Special Board Meeting - Thursday, January 8, 2026

001of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice. >> So, good evening everybody. I want to remain I want to thank you for being here tonight. We appreciate you taking time to share your thoughts on an issue that matters deeply to our families, students, and staff. We know there will be a range of perspective shared this evening and that is exactly the purpose of this forum. Speakers wishing to address the board on non-aggenda items. That is basically anything but this session goes to Miss Ellen. Okay. Miss Ellen, do you have any public comments on this or not agenda item? >> President C. No, we do not. >> Okay. Thank you. Okay. So um in terms of so in terms of public

002comment you will be given um you will fulfill the card. You will be please complete a speaker card. Speakers will be called and you will receive three minutes per person per topic. The board may adjust the time limit based on the number of speakers. Since this is a sensitive topic with real impact on students, families and staff, please focus comments on issues, experience, and outcomes rather than naming or singing out individuals. Our goal is to hear all perspectives and ensure space for a range of viewpoints. If a similar sentiment is shared multiple times, myself, the board president, may invite a show of hands so perspectives are acknowledged while allowing time for others to speak. We have a good audience here and we want to make sure that everybody is heard. So uh please give everyone

003space and three. Um I would say though during the public comment the role of the trustee is to listen to understand the experiences and concerns of our community and consider the whole full picture in our deliberation. We won't engage at this moment in back and forth during individual comments but after the public comment the board will discuss among each others what we've heard and your feedback is definitely essential part of our decision making process. So once again thank you for coming. And with that, I will give it to Superhand Devoir who's going to go over a little bit of a brief overview before we begin the public comment section. >> Great. Thank you, President Cos. Uh, good evening community. Good evening, board. Um, I want to thank everybody for joining us tonight. Uh, this is

004definitely a sensitive topic um that's really difficult uh to grapple with as a community. Um, I want to spend just a couple of minutes talking about uh some of the background work that's been happening. Um all of this information is available on our website. Uh we just um uh revamped the realignment website uh to include frequently asked questions um as well as past presentations our demographic study u for the community to take a look at. Um this evening I'm just going to hit on a few of the highlights. Uh we can go to the next slide. Thank you. Uh really our central question tonight and over the next month and a half is should be our SSD uh considering transitioning from two TK uh TK 8 schools uh to one. Uh what we found is

005that the sustainability of three middle schools one comprehensive school Rston and two smaller schools NZA and Sam San Viper have become increasingly less busy. We'll have approximately 290 uh fewer middle school students in six years which is the size of both of our small middle schools uh which are under capacity. When we look at enrollment um right now rston sits at approximately 1100 and has been at 135ish sandpaper 123ish I say is because those numbers do fluctuate from day to day depending on the data we pulled them. Uh when we were pulling those data, Wston had zero uh space. Uh NEZA had 33 spaces and paper have 45 spaces. Um trends when we look at uh schools across the board, uh Wston had a large sixth grade class. Uh intra district students within the district

006are on a transfer wait list to enter Lston. Um, NESDA was categorized as consistent grade levels um with midsize cohorts, meaning they had an equal distribution of across six, seven, and eight. Uh, SE was categorized as inconsistent grade level cohorts plus they had a larger period class and a very small. So with that, um over the next month, um the board is being asked to to look at a decision uh to ultimately make a change with the way we offer students. Uh taking into consideration the fees of access um for students and families. Uh considering financial feasibility, um our small middle schools cost approximately three or $400,000 additionally to run. Um enrollment and related facility needs. um as well as community desirement. Uh tonight is really focusing on that fourth bucket uh the community desired.

007Uh in February uh at our February board meeting uh we'll be asking the board uh to look at a decision uh which can be really one of four uh different decision points. Uh one is remain status quo rston rstones and sandpiper remain um as is. The second would be uh sorry thank you uh I advance the slideshow thank you the second option would be maintain rston as the comprehensive middle school um and has have NESBIT as the second small K8 school. Uh option three is the reverse uh also as the comprehensive sandpaper as the K8. And finally, the um kind of out of the box um option um would be to look at having two equalsiz middle school programs. Um uh that would take much more than one year uh to implement. I would anticipate

008it would take a year of work, a year of potential development, and probably implement the third year. So that fourth option is is out there. uh one, two, and three could be implemented um next year. Uh we did a a community survey that was in the field uh November 3rd through the 10th. Um approximately, 1100 participants, next slide, Joe Ro. Thank you. That's what happens when we get there. Uh approximately, 1100 participants across the district uh participated in the survey. Um and um we we received feedback that folks didn't see the survey. Um if they did didn't quite register what we were asking folks to really weigh in on. Um and that's okay. Really um our goal was to look at should we be developing about um options for the district and and indeed I

009think the survey did meet that goal. Um and we're here today talking about those those um options. uh respondents me mentioned a strong desire for academic programs, electives, preparation for high school and their ideal middle school. Uh the data uh showed a slight favoritism towards two middle schools instead of three. Um there were still a lot of respondents that were on the fence for despite that uh the respondents were almost four times more likely to choose rston as their middle school choice over city. Um overall the respondents wanted more clarity and really that's our goal. Uh just a little bit in terms of clarity. Thank you J. Next slide. Um uh we had a lot of folks ask us about what is a comprehensive, what is a small school. Um in the deck here is

010all of uh kind of the things that differentiate um Rston from San Hanker and Nesbet. Um it should be mentioned that uh neither option and neither um format is better than the other. uh they're both equally um good for uh we we talk about three great options for uh your family and for your student. They're all equally as simple. So uh just like references and uh finally I'll end the presentation tonight before we go to to public comment with the timeline go. Um we are in the January time frame now looking at um engaging with our community. Uh tonight is one option. uh for our community to weigh in. We have a January uh uh end of January January 21st uh which will be held at Sandpaper uh next Thursday. Uh we also have a

011board meeting uh which uh we will be taking public comment uh really the design is uh these two meetings but public comments will also be available at our schedule. >> Yes. Um and uh with that again uh there's multiple ways uh to join the conversation, attend the meeting. Um you can also um submit feedback uh to feedback at brisd.org. Trustees um receive uh all of the feedback from that has been shared electronically. Next slide. And uh with that um I want to recognize that tonight we do have four trustees uh with us. Unfortunately, trustee Dang uh was not able to join us tonight. Uh but she we'll be uh looking at the video which is being recorded and we'll have to so that I'll I'll pass it over to the president for public. >> Great.

012So Miss Ella, would you pull up your first question for public? >> Yes. So I'll be calling Oh, you want to call three? >> I'll be calling up three at a time. So, first we have Kyle Ting, Cast Wood, and Maria. Yes. You hear me? You hear me? Good. Yes. Uh, hello school board trustees. My name is Kyle Ting. We've seen me at board meetings before because I am the BRSFA secretary and maybe you've seen me around NZDI because I've taught here my entire teaching career. Technically, as my hairline may show, I've been with the district long enough to be one of the senior members among the K8 school teachers. In fact, I taught NEST's first sixth grade class of 2016. In my math classes, I say a phrase often enough that my students complete

013it for me. It's not about the answer, it's how you get there. because in that we often expect explicit solutions, but half of our points come from the work, the thinking, the confidence demonstrated in the problem solving. And I think that the problem right now regarding the futures of our K8 middle schools has an explicit solution, but that doesn't mean it's clear or easy. It's complex, nuanced, and carries an unavoidable emotional factor. So, I want to encourage the board that for both of our schools, Nesbbit and San Piper, if you have questions, please ask. If you have unclear pictures, please visit. And if you get unsatisfactory answers, please insist. In the end, whatever you decide, I hope you're confident in your process and understanding because like in math, even if you answer correctly, you should

014clearly understand the why so you're prepared for the increasing complexity of the parts that follow. I hope you see this town hall meeting at NZDIT and the later town hall meeting at San Piper as steps towards an understanding. Thank you. >> Good evening for president trustees superintendent families and community members. My name is Sonor Dw and I'm speaking on behalf of the Nesbbit Middle School staff. Nesbit is a beloved learning community where all students have access to rarest highquality education regardless of their background. Our very diverse middle school currently serves 137 students and our middle school data tells an important story. According to the 2425 data, 40% of all districtwide EL learners in sixth to 8th grade attend NESB. 20% of our desert middle schoolers receive special education or 504 services and 38% are socioeconomically

015disadvantaged compared to just 90% districtwide. Despite and because of this diversity every student participates in our international baloric middle years program I at NEZID is not selective or trapped. It is inclusive by design, holding all students to high expectations while providing support to our most vulnerable students and their complex needs. Nesbet is an authorized IB world school with curriculum that is systematically planned, validated, and monitored to ensure quality and equity. Our students complete three years of Spanish, engage in 150 hours of art, 150 hours of design projects, and still have access to six electives, athletics, and enrichment opportunities. Our learning is hands-on, meaningful, and unique only to Nesbbit Middle School. Sixth graders design and run schoolwide cardboard carnival. Seventh graders engineer marble roller coasters and also attend Yusede outdoor ed. Eighth graders complete a community

016service capstone identifying real community needs and implementing solutions. Netfit's IB program prepares students from multiple pathways not just one high school. The class of 25 metriculated into eight different high schools and class of 24 went to 11 different schools. NEZVI is proof that rigor and equity are not opposites. Our students thrive academically, socially, and emotionally in a program that values curiosity, creativity, and global thinking. We respectfully ask the board to fully understand what I is, to correct misunderstandings reflected in recent survey data, and recognize that closing NEVID would disproportionately impact students who benefit most from our inclusive, highquality program. Nez Middle School is just not a small school. It is a high impact IB middle school and is worth preserving. Thank you. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Leguara board, I'm very pleased to be

017invited to share my thoughts and impressions about the decisions you're about to make. I'm very fond of a premise that is also a fact. Bad decisions are made in absence of failure. What we are discussing today, the future of IB is the same as discussing the future of our children and our community. I am the mother of two boys, Join and Ar who have attended since kindergarten are now grader that will complete or finalize a middle school education having completed all three years in international biology program. Our now middle school with an IEP that has been active since kindergarten is neurody divergent. Over the years he has received support from the speech final skills executive functioning emotional regulation and assistance from a educator in both fourth and fifth grade. and now has been exposed to

018interior secretary art and design effort all subject areas which is a main differentiator in differentiator to uh the regular uh middle school program based on this learning style and find more challenges. This has been an area of tremendous growth for our camping has gone both and beyond by offering programs to uh of the caliber of international balor as well as meaningful outdoor educational experiences. The seven great seven trip that we did last year for example was more more than just fun exploration. These students were able to connect their learning to real world hands-on experiences. All these extraordinary opportunities are not subject to a very critical decision. And this is where I worry the most. A single survey issue only in English presented in a very innocent title as an alliance survey is what we as

019parents were asked to respond to just few weeks ago and now based on that we're facing the possibility of closing a school. Once again, decision making access of data are very bad decision. If we are going to make choices of this magnitude based on a single misguided survey, we are doing a disservice to our children and to our communities. If a district truly wants to gather meaningful information about the importance of nesting and the viability of an international program in Belmont, more channels need to be created targeted to the specific audiences you want to reach. In the case of my community, the Hispanic community. You need to uh do an oral not with it should be conducted by the professionals. And I would uh go further and recommend that you invest in focus groups to

020gather this information. Students like Arnau and I understand our time uh need and they're especially favored in this type of environments for a neurodyivergic students changing their environment in fifth grade could be catastrophic. So no Mr. Reu not all programs are equal. >> Maria thank you for your comments. We must move on. We when you decide the future of Destiny, you are deciding the future of children like my son. And I urge you to choose continuity, inclusion, and opportunity of uncertainty. Alison, Gorson, Stephanie, and to come up, please. Thank you all for holding this listening session. My name is Allison Gorson. First and foremost, I'm a parent of a Nesbet third and fourth grader. Um, but I'm also a full professor at the University of San Francisco and chair of the department of communication studies

021there. In my professional role, I work every day with students whose backgrounds um challenges they closely mirror those of the students in this population. and for that reason feel like I have a unique perspective here. Um about 50% of students at my university are students of color were ranked number one nationally for ethnic diversity and roughly 30% of our students receive disability accommodations at middle school as we heard from the teachers they also kind of are faced with many of these types of populations of students as well. My numbers might be a little off um but again about onethird of the students in middle school are English language learners um many are on IEPs 504s and approximately 40% of us are socioeconomically disadvantaged so in teaching in this environment I can say that students um

022in this particular population need many things but three things seem central trusted relationships with their educators genuine access to education and consistency in their learning environment. Um, NEST I feel like does these three exceptionally well, for the sake of time, um, I'll touch on the first two, but I really want to focus on a third. I feel like Nesbit has really built a community of trust. Students are known by name, families are engaged, and educators, administrators, um, and staff really build this trust. Second, um, really thinking about educating the whole person seems like a central focus at Nesbbit, which I feel like is important. Third and foremost though, I feel like Nesbit reduces barriers. Nesbit's location and accessibility matter. Proximity to students homes, couch training, public transit reduces daily barriers for families and students. And

023when this type of access is disrupted, attendance engagement and academic progress suffers, especially for students already navigating economic, linguistic, and learning challenges. Um, last I also as a social scientist have to raise some concerns about the data. um talking about this as representative data um raised some red flags for me and as again as a social scientist I tried to dig in um and a lot of the information wasn't just there we've seen descriptive statistics and there was no information about inferial statistics we weren't able to see anything within schools or between schools in terms of the responses also decisions of this magnitude really need to look at those individuals that are impacted and a lot of those marginalized impacted voices were not heard. Um, so I really think accessibility to all families in the

024district need to be looked at. Still, despite this, for these reasons I mentioned above, I feel like both as a parent and educator, I respectfully urge you to keep nest open, thinking about the genuine care and especially the accessible. Thank you. Hello, my name is Javier and I will be speaking on behalf of Paul. Hello, my name is Nicole Greco and I am the parent of an amazing and thriving third grade grader here at school who is also an autistic individual and currently receives special services groups. Today I want to talk a little about statistics. First I would like to paint a picture of what schools means to my son. Four years ago my then kindergartener walk into 100% afraid and nervous to be away from his family. He knew 0% of the students his

025language skills were still developing 50/50 at the best and he had a difficulty time with social interaction and he was very resistant to new transitions. The odds were stacked against him or so he thought for the moment he walked through the black gate outside Nes he was met with warm and positively from staff administration students and other families. Before that moment he was just a statistics on a chart for neurode divergent individuals with the ideas in the district but since then he has become a highly valuable member of the network family that is known by all staff love by administration and completely accepted by all students. The reason his transformation has been made possible is because of NES and Max's core value. Respectful, responsible, safe and inclusive. Nes not only preaches these values daily, but

026our school community lives. They may not be able to give represented as a stat or data point or a survey, but these values are sealed into the fabric of the daily curriculum. the way students conflict are solid and the respect that is shown to all members of our native community. Because of this, the sky is now 100% the limit for my son, which is why we were so excited to see the implementation of the IB program in SB Middle School. The IB program is ideal for an artistic learning. It is inquiring based learning that fosters critical thinking questioning questions conduct research to make meaningful connection across transdisiplinary teams. The program helped develop independence, communication, empathy and curiosity themes that has not has been traditionally challenging for an autistic world. These highlights also can't be fully

027represented in a statistic or chart but their impact is invalid. A stat that should be not be ignored. However, is the 20% of NES middle schoolers that currently receive an IEP for a 54 504 plan. The IV program could be lifechanging for their education. It would be a completely disservice to the neurodyivergent community at NES for this program and its middle school to be shut down. So I kindly ask that when you look at the statistic, please don't ignore the bigger picture, the school community narrative and the impact it has on our students because you just might miss the amazing and thriving SV school. Thank you for your name. My son is Eug. and he is in the fifth grade with Mrs. McHugh here at Nesbbit. This is our first year here at Nesbbit in

028the BRSSD. We left Valomar School in the Pacifica School District due to multiple factors, but one of them was the horrific mismanagement of the two K through8 schools resulting in an abrupt closure of one K through 8 and elimination of the sixth through eight grades at my son's K through8 school. The full sense of community we signed up for was broken and it felt like a gut punch. Parents and children were devastated. I don't want this to happen here. I don't feel it's in the board's best interest to ignore the international balor that just received its accreditation. From what I' I've read, after a long process to get there, my son's old school had just renovated the entire middle school wing to be upto-date for STEM and technology. And because of some of the board

029members short-sightedness, now it's just vacant. Please don't make the same mistake to save money on a spreadsheet. Listening to the voices of those who truly dedicate their lives to Nesbbit is of utmost importance. Please don't take away our family. second chance at a K through8 program. I love walking and talking with my son on the way to school in the morning because we live so close and that's how BRSSD assigns school. So, I was so happy about that. I don't take that for granted. I talk to my son in the morning. It's amazing. And one more thing, my son has been very shy his first few years of school, but this year he's in a freaking musical. >> Hey, and I can't be more proud to be a member of this family. Lea has been

030open for all of us. We can have to and Jamal. >> Good evening, members of the board, administrators, and staff. Thank you for the time and work you put into supporting our students. I'm here as a parent who cares deeply about the success and well-being of our nested middle school students. In response to the potential closure of Nest's middle school, I would like to share my experience as a nested community member for the past 14 years. We have four children who have attended Nest since kindergarten. Three completed nested K through 8 and our youngest is currently in sixth grade. Our eldest child who is in attent tonight can speak to this experience as well. We believe that Nespitz Middle School and community allowed our children to continue fostering their learning and leadership skills through familiarity

031and a trusted connection with staff connecting with fellow students and being role models as upper class members and building long-term relationships. Regarding the ID program, our son Lo was part of the first middle middle school class to private the program. The curriculum gave him and his classmates an opportunity to connect classroom learning to real life to real world. Before graduating from middle school last year, Lo made a decision on his own to pursue his high school education at the scient instead of following the masses to the public school. To us that reflects how impactful NEST middle school program has been in preparing students for real world experiences. In closing, I encourage the board to consider keeping me school open to continue fostering leadership community and preparing our children for success beyond the classroom. Thank you

032for listening. Sorry. >> Good evening. Uh my name is Aliato. I am a second year at CSN pursuing a mechanical engineering degree. Um I'm looking to transfer right now to West Point in New York. And um I would like to say that I was part of the class of 2020 here at NESBIT. I graduated um as part of the first official class to go through the entire estate program here. Um some things I'd like to share, some accomplishments I've had since leaving NESBIT is um at Farman High School, I led our school's first established wrestling team as team captain um over there. I also led um our choir group as one of the a capella leaders. Um, like I said, I graduated from high school um, sustaining ACL entry but getting into West Point um,

033as well as the Naval Academy over in Annapolis. Um, since then I recovered from ACL entry and also sustained another one looking for after that looking for an associates degree and I'm looking to transfer now. Um, I share all these things to say that Nesbbit has taught me a lot about leadership. It's taught me a lot about perseverance, about community building. Um, since then, my time here has helped me learn what it means to um, build others up. Um, I think one of the other parents said before, using the core values of respectful, responsible, safe, and inclusive. Um, I've used that to teach kids Brazilian jiu-jitsu press them. And, um, I can only share that it's all because of my time here at Misfit. Um, all of the teachers here have in one way or

034another been a big influence in my education as well as my potential as a leader, as a community member, as an older brother, as well as a teacher. Um, and besides teaching me just a love of STEM, a love of learning, um, I've learned a lot of how to build each other, build others up, build my community. um just through interacting uh with Puma families. That was one of the big things I remember here at Nesbbit is uh we got to interact with kids all the way from 8th grade through kindergarten. And that community building really influenced my development um as a friend and as I said before as a leader. I would just like to share that this school means a lot to me, my family um and I encourage you guys to maintain

035this much as possible. So, thank you for your time. Um, good evening members of the board. My name is Janella Shaban and I'm a first grade teacher and a long-standing middle school girls basketball coach here at Nest. I'm here this evening to advocate for preserving Nest's middle school and to encourage the board to keep Nest active as our program serves an important role in our district. And next we offer volleyball, cross country, flag football, and basketball. We are a fun but competitive athletics program. And crucially, we operate under a no cut policy. Every student at NZIC and Sam Piper who wants to participate has a place on our teams. That inclusivity matters. Our girls basketball team has advanced to playoffs and championships as have as have other sports like volleyball and boys basketball. But even

036more important, we emphasize good sportsmanship, teamwork, development, and respect. Because of our athletics tradition, Nesbbit has invested in maintaining our indoor gym outdoor courts in large fields for our student athletes. Our facilities support families and student athletes at NEZIT. The NEST athletes don't only create a strong sense of humility and family, but for others in the district as well. Our athletic department works with SAP Piper that their students are able to join and play middle school sports here at NEZIT. For many of our students, for many of our student athletes, this is their first opportunity to experience an organized sport. For others, middle school sports at NEZNIT may be their last before the competitiveness of large high school sports programs. If you slash NESBIT's middle school's program, then more students will be trying out for

037student sports and the chances of these student athletes growing through school sport participation drop significantly. Families deserve a choice to choose academic programs like nested IB program or a comprehensive middle school approach, but also a choice when it comes to engaging in extracurricular programs like at Rston, a competitive athletic program where students make the team only based on higher skill and experience or NEST, a place where everyone gets to play and winning isn't the primary focus. One way isn't better than the other, but getting to choose a path is always best. Every student deserves a chance to make friends, persist through challenges, and build confidence through programs like extracurricular sports. But Nestic doesn't just offer sports. We offer and build belonging, opportunity, and pride. I'm so proud to be part of a program like that

038right here at Nestic. Thank you for your time. Okay, next up if we could have Sarah Julkin and Lisa M. Good evening members of the board and the trustees. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Sarah and I'm a former NESBI student and a concerned community member. When I attended NESBIT, I immediately felt welcomed and part of the community. That environment helped prepare me not only for high school and college or for the real world. When I interviewed for my job as an Oliver, I was told that one of the most important skills for success in the workforce is the ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds. Nesbit helped me develop that skill by learning in a diverse, supportive, and inclusive environment at a critical stage in my life. Nesvit's smaller

039setting allows students regardless of background to feel connected, supported, and known in ways that can be harder to achieve in much larger schools. This is especially important for English language learners and students who are new to the district, but it benefits all students. I'm concerned that closing NES could reduce taxes to that. supportive environment and create an ethics related to school fit, travel time, and student support. While closing one small school will likely happen, Medit has a long-standing record of supporting English learning learners and socioeconomically disadvantaged students with care and compassion, equipping them with the skills to build to success in the 21st century. Experiencing this level of support during your middle school years can open the meaningful academic, social, and personal opportunities that shape students futures. Every child deserves access to an education that

040supports their academic success, emotional well-being, and ability to thrive. I respectfully ask the board to consider student well-being, diversity, and access in addition to enrollment numbers when evaluating the potential investment. Thank you for your time and your commitment to our students and community. Uh my name is Julie Pushkin and I am a mother of three children. Two of who which currently attend NEST in third and first grade. One who will be an incoming NEST kindergartener in about two years from now. So mom of three, it's utter chaos. And um I can attest to the fact that Nesbet is a school as you all know. Maybe you have had children here or you know of it. It is one of the best communities that I've ever met. I'm a hardworking professional in tech. I've had professional

041communities. I've had personal communities. The community that I have built living in this area is bar none the best I've ever seen. The teachers here care. The teachers are amazing. Um we've talked a lot about diversity here. I will say that I come from a bit of privilege, which means I could send all three of my children to private school if I wanted to. And I specifically go and tell many of my parents who have their children in private school, pull them out, put them into it is one of the best K through8s. Um, which is going to make me parlay a little bit into the IV designation, which um, when this first came up, I'm married to a Turkish man. We um, take our children globally all the time. We are very focused on

042making sure that they have cultural relevance. And so when this designation came up, I started to research it thoroughly to understand what does that mean. I do not plan on sending my children to Belton under any circumstance. Um but if you get up there, you want to start commuter logistics. We are walking distance to NEST to working professionals. You cannot imagine the mess going up and down Austin. Not going to go down Redwood Shores and then jump back on the 101. It's just not happening. said you will have a lot of people in this area that if forced to choose might choose the alternative which is pulling out a public school and going into private. I just the data isn't showing that the data doesn't actually account for that. So that is a consideration to

043take. Now I'm going to go into my little speech about IB um which is from a district perspective which is what you actually care about whether or not you care about my logistics and my personal situation. Um, I is a clear differentiator. STEM sander is now table stakes in the Bay Area. Every camp email I get is a STEM designation, right? IB includes STEM, which I think you all should know, and if you don't, do a little bit more rigor. Um, want to be clear, this is not an argument against STEM. STEM is essential. The question is, if we are choosing one middle school over the other, which better serves students at this developmental stage? I'm going to rush so I have 28 seconds. IB is not the opposite. It's a broader academic framework. It

044already includes science, math, technology, and design, but it's building the skills for high school consistenc. prepare students for multiple high school pathways, AP honors, IB, advanced STEM. It's not pre-tracking students based on who's already accelerating, which STEM does. I know I'm at time. I'm going to give my last final statement, which is the strongest path forward is not choosing STEM over IB. It's preserving IB as the academic foundation and embedding strong STEM programming within it. Good evening, trustees. My name is Lisa Mud. I'm a middle school reading specialist at the fit school. I do not envy the decision before you. Appeal and sadness is inevitable in whatever decision we make. We are fortunate in Belmont to have a variety of highly regarded programs and we appreciate the thoughtful way the board is considering both community

045and staff input. I would like to share why Nesbet's middle school program is so impactful particularly for some of the students I see students with greater academic needs and sometimes social emotional needs as well. And as a small school by diverting and that is inherently strength because of our size staff are able to know students deeply their academic histories their learning profile their family promise and social emotional need. This level of understanding directly informs instruction and supports and allows for timely responsive intervention. Students at NEST benefit from the ID learning framework which emphasizes inquiry, reflection, and critical thinking. For many students, especially those who do not thrive in large anonymous settings, this approach is transformative and builds confidence, engagement, and a sense of belonging. This is the beauty of the IB program. Equally important are

046the tiered supports embedded within our school in a purposeful and methodical manner. As a reading specialist trained in Norton Gillingham, I work closely with students who who require explicit structured literacy instruction. These students are not exceptions. They are part of our foreign community and intervention at NESBIT is integrative, integrated, collaborative, and responsive rather than isolated or reactive. For many families, NESBIT is more than a school. It's a community hub and a trusted support system. Many of our families are working extremely hard simply to maintain stability. Language barriers, time constraints, and limited access to resources mean that their voices are often under represented in these surveys, email, and public meetings. While the survey data provides useful insight into first choice preferences, it does not capture second choice decision making. As a result, we cannot fully reflect

047how families, particularly those who rely on smaller settings and embedded supports, would be affected if a program were no longer available. Assumptions about where students would go in that scenario are second. Additionally, many of the families we serve are now are new to this country and and navigating public education system. Expecting these families to organize, advocate probably or in board level decision is not realistic. Yet their children benefit enormously from the stability relationships and indiv individualized attention that visit provides. As the board considers a writing decision, I urge you to look beyond enrollment figures alone and consider the human impact closing middle school program which most significantly affects families who are least positioned or likely to speak on their own behalf. Nesb middle school program is not only viable is vital. Thank you for your

048time and consideration. Next, if we could have say pass me and my name is Kazi and I'm a proud father of three and my two one is gone to high school and two is seventh grader and seventh grader and second grade. So I moved from South Texas my kids were uh Jos and u when I moved here in 2041 I am so proud of this team that's sitting behind incl. So I don't have any written date but I say from here the thing as I parish my son was abused there and when he came to this team has brought my son to a retreat. So before you close this, right, think about it. You're not going to ruin his career. You're going to ruin every other kids that look like him. And I'm very proud

049of him where he come and proud of this this whole crew the way they serve in the community and uh all the teachers and the fashion principal western school, you know, just the office staff. Um I'm going to give not long speech, but here's the thing. We are missing something here. I mean, we sit here, we talk about it, uh, you know, how can we raise the money and this and that. There's plenty of money out there. We've been actually in other countries $45 million a year, but we don't have our kids here for our country. You know, there's something missing. What is missing here? I'll give you examples. My father left me an inheritant in Pakistan. I was born there. I grew up here in California. I went to school last year there. I

050have a 200 student. They all free education. I market myself there to show how to learn from these guys right here. Believe me, I'm my background is not education. I'm just a businessman and uh I think what we're missing here is the market bringing the kids. Nobody had thought about it. Always worried about budget, budget, budget, budget. It's always going to be happen like that in the future or ahead of it past. But have we thought about it? What can we do to bring the kids here from other communities that people are moving from from from the areas that they don't have any chance marketing? Our marketing is so poor to bring the kids here and I really appreciate it if you do not close this school to ruin other kids future and this beautiful

051and beautiful family. Don't break them. Please don't break them. They are the wonderful district is not teaching our kids here. These are the future. So they are the people. So please do consider that my case there are so many kids like my kids that they could be that. So I would appreciate it and thanks for your time and hello board of trustees. My name is Elizabeth Hong and I'm a proud parent of an eighth grader, Benjamin, who's going to graduate um this year at NESBIT. And today I'm going to speak uh with framework in mind because I read the website and you shared that you're going to make a decision based on educational excellence, equity, access, staffing, and long-term sustainability. So, I want to frame my uh speech around those points. Um my son came

052here in the fifth grade. uh we moved um I was working internationally and we had a really really rocky time uh transitioning and it's really thanks to the nested teachers, amazing middle school faculty and staff, administration and support staff that has really made a difference in his life. And I'd like to first address student experience because that's what it's all about. It's about the student experience, not about the numbers, not about the data. It's about the kids and Nest is has created a middle school where students feel a sense of belonging. My son wants to come to school every single morning and the teachers have created um a fantastic and caring environment where students learn patience, collaboration, kindness and conflict resolution. Secondly, I want to talk about program strengths. You know, if you're in an

053international school, IB is the thing. It is a cutting edge. I'm like almost shocked at how little people know about the international balorette here in the Bay Area. Um the benefits compound over time. Becoming an IV World School is no small thing and NESB is the first public middle school in the Bay Area in San Diego County to have received that really amazing honor. So, I think it's it is what the person who just shared the marketing marketing thing is a lack of understanding. Um I chose NESB because of the IB program. The I the IB program is for every child. It creates a curriculum of inclusion. And how does it do it? It focuses on investigating through meaningful questions, making connections, applying to real world situations. anchoring in big ideas and essential questions and

054guiding students through a cycle of inquiry, action, and reflection that makes lifelong critical thinkers who are innovative. It in it in embeds design thinking, it embeds STEM. It embeds SEAL. It embeds um you know confidence and resilience. Thirdly, I want to talk about equity and access. Although Nezib is a generous, tight-knit community um and it is a mix of wonderful students and family who have a range of access to different resources, it also serves many families with economic needs. Closing NESB and having families commute to another school would have real consequences. It would reduce access by creating longer commutes, bigger logistical barriers for working families, undermine equity by placing the greatest of disruption to the most vulnerable families with the least flexibility and fewest alternatives. And it also risks educational equity by disrupting stable relationships

055and supports that keep students connected. And finally, for long-term sustainability, I know my time is up. I talked to about five mothers before I came here and none of them including myself the survey and I have a master's degree. I have a background in education as well. I just didn't know. Um and I don't think that the data reflects the true understanding or intentions or the feelings and aspirations of this community. Barriers like time, working multiple jobs, commuting and managing child care. It means that we don't always have time or the flexibility to attend meetings or complete surveys. It doesn't mean that we don't care. We do. And so I implore the board of trustees to keep the the Nesnet Middle School. Thank you. Okay. Uh, good evening. My name is Vanessa and I'm a

056little bit nervous. I'm very grateful for the of education of my two children. The next school is like a second home for my kids. This is a great school and they are surrounded by great teachers that can support education of my kids. I don't speak English and I can provide that great framework that these teachers provide to them. My uh 5-year-old uh just came here to keep her garden and she's very excited and very happy to come to this school. From the moment she wakes up, she comes to the school. >> I'm get really happy every time that I hear my son saying how much he love this nephew school. I'm very grateful about this opportunity to give my experience as a mother. I'm just requesting for my kids to continue to go to their

057next school that they love so much. Okay, next we could have Brandy Johansson, Lucas Johansson, and Martha. Um, I wrote something, but I feel like a lot of other people have said things in a much more elegant way. I have two here. One that's going to graduate this year, one that is graduating high school. Both them are a little spicy. They have um experienced a different elementary school that came here from middle school. My older son went from way below um read reading level to to coming up to and exceeding his reading level. While he was here, he was able to um catch up and accelerate. Even though his expressive language was much harder, they they were able to to find him inside and bring him out. and his entire elementary experience that did not

058happen. He came here and one of the first things the first week of school he said everyone likes me at school. It never felt that before. All the teachers met in Marie is included in all every it's it's it's just wonderful here. my I looked at him, do you want to come? Do you want to talk, say, speak what do you feel about how your school experience was? And he's like, people. And I said, well, I will. He goes, uh, I want you to tell them that that school is the only place I've ever felt welcome, and I don't want other kids to to lose that. As the mom, this has been the most consistent place for services to be provided. We didn't guess, oh, maybe someone will be there next year, maybe there won't

059be. In high school, it's not been that piece for him. He went two years without services being consistent and that really set him back. Kids will not get that here. They will be consistent. The teachers are amazing and can nearly provide the services just in the classroom without assistance. This one back here has has different spicy. He tried Austin. It was not a good fit. We we we I don't think we even made it the whole to to October. I think we were here. We moved by October. And he had the same experience. He walked onto campus. There were no bullies. There was no teachers looking at him like he was going to make a bad choice. They just welcomed him. And and for a kid to feel that, it is immeasurable. We have a

060very diverse group of people here that their voices aren't going to be heard because they're not they don't have time. I didn't have time. I looked at the email and I was like, "Oh, middle school. He's eighth grade. What does what did my opinion matter?" And it's hard. I I want I want everyone to understand that just because we're not answering surveys doesn't mean you're getting the full picture. I I I I really would love if you guys could come and meet at every school. I know I know school at the other school kids are going to be sad. It just sucks to lose the school, but from a spicy parent perspective, this this is such a welcoming environment. And it's not all spicy kids. all the kids, you know, give you this and they

061don't feel ostracized. Everybody's included here and and it's just an amazing experience. That's that. Thank you. He got really nervous. >> Good evening and thank you to the board for being here tonight and listening to our community. Uh my name is Marta. I have two children here at one fifth grader and one first grader. I'm currently serving as a PTA uh president as well. I would like to share a few points uh to the board considering uh to consider before you make the decisions to possibly transition to from two TKK schools to one. First, I understand that this discussion is mostly driven by declining enrollment at the and the cost of maintaining um multiple middle schools campuses. uh and data show that the school district enrollment has declined about two 290 students over the past

062six years leaving two middle schools a slightly added capacity. However, Belmont is actively adding hundreds of new uh housing units over the next several years including both affordable and market rate developments many very very close to NES. Has this grown been fully accounted for in enrollment project projections? Closing a middle school now will leave us in a position where we need to reopen it in just a few years due to space constraints. Second, I want to address the survey data being used to inform this discussion. While it has been described as representative, it does not reflect the density community. Only 103 individuals responded from a school over nearly 600 students which raises concern about participation. It's clear that the importance and potential impact of the survey which you call a line survey was not communicated

063clearly enough for people to understand the potential decision that was at stake. The survey was distributed all in English which definitely limited responses in our school where over 25% of the students are English learners and many family face additional barriers. These percentages are even higher at the middle school level. These are families whose posters are critical in this conversation and they might not have been fully captured. Additionally, uh although the district the district only 25.5 responders are open to closing a small middle school and many indicated they needed more information before forming an opinion. So clearly people need more data and good data to respond to the questions of your survey. Finally, on a personal note, I tr I truly believe in the value of DK tow schools and the benefits of interactions between younger

064and older students. From my experience as a parent, volunteer, and ETA member at NESG, I've seen how middle school students accept as leader and role models through activities like discovery day, Puma families, and science science night. Younger students benefit from these connections through sports mentorships, participation in less musical and having an older student in their home families. These experiences foster leadership, community and a strong sense of belonging to every single student from this K to8 model. I respectfully urge the board to slow this process, expand outreach and ensure any decisions based on inclusive forwardlooking data because the choice the choices you make will shape our schools and communities for the years to come. Thank you very much. We have Jennifer Clark and Monica board superintendent. Thank you for having us tonight. My name is Kevin

065Mchugh. Uh I am a teacher here at Instead school currently in fifth grade but I've also taught in the middle school and my first year was co so my whole teaching career has been here at NESB school. Nesbbit has four core values being respectful responsible safe and inclusive but we have a secret one which is community. If I could have, if you're willing, those who have been in the Nesbbit musical or have a child in the Nesbet musical, please stand. Could you please stay standing? If your child was in my class, this is community. Thank you. This is the community that we would be losing if we lose our nest at musical or sorry who lose our nest at middle school. We reach out to fifth through 8th graders. Um my guy right here, this

066is Sam. He's been in our musical since he was in fifth grade and this is a huge part of who it is. We put this on for our community. It becomes a huge pro project that we all work on. On Saturday, we are going to have community members, past uh people who have been in the musical, past students, alumni who are going to be coming to help us build for our current musical that we are going to be putting on. And it would just be a complete shame if we could not continue to serve our community by allowing Nesbet invisible or middle school to stay. As you can see, we are strong. We support each other and that is it's something that you cannot replace. We have heart. We have strength. And we have family.

067This is a family that we are. And I just urge you to think of that. We're not data. We are people. And I thank you for allowing us to speak tonight. Good. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Jennifer Clark and my son has attended this since kindergarten. While his elementary school friends decided to go on to Rston, my son made an independent choice to stay at Nespit for his middle school years. He's currently in seventh grade, transitioning from traditional elementary school style to Nespit's middle school ID curriculum. has made significant positive impacts on my son and these are straight from him. So for example, my son has expressed an enhanced sense of community among the entire middle school, a strong connection to all middle school teachers because they

068foster a passion for learning and create a safe environment. an increase in self-confidence from openly asking questions during classroom discussions to now even assisting classmates with assignments that an improved understanding of connecting and applying learning concepts to the vertical world. An opportunity to dive deeper into his academic interests as supported by the IB curriculum. and an improved ability to pace academically because of the style of the IB program which has also improved his overall academic engagement and preparedness. In closing, I want to acknowledge the importance and reality of being able to bridge academia with profession. The ID curriculum at the middle school level provides a valued head start on developing our future generations for the expectations of the drug world. I'm a little nervous. Didn't know if I was going to talk, but it's important.

069Okay. So, good evening. My name's Thank you so much for holding this meeting. Um, so you can hear the parents and the students. Um, I'm a parent of three students here at Nestate currently. My son is eighth grader. My daughter, she's seventh grader and then a kindergarter. Uh, luckily he will get to complete this year, but this is going to impact my seventh grader the most. um they've been able to do sports and plays and things that some of the bigger schools wouldn't have given them the opportunity to do. Um we love this school so much. Um we love all the teachers. They have spent oneonone time with them like in the classroom with their schoolwork, their personal life. We really care. Um, and I just fear like this is going to be such a

070I wrote down some notes. It's going to be such an inconvenience for just the whole community, especially most people that live so close to here that just are able to walk here up the hill to some of the further more bigger um, middle schools. Yeah. Uh throughout my time at Desda Middle School, uh I have built a strong bond with uh my fellow teachers and uh my fellow students. Uh even the sixth graders, the seventh graders, I know most of them by name and I can relate to them and talk to them. So this is something you can't get out or this is something you can't easily get from a bigger middle school. and keeping Nesbet would enable smaller communities to interact and grow. If you could get to the mic, Zo, Daniel, and Son

071of So first I want to speak in both English and Spanish so that all of the attendance here understand my opinion. Hello, my name is Takum and I am the mother of two sons. Both of my children are English language learner and my older son has been diagnosed with autism which means he requires sitting and support at the school. located. First of all, I'd like to say that and it community are the main reasons we chose to live in Belmont. This school district offers not only a large middle school but also smalls size middle school that provide unique programs. The Nazi community represents a truly diverse environment. While the program is certainly one of the school's attractive features, I would like to highlight other activities such as coloring and school musical for student in grade

072F through eight. and operate. and middle school student take care of the younger students on many occasions and both lower and upper graders communicate with youth across age groups. The teachers are deeply committed to involving and connecting student as nit is not only just a school. It is a second home for it community and students. In fact, my oldest son's English social skills have improved greatly at this school. He has started greeting his friends and taking about talking about his classmate and daily activities. He was invited to a friend's birthday party for the first time in his life. He was briefly touched by the middle school student leadership and happiness during musical practice. Because of his unique means, he had difficulty with both language development and social interaction. in the past. I do not expect

073to see such significant growth in just one year. and council in for these reasons. I believe that school districts should preserve both schools less and piper because of the diversity, uniqueness and the wide range of choice they offer. There are surely many children beyond my own son who need the different learning style that each school who provides. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Good evening. My name is Zoe and I'm a parent of NEST fourth grader. This is horrible. Sorry. So, thank you for opportunity to speak. Um, I just want to begin by saying that our entire district is filled with dedicated educators. But with that being said, the team at NEZ truly stands out. Um, during my time as PTA president, I witnessed firsthand or the remarkable dedication of the business team.

074Uh our middle school teachers consistently go above and beyond with teams promoting science night, attending multicultural night, supporting the business fair, and showing up for nearly every schoolwide event. This level of involvement, I can see through my tears. My gosh. No. This level of involvement creates a culture that deeply supports students during critical stage of their development. And that commitment continues long after students leave the building. My other daughter, my former Puma, is now a senior in high school. And many know that staff members still show up for her. In fact, there were several negative middle school teachers. Shout out Mr. Pal in attendance at her recent senior night celebration. Even now, she enjoys returning to campus just to say hello, even to teachers whose classroom she would never in. That kind of long-term care

075and connection is rare, and it perhaps um closing a middle school wouldn't just be a budget decision. It would dismantle a team and a culture that has the lasting, meaningful impact on students lives. Thanks, Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Daniel Epstein. I'm a parent of a sixth grader who chose Nesbbit on his own for middle school even while many of his friends opt for Rston. It is frustrating that the enrollment has supposedly been on a downward trend for years, but the district is forcing this issue on students on short notes with inadequate engagement planning and data. It is clear that substantially more and better work is needed before making a decision of this magnitude for students, families, and the community as a whole. Middle school is a

076notoriously difficult period for students where many kids feel like they are struggling just to survive and then my son is thriving. He is more engaged than I have seen him at any time in school and he loves school and says that every day. I attribute this to several unique things about his middle school. He has more opportunities form deeper bonds with teachers. This is both because of the smaller size of the school as a whole and because the class structure provides more time with each teacher so they get to know each other better. The ID program is amazing. I think from survey data and things that maybe you don't appreciate the asset that you have. The teachers provide a rich context for the subjects that they are teaching. They collaborate across subjects and bring the

077material to light in a way that traditional programs do not. This program is unique in Sonteo County. I think the board is making a mistake by not promoting this as one of the gold ribbon things that you have and instead considering shutting down the crown jewel. At an absolute minimum, I implore the board to take a phased approach. If you must shut down middle school, proceed by not enrolling new sixth graders for the start of middle school at whichever campus you may be closing. Don't force an additional transition on students while they're already in middle school. Don't put the brunt of our collective failure as adults to plan ahead on students right now. My son has some questions. My name is Simon. I'm in sixth grade and I've been coming here since kindergarten. When I

078first started, I felt like if I walk 10 ft from my parents, it will fall. Now I feel that NES is another home and not just that another means out. All right, if we could get Jill Jackson, EJ Frell, and Jennifer Garrett's book. >> Good evening, trustees. I'm the parents of a second grader and a kid um as well as a member of the Nes PTA and a member of the school site council. Three years ago, we had to move unexpectedly and I didn't get to do the research I wanted into the school district we were moving in. Um I was worried my kids were going to get lost in a giant school that I heard about when I was moving to California. Um you see, I grew up in a tiny town in Idaho.

079Um where less than 30% of my class went on to higher education. I was lucky. I had two teachers during my middle learning years who really encouraged me to move on and to get a higher education and they inspired me to love learning. Um I was able to excel in a traditional learning environment. Um but that's not for everyone and not everyone's that lucky. Now, as a mother, there's nothing I want more than for my two bright but very unique and an adult kids um to limit that to a traditional education system um in a in a very large school and a little girl who suffers from anxiety that is so bright. And since she arrived in this school and started attending kindergarten, she's had the opportunity to um have a human parent who's in

080middle school. She's made so many friends who are middle school students and she loves to see her big friends around campus. Um, she is not scared of middle school. She has planned on being a puma from the day she started kindergarten until she graduates in 8th grade. And my little boy who is shy and has difficulties wants to be just like my sister. My kids love being homeless and from and I just I am so glad that we found exactly the kind of school that I was looking for because that is what we really need here. We've enjoyed as a family attending middle school sports and attending um the musical. Being from a small town, I get a feeling of community that I get here. So it reminds me of home and this is not

081home. I grew up seven miles from town, right? I didn't have a neighbor nearby. Um, but this this feels like it and I appreciate what NESA provides for us and the quality of education that my kids are getting as a basis. So, thank you for Hello, my name is TJ and I wanted to talk about how it's just been very I've been very happy that I've been able to be an active man again. Uh, I'm happy that I've been able to be in the musical and I've really just seen the teachers work as hard as they can even when the students are very constructive and sometimes sometimes it's hard to learn, but most of the time the teacher can get control. I love the team over here because they're very nice. They never Well, most

082of the time never And they're very nice. They don't. >> Yeah. >> And especially Mr. Hum because they lead the musical up. And I like the musicals cuz they go out of their way to try to find a way to make sure kids have a way if they want to become actors or stuff to go early. and they let us be able to sing our voices as much as we can. They choreograph everything and they find different things that we could do. And then especially Miss Marsh because the crew, she lets us build. Well, she left them build stuff cuz I'm a cast. >> She let them build stuff. She let them become creative. She let them work together. And then now I'm gonna talk about how like how different kids that I've heard, third,

083fourth, and fifth graders, they've all like looked up to us and they want to be like us, but if you close it down, then they can't have a good opportunity. And most kids that like live close, they want to keep being here, but if they have to drive all the way up a hill or in different directions, it's kind of hard to do that. And I'm going to talk about how like the boom of families and stuff, how like it creates bond with each other. It lets kids be able to hang out with older people or older students and it lets them be able to see like how cool the older students are. See how responsible they are and it gives like a good example on how what you're going to grow up to. And

084yeah, that's all. Thank you very Um, hi, my name is Jennifer. Uh, I this is my 11th year here at NESBIT. I have three kids. Um, one that has graduated, one who will graduate this upcoming school year, this year, and a fifth grader. And I'm here. here. I had to do a lot of hoops to get here because I work nights, but all the faculty here have my kids back and so I'm here to have theirs. Um, I'll start with my daughter. Uh, she started actually at Redwood Shores and when I went there, that was not really the place I wanted her to be. I envisioned her at Nesbbit because this place had a diversity that I wanted her to be in. The location, the demographic, just the the people here is very very different

085from anywhere I have been. I am from San Francisco. I'm very familiar with the San Francisco school district. My father-in-law is um was head of black educators there. the lies there. Um I'm just very familiar with the school districts and here and I grew up in private schools and here is is a treasure. I I I can't um emphasize that enough. Um my daughter that graduated, she currently goes to St. Francis and she's thriving there and I wholeheartedly and she has consistently been in the high nonable and I wholeheartedly thank the staff here because of the education that they have instilled in her and in my other two children. Um I understand that Nesbit is not for everyone. There's people who want to go to the bigger middle school for what they offer, but coming

086from a cape rate myself, I know the value in it. And what they have here is so special. My um my oldest daughter is still best friends with a lot of her friends that she is with here today. And what I would like to say is that my son also with the Puma families, he talks about what he has to do with the um with the younger kids. They have to teach him patience and I feel so sorry for teachers having to teach younger kids because it it takes a lot. But that's a value that you learn that you will not necessarily get just going to um a bigger middle school. And the my son is on the basketball team. And what I can say is they are friends beyond the team. And that is

087something when you grow up with in a small community and you are essentially the same say 30 kids growing up you develop a bond that is lifelong and that's something really valuable that I can't emphasize enough and going into a bigger middle school you that is such an impressionful time that I believe that some pe for some kids that's not a place for them and they should have a choice. They can persevere. Nesbbit perseveres even in small numbers. The basketball team does really well when when Relson has four four teams and they have to combine the middle school team, but they do well and they all support each other. And just being from different backgrounds is something that we need that especially in this political climate that I really would like all our children to

088grow up in. Okay, next up is Tina Diaz, Jim Howard, and Emily Warren. >> Good evening. Uh, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to all of you members. My name is Tina Diaz and I'm here as a mother who has seen firsthand what the NESA program does to a child's life. Not just academ academically, but emotionally, socially, and the way they come to see themselves in the real world. My oldest son, Ethan, graduate from method in 2024. He is on grade 10. And I can say with absolute certainty, who he is today, that young man that stands in front of me every day was shaped in these halls. Not just lessons in a classroom, but teachers who believed in him before he could believe in himself, right? Programs that gave him a

089voice by a school culture that taught him that he mattered. I have two younger children, Nalia in grade five and Isaiah in grade three. Our family had to move to Toronto shortly after Ethan's graduation in 2024, and we recently came up to the day a few weeks ago. Being away gave us the perspective that we never expected to gain because when we lose a school system like NESB even temporarily you realize how rare it truly is. We came back for NEST. We came back to Belmont for NES. We came back because we wanted our younger children to grow in the same environment that helped shape their brother. Middle school is not just a transition point. It is the most fragile season of a child's life. It's where confidence is built or broken. is where kids

090decide whether they belong and it is when they start to define who they are and NES gets that moment right every time to consider closing this program is not just a structured decision it's a decision that will ripple through families through futures and through emotional safety of children who need consistently more than anything else this age for families like mine this was not theoretic this was a life choice we made on believe that this program would still be here when we came back tonight I'm asking you to see beyond the logistics. See the child who finds their confidence here. See the children who find their safety here. See the children who find their voices here. This program does not just teach students. It shapes people. And when something shapes people for the better, do not

091dismantle it. You protect it. You strengthen it. And you stand behind it. Please do not take away something that is quietly changing lives every single day. Thank you for listening and thank you for choosing to stand with the families who are trusting you with the most important years of their children's lives. Thank you. Hello. Uh my name is Jim Howard and I am um parent here. Uh both my daughters have gone through here. Um both of them went through Kate Ray program. Um many of you know I'm former PTA president here. Carol student of the SSC the council. Um, you see my touch is all over the place even that's my handwriting on that table curtains. Uh, and I was obviously as you guys know a board trustee for five and a half years serving

092for guiding us through co etc. and other things. >> Um I I think that there's a few things that should said I agree with just about everything that was said here I haven't heard anything I think don't don't agree with um some things that I think the smaller sites offer um are that connection with an adult that can't quite get at a larger site. I think that you see that in children as they trickle out to the high schools. I've had the privilege of also volunteering with some of the sports programs up there and connecting with the kids that have come through and I bet it's no surprise to me that um the tell children that came through here. They were both captains of the cheer squad. One of them for the national championship cheer

093squad for the first time. No surprise to me that both the Navaro brothers were both captains of the football team as elected by their peers. No surprise to me that uh the Lato children are all standouts at that school. Not because just because of their fans, they all come from great families. But there's this development that happens when you're in a place like this that allows the children to have the confidence to start to interact with both their peers and adults in a different way that you may not see in a place where the focus is on the traditional programs. Um I I can speak from experience that our educators are great throughout the district. Um I think the children at Sandpiper have great experience. I think the children have a great experience. But I

094do see the in real life uh and tangibly what has happened to my children and I'm still just blown away by who my guests in particular have become over the last three years and how she talks about things and how she thinks about things. the only one. >> But um it really I think when it comes down to any program, whether it's an IV program, a program is focused on STEM and design thinking, those sorts of things. Um it's really the people that make the difference. Um it's the person in front of the the the classroom that makes the difference. And the culture that's been built here is uh pretty unbelievable. Um these people over here and um by that break up. >> Good evening, Ward. Thank you for your careful listening and consideration. I

095am Emily Ward. I am the mom of the sixth grader behind me, Joshua Ward. and we're here to speak on behalf of NEZA Middle School tonight and really ask that you preserve optionality for our district. Um sometimes there are times that just change your life irrevocably. For us that was 10 minutes in August when my husband died of an acute asthma attack. So from the time that Culver helped to determine that he passed away was less than 10 minutes and it was a huge shock for us. Um after that time we had to start to look at different schools. Before that, Joshy was in a small private school with maybe a class size of nine. And we had to sort of think about where he was going to be, what was actually going to be

096good for him, what was going to actually help him not only academically, but also emotionally and really help us as a family as we navigate forward through really what is the hardest time of class. Um, we talked to some really close friends, some of whom are educators, principles, vice principles. We looked really closely at the IB uh, academic program. We're really impressed by it. But I think the thing that mattered the most to us was the size of the community. It really really mattered to us that during kind of the most fragile time of our lives that Joshy wasn't going to disappear in a class size of 400 kids. And that can really happen. Um I think it's not just my child but a lot of other children. I think you've heard a lot of

097opinions expressed tonight that there's something very very special about a small community. a community where children and teachers know each other really well. They watch out for each other and they can form really close friendships and relationships. I know my son is tapping me on the back because he really wants to speak. But thank you for considering this carefully because I think that there's something very special, precious, curious, and creative that happens for kids in this particular time and age that gets lost if they get subsumed into a much larger school. It's a very good school, but they have a lot of negative and ungative stuff. A lot of people trying to fight a lot of stuff that's not at school, all bad stuff. But after enough shut down, I became a semi kind of

098public because made the money and then few months after that. Then after my dad left for this school, this school had when I came here, it was very it was nice. There was many and I actually went there a lot this helpful for me. Thank you. All right, if we could get Jo, Lisa Bolton, Tommy, and Masha. Good evening board members. My name is Jos Ferrero and I am the proud member of three sand. I know this is fit. Uh but we weren't sure if it was the forum to just start talking about. So I have a first grader. Um we have a sixth grader and eighth grader at the same. Um I didn't this first time coming to a board meeting to be quite honest. Um what I've done up until now I don't

099have anything officially prepared. What I have done is done my best to look at all of the information that you all have provided. I listened to the board meeting that was on December 11th, all the FAQs. That was great. Um, I still have questions and that's where I put my name in to, you know, ask those questions. I understand it's not that foreign, but I thought I would still go through a couple of questions that I have. Um, one is, uh, you know, we we feel like Sandy Piper's just, uh, rolled out as far as middle school goes. Um obviously we've been extremely happy as NESA has been extremely happy with the middle school as well. Um but we looked back on why was that decision made um and there was an impact analysis on

100traffic that was done on July 8th of 2016 by the district. Um and it was cited as a principal reason for adding 6 through 8 in the chores to address traffic concerns. So, one of my questions is, has a traffic analysis been done for this most recent proposal to see the impact that closing a middle school may have on both and another question I have is uh if one of the smaller middle school was indeed closed, would there be an associated cost? So we see that annual uh cost savings but I feel like there would also be a cost in rejiggering the framework initially um expanding rston potentially placing tenure teachers at other schools. So have we taken that cost and uh you know looked at how that would impact the overall cost. Um, another

101question I have and again only three questions and then one request so I'm should be good on time. Who was the survey sent to? Um, a lot of fellow sander parents did not do the survey. We heard the same thing in this room. Um, also was it sent to the community and how uh are we getting the word out to the broader community because you know it impacts my neighbor who has two small boys that aren't yet in school yet. He lives right next door to me. um it impacts if traffic is a concern, it impacts my uh my neighbor who has no kids and is never going to have kids. So, how are we getting the word out to these groups and making sure that they are educated? People don't have the time to

102do what I do did, which was listen to everything and it's great and you listen to it all. You know, I have less questions, but what is written wasn't the conversations that were had. You know, I learned new things tonight. the the idea of having two comprehensive middle schools. Um that could be three years down the line. That might be something that people are really interested about. That's not as far out as when I was first reading the literature. So, how can we better package this to make a decision? Um and then lastly, my request, which is let's not rush this decision. Um obviously very important. You've heard all the the people in the room tonight. Um let's see what people's questions are. Let's answer them fully. Um and let's see thoughtful in providing those

103answers that make that Thank you. >> Hi there. I will be very brief. Many people touched on what I wanted to talk about. I do want to say that uh I'm a parent and my son hates musicals, but he joined the musical because of the relationships he's had with the adults here. And so when you all stood up, I got emotional because we truly have an amazing community here making connections with kids, helping them find passions that they did not even know. Too often in education, we're focused on the rat race and what can we do with the AP and the advanced rigor. And I think the ID program was really misunderstood because not only is it rigorous, but it really is reaching the whole child. And so we have this incredible team that's going

104above and beyond what many teachers do. They're making these connections and they are reaching all these children. Um, the other thing I just wanted to emphasize is in this area in East Belmont, we have 4,000 people coming with the housing mandate here. So, do we have really hard evidence of declining enrollment? Because to me, with the um the information we've seen that doesn't quite make sense. So, we could just make sure that we are sure about those enrollment numbers. Thank you. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity. My name is Thomas Morgan. I have two daughters. Uh Sophia Morgan in eighth grade and Morgan in sixth grade. Um worked doing our second tour here at Esfit. We had to temporarily temporarily reload her job. Um they were very satisfied the first time they were here

105and then when we came back we came back in the summer and uh we were actually told that we couldn't come back against there wasn't any room and so then we had to go to print uh sandwich and we did the orientation there did the first day they didn't really like they said there were like two boys there and one of girls and gave me back did and I want to be back with Mr. White and teachers close to the state. Luckily, we were able to get back in and we're very happy to be here. I echo the sentiments about the decline the concerns about declining enrollment because it just seems like there's so many projects being built right now and you know looking at it 10 years ago seemed like we're going to have

106a lot of students and I I don't know looking six 10 years I don't think anybody even the smartest person will have very good number and after about probably three or four it's fully reliable um and then looking at it from just the taking a step back looking at it and I'm sure it will eventually be in the newspaper and when I read the newspaper I'm seeing people are losing their health insurance people are being reported and then reading it we think we're different and that we're better and then we're here having a discussion about really that different I hope that we can find an amable solution uh to keep keep what we have here we have a tremendous culture and you know we close it we lose living here a long time it's different

107schools but St. always had high school. They closed it in the 70s. Foster city has never had ice. Once this uh program is closed, it'll be will be gone for breakfast. It's really heavy decision. Um, and then I went I had my watch board meeting and I guess the question I have is what happens to ID middle school after if one closes because there hasn't been too much discussion on that and be kind of kind of thinking through my thoughts. I'm thinking we have two schools and then if that ends up being some other sort of educational institution, you know, become a private school and, you know, for leasing out campus for other students to to get educated just doesn't feel right. Thank you. Um, hello. I'm a parent of a seventh grade. Thank you

108for holding the session. A little speaking. Um, um, I'm here to speak on my daughter's behalf. She couldn't get here herself because she was at a volleyball practice, a sport she absolutely fell in love with because of missed athletic inclusivity, which allowed a complete newbie to actually compete in and learn a sport. The middle school teachers who coached the teams encouraged students at all costs, sometimes at the cost of their own sanity. I watched Mr. Ting appear to hold his breath other than all supportive words their entire match. He was all in. That's how much he cares. That's how much all the teachers here care. Uh my daughter is the one that asked me to come here today and restate and she wrote it's not full of great data and that points which you've already

109heard here today. It's a personal message of care and it stems from her belief that she can change the world through her actions. That is one of the main things we love about the IB program. The ID curriculum teaches kids about the world and to care about it and to take practical actions based on that care. For example, as sixth graders, the kids studied flooding and designed their own real life emergency kits for families that could not afford them. They distribute those kits to community members around method. That belief in the ability to enact change along with the support of teachers who encourage all voices to be louder and more confident is raising a generation of kids that will impact the world, lead and drive real change. Gears loved my daughter wanted me to read

110about her experience. In the summer before fifth grade, my family and I traveled for a year. She was host. Of course, I missed everyone at home. It was very different from school in normal life. So, as you can imagine, I was really nervous for the beginning of middle school. I came on the first day nervous and in my special dress. Nes was perfect for me, though. I got to switch classes and learn while also getting close with the teachers. The teachers welcomed everyone with open arms and adjusted us into middle school. They are loving, caring, and understanding teachers that came into our lives and made them brighter. I learned so much in history, math, science, Spanish, reading, and writing. It was one of the first times that school was actually fun. I don't know what

111sampers like, and honestly, I don't think either school should be closed, but I can't imagine my life outside. All right, if we can get Simply Shay, Alison, and pizza. Um, good evening. My name is Senise Shay. I'm a parent of a fifth grader at Sam Kiteburg. During the last hour, I have heard Wonderful, wonderful story of Nest and heartwarming stories. It's hard for all of us to imagine neither schools be closed because we love our own school for respective reasons and its own community. What I did also hear in the last hour is the uncertainty, confusion and fear of all the parents including the parent I spoke to that's paper. I think if possible before the next uh open forum or the if you can update the website, can you address more about the if

112one school has to be closed, can you address the logistics of what transportation would look like for kids from River Shores to Bongside and vice versa? Um I know we also have students that that take public transportation to a school. The other thing is there's a lot of concern discussion about the IEP and 504 support for the students. So if it's a combined school, how would that work and what would it look like? One thing that uh a parent brought up earlier which is a good point is what will the survey doesn't talk about what people will choose if one school is not uh in existence. Will all 200 schools in the 200 uh kids be combined into one school? Is that possible to at one facility? Uh what happens if what happens if that

113doesn't happen enrollment go down? Well, I think these are all the things that parents have uh uncertainty. While you not you will not be able to answer the enrollment question, at least a further survey or a better understanding of subsequent choices will be helpful in parents decision, especially those of us who are going into middle school next year. I know this is a hard decision. Thank you guys for all your time and effort and making our community stronger and better for the future generation. Hello and thank you for the opportunity tonight. I am a formal student from kindergarten to 8th grade. When I when I came back to America after we used of course and unstable schooling in another country, Mr. Chain was supposed to leave me when I come and that little recognition from

114a teacher who remembered me from three years when I was much younger stayed with me and really pushed me for medicine that has been helped me get back the years that I missed. It taught me a lot and taught me not to quit no matter what I choose to. I feel as believing, but I never was. I was received with open arms and lots of I have speech therapy lessons weekly that cost my family nothing to keep me and I was a part of the tobacco prevention team with the association of dance schools because of this. But it would really push me to attend more things high school. I love all of my teachers from here. Even now, junior in high school. Nesbly day taught me so much about things like my passion. In my

115last year, me and my climate on a class taught me a lot about responsibility and what it takes to speak. Since I have continued my studies of environmental sustainabilities and have made it far enough where this year I I was invited to be a youth postal presidential at San Sustainability Award celebration March are both alumni of NES and I ask you to allow others to share that honor. Keep nest open in many fields. Thank you. >> Hello. Um my name is Perez. I'm also an alumni class of 23 from middle from middle um second grade to 8th grade. Um when I was at it, I think I got a little too connected here. I really felt like intertwined with the community. I loved it so much here. I danced on that stage. I sung on

116that stage. I was also part of the tobacco prevention uh group. I did I found um like a passion of volunteering. And um if academics is something that you guys are a little worried about, you know, in the context of desit and you know the money stuff, whatever. I don't think it should be something to be worried about. I was the last graduating class before the IV program took place. And I remember I remember like very clearly the staff taking very seriously the new program. Um and because I was so connected, people that weren't just in my grade, but just people younger than me, people older than me. Um I still talk to people that are uh a year younger than me, uh two years younger than me, even three years younger than me, probably

117doing the musical. It really helped me. um broaden like the types of people that I talk to and when I went into high school and where I am now as a junior I still talk to them like while they're in high school with me and they're doing APs they're doing a lot of different things just like me um I am doing three APs one honors class I skipped drama one and now I'm partnered with the band of drama and um currently working to be a director for the drama uh program at home. >> Thank you. But none of that would have happened without all the people that I met here. Two people I still talk to that are my absolute best friends. One of them just came to talk to you guys before me. Um

118and just without being here, I would have never found this passion um that I decided to keep going. I don't really know what to call it, whether it's community service. I really don't know how you call it humanities, whatever. You can name it whatever you want. But I'm also on the parks and wreck uh commission as one of two commissioners. I talk to the law. I have to attend very late meetings. I stay very valuable study time here. Um and I'm part of um voices for parks and I'm the historian and I do marketing for the youth advisory committee for parks and recreation without nested which was really the reason that I felt like I found something that I actually like doing. I would have never gotten to this place and please please please don't

119get rid of me. It's so important in so many people's lives. I would say one might say um go visit with us. >> Hello. >> Okay, so our final two speakers are >> Hello, my name is Hello, my name is Ferris Hassan. Um I'm a parent of a seventh grader at Stan Viper and fifth grader and matures and a fourth grader of chores. So you can see like this issue is really top of mind. Um and I've already spoken with the board before about how deer stander is to my son and my family and so I went and I also know I'm not territory. So I'm very mindful of that. um got but also this is BRCSD territory and actually very I'm so hearting to hear the stories of this bit and I'm really touchable

120going against you all and it also I mean and you I can assure you we feel the same way about Sanher as well and that being said um so when I look at the options to me option one is by by far these tools are very valuable to the to the attendees and we happen to live in different geographies but we still share the same values and what we expect from our schools And I want to echo what some of the other speakers have said earlier about, you know, what are the impacts like for two and three beyond, you know, shipping students around in terms of the traffic impact. And, you know, I talked to a lot of parents, some parents in my district, they send they they take their kids to Austin for middle

121school and they already have the 45minute commute or whatever and the buses are often already full coming from every chores. I don't know how having 100 more families coming from there or and also um as I looked at the route like the Sam trans bus stop I think stopped at a gas station not exactly necessary and coming over here I'm like oh there is a little bit of a walk that's something to keep in mind anyway um that being said um so I don't know like understood all the traffic impacts and as and also how it would affect you know people at point let's say posed having more people coming and impacting the class sizes here or at Boston. Um I know I I I would like to know more about for options two and

122three what are the what would be the impact on class sizes and given that there are a lot of students in across the district that are in special you know IP programs or and so on like what were the impact on them? Finally, um oh sorry the next point um is that I also read the report on the uh in the for the projections of the declining enrollment and I was looking to see because there have been recent trends this year I work at big tech company and um I know when co the in 2020 happened many people moved out of our area and I could I I felt that this you know I saw people leaving but a lot of them were able to do it because their jobs offered remote work but That's

123changing this year. A lot of companies have been pulling in some of my colleagues now like basically anyone within 50 miles actually has to come back to office and so shores in Belmont it's actually very attractive for many of the uh big location but and you know the committee for families and so on. So I I would like to see the report I wonder if that's taken into account and then school ports has 2.6 million also raises like like I guess is in 2023. Um the amount here is seems to be a lot less than that. So I want to understand my thank you so much. I think we were going to have some assistance with translation. >> I don't know if she's still here. Is she still here? >> She had to leave. Okay.

124So, we will not have speakers. That will end our >> This concludes the public comment part of it, but I want to just open it up. the board wanted to have a kind of a discussion or reflection among ourselves that open and so I'm opening this up to the board other fellow trustees if there's any takeaways any reflections anything that at this time you'd like to feel free to kind of start us off like a reflection Um, I just want to say thank you for everyone for taking the time to come out and talk to your perspectives tonight. I know that this is a a very emotionally charged topic and I want to acknowledge that it is for everyone. Um, I appreciate all the points that have been made um tonight from the points of

125view of academic excellence and student improvements from C's and B's to A's and B's to the accessibility of families to the love of our dedicated teachers and staff and the incredible community that has been built here. The love that you guys have for this space is tangible. Um, and it's evident in everything in the desire to translate comments um to include all of our audience members and to students well graduated coming back to speak on us's behalf while wasting their valuable stereotype and I can't thank I cannot thank you enough for contributing your perspectives and um I for one and I know all of my coordinators will be taking all of your comments to heart as we as we approach and take on um this very difficult decision and discuss them. Um yeah, I sure

126what just said. Um this is this has been a hard keeping up heavy but also like inspiring and um and and special. There's a lot of uh people I respect, educators, administrators, um, parents, students, literally people who I like, you know, I do. Um, it's been hard to hear what you say. One of the things I heard reflecting on, at least I was hearing that Hashi didn't recognize or know how special that is. And if I can say that while modeling as much as likely unbiased um we do and I thank you for the whole like we do fully recognize uh the program itself, what ID is um what the site is, how important the location is, um how hard you all have worked to do special things for people. Um if if this process

127has led to what might feel like lack of recognition appreciation. I'm genuinely sorry about that because that that I don't care how it feels for me. I don't imagine how that feels for you. Um that being said, the community is well storytellers. This has been the night that I've over for a long time. Um there's some specifically individuals on this um you can maybe this this is this has been awesome. Um I think you do know and actually here so I would say that recognizing how impactful I think I heard you in the room good job here you are safe you're safe here um uh generally what what small schools can be I think it has been great to hear given us things to to work on I also clearly heard that the survey that

128that we're using depending um didn't feel like it was enough for this community or even your community. I want to I want to just say that just so we definitely heard that. Um it has been great that you have shown up and brought us support to make sure that we can hear it again. We did know it. We also do hear it again. Want to keep saying that and there has been added clarity and the the the more information we need to offer and also what again I live close it. I feel like I definitely had an extremely deeper understanding just from the last two hours. Um, more to learn myself, more questions maybe I need to ask and then more things I can fairly say that we will offer and there is more done

129as you've seen on the meeting. Um, I want to I say thank you. Thank thank you for being here. Um and again we do recognize the impact the importance um passion and the product and all of that will be heavily considered including the new things tonight. So thank you for that. Also our inboxes are open and any more choice to show share. I'm glad hearing go website send more. Thank you. >> Want to thank Trusty Brew and Trusty Tang for really kind of echoing what what they're feeling and we're here with you. We hear you. Uh this has been a this has provided the color that surveys don't. This is exactly what we wanted when we wanted to get community perspective and community engagement. Um I think for me so powerful in addition to the

130the eloquent voices in the storytelling and really the students current present and and past and what what how this has been meaningful what the foundation that NESB has set up but also just a real tangible thing about smaller schools but just the community has been echoed and and penold and I know my kids are part of it. Um, we had but I think just in general just shows you the strength of our district and I just want to thank again it's great to see that we're putting meaningful citizens out there in the real world who are relying on what our teachers are doing. And when I think back to my own teachers um the the best they're rares, right? It's rare. this you can definitely tell the uniqueness of the district and specifically of the

131beauty of me. Um so I want to thank you this whole this is a great process and it's adding the intangibles that we can get just through surviving questions and that is what our intent was. Please again feel free to reach out please feel free to grab us to give feedback. Um, we want to make sure that this is the best decision, whatever that decision is for the district. It's not a paper versus never our intention. It's really how can we just continue to enhance what our district provides and continue to give flexibility and options uh to those who fit something different, who want something different for their children and for themselves. So, thank you very much. >> Thank you so much to everybody for being here. Um, we really appreciate you taking the time

132to come talk to us. Um for everybody who um for parents if you had uh kids in the district before COVID by any chance, right? Um that and and I had kids in the district before CO as well, right? We there were more opportunities like this um where we uh met all in person. Um we've we've gone back to that now, right? Which is awesome. But anyway, um that's one of the things I'm just struck by is everybody coming out together, the parents, teachers, staff, um students, and former students. Thank you for taking the time. I know it's been a long evening, so I will uh I will speed it up, but um students and former students especially, thank you so much for making your voices heard. um your your thoughts and your contributions are

133so close to the experience, right, that um they are definitely going to um be a large part of what I I will consider. Um I would ask um Superintendent Bora or or or um our our other wonderful staff members if you could go back to like the um slide of the options the like four options that were in the which slide it on. >> Sure. If you wouldn't mind going to slide five please with four box option. Thank you. Just there we go. >> Thank you. Um, so I just I what one of the things I'm thinking of um related to this and I just wanted to mention is um and I really appreciate everybody bringing their thoughts and their ideas and um bringing some ideas that maybe are not on the slide but one

134of the things I was thinking of is um right there are options where we keep all three that is an option. That's option number one. Um, and there are other options as well. So, um, we have not decided anything yet. We do have factors that are making us, um, have this conversation now. Um, but we are open to any of those four decisions or something else, although something else would take longer to to implement and fully fully flesh out. So, thank you. Thank you very much for being here. And, um, I'll just send it back to uh, President CL. I don't know if there's uh, anything else. I just want to take a moment to thank um our community, our trustees. Uh this is a complicated um uh issue um one that has a lot

135of emotion um that we are connected to. Um there's a lot of factors uh that are factual, right? uh transportation, finances, enrollment. Um there's a lot that's emotional. I think we've heard that piece uh tonight. Um I first off, I'm just going to call out our sandpaper friends who are here. Uh it is a public meeting. Uh our board meetings are in two locations, but they're for both schools. Um so both communities are welcome in both places. I just want to clarify that. Um and uh the one thing I want to say is we are so fortunate and blessed to be in an amazing community that we are um where our kids are taken care of regardless of what school they're at and we have amazing educators uh that we work with. And I think

136I said this last meeting, it's not a reflection on our schools. It's not a reflection um on our teachers. um we have amazing schools and amazing teachers, right? It's making sure that all the dots um align in ways uh that benefit um our schools, our communities um and our programs long term. Right. So, uh this is a really challenging um situation that we find ourselves. Um and I I appreciate the community coming out uh and our trustees uh thoughtful reflection. And as we move forward and continue to listen, uh we will update our frequently asked questions on our website, I will provide the board um any additional information that you need to help um with the decision making. Um know that as you're sharing your feedback with us, uh I know um Trusty Bruno said

137find my email on on uh the website and the email link. Uh I'd encourage you to email feedbacks.org. Right. All of those emails I ensure that they're going to go to all of our trustees. Right. So, um I will not only read them for a stop when they come, but I will share them specifically with our board. You can also email if it's more comfortable all boards.org that goes to them as well. That links on our website. Um but we are committed to hearing from our community and making thoughtful decisions as just like to conclude with um thank you all for turning out but there are two more upcoming board meetings special meeting Sam Piper on January 22nd and then our regular board meeting uh where you can make a public comment January 11. So

138if there's anybody who has not for any reason been able to attend uh in person through hearing through live stream, please encourage them take advantage of these two other doors. Um all these board meetings are kind of uh inform us on our planning process as well as written feedback. Yeah. >> Sorry. 15th and 21st. 15th and the 21st. Thank you. Uh with that we'll conclude the special board meeting.