May 27 2025 Jordan School District Board of Education - Live Stream

001Welcome to the board of education meeting. Uh my name is Nikki George. I'm the board president. Um today is Tuesday, May 27th, 2025. Present with me are all board members um as well as our superintendent Dr. Anthony Godfrey, our associate superintendent, Dr. Michael Anderson, our business administrator, Mr. John Larson, and our board attorney, Mr. Paul Vanman. We will go ahead and get started with a review of our gifted and talented evaluation report. We'll invite Miss Carolyn Goff and Miss Rebecca Smith up to the table. Thank you. We are happy to be here. Um, we haven't talked a lot about uh our gifted and talented programs in Jordan School District for a while. And one of the expectations of our most recent application uh funds that come from USB has asked us to have an opportunity

002to visit with you and to share a little bit about how those funds are being spent. And so we've provided um a few slides. You'll have them in board docs there. And I'm going to turn the time to Rebecca Smith to take us through those slides just to give the board an update on how things are going in Jordan. Thank you, Carolyn, and thank you, Board of Education. Good afternoon. It's very nice to be here. As Carolyn said, we receive a grant from the Utah State Board of Education. It's called the Enhancement for Accelerated Students Grant. And part of that grant application requires us to outline how the funds will be spent. It also, as Caroline said, requires us to um give a review to you as well. approximately $350,000 is um is the grant

003total each year. It does fluctuate from year to year, but for the past few years, it's been right around $350,000. A full summary of the narrative that comes directly from the grant application can be found at that link. So, if you wanted to read the full summary of the narrative from the um the actual application, you're certainly welcome to do that. Um tonight, we'll share some highlights of how the grant supports gifted talented education in Jordan School District. Specifically, we'll talk about the ALPS program or the advanced learning placement for students program. Um, professional development for all teachers and then enrichment opportunities for all students. Before we get to those three areas though, we just wanted to make note that our purposes are tied directly to Jordan's strategic plan. In particular, the high quality instruction

004for all students and opportunities for every learner. This is the mission statement that we have on our website. And you'll see that our mission statement also ties directly to the strategic plan and the portrait of the graduate. And this mission statement really drives all the work that we do. It's the our objectives and our purpose. So, we strive to have opportunities for all students to extend their learning. Um, targeted services for identified students, and that of course goes to the Alps program, but also to all students who need that little extra that differentiation no matter what school they're in. Um, ongoing professional development both for Alps teachers and for teachers in Jordan School District. Engaging learning environments for all students that include real world applications. And of course we our objective is to have universal

005access to all of those um types of education all of those um all that the strategic plan outlines and all that we as in our objectives for all students no matter where they attend school. So first of all we'll talk a little bit about the ALPS program. Again that's an acronym for the advanced learning placement for students. The Alps program is a long-standing program in Jordan school district. It's been in Jordan School District for over 30 years and it is designed to meet those um unique learning needs of those students who would benefit by a different pace or some going into depth within with um with a content or having a little extra challenge. And um we test for every grade every year. We do have some key entry grades for kindergarten to fifth grade.

006It's by application. So we advertise in multiple ways and then parents who want those uh or seeking those opportunities for students then they complete the application and then we do the testing and the identification process from there. In sixth grade we do do a universal testing and that is where we test all students in sixth grade and then we actually send out invitations for students to participate in the middle schools. Um our grant supplements the cost of the testing licenses and the testing proctors. Um, we also provide ongoing professional development for teachers on all levels in the Alps program. And our grant provides the substitutes, stipens, um, inservice rate pay for after hours PD. Um, and those professional development opportunities also allow us opportunity for the Alps teachers to collaborate with each other to meet

007in PLC's and to work with each other to um, refine their practice as well. And then our grant also provides supplemental resources for the Alps classrooms to help meet the objectives of the Alps program. Um, just of note, the schools that currently house the Alps program in Jordan School District include Jordan Hills, Riverton, and Westland elementary schools and then Elkridge, Hidden Valley, and Jolie Jensen middle schools. We usually have between about 900 and a thousand students in the Alps program at any given time. It looks like our numbers this year will land at right around 950. So, um, of course, when you think about gifted and talented programming in Jordan School District, you think about the Alps program, and it is a large part of what we do, but it's not the only thing we

008do. Um, as stated in our mission statement, um, we are looking for opportunities for all students and to help support all teachers. One of the ways that we did this this year with professional development for all teachers um with the implementation of wit and wisdom, a large part of witten wisdom is to have a lot of classroom discussions to have socratic seminars and to have um small classroom discussions that build up to those Socratic seminars. And those rigorous classroom discussions and Socratic seminars have long been a key strategy in gifted and talented education. And so we wanted to help support the implementation of WIT and wisdom. So we collaborated with our English language arts staff and also our social studies staff in teaching and learning and we asked them to partner with us to develop

009a professional development opportunity that we could provide with our funding and we called it sparking minds transform your teaching with engaging questions socratic seminars and dynamic dialogue. We ended up um offering about 30 sessions last fall and um we offered it to all teachers in grades K through six and then to all ELA or English language arts teachers and social studies teachers in the middle school and we really enjoyed um doing that. We really enjoyed working with our peer with our colleagues in teaching and learning and we really enjoyed meeting teachers from all over the district with that professional development. Um and every session of those more than 30 sessions we tied what we were doing to the strategic plan and to the portrait of the graduate. As you can see um those Socratic seminars

010and those uh rich discussions foster curious thinkers and empathetic communicators. Um, another way that we offer professional development for all teachers in Jordan School District is we teach gifted talented teaching endorsement classes. These are 500 level classes that we teach in partnership with Southern Utah University. We offer them right here in Jordan School District free of charge to Jordan School District teachers. Can be used for college credit and also of course for salary placement credit. And um of particular note, most of the participants in our GT endorsement classes are general education teachers who are looking to um enrich their curriculum and differentiate for their advanced learners. And we really enjoy teaching those classes, my team and I. And we really enjoy working with teachers from all over the district with those classes. We also offer

011other professional development offerings for all teachers in Jordan district. Right now we have two self-paced Canvas classes on Canvas catalog. One is the art of quality questioning and the other one um goes into a framework with how to teach with depth and complexity. We also offer sitebased professional development for when principles request us to come to their schools and PLC support. And that's also one of our favorite things to do and again those are for all teachers, all students, all schools. Um another thing that we do and the last thing that we'd like to highlight today is um enrichment opportunities for all students. part of our grant um talks about having um funding for academic competitions and of course that is widescale on the high school level but not as much on the elementary or

012middle school level but there are some things that we do to support um opportunities like that on the middle school and elementary level. One is STEM fair. We partner with our STE um science specialist in teaching and learning and help provide funding for the Jordan district STEM fair and then also funding. Oh, I need to actually I'm going to step back just a moment and read the or share these and then go to and then go on to STEM fair. So STEM fair, history day, debate, storyw weavers, monster math and math Olympian and math tournaments are some of those opportunities that we offer for all students. So now for STEM fair. So, uh, we partner again with our teacher our science specialist in teaching and learning and we provide funding from our grant to, um,

013help them run the Jordan School District STEM fair and then also help with busing to take students to the Central Utah STEM Fair at BYU. And this picture is from um, the Central Utah STEM Fairfare at BYU this year. Um, our science specialist told me that um, Jordan District took about a third of the awards at the Utah Central STEM Fair at BYU this year. Um, another one is History Day. History Day isn't quite as known what it is about, but it is a national organization that has an annual theme and then students choose anything in history that appeals to them that connects with that theme and then they share their learning in various ways. There's five different ways that they can share their learning. Um, one of the ways is to do a information

014board similar to a STEM fair type board. So, I've shared a few pictures of those with you this evening. And, um, again, we support teachers in their efforts to share this with our students. We also support busing to the regional and state tournaments and competitions. So, this is one example that was submitted this year to history day that went on to the regional competition. And these are two others that were submissions this year from Jordan School District for history day. And then um we also provide debate opportunities. Uh this is really fun to see sixth grade students uh all dressed up sharing their speeches. Uh and we provide um support for the teachers who choose to do debate with their students. And then we also sponsor and facil facilitate two debate meets, one for elementary

015and one for middle school students. We also provide stipens to the teachers um to who come to those competitions with their students and of course awards for the top debaters and top speakers. Um math olympiads and math tournaments is the last one that we wanted to highlight this evening. Math Olympiads comes from the MOM's organization which is Math Olympiads for elementary and middle schools and it is a year-long competition that is done at the site level and so we um help with the registration for the schools who participate with that and um that runs from about October to March and then at the end of the year in April and May we sponsor um culminating math tournaments. This picture here is from our mouth tournament at Daybreak Elementary. And um it is so fun to

016watch those kids work together. There's an individual portion, then a team portion. And it's just a really fun day to watch those kids who love math just be able to just bask in math all day long. So, um this is the uh this is the element or excuse me, the middle school tournament from this year. We hold that at the ASB and we just started that tournament a couple of years ago and we've done that in collaboration with the math department in teaching and learning and it's been fun to watch that tournament grow. This is um this picture comes from or this picture is the are the two math teams that Hidden Valley brought to the tournament this year. I love how they've put a little halo over their teacher and their coach right there

017in the middle. And they were one of our top teams this year. One of their teams was one of the top teams this year in the math tournament. I couldn't decide which pitchers to bring on these, so I had to bring them all. Uh, every year we really look forward to the t-shirts that the students come to the math tournaments with because they always make us smile. And I probably should have narrowed it down to two slides, but I couldn't. So, so here they are. Math is the only subject that counts. Um, this one to the man who invented zero thanks for nothing. Come to the math side. We have pi and then what part of this? Don't you understand? Why is it that math has more puns than any other subject? That's so true.

018They do the math. They do the monster math. Okay, go back. Go back. Yes. Speaking of puns. Oh, and then this one, Matthew on the subject where you can buy 64 watermelons and no one asks why. And then we divide and conquer. So those are some of our favorite days of the year to hold these tournaments and to see the students come with their coaches and to see all the smiles there. So our last slide is just a thank you. Um there are many hands that contribute to the opportunities and services that um fall under that gifted and talented umbrella. There's parents who bring their their students to the Alps schools and spend a lot of time in cars doing that but do so gladly. the principles that have the Alps program in their um

019schools and also the principles who help us. Um Leslie Yil over at Daybreak um they always host the math tournament and she and her staff work with other schools in the area and the district office to bring in all those tables so that we can have those math tournaments. counselors, psychologists, teacher specialists, various departments, administrative assistants, Kimmel Carter, administrative assistant. As you can imagine, with all that we do for the Alps program and all that we do for professional development and the enrichment activities, there are a lot of parts and pieces that need to be put in place to be able to execute all of that. And she just does a wonderful job for us. And so, we're very grateful for all of those who lend a hand to make what we do possible. and

020we thank you very much for your support of gifted and talented education in Jordan School District. Thank you. Are there any questions from board members? Um I have a couple a couple years ago when we were moving Alps out of Jordan Ridge and moving it um to was it which Jordan Hills? Yeah, I had forgotten. Um, I called around the different districts and different districts do Alps different than us and they kind of do an Alps in every school approach. And it seems like when we were testing sixth graders, a lot more kids qualify, but not too many are interested, especially in my area, are interested in tracking their kids across the district. What's the barriers that expands our EL program? Is it a lack of interest? Is it a lack of money? uh is

021it you know what are the barriers to giving more kids opportunities in this? So um there's a few facets to my answer. Um first of all with the Alps program a a magnet type program. Um most of the districts on the Wasatch front do have a magnet type program. Some of the districts namely Granite and Salt Lake district also have um sitebased programs that are called cluster programs. And so they have a cluster of their higher students in every grade level have be in one class and then that teacher can address the needs as a group rather than individuals in every class. I think there's a lot of pros and cons to a cluster model. Um, as far as a magnet program, it's it's would be hard to duplicate the the services in a magnet

022program in every school because a lot of what happens in a magnet program is the pacing and um the supplementary curriculum that um because of all the students in an Alps type program or a magnet type program being identified and having gone through that identification process, the teacher is able to go at a faster pace and go deeper into that curriculum. And so, um, well, I certainly agree that, um, services are needed at every school and I and, um, to another part of your question, um, I believe that most parents would love to have more services at the local level because, um, it's life is busy. There's traffic is very congested right now and and so more services at the local level is something that I think that most parents are seeking and and that

023is one of the reasons why we don't have as as much interest as we might have in the Alps program if the ALPS program was uh in more centrally located places in the district locations in the district I should say. So I mean we talked about at that time at least maybe doing a one magnet for each feeder. I mean it's nearly impossible to ever get out of Heramman. And to do that every day to take your kid to school is is a heroic feat. And I know a lot of people that would be in it if the program was nearer to us. Yes. I I I feel a few calls every year from families who are wondering if we would have a a program in Herman. do in in order to begin a new

024program of course you would have to have space for that program and our schools are also very full in Harerman and any other comments of that from superintendent or from good news we have three schools on the watch list of losing students so we now have room in Haramman yeah I think uh in addition to the traffic it's a lift because students don't want to leave their friends leave their school so even though the cluster approach approach might not be it. What we did do at Jordan Ridge when we moved Alps out is we had a specialist there that would help provide support to teachers. So the I think the the key is that we don't just say hey we should offer this which is not what anyone here is saying and then not provide

025the support or the the professional development to do that. And so it's it's complex to make all of your teaching adapt adapt all of your teaching to meet those diverse needs. There's a lot of of uh personalized learning that's already going on, but we're talking about students who are uh very advanced. So I I I think that more resources would allow for different models to be put in place. the board has expanded the number of um at least secondary options and has provided busing and provided specialists. So um we can there are great things going on as you can see but we took some of the busing away too I think because we took we reduced some of the busing because it wasn't being used and that's the other so when you say when you

026say what are the obstacles one obstacle is transportation but sometimes even if you can get a ride even if it's easy you just don't want to have to receive that instruction at a school other than your neighborhood school but you may want to do it in a feeder system school like but that gets it closer that reduces the the uh the the negative impact of having to leave your school if it's close by. And well, a cluster of parents who are interested in this, would they approach it like we do our dual language immersion where they go to their um school community council meetings and start asking for it? How would they go about getting a program if they wanted to get one closer? Well, we wouldn't want to put that out there unless we

027were ready to I'm not putting that out there. Perfect. But I do get No, no, no. We talk about I'm just saying we wouldn't want to formally offer that unless we were ready to put the resources in place to train teachers and make that available every time. This will sound negative and it will turn into a positive. Every time we offer another option, another choice within a school, it takes more resources and it adds a layer of complexity that sometimes requires a greater level of staffing. DLI is one of those examples. It's a great program, but the number of students that you have being distributed into more different kinds of classes. You don't just have K6. Now you have K6 and then another strand of K6 that is dual immersion or 1 through six. Now

028with that added complication sometimes class sizes are off, staffing is off and you need to add resources to do that. So if we wanted to put it out there, first of all we would need to make sure we had the resources to provide a robust program. Second of all, it's different from DLI and that you don't simply apply and you're chosen based on a lottery. It really would be an application process based on some assessments that are done to determine whether that is the proper placement for a student. The board stepped up and offered and we we offered to have every sixth grader tested and we found out that we have a lot of kids and we have done zero in moving the needle to allow more options since I've been on the board. And

029so that's like I just think we're missing something. Were you you you did expand the secondary locations to one to every two feeders, right? And we added special one well one to every three and you did add the specialist. So that's worth it's short of the ideal that you have described, but it would be inaccurate to say that you haven't done anything. You you you you moved the needle and you moved forward with more opportunities. But I would say that even if students test and qualify, they may decide not to participate because they have to leave their school in order to do so. Is that accurate? Yes, that is that is accurate. We send um about 600 um invitations to students to participate in the middle school and about a third of them accept those

030invitations for the schools because most of them again want those resources at their neighborhood school. they want they don't want to leave their friends and um so there there is a need there is an interest but um as superintendent said there's many families who wish to stay with their with their neighborhood peers and and in their neighborhood and their local schools. Can I ask what I what I picture once you get to a secondary setting is um advanced class offerings. Why would you want a magnet school for secondary students? When you say secondary students, are you referring to middle school students? Um there there aren't as many advanced class options in the middle schools. Um in the seventh and eighth grade and seventh and eighth grade um in Alps, those are there there are some

031schools that um offer advanced options plus Alps. Um and some every school is different in what they're offering and so but Alps does offer those advanced options in seventh and eighth grade. Um it's specific to English language arts, social studies and science and then math. The math placement is completely separate. Um it works with the math department for the um students and families work with the math department for the math placement. So it does provide those advanced options for those three areas. So, I'm just going to throw out something crazy here, but if we are working to increase the number of advanced class offerings at local middle schools, would that meet the needs to the point that we could defer the funds that are now going to middle schools for advanced placement into um our

032elementarymentaries and get them a little closer to home? Like, do we need both? I guess is my real question. At the middle school level, uh I I wouldn't be the one to completely answer that question, but we would certainly be glad to help support anything that the board and the district determines. In that regard, I'll ask uh these two to give more detail, but it's a different track from honors and AP. It actually you end up taking classes at a more rapid rate. And when you get to the high school, if you are in an Alps program, you're actually genuinely accelerated to where you have more credits and you have passed classes that normally a sophomore would have taken. So it is a distinct track. So we're giving them high school credit as middle school

033students in nth grade. Yes. Ninth grade is a high school student. Right. So I don't know if I followed that. Students who come into really slow no student. That's a great question. students that come through the Alps program will come into as 10th graders taking 11th grade English. Okay. And I think also like um well I remember that they also nth graders would be in secondary to math also which is what people usually take in yeah 10th grade. So I guess my question is we're already offering those classes maybe not for those students but we're already offering those classes. So, couldn't they just take that class at their local school be on that track? That's a good question. Where she is pointing out is that specifically in grades seven and eight and seven and eight,

034that's where they it's it's been a little bit we don't have a lot of offerings to have them skip forward until they are able to take those ALPS classes. that is what actually projects them and propels them on this path to get into those higher placements later on. So seventh and eighth grade is is really kind of a key area where there aren't AP classes, there aren't concurrent classes, there aren't, you know, specialized CTE classes that move students forward and that's where the ALPS classes really do the bulk of the work for those grades. Now, there might be an an honors class or some offerings like that. Um, but in this situation where she's talking where students have tested, we're talking about probably the the 5 to 10% of the students that are are probably

035even beyond our honors classes. So, this is different than I know we have a math track that says, okay, you take a test at the end of sixth grade. Now you're going to take eighth grade honors in seventh grade and then you just jump forward in that way. It's not like a special Alps program, but students are just taking they skipped a step. So they're advanced and receiving higher level classes by the time they get to high school. How is this different than that? That does exist as an option for math, but and we have in the past done that skipping part. Now we have tried to go back and actually make it more like what she's talking about where it's an accelerated path where students are doing two grades in one. So students that

036were participating perhaps they could they have choices they could go into um the 78 combo math class uh because before when they were skipping the whole entire class itself they were skipping important core steps. So now we've tried to make it more like the Alps program where it's accelerated. So you have a seven and eight that is taught at the same time and that's a very rigorous class and if students can do that 78 together um or if they want to even demonstrate competency and are able to demonstrate that they know that they're able to move forward and that is available to more students than just ALP students. um it's just primarily in English there are not as many options in science there's not as many options but math does have some options like that

037and so I think to your to answer your question you know would it be possible to divert more resources that we're currently spending I think the majority of the money that comes from this grant is actually spent in elementary uh we aren't expending that many dollars of this grant in our middle levels but definitely in an attempt to help with some of these um probably the greatest amount is the is the the programs that you saw the the tournament opportunities which are available to all students because the resources in classes um are are happening those things are happening and are available to to a lot of other students but being able to test and being able to provide that test to students to see where they fall that is a that that is a resource

038that takes time but I'll still um suggest that the majority of that funds is spent K6 Did we answer your question? Yes. Enough for now. Okay. Can I ask a quick question? Um, so those enrichment opportunities, um, is that left to the teachers to implement, saying, "Oh, I want to do the math monsters, you know, because you say that it's available to all students, but I don't recall seeing an opportunity at my child's school for that." and I know he'd be interested in fun math activities. So, how how is it offered to every student or is it up to the teacher or the principal to implement at that school? It is up to the teacher and the principal to implement and we provide support if if teachers are interested then we provide support to those

039to the teachers. Okay. I was also curious um do we have a wait list for kids to get into Alps? We do on the elementary level and actually on the middle school level too. we've began um we now have a wait list at two of our schools. Um the wait list for the middle school is not very long and the wait list for the elementary is also not enough that would um necessitate a a complete other class. There's usually a few from each of the schools who uh for each of the three schools, let me rephrase that. families who would like Jordan Hills and Jord and Wesland and Riverton are on the waiting list and so it's not enough of any one school that would necess necessitate a second class. Um while those kids are

040waiting is there anything that we can do for them at their local school? Yes. In fact, um one of our teacher specialists, that's one of her primary responsibilities, um to go to when we when by when by request, sometimes by parents, sometimes by principal, sometimes by teachers to go to the school and um work with the teacher with some strategies that will help keep that those students learning and growing. Ultimately, that's ends up being what the teacher does as well, but we do offer those supports. And just to add to that, you know, her slides that talked about specifically the professional development for all teachers, the hope is that they're differentiating for students that they see like if students already know the curriculum, what do we do if they've already learned it? That is a

041common question that we ask teachers to ask in their PLC's, what do we do for students who have already learned this material? So we hope that the training that we're providing for all teachers would help them to first of all identify that that's happening with students and then second what are what is every teacher doing within their classroom space to say these kids already know this how do I move them further along programs like walk to read where we have students who are engaged in trying to catch up with reading what are the students doing that already get it that's definitely part of what our specialists are working with teachers to understand and to move other teachers forward in that process of differentiation. That's great. And I was happy to see that all the teachers

042have the opportunity to to learn those extra skills. So, thank you. And and to the earlier question about our middle schools, the only other cost is one FTE for each of the middle schools that has Alps so that they are able to staff. It's kind of like what I described when you add another layer of complexity. Sometimes you just need the flexibility of staffing to offer more varied classes. So So one FTE per school or per subject document. Per school. Per school. So that you can offer an extra section of this or an extra section of that. With elementary, you have to have one through six. So you have to have six teachers that are dedicated to Alps at each elementary site. But at the middle school sites, you're able to use partial FTE and

043say, "Okay, you teach one or two or three classes of Alps." So they're able and it's not it doesn't cover all of the classes because those classes are funded by the fact that there are students in them, but sometimes you have to have a smaller class in order to offer those distinct classes within the schedule. So it makes it easier to do that. So this was very informative for me this presentation. Thank you for all the information. And I share the general sentiment that I've heard today which is really wanting to challenge every student and help them to reach their potential. So, where my mind keeps going on this is how well are we reaching all of these eligible elementary students and what do next steps look like? Are we content with where we are?

044What do you need from the board? I I'm really curious what's next for us? And along with that is what about these elementary school students who maybe their parent doesn't apply. Does the teacher ever initiate outreach to parents or initiate and say here's a student who could use more challenge like was described? One of the things that we do in the fall is we send a flyer to all teachers in elementary schools. And the flyer has some key characteristics to look for for those outlying students. And then we also send uh a paper that has four passalong cards that they can cut out. And we do this both in English and in Spanish. So during that first parent conference, the teachers can say, you know, we might be interested in the Alps program. It might

045be beneficial for your student. and give them that pass along card that has our website and a link to the application and and our contact information on it. So, that's one of the ways that we advertise um from the universal testing that we do in sixth grade and we can with confidence say that that could be duplicated in other grades. We know that um we have many many students who would qualify for ALPS at high levels who do choose to stay in their elementary schools or in their local schools. And so of course we would want to meet those needs wherever they are. Um as Caroline said the PLC process and looking at that fourth question, the walk to read program, those are ways that those needs can be met. And um I believe the

046new curriculum that's been introduced in the past few years with wit and wisdom and now with open up math I believe that those programs will al those um curricula the curriculum for those programs will also be beneficial because they um they increase the rigor for all students and um provide more opportunities for that depth of thought and that um deep questioning as well. So, those are some of the ways that um those are some of the things that are in place, but it is always something that we're looking at because we do know that there are many many students out there and we would love to keep all of them learning and growing and having a productive year. On along the lines of the sixth sixth grade uh test, when is it administered? It's administered

047generally in November. The it's it's um we open the window at the end of October and then it closes the first part of December. So bulk the bulk of the testing is in November. So as a board member, I'm looking for recommendations from administration or for you on what what would be a great next step. Would you recommend earlier testing of elementary students? Would you recommend more locations? Are we to a point to have that discussion or are we good with where we are? uh we aren't good with where we are, but we're pleased with all of the great efforts that are being done by the people who are in place with the with the direction and the movement that I've learned about tonight with the resources we have. I have a great level of

048confidence that we're making a lot of those opportunities. We have wonderful specialists and consultants in place. We have great Alps teachers have great students, parents, great uh teachers who are choosing to provide these opportunities and to get the extended learning that's available to be sure they're differentiating for their students. So by saying that I would love to do more, that's not taking away from any of those efforts. things are happening every day, all the time to make sure we're meeting the needs of advanced learners. Every anytime we have other opportunities and resources though, we can expand that. We can bring it closer to the neighborhood school and and bring it closer to the neighborhood school helps us overcome the hurdles that Mr. Robinson described. That's really it. We have students who are advanced. We have

049educators who want to provide a great experience every time for every kid. So, how do we make that match up? And the more resources we have, the better we're able to do that. So, if the board wanted us to come back uh with some ideas, even some different stages for how we could expand that. Um, we would be happy to come back with some ideas. Um, we it's not that we I I think this shows that we're making the most of the resources that we have. And you can always continue to work on professional development, but for broad change, more resources are needed. I don't want to make it sound like, well, as long as we have more money, we can do more things. We we're always working to see how we can do better

050and better. But I think to see a a a sea change rather than incremental shifts, the next step would be to say how would you use this much? Or you can either say if we had this much, how would you use it? Or you can say we would like to provide something in every feeder for middle school students and elementary students to have dedicated programs. What would that cost? So you can go either direction. This is our goal. What would it take? This is what we have available. What could you do? I think you could take either path. Okay. Thank you. Would you agree with that or would you say that another way? I would I absolutely do and I think that was better spoken than I could, but just basically yes. What are I

051mean we have the ideas that are available. It's just dependent upon what the board would like to see us do. I'd personally like to see us expand it at least at the elementary level to have Alps in every feeder system. And I speak as a kid who fell through the cracks because I was underchallenged. And so because I was underchallenged, I became a behavior problem. And I thought I was dumb because I was smart and nobody ever could point that out. And so it took until I got to college before I figured out that I was actually brighter than I thought. But had they had an Alps program and challenged me a little bit, I my story could be way different. And so at I just calculated from my house, the three elementaryaries are seven

052or eight miles away. You know, that just to me a program this valuable at least we ought to have one in every feeder system at the elementary level. And then if we have I I never want a kid turned away. So, if we have a waiting list, my next question would be how many are we turning away? Are all those weight list kids getting in? But you don't have to tell me that today. But I'd like to see more resources in the Alps program. That might that that information might help us understand where to prioritize the next one if the board approves for the resources. Right. I know a lot of people in my community have just given up on the program because they're not interested to drive to Riverton. It's a hard drive and

053especially with the traffic problems that we have getting in and out of our city. So, I don't know. I I just feel sorry that kids could qualify for this, but they don't. They would go to their neighborhood school like we do in DLI if the neighborhood school or the the cluster school if the cluster school is closed. But I just don't know if they want to go across the district. But anyways, you know my feeling. Alps in every feeder. Can I summarize what I thought I heard just to make sure that I heard it correctly? So having cluster classrooms at each school, while it may be convenient for families and provide more access, would not be your recommendation? Uh it would there are pros and cons to it and so I think it would uh

054require a thoughtful and consider um a very thoughtful um conversation with that to outline what are some of the benefits and what's what are some of the challenges and have many eyes look at that look at the benefits and the challenges to a cluster type program. While we don't want to rule that out, I think we could find some creative ways to organize classes in a way that wouldn't draw all advanced students into one, but could still meet their needs at every school. That's what Granite does. I think that they have one at every school. They put them on one class and back fill it with other kids and then they pull them out like we would for remediation. They pull the gifted kids out. I'm not saying their way is the best, but I

055don't know. I just hope I hope kids aren't missing opportunities. I had one more question. Uh so a student we pay for every student to take a test in sixth grade. How does a student um qualify prior to sixth grade? Does a parent have to seek that out? Do we send out a suggestion to a parent that maybe they look into it? How does that work? So yes, it is by parent application and um we do send information to the teachers and ask them to pass along information to the parents. We also put a flyer with information in peach jar and we also send home a hard copy flyer in Spanish and in English to every student in elementary. And we also hold multiple parent information meetings, some in person, some over Zoom, so parents

056who are interested can can learn a little bit more about the program. We did a one-time third grade testing years ago. All third graders we tested, didn't we? Proving that years ago, uh that I believe that was for the sixth grade. We haven't done a universal test with with the elementary ages up to my knowledge that since I've been in this position. I could have sworn we did a I thought we did too. I thought we did a great when I came on and we did that study the book study. There was a recommendation from the study that the board asked us to do several years ago. The recommendation was to do a universal testing at a few different um time periods. Um the one that we have been doing is with the sixth grade

057and that stemmed from when the ALPS program was moved from Ochre Hills Middle School to Joel P. Jensen in those discussions that was when um the universal testing was suggested and then approved by the board. Do we remember why it was sixth grade how that was chosen? That was because of the the middle school program. It had been at Ochre Hills for many many years and then with due to the multiple boundary changes a few years back um the program needed to move from Ochre Hills and so it was going to move to Joel P. Jensen but the parents in the south end of the valley asked if we could please have a program both in the north and the south end of the valley. We're working with Mike Anderson at the time and one

058of the recommendations was to do universal testing to look at the need and then to make a decision from there. And so we did the testing that year and we've been doing it ever since. And um then we send and that was when the middle school options were expanded to three schools instead of one school. And um since then we've been doing that universal testing at sixth grade and then sending invitations to families. So the purpose was to to get students right before they went into middle school. Yes. Yes. too. The the original purpose was to assess the the need and who how many students we would have that would qual in those qualifying ranges and um and then see and just take a look and see about expanding the programs at the middle school

059level which was the outcome with that. Okay. We don't have resources for families whose students get like they take the universal test, they get in, but the parents both work, they can't drive their kid to the we don't have any resources to provide to those families. So, um it depends on the middle school that they attend and so um there, um so depending on the middle school that they attend, there's the resources that are in that middle school. So there's always the advanced math option if they're if math is their forte and something that they're interested in and then um we do have the resources at the school and again we're happy to support any re any teacher request at the school as well but it would just largely depend on the school itself. Is

060there any way or are we flagging students I guess so that if they can't get to an Alps program, their local counselor sees that they are good at these areas and can help encourage them and the parents to be like, "Hey, they did well on this app Alps test. We encourage you to take these classes to help challenge them." Do we do things like that? We have not done um we have not done that thus far. It is something that we could certainly take a look at doing. There have been a few instances um particularly with students who are multil- language learners who um I've noticed that they have some very high scoring in certain areas that I have contact the counselor and just said hey I just want you to be aware of this

061student and um be aware of these skills that we're seeing on this assessment and keep them in your scope. Um so I have done that personally with a few students but we haven't done it on a large scale. One one question. Yes. Do we know or do you know what the total budget allocation is for gifted and talented? How much is the district spending across the board for gifted and talented stuff? All the stuff that was in this presentation. Um the so most that we gave in the alloc in the presentation was from the was from the budget that we or the grant that we get from um the USB. Um however there are some elements that the district pays for. Dr. Godfrey spoke of the FTE the additional FTE that we give to the

062middle schools and um Dr. Godfrey or Carolyn would you like to address that? It didn't seem possible to do all that with 350,000. So that's why we don't ask there are a number of salaries that do come from a district budget that take care of uh several people that are paid for a couple of our specialists um consultant uh the FTE that he spoke of and then we also help with the cost even though partly it is paid for out of that grant we also help with the cost of the universal testing. So, I would have to take those pieces and of course it changes depending on the person that's in the role, but um we could take those pieces and we could add them up and find out a total. Yeah, that would be

063helpful for me if we if I understood how much we're currently spending on gifted and talented just in general. Is that too big of an ask? We can pull that together and we'll email the whole board that information. Be helpful for me if in addition to that we could say this is what it costs to fund an elementary program. This is what it costs to fund a middle school program. Yeah, we can do that. Thank you. Part of that will include an estimate of how much additional FTE is used at the elementary level. Mostly that's covered. I think mostly that works out okay. Yes. Yes, but we'll we'll list personnel. We'll break it down and um there was something else that I wanted to add there. Um we'll we'll pull all the costs together for

064you on that. The testing, everything else, how much of that comes from the state, um how much that of that is personnel. And we do use test scores, counselors use test scores to help place students in appropriate classes. So, we are doing that. um just on a counselor by counselor basis looking through that. That's part of the advising that they do when they're when they're counseling with families and with students and doing the um doing their their planning just just to make sure that students aren't underelling themselves. And that's one of our it's part of our strategic plan and portrait of a graduate to make sure that students are in the challenging classes that are appropriate for them. and counselors are a key key part of that. So that means the what we're paying for

065the testing is not strictly to benefit the Alps program. It also has other benefits. It has other students. That's right. That and other testing as well. It's all available in Skyward. Counselors are able to access that. So it's really everyone everyone is focused on matching students up with the right opportunities. But as the board talks about making those opportunities more widely available, then we can match students up with those options more easily. Did I understand you correctly in that the counselors do have access to the test scores, ALP test scores so that they can direct? That's in Skyward if I'm not mistaken. It is in Skyward. Yes, they do have access. Kind of flagged in a way. So the counselor should be able to see all the information, right? Help direct. So you score well.

066challenging classes, right? You score well, you qualify for Alps, but you choose not to go into Alps, but you hadn't thought of yourself as maybe an honor student or that sort of thing, and you don't really want to go to another school. Hey, you know, the the results, we talked with your teacher, you really are capable of more than you think, and let's let's get you into some classes that can challenge you, help you discover what you're capable of. Great. So, would a parent expect to learn about test results during a conference with a counselor as a general rule or only if like, whoa, you scored really high? I think that would mostly be if you scored high and as a result there are some class choices that ought to reflect that high score. You

067would not you wouldn't say now let's look through your Alps testing. Oh, looks like you didn't quite make that. I think it would be more around, hey, I you know this this is one reason that you might want to consider these other classes, but I don't think it would be reviewed as a matter of course. We send a copy of the assessment results in our invitation letters and so parents do have a copy of the test results for those that we send the invitation letters. And just only to students who qualify. Only to the students who qualify. Yes. I do feel like that's something we don't do very well is let parents know their kids do all this testing. I don't think we have many conversations after the test. One of the other things that

068we do as well is we send copies of all the results to the schools. We send a copy to the principal and then also to the teachers. So the teachers do have the sixth grade teachers themselves have access to it. And I know that some of them do share some of the outcome at parent conferences in the spring. I think what I'd also like to know is is sixth grade the best time to do the testing. That's a that's a very good question. Most of the um of off times in other districts that do do universal testing, they do do it in second or third grade so that they catch the students um at a younger age. One of the things that of consideration with that is I I would anticipate that we would identify

069between two and 300 students who are at that very top level um in any given grade um maybe even more like we do in sixth grade. But if depending on the parameter that we were looking at and when you identify a student and you tell a parent we've identified your child then we would want to have a placement for that child which is a little bit trickier in the elementary grades. In middle school they have enough of a cushion that we can say we're sending you a few hundred more students and they have enough cushion and room to be able to um h incorporate those students in their in their schools because the school is large. in on the elementary side of that um you just have to keep that in in consideration of if

070we're going to identify them what are we going to offer because I am very confident that we would identify many and um and then if we had a plan in place that would be awesome. So, so by that statement though, you're stating there's a lot of kids that are missing out there. There are students all over our school district. Um, as I said earlier, that we know would qualify for Alps at very high levels who choose to stay in their neighborhood school. And so, we would um and some of them are very happy there and and love being there and feel like their needs are met there. And some of them we know would benefit from a teacher who had that training to um take the students to the next level and to help them

071go deeper in that uh go go deeper in the curriculum with a quickened pace. And so um there's many individuals out there and one for one something would work really well and for another something else would work really well. But um the bottom line is we do know that we have many very um high students who would benefit by advanced opportunities whether that be in the general education classroom or in an Alps classroom all throughout our district. There's also a benefit being around other students who may think like you do and have a similar be similarly situated. I was a middle school Alps principal and we found that that was the case. That's one of the um common feedback that we get from Alps families is um they appreciate their students finding new friends and

072um having that opportunity to be around um as Dr. Godfrey said others who I think on those similar lines and and um uh like to attack problems in the same way. Anything else? All right. We sure appreciate you being here. It's it's something that is eyeopening to realize how much good is happening in the district that we have to learn more about. So, thank you for your time. All right, let's move on to our next agenda item, which is a review of openhouse for Frog Street curriculum approval. We'll invite Miss Lisa Robinson, Kim Lloyd, and Christy Whiteside to the [Music] table. All right. Thank you, President George and board members for having us back. We were here two weeks ago to talk about the um process that was looked at to identify additional or new

073curriculum for our preschool programs, specifically those that are 3 to 5year-old programs that are housed in our elementary schools for special education purposes. So Christy Whitesides is here to share that information with you. Um, and with the hope that if we can answer all of your questions and have, you know, things covered well that we might be able to have that RFP reviewed tonight during the business meeting and approved. So, I'll turn the time over to Christie. Thank you. Um, so we held our open house last week, um, the online portion that parents could go in and review. Um, and just to back up, I sent we sent invitations out to all the principles that have um, preschool classes as well as parents and incoming parents for next year and our staff. So, we held

074that open house. It was on there was an online version where they can go in and look at the curriculum that was held all last week, so the 19th through the 23rd. And then on the 20th and 21st, we did a in-person openhouse and had the curriculum available for um, people to review. Um, we ended up having 20 people show up for the in-person. Four of them were parents, um, and the rest were staff and faculty. Um, that does anyone have any questions? Is it beneficial to have these open houses? I feel like our numbers are always so low and like I'm glad we're trying, but is there like a backend cost to us having these open houses that don't reach a lot of people? No, I mean I just set it up in our

075in our in our conference room and just had that had it available and was there I was made sure I was there all day to answer questions if there were any questions specifically to the curriculum and that's a legal requirement if I'm not mistaken. The cost is if we don't Yeah. And I think the limited cost, but the availability, even if it's, you know, even if it's a small number, and most of the time, we don't have a way to track who's actually going in and looking at it online. Um, because it's usually through the company and they're they're hosting the website for us. So, you know, you could go in, we could all go in and take a look at that information, see what's in the materials, but this just offers another opportunity for

076people that want to get their hands on it and kind of look through it. And there's really very limited cost to doing that. So, I will say I went and I got all of my questions answered. I had several and uh enjoyed being able to just hold and flip through the curriculum and there was a lot of stuff in that room. So, I'm excited about this curriculum. Thank you. Thanks. Any other questions for us? Can you remind me the cost of the curriculum? Will it be in the bid or it's in the should be? Yeah, I don't think it was listed in the bid. Item E 249 964 and that's a 5year cost. So that would be over the course of 5 years total it would be the $2.49 964. That's right. It was listed.

077It was the other prices that weren't. So I didn't know how to compare what was the cost savings, but I thought I recalled this being very affordable in your initial presentation. Yes, it was. It was within the budget. I recently received an email actually from a student which I appreciated that reminded me of the importance of playbased learning. How does this curriculum provide opportunities for play? So this curriculum is very much um based around play. Um there's um we have to have so many minutes for we have a grant. we have to have so many minutes of play and this program this curriculum actually meets exactly what we need. So there's at least 60 minutes of play where there this curriculum provides different areas that the kids can choose to go play but it's part

078of it and also um they the kids learn from the teacher and then they go and they can have that play time and implement what they're learning. So it very much very much fits what we need for that play-based piece. Our preschools are very much that way. So maybe like centers of different kinds of play, but it is still unstructured like it's not being it's not directed play. They can choose where they want to go. So there's like a block area. There's different areas that they can choose to go, but there's not a a teacher there facilitating. And now we're going to do this and we're going to play with it. There's teachers there to help as far as like right social interactions, but does that answer your question? Okay. All right. Does anyone need

079anything in order to feel comfortable voting on this tonight in our business meeting? Great. We sure appreciate you being here and and the work that you do. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Up next, we'll have a discussion on the adoption of Wayfinder curriculum. Um, and we will turn it to Dr. Godfrey and Miss Worerin. Thank you very much. Thank you, Stacy Woreren, for being here tonight. You're welcome. Uh wayfinder is a curriculum that we are considering that is focused around portrait of a graduate. It is um available K12 but we are focused on providing it for our elementary school counselors as a curriculum to cover as shown on the screen future ready core skills. And the idea is that they have a pre and postass assessment for each of 4,100 lessons

080that they have available. But don't worry, we won't have an openhouse for 4,100 lessons. This will be a subset of lessons that is curated specifically to u meet the goals of our portrait of a graduate and strategic plan. So the idea is that this would provide a customized curriculum that is centered around our portrait of a graduate and provides as I said pre and post assessment so that we have another way of measuring the progress that we're making toward those goals especially at the elementary level. Uh this fills a few different needs. One is that elementary counselors have been eager for a curriculum that can accomplish just this. And also it answers a question for me what what can we do at the elementary level to be very intentional about moving students toward portrait of

081a graduate goals and how do we know whether that's happening? And this um this is a a curriculum we've looked at for a couple of years and I think this is the right timing to consider it. So we're coming to the board tonight to say should we put together should we have the company put together a collection of lessons around our portrait of a graduate and go through that openhouse process. All of this is online although we would provide in-person availability as well. We would email this out as we do on uh other curriculum districtwide curriculum options and um get your input as well. It like I said it provides material that will help elementary counselors as we're providing that tier one instruction and it gives us some measurable uh steps that we can take

082with students at the elementary level. I'm really excited about the focus that the board has taken in putting resources at the elementary level to make sure that kids get a great start toward the goals that we've set as a district. And I think this is an additional component to make sure that we're making the most of of those opportunities that you've created. Uh they they focus on the future ready core skills. And if you scroll down a bit, we can see that they're focused around uh six core skills and that's purpose, self-awareness, adaptability, empathy, collaboration, and agency. And um these are essent they're they're called essential skills, core skills, soft skills depending on who you talk to. And I think this is an area where it's going to be important to take a close look

083at the curriculum itself. Um, but I also think it's important for us to have some very some materials that are explicitly focused on the goals of Portrait of a Graduate. So, we're not looking for approval of a bid or anything tonight. It's just beginning that process like we did with Frog Street, Frog Leap, Frog Street. Yes. Um, is there room in the budget for this or would you be asking for additional funds? Thank you. I would be using funds already allocated by the board. So no additional funds needed existing budgets is there every time we do anything for seal there's a resistance by some people and then they start digging in and then they find bits and pieces that are morally questionable. Sure. Broadly speaking, what would you guess we're going to all of a

084sudden be faced with in terms of that opposition? Is there are there morally questionable units that they would come back? You know what I'm saying? I do. Every time we we move forward with any time any type of seal curriculum, we get an opposition. And I understand that. I totally understand that. I just I want to know what we're walking into before we walk into it. I'm not aware of any national controversy around this curriculum, which is something we've experienced previously. What I would you have known at this point in other curriculums that yes, we're walking into that. What I want to say next is that I I'm not completely plugged into every potential controversy. There's none that I know of for now. But I think that's why this process is important and it works

085because if there are broad concerns that come forward, then we're able to address those. I also like that there are so many lessons to choose from. So with previous with previous programs that we adopted, we had to work pretty hard to substitute and say, "Oh, this book isn't one that we feel comfortable with. How are we going to substitute that?" With over 4,000 lessons to choose from, I think we're going to be able to initially customize around our expectations. Jordanize it. Jordanize it. Yes. Well said. And then adapt it from there. It's it's used across the country. It's not used widely in Utah at this point. Um, but I I'm optimistic that we have choices. But that's partially why I I like the process the board has set up. It's because if there is something

086controversial, we're able to pull that out. And this is this is very focused on school. It's very focused on having a sense of efficacy, really being able to manage yourself at school. Our job is to educate students and this is not this is helping students be more effective at school and get the most out of school, interact with each other effectively. This is a partnership with families. This is not a replacement for the education that families provide as outlined in the constitution. They're number one. Uh this is a support. This is making sure we're moving toward those agreed upon goals in portrait of a graduate. So, we'll be very focused on that. It'll be jordanized specifically to the portrait of a graduate and if approved, I think it will be a great part of launching

087portrait of a grad. Right. Thank you. I'm very supportive. What would um if if Wayfinder was if Wayfinder were adopted, what would it displace in the schools? You know what I mean? There's if if we're going to teach something, we only have a limited number of hours that we can teach. Something's going to have to leave. What would it displace? I think it would provide more structured um unified curriculum for the time that elementary counselors are already spending with students. So in other words, there they would all be using teaching from the same curriculum rather than pulling things together on their own to try to meet the expectations of portrait of a graduate. So I don't think it would it wouldn't take additional time. It's just that the time counselors do spend with a full

088class instruction as was described recently would be more unified and universal across schools so that students are receiving the same information wherever they are. And so it's just kind of an enhancement of that. Counselors are doing a great job, but they're doing it cobbling things together on their own. And the the experience varies from school to school. As a result, this would just just um systematize the way that we approach that. Elementary school counselors already have a set schedule where they they have some time with students either a class or a larger group and they would not use the stuff they're currently using and start using this. Is that the idea? This would be an enhancement to what they're already doing. But it doesn't mean that okay now we're going to take an hour out

089of every week to do this where there's a cost in that way. It's just it's a support to counselors and it's making sure that we are consistently providing lessons that support portrait of a graduate. Is that would you say that's accurate? Okay. You're doing a great job. Along along I always have to fact check with the people at the end of the room here. along those same lines. Um I know there are a few schools in my area who and maybe this is different, I don't know, but they have like that emotional behavior curriculum that their specific SEC's have chosen for their schools or something. Not the SEC necessarily, but um I had seen like a presentation uh about the social emotional curriculum that they have at their school. Is this replacing that? So every

090school has the same thing or is that something different that elementary schools are doing? Do you know what I'm talking about? When schools do have a choice on sometimes they will do a district-wide they'll put a district-wide program in place. We're not saying you can't do what you've planned as a school. And um I I think that will we'll have to see what happens with that over time. It might it might be that the school says, "Hey, we don't have to pay for this anymore. There's something else that we can do." So, I think it would be a support where schools don't have to pay for that and individual counselors don't have to plan for it. But we're also not saying whatever you've paid for, you can't use anymore. This is it. We will train

091everyone on this. it. There might be questions about individual schools about how this fits in with what they're doing currently, but um I think at least initially there would still be room for programs that schools and school community councils felt strongly about. Well, I've noticed with some of the other curriculum discussions, there's often a committee of professionals who will be utilizing it or different stakeholders. Is that true with this curriculum as well or will that happen if it hasn't happened already? I know that Emil Em elementary counselors have had the opportunity to review this. Maybe uh Miss Worthing can can talk about that. Yep. And we also have our counselor collaborative that we can involve in making this decision as well. Okay. Because I think if if it's been reviewed by a committee and they're

092all supportive, it makes sense that it would the next step would be the board. Just a quick clarification because I I understand we have a couple of board members who were on a portrait of a graduate committee. This is beyond the scope of that particular committee. Okay. but trying to be in harmony. Yes. Finding a tool that they use that matches the portrait of the graduates philosophies and goals. I think this is exactly what we want. We want to provide the portrait of a graduate the high level and then we want we're hoping that as I mentioned a few weeks ago district adopts it as their own and starts doing things just like this. Yeah. Yeah, I I like this. I'm I'm excited for it. I feel like it can answer a lot of questions

093of why are so many kids seeing the counselors in elementary schools that you had presented to us before because it has those assessments. So, we could kind of break it down maybe and say these are the big reasons we're seeing in elementary school. And so, I I have a lot of high hopes for this. We do too. And those assessments will they help us track progress with portrait of a graduate and those measurements that we have built in we can say this is we implemented the curriculum at this time and we can already see progress or year after year. How does the assessment work? Well, with the pre and post testing, we hopefully we can start to see that. And I I would love to see that third graders, for example, once they've had this

094curriculum in first and second grade, then in third grade, our pre and post test scores are higher because then than previous cohorts coming through. We we we've done so many innovative things that have I think have been well thought through and and are part around a plan. It's going to be exciting to see over the years the impact of full implementation. A student that's gone all the way through these new programs has had walk to read and wit and wisdom and these other supports in place for their whole time in elementary school. I think we will be able to measure that. I think that that's one of the advantages here is that we're able to measure that and help me understand how these assessments are going to work because don't we have assessments in portrait

095of a graduate itself and now here's another assessment. Are we going to be overassessing or is will there be too much redundancy? Do we know yet or is this a work in it? It's going to be a little bit of a work in progress how it fits in. But it's pretty unique. In fact, we were able to um we've gone through the sole source pro um process because it's unique to have assessments that are excuse me focused around portrait of a graduate specifically. So, it's a little bit new. I don't think it will be over assessment because it will be to your earlier question part of what we're already doing is just including an assessment in that lesson that's consistent districtwide. So the comparisons we can make comparisons and say hey from school to school

096how are we doing or if a student changes a school and that assessment changes right and if they change schools but now now there's consistency in what we're providing. So it's it's exciting. So when we're talking about social emotional learning and assessments of that is that a survey and do we need to provide opportunities for opting out? We'll absolutely provide opportunity. Anyone can opt out of any portion of any day. Uh that's in the law and we'll communicate well with parents about this. We'll email all elementary parents about the opportunity to review this curriculum and we will have our assessment team look very closely at whether these materials would require that survey permission. But fortunately we do that right at the beginning of the year so we know who can participate and who can't and

097that would so there's a separate question on whether they can take the assessment and whether they participate in the lesson and parents can opt opt out of the assessment or opt out of both if they choose other questions. Okay, we'll put together that communication and make sure you're invited and you can ask any questions of me or of uh Miss Woreren in the meantime. So, thank you. Thank you very much. All right. Up next, we'll invite Mr. Scott Thomas, Mr. Dave Rostramm to the table so we can have a discussion on an update on the West Jordan High School remodel progress and this is prior to a potential bid vote. So yeah, thank you. We appreciate the invite back. I just wanted to bring to your attention. We uh added a couple of things to

098the uh board docs and one was the the draft of the West Jordan High School remodel options that were presented to the board in November. It's been it's been some time now and it was approved in December. Uh we wanted to update you and provide you we we thought instead of modifying this, we'd just give you a whole new sheet with some updated timelines. So that's what we attempted to do here. Um, in choosing the 4-year option, we still believe in working with the architect, which is MHTN, that they can they can deliver on this project in four years or less. We're being cautious and saying four years, but they say right now they can probably do it in less than four years. Um, what we're going to do is bring in we're still going

099to bring in the 10 to 12 portables uh to house the different content areas that are under construction. We're, if you've driven by, you see how we've ripped up the whole front there, and we're now converting the front grass into parking, uh, future parking and portable staging, and it'll revert back to parking after the completion of the project. And so we we still have the estimated costs are about the same. And in just a moment, I'm going to turn some time over to Dave so he can explain to you the CMGC process, which is really new, and it's not unique, but it's new to Jordan School District. So, it's kind of important that we all understand what we're jumping into here and why uh the timeline we we're going to say that the and so

100we've modified this just a little bit. Uh the board selected the 4-year option in December of 24. We actually started the design process. So, MHTN was brought in in April to begin the the initial design process and we've been able to take some tours of some high schools uh with them. We've also done a visioning exercise and I think last week they actually met I it was Friday Thursday they met with the department heads at West Jordan High just to get some ideas, thoughts, feedback and and that was a real positive experience. Um tonight we'll be presenting to you for the potential approval of the general contractor. And so like I said in just a moment Dave will kind of explain that process to you. Uh so that would hire the CMGC potentially tonight. Um

101May we begin preparing the asphalt in the grass area. We plan to move the portables to that area. All of the utilities and infrastructure will be complete and then by the end of August, so around the 1st of September, we'll be moving those portables in and by January, December of 25, January of 26, we'll begin construction. So the idea would still be to have the school ready by the fall of 2029. So that's our those are our goals. Any questions on the timeline? Is September too late to move portables in because the classes will have already started. So are people going to have to start moving once class has started? Correct. Yeah, it it it won't be too late. I mean, basically by then it's going to take a while to begin. So they'll sit

102empty for a while because what we'll probably do is and and when we understand the design process a little better, what's going to happen is we're going to move probably students out in November, December so they can begin in the classrooms in December, January, probably right after Christmas. So, what's going to happen is during the school year, they'll be they'll be um working on the classroom sections and then during the summer when they'll hit the bigger areas like the cafeteria and the gym and commons area and some of those things. So, Dave, do you want to take a minute and just explain the CMGC process? Yeah, it's a common practice u that's used in construction um with a lot of the other school districts as well as a lot of the state agencies. Like Mr.

103Thomas said this will be the first experience for us. Um, in my personal opinion, I think there's uh a time and a place for it. I don't think on all of our projects it's in our best interest to use this process, but on these multi-year um fairly difficult u modifications, it's it's a I believe this will be a good opportunity to try that process. The idea is is you hire the contractor uh and they will be involved in weekly meetings right alongside the architect and district personnel in making the designs. And the philosophy is is bringing the contractor on, they can even though they're they're charging a fee for it, they believe they they can reduce the cost of construction that will exceed their fees uh by working with the architect and saying, "Well, you

104know, we're having a hard time getting getting this this beam or if you used a little different product for this area, we can cut you cost savings." And so that's that's kind of the general idea is the folks that are have been building that are experts in the construction side of it will be able to help the architects in making decisions on the best methods for the construction process and material. Um, so you are you recommending this because remodels can have unforeseen complications and it really benefits us to have that. Exactly. Like with Bingham like Bingham's a great example and Bingham turned out awesome. But what happened with that was we're used to building a school for example and so we'll hire an architect who will design the school and we'll take it out to

105bid and bring the low bid back to the back to the board and that's that's how we move forward. In this case with Bingham for example, we we did we designed phase one and we brought that and it was X and so that was approved and we got the you know the a contractor on board who started the project and then into it you know the second year I can't remember which years we had different contractors but there were a couple of different contractors in there and what was difficult was this contractor has to try and figure out where this one left off and order all the materials for that year only and it and so the the continuity was a challenge. It turned out great, but just having the same person on the whole

106time would be, I think, beneficial. So, I think Miss Wood, you you nailed it. That's one of the one of the big benefits as I understood it. Correct. Multi-year project, a multi-summer project and maintaining the same Yes. the same guys doing it the whole time. Yeah. Well, and also this isn't just a summer project, right? That's correct. they can do it more quickly. Yes. So, yeah. So, it would have been approximately six summers, but that's why the board in their wisdom chose the four-year plan so it doesn't become so overwhelming because like I said at the those that last year at Bingham, we all wanted to be done with each other, you know, and they were go away and don't come back. They were it turned out great. Walk me through how the 80 million

107come in. So right now we're approving the bid for the contractor's bill and that is just the contractor. At what point and on at what schedule are we going to pay for the 80 million? So so the 80 million was just an estimated cost. What's going to happen now? Dave, please correct me as we go through this is the architect will start working with the contractor immediately for the design. And what could happen in November, for example, in five or six months, we come back to the board and say, um, you know, they've designed it to this amount or we're right on, which it probably won't be right on, or maybe we're over a little bit. And when we bring that back to the board, the board is able to then say, ooh, you know,

108let let's say we come back and it's 90 million, then we we adjust the scope of the project and the design, but we're looking at one bid. We're still looking at one bid for the whole project. So when when we come back, like I say, once we get 80 to 90% of the drawings complete, then the general contractor will give us a a maximum guarantee price. Okay. So they'll say with what's been designed, we guarantee no more than no more than but possibly less than, but possibly less than. So it's kind That's great. One single bid. I wasn't expecting that. I thought it would be a multi-b. Yeah. Yeah. It'll it'll it'll be one, but they've got to have 80 to 90% of the drawings complete for them to be able to have a a

109close enough. How quickly will they need the 80 million? Your best guess as to is it 20 million a year for four years? Is it 50 upfront? Is it Good question. What's the roll out of the dollars? I would imagine it should be fairly even between the four. So, we're looking about 20 million a year. Okay. When when we get the contractor working with the design that they will help us with a schedule as well where they'll be able to say, "Yeah, we we feel like we can get this much done during the school year and this is how much we could get done in the summer." So, they'll they'll help us a lot with the with the schedule as well. Okay. Great. And I need a little bit of education here. As a district,

110do we have certain protections against things not getting done or done on schedule where we would hold money back liquidated damages or Okay. Dave, do you want to talk about that bonding and liquidated? And they're also required to put in a bond. So, so for some reason if uh if the contractor went bankrupt or walked away from the project, they got too far into it and wasn't able to do it, then we can go back on their bond and hire another contractor to complete the work. So, and are there incentives for them to finish by the date we've given them or it's just good faith? Yeah, we haven't given any incentives to finish early, but we do have the liquid damages if they don't complete it on time. The incentive is you don't get a

111difficult phone call from Dave, and that's incentive enough. And I will say these guys have worked really hard to create. It is a privilege to work for Jordan High Jordan School District. And if you want to continue to do business with Jordan School District, you play ball. you do your very best and then you can stay in their good graces. I know there it's very competitive to do business with Jordan School District. Thank you. I appreciate that. I thank you. Um just Westland Construction that's that you'll potentially be approving tonight. They're the ones that built uh Mountain Ridge High School. They performed very well for us and and you're right, it was very competitive. We had some great contractors put in for this. They got an award for that too. I think they did. Yeah.

112Building project of the year or something because low cost and they're able to provide and quick to get it done on time. Yeah. Yeah. I noticed that our start date is pushed back a few months. Is that because the design process is more involved or are there other reasons leading to that push? just a little bit of a learning curve for us and it took us a little bit longer to to get the information to get it out onto Periscope and well I didn't mean to highlight that but thank you thank you for being transparent we are excited about it we think it'll be good I have random question that probably is too late but um I haven't been by West Jordan High School so I haven't seen and all the stuff's been going on

113out front, but I was curious uh what happened to the grass in the front area and if that's something we could have relocated to other fields that needed help in it's a it's a great question because it's asked almost on every project. So, it's Yeah, it's great. So what we do is we turn these projects over to the contractor and then once that happens they have they they basically have what we call demolition rights and they come in and sometimes for cost purposes they just scrape it off and put it in a big pile. I think Miss Dean you called me and asked me the question people what can we do with the grass and I imagine if there's a big pile of sod sitting there anybody could just come and pick it up but

114we personally we don't do anything with it because they're just trying to move it out of the way. Now, in some cases, uh, the contractor may come in and cut it up. They might cut it out and actually, uh, try to reuse it or repurpose it, you know, or sell it if they can. So, but we don't usually repurpose it. I for I guess we could if we had projects if the timing was such that we needed sod, I would imagine we could take advantage of that. Yeah. And the the price of sod is really pretty reasonable and it's quite labor intensive on trying to harvest it. Um, yeah, that's a good question because it's asked a lot. So, thanks. Yeah, I have a random question, too. I don't know if you've been by and

115seen the big hole. I have. Yeah. What are those big huge chunks of concrete? Is that very typical to have those giant chunks? We We saw that, too. They must have been the footings for the old They dug deep. They went down deep. They're huge. Like, what is that? That was something we weren't expecting. We didn't Let's hope it's the last time you say that. Surprise. Yeah. Well, Dave and I drove I said, "What is that?" I mean, they are they're massive. And the only thing we can think of is they must have been footings for an old marquee or something. They're they're big. Yeah. We hope we didn't, you know, dig into the city's infrastructure somehow. Maybe a sewer. But they're not ancient ruins, are they? Yeah, I don't think so. Um, oh, and

116they have to over excavate that because that that front area with some drainage and so there's going to be some underground retention uh for the new parking lot as well as some of the existing parking lots. So, you'll you'll see that go down and a lot of gravel brought in and which is why you're asking why the hole. It they are excavating down a little bit, but yeah, I'm not I'm not even asking about the hole. Just the big massive footings, chunks of concrete. Very large. Yeah. Remind me what the the plan is during construction for the high school students. Perfect. They're that's that's the reason for the portables. We're not we're not busing them off anywhere. Everyone who goes to West Jordan High still going to go to West Jordan High for those for

117that time period. Correct. There's no effect on Joel P. Jensen that's right next door. It's That is correct. Yeah. So, we're going to be self-contained during the entire project. And the the whole idea behind that, and it was actually Dave's idea, um what are we going to do? How can we get how can we be more efficient and get this done quicker um and be less of a burden on the day-to-day instruction that takes place? Because one of the things that we happened that happened at Bingham High was we had nine weeks to do we had this much time to do this much work. And so the board was great during that time period and that oh it's we're going to have to spill over a couple of weeks on the end and maybe start

118a couple of weeks early. And I'm not saying we won't need to do that, but the the risk of uh you know having to come back to the superintendent or the board and be very uncomfortable and saying what are we going to do those first two weeks? That'll be minimized. What we'll be able to do is move students out during the school year at and and I don't know for what length of time. Let's just say a quarter or a half a year. We'll pull out 10 to 12 classrooms at a time, giving the contractor a chance to get in and update and and remodel those classrooms and then back in and then the next group comes out. So, it'll all be staged. So, that's the intent is during that time we just are moving

119people in and out every 10 to 12 weeks, for example. That would that would just be an example, but it may be longer just so everybody has a home. I mean, everybody's going to have a chance to be in a portable for a while and that that Oh, go ahead. Oh no, you should. There will be people who their entire West Jordan high school experience were during the portable years. I went to West Jordan during the portable years. I didn't know a normal West Jordan high school. Yep. 10th 10th. If you start as a 10th grader, you're going to graduate. Yeah. But you're welcome to come back and see what your younger siblings get to experience. Your sacrifice gave everyone else. I'll get to see some of it. It was right. I I just want

120to point out to those listening that that would not have been available at Bingham just because of space. We don't have the space to put 14 portables on site. But I appreciate the creativity because that does allow for some flexibility and for things to happen more rapidly. But it's it's unique. It's uniquely possible because of the size of enrollment and the size of the property there at West Jordan. That was one of my concerns or questions to the contractors, you know, is, you know, there's going to be students that this is going to be their whole high school experience. And so, how can we how can we do this work without impacting this and keeping the impact very minimal for the students? And, you know, we indicated, you know, we don't want just a a

121a wall of plywood in there. You know, how can we how can we make that more appealing? and talked about, you know, maybe having some um signs on it or um some elevations of what the the the finished product is going to look like as the students walk by. So, that'll be give them their first pick at graduation times that those year. You should at least get that. What about the gym? Are we going to displace them during basketball season or those types of seasons where they might lose their gym their senior year? And we'll work and luckily the the work that'll be done in the gym is going to be very minimal. Uh we've over the years we've done some upgrades in there, but uh yeah, and that's where we'll work with the administration

122working around their programs and and uh scheduling what works out best for which areas. we'll have some challenges more, you know, in the CT areas where, you know, we can't move that whole program out to a a standard portable, you know, and so that may be that may be more of a summer work in those areas. So, it's definitely going to come with some challenges, but uh we've got a a large team assembled between architects and general contractors and the administration that we'll be able to work through the There's a lot of excitement behind this project already, a lot of enthusiasm. West Jordan's old enough that there's a long there's a heritage, there's a tradition, there's a legacy, and I think everyone will pull together to say we're making this whole thing better for all

123of us. Yeah. Which was mentioned. I noticed that's what happened at Bingham. Yeah. Yeah. We had some visioning sessions and that was that was brought up that that exact thing was brought up about, you know, the history and and uh culture of the school. So, so I am really grateful for the innovation that I'm hearing here. Thank you. I'm gonna turn to this side of the room and talk about as a teacher completely moving out of your classroom is a big ask. How can we support the teachers that are doing just the nuts and bolts of packing up a classroom and reorganizing a new classroom midy year? Do we need to provide I don't know extra sweeps who can help move materials or I I don't know a stipen something that can help with what

124we're asking. We in the olden days when we were year round, we did have stipens set up and we have had stipens set up for teachers who have to move things out of their classroom. So there's a structure in place for for paying for teachers to do that. We have generally done that when they only under certain circumstances. And having recently remodeled Bingham, I'd like to ask what did we do at Bingham and how is this different from what's happening at Bingham? Because we have done exactly what you've described, provided stipens. We've also surprised provided support. I know that um we've had certain moving companies come in and you know teachers box it and then they get to tell the movers where they want things and how they want things put around. So we've used

125staff internally to help support teachers in moving. We have used outside companies and we've also paid stipens to teachers under various circumstances. But I think these two would know better what we did for Bingham and how West Jordan might be different. Appreciate that. So, there's been two different structures. One is when we say to a teacher, hey, within your classroom, we're going to be doing some work, but you're really not relocating. So, you're just going to box your things up or move everything to the center of the room or we've moved people, you know, and some of the remodels like down to the gym has been the staging area. But, we have hired moving companies to help move their boxes. So, we really haven't given them a stipen in that in that sense. when we

126move people from one location to another, like you're going to pack everything up, move into a classroom, and then have to move back, then we have paid people up. And I just can't remember the amount, but there's a move in and move out stipen that we've been able to people might be holding their English class in the gym. No, no, no. I'm talking I'm talking during the summer. So, so like at an elementary if we've gone in or anywhere any of our schools and we've done like a summer project only, we've moved everything into the cafeteria, the gym and and they've boxed up their classrooms. We've moved them in there and carefully tried to keep track of everything. It's a big deal. And then they move. So then they're back in by the time school

127starts. Yeah. when we were doing the year round school. So if a school was being renovated and they had a year round, the teachers would get a stipen because they would we'd move them out on Friday and they had to be set up ready for class Monday morning. Right. That's where the stipen where they're just boxing it up and they won't physically have to move them. We'll have staff that will staff or contractors that will move their boxes from their existing classroom out to the portal portable and then back in. U but it's still a lot of work for them because they got to unbox they got to box it and they have to unbox their you know their material. I would be I would be interested in maybe re bringing back some of those

128steps anything to support these teachers. That that sounds extra health and wellness day at West Jordan High School. We'll uh we will bring something back for the board. Thank you. Bunch or something. Yeah, we'll we'll look at that. One more question. One of the challenges we found at Bingham is we came in and we remodeled and modernized so many parts of the school and yet other parts they were still left with 30-year-old equipment, desks and tables that were 30 years old. And then the poor administration had to figure out how to how do I update the what wasn't updated? What percent is that? Are we going to face that again at West Jordan that we're going to have tables and desks and equipment that is still 30 years old? Guys, I don't think they're getting

129a whole brand new school and where is that going to be budgeted? I just want to raise the flag to say that was an issue at Bingham. We need to make sure that we don't burden West Jordan as soon as we're done and now have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to modernize some of the equipment. Haven't corrected all the Bingham problems either. We haven't. And John, can you speak to the FFN, the furniture fixtures and equipment with Bingham? How that how that worked? I'm not sure I know all the answer to that, but Bingham was uh the principal uh used some funds and then the district also put in some funds and it was phased in over a matter of I think it was three years contributed from a furniture budget I have

130as well, but I think that's another item we can bring back. The alumni foundation also contributed. Yeah, there were there were lots of different groups that pitched in. So, let's bring that back along with information about how to compensate teachers for moving back and forth. Does that sound okay if we combine that in a future agenda item? Yeah, because we we haven't included any movable furniture in the cost est. I'm just saying in general, we put a burden on the administration to all of a sudden say, "Wait a minute, we've got these beautiful fixtures in the hall and yet in the classroom we have 30-year-old desks." Right. And and I think in most cases, uh, Mr. Shaw did did replace a lot of furniture in there. There there was a lot spent at the school

131level. Yeah, there was. I am actually interested in including that. So, I know you said you're not, but I am. I think a remodel should be a new school. When Bryce says this school's been around since uh for a lot of years it's a legacy. I remember it being built. Yeah. And that was when I was in high school my senior year and we paid $15 million. I just looked it up for that school. I don't know what that's saying about me. I've been a long time. But it is a school that has a lot of history. And then we put parking for cars in it a few years later. Yeah, we do. It says uh 1300 students the first. So, we're excited. We appreciate the opportunity. We think uh it'll certainly be a a

132nice a nice project and will showcase how important, you know, West Jordan is to all of us. So, we're excited. Yeah, I'm excited about Yeah. fun journey. Anything else? Is everyone comfortable with this as a bid on our agenda in the business meeting? Great. I guess I have one more question. Okay, great. How far behind is Copper Hills? So, Copper Hills was built, we were just out there today looking at a few things. 95. So, Copper Hills is uh West Jordan was an 80. I think it was a 7980. 81. 81 when we finished it. Bingham was 7. We finished in 75. Yeah. So 75, 81, and then 95 was So it's 30 years old. Copper Hills is 30 years old. We'll be long gone before anyone remodels Copper Hill. It'll be It'll be a

133bit, but Yeah. Right. Right. Thank you so much. Thank you. It's exciting. Okay. Up next, we will have our discussion on esports in Jordan School District. Mr. Brad Sorenson and Mr. Brian Vzy on the hot seat. Yes, we're excited. We're excited to have uh conversation about uh the upcoming sanctioning of esports with UHSAA. I did want to mention my my daughter was an Alta construction graduate, meaning she was one of those students that was under construction the whole time. So, uh it is tough. It's tough to do that, but she turned out great. Um we'll uh so so yeah just uh we just wanted to come and update you and just kind of formalize uh that we as a district are prepared and ready to move forward with esports as part of the UHSAA sanctioned

134activities and events. And uh we are we we provided in board docs a document. I want to thank our esports committee members, uh Cammy Taylor, who's back here to my right actually, uh who helped put together this document along with Spencer Campbell and Mark Holidayiday and and uh who am I forgetting? Brian Anthony Muto and Anthony Muto who uh have kind of served on our esports committee since we put it in as clubs back in 2020. And uh we're we're kind of excited about the evolvement of esports and where it's gone. And uh so I'd like to turn the time over if I can to Brian who can maybe walk through our document or share, you know, if you have any questions about the document, but ultimately what it means and specifically with UHSAA uh

135as it moves forward as a sanctioned activity. So Brian, yeah, you bet. Um, as Brad mentioned, we are excited to be adding esports to the sanctioned activities of the Utah High School Activities Association. And, um, it's been kind of an interesting evolution. Prior to 2020, we had several students who were actively engaged in participating in gaming and who were really pushing in their local schools to create clubs. um clubs in 2020, clubs were created and I think they were uh they became quite popular in all six of our high schools as well as a number of our middle schools um in their involvement and then it ultimately ended up going through the emerging sports process and protocol of the Utah High School Activities Association. um it got to a point where it met that threshold

136and met the criteria for being considered and being voted on as an sanctioned activity and I believe it was about a year and a half ago it was proposed that it be sanctioned and that it be sanctioned starting the 2025 2026 school year. Um right now we have very strong club teams in all of our high schools. Um, every high school has at least a head coach, um, and some have an assistant coach. There has been points added to the activity differential to cover a stipen for that esport head coach, even as it's been a club. Um, there was a time in 2020 where the district funded the startup of those esports clubs in order to get the equipment and the supplies and the technology necessary to run those events. Um, we've had several of

137our schools that have competed at a very high level. Several of them winning uh various regional, various divisional and some state competitions at the state level. Um, by way of information, Utah High School Activities Association is obviously still learning about esports and learning about its structure and learning about how to maximize the effectiveness and the efficiency of operating the esports structure as a sanctioned activity within the Utah School Activities Association. Um, there are some things that they've definitely solidified. Um Ken Garf has been the big frontr runner in providing esports opportunities to students and to our communities. Um they provide tournaments in the fall, they provide tournaments in the spring, they have a spring celebration, um where there is a state uh state competition, but there are a lot of trainings and a lot of

138breakout sessions where the kids can go and coaches can go to learn more about the college opportunities available through esports, the career opportunities available through esports, um the different types of um opport opportunities that are available for them through esports. And so the Utah School Activities Association knows that it's going to continue in partnership with Ken Garf, but now that they're taking it over as a sanctioned sport, they're confident that that partnership will look a little bit different. They're just not quite sure what that's going to look like. and they're in the process of kind of defining the partnership with Ken Garf and the ownership and operation of esports uh through the Utah High School Activities Association. Um they have created a season that will be January through April each year. They've selected the three

139games that they will be competing in. Um those are Rocket League, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Brothers. Um, I've had an opportunity to go to the spring celebration at the University of Utah for the last two years, and I've had an opportunity to observe the culture and the climate of an esports event. And much to my surprise, it was very much like a lot of the other activities in the a lot of the other athletics programs um that you would see. They had um a big screen right in the middle of the the basketball court, if you will. Um facing one side of the arena. Um they had everybody the stands were full of spectators and fans. They had teams down right in front of the screen that had all their communication device. They had

140their gaming chair. They had their uniforms on. They were side by side. They actually had two students that had been uh that that are actively involved in esports who um actually did commentary throughout the esports competition. And so I was actually really impressed with a couple of things. Number one, I was extremely impressed with how tight-knit of a community the the esports community is. We talk about in education the importance of looking for places where students can belong and communities that they can be an integral part of. And esports just provides us with one more opportunity to create a community within our schools that allow allows for a specific type of student with specific interests in gamings to come together to be a part of that community to be a part of creating and enjoying

141that culture and to be a part of creating a climate that allows for the excitement of not only the competition but equally as important the opportunity unities for scholarships to be able to continue on to college and career opportunities right out of high sometimes during high school but right out of high school and certainly beyond their college experience. Um all of the Utah High School Activities Association eligibility rules will apply. So one of the changes that'll happen in going from a a club to a sanctioned activity is that there will be the eligibility guidelines. Students will be required to maintain a 2.0 GPA with no more than one F in the term prior to the season. And so depending on where that January date falls, it might end up being second quarter that determines eligibility.

142If it's late in January, it could end up being third quarter that determines eligibility. Now, if they're not eligible, it doesn't mean that they can't be a part of the community. It doesn't mean that they can't be a part of the team. um they just can't compete in the competitions that they have. Um and so there are still opportunities. Um but that's kind of a summary. Like I said, the Utah High School Activities Association has formed an esports uh formation committee in hopes of trying to get this right the first time that they put it together. Um, I've worked very closely with the Utah High School Activities Association, asking a lot of questions, trying to gather a lot of information, trying to get an understanding of what direction that they were going. Um, and I

143finally got to the point where I asked Jan Whitaker, who's kind of the associate director overseeing esports, um, if she would be willing to or would have room on her committee for some of the members of our committee should they be interested. Um, I know Cammy Taylor has participated um to some extent on that committee. I know that Spencer Campbell is currently very active on that committee and they are working to advocate for what we feel is best for our students and they're working to advocate for what we feel the entire platform and the entire experience should look like as a sanctioned activity um through the Utah High School Activities Association. Um so with that, if there are any questions, I would be happy to attempt to answer them. I have a I have a

144couple questions. So, um would students be able to participate in esports and in other winter sports? Because, you know, like with UHSAA, I don't think that a student can participate in two fall sports or two. Yeah. Generally, you're only allowed to participate in one activity or one sport per season. Generally, generally, you can't there are going to be sports. Well, no, what I'm saying is there are kids who actually participate in multiple sports during the same season. So, I would think this would be this would be okay. Yeah. For example, um I was trying to think of uh one of the softball players of Bingham High School, one of the one of the key softball players at Bingham High School who played in the state championship games this last weekend. Um actually ran track or

145did did the javelin and actually won state in throwing the javelin. And so yeah, generally the expectation is you participate in one sport. However, you are allowed to participate in multiple activities or sports during the same season. Obviously, it requires approval and cooperation of the two coaches and it it requires kind of an alignment of when those activities are being held. And and then another question I have is um do you have any idea about the ratio of boys to girls in the clubs because I imagine that will probably follow with sanctioning the sport. is yeah I I don't know the ratio. Um we definitely have more boys than girls. Yeah, there's definitely more boys than girls. Are there any girls that participate? There absolutely are girls that participate. And it is a mixed or

146co-ed sport. There isn't a boys team and a girls team. It's a combined team. Um, and I'm I'm quite confident that as it becomes sanctioned, I mean, there's already a lot of interest, but I'm quite confident that as it becomes sanctioned and as there's more time and attention spent on bringing light to the opportunity that our esports programs will grow and the hope is that they continue to grow for both boys and girls. Okay. Thank you. So, what does competition look like? Does Bingham go to Riverton and play Riverton or does everyone come together and have a series of competitions? What does competition look like? Yeah, so they've determined that the competitions will actually be online. There's actually an online space and I apologize that I don't remember the players versus the name of it.

147Yeah, there's the play versus um so and play versus will be the platform and so um not only will the teams meet up online so they'll ultimately most of the events will be played at their home site and they'll actually just play their opponent online. Okay, so it's one school against one school. Um yeah, usually it's it's one-on-one and usually there's some kind of a bracket and usually it results in eliminations as you get closer and closer to the state championship. Yeah, but the school will all come together. They're not sitting in their house alone. I I I wouldn't anticipate that. I think that we we've got spaces set up in the schools where they do a lot of their practicing and where they spend a lot of their time and I would anticipate that

148they'll create kind of a game-like venue out of those spaces and they'll all come together and actively participate as a group. Thank you. I have one more question. So, are there individual events and team events or is it all team? I'm pretty sure it's all team events. Yeah. And I think it's I think it's four. Um it's been based on what I've seen, every team that has stepped up to the to the competition table, if you will. Um has been four students participating in that. Cammy shaking her head that yes, it's team. I've played a couple of these games and it's been four against four. Yeah. Yep. Did we get a fees approved in time? So, they have a fee approved. They'll have a uniform. I assume what we budgeted recently was for coaching and

149equipment. It was for when back in 2020. Yeah. No, just recently. This most recent budget. It's for It's for coaches. Coach. Okay. So coaches are covered, equipment has been covered, and the fees will cover uniforms and all the expenses because I I would envision they're going to have a uniform, a Bingham High School esports team. They will make a shirt like that. And in 2020, we purchased equipment, right, um as a district. And I want to acknowledge Cammy Taylor who's also here who helped launch that as a district administrator at the time and has remained very involved and was instrumental in helping prepare along with others the document that you have in preparation for today's discussion. But that was the early days of just knowing that this was a a club activity that was gaining

150traction that could really engage a lot of students who through co and just generally did not feel connected to school. So I appreciate your work in in bringing that in and work and monitoring what's happening with UHSAA as well. But so we adopted it early in the early days. the equipment was purchased, but that equipment gets outdated and schools, it was it was a launching point for schools to then include that in their um budgets going forward. Yeah, I think I think the efforts that were put forth in 2020 to not only fund the opportunity and to not only make it become a school sponsored club, but definitely Cammy and the rest of the committee and the work that they did to figure out all of the logistics of of the process, um we're definitely

151ahead of the game. Um, I I am involved in a cohort of 13 other districts and they're individual assigned to oversee athletics and activities. Um, and they've all been coming to me with questions which has been a little intimidating because I'm not a gamer. Um, but just for the infrastructure, you know, how are you going to pay your coaches? How are you going to get the equipment? How are you going to provide the uniforms? Are there going to be fees? Um, you know, we I've been able to answer all of those questions for other districts as they've started to scramble to be ready for this next year's competition season because of the great work that was done in 2020 and because of the great work that's been done by our committee and because of the

152commitment and the passion of the coaches at our schools and the players that have been involved. and I visit region one, region two, region three meetings. And when esports comes up, it's a very different conversation in region two than in region one and region three. Region two had the foresight to see that it was coming. Some of these other schools didn't even give it a thought until all of a sudden it's sanctioned and now they're scrambling to say, "Wait a minute, what do we do?" So there's quite a difference among at least the 176A schools at how they're approaching esports. Yeah. And I I have um I have another question. So is will there be a cap on how many people can be on a team or will schools will people just have to take

153turns? Will there be a specific number of consoles or PCs dedicated? How how does that all work? And then um who pays for the replacement? the district or the school or Yeah, it's it was set up as was mentioned before kind of a startup. So, we gave them the initial money and then ask the schools to kind of plan to prepare to replace. So, that's that's very typical with all of their sports and activities that we have. So, uh the schools will kind of be and have that responsibility to replace equipment as it's needed to be updated or adjusted. Uh, as far as as far as the number of kids that could participate, the UHSA doesn't necessarily put out a number for any of our activities or sports. A lot of that is just school-based

154and determined. Uh, I'm not sure how that that will look, if they'll they'll have a a JV group or but certainly they're only going to have so many consoles available. So they'll have to rotate uh as to what that can look like and ultimately that could be the determiner for uh how many students that they keep on a team. Yeah. Uhhuh. They have, you know, most sports any of the equipment that's used, there are specifications that it has to adhere to. You know, golf clubs have to can't be whatever too long. The basketball is a certain size. um in a in an esport environment, one if one school has superior equipment than another, that's a definite advantage. So, I'm curious if there are specifications for the equipment that's going to be used, the consoles, how

155fast. We just invite Cammy to the mic. Will you join us? Yeah, we need you on a microphone. Can you respond? Yeah. Come sit on this side and you'll have your own mic. Yeah. So, two of the games do use Nintendo Switch and that is the same specification for everyone. There isn't a Nintendo Switch that has higher and better technology than another. I think the one game is Rocket League that does use the Windows PC and I think there could be some questions about equitable playing fields. Um, I'll let Cammy talk a little bit about the specifications. I first have to say that I'm not a gamer, so I think it's very funny that I'm the go-to person on this, but um yeah, Rocket League has standards and it come in the game itself. It

156tells you what to use. So, everyone has the same parameters. Um, frankly, having watched kids, it's all about their technique. You asked a question about who can be on the team. If you think about it kind of like track and the relay, we have four kids that run the relay because they're the fastest that week, but maybe next week someone else subs in. That's kind of how it works there, too. So depending on who figures out the tricks in Rocket League, it's who can bounce the ball off the car off the nose. I mean, there's just different things they learn how to do, right? And like any sport, they specialize. So kids who are great at Rocket League probably don't also play Super Smash. So we have the ability to have lots of kids involved

157and still specialize in the areas they're good at. So it's really open to a lot of kids. Yeah. And that's one of the reasons we use Players versus. It's the platform that everyone has to use to go online. So it does minimize the fact that some may have an advantage over another. You have your own equipment, but everyone's using Play versus. Yeah. Go ahead. The other thing that I was going to mention that I found really interesting is because these games are played online and because they're played on the platform of Play Versus, it is amazing to see this the expertise that the students have. And it's amazing to see that one of them's really good at one thing. So, the team just kind of trusts and depends on them to go do their thing

158while they're overdoing other things as a part of the overall game strategy. The thing that actually impressed me though is there's a there's a platform called Twitch that allows spectators to come in and watch the games being played online. And so we could actually even have a spectator and fan base on Twitch watching and supporting the kids while they're playing the online games on Play Versus. And I asked Miss Dean, "What's your character of choice on Super Smash Brothers?" Um, oh, I forgot his name, but he's an evolved Pokemon. He evolved from this little cat. I don't know. I I'll He's really good at just button smashing. So, I I prefer to play GameCube Smash Brothers. We've got the classic at our house. And I like Kirby. So, Oh, Incinor. That's who I like. Incinor.

159Incinor. So, Kirby in the past, but Incinor is the wave of the future. Okay. Well, I mean, cuz you could just do a lot of buttons. That is what makes the difference for kids. They bring their own controllers and that's how they strategically like their own tennis racket or their own club or whatever, whatever. Yeah. If if you'd like to see a competition, email Brian and he can connect you so that you can see it firsthand. It really is exciting and the kids are really engaged. Can I bring my Atari? Yes. Yes, Grandpa. as long as you don't mind if there's some lags involved in that. I was wondering if our board wanted to challenge another board. But but I have to be honest, ultimately when I think a lot of people in the athletics

160and activities space heard about the sanctioning of esports, there were a lot of there was a lot of eye rolling and a lot of questioning why this was happening. They were trying to align it with the activities of performing arts and drill and dance and they were trying to align it with athletics. And while it is kind of unique, um it is definitely a very popular space and it's something that definitely meets the needs of a specific population of our students and it's what brings them together as a part of the school community. It's what commits them to coming to school and being motivated to succeed there. And so I'm really excited for the opportunity. knowing that I in my position that I was going to have a role in kind of overseeing esports, I

161kind of dove into it and have learned some things about it and have gone on these um these uh spring celebrations and my eyes have been opened and obviously I've learned a lot and it's just a great opportunity for kids and it doesn't make the girls wrestling team have to practice in the tech atrium. So, a couple of questions or priorities for me. First of all, I hope that Jordan will prioritize um socialization through these experiences. I'm a little disappointed to hear that we're not going to travel to another school to play. Um I hope that we can set that standard for our schools that practice is in person and that we are spending time with human beings. Um, that's one of the huge benefits that I see in this program is taking kids out

162of the basement and having them experience face-to-face interactions. Uh, the next question, and this is more general, but man, a 2.0 GPA with no more than one F sounds like a pretty fiddle expectation to me. I I am really curious if that is a challenge for some of our students to make the grades or are we I mean is that a high enough expectation? It's an established expectation from UHSAA. So certainly we have seen uh some coaches that create a higher so that's a minimum right that's what UHSA requires. Uh and and the answer is yes. Sometimes that is really challenging for some students to meet that criteria, but it's important for them to to kind of target that in order to be able to participate in something that they love and and that they

163do. So, uh, not many coaches veer from that minimum expectation. Uh, but but we have seen some that have kind of held a a higher standard. Uh, but like I said, that is what's established by UHSA as a minimum. Yeah, there's a reasonable amount of amount of my time spent working with schools and with athletic directors and with program coaches on eligibility issues related to students in question as to whether or not they did or didn't meet that 2.0 you know and that no more than one F criteria and when makeup dates are and are not and when new eligibility can be established and so it is you know it is it is a minimum our as Brad said our programs can set higher expectations generally when we have programs that start to grow beyond

164what they can manage they'll start to increase some of those expectations and benchmarks um to make it more of an elite program and more of an elite opportunity to be a part of that team, but we want um we want as many of our students participating in those extracurricular activities as possible. And we find that those that don't participate or those that aren't eligible run the risk of that ineligibility becoming repetitive. Whereas those who might just barely meet the mark as they continue to be a part of the program, that becomes less and less of an issue as they go on. And we've never allowed them to play from home, just so you know. we require them to be at school. That's the only way they can play. That as I answer questions to constituents,

165those will be the two pillars that I say here are the benefits. Um and so yeah, I hope we will set high expectations and introduce students to the real world. All right. I I have a couple of just comments. I don't even know if they're necessarily questions, but I I do have reservations about promoting screen time. I see potential benefits with the sociality. I just think the research on this is not yet mature, meaning I'm not reassured from a mental health or physical health perspective. So, I may be an outlier on this here. And I am open to being persuaded. So, I would love an invitation to an event where I could observe it firsthand. I just have to be transparent. I I do have serious reservations about promoting screen time or gaming. Yeah. I

166wanted to make a comment on the the presentation in Boardocks. There's a slide called esports related professions. I mean, that looks like a pretty optimistic list there. of all the possible professions that can stem from esports. I noticed in the upper right, very upper right, legal counsel. I was wondering, Paul, what you think if a good esports career can lead to a legal council career, Pokemon Go, PvP, I I understand that that some of these obviously make sense and maybe some of them are a stretch. Um, I'd like to pretend we made this chart. We did not. It's from the National Association for Esports. Um, but I will give you an answer on that because it happened to us. Um, we had a logo created for one of our teams and we had to change

167it because it was too much like a logo that already existed. So legally, yes, there is a reason to know what you're looking at and to be prepared for that. So yeah, there will be a lot of jobs that are not even created yet that will come out of this space. That's according to educational expert. excited. I'm excited for co-ed teams and I really hope that we get a variety of students coming out and playing together. So, hope there's a pep assembly for the esports team as they go off to the state tournament. Jerseys are the coolest. Have you you haven't seen their jerseys? You should see their jerseys. They're amazing and they have their gamer tags on the back. They're very cool. I watched the KSL video about the Haramman High School club and

168I loved to see that they had uniforms and they were a team. It was great. Well, thank you. Thank you for being here tonight and also for being an innovator in this field. We want every student to find a place in our school. So, we recognize that and appreciate you. President George, can I are we are we planning to in in later to get your approval in that? Okay. This is Do you need the group to stick around for that or do you feel like you have the information needed to move forward with your vote? Word members, does everybody feel like they have the information they need in order to vote on this? Perfect. I think you're okay. Okay. Thank you. So, thanks for coming. All right. Let's go ahead and take a 10-minute break

169before we start our business meeting. [Music] Welcome. Welcome to the Jordan Board of Education meeting. This is so fun for us to have so many people here. Oh, I feel like my mic is on now. Thank you for being here for the Jordan Board of Education meeting for May 27th, 2025. Um we have all board members present as well as our board attorney, um our superintendent, associate superintendent, and business administrator. And most importantly, all of you, thank you for being here. All right, we are excited tonight to have South Jordan Middle School with us. Um, and presenting our pledge of allegiance will be Lily Hermanson, Mason Carile, and Aaliyah Carile, student body officers. So, we'll turn it over to them. Please stand for the flag of the United States of America. Color guard [Music] attention.

170Repeat the pledge after me. 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. The audience may be seated. We'll now invite Ethan Peterson, a student body officer at South Jordan Middle School to offer our reverence. Hi, my name is Ethan Peterson. Today, I want to share a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. Only in the darkness can you see the stars. I chose this quote because it reminds us that even in tough times, there's always hope and light to guide us. Last year, I faced one of those dark times. I was at a new school and learning at a new level. It was really challenging for me to grasp my ideas. I found

171myself unable to sleep and my motivation slowly faded. But as I learned to find my stars, my friends and family, they were always there for me. They listened and reminded me that it was okay to struggle. But I always had to tell myself, "This will get better with time." Having these things in my life helped me get back to my old happy self who is motivated and can do anything. In conclusion, I learned that even in during tough times, we must power through and focus on the good in life. I want everyone here to remember no matter how dark it gets, you have the strength to find your stars and get through your hard times, too. Thank you. All right. And we'll invite Weha Longi up and you can correct me if I destroyed your

172name. I'm sorry. Um to celebrate South Jordan Middle School with us. Uh my name is Wea Longi and it is an honor to represent South Jordan Middle School this evening. Sojo is a special place. We have students on target to excel in high school sports already breaking Bringham track records. We have students overachieving in science and scoring the highest in the state. And some of our band musicians have competed at the state level. And our theater kids continue to inspire us both on and off stage. Whether it is a national speech competitions or American Ninja Warrior competitions, our students place at the highest levels, making us all proud to be snow leopards. However, none of these achievements would be po would be possible without our teachers. Our students are some of the best at what

173they do, but with our teachers, they become masters of their craft. Every student needs a teacher. We're called students not because of the fact that we're in school, but because of the fact we have mentors to guide us along the way to become our best selves. Without that, our science teachers, without our science teachers, we our eighth grade class wouldn't be have the highest RIS scores in the school. Without our band teachers unmatched dedication and passion, making her student of the year, our ensembles would never create beautiful melodies just months after picking up an instrument for the first time. And while not every teacher will be involved in shaping a student to achieve the highest rewards or become winners in their categories, we have teachers who know our limitations and are patient and compassionate when

174our personal lives impact what we're able to give to the classroom. Nevertheless, our students can't learn, nor can our teachers teach without the unseen heroes known as our staff. Our staff have created a foundation for our education to take place and continue to support and create the space that supports us all. Behind the scenes, they work hard balancing our budgets to ensure that our needs are met, maintaining a clean and safe environment that is conducive to learning and teaching, and creating food that sustains and creates our minds, our bodies healthy and strong throughout our school days. All these achievements make SoJo stand out academically, artistically, and athletically. What truly makes Sojo Sojo is not something that can be measured at a contest. It's the people. It's our hallways filled with kindness and respect. It's a

175way that each of us can find our place by the end of each school year with people who accept us and are there for us. Not only on the big flashy days or when we so to our highest potential, but on the ordinary days, the days when getting out of bed is harder than normal, when our grades don't reflect our e efforts, and when friendships get strained or when hearts get broken. On these days, there's always someone to walk with you, to catch you when you fall, or even to lift you up that last step of the way. This school isn't perfect. Every single one of us has weaknesses or hindrances to our performances. But what truly matters is at the end of the day, we stand proud and tall, eager to improve and leave

176a sojo a better place than we found it. We'd like to thank the board of education for recognizing our efforts to try to improve the school and rise to meet the challenges before us with kindness, courage, and respect. Thank you. [Applause] Sounds like an amazing place to be. Thank you for being here. Can I just ask anyone who is here as a supporter of South Jordan Middle School, will you please stand and let us applaud you? Whe that's parents or faculty staff and students, we would love to invite you up. Um just start at this end. We'd love to shake your hand and thank you for being here in person. And we also have a little gift for you. All right, let's move into our resolutions of appreciation. Miss Dean, whereas dedicated service to Jordan

177School District was faithfully and effectively performed, whereas they consistently and conscientiously executed their responsibilities with integrity, honesty, and loyalty. Be it therefore resolved that the Jordan School District Board of Education and District Administration declare appreciation for the outstanding service that was performed in the cause of public education and hereby express our sorrow at the death of these valued friends. Michael Richard Cedholm, human resources. Gayen Costley Carling, uh, teacher and teacher specialist. Steven Del Moffett, mechanic. Rodney Wayne Sims, bus driver. Resa Len Moss Valel, behavior support assistant. Thank you. Um, it's always a fun night when we get to welcome our Jordan Education Foundation to the microphone. Um they are here today to recognize our outstanding education support professionals. Thank you, President George. My name is Mike Haynes. I'm the director of the Jordan Education Foundation.

178Thank you to the full board of education superintendency and John Larson. Thank you for all you do. So, this is really exciting for us as well, being able to recognize some great and outstanding uh individuals, employees within the district that makes Jordan District so amazing. So, if uh I think you all know who you are, if you could all line up over here against this wall so we can expedite the the process of handing out gifts and then once you receive that last gift over here, if you would come stand over here to my left as I read a little bit about you for everyone to hear. So, those of you in the in the audience that may not know, um, we have our licensed educators and we have about 3600 of those and then

179all the other employees in the district are classified as education support professionals. So, these are our top 10 education support professionals that are here tonight to be recognized. So, we'll start first. We have members of our our foundation board and staff over here with us today to to help support us in this recognition. So, first, uh Laurel Biggler, she is the athletic administrative assistant at Haramman High School, principal there, Todd Kornberg. And Todd, she's got some fans here. So Laurel is celebrated for her her unwavering dedication to student athletes and the broader school community. She proactively monitors academic eligibility for athletes, helping Haramman earn more academic all-state recipients than any other district school. Come on over here, Laurel. Right up in front everybody so everybody can see you. And her proactive planning helps keep things

180running smoothly. Laurel attends nearly every event and fosters strong relationships with staff, students, and parents. She is the go-to person for anything related to athletics or the performing arts. Whether it's grabbing a portable sound system, helping with cash boxes, or grilling hot dogs, she's always willing to help with even little notice. She'll jump in without hesitation. So, congratulations, Laurel. And um now, if you'd stand right over here and we'll just wait for everybody right here. So, along with these gifts, we've got um a Betty's blanket donated from the Betty's company. Um, Angie White, is she here tonight? Angie is one of the co-founders and owners of Betty's and is a volunteer board member for the foundation and has donated these blankets for you. So, and then also some Stanley mugs and a uh you'll be

181receiving a $1,000 bonus in your check coming on your next check for this uh recognition. So, that is fun. And all of this is made possible by great donors that we work with across the district, even the state. So, uh, we're really appreciative and grateful for such great donors that support our employees. So, the second is Michelle Emans. Michelle, she is at Oakleaf Elementary. Michelle stands out with her exceptional ability to connect with both students and staff. Her positive, upbeat personality combined with her many years of experience as a teacher has given her the necessary skills to help help students in the wellness center. She is very attentive and and intuitive to the needs of the students. Michelle organized wellness Wednesday breaks for all of the school faculty. So, she is so thoughtful and caring

182and makes Oakleaf a better place to be, not only for students, but for the teachers and staff as well. Michelle is a ray of sunshine and joy to be around. Congratulations. All right. Next is Allison Coons. Allison, she's over at Joel P. Jensen Middle School. She is an assistant full-time custodian. Allison is a beacon of kindness and hard work. Her everpresent smile and genuine warmth create an invite in inviting atmosphere, making her a beloved figure at Joel P. Jensen Middle School. Allison's unwavering dedication, even while battling cancer, is nothing short of inspiring. Despite experiencing extreme pain, Allison consistently came to work with a smile. Allison spearheaded an initiative for students to work off school debt or complete court assigned community service by helping with custodial duties. Allison's commitment goes beyond assign assigning tasks. She invests

183time in understanding each student's strengths and challenges. She creates an environment where students feel supported, valued, and capable of success. Congratulations, Susie Leong. Susie Susie is the nutrition manager at South Jordan Middle School. And we've got some fans from South Jordan Middle School with us today. Um, so everyone knows that nutrition is a vital part of the school day, but no one takes the responsibility as a as personally as Susie. Susie is proactive in making sure breakfast and lunch service happens without a hitch. Susie is the definition of practicing what you preach. Come on. She has high expectations of her team, but is the first to arrive and the last to leave. No one in her cafeteria works harder. No one is more supportive of those around her than Susie. Her team is quick to

184rally to any cause because she sets the tone that we do what it takes to give our students the best food and best experiences possible. And her cinnamon rolls are [Applause] legendary. Dan Parkco. All right, Dan. Dan is a technology support lead in the information systems and u works with Mike Heapes and Stephanie Ellsworth across the district. Dan is known for his willingness to help and his unwavering can do attitude. He has a genuine commitment to going above and beyond to ensure that students, staff, and the entire school district have the support they require to thrive. Whether it's troubleshooting Chromebooks, mentoring new tech staff, or volunteering to provide support at after-hour events, Dan consistently exceeds expectations and tackles every task with enthusiasm and efficiency. Not only is he great at addressing issues, Dan is adept

185at recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of our staff. He fosters a culture of excellence in our district. Congratulations, Brian Purcell. All right, there we go. Transportation people. So, Brian is uh a mechanic, a senior mechanic, uh works with Paul Bajgera in transportation. So, as the lead mechanic, Brian is tasked with ensuring our bus fleet is running at a very high standard. Not only does Brian have the qualities to diagnose and fix buses, he also has the unique quality to set bus drivers minds at ease and always and always remains calm. Brian is on call call many weekends and holidays and never seems to be put out when asked to address address an issue or drive a bus route. In addition, Brian has been a mentor and coach for JATC students in the diesel mechanic program.

186He is respected and admired by not only the other mechanics but by all with whom he comes in contact. Congratulations. Thank you. And if I'm not mis mistaken we have about 280 buses in the district somewhere around there. That's a lot of buses. All right. Lann Sullivan. Lannne. Lannne is an instructional assistant at South Valley School, principal there, Tammy Rachek. Um, so Lannne exemplifies the the spirit of community, collaboration, and innovation. With impeccable attendance, she offers stability and support. She created a year-long cooking curriculum and organizes community events that teach life skills. Luang goes the extra mile with an after-school bowling team for former students. Her personal touch, such as delivering cards, meals, and small gifts, has enhanced the overall school culture. Her positive influence inspires others. One teacher said, "She makes me a better

187teacher. Lann's achievement Lann's achievements have left a lasting impact on the school and its students, making her an exemplary instructional assistant." Congratulations, and Natalie Terry. Yeah, Natalie is an administrative assistant at Ochre Hills Middle School. Our principal there, Lisa Jackson. Natalie's kindness, helpfulness, and unwavering support have made her an indispensable part of her school. Natalie consistently goes above and beyond, whether assisting administration, supporting teachers, or contributing to school events. Her reliability and dedication ensure that the school functions smoothly and effectively and everyone around her feels her positive influence. Her willingness to take initiative and her proactive approach to problem solvings problem solving set her apart. Natalie doesn't just meet expectations, she exceeds them. Her ability to foster relationships and build rapport with staff has made her a trusted figure, contributing to a positive school culture

188and enhancing overall student well-being. Congratulations and Jeff Welch. Yeah. Whoa. Here we go. Jeff is a custodian at Elk Meadows. Principal there is Tiffany Smith. Jeff's expertise extends beyond traditional custodial duties, encompassing remarkable proficiency in general maintenance and repair, allowing him to fix anything. His contributions extend far beyond his essential duties. Jeff's creative initiatives such as his mini falcon hunt, annual Christmas mural, and Elf on a Shelf bring joy and a sense of fun to the school day. Perhaps most notable is Jeff's willingness to take pies to the face for a fundraiser. His daily interactions with students in the lunchroom, from opening milks to assisting with prize distributions, from his Home Depot apron, showcase his caring and approachable nature. Congratulations. And if you haven't noticed, we've been going in alphabetical order. So, um, Chris Wishert.

189Chris is, uh, administrative assistant in purchasing, working with Kurt Prussy. So Chris's professional and personal qualities um make her great a great asset to purchasing in Jordan school district as a whole. Chris administers two critical programs for the district, the Pecard program and the Amazon business account. In everything she does, Chris supports the responsible stewardship of public funds. She is exceptionally attentive to detail. Beyond her professional abilities, Chris always has a positive attitude. She greets people by name and treats everyone with kindness. She can also speak Spanish to help every visitor feel welcome. Chris goes above and beyond in performing her work, and her support allows everyone else in purchasing to do their jobs even better. Congratulations, Chris. And we have one additional award that we'd like to This is our second year recognizing our

190um um award of excellence for our child development center. And this year it goes to Carolyn Crowe. Carolyn. So Carolyn is a speech and language pathologist working in the child development center with Christy Whiteside. Carolyn is an exemplary speech and language pathologist whose impact on students and their families is profound. Her dedication to teaching and supporting both peers and families makes her an invaluable asset to the educational program. Caroline's bilingual ability enhances her to connect or enables her to connect effectively with Spanish-sp speakaking families. She consistently steps up to help staff with teaching, learning new skills, and overall development. She serves as a leader and mentor among her colleagues. Parents hold Carolyn in high esteem, expressing immense gratitude for her. They commend her patience, kindness, and dedication to fulfilling the unique language learning needs of

191their children. Congratulations, Caroline. Now, every year we get a number of nominations that come in across the district from from some great people and we have to score them and select a top 10, which isn't very easy to do. It's very difficult. But, uh, I think what you've heard today, we have some wonderful, exceptional employees that give their all for the district and for the students that we serve. And thank you very much. Appreciate all that you do. Thank you. We want a picture. Yeah. board members, do you want to come around and we'll do a quick picture. You know what Betty is this? Yeah. Wait, [Music] cuz I thought she's not blowing me a kiss. She's not blowing me a kiss. Were you grabbing me? All right. As they're filtering out, I just want

192to extend one more huge piece of gratitude to our ESPs across the district who keep the district running. We are so grateful for their hard work. and also for our amazing Jordan Education Foundation. They do so much to enrich the experiences of our employees and our students in the district and we are so grateful for their efforts. So, thank you for being here and for the work that you do. Okay, Mayber is in full swing. I there have been so many fun events happening around the district, so brace yourselves for an amazing board member recognition. I will turn it to board members. Okay, I have three. The um so the first one, a couple weeks ago, language and culture services hosted a certification night at Bingham High School where 45 parents and family members of

193Jordan School District students received certificates for completing English classes taught at Copper Mountain Middle School and Joel Pensen Middle School. These families come from all over the world and our most recent students were from Venezuela, Colombia, Afghanistan, Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, Ivory Coast, and Iraq. Um, I am very pleased that Jordan School District supports students by supporting families this way. Two of the parents that participated this year secured a job with the school district. Last year, three of the parents that participated secured jobs with Jordan School District. um these classes increase parent engagement in their students education. So thanks to language and culture services for supporting our Jordan school district students this way. Um I also want to recognize Zayn Lowry and the combined West Jordan High School and Copper Hills High School Chamber Orchestra. This

194is Mr. Lowry's first year teaching at West Jordan High School and Copper Hills High School and he and his combined chamber orchestra um received all ones at state this year and they sound amazing. They sound so good. So, thanks to Mr. Lowry for bringing these two schools together to create something wonderful and beautiful. And now I have like a bunch of VIPs here. Uh, will the West Jordan High School girls softball team and their coaches come up to the front so we can recognize you? So while they are coming up, I want to name their coaches. Their coaches are MC Danner. Oh, and your coaches can come up too. MC Danner, Cara Given, Julianne Tia, and Koi Christensen. So, this is a historic event. West Jordan High School girls softball team. Um, you see this

195big trophy? You No, just stand up. Stay standing. You just stand all up here so we can see you like you can. Yeah, this is for us for the board so we can see or or Okay, it's for them. Turn around and face them. Thank you. Okay. Or you can turn around, whichever. So, this is a historic title. This is the first time ever that the West Jordan High School girls softball team has brought home a state title. And actually, the first time Yeah. [Applause] and the first time in 42 years that a a girls team from West Jordan High School has brought uh and I keep saying brought home because West Jordan High School is my alma moater and my kids go there. So anyway, have brought home um it's been more than 40

196years that a girls team has brought home a state title. So, thank you. And I so so and so as a whole, the team's coaching staff is in its second year as coaches for the softball program. And there are four seniors who led fiercely that knowing that a state title was the goal. Not only did they accomplish that goal, but they did so with class. And I can attest to that. I was able to attend your Thursday game. It was amazing. You are so classy and adorable and I love the rapport you have with each other, with your coaches, even with the other team. I It was You guys are class act. Okay. Um and all four seniors are going to be playing at the next level. Ria Tvita, who is the pitcher, where are

197you? Raise your hand. You are amazing. You are so fun to watch. So she signed with BYU. Uh Lafiana Fifita signed with UVU and Ariana Fletchstead Felstead. Um and Andrea Tagoa. They have offers but just haven't decided yet where they are going to play. So thank you so much for coming and bringing home a title and I hope that this will be the first of many. So thank you very much. And can they shake our hands? Will you guys all shake our hands? You can just set the trophy right here for a second while you shake her hand. She wants to touch it. You want to hold Can I feel it? Yeah. Great job. Great job, you guys. It was so fun to watch you pitch. Oh my goodness. Congratulations. [Music] Nice job. I love

198watching all your little atbat rituals. That was awesome. Good job. Excellent. I am so proud of you guys. Good job. Thank you. Thanks for coming tonight. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for coming. This is awesome. So, thank you. Good job. Well done. Good job. Good job. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Good job. Thank you so much. Congratulations. [Applause] I'll go. So, I um invited Mountain Ridge High School's 2005 indoor percussion ensemble. Can they come forward? 2025. Did I say 2005? I said 2005. Pretty close. They were not even born yet. Shows you how old I am. Awesome. Just as they're coming up, I just wanted to introduce uh this indoor uh per uh percussion ensemble. There's 34 students, eight seniors, 11 juniors, 10 sophomores, five freshmen, and they have

199a staff of eight and three designers. So, um I'm not sure everyone's here, but it shows their dedication to show up on the eve of uh gra, you know, graduation and the end of school for them to be here. Thank you so much for coming. um in their spring competitions um they performed super well from February um placing either first or second in every competition and it was interesting for me to look at who they competed against and who their competition and it seems to be Canyon School District has a combined ensemble. So like we have them individually in our schools but their district has collected throughout their district which shows a little bit difference with our program in our district and how strong it is. So again, winning first or second in every single

200one of those events. In April, they went to the WGI World Championships and it was the first high school team in Utah to go there in the last 20 years. So that's a great accomplishment. They made it to the semiis. And also they were able to go and compete against other high schools, universities, and private ensembles um in Ohio while they were there. So they kind of put Mountain Ridge and Jordan School District on the map. Um then when they returned they went to the state championships at Weber High and they won first in the preliminaries and finals and they are the 200 and 25 uh state championships uh champions for the state of Utah. Um I had the opportunity to attend several of their events. I wanted them to play, but it is quite

201a quite a challenge to bring all their instruments and I don't think we have the room to move around and do it. So, what we did is we got a video and the video is their competition piece. It's called Echoes of Ash and it um it kind of encap encapsulates. So, it portrays a volcano erupting and um and uh at the end I think the everyone freezes in time. It's pretty cool. So, let's play that video for us. But while they're playing it, just notice the talent these kids have. We honor. We honor. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Angel. [Music] [Applause] [Music] We have dishonored her. She screams with ash to the sky. [Music] Hey, [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat up here. Heat. Heat. [Music] in her anger. [Applause] Thank you to our 2025 um state champions

202for indoor uh percussion ensemble. Appreciate you guys for coming. Congratulations again. That's thousands of hours of of hard work. We know it. And uh they're one of our club organizations in our school. Come and shake our hands for the students. [Applause] Way to go. Good job. Thanks for coming. Good job. Good job. Thanks for coming, you guys. Thanks for coming. You're amazing. You guys are amazing. Thanks for coming. Congratulations. Did you guys get a pin? Congratulations. You guys get a pin. I'll make it now. Thanks, Darl. Thank you. Good job, you guys. Good job. Congratulations. Good job. Good job. Good job. Good job, you guys. Yeah. Did you just like camp yourself out? No. Congratulations. Thanks. Thanks for coming. Good to see you. Good to see you. Hey, for you students, if you didn't get

203a pen, come grab a pen. There's a pen up here for you. I know some of you missed it. Good job. That's most important. Thank you for your time, board. Hey, other board members. Thank you. I've got a long list if you don't mind. So, I'm gonna I'm gonna go all the way back to the end of April after our last board meeting in April. I got to attend the musical at Ki Sue Hamilton. They always put on a spring play and I got to go. It was Shrek the Musical and it was so much fun. They did three different days with three different casts because they had so many students and they wanted everyone to be able to participate. It was so much fun. and I loved going to that. Um, also kind of

204end of April, beginning of May, um, side note, I got to go and observe a few of our, uh, staff members and I got to sit in with one of our SLPs within, uh, occupational therapist and a physical therapist. Um, and that was a really great opportunity for me to see what our employees do. And I especially had a really fun time with the physical therapist because she was at Kari Sue Hamilton and uh she put me to work walking with the students in the hallways and it was just a blast. I loved it. Um and then I also got to buy some plants at our JATC plant sale that the students horiculture students put on. They make plants every year and they're in my yard and they're super pretty. I love them. Um, back

205on May 5th, I got to go to our entrepreneur event for our CTE students that was held here and they presented their business ideas. Um, and a lot of those business ideas the students have already implemented and are making money from. And so that was really cool. Um, there was a uh one selling cookies. There was one that does croisses and bineers. Uh there was a girl who does English tutoring who I passed on to my neighbor. I was like, "Hey, you should send people to her and give her some business." Uh there was car detailing, homemade tortillas, all these wonderful, wonderful entrepreneurs. Um let's see, I've got more. So also, um in April and May, there were our art shows. So, by the middle school art shows and the high school art shows that

206I got to go and look at all of the pieces at um some of my one of my favorite art pieces uh from the high school was a self-portrait by Madison Barson from Mountain Ridge High School, which she did a relief print. And that's where you get um either a block of wood or um what is it? another block that's softer and you carve out the picture and then you roll ink on it and you put the paper on it and I think that's super cool. But that one was so fun. And then for the middle school art, there was a just a oh it was a lenolium block. That's what it is that you do. It's nice and soft. Um for the middle school art, there was a drawing of a giraffe and it

207was just done with pen and it was super cool and detailed. But I love the description on the art uh artist statement. It said, "I was bored in math class." But they did a fabulous job. Hopefully, they also learned math. But um and then let's see, on May 12th, I got to attend the Unified Special Olympics golf event that was held at the Glenmore Golf Club. That was a lot of fun to see our students there, our middle school students, um participating in that. On May 15th, I got to go to our CTE film and video showcase for our students who did that. And they rented out a um theater down in um is it Fat Cats? I think down in Bluffdale. And that was so much fun. And the students got to see each

208other's films on the big screen. And that was a blast. I loved seeing all of those students work and their creativity. On May 16th, I got to go see the Soaring Singers Choir at Riverside Elementary. And their theme this year for the choir was like old uh TV show theme songs. So, they sang like Gilligans Island and the Adams Family, all the originals. It was so cute. They did a great job. Um, also on May 20th, I went to the CTE. I did a lot of CTE stuff in May. Uh I went to the internship mentor appreciation showcase uh which was a luncheon where we honored and or thanked our mentors from community members who do internships for our students. And that was really cool to see how much connection we have to our community

209and how many businesses are willing to work with us and help our students, give them opportunities. Um that was really lovely. I loved going to that. Um also quite a few of us attended our employee retirement dinner honoring our employees who have retired. That was a lovely evening. I got to go to the Colombia Elementary was rewarded uh a grant from Zezy's to help with their lunch debt and that was a wonderful presentation. And then on May 22nd, I got to go to the Jespa uh negotiation ratifications over at transportation, which was the first time I'd been to transportation. It was a beautiful building. Um but I'd like a bigger tour. Paul maybe can take me. Um but I did so many things. It was definitely Mayber. Um but I loved getting around to different

210parts of the district and seeing all the wonderful things we're doing. So, okay. It's funny. I have my list up and I'm like, I'll just mark off the ones that haven't been mentioned yet. And it's incredible how much is happening in the district. I didn't get to mark off many. Um, first of all, I wanted to congratulate the Majestic Arts Academy who held their annual spring suare. It is so fun to see the progress of that school. I've gone year after year and as now this school has been around a few years, the students have been playing for more time. It is just astonishing to see um how talented these students are and the way that um art is woven into their educations throughout the day. One of my favorite things about Majestic is that

211the teachers learn alongside the students. And so they go to band or orchestra or whatever instrument they choose right along with their students and they learn the numbers and they sit with the students and they play along. and it is really cool to see that kind of humility and effort. Um, also just a huge shout out to our CTE programs. I know they've already been called out. I was able to come to a couple of events, the CTE Choice Awards and also the Academy Awards. I'm sure I'm saying that one wrong, but such cute themes. And every time I am in this building, I find myself learning just like, tell me more. what other options are there? And there's always something new to learn. Um, spring plays have been so fun. I got to see

212Susicle at Jordan Hills and at Fox Hollow, which was really fun. And another shout out to Fox Hollow for their fourth grade music performance. That was absolutely a breath of fresh air. Um, Analopee Canyon put on the Lion King, which was super fun to um watch those students perform. that was their first ever play that has been held at that school. So that was neat to see the establishment of a new tradition. Um and there are many more. But a huge thank you to those teachers and administrators who are pulling long hours and those of you who are watching on YouTube going so many recognitions. We'll make up for it in the summer when we have no one to tout on. Okay. Anyone else? I have one. All right. It was six years ago in

21311 days when I as a president of this board met with a young Anthony Godfrey at a rainy night in West Jordan and signed the document that contractually made him the superintendent of Jordan School District. And it was six years ago tomorrow that this board ratified that and officially announced him as superintendent. And I think that's worth pausing and mentioning. The national average for superintendent is just barely over two years and Anthony has done six with no end in sight. I can't even imagine being in charge of an organization that had 57,000 customers on a daily basis that were in your presence for seven plus hours. Tens of thousands of employees, countless volunteers, so many moving pieces in this district. It is it would be easier to to manage a small city than to be

214superintendent of this district. And to do it as well and as excellently as Anthony Godfrey has done is worth pausing and recognizing. So, I want to recognize our superintendent. I this is my ninth year on the board and I honestly can say that I believe that to be the greatest accomplish accomplishment to which I have contributed. So I wanted to recognize Anthony Godfrey as Jordan school district superintendent. [Applause] Hey, anyone? All right. Um, and can I just take two seconds to say thank you to board members. This is a very busy time of year for us and also a huge payday. We don't get lots of those as board members, but being able to see what happens in public education is an honor and a privilege, and I'm so thankful to work alongside people who

215are invested in cheering on students. So, thank you for that. All right, Dr. Godfrey, superintendence recognition. Thank you. Uh, thank you, Mr. Dunford for that uh kind tribute. It's a it's an it's a it's a true um honor for me to get to uh serve in this capacity and um I have appreciated um the board who put me in and every board member subsequently. I've been um universally supported and um I've just been we've been able to do things as a district because of your support. Um that picnic table at that maverick is meaningful to me. It always will be. Um and uh I'm I'm very glad to be here. I I I can't imagine loving my draw my job more than I do. Um, after two years, it was really fun to say I

216was finally above average. Um, because I had outlasted the average term of a superintendent nationally. Um, it it's uh we've been able to do exciting things together and there's a lot more to come. And um, I've said often that I get a backstage pass as superintendent to the great things happening. I get to see your work as a board. I get to see individual classrooms, individual ESPs. I get to go to um many of the things that you described and just get to see the results of thousands of hours of hard work from family, students, and especially employees. So, thank you for making that possible. Um just to echo what we've the people we've already honored tonight, um it's our our education support professionals. um are really incredible. We have I think 11 families, job

217families, and we have far um I don't know, we we have the best around and they you heard the variety of jobs that they do, but they go well beyond what's assigned and expected. They connect with students, they connect with each other and support each other and really do incredible work. So, I appreciate the foundations honoring them. I I was able to go to the the the Friday softball game. You had Thursday covered. I had Friday covered. And uh they have to win twice. They have to win two out of three games. Um and that's tough to do. They did it with class as you described. That was uh it was really fun to watch that team and many others this spring uh who have been very successful and other state titles that we've had.

218It's really hard to keep up with. Um and our percussion group really um you really have to stick to it with percussion and uh they've they've done a great job of uh of really representing us well and it does take thousands of hours as was referenced. Um it's uh it's really um in a great joy for me to see the results of of the work that's done. Who else did we have come up today? Who am I missing? Did I get everybody? It's tough. It's tough to keep track of. South Jordan Middle did a great job. It is a great place to be. Um, but we just so many good things happening in Jordan School District. So, I look forward to graduation and a strong end to a great year. Uh, I love how cyclical

219education is. Every month feels a little different. And, uh, May is a really fun time. And this year, June is a really fun time, too, because we get to go into June a little bit and enjoy graduation coming up. So, thank you for letting me be a part of this and uh for the your great support and thanks to everyone out there who makes Jordan what it is. [Applause] Great. We'll now move into the public comment portion of our business meeting. Uh the board of education encourages public engagement. We value input from our residents, students, and employees. The board will not take public comment on personnel issues or statements regarding the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual during board meetings. If you have concerns on that vein, please feel free

220to email us. Um, those wishing to have comments heard by the board are asked to list the topic they intend to discuss as well as their name on the signup document or email. Um, the comments must be age appropriate. The board does not discuss issues that are not on the meeting's agenda. The board may ask staff to follow up on issues raised. We may address them at a future meeting, but silence by the board during comments on an issue does not suggest support or opposition to the message given. The board will take public comment at this time on items not listed on the agenda. In-person comments will be heard first, followed by comments received electronically. Both in-person and emailed comments can last a maximum of three minutes. So, please do your best to be respectful

221of that time. When you're called to the podium, please remember to state your name. So, I will announce the person coming up and the person who will be next, just so you kind of know what to expect. So, we'll first invite Katie Orion. Sorry if I said that wrong. Please fix it when you come up. and then Jenny Cohen will be next. Hi, it's Katie Irrian, but that's okay. It's fine. It happens all the time. Um, I wanted to come up today and address the board about the book Speak by Larry Hall Sanderson that, if you're aware, has just been banned in Jordan School District. And I want to start with a story. Uh, a couple months ago, well, first of all, I'm an educator. I'm a parent. I'm a community member. And a couple

222months ago, my daughter, who's 14, wanted to earn some money. And um, I said, "I have a good idea for you. What if we start a book bank?" Because she was currently only reading teen romances, which I was curating for her, but I was sick of her. I wanted her to read something different. And I said, "If for every book you read that I pick, I will give you money in your book bank." And so the first book I picked for her to read was Speak. And this is before any of this happened in our district. But she read Speak. We had such an amazing conversation about what the book was about. We had it in a safe environment. I was able to talk to her about what happened and what she should do if

223it happens to her. And one reason I felt very strongly about my 14-year-old reading this book is because I teach young adults. And every year I teach speak. I don't teach in the Jordan school district, but every year I teach speak. And for the past five or six years, every year I have more girls coming to tell me they've been sexually assaulted. And every year, not one of those girls has reported it to the police. And just in March, when the newest girl came to tell me she had been sexually assaulted, she hadn't even told her parents. This book should be taught in an experience that is safe and with trusted adults that can talk to young women and young men about sexual assault. I it it really gets me that we're equating graphic sex

224or pornography with sexual assault. They're totally different things. And I could stand up here and passionately defend this book, but I just wanted to end with a few things. This book has been taken out of every library in Jordan School District because of three people. We have three people that sit on the board to take books out of libraries. They're not required to read the book. I don't care if that's law. That's pretty base for us to allow. And if there's a loophole right now in our school district that if a book is taken out of libraries, it's immediately ripped from curriculum. If you were to challenge a book in curriculum, then it would go through a huge process of being vetted by multiple people that have to read the book that have to be

225educators, parents, or librarians, and they would then vote on whether or not that book should be pulled out. Speak bypassed all of that. So I would urge you board members to read speak before you decide what to do with it next month or whenever and to figure out how to close that loophole so it can be harder to ban a book not easier. Thank you. We'll now hear from Jenny Cohen followed by Cindy Mitchell. I'm not as eloquent so I have to write my things down. Uh my name is Jenny Cowen and I have had children in this school district for 16 years and I have many more years ahead of me. Um I have since the fall of 2022 I have read 72 plus books for the school district. In just three school years

226I volunteered hundreds of hours reading books as a member of the literary selection committees for both the high school and the middle school and also for the library appeals committee. I volunteered this time while serving as PTA president for my elementary school, while serving in my church, in my community, and while raising my five children who are very active and involved. But I have never minded spending this time reading these books because I've always been happy and I believe so strongly in the power of books. Um, it wasn't until a few months ago when I heard about several books being banned, um, that I really started to realize that my time has been wasted, hundreds of hours. How does one or two or three complaints supersede this process that I've been a part of? Um,

227in order to serve on any of these selection committees, a volunteer has to be trained on district policy regarding acceptable literature for school use and also be familiar with the Utah code governing sensitive materials in schools. These committees include parents and students and teachers and administrators and we usually have 15 to 20 people on these committees. When a book is submitted, each member reads this selection in its entirety. Uh and then we come together and we discuss these books and we come from all backgrounds. We come from all beliefs and feelings. We make a decision as a committee whether this book is appropriate for its requested use. And these decisions are specific to each grade and even for use. Um, is this book book good only for literary circles? Should we use it in only

228honors classes? Is it good for the entire grade? These are things that we discuss. This process is thorough. There have been many times when I haven't disc um agreed with the decision that my committee made, but I've always had confidence in the process. And the person requesting these book bans realized that they could skip this entire process by requesting these books be removed from the library with vague complaints of sensitive material. I don't believe that these um individuals have even read these books if they think that these books are graphic in any way. remove a book from a library and like Katie said, you remove it from the classroom. Um, they've found the workaround to this rigorous process that I've been a part of. So again, I'm asking why we are allowing these few complaints

229to supersede this process that is so rigorous and involved. Um, finally, I'd like to address what I see as a lack in our policy. When I served on the appeals committee for the library books, um the form to request an appeal had one question that was so telling to me. It was simply, "Have you read this book?" And without fail, and I mean without fail, 100% of the time the individual had not read the book. Um they haven't even read the book that they want to ban. This seems to be so unnecessary to to state, but reading the book in its entirety should be the base base requirement of asking for its removal. Thank you. All right. Sorry. Um, got taking notes. All right. So, next we'll hear from Cindy Mitchell, followed by Brian Call.

230Hi, my name is Cindy Mitchell and I've been a teacher in the Jordan Schools District now for 35 years. 25 years as a librarian and I'm speaking about the three books that have been banned recently in our district. Not just speak and the speak graphic novel, but story of a girl who has written by Sarah Zar who is from Utah, Utah's own. And all three of these books have received numerous awards and accolades. And as as has been discussed, they have also all been through the district approval process for literature, which is a highly detailed and um wellthoughtout process for getting something approved for just classroom use. But um I want to first of all state that I believe that both challenges need to go back to the cla the school first. It should not

231be going directly to the district level. they should be addressed at the school of the person that is bringing forth the challenge because that is taking the school and the school community out of the process and putting immediately at a district level instead. I also believe that the only way to evaluate a book is on its full content according to the Miller test which is the only test for a book to be banned which has been established by the Supreme Court of the United States which has stood since 1973 and has not yet been superseded. The Miller test means that there are three prongs that you need to use to evaluate a book before you pull it and you must read the book in whole. I do not believe that we should be following our

232ill- advised state law which equates books in school libraries with pornography and purant and titillating depictions of sex because if you have read even the excerpts that were submitted there is nothing titillating or pornographic about these excerpts. In fact, the passages that were pulled for the report, but the passages that were submitted were pulled from Booklooks, which is now a defunct website that was supported by the Moms for Liberty group. And so there's nothing in these that was personal from the person that brought forth the challenges for these books. And so I think we need to revisit this entire process. We need to look at the book um reconsideration policy and revamp the entire thing. And these three books need to be back on our shelves and they need to be back in our classrooms

233because both of them passed the district approval process for literature. Thank you. All right, up next we'll have Brian Call followed by Amy Ledllo. Hello, my name is Brian Call and I have uh four children in the Jordan School District and I'm the father of one of these awesome percussion students. Uh I also have served as the school community council chair for Mountain Ridge High School for the last year as well as at um South Middle School and have been involved in community council for a number of years. One of the things I love is the emphasis we have in community council of figuring out how do we support all students and use the land trust money to do that? Whether it's helping with educational intervention to raise test scores or increasingly at the secondary

234level, I see a lot of emphasis on making sure we have the mental health uh resources that we need at the secondary schools to help every uh student succeed. And one of the things that we know really helps students is when they can be part of a group and feel successful at something. And that is something I've loved so much about the indoor percussion group is how it has helped my son to feel part of something and feel successful. But one of the challenges we have is the way the policies are written. And I think an unintended consequence is that the indoor percussion group has to pay a lot more money to use school facilities than other school groups. And I think this is a oversight that might be a a bureaucratic mishap that isn't

235leading to the outcomes we want. So, what I'd like to ask the the board to do is consider how do we classify these groups that are related to curriculum that are doing things like music and ensure that they can have equal and fair use of the building for their competitions and activities without having them have to pay undue fees uh different than what uh other groups do just because they may be a club and not an actual uh you know sports team or something like that. Uh I believe that every student should have the opportunity to feel included and successful and that we do a lot of things right in this district to support that. I think this is just one case where the policy maybe needs a little refinement or the interpretation thereof uh

236to make sure that all these groups can uh have their activities and provide these wonderful opportunities for students. And so that is my request is that we look at that and make sure that we are charging appropriate fees and not overcharging groups. Um and uh thank you very much. Thank you. We'll now hear from Amy Ledllo. followed by Cindy Dimmer. Demer. Hi. Um, my name is Amy Ledllo. I'm a speech language pathologist for Jordan School District. I've um worked here since 2013. Um, I love my job. It's really fun. Um, I also mentor a bunch of people um to teach little baby SLPs how to do the job. It's very fun as well. I love it. Um, I'm here today advocating um for SLPs to be considered um as you guys are looking at budgeting

237things over the next little bit. Um, right now SLPs are on a teacher pay scale, which is totally great. Um, however, we're not allowed access to the same funds that teachers are allowed to, including national certification. We are nationally certified. Um, we also other school districts like Davis School District pays us for M's plus 30. Our master's degree is 66 credits compared to a masters of education which is 35 credits. So we are already doing 30 plus um to get our master's degree. Um and lastly the TSSP money now called shrine money was originally intended for pro positions that are um in critical need um at the school district level. SLPs have always been at a critical need 4.0 no critical need from the Utah State Board of Education. Um, which other professionals like special

238ed teachers are getting that um because they're at the same critical need, but we've been left out. Um, but now school districts have the ability to choose to put us on that so we can get um our positions filled to meet our students needs. Um, I think that's it. Thank you, [Applause] Cindy Damur. And then Crystal Hansen. Thank you. Hello, I'm Cindy Damer, and I've been in the district for over 20 years. Currently, we have a student who is a senior at Mountain Ridge High School. Thank you for having the indoor percussion ensemble here today. They've worked extremely hard and this season has been extraordinary for this group of students and staff. And we're also thankful for the amazing parent support that we've been given through the school and the district. While we recognize that

239the academic studies are the core of an education, our students involvement with performing arts programs have been equally important to driving the pursuit of learning, setting and achieving goals, and most importantly in today's world, communicating in person, together, and within a team environment. Today I wanted to share some information with you and I have a handout that I'm hoping I can share with you that provides some details about the impact of the current Jordan School District building rental policy that it's having on the indoor band program within the district taking away thousands of fundraising dollars from these school programs. Throughout the years, the district has been participating starting with Bingham over 20 years ago and they have built a strong foundation for the percussion program in Utah. And as Mr. Daryl Robinson noted, "Our district

240is unique in that almost all of our high schools have their own separate indoor percussion programs at Bingham, Copper Hills, Haramman, Mountain Ridge, and West Jordan. Additionally, there are also indoor guard programs at those same schools as well as Riverton High School. The band directors and staff are employed by the district offer these percussions to not only 9th through 12th graders but also 7th graders as well as the elementary programs for the guard programs fifth and sixth on Saturdays in January through April. These competitions occur throughout the state of Utah operating under local circuit organizations Inter Mountain Percussion Association and Utah Color Guard Circuit UCGC both governed by the World Circuit known as WGI. All of these pro programs provide educational performing arts competitions and our nonprofit 501c organizations and students throughout the state host

241these competitions for our students at our district as well as a few independent collegiic age groups. Over the past two years, Mountain Ridge has been charged for one Saturday $4,60 $4,330 and $5,730 for facility building rental and custodial fees. This is at our own school with our own students in buildings provided by our community and citizens specifically for use of these students. This has not always been the case and before 2024 there was a no charge policy with the part the guidance of partnerships and hosting these Saturday events. We certainly agree there's a fair level of custodial fees that should be charged. But at $50 per hour per person 10 hours resulting in $3,420 it is excuse me it is neither fair nor reasonable. And there are over 50 parent volunteers and students who help

242set up with the events. Previously, these dollars would be donated to the hosting schools of fundraiser. And we ask you to please review the rental application and fees throughout the district, not only at Mountain Ridge, to see where these updates can be made. And we also urge you to please review what has happened this year before the fiscal year ends. We appreciate your support of these student programs. Thank you. All right, we'll now hear from Crystal Hansen, followed by Angie Lucas. Hi, my name is Crystal Hansen. I'm a parent of children who grew up in Jordan School District, one who still attends Copper Hills High School. I've also worked as a librarian in the district for 12 years. And I would also like to comment on the three books that were recently banned from libraries

243and classrooms. I've read all three and find value in all of them. I've seen firsthand that they are meaningful and important to young adults who have read them, including my 16-year-old son who submitted an appeal for the book Speak. These books should not be banned. As a parent and educator, I'm concerned about the overall trend of censorship that is happening in school libraries and classrooms. While a vocal minority or challenging curriculum and books may have good intentions, the truth is by bowing to them, we're taking away learning opportunities from a great number of students. Reading can help kids make sense of their world. By removing books like Speak and Story of a Girl, which have content that is difficult but in no way pornographic, we're denying our young adults the opportunity to learn about things

244like the mental impact sexual assault has on its victims in a safe environment and at a level that is age appropriate. These books don't dwell on sexual acts or present them in a gratuitous manner. They mainly deal with the implications and the aftermath. As a librarian, I'm also concerned with the shift in district policy that has taken place this year. As has been mentioned, traditionally, we've had a committee of parents, teachers, and librarians who would read challenged books to discuss whether or not they have a place in our libraries and classrooms, and the system worked very well. I was on these committees. Um, under our new policy that is changed in response to Ken Ivory's censorship law, we have only a few people review the books and they don't even have to read them. They

245can look at one sentence out of context to make a snap judgment, which is what happened with all of these stories. It's not good policy and it could result in countless valuable text being removed if we don't revisit it and make ch changes. We need more people on the initial review committee and at least one person on the committee who has read the entire book. To make these quick, harsh judgments to ban books violates the First Amendment and does a major disservice to our students and communities. Thank you for your [Applause] time. Right, Angie Lucas followed by Megan Holio. Hi, my name is Angie Lucas. I am a published children's author and the mother of two cur current Jordan School District students, a second grader and an eighth grader. And I also personally attended Jordan

246School District from kindergarten through senior year of high school. I trust librarians. I trust their training and I trust their expertise. I strongly oppose the idea that a few individuals should have the power to ban a book for an entire school, that a few schools should have the power to ban a book for an entire district, or that a few districts should have the power to ban a book for an entire state. I oppose blanket book banning in principle, which applies to all of these titles that are targeted for removal, including Story of a Girl, which I haven't read. But in particular, I strongly oppose the banning of Speak by Lauri Hal Anderson. I read this book years ago and I was shocked to hear that there are attempts to ban it in my own

247school district. I recently read back through the book and confirmed my memory that there is nothing explicit or pornographic in this book. Certainly nothing that rises to the level of objective sensitive material. Yes, it deals with some mature themes, but unfortunately Jordan school district students also deal with mature themes in their real lives. and encountering difficult subject matter in a book before encountering it in real life can have a preparatory and protective effect. This book depicts a young woman's experience navigating high school after being assaulted while intoxicated at a party. The protagonist can't find the words to describe what happened to her for most of the book. And there's not a single scene that describes her experience in detail. The story emerges in flashbacks and fragments. There are no descriptions of body parts, no descriptions

248of the mechanics of sex. It doesn't glorify underage drinking or assault. In fact, it provides persuasive reasons to avoid underage drinking. I'm struck by the irony that we would try to silence a book called Speak. A book that helps girls understand and put words to things that so many have unfortunately experienced. A book that could help victims of assault find their own voices and clearly has as we've heard others testify tonight. A book that will instill every reader, including boys, with greater empathy for victims of sexual assault. There's only one population that would be protected by removing this book from Jordan School District classrooms and libraries, and that's the perpetrators of sexual assault. Please keep Speak by Larry Halls Anderson available for Jordan School District students. Let's trust librarians. Let's stop empowering a tiny minority

249of parents from controlling what other people's children get to read in school. Thank you. Megan Holio. Hello. Uh my name is Megan Holio and I am very glad to be here tonight. Thank you for the recognition of the Mountain Ridge Educational Indoor Percussion Ensemble. Um I happen to be a member of that educational team which I'm very proud of. I have for the last two years. I've been a member in the percussion educational organization in Jordan school district for the last six years. Um I also happen to be a member of the Inter Mountain Percussion Association board of directors which happens my job is involving all of our event coordination and planning. Um I've been asked tonight to read a statement from our executive director of impa because he was not able to be here.

250Um the Inter Mountain Percussion Association exists to provide performers and educators in the marching percussion and wind activities. a friendly competition venue to hone their skills, develop their craft, and enjoy life-changing experiences in the performing arts. Our board of directors is made up of active teachers with within our community elected by their peers. We have a central focus of providing the best possible experience in the performing arts to as many students as possible while providing excellent professional development to young and experienced instructors alike, like myself. There are costs associated with hosting these events. They include airfare and travel and accommodations for our world-class judges, stipens for and as uh those judges and a select few event staff, administrative costs such as websites, insurance, and software costs. None of our board of directors is paid for

251their services, including the role of the executive director of IMPa. The only costs we pass on to our event hosts which we typically see at Bingham High School, Mountain Ridge High School, and Haramman High School um by way of percentage of their ticket sales are directly related to the each individual event itself. These includes things such as staff credentials, spectator wristbands, our ticketing software, protective covering for our gym floors, the awards, and the training for all of the independent staff that help run our events to ensure fair competition for everyone involved. Our directive from our member ensembles is to keep these events as cost-effective as possible to ensure the best possible fundraising outcome for all of our host schools. When rental and custodial fees are assessed at such a high rate that we are seeing

252in the Jordan School District beyond what is normal for other school districts, it limits the ability of our hosts to raise money for their own programs by hosting an event. With the change in policies affecting school partnerships and the associated fee increase to secure school facilities, we have been unable to appropriately support these ensembles and host competitions throughout the Jordan School District without encouraging large financial losses. We ask the board to and district policy makers to reexamine the changes made in school partnerships to help us support our percussion ensembles throughout the district and the state of Utah. Thank you. Thank you to those who have spoken in person. I understand we have some emailed comments as well. President, we have more emailed comments that we could possibly read in the time period allotted and we

253have a pretty heavy agenda. I wonder if we could ask Mr. Larson to summarize them, state who they're from, and then send them to each board member. Mr. Larson, are you comfortable doing that? Board members? Yes. Okay, let's do that. Thank you. I have 12 emailed comments. 11 of them deal with uh the book Speak and uh I can't remember the other book. Sorry. The story of a girl. Thank you. Um, those 11 comments all spoke in favor of retaining the books in the libraries. Um, and you wanted the names. I think that's important to let them know that we we recognize that we've received them and that each board member will receive their emailed comments. Okay. Uh, those names are Rihanna Jensen, Melissa Zuckerman, Douglas Hendris, Lindell Watson, Luca Hillary, Wendy Stewart, Denise Anderson,

254Jay Dilstra, Jennifer Nielsen, Rachel Frost, and Sidna graph. There is a 12th email comment uh regarding SLP pay advocating for additional pay for SLPs. Uh similar to the other comment from tonight uh requesting one of two options for SLP pay increase. That is from Wendy Barrett. And I will start forwarding these to the board now. Thank you. Let's continue with our um agenda with a motion to approve the consent agenda. I move that we approve the consent agenda items A through C. I'll second I'll second it. All right. We have a motion by Miss Dean, a second by Mr. Robin or Dr. Robinson, excuse me, that we approve consent agenda items A, board minutes, B, the revised board meeting calendar for 2025 26, which adds the July virtual meeting, um, a brief July virtual meeting,

255and item C, esports and Jordan school district. Is there discussion? Okay, I just want to clarify this is the official board action that moves esports forward as a sanctioned sport in Jordan School District. This is the moment that you approve esports as a competitive sanctioned sport in Jordan School District. All that we've done before was to approve it as a club. We approved expenditures as equipment. We've we've approved some finances, but this is the moment we approve the sport. Miss Wood mentioned in our previous meeting some hesitancy on um advocating for more screen time, more game time. I've I've mentioned that same concern in a prior meeting. Um, in in this particular case, I'm I'm willing to give it a try. My concern remains. I think my perspective is I may be persuaded after today,

256but today I'm not persuaded. So, how do you give it a try? Because I think once we open this can of worms, there's no way to get the worms back in the can. You can't you can't sanction the sport and then unsanction it. I think it'd be very difficult. So So I'm hearing um a question of whether we'll be able to approve this group as a whole. I'm wondering if I could hear a replacement uh motion to approve consent agenda items A and B and then take esports separately. I'll do that. Thank you. I move that we approve consent agenda items A and B. I'll second. All right. We have a substitute motion by Miss Dean, second by Mr. Dunford that we approve consent agenda items A and B. So board minutes and the revide

257board meeting calendar for TW the year 202526. Any discussion on that? Okay. Hearing none. Those in favor say I. I. And any opposed. Okay. That passes unanimously. I'll now hear a motion to approve agenda item C. I move that we approve consent agenda item C, esports in Jordan School District. I second. Thank you. We have a motion by Miss Dean, second by Mr. Denford to approve esports in Jordan School District as a sanctioned sport. Um, and now I'll open it up for discussion. The question was asked, "How do you get all the worms back in?" Sorry. Um, I guess my response to that would be we just went through something similar to that. Up until last December, we allowed cell phones, as an example, in the classroom. Um, and there was a lot of discussion

258about it. wasn't easy, but the board passed a policy, which is what the board does. We pass policies and we removed them from the classroom. I'm I'm just assuming that if further evidence showed that um that additional gaming time had some significant negative impacts on students that we would do something similar. I mean it might not be easy. The the cell phone policy wasn't something that was easy. Um but it's doable in my opinion. So, I see this a little bit like um unsanctioning the cross. That's where it's difficult. It's much easier to change a policy than to take away an activity from students that are highly involved in it. So, I'd rather be cautious than I just think it would be much more difficult than passing a policy on a phone. And that was

259huge. That was a heavy lift. But I'm not familiar with the lacrosse situation. Well, I'm just saying this is we are sanctioned in the sport that's and lacrosse was recently sanctioned. Girls wrestling was another one. So we boys volleyball. So to go to boys volleyball and take that away from them and say sorry we decided that boys volleyball shouldn't be played in our district. Can be done. It has been done in other districts and other states, but it's a very it's very difficult to take an activity away. If we have hesitancy, I would much rather have us explore it deeper now than try to take it away later. And I I feel like it's possible that if we do not approve this esports as it's been sanctioned by UHSAA, um while surrounding districts do approve

260it and sanction it, even though we wouldn't be taking it away, it would still possibly feel like it was being taken away by the people who want to participate. So, I will not claim to be an expert on the ill effects of screen time, but I will say that in every study that I have personally read, it has spoken to the dangers of social isolation of children who are spending time away from their peers. Um, I see esports as an opportunity to take something that is a reality of the world we live in today. Video games will be played regardless of the environment. And we're saying, would we rather have our students playing alone in a basement or would we like to give them a venue? Um, just a quick AI search. I'm taking a

261page out of Dr. Robinson's book of a few of the benefits of video games, specific video games. I'm not talking about scrolling. This is a an activity. Um can provide improve cognitive functions, enhance social skills, stress relief, create boost in creativity, problem solving abilities, and even hand eye coordination. Additionally, video games can provide a sense of accomplishment, provo promote teamwork, and offer a healthy outlet from daily challenges. And as we live in a society that glorifies a certain type of accomplishment, I find the prospect of shining a light on a different kind of talent really exciting. I love the idea that kids who don't get a lot of opportunities to show their skill might have a different venue in this way. And so my concerns are lessened in those ways. And I feel really excited

262at the prospect of embracing this for our students using the lacrosse. um idea. Davis district did not sanction lacrosse in its first year, so we don't have to sanction it today. They can still play it, but we could just keep it as a club. I'm not saying that I'm in favor of that. I just am saying if we approve it, it's going to be much more difficult to unapprove it. So, if we have huge hesitencies, we ought to put the brakes on. I I have no hesitancy in improving today. Call the question. No. All right. The question has been called. So the motion is that we approve esports in Jordan School District. Those in favor, please say I. I. And any opposed? They nay. All right, that motion carries 6 to one with a descending

263vote being Miss Wood. Let's now move to our consent agenda. I'll take a motion. I move that we accept consent agenda items A, B, C, D, and E. I second. Right. We have a motion by Miss Dean, a second by Miss Barrow that we accept uh consent agenda items A. Expenditures, B financial statements, C profession or personnel license and education perfor support professionals words are hard. D certificates for home instruction and E the non-compliance report. Any discussion? All right, hearing none. All in favor say I. I and any opposed. Right, that motion carries unanimously. Let's move on to bids. I move that we approve the bid for the Mountain Creek Middle School HP Chromebooks and licenses. I'll second. All right, we have a motion by Miss Barrow, second by Miss Dean that we approve the

264bid for Mountain Creek Middle School Chromebooks and licenses. Any discussion? I did have one question on it. Um, it talked about how they are surplusing about 400 Chromebooks. That means that they are getting rid of those ones. Those ones are old and right. Okay. Just wanted to What happens to our surplus? Do you know how what happens to surplus equipment? No, I forget. First of all, schools are given access. anyone can take an old Chromebook and then um there's a whole hierarchy and then eventually it goes to a public auction. Okay, that's right. Thank you. Hey, all in favor of the motion say I. I. Any opposed? All right, that motion carries unanimously. I always forget to say that. All right. I'm on the CTE train today, so I'm going to go for this one.

265I move that we approve the bid for career and technical education CTE computer lab replacement. I'll second. All right. We have a motion by Miss Barrow, second by Miss Wood that we approve the career and technical education computer lab replacement. Any discussion? Did have another random question. So, it might just be a a misprint, but on the bid summary, it says that this will be uh computer labs at six secondary schools, but then on the justification letter, it only listed five kind of individual schools. So, it was just something I caught and I wasn't sure if there's a school we're missing or Mr. Skidmore up to answer that question. Thank you. A good question. Um, there are five schools. Two, one of the schools is getting two separate labs. So, if that makes sense. Six

266comes in. Okay. Um, that's why they're the numbers are just two separate labs then. Two separate labs. Okay. At that same school. So, got it. Thank you. You're welcome. Okay. Ready for a vote? Last call. All right. All in favor uh please say I. I. I. And any opposed? Right. That motion carries unanimously. I'll make the motion to approve information system Google Workspace for Education Plus licenses. Second. Right. We have a motion by Dr. Robinson and a second by Mr. Barnett that we approve information systems Google Workspace for Education Plus licenses. Any discussion? I had quite a few questions on this program. I don't know if there's anyone here that can address those questions. I brought notes, so hopefully I can answer them. Okay. All right. So, I was curious. Um, so this is just

267seems like a step up uh from what we were using before. or now we're using the plus edition or whatever. Um, is this something that teachers or educators have been asking for and what kind of like review has been done on this program and the benefits we're going to see? So, I think the answer to that is yes to all of those things. Um, it impacts our classroom environment, our information security environment, the accessibility environment for all of our students. Um, it's been a multi-year process to investigate all of these different features and benefits. Members of the board also went and traveled to Google as part of this evaluation with the superintendent and cabinet members. So there's been a lot of prepundonderance of all the ways it fits things for multiple needs. Um, also I

268was curious because we we put this out to bid, but I was kind of confused because this is a Google product. So why aren't we not buying this from Google? What are these companies that put in a bid offering us? like will you help me through that process? Yeah. Um so Google in terms of interfacing with institutions does not sell anything directly. So when we buy a Chromebook or we buy a license for Google like we're doing now or a Google voice license that type of thing it's all done through resellers who are authorized and trained to sell their product. Thank you. which gets us a pretty much better price. We're getting it almost 40 cents a user, cheaper than Google quotes it as. So, we're feeling pretty excited about how good we got the

269price. Thank you. Those were all my questions. Can I ask if you can talk a little about the security features that we're gaining? Um, yeah, you picked my favorite subject as the security guy. Um the so one of the biggest challenges that we have as we interact in today's learning world is the fact that everything is attacking our students and staff all the time constantly. Whether that be um rogue hackers, that be um all kinds of things, right? Even just the content on the internet that's delivered to our students. And one of the significant abilities this allows us to is when we identify objectionable information, I can pull it in a matter of seconds instead of potentially hours and days depending on what it looks like. It allows us a greater deal of visibility and

270to be able to understand what happened and when it happened. So for example, if Nikki happens to be in Aruba today and just logged in three times from Aruba and in West Jordan, one of those things is not like the other. And that's the type of thing with this premium focus, Google would be able to alert us and say, "Hey, is Nikki really on vacation?" And we go, "Yeah, she's probably in Aruba, right?" But um we also the proactive amount of what they push off for us is significant, but what it continues to push off is gives us an additional amount of information and control about what's going on so that we can see greater detail around it. So, individual schools will still need to make decisions on um monitoring software in terms of something

271like LAN school or I know there are others but that's the one I'm familiar with. This is separate from that. Many of the features that programs like LAN school and go guardian have are built into this licensing. Oh, okay. So it will provide potential options for schools to make individual decisions about using additional software or not. Great. But at least now every school has something which is nice. In response to the questions that have been asked, this addresses a lot of the security concerns that have been brought up by parents, by teachers, by board members. You've heard from parents. this addresses many of those issues and we'll reach out to those who've brought this up. Um, and there's a u an advantage to having features all within the same system and um, Mr. Bowman and

272um, other members of the information system staff are very thorough inventing this. I really trust their judgment and these are the people that other districts go to to find out what's going on in many cases and for help when they're in a difficult situation. So, um, as I said, Mr. Heaps is here as well and the the entire staff is really really sharp on all of this and as uh Mr. Mr. Bowman said it's been a long process of making sure that this is what we need to do and we'll detail for you if this is approved and we go forward the ways in which this will address the specific concerns about YouTube individual device security monitoring from a teacher perspective. This gives a lot more control to parents. That's something we'll need to roll

273out in a meaningful way with teachers and with parents and with administrators over time to be sure that we don't catch anyone off guard and everyone can take full advantage of the features. At the same time, in the same way that we described other programs earlier tonight, this doesn't automatically replace if LAN school is what you want to pay for at a school level, you can still use that, but with some adjustments, these features could make that unnecessary. Uh so I really appreciate the team's work and the questions from the board and the engagement from parents. I I think that going into next year we'll be able to offer if if this is approved a lot of the features that have been asked for that that people have they haven't said specifically could we have

274this program but this allows us to accomplish what many people have been asking for. I I met with the Google um folks at ISTY conference last year and was super impressed with their presentation, their knowledge and I totally trust our staff that they're picking a product that we need and it'll it'll be great blessing for us. Okay, other discussion not getting anyone off. All right. All in favor of the motion to approve Google Workspace for Education Plus licenses say I. I. And any opposed? Right. That motion carries unanimously. Thanks for answering our questions. I'm really excited about this. We'll take a motion. Can we do them together? I please no. because I really want to do F. All right. Okay, that's true. We're talking D and E. Oh, D and E together. Oh, D. I

275moved the two special move bids D and E. Special education comprehensive individually administered academic achievement tests and special education complete standalone preschool curriculum. I second. Right. We have a motion by Miss Wood, a second by Mr. Denford to approve items D and E. Um, any discussion? I just want to highlight uh the process that I've learned about. So, we had several um on our RFP evaluation committee evaluate the two bids, the two programs. And they evaluated them based on 23 techn technical criteria and seven mandatory minimum requirements without knowing the cost. And it's great to keep the integrity of our curriculum based on on the curriculum itself and not the cost to the district, which was the case in this. We need to include you in an RFP process, don't we? And I'll just add,

276I know we're talking a lot about the curriculum, but what an important process it is for students to be identified and evaluated for special education services. This probably seems like a no-brainer, and it should be, I think, to um to approve this testing, but as a special educator who spends a lot of time reading and interpreting these tests and then developing plans based on the the great information that they provide, I'm excited that um we are moving forward with that process. Okay. Any other discussion now? Lisa, I'll I'll build it up. Oh, wait. We got to approve it. We need to vote first. We need to I was excited for you, Lisa. Thank you. Indoor percussion. That was so fun to watch them drum on their their thighs and their chests. Anyways, okay. All those

277in favor of approving um bids D and E, please say I. I. I. And any opposed? Okay. Okay. Bryce. All right. Now, Lisa, ready? Pass unanimously. Go. Okay. Um I move that we approve the bid for facility services, construction management, general contractor, otherwise known as CMGC services for West Jordan High School remodel. I second. We have a motion by Miss Dean, a second by Miss Barrow that we approve the bid for construction management general contractor services for West Jordan High School remodel. Any discussion? I'd like to make a comment. I don't know if taxpayers understand exactly what we're doing because in other districts, they would take a school like West Jordan, bulldoz it down, and rebuild a new school that would cost well over $200 million. We're saving taxpayers around $150 million with the decision

278to do a total remodel instead of a rebuild. And I think that shows just how fiscally conservative we are, how our schools, when you walk into Bingham that which we did this to. If you're blindfolded and walked into Bingham, you would not know that was Bingham High School. We did such a good job. So, I think this is going to be great what we're doing. Um, it's a good use of money and I'm super excited for West Jordan and super excited for taxpayers, too. And I would encourage every current and previous student at West Jordan High School to go in and take as many pictures as you can. I regret not doing that at Bingham. Thank you for saying that, Darl. That was very nice. It's It's going to be amazing. I'm excited. It's going

279to be painful for four years. But it is going to be fantastic. You're all very excited about this. All right, let's go ahead and vote. Those in favor of the motion, please say I. I. I. And any opposed? All right, that motion carries unanimously. Congratulations, West Jordan. Can't wait. All right, let's move on to our special business items. President, I move that we approve the negotiated agreement for licensed employees for the 202526 school year. I second. We have a motion by Mr. Dunford, a second by Miss Dean, that we approve with a a grateful heart the recommendation to approve our 202526 negotiated agreement for licensed employees. Any discussion? All right, hearing none. Those in favor say I. I. And any opposed? All right. That motion carries unanimously. I'll make for a public vote. the call.

280I am I apologize. I'm getting ahead of myself. Are there any here from the public that would like to make comments? All right. I'll make the motion that we Wait, wait, wait. Oh, do we have one? Oh, yes. Thought Janet made a motion to come speak. Sorry, I didn't see that. Janet, thank you. We're excited to welcome Janet Sanders. I was debating um since you'd already passed it like but It's all good. It's all good. Um, just want to say thank you. I'm Janet Sanders. I'm a teacher at Mountain Ridge High School, longtime Jordan School District employee and the current president of the Jordan Education Association. Just want to thank everyone for your cooperation. And could you come? Could you say with which with whom we negotiated with whom you negotiated? And we just want

281to thank everyone for your respect through this difficult season when we have had uh the HB267 uh bill pass and then the referendum happening that you guys have continued to treat us with respect as professionals and the negotiating team continued to acknowledge us and um work in a really fair way and we're just grateful for the opportunity to continue working together. So, thank you so much Thank you and thank you for the service that you give in our district. We're grateful for you. All right, I'll take a motion. I'll recommend that we approve the 202526 negotiated agree agreement for the education support professionals. Second. We have a motion by Dr. Robinson, a second by Mr. Barnett that we approve the recommendation for the 202526 negotiated agreement for education support professionals. Is there anyone here who

282wanted to speak on this item? All right, I will. So, part of my assignment on the board is to um work work with educational support professionals and just they're just such a great group. They they're the backbone that helps this district move forward. And I so appreciate every one of them and the job that they do for helping our kids. They're the silent heroes sometimes. Absolutely agree with you. It's always so fun to go to their approval nights. Um they're a warm group and we appreciate working with them. All right. Any other discussion? Okay. Uh those in favor of the motion, please say I. I. And any opposed? Right. That motion carries unanimously. Can we pause and ask Mr. or uh Superintendent Godfrey for a timeline on announcing or sending all that information? What's left

283to be done? Now, we sent out the information that it was a negotiated agreement. We sent that out to ESPs and to our licensed employees. So then we will send out an email indicating that that has been finalized. Uh and then we have a meet and confer with administrators and we'll announce compensation for administrators separately. Thank you. I'll make a motion. Are you accepting motions, President? Yes, please. that we approve uh C, D, and E. Recommendations to approve revisions to administrative policies AA418, discipline of students, AS67, discipline of students, and DP378, Employee Code of Conduct. I second. All right, we have a motion by Mr. Barnett. Second by Miss Barrow. Sorry, you didn't quite get in there, Mr. Dunford. Oh, was Mr. Sorry, I need to look up. um by Miss Wood, a second by

284Miss Wood, that we approve administrative policy AA418, discipline of students staff responsibilities, administrative policy AS67, discipline of students and administrative policy DP378, employee code of conduct. It's their discussion. I would just like to say thank you to um Dr. Godfrey and his team who have worked hard to um get these reviewed and bring recommendations to the board. Okay, those in favor Oh, sorry. Can anyone tell me the difference between an AA policy, an AS policy, and a DP policy? AA is the administrator. That's the superintendent. AS is administrators of schools and DP is district policy for schools. So it follows our structure. Policies that govern administration are AA. Policies that govern the cabinet are AS and policies that govern the school level are DP. Just FYI. I did also want to mention that along with

285the discussions that we've had as a board on these policies, one thing that it won't show up in the policies, but one thing that was that was agreed to was that the district would put together an educational video of some sort and present it. When is the first presentation of that, Anthony? In our fall faculty meetings, we'll ask principles to show that video. Okay. And it will be part of our crucial concerns and policy. So it'll be registered that each admin each educator has viewed that video. Yeah. And then every employee really that's an on was that going to be an ongoing training? Okay. Yes. I remember a time when I was sitting in the audience that I was like, they don't even talk much about these things before they make these big changes. And

286so for those who may have been like I was um and are new to this process, please know that these policies have been reviewed multiple times during study session and refined and honed to perfection. We hope and prior to us calling for this vote. I remember you emailed me after that. You were you were very concerned. It was I have good mentors. Okay. Um let's go ahead and move to a vote. All right. Those in favor of the motion, please say I. I. I. And any opposed. All right. Motion carries unanimously. Take another motion. I move that we approve the recommended revisions to administrative policy DP380, maternity parent leave. Second. Okay, we have a motion by Miss Dean, a second by Miss Wood. It didn't look over again. Was it your voice? You two sound

287alike. um that we approve the revisions to administrative policy DP380 maternity and parent leave. Any discussion? Okay. Hearing none, those in favor please say I. I. And I sorry I I was thinking do we have comment? We don't have Do we ask for comment on any of I should have asked for comment, but I meant to say I when everybody else said I. Thank you and thank you for keeping me on the right track. Is there anyone here who would like to make comment on this item? Okay, now I know all the many that I'm skipping. I'm sorry. All right. Uh so now we'll call for a vote. So, those in favor of approving the motion, please say I. I. And any opposed? All right. Passes unanimously. One more. Miss Wood motions to approve revisions

288to board policy GP 104, board officers and appendix procedures for the election of board officers. Mr. Dunford seconds. I actually like this. Let's always do it that way. And I'll just say if you say more than one word, I know your voice easily. All right. We have a motion by Miss Wood, a second by Mr. Dunford to approve revisions to board policy GP 104, board officers and appendix procedures for the election of board officers. Any discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for a vote. Those in favor say I. I and any opposed. All right, that motion carries unanimously. Let's move to the superintendence report. Just uh it's been a great night honoring lots of people, lots of uh work being uh completed with some votes here by the board. And I just want to mention that

289on the 9th of June, and I'll send you an email uh to this effect as well, you'll get to learn about all the features in Google for Workspace Plus if you would like to come at 1:00 June 9th to the ASB auditorium. Google will be here themselves to present. And much like you know you have your smartphone but you don't know what all the features are and then you discover oh wow I didn't know it did that. This will be the meeting where you find out all the things that that suite will do for us and the things we're able to accomplish. Maybe ask questions. Of course you can always contact staff and ask those questions as well but this would be a chance to hear that directly from Google. So, the 9th at 1:00

290at the ASB auditorium, uh cabinet members will be in attendance there as well and just have a chance to learn about what that does. But thank you for supporting so many great things happening in Jordan. Like I said earlier, um your support makes that possible and um it's just it's really exciting to watch. So, thank you. Thank you for that invitation. Sounds interesting. Okay. Uh, committee reports, excuse me, and comments by board members. Quick update from facilities committee. Uh, I wanted to report on on a few of the items that have we've been assigned as a facilities committee. One was to analyze potential feeder alignment for Midas Creek Elementary. This is in progress. Um, Dr. Anderson and his staff have spent some time on this already. They have some options ready to present. As a

291board at some point, we need to decide the timing on that presentation. Let's see. Um, we were asked to investigate the potential options with the warriors. This has been completed. An agreement was unable to be made that satisfied both parties. We were asked to review all our properties and identified which could be considered surplus. This has been completed. The only property that was identified uh as surplus by the committee was u a Riverton property on 126 in Mountain View and the board decided to retain that for now. Uh we were also asked to create a boundary change map focused primarily on reducing bus routes. This one has been completed. Paul Bgera from transportation created some sample boundary um changes that focused on primarily on reducing bus routes. the result of that e exercise, we decided

292to give Paul, I guess, an official seat at the table when we're discussing when when staff is discussing uh uh boundary change issues. The last one I wanted to mention was uh to create a guideline for boundary change triggers. We'll be reporting on that in just a few minutes in the continued study session. Can I just clarify? You said you're ready to present on Midas Creek whenever the board is ready to hear it or you need more time. Sorry, I should have t faster. As far as I understand, Dr. Anderson can correct me, but they're they they are ready to present some options whenever the board is ready to hear them. You have the busing questions. I think that's part of the presentation. The proposal that I would like to see at least one of

293them is that we don't affect students currently going to a middle school. It's just the coming out of Midas Creek sixth graders would go to one middle school three years later would go to one high school. So the question is what would the impact be transportationwise given those three years no two years where we've got seventh and eighth grade going to different schools than sixth grade. I would love to see part of that be in the presentation. If you're not ready for that please take your time. Yeah we're ready with some to talk some options. Um we've got a couple of different um options that could work. um we would need to take a little more time to to sort out the busing question, especially if it was going to be phased or tiered. But

294that's a discussion I think it would be worth having um with the board to see where the the board collectively stands on that and and what we'd like to do with that. In addition to Midas Creek, we're also um you know ready to to begin at your at your request that talks about other areas um that that have been discussed in facilities as well. We'll make sure that is on an upcoming agenda. Let let me clarify. One one other item we had was to study the potential boundary changes to relieve the overenrollment at Sunset Ridge. It last I heard minimal progress have been made on that one. But is it are you saying that that you're ready to make presentations on that as well? I think we're ready for a discussion on what, you know,

295conceptually where what the board would like to look at. We have some ideas down. We haven't made any maps or or options at this point. And the same would go for the I believe there was another one uh regarding uh the areas in well it all of these would potentially have domino effects to other boundary changes. That's why I think it it warrants a larger discussion because if you if you tinker with one area, there are other areas that could be um could be in need of of tweaking as well. So, I think it's I think last time we talked as a uh as a group, the board expressed interest in not having these discussions in the summer so that we could um once the school year gets back, we can be in contact with

296parents and and uh communicating to them. But we're ready to have them whenever. We just want to keep that in mind and knowing that that one one change may be get another. So I'm curious if we're speaking highlevel conceptual are board members comfortable having boundary discussions when school is not in session or do you want to wait for all discussion for school to start? Speak to Sunset Ridge. How urgently do you want to start those conversations at Sunset Ridge? I don't I don't mind talking about them philosophically, but I wouldn't start the clock. You know, we're supposed to give a certain amount of time. I wouldn't start the clock until school's back in session. Yeah, I agree with that. We want to see the October numbers. No. Well, I I say September. I mean, I'm

297I'm okay with moving early. One of the problem with waiting for the October numbers is then it's so late in the game. Like I would I'd rather like see that see the process start in September and maybe we adjust it with the October numbers, you know. Do the October numbers vary greatly from September numbers? Some years sometimes the September numbers are just like our official count for this school year. But I don't think I think the October difference is the October number they've digested it, settled down, you know. But I think when we're talking about general moves, we should kind of know what we're doing. Our student services team have gives us projections every year that go out five years and they have remained pretty consistent. I think we can rely on those. And the

298problem is this conversation happens over and over where it's like we get an October number and now we're in the holidays and we can't do it to people in the holidays and then there's something that pushes it out and out and out and so at some point you've just got to hold the conversation and where we're speaking we're not bringing maps we're speaking conceptually what are the priorities I'm really comfortable beginning those conversations in June but I am only one I am as well. I am as well. I am too. I favor that. I'd like to do like our homework right before we start the big project or whatever, you know. Well said. I agree. Okay. So, we'll make sure that both of those come on um June 10th. Hopefully the June agenda could be

299a big one. But don't worry, you'll get a break in July. Okay. Other reports? I I have a couple things. So, the Jordan Education Foundation 2025 Links to Schools Golf Classic is the 26th of June at Glenmore Golf Course. And there are um sponsorships and foresomes available. And if anyone wants to participate and needs one more person, I am happy to be in your foresome, but I am not an asset. Okay? So, um, also, but yeah. Yeah. But, yeah. Anyway, and also for Salt Lake County Parks and Wreck Advisory Board, I would like to read part of a media release. So, June 1st, we will celebrate the one-year anniversary of the My County Rec Pass. And also, the outdoor pools opened just this past weekend. Yeah, they did. Yeah. And so Salt Lake County is

300proud to announce over 78,000 school age children have registered for the My County Rec Pass. Um, and this initiative has had a profound impact. 76% of participants had never purchased a pass to a Salt Lake County recreation center before. Of those, 62% said cost was the primary barrier to participation. The My County Rec Pass is giving children the opportunity to create lifelong healthy habits and teach them about recreation skills they can use and share with others throughout their life. And that said, I'm also sorry to announce that the youth golf program, the my county wolf program is completely full. So, so um an additional goal of making wellness and recreation more equitable and accessible. The my county rec Pass is removing financial hurdles and opening opportunities for thousands of families. Um so, who is eligible?

301School-aged youth age 0 through 18. And they must be a Salt Lake County resident. What does it offer? the membership um or pass to access and use Salt Lake County operated recreation centers and amen and amenities including open plunge at swimming pools, public skate at ice sheets, drop in open gymnasium, weight room and fitness area, walking track and there are some age restrictions that apply. Climbing wall once again some age restrictions and also tri events. If you look on the Salt Lake County Parks and Wreck website and look at the different calendars for the all the rec centers, some rec centers even have arts and crafts for kids with the My County Rec Pass. And how do you sign up? Parents and guardians may sign up their zero through 17 year olds at a Salt

302Lake County operated recreation center with proof of Salt Lake County residency. ID will suffice. 18-year-olds do not need an adult present and must bring ID. The pass will automatically renew every year until a passholder's 19th birthday. Youth 9 years old and under must be accompanied by someone 14 years of age or older at all times. So anyway, there's just some information about the My County Rec Pass. I think it's pretty great that it just automatically renews every year until the the kids 19th birthday. I don't have a committee report, but I I am interested in studying what Mountain Ridge Percussion brought up about the fees that we're charging our clubs. I've not only had complaints from them, but Herman Rugby is another one that's reached out to me a lot. A lot of our club

303organizations, I think, in talking to like Herman Rugby, they want to be sanctioned because we're not playing fair with them. Um, this is a group that, you know, is consistently has national recognition. And there's several others, too. Um, I just want to make sure that we're fair. We're fair with them and their students. So, I'll put that on the list. I've added that. Oh, you've already added it. Okay. Put me down as as a supporter. As a supporter. Okay. Me as well. Thank you. So I met with JLC since our last meeting. Uh they have prepared a recommendation for the delegates to now review in June. That's ready to go. Um so we have the excuse me the delegate assembly. So, we have the night before there's going to be a legislative panel on the

304Friday night and um at that panel they are collecting questions. So, if any of you have a question that you would like to um to add to that panel discussion, this is your opportunity. will you please email those to me and I can send them in on behalf of our full board. Um, and again that's for the pre-delegate assembly. So June 6 at 7 o'clock you can go to the pre-delegate assembly. You don't have to be a voting member. Anyone is welcome. They usually do a lovely dinner. Um, and then the delegate assembly at 9:00 on the 7th, we'll have our voting members. Anyone's welcome, but voting members attend. All right. Any others? Perfect. I'll take a motion to adjourn this the business meeting. We do have one more agenda item. So, we'll return to

305study session. I move that we adjourn the business meeting and go back to our study session item. Second motion. All right. We have a motion by Miss Dean, a second by Mr. Barnett, I think. I don't know. You guys were neck and neck. I jerked them out the corner of your eye. I know. Why are you guys sharing a mic? That's not working. Oh, no. All right. So, those in favor say I. I. And any opposed? All right. The business meeting is adjourned. Yeah. Right. Welcome to the continued study session for the Jordan Board of Education. Today is still May 27th. We still have all board members present as well as our board attorney, our superintendent, our associate superintendent, and our business administrator. We have one item left to discuss and that is enrollment considerations.

306So, Mr. Barnett, Dr. Anderson back to you. Facilities committee was given the assignment to uh review research put together uh a document that kind of encapsulated some some trigger points related to when we should be discussing boundary changes. We spent the past few months uh Dr. Anderson and his his team putting together a document. The the purpose of the document, as I mentioned, is is just to provide some guidelines. It's not it's not a binding policy. It's more of a a guidelines document on uh enrollment, increasing enrollment, decreasing enrollment, and and and and how that affects our boundary change discussions as a district. It also defines what the parameters of those triggers are. And in just a few minutes, I'm going to let Mike explain that to us. Uh but just as a kind of

307a high level, boundary changes are generally the last resort of a particular problem. Uh staff Mike and his staff will do their best. Once once a particular school has risen to the level of it needs to we need to be made aware of this, Mike and his staff will try to resolve the problem through other means because boundary changes are very disruptive and difficult on teachers, students and families. And so we don't want to use that except as a last resort to solve problems most of the time. Um, so some of the some of the the ways that that they would address those concerns would be modifying the number of permits, increasing or decreasing the number of portables, among other things. Mr. Mr. Dunford mentioned in our last board meeting that I guess the the

308history of boundary changes for Jordan School District has been primarily because of enrollment issues. Uh we were we have been a growing district. We've kind of plateaued now as far as as that goes. And so most of the boundary changes that were made in the past were done based on we don't have enough seats for students and so our our hand was kind of forced and and I was personally very grateful for that enlightenment because I was under the impression that enrollment is the only trigger. That's the only time we ever talk about boundary changes. But we have the luxury now now that we're not a such a a hugely growing district to consider some other possibilities for boundary changes and those have come up um specifically with Midas Creek and I'm sure they'll come

309up in other areas. Um, but but what I'd like to do is turn the time over to Mike and and let him just kind of review that document and answer any questions that any of us might have. And then when he's when when he's finished, I'd like to uh make a motion that we adopt the document as the district's boundary change guidelines added to the appendix of our board policies. Something along those lines. So Mike, yeah, thank you. when we were talking esports, right, the the agenda item prior to this, I got in my head, I'm like, I wonder if we can somehow gify this boundary change process and let the students game it out and let them come up with scenarios and on on their games with esports. I mean, we could call it

310Clash of Campuses, Boundary, uh, Boundary Bash Brothers or Pocket Bus League, you know, any of those. It would be nice. Um, close to home. Yeah, too soon perhaps. Sorry. But yes, uh, thank you um, Mr. Barnett. We we've been just going over some considerations for how to deal with uh, with this issue. Twofold. One, um, what to do when our enrollment growth exceeds school capacity and they get to a point where we've got to do something um, or or the school will be on an unsustainable trajectory with growth. The other half is is what to do with with uh schools that are declining in their enrollment such that it actually is going to hit we already have an a trigger point established in policy. When in policy A13 um it's outlined in there. We have

311a link to it. A um when it reaches 50% or less of capacity, it will be flagged for additional considerations for this facilities committee. And we we took that number and we we bumped it up to about 65% so we can we we know when when to start watching a school that is in declining enrollment. So there are two there are three pages and then the third page is just additional boundary considerations to Mr. Barnett's point. We don't want to be constrained solely by enrollment either increasing or declining. There are other other points at which we would want to perhaps talk about and consider um a potential boundary change and such as the case with Midas Creek Elementary for example. It's not because of their enrollment. It's not because of their capacity. It's because they

312want they've expressed a desire to to have a single feeder system or at least not have three um feeder systems in which to to to go into. So that being said, if we can look first at the uh page one, which are enrollment considerations for growth. Um appreciate the work done with um Mr. Hamlin and Mr. Fest and student services and helping me with this. Number one is that we would annually evaluate our school enrollments. And we'll do that. Um in the past, we've we always have evaluated it, but we we have not used a formula like we've got established here. We've looked at at at trends. We've looked at long-term and short-term trends. But in this case, we've developed a formula that takes the enrollment um plus the development times the yield rate. Now,

313the development is the type of housing. It can be an apartment, it could be a condo, could be a single family home. And we know we know the yield rate for each type of home in each particular elementary feeder system, for each elementary boundary, I should say. We know what an apartment in Copper Canyon Elementary yields. We know what a a condo in Sunset Ridge Middle School yields. We know what a single family home in South Jordan Elementary yields. And so each one of That's changing, isn't it? We we evaluate it. reason Aspen didn't grow the degree that we thought it would was the yield rate was different than we thought it would be. The yield rates change. Sometimes the housing types change. Developers come in with a plan. We know we know the number

314of permits they pull for single family homes, but that can change and alter to, you know, maybe they they switch over to condo. So, that changes sometimes as well. And yes, the the birth rates have have changed uh pretty dramatically over the last few years. And so, we're continually updating that. But that's the formula that we plug in. Enrollment plus that number equals the equals a number that we look at and is that greater than or equal to the building um the building capacity plus six portables. And the example we used in there is Sunset Ridge at their current capacity plus that number that that gets plugged in with the development times the yield rate. That is 1562 and that is greater than their their architectural capacity plus six portables. And so that in this

315case we would put Sunset Ridge Middle School on what we call the aware list. These are schools to be aware of. We used to call them schools to watch. That was you know this is just it's nomenclature but it's it's it's just a different way to express it and it's it's bound by this formula. Can I ask questions anytime please? BP stands for building and portables. Yeah. Building capacity plus six portables. Okay. And and I have a a question. So the development uh times the old rate that takes into account the students that will be leaving the building like the that will be going into 10th grade. The current enrollment is what takes into account the we know what the the Oh, okay. What's already what will be there, correct? Yeah. We know what we

316think is going to be there, but then we also know the number of permits that have been pulled for single family homes, town homes, and so forth. And we know the yield rates for each one of those types. And so we add that to the enrollment. Yeah, I I get it. No, I know. It's greatation. Yeah, it it it yields us a good approximation of where we're at. And then does that number is that greater than or equal to the building plus six portables? Can can a yield rate be negative? I I guess it could. Yes. I mean, if it's I it would be zero, right? So, it just be zero. Doesn't yield anything. Yeah. So, will you please remind me how we determine the capacity of a building? Yeah. we've looked at the the

317number of instructional areas and we've ascribed that you know depending on the level we ascribe a number of students uh to that and we multiply that by the number of instructional areas and that is our so sometimes we count areas as instructional areas like I'll use the example example of collaboration spaces where we've we've built these schools so that in a pinch we could create this space as a classroom do we consider Consider that when we say a a what did you say a teaching area instructional area instructional area sorry is does is that included is this because that to me feels like def 9 this is we are in trouble we are going to remodel so but is that in that's not what we're looking at here not not to that level this is

318just actual classrooms we're not taking over their library or their computer lab. Well, the the areas that we do look at, like for example, the gym, we we we account for in the gymnasium that there can be two different classes going on at the same time in there, for example. But I think I think what you're asking though is addressed in number and it isn't it isn't included in the in in the idea of whether whether they make it onto the aware list, but once they're on the aware list, then what you're suggesting is considered as a remedy for But President George, I think what you were not starting there. What you were referencing like with the stage areas and with the the common gathering areas as a classroom instructional space, we do not count

319that as a perfect in in our accounts. We we had I think in the past we've done we've done so especially when the school's in a real real growing area. We just needed to know how okay how much can we fit in here. We do not currently use that. I think that's what I've been saying along is I just want a number of a school without all those extra spokes, without all the portables or whatever. We can use portables, we can use common spaces, whatever we want. That's fine. But I just like to look at that raw number because six portables with all those spots taken care of is different than six portables with none of those spots being used, right? So having a baseline and then we can add on whatever we want, but

320having a baseline. So I would say, oh that school's, you know, I think my schools um that were on the watch list are all over capacity if you if you take all the portables away. So and his considering six portables as an appropriate amount. We had a discussions in facilities committee about that. Historically, we've taken the the building capacity plus six portables, and the board historically has felt that's a comfortable um manageable level at which to you know that that's okay to go up to six portables. Beyond that, not so much. But that's why we kept it. We discussed it in facilities committee and decided to keep it as as our as our number baseline. Six portables is I wouldn't say comfortable, but we can do it, right? Like we're talking about lunches that start

321at 10:50 in the morning and we're talking about some uncomfortable things. Yeah. It Yeah. Comfortable probably is not the right word, but it's it's a manageable Yeah. point at which to operate. I would not go higher. See, my feeling is if a school has one portable, it's over capacity. Maybe. Well, I think we can house more people by bringing portables in. But if we're looking at two schools and one has six portables and that one has no portables, I can't I can't compare the two schools. I don't mind if we say six is where we want to go, but I just need like a stripped down number so we know that school's over, that school's under. Cuz when we look at East West Jordan, are we going to look at those schools with a capacity

322of six portables? So, if I compare H Heartland to Blackidge or is BL or is H Heartland's number going to be with no portables? Well, I think this formula does exactly what you're asking. Yeah, it's all with six portables. You can you can compare any school to any other well any elementary school to any other elementary school with this formula. And Mr. Robinson, what you just described is addressed on the second page where we talk about enrollment decline. Yeah. No, no, it's a great question. It's also important that we say there are schools right now that have maybe six or more portables on the campus, but they're not active classrooms. Exactly. Sometimes that's just something that's still there. It's convenience and we haven't needed to move it yet. And so we need to take that

323into account because I have schools that have more than six portables, but I don't think they're all classrooms. So once we've established the aware list, we would we would look at those schools on the list and and consider possible remedies, you know, such as permits. Do we need more portables? Uh Mike, sorry to interrupt. No, go ahead. I think it's important that number two says district administration will review the list. Thank you. Not we. Yeah, correct. Yeah, when I say we, yeah, district administration in this case would we we consider as district administration, what could we do with that school to to is it is it a question of looking at their permits status? Is it adding a portable uh or more uh do we look at storage uh space that's being used to to

324President George's previous point about how are their portables being used? uh are there programs that can be evaluated and and after that the facilities committee we would bring the updated enrollment forecast data and the potential action list from that like okay we've done this but these are schools that still we would like to discuss about potential leading really the question is are these schools on a potential boundary change list and that's what we would bring to the facilities committee uh doesn't mean they have to be a boundary change it could be changes to the building it could be facilities committee considers a remodel or uh you know reconstruction. It could be are you going to revoke permits to 90% which is under law you can do. Is it transportation considerations changing up bus routes? Is

325it or are we talking a boundary change or even uh construction of a new school at this point? Those are those are the things that we would bring to facilities committee as part of the next step and then the facilities committee would bring it to the board after they've discussed it. like for high schools, how long does it take to construct a high school? So, how much lead time do we need? Yeah. Um, important question because we that's why we do these and we try to forecast out five years of high school from beginning to end, I want to say. And Mr. Thomas, it'd be I mean, we're talking four years from beginning of discussion to completion. Did two full years of construction usually. Mountain Ridge. We approved the bond in the November 2016 and

326we opened it in August of 2019. So, let me clarify. So, and we had a lot of work done. That's it. Yeah. We because we were authorized to do a year's worth of work anticipating the bond would pass. So, an entire year was done ahead of time. We like turned the shovel like the day after it passed or something. It was Mountain Ridge is a great case study. We knew in 2015 that we were going to need to do something there. I mean, Haramman High um was going to be growing. We knew by 2018, 2019 that they were going to be over 3,000 students. My own student, my own kids were there at at Haramman High at the time. And so, the the board talked about it in 2015, did a lot of groundwork leading

327up to the bond, passed the bond, and three years later in the fall of 2019, Mountain Ridge opened. So, do these formulas and processes work whether it's an elementary school or a high school to give us enough lead time? Yes, we believe it does. And in that case, you know, where a high school requires about four years of total lead time, two years of construction, but a year or so, you know, in in the making of it. And if there's a bond, a high school is likely to need a bond because of the cost of it. That's where we have the four years. But we each October, we'll bring you the four the five-year forecast numbers. And so we can we can start those discussions early enough. Part is the bond pat. Yeah. I would

328love Mike if in October when we get the the projection that we spoke in terms of green, yellow, orange and red. And we actually you presented the school in either green or green, yellow, orange or red. So that the very document that we had immediately told us this school's in the green. And what I mean by green is they're comfortably in this zone of capacity. Yellow is a little bit more orange and then red. So red being low and high. If I'm looking through that document and I see anything in red, that's a critical urgent need and we better be talking about it. Orange I'm I'm concerned about. yellow. I'm watching. I'm waiting for. And then [Music] I'd resurrect our capacities documents. We We're almost there. We've got that. Okay. I look for them all

329the time. I know it's not there and I lament it. I loved I loved the I know we can't have a PDF version anymore because it's so dynamic, but I loved the capacities document that was a page per school and had all the information on it. even to produce that on on a year-to-year basis colorcoded so that each school was either green, yellow, orange, or red with its capacity information right there. That would that's the information I would love to see. Is it red on both sides of the extreme? Yeah. High and low. Is that something the board would like to see as a I also really relied on that? It was like a I don't think it was a PDF though. The one that I'm talking about was a Google sheet. And so it

330was real time and it was great and I referenced it frequently and then one day it was like, "Oh, stop using that." Yes, we have a we have a uh a beta version ready. It's in uh you know, we haven't color coded it as you described, Mr. Dunford. We do have enrollment a a tachometer that is in there that is colorcoded. So that might suffice what you're talking about. It is a Google sheet, which means that it automatically updates as we update it. If you want a PDF, we could certainly export it. It would just be static. It wouldn't be able to to get updated as as frequently. But we do have that. In fact, I've got it open right here as a test and and we've got it ready to go. We've added a

331few a few more um bells and whistles to the dashboard. So, you can you can see that. I for one use that, doc. Use that all the time. Yeah, me too. So number three on this page, the only thing that makes me a little antsy is we're at a potential action list and we have not done the courtesy of letting the board member who represents those schools know. I I really would at least want to know that we have identified this as a potential action item and facilities is discussing actively one of my schools. I I need to be looped into that. I want to respect committee work, but I have to represent my schools. Would it be I was going to say is that something that a committee chair would present you know at

332board meetings when do they have something present to say hey this came up in our committee meeting would that give you enough time or comfort level or do you want to be told I mean the the brilliance of doing this in committee is we're not alarming communities before we're serious about working on something Um, so I am comfortable with just an email that says letting you know these are the schools on your list that are potential action schools. And then that just lets me know how closely I need to be following. I'm going to be reaching out frequently. It's not lost on me that all of the example schools on this document are mine. Like that makes me a little uncomfortable. So shouldn't three first day come to the board and assign to the facilities

333committee because it seems to me that it's circumventing the board. I I don't know where I fall there though because I don't we have discussions about enrollment frequently. I don't want communities to feel like they're on high alert all of the time if we're not going to do anything. The other side of that is I want the community to know in a very uncomfortable school that we are talking about it. Yeah, me too. So, there's two sides to that. I don't want to panic them, but I want them to be assured that yeah, we're aware of your situation and we're talking about it. Yeah. What's the role of the board? What's the role of the committee? What do we want to make sure board members know and when and what do we want to announce

334to the community and when? That's the clarity we're looking for around all of those issues because once we know there are trade-offs, however you choose to do it, and once we know how the board wants that arranged, then we can execute on that. And anticipating this, sorry, I I did put on do uh board docs, you know, using the the formula that I've outlined all of the schools that would make the growth aware list and the decline list. And then I also put on there to Bryce's earlier question about gradients or or degrees of you know color whatever um I put a list of schools that would make an approaching that list um either for enrollment growth or decline. Is that something that would suffice um or that would satisfy your question if we Well,

335I think an aware list is something we should be talking about publicly in a transparent way. I when I what was the other list called the action list or something? Was that the next one up? At that point, I think we're an a critical need. Something is going to happen for this school. And um I just as the representative the person who's interacting with that community I want to be able to say yes we are talking um there a plan will be presented I I just need to be in that loop. So to me that's different than an aware list. What I what would help me is if I understood because I see we do this annually. So, what time of year annually do we do this? Typically in October after we get uh the

336October one counts, we would come back and we'd update. By then, um we've been talking with the cities. We've been talking with the planning commissions. We we've updated our growth rates. We've updated the we know the number of permits that have been pulled for various housing units. And so, that's when we would come back with with the list, so to speak. And when do we need to make a decision about a boundary change for the next school year? Typically, we'd like to have those ready to go by January so that student uh schools can start making staffing decisions and you know, you know, anything that needs to be done there. So, we've typically tried to wrap up our boundary process by late November or into December. So, we're voting before January typically. That's that's so

337we've got two months to identify potential action items. You propose boundary changes, get feedback from constituents and then vote after public com. That's a lot to do in two months time. I think we would be able to bring based you know we had this discussion earlier that the the numbers may not fluctuate that much by we can run the numbers now like what we've just done is based on last October's numbers but we have this list ready to go right now this is what we would kind of go off of because we're going to be talking about this you know sounds like in August in earnest about boundary changes and so forth so we could have it earlier than that I'm just saying the update would come in October after we get all the data

338in from the new year I wouldn't mind starting starting the clock a little earlier than we do. So start it like in September, here's some boundary changes and then the real numbers come down in the process and we can make adjustments. But no boundary change really should be made off one year numbers ever anyways like it should be trending and so that would just the numbers would then give us that confirmation that it's still trending in that direction. But if we started it earlier, I think we can get it done and not rush it before holidays. I think the timeline you just described works. A lot of times we've I mean if we start the discussion after school begins and in September because you'll have first day counts by then like 10 day after you

339do kind of number 10day kind of drop where kids were signed up but they don't show up and then get an update through the process. say what do the numbers tell us now? What's the latest? And we've had as the goal to finish in December, but then we've had January as a spillover if we needed it. We don't have trouble getting people's attention when it comes to boundaries. It's not like they lose track because it's the holidays. They're very aware of what's happening and so it builds in some slack. Really, January is the drop dead. Sometimes we get it done as early as November. There is a negative trade-off in my opinion doing it in the spring before or taking a longer time to do it and starting the discussion having it over a long

340period of time. I don't know that you gain a lot by doing that. We can do it on whatever timeline you choose, but the shorter timeline means that there are concentrated discussions and not you don't get pulled in so many different directions. Um, yeah, I would like to approve it in November with the spill over December because every two years you could have reelection on new board members and you never want to spill a boundary change into a a new board member. A lot of times it's done in November. Sometimes it goes to December. January is rare, but it can happen if other issues pop up. And that's why we can do it on what might seem like a shortened timeline. It's because there's a lot of prep work. There's discussion. And if we have

341clarity around these questions that have come up, when do we bring it up, who do we bring it up to first? What's the flow? What's the process? Then it allows us to be really prepared to make the most of that timeline when it does happen. That's just that's not to try to move it in a particular direction. We can do it however the board wants to do it. That's why it's really good. But you think we could do it in three months time. September to December and then that gives us a buffer if we need to go into January. Totally doable. Typically we do start the process, we've always started the process in September. We just have we get the more certain numbers in October because of that's when all of the information comes together.

342We've got the yield rates, we've got the the building permits, and now we've got the the firmer student count. And based on those three things, we can then get you numbers that are that are pretty pretty solid. But having said that, we're talking about these these schools here. They're probably not going to be a lot of shifting between here and October. There may be one drop on or drop off, but it's going to be it's going to give us a pretty good idea and we'll know that year after year moving forward what what schools were we're watching. Can I review something real quickly? Number one on this document, enrollment um growth, it talks about district staff identifying schools based on that formula who exceed building capacity plus six portals will be placed on an aware

343list during uh the annual forecast review. That annual forecast review is given in a board meeting. Is that right? That's correct. So at that time the entire board will know whether or not one of their schools or multiple is on the enrollment increasing list. In other words, one of your schools triggered the enrollment trigger whether going up or going down. So that's the notification. Facilities committee didn't get that information any sooner most likely than the entire board. Does that make you feel any better that that that you're made aware of it as soon as anyone is? Okay. So, during that annual review, the entire board will know at the same time whether or not or which schools are on the increasing or decreasing enrollment list. And then let's add one more thing to that. That

344changes in October. you still have the previous October. Even these two board members should know if a school is on the previous action list. No one should be surprised. Maybe one school gets added or two, but you you've not only got that year's list, but you've got the previous year's list that says, "Look, this school is still on the list." So, there should be no surprises here. If there's a school on the action list, I hope that we're dealing with the issue and not pushing it off year after year after year. An aware list, I understand, but action list, I think that means we act. And that's that's where sometimes I think we get a little bit of frustration in our communities is it's like it's been a problem going on for year after year

345and nothing is changing. So let me ask how much time is between one and two when when an administration shares with us here are all the schools on the aware list in in September or October simultaneously are they also saying and we've identified these as potential action lists or is that come a month later or that it could be a really shortened amount of time simultaneously. Yeah, it can simultaneously or within with days, weeks. I mean, it could be pretty quick. The other thing, sorry, go ahead. One other thing I wanted to mention, there was there was some concern about the facilities committee doing things unbeknownsted to the rest of the board or specifically to the one board member whose school it is being. If you look at that document that that Mike included um

346on board docs, there's seven schools on either the growth or decline aware list. Does the board want to go through seven schools in a board meeting like this and go through the types of things described in number two and three for each of those schools? or does the board want staff and possibly facilities committee to go through items two and three and then come to the board with recommendations. I I think if the board gets a document like this and we're made aware of it um then we can flush it out in because I we can flush it out in a committee and bring proposal back. I think that this board has a h had a history the prior board of surprising somebody whose school it was and that can't happen. But I think if

347we have a list like this and are updated and we're talking about it and we should have a we should have a plan for each of those schools and it might not be a plan we have to act on now but we should have a plan. What are we doing about those schools on the aware list? And the plan might be it could be just we're going to wait a year and see what happens. We don't have the plan could do not be mean let's do nothing or the plan could be let's close that school in two years or the plan could be let's build a new school but we're not ready yet you know but we should be able to on that aware list be able to say we have a plan for you

348even if the plan is just let's keep let's hold it. What I don't want is there are some districts around us that have to close like 25 schools because they didn't do this. And so how can we just use our facilities wisely that we don't grow too fast and you know we don't then we're not closing schools. it. You know, we'll just have to make smart moves now to help future boards not have to go through what other districts are doing because it's really painful to close a school all the way down. I would appreciate knowing as soon as the facility committee realizes it's on the potential action list and not wait to hear with everybody else at a board meeting that it's on there if it's mine because then it gives me a chance

349to ask a lot of questions. instead of being unready to ask those questions before I may be getting questions. There's my problem because I have a plan for the schools that I represent. I know facilities has a plan. I know the administration has a plan, but I don't think anyone should I think it's the right of a board member to have a plan for any school on the aware list or the action list that they represent. I don't know what belongs to facilities and I don't know what belongs to the board member when it comes to that school. I am very invested in Aspen. I go there all the time. I talk to the principal. I go to the community council. I meet with parents. I'm very invested in that. And I would hate the

350facilities committee to say, "Well, we're going to come up with a plan when I, as the board member that represents Aspen, have been involved in obtaining that plan for years. So I don't know where I end and facility starts when it comes to the schools that I represent. I am I'm doing the same I've been doing the same thing with Haramman ever since I got Heramman and could see that it was on an action list. And so where does the board member that represents the school and all that that involves where does that merge with administration and facilities? But everyone knows Aspen's on the list that we have a concern. The question that we have to flush out is is a boundary change the right thing or building a new school and I think that's

351something the whole board needs to know. I think facilities can work through it. They can talk to you and but you but the problem is some of that changes will affect my area you know. So it's gets kind of really tricky that way. But I think if it's a if it's a school on the awareness list that we know that something needs to take place that we talk about it publicly and openly. Everyone knows that Aspen is a concern of ours. Yeah. So I don't know that we've solved that concern. So I um looking at number two on the enrollment considerations for growth and it's also very similar for enrollment considerations for decline. I I like that um the district administration will review this list and discuss the potential actions and then bring those actions

352to facilities I think and then I think it's fine for facilities committee to have a recommendation for the board but I it does you get loop I don't necessarily want the facilities committee to be the ones coming up with the um options. I'd rather have administration looking at the all the options and bringing it to um the facilities committee instead of the facilities committee coming up with the potential actions. I agree. So, yeah, I like that it's I think that it should be the board member who represents the school working with administration because what what Bryce just said is exactly right that we're sitting in the school community councils. We're the ones who are connected and engaging with those those specific constituents who need a voice at the table. And so that's I just I

353need to be a part of those conversations privately. And I feel like I don't need to be part of the conversations when um the the school district employees I I feel like um I don't have the expertise or the background or education that they do as far as um looking at a big picture of the whole district. And so I don't I don't want to be in the conversation when they are working out the possible um the possible recommendation like the different um not recommendations because I feel like the facilities committee can give us recommendation. I feel like staff will bring um possibilities. What is it called? Possible actions. Bill action. Yeah. potential actions and I don't mind not being part of the either discussion and and I think it it is courteous to um

354get a a little email or text that says, you know, you've probably noticed that this school in your area is on the aware list or the potential what is it? What's the other one called? the um so approaching growth aware list or growth aware list decline list or approaching decline list and and then say we are we like this is being you know potential actions are being discussed for this school. I think that it's nice to know that that's being discussed, but personally, I don't feel like I need to be in on those discussions to and I feel like I could still represent my constituency because then when those potential actions are presented, then I can say, you know, I have a problem with this or this one sounds better for my community or any

355you're you're saying you don't want a voice if we're going to close one of your schools because that's what happened with your predecessor is your predecessor was in a meeting and she heard that we're going to close her elementary school for the first time and what we're trying to do is set up a parameter where you would have a voice before that was public and I I don't feel like that's what I said but um I just but maybe that is what I that's kind of how I think that what you really want is what I heard. What you really want is you do want a voice. If your school's on those watch lists, you do want a voice in the remedy before we make it public. I mean, my my thought is you've got

356to persuade me as a board member to vote on the boundary change. So, what does it matter what your conversation is with them? Are you going to persuade the administration or the facilities committee to make a recommendation instead of me? I mean, that's where I'm saying what what's the problem discussing it publicly? I think we should, but I don't think it comes publicly until you as a board member that represents that school already knows about it because if you announce something like that, we're looking at closing XYZ school, the next day you're you're going to be flooded with calls from people. And if you're not prepared to know the backstory why we're making a proposal to study that ultimately we'll all decide. But you've got to be ready to know this is the reason why

357the board is considering this. I would like to be notified but I don't feel like I need to be having a discussion with the facilities committee. If I'm notified and I've got questions, concerns, or things I want to say, I can ask those questions. But I don't I guess I don't feel like I would necessarily be trying to persuade somebody. Yeah. I think persuade is the wrong word. I just think you just need to know what's going on. And the thing is right now I I can say most of us probably already know each other's voice that we don't want any of our schools to be closed down and we don't want any of our schools to be packed to the point of extreme discomfort. And so I I don't know what else I could

358say if if that makes any sense. I I trust the judgment and the expertise of staff. I I you know I think that [Music] um I think that we can see the growth awareness list, the decline aware list and and so I realize okay these schools will probably if you know if we adopt this document for the appendix these schools will probably be um discussed and potential actions will be um discussed and then eventually presented to facilities. Facilities might decide, hey, we want to recommend this one. But then I feel like all of them will be presented. I'm hoping that all of the potential actions will be presented to the board and then the facilities committee can can um explain why they support one action over the other. I anyway I don't need to be

359part of all of that other part until it comes to the board meeting. And that's weird cuz I do I have to be part of that. I want to contribute to the possible solutions conversation. I don't want to wait until solutions have been identified. I want to contribute to that conversation. So how do we deal with the fact that we have board members that want to be involved at different levels? Absolutely. Well, I think it's very important to me that I say it has nothing to do with distrust or questioning the expertise of our employees. Not at all. We have different roles and my role is to hear. My role is to be among my constituents and my communities and to understand that perspective. That is a role that is valuable and I don't think

360that we should discount that because my job as an elected official is to represent that voice and so cutting that voice out of the most basic part of this process makes me feel like I'm not doing my job. can. So, I'm wondering if we can add something, but this is this is the way I'm viewing it. We all get the the aware list after the after the projections come out and this is made so we can all look at it and we can notice if any of our schools are any that need to be addressed quickly. I would then as a board member if I saw one of my lists I would email the facilities chair and I say hey I see my school on this list I've been having discussions I'd kind of give

361them the gist of it like please take this facilities committee in mind as you are aware of this and or I might say I feel very strongly about coming to a facilities committee would you consider someone sitting out and I can come in and give you my spiel deal. And that's how I would kind of approach this as a board member and then have them uh go through have staff go through okay these are the possible actions and then when those actions are presented I didn't see it as a we're presenting this to the board this is what we're doing I saw it as these are the actions we can take let's discuss it so I felt like maybe in the past what has happened is facilities came and said we made this decision. But

362I did not I don't see that as we didn't have this list either. I think this list is so helpful to be able to see that okay these are the schools critical these are so here's what I'm saying is there' be no surprises you're so if I have ideas or contributions to make based on my experience and my knowledge of that community and I wait for them to bring a recommendation those ideas or contributions never have a place. I'm I have a question too. So like there are so are there other ideas besides permits you know like changes to building changes to enrollment because I feel like those kinds of ideas maybe we could add them to this document already because Bryce you were saying that you have plans. So, are they different than remodel,

363building an addition, reconstruction, or revoking permits, or transportation? We're not talking about the aware list right now. We're talking about the potential action list. And and I'm talking about these potential different list, right? Because potential action is we're going to change a boundary, we're going to close a school, we're Right. Those are actions. Yeah. And that's that's what I'm talking about. So, like um I'm not going to revoke permits and but action item. I thought that that was an action item, a potential action item. I thought those were like potential action items was like a remodel or building addition or reconstruction. Those are for the growth. And then for the and then on page two is like um different like a a13. And so I feel like do we have other action items that are

364different than the ones like potential action items? Because I I don't know what other kinds of things we could do for potential action items besides boundary changes, closing a school, revoking permits, remodeling a school, busing kids somewhere else. like I don't know. So I feel like if we have some of those ideas, maybe we could put them right here right now and that could be the contribution of for a consideration when people are I mean anyway I don't have additional items and I wasn't talking about additional additional items. I was saying the the boundary areas to consider. Oh. Oh. Like in drawing a boundary. Have feedback on that. I might understand division of neighborhoods differently having lived in that community. Okay. I was going to ask for an example because I couldn't think of like

365what what is an example of what you might add that's not on this list. And you're saying this street would make more sense. Let me give you this complex would make more sense. Yeah. Let me give you an example. Uh staff drew up a proposal for Oakleaf Elementary School. We decided not to move forward with any boundary change. After the fact, I went and met with parents, community members, the principal, I met with the SEC, and they brought up some points that were not reflected in the proposed boundary changes that staff brought us. And I it was eye opening to me. I I never would have considered that. I never would have thought about that as a factor for this boundary change. And so staff, bless their hearts, were looking at the numbers. They were

366looking at streets, but not living on those streets and not fully understanding traffic patterns and the ramifications of living in that area. Who's on the school community council? Who's on the school community council? Where do your volunteers come from? Where do your volunteers live? That was information I was able to gather that no one in student services would have been able to gather. So in deciding maps that voice needs to be represented and I don't know at what point that voice comes into play because if we say staff you come up with the maps that that make the most sense from your perspective without actually being in the community and then at what point do we completely change the maps based on what's happening in the community. So usually what happens is staff comes up

367with a map A and B and then we get the feedback that becomes C and D. Well, why not get that feedback earlier so that maps A and B look more like C and D initially? That's what I'm trying to say. I see. See, that's why I wanted to add into that process meeting with the PTA, meeting with school community council, and bringing open houses back because that's where you get all that information. The other thing I liked is that you're kind of proposing like a transition period like three years to move them out. And I think where there's not an urgency like sometimes we have to move them urgently because the school just is overcapacitated and can't handle it. But if they can trickle out like that, then it just is easier on the

368community. Especially on in in Oakleaf, all the volunteers were on the Butterfield Canyon side and we would have devast devastated that school without like a period of time where they could bring in new people into their boundary. So there there's I I think that there are overlapping questions here and the essential question is at what point does the input have an impact and there so I'd like to describe some of what's happened and why it happened with the caveat that none of it is intended to say this is why we've how we've always done it and this is why we should keep doing it that way. I'm not making that argument in any way, but I want to clarify a couple of things. Um, our we view our job as a staff as giving you

369good information so that you can make a decision that represents the people who that that is representative of the what your constituents are looking for. That is a difficult task and we want to give you good information. We've done it a lot of different ways over the years. And when we bring a proposal forward as a staff, sometimes that has been changed before it goes out. So you can change it and you can build that into the timeline. These are the proposals. Now, we don't want to send that out until we have a couple of weeks to see what feedback we have about those proposals before we even put them out for a survey. So you can set up that timeline however you want. We used to have committees and there were a parent was

370actually in charge of the committee. Uh the board determined and the school community council determined which parents were on the committee and they determined what the options were and they determined what the recommendation was to the board. So the staff was completely out of that and was only a support to the parents that made those decisions. It did create hard feelings and I think one question that you have to ask in this process is which parent voices are heard and in what way? Because if it's simply the people who happen to have been able to talk with a board member, then you may have people who cry foul and say, "Well, it's too bad I don't know a board member, so I can't get my point across." I say this because 15 years ago that

371was our experience. So when staff bring something forward, it's an accurate description. We do our best to look at what makes sense for a neighborhood, but no one knows what makes sense for a neighborhood like people who live in a neighborhood. And I don't know that we have ever approved an option in the form or the board has ever approved an option in the form it was brought by staff. It always gets modified. It's an essential question. At what point does it get modified? If a board member is involved in creating the option, then the board member owns that option. And it has been helpful to the board not to own the option and have the flexibility to react to that option. And if we built in time at various stages, you still have that

372option. But we could go back to a committee format. We could do we can insert time in any portion of this at any point in this process for formal or informal input or influence. But that's why we've done it the way that we have. For those listening, we have never as a staff, we don't have any particular need for a particular outcome on a boundary. We're trying to facilitate the process and it it's a huge responsibility of the board to establish those boundaries to determine which schools to close which schools to build and so I really appreciate this discussion because we want a timeline that feels good to the committee to the board as a whole to individual board members and those community voices are really really important and it's just at what stage do

373we do we access those voices And in what way I'm after this discussion I'm I'm questioning the utility of the facilities committee in this process at least as it's outlined in number three four and five on the first page. You know, if if we look at back if we look back at the last two or three boundary change issues that came before the board, a board member raised a concern. Sunset Ridge, Midas Creek, Herman High. I think those are the last three that that I remember. Aspen. Aspen. A board member raised a concern. I thought Aspen might have come from staff, but anyway, it came from the the board. A board member raised a concern in a public board meeting. The board directed staff, not facilities committee. The board directed staff to go away and

374come back as soon as possible with some options. We've done that with the last two with Sunset Ridge and what was the other one I said? Midas Creek. Midas Creek. And facilities committee wasn't involved in that. And I don't know that facilities committee could have added anything to that process. You know, Mike and his team went off and did their thing and they're planning on coming back soon with some options. And so, yeah, I'm I'm I'm questioning the role of facilities committee, at least as it's defined here. I I I would almost rather replace facilities committee with board member whose school it is kind of a thing. Well, here's the challenge, I think, is every situation is totally different and one approach won't fit all. And so, we just got to be aware, be very

375circumspect, and we're doing it. Where I see the facilities can have a play here is three high schools are the approaching growth areas. And one is a declining area. We as a committee, if facilities committee ought to be discussing that, saying what is what is our solution for that situation? because if we don't do something about that, it's going to then raise its ugly head and and but you know, is that boundary changes? Is that you know, um offering more classes in our in our tech uh area? What what are we going to do? What are we going to bring to the board? So, I think we see I see facilities as big picture kind of stuff. I would rather what we're doing with transportation that's facilities. I would rather receive direction from the board

376after the board has seen that aware list. The board says, "Oh, we've got this example, three high schools and one high school here. Let's have the board take a look at that rather than than the facilities committee taking the initiative and doing things on their own. I would rather the whole board sees the the full picture in a in a public board meeting. The board says, "Hey, I'm concerned about this. I'm concerned about this, too. Let's have facilities go take a look at it. That's worked in for the past four or five months. I've I I have a question. So, with the Aspen Elementary um and the elementary schools around that I thought that was um because of Juniper opening. I thought there was more to that boundary change. I thought it was brought by

377staff. Well, there's a lot bigger of it. We I thought because there was that all of those schools were noticed and there were several options and then nothing to do with Juniper though. Oh, it didn't have anything to do with Juniper. Okay. I think there were multi multiple layers of that. Yeah. And so I thought that that was not brought by a board member. We were going to build a school. The board chose not to build a school boundary changes to Okay. Then we boundary in a way it was board directed it because instead of building a school that we wanted a boundary change and the board decided not to build a school that's what facilitated them coming back with boundary changes and we cast a pretty wide potential net of potential boundary changes and

378ended up just doing the the minimal one which which alleviated um you know for a time the issue at Aspen. Okay. What I would like is some bit of notification that I don't even know need to know the boundaries but Darl there's a lot of schools because Bryce has been working with him about Aspen but it's going to affect a lot of my schools per potentially and so when I'm finding out that information in a board meeting then I'm overreacting and what what's going on here and so like that's where I think it could be helpful but it's not you're not going to have one way to do this every school is going to be so And I I think what what complicates this whole issue is we've never settled on who is the primary

379steward of that facility. Yeah. Is it the board member in whose boundary it lies? Well, we've all we've always made the No, no, no, no. You represent all schools. Yeah. Yeah. But those parents vote for me. So is who is the primary steward? Is it the superintendent who knows the school from the inside out? Is it the board member who was elected by the community? Is it the facilities committee? We've never ever resolved that issue. And so we dance around each other. The staff is saying, "Oh, this is Bryce's school. How do we give him the information?" And Bryce is dancing say, "Oh, they have information that we've never ever really settled on that." And I don't know that we can, but no one and yet everyone claims stewardship of that facility. And that's I

380think the heart of the problem is I am more interested in the facilities within my district and I see them as more my stewardship than anyone else's. But I could make a very strong case that the superintendent knows a lot more what's going on on the inside than I do. And he is the superintendent of that school. He is the steward of that school. And yet we have a whole committee that is built on the idea that our stewardship is the facility of that school. And so I don't know that we'll ever resolve that. But that to me seems like the fundamental problem is we have everyone and yet no one has been identified as the primary steward. So my my hope would be that facilities committee would look at the district as a whole

381and what will most what will be the most beneficial action for the district as a whole for the students and the taxpayers and the employees not just in their own area, but in the whole district. And and the thing is, I know there are painful choices to be made and we are here as elected representatives to sometimes make those difficult choices and use our political capital so people who this is their job and their livelihood don't have to burn their political capital. And and so there are painful choices to be made. It's very hard when it's in our own districts. And and I say that knowing that there are most likely going to be very personally difficult decisions in my district. Um, but I hope that the facilities committee will be the group of three

382with staff members that can look at the district as a whole and look at it with an unbiased eye and say, "This is a place where we need to recommend staff find some or like assign staff to come up with some proposals for this area and and anyway I that's what my hope would be would be that the facilities committee would be that entity. So how many boundary changes have we made that only impacted one board member's schools? There's a few there are well well recently Aspen if you own the whole school if you own the whole school like the whole like Butterfield Canyon if we're making that to Blackidge that's going to just affect me I was the only one that represents but the problem is is then it could trickle if we made

383those other boundary changes then it trickles over to it's just tricky every every situation is going to be different so I don't know that we can solve this tonight. I just think we just move forward with circumspect and say, "Hey, here's a good idea." I mean, all of us can bring ideas. Hey, here's three schools. They're on the wear list. Here's my solution for it. Because we need to find solutions for them and not closing them is not always the solution. We can be innovative and figure out how to use those facil. I'm I'm eager for a procedure so that we are sure we want to support you however you want it to look. We want to give you information on whatever timing and whatever form helps you the most. And I I worry about

384not setting a procedure. I would rather set one. Think about your individual concerns when you have felt like you were not looped in at a time when you should have been. how how it felt to make certain kinds of changes and see if that procedure feels like it might meet your needs and then adjust it frequently as opposed to feeling like we can't set one because we we are very eager to do whatever you need in whatever way you need it on the timeline that you need it. we don't have clarity around that, then we're I worry that we won't give you what you need and you'll be left out there twisting in the wind. So, I wonder, President, if all seven of us should submit what we think is the ideal timeline and then

385let's see if we can make a group timeline based on our individual submissions. Does there need to be a timeline? I really like these documents that facilities committee came up with and and I understand that a timeline puts pressure to get things done, but um I I think he meant an order of events, not necessarily like dates. And I would like to see six weeks between this and this. Yeah, I think he was saying like, okay, when we have this list, then here's who we tell in this order. Order of operations. That's a good clarification. Yeah, I would like to take my own swing at this based on what I've presented and I'd love to hear everyone else take because I appreciate what facilities has come up with. I wonder if I had the assignment

386to go come up with the same list if it would look different and maybe there's value in the difference that all of us would come up with. At a minimum, page one, number three should probably include something about notification to the board member whose school we're discussing. I was thinking the exact same thing. Can we add a bullet point to three that says schools chair page one and two number page one and two on number three because I mean one is growth and one is decline but they're three on both similar steps. It's three on both and I would put that between one and two not down at three. So I think each one of us sees it a little bit differently. So before they receive the list, you would want them to notify. Yeah.

387When the when the annual forecast is given, I would like to see every board member that has a school on the aware list somehow involved in some type of plan for that school. In involved in the plan or just notified invol I want to be involved. I think you can you can choose how much you want you if you're notified you can choose to be involved given the if I have a school or two on that aware list then I should be coming and figuring out solutions for it. How does that look when you have a facilities committee with three people? Do you ask one to leave? Yeah, that's what we did with West Jordan Elementary. Or see that what I'm talking about is what happens before facilities even gets it. Who do you who

388do you talk to when you want to be involved? What is that? I I would sit down with all the board members that that yield that lead to that school and staff. Like for instance, there's a I would go out to the community. I would meet with this community council. I would meet with the principal. So as soon as I see a school on the aware list, I get into action. I jump into action. I would love to see every board member jump into action and then at some point we need to come together. All the interested parties that have gathered data need to come together and discuss a potential action because administration's not doing all those things you just They're not seeing what I'm seeing and I'm not seeing what they're seeing. I will

389never see what they see and I think they don't they don't have the resources to see what I see. So before we start proposing before we even get to what might be a potential action list, I'd like to be involved before then. C can I make a motion? So, I move that any board member who would like to make their own enrollment considerations for growth, go ahead and do that between now and our next study session. And then at our next study session, we can look at them. And um so because right now I I don't necessarily want to be um I I don't think I'm going to be convinced in dis this is going to be a long motion. My motion is not restating this. This here's the motion. My motion is that any

390board member who would like to make their own version of these this document, this draft document, make it and then they can present it at the next study session. Is that what Bryce already said? He didn't make a motion though. But yeah, I think that I I guess I'm making a motion because I want to move forward. And she said you may. You don't have to. Maybe Lisa didn't want to be compelled to come back with the her her draft because I like this. So because she was on the committee I was not on I'm not on the facilities committee. Can I under that motion then be aggressive and say hey there's nothing on this list but I see a potential change. I talked to Mike about that in the break. Am I able to

391just go to administration say hey here's something to think about? because I didn't feel like I had that power in the past. That might be answered on page three. Can I just find out if that motion has a second and then we'll have some discussion. Okay. So, we have a motion that uh we leave a period of time between now and the next board meeting for board members to make edits if they so choose to this document and present them at the next meeting. Did I say it right? Did I get it all? That is perfect. That's better than I said it. Oh, good. Thank you. Okay. Now, let's have a discussion. Sorry. I just want to make sure we're discussing a motion. Can I get this document in Word? Thank you. So, Darl, what

392you were saying is should you feel you want can I make any recommendation at any time? I don't think I had that power in the past where I can just go to student services or go to Dr. document or on different individual circumstances. Why do you think you didn't have that power in the past? You've always done that. I haven't always done that. You vigorously represented your schools. Oh, I vigorously represented my schools, but I didn't vigorously have a voice before boundary changes were made. I would argue that you have you said that last time our board agreed that you could bring any proposal to the board, right? Like I would like this school studied and then the board would make an assignment is is did I remember that correctly from last meeting? So yes,

393in answer to your question then, yeah, bring it just bring it to the board before maybe going and I don't know how do you guys feel? Should he go to student services and make a plan before he Our general rule is if you're going to take more than an hour of staff's time, you need board approval. But if you're going to take less than an hour of staff's time, you may move ahead without board approval. That's been our general rule. Does does this have to do with the motion I made kind of this process? So you're talking about using staff to make a the like to make changes to this document. No, I think he just meant in general when he has he's less concerned about what the document says. He has the freedom to

394the move in a different direction. I think the problem that we have with the document is when does the board member have a voice? And that's that's what I'm asking. When do I have a voice? Do I have to wait till it's proposed? Can I go be progressive and and bring it ahead of time? And maybe it's different for every circumstance. Maybe much like the budget, we make our own version of this of how we want it to be and then we see where was my idea we all land. So if you want it to be sooner, if you want a voice sooner in this process, so that's the motion is that we make edits. Are we ready to vote on that motion? And then if we need to have further discussion outside of the

395motion, we can do that. Okay. All those in favor of the motion say I. I. Anyone opposed? Okay. Motion carries unanimously. So, I think we've covered this agenda item. And the next step is follow this motion. We're all going to take it home. We kind of have heard what everyone want to if we want to. We're going to come prepared. Those of us who want to, we're going to come prepared to discuss the edits that we would like to see. before the next meeting. We just made a long one today. Mr. Van, I think you know as part of that you're welcome to come up with a good acronym for aware. Oh, I know. Actually, Mr. Van has been working on that and showing me some of his amazing aware acronyms. Can I just say

396in closing, thank you for all this input. It's been a long discussion, but it's been a good discussion. And thanks to Mike and his staff for getting it started on getting it started on a good foot here. And thank you for being very gracious with what already was a lot of effort and then we just scrupulously take a big dump. So this is not the time to suggest that we give our edits to facilities and they bring back a summary. Okay. So just to clarify, would you like a copy of this document sent to each one of you so you can choose to, you know, edit it as you wish. Okay. The latest copy just I think I forwarded to everyone earlier today. You send a PDF. I would like an editable document. Okay. Yeah,

397I'll send it in. Open mine in Google Docs and then I could edit. I I sent one today, but yeah, I think the original one I sent Yeah. might have been PDF. Yeah, I'll share it out. Thank you. Docs works. We've reached the end of the agenda. I'll take a motion. I move I move that we Is it adjourn or go into go into session. Okay, it says adjourn right there. I move that we go into close session for character and competence of individuals property potential litigation negotiations and security. Second. Please not do all of them. I have a motion by Miss Barrow, a second by Mr. Barnett that we go into close session for character and competence property potential litigation negotiations and security. We will do a ro roll call vote. Mr. Barnett, yes.

398Mr. Deford, yes. Miss Barrow, yes. Dr. Robinson, yes. Miss Wood, yes. Miss Dean, yes. Also a yes. So, that vote is unanimous and we are in close session. Thank you for joining us and hanging in until almost 11 o'clock. Okay. I just I just felt like the discussion could go on forever and