001We'll call the meeting to order. We have a quorum. We'll start with the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge allegiance 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. >> Okay, we have several amendments to the agenda. Let's see, we have the fundraiser on May 28th of this year. Should say Muncie High School National Honor Society, not FCCLA. And then line item number nine is the playing part presentation. And also after line item 14, the approval of the Muncie contract, we're going to add we're going to push everything down, so line item 15 will be approval of student handbooks. And then 16 will be public participation, 17 will be superintendent's comments, 18 will be board comments, and 19
002will be adjournment. >> [snorts] >> I will entertain a motion for the amendments to the agenda. So moved. There was a motion. >> Second. Drew with a second. Any questions or discussion? All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Okay, moving on to public participation. Do we have several signed up on that? Is it Student Council. Okay, I think we can >> [snorts] >> Let me look at something. I know Mr. Ashbrook needed to speak on the weight room. I'll see if I can work you guys in so you don't have to sit all the way through the meeting. It's okay. Okay. Is that Mr. Ashbrook? Yeah. >> Good evening. I'm Jordan Ashbrook. I am the district's strength and conditioning coach. Uh I just wanted to kind of give you guys an update. I believe
003I gave you all a handout that's front and back. Um we're starting something a little bit new today that didn't used to be new. Uh 1,000 lb club. Okay? So, what the 1,000 lb club is are there there's four main lifts that we track in class, and that is bench, squat, power clean, and deadlift. Okay? And in order to make the 1,000 lb club, those four numbers together must be equal to or greater than 1,000 lb. All right? We have 26 students that have made the 1,000 lb club, and we are starting to really push this off-season work. So, we have club t-shirts. Courtesy of the Mr. Steve Jones starting, I believe. Uh but we're really trying to I don't want to say implement because again, it's all stuff that we used to do that
004we got away from that we need to continue to do now. Re- I'm going to use the word re-implement. Uh we've had a summer training program the last few years. Uh we are going to start making a couple changes to that. So, we're going to go the entire month of June is going to be our work month. So, every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. Every student, middle and high, has access to the weight room and a workout uh throughout the again, the summer month of June. Typically, we continue into July, but we have two moratorium weeks. One of the moratorium weeks is the IHSA, we have to be off for 2 weeks where coaches cannot contact athletes whatsoever. So, I can't even send them a text, see them in person, and
005on campus, of course. But, uh that's the 4th of July for the entire state. And then, as a school district, we get to pick our second, and that's always [snorts] the week of Union County Fair. So, that leaves us with 1 week in between and 1 week after. And that's where attendance starts to kind of go down just because of the lack of consistency of of having that weight room open. So, we're trying something new this year where we're going to have a competition week. Because I'm kind of trial running this with just Union County kids, but I would love to get a lifting competition [snorts] team to be able to in the summers invite area schools into our campus into our excellent facility and compete in the off season. Uh I believe that's that's
006kind of our missing piece. Uh and I'll I'll get more to that later, but I uh like I said, [snorts] we have 26 athletes: Wyatt Pence, Colton Cheatham, Hayden Sarah, Noah Raffety, Bo Tedrow, Colton Johnson, Lucas Carroll, Noah Woosley, Bethany Gibbs, Nolan McDonough, Xander Hounshell, Cameron Salisbury, Hagen Hughes, Elijah Spicer, Brody Hildebrand, Wyatt Hinkle, Jason Johnson, Talon Long, Connor French, Jace Williams, Jackson Malloy, Dylan Snyder, Jackson Hurdle, Gunner Miller, Cody Hendricks, and Colton Ballard all earned membership into the 1,000-lb club. Uh that's cool. But, this next part is my favorite. And these are our five most improved. And this is what we really stress in classes. We're not comparing student A to student B. It's student A in August versus student A in May. Um our number one most improved uh for girls was Emma
007Galbraith. She is a freshman. Uh she improved a total of 140 lbs. Leslie Cruz is a junior. She improved, uh, by 85. And then we round out the top five with three freshmen. We got Sierra Gransberry, Olivia Tinkle, and Kinley Seidel, uh, our top five most improved freshman girls, or just girls in the school. And then our boys, we have Bentley Gibbs as our number one most improved male, followed by, uh, he is also a freshman, followed by Noah Reffitt, who is a senior. But I think Noah's was kind of tainted because when he came in in second semester, he was in the dark days of wrestling and cutting weight. So, him being able to get off of his cut helped him significantly to make him the second most improved. Not taking anything away from
008Noah. Noah did a great job in here. But, uh, number three is Kyle Long, he is a sophomore. Number four is Cooper Gray, he is a freshman. And then number five is Colin Dry, who is also a freshman. And then I put our top fives for each of our lifts that we track on the back along with our top totals. So, our totals, I I I won't go through all the individual lists. I'll let you guys take a look at those. But our top five males, and I got this wrong at his senior exit on Friday. But in my defense, I did not have all the accurate, up-to-date numbers because we finished on Friday. So, over the weekend I was able to do our total. Our number one overall lifter for boys is Wyatt Penns
009at 1460, followed by Cole Cheatum closely behind him with 30 lbs behind. And then freshman Kaden Sarah with 1250. Freshman Hagan Hughes at 1160. And then we have two seniors tied for fifth at 1145. And those are Bo Tidrow and Noah Reffitt. >> [snorts] >> Our top five girls, we have Grace Osborne, who's a freshman at 760. Sierra Gransberry right behind her at 740, who's also a freshman. Leslie Crew, 725. She is a junior and then two freshmen rounding out the top five with Olivia Tinkle and Reagan Hughes. Okay? I keep using this word reestablish because I think we need to compete more in the off-season and that's why we're putting these new changes in the place. Uh definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results and
010that's kind of where we've been right now. So, we need to throw in some new things uh to improve. We talked every year about wanting better results, more competitive teams, uh and more player development. Uh but the reality is that development doesn't magically happen during the season. It happens in the off-season. Uh I often say in class and after school weightlifting, championships are won in the weight room. Right now, our athletes have access to three open weight room opportunities every week all year long. So, it's Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday any month unless we're on a break and that's not including summer. Plus, limited sport-specific work workouts our coaches are allowed to hold during the off-season. So, we are providing the maximum amount of opportunities we are allowed to by the IHSAA to improve our athletes and
011the hard truth is is often only a handful of those athletes are taking full advantage. So, one of the primary reasons I'm here today is to also show what kind of opportunities that we have here at Union County High School to improve. Uh our coaches are putting in countless unpaid hours opening gyms, organizing practices, and trying to give their athletes the best opportunity to improve. Uh these are the same people that I see people criticize on Facebook or in the community for lack of player development uh while many of our athletes that could use that development are often not there. At some point, we have to stop expecting coaches to care more about improvement than our athletes themselves. Winning programs are built in the off season. I will continue to say that. Player development happens
012when nobody is watching. Culture changes when commitment changes. And this isn't just on the coaches. It takes athletes, parents, and the community pulling in the same direction. Off-season training teaches lessons that go far beyond wins and losses. Showing up consistently teaches discipline, accountability, time management, toughness and commitment. These are all things that matter long after high school sports are over. Learning how to push through hard workouts, balance responsibilities, and be a dependable teammate, and commit to improvement when nobody is watching builds habits that carry into careers, families, and successful lives. Sports are not just about building stronger athletes, they're about building stronger people more prepared for challenges outside of sport. I say all of this because I love this place, this community, these kids. I believe Unity County High School can get back to where
013it belongs. And I promise to continue to do my part to push our kids and encourage them and challenge them to be the best version of themselves every day. My challenge to you, all of you, is to join me in encouraging these kids to put forth their best effort. And I'm saying this as the strength and conditioning coach, but really it's in the classroom as well. Thank you. If there's any questions I can take those as well. Thank you to for the dedication to this program and the student success. Well, I I want to make sure that you guys are seeing your your ROI in your investment of the new weight room. And this senior group is kind of a special one because they got to see the whole process. When they came in as
014freshmen, they had the old weight room. Sophomores was the demo into renovation. And then these last two years they've been able to kind of reap the benefits of that new space and I just want to know that we're we're using it to the best of our abilities. Yes, I did. Okay, so I'm going to go back to when I was in high school and we had a program called Bigger Faster Stronger. Yep. And it was they came in and did a whole thing for our like we had a big I don't even know what it's called because it's too late for me to think. But like the whole school was in the gymnasium and they did a big big presentation. Like I don't know if that's something that like cuz then I don't know, it
015motivated me. I came in at 6:00 every morning in the summer and did that program. I'm sure somebody was there. So our our I don't know, baby. I don't know who was there, but I'm sure somebody had to be there to open up that gym. So our program is based off of Bigger Faster Stronger and this other workout platform or it's actually called platform that we use. Um and with using those resources and then tailoring it to our space, we created a workout that works best for our time frame and our facility. But I'm just saying like is there a way to like do like a big presentation so that the whole school knows or the whole high school knows cuz that's what motivated me to do it. And I'm not I'm not saying everybody's
016like that, but Correct. I mean it takes work to get anybody up. I you know, like are they intimidated because weights intimidated me when I was a freshman in high school. You know, like That's that's one step that I I I could have bored you all day with stats, but one of the big focuses that we've had is trying to make that inclusive environment and then especially like when I first came in with our female population, there was very little. And now we have some classes where we have more females than there is in the class than male. So we're we're building that as well. And I think it's great that it's offered as a class cuz you know, they're doing other sports. I think that's huge. I had 132 students during the school day
017throughout semester 1 and 2. Um if I can give a hot take I believe all athletes should have a weightlifting class during the school day. If you were in the band, you have a band class during the school day. And if you were in choir class during the school day. So, I believe our athletes should be given the same opportunities that we're giving other clubs. Okay. Is that not possible? Sorry. Is that not possible? With all the curriculum. I don't I'm I don't know that answer. That would be I'll tell you the same answer any kid comes to me with a guidance question. Okay. That's probably a guidance question. Okay. Sorry. No, you're good. I I just want to say thank you cuz you and I started talking about those shirts. I don't know I
018think I was here on my second week and we started talking about getting a club going. And I I mean as I said I I'm thinking maybe we need to do the 750 club as well. I know we got a couple girls here. I mean one's at at that age. Cuz I'd love to maybe get some girls you know, walking around in our apparel as well. And you know, like I said I believe we There's girls that can get a thousand? Not yet. They can get in? Freshman, they'll be there. Yeah, but just to get them warmed up and get them started. You know, just to celebrate it. So, We used to have three three different categories. We had 500, 750, and 1,000. Um but back then we also only did three lifts. Uh so,
019we could totally do like a 750, 1,000, 1,250. I'll see you when we talk. When uh you guys probably remember it from Matt and you they uh it was a really big deal when those kids moved up to the new t-shirt. I mean when my kids got home, they that was the information of the day. >> [laughter] >> Oh, yeah. I think I still have mine, honestly. I've tried to move away from I used to have a billboard. I tried to move away from that just because you kind of get that comparison. And like I like I said before, we just want them to be the strongest versions of them, not be like, "Oh, I'm only If I can go 10 more pounds on deadlift, I can jump so-and-so." and then end up putting themselves
020in a bad position to get hurt. Uh Well, they're doing it in the pool. Yeah. >> [laughter] >> Correct. No, thank you. You're doing a great job. Awesome. And we are working on getting some cuz I know uh Matt Warnecke has uh has reached out to me about getting some firemen in here to lift with the kids. Um maybe get some police officers, sheriffs. Um you know, I I don't I don't I don't go in there. Um but anybody that wants to join, just they know the uh just to show that the healthy lifestyle continues as you >> [cough] >> become [clears throat] more mature with age. So, um but I [snorts] mean, we we'd love to touch base with anybody who anybody who wants to get in on that and come lift, be great.
021Um I said earlier that all students have access to the to the weight room on those days, but all staff also have access to that weight room and then our cardio room as well. And I'm more than happy to help anybody that wants to. Thank you. Thank you. And moving on to uh Sarah Lynch. Nothing on the agenda at the end. Okay. Uh John Gipson here? Please. Public participation looks like your signature. I If I did, I wasn't aware of it. Uh And then Student Council? Okay. If you guys want to go ahead. Awesome. Hello. Thank you very much. My name is Lily Herold and I'm the president of Student Council and this is Carson Garrett. She is our vice We're here to represent our council and give the school board an update on some
022[snorts] of the things we have accomplished this school year as a student council. This year we had the honor of participating or partnering partnering with Prevention of Substance Abuse and together we provided planned monthly activities that encourage student involvement, school spirit, and community connection. Throughout the year members worked hard to bring students and the community together through a variety of events and service projects. Some of our activities included bringing back student sock hops, which I think a lot of our students had fun at. In August we had a back to school sock hop on the football field after our first home football game. Students danced, played corn hole, socialized, and were able to purchase snacks at the concession stand thanks to the athletic boosters. September was a very busy month for us. Uh we planned
023all of the homecoming activities and we worked with the community in naming the grand marshal of the parade, organizing the parade, a dance, and welcomed home alumni by making pennants that decorated the concession stands. October we purchased every classroom teacher a pumpkin and we had a pumpkin decorating contest and had the community vote on the best pumpkin. Some of those pumpkins were displayed in the community. And in November we hosted a Veterans Day breakfast and program. We welcomed Union County veterans and had the privilege of serving them. We honored UC veterans by making a video of those who have or currently are serving in the military. November was also a month of gratitude, so we hosted a gratitude gala sock hop where students brought canned food items to help local food pantries, both Liberty and
024College Corner. >> [snorts] >> And we volunteered at the community Thanksgiving dinner that was sponsored by local churches. Hi. Um as Lily said before, I'm Carsyn Garrett and I'm the Student Council vice president. Um I'm going to talk a little bit about what we've done later in the school year. Um so December was full of holiday cheer and giving back. Um we sponsored an ugly sweater Christmas sock hop um after a basketball game and the council sponsored um children off the angel tree and we purchased gifts for them. We also took time to reflect on our many blessings and hosted a pay it forward dinner at the high school and we served the community the residents at In View and Southview Courts. In February, we sponsored yet another semi-formal dance, the Valentine's dance. Along with
025the Western Hoedown to kick off for FFA Week. Um from the Hoedown, we were able to donate $500 to the Travis Hughes Memorial Scholarship. And in April, we brought back the talent show which was a blast. Um we are so proud of each person who performed. Um Union County has a lot of talent. Finally, this Friday we are ending the year with a movie night on the football field which should be a lot of fun because we have um a big like blow-up screen um and we'll have food truck and I I I I I I Stacy um that will be there, too. Kona Ice. Yes. So that'll be a lot of fun, we hope. Um our students will come. Um throughout the many monthly activities and pep assemblies, we also met every Wednesday morning
026in room 7K. Countless hours were spent outside of school. Student council members also dedicated their time to the community by playing bingo at the nursing home twice each month, which is a riot. It's a great time. >> [laughter] >> Um, and um, we also organized the senior citizen prom that was this last Saturday, um, and it brought generations together for a special afternoon of fun and memories. These are a few highlights that we wanted to share with you all and all of those in attendance. We are proud of the impact the student council made this year through leadership, service, school spirit, and community involvement. We would like to thank our high school administrators, Mr. Judd and Mr. Reester, for their attendance and support of these events, along with our super superintendent, Mr. Jones, and his
027wife. Um, so I also have another thing to share with you guys. Um, as president of the class of 2026, we would like to invite you all to our word um, senior awards um, program, which is Friday, June 5th at 7:00 p.m. And then we would also like to invite you guys to graduation, which is Sunday, June 7th at 1:30 p.m. Thank you. >> [applause] [clears throat] >> I just want to say thanks for all the stuff you do for the community. I not a big Facebook person, but got on some social media, saw all the little seniors that dance at the senior center, and it looked like they were having a good time. So, I'm sure they're very thankful for what you do for them and all the other community involvement. So, thanks for
028not only taking care of our students and keeping them active, but keeping the community active. Thank you. Okay, that's it for public participation. We'll move on to building up the heats. Just going by what I have on top here at the high school. I think the high school's going to drop some extra curricular activities. They're They're all good updates, so I don't mind sitting here listening to good stuff. >> [cough] >> If you look at the numbers, we're holding steady. Um down to 331, but we're only losing 69 seniors in a couple of weeks. We're hoping to bring in all 88 incoming freshmen, so we'll be up about 10. If everything goes well. I just came from the golf course. I think our boys on are on the way to being 9-0. That's incredible. I've
029been out on the golf course many times by myself. I didn't see anyone hitting the ball like I do, so >> [laughter] >> we're we're we're doing great. So, keep in mind that that we have an unspeakable team. Um on page two, there's a picture of our business students. They participated in some contest at IU East Student Achievement Soft Market Challenge. They placed very high in several of the events. At the bottom, you see a picture of Luke Mills getting his certificate from the Indiana Association of School Principals Executive Director Todd Wess. Luke was recognized for being named the Regional Indiana All-Star, and the teacher he recognized that day was Casey Brubaker. She was his influential teacher. I also want to point out that Luke is our first student at Union County High School to
030earn an associate degree while in high school. Next year, we'll have more, but Luke worked hard to do that this year. Next page, there's a picture of some of our biology students at the zoo. And then there's a very large picture of our National Honor Society. I'd like to thank the outgoing officers, Carson Garrett, Jerry Grissom, Natalie Long, Laura Robinson for their service. And then our new officers for next year will be Samantha West, Ann Meyer, Mason Street, and Grayson Golbridge. Next page, I didn't know the girls were going to be here from the uh from student council tonight, but you're all invited to come to the movie on the football field on Friday night. The more adults we have there, the more supervision we'll have. It looked like a great time. Um there's some
031pictures of the unif- unified sports day there that we had on the 1st of May. Usually we get to go outside, but this spring's been a little odd. We had to stay inside, but uh thanks to the adult volunteers and student volunteers, we had a wonderful day and wonderful event. I know that the kids who participated enjoyed it and the ones from out county who came enjoyed it. Next page, you see a picture of all the kids at the prom. Prom was a great success. The after-prom party sponsored by parents at the bowling alley in Richmond was also a great success. I think Mr. Jones would tell you we had so many compliments about the behavior of our students. Not only at the prom, but also at the bowling alley. Um people who don't know
032our students, don't know our school have no idea of how lucky we are to have the kids that we have. And and I think that comes from the people who are supporting our schools and and also their parents. I'd like to thank Ashley Brewster and Mike. They're the sponsors of the junior class who organized the prom, set it up. It was a wonderful evening. Uh Mrs. Barnhiser, the senior class sponsors, they're and we had a great time with the kids. There's a picture of prom king, Bo Tidrow, and prom queen, Carson Garrett, and they are a striking couple. And then there's something that uh Jordan didn't mention while he was up here. We had our first senior exit in the weight room. And uh we were all surprised by how it kind of turned out.
033It was it was uh almost like a religious event the way the pews were set up listening to uh Wyatt Pence give his senior exit. He impressed all of us, so it was a great experience. I think we'll see more senior exits in the weight room. And also because of Jordan has seen more kids than anybody in uh the National Honor Society had three blood drives this year. We used to only have two, so if you add that up, you saved over 300 lives this year, the kids at this high school. So, I'd like to thank Jen Brandon and Pam Shaw, the sponsors of the National Honor Society for doing that. And then there's a picture on the back page. Uh I guess that's not the back page. It's a lot of pages. Those are
034kids that were at the Ivy Tech graduation ceremony, which we'll speak [clears throat] in. Some of them are WCC students who got their technical certificates. One of them is an agriculture student from our high school who had earned her technical certificate. And several of those kids are ones who are at the Indiana College Core. That's the 30 college credits that our kids are earning. Um and that equals their first year of college. There were lots more kids that earned the right to participate in that graduation, but some of them were at the senior citizen prom with Mrs. Barnhiser. They chose that over going to a graduation ceremony, so that shows you what type of kids we have. Um if you didn't make it to our art show on Saturday morning, you missed it. You get
035the chance to still out in the hallway before you leave tonight. so over in the high school hallway by the art room. Our kids are amazing artists and Mandy Reed, the art teacher, gets everything possible out of all of her students. And I'm amazed by the quality of art that is displayed in our hallway. Now on the last page, um Saturday was a busy day. We had the Ivy Tech graduation, we had the art show, and we had the FFA banquet and awards presentation. I'd like to thank Cassie Reed and Peter Volk for organizing the meal and the awards program. We have What do you think? A quarter of our students in the school that are in the FFA program and quite a few of them were honored with uh recognition for their accomplishments at
036at the awards banquet. So it was a very nice night. Um congratulations to Daryl Harvey and Carla Bartnizer for being inducted as honorary members. Honorary members. That's a great honor. And for anyone that wants to attend the remaining home events, there's not too many. Uh just what's left in May. That's all I have unless you have questions. Thank you. LES Good evening. I reported Randy this month, we're at 332 students. The same as we were last year, so we're holding steady. Our May is jam-packed. We have 9 days of school left and it feels like 90 activities. So we have most of them list list listed there. Our students of the [clears throat] month for May for cooperation and pride Um when you turn the page, we have finished most of our end of the
037year assessments. We are currently doing the first second round of I read this week, so. I Every day when the data rolls in, I'm just more and more impressed. Like our teachers and our students have put in so much effort this year and done so well, and I'm just so proud of them. So, in class assesses um early reading skills, phonemic awareness, phonics, and it's for grades K through 2, and 67% of our students are at or above grade level, with the rest of them just right there behind. And you can see the growth that we had as a school, and then it's also broken down into grade levels. 89% of our kindergarteners are going to move to first grade um at or above grade level. And then NWEA kind of um is also reading
038and math, and this just shows the growth. The top line is the growth, and then the bottom line is the achievement. So, our goal is to be yellow or above, and the kids have really knocked it out of the park, and we just saw some amazing numbers. The teachers have worked so hard this year um to to make the kids want to be there and want to be successful and grow, and it's just been fun to watch. So, the front side of the NWEA is reading, and then the back side is math, and you can see we're green and yellow in every one of those. We've had a lot of fun activities. Our um life applied skills class um got to also do Olympics. Um they went to Western Wayne this year. This was the
039first year elementary did that, so our students enjoyed that. We've had lots of fun field trips. Um kindergarten went to Jay's and got some ice cream. PTO spoiled not only the staff last week for um staff appreciation, but also the teacher or the students. They all had Kona Ice. And we're just ending the year with lots of fun things. Questions? College Corner. Uh we are up one in kindergarten, so in the right direction, I guess you could say. Like Lisa, we are wrapping up with lots of fun things going on. If you get bored next week, come hang out with [clears throat] us. We got a lot of stuff to do and and having a lot of fun. So, um you can see them all listed there. We had our students of the month for
040honor. That is our last pep rally of the year. And then some pictures. Um fifth graders are buddies with our kindergarteners, and they did some science experiments. Um they made elephant toothpaste. They made ice cream in a bag together. You can see them there standing. Uh we also did student appreciation week a couple weeks ago. Uh it was something we just tried for the first time, and the kids got to dress up in different days, and there are some of our kids actually Mrs. Yancy's class is here this evening being being the teacher. Uh >> [snorts] >> they got to dress up as their teacher. You can tell that they um honored their teachers. So, we had a lot of fun with that. We gave prizes away each day. Um and we did dress-up days,
041and just um just had a lot of fun with our kids. And it was right after testing, so it felt like um that was something we all needed. Um like Lisa, I included um some NWEA and mCLASS. So, the NWEA you can see uh kindergarten still has to take theirs. We're still wrapping up some of that, but you can see the growth and achievement there. Uh big gains in math in NWEA. And then with the checkpoints, I've shared those already um in our upper grades, that that has made huge progress. And then my mCLASS, which is phonics um and reading literacy skills in grades K through 2, you can see in every single it's broken down by the skill on the left-hand side and you can just see the blue increase in every single skill
042over the course of the year. It starts at the beginning and to the end and then it gets broken down by grade as well on the right-hand side, but we have just seen huge improvements literacy and I think I spoke to that and attested to that with the I-Ready presented last last board meeting, but you can see why and and the holes and gaps that we're filling in is only going to get better. So, I'm very proud of the progress we've made this year and I think we're going to do really well. Good evening. Enrollment is at 286, the same as it was last month. We are down just two from 2025. Upcoming events there are listed. We just sent our eighth graders off to DC. They'll be back on Thursday. We're having a fifth
043grade visit come this Wednesday. We're going to go visit the and watch the high school show choir performance on Friday. Eighth grade choir performance will also be on Friday. The sixth and seventh grade will have a final choir performance on Tuesday. We're going to go to take our quarter four incentive trip for all of our students that have no F's, no ISS, no OSS, and good attendance um next week and then awards day and our spring training amazing race final day also next week. And then track and golf are finishing up this [snorts] week. For step here, um since our last meeting, our academic teams performed at Eastern Hancock, and our ELA, or English Language Arts, um group placed second for um in their class three their division and eighth in the state of middle
044school. Um science, social studies, math, and interdisciplinary all placed third in their class. Last week, we had our middle school band um concert and our final concert for the year. They both did amazing. As you see there, our sixth grade band is just by itself is much larger even than our seventh and eighth grade combined. So, that is growing. So, more to come for for the band. Um we just held our final dance. They they had a young glow dance. So, kids had a lot of fun. 173 students came. So, out of our 280, about 173 came. So, it's a little we could have half that out some of the evening. Um we also had our art show. Um Miss Paige Mrs. Paige Hersinger does an amazing job as well. We filled the whole atrium
045up with um the art projects throughout the year. They also displayed We have a STEM class who had built motorized um kind of creatures that kicked the ball. So, they all displayed their motorized um things that they built. And um our LEGO club also got a grant this year for additional LEGOs, and they all set up their um things that they built this year. Um and our FACS department in FACS class, I mean, our one class that we have for FACS, they also um made snacks and treats to to give out for our for our art show. So, we said that they catered catered the show for us. Um our teacher appreciation week, as always, our Honor Society really did a great job putting together a week. But, our sixth graders, not to be left
046out um had also developed a group called UC Helping Hands and they put together little things themselves. They were writing letters to teachers and had set things up. So we also highlighted them. Really our teachers are the heart of our school. Every day they go above and beyond to support challenging care for our students in ways that often go unseen. We're incredibly grateful for their dedication, resilience, and commitment to helping every child grow academically and spiritually. And then we are also incredibly grateful and proud of our students who put together such a thoughtful week of treats and events. So that's what we have so far today. Thank you. Moving on to item six, accept donations. We have a total now of nice $600 or $611. [cough] $1,611. So moved. I'll do it with the motion.
047Betsy with a second. Any questions or discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? And moving on to item seven, consent agenda. We have a claims document of $1,100,000.07. >> [clears throat] >> All right, enter motion. I believe I have abstained, right? Yes. You're covering all those? Yes. I'll make a motion. It's a motion. I'll second. Drew with a second. Any questions or discussion? Okay, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? One abstention. Six to one. Moving on to old business, College Corner board updates. Our meeting went fairly quick to say the uh probably one of our biggest discussions that we talked about was Playing in the Park. And I can't thank anyone enough for this program. >> [cough] >> This is a program [clears throat] this Ohio board has been very proud to support
048over the years. With the work that she does down there and the lives that she touches, I would encourage if you haven't been or visited Playing in the Park, go down there for just a couple hours and I guarantee your heart will be touched for the work that goes into that. Uh also, we'd like to send a very special thank you to Sarah Adams for uh the excellent work that she's done. Uh We did give her tonight the apportionment which has been worked out. She's spent countless hours on this, came in Sunday, worked on it. You know, this is the first time in several years that this has been done this quickly. But, a huge thank you to you. >> Thank you, but I can't take the all the credit. Georgetta helped me with the
049spreadsheet and the formulas. Okay. Okay. Well, you know, excellent work on both parts, but uh we we do appreciate it and not having it going on for a year and a half like we've experienced in the past. So, thank you, ladies. That's it. Okay, yes. Thank you. We appreciate it. Okay, moving on to new business. Um nine the Play in the Park presentation. I'm going to make you cry there. Well, I don't have a handout. I have a presentation. Should I turn off the Yeah. So, those of you who don't know me, I'm Michelle Yancey. Um I'm the director of the Play in the Park program. Um I've been a teacher at Union County for 26 years, finishing up my 26th year, hard to believe. And I've been doing Play in the Park for 22
050years. So, this is near and dear to my heart. Um but we are a summer recreational program, educational program also for Union County um elementary children entering kindergarten through sixth grade. Um you can go ahead and go to the next one, Christina. Just flip over there. This is our 31st year, so proud of this, and this is absolutely free for every single student, all families free. We don't ask them to pay a dime. Um you're getting a sneak peek at my calendar, which I'm posting later tonight, which all the kids have been waiting on. So, they can't wait for this. So, as you can see, we have lots of fun activities. We swim. Um we have Ice Ice Baby come in. We have Kona Ice coming. We have inflatables. We I'm really proud of the
05122nd. We have a BMX anti-bullying show coming, and that's going to be at the schools. You guys guys got to come check that out. It's going to be awesome. Got it. Got it. Yeah, it's okay. >> [laughter] >> Um you can go ahead and put it on the next slide. Um, you can follow us on Facebook. We have a Facebook page. It's just CC Camp Park and everything that we do is on there. Lots of pictures. It's um, you can follow us through the summer and see all the cool stuff that we do. Um, go ahead and click the next one, Christina. Little bit of data for you. Um, last year we had 200 kids sign up, average of 90 kids a day, and you can see a little breakdown. I know it's small, but
052the grades there, you can see how many uh what like what percent is in each grade level, K through 6, and then the school representation um CCUS and LES. You can go to the next one, Christina. And then this so far this year, well, I only have 65 signed up, but that goes up really high real quickly. Um, so you can see the grade um with the grades there. And then LES is really the numbers have really come up. Last year, 15% increase and this year is a 31% increase so far. So, we're really starting to get a lot of the Liberty kids coming to College Corner program. Great. I'm so excited, but it makes our numbers get high. So, I'll talk about that in a minute, but you can go to the next one.
053This is our staff. Um, I am hiring two new people because of our numbers. Um, our ratio has been 18 to 1. Hiring two new people, I will have a ratio of 14 to 1. It's important to keep that low. I mean, we you know, we have to you know, make sure we have the right people working this program. Um, we do have a lot of high school volunteers though. So, last year we had eight high school volunteers. They had 285 hours of service last year. Absolutely amazing. And then this year I so far have 12 high school volunteers signed up to help. So, that's that's fun. You can go to the next one. Okay, breakfast lunch program. This is where a lot of our money has been going, especially with increase in prices. We
054offer free breakfast and lunch for the the food insecurity in our district and it is a cost to this program. Um I write as many grants as I can. Um and you know, I don't always get all, you know, the money that I, you know, am asking for. So, this is where a lot, as you can see, a lot of our money goes to, you know, providing them food every day. You can go ahead, go to the next one. So, donations. So, I'm asking you again to, if you would, please support our transportation. Um you covering that cost is very important. Um it helps us out a lot. Um I think you have been providing us with two buses for the last 3 years because our numbers are growing. Um we may go to three
055buses. I don't know. We'll see. I, you know, we'll just see where this goes. I don't, you know, have to cut this off at some point. I don't know, but we are growing. Um but any extra donations would be fantastic. If you would like to donate, the Ohio School Board, if it wasn't for you guys, this program would not be what it is today. This program would have probably went away about 15 years of maybe 20 years ago if it wasn't for the Ohio School Board for supporting us. So, so, you can go ahead to the next one. So, I just want to thank you for your time and any questions? Okay. I don't think College Corner gives the registrations things that aren't correct. >> It is all online. It is all online. Okay. Yes.
056I used to send them home, but then I went to online registrations because it was so much easier. You can access it through the Facebook page now, right? Yep. Okay, so I've never heard of this [laughter] program before. And [clears throat] so, they just, like a parent just drops the kid off at College Corner? Monday through Friday. Okay. 9:00 to noon. Okay. At the Grove. Okay. Oh, at the Grove. Go back to the lights, too, so they can see the calendar of events. And then like you, I just saw I just saw swimming at Houston Woods Lodge, so that's where the buses would transport. >> Yeah. Okay. >> So some are field trips and some days are at the park. I know it's hard to see, but they are color-coded up there. Um yeah. And
057we've got We used to just fit on one bus, and now we need two. >> [laughter] >> Or more. Or more, maybe. Honestly, I can't imagine what some of our kids would be doing in the summer if it wasn't for this program, and just not just alone just eating two meals a day. Uh that's just something that's really big for our for our kids, so just something to keep in mind. And what are the dates? June 8th through what? July 3rd. Okay. Yeah. And then we always end July 4th with a College Corner 4th of July parade. We're all We're really big in that parade. Okay. Do you adjust like rain or shine? Do you adjust some of the schedule? >> weather. Okay. I will cancel if it's severe weather. Okay. But last year, one
058of our best days was the rain day. We had a blast. As long as the weather's not bad, we're having fun in the park, so. And that's still advertised through the Facebook page? Yes. Yes. I would just like to say it is a wonderful program. I'm over there almost every morning, and the variety that Michelle offers these kids is a lot of them would never see these places if they didn't have the opportunity to get on the school buses that are provided and go to these different places. I know one year I went with them to Miami's Horse Park. That might not might not sound exciting, but it was a fabulous field trip. And it's I mean, she does a lot. It is a great program. High school students love it. And I love it
059when they come back. That means so much to me. That I you know, I had a student come to or [snorts] to play in the park and then they come back and they go, "I can't wait." And then my daughter will be a freshman, can't believe it, next year. So, she finally gets to volunteer. She's been waiting for this forever. "Mom, can I come this year?" Yes, you can. So, I'm so I'm so excited. Well, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, moving on to item 10, approval to refer Cintas agreement to legal counsel. Do you want to start this one? Uh well, um back what, 2 years ago, possibly? About 2 and 1/2 years ago, yeah. The uh former superintendent and treasurer entered into a uh an agreement. I don't even think
060it's a contract, but it's a it's a agreement with Cintas, which is cleaning products, the paper towel, toilet paper, anything that's janitorial, >> [snorts] >> uh our rugs, and um it's um a little pricey for what I think they should be uh doing because right now it's running about about $11,000 a month. For all of that. Um we've looked at other places, um and um we can do it for considerably less. Um and we're trying to right now [snorts] um get us out. It wasn't a contract and then and it was a basically an agreement, but I don't think it ever got brought to the board. Um so, that's what we've talked to Jen Williams about is possibly seeing if we can get out of that written agreement. And I know cuz when I was
061in operations in Richmond, they they came up to us and I said, "Guys, like, you know, Cintas, I can't afford you." I said, "I I I don't know how anybody's doing that because I can't afford you." Um but they got into an agreement and we just met with the uh Cintas representative and um you know, we just we told Cintas we're we're to that point with you know, Senate Bill 1, we cannot afford $11 a month for stuff that we can get for probably about 30 I'm going to say about 3,500 or somewhere thereabouts a month. So, that's what we're coming to you to say, you know, if you guys are all right with us you know, working with Jim to see if we can get out of that somehow because it's just going to
062put us in a in a bear hole. What does the agreement say? Like, is there a end date? Yes. Yeah. And is that long-term? 60 months. I'll make a motion. Betsy with a motion. Second. Jerry with a second. Any other questions or discussion? Is this I mean what you sent us, is this everything we have on file then with Cintas? Cuz there's only one signature from you and my girl over there. Yeah, um that is everything we have that we had in our files. Were they able to provide you with the contract that Um or any more When information Well, here's here's the thing. This this is what I am probably overcooked the grits a little bit, we'll say. Um because the the representative came in and he said, "Well, you know, and cuz I
063said we we just can't afford you guys." And you know, he uh was uh Sarah, myself, and Rick Hill. And he was like, [clears throat] "Well, you know what? I I got this program that, you know, we can enroll you in." And I just asked, "How long has this program been around?" And he goes, "Oh, for, you know, for a while." And I was like, "So, now you're just now telling us that we can get basically a certain percentage off?" I said, "That's I mean, that's really poor business practices." Um and uh it's one of those things where it's like I I I just don't I I don't know I don't know how it got to that point where they entered into this without it um you know, they didn't get the the proper signatures,
064we'll say. But I just don't also know where and then at what point was it that, you know, we could say, "Hey, we can afford that." Okay. So, why do you need approval from the board? Talked for a while. We just want to make sure we're going through the right steps process. Um and just giving you more of a heads-up. Um and if you guys, like I said, are all right with it, we're going to work with Jim to see if we can, like I said, figure out a way since it never went to the board, it didn't, you know, wasn't approved. It was the two people that did approve it are no [clears throat] longer here. So, a lot of facets to it that we're just trying to see what we can do to
065see if we can save some money. And do you have a replacement? Uh we've been shopping around. Uh Office 360, um which we just met with their representatives. Um and they're, like I said, they they haven't given us a hard number yet, but we could probably do it for half or less than what we're we're doing right now. So. How much How How longer you got on that Excuse me? >> agreement? How much longer >> That It's supposed to cost by 60 months, which 5 years, which I I had I've I've never seen a contract with a company that long, but When you get started, it says we're basically halfway through. How much We're we're about Yeah, we're about halfway through right now. So, got about 2 and 1/2 years left on it. >> [cough]
066>> So. You take about 8,000 * 12 and you're at about 100,000 a year on this that we can save. If in the case you can't get out of it Is there areas you could cut? Well, that's where we get enrolled in their state supported program. Basically, what I I don't remember what he what he called it, but basically, where we get better pricing on things. Uh and the other thing is that if we don't go that route, we still are stuck into it for we'd have to pay 50% of product. Is that correct? Is that what it was? Yes, 50% of product. They they offered a buyout option and it was 50% per product. So, if our attorney cannot get us out of this agreement, we would continue to do the buyout, but any
067other products that we also need that we can that we don't get out of the buyout, we will go through Phillip Supplies. And that's also an already working relationship that Rick Hill has had. That is who gave him his supplies before Synthetics came in. I have a couple of questions. One, in the contract, is it a standard rate or is it based on the volume we give them? So, for example, if we just quit giving them what needs to be cleaned and replaced, would they still charge us the 11,000 a month? So, there's a standard, "Hey, you're going to pay 11,000 a month for your services and then there's you give us 10 rugs and 15 whatever. It's just called Is it a per item cost that averages 11? So that if we just said
068we don't need, you know, we're not giving you any thing to clean this month, it would be zero? It's It's It's per item. When I got that 11,000 number, that is me taking from January >> Right. So my point is if we don't give them any items, they can't bill us for anything, right? And so is there a non-compete in that contract where we just take our items and give it to somebody else that month and we don't give it to Cintas, they can't charge us for anything? That's actually a really good question, Jerry. In In your drive in the agenda, all of the Cintas agreements and the buyout is all should be all in there. >> Okay, I'll take a look at it cuz if they have a non-compete and it's based on volume,
069we can just cut them out whether they agree to it or not. Okay. Okay. So we have a motion by Betsy and second by Jerry. Any other questions or discussion? Okay, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Seven no. And moving on to item 11, appointment of corporation district treasurer, Georgetta Hartman. Uh we went through the uh screen process. Um we um kind of had an idea of, you know, the qualities we're looking for. Uh we had Jerry Ashbrook once again coming in as part of our interview team and uh we would like to recommend Georgetta Hartman as the uh district treasurer for uh your approval. So moved. Second. Jerry with a motion, Daryl with a second, any questions or discussion? I hear none, so all those in favor? Aye. Aye. All those opposed?
070Jerry said no. Congratulations, come take your seat. >> [laughter] >> Are you still going to be the sophomore class sponsor? No, I have actually not been I have I have helped with all of the groups for years, but I haven't been a sponsor for probably four years at least or Sorry. They need help. They do, they really [laughter] do. And she has been helping. I know, I I tried. Yeah. Okay, moving on to item 12, approval to add Georgetta Hartman to Beth State Bank account. So moved. >> [clears throat] >> Second. Thank you, she has a pro. So Susan with a motion, Drew with a second, any questions or discussion? All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Jerry said no. >> [clears throat] >> Moving on to item 13, approval to remove John Edge
071and Jennifer Blakely from Beth State Bank account. So moved. Second. Drew with a motion, Betsy with a second, any questions or discussion? All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Jerry said no. And item 14, approval of the Mazi contract. Mazi is a it's a well, it's run by a former superintendent, but they basically work to with school districts across the state of Indiana to oversee their grants. And their essentially their fees are taken out of their grants that are written. So, it's like they're they're $2,500 a month to oversee the grants, but does not come off of our end because it is out of their when they write the grants, they put it as their the administrators of the grants. This came across uh um where I I as well, but I've also had
072several superintendents in the area. And I know Northeastern reached out and talked to me about it. So did Western Wayne. And Franklin County is going that direction as well. We talked with Bob Cuttington and Paul our our interim treasurer. But I don't know what the title is now, but and they strongly suggested just until you know, we get Georgetta gets you know, her feet under her in that position because I mean, we we know she's I mean, she's got skills that are you know, crazy mad, but um it's we would like to give a little bit of support there to where she would take the grants off of her plate for right now. Hopefully, this will be short-term, but if you know, 1 to 2 years, then we can start getting filtering back to our
073treasurer and deputy treasurer, but right now that's what I'd like to you know, propose is that we work with Mazzi and they will oversee all of the title two, title one, all of the grants that come through our office. And Yeah, I think it'd be helpful in the event we have so many people that say, "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Especially people that have been doing this a lot longer than I have. That's kind of where we we came up with that. So, um, looking for the approval of the Mazi contract. >> [snorts] >> I'll move. Second. Jerry with a motion, Daryl with a second. >> Yes, sir. Okay, so would you approve that every year? Yeah, it's >> That we would need it. We can Yes, because if if we make through the
074year the school year and, you know, we're, you know, Georgia had a and uh Sarah feel pretty good about Hey, we can all just start again. Then we start, you know, weaning off of that. Um I just don't want to hit her with because, I mean, we've already um you know, been working very hard to kind of right ship and I would hate to have something else that I have to, you know, right ship as well as do this, this, and this. Um these are several grants that are out there and they will also, um, if we approach them and say, "Hey, you know, we're looking for a grant to possibly cover some of the play or some of the park. Playground and park. We had it all together, so play in the park, which
075they they know I said, "You guys find grants?" They said, "Yeah, we actually I said, "Well, serve as a grant writer as well." But they have whatever we want or need, we can go to them. We have a consultant that we use and they go and find stuff for us. So, if we're looking at, you know, hey, maybe expanding the weight room um or whatever it might be, so that's I said it's our own I'm almost I don't want to say personal grant writers, but it's they they will oversee the grants and and find things for us. Just so I'm clear, they take a bite out of the apple that they bring in, don't they, right? Yep. Yes, sir. That was going to be my question. That's the only cost associated >> Yeah, yeah, it's
076it's uh like I said, they will we meet we've already met with them, um, but uh yeah, and as I I an email says, so this is not coming out of our general funds, not coming out of our education fund. It is freaking It's all It's taken all off of and and that's why I double-checked with Western Wayne and and Northeastern. Uh and they said the same thing. They're they're using the same thing. So, with Liza Bates out of our uh special co-op also uses them. And as I said, when when I got, you know, Paul and Bob both kind of suggested this, getting some support there. Um just so uh Georgia feels comfortable enough. And then uh she wants to take it back, we can do that. So. So, is it a certain percentage
077then of So, each grant they It It's the They will They'll take and I and they'll take um I mean I think it's depending on how much time they take to write them, how much time. But, they'll take their their fees. As I said, we probably never ever see their fees. It'll just come off the top of um the grants. So, if they write three grants, their $2,500 will come off those three three grants. Any other questions or discussion? Sounds good. And hopefully this will just be short-term. That I mean, they'll As I said, they'll Our team feels comfortable enough to start getting grants back over. If there's no other questions or discussion, I'll make a motion by Jared. Second by Daryl. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. All those opposed? Hearing seven ayes. Now,
078moving on to item 15, uh approval of student handbooks. And again, everyone should have a copy of each school in the uh board packet that you received. >> [snorts] >> I know the middle school had pretty much re-wrote the handbook. Did any other school have any major changes that No, some of them look like highlights or maybe red light red writing. Um is there anything that anyone else that I might have missed it? I high school, most of the things went back the way it was before we adopted that multi-school long document. And probably the biggest new change is the new state law that prohibits cell phones. Ours is about the same. It was a lot of the same wording as before. Even some of the stuff, but we just formatted it all the same.
079So it looks different, but it's still got a lot of the same wording that was relevant to the high school handbook or old handbook in the new one. So I'll entertain a motion to approve student handbooks. And that's for 2026-2027 school calendar. So Second There was a motion. That's your the second. Any other questions or discussion? Now, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion carried 7-0. Okay, moving on to item 16, public participation. Mr. Ashbrook, you had something else? All right, part two. Now we are switching hats to world travelers. So, I just want to give you a world traveler update. Um I gave each of you a written letter from our other tour leader, Dorothy Campbell. Um I won't go through the entire reading, but do you want to read that? And
080basically a summary of our trip. Uh but started off uh in a rush. We We have multiple travelers in here with us. Um there are certain airports in Germany that I hope I never go back to again. Uh we did miss our flight from Germany to Italy due to a new passport uh law, I guess. Yeah, you can call it for uh the European Union that was not in place when our flights were originally booked. So, they did not account for that additional time. So, I sprinting through the airport missed our flight by a matter of minutes uh and watched it pull off and fly away. Uh but we had a fantastic group of kids this year. Uh and that was a common theme throughout the entire trip, which is how [clears throat] awesome our
081kids were to be with and to be uh as I think our tour guide Larry said, handle and survive the quote-unquote hardcore tourism uh that is Italy and Greece. I mean, our our kids We had some early hours, we had some late nights, and we walked They put 45 mi on here, but based on my Garmin it was closer to the 60 uh miles of travel in those 9 days that we got to go to Italy. So, we saw Rome. Uh we then went on to a ferry to the island of Capri. Uh and then from there we went to Pompeii, which is known for the big volcanic explosion. Uh for and from there we finished in ancient Greece and then returned home back through said airport and I thought all of the bad thoughts
082and we made it to our flight home uh in one piece. Had a fantastic time. Uh I feel very blessed to have this position. Uh one of the biggest things that people were like, "Are you sure you want to take that many kids and be responsible for that many kids overseas?" And it can be it's it's a task that I take very seriously because it's school safety and and student safety is number one, but we have such great kids uh here in Union County that makes it very easy. They're all very responsible young adults and they've learned an awful lot on these trips. Um so, that's old business. New business, we have now selected our new spot for next year's trip. So, a little behind the curtain behind the scenes on how we do this.
083We give out a interest survey >> [clears throat] >> to any student that is interested in the school to going on the trip. So, that would be sophomore, juniors, and seniors for next school year. Uh they're invited in. I give them a list of countries that are up in the rotation. So, when I say up in the rotation, my grand vision for this group is you get to go 3 years. I would love to hit three countries each year and then if you go as a sophomore, junior, and senior, you were then able to see nine countries in Europe, which is a massive amount of European countries. I mean, there's not too many more that I can think of. So, they have the chance to see a whole lot of the world before they leave
084Union County High School, and I want to make sure that those kind of don't go repeats to where a kid go kid go to the same location twice. Kind of make sure it's something new that they get to see each time. So, that being said, our three that we have for this year are Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Our three new countries. I have included the brochure in your packet. If you're interested, but uh the recruiting trip is Wednesday night at 6:00 in the library for any body that is interested in going on the trip, where we'll have this information there. I'll have a video and [snorts] be able to answer any questions that our potential travelers may have. One slight change. Uh Unfortunately, Miss Campbell will not be returning to help with the World Travelers.
085So, we have had to replace her position, and we have brought on Lori West. Uh Lori has gone on many of these trips in the past. Uh she's also our school nurse, so her medical background uh on these trips is almost irreplaceable, and it takes a lot of headaches off my plate. She's able to carry that whole burden there. They are missing You want me to do that real quick now? No. I'm just taking away I can't keep repeating myself, but I'm just taking away each year of how great our kids are. And when we we go with these other schools, or we see these other schools, and we hear the horror stories of uh so-and-so lost their passport, and we're currently working on getting them new passports so that way they can make flight
086home. Or uh a handful of students stayed on the boat and are currently headed back up to X city and we don't have every piece of wood I can, but uh we don't have those issues here. We have intelligent kids that are able to take care of themselves for the most part and we're just there to help and guide them through this new place and get to watch them experience it all. All right. Thank you. Okay, any other public participation? I'm not hearing any, so we'll move on to superintendent's comments. Uh couple things. Um and I know Mr. Judd hit on it earlier um and I received so many compliments about our students that went to the after prom party. Um I was there. I made it uh the Reeses were there. We made it
087about 1:30 and went to what two somewhere abouts and uh you know I lady behind the counter, the manager of the night, she's like, you know, she goes uh so are you part part of this graduation? I'm superintendent. She goes, I need to tell you, she goes, this is the most well-behaved most respectful group of kids I've ever met. And I was like, I trust me. I said, all I can say was I know. Thank you and I I know because um I mean, we had a wonderful evening at prom. Um and then like I said, the after prom. And you look at all the great stuff we got going on. I mean, you know, we got I mean, the FFA banquet was awesome and we got 100 I think Cassie said 121 kids out
088of 333 uh in FFA. Um so um you know, the art shows that were going on. Got athletics, we're we're killing it. We got a young lady that just broke the school record for stolen bases. Uh, we got a young man that's throwing 99 mile an hour, almost as fast as I did. But, >> [laughter] >> but, so I mean, we got so many great things going on. I I mean, it's it's I mean, look at our two elementary schools, what they have the academics that are there happening. You know, I just I mean, Lisa, how many how many 92 how many what percent I I read passing? Currently, we're at 90. 90%? We're right We're right both right at the same. We This This is I read week, so we're going to Our kids
089are coming I I think you'd be hard-pressed to find I mean, two schools in any district with that 90% So, I mean, it just it's it's just amazing amazing. Um, another note, one of the things that we've been working with is we've had some adults, not staff members, but adults, parents, that haven't acted the best at our events. And, you know, we we give you a chance to fix it, but community members, other parents, they don't need to hear us they filth filth and filth coming out of people's mouths. Um, and that's one of the things that I mean, we're we're taking that pretty seriously, that we give you an opportunity to fix it, and you know, hopefully the next time you can be better. Um, but we're just not going to deal with that.
090I mean, it's just it's one of those things where just as a former parent of an athlete of athletes, um, I didn't want to hear that. Um, you know, it's I mean the kids we can we can kind of deal with at school. Um, you know, but it's you know parents making threats towards staff members. Um we're just not we're not going to put up with it. And I mean that's I mean I'm I'm drawing the line at Doc Mr. Shoemaker Officer Shoemaker. Um, we're that that ship has sailed. We've got to get back to being respectful and it's you know, just do the right thing. Um, so I just it's just one of those things. I said, "Well, give you give you a chance [snorts] to correct it and then we'll we'll help you
091correct it and you will be welcome on our campuses." It's that simple. It's not a hard thing. It's not a hard thing to do because uh you know, when we're at an athletic event we mean our parents are are representing Union County College Corner. And I do not want any team to even say, "Well, hey, man, those you know, those parents down there were crazy." Cuz that reflects on all of us. So I mean it's like I said, it's just one of those things where it's I mean that's that's pretty serious. Um last thing and I I did bring up to >> [clears throat] >> kind of working on it and I know we've had when you look at it um, as I spoke in our newsletter two weeks ago about Senate Bill number one.
092And when you look at funding there's basically two pots of money. And you got the the education which is teachers, everything that has to deal directly with the classroom. And you got the operations which is like transportation, facilities, um, you know, the insurance, school security. Well, with Senate Bill one that it kind of tried to give some relief to the property tax. And when you look at it is that that education fund is funded by our ADM. Which is our average daily membership. The kids are there. When you look at this past year, we lost somewhere around about 51 kids, 50 kids. Which multiply that by about 7,700 or so. So you're looking that's going to be about 300, we'll say mid 390s. $390,000 that we're losing. With going in next year, our operation and
093I pardon writing, but when you look at 26-27, out of our operations budget, we got to cut out $194,630. Doesn't get any better than next year and then 28-29. So when we start making decisions because we're trying to figure out, okay, how do we combat that along with losing kids? And that's why we're making decisions like looking at, you know, different food services, um, you know, what can we do for transportation, what can we do, um, you know, school security wise. I mean, everything. Because the old adage, you know, I mean, everybody wants to lose weight, but nobody wants to stop eating. >> [cough] >> And unfortunately, we have to figure out because this is kind of like a grim picture. We're better than a lot of districts, but this is the the the reality
094that we're living in right now. So this is where we got to figure out what we what we what we do. So it's not, you know, um, you know, it's not us being mean not, you know, going after people. It's just the fact that that's the reality we're in and that's what we got to figure out. So, um, I hate, you know, leaving on such a heavy note with that, but I just want to make sure everybody understands because it seems like like keyboard warriors don't have a full understanding of the the the full picture. And I want to make sure that if I get the message out there as many as people as possible. Once again, I invite anybody to come in and talk to me. I talked to Drew the other day and
095I said >> [cough] >> it would help if I met people at the library or met people at the coffee house. So, hey, sit down and talk to me. Because I want to make sure that we go into next year, we're all one team, one family, that we're all doing what's best for the students of this district. And that's kind of where I'm at right now. So, I mean, it's if you have any questions, let's say that my door's open. Come see me. Come see me. But, once again, think about how great our students are. We'll get back to that first point. So, but that's that's all I got. More comments? Yeah, I do. Um to build on what Mr. Jones was saying, these times are tough and we're trying to find uh places where
096we can save money as a school district. And I wasn't here last meeting, so I would like to have a chance to rebuttal for the food service people. I appreciate their emotional speech, but I wanted to incorporate some facts into what is happening around the food service and why we're looking at alternatives. [clears throat] She was First of all, in my eyes, it's a win-win-win. From what I can tell from some of the research, the kids would be better off, they have a bigger selection, much more to choose from, better food, not better and prepared better, but uh you know, Mr. Ashford over there would like to hear the word protein or protein options, protein options, healthier options, but they're just anyways a win for the kids. A win for the staff because no one
097is losing their job if we go with a service. Unless you can't pass a drug test, you are not losing your or fill out an application, you are not losing your job. So, let me make it clear, nobody on mean staff will be fired unless they couldn't pass a drug test if we got a food service? Secondly, federal government does give us some money, but we are past that allotment. So, it costs us money to run the food service even though the federal government gives us a subsidy. With a change, we would not be in the red, we would be in the black. And so, financially it makes sense for us also because we're paying out of our pockets because we're running over our allotment. With the new food service, we would actually bring some
098in, up to a almost $80,000 difference in some cases. So, I wanted to make that. Um saving money. Nobody loses. Like I said, nobody loses their job. Actually, for the staff, they would get more benefits and actually I think they would get a raise. I can't guarantee that, but the stuff we've looked at and what we've been investigating what what Jones has been investigating, this is good for them. And so, I'm trying to figure out the argument of not moving to a food service, but I wanted to at least lay down some facts that there was some partial [clears throat] truth to that presentation last month, but I wanted to make clear that we are losing money on food service. And by giving better food, better service, and saving money, I think it makes sense
099for this school district to move forward with that. I'm not saying we have, I'm just saying that's why we're looking at it. Thanks. Good. Anyone else? Yes. Uh I wanted to thank Georgetta. Welcome aboard. We're happy to have you. Thanks. Um and I just want to compliment Michelle and Christina. Uh this this past week was uh the wax museum at College Corner. It is the one of the best things I think College Corner does. It was just so well done. The students took it so serious and it was just great. I just want to tell you it was and Christina's daughter was then it. I don't know how Christina did it but she found the outfit that matched the poster. I was so impressed. And it it was really well done. And Jordan, thank you
100for all your hard work. I love the whole weight program and the fact that these kids get to travel. Thank you for all your time. I'm done. Thank you. Anyone else? I just want to thank you for bringing the numbers before the board. Um, I think there was a number being thrown around at the last meeting, not by you, but um, it wasn't accurate of how much we were losing um, from Senate Bill 1. So, that paints a little bit better picture for school, for the community, um, what we're facing moving forward. Um, last week was Teacher Appreciation Week. I tried, I was at training for 3 days to do a um, mass email. Terrible with technology, so I apologize I didn't get out before now, but um, hopefully we got some teachers watching at
101home. Um, thank you all the staff for everything you do for our district, for our community, for our students. Um, there's not enough words, not enough gratitude in this world, um, to go towards the education field and teachers. Um, I knew I was going to mess up all my words tonight, but I'm just a big thank you to everyone uh, in this room, in our buildings, uh, that keep things going forward. So, thank you, everyone. Anyone else? I second that. I don't know if people know what I do, but I'm a speech therapist in a school system. And I can only work with two kids at a time. So, there is no way that I could do 30, 20, whatever kids you have. Like, I would go crazy. So, I totally commend you and you
102are amazing. Excuse me. No other comments? We will adjourn the meeting at 8:31. There is a short executive session. Short, I promise. >> Mhm.