School Board Meeting - October 13, 2025

001start. >> Okay. >> All right. Everybody 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. >> Heavenly Father, we're thankful for the meeting tonight. Lord, just thankful for uh all the celebrations we do with our students uh that go here at school. Lord, we are just so thankful that you bless us with good students, good parents, good community. Lord, have a wonderful staff that helps teach them. Lord, just be with us and guide us as we go out on throughout the school year. In Jesus name we pray. >> Amen. >> Okay. Um, I call the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Okay. Um, let's do the

002students of the month. Who would like to start? >> Elementary will go first. >> Okay. >> All right. We are really excited tonight to recognize a couple kiddos from the elementary school. We're gonna start with Blaine Stanger. if you want to come on down. [Applause] >> I'm going to tell them what your teachers have to say. So, you stand up here with your certificate and be proud. Okay. So, according to Blaine teachers, he has started off the school year with a truly positive attitude. Third grade can be a challenging transition from second grade with higher expectations and greater demands. But Blaine is rising to the occasion. He consistently puts forth his best effort and shows a strong desire to succeed. What's especially impressive is the personal growth that Blaine has shown this year. He has

003really focused on self-control and has had zero negative moments, which is awesome. He is kind, respectful, and a positive presence in the classroom. We're proud of the progress Blaine has made, and we're excited to see his continued growth throughout the year. Keep it up, Blaine. [Applause] And our second student of the month from the elementary school is Miss Annabelle Lumen. Come on up, Annabelle. We are proud to recognize Annabelle as a student of the month. Annabelle consistently brings kindness, compassion, and positivity to everything she does. She is dedicated and hardworking student who approaches every day with a bright smile and a calm, joyful presence that uplifts everyone around her. Her thoughtfulness and consideration for others make her a valued member of our classroom community. Whether she's helping a classmate, contributing to a group project, or

004quietly leading by example, Annabelle embodies the values we strive to cultivate in all of our students. Congratulations, Annabelle. [Applause] All right. So, students of the month for middle school. Let's see. Is Drake Carman here? Let's see. I'm out there. I will read what Drake's teachers said about him and then we'll move on. So, Drake Harmon has really been working hard um doing his personal best this year. He's polite, well behaved, and works hard every single day. He takes pride in his work and genuinely cares about how he's doing. He's also learning to be more organized, which is helping him a lot a lot um in his studies. We're really proud of the effort he's putting in and the progress he's making. So, congratulations to Drake. [Applause] And then I also have Addie Helton. [Applause] look

005so sad. They said nice things about you. Addie is an all-around great student. Addie exemplifies the best characteristics of a model student. She works very hard to do her personal best, is a great participant in class, and can be counted on to do what is right. She is organized, cooperative, and cares about learning. We're so proud of Addie and are lucky to have the opportunity to have her in our classes. Good job, Addie. [Applause] >> Good evening. We're going to start with Mr. Jake James. [Applause] All right. Our first student of the month is Mr. Jake James. Jake's Jake is an exceptional student and leader in all things extracurricular at Eastern Green High School, which is you're there all the time. So, uh Jake is a basketball manager, has starred in the school musical, has

006experience working with a local troop in Bloomfield as a stage support. In addition to these contributions, Jake was particularly nominated for his leadership and work ethic in providing students uh in providing students and the community with an amazing homecoming week in September. To top it all off, he's part of student council, part of the principal's advisory committee, National Honor Society, probably eventually. Yeah. So, like I mean the list kind of goes on and on. Um and uh many of you probably know him as Toby the Thunderbird. Um >> you're not supposed to give that away. >> Well, but you know what? He's kind of shed that and I'm really proud of him. >> I know, but that's against the mascot's code. >> It's okay. It's okay. We'll let it slide this one time. But I'm

007really proud that you have kind of grown into your own and you've kind of become your own person, a young man that you can be very proud of. And I'm I'm also proud of you. >> All right. Our next student of the month is Miss Hayden Wilkkey. [Applause] Miss Hayden Wilkkey uh is uh an outstanding student. Hayden has served the school in many capacities, including soccer manager, student director, and performer and school musical, uh, the orchestra, and through her participation in student council. Uh, Hayden 2 was identified as an essential part of executing a fun and memorable homecoming week for students and community alike. Uh, you probably didn't sleep that week, did you? No, there was a lot to do. Yeah. Um, one of the things that, uh, I really appreciate about, uh, Hayden was

008that she was available no matter what. she was there uh helping with whatever needed to be done. And sometimes those tasks aren't always the most enjoyable, right? But um I'm very proud of you. You stepped up to the plate and be [Applause] >> Yeah. Awards. >> Mrs. Parsley, do you want to uh hand out our Are you doing for >> Elementary. Okay. >> Is Mr. Zapata out there? >> Okay. >> Joyce, [Applause] I wrote really nice things about all of the kids, but I don't have them in front of me. I Everybody said, um, she's probably a good kid. She probably follows the directions. She does. Joyce is a fun girl to have in class. She's very helpful to all of her uh kids around her. She's always knows exactly what to do. She's very

009creative. And I love Mackenzie. McKenzie also is very good at listening and following directions. We have lots of fun. Don't She laughs at all my jokes, which is super important. And um her artwork out there was really really good. Like I didn't look at any of the names. I I turned them all over. So I write their names on the back and I was like, "This one is so good." I turned it over and I was So happy. [Applause] [Music] >> Arabella and Tail, they both awesome, good listeners. Follow very helpful to all of their friends. Always right there. And they're great. I wish they were here. Thank you. [Applause] All right. So, I am not Mr. Zapata. He had a prior engagement that couldn't couldn't break. So, um so I'm going to work my

010way through this. Uh we'll start off with Paula Elena Retar. They were they were clapping for me because I said it correctly. All right. So, uh, she is our, uh, foreign exchange student from Spain. Um, and she, uh, has some art hanging out there from Mr. Zapata's 2D 2D class. >> Do you want to explain what the art is? >> Hey, it's it's a dog. >> It's a dog. All right. Straight to the point, man. I like you. Congratulations. >> All right. And now we have Ashlin Michael. All [Applause] right. Ashlin is a freshman, also in Mr. Zapata's uh 2D art class, kind of focused on uh drawing. Correct. Um do you want to describe your art piece? >> Um it's just a bunch of line art, but the focal point is an eyeball. I

011don't know. Creative be able to like put all of my ideas. Awesome. Congratulations. >> All of the students art is displayed out in the office here in the entryway. Um, a couple pieces aren't hung yet. We didn't have the hardware in the office to get those up, but they're posted out there where you can see them, and we will have those hung up uh tomorrow. So, um th those are the student of the month and the art award recipients. If if you want to leave, you can. You do not have to stay. You're more than welcome to stay. Um, at this time we do have a presentation. >> Do we have Is this one of the art? >> No, I think Drake. >> It's Drake. >> Drake is here. I don't know if you guys

012>> Yeah. >> The middle school. >> Oh, okay. Well, we can do that one again. >> He needs his title. You can't leave, >> Miss Miss Clary. >> If we we can >> Yeah, we'll have him come in. I also want to get Addie's picture before she leaves. >> Okay. >> Just as you're good. >> It's okay. We'll just sit around and wait on you. >> Okay. Thanks. >> It's okay. >> So, Izzy Izzy, you're going to give a presentation and then turn it over to student council. >> We'll wait till everybody's done. We'll wait. You can just come awkwardly stand up here for a while. No, come on. Come on. Yeah, you can come up here. Yeah. Drake, what grade are you in? >> You're in sixth grade. That's the same grade my granddaughter

013is. >> That's awesome. She goes to a different >> her son. Okay. So, so sixth grade different teachers for different classes. >> Yeah. Cool. >> So, what does her son say about her? >> What does my son say about him >> about you? >> He was one of the 35 kids at a slumber party at my house last week and the house standing. So, >> 35. >> Wow. >> Is that against the fire code? >> I don't know. It's against my code from now on. >> That's fun. >> Anyway, here's Mrs. Clary. You don't have to be nervous. We're nice. >> You can tell the principal to get off her phone if you want. That's okay. >> Sandy was like, "That's funny. >> I got to find what they said >> because the the no

014phones, we can apply that to the school board meeting, too. >> Got to see what they said. >> I'm kidding. >> Come here, Drake. Come here. >> Everybody, this is Drake Harmon." >> Hi, Drake. And Drake was our student of the month this month for sixth grade. And this is what the teachers had to say about you. They said that you've been working really hard, doing your personal best this year. Is that true? Are they telling the truth so far? Okay, let me know if they're lying. He's polite, well behaved, and works hard every day. He takes pride in his work, and he genuinely cares about how he's doing. He's also learning to be more organized, which is helping him out a lot. Is that true? Have we been working on Oh, was that a

015struggle at the beginning of the year? It happens. I'm glad says, um, we're really proud of the effort he's putting in and the progress he's making. So, good job, Drake. Thanks everybody. >> Have a good evening. >> Yes. >> Talk about in and out. >> So, uh, a couple months ago, we dis uh we talked a little bit and honored Izzy Forester uh for going to the Hobie uh conference, but I guarantee that probably most of you do not know what the Hobie Conference is. Um the the reality is though that we have been sending uh students to the Hobie conference for many many years probably predate me and probably close to probably predating Doug. So I wanted to give uh her an opportunity to uh talk to you a little bit about what the

016Hobie Conference is and how it has impacted her. So there you go. >> Can you put it under 30 minutes you guys? >> Yeah. >> All right. Hello everyone. My name is Isabella Forester and I was chosen to attend a Hobie seminar last year. At the time, I was hesitant and didn't immediately accept the offer. Boy, that would have been a mistake. Anyway, I did some research and with my parents encouragement, I agreed. When I arrived, I was very nervous. The energy level was high for 8 in the morning. A bunch of facilitators and staff were holding signs and cheering at me and other overwhelmed ambassadors. After we settled in, we were split into our groups. As I would come to learn, I had a wonderfully supportive group and facilitator. There were two guest speakers

017that gave us advice during our time on campus. The first was a woman by the name of Tiffany Grimes, the deputy athletics director at Purdue University. A piece of advice she gave us was failure is not the opposite of success, but a stepping stone towards it. The second speaker was Brian Neil, sales coach and referee. He has owned seven different companies, uh, founded the Blind Zebra, and has refereed the Super Bowl. His advice was to live in the moment. Focus on what you can do, not what you can't. We learned a lot about leadership. We found out what type of leaders we were and our leadership style. They taught us what characteristics made a good leader and a poor leader. I, for example, am a beaver. My strengths are being analytical, detail- oriented, and hardworking.

018However, I struggle with perfectionism and change. There were some activities that encouraged us to focus on our futures. There was a college fair that featured multiple colleges from around the state and beyond. They also gave us a chance to speak with people in certain occupations we were interested in. I talked to a mechanical engineer and an architect. They gave me insight about their jobs from day-to-day life to experiences and jobs they've acquired. There were opportunities that encouraged ambassadors to put themselves out of their comfort zones, including a talent show and something called lightning talks. The talent show was when I first started realizing how supportive and encouraging this group was. The lightning talks were a minute long improvised speech and ambassadors could give to improve their self-confidence in front of a crowd. Additionally, there were

019activities that helped with teamwork and thinking outside of the box. We were able to collaborate and use our critical thinking skills to figure out puzzles and other engaging activities. They gave us a chance to do some charity work. Half of the ch half of the ambassadors and I made dog toys for the animal shelter and wrote cards for people in nursing homes. The other ambassadors did yard work around the Purdue campus. It surprised me with how tight-knit my group and I became. We went from complete strangers to friends for life. It amazed me everyone I met was so kind and cheerful. This seminar was filled with the cream of the crop from Indiana schools. The social part of Hobie was incredible. It's safe to say that this experience was something I'll never forget. I'm so

020grateful that I was given this opportunity. I've never had such an impactful few days of my life. I went into it apprehensive and came out the other side a more confident and inspired person. I plan on attaining the 100 volunteer hours needed to return to Hobie as a junior staff member. I sincerely appreciate everyone that was involved in selecting me and making this possible. Thank you. [Applause] >> What is that? >> It's Hugo O'Brien Youth Leadership. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Named after the very >> Thank you. >> Okay. Next up is the student council. introduce him as well. Okay. >> So, this is this is telling about the dress code. >> I'm sorry. I come in I work best. We have this in schoolboard meetings. >> This is my work clothes on the internet.

021>> He works best in these. >> So, this is Finn Wolfker. He is the uh assistant or vice president, excuse me, of uh student council. Um, and one of the things that, uh, we've kind of done with student council this year is we've actually made it into a class. Um, it fulfills part of our, uh, requirement for one of the the diploma changes that's, uh, taken place for this freshman class. Um, and we felt like it was a great way to not only um, fulfill the requirements given by the state, but also to kind of embed some community service, uh, school spirit, and some public relations into the into uh, into the experience. So, I'll let Mr. Wolfer take it away. >> Yeah, I can vouch that um having student council as a class has

022made it much easier and much more accessible for me um as a student. And I'm really happy we did it that way. But going off of um we had a lot of uh success with the Powderpuff tournament. I don't know if you guys heard about that, but it was on September 17th and we had great student engagement and school spirit. It was a lot more than last year. I was there last year. It was still fun, but you could really tell the difference between last year and this year. There was much more going on with like the um male cheerleaders. They really kicked it off and they had a lot of fun. Uh I announced for it and I had quite a lot of fun. >> I thought you couldn't tell. I didn't really know

023what I was doing, but I had I had a blast. >> Tell you really tell >> it was a blast and I think everybody involved had fun. We raised quite a bit of money. Um, our spirit week achieved great student and uh, teacher participation. Uh, you could tell a lot of kids and teachers had a lot of fun with um, the uh, the dress code that was set up and yeah, overall I really it was a really enjoyable week. >> Did you bring any pictures? >> I did not take any pictures unfortunately. Uh, and we tried out we tried out a morning pep session which is brand new. Um, it was pitched by some people in the student council and we decided to let it through and it was a big success. We've had a

024lot of compliments on it and I also announced for that and again I didn't know what I was doing but we had a another blast. I mean everybody involved had fun. We had a lot more teacher participation this year with some of the games and that really brought together the school. Um, and overall it was just a very fun and comedic way to get everybody involved and bring up some school spirit. Uh, then the big one is we hosted our Candyland homecoming dance on September 20th and and achieved a very good ticket sale profit. I think in like the first uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but in like the first two days, we already made up all the tickets that we uh, all the like our goal. we met our goal and uh we

025made a good profit and we had incredible student attendance for that dance. It was really a big hit. Um and the homecoming week was very successful. Uh the student council members learned and grew from the experience and we had like you know we figured out what we did wrong and what we did right and we plan moving forward to really like buff out what we did wrong and uh keep doing what we did right. Uh and later in the month we will be holding a honor jacket ceremony for high achieving seniors. Uh and we have invited past influential teachers to um help honor and congratulate those seniors. And of course for the important part, we spent about $852.84 84 and made a whopping $2,940.25 raising a very good $2,8741 towards our school which all in

026all is a very great success and really helped up with um fundraising. >> So yeah. >> When when is the honor jacket ceremony? >> Oh, do you know do you have that on the >> 22nd? Wednesday. Okay. >> And yeah, that's all I have for you guys. So, >> Thank you very much. [Applause] >> Is that it? That's it. Okay. I didn't know if some of the other members were if if those of you that don't want to stay, you Yeah. >> She didn't even get be told she was out the door. >> I'm not leaving. I'm just gonna >> bring people in here because I don't trust them. Um, we can go ahead I think with uh >> uh >> Mrs. Miss Clary and uh Mrs. Quimby are going to share a little bit

027about uh their trip to Arizona for the kids at Hope Masters Conference. >> Very informal. They're just going to share a little bit about the the trip. Um, it was a it was an amazing experience. I just want to say that first. Um, we had every session that we went to, we felt like was a great use of our time. Um, we took a lot of pictures. Allison had a great app that takes notes for us. We could bring it back and kind of go through everything. You know, when you're in the moment, it's hard to remember those things. See, then you bring them back. Um, but ending it with the school visit for me was just incredible. um just to see kids in hope in action and to listen to these kids talk about

028it. Um it was just really inspiring. So um I'll let you read. Alison took some notes. So um yeah, I have to second what Miss Quimby said. We were very inspired. Um you know, not I would love to say that every professional development you ever attend is super Yeah. super amazing, but we know that that's not the case. However, um from the moment we got there to the moment we left, we were actively engaged in in a lot of really um when I have talked to people about it, it's not anything that I don't think people already know, but it's just bringing it to the forefront of your mind. I think it's things that we think about if you came into this if you came into education these are things that you probably when you

029wrote that first paper in education 101 and it was like why do you want to be a teacher these were the things that you said but sometimes along the way we get bogged down in all of the politics. Um some of the things though that I did put down were not things that um you do with children but things that as teachers and as the adults in the building that you should do. So um we had this uh Mr. Coffee Dr. Coffee was there. He was a keynote speaker and he is a doctor of positive psychology which I'm always learning. I feel like that there are these jobs you don't even know exist out there. Um, so he talked a lot about practicing self-compassion, um, and about treating ourselves with the same kind of kindness

030that we show our friends. And I think, um, that's important for us to recognize and do for ourselves so that we can then teach every the the children that we teach how to do those things. Um, and it was simple activities like gratitude journaling, um, doing a week of acts of kindness and teaching kids how to be intentional with with their kindness. Um, self-reflection and and those kinds of things. So, and all the research kind of backed that up >> and talked about how they've took uh kids from birth to 30 years old and that their quality of life and their satisfaction with their overall life was greater when they practiced some of this positive psychology. Um those are things we already started in the elementary with our PD day. We started with um like

031the self-reflection on how you handle struggles, you know, like how you support your friend through a struggle versus how you handle yourself when you're struggling. Um and we've already been doing like some gratitude journaling whenever we've kicked off some of our committee meetings. It's just kind of like a way to set your positive intentions. So, I think that's been really helpful. >> Yeah. Um, another thing that we did one day that was um, we're going to implement in our next professional development was about purposeful play um, and how important that is for learning how to solve conflict and how to follow directions and how to um, be just an active participant and a successful adult. And that's of course what Kids at Hope is all about is finding that success. But we know that there

032are these common themes no matter what you choose to do work-wise. There are common themes in your life that you're going to have to follow. And so we we spend a whole day playing which sounds like I mean that's like my dream job. Like I just get to hang out and play. So, um I think overall we've got lots of good ideas to to start really um implementing things and and and being purposeful. We had a meeting the wellness committee met um LA right before we left for break and talking about how to include hobbies and recreation um into some wellness activities that we're doing throughout the year. So, I'm really excited to put everything in motion now. And I have to agree that the the the school visit was amazing. It brought me to

033tears. Like, you walked in and every single kid was out there with a pompom and they were high-fiving and they were excited for you to be there. And then when we went around and talked to them, they let us come in the building and talk to their kids and their kids talked about their goals and what they were working towards and who they wanted to be and what kind of family they wanted to have and what things were important to them. So, it was very inspiring. >> Anything? >> No, I just I think it was really important for me coming into it new. Um, you know, we've been doing the kids at Hope pledge every day with the kids, but then to see it in action and then coming back and figuring out our next

034steps. Um, so yeah, we're really we're very fired up about it. So, >> I just want to thank them for their willingness to be away from their families to go out and do the professional development, but also for their uh passion about Kids at Hope because they were out there, they were texting me all their ideas that they wanted to do and and so that was exciting to see. And then also Rick Miller, the kind of the the founder of of Kids at Hope, uh, you know, he he he got us out there and got the money from us. He didn't have to do all this. He was following up with me. Hey, is there anything else you need from me? Is there anything else you need from the program? And, uh, it's nice to

035know that we have that connection with somebody who's so high up in the with it. So, yeah, I appreciate their time. >> Thank you very much. No swag for the board, though? >> No, we don't. We're we're working on some shirts. We're working on that. >> No, we are work we're working on shirts for everything. >> I need I need some money. >> Yeah, we're we're working that is in >> Warbucks. >> That is in the works. >> Some shirts, but I do I do have one design. >> Um All right. Well, thank you all for doing that. >> Okay. I assume since everybody here is pretty much employed for the school, we're going to bypass public comment. >> Okay. >> Ask. >> Huh? >> You're supposed to ask. Well, anybody want to keep up?

036>> Okay. It is recommend the agenda for the October 13, 2025 meeting be approved as presented with additions, corrections, or deletions as recommended by the board. Do I have a motion? Second chair. All those four is recommend the minute the minutes from the September 8th, 2025 meeting be approved as presented. Do I have a motion Dennis? Second, Natalie. All those four is recommended that the claims numbers through >> 21123. be approved and presented. Do I have any comments on the claims? Okay, I have a motion. Second, all those four 60. Okay, Mr. Take over. >> So, uh, >> hold on to your seats. >> This might be a little longer here. Um, I seek a uh recommendation. Uh I recommend the adoption of the 2026 budget, the capital project plan, the and the bus replacement

037plan as presented. But I do have some some information to share. Uh there's some legal steps we have to do to go through this. So please bear with me here. Each year the state of Indiana and the department of local government requires that we hold a budget hearing in September and then a formal budget adoption in October. Thus we are here in October. We did the hearing in September. Uh we are required to have all the budget items, the capital project fund plan and the bus replacement plan uploaded into the DLGF a minimum of 10 days prior to this meeting as well as posted on our school website. We have met those legal requirements and today will serve as our formal adoption. I I do want to thank TVA Lukans, our corporation treasurer, for all

038of her assistance as we work to prepare the annual budget. It is always best practice to put together a defensive budget, one that is based on some very conservative assumptions to produce um our budget estimate. And we have done just that. As is done every year, we are building a budget that covers 18 months. This year it's July 2025 through December of 2026. And it has to be completed prior to having some vital information that may have heavily may heavily impact how our budget finalizes. The two uh primary variables that help determine our budget that we are missing or unsure of um at the time that we plan our budget is one our assessed valuation of property in the district which we do now know is 325 million58,373. That is actually an increase from 268

039million for 24 which is quite remarkable. Um now if uh Senate Bill one doesn't change that will drop a little bit in in the coming years but but that is good that we have that assessed value and we'll talk more about that assessed value here in a few moments. Um and also we do not have at the time of preparing our budget we do not have any conclusive information on what our actual student enrollment will be for the 2526 school year. At the time of preparing our budget, I had estimated we would have 1,068 students based on our enrollment in the spring. And we are actually currently at 1,075 students. So, um, anytime you're in the plus over what your estimate is, that's a good thing for your budget. So, those are pieces of information

040that we didn't have when we submitted the budget and started planning the budget, but we do have those pieces of information now. Um, our district assessed valuation of property will determine what our actual levies could be and what actual revenue we can or will receive from the local sources. If that number changes significantly, meaning our assessed value, that would most definitely impact our tax rate on individuals and impact the tax rate on individuals in our school district. Our AV has stabilized and has been increasing the past four years. Um, and I do think it's important that everybody remember that there are many safeguards in place to protect local taxpayers. So any adverse impact to the assessed value will most likely negatively impact our ability to raise revenue, not necessarily hurt the taxpayer. Um, the fact

041that we do know about our actual assessed value makes meat rest a little easier, especially with the always possible drop in enrollment because while we've have an enrollment of 1075 right now, we do have a secondary enrollment that is submitted in early February. So, our our goal is to keep that enrollment or even increase the enrollment between now and then. Um, we also need to understand that the structure of the local government finance bill, which is the property tax relief bill or Senate Bill One, will most likely cause a decrease in our assessed value in future years if it's not revisited or adjusted by state legislature. I mean, every expert out there says that is going to happen as people get the increase in their homestead credits. um which will decrease if you're a property

042owner, it will decrease your property taxes. But then there's a decrease of funds for schools, fire departments, police departments, and any other public entity that gets those funds. So when we build our budget, we are attempting to answer some primary questions. How much revenue might we receive and from where? How much will we spend and what will we spend it on? What does our budget mean to our taxpayers? And what is our long-term fiscal outlook? The primary sources of our 2026 budget revenue are state funding and our education fund and local property taxes for the other major budgeted funds. These other funds also receive some additional monies from various miscellaneous sources including but not limited to interest income, rental of school facilities, etc. Most of the additional income will go into our education fund. Remember,

043our operation fund is a combination of the old transportation fund, the capital projects fund, and the bus replacement fund. They combined all those into one fund, and that's that's what's the operation fund is today. Eastern Green Schools will estimate and transfer funds from the education fund to the operation fund that the state has identified a limit of 15%. Um I believe I've shared that before but I will talk more about that um that 15% on one of our resolutions here in a moment. This can be done monthly, quarterly or annually. Um if we do go above that 15% mark for the year, we will be we will be identified as a distressed unit. Uh the distressed unit list consists of up to about 50 school districts in the state. We are at no danger of

044being on that list at this current time. Uh the education fund is our revenue from the state and is based on the bienial state budget. They did pass a two-year budget and they did give um schools 2% new money for 2526 and I believe they are proposed that for the 2627 school year. While anything positive is good, it is important, however, that uh we recognize that while Governor Brown, Governor Braun taught touted this budget as providing new money to school, it is not necessarily money that's going to go to public education. And we also need to account for the removal of a separate line item that reimbursed schools for textbook and some other materials. Last year, we received that separate money from the state to cover those expenses. This year we have to pay those

045costs directly with the money received in the education fund. We also have to understand that school choice and charters were expanded again and they got most of the 2% additional funding even though 92% of the students in the state of Indiana attend public schools. And finally, when we figure in for inflation, we are actually looking at either a stagnant increase or even a little bit less um that we are receiving in the education fund. Additionally, that will hurt us uh as far as budget goes is we did take a cut in title one federal funding. We we lost $24,000 for the 2526 school year. That is uh in addition to the 13,000 we lost the previous year. Um that's four consecutive years that we've had a reduction in our title one federal funding. While we've

046done an adequate job of building reserves, those reserves can be quick depleted quickly if we do not manage them effectively. We have built this budget with that conserviveness in mind. I think it is important to note that we are carrying some pieces of debt um and we will be adding a fourth potentially here uh with today's board meeting. But we have a first mortgage uh refund and that was started in 2014. Common school loan um that we have we have the uh the two bonds that we just approved here recently, the central campus and the high school campus bonds. And then we are proposing um a general obligation bond this evening. We did just pay off a second common school loan and that allowed our tax rate to drop enough to add in the uh

047the two lease bonds for the central campus and the high school campus as well as the general obligation bond which we will talk more detail here recently or here later on. Um I also just want to share that our advertised rate um for taxes will be 2.8704 8704 which sounds excessively high and it and that is high but you need to understand we always advertise very high. Uh the DLGF this year um encouraged us when we did our budget to base it on 80% of your assessed value from 2425. And we did that. Well, 80% we based our budget on only having an assessed value of 214 million, but our assessed value is actually 110 million more than that at 325. So I am confident that when we get our budget, we should receive most

048of the money that we have asked for. Um and should and those tax rates will jump down much lower than what they they appear to be here. Um but we will not have our actual notice rate and our debt service rate until we receive um our 1782 and that will be late November, early December. And of course we will share that publicly when we get that. With that said, are there any questions about the 2026 proposed school budget? >> I have a quick question. You said our previous assessed value was >> 268 million for last year. >> 268. Thank you. >> And and and some change, but it was it was a small amount and and we're 325 now and like 58,000. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> So, >> what was the tax rate

049last time? It was 2.8. Uh last year's tax rate, I do have that here. Last year's notice rate was 1.27 and the debt service rate was 37 or 3784. Um I do know after and again I'm going to talk about this later. Um our debt service rate will jump no higher than to 55 cents from that 37 cents. even though we're still we're adding both the the the two lease bonds and the geo bond. So our our taxes are going up, but it is a minimal amount to provide some of the services we need here at this school. >> So if there's no other questions, um >> any other questions? Anybody? >> Okay. So, I recommend the adoption of the 2026 budget, the capital projects plan, and the school uh bus replacement plan as presented.

050>> Do you have a motion? First, second. >> Okay. Now we have several uh resolutions and these are all um resolutions that are required for different uh budgeting things that we will do throughout the year. So the first one is um a motion to transfer um I seek a motion to approve a resolution to transfer amounts from the education fund to the operation fund on a recurring monthly basis. I mentioned already that we will do 15% is what we plan to transfer. And I believe I've explained this before, but that 15% is not just something the state arbitrarily came up with. Um, one of the things that used to be paid out of the the uh general fund, what it used to be called was uh utilities. And it is estimated that schools spend about

05115% of that budget on utilities. So when they shifted utilities to our operation budget, we cannot pay utilities out of the education budget. That's against the the rules, but we can transfer 15% of that money to the operations budget to make those payments. Thus, we do this. >> Thus, that's why we do the 15%. I mean, I'm just to to be transparent, put that out there. A lot of people don't understand that. They they wonder why we take the 15%. But that is the reason. So I seek a motion to approve a resolution that allows us to transfer from the education fund to the operation fund on a reoccurring basis. >> Good to have a motion. Second sharing all those four. >> Okay. Next um I seek a motion to approve a 2026 budget transfer

052resolution. This is a different type of transfer. Uh the treasurer is hereby authorized to make transfers within funds and also between funds and within minor categories and to transfer among major categories appropriations and revenue necessary to allow for expenditures in the 2026 budgets when necessary. There are just times that things come up and we have to pay out of one budget. We have to shift some money here to pay here and then it just gets shifted back. In order for us to do that, we would have to come to you each and every time for a resolution to do that. This gives us a blanket resolution to do that within reason. >> Any discussion? >> Okay. Do I have a motion? Natalie second. Dennis. All those four 60. >> Okay. Uh next, um I seek

053a motion to approve a resolution for the uh 20 uh 26 budget hearing. Um this is basically just allowing me um to report any changes made at the budget hearing to um and from our budget that's been submitted back to the board. That's I'm I'm paraphrasing, but that's in essence what we're asking for here. >> Okay. Okay. Do you have a motion, Kim? >> Or do you have a question? >> Okay, Kim. Second, Dennis. All those four >> 60. Uh, next, I seek seek a motion to approve a resolution authorizing tax anticipation warrants for 2026. So, again, I'm going to paraphrase what this is. It sounds super complicated. Basically, it's given us the opportunity that we can go to a bank and borrow up to $15,000 to make a payment that we need to make

054because we're waiting on tax money from the state if we get into a situation like that. We should not get into that type of a situation, but we approve this resolution just in case something does happen. For example, we're in a government shutdown, a federal government shutdown right now. If that was at the state level, there could be a limit to the funds that are coming to us. So, we would have to have a plan B. Have >> a motion. Shar second. >> Natalie, all those four. >> And my last one is um a motion to approve a rainy day transfer resolution. The board authorizes the treasur to make the following transfer for the budget year ending 2025. We um are requesting that we will transfer $100,000 out of operations into um and we will

055transfer that into the rainy day fund as we work to replenish um our rainy day fund. >> Glad to hear that. >> Yes. Do I have a motion? Kim second. Dennis. All those four 60. Okay. Okay. Here we go again. Hold on to your seats. The next item on the agenda is for the board to hold a project and additional appropriation hearing on the proposed project. If you are interested in speaking at the hearings, please make sure you have signed the sign-in sheet at the back of the room which should include your name and address. After presentation by the administration and its adviserss, there will be an opportunity for the public to make comments about the project. At the hearing, we will ask each person limit their comments to three minutes and that topic to

056be limited to the proposed project under consideration. The notice of the hearing was published as legally required. At this time, I will ask the superintendent to explain the purpose of the hearing. Okay. Thank you, Scott. Uh, pursuant to Indiana Code 20-26-7-37, before a school corporation may spend more than $1 million to build, repair, or alter a school building that will be financed by a lease or bonds, it must hold a public hearing at which explanation of the potential value of the project to the school corporation and community are given. Uh, these public hearings and the adoption of the resolutions are the very beginning of the legal process. These resolutions establish the maximum financial terms for the proposed project. >> We will now hear from the s from the superintendent about the process of determining and

057communicating the project to the community uh and the need for the project. >> All right. So, our proposed uh uh project for the general obligation bond. Um, so we were awarded a $400,000 grant through the Green County Foundation as part of a countywide initiative to expand early childhood education. Our share of this fund, this funding, which is $400,000, is dedicated to expanding preschool, toddler, and infant child care options on our elementary campus. While this grant represents a significant investment in our district, it does not fully cover the cost of the necessary upgrades to the preschool wing of our elementary school. The general obligation bond will provide additional funding needed to do some of the following. It will complete some essential renovations and improvements in the preschool, toddler, and infant wings or wing, excuse me, enable

058Eastern Green Schools to expand early learning and childhood and child care opportunities for families in our community. It will help better prepare our children for kindergarten entry, and it will support long-term enrollment growth by providing highquality early learning programs that attract and retain families in our district. This investment in early education aligns with our mission to strengthen the foundation for our lifelong learning and serve the evolving needs of our community. The GO bond will also give us the capacity to potentially uh to explore the potential purpose or purchase of a 29.5 acre piece of land directly north of the high school campus along Highway 54. I will talk more about that later when that motion comes up. We'll now hear from uh Superintendent Lewis about how the proposed project will be financed as well as

059information about the effect of the tip on the typical uh property taxpayer. >> Thank you, Mr. Carmichael. Uh the total project cost of 2.1 million includes both hard and soft project cost and 2 million of those cost um or the excuse me 2 million of the 2.1 is the hard and soft project cost and $100,000 of that 2.1 is the cost of issuing the bond. Um that goes to all the peripheral players involved. Uh the principal amount of the geo bond will be 2.1 million. The maximum annual payment amount is estimated at $400,000. The maximum estimated interest rate is estimated to be at 5%. Um the estimated tax rate impact of the geo bond will be 12.18 cents um on taxpayers. That's for every $100 of assessed value. it would be 12.18 cents. Um, however,

060I do want to put a caveat in there in the future with um, SEA1 and the potential AV decline that could happen with that, if that AV declines a little, then that tax hit to our community will undoubtedly go up a little bit. Okay? Even though they're actually going to pay less taxes. Okay? Um, so I just want to make sure that everybody understands what their tax hit could be, but but right now u we are very confident that that will be 12.18 cents. Um, and we will know definitively what our debt services overall tax rate will be. As I said, when we get our 1782 in late November, early December, uh, the maximum estimated interest cost on this geo bond will be $424,542. Um and the GEO bonds are scheduled, if approved, are scheduled

061to to sell by October 23rd. Um interest rates are locked in at the time of sale and the actual closing will be by November 13th. I will add that we did a an SNP uh standards and poor evaluation um this summer and we were given the um an A rating um just like we had previously. And the timing of this is going to allow us, we've already sold and received funds for the lease bond. This is timing is such that we don't have to pay an additional fee to S&P to do this. So that's going to save us um about $20,000 because that's about what we paid for the S&P rating. Okay. >> All right. We'll now open the public hearing. Member, if you would like to speak, please sign in on the sheet which

062is located right here with um Miss Lukans. Um as I mentioned um earlier, we ask that um you state your name, address, limit your comments to the proposed project and financing, keeping any comments to three minutes, and avoid being repetitive if possible. Uh may I have the signin sheet now being is there anything on there? Um, >> so I'm going to jump us back to the agenda to approve the hearing and then adopt the resolution and then we'll go to the next piece. >> So if you'll move back to your your agenda here. Um, I recommend the approval of a hearing which we've already done. Um, on the 2025 general obligation bond project. I do need a formal motion. >> Do I have a motion? Kim second. Dennis all those four six. Okay. And now

063um I seek a motion to adopt uh the resolution on the 2025 general obligation bond project. >> Okay. Do I have a motion? Natalie second. Kim close four 6. >> We're almost done. >> Oh, let's do one more here. Um, I seek a mo I need a motion to approve the additional Sorry. >> Well, wait. >> Are we gonna have to silence the crowd here? >> Um, I I seek a motion to approve the additional appropriation hearing for the 2025 general obligation bond project. >> Okay. I have a motion, Natalie. >> Second. >> A second. Dennis Dennis. >> This a second. Okay. All this far. Well, >> okay. So, what you're voting for here is we have to have your permission to allow us to appropriate and spend this money because we did not ask

064for this money in our original budget for this school year. So, that's what we're and but we have to have a hearing to do that appropriation. So, we have a couple more script things we have to do here. >> The next on the agenda is for the board to hold an additional appropriation hearing on the proposed bond proceeds. The the notice of this additional appropriation hearing was published as legally required. We will now open public hearing. We ask that you state your name, address, limit your comments to the proposed additional appropriation of bond proceeds, keep any comments to three minutes, and avoid being repetitive possible. Anyone interested in speaking? >> Nope. Okay. >> Sounds like we're being repetitive a little bit. I'm just saying. >> Um, Miss Mr. Lewis, could you please summarize I can.

065Yes. The project resolution is required when the school is planning to spend more than a million dollars per building. It contains the estimated hard and soft construction cost which I've already shared with you and the cost of issuance and establishes the total project cost. It also contains the estimated tax impact which I have shared. >> Okay. I have a motion to approve the additional appropriation resolution for the 2025 general obligation bond project. Okay. I have a motion by Kim, second by Natalie, all those four. >> Groundhog. That's pretty funny. >> All right. So, now we're done with that and we're moving on to our next piece of business here. Um, advertising of bids. Um, I do seek a motion to approve the advertising of bids for the high school campus ADA restroom building and parking

066lot project. This is part of our high school lease spawn project. And I do have um Scott Stefnogle here who is going to briefly cover what those entail and give you just a quick update of where we're at on the lease bond here on our central campus or elementary middle school campus. >> Good evening again. Scott Steph with Steph group. As you know, the last several months, uh, Stephen Group have been working handinhand with Jibralta design and roast land surveying to develop the final plans and specifications for the construction of the ADA restroom building and also an ADA parking lot at your high school campus. Um, the building basically consists of wood frame construction. Um, it will have interior FRP board which will be very easy to easy to clean. Uh, there will be two

067lavatories and four water closets located in the women's restroom. Uh, two lavatories, two urinals and two water closets in the men's restroom. Each restroom will have a baby changing table so the men aren't out of the picture. Uh there will be new solid plastic toilet partitions, toilet accessories such as grab bars, paper dispensers, soap dispensers, etc. The HVAC will consist of new exhaust fans operated by motion sensors. There will be a small heater in each restroom to provide minimal heat. Uh new LED light fixtures. There will be new exterior LED light fixtures as well to illuminate the adjacent sidewalks u and spaces. Um the new parking lot will consist of ADA signage, concrete walks um to the restroom building and the adjacent concession restroom. Also, new storm sewer piping and drainage. There will be a

068new sanitary waste lift station that will pump the waste from the new ADA restroom as well as the concession building uh to a existing tile, underground waste tile over by the egg shop building. And that egg shop, that waste tile currently drains into and is directed to the existing wastewater treatment plant. Um, so that's basically the general description of the scope of work and improvements for the parking lot as well as the uh new ADA restroom. Does anyone have any questions about that? Just >> what's the inner walls covered with? >> The inner walls is a RFP board. It's a smooth smooth paneling. Um, >> it's not a drywall. >> No, it's not. >> It's not a concrete. >> No, it's not concrete. >> Is it very durable? >> It's very durable. Yes. Yeah. Um,

069it's a fiberglass construction. It's smooth. It's very easy to wash, clean, very durable, impact resistant. It's It's a very good product. the the wood stud construction will have half inch plywood on the inside, but then the FRP board will be over that plywood. So, somebody just can't punch punch their hands through. The outside will be a uh prefinish metal wall panel of a color of your choice. The roof construction will be a prefinished metal uh roof panel similar to what you currently have at the concession building. Um, so we don't have any other questions at this time. I'd like to >> question. That's all right, Scott. Thank you. >> Um, I'm just looking at the overview of the aerial view. >> There's a little bit of a green space between the added drive up to

070the parking here. >> Yes. >> Is that sloped, I guess, or >> Yeah, there's a >> It would be valuable to gravel that also was all drainage soil right there. So, it will provide drainage for water. Yes. >> Just thinking about maintenance and mowing and stuff. >> And then along maintenance on the interior of the new restrooms up by the football field, >> are these going to be um kind of like the raised panels for easy cleaning for around the floor and stuff? >> It will be a concrete floor. It will uh it will have the FRP board will go within a half an inch of the concrete floor and then the last 4 in will have a rubber vinyl base that will rest down all the way down on the concrete floor. >> How

071about the dividers for the >> dividers are solid plastic? >> Okay. >> Um they're not plywood, they're not metal, they're solid plastic. We've had very good luck with utilizing those. >> Okay. >> Um And they come in a variety of colors. And the color is all the way through. So if somebody scratches it, >> you don't have to worry about scratching off the finish because the color goes all the way through. >> I just know some of the things we tried to do before work I used to do is to keep things up off the floor. >> Yes. >> For the more we need cleaning and those kinds of things. And we did not put uh storage for cleaning supplies in the new restroom because we have uh plenty of space in the existing concessions

072right there to do that. They're they're so close. It wasn't it was just cost prohibitive to do that. >> Yeah. There's plenty of room in the exact the existing transformer there will have to be relocated because of some clearance requirements uh required by REMC. REMMC will relocate the existing transformer at a cost I think they they estimated $3,000 to relocate that fee and re rerun and install the main conductors which I thought was a fair price. Looks like we're adding eight accessible spots up there >> and it is primarily for handicap and elderly that I mean a lot of people want to park up there because it is a a walk up there but just about any facility you go to there's a walk to get to the fields. I mean I went to football

073game at Poli and I walked about a quarter mile to get to the football field. So >> Well, it also be just handy for unloading. >> Absolutely. materials and supplies. >> And regarding the schedule, it's if approved, the project will start as soon as weather permits, February, March, and then uh it's suggested to be completed by August. So, should we vote on this and then he can talk about talk quickly about the other project or do you want to do that first just to kind of give you an update where we're at on this campus uh project? >> There's no motion or anything. He's just going to share some information. >> Yeah, I there I do need approval and >> Right. Right. No, I'm going to give you approval. >> Let's go ahead and vote.

074>> Okay. Okay. >> Okay. So, any other questions or discussions about this before we vote on it? And we're really just voting to advertise for the bid. I mean, >> okay. If not, I'll let's entertain a motion. >> Mike second Sharon. All those four. >> So before we move on to the next item, thank you Scott. Before we move on, if you want to talk a little bit about where we're at on the bid process for uh this. >> Okay. Sure. Um, as far as the central campus projects, uh, starting with the slope gable roof, uh, shingle roof replacement. Um, we are having a pre- bid meeting tomorrow. We're excited because 11 contractors have picked up plans and specifications. >> That's great. >> Yeah, the bids are due October 28th. And again, we will present

075the bids for your review and hopefully approval uh November 10th, the low slope or the flat roof project. Uh that again, pre-bid meeting tomorrow. There have been nine contractors pick up plans and specifications for that project. >> Um so we're we're very pleased with that. And also the prek learning center, which Mr. Lewis was speaking of earlier about paying for with the geo bonds. Um again the pre-bed meeting tomorrow will be a busy day, Mr. Lewis. >> Yes, it is. >> Um we do uh five general contractors have picked up plans and specifications for that project. Again, all three of these projects, the bids we will be presenting at the November board meeting, uh hopefully will give good numbers and we can move forward with those projects. Uh and real quick on the high school

076campus, the remaining projects, priority projects that we have slated there, which you know are the track and field improvements and also some asphalt parking lot uh improvements at the front of the high school and as well as the bus transportation building. Um those projects will be brought the final plans and specs for those projects will be brought to you in the November board meeting. just as I am here tonight to request for advertisement to bids for that project. >> So, we're going to start off with those two and see how they go. >> High school. >> Yeah. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> We wanted to get those out earlier just because of the current interest and also uh the timing. It's going to take a little longer for the building and the parking lot. Uh,

077so we're our hopes is that whoever is successful, the contractor, successful contractor for the ADA parking lot building, excuse me, the parking lot and the ADA restroom building will also bid on the track and field project. It'll be a much easier, simple project to coordinate if you have the same contractor. That's kind of how we set it up >> on the uh I know we're not asking for the bid on it yet, but the track and field I assume that will be earmarked to be done over the summer because of the spring. >> Yes. >> Track season. >> Yeah. >> I thought this hopeful to have that done first week in a August as well. I will share I know the board has asked this in the past um about local contractors or would we

078be sub they would be subcontractors um I know of at least one that's been in the office and one local contractor that's contacted me directly so there is some interest at least from two that I'm aware of and there could be more >> questions Good evening. Have a good home. >> Safe travels. >> Okay, we'll move on to the next uh order of business here on the agenda. Um I seek a motion to purchase the 29.5 acre track of land located directly north of the high school along Highway 54. for the amount of $319,250. We will be using uh the geo bond geo bond money that we just approved to purchase this. Um should I give all my details now before we go on to the next part with a motion? >> You want me

079to go ahead? >> Okay. So, I want to give a little background about this and I want to be transparent. Um because our assessed value went up, our capacity to borrow with the GO bond went from 1.75 million to 2.1 million. Um which is a very positive thing for us. If we had not had that increase in our assessed value, um I'm not confident that we would have had the money to purchase this piece of land. Um so that's why I bring this motion to the board. I do think this is a a a good move for the school. I think as there is it gives us the opportunity to grow um if we need to. Um there's rumors and some talk of two or three different places within our district where there could be

080um some houses going in and even some housing addition if we can work through some water issues and other items. um that and with its location being right there next to us as a school um I I just I think it's a good move for us and it does position us the state is talking more and more about uh consolidation and um I do believe this positions us much better than some other schools in the um surrounding area to expand if we need to. Um the uh current homeowner uh we've talked with them several times. Um it's a very specific amount, $319,250. And that's because legally we can only purchase the land based on the average of two appraisals. So we had two appraisals done. We averaged them together and the uh current homeowner accepted

081that amount verbally. Um, so I seek this uh motion to approve the next step for us to uh finalize this plan and and purchase the land for the school. There is a um an acre track of land that is included in the 29.5 where there right along the highway where there's a trailer that is currently there. Um that trailer will stay um until we get to the point where we're going to develop it. And there is also a home on the property that would be ours um with the purchase that uh if the board um approves this this if we approve the purchase, we will talk about this in a future board meeting where we will probably work with a management um outfit probably out of Bloomington to manage that property and we would get

082some some rental income from that property as well. Um, I welcome any questions if anybody has any >> any discussion before we vote on this. >> Just think it's a great strategic plan for us and it's a midway and >> okay I'll entertain a motion like second all those four 60. >> Thank you very much. Um, next, uh, I seek a motion to approve the Neola policies as presented. I've shared these with the board. Um, you've had hopefully a chance to review them. I just need to, this is a special update that was, um, with the the laws being passed. Um, this came out in uh, late July to us and I just seek that approval so we can get our Neola policy updated. >> Any discussion? Okay. Not Sharon. Second, Natalie. All those four

08360. >> Uh next, I seek a motion to accept the donation of a gazebo and memorial area that will be created on the elementary and middle school campus. Um there was a presentation to me uh by the Eastern uh class of 1975 what they would like to do. Um, it will basically be a a gazebo that is very well built and will be put somewhere on the campus, probably up near the middle school entrance area. Um, I've shared some designs with the board. Uh, very early planning stages, but the uh the class came to me and asked that we get permission to do this. I think it's a great thing. Um, it will be professionally done and and uh they've even offered to maintain it. Okay. Do I have a motion, >> Dennis? Second, Natalie.

084All those four. >> It's very appreciated. >> Okay. Next. Um, I got a trip approval for you. I'm requesting a motion to approve the high school band, choir, and orchestra to attend an overnight trip to Chicago on April 10th and 11th, 2026. Uh, they will be taking a charter bus. this approval is pending enough sign up for the trip by October 24th. So we because that's kind of their their date they have to purchase tickets and reserve a bus. So if they don't get to the numbers, we won't go on the trip or if you don't approve it, they wouldn't go on the trip. >> What's the numbers, Mr. >> Well, our minimum number of tripgoers is 40 and we're sitting at 38. >> Oh, >> pretty close. >> Okay. >> Is is there performance

085involved or >> performance? the orchestra. There were not enough band or choir members to uh to have a performance, but there is enough orchestra members. And so we'll perform at in the lobby of one of the museums in Chicago. >> Oh, awesome. >> Yes. Mirror is a trip we took many years ago. We went to Chicago before and uh it was the same deal, but we we did a performance at the Museum of Museum of Science and Industry. you might share the the highlight of the trip that >> the highlight that might be the highlight for some of the kids playing but they're really going probably to see >> the big the big selling point is we will attend a performance of Hamilton the musical in Chicago >> and I need everyone to come through

086with their deposits and their payments and things like that using a charter Bob Ryers Travel, which we've used before, and they're helping us contract the bus and and staying overnight. So, it's a two-day trip. >> We'll do the Hancock Tower and go to Millennium Park and go to the Millennium Park Zoo and go see some other shed aquarium eating at uh Medieval Times. It's just going to be a fun trip. >> That's a cultural. So, it seems like a good trip for us to take. What's the cost? >> Cost is high because of the bus. Uh but it is because we have 40. It's right around 620 630 somewhere in there. >> So that's hotel, bus, and tickets. >> That's everything included. All food. >> That's not terrible. >> I mean, the tickets alone are

087150 bucks a piece. >> With a group rate, it's $150 >> per per seat. >> All right. Anybody else got questions? All right. If not, Dennis second all those four six no offer to take four either. Jeez. >> Thank you, Mr. Drummond. >> I know. I just want to say Dennis maybe Dennis deal. >> All right. So, we have some personnel items here and we'll try to get through these as quickly as we can. Uh a motion to approve the resignation of Dylan Ael as a high school social studies teacher that was effective on October 3rd, 2020. >> Have a motion. Kim second chair all those four 60. >> Um I will add first off we appreciate you know Dylan's a former student. We appreciate his time here. Uh Dylan had also organized and planned

088a trip to Greece and that trip is still on. um Mrs. Camp has has agreed to fill in for him and go on that trip. I don't believe we would need to make a mo we've already approved the trip. So I just wanted to share with the board that you're aware that that trip is still on. >> Um so next personnel I have a motion to approve the maternity leave for Amanda Classic from approximately December 13 through March 23rd, 2026. They never give us exactly. >> They never give us exactly what happens if we don't approve this. >> She has the baby at school and it's a whole new experience for everyone. >> This is one or >> a learning opportunity. >> I'll call you Dennis. >> Make sure you got donuts. >> Hey Natalie,

089>> I got you. >> Second, Kim. All those four >> 60. >> I've ordered the same thing. Uh next, uh we have uh I seek a motion to approve the hire of Neil McKibbons for the maintenance position effective of 2025. U we went through the process and uh felt that Neil was very qualified um had spent some time at the school as a sub and doing other activities and uh has kind of hit the ground running and is working well with our other maintenance. Okay, do >> I have a motion? Dennis second. All those four 60. >> Okay. Next, I seek a motion to approve the hire of Alexis Mccclure as a middle school one-on-one instructional assistant effective September 22nd, 2025. Alexis is already a bus driver for us and she was working as an

090instructional assistant shifting her to this position. It's a new position, so I need a board. >> Okay. Do I have a motion? Sharon, second, Kim. All those four. Uh, next, I seek a motion to approve the following team leads in the elementary. Uh, for the related arts team lead, Erica Drummond, for the special special education team lead, Kesha Blaze, and for the elementary music program assistant, Jamie Robbins. I will add that's a new it's not a new position. It's on our schedule, but it's not one we've had. Um, they did receive a grant from Disney and they will perform a Disney min musical, which I am not at liberty to share what that is. That's going to be a surprise that's come out eventually, but that's why Jamie is added. Jamie Robbins is added to

091that. >> All right. Have a motion. >> Natalie second. Dennis, all those four and that actually that And then any musical program that she was awarded equates to a few thou probably like $2,000. >> It's a good I know that >> it's a good chunk of change because the dwords in front of us. >> Yes, they they are not cheap. >> Um, next we have some ECA positions here. Some additional ECA positions. Sixth grade girls basketball. A motion to approve Jonathan Childris as sixth grade girls basketball volunteer assistant coach. Dennis second. Kim all those four 60. >> Uh next sixth grade boys basketball motion to approve Derek Couch as sixth grade boys basketball volunteer assistant coach. >> Motion Dennis. Second Natalie. All those four 60. >> Uh next uh I have a department lead. A

092motion to approve Kyle Atinson as the high school social studies department lead position. This is um I bring this motion. Um Kyle will replace um Dylan who was in that position. >> Okay. Do I have a motion? Sharon second Kim. All those four 60. >> Okay. Next I have some donations. I seek a motion to approve the following donations. $50 from Enman Property Services to the Eastern Green Bowling Club and a $400 donation from Southwest Roadstar to Eastern Green High School Teachers Teachers Lounge Fund. >> Um I will I will explain that that second one a little bit. um a Southwest Roadstar uses our facilities to provide um driver's ed to some of our students and uh I negotiated with them that we'll can we at least get a donation and we we've that's a

093we get a $200 donation for each class that they offer. So win-win for everybody. Helps out our high school teachers lounge account because we can't really put money in that um at least not education money. So it was a win-win for everybody. are they doing get in a hot tub or something? >> Well, it it provides like meals and stuff for um like for instance our scheduling night and >> and things of that nature. So, it just allows me to >> otherwise then I go I go to Kroger or wherever and be like, "Hey, will you please donate?" And so, this really this helps out a lot >> and it is a good service to provide to our kids. I mean, the the the drivers. >> Absolutely. >> I have a motion this second. chair

094and all those four 60. We always appreciate our donations >> and we do have two late items. Uh should be on the next page there. Um the first one is a contract adjustment. I seek a motion to adjust the contract for Clinton Burch for additional hours worked due to the realignment of duties and schedule at the high school. So I'll explain exactly what's happening here. Um Dylan when he resigned Dylan was teaching one of our dual credit courses and or two of them and is Mr. Burch is teaching one of them both. >> Okay. He's going to cover both of them for the remainder of this semester. >> The uh one of them will end at the end of this semester US or dual credit government. Um the other one is a dual credit US

095history class that will end in May. >> Okay. And to do this, he had to give up his prep. And we have a contractual, I mean, our EGTO contract. If they teach without their prep, it's a set amount of money that they get. Thus, we bring this to you. And, um, because Clinton already started this before and was doing some of the planning um, so forth. We're going to pay him for the entire year for this. >> Okay. I have a motion. this second chair all those four 60 we thank Mr. GE for stepping in. >> And next, um, I shared with the board, uh, this I don't know if this was public knowledge, but I did share with the board some of my goals as superintendent. And one of those goals is I think

096it's important that we, uh, do some strategic planning. Um, both as a group, myself and the board, the admin team, but also some of our teachers and some of our community members. And one of the the first steps in that is is getting somebody who is an outside person to kind of see where we're at. You know, sometimes you have blinders inside. And uh we looked at several different opportunities and and uh potential people to do that. And after doing some research, talking to some of my superintendent colleagues, I bring to you a motion to approve strategic planning with Dr. Bradley Bulch. Uh Dr. Bulch is with Indiana State. Um he's been doing this for about 30 years. Comes highly recommended and not that we picked him for this, but he's probably the cheapest of

097the ones I looked at as well. So that's why I bring it to you. And it's it's a process that once we get this approved, I will talk with him and it'll be an ongoing process. And we hope to have a finished strategic plan that we can share early um either late summer or early into the school year. Okay. Any discussion on this? Okay. If not, I'll entertain a motion. Sharon second Kim. All those four 60. Okay, that's all I've got. Do we do um I've got just a couple minor discussion items, but >> principles, do you want to share anything quickly? share something really quickly. >> Um, I know we talked about Kids of Hope earlier, so I just want to give a huge thank you to everyone who held everything down for us

098while we were gone. It's a real team effort, especially when you have two administrators and two social workers gone. So, I just want to say thank you to those who kept it together here. Um, because it was so valuable for us to see how we move forward as treasure hunters. So, I just wanted to say that. Um, I want to give a shout out to Mandy Buskerk. She organized a wonder lab event for our kids um which did include fire in our gym and I was terrified I was going to have the sprinklers go off my first year. Um but she knew what she was doing. So thank you to Annie Gross from Wonder Lab. Um she hosted a family STEM night after that. Um I know Crows attended and had a really good time.

099Um so I'd love to continue that relationship because I think that's great for our community to bring those partnerships in. So >> Andy is an old eastern person. >> Yes. Yeah. She's amazing. she did really well with her kids. Um, so thank you to Mandy for continuing that. I know she's moved on to middle school, but she still is helping us in the elementary school. Um, I also want to thank our PTO for hosting the fundraiser at Fowlers. Um, my daughters and I went over there. It was a really hot day. So, thank you to our PTO for um, braving the heat and for the kids that were there as well. Um, I just appreciate that. Our PTO is amazing. They're going to provide food for our teachers coming up at their teacher conferences. Um

100it's a small but mighty group. So I appreciate everything that they do. Um and that's really all I have. Um just a couple of updates. Uh middle schoolwise. Um our attendance overall is 95%. Um so still doing holding strong and doing a really good job there. Our enrollment is up three since the last time we all sat and met. So we have 339 in the middle school. Uh we had our parent teacher conferences at the about midway point and we had um about 95% parent participation for all of those um fifth through eight. So that was amazing. Um they pretty much connected with every parent in some capacity whether that be in person on the phone or a followup email or a letter home or something. So that that was really awesome. I really appreciate

101the parents for um still sometimes when you get in middle school they start to pull back and they don't want to come to all the things. So I appreciate our parents and our community are always still involved in showing up for all of our things. Um I wanted to thank everybody um that helped with the professional development day in September. Um, I have a committee in the middle school that's professional development committee and they are really great about coming up with ideas that they can share with each other. And so a special shout out to uh Mr. Hudson, Miss Mitchell, and Mrs. Campbell at this professional development. Each one of them led a session. Uh, Mrs. Campbell did no red ink across the curriculum. So, um, trying to include writing across the curriculum and everything.

102Um, Miss Mitchell did inferencing across the curriculum as well. So, that was really cool to see how you can pull in reading and um, in all the different subject areas. And then Mr. Hudson did, we called it quick hits with Mr. Hudson. It was just little like quick engagement pieces that you can do with kids. Um, maybe to reinforce something that you've taught, review for a test. Um, maybe you just need a 10 minute, 15 minute minute filler. So, they were all very productive. Um, and I think our teachers really appreciate the time to be able to just talk with each other about the good things they're doing. Um, I also want to thank Mr. Martale and all of my fall coaches. Everybody's been working really hard. We had a a successful football season. Um,

103we our cross country team did well. We had some girls participate in spa uh state uh boys I guess boys and girls participate in state over the break. So, that was awesome. We were getting ready to transition. I met Nathan in the hallway today. He said, "Well, uh, fall ends on Saturday and winter starts on Monday, so we're rolling right into that." That's a lot of extra time and hours. >> I think there was maybe basketball practices. >> Yep. >> With the person that I voted against being here, remember, for the record again, >> I also wanted to thank our maintenance department over the break. They redid the ceiling in the gym and that it looks amazing. Like a very small adjustment that made a huge difference. So you have to stop by >> the

104entrance to the middle school gym. We redid some stuff. We had an outside contractor helped with that. >> That was awesome. We took those big boxes out and so those are gone now. I think Nathan's working on putting some really cool decals in those windows. the it doesn't have the wires and everything hanging down so it looks really really nice. So that was a nice surprise when we came back in. Um we mentioned kids at H hope multiple times. Um I also wanted to thank um Washington schools because they have mentored us through this process and they were really helpful when we were there. We talked with them. Uh we took old old T-R old old T-Ird new T-Ird pictures. um together. So it was just really good to have somebody who's already been participating

105and then somebody to talk with about how we do it next sim, you know, similar situation. So I think that also makes it easy to implement that. And then just thanks to all of my teachers and students for a great first nine weeks. So ready for the next one. >> All right. Right. So, at the high school, our enrollment is 351 and our attendance uh rate is currently 95.49%. Uh which is an improvement of a point and a half from from last year. >> Is that up or down the enrollment? >> Um that is from last year. It's up. uh our uh online credit or our credit recovery program ran by Miss Nally um has already recovered 21 credits for this first semester uh which is absolutely fantastic. Um she really does a good job

106pushing them forward uh to get those completed. Uh we've been awarded the opportunity to participate in the PCAP program uh pathways to careers and postsecary uh opportunities program. PECAP is an educational model designed primarily to disort disengaged high school students in Indiana. It aims to prepare them for future success by offering a different more engaging academic program that emphasis emphasizes hands-on real world learning and strong connections to both career and post-secary education. BCAP is developed and supported by the center of excellence and leadership of learning uh at the University of Indianapolis. And I want to thank Mr. Mr. Hutcherson, Miss BS and Mr. Burch for pilot pilot piloting our first experience with PECAP. Right now we are in a current our current planning year. Uh it will actually go into phase uh an action phase

107next year. So >> we are partnered with Winchester which is similar to us in size. They're in the eastern part of the state and uh we have a trip planned there in November >> to go and meet with them. our team will go over there and I did get to attend that that kickoff meeting and it was very I I think it is something we can target some of our students that just aren't successful in a traditional school type setting and they will have the opportunity to do some project based learning and you know uh learn more hands-on type activities. >> Um the art club FCCLA and anime club represented Eastern Green at this year's Apple Festival. Uh thank you to their club to these clubs and all their hard work and also their sponsors

108Mr. Zapata, Mrs. Provo and Miss John. Uh all school test day is coming up October 23rd. Uh with the state's new school accountability model in place, these tests are incredibly important. Um they are they are now identified as success indicators um which are tied to our school letter grade, possible school funding, and how our performance is perceived by the community. Uh please help me encourage our students to give their best effort next Thursday as freshmen take the PSAT 9 uh and sophomores and juniors take the PSAT and the seniors will take the ASVAB provided that the government is back up and running. Um on our last PD day, uh the high school staff got to look at the new school accountability metric. Uh this metric will navigate the high school as we enter the GPS

109diploma era. Um, I also want to thank our uh our PD uh committee. Um, Miss Reagan and Miss Bonen Camp both presented. Uh, they did a fantastic job and um the staff really enjoyed hearing from their own. So, um, see, best of luck to the girls volleyball team as they face Sullivan at Sullivan tomorrow for their first game of sectional play. Uh last week soccer lost to WRB in the sectional championship game. Great job to all of our soccer players. So we're very proud of the success you've had this season. Uh boys and girls cross country sectional race will be at BNL this upcoming Saturday. Good luck to all of our runners. And then football sectional play will start on the 24th against South Decatur uh here. So that's it. I'm done. >> Also, I

110wanted to add a middle school high school event. The uh choir and orchestra have their concert this Thursday >> um at 7 o'clock. I think middle school goes first and then um high school goes after. So, it's another opportunity to see some of our kids shine. >> I think it's here. >> They're starting to use since we renovated the stage. >> What's the date? I have a couple of special ed real quick. Um, I just wanted to give a big shout out to Janelle Zuckworth. Um, while she is a special education teacher, I'm giving her a shout out for being our district crisis prevention intervention instructor. She's the only one we have for the whole district. That is not a special education position. However, um, every time pretty much we have a PD day, she

111spends her time instructing everyone else. uh which means she gives up some of her own time for professional development for that. So um that's a a important skill for our teachers to have and also an important um legal responsibility that we have. So I appreciate her doing that. Um, but right before break, we had Melissa Dubbie, who's an autism consultant, formerly associated with the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, um, who came and did some intensive, um, support with Kesha Blaze in the elementary special education classroom. Uh, this was funded by a behavior grant that, um, I was able to write and receive as one of only 32 schools in the state that got that. It's not a ton of money, but it's money that we don't typically have. So, that was really helpful to have

112that um consultant here as I shared early last year that our um numbers of students with significant autism has dramatically increased over the past few years. So, that support was very helpful. Um and then lastly, real quick, I just was going to give an update about my um new dual position this year. Um, it's going fine. It's a lot of work, but it's going Nothing's late. Everybody seems to be pretty happy. Um, and and we're still still kicking. So, >> no twitches yet. No medical itching, but that's allergies. >> Thank you. >> Um, I just have a couple things. I I do want to thank everybody for all their work during the PD day. Um, you know, sometimes when you do professional development, it's easy for teachers, a another professional development day. But one thing

113our all three admin have done a really good job of is getting their own people to present something. and you're much more likely to respond to a colleague giving you a suggestion than not that they don't want to listen to their administrators or they don't want to listen to an expert come in, but that nudge from a colleague goes a long way. So, I appreciate their work and on facilitating that and then the the teachers professionalism during that day. Um, I also want to thank Scott Carmichael. Uh, donated a whole day. Came in and spent the spent some time working on uh soundboards and stuff like that. >> Thursday. >> Okay. So, he's still not done. He >> two days. >> Well, I saw I saw his van out here one morning and I didn't

114see him. I was doing bus duty and they >> and I was busy doing something and like three hours later still here. And I went and checked on him. He said, "You still all right back here?" Yeah. Then I come back from bus duty at the end of the day and he's still in there. So, I wouldn't talk to him. We don't have a real job. >> Well, I Hey, I I tell you what, though. I mean, the money that's saving us, we we do appreciate it. And I know it's you like it as well, but we do appreciate you coming into it. >> Um, Mr. Kirkindall and I had a a great meeting with Stefan. Am I saying that right? Stefan Wil. >> Um, he is the program director of the Micro Electronics High

115School Academy that's through ROI and is is uh down at uh Crane area. and uh we just met with him to learn a little bit about the program to kind of brag on and show off some of our facilities. Um Kim was there to help facilitate this meeting. Um, it was just great to to share what we currently have, what we have in place. And um, and Rich Tar joined us as well. And I'm I'm pretty confident that I'm going to their next uh, director's meeting. And I'm pretty confident that uh, we will be able to get some students to embrace this opportunity. And, you know, we're not looking for 15 students to do it. We want two or three students that that might see that this is an opportunity for them. And it was

116uh, I was very impressed. I got a tour of the facilities and everything down there when I went down um for their unveiling of the actual academy and uh a lot of important people came and spoke and uh it was about 115 degrees and I was sitting out there in a jacket. So um it was quite I sat perfectly still so I didn't get too hot. It didn't work but I tried to anyhow. So, um, no, all kidding aside, it was a it was a great meeting and I appreciate Eric's time and and, uh, the opportunity to to meet with Stephan >> and Rich and I plan on going down on 31st. >> Oh, good. >> So, that Oh, down to Washington or down to the academy. >> Okay, great. >> Um, I also just

117want to quickly say, you know, we're approaching the formal end of the first nine weeks. I think tomorrow is the last day. Um, I just want to, you know, I know we say this all the time and I I can't say it enough. I just want to thank everybody for a great first quarter to the school year. Um, our entire faculty and staff, you know, everybody provides a valuable piece of the puzzle. We can't do what we do here without every single person that shows up day in day out to get it done. Um, so I want to thank them. And finally, I just want to thank uh all my office ladies for manning the fort last week while we were on fall break. I was out of town, but uh TVADon um Kim and

118Jody kind of kept things running and they didn't have to contact me, which was good. >> So that's all I have. >> All right, Sharon. >> Kim, >> no. Nothing. No. >> Yes. >> Okay. That being said, >> Scott, >> we need that. It's coming up. >> Okay. >> I got you. >> I got some. >> We want to put that on the agenda. >> What What day that is the official >> today? You guys are all >> I don't care if you guys can find it. >> Okay. Okay, trash. Might as well go now. >> At 8:13 p.m. Do I have a motion, Dennis? Second, >> Natalie. All those four 60. We are done. >> We have hang on just a second. Let me stop this. I >> don't have Give me 20 minutes.

119>> Oh, yeah. I need I need >> Yes, I can give you 20 minutes. I just want to go make sure your office is still standing. Kelly Center 14.