001It feels like you're all way back there. They are. >> Thank you for being here. It is Thursday the 18th of December, almost time for Christmas and we are excited to be here. We are meeting in the boardroom on Legacy Campus and we are beginning at 5:30. We'll begin with roll call starting with Randall. >> Randall Baggley, board member. >> Brian Chambers, board member. Todd McKe, superintendent. >> Roger Pulzer, board member. >> Terry Rhodess, board member. >> Kathy Christensen, board member. >> Alan Grunik, board member. >> Jeff Nielson, board member. >> Jared Black, business administrator. >> Thank you. And tonight, because we are having a school report by the principal at Lewon Elementary, we have three special guests here to lead our pledge of allegiance. We have Rowan McCrae and Tracan Godfrey here and they
002are going to lead us in the pledge of allegiance right now. I'll press the >> Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. Please place your heart >> your hand on your heart. Lety begin. >> Ice 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 to the Godfrey family for being here to help us tonight. We appreciate you. Uh, next we have the mission statement by Randall Baggley. >> Our mission is to educate students for success in a changing world. >> Thank you, Randall. And what most of you are probably here for is our recognition section of our agenda. We are going to recognize four teachers of the year uh this evening. And beginning
003with Molly Clayson from Milville Elementary and her award will be presented by Principal Paula Hull. [snorts] Okay. >> Okay. It's my privilege to introduce Milville Elementary's teacher of the year, Molly Clayson. What truly sets Molly apart is her heart for the most vulnerable learners. She has a profound soft spot for students with disabilities. Where others might see a challenge, Molly sees an opportunity for connection. She advocates for these students with a fierce but quiet dedication, ensuring that they aren't just included in her classroom, but they truly belong there. That same spirit extends to her peers. In a profession that can be demanding and high stress, Molly is a pillar of professionalism. She navigates difficult conversations and complex collaborations with the level of grace that is rare. She communicates with a people first mentality, ensuring that
004every parent, colleague, and student feels heard and respected. Molly, your work reminds us that the heart of education is the relationship between a teacher and a child. You make Milville a warmer, better place for everyone who enters its doors. Please join me in honoring teacher of the year, Molly Clayson. [applause] >> [applause] >> One, two, three. >> Congratulations, Molly. Thank you for your excellent work in our district. Uh, next we have uh we will recognize Christy Williams from Lewon Elementary and her award will be presented by Principal Troy Pugmier. First of all, I want to recognize her being willing to get up here. she in front of any kid. She doesn't like getting in front of adults. So, all right. Uh we are thrilled to announce that Chrissy Williams, our exceptional third grade teacher, has
005been named Lewis Elementary's teacher of the year. This accolade is a true testament to her dedication and passion for education. Christy consistently focuses on helping each student reach their full potential with a genuine love and support. Her commitment to going the extra mile ensures that every student under her care has opportunity to succeed. She also helps with uh in different ways of the school. She is our assigned mentor for all the new teachers and she does a fantastic job with that. She is the vice chair of our school community council and she also serves on our safety committee. So, I'd love to put her on more but I'd get in trouble. So, uh, uh, we are incredibly fortunate to have Christy Williams as part of our Lewis family. Her efforts and enthusiasm make a significant
006difference every day. Congratulations once again. I want to read some uh, what her colleagues have said about her. This is just her team. I could have done for the whole school. All right. Working with Christy has been a fantastic experience. She is a wonderful teacher who has a deep love for her students. I often go to her for advice on how to more effectively teach a subject. She has shared her resources and knowledge with me over the years that have helped me be a better teacher. I knew I wanted her as a teaching partner long ago when I uh substitute taught in third grade at Lewon. She made me feel comfortable and treated like a professional. I'm grateful I have had the opportunity to teach with her. She is not only my teaching partner, she
007has become a lifelong friend. Uh the other one is Christy is a true team player who consistently brings positivity, collaboration, and kindness to our third grade team. She is a dream team member, always willing to share ideas, lend a hand, and support her teammates. Her caring nature and sense of humor make her not only a valued colleague, but also wonderful friend as well. I happily introduce Chrissy Williams as our teacher of the year. [applause] CONGRATULATIONS, CHRISTIE, and thank you for your excellent work on behalf of our students. Uh, next we have Melissa Smith, who is a teacher at Greenville Elementary. Her award will be presented by principal D. DS. Hey. Um, it is my pleasure to present this and um just say a few words about Melissa. She truly is amazing teacher. Um Melissa's in
008her current year, 11 years of um teaching, three of those which have been in our district. Uh it was once said, "A teacher affects eternity. They can never tell where their influence stops." Tonight, we honor Melissa Porter, whose classroom is not a room of compliance, but a launchpad of possibility. Melissa doesn't just deliver curriculum, she cultivates curiosity. She doesn't just assign homework, she inspires life work. Melissa understands that a great teacher's job is not to fill a vessel, but to ignite a flame. And in doing so, she has made an indel undeniable mark on every student, every colleague, and every person at Greenville and in our community. We celebrate a true beacon in education and are so thankful for all that you do, all that she does for Greenville. I'm very grateful for Melissa and
009I can tell you that every single teacher at Greenville so so much appreciates her and this is so welld deserved. Thank you Melissa so very much for all that you do. [cheering] [applause] Congratulations, Melissa. Thank you for all of your diligent work. Uh, last but not least, we have Andrea Thompson, who is a teacher at Sky View High School, and her award will be presented by Vice Principal Brady Fonbeck. Okay, I'm I'm excited to be able to honor Andrea Thomas tonight as our teacher of the year. Um, she teaches English and social studies at our school and her schedule includes concurrent enrollment English, um, US government, tell me if I'm wrong here, uh, ancient world civ, which I didn't know about, so I looked it up today. And then she also leads our debate um,
010team and her prep to oversee the we the people um group that we have at school. So, she's certainly busy. Um over the last six years, I've really enjoyed stepping into her classroom and observing her and she she's intentional in her planning. She's clear with her expectations and and she various strategies well to engage her students. And one that I was thinking of today, I don't know if you remember this, I I got to drop in on an activity that she calls the disappearing author activity. And it's a it's a pure it's a review activity for students that have written some things. And the the student who stops her writing is getting reviewed has to remain silent while the other people in the group are giving feedback and asking questions as if she wasn't there.
011And I just remember one girl was so excited she couldn't even like not speak when they were asking the questions. She even answered a couple of them. And it was just amazing to see that happen. Um she also has a passion for learning. She's just as enthusiastic about politics and history as she is about the the written word. Um, two summers ago, I think it was two summers ago, she was one of only two teachers in the nation selected to join a research project at Mount Vernon, where among other things, she excavated letters and 250 bottles, which that might be mundane to some, but it was absolutely amazing to Andrew. Um, in the nomination proc process, this is similar to the thing the colleague said, Marty Reer is here tonight. He noted that Andrea loves
012her content, the peak of nerdom, is always seeking to expand our knowledge. And then he added that her use of professional development opportunities has enriched learning for the whole department. Matt Walquist, who's also here tonight, um shared that Andrea inspires me to be a better teacher because she brings a level of content knowledge and high expectation that pushes students to reach deep levels of learning. And then another Andrea at our school, Andrea Talbot, wrote, "She has more dedication and expertise in her field than most people I know, and she is so enthusiastic about sharing this with students." Andrea, you're consistently excellent in your work and you demonstrate a strong work work ethic, dedication, and expertise that far exceeds what is required. So, please join me in congratulating Andrea Thompson, our teacher. [applause] Thank you, Andrea.
013And congratulations. Way to go. Can we have everyone who is here supporting one of these four teachers please stand? [applause] >> [applause] >> Thank you for being here. We appre we recognize that it takes a village to support teachers when who are going above and beyond all that they um are expected to do. And so we appreciate all of you and and the help and support that you give our teachers as they affect I loved somebody I can't remember was it D who said um her room is not a room of compliance but a launchpad of opportunity and it said that's what every one of these teachers of the year sound like. Thank you so much for what you do. So, this is the end of our recognition uh part of our agenda. And if
014you want to leave, this is the best opportunity to go. We'll be moving into business. >> Yep. right across the street from my wife. That's very nice. >> So, the next favorite part of the board meetings for us is to hear our school reports. And this uh this evening we get to hear a school report on Lewon Elementary from Principal Troy Pugmire. And um so if you would come up to the podium that would be great. [cough] [clears throat] >> Well, if this preps you at all. My youngest daughter is here with me and she is not excited about this. So, >> she already says I'm not exciting presenter, I guess. I don't know. Here we go. >> I'm so sorry. >> No, I I convinced her I'll spoil her afterwards. >> Okay. >> That's
015right. That's right. All right. Our mission to provide all students with the opportunity to achieve their potential and to be successful in all aspects of life. The core values listen leopards are safe, kind, and responsible. Our environment, our school aims to create a supportive, engaging environment that fosters academic excellence and personal growth. All right, our demographics according to Power School. Now, some of you may know that it's how people click on things. So, these aren't all correct, but uh we have Hispanic 66, American Indian 59, Asian 2, African-American uh 8, Pacific Islander 3, white 437 eligible for free and reduced lunch is 186, special education, uh 69, limited English, 18, tribal affiliation 59. So, that's the one that we know is not accurate, but it's how people put it in. So, all right. Uh, our
016rise scores were great. Um, you can see the state, you're looking at the blue, dark blue is language arts was 43.3%. Uh, our districts, which was also fantastic, was 55.4. Our school was 59.3. Uh, on math, we had 44.1% as a state. the uh district had 62.5% and our school had a 74.5%. And then in science we uh again the state uh was 50 just over 50% uh our districts was just barely under 64% and we had a 70%. As we're going to uh comparison over years uh we have the 2023 24 compared to this last year 24 25 language arts we had 61% uh we went down just a little bit down to 59% in math. Uh we were at 67 just over that we went up to 74 just over 74%. And then
017of course in science as you can see we had a 65.7% we went up to 70.3. Um we also have our Acadians math scores here. Uh so you have the the district and then you have our school. So uh district was at in kindergarten 72.2 we were at 81.5. Uh first grade the district was at 60 and we were at 62.7. The district was at 70% and we were just below that 67. Our third grade as district was basically 70% and we at 87.3%. Which that team was just here that that third grade team is amazing team. They pull that off all the time. All right. Kaden's reading uh composite grade scores. Uh the the full day kindergarten has made a huge difference at our school. Uh we used to have low scores in kindergarten
018and really had to improve upon that. You can see our kindergarten scores uh with the kindergarten team. Our uh reading facilitators, our school support leader this year uh is doing an awesome job continuing that. You see uh that by far most of the kids were on grade level or above by the end of the year. uh first grade uh you still had that's about was that 70% approximately that were were above uh also second grade uh see there that we're at 60 80% same thing for third and you can see fourth grade is even better and then fifth uh fifth grade was also really good all right our uh student opportunities we have PBIS with Louis and leopards are safe, kind, responsible. We repeat that anytime we get together, the kids recite that anytime that
019there is a behavior or anything like that, we recite it and they tell us which area that that they violated and why. Works very well. Uh we have a schoolwide positive behavior plan that's working really well. Uh we draw tickets every Friday. Um the kids are around so they can hear the the drawings are rigged, but they don't know that. We make sure that everyone gets drawn out. Uh but they work really hard uh to earn those things. >> This is recorded. You know that, right? >> Oh, well hopefully the kids aren't listening so they don't hear that. So, but we make sure that every kid in the school gets strong. [clears throat] Uh and we do that every Friday and and the the kids work really hard to get those tickets. Uh we have
020a holiday sing along assembly that will be tomorrow and they always throw me under the bus. I always end up having to do something embarrassing. But uh fourth grade chick hatching research presentations which are great. Cash Valley uh cowboy rendevous every time they come. The outreach program comes to our school. Uh we also go on there. We had uh Sky Views choir come perform for our kids. I don't tell the other principles that usually cuz I don't want to share it, but uh we love being selfish having them to come to our school. We have the fifth grade Olympics has been there for many years and we have a a final fun day at the end of the year and a big run a mile run that the kids do. Uh parent and community opportunities.
021There's our PTA just changed to a PTO. They are amazing. Uh school our school community council was great and we appreciate Terry Rose cuz she's great at coming when she can. She does great there. We also do a ELLL family night. uh trying to help our ESL population and help them feel welcome at the school. We do a Veterans Day assembly. Uh we also do a food drive uh which we will pass that food out to families that are in our boundaries tomorrow. Uh we also have a literacy STEM night. That's a lot of fun. And then again, here's the dirt road dash at the end of the year, the race. Faculty and staff opportunities. There's PLC's that we do monthly. We had just created what we call a strive committee because we strive to
022improve all the time uh focused on the big five we allow teachers to improve uh on themselves and they set goals and they visit each other multiple times during the year. Again, the PBI schoolwide focus and as a as as whole staff, we do three different celebrations during the year as the kids earn that. Um that might be rigged too. But >> [laughter] >> uh it works really well for the kids. They just had a big doughnut day a couple weeks ago. Next time uh coming up about February, we'll do a minute to win it games and then we have another activity at the end of the year too. Uh we also have a wonderful school support leader who is here. Uh Megan Porsche does a fantastic job that has a been a big change
023and an asset for us. So, thanks superintendent for encouraging uh that position. It is a game changer. Uh school counselor who supports kids and helps with monthly lessons and just helping kids in need. Uh challenges uh you saw we have some amazing school scores, but our ELLL uh population, they're the ones that really struggle at our school. That's our biggest challenge is is is just getting to that population. that we are on TSI because of that population. We have uh a lot of students of that that population compared to other schools that are in resource and so those their scores count three times and so that is our biggest challenge that we're trying to uh overcome. So we're putting a lot of effort in that way. Uh we were this year just six students away
024from qualifying for title one. So especially our school community council is helping them. we're we can easily find those kids. We've been there before. So, uh but we really want to make sure that uh we qualify for our our title one funds. Uh poor tennis uh the intensity has improved a lot since uh what was going on a few years ago, but that's still focus of ours. And in fact, uh I just [snorts] delivered some popcorn for popcorn uh for attendance today to classes. That's what we're working on. The kids are highly motivated to get that with good attendance and we announce it over the end of calm. That's what they care about most. Then after that, it's the popcorn that they care about. So, and then a decline enrollment uh which isn't something we
025can really control, but uh uh that of course affects us because we have less kids right now in our our younger grades which will affect us going on up. So, any questions? >> I have one. So will you intro introduce us to your school support leader who is here with you? >> No, that's Megan Porette. >> Awesome. >> And um so you said that's a game changer having that position. Can you tell us just give us elaborate on that? >> I Yeah, that'll be easy. Uh I'll give you an example of this. This last week we had uh principal meeting trying to deal with transitions and stuff and as normal there were some behaviors and stuff. When I came back on Wednesday she had met with all those kids and contacted parents and had done
026I've never left the school and been able to have some of my work done. I always come back with oh boy here's my list. I'm going to spend half the day catching up on just those type of things. and she just takes that and and is running with it. She's still doing all the literacy stuff that we've needed before, but she's one that I can throw ideas to. In elementary, we have not had that. Uh we're just been an island. And so just been able to throw ideas to her and and it doesn't matter who you get there. I she is very capable. So I'm able to she's able to light my load a lot that way. Uh, so we meet every Monday morning, her, myself, and my secretary and just go over things coming
027up in the week and we tag team things and it's just been fantastic. [clears throat] And some of that's come from the training that superintendent paid for so we could have the training with the secretary and myself. So there's just a lot of good things happening right now. So >> that's awesome. That's so great to hear. Thank you for sharing. >> I have just a couple quick things. So, >> 45 years ago was my first experience in public education at Lewon Elementary. >> Oh, really? >> And 40 years ago, I was in uh the fifth grade Olympics. So, it's been around at least 40 years. And I'd say it's it's probably been around at least 45 years cuz I remembered it [screaming] every year at Lewon. So, it's awesome to see that that tradition carry
028on. The question I had for you, I was really impressed with the math scores. You were so much higher than the rest of the district. What is it that you're doing at Lewon Elementary that you feel is making a difference with those uh really incredible math scores? >> Okay. Some of this has come from uh past school support leaders I had and then leaning right up into what Megan's doing and the school being open to it. I've always wanted to have intervention for the kids. Usually that falls on the teachers which is really hard and we actually have uh like Megan oversees it and we have aids that go around whenever we do a tag meeting uh teachers will bring uh come saying hey we have concerns with this kid and reading or math or
029whatever and then from that meeting we'll get interventions and is making a huge difference and then our tier 2 we're being very strategic in how we use our tier 2 and So, we're actually being very specific on hitting kids in their their >> Thanks for coming, Carson. >> So, uh, and so that's what's making the biggest difference for us. >> I would just say from the employers in the community that are hiring engineers, they're grateful to you for helping get that skill in those kids at a young age. >> Oh, thanks. >> Because it's those kids in math that love it that are filling a lot of really great jobs. So, thanks for what you do. And there's a lot of self-fulfilling prophecy in with that because as the kids have some of those skills
030filled then they start feeling success and then they think that they're good at so then they perform better. So >> Yeah. Great. >> I just wanted to say congratulations on your scores increasing each year. That's really impressive. >> Yeah. Yeah. It's it's amazing staff out there. >> So as you know the school >> they get. So yep. Anything else? >> Anyone else have questions for principal pugmire? All right. Thank you so much for coming. We appreciate you being here. >> Uh, next on our agenda, we have and thank you for being here with him, Megan. >> And what's your daughter's name? >> Hannah. Thank you for coming with your dad. We appreciate you supporting him through this difficult presentation. I hope you get a significant uh prize for your sacrifice. Did he say no public
031input? >> Okay, no one has signed up for public input. So, we will move on to our consent agenda and I will take a motion to amend or approve the consent agenda as printed. >> I move that we approve the consent agenda. >> I second it. >> Thank you. It's been moved and seconded that we approve the consent agenda as printed. Any uh discussion to this motion? All right. Seeing none, we'll vote. Voting is closed and the motion to approve the consent agenda passes unanimously. >> Thank you, Jared. Uh, moving on, we are to our action agenda. The first item on our action agenda is a request for approval of the 2026 2027 school calendar. And I will take a motion for that. >> I move that we approve the 2026 2027 school calendar. >>
032Second. It's been moved and seconded that we approve this uh 202627 school calendar as presented by Tim Smith two weeks ago. Uh any discussion to this? All right, we'll vote electronically. Voting is closed and the motion to approve the uh 2026 27 school calendar passes unanimously. >> Thank you, Jared. Uh the last item on our action agenda is the final district financial audit report. This is the federal piece. For those of you who don't remember when Cody was here presenting the the single audit um we didn't have the federal piece there because of the government shutdown. So that's what this piece is and so I will take a motion for that. >> I move that we adopt the final district financial audit report for fiscal year 2025. >> I second it. It's been moved and
033seconded that we adopt the final district of financial audit report for fiscal year 2025. Any further discussion or questions on that one? All right, seeing none, we'll vote electronically. Voting is closed and the motion to approve the final district financial audit report for fiscal year 25 passes unanimously. >> Thank you Jared. That is a big relief I'm sure. Um moving on we are to our reports agenda and we'll turn the time over to Jared for the monthly financial report in November. Thank you, President Rhodess. A couple of things that I wanted to make the board aware of. Uh in terms of uh ongoing uh state audits that we're participating in, we have received results from the uh school land trust uh audit of rules of order and procedure. So each school has rules of order
034and procedure that have certain requirements. Uh with most schools, we we did just fine. There are a couple of schools that will need to um make some amendments and we'll get those turned in and then uh that audit should be wrapped up fairly soon. We also are in the middle of our um CTE audit. We've we've submitted all the data requested there. Same with our school food services audit. And then we've we've also received results from our title three audit. Uh everything looked good except that we will need to update our policy for time and effort reporting. The actual reporting of time and effort was totally fine. No problems. But our policy will it it's fairly brief and we're going to need to make that more robust to to meet uh new requirements there. So,
035we'll we'll work on that over the next month or two and have a a policy amendment to the board to to consider for that. Um, just today we published the uh popular annual financial report on our website. So, I'll send you a link to that so you can look at it if you'd like to. Um, but that's on our business services web page. We have all of our reports for the last several years and it's published on there and we'll work with uh Sherry and her group as well to get that um put on the website in a prominent place for for a few weeks so that people in the public can review that as well. And that's what I wanted to share unless there are any questions. >> Any questions for Jared? Thank you
036very much for that report, Jared. Uh, next on our reports agenda, we have board member reports. Anyone have something to report from recent activity? Let me just share something. We shared in an email. Um, there was the the accident that we had a couple weeks ago with the students and I just want to say publicly how impressed I was with the district in handling handling that very sensitively and carefully and lovingly. And I can't imagine how hard that was for the parents and families who went through that. And um I know Ridgeline and Mountain Crest both had students uh involved in that and they did just such a great job. So superintendent and district leaders, I really applaud uh what you did. At the end of the day, you know, we care about these kids
037and that was a really tough situation uh for a lot of families. So just well done. I think that also goes along with the young man at at um Canyon who had the peanut reeler allergy and passed away. That's got to be tragic for them and thank you for helping that school get through that. >> Thank you. Any other board member reports? All right, board president report. I just want to thank you all. this being the last meeting of 2025. Thank you each of you for your diligent work on this board through all of the easy times and the hard times. Um it's it's uh it can be challenging, but it's also very rewarding and I appreciate the opportunity to work with each one of you. Thank you, >> Superintendent. >> Yes, I too want
038to thank the board for your support. Um we're reaching a I think an important milestone this year. You've heard me say many times that um districts often take on big change, but rarely do you see a district to take on so much large change as we are taking on this year with the new schools they're being built, the shifting of programs, the realignment of grade levels. Um, and there's just a lot of moving pieces and a lot of opportunity um to to stumble along the way. And it's due to the work of a lot of incredible people uh that we are approaching a milestone where we're hoping to be able to get word out to 516 teachers next month um about shifts and placements. Uh if you think about that 516 out of approximately 1100
039teachers are shifting or being placed or reassigned a lot of that work is due to to Jared who did an incredible job working with our projected enrollments for next year. Uh they're really tentative and it's really hard at this time of the year to get firm numbers. uh but he has been able to provide us with some guidance uh there to Alden who did an incredible job with school choice because changes in school choice affect those enrollment numbers and impact how we start to place teachers to Tim who did an incredible job of trying to honor uh teacher preference and teacher voice in this whole process at the same time trying to maintain the expectation that we're going to minimize as as as few changes as possible so we're not being disruptive of every school
040and that we're trying to maintain some equity across all schools. You know, to both John and Derek who did an incredible job working with principles who have been part of this process all along as we've tried to sort through and make critical decisions to Sherry and her team who have worked really hard to continually stay up and communicate and that's been a real challenge as things have continued to evolve and change almost um by the moment. Uh but she's done an incredible job of trying to communicate clearly to our constituents. You know, to Britney who did incredible job of working through and aligning sixth grade curriculum, working through the DLI committee. She was an important part of this process. And I would also give a huge c uh shout out to Don Adams who is
041the newest member of our team. I sat through a meeting this morning or this afternoon around transition and he has been able to put together a 150page playbook to help us through all the nuances of the change to think through you know moving teacher um materials, school materials, CTE tech. Um just an incredible job. We still have a lot to do in the this next semester going into the spring. Uh but we're well situated and it's due to these people and their incredible work. So I'm I'm grateful to them. Uh last, I wish everyone the merriest and happiest of the holiday season. I believe everyone deserves a little little time to recover and spend it with loved ones. So merry Christmas. That's my report. >> Thank you, Superintendent. Uh we have reached the end of
042our regular agenda and um uh we'll be moving into an executive session as a of a strategy session to discuss the purchase exchange or lease of real pop real property. Um so I will take a motion to move into uh close session. >> I move that we move into close session. >> Second. It's been moved and seconded that we enter into a closed session. Any discussion to that? Okay. We'll vote uh individually by voice. >> Yes. [clears throat] >> Yes. >> Do you need a slap on the back? >> All right. We'll move into close session. And I've asked Don and John and Tim to join us.