001I'm going to call the meeting to order if you have everyone would rise and join us for the pledge please 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 we are missing a couple board members tonight president serenbutz and board member Baker are not able to be with us tonight so we have the three of us here um can I get a motion and approval to of the minutes held on 313 23. second I have a motion and a second all those in favor please signify by saying aye aye opposed same sign that motion passes we have people uh here to address the school board and all of the uh names
002that have been submitted are on non-agenda items and so we are going to go ahead and get started um I have eight people who are all wanting to speak on the topic of gymnastics and so how that works is that there's a total of 15 minutes that's given no one person can talk for more than five minutes um we do have a timer and Cynthia will alert you when you get close to your time if you have that five minutes because we do have so many new faces today I'm just going to read through our public participation at board meetings just so everyone is aware so this portion of the agenda is available for individuals which wishing to address the board about a district related subject an individual wishing to address the board on a
003district-related issue must sign up prior to the start of the meeting with the business manager or designee give his or her name address and topic about which the person wishes to speak the speaker is limited to five minutes regardless of the number of subjects the person wishes to speak or wishes to cover anyone addressing the board must give his or her name and address the speaker may not give oral complaints regarding District Personnel or Personnel actions complaints regarding District Personnel are to be addressed to the superintendent in private or in writing to the superintendent and board members in accordance with policy Keb ke b r the speaker may not offer personal tax against any individual the speaker may not give oral complaints identifying individual students complaints regarding individual students are to be addressed to the
004superintendent in private or in writing the board president at his or her discretion May request the administration or another board member to respond to a person addressing the board immediately following the input or maybe or may direct the administration to respond in writing so for the first group of people that we have speaking if you could just come up to the podium when I call your name and then just introduce yourself and tell us your home address please so we're going to start with Eric and Beach good evening my name is Eric Van pique I live at 4500 South Yellowstone Lane in Sioux Falls as my time started yes um I'm not alone up here my daughter is with me she's a seventh grader at Edison and she's a proud member of the Lincoln High
005School gymnastics varsity team maze path to High School gymnastics is not uncommon she started gymnastics at a local Club when she was seven years old she loved it at first but as a familiar Story Goes Club Gymnastics stopped being fun the long hours the high pressure had turned gymnastics into something that no longer she no longer looked forward to she started to dread it and we were told by a friend that the high school gymnastics culture was slightly different than that so we thought we'd give it a try her and some friends I cannot explain to you how happy we are that we made that decision it's truly amazing what this program has done for her she walked in that program nervous and shy and came out confident proud extremely happy there were many aspects
006of this program that had such an effect but easily the key factors were the team and Coach Les coin the team aspect of High School of Gymnastics is what makes it so special it's not like that in Club Gymnastics the group of girls that they had cared for each other more than I'd ever seen 17 and 18 year old girls teaching for 13 and 14 year old girls how to support each other how to accept each other how to be there for each other she's a seventh grader she went on sleepovers for Christmas she went got ice cream dinner dates with Juniors and seniors it was amazing to watch this group of girls take care of each other it was so different than anything I'd ever see not then unless taught these girls that they
007could love gymnastics again he made it fun they loved going to practice they loved going to meets they loved their teammates and they loved their coach all of these life lessons were amazing and at the same time they excelled more at this sport than they ever had in years this actually they actually recruited three more gymnasts these are 14 year old girls recruited three more gymnasts to join the team next year because of how much they loved it these girls have spent years working their gymnastics skills if this sport is cut they have very few options it's almost impossible to jump into a new sport this late in the game after spending seven to ten years working on this one um the other option is to go back to club which costs thousands of dollars
008a year and as I said lacks the culture that this program has four weeks ago the parents put on a gymnastics banquet at our own expense because of how special this team was to them and to all of us I stood and I gave the same message to Les and the girls just to thank them for what they've done for my daughter the difference they've made in her life this is not hyperbole to say that this program is one of one of the best parts of my daughter's life and it's truly heartbreaking to think that it might come to an end as a father I've seen this and it's true and I ask you please do what you can to come up with a different way to cut this budget and not take the support
009away from these girls thank you [Applause] Sophie Degroot and again if you could just say your name and your address please grow 4700 South Twin New Jersey hi my name is Sophie and I'm a seventh grader at Edison Middle School this year I was blessed with the opportunity to be on the Lincoln High School gymnastics team I've been doing gymnastics since I was five years old and I've never had an experience like I had this year I know I'm not going to be some Olympic Superstar but this gave me the chance to go out there and not be afraid to give it my all for me it was also not just the sport that made it awesome it was being able to be a part of a team and having a coach who really cared
010in Cloud gymnastics it's all about being the best and beating everyone in high school I really learned how to be a part of a team girls gave encouragement before he competed their teared cheered you on during a routine and gave high five straight afterwards and high school gymnastics my coach encouraged me to do skills I never imagined I would be capable of I never found myself dreading going to practice like I sometimes used to in Club Gymnastics when I found out that they were most likely going to cut gymnastics it broke a piece of my heart because this Sport and this team was really my happy place I don't want myself or any of my teammates and future teammates to have to quit this sport because they don't have the option to come have fun
011at high school gymnastics last time I was here we were fighting for the same reason that we are here for today except last time I had no idea what I was really fighting for and this time I know exactly cutting gymnastics would be so much more than just cutting gymnastics it would be cutting opportunities for new friendship Newfound confidence and learning in the most supportive environment I've ever been in I don't know much about how budgeting and all that stuff works but I know that there must be a better way to do this than taking a sport away from strong young women like us Ella ello cornet I apologize if I mispronounce anybody's name my name is Ella Cornett 5909 West 53rd Street hi I am a senior at Roosevelt High School obviously this isn't
012about me since I wouldn't have been competing next year anyway however it has never been about me there is no I in any sports team including gymnastics this is one of the many affirmations that I've learned through my sport I could present you with all the other affirmations and benefits that gymnastics has had to offer to myself my fellow teammates and other student gymnasts alike but nothing I say would be different than the benefits that any other High School sport has to offer children so I am left wondering why the sport I along with many others have dedicated my life to is seen as less than I am left to comfort my teary-eyed teammates when their identity is no longer important to their Community the activity they poured their souls into for the past decade
013is suddenly rejected rejection of high school gymnastics is a rejection of the individuality of every single girl who participates when we young girls were warned of our first High School heartbreak we had never imagined it being caused by the decisions of our school district for so many gymnastics was our first love and we can't comprehend the fact that a passion that has consumed our lives for so long is so easily deniable by the leaders of our community this decision disproportionately affects the less fortunate who can't afford to participate in a club in this decision disproportionately affects females not only singling out but eliminating a female sport is something we do not allow everyone deserves to experience what has undoubtedly created the best and most influential Moments Of My Life High School gymnastics I I along
014with all other young women present today would do anything to save my Sport and I beg you to please consider seeing as we all use the skills gymnastics has given us on a daily basis such as confidence strong mindset humility I predict this is a loss we would never get over all I request is that you understand how special gymnastics is to so many people all of whom I'd consider to be members of my family as we move forward with tough decisions concerning the athletic department we must consider how they align with the district's clearly outlined values I'd like to remind you of the Athletics vision statement in one of its guiding principles as stated on the Sioux Falls School District website quote it it is the vision of the Sioux Falls School District Athletics
015program to reach 100 percent of our student body to be involved in a meaningful interscholastic athletic activity by providing diverse and Equitable programming opportunities for student involvement students will be more engaged in school confidence will build and student achievement will rise end quote I couldn't agree more and as it relates to this situation cutting gymnastics will certainly do the opposite of increasing opportunity and athletic participation with this in mind I surely hope for the school district to fulfill the documented promises they have made to my community thank you let's hi my name is Les Coyne vice president reader members of the board Dr Salem my name is Les Coyne I live at 5308 West 56th Street in Sioux Falls I'm currently the head coach at Lincoln and Washington I hope you don't mind but I
016brought a few of my friends here for support today [Applause] I would like to thank everyone who came here today in their Sport and the support they've given on social media I'm sure you're wondering why they all came across the state today to be here because if we cut gymnastics in Sioux Falls it's only a matter of time before the rest of the steak cuts gymnastics as well the decision you'll be making about the budget committee's recommendation to cut gymnastics is being watched closely by all schools in the state that offer gymnastics I'm not here today I'm just here today to help save the sport in Sioux Falls but also the sport in the state of South Dakota I want to thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today about the federal gymnastics
017in the public schools I'd like to start by reading a quote from Dr Steven there are no limits on how far we can go when we learn together we strive to create the very best experiences for every person in our district so we can become the very best in the nation less than six months ago I beg this District this board and I asked you to come together after this year's gymnastics season I ask that we bring the coaches the parents the gymnasts the district to find Solutions on how to keep gymnastics in the poor Public Schools we have Solutions we need to be asked we need to be listened to and we need to be consulted unfortunately that meeting was never set up my goal in this few minutes speech is that we learn
018together and the public will learn the truth about the numbers that the members of the board are emailing out to the people who have sent in emails about gymnastics I have no problem with you signing your copy and paste response to all these emails you've gotten but I do have a problem with that you did not give any reason why these numbers are the way they are and maybe the district didn't give you that maybe they didn't give the school board or the budget Community the truth about those numbers I'm about to break down why these numbers are the way they are in 2019-2020 the number of gymnastics was 60 participants was 63. this was the last year for Middle School gymnastics because the district chose to cut Middle School gymnastics then covet hit and
019that also changed things once again for gymnastics this summer The District chose that gymnastics was not able to host camps that cost me for gymnast alone in 2021 the number of gymnasts were 38. this was the coveted year we were told by the district that each team had to limit the number of gymnasts not only did we have to limit our numbers just told us that all three teams would be practicing at Lincoln eventually Roosevelt did end up at their own school and the district did not offer busing to any of these teams this was detrimental to the Washington team as most gymnasts were unable to get Transportation as their parents were working they didn't have cars Etc plus the gymnast had to pay for their own guests to get to and from gymnastics this
020is all despite head coaches attempts to find solutions for this issue in 2022 2023 the number of gymnasts gymnasts were 44. this year the district told us that we're all going to be going to a club we all know that story we got that resolved everybody went back to their practicing in the school Lincoln and Washington practice together and Roosevelt and Jefferson practice together less than six months ago this district and this board was looking at signing a two hundred thousand dollar five-year contract with a club in town and now we're sitting here talking about cutting that sport these are the hurdles that the district has put in front of our gymnast over the past few years and they have told not told you or the public about them they cut Middle School gymnastics cut
021busing making teams travel to different schools for practices no summer camps not buying the equipment for Jefferson wanting to move gymnastics to a club and now they want to cut this board these hurdles put in place by the districts has had a huge huge effect on gymnastics and our ability to get new gymnasts to get new coaches now the judge wants to use those numbers that they are involved with over the past four years to get rid of this sport those numbers are direct effect what the district has made decisions about gymnastics not by the parents not by the gymnasts and not by me if you look at the numbers in gymnastics by school you will see that the only School Lincoln is the only school that had good numbers every year why is that
022because gymnasts did not have to travel to and from practices proving that taking gymnastics out of the school cost us gymnasts another reason we're given why gymnastics is looking at being cut is because the highest cost per athlete I'm not here to argue with you about that finding I'm here to tell you that even if you get rid of gymnastics there will always be a sport that's the highest cost per athlete so are you going to get rid of that sport next I would like to read to you the vision statement about the Sioux Falls School District Athletics is the vision of the school Falls okay thank you I have four more speakers and we have two minutes and 45 seconds left just to check in I have Ashley Claiborne hi I'm Ashley Claiborne I
023live at 2017 South blob out I competed for Roosevelt High School gymnastics for five years I've judged the sport with many judges in the room for two years and then most recently was an assistant and head coach at Washington High School for five years I sent a lengthy email last week but I want to focus my time today on two points the numbers for participation and the effect that this could have on the Sioux Falls region as a whole from my high school team over half of the girls that I competed with are currently involved in coaching at other programs throughout this state and more importantly many of them were motivated by mentors they met specifically in the sport of gymnastics to continue their career in education so without high school gymnastics in the largest
024District of our state I'm concerned and fear that those connections to education will be lost and have a negative impact on the Sioux Falls region entirely secondly the participating numbers from the past season do not reflect the reality of the interest in this sport when I was coaching during my last season of 2020 I had 24 girls on the Washington High School team and a combination of 13 Patrick Henry and 75 Whittier Middle School participants in our middle school program that no longer exists this is a feeder program into our High School competitive Sports to my knowledge that was a record high Year from talking to some some of the other Middle School coaches that we have there are multiple reasons why this past year was lower numbers than average but I would also agree
025with less that most of those reasons relate to the lack of transportation and combining the schools and without that middle school program as our as our main feeder please consider other areas to reduce spending before eliminating this gymnastics program entirely from the Sioux Falls School District thank you okay [Applause] okay we have Audra Rue and we have 35 seconds left sorry All I'm gonna do my name is Audra Rue I'm from Mitchell South Dakota I'm here kind of representing the whole rest of the state people have traveled all over we want you to recognize that this is not just a decision in Sioux Falls oh sorry we'll let you the telephone come back but our policy is any you have to either be a taxpayer or resident okay of the Sioux Falls School District we
026appreciate you coming though but we'll have somebody well let me wind up the time so I've made votel [Applause] Maeve boatel 2210 South Pender Lane first of all I just want every gymnast in here to stand up [Applause] my name is Maeve boatel and I'm a senior at Oklahoma I've been involved in high school gymnastics for the past two years and I've experienced more joy in ice in this sport than I've ever experienced before High School gymnastics gives so many girls like me the opportunity to do gymnastics while they are also involved in other activities at school sorry so that is our total of 15 minutes that we have on this topic thank you everyone for your comments [Applause] we have three other people who want to talk all on different topics so each of
027them will receive five minutes um we will start with Chad Chad just tell us your name and address please 96 000 a year does that include busing hey my name is Chad Bishop I live at 7405 South Valencia Drive here in Sioux Falls I'm here this evening representing myself I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize for any miscommunication related to the topic of book bangs diversity equity and inclusion my speaking and presentation skills are woefully inadequate when it comes to important topics like this it was brought to my attention that a local news publication ran a front page story with a headline that read Sioux Falls schools legislature haven't bowed the parents request for book band so far on page 4A under the subheading book bands there were a few paragraphs that referenced myself
028who's calling for these book bands three parents collectively Michelle Clement Amy Bruner and Chad Bishop on the same page there's a direct reference to the statement made by myself other parents include Chad Bishop who has long sought answers to the district's stance on diversity equity and inclusion during public comment time Bishop a member of the local moms for Liberty chapter question is September 13th 2021 board meeting why his daughter's teacher read the book anti-racist Baby by Abram X candy to the class Bishop had asked the board about this incident multiple times since then saying Candy's work indoctrinates his daughter in a fight against white supremacy and called the book propaganda the way this is presented one might infer I do not oppose white supremacy or maybe that I actively support it please note as the
029video record will attest I gave the statement in question to this body wearing the face of a brilliant African-American Economist historian and philosopher Thomas soul from the Hoover Institute at Stanford speaking of propaganda have we discussed how one method of propaganda is to emit certain information that might not be supportive of a preferred narrative in addition to providing the usual access to my pre-written statement I'm sorry the overhead isn't working or you could follow along I had prepared um took the YouTube video off the site and added the text alongside the quote from that is from that statement on that date so I would suggest that the second book anti-racist baby is an example of the first book propaganda and that it uses a technique presenting a false dilemma a logical fallacy to my elementary
030school-aged child in order to plant seeds and indoctrinate her in the fight against white supremacy with a note saying sarcasm deleted I'm not asking you to ban this book I'm asking you to teach our children to recognize it for what it really is propaganda a seasoned journalist might have asked why is white supremacy in quotes or what does the subtext sarcasm deleted mean or maybe just use the exact quotation I gave when I was asked directly about my concerns via Facebook Messenger 86 000 a year when is it time for the Sioux Falls School District to maybe cut administrative staff when is it time instead of 50 or 100 families suffering when is it time that the administration may be cut Chad we had 15 minutes for gymnastics and you signed up on a different
031topic so we're gonna ask you to stay on your topic thank you hey Chad this is the journalist I'm just catching up on a school board yesterday since I was out and listened to your comments where was anti-racist baby you read in the district and what is the issue you take with it exactly hi apologies I'm rarely on Facebook name redacted school name redacted babies are taught to be racist or anti-racist there is no neutrality it is a false dilemma fallacy I tell the reporter if you must be anti-racist or you're racist according to kindy you must then accept the premise I addressed yesterday this date was August 22nd of 2022 if you could see the overhead you could follow along the only remedy to racist discrimination is anti-racist discrimination the only remedy to pass
032discrimination is present discrimination and the only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination that's Uber next Candy's definition of how to be an anti-racist to be clear I perceive this gentleman as a grifter who profits from racial Division and dividing us along racial lines if that's clear for the reporter is Candy's anti-racist discrimination the type we see when teachers in Minneapolis are selected for termination by the color of their skin in the name of equity when I ask what does the Sioux Falls brand of diversity equity and inclusion look like I'm asking will you just openly discriminate based on race gender political affiliation like those who use the same words and their policies and districts around the country will the Sioux Falls brand A diversity equity and inclusion look like what we witnessed the last
033week when a judge was denied the right to speak at Stanford law by the dean and acolytes of diversity equity and inclusion crushing free speech at that Institution cull this poison from your policies and your administrative framework Embrace equality Merit and color blindness thank you for your time foreign next we have Amy Bruner Amy you also get five minutes tell us your name and address please okay overhead's not working tonight good evening my name is Amy Bruner and I'm at 3420 South Alpine the last few meetings I've made comments related to sexually explicit books I and other parents and many of our children have found in the Sioux Falls Public School libraries my children have been exposed to material by way of the school library and classrooms that I view as inappropriate to their age
034maturity and level of understanding I never expected that I would have to Shield my children from this level of sexually explicit material in school and it leaves me with a deep sense of deep betrayal in my previous comments I've made it very clear that I am not asking for a book ban I have asked for a mechanism by which I can opt my own children out of material containing content my husband and I feel is inappropriate for our children and I am pleased to see that recently the school district has added a page and submittable Google doc to their website that would allow us parents to opt our children out of library books of certain genres and topics that we parents Define it also gives us a space to fill in book titles that we
035want to have withheld from our own children at the library thank you for giving us that option and just today I had a very kind librarian take the lead and reach out to my family to discuss a book that we may or may not consider appropriate it's awesome and that took guts for her to do that I appreciate it I have also been made aware that the school district is setting up some type of Library oversight committee or oversight or advisory committee I don't know the details I understand that teachers are being asked to volunteer for that committee and I think that's excellent parents should also play an important part in that committee and I would ask that you please let me know how parents are being included in that committee and how a parent
036might volunteer or be selected for that committee I have a couple of thoughts the committee should consider while it is a step in the right direction providing parents an opt-out form for specific titles does not necessarily solve the issue entirely every year many new books are brought into the libraries and classrooms and parents should be made aware of the new materials being added to the library collections I would like to ask that list of any new library materials that are acquired by schools and made available to students be communicated to parents there are also there's also the matter of classroom libraries there is no tracking mechanism or catalog for the materials my children have access to in classroom libraries I think most books in the classroom libraries are probably just fine but sometimes things slip
037through the cracks and this should be a topic of discussion for the committee finally there is the matter of the Sora Online Library it is very easy for books that are checked out on school Chromebooks to slip right past parents Chromebooks often don't even come home with students and I reserve the right to be wrong here but I believe that parents may not be able to individually limit access to certain titles or authors for their students through the online or Digital Library digital access to reading materials needs to be examined because I know that my children this school year have had access to books like last night at the telegraph club by Melinda Lowe which is rated as a four out of five on the website ratedbooks.org which says that the book contains obscene sexual
038activities and sexual nudity the rating scale is a zero through five rating scale and it's going to be similar to your ratings for movies also available to Middle School level students was The Kite Runner by Khaled Hassani which is rated four out of five by booklooks.org for its explicit sexual activities including sexual assault and battery prostitution involving minors and adults am I done [Laughter] explicit violence and Mild profanity these types of books are not appropriate for my children and I get it other families may feel differently families should have choices in matters related to sensitive topics like sex I know you are making some steps in that direction and for that I thank you please take the heart that I and many other parents would really like to be part of the conversation on how
039to best provide transparency and choice for all families in the district while upholding and respecting parental rights we are here for the conversation and we hope you will reach out thank you thank you [Applause] and our last speaker tonight is Michelle Clement tell us your name and address also please hi good evening Michelle Clement 4401 East Harwood Circle 57103 I'd like to thank the Washington librarian who reached recently reached out to me I believe our conversation was productive she was receptive to suggestions and my request to restrict my child's access to material that does not align with our family values or how we address certain topics my son who often visits the library has always spoken highly of her always she has made a lasting impression on him and I am grateful for that I
040want to thank all those involved with updates made to the library Services page found on the district's website I understand it will take time to work through issues that have and are expected to arise allowing parents an opt-out option strengthens the parent School relationship and I appreciate that team effort my main focus has always been parental rights always recently moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice testified in Congress I'd like to share a quote and I believe the majority would agree with her statements quote parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their children that includes their education Medical Care morality and religion I want to be clear these are inherent natural rights parental rights do not stop at the classroom door I am encouraged conversations will continue with all of us involved open
041dialogue is a good thing thank you for your time thank you [Applause] at this point we are going to continue with our regular agenda so if there are any people who do not want to stay for that you can certainly leave at this time yeah we'll give you a second to leave if you'd like um actually you better think of thank you do you have rotator cuff s everything else okay can I get a motion to approve the agenda please so move second I have a motion and a second all those in favor signify by saying I I approved opposed same sign that motion passes thank you um no I just couldn't hear what's up we got the one I was thinking about is the old lady oh so when I was thinking of I
042should say not not she might be here oh maybe she left we have another male version we're gonna ask everybody to just try and move out as quickly as possible maybe not so that we can continue the business of the board enough next we will have the good news report we go good evening our good news report comes from a partnership between the Sioux Falls school district and the Department of Defense Donna van belt husen will be sharing about Starbase a Department of Defense youth program that many of our students participate in throughout the school year this program is intended to inspire and motivate students to explore stem as a pathway to their future at this time Donna has joined me at the podium and will talk about Starbase welcome thank you thank you so
043I am hi nice to see you again I am the director of Starbase here in Sioux Falls we have four star-based locations throughout South Dakota two of them focus on Rural and reservation communities and to one focus is on Sioux Falls Area and one the Rapid City area so I'm speaking on behalf basically of the Sioux Falls program because that is what serves our Sioux Falls School District students so we've had this wonderful partnership with the Sioux Falls School District since 1994. many of the people in Sioux Falls especially Sioux Falls School District parents and students aren't aware of this relationship because most of our work that is done in the schools is done with the title program and those students who are in the title program uh let me just make sure that we're
044going here um if you take a look at our mission and statement and our program description in general basically what this is saying is that students mainly fifth graders come to our program for a five-day 25-hour Hands-On stem experience we try very hard not to call it a field trip because it is a classroom day five classroom days it's just outside of their school the majority of the programming we do is for fifth grade students and um as you can see we've well you can't see the whole document but all of the programming that we have all of our lessons all of our objectives are lined with the fifth grade South Dakota standards they're also aligned with the national standards we make sure that we're not just aligning them with things like math and science
045but also along the lines of social studies or um Health PE because we know that so much of what we do they're seeing in all those different areas so we can relate it that way as well um we've had wonderful communication with the school district Linda does such a great job of helping us make sure that we're in contact with those people that we need and working together to make this experience happen for the kids we were allowed to come in during covid and actually teach in the classroom which is what our Nova program does on the road so we made that happen in Sioux Falls as well currently we're actually um let me get back to this so we work very closely with the principals and fifth grade teachers that we work with Child
046Nutrition Services is involved because they make sure that school lunches the kids can order a regular school lunch and it's delivered to the Starbase program School Bus Inc does an amazing job of making sure students get where they need to go and this program is free for the school district except for transportation so we work very hard to make it accessible for all those schools that are involved if you take a look we have our main program is a five-day program again 25 hours of programming for these students you can see the list of current schools there are a few on there that are two-day programming because if we can't fit all the sessions and we shorten some that are no longer Title One schools currently we've had about 620 students from the Sioux Falls
047School District but we still have the rest of the year to go students come with their teacher and their entire class they're not picked and chosen from a class everybody in the class comes if it is a title one school and if their class is chosen another huge way that the school district has supported Starbase is right now this year also last year and for another year to come we have had space issues at the National Guard with some different building and um programming things and so we have been given classrooms at the learning lab on Southeast Tech campus to run our programming and it has been wonderful so thank you thank you to the Sioux Falls School District for that um and then I'd just like to show these are the faces of Starbase
048um these are the kiddos that are having fun learning the curriculum it is challenging um there are sometimes kids who think I just can't do this it is amazing what they learn we see these kids in the community and they come up to us and are so excited to introduce their parents um and we hope that in doing this we Inspire them to stay in the stem fields and pursue their education go into careers we have added on a 2.0 program that works with students at Whittier Middle School so that we can reach them one more time so you can see and of course our military they are still getting to the military site at least one of their five days and so they make sure to interact with the military to see some of
049the stem in action thank you okay um if you have any questions otherwise I'd just like to say if you're ever interested in coming to visit you can visit for a half hour you can visit for a whole day you're always welcome to come out and see what we're doing out there so thank you thank you thank you Donna do you still use Ray is your call size still use Ray as my call sign yes I was a lucky parent chaperone that attended star base a couple times so thank you for all you do it's an amazing program wonderful wonderful yes we do all get call signs and our students get call signs as well that they get to choose that relate to stem and that is in line with the pilots that have call
050signs out on the air base so the kids think that's pretty cool and when they go here or visit with the the pilot many times the pilot will be asking them what's your call sign this is mine so thank you I love the Hands-On nature of of everything that's done in um I think that's that's so helpful for kids who maybe spend more of their time sitting in their classroom or maybe on just a computer you know doing Google classroom or whatever it might be and so to see them actually like I love them making a lava lamp and like really experimenting and experiencing science that way I think is so important especially at that fifth grade age there's not a lot of science experiments that are done in the classroom and that age so
051what a great opportunity for them to be able to explore some of those other things so it's very difficult for the regular classroom teacher to do that every day when we are teaching the same curriculum then we can make all of that available all day long because we're doing those similar things every day with each group so we are glad that we can provide that for the kids yes thank you so much awesome thank you all right we have no new conflicts of interest can I get a motion and a second for approval of the consent agenda please second I have a motion and a second all those in favor signify by saying aye aye um those opposed same sign that motion passes and we are on to number 10 the supplemental consent agenda uh
052can I get a motion on 10A emotion and a second for claims to Avera Health Care second I have a motion and a second all those in favor second five by saying aye aye oppose same sign that motion passes and 10B approval of claims to Sanford Health Care emotion in a second please second all right I have a motion and a second all of those in favor signify by saying I I opposed same sign and that passes with one abstention from myself and now we are on to the reports of the superintendent yep two reports this evening um the first representing a hefty body of work by many people that's coming to a close now with decision and moving forward with an implementation Dr Boyson will cover that and then Mr beak will do a
053brief legislative wrap-up now that the session has officially ended I believe is it tomorrow the last last is it today last last day so we'll cover that as well so I'll turn it over to you Dr Boyson all right thank you um thanks for having me tonight it was a great kickoff with Donna and Starbase and leads right into our science report that's always a great opportunity at Starbase when our students get to go out there I experienced that as a fourth fifth grade teacher I'm taking my kids out there a long time ago and it was fun to see all those school names up there so it's a great opportunity for students tonight I bring you the science K-12 science curriculum adoption report it follows through on our academic success priority area and we
054have worked for the last two years on this curriculum adoption study to bring the best information forward for you to recommend for our students so the Sioux Falls district science adoption aligns with the South Dakota board of education and Next Generation science standards the standards emphasize that science is not just a series of isolated facts this awareness enables students to view science as interrelated world of inquiry and phenomena based rather than static set of science disciplines that next Generation science standards represents a fundamental shift in Science Education requires a different approach to teaching and science than in the past and as we look ahead teachers use a range of strategies to engage students and create opportunities to demonstrate their thinking and learning the science curriculum study began the fall of 2020 as the K-12 steering
055committee teachers administrators parents community members met several times throughout the year to develop the vision mission and goals to guide that curriculum study and there's our K-12 vision statement that was created and our mission statement and our K-12 science goals and really those goals are problem solving strategies we want to make sure they ask questions to find problems develop and use models planning and Carry Out investigations using appropriate tools and Technology they're able to analyze and interpret data use math and computational thinking and construct explanations and Design and then engage in arguments from the evidence obtained from evaluating and communicating that information I'll go through next each one of the areas and the teams that the work that they completed and their recommendations by level so at elementary and Elementary student has a naturally inquisitive
056mind and approach to science this wonder and joy for learning should be nurtured by investigating scientific phenomena and real world problems where students Wonder question and engage in experiments create arguments and justify their thinking utilizing that inquiry-based science model in the spring of 2022 a group of Elementary staff members gathered to begin the process of engaging in the science study the team established the goals and they wanted to find a program that would engage our students in that phenomena based Hands-On learning with comprehension struck instructional resources and lessons that are transferable to real world situations and those cross-curricular instruction that would be connected to their other content areas the committee selected um amplify science a K-12 curriculum that blends Hands-On learning literacy Rich activities in interactive digital tools to empower students to think read write
057and argue like real scientists amplify products is aligned to the South Dakota standards reflected of the three dimensions of learning and incorporates quality instruction materials and resources and that's their recommendation and here's their unit of studies that align by grade level and we have a picture here of a little kindergarten friend after they finished a project and um and she says I don't just like it I love it and she was really engaged in that learning and just really wanting to continue on and that's what we want to create with our Learners is that they ask the questions they explore they try they problem solve it doesn't work they come back at it like a real scientist and that's Elementary as we move on to Middle School the Middle School level committee recommends the Middle
058School courses be offered in two Pathways aligning to the three dimensions and covering the depth and breadth of the South Dakota State's science standards the committee recommends maintaining the traditional pathway consisting of earth science and sixth grade life in seventh and physical science in eighth grade most students follow this pathway through middle school and enter high school with a sound foundation in science and have ample time to take courses that meet the science graduation requirements students meeting academic requirements and administrative recommendation have the option of a second pathway which allows students to earn the culminating credit of high school biology in eighth grade on this pathway six and seventh grade students participate in an accelerated science course the priority standards for sixth seventh and eighth grade are covered in an integrated approach over two years
059students will then participate in high school biology in eighth grade including the fall and spring semester exams and you can see that outline there and highlighted I highlighted high school biology because that was a new pathway that was added a few years ago and this year we have 327 students in high school biology in eighth grade the committee recommends the Hooten Mifflin Dimension Suite of resources for the that offers a balance of online and print resources for teachers and students along with a consumable write-in textbook the committee found the hmh dimensions resource to provide the best alignment and required three dimensions of the science standard in a manner that's accessible to all students for the accelerated pathway that committee recommends stem Scopes by accelerate learning resources for sixth and seventh grade integrated courses and then
060hmh accelerate learning also offers a Spanish Edition allowing Spanish Immersion courses to use those identical resources the honors program will continue to use floss web resources and Project Lead the Way to meet the Earth life and physical science standards required at grades six through eight to layer the additional challenges of stem into the curriculum and students participating in the high school biology course in eighth grade we'll use that high school high school biology curriculum we also have the newcomer program and that program is for students who arrive to the country at any time in middle school and fall within the English proficiency guidelines they participate in the newcomer program for one year this program includes science courses that builds background knowledge and academic science vocabulary emphasizing the essential sixth seventh and 8th grade standards the
061committee recommended moving forward with cengage exploring science materials as a base resource and supplementing with cengage big idea books to ensure each essential standard is covered that is Middle School on to high school high school science students use critical thinking ask questions test ideas evaluate scientific evidence and explanations understand the nature and development of that knowledge and participate in laboratory experiences teachers in the high school science study work to develop robust courses that provide opportunities for students to engage in learning that stimulates their interest in science and prepare them for success in their college careers all high school students must earn biology credit and two or three additional science credits for graduation to meet the graduation requirements the number of science credit a student needs is determined on which endorsement they would like to receive
062and you can see that table on the screen and that follows with that the changes to the high school graduation requirements a few years ago the high school committee created um the high school committee met reviewed the curriculum and created three new courses that included real world science forensics and Earth Science and basics of the human body which was initially piloted at Washington High School that will be now at all four high schools and I highlighted those on the screen so those are great new opportunities for students at the high school level common District assessments are for biology chemistry and physics and the study committee members also updated these assessments and wrote Common District assessments for all science courses at the high school level the science committee members reviewed and piloted textbook resources through the
063fall of 2022 to determine the best materials to align with the three dimensions of science standards and made their recommendations foreign special education is also a part of the curriculum study at middle and high school level middle school special education teachers chose hmh Dimensions as a curriculum resource for students with more significant learning gaps by aligning the grade level resources students have the opportunity to be integrated into the General Ed science board courses students with disabilities at the high school level are offered various opportunities to learn the necessary credits to graduate these opportunities include a combination of general education and Rise programming options tailored to the unique needs of the students determined by their IEPs students with disabilities require supportive coursework and will use attained materials as well as Hands-On materials and accessibility tools to
064promote scientific understanding as well as embedding opportunities to develop that Independence and employability skills for successful transition to adulthood so when you look at educating 25 000 students and we look at the curriculum that's needed to do that at elementary we have 487 science teachers at middle school we have 51 science teachers and 13 different courses at high school we have 72 science teachers and 20 different courses and so the budget for the the recommended science adoption is listed the cost for the adoption provides a curriculum materials and online access for seven years for 25 000 students and all those different classrooms at those levels so we have 1700 additional students from the last time we had the adoption we have two new schools we added middle school biology and four additional High School courses
065committee participation when we look at that we had our K-12 steering committee we had the elementary curriculum Middle School and High School study committees and the special education committee so all members included we had 162 different members in those committees serving to help select those resources to make sure that we pick those best supports and develop the curriculum to serve all our students so in summary the elementary middle and high school instructional Level subcommittees under the guidance of the K-12 steering committee reviewed the South Dakota science standards and preparation for the study the proposed K-12 science curriculum aligns with these standards and will support teachers in developing scientifically proficient students by applying knowledge and deep understanding the K-12 steering committee grade level committees curriculum Council and ministers and science teachers have viewed recommended the proposed
066instructional materials professional development is also included as part of this adoption and will occur during the summer through 2023 and the back to school session and throughout next year and with that I'll stand by for any questions and ask for approval of the curriculum adoption um I asked you this question before too but I think it's important for the public to know so um under South Dakota assessments we test our students at 5th 8th and 11th grade on science is that correct that is correct so I think that's important to know too um social studies is not tested at any level no and then um this is date at 5 8 and 11 and then Ela and math are what grade levels three through eight plus eleven thing yeah yeah I know when we were
067talking about this earlier um I'm excited about the forensic forensics class and I know that several high school students were excited about that as well and they was piloted I believe at Jefferson last year and so now the fact that more students have the opportunity to take that I know personally my daughter is not a big science fan so she'll take what she needs to but then being able to take other classes like an astronomy class or a forensics class or something and not feeling like well if I don't take AP I don't have anything right so I think it's great that we have these classes that really can engage people in different ways and maybe they'll never get to take another class like that they maybe watch CSI or they might watch you know
068these different crime scene courses or TV shows and so now they can actually kind of have an understanding of probably the reality of how that doesn't work on TV um but again just another option for them to learn and still have that science background and something that's useful to them so I love the additions um to the course offerings I concur thanks any other comments no if not if I could get a motion to approve the K-12 science curriculum adoption for the 23-24 school year I have a motion and a second all those in favor signify by saying I I oppose same sign that motion passes thank you thank you as you notice there are community members and parents on these committees how can people just um put their interest into the district is that
069how you're typically wanting those type of participation or do you seek experts in that area from those people I'll ask that to Dr Boyson yeah um so at our curriculum website on the website under curriculum Services we do have those applications out there so right now we're taking applications to be for people to be involved in our social studies study that will start next year I think so yes it is available for any of those committees for parents community members um to be involved in this good question all right next we have the wrap up for the legislative session yeah thank you as we mentioned earlier the 2023 session ended today with veto day um for the district we kind of watch one of the biggest things we watch of course is state aid and
070education funding so there was a we ended up with a seven percent increase in both stated formulas the special ed and general fund formulas the governor had proposed five percent the legislature increased it to seven percent and the the governor signed the bill on that um usually in in what's locked into state law is three percent inflation whichever is less but in a year they may or may not go over that so they did that today the governor proposed above that obviously with the five and the legislature increase it that's nice inflation um is based on what happened last fiscal year so the legislature knows what it has coming in to sessions so and we already know what inflation was last year that was 7.9 so the seven percent increase was much more in line
071with that rather than three percent and we also we also uh kind of compare our see where we sit in the in the in the total budget for the for the state we've done that since 2017. and uh so for comparison uh the state in state general fund increased 15.6 percent um and you can divide that that state general fund into roughly a third a third and a third state aid is is a third of that that increased six point one percent it's a little less than than the per student amount because you're you're mixing property tax years and and uh you're also adding or maybe decreasing slightly and students Statewide so there's a combination of that where the no the two numbers never match up so that increased 6.1 percent the Medicaid agencies Human
072Services and Social Services increased uh 22.4 percent um you know we had that uh increase in Medicaid was passed by the the electorate last last time we voted so that was part of that and the rest of the state grew 18.3 percent so the increase in state aid was certainly not out of the line with with uh any of the rest of the increases that were going on um since FY 17 that was the first year of the half cent sales tax where education was increased across the state about 9.1 percent they've targeted teacher salaries and so um to raise the targeted teacher salary so we we keep track of what what the increase has been since then so we know where where that kind of should be going the last two years has been
073um very marketing we've had Market increases the last two years because of inflation and last year we got five percent this year seven percent so um it really took off it was pretty slow going for the first um several years since 2017. so since uh since 2017 17 there's been a 23 total increase it's about three percent average per year um and that nearly doubled in the last two years um so that's kind of where we're at funding wise and funding wise since 2017. in addition to the General Appropriations Bill we tracked 57 bills and we considered four of them key bills um we supported three of those key bills and two of the three that we support supported were proposed by the school that our school district and then there was Senate Bill 24
074which became the funding bill which so we we made that a key bill as well and supported that so the districts proposed bills we had 11 22 which would have allowed 10th graders to participate in the state dual credit program and because I said would have you probably figure out what happened that bill failed House Bill 11 23 was also ours and it will allow School boards to opt for two or four-year terms instead of a three-year term so that they can align their their they can get on even numbered gears and they can align their elections with others which we we do an even number years with with the city and that bill passed and was signed by the governor then the fourth key Bill we opposed it was House Bill 1234 it would
075have provided vouchers for students attending private schools that bill failed so that's our brief wrap-up of the session we'd ask you to acknowledge the report on the 2023 legislation as presented on standby for questions thank you so I think it's important because I think there was some question and rhetoric that uh the education was getting more than the other big three as as it called in the state and from that presentation it sounds like we did not in fact it was less than no we typically don't grow as much as the rest of state government I um the the state salary policy when for for state workers went up seven percent and then on top so that that they moved their whole what we would call a schedule they moved their schedule is seven percent
076and on top of that there was about another two and a half percent for targeted increases so that was more like nine and a half percent so no we didn't get more than the rest of state government but uh we're happy for the seven percent exactly fabulous yeah well thank you to your team and obviously there's numerous people involved in each of those bills and and keeping us uh uh up to date on where those were at and what was going on out there so appreciate that um can I get a motion to acknowledge the report on the 2023 legislation as presented absolutely second all right I have a motion and a second all those in favor signify for saying aye aye oppose same sign that motion passes anything else to come before the board
077no oh yes we did change dates um coming up for our work session so our next work session will be on um April 5th uh that's a Wednesday and that was going to be our normally scheduled work session I believe initially we had said we were having one this Wednesday but that has been moved to April 11th which is a Tuesday um that Tuesday night we will also have our board meeting there is no school on Monday the 10th which is why we're meeting on a Tuesday instead of a Monday as we typically would so we will have a work session from 4 to 5 p.m on that Tuesday the 11th followed by our regularly scheduled board meeting at 5 30 on the 11th all right we have did I get a motion in a
078second to adjourn you know can I get a motion in a second to adjourn so moved second all right all those in favor signify by saying aye aye aye opposed same sign we are adjourned I just like all