001You received your letter. Yes. I hereby declare the opening of the special meeting of the school board on September 1, 2026, and the first public hearing on the annual budget for 2026–2027. Dr. Jones will lead a prayer for us . Thank you. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, we come to You this day, thanking You for all the numerous blessings You have bestowed upon us. We ask for Your guidance, Your instructions, Your wisdom, and Your knowledge. We ask You to guide all our thoughts and actions. We pray for the children and families of the children in the Dayton City School District. We pray for the teachers and all the administrative and support staff who work with the children every day. Please bless them with everything they need to provide our children with the
002best opportunities in education and life. Thank you for leading, teaching, and directing us, helping us to always seek Your will in all that we do. Thank you, Lord , for everything. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Please stand for the oath. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Is there a motion to approve the agenda and proposed changes to it? Madam Chair, I propose to approve the agenda with the proposed changes. Is there any confirmation? I confirm. Are there any discussions? Who is for it? By. Who is against? The decision has been made. Are there any comments from the board members? Yes, sir. Thank you. I want to remind
003the council that our primary goal is student success. The superintendent had a plan, but we rejected it. I can only imagine where we would be now if we had engaged the two experts he suggested for our children. I had questions for Dr. Thompson, but since she arrived early, I asked them in person. That's all I wanted to say. Thank you, sir. Anyone else want to speak? OK. You wanted to... Okay, Madam Chair, I'd like to get some clarity, this happened during our last meeting, and I want to ask Dr. Thompson , you provided a report on... on the AAP performance results, the AAP performance results. And I know that our teachers were trained in the Orton- Gillingham method this summer. Um, and I think when we asked this question before, we didn't know the exact
004number of teachers, but now we do. Do you have this number? Teachers who attended this training. Good. OK. Thank you. The only thing I want to point out is that because they went through this training, and it's, well, it's really great. However, we want to make sure that our teachers apply what they have learned in the training. So do we have a way to track this? Yes, ma'am. When we discussed how curriculum and methodologies are implemented in classrooms, we wanted to check out both Carnegie Learning and Orton Gillingham. We are expected to collaborate with our coaches, particularly in literacy, and some of them were also at that training. So it's a "train the trainers" model, you could say, but they also work with teachers to ensure that these strategies are used. This was a very
005pertinent question, as we had a meeting with our coaches and rebounders this week where we discussed expectations for Orton Gillingham. We realize that we have spent a lot of money on this and we want to get a return on investment, and you can only see that by going into the classrooms and making sure that the strategies are actually being applied. I understand that after a four-day training, as you all know, if we don't practice, take further steps, and repeat these strategies, we will forget them. So our task this year is to visit classes and have frank professional conversations. When we talk about working with adults, we mean teaching methods and all other aspects. During professional community meetings, they should discuss what strategies they are using in line with what you have approved for us, and
006we want you to see the results of this work, as is the case with Carnegie Learning. In my presentation, I mentioned the math knowledge deficit that we had to overcome. So, we create these tools and provide these strategies to our teachers. And again, we must test what we expect. Of course. So, as we develop this topic, how can we detail this for our subgroups to close these gaps? And when I talk about our subgroups, I mean, uh, I mean, uh, the four subgroups that we had, I think it was, uh, black blacks, uh, uh Yes, ma'am. and, uh, also , uh, people with, uh, disabilities and stuff. Yes. So how are we going to work this out with them so we can bridge the gaps? Will we have a way to know what's happening? Yes.
007Uh, working with special education, our students who have, uh, special education, and also our EL/ELL students, and really all students, because even though they have these identifiers, and these are the kids that you saw in the presentation. Yes. All of our children actually have some difficulty with these strategies. It's good that we are paying attention, especially to our EL population. There were a significant number of children, just like in special education. So we've been working with the special education department on, uh, their IEPs, or individualized education plans, and within that, we look at their goals and what they need to close that gap. One of the things I have to remind our audience is that we're not just looking for gaps that they need help with. We also need to familiarize them with what the
008curriculum is, such as what they should study? How do we know they are learning because we know they will be tested on the same AAP test that we had. So we look at all of this. Uh , actually, we're getting ready to have a data discussion in October where the principal will have an opportunity to share his priorities and how we're working with all of our students. So when we talk about subgroups, we also know that we have a lot of our students, just general school students, who also need support . Right. This is true. Now, one thing that I liked, and I liked the fact that we had the strongest achievement, uh, in several of these schools. Fang, yes. Strongest achievements, Hurd. Good. Dothan Virtual School and Dothan Sixth Grade Center. Yes. And that's
009where we've had the strongest gains, and you know, I'd like to see that continue and for us to be presented with data that shows that that's happening. Yes, ma'am. Good. Madam Chair. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you. Uh, yes. Uh, Dr. Thompson, thank you for that. Um, you know, those two experts who came to help us, I'll never forget their words, friends. They said: " Our children cannot master either elementary school or literacy." And one of them said, I guess it was Dr. Ward. I think she said, "Your children don't know math." She added: “Let me clarify. Your children don't know arithmetic. " I mean, it touched me. She said: "Our children don't know arithmetic. " So, we know we have room to grow. We know, and everyone needs to get involved if we want
010our children to be successful. You know, I've already shared this story with you before . My brother and sister were flaunting their "[ __ ] laude," "magna [ __ ] laude," and other degrees. I said I was a solid three-pointer. But my parents didn't have to pay for my college education; I paid for college myself because they taught me to read and write at Kara High School. But I was the star of all the sports teams at my school, undefeated in some sports. You know, but "three" was my maximum. And if we get our children to the "three" in a year or two, that will be a cause for celebration. Certainly. Regarding transparency: we will have to have these conversations, these critical conversations, because this is not personal. It is never personal. This is for
011the sake of our children. And when we have conversations like this in our classrooms: "This is what I see when I walk into your classroom." Here are ways we can improve learning for our students, and remember that ultimately, this is what we are in business for. So I hear you loud and clear and I'm working hard with the curriculum team to be more open. I want to be able to come out here and answer your questions because I work in the classroom myself. I do this work, but I want to make sure that we build the capacity of our teachers. Because if we improve teaching at the first level, we won't have to constantly rely on special education and other groups; if we get things right at the first level, we know our children will
012benefit from it. And that's why these pillars are so important to whether we see these different expected outcomes when we get there. Are students involved? There are different ways in which our students learn. Are we making sure that we are meeting all of these needs? So, this brings us back to what Ms. Walton said about subgroups and all the different areas that we need to consider moving forward. Thank you. Please. Thank you. Anyone else? Good. Thank you. OK. Um, Ms. Walker. Good evening. On behalf of Dr. Asku and myself, Stephanie Walker, I would like to formally welcome you to our first annual budget hearing for fiscal year 2027. As your Chief Financial Officer for Schools, I am honored to gather with you today to review, discuss, and share the financial plan that supports the operations
013of our district. These hearings are an important part of our commitment to transparency, accountability, and collaboration. The budget reflects not just numbers on paper, but the priorities, goals, and values of our school system, ensuring that our resources are focused on supporting students, staff, and the community. I want to thank each of you for being here and for your continued cooperation as we work together to ensure the best possible opportunities for every child in Dothan City Schools. Your input and involvement in this process is vital, and we welcome your questions and feedback. State law requires the school system to hold two public hearings on the annual budget. This is the first presentation today, and the second will be next week, on September 8, at our regular meeting. All information in this presentation is contained in the
014full project. I guess it wasn't me. Um, all of this information is contained in the full draft budget document attached to this meeting in the system, and it can be accessed via the QR code on the screen in front of you if you didn't receive a copy. I only made 25 copies, so I hope we have enough. It seems like that's enough. It was a joke. So, this presentation will highlight the main points related to this. The response form is intended for use by the public to respond in writing to the consideration of the proposed annual budget. So , with that in mind, let's begin. This chart reflects the requirements for budget hearings. This is the first presentation of the proposed budget for fiscal year 2027, and this budget will be reviewed and refined before
015a second public hearing and recommendation for approval next week. I present a conservative balanced budget based on historical data. Please note that public education and government financial reporting are the most transparent. All expenses are reported to the board and published monthly on our website, and all financial reports, audits, and budgets are also available to the public for full review . I would like to point out that historically I have planned local revenues very conservatively, and in some cases have not contributed certain revenues to the budget at all. for fiscal year 2027. The increase in permanent local obligations has forced us to plan some revenue sources closer to the actual figures of previous years. One example is the recently added interest income, which now averages approximately $70,000 per month and is budgeted at $840,000 per year
016for fiscal year 2027. Since this income is dependent on interest rates and cash balances, we will be monitoring it closely throughout the year. At the same time, permanent local liabilities have increased. As a result, our local budget has become significantly less flexible. In the future, new permanent local expenditures will require a designated source of funding or compensatory cuts in other budget items. And stop me anytime if you have any questions. So, as you all know , most of our funding comes from our state divisions. This report was prepared by the Alabama Department of Education and reflects the divisional breakdown of our local educational governing body for Dothan City Schools. This calculation is based on our average daily enrollment, or ADM, for the first 20 days after Labor Day. So, even though we've been learning for
017a long time, you know, our days don't count for us yet. Therefore, after Labor Day, these first 20 days will be crucial for us . Dothan City Schools experienced a long-term decline in student enrollment from 1979 to 2020, totaling more than 300 people. Starting in fiscal year 2022, our student population stabilized, a trend that continued through fiscal year 2025 and even included a slight increase. For FY2027 funding purposes, the ADM has decreased by 107 students. This number has changed from 7,827 to 7,720. Despite the decrease in our current ADM, it remains higher than the FY 2025 level of 7,691. As student numbers decline, the district receives fewer state-funded teacher salaries, which directly impacts our core program revenue, which is our largest operating revenue. In FY2027, the total number of rates received decreased by approximately seven,
018from 519 to 512. Despite the reduction in ADM and rates received, later in the presentation you will see that DCS is projected to receive an increase of over $1.4 million in state base program revenue. This compares to an increase of more than $3.8 million last year. In addition to the state units we have and which are reflected in this chart, DCS currently funds 11 teaching units at the local level, including positions at the Early Childhood Education Center, Pass DPA, and Dothan High School. These positions are not funded by the state's core program and therefore are direct local costs to DCS. So , this chart shows our distribution of base units. We are not currently redistributing any units we receive for schools. The state requires that all base units be placed in the exact school where
019they were earned, otherwise we will not be able to use or have any federally funded units at that school. So you see, we're not redistributing, and the only two schools that are shown here that are not Title I schools this year are Carver School of Math, Science and Technology and Highlands Elementary School . This information is mandatory for our annual budget. You can see that 60% of our staff have a master's degree or higher, and their average work experience is 11.8 years. The state sets minimum wages and benefits for teachers and nurses, and requires that support staff receive $15 per hour. This was a few years ago, so our tables have been enlarged to take this into account. Our district is currently paying 2.5% more than the certified state salary matrix to attract and retain
020the best employees. So, this is the 12-year trend in the cost of one mill of property tax. The cost per mile is based on the total taxable assessed value of property within the school district. The cost of one mile in the city of Dothan is approximately $1 million, compared to $1.2 million in 2025. This represents a cost reduction of approximately $128,000 per mill, indicating that we continue to closely monitor local property tax revenues. The decrease may be caused by a lower or adjusted property value, exemptions, an assessment appeal, or changes in the taxable property base. A lower value per mille means each mille of property taxes generates fewer local dollars for DCS, reducing our local revenue potential for FY 2027. And that's why I mentioned the impact of local funding again earlier. Sir, I didn't
021hear you. You talked about the trend of property taxes going down next year. Yes, sir. They did indeed decrease from year 25 to 26, which is what will be used to base funding for year 27. And the trend continues to decline . Well, we don't really know. We sometimes experience ups and downs. We simply won't know until the new tax assessment numbers for next year come in. but we keep a close eye on it every month. Sorry. Sorry. Stephanie, how much did you say we pay above the norm to attract the best and retain teachers? For certified personnel, we pay 2.5% more than the certified salary scale. Good. Of course. Thank you. Are there any more questions before I continue? Good. This is a graph showing our mandatory contribution of 10 mil. So, in the
022previous graph, you saw that the cost per mile has decreased, but when it decreases, it actually has a positive impact on our budget . So the mandatory contribution of 10 mil is calculated based on the value of the combination of sales and property taxes. This is the amount of local funds that we are required to set aside as a contribution to receive our state base funds. This amount is calculated by the state department of education and is the amount of local revenues determined by the state, over which we have no influence. So, reducing the contribution share by almost $1.5 million to the basic program actually has a positive impact on our budget . And it's strange to look at it that way . But if there is any positive, it is him. We have a
023smaller down payment amount that is deducted from the funds before we receive them from the state. Here is the ten-year trend of our income. The sales tax for fiscal year 2025 decreased by approximately 4%. You see it on the chart, and we continue to monitor it very closely . Negotiations are underway with the county to obtain a simplified vendor use tax, or SSU. We are getting it now, but it is a very small amount. So it didn't really affect the gap that we have because of the sales tax reduction, but this year the sales tax was reinstated. Property taxes include our county regular, district regular, and special district taxes and property taxes. By law, each school system must receive at least 10 million in local tax support to participate in the state's core program. We
024at Dothan City Schools get the state- mandated minimum of 10 miles. This means we operate at the lowest level of local tax support allowed by law, while many other school systems receive more through higher local rates approved by their communities. So, simply put, DCS receives a minimum of 10 million in local tax support required to participate in the basic program, making it even more important to carefully manage every dollar we receive. We do, however, get this, you'll see at the very bottom. Uh, that's a number that hasn't changed. Uh, I have a schedule from 2017, but we get $3.7 million from the city of Dothan as an annual appropriation. Also, last year I, uh, listed all the capital improvements for the year, but this time I decided to put them on a slide so you
025can see them. This reflects a significant portion of our facility improvement work completed in the district during FY26. I won't read every project, but I wanted the council and the public to see where our capital resources in schools were invested. Uh, you'll see that our projects range from replacing HVAC systems and chillers in D6, Carver 9, Highlands, Sling, and Kelly Springs. Uh , we finally finished repairing the tornado damage at DPA. And there have also been some improvements to playgrounds on several campuses. Good. Now let's move on to the fund's balance sheet. Alabama's Financial Accountability Act requires boards of education to maintain a one-month operating reserve. The one-month operating balance for Dothan City Schools is approximately $8 million. We conservatively project the fund's ending balance to be over $24 million. And again, this is a
026very conservative budget. If we stick to the budget, this will equal over a three-month reserve . For the eighth consecutive year, we are ending the fiscal year with a balance of more than one month of operating activity. While we expect to enter FY27 with a strong financial position, the proposed budget will reduce the fund balance to approximately $15.7 million. So, to compare, the actual balance is now 24 million, but with this conservative budget you see 15.7 , and that's again assuming all expenditures and revenues are in line with the budget and happen at the same time. So, we benefit from the funds remaining in our school system. For example, uh, we get a lot of additional funds from the state, and you'll see that later in the budget; this explains why we have certain things
027that may seem like operating deficits but are not. But because of this, I repeat, if it all happened at one point, it would be 15.7, but now we have 24 million. This remains above the required one-month reserve, but the projected decline confirms that we should be cautious about adding recurring local liabilities. Does anyone have any questions at this point? Here is an excerpt from our state funding allocation, and as you can see, state funds do not cover the costs of nursing, transportation, or vocational education. The difference is covered by federal and local funds, because , for example, the average cost of a bus is over $150,000, and we only receive $7,581. for one bus per year. We only receive $82.76 for the operation and maintenance of vocational education programs. You will see this line there.
028And we serve approximately 17 programs within vocational and technical education. So that's about $4,865 per program that we get from the state. This concerns mandatory local co-financing. As I mentioned, the $10 million co-financing is calculated by the state department, and it's a local revenue amount determined by the state, over which we have no influence. On this slide, you'll see that we've raised over $1.5 million, circled at the bottom, as our required co-funding. The state requires that we spend all state funds, including the $10 million in co-financing, or we have to pay them back. So, we can't put aside funds for a rainy day. Here is another excerpt dedicated to our basic funding program. Baseline program funding for fiscal year 2027 is projected at approximately $63.2 million. You will see that this is an increase of
0291.4747 million compared to FY2026, despite the loss of funding units. Despite the decline in student numbers and the loss of approximately seven teaching units , our overall funding increased primarily due to increased state payments for social benefits and other ongoing expenses. Other ongoing costs have increased significantly, as you can see in the graph, with the allocation rising from approximately $ 27,254 per unit to $30,330 per unit. And again, this is mainly due to increased benefits. These increases more than offset our cuts to instructional support, textbook funding, and the elimination of approximately $1 million in enrollment growth funding we received last year. So, if you look at the last line, " growth in student numbers," in years when there is an increase in students, you get an additional inflow of funds for development. But because we
030had a recession, we didn't get it this year . So it all comes down to the proposed, again, conservative budget. Now, looking back at the 2025-26 budget that I presented to you last September , we expected an excess of expenditure over revenue of 10.7 million. According to the financial statements for July 31, 2026, which I presented to you in August, we reflected an actual excess of revenues over expenses of $3.2 million. So, again , this is a very, very conservative budget. Last year at this time, I presented information to the council that we expected to spend 10.7 million more than we would receive, but in reality we received 3.2 million more than we spent. So, our budget expenditures here exceed revenues by $8.8 million . If you look at this final figure, it is misleading,
031as I said, because of our additional funding: 6.2 million of this 8.8 are previously received additional funds that are carried over to next year's expenses. The state has already provided us with these additional funds, and they are already in our bank account . This is particularly important to note because it explains a significant portion of the apparent deficit, which is a cost of resources already received, rather than a structural operating loss. So it's not technically a loss. It's simply money received this year that we will spend next year . Also included in this $8.8 million to cover the difference is approximately $2.5 million for a transfer for the child nutrition program, if needed. So every year we budget this as conservatively as possible for the transfer. This year, we are monitoring the situation to see
032if this is necessary. Last year, we didn't have to do a full recount. Again, this includes this transfer for fiscal year 2027 and the expected transfer for fiscal year 2026. In total, that's about $5 million. Therefore, the projected ending balance of $5.7 million represents almost a two-month reserve. Even with all these conservative approaches, it's still over two months. In conclusion, we remain financially stable, despite declining student numbers, shrinking state units, and increasing permanent local liabilities. Some revenues have had to be planned less conservatively, but our reserves remain healthy, although local flexibility is limited. Therefore, new permanent commitments require specific funding. I'll start with questions from the council. Okay, Stephanie. Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am. Good. I just want to know how we pay our nurses? Madam, how do we pay our nurses? We pay them according
033to the state minimum wage matrix for nurses. So from which fund? It depends on the situation. There are several different funds. Some of them are financed from the state budget. For some, we have federal funds that cover the costs. There are many different funds that form this composition. So, okay, Madam Chair, So, Ms. Walker, you touched on this issue, and I understand you because I'm familiar with the terminology, but I want to ask you to explain in simple terms what this 8 million looks like as a deficit is. I ask because last year after the budget meeting, as you mentioned, the figure was 10 million, and people on social media were saying, "Oh , they have a deficit of 10 million dollars." And that was not true. So, if you could explain in simple terms
034the situation with these 8.8 million. It looks like a shortage, but there is actually some coverage there if you don't mind. Yes, of course. I have also included this in my summary section in the document for the council, which is available for public review. But to explain in simple terms: regarding these 8.8 million, I'll go back one slide. Of these 8.8 million, 6.2 million are funds that we have already received this year, but will not spend until next year. So, if we subtract this amount, the remaining 2.5 million is a conservative transfer to the child nutrition program, which is included in the budget. We usually don't need it because they stay afloat, and even though we've switched to Program C, where all children eat for free, we still maintain an effective child nutrition program. So,
035this is the most conservative figure, but, I repeat, this is not an operational or structural loss. This is simply a carryover of additional funds that will be spent next year. Thank you. And since you, excuse me, Madam Chair, since you mentioned the child nutrition program, I know it's basically self-sustaining, right? Not always. We have to keep a close eye on this. And now that all children eat for free... It's a little more complicated... We don't have the revenue from fees that used to cover part of the costs. But for the most part, the program is self -sustaining. Yes, ma'am. You mentioned the C program. Tell me about this C. Did you mention it? Yes. Good. Lee, I'm going to ask you what C means. Okay. This is a Community Eligibility Provision program. The point is
036that previously we used questionnaires for free or reduced-price meals that each family had to fill out . And partly that's because we would consider you here if you were a paycheck, had benefits, or free meals. And there's another thing called DC, direct accounting. Comes directly from the federal government. This usually means whether your family receives any assistance, such as SNAP or food stamps, which is automatically imported. So we used to have a combination of both of these metrics, and as DC metrics got higher and higher, we became eligible for this program. When we applied two years ago, we started using only these numbers to calculate the poverty level. That doesn't mean we don't have it. We simply don't assign free , reduced, or paid meal status to anyone on site, but rely on federal data
037that is automatically uploaded to PowerSchool, so all children can eat free, regardless of family status. So we felt that at this stage we would gain more from this than we would lose. And we called it C. Is that correct? Good. Let me ask you one question. I remember years ago, uh, thanks, Lee. Years ago, uh, we, uh, the child nutrition program had, uh, three months of operating reserves ... You need to have at least one month. Yes, one month for the child nutrition program. And at that time, we had, let's say, supervision, thanks to which we were able to renovate the cafeteria in one of the schools. So what has changed? We were able, you know, when a surplus accumulates, to ask to use it for other needs. Is that correct? Yes, ma'am. Uh, a
038way to manage this. Before I came to Dothan City Schools, they managed the transfer of funds, distributing the amount that came in from the calculations each month . And this is not necessary. You must transfer $1 each year, but you don't have to if the CMP program has a monthly reserve. Therefore, I choose a more conservative approach and transfer funds only when necessary , once a year, at the end of the year. To avoid an increase, because any funds that come from us to CMP are local funds. So they would go from our local budget to the CMP. OK. Everything is changing so much. Good. Thank you, Ms. Walker. Are we preparing for the Choose Act? Best. Um, I think, you know, it has a lot to do with the hundred or so students that
039we, you know, lost this year, but there's really no way, well, no way to prepare other than to cut costs as much as possible for our local units, and that's what we're trying to do. Good. Thank you. And if the situation changes and we leave them in when we have cut spending too much, then we will see an increase in our base funding. So that would be good. I just want you to go on record and say, um, let's say little Stephanie leaves in August and comes back in October, we don't get that funding back for the rest of the year. And so, the counting has already taken place. So the next year we lost that unit too. We lost funding that year when Stephanie decided to be away until October, and then we lost
040the unit itself. That's two years, so if a hundred Stephanies do this, we'll have bigger classes and less funding. So this is on record. That's why I asked if we were planning this, because, I mean, larger classes are detrimental to learning, especially at a younger age, and, um, you know, that's something we have to say on the record, because funding, I don't want to say this, but funding matters. Yes, ma'am. That's when we have our difficult discussions, when, um, that's when Lee is leading our, um, units, so we start these difficult discussions in March. Someone asked me earlier how long I've been working on this budget? Well, we start in March, and these are those difficult discussions that are, um , difficult because your classes are getting bigger, but also, it could turn out that
04150 of these Stephanies who weren't getting services are coming back at this time. Then you need even more remedial teaching, and you don't even have the staff for the minimum class size. Or you have to cut special subjects, music, art, you know, you have to cut them because they were absent until October, and we had to cut units in elementary school, so you don't get art and music. And we all know that art and music actually help with math, you know, and that's why they're so important, you know? They help with math, they help with science , they help with literature. Um, so, you know, I, I, it bothers me. I know we have to be frugal, plan our expenses, and think about it. That's why we focus on local units . I think we
042managed to reduce that to five in one year? Yes, we managed to do this during the ESSER funds due to COVID, we got everything we could. Because at ESSER we had some freedom to transfer funds. And this really helped us save some money locally. So we were able to do it. But every year something happens that causes funding to be cut. I'll be honest, we've already been told that in two years we'll be facing the ATF. This year it was shortened, remember ? Yes. We are considering the option that it could be completely eliminated in two years . Oho. If the legislation goes this way. The Raise Act funds—that's great, they really helped with the extra units, which allowed us to introduce art and music classes this year. But there is a possibility that legislation
043will repeal this in the next two years. In two years, we could be left with nothing. So it's really important that we all speak up before legislators and politicians, telling them how much these funds mean to us and what they give us. Right. Yes. But I just wanted to put it on the record: if people take kids out of school because of the Choose Act money because there's no income limit next year , and then put them back in, it's going to hit the city's schools for two years, and I don't think people realize that. Certainly. So yes, this is something we should think about. Emphasizing this is the hardest part . We can't possibly estimate the face value of what this could turn out to be. Again, we don't know. And I think we'll
044be able to say exactly what ADM is now , 20 days after Labor Day. And then, perhaps, we will have to make some adjustments. Even before we know what the future holds. Yes. Good. Thank you. Thank you. Good. Do the council members have any more questions ? Now? I open up time for questions from the audience. There are so many people here. Does anyone have any questions? OK. I encourage everyone to review and submit any comments to our office in my name by 4:00 PM Friday. I know it's a tight deadline, but we just received most of our government appropriations , so we had to work quickly to meet the two-week deadline . So I apologize for that, but if anyone needs to meet with me , you can do so. Additionally, as mentioned, a
045second public hearing will be held next week with a recommendation for approval following the presentation. I want to thank each of you again for being here and for your continued cooperation as we work together to ensure the best possible opportunities for every child in Doane City Schools. Your input and involvement in this process is vital, and we welcome your questions and feedback. Dear Council Members, I will keep you updated on any questions or changes over the next week and will send the final version by the end of business on Tuesday, after the holiday on Monday. Thank you for your time and attention to these first budget hearings for 2027. Thank you. OK. Is there a motion to approve the contract with Tri-State Behavioral Service's Certified Behavior Analysts and Registered Behavioral Technicians? Madam Chair, I move
046to approve a contract for a Certified Behavior Analyst and Registered Behavior Technicians for Tri-State. Is that him? For Tri-State Behavioral Services. Is there a second opinion? I support. Is there a discussion? Who is for it? By. Who is against? The proposal was approved. Is there a proposal to approve an American Sign Language interpreter? Madam Chair, I move to approve the contract for an American Sign Language interpreter. Good. Is there a second opinion? I support. Is there a discussion? Who is for it? Who is against? The proposal was approved. Is there a proposal to approve a contract for occupational therapy services with A+ Therapy? Madam Chair, I propose to approve the occupational therapy contract. I support. Good. Is there a discussion? Who is for it? By. Who is against? The proposal was approved. Is there a
047proposal to approve a contract for physical therapy services with Sumler Therapy? Summer Therapy. Madam Chair, I move to approve the physical therapy contract. I support. Is there a discussion? Who is for it? By. Who is against? The proposal was approved. Is there a proposal to approve a contract with a vision specialist from Solutions Insights? Madam Chair, I propose to approve the contract with the vision specialist. Is there a second opinion? I support. Is there a discussion? Who is for it? Who is against? The proposal was approved. Is there a proposal to approve the contract for spoken language services with the Woolly Spoken Language Training Institute? Did we miss something? Did we miss the 12th point? Vision. You just specifically This is colloquial language. No, it's a colloquial language. spoken languages for Madam Chair, I propose
048to approve the contract for spoken language services. OK. I support. Are there any discussions? Who is for it? By. Who is against? The proposal is accepted. Is there a motion to approve the contract for social- emotional skills development services with Matt Gerd? Madam Chair, I move to approve the contract for social- emotional skills services. Is there support for the proposal? I support. Are there any discussions? Who is for it? By. Who is against? The proposal is accepted. We need to hold a closed session regarding business reputation and current legal cases. Is there a proposal to move to a closed session? I propose to proceed to a closed session regarding court cases and business reputation. Is there support for the proposal? I support. OK. Are there any discussions? Who is for it? By. Who is against?
049The proposal is accepted. We have to go with This Let's do this Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. 47. Okay. Well, thank you. I'm fine. Thank you. Yes. This is a lot of money. We need to make sure teachers apply what they have learned.