001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> Thank you, everyone. Sorry for the feedback. Thank you, everyone, for coming out to our April 23rd, 2026 Elkhart Community Schools regularly scheduled board meeting. At this time, I'd like to call the board meeting to order. Will you all please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated. The Elkhart Promise: Every student is known by name, challenged, and supported by highly effective staff, which we will be honoring tonight, and in partnership with the community, we'll graduate career and college ready and life ready. For those of you that's your first time to a board meeting,
002we have a uh uh invitation to speak protocol for public comment. Um you can speak on any agenda or non-agenda item when we enter uh public comment section of the agenda. Please step forward to the microphone and state your name and uh your affiliation with the district. You'll then have 3 minutes um to uh discuss any agenda or non-agenda item. Uh I always remind people to um because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, uh please refer to no names when it comes to staff members or students, uh any issues or grievances, uh this is not the proper uh place for that. We have a a process and protocol that uh can effectively uh handle those things in a more efficient way. So, everybody should have received one of these um on your seat
003or get receive one from Dora. And there's a section, just fill it out and give it to her. If you haven't had an opportunity to do that, you still have a a moment to do that, but if if uh not, it's uh we will enter into the public comment section of the agenda. Okay. Taylor Bryant. Please be careful coming down the steps. Hello. Hello. My name is Taylor Bryant, and I'm here on behalf of the Mary Beck Intensive Interventions Team. Okay, sorry. Um I'm here to advocate for my students. Um I wanted to express my concerns regarding the proposed change to the current structure of our K2-3-5 separate setting classrooms into the K5 model. I appreciate the ongoing efforts to meet the diverse needs of our students. However, I feel a significant concern about how
004this change may impact both student outcomes and staff effectiveness. It is essential my students' voices, particularly those who cannot advocate for themselves, are represented through the professionals and teams who know them best. I respectfully urge that before any district-wide changes to placement structures are implemented, there is intentional collaboration with special education staff and a careful review of how such changes will impact students with the most intensive needs. Our students deserve to be seen, heard, and understood as individuals first. Ensuring that their needs remain at the center of our decision-making is critical to providing a free and appropriate public education in least restrictive environment. Not just looking at it through the view of their home school, but looking at the student as a whole. First, I am concerned about the lack of collaboration in the decision-making
005process. As a classroom teacher directly responsible for implementing instruction and managing student needs, I feel that input from those of us working with these settings daily is critical. Greater collaboration would help ensure that decisions are both practical and align with student needs. Not to mention the difficulties that will arise trying to collaborate with six grade levels to support inclusion within the general education environment that is meaningful and impactful with lack of staffing to support our students' needs. Sorry. Additionally, the proposed model introduces a wide developmental and behavioral range within a single classroom. Combining kindergarten age students with fifth graders presents challenges related to safety, social dynamics, and appropriateness. Older students, particularly with those more intensive behavioral needs, may unintentionally pose risks to much younger children. At the same time, younger students may require a level
006of support and structure that differs significantly from that of older students. There are also substantial academic concerns. The range of standards from kindergarten through fifth grade is extremely broad, making it difficult to provide meaningful, standard-aligned instruction across all grade levels simultaneously. Even with differentiation, the gap in content and expectations may limit the effectiveness of instruction for all students. From a social-emotional standpoint, older students may feel uncomfortable or even stigmatized being grouped with significantly younger peers. This can impact their engagement, self-esteem, and overall school experience. It's important to consider how placement decisions affect not only academic growth, but also student sense of dignity and belonging. I respectfully ask that these concerns be carefully considered before moving forward. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. All right, that is all we had uh for public
007comment. Um next we have a moment of pride. Chloe Ivory. Please [laughter] step forward. Thank you, President Scott, school board, Ms. Reese, and community. My name is Chloe Ivory, and I'm here to represent this month's moment of pride for Elkhart High School. Our Teacher of the Year this year is Ms. Booker. 12 teachers were nominated for EHS Teacher of the Year. After committee review, she was selected as the best teacher of the year at EHS. Ms. Booker works at EHS and teaches geometry. On March 26th, the Performing Arts Department hosted its annual coffeehouse talent show. Many acts were presented that included vocal solos, puppetry, and more. It was a well-attended event and a lot of fun. Also, also March 26th, Reagan Yoderelli was recognized as the McKinney's real tail realty student athlete of the month.
008She represented the Lions at state finals in board in bars and floor. Spring break, I don't think I really need to say much about that. >> [laughter] >> On April 13th, 25 students from Yamate, Japan became began a 10-day visit to EHS. They did multiple day trips, attended classes, and hosted a cultural expedition in Tubbs gym. Our students will visit Japan this summer as a part of the exchange program. On April 11th, sophomore representatives from student government hosted a fundraiser at Martin's to support the Elkhart County Humane Society. April 13th through 14th, seniors in business and international relations participated in two financial literacy seminars hosted through Lake City Bank. Lake City Bank was provided $25,000 from the Federal Home Loan's Association to give to 25 seniors for expenses they will have post-grad. Our upcoming events
009we have ISMA Festival on April 24th. April 26th, we have NHS inductions. Lots of athletics throughout April and May. Prom, May 2nd. School of study awards, week of May 18th. Senior awards, May 27th. Our last day of school is May 29th. And commencement on June 11th. Thank you, Chloe. Great job, Chloe. I'm always amazed at how you can get in front of people and stay calm and collected. So, as a dad, great job. All right. Next on the agenda, why most of you are probably here. Um we have the distinguished staff uh awards. Uh Miss Lozano. >> [clears throat] >> Thank you. Good evening. Good evening, President Scott, members of the board, Mr. Reese, community. We are very excited to be here today. And it is a pleasure to have you here tonight at the
010weekend. Take this opportunity to thank and celebrate you. So, tonight we have the honor of recognizing individuals who are often quiet, the quiet heroes of the district. These remarkable staff members were nominated by their peers and administrators for one simple reason. They make a difference. Through their dedication, compassion, and tireless support, they help keep our schools running smoothly and support our students every step of the way. Whether they work behind the scenes or directly with students, their impact is felt deeply. And tonight, we shine a spotlight on their hard work and heart. Each nominee will be recognized for their outstanding contributions. So, with that being said, uh for many of you who may not be familiar with the distinguished support staff awards, we have four different categories in which our staff could have been nominated
011by their peers, administrators, colleagues. So, we will be recognizing uh individual at the end of the day uh for one of each of those categories, but also all who were nominated in those categories as well. And the categories are elementary, secondary, district, and certified staff, particularly those who are not assigned to a classroom. So, tonight we have with us many of you who were nominated. And what we will do, just a couple of housekeeping items to make sure they were able to get down, get the awards, and have a moment to recognize you, is we will call your name. When we call your name, please come forward, and if you can go to that side where Mr. Reese is, uh she will be there to provide you with your award. Once you receive your award,
012if you can come down in front of the stage and just stand in front of the stage until all the nominees for that category have been called. Once we've called all the nominees for that category, we will have a opportunity for a picture. And then if you may go and take a seat, and then we'll go over the same process for our secondary, our district, and certified staff. Make sense? Okay, perfect. All right. So, now with the housekeeping out of the way, let's go ahead and get this started. Now, we do have uh quite a few nominees that unfortunately were not able to make it with us tonight. However, I still feel it's important that we call their name to recognize them. Um so, know that the first few names, I am aware they're not
013here, but we still want to say thank you to them. So, with that being said, our first nominee for the category of elementary uh distinguished support staff is Jessica Burt. Esau Corona. Kathleen Davis Stowell. Nicole Deinhart. Amanda Dickson. Tony Elswick. Right over here, please. All right. So, hopefully Sierra Green is here with us tonight. >> [cough] [clears throat] >> So quiet. Christine Hack. Hannah Harmon. Cynthia Cookler. Well, feel free to give a round of applause. It'll give us a practice for the end. Hannah Lickta. Alicia >> [applause] >> Faith Miramontes. Mia Osoria. Luz Palacios. >> [applause] >> Heidi Pauling. >> [applause] >> I see Heidi got the memo. Bridget Petershine. >> [applause] >> Abigail Quiroz Garcia. >> [applause] >> Megan Rodman. >> [applause] >> Margaret Snipple. >> [applause] >> Jessica Schofield. Jennifer Sauder. It's starting
014to be a tight squeeze. We got room, that's right. Joseph Temple. >> [applause] >> And Crystal Sulo. >> [applause] >> And that wraps up our elementary distinguished support staff. If we can give them all a big round of applause, please. >> [applause] >> And at this point, I'm going to have our director of communication just lead the team as to where you would like for the picture. And then we will have our board members join us for the four winners. So, you're more than welcome to, but you will have a photo opportunity at the end. All right, one more round of applause, please. >> [applause] >> Thank you. So, on to our secondary. For our secondary distinguished support staff, the following are the nominees. Again, we have a few that were not able to be
015with us today. Yesenia Alvarez. Dylan Bogart. Lindsay Boomershine. >> [applause] >> Sylvester Brown. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Lindsay. William Cody. >> [applause and cheering] >> Javon Teal. >> [applause] >> Brenda Egic. >> [applause] >> Brandon Fontes. >> [applause] >> Andrew Gears. >> [applause] >> Maria Gonzales Alvarado. >> [applause] >> Taina Hunt. >> [applause] >> Aurora Leon Bautista. Talita Mood. >> [applause] >> Justin Nelson. Christine Auto. >> [applause] >> Mary Peyton. >> [applause] >> Madeleine Rodriguez. If we can have a great round of applause for our secondary distinguished support staff. >> [applause] >> One more picture. Can we come back? Take your pictures. >> [applause] [cheering] >> All right, from here the list keeps getting longer and longer. So, are we ready for our certified? All right. So, for our certified distinguished support staff, Lara
016Christensen. >> [applause] >> Shelby Eby. >> [applause] [cheering] >> Angelina Lazovich. >> [applause] >> All right. I'll stand with you, Shelby, to take a picture. >> [laughter] [gasps] >> One big round of applause, please. Thank you, Shelby. >> [applause] >> All right, this next one I think we'll have enough space here at the podium. Now, we move on to our district distinguished support staff. Are you ready? Charles Steven. >> [applause] >> All right, Charles, you still have a picture here. One big round of applause for Charles, please. >> [applause] >> So, for all the nominations that we received, we did narrow down the winner of each category. So, we are ready to announce the winner of each category. We're going to start with our elementary. All right, but before I give you the name, let
017me tell you a little bit about our winner for elementary. This individual has played a vital role in their building, fostering both organization and strong sense of community. Through compassion and a willingness to listen, they help unite staff and ensure everyone feels valued and supported. Their genuine care for students, families, and colleagues create a welcoming home away from home environment. This individual exemplifies the excellence of Elkhart, and we are proud to recognize them as the elementary distinguished support staff of the year. Drum roll, please. Our winner is Chris Hatt. >> [applause] >> Chris, COME ON DOWN. CHRIS, WHEN YOU'RE DONE, if I can have you stand on over here, please. Right over here. Would you like to give a speech? She would. She would. NICE. NICE. >> [applause] >> I'M NOT GOING TO SAY TOO
018MUCH, but I do want to say you have to have heart to work in a school system. It doesn't matter what you're doing, what role you're playing, you have to have heart, and that's what it's about. I believe in Elkhart Community Schools, always have. Um I went to Pinewood as a kid. I've been there for 24 years now, and um I just think that everybody has to stay together, and it's also we are a family. We're together more um more waking hours than we are with our families at home, and you have to remember that. And no, we might not get along all the time. Do you get along with your family all the time? Mhm. But um you just you come back and you work together, and that's what's going to make it work
019along with the families. Um we work together, and that's what's going to make our students great. >> [applause and cheering] >> Thank you, Chris. >> [laughter] >> All right. Right next to me. Yes. >> [laughter] >> Next, we're going to have our secondary distinguished support staff. Okay, so here we go. This staff member consistently treats students with kindness and compassion while maintaining a strong and respected presence. They are highly visible and actively engaged with both students and staff for actively addressing concerns before they escalate. Even in challenging situations, they remain steady and supportive. By greeting others and taking the time to learn names, they help foster meaningful connections across the building. Their impact is felt across multiple areas. This individual exemplifies the excellence of Elkhart, and we're proud to recognize them as a secondary distinguished
020support staff of the year. All right, drum roll, please. Sly Brown. >> [cheering] [applause] >> ALL RIGHT, SLY, IT'S ONLY FAIR THAT YOU GIVE A SPEECH. WOW. Um where do I begin? Uh sh- oh, shout out to Jamie, who hired me, you know, security. Appreciate appreciate it. And Mr. Koviak, you know, love you. Love Northside. Um but no, I was always told that if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. And what I try to implement to these kids on a daily basis is mentoring. Constantly guiding them, constantly redirecting, constantly being patient with them. And the results we may not see but right now, but in the future we will. So, I thank you all again. Appreciate it. >> [applause] >> THANK YOU, SLY. >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT,
021AND ON TO our certified distinguished support staff. All right, this certified staff member provides clear guidance and brings a depth of knowledge and support both staff and students. They are consistently present in classrooms, offering hands-on support where it's needed most. With a strong focus on student success, they step anywhere necessary to ensure continuity and quality. Their reliability and commitment to excellence makes them the cornerstone of their department. This individual exemplifies the excellence of Elkhart, and we're proud to recognize them as a certified distinguished support staff of the year. Drum roll, please. SHELBY EBY. >> [applause] >> ALL RIGHT, SHELBY, UNDER 3 MINUTES, PLEASE. >> [laughter] >> Don't worry, I'll be brief. Um I'm honored. I'm mostly honored to um work with such a great group of people um and support our English learners in many
022different ways, but really, I work for a great district, and I work with a lot of great staff, so thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Shelby. All right, last but not least, our district distinguished support staff of the year. I know this one is very This is fun, though, because there are so many names that you may not know which one. But let me tell you a little bit about this person. This staff member makes a meaningful impact across the district, helping to keep their department running smoothly even during times of change. They are reliable resource I'm sorry, they're a reliable resource for others, consistently providing answers and following through when additional information is needed. Their approachable nature ensures staff feel comfortable seeking support. Colleagues recognize that their presence strengthens Elkhart Community Schools each
023day. This individual exemplifies the excellence of Elkhart, and we're proud to recognize them as a distinguished support staff of the year for the district. Drum roll, please. Oh, the anticipation. CHERYL STEVENS. >> [applause and cheering] >> AND IF I MAY INVITE the board to come also and join as part of the pictures, that would be wonderful. She's got to give a speech first. Oh, that Oh, that's right. Cheryl. Thank you, Mr. Burnett. Under 3 minutes, please. Um I find that it's very humbling to even be nominated, so thank you so much. Um but we couldn't do this without our team, so um I work with exceptional learners in student services, and it's been an honor and a pleasure to work with them, so thanks. >> [applause] >> Our board members, Mrs. Big round of applause.
024>> [applause] >> All right, and as we close this evening's celebration, I want to once again extend our heartfelt congratulations to all of our distinguished support staff nominees for the work that you do each and every day. You're a vital to our school's success and our students' well-being, and tonight was just a small token of appreciation. Have a wonderful evening, and thank you once again for being part of this special night. Thank you for coming. >> [applause] >> Doesn't anyone want to stay for contracts or >> [laughter] >> um no? Okay. >> [laughter] >> Again, congratulations to all the distinguished staff who received awards tonight. Um uh the job they do is obviously very very important, and and we're honored to have them as employees of the district. So, we'll keep the good vibe going,
025and we will have the Beardsley El Mo- Elementary report. Uh Mrs. The floor is yours. Good evening. Good evening, board members, President Scott, Mrs. Reese, community members, AND BEARDSLEY BULLDOGS. THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO talk about the great things happening at Beardsley School. My name is Michelle Cies, this is my second year as the head principal at Beardsley, and this is Mrs. Nagy, our assistant principal. What do I hit? Video. Being part of the Beardsley family means I belong, I matter. And make our school a great place to learn and I love it and I like coming here to learn and very excited part of the Beardsley family mean by belong I matter. I help the school. A great to learn and grow. So this year our guiding coalition decided to shorten our school
026creed so that it was more appropriately reflecting what we are trying to create with our students and staff in our building. So you got to see some of our students saying that school creed which we repeat every morning on our announcements. Beardsley has a lot of opportunities for our students. We have many extracurricular opportunities such as student council, chess, all kinds of sports activities, Girls on the Run, and all of these opportunities are empowering our students to discover their passion and to build many skills. So this year at Beardsley we have been working really hard to improve our attendance rate. And you can see the excitement on these students' faces every Friday if they have earned perfect attendance. So they are present every day for the week they get a free bag of popcorn on
027Fridays. And this was an idea that we came up with with our leadership. And on the next slide you will see what our numbers were. So before we started we had 152 students present every day and then we jumped up to over 208. The numbers in blue represent weeks where we had an e-learning day or a built-in shortened week. So we can see we have a little bit of work to do to get more students involved on our e-learning days. But then as you can see the numbers have jumped every week. They are very motivated by a bag of popcorn. Our popcorn. >> [laughter] >> And uh another great thing about that is we have some parents that are coming in to volunteer on those days and they've pretty much taken over. We don't need
028to help them anymore. They come in, they run it, they deliver it, and they say that's the best part of their day is delivering popcorn to kids. Last year we had the highest growth in our district for our passing rate for I-Read. We grew by 27%. That is a huge celebration for us. We were almost at 80%. So we have attributed this growth as a direct result of having an amazing literacy coach in our building. She spent a lot of time in classrooms coaching teachers on instructional strategies, helping us look at our data, and determine specific skill interventions for our students. And we also were able to have an after-school tutoring program. When reflecting on this data, teachers have stated that ensuring they were holding their students to high expectations while teaching every student grade
029level curriculum has helped to reach this growth on I-Read. This year our goal is to continue to build on this success by increasing hopefully by another 10%. This slide shows our I-Learn math summative data. We have been growing by small increments every year. And we have attributed this consistent growth to uh teachers using DMRs, Daily Math Review, which is based on grade level instruction, and also following our district created curriculum maps. And we hope to have another 10% at least growth this year. This slide shows similar data for our I-Learn ELA scores. We had very good growth last year, almost not quite doubling it. And again we attribute this to utilizing our curriculum maps, using explicit teaching methods in the classroom, and hopefully we will show an additional 10% increase over what we saw last
030year. Our younger students are also showing some great successes this year. Our kindergarten students began participating in a 5-minute intervention daily after our holiday break. We recognized that they weren't growing at the anticipated rate for learning their letters, both upper and lower case, and their letter sounds. So we implemented this daily 5-minute quick intervention one-on-one. Three teachers did this and we had amazing success. So you'll see in January 10% of these students knew their uppercase letters and by April we are up to 60% and the growth is continuing today. We had some very good feedback from our kindergarten teachers and parents. And one comment from a parent really stood out to us. This parent stated that at the beginning of the year her student didn't even recognize her own name and now she is reading
031books. This parent, as you can imagine, is very happy. And teachers have stated that with the new curriculum students are not just learning how to read, but they're putting all of those pieces together into practice. More kindergarten students are reading this year. So what we continue to do, are going to continue to do, is to support our staff. We are going to continue to implement ongoing professional development in lesson planning. Our staff will finish out engaging in letters training to strengthen our literacy instruction modeled after the science of reading. Participate in more staff celebrations to build morale and positive school culture. We are collaborating and developing curriculum maps and creating more rigorous daily math reviews. And we are planning a summer Beardsley family event to welcome all of our new staff members who will be
032coming to Beardsley next year. For our students we are continuing to plan monthly themed activities to help build community and reflection on their learning and their behavior. We have pride assemblies to celebrate their achievement. Students earn rewards for positive attendance such as popcorn. And we are doing quarterly whole school reading and math events. For our community and families we will continue to host events such as our Wellfield Botanic Gardens family night. If you have never come out to that, we hold it in the fall and it is one of our biggest events. We have huge turnout. We plan it around a theme which we decide as a leadership team as a building. And um we have lots of families and students come and it's been a wonderful event to just create that community for for
033Beardsley. Our next family engagement night is May 7th. It's our lottery night. And we did have a Polar Express night at the holiday time. And we are going to continue to build and strengthen our PTO. It's in the very beginning stages, but we are excited with the parents that have started to come out and the participation from our staff. And we will continue to encourage and increase parent volunteer involvement in classrooms and school events. We um have been able to implement an after-school tutoring program which was paid for by our full-service community school grant program. And this year we had 34 students participating in that. Eight and these are students who are at least one grade level below where they should be. Eight of those students passed I-Read. Eight of those students scored over 400
034on their I-Read assessment and passing is 446. Five students had significant growth from the previous school year, but all students showed growth on their progress monitoring data and the feedback from classroom teachers has been very positive. They can see where the after-school tutoring is making a huge impact on their students who attend. And we are very blessed that we have Boys & Girls Club at our school. We have 78 students who attend Boys & Girls Club daily. Um Boys & Girls Club has been amazing to help us with our tutoring program. Our students leave school, go to club, we check them out at 3:00 p.m., bring them for tutoring, and then we take them back to the club. And without that opportunity many of those students would not be able to attend tutoring due to
035transportation um, struggles. And they have also awarded us with 80 scholarships. So, those students who are going to tutoring get to go to Boys and Girls Club for free. So, that's been an amazing opportunity for our families as well. So, we are going to, like I said previously, continue to engage the community, invite our stakeholders to our events, and get more people involved. We are hoping to continue to create a school culture of growth and positivity, celebrate all of our successes successes, which is so, so important. Keeping our student success at the forefront and strengthening our database decision-making. That's it. Any questions or comments? Oh, no, thank you. Great presentation. Thank you. Could we have the staff of Beardsley, please, stand up so we can recognize you, please? >> [applause] >> Beardsley Thank you. Thank
036you so much. And I just want to say thank you, Mrs. Reese. You really led the building well with my short time as I oversaw the elementaries. I've gotten to know the staff a little bit, being in and out. I was there on a popcorn Friday. Um, it is true. They do love popcorn at Beardsley. Um, but you guys have really focused on academics and making sure that students are attending every day, and I do appreciate that. Um, as overseeing the elementary, you guys were spot on, working on your curriculum maps, putting them in place, doing all the things right. So, continue to, um, center on your success that you're having and keep it going, okay? Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> All right, next on the agenda, we have the
037excellence of Elkhart. Ms. Wood. Thank you, President Scott, members of the board, Mrs. Reese, community members. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share the highlights in the areas of academics, arts, and athletics. Eastwood's math bowl team earned first place at the competition held last week in the auditorium of Elkhart High School, demonstrating strong teamwork, problem-solving skills, and academic excellence while representing Eastwood with pride. The Business and International School of Study at Elkhart High School gave seniors the opportunity to attend a presentation from Lake City Bank as part of the Money Master Scholarship Program, where students learned real-life financial skills, including budgeting, credit managing, and planning for life after high school. In the area of arts, Elkhart High School sophomore Natellia Gonzales Ocampo earned the highest honor at the cash award and top cash award at
038the People's Next Door Student Art and Creative Writing Contest for her painting Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. The awards were presented on Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 15th, at the Mishawaka Public Library. She was on one of four Elkhart High School students recognized in the competition. Also in arts, the middle school and elementary Youth Arts Month Awards and Celebration Showcase student artwork from across the district. The event filled the Welcome Center at Elkhart High School with elementary and middle school student work, providing families an opportunity to celebrate student creativity and talent as Youth Arts Month was wrapped up in March. In the area of athletics, Elkhart High School athletes Steven Sandifer, Riley Drummond, and Ava Walker were named All-American Strength and Conditioning Athletes of the Year. This prestigious award was given to the high school athletes whose
039athletic accomplishments reflect their dedication to strength training and conditioning. Also in athletics, Riley Drummond broke the high jump record last week at 5 ft 7 in. She is officially the best female high jumper in Elkhart Community Schools' history. Some of our future happenings, April 23rd third is our High Ability Parents Night. April 25th is Bristol Elementaries' the final round family and community event. April 28th and 30th will be our consolidated school open houses. The 27th will be the inaugural Lions Launch for middle school sports. And May 4th will be the fifth grade open houses at the middle schools. And as always, please be sure to follow our district and school social media pages as we share each day the excellence of Elkhart Community Schools. Thank you, Wendy. Okay. >> [clears throat] >> That gets us
040through the feel-good portion of the agenda tonight. Um, now we, uh, move on to the consent items. Uh, do I have a motion? Motion. I have a motion. Do I have a second? I have a motion. I have a second for the consent items. Do I have any discussion or questions from the board? Well, so, it's still feel-good moment. We have at $27,020, we received donations from our community. Let's start first with Alliance RV that donated $5,000 to HR for the staff recognition event that will be on May 6th to celebrate all at the Wellfield. Then we received at $1,000 three donations for our softball team, one from HRP Construction, one from Welch Packaging, and one from Osolo Township Volunteer Fire Department, all at $500 apiece. Anova Federal Credit Union donated $1,350 to support our
041field trips and any extracurricular programming that needs to amount to the field trips being successful. The track team received two donations at a total of $8,975, 8,000 from Linda Homo, and the Elkhart uh the Elkhart Athletic Club donated $975, and this will be used to grow our track team and our future runners. Belmont Mennonite Church, who is always so involved with our school, donated to Mary Beck four youth bikes and helmets to be used for the spring break reading and IXL challenge for our students. And our boys volleyball team received two donations at $1,000 total, 500 each, one from Coons and Coons CPA, and one from Michael and Kara Coons for growing our volleyball team, used for travel gears, jerseys, etc. Now, this is great. Our marine biology trip received three donations. Alliance RV kicked
042in again, Forest River, and um and an anonymous donor donated $2,500 to be used for our marine biology trip. And then our Elkhart Area Career Center received from Monte's Best One Tire and Service, which, listen, you guys, there are three locations in Elkhart. If you're not using them, please do, because I cannot tell you how much they donate to our school. They are phenomenal. So, they donated $4,000 to be used for our automotive technology program. Also, might I add, they hire a lot of our students, so really support them. But we received one of the most blessed beneficiary of an annual uh streaming allotment to our career center from the CFEC and Steven Eldridge. So, this will be a a benefactor that donated to our career center that will go consistently year by year. So,
043let's see. I think I nailed it all. Let me turn it over. Got it. So, $27,020, we were blessed by our community. Thank you. And I did the plug for Monte's Tire. Yes, you did. Thank you, Ms. Mounds. Any other, uh, endorsements, plugs, uh or questions? Seeing none, all all in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion for the consent items passes. Next, we have old business. Mr. Thorn, we I believe we have four contracts for final consideration. That is correct. Uh the administration presents four contracts for final consideration. The uh the IAC Travel, Mazi Educational Consulting, JFW Specialty, and Boys and Girls of Elkhart County. Do I have a motion to accept these contracts as presented? Motion. Do I have a second? Second. I have a motion and I have a second. Do I have
044any questions or discussion from the board or Mr. Thorn regarding these contracts? Seeing or hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Next, we have, um, Mr. Thorn, uh board policy 3213, uh the 04 ACS Student and Staff Relations. Uh this is for final consideration. Thank you, uh President Scott, members of the board, Mrs. Reese. Good evening. This evening, the administration presents this policy for final consideration. Do I have a motion regarding this policy? Motion. I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second. Do I have any questions or discussion from the board regarding uh policy 3213, staff student staff relations? Seeing or hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Thank you. Miss Alano, personnel report. Good evening once again, President
045Scott, members of the board, Miss Reese. The administration recommends the personnel report as presented. Sorry, I was That's quite all right. Good evening. >> paying attention. As [laughter] presented. The administration recommends the personnel report as presented. Thank you. I have a motion to accept or we on the personnel report, do I have a motion to accept the personnel report as presented? Do I have a second? Second. Do I have any discussion? Yes, so this is where I do my retirements now since this change in our agenda. And okay, so we want to recognize 76 years total of retirement this time. Tony Crable will be retiring from WVPE as a director after 18 years of serving them. And John McCollum, many of us have met him over the years. Um he has taken care of nursing
046and different aspects of it, 29 years. And I have to start by saying yes, Elkhart Central at first, but then also Elkhart High School. But if you ever went to Central and you had to walk through the office after 29 years, one single person sat there doing absolutely everything directing all the students, taking phone calls, making sure Mr. Search knew where he was supposed to be for years. And that was Sue. Um and then she kept going right with Elkhart High School, which was just wonderful. So we say happy retirement to each one of them, but after 29 years, definitely happy retirement, Sue. Thank you. Yeah, you're welcome. I have a motion and I have a second. Do you have any further discussion? Seeing or hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Thank
047you. Thank you, Miss Alano. Next on the agenda, we have the approval of the resignation of Dr. Larry Huff. Uh do I have a motion? So moved. Do I have a second? Second. I have a motion and I have a second. Um before we um uh vote on the uh approval of the resignation, I'd like to take a moment to recognize his uh dedicated leadership and meaningful impact he had and made on the district during his his tenure here. Um essentially, you know, from the from the time um he came to us through the interview process, um there was a difference. Um a noticeable difference. Um it wasn't just me who felt it. I think think everybody felt it. And it was his first um first uh time you know, venturing into superintendent and and
048and and venturing into this role. And you know, you you know then that when a person uh is going through the process and he's making a difference, you know that he's going to make a difference within the district. Um during his time at Elkhart Community Schools, Dr. Huff Dr. Huff helped lead efforts focusing on improving student achievement and strengthening instructional practices across the district. He was steadfast uh with that charge. And in 2025 and 2026, the district saw an improvement across the academic metrics um including increased graduation rates and growth at IREAD performance uh earning recognition from the Indiana Department of Education. Um I think we had the largest urban growth of any district in the state of Indiana. Um he also received, you know, other uh awards and recognition as well as the district
049both from the state and uh nationally. And I knew at that time it was a double-edged sword that I welcomed success. I welcomed the achievement. But I know people would be calling and and and and coming. So, you know, I love to see the recognition and the difference he was making, but I knew that uh we were bringing attention to to his leadership. Uh in addition to the academic success and progress that he had, um he he worked tirelessly with the challenges we've had financially. Um he worked with uh a couple CFOs. He hired Miss Ross, um brought her into the fold. Uh and instituted uh some cost-saving strategies that um you know, that were that were meaningful and made a meaningful impact, approximately $5 million uh in the first uh in the first year,
050the 2025-2026 school year. Um these efforts don't come easy. A lot of hard decisions needed to be made. But decisions like this will set the district on a path for long-term stability um financially. And we have some work to do. Uh we can we'll continue down that path, but uh his efforts in in in helping us you know, get to where we are today is is is not lost. Um one of his most significant accomplishments is something that we just finished up with, um which is a very complex and challenging process of consolidation. Nobody likes to go through a consolidation process uh including Dr. Huff, the board, his team. Um but it was a it was necessary. Um you know, it it it it probably could have been done many many years ago. Um and
051yet it wasn't. And he stepped up to the challenge. And through thoughtful planning, collaboration, focus on long-term sustainability, um this work was successfully completed uh and I think you positioned the district with this consolidation um into a a greater efficiencies and enhanced opportunities for not only the district, but for the students uh in years to come. Um he certainly left a lasting mark on this district um in the community. Um we're grateful for his service. Um his unwavering focus of making the decisions that were student-centric, student first, academically focused, and a lot of hard decisions he he never wavered from. Um the commitment to that for somebody in a superintendent's role that's tenured is impressive. For someone to come in and and do it in his first two years in this position is something that
052uh I would I was very impressed about and impressed with. Um he he set the district on a path that the team that is currently still here, the cabinet, administrators, staff, and we saw some great staff tonight, are going to continue down that path uh to where this will be a academic destination in the state of Indiana. We will get there academically. We will get there financially. And so he played a very important role uh in that. Um so I'd like to extend a sincere appreciation for Dr. Huff for years of service um and dedication. I wish him continued success in his future endeavors uh as the next superintendent of the Rockford Public Schools. I'm sure he will uh have, you know, great success there. Um so uh at this time, you know, I just
053want to thank Dr. Huff uh for the work that he's done and I'm sure that he will continue the great success in his next next district. So at this time, I have a motion and I have a second. All in favor approving the resignation? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes 7-0. Next [snorts] we have the approval of the appointment of Michelle Reese as interim superintendent. Uh that's going to be effective April 3rd, 2026. Um we're doing this to ensure the continuity of leadership. Um she was uh approved a couple board meetings ago um to take uh the role superintendent on July 1st, so this isn't a surprise. She will be filling the role of interim superintendent uh effective uh immediately with the approval of uh appointment of interim superintendent. So do I have a motion? Motion.
054>> Motion. Do I have a second? Second. Do I have any discussion or comments regarding the approval? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Um we got to go to of other housekeeping um, appointments. We next have the approval appointment of Dr. uh, Roush. Again, interim deputy superintendent. There was an approval for her to be the deputy deputy superintendent effective July 1. Uh, with this time frame we would just be stepping that up. Again, continuity of leadership. Um, we're we're in great hands not only with uh, Michelle but also with Dr. Roush um, to carry on the it's directory that the district is uh, we find ourselves in. Do I have a motion to accept the uh, approval appointment of Dr. Amy Roush as interim deputy superintendent. Motion. Do I have a second? Second.
055I have a motion and I have a second. Any discussion or comments? All in favor? Aye. That motion passes. Well, opposed? That motion passes 7-0. One last housekeeping. >> [clears throat] >> We need the approval of the appointment of Christian Cedarburg as interim director of elementary schools. Again, this is effective April 3rd uh, 2026. Uh, essentially fulfilling [clears throat] the position of Michelle Reese uh, was her position that she'll be vacating to be the interim superintendent. Do I have a motion for the approval of this appointment? Motion. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? And that motion passes 7-0. Okay. Next on the agenda under new business, Mr. Thorn, we have the Elkhart Aquatics Center addendum. Thank you, President Scott, members of the board, the administration recommends approval
056of the first amendment to the agreement concerning the aquatics facility. Thank you. I believe we've all had an opportunity to um, read through the first amendment to this agreement. So, do I have a motion? Do I have a second? I have a motion and I have a second. Do I have any questions that have not yet been answered regarding uh, this first amendment to the agreement. Do you have a representative here? Let's introduce him. Okay. We do have somebody here. Do we have somebody here that you'd like to be introduced? Sure. Um, I'd like to >> [laughter] >> I don't need to thank you. Apparently he does not want to be introduced. >> [laughter] >> However, behind us is is Pete McGowan who is the President of President, right? Of the Community Foundation. Uh, he
057has been a great partner through this process. Uh, first in terms of actually developing the agreement starting back in 2016 and most recently in terms of working with us through the process of putting together this amendment to the agreement. So, I thank the work of the Community Foundation and Beacon in terms of working with us to move this process along. As I will uh, I will concur with that Pete. Thank you for your your efforts and everything you've done uh, to initially get uh, arguably um, one of the the finest aquatic centers um, if if not in the state uh, in the region and you know, I would put it up against any in any one of them. We're very we're very privileged to have a uh, an aquatic center to where our students cannot
058only uh, learn to swim but also take uh, the their their athletic endeavors to the next level. So, uh, Pete, thank you for everything that you've done. I will take the opportunity to to Hey, come to the mic. I want him to come to the microphone. Now you have to come to the microphone. We are delighted to be partners with both Beacon and Elkhart Community Schools. Um, it it seems to me that I think we've come to a a good agreement that I don't need to build a case for um, but you should be proud of the fact that the NAIA uh, essentially the small college and university national swimming and diving championships were just held there for the second year in a row and it may be the third and fourth year in a
059row. Um, but [clears throat] I think the feather the the greatest feather in the cap of this aquatic center is the fact that the states of Illinois and Iowa hold their state high school swimming and diving championship in Elkhart, Indiana every year. And they travel from Chicago and St. Louis to come compete in our facility that we created together. So, thank you very much. Thank you. And also I want to thank Beacon for their partnership as well. Uh, I have a motion and I have a second. Uh, no further discussion. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. All right, Mr. Thorn, under new business we have um, contracts uh, for initial consideration. Thank you, President Scott. Uh, members of the board, Mrs. Reese this evening the administration presents seven contracts for initial
060consideration and requests waiver of second reading for the following contracts. Integrated Technology Qualtrics, Elkhart County Youth for Christ DBA Lifeline Five Star Life and Education Advanced. Did you >> [sighs] >> which one are Vlad Network Solutions for initial reading? Maybe it'd be easier to Solutions uh, we'll come back for second reading as well as Seesaw Learning. Okay. So, do I have a motion uh, to waive second reading for Integrated Technology LLC? Qualtrics Elkhart County Youth for Christ businesses Lifeline? Yes. Five Star Life and Education Advancement Incorporated. I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. I have a motion and I have a second. Uh, all in favor of waving second reading and accepting these contracts as presented, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes 7-0. On the ones that are here for initial consideration,
061um, please direct any questions to Mr. Thorn in the interim before they come back up in a couple weeks at our next board meeting uh, if you have any. Thank you. Thank you very much. Uh, next we have under new business board policy 7510.01 use of school district vehicles. Thank you. This evening the administration presents for preliminary consideration proposed new board policy 7510.01 use of school district vehicles. This is for initial consideration. Anybody has any questions uh, or concerns, please address those to Mr. Thorn in the next two weeks so we can bring this back up for second [snorts and clears throat] reading and get this approved. Thank you. Thank you. Mrs. Ross, the financial report. Thank you. Good evening, President Scott, board members, Mrs. Reese and the community. I'm here to provide our monthly
062financial update. Uh, starting with our education fund. Um, so we are looking at our March expenditures, but before we dive in, you'll see our budget here for you for reference in that uh, second column. And in this next column labeled March you'll see our total receipts highlighted here of 7.7 million. I'm rounding down a little bit. Our total expenses and you find here highlighted our net revenue for the month and ending cash balance for the education fund for the month of March. Um, just year-to-date synopsis, uh, you'll see right here in this pie chart, uh, we are spending over uh, 95% in wages and benefits. We should be closer to 80% so. With that said, here is our cash flow for the education fund for the for 2026. Landing at 1.1 million for March. If
063no questions, I am moving on to the operations fund March our March expenditures. Uh, here's our budget for reference for you and the community. And here you'll find our March expenses I'm highlighting. I'm sorry, beginning cash balance. Total receipts which is uh, typical as our major receipts are come in end of June and December. Next you'll see our total expenses and our net expense for the month which is typical for this fund. However, our cash balance could definitely be a little higher to sustain to be more sustainable. Um, here's a graphical representation of this fund and you can see the larger areas in blue and red um, comprise our wages and benefits. It's pretty much in in line where it should be. On average we spend about 3.3 million a month in this fund. And
064just some things coming up we have some bond revenue proceeds we expect in April and our next regular tax payment expected in June. Um, with that here's our um, cash balance for operations fund for 2026. Typical trajectory until we get our large receipt in June and December. And lastly, our rainy day fund, no change since last meeting. Which gives us our combined cash balances for our major funds, rounding out March at 9.2 million rounding. And oh, last but not least, just a reminder of some of the savings initiatives that you spoke of, President Scott, and we're continuing. Um, one that we've got some static pieces here that we still want to note, but the number that's changing, um, that's updated often is the staffing cost here. I just highlight it. Um, so from this time
065last year uh, to this year, from August to roughly March 31st, our our uh, payroll has been reduced by 3.7 million. So total, um, our savings initiatives are coming in at 6.5 million. Uh, last last report, last time I showed you this, we were at about 5.3. So we're continuing in the trajectory of cost savings. And that concludes the financial report. Do we have any uh, questions or comments from the board regarding the financial report? All right, and then we'll move on to the insurance report. Ms. Reese. Yeah. Just one slide here. Our insurance plan update is uh, I like to report our loss ratio is 59% at this point uh, versus 86% percent. That's where we were last year. So in sum, um, our March plan is uh, faring quite well and our expenses
066were less than our plan premium. So that's how we get to that favorable loss ratio. So good news to report on our insurance plan. Very good. Any questions? We'll keep the fingers crossed. Mhm. We'll keep the fingers crossed. >> yeah. All right, thank you for the insurance update. Thank you. All right. Ms. Reese. The floor is yours. Uh, just a couple of highlights and some things to look forward to and so that you can get out of here at a decent time tonight. Um, so staff highlights, we did recognize her already, Brandy Fontus, um, nurse at Pierre Moran Middle School. She was selected uh, as an Indiana Immunization Coalition Award Winner, recognizing her advocacy and commitment to student health and immunizations. And the award ceremony will be held May 7th in Indianapolis. So let's give
067her a round of applause. That's a great >> [applause] >> And if you ask me about that award, I don't know much about it except it has to do with immunizations. So we'll see um, kind of what that all entails. So congratulations, Brandy. Also from the student highlight, um, Brendan DeVideo, um, earned individual medalist honors at the Goshen Invitational helping lead the boys golf team to a first place finish. So congratulations, Brendan. Looking ahead, yes, let's go ahead and give Brendan a nice round of applause. >> [applause] >> Looking ahead, um, end of year celebrations are being planned including opportunities for community members and alumni to visit our consolidating buildings. So please watch for upcoming dates and times and I believe believe that Wendy has already highlighted our first one with Bristol being on April
06825th. So please come out and celebrate with them and I believe it starts at noon is that celebration. So I hope all the board members will also come out to Bristol at that time. The next exciting news that we have is Elkhart Virtual School. It will be opening this fall and providing additional flexibility for our families while keeping students connected to our community. This pathway help meet students where they are and support their individual success. So please stay tuned because further communication will be coming your way later this week. So we're going to be starting registration for virtual school later this week. So please make sure and stay tuned for that. But in closing, I want to thank you thank you to all of our support staff for the important work you do every day
069and a special congratulations to Christine Sylvester, Shelby, and Sharol, our support staff of the year nominees and award winners. So congratulations to all and thank you board for a great first meeting. Welcome. Thank you. All right, uh, anything from the board this evening? Before we do that, I do want to officially welcome you, uh, Ms. Reese. I'm excited to to work with you. We had a great first meeting. Um, I I full faith and confidence as as stated earlier, I think from everybody on the board. Um, the uh, the communications, uh, your your willingness to to ask questions and say how was this done or you know, what you know, how was this put together? I appreciate that. Um, and you know, you've already I think we we communicated what, three or four times today?
070Yes, three or four times. >> Yes. >> [laughter] >> So we Yeah, I'm not counting. So no, welcome and I'm very excited as is board to work with you and your team uh, uh, going forward. So with that, meeting is adjourned.