Urbandale CSD School Board Meeting 04.27.26

001When you have your last name >> All right, it's 6:01 on Monday, April 27th, and I'll call our meeting to order. Roll call. Horton Here. Howser Here. Kent Here. Santizo Here. Fenris White Here. Williams >> Here. Young Here. Thank you, Julie. I have a motion to approve the agenda. Do you have any changes to the agenda? I do want to pull an item that I have been waiting on 11 D. I had hoped to have some information tonight that I don't have yet, so I'd like to pull that and revisit that at a future meeting. Not too far in the future, but So moved with the exception of 11 D. Howser Okay. Williams second. Williams Yes. All in we say I. I. Opposed, nay. And will you read up the mission and vision? Yes. Our

002district mission is to teach all and reach all. Our district vision is Urbandale will be a school district that brings learning to life for everyone. And our school board mission is to partner with stakeholders to teach all and reach all through governance of board policy and operating protocol. Today we have a special treat. Ashley Myers is here to talk about our preschool program. And friends. All right, I'm Ashley Myers. I'm the preschool director. Um and I'm going to introduce Miss Dory Hauser. She's one of our preschool teachers from Olmsted. And then Britney Winship, she's our instructional coach for preschool. And Mr. Ben Adams, he's our 4-year-old teacher at Valerius. And then Roxanne Smith, she's a 4-year-old at Olmsted. So I'm going to share just a little bit of highlights from the preschool program to start

003out with. And then the teachers and Miss Britney are going to share some of the exciting things they've been doing in the classroom this year. All right. So first off, I just since we have some new board members, I just kind of want to do an overview of what we offer here for preschool in Urbandale. So in Urbandale, we offer half-day and full-day options at Webster, Valerius, and Olmsted. And then we also offer the wrap-around care for threes and before and after school care for threes and fours. So that's something that we're pretty proud of that we've been offering for almost 20 years, all the different options here in Urbandale. Um I just put some that we're serving approximately 214 kids this year. Um I also noted on there that a lot of people don't

004know that we are also partners with St. Pius and Sacred. So they offer statewide voluntary preschool through us for students that attend there as well. Um just put some fun facts about funding sources on there that you may not know about. Um we offer the statewide voluntary preschool for 4-year-olds. Um we support our funding through parent fees, ECI dollars, and then our some of our families use uh HHS funding for that child care assistance as well. Um all of our preschool classrooms are fully inclusive, so we serve all of our levels of special um education in the gen ed environment. Um so all of our services we we could might pull to the side in the classroom to provide some specially designed instruction, but we mostly push in all the services within that with the

005within the classroom model. Um we support ELO students, and um we we also provide some assistance to families that qualify for free and reduced. Just put a couple of notes there that we follow the Creative Curriculum, which is a curriculum that focuses on serving the whole child um or meeting the needs of the whole child. Uh we look at the areas of language, literacy, math, science, physical, and social skills. Um we really uh we really like part of our social emotional curriculum, that's one of our the top areas where we want to teach kids in preschool so that they're ready for kindergarten. Um but we also use a handwriting curriculum, Oregon Math for Math, and then we incorporate some um and then the instructional seeds instructional framework as well in the classroom. And our students

006are assessed through observation, which that's the Gold Online assessment tool that we use, and the teachers do checkpoints through Smart Teach three times a year. And currently we have on our instruction or our strategic plan, we have goals in the area of literacy, math, and social emotional learning. And right there you can see that right now or at our winter checkpoint time in March, 90% of our students were meeting or exceeding in literacy, 88% were exceeding or meeting or exceeding in math, and 86% were exceeding or meeting or exceeding in social emotional learning. One other areas that I wanted to highlight is the kindergarten fall FAST assessment. So, the kindergarten is this year that attended preschool last year in Urbandale, um on the the reading FAST assessment in the fall, 78% that attended our program

007were meeting or exceeding in that area, compared to the 56% of students that didn't attend preschool with us. They may have attended somewhere else, but they didn't attend here in Urbandale. Um and then for math, 81% of the students that attended with us were meeting or exceeding in the area of math versus 70% that attended elsewhere or didn't attend at all. So, those are great scores. And then tonight, we're going to kind of showcase the following areas: the use of learning targets and success criteria in preschool, teaching social skills and peer interactions in the preschool classroom, some of the journaling we work we did, and language development strategies that the teachers have taken from the Be Glad training. All right, so we have been working really hard on learning targets and success criteria this year.

008A lot of our professional learning has been around it, so I just wanted to show how we are helping our preschool students see what learning they're getting this year. And so, this is an example for like story time, when they're learning the parts of the story, I can tell what the title is, I can tell the characters of the story. So, these might be types of visuals that the teachers would provide for the students during that learning. Um this is an example of a classroom where they were teaching the kids how to use the storyboard to follow along with the story and these are their success criteria for the students and being able to use that story board with with them in the classroom. Social emotional learning learning how to get someone's attention is something

009that we teach at the beginning of the year and then those are their success criteria steps of being able to look at their friends, say their name, if their friend's not looking give them a tap on the shoulder and then keep on trying. And then here are some examples of things that might be out in centers with the toys that the kids might play with. So the top one they're working on counting and matching numerals. So they have the you got to find your parts, count and match them and then sorting down below. And then also just in center time in general knowing the expectations of oh I need my my center name, I need to choose a center, I need to play with my toys and then I need to clean up when I'm

010done as well as the expectations of like how loud can I talk during that time. So these are just some examples of how the teachers are making the learning visible for their students in their classroom. With our age group the a lot of them don't have the executive functioning skills to be able to give up a highly preferred item or just any item in general. Same with some adults but no we we give them a script and also a visual so that they can use that during center time or like any time throughout the day in order to be able to share and we practice that both like we teach it to them and then we also have them practice it with something we call buddy play where they're teamed up with a tub and

011then we also practice it under supervision during center time just so that we can see it happening and make sure that everything is going well. We have a video of it happening. Yeah this is the link oops. It worked. We'll just like you saw it. But anyway, it just was talking to the language of the kids actually using the words of Hopefully my other videos work. Um and then I I had the opportunity this year to do a coaching cycle on journaling to improve our journaling with our students and what it would look like for them um and help them understand why we're doing what we're doing. And so um through the course of our uh cycle, we taught how to think of an idea and one of the ways we did that was by

012using our sentencing patterning which we learned from the Be Glad training. And um so we generated some of those ideas and then um they would draw their picture. Um then they would write about it and then they would be able to tell um tell us how or what they drew and and how they um what they were talking about it. And then we used um the bottom picture is the tools that they would have. We taught them how to use those tools at their table spot for the shapes on how to use their shapes to draw your picture. And then the alphabet board um as they were sounding out their words in writing. And we have a couple of samples of like a before and after. The snowman was before the the cycle and the

013segment was after the cycle. So you can see how they increase of their writing. Um just the more details in the picture but then also their writing um being able to tell about it. That was one and then here is another example. The snowman was before the training. The building was after the training. So. And it's still increasing. It's it's really amazing. It's it's fun to see that growth. I tried to sound out what that what that says. Can you read it for me? Yeah, it says my my house um has windows. That's the first line. My house um has a door. a door. And then he even added um when he was telling about he even added that it has shutters. It has shutters and it also has a doorknob. So, he got very

014descriptive in in um what he did, so it was lots of fun to see that growth during that cycle. I'll share the slideshow it with all the board members that have the videos in it. Well, the video is um a 3-year-old classroom and we um took kind of our training from Be Glad and we thought how can we incorporate this for threes? Um so, we that sentence structure and that game, we're like, "Let's do it. Let's make a story." So, for preschool a lot of times a story can be just a sentence um and we really thought about, "Okay, who's going to be in your story?" So, there's different columns and you would read it from left to right. Who's in your story? What are they doing? Where are how? And then what is happening?

015And we put those pictures um with it. Um that way even our ELLs or non-verbal students um can participate. We also made adaptive one where if a student if that's too many choices, they can just pull one off and then put it down on the bottom. And so, we can read it and the kids think it's so much funny like so much fun because they're like, "The princess was building chicken nuggets in space." Um and so, we do this during our snack time to like really help promote that language um especially again those students who are learning English for the first time and then our students who might have a speech and language goal. Um we also then took this paper and we shared it during conferences um and kind of told parents that this

016is another way you can talk with your students and help um promote that vocabulary and you know, just have fun and it's a simple thing you can keep in your car and do on the go. And that's it. Thank you. I'll pass it over to Dr. Becker. I Thank you. I just have one item and that is to remind people to register. Staffing is based on registration. We have I think Stephanie is here. We had over 300 register in the last few weeks, so I think it's getting better, but we want to make sure everybody registers before we go away for the summer so that we have accurate counts. Okay. Student representative report. So last week was ISAS. Uh we And this week, too. Yeah. So last week there were 2 days of uh tests

017in the mornings and the same thing for this week as well. No progress. Yeah. Fancy Um and then also we have prom this weekend. So we're just everyone's getting excited for that and I know there's some senior like breakfast and stuff happening for our last few weeks. We're just ready for the new year. What's the theme again? Uh night at the bayou. And what was the Isn't there a After prom. After prom West Wild West. Prom at the Science Center again? Yep. And after prom at the high school. That sounds fun. Was that the extent? Yeah. All right. So we're ready for public comment. Um we do have um a lot of people here this evening, and so we have um I've divided everything up into two groups. So we're going to ask the students

018to make their way to the podium. If you guys can make a single file line. Um if you've signed up for public comment, I'll have the students do this first. Um and then when the students are all finished, we'll go ahead and ask um the community the uh, members who signed up for public comment to make their comments. So, when you come up, go ahead and students you can come on up. Um, and organize yourselves however you like. I'll just mark your name off the list. Um, and if you can just give us your name and address and then, feel free to make your comments. Um, I'll go ahead and read a quick statement first. Um, that's something that we do before public statement at, um, all board meetings. Uh, please note that you have

019about 3 minutes and Steve is going to be timing it. >> I'll time you. I'll give you a 10-minute 10-second warning. So, um, so public comment, thank you all for coming tonight. Board policy limits comments to 3 minutes per speaker. Uh, for confidentiality reasons, the board cannot discuss specific personnel matters. Uh, we appreciate your comments. Uh, the board has a significant interest in maintaining the decorum of its meetings and expects the members of the public and board will address each other with civility. The orderly process of the board meeting will not be interfered with or disrupted by public comment. Only individuals recognized by the board president will be allowed to speak and comments by others are out of order. If disruptive, the individual causing disruption may be asked to leave the board meeting. Defamatory comments

020may be subject to legal action. So, now that I've taken care of that piece of work, go ahead and introduce yourself and please feel free to make your comments. Hello school board. My name is Aiden Lair. Um, my address is 912 Southeast Clover Drive and I'm an open enrolled senior at Urbandale High School. As a student leader, I'm the drum major for the Jayhawk marching band, a four-year all-stater, a National Merit Finalist, and the vice president of National Honor Society. From my experiences as not only a lead student leader in academics and music, but as an open enrolled student coming into the district, the music programs have to stay funded so students keep enrolling in the district and so the leaders of the school stay high achieving. Students enroll in Urbandale because of the high

021achieving music program. Before Urbandale, my family was enrolled in Dallas Center Grimes schools. However, we needed a flexible and strong music program that DCG could not offer us. We consulted my French horn teacher, a professor at ISU and a professional musician, who actively advises families on the most competent pro- music programs in the Des Moines metro. He pointed to Urbandale as one of the best schools where my fam- my family would thrive at, so we trusted his experience and open enrolled here. Students like me don't just appear. We choose where to go based off the strength of the programs offered. Programs like Urbandale's concert band are the reason my family families like mine open enrolled here. Each open enrolled students uh represents funding this district chooses to earn. Once a student in the music programs

022um at Urbandale, the culture and the technical focus creates excellent student leaders. Each director brings a professional musician background and the qualities of an empathetic leader. Through my musical mentors, I was pushed towards positions of leadership I otherwise might have passed up. As a freshman, I auditioned for a drum major not because I thought I could make it, but because the director at the time, Mr. DePuy, believed in me. Now I've worked alongside directors for 2 years as drum major at the 150-student marching band. Leading such a large and diverse ensemble taught me of my worth as a leader. When hearing National Honor Society leadership positions, I felt prepared to lead because of the many NHS applicable traits like confidence in managing contrasting personalities. Many leaders that you work with regularly lead the entire school

023body because of their experiences within the music department. That growth, going from uncertain freshman to drum major to vice president of the National Honor Society, is what the this program produces. It starts with uh keeping it funded. Funding for the music department drives enrollment within the district and student body achievements. Families looking to open enroll have many options. Urbandale is just one school district among many. I chose this program because of the thriving music program. Without continued investment in the music program, students like me will choose other districts over Urbandale. The decision to support Urbandale's music program and enrollment starts here. When open enrolled students like me are choosing between districts, the presence or absence of a band director is exactly what we're looking for. I won't be the last student to make that call.

024Thank you. Thank you, Aiden. >> My name is Gwendolyn Van Tigher. My address is 8028 Maple Drive. Thank you, Gwendolyn. Good afternoon, school board members. My name is Gwendolyn Van Tigher, and I'm a senior percussionist at the high school. I'm speaking today to urge you to fill the middle school band director position because I believe that all future students should be provided the opportunity to explore band in a program that is supported rather than neglected. I joined band in elementary school and continued through to middle school. Percussion was intimidating to me because you had to learn more than one instrument. For this reason, I am incredibly grateful to be provided support by three amazing directors. I would was given lessons from Miss Schultz, Miss Munson, and Mr. Andrews. They were patient in teaching me increasingly

025higher levels of music. They built up my confidence in my musical ability and striped and stripped my fear of becoming more involved in the arts at the high school. From my middle school lessons, I have carried one skill with me through every single day. In my lessons, I was pushed to play past my mistakes and just keep going. As a 12-year-old perfectionist, this was a challenge for me, but now anytime I have a concert, solo, or general stress in my life, I'm reminded because of what my middle school band directors told me, "Just keep going." I would have never increased my involvement in the arts without being taught strong musical skills by educated adults at the middle school. Throughout my experience at the high school, I have about maxed out my arts participation. I have

026taken art exploration, 3D art, 2D art, and photography, and I have participated in choir, show choir, the All-State vocal process, band, jazz band, honor band, show choir band, percussion ensemble, and drumline, in addition to vocal and band solos. Upon being provided band lessons at the high school, I have learned the importance of instructors that specialize for your instrument. Percussion instructors that have been supported that have supported me for being hired by Urbandale bands are Matt Hoskins, McKenzie Flat, Jordan Gould, Katie Barnhart, Ryan San Diego, and John House. These instructors have drastically improved the performance abilities of our growing percussion section at the high school, as well as cultivating a positive environment that makes the section feel like a family. I have heard from many people that they wish to join the percussion section because of

027the sense of community, which is supported through our instructors. In observing this, I realized that the more support provided for musicians, the more students aspire to participate. Personally, I have been approached by middle schoolers and freshmen claiming that they were thinking about quitting band until they experienced the joyful support of percussion leaders. Percussion has grown to be the biggest section, and I believe that the directly important >> And I believe that that directly correlates with accessibility to supportive specialized staff. I personally ask that you will consider what I have voiced as you determine the ability for this program to grow to its full potential. Thank you. Uh my name is Aileen McLaren. My address is 7943 Beachwood Court. Thank you, Aileen. Hello, my name is Aileen McLaren, and I am a senior at Urbandale High

028School. Eight years ago, I decided to join band. I played the French horn in my my elementary school and I continued to play in middle school. Moving up to middle school was quite stressful for me. I was a very introverted kid and almost all of my friends either had different classes or were on a different schedule due to COVID restrictions. I felt isolated, out of place, and every day I felt less and less encouraged to go to school. I ended up finding my sanctuary in the band room. Miss Munson, Miss Schultz, and Mr. Andrews were incredibly kind and patient towards me, no matter how shy or antisocial I appeared. They encouraged me in many activities and they still hold a place in my heart today. The music department has helped pave the way for my

029success as a student and its contribution to my life is the reason I'm standing here today. Mrs. Schultz's position is incredibly important for the development of students and a decision against filling her position would be detrimental to the music department, students, and the district as a whole. Music is one of the most interest intrinsic aspects of communication for humans, allowing students to have an emotional outlet that can't be explored any other way. Music is one of the required classes to be taught in grades 1 through 6, placing music classes alongside other fundamental subjects like science, language arts, and mathematics. Middle school is a very important time for students and the transition between elementary and high school can be very rough. I know for me it was. If music is held at such a high standard

030in elementary school, why would we reduce access to it in middle school? The loss of this teaching position decreases the development of vital skills such as communication, perseverance, and collaboration in students. I have met most of my closest friends through the music department and I have seen myself and so many others persevere past what we thought was possible and become better through music. I've learned how to work with others, how to care for others, and how to listen to others in ways I never considered, all through music. The board's educational philosophy states that the best learning occurs in an environment that is rich in resources, provides opportunity for active participatory learning, and destresses responsibility and initiative. The board also states that its goal is for graduating students, declaring that Sorry. Graduating students declaring that through

031the district they should learn how to persevere through complex problems, purposefully communicate ideas through visual, verbal, and nonverbal interactions, and work collaboratively amongst and across personal and global networks to achieve common goals. In my opinion, the classes that have guided me the most towards reaching these goals are in the music department. If the best learning occurs in an environment that is rich in resources, how can a reduction to the music department do anything but reduce learning? Thank you, Aaliyah. Okay. I am speaking for someone who is sick today, but went through the work to put together something that we want to make sure is read. Hello, my name is Evelyn Follin, and I am a student at Urbandale High School. I thank the board for being here tonight, and I want you to better our

032district and for for your want to better our district and community. Thank you for allowing myself and these other students to voice our concerns. I come to speak tonight about the funding and staffing issues regarding the Urbandale Music Department, specifically looking at the middle school. I've participated participated in band since fifth grade. I'm a dual-enrolled student, meaning I take most of my core curricular classes independently homeschooled, but the reason I'm at Urbandale is for the music department. Not because of core classes or sports, but because of the quality and community of the Urbandale Music Department. Recently, this quality has been threatened. The arts program already struggles with receiving funding and appreciation. Finding a replacement for a third band director at the middle school has been pushed aside, even though having two directors at the middle

033school, in my opinion, is completely unrealistic. The responsibilities of the band director are much more than a teacher handing out grades. They are mentors and safe people students feel comfortable with, and experienced musicians who can aid middle schoolers in their learning of music. Middle school is by far the most developmental time for young musicians, and the effects of limited staffing and funding will surely be felt by teachers and students alike. Directors may be stretched thin and their attention split while students' progress and well-being are less invested in. This kind of tense environment could lead to students quitting band altogether. This program is being put through more stress than our um than it already deals with for unnecessary reasons. The arts are constantly underfunded, underappreciated, and neglected. I would even argue that the Urbandale arts program

034is the best and most successful part of this district and often the program students strive to be a part of. Choosing to not hire a new band director for the middle school could be detrimental to the quality and community of the program. I ask you, are these expenses that could be sacrificed so the arts can be maintained uh can be main- maintained? Are there things in this district that spending less money on could be cut to fund the arts? Have you considered grants and funding opportunities if receiving state money is truly a problem? These music classes aren't just other classes and electives. They are communities with deep roots that allow for students to create, express themselves, and make mistakes in a safe in a safe free of judgment. Isn't that everything this district stands for?

035Board policy 616 states, "The Board of Directors believes that a program of student activities is vital to the complete develop- development of the student. Such activities offer opportunities to serve the institution, to assist the development of fellowship and social goodwill, to promote self-realization and all-around growth, and to encourage good citizenship qualities." If it's your goal for students to succeed in the growth and fellowship through activities, why take that why take from the program that is doing just that? I thank you all for your consideration in these issues and your for your willingness to hear us out, but I urge you to make the right decision. Support the arts, fund the program, and staff the middle school band department. Thank you for your time. Hi, my name is Maverick Johnson. My address is 4303 95th Street,

036and I've come to talk about the middle school band director position being filled. Um you might remember me a few months ago. I was up here receiving an award for outstanding musicianship with my instrument. I played the tuba, and I've been playing since fifth grade. When I got to sixth grade, my band director was Ms. Schultz. She worked with me for countless hours and lots of squeaks through my instrument, and she just kept pushing me and pushing me, and I just I knew that one day I was going to get better. I got to high school and the mentors at the high school just kept pushing me and pushing me. Eventually, I made it to Wind Symphony, which is the varsity band at Urbandale, and I've been able to perform in Soloist Contest and even

037audition for All-State. With the Soloist Contest in Skiba Berry Perry Band Olympics, I've received every year a Division I, which is the highest rating you can get, and two second place medals in the 9-10 and 11-12 divisions. And in middle school, I have received Division I ratings every year, and that is through the help of Ms. Schultz. While we can't replace Ms. Schultz cuz she's awesome, we can fill her position. I believe that with how many students there are in sixth grade, I've heard that there are two ensembles that Ms. Schultz leads, including private lessons. Cutting Ms. Schultz Ms. Schultz's position would result in Ms. Munson and Ms. Eady taking on all of those students and individual lessons. That would leave them to feel more stressed and the students feeling neglected and not cared about.

038I ask that you would fill this position with somebody who'd be willing to take the time like Ms. Schultz and push the students just as she pushed me and everybody else who came before you. And I ask that you would because if you don't, you'd be taking away the opportunities that I and many others have received. Please don't let this happen. Thank you. Thank you, Maverick. Hi, I'm Mariana Brandon, and my address is 7317 Oldersmith Drive. And my name is Hope Klingner and my address is 3917 38th Street. >> Thank you. I'm in Do you want to start with that? We are both sophomores at UHS and we wanted to comment on the decision to not fill Mrs. Schultz's position as we think that this would be a mistake. I'm an open enrollment student from

039Des Moines and the band program was the biggest reason I chose to enroll at Urbandale. In my email that I sent to the entire board, I mentioned how I was not able to read music in the 7th grade and it was one of my biggest struggles. Walking into the band room, I felt everyone was more advanced than me and the band directors Miss Schultz and Miss Munson immediately saw my discomfort. They helped me every spare second they could and if I did not have have those individual lessons, I would have skated by copying the girl next to me and I may have never developed a love for music. I may have not continued to play and I would have never had the opportunities I have now. This is a scary thought that pops into my

040head when I hear about the plan to not fill Miss Schultz's position. It can be gut-wrenching and it makes me all the more passionate about speaking my opinion. We acknowledge the board in their prior decisions, but this is something I'm so very not comfortable with. Not filling this position would over time have a serious impact on our band department in a negative way. This decision would cause a decline or removal of the lesson program, which has changed the musical capabilities of countless students within the band program over the years. This would also put a lot of pressure on the two band directors that will be staying at the middle school as they would be teaching multiple band classes and at the elementary and high school level as well. It would practically be like working two

041jobs as one person. For one, I was able to learn how to play an instrument over Zoom and even through a mask and a bag of my instrument with my teacher couldn't even see what I was doing. Mrs. Schultz is one in a million and her talent is very hard to replace, but there are so many amazing upcoming or existing band directors that would make a very positive impact on our band program. Band lessons are also truly the only way for a student to make immense amounts of progress on their instrument. In the elementary and the schools, there are classes where students can go to work with small groups of students and a teacher to be able to improve on their math, reading, and writing skills. In the high school, there are math and literacy

042labs that do the same thing to help students improve on those skills as well with a teacher, which is much more helpful compared to being tutored by peers. Similarly, band lessons provide one-on-one or small group instruction on an instrument that helps students improve their musical abilities. Taking away the privilege for students to be able to musically advance is highly comparable to taking away these math and literacy labs and classes provided to the students who need them. We hope that you take the time to reconsider this decision. Thank you for your contributions to the UCSD school district and for your time and interest in bettering our schools. Thank you. Thank you, Ariana. Thank you, Hope. Hi, my name is Olivia Frawley and my address is 13207 Folcum Drive. Thank you, Olivia. I'm here today to address

043the fact that after the retirement of Ms. Schultz, her position will not be filled. The music program is arguably one of the most successful programs in the district, and that success would not have happened without the commitment, time, and care of our incredible staff. If the position is not filled, it means smaller lessons will be turned into group lessons with larger numbers. At the same time, our current teachers will have to take on more responsibilities, drastically increasing their workloads. Music education requires staff who have the time and availability to give students individual time and feedback. Without this, students lose opportunities to grow, and teachers are stretched between what is reasonable or effective to the to the program. I started band in fifth grade knowing that it was going to be a challenge. I've never been

044a quick learner when it comes to music, but that challenge is what made me love it more. The individual lessons I took in middle school allowed me to grow and build my confidence, not only in the band room, but in other aspects of my life. Those one-on-one lessons gave me a chance to ask questions, make mistakes, and work at my own pace without having to worry about being lost or feeling overlooked. I honestly don't know if I would be in the same position I am now without the personalized help of my directors. It is extremely difficult to learn a complex instrument without a teacher who is able to take the time, be patient, and give consistent and specific feedback. Our directors do not just tell us to practice, but they show us how to practice.

045The level of instruction they give us takes time and dedication, and it's simply not possible without enough staff members to support the students. In addition to being a musician, I'm also an athlete and a student. Since day one, it has been drilled into my head that in order to get better, you have to practice. But practice will take you nowhere if you do not have someone to give you direction. A team would not just be handed a ball with no instruction and be expected to know how to play. Music is no different. The directors are our coaches, and they help kids understand the potential they have, giving them direction to help them improve long-term. It takes a very patient and dedicated instructor to be able to see the end game. If anyone has ever listened

046to the difference between a sixth and eighth grade and high school band, it's truly amazing. Not everybody has a passion for sports and academics. For many, music is where they find their confidence, creativity, and sense of belonging. For me, band is not just a class, it's a community where some of my most meaningful connections have been made. I credit so much of my growth to in the individual time and effort that my teachers invested in me. Filling this position is not just about replacing a teacher, it's about preserving a successful program that helps students to grow and find their community. This program needs a staff to to survive. Thank you all for your time and consideration. Thank you, Elena. Hello, my name is Joshua Agonyo, and I live on 4427 86th Street, apartment 36. I'm

047here to address the new actions that are being proposed to not replace Miss Schultz's position. I find this to be a grave decision that could affect the way that the band program works. Seeing as Miss Schultz works with Miss Wells in multiple elementary schools, and then she's a gateway into the middle school. She is a bridge that helps many students adjust to the new environment, which is the middle school. During middle school, children have a hard time adjusting to what happens within the middle school building. And Ms. Short is one way they can feel at home and comfortable within the building. She is a gateway into the band program. In many things within band, band is like practicing a sport. Practice takes time, and without someone individually guiding you like in within a lesson, it's

048harder for students to understand how to play their instruments and understand how to fulfill the actions that have been given to them. Playing inside of band is not just only understanding how you play, but understanding how the people around you play as well. We see how in band one of the director guides the student, they understand their instrument way more. And we see how if we look at a sixth grade band compared to an high school band, we see the grave of the great difference they have. I believe that students should be given the best opportunities to do the best they can. For example, my sister, she plays the trombone. And she had the chance to perform in the SCBDA Honor Band this past year. She was a great player and used the resources given

049to her by having so many great directors around her. They gave her the opportunity to do so great. I believe that changing the way the middle school band program works is a grave mistake, and we should give every single student the best chance they have to do the best they can. I believe that within all of this, not replacing that position does not help anyone in the long run. Cuz giving students the best chance is what we should strive to do. And that is all I have to say. Thank you, Joshua. Hello, my name is Kate Shoemaker, and my address is 7925 Greenbelt Circle. My name is Sam Peter. I live at 8408 Parkview Drive. First of all, we want to thank you all and recognize the extra hours that you put into bettering our

050school district. Tonight, we are speaking on behalf on our experiences within the arts programs in hopes of your reconsideration regarding the removal of the full-time band position at the middle school. Despite the difficulty surrounding this decision and its repercussions within the community, we stand here today seeking to oppose this decision. Although internal state laws and budget concerns do not make this process any easier to undergo, we as students understand the importance of standing up for what we believe to be a highly valued treasure within our community, being the Urbandale arts programs. One specific strength regarding the community is an alignment towards equity and giving everyone significant opportunities to be impacted by music and shine in the terms of music and artistic growth. For instance, staff positions and their availability grant students the opportunity to take

05115-minute lessons meant for instruction with their instrument and music. The band teachers are trained in providing professional instruction for students on their instruments as well as connection and invaluable life lessons that go beyond just band, and it will be impossible to ignore and even more difficult to learn without it Urbandale. I personally have learned a significantly profound amount from all directors in Urbandale. From musical applications and skills to soft skills like time management, leadership, and accountability. Personal lessons from these teachers go above and beyond in reaching to all corners of the band and working towards making every individual a little bit better than they were the day before. In addition, payment for private lessons amounts to costly totals and the implementation of free lessons ties into this principle of equity and persevering education for all,

052not just those who are able to afford it. This is vital in upholding the value of equity and making sure every student gets a fair chance to not only achieve excellence within their instrument, but learn the foundational skills needed in order to contribute in band class. Yeah, other important qualities lie within the connections that the music programs not only cultivate, but grow and flourish. Within all the arts, any student can testify to the high-quality relationships formed not only with instructors, but unlikely peers as well. The programs at Urbandale allow for stereotypes to disappear. It's where music kids work together with cheerleaders, football players, baseball, bowling, and golf in order to create magical performances on stage. I can say without a doubt this is unique to any other activity. This constant throughout all the music programs

053means that there's also lots of overlap between music students and how these activities interact. With show band and show choir doing combined concerts and having exponential amounts of participation crossover, any decision made in one department directly impacts others, positively or negatively. As we said at the end of our comment, we express how vital this community is to our district and any significant loss in this would certainly lead to the quality deprivation of something truly special. This decision you are making directs impact directly impacts all the arts at Urbandale, correlating to a negative future of art success and educational development as a whole. Making art and music creates a safe space for people to grow and develop as their own people as well as building skills for the future. Every decision counts in terms of preserving

054the value of this important activity, which is held sacred not only to us, but the entirety of the Urbandale community. Thank you, Cameron. Thank you, Xander. Okay, and with that, we will start with the community members. So, I have Ethan. He's not here. Not here. Okay. And then we have Scott Schumacher. Scott Schumacher, 7925 Greenville Circle, also. >> Thank you. Um my name is Scott Schumacher. My wife, Dawn, and I are coming to the end of our 19th and final year of having students in the Urbandale Community School District. Um I don't plan to take a lot of your time this evening. Um I know we we asked the board members to indulge us in reading a very long email that we sent last week, and we we're not going to spend the time tonight

055like rehashing all of that. Um as you know, we talked about the importance of arts education in general and the importance of arts education in the Urbandale schools specifically in that message. We hope you will remember that. Um the big thing that we want you to remember from that is that our three children, including Kate, um have all found their life's passions thanks to arts education in the Urbandale schools. And we hope and believe that you will continue to to do your best to maintain that legacy going forward. There were two messages that we wanted to express tonight. The first is for you all as board members and administration. Um we wanted to sincerely thank you for taking the time both in the last meeting and this evening um to thoughtfully consider how the Urbandale

056schools can continue to best best continue to support the arts. Um and we want and we want to thank you for continuing to do that into the future as well. We know that many more difficult decisions are going to be coming in the in the years ahead and we know that you'll that you care and that you are doing your best the best that you can to make the best decisions possible. Secondly, and this is really for everyone here and for everyone that might be listening um either now or later, I wanted to remind everyone that no matter how the discussion goes this evening um and how the vote goes this evening, the true villains in this story are not in this room. They are not the school board members, they are not the administration.

057The true issue is the chronic underfunding of public education in Iowa, which has been compounded in recent years obviously with siphoning off more and more money to things like private school vouchers and so please be sure to remember your passion for the arts in Urbandale and the Urbandale schools overall, not just tonight, but also when you vote in this fall and in the years to come. Thank you, Scott. Next is Clint Royston. He's ill tonight, he won't be here. Okay. How about Natalie? Okay, thank you. Good evening. My name is Natalie Royston. Um I sent you all an email this afternoon as well, but I wanted to have an opportunity to address everyone. Um I am an Urbandale resident because, um, when my stepdaughter was entering middle school, we were looking to move and we

058chose Urbandale and purchased our home. Oops, I forgot my address, 9103 Heaven Tree Drive. Thank you. We purchased our home and moved to Urbandale so she could attend the Urbandale schools because we valued the academics and particularly the music department. Um, personally, I hold a PhD in music education and I'm a professor of music education. I've taught band at every level from beginners to the university level and I've worked in this field for almost 30 years. Based on this experience, I encourage you to retain this middle school band director position in the district. I have three quick points to mention and I'll try not to reiterate. These students did a fantastic job of talking about how important it is to them. But some of the practical sides because I know, um, finances are finite as

059are FTEs. Um, number one, band does not function like other academic classes. Band classes are always high enrollment. Um, all of the Urbandale middle school class band classes have at least 50 students with one teacher. The one to 50 ratio is not uh, common in other courses. There are as many as 10 or more different instruments being played at the same time. Each instrument has different fingerings, different techniques, different physical demands. It is important that the teachers be able to address those in order for the students to not only be successful and to learn to play well and to, um, have success on their instrument, but also for their own health and safety. There are many, um, health issues that can be related, uh, physiological, um, damage that can be done if an instrument is

060played incorrectly. They're learning, um, techniques so that they can bring back together and play as an ensemble. Number two, lessons are already meeting in small like group instrument or like instrument groups. They've done this for years. This is instructional time, not tutoring. It is not remedial, it is not review. This time is spent learning instrument specifics that the teachers can do so that in the large ensemble, for instance, 50 students, if the teacher needs to provide trumpet instruction to five trumpet players, the other 45 would have to sit and wait. By having the lessons, the 45 minutes of course can be used for instruction for every student. The specific techniques can be taught in those other times. Equate it to athletics, football coach. When they're out on the football field, the quarterbacks work on throwing,

061the receivers work on catching, the punter works on kicking. They don't all do the same drills at the same time. They don't wait for the quarterbacks to finish throwing before the kicker can go kick. Third is the curriculum. This board has adopted a curriculum with this position, without this position, excuse me, these objectives cannot be met as stated and adopted by the school board. Thank you, Natalie. That is everybody who has signed up for public comment. Thank you to everyone. I would move to bring the consent agenda forward. I think these will second. >> Consent these up, okay. Um, I had some questions on 8D specific to the contract with Decker. My main question that I'm most interested in is the last page has exclusivity for negotiating a renewal and then also their ability to

062match any other vendor contract before we would sign with another vendor. That's my biggest concern so I just wanted to find out if that is a required part of the contract if that's a common practice in other contracts that we sign. Or what your thoughts are on that. So I reached out to activities department and I was told that they did look into several contracts with Game One. They got information about a brand exclusive deal. They didn't want to go that direction because we didn't want to handicap the coaches. Football likes Under Armour, somebody else wants Adidas, somebody else wants Nike. So we felt like if there was one there was quite a big rebate that would come with that but then we'd be telling the coaches you have to wear this apparel and it

063would be an exclusive one. Um The issue they found okay, I'm sorry. Um That's okay. Just going through the game plans again. All brand one all brands deals a five-year contact contract and does not include a clause where we can get out at any time. Game One's promo dollars that were included in the contract required them to use MSRP prices so they felt the dollars would not go as far as they will with Decker. With Game One their focus was on rebates and if they hit certain targets in spending then they would receive more money at the end of the year. With Decker the prices are lower to start with but there are no rebates included and they'd be saving more money on the front end as opposed to receiving money later. Decker's pricing is

064by far the best for almost every item and they've asked multiple companies for quotes on equipment to see who's providing best prices. These that I'll read are just from the last month, but it's the noticeable trend. Um basketball practice uniforms, BSN quoted 2650, Decker 1375. Basketball racks, BSN 1400, Decker 11. Football uniforms, BSN was a total of uh 28,000. Um Game One was total of 29,000 and Decker was a total of 25. For baseballs and softballs, BSN was 980, Game One was 876, and Decker was 816. And they ran their winter fan store, for example, through Game One, and they sold 283 items. So, the total amount of sales was 11,324. Activities got 699.60, which is about 6.18%. Had they run that through Decker, they would have received 1415, which is about 12 and 1/2%.

065So, I think I know that Derek and Connor were dealing with this for the last few months, and everybody wants to provide the best, but when it comes to putting it in writing, and it Decker was the one that they felt they were going to get the biggest advantage from. And the coaches will still have the opportunity to choose whatever branding they want to use. I'm glad we're doing this. I think it's a good thing overall. I just wanted to ask about that piece. Um so, do can we are we able to remove the ex- the last page? Do you think there's negotiation on that? Or do we have any concerns? Or alternatively, could we cancel the contract and not be locked into requiring them first right of renewal, I guess, is basically what I

066just want to give our future board and our future staff a way out if they need a way out. I mean, I thought there was a way out. There is a Yeah. very clear way out in the contract. >> Cancel for any reason or no reason. With 30 days >> 30 days It was just the renewal piece that makes me a little nervous, but everything else sounds good, so. Sorry, I had to read that. It's okay. It's not my world. I I read it as either end could Yes. Yeah, there's that piece and then there's just that at the end of the three-year term we have to automatically renegotiate with them first, which I didn't love that part because it would be great to go back and get quotes from three companies again before we

067had to do that is my only thought. But overall, I think it's good. The research sounds great, so I'm not opposed to voting on it now if anyone else has any concerns. I just wanted to know if that was a piece that can be negotiated. I think it we aren't we aren't tied to staying with them. It just says they have the right they have we have to give them the right to match it. Yeah. I can move the consent agenda forward if no one else has any questions. Is there a roll call or is it It is. Yeah, I apologize. That was one I missed. Will we have Hauser and Santizo? Oh, I'm sorry. >> So, we have two motions. That's okay. Oh, sorry. Yeah, so now I'll go ahead and We'll start with

068Horton. Yes. Hauser? Yes. Kent? Yes. Santizo? Yes. Van Ryswyk? Yes. >> Williams? >> Yes. Young? Yeah. All right, motion passes 7-0. Okay, so next up are action items coming from the April 13th meeting. The first is to approve the human services curriculum. What questions might we have before a motion? I would entertain a motion. I move we approve the human services curriculum curriculum. Horton will second. Horton, okay. All those in favor say I. I. >> I. Opposed, say nay. Motion passes. All right, next step is to approve the 6-12 manufacturing curriculum. What questions might you have before approving? Who wants to make the motion? I move we approve the 6-12 manufacturing curriculum. I move we second. Wharton will second. Wharton, okay. All those in favor, I. I. I. Opposed, nay. Motion carries. All right, next

069step is the K-12 physical education curriculum. Questions before a motion, anyone? Let's go for three. I move that we approve the the new K-12 physical education curriculum. Yeah. Santizo will second. Santizo, okay. You lined up for the next one? I'm ready, guys. All those in favor, say I. I. Opposed, nay. Motion passes. Next step is to approve the new 9-12 science electives. Who'd like to This is a personality test right now. I move that we approve the the 9-12 science curriculum electives. Wharton. How's it? All right. Wharton's going to win. All those in favor, say I. I. Opposed, nay. All right, motion carries. Hey, all right. Next item for the board to consider is appointing Mr. Steve Side as our interim superintendent. And Dr. Daku will be going on an extended medical leave starting on

070May 14th and to keep the district operating well we we'd like to bring in an interim superintendent. Mr. Side has uh he's retired. He's coming out of retirement to support this role. He was previously the Clark County uh superintendent for 7 years and then had a long history in various middle middle schools throughout Iowa. What questions might you have? So, I'd entertain a motion. I move that we appoint that we appoint Steve Side as our interim superintendent. I'll second Santizo Thank you. Uh this one is a roll call. So, I'll start with Houser. Yes. Kent Yes. Santizo Yes. Van Roekel Yes. Williams Yes. Young Yes. Wharton Yes. Motion passes 7-0. All right. Next step are technology purchases for the next school year. And Josh Whitmer will give us some information. All right. Um a lot

071of it was kind of in the board packet, but I can just kind of rehash it real quick. Um so, we're looking to do kind of our yearly Chromebook purchase. Uh we generally swap out about 1,000 of our fleet every year just to keep things up to date. We have There are a couple of things that we have to consider when we determine how many Chromebooks we need to buy. One of them is the date at which they stop getting updates from Google. And right now we have about 2,500 devices that are about 3 years out from reaching the point where Google stops updating them. Um we also have to keep in mind the basically the condition of the current devices in the fleet. So, we can usually get about 3 years worth of decent

072battery life out of them before the the start not really holding the charge as for the day. Also, depending on the grade level, the condition of them, start to deteriorate around year three, especially at the middle school level. So, getting about 1,000 a year really kind of helps us keep our fleet in functional condition. We are kind of probably going to have rehash a little bit how we deploy them at the elementary level, especially in light of the screen time guidances and everything. So, in the past we had been giving them to kindergarteners and letting them basically carry those devices forward through fifth grade. Since kindergarten and first grade has a lot less screen time usage these days, thanks to the new guidance and possibly upcoming legislation, we're probably actually going to be giving the

073new devices more to the third grade level and kind of having the kindergarteners and first graders use like the outgoing third grade devices, maybe the outgoing fifth grade devices, where the need for them is just isn't as high. Um next item is our staff refresh for the MacBook Airs and that's just again, just keeping things up to date. Um the current machines that we'd be looking to replace were purchased in the summer of 2021, so they're just coming for a coming up for a refresh. Um next is our antivirus software. We got a five-year contract for our Carbon One, or Carbon Black, sorry, back in actually during the COVID days. We I think we used SR funds to buy it. And that five-year contract is up. And so, we kind of spent this year researching

074a whole bunch of different options and kind of settled on Sentinel One. Um and then finally, our Wi-Fi access points at Olmsted, we got basically a five-year license for that when the building was built and it has surprisingly been five years, so it's time to either renew that license or go to something new. Um and we've had some performance and configuration challenges with the Aruba Wi-Fi that we have in that building, so we would just like to kind of standardize it on the same Wi-Fi that we have everywhere else. Okay. How many entertaining questions do we have? I'm curious cuz school finance is really complicated. Can you help us understand which fund this is coming from? Um, come from the capital and safety tax. So, does it come out of the same fund that funds

075like middle school band teachers or Infrastructure fund. Uh, Williams with me for the purchase of Chromebooks, MacBook Airs for students, staff, for Sentinel One for cybersecurity, and at-home side Wi-Fi access points. Thank you, Ms. Haggerty. Santizo. And this is another roll call. Yep. So, we're going to start with Kent. Yes. Santizo. Yes. >> Van Ryzin. Yes. >> Williams. Yes. Young. Yes. Horton. Yes. Howser. Yes. Motion passes 6-0. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. The next agenda item is a heavy one, and it's uh, the administration is recommending that the board approve a reduction in force connected to projected funding Essentially underfunding to our public schools over a number of years and projected continuing underfunding, and this is a symptom of that. These are under an enrollment reason. There's not students to support it, but I'm going

076to let Lauren give you more. Lauren McCray, director of HR and operations. So, um, couple months ago we came to the board and um, had recommendations for approximately 1.5 million dollars in cuts which included uh, reduction for some some certified some of our certified employees as well as some of our classified employees. Um Since that time where that was approved by the board, we have undertaken um many discussions with those impacted employees. Um And utilized seniority in terms of as we receive resignations and retirements. Uh over that period of time for that list to be reduced down for our teachers specifically. Um however, we um we still have a few that are referenced in the board packet that are on that list um that we have to take action on yet. We have had a

077few teachers that have resigned and to go to other places. We've also had some other resignations that have allowed us to backfill into those positions, but uh in terms of the teachers or the certified positions not quite enough which is what's reflected in the board packet today. What questions might you have for Lori? Or Dr. Ducker? Are you able to tell us um how many teachers have retired or moved to another district whose positions have not been filled other than we know about Mrs. Schultz. Are there others that we don't know about that won't be filled? Um We have the um uh the master schedule at the middle school has been uh changed going into next year which um has led to a a revamping of how many core teachers are needed. One of the

078things that has been changed in that schedule is that the two-person teams or those that teach two content core content areas are those are being eliminated. And as openings have happened at the middle school those teachers have been there has been enough openings at the middle school that those teachers that were displaced for that that weren't a part of the original budget cuts have been given up other opportunities based on their certifications to fill other spots. Okay. Thank you. And then the additional part is that the electives at the middle school have also been revamped and there are few additional positions there but there's still a net reduction overall. Okay. There's still a chance that there will be positions for these two Yes. >> individuals if there's more movement Mhm. And can you explain why

079this needs to be done now for the public? The reduction in force right now, yes. So by code we have to make these reductions by April 30th and done through this board's the board's approval process and then we have to deliver the reduction in force notices between now and the 30th. So in the next few days. Um but if we have other positions that open where these individuals that are still impacted are eligible for we will just as we've done over the last couple of months talk to those individuals to say we've got this as an option. Um for some it's desirable because they are certified for others even if they are certified sometimes they may not have an interest in a totally different level than what they were hired at originally. So it's really

080individual decision-making that's happening. But yes, to your original question, it is possible that um over the course of the next few weeks that that certainly could happen. And if that happens, then they maintain their seniority position then, even though their contract ended. Yeah, they Yes, they would maintain seniority within you know, there's it's a continuation of it. And we wouldn't have to come back to the board if a job opened tomorrow, for example, and they approved this, we can move the person in a job that they're qualified for without revisiting. Yes. Which we've done many times already in the last couple months. I regretfully would um approve would move move to approve this. And Yeah, you can have a minute to speak. No, it's okay. Okay. The um we will have a reduction in force

081approved for Anna Clark and Madison Hodges at this point. And I'll second will second. And I'll second. This is a roll call. So, we'll start with Santizo. No. And I'll second. Yes. Williams? Yes. Young? Yes. Horton? Yes. Howser? Yes. Kent? Yes. Motion passes 6-1. All right. Next item is the middle middle school band FTE. And I know the board had as many questions and there'll be some good conversation and discussion. So, I'll open the floor for questions for Dr. Daka and for our student representatives. Um I'll go first. I have a list of questions, so I'll just ask my first one. Um do we have any clarity on if lesson group sizes would actually change or not? They would have to change. And we don't know why. >> Well, the 55 individual lessons would have

082to be combined in some way, shape or form if that was the same Remember, these numbers are coming from this year, but you're going to have eighth grade leave and sixth grade come in. So, I don't know that it would be the same model anyway, but they would have to have fewer one-on-one lessons. What would be the criteria that would change from what we were provided and how those individual lessons are determined when we're talking about IEPs, 504s, or maybe you need to meet SDI in other areas? Um what what areas do you see where we can change to move those 55 into group settings? Well, the list that they I didn't include in your information for student confidentiality purposes, but those are the reasons that IEPs, 504s, EL students, anybody that's being pulled for

083something else where there's an absolute conflict that they can't do it one-on-one or in groups. Um All the reasons that they gave They have students that have excelled and they're higher than other students, student that's switching an instrument, that's just starting an instrument. Um Odd number of students on an instrument that doesn't allow for an even pairing, so they're trying to do a two two on one. Um their schedule changes when Mrs. Edie's not I think her band first semester is early morning, second semester moves to an afternoon because the high school band that's how that's directed and that might a just some kids schedules that they're not able to keep their um same pattern. And there's a I from what I was told there's a plethora of reasons. They two two and three in

084a group versus four and a five in a group. Um they've cited things like the number of uh space the space in the practice room, the volume level, percussion students are harder to schedule um cuz the band room and equipment's not available. You can't take a big drum into a a practice room. Um and then the difficulty in assessing the students individually. So, I think I don't even know that they could tell you today what next year would look like until they see the students that are coming in. Can I piggyback off of that? Um so, we heard the students talk about math and writing labs at the high school, but do those exist at the middle school? Are we providing the more specialized pull-out for our math and English high learners and low learners?

085No, and I I would actually like to entertain hiring more interventionists in some way at the middle school. We have one. So, students who have reading or math difficulties, they don't all get the service that they need, but um yeah. Is it the common practice now that instructors make to their best ability the attempt to group students as best they can. That's what they've been asked to do, yes. They also get grouped by their abilities, correct? And instrument. It abilities, instruments. Lessons are 15 minutes, 20 minutes? 15 elementary. I think one actually Yeah, 15. Here's a couple that are 20, it looks like. If there's more than one person, it looks like they go 20. And how many band instructors do we have doing lessons at the elementary level? And are any of those one-on-one

086time? There's one instructor at the elementary level. Um Emily has 137 students this year, and Nancy goes, I believe, at the end of the day, and she spends time at each of those schools doing the big band lesson, the big group band where during the day Emily does the lessons with the students. I don't know if she's here, if I said that wrong. Stop me. While we're talking about lessons, I'm curious to learn um what is the experience through your lessons? Why is that so important? And maybe hear from Sam or Kate on their lived experience with that. Um at the middle school, like you talked you heard some students talk about that's where like that's where you learn how to play your instrument. You don't we don't get class time to learn how to

087play your instrument. You have to learn all these fundamental skills on your individual instrument, and that comes from learning from an instructor. Like it's the same idea, like you have preschool kindergarten to learn all of these different skills that you're like writing and reading and all those things. We need that time to learn in middle school and to learn how to play your instrument. And that for our like preschool and kindergarten, that happens in the classroom. That doesn't happen in band cuz it's about putting all that together. You can't take like she said, you can't take five like 45 minutes to work with these certain students on something. It has to come from individual those individual lessons and that's where all the learning happens. Like there's and every instrument has different techniques that you use

088like I play the trumpet, I had to learn how to tongue and I wouldn't have learned how to tongue if I didn't spend lesson after lesson doing that, which is something that is fundamental to my instrument just as there's fundamentals to the trombone, I'm sure. And that learning happens in a lesson, not in the classroom and it can't happen in the classroom because that's not efficient at all cuz then we wouldn't be making music together. And and have you experienced both individual or group? I personally I I will announce I personally have not experienced a group lesson. I've always had the privilege to take private lessons um my entire life, but I know people who have gone from group to private if they've had that opportunity and it's a big difference because you get that

089individual instruction. I've been in a small group like two people, me and another person in middle school and um it was there was still like the ability to learn, but um I also experienced individual lessons through high school and um other years in middle school and there there's definitely a difference. That additionally adding on to Kate's previous comment, um in lessons, that's where the directors push the students to take new opportunities. Like for example, um I remember in middle school, I was pushed to do uh audition for Ski Bowl honor band in one of my lessons. I was just handed the music and it just this new challenge to help grow my musical horizons. So, yeah, it's there's a difference. The other thing I have experienced though is in fifth grade when you're you don't

090we don't there's not really the opportunities, I don't know if there is now, to do lessons in middle school. You're just kind of with everyone in your school who's playing your instrument and Ms. Wells does the best she can to teach those people. And so, if you listen to the difference between the fifth grade band and the sixth grade band, you can hear the difference because people are getting those individual lessons that they're then learning those fundamental skills to make the band better as a whole. So, I guess I did experience that when I was a fifth grader. We're talking about approximately 55 students get individual lessons, right? This year. Mhm. And that's at the middle school specifically. >> correct. How about Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Sometimes when I was looking through the data, I'm like,

091does this include those elementary kids or does this the point nine and point one, how does that square up? >> kids are on a separate and the high school's on a separate. There's also 12 students that um take band at the middle school that are not included in these numbers because they don't take lessons. They take parent paid lessons through community ed, so. >> are a lot of those at the high school, I imagine. I I can't speak to the number of those. >> So, yeah, I A good chunk of us are in private lessons now. Um especially the high school, but the reason they have all those opportunities at the middle school is cuz when you get to high school level, there's less of that fundamental learning you have to do. It's more about

092what music am I preparing? Do I need help on this piece of music or it's about learning how to play in different key signatures, which is not a necessarily a fundamental skill, but it's a good skill to have, which is >> Also, it can't happen cross-instrumentally cuz Correct. Yeah. I think the one This isn't really a question, um but just me reiterating a point that we've heard from some of our communications and what brought this concern up for me initially is that this um I guess I could turn it into a question. This is not just an impact at the middle school. This will impact our elementary um program. This will impact our high school program because our teachers who are FTE at the middle school also are supplementing and helping build the program. And

093we have such uh, strong vertical alignment through the program where the communication that our our families get, the systems that we have in place, the high schoolers going down and playing at the elementary schools, are playing at um, events at elementary and middle school. There's a really strong alignment throughout the program and removing that support piece at the middle school doesn't just impact those 100 kids that that teacher covers there, but it does ripple out into both. And I kind of talked about that last time, but I thought it was really well reiterated through the comments that we received. So, I guess to the question, it kind of spins back to the have we talked with staff about how we can cover all of that that happens not just at the middle school, but at

094the high school and elementary school to make sure that I guess I don't even want to say to make sure because I'm not convinced that it can happen, but how how can we help the program to make sure that we still have a strong fifth grade program that keeps 137 kids wanting to play in sixth grade where they're seeing progress. Um, I'm rambling, but like I always think about the fifth grade um, concerts and Ms. Wells always introduces the concerts and says, "We're learning to start and stop on time because that's what the concert is for. Um, we want to hear all of the the musicians start, play at the same time, and stop at the same time." And so, in order for them to grow to the point where you can listen to the

095wind symphony or the wind ensemble, um, and hear the sounds they play, we have to support from base level all the way up. And so, I guess my question is, "What plans do we have in place to ensure that happens from fifth grade through 12th grade?" Well, there was no changes going to happen at the elementary level. There will still be someone that goes to the elementary and the high school won't change because the schedule that we have is 90% FTE at the middle school, 10% FTE at the high school. So, that's not going to change. Any of the extra activities, jazz band, and some of the show choirs are extra paid that they do duty outside of the day. None of that is planned to change. And remember, we're taking away classes, too. They

096don't have to teach music skills anymore. So, that's going to open up those periods where they could have lessons instead of teaching music skills. That's moving as part of the elective overhaul. That's moving to only the sixth graders taking it. So, there won't be any seventh or eighth grade need to teach music skills. >> About two sections then, like there was there one in seventh and one in eighth? There was I can't remember what I think I think it was two periods for each one. Um I think it was two periods. >> Yeah, and and I would say that since they're going to eight periods, four is going to be a 0.5 FTE added back. Is that accurate? They're going to teach seven out of eight, yes. So, in in essence, with the music skills

097gone and the exploratories that we covered the last board meeting, they'll it essentially have a half add as far as responsibilities for classes. Is that accurate? Say Say that again. It's a 0.5 FTE because there's four sections. Is that accurate? Um four sections on AB days, semester one, two. So, that's only um two periods. Yeah, but they're freed up. Yes. Okay. And I would like to say that I'm I was incredibly encouraged by um the loyalty and the reverence for the music staff that um you know, most of you know, I was in public education for 40 years. Rarely hear that. So, that's to compliment all of you and that's to compliment your parents and the staff. And um you know, at this point, I've been out almost 12 years. So, I'm I'm always encouraged

098when we have showcases of talent and we have showcases of preschool and Valerius and Olmsted. Um my my concern with this, I did go through the numbers. Um I used AI, you'll be happy to know. Yeah. Um and I in Johnson, I used the numbers you gave us. So, in Johnson with 7,000 total total students versus our 4,000 so, we have three middle school band instructors. Um if they followed our ratio, they would have six. They have four. If West Des Moines with 9,000 total students had staffing ratios like Urbandale they would have over six. They have three. DCG, 3770 students, if they kept our same ratio, they would have three teachers. They currently have two. Southeast Polk with 7500 students kept our ratio, they'd have six. They have three. If Waukee with 14,000 students

099kept our ratio, they'd have over 10. They have seven. So, I just want to throw that out there um you know, for comparability. My other major concern and I've talked about this repeatedly. I went through a riff myself and so my heart breaks for all the changes that we're going to have to make. The state has not funded us well and on top of it between vouchers and changing demographics we're going to continue to face that. And more power to you seniors who won't have to pay that price, but it will be very, very difficult going forward. So, decisions will have to be made and there's always going to be a cost. Um I don't know how the board is going to go on this. I can tell you that I really appreciate Mr. Shoemaker

100talking about how this I've seen issues like this divide this community, divide the staff, divide families. For those of you who were here during COVID, let me bring up the mask discussion. When I was the president, okay? I do not want to see that happen. This is wonderful community. We have wonderful teachers. I still value all of them. And we have wonderful students. And so, however this goes, it is not personal to me how people vote. They would The board will make its decision. There are seven of us. But again, I beg you, both band members and non-band members, please do not make this a divisive issue in this community. Thanks. You brought up those ratio numbers, but I think that that ratio also attests to the quality that we provide here at Urbana in

101comparison to other districts that brings people like Aiden to this school district or numerous other open enrolled students that I know personally and I've talked to. And I just think it's hearing those numbers to me is kind of a cool thing to know how much instruction that we're providing to our students that keep wanting to keep them wanting to come back to this program because of all the the quality that we provide not only on the middle school level, but on elementary and high school level. And and I really appreciate that, Kate, but my other question would be what are we not providing? I have an answer to that. What are we not providing systemically? >> as a um as a system like so I did my due diligence and reached out to band parents

102across the metro to kind of gauge like what is a band parents experience like um because I wanted to understand, you know, we got the report of the ratios and the students and how many teachers there are and I think there's a lot of nuance. I agree with everything you said that the ratios may not match. However, each district classifies grades differently. Some have middle schools and junior highs and high schools. Some have just a junior high and a high school setup. Some have fifth grade with a sixth grade combo, you know, so we know that exists. So sometimes just looking at those numbers don't give a clean comparison. >> Right. I took that into account. >> Yes, I'm I'm sure you did. And so when I was talking to people I was like, what

103else do you are your band students offered? Um and some of the things that I encountered were um like jazz band as a class during the day, which I think is an amazing equity opportunity because right now you have to have a parent that can drive you to school before the day starts, which is how our band program used to operate and has improved and so I would love it. That'd be so great if we had teaching capacity to provide that within the the day for a middle schooler high schooler. Um we have um some additional what I'll call dual enrollment or AP classwork that's offered in music. Um but some of ours is based on um offering it on an every other year schedule and some schools are able to offer that every year

104also probably based on enrollment and the number of kids interested, but that's something that we could improve and do better. Um we have um some schools, these are probably also stipend did things, but it's still the same people who teach it, but there's jazz bands, pep bands, um orchestra components, all of those that we don't have. Um Not all of those some of those things. Um West Des Moines Valley has a Scholars of Distinction program where they can uh specialize and do a special project and um some students choose to do performing arts and get extra time one-on-one with the teacher and can put that on their diploma and to me that ties into career education. We have a lot of students who reached out to us who said they're pursuing a career in music

105because of what we offer. And so I guess that's the question I would pose back is if this has been working and we have it in our funding now and we know it's going to be a savings because we'll be likely be hiring someone with less experience and at a different spot, can we instead of removing that piece, can we look for other things that we can add in if we think it's truly a capacity issue? I recognize that I say this from a point of having four students myself in my house that are invested in this, but I think I speak for a large group of the community that sees that gosh, wouldn't it be great if we had some of those I don't want to call them extras, but additional or unique opportunities.

106So I'm not I don't think we're missing anything, but I think each district does things differently and there are more opportunities that we could provide our kids that do tie into the career and technical education that we want. Doesn't need a state standard for CTE, but could meet the needs of a good portion of our student community. And and I I I read your I appreciate that. We did have jazz band during the day. The problem for those of you who are in two musics is scheduling everything else. >> Yeah, absolutely. And and and you know, and then I'll we also tried to offer AP music theory. But I can't afford to run a class with nine kids. So that was the solution to do it every other year. >> And I don't think it's

107the worst. I just think the more we can do and like yeah, you know how this is. If you offer something consistently, then it grows and it can become better and I know there's a history there, but I just I feel like the right answer isn't always um to remove and I I know you all I how I feel about this. It won't be a surprise. I mean, you know, how I feel about this, but um I just hate to see us give up something we have before we have to. Okay. And then I I would also I mean I when I was talking about systemic, I'm not talking about music. >> Sure. Yep. I was going to say >> the interventionists. I'm talking about the fact that we have one industrial tech teacher at

108the high school One and a half. for 13 hundred students. But we also have students we heard over and over and I have all my years in the Urbandale district heard all sorts of testimonies about the community that the music and performing arts department builds. Are we building that other places? A few years ago, we started an e-sports program and I'll tell you what, it changed my kids' life, right? So there's other things that could have changed other kids' lives too and not just my own kids, but other other students in our district that we're not providing. We don't have speech and debate. That's a life skill. You can do speech through the theater department, the state speech, but that's not the same thing as a speech or debate team. Um or mock trial. Totally

109volunteer. Right? Last year because we lost our last volunteer coach. That's That's a huge thing too. You want to talk about CTE. Like could could we be looking at reaching more and building more subcommunities within our big community? Right? Like I I don't know. Just reaching out and and building those communities for everybody for all of our students, all of our staff. And I would reiterate you know, this came up two weeks ago. Without an examination systemically of what are the top needs we still don't know that. I mean for for all of us, it's the middle school band position. But that doesn't mean that's true for every student and every family. I mean that's what Rachel was Yes, I'm just reiterating her point. Um and I you know during my 12 years on the

110board, I have tried as hard as I could to represent every student and every need. Has it been successful? Sometimes. But the bottom line is we have all different kinds of communities and interests. And you know, it's going to break my heart when 3 years from now because we've got K1 and 2 that are what? Hovering at 250? >> Smaller, much smaller. Okay, so in 3 years they hit sixth grade. And it's 150 less kids, right? Or close to it. Mhm. Yeah. We're graduating more kids than we're bringing in and kids And that is true across the state demographically. You can do the research. So, we're no different than everybody else except Waukee. They really can't help it. Yeah. Growing. Is there any thought or option to hire a part-time person rather than a full-time

111person? I think that would be your call. We can do anything. We can do anything. I guess my First off, I want to thank the community for all the input they gave us and for the kindness that they showed in that input. Not not angry, come with sticks at us. It was a lot of understanding. We understand what you're going through and we support you. And in sitting at this table, we really appreciate that. Um but a few weeks ago at the board table we all voted and approved a digital marketing plan. That was $10,000 a month. And you know, from listening to the folks that have spoke and the emails we received, we received a lot of input that this is a destination for people and this is why people come to Urbandale. So,

112by taking and going this direction by something that would appear to the general populace, the community, that we're not supporting the arts as much as we could, will that hurt us in our moment? And what draws kids here and why people come to Urbandale? Because it's always known that Urbandale is a place where the fine arts are respected and are prioritized. Um just like the I'm sorry, ma'am, I forgot what your name was, but just you saying that you you chose to live in Urbandale because of the arts. And I think you're not the only one that that does make that choice. So, I think that's something we we also need to be very cognizant of. Is this is part of our identity too as a school that you know, like Chris has said, yes,

113it's it's going to be we're going to save money more than likely by whoever by whoever we hire. So, I I again, and even talking about the first kindergarten, first and second graders means a smaller class. Well, the teaching at that time, hoping that we'll be able to we're going to have to shrink down the size of the staff that follow those classes. So, yes, in 3 years we're maybe having this discussion again, but we'll be having this discussion about 100 250 kids, not 400 or three or whatever our fifth grade class or fifth incoming fifth grade class is. And if we're splitting hairs on that $50,000, if you divide out the cost that we come that come into our district from open enrollment. That's 6.25 students. To me, that's a lot of risk to

114put on to that program that draws students in like a magnet and creates such a wonderful community and creates the identity of our school that we're now going out to tell the story to our community about. And we're it's six kids. If we're looking at money in terms of enrollment, I think we're bringing in six kids by our excellent music program easily. And I think we risk losing more than six kids if we don't fund it. It's It's definitely um kind of like what Josh said. It is We talk about recruiting, have people come to our district. Uh going through all the emails, unless my numbers are a little off, of the emails received, I counted seven emails that referenced this is why they came to the district. I had the same count. Right. Not

115specifically for that program, and if this program is so good and it is drawing people to it, uh you know, reducing it is actually hurting the district in the long run. If we truly want kids to come to this district, and they are because of this program, for me, it it doesn't make sense to uh to cut it. Josh, you brought up a really nice point about the fact that it's respected at Urbana. Um a few weeks ago, I was speaking to a friend I have at Lincoln, who is the best show choir in the nation. And she was telling me about how they feel like no one cares about that. And I'm sitting here thinking about we're not even close to how good they are, but yet here we are, and you have 15

116of the 20 of the homecoming court who are in other things, involved in our programs. And so, I just think that's something to note. This is so unique to our school. I'm sorry. I think we see that outpouring from the students that have shown up and how intelligently and kindly and just passionately you expressed that. And I do want to thank everybody for emailing too. We I want you to know that I read all of your emails. There were a lot of them, but I did read every piece of every email. Um and both my kids are in arts at Urbandale, so I um I I get where you know, it's a hard decision for us to make. I also it's very important uh and I get where you're coming from and I appreciate everybody

117being caring and gentle to us. I'd like to make a motion that we fill the middle school band position. The board back up the board asked the administration to fill it. Can I make one more comment? No, Chrissy, you're not allowed >> to thank the board again. Like this these are not fun conversations. We do a lot of hard work um individually and as a team. Um and I know that no matter how we vote, I know each of you put a lot of thought in. One more second part, okay? Okay, we're going to start with Ben Reiswig. Yes. Williams. >> Yes. Young. Yes. Burton. Yes. Hauser. No. Kent. No. Santeeusa. Yes. So, the motion to fill the middle school band position passes five to two. >> I think we need to take a collective

118sigh of Thank you all. And thank you for the constructive conversation and I appreciate all of this. All right, we have a few more agenda items to get to and they will all be roll calls, so let's jump through them. Uh first is to approve the Urbandale Education Association agreement for the upcoming school year. I would move to approve the uh of the contract with the Urbandale Education Association for 2026-2027. Burton will second. Burton, okay. And we're up to Williams. Williams will abstain due to the coaching piece of the That's loud. Young. Yes. Burton. Yes. Howser. Yes. King. Yes. Santizo. Yes. Van Nice White. Yes. Motion passes 6-0 with one abstention. All right, next action item. Look at certified contracts and sent issuance and return date for the 2026-2027 school year. I would move to

119approve the issuance and return dates for the said contracts. Williams will second. Let's start. And Young. Yes. So excited. I do. It happens like once every 10 minutes. Well, we might be able to loop back around, so buckle up. Um Burton. Yes. Yes. Yes. Santizo. Yes. Van Nice White. Yes. And Williams. Yes. Motion passes 7-0. All right, our next action item is to approve the 26-27 coaching contracts. I would move to approve the coaching contracts for 26-27. Santizo second. Santizo second. And we start over. Horton? Yes. Howser? Yes. Kent? Yes. Santizo? Yes. Van Wyk Yes. Williams? Stain. Stain. And Young? Yes. So, that passes 6-0. Unabstention. All right, our next item is 11E to approve the classified exempt letters of assignment for the 26-27 school year. I would move to approve the classified letters of

120assignment for 26-27. Williams second. Williams. And we're up to Howser. Yes. Kent? Yes. Santizo? Yes. Van Wyk? Yes. Williams? >> Yes. Young? Yes. Horton? Yes. Motion passes 7-0. All right, we're up to 11F to approve the UEW agreement for the 26-27 school year and the 26-27 classified wage schedules. So moved, Howser. Williams second. And we're up to Kent. Yes. Santizo? Yes. Van Wyk? Yes. Williams? Oh, yes. Finally. Young? Yes. Horton? Yes. And Howser? Yes. All right, motion passes 7-0. Last roll call. Sure. Um, Fenoy I like moves to go into closed session per Iowa code 21.5 I to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment hiring or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual's reputation and that individual be dressed in closed session. Mr. Malcolm

121We need a second. Oh, you like to talk. Gordon, all right. And it's going to be Santizo. Yes. Then Rice Vice Yes. >> Williams Yes. Young Yes. Putnam Yes. Prosser Yes. Hennings Yes. Motion Passes 7-0. And it is 7:41. We're going to close session. >> Mhm. >> Yes, okay. He's in the restroom. Is there another one or something? There's two more. Okay, so we're ready to continue streaming. Josh is not in here. Okay, well, we need Josh. >> Where's Josh? We're good to go. He is He's under the shade tree. Okay, I will uh Can we go ahead? Yes. We still have a quorum. Josh is in the restroom. There you go. That's nice. We just So, Kent moves to mo- William second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Too late. 9:32, we're out.

122Everyone watching you in the restroom. Sorry. Margaret just told everybody.