001Good evening everyone and welcome to the April 22nd meeting of the Ont. We have a tobacco policy in place. There is no smoking within 100 ft of school any school building. Please rise for the pledge. Board clerk, will you please call roll? Trusty Kenson here. Trusty Jerome here. Trusty Goodrich here. Trusty Mitchell Morell here. Trusty Hemingway Lynch. Trusty Romano here. Trusty Bishop here. Thank you. Thank you. All right, we're going to start our meeting off with our welcome from Bennett Principal, Mr. Gabriel Bono. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to Bennett Elementary. I hope you had a wonderful spring break. Um, I'm just going to give you um quick little update of what's been going on at Bennett. Um, on April 4th, Ruth Miranda in the Showcan Center, Ruth Mende and his uh donated time in a
002musician and we were introduced to a nickel harpa which is a Swedish bode uh instrument with many strings and truly unique sounds. I had never heard of a nickel harbor before, but we were enthralled and I just want to thank the showcan center and Ruth for a wonderful performance yet again. Um, right before spring break, our PBIS team put on um a springfest and our students were able to rotate, I think, through six different stations um Friday afternoon um of of that that kicked off our our spring break. And um we ended with children planting seeds for the garden to having all kinds of other spring like activities and reading in the library. It was it was truly a fantastic time. I just want to give kudos to our our PBS team. And then that
003Friday evening um the Bennett PTA hosted Bennett's talent show. And I want to give a special thanks to uh Stephen Frank who um had has has a tremendous amount of technical and musical experience and really helped bolster the the the show and talent of our children. A special thank to uh trustee Sarah Lynch who MCED the event. And um there there are so many PTA families um and parents that came to help and assist and probably take the next half an hour to um recognize them, but I just want to give them a shout out as well because the performance was amazing. Our our students were and are so truly talented and gifted and um they were able to shine. That was it was a wonderful communal event. I was proud to be there. audience.
004So, kudos to all those who made it happen. Um, let's see. Our second grade um is going to be going on a field trip and as part of their social studies curriculum. It they study community. They're going to be going to Phoenicia. They're gonna be walking around to the library. Uh, a couple of other establishments. I believe Phoenicia 28 is going to be donating pizza and they're going to have a little picnic next Tuesday. And uh just wanted to give a shout out to all of those businesses who are donating time to help show and give our second graders the experience of what a community actually is. And then uh Katrina Quigley is one of our integrated co-teers. Uh she is currently working in first and second grade and she has a connection to the
005board of elections and um she has has with her help she's brought them to us. They're going to be coming to us. Oh, what's the date? Um I think May 14th they're coming and uh the board of elections is going to give a presentation three presentations. went to our K1, another presentation at 2, three, and then four, five. Um, Miss Quigley and I need to sit down and meet with the staff to come up with what students are going to vote on, but the board of elections has has done this uh once before in Kingston where uh the school had to vote on uh best shirt design, best ice cream flavor, and best season. So um our teachers will be selecting questions um for um each respective grade level and they'll have to then vote
006just like our community is going to have to vote uh on the upcoming budget. So think May 14th is right before um was it May 21st is is a big budget 20th on that Tuesday correct? Um, so yeah, thought it was great and we're we're happy to have a board of elections and um I don't know if you have any ideas. Should we put a proposition on the back for the children to vote on? You guys can let me know. Um, with that said, you know, we're in uh the thraws of state assessments and um we delivered ELA to our third and fourth graders right before spring break. We have a a few more weeks to deliver math, uh, nice law, uh, fifth grade science, and, um, a lot of our own year- end assessment.
007With that, that's, uh, my presentation. Do you have any questions for me? Yes. I just want to apologize for being tardy, but I also wanted to just uh, give you and the staff kudos uh, at that talent show. The piece that I walked away with that was so moving to me was how confident those kids were, particularly those fifth grade girls, which is a really important age. And I was so moved by the culture that you've created here, how important it was that the kids, all of it, all ages were cheering each other on. Um, even when some kids got stage fright, it was just a wonderful night. So, thank you for all that you do for the school. Thank you. Very nice. I I love what I do. Truly do. Thank you so much.
008Have a great meeting. Thank you. We will. All right. Um may I have a motion to enter into executive session to discuss the contracts of the superintendent, assistant superintendent for business, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, and assistant superintendent for pupil personnel services. and to consult with our legal counsel. Uh, Trusty Lynch first, Trusty Romano second. All in favor? All right. So, we will return in about an All right. We are back. Sorry, we were a little bit late. Um, we're moving on in the agenda to item 3.02. May I have a motion to exit executive session and return to return to public session? Trusty Kusen first. Trusty Goodrich second. All in favor. Thank you. Item 4.01 acceptance of minutes. The board of education hereby accepts the minutes of the April 1st, 2025 meeting. May
009I have a first? Trusty Jerome. Second. Trusty Mitchell Morurell. Any questions or comments? All right, we'll vote. Trusty Jerome I. Trusty Mitchell Moral I. Trusty Goodrich I. Trusty Kudson I. Trusty Lynch I. Trusty Roando. Hi. See I'm all turned around because we're so moved this time. Trusty Kudson is right is always right over there. Okay. Um, sorry. Hello. On to our superintendent district news. Good evening. Um, we mailed out anformational postcard to every resident in the district uh last week that included an invitation to our community meeting on Thursday of this week. The meeting will be held in the middle high school cafeteria. We will have administrators as well as architects and representatives from our construction management firm on hand to engage in discussions and answer questions. Um we plan to do an abbreviated presentation
010uh so that anyone who is new to the conversation uh regarding our um proposition that will be on the ballot in May. We'll have an overview of that proposition and what is included. And then we want to have some breakout sessions at uh different tables with different areas of focus. Our intention for this meeting is to be able to provide information and answer questions for anyone who wants to join us. There is no RSVP and we hope to be able to engage with the community and just continue to share information. Um we will also be holding an open community meeting at Woodstock Elementary on May 1st. Um, a few members of the administration attended uh the Woodstock PTA meeting at the beginning of April. There were a lot of really great questions and positive dialogue.
011I appreciate everyone who participated in the meeting and there was an immediate request for another meeting in Woodstock that we were more than happy to agree to. We will be sending out um an all contacts invitation uh and a family shout to this meeting as well as social media posts in the next couple of days. Um the meeting will take place at Woodstock Elementary, but of course anyone is welcome to join the conversation. An area of focus that came from the conversation uh at the beginning of April was the need for our school community to come together and for the divisions to begin to heal and I think this is a wonderful first step and conversation is always a good start. So I hope that everyone uh who is able to can come to one
012or both of those meetings. In addition, we will uh at some upcoming community events, we will have representation. So, we will have a table at the Olive Free Library event on May 3rd. And uh also, uh some of us will be attending the Woodstock PTA yard and plant sale, which is also on May 3rd. And there were a couple flyers in the back for anyone who wants to um become a vendor. Both events are from 9 to 3, and I hope everyone comes out. They're both wonderful events that will benefit the community. The following week we will be at the town of Janden board meeting, the Wittenberg sportsman club and the Olive Seniors meeting. And the week after that we will be at the town of Olive, the town of Woodstock and the town of
013Hurley. Um I would also like to invite our community to visit our updated web page for optimizing on. The page has been completely redesigned and houses a lot of information related to the proposition that will be on our ballot in May. um and has a lot of uh information and frequently asked questions. So, uh please visit that web page if you're interested. We do have uh in addition to that proposition and our budget on the ballot in May, there will be three candidates running for seats on the board. They are Daniel Alabberti, Jenny Jared, and Rory Smith. They will appear on the ballot in that order. There are two seats available for three-year terms. Uh, and we have already been contacted by Lindseay Shans representing the League of Women Voters to try and arrive at
014a convenient date for the meet the candidates night and that is an opportunity for our community to get to know each candidate and understand each candidate's priorities. I'd like to thank these individuals for deciding to support the district and take on this incredibly important role. Um, I already have met with one of the candidates, but I reached out to the other two today to offer to meet uh with them and answer any questions they may have. Just a reminder that our Memorial Day break will be extended due to our unused snow days. The students will be off beginning on May 22nd and they will not return until May 28th. So, they will be off on Thursday, Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, and they will return on Wednesday. This year's calendar had seven snow days built in,
015but we ended up using three. Next year's calendar has six snow days, so I'm optimistic that we will be fine with that number. Um, just a note um procedure. So, we will begin tomorrow taking attendance on our buses for our sixth graders. The bus drivers will have attendance sheets and we'll radio in uh for any sixth graders who do not board the afternoon bus. That list will then be compared to the afterchool activities attendance lists. Um, and this will allow us to ensure that students are on the buses they're supposed to be on on the days they're supposed to be on them. We are hoping to have an automated swipe system in the near future, but until we are able to implement that, um, we will begin using a manual system. I have to, um,
016give kudos for our meet, greet, and eat event. The event was a fantastic success. A total uh over $8,000 was raised through this event through ticket sales and sponsorships and the silent auction. Many thanks to all of the individuals who dedicated hours and hours to creating this celebration of food that brought the community together and raised funds for our students. The restaurants that participated provided um really amazing food as did our own staff who showcased the healthy and delicious food that is provided to our students and faculty and staff. Special thanks to Amanda Allison for many, many hours uh of dedication and hard work. And Mary Beth Mills and Deb Drill and Karen Hansen um our art and music departments, our preschool partners, PTAs and booster clubs, not to mention uh all of our student
017volunteers and olsteries. And I just wanted to mention the Bennett talent show which I was not able to attend but I understand was very wonderful. Sorry. Any questions for the superintendent? That was too much. All right. You fought it. Okay. Um All right. Uh board district news. Any any uh board trustees have news to report? Trusty Jerome? Not other than I just wanted to again thank the the the event the eat meet and greet was just fantastic. Thank you so much for going above and beyond. I think we would all agree that was just amazing. you and your team. Kudos. Anything else? I almost forgot. Oh, fussy. So, last week, it was last week, right? I don't know. Two weeks ago, we went to the Bosei school board meeting in Port Euan and we were
018wonderfully served amazing food by the students there at the culinary. Um it was a wonderful evening where we were able to see students showcase their talents and it's it's always a wonderful night to go to and we did a little business in the beginning um with the board meeting and then quickly were able to move on to celebrating our kids and their their skill set. So it was great. Any other board news? All right, great. Moving right along, our student representative for the uh school board, Olivia McHugh, will give us her report. Good evening. Students are back from spring break and enjoying the warm weather outside. The high school's photograph photography class will be heading to Whim for a field trip tomorrow. Additionally, the high school physics class will be traveling Six Flags New England
019this Friday. Um, and as April comes to an end, high school students will be heading into AP exams um throughout May. And lastly, I brought the third edition of Onier's newspaper, The Talon. And I highly recommend taking a look. There are some very interesting articles. And that's all. Thank you. Thank you, Olivia. And thank you for always bringing us the most recent Talon. It's It's always a great read. And we love We love the line under the title. It's gripping news. Very catchy. All right. Uh the board acknowledges public be heard comments from the last meeting and the the uh speaker that we had last time was Jillian Khan Urudia. The board the board appreciates hearing from the public including students on any agenda or non-aggenda item. Please understand that by our adopted parliamentary procedure,
020the board can't engage in discussion or answer questions during public be heard. Please know that we hear you and we take all of your comments into consideration. The board does reserve the right to correct any inaccuracies or misinformation during public be heard. Please limit your comments to three minutes. Be civil and do not name any particular individuals or promote any commercial ventures or products. People wishing to express individual student or personnel concerns can bring them to the superintendent's attention in private. And tonight we have Christina Davis. Hi everyone. I'm Christina Davis. Um, I pretty active in the community. I don't come to a lot of our board of ed meetings, but I do watch them. So, I'm very grateful to all of the things that all of you do. Um, I am one of the
021UPK teachers at Woodland Playhouse. I'm the director there. So, I get to be involved in some of our youngest learners. Um, but I'm here today because I am a parent and guardian of three children in the Antou district. Um, in March I was made aware of a policy that I didn't know existed and as I talked to a lot of other families and parents found out a lot of us didn't know about it. Uh on March 4th, uh I reached out to transportation to request that my daughter be sent to Benicia um at an existing bus route at an existing bus stop because I worked out uh an opportunity for her to learn about sewing and it felt she was something she was super interested in and it wasn't something that's offered as an afterchool
022program. Um, and so she was really excited about it and initially I was told, "Great, no problem. Here's the bus route information." Um, and then sort of got pushed up the pike through these several emails of, "Actually, we don't bus children to extracurricular activities and we haven't since we came back from COVID." Um, this was a surprise to me because she in May of 2024 was busted to Glenford for a violin lesson without any issue. And I actually went back and looked through those emails and I just hadn't specifically said this is for a class. I had just said I needed to go here on Mondays and transportation said okay. Um, so then I learned that we as a district bus children to playdates. we'll bust children to child care situations, we'll split households, everything
023like that, but that there is no opportunity for them to go to extracurricular activities. I wrote a letter to Superintendent McLaren. Um, we corresponded a little bit. She let me know that she did speak with some of the administrative team um as well as some um personnel. It's I'm assuming it was the building principles from what it sounded like. Um but at that at this time said that it was not an option for the district to change this policy or procedure. Um I wrote back that I understood this policy existing coming back from the COVID pandemic. Things were chaotic. Things were building the plane as we were flying it. All the things I was one of the teachers in that and a director at that time. I totally understand how that works. But at this
024point, it feels more detrimental to our students that they're not offered these opportunities, that there are opportunities in our very rural community for them to be able to go and do these things. Thank you. Christina, would you be willing, if you have a written statement, would you please um leave it with our board clerk so that we can read the rest of your comments? Can I email it? Is that Of course. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. Thank you very much. Would anyone else like to speak tonight? All right, we're moving on. Um, see here. So, this is for discussion and possible action. Uh and we are looking at the uh the uh the vote for the Bosey's 2025 2026 budget. The Entoura Central School District Board of Education hereby approves the 2025206 County Board of Ed
025Board of Cooperative Educational Services Administrative Budget in the amount of 7 million $283,083. May I have a first? Trusty Jerome second. Trusty Romano. Any questions or comments? All right, we'll vote. Trusty Kudson I. Trusty Jerome. I. Trusty Mitchell Morurell. I. Trusty Goodrich. I. Trusty Lynch. I. Trusty Roando. I All right. Thank you. That's unanimous. Um item 10.02 is the vote for Bosey's board of education seats. I may need a little help with this one, Amanda. So, the Entoura Board of Education hereby casts their ballot for the Ster County Board of Cooperative Services. Seat number one is uh a three-year term. It's for Newaltz and the candidate is Barbara Carroll from Newalts, New York. Seat number two is uh Rondout Valley three-year term. Um I'm sorry. Both of those uh terms run from July 1st, 2025
026through June 30th, 2028. And the candidate is Lucy Vanickle of Kingston, New York. and three seat three is an atlarge seat. It is a one-year unexpired term uh April 22nd, 2025 through June June 30th uh 2026. And seat 4 is an atlarge term which is a three-year term uh running July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2028. And we are to select two. So the um so we're selecting two of the four names that are listed. Oh yes, please. Do we need to cast a vote for seats one and two? Just to be clear, even though there's one candidate for each of those. No, we we can we can No. Okay. Do a vote for each or So, I read this was in the the documentation at the event we went to. I believe the way
027it works is of of these four people, the top vote getter gets the three-year seat and the second place gets the one-year seat. We we don't designate. Okay. So the the the four names that we're selecting two of are for the two at large seats. So we're not are are we not voting on the on the first two seats at all? No. No, we are. Um so you're voting on the first two seats and then you're voting on seat three and seat four. And from seat three and seat four, we choose or you choose um two of the four candidates. So, if you'd like to vote for seat one first, um, and then move to seat 2 and then seat three, we can do it that way if it makes it easier. Since there's no
028choice for seats one and two, maybe you could vote for those together and just it's sort of just an it's an endorsement of those candidates. I'm not even sure how to word this. So, uh, in terms of seat one for, uh, New Pulse and seat two for Rondout, are we in favor? Can we do a consensus vote? Okay. Are we in favor of the candidates that are listed? Show of hands. Okay, that's unanimous. And then we're to select two of the other four. And Trusty Kudson explained how that would work with the expire the uh one-year unexpired term and the three-year full term. We have um options of an Ellenville candidate uh Willie Bruce, an antiora candidate Allison Dodd, Kingston candidate, Suzanne Jordan, and a News candidate David Thompson. So, how do we do this
029vote? So, my suggestion would be if you want to do a consensus vote on each and then we can do a resolution on whomever has the most votes. Does that make sense? Kind of. Go ahead. Can I suggest if if this is how the board feels um maybe we confirm Allison Dodd since she was our nominee and then just choose among the other three. Okay. I was I'm just like I'm trying to follow rules that don't exist and so I'm sort of like I don't want to skip ahead. So, um, we'll do a consensus vote again. If you support, um, uh, electing Allison Dodd to the three-year position, raise your or to any position, please raise your hand. Thank you. That's unanimous. Um, and then how do we how do we just Okay. Okay. If
030you would like to vote for uh Willie Bruce, please raise your hand. Did you get that? If you would like to vote for Suzanne Jordan, please raise your hand. And if you would like to vote for David Thompson, please raise your hand. Oh, okay. I did. I voted for Allison Dodd and I vote Oh, okay. Who may I just ask again to if you're if you'd like to vote for Allison Dodd, please raise your hand. So, we just didn't have a quorum on any of the Okay. So, right. Okay. Good. All right. Okay. So, now we have to have a resolution. Okay. The Ontario Board of Education hereby cast their ballot for Olter County Board of Cooperative Services. I'm I just don't know how to word this. Seat one and two. So, okay. um hereby
031resolve that Barbara Carroll is our choice for New Pulse and Lucy Vanickle is our choice for Rhonda Valley. I'm sorry. Okay. and Allison Dodd from Antiora for an atlarge seat. Okay. So, we'll vote. Trusty Kusen I. Trusty Jerome I. Trusty Mitchell Morell. I. Trusty Goodrich. I. Trusty Lynch. I. Trusty Roando. Hi. All right. That's unanimous. Thank you all. Thanks for bearing with me through that. on to item 10.03 discussing adding email response pro protocol to the board norms. We just wanted to uh go back to what we had discussed previously and make sure that everyone agrees, excuse me. Uh with what we what we had talked about before because we never actually took a vote. Trusty Kudson. So, I did have one question about this draft which is on the third um uh scenario. Uh
032when it and it's an incoming email that has comments and opinions and no in isn't asking anything particular of the board. Um I just wonder it's sort of a you know it's a polite um form response that says we've heard you Um, and it the uh the suggested norm is that it requires the board president to get a quorum approval, but it's it's a form. So, I just I just don't know if that can just be sent without if if if that's what it's going to be. I don't think it I don't think it needs to be a um quorum approval. I mean, that makes sense to me. Sarah, that actually tees up the question I had, which is, is there a scenario where we don't use a form and therefore it would be, you
033know, for example, you suggest a for a response to number three and and then um one of us may say, I'd prefer that we share this information or something like that. Can we direct them to this policy or web page for further information? um or are you suggesting in this new protocol that we only have these sort of form letters? I mean I think this is a guide for you know like the the most the the most often you know most often we get emails that would that would be responded to in either of these three ways. Um, I think there's always an a chance that it might be something different. And you know, many times I do forward, you know, I do forward everything that we receive to the superintendent. Sometimes she responds because
034she has the information that we don't have. Um, you know, obviously she's not writing to us to ask for our approval because we're, you know, it's different with us. We do. We're a team of seven. Um, Trusty Kudson. Yes. So, well, I was just going to say that it's the middle scenario that would that is would um engender board discussion about, you know, what's the proper way, what's the proper information to point them to. And I guess what you raised is a good point is that it would be up to the discretion of the board president to to sort which type of email this is. And I guess we could put in the norm, you know, if there's any doubt, go to number two, you know, but if it's very clear that uh, you know,
035just I think this period, I don't know. Yeah. I mean, so just to be rather safe than sorry, is it a Gosh, I hope this isn't something. Um would it I mean I don't have a problem sending it to the board uh you know for for approval ever. So, you know, and and Trusty Lynch's point is is well taken because sometimes, you know, three of us might say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is this is fine." And then one person says, "Hey, you know, have we thought about this or should we offer some a suggestion or some information?" I guess from where I sit, um, you know, we've come such a long way in terms of our communication and our transparency. I I don't really see a scenario for number three to be honest with you
036because no one ever writes to us and says, "Hey, do you know the sky is blue?" I mean, they'll they'll write to us to say they have an opinion about something that we are discussing or that they're concerned about with their child or that the community needs to know about. So, from my perspective, I'd prefer that we just use this form in level in section two and that we do have a quorum. I think to me that feels more appropriate than just saying we hear you. It just someone getting that response back, it feels very unsatisfactory. I agree. I do agree with that. Which which is I think one of the reasons why I didn't initiate responses to so many emails that we received um over the like a couple months ago because just to
037say, you know, thank you for your for your correspondence seemed very trit. How do other trustees feel feel about this? Trusty Jerome, I agree with Trusty Lynch and you. I I think that um making people feel considered and responded to is important. So, um options one and two um and maybe eliminating three. Trusty Mitchell Morell, how do you feel? I like the one and two as well. Trusty Goodrich. Yeah, I like uh I like two the best. So, but I like one and two. And yeah, three doesn't seem very useful. Okay, Trusty Roando, that's fine. One and two is great. Trusty Lynch, thank you. Thanks for being willing to strengthen and clarify the response. You're welcome. And Trusty Kudson, I think we already heard from you, but Okay. Yep. Okay. Good. So, we have consensus
038and so we'll have this added to our board norms. Will you take care of that for us, Amanda? Okay. Thank you. We have a break built in right now. Do we need a break? No. Okay, we'll keep going. The board hereby approves items number 12.02 through 12.09. Uh we're approving the consent agenda. May I have a first? Trusty Jerome second. Trusty Goodrich. Any questions or comments? Trusty Kudson. I just want to say that I've reviewed schedule U and everything appears to be in order. Great. Thank you. So, we'll vote on that. Trusty Jerome I. Trusty Mitchell Morurell. I. Trusty Goodrich. I. Trusty Kudson. I. Trusty Lynch. Excuse me. I Trusty Roando I. All right. Great. That's unanimous. Thank you. Item 13.01, contracts and independent contract retainers. The board will approve all independent contract retainers and
039contracts uh which are items number 13.0 02 through 13.05. May I have a first? Trusty Jerome second. Trusty Romano. Any questions or comments? All right, we'll vote. Trusty Kudson I. Trusty Jerome I. Trusty Mitchell Moral I. Trusty Goodrich. Hi. Trusty Lynch. Hi. Trusty Romano. Hi. All right. Great. That's unanimous. So, we have some policies. 14.01 is a first reading of policy 3430, school safety and educational climate reporting 14.02. And we don't we're not we're not voting on anything unless uh it's a second reading. Correct. Okay. Yep. Okay. So 14 uh.02 is a first reading of policy 6161 expense reimbursement. 14.03 is a first reading of policy 7350 corporal punishment. 14.04 04 is a first reading of policy 8460, field trips and excursions. Superintendent, uh, I just wanted to make mention that, um, I got some
040feedback from one of our high school principles to modify the field trips and excursions policy very minorly, but um, and I can send that out to the board so that uh, you can see the suggested changes. And at any time when I'm sort of just rambling off those first readings, if anybody has a question or comment, please just, you know, stop me. Um, and we can discuss. 14.05 policy number 8430 independent study reviewed and okay as is. So our action is the board of education hereby accepts policy 4330. an 8430 um as reviewed. May I have a first? Yes. I'm not sure. I think you might have started with number two. There's a one on the previous page that you might have skipped. I'm um the school safety and education. You read it. I did
041read. Yeah, I did. My fault. Never mind. It's okay. So we're we're the board hereby accepts policy 8430 as reviewed. May I have a first? Trustee Mitchell Morurell. Second. Trusty Romano. Any questions or comments? Right. We'll vote. Trustee Kenson. I. Trusty Jerome. I. Trusty Mitchell Morurell. I. Trusty Goodrich. I. Trusty Lynch. I. Trusty Roando. Hi. All right, that's unanimous. Any committee reports? Trusty Lynch. Sure. Just wanted to update everybody that the communications committee met um and we had the privilege of working with Point Road Studios Sharon Leovsky um to help uh our colleagues at Boseies sort of bring that narrative forward from what we've been talking about as a community and and at the board table to some of the um uh communications tools that you've all now seen including the postcard, the website and
042um and the invitations for various community meetings. So, um it was a very productive meeting. We also resurfaced the uh parent square discussions and we are waiting on the administration um to connect um on budget implications as well as we're still trying to um create a what they call a sand lot which is a um an opportunity for those who will be utilizing this tool to play around with it essentially um and make sure that it's fit for purpose at ona but it's um still being discussed at the committee level. Yeah. Our director of technology just informed me that we have the sandbox. Sandbox, not a sand lot. Thank you, John. So, John, not to put you on the spot, but so you have the sandbox and then at some point maybe when you've played
043with it and u you know gotten a little familiar with it, will you share it with us? Is that how it works? Okay, great. So, John said that he has it right now and he's going to see what he can do with it and then he's going to share it with us to see what we can do with it and uh we'll start playing with it. That sounds great. That's exciting. And just to provide context, sorry as I throwing around terms, I just want to remind the board this is an an app that would um be new for our community to be using and um very much helps us implement one of the policies actually around um parent communication and community engagement. Um and would really help to streamline our existing um modes of communication.
044Uh and certainly I believe um from the quick demo we had really helped with some efficiencies at particularly for our administrators and staff who spend a lot of time not only crafting emails but also translating them and all the things. It's now like a click of a button. Um and for those end users um who are involved in multiple schools or um even with just one child, it streamlines communication with your teacher and anybody else that you're connecting with at the schools. So, um, would really value your feedback. I think it could be a gamecher. Great. Thank you very much, Trusty Jerome. I'm just going to try to say it also how I kind of think of it just so we can because it's I think you did a great job and I just think
045that we have to keep explaining it so that we can kind of describe the impact that it could have for families in our district. But if we think about all the different fragmented pieces of information that are happening in our district that get pushed to different channels, maybe they're on the website, maybe they're in social media, maybe they're in an email. What Parent Square would do would be more of a single source of truth. So you could have vision across schools in one place um on your phone. So if you're like me and you don't really play on social media, you can still have a quick, you know, add a look. Oh, okay. The the concert is here. It starts at 7. Great. I'm I'm got, you know, and you don't have to think about
046it anymore. So, it's it's really it also um additionally to like sort of um consolidating all those different uh channels. It also um allows for two-way communication with teachers, direct communication with teachers. So that's pretty cool that you can really rather than having to call or email or this or that, you can be doing it in this much more um instant way. Um and so it's a very exciting uh tool and I hope that and I agree with Trusty Lynch and I agree with her description. Hopefully between the two of us and anybody else who wants to try to describe it, we can, you know, um, convey its um, potential. Thank you both. Trusty Goodrich. So, um, from the communications committee, um, when do you think the postcards will arrive in people's mailboxes? Yeah, many
047of them already did. Yeah, mine mine came a couple days ago. Yeah, any day if you haven't received it yet, but um it was supposed to hit I think on Sunday was the earliest is what I remember her saying. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. I feel like I got mine on Friday or Saturday. Yeah. Okay. Check your mailbox. Okay. Any other committee reports? Obviously, policy has been working. All right. Any old business? Trusty Lynch. I just wanted to revisit the conversation we started last week about decisions made to curriculum and wondering um if there's if there's a timeline for that particular discussion. And there was it about the languages the world languages but also broader about picture about the um the way in which those decisions are being made as we I felt the conversation was still
048happening. So, I'm just wondering what the plan is in terms of um well, I we could come back at the next meeting and have a broader discussion and kind of go through the the path for how that conversation has been happening and then that can kind of inform how it happens as we move forward too. I'm happy to to bring that back. Was it and just I mean to put a finer point on it, we had talked about, you know, multiple different ways we could pursue partnerships or other things. Um I'm just curious, has a decision been made or is there a timeline for that decision? The schedule has been created assuming that we are not continuing with the French language option. Trusty Jerome. Yeah. So that it given the last conversation that's a bit
049of a surprise because I think there was consensus among board members that that was a big deal. So if we could pick it up and and talk about it next meeting, that would be great. Yeah, I I do agree because I just I just remember writing down a probably 10 or 12 different ideas that we kind of floated that um you know and I know that a lot of them were, you know, pie in the sky maybe, but some of them I think really were things that we could potentially consider. Okay, great. Any other old business? Yes, Trusty Roando, I don't mean to put you on the spot, District Clerk, but could you do a quick a quick shout out to the community about Diligent community and where to find it? Okay, and what it
050is. So we as a district now have a new platform for our agendas and uh meetings and minutes instead of using board docs. We're using something called diligent community which uh has a wonderful um front cover page where you can subscribe to get um agendas and and information. Trying to find it on the website. So, if we go to the website and you click on school board, from there you'll see board agendas and minutes, which will bring you to a dashboard with a bunch of different information. All of our scheduled upcoming meetings, we can connect with us on social media. You can see today's meetings. You can click on live stream. Um, we do have a public beheard signup form. And then the subscribe for agenda updates is right there as well. We do already
051have a handful of subscribers, which is very exciting. Um, and a great feature, too, if you want to watch it live, you can also pull up the um the double feature, so you can view the agenda and watch it live instead of going back and forth between our website and um YouTube. So, any questions, you can email me um at district [email protected]. us. Thank you. Thank you, Chesse Kenitson. Yeah. So, I just wonder, it seemed like the last time I was on um this this system that's um not all of the prior meetings are have been uploaded, have been migrated from board docs. So, I've I've been going back to board docs to reference some agenda attachments from just meetings earlier this year. Is there is there a um a schedule for when we're going
052to be completely migrated over? Yep. So, in the next 30 days after this meeting, actually, since this is our first meeting on Diligent, we're not using Board Docs at all. Um 30 days from now, Board Docs will be sunset and everything will be migrated over, which the migration is supposed to happen this week. uh from my discussion with the community team last week. Okay. So, the reason I bring it up is because we're in a time when there's a big event happening that people may want to reference materials that are back on board docs. So, I don't know if it's possible tech team to to keep the board docs link until everything's available over here. You know what I I don't want our previous materials to disappear. If people want to go back and look
053at old agendas, I can reach out tomorrow to see when they're anticipating the final migration because if it's going to be in 24 hours, I would suggest waiting. Uh but if it's going to take longer than expected, of course, I can add the link back. Yeah. Great. Thank you. Uh, any other old business? Any new business? Oh, Trusty Lynch. Any new business? H Oh, old business. We have to talk about uh chapter six. I'll start. I I really like chapter 6 because it's a it's a great reminder to me about our responsibilities. Um, and again, I think like we've said, uh, as we've gone through the book, um, these authors have a slightly different take than, um, you know, than what I've learned through NISBA, you know, so it it really makes me think um
054more um a a little bit less black and white and uh, which I I like. Trusty Roando. So for our students here, just to catch you up on what we're doing, we're reading a book and we decided to do a book study amongst us where we read a chapter for every meeting that we have and then we come together and we just talk about it and it's about it's the governance core 2.0. So it speaks to how we govern to be the best school board we can be for our students and our and our faculty and our community. So just so you know what we're talking about. Um the the takeaway that I thought was really important which is how I feel every day is the statement where they said part of the challenge for
055the board is to maintain its critical long-term focus while also comprehending the rapidly changing dynamic world we live in. And it I feel like now more than ever it's just a frantic pace. So, I think it's those moments where we can um take a pause like when we hear something in the community or um we get an email or, you know, we don't pause long, but to just hold it for a second and really think about its impact and how we can be purposeful in um how we respond and how we handle ourselves. Trusty Lynch. Yeah, completely agree with you, Trusty Raondo. happens to me all the time and I love that I can say to some to each other you know I'm having a hard time seeing the long view help um at the
056same time um the thing to your point trusty bishop about the difference with NISSBA this line right in the first page struck me which is that mo much of the focus of the discussion around board responsibilities has to do with boards ought not to do and I that resonated with me because I feel like far too often we talk about that is not our role. That is not what we do. That is not what the responsible, you know, board members should take that forward. And I just um remember again a conversation this board had last summer at a retreat where we talked about can we shift that narrative? Can you can you tell us what we should do? What how can we be helpful to onto your central school district? Like what is useful to
057you? Um, and I think that that's been really um a contributor to uh this um more pleasant uh configuration of our board. Trusty Kenson, one of the passages that I highlighted and I think it's sort of threaded through the whole chapter is um is about the word sustaining. Um the sentence was it is in s setting and sustaining the direction of the school district that the efficacy of this role is realized. Setting direction can be defined as moving from a conceptual understanding of the moral imperative to a well-developed transparent and highly focused set of policies and strategic goals. And um and then and later on they talk about you know making policy as often boards fall into the trap of making a policy following it away and then forgetting about it. Right? So to me
058it's it's I was energized by this chapter seems to point just to more a more active in between meetings um trustee role of it's it's it's not just what we do here but it's it's what we do in between meetings to keep these policies and goals that we've set moving forward. Um, and so I I thought it might be interesting when when we were setting board goals early in the year, I didn't feel that there was a a explicit connection drawn between policy committee and goals, but um, this chapter they said, you know, like your what what goals your board are pursuing at any given time are should be tied to two or three of your top policies, right? So I thought it might be interesting going into next year to think about trying to
059just strengthen that connection between policy and goal. Trusty [Music] Jerome. Um, for me I think that when you look at policy goals, the work that we do, how impossible it is to um, keep up with the rapid change of the hybrid world that we live in, that we have to stand by our vision and our mission for this district, which I hope, you know, we have a really strong commitment to. That's why things like language is so important, right? because this communication which has been um turned upside down with technology with LLMs and AI like in-person comm community learning how to speak with people learning how to understand people who are different you this is like to me that all feeds into a higher value of our district the way that music does you know
060I've always said that that's another language that our children speak that is why things like wrestling and sports and these real world interactions really matter and so as we build out things change like this but that value I think for Antiora doesn't change and um just so really holding that um at sort of that the top of everything the goals policies the daytoday the the overhead of you know life but at the at the end of the day we have these values that we hold trying to so um yeah superintendent there were a couple of uh sections of this chapter that I found really resonated with me um and I think you know I've commented on this before but where uh the authors say the board's demeanor has a powerful impact on the um staff's
061morale and their ability to carry out the board's direction and I think this board has such a wonderful positive demeanor that it really does make a difference. Um and then they also say it's important to understand that setting direction is not a single event. Uh it is an ongoing almost organic function of governance and that the board should be adopting broad five-year goals. And I think that's something that this board has really taken up the idea that goals shouldn't be one-year to-do lists. They should be really setting the direction. And I really am um so respectful of how this board has really changed that perspective. Yes, I agree. Thank you. I I didn't uh highlight or star any any um specific small piece, but the piece that really spoke to me was uh the ending
062uh couple pages um around community leadership and and engagement. And I think that um it's an area I I think it's an area that we have really improved in over over the past couple of years. Um, and it's an area that we're that I can only speak for myself that uh when I'm kind of patting myself on the back and saying, "Oh, good job with the communication and all that," I get an an instant reminder that we need to communicate better. And so it's sort of like a real process for me as as a board trustee not to get uh ahead of myself or too full of myself in terms of the the qualities that they're discussing here and the and the responsibilities that they're discussing there because I think that you know if there's
063one person who's uninformed or you know um feeling like we're not listening or whatever then we have to do more or do better. So, um that that piece really spoke to me. Any other comments on the book? So, chapter seven is next. Pillar three, governance infrastructure. Chapter seven. So, we'll read chapter seven for next time. Great. And actually, since we are technically still in or jumped back to old business, can I just ask um just going back to uh Christina's comments, I I would just like to know if what she was describing is is that in policy or is that in procedure? And if you know like you don't have to answer right now, but um just curious about I don't believe that is board policy. It's more procedure, but we can you know we
064can pull the transportation policies and review them because oftentimes we have policies that address things that I mean our policies are voluminous so we can pull the transportation policies. Okay, that'd be great. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Any I know we did new business but then we jumped back to old business. Any other new business? Go ahead. Are we going to have an opportunity to talk about what Christina presented today another time or I I'm still unclear. Are we going to talk about it in our policy meeting just us or I think we it's not up to us. Well, I I think we could take a look at the policy and then that'll give us an idea of whether whether we have any role in that. Um I think that would help me at least and
065then we can always talk about it in old business question. Okay. All right. Any requests for information? Trusty Lynch. Yes. I was just um I wanted to ask uh for one just again applaud and thank um the volume of information that's going out to prepare our community for the May 20th vote. Um I'm also just curious um if there is an opportunity to brief students in a presentation and assembly andor staff. I just believe that they are the ones who could potentially be such an important um communicator in this. Um I think understanding all the facts particularly as it was will affect them every on the daily um and being a source of strong information for the local community um for those reasons. I'd love to see how that could happen. And I recognize we'd
066have to pay staff to participate and there's other fact, you know, things that we'd want to make sure are are considered for students um time as well, but I just want to make sure I understand um if that's being considered for staff. We can do things after school without paying them. They're just volunteer. So we can absolutely schedule um times after school for um you know secondary elementary that's not a problem. Interacting with the students we can work with the high school principal to try and make that happen. That might be a little more difficult but even if we offer something after school there are a lot of students who are involved in after school activities though I mean maybe we can set up a table at lunch. I'm thinking about like an assembly superintendent
067where staff and students see a presentation about what will happen at their campus. Um I recognize that that's a curriculum or a daily schedule concern but that's what I was envisioning not something that's volunteer to go to but actually something that is presented to them as stakeholders in this plan. We can talk to the principles but given um where we are in the school calendar that'll be very hard to pull off. But we have cabinet tomorrow, so we'll bring it up. Trusty Jerome. Um I I difficult though it may be, it seems like it's very important stakeholders um to support what we're trying to do as a district. So whatever can be done to expose them to explain you know I think it would be effort and time very well spent. Any other RFIs? All
068right. May I have a motion to adjurnn? Trust second. Trusty Lynch. All in favor? That's unanimous. Our next meeting is on Tuesday, May 6th at the middle school high school. Thank you everyone.