001thank you to everybody for coming tonight we're gonna get started but before we do we'd like to ask to observe a moment of silence for four members of the Francis Community who recently passed away James Lamar was lead custody in a sager Middle School Anita Wilding was a bus driver I'm Gail Perkins special education paraprofessional at Henderson Elementary and Dr Gail Danielle Brown former superintendent and local historian honor them [Music] thank you I like the post meeting in order with the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation one under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you for like a motion to approve the agenda for July 20th 2023 as presented second pressure and Ponder
002all in favor say aye aye opposed say no motion carries [Music] next up we have Patron comments during Patriot 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 and each speaker has three minutes to make their remarks please remember the only one speakers allowed at the podium at a time and combining time or giving your time to someone else is not permitted the board appreciates that you have taken the time to come this evening and we value both your input and perspective I'd like to remind everyone that we expect the speakers who will remain civil and respectful when giving remarks if anyone fails to apply to the board policies regulations and
003rules reserve the right to cut those three minutes short but your convenience our three-minute clock is ready and first up we'll do welcome Ron bushkar [Music] many school board directors again Dr harambas and staff I have a long time meeting attendee at Francis Hall school board meetings and I'm pleased to see the new thinking that the school board has introduced since the last two elections thank you for following through on your campaign promises the families the taxpayers and the teachers that supported you with the sweeping majority in the last two Board elections you promised to protect the children provide fiscal stewardship support teachers and get back to the basics of our curriculum thank you for your fiscal oversight initiating an audit of cost overruns of A6 million dollars of taxpayer dollars to build the new
004Francis Howell North High School causing a hold on other needed School structure projects promising propositions funding taxpayer trust has been lost the taxpayer needs to be shown that this new school board is exhibiting sound fiscal responsibility especially because the district needs taxpayer support and approval of future Bond funding thank you for reviewing current Francis Hall school policies for improvements in enforcement so that less inclusive behavioral resolutions without consequences can be eliminated our current resolution on racism states that we will openly talk Challenge and confront racism well time for talk is over it's now time for action it's time that the students and the parents know that Francis Howell bullying policy is being enforced on behavioral issues inclusive of any and all discrimination according to current policy bullying against any student based on race color religion
005sex our national origin will not be tolerated specific consequences are stated and will be imposed on violators thus positive behavior can be achieved for the safety and benefit of teachers staff and students thank you for your participation in communities events such as the Saint Charles County Library board meeting last month one board member expressed their disapproval and questioned why the director of the taxpayer funded facility specifically employs a transgender person to supervise and interact with children in the children's Library room in June there were many pride month public celebrations across the country in several of the Cities parades the common chant of the transgender group was where here were queer and were coming for your children articles written about the queer parades have known as the chant were here we're queer and we're coming for
006your children it has been used for the past several years by transgender Community now we see firsthand St Charles County Library thank you for your due diligence in prohibiting inappropriate sexual content and gender ideology Francis Health School curriculum such as the recently reported sexual content in one of our summer health class sexuals and thank you for your support parents who believe that sexuality is the right of parents to teach at home not in school and to not allow sexual indoctrination in our schools thank you I'm next week with Jennifer Clark oh good evening good evening everyone my name is Jennifer Clark it is a parent of three Health students including one who just graduated I'm here today to ask that you do not rescind the resolution of racism some of you complained or campaigned on
007focusing more on the basics of Education such as Reading Writing Math and Science this resolution does not in any way take away from focusing on the basics of Education it is simply a commitment to ensuring that racism does not get in the way of any student's education let me share some alarming statistics about racial disparities and access to education in our country only 57 percent of black students have access to necessary Math and Science courses for college readiness compared to 81 percent of Asian students and 71 percent of white students even when black students have access to honors or AP courses they remain fastly underrepresented graduating black students are less likely to be College ready with 61 percent not meeting any of the four act college readiness benchmarks nearly double the rate for all students
008discipline disparities also affect black students who are nearly four times more likely to receive out of school suspensions and 2.3 times more likely to be referred to law enforcement than their white peers moreover there's a severe lack of black teachers with only 18 percent of public school teachers being teachers of color and only two percent being black male teachers outside the classroom Citigroup said the U.S economy has lost 16 trillion dollars in the last 20 years due to discrimination against black Americans reversing discriminatory practices could lead to a 5 trillion dollar boost over the next five years they said when we avoid conversations about race and racism we silence unheard voices until students that their experiences don't matter it's essential to acknowledge racial Injustice in America's history with racism I'd like to conclude by reading
009a statement from my 15 year old daughter I will be a sophomore at Francis Howell this fall I believe that it is so contradictory and spineless that I was pulled out of class to participate in a focus group at the end of the school year to address issues with racism that had come up during the school year just for you the District board to go back on this over the course of this school year I had to experience the events that were completely unprofessional and unacceptable that I wouldn't wish on any of my peers most of whom will never have to experience what I did as we don't show the same race yet you want to say that this resolution is somehow offensive you know what is offensive having your hair touched and played with
010as if you're a pet by your teacher having to worry that while walking in the hallway there will be people behind you trying to touch your hair or having to witness your classmates act out slavery pretending that they're being whipped by their Master because it's funny removing this resolution because a handful of people couldn't handle wrongdoings being acknowledged does it complete disservice to the safety and integrity of our schools that concludes my daughter SEMA and next we have Michelle Walker foreign I'm here to share the stories of others in hopes you will consider the human impact of your proposed board actions this evening these are stories of racism that have impacted phrases how families too picture this a sweet innocent little six-year-old first grader the African-American neighbor who waves to you every time you drive
011by he's always friendly and extra respectful the neighborhood's all a buzz the kids are excited because one of the new neighbors is getting a pool they all show up ready to swim but one little boy is not allowed to this neighbor mom came running out of the house screaming at this little boy he cannot swim in that pool because a dirty n-word is going to turn my water green I'm blessed this did not happen to my child however it happened to my family member who lives within this school district it doesn't matter where these things happen it matters the human impact I want you to consider the impact I remember the tears of a beautiful biracial 7th grade girl when she was told to go back to Africa in the hallway of Hollenbeck Middle School
012I want you to consider the impact we all likely agree these things are just plain wrong and in 2020 for the first time in the history of Francis Hall School District we recognize that our black brown students families and staff have been impacted by racism and hateful people within our midst the resolution on racism and discrimination was a huge step forward it was less than a decade before that our school board president gained International attention as he screamed we don't want these people here when I joined the school board in 2016 I wanted to do my part to ensure that the Francis Howe Community was a welcoming community in which every individual felt dignified and respected and welcome the events surrounding the murder of George Floyd and the stories that were shared by our students
013staff and family immediately following or the reason for the resolution it was in response their voices must not be silenced requiring the physical removal of a resolution against racism and discrimination through whatever sideways way you want to do it sends a very clear message to people that have already been marginalized and discriminated against within this community for far too long you're saying you're done listening and we just need to go away what I want you to consider is the stories I've just told you or that of my own family members and we're not going away we will not be silenced those are realtor conference Lake of the Ozarks the other day and Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe made a surprise visit one of the things he talked about was how we need Missouri to be a
014welcoming place so our children will want to stay here when they're graduated Francis Howell has a less than welcoming reputation towards minorities and that's why we struggle to get minority staff when the next civil rights lawsuit is served to our district and your continued actions are under a microscope and it costs us all millions of dollars thank you your time is up next we have Heather Fleming my name is Heather Fleming and I have been a resident of a resident of the Francis High School District since 2010. my oldest Sons both graduated from this district and my daughter is getting ready to go into her sophomore year I also did my student teaching here at North my connection and dedication to Francis Howell School District runs deep so tonight I come to speak to you
015as a parent and a taxpayer to express my disagreement with the proposed change in resolution policy being discussed here whether I voted for you or not your job at on this board is to ensure the decisions are made with within your scope of influence to support the students of our district that means all students the governing question you should ask as a decision maker is this does this help or harm as we look at this policy it doesn't pass the test this helps no one but it certainly harms a number of children Maslow's hierarchy of needs has made clear that children cannot learn in atmospheres where they are made to feel unsafe and this action would lessen feelings of safety for 29 of our District's children how do we sustain a district where only 71
016percent of our students have optimal circumstances to thrive how do we maintain the Excellence rating rating we've attained when our board has taken intentional steps to decimate programs and policies that help all students thrive when our ratings drop how far would our property values drop as well I've read the resolution I would ask each of you which parts you consider so egregious that we need this policy change is it the part where we stand firmly against individual and systemic racism or the part where we say that we're going to openly discuss and challenge racism I've also read some of the rationale that some have posted online and I think the most insulting part is that you expect us not to see this for the systemic discrimination that it is many of us recognize it because
017we've engaged in these important discussions and understand that this will take us backwards not forward finally I'm here as the founder and director of the Missouri Equity education partnership our membership which probably half of this room would consider themselves members our membership is dedicated to ensuring Equitable access to Quality education for every student in Missouri that means for my beautiful children and for yours we are opposed to this rule change and will continue to work for a board that works in the interest of all children not just select ones foreign ER [Music] put on next up we have Sean Fowler [Music] board and cabinet my name is Sean Fowler I'm a resident of the district who attended Fairmont Elementary uh Holland back when was the junior high and graduate from Prince Hall North High School
018boy I've worked for over the last 20 years I'm also the proud parent of two students in this District I love public education this community and this District in particular I'm here tonight to express concerns though about the proposed policy to Sunset all board resolutions prior to the current board this policy is not a conservative policy this is not the behavior of conservatives this is a disingenuous and undemocratic move I respect your right and privilege as current board members to go back and re-address prior board policies and resolutions in light of the beliefs of the current board however to create a standing order to wipe away all resolutions that came before your tenure without any discussion of the merits and demerits of each resolution is a radical wiping away of the past this is an
019abusive power please make no mistake I'm not here to engage in ad homine attacks on your Collective character or intent I don't believe this is who you are or who you aspire to be this is definitely not who we are as a community rather I'm asking you to think about the larger implications of this decision what if this decision sets a precedent in the future each new board comes in and cancels the work of the previous boards this action will undercut the trust in our schools and school boards and lead to Greater polarization in our community it will not sorry it will make our school boards elections more polarized as students and teachers so as a student teacher of American History I'm a firm believer in the motto of e pluribus unum out of many
020one our differences can strengthen us if and when we come together to work towards shared goals please reconsider this policy to wipe out the history of resolutions made by all boards that have perceived to you putting past resolutions in the memory hole is not how a constitutional republic functions thank you so much for your time and commitment to our community next up we have Ashley Rose Ashley Rose next up we have Celta or Manisha Young [Music] except we have Christy Dorman yes [Music] sorry I just you guys let me know when I should start or go ahead okay I am seeking a modification to the vs Procare website for the summer camp registration uh registration for next summer will most likely create a high demand we have experienced several challenges with the current registration process
021for other District Consolidated sites registration online access should be available for all Consolidated vs signs this will improve the online registration process and access for snack families and streamline the process it'll reduce phone calls email volume across the district our son has attended five vs sites over the years for various District programs the lag time for return call or a response has sometimes been weeks and sometimes never at all over the summer um our son was informed during my phone calls at least three times there was availability and the war in its central location sites however after speaking of three different individuals he still never secured an online spot through the registration process with the vs program um this delay in the lag time creates an undue delayed registration the Warren and Central vs location
022sites even in early May were sending emails saying they are still accepting registration I was informed when the availability was there that I could not register online that the online process was preventing us due to a primary site in a dual enrollment form so that lag time created additional delay if we want to have children in these programs which is very beneficial we have used these programs since he's been enrolled we just think the online process can be improved um the Parkway School District if you check out their website you can go online and select the parkway District locations which site you'd like to go to for the summer and you can make a registration online that way there's a time set timestamp a date of submission and then the the confirmation if there is
023a wait list is notified through email I think that when children need these services and family need these Services we can do better it's a simple process to update the Procare system all the district vs sites are on the Procare system we also all have access but they just don't let you access every District Consolidated site so when vs is full at one side they block you from registering on another site and so this is an easy fix it probably can be done in less than half a day I would assume someone just needs to add that option to give us access that way next summer we don't experience these challenges I've spent numerous hours over the summer trying to get assistance trying to get a response and just the constant delay in the registration
024process has been very frustrating now we're at the point where we only need two weeks thank you up next we have Reverend Booker rice [Music] okay Mr President and members of the board my name is Pastor BT rice I passed to the New Horizon Christian church and I have two grandchildren that attend Francis Howell School District just a few days ago we celebrated this nation we celebrated the 4th of July our independence and in that we recognize that all of us have a right of Liberty justice for all in that celebration we recognize the fact that all of us are created under and in the image of God those of us that are those friends of faith we understand that our nation is based on principles principles that don't change policy changes but principle doesn't
025change one of those principles is that all of us should have equality all of us have a right to be able to be heard to be expressed when it comes to our young people we must make sure that all of our young people in Francis House School District regardless of their color of skin regardless of their nationality but we must make sure that all of them are treated equally and respectfully what have what I have found out and many of us have learned that that's not happening in some of our schools sometimes our kids have been call names our young people have been addressed in wrong ways and some of us have gone to the administration all to no avail I plead to you to revisit your decision to let this sun back Sunset um
026there are some things that can't Sunset some things that cannot be ignored this is a thing that I think that we need to stand up to this is something that I think that's going to be helpful and hurtful if we if you carry out this vote to rescind or let this particular item Sunset we believe that it's important to all of us and all of us everyone here we're all a part of the family that we're trying to do better for our young people and our children I plead to you to please revisit your decision to allow this to Sunset and those those those posters that's in in the school district thank you next up is Kimberly Thompson good evening my name is Kimberly Thompson and a friend recently sent me a little passage that
027is apropos to what is going on this evening and I like to read that passage to you if you find yourself on a committee discussing the needs of a particular group of people but you look around and you don't see anyone from that group you should highly be skeptical of any conclusions that are reached but I'd like to say you have guidance from people who can speak realistically to our issues But first you must see us hear us acknowledge us as a viable part of this community now I'm a long time resident of Saint Peter's and I am also a product of the Francis House School District in my two babies as well their Francis House Central graduates um clearly I survived my time and my education at Francis House School District I survived but
028you guys there were times that I know that I did not Thrive I was not what I could have been I experienced so many needless and senseless wounds sometimes on a daily basis simply because of the color of my skin precious little fourth grade Kimberly at Fairmount Elementary School back in 1979 her mama was at that school probably weekly demanding protecting basic in respect requesting basic respect for her daughter 1986 Kimberly at Francis Hall High School I was a junior then I can remember this day like it was yesterday because it stuck with me I had to call my mother it was a hot it was October I had to call my mother because students were in KKK uniforms for Halloween it took until fourth hour until those students were removed and it wasn't after
029until threats of media that that it happened when I think back I don't think any of the horrible things that happened to me as a brown student were handled properly I was not treated with dignity nor respect most of these incidences these instances were just dismissed and blown off and treated very casually thus not inciting any any hope of change because they were not addressed or dealt with properly this resolution means hope to me hope of a better Francis House School District it means setting expectations for behavior for students and staff regardless of their personal opinions this resolution is common sense it is kind your time is up next up with Harry Harris um thank you all right um obviously uh y'all know why I'm here tonight I've already emailed you Janet thank you for
030your response um this is obviously very difficult and we've had a lot of discussions about this and I will say uh to my core today I can't understand why we're having this conversation I've talked with some of you I've told you about some of the experiences that people have had in this history yet we still somehow have this belief that it's isolated incidents or it doesn't really matter I mean today as some of these people have spoken their truth as they've talked about incidents that are happening happening to them or have happened to them or their families I've seen people shaking their heads I've seen people say no it doesn't really happen it does This is Our Truth this is what we're coming to speak it was when this resolution was coming out that I
031was questioning the board I wanted to see strong statements come out Against Racism I am a member of this community people that look like me are a member of this community there really isn't anything in there that is horrible or should be taken down and that we're having a discussion about sun setting it if you don't want it step up and say you don't want it but you should want it you should want what's best for this community you should want to create a school district that is going to be able to hire more than less than 30 black teachers we know these statistics I would like my son to have more people that look like him Adam you and I had this conversation I want people that look like my son not because I
032want them treated special not because I want him treated special but because I want him to see that there are other people and role models that he can look up to in his classroom and if we've got 1250 something teachers in less than 30 of them are black that is a difficult thing to make we have some schools that don't have any black employees how is that so I really think we need to take a step back tonight you guys and ladies you don't have to do this you can step away from this you don't feel indebted to anybody or any other ideology but I'm telling you this is a moment as you can see that many people are going to watch how do we want to come out looking we want to attract the
033best and brightest to our district make this go away keep that resolution thank you I'm actually an Emily women Emily winham sorry I actually don't have a speech prepared I'm just saying um how hard is it to say I will not be a racist and I will not discriminate against people [Music] thank you [Applause] fhea [Music] good evening everyone I'm Raquel bath the first vice president of the Francis solo Education Association first of all we'd like to congratulate Olivia Howard for being named Regional teacher of the year we are honored that she calls fhsd home and that her students are definitely winning under her expert skills as an educator in her huge heart for this work secondly we'd like to thank the teachers and administrators who work to write Elementary computer science courses and revise
034the Middle School facts both up for first read tonight and for all of those who've been working this summer to revise other curriculum or vet resources as well we know that you have the best interests of your students at heart and are making resident recommendations based on need we know that the excellent academic record of Francis Howell is due in part to learning opportunities designed by our Educators using resources that they work hard to find to help students at all levels succeed we continue to urge this board to trust the work of the highly trained experts in this District next we'd like to address the budget we know that more than 127 Educators have resigned or retired not counting the 14 expired one-year contracts listed in tonight's Personnel report in fact in the past two
035years almost 25 percent of our certified staff have left fhsd 25 percent right now we have 11 unfilled positions some that have been posted for weeks clearly we need you to work hard to keep our imagine amazing Educators here teachers who've been here more than five years have two salary freezes still impacting their salaries earlier this year in negotiations we believe that the district was going to end up with a 19 unrestricted balance fund balance at the end and we looked at the data we accepted one step and three hundred dollars on the base and now that balance is 27 percent 27 restoring just one of those years it would only cost 2.6 million and go a long way toward helping the loyal Educators in Francis Howell feel valued finally we'd like to urge this
036board to consider the impact of your words and actions you have devalued Educators and administrators who have brought well-researched recommendations to you you have made the public believe we don't have Flags in our classrooms and we don't say the Pledge daily which we do you are set to scrub our buildings of a resolution that made our black and brown families feel seen and heard your words in the public eye reflect on this District the election is over you no longer have opponents you have constituents and you represent all of us foreign good evening board superintendent rumpus Administration and all patrons we're almost through Summer and the custodial and maintenance departments are hard at work finishing the school so they are ready to roll this August a lot of our departments are running with several vacancies
037and strict timelines their work is integral in providing the children of the district with safe and beautiful buildings to learn in we're hopeful that vacant positions will be filled and grateful for the help we've received we're excited to work with our new facility director and would like to welcome Saloon stretzer to Francis Howell July 1st support staff received all that we negotiated for earlier in Spring we believe our teams did a great job working together at that time we're very grateful for what we received but other districts are always competing for experienced staff our hope is that we continue to be competitive and make sure we're supporting all of the employees of the district investing in your employees and providing ample raises is key to keeping your people if you succeed if they succeed you
038succeed we do a service for this community for the sake of every single child no matter what their background is or where they live they're all children of Francis Howell and all deserve the best of the best thank you and have a great night thank you up next we'll have Saloon stetzer a new facilities and operations director we'll be presenting on the process update beeping board well it's been two weeks for me I'm excited I'm excited to be here been uh spending a lot of time listening visiting with our staff and various other building administrators this is a wonderful District a lot of opportunity ahead for for our staff and our team and I'm excited to work alongside all of our team before I jump into my presentation I just kind of want to piggyback
039off of a comment that was just shared with one of our lead custodians I've had an opportunity to meet all of our staff in various settings over the last couple of weeks and I just want to acknowledge a lot of the work that they're doing I don't think many people realize that we we basically have a 70-day window between the end of school and the beginning of school to restore um three point million three three million square feet of space that's cleaning that's going back and doing a lot of preventative maintenance we've got a lot of projects that are taking place throughout the district uh in your in your board packet this evening you've got a couple of recommendations for the transition of 45-45 for the transportation department but much of that work is being
040done by our staff and uh they really do deserve a round of applause for all the work that they're taking [Applause] go ahead and jump into my uh my presentation here um just today our roac meeting Zone architect construction meetings for Francis Howell north um move those to Thursday so I had an opportunity today to have another progress meeting really excited about a lot of the work that's taking place there I'll go through some of the highlights here this is um you know kind of a highlights now as well as kind of looking into August as we transition over here in the next couple of months new front entry I know it says uh will be completed it's actually really complete we paid this week despite the weather that we had we were able to
041to lay the remaining asphalt on that main Boulevard coming in and in the coming weeks we're going to work with a wide array of groups obviously construction will still be taking place over the next few months so we're gonna have some key folks around the table that way we can start strategically lining out that and making sure that bus traffic car rider traffic is conducive and safe for for all of those folks that are working on that campus the exterior of the building all the brick veneer on the main building is scheduled to be complete this month Masons have actually started pulling some of their equipment off obviously they've got a big footprint between all of their materials their Hydro lifts so those are starting to move uh being removed from the site anticipate here
042probably second third week of August probably over like the second week of August they'll be completely done with their scope of work um third bullet point here fixed window installation continues to progress on all levels of the building we've got large storefront and curtain wall frames and glazing going in most of those openings have been measured we've got some being installed curbs and sidewalk installation continues around the east side of the building as they work around to the north framing insulation continues in the administrative areas as well as counseling and nursing painting in the main gym and upper level areas continues between the lower and level floor we've got various flooring going in we've got BCT on the lower level up in the science and chemistry rooms we've got polished concrete work that's taken place
043and in the restrooms and a few other wet areas we've got resonance flooring going in MEP mechanical electrical plumbing and Fire Protection continues to make great progress in the upper levels in the gyms and Kitchen in common areas as well so really pleased with a lot of progress that's taken place there this is the current side overview probably not much has changed from the last time you guys saw this what I'll highlight on the Southwest part of the site here as you can see the tennis courts they're complete surfacing was completed on those about three weeks ago so that surfacing is just in the process of curing this is the front entry looking towards Henderson as I said this is about a week old it's all paved and in the coming weeks we'll stripe this
044is another Vantage Point shooting out towards Hackman road so the other thing that's currently happening is we've got a lot of connecting arteries from Hackman that for pedestrian traffic so we've got sidewalks so the crews are going to focus on those here over the next few weeks and we anticipate having most of those arteries coming in from a sidewalk standpoint complete by the time school starts this is the East elevation of the auxiliary and main gym there were some Hydro lifts for the masonry Masons those have left the site and so what's happening right now is they're starting to move dirt in this driveway in this drive that you see here between the parking lot and the East elevation of the building we're starting to prep for some additional concrete that's going to get poured
045here in the coming weeks this is the um obviously the the football stadium what I want to highlight here is the outbuildings we've got restrooms to the left of the screen uh ticket booth and then to the right we've got concessions so obviously all the CMU as you see is mostly up uh they'll start detailing the bar choices for the roof and start framing some of those openings and continue working on the mechanical electrical and plumbing systems for those uh for those outbuildings uh I've already noted this this is just a close-up of the tennis courts they look great so again the surfacing is just curing there and we'll sit until it's ready for use this is the inside of the auditorium the concrete is complete ready for seating obviously they'll be one of the
046last scopes of work we do as we kind of work our way out of this area as you see we've still got quite a bit of detail and you know we got Acoustics we have to address lighting and a few other scopes of work prior to installing those seats just another vantage point of the auditorium uh standing at the back looking at the front of it down in the industrial Arts area we've got a lot of final finishes going in case work is getting installed as you see we've got tops plumbing and fixtures are set most of the overhead mechanical electrical and plumbing is complete we're going through inspections here we should wrap those up next week once the polished concrete subcontractor is done in the science Wing upstairs they'll move down and they'll start
047polished Concrete in these industrial areas down on a lower level journalism Department again casework is installed glazing is installed it's sitting there ready for Tops and again we've got the above ceiling still open that way we can complete inspections and then we'll do the polished Concrete in here as well culinary food Labs you know same thing except we're not as far Advanced on the we still got quite a bit of MEP work to do that's why you see the ceiling exposed hopefully here in the next couple of weeks we'll make quick work of that and start dropping the grid ceiling these are collaboration areas we have them throughout throughout the building uh just you know additional educational space where you can work in small groups so as you see all the window frames are set
048CMU work is complete we're preparing for interior framing there these are two students I actually met them today they attended our OAC meeting so that's Mary she's a class of 2024 at Francis Howell North and then Nolan Johnson there he's uh class of 2023 and so they they got a chance to work with the big group so at our OAC meeting today obviously we had you know the owner District construction manager Architects and various other partners in the room so they got to see the the backside of how delivering a construction project what that looks like you know rfis Asis they were getting the terminology that they probably weren't used to and so we had the opportunity to explain what all that means and that they're having at the time of their life so they
049they enjoyed it and then we have a July drone flight here example if you could play that [Music] here we go [Music] so again here is as the drones flying you can see the tennis courts are done we've got quite a bit of the curbing in the various parking areas complete so here we're shooting towards the what would be the South Side here of the uh Stadium complex as you see the stadium we've got all the curbs in in the coming weeks we'll asphalt the track surface the the goal is to try to have that surface in before the the fall because it needs a cure time and Optimum weather from a temperature standpoint for that process to take place thank you um so here's where we sit uh financially all the allowances the escalation
050allowances those really remain unchanged obviously that money's sitting there in case we had you know a little bit of influx from you know big day numbers and the GMP value Bill debate that's directly from our most recent certified pay application so build to date we're at a 119 million 437 752 dollars and we're about 72 percent build and we've got another about 27 percent uh still to go so before I open it up for questions here I know there's uh a couple of things you know that I've been obviously tasked with from Dr rampos as here in the coming weeks uh you know one of the priority projects is really kind of finishing up the secure entries so my goal is to work with all of our various operations team as well as some of
051our other partners start that work that in hopes of bringing that to the board for a recommendation here in the in the near future in terms of next steps for that and in your board packet has already noted there's some miscellaneous stuff uh proposals I should say that are part of Transportation kind of relocating to 45 45 you know some of that work pending your approval tonight will take place that's necessary in order for them to be able to be accommodate it over there but in the coming months there may be some miscellaneous things as they start kind of getting settled that we may need to bring back to you for consideration outside of that I'd be happy to take any questions that you may have first off I just want to say welcome I
052haven't had the chance to meet you yet but uh pretty excited to get the facility meetings going back started hopefully soon and about the district any idea about the turf when it's going down so the goal here I just approved the submittal here um last week and so that's going to go back to Vernon Jones and they'll start you know getting all of their shop drawings and everything done the goal is to start installing that and really be done by mid to late fall and based on the progress and the the uh the budget a month it looks like we're going to come in under budget on this you know uh we're still we're getting closer but uh there's always some unforeseen things that may pop up here and there uh knock on wood so
053um the goal is always to try to deliver projects on time and under budget and so that's always the goal but I can't uh can't speak to that right now well welcome to the district thank you director thank you board thank you thank you board like a motion to approve the consent agenda for July 20th 2023 as presented circus binder all those in favor say aye aye all those opposed say no eyes have it bored I like emotionally clear that these items to be Surplus property and direct the disposal of the same in accordance with board policy 3390 solved second Mr stiglitz honor probably the only one of discussion I just I want to thank the administration for their detailed account of the process around our disposal of textbooks Surplus textbooks um I did a
054few questions on um kind of more detail on some of the process one of like how much Surplus textbooks do do we does this kind of account for and then kind of what is our we talked a lot about kind of like the I guess the back room operations but one of the things I didn't see on there was do we do anything about Surplus property I saw a lot of textbooks or one thing but I also saw a lot of just like kind of like reading books do we offer those out to like the teachers going to their classroom libraries or to the public or anything like that how does it end up get being disposed of it does depend on the specific Surplus that we're talking about so this list this week is
055specific resources that were used in structurally so if they're on this list it's either items that are no longer usable because they've reached a point that they can't be repaired or their instructional materials that are no longer part of the board approved and District utilized curriculum resources because these resources are purchased with taxpayer funds by Statute we can't just sell them ourselves or give them away to others and we have to go through an auction process and so the easiest way for us to do that is through gov deals so they're really put together as a lot a photo was taken of them they're posted on the website the highest bidder can then purchase them if they aren't sold we do by Statute you have the ability to donate them but they have to be
056donated to another taxing jurisdiction serving the same population so they can't just be given out to anyone and so in some cases they may ultimately just be disposed of or recycled you mentioned the overall amount I don't have the specific amount um you know that we got last year that we would get from this that's something that we can work with Finance to get and provide to you really appreciate it any other questions all those in favor say aye aye all those opposed they know or like a motion to prove the travel request for the National Association of gifted children as requested Ponder discussion board appreciate you pulling this one from consent um I always take a close look at Travel in the in the organizations we're being asked to provide taxpayer funding to in
057this case I won't be able to support sending more taxpayer money to the National Association for gifted children um in this particular conference this organization has and I'm quoting now has partnered with social offset to offer meeting attendees the opportunity to continue to contribute to local organizations in Florida that make a difference in people's lives making a donation this way is a way to channel discomfort or internal conflict felt by some attendees about the location into meaningful action so effectively this conference has partnered with an organization that will funnel money to various different activism groups one of which is Planned Parenthood of what not so I'm not interested in sending taxpayer dollars to an organization that's so openly um doing advocacy work that I don't think are are our constituents would would overwhelmingly support so
058um I'm going to be voting against this one keep going other discussion questions work [Music] thank you what what other options are there beside and what other options would there be besides this I mean why this conference I haven't looked into other options uh what I can tell you is that this is the National Association of gifted children as the nation's leading organization focused on the needs of gifted and talented children that provides our teachers opportunities to hear from National Speakers attend sessions focused on improving practice within the program and then within their classroom the teachers who attend have opportunities to bring learning back and then share that with their colleagues throughout the school year our gifted teachers do have limited opportunities there there aren't a lot of options out there for gifted teachers to
059attend um they're usually a little further away they're usually fairly pricey I don't oversee that program and unfortunately the person that does oversee that has been out of town so we haven't been able to consult him for some of the questions that that have come up um we did send a few teachers last year to the conference they had positive experiences they were all at the elementary level so this year we were asking to send to secondary teachers to the conference is it is this part of a ceu requirement or is it no it's just we like to offer opportunities for our teachers to continue their learning to bring that back um are there are limited opportunities for gifted teachers and so outside of national conferences they're fairly limited beyond what we're going to provide
060them internally and so sending some of our teachers to learn at the conference gives them an opportunity to bring the knowledge back so that when we provide internal PD opportunities we're building that capacity within our internal staff so that they're able to provide some learning to those internally Dr Buckman you had mentioned that last year we sent some elementary teachers to this conference and I know at that time there was also some concern about sending these teachers to this kind of a conference did we have any kind of a feedback any kind of pushback from any of our teachers when they came back were they able to share the disseminate the information what the other teachers that we had asked them to do okay thank you any other discussion board I know I for one
061had a couple of questions for it I know we had a number of other ones um I don't know if the board would be open to it but I think probably hearing from Dr Vanderbilt maybe a good thing in this in this case and I would like to make the motion that we we table this until Dr Hannah Paul gets back um and I was able to answer some of the questions we may have um so I will make that motion and see if anybody seconds I mean is there a timeline that if we because I remember last year we had to wait for something and then we ended up having to spend more money because our teachers couldn't get into the right hotel and or whatever is there a timeline on this if we
062don't approve it tonight that we're going to end up spending more money I know that the conference is in November so I feel fairly confident that we should still be able to register what I don't know tonight is if there's an early bird registration if there's cost that will increase between now and next month I don't have that in front of me I could the conference fill up I guess there's a chance that it could fill up I it's still fairly early I would think that we could still get a registration I could answer that for you John they have the conference website here early bird ended June 30th any additional questions all right so we have a motion to table this until Dr Vanderpool can return and answer the board's questions all those in
063favor say aye aye all those opposed say no no no I said or like a motion to prove the travel request for learning forward annual conference as requested something session board all right so you know discussion all those in favor say aye aye all those opposed to say no ice had it Laura I like a motion to approve the policy p2180 board director of policy change as presented I'll move cooker discussion board yeah I do so I expressed an interest in amending this policy as proposed during our last board meeting I Then followed up my email to director cook the next one okay sorry I'm jumping the gun any other discussion all those in favor say aye aye aye all those opposed say no no eyes have it or like a motion to prove policy
064p0299 board director policy change as presented I expressed an interest in amending this policy as proposed during our last board meeting I Then followed up my email to director cook who created and is proposing this policy and president Bertrand since you weren't president the last meeting I received no responses or acknowledgment to my email I take that as not having any any interest in working together on this policy I then received an email last evening from president Bertrand reminding the board of our code of ethics I just want to say publicly that the code of ethics goes both ways I would appreciate to be acknowledged as stated before I do not support this policy as written for the many reasons that I've publicly made known and judging by the amount of emails were received against
065this policy and the amount of social media conversations media coverage there are things in this community that disagree with this policy and for those reasons I obviously if you vote no other discussion yes I would like to say this district has been around for over a hundred years resolutions written and passed as we've gone I guess I don't understand why all of a sudden we need to have a policy to Sunset resolutions I have understood I want to thank director Ponder for taking some time after one of our last board meetings and it tried to explain to me uh what what the some of the concerns were and one of the things that was mentioned where they weren't his words they're my words I signed it then and I would sign it again today the
066same way while I do understand they're not your words they're also are the words of Mr Lang and five other elected officials at that time so why are those words not important anymore and not it's not just the resolution but it's the other resolutions that we have if your concern is the wording of the resolution then let's need what we were elected to do let's do it let's get together and come up with a solution that we can all agree with that's what elected people do we expect our students to problem solve why can't we as a board do the same thing I don't understand no one and and to Mr Lang's point about about code of ethics no one has ever reached out to me and explained to me why this was so important
067other than director Ponder when I specifically asked him uh president Bertrand you never contact me uh Mr cook never contact me I got an email yesterday saying he was making a change I asked him why I wasn't even consulted as far as I knew I was still on the board of education and I really don't understand why we cannot as seven people with individuals work together to do the right thing for everybody I will be voting no Merchant um has States here in director coach words the board may choose to re-adop the applicable applicable resolutions during the 75-day our 75 calendar days prior to the resolution being automatically rescinded pursuant to this policy has anybody reached out to you that actually requested a review of this or a re-adoption of this once this sunsets or
068prior to the sunset no I haven't had any requests to you why would you any board member has anybody remembered on that no um I would like to request that if we could actually prior to the 75 calendar day inspiration come back look at this review it make sure that it is actually Janet mentioned you know the wording of it and some of the things inside of it and I think we can actually sit down and as Janet said get together and really think about what we're doing and and make it our own if that's what we choose to do um I think that's that's the best way forward and if that's um if that's uh something that we can probably do I would like to adopt that definitely something we can look at yeah
069[Music] I'd like to discuss with my fellow board members um if they can provide me with any detail or proof that this resolution has done anything in all of the in all of the communications and emails that I got not one of them said that this resolution prevented their child from harm not one I do know of a case excuse me you're out of order I do know of a case that a young child a child was discriminated against her religious discrimination and the problem is is that this the parents brought this to the board at that time which we were not on that board did nothing about the complaint of the parent it was only when the parent Revisited the complaint with the board and quoted policy which we have a policy against racism
070and discrimination it was only then that there was any action taken my thought on the policy is what has it really done how effective has it really been show me proof I've not gotten any all I've gotten is a lot of hateful email vitriol I mean we all have and it's you said Jane you said policy I think you mean resolution right ouch ouch the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result we've had this resolution on the books for over three years but yet there has not been one case that has been brought forward to the board how for resolution however um it it's still there and it's actually done nothing uh Treasurer pushkar again I you know I think what you're looking for is specific
071examples I don't know that anyone on this board of education when you said asking your fellow board members for actual proof I don't know that any one of I could actually say that it's given anybody it's done it but I can't tell you it has given just by what you've seen tonight and it's given our black our Brown all of our students our teachers something it's given them hope and I foreign it's given them the fact I was part of that and when when we talk about when we wrote that resolution that was not a resolution that seven people came together and wrote in 10 minutes that was a resolution that took weeks weeks for all of us to agree on and words were taken out and words were added to that so that we
072could give our students and our community hope that we do recognize we have issues and that we are doing our best to write them and that that's wonderful Janet and and I would like to rather offer everyone in this District Justice instead of Hope but Justice isn't Justice and hope the same no Janet it's not look it up okay I will thank you I just want to say too you're looking for specifics and there's really no specific to say this is harmed anybody this is harm nobody so looking for specifics this is a business meeting please refrain from being commentary as being our thoughts here I also want to say that tonight in all week long you know there's been a lot of focus on the specific resolution understandably but let's not forget this policy
073will sunset all resolutions ever passed in the school district and I know of two other ones this is just one was an example two other ones that I'm a part of that I think is very important not only for Francis Howell but for public education in general yeah but you know the the their jobs are going to vanish so they won't be here but it's only going to be sunsetted if nobody brings it up for a review in 75 days my proposal at the last meeting was let's review them all every single year automatically we can have a discussion it may be a tough discussion but we can have it it's going to create a whole new document and I think that's what we need to do I think that there is a a process
074to which we we can all sit down and look at these resolutions and put our own words or edits or whatever we need to do on these and and and make it to to um make it our own I think that's what I proposed I think that's what I I think that you know we've got 75 days from now to either re-adopt edit whatever any of these resolutions that might go away we don't we don't know what the board in 1924 put on as a resolution we have no idea there's no way to know that is there we didn't exist then is there is there any way to know what what we're doing is it ordered I was over here or additional discussions [Music] right all in favor say aye aye I was supposed to
075say no no profile director Harmon yes yes director Lane techno director push card yes president Bertrand aye vice president cook aye director Ponder aye director stiglich heck no shame on you shame or like a motion and approve the June monthly financial report as presented Dr Cook Mr finder also Bruce say hi hi Elizabeth say no nice have it or like a motion to improve the purchases over 7 500 as presented Ponder oh there's a all those in favor say aye aye I was opposed to say no I save it or like a motion to reapprove the return to school plan as presented finder or as a reminder any District that received ARP as her funds throughout covid was required to reapprove the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services plan every six months
076at a minimum our understanding is this is that this is the last time we will have to bring the report back to the board of education for approval there are no substantive changes to what plant was in place last year we planned to open school completely as normal if there happened to be any outbreak of covet we would treat that as we would any other outbreak of any other communicates at this time any questions all those in favor say aye aye I was supposed to say no eyes have it next we have information on curricula okay we brought them last month I believe we inserted I would deny answer a few questions Vicky sorry I'm happy to answer any questions if you have them otherwise would you appreciate your approval use your first read I
077think Ryan it's just a first read yeah I apologize we did another one last month yeah you're right I apologize they are first read yeah informationally we're happy to answer questions over the course of the next month next up is superintendent comments thank you president Bertrand first I would like to welcome our new District leadership team members who began on July 1st to my right is Dr Amy Salvo our new Deputy superintendent you heard earlier this evening from Mr Saloon stetzer our director of facilities and operations and Dr Holly Broadway Yates who's not here with us this evening but you'll get to meet her next month as our new director of student services we are thrilled to have them join the team and they've all jumped right in and had a busy couple of weeks
078I also want to take a moment and wish a happy birthday to our Chief Human Resources officer Lisa Simpkins we don't always thank you how old we don't celebrate everyone's special days publicly one of our team are here on a board meeting that we do our team wants to celebrate Mrs Olivia Howard the choral director at Francis Howell Middle School who has been recognized as one of the 10 Regional Missouri teachers of the Year Miss Howard is now going through the process of applying and interviewing to be the state Missouri teacher of the year and we think she is a great candidate and Francis Howell has a strong tradition of regional finalists and a state teacher of the year in the district Emily Ferris and Molina Cara busanos both 2022 graduates of Francis Hall High
079School have recently earned the Girl Scout Gold Award we were made aware of this and these young change makers demonstrated extraordinary leadership through measurable and sustainable community service projects Emily partnered with the awaken process raising Awareness on drug prevention and Molina assists the Boys and Girls Club of O'Fallon and installing new place structures I wanted to congratulate both of them the earlier this week the Saint Charles County SWAT team challenged the Francis Hall High School football team to a friendly competition as part of a training exercise our team brought their a game and it was a great fitness challenge that consisted of five different events and you can see video of that on the district's Facebook page I really want to thank the Saint Charles County swap members we have a great relationship with that
080department and appreciate them coming and spending time with some of our hard-working student and athletes a great way for them to connect with the community and with the district we are very excited to begin now the selection process of class participants for the district's new program called citizens in our schools that I shared with you at last month's board meeting the programs will provide an immersive opportunity for community members Business Leaders parents and others to really learn about the district's operations we believe this is a first of its kind program to be done in a school district and see it as an opportunity to continue building trust and transparency with the community through a group of well-informed citizens we're piloting with this inaugural class and we're accepting applications through tomorrow I'm happy to share with
081you that we have just over 40 applicants so we will have a great first group doing this and if people are still interested there is information available on our website and they can't apply through tomorrow um it is still summer but school supply lists are out and the online registration process is in full swing and we're excited to welcome our students back on Monday August 21st we're very excited that our new educators will be here beginning on August 7th for a week of learning about Francis Holland professional development and our returning teachers will come back to the district on August 14th the board last I just want to say you know as we concluded last school year we celebrated a lot of the positive steps that I believe we took last year and moving forward
082in rebuilding trust and transparency with the community I was and continue to be proud of a lot of the initiatives that we put in place with a goal of better engaging our community in problem solving next month we plan to share feedback from the community survey that we did at the end of the school year and talk about some of those next steps it is clear based on some of the patron comments tonight and things over the last couple months that we've heard that we continue to have a lot of work together to do as a community in my introductory video last year I shared that I'm committed to leaning into those topics and working with you and our community as we Face some topics that may be challenging to discuss but that's not a
083reason for us to address them so as we begin this new school year I look forward to working with the seven of you with our leadership team our staff our students and our tire and our entire Community to continue to improve the Francis House school district and to continue to keep this as one of the most desirable districts in the state of Missouri I'm honored to have this opportunity and to serve and be a part of this team and now to also be a resident of the district and have my own children who will be students here this fall and I'm committed to doing everything we can to make this District be successful so thank you hey any board comments I just want to know between the SWAT team and the athletes which one won
084the ties that's true it's quite quite a showing for our student athletes and thank you for all your hard work and thank you for um coming back from your Disney Cruise I know it was difficult but thanks for coming back I just like to take a quick moment uh again welcome Dr Danny Salvo and Mr stutzer back there uh we really appreciate you guys joining the team and look forward to working with you all right I was in favor say aye aye I was supposed to say no foreign