001So I think somebody go. >> Good evening everyone. >> Talk later >> on this beautiful but windy day. Tonight we're going to have two bond hearing meetings and then our regularly scheduled April meeting. So, we're going to start out tonight with board member Cindy Hurst saying the prayer followed by the pledge of allegiance. >> Heavenly Father, thank you for this opportunity to gather tonight in service to our schools, our students, and our community. We ask for your wisdom as we consider the decisions before us. Help us to lead with integrity, humility, and a shared commitment to what's best for children, families, staff, and our broader community. guide this board as we seek seek to make decisions that strengthen our schools and support the future of our community. In your name we pray. Amen. >> Amen.
002>> I 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. I'll think about it. >> Okay. Anyone please make a motion to approve the agenda for the first bond meeting? >> Make a motion to approve the agenda as stated for the bond hearing. Second. >> Any discussion? All right. Please vote. >> Motion passes assuming. >> Okay. Right. Um, no one has signed up for public comment, so we'll go on to the um amendment to lease. >> All right. Thank you. Uh, today we have uh Hannah Clintenning from Barnes & Thornberg. Uh, she's here. Typically, we have Jeff, but Jeff had a conflict in schedule, so Hannah has graciously uh joined us today to go
003over our 2026 amendment to lease. Thank you, Hannah. >> Thank you. So, this is just one of a few different public hearings that the school corporation will be having tonight regarding um both uh proposed and past bond issuances. This one is for the proposed $8 million maximum bond that has gone through a series of approvals. At this point, you've had the two preliminary determination public hearings and then back in February, you had a meeting that preliminarily approved a form of lease amendment that is necessary in order for the building corporation to issue this bonds. Tonight, as part of this public hearing, we ask to open it up to the public to allow the public to come ask questions, give comments, and then at the close of the public hearing um in the regular meeting, there
004would then be a resolution confirming that same form of amendment to lease. Um the building corporation just did their final approvals on this piece as well and have that lease amendment signed. if the school corporation does decide to approve that tonight. Uh the other part of this public hearing is the additional appropriation which is similar to any other additional appropriation the school board might make um for other uh expenditures. So at this time uh I'll ask you to invite the public up if they have any comment or however you normally handle those uh the flow of those kinds of hearings. But otherwise substantively nothing has really changed on these bonds throughout all of these meetings that we've had so far. Um, it's still $8 million maximum, 7% interest rate, which is quite high and conservative.
005Um, we're seeing more like 4% lately. Uh, and a maximum 20-year term. Again, all maximums meant to be conservative and allow flexibility for the school corporation. So, happy to answer any questions. Otherwise, I'll turn it over. >> Does anyone have any questions? Does anyone in the public have any questions? Okay, we need a motion to close this bond hearing. >> Make a motion to close the hearing. >> Second. >> Any questions? >> All right, please vote. Okay. All right. Now, we're going to go on to the second bond hearing. >> One moment. >> If you could just wait one moment. Technical difficulty. Okay. Okay. Motion carried. >> Okay. All right. The second to bond hearing. Um would someone please make an a motion to approve the agenda? >> Make a motion to approve the agenda
006for the second bond hearing. >> Second. Any discussion? >> All right, please vote. >> Okay. >> All right. Does anyone have any comment in the public? >> All right. So, >> so Kyle and and Hannah are going to kind of tag team this one. This is for additional appropriations uh to increase for the bond proceeds uh and interest earnings related to the 2024 construction fund and the 2022 construction fund. So, over time, as interest rates have um been collecting over time, uh we have some room for some additional appropriations. And so I'm going to hand it over to Kyle and Hannah and they'll go from there. >> So I'll take the lead on this one. What we just did for the 26 bond and 22 we did for that bond and then again in 24
007for that bond. And in asking for the additional appropriation in each of those two bond sales. We did so accounting for three variables. The first variable being what we would net for the bond sale. The second variable on what we thought our spend down would be from those proceeds. And then the third variable would be the interest rate. Uh the interest rates stayed high for longer than what we anticipated and then especially for the 24 bond the spendown was slower than what we anticipated primarily due to some weather constraints and just of the nature of when the work could be done in those summer windows. Uh as a result uh due to the interest that's coming in each month from those funds uh we are going to exceed the original additional appropriation uh which we
008need to ask for that increase. So for the 24 bond, we're asking for an increase of $915,000 uh due to again the interest earnings. And for the 22 bond, it will be 119,000. Uh for each of these, these funds come from interest. Uh there's no new borrowing that takes place. They will support the projects that were originally approved and authorizes us officials to execute documents and report to the state as required. the board has any questions, we're more than happy to go into further detail. >> So, at this time, we can either take uh questions or uh comment from the public and then we can close this hearing. >> Anyone have any questions or comments to make? >> Okay, >> we'll make a motion to close the hearing. >> I'll second. >> Any discussion? All
009right, please vote. >> Okay, >> now we're ready for the regular board meeting. >> Okay, >> before we get started, thank you Hannah and Jim for your uh efforts today and our our meetings. Thank you. Thank you. >> All right. Once again, we're going to do approval of the agenda with the regular board meeting. >> I'll make a motion to approve the regular agenda. >> I'll second it. >> Any discussion or questions? All right. Please vote. >> Carry. >> Okay. Thank you. All right. Approval of the minutes for the um March school board meeting on March 17th and the executive session meeting on March 21st. >> Make a motion approval of the amendments stated. >> Second. >> Any questions or discussion? Right. Please vote. >> Okay. Mission moments. >> Yes. So, we have uh Western
010Intermediate School here this month to uh give us a presentation on TAG. >> Well, I'm very excited to share about our TAG program. It's something that we're very proud of in the intermediate building. So, TAG stands for talents and growth. And this is a an extracurricular opportunity for students in the intermediate building. And so I'm going to tell you a little bit about it and then I'm going to highlight some of our clubs and then I have Miss Schmidt here who teaches music who is also going to come up and share what her tag group did this year because it was it was really cool and we have a little special surprise for you at the end. So our tag groups meet once per week from September through about February and they meet before or
011after school. It used to be called AM TAG, which stand which stood for AM talents and growth, but we now have PM groups as well because we wanted to make it more accessible for families. So, we just shortened it to tag because it was a mouthful to say AM and PM tag. Um, so I'm gonna Where do I point this thing? Over here. >> I don't know. Did I? Let's see. Oh, no, I did not. There we go. Okay. So this year we had 10 different clubs led by nine different staff members. So if you do the math, we had some staff members leading more than one club, which was really great. And we were able to involve uh 271 students, which if you do the math, that is a large percentage of our students
012in the intermediate building who are involved in these extracurricular opportunities. So we're very proud of that. So they meet over about 18 weeks um throughout the year. And I think the level of involvement from both staff and students just speaks volumes to how much pride we take in this program. So I am going to share some of the clubs that we offered this year. We offered uh leadership league, baking, sign language, spellbull, math bowl, glittering gears which was a STEM club, kindness crew, yearbook, drama, and music makers. Now we have some fan favorites that you see each year over and over, but we also have new clubs come up each year. It just kind of depends on student interest, staff interests, and things we want to offer for them. So, I just wanted to show
013a couple of the photos of some of our groups. And you can see some of the fun things that they do. Math Bowl, drama club, yearbook, sign language. Um, I think this is a video, but we weren't going to share it, but um that's probably why it didn't pop up. um glitter and gears and spell bowl, kindness crew, and leadership league. Oh, and there's one more, but we'll get to that at the end. So, I want to just share a few of the highlights of the things that we do. What we love about this program is kind of the way that we place our students. We take priority to make sure that every student that wants to be in a club has an opportunity to do it. There is an application process where students fill
014out and they get to choose their first or second choice. We try to make that happen, but sometimes that's not possible, but we are committed to making sure that every student has an option to join a club. It might not be their first choice, but we want to make sure that they have a place to belong. And so, we kind of sit down as a staff, we figure out who would be who would be a good fit, where can we put people in, can we get them their first or second choice? But from there, once a student has a club is where the real magic happens. So, our groups are filled with just hands-on opportunities. Um, we like to foster collaboration between kids. Lots of opportunities to be creative. They're building, they're performing, they're serving
015the community. Just so many wonderful things happen in the morning and afternoon during these extracurriculars. Now, of course, there's snacks, and the kids love that, and there is laughter. But the most important part is the sense of community that we are building within our kids and our clubs. So, I want to take a minute to share a little bit about Glitter and Gears. This is a STEM club led by Mrs. Wooten and Miss Brown. And this is for all girls. And one of the fantastic things that they've done, I think this is the second or third year they've done this, is they open a WIS nail salon. And they do this to raise money for FSA of Howard County, which is fantastic. And they were able to give fantastic manicures to staff at Western Intermediate
016for a low price of $5. And I'm super proud that they raised over $100 to donate to FSA. So that just tells you. And Mr. Quinn actually is one of their best customers. And they think that is hilarious when he comes in for a manicure. So it's awesome. But what's really cool and the STEM tie-in piece is that they learned about nail polish and they actually made their own nail polish. So they learned about mica powders and added oils to make them smell good. And they were very proud to paint nails with nail polish that they created. But this group took it a step further and they actually went to Bloom Senior Living and they offered the same services to some of our elderly community and they got to share all about their club and
017all about our school and it's just a really great outreach that they do each year and the women at Bloom love it. So that's just really special something that they do. Um our spellbull they won first place at their competition this year. This is kind of an annual thing. They we usually take first place when we go and they spell words that I wouldn't even attempt up here in front of everyone. I would embarrass myself, but very proud of these kids. I do want to um add a plug. They had not competed at the point that I submitted this presentation, but our math bowl also just won first place in their competition last week. So, very proud of our math bowl and our spellbull teams. Um kindness crew, Mrs. Whitaker actually leads that and she
018has led that for a few years now and it's one of our most popular clubs. Um we've actually had to put a cap on how many kids can be in it because there's only one of her and we have like 50 kids that want to be in it every year. So they really take um initiative to push out into the community and just spread kindness. So some of the highlights of this group this year were they did an adopt a grandparent with Samaritan caregivers and so our kids exchanged monthly pen pal letters with some of the elderly community through that and that was something that they really enjoyed on both sides. They worked with the Howard County shelter program and wrapped over 400 Christmas presents this year which was a huge undertaking. They regularly volunteer
019with our buddy bag program and they pack buddy bags over here in the south training room and they do a lot of things within our own school as well just to spread kindness and positivity. Um they do their bookmarks, their kindness bookmarks. They stick them in books in the libraries for kids to find when they check books out with encouraging messages. And they do thankful grams and just tons of things all over the school. Leadership League was another club. I led this club this year. was new. Um, and we worked on fostering leadership skills within kids in our building. I know middle and high school do a student ambassadors program. This is kind of to feed into that and start developing leadership skills from kids at a young age. So, that is something that our
020kids really enjoyed and hopefully we will be able to do in the future. Um, let's see. I want to share I want to have Miss Schmidt come up at this time and she's going to share a little bit about her club because it's super cool and they did some great things. All right, give just a second to Okay, so I'll kind of introduce things as you can listen and then we'll go back and we'll look at some stuff. So what you're actually listening to right now is one of the student compositions we did. So, in music makers, and I'll get into some of this as we go through the actual presentation, the students created three separate projects throughout the year, three separate compositions all digitally. And then at the end, we made a giant class
021CD, which was amusing because some of them were like, "Mishmitt, what's a CD?" And that made me feel old and that wasn't very nice. But aside from that, it was a lot of fun. We had a very good, amazing group of kids. And if we could get to the first slide so I can talk through a little bit more of this. There we go. Fantastic. As you can see, they are fun, goofy, loving children. And as opposed to some of the other groups, mine was a little bit smaller. We had on average about 12 kids that were consistently there throughout the program. Our overall goal, if we take a look at the second slide here, you >> Yeah, that'll work. >> Thank you. >> Yay. There we go. Okay, there's our fun loving goofy children.
022Okay, so the overall goal was simply to learn to explore new frontiers in music, expand our knowledge, but using technology that we have at our fingertips that is readily developing, especially an opening industries in music that they might not know about. Music jobs often are, oh, I can be a performer, I'll be a teacher. There's so much more that they can do, and this is one of those options. So learning how to use that technology, working at a deeper understanding and exploring career paths that could be possible through this as well. Here is so this is just a rough very simplified course outline. This is more of a class which I don't think my kids realized right away. They were great sports though. They walked into it amazingly. We started talking about first what is
023music? It's a very abstract concept to get fourth and fifth graders minds wrapped around for a minute but they did a fantastic job. We discussed, you know, you make whatever music you want to make. It's subjective. It's abstract. And they they ran with it. Um, they did three projects throughout the year. So, project one, we talked about how can music convey emotion. So, some of them did some very angry sounding songs, some were very peaceful. It really just varied on the kid. Project two, we talked music and imagery. I either had a student pick an image first and write music that they felt would go with it or vice versa. And then the final project, I finally gave them free range on that one and let them sort of combine what they had learned throughout
024the year. They were welcome to use one of their others and continue to expand on it or make something completely new. So, as I mentioned, we used technology on each of the students iPads already. It's just an iOS app that shows up whether you want it there or not. We have GarageBand and it is a seriously impressive tool. I myself hadn't used it too much until I got to college and then even then I was almost overwhelmed with it and it can be a lot looking at it at first but the kids did fantastic. I walked them through specific steps. They started learning, oh wait, I can, you know, fade it out here and I can do this here and they the enthusiasm I had to sort of eventually tell them, okay, just sit down.
025I'll listen to them at the end because they would keep coming up and they're like, listen to this. This sounds good. I was like, I know sit down and we'll get there. Um, no, they loved it. And I, one of the things that I unintentionally did, I suppose, is I'm seeing a lot more kids that weren't even involved in my group that were either at tag night or just involved in my classes that have just been working on stuff outside of class. And it's really, really cool to see that sort of progress as we go. And then the example that we were listening to earlier, this is an example of Katie's. There's a couple more on there, but as I mentioned, we made a class album on the apparently outdated CDs. And I have this
026is your secret surprise if you were one. >> We know you're going to love it. >> So, some of them are fancier than others, but they all get process across. >> Thank you. Okay, I'm going to need external. >> Stop it. So, as Miss Schmidt kind of shared, what we love specifically about our TAC program is it really ties into those graduation pathways and we're exposing our kids and getting them thinking about things that might interest them, maybe potential career opportunities or things that they might not have ever had an opportunity to be exposed to on their own. And we're really proud of that. And I love that this program just shows the commitment of our staff and it shows that we have staff members that are all in for all of our kids and
027we can't wait to see what opportunities we provide for them next year. So if you ever have any suggestions for clubs, let us know because I bet we can make it happen. >> Do you guys have any questions for us? >> No, that was awesome. Any questions? >> So I think this is wonderful. I like every kid to be in some extracurricular. I was wondering what time slot to use and so different all three grades can be in the same club together. >> There are some stipulations for certain clubs. Um like I can't remember. >> I know mine for example I just stuck with fourth through fifth grade. >> Okay. >> Just because my third graders I knew we'd be getting some concepts. I think they could have handled it but just >> testing the
028waters with it first. >> Yeah. And Glittering Gears is more geared towards female students, but um there we put all of this in the catalog that we send out before students are able to kind of identify. We do like a little blurb and that does I didn't want to forget this, but I totally forgot this. I cannot end this presentation without giving credit to Mrs. Douglas. She is the mastermind behind this. She is the one that puts together um the staff. She's the one that advertises for it. She creates the application. She really puts in a lot of work behind the scenes for this program. and we could not do it without her. So, >> and which time slot do you use it? >> Um, we do both. So, some groups meet in the mornings,
029which would be 7:30 to 8 or 7:45 to 8:30. And then some groups meet after school until 4:00 4:30. It's just varies. And all of that is advertised before students choose which ones they want to sign up for because some parents can't do mornings or vice versa. So, we want to make sure they know what they're signing up for. >> Good question. >> Awesome. I I will say that when I was going through the board packet and I saw Glitter and Gears and saw the two ladies there and I thought are are we hiring senior citizen staff members? Nothing against senior citizens because obviously >> but it was exactly but uh anyways it's what a great program for them. >> We're very proud of it. >> Anybody else? >> Wonderful. Well, we hope you enjoy
030your CDs. We know you're going to listen to them on the way home and we'll expect some feedback. >> Thank Thank you very much. And also, do you do you have vinyl? >> I told them about it. >> Okay. >> All right. Um, Panther Pride. >> All right. Mr. Bates, you're on. >> Well, thank you and, uh, good evening. I have the pleasure of reading uh tonight's Panther Pride for our first candidate, which is Brad Bulier. Um he was nominated by Coley Bevington, who is a high school teacher. Um Brad is one of our newer bus drivers. And uh Coley teaches science at the high school level. And he went on to say, um I would like to nominate Mr. Brad Bulier for employee of the month because he exemplifies what it truly means to
031go above and beyond as a Western School Corporation staff member. Mr. Bulier was the assigned bus driver for my anatomy students field trip to the IU School of Anatomy experience. Now, this would have been great any other day, but this just happened to fall on a day in February where it decided to snow and snow and snow. So, um Mr. Bevington went to Mr. Bulier and said, "Hey, you you know, we don't have to go. We could postpone this." But Mr. Bulier said, "Nope, everything's good." um was confident in his skills. And long story short, after long delays, lots of cars off on the side of the road, they made it there safely with one minute to spare. And um it was a great experience for the kids. So, uh Brad wasn't able to be
032here because he's on a uh sports trip tonight, taking one of our groups to a sport. Uh so, again, I will make sure to give this to Mr. Bulier. Um but just a big thanks to Mr. Bevington for nominating him. Um he I think he's only been a bus driver for us for for maybe 3 months, but um is doing a great job and you know again a lot of families put a lot of faith in our bus drivers. So uh great example of how they went above and beyond. So hats off to Mr. Bulier. Thank you. >> All right. Okay. It's a surprise. So, I'll just let you come on up then. And who >> Oh, okay. So, um we have >> Okay. It's Jennifer Duke. >> Oh my gosh. >> Hello everybody. Um
033I am Allison Parker and this is Jen Duke. We both work at the intermediate and I teach third grade and she is our art teacher. So I'm going to go off my script a little bit because I once she was um named employee of the month I started thinking of things and so um what you may not know some of you do is that I've been around Western for 25 years. Okay. I attended K through2 went to college and then came back. I've been here 12 years. So, in that time in high school, I ended up being in Jyn's room >> as a high school student helping in her second grade class. >> And no, I wasn't saying that. Um, but I got to see a lot of her expertise in the classroom setting. And
034um, when I came back from college, we ended up having a lot of the same students. She had second grade, I had third grade. And a lot of them would come, we would end up having a lot of the same students. and she prepared those kids so well. And when I found out she was coming to our building, I was like, "Man, what a loss for us like as third grade teachers because you were so good at what you did." But man, I was wrong because she has done amazing in our building and she um is just right where she needs to be. So now I'm going to read what I wrote if that's okay. Um I would like to nominate Jen Duke for employee of the month. Since joining our building as the art
035teacher, she has already made a meaningful and lasting impact on both of our staff and students. After after several years of frequent changes in this position, because if you didn't know, we haven't had an art teacher since before co >> um like a steady art teacher. Also, shout out to Jet Sunheimer for filling in those times, but ever before that um you filled that spot and you were exactly what our school needed. She creates a positive and encouraging environment where all students feel confident in their creativity. Her support helps students take pride in their work and the results truly show. Each finished piece is something they are proud of and they are excited to share and our hallways have never looked better. Mrs. Duke has brought consistency, enthusiasm, and a genuine love for teaching art
036to our students and we are so lucky to have her. Good job. >> Thank you. >> Congratulations. >> And next up we will have Mrs. and Carson. >> Good evening. I'm Kristen Hoover, kindergarten teacher, and this can't see him. It's Carson Carroll. Carson is the kind of student that any teacher would be blessed to have in their classroom. He's an outstanding leader at just the age of six. Carson would literally give anything he has to help another student. I have seen him use his free time after completing work to help another student. He's even given up his line leader spot to a friend who was feeling sad. And if you know anything about the primary, you want to be line leader. And he just had such compassion for that friend that he was like, I
037would rather you have this spot and feel better than myself have that spot. Uh Carson has shown a level of kindness and empathy that is well beyond his six years. And to top it off, he's a hard worker. He's really funny and he asks very engaging questions which is super helpful at carpet time. Our class is so much better and so lucky to have Carson in it. Congratulations Carson Carson. Good job, buddy. >> Would you like a sweet CD? >> All right. Next up will be Jericho from Western Intermediate School by Mrs. and >> all right, Mr. Quinn gets full credit for writing the entire nomination, but it is on our behalf um that we nominate Jericho Camp as Western Intermediate Student of the Month. It's been pure joy and a blessing to watch Jericho
038just believe in himself and know that his potential and his capability is far beyond what we saw his first year in our building. We are so proud of you, Jericho, and I am thrilled to be able to continue walking alongside you as you continue growing into the wonderful young man you're becoming. Great job. Now, Jericho, you probably think um you came here just to hear this nomination, but you know, Mr. Quinn's always the writing teacher, so this is just like some extra, you know, class because I'm about to read a persuasive essay, five paragraph starting with the heading just like we do in class. So, let me know how I do. Jamie, Kristen, Abby, and the members of the selection committee. I believe Jericho Camp is a truly deserving candidate for Western Intermediate School's student
039of the month as he exemplifies growth, perseverance, and kindness in every aspect of his school life. See, right away, I made my claim. At the beginning of the year, Jericho faced challenges with anger management and was provided with supports to help him regulate his emotions. Through dedication and personal growth, he has made remarkable progress. So much so that he no longer needs those supports and consistently demonstrates self-control and maturity. His transformation has been nothing short of inspiring. Academically, Jericho has shown equal determination. After the beginning of the year with a C in language arts, he has worked diligently to improve his skills and confidence, earning a B for the past two grading periods. and he is flirting with an A. He's working really, really hard to do the double. Every Friday, we take a daily
040language review quiz and a word study quiz. And there is a can of Sprite right behind my desk for He's come really close. This Friday might be the day. He now actively participates in class discussions, confidently answers questions, and even volunteers to read aloud. Something that reflects both his academic growth and increased self asssurance. Beyond the classroom, Jericho shines as a leader and a teammate. As a talented basketball player, he demonstrates not only skill, but also selflessness, ensuring that his teammates are included and have opportunities to succeed. His sportsmanship and character were evident during his championship game where he balanced scoring with thoughtful passing and encouragement of others. And see, you just thought I came to watch you play basketball. I was actually doing research. Jericho's positive impact extends throughout the school community. He has
041built strong relationships with both peers and staff, earning the respect and admiration of those around him. His kindness is genuine and consistent, whether it's engaging in a friendly conversation with a custodian. Yeah, I see you saying hi to Mrs. Lee every now and then. Or offering a warm smile and a greeting to others. I can personally attest to his loving and character caring nature as he often ends each school day with a heartfelt hug at dismissal. To my knowledge, Jericho has not received this type of recognition making this nomination even more meaningful. His journey of growth combined with his academic progress, leadership, and compassion make him an outstanding role model for others. Jericho truly embodies the qualities we hope to see in all of our students and is highly deserving of being named student of
042the month. Thank you for your consideration. Congratulations. >> Great job. >> Good job, Mr. do a handshake. >> Hey, good job. >> All right. Next up, I'd like to invite Paxton Hurst and Leighton Howard from Western Middle School to come up and join me, please. Um, these two gentlemen were nominated by Mrs. McDonald who was unable to be here today, but I will be happy to read this on her behalf. Uh Payton and Leighton requested at the beginning of the school year to use their student resource time to be spent in the middle school Cooko area specialed co-op classroom. They made friends with the students in that classroom um in the elementary school and um again did not want to lose this bond that they had made with these kids. Um these two gentlemen came
043into the classroom every other week to play games, build things or just chat with those students. They have gone above and beyond learning some signs to communicate with our students and they also have become very good friends with a lot of them going as far as some of them calling them best friends. The boys not only are kind who are up here today but they are also leaders who our students look up to. We have been very thankful for Paxton and Leighton this school year for sharing their leadership and kindness. Gentlemen, congratulations. Great job. Let me get this for you. Good job. >> Great job. >> Good job. Thanks so much. >> Hey, congratulations. >> Great job. >> All right, last but definitely not least, I would like to ask Mrs. Pursade to come up
044um as she will be recognizing Cadence Worthington from Western High School. Mrs. Persad. >> Thank you. I'm uh Tabitha Persad, uh the high school algebra 1 teacher. Um I would like to nominate Cadence Worthington for her outstanding growth and perseverance over the course of this term. Cadence has made a remarkable improvement in her math grade, demonstrating a strong commitment to her learning and academic success. What makes her achievement even more meaningful is the resil resilience that she has shown. Despite having the challenge of having to retake this course, Cadence has approached each day since then with determination and positive mindset. She consistently asks thoughtful questions, seeks help when needed, and remains fully engaged in her progress. In addition to her academic gains, Cadence's attitude and confidence have noticeably transformed. She carries herself with a renewed
045sense of belief in her abilities and contributes to the classroom with a great attitude and support both her own which support both her own growth and that of her peers. Cadence's perseverance, positivity, and dedication make her truly deserving of this recognition. And to Cadence, I just want you to know how proud I am to be your teacher. Watching you grow, learn, and keep pushing forward means more than you realize. Life will throw you challenges, but as long as you stay determined, work hard, and never give up on yourself, there is nothing you can't achieve. Keep believing in your abilities because you are more than capable of so much more than what you think. Good work. Great job, kids. >> Congratulations. >> All right. Just a just a couple other um pieces from Panther Pride. Um
046we had our own Kiana Johnson elected to the office of the state vi vice president of FBLA, which is a a nice honor for Kiana. And then also, um I think we might have stated this before, but we actually had um the pictures of um the Isma Vocal Jazz State finalists. Um, and you know, if I know Mr. Edwards and I were there that evening, um, I would say we were in second place. Um, you know, I would probably, if I was a judge, give us first place, but they don't allow me to judge those competitions because I really don't know what I'm doing. But, but they did a fantastic, fantastic job. So kudos to our instructors and our kids uh for their wonderful performances. And that's all I have for Panther Pride. >> All
047right. >> If you would like to stay for the rest of the meeting, you are more than welcome. We would love to have you. Otherwise, you may leave if you'd like. >> And there you go. >> It's time for cookies. >> Yeah. You got time to get out. >> Were you here with >> this cookie break? >> Huh? >> It really was. >> It's been fun ever since. >> Wow. >> That was good. >> I know. I I agree with you. I went to Dr. Perry. He had me do stretches. I was in pain. >> I'm not doing that. That's for sure. >> He said he would do something else. He was >> Steve, if you want, you can move forward. >> No. >> Steve, can you throw this side? >> Yes. >> All right.
048The faithful remain. Yes. >> Thank you. >> Feel like t-shirts made >> force man. >> All right. Public comment. I see we have no public to make comment. >> All right. Reports. Treasures report. Gosh. >> Yeah. Going down the uh the numbers top to bottom. The month balance for March totaled 17,67,43312. Uh investments in CDs for the first time in 18 months is zero. Uh as you remember 18 months ago, we did a series of CDs from 3 to 6 to 9 to 12 to 18 months. The last of those, the 18month bond came back into our account on March 27th. So, we have uh zero dollars out in CDs. Uh as part of the new deal, again, as a reminder, as part of the new deal that we worked out for First Farmers, we
049agreed to not put any more money in CDs, uh if they gave us an even higher rate that we got for the money in the bank. We thought that was a better deal for us and still believe that to be the case. Uh interest earned from those CDs, again, the 18-month CDs, was $41,82.72. uh interest from the bank for the month of March total $50,18.90. Payroll claims that are being submitted for your approval total 1,527,620.70. Vendor claims that are being submitted for its approval totals 1,960,926.7. Other things to note being three months into the calendar year, the budget, uh we updated revenue and expenditures for 2026, um education, we reduced the revenues by a little bit due to the reduction in our ADM by 20 students. We don't expect this point in time for that
050to expect our expenditures, but it is something that we will continue to track. Uh in operations, we reduced some of our lines for revenue uh in indirect costs uh and in the transfer again due to the ADM change, but we were able to increase our revenue projections for interest as rates are staying higher than what was projected at the beginning of the year. Uh if you watch the news, you can kind of get an idea of why that's the case. um open door cost, the the funds we received from the other Kasich schools for the Kasich students that are theirs that are here in our building uh was about $13,000 higher than what we projected. Uh we're also taking more of an optimistic look at our property taxes and the circuit breaker that will impact
051it being three months into and working with our partners at policy analytics. Uh we tacked a little bit more on that. We'll know in three months here exactly what that will be. Well, not exactly what it'll be, but we'll have a better idea when we get the circuit breaker report from the state. Uh, but all in all, we're able to increase our revenue projections by almost $60,000. Uh when we looked at the expenditure side of things, uh we were able to reduce our expenditures and then shift those funds uh elsewhere and increase the budget in other areas primarily because we were able to reduce our appropriation for property casualty insurance uh by about $40,000, which was a big gift for us. Um included within that umbrella is our workman's comp insurance. uh working with walker
052Hughes a new group they were able to real help us realize some cost savings that again allowed us to shift some appropriation elsewhere uh other thing I'll mention and this goes back to if you're watching the news cost uh inflation is ticking up again uh we are actively monitoring our our cost tracking to see where that would go uh kind of use food service as a leading indicator of when their costs start going up uh we kind of recognize that's when some of our construction costs cost other gas fuel will go up as well. Uh I will note that the the decision to go towards the project delivery method of design build is starting to look more and more wise. Uh because with that delivery method the the um what's the word I'm looking for?
053cost >> the the risk the risk was put on to our our partners uh who then have to account for the increased cost rather than being on us where we have to deal with multiple change orders. We've locked into a price we can budget on that again we don't have to now wonder well is it going to be more than what they projected again that risk is is on them to to make it work. I'll leave it at that. Any questions? Uh go more of the numbers. More than happy to go in more detail. >> Make a motion to approve financial report. >> Second. >> Is there any discussion or questions? >> Thanks, Kyle. >> Yeah. >> Please vote. All right. Um, exceptional learners and testing. >> I get used to that. >> Um, in
054uh this last month, we've been I mean, we're all into the testing season right now. I do have to give a shout out to our building administrators, our teachers, um getting those students with 504s and IEPs, all those accommodations in making sure that we're meeting all of those. That's super important. So, they've been they've done a great job with that. Um title and EL, not a lot of new stuff. Um our EL Wita scores should be coming back here in the next couple weeks, so we'll have an idea kind of where our students are with that. Um as far as special education, still just working through case conferences. Um, I attended the KAC governing board this month working on transition conferences for students that are looking forward to a different building next year and class
055lists for next year. Um, as far as high ability, we've had three uh broad-based planning committee meetings this last month, which I think have been really helpful and eye opening. um a lot of conversation and input from staff um on you know kind of moving forward with uh what we what we've talked about as far as our high ability program services and maybe looking at something different for next year. Um any questions about my report? >> The the I read results released April 17. >> Those are they're coming out. I don't know that we've got exactly um we have their scores but they've not been released. >> So we so we're known how to differentiate for them and pro provide remediation but as far as releasing them they'll be universally released and I don't know
056exactly what that date is. Um, parents are able to have access at this point. They have it through the portal and they can get the scores. >> When does the school board get it? >> When you want it, but we can't do it in public. >> We can do itriv. >> All right, that's good. >> I just want to say thanks to to Lindsay. I know Lyn and I were part of, you know, all three of those broadblaze broadbased planning commission. Say that like five times fast. Um, but thank you to Jamie, Melissa, you know, I know Steve was there, too. But like, thank thank you for uh taking part of that. I think it's very valuable to receive the feedback and and seeing a way forward with what we want to do and >>
057so thank you for the third meeting. >> Yeah, thank you. >> Yes, I think that was great. >> Yeah, >> I appreciate your support and all that. Hey, your case conference is increasing the second semester. Is that because of additional students or because of more requests for conferences? >> Um, we've had I mean our annual case reviews happen for each student one time per year, but we've had several movements. We've had a lot of testing happening. So, a lot of initial conferences. Um I think that um our school psychologist and diagnostician I mean they service Western Typton Tri Central they are looking at having tested like 170 to 200 students this year. So we'd have to go through and see you know exactly how many from Western um but every time you know a report
058is written or a parent requests something we have to meet. So um you know a lot of times it's um accommodations that need to be revised but a lot of times it's just that view and getting the IEP to meet the student needs. >> Good. Thanks. >> Thank you. >> Technology. >> Yes. Good evening. I just wanted to highlight a few items. Um, one of the the big things is Parent Square, which um I've been I've been talking about over the last few months, well, quite a few months uh with the website and then now we're actually moving to Parent Square itself. uh the uh communication piece which is going to be districtwide. Invitations went out today to parents to make sure to apply or verify their contact information um activate their accounts and um
059and start, you know, downloading the app. Um that way we're ready to hit hit the ground running come uh August 1. Well, June 1st is the date we're going to start using it. However, in August when school starts, we're really going to start pushing it big time. But we wanted to make sure it's kind of one of those cart for the horse, you know, is chicken or egg. Which way do you deploy it? Do you get everybody on board? Do you wait? Do you So, we we we wanted to make sure to push it out. Um let everybody get activated with their accounts and then um start having more trains and more information on it as time goes on. Um it's something I think that's it's great for the school. Um it's going to be
060good for communication, good for the parents, I hope. So it's one platform all across the board from from hopefully from athletic events to athletic athletic teams to classrooms to principal communication everything will be on that platform. Um that way it helps protect the um all the staff protects the students protect everybody using. So that's something that's a big change that's coming up that trying to make sure everybody's aware of. One other thing um is YouTube access. Um it's been a topic. Well, actually screen time in general has been a hot topic, but um YouTube access has been kind of a a thorn in the side for a long time. Um I just wanted to make sure and mention that that we've made a lot of changes to YouTube. Um to make sure to to protect
061the students from content that's not appropriate. Uh by doing that though, however, because YouTube is a is a is a beast in itself, um what happens is it can cause ripple effects. uh across the platform where you know videos don't load right certain content will load. If a video has ads some of those ads aren't appropriate so the video won't load right. Um it's just very difficult. It's a moving target. Um it's one of those things where um when we first moved to iPads um I think uh we relied real heavily on YouTube for content which it is a great platform for for some of that. However, there's a lot of other content on there as well. Um, so we've really tried to narrow that focus down and try to limit some of that uh
062some of the additional content that's out there. Um, but I also attached some of the information as a secondary just for you to have um just for information. Uh, and one other thing is the u well the business lab we got upgraded over spring break with new uh PCs. We're going to get a new display in there and then project. We've been working really hard trying to meet with the contractors on the project with the intermediate and then also the um football stadium items and um testing like mentioned been going very well. Um kudos to the uh the building principles for sure because they they've done a great job of communicating things and so far it's been okay. I appreciate that. Anybody have any questions? >> Craig, I was wondering, you know, reading your report.
063>> Yeah. >> Um, >> what are the advantages of keeping YouTube rather than just block it all together? I mean, it see if it seems to be such a source of contention. >> It is. Um it would be one of those I think it would be an approach where we have to to make sure and and take steps towards it. The problem is we've relied so heavily on all the schools do rely heavily on the content from like some examples I don't concat here or some of that content is actually sourced from there. So by blocking it you're also limiting some of that educational content so as a resource. So I think some of those balances we're going to have to to see if it's worth doing or not. >> Thanks. >> Something to add.
064I just want to give Craig and his team a shout out because the whole issue with YouTube started at one of the pack meetings that I had, my parent advisory council meeting. It was brought to my attention that there were some concerns with YouTube. We went right from that pack meeting to Craig and Stephen and their responsiveness was amazing. Like they took immediate action. We saw immediate results. Um, and I think a lot of the times what's really hard from um, maybe the the perspective that some individuals are looking at, you know, Craig Stephen and his team are ultimately supporting our students from a safety standpoint, the district from a safety standpoint. And sometimes when we have to ramp up our safety in any type of context in the school corporation, it creates inconveniences on
065the other side. And sometimes they become the target of those inconveniences then of well this doesn't work anymore or I don't have this anymore. Um, but ultimately their actions hands down was the best action for kids and their safety. And so I just wanted to give them a huge shout out for what they did because they've always operated that way. But this was a really easy tangible um thing to point out of a big deal because some of the data that was shown is that that was our number two most utilized app with about 16,000 views daily. >> That dropped within a week to the 24th most used app to like 1,500 views daily. >> So huge huge change. So, thank you Craig and thank your team. >> Uh, real quick on the parent square,
066>> I know that went out today. >> Yeah. >> You said training, so I would assume for the staff and so forth. Are we going to have anything where we can upload to the website like training for the parents? >> Absolutely. Uh, Parent Square and again we're kind of slow rolling this um which was the approach that the parent square recommended. Um, but um their their training is unbelievable and the documentation and everything like that. I'm trying not to um overwhelm and make everybody but but absolutely they have they have training classes you can take I mean it's >> this does not replace Skyward though like no >> Skyward Skyward's the SIS so this will be replacing >> class dojo and all those other >> school messenger however school messenger is integrated in with >>
067it's kind of complicated but Skyward is still used where you can send mass emails from Skyward like as teachers sending progress reports and things like that this is just another tool for the communication. >> We also we also >> we also collaborated with Natalie on how we're going to be able to communicate this out and try to strategically yes, we're rolling it out now, but then follow up with some communications to help, you know, people, you know, log in, get set up, all those pieces as well. >> I know you just sent it out. Um, sir, are we relaying to the parents and the families that we're taking this slowly so you won't be able to get on fast or just so they know why it's taking so long for them to get moving or
068because some people are normally get right on and they think they got it >> right >> and they won't understand what's why it's not running. >> I've been working on a I worked on a timeline. Okay. Um, and I have to check with Natalie to see if that timeline was was put out there. Um, to make sure that I did know, I did send that to the staff um, to let them know of kind of our timeline. We did let them know that that it's going to be rolled out June 1st, you know, that we're kind of slow rolling it. I believe in Natalie's post and in the email sent yesterday gave some timelines of, hey, we're rolling this out now. August is when we're really starting to use it. June 1st is kind of
069a starting date for summer communication and then August will be we'll be up and running. >> Okay. I just just so the parents know it's going to take some time. >> Some people like to get right on and go and >> sure >> they're not going to be able to and they're going to wonder what is going on. >> And we're giving that we're trying to give the flexibility too to allow some teachers if they want some are already ready to start using it and communicate. >> We're kind of trying to do it so that we don't get head spinning in one way. You know what I mean? Because when you're sending it out to the masses. Um, you get both sides of the spectrum that you kind of have to bring into a little
070bit. So, absolutely, we're trying to communicate the best way we can and we'll we'll definitely relay that. >> Okay. >> Mark, do we need to update policy about communication where we only leverage >> that is on that is on the list to do because because one of the things that >> you know this this is a this is a big move because from going to 10 20 different forms of communication that you know doesn't have what I would say the um backlogged data to show historical communication. It's almost like having a camera system with your communication system. You can go back and view footage. You can go back and view those things. So it's a protection on all facets. And so, um, there will be some things that I know Craig's doing some work on
071right now to update all that. >> Awesome. Thank you. >> Okay, Mr. Bates. >> Thank you very much and welcome and good evening. Um, I've shared my report with you guys for your review. I just want to go over a couple things with you. Uh, updates on safety. Um, we've got a school safety audit coming up um with the Department of Homeland Security. um they called and said, "Hey, we're going to come out and take a look at all your safety stuff." So, um Mr. Whis and myself are going to welcome them with open arms and um >> we we got it and we'll be happy to share it and if they've got some advice on how we can get better, we'll we'll be happy to uh to listen to them on that. >> It
072was a random selection, just so you know, like they randomly select schools and we won the prize this year. >> That's right. So, good for us. um also uh was asked and attended um at the Kinsey Youth Center, the juvenile probation steering committee meeting. Um they've got a group of school officials, everybody within the community trying to look at um student behaviors, attendance, and how we can always get better. So was uh happy to attend that and we'll be able to give you more information as we start meeting a little bit more. Um also uh with transportation, uh currently uh evaluating and observing our drivers. I usually do that after spring break and then bring them in and we'll talk a little bit about how the year has went. Um, big thank you our two
073new buses that you guys approved and our SPV buses. Those have came in, plates are in and they're currently on the road as we speak. So, appreciate you guys approving those. I know the the bus drivers and the kids love those a lot. Um, curriculum wise, um, I know I with Jordan Pridemore who's been coming in and helping at the elementary level with our K through five ELA. um she is wrapping up with that and going to be working with the teachers to go over that one last time and then our plan is to roll that out next school year and uh looking at maybe some continued work with Miss Pridemore. Um she's done a great job for us. Also, uh I just kind of wanted to show you guys real quickly um just with
074our strategic plan um especially with goals one which is learning and achievement which is a big deal. Um and then the second one is safety. I kind of wanted to show you guys kind of where the rubber hits the road here. Um, so with this strategic plan, if you go to page two, Laura, if you don't mind, um, it's going to show you kind of the matrix on what we are looking at and how we are going to be a successful school. These are all hyperl and they've been shared with you and if for some reason you can't access them, just let me know and I can give you access. Um but some of this data just because right now students are currently testing we don't have but um just to click on a few
075of these if you wouldn't mind lawyer just clicking on the first one up there where it says NWA data. Um so there is a rubric here where you guys can see kind of where we're where we're accounted for. And the the beautiful thing about a lot of these reports that we have if you click on sorry if you click on that and then click on right next to the red box. Yep. that right there. That should bring it up. Um I know you can't see this real well, at least from here. Um and it's nice because you can't see the kiddo's name, but we're all um educators in the room for the most part. Uh you can see here what we would look at for this student. It shows when they took NWA in the
076fall, in the winter, and the spring. And the nice thing about this is it will show you what they're projected to do and also how much they've grown. So what we can do is and one of the indicators on here. So on here this student right here, the first student you see grew 17 points which is outstanding. You take the average for the whole class and that will get you your key point indicator. If you don't mind going back, Laura, to the original. Yep. Right there. So when you look at that, it's got a good, a satisfactory, and a concern. And as of right now, if you're over 10 plus growth points for your class, you're doing pretty good, pretty dagone good. Um, if you want to go down and and you guys can select
077these and you can look at them. Um, again, some areas we're doing very, very well. Other areas we can always improve, but I just wanted to show this to you guys. You can also look at the second goal, which has safety on it. Um, and you guys can look on there and you can see every day how many SRO's we have here. Um, on average we have about three here, but there's some days that we have four, there's some days we have five. No other school in Howard County has that many here a day. I can promise you that. Um, so we're very, very lucky there. I also ask every week that the SRO's fill out um just a simple Google form to where they go around. Okay, have you checked doors? Have you done
078this? Have you done this? Have you done this? So then when I go to evaluate them, we can talk about, okay, I want to make sure you're not just sitting in your office. watching Netflix, which we've had and we've had to address those issues. Um, so again, I just wanted you guys to kind of see a little bit about what we're doing, what we're looking at, um, and where the numbers really can show some accountability there. Uh, last plug, I wanted to say thank you to the board. Um, if you guys remember the beginning of every year, I ask you guys to look at the fuel bond bank, which sets a cap on our fuel. And as you've noticed now with with politics, um that has paid off for us and it's going to continue
079to probably do that because last month um the fuel prices were over the cap. So they actually paid us, right? >> Which is good. So just a great example um because I know every year people are kind of like, well, what's this for? Um good example of why. There's some months we don't get anything, but when we do, there's a reason why. So that's my report for you guys. Sorry it was a little longwinded but um I'm happy to answer any questions you guys might have >> any questions. >> Thank you >> Mr. Deo. >> All right. Thank you. You've had a chance to look at my report. I just want to highlight a couple things. Um, and I don't know if these links will go to what they need to go to, but um,
080you know, I have uh been receiving ongoing construction facility updates and uh, there's a a link to a picture of our solar um, some of you I think when we were at Panther Perk showed showed this uh, this image, but as you can see there's um, solar panels that are being installed and actually uh, Stephen did an a a more recent um picture of the primary school, which would be the top two pictures, and I believe they have all of the solar panels installed on the elementary school. And as the PI or the intermediate school, uh the small portion on the um be the east side of the building, so it' be on your right. Um there's a small portion over there that needs to be completed, but that's a lot of loading and some
081roof work that still needs to be done over there. So, they're moving right along uh very quickly from that standpoint. And a lot of our projects are moving along um as as planned. And like Kyle said, um it is a nice sense of relief to have some of these charges that are locked in. And so that um thank you for uh trusting that that building system. Um, we have been reviewing furniture needs and options for the intermediate school uh with their renovation and we actually did a survey. Uh, we had eight chairs and seven desks in the boardroom where people got to test them out and um we had um one option that stood out more than the others as the first or second choice. And so, um, that's going to be a a recommendation
082tonight to the board, u for your approval, but I appreciate the intermediate taking the time to come over and sit, throw whatever, stand on you're not supposed to stand on chairs. Just kidding, Kyle. I know we just did our insurance update, but anyways, like we like they they got to give them the goaround and look at those uh from that standpoint. Um, also I met with the Carnival Planning Group uh that we had um the other uh month with the Carl Coun uh 10-year um memorial. They raised $20,000 at that event. And so a lot of that goes towards uh the scholarship um uh for uh recognizing Carl. And so that was just a nice uh time to reflect on on that event. And then um also I want to give a thanks to Cindy
083and Jill for coming on the 15th to help encourage um our um strategic plan surveys. Um I will say as of today uh the survey will close tomorrow and uh we already have many more uh people that have taken it. I would say uh one of them is over 200, which is over half of the staff. And then another one is in the 170s. So, we've had a pretty good turnout there. And then, um I do want to highlight I I am going to send this out to the media tomorrow. Um, congratulations to our Western School Board of Trustees for the recognition of being one of only two school boards across the state to receive a level three distinguished recognition out of 120 school boards in the state of Indiana earning the award through the
084EGA program this year. Um I can't tell you enough how blessed we are and fortunate we are for board to be engaged and when there were five that five school boards in the entire state that received the level four only two and level three that puts you at a very high level and so thank you for your involvement um and caring enough about our school corporation to uh engage. So, um, I will send out a press release, uh, tomorrow, uh, recognizing you for that accomplishment. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Questions? >> All right. The 2026 amendment to lease and resolutions. >> All right. Mr. Z, would you like to take the lead? >> Yeah, we'll go through these and vote on each one individually. Uh the first one is the 2026 amendment to
085uh lease. Is that correct? I'm approval. >> Yes. Uh this confirms approval of the 2026 lease amendment after the public hearing and board review. Authorizes 8 million bond funds for the schoolation facilities projects. Uh requires annual tax levy to cover lease payments is your quick summary. Okay. >> Make a motion to approve. >> Seconded. >> I'll give it to Lynn. >> Oh, Cindy. Oh, >> okay. >> I'll give it to Cindy. >> Are there any questions discussion? >> All right. Please vote. Cindy slap happy. >> Say J. Okay. All right. Next resolution. This is the resolution approving additional appropriation for the 2026 bond. Uh approves additional appropriation up to 10 million. Even though we're only selling for 8 million, we should net a little bit more than that. There will also be uh interest. The
086funds will be used for school renovation projects and the bond issuance expenses confirms the distant budget is insufficient. It requires this added appropriation. Appropriation remains active until the project completion uh with the surplus and per law authorizes officials to execute actions and file the required reports with the state. >> Is there a motion? >> Make a motion we accept a resolution of the lease agreement. >> I'll second it. Any questions? All right, please vote. Oh my gosh. >> Okay. Resolution approving increase of additional appropriation. >> This will be for the 2024 bond. Is that right, Lauren? >> Yeah. 24 bond. Uh this uh increases the appropriation by $950,000 due to the higher interest earnings and the slower spend down than expected. Uh funds come from interest from the 2024 bond proceeds not from new borrowing.
087Uh supports ongoing district-wide renovations, repairs, and upgrade. Appropriation will remain effective active until the project is complete. Surplus again handled by law and authorized officials to complete the required state reports. I make a motion to approve the increase. >> Second >> question. So Kyle, what you said earlier did is that saying that the interest that we were receiving on the money that we had in the bank was higher than what we paid for the bond. >> No, it's saying that the interest is what the bank gives us for having our funds with first each month. we get that interest payment and that total interest payment has to be divided proportionally among the different bond funds that I received in there and then the remainder which is the majority goes into operations. Well, interest rates have
088been higher and stayed higher than expected which means we've had more interest going into these bond funds adding to what we on the bond sale which takes us over the appropriation making the need for this additional appropriation. It was higher than we expected, but not higher than what we paid for it. >> No. >> Is there a motion? Are we >> all right? Voting. >> Carry. >> Right. The last one. Resolution approving increasing additional appropriation. >> Speak for the 2022 bond increasing the appropriation by $19,000. Uh these funds again like the other ones before come from the interest received from the bank. Uh this one was originally for the high school HVAC but also just general improvements. Um original appropriation was for 5,815,000. The new total will be 5,934,000. Appropriation like the others remains active
089until the project completion. >> I make a motion to approve this increase. I'll second it. Any questions? Please vote. >> Okay. High ability program. So, um I have Lindsay here to give a brief um explanation of some of the changes that we'd like to um present for our highability program. And thank you to Lynn and Joey for sitting on that broad-based planning uh meeting meetings. Um so, Lindsay, I'm going to hand it off to you. Uh you can give a summary of kind of what we've been seeing and then there's a recommendation to follow. >> All right. Um so you guys heard a lot of this presentation in our executive session about a month ago. Um this was a handout that I gave to um everybody that attended the broadbased planning committee meetings, the first
090two meetings just so that they had um some information kind of going away so they can process as it is change. It changes hard and I understand that. Um and kind of where this all started was Melissa, Jamie and I looking at our high numbers going to take kind of a deeper dive into our pathways. How how are we identifying what's our current service delivery model? What do we need to do to be successful for all students? How I mean Jamie uses the statement all in for all kids a lot. Um and so looking at that, how can we do that for our high ability students and really all of our students. Um so we um did a training with the high ability consultant Dr. Christine Meister who was also a state professor. Um we
091looked at our pathways for identification which line up exactly with what the state is requiring us to do um using either um the achievement scores. So NWPA or I learn having our kindergarten, second and fifth grade students um tested using the KOAT. Um and then when we have questions or we have students that are kind of in that borderline range very close to the state expectation of the 95th percentile using teacher rating forms. So getting some kind of hard data. Um and then we also looked at um on the off years, so when it's not kindergarten, second or fifth, having a teacher recommendation form that we could also explore for those students on those off years that are showing that growth, whether that's through their I learn data and data. Um so then we looked
092at our current service delivery models. Um right now in the primary, our numbers have been a little bit lower. So we've done some cluster grouping where those students for K one and two um identified high ability are clustered in with other general education students um and they um our differentiation is happening in the classroom for them. Um our intermediate building we are doing more of that self-contained um so they're accelerating to that next grade level um but not they're just all together that high ability. Um so looking ahead um to this next school year um you know we do have the Kogat that is um finishing up our kindergarten will be finishing up in the next couple weeks. We should be able to have everybody's scores and kind of looking through you know who who
093met it with the KOAP who is close we need to look at the NWA or the island checkpoints and then who is still kind of on that borderline and we need to get some teacher data. Um but for right now um for third grade we have about six high ability students um moving over um and then for second grade we have about four um and so to provide kind of a continuum of services um we are proposing um using that cluster grouping for first second and third grade. um our fourth and fifth grade would continue to be that self-contained. Um and then with the proposal that every year we would add a grade level to that cluster grouping so that we're more of that all in for all students. Um and just letting all those
094students experience the high ability students, learning how to deal with average students, learning how to deal with those special ed students. Um just kind of across the board getting that all in for all students. Um, and then the the hope would be that we'd be able to have a resource type position um where those high ability students would be pushed a little bit further um getting some more depth um in their learning and meeting those grade level standards because they've likely probably already met them. So getting that what what do they like? What are they interested in? And using a resource teacher to pull out or to push in to help with those services. Any questions about any of that? I don't know if this makes a difference in your chart, but when I was
095looking at it, like in middle school um it said that um one of the um courses was math, but is Spanish I mean they take they can take Spanish as a high school class. Is that counted in on this also? Would that be something that would be in this model? Well, I mean, I guess it could be, but right now we're just talking about rolling it out that first, second, and third grade. >> Oh, okay. Okay, I was just looking at the model for middle school and >> I think I think what you're asking is if if students and please correct me if I'm wrong, but there are certain scores and steps the students have to achieve at the middle school to be able to qualify to take Spanish. That is something that we currently
096do. I know Eric looks at certain test scores and and their grades and their current classes to be able to be eligible for taking some of those other high school classes. Now, that's also going to transition a little bit as I know they're working on aligning their schedules more closely so that the kids are going to get more opportunities to get high school credits in middle school. But currently, you are correct that they do have an option for Spanish if they're meeting certain testing criteria. >> And then in the high school, is dual credit also? I mean, it mentions honors and AP, but it didn't mention dual credit. I just didn't know if that was part of it. >> Yeah, it's still part of it. >> Yeah. and and I mean and at this point
097in high school, you don't have to be high ability to do the AP or the dual credits or any of those things. So, but you know ultimately what what you're going to see happen I think kind of organically is as students are getting more opportunities at the middle school whether it's a PCC course or a Spanish course or something like that that then on the end game if you want to call it a game but at the end game as seniors juniors you're going to have more dual credit opportunities. Therefore, when they graduate, you're going to see students going into college, if they choose to go to college, maybe as a sophomore, first semester, sophomore, second semester, sophomore, which would be a huge amount of savings for families when it comes to higher ed costs.
098>> Steve, you had a comment? >> No, I was just going to tell you that with the middle school, we've established periods that the kids can come over. It's a very tight window, but I know Eric and I were working on some stuff. Twoird of the kids selected to take PCC. So, there are other offerings this year that never been there before with PCC and the art and the computer science course. It was funny. We thought we're going to get more kids that want to do the computer science, but they chose PCC and they chose the art. But to answer your question about dual credit, you can list dual credit in certain classes, but dual credits for kids too. So you could be in a CT class and not be a academic kid. You could
099be in a advanced manufacturing or some of those classes that are specialized. And so you can list dual credit as potential options, but that's only for like W131, L202, and some of those actual like college level IU courses because I I Tech works with us a lot too. A lot of those classes like Mark said, they're not they're kind of your your trades people or your or your kind of like technical >> Well, I just went to a meeting at IUK today and I gave Steve a bunch of literature that they handed out. But even like our tomorrow's teachers, there's dual credit opportunities there. There's also going to be um apprenticeship opportunities now. So, not only could you have a diploma where you have um you know um an education seal, you could also have
100an employment seal because of that potentially being an apprenticeship. So, there's just so much so much change happening with the graduation seals, um the opportunities that our kids have. Um it and honestly, and I don't know about you, Steve, I think it's sometimes just hard to even keep up because it seems like there's something new that's coming out weekly, monthly. It's it's pretty intense. >> Thank you. >> Is there a motion? >> I'm sorry. Um first I wanted to make a recommendation from Lindsay's um uh presentation there. And so the recommendation um that's written here, it says, "Western School Corporation remains committed to meeting the needs of all students and ensuring that learners identified for high ability services receive appropriate challenge depth and support. After reviewing current programming and student needs, I would like to
101recommend a service approach that allows instruction to be delivered more precisely within students identified areas of strength while maintaining meaningful access to grade level peers and classroom experiences. The timeline for this recommendation is a phased transition of Western School Corporation's highability program from a self-contained classroom model to a service model using cluster flexible grouping with pull out and pushin services. Implementation would begin in grades 1 through 3 in 2026 27 and extend to grades 1 through 5 by 2829. This recommendation does not eliminate high ability programming positions or opportunities. Rather, it updates the delivery model so services can be matched more intentionally to st student needs with continued attention to inclusion, well-being, academic growth, depth, rigor, and meaningful challenge. To begin this implementation phase for the 2627 school year, we would utilize the open position
102of media specialist into a dual role of high ability resource and media specialist. As we continue to implement this transition, the staffed positions and student needs will be monitored and adjusted to best meet the needs of our students. Thank you for your consideration. I'd also like to note that if I am making a prediction, I would say the high ability resource versus media specialist would probably be about an 8020 approach. We've gone an entire year. We haven't found a media specialist. Um Jordan Hall has filled in the gaps where we've needed them. Um and she's rarely using that time for media. Um where she's using it more um for the reading specialist position. And I don't know from a reading specialist to media specialist role ladies, do you have kind of a ratio that you've
103seen Jordan this year utilize her role? >> It's been very minimal. I mean, she's intentionally providing specialist, but she's been able to help out. >> All right. Thank you. So, I'm I'm open to questions or whatever. >> I make a motion to approve. Second. >> Okay. Is there any discussion? >> I've got some questions. So you you mentioned 8020 approach. The only thing I'm hesitant around is I would want a full-time employee for the high ability part of it. Now I understand when we have technically 10 kids and not knowing what first grade is yet, >> right? >> So there could be a potential for 20 total. I'm just concerned, just my point of view is I would rather it be a full-time position starting out from the get-go versus a split role. And then
104leading into the other part is what are the qualifications for this high ability resource teacher? Do have we thought of what what qualifications that person may or may not need? Yeah, a couple couple things that I would um first um address with the full-time role. I I don't disagree with you at that point. We currently have this one position open. So, just from like a as I'm looking at it as a cost savings. That's how we would do this dual role. I would say my first my first action to the board would be if we notice that hey this is more than what this role indicates. I would say for that that year I would make a recommendation to hire an aid to assist that teacher to help with those services. Um because then the
105following year we would have some potential positions come open because as you see how our fourth grade has 10 sections, fifth grade will have 10 sections. We don't have any other 10 sections in our elementary school. We have eight sections. So we'd have potential of having two additional positions. what we do with it, whether we eliminate the position, we repurpose the position. So, it gives us a little time, especially since we're in an early phase of just grades 1, two, and three. I truly think that this dual role would be suitable enough, especially if we see that the number of students is pretty minimal. Now, if we do see an uptick, I think it would make a lot of sense to hire an aid to just be specifically with high ability to assist that individual
106and then we can then transition the next year into a more full-time role. um when it comes to you know obviously licensed teacher we'd love to have a highability license but at the same time I think we need to be aggressive in finding the right fit for that role and if we need to maybe uh support that person in getting a high ability license I think we need to encourage that as well because to me it might be there might be the right person out here that doesn't have that licensing yet, but I think we need to be aggressive enough to be able to get that person that licensing and invest in them. So, we're investing in that program. >> Is that something we could financially support? >> 100%. I've already looked at Ball State
10712 hours, >> so yeah, it's 100% we can do that. I mean, obviously board approval, but yes, >> Mark, since we already have Jordan doing the media specialist thing, I would like to see us go fulltime. Jordan's not doing the media specialist anymore. >> Okay. >> Yeah. I'm sorry. >> She's reading and that's only taking part of her. >> She's already familiar with it is what I'm saying. >> Oh, I got you. I got you. >> Okay. Um I would really like to see us go full-time with the teacher for that. We are laying the groundwork for our future and I would like to see us invest in that because I really believe in this and I believe in our students. it'll be best for them. I would like to see us commit fulltime to
108it. And I know we have different opinions on that. >> No. And I mean I I I will support whatever the board wants to do because ultimately I want to support what we're doing for the kids. Um I don't know what it looks like by adding another full position, but um you know, we'll cross that bridge however it wants. But again, this is a teacher. >> So, one of the things that we are really starting to get aggressive on right now, we do this every year, is looking at our favorable exchange of when one teacher, an experienced teacher leaves and who replaces them. And that cost saving allows us to put more money on the table for negotiations. And if we go a more expensive route in creating this position, that takes money off the
109table for eclectic bargaining to where what I think Mark is proposing is it allows us from a staffing standpoint to grow with the program to where if this wasn't just first, second, and third grade, I think it would be a no-brainer to go the route of this needs to be 100%. But because this for this first year is just going to be first, second, and third grade, I think it does make sense to consider especially from financial standpoint to do the 8020 9010 role and then the position grows with the program where as the numbers grow, as it phases into the media building, we phase out the media portion of it or we phase in an aid as Mark has detailed or as we have classes that are exiting exiting the intermediate building which allows
110us to capture additional teacher. We maybe have two teachers but I think what Mark's proposing allows us staffing wise to grow with the program. >> Just a thought. >> Go ahead. >> What I was going to say my my biggest thing is to the strong point. I mean, I've got I've got a kid in high ability, so I just want to make sure like that flexibility could go 100 zero, >> not 9010 or 8020. Like just just based on the needs because we still don't know what first grade's going to perform in terms of because there could be 10 15 kids just from that. I that's what I'm concerned with if those numbers come back and then we have at least 20 kids one through three in terms of the help that they need. So
111that was my >> and and and again I I 100% agree like we don't want this to fail. I mean we and and and I don't believe it will. I mean if I'm saying statistically speaking we're we're going to see 2 to 5% probably become high ability students. That's just from national statistics. So, I don't think we'll see a huge influx of 15 kids, but at the same time, if we do, we come back to the drawing board and say, "Hey, next month, guess what? We need to reconsider what we're we're doing here." And whether it's we jump all in to another position or an aid or whatever, I think I think we just need to keep that open-handed from a standpoint of how we're going to phase phase this in. I I think if
112anything um that can be something as we see what those numbers look like we can change our decision next month, but I would at least like to get something posted um that we're looking for somebody. Um but again, it's kind of I mean obviously it's up to the board on how you want to do that. >> Also, one thing for us is that the librarians that we have in place are very strong and they will be very delegate things to them to do whether that's ordering things or you know whatever's needed for that media special. So I think that's >> and we and we've already talked too about that media specialist not really focusing much on this side of the street only on this side of the street and this is more of a principal
113monitoring the libraries over on this side. I mean they already go through all the books that are ordered anyways. Um, and again, I I just I want to be open-handed to it. Um, but I also want to make sure that we're putting the resources into it necessary to make sure that it's successful. >> You know, we we weren't able to hire a media specialist this year and they have, so I looked it up and they have 29 duties and if I I don't know. I mean, I I just wonder how we're going to hire a media specialist to add something to this caliber onto there already 29 duties when we we haven't been able to hire one this year. And I also I mean a media specialist doesn't have to have a a teaching license.
114And I mean, I would hate to hire someone without a teaching license for these kids, too. And and I guess I would hate to hire an aid who may not have any degree at all in education to work with these kids. I don't know. >> Well, a couple a couple things. Um, first, the the priority in this hire would be the high ability piece. That's that's the priority. the media specialist most likely would have to be like an emergency license tacked on to that individual because you're right, we probably won't won't find that. Also, if we do hire an aid, I would honestly say degree or no degree, you find the right aid. We have aids that don't have those degrees that are working with our most neediest students and doing well. I think they
115would be able to do the same thing with our highest level achievers. So, if we've gotten by without the media specialist this long, can we eliminate that position? >> Unfortunately, the state has not eliminated that yet. I know that's something that they're actually going to be talking about next legislative session. >> In all honesty, I I really think it's asking a lot of a person to go in and establish a new program and do the media specialist thing. And it's a big concern for me. Is that best for our kids >> or should we focus on this person >> and focus on our kids? >> Would it would it be acceptable or would it be something to consider if we would hire an aid now just to have that additional assistance? Um, and again, I
116I feel like we are about a year away because we're going to have two open positions that we're either going to have to repurpose into a role or eliminate um unless we have some influx of um students that would warrant having nine or 10 sections. I guess I guess that's my only hesitation. But again, um I'm here for the board. >> We give the media specialist an 8020 to someone else. >> I'm asking I'm >> Yeah, I I haven't I haven't considered I I I'd have to look and see what other positions that we have that could potentially do that. That be conversations that I'd have to have with I think they're all pointing saying that they'll do it. That's that's what I I I just looked up and saw. they were both doing this.
117>> Um, and and that's something we could consider. I I just don't have a good answer for you at that without knowing what other staff >> could we move forward this evening saying going with the high ability person and then come back with this other later with whoever you mesh with. So saying hire a highability position and then figure out the media specialist >> because I know you need to post this. >> We need to post something. Yeah. Well, the media specialist position is already posted. I mean, just because it's been posted all year. It just hasn't been filled. >> Post it as is. You come back next month, we have more students would post it as a full-time. Like you said earlier, the numbers are more a full time. We come back next month
118and adjust. But tonight we just take the proposal as is >> the flexibility. >> I would like for the person to be able to focus on this. >> So >> and not be drawn 20 different ways. But if >> I'm willing to I'm for the program. I just want them to be able to commit. >> The numbers don't I mean you know numbers don't warrant a full >> would we know numbers by next month >> for the first grade? >> Okay. So, could we post the media specialist position, post a >> um post a high ability position knowing that and if we get applicants that we may be combining these positions just to kind of see who's interested in those and then we can come to a better conclusion. >> We can look at other
119options. >> We'll know the numbers. We'll know >> better. >> I do. >> So, I think um >> let's see >> about this. >> No. No. And and and and that's the thing that I've I've appreciated as I've been given updates on this whole process, the involvement, the the feedback. Um, you know, in all transparency, for some people this isn't the most um enjoyable decision or it might be a more challenging decision. Am I here to make recommendations on what's best for kids and what I believe is best for kids 100% of the time? And so I do think that this is the right direction. Do we have it fully figured out for the position? Not exactly because we also don't know the number of kids that we have. And also most importantly, like I
120would rather find somebody who has a teaching license and we grow them before just checking a box saying, "Oh, you got that license. Good enough." So I think the hire of the right person is a very key factor in this. And so some of it is just finding the right people and having them at the table and then I think deciding what we do with them after that is probably a good route to go. But I think if if anything if we can at least get stuff posted so that we can start getting applicant pools in and then we can make a better decision >> next month. >> Okay with posting for one and make the better decision as we >> I agree with >> as we see. The the only other thing I was
121going to mention is in our manual it actually already talks about cluster group based on ability. So do we need to make any updates to the actual high ability manual? >> Make some updates just because we now do the preest. >> Yeah, that was the Yeah, I mean it outlines the continuum of service. >> Yeah, but but ultimately you know what we're asking is already in our handbook, you know, from a standpoint of these options. And so there's some small updates that will need to be made. >> So do we need to amend the motion? >> Um I thought the motion was about the accept the recommendation the high ability recommendation >> with as with media specialist. Yeah. I would like to see him just post media spe or high ability separate from media specialist
122and then see what the numbers are and then >> so you can go ahead and post that. >> Okay. So >> that's that's what I would like to see. That's not for everybody. >> So we've had a first and second on this, haven't we? >> Oh goodness. Now my Robert's rules. Um >> you can you can someone can amend make an amendment. You'd have to vote on whether to accept the amendment. >> You have to go back and vote. >> Yeah. So, we'll have to somebody will have to make a >> amendment, a motion to amend, a second, a vote, >> and then >> Yes. >> the recommendation and then vote. >> So, then you'd have to vote on whether to accept the re the um amendment and then you'd have to go back and
123vote. >> All right. So, I'll >> I hate to be difficult. >> Yeah. I am sorry. >> Uh I make a motion to amend the current recommendation to separate to two job postings. One for high ability and one for media specialist and then at that point we will make a determination of once we finalize the numbers. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Is there any discussion about this? >> Okay. Then we need to vote on accepting the amendment. May I ask one question before we vote? Yes. If that is our motion, >> can we make that happen? We can post. >> Yes. >> For a full time for clarity. >> We have to vote on the whole thing. The original a motion with the amendment after this. We're just now voting on the
124amendment. >> Okay. But >> clear as much. >> Okay. So, I'll just vote. Save my question. >> Go ahead. Ask if I didn't. I >> Well, no. Just if we're voting for a full-time high ability position, is that what we're voting for? No, >> we're v voting for the amendment. >> The amendment to the approval. >> I'll make a motion to approve the amendment as stated second. >> We might have to vote. >> They've already done that. So, we just need to >> We were just discussing. So, we need to vote on that. So, now we need to vote on >> Joey made the amendment. Lynn second. >> So, discussion was with Cindy. Anybody else? And then we can >> No, I was lost. >> Yeah. So, >> so now we need to vote on
125the >> on accepting the just the amendment. >> We do that verbally this time. >> Are you able to set that up? She's working. I get a quick question. >> We're hiring this high ability person only for that or is there going to be >> right now? Yes. >> As needed >> if we cross >> this way they can post it. Okay. >> And but next month the numbers come in low and we don't get immediate specialist then we go back to this form this 8020. >> Okay. Okay. >> I'm here. >> Is that the amendment? Then >> the postmen separate >> the numbers come in those both those postings may merge into one posting. >> Correct. >> Okay. >> And then direct. >> Yeah. We're just going to watch the video again and determine
126what we just figured out. Okay. So, are we ready to vote on the amendment? >> Laura's typing it. >> Sorry, Laura. >> Yeah, we can keep talking through this if you >> Okay, >> we need to close down the one. >> I know Harry's excited for pickle ball for the next >> Yeah. Yeah. >> You know, Mark, ser I debated whether to say this or not, but when I was hired in, my degree was elementary ed. I was hired in as the art teacher. I my thinking was I was trained to teach students. I'll learn the subject matter but it took everything I had because the whole curriculum went with the previous teacher and and I understand that. So here I was trying to lay the groundwork and everything. I was swamped. Um and I
127can't imagine adding more responsibility on that even at a 20% level. Um and so that's Hey, I I appreciate the the care and concern because ultimately we're yeah, >> we're making movements to do what's best for students and so for that it's not going to be wrong. I mean, that's we're we're trying to do the right things. So, it's there's no reason to apologize. We're trying to make sure that and again, we're looking for the right people >> to put in those positions and then from there we can kind of craft how we need to. may hire somebody and they say, "Oh, yeah, I can do that, too." Okay. But I want to give them the chance. >> But the state might change their mind about how to be a specialist. >> That'll be next
128session, though. >> Yeah. >> That sounds like the school board may problem. >> Okay. It looks like she sent it for a vote. >> Okay. Got it. >> This is testing your skills on uh diligent here too. >> You're welcome. >> We're both dead. >> April showers bring motion carries. >> All right. Now we need to um if there's any further discussion, we need to vote on the original motion with the amendment. >> Correct. >> We've already had a first and second. need. >> Do you have any discussion on that now? >> No, I think actually my question. >> Okay. >> Unless you want me to ask it. >> Okay. >> Mhm. So, um, right now we currently have one open position where where we haven't taken a step towards when we create a position,
129we need to take that through discussions >> with our >> teacher union. So I think what would be um our probably the most appropriate step would be to at least go through the recommendation as stated because of having one position. Um we can go through the discussion process and if we find that we have more individuals, students and if we have um maybe the need for those two positions, then we could go through the discussion process to um make that recommendation next month to create a an additional teaching position. >> But do we need to make a amendment to the amendment? >> Yes, you would. I'll make a motion to amend the previously stated amendment to go back to the original. >> We haven't voted, so we didn't even have to. We just >> No,
130we voted on the amendment a resend amendment. Now, >> you'd have to you'd have to do a second amendment. >> I I have a question. I don't even know if I'm if I'm in the right order of but um >> if we were changing the media specialist position to add this high ability >> to to this job. Wouldn't that be wouldn't that be changing the negotiations? >> It's still a bargaining unit. It's it's not adding anybody to the bargaining unit. It's still one unit. But we're we still have to change that. Would it not? >> You don't have to change the name. It's adding the position. >> So basically, you're hiring a high ability teacher as the media specialist bargaining wise and stuff. >> There's a difference in rebranding a position and creating added responsibilities
131versus creating an entire new position is where the distinction is. >> Right. Right. >> Wow. >> Yeah. Sorry. I I think what Mark's proposing is probably your best path forward where you're basically doing the opposite of what you were proposing where you we're saying all right separate the two positions and then next month we can bring them back together if the numbers justify it to where we're back to the original of keep it together as one position and then next month >> if the data says it's prudent and we have the discussions we can separate them then. So Kyle, if we just have them in name as media specialist >> and they're doing high ability, is that >> it's hard to post that position, >> but but but you see what I'm saying? So we're
132saying it's 8020. So that's kind of what we're doing, right? >> Yeah. >> Rebranding. It's it's basically rebranding that position. Okay. >> It doesn't add to the bargaining, >> right? Yeah, I understand that. But that's that's what we're doing. >> It's hiring a high ability person under the title of media specialist. >> I don't know. >> My concern is just not a principle. Somebody might not apply for a high position >> if it's called media specialist. >> Can I ask how you guys feel about this? Am I straining in I mean should we go with I >> what I would say is first of all I'm so thankful for the discussion and that we've been able to have the feedback and people being able to express themselves and listening that um I think when we're
133looking at the data to know what to support it I hear all points that have said, um, if we start small, build big, and keep building it, I just think we have to be hyper aware of what we put on the person, what that looks like, but what that the skill set they have, the ability they have, and I think we have to be able to quickly if we see that that needs to be um they need more we might get fortunate enough that someone's come in and build a program like this and they can do it all. I also want to reiterate what Lindsay said as far as our media our our librarians right now. Um we have some really strong um again that's today. who knows what tomorrow is, but we've got some
134strong people that I think would really buy in and um would be able to help with some little direction um to be able to help with um ultimately I want to grow it as big and as possible as we can and it fires me up to hear the conversation about what it can be and that we want to look at what I would say is the Cadillac style versus what is the Chevy and what it is. But I All this will take back. But I absolutely think that the program of being in that audible and making those adjustments with starting and growing and being ready to do that quickly is more than sufficient to get it started. >> But I am of the mindset that we just move forward with it and get here and
135we're not really um we're going to be actively aggressively recruiting someone and it's going to be the right I mean I already have some peelers out you know we might be doing this and so it's not like we're just going to sit back and go we're looking for somebody who's these two things you know we want the right person in this position so we're going to be actively seeking out and explaining what the position is rather than just throwing out there. >> No, I appreciate that because that that's what I was worried about. So, >> yes. Okay. I'm much more comfortable with that. >> So, going back >> and I appreciate the conversation, guys. I'm sorry. No, I'm not. >> You know, >> do I make make a motion to amend the amendment? And do
136we need to approve that motion to go back to the original? >> Yes. >> Okay. I make a motion to amend the previous amendment to remove that amendment to go back to the original proposal made by Mark. >> I do my computer my iPad. Hang on. >> Oh, >> there we go. >> Oh, poor Lord has to do another >> here. >> So, we're going to vote on a second amendment. to go back to the original >> to go back to the original one. >> Vote on the original one. >> Now that we have good >> I'll share the blame with him. Okay. >> All right. We have a >> this together. >> We have a motion in a second. So, how about discussion on this second amendment? >> No, we're good. >> No, we
137didn't do this discussion, but Okay. I just I just have to say that I think it's misleading and and so we cannot post this position until we go through um >> discussion and go through negotiations. Is is that right? We can't we can't >> we would be we would be posting a position we'd be posting a new position that was created without going through any type of discussion. That's what that would that's what we'd be doing which I think to keep our um relationships with our teachers union and just that typical practice I think >> until September the discussions is that correct? >> No we have we can discuss any time >> we we can but it seemed like we had to wait for a certain >> you're talking about negotiations. >> Yeah that's different.
138>> Oh we can discuss a new position at any time. Okay. >> All right. Because I'm just saying if if we do this and no one applies for the media specialist position and then what are we going to do because we won't have anyone to head this program >> be posted as media specialist >> a new motion. >> It won't be posted as a media specialist. Will it >> to me? I believe it's going to be posted at least how I would post it is as a highability um like a high ability resource teacher and media specialist because the top priority would be high ability resource >> as in where I would say >> oh because you are you are repurposing a position >> we would have to say it's a media specialist I didn't
139think we could >> no not necessarily >> we could retitle it >> posting I think it's got to stay on there though. >> Well, no. Once once this is what I would recommend is that once this high ability resource teacher and media specialist position is posted, we take down the media specialist position. >> But this says a media specialist in your original. Correct. >> It's a combined position. >> It is combined position. So, however we want to post it, we can post it how we want it. I'm combining those two positions. >> Okay. >> All right. So, let's vote on the second amendment to >> We already did. We're back to the original. >> There we have it. We haven't voted on the second amendment. Oh, I didn't vote. >> Oh, yeah. >> There. I
140just voted to >> Oh, sorry. >> Sorry. Okay. Now, we're back to the original. >> You're welcome. And we've already had a a motion and a second. So all we have to do is vote. I believe >> I have no more discussion. >> Yes. Is there any more discussion on that? >> Okay. >> Further love. >> Okay. >> Can you edit the video? >> Can you edit this part? >> We should have discussion. This is what all the memes will be. Nobody was >> Have you been a star? >> No, I don't have I don't have >> the original. We're good. >> Okay. >> All right. >> Did the motion carry? >> Okay. So, resolution for the Howard County Impact Grant. >> All right. Let's We're gonna make this one quick and easy. Um, I
141am in the process of writing a grant for Howard County Impact Grant called Pickle Ball 46979. And so part of the grant is to have board support and I have to post that into the grant. And so I'm asking for a resolution for the Howard County Impact Grant 2026 for pickle ball 46979. >> Make a motion to approve the resolution. >> Second. >> How you doing? Does anyone have any discussion? >> Don't put it. >> We're going to put it right over here in the commons area. >> You have easy access to parking. You have access to buildings. Uh students Harry has a key to the to the gate or whatever. Yeah. >> It's a required course. You'll have to >> I got logged on. >> You just want to say yes then. >> Wait.
142Okay. Does somebody want to make a motion? >> Second. >> Oh, okay. Before I I have a little discussion just I just have a question. I know that this this goes um to a second round in July, I believe. >> And I'm just wondering if they ask you because that's a lot of for the amount of money, it's a big grant. So, if um they ask you to modify it in some way, would that be a possibility or is this is a all or nothing? >> Modify it as in making it larger or smaller? Well, I would assume they weren't trying to give you more money. So, I'm just saying, is that a possibility or is that >> I mean, we could always look at what three courts would cost instead of four. I mean,
143there's different options that we could look at. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> All right. And then they'll announce the grant recipient in September, as I understand. >> I think so. Yeah. I know a second phase is supposed to happen on ones that they want to meet in person. So, I kind of have a game plan for that, but I'm not getting too far ahead because I need to get the resolution first. >> Sure. All right. Would you please vote then if there's any more not any more discussion? >> Motion carry. >> Okay. All right. Facility improvement project scope edition. This is a recommendation for scope edition with performance services to add our press box to the new football track facility that is um going to start its um groundbreaking in May. >> So move second.
144>> Second. >> Is there any discussion or are there any questions? Okay. Well, please vote. Western Intermediate School classroom. Oh, I'm sorry. >> I didn't It hasn't popped up. Maybe >> click on that show and it'll bring it up for you. >> Change my vote. No. >> Why do I Oh, got it. >> Okay. Facility improvement project scope of I'm sorry, Western Intermediate School classroom furniture contract. >> So, we have a special contract that we worked with uh Mr. Quaccombush and Barnes & Thornberg through the contract. This is government pricing with sharp school supplies. And um this would be for 475 chairs and desks. This does not cover all the chairs and desks, but this is actually more than what we're renovating. And we will I just want to make sure in this first order
145that we have enough to cover what we're renovating and then any extras we'll just move into the additional classrooms and then we'll end up having to place another order probably in December uh to keep that same pricing and then we would um they store for six months and so by the time they've stored it then we can get that on campus finish the renovation These are just for desks and chairs, student desks, student chairs. That's not including if we need to do other tables or teacher desks or things like that. And that will we'll have to do kind of a phased process there because we do have some good teacher desks. We do have some good reading tables. We do have those pieces. But this is the core of the student desks and chairs. >>
146Have a question before you vote. Can I ask a question? Because we may want to modify this. We have to do our motion first. >> Okay. All right. So moved. >> Second. >> No discussion. >> So Mark, my question was the uh assembly and installation cost seem quite high. Can we get additional quotes? Like if we went out to guy movers or two minute a truck or whatever and they quoted that package to us as an option B. And then one more question C would be could we establish with the industrial arts department or FAA to maybe allow some of the clubs and teams to join with their coaches to assemble this in the south gym under quality control by the coaches and make sure it's right. Is that a possibility? >> Those are those
147are great questions. I think what problem we would run into is any type of guarantee or warranty that we would get on those products or any type of returns. If they don't actually construct them themselves, then that would void any of those >> pieces. So, that would be my my greatest concern on on that. Plus, when it comes to the the war or the government pricing, that is through a contract through Sharp that they have with Equalas for the guaranteed lowest pricing. And so then if we don't use Sharp, >> then we don't have Equalis >> really. >> Yeah. They're they're the ones that it's kind of going through that chain. So that's where I think we'd run into some challenges there from from a standpoint. I and unfortunately I I think there's a lot
148of fees and charges that are astronomical in my opinion. Um but this also guarantees that it gets done, it gets put in place. I know this will be right towards the end of that construction period and so cleaning with custodians, all of those pieces um for another group to come in like sharp to have the people power to put things together, put them in rooms. It will take a huge burden off our maintenance and custodial staff as well. >> Sure. And I wouldn't want to put it on the me. I was asking about the second part and and Yeah. And I think, you know, if we could have if we could have like honestly like student help moving furniture, especially like some of the old stuff that we have to move out is helpful. Them
149installing new equipment, I think poses um like I said, a warranty risk of losing losing those guarantees because they're certified, if they even are certified, their people are not putting that stuff together, >> right? Do they need to put legs on the desk or something? Is that what the problem is? >> There's some different pieces. I don't know exactly what they're putting together, unwrapping. There's little hangers. There's little things like that that will all have to be installed. >> All the seats on the table legs, all that. >> Yes. I don't know what it involves. >> Although this might set a world record. 173 page contract for this tables and chairs. These desks and chairs. Yeah, that's >> 170. >> That's why we have wonderful people like Jeff Quacamush to make sure the financial pieces
150of that is is uh accurate. >> Okay. >> Thanks. Appreciate it. >> Any any other questions? All right. Please vote. Scott, did yours come up? >> It's not coming up. My screen is scrolling. >> Do you want to just give us a manual yes or no? >> Okay. >> Um, >> let's do an AOL back up. >> Western High School course description book >> asking for your approval for the description book that has been presented. All the changes were in red or uh I think things that were taken out were in blue. >> So move. >> Second. Are there any questions or discussion? >> I I had one question. Um the career exploration internship for workbased learning, I just wondered how that counted creditwise. I mean, um >> Steve, I'm going to punt >> Two
151credits. Yeah. They have toain 75 hours a semester, 150 hours per year. It all has to be monitored. process all the templates. We got about 60 to 70 kids interested in it which is awesome. >> So we've been very aggressive with this because the opportunity to provide for kids but they earn two credit. So say you have a half schedule day four periods you get two additional periods to do this. Now, I don't want to stir a hornets's nest that's already been stirred, but >> um the the person who is the one who oversees this and monitors the kids, is that a new position we have to create? >> That was one that we were able to modify. >> We modified it. >> Yeah. That individual was teaching health and PE and as things have
152gotten less he's no longer teaching PE and teaching a few health classes >> is that but would we have to advertise that as a health PE slash >> that's a different situation anybody can teach work >> oh okay >> so I could have looked at my whole entire staff and said >> anybody based on the opport doubting his his capability. I was just wondering if that was something another position like we just discussed. Okay. Is there are there any other questions? >> I have a question for Steve. Do you have to go through that course description book every year to evaluate it or is it just um >> every year? Look at it all year. >> Really? Okay. >> Anytime with all the stuff the state's doing goes. >> Oh yeah. >> I mean you
153got to look at the programming all the time. >> Wow. >> And the two the biggest ones right now are the >> the computer science for digital learners. It's not become a required course. The PCC has become a required course but we've been working on that for a couple years. Um personal finance has been a But we've got that all filled in. So anything that comes down, that's what Mark was saying here, but it changes all the time. So does the course description, but we have to match all those numbers with what the state has, >> right? >> And make sure the course descriptions are there for the kids and the parents. >> Great. Thank you. That's great. >> Thanks, Bob. Okay. Summer school schedule >> recommending recommending the summer school schedule as presented. >>
154So moved. >> Second. >> There any questions? All right. Please vote. Okay. >> Camps. >> Making the recommendation for the camps presented. >> So moved. >> Second. There any questions? >> Okay, please vote. >> Okay. Overnight field trip request. >> Making a recommendation for the FBLA National Conference and Competition overnight field trip. >> Some moved. >> Second. >> All right. Are there any questions about this? >> That's um this June and July, >> I believe. So, yeah. >> Okay. >> Is that correct, Steve? Yeah. This summer. >> Okay. Do you do you know if they're close to reaching their financial goals for I mean $1,500 per student? >> Yeah. I'm not aware of where they're at. >> Some Some are there and others just like in fundraising opportunities. But I'd say he was hoping to
155get this done so that they could push past that last little bit. But some of them get them very quickly and some get sponsors from outside businesses and different people. So we track that if we have problems and we'll help the kid figure something out. >> Did he say who was chaperoning it? >> Well, there's there's he's he's chaperoning it and then when you get there it's a conference. So it's almost like FFA multiple sponsors and they blend the kids so that they actually have a chance to get to meet other kids. >> Angel to your question on Friday there was an email and they were 50% funded for the trip. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Any any other questions? Okay. Please vote. >> Okay. donations. >> Recommending the generous donations that are presented
156for your approval. >> I'll make a motion to approve. >> Second, sorry. >> Any discussion? >> All right. >> Thank you. >> Please. >> Okay. Personnel >> making a recommendation of the personnel that are presented to you tonight for recommendations, resignations, retirements, and leaves of absence. >> So move. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All right. Vote, please. Motion carry >> professional development >> and making a recommendation for the professional development. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Right. Please vote. All right. Round table. Would you like to start? >> Sure. Um just want to mention again just great to see us come into the end of the year and all the construction projects that are moving along. Uh the tag presentation was very good. It's just wonderful to see our teachers and our students
157and everybody involved in different things. Um once again I think this was brought up last month but the coral teachers who led the uh pledge of allegian or sorry the national the national anthem. Yeah. So that was tremendous you know that we were part of that. So Thank you for being here. Thank you to all of our teachers and staff and has been for all the work that you do every day. >> Thank you especially for the long talk. A double amendment. >> Uh yeah, double what uh Linda said. But I also want to say um thank you again, Lindsay. great job with the broadbased planning committee um and setting that up, especially that last meeting too. We greatly appreciate it. >> Shout out to Jennifer Duke and Kirby Griffith for an amazing fine arts
158night. Like it was unbelievable. Um so I know they put a lot of hard work and dedication in that stayed in after hours before school all that stuff. So want to say thank you to that. That's all I got. I know the art show was great and I was glad to see Kasich involved in that. That was cool. >> And the middle school is going to be at the library. I saw in the paper. Yes. >> We just want to say that uh community day is this Thursday and the community of Fishville is looking forward to it >> and um so we're going to have good weather, the best day of the week. So we're excited about that, too. >> Usually it's raining. >> All right. Is there a motion to adjurnn? I'll make a
159motion to adjurnn. >> Second. >> Okay, >> we have to do >> we have to vote on that. You stay seated. We do this method, but we got a lot of signatures to bonds. truck.