001All right, we're going to go ahead and call our meeting to order. If everyone will please stand for the pledge of allegiance. We're going to have middle lane uh students that will be leading us. Let's give them a hand as they come. [Applause] To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty andice for all. Come on. Let's give them another hand. All right. I would like to take this time and thank all of our guests and those that are viewing online to be able to attend our board meeting. At this time, if I can have an adoption of the agenda. I move to adopt the agenda as presented. Do I have a second? Second. Okay. All in favor raise your right
002hand, say I. I. Okay. None opposed. Motion passes. Uh, superintendent of report. Dr. Buck. Welcome everybody. I'm glad that we're going to have some items here recognizing some kids and seeing some kids. So, that's that's what it's all about. So, I'm glad everybody's here. Um, several things I want to uh talk about today. I want to make sure we congratulate the Lee Summit West High School FBLA, Ally and Gabby and Ameilia. They planned and hosted a donation drive collecting toys and games for families with children staying at Children's Mercy. They raised over $700 at the event and donated more than 500 items. Uh the team will now bring this fundraiser to the state FBLA conference uh and compete in the community service project uh event later this month. Um thank you to everybody on the
003board and the community who helped us celebrate our 12 excellence and teacher award winners, our three teachers of distinction winners and our six support professional of excellence recipients this month, this past month. Um we'll celebrate all these folks uh at the Lee Summit High School on April 17th. So, if you want to learn more about that, please check out our Facebook page and we'll celebrate them again at Leman High School on April 17th in the evening. Um, congratulations uh to Dr. Maida. She's out in the hallway, I think. Um, Dr. Maid, if you haven't heard, yesterday was surprised as the exemplary new principal of the year for the entire Greater Kansas City uh Missouri principles associations. Congratulations to Dr. Maid. to make it a surprise. By the way, they we lied to her. She had
004to come over here so then the band and cheerleading and everybody can set up and then she had to oh, the meeting is actually at West High School. She drove back and came to that. So, um thank you for playing along, Dr. Maid. Um our annual legislative breakfast uh brings together district citizen advisory committee, business roundt, PTA presidents and our staff to engage in meaningful dialogue with student leaders. We have students there as well and state legislators about public education. So I want to give a special thanks to the four uh legislators who came this year and that was Senator Mike Serero, Representative Carrie Engel, Representative Chris Sander and Representative Kemp Strickler for attending there. They were fantastic with their time. So thank you to them. Our third graders are had a blast as the
005whole district did uh when you were talking about careers and figuring out what we're going to do, but third graders did it in a unique way this year. They got to go to Careers on Wheels at Legacy Park two weeks ago uh and see not only what jobs are out there, but also what vehicles come with those jobs. So, they had a lot of fun out there. Um and we also had the Eclipse earlier this week on Monday uh and Summit Lakes Middle School students and staff. They were actually on Fox 4 broadcast highlighting how they incorporated the the event into their science classes. So, kudos to them and kudos to everybody who did so throughout the district. Three announcements I want to make. Um, LSR7 PreK is expanding. The board approved that a couple
006months ago. Applications are set to close tomorrow for the new preK program. Uh, that will serve over 2004 year olds uh, the year before kindergarten that live within our boundaries. So, our new program is separate from our other great beginning sites. It will be hosted at Prairie View Elementary. You can learn more by going to lsr7.org/prek. um 24 25 student rep application window is open is set to be closed until about a hour and a half ago set to be closed on Monday April 15th. The board kind of gave permission to extend that to uh next week Friday. Uh so April 19th and if you're a rising junior or senior and interested or if you know the rising junior and senior who might be interested, please have them check out lsr7.org studentreps. And last uh
007this is hot off the press. I don't have anything to give to her yet, but we just got notified by MSBA that vice president Jennifer Foley has achieved both advanced and master boards uh member certification. So, let's give her a round of applause for her great dedication and service. We'll get your certificates and pens soon as they come in. They hadn't notified her yet, so she was surprised to find that out tonight. All right, that concludes 2.01. Uh brings us to uh 3.01, 01 school spotlight Metalane Elementary. Good evening. First, I'm going to start with our volunteer of the year, um Christine Johnson. I'm the principal of Meadow Lane, and it's a huge humbling honor to serve our learning community, and we definitely could not do that without the adults that care for our kids,
008without incredible families supporting us, and some of those family members. um our parents of our teachers that are volunteers in the building. So our volunteer of the year is Celia McAfee. She is a mom of our ELD teacher Megan Juan. She is in our building reading with students, playing games, organizing supply closets, and always with a smile and saying, "What can I do? Um where do you need me?" So this is for Celia. We really appreciate everything you've done. You're welcome. And now I'm going to turn it over to the real stars, which would be our Bengal students. Hold on, Jacob. Hello everyone. My name is Jacob Smitty. I'm in fifth grade and I'm in Mrs. Weber's class. Hello, my name is Juliet Smitty. I'm in second grade and my teacher is Mrs. Miller. Hello,
009my name is Taj F. I am in second grade and I'm Miss Holly's class. Hello, my name is Michael Egan and I'm in fourth grade in Miss Rose class. Hello, my name is Kareah Brown and I'm in fourth grade in Miss um Rose class. We are from Meadow Lane and we are here to talk to you about Bengal Bunches. But first, we want to teach you our cheer. I say meadow, you say lane. Meadow lane. Meadow lane. I say Bengal, you say proud. Bengal proud. One of our primary goals with Bengal Bunches is to foster a greater sense of community throughout the entire school through crossgrade buddies. Bengal bunches offer a valuable chance for students to build friendships across the school and for older students to serve as a mentor to their younger partners. When
010students walk through the halls and know that they have friends in other classrooms throughout the school, they have a sense that Metal Lane is a second home. Some of our favorite lessons were centered on respect, positive self-t talk, and filtering thoughts. My personal favorite was football brings us together because of the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Here are some example lessons we have done this year. Here are some example lessons we have done this year. We will leave you with this quote. Family isn't always your relatives. It's the ones who will accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what. This book is called Our Class is a family by Shannon Olsen. Do you guys have any questions? [Applause] All right.
011And if our volunteer of the month can come uh back up front so that we can get a picture with the board. Thank you so much. for just a second. [Applause] All right, our next uh agenda item is 3.02 school spotlight Summer Ridge Academy and I believe Dr. Herzog is pinch hitting for the group. Well, good evening. Uh, Mr. Campbell couldn't be here tonight. Um, so I'm gonna have the honor of introducing uh, Miss Nicole Wood, and she has some students from SRRA, and they're going to speak tonight a little bit about the learning loft program at Summit Ridge Academy. So, Miss Wood, I'll turn it over to you. Good evening. Uh, we have three of our students here. So, you guys want to come over and say your name? Good evening. My name is
012Lucas Taylor. I am with us right and these are my fellow students. My name is Blake Everett and my name is Franklin Dosi. All right. And we're here to share uh our learning lock program with you. One of our goals was to create uh more cooperative learning opportunities for students and then also to create a greater sense of belonging. Uh so Lucas and Franklin are going to share some of the activities that we do in the learning loft. Thank you Miss Wood. Uh one of the activities that we have recently uh been doing is team building. Uh we had a guest brought to us by Mr. Campbell. His name was Mr. Potter. Correct. Um he was and probably still is active duty army. So he helped us um learning to communicate, understand, and work with
013our fellow classmates and learn to problem solve. So that's one of the many things we've also been doing. We've also learned to uh work with our classmates with a bloom project and learn the stack the highest. And so I'll turn it over to Franklin. Currently in the learning l we are currently in the learning l we have multiple activities. It is we have client connect projects. Some of these projects include include building a bench for the school, not building a desk for the school for everybody to work at once they're done with their work. Whether it be help other students with their work and they when they need time outside of their classroom to focus more on the work or other people who are done with their work that are in different classes to come
014together and work on projects that they need to work on. We also have multiple We also have multiple trivia that have happened from the trivia group. We have a bulletin board that is going up soon. And we have we have the the yearbook which will which will be actually the first yearbook that our school will ever have as well as we're working on a graduation video for those that are graduating this year. Um, we also have guests come in, speak to us, try to lead some different activities just to get some new faces in the building as well. Um, and then Blake's going to talk about our our alternative space that we work in. So, we got a space called the uh student union that we work in. It's like a comfortable sit where you
015want with your friends if you want. And we got a like board. Yeah, smart board. pretty good. Um, and yeah, we got some nice movable chairs in there so when they're working in groups, they can get with their groups but then separate when they need to be independent again. Um, and along with all that other stuff, we also do weekly SEAL lessons in that group. So, we get a whole lot done in that time. And there's some pictures of some of the activities like Lucas mentioned the balloon stacking. They were trying to see who could get the highest uh when the guest from the army was there. they had to they were tied together and had to try to get untied. So, we've done a lot of fun things. We won a grant, a student
016led grant earlier in the year. So, it's been very awesome and this is the first time we've ever had students come and speak at a meeting. So, it's a great thing. Hey, can I can I make a comment before they leave? Can before you guys leave, I I apologize for board members who haven't been here very long. I think this is really important to note that that used to be the gym, right, where all of this is and we used to do graduation even within that particular thing before moving it to MIC to be able to create the space which hopefully has been incredibly beneficial, right? And so, um, I just wanted to tell you guys kudos because that that space has been transformed into into something that's awesome. And so, anyway, I just wanted
017to thank you all for coming. So, Next agenda item is 3.03. I'll turn it over to you, President Sparks. All right. So, at this time, if um I'm going to take point of uh privilege if board member Murdoch and myself, we can come down and if Vice President Foley will um read the descriptions for the next three items and we'll just give them the plaques as they come down. That will that work? While they're doing that, just let you know there's five LSR7 seniors that earned this recognition for excellence through the Missouri Scholars 100 program. Missouri Scholars 100 is a statewide program that honors 100 of the state's top academic students and the graduating class of 2024. So we have 2% of all the students in the entire state go to Lee Summit, 5% of
018them and the Missouri scholars 100 is from Lee Summit. So that's pretty awesome. um that how they're selected is a formula based on GPA, ACT or SAT score and meeting the criteria of an academic decathlon. In addition, students must also have excellent attendance, be an exemplary school citizen, and be involved in an extracurricular activity. [Applause] All right. So, first up we have Kaylee Stall Winch. Okay. Then we have Sure. [Applause] All right, then we have Thomas Bury, [Applause] Leila Patnik, [Applause] Ricky Lion, [Applause] Jacob Clipfell. [Applause] [Music] Jake, you can squat down. Oh gosh. So sorry guys. Yep. Perfect. Congrats guys. Our next one is Missouri Scholars Academy, which I taught at for seven years. A wonderful place. uh Missouri Scholar Academy. Um several lee seminar seven sophomores, rising juniors, if you will, will attend
019MSA. A three-week summer academic program for approximately 330 of Missouri's gifted students. So, the brightest of the brightest from across the state. Acceptance is based on student essay, teacher recommendation, PSAT scores, and an IQ test. The academy is a residential program held at the University of Missouri Columbia and funded by the state of Missouri. The academy features carefully selected faculty and staff. maybe not as selective when I did it a long time ago. Um, a specially designed curriculum that focuses on the liberal arts and a variety of stimulating extracurricular activities. Academ Academy students are able to become part of a unique learning environment. So, congratulations to the Missouri Scholars Academy attendees and Vice President Foley. All right, we'll start out with Elizabeth Seammens. [Applause] Anastasia Kusama Randall [Applause] Sadin Alli, [Applause] Riley V. [Applause] Sarah
020Sterling, [Applause] Jayla Walker. [Applause] Congratulations. [Applause] All right. One, two, three. [Applause] Thank you. [Applause] Our next agenda item is 3.05. And so the previous one, MSA, it was formed in 1985. Not long afterwards, uh, the state led by a gentleman named Bob Roach, um, said, "Hey, we need to have something like this for fine arts academy." So, we now have that. Missouri Fine Arts Academy is unique 3-week residential summer program for exceptional Missouri artists who have completed their either their sophomore or junior year of high school. The program offers students the opportunity to enhance their skills in such fields as dance, visual arts, theater, and music while participating in a stimulating series of interdisciplinar activities. Students are nominated by their high schools to attend the academy. This year's Missouri Finance Academy will be held
021this summer on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. It is funded through a program, fees, grants, endowments, scholarships, and private donations. Congratulations to the following S LSR7 students attending this summer. Vice President Foley Audrey Chen from Lee Summit High School, visual arts. Laney Skaggs, Lee Summit High School, visual arts. Jake Johnson, Lisa North, acting theater. Kiana Williams, Lee Summit North, vocal music. Devin Matthysse, Lee Summit North, vocal music. Rachel Thomasy, Lee Summit West, creative writing. Congratulations. [Applause] All right. Our next recognition is 3.06 National Merit Scholars. Founded in 1955 to conduct the annual merit scholarship competition, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a privately financed not-for-profit corporation. Scholarships awarded through this program are underwritten by nearly 500 independent sponsor organizations and institutions as well as with their corporation's own funds. Nearly one
022and a half million students throughout the United States entered the merit program as juniors by taking the preliminary SATN merit scholarship qualifying test which serves as an initial screen for program entrance. Of the one and a half million entrance, some 50,000 with the highest PSAT selection index score qualify for the recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Those students then go through two more rounds of consideration before scholarships are awarded. And I'll turn it over to Vice President Foley. Le Summit North students Alexander Grider and Thomas Bury made it through and were selected for the first round of scholarships. Congratulations. [Applause] One, two, three. [Applause] That's an amazing group of kids we got to recognize there. All right, next agenda item is 4.01, finance committee report. I don't have anything uh to specifically discuss from
023the finance committee unless uh any board members have any questions after viewing the finance committee meeting. All right. Is there any questions? All right. No questions. We have board reports and meetings attended for um 4.02. Let's start with board member Esle. Mine's really short. I went to the finance committee meeting because we just had a board meeting two weeks ago. So that's all I've got. All right. Board member uh Miller. Mine is short, too. Um this week I went to visit um the PLMS sixth graders when and viewed the eclipse with them. So that was quite an experience to view the eclipse in the eyes of of sixth graders. Um I also was super excited that I got to attend the bookcase buddies um event or ceremony. That was especially um exciting for me because
024as I reported in my last board report, I was invited by um Mr. Wesley Whisker to come to his classroom. So, and help build the bookcases. So, it was just so fun to kind of see the full circle and see the kids ex, you know, so excited about these bookcases. They were so excited. It was so beautiful. So, congratulations, Dr. Buck. That was awesome event. Awesome, awesome, awesome initiative. Um also for the past month I've been following um the deaf and heart of hearing program in our district and just learning more about it. So just going from school to school just understanding um what the students are what accommodations and things are there for our students. So um more to report on that at another time and then I also went to the art show
025at LF which was phenomenal and so much fun. All right thank you for that report member Murdoch. Just one item for me. I was in the capitol on Tuesday. I know some of the other board members were and I'm sorry I missed you. Um I was there actually for another issue, but did get to go up and see our PLMS um birdhouse students uh the birdhouse projects that they were showing some of the legislators and actually did get to talk to a few of the legislators that they were showing um those projects to. So that was really really cool um to recognize them. And I sent this to Dr. book as well. Um that at that same time I met an old mentor in Jeff City that used to uh teach with me in Raytown
026um from long long ago. Um and so that was really really cool just complete uh random and she's retiring this year and so uh that was kudos to her um and so that that was really cool to see our students and then a mentor there. Thanks. All right, board member Garrett. Thank you. Okay. Well, um continued on with our school tours, um with uh Dr. Camille Johnson. We went to Pleasantly Middle School and Pleasantly Elementary. So, um that was nice. Uh and then we went to the MSBA advocacy day uh last Tuesday. Gosh, this week is a blur. It seems like we've tackled so much. Um so we did that and then um the bookshelf buddy ceremony and uh yesterday attended the teamly summit meeting. That's it. Okay. Dr. Johnson. Hello. Yeah. So I attended
027the annual legislative breakfast. Thank you to all of uh the legislators that came out to that and all of the community members. It was very informative. Uh also like my um board member mentioned uh Regina Garrett Pleasantly Elementary School and Pleasantly Middle School. And I just want everyone to know when I go to your schools, I do ask you for your pie in the sky. I can't make any promises, but if you give me your list of things, I'll see what I can do. Also, I attended the finance committee meeting and then teamly summit. Once again, my favorite committee of all, a group of employees throughout the whole school district who come together for the greater good of everyone in the schools. So, thank you. All right, Vice President Foley. Thank you. I attended the
028Atlas R seven legislative breakfast, then the robotics competition at Lee Summit North, and I just want to say good luck to team driven and team titanium as they head to the world championships. Then I went to the MSB advocacy day in Jefferson City and got to hear from the incoming Desi Commissioner Carla Eslinger. And then I also attended the bookshelf buddies ceremony. All right. I uh attended the legislative breakfast uh with a couple of my colleagues and that will conclude our report. Can I have an approval of transfer of funds which is 5.01? I move to approve the transfer of 5,396,18046 from the general fund to the special revenue fund. Do I have a second? Second. Okay. All in favor raise your hand. Say I. I Okay, none opposed. Motion passes. Can I have an
029approval of the trans um the treasury's report and payment of all of our bills? I move to approve the treasures report and the payment of the bills. Do I have a second? I Okay. Second. Oh, second. All in all in favor raise your right hand say I. I. Okay. None oppose. Motion passes. All right. We have our consent items. Um items for decision 6.01 01 all the way down to 6.11 which is our personal report. Um do I have a motion? I move to approve the consent agenda items as presented. Okay. Do I have a second? Second. Okay. Um all in favor raise your right hand say I. I. Okay. None opposed. Motion passes. Um items for decision which is uh the certification of our board of election um director's results. Um 7.01. Do I
030have a motion? I move that Stacy Meyers and Bill Haley are duly elected members of the board of education. Do I have a second? Second. All right. Motion passes. Raise your right hand. I There we go. Now the motion passes unanimously. All right. Now we have our items for information which is 9.01 9.02 9.03. Um do we have any presentations Dr. B? Okay. No presentations or any questions for any of the reports? Okay. Um, and let's go and move on to 10.01, which is public comments. Okay. We appreciate your attendance and your willingness to speak to the board. Please remember that the board does not respond to public comments during the meeting, but may ask clarifying questions. Your comments will be noted by the board and administration, and if appropriate, we will discuss further action
031with the superintendent. Only those who have signed up prior to the meeting will be allowed to address the board. Pursuant to board policy BDDH, we will be limiting all comments to no more than seven people with a limit of three minutes each. You may not transfer any of your time to other speakers. Your allotted three minutes will be counted down on the screen. Please conclude your comments when the timer expires. Your comments must align with the subject described in your written request to speak and must directly relate to the business or operations of the district. Your comments may not discuss individual employees or students in the district regardless of whether your comments speak of them in a positive or negative light. Any such comments should be directed to the superintendent who will then determine if
032further action is needed. Because the board does not and cannot impose age-based restrictions on who attends or views board meetings, and because children of all ages frequently do attend board meetings, comments may not include obscinities or sexually explicit content. Furthermore, comments may not include threats of physical or emotional harm or threaten in any way the safety of others. We also remind all those in the audience that board policy BDDH prohibits the use of signs or audible responses. This includes applause, cheers, or jeers. If you're in the audience and wish to respond in some way to a public comment, you may contact the board or superintendent after the meeting. When your name is called, go to the podium and clearly state your name and the organization you represent, if any. Our first and only speaker is
033Sherry Ball. Good evening. My name is Sheri Ball. I use she her pronouns and I have been a resident of Lee Summit for almost 21 years now. My two children attended LSR7 schools from kindergarten through 12th grade and they are proud visible members of the LGBTQ plus community. Their experiences in school inspired me to pursue advocacy work and I've had the privilege to co-f facilitate several professional development trainings and Q&A sessions with the secondary counselors of LSR7. As the diversity of the LSR7 student population continues to grow, it is imperative for administrators, teachers, and staff to learn the skills to create safe and inclusive schools. Did you know research in our state shows physical harassment for LGBTQ plus students rose from 23% in 2019 to 70% in 2021. that the percentage of transgender and non-binary
034students physically assaulted in their schools rose from 7% to 10%. Did you know that while most LGBTQ plus students can identify at least one supportive school staff member, only 51% can identify six or more supportive staff. Research also shows that LGBTQ plus youth that have just one accepting adult in their lives are 40% less likely to attempt suicide. For LGBTQ plus youth in unaccepting homes, that one accepting adult may be a teacher, a recess aid, or a school counselor. This is why it is so important for school districts to learn how to support all students through organizational and professional development like dignity consulting and welcoming schools. If you would like to learn more about supporting LGBTQ plus students, I'd be happy to meet with you as a group or individually. I also have copies of
035the research studies that I have cited if you're interested. Tomorrow is the National Day of Silence, which is a studentled demonstration where LGBTQ plus students and allies protest the discrimination and harassment of LGBTQ plus people in schools. In the past, students have taken a vow of silence to represent the silencing of LGBTQ plus students. But with more than 800 anti-LGBTQ plus bills introduced last year and thousands of book bands, the stu students have been encouraged to stand up and take action. Some of our LSR7 school students will be participating in the day of silence and I truly hope that their silence and advocacy can change hearts and minds in their schools. Finally, I would like to thank board members Rodrik Sparks and Ryan Murdoch for their service to this district. Thanks to you, many families
036felt seen, heard, and protected. So, you will be greatly missed. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. I would also like to congratulate new board members Stacy Myers and Bill Haley and encourage you to remember all students and families in the future. Thank you. All right. So, at this time, if board member Murdoch if he would share any final remarks that he would have. Well, first let's start with that's the quickest meeting we've ever been able to accomplish here, right? So, we right we just need to talk for a while here. Um, normally I speak off the cuff as many of my board members know, but I actually did write a couple of things down. So, I hope you'll indulge me just a little bit here. First, Miss Ball, thank you for
037your comments. Um, so tonight is is a little bittersweet, right? Six years on the board, uh, makes it difficult to leave. Um, in 2016, I did make a commitment to come and try to serve the school district and ran in the April 2017 election. um amid what I can only describe as a very crowded field in a very unique time for those of you who were around and know what was going on um then. Um and while I would argue no one knew who I was at that particular time, um I ran what I thought was a pretty spirited campaign and I spent $464 on it. I didn't win a seat that year. Um, but I had met with enough people, knocked enough doors, and served on enough committees to know that I wanted to
038try again in 2018. So, I stayed engaged. I attended every board meeting between 2017 and the election of 2018. I continued to serve on committees and then I did win a seat in the 2018 election. So, fast forwarding six years, I would say that there have been some ups and downs. Our board has worked through superintendent turnover, global pandemics, multiple boundary changes, and what I would argue is the most uh divisive political climate in my lifetime. That includes people who continue to advocate against public education, including many in Jefferson City, without realizing the consequences of their actions. That also includes a bill currently going regarding voucher expansion. Frequently, our most fervent critics during my six years on the board are ones who have never served on a committee within our district, have never volunteered within
039our schools, or who make wild accusations without ever coming and actually asking questions first. That is incredibly disheartening. But to my board members and to the community at large, I would argue our district is incredibly strong. We have dedicated, caring, compassionate, and highly experienced staff members who make a difference every single day. To my board members, to my fellow board members currently serving and to those coming on the board, I certainly hope we don't take that for granted. The professionals, those professionals and this board are here to serve students first. End of story. and we trust and support the staff who do that work daily. Please don't buy into the rhetoric. Go see it for yourself. Thank you to those board members who I have served with throughout the years. There's too many to name.
040Each of you brought talents and knowledge to your role and I know that you care. We have too many people who try to tell us otherwise. Don't let that rattle you. Encourage those naysayers to step up. And if you want to be a little snarky, tell them see you at the next CAC meeting. Dr. Buck, thank you for coming to our district. I don't regret for one second being on the committee to hire you, and I'm very proud of our choice. Linda, that's it. I'm done. I promised Rodick I wouldn't do it. So, there you go. That's not even sure where to go with it, but putting me at a loss for words is probably the best compliment I can give you. The other thanks I need to give, and it's a little bit of
041a bummer tonight, um, is my family. Um, I'm not sure that people understand the sacrifices that are made, um, by our families with the amount of time that is given to this role. My wife Christy, who worked diligently to try to get here tonight, but ended up on a flight that got delayed by nearly three hours in Atlanta and is unable to be here tonight, has stood by me through this, through it all. She's given up the time, the energy, sleepless nights when we get home after midnight meetings to talk things through. She knows the vitrial that has come our way. She's opened the hate mail to our home. to my boys, one who is here tonight, Isaac and Eli. Isaac, who's here tonight. Thank you for being here, buddy. Eli is at soccer practice
042because that's what we do in our household, right? Is sports, sports, and a few more sports. Um, they've also had to deal with me missing family dinners, sporting events, school activities, and the countless nights I got home after they were already in bed. So, to all of them, especially those three, I say thank you. My extended family, friends, and colleagues, I do thank you also for your support over these two terms. So, I'll try to keep it pretty simple in my conclusion here. Education has changed just as the world has changed. We must adapt with the times and not be a not be afraid to progress forward. When someone says that's not the way it was 20 years ago, they're absolutely right. But that doesn't mean that's the way it's supposed to be. Please work
043to hear from our marginalized populations throughout our district because we're not there yet. I'm immensely proud of our school district, of our staff and our students. And don't let the naysayers tear us down. I've said it a million times. R seven proud. Thanks. All right. Come on. That's right. [Applause] Great job, board member Murdoch. Um, I also normally go off the cuff and I'm not going to do that and so I'm going to read my comments. Um, first I would like to publicly recognize and honor my beautiful wife Lauren who is at home and also our children Frank and Riley who I must say my son is number one in the state for the long jump. um we we we don't get to brag on our kids much and so I'm going to take this
044time and brag on my children. Um and so not only is he number one in the state, but he got a full ride at Northwest University and so I am proud of that. He also was offered actually a total of three full rides and so um I'm just thankful and I'm proud of my kids and what um LSR7 has contributed to that. And then also my daughter Riley um who is a phenomenal setter on her volleyball team and I am also um proud of her and what she has done. Um I'm also appreciative of their support, their encouragement um along this journey and provided me the grace um for not always being able to attend their games, their events, programs and having to leave that all to my wife. Um and then also allowing me
045to be able to show up after midnight um and then still want to say, "Dad, I love you." Um to this board, as a new chapter begins, I am filled with gratitude um for the experiences shared, the pride in our accomplishments, and a touch of sadness. Sadness that I will no longer be the best dressed man to have ever served on this board. First and foremost, I want to express my deepest appreciation to each and every one of you. Together, we have navigated challenges, celebrated success, and work tirelessly to ensure the best possible outcomes for every student in our district. Your dedication, your passion, your unwavering commitment to education have been truly inspiring. As we move forward, I urge you to silence the noise that's in your minds and open your eyes to see the
046needs that every single one of our students need. In the hustle and the bustle of our daily responsibilities, it is easy to lose sight of the individual needs that each child deserve. But it's imperative that we remain vigilant, compassionate, proactive in addressing those very needs. It has been my deepest desire to see that every barrier is removed so that we truly meet the needs of every single one of our children that they can reach their maximum potential in life. Together, we have strived to do this endeavor, but there is still much work to be done. Let us continue to advocate tirelessly for equity, inclusion, and opportunities for all. Actions always speak louder than words. I'm going to repeat that. Actions will always speak louder than words. My commitment to students, families, educators, and staff of
047Lee Summit School District remains unwavering. I have full confidence in the incredible team assembled here in R seven and I know that under your leadership the future is bright. Serving alongside you have been an honor and privilege. As my public service continues beyond LSR7, please know that I carry with me the invaluable lessons learned and the cherished memories during my time here. The story may never be told, but history has been written. And that that will never change. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to this community and thank you for everyone that's present. at this time, if um our new newly elected candidates will come forth, we will turn it over to Before you do that, we have a parting gift for you. We'd like to give to you, too. And Linda, I'm going to
048have you come up and help me with this. I didn't tell Linda ahead of time. You give, as you both eloquently said, a ton of time, and the pay is zero dollars. And the sacrifices are huge. and we cannot thank you enough for that. So, Linda and I will both give you a little bit of a timekeeper as you get your time back. So, this is Ryan Murdoch's plaque and we have uh President Sparks plaque here. Both these gentlemen served as uh presidents of the board of education at some point. Um Mr. Murdoch also served as vice president for one year before two years of service as a board president. So, thank you for everything you both have done. Thank you for your interest in service. We need more human beings to want to serve.
049So, thank you both. Let's give him a round of applause. So now at this time if the newly elected board members will come forth and me and Mr. Murdoch will sit down in the audience and we will allow them to continue the rest of this meeting. So 11.01 retiring board adjourns and siny dice. So thank you again both of you. Um, don't be strangers. And so we have two people coming up and Miss Ismer's got a microphone you get to speak into and give your oath. Okay, if you'll raise your right hand and repeat after me. I do solemnly swear I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Missouri and the Constitution of the State of Missouri and that I will faithfully
050and impartially and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of school director in and for the reorganized school district number seven the reorganized school district number seven of Jackson County Jackson County state of Missouri to the best of my ability according to law thank you seat That concludes that meeting. We're going to have another meeting here in about five minutes. Give us a chance to reorganize a little bit. But obviously, if uh our new board members, if you want to have photos of family up here before we start, that's more than ha uh welcome to do so before we reorganize the board of education. So, if you want to come up with your family, get photo ops. We can have somebody to hold the phone for you or not. It doesn't matter if
051you if you don't want to. But I want to offer that and we'll start this up in about five minutes. And then I've got some All right. Good evening. We're going to start this second part or the reorganization part of the meeting. So, I'd like to call order and adopt adoption of the agenda. So, can I get a motion? It's hoping for more than one. I move to adopt the agenda as presented. Second. All those in favor raise your right hand say I. I. Opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. So, here's how this works. So, this is always an odd thing when we do it once a year. So, I and and what's odd about this is that um there's nothing in board policy or Robert's rules of order really tells you how to do it. So,
052um, first off, congratulations to new board members, Miller and Myers. Sorry, Haley and Myers. I appreciate you guys both, uh, willing to serve, and I appreciate the four people who also ran against you. Willing to serve, like I said earlier, is very, very important. So, congratulations. Look forward to working with you, uh, in the near future here. Um, board policy BCA requires that I act as temporary chairperson for about five minutes hopefully, uh, to conduct the election of board president and vice president. But the policy does not spell out precisely how that is to be done. and Robert's rules of order as I said earlier does not provide much guidance either. So with that in mind our b board attorney he wrote board attorney and I but it was really board attorney has developed these
053procedures. The same procedures will be used for both electing a board president and vice president except that of course the person elected for board president cannot also serve as the vice president. Um we'll go through the process electing board president then repeat for vice president. Then we have other officers got to be elected and I'll turn it over for the president to run that uh per board policy. So here's how it works. One, nominations. I'll ask for nominations. Any board member can be nominated by another board member or a board member can nominate nominate himself or herself. Nominations do not require a second. Once a board member is nominated, he or she is eligible for the office unless they decline it. So, if somebody uh says, you know, I I nominate X person, I'll say
054Xperson, do you accept? If they say accept, then they're qualified. Once it appears that there will be no more nominations, I'll ask you if there are any other nominations. If there are none, I will declare nominations to be closed. Remarks. Once nominations are closed, and if there are more than one nominee, each nominee may speak for no more than two minutes in support of his or her candidacy. And I do believe that uh Kevin Whe is going to set up a two-minute timer for us. The order of which the nominee speaks will be determined by a blind draw out of a bowl. After each nominee has spoken or waved the right to do so, the board members who have not been nominated may ask questions of any of the nominees. I will do my best
055to recognize board members in the order they ask using the buttons in the microphones. And please know that board member Haley and board member Myers, your names are not on this board. So when you hit uh I got to figure out who you are because these are the old names, okay? I'll do my best. My Captain Coder coder ring here. Captain Crunchy Coder ring here. Um then we go to step three after questions are done. And that's the voting. All voting will be by show of hands. Determining the winning candidate is this last part of this. The winning candidate must ultimately be elected by the majority of the board, i.e. four or more board members. So if we had three nominees and a vote was 33 uh one, we do not have a winner. Uh
056we if it's 322, we don't have we have to have at least four vote yes votes. So we may have more than one vote if that happened. Okay. Um so with that, I will now open nominations for the office of board president. Yes. Board member Miller. I nominate Dr. Camille Johnson for president. Do you accept? Yes. Any other nominations? I nominate Vice President Jennifer Foley for president. Board member Foley, do you uh accept? Yes. Any other nominations? Hearing none, I'm closing nominations. So now I have to find your two names and put in a bold and then we'll randomly uh select who's going to talk first. And you have two minutes. You can decline to talk if you do not wish to do so. So here's Foley. Here's Johnson. Turn him upside down. Spin them
057around. Linda, you want to come pull a name out? No pressure, Linda. She would love to. She said the Bulls. Yep, there you go. You're You're being honest. I like that. So, going first will be uh Jennifer Foley, followed by uh Dr. Johnson. So, two minutes and there you go. Thank you, Dr. Whe to speak if you wish or decline. Okay. Thank you. Um, I have served in the role as vice president and as of today I have received the master board member certification. Uh, I am dedicated to working with everyone on the board um to continue to just find ways to continuously improve and to grow in our relationships uh within the board, within the community, within the staff. I have uh dedicated the time and I can make time to uh meet the
058presidential obligations and I appreciate your vote. Thank you, Alyssa. Oh, you're fast, Dr. Willy. Um Dr. Johnson, two minutes. Thank you. I appreciate the nomination for president. I have been a devoted member to this school board and to the teachers and the students of Lee Summit LSR7. I am committed to continuing to support this district with my time. I'm committed to bringing the community together. As many of you know, I speak to anyone who is interested in speaking to me and I like to reach across all aisles to talk to people. If you know me, you know, I'm going to be straightforward with you and you know, I'm going to give you the facts and I'm going to vote my conscience. That is something that I can promise that I will continue to do in
059this role. I have served on committees that are very near and dear to me. number one being team Lee Summit and again that's me looking at the boots on the ground who are taking care of our children every single day and thinking about the best ways to support them. So with that said I accept this nomination for presidency and thank you for your vote. Thank you. So now this is the next stage is the other five of you. You can ask questions of either board member at this time. If you push your button I'll try to do my best to call on you. Hearing none. Oh, we do have one. Board member Miller. All right, guys. What is your vice president? This is for vice president for um what is your vision to bring the
060community together? I think it is important to uh look at the accomplishments that we've made um over this past year. Um looking at the the dinner with the board community conversations and how successful that was and continue to think about how we can grow opportunities like that within our community. Um to get board members and community members together to talk about all the different things that are going well and not going so well in our district. Any other questions? Hearing none, we'll move to vote. Um, so, you know, he didn't write this part down. Well, Stephanie, give Joe a hard time. I know he's not here today. Um, so I do. Do you remember? Is it Do we vote on first one, Stephanie? All right. So, we have two nominees. A motion to who we
061want to vote on first. Does anybody want to make said motion? I make a motion to vote on It's going to be on which person? I think there's a motion on me. Oh, okay. On me. I I know it's very awkward. This is the always the most awkward meeting of the year. So, we have a motion to uh vote on Dr. Johnson for president. Do I have a second? Second. All right. All those in favor. Now I'm going to say I do. Do we do need roll call for this one? Do roll call. Mrs. Burnt, roll call. And so folks, when you vote for the new ones, when it she says your name, you push the button and say I or nay or abstain. Okay. Board member Miller. I. or member Haley. I'm not sure
062exactly what I'm voting for here. Am I voting just for Dr. Miller? I mean, I'm sorry, for Dr. Johnson. Dr. Johnson for president. Nay. Vice President Foley. No. Board member um Meyers. Yay. Board member Garrett. No. Board member Johnson. Yes. Board member Esle. No. Motion fails. Do I have another motion? There's kind of one more choice. I move to vote for Jennifer Foley for president. Second. Do we have a second? Second. All right. Roll call. Mrs. Mmer. Board member Haley. Yes. Board member Foley. Hi. Board member Myers. No. Board member Garrett. Yes. Board member Johnson. No. Board member Eslick. I. Board member Miller. No. Motion carries. Congratulations to President Foley. Board policy has board policy still has me doing vice president. It seems awkward to me. But then you will do secretary, treasur, assistant secretary,
063and assistant treasur. So prepare yourself for that and I'll give you this little script if you need it uh if you need to look at it. So I'll open up nominations uh for vice president. I nominate board member Heather Esle for vice president. Do you accept Heather? I accept. Any other nominations? I'd like to nominate board member Miller for vice president. Do you accept? I do. Any other nominations? Hearing none. All right, we have to put your two names in to see who gets to speak first for two minutes. So, give me a second. Sorry, Stacy, I put you in there. You didn't know for that, did you? Um, Miss Es, your paper has disappeared on me. There it is. Okay. All right. So, I'm going to have Mrs. come up and select who will
064talk first and it will be Miss Esle. Can I start now? Sure. Okay. Um well, I didn't know that speaking for two two minutes was even an option for this, so I definitely didn't prepare any comments. Um but uh I've been on the board for two years. Um, I spend a tremendous amount of time that may not be necessarily in the buildings and forward facing, but working for the district. I am very diligent in the work that I do to make sure that I am prepared for all board meetings and building relationships with fellow board members and our staff. Um, this is a position that I think I'm very qualified for and that I will do the work to support this district. Uh, build collaboration amongst fellow board members, continue to work with our staff
065and continue to support the strategic objectives that our board has set forth and I hope that we continue on that same trajectory um, for this next year and I would appreciate your vote. Thanks. Thank you, board member. Board member Miller. All right. Um, well, first and foremost, I just I've been I've been so grateful to have this opportunity to serve on the board. Um, I've I've thoroughly enjoyed, as you all probably as you listen to my board reports and see the joy on my face and hear the joy in my voice. It's because I love the work that I've been chosen to do. Um, and I love being involved and I' I love being able to just be in the know about what's really going on in the classrooms and in the buildings and talk
066to the teachers and talk to the administrators and be with the students and just learn more about how amazing our district is and also hear from our students and our staff about what changes that they'd like to see. Um, I'm committed to the work. I love the work that I that I get to do. Um, and I also believe that it's important to have bipartisan leadership on our board just so that there's representation in board leadership that represents um our district that represents our community. And so that's why I think it's important to um I would I would appreciate your vote. Thank you. At this time, the other five board members, if you have a question for either candidate, please push your red button. Board member Johnson. Oh, sorry. Yes. My question is for Heather.
067So, Heather, just curious in moving forward with the um equity and dignity work that we have started here at LSR7, what do your plans look like? Well, I think we continue to talk through those programs as a board. Um, we already approved as a board um the current vendors that we have moving forward. So that that's continuing on the work that we are already moving forward with. Um I work for the board. I work with the board. So when the board makes a move um once that decision is made, there's that's what we do. We move forward together. Um so that's exactly what I would do as vice president is continue to move forward um with the will of the board. Um, I don't think it's any secret from multiple meetings and multiple conversations that
068I would prefer we explore other vendors, but that doesn't mean that I don't support the program. Um, I think there's a distinction between vendors and services that those vendors provide and the manner that they do that and the overall goal of having a program that um, achieves the end that we're looking for. So, I would just like to see us have dialogue about different approaches to achieving the end. Um, but I don't have a problem with having an approach at all. Um, so that's kind of the long answer to we continue as we are until we have an opportunity to have more dialogue about it in the future. So, thanks. Thank you, board member. Other questions from the other five board members? Hearing none, I'll take a motion on who to vote for for vice
069president. I'd like to make a motion to vote for Erica Miller for vice president. Do I have a second? I'll second. If I can get this to work. All right. So, we'll do a roll call from Miss Ismer again. We're voting on vice president for board member Miller. Board member Foley. No. Board member Myers, yes. Board member Garrett, no. Board member Johnson, yes. Board member Eslick, no. Board member Miller, yes. Board member Haley, no. Motion fails. Do I have another motion? I make a motion that we vote on uh Heather Estle for vice president. Do we have a second? Second. Mrs. Roll call. Board member Myers, no. Board member Garrett, yes. Board member Johnson, no. Board member Esleick, yes. Board member Miller, no. Board member Haley, yes. Board member Foley, hi. And that moves us
070on to item 1.04. So, I'll turn it over to President Foley and let her do the next four offices. Miss Foley. President F, do you want to be here to push the buttons? You just want to just go by the cuff. It is kind of weird to switch in the middle of a meeting. I don't know. We can we can stay like this is fine. All right. At this time, can I get a nomination for the secretary for the board of education? I move that the board reappoint Linda Ismer as secretary of the board of education. Reappoint. Wait, do I have to Can I read them all together? Am I supposed to read them all? You can do them all together because it is 1.04 all in one thing. Yes. Okay. Uh, I move that
071the board reappoint Linda Ismert as secretary of the board of education, reappoint Nathan Holder as treasurer of the board of education, reappoint Hannah Puit as assistant secretary, and reappoint Sharon Garcia as assistant treasurer. Second. All right. Can I get a roll call vote? Board member Garrett. I. Board member Johnson, I. Board member Eslick. I. Board member Miller. I. Board member Haley. I. President Foley. Hi. Okay. Meeting is adjourned. [Applause]