001Great. >> Well, welcome everybody. Thanks for being here. It's great to have people involved um both last night and tonight. And I think like last time I looked, it was like over 200 had watched last night's stream. So, that's awesome. Um just a testament to what a great district this is. and how much people care about this decision. So, thank you for being here. Um, with that, we will call the meeting to order with the pledge of allegiance. >> 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. Thanks. Um, all members of our board are here. We've we've moved Liz off to herself because she's not feeling well. So, and we love her
002from a distance. Um, and we'll open it up to public comment. But first, just because of some of the comments that we got last night, I wanted to just clarify a little bit on the process in case that's what somebody wanted to to bring up. Um, so we had 22 candidates apply. Seven rose to the top of this very competitive pool and they were chosen. Those seven out of the 22 were chosen by the search firm that we hired based on the stakeholder input that they got through the survey that was sent out to all parents, community staff um as well as their on-site interviews that they had um on in early December. And so they picked the seven that they thought were going to be the best fit for us. Um and then the
003board met and we went through full applications um which had cover letters and their res full resumes. It had letters of recommendation um and a lot of good stuff in there. Uh we went through all of those. We uh they also answered some questions in their um application and then they did a video interview. So we watched their video interview of these candidates um and then rewatched them um when we had questions. Um and we had about a 4 and a half hour discussion to narrow the seven down to three. Um and unfortunately as we mentioned last night um one of our candidates withdrew. Um and we really regret that. We wish he would been able to stay um in the process, but this was a choice of his and and we really respect the
004choice that he made and and honor um his his reasoning. Um and I do want to say that, you know, I think a lot of us were from looking at his application, we're really excited. Um and that certainly our door will be open to him should another opportunity in the future present itself and he has an interest. So, you know, no bridges burned at all um from our end, but we were left with two awesome candidates. Um and these candidates were interviewed by um a group of teachers and staff, parents and community leaders, our admin team of Matt and An. Um they had tours and meals with students and interacted with them and board members. Um and then last night each of them had an hour and a half interrogation interview. I mean um here
005uh at the board meeting and that was streamed. So as I mentioned a lot of people watch that. Um so point being that it's it's been a planned out rigorous um and to the best of our ability as much transparency as you know it's our first time doing this too. Um, but we it was a value of ours and we really tried to live true to that. Um, and to bring in as many stakeholder voices as possible. So for those that weren't on the interview committees, any feedback I know was heard very loudly and clearly by all of us. So I appreciate that feedback. Um, so with that just Yeah, >> sorry Amy. I just wanted to add that I both candidates got the chance to sit down with Jeff. >> Oh, yeah. >> And
006they got to have a chance to go back and forth and spend time >> talking about things in the district they wanted to discuss. >> I mean, I wasn't privy to those, but obviously, right, >> it's a it's it was an important >> I don't think should be left out, >> right? And just to clarify, it wasn't so that Jeff could weigh in on his successor, but it was more so that the candidates had an opportunity to start to learn from Jeff right now as to, you know, the great things going on at the district and and to ask him questions. With 40 years being here, he's got a lot to impart. So, yeah. Great. So, with that, I would love to open it up to call the public if anybody would like to say
007anything. Um, by the rules, we have a threem minute time limit, and we just ask that you state your name. And if you're a school employee, you can just say which building you're in. Um, but otherwise, community members, we ask that you give us your address. >> Oh, yeah. And it's a weird process, but we don't respond back. It's just to listen. Oh, and you need to use a microphone that Mr. Tysworth has. any okay there'll be another opportunity at the end too um all right so I know again that we both we have very fantastic candidates um in getting the feedback it's clear that people really like both of them a lot uh that making this decision is going to be extremely challenging they both have strengths um in different areas. Um and that
008was very clear in the feedback, you know, made the job really easily if every piece of paper that came back with feedback was clear and decisive, but it clearly was not. Um so that is a testament to the process too that we attracted two very strong candidates. Um, so what I thought we would do is maybe start with Liz before she fizzles out over there if that's okay. Um, and just go around the table and talk about the strengths of the candidates and and I know let me also back up and say, you know, thanks to everybody involved in this process. Thanks for the feedback. Thanks for Jeff's leadership and grace. Um, and thank you to all the board members because I'm sure all of you were were seeking advice or getting input um late
009into the evening and all day today too. So, thanks for reaching out to stakeholders and and taking it very seriously. So, with that, if you want to start with >> Sure. Do you want both candidates or review? >> Yeah, let's just go around and say what the strengths you found in both. >> Okay. Um, this could be a very long list. I'll do kind of highlights of what I thought. Um, on Roberts, I was so impressed with her readiness and research. I feel like she flagged um our district status and the pending property tax legislation. That was important to me that she recognized that as obviously our major funding source. Um, the Benzy housing crisis as a community challenge and um, you know, things that weren't just a quick Google search. I felt like there
010was some real work put in there. I was incredibly impressed with her accountability and drive. Um, unasked, one of the first things she said was that she wanted clear goals and she wanted deliverables named, which I really appreciated. Um, I liked that at the end of our interview, she asked us all um what we saw as the biggest challenge. um you know both showing a curiosity but also an eagerness to learn more which was also reflected in um the responses that I got from the smaller groups that she came in armed with questions. She you know there she wasn't able to find the answers to everything she wanted in her research and she came prepared to really dig in and find out more. Um, I also liked the feedback that uh she had a certain
011um emotional intelligence and um an availability to her made her um approachable, someone you could instantly talk to. Um that she was kind of working the room even when no one was watching trying to get a better feel for our district. um and that her strategic thinking really showed uh a lot of problems before we even named them. I like her phrase solution itis. Um and her comment that initiative fatigue is real as an organizational trap. She's seen them. She knows how to avoid them. Um as far as recruiting and um retaining talent, the idea of developing a bench um I thought spoke to her foresight. um not just seat filling and when it comes to the hard stuff, her comments along clear is kind, which I thought was proactive. Set the expectations um not
012react when it's too late, but be very upfront and I think that suggests that she's not going to avoid the hard conversations and we know that there's going to be a couple coming down the pike. Um I thought Bugny was phenomenal interviewer. I loved his culture and vision attributes when he was telling his our story uh with the Facebook posts and how he's looking for recognition and looking for others to recognize the recognition. I mean, it just builds on itself and I think in a small community that would be so important. Um he understood the identity and belonging piece which drives retention. Um when it came to teachers and philosophies, his idea of give them a shot. Give them a shot. Let them fail up. You know, whatever turn of phrase you're going to give
013it. um shows a genuine trust in teachers that I think he's learned. Um has excellent budget budget acumen. Um his specific examples about, you know, having to cut it cut a budget 10%. I mean, we were in a very similar position recently like, "Oh, you thought you had state funding. We're yanking a million dollars. What are you going to do about it?" I It was just so impactful to me. Such a real situation. the idea of privatizing busing. Um I don't know to what extent those were his ideas versus committee ideas, but he did have some really good individual examples. Um community fit. I think he also did his homework on us. Um he talked about an outdoor center maybe in Hartley and which I think speaks to us and to me personally. Um getting
014kids outside and active. We live in the great north. How do we make sure that they have an appreciation of that active minds, active bodies? That really resonated with me. Um, I thought his presence was excellent in the interview. It I mean I I couldn't have asked for more thoughtful answers. Um, he listened. He genuinely responded and I thought that gave him a very strong position in my mind. um as we were exiting the interviews yesterday, his curriculum thinking, I think he made a comment about um yeah, kids can do calculus, but can they read a user manual? [laughter] I just thought that was so apt and it showed, you know, that he's really got a grasp on maybe what it's like to have an 11-year-old boy in your house. Um but I thought that
015was excellent. I mean, in summary, I think um Bugney has incredibly strong instincts around culture and presence. I thought Roberts had the stronger instincts around accountability, relationships, and our very specific community. Um, in a small district where the superintendent is going to be in the weeds daily, um, I thought all of those strengths played in and we don't have a bad choice. Um, I did mine a little differently. I highlighted things that they all had in common or that the two, not they all, but the two of them had in common. Um, and this was through my reading of the recommendation letters, the cover letters they submitted, their video interviews, the two of them, um, the in-person interviews that we held last night, as well as the conversations I had with both candidates while having
016a meal or two meals with one of them. And um some of the things that I saw is that yeah, we do have two very strong candidates and I I don't think we really could go wrong with either one, which makes the choice incredibly difficult. Um the things I noticed, I had six things that just stood out to me. They both share a vision for student- centered education and developing good people or citizens with complete skill sets. um and they applied that to all learners um not just groups of learners. The other thing um was that they had a high focus on staff support, staff development and recognition. I thought that was super important. Um the third thing was that they both believed in continuing to promote and develop or cultivate Frankfurt Alberta area schools
017as a community centered institution. Um, number four, uh, they both share an awareness of issues, uh, facing our district with affordability in attracting and retaining staff. Uh, the fifth one that in conversations with them and through interviews, they both expressed a knowledge of budgeting and the unique situation we're in as an out of formula school. Uh the sixth thing is that neither candidate, and I found this really impressive, neither candidate is applying for other superintendent jobs. They applied to our school district specifically because both of them want to be here. That was um I'm going to echo a lot of the things that other people have said, but I'm sorry. That's good that maybe that we all saw sort of the same things. So, the first thing that I will say is that I agree
018that I don't think that we can make a wrong choice. I think we have two really strong candidates. Um, I think I could be persuaded either way by what you guys say today, you know, um, because of that. And I think that either one of them would be a really good fit and we're really lucky. Um, starting with Dr. Roberts, I would say, um, I agree with a lot of what Liz said in my notes. I have like that she is very obviously a lifelong learner. She's curious. Um her career path shows that um you know she's always reaching and doing and innovating and finding new ways. Um you know she's very intellectual um and like has a research sort of mindset um which is really fantastic. Um, one of the comments that we got
019from staff, this is a direct quote, was she is a learner focused on continuous improvement and they love that she gave the teachers a book recommendation, which I just think just again like shows that in her, right? Um, she was easy to chat with um, and personable and I think also like energetic and engaging. like you could tell that she's passionate about this. Um, but like Liz said is still approachable and she talked about how that would transition to being a superintendent and I do believe that she would be very visible. I don't think that she is the kind of leader who is from behind a desk. I mean, it's it's just very obvious that she would be out in the community and talking with parents and talking with students and talking with staff and
020just um leading from the front. Um, you know, she's very obviously interested in like continual improvement. Um, a lot of people commented that she's from Northern Michigan and she gets kind of our culture. Um, and I just think that, you know, again that that idea of strategic problem solving and innovation and improvisation when it's needed, when when the the plan bestlaid plans go wrong. Um, and just overall, you know, good communication skills. I think that all of that is sort of what I gleaned from our time with her. Um, what I will say about Mr. Bugnney is that um, I thought he was very thoughtful and observant. I thought he was a very good listener. Um, and I think it's really interesting that he has likewise like their their career trajectories were different, but he
021has a lot of experience in a lot of different areas. And as someone who likes to follow a bunch of different trains of thought, I liked that. I think it leads to like a broader, bigger vision sort of thinking. Um, and he had examples of that that I thought were really important. I liked the like Liz said, you know, I liked the um the outdoors and we have some plans on the long-term planning comm commission to try to get some more outdoor functional spaces going and I think he has a background in that and that's really intriguing. Um I also, you know, we just recently talked about food and I thought it was interesting it came up um and he was talking about those whatever they were black bean brownies or whatever and uh and
022I recently did have a black bean brownie and I can tell you that they are actually very good. [laughter] Um but yeah, I just think that he seemed like a real team builder. Um and we saw that that was another thing was that came across in his letters of recommendation um over and over again. We saw those words in there, good listener, um observant. And so where I want to go with that is I want to say that we have been lucky to have Jeff for 40 years. Jeff has been in the superintendent position for longer than I've been here, which is eight years. So, I don't know if it's 10 or 12 or what it is, but it's longer. And a lot of times leaders in our society are um tend to be extroverted
023people, right? It's just kind of the system that we live in. Um it's been built by extroverts and thus rewards extroverts. And I think if you look at leaders across disciplines, nine out of ten times you're going to find that. Um, and I think that Jeff Tsley is one of those rare people who when you're in a conversation with him, you are the person who's doing more talking. It's not that he's not talking, right? But he is he is listening. He is observing. And I think that in the eight years that I've been on the school board, whenever I talk to people about Jeff, they don't talk about classroom management or meetings or like I hear I hear people talk about Jeff's kind and compassionate nature and his ability to listen and to make people
024feel seen and to make people feel heard. Um, and frankly, I did not expect out of our 22 candidates to have that rise to the top because we just live in a system where that doesn't usually rise to the top. And part of the reason that I think Jeff was able to rise to the top is because he was here, right? And he was people were able to see that about him and observe that about him. And so I feel like we are really lucky that Mr. Bugnney did rise to the top because he has a lot of those qualities that I know that I value in Jeff and that I see other people value in Jeff. And I do think he's a bit of a slow burn. I think reading some of the the
025things that we received from people and even knowing how I felt about him throughout this process, it was a slow burn. But I think that when you find a leader like that, it's really important to recognize that. And so I wanted to kind of lay that out for people and and why I think that way. Um, but I just think that knowing where we're going, that would be a really nice way to transition to know that there's that foundation of like what I think are the very best qualities of Jeff transitioning into the next person. So great. Um, yeah, this is so so hard. Um, Dr. Roberts. I mean, I I was struck by her energy, like just the approachableness and sort of her effervescence. Um, goes back to Aubrey's point, you know, that extra
026version. Um, you know, you wanted to engage with her. I I will say when we went out to dinner, uh, it was a two-hour dinner and we had great students with us that were really wellprepared to ask questions. Um it was interesting to observe her leading the entire 2-hour dinner but in a very um hands-off way like you know where she took the time to engage with each person at the table and to find some unique interest of each person and then dive back into that. I mean to the point of like she and Sam were talking about fishing and oh where do you buy your bait? do you buy it at this store or this store? You know, I mean, it was like really neat to see that personal um approach that she took
027and she they peppered her with questions um and and she was great uh with the students and and that takes me to that she's very student centered. I liked her idea of the go slow to go fast that you you know you don't want to come in to a district and we heard that loud and clear that you know we like a lot of what's going on at Frankfurt and we don't want somebody to come in here and just upset the apple cart you know like come listen and great we all want to be the best we want to be the best school district in the world you know but learn about us first um and I I feel like she really emphasized that um her early childhood experience is really relevant because that's an
028area that we're really focused on right now. Um succession planning, I liked what she said about that. Um I liked that she has exposure outside Michigan just for different ways of approaching things or you know maybe bringing some different perspectives. Um the fact that she earned that principal award through her, you know, not a popularity contest but with like real data was impressive to me. Um her success with the career tech getting students more involved in career tech. Um in her reference letters or letters of recommendations they referred to as a systems thinker. um relationships and collaboration were really strong for her, strong values and and successfully actioned. Um they also commented on her negotiation skills, which was not a question we asked. Um but I thought that was an important thing to note. Um
029that she seeks collaborative solutions um and really values transparency um and and being very authentic. So, I thought she had a lot of great strengths. Um, with Mr. Bugnney, um, I really loved his when he talked about the project projectbased and place-based, um, and there was another P, I don't remember what three piece program. Um, I really liked that and I liked his example of the algebra class and how he tried to zero in on interests of kids and weave in the learning. Um, and then I can't remember if he said this at the board interviews or whether it was one of the meals, but when he talked about like the kids were like, "Aren't we going to have a test? Like, how do you know I know this stuff?" And he's like, "Okay, well,
030here you go. Here's the test." And they all passed it. and he's like, you know, it doesn't have to be obvious. You know, it's not a memorization regurgitation. You learned it through doing these projects that were of interest to you. And I thought that was really cool. Um, and and I liked that engagement that he had with kids. Um, I feel like he's really well-rounded. I really appreciate the connections he has through the Michigan Department of Education, through an ISD. I like that he was superintendent of a school that was similar to our size. Um I feel like he has had like a lot of diverse sizes and and roles. Um he also was strong with the career tech and also strong with high academic curriculum. So I felt like he really saw the the
031continuum of student interests and needs and how to approach that so that everybody does get challenged. Um in his letters of reference letters or letters of recommendation, they did point out a lot of um proven out accountability that he he's even keeled. He's very fair. He has the two of the letters pointed out that he has had to navigate some really um heated um situations and that he was really good at holding people accountable and also bringing people together to collaborate to find a solution. Um, and I thought that was really impressive and very I I'm not trying to like very relevant to some areas that we've heard that we could improve upon um with accountability. Um, I liked his staff appreciation. Um, let's see what else. Oh, budgeting. He Yeah, he's had to make
032those tough budgeting decisions and and so did Dr. Roberts. Um, the community involvement and collaboration. He had a lot of ideas about how to use local businesses and opportunities for student growth to tap into interests. Um, and his approach to like using the middle school years to really dive into individual interests of kids and then helping them find their way through that and also how do they pivot when they realize, well, I thought this, but I really don't like this. So, um I I really liked that personalized touch. Um he's credited with creating really strong communication systems. I know the parent group said that that they were really impressed with his communication um systems that he has in place. And also, I mean, similar to Dr. Roberts, I think he's a visionary, really good with
033strategic planning. Um, and yeah, I mean they're both they're both amazing and everybody that I've gotten feedback from, even if they tipped one direction or the other were very quick to say whoever you pick, you can't go wrong. So, I'm I'm excited about that. Doesn't make the decision easier, but go ahead, Wes. >> Oh, God. I don't know where to start, >> Liz. I'm for what you said was good. Am I not in the red? Am I >> a little quiet? Get a little closer. >> A little closer. >> All right. >> Don't be shy. >> Um, two amazing people that we've been talking with just they are amazing. Dr. Roberts is a is very child focused. She's a team goaloriented individual. She's focused on continuous improvement within the schools and the students. And >>
034a little louder. >> Here we go. >> I'm sorry. Anyhow, she's focused on students more than data and I I thought that was kind of interesting to listen to that that whole process that she was involved with. Uh Vic on the other hand is more databased I feel. um decisions are made through the data really he's on top of that rather than the the good feeling of okay I can do it uh he's interested in the early career exploration like for sixth seventh and eighth graders to and I thought that was kind of interesting that they work from that point as an early career a good understanding of the budget. He has that he gets students ready for life after school. So life goes on or starts or begins or ends not when they leave
035but it continues on that he feels and he's well-rounded with staff and administration. He he is kind of amazing. So we were sitting here talking. I was watching him and I was watching his eyes and for an hour if you were not here last night I it was an hour and a half he talked or they talked. I don't think he made one error in talking. I don't think he stumbled over one word. If I walked up to him I says do you have a photographic mind? And then he looked at me he said yes. But I think they're both amazing and whoever we choose will be fortunate to have either one really to follow Jeff and and they understand Jeff too. I think they appreciate him. Did you hear that back there? [laughter] Okay,
036that's enough said. >> Great. >> It's really hard being on the last table. I'm like, ditto ditto ditto ditto ditto ditto kind of all the way around. Um, I did want to kind of say first and foremost, it it was this has been such an cool process. Um, thank you to all of my brethren up here for um, all the hard work and Amy for spearheading, you know, the logistics and and all of that, putting it together because this is um, an important decision that we're making. Um, but the thing that struck me upon meeting both candidates is how fortunate it was just thrilling to me thinking about how fortunate we are at the level um of professional acumen and professional integrity that both of these candidates hold. Um, and I think that speaks such
037volumes. It was kind of mentioned last night. It speaks volumes about what we do here at Frankfurt Alberta area schools. It's our community. It's our staff, it's our teachers, it's our students, it's the culture that we promote that again has two people that aren't looking for anything other than what we have here. So, um, that to me was was really exciting. And it's been not only, you know, professionally speaking, are they amazing, these were just two fantastic human beings that I very much enjoyed getting to know better. So that was really a fun part of of this job for me as well. Um I kind of too like you Scott I kind of went through my my matrix of very similar they have such similarities throughout much of this process. You could point to you
038know similar answers, same philosophies, you know that kind of thing. Um they both had very strong holistic perspectives on district operations and the um importance of having stakeholder relationships within each building and within the community that resonated in kind of every answer that they gave us. Um and they both authentically emphasized the importance of giving voice to staff, to teachers, to parents, to students, and to the community. um as a as a leader in the role of this superintendent and that really kind of shown through in all of the answers that they gave. I felt that that that premise was very authentic in everything that they were answering. Um I will say the the relational nature of Dr. Roberts is absolutely undeniable. It's an attribute she brings to her work and every role that she
039seems to have taken in her career. Um it's infectious. um she places a high value on communication and clarity as a um as a foundational aspect of continuous improvement. And again, that seemed to be kind of a theme that I kept picking up on on every single answer that she was giving no matter no matter the question was this um continuous improvement as part of a a strategic pillar um for for the district or whatever role she was utilizing at that moment. She also demonstrated to me a very clear commitment to aligning vision with institutional outcomes, which I appreciated, as well as accountability um by empowering stakeholders, whoever those people may be. And I found that really energizing. Again, it was something that she reiterated kind of over and over in a lot of our
040statements. So um it was very clear to me that trust was very much kind of a at the heart of everything that she does both for herself and then those with whom she works. So um that was it was really fun to to get to know her better and to to hear her throughout you know the past few days. Um similarly what resonated very clearly to me with u Mr. Bugnney and his experience is that he is an extremely strong systems thinker. Um, and what I really kind of appreciated is that he's dedicated to making well-informed decisions but based not only on the data but coupled with kind of an authentic interpersonal dialogue and collaboration. So the the it's not just the data kind of like with um I think he mentioned kind of um
041and actually both of them mentioned you know that it's it it's not just the data, there's students behind the data, right? And you can't get a clear picture when they were both talking about student index, you know, performance and that kind of thing. It's not just the metrics, it's everything else that builds up into that. So, um, I I found him very purposeful and again to your point about being kind of a quiet leader perhaps to some. Um, I found his answers around a lot of that at various points throughout the interview process were very purposeful and well put out. And I I like that as part of that collaboration was always part of the chain of thinking with him. you know, it starts with um identifying the problem, evaluating, assessing, and then getting collaborative
042input to reach an ultimate an ultimate outcome. Um, and to that point, subsequently, he he takes action um that is situationally appropriate uh and also um situationally appropriate uh but sustainable over time and supports a growth mindset. I really liked a lot of the things that he had to say that were very future focused. Um, the last thing I'll say about Mr. Rugney is that his work and his network, much to what you were saying, um, and his leadership experience at the state level was exceedingly impressive to me. Um, and something that he knows that he'll kind of utilize and bring to the table um, in a in his next role, whatever that may be. So, um, all in all, and I won't belabor a lot of the things that have already been said again
043and again and again, but, uh, I think it goes without saying, and we've all stated it, um, our future is very bright. We have two incredibly capable, caring candidates from which to choose, and we can't go wrong. >> Thanks, Megan. Mhm. >> Um I I'd like to first I think on behalf of everybody but extend the board's thanks to the candidates themselves for giving so much of themselves and so much of their time and so much of their energy to us. Um it's no small thing and [clears throat] it was clear from the last couple of days they put their all into this process and that's really appreciated. Um there's not much more that I can add to the great comments that you guys have made about what we've learned about these candidates. what I'd
044hope all of us learned about these candidates over the past few days. Uh I wanted to share um a perspective that I've tried to take as I've uh run down these two candidates and tried to make a decision that is a very difficult decision. Um, and that is that we're hiring a leader here. And this is someone who's going to lead uh our district, we hope for a long time, who's going to put his or her impression on the district and through that his his or her impression on all of our our children, our children, the district and on our community as a whole. And um I considered the points from that perspective that I hold dearest in terms of how we select a leader. The first uh uh topic and I should say before
045I go through this they're both really good at both of them in my opinion making the choice difficult. Uh the first item uh is educational excellence as we are after all a school educating children. Uh I I I I have that at the top of my list. Dr. Roberts obviously has deep instructional background, a very wide lens of perspectives coming from different roles she's had in different institutions uh geographic and institutional approach which I think is valuable. Uh she values and uses data but ultimately relates personally as we all saw and understand that data is one part of a child's existence. Uh Mr. Bugnney similar similarly has extensive experience up and down the ladder from teacher an algebra teacher to working at the department of education. Um he has deep strength in programming core academic
046programming understands options that are available has reviewed research and and frankly has a grasp on these things that I will never have. I don't think we will ever have. Um he's thoughtfully aware of technology in education. Um and at the same time I felt had a demonstrated ability to reach kids where they are to drive academic excellence and achievement. The second item I considered was accountability. A point that is key to us as a board and I think key to us as a district. Um there I felt again two very strong candidates. Dr. Roberts has made tough calls. Her story about the turnaround situation in Florida sounds exceptionally difficult. I don't think somebody gets through that by being wishy-washy on accountability. Um her points about clarity first and doing what you say you're going to
047do really ring true to me and are are very strong points for her. Um Mr. Bugny similarly has made tough calls. He also, interestingly enough, was in a turnaround situation when he was superintendent um and seems to based on as he described it and references that we received came out of that again cutting budgets, making tough calls and coming out with strong references on the other side. These are difficult things. uh accountability and ownership to me seemed central to his leadership style uh which we got both from references as Amy mentioned and I think I I interpreted just in interacting with him as a person and then the last point there are only three points the last point uh that I think is key from a leader and it's last but perhaps it's first is
048culture and that's relating to teachers, relating to our staff, relating to our comm communityities. and maintaining and enhancing the culture that we have in this district and no surprise again we have two strong candidates. Uh Dr. Roberts I think very impressively understands change but is committed to respecting tradition and part of that is from from being from here and living here and understanding who Northern Michigan. She's warm, kind, attentive, honest, upfront, extremely engaging personally, and I think that that would translate very well to her interactions with all parts of our of our community inside and outside of the school. She's a great listener. Uh, and through all that, she has a growth mindset, which, as I mentioned last night, as we closed with her, I think we cannot become complacent because we're great. We can
049always become greater. And the growth mindset, I think, is key in that regard. Mr. Bugnney has I believe a very strong community first approach. His answers to every question we posed in all in any way related to culture were I want to listen. I want to learn. I want to build upon what we have. And and I thought that very well fit with what we what we're looking for and what we need here. Um he has many cultural uh many cultural uh experiences from being in a Traverse City School to up at the Department of Education Sageno around the state and I think my observations from him in that regard that I think makes him an open-minded person open to feedback. Um as somebody myself who has lived a lot of places in life um
050if you've if you've been around you've seen a lot you're just more ready to listen. Um and and I found that with him in my dialogue with him at the same time despite all that openness or in addition to that openness his approach to problems his data analyze data and then give it a shot and it's okay to fail. I feel like culturally is a wonderful fit for where we are now and where we want to go as a district. Underneath everything both of these candidates are very clearly dedicated to students. they've dedicated their lives to students, which we wouldn't have invited him here if that wasn't true. Um, I uh like all of us struggle with the choice and I'm proud of the job that the board and the community has done to find
051these candidates amongst all those who who are out there in the world to come here and I'm proud that they both want to come here and be part of of our culture and our family. >> Awesome. All right. Um, based on what people have heard, is there any questions for each other or no? Um, it's just really hard. Um, I guess I'd ask this. Are is anyone willing to say that they're leaning in a direction knowing that we we have two amazing candidates? I mean, I I think I can speak for pretty much everyone at the table that we would be happy with both and it it kind of comes down to, you know, maybe some little things that really stuck. Um, I'd be happy to speak to some things that differentiated the two for
052me. >> Yeah. Um I think everyone that watched the interviews and spoke to the folks both of the candidates um that there was that difference you heard it here you know passion electricity and excitement I don't even have to name the person um strong datadriven many examples of uh places where things have worked options to try openness to switch gears when things aren't working. Um, those were two things that were just absolute strengths of each. And for me, just in my own opinion and then also talking with others today, one of the things that I feel strongly about is that excitement only gets you so far. If you don't have well foundation plans and an idea of where you want to go, excitement gets people fired up, but plans, examples, a cohesive idea, a concept
053of how to implement it is a long-term and is long-term growth. Um, and that was a big difference for me. I guess I'll leave it at that if anyone has any comment. I kind of concur on that. That was something that I picked up on um through my experience and I kind of was talking about that earlier of the identify, assess, you know, evaluate, collaborate, and then act. And it was kind of a full circle um kind of experience for me listening to a lot of those areas. So, it was the the what, the why, the how, and then when when are we doing it? Let's go. and whether I think somebody was mentioning it. It was that um it might not be the right thing, but we're going to we're going to make informed
054decisions, give it a go, see how we do, and then if we need to modify from there, we can. And that was impressive to me and a differentiator for me. >> Do you have any? >> Give me a minute. >> Okay. Obby, I mean, you said >> I feel like I already said what my big differentiator was, but I can sort of say it again shortly. Um, is just that um personal like listening portion of it and it even is like comes down to like something small like someone who had emailed us um who watched last night said how they appreciated that he said every person's name when they responded. And again, it's like such a little thing, but it really does speak volumes, I think, to the kind of leader that he is and
055that idea of like being seen. And I think that it's going to be really, we all know it's going to be really hard to follow Jeff and his dedication to the district. And I think that that just goes a long way for transition in my opinion. Um, and from what I've heard from people. So, >> yeah. And I like too what you said about the transition, you know, dealing in the reality that we're in and the the culture and the characteristics of the our specific transition at this time. I mean, some of it's not even about like who's better than the other person. It's who's going to have maybe the smoother transition period, too. I can chime in. I felt I you heard my comments on leadership. I felt that um in the conversations that
056we had with the candidates last night, particularly at the in the interview portion, which I I know some of you guys were here and I know a lot of people watched online. Uh it it felt clear to me that given the tasks that we have ahead as a district and given the role that we're that we're hiring for here, I felt that Mr. Bugnney came out ahead in my mind in terms of exhibiting the qualities of leadership that I think are important for our district right now. Was part of what you're saying, I think, Amy. And I think Dr. Roberts seems like an exceptional leader in her own right. Uh, I think my sense was for our district, uh, Mr. Boney feels like an exceptional fit. >> I I do want to add that, um,
057and it was some of the stuff I wrote down that I wanted to express to you guys. Um, we got a lot of emails. Um, we read feedback forms. Um, we got I reached out to people today. Um, and I appreciate folks taking time to sit down with me in their day. I I reached out to people by phone, um, by text. People had reached out, like I said, not only to the board, but also individuals had reached out to me and text. Um, and this was parents, community members, business leaders, um, staff, um, and you know, I tried talking to administration as well. And um you know it it became clear the opinions I was getting. I mean people expressed passion for both of these people and and that was absolutely >> plain as
058day. But it was clear in the end for the folks I spoke to that there was a clear candidate um who received the most support and that was Victor uh Bney. And um I wholeheartedly tried to connect with as many people as I could um who you know um I I think were good people to to speak to. Um I'd like to make a motion um that we hire Victor Bugny um as um Frankfurt area or Frankfurt Alberta area schools next superintendent. >> West seconds. I would ask that we amend that to say um pending the motion pending agreed upon contract terms um because if we can't come to an agreement on on those then I think we're really lucky that we have another candidate with whom we might be able to do that. So
059if we could just amend it to motion a pending agreement on contract terms. So we have a motion support. Is there more discussion? >> I'd like to ask a few more questions if I can. Um, I also really took to heart a lot of the feedback that we got and there were two things that I keep going back to and I wanted the board's read on this in addition to um what I've already heard and that is around two of the main points that I think are going to be incredibly imperative for our specific school district. that is going to be a point of differentiation. If we were hiring for Forest Hills or somewhere in Mcome County, I think it would be a little different, but there were a couple things that really stood out
060to me. I think you crystallized my thinking, Scott, when you said it, except for I'm on the other side. Um, the enthusiasm only gets you so far. I think enthusiasm, genuine enthusiasm can get you anywhere. And I feel like Dr. Roberts exhibited such a genuine passion. I don't feel like we could have asked more of her coming in prepared to connect with every single person she talked to on an individual level with a genuine desire to get to know more to get to root cause to get to understand not just where do you like to fish what do you fish for where do you buy your bait sure I mean that also speaks to culture, but I think it shows something that can't be overstated, which is the importance of the genuine kids know. And
061connecting with kids is not something everyone could do. And we saw it with her. We had the opportunity to see that with her. And there are a couple little vignettes that are just really sticking with me. So, I think we have a clear winner in um Mr. Bugnney as far as his 40,000 foot presence, his ability to connect so well um in that excellent interview that we had yesterday and his very well-thought answers. Um, I thought Roberts might have a sort of small group relationship intelligence, genuine curiosity, and I feel strongly that that's where a lot of the real work is done. Um, especially with kids. So, um, I agree with what you said. I agree with what you said and I think Dr. Roberts exhibits a lot of qualities that we need right now
062in our district. And I would be curious as to um your perception on that. I guess maybe specifically my question is around um the small group or individual you know being able to relate small group individual basis versus you know more of the ISD higher level type relationship building. >> I had I had lunch um with Mr. Bugney and breakfast and yeah, I mean, I had dinner with um you know, Dr. Roberts and um I was sold after I had dinner with her. I was like, I'm going to hire her. I I want to hire this person right now. I mean, she was phenomenal. >> He like like Aubrey said, >> he was not that same dynamic, >> but after my interactions with him, I I felt like he had those qualities. They just weren't
063like big [clears throat] and there, you know, like like I really felt in talking with him, I had those connections. And then I reached out to some folks I know at a larger higher level that know him and they said the man has an amazing passion for education and for young people and for making connections >> and it Yeah, I'm hard. I mean, it's like 55 45 here, you I mean, I'm not like, >> yeah, >> you know, 100 per, you know, it's it's tough. I I that's about >> I we had to make a choice tonight and I'm expressing not only my own feelings, but also what I found today from a lot of folks that I talked to and and and that's why I made the recommendation. I >> appreciate that. Thank you.
064>> And I want to um ping off of what Aubrey said, too, because I had the same um similar to what Scott said. I mean, it was like a wow moment, you know, with with that dinner and her interaction with kids. And I I totally see what you're, you know, I see it and I felt it. Um, and and with Bugney, it was that slower like there was this consistency and this it wasn't it didn't like smack you in the face right away, but the more time I spent with him, you could see the observation that he was making and the questions he was asking. And it was a slower thing, but it definitely by the by lunch it was like, you know, he just could hit everything exactly very authentically. It wasn't like he
065was trying to tell you what you wanted to hear. Um, it just became really obvious that he had picked up a whole bunch of stuff throughout the day and had put the pieces together and was making the bigger the deeper connections. Um, so I think it was it's just a very different personality, but I feel like both of them >> super passionate um and and very people focused um and very student focused um and they just approach it in different >> I would agree >> ways. Yeah. I think the last thing that really strikes me is when I think about somebody also said the greatest leadership qualities that Jeff had and they're um they're also kind of the smallest most important things but I see them in our current administration and our current teachers. Um
066what we never fault them for and what we praise always is like boundaries be damned. They take students failures personally, you know, and we want to say, you know, protect yourself, you can't help everyone, blah blah blah blah. They are going to work their hardest to make that happen. And I see her investing herself and not being the job is not done until she has done that. And I just see an absolute tenacious educator and um boon to our community in the hiring of Dr. Roberts. which is not to say that Mr. Bugney doesn't have those qualities. I just it was absolutely overwhelming and I I just really want to surface my support for her and how I think she would be incredible with our students. Any other comments? >> All right, we have a
067motion. We have a second. Last chance for comments. Uh maybe we should do >> row. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Um >> Brian, >> uh we're voting on the motion toend >> hire to extend to Bugnney with the he will >> pending agreement on pending agreement on the contract. >> Okay. Uh I vote yes. >> Megan, >> yes. Wes, >> yes. >> Amy, >> yes. Uh, I'm a yes. Scott, >> yes. >> Liz, >> yes. >> Great. And carries. >> Great. Um, again, thank you all. I mean, I know this has been uh I don't know the rest of you got very little sleep this week. Um, I'm getting on a plane and going to Florida tomorrow for four days. So, um I no I I commend everyone at this table for the amount of heart
068and the amount of time um and the caring um and the beautiful thing is all of the again like I started the the outpouring of feedback of interest of passion in the process in really taking the time to think through the candidates and give very valuable feedback. Um, I won't I won't call her out because she's sitting in here, but you know, it was interesting. One of the pieces of feedback I got last night was like, well, if I wear this hat, these are the things I like best about that candidate. If I wear this hat, these are the things I like best about other, you know, and so it it was clear that we had two amazing candidates. Um, and so with that, any other >> I'd like to thank you for your work.
069Thank you. >> It was above and beyond. >> Thank you. >> Thanks for all the effort. >> It's a thousand times before. >> Yeah. Yeah. Not. And I don't want to do it again. So, [laughter] we're going to all make this really successful. Um, any other comments? We open it up for call to the public again if anybody would like to make any comments or >> No. With that, I'd entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> A motion to adjurnn. >> Ryan seconded. Megan. All those in favor? >> I >> Thank you. >> Thanks, Amy. >> I should say ne next steps. I'll reach out.