001public comment section. But before we do that, um we are aware of potential audio issues with our live stream. We are proceeding with recording the meeting and hosting the live stream, but will ensure a separate audio recording in place of technical issues. Apologies for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience, but I said it. Um, first we have public comments. The school board has established a normal item of its order of business in each regular board meeting. During public comments, any citizen of the Kirkwood School District may make a statement or address the board concerning issues pertaining to the Kirkwood School District. The period of time set aside for public participation shall not exceed 30 minutes. The board establishes a uniform time limit of no more than three minutes per speaker. So do the
002math. Um and we will not be responding to any comments here. Dr. Rumpus or I will be in touch if it's required. The first comment is from Kristen Rig. Good evening. Um, I represent a group of parents who are working together at North Middle School to remove barriers and increase access to school resources for all students and their families. Uh, KST students historically had access to the ebook and audiobook cataloges of public library. >> I'm sorry, I don't think your microphone's on. Can you push it for the >> Okay. Can you hear me now? >> Yes. >> Do I start over? >> No, just >> Okay. Uh so students uh historically had access to public libraries across the St. Louis region through the Sora app on their school devices. This fantastic learning resource was provided
003to all students unless parents opted them out, creating an equitable experience and allowing parental control. The district recently created a barrier to equal access by removing all student access to the public libraries and turning this into an optin resource. While it may sound like a simple thing for a parent to opt their student back in, in reality, it's a timeconsuming process. First, the parent has to apply for their own library card if they don't already have one, then complete a separate library card application for each child in person at a library branch. This can present barriers for a variety of reasons, including lack of reliable transportation, conflicts with library operating hours, language barriers, or instability in the home. Then students have to complete a process on their district issued devices to reconnect to the library
004cataloges. And from experience, I can tell you this process is not quicker, intuitive, and generally requires help from an adult. Um, so while I'm dismayed by this development, I'm hoping we can work together as a community to restore public library access for more students. A first step would be to partner with local libraries to offer library card registration at school events such as upcoming parent teacher conferences. This would bring the opt-in process to the parents who may have a hard time getting to a library branch in person. The district could also dedicate more resources to stepping students through the process of reconnecting to the public library catalogs in their Sora app. Um, I know school librarians can help with this and would be happy to, I'm sure, but it seems unfair to put it all
005on them because I'm guessing this change was made over their objections. I'll close by saying that ebooks and audiobooks are essential tools for students, including those with learning differences, visual impairments, language barriers, or limited access to physical books. Taking away access to public libraries took hundreds of thousands of books away from our kids, making it harder to find research material for classes and increasing weight times for high demand titles needed for school book clubs or simply to read for enjoyment like my daughter does. She loves reading at Sora. Um the process of opting back into public library cataloges is not equitable for all families and students and this disproportionately impacts the very students district says it is committed to supporting. So, I hope the district will take steps to h help families opt their children
006back into public library access and consider reverting back to the opt out approach the district previously used and which several neighboring school districts still use. I think most of the KSD community would support this. Thank you. Our next speaker is Steve Sheny. >> Good evening. My name is Steve Sheney and I am a retired teacher and a lifelong member of the Kirkwood community and I'm here tonight because I believe that the district's response to an LGBTQ plus history month video was a serious mistake. In October, the Kirkwood School District received a letter from the Thomas Moore Society, a national law firm threatening legal action over the LGBTQ plus history month video shown at North Kirk Middle School. and the district announced it would comply, seemingly to avoid conflict. My concern is not about a few
007disgruntled parents or dismissing religious beliefs. It's about whether historically accurate information can be ignored because of pressure from a well-funded outside group. This is not about indoctrination. This is about history. By removing this video and treating it as something that requires special accommodation, the district sends a clear and damaging message. It tells LGBTQ plus students that their history is controversial and shameful. It tells educators that accuracy is negotiable. And it tells outside groups that threats work. Public education has faced moments like this before. Desegregation, teaching evolution, Holocaust education, civil rights history. And each time schools were urged, compromise, avoid controversy, play it safe. And history has been clear about how those choices are remembered, not as wisdom, but as fear. This is not an abstract decision. The district's response has already led to restricted access
008to the public library for students. That means fewer books, fewer voices, fewer opportunities to think critically and understand the world. These are real consequences for real students created because the Kirkwood School District refuses to stand. Our students are watching. They're learning not only from what we teach, but from what we are willing to defend. The community is watching. Politicians are watching. The Thomas Moore Society is watching. Bigots, hate groups, and bullies are watching. And the lesson they are learning is clear. The Kirkwood School District is weak. It does not have the stomach to fight for what is right. The Kirkwood School District has never been perfect. Not even close. But this decision, it strikes at the heart of the very values that define our community and the kind of district that we aspire to be.
009This is a moment to defend truth even when it's uncomfortable and to show our students that honor, honesty, history, and inclusion are not negotiable. Perfect. No. No. We are still a community striving toward a more perfect union. At least I thought we were until now. Paul Wellstone once said, "Sometimes you have to pick a fight to win." This is one of those moments. The board has a clear opportunity to stand for students, teachers, and the community. Allow the school to restore the link to the morning announcements on Schooly. restore access to the public library on districts tablets and computers. And if the Thomas Moore Society slithers back to threaten us again, the only words they should hear in response are, "We will see you in court." Thank you. Next is Bridget Ryan. >> Good evening,
010members of the school board. My name is Bridgetette Ryan and I'm 11th year teacher in the Kirkwood School District, currently teaching fifth grade at Westchester. Kirkwood has been my professional home since the start of my career. I student taught at Westchester in 2013, worked as a teaching assistant, adventure club staff member, and long-term substitute, and was hired as a certified teacher in the 2016 2015 or sorry, 2015 2016 school year. I'm here tonight to speak about the continued impact of the 2016 2017 salary on long-term staff. At the time, teachers were told this was a temporary one-year measure. Nearly 10 years later, many of us are still being financially affected by that decision. Although I am in my 11th year of teaching, I am paid at step 10 on the salary scale. Since the freeze,
011I have earned my master's free plus 35 additional credit graduate credit hours. For 10 of my 11 years in the district, I have been paid less than my experience in education warrant. The cumulative financial loss over time is significant. During these 10 years, my family has also faced serious medical conditions. My oldest son has a rare disease called Perthy's disease that required extensive medical care and nearly a year in a wheelchair. My younger son is chronic ear issues and has already required one surgical procedure with another one scheduled for next Friday. Last year, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease resulting in multiple ER visits, a four-night hospital stay, and the ter need for long-term medication. These challenges have placed an ongoing financial strain on my family. I share this not to ask for sympathy, but
012to highlight the real impact of the unresolved salary freeze on educators who have remained loyal to Kirkwood. Despite these challenges, I continue to show up every day for my students and give them my very best. I love this district and believe in its values. I respectfully ask the board to address and resolve the long-standing effects of the 2016 2017 salary freeze so that compensation reflects years of service, education, and commitment. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> The applause is great, but it cuts into your time. Um, Chrissy Stroop is the next speaker. Hi. >> Hi, my name is Chrissy Stro. I am a kindergarten teacher at Tilman Elementary and this is my 12th year in teaching. I am proud to work in the in the Kirkwood School District to live in this community
013and to have a daughter who attends Kaiser Elementary. First, I want to thank the Kirkwood school board members for taking the time to listen to teacher voices on this very important issue. I have personally been affected by the frozen step and I am hopeful that the district will make the right decision moving forward. If you value your teachers, please show us that you care by taking meaningful action. The time is now. It has been 10 years, 10 years of lost pay. While many of us have been told that this issue did not occur, I ask you to pause and consider how this would affect your life, your family, and your loved ones if you were impacted in this way. I am not here only because I have been affected by the frozen step. I am
014here because I'm deeply passionate about the Kirkwood School District and because I truly care about the people, the community, and the students I have the privilege of teaching every day. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> Amy Leatherberry. >> Good evening. Uh my name is Amy Leatherberry and I am a librarian at Kirkwood High School where I've taught since 2010. Uh, in these trying times, I'm honored and grateful to sit before a board that I know believes in the transformational power of public education. And it puts its weight behind initiatives that sustain employee wellness and professional growth such as tuition reimbursement, seal frameworks, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and most recently, paid family leave. Last month, I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days doing vision work around our next strategic plan.
015It was really energizing for me to sit with my KSD colleagues dreaming big and co-creating a future of pioneers who are equipped with the skills and knowledge to be successful in an everchanging world. Much of the education execution excuse me of this vision will be led by the exceptional educators you see behind me particularly those of us who like me have had the blessing of being here for over a decade or in some cases a politely long number of decades. We don't need to specify. One of the ways we ensure a promising future is by recognizing the past. Many of these same teachers saw their salaries frozen in 2016 after the failure of Prop A. Yet, we rallied together to pass Prop K, canvasing neighborhoods, sharing the story of the work we do day in
016and day out, often far beyond contract hours to support our students and their families. For me, that's looked like a rich and meaningful career that includes 10 years coaching varsity softball, several years in our alternative program, National Honor Society co-sponsor in that fuzzy Zoom phase outside the bounds of space and time, a revitalizing second act in the KHS library, and an early run as StuCo sponsor during the hatchet hop days, if any of you remember those. Um, I actually still have a now defunct wooden hatchet made by our engineering students in my office. I have chaperone dances, organized induction ceremonies, hit funos, and graded essays late into many a Sunday evening. And I wouldn't trade a minute of it. Like you, I believe in what we're doing. I've seen learning change lives. It's a challenging
017time to be a teacher and a harrowing time to champion public education. But I have never regretted choosing this profession or to stay here in Kirkwood when times got tough. Because in tough times, we resist by centering community, fostering belonging, and working to solve the problems we can't solve alone. This is a solvable problem. Neighboring districts like Melville have begun addressing this issue, and I know that as pioneers, we can figure out a way to move forward in a way that acknowledges the past while affirming the values of those educators who have chosen again and again to stay, to grow, and to serve this community. Thank you for your time, for your leadership, and your continued investment in the promising future of this district. Technology hates me. Good evening. I haven't made a public comment
018here in several years. And since those times, I've had the privilege of becoming a college educator at STLCC, and I currently serve on the Kirkwood Public Library board, thus meaning I'm more insufferable. I also come before you as a parent of two students in the district. It is at the intersection of these roles, educator, library advocate, and parent, that I feel compelled to speak about the recent Sora app policy change. This is a significant and impactful change to student access, and I am deeply troubled by the lack of communication to families prior to its implementation. Parents were not given an opportunity to understand the rationale or participate in a discussion before a policy was enacted that now directly limits student learning resources. As an educator and library board member who sees firsthand how these free
019resources are not only utilized but embraced, it is hard to understand why we would place additional barriers in front of students access to reading and learning materials. The most glaring concerns are accessibility, equity, and cost. Previously, students had access to three major library consortiums through Sora. Now, that access is restricted unless families take additional steps to opt back in, something their children already had. These extra steps cannot be viewed as minor. Some families were not even aware of the change, and I certainly can't depend on my seventh grader to sound the alarm. Some will not understand the process. Some may not have the time, technology, or language access to navigate it. And some students simply will not receive help at home. What once existed as a default support system has now become an obstacle course.
020Access matters because learning is not onesizefitsall. As a professor, I work with students, some of them dualenrolled KHS students who process information in vastly different ways. That means providing materials in multiple formats so they can engage with content in ways that work for them. This policy change limits that flexibility and creates that barrier. Even with students that have 504s or IEPs may receive accommodations, there are others who struggle and are invisible. Those who have yet to be diagnosed, those who fall through the cracks because they're doing fine enough. I was one of those students. I needed more time, more for formats, and multiple ways to digest material. The library and free access to it was how I learned to thrive. Ebooks. Audio books have limited licenses and removing access to partner consortiums shrinks the pool
021of available titles. Fewer copies means longer weights which discourages students from reading altogether. We should be expanding access, not restricting it. We should be removing friction, not adding it. We should be protecting systems that already worked, especially when those systems quietly served students who needed them the most. I urge the board to reconsider this policy, restore automatic access, and commit to transparent communication when changes directly impact students learning. Our children deserve systems that meet them where they are, not ones that ask them to overcome new barriers just to read. And Sora was not broken to begin with. Thank you. Uh, good evening. My name is Lucas Ravencraft. I'm a social studies teacher at Kirper High School. Uh, but I'm also a 2003 uh, KHS alum. Uh, and I've been working in the district for 11
022years. I would also like to briefly talk about the frozen step. Um, we were frozen after my first year uh, at Kirkwood High School. Uh, and so that means for the last 10 years I've been getting paid like a teacher that has one less year of experience than I do, just like many of the fine people behind me. Um while we are here talking about money and it is about money that we have not been paid and frankly that the district has saved on our backs over the last 10 years uh due to something that was not our fault because the financial situation of the district that happened 11 years ago had nothing to do with teachers yet we've been the ones bearing the burden of that. It's not about the lost money towards our
023retirement. It's not about every uh May or every March when the uh when the contracts come back out looking at that number and being frustrated that doesn't match our our actual years of service. It's about dignity and it's about respect. Uh and I would just hope that the district would do the right thing and show the respect to the teachers who have been in the district for the long term, who wear the most hats, who are so valuable to the district. Like for instance, I sponsor the youth and government program. I coach the mock trial team. I'm the department chair for social studies. I was I've been a PLC leader in the past and all of the folks behind me share that kind of uh that similar like wear a bunch of different hats is
024basically what I'm trying to say. We serve a lot of roles in the district. We have showed great loyalty by sticking it out in the district and all we're asking is to have some loyalty shown back to us. Uh and I believe that you want to honor us and be loyal to us and I do believe you appreciate us and this would be a really good way to show that appreciation. Thank you, >> Mary Fitzgerald. Hi, my name is Mary Fitzgerald. Uh, I have a son who graduated from here and another son that left um, freshman year. Um, and I'm a disability advocate. How many of you of you have used closed captioning? Hands. Yes, your teachers. Thank you. Okay. How many of you saw with your kids because you want to hear the news
025maybe or maybe turn the volume down when the news is ready? How many of you used it in your classroom? Okay. How many of you are aware that it's ADA law that you always have it enabled when you are showing videos? And that's what I want to talk to you about tonight. Okay. In the 10 years I've been coming to these board of education meetings, I've had to manage trying to listen during all of your microphone issues. And tonight you're having problems, too. During the last um candidate forum for Kirkwood, there were huge audio issues and no closed captioning. I was at home watching online and I missed about a third of the responses. That's a problem. You are required by law to have this problem to fix. Closed captioning has a lot of value
026in the classroom. Those kindergarten teachers I back there were telling me, "Yeah, if you enable close captioning during a video, that really helps students with um word recognition. If you're teaching a foreign language, you put that Spanish closed captioning on, your kids are going to start picking it up. It increases information retention, reading skills, speed and fluency, word knowledge and recognition, vocabulary acquisition and comprehension. It allows keyword search in a transcript on a video. ELLL learners can choose to have a video translated into their first language. But more than that, it is required under ADA. This is coming from David Baker of Missouri Assisted Technology, the state agency for assisted technology. Public schools are required under federal law to ensure instructional videos are accessible. Closed caption should be enabled by default for instructional use and
027not treated as a special accommodation. This is ADA, section 504 rehabilitation act and under IDEIDA. Uncaptioned videos violate ADA and section 504 when used instructionally. Schools may not require students to request captions as an accommodation when the content is part of general instruction. It just means you're supposed to have it on there all the time. Students don't need to have to ask for it. If a video is used for instruction, schools are responsible for ensuring that it is accessible at the time it is shown. This applies to YouTube videos, streaming platforms, teacher and student creative videos, vendor provided curriculum videos, and I'm going to add I was the person who told you to start using closed caption in the board of education meetings. I used to take notes and now I can just listen. I
028have tenon eyes and I really can't take ne notes anymore because of closed captioning. I can get a trans transcript of your meetings. That's phenomenal. The students should have that ability to do that, too. in the classroom, at home, and with assignments. I asked this wonderful group of Kirkwood teachers about their use of closed captioning. Evidently, there is no specific guidance from this school district telling them >> to use closed captioning. Thank you. Lisa Shinnberger. >> Hello. Um I'm Lisa Shinnberger. I teach up at the high school and I just wanted to talk again about the frozen step. Um, quality teachers and administrators are two of the most essential indicators for student success. To ensure that we have the best teachers and the best educators, our board values competitive pay that's based on fair market
029value. With this important goal in mind, some members of central office administration team got a 7.99% raise last year. And that's great. They do incredibly hard work and deserve fair compensation. However, likewise, I ask you to compensate our teachers for that same work and that same dedication. Specifically, the group of teachers who have not been made whole after they were frozen over a decade ago. To remain competitive, our district, sorry, to com to remain competitive, our district creates a salary scale that is compared to nearby districts. For example, each year the salary committee checks to see if, for example, Kirkwood plus 15 step 13 is competitive with or I'm sorry, master plus 13 step plus 15 step step 13 is competitive with master plus 15 step 13 in other districts. This has been a priority
030of the board um and is very important. However, for my group of teachers that were frozen, it appears as though we are competitive with nearby districts. But as a teacher at 13 years, I'm only being paid at the rate of 12 years. And though it appears to be competitive, I'm paid at almost 2,000 less than I would be paid at other districts. In addition, there's two other examples of inequalities that I know exist that further illustrates the problem with our missing step. In my school, a really great teacher left after the freeze. He went and worked for another district and was gi uh for a few years before Kirkwood successfully recruited him back. When he came back, he was given all of his years, including the frozen step when he returned. I'm so happy for
031him. He is a phenomenal teacher and a great colleague, and our school is a better place because we got him back. He deserves to be paid for all of his steps. But so do all my fellow co-workers who stayed in the district during those years. Another colleague started with us two years after the freeze. He got all his steps and actually makes more money based on his years of teaching than my colleagues and I do who were frozen during that year. I am happy for him. Again, he is a wonderful teacher and Kirkwood is lucky to have him. Our students are better off because of him, but so are my fellow co-workers who have worked for the district for longer. There is a precedent for this. Melville just recently gave back their teachers a step
032from a frozen year. Please help us feel valued and respected and write the wrong that was done to us over a decade ago by giving us back our step. Thank you so very much. >> Courtney Wilson. Good evening members of the board and district leadership. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Courtney Wilson and I am a school counselor in the district. This is my 17th year of service, and I'm proud of the work I do each day to support students, families, and schools. Throughout my career, I've continued my education while working full-time here, ultimately earning a PhD, the highest level of training in my field. I pursue this degree to strengthen my practice and better serve this district. Tonight, I want to share how several district policies have had lasting
033professional and financial impacts on me over time. 10 years ago, during a district-wide freeze, my step was frozen. The following year, I should have advanced to the next step, but instead I remained where I was. Every year since then, I've officially been recorded and compensated as having one few fewer year of experience than I've actually given to this district. This has meant earning less each year, not just during the year of the freeze, but continuously for the past 10 years. The difference compounds annually and will continue to affect my earnings throughout my retirement. During that same year, I was on extended contract and the district reduced the number of days worked. As a result, I not only lost a step, but I also made less money that year. I also want to speak to the
034impact of the district's parental leave policy at the time. When I had my children, there was no paid parental leave. I was required to use all of my accumulated days. After 15 years of service, I returned to work with only three days left in my sick bank. After more than a decade of dedication to this district, I was in a position where I could not afford to take a sick day. I appreciate that the district has since added paid parental leave. That is a meaningful progress. However, for educators like me who have had children before the change, the consequences remain permanent. Taken together, these experiences represent long-term compounding effects on salary, retirement, health, and family stability, particularly for educators who stay, pursue advanced education, and build long-term careers in this district. Tonight, I am respectfully
035asking the board to consider a concrete and equitable remedy for situations like mine. Specifically, I'm requesting review of options such as restoring frozen step or equivalent service credit, applying retroactive service credit toward retirement calculations, and considering leave restoration or adjustment for educators who exhausted their days due to the absence of paid parental leave at the time. This is not about special treatment, is about accuracy, equity, and honoring service that was given but is not fully reflected on paper or in pay. I have given 17 years to this district and I will continue to serve students and families with professionalism and care. I'm simply asking that my compensation, service record, and retirement reflect the work that I work I've actually done. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your consideration. We have used up the
03630 minutes aotted for this. There are still four speakers who did not have an opportunity to speak. Please feel free to email us your comments. Thank you. >> Now I need a motion to approve the agenda for the February 2nd, 2026 regular meeting as presented. >> Second. All those in favor raise your right hand and say I. >> I. Motion passes. I need a motion to approve the presented consent agenda from 5.02 to 5.06 as presented. >> So move. >> All those in favor raise your right hand and say I. >> I. >> Motion passes. I need a motion to approve consent agenda item 6.01. 01 as presented. >> So move. >> All those in favor raise your right hand and say I. >> I need a motion to approve the December 2025 financial statements
037as presented. Mr. >> Good evening. >> Okay, so operating revenues for December increased a great deal from what we saw in November and driven by our first substantial local tax revenue finally coming in. So a little bit of peace of mind uh for the finance office that that that came in in December. So local revenues uh a little over 16 and a half million about 25% about a quarter of what we're expecting there. So current tax revenue made up more than 15 million of this amount. So I would just point out that uh that's 22% of the local taxes we expect to receive. This time last year we had about 52%. So it echoes a little bit about what we shared last time that they're running way behind St. Louis County and distributions there. So
038checking with my colleagues around the area, you know, being new, don't want to be the the person who's not paying close attention there. That's that's been true in every district that I've spoken with. So just been a delay. They have new software at St. Louis County and those revenues are coming in slower than expected. So I hope to report more progress there with our January revenue. So uh we we had a negative and delinquent taxes. And so what that represents often is just a recalculation uh of a reduced tax liability below zero. So an overpayment by someone in that area, an adjustment of credit. So we we saw that reflected there. Just wanted to provide a little background in what that represents. We we received our sixth Prop C payment for FY26 at 641,000. Uh
039a very slight increase from last month. Uh so so far Prop C is trending exactly as we had hoped. Revenues matching what appropriation was given and so we've received just a little over 45% of what we expect to get in Prop C and the state is telling us that we can expect to hit our goal there budget wise. So that's that's good news so far for Prop Cinemax revenue for December just over 524,000. Again, there had been a negative balance there as well. An adjustment for an overpayment somewhere. So this this tax actually dates all the way back to 1985. It replaced a uh tax on tangible personal property for merchants and manufacturers. So there's now just an assessment that takes place for $100,000 of commercial value. And so that's what that that tax represents
040there. That's an area too where the district has some flexibility as to where to appropriate that. And so that's helpful as well. Uh other areas mentioned in that table, uh we're trending very well in our other local revenues, our BTS program and trending on track with food service. Again, our our earnings were in investments are a little bit different than what we're used to seeing as we've had some long-term ladder investments there. We're not showing that revenue as quickly as we might normally have done. So, that shows reflected there. No county revenues to report for December. Uh and state revenues, we received $68,000. We're at about 34% of our budget in that line down from November payments of from about 22,000. So basic formula 313,000. We had an $85,000 prior year correction. Uh so the
041reason why that often takes place is statewide ADA numbers shake out over the course of a year and as they get to December they they try to issue a correction to reflect the actual dollars that were appropriated. So last year was an interesting year in Missouri in that the thresholds changed and folks who didn't estimate enrollment uh that is made up for in December and so the districts that were more accurate uh end up paying a prior year correction while others get a positive prior year correction. So we had an $85,000 prior year correction because the denominator of the SAT grew and it was impacted in that way. So there was no nothing the district did wrong or could have done differently. is just one of those things that we had a $14 correction to
042SAT there. So, state revenue allowed for an SAT of 6,900 again this month as we're hopefully trending towards full payment there. Uh KSD SAT was 1440 after we subtract local efforts. So, just want to keep that in front of mind. Classroom trust is a place where the the funding is is not at all coming close to what appropriation was. Um we had received 86,000 in December, $32,000 less than we received in November. So that's been trending backwards. I've been encouraging everyone to gamble listening there. So year-to- date cash for CTF is running $26 million behind at the state level of what's needed to fully fund this year. So I would expect unless there's a huge upturn in the year that we're going to see a shortfall in what we expected in CTF. Now, we know
043that they subtract classroom trust for what they owe us in the formula. So, uh theoretically, we could see an adjustment to our formula payment. However, when there's a major shortfall in one of those, that's often when we see prrated payments. So, I would just encourage you all to keep an eye on that. I'm going to do the same to keep you breast of what's going on there. Transportation rebounded as the proration factor went down. the appropriation amount uh matched better with what we would have expected to receive. So we were up $17,000 in our transportation line and you can see as well uh educational screening just our fourth payment there from the PAT $92,000 in federal revenue. We're almost halfway home uh when it comes to this fiscal year and we're trending where we should
044with federal revenues coming in as expected. operating expenses just over seven million uh for December. Year to date, we're at 39% of our expected expenditures. Uh and we're 50% through the year. So, you always try to measure those numbers and see that we're trending in a good direction there. We closed out the calendar year on self-funded insurance and our beginning fund balance for December was 1.1 million. Uh revenues were 985,000. Medical claims were just a little over a million. The good news is that we were almost twice as much ending our calendar year as where we finished last year. Last year's final balance in December was 585,000 and we finished this calendar year at 1.093. So I feel like that's trended in a in a good direction, healthier year hopefully for our folks and as
045well as some increased contributions at the district level. We finish up with a better balance there. We'll restart the calendar year with those new rates when we next get together and report on January. Uh you can see the fund balances there. Take any questions on those. Just just a really brief legislative update as the legislative year has opened. The session has begun and tax policy is at the top of the list there. The elimination of income tax is at the top of the top of the list. And so you're going to hear a lot of discussion about that as the session moves forward. Uh just some some general uh feedback there that that income tax accounts for 67% of general revenue in the state of Missouri uh generating about $9 billion annually. Our current state
046sales tax rate is at 4.2% 4.225 and that brings in about $3 billion. So estimates would suggest that if state sales tax is expected to cover the shortfall that is brought about by income tax elimination, we could be anywhere from 12.5 to 17% sales tax rates to generate that revenue. So I think that's something to pay close attention to. Uh that that a shifting of that tax burden and what impact that might have on general revenue at the state level is important for us to follow. So I would keep an eye on that. Property tax revision is another major topic. There's over a hundred bills filed around property tax reform. A couple of things to pay attention to I think there including new construction in the Hancock amendment has been something that's gained a lot
047of traction and that would lead us to some larger roll backs on our levy if that that's funding that's been independent of Hancock that uh the original drafters of the Hancock amendment intended for local districts to get all that revenue because sometimes the increase in new construction also leads to new expenses for school districts. So that's uh was intentionally left off and there's legislation to reintroduce that uh back into the Hancock amendment. Uh so new revenue may be needed to make up for that shortfall as a result of the construction. So uh there's also traction around a reduced percentage assigned to personal property assessments and that's all over the place right now. There's multiple bills with different percentages. I think just something for us to watch as again that could lead to some shortfalls for
048us. Formula rewrite. Uh the last thing on my list, uh work groups have concluded and reported back to the original task force. They'll be working on a recommendation. I think the real work there starts in January 2027, a year from now. As that group makes a recommendation, it still goes through the legislative process and we'll need to pay close attention to that. uh with no new funding being contributed to a formula rewrite, there will be winners and losers in that uh discussion. And so we would want to pay close attention to how that shakes out to see what camp we are more likely to fall into. So hope you don't mind me updating there, but I think it's pertinent for us to pay attention to those uh those financial implications of new legislation. So any
049questions on that? Miss Bang, a quick question. Can you repeat the sales tax hike percentages that you said if the property tax was removed? >> Yeah, the estimated and these are these are kind of a blank blanket there that they're coming at from the state level. So 12.5% to 17% sales tax at the state level to make up for that lost revenue. to >> make up for p for property tax >> to make up for the elimination of income tax >> income tax. Sorry. Okay. Sorry. Okay. >> No, no, no. Thank you. Um that's pretty significant. >> It's a pretty significant. So it's a shifting of burden from one form to another and I think that's what folks have to be cognizant of is that entities like us can't survive without that general revenue coming
050from the state. And so it has to be made up in one form or another and a shifting from one form to another. I think folks are going to have to wrap their mind around the impacts that that may have. >> And can you what is that? Is there a house bill or a Senate bill that we can be sharing? >> I don't have the number, but I will get that to you. I also would add that that takes a a statewide vote because it would be essentially a new tax and so we would have a chance as patrons to vote on that. I think that's why important we why it's important we stay sort of educated around that as when that does take place, we would want to make sure it would impact not
051just Kirkwood school district but but all >> I'll get the number for you. There is a there is a bill number out there. >> So um as you say you know kind of list off all this um legislation that can impact our funding. Um with that would it go into effect once you know the legislation is voted in? It would go into So, some of those some of those bills have start dates that are FY28 and give some time for folks to adjust to uh the property tax uh bills. Some of them are starting immediately and some of them are stairstepped out. And so, it depends on what gains traction. A lot of times all those varying ideas get sucked into one omnibus bill. And a lot of times one of the negotiation points is
052let's start this out a little bit further and give our districts and others a chance to adjust to that. So we would certainly advocate for more time there. It's an interesting time in Missouri revenue uh discussions in that we do have an opportunity to do some really progressive things around a formula rewrite and property tax revision. But I'm not sure it's all kind of coming together. >> I'm not sure everyone's like working together and thinking through all that together. Okay. And then can you go back to the piece where um we and I forget the funding source, but it was the gambling where >> Oh, classroom trust fund. Yes. Yes. >> So we're we have not received as much funding in that area. And so typically what they would cover they would cover that by
053>> by increasing so >> they essentially say this is how much we owe you in the formula we're going to subtract from >> right >> uh should have produced and so if the if the classroom trust amount falls short then in theory our formula payment should increase >> in the past when that's happened that's often led to proration. Okay. So, that that was my next question is do from a historical and you might not have this like at at your fingertips and that's okay, but historically have we had um this happen where >> the classroom trust has come in short and then the >> it has not happened in the last nine years that I've been following it. So, I think >> so it's often uh been bolstered by something else at some point. Classroom
054trust is often the most volatile because it relies on people's habits. >> Yeah. >> But uh we've usually been close enough that the general >> we haven't needed to to >> um and so then if it does come in short when is the time that we will find out if the formula is going to adjust to cover it? >> Yeah. Typically that would be a June decision towards the end of the year and at the end of at the end of May as the session's closing and the budgets agreed upon those typically important times. >> Okay. >> Um I guess what I would just say is we have a lot that is um uncertain right now >> right >> on with our funding. I think c certainly for uh KSD I think that the property
055tax bills are important to watch because as we all know that's >> that's our major funding >> piece of our funding and so as those get u decided upon I think it's important to pay attention to those and we saw the effects already from the from the Senate Bill 190 effect of the the senior tax freeze and the implications that that have and so all of those property tax revisions are good ideas and ideas that we can getind but they don't come without consequences. Right. So, >> right. I think >> and they're they're also um you know helpful to to people that need them except that >> they're not we're not getting that money replaced by anything. >> There's no recruitment process for that, >> right? So, while we understand that people need that, right?
056Um but it's also >> we're not there's consequences. Um so thank you for for updating us and um with the one more question with the percentage that you said we were um 22% and last year we were at 55 >> um and so have you contacted them the >> they proactively reached out and let us know that they would be late and okay >> I still wanted to check with our peers around us through December they had a similar experience. >> Okay. >> Have our fingers crossed that better report next month. >> Yeah. And sometimes it'll come in like in a big big way. Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Y >> thank you for all this and thank you for for keeping us updated on all the legislative pieces. That's really important. >> I appreciate
057that. It feels like a good time to do that around finance. So hopefully I can do that monthly and we can send be wonderful. Thank you. Um, we need to vote. All those in favor of approving the December 2025 financial statements, raise your right hand and say, "I." >> I. >> Motion passes. And now 8.01, Superintendent Board Reports, curriculum writing process. >> Thank you, President Matika. Um, we have Dr. Grana, our assistant superintendent of Instruction, and Dr. Kelly Dickson, our executive director of adult learning, professional development, all things adults. Sorry. Um tonight in the umformational item, we bring a first review of 16 courses to you. And we have an incredible group of administrators that lead this work along with teacher leaders, many of whom are in the room tonight, that tackle each of these
058courses individually over many months working through a process to either revise or update and write new um curriculum. Correct. Yeah. And so tonight was a a perfect opportunity with those courses coming for information to provide this report to you and really talk through the process and help you understand a little bit more nuance about what goes into looking at the courses that we offer and then how do we either update them, rewrite them throughout the cycle. And I will tell you I was really impressed last spring as I was learning more about the district. Many districts do not have a clear plan for what this work looks like over a period of time. And I know a lot of work was put in by the CNI team over the last year, year and a half
059to audit our hundreds of courses and make sure that there was a plan in place to update them on an ongoing basis. And then when you think about not only pulling people together to do the work of writing them and making sure it's the strongest curriculum, then identifying the resources to do the instruction, which as you know is outside of salaries and benefits our largest cost for the district. And so I'm excited to have Dr. Granite and Dr. Dickson share a little bit about that and answer any questions you might have. Thank you, Dr. No microphones, right? Okay. All right. And this presentation may be a little bit redundant for Miss >> Make sure it's on >> for Miss Heburn and for Mr. Kathy because they are serving on our um curriculum review committee. So,
060thank you for your patience again for hearing this information tonight. Miss Motica, you have served um as well. So, we're going to talk through um how we design, review, and continuously improve our curriculum to support student success. This process is teacherdriven, data informed, and aligned to state standards and expectations. Our focus is not just what we teach, but how we ensure it stays effective and relevant for all of our students. This work directly supports our district's vision and mission. Curriculum is one of the strongest tools we have to bring this vision to life. Everything you'll see tonight connects back to our district vision and mission. Curriculum development is guided by board approved policies that ensure quality, equity, and transparency. These policies outline expectations for the curriculum writing process, instructional materials, professional learning, and community input.
061Our process balances local control and expertise with state alignment. This ensures that our curriculum reflects both community values and state standards. So how we define our curriculum begins with the Missouri learning standards ensuring that we are aligned to the state. From there we identify priority standards and then we articulate our enduring understandings those important deep ideas that are central to content areas like adding and subtracting. Um and then essential questions which really provoke that inquiry and debate to guide deep learning. a clear scope in sequence that ensures that our consistency um is across grade levels and buildings and it ensures there is learning in sequential level or order from grade to grade. So here is our six-year curriculum writing cycle includes the evaluation, research, development and implementation of the curriculum. Rather than rushing changes, we
062emphasize thoughtful phased improvement. Each stage each stage built on the previous one to support long-term success. Year one evaluation. We begin by asking is the curriculum being taught with fidelity? Achievement data helps us determine what's working and what needs refinement. And disagregated data ensures that we're examining equity and access for all of our students. These insights guide decisions in the next phase of our cycle, which is research. Research is where we gather teacher feedback and stakeholder input. We study pedagogical research and best practices, those high impact teaching strategies. Our standards are analyzed through both local and a global lens. Um here right in the St. Louis area, within the state of Missouri, nationally, and even internationally, we look um at the trends that are occurring in curriculum. This phase ensures our work is informed, intentional,
063and that it is future focused. development is the third stage of our cycle. Uh teachers line our curriculum directly to the Missouri learning standards. That's where they create those priority standards, enduring understanding, enduring understandings and essential questions. Um and that cohesive scope and sequence as well. The curriculum is then brought to the curriculum review committee or the CRC and then if approved, it moves through the CRC process. We bring it to the board of education for a first and second reading and then approval. So you'll see tonight on the information agenda our curriculum documents for our first reading. Years four, five, and six are implementation. Implementation includes targeted professional development. Teachers use high impact instructional strategies aligned to the curriculum, ongoing assessment review, and data collection. These all help make those small adjustments and refinements
064that we need within the curriculum. This extended phase really allows us to reflect, refine, and find areas for growth in the curriculum. Our curriculum writing teams or our architects, many who are here tonight, um really help us design and develop our curriculum. They work with our district facilitators um to do this work and they put in a lot of time and energy and passion into this work as well. The curriculum review committee is um a board approved um committee. It's comprised of teachers and parents and community members. This helps us with transparency and community voice throughout the entire process. And this is really where the development stage is seen um with the curriculum review committee. We follow policy if So this process really allows us to make sure that we are listening to all voices
065and then if we are seeing anything that might need refinement or adjustment, it can be pushed back down to me and the curriculum writing team at the CRC process. If it moves forward to the board for a first and second reading, but maybe there are some things that you might have questions about or you'd like us to review again, the board can push that process, as you guys know, right back down to CRC and our curriculum writing teams. So this is our current year's work. Um what you can see up here are all 200 plus curricular areas and every year our curriculum is in one of these cycles that's either being evaluated researched developed or we're implementing we're refining making those small adjustments common assessments formative and uh summitative and really working through those pieces.
066So there is quite a bit of work here um that is occurring. I um I have to say thank you to Dr. Dickinson as well because all of this work is on our curriculum um website um and you can see which um course is in in which stage of the cycle and we have also all of our curriculum online in a unified template for transparency and Dr. Dickinson has been a huge part of that work. So I really appreciate all the time and effort she has been uh been giving to that work. online. So, selecting and acquiring our instructional resources, we follow a really careful multi-step process. Um, this is we pilot our materials in the classroom. We're gathering teacher feedback and we're ensuring that we have pretty strict criteria that we are following to
067make sure that it meets the needs of all students in the classroom. So, you can see here it has to be highly aligned with our state standards and our curriculum. needs to be consistent with our district mission and vision, culturally responsive, appropriate for our aid for age and emotional development, compatible with all of our district technology. You guys know that SIPA, COPA, Purpa have put additional guidelines around all of our um digital resources and we want to ensure that it is ADA compliant. Um there is also policy around formal board approval of our resources. Anything that is over 50,000 needs to be board approved. And at any time the board has questions about any of our resources, we follow that process if that policy through if and that can still be pushed back down to
068me and the curriculum writing team as well. As you all know, this is just a tiny little snapshot of um our uh spreadsheet where we keep every single resource um and we keep a record of it. It is a 10-year projection um with increases um as well. And um we know exactly when our our contract is up with the resource. We know um how long we have the resource for. We know what the increase is going to be. And this is something that we talk about regularly in the department and make sure that we are planning um responsibly around to ensure that we are um providing the resources that our students need responsible. I interrupt just for a second to highlight. You're seeing just such a small screenshot there, but it really is an incredible
069workbook where she said several hundred courses, the sixear cycle, every single resource that's utilized. And we think now about the software requirements, the technology requirements, the vendor licenses, which teachers are involved in each of these committees, that's all captured in one place. Now, that one the advantage to us for planning both a budget standpoint as well as the process is incredible. Um, but then also to have that people in our roles change, right? So, anybody can come in now and know where we're at. So, again, kudos to the people that put the time in doing that audit, making sure that that exists is not in every district in the way that you would expect. It's pretty great to be >> I'm going to turn things over to Dr. Dick Dickinson here in a minute, but
070I I have to thank our teachers who have been such an integral part of this process. I have to say thank you to the board as well. You guys ask tough questions, but they are the right questions to ensure that all of our students have what they need to learn and grow and be innovative and creative in the classroom every single day. And that also supports our teachers and their instruction in the classroom to be the best that they can for our students every single day. So, I'm going to turn things over to Dr. Dickinson to talk a little bit about our professional development um and what that looks like in our department and in the district as well. Thank you. Okay. So, um with new curricula and new resources comes the fun and responsibility
071um to ensure that all of our teachers have the time and tools for implementation. And um really what is so fun seeing that come alive in the classroom and um with our students. So this might include this implementation of resources and curriculum might include any of any combination of the or all of the things that you see here on this slide. Um first we're very lucky and grateful to have our professional learning days. Um a lot of direct instruction on curriculum and resources happens here. Additionally, um time to write common district summitive assessments or formative assessments and to really start thinking about um what is it going to look like when students show proficiency and then um those additional conversations around what are we going to do um if our students need more time, more
072resources, something to bring. Um also learning collaboration through the professional learning communities is another way that we um is another way that we ensure that we um our resources and our curricular are implemented correctly. So um for example that could be job embedded um coaching, it could be job embedded observation and reflection. So lots of different opportunities there. Um, there are several great examples of professional development for curriculum and resource implementation across the district. But I think one that you know very well and that I wanted to highlight here is the excellent work um that our elementary school teachers um led by facilitator Miranda Dixs has done with our K5 math. um not only um was a tremendous amount of work done um through the for the K5 math curriculum but then also that resource
073and the implementation um piloting and implementation of that resource. So um the learning has been going on by the teachers and um through the resource since January of last year and um direct instruction through the semester and now just starting in January we've had that opportunity for that job embedded coaching and it's just going phenomenally well. So we're really proud of that as an example. Um there are secondary examples as well. Certainly um we are really proud that a lot of our curricula that um especially with social science and science that's recently been um approved by the board. Um now we are in the um common summit of assessment phases of that and we're really able to talk about how to bring that instruction alive for our students. Okay. Um so throughout the curriculum cycle
074there is a focus on four components which together bring um continuous improvement. The first of those is um curriculum that is rigorous. Um, and I alluded to this before when I said teachers are using that formative assessment data um to give them a snapshot of what's working and what's not and what our students need so that they can adjust their instruction and um help those students who have not yet met proficiency or um really push and stretch those students who who need something. The second component is alignment. Um as Dr. told us teacher curric teacher instruction is aligned to the curriculum which is aligned to those Missouri state standards. Um what I love so much about our curriculum is that it is written by our teachers. They are the experts on this content and um
075I think that by writing their own curriculum, not only do they know it well, but they're invested and they really really really know how to bring that alive for our students. So very exciting um that we have that opportunity here in Kirkwood. And finally, teachers um are continuously refining their work. Um each student is different and our teachers are continually adjusting to meet their changing needs. So um I am so thankful to Dr. Grana and the facilitators and all of the teachers and other people that help the curriculum process along so that teachers have the tools they need to ensure student success. And I thank you to board of education for all of your support. >> Thank you very much. This is really helpful. Good information. Any questions? Um so you mentioned Dr. getting feedback
076from stakeholders on the effectiveness of the teaching including during the process to collect and the instructional resources. Can you talk a little bit more about who is included as stakeholders and then how do you actually go about getting that feedback since that's really important? Um your emphasis not just on the what the how. >> Yeah, the the feedback is gathered through a survey and um it would usually be students who are participating in that specific course. So, at the high school level, it would be hypothetically an English course. Um, at our middle school level, it might be a grade level math. And then at the elementary level, it would be that content area within um that grade level. So, just recently, we received math feedback from our students through a survey um to really help
077inform next steps. And it's not feedback um necessarily about the teaching. I want to be really clear about that. It's feedback on their experience with um their learning in the classroom and how um they feel about that and what they would like to see moving forward. That's helpful riveting and exciting material. Um but you know, you kind of um but the understanding effectiveness of how they feel like they're able to connect with it is really important. It sounds like opportunities as well to discuss some of that how can use that as a resource as well. Yes, we do. Um we don't share necessarily the um the granular level of the feedback at the CRC meetings, but we do share the overarching themes that emerge and then how the curriculum is being written to address or
078meet the needs of students for the future. >> And then one other question um can you describe a little bit pedic >> pedagogical research. I looked it up. Um, and it sounds like it's important in terms of evidence based investigation of teaching and learning. Yes. Um, but would love to hear a little bit more about what that entails and kind of what >> Yeah, it's those high impact instructional strategies and we're using Hadtie's research quite often to really drive what that looks like um to meet the needs of all students in the classroom. how we differentiate um how we are culturally responsive, how we are um working in the classroom with um locations and stations um as well. So just all of those high impact instructional strategies that we know impact outcomes for students in
079achievement. So does that then adopt the strategies that you use as you go given the effectiveness? I guess the two questions together around the how it's affected, right? And that's where our professional development comes kind of into the into the plan as well. I know the high school has been really focused on um TPT, their teaching practices and strategies that they have been looking at. Um as well as when our new teachers come into the district, we talk a lot about Hattie and his research as well and high impact teaching strategies. >> Thank you. >> Um just one question. I'm really interested in all the ways that Kirkwood can be more dynamic and just all the ways we can explore ways that we can do that well. Um, and so just if we could expand
080a little bit on the years four through six when we're implementing in through this lens of being dynamic and teachers are are doing it. You mentioned that they're that's their chance to, you know, make notes or make tweaks or notice this is something that works or this is something that doesn't or here's a better where like how does that part of the process work? Because you have different teachers implementing that curriculum. I mean, are they making notes and then coming back together? Does that get put down for the next phase when it comes back around for evaluation? Can you just connect those dots for me? And I love the idea of just that part of the process. Basically, yes, that curriculum writing team is really connected closely to the facilitator who is leading that work.
081And so they are constantly checking in through those years four, five, and six. What is working? What needs adjustment? Do we need to change the pacing, scope, and sequence? Do we need additional resources? Kind of really refining all of those and fine-tuning all of those curricular pieces. But it would really happen through connecting with that curriculum facilitator. And then Dr. Dickson and I also have conversations around that as well and see if it's something that we need to bring back to the CRC for review um to to adjust or shift um or if it's something that we can do in real time through lesson planning or providing resources. So sometimes those changes happen in real time. So sometimes that curriculum gets updated as the things get explored and other times it's more of a note
082that is something to come back to for the next cycle. >> Yes. Okay. But we don't want too much time to get, you know, go past either. So if there are adjustments we can make that we know are going to impact outcomes for students, we want to do those in real time. And the extent of the changes is what would what would um decide whether or not it needs to come back through the review process. like there's a there's a window of like smaller tweaks that are okay that can get slipped in there without having to get through the whole thing or I mean how do how do you determine when it needs to get approved again? So that's why it's really important that we have curriculum defined. So if there were changes in those
083Missouri learning standards we would bring it back. If there were changes in the essential questions and during understandings priority standards or the scope and sequence that's when we would bring it back to the CRC. >> Gotcha. Right at you. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, and then just want to say that it's a joy being on the curriculum committee meeting and I'll use this opportunity to say that you and your team do an amazing job and I just it's a shame that the public doesn't get to see the amount of detail and work that goes into this. I think um I'm sure anyone looks at any one course that their kid does and imagines that a lot of work went into it, but I think whatever you imagine, multiply it by 5 to 10 and that's
084more of the reality. So um this is your moment. So I'm just going to say you guys do an amazing job, the whole team. And um the committee is amazing because there's parents and community members and there's so many questions and there's just um so much refinement and so many rounds of um eyeballs that get on these things. So, I just thank you very much. >> Thank you, >> Mr. >> I pushed it anyways. I don't know. >> I'll talk loud. Um so, I wanted to just speak to and there might be some education for me. Um the distinction between curriculum and curriculum resources. So curriculum is what we've got the first reading for which follows the sixyear cycle. >> Um but there's a difference between curriculum and curriculum resources. So the resources would be
085like what you did a very good job of educating me on last year with Desmos which is our K through five math curriculum resource. >> Correct. Good. Does that go through the same sixyear? Like is there a six-year cycle for that specifically? Because I just want to make that important distinction that the curriculum is the curriculum, the resource is the resource and they are separate things. And I'll get another point about that. >> Yes. No, that's correct. And when we say highly aligned, so ADM, our math resource is highly aligned to our state standards and then the scope and sequence that our teachers help us write is also highly aligned to the resource. So they somewhat go hand in hand. So there's alignment between the two and it does not go through a full six-year
086curriculum writing cycle >> For the resource. Okay. >> Did I answer your question? >> Yes. And I'll get to my point. >> I've had to obviously sounds educate some people that they'll say like we're piloting a new curriculum. We're not piloting a new curriculum. We may be piloting a new curriculum resource. the curriculum itself is board approved, right? And that is what it is. So, I think it's important to just make that distinction. And kind of my final thought to just consider is um do we um and throughout the process of piloting, which makes sense, we might have three different resources that we're piloting. Do we proactively notify parents that that's going to be taking place in the classroom just so that they're aware that again I think it's also important they understand the curriculum
087is not changing but the resource that we use to teach the curriculum might look a little bit different in this class or at this school than what we're doing at a different elementary school. >> Yeah, absolutely. Great question. We communicate with families when we are piloting because we know that if we have teachers who are not piloting when they go to assess and grade and report their reporting is a little bit different than the teachers who are piloting. So it is very important that we communicate that there may be some shifts in that and if they want to review the curriculum resource uh that we're piloting they're welcome to do that at that time too but full transparency open communication about that and if they have questions we can answer those. But it's important to
088just make that distinction that we might be piling a different resource, but at the end of the day, the curriculum is the curriculum. We're teaching that no matter >> utilizing that specific question. >> Yes. And another way to say that too, the state standards are the state standards and that's what we're responsible for teaching. So, >> thanks for all your work. Thank you. >> Um, hi. Um, thanks for all your hard work. Um, to to kind of piggy back on what was saying so you go through this back and forth back and forth. Um I just want to make sure that there's a mechanism that when you are going back forth and little tweaks and changes but then it's brought back to so that like all the teachers are on the same page like in
089an elementary kind of situation so that um there we do have that kind of established. >> Yes. >> Okay. That is the goal and we're working to make sure that alignment is really tight um through the PLC process. So, okay. >> Not to change or take away from the art of teaching, right? But really to ensure that all students >> are getting Yeah. Okay. >> Uh equitable experience. Sorry. >> Okay. Then another quick question um goes to um the the assessment piece of this and um just making sure that when we are adopting new curriculum, new resources, that kind of thing, that we are, you know, having alignment with our our assessment and then with our report card, which it's like, oh my goodness, you've got all this and then to add report cards and
090assessment, it's like a whole another um lot of work. So, I just want to make sure that we're Can you speak to that a little bit? >> Yeah, so the PLC process really supports that assessment work. Um, and also common resources help support the alignment in that work as well. We also have another tool that helps uh that Miss Lock um helps lead and work with. It's called DNA. Um, but it locks a common assessment in, meaning that teachers cannot change that common assessment once they've agreed upon the common assessment. So then we're all giving the same assessment, >> but they can all add their their um to their they can build their DNA basically. >> Yes. But the common assessment we want to be the same. >> Okay. >> So that all students are
091assessed on the same same exact learning. >> Okay. Great. >> Yeah. And we are working on that. We are working on that alignment. We're working on those common assessments to ensure that is happening as well. >> Yeah. And I would just thank our our teachers and Thank you. This is it's a lot of work um to to you know do this and have it successful. Um so I really appreciate it and good stuff. Thank you. This is all incredibly helpful and I do know how hard you work and how hard the teachers work. So, thanks for doing and this was very informative um and will help us as we get first and second readings of the different >> Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you. >> Moving on to information, we do have the first
092reading of a bunch of different curriculums. So, review those. um they will be brought back for a second reading and a vote at our business meeting on February 23rd. And this takes us to our next meetings. February 23rd is our next business meeting. Our board work session is March 9th. It was originally way back in the fall. March 2nd. So if you put everything in ink in your calendar, change that to March 9th and