001Okay. Good evening. Welcome everyone to the DeKalb County Central United School District Board of Education regular meeting. Today is Tuesday, April 21st, 2026. At this time, I'll ask all those that are able to please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> [clears throat] >> Angie, could you do roll call, please? Valerie Anderson Present. Valerie Armstrong Present. >> Tony Baker Present. >> Tony O'Neal Present. Present. Thanks, Angie. At this time, we'll begin our meeting with our presentations. Up first, we have McKinney-Harrison Elementary. All right, thank you so much. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to present here tonight. Uh I'm joined by some
002very handsome young men here in the front row from McKinney-Harrison, and they're going to talk to us about some of the really awesome things we're doing in robotics, and uh how it ties into our CKLA. So, at this time, I'll turn it over to Mrs. Renee Beeler, our computer science teacher. Thank you. Good evening, members of the board and Superintendent Teeters. I am Renee Beeler, the computer science teacher at McKinney-Harrison, and I'm really excited to be here tonight to show you that in our building, computer science is an astounding subject. It is the engine that brings our Indiana course standards to life. By integrating code into science and social studies, we aren't just teaching students how to use technology, we are teaching them how to use logic and perseverance to master complex ideas. And I'm
003joined tonight by the true experts of this work. These students have given up the opportunity for numerous lunch recesses and Fun Fridays because they wanted to push themselves beyond standard expectations. And I have to say wow to that because even today, they wanted to figure out a way to come and practice for tonight two times, not just once. So, they really are committed to um just to what we're all about. And now, because that they have transitioned from being consumers of technology to being creators and engineers, I'll let them introduce themselves to you. Hi, I'm Troy Beckenholdt, and I'm in fifth grade. Hi, I'm Emmett, and I'm in fifth grade. Hi, I'm Travis Miller, and I'm in fifth grade. Hi, I'm Trey Wessel, and I'm in fifth grade. Portrait of a Baron graduate in the
004practice. Our integrated projects don't just teach code, they develop the whole child. Each of these examples deliberately targets the the Baron graduate competencies, preparing students for success beyond our classrooms. In fourth our students became tour planners to bring their social studies standards to life. Using Ozobots, they navigated physical maps of Indiana to identify key landmarks and geographical regions. This wasn't just a lesson in locations, it was a lesson in logic. To reach their destination, students had to program simple sequences and loops. They moved from looking at a map to engineering a path through it. >> [snorts] >> Up on the screen, you can see what Indiana road trip project I did in fourth grade. My Ozobot started in Auburn, then went to Fort Wayne and got chased by a police car because it was speeding.
005Then it went to Indianapolis, and it was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Next, it went to the Ohio River for a nice, relaxing day at the water. Then it headed back towards Auburn to end the end of its exciting road trip. >> [snorts] >> In um also in fourth grade, students used the Makey Makeys to bring their life science standards to life about animal adaptations. Instead of just reading about Indiana wildlife, students engineered interactive models to explain how an animal's internal and external structures, like heart, lungs, and or fur, function together to help them survive in their environment. By coding touch-sensitive sensors, students created a living research project that required them to apply computer science logic, specifically inputs and outputs, to prove they mastered the science content. My Makey Makey project was about the white-tailed
006deer. At this time, we will be bringing around some Makey Makeys for you to look at. I learned that the white-tailed deer have super strong noses that help them smell food under the snow. They also have amazing eyesight and can see uh 310° around them. To make my project, we used circuits and coding in Scratch. I connected my Makey Makey to create an interactive project. Second graders were able to use it and learn about the white-tailed deer and all the cool facts I discovered during my research. The hard things about this project was making sure that we were loud enough during our recordings. I studied garden snakes, and I pretty much did the same things as Travis, except I solved this problem. Instead of recording my own voice, I used Canva create to create an
007AI voice recording, which I then had to enter into my code on Scratch. At this time, would two of the board members like to come over and test out our projects? >> [laughter] >> There, go test it out. Me, too. Me, too. Go test it. >> [laughter] >> Tony and Tony, I like that. All right, so Don't embarrass me, okay? Okay. >> [laughter] >> Hands up, take that, too. Yep, go ahead. Oh, shock. I got to get shocked. >> [laughter] >> What if you're wrong? Say what? >> [laughter] >> Oh, he used a computer voice. Weather [clears throat] blade. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> Like like or not. Of course I would. It's the touch screen. >> [laughter] >> Thank >> [laughter] >> Thank you so much. You can see how fun the interaction part the
008interactive part is, and they were able to present these to second grade students and have them come and interact with each one of their projects. So, great job, guys. Thank you. Uh in third grade, we used Scratch to bring our ELA curriculum to life while studying the Viking Age. And this happened this year. Instead of just reading about the Vikings, students became digital storytellers. They used block-based coding to build interactive narrative scenes that demonstrate their understanding of Viking daily life. By designing algorithms and sequences, students had to think logically to make history move and interact on the screen. At Yeah, you can. This uh Oops. >> [laughter] >> Our scratching Viking our Scratch Viking project for third grade. These students applied the design process to complete the Viking challenge. Building on their CKLA unit from
009the classroom, the project began with a question, "What did a typical day look like for Vikings?" The student worked with a partner to brainstorm realistic daily scenarios, then used AI-generated Viking clipart to plan a story in their notebook. From there, they brought their ideas to computer science, where they were able to use Scratch to create an animated project. In this case, the student focused on a fishing and lunchtime scene, even designing a meat sprite so the characters could share a meal of fish and meat. This project highlights how students can take what they learn in literacy and extend it through technology while practicing creativity, planning, and problem-solving. In third grade, we used our Ozobots to bring our ELA curriculum, known as CKLA, to life. Now, we are going to let you get a closer look
010at our small but mighty robots. After reading What's in Our Universe, students didn't just summarize the text, they engineered it using Ozobots. Students programmed their robots to act as planets to model orbital paths and rotations. For this project, students were asked to arrange two or more planets in based on their distance from the sun. Third grade students began by selecting two or three planet cards from a bag, then worked to place those planets in the correct sequence from closest to farthest from the sun. As they worked, some students encountered challenges, such as not having enough rings for each planet. And this was a tough one with our um very exact students. They wanted eight rings and I could only fit four on the mat. So, this is where they demonstrated strong problem-solving skills by adapting
011their approach, including placing multiple planets on a single Ozobot when needed. Students initially collaborated in pairs and later combined into larger groups to extend the challenge. Their goal was to successfully model at least four planets orbiting the sun, encouraging teamwork, critical thinking, and a deep of planetary order. Next, and this one's super exciting for me. I was reminded that we This was our fifth year doing this Thanksgiving parade, and we started with one first grade classroom in the hallway in the first grade hallway, and now we have gone much, much further. Uh this is our school-wide collaboration that turned our gym into a robotic parade. This project showcased a unique chain reaction of integrated learning across four grade levels. It began in kindergarten and second grade, where students read Balloon Over Broadway and and applied
012integrated STEM standards to design and decorate balloon floats. The engineering then moved to fourth grade, where students followed complex blueprints to build the Vex Go Code Base robots. Finally, our fifth graders took the lead by integrating sensors into the builds and driving the parade robots to navigate the parade route. It was a powerful demonstration of how different grade levels can collaborate to solve a single creative engineering challenge. My job at the robot parade was to drive a robot that carried a second grader float along the parade route. I had to stay focused and make sure the robot moved safely and smoothly the entire time. I was a a spotter. That meant I watched the robots closely to make sure they stayed on course and helped them guide back if they started to go off track.
013This experience helped me practice responsibility, teamwork, and problem-solving. And if you look really closely, Travis is Travis is in that that video. >> [laughter] >> He's spotting. Protecting our robots. [clears throat] Next, and this one's super exciting and this is our finale. Uh this project represents the transition from guided lessons to independent innovation. Without a blueprint, students identified a real-world problem, moving and transporting objects, and engineered custom robots to solve it. Using the STEM design process, they moved from a concept to a functional machine by integrating motors and sensors. Students applied advanced computer science logic to automate their designs, proving they can not only follow instructions, but can invent their own solutions to complex problems. And me and I worked together to build this robot. We started with Vex Go Code Base, and then we
014modified it so that the robot could reach out and turn. We added the claw that could pick up Dixie cups. It took us several tries to get the claw open and close and close using the motor. We also had to figure out a weight distribution. Same thing. >> [laughter] >> So, the robot wanted to tip over. And it was in charge of adding weight to the back. Thankfully, Mrs. Buente had a lot of pennies we could use. I was in charge of designing and building the robot >> [clears throat] >> and the claw. Once we realized we needed more parts, we added multiple brains, motors, and sensors. And when we started coding everything, the sensors to control when the claw moves up and down and stops. Now our robot can grab, release objects using three
015brains and five motors. >> [clears throat] >> It took us four to five months to build the whole robot. The claw wouldn't go up and down. It kept [clears throat] wobble and it kept wobbling. So, we had to continue debugging. The goal was to pick up a Dixie cup, move it to a new location. Now we will like show you how our finished robot works. Notice that it takes three computers to work. That is because we are operating on three brains. What you can't see right now is that their computers are all set and ready, but that by the time that we got to this part, it had already shut it down for them. So, teamwork here, Emmett started it and then Charlie got in and and they just picked up right where what one
016left off to get them to the right spot so that it's ready for you. I don't know. Oh no, technology. >> [clears throat] >> So, how about those cups? >> [laughter] >> Hey, here we go. That's all it took. Hey, here it is. Hit it. All right. Wow. Oh. Stuck. >> [laughter] >> Did you hear it mixing it? Yes. Uh-oh. Oh. >> [laughter] >> So close. Lori, you're making me nervous. >> [laughter] >> There. Oh. Backwards. >> [laughter] >> Oh, so close. The [clears throat] camera's in the back. It's so much easier. Ah. Downwards. Oh. If there weren't so many eyes on it, you know, it would have gone down already. We need the pom-poms now. Yeah, man. Yep, I know. Okay. While they're finishing this up, I just want to say thank you so
017much, members of the board and Superintendent Teeters, for for giving us this opportunity to share what computer science is doing at McKinney and the impact it's having on our students there. So, we really do appreciate all of the um the opportunities that we get through through our technology there. Thank you very much, GUYS. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> SO, FUTURE BOILERMAKERS AND ENGINEERS. I'M NOT SURE I WANT to follow that. >> [laughter] >> Awesome job, guys. Thank you. Thank you. Love it. OH, YOU GOT IT. YES. NICE. [laughter] WELL DONE. SO, MATT'S NEXT, HUH? I know. That's awesome. How much work of the invention is exemplified Oh my god. That was awesome. They're not having a good time, really. >> [laughter] >> Learning can be fun, huh? >> [clears throat] >> Thank you, guys. Yeah,
018thank you. That was awesome. Yeah, well done. >> [laughter] >> This was fun for all. Thank you. No pressure, Matt, but >> [laughter] >> you get to follow that. Up next. That's pretty good presentation. Yeah, really good. Yes. Okay. Yeah, thanks for letting me go after the kids. If I ever do this [laughter] again, I'm going first. Then I'm going to walk out. They were really good. I mean, I just was thinking about my days of elementary school and that. What an awesome opportunity for the for the kids that those hands-on activities. I I remember one hands-on activity. I'm rambling. Go ahead. >> [snorts and laughter] >> I made a crochet owl. Anybody remember the crochet owls we used to do? Yeah, but I that sticks out. That hands-on stuff is really good. Wow. That's
019that's amazing stuff. Okay, I've been asked to review um some updates that we've been working on in the district over the last several years. I you know, when do you start? You know, do you go back to McKinney Harrison? We just built a brand new elementary about 10 years that's been about 10 years now. But so I thought okay, let's let's keep it in the decade. So started around 2020 just some projects that we've had. I think most people in this room are very aware what those projects are and where we're at on those but I we probably have some community members and some folks back home that that oh wow, I didn't realize we did that at Country Meadow cuz my student went to McKinney or you know, I I I only have elementary
020students so I I don't get out to the middle school very often. I you know, my and then give them something to look forward to. So really good information for our family members, our community members of on the things that we've been doing throughout the district over the last several years and we'll just go through those. We'll start with the high school and I'm just going to go with you know, project by project and and I probably missed a few things. There's a lot of things that are going on. At DeKalb High School have we the sign there is a halo lit sign. It's one of the we probably got more compliments on our signage and the middle school has one as well. I'll show you that in a minute. We also put a halo
021lit sign on our new concession stand. We get tons of compliments. It really brightens up the campus and welcomes people and it's just great great branding for us. That those were all completed just this year. Of course you see the concession stand. That's part of the co-curricular facility. If you if you many of you have driven by a lot of you probably haven't seen the inside. One of the biggest complaints we've had at our old facility is just lines waiting for restrooms, the age of the restrooms. I think these are very inviting and people are going to be very impressed with our our new concession stand, our our men's and women's restrooms and those are in use right now. We have a track meet tonight. Our softball team has also been using those restrooms and
022the softball team is also using storage. That's attached to this building. So everything that we have out there is in use this spring. So that's that's good to hear. Of course we had our turf football field several years ago. That's been in play I think this was our fourth season. Mr. Wagner, yes. And that one's a little more well known project being centrally located in the district but I you can see kind of a before and after of the old visitor side bleachers and and we'll see some of the new updates that we've done there. Here's the press box with the audio. The audio is now in use. It took some time to get some of those components. We have used the press box for middle school meet last night and the high school's using
023that right now for their track meet. Sound is amazing. You will not get complaints from people that can't hear. We might get a few complaints from people who think it's too loud. But we we can dial that down if we need to. It's always easier to turn it down. It's very hard to turn it up when it's not working very well. So that is an excellent improvement for us. We also just this is a picture of the old. You might not recognize it. This is the old press box on the visitor side. So we were able to reside that and we matched kind of the the colors that we had on the we put on the current new home side. So we'll have that press box over there and it looks really nice on that
024side. Also picture on the left you can see it's still a work in progress. Our discus and shot put areas for the track. That's on the south side of the high school complex and they've been our track kids have been using the discus all spring so far. The sorry, the shot put all spring so far. The discus area is just a little bit too muddy for us to throw the discus at right now. So we are using the old one this year and but we're hoping the grass it's starting to turn green. We can get into that before the track season is over. Few other things. There is a picture of the new bleachers and on the inside of the gym there doesn't look like we did not Why why did you take a picture
025of the gym? If you recall we had this really old yellow kind of English whitish yellow paint that was up there and we had this beautiful mural that was painted several years ago and this was just the last step of making that gym look nice and fresh which we do use for graduation. It's If you never if if you never if if what Excuse me, if it was never brought to your attention you probably didn't notice it but once you someone said look at the paint ooh, it looked bad. So this small project but just showing that there's just you know, we're touching a lot of areas here and that's also at the high school upper level in the main gym. This band practice surface is amazing. It serves as a we still do you
026can see the runway there. There is still some school related traffic that takes place at arrival and dismissal. Band tower's out there. I didn't take a picture of the band tower. It's the same tower. We're able to use the same one and just shift it over. But our band is just thrilled to death that they have that. We are going to get lighting for that. We do have the footers and the electricity run. We don't have the lights up yet but this was in use all fall and of course for our band invitational in September. We were the envy of many many schools came to see us and that was a huge event. If you came out for that it was packed. So great use of that facility already this year this fall. This is
027a great picture of our soccer press box and concession stand. You can see the rotted wood. This was long overdue. I think that door has on the back side has been abandoned. We actually had a maintenance person many many years ago. I wasn't in charge at the time. But had a little accident and ran into the stairwell that was out there and that got taken down and I think that's where they stopped. So we were able to get that resided with a with a barn black and red just like we did at the softball and the middle school softball or soccer team is out there right now playing on it. This is a project I'm very proud of. It doesn't look like much. That's a new era Siemens voice fire system. If you recall board
028members years ago we had a bid and I think it was 1.1 1.2 million to put voice activated fire system in the high school. We did this project for about $65,000. So that's a nice safety feature that we put in the high school and that was done that's been up for just about not quite a year. Not quite a year. I forgot to get a picture of band. Sorry Miss Vaughn but I know you know that very well. I should have. This was a 2022 project at the high school where we did some upgrades to our ag. Those are all brand new welding stations. We also had the band department that came in with all that equipment to the students in the classroom over there. I know our board members probably remember a group of
029softball parents that came in and expressed expressed some concerns about the facilities at the softball field and we have done an amazing job here at the district answering those concerns. We put in ADA ADA sidewalks and concrete for for our parents and and student athletes and students as well to have easier access to the facilities. Where those old wooden telephone poles that were out there for years. We just put this new batting cage up this this spring at at the softball field and that we will paint those poles. They got a little red primer on them but we will be doing some painting and to jazz them up and we also are getting some turf for the concrete. That has not arrived yet. But nice update there. We also did There's our nice crooked pole.
030It's not a great picture on the right but it was hard to get you know, how do you take a picture of a light pole? >> [laughter] >> But we have all new Musco lighting out there. It's been in use. We're very happy with it. It's very bright. I was a little concerned about the positioning. Why why isn't there anything in the middle of the field? But it it's They know what they're doing. They they they set it up very nice. So the lighting is there. We also have new fencing at the softball facility and there's kind of a before and after of the press boxes and the siding kind of falling off and leaks in the roof in the press box and a good partnership with FCI. FCI actually donated the labor on that
031job. So all we had to do was buy the materials for that. So just looks really great over there and again softball I think JV's got a game tonight. So all these facilities in use. Tennis another facility that came in same time as the football field on that project and >> [clears throat] >> 10 courts which is excellent back to back right there and we have a tennis match tonight. So I'll try to go quick cuz I think we have some parents here that want to go watch their kids play tennis and the and the I think the rain's going north. I so I think we're good. So that facility in use it's been around for a while but beautiful facility there. Over to the middle school. I was I've been at the middle school
032I've been here I think this is my 13th year and we had this two-tone grayish brown on the siding and it's all nice and black. Last few bond projects we were able to kind of do this in phases and that's that halo lit DeKalb Middle School sign there that looks so good. But that black metal siding just changes the entire look of that of that school. These are the sections of the roof that we have completed over various bonds like 2023 bond for example. The white sections are the new section. We the board did approve in the go bond last fall for us to do some roofing at the middle school and the high school and we'll be completing another section of that roof this summer. Can explain to people who don't know what the
033middle school looks like what's what each of those sections represents? Absolutely. Yeah, so the section to your extreme left this it's called the smallest kind of rectangle is the aux gym. Then the middle section larger square rectangle is the main gym and then that really large section that's kind of going over the common and the kind of really the heart of the building the commons the lecture room and the library and some of the classrooms that surround those areas. What we'll be doing next will be if you take that large rectangle that I just uh highlighted and just move yourself down to really kind of south southwest that is the front office and first hallway and we're going to start doing those those classroom areas will be covered this summer and we're going to kind
034of wrap around a little bit. And it's it's a big roof uh but after that project we'll be in we'll be uh about halfway there. Knowing that some of that roof like the extreme northeast corner is 2001 that's that's one of our newer roofs. But still gosh that's 25 years ago. Hard to believe 2001 25 years. So that's a fun project that we're doing this summer. We did an interior I was still principal when we did this uh this was interior facelift for the middle school just to throw a few show a few pictures there. We got new lockers wall coverings flooring some signage some we uh Mrs. Weishart was able to get some new furniture that we just added uh and I believe that was part of the 2024 bond some of these bonds
035are starting to run together for me. Very inviting space there some um some more classroom seating and staff seating staff lounge area for lunch. There's classroom furniture so the middle school is just beautiful inside I I remember my last year there we had a basketball game kids walking in. Wow. I can't believe this place and this is a building from 1974 and it looks like it's was just built yesterday. So beautiful just did a great job on that a complete [clears throat] facelift and makeover. Moving on to Country Meadow not as much at Country Country Meadow here but they if you recall we did that one of the first projects I got involved in was I learned how to build a playground. I think uh Tony I remember you came out there um this is
036Feaster you were out there Katie you were out there I think Mrs. Armstrong I think I think I saw you out there too. Um turning some wrenches and so that was a community project that playground that's the poured-in-place material that you can see there that's really cool nice and soft very safe. Uh that was a fun project that was 2 years ago 20 summer of 2024. We just did that's the cafeteria they had you heard Mark talking about carpet in the cafeteria I'm not sure. And by the way that was the second I found out that was the second round of carpet for that cafeteria. So we did carpet twice there. So it's a nice flooring right there. We did that just over spring break. Uh Country Meadow is set to get new carpet in
037their hallways this summer. That project was again part of that go bond project that was approved so we're going to get that done. Uh Country Meadow is just another shot of their another section of their play playground they got a huge playground over there. And that those of you walked out there remember walking through the blacktop and the tire tracks and it was just almost unplayable. So we were able to resurface that and paint some fresh basketball and box box what do they call that box four square okay sorry. Some four square lines in there but it's really really nice uh especially when you have some inclement weather and you can't get out grass. J.L. Watson this goes back to about 2020 2021 I think Mr. Harrison uh this is a brand new cafeteria we
038recall all those meetings we had where kids are starting to eat at I don't know 10:00 in the morning they're already eating lunch. And brand new beautiful cafeteria and serving lines over there that we put in several years ago another picture of the cafeteria. That's a boiler really fun stuff. Uh but we had to put in a new boiler Mr. Mr. Rome asked the board to approve some money part as part of the go bond some deferred maintenance monies and and that's the kind of things that we're doing with those funds that just went in last we needed that last fall. At J.L. Watson. Um the Watson and this was one this is before my time I was at the middle school at the time and I think this came in right around 2020 2020
039I just lost there it is. That's the courtyard and you can see on the left the old courtyard and uh the space there tough to take care of concrete kind of beat up a little bit and then on the right you can see the really nice improvements for that space there at at J.L. Watson for the students over there. This one I'm really proud of this is another go bond project at McKinney Harrison on the bottom right you can see the area the kids were supposed to play kickball in soccer in dodgeball whatever just run around and they either got super super dirty or if it rained it was just unusable because of the mud and again over spring break we got a lot of projects done over spring break this year. It's a if
040you drive by just check it out it's a beautiful turf area. This is not an athletic football field turf it's a playground turf. But it's it's really really nice my only ask of Mr. Horton and students were when you play kickball rotate home plate to the four corners don't because in four years it's we're going to wear out some paths. But uh it's a really nice really nice turf playground for the kids and opened up a lot of space even when it's raining out which this spring we've needed it. Waterloo a lot of stuff done at Waterloo that we don't really see but we feel on the left I put that picture in there just to just to remind folks that every year we have to put in new mulch in our playgrounds it's not
041cheap. We get a special playground mulch it's supposed to have less sharp edges on it. And it's a company out of Fort Wayne that does it for us they spray it in they were able to get to a lot of to this a lot of this over spring break. Uh and that's done at all the schools. And then on the right there is some really fun HVAC equipment air handlers but we had a huge project out of the 2023 bond when I first got the job it was you know I was one of my first meetings with with Mrs. Rice and we're trying to figure out how we're going to do all this and how we're she's got to rotate classes cuz they're in and out of classes putting in all this equipment ductwork there
042in the ceiling we got all we got all new free ceilings out of this job because the contractors thought it would be cheaper to rip down the ceiling and replace it with new than be really careful and put the old back. So that was an added bonus there there's some more of the equipment that we have inside and out at Waterloo. There's some classrooms we got new um there's new flooring you can see the yellow wall everything was painted we got new whiteboards over there for the students and the teachers um new bookshelves there and and windowsills on the right at Waterloo. So just beautiful we also got a playground as well and Mrs. Rice was able to work with community members and we did the similar thing at Waterloo as we did with Country
043Meadow for a new playground over there and they also have the poured-in-place that nice soft material that stuff is not cheap. It's really nice so it's very safe excellent for the kids. I really like this kind of thing but you've heard I I the reason you're like why are you putting lawn mowers in a presentation especially when it's supposed to be a short meeting. Uh >> [laughter] >> Mr. Rome had talked many times about the bat wing and driving that wing up all the way up to Country Meadow to cut the large fields. Uh Watson we had to take it over to Watson. The the picture on the right is our new bat wing it's a 96 uh a 96-in cutting um diameter and we can load that up on a trailer it's much safer
044for our guys it's faster it cuts better and we've already had that in use quite a bit this spring. The one left is just another mower on the left that we purchased uh last summer just showing folks that we are up key you know we're we're doing some things at all levels schools maintenance and transportation. We just another go bond project not great pictures of lights but we did get new lighting for our for our transportation lot safety and security light in the back lot. This also helps a lot of our bus drivers and coaches who are bringing kids home late for events. If you're a show choir parent which I am they get home very very late. I'm not sure how that all started but it's a long night and it's nice to have
045some light back there so we can get things parked and and get everybody home safe. So that another go bond project. Couple things that we all know about the board has voted on these things uh just recently I mentioned the go bond this is a go bond project we have pavilions we're calling this one A and the one over by baseball B new parking between tennis and softball and soccer. The pavilion will have restrooms we've heard a lot of complaints over the years about the distance we walk for restrooms and not everybody likes Porta Johns. Um but this is going to be amazing we are this project will we will open bids on April 26th of this month and we expect to break ground start working in May mobilizing in May and we hope to
046have this parking lot done before fall school starts. The pavilion may take a little bit longer there's a lot more involved in that. Also I another pavilion by the baseball cross country complex. Same design, a little bit less parking space. Pavilion and restrooms will be very nice for our baseball and cross country parents. Backpack project and again board just approved this. This one we've talked a lot more about lately since it's fresh off performing arts. I think it's close to 25,000 square feet of overall some new space and and remodeled space in those areas. We are meeting We are meeting on those every 2 weeks with our architect and our our CMC on that project. Of course, that also includes the back the Baron Center with all sorts of the opportunities there for co-curricular things
047to happen as well as gym class. And those projects we look to be possibly breaking ground August September is our latest. So, earlier than we thought. I think we've reported to the board that we thought maybe it would be late 2026 early 2027. Our last meeting they There's a possibility we can be taking some pictures in a shovel ceremony yet this fall and mobilization and things happening already. That's all I have for tonight. Are there any questions? Yeah. Sorry about the length. I was told 10 minutes. I was like there's no way I can do this in 10 minutes. That was great. Thank you for including some before and afters too just remind us all like that's where we were and how far we've come. I'm really sorry. I had a lot more pictures but
048as projects got finished I kind of cross them off and my phone was getting full of I I need more memory. So, I'd go through and okay that's over and I I deleted a lot of pictures. I just wasn't prepared for my HGTV before and after moment. So, I'm sorry. That's my fault. I should have I'm going to do better in the future taking more before and afters. The afters are easy. Yeah, that's great. Thank you for the update. >> Thank you very much. Exciting stuff. Are we going to post that presentation on the website? I don't know if this presentation's on there but >> Not yet. >> So, it will be. It will be with all the projects and everything. >> Just so everybody Where we keep the spreadsheet we'll put it in the
049same exact spot. Good stuff. I will add that I was talking to Mr. Hord before the meeting asking him how the turf was going and he has just taken a family around from out of our district showing them the school and that was one of the their comments was wow this turf's amazing. So, it's one of the goals of all of these updates, right? Is to bring folks to DeKalb. So, I love to hear stories like that and I hope to hear more as all the other projects wrap up. Thanks Matt. Great job, Matt. >> Thank you. Thank you, Matt. All right, moving on. Item E, we will I'll ask for a motion to adopt and amend the agenda. I'll make a motion. I'll second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All
050those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> [clears throat and cough] >> Motion passes. Okay, item F is the consent agenda. I will not ask the board that we will be removing item eight or item C18 and voting on that separately after we vote on the consent agenda as that is my daughter. So, I will recuse my vote. Okay, at this time I'll ask for a motion for the consent agenda. This includes items F1 through F5, the board minutes, financial report, claims, personnel, and field trips. I'll make a motion. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Motion passes. Okay, item C8. Do I have a motion? I'll make a motion. I'm sorry, C18. I'll make a motion. Second. I have a motion
051and a second. Any discussion? It's nice to keep our kids here. >> [laughter] >> True story. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Motion passes. Four. Four yes votes. Okay. And before you move on, Valerie. Can I just I just want to put a little plug in in case you didn't see in the paper and and for public's sake about our Baron Advanced Manufacturing and the kids that are moving on to the national competition. If you did see in the paper we had four of our students our BAM students competing in a robotics and automation technology event in Indianapolis a couple weeks ago. It was a pretty rigorous day. A lot of competition and the whole goal was to design a competition that that simulated real world experiences and challenges in the industry
052the world of industry. So, I have to say that DeKalb High School was very well represented. Thank you to Mr. Klingon our director and instructor. We had two teams one featuring Carrigan or excuse me Keegan Narrigan and Hunter Elkins and another featuring Jackson Colmyer and Jesse Klingon. And Keegan and Hunter earned an impressive second place finish. They demonstrated strong technical ability and teamwork. So, out of all of those competitive teams they came in second. And Jackson and Jesse achieved the top honors for the day in Indianapolis. They earned the title of state champions in robotics and automation technology. And we know that that is a you know, that's the the amazing impact our BAM programming and the robotics that we have in place and the equipment that that thanks to Jonathan we've been able to
053procure for that program has helped these students really learn what's going on in the real world. So, we want to congratulate all of these students and wish them the very best luck. They're traveling to Atlanta. That was the field trip you just approved to participate in the national the national competition and and at this time Jonathan is there anything you'd like to just say or add or It's just as a competition you know with SkillsUSA it's all about preparing students for real world jobs and applications and this event it's a tall order when I'm a previous controls engineer and the task that these students were asked to do in a matter of 8 hours I'm like I don't know if I could get this done in 24 hours. Wow. So, but by working together and
054preparing the students they were able to come together and basically they had to design and assemble a cell with design documentation program everything from scratch to configure an industrial [clears throat] robot with an industrial computer to do a real world sorting application using vision. So, you know, it was a really tall order. It was a great event. We're looking forward to next year. >> [cough] >> Um [clears throat] it's even greater for the students. The the top prize they took home about $800 worth of prizes along with a full scholarship Well, not a full scholarship but three full semesters at Ivy Tech in Fort That's that's awesome. worth roughly 8 to 10,000 dollars. Wow. That's amazing. >> [clears throat] >> And being our first year out I mean that was just a feather in our
055cap for getting there. I sat here watching the the young men from McKinney-Harrison thinking you know, John you you're working hard to get kids in the program and get them turned on to this but this is how it's going to happen. You look at what these young men were doing tonight when they get to the high school they're going to come looking for you. This is what they're going to want [laughter] to do. And so, I'm really proud of our alignment that starts in elementary school and now we've got that continuum that's just going to get bigger and better. And I do thank you for your continued work on on this program. As a district I think we're doing a great job of what we call building the funnel and we want to build it
056as early as possible starting at the middle school level all the way up through high school aligning it clearly through the local industry. Yeah, great. Thank you. Good luck. Let us know. Thank you. Thanks Lori for sharing. >> Yeah, yeah. Okay, um item G, donation. We just have once again just so many different donations. Mrs. Brant from Country Meadow indicates donations from Trine University, Garrett State Bank, from Volt Craft, Nucor, um you know, in the amount of well over almost $4,000 $3,500 in different needs at Country Meadow. We also have donations for DeKalb Middle School. Mrs. Wisehart reports that Northeastern Group Realty donating books to Mr. Williams and Mr. what used to be Mr. Elsroth's classroom now Miss Toll's. Um but they've done this for several years. They haven't They haven't picked a book yet
057but we'll soon be doing that. But so, thank you to Kelly York and Stacy Daily and Steven Hostetter for that. And then of course it seems like every every month we just have a laundry list of of donations for the high school benefiting everything from our unified program to our band program and just a lengthy long list supporting our girls tennis program. So, just a a huge thank you to all of our our individuals our businesses and other entities that support us each and every month for what we're doing for kids. Thanks Steve. Mhm. Um this brings us to item H, report of the superintendent. I get to start tonight. In your package you received a memorandum requesting your consideration to approve continued services and a quote provided by Mazi Mazi Education. Nathan Williamson, um
058I know you're familiar with our service from Mazi Education and um we're going to again want you to consider continuing that service. So, this is a renewal quote for that continued service with not only the federal grants, but we also would like to um tap into his expertise as we work on transitioning, if we decide to, or even not transitioning special education on the business money side of it. He's very well versed in that and has been a an asset to the business department on knowing some of the ins and outs that are not very typical when it comes to funding and financing in special ed. So, we would like to add that on as part of [clears throat] the agreement. The agreement that I shared with you, the proposed agreement, has both of those
059considered in it. Um if approved, the pricing will remain the same for the federal grant service that we're already engaging with, $3,000 a month, and then an additional amount of $665 a month to take on the special ed funding. Um again, I quoted Mr. Williamson. He says um the proposal is for maintaining current services and adding mentoring responsibilities for the business [clears throat] staff working with special ed funding, um which has really helped our staff kind of free up some of their time and allowed them to spend more time on other things, too. It's it's definitely a win-win for us, and so I'm asking for your consideration to approve moving forward and renewing the existing and adding on the special education. Thank you, Lori. This time I'll ask the board for a motion. I'll make
060a motion. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose? Motion passes. Thank you. Thanks, Lori. Item H2. Yeah. And I have one policy for us to take a look at this evening. In your packets, as as usual, I say as usual, where this is our second time, but but I included the the current policy in place, the I call it the strike through policy. Um we recently went through an audit, and there were discoveries, and um working with ISBA, the state and the feds um changed their food service and and I don't know, the FDA, it changes so frequently that that they did provide us with the latest greatest policy recommendations. So, what we decided to do, and I worked with Aubrey Rutherford
061with this because she was on the firing line with the auditor saying, "Why don't you have this? Why don't you have this? Why don't you have this?" So, it now aligns with what is currently in place with the federal government and the state government for the requirements. So, we decided to strike through the old policy. Uh a lot of the language was antiquated and had just been added and added and added over the years. And so, the policy that I'm asking you to consider is new as and it is aligned to not only the the state and federal guidelines, but also the um Indiana Department of Education. And so, tonight would be just the introduction that of the policy for you. Um upon upon I guess we don't vote tonight, do we? Just upon, you
062know, the the end of this meeting, we'll post this policy, as we did the last time, on the website for public input, if anybody wants to take a look at it. Um next steps, we would we would hold the first reading of this policy during our May 19th meeting coming up next month. We would again allow time for public comment either through the website or here in person, and then we would anticipate uh receiving final approval for that policy in the May board meeting. Thanks, Lori. Okay. Item H3. It's time for the summer feed program once again. Um we are looking to offer it for 6 weeks. That's uh Waterloo Elementary, McKinney Harrison Elementary, James Watson, uh the Asbury Park and Corona. So, our five main sites will remain intact. Um we're looking to run
063it for the 6 weeks from June 1st through July 14th. I'll take the week off of June June 29th uh for the July 4th holiday. The pickup times for that would be on Tuesday evenings from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Tonight, I am asking for the board's approval to once again offer the summer feed program, but also asking permission and your approval to sign contracts with the parks that is required by the state to show that wherever we have our pickup sites, they have ample areas for families to pull up and pick up food and thing like things like that. So, I have contracts for the board to sign pending your approval of both of those items tonight. Okay. I'll ask the board for a motion for the summer feed program. I'll make a motion. I'll
064second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? I do think this has been very successful in the past, so >> fantastic. >> this summer will be even The numbers have grown each and every year. We're meeting the needs of our kids. Mhm. So, yes. How many years have we done this? It's been since I've been in this seat, so we've done summer feed so nearly every year that I can that I can recall, so. Do you think like 30 years we've been doing this? Yeah. I mean, I don't know for sure, but we'd have to ask Aubrey just how long it's been in place. >> have expanded, though. We we changed locations, and that's all determined based on census data. Um but yeah, we've we've tried to expand it as much as possible.
065I remember it didn't we weren't doing it um like in Corona one year, and I know that was a suggestion that was really focused on, and we were able to Aubrey was able to make that work, and that's been one of the better sites. I mean, that that enrollment has really picked up over the past few years. The other big change was when they went to non-congregate, where they allowed, which means they allow families to just come in and pick up a week's worth of meals one time. It used to be just a congregate situation where they would come, they would have to eat the food right on site. So, you know, still a great program, but not very convenient for families, you know, or for us to set up each and every day. So,
066when they allowed when the state allowed that non-congregate, where we could just pack on one day, and then they can pick up the week's worth of food the next [clears throat] day, that's when numbers really started to explode. So, it's a fantastic service for our community. Okay. Any other discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose? Motion passes. Okay. Item H4, request to auction outdated tech equipment. Just looking once again to get board approval on an auction. You can see the items that we have, a bunch of office furniture, student furniture. Looking to get rid of some sheds, um remove them, try to auction them if anybody could get them off site. I don't know, they might be good for firewood. Some of them are ready to be torn down. We're not
067going to get rid of them, obviously, until we have new storage in place, which is part of our bond. Um also, along with this request, I have a different type of request from Matt in that we get pallets, obviously, delivered when we get supplies delivered to all of our schools. And in the past, we've tried to attempted to auction some of these pallets and had no no success whatsoever. So, maintenance ends up trying to burn them, put them on a burn pile, whatever, trying to destroy them. Um we have had some staff reach out and say, "Hey, I I could use a couple pallets." I think one of the big things right now, obviously, coming up to graduation, people are using pallets for decoration. I have a daughter getting ready to um graduate, and I'm
068not offering that as an option. I would be fine if the board didn't approve that. >> [laughter] >> I'll probably end up putting a couple pallets in the back of my car, but uh it No, it's it's a great thing if the board would approve. Um obviously, we're very cautious about giving things away, but in in essence, the board would be deeming these pallets of no value to the district for our disposal, and I'm just, you know, staying as transparent as possible and asking the board's permission to offer these pallets out to our staff before maintenance has to burn them or get rid of them. How many pallets are we talking about? Half a semi load? A lot. We have a stack behind maintenance, 30 or 35, 40, and then each school they'll get We
069pick them up from them occasionally, five or six at each school. I mean, we could have 50 to 60 pallets and they just keep coming. They're they're like cockroaches, they just keep >> [laughter] >> I I think it's a great idea to give them back to the staff if they want to have them. Yeah. But um you might want to call Rocky Squires, or there's another pallet place in Waterloo. They'll they'll recycle them. They'll come and get them and just give them to them for free to get them off the parking lot. Okay. Other than burning them. Yeah, that's great. Offer them to staff, and then we can reach out to Rocky, for sure. Yep. Mhm. Yeah, they recycle them. I didn't realize they would take them. Yep. Okay. It's a win-win. [snorts] Cuz our
070guys, we spend a lot of time going around all the driveways and the back of the buildings, and they have seven pallets stacked up We grab them, put them in our truck. And then we got to wait for good weather if we're going to put them on a burn pile, you know, so it's Mhm. It's a lot of work. Mhm. All right. Um do I have a motion? [clears throat] I'll make a motion. Second. Motion and a second. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Oppose? Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Item I, miscellaneous. I'll turn it to our board members to see if they have anything to share this evening. I'll go first. Um Sometimes. Oh, yes. I've been accused of being a rah-rah person, so I'll own it.
071Uh there was a cheerleading camp going on at the middle school in the front yard. >> [clears throat] >> Perfect in the front yard. It really matches my hair. Uh so tonight we had a cheerleading camp, softball game, tennis match, track, soccer. If you're sitting at home, you need to get out while the weather's nice. Uh we also have indoor volleyball if the weather's not nice. Check the schedule. That typically doesn't change because of the weather. Um in May, Little Mermaid, May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. So if you're writing things down, I I'm not going to talk any slower. Also, senior awards night is in May. Get to that. That's May 4th, 7:00 auditorium. So Go Barons. Great. Lots happening. Yes. Good stuff. Lots of good events. Thanks, Theo. Um I have to give a
072shout-out to eighth-grader Miss Gracie Fordyce. Uh she at the middle school track meet last night broke the uh discus record that was held from 1998. Oh. Yes. So against Carroll last night. So congratulations to her. >> That's awesome. Cool. That's awesome. It seems like a family thing. Who held Are they throwers? That was Daniel Dean, wasn't it? It was me, actually. >> you? It was you? That's what I was going to comment. >> Why did you leave that out, Lauren? >> That's cool. >> [laughter] >> Humble. >> Did you get your picture with her? Uh I I found out afterwards after we were at dinner, so I told her dad tomorrow night at the next track meet we'll get our picture together. >> Oh, that's cool. >> Well, it's really cool that you were there
073to see it, too. Well, I wasn't able to see that one. >> [laughter] >> I didn't need to experience it. But yes, we'll we'll get a photo. We got a photo last year with the 4 by 100 team that broke the record with Jackie Kemp and I, so big shout-out to the throwing coaches, uh Miss Morehead and Coach Kemp as well. So they've been doing a great job with those girls. What was that year it was held? 1998. >> [laughter] >> Uh 98. 98 was the >> [laughter] >> Ask him what year he graduated. Oh, dear. Yeah. Yeah. A rough year. Thank you. Uh I only got one request for next board meeting. Matt, you did a great job night with the presentation. Can we hear about where we're at, update on the plan? All
074the maintenance plan that we say we're we're building the plan and putting together the spreadsheet. Can we get an update on where we're at on that? You talking about our strategic plan? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I think that's pretty updated. Unless we're making some changes. I I think that's on the website as well, but if not, I'll make sure it's on there. I'm just where we at. Right. Yeah. Right. Is that on the website? I thought it was. If not, I'll get it there and I'll I'll update that as well at the next board meeting. Yeah, I just again, I think because there's other people watching online, it'd be a great time to present it just so it's out there and open and and transparent with it. Don't tell me we have to go
075to the website. Here it is. It's 2 months in a row for Matt. Yeah, I know. >> [laughter] >> Hopefully in Yeah. Don't worry. Don't worry. >> are Maybe we'll WAIT TILL JUNE. >> [laughter] >> MAYBE JUNE. WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT LATER. It's at the middle school. Don't worry about it. >> [laughter] >> Let you go first. The whole middle school. President. Maybe for June. >> [laughter] >> Baseball's over. Late June. Okay. Yeah, I [snorts] don't I I can't remember either. We'll check. Great. Great. Awesome. I think you guys said it all, so all right. Enough's enough. I have one thing. I have good news. Um our new school resource officer started yesterday. Uh Officer Brandon Quesenberry. Did I do that right? All right. I've been practicing. Um joined us, started yesterday, has everything he
076needs in order. Um he wasn't able to be here tonight, but just a couple things I asked him to tell me a little bit about himself, and he shared that he has 4 years of active military duty, two tours in Iraq, so he's an Iraq veteran. Has three daughters, 13 years old and 10-year-old twins. Uh their favorite things to do are are spending time together and playing sports. It sounds like they all play. Um and he has been with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office since November of 2023. Was promoted to deputy in 2024, January of 2024. And I think he's really earnest. He's he was very interested in this job and very eager to get started, so we're glad he's here and looking forward to working with him. Great. Thank you. I just want to
077thank Matt one more time. Uh I know you guys saw his presentation. If you knew the amount of running around and legwork Matt did on a daily basis, he is the epitome of a fantastic employee from the standpoint of he and I are one in the same when it comes to fiscal responsibility of the district. Um he is just I I can't think of the word, but I mean, he is a pitbull when it comes to saving money. >> [laughter] >> And I couldn't ask for anybody better to work with. He does a fantastic job. He has probably himself saved us over a million dollars since he's taken the position in terms of just making the phone calls and doing the extra, you know, a lot of people are satisfied with one quote or, you
078know, what somebody tells them. That's that's not Matt's personality at all. Could be. He wouldn't have He doesn't have to do by half the things he does, and I would still think he does a great job. But he consistently goes above and beyond, and I just want to make sure the board understands the value we have in Matt Dins. Yeah. I agree, actually. I I think about this when you're talking tonight, I'm like I was on this board before we had this position, and now I'm like, I don't know how we did it before. I mean, it's just so much more organized and, you know, live, up-to-date, and and keeping the board members up-to-date, and um the community up-to-date. So thank you, Matt. Thank you for your effort and all your time. Well, and clearly
079a lot more is getting done and staying on top of a lot more things, so well done. Matt, and you've done a great job setting up all the facilities and operations committees, all of our tours, all the research for the past 2 years that we've been able to put into the backpack project. So all of us greatly appreciate all your diligence with that. Very much. [clears throat] >> [laughter] >> Great. Um I didn't have anyone else um sign up to speak tonight, but if anyone has anything else? I saw an email that says plant sale Saturday. FFA. So I just wanted to mention that. Good pom-poms you got. >> [laughter] >> My turn. I'll switch colors. Great. You know, those past students from Ashland-Waterloo, 1976, Oh, yeah. >> 1990 time capsule gets opened at 1:00.
080That's going to be really neat. >> It'll be a packed house. >> [laughter] >> According to Amanda, it's going to be a full house. I can't even remember what I put in it. Wait, that's so exciting that he we have a board member that actually put something in it, too. What did you write? I don't know. I don't remember. >> [laughter] >> It's 50 years ago. This is going to be fun. >> [laughter] >> Well, the next board meeting's at night. >> [laughter] >> Well, bring it with you. Why not? Why not bring it to the board meeting? You'll decide that day. >> [laughter] >> All right. Um and as mentioned, our next board meeting is May 19th, and it is at DeKalb Middle School. We will have our fifth graders present for their presidential
081academic awards. Um at this time we will ask for adjournment. Do I have a motion to adjourn? I'll make a motion. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed? Motion passes. Meeting adjourned. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I got it.