Saline Area Schools: Board of Education Meeting (10.10.2023)

001test Mr Goodman Mr Goodman calling  Mr Goodman 30 seconds Mr Goodman I want wasn't I noticed she hasn't heard that  phrase for a while um good evening and welcome   to the Saline Area Schools Board of Education  meeting uh for October 10th uh I'd like to call   the meeting to order I would and could you all  please stand as you are able for the Pledge of Allegiance my pledge allegiance flag of the  United States of America to The Republic thank you very much you might notice that some  of us are dressed in pink and that is in uh to   recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month uh where  also many people the board are fully cognizant   of the events over the weekend in Israel and  Palestine and we are thinking about everything   so we're not going to do

002a real celebration or  have a photo op or anything anything I don't   believe but we just wanted to uh recognize  that uh issue public comment please a member   of the public May address the board brief oh  do we have any skip or tick I'm always happy   when I can tick a box we have two extended public  comments however uh I'd like to introduce Laura   Wasington the principal of Woodland Elementary  School should I have given you a heads up so you   could have been closer to the podium Woodland  Meadows did I Woodland oh I've got Woodland   Meadows Elementary School sorry thank I just  read what's put in front of me now I am here   we go hello Schoolboard members central Office  Team and students thank you for letting me take a   few minutes out of tonight's

003meeting to talk about  the fabulous things that are happening at Woodland   Meadows from our students to volunteers there's  a lot to be proud of at Woodland beginning with   the reason why we all come to school every  day our students are exhibiting 3B Behavior   at Woodland Meadows allowing them to learn and  grow in a safe and nurturing environment these   students are also led by our third grade leaders  who exhibit true leadership skills as safeties   and through the student leadership group Next we  must also talk about our amazing staff all I can   say is wow the creative kind hardworking group of  individuals makes such a difference in the culture   and climate of what Meadows and make learning  engaging and fun from the time that a student   walks into the building through lunch to the end  of the

004day we truly are here for the whole child   and just when one thinks that the day is over it  is not for many of our students the before and   after after school care and after school Community  Education programs extend opportunities beyond the   classroom from basketball to art students have  many chances to learn something new however none   of this can be done without the support of our  families volunteers and our extraordinary PTA   our families are responsive to student needs and  the needs of the school they volunteer as readers   helpers on field trips and in the cafeteria and  do so with smiles on their faces and if you've   ever been to the cafeteria it's amazing you're  SM smiling smiling smiling our F our friends at   the senior center have also partnered with us in  order to forge

005positive friendships with pen pals   and reading Partners we can't wait to welcome  back Nala from thopa and her owner Kathy to   listen to students read to book read books to her  we also look forward to our visits to Weber Bliss   where third grade interacts with volunteer dosent  and who have a very rich history of Seline second   grade actually was already there this week I think  they're finishing up they finished up today to   Weber Bliss and we are so thankful to have this  historic resource directly on our campus in terms   of the PTA this group has hit the ground running  literally the PTA organized a very successful Fun   fundr Run where we raised over $24,000 we have  already had one mini book fair and are looking   forward to our next one later this week and we 

006ensure all students receive a book from the book   fair through a voucher system we also combined  with Heritage this year to co-construct the   first ever Woodland Meadows Heritage game night  where we opened up our campuses or campus and   have activities both inside and outside for all  the community members and who could forget the   food trucks CU they were delicious so like the  statement that I made earlier wow there's a lot   to be proud of at Woodland Meadows and all of you  are welcome to come and visit at any time and see   it for yourselves thank you perfect I'll put it  on my calendar that is very responsive yes thank   you we saw that coming well thank you so much um  we I would now like to introduce Anne freed Holm   and Tammy Carr from the

007Chad tough Foundation  now we won't be asking you any questions   afterwards because this is still public comment  but thank you very much for your presentation in advance not on maybe not all of you have had the  chance to come um and Experience run tough uh and   it is only successful because of the support  of the district so I wanted to bring that to   life for you a little bit um is this the all right  there we go the first is the why um and you know   I know most people around here especially know of  Chad tough but do people deeply know the why and   over the years as I've gotten to know the why  a lot better you know brain cancer is killing   more kids than any other type of cancer cancer  dipg is responsible

008for almost half of the brain   cancer deaths in children so if we can solve dipg  it's going to break open being able to cure all   sorts of different cancers and that's why we do  what we can do but do what we do so run tough um   this was our 10th race which is crazy it started  weeks after Chad was diagnosed and Tammy can talk   about that in a second but this was our 10th race  and this school district has the core of support   uh for this event every single year and we can't  thank you enough we have about a thousand people   come every year and it's shocking every year I get  up and I ask how many people is this your first   time and maybe half the crowd raises their hand um  and so it's

009great more and more people getting to   know the cause we we now are into a space of what  can we create as a community event to attract new   families and you know we're we're targeting young  families we want to create a really fun event to   come and experience and then get to know the cause  along the way and uh I think we're accomplishing   that with your help um this is eloen elan's  currently fighting dipg it's the first time   that we've had our horn blower two times in a row  the horn blower is very special um as that was   something that Chad liked to do scare the Chad did  it twice yeah he sorry second time there you go   um yeah CH I'd like to pull that and scare people  running by so we pick we

010pick somebody every year   and eloen um isn't supposed to be here today and  she is and she's fighting and we have a lot to   do with that therefore you have a lot to do with  that teams from the dance team the cheerleading   team football team soccer team baseball team  those are Seline teams then we have Michigan   teams coming in and Lacrosse and softball and  women's basketball um it's so fun for the kids to   see these athletes out supporting um and our own  Hometown athletes played a big part in that soccer   if I didn't mention that as well just a an idea  of kind of what the beginning of the event feels   like um in the parking lot we've got uh ReNew  Salon does everybody's hair if they want um and   the start of the race

011is always the one the most  one of the most exciting parts of the morning um   I love this part the kids everybody gets a medal  and those kids love those medals let me tell you   the cheerleaders and the dance team line the sides  and they're handing out the medals so the little   ones last year we introduced the tot race we had  a 100 tots show up this year um if if you want   to come for anything show up at 9:45 and watch  this because it is it is really fun uh we had   some special guests this year um which is always  fun the kids absolutely love it B showed up this   year with some really fun games um more games the  uh Selen FC shows up and they help out in a big   way we

012we had the whole oxfield field filled with  sponsors and people running games you know really   trying to create that that fun Community event  that people want to come to so that's kind of a   a feel at one point of what the the field looked  like and these are the these are our kiddos I'm   going to leave that up and hand it over to Tammy  thank you um thank you to everyone uh for always   supporting Chad tough I know you know several of  you on the board Michael went and took pictures   with his drone for us cuz we couldn't get the  good shot of the you know strong boy on the   field Tim did the gravel uh you know cuz we needed  to change the we have a 5K run and a one onek or   one

013mile and it was kind of complicated over the  years so the one thing was a different path well   Tim helped us put a new path in that's going to  benefit the school as well so it's a win-win um   and many of you you know have been involved with  Chad tough and have participated in the race and   this school district you know an mentioned that  Di ipg is killing more kids than anything um and   this school district is going to be part of  the Cure um we've raised and given out over   $27 million in research grants and yes it started  because of Chad but it is so much bigger than that   now these are our 40 family Partners um we've  we've engaged a platform where let me tell you   if I didn't want to do a

014foundation this was not  like this big ambition right it was that somebody   had to do something so that's why we started this  we don't want these other families to have to do   something that you know why can't we we're going  to do this all together so we have families from   all over the country and into Mexico that are  part of our foundation and this Foundation is   here in Seline and it is the largest foundation  for dipg research in the world so yes Chad lost   his life almost eight years ago and he would be in  seventh grade right now and be 13 years old that's   kind of hard to wrap my head around but it's so  much bigger than him now and this community be   should be so proud because one day we are going  to

015find a cure and this community has raised over   $2 million with us and we're so so grateful for  the support and the Seline school system is a   huge part of um our beginnings and will be with us  hopefully until the end so thank you guys so much   thank you very much Tammy and I really appreciate  the presentation maybe I'll run next year um I I   have no responses to previous public comment  at this time uh revisions or approval of the   agenda items can be added or deleted from  the agenda or the order can be changed at   the request of an individual board member or the  superintendent the agenda must be approved before   proceeding further I would like to recommend  uh entertain a motion to approve the agenda as printed would that be Mr Austin trusty

016Austin  support Eep support Susan Eep thank you so much   all in favor please say I I oppose great we are  seven tonight correct great all right we have a   student showcase this evening at long long last  yes you can stand up now um I did not practice   your name but it's Aaron hudman hudman oh my gosh  I should have know I should have asked I'll just   let you uh do your presentation and thank you okay  well first I wanted to thank you all for having me   here today I really appreciate this opportunity to  come and speak about the Miss Seline scholarship   organization so as you said I'm Aaron hudeman  I'm a senior at Seline High School I am the 75th   Miss Seline I was just crowned this past August  during the Summerfest um I'm 17

017years old and   like I said I'm a senior at Seline High School  I've lived in Seline my whole life so I've gone   to Seline area school since kindergarten and now  up into my senior year I have been a baton tler   with the Seline tourettes for 11 years now and  I've been competitive with them for about half   of that time and that opened the opportunity for  me to be in the selain high school marching band   where I'm a major at and I've done that for  the past four years I have been a Girl Scout   in Seline for 13 years now I am student council  president of the executive Council and beyond all   of those things I really enjoy being involved  in the community love attending any community   events interacting with everyone in Seline so a  little

018bit about the pageant like I said I'm the   75th Miss Seline so it was the 75th anniversary  of this amazing organization and because of that   this big milestone they had a lunch in where  I was able to meet several former Miss seles   one of them being the oldest living Miss Seline  which was really very very cool she was a really   awesome lady she definitely portrayed all of the  things that I hope that I'll be able to portray   throughout my reign and past then when I become  her age and I come back for the h hundredth and   the 125th and all of those things um so when I  was able to meet her she made this point to me   that I thought was very impactful she said when  she competed for Miss Seline it was one

019of the   first ways that women were able to be involved in  the fair which was definitely very eye-opening I'd   never thought about it that way it was a very  long time ago and it's since it's been going on   for 75 years I had never considered a time when it  wasn't there but she definitely opened my eyes to   the fact that this is an amazing opportunity and  I'm very grateful that I was able to participate   in this and I know all of the other ladies who  participated were also very grateful for that opportunity so a little bit about the pageant  um there are three par portions of the interview   there is an interview a week before the pageant  which is closed off just you and the judges they   about it's about 30 minutes long they ask

020you a  bunch of questions but you don't know any of them   ahead of time so it's really awesome to be able to  talk to them and just let them get to know you and   then during the pageant there are two onstage  questions so once again you don't you have no   idea what they're going to ask you one of them is  random you pick it out of a fishbowl and then the   other one is based on something that you said in  your interview or in your biography that they read   while you're on stage before then so through  all of those interviews like I said I've been   a baton twirler my whole life so we focus a lot  on interviewing and baton twirling it's a whole   portion in our all-around competition so that  definitely helped me a

021lot with the confidence   knowing the Poise and how to respond to all of  those questions think on my feed and everything   and beyond that I'm also a part of the marketing  program through swwc where there is a whole unit   dedicated to learning how to interview to prepare  you for future interviews and job opportunities   that may come your way and through that I learned  how to communicate all of the things that I'm very   passionate about and show everyone around me what  I love to do through every answer so I was crowned   59 days ago and since then I have gone to a lot  of events a week after I was crowned attended the   ribbon cutting at stretch lab Ann Arbor which was  a lot of fun to be able to interact with business   owners in our

022community a lot of the Chamber of  Commerce was there so I got to meet them introduce   myself as Miss selim for the first time and it was  really great after that about a week later I was   on the radio with April Davis from the Sun Times  News and I got to speak a lot about the pageant   and different things that we do throughout my  year as Miss Seline um just last week I was in   the homecoming parade which was a lot of fun I  got to see all the younger kids threw out some   candy um and then the day after that we started  building our scarecrow for the scarecrow contest   it's right in front of Max number seven go vote  starting October 14th um it's really funny but we   did lose our Ken that was

023in the back seat but  it's okay we're figuring something out um and   then tomorrow I'm going to be the mystery reader  in a woodland Meadows Elementary kindergarten   class which I'm very excited about I can't wait  to introduce myself to all those younger kids   it's going to be a lot of fun um later this  month I'm going to participate in the Seline   Main Street Trunk or Treat which is another  fun thing there's going to be another Barbie   themed portion of that and then as the holiday  season begins we'll continue our annual um Toys   for Tots drive as mine it's one of the biggest  things that we particip iate in as Miss line   in court and last year we received over 1,000  toy donations which the people who came to pick   those toys up were very happy

024and it even made  them kind of emotional to see how our community   really cared that much and wanted to participate  in this portion of the melline organization and   Toys for Tots so kind of to close out I just  wanted to let you know I can't wait for my year   as Miss Seline and I am so grateful to have this  position in our community So yeah thank you for   having me do any of you have any questions well  just when you thought that the interview part was   over we're gonna give you a few more questions  from the board possibly but I just have a very   simple one now I'm a royal royalty Watcher  so my question is sort of religious do you   turn the light bulb or do you wash the window oh  I'm a wash

025the window wash the window thank okay   I'll write that down thank you so much anyone  from the table turn the light bulb wash the window Canan thank you for your honest answer  it was a challenging question any other   challenging questions will start at this  end because that end is you want to go first so Jennifer is is uh giving me the mic first  because I just have to brag about Miss Aaron she   super special to our family and we're so glad  that we get to spend so much time with her but   the one thing that I'll say about Aaron is that  she is extremely humble and I'm super um proud of   her for the way that she handles herself with her  peers and in the community and she doesn't do it   in a way that's

026bragging or asking for credit  she gives credit to those around her and she   raises other people um just by being there um and  I'm I think that that's a quality that is often   lost on our youth and I see it in Aaron as she  interacts with the little girls at twirl or uh   with her peers in the student section um although  I know you're usually with the band but when you   are with the student section um but I just I find  that um inspiring and I'm just really proud of you   and I can't wait to see what you do next here  thank congratulations thank you so to dovetail   on on Jenny's comment um my question is about  little girls because one of the things that I   like the best about this school district is how

027um  I I get to see how our secondary students really   Embrace um our little hornets and so my question  for you is I feel like I'm interviewing you on   stage at summer my question for you is is what  would you tell those little girls if when you go   to Woodland Meadows tomorrow or you're at Pleasant  Ridge or Heritage or harvest what would you tell   them about being as a big Hornet what advice would  you give them for um being a good Community member   and Selen area school student yeah I would  definitely tell all of them to go into every   Endeavor that you face with a lot of confidence  I know that was huge for me in participating in   melline I kind of had my doubts at the beginning  I didn't really want to speak on

028stage it made me   a little nervous but I felt like I had to do it  and go into it with a lot of confidence and that   definitely helped me and I know it would have  helped me when I was younger throughout middle   school and going into high school it's pretty  scary so having that confidence is definitely   something that can really help you out thank you  very good job thank you trusty EA congratulations   thank you um so I you had mentioned um I think  you said your court is that way you yeah um and   said that they helped you out um I think that's  great um I'm wondering what kind of other things   um that you all do as a team um I I think it's a  great leader leadership opportunity for everyone   right who participated

029and giving you a leadership  opportunity as well so just interested to see what   you all are able to accomplish together yeah so  we've actually out of those events that I listed   I think I said seven or eight of them they've  been with me for probably six of them so it's   really amazing to have those girls by my side  they're both in my grade and we're all really   good friends so it's a lot of fun to do those  things together and have this opportunity to be   leaders in the community together so throughout  the year during our toys for toss drive at the   Main Street trunker treat we're going to  be doing almost all of that together thank you all right uh first of all I want to  applaud your dedication and commitment   to community service and

030Outreach right I think  that that's a really commendable thing to to do   and it's a really good way to reflect you know to  to demonstrate like your character and obviously   Jenny spoke it to that big time which he didn't  speak to I will tell you is how much better in   photos of the king she made him so right for  those who don't know Drew Miller was the king   and Aaron was the queen at homecoming so um but  I just want to applaud your commitment to that   to to community service I want to thank you for  your commitment to Seline as a whole thank you   thank you something to add mat yeah I don't have  a question but I just want to say thank you for   presenting and I didn't know all this stuff about  missen

031and how involved missen is in the community   and that's super cool and that's super cool that  you said the tlets is that what yeah works with   interviewing and stuff like that that's that's  a very cool thing and yeah that's what I want   to say yeah yeah thank you so much thank you all  right well oh you don't have to say anything too   no but I'm I'm really impressed with how active  you are I see your picture everywhere um and then   I sitting there at the band performance last  night here oh my she's that too so yeah you're everywhere well thank you very much  for for sharing this evening and   we wish you all the best and the what  did you say this was day 56 59 59 but   not that you're counting all well thank 

032you so much thank you guys so much thank [Applause] you got yourct we are going to shift gears to public  hearing number two of from the cab um there   I said it cab and I would like to uh just  hand it over now the meeting will be yours   uh Cameron cockman to to do uh the next uh  steps introductions Etc thank you all right   thank you Dr McVey last meeting we F followed  uh a professional public speaker from the high   school and this meeting we're following s  royalty so we're going to do our best um   good evening everybody and thank you again  for the opportunity to speak today my name   is Cameron Cochran the proud assistant principal  at Heritage School um also the district co-chair   for this cycle of The sexet Advisory Board  um this

033cycle was formed this summer after   an application and selection process so at  the last board meeting um Kristen Hoffman   Peer who is the other co-chair and I um gave  an introduction on The sexed Advisory board if   you're looking for more information on what the  cab is um and its members I would encourage you   to check out the recording of the last meeting  on the district website this evening we will   be focusing on the second public hearing of the  body safety training from the Wasa area Council   for children uh the wac is an organization that  has a longstanding standing partnership with the   district um and has been involved in schools uh  insuline for things like cyber safety and other   um presentations um the cab unanimously voted  recently to move the body safety training to   public hearing

034um this is the second of two public  hearings for that training uh Susan Usher from the   waac will lead the presentation this evening and  afterwards Kristen Hoffman peer and I will answer   any questions that the board has or do our best to  answer those what questions we can't answer we'll   plan to answer at the next meeting um before the  board votes on whether or not they'll approve um   lastly there is been a Google form sent out to  families in the district through building wide   Communications um we will plan to address  any questions that come from uh that form   at the next meeting as well so far there haven't  been very many questions but we look forward to   again reviewing those so without further Ado I'll  pass it over to miss Usher for her presentation thank

035you I'm back also proud of Aaron yes yeah so my other role I'm the office manager  and I'm one of the body safety facilitators at WCC   one of my passions and following my education um  also very involved obviously with Seline with the   Selen tlets and Aaron and uh being her coach  and working with the marching band and we've   even talked about body safety I've talked about  it with Aaron and how important it is and kind   of building you know I work primarily with young  ladies but how important it is and we've talked   about it even in class so the importance and what  the relevance would be and what what the relevance   would be to these CH children here so I'm just  going to work through our presentation again and   hopefully answer any questions that you

036may have  um Washington area Council for children we are the   designated child abuse Agency for Washington  County through the children's trust Michigan   and this is our mission statement and all of our  programs and our education programs for children   and adults all Focus around that primary mission  of eliminating we'd love to eliminate child abuse   and child Mal treatment when you look at our uh  programs we kind of look at keeping kids safe for   a lifetime so if you look at this Continuum we  have a safe sleep program and safe baby program   that we try to educate mothers and families about  keeping babies safe then going into kind of the   next stage of Life of our body safety program and  targeting those most vulnerable children and then   uh looking at middle schools our cyber safety  and our

037peer mentoring anti billing programs and   then our C cyber safety and mental wellness and  resilience for high schoolers uh Robin baton is   here she's our program manager she's worked with  Miss Washington many for many years Mr raft uh so   we're already in your schools we're already  doing the Cyber safety and we are the prime   component for that education so this would just  be another extension a our body safety program   it is an evidence-based program for children ages  3 to 7 kind of compiled some data and from 20 22   to 23 96.6 of teachers and parents that have  went through the program have said that they   feel like there is a demonstrated knowledge  about personal body safety personal safety   and communication skills we uh currently are in  Ipsy Public Schools Manchester an arbor milin   we're in

038many Head Starts many preschools uh  and actually like Teddy Bear Preschool we did a   train the trainer so then we train their staff and  they make that part of their curriculum under our   guidance we have serviced this year like the 2022  all the way to this current time we have serviced   4,096 children and we hope to have more obviously  if we add Seline on that would be many more to the   numbers of reaching those children also we've  reached 299 adults that have been there when   we presented the body safety program so I think  that shows our commitment to the community is a   free program and it's under the direction of the  program was adopted from Dr Sally wartell who's   a sex ed um educator and expert in the business  as you can see that BST

039empowers children with   knowledge about general safety principles so they  have the strategies to keep their body safe we're   also trying to teach children how to recognize  how to respond and how to report inappropriate   behavior so we really focus on the three Arts to  recognize to respond and to report why do we teach   BST 20% of children who report sexual abuse are  under the age of eight and those are the children   that report 91% of children that are victimized  of of child sexual abuse the perpetrators are by   someone they know a trusted adult trusted adult  and that is covered in our scenarios of when we   go through our scenarios of the okay to touch  or not okay to touch you know we talk about   that that it it's not always someone you don't  know it could

040be someone you do know someone   you love very much you know why do we teach BST  continue as the health consequences of the child   sexual abuse that can continue not from only their  young age but all the way through adulthood their   physical health the mental health affects the  behavioral health you know we know that trauma   of sexual sex ual abuse just doesn't go away it  can continue through a lifespan how do we teach   BST we come into the classroom so it is based on  uh 10 lessons with 15 to 20 minutes sessions for   two weeks and we can adapt that according to  the school and the school needs but we do it   in the small group settings so we can build that  rapport with the student in the classroom and have   the just the short

041time for the stories and the  vignette so the kids can grasp the concepts the   process that we do is uh we would coordinate  Christine is our body safety facilitator we   coordinate with the school administration whoever  the contact would be at that school we set up the   lesson times and dates according to what works  for each school we inform the teacher we do have   a letter that educates parents that is given  out to every parent and it does have an opt   out Choice then we teach while encourages adults  to join in if they like to join us we encourage   that so that they can continue that training at  home and then of course at the end we provide a   survey so that we can you know see what the  reactions are of students and teachers and

042parents now uh week L week one lessons and these  are just a little sampling of our lessons because   the cards there's 86 cards so obviously we I don't  think you want me to go through all those today so   um just a little sampling so you get an idea  of how the lessons are taught the very first   lesson is I'm the boss of my body we really want  to empower kids that they are the boss of their   bodies and what their bodies are um then we go  into poison fire and gun safety kind of some   general safety principles so like this card is um  chemicals and poisons we talk about Don't touch   don't eat Don't drink don't play with and we kind  of review those over and over the third lesson   goes into being home alone

043or lost so sometimes  we need to be home alone when our parents can't   be there what do we do and we talk about being  lost if we were lost at the fair if we lost at a   football game you know what do we do so the first  week all is premises on uh general safety rules   like car and Street safety we go into playing  outside you know try to play with a friend make   sure Mom and Dad know where you're going where  you're at and we talk about stranger safety we   talk about we don't want you to be scared of  strangers but we want you to know what to do if   you encounter someone you don't know who would be  a stranger and there's different vignettes on that   about giving r guides or giving candy

044or giving  you a gift and then as we look into um lesson six   we go into private parts and it's very important  that we talk about uh real names for private parts   we talk about body awareness we feel like it's  important because um you know it supports the   health of children and it supports their safety  conversations about body parts lay the foundation   for understanding consent and sexual misconduct  so it's very important that we teach the real Nam   so that if something would be wrong or if there  would be an incident of child abuse that they can   report that and also so they can report that to  the doctor if something would be wrong with their   private parts so un like lesson six we talk about  in this picture this boy has a penis this girl

045has   a vagina and breast on our backside everyone has  a bottom or buttock we talk about everyone has   private parts and everyone has a right to keep  them safe and keep keep them private they're   yours nobody else's and they're special and you  have a right to keep them special we talk about   where is this little boy and girl what does it  look like they're doing they're going swimming   right they're going to the beach right and we  cover our private parts but where we cover our   bathing suits or where we cover where we wear  our underwear we keep them covered to keep them   private and then we talk about times when it's  okay when someone may need to touch your private   parts and times when it's not okay so this story  uh 25 is this mommy

046is changing the baby's diaper   the Mommy needs to touch the baby's private parts  that's okay can the baby change himself no that's   silly right the baby can't change himself so the  baby needs help getting clean we talk about this   is a first grader and he's taking his bath and  Dad may need to help him get his private parts   clean because we do need to keep our private parts  clean that might be a time when it's okay and if   you can do it yourself if you can get your private  parts clean you can say no thank you I I can do it   myself and then the next card talks about going to  the doctor where if you're sick or you're hurt or   your private parts are hurting or itching you the  doctor or nurse may need

047to look at your private   parts but mom or dad or your grown-up will be  there to give the doctor or nurse permission so   those really are the thing those three are the  main premises of when it's okay for someone to   touch your private parts if you're sick if you're  hurt or if you need help getting clean and those   are the only times when it's okay so then we  talk about the body safety Rule and I tell the   kids this is the most important rule you're to  learn of all the rules we've gone over the body   safety rule is it's not okay for anybody to touch  or look at my private parts or ask me to touch or   look at your private parts so we talk about the  body safety rule we repeat it we say

048this is the   most important rule you're going to learn and then  we say what if someone does try to break your body   safety rule what do we do we're trying to give  them the tools so they know what to do if there   is an appropriate touching or inappropriateness  so we say we're going to say no we're going to   go and we tell and we really try to get the kids  to say what other ways could we say no trying to   get them to come up with I don't like that you're  breaking my body safety rule stop that and we say   that's not that's a time when you do not have  to use your manners you say no we kind of say   it loudly in class so they know it's very you can  be a various

049assertive um you can go you get away   from that person we talk about different ways  to get away you know if you're a young person   you can't just leave you know you can go on the  other side of the room you can leave the couch   you can go find Grandma you can go upstairs to  get away from that person that may be breaking   your body safety Rule and you can tell we talk  about who could you tell and we try to get the   kids to recite you know Mom Dad Grandma Auntie  uh teachers bus drivers we try to get them to   tell who are those people safe people that they  can tell because we want that person to stop   breaking their body safety Rule and this next is  a scenario so that you understand oh

050I forgot this   one didn't I sorry I'm skipping along um next is  uh who and what so we try to get them to say who   broke your body safety Rule and what did they do  exactly so we're trying to get them to remember   as many details their name if they can what they  were wearing where they were at um and what what   did they exactly do so that's why it's important  for them to know the real names of their private   parts what exactly happened there's been many  court cases where judges can't um you know can't   decide if a child really knew they say there's  this worst case when I first started doing body   safety there was the worst case of child sexual  abuse in Indiana where the little girl said he   put it in my

051pocketbook and the judge could not  decipher if she really knew what the pocketbook   B was so we're letting people um you know get  away with these crimes because we need to educate   children so that they really know so people  take us serious take these children serious so   now I'm going to move on to my scenario thank you  Christine so this is one of our um scenarios and   there's um several of these but this is just one  that we selected that we feel like Embraces what   we're really trying to teach so this is Ricky and  this is his big brother and his mom and sometimes   uh Ricky has to have a babysitter CU his mom is  still at work and his brother's at basketball   practice and his mom says Ricky you need to listen  to the

052babysitter of course we want to listen to   the babysitter we need to follow mom's rules and  so Ricky is playing with his babysitter Nancy and   they're playing games and having a great time and  then it's time to run his bath so she does but   then when Rick's taking a bath Nancy comes in and  says Ricky if you let me wash your private parts   and touch your private parts I'll let you stay  up late and watch a movie but we must keep this   a secret so what should Ricky do I'm really trying  to get the children to say try to get them to say   what should what should he do first he should say  no and then we show them the card yes that's right   he says no and then what's our next step go so 

053what can Ricky do he's there with a babysitter and   so we try to get them to think and think of um you  know Solutions so he went to his room you're right   great he went to his room and he shut the door and  he waited for his mom to get home then later that   night when he was on the couch he was thinking  about what happened and should he tell his mom   what happened yes he should tell his mom and what  should he tell his mom and we try to get them to   say like Nancy and she came in and she promised  me something and that's a part of the grooming   process and many of our vignettes talk about that  about the grooming process and promising something   special and she said that keep a secret

054and uh  that's one of our um you know rules we talk about   is we don't keep secrets about private parts we  keep secrets about gifts for our teacher or our   dad we don't keep secrets about private parts so  that's your clue that's not okay and so then we   always and um that his mom gave him a hug and  was so proud of him for telling and that no   matter what happens or if someone tricks you into  breaking your body safety rule that it's never the   child's fault you didn't do anything wrong so  we always want to end on a positive note and so   that's kind of um you know that's a summary of our  program we try to reinforce you know and build on   it by the different vignettes and build from day  to day

055and we always end with um I'm the boss of   your body so I'm going to end with that again  today so if everyone put your thumbs up please   and please repeat after me I'm the boss of my body  I'm the boss of my from the top of my head the top   of my head to the tip of my toes my to and and  everything in between thank you thank you very much all right so again I just wanted to say  thank you to the Washington area Council for   children specifically Susan Robin and Christine  for all their work to support us in preparing for   this uh presentation um we did want to address  a couple of the questions that came up from the   board um at the last meeting that we didn't  have a chance to

056to discuss um one was from   trusty Miller just about the um Effectiveness data  of these programs that have been used in different   districts and different um areas of Wasing County  um and so the WC was able to provide us with some   of that data yeah and I think Susan kind of uh  put it into the presentation early too to let   us know the feedback yeah so she I was I was  noting that that was there and I was like did   I miss that before or is that new this time so  she did but if you want to reiterate it every um   so yeah so you know almost 97% of parents and  teachers in a post survey um strongly agreed   that student participants have demonstrated  knowledge of personal body safety personal   safety and communication skills um

057and that  was from headstarts preschools and elementary   schools in ipsan and Arbor in Manchester the other  clarification that we wanted to make that we heard   both at the dis here and in the few responses  that we've received from the community is um   talking about how to address gendered language  within the presentations and um the I think one   thing that was misconstrued when I spoke last  time about this when trusty Miller asked about   it is that the the language is tailorable for the  specific classroom so in the event that there is a   child who is not cisgender who may be non-binary  or transgender or um differently gendered than   a typical cisgender student the the material is  adjusted in order to serve the needs of the people   in the classroom um most of the time it will

058be  boys have a penis and girls have a vagina because   that is where the kids are developmentally and  that is what that group needs it can be changed   to kids have a penis or kids have a vagina for  the classrooms that need that so it is really   highly tailorable for those things and it's a  very small portion of the process through these   10 lessons that talks specifically about parts and  anatomy and things like that so I hope that is um   clarifying for the seven of you as well as um for  the community who has been paying attention to it thanks are there question I'm I do have a  question as well but if there are any other   questions from the board to add down to the the  vast pile of questions uh we have two

059questions   on this side and two on this side so I'll start  with Mr Treasurer gerby I guess the only thing   that I've thought about in the last two weeks that  I would like to to know is that about our staff   Readiness you know this is going to be three  you know age three to seven so those are our   elementary teachers we even have our principal in  the room right um can you speak to that like have   they been discussed with this program have they  had input on it that kind of thing and then I   would like to know about just their Readiness and  their will you know comfort with it and training   and those kinds of things to support them yeah  I think that's a great question and something   that that needs to be considered

060um in short  staff has not been made aware of the program   explicitly that this would be an expectation of  of hosting in their classroom so to speak building   administrators are aware um of this program um  it's important to know note that the wacc will   be coming in to facilitate the conversations and  to lead the presentations and so that teachers   would be there to to help and kind of assist with  that um with both like classroom management and   also um just encouraging conversations at home  with a trusted adult if it you know gets to the   point where it would be a question that they  wouldn't be able to answer um but I have full   faith in our building administrators to you know  have those conversations in their buildings with   teachers to make sure that teachers are

061prepared  and feeling comfortable with um helping facilitate   those questions yeah good question and I would  add to the teachers know uh the process for   mandated reporting and that is something that  can be refreshed easily in an email to just say   reminder here's the thing so yeah um I noticed a  slide early on I think it was number two uh one   of the u u poison containers was at a Spanish  label it made me wonder whether you have staff   Susan or Christine who work with Ells English  language Learners to do the same program I don't   know go we do not but we do have our literature  that can be translated but we can give that out   to parents so that was just this these cards are  generally across the us then and all right thank   you

062that was perfect and that did remind me of one  other thing so there is a copy of all of the the   cards that will be used in classrooms available  today um that's over at um Betty's desk for any   uh Community member that would like to review  those um that's also going to be available to   families in buildings um if and when the program  is approved um so that they can make an informed   decision on whether or not they want their  families to participate thank you working   down the table um my quick question and I know  you're waiting for more Community feedback on   the Google survey um have you noticed any themes  that have emerged so far um well so far we've had   12 responses so um it's a very very small sample  but um with

063the exception of uh one 11 of the 12   are very supportive and um really looking forward  to the program coming um the big question that has   emerged um out of those 12 respondents is is  this an every year um lesson that occurs and   builds as the kids grow and um or is this going  to be every other year and the recommendation   of wac is that it is done every year because  kids grow and kids learn best with repetition so so um I guess I I you brought up the point  about um not using um gender versus sex language   and that it is can be tailored um but I think  it's hard to for teacher to be able to necessarily   identify that for a child right um if the child's  not out um or you know

064maybe not ready to come out   and have these different views of what boy girl  um is so I'm very disappointed to hear that it'll   be per um indivisual bases um to talk about body  with a penis body with a vagina um versus I mean   yeah that she's gonna come up and talk but one  thing we talked about in our office uh um you   know on the card it does say boy girl but we can  generalize that by saying you know you know what   your body parts are in this picture this boy  has a penis this girl has a vagina but you know   what your body parts are and your body parts  are private and then we keep going with that scenario yeah I just want to make sure that it's  on inclusive um insuline schools

065if that's what   you know our policies um are geared towards we  have a transgender non-binary students policy   um and that's one of our goals um specifically  through um cab that has been brought up through   surveys and everything of being inclusive at  lgbtq um so I you know I want to make sure   that there isn't confusion for children who who  may be a girl and have a penis um and just to to   make sure when we're talking about those correct  words that that is very clear and um inclusive   as can be yeah I totally um understand and agree  with you Susan I think that the um sorry trustee   step um I think that the the amount of time that  is spent on Anatomy is very very small out of   the whole thing and the goal is

066to learn the word  and then to be able to apply that knowledge into   situations where they get to have the power to be  the boss of their own bodies and um so the the I I   hear you when there are kids that may not be out  may be questioning all of those different things   and um the the goal is the safety portion and the  anatomy really doesn't come until um grade four   and um that the goal is always to be as inclusive  as possible and um we have to do our best to get   the message of safety and um personal power out  first that's the goal so thanks well it's not   one or the other uh just to be clear um so it's  only fourth grade that we talk about body parts   is that so

067fourth grade is the first year that  students in Seline are um have access to formal   sex education yeah which isn't inclusive either  right now currently yeah okay but yeah you're talk   regardless if it's a small portion it's something  we need to be aware of and whoever comes into the   schools to be thinking about that actively I  appreciate that and I I appreciate uh Susan's   clarification I think that's an important um you  know kind of verbiage for that and also partly a   conversation that we we'll have with building  administrators and share that with families I'm just again want to thank you for doing this  I think it's really important um I want to um   reiterate what trusty gerby said about uh staff  being ready the social workers because uh as I'm   sure anyone who does this

068work knows sometimes  when you least expect it in the most unusual of   ways uh someone trusts you enough to disclose to  you and uh unless you're really ready for that   that it's difficult so I think that's going to  be important and I trust that the professionals   here will know how to do it on a lighter note  I just almost burst out laughing today at my   other job I just have to tell the story for the  impact of this work and this is not the first   time it's happened but it was just funny that it  was happening today when I had a presentation so   I had to give immunizations as I often do and my  little patient was like but it's my body I'm the   boss of my body and we really tried for like 20 

069minutes I was 20 minutes behind cuz we tried to   get there in a way where they could be the boss  of their body and their body could get protected   from measles without anyone invading their body  space but it didn't work and I just like it was   just funny I was like obviously that message is  getting through but a plea from a pediatrician if   you could change the materials to you're the  boss of your body but your parents know when   you need your immunizations and your doctor  but no I think it really highlights how much   this really you know sinks into the kids brains  and I'm happy for it even when I'm sad about it oh please so I want to think you guys answered  my questions throughout the thing um earlier and   then but I

070also wanted to say thanks for putting  in there that you encouraged parents to come to   it to kind of learn learn as well so they can  kind of further do the um work at home I think   wacc does such a wonderful job in creating that  partnership with school and family because it   is so important for kids to have consistency  especially with things like safety that we're   all using the same language and so I really  applaud wac for their work in all arenas of   a kid's life it's really great I was just going  to say as a as a former classroom teacher one of   the things that I would tell my students is that  my number one job is their safety and and uh and   I know that we often think about our number  one jobs

071being to educate our kids and while   that is very very important um especially over  the course of my career safety has been at the   Forefront of my mind and um I just appreciate the  work that um WC and the cab are doing to provide   this opportunity for our kids to be um that much  more aware so that they can be that much more safe oh yes go ahead oh okay um so this might be  further exploring but um in a question for   if you all offer um something like this but  um we're talking about body safety um based   on you know educating around um sexual assault  sexual violence um and I'm wearing purple today   um for domestic violence awareness month  and um I'm just curious with um because   you all you know do um education

072on child  abuse um if that's a component um like the   child abuse or you know being part of Dem  like domestic violence witnessing that is   that something that you all cover within  the body safety or other programs that you   extend not in body safety directly but then  our next extension our program is called we oh sorry thank you sorry so our next program  is called Weare and that's for fourth through   sixth grade and that kind of Builds on the  body safety more about healthy relationships   so that goes into that a little bit more and  then obviously cyber safety it talks a little   bit more about because we go into the sextings  extortion sharing personal information but not   directly um I would say domestic violence but the  weekare program is our next um program that would  

073hit the fourth through sixth grade okay thanks  one more one more question um do you all send   resources home to to families we can okay and  we've had um many times we've had different   conversations like if they want call in if our  parent wants to call in we provide our number   they can talk to Christine talk to Robin talk to  myself um and provide some different resources   and different books and different articles to  help support what we're doing um and on your   comment about you know transgender and looking at  that population you know the statistics do show   that that is a higher risk of sexual abuse so I  think it's even more important that we're you know   getting that information to them thank you well  thank you very much uh oh oh sorry Christine yes

074please sorry I just want to add one more thing um  as part of the resource that goes home um as part   of one of my grant requirements I've actually  fully developed a brochure that goes into more   statistics on why we need this conversation  but also how to have it for parents so it's   a way to make parents feel validated like yeah  this feels weird it feels a little icky but we   can do it and as young as three we know that  they can understand it and it's not scary it's   us adults who make it feel icky and scary so  I do have a brochure that I've made and we are   really close to getting it ready for printing  it'll be available and I plan to send it home   with the introduction optout letter so there

075is a  nice bundle package that will be coming if we get   approved awesome and that that'll give opportunity  for those who maybe opt out of it to have those   resources to have that conversation too nice job  well thank you very much to Christin and Robin   who had to leave and uh Susan and Christen Hoffman  p and Cam Cameron thank you very much uh we will   probably see you at the next board meeting I think  that's three weeks from tonight and at which time we'll the next board meeting uh because I think  there's an extra week this month but uh we'll   see you um at the next board meeting and we  will probably put that to a vote 24th right   okay so I was thinking ah head to November oh  my gosh thank you so much

076I appreciate your   time there's also some um committee members here  that um showed up and support so thank you for coming great thank you very much yeah  no I was a whole a whole month ahead um that would have been scary okay I would  like to entertain a motion to approve the   minutes from our September 26 2023 Clos session  for the purpose of superintendent evaluation   section 8A under the open meetings act I'm  or I can move that to another part of the agenda right Mr Clary you are on I'd  like to entertain a motion to approve   the recommendation submitted by director of  operations Rex Clary to useo planners to act   as Cen area schools owners representative for  the new hornet Operation Center for the amount   not to exceed [Music] $16,990 do I have a  motion

077I'll make it gerby gerby thank you   H second I'll second it uh Tim Austin thank  you very much what can you tell us about this fascinating um so loli planners has worked with  the district uh for the last since 2019 uh just   before Co we started the carpet project at um  Woodland metals and Heritage um we also used   an architect for those drawings um they've done  about $5 million worth of construction with us   as an owner's rep just much smaller projects  right now they're currently finishing up the   HVAC controls at the high school we're halfway  through the roof at Pleasant Ridge um I believe   it's a coste effective way to use an owner's  rep and a smaller or architectural firm or an   engineer a mechanical engineer um it gives us  a lot more control and

078a lot more feedack back   between the two um as you saw in his presentation  uh or his his proposal uh 12 hours a week that's   just what takes him 12 hours would take me 20  hours and those are 20 hours that I don't have   and I don't have the expertise in construction  from building from starting from ground up and   building a new building um it's a not to exceed  amount uh Mark has been working with us as far   as the bids we're at bid pack number three now  we be bringing bid pack number four four out on   the streets here shortly um AR brow's done a  great job of bidding um and getting bids but   working with schools and our regulations and  the way we have to do things is a little bit   different than

079doing our commercial bidding  and how we award bids and and um proposals to   to contractors um so AR Brower has learned a  lot from Mark as well um even with the added   amount it still keeps us under the budget for the  architect in CM for this project and we are still   trending under budget um we'll be bringing  that bid pack to you to the next meeting we   will still be substantially under budget  at this time even with this added amount   for the owner's rep representative well thank  you for that under budget Trend are there any   questions from others on the board before we  put it to a vote hearing no questions all in   favor please say I I opposed no so thank  you very much sir thank you now I'd like   to entertain a motion

080to approve the minutes  from the 20 September 26 closed session for the   purpose of superintendent evaluation AA under  the open meetings act so move steon JS support from Mr gerby thank you for those of you who  are new or attending from AP Government oh   got your attention at this point we  are reviewing the quietly reviewing   the minutes from a closed session  that was not open to the public   that's why we're not talking for the next  minute or so we'll put it to a vote thank you are we all set secretary Miller we are thank  you uh all in favor please say I I I opposed   say nay right thank you we have another set  of minutes which if you want extra credit you   should note that you keep these for one year  and then shred

081them thank you um we now have   two discussion items the first we go to uh the  chair of the finance committee uh treasurer Brad   gerby all right uh fortunate to meet with the  team today and uh we had five things that were   on our agenda I'll try to cover them quickly uh  we talked about student count right student count   is is on our minds and uh the reality for us is  that we did have count day um it takes us about   30 days to figure out how FTE work so we count our  students but some of our students are students in   different kinds of programs whether that's all  Ed whether that's there at um emu for you know   like we have different types of things so FTE is  how we capture funding and so we

082need about 30   days to kind of figure out some of the Blended  things that come along with that um also qu we   blend our count with previous um student counts  so anyway long story short um we'll have a more   solid number we're trending in that down 90ish  range which is um with it's it's it's more than   the 68 we initially um said we were going to be  but we're in the ballpark and like I said let us   do the work with the FTE and figuring all that  out and then give you more of a concrete thing   and we anticipate being all do that soon uh so  that was the first thing uh the financial audit   so we have been undergoing the financial audit I  am sure that our esteemed Miranda Aly is happy to   see

083that coming pretty much to a close here and  it's continu but plant Moran is going to visit   the board in November so we should plan for in  November that plant Moran will come to us with   their um recommendations and things that they are  seeing so but we should plan for that visit in   November so please put that on the agenda Michael  for our meeting consider it put thank you um we   continued our discussion and work and guys this is  going to be something that this finance committee   and the next finance committee is really going to  have to work with about restructuring um there is   some structural things that we are going to have  to address with regards to uh not Co coid funds   not being able to to support us in the way that  they

084have in the last couple of years and so we're   going to have to have some some things on that  and uh we're coming together with possibilities   and goals I really appreciate the work of our  superintendent I really appreciate the work   of his team to talk about these things they are  meeting in groups to to come up with what are some   possibilities what are some goals what are some  so that we as a team can say okay and talk to our   community about if we had to make some difficult  decisions and they're all difficult decisions   which ones are the ones we you know support and  want to and want to you know really get behind   so um that is the work of the team right now but  it's going to be the work of the team

085for a while   that's just my that is my belief and uh anyway  um we may in January or February come back with   a financial budget amendment I would anticipate  that that uh that that is a probability at some   point so I would anticipate that early in the year  January February and I will also say that as a as   a finance team one of the conversations that we're  going to have to have quite frankly is because of   we may you know a loss of 90 students potentially  and some structural things we might need to have   some conversation as a finance team and then as a  board team about where do we want to go with our   you know our our goals with regards to our fund  Mounds right and and where where do we want to  

086be on that I mean that's something that is just a  a fact folks and uh and how do we do that and how   what is our comfort level with it and all of that  so um so I that that is a discussion that I think   we should be preparing ourselves for and the last  thing I'm so proud to show off is um our uh new   um head of Communications Jacqueline Martin with  uh Ben and with with uh you said Robin Schmidt   put together an incredible resource and I want to  show this off to our community okay so um from our   board page can you go to our board page Ben so if  you click on the compass I think it takes us there right yeah it goes to the homepage so if you  look at

087the very top of the page you're going   to see where it says Bond updates and then what  is listed here under Bond updates and I'll tell   you I haven't had a great chance to look at all of  this but I'm impressed as heck with it is if you   scroll down you're going to see here is Harvest  update and Pleasant Ridge and etc etc so these are   all things that are in the works with our bond and  then if you scroll down even further you're going   to start to get some timeline stuff so if you're  wondering okay what do we what are we trying to   accomplish well you know this past summer right  you probably saw us on the roofs at Harvest right   so that was there was the roof completion and  some HVAC stuff you

088saw the groundbreaking in   the fall that we had a couple of weeks ago  with the Operation Center and so this would   give anybody who's out there wondering hey how you  spending that money that the you know community so   graciously approved this is it this is our plans  Etc now we might have to make some changes as we   go for example a couple years ago we made a shift  with roofs right and when we did our Roofing and   when we did um some other things with regards  to you remember we had we had plywood and lumber   prices going through the roof right so literally  and so we like had to make some adjustments to say   this isn't the best time for that so that's there  it's a timeline it's something we're trying to do   but at

089the same time we also want to be good  stewards of our finances and our money and I   appreciate you know Mr Clary saying we're coming  in under budget like we are using things like you   know the company we just you know employed right  lle to to try to be good stewards of our planning   and of our doing these things and if anybody  wants to speak to me and say I'm not phrasing   that correctly but I think we are so um thank you  for the time and that's all I have unless you guys   have questions no I am looking forward into the  the Deep dive could you clarify one thing when   you you talked about discomfort around the fund  balance meaning meaning it probably goes down more   than it goes up well we've been hovering over

0905%  for a long time we oh we certainly have we are so   what what's what's an uncomfortable down for you  I I I that is a conversation that I think I'd like   to have with the finance team it's a conversation  I'd like to have with the superintendent and then   maybe open that up as we you know because um quite  frankly like that might be a different number for   me than it is for the team might be a different  number for for what's Mr you know Dr lot says is   feasible just a point of clarification we have  not been hovering around 5% for no we not we're   not even close right now well not for the last two  years but prior to that prior to no we're like 20   19.5 Steve has the stats from the

091the we all have  the stats yeah I've seen I seen the stats we're   way about five now I understand that corre we were  hovering right around five and that is like we   don't ever want to be back there I'm just going to  say that right now correct so I guess I was just   wondering what our new Comfort number is I mean  there something we ask all the time whenever Brian   Marcel comes down here and others are talking  about numbers do you have a a comfort not yet okay   thank you I would like to have that conversation  as a team and then I would like to present that   to to all of us as a as a conversation piece too  because like I said I want his input I want input   from you know like I

092trust me I I I look good  because Miranda makes our team look outstanding   right so I I I okay I'm not ready to answer your  question I appreciate that thank you very much   uh any other questions from others I I'd like to  know so if we have clarifications on the timeline   that just went up on that website who should  we go to Rex or okay all right I'll talk to you later and she's been an outstanding resource for  us so thank you could I add on pile on to the   Jackie Martin uh parade here I visited the website  again I've been I'm a regular visitor to our main   main page and I was just so happy to see some new  pictures up there and you know in those kids who   were holding up the the

093compass flag in front of  the Alaska train they're probably in their 30s   now I don't but probably not but you know what I  mean it's been it's they've been up for a while so   thank you so much for for re refreshing the page  I appreciate it thank you I'm now going to turn   it over to uh discussion of policy 5113 School of  Choice program interdistrict uh this is our first   reading of a modification an amendment sorry to  the existing uh policy and uh Jenny Miller our   policy chair will facilitate this uh so this is  just um an amendment to policy 5113 um and the   history basically is that um several years ago  we transitioned from our policies being housed   or booked I guess uh by masb and when we moved  over to niola the board

094at that time um had had   a process where they went through the policies  and they went through what was um masb policy   that they wanted to bring over to our to our  migration and then also they looked at the Neola   policies the current Neola policies and selected  the ones that that fit our district and created   our new um electronic I guess binder and and so  there's been some some shifts that have happened   when that shift happened any um any policies that  were not included in that migration were rescinded   by that board and it was done not as um not as a  table going through each policy but as a policy   committee recommendation to the board and then  um and then doing that in doing that um it's been   brought to our attention that our policy

0955113  uh did not have a portion of a policy that was   with um masb and that is to have some specific um  specifics around the number of students that are   considered for school of of choice enrollment  and this has been historically uh the case um   that this that that our um our numbers have  historically been around 10% but as numbers   have numbers as a whole enrollment numbers as a  whole have fluctuated up or down um it has been   a little Plus or a little minus um to that uh  percentage point so it is our goal at this time   in um in the district to remain as it has been  historically since School of Choice was brought   to S which which was during my tenure as a teacher  here uh to remain um approximately um 10%

096which is   difficult when we're accepting students in the  spring because we don't have the count for the   for the following year so there needs to be that  kind of approximately number in there so that we   know that that's our goal but that it could um  vary depending on um enrollment numbers and as   we know Brad just talked about the count being in  October and then again a um February and there's   a blended count and all of those pieces so we've  we went back through this particular policy there   are a number of policies that speak to school  of choice but we felt that this would fit the   best in this policy um to add the amendment so  in your packet you'll see the the green that has   been added so the policy committee met um a

097couple  of weeks ago and we met with Dr lotch and we felt   like this was a good addition to this policy and  that it could serve as a guide beyond all of our   tenure you're here so that even though this has  been historic we've had some changes on the board   and changes in central office and so this would  then ensure that it continues Beyond and if we   need to change that number ever uh that that would  be again Revisited and it's not again policies are   not written in stone so if somebody wanted to in  the future bring this back to the table um anyone   can request that any policy be reviewed and um  for for potential amendments so current 10% is   our goal but if that were to ever change someone  could request that as

098soon as tomorrow for the for   the um review for review we hope it's not tomorrow  if we're pass if we're well I guess it wouldn't be   tomorrow it could be as soon as if the revision  is um accepted after a second reading um but uh   you know that's kind of where that stands so if  the 10% I know that was a a question that I've   had from a couple of people well what if we don't  want it to be 10% then we would review the policy and I think there was now I've spoken with  other board members and past board members   who have said at one point in history there is a  fear that we might open the floodgates to allow   too many outof district students here and that  was a dangerous situation financially that

099if   they could all they could possibly change  their minds their parents could pull them   from the district with ease I'm not sure even  if that's exactly the case but so I'm trying   to determine the number 10 isn't particularly a  magic number it's a pretty rough guideline then   it's it's a guideline but uh I will I will share  that in other districts where there is not a cap   or the cap is much higher um there has been um  has been and I think it's been several years   but there has been an issue where um numbers were  inflated but but uh but but didn't stay long term   those students didn't stay enrolled long term  so when the numbers when they accepted I want   to say I this is just spitballing I think it was  something like between

10040 and 60% there were two   districts in particular that opened doors and had  a much much higher percentage and those students   didn't stay long term but the district had had  adjusted for that number of students and then   when those students a num a large percentage  of those students did not stay major changes   had to happen to the FTE and to the um um to the  operations of the district to accommodate those   changes so we don't want to get ourselves into  a situation and we haven't been in a situation   where we've had to um adjust FTE or offerings  based on our School of Choice numbers thank you so so reading the U Amendment it says  the superintendent when considering School   of Choice enrollment will strive to en enroll  out of District students at approximately 10%   of

101the total student body I think that needs  to be I believe that the intent when we move   from masb to Neola was not to lose the cap  at 10% and I I think even talking to um ex   administrators and superintendents that it was  all about putting it back in there getting it   back in there then things happened Co happened  so forth so it never never made it back in there   so I don't like the vagueness of of this I I want  you know when we were having the School of Choice   um conversation back was that February or March  I can't remember when exactly I was looking for   that 10% cap and and I knew we had it so I talked  to um other board members and so forth as well we   we couldn't find it

102and uh so I voted no on it  because I knew we were we were right there and   G to possibly go over with us losing students  right now this does become a math problem and   so I think we can put a cap we're not going to  tell any of the students that are here right   now that they can't finish out I think we put a  cap on of 10% if we do go over because like you   said we sometimes don't know our student count  but if we're over like let's say 202 23 or 23   24 year like we are right now then we don't  open up the school of choice in 24 25 until   we we get back below that 10% so that would be a  consideration so it says it says here that when  

103considering School of choic enrollment it would  be to strive to keep that 10% because like this   year we're what are we Brad 30 students less than  we thought I mean we're 22 under our original Pro   and and if we were to set a hard cap even though  maybe unlikely but it is likely that we would have   an issue with uh with students who are enrolled  that we've made a promise to and we those could   put us over yes and we wouldn't tell them they  couldn't we just would not be able to accept   more students and that's what this policy says  that when not read that I don't it says when   considering when considering School of Choice  that that that the superintendent would strive   to maintain approximately uh 10% and the reason  for that approximately is

104because numbers are   not readily available when those choices are being  made in May I can clarify that so ultimately what   would happen is if the board did say we want a 10%  cap and you would do the yeah anybody who's in the   current District even though we're slightly over  10% would not get kicked out but the method would   be that next year I would figure out how many  students are graduating from school of choice   because that cycle now is in process and then we  would be able to predict based on current numbers   how many students we could take to stay under  the 10% in the 24 25 school year I mean that's   how that would play out if we had to do that so  how is it playing out now because I understood   that that's

105kind of how it was being played out  now well how what's the what's the change if we   because we're not as concerned about the you know  staying under the cap because there isn't a well   we don't have a policy specifically that says You  must stay under the cap so right now it's an it's   an appro Pro imation and we're not uh looking at  those numbers as closely as we would need to in   the future if we were trying to estimate how  many slots we actually have available versus   taking the normal amount that we've been taking  over the years which is around 60 to 70 students   each year like next year we might have to say  we can only take 38 if if that cap was in place   so that's what's different we've been generally  taking

106around 60 to 70 students without being as   concerned about going over because we know we've  been in that 10% range but if a c hard cap exists   that will be the next step to be watching those  numbers closer and to make sure that we are um   you know not going to exceed that number with our  best estimates because it is true every time that   we have less kids kids or more kids then the  number does fluctuate a bit Steve I just wanted   to follow up um one of the things and and Jenny I  appreciate your comment around um you don't know   the exact enrollment until later that year um we  also don't know the number of applicants so it   is possible that if we um don't have enough app  well not enough but if we

107don't have 60 to 70 we   won't take that so can Steve can you just follow  up with some data around how many applicants do   we usually get every year I mean it's generally  over a hundred and we don't take all the students   based on grade level availability um we still  consistently take the bulk of the students at   the kindergarten level that's generally been our  practice for the last um as long as I've been in   an administrative role that that's been the the  the the strategy so to speak and and I like that   that's absent from this um policy that that leaves  it open for um conversation each year on how many   to take and where to take knowing that we have  that historical preference for kindergarten and   I do see in the policy It also

108says the board  shall review this decision annually so this   would be something we need to make sure we put on  our operating procedures there's some other data   that people do need to know that that even if we  have let's say 120 applications and we offer up   90 slots there's a there's a traditionally around  a 60 to 70% capture rate that that some parents   are applying in multiple districts and even if  they were accepted here do not always um choose   to enroll here so we there is some guesswork in  trying to get the numbers just so everybody's aware it oh sorry I did you I guess I'm just  wondering what the downside is if we mess up   and it I mean like what U trustee Austin's concern  is like if it's 10.5% or 10.8% if we're

109giving a   general Benchmark considering all the difficulties  because it seems like if there was a sibling who   could come in and that's going to put us at 10.1%  or we it seems like with all the moving Parts our   thought as a committee was let's give a general  General amount but since we're understanding   that these are people and children and also as you  know it seems like we're worried about declining   enrollment so while I understand like let's not  take 20 or 30% School of Choice I don't really   understand what the downside would be of leaving  it a little fuzzy to give the administration a   little bit more flexibility in dealing with the  numbers I if somebody could explain to me I just   really I just I feel like this strive is is okay  that's very vague

110we can put a cap on it I mean if   10.5% one year and then the next year now it's  11% we're driving it's not too far off number   12 it's kind of like the homeowners association  that says you have to have your your brick has   to be like and then well the one person starts  out with 90% then their neighbor only does 80%   next thing you know they're only doing 10% in the  front front of their house so I think that it it   can be moving I don't see why like like Steve said  if if we're going to strive to be at 10% why can't   there should be a cap and then it it forces us to  to keep that I mean it makes us look at it and and   we I understand we're it

111we are in a declining  enrollment situation here so yes we do have um   it's not as easy I guess to say yes we're going to  take 40 students or 70 students like we did back   when we had 5200 students because we were weren't  even close to that 10% at that point in time so   that was easier to figure but I think I think the  intent um that our community worked through back   in when they did the School of Choice thing I mean  it was I was talking to Scott I mean there was a   lot of work there was a lot of conversations about  that and the 10% that they came up with I I don't   I it wasn't intended to go away so why are we okay  with it just going away I can I'll

112just respond   to that I'm I'm not saying that I'm okay with it  going away what I'm saying saying is that I think   that um this isn't um because of the uncertainty  like when you're when you're measuring a house for   your example um when you're measuring a house  that's a hard and fast but with the numbers   fluctuating with students and with the Blended  count and with a count in October and a count   in February I think giving some discretion to the  superintendent and then as as uh vice president   steban mentioned this is reviewed annually I  think that that's where that um that kind of   uh that can be reviewed because it is reviewed  annually if it does start to creep Beyond much   beyond that 10% then we then we adjust and we give  recommendations and we

113evaluate and that's kind of   where that goes I think giving some discretion to  our superintendent to make some of these choices   with our finance people and with our curriculum  people and with um our our treasure on the board   gives some flexibility in situations where if we  set a cap that is hard and fast um we lose that   opportunity to have that kind of flexibility  and I'm not I was here um and I remember the   conversations around um School of Choice when this  was coming I know it was it took many iterations   before it was finally passed um and I think that  I I give a lot of credit to the board at that time   and I think that um it has served our district  well and I I have faith that it will continue   to

114serve our district well I think that we can  look back on history and we can look back at what   the boards have done and we can take advice  from former board members and we can talk to   former superintendents But ultimately we have to  make this decision today and then hopefully this   is because of the policy this is written now in  here annual review and approximately 10% so that   it would come back to the table each year um and  I think if we're making this decision right now   about the annual review putting that discretion  into the hands of the superintendent that we've   hired to um operationalize this policy I feel  comfortable having it be have a little bit of   flexibility that's my own personal Treasurer gerby  yeah I I will jump in and say that yeah

115like you   just mentioned right like I I strongly support  the approximately language for the very reasons   that I've heard um you know we we do need some  flexibility and quite frankly you know I will tell   you that being you know being that we are going to  be going through some restructuring planning and   some of the things and presenting some things to  this to this team to this board like I think it's   prudent to us to give ourselves a little bit of  leeway so that we can do that right like we want   to offer strong programs right and so I think by  giving our superintendent some leeway it'll allows   us to do that it also allows you know as as uh  vice president stean was talking you know I talked   I thought about like sometimes we

116use School of  Choice as a mechanism to try to fill gaps in in   classes so that we can maintain not like smaller  you class sizes and some of those kinds of things   and so sometimes we need to do those things  to be prudent about our staff our needs our   buildings um those kinds of things and I think  that this language gives our superintendent and   FL I also tell you this from my perspective as a  finance person I've watched our superintendent be   really Mindful and I even asked him today in our  finance meeting about this and he was like well   you know that's about what we're taking and that's  about where we've been historically I so what I'm   saying to you is I trust that he's mindful of it I  trust that that he really is

117trying to to keep the   spirit of the law but I think we need to give him  like the abil ability to make those decisions is   what I'm saying and then the other thing I guess  I would say is this um I asked him about our some   of our neighboring districts and what they do and  please help me to make sure but um Chelsea has a   10% cap but Dexter and mil do not and I asked him  to continue if he would do some research into our   other neighbor about an arbor because I also don't  want to put us in uh right yeah I think an arbor   took theirs away they took the cap away think  okay so i' also don't can I just be in I want to   be competitive right and have that a

118little bit  of flexibility for our superintendent so anyway   I've spoken a lot but I support the approximately  Le language I just want to feel you out a little   bit Tim on the oh sorry the language I I get  where you're saying that approximately seems   squishy and open to the possibility of going  blowing past 10% I I get that um but the rest   of us are seem to be saying a little nervous about  a hard hard solid cap I get that too is there some   other terminology that would you know I don't want  to say squishy cap but some term that that might   make you feel comfortable that's between hard  cap versus approximately is there somewhere in   there that some it seems like we're we're talking  about language here because I from what I heard   the

119superintendent has worked very very difficult  very very hard at maintaining that roughly 10%   yeah I mean I think well I don't really know how  you are going to have you know hard cap and then   something in between but I I do think I guess  if the idea is to strive I mean he's going to   go through the motions already yeah if and and  so the cap is is is in essence the striving I   mean he's going to have to strive to get to the  cap right now he's not really he's striving for   10% but he doesn't you know hit it it's okay I  I I just think that the intent of the 10% was   good we lost it unended put it back in there and  yes there's going to be a little bit more work  

120on our part to to figure out do some of those  projections but that's going to have to be done anyways can I just say what  about if we said 9.5 to 10.5% but but Tim can I just clarify is is it   really a language um concern or is it  a cap versus No Cap concern just from   your perspective yeah I think it's cap  versus No Cap I mean the 10% striving is to me it's a guideline like the 10% is a  guideline and uh and I think each year Steve   gives us a report about school of choice and if if  it were out of line that would be our opportunity   I think to give corrective feedback and to say  to bring up again this goal this striving to get   there um so I I don't

121think that it's necessarily  that you know if this were to be passed tonight   that uh or you know if this were to be considered  and we're not passing it tonight this is a first   read um but if this were to be considered um  there's opportunity for corrective feedback and an   opportunity to revisit this policy and if we felt  like um you know it was not this the effort wasn't   there then then we could uh talk about reopening  this but I I don't I don't see um I I think in   the report and we're getting an annual report on  this so if we were to see that this number was   creeping towards 11 or 12 or you know can it's not  a runaway cart we're getting an annual report and   we can stop the cart from

122being a runaway and  so it sounds to me like I'm the only one who   really cares about the cap versus the strive so  I mean if that's the case then it's one against six so um I have questions I guess kind of going  off topic a little um with the cap but um I'm   interested because we talk about um you know this  low uh our enrollment and the numbers of students   are going down the funding that kind of thing so  I'm I'm kind of conflicted conflicted when this   this comes up um so um and I guess so some data  that I'm I'm would like um to have I don't know   if it's you know um before this or in the future  but um or like before we vote or whatever um but   how many students

123are we potentially retaining  well I I you know we do retain School of Choice   students and add to that but um I'm just curious  how many is it a recruitment piece right are   these families moving into the district um once  they're part of School of Choice um you know I   know we had a retreat with the city um and you  know hopefully Partnerships with townships but   um you know I think that's um just an additional  layer to kind of consider um you know um I guess   benefits as well um that we should think about  I don't know that that's just kind of what what   come to my mind and I agree with the um the appro  proximate and why we um went with that language um   because again you know we we had coid happen

124and  or you know um where uh we lost a lot of students   um out of the district um and so you know we  may get you know a ton of enrollment like in   the future and maybe want to come down on that 10%  even and you know like like you said we revisit it   annually um if we want more information on that  I think we should be able to to ask um ahead   of time um but yeah I think there's I I want to  consider multiple um facets but the approximate I support may I oh sorry um okay just one last  thing is um so so to Tim and to anyone else   on the board if you have uh suggested language  modifications to that rather than word Smith   it here at the table which is

125not really always  a healthy Place could you suggest or send those   over to the policy committee and they're going  to be meeting in two weeks and uh they can throw   that into the mill and see how it runs okay  so we have a couple of weeks that's what the   whole purpose of multiple readings is so that  we have some time to ponder and think that um   think ahead and U make uh make suggestions right  we we do have some other items on our agenda for   that meeting it's a it's already a lengthy  agenda but if there are suggestions please   send them but that might mean that we have to  delay our second reading just FYI thank you I   appreciate knowing that thank you because we made  that um that the night before the board meeting

126yeah sounds like the plane has landed thank you  very much oh it sounds like the plane has landed   so we are going to move on two uh Administration  I think this is correct yeah Administration or   board updates I'll start with Dr lutch okay I  have a few updates we were welcoming our German   students here for for our Gap Exchange program  which is the German American partnership program   and they're going to be here um doing all sorts of  great activities they're going to be visiting the   middle school tomorrow and they have presentations  to talk about what their life and schooling is   like in in Germany and so those will be in some  of the Middle School classrooms tomorrow and then   they're doing things like city tours um they're  going to U ofm Stadium they're touring zingerman  

127are going to the one room Schoolhouse so it  should it's a a great opportunity and it was   um started with well continued with Dwayne Stang  who was our former German teacher um who now has   a curriculum job across the United States he  got sort of a a bigger promotion so to speak   but Carmen chub who is our current German teacher  is continuing on with that process so we W welcome   them here to the district I also wanted to um  make note of the tremendous uh foundation for   slen area schools fundraiser where um brought  in approximately $441,000 which is quite a bit   more than the previous year which shows the  tremendous support for the foundation and the   school district there were a fair number of new  families supporting this year which we think is   great too

128because it's it's bringing in that um  I would say younger families to the district that   will be around for a longer period of time to  support our efforts uh also encouraging people   to come to the uh second part of the school and  Family Partnership series tomorrow night it's uh   strategies to support student wellness it's at the  high school in the media center from 6:00 to 7:   and it's going to be really looking at uh social  media in digital devices with d Dr Jenny radeski   from the University of Michigan and Robin baton  who was here uh previously for the washingon   area Council for children she will also be on  hand and then following that it's the slen high   school extracurricular activities night so you can  sort of do a two for one if you're able to

129um come   and join me and a number of our administrators uh  finally and I'll make this announcement in the um   Friday memo to the board but we do have a board of  education administrative walk on Monday for anyone   who is available to come through at 1:45 pm I'll  get you more information but um the goal is to   visit Harvest Woodland Meadows and Pleasant Ridge  on Monday afternoon thanks thank you very much   anyone who just pipe up if you have something to  add or Mato we'll start with Mato thank you yeah   well first I just want to say Caroline is not  here hopefully she's winning her field hockey   game tonight go Hornets exactly yeah and I just  want to say that at the high school we started   this Rachel's Challenge which is interesting it's  helping us

130create a chain reaction of kindness   throughout School bringing people closer together  along with the community and we had this present   presenter come in to school and give a whole  class whole leg grade presentation and seeing   the story and how little acts of kindness can add  up and create a better well-rounded Community is   really cool and I'm excited to see how it affects  the school overall that's that's thank you trusty   Austin yeah so I want to give a shout out to  the marching band I was at the um marching   band festival at John Glenn yesterday um they did  great it's amazing when that band takes the field   compared to all the other bands F I mean it is so  big and uh they they did a great job and they got   high scores on everything I

131also want to say um  kind of like Mato I went to the Rachel's Challenge   uh I attended that on Wednesday for the community  event and had some you know questions I guess   about what it was going to be like and and how it  was going to uh how the presentation was going to   go and it's very touching very moving and uh went  really well and you know hopefully it can create a   chain chain reaction I mean kindness is in this  world that we live in right now kindness is the   one thing that we need and uh hopefully hopefully  that makes a difference in some of these kids lives Mr treasur gerby all righty um I guess I  have a few things that I wrote down so the first   thing I want to say is yeah

132I'm thankful for the  message of of kindness through through Rachel's   Challenge I I think that that is something that  we can Embrace and something that I'm glad that   my kids heard okay so I'm glad they were part  of that um you know I want to thank uh do Mrs   Washington for for visiting today Woodland  Meadows you know it made me think about how   incredible um how grateful I am for the 3DS and  how grateful I am that my children got to start   there and what an incredible staff and what an  incredible you know place to to to send your   kids so I I just I'm I I you made me think about  it and I appreciate it uh I want to say I also   appreciate Chad tough visiting um you know Bryce  and Chad were

133little star friends and he'd be 13   years old too and so for me that that just hits  home every single time uh you know I I want to   thank everybody was associated with homecoming  and my my kid had a blast and it was his first   date ever so kind of kind of a crazy deal for for  Dad but um but just really appreciate I you know   the the entry way that they created for the kids  and all that in the spirit weeks and it's just   it's a it's a it's a time that really unites the  kids unites our schools unites us and we're just   happy to be hornets and we're happy to do this  so I want to thank everybody associated with   that and lastly I'm happy to wear pink tonight  I I think about

134all the incredible women in my   life and all that I care about them and my wife  you know I don't mind I don't think she'll mind   me sharing like that you know getting mammograms  and doing those kinds of things is incredible ibly   important right and and having you know health and  and being willing to to go to the doctor and do   those kinds of things and right and hopefully  they'll talk to you about the body safety and   all those things that Dr G was talking about  but uh anyway thank you good night thank you   well so I'll just um build on uh what was said  about Woodland Meadows and I uh I loved working   at Woodland Meadows I loved having my kids attend  windland Meadows uh lots of really great memories   and I think whenever

135Steve takes me on a tour and  I'm over there um he regrets that I'm over there   because I run around and give hugs and say hello  to everyone um but uh excited to be uh touring   there on Monday um I think when when I heard  that Laura was going to Woodland Meadows I think   I even called you I can't remember if I called  you or texted you but I said um you are in for   a treat the staff is incredible and dynamic and  they um they do good work every day for kids and   I said I think I said if you support them you're  going to love your time as principal there so um   and I know that they love having you there so I  think it's a it's a really great uh partnership   between

136principal and teacher over there and  I can't forget the families at within Meadows   who I still keep in touch with and um love to get  updates on the kids and so that Community is just   a really special Community uh I wanted to just  also thank everyone um for their efforts around   homecoming I see uh principal stagger here and  uh I had two kids who were there early Saturday   morning setting up and uh did not complain when  they had to get up early again on Sunday to go   back and clean up um I think that the support of  uh Lori Dawson the activities uh coordinator and   the administrators and class advisers and everyone  who was involved in helping um their Vision come   to life uh they were extreme excited to have it  in the gym um

137and it was beautiful the pictures   the way they decorated and the lights and um  you wouldn't really have known it was the gym   but the gym allowed them an opportunity to come  together in a way that some of the other spaces   haven't allowed so um who knew that uh the Hornet  gym could be transformed in such a be into such a   beautiful uh not really athletic looking space  that evening so thank you for all the hard work   and uh for everyone who was involved um I'm  excited to tour Harvest uh Woodland Meadows   and Pleasant Ridge I shouldn't I shouldn't just  say Woodland Meadows because I also worked at   Harvest and Pleasant Ridge while I was here so I  do love going and getting updates and and seeing   um and also Heritage cam I mean you

138just don't  know I was all over so um that's how I met Dr   L um anyway so uh really looking forward to those  tours and seeing uh what's happening in classrooms   and supporting um supporting the the work and  recognizing the work that's happening there um   I would be remiss if I did not wish uh the tennis  team the men's tennis team uh good luck tomorrow   at regionals they uh had to move it up a day  because of impending weather so I know there are   lots of teams that are going into the um some of  them the midpoint but uh getting close to uh some   of those ending points of the Fall um fall Sports  Seasons so um Good Luck to tennis but good luck to   all the other teams also uh two last things um

139I  am going to let uh president McVey speak on it but   I enjoyed attending the legislative breakfast  it just happened that um I had to be at uh the   WD the morning of the legislative breakfast  so I was able to join in person so that was   nice and was able to um share a little bit of my  experience as a trustee but also as an educator   in the area of literacy in the state of Michigan  and then lastly uh we uh Steve and I are meeting   later this week with um the folks at niola uh to  get some insight on the updates that have just   been released so that we can share those at our  um policy meeting on um October 24th so looking   forward to that that's all um go ahead please  um thank

140you first of all I'd like to welcome   David raft home um yesterday was his first day  as principal of Seline Middle School a community   that my family left last year as we transition  to the high school a very special place um and   I look forward to the attention time and passion  that he can invest in that into that building um   we had our foundation for Seline area schools um  monthly meeting today um Steve already mentioned   the almost $41,000 that the team raised at the  luncheon but I also wanted to acknowledge how many   new faces we saw there so it's really nice to see  folks from all of the buildings and um families of   children all different ages coming out to support  those types of events um snow blast is back but   it's called blue jeans

141and bling we tried to do  it last year but had an electricity issue and no   generator at the Kensington so it moves on March  9th to the Sheran if anyone has any creative I'm   not just looking at you Tim I swear um if anyone  has any creative auction ideas um you can just   email the board and we'll make sure we get you  in contact with the um correct chairperson for   that um so thank you for considering I'll be happy  to attend our uh and support our student wellness   event at 6:00 p.m. at the high school tomorrow  and hope to see many of you there um I will miss   Laura the walkth through uh at Woodland Meadows  and the other buildings uh on Monday I'm out of   the country due to work but I will take

142you up  on your offer to come visit um I've seen all   those buildings coached and some of them taught  ja in some of them um but I always like to be a   mystery reader I'm not as um eloquent as Aaron  probably will be when she's there but um I'm   happy to read for your students and I wanted  to thank Steve for the work that he was doing   this morning in learning how to drive the bus um  and wish him and wish him all of the best wishes   tomorrow um I appreciate the way that he models  the way for our school district and I appreciate   him and Rex's getting creative for a lot of  different solutions for transportation along   with the rest of the team this year so thank you  thank you trusty eastep oops um

143so as I mentioned   earlier um um I want to recognize uh domestic  violence Awareness Month um in addition to um   breast cancer awareness um and I want to recognize  um the lives lost um we've lost another life uh   within just a couple of months here in Seline um  from domestic violence um and um Cindy I'm getting   her last name wrong which is horrible Cindy goes  gues um and Amber Joe Thomas who we lost um later   in this this past summer um and so I you know I  I want to recogn recognize that um and you know   I think it's important for us to have education  and awareness for our youth staff and our families   and just the community as a whole um you know um  when we talk about like the sexual violence um and  

144um you know abuse and stuff um which is something  that um you know we're man mandatory reporters um   here in the district our teachers and um staff and  also board members um and so some education around   that I think is really important um also resources  that we can give our our families um and uh yeah   I just know you know I heard that um some some  kids are asking questions to their their families   about um the things that they're hearing that's  going on and so you know I know it's a really um   difficult subject um but something that you know  we need to really talk about and bring awareness   to um and uh so in addition to recognizing  lgbtq history month this month um tomorrow um   we celebrate National Coming Out day um I hope 

145that our students in the district are learning   about and celebrating all of the accomplishments  of those in the lgbtq plus community and that our   students and staff who are out or um in the  process of coming out um that they are fully   supported um and seen and heard in this District  um I attended the Foundation luncheon um this   past week wait last week and um I was fortunate  and I may have requested um to sit with some of   our amazing students um they presented about  um their funded project which was inclusive   designs um with which some of our students did  um at the high school with uh designing t-shirts   and um that was in partnership with Heidi Phelps  um the teacher at the high school and and so um   they raised a lot of money

146I think it was over  40,000 and Counting right 41 okay um and so um   you know that that's uh super excited or great  to see what where those funds are going and um   you know the the great projects that um were able  to to accomplish and um it's just really exciting   um speaking of Woodland Meadows um I um really  enjoyed the Fun Run uh which was last week and   I know some other schools um had their their own  uh Fun Run um and so it was really really um great   that schools raised a lot of funds through  that um and the kids had an amazing time so   all right thank you trusty go uh I also attended  the band event last night and they were amazing   and got perfect scores so uh go marching band

147I  um am getting a new appreciation for Elvis this year um uh likewise I um attended the Rachel's  Challenge a student event and watched our high   schoolers listen wrapped um and I have my own  High School schooler whose privacy I will not   invade but I will just say that it was a topic  uh at our dinner table which I think is always   especially with that particular child of mine a  good sign that uh something got him thinking so   that's great um I want to highlight World mental  health day which is today did I know this before   I came to this table I did not but I was looking  for things to talk about it I'm always interested   in mental health um so uh I'd like to thank  all of the Myriad of people to support

148the   mental health of the children in this community uh  which of course um starts with families um uh but   extends to our mental health professionals social  workers parapros uh our Educators the teachers the   kind people and adults who scaffold them in  their lives their Health Care Professionals   coaches clergy um I really do think that it takes  a village of people to raise kids these days and   there are so many challenges to our kids so I  think when we're thinking about mental health   as a universal human right it goes beyond um our  very excellent and very needed and not diminishing   mental health professionals but as a community  we all need to step up for our kids and sometimes   that will mean stepping up for ourselves uh so  I'd also uh like to thank uh all the

149adults who   are um brave enough to um to highlight their  own struggles with mental health uh for their   kids and model uh getting treatment because I  think that's really important and I'm happy to   see improved um openness and around these uh  issues I um I really credit people who model   that kind of behavior for our kids um another  small uh point that I was thinking about today   is that it is also Down syndrome awareness month  and so I'd like to SP send a special uh shout out   to our friends with a uh bonus chromosome uh and  students and families in the community um really   some great uh kids and citizens and adults in  the community who uh contribute a lot and so uh   I'd like to shout out to uh them today thanks  I appreciate

150that reminder that I also need to   get some crazy socks is that for that particular  day so um uh just really really quickly because I   just want to say first of all to the whole board  man we are engaged in this community thank you so   much to all all of you for your thorough gate  exactly um sometimes it's hard to get board   members out to things in other districts that  I've seen so uh Dr gold and I were at the back   back of the auditorium for friends of Rachel and  one of the comments that the speaker did say was   that our students were remarkably attentive as  opposed to other schools that she had been to   and I just want to say that says a great deal  for uh for our students secondly I was at

151the   fsas lunch uh and the inclusive designs church  I love shirts I love those uh my wife and I each   bought one and today we picked it up I gave them  the 30 bucks and I said this is going right to a   pizza store isn't it she says that or Donuts  so yeah the the kids were so excited it was   a special order apparently so that was great um I  attended the Ted X on Saturday wonderful group of   kids speaking and I think there were more people  on the committee than there were actual speakers   but it was good to see Dr lotch there as well uh  it was at the legislative breakfast and I'm sorry   but I was looking all over for the notes that I  took and was ready to share I couldn't see

152them   I've got a quick summary for the for the boards  around the the district and finally um I ran   into some of my um student teachers well sorry  some of my students came to school on Tuesday   and they said we're we're a little late Sor we  were just at Selene High School looking at their   music program oh my gosh and they says Mr Lampman  is amazing Mrs price is amazing and all those and   and today I got an email from a student who said  I'm so excited I'm coming to Seline to observe   some of the music teachers at Seline middle school  and I wrote to the teacher and within 5 seconds he   wrote back and they're all it's it's a match made  in heaven we have a great program and we've got a   great program

153at Eastern too so so that's all I  have to say thank you very much again I really   sincerely mean it oh mat ta do you have anything  that you would like to say did you go first oh my   gosh it was such a long time ago do you want to  go I'm remembering it's all it's all coming back   it's all coming back thank you uh thank thank  you so much um the consent agenda please uh   this agenda will not be read aloud the motion  noted will allow for the authorization of all   listed items without discussion unless a board a  member of the board requests that any one of them   be considered individually I'm entertaining  a motion to authorize the consent agenda as printed was that Tim Austin okay that  Jennifer Ste thank you very much

154all in   favor please say I I great um opposed  great thank you very much 70 um item   schedule on the next agenda Dr lot yeah  the primary scheduled report is strategic planning just writing that down thank you  very much public comment now member of   the public May address the the board  briefly for up to three minutes or   request to be scheduled on the agenda of  a future meeting we're letting oh here we go we have two please uh Megan  Gunnerson and on Deck is Chang Chen Ming fan oh okay sorry um two things we rock our socks on  March 21st so you have a little bit of time um   for um world down syndrome's month is this month  but like the day is March 21 we rock our socks you   get three chromosome 21 so

155just shopping wise um I  have um just a question really um about the since   School of Choice was a topic today and you're kind  of modifying that policy um in the face of dein   signing enrollment I'm wondering if we're looking  at um why kids are coming here I know you said   that the bulk of kids are kindergarteners applying  and I hope that their siblings are coming too but   I also am curious as to um older students that  were coming in um you know a number of community   members have stood at this Podium and talked  about Behavioral Management in the classroom   that's a problem Dr Lota said the same thing um  failure to implement consequences regarding our   bullying policy as an issue um I appreciate that  there's Financial benefit to accepting students   from outside of this

156District but I wonder  if we're taking on students that have been   um not in good standing in other districts and how  that's affecting um our kids particularly during   a title 9 presentation a couple months ago the  principal of um the Alternative High School said   that she would never expel a student and we've  had some significant violence in the high school   last year and I guess because I still have kids  coming through the high school and the climate   has changed in the last couple years regarding  some significant safety issues I just wonder if   there's a screening process for older kids that  are applying to come here who have been invited   to leave by other districts or have left by choice  before they were expelled um safety's a concern   as um Mrs Miller noted and I um

157am also concerned  for my kids thank you thank you very much changing fan don't forget to press the button sir oh thank  you CH F local social entrepreneur my topic today   is boxes before I have to bit the bushes around  however I have this wonderful gift to Mattel and Caroline Dr Josh we should be proud of is Miss gner  alumni and also what his contribution to the   airospace to NASA was wonderful the longest  time is a pallot and that is a lot of good   story you should watch the Youtube and this  is the Saturday morning of physics I attended   the first one so why I talk about this I think  that first I have to say we have the best leader   president mve and trusty Estep encouraged me to  do quite a lot of things

158as Community member to   contribute it and I'm here continue to really  just sell the Box theory in education insulin   first maximize what you have in the Box second  think out of the box third stay at the edge of   the box so I'm going to give to you this you  can read later I attend this which is highly   educated and I think that Selen School area and  your leadership probably the best you did the   best but far not enough what happened about  Seline just two months two women been killed   and we have this famous thing happen inin What  a Wonderful World what a terrible world what   a wonderful Selen what a terrible Selen we are  all in the quanton soup nobody know who will be killed however we have to move on further  Community member as

159I am come here just   really want to work with you to solve  the problem the problem generated can   never be soled at the level the solution  can never been solved at the this level   problem generated please the education system  in the public school have huge challenges and   you are the one I'm the one just here advise  you listen to the community leaders community   members not just say we talk daily what I  suggest the salt initiative is one of the   way please as Dr La Dr U Washington last time  said listen please listen thank you thank you   Mr F the next Board of Education meeting will  be held on October 24th 2023 at 6:30 p.m. and   without objection I'd like to move to adjourn  the regular Board of Education meeting at 840 thank you so moved

160without objection so you  I know it's new it's new okay save that for next time 84 thank you so much oh I get to  do this thank you good job yeah I did andot