001[Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Okay, I'm going to call the August 27th, 2025 Lamesville Community School Board of Trustees special meeting 700 p.m. in the cafeteria. First on the agenda is the uh call to order. The second is the um we're going to add number four which will be public comment. The second item is the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> The next item is interview candidates for the open school board position. We will call them in one at a time, ask these same exact questions, and then um we'll call the next one in. So, I
002will go get Doug first. We're doing alphabetic order. Make me look better when I'm standing. Good. Good evening, Doug. Good evening. >> It'll be okay. >> It'll be all right. Okay. >> All right. >> The first candidate is Doug Burberry. My first question is the school board and superintendent are often held accountable for decisions involving sensitive data, past issues or previous overlooked policies. For instance, in 2023, the uh an office of civil rights complaint revealed significant deficiencies in school policies prompting a complete overhaul that caused some community unrest. Similarly, in approximately August of 2023, it was discovered that the school's chillers were operating at only 16%, far below the 40 to 50% required for full full functionality. Since then, we have spent $262,000, approximately $262,000 to reach 66% capacity on the chillers, which will allow
003some failure but still operate at 100%. The first question, how do you plan to navigate public criticism for issues that may precede your tenure or fall outside your direct control? That's a long question. You know that. Could I have a copy of that so I can look at it? >> You can have my copy and look at it if you wish. >> No, he's got another one. >> You got another one? >> Okay, there you go. >> Take that. >> Have that. >> It is a long question. The explanation. >> It's a long question. It is a long question. >> The setup's long. >> Yeah, the setup is long. So, we have um >> the civil right complaint. um that has to be resolved in some way, some manner. And then we also have a
004mechanical failure or facility issue that needs to be addressed as well to comply uh with regulation. So the question is, how do you plan to navigate public criticism for issues that may precede your tenure or fall outside your direct control? That is a pretty good question. I'll have to say that. Um, I would first I'd have to have the data. I'd have to have the information uh to digest to see what can be done, may not be done. Um, those are very s the the first one is a very sensitive issue uh which should be held in confidentiality. Um, and when you're in those situations, you have to respect the public and they're what they want to know what happened, this type of thing. But there are also parties involved that also deserve the respect
005and the confidentiality in that issue. And that should probably be handled um very delicately uh with legal counsel. um uh with those type of uh issues when it comes to the facility and and the operating of the school uh building and and at that capacity, I'd start looking for resolutions to where we get get that back to 100%. Um because, you know, our children uh in both these issues are affecting children in different ways. Um but I think we would have to find a way where we can get that chiller back up somehow some way. Um that's very important that uh to have kids in an environment that you know is conducive to learning environment and so on so forth. So that's how I probably do that. >> Okay. And then following along with that
006first statement, the second question is >> following along with that first statement about the chillers and the OCR complaint. Um, describe your ability to make proactive potentially unpopular decisions to prevent future problems. >> Who broke these questions out? Lord have mercy. >> Um, >> they're all getting them. I think uh you have to be proactive and if we're talking about policy that created the OCR complaint, uh you got to have policies that will hopefully protect you and the school um and prevent that from happening in the future. uh since there maybe w wasn't a policy in place to address those type of issues. Uh so policy is very very important um in that in that light. Um there are there's always going to be unpopular decisions um when you're stay on school board. Uh I
007sat on the St. John school board uh for many years and um institute tuition. You talk about an unpopular thing is when you're going to start charging people send their kids to school when it was a church supported school. Um, I think being in those decisions, if you can be transparent, um, with the public and explaining what needs to be done, uh, and they understand the scope of the issue, um, those decisions might not be so unpopular because I think communication and addressing those upfront and letting everybody body know um those decisions have to be made. You're not going to please everybody. I understand that. Um but I I really do think the communication being transparent and explaining what the issue is um some of those decisions might dissolve on them on their own. >>
008Okay. An individual board member has no authority. Only the board as a whole can make decisions for our corporation. So question. >> Yes. >> What skills or traits will allow you to contribute to the operation of the board as a whole? >> Well, I've been in management with uh Farm Bureau Insurance. I was in management for 35 years. Um I certainly understand that and I was on the St. John school board as well. And trust me, there's people that try to pick you off one-on-one and they try to get you to commit or to uh make a decision maybe because it affects only them or a few people and you certainly can't do that. Um certainly I had my issues of St. John's and that happened and u we had a policy to where you
009had to have at least two not one. In this situation you say full board. So then full board has to be you have to you have to uphold that. Um so that's that's totally fine. I understand that. >> How long you on the board? >> Oh gosh probably four or five years I'd say. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> How many people were on that board? >> Uh we had back then I'm going to say we probably had five. >> We probably had five just about like that. You always have an odd one, you know. >> Yeah, you have to. >> And u you know, the principal was essentially the superintendent out there and he was exeicio, you know, and gave us information, data, so on so forth to make decisions. And we had to craft
010a lot of policies, trust me, even though they have Missouri Senate will give you some guidelines because there's a lot of Lutheran schools uh in the Senate. >> Do they write some of the policy for you? >> I mean, >> not not so much. They would give you guidance, I guess you might say. you know, they have a legal team and so on so forth in uh St. Louis and and Fort Wayne and and they would give you guidance if you were struggling with something. >> Sure. >> So, you did have some resources there available to you. >> But then again, it was left individually too because different size schools, different communities, all that type >> different environments. Yeah, I get >> my next question statement first is that schoolboard service demands time, flexibility, and
011consistent engagement with district. It matters. Do you currently have any personal or professional commitments that would interfere with your ability to serve effectively? >> Well, I'm retired, semi-retired. Uh I retired in December 20 and 21 uh for 18 days and then a colleague of mine opened up in uh bought an independent agency in Seymour. So, I do sell insurance part-time. Um outside of that, I'm home. And I only I don't advertise uh for insurance sales. It's more referral. Um and I got in the Medicare business here uh because I'm one of those Medicare persons. Decided to find out how that all works and do. So that's what I do. If >> you were appointed, have you made necessary arrangements to fully commit to the position? >> Oh, absolutely. >> I wouldn't be standing here. Okay.
012Thank you. >> Okay. So, in previous board meetings, administration has had harsh comments made towards them that may have been hearsay and/or not factual or a single person's point of view. Being a school board member requires resistance to an argument with an individual that has no factual information because sometimes the actual sequence of events is sensitive information. So the question that goes with that is what would be your approach in this instance to support the administration here? >> Well, again, I think you have to have all the facts and like you say, there is uh this is a small community. There's gossip, hearsay. Uh trust me, I've been in the Lanesville Gazette more than once probably since I've lived here for 38 years. So I certainly understand all the the um rhetoric that might go
013on a small community. But here again, uh, protecting the board, the administration, faculty, students, teachers, whoever might be involved. Um, I think I just have to listen. And again, you can't shut off people's opinions. You can't shut off their what they think about a certain situation. And yes, they might be misinformed. They might be totally informed. Who knows? You know, what what it really is about. And so there again, I think that you have to say, you know, I appreciate your opinion. uh uh and your suggestions, you know, we'll take that underneath advisement. Um if if I can come back and and tell you what the resolution was or it can be opened up again, I think effectively to be a good schoolboard member, I think open communication and transparency has to be first and
014foremost because I think that's how you build trust and you have to build trust amongst the community, you have to build trust with the faculty, the teachers and the students as far as that's concerned. Um, how do you plan to celebrate and promote the achievements of our students and staff to foster a positive school co culture? Oh, >> let's have a party. Let's have a party. Um, very very important. You know, it's um in my career, it's very easy to criticize and oftent times it's very hard. We don't hear the compliments. and compliments uh are so very very important. Um I'm not sure sometimes when you're adults a gift of some nominal amount is really I'm sure people appreciate that but you know if you're genuinely concerned and come from the heart and say man
015you you worked your tail off on that project or man you you you're setting the bar high above and I really appreciate you being who you are and caring for that student or students or it could be a cook. It could be a cook that's doing a phenomenal job. Um, you know, relationships are so so vitally important in our society and in this world. And you know, I've been I'm a parent 2.0 as you very well know. Most of you know that I've raised uh four girls and now raising a grandson. And you know when you reach the road when a child gets 18 years old as a parent you go man I got him to that point and then as a parent you look back and you say wonder what kind of grade I
016got. I wonder what kind of grade did I did I do a good job I do a poor job and there's no one I think parents never get that grade. And so when I'm out in public and I see a child that is being um courtesy, kind, respectful, um I'll pull that parent side and I say, "You did a good job. You did a good job." And uh parents need that. Parents need that so bad. Um because I've been there and there's nobody at the after graduation said, "Man, you did a great job." Your child might have been good athlete. That child might have been a good academia, but the character of that child is reflective on the parents. And are the parents ever told you did a good job? And um I I just
017experienced that. Uh Nolan has a he's on a travel baseball team and uh there's one child on the team that has got the team together and prays before they play the game and he did it all on his own. And you can't imagine what that feels like to those other ball players. And I watched that and I had to take a lesson from him. And so now the parents go to the dugout and pray for those kids and the safety and all that. And so that helps with the community, that helps with other people seeing that around you. It's a public display. And that boy I've got a lot of respect for. And I went to his parents and I said, "I know what you did, but you did a good job. Okay, Doug. With
018over 600 houses planned to be built in the next few years, the focus of this current board is passing a referendum for new school to be built. If it passes in November of 2026, the earliest the new school will be ready is 2029, maybe 2020, 2030, excuse me. Portable classrooms will likely be necessary if it does not pass in 2026. the amount requested has to be reduced and then the second triferendum referendum will be in the presidential election year of 2028 which can be really tough to pass on presidential election years you know there's a lot of stuff going on and people you know blow it off or whatever but anyway here we go my question first question as Lanesville continues to grow what is your vision for future expansion Well, I would almost say
019you guys are kind of late because if you got that much going on, you know, and probably should have been addressed sooner, but um I think that there's got to be um you know, portable classrooms. You know, I made the suggestion at one of the board meetings because of the crowding of the classrooms and so on so forth is to maybe look at St. Mary's for a short time fix until something would happen to relieve the pressure of this building. >> Um I have been involved in uh that as well. St. John's I was on the building committee. I was the chair of the building committee. I was also the chairman of raising the money at St. John's because the my co-chair took a job in Cincinnati and left me uh with all of it
020so to speak. And Gary Blank, whom you know in the community, he was the chairman of the congregation. He said, "Doug," I said, "What are we going to do now?" I was the guy that was selling the project and getting the money, but now what about the construction phase? He said, "You know all about it. You got both jobs." I had both jobs. Um, so you do have to plan for the future. Um, I've moved um built one new office. We leased two other offices which were buildouts. So I have some knowledge about expansion um space planning um those type of things have been in my tenure while I've been in my working field and along with at St. John's cuz that fellowship center was built and that was the chairman. I was over that.
021Um have to understand needs. Uh what are the needs? You also have to understand budgets. Uh we can't probably have an aquarium at Lanesville or a planetarium like Columbus u East does. You know, I was on student council way back almost 50 years ago and they had a planetarium and Seymour High School did not have a planetarium. So, I certainly understand that looking towards the future of Lanesville, um, got to be some data there. Uh, I think you have to sell the job right to the taxpayers. Um, I think is, uh, be as transparent as you can, have the data that supports what you need to build, where at, what what are the needs, and I'm still unclear other than we're out of space. Mhm. >> And that's about as far as I have gotten
022so far. But there's got to be some research put in this. And whether I'm on the board or whether I'm not, uh, my suggestion was we need the data quick and we need good data on so there's a direction and a vision of what is needed for this community. I don't know if it's going to be an elementary. I don't know if it's going to be a high school. I I don't know. Is it going to be a middle school? I don't know, you know, at this point in time because don't have the facts and the data and I think we need the facts and the data. Um, I also think we have to work with the county. Um, certainly with the property that has been purchased. Is there egresses? Is the county going to
023pay for some of the infrastructure? Is that all in the school? Don't know anything about that. You know, is there going to be a caution light? Is there going to be a stop light? Well, that'd be some Lanesville have a stoplight. um or a caution light for that matter. >> Okay. >> Um but yeah, there's there's got to be a lot of work done there. >> Okay, Doug. Um what do you Okay, here we go. I think it just kind of >> goes off that what we just got into discussing. >> What do you see as the biggest challenge facing our school at this time and how would you address it? There you go. >> I I think that's I think that's it in a nutshell. you know, um I've come to some of the
024meetings about the the school proposal and what it's going to be and we've seen uh renderings of what a new school could look like. Um but again, I I I me being on the public side, not on your side, because I don't know everything that you guys know, but I I can't come to any kind of conclusion. And I think the community's got to come with a conclusion just like way back when when the school incorporated, there had to be a lot of information out there. And yeah, it's scary as heck when you're talking about double my school tax. That's scary. And that's going to be scary for the community. You're going to have to get this community behind that or it's not going to pass that referendum. So that to me probably is one
025of the biggest issues that I see here at this school right now is you're out of space. that I know of. And that's a huge huge when you're talking multi-million dollar project. Multi-million dollar. >> Oh, yeah. It's go It's only going to go up. >> Yeah. It's not. >> It ain't going down. >> Trust me. I built a little fire pit in my backyard this summer and I was shocked at the prices of what it cost to build a little fire pit. >> It's only going up. >> Yeah. >> Thank you, Doug. Go ahead. >> Oh, >> he's got a couple more questions. Serving on the school board requires not only dedication but also a clear vision for the district's future. What unique qualifications, experiences, or perspectives make you the most suitable candidate for this
026role? >> Well, I I think a lot of factors, you know, I I managed a over $40 million premium agency and had to be profitable. Uh my budget was $5 million. Um, I I I've got that experience. I have done building projects uh both for corporate and outside of corporate as I just talked about. Um, management skills. Um, I've trained, taught agents, hired, fired, been in controversial situations. some very very um you talk about the civil rights complaint. Um not been quite there, but I've had some uh personnel that has gotten into some bad bad problems and had to counsel through that. Uh coaching and counseling skills. I've had to coach and counsel personnel in my tenure. Um, those are probably some of the off-the-top things. I could go on and on and on, but
027I think you get my drift of what my background has been, and I sent that um along with my letter. So, those are probably my strong suits. Um, relationships. Um, relationships are vitally important. I've been in relationship business for 48 years now. So I know and it's twice the listening and one time talking. A lot of listening. >> And last question is what motivates you to become a school board member? >> I'm glad you asked that. >> I actually ran for the school board against Bob Schickle when he first came on the board and got beat by 76 votes. I'm pretty proud that I only got beat by 76 votes. Um, I have the time now to do um my civic duty, you might say. Um, I've always liked education. Like I say, I've served
028on boards and education, but it's time. It's time that I give back to the community. um when I was working full-time, did I have the time to research um what needed to be researched in a capacity such as a board um was here when you passed all the school policies. I've read probably 80% of them word for word and got them printed out in binders and the binders are this thick and there's a lot in there and there's a lot to um understand and and um decipher what's that policy actually saying because sometimes policies are not written in plain English you might say even though they are English they're kind of hard to understand Um, so yeah, it's time for me to give back to the community, do my civic duty. Um, I was never
029in the military. It's probably one regret that I have in my life. I never served the country. Um, but this community has served me and served uh my business for many, many years, and it's time for me to get back. >> Great. Thank you, Amy. >> Thank you. >> Thanks. >> I'm going to leave this It's a whole lot easier to read and understand to catch all that. >> That's a good idea. >> Continue back. >> I would think you can ask Dr. question. >> Do you have my answers? >> Okay, next is Donnie Husson. The first question and I'm going to give a little statement and then ask a question. The school board and superintendent are often held accountable for decisions involving sensitive data, past issues, or previously overlooked policies. For instance, in 2023,
030an office for civil rights complaint revealed significant deficiencies in school policies, prompting a complete overhaul that caused some community unrest. Similar similarly, in approximately August of 2023, it was discovered that the school's chillers were operating at only 16% far below the 40 to 50% required for full functionality. Since then, we have spent $262,000 approximately $262,000 to reach 66% capacity on the chillers, which will allow some failure but still operate at 100%. First question, how do you plan to navigate public criticism for issues that may precede your tenure or fall outside your direct control? M. There's going to be a lot of times when you're going to make decisions based on other people's actions in the past that you have no control over. For instance, on county council, we do that all the time. You've got
031to understand the reason for the decision. You got to understand how you would react to it. And if you agree, the important thing you need to do is have open, fair, and honest communication with your communities. I mean, people come in and if they if they feel like they've been left out of decision- making processes and left out of of decisions that are made and they're in the dark, they may question why you do certain things. So, my way to handle some is to always have fair, open, and honest communication. As far as handling something that happened in the past or something that wasn't my beyond my control, the last thing I'm going to do is sit here and blame someone else. I'll try to understand why this decision is upsetting them so and see
032if we can work to some kind of resolution to make it a little bit better the next time. >> Okay. Following that statement above, describe your ability to make proactive potentially unpopular decisions to prevent future problems. I don't know if you read the paper the last couple weeks, but Harrison County Council had to institute a wheel tax. That wasn't a very popular decision. A lot of people didn't understand the implications of the wheel tax. And while we had to do it, and basically the state of Indiana gave out community crossings grants for road improvements. Over the years, the county has benefited from about $8 million of those grants. This year with the SB1 changes, state said in INDOT, no county that does any county that does not have a wheel tax is not eligible to
033apply for these grants. So that wasn't a very popular decision. We explained the reasons for it and we we've said it in last night. We only had one person show up to complain. So I think again you're going to make decisions that are in the best interest and if the community doesn't understand why you're doing them there's going to be complaints and criticism. It's fair, open and honest communication with your community. I mean this is their school. State of Indiana charges the community to elect a board to operate their school that they're paying for. So they're entitled to all the fair and honest communication we can give. and and I think this board has done a good job at that, but there's always going to be somebody that doesn't understand what you're doing. So, fair,
034open, and honest communications. Next little scenario, Donnie, it's short. An individual board member has no authority. You know that only the board as a whole can make decisions for our corporation. So, what skills or traits will allow you to contribute to the operation of the board as a whole? I think skills or traits. I like to think I'm a I'm an honest communicator. Uh I like to always remember what a wise gentleman that lived in this community for years. His initials are PS. I don't think I have to say any more than that. Once told me, he said, uh the good Lord gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason. So you you got to listen to your community. Um, you got to understand that I am one part of a fifth. What
035skills or traits do I have? Well, it may I think a biggest skill or trait or benefit I may have is 22 years on this school board and having the the ability or the luxury maybe of being one of the interim board members, the very a member of the very very first board that we ever had because prior to that we were ran by a trustee. So you got the advantage of having the state officials tell you your position, tell your law, and that was all fresh in our mind. So when I would get a call at home at night, someone want to complain about the principal or a teacher or a coach, my first question was, have you talked to that teacher or have you talked to that principal? And when they say no,
036well, I said, well, that's the first step you need to do. I'm only one of five and I can't make any decision or make any promises to you till all five of us are sitting down together. So I think experience, my ability to listen because of that experience and now 12 years on or nine years on the county council has only sharpened that skill. I think >> schoolboard service demands time, flexibility, and consistent engagement with district matters. Do you currently have any personal or professional commitments that would interfere with your ability to serve effectively? Um, my personal commitments. Uh, I'm a widowerower. Everybody knows that. And I was blessed and and I do not regret anything I've had to go through since the loss because the the joy of having her out outshines that. But
037on personal commitment, I've got five grandkids, but a lot of them are involved in school. So, I'm going to see a lot of the things they do. I'm going to be involved in a lot of the things they do being here at school. Right now, professional commitments. I work at First Harrison Bank. I'm a loan officer, but I've got the privilege of having 25 years of experience there. I'm one of more senior lenders, so I got a pretty gig pretty good gig going. They they kind of leave me alone. I do what I need to do. And if I need to leave sometime, nobody really says much to me. And again, I don't know if it's a trait, if experience is a trait. I think that I've been in community service in this community since
038I was 30 years old. The one of the toughest thing I did was Lanville Town Board. We had a sewer project that nobody wanted. It had been litigated since 1968, I believe, 1971. We we had an EPA grant for 80%. They kept pushing it off, pushing it off. EPA come down says, "If you don't build this sewer plant by the end of this term, the grant term, which was two years away, we are going to build it, no grant, and give you the bill for the whole thing." So, we got that done. So, community service, my experience in that I think is pretty good trait that's going to help me make time for what we got to do here. And as far as my position on county council in the state of Indiana, you cannot
039hold two lucrative positions. An elected position that has a little bit of pay, even if it's a dollar, is a lucrative position. School board is lucrative. County council is lucrative. When this position first came open, I was asked by a couple couple people if I was considering it. I'm going to get emotional here, so y'all bear with me. And I said, well, it's a little soon right now. there's a lot going on in the county that I'd really like to see through. And a couple more people called and we talked and and someone said, "You'll do good at whatever you do. You just you just got to make the decision where you know you're going to make the most impact." And when I think about my grandkids in this school and part of me that's
040been in this school since 1970, when I stepped through those doors as a freshman, I knew in my heart where I'd make the most impact for me. There's six other people on that council that can do just as good as me because Harrison County is bigger than Donnie Hussel. So my heart told me to apply for this. So if I get if I'm lucky enough to get it, I will resign uh county council immediately. So there should be no impediments to my time. >> Have you made the necessary arrangements to fully commit to this position? I think you just answered that. >> Yeah, I I gave an announcement at the August 1 meeting that I'm applying and if if I'm fortunate, I will have to step down at the end of the month. >> Okay.
041Thank you. >> Okay. In previous board meetings, administration has had harsh comments made towards them that may have been hearsay and or not factual or a single person's point of view. Being a schoolboard member requires resistance to an argument with an individual that has no factual information because sometimes the actual sequence of events is sensitive information. What would be your approach in this instance to support our administration? Number one, realizing that I'm only one of five. Number two, realizing that that social media and all that, there are people who who hear a little bit of an issue and it spreads like wildfire and they may not fully understand it. I think you just have to reassure the community that you've got a a pretty good understanding what's going on. their concerns, while legitimate to them,
042may not be actual and that we're still looking into the matter and let them know that you'll do the best decision for them. And then follow up with them when you have the luxury or the ability to maybe indulge a little bit more what you know and maybe you won't be able to. And just again, if if you set the tone throughout your tenure in public office that the people realize you're shooting straight with them, even in instances like that, they're going to rely more on your character than the hearsay stuff that's going on because they respect the individual that they're talking to. Not that they don't respect anybody here. Please don't think I said that. But I feel like I can communicate with people or I have in the past that if I say
043we've got it under the control, don't worry about the hearsay. You know, it it's okay. Again, it's open, honest communications and they're that's that's all people want. >> How do you plan to foster and promote the achievements of our students and staff to foster a positive school culture? How do I plan? >> Can I read that question? Seven. [Music] >> Well, individually, I I think like anybody in this community, anytime something good's happened here, you tell everybody in the world that you know that you bleed purple. as a board, I think we've got an obligation to get that news out there like you guys do at meetings and stuff and just keep promoting the good things that we do. Um, there were in one of the the letters I wrote or the applications I wrote,
044I talked about when I was on the board previously, I really enjoyed the times that I got to sit down with maybe a kid that was in the senior class getting ready to graduate and talk to them about their experiences. And most of the time, those were really pleasant experiences. uh confirming what we do here is good. Uh but every once in a while there'd be a kid that just didn't have a great experience and they would say, "I can't wait to get out of that place." And I'd say, "Well, no, that don't." And we talk a little bit about it. And that I think that kind of motivates me to make sure the kids know this is a great place and they want to bleed purple. >> Somebody's not having a good experience. I
045know. I bet they're from Hazelwood. >> Talk to >> I bet they're from Hazelwood. >> Sorry. Sorry. [Music] >> Sorry. Yeah. Okay, Donnie. >> Tim. >> With over 600 houses planned to be built in the next few years, the focus of this current board is passing a referendum for a new school to be built. If it passes in November of 2026, the earliest the new school will be ready is probably around 2029 2030. Portable classrooms will be likely will likely become necessary if it does not pass in 2026. The amount requested has to be reduced and then the second try for the referendum will be in the presidential election year of 2028, which is tough to pass. As Lanesville continues to grow, what is your vision for future expansion? >> Well, Tim, the reality is
046that our vision for future expansion is going to have to hinge on what our community is willing to pay. And I think in order to do that with the growth that's going now, uh, your number about 600 houses planned is correct. But um the latest big subdivision that was planned has got a moratorum on it because the commissioners put a a stop to a lot. But that's not to say that's not going to happen eventually. Um, a future might be that the school board members start getting starting being a little bit more proactive and letting planning and zoning, the board of commissioners, border county council know that while you might want more rooftops in the area to make it attractive to employers and all that, we don't have the infrastructure to support those rooftops and
047we don't have the room. Planning for future is probably going to Right now it's a tough because the the out of district kids coming in are benefit to us. But then again, if we have our own kids coming in, how do you manage those? Um maybe we have to figure out a plan that how what percent can we live with out of district and what percent do we think we're going to grow in in district? My fear is that this referendum coming up this fast in November, the last three or four referendums in this area for school expansions all failed. Um maybe we dig into that and see why they did fail. Um if this was 1990, I'd tell you don't worry, this community would pass anything. But the demographics of this community has changed
048a little bit. And I'm I keep making this same point and it's it it is no reference to the current board or any other prior board, but you're going to have to have a tremendous amount of community support, a tremendous amount of community buyin, and you're going to get that with fair, open, honest communication. It's when your community feels like, you know, I don't know what's going on. I go to the meetings and they never say no. you know, they don't understand what you have to do and what you can't do, but there's there still seems to be some some disconnect between what happens in the meeting and what leaves in the meeting in the minds of the of the people. So, you're going to any board's going to have to get real buy in
049from your community. And I I I worry that November is going to come too fast. Um, portable classrooms, it is an option. Um, I'm sure I've said in a couple meetings and I agree with I talked to him personally. A couple engineers and architects have looked at the current facility and shown ways that you could add classroom space. Uh, it's not cheap. Um, but I mean baby steps to to and another thing is once It it would help more trying to get the referendum if the board and a couple community people saw a couple ideas and one specific idea was picked. Right now, alls I know, well, some of them want a high school gym. Some of them want a high school complex completely. Some of them want an elementary complex. There's no clear definitive
050plan that the board has put forward. Here's what we recommend and here's the cost. And I think more and more people are realizing that while a high a new high school is is a dream and it'd be wonderful, the main idea is we can have a bigger gym, we can host sectionals. So you don't make a nickel off of hosting a sectional except for your concessions. So a bigger gym, if it means keeping my school, I'd rather have no gym. And I think those of us that are lifers and those of us that are half- lifers realize what's going on here. There's a lot of people that haven't grown up here that realize what's going on here because they send their kids here. We got to continue to get that message out because again, you're
051you've got people who don't send kids here who move to Franklin Township because of the low tax rate and they can build a nice home and live in it. And now we're going to tell them we want to almost double it for our kids. Well, I don't have any kids in that school. People forget that someone paid taxes to send them to school, right? >> You know, so again, we're going to have to def I think future expansion, we're going to have to get a definitive plan what we want and show the steps to get there. And I worry that November again will come too fast. And and I don't know with the way the legislation is that if you fail your first referendum and you have a second referendum, you have to lower the
052cost. >> Does that mean maybe we shouldn't have the first one this quick? I don't know. Those are >> Yeah, there's a lot to think about on that, but but again, you're on a you're on a time frame that's sure that room, you know, it's like, okay, so that's that's the rub. >> What do you see as the biggest challenge? Well, maybe we've already answered that. what do you see as the biggest challenge facing our school at this time and how would you address it? Maybe you've done that. Go ahead. >> The biggest challenge is the growth. Um >> I think we got a little bit of reprieve because the the the first subdivision that's opening now, it's probably going to be a couple years before the expansion to that happens. The big one, the
053100 acres with 350 homes is on hold. It probably won't happen for several years. So that gives us time but not a lot because it takes three or four years to build a building once you decide. But I I think I personally feel trying to do a referendum next November might be quick. It's not going to be impossible, but we got a lot we as a community have a lot of work to do. And those of us who aren't on the board that support this school are going to have to help carry the banner. Um, it's it's wonderful to live in a community as good as this and have a tax rate that's half of New Albany and and all the others, but yet we want all the amenities all the others have. So, I
054think we're somewhat used to having it pretty good in this community. And I'm not an advocate of raising taxes, but I'm an advocate of giving our kids the best we can afford. So, if that if that's what happens, so be it. I just don't know how that how heavy that sentiment is in the rest of the county in the area. Okay, the last set of questions. Serving on the board requires not only dedication but a clear vision for the district's future. What unique qualifications, experience, perspectives make you the most suitable candidate for this role? I think those are those are questions that Donnie doesn't like to answer because it look like Donniey's trying to break his elbow back smacking his back. But I think the qualifications I have that might be a little bit different
055than anyone else's. I already have 22 years of experience on this board 16 as chair. I grew up in this community my whole life. I've served on the town board. I've served on the volunteer fire department. And I currently serve on your county council. I have a wealth of public service experience. Maybe not a wealth, but a lot. You know, I've I've had to look people in the eye and say, "Yes, we're raising a wheel tax. I don't like it either, but we got to." I've had to look people in the eye and and say, you know, sorry about your luck, but you know, we can't do that this way. The parks department isn't open every day of the week. You know, just silly things that come up at county level. I've had to tell
056them, look in the eye of my kids and tell them their mother was brain dead. I've done some tough things and I've done some great things. And I I think I've got a well-rounded wealth of experience that probably equates to a master's. I don't know, but you know, life skills are important and I think I've got a lot. I think I've got the ability to listen to people. I've got the ability to treat people fairly because I believe that's what my Lord Jesus Christ wants me to do. situation. I think we all have to do that. Do what's best. >> And the last question, what motivates you to become a school board member? >> What motivates me? The experience I had when I was one, the kids, my kids, my grandkids, your grandkids. When when
057I first ran again, brand new school board, we never had one before. They had a PTSO, PTSO or PTL. I get confused with St. John's in here. Yes, sir. >> They had an open house and uh they had it was meet the candidates night and there were questions and the first question they asked um who was your most important constituents? Of course, everybody coming down. Well, the voters, for the taxpayers, or the voters, or the tax? And that went back and forth. And I just kind of looked at him. I said, "My most important constituent is the kids. The kids of this community are my most important constituent. It's important to listen to the taxpayers and the voters, but it's the kids that I'm doing this for." And I still believe that today. That's what
058motivates me. Maybe it's different. Maybe I'll have a more mellowed outlook being a grandpa than a dad, but I had some pretty good kids. >> I know your kids. >> Okay, that's it. >> All right. Thank you all. >> Thanks. We redo this. Um, I want to go first because that's like a siren marinade right there. I can tell you that. >> I don't like that. So, I guess I guess y'all got some questions for me. >> Questions are up there. So you can just read him if you want to. I think did he leave them or not? >> Yeah, he should. >> But he put notes up here on him. Did I read his notes? >> No, you don't have to read his notes. >> Okay. >> A little bit awkward. >> Did these
059are the questions we're gonna >> Okay. >> We'll read them out loud, but Okay. At the same time. >> Next candidate is Joe Wagner. That's me. >> You'll find this interesting. >> Thank you. >> So, you're going to read these two and I'm going try to answer them. >> Yeah. You're going to answer as we go. >> Okay. I'm going to read a little statement and couple questions. >> Okay. The school board and superintendent are often held accountable for decisions involving sensitive data, past issues, or previous overlooked policies. For instance, in 20123, an office for civil rights compl complaint revealed significant deficiencies in school policies, prompting a complete overhaul that caused some community unrest. Similarly, in approximately August of 2023, it was discovered that the school's chillers were operating at only 16% capacity, far below
060the 40 to 50% required for full functionality. Since then, we have spent 200 approximately $262,000 to reach 66% capacity on the chillers, which would allow some failure but still operate and still operate at 100%. How? So, the first question, how do you plan on how do you plan to navigate public criticism for issues that may precede your tenure or fall outside your direct control? there. Let me let me see what we say. The first thing we're saying is we didn't have policies. August of 2023, it was discovered schools chillers were operating only at 16% but How do you get 66% capacity to be at 100%. >> Capac capacity to be to make it fully function. But we were only running in 23. We're only running at 16%. >> So you can still fail to be
061at the 50%. >> Yeah, you could be at 50% still be at 100% capacity >> or 100% 50%. >> Yeah, whichever way you want to look at. Only 50%. >> I'm like you. M one of my good subjects and I was very confusing there. >> Yeah, you could you have 50% of the chillers working and still and still fully function the building. >> How would you plan to uh public criticisms for issues that proceed your tenure outside your direct control? >> Well, I mean, you know, first of all, I'm Joe Magner. Um I have a degree in chemical engineering. We moved to Lanesville in 2007. my wife nurse downtown. We decided to move the small community. We love this idea of being a small community. Three girls going to school here. So obviously very interested
062in making this strong and the best the brightest it can be. One girl graduated. She's going for a elementary degree right now. Hopefully going for pathology after that. So St. community work one day. Um, just a little bit of background. Probably most people do know us. I've been volunteer for 14 years community. Uh, we love the area. Just to give you a second, if you don't know us, we've been married for 20 21 years. Um, and we volunteer for all kinds of stuff in this community and we really do love it. Um I work I have a team that does stuff in nuclear power plants and then uh gas turbine power plants. So dealing with conflict resolution, dealing with project management, looking at policies, procedures, dealing with people who are mad at us, figuring out
063how to deal with problems and what I do every single day of my life. That was a big fire line. So how do you deal with conflict, criticism? Levelheadedness. Don't get upset. Hey, criticism. Try not to get emotional. You know, people always like to get fired, get emotional, yell at you. The first thing you can't do is get emotional right back. What happens? Two emotional people have very rarely come to an agreement. The only way to do one, there's no agreement. One person that's never an agreement, right? Levelheadedness is how you come to a conclusion and get an answer. You know, if you're yelling at somebody, you go to any sporting event, you see two people yelling, they're both pissed off, there's definitely So, you just have to be really levelheaded, you have to listen
064to the side because most of the time people are arguing talking to it. Don't seem like it at the moment, right? You're really upset. You know, if I'm saying I want this for my kid, I want how I see it. I want it for my kid. And the teachers normally want it the best for what they think for their student class as well, right? I'm pushing my side because I that's how I see it. But I'm sure they're looking at their question from their side. So this is a chiller issue. Yeah, I can design chillers all day long. So probably work on this come to a collective agreement because maybe there's a different chill compressor chill from different point but deal with criticism. I think just do it from a level head. Um, most of
065the problems I deal with, honestly, when I started American Air Filter 20 years ago, my very first thing I had to do was settle a lawsuit. I was for nuclear power plant over in Slovenia with the housing design company gave us the wrong weight. They didn't palance at a kilogram. So, we recoupled weight when they got there. Huge issue with the frame size. Just went levelheaded. We aditted our mistake. We just came to agreement. We didn't really argue. I just think levelheadedness when you have disagreements, tell the truth. Don't try to hide. Be honest. Be open. Um, will you get excited? Yes. Do people get excited? Yes. Is that human nature? Yes. Do we all get excited? Yes. But at the end of the day, Google has prevail. [Music] You're fuel engineer. Any engineer, you're
066data driven. That's I gave these guys up here. Every two, three years, we gave new boss alert. They always say, you take this great survey, and this survey tells you who you are, right? There 50,000 different ones in the world. Mine always comes out the same. So that right there, no matter how I ask you these questions, that's what the data says. Who Joe Magner is that from the top to the bottom, right? Whatever brand survey this is core strengths corporation, right? >> So that's the latest one we get from me and my team. I got about 27 people report to me. That's how they rate me and you know you do like 100 questions, they do 25 on you. So that's how my top answer. That's what the computer data says. So levelheadedness, take
067control, put down the facts. Even you have to step away. Sometimes you got to step away, right? Everybody wants an answer, right? Then Florida light, they want answers. They said, "We're dealing with GE, Florida. I deal with the customers all the time and they're always hopping. Don't G is always pissed off everywhere in the world, right? They always love to get money out of you. But tell them the truth. Don't lie. You deal with projects. Projects coming late. Tell them soon as you know it. Because anytime you put pressure on other people, it puts in the defensive, try not to do that. Just be as honest as you can. Straight forward. Makes life better on everybody. >> Okay. The next question is, describe your your ability to make proactive, potentially unpopular decisions to prevent future
068problems. >> Be honest in the first place. Tell the problems as soon as they arrive and it'll help you prevent those future problems from getting worse. address some of that. But if you know something's coming, don't wait. You know, if I got delivering is due at the end of next month and I know today, I'm going to go ahead and tell them so they can start preparing. If there's a I always believe everything works, so I apologize. But if there if a customer has an outage next month at a power plant and I know I'm not going to get the goods there in time, let them know that now. So this week power outage that doesn't help that plant out, right? Let them know. So they might reschedu their sister plans at a different time
069let them know. >> Yes ma'am. >> Individual board member as a board only the board as a whole make decisions decisions for corporation. Yes ma'am. >> So what skills or train allow you to contribute to the operation of the board as a >> I think I'm a very collaborative person. Um I like to give with the team. I like to always talk about things, come up with the best best decision as a group and put our decision forward and not backstab as a team go forward as a collective body, >> but I will I will give my opinion in the setting of what I believe is the right answer. service demands time, flexibility, and consistent engagement with district. Do you currently have any personal or professional commitments that could interfere with your ability to serve?
070>> I'm busy. Yep, I'm real busy. Um I mean, now I'm on uh Dr. Apple's parents board and I make it um you know, I volunteer as a fellowship. pretty much 95% of all the good and if I'm selected I will be there as much as I possibly can% that if we made the necessary arrangements totally >> Yes ma'am >> in previous board meetings administration has had harsh comments made towards them that may have been hearsay and were not factual or a single person's point of view. Being a school board member requires resistance to an argument with an individual that has no factual information because sometimes the actual sequence of events is sensitive information. What would be your approach in this instance to support our administration? >> You just have to listen and not take
071immediate responses. I deal with it all the time at work. you know, um being on the management team, we have lots of information that we can't share, you know, until the appropriate time or maybe never situation issues and things we can't shed. [Music] So, we deal with issues like that all the time where we have to keep sensitive information sensitive. People get mad at you over things like that and they have no knowledge of it and they say things that aren't true. Um, rumors get started a lot and you absorb it and if you can't react to it because when you react to something like that then you're just feeding into you know like the piranha bath. If you throw something in that, right, you can't do it. At some point in your life, in
072your career, you realize that it's probably not what you want to partake in because you just mature past it. I mean, I don't really have a better answer than you can't be in the piranha bath. >> Okay. How do you plan to celebrate and promote the achievements of our students and staff to foster a positive school culture? >> Oh my goodness. I mean, just the other day, I mean, I was here from 6:00 in the morning until 4:30 painting parking lot spots and doing all the cooking and Lena went and bought all the food and I set up all the tents and I walked all the garbage around the whole building and threw it away. I mean, I celebrated all day with all those kids in 96 degree weather painting all those and my daughter
073supported the fun run and I did all the cooking for that and all the but I mean, I'm probably one of the most supportive not parents, I'm not saying I'm more supportive than anybody else here, but I'm equally as supportive, I think, probably as any parent in the school. So, I mean, I'm I'm I don't think there could be a parent any more supportive. I think I'm equally as supportive as the most supportive parent here. >> I get it. >> No, we do tons of community things, right, with the kids. So, >> very positive, supportive. Um, say we we volunteered coach for what 14 years maybe now here. >> So, we have been supportive in every way possible. >> Okay, let's go to the future now. Okay, we're going to go to question eight and
074nine. So, you can go with me. Okay. >> Yes, sir. >> With over 600 houses planned to be built in the next few years, the focus of this current board is passing a referendum for a new school to be built if it passes in November of 2026. The earliest the new school will be ready is 2029 2030. Portable classrooms will be like will likely become necessary. If it does not pass in 26, the amount requested has to be reduced and then the second try for the referendum will be in in the presidential election year 28, which is tough. Anytime you have that all coinciding together, you know how that goes. As Lanesville continues to grow, what is your vision of future expansion? >> I probably have mixed me I probably have mixed emotions here compared
075to some people on the board potentially. >> Um I'm not for sure where I stand yet on this topic. >> Okay. >> Um Dr. Apple brought me in early on on the process and showed me some of the plans between the elementary and the high school. And we were in here on some of the first meetings where people put the dots on the board. And I'm not sure I even agree with the whole process of how we started, how much money we talked about, what all we looked at, how we even got to that first step of 60 and 80 million, what makes sense, 40 million. I still haven't see the calculator for how much it affect individual, you know, property tax. I think it's really important to understand. >> Sure. >> You know, you
076hate to run people out of a small community. They've been here their whole life without really knowing what the effect is before they >> Mhm. >> I feel like we kind of push that rock on out and on out and on out, especially as the legislature changed. I think the first thing we have to understand are what are the options? >> I know there's an elementary, there's a high school, is there a possibility of a fieldhouse or a possibility of doing other renovations? Is there a possibility? The number one thing is what makes sense financially. >> Okay. >> Fiscal responsibility. Using every taxpayers's dollar to the best potential outcome for the community. Making sure we're looking at a 20 year 30-year plan. I think that it was shortsighted probably. Um the number I was told
077just simple Excel spreadsheet that if you took at a high school and you took the number of people they said we're going to move in there took the average number of kids that were going to be per household that school wouldn't handle them. So why would you build something you already know you weren't going to be able to be in in 10 years? That doesn't make sense. >> Yeah. >> You know you're going to spend 70 million. It isn't gonna be big enough in 10 years. >> Well, that probably wasn't the best option that you to present in the first place. I mean >> Yeah. >> Um I don't think we should have spent more. I think we should have looked at while our options. like being fiscally responsible is the very first step when
078you look at that. Um >> for sure facility expansion, improvement, fieldhouse, high school, I don't know what the answer is. I really don't. >> I have not seen enough that tells me what the black and white answer is. >> Okay. >> Um I think though when you're looking at that expansion, we know we have to expand in some way. I think we have to look at the tax implications on on you know on the 100,000 you know to see how it does affect people because I think that's very important for a small town. >> Um >> you don't want to bankrupt half the town. >> Sure. >> Um I think you have to make sure that not only you worry about the building you know you have resources you have student teacher ratios. You have
079to make sure there's money for development of the teachers the new staff. Do you need more principles? You need more counselors. There's you know there's I think there's a lot more than just the building itself. Um, what other facilities is it going to take? You know, if you have that, then do you want new tennis courts? You want a new baseball field? What all does it what all you really looking at when you do it? What kind of community involvement do we need to make sure we are making the decision that the whole community wants? You need you need to have like open workshops, more open forums, you know, town halls. I don't know the answer. I really don't. I have not looked at what other small communities have done. But I tell you, as
080an engineer, you love looking up research. Yeah. You love looking online what other small communities have done. I mean, I spent hours. I mean, that's me and I drive her crazy looking up stuff to you know how do you fix it so that you find it out right because online right there's so much data how's other people failed and how they succeeded right >> don't follow the wrong path right that people have done before >> so that might go to that number nine question then the biggest challenge >> I do think that whatever we decide that >> we have to be clear >> I think we have not been clear to the public when I say we I'm on the public side so I've not seen a clear path >> okay >> we were told
081two years ago we're going to have a tool we don't have the tool I know it moved, but still just keep on bringing the data and people buy in, right? The a clear story is easier to buy into. Then a bit of story and then stop reading the book and then get the book back out, close the book, open the book. I don't like that. That's not me. >> Um, but getting everybody bought in during the during the story will you'll get a lot better buying in the long run with a real consistent path forward to the to the end result. But I do think the 10 to 20 year understanding how big the population could be is really important. >> Yeah. So, so that number nine, I think you've answered it. So, just be
082clear, clear state. It just says, "What do you see as the biggest challenge facing our school is just clarity and and having a plan and >> having a plan?" And understand everything, understand the right way to get the public's information, the feedback, the forums. S maybe it's a survey, a town hall. I don't know what the words are, right? The best words are how to get information back and forth to everybody. I don't know what it is. >> No, it's okay. I got it. I know where you're going. Okay, to answer your question real quick about the tool, um, Senate Bill One had so much property tax information in it that the tool could never be developed until Senate Bill One passed. Well, then once Senate Bill One passed, um, it it killed the referendum
083for November of 2025, right? >> So, that's the reason it's been it's been cut off until November 2026, >> right? So we can put a tool out there to let people know per 100,000 if we did 70 million what it cost them. >> Well, but then you you got to look you're looking a year and a half into the future, you don't know what interest rates or construction is going to be. So >> I understand that. You still get an idea. >> Yeah. But it's is there's so many factors there. It's you don't you don't want to put false data out and then it changed significantly. >> Okay. Uh okay. The last question is, serving on the school board requires not only dedication but also a clear vision for the district's future. What unique qualifications,
084experiences, perspectives make you the most suitable candidate for this role? [Music] >> Well, what makes me the most suitable for the role? Well, I certainly don't have Donniey's experience. I mean, that is true. I would say in general I want as I'm sure the other candidates do. I have three kids here. I want the best possible school we can have. I think I'm pretty levelheaded. I think I'm good at processing data. I think I can take the criticism. I think that the skills that I build every day in my career, I can deal with the multiple personalities, the conflict resolution. I think, you know, if we do get into a contract, I think that I deal contracts daily with large corporations. So, I think that's a a skill set that could be a benefit to
085help out. I mean, obviously, we'd hire a company, but I mean, I think that's probably a skill set that could be helpful. You know, the project management side of it, you know, looking at policies. Um, you know, to me, I'm a real big stickler on sticking to a budget and understanding, you know, that we're not going over if we have to go over somewhere where else should we cutting to make sure that we're really being responsible with the finances. That's something I do every single day. Um, today we had financial meetings today. I have them multiple times a day. So, I think that that really helps me be a good candidate for the role. All all those things, conflict resolution, dealing with people, being a team player, I mean loyal, competitive, methodical, ambitious, fair, helpful,
086supportive, persevering, devoted. I mean, the top ones right there on that list. I say, "What what makes me a good candidate?" And this is computer data, right? This isn't me making up something. This is my team's input, my input being data driven. So, I think that's what makes me a good candidate. I love the community. Um, I know the other guys love the community as well, so that doesn't give me, but I do have three kids here. I have a daughter who's studying who wants to probably be a teacher here or St. John's. So, I mean, we're going to be here, right? Um, we're not going anywhere. Uh, yeah. >> You know, your last question. >> Okay, last question. What motivates you to become a school board member? >> All that. Make it the best
087it can be. Getting in here, rolling up our sleeves. I think getting the community I mean, I do feel like there's tension right now. There doesn't need to be, right? I mean, there is tension right now. I don't know. There used not to be as much tension. I mean, I used to do a lot of stuff with Mr. Morris. Um, I didn't feel like there's quite as much tension. Mr. Morris is here, if I'm being honest. Um, but there is a little bit of tension right now. And I think maybe we're just not as consistent with communication or maybe tools and media today are a little bit different. Social media, um, I'm not a social media guy. Um, there's too much nonsense out there for me. Um, but I think just more consistent, smooth communication.
088I like just be part of making it better and making, you know, like everybody can put their arms around each other and shake their hands and walk out that door with the arms around each other. Say, "See you at the game tonight. Let's have fun." >> That's really it. >> Like wearing that Lanesville shirt, >> huh? >> So, I like wearing my Lanesville stuff as you see me almost every day with one on. So, >> okay. >> Thank you. >> I think that's it. >> Okay. Thank you guys. Thanks for your time. >> The last item is public comments. Does anybody have any public comments? >> Okay. >> Yes. >> Mhm. Hello board. Hello. >> Hello people. I'm Afa Garlock and I'm the new president of the Laneville Education Association. So I represent over 80%
089of our teachers here who have hundreds of years experience between us as two of you know very very well and two of you have your children here and also know that very well too. I think all three candidates presented great options. I think you're going to have a very hard time deciding and I'm not going to tell you what we would prefer or what we would do cuz it's not our choice. We do hope that you take the best interest of the children and the teachers who take care of them every day into account when you're making this choice. I think we are in a moment of decision. Things cannot maintain how they are. I think every candidate said that. So, it's up to you to decide which way we go with that. So, good
090luck. >> Thanks. >> Thank you. Any other public comment? >> We do. >> The board does. >> Yeah. >> It's an appointed position at this point. >> Any of them can run for election in another year and be elected, but we appoint that it would just fill the term that was vacated. So, it's a year and a or three and a half years. in four months. >> Yeah. >> You finish the term. >> Yep. >> No. Yeah. That's how it works. Yeah. >> It doesn't happen very often. I mean, it doesn't >> No, it's never happened that I know of. >> Did you? You never had that happen. >> Yeah. >> It's a new one. >> That's how it works. >> Yeah. No pressure. >> No other comments. Can I get a motion for adjournment?
091>> I'll move we adjourn it. Can >> I get a second? I'll >> second. >> All those in favor? I The motion passes.