3/11/2026 Board of Education Business Meeting

001Welcome to this evening's Augusta Board of Education business meeting. It is March 11th, 2026 and we are here in a new home at the CATC cafeteria. And I'd just like to take a moment to publicly thank Mr. Shia and for the work that he's done to set up this space for us this evening. He really hustled around to get this and and we're very happy to be here. [clears throat] And with that, I'm going to ask to stand for the pledge of 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 will be getting this a little more formalized tonight. We don't have microphones, so if you're standing at the podium,

002and I'll ask the board members to speak up, too, if anybody can't hear. to just go like this. We know that we need to speak up a little bit louder. So, we will be polishing this up. We will have the TVs on the walls eventually. So, just bear with us while we get this new this new um setting set up. And I just was um I got this late at the last meeting we had in December, but I didn't [laughter] want it to go unagnowledged that this was a thank you note from the kids at the Gilbert School. So, they did the work and I didn't want their work to not be noticed. So, there you go. >> And now I'll ask if there are any adjustments to the agenda. >> I make a motion

003to move executive session item 20 to 17B. >> I have a [clears throat] motion. Do I have a second? Second. I have a motion and a second to move agenda item 20 to 17B. Discussion hearing none. Please vote and our vote to 7 to zero. The motion has been approved. The next item on the agenda is an educational presentation by Mrs. Linskum at the high school. Please Good evening. Uh my name is Kim Leskin and I'm the principal of Coney Middle and High School and I'm joined by a number of people here today that are going to help make our presentation. Um we are interested in presenting about a schedule change um for the um middle and high school or actually really for the high school next year. That's on your agenda. Um I just

004wanted to talk a little bit and introduce everybody. So I have my assistant principal for the high school Joe Melli. um Naja Monroe who is a math teacher in the middle school, Aaron Card who works in our um uh music program predominantly with the middle school, Laura Richardson who is our director of guidance. I also have Kira Greger who is a student with us and also Aana Bot um who is also a student with us. So we each have parts that we want to present and we have a slideshow um and you should have a copy of that here and we will try to move it along. I know that you have a busy night so we're going to move along. If you have any questions, obviously we're very open to that. Um, so the

005things that we I just to kind of introduce about what's going on. We've been talking about the schedule change for a very long time. Probably honestly like since I was on the board in 2001 to 2008. Um, we um when we moved to the 4x4, there was still a lot of controversy about whether that was a good decision or not. We did we've done it for a lot of years. Um but we also um for a lot of years have talked about whether um components of our of it are working or not and um our teachers have been asking to kind of consider a change and it's come to light at this particular point um that this is the right time to look at that. So what happens is um in our school we have

006a program um called um innovative schools where we do a school improvement u committees and we divide on things that we think are really important that we've heard from feedback from students from the staff from the community of things that we want to address or change. And so one of those committees is the time and space committee and that is chaired by um Nea and Aaron. Um and so um they're going to help make the presentation at the beginning, but this is all ground like lots of support from the staff. In fact, um they'll tell you about it. It's about 93% of the staff are in favor of making this change. Um but I wanted to kind of introduce that as Cody administrators, we're in full support of this as well. So without further ado,

007I think it's uh Aaron who starts. >> Hi everybody, my name is Aaron Card. Um so first wanted to share with you um our timeline and what we've completed so far and the work that we oh yes um so we started talking about this in 2023 even before that as um Mrs. mentioned um done a lot of research and data review. Um we shared our initial proposal in 2025. We gathered input um and collaborated with administrators um department heads reviewed um the idea internal approvals and then this um step eight is our schoolboard process um which I've edited on the slideshow that this has been January now till March. Um, and some things that we've done, um, we've added a video to our Facebook page, um, and shared some graphics as well to help educate

008our community a little bit more. So, currently we're in a 4x4 block schedule, which means that students take up to four classes each semester for a total of eight classes for the year. Um, they each or each class meets every day for half the year and then that class is over. So, for example, semester one, a student might take math, art, economics, and PE1. And then, um, semester two, they're going to take English, biology, Spanish, and study hall. And they would see those classes every day for that whole semester. Um, in the red white rotating class schedule, we would grade those two semesters. So, um, on red day, students would see periods 1 through 4, and on a white day, they would see periods 5 through eight. Um so this means that students see each

009teacher every other day for the whole year. Um and most schools in the state follow this schedule. So we just um mapped out some pros and cons. I won't read each and every one. Um but some big ones in the 4x4 pro is that students who fail a class in semester 1 can then sometimes retake it in semester 2 if it's available. Um they're focusing on fewer classes at a time. Um the biggest con is that there can be time gaps of up to a year in content classes. So they could take math in ninth grade in the fall and then not again until 10th grade spring which is a huge gap of time um without that class um in a red white schedule. Um there's better retention of skills and knowledge. There's that extra

010day to process content and complete work which is especially helpful for students who are involved in extracurriculars. Um they would have two parent teacher conferences for each class. Um and it supports supports cumulative skill building classes like math and languages. Um and then some con students who fail class they have to wait um you know an a year um until the next year to take it an adjustment period and they are focusing on more classes at a time. Just some additional pros and cons which are also listed in your presentation as well. Um, one of the big ones is we're kind of in a hybrid schedule actually right now. So, band chorus AP classes are already following the red white schedule. So, this would align better with those. All of our classes would be operating

011in that same way. [clears throat and laughter] >> Um, and so here's some Noia data. This is from 2024 and 2025. There's a ton of information on this chart. Biggest one is the schedule type. Um, this is going to pull data from schools that are demographically the same as Coney. So, not just schools that are local paths, but schools that see some of the same things that we do at Coney. Um, and you'll notice that Coney and Lawrence are the only ones still operating on the 4x4. Everybody else is on an aging schedule, which is pretty telling. And then, um, there's really no change or effect to the budget with the schedule change. Our staffing levels remain the same. Um classroom space stays the same. The only issue that we ran into was some storage

012concerns for art classes, but we've um mitigated those issues and solutions have been found and discussed. No new materials or technology expenses and transportation and other operational costs. Um no change to those. >> Hello everyone. I'm Laura Richardson and I am the director of guidance um at Kola High School. Um so our job in the guidance office was to really think about um the unintended consequences of the change as well as the pros and cons. Um so some of the the current support systems we have um for credit recovery if the student is has failed a class. We do have summer school. We have an amazing partnership with Augusta Adult Ed. Um, we do have the ability to reschedule a class sometimes within that same school year. Um, and grade recovery we can do also

013through some additional programming that we have. Those will not change. Those will remain in place for all of our students to access. Um, part of what we do is we just talked a little bit about the time in class. seat time's really not going to change. Um, currently the school team, our high school team works one-on-one with students um, very consistently, I would say, um, to talk about um, anywhere from time management to um, maybe seeking tutoring through the National Honor Society that we have. Um, and then we also we continue into that. oftent times parents call us and look for our resources as well. Um there will be absolutely no change to the services for these specific programs that you see there for our multilingual special education bento our 504 and our economically disadvantaged

014students. We'll have all those programs remaining. Um, our transition plan, um, is really just to continuing to work one-on-one with our students to make sure that they stay on course to earn their Coney diploma. Every student must earn 24 credits to um to graduate from Coney High School and built within those credits are requirements. Um, we've worked pretty diligently, Caitlyn and I, to make sure that we will be able to schedule all of those requirements for all of our students. Um, if we choose to go to this schedule, [laughter] the additional piece, thank you. Yes, the transfer students. One of the thing we do have a number of students who transfer in in and out of Comey. Um, and one of the biggest challenges if someone comes in mid year and they're on an AB

015schedule and we're on a semester, the challenge is, can we keep them in the class they were already in? How do we get them? if they are in algebra 1 for a year-long class and we're in semester two sorry quarter two and that's the end of algebra 1 there's going to be a gap in um the amount of work that they're learning and the standards that they're needing. So it can be challenging um to find courses that align and to make sure that student doesn't learn doesn't lose the momentum they built from their previous school. Um, so we did do some surveys as well through this process. So one we started with was the staff and to see where our staff was on board. Um, as you see in red, this is our staff that

016is on board with the change. Um, which is the majority and there was only four staff members that was against it at the time. Um, and those four staff members were actually related to our art department and their concern was the storage and having all those classes at the same time and how we could manage that. So, that was our first tackle was we talked with them about their concerns and then we met together. We talked with the building staff and we were able to find areas that we could put their stuff to help support them with that storage. And once we explained that chemical solutions, they were then on board with the change. Um we also uh sent uh something out to parents and guardians. Um we held the public forum as well. Um

017and so as you see here, it's kind of a a 50/50 split almost with that. Um so [clears throat and snorts] we had 41% that said no, but 39.7 said yes, and then about almost 20 that was undecided. So again, that's kind of right on that line there. Um, and since then we've been trying, um, as they've mentioned, we put out a video and some other information just to keep trying to educate everyone around it, um, to try and help everyone make a better decision. Um, yes, we did hold a community forum um, and we had a handful of people show up to that and it was a lot of positive feedback. Um, and we actually had people commenting on things that we didn't think of, um, like connecting with CATC and how changing this

018might also support our CATC students, um, and the sending schools with CATC. Uh, so there was a lot of positive that came out of that forum that we had. Um, and then after educating, so we originally had done a survey to begin this with students and we found that we felt like they maybe weren't educated on it. A lot of them were like, well, I don't know what this is. Um, and so then after some educating, we took another survey and it was a big change because before it was like everyone was like no. Um, and so after talking about it, you can see here that we had a pretty equal amount from all of our grades 7 through 11. Um, we did consider our seventh eighth grade because they're going to be coming up

019through the high school. So we wanted to keep them involved in the process. Um, and then on the next slide you can see the results. Um, so we did have 56 still say no, but we had 26 yes and again 16 undecided. So almost a 50 um%. So again, that was a big increase though in students wanting to switch after just a little bit of educating. Um, so our hope is continuing to educate and answer questions and concerns to support them through the process. Um, and with that, we actually have two students here that are going to speak as well. [clears throat] Good evening, school board members. My name is Kira Greger and I'm a junior at Comey High School. It is a pleasure to speak to you on behalf of our student body about

020the benefits that a switch to an AP schedule can have. Throughout high school, I have aimed to challenge myself by taking numerous honors and AP classes while also committing to my passions for language and music. Under the current 4x4 schedule, I have faced repeated class conflicts that took months to resolve or were never fixed at all. Many times I was told that I would have to choose between my required classes and my study of music in German. But some of the most important lessons I have learned have come from my non-traditional classes. These are skills that I will take with me for the rest of my life. With an AP schedule, I would likely be able to grade my classes and that would resolve the issue altogether. Additionally, I have seen the educational downfalls of

021the current schedule amongst my peers. Going multiple semesters or even years without taking math or other classes is harmful to a student. Most of our core classes build off of each other and students fall further and further behind if there's an extended break beyond summer between their learning. I believe that we would see improvement in student morale and understanding of content if classes span the entire year every other day because units could be covered without the need to rush and fall semester teachers would not have to worry about bad weather further limiting their instructional time. Thank you for taking the time to consider our thoughts on this matter and for your commitment to our students education. >> Thank you. Good evening, me members of the school board. My name is Aana Ba and I'm here

022today to share why I believe moving from the 4x4 block schedule to a red white day schedule would benefit students, teachers, and our school community. While the 4x4 schedule offers longer class periods and it has its perks, it also creates challenges, especially with retention. When students go months without seeing a subject again, it becomes harder to stay confident in areas like math, science, and foreign languages. As a sophomore at Coney High School, I've personally struggled with the rigidity of the 4x4 schedule, especially while trying to balance my AP courses with my continued commitment to both band and chorus. A red day, white day schedule would make it possible for students like me to stay involved in our passions while still taking the classes we need. This change doesn't alter what we learn, only the length

023of in which we learn it. Students would still cover the same content and meet the same academic expectations, but over the full year instead of a single semester. This leads to better retention, a more balanced workload, and a more meaningful engagement in all of our activities. Ultimately, a red white day schedule would put students at the center of their learning by providing consistency, flexibility, and balance, helping us succeed both academically and personally. Thank you all for your time and consideration. >> Thank you. >> Um so thank you very much for listening to our presentation. Um it is on the agenda under new business later. Um and um we just want you to know that we I know it's a tough decision. We really appreciate it. um and know that it can be a hard thing

024to decide, but I want you to know like this they're representing the process and this is ultimately the process that you want to have happen is that change coming from the people who are actually um delivering the program. So anyway, just want you to know that we are in full support and I just want to thank this incredible group of people um and thank you for your time. Any questions? Any questions [laughter] from board members? Board member Pellum, >> what were the what were the sort of overarching parent and student concerns with the amount of nos there? Like what was the reasoning behind for them? Is it do you guys do you have a sense of what the concerns were with the change from parents or >> I I I want to say that I

025and when I was reading the comments to provide an opportunity for comments um it was more the change that was scary. I I will tell you there were some individual things that um were like I want to make sure that um my student I would say most of the parents were like I want to make sure my child's going to be okay with the change is what I would boil everything down to. Um and most of the students were just also saying I I'm I'm worried that it might be too much for me not knowing what this is going to be. But there's lots of nuances in that. We had 340 students did the survey which is unbelievable. Okay. like we never get that many people and I know you guys might think 68 is

026not that many many for a parent survey that's a lot for us to get on a parent survey we had sent out two emails so I would I would boil it down to that I don't know if you guys remember anything else that you wanted so another thing that has been going around is students just don't understand the schedule and so we actually made a video with like common misconceptions of what people think might happen and then what what would actually be the benefits for them under the new schedule. For example, amount of homework or time to catch up with teachers or what if you're failing a class, you have more time to complete a course. So, if you want to take a look at that video, that is up there. It's on our website.

027>> Other questions from board members. [laughter] >> Thank you, Mrs. and team. You did a great job of presenting. So say hi. >> Next item on the agenda is approval of the minutes. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes of the special meeting on February 2nd, 2026 and the special meeting on February 25th, 2026? >> So move. >> Do I have a second? >> I'll second. It's been moved and seconded to approve to approve the minutes of the special meeting on February 2nd, 2026 and the February 25th meeting 2026. Discussion hearing. None. Please vote. And on a vote of 7 to zero, the motion to approve the meet minutes of those meetings has been approved. >> Madam Chair, maybe recount the vote. >> Yes. >> Did I not count right? No. >> I'm

028sorry. Let me have that vote again. Would you those in favor of approving the motion please vote >> six opposed 6 to1 I'm sorry Mr. or I did not see that. >> Next is the superintendent's report. >> Yes. Good evening everyone. Happy March. I have a couple of items I'd like to uh notate. My report is written on for folks to read. Excuse me. [clears throat] I did provide testimony at the state house Monday in reference to LD uh 2226. And um this is also I'll link this to the budget update as well. Um this really in a nutshell is um a bill that will better um more appropriately and accurately um resemble what we need in public education funding. So it's it's an effort within the bill to adjust um nine indicators really within

029the funding formula which nets out for example if we were to on the early models that MSMA and state DOE have run um we could stand this year now the funding would not if this goes into effect it wouldn't be until next year okay FY28 but for FY27 in the budget we're preparing that could mean um a $400 to $700,000 increase on our state subsidy. So that that's clearly um we would be one of the winning districts in the [clears throat] state and that's because of the poverty levels, state valuations, median income level. There's a number of factors that fac that in that. But I want you to know that that I went on our behalf and testified. Second, uh, in relationship to the budget, we are about halfway through our budget process. Um, the

030superintendent's budget, we call it here in Augusta, that is all of our admin team um, putting their needs into that superintendent budget that's been presented to the board, has [clears throat] happened over the last month. You've all um, for the most participated in that. And you at this point in time we are I presented a budget that has about a $3.3 million increase or 8.2%. And as you know we did talk uh earlier this week about reestablishing some of the positions in the budget that I um that I removed. I do want to say and it is it's not an easy conversation that in two years time the Augusta school department uh is looking at more more than 20 reductions in staffing and so anybody who might might criticize me or us for not uh

031tightening our belts um when we had slight decrease in enrollment I think is a vicious statement. We have tightened our belts. Um, there still is an increase as you know. Um, some folks might think I tightened it up too much, but I want the public and anyone listening to hear we're in the middle of the budget process. We do meet with our city council, the joint finance committee tomorrow night and we'll continue that process. We present on the 31st, which is Tuesday, the 31st of March to city council and then their budget process takes takes over through the month of April and that's what we'll be fine tuning on. Okay. Um, we are headed into headed into concept approval season with the new school construction project. That is the project at the new Fington. It

032is we've pretty well gelled with our architects to two models. I won't bore you with what those two models are, but we're down to two. uh which would ultimately in short allow us to close the Huzzy School within the next three years and open uh what would be the new Fington serving all of the east side children. That is underway and we're well within our timeline for that. Um I'm we will be headed in front of the state construction committee for concept approval in May June and the state board [clears throat] of education in June July. Okay. Augusta to get that into referendum for the Augusta citizens to vote on that. And lastly, I want to I want to share something and it really I hate to admit this, but it's the best part of

033my week, but I get to read to second graders at Fairing this week and I never hear this so I won't share it with you. Um, this these youngsters wrote me this wonderful thank you book for reading to them and on the cover says, "Thank you so much for keeping and it's spelled C Pen, but keeping our libraries open and I hope to be like you." That's probably the best thing I've heard. [laughter] Anyway, thank you to the students who wrote that and um that was a nice time in Erington. So, great stuff. Kudos to those kids and I'll take any questions you might have. >> Questions from board members for the superintendent >> hearing? No, we will go on go on to the assistant superintendent's report. Miss Tibido. Thank you. So, as we just

034talked about in the curriculum and education meeting, we are in the middle of a English language arts curriculum review and we have a number of teachers who are highlighting and we are adding teachers at the middle of the year which just happened now um in grades three through five who are now participating. And so when we're talking about implementation decision decisions and going forward and adopting a policy, it's going to be guided by the instructional impact that we're going to be reviewing and also funding considerations. Professional development that we're going to be having on March 13. We are doing the Ames modules for science of reading will continue. We are also doing introductory training for grades 7 to 12 on the science of reading. March 13th also is the day where we have typically had

035an ed camp where there's a number of different special development sessions. And so there's going to be teacher presentations. It's going to be people coming in from the outside and the rest of the staff will be doing that. Those who are not participating in the pilot. Also, one thing that we have worked extremely hard on is addressing racial racial language of the students as we've been hearing from the schools and what students are using. So in an effort to start addressing those concerns, we created a training for staff. And as of March 1st, we had 365 staff members that have completed that training. And now we are up to 378 staff members. [clears throat] We are also doing at the um elementary level there'll be a panel of community members and also one of our

036own teachers who will be speaking to groups of students and then um in the 7 to 12 grade span we have color humanities and there's going to be sessions throughout that are words have power English for our programming for English for speakers of other languages we did hire additional educational technician to support Gilbert and of course school teams are adjusting the schedules assessments and staffing to meet our growing need. Our gifted and talented program we've adopted are in the process of adopting a screening process to ensure that there equity and of access to students and that we are making data for that. Part of what I've been doing this year is we call glimmers. And so it's looking for the positives that we're seeing within the district. [laughter] And so what I've done in my

037glimmers summary is really broke it down into areas of student growth and instructional excellence, dedication and going above and beyond student well-being and mental health and support staff and operations, community team spirit and celebration and achievements. And what this is is that the staff will send me an email and we have a document that I share at the end of the week and we're having a contest to see if either your name is mentioned or you send in one and guys I think it's like 61. Thank you, assistant superintendent Tibido. Questions for the assistant superintendent? Board member Parks. >> Thank you. Um, assistant superintendent Tibido, you said that uh about 370 teachers have been trained about [clears throat] uh racially uh charged language. Was that an online uh training or was that an in-person training?

038It started as um videos and as a PowerPoint and then there's discussion questions that staff members. So it's really any staff person that receives a check from the school department needs to complete it and really looks at then how how can we as a district. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? Next, we'll listen. We'll have the business manager report. Business manager Ross, please. >> Thank you. Uh, the final fiscal year 24 audit was finally received on February 19th and was filed by our auditing firm, RKO, um, with the state department of education on February 20th. Um, audit documents have been uploaded to the board drive, so you can view those. Um, a representative from RKO is tentatively scheduled to present a summary of the audit at the April board meeting. Um, as Superintendent Tracy

039mentioned, our budget workshops did resume at the beginning of March. Um, I just want to um, make sure everyone is aware, the um, meetings on March 16th and March 23rd will be held here in the CATC cafeteria. Um we have um signed our contract with Red Rover to try again at having an electronic absence management, time tracking and hiring platform so we can try to limit paper and get electronic. Um we signed that on February 27th and we have our first implementation um meeting on March 19th to start that discussion and get it rolling so that it's ready um for the new school year. Uh February financials. So four months or 33% of the year remain with 16,711,153 or 42% of expenditures remaining. Um we received about 22,3717 in revenues with anticipation of about 45%

040more of our revenues still to come. Um of the expenditure areas with less than 33% remaining um most of them are not new. um special education other services. So um that's at 22% as I've mentioned before a lot of those are contracted services. So we try to encumber or in other words project out what we're going to spend for the rest of the year um without those incumbrances. So if we just look at what [clears throat] we have spent to date um that area is at 48% remaining so well above the 33%. um special education administration is at 31%. Um the majority of that is because quarter three of our main care seed expenditures um which is the state portion that we have to pay for our main care seed that got reported that month.

041So eventually we kind of catch up because we only get main care seed expenses quarterly. [clears throat] Um improvement of instruction is at 28%. We had a few stipen payments that we had to process in February um which is our normal process. Um student assessment is at 6% but that was a onetime fee. Um transportation is at 18%. Again we have encumbered amount or projected out amounts for out of district transportation. Without of those incumbrances, the area is currently at 32%. So, still a percentage under where we would like it to be. So, I'm watching that very closely. Um, debt services is at 3%, but again, that's a onetime payment. So, that's where that will fall. And then adult education guidance is at 0% but that was planned because we spent the general fund dollars

042first and now that employee is in a grant funded position and that's the end of my question for business manager Ross. >> Thank you. Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. >> See if anybody has questions. Madam Chair, um M. Ross, [clears throat] where on this is the uh the board of directors a budget. I remember the on the workshop they talked about we have a budget line. >> Yes, it's under system administration. So you are um we still have 47 system administration has 47%. >> Okay. How much of that has uh gone towards legal fees this school year? >> I'd have to look into that because I don't have it with me. Okay. >> But I can get that for you. >> We can have that answer for Monday night's meeting budget [clears throat] meeting. Any

043other questions? Thank you, Miss Ross. Next is report from other school officials. [clears throat] >> Hi, Theresa Bowden. President principal [laughter] at Fington. Um all of the elementary schools are having conferences this week and tomorrow night is our uh March 12th is our nighttime conferences and so everyone signs up for 15 minute slots. Uh the schools do it a couple of different ways. It's not too late for someone to contact the school tomorrow in the morning or contact their teacher directly and get still get a slot. Um we also can come up with some other you know other times because we want to make sure our goal is always 100%. So, uh, just contact us and we will definitely fit you in there. Um, so we're all doing that. Um, couple of things as far

044as Bington goes is that this is when we do one school, one book. And I was going to bring your books, I could bring them on Monday. Um, if you would like to go along with the book that we're reading. It's Apple Blossom, the Possum. And I have a few slots if anyone here would like to record themselves reading. I know Mr. Tracy will do it. So, I have a couple of chapters that you can do. um and record. So we post those so the kids can also with their families listen to the recording of different staff members um reading or they've all got every family has book and so it's something we've done the last few years and just a nice community engagement piece. [clears throat] Um and as far as glimmers go, I

045have some third grade teachers here tonight that are [clears throat] going to be recognized. So my glimmer would definitely be being proud of what they're doing. Any questions? All right. Thank you. Thank you. >> [clears throat] [laughter] >> Um, >> hi again. I'm Kim Listam, um, the principal of Coney Middle and High School. I want to just take a quick minute to recognize Reika on Saker, which she didn't know I was going to do this, but um, basically um, so every year the principal um, and our administrative team gets to select a student, one senior who represents all of what um, we um, are I guess a model for our students. Um and Reika was the person who got selected this year. And Reika, it's um award that um every principal in the state um

046gets to make that selection. And then we all go to a banquet in um April and she has eligible to potentially get some scholarship money um if she gets her name out of a hat. But we all introduce it. It's very cool to see the movers and shakers of the future um at that meeting. And so anyway, I just wanted to say congratulations to Reika for that incredible honor. Um she's been an incredibly deserving person. So Reika, congratulations. And then the other thing I wanted to say is um Brian York is in the process of selecting Reika's um like the process to re um get another student representative for the school board. Um, and so there's a whole like process that they have to be elected and all that kind of stuff. So, we've just

047started that process. So, I just wanted to let you know. I keep referring people to RA. This is her second year doing it. So, um, anyway, just want to let you know we're in that process right now as well. Okay. >> Thank you. Any other school officials? Seeing none, next item is communications and we have none this evening. Moving on to item number 12, Mr. Tracy. Resignations and retirements. >> Yes. I'd like to just do this quickly in reverse order, not to diminish Mr. Hopkins, but this is you come up to the podium. And um I want to wish Mr. Hawkins who's been here I was when it's more than 25 I say 100 years. So he's been here 100 years edtech at Coney Middle School. He has transitioned to our courier position. And if

048you know Mr. Hopkins, he is just an outgoing, outstanding courier who brings cheer when he's delivering uh mail across the district. Um, but I have a special announcement with one of our administrators. [clears throat] I don't think I'm going to ask you not to tell the story from when I was your student, [laughter] but Mrs. Um, Bowden has been calling for >> I I've since K12 >> and how long in the district? >> 38 years in the Augusta school department. And I, you know, there's so many things we could say about Teresa and um what she's done for this school department. I think anyone who's worked here for a lot of years and to um be as respected as Teresa is does the you know I I was in the school the other day. She's

049walking down the hallway holding a kid's hand and walking them to wherever you were walking them to and that Teresa is in the game every day working hard for our kids. So we wish you the very best in your retirement and um hopefully you get back in class. [laughter] THEY ASKED FOR rolling chairs. [laughter] >> [laughter] >> I would, if I may, I'll just inform the board that the plan for me at this point is to um similar to last year is we'll advertise this position internally first um to see what kind of interest there might be and then we'll go from there. Okay. I'll be reaching out for [clears throat] interviews with the board if you need to set those up. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next, we have recognitions. And I believe

050Assistant Superintendent Tibido was going to do this one. I would like in the audience. Please stand up. Like to give the women a huge applause. what came from the chief teaching and learning officer for from the state as part of Maine's literacy and numeracy action plan is that um the growth and third grade reading and math scores at fair school. So that is a tremendous recognition for the two really appreciate your service. [clears throat] Thank you. Next is from our student cycle, our student council report, Raika Gonga. [clears throat] Cody High School is wrapping up our third quarter and the fourth quarter is starting on April 6. Also coming up, course signups for the 2026 2027 school year um have been happening this past week and as the high school is considering a shift from

051the 4x4 to all day invite schedule that is also something considering um important signups. This u school day SAT is taking place March 25th for high schoolers who are signed up. Um and we've had our humanity series going on the past couple months at U Comey. So the coal arts team presented at an assembly for our first session um about harmful versus respectful language and then we had a classroom discussion in home room this morning. The girls swim co-op came first in KBAC's and second in the class A championship sit down. Um the con math team came first in the central main large school lead for the regular season with four CO students placing in the top 10 scores for each grade. Students and staff raised over $800 in penny wars during winter carnival. Um

052the money will be donated to the Augusta food bank and the Coney T board. The middle and high school jazz bands compete their state in their state qualifier competition last month and this Saturday they will be competing in the state competition at Camden High School. Winter sports night is March 16th and spring sports are starting in late March. And next week is the 131 135th Chisel Wizzle. Just your luck. And it will be uh from Tuesday through Friday with the ball taking place Saturday 21st from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. >> Thank you. Questions for Reika? >> I have one. You chis a whistle? >> Yes. >> So we'll see you next week. >> Yes, we will. >> Oh boy. Next item is n item 15formational items. This is a list if you'd like to consult

053it either on your agenda on or online. A list of our staff who have taken advantage of professional development opportunities and we thank them for the time that they took on their own to experience this and improve their their teaching for our students. We also received a grant from the Elks Club of Coney High School in the amount of $10,000 for our our alternative education program. So, thank you sincerely to the Elks Club for that very generous grant. Next, item 16, committee reports approval of minutes. And I'd like to accept a motion to approve the minutes of the finance committee, personnel committee, policy committee, and building committee for February 2026. So moved. >> Would that be a second? >> Yes. >> Thank you. [laughter] It's been moved and seconded to approve the minutes of the

054finance, personnel, policy, and building committees for February 2022. Discussion hearing none, please vote. And a vote of 7 to zero. Those minutes have been approved. 17 is 17A is consent items. There are no consent items this month. We will move to uh 17B which I'll accept a motion for executive senive session. >> I'll make a motion to enter into executive session pursuant to 1 MRSA 4056E to discuss advice from an attorney. Do I have a second? I second. I have a motion to add a second to enter into executive session pursuant to 1 MRSA subsection 405 section 6E to discuss advice from an attorney discussion hearing none please vote and on a vote of 7 to zero we will now enter into executive session so just I know this is a new setting so the

055board will be going into the conference room right here Mr. Tracy. >> Yes. >> And um we will come out. No votes will be taken in executive session. If there are any votes that [clears throat] will be taken in public. So with that, the board is now except [laughter] >> [laughter] >> Somebody >> [laughter] >> Is that a couple of What was that? [laughter] Look at that. >> [laughter] >> I was the fish. >> No, no, no. [laughter] And in my day, still okay. You said here [laughter] it was very And when they make the firstbody, right? And then it was a oneliner joke. another. >> Yeah. No, it was fun. Oh my god. What was that? that has gone. >> Yeah. >> [laughter] >> I think what's Happy birthday. Orange. Yeah, that's right. There's

056somebody living here. >> [laughter] >> Yeah. No sense. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> There you go. That was [laughter] I don't know. [laughter] >> [laughter] >> Hello. Yeah. Thank you. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> I'm not The Oh, really? I'm ready. >> Yeah, we have the Well, this is your second year. Sorry. >> Oh, you're good. You're good. >> [laughter] >> I saw Oh yeah. Thank you. I try to get >> [laughter] >> You know, it's all right. They're [laughter] coming out. Don't do what I do. I'll accept a motion to exit from executive session. I'd like to make a motion to exit the executive session. Second, >> it's been moved and seconded. Discussion hearing none, please vote. And on a vote of 7 to 0, we are out of executive session. Agenda item 18 is board

057member comment and our discussion on non-aggenda items with a 30 minute maximum for this agenda item. Any board members wishing to comment? Mr. Or thank you madam chair. I was waiting to see if anybody else was going to say anything. [laughter] So, so many things. Don't even know where to begin. >> So, I guess we'll start off with the uh welcome to another exciting episode at our new location. >> Parliamentary inquiry. >> Member Parks. [clears throat] >> We had a training about Robert's rules of order. It was told to us that if a board member wanted to make a comment during the board member comment period and wanted to read from a document that the board would need to approve that. >> Why is that a question for me or the attorney? >> Go right

058ahead, Superintendent Tracy or >> Yeah. I I uh the at the training if we had if a board member brought in a written document to read from the general advice was that that documents be approved that the member be approved to read from the script. Yeah, I I wasn't at that training and I'll always be honest with you, I am not familiar with that requirement under Robert's rules. If you want my advice on it, I would permit the the statement to be read. I mean, many times people may refer to notice as well. So, I think there's a blurry line. So, I I my advice would be to allow that the chair's decision is to take the attorney's advice and Mr. Bo may continue. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. >> [clears throat] >> It's been

059a while uh due to those the last two business meetings that being cancelled for various reasons. Uh but sadly whether being postponed or cancelled uh both to a special meeting but we ended up voting on on stuff that was on the agenda but of course it didn't allow any comments from board members or from the public. Uh so first I would like to address some some items that have come up. Uh, one has been shown on on Facebook. There was a a foyer request about inappropriate books that were found in the elementary schools. Uh, covers ages eight uh, ages 5 to 11. Uh, where one book depicts a young boy uh, deciding to wear a dress and getting the acceptance and normalization in doing so. The other book depicts a gay relation between the prince

060and a knight. both of these younger kids who are the prince of the night. Both of these folks should be removed from our school as it has nothing more than coercion and lying to those young children. That is actually not normal behavior uh that it that's going on. Sadly, I'm reminded of the policy meeting back in June where forced vote past board member Stacy Fortonado had wanted to have a policy about not banning books in school. I wonder if she already knew about these nefarious books being in these schools already. Two There was pictures on Facebook uh from one of our schools that showed uh a class being taught that was the uh I believe the title on the slide was the Muslim people's holiday of Ramadan. And so just so everybody knows and understands

061that is a religious holiday Ramadan. It is a Muslim religious holiday. Now, I was told many times when I was out uh running for office, [clears throat] typically on Democrat doors, that we want to make sure that we keep a separation of church and state as they kept on mis misappropriately uh talking about Thomas Jefferson and the separation of church and state. Uh because all that meant was that we actually don't have a state religion that everybody has to follow. That's right. So, I'm not upset about the fact of there being a uh class in there about wrong. Um but I sure do hope that come April in that classroom in that school uh that some students are able to get up and they are also able to go and give a class about another

062holiday that is in April. And I'm not talking about the people's holiday known as Easter. Talking about the Easter Bunny and the Easter eggs, but I'm talking about the majority Christian people that live in the city of Augusta. Uh, and Good Friday, the death of Christ. And then on Palm Sunday, the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. >> Amen. So, I sure hope that come April that that class is in that school. Uh, so that way there's nothing unequal and not equitable in having all religions since it is apparently being allowed in our schools. Third, we have been having uh a huge issue with um absenteeism in our school. uh to the point of where the state says that we are supposed to have that 10%. That we are supposed to have uh

063write a policy because now we there's an issue and we have to fix it. So the absenteeism rate in the Augusta schools is 23%. >> Wow. And so I really hope that uh all parents and I and I realize that some of the information might be skewed a little bit because if I bring my daughter to a dentist appointment, she comes back as an excuse absence, it still counts as an absence. So there's some things that can potentially get mitigated down uh to find out what the root cause of some issues are. However, uh when we have people in our schools and these family units decide to go back to their home country on a 30-day extended vacation, which blows absenteeism right out the window and goes into a whole another violation of the law,

064which is truency, um because they're gone for 30 days, uh and they're going back to their home country. And from what I'm understanding, uh, many of these are are Janet Mills new mayors. Um, I kind of wonder about what their immigration status is if that invalidates that, but we'll wait to hear about that. Uh, third There is a word and our attorney would be aware of what this word is. The word is knowingly. And knowingly is a crucial legal term in criminal [clears throat] law defining a specific mental state. That means an act was done consciously, intentionally, and with awareness of facts or likely results. differentiating it from mere accident or negligence or establishing culpability of a crime. Rain Safe Law Title 224002 part one defines abuse and neglect. Abuse and neglect defense means a

065threat to a child's health or welfare by physical, mental, and emotional injury or impact or sexual abuse or exploitation, including under title 17A. And so with that, My response to this beautifully crafted letter that I received, it's dated the 27th of February, 2026, and it is a formal admonishment regarding violations of the board code of ethics. And dear Mr. or that's me. At the conclusion of our meeting on January 2nd, 2026, members of the board asked that I follow up with this letter. This letter serves as a formal followup of our discussions regarding your conduct during recent board sessions and in public forums. After review of recent events, it has become necessary to formally address several behaviors that stand in direct violation of our established board of ethics or code of ethics. Specifically, things that

066I have violated. C. I will make no disparaging remarks in or out of board meetings about other members of the board for their opinions. I will simply answer that question with the same answer that I gave member parks every time she had called for a point of order and asked a question. >> Mr. or your time is up. >> I have 20 I have 30 minutes. Madam Chair, >> you have 10 minutes. I have 30 minutes. It says so right on the agenda. >> 30 is total for the everybody. >> No, 30 minutes. It says 30 minutes. It doesn't It doesn't say specifically for the whole entire board. >> Mr. Superintendent Tracy, I >> I'll um We have [clears throat] our lawyer here. I'd like to defer to him as much as possible. So, I'll

067give an interpretation then you correct. >> My understanding of Robert's rules is that there's a 10-minute limit per member to speak. Um the board could um decide to allow a member to speak longer since you have up to 30 minutes. The policy does say 30 minutes for total uh board member comments. So my understanding according to Robert's rules is a 10-minute requirement for but again the board could allow a member to speak longer and I I would agree with your interpretation >> hearing that both the superintendent and the attorney has suggested that the 10-minute limit stands. Mr. or I would regretfully say that your 10 minutes are up. >> Is there anybody else going to talk? >> Excuse me. This isn't public. Madam Chair, if I can finish off with one statement real quick. Yes,

068you may. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. And then I'll be done. >> So, I will end with this. Matthew 18:6. Jesus says, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and be drowned in the depth of the sea." >> Amen. >> [clears throat] >> Do any other board members wish to comment? Board member Pillow. >> Thank you. Um, yeah, there were a couple things I wanted to bring up because we haven't seen each other in a couple months. Uh, first of all, we're in a different location. Um, I don't I know there have been various communications and of why we made the change. Um, I know I'm happy to be here where we do most

069of our committee meetings. Um, and appreciate that you guys all came out to a different place um, today because this is new. Um, I've already heard that there is trouble hearing us. So, I'm very well aware that we have our incredible uh buildings team that's going to be able to put up mics, potentially some more devices so that this room is fitted for the work that we're doing. So, just wanted to bring that up because I think that's um important to note that this isn't the full sort of setup that we're going to have uh moving forward. So, um and then the other thing I want to talk about is budget season. Um, budget season of course with the school district starts sooner than with the city. Um, we hear the budget from the superintendent.

070That's been carefully crafted from educators all the way up to administration, the school and district level. Um, and we don't always agree and I just sort of want to take this time to say that that's okay. That is part of the process. I know I can speak for myself and probably others in the board when I say that we come every day to do this work because we're actually quite deeply invested in how the children do in the city of Augusta. Um and that does mean sometimes fighting for positions um to stay um because of the lack of support staff um the impact that the lack of support staff would have on classroom educators. um we I worked in a school for several years and understood what it meant to burn out um and be

071unable to provide quality education when I didn't have resources and supports available. So um we don't have a full budget yet. We are going to just as a board uh advocate for our schools, advocate for our students. Um and we will consider all uh scenarios and all best solutions so that we can come to a place where the schools continue to build the community here. People continue to move here um and be excited to live in Augusta knowing that they have um community schools that are uh fully able to um support them and help them reach their potential. So budget season is a complex process. It is um a lot of people talking at a lot of different nights. Um so for those of you paying attention, thank you. Um we are continuing to do

072the the work that it requires which is really a lot of discussion, a lot of research, a lot of questions um and a lot of conversation and collaboration with our city uh with our city officials as well. So just again thank you all for being here in a new location um and thank you for bearing with us through budget season as we advocate for our schools and our students here. Any other board members wishing to comment? Hearing none, we will move on. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm a little slow on my hand recognition tonight. Board member Parks, I'd just like to ask um whether we will continue the um request that the audience not call out [clears throat] uh while we're doing our business. that the audience may have their public comment times. >> Thank you

073for the reminder and we do ask that the audience please remain quiet during our business meeting so that we can get through this agenda. We appreciate that. So, thank you. >> With that said, we'll move on to item number 19, which is public comment. Caitlyn, are you on the phone? Have to do it. >> Yep. We have our we have our clock up there. And as we start every public comment se every public comment session, I just want to remind everybody of our policy BEDH, public participation at board meetings. Board meetings are conducted for the purpose of carrying on the official business of the school system. The meetings are open to the public and the public is cordially invited to attend and participate in board meetings as provided in this policy. Although board me forums,

074the board will pro provide appropriate opportunities at its meetings for members of the public to express concerns and opinions related to the matters concerning education and the Augusta Board of Education schools. The intent is to allow a fair and adequate opportunity for the public to be heard while in in oh I can't talk tonight ensuring that the time allowed for public discussion does not interfere with the fulfillment of the scheduled agenda. The following guidelines shall apply. Citizens and employees of the school unit are welcome to participate as provided in this policy. Others may be recognized to speak at the chair's discretion. And we have given the opportunity to non-members of the public to do that and we will tonight. The chair may set a limit and the limit tonight as it has been for the

075past several months is three minutes. During the time set aside for public participation, the chair will be responsible for recognizing all speakers who must identify themselves as they begin talking. [clears throat] Speakers are not permitted to share gossip, make defamatory comments, or use abusive or vulgar language. All speakers are to address the chair and direct questions or comments to particular board members or the superintendent only with the approval of the chair. No complaints or allegations will be allowed at board meetings concerning any person employed by the school system or against particular students. Personnel matters or complaints concerning students or staff issues will not be considered in a public meeting but will be referred to established policies of procedure. That being our policy K. Neither negative com neither negative nor neither positive nor negative comments are

076to be made regarding specific personnel. In order to make efficient use of meeting time, the board discourages duplication or repet repetition of comments to the board. The chair has the authority to stop any presentation that violates these guidelines or the privacy rights of others. Persons who disrupt the meeting may be asked to leave and the chair may request law enforcement assistance as necessary to restore order. First member I have signed up is Jim Rollins. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am Jan Rollins. I'm an Augusta resident. Ladies and gentlemen, recently our school board meetings have focused on national test scores in Maine's transgender policy. Tonight, I provide an honest and experienced assessment of Augusta public schools. While our test scores may be below the national average, these numbers do not define our students intelligence, independence, or

077critical thinking abilities. While our main state policy protecting our transgender population is not dependent on the federal one, it does focus on protecting the very few trans people who are main citizens and even fewer who attend our public schools here in Augusta. The real threat is not academic or athletic performance. It is the efforts by a few to disrupt and intimidate. We've seen individuals and groups aiming to create chaos and pressure this board into adopting a predetermined ideology. These tactics are loud and calculated to wear us down. Augusta has had enough. >> Look at the chair, please. >> In this city, >> look at the chair, please. >> I want sir. In this city, we do not surrender to pressure or make decisions based on who shouts the loudest or the longest. We don't trade

078evidence for theatrics. Augusta believes in education that builds thinkers, students who question, analyze, and draw their own conclusions. This commitment is nonnegotiable. Recent attempts to hijack meetings with misinformation and intimidation do not demonstrate strength. They reveal fear and fear of a well-educated community that refuses to follow blindly. We must stay informed about groups seeking influence over our schools. Evaluate their claims and motives critically when tactics cross the line into disruption. Name them clearly and refuse to reward them with compliance. Tonight, I ask Augusta to rise above the noise and defend what matters. Support our educators and children. Protect a curriculum grounded in facts and critical thinking. Reject fearbased narratives. Make it clear that Augusta public schools will not be reshaped by pressure campaigns or ideological agendas. Test scores may fluctuate and who transitions to Augusta

079is a numbers game, >> but our commitment to independent thought must remain unwavering. >> Augusta is not intimidated, confused, >> or afraid. Augusta is informed, principled, and ready to let me finish. You're going to let her >> without apology. >> It's because they agree. >> It's because you agree with her. It's okay. >> The next person to speak, >> Timothy Bodner, [clears throat] >> point of order, madam, you let that woman go along and the reason for my the cancellation of the last school board meeting was me. Therefore, I was denied my civil right to speak for three minutes last time I was here. I would like that three minutes tonight. I'd like to have a total of six minutes this evening. That be all right with you? >> No, you have three minutes. Mr.

080Bner, [clears throat] >> you sure about that? >> Start it over. I asked a point of order. Please, please reset the clock. Madam >> Chair, I I'd recommend reset the clock three minutes from now from here. My name is Timothy J. Bosner and I live in Augusta, Maine. You can't fix a problem that you do not acknowledge that you have. And that's what I come to you with today. I've been dealing with this board uh for quite some time now. A lot of shenanigans last year started watching Nick coming in here, you know, started talking about title nine, you know, what's normal, what's not normal, right? What shouldn't be mixed together. Then it turned into a free speech issue because you took policy BD BDH and you continue to mold it into a policy that

081is hostile to free speech. You spent more time last year trying to discuss what we can't do and what we cannot say in here and you continue to your policy is ridiculous. How long did it take you to read that? Um you know then you wonder why we do these theatrics, right? Why? Why we strip in front of you and make you feel uncomfortable? And I had to come here and explain Bella Balls to you. You will not come into the bathroom with me when I was dressed as woman. You're a hypocrite. You're all hypocrites. You even said that you're not sure of the trans thing, but yet you make policy and allow our children to be subjected to it. There is normal and there is not normal people. If you leave two homosexuals, and

082I don't know about you, but maybe you are, maybe you're not. You leave two homosexuals on an island, you come back a hundred years from now, there gonna be two dead homosexuals. You leave a man and a woman on that island, you're going to come back and there's gonna be a village there. There's normal and there's not normal. And the prince in the night is not normal. And it is you can teach nice normal stories under normal and deal with the abnormal when we get to 17 18 years old. But you know what I'm really angry about is you, Mr. Tracy wouldn't even spend 15 minutes on the phone with me to explain to me why the meeting was postponed last month because I found out through a pooya that I was the credible threat.

083Now I've come been coming in here before. You all know my phone number. You know where I'm at. You can call me. You can say, "Hey Tim, you feeling all right today? Is everything going on with you? Is anything okay?" You got this random email from an anonymous person. you cancelled this meeting thereby giving that threat credibility and all the lies that were spilled in it that defamed my name because it had to come out through a foyer then. But if you would have just dealt with it and said, "Hey, are you a credible safety threat?" Tell me, am I any more of a credible safety threat today than I was last month? >> You don't know, do you? We need to resign. You're a joke. The reason we're here, you're making it all a

084big deal that oh, this is great. Get back to our roots. Is you screwed this up so bad that you turn this into theatrics and then you blame it on us. >> You're sitting here because of your own stupidity and authoritarian >> I'm owed an explanation. and you need to have a meeting with me and sit down and dispel this that I'm so dangerous that we can't talk. >> Time is up, Mr. Bodner. Next is Janessa James. >> Um, hello. I also spoke at the last meeting. Um, I have emailed every single one of these board members in the scrum. Met with almost everyone in the scrum actually. um to again address the racism across the whole entire district. My son, he's here with me tonight. He's now been in three different Augusta elementary schools

085and he's I thought maybe changing the school would help. It hasn't helped. It's happened in every single school. It happened at Fington. It happened multiple times at Hussie and it's happened multiple times at his new school, Gilbert. I mean, I'm at a loss. I don't know what to do. I [clears throat] need everyone's help in this room. Um finally, at least tonight, it was somewhat acknowledged. I really didn't appreciate it being called racial language. I feel that that's very minimizing uh what it is. It's racism. It's racial harassment and it's discrimination. My son is entitled to a discriminationfree education. And it's been shown to me time after time that we're not able to provide that. We need a serious change. I don't know if you guys are aware, it's severe and pervasive enough to the

086point that my son now has a safety plan. He now has [clears throat] a teacher that is assigned to him. You know, it's essentially like a bodyguard. I mean, to help prevent the interruption. He can't be in the hallways alone. He can't go to recess alone. He can't go to lunch alone. He's been called the n-word with a hard R. Um, numerous times. He's been called the monkey on at least two occasions. I don't know where these kids are learning it. Uh, but they need to unlearn it. And they need to unlearn it pretty quickly. And they need to know. I don't care what you say at home because it's been told to me that I can't control what kids say at home. Well, we need to be able to control what's said in the

087school. >> I mean, what would we do if and this happened over nine times that I can count. Okay. What if this was a transgender student that was being harassed over nine times that I think everyone would be in an uproar. All I get is nothing but silence. It took this much to even get Shelby to acknowledge that this is the problem and she barely acknowledged it. But, you know, I just I want to know what are we going to do? My son has eight years left in the school district and it has been offered to me that they will pay for his private education or they will pay for his private tutor. I've respect respectfully declined as of now um because he has a right to attend public school. >> Yes. >> So I

088don't know. Um but I hope that we're going to take this seriously. I hope we're going to do something. Um and I guess that's all I have to say for tonight. Thank you Stephanie board. Uh I hope I can get through the different things that I wanted to talk about. Um we had a really successful game night and talk about friendship night at Lincoln Elementary. >> I'm so quiet. I will try. >> The council said the same thing. Oh, I Stephanie Sinwitz parent uh resident in Augusta, also a city counselor, but not here in that capacity tonight. Uh we had some really great community events at Lincoln Elementary. We had a game night in January, a talk about friendship night in February where we were able to feed the community walking tacos. Um I think

089a quarter of the school board and many of the school administration were at both of those events. Thank you very much. It means a lot to that community. Um I wanted to talk a little bit I have so many things to say but um one I wanted to note the professionalism and competence of the school staff in these budget meetings. I've been watching them online to a person. They are coming with a deep knowledge of their budgets. They're talking about uh very complex things in ways that are simple to understand and I think that speaks to the level of quality we have in the staff administration and school board in the city of Augusta. So, thank you all. Um, specifically, I wanted to highlight a few things that really stood out to me over the

090past couple of months of the staff, particularly at Lincoln that have uh highlighted what that community means to me and my family and the people that attend Lincoln, the students there. Um, one was uh there's a student that I know a little bit that I was walking through the hallways helping out, volunteering. They came up, they had a bag on their shoulder, they were headed to the bus and they said, "Look at my new coat." And I happened to notice them that that bag had an apparel impact label on it. Uh, that student was so excited. They got an entire new winter clothes wardrobe. They were the texture of their coat was really exciting for them. They look brand new. And that student said, "You know, I got this through the school." They knew how

091that was coming to them. and that made a huge difference to them. So, thank you for that. I know that went through your nurses, went through your administration. I wanted you to have that story as well that that's making an impact on students. Um, I also was walking through the cafeteria and I noticed uh a box on a table and I saw on the side Ramadan box and my kids were with me. I was picking them up and I said, "Oh, what is that?" and they said, "Oh, it's for kids that are fasting and they want to still be in the cafeteria, but it's really hard to be around food and be around people eating. So, we've got like Play-Doh and fidgets and things like that for them so that they can still be a

092part of the cafeteria environment, but it's not so hard." And my kids were able to take that moment and think about what it would be like to be around people who are not My time is up, but really awesome. Wonderful. Um, I appreciate it. Thank you, Nicholas. Glancer [clears throat] had a question. Can I see that? I know for a fact I was number two on that and you purposely skipped over, but that's fine. Nicholas Blanchard, Augusta resident [clears throat] Number two. >> [clears throat] >> pretty. Thank you. You want some? >> Should I call it? >> [clears throat] >> I believe that was your moment of silence, Miss Muppy. Over. >> Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Next is Michaela Garcia. >> Um, >> so I am a citizen. >> Can I ask you

093to tip that down a little bit just so your voice can project over that so we can hear you? Sure. >> You just There you go. To the side. Perfect. No. No. Um, >> there we go. Thank you. >> So, I'm a freshman student [laughter] citizen. a [clears throat] little bit of a lighter topic for today. Um, my argument is that the schedule change for Coney would not be optimal for our learning process. So, one of the arguments is that the curriculum lasting the whole school year would improve like retention of lessons. But I will say that now this is subjective reasoning, but in middle school, I took classes that lasted like the entire school year, including two high school classes in eighth grade, and my retention was very, very poor. Um, additionally they state

094that the workload would be less and yes the curriculum is stretched out but it's also double the classes. So that is also something I am concerned about. Now I have some questions I'm going to put out there and I know they can't answer but it's good to take into account um like how would I be able to take two math classes with the 4x4 block schedule? I could take for instance algebra 2 semester 1 and then um pre-calculus semester 2. But if it is implemented that the um rotating block schedule you know is added [clears throat] um I wouldn't be able to simultaneously take two different math classes because one would require the aforementioned knowledge of like the one before. So it would be very difficult to take you know two within the same week

095you know like every other day. Um and like another question I'm putting out there is how do we know that there isn't another underlying factor? Um in my elective we had a class discussion about the potential schedule change and it was agreeable to most of us to most of us that the students don't feel like there's a motivating force to perform well in state testing. Um our transcript is not dependent on uh state testing and delving into the testing we're hardly recognized as con students for our work. Um for example uh for the recognition assemblies our names are not called for high honors. We are solely asked to stand up and some people don't have the confidence to you know stand up uh in front of the entire high school. Um I think the other

096derivative of the poor uh state testing is um a lot of first generation immigrants um this is because uh they're not as familiar with the English language. So uh state testing like reading would be relatively difficult for them and uh you know it's been a it's agreeable that uh the education is very poor uh or the you know the treatment um for [clears throat] like the academic performance is solely you know like many other non-Arab students have noticed that the system of teaching like these newcomer students is poor. Sorry about like being a little bit I'm just so caught off guard by like what happened before. Um I've [clears throat] also I just again I feel like sick testing is a poor measure of academic performance. I'm also going to say that um adding to

097like the fact that there could be other underlying issues. Um my teacher in which I will not disclose who uh told us that Christopher Columbus died from cannibalism in St. Vincent. Time is a finish. >> Thank you. Yes. Abigail maid. >> Hello, my name is Abby and I would also like to add on to what Michaela said. Um, >> can you speak up a little bit? >> Oh, sorry. Um, I'd like to add, um, do we monitor teachers here? Um, if there's this much misinformation being spread, I feel like we should be prioritizing teachers rather than the new test results. Um, we did do some research on this. Um, a University of Connecticut article states that, um, students may do better on final exams because of the reduced course load on the um, block schedule.

098And I'd also like to say with the language classes like German for instance, I take German and um there's six levels to it. And if we get rid of like the four the block schedule, we wouldn't have we wouldn't have the sixth level and I wouldn't be able to take the amount of German that I want. and some of my friends. Um, she has to work around like classes that she can't get rid of, like a guided study. She she can't even take German this year, and she can only go up to level four now, and I I'll only be able to go up to level five. Um, and also, I think if we have eight classes, there will be more issues with completing work, especially with um people who don't have Wi-Fi at home.

099I'm done with someone who doesn't have life at home and she can't she doesn't have access to all this work, she can only do it during school. And if we add more work onto that, I feel it be way harder. And students who miss one week for sickness or vacation, what will happen if they have to catch up on a week's worth from all their eight classes? Um, and with red and white dates, we would have to study for eight midterms and eight more finals at the end of the year. That's that's a lot. And for me, it's already a lot to study for four as an honor student. I think we should just keep it at four for semesterers. And yeah, that's all. Thank you. want a Snider. >> Um, just briefly, my name

100is Rhonda Snider. Items E and I on the uh participation rules are unconstitutional. What a lot of people don't know about me is that I became a minister in 2009 to uh marry my brother and his wife. I've also, as you know, spent a lot of time on the Constitution and the First Amendment rights. So, tonight I'm going to exercise four of [clears throat] the five elements of the First Amendment. Freedom of religion, right of assembly, freedom of speech, and right to redress grievances with public officials. To get that from Oh, heavenly father, creator of free speech and the unyielding constitution. We gather here before this school board, beseeching your divine intervention in the face of tyranny and censorship wrapped in a chairperson's gavl. Lord, look upon chair with them whose ego is so colossal

101it eclipses the very stars you hung in the sky. >> Yes, father. >> She has been warned. Oh, how she has been warned multiple times and by expert expert lawyers in the field that her policies spit in the face of the first amendment, trampling on viewpoint discrimination like it's a personal playground. >> Yes, father. >> Yet she persists, scheming new ways to silence voices that dare challenge her policies. Lord, please grant Miss Wither the humility to admit she's wrong before arrogance leads her straight into a court's room courtroom's righteous smackdown for a second time. The first of which is coming very soon because of the legal action she took with regard to Nicholas Blanchard. And father have mercy on the cowardly slow cowardly souls flanking chair with them i.e. the other board members who cower

102in silence, too spineless to stand against her reign of tyranny and censorship. >> Stir their hearts, Lord. Give them the backbone of lions instead of the jelly of jellyfish, so they might uphold the rights you inspired our forefounders to enshrine. >> Yes, Lord. We pray especially for James our a brave soul who not only fought for our freedoms in the army but who also spoke truth at a recent meeting only to be slapped with a letter of admonition from the chair from the chair's vindictive keyboard. Bless him with strength and let his example of truthfulness, bravery, and standing up for what is right shame the rest of the school board into action. All while the board chair uses the code of eth ethics to punish him for protected expression and to suppress his disscent. >>

103Both of which are examples of more violations of the first amendment. Father, in your infinite wisdom, remind this board that freedom isn't optional. Yes, it's the law. And while freedom may be scary, one must deal with it. >> Amen. >> May the Augusta school board chair and board members repent their violations before the hammer of justice falls again. Amen. >> Amen. >> Nathan Nathan, I cannot pronounce your last name incorrectly, I'm sure. Uh, Nathan Basin, Augusta resident. >> Can you spell your last name for me? >> B A S I G N A N I. >> Um, can you start? >> Yeah. Yeah, I'm sorry. >> Thank you very much. Probably won't need all of it. Um, it first thing I'd like to say is I'd like to uh address something that was said by

104a previous speaker. That's okay. So, it's a wild statement to say that there is anything more important um in regards to our public school system than education. Just want to say that first of all. >> Amen. >> That's a crazy statement. And if by predetermined ideology she's accusing people of advocating for the truth, then I guess there are some people here that are guilty. Yeah. >> Um, also point of inquiry, I'd like to Is there any money in the budget uh to send someone to training for uh on Robert's rules? >> We've actually all had training on Robert's rules. We had a half day workshop. >> Well, some of you need it again. And um yeah, and the first amendment, thank which is good because that's an excellent point. Some of these rules on here,

105as much as you would like to differ, I'm sure you're not allowed to tell us what we can and can't say, right? That's not up to you to determine. >> They don't listen. >> So, you can learn that the easy way, the hard way, I guess. But that's all I've got. Thank you. >> Thank you. Unless is Lisa Gaggy. Everything's been covered. I don't have any. I don't think I missed anybody. Okay, moving on to item number 21, unfinished business. And we have no unfinished business. Jo, just as a reminder, item number 20 was moved to previous in the agenda. [clears throat] Item 22. I accept a motion on a reading. >> I'd like to make the motion to approve the second reading of DFFR, Student Activity Funds, [laughter] Administrative Procedure. >> I second. >>

106It's been moved and seconded to approve the second reading of DFF-R, Student Activity Funds Administrative Procedure. Discussion. I think just because this one's a lot of like legal and fiscal jargon, it's just worth noting that there was a small like audit finding about having a separate line for scholarship funds. That's what we did to be in line with our audit. So, that one's not a a wild one at all. Thank you. Further comment hearing none. Please vote on a vote of seven to zero. The motion passes to to approve policy to approve the second reading of DFFR- student activity funds administrative procedures. >> I'll entertain a motion on the reading of JOC. >> I'd like to make a motion to approve the first [laughter] reading of JC school volunteers. >> I'll second. It's been moved

107and seconded to approve the first reading of JOCC school volunteers. comment hearing none. Please vote >> and on a vote of seven to zero. The motion is approved. I'll approve I'll entertain a motion for the first reading of BEDH. >> Actually like to make a motion to table the first reading of BEDH public participation at board meetings till further notice. >> Second that motion. >> A motion has been made and seconded to table the first reading of BEDH public participation at board meetings. discussion hearing. None please vote. And on a vote of 7 to zero, the first reading of DEDH public participation has been tabled. >> I'd like to make a motion to approve the school calendar. >> Second moved and seconded to approve the 2627 school calendar. Discussion. Board member Pell. Uh we just

108discussed this in the curriculum and education committee meeting. Um there's only so much wiggle room with scheduling given uh that we work with other entities like Catsy um and other surrounding schools. So our schedules have to be fairly aligned. Um, we did I think uh member Baker who's very good with attention to detail noticed a few little key changes and some formatting that could be >> clical and we'll email you. But we're otherwise fine and at least the folks that listen to the committee um understand why the calendar decisions were made and I feel confident moving this forward. Further discussion hearing none. Please vote and a vote of 7 to zero. The 2627 school calendar has been approved. I will entertain a motion on the Coney High School proposed changes to the schedule. >> I

109make a motion to approve the Coney High School change to a rotating AB red white block schedule. >> I second. It's been moved and seconded to approve the Coney High School change to a rotating AB red white block schedule. Discussion. What about me? >> Yeah, I just want to thank the students for coming to speak on this because your voices matter. Um I have I I it's good to hear your perspective right from you about what the concerns are for me. However, based on the presentation, the curriculum and education committee meeting, the findings, the survey results and in and sort of my understanding of scope and sequence, um I will be voting to approve the change in the schedule. Board member Reynolds. >> Thank you, uh, board member fellow. I also second that I, uh,

110really appreciate you guys coming out advocating your feelings and what, uh, your position is on this. Um, I came from a school that had the AMP and I didn't know that Augusta didn't have that when I uh, first came here and then I heard that it was changed from the to the current schedule. I have seen the increase in uh, force and I also believe you. I know that those things are excused for whatever reason, right? Um but we can't say that to the government and say trust us, right? Uh we believe that if we were to bring this back to the uh schedule and if you look at the old scores, they were better than they were at the others. And um I also want to say if you feel like you're struggling when

111this change happens because I too will be building it, please reach out. So I want to make sure you guys are supporting very intelligent and bright. I want to ensure you guys can have a good [laughter] transition. I appreciate that. >> Further discussion hearing? None. Please vote. And on a vote of 7 to zero, the motion to approve the Coney High School change to a rotating AB block schedule has been approved. [clears throat] I'll entertain a motion on the Katsy cooperative agreement. >> I move to approve the catsy cooperative agreement for 256. I'll second. >> I'll take board me second. It's been motioned and approve motioned and seconded to approve the CATC cooperative agreement for the 2526 school year. >> Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. 2627. >> Yeah. 2627 school year.

112>> Wait a minute. Wait a minute. >> It seems to >> And it's in the title, too. Well, well, wait a second. >> This is the 2526 cooperative agreement. Every year the uh CATC advisory committee which is made up of the superintendents and board members which Mr. or Mr. Tracy are part of uh review, revise and approve this that happened. Uh the next step of each board's approval didn't happen. So, we're asking you to do that now. And don't worry, you're not alone. About 3/4 of the districts forgot to do it. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> And thank you. We did have it right. >> We did have it. >> I want to make sure we say that. Thank you, Mr. G. And this is an annual approval. >> So that's why and we,

113you know, we need to do this annually. And so that's why we're doing it. >> Okay. Got it. >> We'll see you again in the fall. >> Just become really attentive to those dates when you're working on budget. >> Thank you. >> Further discussion? All those in favor to approve the CATC cooperative agreement, please vote. And on a on a vote of seven to zero, the motion to approve it has been passed. I'll entertain a motion on a culinary trip. I make a motion to approve the CATC culinary to an overnight trip to the National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore, Maryland, April 24th through April 27th [laughter] of 2026. Chevroned by Heidi Parent and Patrick Austin. >> I'll second. I have a a a motion and a second to approve the CATC culinary to an overnight

114trip to the National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore, Maryland. Discussion, >> do they need the extra >> samplers of the food? >> I'll let you know when practice turn. >> Further discussion [clears throat] hearing none, please vote. All those opposed and a vote of six [clears throat] to one. The motion passes for the culinary trip to the National ProStart in Baltimore, Maryland. I'll next entertain a motion to approve the Spanish club for out of country travel. >> Madam Chair, I'd make a motion to approve the Spanish club to travel out of country to Guatemala from March 6, 2027 through March 14th, 2027. Chaperon by Gretchen and Rosio Harry. >> I'll second. It's been moved and seconded to approve the Spanish club to travel to Guatemala March 6th through March 14th in 2027. Discussion hearing none, please

115vote. And on a vote of 7 to zero, the motion for the Spanish club to travel to Guatemala in March of 27 has been approved. >> I'd like to make a motion to adjurnn. Before we adjourn, >> you can do it in the second. >> I'll do it I'll do it afterwards. I just want to I just want to talk to upcoming meetings. There's a budget workshop that's scheduled for March 16th at 6:00 in the CATC cafeteria. There's also a budget workshop March 23rd, 6:00 in the CATC cafeteria. The building committee will meet on March 25th at 5:30 here in the CATC cafeteria, followed by a workshop at 6:30. Here, all of our meetings from now on will be here at the CATC cafeteria unless otherwise noticed. There may be some kind of a conflict

116with that activity going on in the cafeteria, but for the most part, this will be where we meet from now on. On the finance committee, the personnel committee, and the policy committee will all meet on April 6, starting at 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30 here in the CATC cafeteria. April 8th, the curriculum education meeting will be here at 5:30 in the conference room, followed by a board of education on April 8th at 7:00 here in the cafeteria. The building committee will meet again on April 22nd, 5:30 here in the CATC cafeteria, followed by a board workshop at 6:30. And with that, I have a motion to adjourn. Did I have a second? >> Discussion hearing? None. Please vote. And on a vote of 7 to Z, [cough] the school committee stands adjourned.