001Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Hey, hey, hey. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hey. [music] [music] Hey. Hey. [music] Hey, hey, hey. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Hey, Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hey, [music] hey, hey. Heat. Hey, Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hey, [music] hey, hey. [music] >> [music] >> Hey, [music] hey, hey. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Hey, Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Oh, hey. >> [music] [music] >> Hey, hey, hey. Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Heat [music] up. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Hey, Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hey. [music] Hey. Hey. >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Hey. Hey. Hey. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music]
002>> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Hey, [music] hey, hey. Heat. Hey, Heat. [music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [music] [singing] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. Hey, hey, hey. [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> crazy. [music] Okay, we'll call the meeting to order. >> I can do that. >> We'll start with roll call. Morgan Brown >> here. >> Dave Wrunner >> here. >> Becky Engel >> here. >> Brian Jones >> here. >> Dusty Wear >> here. >> Jan Waitri >> here. And Christina Shark is here. Next up is adoption of agenda and declaration of a quorum. >> Motion to adopt. >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. Is there any other discussion? If not, all those in favor raise your right hand. Motion passes. Next is citizen speak. We now open
003up the citizen speak portion of the agenda and we would invite anyone in the audience who has completed a green card or others who would like to address the board to please step up to the podium. State your name and address so the board secretary can capture it for the minutes. We ask that you limit your comment to three minutes to allow for sufficient time for all those interested in addressing the board to ensure other agenda agenda items receive attention in an efficient manner. Please know that while the board is not is pleased is pleased to hear from citizens. We would like to address them. We are not able to engage in conversation. If you would like to further engage on specific topics, you may always contact the board a office before or after the
004meetings or you can find contact information on the district website. With that being said, we have one green card tonight from Golda Pearl McGrant. Hey there. Okay. My topic tonight is classroom safety. Um, I had an incident that happened a couple weeks ago and I've been kind of setting on it and I've talked to other people. I've talked to principles. I've talked to teachers and um I've got to get this settled when um I just want to know who do you get a hold of when you have so much bad behavior in the classroom that's so deviant that's affecting the learning of others in the classroom and actually affecting the safety from what these so students did to me and the students I went to the principal the secretary and I did not get any
005help. So I my question is um as a substitute I've been here 23 years subbing. I'd like to know who should I go to talk to next about classroom safety. Okay. Thank you. We'll have someone contact you after the meeting. >> Thank you. Okay. Next up is the consent agenda. >> Nope. Next up is Eisenhower volunteer recognition. Miss Fiser, >> we've got a special recognition tonight for the Stevens family. and Lauren uh from Eisenhower is going to join us and kind of uh give an overview of why we've decided to recognize this family for everything they've done for our district. >> Okay. All right. Um I'd like to take a moment to recognize a family whose dedication has made the tradition of our fall festival at Eisenhower so special over the past decade. um the
006Stevens family, Ashley and Trent and their children, Wit, Shaden, Slater, and Triton. So, for the past 10 years, the Stevens family has been the heart and the hands behind one of Eisenhower Elementary's fall festival's most anticipated features, which is our haunted wetlands. Year after year, they've arrived early, like 9:00 a.m., to transform the space into a fun and spooky, imaginative experience. that our students look forward to with excitement and a hint of fear. Uh this year makes a bittersweet milestone uh as their youngest finishes elementary school uh making this their final year contributing in this incredible way. On behalf of the Atom Community School District, we want to express our deepest gratitude to the Stevens family for their commitment, generosity, and a decade of dedication to Eisenhower Elementary. Uh you've helped build a beloved tradition
007and create memories that will continue to live on in the hands in the hearts of our students and staff. Thank you for helping make Eisenhower and Automo schools a place where community and creativity and care come together for kids. So >> thank you. [applause] >> Okay, now we have consent agenda. Motion to adopt. >> Second. We have a motion, a second. Is there any other discussion? If not, all those in favor, raise your right hand. Next, we have the certification of the results of the election held on November 4th of 2025 with John. >> Okay. Hello everyone. So, we had an election a couple weeks ago and I'll kind of go through the results of that. We've got back um they did the canvas so Wabalo County shared with us that for the Automa schools
008director at large um can uh let's see Becky Engel received 1351 votes Brett White received 1510 Don Severson re received 153 Hemar Hernandez received 1,161 Dusty Wear received 1499 and there was a scattering of 18 votes uh for a total of 6,592 votes for the school board election. So, the top three vote receivers are Becky Engel, Brett White, and Dusty Wear, and they will be seated uh once we begin our uh organization of the new board. So, um I would look for just an acceptance of these results. >> Make a motion to accept the results. Second. >> We have a first and a second. Is there any other discussion? If not, all those in favor raise your right hand. Motion passes. Do you have something? >> I do. Thanks, Christina. Um, before uh we adjourn
009this evening, I want to take this opportunity to thank Jan. I know she she doesn't want any recognition, but I really do want to take this opportunity to thank her for her dedicated service to the Toma Community School District. Jan was sworn in on November 9th, 2021. Over the past four years, I've truly appreciated her thoughtful approach, her insightful comments, and her genuine care for our students and staff. Jan is a bulldog through and through. She, her husband Steve, her children, and her grandchildren all attend or have attended Atom Community School District. As a former teacher in Atoma schools and the greater Prairie ADA, she's also brought a incredibly valuable education educator's perspective to the board. Her decision to serve stem quite obviously from a deep love for our district and community and from a
010desire to make a lasting impact for both students and teachers. And she's absolutely done both of those. During her time on the board, Jan's helped guide significant progress, including building safety improvements, facility upgrades, curriculum instruction, and our be the best strategic plan, all focused on creating more and better opportunities for kids. Jan, I want to truly thank you uh for your time, your heart, and your unwavering dedication to Atmo schools. It's been a privilege to serve alongside you and we wish you, Steve, Kbble, and Nora all the best in what comes next. Thank you so much. And we have a little gift for you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Jim. And with that, we'll accept an adjournment of the retiring board of education. >> Motion to adjurnn. >> Second. >> We have a motion, a
011second. All those in favor, raise your right hand. Motion passes. Next is the organization of the new board of education with John Bye. [laughter] >> You can hang around, Jaden. >> Okay. So, we will uh call the new meeting to order. The first order of business will be administer administering the oath of office to our newly elected board member and the two uh reelected board members. So, if you'd like to come stand up here, we'll have Ashley uh give you your oath of office. Do you solemnly swear that you will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Iowa and that you will faithfully and impartially To the best of your ability, discharge the duties of the office of board of board of education director in the community school
012district as now and here after retired by law. [applause] >> Not very official. Okay, with our new board seated, the first uh action item will be the election of board presidents. So, um, we've done this before. This board has where you can either, uh, make a nomination for an individual, uh, you can make a nomination for a group of president, vice president, whatever, uh, the board wishes. And I'll just open it up for nominations. Uh, being that we're going to be going through a new superintendent search, um, I'd make a nomination for Dave as president since he has experience in that and has brought us through it before. and I'll second that. >> Okay, we have any other nominations? >> Um, Christina, I would nominate for vice president >> and I'll second that. >> Okay,
013any others? Okay, very good hearing none. So, we'll just do both of them in one shot. We've had a nomination for Dave Wellrener to serve as president and Christina Shark to serve as vice president. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. And none opposed. There you go. Good luck, guys. You can take your new positions now. Uh you're welcome to change seats if you want. If not, it makes no difference. Um but with that, I will turn the meeting over to the new president, Mr. Wilbr. And uh you can take it from here. [cough] [clears throat] >> I'm sorry. >> We have to swear in. >> Thank you. You're supposed to remind me that. So, Miss Dave and Becky, if you guys would like to come up, we'll have Ashley swear in or
014Christina, I'm sorry. >> Do you swear that you will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Iowa and that you will faithfully and to the best of your ability discharge the duties of the office of board of education president in the community school district as now and here required by law. >> Yes. >> Do you solemnly swear that you will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Iowa and that you will faithfully and impartially to the best of your ability discharge the duties of the office of board of education vice president in the community school district as now and here required by law. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> And we're good with the same uh meeting dates, times, all that. I'm assuming
015we're all >> Yes. >> future meetings. Okay. All right. Moving on. Board priority. [clears throat] To be the best, we will create positive learning and working culture for our stakeholders and embrace our community partners through communication and transparency. We have one action item, an early retirement incentive. >> Um tonight, uh John's going to propose to the board um early retirement incentive. Uh we have not done this since uh 2021. Um the reason he'll kind of go over the reasons why uh we're looking at it. um give the board an opportunity to ask questions as well and then uh we'll go from there. So, John, I'll turn it over to you. >> Okay. [clears throat] So, I'll go over just a little bit of what the plan looks like first and then we'll talk about the
016um some of the thought behind it and some of the benefits uh of a plan like this. It's structured similar to plans that we've done in the past. So, it would be an offer for a fixed amount of $36,000 uh for staff and it's based on the approximate cost for five years of single health insurance coverage. So, um it's payable in five installments in August of each year is typically how we do it. So, it would be um that am equal amount for each of the five years for a total of 36. We would also apply a bonus of $5,000 uh in total, not each year, to the incentive for employees with 25 years of service and then increase that by $1,000 for each year over 25, reaching a maximum of 15,000 bonus for employees
017with 35 years of service or greater. So, the max someone could get if they've been with the district for 35 years would be 36,000 plus 15,000. So, a total of 51 or 10,200 per year. Uh, employees are elig eligible to participate in the incentive if they're employed on a regular not substitute contract during the 2526 school year, have had at least 10 accumulated years of service with the district, and will be 55 years of age as of June 30th of 2026, which is the last day of our fiscal year. Uh the last time we offered this incentive was four years ago in the 21-22 school year and at that time we had six certified staff and 15 classified or other staff participating. Uh this package would be uh offered to that same group. So so
018all district regular employees regardless of their class. So um teachers, administrators, associates, uh support staff um all would be eligible as long as they've met that 10 cumulative years of service and are 55 years of age uh at the end of the the fiscal year. Uh we are assuming up to 20 staff may participate. Um but it really kind of depends on the offer. We're not putting a cap on it. Uh we feel that our management fund which is the monies that pay for this are sufficient for an offer. And a a little backstory or discussion about why we chose to offer it this year is um first off we have we've had a declining enrollment year. So we've done pretty good the last couple years and this year we when we did our count
019we had a drop. So, we always look to see what kind of uh things we can do or look at that would help save money going forward. And when we uh have a tenur staff, the long-term employee retire uh at least in the certified group, we're usually able to uh hire back at a lower cost just because you've got somebody who's pretty deep and and along with the district on the salary schedule and you replace them with newer staff. Uh those savings uh typically run into 30 to $40,000 per position. So, um that's always a good help to the general fund for the district. Um the other areas we apply it to with administrators [clears throat] and support staff is it just gives up us an opportunity to uh review a position. So, anytime you
020have um any kind of turnover, you always look to review the duties, see if there's anything you can do differently. So, if there's any attrition um in the ranks, it just gives us an opportunity to review that. Obviously, we haven't discussed eliminating any positions, but anytime you have retirements, it just allows you to look at the group and and see if there's any shuffling. And we've done that quite a bit in the past. Just as people have moved on, we always look at positions. So, this provides another opportunity for that. So, just two areas that we could be uh we could realize some savings. So, um that's uh that's the the uh gist of it. uh mechan or u I'm trying to administratively how it works sorry is um for an employee that's already on
021the district's health insurance plan we put a money in a health um health retirement not health arrangement health savings arrangements I my words are escaping me today but it basically puts the money in a plan that they can draw from each year to pay for district insurance premiums so uh in the state of Iowa working for a public employer when you retire you can stay on the district insurance till you turn 65. This allows them a mechanism to fund that for 5 years. For people that don't need the district insurance, uh it goes into a special pay plan which functions similar to a ret a retirement plan. Uh it puts it in there. It's tax sheltered. Uh the district doesn't have to pay social security or Medicare tax on it. Um and the type of
022plan it goes into is a guaranteed plan. So there's no risk of losing money. They guarantee a rate of return. It's not particularly attractive. Uh but it is there's no risk. They can't lose the money that we give them. they [clears throat] are able to take it and move it and roll it over to a different fund if they so choose. Um, and like I said, we make that deposit once a year for five years. Uh, and that would be the plan. So, welcome to any questions the board has about the plan or about uh who would be eligible, anything like that. Oh, sorry, last thing is we fund it through the management levy. So, uh, the general fund is the pool that we use to pay all our teachers and instructional programs. We have
023a management fund levy which is specific uh for insurance uh for early retirement obligations. Um and we have not had any for about four years. So our uh most of the people that have been getting those payments have dropped off. So we've got capacity to offer a plan like this now. Um and we put that in and we're comfortable with the amount we're levying that there's not any big changes we'd have to see. Uh so everything kind of continues and and this plan would be funded well for that through the next five years. I know this is kind of a trick question, but um can you give kind of an estimate over that five years? I mean, if you have [clears throat] what we've seen similarly, I know this has been offered a couple times
024anyway. Um over that five years, what that savings is to the district roughly. >> Um the the biggest area we see savings is with certified staff. And uh I want to say the last time four years ago, I want to say that number was somewhere in the area of 350,000. So it it really kind of depends on uh the mix of teachers that are taking the retirement. So if you've got um several teachers that are at the top of the salary schedule, let's say you've got uh five of those and you hire replacements and you save 30 grand uh annually, that's 150,000 right there, plus another five or 10 that are somewhere in the middle. Um it it it adds up pretty quick. um you you save the the salary and it's a ongoing savings.
025So you don't just save 150 grand in one year. You save that ongoing. So um we don't save as much with some of the other support groups unless there's areas where we can combine positions or or make any changes like that. And then you save whatever uh you get if there's any, you know, combining positions or or switching up duties. But the the biggest one ca comes from the certified staff and um I want to say in 2122 we saved I want to say it was $385,000 just from the certified group. So it's it can be pretty significant. So any other questions? If not, this is an action item. So >> make a motion to approve. >> I'll second. >> Got a motion and second. Further discussion? All in favor raise your right hand. opposed.
026Motion carries. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, John. Uh, next item, board priority. Through the board's financial stewardship, we will provide operations, technical, and curricular resources to staff, teachers, and administrators so that all students have consistent and sustained achievement. And we have a another action item here. And looks like we're starting off with the baseball softball complex. This evening we have Brandon and Bo uh are going to give you an overview of the committee work on on the baseball softball and John's also gonna uh join them as well. Um after he gets a drink and hopefully more articulate [laughter] I like to see you nervous John sometimes. Um uh if I'll turn it over to you guys and uh and then we'll open it up after the presentation for questions as well. All right. Thank you.
027So, I'll just kind of give a timeline of what we uh have put together and and how we got here. Um in September, the end of September, we met with uh architects from FRK uh on the site near the Babe Ruth complex and um walked the complex so the committee could see, you know, kind of what we were looking at and we could brainstorm some ideas. And then we uh went back um and met with them and kind of created a list of what our needs are and uh what everybody's priorities were so we can um move forward in the best possible way. We met again on October 29th uh and FRK uh brought some options that we then kind of dissected and and came up with uh what we think is our our best
028view to this point. So the committees uh staffed pretty well. Uh we're pretty lucky to have a a large group of folks that were interested in being a part of this and I think one of the interesting pieces of it is several of them wear more than one hat which I think really brings good perspective. They may be uh faculty or board members but also parents and so I think that um has helped uh cast a vision in a really nice way. There are lots of conversations that we had uh initially and then really good conversation the second time that we met with architects. Um these are just three of the really I think big ideas that that came out of the committee. Um everybody really liked a central entry entrance and kind of a
029unified complex, a place where you know spectators and players and coaches can go to kind of enjoy softball and baseball. Um turf was up there. Uh and parking uh was was definitely uh up on the list. If you've been to that area, uh parking gets a little bit crazy uh through the week. So, um, those were the things that we were kind of really focused on and then obviously there's lots that goes into a project like this. So, we were able to have other conversations as well that we'll we'll get to at at some point. We also had the land surveyed and so um, this is the complex pretty much as it sits right now and so and be happy to answer questions but it's pretty much what we've already presented. Uh we'll get the
030south to Bab Bay Babe Ruth Fields and parking that comes along with it. Uh around it, the parking lot, the entrance, uh the tennis courts as well, which they're they've been removed since this photo was taken. Um and then we'll come all the way up on the other side of the trail, and it pretty much follows the trail all the way down um south of those Babe Ruth fields. And then with the feedback from the committee, this is um what the architects were able to come up with. So this is pretty high level. Obviously, it has some things labeled, but we really haven't gotten into a lot of the fine details of the complex. Um, really what we're looking for here is the general layout of the complex, how everything kind of fits together, um,
031and some options as far as, uh, where some some different things could be. Um, and so back to the other picture, the, uh, number seven listed on there in dark gray is a parking lot. So, we'd expand the current parking lot that we have at Legion, and we would keep the East Babe Ruth Field, which would become our middle school baseball field. high school softball would then go in between uh that Babe Ruth Field and Legion with other amenities, you know, to be determined obviously at at a later time. And so, uh I think really what we're looking for here is just uh approval to continue to move forward with the project. Um and I'd be happy to answer questions and I'll pro provide a little information about the funding. So, um, as we look
032at this project, uh, we're looking at funding it with a mix of, uh, district capital funds as well as possibly some some donations, and I think Mr. Mcgory had spoke on some of those. So, uh, we hope that maybe some of those would support it, but, uh, mostly it's it's the district capital funds. Um, our comprehensive OS renovations are kind of finishing up. Uh, we've got phase two coming to an end. Um, the competition gym's finished up, the tennis courts are about done. So, all those projects we've been working on are finishing up and uh thankfully most of them came in under our uh original budget when we went out and and looked at the amount of funds we were going to need for all these long-term projects. And so, we've got uh those came
033in a little under. So, we've got some capacity. Uh we'll be looking to phase this project out over two fiscal years. So, that helps a little bit on the funding size. It helps us fit it in the budget. Um and it also allows uh other projects to run at the same time. So, we're looking at some windows in the future at some of the elementary schools. We'll be able to do that and this at the same time with that phasing. So, we're not taking all the monies out of one year worth of funds. Uh our capital project budget is made up of uh some existing reserves. So, as projects finished up, we we have reserves. We receive approximately uh $6.5 million a year in the capital projects fund from the sales tax penny. Uh and
034then we also have our ple fund uh for capital improvements. Uh you remember a couple years ago uh I want to say it was back in 2021 uh we took the question of a voter approved PEL to the community and they approved that and that has been a a godsend for the district facilitywise uh because before that we received about $275,000 a year to maintain all of our facilities and that's one project could wipe that out. So the voter approved PPE provided some additional resources to help with that. So, I know one question that comes up a lot is um if we do projects like these, are there other funds available because we don't want to sink everything into this and and there is uh and it's made up with a mix of those funds.
035So, we budget approximately 1 to $1.5 million per year for the next several years that is to be used for annual facility projects. So, that includes all the things that we'll do over the summertime, just kind of general maintenance, as well as any unexpected projects that come up. So, if you've got a a boiler that needs replacing, um things like that. Uh we also put in there pres-scheduled items. So our roof replacement schedule is built in. So some of those are factored. Um so many of the known things we know are going to be maintenance related and come up. We we try to have that million a million and a half per year that uh takes care of that. And and like I said, that's much much more than we have used to have several
036years ago. So, uh, considering we've done most of the large placements in the district, um, mechanical wise, lots of mechanical upgrades, HVAC systems, um, we're confident that that that amount is enough, uh, and allows a project like this to continue. Um, so, uh, that's kind of the facility side and or funding side. So, happy to answer any questions on that. Do >> you have a total project cost in mind? >> I I don't think they've got any real numbers yet. I think they're still waiting for after this design, it'll be submitted for uh kind of a write up or plans or estimates estimates by the architect to get us a number. Um >> yeah, no, I think um one of the things we've talked about is or John mentioned is doing it in phases and
037our our next step would be to put it out to get some costing. Um Morgan, uh we think right now that uh we can do this in the manner we've done a lot all of our other facilities first class. Um we have the money to do that. Um probably between four to 5 million uh to do the whole project and um um like John said, we do have some flexibility there, but uh um we feel really good that we have the money to do it the right way. So Brandon, number seven. So number seven is is currently one of the fields. Is that correct? >> Yep. >> So we'd have that field and then eight is the other Babe Ruth field and then we would put a field in between which would be our softball
038field, right? >> Yep. So question I have is either one or both of those fields and I don't remember were named after kids in this community >> and I you may remember Dave but I don't know if one or both was but one one of them and I don't remember if it was one on the left one on the right was was Doug Doug Buck and Field. Okay, that was that was my question is I just wanted to make sure that that was something we wasn't because I couldn't remember that. Um, okay, good. Thank you. I guess this is probably more of a comment, maybe it's a question. um being on the committee and I know we've had lots of talk about I know it's is the sun and where the sun shines and uh
039that softball field I know how it's sitting in this picture but since this is more of a rendering just to to get it moved past the board I mean that's still something we're talking about can be rotated. >> Yeah, this is really just like highle concept of the layout itself. We're going to, you know, be able to definitely nail down exactly where home plate is and where the pitcher mound is to make sure, you know, obviously before we start moving dirt and doing all that stuff that it's exactly where it needs to be. Um, this is generally just the layout of the complex is what we're what we're looking at. There's still lots of time to make adjustments. So, as that lays right now, would you would we be using the the current new concession
040stand that we built or would because it says future, would we put be putting up another one at that point, I guess, if goes like that? >> Yep. And I think those are details that we'll figure out kind of as we go. I think we have a lot of options. Obviously, we've done some really great improvements to Legion over the last couple years, and I think that kind of leaves it open for us to be able to to take that shell and and really have a lot of options on how we lay that out. Um the entrance is really kind of the big thing, another big conversations that we've had and and we think that that can be centralized near um near that building as well >> because the concession stand at the other at
041the Babe Ruth Fields, which I'm assuming back here behind eight, would that be correct? that white piece. I mean, it's actually not super super old. I think it was done. >> Yep. Yeah, it's it's in really good condition. That's actually where we met when we met the architects the first time, and that's something that we'll definitely keep to >> to use for that facility. >> Yeah, Brian, the those are really good questions because both of them are nice and the committee talked about keeping both of them. Maybe not for their current purpose today, but in in some way, we would not get rid of either of those facilities. And just kind of to piggyback a little bit about what Brandon shared, I would want the board to know that even though we had talked about
042kind of phasing in this project, there's a lot of these kinds of improvements that the district has funding to do right away, too. And so, if you're a softball or baseball parent and you're sitting here thinking, well, I'm going to have to wait, you know, four or five more years to get my new field, you might have to wait that, you know, couple of years for it to all be done. But there were some things we talked about just kind of biting off into chunks. And so this these two programs should start seeing improvement to their facilities um here pretty quickly, like maybe even in the spring, especially on that um Babe Ruth field that we're leaving. It's not in great shape, but with a little bit of um we can get it up to
043par pretty quickly. So if you're a baseball or softball parent sitting here listening to this thinking you're going to have to wait, you know, a long time, you won't. There's lots of different ways we can start improving this space right away. So, it is an action item. Any more questions? Brett, do you have a question? >> Yeah, just on just the concept, too. I don't know, just being at complexes like that. Sometimes foul balls and things can become a concern if you got the stands on that. Uh, you know, foul balls shooting over from field to field can be chaotic sometimes. So, I just didn't know if that was ever thought of or it would be something to maybe think about um going forward. That's another topic that's kind of been in the conversation along
044with, you know, the direction of the field. Um, obviously stuff that we'll, you know, make sure we get right. Yep. >> So really what we're proving is moving forward with the uh the idea to explore this and then obviously we'll get costs and things like that later. So this is really just a to move uh ahead with the uh conceptual design. >> There's no further questions. This wouldn't I mean doing this isn't going to prohibit us from getting the the window the capital improvements that we need to the buildings that haven't had any updates yet? >> No. >> Do we know what the cost of getting the price is >> for for the windows >> like No. I mean like tonight >> we approve you to move forward. What >> what does that us to?
045Yeah. Yeah, >> for the the architectural fees bidding process >> for them to tell us it'll be $4 or $5 million. >> See if this answers your question more is you're [clears throat] are you if you're asking all all you're approving tonight is the general concept. Yes. And then we'll bring back >> uh the cost and so forth for the board to approve again. >> Yeah. But it costs money to prepare that though, right? >> Oh, right. Right. >> So, is it 50 $60,000 that it's going to cost? Uh >> John, what would you guess for an architect to the final cost. >> They typically do a percentage based. So if it kind of depends on where they can put that estimate, but if you're at $4 million and it's, >> you know, 7%, you're
046looking at a couple hundred thousand. >> Yeah. >> With an architect agreement, but we would Yeah. >> Yeah. >> We would we'll have to get that firmed up and that that stuff comes back to the board as well. >> Yeah. So I guess that's what I want everybody to understand. Tonight is not nothing. It's not just move forward at no expense. It's significant expense to still move forward. So But it does uh for the window question is we've got that as a separate line that's already been in there and this does not trump it or move it. No, that stay that's actually was on there first. So yeah, that stays. >> So [clears throat] to move us forward tonight, I will make a motion to approve investigating the complex. >> Second. >> Got a motion
047and a second. Further discussion not all those in favor raise your right hand opposed. Motion carries. Next item is [clears throat] also action item resolution to tendly approve plans specifications uh for cost estimate for Horseman Wilson and Eisenhower Elementary window replacement project setting the time date location for hearing theon and further authorizing the posting of notice seeking compet competitive bids. >> Dave, I what I'd ask the board on this one is to table it till December. uh that will give us a little more time to get final costs and it doesn't really impact the the timeliner at at all either uh because we'll still be able to do it during the summer. Uh so at this time I'd just ask for it to be tabled. A motion I guess. >> Okay. So looking for a
048motion to table. >> Motion to table. >> A motion a second. Further discussion. All in favor, raise your right hand. Opposed? Motion carries. Okay, moving on. Item K, superintendent, search firm selection. So, we've got three firms tonight. Oops. They will go um they'll each come up and give the presentation to the board. Uh the first one we have is Ray and Associates. So, I'll invite them to the table. Good evening everyone. Um, we're handing out packets that have the presentation as well as the request for proposal, but we'll have vital information for you as you make your decision regarding the search firm. Uh, real quick before I jump into the meat of the presentation, uh, three things. Number one, if you see me looking at my phone once in a while and not keeping track
049of Monday Night Football, I'm keeping track of the time constraint. So, uh, secondly, thank you very much for your service. Uh, it's been a it's probably about the most challenging and exciting time to be a board member and an administrator for a school district. So, I know that the community of Atama really appreciates your service. Uh finally, uh our condolences to the automo community, especially the school community, uh with the passing of student Kenley Burns. Uh nothing more difficult than than dealing with the death of a child. And please know that our thoughts are with you and with the automo community during this uh challenging time. So we are Rain Associates centered in Cedar Rapids. My name is Greg Baitenhorse. I'm one of the consultants. I'll give you a little bit more information on me
050here in just a few minutes. This is you especially um you're familiar with your be the best uh strategic plan initiative. This is your northstar when choosing a new leader and in when in choosing a search firm. This should really guide you on in that process because this is who you say you are. Your plan is excellent with its focus on academic achievement, personalization, safety, collaboration, pride in the schools, pride in the community. That's a very clear plan and it's very clear that you want this plan to keep the momentum moving forward that you've experienced over the past several years. So, always keep this in mind because you always want to be a district of choice. Um, also your high reliability schools framework that you use to um really push forward your initiatives in teaching
051and learning is is good stuff and I applaud the district on that. Again, we are Ray and Associates. Uh Molly Schwarzoff is our fearless leader and the vice president of leadership acquis acquisition. Um she would oversee the process. Uh really a master in the areas of marketing, advertising and really helping boards reach consensus on semi- finalist and finalist candidates for your position. She's excellent in oversight of all of our service services, an Iowa native and has led numerous Iowa searches in the past. A little bit about me. Um I retired in July of 2024 after 40 years in service to um our youth. I was a teacher, adolescent mental health therapist, school counselor, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, superintendent, adjunct college professor, coached everything that had a ball. Um, essentially we provide you that information
052on me and one of the other associates I'll talk about in a second just to give you an idea of the depth and breadth of our experiences because we think that's really important in working with the community um in the search. Uh, Dr. Daniel Bitman out of the state of Minnesota has also very extensive um portfolio and his educational experiences. He's currently serving as the um interim superintendent in the Adina school district in the Twin Cities. You can learn a little bit more about him on page five of the um uh proposal. And also Kathy Shonfelder, the um Molly's right-hand person, uh really helps us with all the organization. She did the request for proposal for you. She handles a lot of our legal issues, having been in the legal field before. Uh so we're
053the four core members that would serve you. We also have a full-time office staff that really helps us with uh development of materials and communication with you so that we keep this search moving and we keep the search focused. Also give you just a little tidbit on me. Um I grew up in a very similar community to autom. I grew up in North Plat Nebraska very much a uh kind of a regional hub with rural communities surrounding it. Um, so I would be very comfortable in serving a community like Ottoa and and very as comfortable speaking with uh people in the agricultural community. I worked in a John Deere dealership for 10 straight summers um as much as I am a CEO of a major firm. So um please know that we bring a great
054depth and breadth of experience and searches. Um I'm also Rayan Associates alum. Rand Associates hired me uh led the search that led the Mount Vernon Community School District in Iowa to hire me in 2017. Uh they were the firm and all the firms I worked with while searching for superintendent positions that I felt the most comfortable with and felt felt the best relationships, was the most communicative with me. Um so I was thrilled um to uh have the Mount Vernon position for seven years before I retired. Had a great run there with our board. Uh and it's uh it's a pleasure to be here tonight to talk to you about your own position. We did lead the search on the Tumbla in 2019 and 2020. Uh something that we feel is um has been very
055successful for your community. We have been in the business for 50 years. We really touch all 50 states. We can make this search as local, regional or national as you need it to be. We have the capacity to serve you on a national level if you really want to go deep in searching for quality candidates across the United States. We also have strong ties and strong connections within the Midwest and within the state of Iowa. Um that's important in this search moving forward. Um my wife and I after um my wife was also an educator for 38 years. After um leaving the educational field upon retirement, we um relocated to the tropical paradise of Omaha, Nebraska. Uh which is which is home for us. Uh and in Omaha, First National Bank there has a great
056slogan. and they call themselves a great big small bank. That's who I think we are as a firm. We have the capacity to um serve you um on a national scale but also keep it very local. We very much pride ourselves in the relationship we build with boards, relationships we build with communities, and I'll talk a little bit about that um as we move on. Again, we have been in the business since 1975. We try to keep on the cutting edge as best we can. Um always working to serve our clients well. We have searches every year throughout the United States uh and uh are really excited to have the opportunity for your consideration. Don't know why this slide is looking so funky, but this is just a little bit about kind of our mantra
057where we ask questions. We try to listen fully, work with everyone and act meaningfully. We are always working as a firm to make ourselves better um as a firm so that we serve all of our clients as effectively as we can. When you look at this um uh statement on the right hand side, this testimonial of our services, words that jump out to me are what the superintendent says about it being a rigorous hiring process and that the level of customer service and hospitality is second to none. That's what we pride ourselves in. We really want to build those positive relationships with as many members in this community as possible to lead an outstanding search for you. We do have a strong presence in Iowa. Like I said, we know people and candidates within the
058state and Midwest that we would reach out to immediately about this position and try to solicit their interest in it. Um, again, we can help you keep the search as large or as small as you want it to be. And I'll give you just an example of of how you can think about even reaching beyond just the area and just the state. Um, I was in the St. Louis area for 23 years and I was serving as an assistant superintendent when applying for superintendent positions. It was actually a Rain Associates consultant in St. Louis who knew about me and my work that recommended me to um Rain Associates who recommended that the Mount Vernon Community School District take a look at my candidacy and that was a little bit out of the norm for them.
059They kind of expanded their horizons. Um eventually I was chosen for the position and it really worked out for all of us. Uh so um we have that ability to to run whatever type of search that you want as we partner with you. Um one of the very first things we would do with you if chosen is build a timeline for the search. Typically timelines of our searches run about three months. That can be adjusted. If you want it to be a quicker search we can do that. If it needs to go out a little longer can do that as well. We will do individual interviews with all seven of you. We can do that in person. We can do that on the phone. We can do that by Zoom. That's your choice. Part of
060it comes on how you as a board want to use your resources. Um but we are very flexible in um doing things the way you want it done because this is your search, not ours. Um it's now November pushing into December, so it's the weather's turn. So I'm can't work too much on my golf game anymore. So I am retired. This is what I do. Um, and so you would see me here constantly along with Molly and others to help lead a great search. We are going to help you build a profile from an ideal candidate. We are going to give you and your community members 31 qualities of exemplary leaders and we're going to ask you to focus on choosing a top 10 out of those 31s that helps you build a profile for
061the ideal candidate for a tunnel because the ideal candidate here is not the ideal candidate in Oscaloosa or Pella or Musketone or anywhere else. You're looking for you. What what does your strategic plan tell you? What does Mr. McGory's work tell you? uh what are you looking for that is unique to you and we're going to help you build that and we are with you till the end we and beyond we are going to help you all the way through the selection process I'll go through that process here in just a little bit um all the way through determining compensation for your new person helping you develop the contract for the new superintendent and also checking in with that person for months and years if needed um over time after they're selected because We have
062a dog in this hunt, too. We want that person to be successful. So, we're going to do everything in our power to give them the support um to be successful as superintendent of Atamwa. Again, we're going to build a profile unique to you with the 31 qualities. We are going to do as many stakeholder meetings as you need. Last year, I led a search in a district of about 7,000 students where I we did myself and one of my fellow consultants did 13 focus groups in two days. Uh we met with students, parents, community members, religious leaders, community leaders, uh the the board, uh administrators, teachers, support staff, as many as you say you want to get as much feedback as you want, we will do that. We will also give your community a survey
063that is driven by those 31 qualities. That survey can be offered in about as many languages as you would want and need. And that is a survey that you also would fill out as board members. So you can look for the consistencies and the gaps as you look at building an ideal candidate. That ideal candidate then drives your marketing for the position, helps us with all the advertising and everything um to uh lead the search forward. so that we get you the best candidates possible. We aggressively recruit top candidates from throughout the United States, we have uh consultants that literally touch every um state in the nation. And I can tell you that when you get to the advertising piece, uh Molly is an expert on that and she would lead you through what advertising
064works best for Atamwa at this time. We do deep screening of our candidates. We do extensive background checks, internet checks, social media checks to ensure that there are no surprises when bringing you quality candidates. Uh we also when you get to the selected finalists, we gauge we engage in an even deeper dive through a professional organization called C4 due to a complete criminal civil litigation, social security, sex offender check as deep a dive as we can so that there are no surprises. briefly. Let's say hypothetically you have 20 candidates. We as a firm are going to try to help you reduce that to 10. We we may come to you with like let's say 10ish candidates, could be 12, the ones that we think best fit your profile. Now, you will have access to the
065materials of all 20 and you can look at all the information you want if you so choose. Or if you want us to do that work for you to narrow down the field, we will do that. We use what's called a spark video which gives you about a three to four minute um glimpse of the candidates that have been chosen as ones for you to consider. So you get can put a face to a name and get to learn a little bit about them. We're going to take you through a con a consensus building matrix that helps you compare candidates to one another. So candidate one against candidate two, candidate one against candidate three, four or five. We numerically will show you where you fall as a board in regards to who you think are
066your best candidates. You will do that exercise. um confidentially and then you'll talk through your results. But that's a really good exercise and help you narrow down, make sure you have the candidates you want. Let's say then you get it down to five to six um semi- finalists. Uh you can do those interviews in person or virtually depending on your preference and let's say it depends too on where the candidates are from. Um but we would help you in that exercise. Those usually are confidential interviews with the board and then usually then there's some there's a finalist interview usually reducing your field to three or so. Um I can tell you real quick in Mount Vernon when I went through my search on the day of the finalist interviews I met with three different groups
067that en encompassed uh teachers and support staff and students and community leaders etc. I also did an interview with the board. I did an interview with the administrators. I did a lunch meeting with half of the board and then there was a community forum where members of the community were able to come provide questions to the candidates and we sat there for 90 minutes as candidates and answered questions from the community. Uh and then you took all that information. Everyone who was a part of the interview process that day gave feedback to the board. You review that feedback. Then you make your choice as to who you think is the best person moving forward for you. Um, so that gives you just kind of a a thumbnail sketch on on how it could look. So
068in summary, because we're right at that 15 minute mark, uh, we are the oldest firm. We've completed the most searches at over 1,600. We bring you a large, we'll bring you a large, uh, pool of candidates. We are very focused on building positive relationships with you. Um, very proud of our work in the past, including working with you in 2019. Um, I also would draw your attention later on as you u confer about uh your choice of firms to pages 20 and 25 of the RFP. Uh, there are a couple key pieces in there about price matching and a guarantee if a candidate does not work out for you in the first two years. So, I would encourage you to look at those pieces as you make your decision. You have three excellent firms to
069to choose from and we really do appreciate you inviting us um to the party tonight and we wish you the best in your search. >> Thank you. >> 16 minutes. Okay. The our next candidate is or uh firm is with McFersonson and Jacobson and they are with us electronically on the zoom. So they're able to uh share their screen. So I think we'll give them a sec. Yep. So he's up there and and Steve, you should be able to share your screen when you get to the presentation. So um we'll make sure that that works and then we'll get you off and running here. Yep. >> Sounds good. Do you see the uh presentation, John? >> Yes, we do. So >> all right, fantastic. >> You're good to go. Thank you. >> All right. On
070the clock. Uh thank you very much. Appreciate the opportunity to be here. I really appreciate the opportunity to uh present remotely. Uh I was talking to John. I wasn't sure I was going to get back into Iowa time to get down there. And so, uh, I really appreciate the flexibility. Um, looking forward to, uh, the opportunity to talk to you about what we do. But, uh, I think most importantly, I'll just echo Greg. Uh, you've got, uh, three great firms to choose from. Uh, all with great Iowa connections leading the searches. Uh, so I know that'll be a difficult process. Um, our processes are all very similar. Uh, Greg actually did a great job explaining that. I'm going to take my time to tell you a little bit about uh why we might be a
071little bit different uh and what may distinguish us from the others. Um although like I said uh we all run fairly similar processes. Uh so I'll tell you a little bit about us and who I am. I'm going to really spend my time on that difference piece there. Um I'll walk really quickly through those five phases and then I'll leave some time at the end for questions. Sorry about that. Looks like she put a lot of transitions in for me here. Uh so uh we are firmly committed to making sure that uh each and every kid in each and every district that we work with uh has high quality leadership. Uh we understand the role that the search plays uh in finding you the right fit. So that's a word that I'm going to talk
072about um frequently as we go through uh our time here together. Uh a little bit about us. See if I can get these all up here for you. There we go. We uh we're a wellest established national firm. Uh we come to you out of Omaha, Nebraska. Uh we work uh in uh in all 50 states. Uh we have uh teams that are dedicated to the work in each of those states. Uh so I've got uh about 11 consultants uh here in Iowa that we work with. Uh but we also have access to a network of over 130 consultants uh throughout the country. Um that's especially beneficial when we get applicants that come to us from other states. uh gives us an opportunity to not only do the regular background check but also go through
073our network uh to get additional information about them. Uh we are a national recruiter uh but again we really focus on providing uh state level support. We recognize that in most states uh most districts are recruiting uh extensively from uh superintendents either in their state or in neighboring states and we understand that uh geography makes a difference uh and being local makes a difference. Uh we are uh very open to uh customizing the search based on what you need. Uh I'll just give you a quick example. Uh I worked with Liza Musketine up the road from you last year. Uh they were a little late to the game uh in getting started and so they had to compress their search process. Uh and so we were able to uh condense uh several of the phases
074down. uh they got a little worried uh that uh there were too many uh uh horses in the race out there, too many uh districts looking for superintendents and so uh they wanted to accelerate their process uh as we were going through and and working with the middle phases uh of the search. So we are very willing and able to customize the search so that it meets your needs. Uh stakeholder engagement uh Greg did a great job talking about this. Uh we use a very similar process. uh will work both uh in person uh with groups that you feel are uh going to give us the best uh feedback about what you need uh for your district so that we can establish that fit. We'll also do it electronically so that we've got uh access
075to people who don't have that ability to come in and meet with us in person. Um I'm going to come back to that track record because it's the thing I think that uh really uh distinguishes us and sets us apart. Um little background on me. Uh my name is Steve Merley. Um I come to you from up the road in Iowa City. Uh I served as superintendent for 18 years. Uh 10 of those in Iowa City. Failed retirement. I joined the faculty there. Uh I spent the last three years leading the uh masters in superintendent preparation programs. Um I just retired from that this past August. So I'm working on failing retirement again. Uh while I'll lead the search, um I also have the wonderful backing of an office uh in Omaha uh that provides
076all the logistics support for us. uh and uh does all of those procedural pieces. Uh again, as I mentioned, we've got 11 consultants here in Iowa. Uh they'll do everything from help me with uh the recruiting process to uh vetting candidates uh and if necessary, helping out as we go through any of the on the ground components, whether it's profile uh or uh the interview process. All right, this is the screen that I want to spend the most time on. And so the the numbers which might be a little hard for you to see the ones you need to understand are 510 and 15 and 80 60 and 40. Um as you look at that uh bar graph there uh 80% of the superintendents that we placed in the last 5 years across the country
077are still sitting in the same seat. 60% of the superintendents that we placed in the last 10 years are still sitting in the same seat. 40 year uh percent of the superintendents we have placed in the last 15 years are still sitting in their same seat. I since I started this process um I've been very fortunate none of the soups that I placed have left their district. They're still there. I part of that is uh due to the process and the fit. I think another part of that is due to the followup. Uh I'm still in regular contact with those folks uh and uh with their boards uh making sure that uh the fit continues to uh uh evolve and and transition as the school uh district uh the leadership and the board evolves uh
078so that uh that fit remains uh firm and effective for the kids. Um so again 80 60 and 40 510 and 15. Um to be honest with you I don't ever want to have to come back and see you again. I would just assume that uh whoever uh gets selected in place uh stays for that 10 or 15 year window uh and uh and serves you and the kids and by that time I won't be doing this anymore. And so uh that would be uh that would be my end result. Um as I said I spent 10 years in Iowa City and I know the difference that longevity makes. Uh and the longer you're in the district, the better understand the needs of the students, the staff, the community uh and uh the more effective
079uh you are as a leader uh in working with a board to guide the work of the district. I see if I can get all these to load quickly. There we go. Uh we work with district of all sizes. Uh so I did Loneree uh which is uh southwest of uh or southeast rather Iowa City. It's got 400 kids. Um also the the uh search firm has done uh Las Vegas uh has done uh um in states where they appoint uh the uh the head of the DPI or the department of education. We've done those searches. Um but by and large most of the searches we do are small districts and that's because most of the districts in this country are small districts and so u we've got a lot of experience with that. Uh
080we've got a lot of superintendents on our team who've worked in small districts and uh throughout the state and so they've got great contacts and and knowledge and understanding the concept uh context. Um I talked about sustainability of leadership before um that high degree of stakeholder involvement. Um I'm working on a search right now uh in Center Point uh north uh east of Cedar Rapids. Uh and uh we just finished the stakeholder involvement process there. um had a few hundred people that came in in person or uh via the electronic platform. Uh just met with their board president. Uh real pleased with the outcome uh and the really holistic nature of the profile that we were able to build based on that stakeholder involvement. Um already talked about uh customizing uh the process for you
081to meet your needs. Uh I have to talk to her about all these transitions. There we go. Um transparency throughout the process. Um, we're firm believers that uh trust starts with that transparency component. Um, we will work with you to make sure that uh you're comfortable as we go through the process uh in terms of the work that we're doing, but also in how we're broadcasting that to the community uh so that they can see their words in the profile. Uh they can hear uh uh their needs reflected uh in the posting that we put up uh and that they feel that they are part of the process. So the superintendent is the community superintendent uh and and not just a product of a a search done by the board. U we are fully aware
082that we work only for the board of education. Uh we don't have a stable of superintendent that we're trotting out and moving around from district to district or state to state. Our goal is to figure out what your profile is for your superintendent and then go out and use that to find candidates that are going to be a good fit for you. I think I mentioned Liza Musketine. I think one of the things that uh shown through in me in that process uh was that uh after we got done with the uh the semi-final screening, we actually had four candidates uh that came out and went through the open process. And it was because when we got to the end of that uh screening uh the board looked at the the six and had a
083hard time reducing it from six to five and then five to four and got down to four and couldn't reduce it beyond four because uh they really felt that we' brought them four candidates uh in any one of those four could serve as their superintendent. We are happy to provide you with references for other districts especially throughout Iowa that have been through the process uh and uh can give you feedback on the work that we do. There are five phases in our process. I'll go through these relatively quickly here. Uh and I uh they're fairly straightforward. They're fairly similar to what you heard from uh uh Ry and what you all hear from Grunm. I will meet with you. We'll make sure that uh we get the characteristics established. Uh we'll go through the stakeholder
084process to develop the profile. We will establish the search timeline that meets your needs. we backward map that we will make sure that we are advertising the places that we need to to get the folks in here that are going to fill out your applicant pool appropriately. I second phase there uh we're working with those stakeholders to develop that profile uh then to promote and advertise the position uh to make sure that uh we get all of the application materials in and set up for you so that it's easy for you to review them. That last one's really important. We actively recruit applicants. We're not just out uh putting an advertisement out there and seeing who shows up. Uh I've got a great network of superintendents uh throughout the state that I've worked with professionally.
085And then I've got a great network of folks that have gone through the graduate program uh at Iowa that I can reach out to uh and let them know that we're doing the search uh and either finding out if they're interested or more importantly finding out if they know other people who are. Reference checks as as Greg pointed out are even hotter topic now with what's going on in De Moines. Uh and so I not know that not only we do the standard reference checks but as we go through that process we like to go what we call three deep uh on our references to make sure that there are no surprises for you uh when we bring you a candidate. uh we uh we use the same uh or similar video process so that
086you can uh take those two-dimensional resumes and turn them into threedimensional pictures so you understand the candidates a little bit better. Um we'll help you with that selection uh when you go from the big pool down to six down to three. Uh we will work with you to make sure that the interview process meets your needs. That means customizing the interview questions and setting up the schedule for you. We'll be on site uh to help you navigate all the logistics that you have to go through. Uh and then the other thing that I think differentiates us is this FA ph space phase 5 piece. Um we are really uh committed to making sure that uh process does not end u with the selection. We want to make sure that the new superintendent is off to
087a good start. Uh we will work with you to make sure that you are comfortable setting performance objectives and measures for the soup for that first year. I will stay in touch with board president and the superintendent as we go through that process. Uh and we got a two-year guarantee. it doesn't work out and you wind up separating from that superintendent at some point in those first two years, we will come back and redo the search for free. Um I'm pleased to say I actually called the office today to ask if we'd had to use that in the near uh past. Uh and uh they actually couldn't remember a time when we have used it. So u really pleased to say that our fit has been uh successful and the folks that we've put in
088these positions u have been good matches with their district. Uh there's your all-in cost. Um we're a fan of the no surprises model. So, what you see up front is what you're going to get. Uh, and I it includes all aspects of it. Um, we also have a price match guarantee. So, if you see what you like and the price doesn't fit based on uh what any of the other bids are, um, we would be happy to talk to you about that. Uh, we have a couple of uh um strategic partners that we work with. uh K12 insight uh has some great uh AI powered communications tools that we can use both for stakeholder engagement as we go through it and with communication uh and innovate K12 uh has some uh amazing uh strategic planning
089tools uh that they've used with districts. So uh if those are things that come up as part of the process um we've got some great connections with them that we can help leverage on your behalf. All right, I was not watching my clock so I'm going to stop sharing here. I'm pretty sure I came under. Hopefully I came in under 15. Why don't I see anyone? I see myself twice. Sorry about that. Uh hopefully I came in under time, but if there's any questions you have, I'd be happy to answer those for you now. There we go. Now I see John. >> Yeah, Steve, I think you did good on time. So we'll just give the board a second if they have any questions. And if not, we'll uh we'll let >> Fantastic. >> I'm
090not seeing any questions, so I think you're good to go. I appreciate you coming in today. And >> absolutely. I appreciate you accommodating my travel plans and good luck with your selection process. >> Very good. We'll let you know what uh what the results of the the board are tonight. Thank you. >> All right. Thanks, John. >> Okay, we'll wait for that to transition back and then we have our last firm uh Grener Leader Services. We got a couple representatives here and I'll invite them up and pass out a handout they had for you. [clears throat] [cough] designated clicker. >> How are you? >> It's okay. We thought we'd wait for the president. [laughter] >> Excellent. >> It works. pull out. You all good? Ready to roll. Okay. Well, good evening. It's pleasure to be
091here tonight to visit with you about your superintendent search, talk to you a little bit about Grimmire Leader Services. I'm Art Sat. This is Dr. Kevin Feny. And I'll start out by just telling you a little bit about us. Uh Kevin had a 39-year career in K12 and higher education. Uh he was a teacher, principal, and superintendent for 30 years, college professor for nine. He has been with Dr. Grunm and GLS for more than eight years, and has done many, many searches in Iowa. Uh there there are times I joke about his age, but uh his longevity with with GLS has been uh awesome. He's been in really since the beginning of it. Uh he has a home in Centerville, which is near his grandkids, and he's actually regularly in a Tumbla for his grandchildren's
092activities. If I'm not mistaken, I think he finds uh excuses to stick around and eat and have ice cream after those activities, too, >> every time. And they let me pay. >> Uh a little bit about my background. and I had a a similar length of career in public ed. Uh teacher, coach, bus driver, activities director, principal, superintendent. Uh notably 24 of those years were at Peakin and Fairfield. And after I finished my three years as Fairfield superintendent, I went to Indianola as their superintendent for eight years uh before I retired and started working with Trent. Uh after that I went and did an interim superintendent position with Cedar Rapids Community Schools. And then this past year too I helped PCM out. They were in need of an interim and uh I'm currently living in
093Pella. So that was a a short drive. Uh and I mentioned those things specifically because I'm very familiar with this area. My wife and I raised our two sons in southeast Iowa. Uh lived just right around the corner for 24 years. And I also have a real appreciation for how larger school districts operate and some of the unique things there. So I think both of those would be uh very beneficial to a search if I got to work with you. Uh we are very proud to represent GLS to work closely with Dr. Grener. Uh he would be on this search as well. And uh we feel there are some definite reasons that GLS had 85% of the superintendent searches in Iowa last year for districts that used a firm. And we want to make sure
094that uh you have all of our information so you have our full PowerPoint in your folders and I think you also received a link for a video overview of our process. But we'll try to stick to highlights and be mindful of time and save a few minutes for questions at the end as well. Uh we do believe as as you heard from some other firms too that we are qualitatively different uh from other search firms and we're going to try to highlight a few of those things tonight. Uh so I will kick it over here to Kevin to speak a little bit about the people at GLS. >> Well, thank you for having us by the way and it is a pleasure to be here and uh not kidding. We spend our grandkids come over
095and play soccer a lot uh in a tuma. So, I've gotten to find the different restaurants and and you got a lot more than we do where we live. So, it's a good thing. Um GLS, this is the whole team. Uh for this particular search, it would be uh Art and I will will co-lead it and uh Trent will be part of this as well. And if we need additional assistance for whatever reason, we'll draw some. And uh there's there's former board members out of this group, uh superintendent, existing superintendent, uh past superintendents, some principles. It's kind of an eclectic group that has grown. And just so you know, when he when uh Art mentioned that I've been with uh Trent for for quite a while, uh there were there were four of us when
096when this started. uh and we we begged and graveled and got a few searches and and his process really has taken off and and hence um it's it's been great. Uh the way that we uh do it um oh should say something too that uh the the company has expanded and you may or may not know this into Missouri as well um because the the state association in Missouri uh selected Trent in his process. Uh so he has uh we don't go down and do searches there. They train uh using our process in Missouri. Uh which I think might be a benefit geography wise, but who knows? Um any case, the way we do it uh two uh uh people uh would be Art and I here. Uh then we have three people in the
097office that do a lot of the the busy work. Uh uh that's so important. Um there will will be some things that we'll talk about uh in a bit here that we really do think are a little bit different and and then we want to leave questions as well. >> Sure. >> All right. So, a little bit about the process and I'll I'll talk quickly. I mean here here's an overview and I think you have this as a separate handout. Uh we we feel like we run a very thorough and in-depth and well- definfined process, but flexibility is really important too because no two districts are exactly the same. And uh you know, we we've experienced a lot in our career in education and seen a lot, but we understand that uh that a tumba
098may have different needs than some other districts we work with. So we can talk through or adjust about anything. uh the the biggest element for success for you is fit. You know, finding somebody who's the absolute perfect leadership fit for a Toma and the whole process keeps that in mind. Uh we do use a a stakeholder survey process. This is an example of what the report that comes out of it looks like. We work with a trusted third party too. Uh this has advantages of course. We get input from your community uh which is really important and and we emphasize throughout the whole process too that the board will be making a decision but the feedback is really important. Um we do also create a a profile. We tailor this to the Iowa standards for
099school leaders since that's what this superintendent will be evaluated on. Uh and then we also identify personal characteristics that are important to you and to the community. And then before we ever publish this final report, we talk through it with the board. We make sure it's representative of what you want. We can edit it. Uh we use this throughout the process. This helps inform things as as mundane as writing questions, interview questions. We go back to those key qualifications continually. Uh this is also beneficial to the candidates. And I I don't think that's been mentioned tonight, but with your permission, we share this with the candidates. they look at it, they may decide they're not a perfect fit. And if they're not, we don't want to waste their time. Uh we certainly don't want to
100get a mismatch between a candidate and you. Uh we recruit very proactively. You know, the days of just kind of sitting and and waiting for somebody to apply. That's a little bit of a a luxury that we don't really have in education anymore. Uh the pools are tighter. We deliver very good pools. We we recruit. These are our our typical areas that every job we're hitting these. And I can tell you that Trent is incredibly active and well connected on social media to um he is uh on on Twitter, on LinkedIn a lot. I am quite a bit and lots of times I'm just forwarding his because he's all over it. >> Absolutely. >> Very well-connected guy. I don't know if you know Dr. Grener personally, but you'll enjoy getting to know him if we
101work with you. uh and we're we're pleased with the job we do uh that it it's listed just their personal calls and emails. We spend a lot of time and we have uh consultants all over the state very well connected and we meet as a team too and talk about the jobs. So, it's Kevin and and me that will be leading this search. Uh but we'll have uh a whole host of people supporting us too. So, we think this is important. We're going to work very hard recruiting if we get your search. And and the other thing just please notice too that we're an Iowa firm, plain and simple. Uh and but but we have a reach far outside of Iowa. Uh that we will get candidates from outside of Iowa. Whether that's good or
102bad, that's up for everybody to decide, but um it's not just Iowa, but that's what we specialize in. We are really pleased with our screening tools and uh we'll we'll talk more in depth obviously if we we get a chance or if you have questions but when somebody applies through our platform as part of the application process they complete three different screeners that work together to give us some great information and you may be familiar with the DISC uh those observable leadership behaviors. Uh we do the DISC and then uh the adaptive disk and then we add to that a values index and an attributes index. We partner with a firm out of West De Moines and uh here's another value added for your applicants. They get a about a 60page report um just about
103their their leadership style. That's excellent. And we have this in our back pocket to use with you when we get to that finalist stage. Uh we don't screen people out with this, but this can be a tiebreaker or a fit thing again. Um and we we really want to give you as much objective data and run as objective a process as we can. And this is one part of it, those screening tools. >> The the other thing about that piece of it is is and and Art will get to the onboarding part after a candidate's selected. Um we we go through this in detail with the the candidate and with um the board the board members as well. So that it's a it's a tool. There's no panacea or laying of hands. That doesn't work.
104It it's it's a piece of information that we found to be extremely useful. And we do a a social media screen as well on your finalists. Look back seven years just for for any flags. Uh sometimes we have boards who somebody doesn't have much of a social media profile. They're perfectly fine with that. We don't really want our our superintendent bothering with that. Other places your your superintendents, your kind of one of your main cheerleaders are really involved in social media. That's important. But you'll be able to look back over seven years and see are there any flag post? What kind of activity has the activity changed over years? It's it's a pretty interesting tool too that we use with finalist. Uh we use mixed interview groups. I haven't heard that addressed tonight, but we
105think this is extremely important. Uh we we like this because uh you get again broad representation from your stakeholders. We'll have in the same interview team uh the same room, you know, people from your community, students, teachers, support staff, administrators. Now, of course, the board is their own interview group, but we'll use multiple mixed interview groups. We like the representation it gives. There also are some other very good reasons for doing this. I can tell you one as a as a past applicant, different places. If you have a savvy applicant and they're talking with support staff here, teachers here, administrators here, board here, they they can adjust their message. They can speak differently to different groups. I'm not saying that they would just tell somebody what they want to hear, but it's it's human nature.
106So, we think it keeps the applicants honest to to speak to this mix group. Uh we also think that it takes a little bit of pressure off the board because I I've seen those situations where well, the teachers really liked this person the most, but that's not who the administrators liked or the board liked. Uh we have them all together, but we still disagregate the data. we we uh get individual feedback from every person that participates and we we get that to you. So, you will be able to look and see, oh, the teacher this person really resonated with the teachers. >> Um you'll be able to make those comparisons, but it's it's kind of a a unifying thing to have those mixed interview groups. >> And I truly when I started with Trent, I
107thought he was crazier than Bed Bug with this one. And I have a real regret that I didn't use these when I was an administrator for the very reason that you can't craft an answer for the person that's sitting across from you because they're all different and it really has been effective and and we've gotten very good at facilitating uh those mixed interview groups too. I I've had groups as big as 28. That's a little big. It'd be nice. It's nice to be around 20 and then have multiple groups if you need. But we have we've done all kinds of schedules and groups and uh that's that's something we will work through with you. But we think that's that's a difference. We really hang our hat on that. >> And it's important that you you
108you folks will be the ones that select members of those teams if if we work with you. We don't know your community. You'll we'll we'll we'll give you a process that'll help you, but you have to pick those people. >> Yeah. We'll give you things to think about. >> We also uh do a really good job with our pre-negotiation efforts. We have a this is a sample form we work through with candidates. By the time they're a finalist, we're going to know kind of what their expectations are. We're going to know their families on board. We will have already talked with you about salary range benefits. This is a a perfect time now with an outgoing superintendent, a new person coming in. Review that contract. Do you have it right where you want it? Do
109you need to make changes? And then there are no surprises uh when we get ready to go make an offer. Uh I can tell you how how it ideally goes and how it's gone. And I think just about every search I've been on, uh, we come out of deliberation with you in close session, you have your preferred candidate, we go into open session, you move to empower us to make an offer to the preferred candidate. We call the person and uh, more often than not, we get an immediate acceptance. Everybody's on the same page. Uh, there's not a lot of bickering back and forth or surprises. Um, lots of times it's done that same night. Uh, and that's that's just ideal. Now, of course, if they want time to think about it, you know, can
110can I have another day to talk to my spouse or whatever, we're not going to say no. >> But we really encourage those conversations to take place prior to them showing up to interview with you. The one up there that you really pay attention to, please, would be the family commitment. Um because truly, if the the of all the searches I've worked in the last eight years, we lost one. And that was because the the spouse said that, "Yeah, this was great." But then when the offer came through, no way in God's green earth am I moving there. They didn't have an honest conversation. Um so we ended up with the second which and was a great candidate. It all worked out. But we really push them and if the number comes back at a
111four or five, we get on the phone and find out what's going on. Are you really serious about this job? We don't want to get to the end and and then you think you're going to turn it down. >> And honestly, if it's not a nine or a 10, we're probably calling and asking why. And sometimes uh sometimes the the spouse is more than welcome to come to those formal interview days. We'll set them up with realtors. We'll set them up with chamber of commerce. You know, whoever they want to talk to, we'll we'll make sure they have whatever they need in that day to feel comfortable. Uh we facilitate throughout the whole process. Uh we really have a lot of expertise and we want people to feel good about the process. The feedback we
112get is important. That's slides 10 and 11. Um, and we also, uh, like you've heard other firms say, are very sensitive to the background checking. And I feel like we've always done a a good job, a thorough job, but, uh, we have partnered with third degree screening, too, to do a very deep dive on candidates as well. So, I I hope any search firm that you entertain would do a competent job of this. And of course, some of that is going to fall back on you too, on the district, you know, and and I think E-Verify is great. Uh we have to learn how to do it. Districts have to learn how to do it correctly. Uh the I9 issue that you've heard about some of that falls on the district, but we're going to
113try to make sure there are no surprises. >> Help with that. Yeah, I got out of order here, Art, I'm sorry. Talk about the No on boarding. >> Yeah. Uh this this is another thing. Um on boarding, I think we do exceptionally well and we have an onboarding day in July. It's scheduled already for July 7th. We have great partners in ISF, Margaret Buckton, Larry Seagull. Uh they get together, they give legislative updates, they work with your district's budget data. We partner with Denovo who comes in and talks about facilities and facility planning. Uh we talk through our report, our screeners that we do. And um we have had the CFO or SBO come in with the superintendent. Uh we also have the CFO do the same screeners as the superintendent so we can make
114sure they're a tight team. This year we're going to invite board presidents as well and that's just an incredibly useful day. Uh we help superintendents set their initial goals. We follow up with them. We would do a facilitated um evaluation process of the superintendent with the board. I've done a number of those. uh and we do that in the first year for a very nominal fee and then we would keep doing it for a little more if you wanted. That's been extremely positive. Um so we like other firms, we want whoever you select to succeed. Uh I mean obviously it's it's a feather in our cap if we get the right person for you and they they come in here and and things are great from the start. >> Yep. Uh I'll kick it over
115to Kevin for a little bit on on communication. Hopefully I talk quickly enough to keep us on schedule there. Kevin, >> well I think we're probably gonna Yeah. I don't know. You were close. Uh I forgot to start the stopwatch on time. My bad. Uh real quickly, uh communication throughout the process is important. I'll just cut to the chase. Uh and combine a couple of things here. Um every Monday morning, whoever your design is will receive an email from one of our staff people that will send a copy of the uh applicant materials that came in the previous week. You will see those all the way through the process with our process. Um, you won't get confidential recommendations. That comes later, but you will see their cover letter their and their resume and their written
116letters of recommendation. So, you can you can kind of track all the way through where your pool's at. And then we'll also tell you that, okay, we had two this week, but there are eight that have started because we can see that. All right. Um, and then candidate narratives and disclosures. That's straight from the application. and we'll share those uh towards the end. And then all of the stuff that uh that Art was talking about, you do see the materials on every candidate. We don't sort and select uh for you. Uh we provide suggestions. We'll put them into tiers. These are the people that we believe most closely align with what you have identified as your desired skills and qualifications. That guides the process with the way we do it. It just does. Um and
117then you can decide. And very rarely does a board ever say, "Yeah, we'll take those three at the top for sure." I mean, it you've seen the materials. We're going to share you with you a whole bunch of other material. Uh this is one that we do uh that I I I do want to talk about just for a second. Uh candidate summary report. Uh this is the the stuff that you won't see in the written recommendations. This is the stuff that we found out through phone calls. It's confidential references. And I I'm sure you all know that a written recommendation that's handed to the candidate may look different than the confidential one that the candidate doesn't see. And we share that with you through this document. And if there's any issues with lure or
118a person had a possession of alcohol back when he was 19, it's going to show up. You get to decide if that's a factor or not. Okay. Uh there's our cost and and I don't know if Art talked about it, but uh we regularly are not the cheapest and yet we still uh get a lot of work and part of that is is the reputation of of the firm in a short amount of time that Trent has built is has been very successful. Um >> I can piggyback on that just a little bit. You know, uh it hasn't always been the case. You hear more firms saying this now that this is the all-in maximum price. That's the way Grunmire Leader Services has always done it. I've seen firsthand. Uh a different search firm um
119was going to charge a district more to come out and and be around for semi-finalist interviews. Okay. We we do no nickel and dimming uh no extra charges. We feel like we provide this is what it is >> a good value and that the the quality and value are unmatched. I mentioned earlier, you know, 85% of the districts in the state that used a firm last year picked us. And I would just say that as a board, you know this. I know David knows this. He's been through it before. The most important thing you do is hire a superintendent. And in a multi-million dollar budget, I I hope I'm I have confidence in Mike that it's not the case that you have to worry about $2,000 in this kind of decision. But if you do,
120I'm confident there are other places you can save $2,000 if you need to. So, I hope, you know, I hope it doesn't come down to that. If it does, I understand. I understand being responsible taxpayers, money, everything else. But we are um we are extremely committed consultants. We love working with boards. We love contributing to the profession and uh Trent uh just runs a very quality process. So, it is >> we feel like it is a a good value for you. >> And any question, we're just going to shut off our part because we're already probably over anyway. Um, apologize for that. Art talks too much. >> If Kevin had done slides four through 14, >> you would be on slide five right now. That's why we No, I'm just [laughter] just kidding. But no,
121we we would like >> we enjoy our work and together, by the way. So, that's good. Uh, any questions that we can give you? We would encourage you to see the video that was sent out to you if you haven't seen it. It's it's a good one. And then in your in your uh folders is the full presentation if it was a longer time period as well as the slides that we went through. A lot more information in there. So yeah, anything for us otherwise we're going to give you business cards because Trent buys them for us and so we just I hate leaving them down at like Hardies or anything. So anyway, Okay. Okay. mention to uh we'll be uh if you make a a choice tonight, we'll be at ISB uh in a
122booth. Kev and I will be there. We'll hit the ground running. You can call, you have our cell phones, you can call anytime. We'll we'll start planning uh if you want us to work with you. >> Okay. So we need to uh make a decision. We have three qualified firms. Um so I guess probably start discussion. Anybody has questions, recommendations, anything? We probably should discuss this. >> Yeah. I got a question. >> Yeah. is Hey, John. Are we actually picking the firm tonight is the question. >> Yes. And I was I was just given uh the folks from Grimmmeire a chance. They were going to pack up and then the board can kind of discuss the the three candidates. And yeah, you we can go ahead and pick tonight or the board can decide to
123to table it and and come back. Um kind of your decision, but I think uh we've built some of the initial schedule based on on picking one tonight and then we could get rolling. But obviously if the board has more questions, uh you're more than welcome to to take your time and work with whatever schedule you need. >> Well, in the essence of time, um because we don't have another board meeting for a while, so I think to uh push the schedule to get this out and get working with a firm, I would I would like to pick one tonight. >> I agree. Um just to get the conversation started then I would say um I like all three of them. They're very professional. I think they would do a good job. They have a
124very similar process. Um my first choice is my god. Let me make sure I get their name right. Rain Associates just because that's who this group has experience working with. Um they obviously found us a great candidate the first time around. Um so that would be my first choice only based on that. I didn't there's nobody that I wouldn't work with. I thought they all did a good job, but if I have to pick one of the three, it would be them and that's why. >> Okay. And I have been through this a few times. Um, I have worked with Brain Associates, of course. We hired Mike using them. Uh, I've also used McFerson Jacobson. No problems there either. So, judging comparing the two, they all addressed it. They're all fairly similar and they probably
125they have their own little differences, but I would agree both experiences were pretty similar. Um, Mike, I guess the question for you, and I'm not trying not to put you on the spot, but I'm going to a little um, have you had much uh, or heard much or anything for personal experiences with any of the firms? >> Um, all three I think you guys have touched on a lot of the good points. Uh, all three have their pros and cons. Um, uh, Grenmyer would be they do a majority of the searches in Iowa, particularly probably small smaller districts. They're starting to expand more into the larger districts. Uh, the two other search firms uh, are probably more uh, national search firms, too. So, they they not only do Iowa, but many other states, like uh,
126Gruner mentioned, they're they're starting to expand into um, Kansas, actually Missouri. Um but they don't go probably much further than that. They do a few in Texas and so forth, but uh so they all uh do a lot of searches. Uh you have two really large search firms that do a lot of searches nationally and then you have one that is more regional. >> I really I thought all three were were fine. I I thought the last guys here, this grandmother seemed a little more relable. I mean, just, you know, with the the one gentleman being in Fairfield and then in India Indianola, you know, I mean, I think both of those districts are, you know, one's a little bit smaller in India. It's very similar to ours. Um, but there's just something about him
127that seemed a little more authentic or genuine. And I realize it's hard to make a real good sales pitch in 15 minutes and especially when you're trying to do it behind a Zoom camera like the one guy was. But um the other thing that and again spending taxpayers money so maybe I'll get killed for this but these guys were the only ones that didn't do that price match thing and you know they are smaller. It sounds like they you know work in smaller markets and um I think to not I mean especially to go last and uh have to when the two people ahead of you said they're going to price match and they didn't. I mean that they're not, you know, they believe in what they're doing. Um, and I think it's catered to
128smaller districts and I just I don't know there's something that just they felt and I wanted to ask you with them not being in the building. I mean, do you with that guy being a art being a former superintendent, do you know him from >> Yeah. >> things and >> Mhm. >> Yeah. >> Art Art's been uh very well known. >> Yeah. Yeah. Okay. >> And Dusty, I don't disagree. Um, I went in tonight thinking I had one strong front runner that was head and shoulders above everybody else. And after listening to everybody, I don't think we can go wrong with any of the three. Um, I'm kind of like Christina. I had an affinity towards Ray and Associates because we used them last time. I thought they did a really good job. We got
129Mike out of the deal. Um, really no complaints with them, but listening to the other two that presented, I'm not going to be disappointed no matter who we choose. >> I agree. >> Yeah, I agree. had all the same thing. All three were really good. Um, Grunm really impressed me at the end with their presentation. Um, the one thing with the Ray and Associates, I really like them, too. Um, the one thing that really kind of concerns me if we go down the slippery slope, but they were involved with the Ian Roberts deal out east, I believe, right? Um, they brought him to the district before uh before De Moine hired him, I believe, out in >> Pennsylvania. uh Pennsylvania Mills Township. So, I just don't don't know just if you and I'm sure that'll
130be questions that people would ask of us that we were aware of that if we do end up going with them. Um but like I said, obviously they they do a lot of good work. They got us Mike. So, um, but I think it's one thing that should be brought up, um, if we're going to be if we're all three real close. >> And I'm sure after that, every firm is going to be more diligent with their background checks. Um, >> I think I would for you, Mike. Sorry, Brian. >> Um, had we not picked Rain Associates five years ago, whatever that was. Um, and we picked Gruntyer or McFersonson Jacobson. I'm assuming your name's still in there. You're applying with them for this job. Is that fair to say? >> Yeah. No, that would
131be fair, Dave. Yeah. >> I mean, it wasn't one where they reached out to you specifically to say you need to apply for this. You you saw it and said, "I want that." >> So, okay, perfect. >> So, I agree with pretty much what everybody else has said. I just I think uh agree with Dusty. I think Gren and I are there at the end. Um I guess I would say it's a sales pitch, but they they sold me I think. So u and I was saying was Morgan I come in come in this thing I think having one on my mind and I think I just I got turned around. So um I don't know if I got bought into it or what but I like Ronda Meyer. So, I guess where we're at
132is we need a motion and we need to vote and then we'll see how that goes as opposed to if we need to have another motion. >> So, I'll make the motion then that we hire Grunmy Leader Services for our search firm. Is that what I'm hearing? I believe >> second. >> Okay. I have a motion and a second for Grunm. Further discussion. All right. All in favor raise your right hand. Opposed. Motion carries. >> Get her done. >> So Mike or John, will you reach? Okay. Thank you. >> All right. Next item on the agenda, superintendent report. >> Dave, I I don't have any updates this evening for the board. Okay. U move on to board member topics. Anyone have anything? >> If nothing um >> availability for some nurses out at I can
133only speak to Eisenhower, but I don't know what the elementary schools nurse the staffing for nurses. >> Yeah. >> At the elementary schools, I don't know what that looks like. I know at at Eisenhower it's very minimal. Okay. Um >> and I think there's some overwhelm. >> Yeah. Mike Mike Steamwell oversees our nursing so he can answer. >> Yeah. Um I can tell you u what we do is we look at uh office or office nurse visits in every single one of the buildings and we kind of parse out where those are and that's how we look at primarily designating where our nurses are attending. We also look at other things that are high health needs. Um like uh for for some reason at one time we had a large number of students with diabetes
134in a certain grade level >> and we had to allocate a lot more services because of the of the health needs. So really the two things that we look at is what the frequency of visits are in any one of the um nurses stations and then we also try to examine and anticipate any of the significant health needs that are coming through uh to make sure that we have the right kind of nursing support to meet those needs. >> And if there's not a nurse in the nursing station >> then we have yeah we have >> they'll get logged. We have health associates that fill in >> [clears throat] >> uh that are under the supervision of the nurses um in different nursing stations. >> Okay. >> So, is there somebody in every building then
135all day long? >> Not in every building all day long. Um but almost every building. >> It's my understanding there's maybe like a day a week at at Eisenhower. I'd have to pull my I can get you the actual schedule of what we have in every one of the buildings. I don't have it in front of me though. >> But I think the some of the people that are asked to handle that role when the nurse isn't there aren't completely confident in that. I mean just there's some students that have some particular needs there. Um, I don't know how much I can say, but yeah, there's there's some things I don't I don't know if they're trained for, >> okay, >> looking for certain things, you know, seizures and things like that. >> Um, but
136yeah, I had just popped in there today. I had to pick my son up cuz he was ill and there was three kids in the well the the nurseless nurses station and you could just tell there was some >> uh there's some anxiety and stuff of the staff trying to do that job that I don't think they're real comfortable doing or know how to do and know how to console kids that are some are over overwhelmingly screaming and you know just >> I meet with our head nurse uh once a month and we can go ahead and make sure we re reexamine on all of our uh uh office visit data again. >> Okay, >> thank you. >> Any other questions about nurses or any other topics? Board member topics. If not, next item on
137the agenda is adjournment. >> Motion to journ. Second. Got a motion and a second. All in favor, raise your right hand. We're adjourned.