001Good evening. Thank you all for attending. Oh, sorry. TV. We'll be live momentarily. Good evening. Welcome to the Mayersville Exempted Village School District Board of Education regular meeting. Today is Thursday, June 18th. The time is 601. We call this meeting to order. Roll call, please. >> Mr. Keller is absent. Miss >> here. >> Mintosh >> here. >> Shepard >> here. >> Mr. Ferguson >> here. We have a quorum. Next. Please join me in the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. >> Next, I have a recommendation to accept our June 18th meeting agenda. >> I motion to. I move to. Pardon me. >> We
002We have a motion. >> I'll second. >> It's been properly moved and second. Roll call, please. M >> Macintosh, >> yes. Miss Shepard, >> Yes. Mr. >> Ferguson. >> Yes. The agenda is adopted. Next, we have our recognition of our exemplary student art artist. Dr. Howard. >> Yes. Uh, thank you, President Ferguson and board. Um, we hope that you all have enjoyed viewing the art selections from our elementary schools, Creek View, Bunsold Early College, and Mary'sville High School. Uh having attended the art shows uh put on in partnership with the Mary'sville Art League in the spring at the Houston House over the last two years, I'm always struck by the immense talent uh that we have here in our school district. Uh, one of the things that I'm most proud of here in MEVST is
003our community support of the arts, whether that be visual such as these or what our elementary students or um or performing arts and uh try to be humble and have abs and I have absolutely nothing to do with the results because what our elementary students have created, I couldn't do that on my very best, most creative day. But when it comes to the arts, I'll be the first to toot our horn here in Mary'sville against anybody because we have a great thing going on and I think it shows that in this community we value the whole student. Um so thank you students. Uh thank you art teachers. Thank you parents and loved ones that have come this evening to allow the board of education to recognize uh your students and to spotlight a small sample
004of the incredible art that is created in our district. Last far last fall, our board uh challenged me with finding ways to recognize our students. And so we're happy to do this this evening where um we hope to make this a tradition where we can establish a permanent art display on this wall to uh to your right. That said, students, uh please feel free to take your art pieces home with you this evening. And what remains, we will proudly select these pieces to be displayed on the wall. uh here with us this evening. When your name is called, if you could please come forward to receive your certificate, we would like to take a picture with our collective group of esteemed artists. And so without further ado, uh first we would like to recognize from
005Edgewood Elementary, Henrik Burkhart, who is in the fourth grade. from Mil Valley Elementary. Amelia Shown, also fourth grade from Naven Elementary. Leavea Dill, fourth grade. Northwood Elementary, Parker McDonald, fourth grade. Raymond Elementary, Bryce Solar, third grade. Creek View Intermediate. Stella Williams, fifth grade. Creek View Intermediate. Fabiola Rodriguez Ramirez, sixth grade from Bunsold Middle School. Juan Sto Riveros in the eighth grade from Early College High School. Julia Jarrett, sophomore from Mary'sville High School. Katie Hammersmith, 12th grade. Now, I have to add, um, throughout the week, we've had these displayed here, and we've had a lot of fun bringing staff here, the district office to see these. And, uh, Katie, the the big question was, was that a photograph? Was it digitally created, or something else? And she shared with me, uh, this evening that it's charcoal,
006which I think is even more impeccable. Uh, also from the Mary'sville High School, Sadie Dove, 12th grade. Stand by. congratulations students and thank you parents and staff. >> Thank you Dr. Howard and thank you to our exemplary artist and their families. It's a great display and we hope to see each piece of artwork here in our boardroom. Next, we have the rec uh we're going to recognize student state qualifiers and special recognitions. Dr. Howard. Yes. Uh board, when it comes time a few times a year to recognize our students that have placed top honors in the state for their respective organizations, I'm always in awe in the broad categories our students shine in. Again recognizing that there are multiple opportunities for our students to compete and showcase their talents through programs that are within the
007purview of our board of education. This evening we have students that have competed in FFA HOSA which is future health professionals skills USA which is a partnership between students, teachers and industry professionals to ensure that students develop personal workplace and technical skills needed to succeed in the workforce. FCCLA or Family Career and Community Leaders of America. BPA, Business Professionals of America. Kappa uh related to the Anything Goes Spring Musical, OMA, Ohio Music Educators Association, and Ohio High School Athletic Association. We have students here before us that have shown they're ready for the stage, can run and jump over bars, throw shot puts, show that they're ready for the workforce. Truly an impressive list of students. At this time, I'd like to invite Sheri Anderson up to the podium to introduce her FFA students earning state
008honors. And again, if we could have the individual groups remain for a picture with the board of education following the cert certificates being presented, we would appreciate that. >> All right. Good evening. So, my name is Sheri Anderson. This is Ashley Thompson, one of the other teachers within the department. So, we have a few students that are with us today. Some of our students are not here because they are on an FFA trip as we speak. So, that happens um year round. So, I'll talk through a couple uh of them at first. So, Madison Wars, she is going to be a senior this coming year. She's at the WLC leadership conference in Washington DC right now, but she was qualified as a state finalist within the veterary science um contest and did quite well um
009during that contest earlier in the spring. Also, I'd like to talk about Abby Thompson. If you want to come on up, Abby. So, um, beyond another award that we will recognize Abby for, Abby was our very first student who ever has earned the Ohio Agra Business Association 12point credential. Um, and so doing so, she had to take coursework that high that focused in on not only Agra Business, but animal science, plant science, and then just general agriculture um, in in general. and then also had to complete 500 hours worth of work experience within those areas. So very proud to recognize her for that achievement. Um I'll also be recognizing a few of our officers. Um, so this past year, um, our secretary, Katie Sergeant, um, our treasurer, uh, Abby Thompson and our reporter, Maddie Wars,
010also received gold ratings on each of their officer books that they turned in at the state level. So, um, that's the highest award that they can receive in those areas as well. Um, and additionally, we have a few more students I'd like to ask to come on up tonight. Um we have with us Riley Lopez, um Lucas Sergeant, and William Randy. Um these are three of the four students. Um the fourth would be Wesley Thompson. Um and they made up our state finalist for the welding team. Um so they had to qualify amongst all the chapters across the state of Ohio to get to compete at the state level. Um it was a very fun competition. Um it was a timed event. They had to do it in person and they had to build a
011hydraulic table from the ground up. So they had to develop the blueprints and then they had to build it on site within a 2-hour time frame. Um and so they placed sixth overall in the state when they did that. So we'd like to say congratulations to all of them. We're very proud of them. Now we're now we got a hot mic. So I would invite um our board members and Dr. Howard to um hold your applause and don't lock out your knees because I have a whole lot of students that we're going to recognize tonight. Um four groups that we are going to read the names for state and one national qualifier. HOSA as Dr. Howard mentioned um HOSA prepares students for careers in healthcare through leadership development competitions and hands-on learning experiences for our
012future health care professionals. Our skills USA team um in the same vein helps students develop technical workplace and leadership skills for careers careers rather in skilled trades, technical fields and service occupations. FCCLA empowers our students to address personal, family, work and community issues through leadership and career development activities. It's closely connected to family consumer sciences. Um but I would say additionally they're um they also work on skills such as communication. There's a strong financial literacy component as well as community service which we know how important that is for our 21st century learners. And then the final group that I'll be reading tonight is our uh BPA or our Business Professionals of America, which prepares students for careers in business, finance, information technology, and management through leadership opportunities and competitive events. So, like I said, these
013are all state qualifiers. And then we have one national qualifier name to read, which I will denote as we're going through the names. Lots of certificates. So, if you're here, just pop up, come get your certificate from me. And then just as the other groups before you, we'll have you wait till the end so that we can take a picture with our board members and Dr. Howard, Mary Addison, Jasmine Chambers, Jelina Gther, I'll slow down. Sorry. and Mary's a state qualifier for HOSA. We're starting with that group. Jelina Gimther, Melody Cadbetur, Renard Mcktal, Eugina Mada Truhillo, Dana Salgado, Mora, Mia Shields, Hal Leah Anderson. Congratulations. Ava Bakus, Carson Blevins, Lake Butterball, Abby Foster, Willow McCclary, Abigail Mooney, Kylin Powell, Lily Strauss, Ken Thomas, Cage Young, Alejandro Ora, Alli Bremer, Grace Rutder, Aiden White, Cameron McInley,
014Aubrey Durnland, Emma Abby, Camina Abdala, Riley Atkins. Whoops, I went on I read one of Mrs. Bizaro. Sorry, I got ahead of myself. I knew we had a wonderful long list. Yes. So, again, congratulations to all of our state qualifiers. We could not be more proud of you. Thank you for um your contributions and we look forward to following your future successes. Next, I'd like to introduce Mrs. Briana Bazaro, director of our coral theater department, and she will explain the Kappa awards and those students we're honoring tonight. hit the right. Did I There we go. So, sorry. I should know how to use a microphone. Um Um My name is Brianna Bazaro and I have the absolute honor and privilege of leading our coral department and theater department at Mary'sville. Um this year was a
015incredible year for our theater department. I am so proud of their accomplishments. Um I tell them that every year. Um but it's nice to receive accolades outside of what I say. Um so we participate in what's called the Kappa Marquee Awards program. This is our second year participating in it. Um and it is a regional theater quote unquote competition. You're really competing against yourself. Um, but you have a very specific grading rubric and there will be a panel of judges that come to your shows. You have no idea who they are. You have no idea what their background is. Um, but they are grading you on everything from what's happening behind the scenes to what you are hearing to what you are seeing to what your choreography is to your blocking to how our vocalists
016are singing as an ensemble to how they are singing as individuals. um to our pit. Um myself as a director, they truly look at the second that you walk in the theater to the second that you leave the theater. How was your overall experience for the theater environment? Um and we did an excellent job this year. They represented um our theater department very very well. All 70 plus students that were involved in the production for our full company. Um so what they are receiving um this year is best technical execution. So that is all of our stage management. Um our stage manager is Johanna Olifson. She is a junior. Um she will be a senior this coming year. Um our assistant stage managers were also acknowledged with that. That is Caroline Malpin and that is
017who stage sholet and Kenzie Kern. Thank you Aishelle. Sorry it's a large production that we put on. Um, and that recognizes also all of our stage management team as well. Um, we were up for dance execution and we took that. Um, and then we were up also for best ensemble. We had four out of our six leading actors and actresses that were semi finalists, so top 15 within the region. Um, with two of them placing as finalists, so top five in the region. They both were runners up. Um, so if you tune in to the Jimmy Awards this coming weekend, you will see this is they were just shy of going to the Jimmy's, which is the Tony Awards for the high school theater. Um, and then we also won best production. Um, we were
018up against 30 schools in our region. Any everyone from Olan Tangi um to upper Arlington, you name it. Chilikothy was part of it. It's a very very large radius that we were in competition with. So to say I'm proud of them um and to say that I think they deserve all of the acknowledgement and recognition that they have is an understatement. Um so I'm going to look around because I have 70 of them but not all 70 are here. So Delaney I'm going to do it in alphabetical order. Delaney Hill. Congratulations. I uh Samantha Lopez. Congratulations. I have it. So sorry there's a lot of Rs. Isabella Rose Piler, Aishelle Romero, and unless I'm missing anyone else, Ann Twaddle. Congratulations. it again. I keep on the red always means bad. So this is throwing me
019for a loop. I'm sorry. Um and then I also um have our symphonic choir to recognize every for the past three years we have gone to district and state contest. Um and this is the one time where I keep on asking my students every year is it worth it? Do you want to go and compete in this? Because it is a stressfulish situation. Um we prepare three pieces of music that are from a very specific repertoire list. Um, and we go and sing it for judges and three different judges and they have all of the music in front of them and they are listening for mistakes. Um, they're listening for what we're doing well, but also what we need to work on so we can ensure we're doing better as a choir. And then they
020will give you a rating between 1 through six, one being the highest, six being the lowest, and then you also have a no uh comments only. Um, I can very very confidently say we were very prepared this year um for on the floor. That's called on the floor judging. and we received straight ones at district contest from all three judges, which means we automatically qualify for state competition where you have three different pieces that you have to learn in a short period of time and you do the same thing over again. That's not the challenging part though. Um, I am a firm believer in music literacy. I think that I should be able to hand a student a piece of music and I give them their starting pitch and they can figure it out. That's
021true musicianship where they understand what they are singing and it's not me singing it for them and they're paring it back. Um, and so the last portion which is the most stressful portion is site readading on the floor and you walk into a separate room after you just perform for all of these judges and they give you a piece of music that is about 36 measures long and they say you have four minutes to prepare and you can't sing go. Um, and so they can speak on soulfetg, they can speak all of the rhythms they want to, but they cannot sing a pitch, which is very counterintuitive when you're site reading because you need to figure out your intervals. Um, and so we practice daily for this. Um, and how they learn their music in
022symphonic choir is I say, "You have 2 minutes, go learn this section and come back and be ready for me to critique it." Um, and every single year we have gone, we have received nothing but ones on the floor, and that's what I'm the most proud of them for. They are true musicians. They know how to sing. They know how to read music, which is um a rarity in a lot of coral programs. So, it makes my coral part heart happy and very very proud of who they are because they can walk into any room and be confident in reading music, which is the whole point of being a musician. Um so, most of my students are performing right now. They are um working sip. Delaney has been with me 9 to5 every single day
023this week and next week. Um but she is here um our lonesome ranger out of our 30 students. So Delaney, he'll come on up and get this recognition. Delaney picture. All right. Good evening. Coach Sundermire here with track and field. you know, for almost 40,000 high school track and field athletes in the state of Ohio, uh, every year they they dream about competing at the state track and field championships at Ohio State at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Uh, this year the path to get there took us to Huber Heights Wayne High School for a super regional competition with 20 teams from Toledo Whitmer all the way down towards Cincinnati. We're proud to report that 11 events uh were represented on the all regional podium, including four athletes who qualified to the state track and field
024championships. Uh Cara Mohler uh was our first monarch thrower to qualify the division one state track and field championships in a decade. She competed in the shotput after finishing in third place at the super regional down at Wayne. Hannah Frink uh finished in fourth place after a very stressful jump off to earn the final qualifying position uh in the high jump and she finished in 15th place at the state championships uh on June 7th. And then we had two Monarch pole vters represent us at the state championships. Kayla Nimi finished in fourth place at the super regional and then in ninth place the state championships. And then our our final competitor, the only one who's here tonight uh who could make it is Ava Schmutz, who finished as regional runner up down at Huber Heights
025Wayne and then competed in a very dramatic state championship final that spanned two days due to a storm delay in a restart early on a Sunday morning and she finished in fifth place on the Division One State Championship podium. Congratulations to everyone and all the organizations. Thank you, Dr. Howard. And thank you to our students who uh qualified and achieved such great recognition and to our coaches and staff who helped prepare them uh for the to be able to compete. in all ways. Thank you. Next, we have our public participation. We have no one signed up to for public participation. Next, we have a hearing for the reemployment of retired employees. Uh this is the hearing to discuss Beth Nickel, student service, student support services. Dr. Howard. >> Yeah. Um, President Ferguson, as you mentioned,
026this is a a part of the requirement to uh retire and re rehire an employee. Um, I'm recommending that we rehire Beth Nickel, who serves as a school counselor at Early College High School. She has a unique uh skill set that serves our students well through her understanding of internships, graduation pathways, and community connections that ultimately assist our students with career, military, and college guidance. We look at this as a win-win for the district. Uh we retain her knowledge. Um there is a savings to the district when somebody comes back uh upon retirement. Um, and then it's a win for her as well. She's not ready to uh stop working and we're grateful for that. So, this is just simply the hearing and I don't know that anybody is here to speak on her behalf,
027but um in the July meeting it would be our recommendation that we would rehire her. >> Thank you, Dr. Howard. Without seeing any public comments, any board comments, the hearing is concluded. Next superintendent report. Dr. Howard. >> Yeah, thank you board. I thought this evening I would uh share some facts and figures and maybe uh some some changes that have been made within the transportation department um and maybe some some data around it. So our district, as you uh likely know, covers 140 square miles. Uh we are the 60th largest district in Ohio by area. Just to give you an idea, there's 605 approximately school districts in the state. So we cover more square miles daily than 545 other districts. Among all Ohio school districts enrolling between 5 and 10,000 students, we cover more ground
028than any other. We have a comparable district that is nearby in our region that covers just 36 square miles but has 49 drivers on 49 routes. We cover nearly four times that area with a lean efficient team. As far as staffing and a routing update, currently uh we have 38 active bus drivers. We have one full-time substitute. We have four prospective drivers that we are awaiting temporary permits before they can begin their CDL training. We have four van aid candidates that are awaiting training and then contract approval. We have three drivers will be working half-day schedules during the 2627 school year. And so at this time staffing levels remain manageable. However, the completion of the CDL training for for prospective drivers is going to be important to maintaining operational flexibility and limiting overcrowding. Our preliminary
029routing is complete for the 2627 school year and we expect to have those before the board in the July meeting to be approved. Uh routes will remain largely unchanged. Over the the last year, there'll be a few minor adjustments to stops and uh route efficiencies. When new drivers are trained, we will be adding routes to combat overcrowding and longer bus and and alleviate longer bus routes. Uh, I think this is a good problem to have, but in an additional highpoint bus route has been incorporated into next year's transportation plan to accommodate student transportation needs due to the a higher number of students that are attending the career center. Uh, we have increased enrollment at High Point. Um, and so this is the it it requires the need for an additional morning bus driver. Uh transportation
030currently consists of three daily trips to High Point. There's a morning trip that transports approximately 70 students. There's a midday trip where we transport two students attending the PM High Point session. And then we return approximately 32 uh after the A.M. half day and they complete their their day at MHS in the afternoon. uh there's an afternoon trip returning uh the the remaining students at High Point at the end of the day. As far as the impact on fleet utilization, the additional morning High Point uh bus is not needed during the afternoon transportation cycle. That's a good thing because uh we can utilize that as a student activity shuttle. The uh Bunled Middle School student activity shuttle's purpose is to help transport middle school students to MHS for athletics, sports practices, FFA activities, uh weightlifting
031and conditioning programs, and then other uh extracurricular and co-curricular activities. Uh the changes that have been made uh throughout this past school year to allow better service to those that qualify include we increased our high school busing walk zone. State law does not require high school busing. Uh obviously um we aspire to to bus as many students as we possibly can with our staffing. Uh we've created larger group stops for the high school. examples are at uh Mil Valley or Adena Point. We've modified our alternate address policy. So if students qualified for busing based on their residence, if we were able to accommodate a different single everyday stop at a consistent location location, parents could opt into that. We no longer pick up a student at a residence and then drop them off at an
032alternate location or vice versa. And part of that is is because we have to preserve a seat on a bus. And so if um if you that basically would be one student on two routes, if you will. We assumed the contract from from the preschool um that's now Mini Monarch Academy. And so we utilize VAT for transportation. Uh this is at a cost to the district, but we do not have the capacity with drivers currently to transport them inhouse. Um as I shared um with staffing update, we're trying to uh hire additional drivers and we do have some in the pipeline that we're grateful for. I also want to share with the board that uh for the second year in a row, our transportation department will be having a firsttime bus rider event. So um
033new uh elementary students or anybody new to the district that would like to meet the team of drivers um and and get familiar with boarding a bus and what that experience is like and maybe ride the par the bus for the first time with parents. That will be August 15th. uh 10:00 a.m. to noon and we'll get more information out ahead of that event, but happy to answer any questions you may have. >> Thank you, Dr. Howard. Are there any questions from board members? >> Dr. Howard, you mentioned that there's a continual shortage of bus drivers. What are we doing to incentivize or attract individuals? Because I I know it's we are fortunate for at Raymond I have a few individuals that have are retirees that are our bus drivers and they're fantastic. Mr. Mike
034is is one of them. But what are we doing to attract more folks like that to a very hard job I would imagine? >> Yeah. So, one of the the things that uh we have started to do is if a bus driver is willing to try it out. Uh we will um help them with the training for that. uh we can they can start small if they wanted to come in and maybe sub for some days uh but really get a feel for it. The other thing that we have done is we have tried to um grow somebody's capacity or you know um maybe courage if you will. So we will start them as a van driver. Um, we've had van aids that have become van drivers that, you know, we're always encouraging them to,
035you know, get the CDL and and drive a bus for us. So, we're doing that. But to answer your question, we are constantly um having open interviews. We we've had job fairs um and we try to uh share with the community that we're always hiring drivers. >> Lean. >> Yeah. Um, I just wanted to comment on transportation. So, knowing that we are there's only what maybe 25ish districts bigger than ours, um, really helps put into perspective the difficult decision when you guys are trying to decide if we're delaying or cancelling school. Um, and how it's you can't quite look at, oh, well, the school next door to us made this decision. Why are we making this one? Because we just have a lot more ground to cover. um and not as many drivers as some
036nearby districts. So, thank you for taking care of our kids on those tough decision days. Um and then I just wanted to comment the stopfinder app this year has been much more consistent um and is very very helpful especially when making sure your kids get out to the bus on time. So, the ability to make geo tags so that as the bus passes through you get a notification. I know our household uses two in the morning. One to let us know we have about five minutes and one that says it's time. Walk out the door. So, um, thank you to the transportation department and to and to your staff for making transportation much smoother this year. It's a awesome team and I enjoy uh hanging out with them and um I've had a chance to
037ride along with bus drivers the last two years and um you know they they're an essential piece, right? They they're one of the first uh school faces that they'll see in the mornings and so um they love their their kids. Uh Mr. Mike, I know exactly you're talking about and I know he loves his route. He loves his Raymond family. Um, one other question, Dr. Howard. One of the things that has been a continual theme is the trains stopping the buses or significantly delaying folks either on to school or on their way home. I know it's a train schedule, but what are we doing to at least modify understand those routes? What are you What are the transportation team's thoughts there? there there's not much they can do but what they you know there is
038constant radio traffic um and so they're alerting you know their peers um if a train is stuck they're they're kind of giving a advanced warning to another driver that may be impacted as well I will say that the county uh is in the works of trying to get a grant one of the the biggest um uh I guess headaches, if you will, for lack of better terms, is on Raymond Road. And so there's a grant that uh they've applied for for I believe it's federal dollars to help um alleviate that, create like an overpass for a train, and that would go a long way. >> Thank you, uh Dr. Howard for the update. I know. Um and and also I want to just thank Dr. I'm sorry uh Mr. Todd Amos uh and his team
039for um their improvements and um their work continual work. I know for a couple years we struggle to get 30 drivers consistently. Uh we've made we previous boards um have had to make you know several take several actions adjusting either bell schedule or the routing last year to for the high school just to help with us being able to arrive on time deliver you know pick up kids on time get them to school on time and take them home on time. And then also with the athletic piece, getting shuttles and and the after school athletics coverage as well. So seeing 38 drivers is a a great uh indicator that we're moving in the right direction. Uh the number that the real the key number is the four perspective drivers and always keeping someone in the
040pipeline. Um that number is is is vital because it is a long process uh to get someone from I'm interested to qualified to actually driving a bus or a van. Uh it is surprisingly is a long process and I guess it should be because they're our most important assets are students and we want to make sure everyone's safe and well trained. Um, but seeing this, um, and I think it's our job to keep a pulse on transportation as we go in, uh, to make sure that we there's no surprises as the years progress. And so, um, I know the work is never done. I know it's always we got to keep plugging away. Um, we have the the preschool, uh, that the VAT. I know that's a costly contract. And so, if we can get
041our drivers, you more drivers hired and eventually see some cost savings there, that'll be great. Um but the work is moving in the right direction and it continues. So thank you to your team um and for your leadership there. Anything else for your report today? >> No sir. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Uh the treasures report Treasurer Johnson. >> Okay. Thank you. Just making sure my tech was working here. Uh so on the agenda tonight we have the fiscical year 27 appropriations which is basically the initial budget for next school year. So I was going to give a brief um appro um highlight of that uh for so for fiscal 27 our total appropriations is just over $115 million. That's an increase of just over 6% compared to last year. An increase of $6.6
042million. Uh we've only added one new fund since last year. That's fund 551. Technically, it's not new because we did have it last year, just not at the time that we approved appropriations. So, uh, we did receive that Title 3 grant last year, uh, to the tune of about $31,000. That's for, uh, language instruction for English learners. So, basically, English students where English is not their their first language. Um, I expect that number to be pretty similar. Uh this year it looks we don't have all of our federal allocations yet, but the ones we do have, they're pretty flat this year. We're not really seeing increases so far. Uh but those are always subject to change. Um looking at funds where the variance, there's an increase greater than 5%. Uh the general fund, which is
043our operating fund, there's an increase of about 5.4% or $4.1 million. Uh the appropriation in that fund matches the 5-year forecast exactly for fiscal 27. Um some of the drivers of that increase uh our electricity u in uh bills this year increased by about 32%. Um we're expecting um a significant increase this year as well. So that's been a big driver. um inflationary increases with uh staffing uh as well as new staff hired and then also medical insurance. Uh we're expecting an increase of 600,000 compared to uh the prior year. Uh O2 bond fund increase of 21.25% or $1.7 million. This is an unusual increase for the bond fund. Normally that fund's pretty similar year after year. Uh but with our most recent bond refunding last year, uh we bumped a lot of the I
044shouldn't say a lot, we bumped some principal payments into fiscal year 27, which allowed us to save on interest payments in future years. So that was all done strategically uh to save money. And then the O24 medical insurance self- insurance fund, that 600,000 I mentioned in the general fund, that's where we where those claims show up uh on in that O24 self- insurance fund. Um all the 500 funds, those are all estimates. Those are grant funds. So we'll update those as the year goes. You'll probably see in July or August some appropriation adjustments and those grants should be taken care of by then. um received a question about staff members that are paid out of federal grants. Uh so if you look at fund 516, that's our special education fund. We have 17 staff members
045paid out of there. That's a range of um aids to intervention specialists. Um and also even our um uh administrator, the head of special education is paid out of there. Uh title one, we have six staff members. Uh 587 IDA preschool. That's there's only enough in there to pay for part of a staff member. We get about $189,000 there. And then 590 title 2A. We have one staff member there. Title 2A is basically for uh staff improvement, professional development type um expendit expenditures. Those uh staffing numbers are usually pretty stagnant. Um because the grant doesn't typically go up significantly. we're typically paying the same people out of there. Um, at times we may have to pull somebody out and put them into the general fund because as salaries go up over time, if the grant
046stays the same or goes down some, you have to adjust. And then last thing, and I just noticed you're not able to see the picture in Keynote, so I need to download a PowerPoint, but you'll still get the gist. Uh so this was a a slide that I showed uh last month I believe and there was an article written about it and it it wasn't quite uh on to the point I was making. So I wanted to make sure there wasn't any confusion. So if you could see the picture it's showing enrollment versus staffing. Okay. And there was a line showing enrollment going up and staffing staying about the same. Uh so the point that was made uh well the point that was in the article it said that uh we increased by 30 sta
04732 staff members since fiscal year 21 excluding preschool. But what what's in what is actual number is it act that actually includes preschool. So if you look at the staff numbers in fiscal 21 we had 653 staff. Now fast forward to fiscal 26 we have 685 staff. So if you throw preschool into there, that would put us at 658 or 656. So we're actually under that. So what that means is even though we've added 33 preschool staff members, we've actually had decrease otherwise over that time period. So that to stay at that number for this year. Uh so really this is just further evidence that we're running very lean from a staffing standpoint. And I've shared in the past that we were um I think tied for fourth highest in the entire state of all
048school districts for staff um studenttoteer ratio. Okay. So this is just uh evidence of that and how we got to that point. That's all. >> Thank you. Are there any questions from board members? Mintosh. >> Thank you. Uh, Treasurer Johnson, are there any new instructional initiatives reflected in the FY27 appropriations that you can call out that would be apparent to parents or students? >> I I don't know of any like new instructional initiatives off the top of my head. I mean, there's, you know, there's always new things like >> there's nothing like a Yeah, but there's nothing like another preschool type thing or a new program or anything like that. No, nothing that um you know blowing things up. Nothing like that. >> Darn. Um the second question with those IDA IDA funds and grants
049that are for special education. We know the population of our student body is increasing in its demands for special education whether that be on the gifted programs or those that just need a little bit of extra help. With that grant not ex expanding like you said it's not based on your student population. it is just more on your total staff volume like what is that based on? >> It is based on student population but it doesn't necessarily grow uh because your population grows. So I think there's just a there's a pot that is divvied out amongst the entire state. So if if our population were to decrease then yes our funding would decrease but just because our population increases doesn't mean we're going to see a significant increase on the funding side. I think that's
050something that we're going to continue have to monitor just the demands on the special needs um teachers and the professionals that includes all the paras aids all of those assistance these kiddos need and deserve additional attention so something that we'll have to consider as we go forward. >> Are there any other questions from board members? I I have a couple. Thank you for the presentation. I do appreciate it. Did you say uh utility costs went up by 30%. Electricity specifically, some other utilities didn't, you know, also went up, but not nearly. Electricity is the one that went up by the greatest percentage. >> We almost hit the million dollar mark. We're just barely below it. >> That's not good, right? >> No, no, it's not great news. I I can tell you one thing that
051we are looking at because that's something that there's only so much you can control, you know, with the utility bill. I mean, everybody's seeing it at their own home. Your electricity bill is going up. So, we're working on a grant potentially uh to u do some lighting replacements uh to get some LED lights in places that we don't have it. Um and um potentially we would be able to do that with um you know guaranteed savings where it would pay itself off over a certain amount of time and those kinds of things. So, I would say stay tuned. That's something we're working on. >> Thank you. And then with the staffing, uh thank you for the the the update and the clarification. Um, I know we've really never recovered from our contingency plan A and
052plan B, correct? As in the positions that we eliminated or did not like we had a hiring freeze, we never have recovered from replacing all those staff positions. Correct. >> Not fully. I mean, some positions were brought back, but but not no not back to that level. and and that's kind of in line with, you know, one of our pledges to try to get class ratios down and one it's it's difficult from a financial standpoint and two there is a hiring process as well. I just think but the you know I think that's that's something that we're keeping our eye on but it's it's very when we filled the levies a couple times it had the the impacts are not just like flip the switch here's our staff back. uh those positions can't just be
053recovered that quickly and then there's a cost that is not even baked into our forecast that we have eliminated all together. Correct. >> Correct. >> Um and then the federal grants I know there's a lot of conversations um with the current policy of transitioning certain departments and programs from the department of the federal department of education to other departments. Do we have any understanding of the dollars like for these funds that you've described? Are those do we have any understanding of are those appropriations still in place? Should we kind of see these same numbers? >> I know last year there was a lot of discussion. I think uh at least two of the grants we were concerned were going to two or three were going to be completely gone uh due to federal potential federal
054changes. Um we I just had a meeting probably within the last few weeks where um one of the OD officials noted that they don't currently have that concern. We expect pretty much status quo. So no major changes on federal grants this year. >> And uh my last question I promise I know we IDA a lot of the regulations are based off federal law. U we have 17 positions that are funded through a federal program or the grant. But what is the Sorry I had to ask this. What's the rough percentage of our staffing in IDA to support the students that qualify? >> You're asking of our of our total uh special education staffing, what percentage is IDAB IDAB makeup? And I don't know that number off the top of my head, but I can tell
055you that it's a small percentage. >> Yes, I think it's under 12% uh roughly, but that's novice math. But the the point I'm making is that it's it's not dollar for dollar or 50% to the dollar. It's it's a very small share. And so a lot of the regulations that are set, which are good, well intended, the federal government has never actually met their obligation with their commitment to fund those positions. So, I think that's something if you're an advocate for schools, um it's a conversation that I know OSBA, the Ohio Schooler Association is going to start looking at is how do we get to 44% I believe. Um but that's that's that's a that's a long path. But if we're talking about property tax reform, we're talking about some of the school funding issues
056that we have, there's a lot of requirements, but not a lot of funding that match the requirements. And that's that's the big big gap when we're trying to serve students, do the right thing. Um the dollars need to be approp appropriated correctly. And so that's not really Todd's >> presentation, but I think that's using that as a point. So thank you. Are there any last minute questions? >> All right. Next is the board presence report. And I will be quick. Um we do have community coffees the Sunday before our board meeting. So we had our we host our monthly community coffee here at the board office. Um just wanted to remind people of comm our community coffees and also extend invitation if you want board members to come out to your organizations or to to
057you know set up somewhere to have a chat with people in the community. Uh you can always reach out. We're looking for new ways to expand um our horizons to make sure we connect and engage with our community. Next Tuesday, we will have a special meeting uh to conduct our annual evaluations of our superintendent treasurer, to hold a finance workshop, discuss our facilities planning process, and discuss our board work plan for the upcoming school year. Um the city of Mary'sville reach recently announced uh their intention to um hire Kimberly Sharp uh to be the next city manager and we just we've issued a statement saying that we congratulate and welcome her. uh you know we I know Dr. Howard set in on a community uh panel, interview panel. Uh so he's met her, but we
058look forward all to to welcoming her face to face and to working uh on to build the on the continued collaborative partnership that's we've worked hard to establish between our school district and the city of Marysville. And uh I know some of us have been through that process before and we understand uh the thoughtfulness and careful consideration in the hiring process as uh that's that's probably really one of the most consequent con consequential decisions a city council or school board can make is who will lead their organization. So we we thank the city council for um that work. And as always, I end our my report on our district's vision statement. Each child at Mary'sville schools will be challenged, prepared, and empowered through innovation, collaboration, and inspiration. Innovation to ignite their curiosity. Collaboration to strengthen
059their capacity. Inspiration to empower their confidence and fortitude toward the future. And I hope the work that we do here at this meeting and our collective efforts to make this vision a reality for every student. Thank you. Next, we have student achievement report. Miss Shepard, >> thank you. Um, first of all, love having all of the students. I'm I'm sure more would have liked to come. I'm sure a bunch of students were at work or family vacations and things like that. So, know that we are very excited and proud of all of you for your um hard work this last last quarter. Um, I was reading through the principal's report and I noticed several times them talking about the different ways that they surveyed the diff the stakeholders in our district. So parents and caregivers,
060teachers, and really importantly students to see how their programming has been impacting not only teachers and how they feel when they come to work and what they feel like they're getting done, but how the students are receiving that and how they feel um as part of of a community in their buildings. And then also that information from the parents, how connected they feel. So, I thought that that was really great because whatever is happening in the school um that impacts that student's experience and their achievement um and not just achievement with grades, but their ability to function outside of a school and in a workplace and with friends um and how their parents feel about school also shapes their experience. And so, it's important to have all of that information. So, I thought that was
061really great to see. Thank you, Miss Shepard. Uh, next we have a special guest, Miss Macintosh, for the legislative report. >> And I will preface this that I am doing this as of this morning. I got told that I would be filling in for um Matt. He is wish we're wishing his team, his basketball team luck as they're at a tournament right now. Um, I'm going to go through and I'm going to focus the legislative report specifically on those items that have really occurred in the last two months. So, we're going to kind of narrow it down and I'll try to summarize it in a way that is what's impactful for the residents of Mary'sville specifically, but then also as a board, what should we be being mindful of? Some of this is going to
062be just regurgitation of what you have heard, um, especially my first item, but then there's some interesting things that are coming down. Obviously, the property tax elimination proposal remains our biggest concern and it's the longest term or the long-term threat to, I would say, the Mary'sville school systems, but other social services that we have as a community. Um, residents should really care again because of local schools, police, fire departments, libraries, county services, and township services. Um, while nothing's changed yet, this will become potentially one of the most significant education funding debates in Ohio's history. So as a board and as a school and education community, we need to educate ourselves, educate those community partners on what's the education system is facing, what our actually community would be facing, and then what are those entirely new
063potential funding systems that we would have to look for. So I know everybody wants a property tax break. We just need to understand where would those funding come from to so fund these critical services. So more to watch there and as additional legislation gets moved. Now there are some new school safety requirements which are advancing in the um h or actually in the senate. So we have senate bill 290 which is emergency key boxes. These are bill passed the senate and would require every school building to install a secure emergency key box accessible to first responders. Now in an emergency, police and fire personnel could gain quicker access to the buildings because remember a lot of those or all of our buildings are on lockdown when you after the bells ring. Um schools would incur
064installation and maintenance costs of these. So if it again we get back to federal and state funding imposing regulation but not the corresponding funding. Great secure security of our schools is critical but there could be some additional costs that we would could face. So it passed the Senate has not passed the House yet and it's likely a manageable cost but again another thing for us to consider. Now another item that's coming to um for parents in the middle schools is SB 328 which is a return on investment initiative which is focusing on career planning being mandatory for middle school students. Um so it would require middle school career exploration and co coursework individual student career plans and more workforce readiness planning. So um from an impact on your families right talking about college pathways or
065I would say career pathways understanding that not every path is just to a four-year or two-year institution. What trades what military options? What other career opport opportunities? And you've heard tonight where we had a variety of folks that are celebrating successes in our medical preparation programs, in our healthcare, and honestly the FFA doing, you know, arc welding. They have huge careers ahead of them. So, I know it sounds crazy from a middle school standpoint, but again, starting the conversations and getting to folks to think not only what they would like to do, but maybe some identify some different paths that they could explore. So again, additional counseling, curriculum development potentially and planning responsibilities if this goes forward. Again, a lot of goodness, but that does come with administrative cost. Now, there's a house bill, the
066future teacher shortages that which could be addressed. There's a HB uh 523, which is our future educator support act, and it was recently passed by the house education committee. So it hasn't been taken up by the full house but it has left committee and it provides financial support to student teachers and promotes teaching as an in demand profession which is fantastic. We saw a lot of teachers leave um and not enter the field during the COVID times. Getting more and more of those folks back especially being able to support student teachers that are coming in. It's a requirement for their college um and degree pro programs. So again, districts are continuing to face staffing challenges. Um you can see that we've had quite a few retirements. These are things that we want to continue to
067feed that pipeline. Um and again, this would reduce our recruitment challenges potentially over time. So a lot of good good support there. We'd like to see that. Um math education maybe next from a reform standpoint. So we do have House Bill 934. It was recently introduced in the Science of Math Act. Now, this also comes down there's been some federal grants. I think it's the mega make education grit great again um grant specifically focusing on literacy and math, but this is talking more about math intervention services, new student support requirements, and additional teacher training. Um again, this would actually identify potentially students that are struggling in math earlier on and actually get to those students quicker and be able to actually influence them and again so they don't fall behind. So again, good stuff. Love
068this. But we'll see what actually falls down from that. Now, the last one I'll I'll tell you about, um, there was a student health and allergy safety expanded. It was signed into law. Um, it's going to be allowing students to possess and use nasal epinephrine devices in schools. Um, so Dr. Howard, I don't know how that is going to be actually implemented and how we're going to deal with that, but it was passed. Um, so we'll have to look at our district health protocols and staff training. Um, as we see, you know, we want kids to if they have potential for life-threatening allergic reactions that they have their medications close by. It is critical. Um, but still we want to do it in a safe way with the right kind of awareness. Um, so those
069are the major ones there. You know, there's a lot of other things that are happening um with bills, but those are the ones that I would call out and the really the impacts to Mary'sville and things that we need to be cognizant of as a board. But property tax is going to be still the issue that we're going to be facing um as a large community for at least the next year to 18 months. >> Thank you. Are there any questions? Seeing none, thank you so much. Yeah. All right. Next, we have a recommendation to approve the minute draft minutes of our May 21st, 2026 regular meeting as submitted. >> I move to approve. >> Thank you. Is there a second? >> I second. >> It's been properly moved and second. Any discussion hearing? None.
070Roll call, please. >> Miss Mary, >> yes. >> Mintosh. >> Yes. >> Miss Shepard. >> Yes. >> Mr. Ferguson. >> Yes. The minutes are adopted. >> Next, we have a recommendation to approve policies, board policies. >> I move to approve. >> I'll second. >> It's been properly moved and second. Uh Dr. Howard. >> Yeah. Board, we have uh five total policies. Uh most of these are primarily legislative changes or recommendations from OSBA. Uh their legal council even our own. Uh you have a um a policy over cyber security. Um and that is a change in law. Uh you have artificial intelligence. Uh we are recommending the policy from uh OSBA. Again, it's a reflection in the change of the law that requires this policy be be put in place by August 1. Uh you have
071a policy before you regarding the misbranded foods and cultivated proteins. Uh this is a result of a new law based on House Bill 10. You have procurement administrative overdose drugs um regarding a policy that's required for Narcan. Um and then you have a non-discrimination uh policy that is revised and that is essentially um uh detailing our 504 compliance officer in the policy. So not a substantive change but change nonetheless. Thank you Dr. Howard. Are there any questions by board members? >> All right. And um I I guess Dr. heart for the AI policy. Would you like to describe I guess if anyone's that's a top a hot topic um how AI will continue to look in our school district? >> Yeah, thanks for the opportunity to do that. We are essentially pressing pause on the
072inclusion of AI um as far as pushing that down to the student level. Uh we've heard from families a a committee um that made up of parents um staff members and there's still a lot of um I don't know there's people are tense over it still and we really want to take a better look at it understand it. We did pilot some programs and we weren't floored by any one in particular. And so, um, this gives us a chance to continue to train our staff on the use of AI as a tool. Um, and we can get better at that. Continue to have conversations with stakeholders, um, bring back the committee, uh, review new revised AI, uh, tools for students, and then make a better informed decision. But again, we're really just press and pause
073as far as utilizing it at the student level. >> Thank you, Dr. Howard. All right, any other questions? Hearing none. Roll call, please. Mintosh. >> Yes. >> Miss Shepard. >> Yes. >> M >> Yes. >> Mr. Ferguson. >> Yes. The policies are adopted. Next up, we have a recommendation to approve the fiscal year 27 permanent appropriations. >> I move and I'll second. >> I believe you move to adopt the fiscal year 27 permanent appropriations and then second. Correct. All right. Uh discussion. Mr. Johnson's gave us a presentation. Anything else to add? >> All right. Are there any questions or comments from board members? >> Hearing none. Roll call, please. >> Miss Macintosh. >> Yes. >> Miss Shepard? >> Yes. >> Miss? >> Yes. >> Mr. Ferguson? >> Yes. The appropriations are adopted. Next, we have
074a recommendation to approve the student transportation and practality resolution. I'll move to approve the student transportation impracticality resolution. >> Thank you. >> I second. >> It's been properly moved and second. Dr. Howard, please. >> Yes. Um board. This is uh simply a yearly resolution that boards of educa of education have to pass if they uh deem that there may be students where um we would decide that hey transporting a student outside of the district and utilizing a full-time driver for that is just not practical to us. And so there's an opportunity to to offer payment in lie of providing that transportation. But um the first step in this is the board if we're going to do this and we know we'll have students that this will fall in this category the board has to pass
075this resolution. >> Thank you Dr. Howard. Are there any questions or comments from board members? >> All right hearing none. Roll call, please. >> Miss Shepard. >> Yes. >> Miss Mry. >> Yes. Mintosh. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. The resolution is adopted. Next, we have a recommendation to approve the updated facilities rental fee schedule. >> I move to approve the updated registration. >> Facilities >> rental fee schedule. >> Thank you. >> I second. >> It's been properly moved and second. Dr. Howard. >> Yeah. Board. Um, it has been, as I understand it, a few years since, uh, our district has, uh, re revised the facility rental schedule. In a nutshell, uh, what we have done is we've added a group that separates forprofit businesses and organizations outside of Mary'sville. We uh we believe that
076this is prudent to separate these so that we're being good stewards of our taxpayer funds while prioritizing local community use and non uh profits in particular. We have also preserved uh no fees for boosters that utilize the facilities. Uh typically uh money that is raised we know that comes back uh in support of our students in particular. Uh finally, fees that were separated in the previous policy or schedule rather um have been added in to the new standard rental rate. So an example there would be like custodial or trash services. We know that that's a requirement for these and so that those fees are now baked in in this new proposal. Um, I will share that uh our director of operations, Ryan Ryan Walker, he did an audit and uh reviewed rental schedules for nearby
077uh districts and we are right in line with this proposal. >> Thank you, Dr. Howard. Are there any questions or comments by board members? >> Um, I was I'm grateful that the boosters don't have to pay extra. That's nice since we're, you know, constantly kind of fundraising to do lots of things for the students. So, it's nice not to have that on our plate. I was just curious if like for example like the theater, the auditorium parts like were those people consulted like it is fully encompassing. We're not going to look back in a year and go, "Oh, we should have included like we spend a lot of our time and resources on this. We should have included that in the fee or the like the stadium part too." Like I'm not sure exactly who
078oversees the stadium and how much that costs to like clean up and turn the lights on and that sort of thing, but I'm sure Ryan was thorough. I'm just curious. >> Yeah, I I uh I know he was thorough in this review and spent several weeks as far as exactly who he reached out to. Um I can't speak to that. Um but a lot of this uh an example would be um our audio texts, you know, that typically are required to to be there. Um and now we just we bake them into the fees because um you know it's a necessity anyways, right? So it's more of a instead of an allocart option, it's it's baked in. Um and it's basically this is the rental rate for this particular uh venue. The the other thing
079and I know I shared this already but um you know preserving no cost to students uh groups um boosters right is the same but um local outfits would have would have a smaller rate be a different group um but then your forprofit businesses and things that utilize uh the the facilities there would be a higher fee for them. Thank you. >> Are there any other questions or comments? Hearing none, roll call. >> Yes. The facility's rental fee schedule is adopted. Next, I have a recommendation to approve all treasur items listed. >> I'll move to approve the treasure items. I'll second. >> It's been properly moved and second. Any questions from or sorry, Mr. Johnson? >> Mostly just the normal items. The only thing I would highlight is there's a couple new student activities in there.
080I I would mainly highlight uh that there's no new costs added with those, but that's additional opportunities for our students. So, >> are there any questions or comments from board members? >> Hearing none. Roll call. >> Miss Shepard. Yes, >> M. >> Yes, >> Mintosh. >> yes, the action items are approved. >> Next, we have a recommendation to approve all superintendent action items listed. >> I move to approve the superintendent action items listed. >> I second. >> It's been properly moved and second. Discussion. Uh, Dr. Howard. >> Thank you, board. Yes, I'm I'm asking you to approve these uh items included or your standing HR um items from month to month. We have a list of volunteers, 26 total in the summer, which I'm always floored by the the the level of volunteerism here. We
081have our annual certification of standards uh governing foods and the beverages sold on school premises. Uh state law requires this to be approved yearly. Um we're also asking the board to approve an increase to school lunches by a quarter. Uh so that would raise K4 lunch prices from 325 to 350 and grades 5 through 12 lunches from 350 to 375. Uh it's um it has not been increased for a few years and uh this increase is necessary due to rising food costs supplies and labor uh food and supplies are expected to increase by 2 and 1 half to 5%. Uh additionally higher fuel prices are likely to impact supply cost increases as well. It's not a recommendation we'd love to make but think it's pertinent to do so. And then last, we have five overnight
082trips that are uh listed for hopeful approval this evening. >> Thank you, Dr. Howard. Are there any questions or comments from board members? >> Is the free and reduced lunch price also going up or is that staying the same? that the reduced would I can get you this information verify the reduced rate um may go up but the free would be free right >> are there any other questions I know with the the lunch prices um I we had a discussion with Todd and we like the food service department to kind of be revenue neutral so you know we're not we're not uh we are running an operating deficit is my understanding. Would you like to clarify that? >> Yeah, we still have a strong um reserve in that fund, but we are similar to
083the general fund. We're running an operating deficit there, meaning we're spend we this year we spent more than we brought in. Um so theoretically, you could, you know, use that reserve to cover that. But the longer you wait to to make an adjustment, the bigger the adjustment needs to be. So making an adjustment next year uh allows us to not make a even larger adjustment later. >> And um thank you. And so that's kind of a question that was asked and I know we we did raise breakfast slightly last year but breakfast is this this is the lunch prices and so I think as a fiscally responsible move I know it's you know it's increasing costs but um unfortunately food is is higher our grocery bills are higher than they were uh years prior. So
084um are there any other questions or comments on other action items? Um, I'm just curious for my own education, um, are there, um, ways for the community to help with costs for lunches and breakfast for the students? We will um fairly routinely we'll get organizations that will give a donation toward um maybe unpaid accounts. And so um that is a uh that is something that thankfully we've got a very giving community and from time to time we do receive those donations. >> Okay. Yeah. I would just like I think that I think people would donate to that if they knew that there was a pathway to do so. Um or even if there was um you know if there was a fund that people could donate to online and we could create like gift cards
085that kids could earn or you know through their works you know or good deeds that they do. I mean, I know that that's something I would absolutely support and um encourage. I mean, I would love that. So, >> that's that's a great idea. >> I think they call it the angel fund, I think. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Um I have to one of the things about our lunch care programs, no kid goes hungry in when they're in school. So when we talk about outstanding balances or anything like that, that's one thing. You can't learn if you're if you've got an empty belly, right? So um I love your idea, Tanya. Let's talk more about that of how do we either fund that or set this up because I do know it's a lot of
086debt clearing. You can usually make donations to clear someone's debt. But um you know, times are hard for families summer month. I do want to just en encourage we do have free lunch program serviced by the Marsville Library at Memorial Pavilion um every weekday during the summer. So um there are methods to to make sure that our kids are fed, but it is something that we need to work through. But great ideas and let's maybe talk a little bit more about that. >> And I do applaud the district. I think like I've heard from other districts that their delinquency rates are high and they have a huge you know debt balance but our district the way we manage it we don't allow it to to really be a huge number and then we have community
087partners who will randomly say hey we like to pay for you know navens you know any any unpaid accounts and so uh between our policy and the community support I I do think it helps our funds and so that the the operating deficits not because of delinquent accounts at It's just food prices. And so I think that's the that's the main takeaway. And um yes, the library the the free lunch program I I try to volunteer on Mondays which I think it's the busy I don't know if it seems to be the busiest day. Um and it's not because I'm there. It's the library has programming uh that is uh is pretty good. >> Our SAC students, so our your your roommates for the summer, Dr. Howard and Treasurer Johnson. I know they're going to
088the library programming on Mondays and they have also attended and they are open to those free lunches as well. So, um I think this was the first time I've seen that partnership and um I know we we may have a a SAC participant in the room as well, but um I'm hearing it was pretty good. >> Yeah. >> Are there any other questions and other items or hearing? None. Roll call, please. Yes, >> Yes. Uh, superintendent action items are approved. Next, we have comments and questions from board members. I'll start with Miss Macintosh. >> All right. Well, thank you. Um, as we conclude tonight's meeting, I want to take a moment just to recognize two important observances that are taking place this month. So, we have Junth, which will actually be celebrated tomorrow, as well
089as the entire month of June, which is Pride Month. So Junth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and reminds us of our nation's ongoing pursuit of freedom, opportunity, and equal access for all. It's a time to reflect on our history and the progress that has been made while continuing to learn from our past. June is also pride month. It's a time that we many celebrate the contributions and experiences of our LGBTQ plus individuals and families in our communities. As a school district, our responsibility is not to promote any particular viewpoint, but to ensure that every student who walks through those doors feels valued, respected, and supported. We are committed to seeing the serving the whole child including their families academically, socially, and emotionally so that every student has the opportunity to learn,
090grow, and succeed. The strengths of our schools comes from many different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that make up our community. While we may not always agree on every issue, we can agree that every child deserves dignity, opportunity, and a sense of belonging. So, I'd like to wish everyone a meaningful Junth tomorrow. I think our buildings will be closed as well as I know my company is observing. Um, and enjoy the remainder of Pride Month and thank you and have a wonderful evening. >> Thank you, Miss Macintosh, Miss Shepard. >> I'm glad it's summer. I'm sure most of most of the students are definitely glad it's summer. Um, teachers and administrators, too. I'm looking forward to seeing kind of how the next school year rolls around. Um, how we get started in August. Um, and just
091to kind of reiterate back to that staffing point, um, I know we talked about it last meeting, too, that I know it looks great that we have this tight staffing situation and it's not a huge, um, we're trying to minimize that financial burden, but I don't I don't think that it's in um, the best interest of our students or the best interest of our staff to have that high of students in each classroom. And so I think that's something important for us to keep in mind as we look to the future um and continue to make sure you're contacting your state legislators and keeping their um focus on figuring out a funding solution for our schools um or just funding the one they already have um because we could save ourselves a lot of work.
092um and you know keep your eye on that prize and not all of the extra distractions that they're creating um to kind of keep us off of thinking about that. >> Thank you, Miss Neighbor. >> Um I just want to say um you know after attending the um graduation uh last month that that was um quite an experience, my first Mary'sville graduation. Um very well done to those who organized that. Um I was completely in shock that it was done in an hour and a half u with so many students. Um it was just so well executed and um the kids were great. Um you know you see on social media some schools where it is just a zoo and so was so proud of our students um and the families. Um I was so
093thankful that the weather held out. He looked a little ominous there for a bit, but um I was just really really honored to be part of that. And so um congratulations to all of our graduates and all of our retirees and just the um I hope that our students are having a wonderful summer, you know, getting some rest before they u they're going to be back before they know it. And um but um yeah, I just uh what a great experience that was. So I'm glad to be part of it. Thank you. I just end May is a very busy month and uh a lot of our students um accomplished a lot in the last two or three weeks of the year and then maybe a little bit after the school year officially ended. Um
094we saw some of the students here tonight. Um we've the art shows uh the the state finals and and the competitions. And something that's very cool is that even some of the students that we see tonight, they came from work, uh, from, you know, something that they've the door was open through their school experience. Um, or, uh, you see them in the community, not just because they're an athlete or artist, uh, they're helping out with their church youth group camps and they're they're helping they're working at Kroger or they're they're involved in the community, not just onedimensional. And so I think um that well-rounded whole student uh pathway to adulthood is is what we all aim for and it's nice to see that reflected in our everyday living. And so just that observation I know
095even uh people think that our staff are just you know relaxing by the pool but uh some are working by the pool right um some are uh studying and and equipping the buildings uh for the upcoming year. And believe it or not, um I'm getting a little stressed out because people are already sending out school supply lists and I don't even want to think about it. Um but school is around the corner and so keep our kids engaged in some way of of learning and not just completely checking out um because August is around the corner and so not to stress but just to you know not be surprised when it does show up. Um so that concludes my comments. Thank you all for your time. Um, we do have a recommendation to adjurnn if
096you guys want to. >> I'll I'll move to approve adjourning the meeting. >> You can just move to adjurnn. >> I'll move to adjourn. >> Yes. All right. >> I'll second. >> It's been properly moved and second. Any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call. >> Miss Shepard. >> Yes. >> M. >> Yes. Mr. Ferguson. >> Yes. >> The meeting is adjourned at 7:32 p.m. Thank you.