001e e e started with the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge alance to the flag of United States of America and to the rep for it stands one nation God indivisible with liberty and justice for all we like a motion to approve the agenda for February 20th 2025 as presented all those in favor say I I allos say no eyes head all right next we have special recognitions with Miss jeles thank you Mr Bertrand tonight we are recognizing another state championship team from Francis how Central in December the Spartan Esports team won the 2024 OverWatch state championship defeating Blue Spring South 3 to1 in the final matcho woohoo the team also won the Esports state championship in 2020 Esports or competitive video gaming became a sanctioned High School sport in the United States in 2018 studies
002show that students who participate in orts tend to perform higher on math and reading Assessments in part because Esports involve significant technology usage which allow students to develop stem skills by analyzing data game statistics and strategies Esports players also gain skills in leadership critical thinking teamwork and communication and are eligible for orts scholarships at more than 200 colleges and universities activities director Brian Kim couldn't be here tonight but he asked me to share some additional information about the team here's what he says under the leadership of head coach Chris Miller our team finished the regular season with an impressive 6-1 record with the only loss coming from a match played with a player down but that didn't stop them they've been focused and determined to push past every challenge this team has been playing OverWatch
003together consistently for the past two years and their hard work started long before the season began in June they began practicing two to three times per week steadily increasing the difficulty of their opponents to prepare for the tough competition ahead their commitment to improving each week has been nothing short of inspiring as a team of sophomores and juniors the future looks incredibly bright for these players coach Miller hopes to have at least one more run with them next year and it's clear they're only getting better as a testament to their skill and dedication all players on the roster have been offered college scholarships help me congratulate our newest state championship team from House Central [Applause] [Music] weild FR of it and then you stand right here right in that little crack so you can't see
004that you don't have the metal there you go perfect you guys take a little step this way there you go there you go much better much better perfect okay big smiles thanks congrats you guys thank you [Applause] our student board representative this month is from Francis Howell High School and as you know the purpose of the student board rep program is to honor and recognize talented students Elevate student voice and provide growth opportunities in the areas of public speaking leadership and governance students are selected for this Honor by their principal with input from the student body they have an opportunity to prepare and deliver a short speech to the board and public that is focused on their school or the district and with that I'll invite principal Dr Dave wedlock to the podium to introduce
005our board rep from Francis H High Dr wedlock good evening and thank you for this opportunity to introduce an outstanding young lady uh as M Joes just said I have the opportunity to introduce tonight's student board representative Miss Anika Jane we're fortunate to have her mother paru here with us in the front row and her father rajut online tonight watching his daughter proudly as she participates in this meeting we appreciate their effort to support and guide Ana into the successful person that she is today so to introduce her I'm going to use some quick adjectives to help you get to know her first of all she's curious she wants to know and master many ideas that includes a 4.7 gpa five college level advanced basement classes this year and an ACT score in the top
0063% of 1.4 million students Nationwide pretty good uh her career goal is to be a lawyer Economist um and she wants to go to a university that gives her the best offer so if you have one please send it her way uh she's connected uh beyond the classroom she's part of six clubs that include fbl future Business Leaders speech and debate Youth and government National Honor Society more um one of the big reasons she's here tonight is she's also charismatic she's a leader in just about everything that she does and in Her speech she'll tell you more about this so I won't tell you twice but in short she's the leader of uh fpla at our school and has been elected into two Statewide positions by her peers so she's someone that makes connections quickly
007and the people that she's with really feel like she's a great representation of their interest um she's also courageous uh as part of her leadership beyond the school wall she serves as a student representative on the YMCA executive board works as a student leader for Bank of America and seeks to build Bridges and closing technology gaps within education by seeking matches between corporate funding and students in rural communities in order to empower students with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in the digital age she wrote that last part um and finally she is uh congenial I wanted to use gregarious but that doesn't start with letter c um in talking with the teachers Ana is a wonderful student classmate and an Explorer of City attractions traditions and shopping opportunities the best part
008of this story however is that it this pasttime has developed through building a loving relationship and tours led by her grandmother who knows all the best places to stop and visit so congratulations Ana as a principal of France out High School I am proud to Ann announce her as tonight's student School Board [Music] [Applause] representative that's a little high sorry um hi everyone it's such an honor to be here tonight representing Franc Hall High School as I stand here today I'm reminded of how incredibly grateful I am to have been a part of this community and how this community Has Lifted Me Up and encouraged my passions and all my wildest dreams as a freshman I was very unsure of the life I wanted to carve out for myself so I tried out everything the
009school could offer and let me be the first to tell you that there's quite a lot I took Project Lead the Way classes in biomedical Sciences while also joining extracurricular activities such as Missouri Youth and government and future Business Leaders of America two vastly different experiences um however involving myself in such opportunities gave me the the unique chance to explore career options that I wouldn't have been able to had I just stuck to one career from the beginning um by sophomore year I was confident that I wanted to pursue a career in politics and Francis how high school offers its students the luxuries of failing and trying again which uh I certainly have uh when I tried taking premedical classes I quickly realized that blood and needles were not for me but Francis how will
010offer us the opportunity to try out new things um outside of academics this community has encouraged me to take risks and put myself out there like from teachers and administrators like Dr wedlock and M Schultz my AP World History teacher as a result I've grown in all my extracurricular activities with their support knowing that I was interested in politics Miss Schultz encouraged me to run for State Governor in mock Missouri Ethan government which is where we uh write up and build a mock state government uh I ran and I won so this past year I served as State Governor and Jefferson City I was able to meet Governor kho as well which was such an incredible honor I also traveled to DC on for a 5-day trip with the YMCA as I sit on their
011board and I was able to Lobby our state representatives and Senators for more civic education funding to match the funding that we give to our stem subjects which was also really incredible I then also worked with the Bank of America to match corporate funding to a nonprofit that me and a friend of mine founded together to bridge the inequality gaps in digital literacy in India which is a community that is very close to my heart so far together we've raised $20,000 and I'm in incredibly grateful for all the support that I've gotten from the France Holo Community for that project um I've taken lots and lots of Adventures in high school evidently however my clearly my biggest and best adventure by far was becoming a howl Viking uh this high school has been the foundation
012of my passion and all my hard work I certainly wouldn't be who I am today had I not moved the TOA District in fifth grade worked my way up from John Welden uh I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude for the experiences and opportunities that Franc how has provided me the friends I've made the mentors who have guided me and the challenges that have shaped me these are the memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life the halls of the school have witnessed all my failures and all my victories too as I embark on the next chapter of my life I will always cherish the lessons I learned here uh thank you so much for having me tonight [Applause] yeah we're both gonna [Music] stay just perfect [Applause]
013so we would like to welcome you up here and while you cannot vote you are allowed to ask questions take notes and um anything we can do to make sure your voice is Amplified you be GL to do that awesome thank thank you and I will invite Dr wedlock to come back to the podium to present our Spotlight tonight he's going to talk about the intentional work they've done at how high to help students improve their ACT scores Dr woodlock okay so we'll in our brief presentation we'll start with our the first slide with the photo which really begins to tell the story we okay so this is really what has inspired tonight's presentation this is a group of 102 almost all class of 25 students at France how high school the class of 25
014is an outstanding group if you haven't met them please come by the school and meet them uh they're tremendous young people and since 2017 we have been looking at uh the number of students increasing their ACT score by three points or more uh during high school and so because to us and to act that says it's real Improvement it's not a guess it's not luck it's not happen stance like the raise your uh composite score by three points takes a real increase in skill and since 2017 uh we look every six months at the number of students that have done this this year for the first time as I said this is a 102 students they're not all in the picture but prior to this the biggest number that we'd seen was 65 to 70
015and so that begs the question like number one congratulations to these students um as you might imagine this includes students that um and be quick um that move from 16 to 19 which is really important because 18 is a college equivalency score in uh to go to college in English so you have to reach that marker to be able to say you're ready for college so a student that go 16 to 19 or 15 to 18 that's really important just as it is for a student to go from 30 to 33 get the automatic Missouri bright flight uh scholarship and move forward that way so lot of stories in here of individual students and families really committing to improving academically during high school but then also uh I did want to recognize our teachers that
016are part of this um cuz the last two years which have been this senior class to be the first senior class are our Junior English teachers have worked really hard to combine some of those act skills with some of the instruction that's all Francis how curriculum it's not like we stop curriculum and do act we just weave the two together and just wanted to speak to a little bit of their process and then we'll have some students talk about their experiences hi I'm Sean wheeler I'm a English teacher at Francis hell high school and thanks for the opportunity to brag a little bit about some of the cool things that we're doing the English 3 PLC at how has taken lots of concerted steps this year to help students find greater success on the AC
017test particularly the English portion where they've historically kind of struggled most so first off we've coordinated several fulllength English a practice tests uh students are having to demonstrate their knowledge of English grammar mechanics punctuation and usage on that test for a lot of our kids those practice sessions are their first exposure to that test sorts of questions that the the test expects of them the rigor and the format so that's valuable in and of itself um as a PLC we really carefully pick apart that scoring data we figure out exactly where our kids are struggling the most and we work collaboratively to create lessons to drill down on those specific skills our students will practice those skills in a variety of different ways start of the hour warm-up activities online practice all s all sorts
018of coaching sessions that we teachers are monitoring uh we're continually coaching them through the process we assess their progress with short formative assessments and our PLC has been very very deliberate to create assessments that look like the sorts of questions they'll see on the real ACC to make that as authentic in experience for them as we possibly can and finally we've been making our kidss take more ownership of their growth by having them track scores and skill level and reflect on ways they can improve and as Dr wedlock said we're trying to do all this in a way that feels as embedded with the curriculum As Natural as possible and we're pretty proud of what we've done um we've since pretty encouraging growth from our kids in the areas we've targeted and the feedback from
019kids themselves has also been mostly positive as well um they seem to genuinely see the value in what we're doing in English 3 and we hope it will have lasting positive results for them uh as Dr weach said he spoke with a couple of my English 3 students about what they've taken from uh what we're doing in our classes and we have a quick little video here giving you some of their perspectives and before it starts the students here are Adele ABA Emmy Aker and Ellie [Music] Huey oh buffering the bane of my existence I do think that the ACT work in English is important cuz [Music] that's right see oh yeah there we go try again YouTube or I think it is on YouTube yes go to the site directly I do think that
020the ACT work in English is important cuz I myself value my ACT score and I plan [Music] on I think maybe SE since technolog is not GNA be one with us tonight we can summarize just that all these students really felt like this work is important to them the student on the right uh in the video talks about his so we prepost them so they take a test work on their skills I to get that up as possible like a teacher in class um and then post test it to measure their so they can see their own Improvement and he in particular uh said that he had a Sixpoint Improvement on on his pre-post test which is just fantastic and a tribute to his work and the work of the teachers uh to really help
021them build their skills and that really the other two young students also shared stories about how much they appreciate of having the opportunity to know where they are have really targeted practice in those areas which again uh they're things like knowing how to use a semicolon which is in the Fran stle curriculum it is important to know it's also tested on the ACT at a pretty sophisticated level and so having that knowledge ahead of time and be able to practice really makes a big difference to them both in their skill to use these uh reading skills and grammatical skills but then also score well in act and receive the college benefits and scholarships that come with that so sorry the technology didn't work tonight but just want to take a minute and share some of
022the great things happening at myself Bo I just want to thank Dr wedlock you s just gonna say thank you again we um each year the academic Department shares the update related to MIP in the work and I know that act is an important metric that you talk and ask questions about each year um not only does it demonstrate career Readiness and college readiness um there's a direct correlation you look at pretty much any institution right now in the nation and as that ATC score goes up um scholarship money increases for the student with every point and so it really is important for whatever path our students um are headed down to focus on that and so I appreciate that I'm being here tonight providing some specific examples of the work you're doing at ha
023high as well as at the other two schools to really work on improving these scores for our students next we have Patron comments during Patron comments residents of the district and staff members are invited to address the board of education on issues related to the school district speakers are called forward in the order of sign up that each speaker has three minutes to make their remarks please remember that only one speaker is allow at the podium at a time and combining time or giving your time to someone else is now the board appreciates that you've taken the time to come this evening we value both your input and perspective I would like to remind everyone that we expect the speakers will remain civil and respectful when giving remarks if anyone fails to comply with board
024policies regulations and rules we reserve the right to cut those St minutes short we also ask the patrons and the audience to remain quiet in order to be respectful of the speakers a lot in time we welcome Jamie Martin [Music] good evening board uh director cook in a recent meeting I listened to explain why a superintendent with diversity equity and inclusion skills was somehow a red flag and I couldn't help but note that the irony there because uh it was really a lack of inclusion that put you and four others in your seats you sit where you do because in 2021 a lot of folks felt dis dismissed even gaset in response to their questions Patron comments emails and requests for meetings and now that it's your turn to govern for the five of you
025have decided to serve just the opposite portion of the community nearly every time a majority of stakeholders asks you for something to update the 10-year-old math resource fund teacher training keep a resolution Against Racism or even renew Brain Pop you choose your Party politics instead so I'm going to save us some time instead of begging the majority to address our concerns I'm just going to appeal to the community the next three speakers are two leaders and a former candidate of the pack who supported the five of you these same folks who once shouted to keep politics out of schools now hold big fundraisers with leaders of political parties and display messaging that says keep Francis House School Board conservative they intentionally keep division alive blocking members of the community on social media and refusing repeatedly
026to sit down with community members seeking to connect and engage in civil dialogue listen folks today our kids share a school but tomorrow they'll shall nebor they'll share neighborhoods and a Workforce they'll even have a chance to govern themselves they deserve better than the toxic back and forth they deserve to learn and practice the respect they will need for each other the last thing they need is stakeholders battling over two separate visions of tomorrow that no one person or group has the right to decide for the other two years ago three other moms and I organized a nonpartisan committee Francis hell forward and we've asked candidates since how will you respond to board members and stakeholders who disagree with you last year director Blair and Owens answered by saying they would strive to find common
027ground this year Amy Grier and Sarah Oki have shown us they have what it takes to hear their community and respond with balance and good judgment parents we've all agonized over decisions that we've weighed with doctors clergy mentors loved ones as you choose what is best for your child at The Ballot Box in April please honor other people's right to do the same none of our kids should be subjected to the political whims of people who think they know better than us check out Amy and Sarah at Francis forward.org and to the next three speakers to any stakeholder my invitation to set aside our discomfort with one another and get to know each other's stands I hope to see you [Music] soon next we up next we welcome King gantar Bo superintendent good evening daily
028we hear on the news that the government major corporations universities the NCAA and now the Olympics have backed away from Dei social justice men in women's sports in Mass companies are saying goodbye to Dei McDonald's Walmart Boeing Ford Target blows Kors Google and even Facebook universities too like Texas Florida Kentucky North Carolina Alabama Oklahoma Michigan and now missou have done the same the pendulum of public senent has swung away from these divisive polarizing culture War issues the people in November spoke loud and clear even Progressive liberals like Bill maah James kavl David Axelrod tennis Martina neverov Mark Zuckerberg have all voiced how divisive and polarizing Dei has become and how dangerous and how unfair it is for men to be in women's Sports regarding social justice can you imagine allowing no cash bail to felons
029convicted of egregious crimes to be set free to commit further crimes or liberal District Attorneys not Prosecuting criminals for serious offenses imagine teaching our kids that because they're simply white they're an oppressor or somehow evil social justice is not equal justice it's unequal Justice it's subjective Equity Justice it's the kind of justice that CRT Professor leg Garrett King wanted to introduce into the Francis Howell School District it's the kind of Justice promoted by radical organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center remember and yet we have a liberal School Board candidate an Nea teacher in the Parkway School District who is championing this cause amazingly this past year the candidate received the Nea Parkway School District joand de Boseman award for social justice if that isn't enough examine the social media post and repost of the
030other liberal School Board candidate you'll see that she adamantly supports boys and girls Sports Supports 5-year-olds choosing their own pronouns and even supports puberty blockers drugs for kid on one hand she has shown wearing a t-shirt with the word be kind but then posts about those who disagree with her bigots racist homophobes and transphobes go view these social media posted reports for yourself thank you your time is up been deleted or eded thank you next we welcome saman yeah evening board staff patrons um thanks for coming out tonight and thank you to all those who stayed home it's cold out there and uh probably a lot of better things to do too um so I'm going to talk tonight about um you know the the responsibility you guys have and picking our next superintendent and
031uh some of the things I've seen with that um I'm going to start though with uh some of the things I've been seing in the news about the uh um the nation's education scorecard I guess that was called that came out so uh you know this from an AP article um about that America's children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic it have made little Improvement in math according to the latest results of an exam know the as the nation's report card um really disturbing so given every two years to a sample of America's children the national assessment of educational progress is considered one of the best gauges of the academic progress of the US school system the most recent exam was administered in early 2024 in
032every state testing fourth and e8th grade students on math and reading the news is not good it says so um so what what did it say it said growing numbers of students La basic reading skills s the average math score for 8th grade students was unchanged from 2022 while reading scores fell two points at both grade levels onethird of eighth grade students scored below basic and reading more than ever in the history of the assessment yes sad stuff uh compared with 2019 results eighth grade reading scores are now down eight points reading scores are down five points in both grades and in fourth grade math scores are down three points so even though it had some bright spots with some math was higher um but reading scores were still down but you go back care
033compared to 2019 all the scores are still lower than what they were um grading out in 2019 um It's just sad to think about you know what what's in store for all the students that are um in our school system this this thing tests students across the country it tests public and private school supposed to be a broad assessment of all schools um so it's not a reflection necessarily on our school district directly fact I don't even know if anybody in our school district was tested or participated in it know but it does point to um what a lot of kids are struggling through and and and what they have to overcome sometimes when they're in a school district um that's not meeting their needs it also points to just the import importance of having
034a good school district um so you guys have uh have a search firm that's helping you find this uh thank you your time is up man thank you I'll send more next we welcome Vivian [Music] gter uh board superintend and patrons uh a conflict uh kept me from last month's meeting but I listened to the video twice one speaker really got my attention the teacher who talked about class sizes the reason I wanted to speak on this tonight is that that same person spoke to my husband and me uh about the same topic four school years ago when we first started coming to Schoolboard meetings we spoke with two teachers uh to understand what they face and what was important to them they both said recover y of lost salary due to the Past freeze
035and class sizes so in these school years since the conservative board has made real progress on restoring lost salary through prudent management of finances while still keeping academic performances in the uh as the best County best scores in the county I'm sorry but the class size issue is still a problem why the administration tells us that the average class size is right where desie recommends but if each building has acceptable averages then why is there such a discrepancy between 8th grade history and Ela class size uh between Ela in one school and Ela in another school why are there as much as three more kids every hour every day for some teachers that is patently unfair to some teachers and very stressful and it hinders education success class size has an impact on maintaining discipline
036and maintaining discipline on disruptions and bullying class size impacts the individual attention that a student gets being able to S uh have stimulating discussions that build critical thinking and medical he uh mental health support for struggling students not to mention job satisfaction for teachers do some kids need to be moved to another school do some electives with low attendance need to be eliminated I don't know but there hasn't seemed to be a will to solve this problem and this like phones in classes should be a nonpartisan issue that everyone should support the teacher who spoke last month mentioned the 40 teachers who were cut some years ago but where would we put them if we had them our district population is not growing according to the demographics study done in October of 2022 we don't
037need more buildings after these expansions and additions are completed so adding 40 teachers is not the solution somebody's numbers are not right and I don't know who it is uh I don't think teachers want the board to start eliminating electives or deciding to move kids to other schools that really would be micromanaging so this would seem to be an issue for the admin if our goals are truly to maintain High academics and retention of good teachers both sides need to be honest birth rates wax and Wayne through the years and the distribution of students is not going to be perfect but maybe we need to focus on what's most important let's see if we can do better and I didn't know uh Sam was going to talk about this thank you your time is up
038next we welcome Grace and Justice good evening my name is Grayson Justice I'm a alumni of Franc H class of 2013 my pronounce is he and she a lot of negative events have been going on in the last month besides you know who making ridiculous and bigoted things and comments and Ice taking every immigrant from houses uh schools churches hospitals Etc during a special Zoom board meeting of the survey results to the find a new super for Francis Hal Randy cook was shocked that the Francis H community's top four priorities of the new superintendent are student growth and achievement 21st century skills social and emotional health for students of students sorry um and respecting for staff and for the top core comp um competencies of communties ask is demonstrating success in leaning districts through um
039demographic shifts and promoting equal uh equality and inclusivity Randon C comment that he doesn't want a Dei cheerleader for those who don't know what Dei stands for is diversity equity and inclusion which includes race gender sexual orientation age disability religion social economic status national origin body size educational background military and vet status language family structure workplace roles and Justice involv individuals speaking of sexual um orientation since Miss pushards now here she posted on her her Pro public social media page that she will continue pushing her anti-trend gender policy until it's passed without factual evidence to support her policy and that is nothing to has nothing but words and disproven evidence thank you next we welcome Jennifer M good evening I'm here to discuss the superintendent search process tonight want to start by saying I agreed
040with the decision to hire an outside Consulting Group to lit input from stakeholders across the district I was pleased that school except connect would be using that input to build a Target profile and using that profile to present top candidates to the board I had reservations about the timeline but accepted the board's rationale that they wanted the chosen candidate to have time to learn the district and learn from Dr rumus prior to July 1st this process has been poorly executed to this point the initial communication to District patrons gave a broad outline of dates for the process with focus groups and open forums to be held January 21st and 22nd when specific times for those dates were determined there was no updated communication until an email at 12:03 p.m. on the date of the open
041forums working parents and patrons receive a communication in the middle of a work in school day with little time to make arrangements for child care or their children's after school activities the teacher Forum began at 4:30 most of our elementary schools dismissed at 4:05 how were those teachers supposed to participate this could have had higher Community engagement with a more thoughtful timeline more advanced notice and more than one date for people to par participate my concerns grew when I watched the board Zoom meeting with school exec connect where the firm presented findings from the surveys open forums and focus groups School exec connect indicated that survey members excuse me survey numbers surpassed their target suggesting positive Community involvement one board member was dismissive of community members priorities in the surveys why would the board pay
042for outside consultant to to survey the community and Lead this process if you didn't intend to honor honor the findings another board member had questions about provisions of the contract with school exec connect that I was stunned had not been clarified prior to signing there was more vagueness about dates for interviews despite the warp speed timeline cited in the meeting a decision had not yet been made about whether community members would be a part of the interview process this all suggested a lack of preparedness and an intent to rush without having all processes in place School exec connect presented four competencies for an ideal candidate based on community feedback two of those made an impression on me cultural competence and Proficiency in crisis management while members of this board and wage battle against some of
043our marginalized and vulnerable students the community is telling you that they want a leader who will protect and advocate for those students regarding crisis management we are in District in crisis because of those battles waged are impending financial cliff and pressures on public education from State lawmakers choosing to dismiss Community survey results in the superintendent search would reflect an ongoing pattern of disregarding stakeholder input in favor of political ideology this undermines trust in the process and signals an unwillingness to address the district's real challenges this pattern has already led to deepening divisions declining morale among Educators and increased scrutiny of the board's decision-making it risks further damaging the district's reputation weakening Community confidence and exacerbating challenges in teacher retention student outcomes and public engagement the board must prioritize what's best for students and schools over
044political maneuvering and your time is up next we welcome Marissa pen good evening my name is Marissa Pine I say it wrong too sometimes not kidding um and I'm one of the four moms who formed Francis H forward I'm not going to talk about our fundamental differences here I'm going to talk about our similarity uh I was in these board meetings in 2020 2021 2022 when when uh board members and part of the community that started Francis how families spoke and I heard that they felt unheard so you organized you elected board members that's the great thing about democracy right being unheard is one of the reasons that we formed in 2023 leaders lead by listening and engaging in conversations and you all won't even have conversations with us as we know jimie has asked
045many many many times we love her passion and her persistence I have offered as well um and we just we're shut down at every turn parents are blocked as somebody else pointed out I've said it before here and I'll say it again I'm a joyful person and I'm here for a good time and not a long time and I hate this we have been sitting in hot a pot of hot water since 2020 and we just keep turning the temperature up we like Jamie said we ask candidates how they will talk to and engage the community that thinks differently than them and we would never support anyone who would shut people down every single student Su success should be our top priority we need to be giving them what they need to reach their post
046high school goals to be productive caring citizens who can work with diverse groups of people who think differently than them sorry I keep telling my kids for years this the the environment that we're living in however long definitely five long years longer is not what I grew up with this is not normal but this is normal for them and I don't I don't I'm not subscribing to that I refuse to be a part of that so I'm going to stand here and say anybody who I've already offered to sit down and talk to me email us at Francis how forward gmail.com I will sit we'll sit down we'll get a time I'll learn a little about you you'll learn a little about me does that mean we're going to skip off into the sunset and
047agree absolutely not maybe it will though you never know but I know I'm somebody that when I'm presented with new information I'll change my position and the only way that we're going to get to a place where we can all work together is by having conversations when you are continually ignored you get loud and you get angry if you all continue to shut shut down even a conversation you're cranking up the temperature how much longer until it boils over because it really feels like it's at a rapid boil right now I hope that we can start to bring the temperature down the ball's in your court and I will have to say sometimes after the past four and a half years I wonder were you unheard four years ago or were we having the same
048one-sided conversation our children are watching your time is up able to work together next we welcome Amy G [Applause] well good evening everybody I know you're all happy to see me um I just wanted to bring up some points that I thought hey this is a a lot of money and I like to point that out because there's been a lot of claims that someone's really good at money on the board but I'm gonna be a little cocky I think I'm a little better and money is my weak point so there's that but anyways okay so for the um District in 2018 and 2019 school year we only spent [Music] $4,525 through 2020 it dropped down a bit to $4,940 to 2023 we're up to $7,881 that's something of concern and I did my sunshine
049requests you know paid the the dues I think this actually didn't cost me that much money but I've got the dink lifestyle I can fight for people that I don't understand the whole situation but if it's somebody that's being um repressed I think that I have the time and energy I may not be able to have kids and stuff and I'm going to fight for them because they're our future um getting back on topic so that's a major jump and um with this 2024 to 2025 school year we are already at and this was even a couple days ago so shoot this might have gone up 114,000 385,000 um so that's that's crazy and you've got four more months remaining Because the actual school year will end in June um and I talked to another
050um Contracting attorney from a a school district around the St Louis area and a lot of those legal fees you'll see at the end of the year so just hang tight guys and I don't know what your legal fees were they wouldn't tell me uh I wish they would but you know and of course I'm not privy to that information anyways but I just think that that should be something that the board looks at and maybe with the way that people are approaching things um it may not seem important to them but at the end of the day it costs money and if you care about money then that's something that we need to look out for um yeah I'm really uh disappointed Mary Jane's not here but um I'll just wait till she comes
051back I'd like to talk to her face to face I got these new glasses that I can see people's facial expressions and I really like that so um oh got to turn that back on all right uh so I'll save that for then okay 20 seconds all right let's make it quick um but I just think the increase in legal fee bills um that money could be better well spent $114,000 which it's going to be proed uh projected it to1 $48,750 you could hire a couple teachers you should be paying them more but thank you your time is up all right thank you next we welcome fhaa [Music] good evening my name is Francine Hill and I am the President of fhaa although many of us are not looking forward to going to school in
052June we do appreciate the district making sure that students and staff are safe thank you to the staff that worked hard to add Ami day five so quickly also thank you to our staff that worked in the bitter or cold to get our schools ready for everyone to return we also want to thank the board for considering our request to reimburse fhaa for the sunshine requests to receive the emails about the toxic smell at Francis hell North we hope to be able to review all the emails with the teachers to see if we can find a pattern or some commonalities this issue needs to be resolved for the health and well-being of our students and staff unfortunately we haven't received the emails yet however we know the district is working to help the teachers and
053students but SM Wilson has not done everything necessary to find the origin of this toxic odor we hope to be able to help them narrow down their search it was exciting to get together and gather our building reps and principles um together to help build better and stronger Communications through a building rep and principal training we are a team that can help build or maintain a positive climate in all our buildings fhaa appreciates the time everyone gave to be there we also want to thank Dr rumpus for helping us present the training we know there are many changes coming to our leadership next year our hopes are to build a positive working relationship with everyone one H is more than a tagline to fhaa thank you next [Applause] peace good evening board executive cabinet Dr
054rumpus and of course all the behind the scenes and Executives that are here every month making sure that everything gets run smoothly um my name is Tracy edelin and I'm an educational sign language interpreter for 30 plus years and I'm proud to serve and support FEA as the vice president of interpreters they also take a chance when they let me come up here to read cuz I I might go Rogue and tell you about two emails I received today thank you to all of the custodians for shoveling the sidewalks it was so nice to walk into the building for the basketball games and feel safe from slipping another one said shout out to Don vanhorn for shoveling a path through the grass for us so that we don't have to walk in the snow you
055always take care of us and continue to do thoughtful things we appreciate you so we would like to thank our maintenance grounds and custodial Crews for their hard work and dedication this week clearing our facilities of snow and subzero temperatures this is the second month in a row where you all have had to battle the elements clearing snow so that we can safely bring students back to school from the bottom of our hearts thank you I would also like to thank Jennifer jeles for making the phone calls for schow days we also want to thank you thank our transportation Crews for being out early this morning picking up our students as quickly and safely as possible to the rest of our staff thank you for getting out of bed this morning and coming to work
056in these frigid temperatures likewise thank you to everyone who came out this evening to be at the board meeting hopefully this week will be the end of these rigid temperatures and snow for the season and we can look forward to Spring weather just around the corner thank you board I like a motion to approve the consent agenda for February 20th 2025 as presented all those in favor say I I all oppos say no I have or like a motion to wave the sunshine fee as presented that director Harmon any discussion for all those in favor say I I I all those oppos say no eyes have or like a motion to approve the policy committee bylaws as presented second director P discussion board yeah I just want to point out there's a couple different sections
057that could use some additional work before we approve it and uh especially when it comes to who makes up the committee and I wanted to either open up that for a conversation amongst the board members or table the bylaws until there's an opportunity to uh fill in those gaps I think that's around kind of the board selection of the committee and how that that actually kind of the mechanics around how that occurs yeah so currently um says the board will select community members but doesn't say there will be a vote and where the vote will take place or U the board will select up to 10 staff persons but same questions about how the staff persons are selected and where and how um and whether or not there's an aim to make sure there's some
058on the policy committee from elementary schools middle school high school just things that are not substantive but just important to think through and process before we approve it I'll give my thoughts on it I think um part of the great thing about about this board is that we we have the flexibility and we we maintain our flexibility um not Tire ourselves down with with too much detail uh I think it would I would hope aboard and I certainly would would support this all the things you just mentioned you know having a you know diverse set of staff from across the you know the the buildings or job types and what have you I think that's just a incumbent upon having a a responsible [Music] board other discussion board I think when we start tying things
059down then we get you know which which 10 staff positions do we pick right then then all of a sudden we're playing so a whole lot more than 10 categories of Staff um so I think with each each year each time we get candidates we we look at the people who are interested and try to pick up a white swath from that list and that list is going to be different each year sometimes there may not be a you know a bus driver do it or whatever we you know whatever we might lay out year to year I think the the policy committee itself is we haven't met for a month or two now so I caution about tbling it I think we're looking to meet again here soon once we get get some members
060here as for how the members are picked by the board I would be selected in Open Session here presumably our next meeting additional discussion board yeah I would like to um make a motion to table the approval of this uh set bylaws until the March meeting and to have policy committee involvement or just board conversation about it to answer the questions about how the membership is selected so I'm I making a motion to table the approval of this until March that that would be a motion to postpone then so we have a motion to postpone until next meeting on the vote for policy committee bylaws second second first director Blair and second director Owens any additional discussion board uh just there is no committee right now the committee's there's no longer committees since we passed
061the policy month or two ago about committees I wonder uh the administration could tell us how many if there's any policies if there's any urgent business that can't wait a month or two from from the MCE policy I'm not aware of any pin forms or pending Board of Education policies no I'm not aware of anything that's excuse me urgent U we do have a policy to bring forward we've had a stakeholder group that's been working on the finals recommendation I believe for next year that we wouldn't want to wait too long so that can be communicated um that did have board involvement excuse me as well as teacher involvement other stakeholders so I I think with the board's direction we would be comfortable bringing that one directly to the board at the March meeting because
062it's had a lot of um in input um and then we can check and see if there's anything else that we need but I'm not aware of any other policies that are Urgent at this time [Music] discuss yeah so um motion to postpone till next meeting for the bylaws all those in favor say I I all those opposed say no no I have it uh next we have a motion to approve the purchases over 25,000 as presented so move any discussion board being none all those in favor say I I all those opposed say no I have it now we have a motion to approve the report as presented this is the finance and operations report Miss thank you very much all right so we do have for you our typical information that's been posted
063on board docs for public consumption and for your review prior to the meeting and we do have for you this evening a budget amendment recommendation I will acknowledge the work of Director of Finance Julie Walsh we've been steadily working together and she's in that new role so uh it's been a great journey for us as we've been reviewing in detail a number of expenditures to prepare us for next year's bud budget so it's twofold as we do the work so you can see that we are providing you a budget amendment and transfers recommendation uh We've not yet looked at the revenue side we'll be doing that in the coming weeks but on the expenditure side the total recommended increase is 314 and that affects our fund balance percentage estimate for June 30 of this year
064changing it to 29.54 uh whereas it was 99.78% last time we provided a budget amendment for you that's at24 decrease so uh less than a quarter of a percent this provides you with the summary by object again we follow the department of Elementary and secondary Education Code structure and that is how we've depicted that including the requirements by fund as well again totaling that same 457 314 we've had shifts between different objects uh the next slide provides you with the summary of Revenue uh in total for the year and as you can see we've only made a budget amendment for Revenue in the month of November and that same information relative to expenditures shows that we've provided you with a few months of budget amendments the grand total uh change in expenditures of 4,121 514
065is mostly relative to that health fund increase that we provided um um last time this slide highlights for you new information that we received when the uh Governor delivered the State of the State address on January 28th it included some significant impacts for public education throughout the state the primary impact for us at this time is that the state adequacy Target will not increase next year based on the governor's recommendation noted in the SL the state adequacy Target was to increase from excuse me 6760 uh to 7145 7,145 and that's per average daily attendee so again attendance matters not only from an instructional perspective but also we receive funding based on attendance that additional 385 uh dollars per weighted average daily attendee would have generated approximately 6.5 4 million for Francis House school district and
066you'll recall that we were being realistic or conservative as we were building out the operating trajectory and we only planned for a 50% increase of that so 3.2 million is the loss of future revenue for us effective FY 26 and Beyond uh we also know that there will be other impacts based on potential approval of open enrollment bills and uh that has been prioritized by the governor as well and we don't know how that will impact Francis Hal and other districts uh throughout the state uh more to come on that I've noted for you that that 3.2 million based on our current assumption data is an impact of approximately a decrease of 1.28% each year uh as we journey forward I remind you frequently that we provide you the best information we have and that's
067the intention of these slides so on the left you can see our operating trajectory prior to the elimination of that second phase of the state adequacy Target increase and you can see on that um line graph the the spike in Esser funds that occurred in the 2324 fiscal year uh we have received funds multiple years but we've had a steady decline on the fund balance trajectory the red line uh there at the 15% Mark is our targeted fund minimum fund balance for Francis how and then including that elimination of future revenues again it doesn't impact the current year it impacts future years you can see that the line graph looks very much the same uh the numbers have changed and we will uh in FY 28 drop below the 15% line uh unless changes are
068made and we know this always changes another highlight for you is the first I I started presenting to you August of 23 and um the first time that we provided you with a line graph was December of 23 so if you go back to board dos for that board meeting you will see that our line graph looks basically the same there's been no change uh obviously the Esther funds have significantly impacted not only Francis how but a number of districts want to highlight that good work was done in Francis how uh the Board of Education and AD administration's uh recommendations as well we did not add excessive costs to our district using Yer funds districts had the option of using that money to add new staff positions maybe staff positions that are sorely needed but
069instead that money was used to shore up our fund balance and so it was prudently uh uh utilized and that's why we don't have the same price in our district that other uh districts do throughout the state where they may have added positions and now they find themselves in a situation where they have to eliminate those so that's good news that's a silver lining in this this slide provides you with uh the assumptions that get us where we are on that line graph and we've talked before about the impact of cvill 190 which will affect our local taxes we do have an estimate excuse me we do have an estimate at this time Based on data from St Charles County that we may see a loss of future revenue of approximately $750,000 that we don't
070know uh if that is exactly how that will play out but in the meantime we did plan for a reduced uh uh percentage increase on our local tax so we'll be taking a look at that using the updated assess valuation data that St Charles County provided us as we are examining revenues in the coming weeks again noting that flat uh sat which includes the reduction that we had previously provided this uh assumption provides for a gross pay uh increase that would include the step movement on schedules totaling 3% I don't have for you at this time what the cost of a step is but in many districts it's approximately 1.75% so that gives you an idea of what the actual increase to the schedules would look like the difference between 3% and that for benefits
071I've included a 10% flat increase we know that we've had other information provided to us that we may see some additional costs that we need to uh be ready to cover so I would anticipate that that those numbers will need to go up uh and uh then we are showing currently for the future a $5 million increase uh each year for capital in the current year we have a $7 million increase that could be adjusted this year if we needed to so we do have lever that we can push and pull to help us attain our uh end desired goals so again this uh shows you that fund balance trajectory uh going back to FY 23 but then forward out to FY 28 uh I have provided information that we know that we need to
072take action to address uh the downward trend of that line and ensure that we provide a financially sustainable uh outcome for the district and so recommendations include performing a staffing analysis to ensure appropriate Staffing levels are provided and important to note that that could tell us we need to add staff in one place and maybe decrease staff in another we don't know what that would ultimately mean uh we need to analyze benefits and ensure that we have sustainable uh premiums and plans provided I've also included acquire this support to address future Capital Improvements through Bond issues so that operating funds are not relied upon and then lastly consider a levy transfer and or increase uh Debt Service uh transfer to operating and then also operating Levy increase could be possible other levers that could be
073pull pulled or push so just for context on a levy every 10 cents can generate $3.9 million approximately each year this next slide reminds us that we have our bond Financial posted each month and we've updated this to include all of the recommendations that we've approved to date and the great news is that we are sitting at 3.7 million still uh with available funds and we do have estimates still on on some things but uh this does include adding back in Seager middle school and if you're interested in looking at the comprehensive report that's available online as well this is the self-insurance fund financial and as you can see if you look at our ending balance uh that top graph is the medical uh portion of our self insurance and it shows that when you
074compare our performance July through January of last fiscal year and this fiscal year we are still at a deficit of $ 2.37 4 million we are going to be meeting with our broker very soon to learn uh information regarding how we closed out completely uh through December 31 uh before some changes were made to the plan and we'll continue to surprise you when we have better information but at this point in time uh it's possible still that we may need to make another transfer our work in progress uh includes the benefit analysis and we're still working on building that Safety and Security Budget as well as all other components of the budget uh The Debt Service fund I mentioned to you previously that we're analyzing that for a potential defeasance recommendation or prepayment opportunity uh
075utilizing some funds in that account and we've uh concluded all of our budget meetings with leaders at this point in time uh and we had a procedural analysis conducted and we're working through updating uh some of that to ensure that we uh are uh in a good place relative to some internal controls for March uh we will bring bringing you uh hopefully a demographic study recommendation uh seeking your approval on that that's pending uh that facility master plan that you did just approve so thank you for that we'll also uh be providing the capital projects and controlled supplies that was a new process that we implemented last year and Mr stutzer and I have another couple hour meeting tomorrow to finalize some of that data to prepare the recommendation for you if you have any
076questions I would be happy to answer those questions when do you expect we'll have an update on the safety audit so we actually so we did provide the um in the public session meeting we provided the uh update relative to the social emotional supports and then in Clos session because uh it is an allowable uh Missouri Sunshine ruling that we can cover physical security in close session we we did that that same night in December uh but you're probably asking about some of the recommendations that are specifically coming forward from that and we will share that information with you we'll share enclosed what should be shared en closed uh from a public perspective it will be included in the comprehensive budget perfect okay it's also we are excited to be moving forward with filling the
077Safety and Security director position and hope to bring that recommendation to the board next month and some of those recommendations will be tied directly to that leadership position as well one of the right one of the Assumption I I didn't see in there was for a fit tax oh know a couple years ago we kind of said let's leave that out of there because I think over the last 5 years it was anywhere from 6 million to 20,000 depending on the year so it's a little little variable that's still the assumption that we're going with is we leave we're leaving that out and if it comes if it shows up and we get a bigall and we plan for that at that point in time you are correct I will tell you that we did
078recently receive a distribution of a whopping under $30,000 so uh I'm very pleased that we did not have a budget uh set to cover an excessive amount of the tax thank you no change needed on that so you mentioned the very end about facility master plan we've already approved that and I just want you to maybe share that for the public to be aware why are we doing a facility master plan what was the last time we did that and why do we think it's a good idea to go forward sure so the last facility Master Plan update was provided in 2018 by the previous architect and we believe that it is important that we have our new architect with fresh eyes reviewing all the data it's been a number of years and by the
079time we would be ready for any type of future Bond recommendation we'll be looking at a decade on that data potentially so uh all that to say uh we're excited to work with them and and we know that they will bring quality work for us and what that does for us is provides that road map of these are the needs these are to prioritize needs and we work through that with the board on a path forward so it helps us know the Big Rocks coming forward and to make faithful decisions now in light of where we're going in two years three years six years from now and I'll I'll go ahead and comment about the fact that so Mr ster and I we've we've reviewed uh the capital request that we've received so far and
080there are a number of things that building principles have had opportunity to provide us with but even when you think about some of the requests that they have submitted on the surface they may look like a simple fix but our architectual team working uh alongside Engineers will really delve into what does that look like not only uh on the surface what most of us can see like me but really what's behind those walls what are we really getting into whenever we uh take that on as an as an improvement and that really informs the total cost for all of those uh as any type of recommendation would be built out we would also like I've referenced before uh provide for inflation and that kind of thing too so that we can appropriately uh assess the
081need in total I had one more and that is I don't know if you've heard but recently there's been conversations about the Department of Education um at the federal level and we don't know what's going on with that but you're paying attention to everything from a change in funding from a federal level towards Francis Howell as well as a possibility of impact on free and reduced lunches so all that still up in the air but you're aware of the conversations and you're paying to close attention absolutely Dr rumpus also uh we we have uh the ability to engage with certain groups that help support us in that work and provide us with the information that we need to know the department of Elementary and secondary education also provides us with updates from time to time
082on uh changes that are impacting the department that then are passed on to us so but we truly don't know and even on the State Legislative front we we won't know until you know and you know how that works uh the bill there are a number of bills that have been filed that impact public education and other Revenue sources throughout the state whether it be General Revenue or not and uh all of that comes crashing down uh to the May close of the legislative session when when things pass and and we'll we'll apprise you at that point in time but if we know better we will uh know more information we will provide that as well thank you for keeping your attention on those changes that might happen thank you maybe just one quick follow
083up to that rest of the conversation for the communities you guys continually monitor everything that's going on update the financial projections based on that hence why the toate conversation has already become part of our financial projections that's correct resp we can continually look at that look at the things that we have to do and plan for it and and as I've shared in the past we aren't at a crisis we're fine as you look at that line graph we have time but we must be strategic and intentional in ensuring that we make the right um changes for that move forward right all those in favor say i i i a post to in it I have it um I believe we have reports for the budget yes and this will be super fast uh I
084uh have provided you this is a familiar chart for you you received this from me uh last year and this just lays it out for you the budget development calendar and I always like to highlight you know like what we were just talking about for the state legislative session that ends in at miday and oftentimes we have already moved forward on a number of primary recommendations to the board and so that that's why it is important to maintain an appropriate fund balance percentage so that it protects us as we uh move forward and so this shows you that uh the workload as we journey forward and again you can Circle back to the top and see that you know next September we'll bring you the tax rate hearing information and and get that approved prior
085to the October one deadline so that just gives you that uh One-Stop shop if you will of keeping uh an understanding of where we're headed so there's that this is a reminder that we must comply with Missouri statute [Music] 165.024 for me I always highlight the importance of always looking at the bond fund separate from regular Capital uh as you move forward in your board terms all of you that that would be an expectation that you place because it's easy for it to get lost in the shuffle if you will uh with with regular Capital this shows you our presentation schedule that we've outlined so here we are at February 20 providing you with the overall timeline and plan in March will bring you the capital fund and bond fund recommendation and April Debt Service
086and Health fund May 15th will be the general fund and Teachers Fund where in that situation we'll be basically providing you an overview of what currently exists and it will be very high level uh by primary object uh range then in June the comprehensive revenue and expenditure budget presentation and recommendation will be made followed uh by then that other June meeting on June 19th where we will seek your approval all budgets must be approved prior to July 1 so that will be a requirement for us so that's all I have for that any questions question thank you very much okay next I believe we have a construction update Mr St good evening board members um as part of our continued efforts with transparency process Improvement in communication with the board and our community I'm happy
087to present uh to you this evening February's quarterly uh construction progress uh update just a quick note uh from an opening comment standpoint obviously weather conditions have really created challenges with progress um really for each and every one of our projects that's currently got shovels in the currently has shovels in the ground between cold temperatures and snow we've resulted in just numerous weather days we're tracking those um and we'll make adjustments and try to find Opportunities and scheduling where we can um maximize uh some time also find windows again many of these projects specific to like Henderson and Fairmount uh We've articulated to the board and the community that we are going to utilize uh certain braks uh where the buildings uh are free uh to complete some of that work so we'll try to
088be strategic as weather improves on how we can make up some ground uh from a scheduling standpoint and you'll see uh we still continue to make progress and you'll see some of that uh in the presentation this evening I do want to start uh over at North um we obviously continue to experience uh intermittent consistent intermittent oders and I want to assure the board that each time that we receive a report of an odor uh appropriate personnel look into that and uh document it investigate it and uh record it uh and the goal there obviously us Wilson had presented uh at the December board meeting uh what we believed uh at the time was causing the issue and uh we do believe that that was a significant uh blockage that was contributing to the that
089we were experiencing at that time but it's moved okay and so we address one and then it's moved to another so I did work with our mechanical engineer uh of record and on the 13th of um February uh we spent uh several hours on the roof at uh Francis how North just doing investigatory work from the systems that provide um that vent the restrooms on the 1400 hallway as well as the 2400 Hall way as well as mechanical systems that uh prevent that provide Heating and Cooling to those spaces so we do believe we've identified uh a vent pipe there that requires further investigation uh it's not venting the way it needs to and so as soon as weather permits we will scope that vent pipe and hopefully uh identify uh the cause what's causing
090irregularities because it's not behaving as the other venting systems that are on the roof so that's kind of the update there I won't get too much into um the timelines that we've captured based off of uh reports from building leadership as well as staff uh that's there for your review I'll jump right into uh Henderson uh again this is just uh the framework obviously that got us to the point where we're um have shovels in the ground um I do just want to highlight the targeted completion there um it's still summer of 2025 but as we get uh more favorable weather and we continue to make up ground with the delays based on the weather days um I'll make sure that we keep the board uh apprised of any movement there from a scheduling standpoint
091so quite a bit of work has taken place in Henderson what you see here is the uh storm shelter Edition the slide on the left um all the exterior walls exterior uh m walls there are complete uh we've got the connecting link where we've got the structure steel erected there uh and that will serve as the link that connects the addition to the existing building um and not only does it serve as a link but that's where the community uh student restrooms are so on the interior on the slide on the right uh Masons are inside uh laying um CMU walls construct masonary unit walls they are actually topped out uh so that means there at the bottom of the roof deck uh we already have the roof decking on and as soon as weather
092permits we'll be able to uh insulate that roof and get the roof membrane on um how we're able to kind of complete that interior work with the cold temperatures again the strategy that is utilized in construction uh you can see on some of those openings uh they're they're tinted basically we're covering those up and uh they're running uh propane heaters inside to allow for work to take place um the gym Edition side uh we're a little bit slower again than we'd like and again i' I've attributed that to weather uh we do have all of the exterior wall footings poured and and you can see in this slide they started forming up the uh foundational walls and as soon as the Masons are finished with the link as well as uh topping out inside they
093will start working on the exterior uh masonary walls for the gym Edition uh moving over to Fairmount uh we're we're way delayed here in terms of uh progress between weather and then we had to work through some permitting um challenges or opportunities however you want to look at them uh with the uh County uh relative to storm water detention and how we're collecting all of that and so that targeted completion we are always going to be uh during the winter of 2025 but that may even potentially now push to um spring of 2026 okay and so we'll continue to monitor that uh and provide the appropriate updates and as I just mentioned um while we have the slide on the left here the building pad obviously um we've got that you know framework ready to
094go um but we efforts are focused on the slide on the right right now with the extension of the parking lot where the building pad is right now was where the staff parking lot was and so we've shifted the uh parking lot out and uh the crews are working on installing or laying the the pre-cast uh storm water piping to collect all of the storm water for that parking lot so as soon as that work is done uh and the reason we're trying to get all of the underground work for the parking lot done is that's going to serve as basically a lay down yard for all the materials that will uh serve to construct um the addition so sequencing there um is is important and we're trying to advance that work that way we
095can hop back over and start working on underground utilities and get uh the footings and Foundation walls for the addition um constructed Francis House Central uh the softball baseball complex uh we we again weather continues to challenge us there but uh we were approximately about 3 weeks uh behind on schedule there uh but we we have been able to continue to work through some of the cold temperatures and the weather and you can see that the field itself is really prepped and ready for the turf installers to mobilize obviously with the snow that we had late last week and this week uh they were actually the field was ready uh for the turf and do on February 7th they were scheduled to mobilize on the 14th they have roughly about 2 weeks worth of work
096um to get the turf installed but with the weather they've been pushed and so next week looks a little bit more favorable if we can get all the snow that's currently on the field uh melted and they are tentatively right now scheduled to mobilize to the site on the 24th uh of February which I believe is next Monday to the right there uh some flat work for the new bleacher system um again you know we've articulated that need from multiple standpoint safety Ada and so that is uh that is poured bleacher company is about a week uh behind so they will mobilize uh that last week uh either late next week or that first week in March uh construct the bleacher system that will have a capacity of about 150 uh Spectators as well as
097uh having spaces for adaa cutouts um and those types of things so you can see there's an elevation change between the asphalt the existing asphalt uh that will all get feathered in to where we get new asphalt again we won't be able to do that work until temperatures are about 40° and Rising part of that um is just a requirement to be able to lay asphalt and most of the pl shut down during the winter season and we'll will kind of spring up anytime weather um was above 40 uh to allow for pot pothole filling you know obviously with all the weather that we've received there's going to be a great need for that so as soon as we're able to get a plant uh going and temperatures are above 40° uh we'll we'll start
098doing performing that asphalt work all of the netting and fencing uh on the Outfield and the back stop uh um well the back Stop's not up yet we still have a Top Cab to do on that masonry wall there and as soon as that's in we'll get that netting but the the nettings for the uh bullpens and and everything else are in installed and in place other projects um so over here in the screen box those are all projects that the board has approved they're all under per review with the uh various authorities having jurisdiction uh some you have City and some you have County uh we are very close I do receive updates from the construction team as well as design team on where we're at with that uh along with any comments that
099uh that Authority having jurisdiction may have that we need to work through and uh so far uh it's it's been very little um we are waiting on some comments back from the county on the wrestling facility uh they just had questions about restroom utilization obviously that project has two I think they're trying to Advocate to add a third but uh we will have those discussions with them um the phase one HVAC improvements again those obviously have been through their uh board approval uh we've got contracts uh signed they're just kind of in a holding pattern uh equipment has been ordered and uh we're anticipating equipment to arrive in early April so um everything will be here that way once schools out will'll start uh immediately on that work and then Phase 2 HVAC improvements uh
100we're working behind the scenes doing some investigatory uh work uh at those uh sites that are articulated there with the goal of having uh solidifying our pricing estimates that we've already previously shared with the board uh right around the spring break uh and then we just have one Capital project uh that that uh we've been working on and that is complete uh that's at Francis H uh Central and it's the stadium tur complex and uh We've turned that over to the building for utilization and um obviously weather hasn't been conducive for them to be able to get out and utilize it yet but as soon as weather permits they they'll start utilizing them any questions or clarifications the board may have that I can answer question board does not appear so you thank you next
101we have Mr Gallon give us a technology [Music] assessment good evening everyone um I'm going to talk to you tonight about an assessment of our technology team and of course technology throughout the district um the overall purpose is to ensure that we have best practices in place and that uh we're not only here to improve the user experience but also the coordination of available resources districtwide uh we'll talk first about technology expenditures and we'll talk about a hardware assessment Network cyber security assessment and then conclude with the Staffing assessment taking a quick bird's eye view of our uh District's technology spending uh from year to year this is the last four years this year inclusive um on average the district has spent between uh 6 million and SE and 7.6 million in the last four
102years um these are the eight line items that Desi specifies for technology related expenditures we do not include in here the uh expenditures for the it um Department salaries or for benefits or any of the general supplies that would be routine of any office uh these are specific uh technology expenditure line items um we're going to cover four of the big ones uh a little bit more in depth so you can get an idea of what's in there um object code uh 6337 is for technology related repairs and maintenance this is predominantly in the it Department's budget these are the um operating operating and instructional software pieces uh that we license um from like Microsoft Infinite Campus you can see the list up there and uh included in that is board docs which you are
103using to guide your meeting tonight uh but it also includes purchase services that we have with uh Moret and some of the vendors that come in and do repairs for us like kcav and as you can see that uh that expenditure has uh generally been around the 2 million mark this one is more of a catchall this is any supplies that are purchased that are technology related uh big items in this bucket include U some software that is purchased by other departments this is the the object code that they they code their software to um examples of that are listed up on the screen it also includes all the parts devices and equipment that are not under a finance lease we'll talk about that on the next slide uh one thing to know about this
104is that desie recently changed the definition of equipment and of Capital Equipment specifically it is now um we now have a threshold of 5,000 versus I believe it was 3,000 before so there are items that are now um considered a supply that were not previously considered a supply so when you see the jump between uh fiscal year 24 and fiscal year 25 that's a big part of that uh where we where we did our planning last year um for things to be equipment we're now planning that for for that to be supplies so that's important to knowe and uh on this slide we're looking specifically at the leases uh each year the IT department has presented um a list of objects that it desires to purchase uh refresh devices usually Chromebooks laptops iPads the the
105works and we uh arrange a lease and we bring the terms of the lease uh to the board for approval um that is covered by these two object codes and that's our principle and interest on the lease as you can see our lease payments have fluctuated um but obviously it depends on the items that you're purchasing in the uh in the beginning year of each lease items for uh items that we're going to recommend for 2526 will be presented as part of the capital planning process and we uh anticipate that being at the next meeting or perhaps the meeting after that talking specifically about the hardware that the district has available um you see up here on the left side of the screen the counts that we have of each of in in our inventory
106system the counts that we have of each of these different categories of devices um I will say that the Chromebook count has been verified um not only by serial number um physically touching the asset confirming the serial number but it has also been verified by crosschecking it with our Chrome management system that allows us to see when was the device last used where was it last used and by whom was it last used so we're pretty confident in our Chromebook inventory but the other items have yet to be cross referenced and verified uh we will begin doing that process with iPads and proceed on down that list uh hopefully by the end of the summer it is our tent to be as certain about the number of Chromebooks that I'm sorry about the other devices
107that we have as we are certain about the number of Chromebooks that have been purchased in are currently out in our environment that's 17,9 183 um of that number about 27% 27.6% I believe have been purchased by sources other than the IT department and that's important for us as we as we look into this next slide uh essentially our budget planning process in the IT department has historically only focused on the other side of that the stuff that we've purchased and the stuff that we plan to refresh as such items that were purchased by other sources including uh including PTO or or Grant resources um have often been purchased with a without a plan to replace them and so unfortunately that has resulted in some devices in our environment being used well past their useful
108life and so um with more assess ments being mandated to be delivered online these outdated devices can contribute to student frustration and so we would like to see uh a path where we're not using devices beyond their useful life while we may not be one to one uh the figures on the right do show that we have enough devices districtwide that can be reallocated uh even after disposing of the older ones these figures do not include any of the older ones that are beyond their useful life and we summarized the the ratios of Elementary secondary at the bottom there um in terms of device uh deployment strategies there are essentially three models that are often used in school districts uh we currently use a classroom based technology model um in that case uh student devices
109are dedicated to specific classrooms and remain on a cart in those classrooms the quantity of devices has to be enough to serve the largest class population so if you think about a secondary class like a high school algebra class they might have have 30 people in second period for algebra but that same teacher might be teaching one of the more advanced classes for the rest of the day and they might have 25 students in the class so we have we have to plan that cart for 30 devices to serve their largest class the second uh common model is a cart-based 1 to1 model in this model students begin in a home room period and end their day in that same Home Room period so that they can pick up their device in the morning carry
110it throughout the day and then bring it back to that particular classroom at the end of the day so that it charges up and is ready for tomorrow um one advantage of this model that I've seen used in some districts is that teachers with carts um teachers who are in classrooms that have carts can let their students know that they're not using their Chromebooks during that period and they can be put away so that they're not a distraction in the classroom uh the third model that is often used in districts is the take on one to1 model uh in this model students are given a device at the beginning of the year they carry it to and from school each day and they take the responsibility for maintaining the device as well as uh uh
111charging it overnight uh it's important to note we are not a on toone if a onetoone initiative we're implemented in the district it would require extensive professional development for our teachers it would also um one to one the the more you have the device being carried around the more likely the device is to get damaged so one to one initiatives typically require an increase in IT staff and additional resources for repairs and finally a one toone initiative would also require us to have software not only to manage the devices here at school but also to manage the devices at home best practices that um um would improve device performance routine operating system updates are necessary to keep every device including the ones in front of you uh running effectively and secured from known threats devices
112that are not updated and restarted regularly they lose the ability to update themselves and so we usually recommend a habit of restarting daily in order to keep the memory caches clear and in order to keep uh updates running uh our Chromebooks currently have 4 GB of memory across the fleet and that is considered standard for devices today however any future purchases will need to have more memory in order to keep up with the anticipated software and accessibility needs in the future and uh another best practice is to limit the amount of Chrome extensions that are pushed out to devices instead teaching and empowering our users to install only those extensions that are needed to perform the work that is expected out of the device all three of these best practices can improve the performance of
113any device but they are absolutely critical in Chromebooks as far as opportunities on the hardware side for improvement uh there's some process improvements that I think we could Implement uh one thing we could consider is to remove remove the burden of replacing equipment from PTO fundraising efforts and from building funds um we could also improve the fairness throughout the district so that schools grade levels and content areas are treated similarly across the district and we can also coordinate the hardware and software purchases to make sure they're aligned with the district vision and the emerging needs of our students and through the budget process things to think about uh potential opportunities for us would be to perhaps to adopt a touchscreen preference so that we can improve the way students engage with their learning content and
114also improve the way students engage with their assessments um this will also open up not only as an intuitive for our students but it'll also open up some additional accessibility features and one other item that we can look at is increasing that processing power from 4 gbt on our Chromebooks uh to allow more member to allow more memory and resources to improve the speed today but also to uh get ready for future interactive software Advance um it's also worth noting that the best demonstra practice among many districts is to adopt a tactile tablet at the primary grade levels and then use highquality Chromebooks for the remaining grade levels phased in strategically uh with each devic switching to our Network um a quick assessment I can say that following the incident last February at this time
115our cyber security has improved significantly um we do weekly audits uh uh we have weekly audits performed for us by the cyber security and infrastructure cyber security infrastructure uh authority agency I can't remember what the stands for but anyway uh recent audits indicate that all of our best practices have been eliminated and there are no findings um we do work with uh the eate program uh through the SEC and we have participated in category one and category two which provides us a 40% discount on the things that we purchase uh for our Network and for cyber security purp purposes um one of the things that we've done this year is we have had a 5 gig Connection in Prior years um this September we uh rolled that up to 10 gigs um it's not a
116significant cost to the district but as you can see we were pushing pushing the limits on the 5 git connections and this slide is just to say thank you for the projects that you guys approved last uh at our last board meeting in January uh these projects are now uh being submitted for e-rate approval and once they're approved they will allow us to do even more um um more benefit for our Network the last thing uh the assessment covers is our technology team uh Staffing wise um we have uh fewer people in key positions on our technology team than similarly situated districts um that does present kind of a challenge for us but we'll continue to seek support for our help desk Network and systems teams and obviously if the district does choose to go
117one to one we'll need to seek additional support uh for our repair team as well um experience is a challenge for us uh there was a lot of turnover in recent years and that turnover has resulted in some key people having been on the job in for only a few years and so to address the experience issue we've been working uh to try to promote professional development so that we can build their capacity now that we're building their capacity though it's our goal to kind of hang on to them so that we don't experience the same kind of turnover that we've had previously so we you know we're working towards improving motivation teamwork and job satisfaction quick summary of our opportunities obviously uh the the districtwide capital planning process that Carol mentioned earlier um by
118putting technology hardware and software in that process and that's fully implemented for next year um by putting technology hardware and software into that process that allows us to be strategic about what we fund and what we don't fund and not being dependent on others to fund raise for us um second opportunity would be to continue collaboration with stakeholders toward a common vision of technology and integrating into our district strategic planning process um that will allow us to challenge requests that are outside the scope of that Vision or outside of the sequence with our budget planning process um and then obviously uh we want to continue to do a comprehensive Staffing analysis on the technology team to make sure that we have the appropriate staff with the appropriate training to support student needs and student uh
119and and staff needs as well and then the final opportunity for us is rate has not yet uh shared what the next fiveyear cycle looks like and so um I'm kind of anxiously awaiting what that looks like to see what opportunities it will provide for us to get discounts on uh infrastructure equipment as well as on the services that we need for cyber security that's all I have for you any questions questions for that previous slide I mean you have four bullet points which one the IM previous that one okay so which means the Strategic plan yes how long would you need to be able to pull those three items together because you're going to be looking to replace I'm sure some Chromebooks here in the next few months fortunately fortunately I've been able to
120participate in the Strate strategic planning process so I've been able to keep an eye on some of those things and and plan accordingly so you would be able to provide an update as to how you're going to tie those three together as far as a when do you think you'd be able to present that well I think we would be presenting that as part of the Strategic plan okay you mentioned that uh this may be a question for for others but you mentioned some of the assessments that students are required to take are now required to be taken on a computer online yeah or online um I'm curious what what are those assessments and where I'm getting to is that a we like to talk about unfunded mandates does this fall into that bucket I'm
121seeing nods I mean I can answer a couple of them that I know um have more recently been done online that's the act for example um would you kind of would you care to elaborate on the ACT they're pushing that direction but to your question vice president cook the map and EOC at this point are all online assessments um and unfortunately too at the window it's not just the individual devices but it's the wireless network to support hundreds of students throughout the district at the same time logging on in a secure Manner and well thr and my my daughter's cringing the AP exams are pretty much online you for paper copies yeah I'm afraid we won't have much of a hammer against the act or the college board but certainly the map see I want
122to call out for your daughter that used the word cringe um when I was looking at the assessment um arm got really excited I thought about the one to one ratio I like oh wow we're a bit closer than I thought and then I you know look a bit closer and realized that for anybody paying attention or watching it online from home there's a bigger Gap from where we are to where we would need to be to offer one to one then what might look like there it looks like well there's 17,000 Chromebooks we have 17,000 students it feels like a a nice fit so it's was really helpful for me to hear how many of those Chromebooks were presented or raised through pto's yes that may not have a you know plan for refurbishing
123it repairing it the Staffing re ired um I think it's also helpful for us to be aware of how this fits into the overall system of priorities and values of the school district that includes everything from the conversations with the fiscal cliff the um you know missing steps for teachers class sizes that was mentioned before a facility master plan and all these things are connected and so I really appreciate how this presentation in light of the entire night of presentations and of pent comments uh can be seen and we're not there yet and there's certain priorities that have to take place first so whoever's watching online if you're thinking we're right on the edge of being able to offer this we aren't um it's because all these other things are part of the conversations the
124the decisions among the board to decide values and priorities what happens first and um I really appreciate the slides being present in a way that helped me understand that those numbers were not as rosy as I originally thought but that there are steps that we can take in light of all the other pieces as well so thank you for the presentation and other people who've done the presentation tied to and it also helps to be humbling to have technology glitches happen on the night that you're delivering a technology assessment I appreciate you drawing attention to that though and um there were questions this week about the number of devices and I think there's a very important distinction between our ratio of devices to students is around one: one the one: one model of instruction is
125very different because then it's not just the device it's cords it's protective equipment it's insurance it's all of the other pieces so it's I wish it wasn't the same language but there's a ratio and then there's the instructional model and those are two different things we have the ratio we do not have the instructional model that supports that at this time other questions thank you very much thank you um just for the community's knowledge there a number of firsty curriculums if I counted right about two dozen um so the administrative or the academic team has been hard at work um So for anybody that wants to look through those in their time they are welcome to do so then board like a motion to approve the curriculum documents as presented for our second read and
126vote curriculum which is all I think 14 Project Lead the Way items so motion cook Ponder discussion board questions all those in favor say I I all those inos say no eyes have which brings us the superintendent comments thank you president bertrain um first I'd like to ask everyone here to tell a friend or family member about the district's meet fhsd recruitment event that's coming up on Saturday March 8th uh this is an amazing opportunity for any prospective teacher candidates to get to come and learn about positions in the district there's no RSVP required candidates can just show up and learn more about the district um the positions we currently have available they can have their resumés reviewed by administrators and HR staff members and then get it on a list to have first information
127available about upcoming position so that event is at 9:00 a.m. at Francis Hall Central on Saturday March 8th um as a reminder it was set a little bit earlier but with the additional snow days we have experienced Tuesday June 3rd is currently our last day of school um that could be further extended if we have any additional snow days still in the next month um you know it's interesting in January when it's the first couple everybody's kind of excited for a snow day and that decision and the feedback gets a little bit more challenging each each time we have to do this but um I too want to thank our maintenance grounds and custodial teams for all the extra work that they put in this week um as a result of the frigid temperatures you
128know they have to be out there in that cold I'm preparing our Lots preparing our sidewalks and we appreciate the work they've done this week as well as when we go back to January um speaking of our incredible employees I also want to take a moment and congratulate all the district's teacher and support staff members of the Year our schools have selected and been announcing their winners at each of the individual buildings and in the next coming days the district will be announcing its support staff and employee and teacher of the year and all of these um outstanding individuals will be recognized at the howl of Fame awards ceremony that will take place in May March 10th upcoming we will be hosting our senior Pals event with a special musical performance at Sager Middle School
129anyone 55 or older who lives in the district is welcome to attend we really want to encourage um patrons that may not have or have not had students involved in the district in a while it's an opportunity to come in and get to hear some updates from Administration about what's taking place in the district we provide dinner at 600 p.m. in the cafeteria then at Sager and then at 7 p.m. we have the 158 member Spartan community band that will perform as part of Music in our schools month under the direction of Sager band director Shannon creps and co-director John Evans from Brian middle school so it's not too late to sign up that link is on the website again it's a great opportunity for patrons to get to come in and be in one
130of our schools and see the great work of our students and our staff thank you you any board comments you know I always do um I just want to piggyback on what Carol Embry was telling us earlier um it's funny how we're thinking Alik I guess um I want our district patrons to be aware of a serious issue facing public schools in this country there are more proposed funding cuts by the Missouri legislature and the federal government when tax dollars are diverted to private parochial and home schools our public schools are negatively impacted if this trend continues class sizes will increase teachers will not get raises and the quality of instruction will suffer additionally a tax levy increase may be required to sustain our Public Schools please contact your government officials to ask them to
131stop the financial draining of our education system and to stand with the public schools of America finally please vote for those who will defend and protect the great equalizer public education a couple the uh if we could get on the the agenda uh the the finals the policy for the finals assess the waiting of finals we can make sure that gets on for next month's agenda I'd appreciate that I think that's there were so many teachers and so many admin that were involved in that whole process and it' be a shame to let keep pushing that out and nothing really happened um the other thing I would like to say is there were there were a couple commenters um that indicated that none of us ever reply to them I I've had one parent I
132know that reach out to me direct or come up to me after and meet I met with her at Panera we didn't see eye to eye on everything but if anybody's out there thinking that they're reaching out to me direct to meet with them I'm not aware of it so I'm more than willing to meet with anybody there's a Panera right up here I'm more than willing to meet with anybody for however long you want to sit down and talk but it'll be respectful we may not agree walking away but you're not including me and that nobody's ever gotten back to me and been willing to meet I just wanted to point that out um I wanted to thank all the uh the folks in the district that helped all the facilities over the last
133few weeks with the snow it just walking up to this building it looks far better than my driveway does for sure um I'm not very good at salting and things like that it's not my forte um it has been pretty challenging especially for those of us that work from home with the kids that at home so Dr rumpus please don't say anything else about further snow days I would appreciate that um one of the things that was brought to my attention um I don't spend a whole lot of time on the socials very little if any um but it was brought to my attention that we need some volunteers um at eaglefest at at Henderson for tomorrow evening for the setup and then eaglefest for Saturday so if there are any parents or folks out
134there in the district that would like to volunteer to help out the PTO there um for that event it's a great event event um it's my buddy school I it it would mean a lot to them that they that you actually show up and and get out there and help out um it's uh like I said tomorrow is the setup from 5:30 to 8: um and then Saturday from 9:00 to 11: um is the last minute crew set up and then from 10:45 to 12:45 is the first shift going on through looks like 5:00 I believe and they need well a lot of people I think 40 something 44 people I believe it is so anybody out there can or will I'm going to try to get out there as much as I can um
135and there's a sign up sheet I don't know how to maybe if we can put it out there somehow um to the district um I don't know how else we can get it out there cuz like I said I'm not I don't do the socials all that much but um other than that um I I I can't wait for I guess it's Monday for nice warmer weather um uh the uh the the baseball teams are reporting the spring training so um that's that's what I look forward to every year so this is this is my happy time um so um I wish everybody the the the best thanks for for everything that you guys did uh especially you know the folks that that did the technology report that was pretty uh um eye openening um
136yeah have a great day all I was going to say uh two uh really brief things one is just a happy Black History Month and um like today I spent some time learning about Ruby Bridges just 11 world and I thought it was a good idea to learn a little bit about Ruby Bridges and learn about just different features of the story I had no idea so um for that 11-year-old or any other 11-year-old who's being brave um keep on being brave uh again repeating the earlier comment great job Dan Van Horn and all the other people who are cleaning up the uh facilities you know when kids walk in with some salt on their shoes it just takes a little extra scrubbing and extra washing and all this stuff and they're just doing it
137um almost invisibly like we don't see it happening um but I think part of what we can do as a board is to shine spotlights on people who are maybe feeling invisible just let them know we see you we appreciate you and all of us are just wanted to affirm the goodness of the people who are working on part of our staff getting our buildings ready uh similar to uh director Ponder's comments there's a uh my buddy school is the Independence uh elementary school or it's one of them and um they also have a PTO fundraiser coming up here on March 1st uh for anyone watching online or or in the the audience still who's interested in that um certainly encourage you to go I'm going I look forward to to bingling talking with people
138there so that's the only thing I have tonight all right I guess I get to wrap it up um first off I want to give the community a little update on our superintendent search so that process is progressing kind of as we laid out online so if you want to see the schedule is there we do have four I would say that the board's candidates that the board's excited about that we will be going through the interview first round interview process next week and so we're excited for that process to continue um kind of in the timeline and looking to present somebody to the community in early March so that process continues um been a lot of thank yous out there to the staff cleaning up sidewalks and and everything so thank you to them
139as well I also want to give a shout out to bus drivers that are driving around keeping our students safe in this weather so thank you very much for for for doing that and keeping them safe as you drive them around so U board I would like a motion to return to close [Music] session cook all those in favor say I thank you very much everybody