School Board Meeting - April 14, 2025

001naturally. So, all right, everybody stand for the pledge of [Music] 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 so thankful that we can come to uh do the school's work tonight. Lord, we're just so thankful for the blessings that you have given us through our staff, our teachers, our many, many wonderful students, and the school itself. Lord, we just give you the praise and glory. We just thank you for this uh week that we're celebrating your son. His name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay. Um, I call the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Um, so Mr. George, would you like to start with our elementary students of the month? [Music] I

002will start with [Applause] Hudson is a kindergartener. So, elementary, we combined our kindergarten and related arts for this month. So, I will have four to bring up, but Hudson is the first. He is a kindergarter. in Mrs. Needler's class and his teacher is here um to recognize him as well. And I will read what Mrs. Needler wrote. I'd like to take a moment to highlight one of our outstanding kindergarten students. Hudson is a shiny example of what it means to be a model student. He consistently demonstrates excellent classroom behavior, showing respect to both his peers and teachers. Hudson has worked very hard this year and has already met and exceeded so many of his academic and personal goals. He sets a wonderful example for his classmates by always following directions and staying focused. Hudson is

003a good friend to others and someone that I can always count on to be doing the right thing even when no one else is watching. We are incredibly proud of him and grateful to have him as part of our class. Way to go, [Applause] Hudson. Okay, that's fine. Said you want to hang out up here or go sit down. He said, "I like sit down. Reagan [Applause] Day. And Reagan is another kindergartener who was nominated by Mrs. Spear. Do you want to come up with Mrs. I told you? Oh, I didn't know you wanted me to come. Oh, you didn't know what? Sorry. So, uh, Mrs. Spear wrote that it is with great joy and pride that I can say Reagan Day has earned kindergarten student of the month. She not only works hard and

004does well academically, but also exemplifies kindness, humility, and personal growth. She has quietly and consistently amazed me all year long. From the very beginning of the school year, she has stood out and is a kind is the kind of student who doesn't seek attention yet naturally draws admiration from both her peers and her teachers. She is smart, solves problems, approaches challenges, and has a very beautiful heart. She works incredibly hard. Whether she's tacking tackling a difficult assignment, helping a classmate, understanding something new, or taking on a personal challenge, she gives it her all every time. She is one determined student, and always strives to do her very best. Thank you for being an example of quiet strength. Thank you for showing us all what it means to work hard, be kind, and never stop growing.

005You may not always realize the impact you have, but please know that your presence has made our classroom a better place. You have touched our lives, inspired hearts, and truly made a difference. And I am so proud of you. Reagan from [Applause] Mississippi and Chase [Applause] Stevens stare you while we read all these nice things. So, uh, Jace was our one of our first nominees from the related arts team. And it looks like they all just wrote a little bit of something, couple sentences here. So, I will just go down the line that Jace is such a great student to have in class and he has been an absolute joy to watch grow and lead each and every week in our class. In the computer lab, he excels in coding and was six to eight

006lessons ahead of the entire fourth grade. Mrs. Carmichael is excited to see if those skills take him into a future in engineering. In music class, Jace has Jacece always participates and does so with a smile on his face every day. He tries hard at everything he does and is always up for a challenge. In art, Jace always listens and follows directions. He's so creative and has such a great attitude and funny personality. He is such a helpful and encouraging friend to all of those around him. Our student of the month for related arts, Jay Stevens. [Applause] And our fourth and final nominee, [Applause] Miss the related arts team wrote the following things about Macy. She is one of the sweetest and most kind-hearted students who is always willing to lend a helping hand, whether it

007be to a student or staff member. Her positive attitude and helpful nature make her such a joy to have in any class. Mrs. Drummond is always constantly impressed by Macy's ability to lead by example and by her immense humbleness. Macy's is one of the few students in fifth grade to achieve advanced both in typing and coding lessons in computer class. And she set such a wonderful example for all of those around her. In art, Macy always listens and follows directions. and she is such a fun and creative young lady, always trying her very best, even when she's unsure of herself and what she's working on. She is helpful, dependable, and very trustworthy. And we are proud of you, Macy Hawkins, [Applause] Mr. George. Yes, we said the pledge of allegiance. Wasn't that wonderful? Uhhuh. These

008young people that you are leading have the beautiful voice and that's the loudest I've heard us ever say they pledge to sit in this room. Very good job. Thank you. Yeah. If if the elementary parents and students that were recognized want to step out for some pictures with Mr. George, this would be a good time to do that. And if we have some middle school parents out there for student of the month, then you can move in here and we can recognize those students. I'd like to give some recognition to you guys for staying at the core mission of education and not being like Monroe County and protesting down school for a protest. I'm from Monroe County. My kids travel here and I'm I'm just happy to have them at the school and have that

009opportunity to bring them over here. Well, thank you. I sure I want to recognize you guys for staying at the core of education and not ideology. Thank you, sir. Mrs. Clary, are you are you we're ready for you to know if you were out there. I was just to make my grand entrance. I'm sorry. I apologize. I am out there. Um, you want to come on up? I'm here first. Yeah. Okay. So, we also have um quite a few students. Oh, she's taking pictures. You want me to do that? I'll do that. I'll Okay, I'll come back around. Sorry for all the confusion. I have quite a few people to recognize um today as well. I'm going to start with Ashlin [Applause] Michael. I nominated Ashlin. Um Ashlin is just an exceptional student, human being.

010Um, I loved having her in class and now I've loved being her principal as well. Um, she always leads by example and always chooses to do the right thing. Um, even when no one's watching, right? Yeah. Her kindness and compassion shine through in every interaction she has. She treats her peers and teachers with respect, empathy, and she genuinely just cares for everyone in our building. In the classroom, she's focused. She's hardworking and commit and committed to giving her best effort every day. Her positive attitude, strong character, and dedication to both her academics and the people around her make her truly an outstanding choice for student of the month. [Applause] Wyatt Chambers. Wyatt. Well, we can still clap for Wyatt. Wyatt has uh was nominated by Mrs. Ingram. And Mrs. Ingram said, "Wyatt has been very

011focused in class, especially of late. He is one of the most genuine individuals when speaking with you on a daily basis. He is polite and respectful, which is such a breath of fresh air in today's society. He has a drive to succeed for his future, which is the motivation behind his focus of late, which is to be admired. Wyatt has the ability to succeed in life due to his hard work and just his personality in general. Thank you, Wyatt Chambers, for being the young man that you are today, and I'm excited to see who you are in the future. Mrs. have to agree with all of that. Wyatt is definitely one of the hardest working kids I've ever met. Um Liam Mobly. Liam here. Oh, okay. Let's clap for [Applause] Liam. Um Liam was nominated

012by all the sixth grade teachers, but Mrs. Campbell wrote this statement about him. It is my honor to nominate Liam Mobly for student of the month in recognition of his outstanding growth and dedication to his education. Like Muhammad Ali in the ring, Liam has fought hard to improve, showing remarkable progress in his behavior, academics, and enthusiasm for learning in the classroom. Once hesitant, he now steps into the classroom with confidence, ready to take on challenges with the determination of a champion. His commitment to his studies has soared. He floats through assignments with focus and lands his best efforts like a well-placed jab. Behind academics, Liam has been transforming his behavior, demonstrating respect, perseverance, and a positive attitude. Just as Ali inspired others with his resilience, his teachers have seen him rise not by luck, but

013by sheer determination. He refuses to back down from obstacles and embraces learning with the heart of a true fighter. Liam's journey is one of grit and growth and we are incredibly proud of the student he is becoming. As Ali once said, impossible is nothing. And Liam is proving that every day. It is with great enthusiasm that we all recognize Liam Mobly as student of the month. Mrs. What you don't know is that sixth grade did a unit um about boxing. We even had um some people come in and do some boxing demonstrations. So that's where the Muhammad Ali is there video. Um yeah, I think there is. Yeah, it was really it was really cool. And then we have also Pax Supourage. [Applause] He has an entourage. Even Mr. George knows. I'm sure you know

014where we knew each other. You want me to read it? Um, you can be the thorn between two roses right here. Right. Um, did you ever think we'd be standing here? Yeah. Super proud of this young man. So, um, and I wrote this. I was going to have her read it, then she tells me that I need to read it. So Paxton doesn't like compliments very well and his face will get red, but he has learned from being here at Eastern Green that he's going to get some compliments and he's learned to take them. Um, but I think what has happened here, he came here with a lot of trauma and a lot of roadblocks from other schools, many other schools. And what Eastern is about is relationships. And over the last two or three

015years, you're shaking your hand. There's one of my old ones right there. And it's about relationships and that goes along with relationships with the parents. But Lindsay and I um a couple years ago invested in this young man and over a lot of time spent with him, a lot of patience, a lot of love, a few treats, many Coca-Cas over conversations, he has learned to be in school, stay in school, and become successful in school when he had a lot of other situations in the past where it was it was roadblocks in schools. And he he found his home here. Um, I've learned I've peeled back those layers and it was a lot of peeling and it was tough peeling, but I have a lot of respect for him. He has been good for our

016school. Um, and we've been good for him. And he might be the only student who has repaired the superintendent's lawn mower. He gave me grief that I didn't change the oil soon to feel it was like sludge. So, he's very he's very good with his hands. Um, but dad, we're we're super proud of him. um to have the success that he's had here at Houston Middle School and the relationship that that we've all built with him. So, good job, D. [Applause] Now, middle school can step out and we'll take pictures and we'll send the high school in. Hey, if you're looking for more work, I can't get my pressure washer started. I got I got a couple. I'm just saying. your man. All right. I passed a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into

017that yesterday. I I have mowed twice with the mower, and it's mowed great, so I I can vouch for it. All right, we got high school, I think, coming in. I know one of them's here. Yeah, I think they're both here. There's Mr. Kirk Doll. All right. Uh, so our first uh student that I would like to uh recognize is Payton Lewis. [Applause] You're sure on that, right? Yeah, I'm sure. Um, honestly, I've known Payton for the past four years. He was the last of the Lewis crew to come through and All the Lewis boys are fantastic, but I have never seen a student so involved in everything. Three sports, National Honor Society, um social uh student council, Riley Dance Marathon, JAG. I mean, it'll be I bet there's probably people that are looking forward

018to you graduating so that they can get to participate. So, um I just wanted to say thank you. You've been an amazing leader in the in the building. um when you're not playing uh a sport, you are showing up cheering people on. Uh you're at pretty much everything. Um and uh you're going to be missed. So, congratulations. Uh the last student of the month for uh 2025 for this this year is Erica Pang. [Applause] Um Erica is also a senior. Um if you haven't noticed, one of the things I try to do at the last student of the month, I always try to recognize a couple seniors that I'm just going to absolutely miss. And u this was pretty easy for us. Payton's fantastic. And Erica is too. And when Mr. Howard and I started

019kind of talking about um about seniors that we wanted to recognize. Uh it was pretty easy uh selecting her because uh she is our intern uh at in the front office and she does an amazing job at what she does and I've gotten to know her over the past four years but especially this year and I've watched her kind of blossom into a more vocal uh just wonderful person and u you know she's always been kind of quiet likes to say behind the scenes and this year um if you read pretty much any of our posts on Facebook or any of the articles, she's writing them. Um, she's amateur photographer. That's one of her passions. And so this uh this was just kind of a a match made in heaven uh with kind of, you

020know, the writing skills and the photography and everything. And um she really I kind of happened into the this situation um because her internship fell through um but it was almost it was kind of serendipitous really because uh I think you've now decided that you're going to go to digital marketing go into digital marketing um so some she's getting application um for that that major uh right now. So uh I'm incredibly proud of you. I'm going to miss you. Um, and I'm gonna have to figure out who I'm going to find to write all the Facebook posts and stuff because I'm not very good at it. And you you show me up on a daily basis. So, congratulations. Thank you. [Applause] Okay. Uh, got art. We want to art teachers. Do we want to you

021want to come up and you want to start? Paisley Moser. [Applause] Paisley. Ha is a second grader. Paisley has come a long way from the shy and quiet kindergarter I first met. Though she has always been creative, it's been a joy to watch her grow in confidence as she adds her own unique touches to each project. She is a great follows directions well. Paisley stays focused on her work throughout class, which makes her project stand out as extra special. Her attention to detail and the adorable penguins she included in her matching mittens symmetry lesson are both cute and fun. and Bryson Sherfield. Bryson is also a second grader. Bryson is a whimsical character. His fun personality truly shines in his artwork. He brings so much to our class with his creative ideas. He had a

022great time working on our matching metry lesson, and it was a pleasure to watch him. His excitement is contagious, often inspiring those around him to put more effort into their work. Bryson's energetic style helps create a lively and enjoyable atmosphere in the art room, and I love having him in class and seeing him continue to grow. [Applause] So Meline is not here today. So I am going to recognize Mason. [Applause] Mason, I met you on Friday. You were at that that field trip, right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Just briefly, but are you a seven? Eth grader. So I'm going to get to see you next year, right? Yeah. Okay. All right. So Uh, I'm just going to read what Maline wrote. She said, "Mason is such a joy to have in class. His dedication to each

023project, enthusiasm, and enthusiasm for creativity bring great energy to the arts. I love hearing his excitement every day and always look forward to seeing what he will create next. His dedication to craftsmanship is a great example through his classmates. Keep exploring, creating, and sharing the positive [Applause] spirit." Okay. And I'm going to start with So, please come up. I just wanted [Applause] you to see it over here, too. I brought the artwork in here just because I'm really proud of these kids, and I think that, you know, it's it was hard to choose, but um I mean, these are amazing pieces, so I just wanted you to hold it while I read this. All right. Uh so, this is Feta Johnson, who is currently in my advanced 3D art class. She is very creative artist

024and a fun kid to have in class. For instance, humor. Um, her piece is called OP Art or 3D optical illusion art. I think it's amazing. It depicts a hibiscus flower in the center with a red and green optical illusion motif. I wanted to say that I'm very proud of her artistic and personal growth this year. Um, and I hope to see it continue next year. Are you going to take anywhere close? Good. Um, so thank you VA for being an awesome student and person. And this is for you. I have to point this out. Good job. [Applause] All right. And then Anna first. [Applause] Um, so actually kind of embellished a little. All right. Anna is a student wh excuse me whom I had the pleasure of teaching since she was in eighth grade.

025Her positive attitude and sense of humor have made class a lot of fun and she is in two of my classes this year which are painting and sculpture. I was very impressed with her portrait. This is the weekend. Um it's done in a pop art style and I think she did an amazing job. Um I don't know. I was blown away when you were working on that and I know you were kind of like I don't know but I really think that you did an amazing job this year. Um, I've really seen her confidence grow in her art and she's really made some fun artistic choices with her projects and being in two classes, I've got to see a lot of her work. Um, and just really amazing. I wish the best for Anna as

026she prepares to graduate soon and go on to many great things in the future. Good job, Anna. I wanted to say one more thing. Um, we are having a K through 12 art show next, not next Wednesday, but the week after, um, April the 30th. Then we're having an opening reception in the high school balcony from 5 to 7. So I would like to invite everybody to please come and check it out. Thank you. And I'm not sure if you're aware, I don't know if we mentioned this, but the winners each month we display their artwork in the central office here for people to see. So that's that's just an added piece for the students to get recognized. Thank you so much. [Applause] at the high school. It was in the cafeteria area. Uh the

027we have some additional special presentations. I believe these are all with the high school. So, yep. So, the first uh pres uh recognition that I'd like to talk to you guys about is the crane science fair. Uh we actually had uh two two places. Uh Abigail Birkhart who u placed first in the senior division. Uh she has placed I think all four years. Um so she's does a fantastic job. And then her brother uh Sam Burkhart placed second. So um also in the in the senior division. So wanted to uh congratulate them and and recognize them for all their efforts. that's something that they do above and beyond, you know, school school stuff. Uh so really do appreciate uh appreciate them representing Eastern Green. So next one, you ready? Miss Forester, Isabelle Forester, as you

028guys will probably hear a lot about. Um doesn't like the spotlight, do you? I'm going to make this just hard for you. Okay. So, Miss Forester uh was uh to back up. One of the things that I am very fortunate to to do is select the Hobie um recipient each year. Um for those of you that don't know, I'm going to read a little bit about Hobie. Uh Hobie was founded by Hugh O'Brien uh in 1958 as a nonprofit organization. The mission remains unchanged to inspire a global community of youth and volunteers to a life and dedicated to leadership, service, and innovation. This year, the Hobie camp will be at Purdue University in June. Since its inception, over 5 million leadership hours have been logged, resulting in 149 million uh in economic impact. Uh Hugh's

029belief in the potential of every human being and his commitment to empowering youth leaders is his legacy. Today, more than 500,000 Hobie alumni around the world are making a difference in the lives of others thanks to the vision and passion of Hugh O'Brien. This year's Eastern Green Hobie Award winner is Isabelle Forester. So, um, with the help of Miss Burch, I get to select, uh, a high school student who I feel is going to not only represent Eastern Green really well, um, but also has, um, hidden uh, hidden leadership characteristics that we really want to uh, exploit um, and grow and and and really kind of help foster foster that growth. And um Isabelle when I pulled her in and everything, I very quiet young lady, but the way she presents herself as she's walking

030down the hall, the maturity that she um provides um and everything just made her a natural uh a natural choice for for this. And um people oftentimes think that leadership has to be the loudest person in the room. Um and quite often it's actually some of the the quietest people that make the biggest difference. So, I wanted to congratulate you and uh send you to Purdue this summer. Uh um you know, excited to to do this. So, congratulations. [Applause] Okay. And then, uh Miss Bowman, you talk a little bit about Riley Dance Marathon. And so, I've got a couple things. So, for Riley Dance Marathon, um I need Payton back in here. and come up here. So, these three were pretty instrumental. Cheyenne Padet um as well very instrumental in trying to raise money all

031year long. Um they started but we started June 1st of for the summer and we worked all the way through the school year trying to raise money for Riley uh Children's Hospital. Um Payton was our president this year so all of it. Brooklyn worked well with our middle schoolers and Cheyenne worked with our tried to work with our elementary students as much as she could. Um, they were able to raise, we sent Riley around $5,000 and we were able to raise about 10,000 over the span of the year so we can have the event and have all the things that they've gotten used to. Um, they had to make phone calls. They had to walk up to people and say, "Hi, my name is." Um, for some that's a little more challenging. For some, they

032get a little chatty. They have to reel it back in. But you can't guess which ones those are. So, I'm really proud of their efforts. Um, all three of them have been involved all four years. I will say over the four years that they have been involved, they have raised about $25,000. That being said, that's pretty good. Considering their freshman year, we didn't get the green light until a month before the dance to be able to be in one room together. So, not too bad for them. So, I hope they continue that as well. Um, on the flip side of that, they're also with me in Jag. So, jobs for America's graduates, they have to be put in the spotlight quite a bit. As you can guess, Erica is the one that's kind of behind

033the scenes making sure our stories get written. Um, we were talking last year about what her leadership skills were like and we were trying to develop a chance for her to become to do a work experience. Uh, one thing I like to do at the schools is create jobs for the students and then um put them in something that is fitting for them to move on in their next step. Brooklyn is also doing a work experience. She's actually working in the middle school in the special ed department. Um, helping Mrs. Zuckworth with the students in the afternoon. Um, she has loved it. She has grown in it. It has helped her realize when to be a student and when to be an adult, which is one of the hardest transitions there is. Payton just is

034involved in everything. So, he didn't need to have a job because he had to be in school in class. Um but he um at our competition this year, him and Brooklyn were able to place first and go on to state. Payton is our outstanding senior. We are still waiting to hear if he gets the big scholarship. We should hopefully know this week. Um but he had to go and write a two-page essay on the impact that Jag has had um all the things that he's done. Track for him. The hardest part I think was tracking all the community service hours. I think that was the hardest part of the application. Um, how many did we figure out that you had over the over the four years? It was close to of many service hours. Um,

035so and then he had to go in and he was interviewed by a panel of judges and he had to present himself and if you've ever talked with Payton, talking about himself is not his strong suit. Sometimes he would much rather talk about everybody else in the room. Um, so he did really well. He was at state. He did play or he was an honorable mention. Um, so that is a big deal. They like him. Brooklyn, she was our public speaker. She had to give up and give a speech. And if you would have known her her freshman and sophomore year, you would have known that speeches are not her thing. Um, she does have it if people want to hear it tonight. I didn't know if there was time or not, so she is

036prepared to do it. I'm sure she would prefer to crawl on her table and not do it, but it it talks about the impact that has or that her high school career has had on her and how Jai has helped her along the way. So very proud of these three. I'm proud of them all because they put on a lot a big show this year. We hosted a career fair. We had 54 employers show up for our career fair. They had to show up early. Um we anytime the school needs something, they're usually the ones that okay, we've got this. We'll figure it out. They come over here. They do what they can. Um so I'm just I couldn't say enough about them. They definitely will be missed. [Applause] Would you like to hear Brooklyn's

037speech? I think How long is it? Because we do have some other about four minutes. We I think we should. Yeah. Yeah. If it's four minutes, absolutely. I thought four, four and a half. Like her time. We're not going to kick you off. Before Brooklyn goes, I would like to I would like to just comment from a personal standpoint. I've been a principal before I was superintendent and we always had Riley Dance Marathon and it was always a big deal. We I always donated, but I have a granddaughter that spent 98 days in the Nick unit at Riley. So, it hits home a little bit closer this time around than it did before. So, I I really do appreciate their time and effort and uh Payton did that even before he was an uncle. So,

038I I commend him and all the students that participate in that. But it does hit home a little bit more. And uh fortunately little Ari is doing fantastic and it's there there's some miracle workers that work up there at Riley. That's all I got to say. So she had a ball was running around. It was fun to watch. Yeah. And Mrs. Bman, thank you for all your hard work. [Applause] listen to breakfast. I'm sorry. This was uh just put on me yesterday. So, I do apologize. You're going to do great. So, I do apologize. I had someone ask me, "Why does this mean so much to you?" I thought back to a certain moment where if it wasn't for Jag, I wouldn't be where I am today. Good morning everyone. Well, good afternoon everyone and

039thank you for having me here. My name is Brooklyn Johnson and I'm Eastern Green's 24th 25 Jack president. I've always had a hard time with speeches and get stage fright. I've had moments where I break down and moments where I finally feel like I got the hang of it. But before Jack, I wouldn't even be standing up here trying. If you had asked me to speak in front of you, I would have laughed in your face and told you no. Miss Jack did laugh in Miss Bman's face when she told me I was going to do the project based learning and now this speech. Jack has given me more skills and opportunities than anything else I've ever done. Jag has given me the confidence to stand up here in front of you today. But that's

040not even half of it. I was one of the few that got to join Jag my sophomore year. Sophomore year was my hardest year yet. I had just lost my mom two months before school started. I felt all alone and went back into my shell. I didn't really talk to anyone and lost all confidence in myself. Mrs. Bman invited me to join JAG a year early. In the beginning, I joined JAG for the $300 because oh my lord, who would pass up $300? I quickly realized that it was so much more than that. It was everything that my other classes haven't taught me. Through JAG, I have learned how to do taxes, write checks, how to be a leader, communication, and most of all, Jack has taught me how to do public speaking. Well, possibly.

041see how the rest of the speech goes. Because of the lessons and activities in JAG, I have been more of a leader in my sports, my life, and in being president. It has made me realize that you cannot follow the pack. You have to make you have to make your own path. The world isn't going to wait around for you to be ready. You never will be. The world is going to give you opportunities. Take them and make them your own. My decision to start Jag as a sophomore allowed me to grow through leadership. I started as a young student who watched and listened and helped. when I felt comfortable. As I moved through the program, I have continued to grow to the point where I am now a mentor. For example, when the mo

042middle school program started at Eastern, I was able to be a support for the middle school specialist and speak to the students, explaining the impact Jack could have on their lives. I continue to interact with the middle school program to help create a pathway and be an advocate for Jack. As an active participant, Jack has given me so many options that made me who I am today. The biggest opportunity it has given me is being able to be like my mom. My mom used to own a daycare. One unique fact about that daycare is she always had some children with a disability. I've wanted to work with special education ever since then. I knew that the EG program was always going over to be class helpers. And every year we go over as a class

043and help the middle school special education students pick out Christmas gifts. When I see them, it brings back all the memories of my mom and working in her daycare. The smiles, the laughs, the personalities, and there are so many personalities. I now have a job at our middle school as a teacher's assistant in that class. I get to see them every day. Makes my entire day when I walk in there and they yell my name. Jag is the reason I work there. As for my career in the future, I have my whole future set. I am a soon to be a Marine. If it wasn't for the guest speakers that come in, I would never be where I am today. All the skills and opportunities are because of Jack. I am the person I am

044because of Jamie Belman. So, all in all, JAG isn't just a class or a way to get $300. It is a way to grow as a person, make new friends, learn new things, be a leader, and be me. I have carved my own path. Thank you for listening. [Applause] Thank you. All right. Um, now's the time where we have to do the business part of the meeting. So, if anyone and there they go. All right. So, it's obvious I don't we don't have anybody here for the participant participation part. So, we'll just skip that and go on. has recommended the agenda for the April 14th, 2025 meeting be approved as presented um with additions, corrections, or deletions as recommended by the board. Do I have a motion? Dennis second chair for this is the agenda.

045That's the agenda for tonight. Oh, okay. Uh is recommended that the minutes from the March 10th, 2025 meeting be approved as presented. Do I have a motion? Kim second Dennis. All those four. Okay. Is recommended that the claims numbers 1992 through 20110 be approved as presented. Do I have any uh any discussion on the claims? Okay. Do I have a motion? Kim second. Natalie. All those four 70. All right. Mr. Lewis. Okay. Uh we have some corporation business here and we'll start out. Um I seek a motion to approve an overnight trip for uh eight choir students. I believe it's eight or nine to be 100% correct there. Eight or nine choir students to go to St. Louis on May 9th and 10th. Uh it's for a music competition. They will perform. Uh then uh

046following that they will spend some time at Six Flags. They will then do some shopping and attend a Broadway musical. Uh the bus transportation is not required as they will go on a charter bus. Um, we will be attending this with two additional schools with Linton and Sullivan. We'll be partnering up with them. Um, I do have uh some figures if there are any questions on a potential cost or anything like that. If anyone has any questions, are the choir students singing with the other two schools? Correct. That's fine. I believe I believe that's the way it is. I guess I I'm I'm pretty certain that's the way he explained it. And Mr. Drummond could not be here this evening. He had some family in town from from out of state. Okay. Are there questions

047discussion? No, no discussion. Okay. Motion. Okay. Have a motion. Natalie second. All those four seven. Uh I also seek a motion to approve the student handbooks for the elementary, middle school, and high school as presented. um we shared those with the board and if you have any questions I there was a couple questions for me and try to get those clarified but if you have any questions I just I just want to thank the three administrators for making it easy for us to see the changes this year that was very helpful thank you and I I appreciate both their efforts and their teams because they didn't do that on their own they they got together with the teachers and um their their team and worked on that so I appreciate their time and effort in

048that is there any other discussion on the handbooks before we voting and answering questions. That was great. Okay. Do I have a motion then to approve? Second, Dennis. All those four seven there. You can have handbooks now. Get those sent to the printers. Right. Um I seek a motion to approve the disposable of some family and consumer science equipment here in the middle school fax room. Uh that room serves a dual purpose. We have a regular classroom in there. Um, this is disease uh self-contained classrooms in there and they use some of that but they are repurposing some of the the area. So, we just have some equipment that we need to get rid of. Any discussion? Okay. If not, I'll have a motion. Dennis Dennis really wants to get rid of that stuff. Okay.

049Second, Mike. He must know something we don't know. All right. Um, I seek a motion to approve the relocation of the fifth grade classes back to the middle school. Um, this is a a two-part. We are looking to expand the early learning center. Um, and just for the best use of our building and our facilities, we have several empty classrooms on the middle school side. uh and it was illogical to instead of packing everybody in on one side and having a lot of space on the other to make this move. Um we had some conversations as an admin team. We've also already discussed with the uh we've already discussed with the fifth grade teachers so they are aware. We also had some discussions at at the corporation level. So this this shouldn't be a big

050surprise. We need a formal board uh approval to make this move to the uh who's spam anyone at the state uh we have to have board motion to to change this at the state level so to change it back so that's why the motion but uh I will also add you know anytime there's change you know there will be some anxiety with that for both um our faculty and staff as well as the families whose students will now be at the middle school a year earlier. So, we're going to work through um all those. We're going to communicate that to all the parties involved and uh have a good plan in place and we've already started some of those preliminary discussions. Any discussion by the board on those? Just have you already started some discussion

051with fourth grade parents? We have not, but that's on the That's one of the things we're going we're going to bring them in and talk to them. We'll do an orientation like they used to. We're just working through all of those details, but but we haven't done that for we haven't publicly announced this change till now. Okay. Okay. So, and just for clarification sake, and this might be a dumb question, but the fifth grade will now be part of the middle school like under Allison. Yes, they'll be under that database and they will be under uh so Allison will now be in charge of those. It does um equal up the the three buildings. Um, so it was and now they will still utilize some of the specials that were in the elementary, but you

052know, athletics was always a challenge the last couple years is what I've been led to believe, you know, with them being over there and and they still fell under the middle school umbrella of athletics, but there will be some some challenges to it. But, um, I guess I'm speaking from experience. I think it can work and be very effective. So it will increase our capacity as we see some new businesses coming into the area that may be coming into our community. Right. 100%. It would it would capacity a little bit of buffer in the elementary across the three buildings a little more evenly. Correct. Yes. Capacity wise 100%. And the architects when they looked at our building, this was one of the I mean one of their suggestions is you know you've got all this

053space here and you're tight there and with some of the changes. This was one of their suggestions as well. Now just to be clear when we move them back before they were kind of in the middle of everything. Are we going to do the same thing or we they're going to be a little bit more We're still working through all those details. Initially, we're thinking they'll probably go in a very similar location that they were before. Um, and that's one we we're looking at classroom sizes is a lot of that. There's some cubbies built in there. Um, and those are bigger classrooms. We do have some big classrooms come big class sizes coming over. So, all of that has not been completely finalized, but there's been some initial discussions with myself and and Allison to

054best use our resources with um we've got lockers that we have to use. We have, you know, we don't have lockers. We just got to make sure lockers are near where they they won't use lockers as often. So, where whereas like seventh grade will. So, we've got to we got to work through all those logistics. And that's that's a piece of this we're still um working through that's in discussion, but but uh we're open to any suggestions on that. So logically from a parent perspective of a young younger child and an older child there a younger the younger two grades will be kind of together and the older two grades will be somewhat more separated so that yes for the most part for the most part for that interaction fifth grade will it like uh

055Doug said it will be very similar to how it was before and fifth grade will still um function kind of on an island almost themselves. Um, but they will be included in most middle school activities except for a couple of things here and there that maybe they're just not age appropriate the word yet. Um, I don't they won't be in the hallways with eighth graders. They won't, you know, they're not mixed in with that. They won't ever need to go to that side of the building. Okay. Um, everything will be on the other side. And I can just speak from a a parent standpoint as well because when my child went through fifth grade, it was in the middle school and I thought they did a very good job of keeping them kind of separated

056from everybody else but still involved and that's the goal in the plan. Yeah. So I think that's sometimes parents concern those two different ages. So thank you for sharing that. Yeah. Any other questions? Okay. If not, I'll take that. A motion Kim second Dennis. All those four [Music] 70. Okay. Um kind of along those same lines, um I I seek a motion to approve the separation of the ELC and um adding them in as their separate Harmony database so that they will have their own school number. Uh this will help us um by separating them out. It's another step towards creating our own independent early learning center. Okay? And we have to get an a an identification school number from the DOE. And in order to do that, we have to separate them out into

057their own database. So that's the reason for this. We're not really changing anything. We're changing some of the behind the scenes so we can get that school number for them. Okay. Any questions? Were they separated before or I don't believe it was just ran separately kind of? Yeah, they were just and and and it's ran separately now. I mean, you know, while they're in Dustin's building, he really doesn't oversee them. I mean, if there's an immediate issue, he's there, of course, he steps in, but but that's not I mean, Lindsay um basically oversees that for us the way we're organized right now. Okay. I'd like to make that motion. Okay, I'd like to second that. Okay, I'll slow down here. Okay. So, Kim, h sorry, I was still absorbing what he was saying. All those

058four 70. Okay. We have a few personnel items. Uh first, uh we have a resignation. I seek a motion to approve the resignation of Maryanne Inman as the high school guidance athletic and registar secretary position. Uh that would be effective March 28th, 2025. Have a motion. second all those four. So no the next motion there we've strike stricken. Um so we'll move on to the uh next I have a motion to approve Bill Valentine for the high school boys and girls cross country coaching position for the fall 2025 season. Motion Dennis second Natalie. All those four. So no. U additional personnel issue here. U seek a motion to approve Jamie Bellman as the 2025 spring athletic event coordinator. She's kind of already helped us out with that a little bit. Oh yeah. She was assisting

059at a baseball game the other night. We had some uh scoreboard issues, but we got it figured out. Yeah, she's been a great help, I will say. Do I have a motion? Natalie, you're too slow, Dennis. Um, second, Dennis. All those four. All right. Well, we have several donations, which is a a great problem to have. We, as always, we appreciate the generosity of our entire school community. Um, we have a $50 donation from Rhonda Crow to the Eastern Green Schools in remembrance of Carol Russell. $150 anonymous donor to Eastern Green Elementary, Bradford Woods pie in the face fundraiser. $200 anonymous donor to Eastern Green Elementary, Bradford Woods uh pie in the face fundraiser in remembrance of Donnie Wilson. $25 from Hudson Escavating Incorporated to the Eastern Green Bowling Club, $63 to the Eastern Green

060members of the sixth grade class to um the Eastern Green Middle School sixth grade team fund. The funds went to help pay for the Wolverine boxing demonstration and class by the Excel performance that that we were discussing earlier. $625 donation from the Eastern Green High School baseball booster club uh to Eastern Green High School uh to purchase baseball hats for the team. $50 anonymous donor to Eastern Green Elementary fifth grade Bradford Woods Trip Fund. $500 um donation to the Eastern Green Elementary School PTO. Um that's that was earmarked for the Eastern Green Elementary fifth grade Bradford Woods trip. $100 from Adam, Stephen, and Allan Dante to the Eastern Green High School Jag program to purchase supplies for Riley Dance Marathon. $25 from Sarah Johnson to Eastern Green Middle School sixth grade team fund. $160 anonymous

061donor to Eastern Green Elementary Fifth grade Bradford Woods Trip Fund. $250 from the Eastern Green Biddy Basketball to Eastern Green Middle School athletics. $165.94 from Crane Credit Union to Eastern Green High School JAG and $1,000 anonymous donor to Eastern Green Schools for food purchase for facts to help cover food for Riley Dance Marathon. 100 or a thousand? 100 or $100. I'm sorry. Did I say 10,000? I'm sorry. Misspoke there. Okay. My old eyes, those numbers all go together. All right. Do I have a motion to accept this? And second, Kim. All those four. As always, we thoroughly appreciate all our donors. Thank you again to our community for that. We do have a a couple of late items here. Um first, uh I seek a motion to approve the hiring of Macy BS as high

062school special ed teacher effective for the 2526 school year. Um I would like to say that Macy is a former student of mine when I was a principal. Um, and uh, I actually know her outside of school and I I think uh, she'll she'll do a great job for us and she's worked for the school already, but as old as this makes me feel. Yes. She graduated with JC. She did with JC. Yes. All right. Do I have a motion? Dennis. Second. Kim. All those four. Great to see a Thunderbird come back. Um, I also, uh, this another late item, um, a motion to approve a ban trip to Kings Island on May 10th, 2025. And I do have just some, uh, information to kind of explain what's going on here. You recently or you

063previously had approved a trip in November uh, for the band to go to Cedar Point. And it was a rather expensive trip, but they did get some students signed up. As we got closer and closer to the trip, more and more kids dropped out. the cost became it was just wasn't something they could do. So the money that had been raised uh that money is going to be earmarked for a similar trip like that next year where they have more time to fund raise and more time to organize it or if a parent chooses they can get their money back. You know if there's a student that chooses not to be in band or something to replace that. Uh the band would like to take a one-day trip to Kings Island. And the reason we

064bring this to you is of course Kings Island is out of state. Um there there will be no overnight component. They're actually using school transportation, a school bus. So they'll go down there. They'll be back that night. But uh it is out of state. So it does seek uh we do need board approval to This is just high school. This is just high school on this trip. Yes. Okay. Do you have a motion? Second. All those four. Okay. Um, an additional late item, a motion to approve the resignation of Maline Cage as middle school art uh teacher. Um, that is effective at the end of the school year. Um, she uh has done a great job for us. Uh, we we hate to see her go as she shared with u uh Miss Mrs. Clary,

065Miss Clary, and myself, you know, she she got like her dream job directing all the educational aspects of the uh Indiana University Art um museum. Is that correct? Yes. Yes. So, you know, great opportunity for her. Um big loss for us, but uh we wish her all the best. She pulled art. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Yeah. This is a loss for us. Don't approve it. She don't approve that. Don't stay amazing. She really did do a fantastic job. Maybe maybe we can do some field trips or something to IU and All right. Do I have a motion? No. Sorry. All right. Natalie second. Kim. All those four. All those against. Sorry. Sorry. I I voted for the motion. I'm sorry. Okay. So, no. I do have one additional aid item that is not on your your

066board. Uh I don't believe it's on your agenda there. Um at the high school, I I do seek a motion to approve a change to special education teacher Mary Reagan's teaching contract for this school year. So, she was previously on a four days a week contract uh because we've had some personnel changes at the high school. uh she has spent more time here. So technically, she will come to the end of her contract in the next few days, but we need to pay for her to be here for the rest of the year. So really, I'm just asking that we approve for her to be on a five-day teaching contract for the rest of the school year. That's so that's the motion that I sign. We just have to have that a formal motion to

067do this. So Okay. So Sharon makes the motion. I have a second. Dennis, all those four 70. Um, that is all I have as far as late items. Um, my building level guys, you have a few things you'd like to share. Yes. Eric, it's always first um I want to thank our community uh as you were reading some of the donations uh for the Bradford Woods trip. They did the the pie in the face and they came to me before that and asked and you can't tell now uh but they said how much would it take for us to race for this trip uh for you to shave your beard? And I'll be honest with you, I gave them a number that I thought was probably going to be unattainable because I really didn't want

068to shave my beard, but I thought if they raised that much money, great. And then I see in the then they came, they said, "We raised exactly that much money." And I thought there was maybe a little fishy. There were a lot of anonymous donors in here that as well. But um but seriously though, I do want to thank everybody for that um because that's a a great trip that I I'll speak about here in just a few minutes. But uh our year-to- date attendance in the elementary school is um.7 and our fourth quarter attendance just to date just this just fourth quarter is 95.4. Um and we're encouraged by the strong attendance this quarter and appreciate the support from families and getting students to school uh more consistently as the year has gone on.

069That has continued to grow for us. Uh the Bradford Woods fifth grade trip, the annual fifth grade Bradford Woods trip was a memorable experience for uh students, for our students and staff alike. U big thank you to the fifth grade team, uh Jamie Robbins, Megan Shipwood, Whitney Russell, and Samantha Cummings. Um and the staff at Bradford Woods, and the lot seniors, I wanted to give them a special shout out. the seniors in my group um were especially impressive uh with their leadership and their kindness and and and guiding and and being good role models for for our our young Thunderbirds. Uh some of them were here today. Um I wasn't in a group with Payton, but every time his group would go by, they were he was in the front chanting and then they would

070repeat and they would just go back and forth and and you could tell they were having a really good time. Um I'm also very grateful for a flexible team uh that to be able to work with uh that allowed Dr. Morgan, Mr. Lewis and myself to all spend some meaningful time with with our students at the camp this year and we appreciate that. Our fourth and fifth grade mini musical was the week before last. Um, and it was amazing as always. Mrs. Drummond and her students did a phenomenal job during both the schoolwide and community performances. It was a wonderful showcase of student talent, teamwork, and the power of arts and education. And and Natalie's son got to kill someone, I think. So, and then he ended up in the hospital. Oh, really? Not for

071the same thing, but it was kind of ironic, right? Right. Well, I I did it. He's okay now. Okay. Sorry. The redhead thing. That's good to know. The thing you work for, I know. I didn't have anything to do with it. Business. Our kindergarten roundup. Uh we do have a new date for that. We did we pushed it back a week and we'll talk about that in just a moment. But we are going to have that on Friday, May the 2nd. Uh we adjusted the event to allow time for updated state assessment procedures. Uh some of the the suggested minutes and time that that the state allotss for us to take each test. Some of them shorten, some of them were a little bit longer. And we also um are going to allow for all

072of our third, fourth, and fifth graders to be able to test in smaller groups. Um so that takes up more of our day. And we are going to take a little bit longer in the overall time that we're we're taking the iLearn, but we're hoping that that will u benefit our students as they are taking that. We started that today. Um so rather than have uh kindergarten roundup right there kind of at the tail end of I learn, we just pushed it back a week and all of those parents have been notified already and appointments made. Um so thank you to our entire staff for their flexibility and and shifting schedules and coverage to make these small groups possible as well. U kindergarten graduation will be on Thursday, May the 15th at 10:00 a.m. and

073the in the middle school uh gym and details will be sent uh very shortly to kindergarten families and then shared on our social media platforms. So, we're excited to celebrate the growth and accomplishments of our youngest learners. And then lastly, our elementary field day will be on Friday, May the 9th. And we proudly recognize our students of the month and featured artists from earlier in tonight's meeting. These students were chosen for demonstrating excellence in academics, behavior, creativity, and character. So, congratulations to each and every one of them. Thank you. Okay, I know now I'm pretty competitive, so 7:33. Got it. Um so school goals. Um we also are very proud of our attendance. We had that third nine se that third nine weeks. We struggled with illness but we came back strong and we're at

07495% right now as a school. So congratulations to all of our students for um beating the bugs and getting in here and getting ready for iLearn testing. Um, we did finish uh checkpoint two and checkpoint three and all three grade levels met or exceeded their goal after those. Um, very proud of all the hard work that our teachers have put in this year. Um, they seem to really respond well to the checkpoint data and the students are aware of it. Um, the teachers take time to go over that data with them, explain it to them. Um, and because of that, I think we're really making a lot of uh, strides. So, I'm excited. Um, we will be starting iLearn tomorrow. I am excited for us to show what we know. Um, I think that what

075we've done the whole year is far more valuable than what we're going to do over the next two weeks, but I know that they are going to um, just really show up and show out. I'm excited to see. Um, we had some great events the last couple of weeks. Uh, we had our annual science fair a couple of weeks ago and as usual it was a huge success. Um, I don't know how many times I said during the day I always worried about science fair even when I was in the classroom and I was like it's not going to happen. They're not going to have anything. It's going to be terrible. And then they show up and they have the most amazing ideas and projects. I learned a lot um from the consumer science tables.

076I know that I need to buy gain because um I've been a tight girl all my life, but they showed me that Gain is better at getting out um your stains. I also learned about the best mascara and the longest lasting foundation um that's drugstore worthy. So um we had um some really amazing and thoughtful projects. I also want to thank the community and everyone who showed up. We had over 40 community members come and judge the science fair. Um some of them were parents but some of them have no children in the school system but came and um were a part of that day and it was amazing. So I want to thank the science team for putting it together. It's not an easy task um but they did a wonderful job and all

077of our students as well. We also had our annual lip sync. Um, we thought this year it might not happen. We had to reschedu two or three different times. We had some weather come in. We thought we were going to get a tornado and get blown away, but we did finally find a night. Um, and we had our lip sync and it was also very successful. Um, so thank you to all of our teachers who go above and beyond to provide an atmosphere where um, we have fun, but we're learning something every single day. Um, I say it on the announcements and it truly happens in our building every day. Uh, our third nineweek awards and incentive breakfast also just wrapped up. Um, I continue to be proud and amazed by all of our students.

078We had so many students on high honor roll and honor roll trying to get them in one picture is nearly impossible. Um, which is a good problem to have. And then our we had our biggest incentive breakfast that we've had all year. um just students who um have improved in the classroom, have shown um strong character, have been responsible, kind to others. Um so very they're all very bright, caring, and responsible young adults, and we are very proud of them. We do have some upcoming events. DC trip will be May 6th through the 10th. Uh the social studies department is putting on a culture and career fair on May 2nd. So very similar. It's in the afternoon. It's very similar to a science fair, only this time we're highlighting some culture um and careers through

079social studies. Uh the high school/middle school musical, they've been putting in lots of work and I can't thank the music department enough for everything they do to make that happen. Um and that will be May 2nd through the 4th. and Dustin mentioned that we're going to have the senior walk on May 5th and um then kindergarten graduation will be um on May 15th. We have lots of field trips and then we are planning to have a middle school field day for each grade level this year. So um that last week of school I have a couple of shoutouts. I want to shout out Mr. Martindale um for organizing all of our spring sports. Um track is a difficult one uh because weather is never cooperating with us. Um the central office staff, they have been

080great, very friendly, very helpful. We've had some bus things come up with field trips and everybody has been very kind and helpful. So I want to thank the central office staff. Um Mary Stanganger and Kristen Hutchkins. They are um our school psychologists and our speech and they have been doing ACRs and just in working with our students day after day and I really appreciate them. I mentioned the music department. I want to hit that one more time. I went up to Indianapolis with um our middle school bands um for the Isma competition. Our bands did a wonderful job. Um they represented us very well. Um, and Miss Zogle has come in and really just done a phenomenal job. She I've got something in my eye. I apologize. Um, she's working really hard to build relationships

081and try to build our band back up. And that was one thing in our the interview that we had with her that I um I wanted to see. I wanted to see our band back to what it used to be before. Anyone that used to go to school here knows we used to have a huge band. And so um I think she's really trying to do that. and I appreciate all her efforts. Um, fifth grade team, thank you for being so flexible. Thank you for taking all of this with stride. It's uh it's not going to be easy. There's a lot of logistics and people are what's what's this going to be? What's this going to be? But they've been very um easy to work with and I appreciate them. And then Maline Cage, uh

082like they said, this one hits hard. not just because she brought art out and everyone, but she was just an incredible human to have in the building and helped with everything. So, um I will miss her dearly. That's all I asked Eric if I could jump in front of him. He always talks forever. So, I'm going to share and I have to share something something high school specific. So, I just wanted to give a huge shout out to uh our high school staff uh special education staff. they've been short staffed for a few months now and they have picked up the slack and just we've asked people to do things that they don't normally do. So I want to thank Mary Reagan, Cheryl Janess, Macy Bulls who apparently liked us so much she's even going

083to become a special ed teacher. Um Allison Jordan and our uh new friend who joined us in the middle of all of this, Emily Hudson. Uh, so I really want to thank them so much for stepping up and um filling in some holes that we had. Um, I also just wanted to ask everyone to keep the Zuckworth family in their thoughts. Um, Colin, one of our high school students, had a car accident after school last week. He's fine. Uh, but it was, as you can imagine, as a parent, terrifying. Um, Eric and I were in the middle of an interview when it happened and so it was all a little scary there for a few minutes, but um, you know, anytime a student or community member goes through something like that, we should, you know,

084reach out to them and check on them. Um, and especially when one of them is a teacher of our own. So, please keep them in your thoughts and check on them. Um, and um, lastly, I just wanted to hope that I learn goes well for everybody. I know sometimes our students with special needs have a little bit more challenges during that time. Um, so hopefully everybody will continue to be flexible and understanding of them during this time where they have to sit still for a very long period of time and do a lot of hard work uh for them. So yeah, thank you guys. I think you've been challenged. I know, right? U first off, want to welcome Macy Bolts. Um she was already on my staff. I'm excited to have her in this capacity.

085She's absolutely fantastic and I know she's going to do great things. Um our spring sports are underway. U I want to wish all of our athletes and coaches successful seasons and invite everyone out to the ball games, track meets, and and the prepare way. Uh, thank you to Miss Waldridge, uh, Julia Crane, Renee Christensen, and Tessa Wolfker for taking time to help do mock interviews for our upcoming apprenticeship opportunities through ROI. Uh, the high school has some amazing teachers and some hardworking students. This year, we were able to improve our SAT scores significantly through some remediation efforts and teacher provide teachers providing some specific SAT preparation. We were able to improve our mean SAT score by 20 points uh up to a 970 and passing scores improved dramatically in both math with a 4% increase

086and in ELA uh 19% increase from last year. Uh overall the student pass rate improved 5%. Um, I want to thank uh u thank the students for taking the SAT seriously and trying to uh trying their hardest and uh thank you to our teachers for making it a priority to improve these scores. As you heard earlier, Riley Dance Marathon took place the last week of March. Students raised over $5,000 for the kids at Riley. Um, thank you to everyone who helped out and participated and and just like Doug u acknowledged that it kind of hit home for him. I am also a Riley kid. So, um it's it's something that when I first applied here, I saw on the website, it's something that we do and I was like, I want to be a part

087of that. So, um really appreciate all their efforts. Congratulations to our 20 newest inductees in the uh in National Honor Society. Uh we held that event uh the the week after spring break. Um, and I want to thank Irene Burch for all her work uh that she puts into that event and and all the wonderful community service that that um organization does. Uh, thank you to all of our teachers that came out to the top 10 dinner and a special thank you to Mrs. Bartlett and Mrs. Tar and our guest speaker, Mr. Edwards. Uh, we have our senior recognition night on April 28th at 6 PM. and let me be the first to invite you to our 2025 com commencement ceremony on May 24th. We look forward to celebrating our seniors with you. Our art

088program is happy to invite everyone out to the Eastern Green Art Show starting on April 30th. As Mr. Sapata said earlier, um the opening reception uh will be that first day. Uh very excited to see our high school uh schoolers perform in a few weeks uh in the high school music musical. Uh this year's musical is Catch Me If You Can. So um freshmen will be taking the bio I learn next week and many students will be taking AP exams in early May. Just want to wish everyone best of luck. Happy school librarian day to Mrs. Van Deender. Um this woman is absolutely amazing. Um she can jump from building to building without skipping a beat and making sure that everything uh runs very smoothly. So, I appreciate her and I know they also appreciate

089the assistance that they have uh in their buildings. Um couldn't do it without them. So, happy administrative assistant day. Um that day is April 23rd uh at the high school. Uh I have an an amazing woman. Her name is Miss Haynes. Uh she takes care of me and Mr. Howard um in so many ways. She just she keeps us sane some days. So, I just really appreciate her. um she she's done an amazing job for us. Uh last week was assistant principal appreciation week. Uh so I wanted to also recognize Mr. Howard. Uh he's been a tremendous asset uh to both our students and our our faculty this year. Um and I did I did give him a little bit of a little bit of crap because he gets a week and we just get

090days. And so I I was I was like I don't know how that happened but it did. So, um, and then last but not least, to all of our parents, just ask that you please update your information in Harmony in anticipation for the upcoming school year. Uh, this summer, we are going to be sending out some important information. Just want to make sure that gets home. So, thank you. What was the time on the 28th for the senior thing? Uh, 6:00 p.m. Okay. Could we um we one thing um for Harmony, is there a way to add students like within the where you where you do all the registration stuff? Add students phone numbers so they can get alerts and stuff like that. It it it has that I think it has that. I just

091don't know if it's tied into I don't know. It depends on the fields that we have earmarked to bore messenger. Is that correct? I I would have to look and see. I know at a previous school that I worked at that we did have student numbers in there. Yeah, I believe they can. And then each individual user can change it to to elect who gets Yeah. Okay. Because it's kind of hard to figure that out. It's been a little tricky this year. Yeah. So anyway, I was just curious message system. Yeah. All right. Mr. Lewis, you have anything you want to say? I just got a few things. I do want to give a a short update on uh the previously approved bonds. Um we continue to work through the planning phase. Um the for

092the bond that's for the elementary middle school campus as well as the bond for the high school campus. Uh we are working with the stepnogle group as well as Jibralter Engineering. Additionally, we are collaborating closely with our legal council which is Ice Miller as well as our municipal adviserss Thurber and Brock to finalize all the aspects of the project. Um while it remains in a in progress and in the planning stage, we do anticipate a more formal update at the May board meeting. Um we do appreciate everyone's patience as we work to align all the necessary components to ensure a smooth and successful start to the projects on each campus. We're working hard to be committed and responsible stewards of taxpayer resources while striving to best meet the needs of our school community in regards

093to the bonds. So, we'll have a lot uh we should have a great deal of updated information at the uh May board meeting. I also want to just echo good luck to all those testing I learned and uh you know uh Allison mentioned something that I think I shared with you in the memo that these tests are important and we want the students to do well um and we certainly need to reflect on our practice but at the end of the day um what what we do in this building and what our kids are is a lot more than a test that's coming down from the state of Indiana. So we we value the test. We want to see where we're at and we're going to use that to reflect on our practice. But at

094the end of the day, you know, our relationships with the kids and and getting them prepared to be um productive members of society, I think are much more important. But uh we certainly value the feedback from their states and we do appreciate everybody's efforts. Um I also uh want to share a little bit of a legislative update. Um I've attended several uh superintendent meetings both at the state level and in our regional area and that's the number one topic um every time we go. Um we don't really have any answers. Uh but uh we are closely monitoring several pieces of legislation at the state level that could impact school funding. Senate bill which is the tax relief bill and or property tax relief bill. I pay property taxes like everybody else and everybody wants to

095pay less in property taxes. Uh but there are some components to that the bill that bill that are still under debate. Um it's expected to result in reduced revenue for the operations budget moving forward. Um when that is finally done, when they're done with the amendments and everything, we will have some type of reduction is all the arrows are pointing at that in our operation fund. In addition to tracking state level developments, we're also paying attention to federal action that may influence funding, including the federal tariffs. Uh just today, I was in a meeting and um the uh director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendent was telling us of a another school corporation that had gotten a couple bids on replacing a couple buses. And each bus had a line item for $30,000

096that said tariff fee. So you you take a bus that goes from $150,000 and you add an additional potential $30,000 on that where they being made. Well, that's where the the but I think I don't know that it matters where it's being made. I think it's the parts are coming from all over the place and steel and all of I mean so it's all going to discount and I'm not being political. I'm just sharing with you what I'm hearing from a legislative standpoint because it is going to affect everything we do. Not just and I'm not again I'm not questioning tariffs, but just all of this stuff is going to impact us one way or the other. So, we just need to be aware of that. And I want to make sure that that that

097at least everyone hears that that's a potential for us. All of these potential changes to our revenue require us to be cautious and strategic in our spending decisions and we will do that. While we remain fiscally responsible, our commitment uh to meeting the needs of our students and school community that will remain unchanged. We're going to do everything in our power uh to provide the best service that we can to our students and our community. Um we'll continue to prioritize educational quality and support while adapting to whatever comes our way. I mean, that's one thing the schools are good about is we will just adapt and overcome and we'll continue to do that. But I just thought it was important that we share with everyone here and anyone that's that happens to be tuning in

098that, you know, there are some potentials that that we will have to cut uh pennies here and there and and I I certainly think that that's coming. Um I also want to mention uh we do have teacher appreciation week around the corner. That's May 5th through 9th. Um, you know, we always appreciate our teachers all year round, but to get a week to kind of uh point out to them and really shine a light on the the great things they do. We look forward to that. I know each building has has plans that that they will be doing and I'll be in in touch with the board on some ideas that I have for some things that we can do as a central office and board if you would like to participate. Um, that's really

099all I have. I appreciate, you know, everybody, my principles sharing all the exciting things happening in their building. Sure. Anything you want, Kim? I just a couple dates to let folks know about real quick. Uh May 6th down at Westgate is what they call their first Tuesday event. And from 4 to 6, the first hour is a presentation from someone from the base. And then that second hour is for networking in the afternoon or after the meeting. Uh but this coming May 6th one will be Dr. Angie Lewis who is the technical director for the whole base. So for the whole Navy part of the base and u she's the highest ranking civilian there and we'll have some great information to share. If any of you could come out from 4 to 5 would be

100the time to hear her speak. um on April the 18th. That is our deadline from the ROI initiatives for uh career coaching nominations and also for the STEM fellowship nominations and STEM fellowship. This year coming up will be for middle school and it is a basically once a month professional development for career coaches and also once a month development for um any STEM related it can be doesn't have to be science can be any any curriculum. Uh previously, um Ken went to the career coaching thing this last year from the high school. Irene Burch and Mandy Busker have previously been STEM fellows from the school. So um that's going down soon. Um last thing was I think we talked about career center limited spaces. Yeah. At career centers right in your hills limiting. Yes. Limiting

101our spaces. Uh I would think maybe we want to throw this out to to think about about other career centers that are drivable which is only a few minutes difference in Hooser Hills and also Waggler uh education center down towards Lions. So there might be some options to you know pocket for all kids to be able to get what they might want or need from those kind of activities. Why were those spaces said is it was that a funding thing or so hills this past year new director um who's kind of I think reshaping hills a little bit and I know all the participating schools was depending on the u content area subject each school was uh given two to three spaces per per thing and so that's um there are some that um don't

102like the ICE program which is um that they have a a little bit more availability. But uh in construction or fire sciences, we have two spaces and and each and that used to be much broader. I I also I'll add I know that as the standards and the expectations with the diploma have changed there is more kids looking into some of those areas as well. So we're starting to see, you know, all the schools are picking up. So then they're they're starting to limit. I'm not, you know, I I've been directly involved in those. Um I know that having dealt with other uh learning centers like Hooser Hills, you know, the the co-op when I was at WRV, we did some work with them. They too were starting to limit to an extent. Um and

103again, it's staffing for them. Some of it is a staffing issue just like it is for us. So there are obstacles, but um I know we have one person in the community that has reached out to me about potentially filling in that gap in one of the areas. So um we just had a casual conversation, but you know, so I think there are some possibilities there and we will explore and I know Wagglers is a possibility as well. Yes, I just wanted to bring that out as we can think outside the box. We don't have to drive for everything. Right. Right. So other um I can't think of anything right now. I had something earlier and I forgot. So that's You should have wrote it down. I should have. Yeah. Um so all these things

104have been mentioned already and I'm not going to talk too long, but um the fourth and fifth grade mini musical was awesome. I was I was able to be part of that. Um but uh our PTO just had its community Easter egg hunt this past s past Saturday. Um a big turnout for that. A great it's great seeing our community come together and and do that. Um hope did anybody find the million dollar egg or is that still the million-dollar one? Um I if I told you I would have to Okay. Sorry. Yeah. So, yeah, about that. But I had the opportunity to join the Bradford Woods group um of fifth graders as being the nurse for that. And I took a few days off from my day job for that. Wow. Like what an

105amazing experience. And what an amazing experience to know that, you know, our teachers and our staff and the chaperones, we don't get paid any extra to do that. They bust their butt to gain to earn every penny that we get to go to that opportunity. And other schools pay a pretty penny to their people that are doing that kind of thing. And ours do it because they love our kids. And to me, that's just an amazing feeling as a parent in this community and someone that didn't grow up here. Who would want anything else? I mean, it's just really for someone that hasn't experienced that, you you can't even imagine. So, thank you to everyone that made all of that happen. I know that it was, you know, the weather, everyone lived, we had an

106amazing time, lots of experiences that they're never going to get anywhere else. And our seniors, I'm not exposed to very many of the high schoolers. They're amazing. So, when you think about, you hear about all this negative stuff that's happening in the world, you always hear about all the bad things that kids are doing and oh my gosh, our future is, oh my gosh, what are we going to do? These kids can't be the only ones that are wonderful like that, but we're doing something right here. You know, the parents are doing something right. These are an amazing group of seniors that that showed leadership skills. I I'm like, I don't know if I would have I mean, I felt like I was a responsible high schooler, but these guys just showed up and they

107took initiative. No one had to tell them what to do and our kids loved them. So, thank you for all of that. Sorry I talked a long time. I did hear something about a nurse getting out of control or something. She might have. Oh, okay. I did yell at them a couple times to respect their teachers and um a fiery run. I I can tell you the storm didn't affect the cabin I stayed in that night. They were busy with their pillow fight having a good time being boys and they didn't think I wonder were scared. They weren't our cabin. Yeah. I I feel like they just didn't know. We did like like skits and stuff and I think that they were just completely oblivious. And these cabins that they stayed in are not cabins

108for anybody that's ever been there. These are like luxury homes. They're not like little dorms. They are. They must. They are. I mean, they're not like this little rickety shack that you think if I huff and puff it's going to blow your house down kind of thing. It was They were safe and I never worried about my kid who was in a different area than me. Um I worried about him maybe misbehaving. I think he was in our cab. I didn't do much. I left it to we But I mean this is just I mean honestly this is this community that we have. You hear negative things everywhere but I couldn't imagine being anywhere else raising my kids. So you just reminded me of what I wanted to say. Fine. We skip you. But if

109anybody wants to hear what I had to say, see me after the meeting. No one will see me. Go ahead, Dennis. No, I was just going to compliment. Um, several people have mentioned relationships over and over again. Um, and that is what it's about. And I think that that is what we do maybe differently than a lot of places. And I there was some rant on one of the community Facebook pages. Um, somebody was asking like, I don't know about taking my kids to Eastern. And it was so cool to see so many positive responses. And like there were a couple people who were poo poo. There's always going to be a couple. And you know, they had whatever reasons they have, but we had people from alumni to current students just really singing Eastern's

110praises and talking about like coming in from other school districts to come here. So that was just really awesome. By the time I saw it, I think it was up to about 130 responses. Yeah. And I didn't get through all the responses even, but but that was just really nice to and I I know this another thing about our community just this week is I if I'm wrong, please correct me on this, but I Scholes it was helping house some of the flood victims. And so I believe it was Aaron that sent out an email. It was to me it got to me very last minute because it got sent to me from my husband saying, "Hey, I've got like 15 minutes. can you get together a bunch of these supplies? And I'm like, um,

111okay, let me see. But I mean, we help send them back with things to help those flood victims. And the way that our community just comes together. I mean, I got a hold of our Girl Scout leader. We had extra um, Girl Scout cookies. We were looking for some place to donate them. What a perfect opportunity. You know, your house is flooded. You're you're living in a shelter, but you've got thin mitts, right? So, um, I mean, just anything. I just I just like how we we don't have we don't have billionaires that live in our community. We don't have all the fancy things and all the I'm sorry, but it doesn't matter. What we have is we share it with everybody and that's just you're going to have a few negative people, but for

112the majority like these are our kids. This is our community. These are our neighbors and we we own that. So, it's pretty amazing. Yes. Um, from the school board, we do wish Colin a healthy absolutely speedy recovery. Obie's listening, you know, and uh because we certainly don't want any of our students being hurt, you know, anything. But thank the staff. You guys have done a wonderful, wonderful job. Teachers done a great job. Sounds like a going to be one of the best best school years we've had. So, Thank you very much, Mike. New status on a football coach. We're still we're still in the interview process. We're still in that process. We've got a couple candidates we really like, but we're just working through the through hoops on that and um we're going as quickly

113as we can. All right. So, it is recommended the meeting be adjourned at 8:04 p.m. Do I have a motion? This