001going. We're gonna start the Anthony Union High School District number 14 board of directors meeting. Today is Wednesday, January 21st. It's uh 5:32. Uh the first item on the agenda is public comments. No screen. We will um move into the consent agenda. Can I have a motion to approve um the minutes, warrants, retirements, resignations, and nominations as >> I have a motion by Scott, second by Dave. Any discussions? >> All in favor? >> Okay. Move on to finance. um the River Charities Incorporated uh which is a donation um forwards. Renee, do you want do we do you want us to just pull from the packet and approve it or is there a something that you want to >> um Nothing specific. It's just a donation um that came in that was specifically identified to be
002used for sports. Um we had a and it it came from the same law office as um Winben or Ben Charities. They also donated the same amount or similar amount in years past. >> Okay. >> So um the thought was that I think there's actually still some money left in that account. So if the board approves that, we'll just coingle the funds, let Mike know that he's got those funds available. >> Okay, >> great. Um, can I have a motion to approve the uh donation from River Charities, Inc. uh for $4,000 for the use of sports? >> So moved. Second. >> Motion by Dave, second by Scott. Any discussion? >> All in favor? I >> Okay, we'll move on to Cove Charitable Trust Donation. Um, it looks like it's for the Holocaust field trip. Um,
003sorry, I'm just trying to pull up my >> Yes. And this is um money that um Jen Wells White gets um every year that the the amounts have varied, but it supports the the trip uh I think to the city. Very good. Um, can I have a motion to approve the donation um uh from of $12,000 uh to support the Holocaust uh trip? >> So move. >> Motion by Katie. >> A second. >> Second by Katie. Any discussion? >> Is the trip separate from the other thing that we >> Yes. >> Yeah. So, do we know that it's going to the trip and not the the expenses of the the other experience? >> This is for the trip to go to New York City. The next one is to support a a mobile field trip
004to come to campus. >> Okay. >> So, know if it was still up in the air as to how the funds would be used if it was a choice. Okay, great. Thank you. >> Okay. All in favor? >> I Great. And we'll move on to the MHF grant. Uh hates ends now. Uh this is to support a new mobile field trip coming to us. Is that correct? >> Yeah. So it would be to to support the cost to bring that here to us um to campus um high school. >> Great. Um, and I have a motion to approve the donation. Um, look like the Is the donation $5,000? >> So moved. >> It's a thou I'm pretty sure >> is a thousand. Okay. Sorry. 5,000. >> The cost is 5,000 for Okay. Um, can I
005have a motion to approve the $1,000 donation? Uh, >> motion by Dave. >> Second by Beth. Uh any discussion? All in favor? >> I >> Okay. Um a real quick point just just transparently. So um it is coming into the high school. Adam and I are exploring the possibility of some middle school stu eth graders in particular um going to be part of it. >> Oh great. >> So I just just wanted to share that. >> And then historically when we receive donations, do we have the clerk write a letter to bank the organizations support we have in some instances but I don't know that we have >> like consistently >> um sure >> is that something that needs a motion or can we just >> I don't think so just ask the clerk >>
006happy to do it >> to get the information >> um Thank you. We will move on to um review and approve the annual meeting warning. >> You want me to pull this up? >> That would be great if you would with me for just one second because I have a lot of stuff open on my computer. Just a piece of information. >> Thank you very much, >> Renee. Is this uh a good spot where we could connected to the one pager that that folks have in front of them? Thank you. >> But I won't get in the way of Let's do this first, then we can talk about the handout. Okay. Um I think historically have we we've read the entire warning Renee or do we just need the motion to approve it? I >>
007you can probably make a motion to wave the reading of it into the record and >> Okay. >> Yeah. I mean it's it's part of the packet so it's been published. Um and just for yourformational purposes the the meeting ID link for the Zoom link is is accurate. It has been created so that those details um are there. We have moved the floor meeting time up. Um so from previous years we were kind of stacked pretty tightly between SVUSD Mount Anthony and Southwest Tech. Um so we backed those times up. Uh, Mount Anthony will be first here at 5:30. UEED will be at 5:45. And then that gives folks enough time to migrate out to either other towns if they're going to other floor meetings or those that are going to Southwest Tech and then
008head over to the Bennington Firehouse. They are going to be at 6:30 um, prior to the town of Bennington starting at 7. Um, everything else is pretty much standard. I had our um new district clerk review this uh to confirm um the seats and make sure that they are the correct length of terms. Um and then everything else is just uh the boiler plate. You've got your um budget warning which we had talked about how the wording is required by statute. So, even though the budget that you approved is a 4% increase over the current year's expenditure budget, we have to list for um voters what that looks like in terms of education spending per weighted pupil. And we know that our weighted pupils have decreased. So, our costs have increased. Thus, you're seeing a
00912.6% 6% number in the the language that has to be there um for the for the budget. Um and then the polling places are there. Um these are all the same um as they were last year. Just everybody's signatures. Um good. Can I have a motion to wave the reading of the meeting or of the warning? uh and have it I mean and the warnings in the packet right with the >> and then we'll just adopt yeah that we need to adopt it. >> I definitely motioned. >> Okay. Thank you. Have a motion from Sandy. >> Second from Kristen. All in favor? >> Okay. Um can I have a motion to approve the um warning of the annual meeting of March 2nd and 3rd of 2026? um as presented in the packet this evening. >>
010So moved. >> Motion by Scott. >> Second by Katie. Any discussion? >> All in favor? >> I. Okay. >> So the signature spots you'll just have to thumb through um to find most everything is in alphabetical order after 31 there. Thank you. Um Tim, I know you wanted I don't >> so that we created a sheet um this came out of u just observing some for conversations and hoping to this is an attempt to give board members some information that you can use when you're talking to community members and this is our first goound so happy to hear feedback. Um these are specific to uh we made one for Arlington, we made one for the ESD, we made one for MAU. First box is your current expenditure budget and the increase which you see 4.0.
011What you see next is article C which you just approved. So the pupil cost spending in the increase. Then we thought it might be helpful why is the projected tax increase greater than the school budget increase. And it's two pieces. Fewer students lower common level of appraisement. The bar graph will show you information over time of the number of students being reduced. and then the common level of appraisement by town within our district and the tax uh rate as you go across. We also thought it'd be helpful for other considerations um health insurance which has really not been a part of the educational conversation. We thought it might be helpful for you to know that the gold plan underneath um health insurance in 2018 the family plan would have been $17,394. uh in 2026 it
012is estimated to be $43,920 uh and that is used by a vast majority of public school employees across the state. So you can see the uh expenditure and then one other thing last year the uh governor and the legislature uh approved a $und00 million buy down which temporarily lowered our property tax rates but it artificially lowers tax rates which causes the next year to on average go higher. So those are two pieces of information to share with community as you go forward. Like I said, we provide one of these for each of the three boards with uh schools operating within them. >> And the health insurance is not something that this board negotiates. This was something that was taken by the state several years ago. Correct. Out of our control. >> Yeah. And the rate
013is I guess what would be negotiated would be the employer, employee or contributing share. Um the rates are set by the Vermont Education Health Initiative and submitted to the Department of um financial regulation at the state. So that gets reviewed at the state level and we just got word this week that those rates have been approved. So what we did end up including in the budget is is good. Um but yeah, it's jumped substantially. there. Any questions on what they This looks great. >> We can uh post those to the website, too. So, if that helps you as you were walking around the community, hey, you can jump online. You can print your own copy of that. Just wanted to share it with the board first. We didn't want to get out ahead of that.
014>> Yeah. Thank you. It's great. Um we'll move on to operations. Um, in the packet there is an elevator bid with me just go over it. We can >> So another board has covered this as well. So this goes to uh servicing and inspecting the elevator. >> So there's a recommendation to go forward with Um, can I have a motion uh to approve the recommendation uh for the elevator service bid um to award a 12-month maintenance contract to Mac Brothers Elevator in the amount of $4,140? >> Motion by Scott, second by Beth. Any discussion on this? All in favor? Wednesday. >> Okay, great. >> There are no policies, so we'll move on and no student representatives this evening. So, we'll move on to the high school's um administrative report. >> Thank you. Yes. So, unfortunately,
015our student representatives at prior conflicts tonight, so we'll miss their attendance, but um happy to speak to the high school highlights from uh last month here. So focus on our first semester closed this past week on Friday, January 16th. So a strong finish for our staff and students. Uh the second semester began this week, Tuesday, January 20th. So, lots of activity in the building this week with uh students figuring out their new schedules, finding their new teachers, meeting them, making those new connections, helping them find their way. Uh report cards will be mailed out next week for the first semester grading period. Uh math testing is underway right now at the high school for 9th and tth grade students in English and math. UNF throughout the month with the start of the second semester. We
016are revisiting and reinforcing our cell phone policy across the school with staff and students. um encouraging the use of the yonder bags and um getting ourselves ready for full and consistent implementation by certainly next school year to align with uh state law. Um winter sports continue to go well. Our seven teams continuing to compete. Uh, one highlight that I do want to bring attention to the, uh, one of our student athletes, Ella Palisano, who set a new high jump state record of 5'9 in earlier this month at the indoor track state championships. So, very proud of Ella for uh, beating the previous record holder, which is Ella Palisano. 5 foot seven inches. So, if she continues to just raise that bar figuratively and literally, I'm sure Ohio State will be happy to have her join
017their team next year. Uh, looking ahead, we have our next half day coming up on uh Wednesday, February 11th, uh, with staff attending professional learning in the afternoon for a district data day. um February break reminder of those dates coming up from February 23rd through the 27th. Um and one thing I forgot to mention, uh big event tonight at the high school taking place with the uh high school music department. Uh we have a band concert. The MAU jazz band is performing. Um we have some solo performers tonight. uh and some chamber singers performing. That's at 700 p.m. if you're able to attend that meeting here this evening. And I would just like to finish out my report by acknowledging what I believe everybody is probably aware of. It's um been a rough week for
018the MAU community and specifically our wrestling community and I just want to take this moment to thank families, faculty, staff, students, and the community for all the support that we've received as our wrestling team, our school, and our entire MEU community has been going through a very difficult time. Um, I do want to extend special thanks to the coaches and the players and the wrestlers on the team um, for their outstanding commitment and support of each other throughout the weekend and throughout this week and returning to school. I also want to give special thanks to our athletic director, Mike Mallaloy, who really just navigated the entire situation and was the point person in contact uh between the team and all of us back here throughout the events of the weekend. can't express enough how amazing
019of a job he did supporting both aspects like both ends of that situation. Um so I want to extend the gratitude to our clinical team at the high school coming to support the wrestling team specifically before their return to school. met with them Monday afternoon. Uh continue to support them and the rest of our staff and students returning to school on Tuesday as well as our counselors and our central office team uh including him and Katie West as our communication with the outside world. So, I appreciate everybody's support as we uh continue to support our our staff, our students, our coaches, our wrestlers, and their families going through this. >> Thank you. >> Um any questions, comments before I moved on to middle school? I appreciated your message um spok to to the high school
020community. I think that that was you proactive and was needed and I would just echo your sentiments that the whole team you know handled this uh as best they could, right? And we'll keep the athletes and their families and our thoughts. Um, we move on to the middle school. >> Yeah, sure. I just, uh, you know, tough to tough to jump in and, you know, give your principles report at this moment, but I'll I'll keep moving forward with that, but um, yeah, I appreciate you and, you know, and, you know, leading the crew with Mike and others through all that. So, thank you. Um, okay. So, I think that's some uh some positive things to share. Um so, uh we you probably remember that we do a winter carnival at the uh the middle school
021every year and that uh date has been set and uh we are we're scheduled to do the winter carnival on March 7th. I know it's still winter actually technically at that point I think, right? Maybe. Yes. Um but anyways, March 7th is the date. It's 10 to 2 uh at the middle school. Um it's it's been a it's been a growing increasingly attended and uh kind of sought after event. Um you know, a lot of folks from the community come and attend. A lot of younger children, you know, come and really look forward it's to attending it. Um it's a fundraiser uh for uh teams in the school and also the PTSA. Um, so I just encourage people to check it out and if you have friends and family and kiddos that might be interested
022in coming, you know, there'll be a lot of middle school teachers hanging out, a lot of middle school staff hanging out, a lot of middle school students. Um, and it's a fun time. So that's March 7th, 10 to 2. Um, I'm going to just talk about testing for a moment. I'm trying not to live in this, you know, world all fully, but I got a couple dates to share. Um, and that is for the our state testing, the VT CAP. Um, we're scheduled to do our ELA test on the 17th and 18th uh of March and the math test on the 24th and 25th of March. And uh, we are also the lucky recipients of doing NEAP testing, which I've already shared with the board, so I won't dig into that uh, too far, but
023that date is set for uh, February 18th. that I'm going to take every opportunity that I can to thank Rachel Kip publicly um because she is the testing coord coordinator at Mount Anthony Middle School and she really is you know needs to get credit for doing the vast majority uh of the work and uh you know I meet with her and she she is a she is a taskmaster and she gets stuff done and she goes off and you know always meets all the deadlines and there's a there is a lot behind we say there's a lot of behind the scenes uh tasks involved with testing and and testing security and you know making sure you have certain documentation in the testing uh system. Um so I I thank her for that and also Stacy
024Alexander my associate director of student services that works at the middle school um has also been a really helpful person in in orchestrating this. So some testing dates coming up. Um, I will give a brief plug for this and then I'll come back and share more about our Patriot Challenge day. Usually a lot this is in the spring. You know, Mr. Bane's going to come up into the dunk tank this year. >> We didn't talk about that. I just I just dropped that. We didn't like >> conversations about that yet, but I've been in there and you probably have too actually, right? Yep. So, we're gonna invite him back for a cameo there. But, um, but yeah, that's on We've decided to break the day into two parts actually. So, it's going to be two
025separate days. Uh, we do a survey every year. We got a lot of feedback from students, staff. Uh, this was a feedback from a lot of the teachers and we also thought after a pretty arduous stretch of testing, uh, we thought it'd be nice to have Patriot Challenge Day uh, in at the end of March. So, we're going to do half of it on the 27th of March. That's going to be a half day in the afternoon. And that is, if you've ever been to Patriot Challenge Day, it's a big team building. you kind of think of like a a a focused field day. A lot of team building activities. Um there are, you know, some awards given at the end of it. It's a pretty it's a pretty awesome day. Um it's always my
026favorite day of the year. So I definitely encourage you to come check it out. Let me know if you'd like to do that. We'd love to have some honorary guests. Um, and uh, the afternoon of the 27th, we're going to be doing the teen cheer and the lipsync battle. Uh, which is the whole school, all 500 plus kids and everybody there uh, in the gymnasium. Um, it's it's you can't you can't put it into words, Mr. P. You've experienced it. It's just it's one of those things you just got to be there to experience it. Um, and then we're going to do the second half of that day on May 22nd, which is more of a typical time that we do Patriot Challenge Day. Um, and that is when we're going to do our normal
027uh morning activities. That's when that you really get into the team building activities. We've done it uh most recently in like amazing race sort of format where advisories travel to different stations and then you know whoever completes it at the end is kind of the champion. Um there's some you know prizes and things. So those are just some really fun events that just really nice to see a you know a community of uh I'll say about 600 people when you have all you know staff students and everyone and just you know smiling and having a good time and kind of remembering what it's all really about. So I'll do another plug for that. Um I know it's not an academic day so to speak but that's the work that gets our kids to a place
028where they can do the academics that we want them to do. So it's really important for middle school. Um, I just do a quick highlight of an afterchool program, the Hype Squad. And then I have a request for the board. Uh, which is a request I've said before, but we just I wanted to just bring it back. Um, sorry to sound like a broken record, but the Hype Squad is a new after school program where they focus on, uh, doing kind of positive messages, different signage around the building. It's really a big uh focus on like school culture. Um, uh, I had a student council, eighth grade student council president along with some members of his crew, uh, the student council crew come talk to me and want to do a student section in the
029middle school gym for basketball games and possibly for future sporting events as well. So, we've connected the hype squad with that and hype squad is helping with some signage and uh, posters and things like that. So it's kind of cool to have like the student council come to me with a leadership idea and then kind of having the pieces come together. We're an afterchool program. Some kids are working on it there and student council is working on making it happen communicating with Tracy Galley the you know middle level you know assistant ad and it's yeah so it's uh just kind of a cool thing that's coming together. Just wanted to share that. My request for the board is that I would love to and through Mr. paying whomever uh to have a date that I
030could bring uh Kelly Brooks uh my site coordinator for the after school program and possibly some students to the board to just kind of showcase some things. I met with Kelly the other day and he was like when am I going to be able to come to the board? I got I got a folder already. I got stuff like so he's like wants to come. He's ready to go and he wants to showcase some of the cool things happening. So I'd love to bring um them and then you can you know listen to them rather than me talk to the principal report little time. Um, so that would be really fun. Uh, um, and then another positive event that you kind of clued me into when you were talking about your report. Um, on February
03111th, which is coming up, we have a a map growth celebration that we've done uh, annual annually for the last three years or so. And uh, we basically have a big event, a knockout game. There's some new this year, some arts and crafts opportunities and things like that. again feedback from students uh that you know not everyone wants to participate in the knockout game. So we have some other alternatives and uh basically we uh you know we celebrate students uh successful students being successful in meeting their math growth growth score and so no student is turned away from uh the celebration. Everybody participates but you get certain incentives and participation that you can do for reaching your math grow growth number. Um, so that's a another kind of cool community activity that we do that's
032coming together. Um, I do want to share with the board that coming back from the uh the December break, um, I decided to have grade level assemblies with my sixth, seventh, and eighth grade student bodies respectively. And the purpose of the assemblies was kind of to go over it was you know with me and uh they lasted for a block you know a block of a class block and we went over expectations coming back to school. We talked about you know school rules expectations in the building in different settings that we have outlined in our uh our PBIS uh plan. So you know the cafeteria, the hallway, bathrooms, classrooms. um to a te the kids did a great job engaging in the assemblies and um you know we did talk about how you know behavior
033impacts um ability to do things like dances and other you know after school activities and things like that and uh you know I think we we I know that we were really clear with students about what we needed to see from them in these different settings and so um I think it was a good way to start you know the the uh the new year off and the to, you know, coming back to school in the new year and, uh, I'm, you know, I'm optimistic. I think that, you know, it's very wellreceived from the students. Obviously, you're pulling them together. You're, you know, trying to create a positive experience coming back in, but, you know, there's sometimes there's tough conversations that need to be had and, um, it was a, you know, kind of kept
034it with a positive twist, but, you know, made really clear with for students, you know, what what we needed to see and what was expected of them. So that resetting, you know, I'm optimistic about that resetting of of expectations and uh yeah, just wanted to share that with the the board. So that is uh I think that's all that's what I have tonight. >> Thank you. >> Sure. Any questions? >> Very great idea to have students students with Mr. Brooks. >> Yeah. And if we knew that students were going to be here, maybe we could invite the banner. We've talked a lot about, you know, at the SPSU level and and MAU about um bridging that that gap with the community and talking about all of the great things that are happening at our schools.
035And so it seems like that's a really >> perfect opportunity. >> Yeah, we'd love to. Yeah, just just let us know and we'll get Mr. Brooks and I'm pretty confident he can help us round up some some involved, eager students that want to share >> that. I was thinking about this the March meeting is the reorganization meeting. I don't know how >> April would be a good choice. >> May will be very busy. >> Two, three. >> Oh, okay. Yeah, April is not I normally April. What does April falls during break? But I guess it's the week of >> Yeah, >> this this year I think >> of the 20th >> break is the week of the 20th. Yeah. So they would be it would planet. >> So, April meeting >> absolutely. >> Thank you.
036That sounds good. >> Look forward to that. >> Great. Thank you. We'll move on to the superintendent report. >> I'll make mine really quick. Um I want to thank I we have a new principal at the high school this year. Uh and Mike is relatively new in his position as athletic director. Um, and no one wishes upon your first year in the position to have to deal with um, crisis or an incident. Um, I got a phone call from the athletic director Saturday evening informing me first of the wrestling team. He got off the phone. Then we got a phone call from the bus company because we had had a bus slide off the road from a different team. and to watch Mike kept us updated all evening being able to inform the board in
037relatively quick time communications throughout Sunday. Is everybody home? Is everybody accounted for because we have two teams traveling. Um the decision making the having principles reach out and have the ad. What do you think? and seeing good teamwork around when do you message to your community, when do you message to your staff, organizing supports for a team, uh a team that you know needs support to start a new semester. So you lining up clinicians and counselors to be available then making a plan because Adam then met his entire staff Tuesday mornings before the start of school on the first day of second semester. So I just want to say personally as the superintendent I want to thank Adam Carmichael and Mike Mallaloy for an outstanding job. I also want to thank my colleagues superintendent of
038both Husk Falls and the BRSU reached out to me over the weekend uh extending their concerns and condolences not condolences their well wishes and also offering support. So we appreciate colleagues in the area being supportive of the effort. I would remind folks we still have students and staff who are covering making progress. So we ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers. This is a a long-term process. So want to recognize that in front any report for this evening? No. Um for the chair's report. Um, one update is we were supposed to have negotiations last night, last night that we scheduled. I don't think we have a date yet, so I don't we don't have any additional negotiations information this evening. Um and other than that, I was going to echo the I
039think um I think that our the entire wrestling community and student body and community is in our thoughts and you know hope for everybody's um rapid recovery. I uh the communication was you know where I understand that um in times like this uh communication ripples through the community almost faster than it can like through um channels as ours. I think that you know we um were made aware rather rapidly and uh I appreciate that. So I believe that is it for the evening. Um we do not have a meeting in February. Is that still accurate or are we having >> I will have to update the chair as uh there is a student issue that we may have to address as a board and I can set your calendar and follow up with board members.
040>> Okay. So we may have a meeting but it will be one >> one item meeting one item. >> Um and uh other than that make sure everyone remembers to get their petitions in if they're running again. The due time for that, Renee. >> Um, business on Monday. >> Yeah. >> Office closes at 4:30. >> Yes. >> By statute, it's 5:00, but you better have tequila. >> She might. >> I don't want you to be frustrated if you show up at 4:45. >> Um, and uh there's FYI in the packet. There's a budget status report. Uh, the treasures report, which I'm not sure, and the board members conflict of interest as an FYI. Um, can I have a motion to adjurnn? Don't move. >> Motion by Scott, second by Dave. All in favor? >> Thank
041you. >> I travel safely. Yeah, the