001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> And Daisy, I told her we're good. We're not lingering. >> I'm going to get the ice pack. >> [laughter] >> Has anybody received a text message? >> We just started. >> This I hear right now like right now. >> I'll text her. >> [laughter] >> I swear to her walking fast trying to get my coffee and the rest of my stuff. I didn't remember what I hit it off by hitting it hard. It hurt so bad. She's doing okay. We got a little >> [laughter] >> Me and my brother our birthdays are two days apart. So we like >> Okay, it's 5:00. And uh I want to try to stay on schedule. I want to thank everybody for coming to our May 12th, 2026 Elkhart Community Schools uh public work session.
002At this time, I'd like to call the public work session to order. And first to present uh is uh title. Do you guys have the order or do I need to go through it so you everybody knows? >> Um You don't have to try to go >> Okay. On deck is uh EL and uh >> We're right here. >> In the whole we have exceptional learners. >> Oh, okay. >> [laughter] >> You couldn't help yourself. They said they didn't need to. You couldn't help yourself. >> Point point of order, can we be professional here? >> Yeah. Well, good evening, board. Um I'm going to start off because I was the one overseeing the uh Title I funding and that's where we began. So Kristen, can you go ahead and hit the slide deck there for
003me? Um the overview of our title funds is that these funds support student achievement, uh teachers, and instructional tools. All these funds work together um sort of in tandem, but the purpose of is today is what we're going to talk about is what each grant does, what we fund, and what outcomes that we expect from these title funds. Title grant allocations, title one is strictly with the academic support through our title one designated schools and you'll see the amount there about 4.1 million dollars is received through our title one funds. Title two, it focuses on teaching and what happens in teaching like with professional development such and you can see the amount there is about 606,000 dollars. Title three focuses on our EL population and the language development of those learners and that it comes
004in the tune of 329,000 dollars roughly. And then lastly is our title four which focuses a lot on counseling and those other type of supports which Kristen will get into and that is at the tune of 306,000 dollars. So that's the allocations that we get for our title one funding at this time. Do know that that amount has dropped from previous years and that's no news to the board because you hear that regarding the federal funds at this time. So title one, what we do there is we support the schools and districts to ensure that all children regardless of their socioeconomic status have access to a fair, equitable and high quality education as well as we try to meet the challenging Indiana standards that are in place. So what do we find? Currently we fund
005the intervention teachers and the paraprofessionals that are in those roles. We also provide literacy and math supports such as our literacy coaches. Some of them are funded through our title one funds and also we fund summer school and after school tutoring. So what we want out of this and what we want to see out of all the funds that we spend in these areas is increased reading and math growth because of those supports that we provide such as literacy coaches. We also want to see targeted support for struggling learners, and we also focus on that smaller tiered instruction. >> So, Kristen, you want to go off to title two? >> Thank you. Good evening. So, title two is a little bit more narrow and specific. We use that to provide professional learning to help improve
006our instructional effectiveness and outcomes. And so, we primarily fund professional development. It also helps to provide our instructional coaches in our non-title one schools. So, we've have four coaches this year that we've been able to fund through our title two funds. And our goals are obviously stronger instruction. This year and last we have had a real push on aligning with the science of reading, and really focusing on increased student achievement through improved teaching. So, our largest professional development um investment in the past 2 years has been through letters. Letters is a program that provides teachers on instruction of on the science of reading. So, we had 440 teachers participate in letters, and um you can see some of the cost breakdown. We had to purchase the licenses for those participants. We also have um up
007to this date received claim payments for teachers for completing units and attending live trainings. Um that dollar amount to this date is about $700,000. We um have until June 15th to continue collecting those claim forms from teachers. And then, teachers have also been granted an hour and a half each week to complete their units. So, I tried to just attach um an average dollar amount to that, and that would be an additional $2 million of an investment with our teachers. So, all in all to this date, not including future claims, um, this letters program was an investment of about $3 million in our teachers, which came to about $7,400 per teacher. And just to give you a comparison, the other program, um, that some districts have adopted is the Keys to Literacy program that the
008state provided and those teachers were given a $1,200 stipend for completing. So, we have definitely, um, provided our teachers with a very robust investment with our their science of reading learning. Um, luckily we have really put together a very comprehensive literacy plan to start with next year and it all aligns with the learning from letters. So, we're really excited to have that learning in place as we move forward next year. Title IV is a little bit broader. Um, under Title IV, we can support well-rounded education, safe schools, effective technology use. So, you can see some of our e-learning pictures there. Um, we also use some of the funds to provide that to professional development. So, letters because it's been such a large investment, we really have used Title I, Title II, and Title funds for
009funds to help pay for some of that. Um, but really it's looking at providing that, you know, instruction for for better student engagement. We've also it's helped us provide our mentors this year and then some of our instructional technology and digital literacy. So, our hope is to, um, with the our our technology tools, we've been able to increase practice with standard and standardized test practice. Um, we were able to provide more a better access during our synchronous e-learning with the enhancement of Google Meet. We were able to provide small group instruction and maintain that learning environment even on synchronous learning days. And then we really use it to try to boost our student engagement and the supports for our students with literacy deficits. And now Cindy Bonner will speak to you about Title III. >>
010Good evening. Um Title III supports our English learners as they develop English proficiency while continuing to be able to access grade level academic content. Title III funds support the systems and staff that help our English learners succeed both academically and linguistically. So these funds provide an EL coach, instructional coaching, who works She works with our teachers to strengthen language supports and instructional practices for multilingual students across content areas. It also helps fund our EL paraprofessionals at least throughout 2025. We have them in there for that. And they provide direct support for our students in the classrooms. They help bridge communication with families and assist students in accessing that again grade level learning throughout the school day. In addition, these funds support language programs and instructional resources for us and then also ways for us to
011engage families. The impact includes growth in English proficiency. Obviously, that is the gold and also stronger access to grade level content. And then hopefully that long-term success of graduation and even beyond. So the funding is critical as our English language learner population continues to grow. As we conclude, you see these are all together and you see the line that represents our student there. Um, I want to emphasize that the use of these federal funds are both intentional and very strategic. They directly support students, uh, strengthen staff capacity, um, and provide resources that help accelerate student outcomes across our district. Um, these grants are not supplemental in the sense of being, um, extra. They are essential components of the systems and supports that help our students grow academically, linguistically, and socially. So, thank you for your
012continued support of our students and staff and programs. Any questions? >> I've got a good question. Um, I I I know it's very intentional and and, you know, I think you do a great job with the funds. Um, I think the total funds, doing quick math, is about $5.4 million. And as an example, letters is about 3.2 of that, so it's a good chunk of that. My question is, um, how is the growth measured? And then what time frame uh are you looking to to to see that growth and and the measure it to see the value that uh or the return on on that investment. >> The growth that we are looking at is, of course, the I-Learn and I-Read growth, >> [snorts] >> as well as when I'm looking at, um, Title III,
013the WIDA, um, how our kids are doing. So, they should have a direct impact on those assessments. And if they're not, then we are not putting our money in the right places. >> Okay. And are you are you guys expecting to see that in uh >> All right, can you speak into the mic a little bit more? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Sorry, Daisy. >> Can you speak into the mic? >> My my question was, uh, the timing of when to see that. I said, are you expecting to see that in in in a in a year, annually? And the and the answer was yes. >> That's all the questions I have. Thank you. >> Next. You're already there. >> [laughter] >> I'm here. Uh good evening, President Scott, Mrs. Reyes, members of the board
014and our community. Um my name is Cindy Lopez Bonner. I was going to make a joke and be like, "Gonzalez Garcia, you know." >> [laughter] >> Only is that actually cuz he because he started >> [laughter] >> Mr. Scott, back me up. You made a comment as I was coming in. That's all. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> Um but tonight I'd like to provide an overview of our English language learner program and highlight both the um growth of our student population as well as the progress our students are making toward English proficiency. Over the past several years, we have been uh seen a steady and significant growth in our English uh learners uh across our district. We started off just about over the 2,000 mark, but we've increased We're at nearing 2,500 students identified as English
015learners. So, uh that represents continued growth year after year and reflects the increasing linguistic and culturally diversity um diverse city in our um schools. Oh, no. Go back. I got too excited. Can you help me out there, Jake? Sorry. So, the [laughter] data. There you go. >> There you go. >> I'm not sure why that one keeps moving, but it does. Okay, so our English learners I'm really excited about this slide. Our English learners continue to demonstrate encouraging growth across multiple measures as you see there. We saw a 13% increase in students demonstrating at least 0.5 growth on the WIDA Access assessment. I know Mr. Scott, you were asking about are we seeing that growth? We definitely are. Reflect This is reflecting progress in English language development and movement toward proficiency, which is what we
016want to see. We also experienced a 16.3 uh percent increase in English learners. I know it's kind of locked right there uh passing i-Ready 3. And again, that's highlighting very important growth in early literacy skills. Um that impact targeted instructional supports. So, on i-Ready, we experienced a 2.5% increase in proficiency rates again among English learners. Now, while that might appear modest at first glance, um it's important to recognize that um the significance of finally breaking beyond you see like that that 6 8 6 8 pattern. That would have been way cooler if it was like 6 7, right? But >> [laughter] >> But we had some gains there finally breaking that trend that pattern there. And then one of the most exciting gains was on the SAT where English learners demonstrated a substan- substantial 5.9%
017increase reflecting stronger uh college readiness and uh career readiness. So, taken together, um these results show our students are making important academic um and linguistic progress. So, we're excited about that. As this population has grown, our focus has remained clear, ensuring students not only acquire English language skills, but also that they're thriving in our schools. So, we are focusing on three very key goals. The first being a stronger path to English proficiency. Our long-term goal is 8% um for uh to achieve English proficiency and exit EL services. While that's an ambitious goal cuz it really double of what we've been doing in the past years. We know that we're committed to that accelerating that language growth through strong instruction, continuous and consistent progress monitoring and meaningful family partnerships. Second, we focus on instructional practices that
018support language development again across the classrooms where our coaches are going in and helping teachers and kind of planning and working in the PLC. And then finally family engagement and communication so that families are true partners with us in this learning process. One of the most meaningful ways that we've supported family engagement has been through our family literacy nights. As you can see there we had one at Daily Elementary, at Roosevelt Elementary and then we were also at Beardsley last just last week. So these events create opportunities for families to engage in literacy activities together, connect with us, connect with staff and better understand how to support language development at home. We've also focused on celebrating the cultures and languages represented in our district. We had this really neat collaboration with the communication department through
019Hispanic Heritage Month and we celebrated like cultural celebrations, music, food, student showcases. If you haven't had a chance, they're linked there. Please check them out. Josh really helped us with this and did a great job. But this is where students feel seen, they're valued and then connected with schools. At the secondary level students had opportunities to participate in experiences such as the Indiana Latino Institute where they got to attend an education summit and college and career fair at the Century Center. We've also seen some powerful examples of student achievement and ownership in learning. One example we wanted to highlight was the where the English learners from the freshman division reading their own personal stories to second and third grade students at Maryback and moments like these really demonstrate not only language growth but confidence, leadership
020and pride in their accomplishments. And as you can see from the increasing rates of students reaching proficiency, our number of students exiting EL service continues to grow and students are even earning the certificate of multilingual proficiency celebrating high levels of bilingualism and biliteracy. Our English learners continue to demonstrate resilience, growth, achievement across the district. That's important because this work is not simply about exiting students. It's really about ensuring students gain the the language skills that are needed to fully access those opportunities and then achieve academically and then also thrive for the future. So through strong instruction, targeted supports and meaningful family engagement, we are building systems that are helping multilingual learners thrive. We're proud of the progress being made, have an amazing team they're here tonight. We're grateful for the dedication of our staff and
021families and excited about the direction that we're headed in as more and more students achieve English proficiency. Any questions? >> Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. >> Next we have exceptional learners. >> Good evening, Board President Scott, Mrs. Reese, and members of the board and community. >> Um my name is Lindsey Brander. I'm the director of student services and exceptional learners. Um tonight I'm just going to give you a kind of a a high-level overview of exceptional learners and the student population we serve. So, we have 2,087 students with disabilities in our school corporation. Most of our students receive um their services their support services in a regular um classroom setting. Some of our students, about 5% require more individualized services and a specialized curriculum. Our department goals for this year were to develop to develop
022and implement a comprehensive training plan to ensure compliance in writing individual education plans. I'll mention it in a second, but um special education is really bound up by law, the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act. And so, it is very important that we are writing compliant IEPs, not only for the legality of it, but also because they are best practice for supporting students with disabilities. Um the Indiana Department of Education was very gracious to switch a program on us this year. And so, the program that we wrote our IEPs in, our individual education plans with every student with a disability has to have one of those, um they completely changed the system and it was all new. So, we took this opportunity this year to uh train staff on as we're training them to write
023each section within the new system, we're trying we were training them on how to write legally compliant IEPs as well. Um we've also worked to improve tier three behavioral interventions. So, this would be individualized supports for student behavior. For students uh resulting in a decrease in disruptive behaviors and out-of-school suspensions for students with disabilities. Um we worked really hard with this. It can be very challenging. >> [clears throat] >> Often managing student behavior is a lot about adult behavior. So getting people to be reflective in how they're engaging with students, um working through the de-escalation process, and then really thinking critically about what is the student trying to communicate to us with their behavior with the goal of being reducing interfering behaviors that interfere with the learning of others and the student. Um so a
024a little very small history lesson. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which was recertified in 2004, we support students with disabilities from ages 3 to 22. Um we are required to. It starts with something called Child Find, which is a mandate in the law that states we have a legal duty to actively look for, identify, and evaluate children who may have disabilities that that need specialized services that live within our district boundaries. Um I don't know when you hear disabilities, I think everybody has their own view of what that might mean, but there is a difference between a um educational disability and a medical disability. So per the law, there are 13 different disability categories where a student can be uh qualify for special education services. Um the Individual Education Plans or the IEPs
025are written to provide accommodations, modifications, goals, and services to support the individual student needs based on their disability, and to help uh them progress through the um standardized curriculum. When a student hits about 13, 14 years old, we also do transition planning for them within their IEP. Uh and this is to assist with are they going to continue their education post high school? Are they going to go to college? What does that look like for a student with this disability? Do they need to learn job skills? Are they going into the workforce once they graduate? And then for our students with um significant cognitive needs, what do independent living skills look like for them? So we offer what's called a continuum of supports, and that is where we support students through their entire educational process
026within Elkhart Community Schools starting in preschool, which you will hear more about from Megan and Meredith. Um in preschool, we offer um we in our preschool program students students learn pre-academic and pro-social skills based on their needs. We're kind of teaching them how to do school so they can access school when they get a little older. In our young adult program, which was on is on the other end of the age scale, um students learn job skills, looking for and maintaining work. They learn how to navigate the community, maybe taking public transportation, um and independent skills like grocery shopping. We have the incredible opportunity for our students um within Elkhart Community Schools that is very unique to learn and manage uh to learn the management and operation of a business through our Heart City Coffee
027Company. I don't know if anybody's ever heard of it. It's pretty famous around here. Um Tracy Wyrick and Ashley Townsend do a phenomenal job with that, and they are everywhere. Um so, if you guys stop by the farmers market, I think that's back open or it's it's out in They're there every week. Um and then I do have kind of a prepared thing that I was told to say for this one for Unified Sports cuz I asked a clarifying question of uh our our coaches. I I think one of the greatest things about our uh about Elkhart Community Schools is the opportunity for inclusion that we offer all of our students. Um one ways that we do this is for through our Unified Sports programs. So, this pairs students with significant disabilities with um buddies
028or athletes that are um that do not have disabilities, and they participate in these programs together. Um we currently have Unified Flag Football, Unified Cornhole, and Unified Track. And this Let me pull out my cuz I did ask uh Coach Shelley and Coach Bartley. We have won we are for 2024 and 2025 we were the unified track state champions. We are currently have 61 students on unified track. We also have applied classes that include applied US history that have 11 students who have intense interventions need so they do receive a different curriculum but we also want to encourage inclusion so they participate in that class with their peers. And then Chris Bartley said that he was being modest. Mr. Shealy when he shared that information with him. We also won the state championship in 2018.
029At least three of our former track participants who are participants as students here at Elkhart Community Schools have continued on with coaching including one of our current special education teachers Mr. Brian Ketcham. Who after graduating college realized he wanted to be a special education teacher. We have several current track team members as students who are going on to become special education teachers themselves after high school. And many of our seniors have commented that they hope their college has a unified program. So I think the work that we're doing here is pretty spectacular. And that's it. That's all I have. Any questions? >> Great presentation. >> Quick question for you. There's a a significant number of students with disabilities 2087. >> Yes. >> So so there's a lot. How often are IEPs looked at and and
030how often are they you know kind of adjusted for as a student transitions through their modality or their experiences that sort of thing. Um >> Really best practice as often as needed minimally once a year. Minimally once a year we're required to look at IEPs you know and annual case reviews that's what they're called where we look at the students present level. We look at their goals to ensure that they're making progress on their goals and really best practices we are looking at their goals all the time. We are working toward their goals. We're ensuring that they're making their goals and when they reach those benchmarks, we are meeting as a team, we're evaluating the need to change the goals. So, it really And parents can call IEP meetings. Schools can call it. So, anytime
031there's a change. So, most students have them multiple times a year. >> Are the parents involved in the at least in the annual piece of it? >> They are involved in every. They should be. They're a required There are per the law, there are required team members. It's parents, it's teacher of record, and a public agency representative. So, yes. They are very involved. And that's the goal is to We are We are coming together as a multi-disciplinary team to build out a plan to support the child through their education. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we have uh Hawthorne. >> [clears throat] >> Good evening. Good evening, members of the board. Mrs. Reese, we're here to talk about Hawthorne Early Learning Center. Do I just click it? Just arrow? >> I think this
032one. >> Oh. Okay. Thank you. Um at the beginning of this year, we decided at heart Hawthorne Early Learning Center to come up with a vision vision statement. We combined all of our thoughts and goals and put them into four bulleted pieces. Support our community, provide a nurturing and inclusive environment, build a strong educational foundation for children and families, and honor unique strengths, needs, and backgrounds. This is the district's early childhood framework 25-26. We've been doing this for 4 years. If you look at the table, you can see that we have four PACE classrooms at Hawthorne. We have multiple sites in the community that we also service with SLPs and teachers. We have a PACE pals, which is speech and language, that are three classrooms that happen one time a week. We have four title
033one general ed pre-K classrooms, and we have four Head Start classrooms combined together, we have 420 students, and there are four additional Head Start classrooms at other sites. Next year we'll be combining them together, and we'll have around 350 at our new site. What makes this framework beneficial? In the past, we used to have our early learning sites all over the district, but now we have them together, so we can sort of modify and make a cookie-cutter kind of approach to the educational needs of the students. So, I'm going to give you a couple of examples. If a student is attending Head Start for 2 years, we can have them attend Head Start, but the next year maybe they need more rigor or a different kind of curriculum, we can move them into the title
034one program. So, not only are they experiencing Head Start for 2 years, they're experiencing title one, which is a different kind of format. This year we >> [clears throat] >> This year we have students in the PACE program that maybe have been in the program 2 to 3 years, and they need a little more of a challenge or they need to get ready for kindergarten, so we move them into the title one program, and they get more rigorous activities and they get to be able to be more prepared for kindergarten being in the general ed program. Another example is just sort of a hybrid approach. We have a student right now that's attending PACE half the day and title one half the day, so it's we're seriously making an individualized program for each student, and
035we wouldn't be able to do that if they were spread out to different different buildings. Looking at the staffing, there are four general ed preschools teachers and title one four peer professionals, one title one PACE education teacher that goes between the classrooms, one special education para that's part-time, a librarian, a title one secretary, and a shared translator that works between pace and title one. The Head Start staff has a district liaison, myself, and then they have You can read through what they also have. Next year, you'll times that by two at the new site. Okay, diving into Indiana I-Ready I-Ready is the standardized test for preschoolers ages 3 to 5 in special ed programs. If you look to the left, the grading scale is from A all the way to level five. A is beginning
036stage. Level five is end of kindergarten. So, what we want to see amongst the students is level three and four by the end of pre-K. If you look at the social foundations of I-Ready, you can see that there is beginning of the year middle of the year data. We are testing on six domains. Tonight, I'm just going to highlight three of them. Social foundations refers to how they interact with peers, how they respond to outside outside stimuli, if they feel uncomfortable around loud noises. There's a what they call SKBs. So, there's a rating scale based on the A through five where you place the child in the I-Ready score. We use I-Ready for special ed differently than we do title one. I-Ready for pace is to help guide um IEPs and progress goals and outcomes.
037It's given over the whole timeline of the child being there. They're not expect There's not set windows for I-Ready for pace. However, I sprout for title one, you can set windows and then gather group data. So, if you look to the right, the social foundations domain, if you look at the beginning of the year, they're further down A through D, but if as you look at middle of the year, they're going towards the goal of three and four, which is the end of preschool, beginning of kindergarten. If you look at language and literacy, that's another domain that's more foundational skills to academic skills. And as you can see at the beginning of the year, they were more at the A through D level, but as you go on from middle of the year, you can
038see the change and how there's even some that are at the end of kindergarten at level five. Same with mathematical, you see them in level blue at the beginning of the year, they're at the ACD level. As they get more experience throughout the year, the middle of the year, they're at the goal level near three, four, and five. So, they're growing as they go, we see growth and that's exactly what we want to see with the I sprout data. We'll do end of the year, we're doing that right now, so that will be added onto the to the graph, the table graph. Um to wrap it up, some of the stuff that title one does, Megan's going to talk more about pace and deep dive into that. Title one is we're always bringing members of
039the community, and we just are doing the career unit of tools of the mind, so there's the fire station came to visit, same with the police officers, and there's a camping thing going on, so they're fishing at centers and building tents and pretending to roast marshmallows with their fellow students. Do you have any questions for me? About preschool, title one, pace. Megan is going to give us more of a deep dive into the pace program. Any questions? Okay. Megan. >> Thank [clears throat] you. Good evening, President Scott, members of the board, Mrs. Reese, and community members. My name is Megan Ann Agnos, and I am the coordinator of preschool special education. As Meredith had said, I'll continue our presentation on PACE. Um PACE is our developmental preschool, and it stands for preschool assisting children's education.
040Um I'll go ahead and let you guys kind of read over all of the staff that we do have at PACE. Um this year we organized our first-ever family night, um which was an event which focused on growth. We had different four different groups of parents, or we organized them into four different groups, and then we had them go around the school and go to four different stations. And they were different functional stations that were supporting students and families both at home and in school. We also had six different community resources for the families, and then each of the children that were there were able to get a free They were able to pick out a free library book from the book bus that came from the Elkhart Public Library. We had 138 RSVPs with
04136 different families, and of those 27 families attended, making just over 100 people at our family night. Um something unique to PACE is our sensory-friendly haircut days. Those are organized by our occupational therapists in partnership with volunteer community hairdressers, and these are free haircuts that are provided for preschool students who have IEPs who experience sensory concerns. The program began in March of 2024-25. We had um I think a couple of days then and we completed um 21 successful haircuts. >> [laughter] >> And then this year we expanded the program and we had dates in October and also in March and we provided 55 additional haircuts. So over the past two years we have had 76 successful sensory friendly haircuts. I just want to demonstrate to you guys here is a little guy with his before.
042And then his during. And that is the same little boy afterwards. >> [laughter] >> Wow. >> So. Over well it's been more than five years Pace has been around much longer but the data up here is over the past five years and it shows our consistent referral and evaluation process. Our annual referrals range from 225 to referrals every year on an annual basis. And about 84 to 86% of those referrals result in evaluations. So on an annual basis Pace is completing anywhere from 190 to 225 evaluations. Those referrals come from multiple sources including First Steps, parent [clears throat] referrals, doctor referrals, community screenings and move-ins. The evaluations include both speech and language evaluations and also our multi-disciplinary team. The multi-disciplinary team includes a school psychologist, a speech and language therapist, a special education teacher, physical
043therapist and occupational therapist if all of those members are needed depending on what the students needs are. And they complete the evaluations in an arena style model where the specialists collaborate together in one session to assess the child through play based observation and interaction. The team-based approach reduces repeated testing, supports families, and allows for a more comprehensive understanding of each child's needs. Another aspect that we have worked really hard on over the past couple years is strengthening um the transition to kindergarten. So, we have worked on strengthening our relationships between preschool and kindergarten staff, as well as increasing the appreciation for kindergarten expectations for students. Um it is a big jump from preschool to kindergarten, and we do realize that, and we are working really hard at trying to um make the children as successful
044as possible for their transition to kindergarten. So, in January, we start this process with our district elementary special education coaches coming over to observe our students who are transitioning to kindergarten, followed by mild and/or intensive staff coming over to observe the children. Um that's usually in February or March. Then we complete virtual multidisciplinary team meetings in March and April, and we could did that this year with all nine of our elementaries where these students will be transitioning. And then finally, it ends in the transition conference, which takes place at the receiving elementary school, um and it's the whole team um from well, the team members from PACE, and then the team members who are involved for the elementary school and the families. So, the families get to kind of meet some of the um staff
045who are at the elementary and see the new elementary school. And this year we are transitioning um 105 students from our PACE program to kindergarten. And sorry, those were just kind of images um of the students having their kindergarten readiness skills in action. And then finally, our PLC data. This year we decided to separate our PLC data into mild and intense needs to target more individual needs and growth. Um as you can see from the graph here for our students with more mild needs, they have had strong progress across all three PLC goals measured so far this school year with 80 to 90% of those students meeting benchmark expectations in following directions, expressive communication, and counting. And then students with um more intense needs have also shown high levels of success in self-regulation and attentiveness
046and persistence with most students meeting those expectations in quarter one and quarter two. And while progress in social interaction remains an area of slightly greater challenge, the majority of the students are still meeting those goals and staff are continuing continuing to strengthen targeted supports in those areas. And that is just a picture of all the cuteness that we have at Pace. Does anyone have any questions? >> The one comment I made is uh I saw the picture where it said uh teaching appropriate movement throughout the schools. I was wondering uh maybe you could uh do that at our middle schools, you know, just >> [laughter] >> as a as a little refresher you know, when they transition into middle school. >> Exactly. >> [laughter] >> Thank you. >> Questions? Thank you. >> Thanks. >> All
047right, next Roosevelt. Welcome. >> Just hit the arrow to go to the next slide. Okay. Good evening, President Scott, Mrs. Reese, board members, and community. I'm Shannon Stanley, the interim interim principal at Roosevelt STEAM Academy, and I'm joined by Clyde Riley, our assistant principal. We're grateful to be here, and thank you for the opportunity to share the story of Roosevelt. Every morning, we begin our day with the morning announcements, which include reciting the Roosevelt motto together. Our motto reminds students of their value, their potential, and the importance of the work they do each day. These next few slides will share our academic data. We will begin with Acadience. Our end-of-the-year data in Acadience shows encouraging growth. This chart highlights the growth we saw across our primary grade levels. Many students in kindergarten, first, and second
048grade were able to move from at proficiency to above proficiency, or from below proficiency to at or above proficiency. This progress reflects strong collaboration between our K2 teachers and our literacy coach. Teachers have worked very hard to implement instructional strategies learned in letters training, and they have also been progress monitoring students every 2 weeks and provided targeted interventions to ensure students are receiving the support they need to continue improving. Our current I-Ready data shows a pass rate of 56% after the first round of testing. Last year, our final pass rate was 76%, which was a reflection of proficiency after summer school interventions and three rounds of testing. We are optimistic that this number will continue to grow as students participate in May and June testing sessions. Our teachers are currently providing targeted reading instruction and
049intervention for students who have not yet passed, and we are closely monitoring their progress. Our goal is to meet or exceed last year's results and continue working toward our goal of an 80% pass rate. Our ILEARN results provide important insight into student performance and guide our instruction. The graph you see showcases the data from the 24-25 school year. We are looking forward to seeing our data for this year. The summative data, along with the ILEARN checkpoint data, help us to identify areas of need and where to focus our efforts. Staff are strengthening tier one instruction, providing targeted interventions, and closely monitoring student progress on checkpoints throughout the year. We continue to focus on foundational literacy and math skills and use data to guide instruction as we work to increase proficiency across all grade levels. Our
050WIDA data shows encouraging progress for our English learners. In the 24-25 school year, 80% of our EL students demonstrated measurable growth in their English language development. And our current preliminary data shows students continuing to build their language skills. Based on the data, we focused additional support in our upper grade levels where gaps were identified. Teachers have been collaborating weekly with the EL district team during our PLC time. They have been receiving professional development to strengthen daily instruction, and we have hosted family literacy nights to support language development at home. These targeted supports are helping us continue moving our EL students towards proficiency. This slide showcases culminating activities in our reading classrooms. Our teachers have been utilizing our new CKLA curriculum to create engaging activities centered around unit themes. Our attendance rate continues to trend upwards
051reflecting the strong efforts of both staff and students. Currently, our year-to-date attendance rate is 95%. This is compared to 94% at the end of 2024-2025 and 90% in 2022-2023. We are very proud of this upward trend in student attendance. To encourage this positive momentum, classes with perfect attendance are announced and recognized daily. Quarterly attendance incentives also provide additional motivation and recognition for students who are maintaining strong attendance habits. This picture shows the school's attendance bulletin board where attendance data is displayed weekly so staff and students can easily track progress and celebrate improvements. We are excited to share our behavior data has shown positive trend for our school. Last year, we had a total of 401 office behavior referrals. Currently, we have 280 referrals, which is a 30% decrease in behavior referrals. This reflects our continued
052focus on proactive behavior supports and reinforcing positive student behavior. We use several school-wide strategies to support this work, including pride bucks, classroom incentives, and school-wide recognitions, such as the positive pink slip, the golden spatula award, and quarterly incentives for students with no office referrals. These consistent systems are helping build a positive school culture and contributing to the continued reduction in behavior referrals. This slide highlights some of the behavior and attendance incentives that I mentioned in the previous slide. Roosevelt's full-service community school grant after school programming has proven to have a positive impact on our student learning. Students are provided targeted academic support that help improve their literacy skills and overall academic success through the read, act, create sessions. As you can see, 53% of our students are on track academically. In addition to the positive
053academic impacts, after school programming helps promote strong attendance, positive behavior, and meaningful community connections. After school programming allows us to continue building relationships with people from the historic Roosevelt community. In fact, all of the staff members who facilitate sessions and after school programming live in the community that we serve. And these pictures highlight the academic supports provided through the after school programming. If you will notice, we have um 20 minutes designated for reading, 20 minutes designated for writing, and then 20 minutes where they um share what they've created. So, if we break that down into support through our WIDA domain, that covers all four domains in the WIDA assessment. And we also have um after-school tutoring for homework help. Thank you for this opportunity to highlight a few things that are happening at Roosevelt. And
054do you have any questions? >> What? No. >> I just want to commend uh Shannon and Clyde. Uh they stepped in uh when we had the departure of our um past principal, and they did it with grace and uh I I just can't even come up with the words. Grace and um willingness to just um put best for put put their feet Oh, golly, I can't even talk tonight. I am very sorry. Shannon, I'm really messing this up. I apologize. Um you put both feet forward, and you did it um well. Um these two have done an outstanding job this year, and I wanted to thank them both. >> Thank you. It's been a privilege. Thank you. Have a good night. >> [clears throat] >> Uh last uh we have Oslo. >> Good evening, President
055Scott, Mrs. Reese, board members, and community. I am Heather Burden, extremely proud principal of Oslo Elementary School. Um I have with me my assistant principal, Kendra Clayton. And we're grateful to have this opportunity to highlight um Oslo Elementary School. So, this is our mission. Um we prepare and motivate students to reach their best academically, socially, and emotionally. Um, and we do this in ways of our monthly award ceremonies that are extremely well attended by our Oslo families and supported. Um, we celebrate academics as well as our monthly pride skills. Um, we also, um, have our fifth graders that, um, are awarded our student of the month. In fact, today we just awarded our student of the year award. So, our staff, student, and parent collaboration, our Title I family nights, and music programs are extremely
056well attended. Um, given our large E&L percentage, we strive to make our programs and events inclusive. Um, we had a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration that was extremely well attended. Our music programs are standing rooms only and are highly anticipated by our school community, which we are extremely proud of. Our staff and students, um, we make sure we celebrate our students and give them the opportunities to show pride of being a Bobcat. So, we do have our spirit weeks. Um, given that Oslo is part of the consolidation plan, I am extremely, um, proud of our community and staff students for maintaining high morale during this time. Um, they are resilient and they are extremely excited about the future. So, our I commend our staff and students for, um, getting our students excited of what's to come.
057Um, our merging with Pinewood has been a positive experience. Um, we did visit Pinewood and and took our students over and it was a wonderful experience. Um, while they have expressed their sorrow for the consolidation, they are enthusiastic to continue their educational journey with their friends and many of our staff members. And I have to give our hats off to our staff who really have encouraged and made them absolutely excited and Pinewood bringing us in and it was it was wonderful. So, they're extremely excited. >> [laughter] [gasps] >> So, this is our 2025-2026 school goals. We are expecting to see an increase. We're hoping to see an increase by 8.6% of our I-Read pass rate. We're hoping to see a 8% increase in our ELA and a 6.8% increase in math proficiency. Proficiency. I can't
058talk now. I apologize. >> [laughter] >> It's been a long day. >> [gasps] >> All right. So, here is our I-Read data. This is from 2024 and then 2025. As you can see, our second graders made an increase from 34% to 50% passing. Um so, that was a 16% increase. Our third grade went from a 68.2% to 76.4%. We are hoping for our 80%, but we got really close and we're excited for this year's results. All right. Our I-Learn ELA and math um this was from 2024-2025 where we left off at. We did see an increase in math from the previous year. Um so, as identified it by our guiding coalition, um we're hoping to increase by the 8% and 6.8%. [laughter] We did have a WIDA slide that we were very excited about our
059information, but we need to keep that to ourselves right now. But, we are seeing some extremely positive results [clears throat] um from our previous year that we are extremely excited about. So, we're seeing that growth there. Uh student attendance. So, this is a percentage of students with at least a 94% attendance rate. Um as you can see and um a grow across those subgroups, we have seen increases in all of those areas. Okay. So, our action plan that we have been working for for in this school year, um where we have been a huge focus on our improving our tier one instruction. Um consistent implementation of our tier two and tier three supports, um fully supporting district curriculum and expectations. Um So, today actually we shared out uh the district's vision for instruction alignment, and
060we felt validated that we have been doing that at Oslo. Um while it's difficult to shift curriculum, um our staff has been held accountable. Um they have a done wonderful job um keeping up with those district expectations. Um so, just to provide some consistency from this year going into next year with those expectations. Our final farewell is Thursday, May 14th, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Turnout, community turnout. We've had a lot of phone calls and expressed um interest in joining in us. Um so, we hope to see some of you there. And of course, once a Bobcat, always a Bobcat. Um and we will hold that in our hearts, and um we're just extremely positive about our merge with Pinewood. So. do you have any questions? >> I just like to say that uh >>
061[clears throat] >> regarding the merger and I know it's an emotional uh time for you guys and and I'm I'm thrilled to hear that the students uh and the staff uh and the teachers are all staying positive and engaged uh but I think I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge what I feel and I think everybody would agree with me the causal connection to that and it starts with leadership and it starts with you guys. And so, I want to say thank you for staying positive uh with that and that positivity flowing throughout your your staff, your teachers, and students. Uh like I said, I know it's a uh an emotional uh time. Uh it's a hard time, but thank you for your professionalism and uh uh passing that along and and I too am
062am looking forward to to the future. There there you have a great staff and you got great students there and uh you said they're you know, they're resilient and they are and they're going to do great. So, so so thank you for your leadership in that respect. >> Thank you. I appreciate it. >> And President Scott, I couldn't say it any better. I probably minced my words and flub them up again, but uh these two have been resilient in that and very positive um and that's that is why we're seeing what we're seeing at Oslo. Um so, hats off to the two of you and thank you for all that you do. You do know that I appreciate you and all that you've been doing this year um because it has been difficult um and
063we will definitely see you there Thursday night. >> Thank you. >> Okay, with 2 minutes to spare, um that will end our public work session. We'll reconvene I'd say in 5 uh for our board meeting. Thank you. >> Mhm. >> If everybody uh could take your seats, I'd like to uh get the Is my mic on? >> I don't know. That's what I thought. >> Yeah, I don't know. Thank you for all coming out to the May 12th, 2026 Elkhart Community School uh board meeting. At this time, I'd like to call the board meeting uh to order. And if you'd please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. >> I could tell. >> Can you tell? >> I love the Pledge of Allegiance. >> I love the Pledge of >> Ellie, um you love the Pledge
064of Allegiance. >> I do. I do. >> And now you have the opportunity to cite the Elkhart Promise. >> All right. The Elkhart Promise. Every student is known by name, challenged and supported by highly effective staff, and in partnership with the community will graduate career college ready and life ready. >> Ellie. >> You are welcome. >> Next we have our invitation to speak protocol. Everybody should uh who wanted to speak should received uh one of these pamphlets. Little section here to fill out, your name, date, um Do you have a uh student in Elkhart Community Schools, a few questions to fill out, uh and your topic. Please give those to Dora. Um when your name is called, uh please step to the microphone. Um you will have 3 minutes uh to uh uh speak on
065any agenda or non-agenda item um during this time. So, please announce your name and relationship to Elkhart Community Schools. Um because of the Family Rights and Privacy Act, I've got to say this every time that we will not uh publicly discuss personnel or personal student issues uh during this public comment time. So, if you have anything that relates to a personnel or a personal student issue, um this is not uh the the place to discuss that. Um we we can't interact with you. Uh we can't uh make comments. And so, we find that when the situation's like that, um it's it's not uh the best um place to do that. You should work through uh if it's a personnel issue, HR, or student issue, uh the you know, teacher in the chain of command through
066the uh uh building principal and so forth. So, at this time, Dora. Are they in any particular order? Okay. All right. Um We'll go first with uh Kelly Hennings Tucker. >> [cough] >> I'm sorry, Dr. Kelly Hennings Tucker. >> Good evening, members of the board. My name is Dr. Kelly Hennings Tucker, and tonight I stand before you not just as an educator, an advocate, a pastor, or a foster parent, but as someone who personally understands what it feels like to be navigating systems that aren't designed to see you, to hear you, or to protect you. I was in first grade community schools integrated and needless to say it was traumatic. I remember what it felt like to walk in the spaces that were not prepared for me. Um I wasn't welcome. I wasn't wanted. It
067was full of fear. There was isolation, lots of misunderstanding, and survival techniques in place. I can say tonight carefully that the only thing worse than being a black child in a all white school in 1985 is being a foster child with an IEP in Elkhart Community Schools in 2026. Today, the children are layered with trauma, and I'm speaking on behalf of three children in particular. Two with autism, one with profound hearing loss, one that's nonverbal, one born substance exposed, children who have survived foster care, parental incarceration, addiction, instability, neglect, surgeries, transitions, and systems who continue to move slower than the needs required by these children. And the fact of the matter is their educational records matter, even though they're not updated accordingly. Their dignity matters, their safety matters, and their futures are shaped by the
068decisions that you make in this room. So, with that being said, I'm deeply concerned at the repeated failures involving communication, IEP implementation, proper documentation, transportation decisions, hygiene, and medical accommodations within the PACE program specifically, but it's not limited to there because I've had issues at Woodlawn this year as well. So, with that in mind, to have a child with profound hearing loss and have a magnet pull a device off this head in the classroom, that would be an unsafe learning environment and I've been ignored. I've been transferred from person to person and at the end of the day, I shouldn't then have to go home to a child with yarn so close two days in a row from another situation and another child with an outdated IEP that has not been updated since the 2024-25
069school year. All of these things are inappropriate and negligent. So, trauma-informed care is not just a slogan. It's not a training module that you teach at the beginning of a school year. It's not a buzzword for grant funding and considering that foster children who have IEPs generate the most income in a community that are already having budget cuts within the school system, you would think that they get the best and most appropriate care. We can't continue to call them exceptional learners if we're giving them poor care to say the very least. And so, with that in mind, you have to understand the frustration of a parent that has to stand in the courtroom, give explanations to CASAs, to caseworkers, to judges, and to bio parents about the treatment of their child and you don't have
070a good explanation because the communication from building to building, staff to staff is not good and it's not sufficient. So, please be mindful that there are children who are in need of services, who need us to step up and do a better job. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Krista Hennings. >> Good morning, good evening, everyone. I'm the much more logical sister, just in case anybody need to know that. >> [laughter] >> She really truly is usually the calm one. Um for me this evening, I want to talk about kind of the grow-your-own. Um in this system for years we've talked about had the grow your own model. In 1994, which is the class that I graduated from Elkhart Community Schools, the exploratory teaching class was kind of used as the model. 14
071of the 15 of us were going to college at different universities for education. Of that 14, I was the only one that returned to Elkhart. Two weeks ago I asked Chat GPT for the first time since some people use it all the time. I asked Chat GPT about the phrase grow your own and what it meant when discussing education. It said it usually means developing leadership and talent from within your own district or community instead of hiring outsiders. Chat GPT then said, "Did I want it to polish the statement before I printed it?" So I clicked that because for those people who don't know me, well, I didn't want to seem disrespectful this evening. It then said being a leader means grow your own, train your people, bring them through your system, teach them what
072it is that they need to know to function with you. For me, being a natural leader, no matter where I've been, where I'm placed, directly reflects this community and the school system. I'm 50 and the only time that I have not been in Elkhart Community is the five years that I was in Allen County at IPFW playing basketball. So truly I am who you produce. Um During this time though for me it's like we are people who have children in places, whether it's the school, athletics, with choice, people can truly now send their kids wherever they want to send them. How do we regrow our own? As we transition from superintendent to superintendent to building leader to who's coming into our buildings, whether they migrate from Chicago, Detroit, foreign countries, or even Shipshewana. A seed
073can be planted and grow into a flower. A bee can take the pollen and spread it as far as possible, but when the original flower stops growing and the soil has no nutrients left in it, the next spring will the flower regrow. I have a ninth grade student currently with a 3.69 GPA. I also have a son who graduated 2 years ago. He's private first class in the army currently. Thank you to the ROTC program for the 4 years he spent there. I have adopted other children and taken in many more. Eventually, the rule of 85 will hit and this flower will be no more for Elkhart Community Schools. Maybe no one will care, maybe some will. As a grandchild of the first black police officer in Elkhart, these shoulders were built to carry a
074lot. Every year I try to grow my own and mold them others into be something that Elkhart Community Schools can say is their own and teach them the processes. Sometimes, as a minority in the system for over 25 years, you are called on by many in the community um for educational answers, whether it's elementary, secondary, athletics, or just how to navigate what a case conference should look like and feel like. Often, I find myself defending the system that grew me and hardened by it at the same time. I am for the students, for the community, and for Elkhart Community Schools, but people have to realize that there are lots of things that never get this far out because there's not trust in the community. This year this year, I have started using my EAP visits
075because as I had conversations I felt that loyalty is not honored. I have even had a conversation with a school board member that talked about pity interviews and years of service not really mattering. Sometimes people don't see the face and the face of the system because you haven't proven yourself. As we move forward, less and less Elkhart faces are getting paychecks every 2 weeks that say Elkhart Community Schools and then those faces won't bring their children to us and then what? Maybe the faces won't grow. But as you sit here, it's your job to figure out how to help us regrow Elkhart Community Schools. Thank you. >> [applause] >> NEXT WE HAVE GABRIELLA MADRIGAL. DID I say that correctly? >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> Hello, my name is Gabriella. I am a parent of
076Elkhart Community Schools. Um two kids in this in the system. Um and I come to you because I am wondering when the student parent handbook was replaced. Um so as you guys know, my child was searched and then I went to the board. I came to the board with proof that, you know, guidelines were not done correctly. So this is what I use for that reference. This is what's currently there. It has nothing that says how searches are done, any of the other stuff that was in there. This note is no longer there. This is what's replaced. Um so my kid got her phone taken away, which I agree with. You know, phones have no reason to be in the classroom. And I understand that the new law did pass and so I understand that,
077you know, she's not to have her phone. She understands that, too. We talked about it, but when I asked the principal what the policy was, he couldn't tell me what I had originally read in the student handbook. He told me the current policy, which is not what I had read at the beginning of the year or what was given to parents or what we signed up our kids under. So, again, along with everybody that has spoken, no transparency, lack of communication, no accountability. I'm still waiting for a report on my child that was searched. I've asked for it numerous times. I still haven't gotten one as to what happened. I got a meeting, which again, I was thankful for and I thank you again, but I was never told what exactly happened. I did speak
078with the translator within the meeting and she never admitted to it. She actually said, "If somebody would do that to my kid." And I have that in recording. I have it in recording if you want to hear it. I would be pissed. So, I'm trying so hard as a parent to communicate with you guys, but I don't reciprocate that back. You guys do not reciprocate that back. And every time we come, oh, it's a new superintendent. Oh, it's a new policy. Oh, it's a new this. Oh, it's a new that. When you guys call CPS on parents, we cannot defend ourselves. You guys literally have two lawyers here most of the time. Two. You're cutting paychecks on teachers >> Yes. >> and you can afford two lawyers here? Isn't that some I'm sorry for using
079that those words. >> refrain. >> But isn't that some crap? We need a We need to change We need to change everything. And I'm sorry for using that language, but I'm sorry. Something has to give. Thank you. [clears throat] >> [applause] >> Uh Rachel Van Olstine. >> Rachel. My name is Rachel Van Olstine >> [sighs and gasps] >> and I'm here tonight as both a parent and advocate for my son who has endured bullying, retaliation, emotional harm, unsafe school environments and systemic neglect within ECS since kindergarten. And he is now a freshman. This is not simply a communication issue. This is a pattern of obstruction, refusal to respond, failure to document incidents involving my child, and ongoing violations of my parental rights under FERPA and Indiana law. Since 2022, I have repeatedly requested accurate incident
080documentation related to my son, including bullying and abusive incidents involving students, as well as bullying and staff misconduct involving two ECS staff members. Despite years of meetings and emails and formal requests, incomplete records were sent to me by certified mail in January of 2026. They still do not contain all documented incidents involving my child. I formally requested corrected record records, investigative findings, and a FERPA hearing to challenge inaccurate documentation. Instead of transparency, I received silence. Former Superintendent Dr. Huff stopped responding to my direct inquiries in November of '24. Despite dozens of emails regarding my son's safety, mental health, and missing records, this board allowed that behavior to go unchecked as two of you sitting here are included in all of the emails. In February, I also emailed current Superintendent Ms. Reese requesting a formal meeting,
081and as of today, I've yet to receive a response. ECS also failed to ensure continuity of agreed-upon mental health services for my son despite documented suicidal ideation concerns and prior written agreements regarding therapeutic supports. I repeatedly warned the district, verbally and in writing, the lack of action was placing my son at risk. I also want to address false statements made to DCS during an active investigation by Lindsey Brander. Lindsey made statements contradicting documented evidence regarding my son's safety and educational history. >> We we can we cannot have you using uh names of uh staff or personnel during this this time, so please refrain going forward, and you have 35 seconds. >> Okay. Well, >> [sighs] >> I also want to formally address the independent investigation that began in May of '24 at my request. ECS's
082attorney previously indicated the investigative summary would be completed by December of '25. However, the report remains pending as additional extensions continue to be requested. Tonight, I am formally requesting that this board provide a public deadline on record for completion of this investigative findings. And for those who question why I've not simply pulled my son from ECS, this is our community. I was born and raised here. I started at Mary Beck, and I graduated from Memorial. My daughter graduated from here. We should not have to leave our schools to protect our children. Tonight I am publicly requesting accurate educational records, full compliance with FERPA and Indiana law, a formal review of that staff member's conduct and false statements to DCS, a public deadline for the investigative report, and a corrective action plan by this board regarding
083this my last sentence. A corrective action plan by this board regarding its own negligence to be made public to the community prior to next school year. You said here, sir, that you didn't want to hear parents speak and to address this. Y'all have ghosted me since February. You are bringing us here, and I'm going to come here to every meeting until you look at me as a mother and you handle this Period. >> Again, language, please. >> Don't tell me about language. >> [applause] >> We have Andrea Hardy left. And I I I do I don't know if I need to remind you that this >> I I'm good. >> Thank you. Good evening, Elkhart community and members of the board. I know that there is a lot of passion in the room tonight, but
084it's because we all care about our children's safety and education. I'm here today as a parent, a graduate, an active community member, and an advocate for current Elkhart Community Schools students. I have been a parent within this district since January 2024. During that time, I have witnessed repeated continuity breakdowns that have affected communication, student support, documentation, and accountability. Both of my children have gaps within their educational records that remain unresolved despite multiple attempts to address them. This has led me to question how student records are being tracked, maintained, and reconciled over time. When concerns are repeatedly lost, fragmented, or left unresolved, parents are left wondering who is ensuring continuity for these children and whether the reported concerns are truly being adequately reviewed. It took nearly 2 years for my oldest son to finally receive an
085IEP evaluation after repeated requests for support. On the very day of his first case conference, he was suspended under a zero tolerance policy that could not be clearly defined identified in district policy documents. With no adult witnesses present, his perspective was never meaningfully considered before his educational access was interrupted. My youngest child entered kindergarten at Mary Daly in 2024. Due to repeated communication failures and a lack of support during moments of need, he was ultimately withdrawn from the district. He re-entered the school system at Roosevelt in August 2025, yet many of the same concerns continued despite meetings, evaluations, and ongoing communication attempts. On April 27th, 2026, I requested that the MTSS team track my son's time spent disengaged from the classroom instruction during the month of May so that I could better understand behavioral patterns
086and possible medical concerns. I even provided a simple pre-made tracking form that required minimal effort to implement. Today, I have not received a response so to that request, and I have only received relevant follow-up information from the school social worker. Earlier this year, I also addressed concerns regarding students being placed on buses they were not assigned to without parent notification. While transportation staff cited staffing shortages, the responsibility for ensuring safe student arrival was ultimately shifted back onto parents. Many families do not have the resources or flexibility to absorb those failures without consequences for their children. I understand that districts across the state are facing significant pressures and challenges, and I believe that many staff mem- members genuinely care about students. However, concern alone cannot replace accountability, continuity, and consistent follow-through. Parents are paying attention. We
087are documenting patterns, and we are still waiting to see meaningful systemic improvements that ensure students do not continue to fall through gaps that should already be addressed. Thank you for this your time. >> THANK YOU. >> [applause] [cough] >> OKAY, THAT IS THE END OF PUBLIC COMMENT. Next we have uh moment of pride. Uh Brendan Scott. >> Good evening, President Scott, Mrs. Reese, school board, and community. My name is Brendan Scott, and I'm proud to share with you this month's moment of pride. On April 24th, students elected new officers for student government. We welcome Cameron Sorry. We welcome Cameron as president, Abby and Gianna as co-vice presidents, and Bren Grazia as secretary, as well as Malia Harris as treasurer. Throughout the last few weeks, the early childhood pathway classes for Mrs. Burkhart have hosted preschool
088half-day sessions. Students come from faculty members, friends, and family. Guest readers and theme days filled the three weeks. In this case, Mr. Schultz read Green Eggs and Ham with all of the voices, then students had the same for the snack. May 2nd was prom at the Century Center with more than 500 students attending. Congratulations to prom queen Madeline and prom king Lewis. On May 4th, Elkhart High School, Elkhart Freshmen Vision, and Elkhart Area Career Center administrators were treated to a to a breakfast of potatoes, fruit, coffee, juice, and donuts sponsored by the sophomore class. Bring Change to Mind. Also on May 4th and additional Mondays, Bring Change to Mind and Student Government provided a table of resources of goodies and support for May's Mental Health Awareness Month. May 4th through 8th is also Teacher Appreciation
089Week. NHS sponsored appreciation events throughout the week that included delivery of flowers, a a coffee bar, gift bags, no cards, and a taco bar on Friday. Transportation also got a treat from the senior class of donuts and coffee. On May 7th, Elkhart High School more than had more than 70 students participating in graduation ceremonies at Ivy Tech. This year, 42 students earned their AGS diploma and 172 earned their ICC diploma. We have more than 900 students enrolled in Ivy Tech. On May 9th, sorry, on May 9th our orchestra placed fourth in state finals against a highly competitive field. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a picture as it had to be submitted before the picture could be added. >> [laughter] >> But then we posted social media. So, now upcoming events. So, there's a lot of athletics.
090May and June is sectionals, regionals, and state finals. School study awards week of May 18th. Senior awards on May 27th. Last day of school May 29th. And graduation June 11th. Thank you, guys. >> Thank you, Brendan. >> Yes. >> [applause] >> All right. This award, we have the Alumni Excellence. >> Good evening, President Scott, members of the board, Mrs. Reese, and our community. Tonight's Alumni of Excellence was a graduate of Elkhart Central, a three-time Olympic medalist, and a world record holder. But before she was standing on a podium in Sydney or Athens, she was a Blue Blazer. It was our pools that she honed her skills and learned the discipline and grit that would eventually take her to the top of the world stage. She's an example of how Elkhart Community Schools provides the foundation
091for our students to achieve anything they can imagine. While she has reached the pinnacle of global sport, she remains one of her own, a true champion, and a proud alumna of excellence. Please join me in watching the journey of tonight's Alumni of Excellence, Lindsay Mintenko. >> So, uh my name's Lindsay Mintenko. Uh was Lindsay Benko when I was at Elkhart Central High School. Um so, graduated in 1995 from Elkhart Central. Um I'm currently working as a director of corporate and foundation relations at the Air Force Academy Association and Foundation um here in Colorado Springs. Um so, I raise money for the Air Force Academy, um which is an incredibly rewarding position to be in. Uh I just was on the talking with cadets yesterday who are currently working on building structures in space. So, it's
092a pretty you know, with everything going on with in NASA right now, it's it's um >> [music] >> really rewarding to have that opportunity to to be able to work with 18-to-22-year-olds who are going to lead the world um in a few years, [music] right? After my um high school years at Elkhart Central, I went to the University of Southern California. Um swam there for 4 years, was able to win a national championship with the university in 1997, um which was really fun to be a part of. You know, a lot of people don't look at swimming, um, as a team sport and to be able to win a national title with um, my teammates, um, in 1997 was was pretty incredible. Um, just, uh, had the opportunity to watch my daughter win her first
093national, um, championship with the University of Virginia women's swimming, um, this past week and, [music] uh, or 2 weeks ago, I guess. And so, to watch your children do what they love is, honestly, the best [music] gift. To see the smiles on their faces and to be able to support them is is really graduated from the University [music] of Southern California in 1999. And then went on to represent the US at two Olympic Games, [music] um, in 2000 and 2004, um, in the sport of swimming. Was able to win three medals, um, while doing that. And then had the opportunity to coach at University of Southern California for a year and then moved to Colorado Springs with my husband in 2006 [music] and, um, worked at USA Swimming for almost 19 years. Participated in, um,
094five Olympic Games with them, um, as a team leader for five Olympic Games. >> [music] >> So, um, haven't watched the Summer Olympics since 1996 when they were in Atlanta. So, super excited to to watch them, um, in LA in 2028. So, that'll be really fun. Was able to participate in seven Olympic Games, [music] um, either working or or competing. And then stepped away from that role, um, after Paris in 2024, [music] um, just decided that, um, you know, being gone for 6 weeks every summer is, [music] um, it's a lot to take on and so, decided to kind of step away from the sport and, [music] um, sport in general, actually. Now, now working in higher ed development, which is really something I've always wanted to do from day one. Um, so, to have
095this opportunity at the Air Force Academy is is pretty awesome. Just to listen to these young men and women who chose the path of the Academy at 18. To be able to do that is, um, takes a pretty special person and and they are, um, highly intelligent, um, incredibly respectful and I'm very proud to have the opportunity to represent them. Well, first of all, I think um high school is super formative years, right? Um you're learning a lot about yourself, learning a lot about what you want to be, um who you want to be around. Um in in high school. And so, I went to Elkhart Central. Um I grew up um I went to a private grade school and middle school and then um ended up at Elkhart Central. And And for me, having
096the sport um that I had in my [music] sport of swimming to be able to kind of make that transition and get to know people. I didn't had knew very few people when I went into high school. And so, having the sport of swimming really helped me get to know a lot of people and get to kind of spread my wings a little bit. And I think that was really incredibly helpful. I have very fond memories of some amazing teachers when I was at Elkhart Central. And um just the impact they had on me and some of the decisions I made. You know, it was it was a little bit different. You know, they have they have so many people come through their doors, but their [music] support of me and their willing to take
097the time to work with me was was really special. And you know, coming from a family of teachers, [music] right? That um really helped me kind of learn about myself and learn about what I wanted to do and and how I wanted to [music] um hold myself accountable and be present and be a good teammate and be a good friend and be a good student. And >> [music] >> you know, just having that opportunity to work with some amazing teachers was was quite a blessing. Yeah, I mean, I think the best the best advice [music] I you know, and I come you know, I come from a small town Elkhart, right? Like it doesn't matter where you're from. Um you know, and you know, you can be from the big city or you can be
098from from [music] small town and you're you know, as long as you have dreams and goals and work towards those, like that's that's part of your journey. And And being from a small town is is part of my journey. And I And I cherish it. And I am proud of it. And >> [music] >> I'm proud of where I came from. And um proud of the people who have supported me. And Elkhart has has supported me throughout my entire career. And [music] um And it it makes me very proud to be to be um from Elkhart, Indiana, right? [music] And um it's um like I said, it's it's a small town, but um, very supportive and it doesn't matter where you come from. Uh, you can you can do big things and you can do
099great [music] things. >> Make arts and athletics. >> [clears throat] >> First in academics. Health education students at the freshman division presented their the year end semester research projects in a science fair style showcase. Students presented their findings to community volunteers, answered in-depth questions about their topics, demonstrating impressive growth in their research and public speaking skills. And congratulations to Elkhart High School senior seniors Lydia Benjamin and Owen Marks for being awarded the next generation Hoosier educators scholarship. The state honor prep provides up to $10,000 annually for students who commit to teaching in Indiana for at least 5 years after graduation. Lydia plans to attend Purdue University for elementary and special education, while Owen will attend Ball State University for music education. In the area of arts, national music education honor. For our seventh consecutive year,
100Elkhart Community Schools has been named one of the best communities for music education by the NAMM Foundation. This national award recognizes the outstanding commitment of our teachers and the incredible support of our community provides for the arts. During the weekend of April 23rd to the 25th, 379 [snorts] students participated in the Indiana State School Music Association Actually, that was a lot of words. Festivals for high school bands, choirs, and orchestra. This performance evaluated ensembles on technical proficiency and sight reading skills. Every participating district ensemble earned a gold rating with four specific groups, including the freshman division band, the freshman division blue and gold orchestras, and the Elkhart High School Symphonic Band receiving an additional honor of gold with distinction. For athletics, on April 29th, NorthSide Middle School hosted the first-ever Lions Launch for Middle School
101Athletics. This event brought together current fifth through seventh graders to meet coaches and explore sport sports programs, bridging the gap for younger athletes as they prepare prepare for the next level of competition. Also, this past week, the Monger's girls soccer team officially became the 2026 city champions. Congratulations to the players and coaches for a job well done. Some of our future happenings, May 14th is our Unified Champions Game Day and also our Osolo Family and Community Night. May 15th is Woodland's Family and Community Night. The 16th is our district chess tournament. The 21st Mary Beck Family and Community Night. And as always, please be sure to follow our district and school social media pages as we share each day the excellence of Elkhart. >> Thank you, Wendy. Hey, uh next on the agenda, we have
102the consent items. Do I have a motion [clears throat] from the board? >> So moved. >> I have a motion. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Do I have any comments uh regarding the consent agenda, Ms. Mowat? >> Yes, good news. At $12,550.50, our community pulled through again. The law office of Mark Phillips donated supplies for equipment and expenses for like our different concerts, competitions for the music department at 1,000. Westside Middle School, um they supported the dance marathon and extracurricular activities. They also supplied um snacks and anything that was needed and donated to Riley Children's Hospital. You guys listen this at $4,664.91 from Westside. Our Elkhart Education Foundation supported our FBLA at the high school and paid for conference needs, snacks, anything that they needed for travel at 800. Becca Shank it
103Shank Shank How can I not say Shank? Oh my gosh, I'm Michelle. >> I know, I'm sorry. >> off on me. Becca Shank uh donated uh $500 to grow our girls track and field department or team. Um Horace Mann, he donated to the HR department um for our staff recognition night which was amazing. Amazing, Maggie. You did phenomenal at $1,000. And of course here comes the Elkhart Career Center getting everything again. I swear they are phenomenal. OSMC donated many um medical supplies that were needed. Nico Valentine donated lighting equipment for commercial photography. Brenda Shepherd donated CPR instructor bag fill um bags that were filled with items needed to perform on mannequins to test CPR skills and that benefits the medical field. And Michael Coons donated two vehicles for our auto department whether it be mechanic
104or body shop and that was a 2011 Dodge Journey and a 2017 Chevy Traverse um at $4,585.50. So again, here we are rounding out the year with $12,550.50 from our community to benefit our students. >> Well done as always. Thank you, Kelly. I have a motion and I have a second. Do I have any further discussion? All in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. On to old business, Mr. Thorne. First up, we have uh uh two contracts for final consideration. >> Thank you, President Scott, members of the Board of School Trustees. This is Reese. Tonight, the administration recommends approval of two contracts for final presentation previously submitted to you during the last meeting. >> Those uh two contracts are Network Solutions and Seesaw Learning, correct? >> That's correct. >> Do I have
105a motion from the board to accept uh the contract for final consideration? >> Motion. >> Have a motion. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion and I have a second. Do I have any questions or discussion regarding these two contracts? Seeing or hearing none, all in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Mr. Thorne, on to board policy 7510.01, use of school district vehicles. >> [snorts] >> Thank you so much. This evening, the administration is recommending approval of uh new board policy 75010.01. >> Thank you. Do I have a uh motion to accept this board policy? As presented. I have a motion. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion and I have a second. Do I have any questions or discussion regarding
106this policy? Seeing or hearing none, all in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you, Mr. Thorne. All right, still under old business, we have uh Are we still under old business? >> Nope. >> Personnel. >> You're not. You're under personnel now. Ms. Lozano. >> Thank you. Good evening, President Scott, members of the board, and Ms. Reese, community. The administration recommends approval of the personnel report as presented. >> Thank you. Do I have a motion to accept the personnel report as presented? >> I'll move. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion and I have a second. Do we have any discussion or questions regarding the personnel report? Seeing or hearing none, all in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? Motion passes. >> Thank you, President Scott. I would
107like to present some information. I've been asked to share information regarding our substitute coverage expenditures, uh which you would have uh in front. And because this is information that we track on a daily basis, I wanted to just focus uh real briefly on the month of April, which is what I would like to share in regards to those expenditures tonight. Uh as far as substitute coverage expenses, I do want to uh highlight the fact that the information presented does include both our certificated and support staff information. As we look at the coverage that's needed and the expenditures as well, this would encompass a payroll period uh from March 29, 2026 through April 25, 2026. As of right now, for the month of April, the substitute teacher expenditure has uh been accumulate to 170,306.82. So, just
108for the month of April, that would be the expenditure. And what I would like to also focus would be uh when we drill down in this data, where is those expenditures coming from and what is the district covering regards to those absences. And I broke it down in percentages just to kind of help digest some of the information. >> [snorts] >> We provide substitute coverage for vacancies, absences, uh professional development, uh any instance in which we have uh someone out of the classroom that requires that support. For the month of April, out of the uh absences that we've had, which was 2,372 total absences and vacancies, approximately 38% of those were covered due to vacancies or long-term absences such as FMLA leave of absence coverage that's needed. The remaining was due to illnesses and other
109types of absences such as um personal uh business leave uh and other benefits that are available to staff. As we continue to track some of these expenditures, uh we also want to take into consideration some of the expense that we have also with EduStaff, which is a entity that we've also enlisted support from in an effort to ensure that we are providing coverage in the absence of and uh for the month of um January through now in regards to substitute supplemental support expenditures, uh we have thus far incurred 42,858 in substitute coverage. Uh with uh EduStaff, primarily we uh reach out to them for coverage for those that are on medical leave, leave of absences. These will be more of the long-term assignments that they're assisting with those supports. As I look at the totality
110from the start of the school year until now, uh from August through May 8th of 2026, which is our last payroll period, uh we have incurred uh substitute teacher expenditures to date of 1.7 million. And that's not uh taken into consideration the 42,858 I just mentioned uh through EduStaff. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Any questions from the board? I have I have one question. >> Yes, sir. >> Um you you presented information regarding the month of April that there was 2,372 certified or support staff um that uh assignments needed filled. >> Correct. >> And we have a fill rate of 61%. So, 39% of that that 2372 went unfilled. >> That would be correct, sir. >> Okay. >> [clears throat] >> Any other questions or comments? >> So, what happens to those the
111other spaces that don't get filled? What do you do? >> Absolutely. Uh in the absence of a substitute teacher coverage, those absences are covered within the building themselves. They're able to cover it. They're either overloads or uh when we split a classroom at the elementary level. Uh most recently uh this past week, those absences that were not covered by a substitute teacher were covered by district level administration and support staff that hold a substitute uh license um and any sort of certificate of staff member not tied to a classroom. Uh we were able to then um coordinate with building principals to ensure that there was uh staff member in those absences that we weren't able to fill with a substitute teacher. So, in those particular cases, uh while they're not filled by a substitute teacher,
112they are filled with an adult within the building through one of those venues. You're welcome. >> Any other questions? No, thank you very much. >> Thank you, sir. >> All right, next uh we have the approval of the first amendment uh uh the employee contract for superintendent of schools, um is being recommended uh that the board approve a limited amendment to the employment contract of Mrs. Michelle Reese. This will accelerate her start date effective uh date of employment as superintendent to April 3rd, 2026. It was originally uh July 1, 2026. Um do I have any or do I have a motion to accept the uh uh amendment? >> I move. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Do I have any questions regarding uh this amendment? Seeing or hearing none, all in favor?
113>> Aye. >> Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. All right, we have a very similar um uh amendment to employment contract for the deputy superintendent of schools, uh Dr. Amy Raush. Uh it is recommended that the board approve a limited amendment to the employee contract, also accelerating her start date from July 1st, 2026 to April 3rd, 2026 in the same manner to which we just uh amended uh Superintendent Reese's contract. Do I have a motion to accept this amendment? >> Motion. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Have a motion, I have a second. Do I have any questions regarding this amendment? Seeing or hearing none, all in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Mr. Thorn, we have uh the Performance Service Incorporated contract. >> Thank you. Uh President
114Scott, members of the board, the administration is recommending a contract price amendment to the not-to-exceed contract with Performance Services for work at Elkhart High School Freshman Division. >> You. >> Um just clarification, the contract price amendment covers HVAC and plumbing improvements only? >> That is correct. >> Thank you. Do I have a motion to accept a contract as presented? >> Motion. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Do I have any questions or concerns regarding the contract? >> Sorry. >> [laughter] >> I was just just waiting to see if one appeared. I seen or hearing none. All in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Mr. Thorne, still yours. Two Cube Solutions contract. >> The administration recommends approval of a contract with Two Cube Solutions for temperature control installation for
115work at the Elkhart High School Freshman Division. >> We have a motion to accept the Two Cube Solutions contract as presented. >> Motion. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion and I have a second. Do I have any questions or concerns regarding this contract from the board? Seeing or hearing none, all in favor? >> Aye. >> [clears throat] >> Opposed? Thank you. Passes unanimously. And lastly, Mr. Thorne, we have um These contracts are all for initial consideration. Is that >> Correct. >> Actually, we have two sets of contracts for initial consideration this evening. The first would be five contracts which we are requesting a waiver of second reading. That would be Integrated Technology, Neola, Network Solutions, SERVPRO of North Elkhart County, and Skybound Education. Presenting these for initial consideration
116or west requesting a waiver of second reading. >> Thank you, Mr. Thorne. Do I have a motion to accept these contracts with a waiver or second reading. >> So moved. I have a motion. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion. I have a second. Do I have any questions from the board or discussion regarding uh these uh five contracts? >> Um I do. With uh Neola, uh would it be possible to uh get them to uh a word limit in their policies that they uh propose? >> I cannot guarantee that, Mr. Weaver. >> [laughter] >> Work on it a little bit. >> I appreciate that. >> Thank you. >> Uh for those who don't know, Mr. Weaver is on our policy committee uh >> [laughter] >> for policies. Just to
117give you a little insight as to why he asked the question. >> Ms. Davis is also. She's my leader. >> [laughter] >> Any other questions or concerns? Seeing or hearing none, all in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? Thank you. Motion passes unanimously. Now we have uh Mr. Thorne, we have contracts for initial consideration. Could you just uh go through these uh name these contracts, please? >> We have 14 contracts for initial consideration. Uh one would be uh the Beacon Athletic Training Agreement. Uh another would be the Beacon Affiliation Agreement for the Elkhart Area Career Center. Uh we have a proposed renewal through uh Bell Technology for Microsoft. Uh renewal of our agreement with the Chartwells Division of Compass U Compass Group USA. Two agreements with Edmentum, a license agreement and a agreement for the EdOptions
118Academy. An agreement with Federated Media. Five Star Life. Instructure, which would be our Canvas renewal. Learn 21 software. Merative USLP. PowerSchool Group LLC. Transfinder and Zendesk renewal. These are all presented for initial consideration. >> Thank you. Um board I I've we for those who don't know we receive these contracts in our board packets generally on a Friday before the board meeting. We've had some time to to go over them. I know that there's been some discussion among the board regarding certain uh contracts and agreements. My ask of the board would please before this comes up for final reading to make sure that all questions have been asked and answered with the appropriate parties so we can all get to a level to where we can either approve or not approve these contracts. If we need
119to um uh put anything off or get any further information, please do it quickly within the cycle so we can have time to obtain that information. Okay? Thank you. Mr. Thorne um We now have board policies. They will not uh I'll let you read them. >> Thank you so [clears throat and laughter] much, Mr. Scott. This evening the administration is presenting for preliminary consideration initial consideration the following board policies. Board policy governing field and other corporation sponsored trips board policy 3162 ACS which is the drug and alcohol testing policy for commercial drivers license holders uh board policy 3220 AC the staff evaluation policy for administrators and certified staff board policy 5350 which is the student suicide awareness and prevention policy board policy 6320 which is our purchasing policy board policy 7440.01 which is electronic monitoring
120and recording board policy 707455 which is the accounting system for fixed assets. Board policy 7540.02, which is digital content and accessibility. Board policy 8405, which is our environmental health and safety issue policy. Board policy 8452, which is a policy governing our use of automated external defibrillators. And board policy 8462, which is a revision to our child abuse and neglect reporting policy. >> Thank you, Mr. Thorne. Again, these are for initial consideration. I'll basically mirror what I said regarding the contracts. We had 14 contracts and I think we have 11 board policies. So, any questions or concern from the board, please I I guess I'd ask you know, let's put them in writing so we can make sure they get to the proper parties and we can get answers for these so we can act quickly
121and efficiently on these when they come back up. Thank you. Mr. Thorne, administrative regulation JFC1, rulers for a safe learning community and good school order. >> A typo. >> Yes, there was a typo. It should be rules for a safe learning community and good school order. >> The administration is presenting for preliminary review a revision to that policy. >> Thank you. Again, this is for initial review. Any issues, please bring those forward before it comes back up. I think that is all for you this tonight. Thank you. Ms. Reese, 2026-2027 intense intervision intervention programming. >> Yes, school board, parents, community. I need to give a brief update regarding the intense intervention programming for the next school year. After much evaluation and ongoing discussion, we have determined that there is not adequate space or capacity to
122move forward with a previously expanded structure for intense special education classrooms. We deeply value our intensive special education programs and remain committed to ensuring students receive the highest level support. Because of space and staffing constraints, it's not feasible to continue the expanded model across the seven locations as we previously discussed, and we will return to the originally proposed model of three designated sites, one at Feezer, one at Daily, and one at Beardsley. This structure allows us to better align staffing resources and specialized supports to ensure consistency and strengthen programming. And I do want the board and community and parents to realize that last Friday we experienced a shortage in three of our schools with the intensive program and all staffing supports that we had within the district office went to support those three programs. So,
123it's imperative that we go back to the original three so that we can adequately staff when there are shortages happening. We recognize that transitions like this impact our students, their families, and our dedicated team members. We are committed to supporting everyone through this change with clear direct communication and individualized planning. So, to help with this transition, we will be announcing open houses in the near future. These will give our families a dedicated opportunity to visit the sites, explore the new surroundings, talk to the administrators, and experience the environments where their children will learn and grow. Thank you. >> Thank you, Superintendent Reese. Uh do I have a motion uh regarding the intensive revision programming as presented? >> Motion. >> Do I have a second? >> I'll second. >> I have a motion, I have a
124second. Do I have any comments or questions uh from the board? I'd just like to make a quick Um, you know, this was uh uh based on it's very going to be it's going to sound very similar to my first uh comment when we when we originally made the change and we pivoted when we had additional information. Uh I think we had some community uh members speak. I think we had uh uh parents come up and speak um regarding this and you know, I I was I I I I I was happy to see that you know, we were looking at everything when it when it came to uh making these decisions, but most importantly we were keeping our decisions kid forward and and and kid centric, okay? And you know, with that said, time
125is time has gone on. Uh this is this is somewhat fluid and in keeping the best interest of the children in mind, this is what they do. You know, the the the administration, the staff, they look at things and they saw gaps. They saw some shortfalls. Uh not that uh the the you know, the positive impact of of the the changes that were pre-previously made, they were recognized, but in the best interest for the kids, you know, they did pivot and make this decision uh to go back to the original model. And so, again, I applauded the decision-making as as at the time we we we switched and again, I applaud the same decision-making in a fluid situation to take in the best interest of the children to make sure that the level of support
126is what, you know, they they should receive and will receive from this district who are going to have received from this district that they make sure that that all the support is there and all the programming is there. So, again, it sounds very similar to what I said before, but uh I you know, I I uh I like the fact that we just don't get in to a uh a lane and say decision's been made and in one year we'll revisit. That's not never in the best interest of children. We need to look at things as they occur, take in the facts, take in the data, and make the best decisions, and I think that is what has occurred here. Any other comments or discussion? All in favor? >> Aye. >> Opposed? Motion passed unanimously.
127Thank you. [clears throat] Mr. Anderson, we have a new course proposal. >> Good evening, President Scott, members of the board, Superintendent Reese. Administration presents the proposed new course, Introduction to Public Service, for your review. >> Um this is uh for our review. Um Do we have any questions while we have uh Mr. Anderson at the podium right now? >> Yeah, um could you explain the coursework a little bit here? >> Absolutely. >> Does this have anything to do with uh being on school board or anything like that? >> [laughter] >> All good, sir. Um this is a really important course. This is as we get into the new graduation requirements, this is for the Enlistment Seal, um for the Honors and then the Honors Plus. So, this is the initial course that all students that
128would like to pursue that diploma, they they would need to take. Um it deals with physical and character standards. So, that's pretty much really in the nutshell. Um it's about um physical wellness and character development of our students that might want to serve our public in the community service realm. So, that is the it's a new course um from the state of Indiana that again is required unless a student is in um JROTC programs, um but even students that can't participate in ROTC would have to take this course in order to get the Enlistment Seal. But, it focuses on physical and character development. >> Thank you. >> Yes, sir. >> We'll be adding the character development, so >> Do you have to take this even if you're in JROTC? >> Yes. You could take both.
129Yes, ma'am. Bootcamp. [laughter] It is. >> Yeah. Not a baby camp, but introductory bootcamp, sorry. Not baby bootcamp. I know that was really bad. Don't Yeah, sorry. I'm excited for this. I think it's >> It should be a great course. >> I think it's going to be a great course. >> Yes. >> Mhm. >> I just like to clarify my last comment. It was not intended to say Mr. Weaver needed character development. He is a proponent of character development within our youth is what I meant to say. So, if anyone took it wrong just for the record. >> Does it matter? >> I thought you were talking about the physical part of it. >> [laughter] >> Well. >> All right. Thank you. If any Any questions? Any questions or Any questions or follow up, please
130get them to Mr. Anderson prior to the next uh time it comes up. This is Ross. Resolution of the board uh authorizing preliminary approval for payment of claims during the month with only one regularly scheduled board meeting. >> Yes, the administration Good evening. The administration requests approval of this preliminary approval. >> [laughter] >> We're uh before we preliminary approve this approval, >> [laughter] >> um could you just explain why this is necessary and it's not normally what we do? Um Well, it's it's a pretty It's a It's a pretty easy answer but just in case nobody knows. >> Yeah, absolutely. So, since we now have a few meetings each year that is just one month board meetings, just one meeting per month a few times over the year. Uh generally we have claims that come
131to the board and they're approved by the board before we pay them. So, all our bills and things of that nature are normally approved first before we pay. But, we're asking for authorization here to go ahead and pay like the some essential bills including utilities and things of that nature ahead of the one meeting month board meetings. Uh the board will still see all the claims. We're just getting kind of approval to keep claims moving and get vendors paid and things of that nature. >> Well, in the event you couldn't get the vendors to come to our schedule. >> No. >> I understand the the necessity for this and and and I just would do want to clarify that the board will see the claims as usual. They will be reviewed. Um So any other
132questions or comments? Do I have a motion? >> Motion. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> No no questions or comments. Uh all in favor? >> Aye. >> Uh opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Podium is still yours. Financial update. >> Thank you. Thank you. All right, I have a financial update for us. Um starting with a couple legislative updates and then a update on the education fund and adjustment that was recently made. So we just have three slides that I'd like to present here this evening. Um so one thing that um has um arisen is this legislative update called H HEA 1210. So what is that? Here's some text. Um it contains language that allows school corporations to spread FCA1 losses um from the new homestead credit that taxpayers are receiving. We
133can spread that uh pain across uh several of our tax-base funds. It does not have to all hit the operations fund. So there's um an opt-in to this uh legislation. So schools can opt-in to take advantage of this provision. Um um ECS um has opted in um via our superintendent. We've opted in to take advantage of this flexibility. We haven't stated what that allocation will be, but we just wanted to opt in and why we while we took time to look at the best allocation. So, with that moving down to that fourth bullet, um this homeowner or homestead credit loss is going to impact ECS to the tune of about 1.5 million. It would have directly hit the operations fund, but with this legislation we um can likely spread that over two funds, operations for
134about 1 million and debt service fund which has a cash balance that can absorb uh about 500,000 there. So, that's possibly the likely scenario. Um and just kind of just a reminder of SEA 1 and its impacts on that last bullet here. The operations fund will have to continue to cut costs just to SEA 1 uh impact alone, right? So, for 2026 it's this homestead credit as rolled out. Uh 2027, businesses um and personal property deductions kick in. That's going to cost schools money um to lose money. Charter school share could impact us in 2028. Um and then finally, not finally, but in 2029, um loss of um local income tax funds. That has been pushed back. It was going to be 2028. It's now 2029. So, SEA 1 is like phasing in all these
135cuts. So, I'm just saying operations fund is continuing to be nimble and um adjust with these cuts and preparing for these cuts. So, that's the update on um HEA 1210. Any questions? No? If there are are none, so just moving on to another um update that we um that's required by um the state. Um so, for fiscal year 2026, school corporations must meet certain requirements pertaining to teacher salaries and benefits as outlined in Indiana code. So, essentially a school corporation must expend 65% of their state tuition support on teacher compensation. Um this includes these items here, salaries and benefits for full-time, part-time, adjunct, and permanent substitute teachers and school counselors. So, according to that definition, um here's the budgeted teacher compensation um that we're ECS is looking at just to see where we kind of
136fit in terms of this funding floor. Our wages, if we back out temporary sub costs, because you see temporary subs were not included in that definition, our wages will be 55 million backing out 2 million for the subs, benefits about 19 million. Our budgeted costs, this is just budgeted. Now, we are going over, but our budgeted costs are 74 million. Our total expected tuition support is about 90 million. So, we would land just on our budget at over 83%. So, we are well uh beyond this funding floor requirement um above 18% and just in our budget alone. Where we actually are right now and compared it to our actual spend, where we're at where we were as of 331 26, we were 93% in terms of the funding for teachers out of the education fund.
137So, uh questions? If there are no questions, comments, or concerns, I Well, you probably got concerns, but uh >> [laughter] >> I will go ahead and move on. Uh final update for this evening um is the education fund. We need to make an adjustment to our budget. Um so, I'm going to show you here our our budget that I presented earlier in the year that that that first budget called working column there. You see our total receipts still I'm just rounding about 90 million. We budgeted 51 million wages, etc. You can see benefits and then you know, curriculum and transfers to operations if I can call that out 9 million for a total uh budgeted expenses of about 86 million. We were planning to have a net revenue have some cash balance left over of
138about 3 million. Add in our 1 million cash balance that we started the year off with hoping to end the year about 4.6 million. Um to be in a better in a stable place uh in terms of being able to pay bills, etc. Um so here's the working budget now that essentially this is prompted by the um the the approval of the GO bond that has closed and has funded and has hit our operations fund. So the GO bond has been funded and that is about 6.8 after [snorts] fees, maybe about 6.7 million has funded. That will allow um education fund to not make all the transfers that were budgeted. So you see I highlighted in kind of that red color. This adjustment is reflecting a we will no longer transfer the 9 million to
139operations but just 3 million. The other six will be from that bond in operations. So operations will still be able to stay afloat due to lack of transfers from the education fund. So with that, we're able to bump up wages the wages budget you see in green there a 57 million to the education fund. Okay. So with that said though, um that's our budget. We're increasing the budget to pay for all those wages you saw on the previous slide, right? [laughter] All right, let's see if it works. Um Oops, not going to work. All right, we're on trend based on our current staffing levels and even including some cuts that we should see toward the end of the year for consolidation, on trend to spend about 63 million in wages. So even with this bump
140we're over $6 million uh deficit spending. Compare that to last year, we spent 66 million, so it is trending downward. We are making progress, but you can see how large the gap is. So yes, just to reiterate, even after not making the transfers to operations, um I mean, it we still remain over 6 million um over budget. Let's look at that a a different way. Let's look at that first working budget if uh we had to maintain those transfers to operations, the fund would have been over budget by 12 million. So we I brought that up um since the beginning of the year that this fund is seriously over budget. So that's what we need to kind of look at the the the bond is a temporary measure to help get us through to support
141the operations fund, but we have a serious structural and budget problem in relation to our revenue and our staff cost. Another way uh to look at it, if you made no transfers to operations, um for example, you would have no central office, HR, business office, custodians, IT, security, you would probably just have enough for bus drivers if you made no transfers from educations to operation. The fund would still be 3 million over budget. Okay, so not making the transfers is not going to save the education fund. It has to balance itself. Okay. Um So, um so we're continuing this year 6 million over budget. So, what's going to happen? We're not going to have that I don't anticipate we'll have that in net revenue of 3.2 million. You know, that extra kind of cushion. That
142means we're going to have to deplete the cash balance and our ending cash balance is likely to be zero or less. Okay. >> [sighs] >> Um So, I do have a little last bullet here and how we got here so quickly, so fast and um I see a little typo up there. I'm missing I think a parenthesis. But it can happen quite fast, especially when you have a declining enrollment, loss of ADM for two consecutive years. So, um 3 million last year, we had a about a 450 student loss from fall to fall. This budget is anticipating that loss again. So, it's a conservative budget that we could get that 400 plus student loss again. So, there is there's about 6 million plus right there. Um and to be frank, we still have to pay
143for raises. Those raises cost um uh And so do all the the incentives, just to be honest. These things have to be paid for. So, with the 6 million loss maybe in ADM, raises, and teachers incentives, you're at about 10 million right there. Um don't forget we lost our operating referendum, which used to kind of absorb some of the uh pressure off uh you know, operating expenses, transportation department. So, maybe we didn't have to transfer as much. But now that operating referendum is gone. And then ESSER. So, you kind of put all these together. This is how we got here so fast um and why it's it's so deep. So, we just I don't think we're nimble enough when we were losing that ADM to right-size the staffing with that. So, here we are and
144now we've got to do a couple years worth of work. Um, [clears throat] so and the final thing is what's unique about the education fund is if you don't make the changes in spring, like right now, we will go into next year all the way through August and and we'll be in the same situation if we don't right-size it. So, we're locking ourselves in and we're running out of time to right-size this fund. So, it's all it's just getting worse. It's snowballing essentially. So, um that's all I have. >> [laughter] >> Thank you. >> Sorry. >> Microphone. >> Hit the microphone. You heard a positive? I like the positive. >> The positive was we're moving in a different direction and if we do these things, it will trend in a different way. That is what
145I heard. So, yes, it's a little ouch, but we're going to move in the right direction before you know it. >> it's not enough, right? The consolidation, we all kind of knew it would help us, but it's it's not enough. We have to keep right-sizing cuz our ADM is shrinking. Um, [snorts] one thing and speaking of positives, we could look forward to if our ADM, you know, stays higher, maybe where it is now or we can pull in some virtual students, maybe we get some more revenue and that could help, but as of now, this is this is kind of what we're facing unless some of those things change. Okay? Thank you. >> Any other questions or comments from the board? >> [snorts] >> I don't I just have a Thank you for being honest.
146I know Uh, this is the hot seat for you and I appreciate you putting the information in a way that everybody can understand cuz numbers are is not everybody's forte. So, I appreciate your honesty and your consistency. I know um, you're not responsible, but you're responsible cuz you're the CFO. So, thank you thank you for the work you do. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. >> No, I'll echo that and uh, you know, just keep at it. I, you know, this this didn't happen overnight. It it uh, took many years to to get this and and some great decisions were made and some decisions that were probably not so great were made. Uh, so with that expectation it's going to take its time to correct this. But, we are as Kelly put it moving in the
147right direction. We've uh, identified what we need to do and again we are making the the decisions to do that in the in the most financial ly responsible way possible. Again, keeping you know, the academic advancement and our and our kids in mind with every decision. So, it's it's a hard message to deliver. I get it. It's even more difficult when you know that you can't fix it overnight. And there's so many things that will move and levers that you'll pull that will have collateral issues that you'll need to address. But, I do appreciate you and your team uh, ability to continue to work down that path, have a strategy, and again be very transparent with this information. We haven't had budget information uh, like this since I've been on the board and uh, um,
148I I think it's important for everybody to understand and see exactly where the district is, but even more importantly what we're doing to correct this. So, thank you for your effort. >> Absolutely. Thank you. I would just like to make a comment as well. Um we're in the process now. It's It's registration season. And I think it is extremely important um that there is a full court press um in communication with our families um to make sure that um we are getting their students registered for the next school year. Everything in our budget is dependent upon the number of students that are in our seats. And so, we really need to that has to become a priority um that can help us as we as we're trying to balance and figure this out and figure
149out where we are. It It is extremely important for staffing for the fall. We cannot wait till August 1st or the first day of school in August 13th or whatever day it is for kids to show up and then start making decisions. So, we need parents to understand and staff to understand that enrollment right now is the most important thing that they can do to help um help us be able to make decisions and and as we're looking at and and mowing over and crunching numbers with stuff like this. So, that's my charge to um the the staff and to parents. >> And I'd like to just echo that um what you just stated. Uh right now we have a low attendance in our kindergarten. We have a low number of students wanting to attend
150our kindergartens and we are very concerned. So, it is imperative that if you have a child that can attend kindergarten, that you register right away because that does impact our staffing and what we're looking at in the future. So, um I will echo what you said. Um registration is very important as we head into the season. >> And how do they go about doing that? >> Well, you go on our website and you click on new students and you register that way. >> Very easy process. >> Very easy. >> Parents in in the audience tonight, please if you haven't done it, do it. And those listening, I'm sure the whole community is uh tuning in. >> Mhm. >> Um do the same, please. Very easy process. Go online, register. It takes about Wendy, how long
151would you say it would take? >> Five minutes. So, >> it would be a >> they have questions, they can call student services. They will be happy to help them through it. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> And um what you know, on the school corporation's behalf, what proactive steps do we take to reach out to parents during the enrollment? >> Oh, we are calling almost every day, Mr. Weaver. Um and annoying them by our phone calls and asking them to register. So, they have lists and our staff are doing that and keeping track of who they're calling when. >> Yeah, the next board meeting, we'll review those phone call logs. I think that's a good idea. >> All right. >> What's the matter, Kelly? >> All right. Yeah. >> [laughter] >> Time Time Time to
152move on. >> Okay. >> All right. Thank you Thank you, Mrs. Ross. All right. Superintendent Reese, the floor is yours. >> Thank you. Um again, good evening, everyone. I do have some great announcements and staff highlights to do tonight. The first one is Elkhart Community Schools is proud to honor Angelina Lasovic, and I hope I said her name last name right, and Jeff Hatfield as the 2026 Teachers of the Year. Angelina is recognized for her deep belief in student potential and her commitment to showing children what is possible. While Jeff, on the other hand, is celebrated for for passion and for cultivating confidence and a sense of belonging through the arts. Together, they both embody excellence and leadership and demonstrate the power of building meaningful relationships to help every student thrive, and we recognize them
153and thank them for their service. Yesterday, I had the privilege of presenting hero awards to Jevon Deal and Judy Sheehan at the Freshman Division for their life-saving actions during a recent emergency. When a student began choking in the cafeteria, Jevon and Judy relied on their training and quick instincts to respond immediately working together to clear the student's airway. We are incredibly proud to have this dedicated team in our Elkhart family and help save the life of that child. Well, the other news we had um recently is the recent water main break at Monger Elementary. That required a quick transition to Bristol Elementary School, and the success of that move is a testament to the strength of our school communities. I want to share my sincere gratitude with the Monger and Bristol staff for their incredible
154resilience during this unexpected change. Likewise, a huge thank you goes to our Bristol staff opening their doors and hearts so warmly to their colleagues and students. But most importantly, thank you to Monger staff to for sticking with it and making sure this happened for our students. On May 1st, Elkhart Community Schools was honored to receive the Children's Health Champion Award. If you have not seen that um showcase, please get on our website to see so. This award was presented to the district for demonstrating exceptional leadership in advancing health care access within schools through the Indiana Dental Outreach Program, and several of our students received that that program um and the rewards from that program just by being checked with their dental um health throughout the year. Also, um I do want to take a moment
155to, um, recognize Pierre Moran because they lost one of its own last week. In memory of Mr. Dwight Mood, we celebrate his three years of service as a teacher and coach at Pierre Moran. And we send our deepest thoughts and support to his family, friends, and students at this time. And lastly, as we end the school year, we want to ensure all finish Elkhart strong because we know we can do this, Elkhart Community Schools. >> Thank you, Superintendent Reese. Do we have anything from the board before we close? >> Okay, I have to go back on to the Jeff Hatfield and and congratulations to our other teacher, too. If any of you do not know Jeff or have never met Jeff, he is the he's retiring. I'm broken-hearted. I can't handle it, but he is
156one of the most impactful human beings ever. He grew our orchestra in the elementary level through the roof. All three of my children had him. He is a wonderful mentor. He encourages students. He finds private tutoring for students. He makes students at make sure they have everything that they need. He incorporates the band even what the orchestra does. We are beyond blessed that Jeff Hatfield was with us for so many years and he is going to be one of the most missed little characters that our school has ever had. So, if you see Jeff before the school year ends, just just tell him thank you. Thank you. Thank you for growing our music department the way that he did. It is It is very exciting for him to retire. He's He's in a great place,
157but it is a very big loss for our school district. So, congratulations and what a great end to his career. >> Yeah. That's it. >> Anyone else? >> Yeah, I I'm I'm going to say this cuz I don't I don't want to sit here and pretend I didn't hear some of the passion, some of the frustration in our audience cuz I did. Uh, but also heard some good things as well. Um, you know, that's happening in our schools. Some things that's happening at, you know, the moment of pride, those sort of things. Uh, but some folks are owed some some follow-up. Um, but I will also say that um, you know, I do sit at these tables. I am in the rooms. I am hearing the conversations. I'm watching the work. Uh, I know these
158guys uh, are doing their best to be advocates in the best ways they can. I am, too. Um, so I know the work we do sometimes um, the hard work we do sometimes in the background, don't get to see it out here. Uh, but I promise you um, you know, this moment, especially when our community is at the mic, is very informative to us. It really is. Um, and it's not uh, that it's fallen on deaf ears. Some of the work sometimes is slower than what the results can show. Uh, but they are advocates here. Uh, I'm I'm sitting next to them. Um, and so I wanted to make sure that I said that because I just think that uh, it needed to be said. So. >> Thank you. >> Eric. Anything else? Thank you
159all for coming out tonight, and the meeting is adjourned.