speak at a board meeting. You will also get three minutes. In that case though you you do sign up before the board meeting on a piece of paper at the door. Okay. Um we also have board work sessions which we've been having recently mostly focused on policy revisions. Public is also um allowed to attend those. Okay. And they are now on YouTube as well and we invite your your input at those also. Okay. The only type of board meeting where um public is not invited is our executive sessions and that's by legislation. There are a few things that
003that we would do in private. Examples might include expulsion hearings or um Dr. Phillips performance review for example. Um anything related to personnel specific people that's held in private. So um again we don't do these very often. I just wanted to level set kind of the tone for the meeting and and we'll go ahead and get started. I don't gave because we're not making decisions here or anything like that. So we're not ging in and out, but I do want to point out we do have a quorum here. All seven board members are present. Right. >> Thank you, Miss Wen. So, this hearing is for the purposes of the board hearing input from the public prior to the beginning of the collective bargaining process. We have our first meeting scheduled for September 17th is when
004we'll officially sit down and start bargaining with the teachers association. And so, that's these comments during this period are specific to that input. And then again, anything related to the regular B board meeting, we'll put the signup sheet out here in a few minutes. That's for the regular board meeting. So there are a lot of you here and I don't know how many of you intend to speak but if you um are brave and you would like to go first please step to the podium introduce yourself and um and uh what your relationship is to BCSC student parent staff member CA president and then uh feel free to share your comments. Um, good evening. I'm Amy London. I am the president of the Columbus Educators Association, which is our teachers union. >> Okay. Sorry, I'm
005used to my teacher voice. Anyway, I'm Amy London. I am president of the teachers association. Um, I am the bargaining chair for the representing the teacher side of our collective bargaining agreement. Um, I just wanted to take a quick opportunity to introduce our bargaining team that's representing CA. It's myself, um, Mandy Keel, if she wants to stand up in the audience. See, Mandy Keel, she's our vice president of CA with Scott Rurn and Grace McDougall, but I don't think Grace is here this evening. Okay, she's new to our bargaining team this year. We wanted to make sure we included a teacher who had not was not as um I won't say old because Mandy and Scott are not old, but they're not as seasoned as the rest of us. So, um, like Dr. Phillips said,
006we start on the 17th and, um, we thank all of you for being here this evening and I look forward to hearing anyone's public comment. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss London. >> I said thank you, Miss I said thank you. Hello, my name is Megan Hearn. I am the executive uh or I'm on the executive board for CA. I'm the membership chair. I also teach Spanish at Columbus North High School and I've been employed at BCSC now for 10 years. Uh this is my 27th year teaching. So, um I'm not sure how many of you get the Indianapolis Star. Uh however, yesterday they put out uh an article about how Forbes magazine uh ranks the best employers in Indiana for 2025. And uh this is something the criteria for this is that you have
007to be a quote unquote company of over 500 employees. and they hired a company called Statista to call over 160,000 uh employees nationwide uh and talk about things like um you know would you recommend this employer on a scale from 0 to 10. Um they were asked to evaluate their workplace based on criteria including wage parity, work culture, paths to professional advancement and whether the employer takes action on serious issues such as sexual harassment etc. And so in Indiana, they they had two different lists. They had one where it was Indiana companies, but they might have a home base in another state, but then they also ranked it with Indiana companies who are based here, their home base is here in Indiana. And on that list of 31, uh BCSC sits at number 25. Now,
008of these companies that include education, healthcare, drugs and biotech, engineering, manufacturing, um, automotive, there are 10 education systems on here, and that includes colleges and universities and prek, K through, um, 12. Only four of them are pre-K or K through 12. Of those four, number five is Center Grove Community School Corp., Number 24 is VO County School Corp. Number 25 is Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. And number 31 is Fort Wayne Community Schools. The point I bring up is what we're doing, the investment that we're making in our students, the investment that we're making in our teachers and our staff to maintain our, you know, to with the referendum where we're trying to keep our staff here or that we're trying to attract really good staff from other places to come here. That's working. these changes
009that we're making, they're working and it's noticeable nationwide in a magazine like Forbes. So, I'm just I'm I'm proud of what we do and I like the fact that other people see what we do and I think that we need to continue in that direction. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Hearn. People wanted to applause. I can tell I am Pete Law and I am a teacher at Mount Healthy Elementary and Smith Elementary teaching music and performing arts. And if you would have asked me 15 years ago if I would have ever left my hometown of Hope as a teacher, I would have said you're to go to Columbus. I would have laughed in your face. And um I got to the point in my career where I was like, I need to do something
010different. I left and BCSSE was not in my plans of anything I'd written down. And after the last seven years, I am very blessed to have to do what I do here because I have been able to um be the best teacher. I I feel like I was great at Flower Cret, but here I've been able to be excellent. And I give that a lot of credit to the staff and the administration that has supported me on that. And um financially I will say that I have been at this since 1997. And I I have financially uh being a teacher has probably not been the profession. I've said I've always made the joke that I pick the most lucrative um uh professions of being a public school teacher and an unemployed actor. So, um, I
011I really wanted to say to the administration and the school board that the referendum money has helped tremendously in my life. Um, I feel like now I can actually breathe a little bit, but I feel like my whole life as a teacher, every time something happens, the bar moves and then I have to try to work 10,000 times harder to get there. And um, it gets frustrating. You know, I was told get your master's degree and you're going to make your money back and then wait a minute, psych, we're not paying you anymore for that. Or move school districts and we'll pay you years experience. No, we can't do that. Um, and then it's just, you know, life, you know, utilities, uh, taxes, you know, going from $400 a year to 1,600 in a year
012um, is a lot for a 125 year old house. And I always think that everybody keeps on moving the bar while I'm trying to follow the rules and do the best I can as an educator to make the community better, help kids because that's my goal is to help kids. That's that's it. I'm not here to become famous. I'm here to help kids to achieve their own greatness, their own creativity. And I'm very lucky that I get to do that with the kids in this corporation. And I really hope that you take in consideration the face of of the teacher that has had to struggle for since 1997 on a teacher salary. And I don't have a double salary. I don't have uh you know a sign of an other to take care of me.
013But I just hope that you put that into consideration when you renegotiate the contract. And I really appreciate your time. >> Thank you Mr. Log. Good evening members of the board. My name is Denise Sharp and I currently serve as the Columbus North band booster president as well as the co- booster president of the Sound and Spirit of Columbus. I am an alumni of the Sound of North and I have been a proud parent in the program for 15 years. Four of my children have already graduated and I still have three currently involved. I cannot imagine my children's lives without this program. For them and for so many others, band has been more than music. It has been a foundation for growth. The summer elementary band program is where their journeys began. It gave them
014at such a young age a true sense of purpose and belonging. Through band, they have learned responsibility, motivation, respect, inclusivity, and how to be supportive and serve as role models. Two of my band two of my adult children are now staff and directors in band programs themselves, living proof that the lessons they learned here prepared them for the future. The summer programs from elementary through high school have given my children and countless others a safe place to grow, to express themselves, to build lasting friendships, and to to discover their creativity. These programs are not just activities. They are essential to the future of students who love music and the performing arts in our community. I urge you to continue supporting and investing in these opportunities so that more students can experience the same life-changing impact
015my family has. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, Miss Sharp. Anyone else want to speak? [Applause] Thank you, Miss Timbo. Hi, my name is Claudia Thomas and I'm a sophomore at North. I had a lot of ideas about how to go about speaking here. I was thinking about getting emotional and sympathetic or maybe using inflammatory language to drastically exaggerate my cause or maybe just being short and robotic and formulaic like an essay. But I can't do that because this means too much to me and that's not how I am. The reason that I'm here today is to ask you to protect the funding for summer band programs. When I was a young girl, I dreaded summer band. I saw my brothers going every day. Waking up that early in the summertime. That sounds awful, but I
016sucked it up and I went. And those two weeks of my first summer band program changed the way I viewed playing the trumpet forever and being a musician as a whole. It gave me pride for the music I was playing. going from a small elementary school band of tennis people to a collection of all of the musicians my age and in a big group where we all had the same passion for music. It was exciting. It was real. And then going into middle school, I had the skills to play in an ensemble setting. I had the confidence to behave like a real musician because I felt like I had become a real musician. And that is why now I dedicate so much of my time to the trumpet because I was shown that it doesn't
017have to be the thing that I do because my brothers did it or a natural right of passage. It's a passion. It's something I look forward to and pride myself on. Now, as a high schooler in marching band, the feelings of pride and legitimacy I get from from playing the trumpet are multiplied tenfold. Band camp is long. It's physically taxing and takes two weeks out of my good summer break. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. I complain about band camp. We all complain about band camp. But my groaning is always followed by a laugh and aching legs from marching match with aching cheeks from smiling. Of course, band camp is enjoyable, but also necessary. Band camp is the only reason we end up able to compete with much bigger schools in the state.
018The only reason we come out with something we can be proud of. Sure, there's no threat present to marching band existing, but not being able to have the support that allows us to spend that crucial time in the summer learning vital skills and necessary discipline would undeniably our show and leave us with a product we are significantly less proud of. I don't want to end up looking back at shows I had performed in and feel ashamed and feel like we fell short of the standard we had established, like we'd missed the mark. And so I ask now, please protect summer band programs. Please let us continue to dread but ultimately love it so so much every year. And let us come out with a show we're proud of every year. Let us discuss next year's
019band camp as an as a when, not an if. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, Miss Thomas. Very well done. Hello, my name is Addie Chenalt and I'm a member of the Sound and Spirit of Columbus. I have a six-year-old sister who has dreamed of being in marching band ever since she saw my first performance. I am now a senior in high school, and she's still just as passionate. She's not the only one. So many kids look up to us and cannot wait to be a part of what we do. They deserve to experience it. But what if we don't receive the proper funding? Their dreams could be crushed. I remember being in my sister's shoes when we had 8th grade night. It's where eighth graders from Central and North Side get assigned a high school
020buddy in their section and we can all perform together. We played a song called Elgato with them and it came time to watch the halftime show and I was in awe. I went home thinking I cannot wait to get to do that. We still have 8th grade night and it's become an awesome tradition in our program. Last year my section had only eight members. We now have 17. Majority of them are freshman marchers and I still remember meeting them at 8th grade night. The shows we put on impact our community and to kill our program by cutting funding when majority of our band consists of new members would not be ideal. These kids and the kids waiting to be in their shoes deserve to have this experience. So, please do not rob them of that.
021Thank you. [Applause] Thank you. Have any other speakers tonight? Sure. >> I don't know what we're in for, but I'm but I'm very excited. My name is Jack Kerr. I am a new graduate who just graduated uh this year of 2025. And marching band has been one of the best things that I could ever have hoped for. Originally starting in sixth grade in Morsville, North Carolina, I didn't want to do band because my experience with playing an instrument was not a very hopeful one. I started off playing by a sucky recorder and I didn't know how to play it properly. So when my buddy came up to me asking if he wanted to join, I'm like, I'm not certain about this. I don't want to do this. But he said he just kept going and
022going until eventually I had to give in. And I'm so glad that I did. Seeing all of these faces around me in my section, seeing how happy they all are whenever we get off of the field from an awesome performance. Even if the performance isn't great, if we have a great time, then that's all that we were really looking for. We're wanting to make sure that all of our performances are as top-notch as they can be, which is why we're always on the field working, whether we've got rain or just it's hot outside because, let's be honest, some of the heat can get to us. But we still push through it just because we all love this activity so much. Which is why it would really suck to see all of the newer people, all
023the new smiles that are going to come to band not be as big and as bright as what I experienced with my section and with all my seniors that I had around me. Because as a freshman, I didn't know what I was in for. But my seniors, they all gave me such good inspiration and such hope to live up to and possibly surpass. I'm not entirely certain if I ever did that, but I did the best that I could because I wanted the newer members of my section to see that we can always improve wherever we are. and I'm always still wanting to improve and I'm wanting them to all improve. So, please, if you could protect the summer funding for our band, this would mean the world to not just me, but to every
024single new band member, to every single current band member, and to every single band member that is going to come in the future. It would mean the whole world to every single band parent here and in the future. Thank you for your time. [Applause] Thank you. >> Hello. My name is Jill Collins. I work for uh cohort 27 at North and then also have three kiddos in BCSSC. um one is in marching band, one is in middle school band. And um I agree with everything that everyone has said previously. And I also want to just state that to my knowledge, I think that this is the only thing that actually combines North and East together um as far as athletics or um clubs. And so as a parent, it is awesome to see the two
025schools come together instead of compete against each other. So, um, on top of everything that they learn and that they do, um, and and I just think that that is a special piece that I think BCSC should cultivate and grow and not diminish. So, [Applause] >> thank you, Miss Collins. Anyone else like to speak? Hello, my name is Amanda Divine and I'm just a band parent. My daughter Isabella is a junior. She's been in this since she was in eighth grade. And I wanted you to take a moment and you see all these people right here. You might see them as just bandparents. You might see them as just students. But what you guys don't see is we're a family. We all come together. We all support one another. We all support everyone else's kids.
026There are some kids in our program that don't have that support at home, but they do in our home. We have a student that almost lost her life that I shall not name. And what saved her were the family that she she made in the color guard. That's my daughter's in color guard. Um and in the band. Without them, I don't know if she'd be here. I don't think the school board realizes how much this impacts our students. Without music, this world is silent. We need this because these kids need this. When the school year is over, we are also sad because we have to go our separate ways. But when that band camp comes together, our whole family comes back together. We're together again just for a few short months. So, we're more than
027just a band from two different schools with some band kids and some directors and some, you know, we're a family. And I hope you guys realize that without our band program, our kids are going to be lost. Thank you. [Applause] >> Thank you, Miss Divine. Good evening. My name is Dina Bates. I am cohort 2026 administrative assistant at North High School. I have three children in the school system. My oldest being the drum major for Columbus North of Sound and Spirit um marching band. I do have an Alto Sachs as my middle daughter, Charlotte. and I have a son in middle school band as well. I am also a band. I was a drum major. I played saxophone. Um I am from Madison, so I'm not from Columbus. However, um I've well Columbus has welcomed
028me and I'm very thankful to be here. But what my point is, I'm a musician in this community. I play at my church. My children play at church. Um I couldn't imagine it being silent. a community service in the in the church or even just when we have block parties downtown being silent. That would be awful. And I realize money is hard to come by, but when you reduce the funding for the band, even in the summer, it's a very slippery slope. And I think it gets easier and easier to just keep taking that away. So, I hope and pray that you would make this very important decision to continue funding the bands in the summer so that we can continue to have musicians in our community, not just as students, but as but as
029adults as well. Thank you. [Applause] Okay, I I think we are at time, but um just to give a warning, I will allow one more person to speak if anybody would like to come up. Okay. Um c can can I say I have been on this board since um 2020 time frame and um this is the most people I've seen attend a hearing of any kind since co. This is a much more positive reason to see um people in this building um than what we were talking about at that time. So I I think the I will speak on behalf of the board. I hope you all agree it's very nice to see this many people here um sharing with us what you'd like to see out of the bargaining process. Um there aren't many
030secrets in Columbus, Indiana. And so I did think that we probably would hear from band um tonight. And so I did prepare a couple of things I wanted to share with this team. Um of course, collective bargaining will happen next week and I cannot make any promises on that, but I just did want to share a a few words. Um I BCSSE does support the ban programs and earlier this year um the state did defund reimbursement for summer band. So that was not a BCSC decision. That was a state decision. I just want to make sure I think I see a lot of nods so it looks like people understand that. But just in case some people don't. um we decided to hold our summer ban program last year um out of pocket and and
031we did that and of course collective bargaining, budgeting, all of these things need to occur. But I did want to to highlight that this um administration and this board does support band in many ways. Um we're we're buying new uniforms. We've allocated money for a new trailer. We of course did pay for last year's summer program and we have added another band teacher. So, I share those things only just for evidence of the support that that we have for this for this program. Um, again, I just can't appreciate enough the amount of people that have shown up here tonight to let us know what this means to you. It really does influence decisions. So, thank you very much. Um, have a good evening. You're welcome to stay for the rest of the the board meeting,
032but um, just appreciate you all. Okay. [Applause] Okay, we will take like a twominut break just to let the room settle if anybody needs to step away for a second. But two-m minute break, we'll call it three minutes to 6:35.