001call the meeting to order. Please rise for the pledgece to the republic for its one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Before we start the good news report, um Donry would like to introduce us to the Wave Jag um students that are here visiting as part of their competition. So, go ahead and take a point of privilege. And >> Thank you, President Kelly. So, I have here with me um people from my hometown of Wave Bay, which if you don't know where that's at, in the very northeast corner, born and raised, grew up there. And I actually worked with the JAG coordinator, Katie Townson. She's here with her little nugget. I'm trying not to be too loud. Um, but she has her Jag community with her and it's really really special because I've
002I've grown to really appreciate what JEG does and so um to see that WAB now has a chapter. I know they're new, but I just want to encourage them to stick with it and I'm really really grateful that they came here to see the glitz and the glory of being on school board. So, thank you all for coming and I'd love to give a round of applause for them being a part of it. [applause] And don't feel like you have to stay. Um, if you would like to go, feel free. But thank you for stopping by. We'll see you guys. >> Good luck at your competition. >> [laughter] >> Mr. Conrad, you have our good news report this evening. Thank you. >> All right. Uh tonight's good news report uh in addition to the JAG
003group from W Bay uh update on our progress in the selection of the facilities task force. Uh it is a 30 person team. Uh we had put out there on January 26th and uh closed the applications on February 13th. Uh but we had a group uh that selected our committee members, our task force members I should say. So this task force will begin meeting in April to discuss current and future facility needs in the Souf Falls school district. We had 140 applicants across the Sou Falls School District um of stakeholders who are interested in participating in this important work. Uh what a great reinforcement to the uh to us that strong and successful public schools are important to the citizens of Sou Falls in the Sou Falls School District. So a little bit about these
004140 applicants. Uh we had young professionals uh who don't have children yet apply. We had parents who have current students and will have future students apply. Uh we have had parents who had kids graduated and they're empty nesters now. Uh we've had retired stakeholders in the Sou Falls uh school district uh some with grandchildren and some without apply. So truly a cross-section of the Sou Falls area and representative Sou Falls. So our committee got together, we reviewed applications, we plotted their homes on a map of Sou Falls so we ensure geographic diversity and we selected a representative group of stakeholders to be a part of this task force. So this 30 member uh task force group that you can see up on the map as far as it's spread across Sou Falls, they were notified
005this past Friday of their selection for the group and uh we would like to hear from in the next week uh if they accept this appointment uh to the task force. Uh we also notified applicants who are not selected on Friday to stay engaged. uh they may certainly attend the task force meetings that occur here uh at this board meeting room uh and they'll start in April. We want uh obviously the task force to be engaged throughout the community. So our task force meetings will start in April. First one is Wednesday, April 8th, 5:30 to 8. Uh and then the 22nd of April, May 6th, and May 20th are our task force meetings. And uh we also have our partner the Donovan group who will help facilitate these discussions. So we look forward to hearing
006ideas from the 30 member task force and also for guiding us and giving us some direction as the district heads into the next decade and beyond uh for our facilities needs. So uh again we're excited to begin this endeavor on Wednesday, April 8th with our first task force meeting and a huge thank you to all of our community members who had the courage to apply. even though they may not have been selected, we're thankful uh for their interest in the work that we do. >> Well, Dan, thank you. That certainly is good news. Uh number one, that we have so many people that are interested in the long-term um investment that we make in our public school system. Number two, to the committee that had to, you know, make that selection of the 40 members
007uh to be on the task force. And then third, um just your continued um thoughtfulness across the board on the com the committee, you as being the point person for the district, the Donovan group, but the thoughtful consideration for what the ongoing needs are for the district. So good news all around. >> Thank you indeed. It is. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Excellent. Okay. Can I please get an approval of the minutes of the meeting held on 22326? >> So moved. >> All in favor? >> Opposed? That is approved. We do not have anybody wishing to address the school board this evening. We will move down to conflicts of interest. Seeing none, we will go down to the approval of the consent agenda items. Those would be items A through E. Can I get
008a motion to approve the consent agenda items? >> All in favor? >> I opposed. Those are approved. We are now down to the reports of the superintendent, Dr. Null. >> We will start with our Am I on? Yes. We will start with our uh uh reports to the superintendent. We do have one report this evening and the report this evening is on the busing uh the busing for our students in the souall school district to be able to get to school and we bus over 8,000 students every day uh to be able to get them to and from school including some of our our preschool guests as well as our students that are in the preschool program. But truly a great effort in our partnership with School Bus Inc. uh to be able to make
009sure that those kids get there on a daily basis safely and and ready to learn. So this evening's report will kind of go over the highlights of of a lot of that information. We do also and they'll be introduced I'm sure by Missy, but we do have some guests with us as well sitting in the front row. They love to be in the front row. So Missy Brock will give that report. >> Thank you. Um I'm before I start the report going to introduce a few people. Um Stacy Signary, she um for the past year has been the senior transportation manager, has moved into the operations manager. Dave Bray Bender, did I say it right? Okay. Um you are our regional VP. And then Gary Hannon just started. He replaced Stacy as the senior transportation
010director. So, >> welcome aboard. School bus transportation plays a critical role in fulfilling the district's mission to prepare and educate each student to succeed in a changing world. Reliable transportation ensures consistent school attendance and reduces absenteeism, a significant barrier to learning. The transportation department works in close partnership with School Bus, Inc., our contracted routing provider to design bus routes that are safe, accessible, and efficient, supporting students and families throughout the district. Although School Bus, Inc. is a private contractor, they operate as a true partner to the district. They're highly responsive to our our directions and recommendations, routinely adjusting routes, stops, and schedules to meet student needs. Their flexibility is especially important during urgent or emergency situations when timely coordination and rapid changes are required to maintain safe and reliable services. Each day, the transportation department
011and school busing transport more than 8,000 students on nearly 360 routes. This operation requires approximately 90 drivers, 40 aids, and seven office support staff to maintain services and efficiently um transport our students. At the district level, a full-time transportation specialist and a full-time clerical coordinate closely with schools and school bus inc routing, field trips, and student bus badge reports. The transportation department supports a diver a diverse population of students ages 3 to 21. This includes approximately 300 early childhood students served across the district in six sites, approximately 300 students attending level rise uh special education programs and then nearly 160 students are transported to intervention programs at Axtell Park and Horus man elementary school. There's over 350 English lang English language uh learners that are transported as well. Feebased busing began in the fall of
0122013 for specialized programs with two-way immersion transportation added in 2021. This year, approximately 375 elementary and middle school students utilize these services to access the specialized programs at Sonia Sotomo Sodtoor, Robert Frost, Eugene Field, Rosa Parks, Hayward, Edison, and Patrick Henry. High school triper routes serve students in grades 9 through 12 and operate with designated stops that students travel to to get picked up from. Because space is limited on these routes, students must sign up through their school where eligibility and seat uh availability are reviewed to ensure a fair and efficient use of the service. Currently at the high school level, we serve 182 students at Washington, 109 at Lincoln, 125 at Roosevelt, and 188 at Jefferson High School. Additionally, 18 daily shuttle routes transport students among high schools to career and technical academy and
013the project-based learning program at Jefferson High School. School bus, Inc. continues to modify its fleet with minivans and mini buses to provide essential express transportation. These vehicles serve students experiencing housing instability, accelerated learning participants, project skills placements with community partners such as Walgreens and ACE hardware, and students trans transitioning back to their home attendance centers from Horseman and Axtell Park Schools. Approximately 100 students are served daily using 16 vehicles. Technology enhancements implemented in 2022 allow real-time bus tracking, enabling families to monitor student boarding and drop off through the stopfinder app. More than 55% of eligible families currently use this service, which also provides geo alert notifications and route delay updates. Drivers are also provided with navigation support through the Wayfinder tablet and and give turnbyturn directions. Communication software bus bulletin enables timely bus delay notifications
014via email and phone. The district also utilizes Bushive to streamline field trips scheduling, allowing schools to submit and monitor requests efficiently. This year, more than 1,900 field trip requests, including athletics, fine arts, and events supported by promising futures and junior achievement, have been processed, enhancing student learning through experiential learning opportunities. Student safety remains the highest priority, and every day, our bus drivers and staff play a critical role in ensuring students arrive at school safely and ready to learn. From routine routes to emergency drills, each moment on the bus is an opportunity to foster and secure a positive start and end to the students day. Each year, students participate in three bus evacuation drills to learn how to safely exit the vehicle in emergencies. These drills familiarize students with emergency exits and evacuation procedures, minimizing the
015risk of injury. They also allow drivers to practice communication with dispatch during emergency situations. Drills were held in October and again in February and our final one will be in April. Drivers and aids meet monthly with school bus inc management and trainers to review safety tips including winter driving, student management, emergency response, first aid, distracted driving prevention, and communication protocols. School buses are among the safest mode of transportation on the road. Safety features include high visibility yellow color, reinforced sides, flashing red lights, stop arms, cross view mirrors, and compartmentalized seating that protects students on and off the bus. Every mile creates a memory. Every stop builds a story. This quote reflects the important role of a bus driver and aids in creating a safe, supportive, and positive experience for every student, reinforcing the value of
016our transportation team in the educational journey. All buses are equipped with advanced camera systems to include safety, student safety, and maintain accountability. The Armor system offers real-time video access, streamlining the process for school video requests and dramatically reducing response time. To date, more than,00 videos have been requested. The fleet um the active fleet includes six mini buses, four traditional or type-C type buses, 59 transit style buses. There's we also have multi-functional activity buses used for athletics and fine arts travel and then 19 minivans that are are dedicated to express travel. Like many districts nationwide, school bus inc has experienced staffing shortages along the pan following the pandemic. Recruitment initiatives have improved retention and hiring and school bus inc has been fully staffed for most of the year. the transportation budget this year for general education,
017which includes the general education routes, fee busing, uh, high school triple routes, the CTE shuttle routes, uh, is just under 5 million. And the special education transportation budget, which includes early childhood routes, rise routes, and the express routes, is just under 3.2 million. In summary, the services provided by the transportation department and school bus inc help to minimize absenteeism by providing reliable, equitable, and safe transportation for students who would otherwise have logistical challenges that would prevent them from attending school. Administrative recommendation to the school board acknowledged the update of transportation services. Any questions? Okay, hold tight. I think we'll likely have some questions. Sure. Thank you. Um, can I please get a motion to acknowledge the transportation service update? >> So, move second. Um, questions, discussion? >> Um, just a comment of saying thank you.
018my my uh middle school children ride the bus and it's really really important when I get those updates that I know where the bus is going to be and when they're going to get on and when I know they get there safely and I just really appreciate that as a parent um to have that information in real time. I'm maybe everybody I don't know what everybody else thinks, but I'm astounded to see the numbers between the special ed um busing numbers with our general knowing how close that is in in number. I know it's a lot, but >> um I I guess I had not realized that the special education busing trips >> um have such a high number to it. So, more of a comment, but open discussion for sure. But thank you. Yeah,
0198,000 families that you really serve, over 8,000 likely um families that you serve um through your transportation. Given that we have the highest double income families, one of the highest states double income um the services that you provide are, you know, valuable to those families and certainly mine and several of ours on the board. So, thank you, Gil. safety as >> the safety aspect is always a very important thing and so the fact that you do the three drills a year is is much appreciated and you know it's so hard I know you have the cameras on the bus but with every student on that bus regardless of what maybe the cell phone policy might be you've got other eyes on that bus as well so I want to thank you very much for taking
020the safety of our students as a foremost concern every day. >> You are Oops. Our bus drivers are oftentimes the first people who greet those students every day and and they're they play an important role in our staffing in this district. So, thank you. >> Also, thank you for the the mix that you have in our fleet to service all the different needs. And I know that has been in the works for a while and it's great to see how that has come together to continue to innovate around how we can help our students. >> Go ahead. >> Well said and I I agree with everything that's been said, but I do have a question. Um, so you mentioned that there were to date,00 videos that had been requested. >> Um, what types of things
021are what are we what are we looking for? What are those requests? That just seems like a lot. That's it's usually behavior on the buses and so the principles will request the video. Um we have it's called bus incident reports and that if something happens on the bus the driver will fill out this report. It'll get sent to the principal. They'll review it. They may request video um to review see what actually happened and um make their principal action from there. >> Yeah. Does that make it a little easier on the bus drivers so that they don't have to be >> So yeah, it does because the bus drivers also have the option to hit a panic button. >> So if something is going on on that bus, if they hit that panic button, it
022will start recording 10 minutes prior, >> five before and five after um the event when they hit their panic button. >> Oh, >> and it sounds like do we have aids in over half of the buses? If we have 90 drivers and 40 aids, how does that work? >> Yeah, so we have um on and not all um not all of our buses, our regular ed buses don't have um bus aids on them. Um we will have bus aids on some of our express vehicles as well. So, when we're talking those numbers, that includes um the express vehicles um that um we we utilize aids on to. Um there are some buses um that maybe have higher needs that we have more than one aid on those buses. >> That's good to know. Thank you.
023>> Any other questions? I remember last year you guys purchased I think tripper buses. They were like white. >> The the multi- um functional athletic the ones >> Yeah. Did they get changed color at all? >> No. No. We have been discussing Yes. Because I know where you're going with that. Um we have been discussing u you know with it was with Warren at the time um doing some type of graphics. >> Cool. >> On the buses because Yes, they they do have a different appearance to them. >> Yeah. Awesome. Thank you. >> Okay. Anybody else? >> Okay. Um, thank you so much. All in favor? >> I opposed. >> Okay. We have acknowledged the transportation service update. That brings us down to agenda item 11. Um, I'm going to ask for a motion to
024approve our assignments of the school board members to the board of equalization. You all have your assignments. Yep. >> So moved. >> Second. All in favor? >> I opposed. >> Those assignments have been approved. Um, Mr. Beak You have our legislative update report this evening. >> Okay, I think this one's going to be pretty quick because we're getting towards the end and a lot of bills are dead and we're not going to go over those. for the people following at home, if they want to see what we're talking about, you can go to that QR code there and uh go look at our bills and we're going to talk about key bills that are left and uh you know, things are getting a little crazy. It usually does at the end of the session. And
025uh then we'll talk about the property tax package that came out last week, I think it was. So, Now let's show drive. Um so uh good news uh a bill the the bill that has been in there at least three years maybe more to uh make it so kids on reduced lunch eat free. It was uh it passed the house. It was over in the Senate. It was in appropriations. They killed it. But you can smoke a bill out if you want. And uh that was smoked out and then so they're ordered to bring the bill to the floor and it passed today uh with 20 votes. 20 votes. Yes. I think it was 20 to 14. So that bill passed. We were on board with that. We've been on board with it since the
026get-go. So uh yeah, that's a good that's a good bill and it and that one passed. Uh that was 1082 and that was a key bill. There was uh one we talked about last time and I think right after we met, shortly after we met, it was Senate Bill 223 or uh affectionately known as the second opt out bill. Remember there was one that was going to require any school opt out to go immediately to a vote. Well, this one this one was a slight slight compromise, the second one which was going to require about for us about 300 signatures to get it. And now we have over 100,000 voters in our in our district. It was going to require 300 signatures for us to get it um on the to require a vote with
027300 signatures. That bill died uh early late early last week or late the the week before. So that bill died as well. And so yeah, two bills in trying uh kind of, you know, they even said it and basically aiming at Sou Falls [laughter] and uh they failed. Then a bill which was uh pretty nondescript. It was health bill 1241. We were watching it just because it talked about property taxes. Uh but it was for military vets and their surviving spouses to be able to get a reduction um on their taxes. And uh that got turned into a third try, third bite of the apple for the opt outs. And uh this one had a very had kind of took the worst of every bill that was introduced. And although the the number got up,
028it uh it required a you know 22 estimated 22,000 or so expense to mail every property tax owner in the district. That was on another bill that we said was kind of okay. We'll talk about that one in a minute. So, $22,000 to notify and then if and uh you needed 5% which is the current law to pass your to pass uh to to refer it except for more than 2,000 votes. So, that's that's aimed at school districts with over 40,000 voter voters. Um so, who do you think was being aimed at again? So, that was aimed at us. it uh we of course opposed it. It uh so it got amended over in the Senate, came over from the House as that that bill we just talked about. So it got amended in the
029Senate. It was up on the floor today and it was a roller coaster. It failed 1717. They moved, the supporters moved to have it reconsidered and because this is I think the last day to get bills out of the out of the second house, they uh they they acted on it right away. It the move to reconsider passed 1916 and then they reconsidered it and it died 1420. So they they they took three cracks at uh at uh kind of making an opt out tough for particular Sou Falls School District and uh they uh the third attempt failed. Um, there was another opt out bill that's still alive and it was uh it was the one that had that ownorous uh $20,000 bill to to to mail that out and they took that out and
030it was um originally was I think 50 days um to to pass petitions and we had said uh amend it to 30 that's reasonable. Now, we considered that a and then and then they passed that they passed that bill and so we were going to support it. It passed out of the house. We were going [clears throat] to support it, but then they put in this other bill. So, it's like, okay, we got that. Now, we're going to try once more time. So, we change we changed our after talking to the folks, we changed our position to oppose. So, I don't know if we're still opposing that bill now that that other one failed or not, but it's like, yeah, okay, we got at least we got this, but we're going to try one more
031time at another bill. So, that would be a fourth a fourth bill on opt outs [clears throat] looking at us. So, our current position on that is opposed. It's up on the Senate floor today, sometime today. It's might might have been voted on. I don't know. It's hard to get info unless you get somebody texting you telling you what what's happening. So, that's another one that's still out there. It isn't a terrible bill. I know the cities and counties are both against it as a group. We were kind of more moderate on that because of uh the other two bills and it's like, well, here's a compromise, but they didn't really settle for the compromise. So, what else is out there now is a bill we have supported all along. It was the governor's property
032tax relief bill, but it became part of a bigger package, but I'll talk about that one first. It's Senate Bill 96. Um, and we on all the other property tax bills, we said oppose. We support the governor's plan, which is the counties can have an option for half cent sales tax and they take that half cent sales tax and use it to reduce owner occupied taxes. So, that's what we supported and uh that has passed both houses and now just needs the governor's signature. But there's more to this plan that was some kind of grand compromise that was agreed to. There's a house bill Senate or I'm sorry, Senate Bill 245 which was hogoused which means you just wipe out everything except for the enacting clause of the bill and and change it to to
033what to a new bill. So it's a house that survived getting over to the other house. So it was over in the house. They they killed the bill and then they they changed it to a bill that would create the homeowner property tax reduction fund. And most of that money would come from the restoration of the 310 sales tax which is scheduled to come back on next year. And they would take that money and use it to reduce property taxes on homeowners. Um then they would do it through the state aid formula just by more state aid and less local effort. And right now it's 5842. It would that number would go up. might be more like 65 35 and and they would and all that money would go into reducing property taxes for homeowners
034and it would be statewide. It's not targeted like the governor's bill for the counties, the six counties that were really affected by rising values. Um, so they got some one-time money they're going to put into it to get it done right away. That bill, like I said, that bill is on the floor. I don't know if that bill has passed. Um we're we're opposed generally to anything other than the governor's bill because that's the way we stood all along. Um then there's another bill the 1051 that was that was uh well that's the bill that's the bill that whenever they're if they're going to do something different to state aid like give us one 0% or maybe now 1% instead of the 254 that the formula would have called for they have to pass a
035bill to do it and in that bill they also set the levies. So, in 245, they're going to amend it to do this property tax reduction that I just explained for the homeowners. Again, we were generally in favor of the governor's bill and not necessarily, not that these are terrible bills, but that that that was our stance all along. Um, and then there was a there was one that is not so great. Stabilizing assessment growth at no more than uh 5% per year. I think they increased they increased that or yeah no it was going to be yeah it's 5% per [clears throat] year and then originally it was going to be every seven years but they changed it to five amended it this is 1253 if I haven't said it again another one that
036was hog house every five years there'll be a catchup to get assessments back to market now I don't know I didn't hear the testimony on the bill I don't know exactly how that would work if you're just if your house has been growing at 10% but they've only been allowed to increase it at five and then the fifth year they're going to make up the the 25% they didn't get and then the next five so you get a 30% that doesn't make much sense to me. So that particular bill seems weird now. Maybe they just assess it back across to everybody. You know if your house was growing at two you're going to get a bit of an inch. I don't know. I don't know what their their plan is on it. doesn't seem to
037make sense that you just put it off for 5 years. Unless what you're going to do is wipe that part out when when it come when it comes to happen and just say we're not going to we're going to amend that law. It would be a law then amend that law to say we're not going to do that reassessment. That would be to me the the only thing that would make sense because every five years your house is if it's been growing in valuation it's going to get cranked way up. Seems weird. Um so that one is weird. And then yeah, um they uh they've got the bill for transparency. That's the one to allow 10 more 10 more days, which we supported after they made the bill, just the 10 more days to do
038the petitions, but we changed our position when that other bill came out and they were taking another crack at trying to uh make it almost impossible for a school like us to opt out without without a vote. Um, so that's where we stand on on those key bills. Is there any questions on those or any others? No, I just have an observation as it pertains to the opt outs. Just a reminder, and Todd, correct me if I'm wrong, but for the benefit of all of us, just a reminder that we have opt outs and they serve important um component to our our revenue in that they meet the gap when the state isn't fully funding our educational expenses. Number one. So, number two is as a board member, I just want to make it public
039that in the past seven years of my service on the board, I have not received um complaints about our our budget. Um there's usually more concerns that stem from teacher pay or the lack of of funding. Um, so it's been a challenging year um, in that it seems there have been complaints on property tax and it just so happens that that's how public education is is funded. So, we've kind of gotten um, we've gotten gotten positioned in the crosswinds of that um, situation, but just to remember and to keep in mind the amount of support that we have from both the legislature and our local citizens. um to the work that our district does day in and day out. Um the the work of our teachers and our staff and our administration. Um, I don't
040want to lose sight of of that and that uh by far we get more compliments uh towards the work that we do and the people that we serve um in the city of Sou Falls um than what the property tax is taking away some of that limelight and the significance of the work done. Um I'm proud of the budget process that our district has. It is robust. it is transparent and there are plenty of touch points for public feedback. Um, so I hope we just can continue to keep our eyes um focused on the work that we do and the families and the teachers and the kids that we serve every day. It's been a long >> legislative season. >> Good point. I just add last year, you know, we used to hear you're the
041you're the only ones that get a guaranteed increase. Well, usually the guaranteed increase is when times are good is less than everything everybody else despite what you hear. Um that the big three get the same. I can show you lots of things on that that show that's not the case. But in the bad times, it'd be nice. Okay. Well, at least you get that. But in the bad times, it's everybody's got a share in the share in the pain. So last year, we were supposed to get a 3% increase. Uh we got one and a quarter this year. We were supposed to get two and a half and then the governor originally proposed zero and the latest I've heard is he proposed one. That's the official amount I I've heard. I know people are trying
042the lobbyists out there trying to get it up a little bit. But so I mean in just uh if if it's if it's one and it's one and a quarter and it was one and a quarter last year, that's two and a quarter and it should have been five and a half. >> Yeah. If anything, let this serve as a reminder to the significance and importance of why we have an opt out and to thank those legislators that years ago implemented this and that can um have throughout the this legislative session reminded us of that and have been, you know, supportive. Don't want to lose sight of that. >> Yep. >> Y it's okay. I just wanted to take a second to to celebrate the school lunch bill passage and you know how that that
043was muscled through because I think um that's we so often we're we're playing defense and we're explaining things and I think it's just easy for us all to understand um the significance and the importance of this bill and um it's just it's it's awesome that it passed. I'm very happy >> it is. Food insecurity is a real thing. So to the extent that we can continue to focus on educating the kids and that food is is taken care of, it helps to us with our end goals. And with that, I want to give special recognition to board member um Gail Swinson. Gail works tirelessly um for the district and goes above and beyond. She made calls across the entire state um and on behalf of this bill and what it means for our kids and
044I think she deserves a real round of applause and acknowledgement. So, actually Elizabeth stole a little bit of my thunder because I was also going to call out that bill. This is the fourth year that Representative Whitman has uh brought a bill similar to this. The beauty of this bill this year is she had such wide bipartisan support and so many uh Republicans signed on as sponsors and co-sponsors as well, which is awesome and not really heard of too much in pier that you have so much bipartisan support and it's an issue that we all care about deeply. you know, as board members, as as our staff in the school. I want to also thank our administrative staff for working so hard on this and point out Gay Anderson who did a great job with
045her testimony and a great job contacting food and nutrition directors across the state as well. So, all hands on deck. We got it done. So, congratulations to everybody. >> Well said. Thank you, Gail. Anybody else? >> [laughter] >> Mark's really excited over here and thankful as well. [clears throat] >> I think I probably should just hold off. Been very angry about the session. So, we'll leave it there. I'm going to echo Mark's remarks because as much of a win as this was, this was really challenging and disheartening. And when I've taken a look at the long list of opposed for our district, it I can't help but to feel that target when we're simply trying to keep kids safe and families on their feet. So, I just want to encourage everyone to vote. We have
046our chance to really make sure we're putting people in um that are putting forward good legislation that actually support a South Dakota family. um because there's a few characters that show up quite often that are um not bills that we supported as sponsors and they were reoccurring themes. Um I'm saying probably what Mark exactly wanted to say. I know it. Um but there was quite a few that were the same characters over and over attacking public schools and the integrity of what we provide for children and families. And I just want to encourage everybody to pay attention. Vote in June, vote in November. Um, this stuff matters. And again, thank you to Representative Whitman, all the sponsors, Gail Gay, everybody that got that lunch bill through. We really needed that win. And then of course
047to Dr. Nold and his team. Like everything that you guys have done to stand up and fight for public education. We'll never know. the hours, the lengths, the emails, the conversations, the policy briefs. I mean, you guys have put in so much time, and I think we should just beg Todd to stay another year because we got we got more to do with you. Few more years, five more years. No, I'm just kidding. But seriously, um, so thank you everybody for, um, all of that and thank you, Nan, for saying it the right way and I apologize for bringing it the negative way, but a lot of >> to be transparent and honest with our feelings and and it is okay and and with that um, to think about the food bill that's been successful,
048also those legislators that get what we do and support public education. Um, and we have our budget coming up and it's a robust project pro process and there's lots of touch points. Um, and we have a strategic plan that we want to fund. >> Ready for a motion? >> Are we ready? >> Okay. Um, >> um, can I get a motion to acknowledge legislative update report? >> So move. >> Second. All in favor? Opposed? >> We have acknowledged that. Um, can I get a motion to adjurnn? So move. Second. All >> in favor? I opposed. We are adjourned.