001October 27, 2025 meeting is now called to order. We will now have roll call. Miss Jel, >> President Ryland, we have a full board present. Uh, Secretary Moore is online, does plan to vote. So, we'll do a roll call vote this morning for action items. >> Thank you. As our custom, we will stand and recite the pledge of allegiance, please. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. It stands one nation under God, indivisible and justice and justice for all. >> Okay. Our artwork tonight is Harrison High School. So if you get the opportunity to, you know, please look at the artwork and we're now ready for good news. Jason, >> thank you very much, President Raglin, members of the board. Superintendent Hoover,
002I will tag on with the artwork. It's always great to see what's here in the boardroom, which is amazing. Harrison has such a proud tradition with their artwork. If you didn't see the display cases out in the lobby, make sure you check those out as well. all their pottery. Um just incredible what they've been able to do. So kudos to them for good news this evening. We're going to go back just a ways, but this is since our last school board meeting back to the week of the fall festival. Um and the special kids day at the fall festival is always an incredible day that the nut club puts together that really makes for such a special day uh for so many of our students that uh attend that. And if you see family members
003posting on social media in the evening after that, they just talk about what an incredible experience it is for their students and the Nut Club does just does an absolute fabulous job of taking care of them and doing everything they can to make that a very special day. So always uh always excited to see that every year and that's a long time tradition with the Nut Club. Rights High School, we always try to lift these. So many of our high schools are are doing these type of activities. Writes High School recently went down and uh some of their students uh were able to read to their elementary students who are in their feeder pattern in their schools. So, we always love seeing that just building that sense of excitement and making those connections between the
004high school and the elementary schools and these future Panthers. Uh congratulations to the North High School boys tennis team. Um they actually clinched their third regional championship in school history, so that does not happen very often. Uh so [clears throat] very excited for them. Their number one doubles team uh advanced to the state finals. So that is absolutely uh amazing and we're very proud of them as well. And I did not with North High School but I just wanted to throw this in just found out about this. Writes High School has a cross country runner who has qualified to state and that is Carter Zeran from Writes High School. So certainly very proud of that. Love seeing our athletes doing a great job representing EBSC and their schools. marching band uh as they're moving through
005now the real highly competitive part of their season. Uh great job to Central High School. Their marching band as they've done in the past few years competed this past weekend at the Scholastic State Finals. So very proud of them. All of the rest of our bands then are moving forward. They all qualified for semi-state which I believe is this Saturday. So wishing them all the best in that. I did have to show this picture really quick. I love when I see schools making special uh recognitions of different students. Last high last Friday, Central High School shared this on social media. They had an evacuation drill. So, all of the Central students went down to the high school football stadium for that evacuation drill. Well, since Central was competing in this Scholastic competition over the weekend,
006they decided to go ahead and have them perform uh for the students. So while they're out there, just a great chance for these students to get in a last minute practice and also so all of their peers could see their performance while they were down there for this drill. So just thought that was great to see the school uh doing that. And then we had a uh what's happening with Dr. Hoover. I won't say too much about this because you're going to hear more about this in district spotlight, but um this episode that we posted featured uh the options fair that took place last Thursday and more to come on that and that is good news. Thank you very much. >> We are now ready to move into consent items. Dr. Hoover comments. >> Oh,
007maybe we're not having >> Oh, sorry. Yes. Public comments. >> President Wrangler. Uh, in a continuation of good news, let me call up our only speaker, a few minutes with Larry. Tonight, I'd like to say a few things about the North High School volleyball program. This past season, they were outstanding. 29 and three. Most teams, if you talk to them at the season, then you say 29 and three. You played for a state championship, you won a state championship. Unfortunately, there was a roadblock named Castle in the way. So, two of their three losses during the season were to Castle uh in the conference when they played for the both undefeated. They they lost to Castle in the sectional. Uh lost to Castle again, but Castle went on to win the regional this past season.
008So, Castle was no slouch. They're like 39 and three themselves. Coaching staff, Ashley Casmarski, Bailey Edmonson, this crew's been there for a while. Becky Lasher, Andy Lasher, Riley Lasher. mentioned some of the players. One of the themes north has been family. Sisters are playing, cousins are playing, somebody played, they've had a relative play before. Uh this past season, Kennley Bernard, probably the best player, division one sane will play division one volleyball next year. She had a sister graduated last year, played. Um twins, Freels, Freel twins, only sophomore this year, starters. Uh outstanding players. Looking for North to be good again next year, but pair of twins. They're only sophomores. Uh Mazir had had a sister play last year. Wilkey been Wilky playing North Valley for years. And the most unusual Libby Ryan senior at North
009uh when she was a sophomore of the family moved to Wright's district, but she wanted to continue playing at North. So she goes to North provides her own transportation. her younger sister Nora this year was a freshman. Norah is an outstanding volleyball player herself. She likes rights. So she was a freshman started this year for rights. So when Rights played north this year, we had sister playing sister from the same household. Unusual circumstance. >> Thank you. >> That's all the public comment we have. President R. >> Thank you very much. We are now ready for consent items. Dr. Hoover. >> Good evening. President Ragland, members of the board of school trustees, we have five consent items for your consideration tonight. They are 3.01, consideration of the minutes from the October 6th and October 20th executive
010sessions and the October 6th regular board meeting. 3.02, consideration of the allowance of payment. We have invoices, net payroll, and payroll obligation for a total allowance of payment 17,822,956.32 3 03 consideration to approve grant proposals 3.04 consideration to approve the petition to the Indiana Department of Education for the common school fund loan and 3.05 consideration to approve the agreement with the EVSSE Foundation for tutoring services. These consent items are presented for your approval. >> Move to approve. Second. >> A motion and second have been made to accept the consent items. Are there any questions or discussion? Dr. Hoover, I have a question. It's Trusty Moore. >> Hi there. The question that I have is how are the students selected for the tutoring program and how are we measuring their goals um over the school year?
011So it it changes um every year, but this past year because of the emphasis on reading and we had such a robust tutoring practice during the school day, we actually shifted and put students in this particular tutoring program are are our students that were closer to grade level. But AP um does an executive summary at the end of the school year and sends us the data that they collect. But on our end, we're always looking at um of course ultimately Irene performance, but also our own internal assessments. But um AP measures uh words correct on dibbles. They measure um improvements in words correct on benchmarks from dibbles and um number of words. So they measure improvement in number of words exceeded or correct on benchmarks. They also do some things like a self-ratings like self-management,
012classroom effort, emotional regulation, engagement. So they put together a pretty extensive survey evaluating their services that includes student benchmark data, student perception data, and tutor perception data that they send back to us at the end of the year. Okay, thank you very much. >> I got one question. Um, so on the on the tutoring again, is it a pull out tutoring or is it an after school tutoring? >> Almost all this past year were after the school day because our teachers who had been trained in the science of reading were the daytime tutors and so the majority of these students were after school tutoring. Yeah. >> Yep. Any other questions? >> We are now ready for a roll call vote. >> I will start with Vice President Duckworth. >> Hi. >> President Ragland. >> Hi.
013>> Trusty Kefir. >> Hi. >> Trustee Dere. >> Hi. >> Trusty Hollingsworth. >> Hi. >> Trusty Gamlin. >> Hi. >> And secretary Moore. >> I. Thank you. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. We are now ready for personnel consideration and personnel recommendations. Rick Cameron. >> Good evening, President Raglin, members of the board, and Dr. Hoover. Tonight's personnel recommendations include the following: retirement resignations, regular appointments, temporary appointments, position reassignments, resignations from extra duty, appointments to extra duty, reassignments to extra duty, transfers, afterchool appointments, and the consideration of the administrative appointment of Andre Thomas, head girls basketball coach at Harrison High School. These recommendations are presented for your approval. >> Move. >> Second. >> Motion and a second have been made to accept the personnel recommendation. Are there any questions or discussion? Okay. Hearing none, we'll take
014a roll call vote. Okay. >> Vice President Duffford. >> I. >> President Raglin. >> I. [snorts] >> Trusty Kefir. >> I. Trusty Dere >> I. >> Trusty Hollingsworth >> I. >> Trusty Gamblin >> I. >> And Secretary Moore >> I. >> And that motion carries you. [cough] >> We are now ready to move into district spotlight. Dr. Hoover. So tonight I'm excited to have Karen Hillard, our chief innovation officer here to talk more about last Thursday's EBSC options fair. >> Right. Well, thank you for having me this evening to do this district spotlight tonight on the eighth grade options fair that actually yes last Thursday at sick tick in EBSC. We proudly offer around 30 unique innovative programs. in addition to the sick tick options that students can apply to attend and really customize their
015high school experience and it is really popular with our students. We have currently 16% of our EVSSE high schoolers that are leveraging at least one innovative model and this doesn't even include out of county and non EVSSE students that is just our students here in the EVSSC. The way we approach the options fair event is to make sure we're really meeting students and families where they are. So whether they already know what their top program of choice is or they're coming in and exploring all the off all the options that they have, we really make this evening work for them. We really make sure they have a chance to engage with program staff, with current students to hear those real stories and ask real questions about what it's like. and even graduates are there to
016represent the impact that those programs had on their learning and life after high school. And we also try to make sure there's a lot of hands-on opportunities so they can try out what the learning is really like in those types of programs and models. Some highlights from this year. I wish I could tell you exactly how many people were there. I'm going to tell you it was a lot. We had a tremendous turnout. I can tell you actually it keeps jumping up. We have we have eighth graders that continue to register. They said they were going to do it after. So, we're up to about 168 eighth graders now that have registered that they attended that program. And we do really encourage them to register with us because that's where we learn more about them.
017We learn about their strengths, their passions, the way that they like to learn. and it helps us really connect and match them with the opportunities that they have and follow up and customize that follow-up to make sure they get to those different options and take the next steps that they need to take. So, we had a tremendous turnout. We wanted to make sure that we really made it an accessible event to all students, including having our MLL navigators there, translators, and even including bus transportation for our title one students. So, if you know a student who's interested in applying, we highly encourage every student who's interested to go ahead and get their application in. That's available at evschools.com. Even if they're between programs, they're not quite sure, they're on the fence, they can apply to
018more than one model, and we'll help them through that process. We also want to make sure interested students are leveraging the supports that they have at school. Talk to your school counselor. We have preparing for college and careers teachers in place in the middle schools now. Talk to those teachers or even reach out to those innovative model program directors directly through our website. We also have an email address optincc12.com. Anybody can email that email address and we're going to get you to the right place and to the right people. And then finally, I do want to say thank you to every single board member. You have been so supportive of making sure that our students have options that align to their interests, their talents, their future focus areas. And what I love about this quote
019that's up here, it really gives students a sense of belonging. Or as this student said, it creates a second family for me. So I just want to say thank you for all the investment that you put into believing in the fact that students should have options and we should be able to really customize an experience for them. I would be happy to take any questions. >> I got one quick question. So, we're offering cosmetology out there now. Are we going to >> coming up? >> It is coming up this fall. We're doing all the planning right now. We are seeking interest from students. So, we'll be able to make sure to gather those and then work that through an application process when we're ready for that. >> So, I don't know how you got to
020be to set for that because you got to pass a state license to get that, right? >> Yeah. So, we're going to accept applications starting with sophomores. >> Okay. All right. >> And you're going to need people to come in to cut their hair. So, I guess I'm not being [laughter] >> They got to know how to do this, too. Come on. >> For other services. [laughter] >> You only have so much time. >> That's right. >> Thank you. >> I have a comment and a question. So, the comment is around cosmetology. I saw that last week that it's coming. And I think that that's great because I think for many in the public, the perception is you go to cosmetology school when you can't do anything else. And my hairdresser I've had for 22
021years was the top 5% of her class at modern day and she chose cosmetology and I do not trust anyone else to touch my hair. And uh secondly, you said you mentioned that um the 16% of the students who utilize any you know one or more options um are e you know EVSSE students. Do you happen to know the percentage of um those that attend who are out of county or out of EVSSE? >> Yeah, it bumps it up by like another 5% when you add in everybody else. >> Yeah. And I think that that's great because as a parent who did one-time homeschool, it was nice to to have those options for students that, you know, math is not my is not my jam. Okay. So, but if it would my son who was
022helping me with my college homework when he was in fifth grade, um could have, you know, um would have been benefited um for for something like that. So, that's great. I think all of these options really do create a sense of belonging and I think that that is so important that every child no matter their background feels that they belong when they're in school. >> Yes. >> And there's a place that I fit and a learning approach that fits for me. >> I think that's great. Thank you for sharing with us. >> So the barber will barber will fit under the cosmetology as well >> eventually. That's not going to be rolled out the first year. We're going to roll that in once we get cosmetology up and running. >> Great. >> Thank you so
023much. >> Thank you. >> Okay, we are ready for our action items. 6.01. Jason Wickenberg. >> Thank you again, President Raglin, members of the board, Dr. Hoover. Uh last time I shared information about the proposed calendar for the 2627 school year and tonight I ask for your approval on that. >> Move to approve. >> I'm sorry. >> Second. >> Motion is second have been made to uh approve the proposed calendar for the 2026 through 2027 school year. Are there any questions or discussion? So, when will that be um once it's approved, will the um parents and public be made aware of it? >> We actually are ready to share that information this evening. >> Right. Because I had someone text me that they're planning a trip to Alaska in 27, but they don't want to
024miss their niec's um graduation. >> Well, that's great. How exciting. At 7:30 tonight, all families and staff are going to get a text, also an email, and we will also post it on social media. >> Thank you. Any other questions, discussion? Okay, hearing none, we're ready for roll call. >> I'll start with Vice President Duckworth. >> Hi, >> President Ragland. >> Hi, >> Trusty Kefir. >> Hi, >> Trusty Dere. >> Hi. >> Trusty Hollingsworth. >> Hi. >> And Trusty Gamblin. >> Hi. >> And Secretary Moore. >> I. >> Thank you. >> That motion carries. Thank you so much. >> You're now ready for 6.02 Cameron. >> We have three couple here in a row. So during the 2025 legislative session, House Enrolled Act 1001 significantly revised the teacher appreciation grant program, including changes to the
025funding model and distribution requirements. Policy 3540 no longer aligns with these changes and is no longer required. Therefore, the office of chief chief of staff recommends that the board resend policy 3540 to ensure alignment with current law and state guidance. >> Second. >> Okay. A motion and a second have been made to approve the recision of policy 3540 teacher appreciation grants. Are there any questions or discussion? Hearing none. Roll call vote. >> I will start with vice president Dunworth. >> I. >> President Ragland. >> I. >> Trusty Kefir. >> Hi. >> Trusty Dere. >> Hi. >> Trusty Hollingsworth. >> Hi. >> Trusty Gamblin. >> Hi. >> And secretary Moore. >> I. Thank you. Carries. >> Item 6.03. 03. You want me just to keep going through them then that >> uh tonight we are seeking
026your approval for the renewal of our employee dental insurance with dental health options by health resources. As Michelle had shared with you last board meeting, we found HRI's proposal provides the least disruption to our network and plan design while also keeping rates in line with benchmarks. We are recommending a two-year agreement effective January 1, 2026 through December 31st, 2027. The agreement will include a 10.5% rate increase which the district will absorb. The overall cost increase for the district is $162,221 funded through the operations fund. So tonight, we request your approval to move forward with the dental renewal as proposed. >> Move to approve. Second. >> A motion and second have been made to approve the renewal of the dental health options by health resources. Are there any questions or discussion? Okay. Hearing none, we are
027ready for roll call vote. >> Okay. Vice President Duckworth. >> I. >> President Ragland. >> I. >> Trusty Kefir. >> Hi. >> Trusty Derees. Hi. >> Trusty Helings. >> Hi. >> Trusty Gamlin. >> Yes. >> And trusty Moore. >> I. >> Thank you. The motion carries >> 6.04. Also, tonight we are requesting your approval to engage with NFP for compensation consulting. Again, as Michelle previously shared in the last board meeting, this project will allow us to review and refine the district's compensation structure through job data collection, market benchmarking, and the development of a framework that supports consistent and sustainable compensation practices across the organization. The total project cost is $49,500 funded through the operations fund. And tonight we also request your approval to move forward with this partnership as proposed. >> Approved. Second. >> A
028motion and a second have been made to approve the agreement with NFP compensation consulting. Are there any questions or discussion? Hearing none. Roll call vote please. >> Vice President Duckworth. >> I. >> President Rland. >> I. Trusty Kefir. >> Hi, >> Trusty Dere. >> Hi, >> Trusty Hollingsworth. >> Hi, >> Trusty Gamblin. >> Hi. >> And Secretary Moore, >> I. >> Thank you. >> That motion carries. >> We're ready for 6.05. >> EBSC and Teamsters Local 215 negotiation teams began meetings on July 29th, 2025. They discussed collective bargaining agreements for bus attendants, bus drivers, custodial and maintenance employees, secretaries, and special education pair professionals. Tenative agreements were reached with each group by September 26th, and as of September 29th, all five groups had voted to approve their respective CBAs. Therefore, the Office of Chief of
029Staff recommends ratification of the five CBAs. move. >> Second. >> Okay. A motion and a second have been made to approve the collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 215. Are there any questions or discussion? >> Just like to thank you and your whole entire team and and and the uh Teamsters 215 and all the hard work you guys put into it. >> Yeah. uh and definitely as you'll hear later with the uh teachers collective uh bargaining agreement uh definitely a collaborative effort on both sides and I certainly want to point out uh or you know give a shout out to uh Katie Elmer and Michelle Williams who headed up all of the teams so they were in all five uh negotiating areas with the teamsters. So did a great job. [cough] This >> these agreements
030um exemplify the fact that these employees are so valued and this corporation wouldn't be close to what it is today. Our students wouldn't be as successful as they are today without uh the support personnel as well as the teachers. So we appreciate everything that they do. wish we could do more and maybe in the future we can but right now I think this is a a good agreement. >> Yeah. And I couldn't agree more. It takes everyone to make this happen. So from bus drivers, custodians, pair professionals, secretaries, bus attendants, all make it so that students have the best opportunity to be successful. >> Thank you so much. I remember when this room was packed with with bus drivers and custodians and a lot of angry folk and uh you calmed the storm. I appreciate
031it. I was one of the people that stood at that microphone and gave a little talk and uh I those were dark days to me. Um turned it around and I think we have a better corporation. We have better relations with our with our employees and that's invaluable. We we can't I mean you can you can't understate that. You've done a good job. You and your team, everybody that's involved done a great thing. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> I just want to say thanks to everyone. >> Been here enough years I could write you a book about it and been through a little bit of everything. >> And when we have a year like this, I just say praise the Lord. Thank you for what you've done. >> Takes a lot of
032work on everybody's part, doesn't it? Yeah. >> Rick, I will say um thank you so much to you and your team, not only for hearing and listening, and I think I said this last month, um just for knowing the value and the worth of all of the employees. So again, thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Now we're ready for a roll call vote. >> Okay. Vice President Duckworth. >> Yes. >> President Ragland. I >> trusty Kefir. >> Hi, >> Trusty Dere. >> Hi, >> Trusty Hollingsworth. >> Hi, >> Trusty Gamblin. >> Hi, >> and Secretary Morris. >> Absolutely. I >> thank you. >> And that motion carries. Thank you. You're now ready for 6.06 consideration uh to approve non-certified salary increases. The Office of Human Resources is requesting your approval of salary increases
033for the 2526 and 2627 school years. Current regularly appointed non-certified EBSC employees will receive an increase to their base salary for both of those years. This increase will be retroactive to July 1, 2025. EVSC certified and non-certified administrators will also receive a 2% increase effective when teachers receive their increases for both the 2526 and 2627 school years. Tonight we request your approval to move forward with these increases also. >> So move second. Motion and a second have been made to approve the non-certified salary schedules for the 2025 through 2026 and 26 through 27 school year. Well, we're now ready for I'm sorry. Are there any questions or discussion? Okay, now we're now ready for roll call vote. >> Okay. Vice President Duckworth. >> Hi. >> President Ragland. >> Hi. >> Trusty Kefir. >> Hi. >>
034Trusty Dere. >> Hi. >> Trusty Hellingsworth. >> Hi. >> Trusty Gamblin. >> Hi. >> And Secretary Moore. >> Absolutely. I >> motion carries. >> We are now ready for 6.07. Dr. Underwood. So, thank you, President Raglin, members of the board, and Dr. In accordance with Indiana Code. Uh, this public comment period represents the final step in the teacher collective bargaining process. The tenative collective bargaining agreement between the EVSC and the Evansville Teachers Association have been publicly posted for review. And at this time, I will turn this over to Mr. Schers. >> Thank you, Dr. Underwood. Indiana law recognizes the uh importance of public input on matters of expenditure of funds. The contract was posted and now is the time for any member of the public who wishes to offer comments to the board before they
035take action on the ratification of this contract to come forward, identify themselves, and share their thoughts with the board. Hello board. I'm Lori Young, the president of the Evansville Teachers Association. I would like to share that this was the best time I've ever had bargaining [laughter] and I truly appreciate it. We um I do hope that you will move to pass this. I feel that this is really a great contract for our teachers. Thank you. Is there any other member of the public who would like to share their comments with the board before they take a vote on the proposed agreement? >> Good evening. U my name is Shelby Phelps, EBSC board of trustees. I stand in front of you today with a message of hope. We had a really great bargaining session. Um, this
036is my second time being on the bargaining team and the difference was night and day. Um, it's it's not the best contract, but it's the best that we can do with what we have. Um, special shout out to Dr. Underwood for making health insurance manageable and like we could actually understand what he was saying as someone who, you know, has very limited understanding. So, um, [clears throat] the the work is still ahead of us, though. So, Indiana called a special session. It's supposed to start here in the next couple weeks. They're looking at reopening Senate Enrolled Act [clears throat] number one, which was a huge thorn in our side when it came to bargaining this session. So, we're going to need you. Um, again, I I hope that you approve our collective bargaining agreement tonight
037with the understanding that we're going to continue to fight for our teachers and our valued staff. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Is there any other public comment regarding the proposed collective bargaining agreement between the EVSC and the Evansville Teachers Association? >> Hello, my name is Rita Taylor. I'm a former um staff is former teacher in EVSC and I was on the last um bargaining committee and it was my delight number one to not be on the bargaining committee. Um [laughter] but it was also my delight that all of my educators, all of the people that I support came away smiling. And I would like to give kudos to this board, give kudos to Dr. Hoover. Um not only did you do this for our educators, but it was for our community. So, I am
038excited that we can move forward in such a positive direction and the fact that when you say something, you do something. And I appreciate of you of of you and your integrity and the integrity of this staff with really putting education forward and putting our educators forward. And I know it's not the best agreement um being in government relations. Now, I understand totally about the money, but I am appreciative that we did what we could and we're still looking forward. So, thank you all. >> Thank you. Do we have anyone else who wishes to be heard on the proposed contract? No one else approaching the microphone. Dr. Underwood, I believe you can proceed. Following the comment period, this agreement reflects months of collaboration and careful negotiation conducted in full compliance with Indiana law and EVSC
039policy. On behalf of all of the EVSC administration, Michelle Williams and I want to express our appreciation, sincere appreciation to President Raglin, members of the board, and Dr. Hoover for your leadership, vision, and commitment to supporting EBSC educators. This agreement maintains the corporation's commitment to sustainability, fairness, and long-term fiscal balance while providing meaningful recurring increases for all teachers. At this time, I recommend your approval. >> Move. >> Second. >> A motion and a second have been made to >> uh Okay. >> 6.09, I think it is, isn't it? >> Okay. >> I got excited after that. >> We're going to go back one after this. >> We skipped one. >> Okay. So, we're proposing the collective bargaining agreement, correct? >> Yes. >> All right. A motion and second have been made to approve proposed [clears
040throat] collective bargaining agreement with the Evansville Teachers Association. Are there any questions or discussion? >> President Ragwan. >> Yes, >> I do have one. Thank you, Dr. Underwood and your team um for everything. And if I can just say to the teachers, there was a quote that I used to tell my kids teachers all the time. And so an apple a day may keep the doctor away, but dedicated teachers like the ones that we have here at EVSSC inspires greatness each and every day. >> Thank you. >> I just want to say thank thank Dr. Underwood, your team, Laura, your entire team for coming together and really collaborating, putting this together. and uh you know I think we all know how hard teachers work each and every day. Uh they're the engine that keeps this
041whole thing running. So we appreciate it so much. >> And I'd like to add, you know, there are districts within this state that are not able to do this. So when you look back at at the history, I'm the newbie for those of you who don't know to the school board. If you look back to history of sound financial management, given what we've been given um as a school board by the state, I I am just so happy that we were able to in some way show you how much you are valued and appreciated and your hard work does not go unnoted. And um yeah, if we could, I'd love to, you know, get you all up to whatever amount um is No amount of money is going to show how much you're appreciated. Appreciation
042week it doesn't show how much you're appreciated. And I just um am so glad that um some of you came to speak so that the public is also aware that the relationship between the EVSSC and the ETSs ETA is better today. >> Dr. Underwood, your whole group and Lori and all of yours. It's so wonderful to see a smile on faces that we are getting a contract and getting it at a a reasonable time of the year. Thank you for sinceress your sincerity of going to the table with open minds, open hearts, and coming up with this contract. Thank you. Carl, just to to throw this in, um I think one thing we can learn uh from this contract and others is the importance of our relationship and not only continue relationship but building better
043relationships with our state representatives. They drive the bus and we have to start now on the next contract to tell them how important this is not only to our corporation but most importantly to our children and making sure that we have the funds to put all of the folks at the head of those classrooms teaching our kids to read and to do the things that they're going to need to do later in life. So now together, let's work in putting together a plan to to talk to them to show them why this needs to be a priority. I >> will say one thing uh before you take your vote, just to thank you again to the board. It's your decisions u over the last several years that uh have made this possible so that we
044could come to the table and have something meaningful to discuss. So really thank you as a leadership for the board. Thank you. >> Please know you're appreciated. Our teachers are appreciated and it's a collaboration. And there's nothing else. We are ready for a roll call vote. >> Okay. Vice President Duckworth. >> Hi. >> President Ryland. >> Hi. >> Trusty Kefir. >> Hi. >> Trusty Dere. >> Yes. Yes. Yes. >> Trusty Olenssworth. >> I. >> Trusty Gamblin. >> I. >> And Secretary Moore? >> Absolutely. I >> thank you. And that most definitely carries. >> I got excited. [applause] >> We're sorry. Just a couple of us have to leave. We're triple booked. >> Take the money and run. That's all right. [laughter] >> So, I got too excited and I skipped 6.07. So, we could move
045back to that one. Uh this was uh brought to you as information during the last school meeting. At this time I recommending approval of the agreement with voice software imple um implementation for human resources and finance system. >> Move to approve. >> Second. >> A motion and a second have been made to approve the transition to new human resources and finance software. There any questions or discussion? Make the roll call vote please. >> Vice President Duckworth. >> Yes. >> President Ragland. >> Hi. >> Trusty Kefir. >> Hi. >> Trusty Dere. >> Hi. >> Trusty Moore. >> Hollingsworth. >> Hi. >> Trusty Gamblin. >> I. >> Secretary Moore. >> I. >> Thank you. And that motion carries. >> Okay. And now I do have quite a few uhformational items for the month of September. for the
046education and operations fund monthly review. Uh as of September 30, we've expended 74.86% of the education fund, leaving a balance of 44,89,81728. The operations fund expense uh expended 66.92% uh leaving a balance of 23,334,882.77. Summary of cash balances. Uh this is a current cash balance as of September 30 for the debt service, education exempt debt service and operations funds. Expenditure ledger reports uh uh by function and object. This is a breakdown of expenditures by function and object code for the period ending September 30, 2025. Revenue ledger. Uh this provides a comprehensive overview of revenues received as of September 30 for the education operations debt service and exempt debt service funds. Three-year expenditure analysis uh provides a comparative review of district spending across all major function uh fund categories for fiscal years 23 through 25. through
047revenue comparison uh provides a historical review of revenues for the education operations debt service and exempt debt service funds through September 30, 2025. And the self- insurance quarterly analysis, this is the end of the quarter self- insurance uh report through our third quarter. And again, I just highlight on this one uh our cash balance uh ended in the negative in September. Uh this continues to be some source of monitoring for my department as well as well as human resources. We're continuing to work with our benefit consultants at Epic and uh to come with strategies to uh share with the board at a later time. Happy to answer any questions about any of those items. >> You said we ran a deficit. Was that because we had >> claims were extremely high >> took some hits,
048right? >> Yes, we did. So unlike in other years, we've had we took some real hits this year. >> We really have. And September was uh the worst month we've had this year. I can tell you uh the month of October, I didn't have to borrow once. So we did have a little bit of a a correction for October. Hopefully that will continue uh for the rest of the year. >> It's just is it just the law of averages are catching up with us? I mean or >> go ahead. >> I believe so. I if you speak to anyone u regarding self insurance, you're going to have a bad claims year. We've been very fortunate over many years uh to not experience that >> to pay the piper, right? >> It's just a bad year
049for us. >> So my concern was CO does so much to you, right? I mean they they don't even know, but they said it affect it affected all of your internal organs, brain, everything. So I was cur I was very um concerned that maybe it was an offspring of CO and but you don't think this is going to keep like you just said you didn't you didn't borrow it in October. >> I think what you're seeing is could be a number of things. One would be an outgrowth of COVID uh people putting uh surgeries and any kind of examinations on hold and you're seeing an outgrowth of that. But I do think uh the major uh factor is just all of health care has really the expense for healthcare has just continued to go up.
050Something that all districts are facing. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Now ready for 7.08 Steve Sheller. Good evening, President Raglin, members of the board, and Dr. Hoover. The Central High School Academy of Science and Medicine Renovation Project 2026. Notice to bib was advertised on August 8th and August 15th, 2025. A mandatory pre-bid meeting was held on August 19th. Bids were received on September 18th. The board has received a bid tabulation sheet for this project and I will recommend awarding this project to Empire Contractors at the next scheduled school board meeting. >> I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. >> This is to renovate the back part. Yeah, correct. The whole west end of it basically where the industrial arts were at before. Yeah, I >> think we vetted the subs in
051this. >> Excuse me. >> We vetted the subcontractors in >> that list to you. >> Okay, [clears throat] >> Steve, tell me a little bit about Empire because I' I've recognized the rest of the names. I should probably Empire too, but are they local? Tell me a little bit. We've done business with them quite a bit or >> they are. Yeah, they're located on the be the northwest side of Evansville and they actually did the project with us at Teacuple School, the parking lot there last year. >> They've been around for 40 years maybe. >> Very long time. >> Yeah. I mean, they've been around around they built a lot of Vanderberg County. A ton of Vandenberg County. >> Thank you. We're moving into continued business. Dr. members, >> I'll start. Um, I want to
052reiterate again, um, how awesome the options fair was last Thursday. It was a great chance to interact with our eighth grade students and their families. Also, uh, I want to thank our students and staff who were there. kind of looks a little like a science fair when you go in. There are students and staff at the various tables, but then they're also rotating through information sessions and it's very well attended and just I loved visiting the tables to talk to current students about tell me why your innovative model is so cool. And so um just a really great event and I also just believe we have so many different options for kids that all kids can find their passion and pathway here. Secondly, um I would also last time we had a board meeting, I
053thanked the negotiating teams for their efforts, including ETA leadership, Teamsters, and our teams, but I also want to make sure that I thank the board um for your leadership and your partnership in completing these negotiations. We now have agreements with all employee groups, which is an awesome place to be by the end of October. Like, this is incredible. It's good for culture. And so, thank you. I think this is a significant accomplishment across the board. I think it reflects your commitment to fairness and to collaboration and keeping our district moving forward. So, I want to make sure that I thank you for that. Lastly, um I know in town hall tonight you all talked to um parents about school safety. Katie Elmer is our deputy chief of staff. She's also our school safety specialist. She
054is working with the Indiana Office of School Safety that's under the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. She's going to work with them to figure out how they can advise us in doing a district and school safety audit. What we're looking for is something very thorough that will give us a current assessment of where we are and bring recommendations. So in the near future, she will be engaging in that and I will bring that back to you for consideration. >> That's it for me. >> Any other board members have anything to bring? >> I do, President Raglin. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Even online, I have a lot to say. So, real quick, >> that's all right. [laughter] Can I just say how excited I was to hear and see um a the sharing of the post
055about the cosmetology program coming and just seeing all of the comments um how wonderful this program is going to be. It's going to open up so many doors for our students. Um helping them to discover their creative potentials, gain hands-on experience, and of course definitely preparing for the real real world. Excuse me. And the last thing I'll say, it's more than just learning about beauty. It's about building that confidence, that entrepreneurialship skills, and the future field with possibility. So, I am very excited um to see the and even to hear about the weight list on the application process, right? Because I'm speaking that into existence right there. So, I'm excited about it. And Chris, I think you said something about getting a haircut and I'll be there, too. So, thank you. Thank you. Anyone else?
056Any comments? >> We want to acknowledge our visiting students. Uh if you will come forward, please speak into our microphone and state your name and school. >> So excited. Do we have to Hi, I'm Kenley Davis and I'm a freshman at Rice Memorial High School. >> Hi, I'm Calli Rinlander. I'm a senior at Modern Day. >> Hi, I'm Braden Jones. I'm a senior at Modern Day. >> Hi, I'm Avery Little and I'm a junior at SIGTech and North Posie High School. Hi, my name is Elise Vander and I'm a junior at Harrison High School. Hi, my name is Michaela Wilkinson and I'm a senior at Central High School. >> Hi, my name is Bo Below and I'm a freshman at Rice High School. >> Hi, I'm Evan Watson. I'm a junior at Harrison High School.
057>> Thank you all very much and we welcome you. >> Okay. Uh closing out thought of the week. Your greatest skill isn't on your resume. It is how you show up every day. Be the person who makes things easier, not harder. >> We got We got three more. Did you bring them in? Okay. Come on. They They tried to hide. Karen, >> come on up. Anyone out [laughter] in Bossy High School? Aries, Boston High School. Jay Vega, Bossy High School. >> Thank you guys for coming. >> There's nothing else to come before the board. The 2025 October 2 meeting is adjourned. Thank you. >> Have a great evening.