001followed by the pledge of allegiance. If you all would stand, please stand and justice for all. Board attached are the minutes of the executive session and regular session meetings held on March 19th, 2026. I'd >> like to make a motion that the board approve the executive session and regular session minutes of March 19th, 2026. >> We have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? If not, please place your vote. And that passes 70. Thank you, board. We do not have any financial reports this evening. Are there any comments on agenda items from the audience? Next is the personnel report. Dr. Washington >> board. In your packet, you have a copy of the personnel report for April 2nd, and you also have a personnel reported. >> I'd like to make a motion that approve
002the person. We have a motion and a second board. Is there any discussion? If not, please place your vote. and that passes 70. Thank you, board. Our next item on the agenda is the Hbert High School student athletes. Dr. Buffington, >> that's right. We have a very special guest out in the audience amongst all of you athletes. You're all very special. Um, I do believe that you uh everybody knows that we had a state champion this year uh on our girls state wrestling team. And so I'm going to call up the coaches. They can come up with our athletic director. And we're going to call up Corabella Wesley. Come on up. Mr. West, let's go. Well, I don't know. Do I have to keep facing this way or since everyone's over there, can I look
003at them while I talk? >> All right. Uh, we started girls wrestling four years ago. The IHSAA decided that it was time for girls to get their opportunity to get on the mat and not have to go against boys every day in practice and in meets. And so they created girls wrestling as what's called an emerging sport four years ago. And we were very fortunate here that our wrestling coaching staff was ambitious and motivated to get it going here at Hbert. We didn't know what kind of turnout we would have. We didn't know um if if it would impact our numbers in other winter sports because that's when girls wrestling was uh and is. We just didn't know what was going to happen, but we were excited to try to provide another opportunity for kids
004to compete. And the first year we had 22 girls. Uh the second year we had about 30. And it grew like crazy across the state of Indiana. So after two years as an emerging sport, uh, girls wrestling became a sanctioned sport in the state of Indiana and and now here we are in year four and we've got a state champion. Um, now without taking too much thunder from her dad or uh, Coach Westberg, I think it's pretty obvious that Bella did not become a state champion because she started wrestling four years ago. She's been doing this probably since birth and uh has wrestled not just all over Northwest Indiana and Indiana, but all over the country competing against the best that there are uh everywhere. And she has been a terrific competitor, uh terrific ambassador
005for Hobart Girls Wrestling, and she's just a freshman. Uh, she went undefeated this year and I'm not putting any pressure on you, Bella. But man, that would be cool to do for three more years as she's not like holding up two behind my head or something, is she? If she was, I'd let her because I would not win on the mat. Um, she had an awesome takedown this year of her own father at a pep rally and I think that was the my favorite one of hers uh for the season. But really, becoming a state champ is a result of tremendous effort, work, character, all the things that it takes to be great. Bella has, and she demonstrated that this year on the Matt Forest. Super proud of you, kid. Great job. One more thing,
006I promise I won't be this long on every student athlete here tonight. Um, we are going to present, and this is Bella's request, we'll present her with her state champion ring at a football game next fall. >> Oh, yes. Uh, what is it? This is my fourth year here at Hbert High School and my fourth year here as a coach. Um, I was asked to coach the gift program here my very first year. here. You know, I didn't think I was going to ever coach girl sports, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. And then I met Bella here when she was in middle school and I knew we had something good coming. Uh we have a bunch of great girls on the team and I can definitely say she has a very positive impact with her
007influence, her work ethic, and just overall being a great student and so just really helping out the team, team morale. Um I can say I knew she was going to do something great this year after was it got runner up, right? Preseason nationals. So, was it preseason nationals, got second place, uh, lost to the girl who's ranked number one in the country. So, I was like, as a freshman, that's pretty good. Uh, so I knew we had something good going on here and as a team, we could go for, you know, go pretty far, which we ended up getting third place as a team in state. So, very happy about that. >> I don't know how much more I can add. the what has already been said. Besides that, you know, I'm super proud of
008uh Corbell and everything she's been able to accomplish this year. And uh I get to see a lot more of the behind the scenes obviously as her father. Um, and realize that uh it's there's a lot of uh psychological aspect to this because uh not a lot of people see the highlights and they get to see all the the good stuff, but you don't see uh the grind and the like sometimes of the heartbreak and some of the of the things that happen like out outside of all those highlights and things like that. So, it's uh it takes a lot uh of willpower and uh courage for her to keep going through and and and putting in work day after day. Um something I do on a daily basis, I I give my kids a
009uh like a motivational quote every morning and uh you know, just kind of get because the the grind every day that you you have to put in to kind of just have that kind of level of success uh can be wearing on you. And uh I I give her a lot of credit for pushing through and and being able to do it. And I'm super proud of her. I love her to death. And uh I I I got no other words for her. I hope that she continues to have that success and and I hope that uh you know she can uh you know know that she always has me in her corner. So um I was just say I'm proud of her. >> I asked Corbella. Oh, hold on. I want to help you
010with that. It was specially made. Yeah. Okay. So, um I will say last year uh because you know you studied these types of students and and I had her on on my podcast show, the Bricky Experience and then I had the uh the other state uh girls wrestlers that went down state on the show as well and I said to Corbella uh you've been on the show twice and it's because she is a very driven individual. She has so much self-discipline. She's motivated. Uh and she's a role model for other students. And uh I I mean all of our athletes do a really great job of being role models for other students with time management, their character, how they give back to the community. And I can just only tell you that I've been watching
011her ever since she's been in school. Um but she is an awesome individual. And she also let me know she's not talking. So but that's okay. We have a special word for it and you can help me do it uh with athletic director. I'll put this one here. Um we want you to come out here because we had this made especially for you. So come on out. She's the first lady. record state champion regional champion sectional champion conference champion and Sarah Hillion and that doesn't all of your freshman here and all that you've accomplished and I did say to them I said are we doing a parade what are we doing and they said no I'm opening this You really let you know on it. I want to thank everyone that supported her especially. It
012was a joy to be able to show inspire other people and so keep up the great work and I'll hold All righty. Before I move on to the next item of the agenda, um, for those of you that are family members of the winter athletes and you would like a picture of your athlete, please, you do not need to be just stuck in your seats. You can move around to get the best uh, angle that you need. So, um, if they call your students name and you need to move around, please feel free to do so. This is your boardroom, too. And so, with that, the presentation and recognition of the 2026 winter athletes at Hobbert High School, Dr. Buffington. >> That's right. We're going to call up, well, he's up here, uh, our wonderful
013athletic director, Mr. Black, and, uh, we're going to give out some certificates. We're so happy that you joined us tonight. Um, special thank you to all of you parents that that make sure that you get your kids here and you're supportive of them in the sport. And again, thank all of our coaches and all of this that's possible with our amazing athletic director, Mr. Black. So, we're going to get started and pass out some awards tonight. >> Oh, thank goodness is here to help. >> And while Mr. Black is getting up there, Shuing is our student rep. Um, we have two of them that we uh select every year. They are members of the student body and they represent them and take back the information from the board meetings to the students. and uh Shu
014Jing and Grace Anderson are our two for this year. So, if there's any juniors out there that are interesting in serving next year that's coming around. >> All right. I'd like to say thank you to the board for the invite. We always love an opportunity to come and brag about all of the successes that our student athletes have in every way that we could define success. I mean, we could talk about all the statistics all day long, but success is really a measurement of of how how good you you became compared to what you could be. Uh, and what we want to do is always encourage our kids to strive to be their very best. And everybody that's getting recognized here tonight certainly uh illustrates that on a daily basis. Before we get going with
015the certificates, I would like Mr. King to play our winter sports highlight video. I know this weekend is the NCAA Final Four and one of the things I loved growing up as a kid was staying up with my brother and then we would have the blank VC VHS tape in the VCR and we would push record so we could record every year's One Shining Moment at the end of the men's tournament. I don't know why I'm in a stance right now, but it's easier talking in the microphone. Um, so for all winter sports here, always try to do the same type of thing and create a one shining moment type of video that highlights our kids and what they did. So here's one one shining moment for 2026. Okay. The ball is and there you
016are. You're running for your life. You're a shooting star. And all the years, but now it shows. In one shining moment, it's all on the line. In a one shining moment, they're frozen in time. But time is short and the road is long. In the blinking of an eye, that moment's gone. And when it's done, win or lose, you always did your best. Cuz inside you knew that in one shining moment you reached deep inside. One shining moment you knew you were alive. Feel the beat of your heart. Feel the wind in your face. It's more than a contest. It's more than a And when it's done, win or lose, you always need your best. Cuz inside you know in one shining moment you reach for the sky. In a one shining moment, you knew.
017In a one shining moment, you're willing to try. In a one shining moment, you knew. One shining moment. Thank you. Huge uh shout out to all of the parents that take all those amazing photos for us at games. Uh we also have a student here, Johan Bil Rule, who also took a lot of those pictures that went into that video. Those are done out of the goodness of their heart and shared with our athletic department so we get a chance to promote our kids. So again, thank you to all those people that donated photos for that video. Uh first, I'd like to call up our cheer academic allconerence winners. I see Elena. Is Elizabeth here? Did she make it? No. All right, come on up, Elena. We're going to have you stand by yourself uncomfortably
018now to earn academics. Cheer is not a sanctioned sport by the IHSAA. However, uh we couldn't do what we do here without our cheer team. We recognize them with allconerence honors. In order to earn academic allconerence student athletes must be a senior. They must be a member of the varsity team and they must meet two out of three academic criteria to qualify. The three criteria are as follows. A GPA of 3.2 or higher, a minimum SAT of 1020 or ACT of 22, and then rank in the top 25% of their class. And Elena qualified for uh academic allconerence. I don't have all of the stat statistics there, but she does have a 4.028 GPA. Outstanding, Elena. Great job. Hold on. And she's not just a cheerleader, she also participates on our softball team. And she
019has signed her letter of intent to continue cheering at Valpo University next year. Congratulations, Elena. All right, next up we've got boys basketball. I'd like to call up Coach Key. Boys, why don't you guys come on up? All right. Uh, I'm Coach Key. Uh, this is my second year as varsity head coach. Um, we had a pretty good year this year. Uh, one of the best that we've had in the most recent years. Uh, we had a 13-10 record, which is actually the best record that we've had since 2008. Um, that was actually my senior year of high school. So, we had that. Um, it was a tough year, but it was an uh enjoying year. Um, the guys worked real hard. Uh, we never had a bad practice, maybe once out of all the
020ones that we had. Uh, we had a great off season. Um, the kids were just a joy to be around. Um these individuals here, three of the five actually, um I had the luxury of being their coach for four years. Um they were the only kids that I had as freshman and I got the luxury of being able to coach them for four straight years. So, uh that was a good part of the culture that we were trying to build. They did a great job of feeding that down to the younger guys. And um I think that played a a significant role in the season that we had because the expectation was clear from day one and they just pushed that forward every day. Um we never had to question if we were going to
021have a hard practice or what the expectation was from everybody. They filtered that down um from top to bottom even in the off season and it just carried on to the season. Um, so I'm appreciative of these guys and uh more than what they did just on the court uh academically. They did a great job as well. Uh first we got uh Jeffrey Long. Uh then we got uh Eric Kry, Ryan Bash Hicko, and Stephen Miller. Uh Jeff has academic allconerence and he has a 3.757 GPA. Ryan Basham has he was first team all conference and academic allconerence with a 4.03 GPA. Uh Paxton Hicko was first team all conference. Eric Kangry was second team all conference and Stephen Miller was all conference honorable mention and Stephen Miller has a 3.838 GPA. Um so they
022perform in the classroom as well as on the court. Um I just want to thank them guys uh for the year they had the three seniors. Uh I'll miss them dearly so much. So much. I don't know how we going to replace them but we'll miss them. Uh so we appreciate everything they did. I know that they'll be back because they understand what it means to be a brickie. So, they'll filter it down. Thank you. All right. Thank you, coach. Next up, we've got diving with Coach Reinus. Okay. Yeah, we'll do swimming and diving. Come on up. >> Thank you all for having us and thank you uh Mr. Black and the board for recognizing us tonight. We just wrapped up our awards night um a little bit ago and we have a big group
023here and I think um you know that's a that's a good problem they have. I mean look at the the um the crew that we are able to assemble here with all conference honors and beyond. And it really is a testament to the growth uh of the program over the years and the impact that a lot of our upper classmen have had on um you know everybody that came after them. So, I'm really thankful uh for the team that has been here for all four years, these guys that are still coming up and going and all the impact that you guys have had. Most of these guys uh are up here for all conference recognition. We had a fantastic season, including an outstanding conference performance, which you can't do on the team end without the
024entire team really contributing. Um and this is a testament to that. Our girls as a team finished fourth overall and our boys and we're pretty sure it might be the highest finish we've ever had. They were the conference runner up and that is just outstanding uh for them and let's give them a hand for their work. On the sectional side, we had had so many sectional finalists which means that they finished in the top 16 and returned the next day. And then we had an incredible number of swimmers and divers on the podium. um for you know our team and with that the girls were able to finish fourth in the sectional and the boys fifth and that was an outstanding performance um of about fif out of about 15 teams. So let's give them
025a hand for that because that was awesome. At the sectional we had a school record broken by our own Evan Harness. So Evan wave your hand so they can see. Evan broke the school record in the 200 IM which was set in 2007. So, you know, almost about 20 years ago. So, that was outstanding. And, uh, he's going to be back. He's just a junior. So, we're excited to see what he can do next. Uh, we had, uh, two divers head off to the regional out of the sectional, and that was Aiden Bailey and Casey Fleming. So, if you guys want to give away, uh, the regional is a really, uh, tough meet and it is not easy to move on to that next level. Um, and but we did get somebody all the way
026to the state finals, uh, with all of his hard work over the last two years. He's just a junior as well. Um, and we saw in the video, Aiden Bailey was our representative at the state championship this year. We have several up here that have been performing academically uh like beyond belief and I he probably has the numbers so I'll let him read the numbers but our academic allconerence just to name them here would be Casey Fleming and Durgen Click Luke Cohen Wyatt Trinowski and Cassie Cohen let's give them a hand. uh many of them also qualify for all state academic and all uh American academic as well and have received those uh uh awards too. So let's give them a hand for their academics guys in and out the pool. So again this is
027one of the largest uh teams that we've had over the years you know at the sectional uh the regional and the conference. It was just an outstanding performance all around. Um I can go go down the line here and give you give these recognitions. We have uh all conference honorable mention and that would be if they finished in the top three at the conference meet. We had Abigail Rhinus in diving. Jaden Kano in the 200 free Durgen Click in the 100 free. our girls 400 free relay and Isabella Gonzalez just a freshman 53 and the 100 free allconerence honorable mention second team all conference we had Evan Harnesses in the 200 IM boys 200 medley relay our boys 400 free relay Jaden Kano in the backstroke and Jurgen click in the 50 three. We had
028three conference champions this year. Uh and it just outstanding performance by all three of these athletes. Uh our conference champions were Aiden Bailey in diving, Casey Fleming in diving, and Evan Harnesses in the 500 free. If I can make this really quick, um I'm not good with the statistics. Coach Brinus actually loves doing all that stuff and keeping records. So, I applaud her for that one. Um the biggest thing that I want to talk about is these individuals. Uh I pride myself on going out there and doing sportsmanship. And these group of kids, these young student body athletes, um I would take them to any meet or anywhere in this world and they would represent us very well. and they they embody what it means to actually be a brickie. Um I I am so
029proud to be called one of their coaches and every day they they beyond belief of what these guys could bring to the table and the pool of what they do. Um one last thing I do want to say on my part is it's it's not over for one of our swimmers as a freshman. Izzy, raise your hand. She will actually be going to Puerto Rico this Tuesday to represent for swimming. Uh and she will be wearing the purple and gold colors while she's out there. You don't really see some of the behind the scenes. I am going to let a little secret out of that. You know, We've been hosting college and um we're really close and working on that. So thank you for all the hard Great job. Uh, nine of those student athletes
030up here have a GPA over a 4.0. And I just want to recognize uh Lou Cohen is of that group. Where you at, Lou? Lou is also going to be a member of the Hall of Scholars here at Hbert High School with a 4.729 GPA. Now, Millie Massie was also supposed to be here. Uh, I think Leila came in herstead, but Millie also was our diving manager for the swim program and also is a member of the Hall of Scholars. So many of those kids, one, two, three, almost all of them multiport athletes as well. So, love to to point those kinds of things out because that's what we like to encourage. All right. Next up, we've got girls basketball. We've got a couple of hoopers out there. Ladies, why don't you come on up?
031If you're a girls basketball player, how about we clap for so it's not as awkward. We have Kira Christina, Zarya Gilden, and Aaliyah. Coach Gregory was not able to be here tonight, but he did send me some comments on these young ladies. Uh, first of all, our girls had a really good year. Uh, a year ago when we were at this same board meeting, uh, we were coming off a three- win season. And I'm not going to talk down about a three- win season because as a head coach, uh, I had a one- win season and our team had a two- win season during my 17 years because sometimes you just got to plow the road when it's rough. Um, and our girls did that a year ago. And I think these returning girls, which
032all play varsity as a year last year, really dedicated themselves in the off season. a lot of the things that coach Wesley was talking about the the time that no one sees when you're putting in work. Our girls wanted to make a difference this year and improve. And a year ago, we were three wins. This winter, our girls had 10 wins. Huge improvement. And we beat Monster for the first time in a really long time. And that was so much fun. Let me talk about Aaliyah first. Aaliyah earned academic allconerence. I mentioned the requirements for that already. This is what coach Gregory had to say about Aaliyah. Always positive and ready to put it all on the floor. A high energy player leading to fifth uh in class 4A for steals and second in the
033NCC averaging 4.1 steals per game. a great athlete and a great student will be missed greatly on our girls team. Great job, Aaliyah. Next, we've got Zarya Gilden. Zarya also earned academic allconerence. Uh here's from Coach Greg, ranked second in the conference and 15th in class 4A in Indiana for charges taken. Great attitude and very hard on herself. Worked through a knee injury all season. uh unfortunately straining it in the last game. A very good leader and a strong motivator for our program. Great job, Zarya. Last but not least, here we've got Kira Christina. Uh before I get to Kira though, I'd like to point out that Zarya also this year uh ran cross country for the first time in her life and got a chance to run at the regional. Uh she also sports
034a 3.821 GPA. For Aaliyah Otto, Aaliyah has run cross country and track and been a part of the ROC Raiders team all four years of high school. Uh she's multi- regional time qualifier in cross country and in track and she has a 3.86 GPA. Now for Kira, those girls are seniors, so we hate to see them go because they've been such great ambassadors for our uh athletics. Kira is just a junior. Uh she also is uh well set the record for goals scored in soccer last fall. She carries a 4.18 GPA and she earned a second team all conference this year for girls hoops. Couple of comments from coach Greg on Kira. She averaged 10.9 points per game, two and a half steals, and almost six rebounds. She helped lead our offense on the floor.
035She was a great leader on and off the court. She helped underassman throughout the season and worked hard to improve her game. Uh, obviously, Coach Greg is very proud of these young ladies. I am as well. I know you guys were all watching that video very carefully. Uh the one of the scenes where the girls team was celebrating on the floor was when we beat Wheeler and Wheeler was actually coached by coach Gregory's father which just made it a little more fun that we beat them and our girl and it was a big win because Wheeler had a really nice team this year uh in the background and I think one of the cool things about this picture and I'm doing this like you could see my fist in the air as our girls are
036doing all this on the before and uh I just wanted to point that out because I had just as much fun watching these girls compete as everybody else did. So, great job this year, ladies. All right, next up we've got girls wrestling. Come on back, Coach Westber. All right. Well, we're back here and what is it? These girls right here represent our team. You know, our varsity lineup is 14 individuals, uh, representing 14 different weight classes and we have a select few right here. Uh, but what I can say is, you know, once again, we have a very new sport for the school. We've been here for four years and two of our seniors here have been here from the start and that's going to be Mattie Lambs and Joanna Cantou. you know, they've been
037here for the four years with the team. I can say they definitely helped out a lot. You know, they definitely helped with the reason why our team is large. They helped with recruiting, telling other girls to come join the team. You know, it's fun. It's not like a scary sport. There's like just try it out. You'll have a blast. But I can definitely say they helped our team morale a lot, especially at practice. Um, you know, if I ever got too serious, Matty was always really quick with making nice jokes, just making everyone laugh. So, but besides that, you know, they're great students. They're great in the classroom. I can definitely say they're going to be missed a lot. Uh, but they have to go eventually. It's sad. Uh, but I say it's like, you
038know, Joanna here is one of our I say she just our paves the road there. A little leader there. Um Joanna's just as a freshman took on a role, you know, as an individual and as a young kid, you know, 14, 15 years old where she had to help teach a lot of the other girls how to wrestle because we are so new. And so like as a coach, it was really helpful for me who I'm trying to teach everyone trying to wrestle. And then she's also teaching as well. But besides that, you know, she's like the first one to do a lot of things on our team. Uh what was it? First one to get a 100 career w uh career wins this year. And so first one to do that and first time
039was it four time state qualifier, three-time state placer, you know, this year finished third at state at 100 pounds. What is it? We got Miss Lena Regoza here as well. Uh Lena, this is her third year wrestling. She's a two-time state qualifier. Um, you know, last year her season didn't go as well in the postseason, but this year she pretty much had the same exact bracket for for regionals, and instead of getting fourth, this time she won even, you know, ended up placing at state and got sixth place as a third-year wrestler. Well, yeah. Next, we have Julia Hellcat Helinsky here. Um, she didn't get injured in season. It was a offseasonal injury here, but once again, Julia is a nice incoming freshman that we had on our team. Really helped the team. You know,
040I'd say once again, like a lot of our newer girls, helping them just train, get better. Um, what was it? She was a state qualifier as a freshman, which is pretty good. I think she wanted a place. You know, we didn't get that goal, but I know in the next three years, we definitely have that for her. We've already met you, Miss Corbella Wesley. But once again, Corbella, great kid. Um, I can say tries really hard. She is quiet, but when she talks, it's always serious. I can say she's very opinionated about where we eat after our meets. I know that's very What we got there? Oh, we got Bailey over here. Baileyy's a sophomore, right? Uh, what can you say? Bailey as a very opinionated kid, really challenges me as a coach. I like
041it. Uh she very she questions a lot of things, but it's not like she's questioning in a bad way. She's like, "Why are we doing this? How's this making me better?" And so it's always pushing me on the edge of saying, "Here's why we need this. This is the goal. This is what's in sight. This is why we need the program." But I can say from freshman year this year, big improvements. And she actually grew a lot as an individual and was right there. Was a ticker round to go to state. didn't get it, but I know we have high hopes for Mr. Bailey. Good job. Uh, was it next? We got Gabby Robas over here. Uh, Gabby, this is her second year wrestling and ended up as fourth place in state. You know, I
042can say Gabby's a hard worker. I really liked her this season, especially like last season. You know, last season we kind of threw her out there as a very new wrestler. She's like it's kind of scary and we're like you got it you know but this year I can definitely see like the wanting to win the wanting to learn where but she didn't get what she wanted she would say hey how can I get better how can this work and so as a coach I liked it where she just wants to improve wants to get better and so and actually as a secondary wrestler she listened and applied all the skills and ended up taking fourth. Then last but not least we got Miss Adelide Hendrick. She's also a secondyear wrestler, a junior on the
043team. Um, I can really say Addie helps a lot with a lot of the newer girls. Um, she might not realize it, but kind of taking a leadership role and kind of just being fearless. Uh, I say this as a coach because a lot of times when people are new to a sport, they don't want to just go out there and try their hardest. They're kind of scared of failing. But Addie was more of, "All right, let's go. I'm ready. I'm not scared of it." And we could just throw her out there. And she's like, "Let's get this." And I think that helped a lot of the other new girls just sit there go, "Oh, we just have to apply ourselves." And this really helped out the team morale and everything. So I thank her.
044Just a couple of the statistics here. Uh we had 14 girls wrestlers that were invited. Of those 14, obviously we got a stellar group of eight of them. Uh, nine of those 14 sport a GPA of 4.0 or higher and 12 of them are multiport athletes. 12 multiport athletes, some of them three sport athletes. Uh, just a fantastic group. Our girls program is one of the best in Indiana. I mean, there's no question about it. And obviously it helps to have some really good wrestlers, but our girls are just really good girls across the board. They perform well in the classroom. They perform well in other sports. And uh and they represent all the best things that we want kids to represent as Brickies. So great job this year, ladies. Thank you. All right, last
045but certainly not least, we've got boys wrestling. I saw a couple of boys wrestlers out there. Why don't you guys come on up? Coach Johansson could not be here tonight. Uh so he did send me some comments about these individuals. Our boys had a great year. Um they competed at the IHS WCA team state competition for I think the sixth year in a row. Uh, and only 12 teams in Indiana per class get to go to that. And it's there's a complicated formula on how you qualify for that, but it's an invite only experience. And our girls also have wrestled in team state the last two years and done extremely well. Uh, this year our girls were the runner up at team state and third place at the IHSA state finals. Our boys were runners
046up a year ago at team state. uh this year just getting back there was was an outstanding experience for our guys to go down and compete against the best teams around. Uh the individuals we have here tonight, I'll just start with the guy closest to me here, Alex Tatum. Uh Alex earned academic all state and he was a regional champion. Uh Alex is also a football player, so multiport guy and he carries a 4.432 GPA. He's also a uh student representative for the IHSAA's student leadership team uh and represents Hbert extremely well in everything he does. Here's what Coach Johansson had to say about Alex. And looking at his face, he looks a little nervous what coach Johansson might have to say. Alex put together an outstanding junior season, finishing with a record of 26
047and five while earning a regional championship and qualifying for the semi-state. Alex has established himself as a highle competitor on the mat, but what truly sets him apart is his dedication off the mat as well. He's both an academic all-state and an academic all-American honore, demonstrating the same strong work ethic in the classroom as he does in competition. With his continued commitment to excellence, Alex is on track to finish among the top students in his class, and we are excited to see all that he will accomplish moving forward. We are confident that Alex will reach his wrestling goals next year and hopefully he will be on the podium in Indianapolis. Great job, Alex. Next, we've got a senior, Preston Perez. Preston earned academic all state. He was a sectional champion and he was a regional
048champion this year. Also a football player and he carries a 3.385 GPA among the a lot of things that he stays busy with. And here is what coach Johansson had to say about Preston. Again, the nervous energy in the room. Preston had an outstanding senior season, finishing with a record of 32 and5 while earning sectional regional championships and qualifying for the semi-state. In his first year in the varsity lineup, Preston quickly established himself as one of the top competitors in the state, earning a ranking as high as ninth in Indiana at 220. His commitment to improvement and desire to be the best set him apart as he consistently put in the work to grow throughout the season. A force to be reckoned with on the mat and an academic all-state honory in the classroom, Preston
049represents the very best of Hobart wrestling and we are confident that he will go on to accomplish great things beyond high school. Great job, Preston. Last but not least, we've got Owen Damron. Uh Owen, another underclassman. He earned academic all state this year and is also a multiport guy running track in the spring. Owen has a 3.42 GPA. And here's what coach had to say about Owen. Owen Damron, a Jr. stepped up for our team in key moments throughout the season and provided a dependable competitor on the mat. What truly sets Owen apart is his dedication in the classroom where he earned academic all-state honors. He consistently demonstrates a strong work ethic both academically and athletically representing Hobert High School with pride. We are confident Owen will continue. I'm getting choked up. Not really. I'm
050just losing my voice. Uh we are confident Owen will continue to be a key part of our team success next year. Great job Owen and great job guys. Thanks for doing all you do for home. Just want to say thank you again to the school board for allowing us to come here and take up so much of your time. Thanks to all the athletes and parents for being here tonight and for everything you do uh to be your best every day. So thanks a lot everybody. I like it. I don't even have to say that they're excused. They already know the drill. >> They already know the drill. I don't even have to say it. >> Ready to go. Time to go. It's time to get ready. >> Time to get fired up. >> You
051didn't know Mike was gonna Oh, >> that's all right. I was I was going to dismiss them, but they already know what to do. So, you know, hey, >> hey, Alex, congratulations. >> It's up to you. Whatever you want to do. >> She's going Tuesday. Yeah. >> Congratulations. >> Uh, she's going to to Puerto Rico. >> Can you keep us updated? >> So, let us know how you do. Okay. Are you are you going to be >> tellach me? >> You're welcome. Congratulations. It's >> really shuffle. >> I don't know. Probably not. Well, Coach Black, you know how to empty your room. >> Another good job. Great job. Thank you. >> Have a great night. Happy Easter. >> All right. Next on our agenda is the National Volunteer Week. Um, Secretary Porus, could you read
052the resolution, please? >> We have a school Resolution number 2026-9, the National Volunteer Week, shining a light on the people and causes that inspire us to serve. >> Thank you, Dr. Buffington. >> Um, we would just be lost without the volunteers here. Um, when I think about even all of you up here, even though you're board members now, all of you started off as volunteers and you continue to give of yourself, but think about all of the people in our schools. Um it is truly amazing and um it's appropriate to recognize them and say thank you. Um because a lot of times people just don't realize how much their time and effort means to us. So we applaud and thank them. >> We do. Your pleasure. I'd like to make a motion that the board
053adopt resolution number 2026-9 to recognize the dedication of volunteers and making a difference for students in the school city of Hbert as well as in the community of Hobbert. >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? I said it too soon, but we do have quite a few. >> Thank you. something like that. >> I would also like to mention that um when we talk about volunteers, and I know I say this every year, but the people that are so giving of themselves as volunteers are giving things that they can't get back. And when I say that, I'm talking about their time. And you know, people talk about time being a valuable commodity, and it is. And the people that volunteer are special because they are giving what they
054cannot get back. So, I would just like to mention that And with that we pass 70. Thank you board. Oh, roll call vote two. Sorry. >> David Cosby. >> Hi. >> Don Rogers. >> Brad. >> Hi. >> Steuart Schultz. >> Hi. >> I Sandy Hill. >> Hi. >> And Ricky. >> Hi. >> Sorry about that board. I'll get this next one here. >> Uh the next one up is for the resolution recognizing national student leadership. Leadership Week. Secretary Porus, if you would read that resolution, please. >> Yes. We have the School City of Hbert Board of School Trustees resolution number 2026-10, National Student Leadership Week, >> Dr. Buffington. And I do believe that you saw just an amazing group of leaders out here tonight that represent the Rickies. And I just want to say that
055we have an amazing student leader sitting with us tonight. Um, I won't steal her thunder for announcements later. Um, as she was texting me at 5 in the morning, but uh, that's okay. Um, I'm very proud of the leadership that our students display and you know, we want we want Rickys to be leaders and it's our responsibility as educators to provide those opportunities and we have so many that that take advantage of that opportunity. So, um, let's celebrate them. That's what this is about. All righty. Fourth motion adopt resolution 26- 10 recognizing over student leadership. >> We have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? >> If not, Mr. Sorry, >> I was just going to say I think that nights like tonight are the best nights to have something like this on
056the agenda because it's just so obvious how many leaders there are in the school and how well these students do about being leaders. So, it's a great night for this resolution. >> I concur. Mr. Porus, could you do the roll call vote, please? And board, if you would um do your votes electronically as well. >> Okay. David Cosby. >> Hi. >> Don Rogers. Brad. >> Hi. >> Schultz. >> Hi. I >> I and that passes 70. Thank you board. >> And next on our agenda is the administrative professionals day. Mr. Porus, another resolution. >> Yes, we have the school city of Hbert resolution number 2026-1 administrative professionals. I'd like to make a motion that the board adopt resolution number 2026-11 recognizing administrative professionals. >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. Is there
057any discussion? >> Well, I would like to say a few words about these folks. Um, obviously I cannot say enough about the administrative professionals. You know, everybody always says that they could run the schools and run our office, which is true. Um, I I can't say enough about the person to my left and my office, obviously, they are just uh incredible human beings that I get to work with every day. And when you go to our schools and the amount of of tasks that they take on each and every day and um just trying to help the administrators do their jobs and do them well and I just want to say a word of gratitude to them and just thanks for being who you are because we don't function well without them. And uh they
058make our jobs very easy and um you know when you come obviously spend a lot of time working with one another. They're like work family, uh, our extended family, and we care deeply about them, and that's because they give of themselves, they care, and they make our school district run. They truly do, and for that, we're uh, forever grateful for all that they do for us. >> All righty. Um, any further discussion from the board? >> I will say that I've been in the offices of a few of the different during the day and their job would make my head spin. So >> it's wild the things that they do. >> They have to know so much and people don't realize how much they have to know. So when you think about, you know, and
059I and I think Pat would know this but know it well. Sometimes it's decision fatigue, you know what I mean? Like, but she is constantly intercepting and like putting it on my desk, putting a note like you should check this or like a flag. Um, and that's just I mean, I've been working for her with her for a very long time, but they're all like that with their administrators and um, you know, we can't give them enough credit for the job they do. When you're in the buildings, they're nurses, they're secretaries, bookkeepers, um you know, fixing boooos, and trying to help teachers stay qual, you know, like where's my handouts? And it's a wonder that they have sanity. Um but they do it with a smile and they're really good at what they do. They
060all get really >> Yes. She is amazing. She is the person they should emulate. >> She's ignoring. >> She She's just gonna say that she's already She's in the zone. >> All right. If there aren't any further comments, Mr. Forest, if you would do the roll call vote, please. >> David Cosby. Hi >> Rogers. >> Hi Brad. >> Hi Schultz. >> Hi >> Frank. I >> And that passes 70. Thank you board. >> Updates, announcements, and reports. Dr. Buffington. >> In your packet, you have a copy of the weekly agendas for our staff. You have cadet life from our JOTC and the Bricky Cafe. Just a lot of great stuff there. Um the bricks on. Oh, okay. Next week. >> All righty. And next is the updates, announcements, and reports. Okay. Um, here we go.
061All right. Good Friday, no school tomorrow. Everybody take a break. Okay. In my office, I am well known for I do not like weeks. Um, is that right, Pat? I do not like four day weeks. We have had a lot. I I don't know what to say. It just makes the job a lot harder. Um, but I'm glad everybody else likes those. Um, incoming freshman parent night in the great hall on April 6. Um, Brad, is that going to be you? >> It is gonna be me. >> All righty. >> I am honestly shaking in my boots. >> Welcome aboard, my friend. Nothing to be afraid of. >> No, but hang on to those hats. yours goes fast. >> Nothing to be afraid of. >> Okay. So, um then we have I'm sorry, I have
062one of my administrators texting me and I'm trying to keep up with Ricky Makers Innovator Showcase uh coming up uh uh this week coming up. Uh Chris King and I will get a lot of steps in. Um if you've never been to it, come out. It is so much fun. Um I look forward to it every year. And uh kids are very creative and they are definitely into STEM and STEAM. So there's the art avenue has a lot and so it's not just STEM. Come on out and see some of the stuff that they do. Um our all music and I have to say this is one of the most entertaining things that you could attend is on April the 11th. I so look forward to it because it's all three elementary schools uh one
063to five and um and the ukulele kids from Liberty usually play while the Liberty veteran kids sing and uh it's just really spectacular. It's just a joy to go to it and and and watch how proud the kids are. We have I learn coming up. We have incoming uh April 13th to May 8th. Uh April 15th incoming kindergarten. We have the anxious generation part two April 21st for parents and I learned biology April 27th through May 15th. >> Yep. There's a separate item. >> Next item on the agenda is comments. Dr. Buffington. >> Well, um we welcomed everybody back this week. Um they seem pretty rested um and geared up for the last quarter. And of course um the last quarter is filled with lots of joyous events. So be ready everyone. The calendar is
064full. My husband asked me if I could do something on a Wednesday night and he gave me a bunch of Wednesdays and I had to say no. I'm booked. I'm like sorry can't come. Um, but anyways, I as as many events as we have on in April and May, because it used to just be May, now it's April and May, they are wonderful. And it's recognizing kids. And I do want to say a special thank you to Danielle Adams and some of our students. I knows this, but we have quite a run going with this year's graduating class. Um, with full ride scholarships and very prestigious school acceptances, right, Shuene, do you want to just tell everybody what happened that you texted me about at 5 in the morning? >> She was awake. Don't let
065her fool you. >> Use your microphone and let's tell everybody. Okay, so this sounds so crazy saying out loud, but on um March 27th, I got all my college decisions back and I found out I got into all my top choices. So, I am very excited. Um I got into Harvard and there's more, but um right now I'm between Harvard and Stanford for school for college. >> I know them all now. >> Oh, all of them. Awesome. Okay. Um, I got into >> Princeton. I mean, >> Princeton is a beautiful campus. >> I, um, I got into Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Colombia, Brown, University of Pennsylvania, Berkeley. There's more. IUB, Purdue, and then there's some other like small liberal arts colleges on different coasts, but yeah. And um, I texted Dr. B at 5 in
066the morning because I was so excited I could not sleep. So, I was like, "Of course, I have to share this news." And yeah, I was just up all night texting people and I But besides the good news, I wanted to say thank you to everyone for always cheering me on and supporting me. Actually, a big part of my application when I was applying to college was talking about how I really I really appreciated Hbert's philosophy of care. And I wrote I not just in interviews, but I also wrote in some of my essays how like that's really shaped me as a person, as a student, and hopefully like and when I go to college, I want to bring that same philosophy of care to wherever I go to college. Um, and they really loved
067that answer. I told them all about the Brickies and who Yan is and how our mascot is very unique. And if you hear Johan, then you know, you know, they're talking about Hobert in Northwest Indiana. And um, my interviewers just ate it up. They loved it. So, I I'm really thankful for everything the board has done for me. Um because certainly without the board, none of those decisions that I got on the 27th would have been possible. So, thank you so much for your support. >> Yeah. And on top of all of that good news, um the number of students that are that are interviewing for scholarships, um we coach I coach a lot. Danielle is my sidekick on some of them. And we have we've been getting a lot of getting full rides. Uh,
068and so, um, just very proud of our kids for their accomplishments. I think one of the things that you see with our kids that are getting these full rides is how well-rounded they are, and I think that's what's selling them. Um, and so you get a little taste of that in the room here tonight um, with your three sport athletes, but they're also servants in the community. Um, you know, they help with uh, various, uh, service service projects. Um, their academics uh you know especially they've got early college under their belt makes them look very very very good and so I can't say enough about this class uh I always feel sad but I always feel happy that they're getting to chase their dreams and I know they'll come true but it's sad when that
069class has to leave and then you have to pick up another class and pull them along too right and so I'm very proud of you just done amazing things and Can't say enough about the class. It's really an outstanding class. That's all my announcements. Thank you. I hope I don't have to chime in, but I might. >> Mr. King, do you have anything to say? >> Well, congratulations. I don't know how you >> I do want to mention um the administrative professionals my own perspective my assistant she works very hard I don't know how she keeps up with me alwaysing She is amazing. If your assistant is still the same one, she is awesome. >> Yeah, I mean she really like Dr. Buffington said they have to know so much when she she does tech
070herself. She gets calls and she just wants to help people's So they all skywards taking all Thank you, Mr. Longer. >> Two things. I don't know if anyone else watched the webinar that was shown last week and a webinar that was shown with different from talking about different aspects of the data center. One thing that stood out to me as I watched that was the individual that was responsible for coordinating with communities with regard to making sure there were people available to supply their workforce needs. Dr. Buffington students project. So I was impressed by that. The other thing I would like to mention this is the time every year that I want to publicly does anis appreciate her critical eye when I submit something or read better. Um, anyone who of you has served on
071another board or government body of any kind probably understands how remarkable the job she does is with regard to our minutes. You've ever missed a meeting and tried to come up to speed in time for the next meeting and review the minutes or refresh your memory about what transpired in a meeting. You know, you can rely on the record she's created of what happened as a accurate and comprehensive summary of what did compared to what I see with other >> She's amazing. Mr. Cosby, >> couple things. Just uh always great to see the student athletes again. Um and hear those GPA. Uh you know, it's amazing that they're committed to doing their sports on top of everything else, but remembering that they're a student athlete and student comes first. Um it's just always great to
072see see that and hear those stories. Um, congratulations. Um, you have a a tough choice ahead of you, but that's a good problem to have. Um, uh, the mayor, I I was at the state of the city meeting last night here at the high school and the mayor and a couple of the councilmen, I was talking to them after the meeting. They wanted to pass along their thank you and I told them I would pass along to the appropriate people for hosting that. Um, it's a very professional environment for them. um whoever's behind the scenes doing all that work. You guys do a great job. Um so wanted to share that from the mayor and his team. Um and then just a highlight, we had our uh education foundation meeting a couple nights ago. Um
073we had a correct me if I'm wrong, Mrs. Haway. Is that is that correct? Mathway uh sat in talking about camp invention um that's coming up over the summer. Um just wanted to share this story. Uh, I guess she sits in on these meetings periodically to kind of look for maybe help some help with scholarship money to provide towards uh, camp invention fees, trying to offset some of the cost to help some of the parents or kids who maybe can't afford it because it's it can be a little pricey. Um, so she came in and gave her a little spiel and a couple of the board members were just totally moved by what she talked about and the um, she handed out a flyer the presentation of kind of what they do while they're at
074campvention. And um, so the board approved up to $1,500 grant to give to them. Um, as as long as Karen Robbins wasn't there, who's our financial lady, she's got to make sure that that's all going to work in our world. But we don't foresee any problems with that. But um so that was pretty exciting something that came out of the meeting to go to kids and to help something innovative uh for our students. And then that inspired Bob Margelac who's also on the board to pass that same information along to Kowanas. Hopefully they're willing to partner up another $500. So hopefully out of that meeting we got another $2,000 to help her cause and to help maybe another 20 kids or so uh be able to attend camp convention this summer. That was pretty exciting.
075Um, we did vote on um, moving forward. I know I've talked a few times about there's been some vacancies, but um, the presidency uh, as I filmed I I actually stepped up and decided to take the president. >> I was going to tell them that, but how >> I thought I was going to share. So, I've talked about it several times. >> Yeah, Dave is Davis stepped up to be president of >> I was wondering that >> and um, I mean he when he came on the board he was such a worker and um I mean he did he talked to me a little bit about it and I just don't want him to overextend himself. He is just so into everything he does but you are such a servant and um thank you for
076all that you've brought to HF. Um even just bringing your mom along, she's a worker you do. Um but I think you're bringing it a whole another level of helping us fund raise and be able to do the things that we want to do in the district with that extra funds and um just thank you for stepping up to take that role. Um we appreciate >> I appreciate it. Thank you. That's all I got. >> Thank you. >> All right, Mr. Rogers, you're up. >> I was just nice to see somebody Yeah, thank you Brad. I can't wait to find out how long >> I don't think heard you say my friend told me she was like if you choose Harvard, make sure you're still a good person. Don't come back super snobby. I was
077like I was like, you don't got to worry about that. >> Oh my. I'll have to look into it. >> All right, Mr. King. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. I would like to thank you for summarizing my gibberish statement. Every dayuc Thank you, >> Mr. Congratulations. Easy choice. Right. Right. >> That makes us all look better. So, >> thank you. You're up. >> Just thank you again and I'm happy to be here and I'm glad I could make it back in time. I was right outside hosting our uh pallets and pedals event for our student council which was great. You might have heard some of our music playing or seen the tablecloths out, but it was a great time. A lot of families showed up and It's always cool uh coming to a board meeting
078and the room is packed. I always love seeing that. So yeah, thank you again. >> Thank Mr. Forest. >> Yes, I also like seeing the student athletes here. You do well in sports as well as academics. And just a quick story about Bella who uh took state as we know in wrestling. But as far as her character, we held a wrestling tournament couple weeks after state and it was a freshman sophomore elementary wrestling match from wrestling tournament and so I was kind of walking around and there she was helping at one of the tables and I was thinking like she was state champ helping at the tables not even wrestling today and she took time out of her day to help out the other fellow wrestlers kind of shows what kind of characters she has
079and many of the athletes that show up today kind of do similar things above and beyond sports kind of shows how well they are making our job a lot easier and hope >> this I just want to say something about The other thing I wanted to say is The regular know who you are. I was secretary. She kept Thank you, Mrs. Mill. Uh my turn. Um, very briefly, um, Sy's touched on some of it with the volunteers and I did say it earlier about how the commodity that the volunteers give as their time they cannot get back. Um, for Mr. Pay, Mr. Rogers and Mr. um, you guys do a lot and a lot of it goes unrecognized. So, while we're sitting here and those of us that acknowledge you, please know that it's very
080appreciated and everyone thanks you very much. to Mrs. um thank you for always having the reminder for roll call vote. I'm just sorry I forgot it tonight already on the first one but I picked it up on the other the other ones and that's part of a testament to help her keeping or for her helping keeping all of us in line. And Sam's got right through the little t where I had to sign when I was secretary that was always very helpful as well. She makes us all look good and does it without a complaint and she does it in such a professional manner and in a humble way so that we don't feel like we were bad. >> Um and Shuene, I don't know how that can be a hard decision. Snow or sunshine.
081I'm just gonna put that out there. How can that be a hard decision? >> That's very true. I'm just gonna say >> Harvard is snow, Stanford is the sunshine. >> Sunshine. >> See, so for some people it's not hard. See, >> but um >> I one of a little birdie told me though that her mom wants her to go to Princeton. Is that true? >> Oh, actually I I did get Princeton from some people, but then my parents, they both were like as soon as they were like, "Just choose Harvard. You don't need to think about the other ones." I was like, >> you know, Princeton is a very beautiful campus. I just want to let you know, I did attend a a um >> a conference there while I was in college and it
082was absolutely beautiful. Just side note. Um but you will make the decision that's right for you. I I don't rush it, think about it, sleep on it, pray on it, you know, do what you need to do, but you will make the right decision. We have no doubt. And what a great opportunity for you to have to be able to sit there and make that decision. It's just It's amazing. It is so awesome and that is a testament to who you are and your character and how hard you have worked and we are so thankful that we got play small part. >> A very big part correction. >> Well well congratulations to you on that. And as far as the winter athletes are concerned I'm like Brad. This is one of my favorites. Um when
083the athletes come just to hear their GPA to hear their accomplishments. So many of them do more than one sport and they do them all well. And um I don't remember which one of you stated it, but there's so many opportunities here at Hbert, not just athletically, but um drama, band, orchestra, ROC. We offer so many opportunities for our students to shine, and I'm glad that they're able to have those opportunities and that they can actually shine in those things that they choose. And I'm thankful that we have those opportunities. And so with that, I'm going to conclude at 8:31.