001[Music] Hey. [Music] Before we start our formal meeting. Tonight's the night where we have our tax rate hearing. So, citizens may be heard on the property tax rates proposed by the Liberty School District and we will now open the 2025 2026 tax rate hearing. Are there any patrons who wish to address the board regarding the tax rate? Seeing none, the tax rate hearing is now closed. Thank you. So with that, um, we have three amazing students here tonight to help lead us in. I would like to ask Sophia, Adrien, and Leo to please come up and lead us, and we will hear more about them during honoring excellence. So, thank you for being here tonight. I look forward to hearing more about you. Be begin whenever you're ready. of the United States of America and
002to the republic for which it stands for one nation under indivisible and justice for all. Thank you. All right. Well, good evening everybody and it's so nice to have a full house here. We're so glad for everybody to be here tonight. And um I our next order of business will be the approval of our agenda, which is item 3.2. >> I move the board approve the agenda as presented. >> Second. >> Nick, >> yes. >> Jen, >> yes. >> AJ, >> yes. >> Drew, >> yes. >> Angie, >> yes. >> Karen, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Great. and then we will move on to 3.3 which is honoring excellence in Dallas Acre. Good evening and uh yeah, I I teased this out last month that we are excited to begin a uh a new
003student recognition program here as part of honoring excellence and this will be most likely monthly that we will make these recognitions and uh we've been talking about this for for quite a while and I I think we've we've landed it and landed it well and and uh we'll introduce you to those three students in just a minute, but I just wanted to share about the program and uh the reason these students are being recognized tonight. We're calling it the LPS award, standing for love, pos uh positivity, and strength. Um each month, two to three students from a selected school will be recognized during our board of education meetings, not for their grades, trophies, test scores, but for the quiet impact they make through kindness, resilience, compassion, and a positive spirit. These are students who may
004not often find themselves in the spotlight, but who make our schools better by being who they are. With this recognition, we aim to celebrate the heart of our student community and remind every child that character counts and is seen. In addition to the students being formally recognized each month as part of honoring excellence as you saw earlier and they did a great job leading us in the pledge of allegiance to open up um the meeting. So, uh, we offered our we we sent this out to our building leaders, uh, about a month ago, I think, and all of a sudden the nominations start pouring in. And, um, you may be surprised. I like to to pride myself in being positive, but there are days that maybe aren't mornings I come into the office and they
005may not be as good as others and need a pickme up and all I have to do is go to that portal to read the read the the uh submissions that have already come in. I think we're in good shape for years to come. So, um, tonight what we thought we would do to begin this program is we would have a student from each of our levels. So, we have representing uh a student from Lewis and Clark for elementary, LMS at the middle level, and then Liberty North at the high school. And we will continue on throughout this school year. So, let's start with the trailblazers. Adrien, would you like to join me here at the podium? You are the first recipient of the LPS award. How's that feel? >> Good. I was hoping that's
006what you would say. All right, Adrien, you were nominated by Miss Norris. Do you know Miss Norris? What is her relationship to you? >> She's my fifth grade teacher. >> Fifth grade teacher at Lewis and Clark. Your parents are Brett and Megan, right? You have several of your esteemed guests. Who's with us tonight? >> Um, my grandparents, my aunt, and my cousin, and my parents, my sister. >> Thank them for being and we thank them for being here tonight. Appreciate it. Well, here is what Miss Norris said about Adrien. Adrien has been selected for the LPS award because she truly embodies the qualities this recognition celebrates. Adrienne is a strong, calm presence in the classroom, consistently showing kindness and compassion in those around her. She goes out of her way to welcome new students, helping
007them feel included and comfortable, and her positive attitude brightens the day for both classmates and teachers. While she may not seek the spotlight, Adrienne's quiet leadership and steady encouragement make our school a better place every single day. Adrien, congratulations. So, we start with elementary. We're going to move to the middle level and I'm going to introduce Leo Sharing. Leo. Leo, who is with you tonight? >> My dad. >> Awesome. And there he is. had a chance to meet him earlier. Thanks so much for being here. Um, we are going to read a little bit about what Mr. Clark said about you. Do you know Mr. Clark? >> Yes. >> Counselor at Liberty Middle School. I talked to Mr. Clark. There he is in the back. >> Yes. Also want to thank our our building leaders
008for being here tonight. There's Mr. Bradom and and uh and and his team. So, appreciate that. So, yeah, it's pretty special. Um, I'm going to read a little bit about what Mr. Clark said about you. Leo has made a definite positive impact on his peers, leading with quiet strength, genuine love for learning, and a deep sense of perseverance. He has stepped up as a leader in the classroom, supporting others with patience and compassion, especially in helping fellow students navigate the challenges of learning a new language. His personal growth has been substantial. a testament to his dedication and inner resilience. We are so proud of all that Leo has accomplished during his time with us and we can't wait to see how his strength, perseverance, and love for others continue to shine as he enters high
009school. Congratulations. [Applause] Let's move to the high school level and introduce you to Sophia Marsh. Sophia, I'll share the microphone. Who do you have with you tonight? >> My parents are here and my brother is here and my grandparents are here with me. >> You even managed to get your brother here. >> I know. Fantastic. And you uh left your job tonight to come to this and then you're going to go back to your job, right? >> Yes, I am. >> Fantastic. That deserves an LPS award in itself. All right, Sophia, you were nominated by Dr. Curry, and you mentioned to me earlier, you know Dr. Curry well, right? >> Yes, I do. >> Awesome. Well, she had some nice things to say about you here. Um Sophia was nominated by her peers to serve
010on the district's hope squad for Liberty North. She always brings so much positivity volunteers for all the events and welcomes new members. She's always engaged in our activities and willing to go above and beyond for the students at Liberty North. She has a love for interacting with others and encouraging others to do their best. Her perseverance is shown through all the committees and clubs she serves on. In addition to maintaining a high GPA, her strength is in her internal strength to focus on helping others with emotional difficulties who are struggling. Good job, Sophia Marsh. Congratulations. And I can promise you those are just three of dozens of stories that we've already received and uh tremendous recognition for them and just can't thank enough the support from families and friends and I mentioned administrators uh Jeremy
011and Morgan and Mitch and Don and Dr. Camp and uh the the whole crew. This this program will not be possible without their support as well and uh can't thank them enough. So, uh, with that, that concludes honoring excellences we reserve tonight just for the LPS award recipients. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> That was fantastic. Do we want to? >> Yeah. So, um, we have a tradition for those of you who haven't been here before. Um, and I think we're going to take the liberty of extending it here. um when we have students that are a part of a championship or recognition that we will often take a 10-minute recess in our meeting and just have an opportunity for the board to chat with you for a little bit. And so I'd like to
012do that here for about let's take about 15 minutes if we can and then we can all be back. Um but we would just love an opportunity to say hello to you all and then we will get back to the business of our meeting. Um, you will note that if there's anybody here for public comment, we do have an opportunity for public comment. There are comment cards, I believe, in the back corner over there. And you can give those to either myself or to did Miss Aldridge here in the at the desk right here. Um, and we can have those um to to read for after we can we can recognize you after the 15 minutes. So, um, with that, let's take a break. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] What do you [Music] I do wait
013for the day. Okay. Well, then I guess we will move over 3.4. We do not have any public comments tonight. Documentation concerning these items has been provided to all board members and the public in advance to asssure an extensive and thorough review. Items may be removed from the consent agenda. >> I move the board approve consent agenda items 4.1 through 4.7. >> Second. >> Nick, >> yes. >> Jen, >> yes. >> AJ, >> yes. >> Drew, >> yes. >> Angie, >> yes. >> Karen, >> yes. >> Motion carries. And then we'll move to item five, administrative report. >> Uh the first report from administration is innovation and learning. So we'll turn it over to Dr. Moore. And quite a few attachments this evening. >> Quite a few. I'm sure you've read them all very thoroughly.
014Um so several reports from people within our department. Um I want to thank everyone who contributed to those. We had the um college and career as well as community partnerships um the assessment plan, professional development plan, early childhood A+ and the athletics. Some of the first page, Miss Reed, were very long for you and some were very short. I apologize for those. They don't know >> short ones, but >> love those. Um, as well included in there were the um was a p a few pages of building improvement plans. You could see the overview. Um, again that kind of takes a mirror look of our uh district strategic plan. And so you could see that it just looks very much like what we do. Um on those building improvement plans, um we asked all buildings
015to have a building plan that focused on literacy and numeracy as well as one that focused on real world learning. We then asked them to consider one um on belonging, professional learning communities or portfolios, digital wallet, something that also was in the strategic plan. So we let them pick maybe what that third one was. Some of them also picked a fourth one. You could see if you go through, you could see that some picked three, some picked four depending on what they felt comfortable um doing. In addition, um wanted to share that MAP and EOCC scores um from the spring of 25 will go out this Friday. Um we'll go home with students this Friday. Um so be looking for those. other projects that innovation in learning are um is working on right now. The
016success ready students network dashboard um is being updated. Um we have two years worth of data on there now. So, as you know, we had that updated last year. We've gone back and we've added um this year's data on there. So you can now kind of see what it looked like last year um and now included the 2425 data as well on there if you want to take a look at that when you have time. Um, also we are working on a scorec card um which we hope to have um for you sometime in October and we recently did the I Ready. So, we're wanting to include um fall scores with from I Ready and then starting next week, we will do Panorama and we'd like to have fall panorama data on that scorecard um
017for you as well just to show updated numbers. Um so hopefully um we'll have that for you soon. Um, also with regard to MSIB, um, comprehensive school improvement plans, um, make up 30% of the continuous improvement section of APR and, um, Liberty was fortunate to be, um, chosen to be part of that first group to submit um, plans. And so, innovation in learning is working on that and that is due this December. So, we are busy um, getting that ready to submit. And then I wanted to end with a quote. Several of us received this earlier this week from a career navigator. Maybe it was it was the end of last week. I apologize, but I thought this was great. Um it was shared um came from a student that said, "I just wanted to
018take a moment to thank you for the impact you've had on me through the Network 53 program. I'm now two and a half weeks into college and in my core class, one of the first things we completed was a Clifton strength assessment. One of my top five strengths was connectedness. Something I don't think I would have shown up that I don't think would have shown up for me a year ago without the growth I experienced through this program. Network 53 really helped me build confidence, especially when it came to speaking out and connecting with others. My interview skills also grew so much which gave me the confidence to interview successfully this summer. Because of that, I'm now serving on the youth advisory board for suicide prevention with MPN and the Missouri Department of Education while
019also continuing to run my nonprofit in partnership with the Jason Foundation. I thought that was really amazing that um a student took the time to write back to Career Navigator and talk about the impact of one of our programs. Um, so I just wanted to share that and say thank you again for the work that you do to support um, our real world learning efforts. With that, I'll take any questions. >> Questions of Dr. Moore? >> Um, not necessarily question, but I did want to point out because I think um, this is the last time that we'll be able to hear about it before it happens is the HY entrepreneur fair October 4th and 5th. And I've missed that several years, but I've heard from other board members how spectacular that is. So, I'm going
020to make sure and announce that for October 4th and put that high. Um, and another thing that the assessment plan I very often have people ask me about grades and assessments and testing and I just wanted to say again that this is available online if you'd like to look at it. There's lots of information. So, yeah, thank you for your online. We are also um through North Nation by Design as of um the rebrand of that. We are working on a um entrepreneur um event on September 25th. So um we'll have a little bit of information coming up about that here in the next day or two. >> Great. >> And thank you to all of our Network 53 partners. That list just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. It's so impressive the way
021the community comes together for our high schoolers. >> Anything else for Dr. Moore? uh just continue to support the uh improvement plans syncing and linking back up to the district plan. I just think that flows beautifully and I love how it all comes together. >> Y >> and the the people that help track all that data because I mean I think you're right to shout out all the you've shared a lot of information about different pieces of data that we're tracking and that all takes people to be on top of that. And so just thanks to you and your team for doing that. It does. There's a good team of very highly detail oriented, skilled people that do that and they are appreciated. Thank you. We have a great team. >> Thank you. >> Thanks,
022Dr. Moore. Uh, next up is 5.2 with Dr. Dixon Seahhorn, student equity and access report this evening. >> Hello everybody. >> Hello. >> Good to see you this evening. just want to share a few things on behalf of each of the departments within the student equity and access um department. So, first of all, on behalf of student services, just wanted to mention that um Miss Breman is continuing to work with our school buildings, our leaders, our frontline staff, administrative professionals to finalize those remaining um about 50 about 95, I'm sorry, returning student registrations. And this is just to kind of button up that registration process particularly for returning students. Uh so we're working on that very actively. And then also we have about 53 additional students where their parents still need to submit some pertinent
023information. So this would be at those entry level grade levels. So kindergarten, sixth grade, 9th grade. So we're still working to make sure that all that information is on file for residency verification purposes. Also, the annual report for student services is included in this month's uh board report. On behalf of special programs, I wanted to mention that uh LPS will continue to offer adult English classes this year. Uh the instruction will be provided by Mrs. Christa Peek, who is our English language uh department coordinator, and then Mrs. Susan Himmingway, our English language development teacher. will have about 20 sessions this school year to support our families with that. Also, we're very excited that uh Liberty Public Schools has been asked to host the third annual collaborative 504 conference. So, this is a statewide endeavor and
024we will be the host. That will be held on October the 17th at Liberty North High School. And so there'll be district representatives from across the state and it'll feature some guidance from Gwen Mundorf on best practices rel related to section 504. So we're very happy to be the host for that endeavor. On behalf of special services, I wanted to mention and I had the opportunity to attend this particular event. We did recently hold an open house at Kelly Brook Elementary and this was to celebrate and showcase the opening of a best classroom there. um just seeing the need there in that school community. And so we did provide an opportunity for an open house on September the 10th. I had an opportunity to speak with teachers and paras um that are in that program
025as well as the principal and they're very thankful about uh having this opportunity at Kelly Brook. And I do want to publicly thank the operations team for helping us to make the space available, get it ready uh so that uh from day one we were ready to welcome our learners. And then the last thing I want to mention on behalf of Dr. Stark as our special services director is that she had an opportunity to tour project most which is a collaborative endeavor to support transition to postsecary life with Magna and AMV. And so it is it is spearheaded by Mr. Kenny Linger wanted to give him uh props if you will. Uh a longtime teacher with Liberty Public Schools and just for public knowledge p project most provides students the opportunity to gain realworld learning
026experiences in manufacturing. So just wanted to make make note of that. So those are the things I wanted to highlight this evening. Hopefully keeping it short and sweet and I'll gladly take any questions but comments are always welcome. I've got a comment and I was talking to Dr. Van Betavia about it, but I had the opportunity to go to coach Linger's class as well and that program is amazing. Um, two of the facilities, but I mean the opportunities that kids are getting and the confidence and the former students from that program that have full-time jobs at Magna now. So, I mean, it was um certainly encouraging everybody else that gets an opportunity to interact with and see that class. It's awesome. >> Amazing. Thank you so much for that feedback. >> I just appreciate the
027continued um integration of the educators handbook. It sounds like that's going really well and that the effort for Miss Breman to work with our administrators across schools to kind of, you know, it's never going to be 100% consistency, but to just kind of that people have an idea. I mean, some of these things listed in handbooks to have an idea of what this looks like so that we we have we have consistency that's appreciated. >> Yeah, she does an amazing job working with school leaders as well as the executive directors just to make sure that we shore up our practices and can be as consistent and equitable as possible. >> Appreciate it. >> Other questions of Dr. Dixon Corn. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> We're going to hear from Miss Cindy Sullivan a couple
028times this evening, but first up, our finance report. >> Good evening. I have one donation to share with you tonight, and that's a monetary donation of $3,500 from Brody and Amy Pashawn to fund um a teacher's classroom at Shaw Creek. We appreciate they donate quite often and we do appreciate their charitable natures and support of our district. So, we'd like to thank them for that. This past week we had auditors join us from Westbrook and Company and we always delight to have them with us. They did their fieldwork part of the audit and they also at the same time met on Monday evening with the audit and finance committee in close session to um learn if they had anything that they would like him to look at the company to look at. Um I wasn't
029there so I don't know what they talked about there. So, I'm sure he will enlighten you when he comes back in October. And the plan is that the audit will be ready to go for you and the audit and finance committee at the October meeting. So, we hope to see Mr. Ekoff back at that time to present that to you. Um, we are currently still tracking a lot of proposed property tax legislation, which we've talked about before. Um, last week we did provide three fiscal notes in an effort to support um the not passing of those pieces of legislation that um could affect our funding greatly. So, we're always happy to do that um to play our part in whatever we can do to let people know what that effect has on us. Um, tomorrow
030I will go to Kansas City Association of School Business Officials meeting where we will hear from legal counsel about legislative updates. So, I may have more to share um following that update tomorrow. And finally, the audit and finance committee did review the financials this month, and the only thing they really were questioning was um the senior property tax credit, which we had an update on the last time we met. So, um they were just wanting to follow up on that to know if we could earn any more. That's all I have for you this evening, unless you have questions for me. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you, Miss Sullivan. Uh, next up is our operations report with Mr. Steve Anderson. Good evening. >> Um, just a couple items I wanted to share. First,
031um, just to thank the team. I know as I often do when I stand here, but um, with the ramp ramping up for the startup of school, I think as I mentioned last time was here was was it the day before the first day of school? I think everybody was kind of anxiously moving this, button everything up. So, just wanted to thank them for all the work that they did. Uh, really was a seamless startup. Um, I think the best startup that we've had. Um, part of that was transportation was very limited in the amount of of, uh, disruptions that they had to their service. So, appreciate all the work that they put in. And keep in mind, um, they're getting ads to routes right up until the day before and the day after and
032three days after and and it goes and goes and goes. So, they have to be pretty nimble in what they do. So, thank thanks to them. Um and uh then of course kids own uh as well. Um I think I mentioned last time they were looking great uh for not having a wait list which did ring true. So they don't have a weight list. I think that's the first time for startup that we've not had a weight list. So appreciate Megan Lucian and her team for sure. Um the nutrition services team uh decided this year I think with the new building coming online that they're going to do a complete new menu overhaul which they do every three to four years. Um so that the work kind of put into that. Uh also at the
033same time trying to get everything ready for that startup. Um just appreciate the work that they did. Um couple other things I wanted to mention uh with respect to staffing. Uh two points I wanted to make here. One is transportation staffing. We met today as a team. Uh they have one open route position. Uh the people are there don't remember that ever happening. Um which is which is fantastic. Um, and really can't thank uh uh Dr. Marriott and her team enough for the work that they've done to kind of put us in a a much better position than we have been in years past. The other thing I wanted to point out, we we uh created a position, a roofer position probably about two years ago or a year and a half ago. Took us
034a while to find the right person. We now have the right person in there and the amount of work that we're getting done at that kind of that level is uh we're making great um strides and and keeping up with some of the repairs. as you know, that's a with two million square foot of space, that's a constant struggle for us. So, keeping our our buildings dry is is a is always good. So, wanted to to share that as well. Um, last thing is uh capital planning. Uh, we'll share more on this kind of over the next uh couple months, but we're just getting ready to start that out and engaging all the buildings. Um, as a little reminder, we have about $12 million that we allocate every year for capital expenditures. about half of
035that is for committed leases, whether it's technology or bus leases. Uh some other lease programs we have now, we have Schneider Electric with some of the work they're doing with LED and roof eventual roof work. Uh and then and then the other six million is more discretionary spending on needs that pop up and other part of the plan uh planning that goes on throughout the district. Um I guess I'll mention one other thing. uh thinking of the two major projects with respect to the bond that are currently underway. Uh Heritage continues to be on schedule. We feel really good about wrapping that up this calendar year so it'll be ready for a second semester. And then if you had a chance to go by the Liberty Middle School track, you can really start seeing it
036taking form, which is pretty exciting. They've got that first layer of asphalt down. You're starting to see what it's going to look like. So if you get a chance, you might want to run by there. That's all I got. Happy to take any questions. >> Questions of Mr. Anderson, >> I just appreciate the nutrition services team providing our dinner at MSBA and ProStart. That was delicious. >> I still think about some of them. >> They did a great job. >> And as we were readying for that, nutrition services, but the entire operations team from custodial to maintenance and grounds, >> technology was involved as well. And it was a bit of an all hands- on deck with Nikki that afternoon getting ready for the evening. And I told Mr. Anderson, I said to a tea,
037every single person we interacted with stepped up. So we we do appreciate our operations departments. >> Thanks, Mr. Anderson. >> Uh next then 5.5 human resources report with Dr. Sarah Marriott. >> Good evening. >> I'm going to start with some HR events that we've hosted. Um so yesterday Dr. Moore and I welcomed eight aspiring administrators to our cohort. So, we had a great session yesterday afternoon and really excited to see their energy and what their aspirations are for their careers. Um, today the HR department hosted a DT district leadership team professional development session on hiring practices. Um we start our focus groups for mental health and well-being this week and then next week we host our pathways to teaching cohort which is our new cohort this year and we have 14 classified team members who
038are potentially interested in a teaching profession. So we're very excited about the potential for that. And then our classified aspiring leaders academy will meet next week as well and that has been capped at 16 participants. there were more in people interested, but we capped it to try and make it more efficient um for for the service. As a precursor to introducing Jessica Deeds in just a few minutes um a little bit later in the agenda, I do want to and I apologize this is a little bit scripted so I get all of the information correct, but give a little bit of an update uh regarding our benefits renewal process. So, representatives from Homes Murphy, our district's insurance broker, uh, presented health insurance utilization options for the 2026 benefits to team Liberty on August 25th and
039then again on September 4th for discussion. Um, Team Liberty landed on a proposal regarding the LPS employee benefits package for 2026. Um and that recommendation has been shared with you all and we respectfully request the board of education to act on final contracts at the October meeting. Um proposed changes though to highlight them include moving from Blue Cross Blue Shield to Sigma due to a cost analysis comparison results. Holmes Murphy did secure a 6.7% renewal rate for Blue Cross Blue Shield. However, Sigma was able to offer similar health plans at a 4.8% 8% increase to 2025 premiums. An item of note is that Sigma also offer also comes with a 10% 2027 rate cap to nonpremium credit adjusted rates. So that was very impactful for us and future negotiations. The 2026 district contribution towards health
040insurance will increase by $4048 per employee enrolled per month or from 7 69 to $8948 per month. We will continue to offer two health plans at no cost to the employees for employee only coverage and that was very important to team Liberty as well. So, we were very happy to be able to finalize that detail. Once the board approves the 2026 employee benefits, the HR team will provide in-person and virtual benefit information sessions to help educate staff on the changes for 2026. And then employees will continue to have access to an online benefits decision-making tool um that will allow them to access personalized benefits guidance. And then our open enrollment will take place. It'll start on Monday, October 27th. It will run through Wednesday, November the 5th. Um, and then benefits selected during open enrollment
041will be effective January 1 of 2026. And as I said, Jessica Deeds is here a little bit later in the agenda and we'll give a much more detailed overview of um the discussions and and the benefit options. But I will take any questions. >> Just sitting in on the first session. I just again appreciate team Liberty's work. um especially with a new facilitator this year. Appreciate Patty Corm coming in and stepping in with the group and facilitating and all the people that put in the time on that and Miss Morgan your team that will implement whatever goes forward too like it's a big it's a big list all of it is very much appreciated. >> I agree and thank you for noting that they team Liberty did engage in some really uh deep discussions this
042year. It was some hard decisions and they were ever so thoughtful and considerate of all positions across the district and and their work is um monumental and we really could not do our jobs without them. So, we thank them. >> I see we added two uh GC graduates. Do you know how many we total we have in the system now? >> Oh my goodness. AJ, I think you've asked me that before and I failed to um provide an accurate update to you. So, I will have to get back because I could just throw a number out and it wouldn't be probably right. >> Okay. >> So, let me be fair and get one back to you. >> More than two. >> It is more than two. Yes. >> Well, we had two at the the
043>> new teacher and the thing last year at the end of the school year. >> Yeah. >> So, there's at least four. >> Okay. >> But if you could just send that to all of us, >> I will do so. Absolutely. >> Know how many >> what's the return? >> Yes. Absolutely. Yes. We're excited. We're really excited to start seeing more of them return to the district and and being in their dream careers. >> Anything else? >> Questions of Dr. Marion? >> Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. >> Lastly then, just a couple updates on the superintendent report. Um, we have had a great start to the school year and appreciate Mr. Anderson mentioning that. Um, but I want to broaden that to the entire district. certainly for our students and our staff, families
044um for helping us get off to a great start with that. It's already middle of September and so things happen quickly as things go by. We are starting up our coffee with the community series again and started off with the district update. Um and so that is archived for people's viewing. Appreciate Dallas and his team for putting together um a little variety year upon year to hear from different departments. And so you'll see that over the course of the next coming uh coming months. We're also in the process of updating our district at a glance information. That is the placard, the front and back uh placard that we circulate quite a bit in community meetings that has budget information. It has demographic information, information regarding meals served as well as uh miles covered um in
045terms of the the faculty and staff and our composition from rates of pay to degree of attainment. Um just a lot of information along with on the back side uh real world learning opportunities and some of the program highlights that we have. So we'll be sure to get that out in circulation as soon as it is um off the presses so to speak. Earlier this week, yesterday, we started our strategic leadership team meetings uh for this year, as you'll recall, last spring. Um we updated our strategic plan, worked on some of those plans over the course of the summer, and we're beginning to gather and meet. Uh every other week, we'll gather to share out updates as it relates to SLT and the strategic plan for this year. You'll see that in October uh once
046we bring that to you for final approval uh for this current year. So we appreciate everyone's work along with our partnership with P&D consultants uh that helps in facilitating that. As we shared at our uh last study session and we kicked that off in September, um we are in the process of updating our legislative priorities as are many other education associations. So we're starting to see some of that work pick up speed across Missouri. um especially coming off of our special session in which we had a couple of House joint resolutions discussing property taxes and we know that that's going to be a focal point uh moving forward as we think about the next spring session. Um, so as you come across questions or you want additional clarification or have ideas uh to include in
047our legislative priorities, we'll see that again at our study sessions as well as regular uh monthly meetings so that we can finalize that in in getting ready for um the spring session. Just as a reminder, pre-filing is always December 1st and so I imagine we'll see quite a bit of education related uh bills as it relates to the session. A quick update on the school funding modernization task force. We held our last uh our fourth meeting uh in Jefferson City just last week. And um from that point forward, we're shifting into work groups. Um those work groups are f focused on funding targets, student counts, local revenue factors, and performance incentives. They'll start meeting next week. Each of the work groups, it's anticipated, will meet six times between next week and the first part of
048December. you're tracking. There's 24 meetings scheduled of those various work groups of which you can follow along. Uh you can watch them virtually streaming um to be able to kind of gauge the discussion and see the progress being made in those work groups. Um I was assigned to the funding targets workg group which starts next week. Um the culminating recommendations out of those work groups will be shared with the broader task force. uh we anticipate in early December, perhaps early uh new year as far as January. Um and then the final recommendations uh will be presented to the governor in December of 2026. Um, I assume we may take a little bit of a pause during the legislative session as far as things happening there, but there there may be some follow-up conversations and meetings
049as well along with community engagement across the state once we have a better idea of what those recommendations to the governor will look like. Last thing that I wanted to mention was as far as the uh ongoing work of success ready students network. They had a initial presentation for a third innovation waiver which involves eight additional districts to the state board of education. Um knowing that the state board composition has changed. There are several new members there and several of the seasoned veteran members have since moved on and retired from those seats. Um there's a little bit of getting everybody up to speed. So, we're kind of in that space um and ensuring that they can see the history and the journey to this date, but then also be open to accepting additional districts uh
050as part of that third innovation waiver. Lots going on across the district. Fall activities certainly underway, gearing up for performances and musicals and those things coming later on this fall. Um but I do appreciate everyone for a great start to this new school year. With that, would entertain any questions you all may have of me. You're busy. >> Anything's going on. >> It's appreciated. >> You bet. >> People ready for business. Uh, first order of business then is a followup from our tax rate hearing and do appreciate Miss Sullivan and her team in the business services department uh for all of the work that they do from budget planning in the spring to looking at numbers as we get information from a variety of agencies tied to property taxes and getting us to this point
051of setting our tax rate. So, we'll uh turn it over to her to share with us this evening. >> Thank you, Dr. Tucker. Tonight I wanted to share briefly with you the requirements for setting the tax rate. This too is very scripted because I don't want to forget any of it. So if I appear to be reading I probably am. Um board policy DC1 outlines the process for setting the tax rate in accordance with state statutes. The rate is to be set annually after first notifying the public and conducting a tax rate hearing which we had earlier. Districts located in a county with a charter form of government, which includes us, Klay Countyy's charter, typically conduct this in September, which we are doing. We have to post a hearing notice at least 7 days prior
052to the hearing in a minimum of three public places. We post notices at city hall, the Liberty Post Office, Midcontinent Public Library, Withers Branch, and Woodney's branch, and at the district administration center. These notices were posted on Friday, September 5th, meeting that 7-day deadline. The tax rate hearing must include an opportunity for citizens to speak, which I alluded to earlier. We had we did do that. The tax rate must be submitted to Klay County, the clerk, by October 1st of every year. To calculate the recommended tax rate, the state auditor's office provides us a pro-forma. This is provided to all school districts to complete. The county assessor's office provides us with the assessed valuation data to enter into the proforma. The proform automatically calculates the tax rate ceiling once the assessed valuation has been entered.
053So there leaves very little chance of error on that. After the proform is completed, it is then submitted back to the state auditor's office where they check it for accuracy and send us a PDF form of the proforma that is completed. the tax rate um calculation as it is certified then becomes put into the um board docs and you see that that was posted for you today the tax rate hearing notice um under the current method for calculation as I said there's very little chance for error taxing entities may increase their tax revenue at the same rate as their assessed value increase the consumer price increase or a cap of 5% whichever is lowest LPS saw a 13.98% increase in assessed valuation based on the information provided by the county assessor's office on September 10th
054of 25. That means not everybody saw that. Some people saw less, some people saw more. We averaged 13.98%. The CPI this year in December, which is the CPI they use every year, was 2.9%. So, of the three, our revenue that we can increase by is capped at 2.9%. Um, based on the state auditor's office calculation data, a recommendation to set the tax rate for 2025 is presented to you tonight at $4.1298 for operating levy, $1.0477 0477 debt service levy and 36 capital projects levy. This is a total levy of $5.5375. This is a decrease of 39.02 from last year's levy. >> You read that last line one more time. What's the last little section? >> This is a decrease of 39.02 cents from last year's levy. have any comments further discussion? >> Very nicely done.
055>> Thank you. >> It's a lot of information. >> It is a lot. >> Good stuff. >> I do like the decrease though. >> And the highest the combined value though has been going back to when you rolled into this position as CFO was as high as 644. >> 6.455. So you can see the decline over the last several years. >> Certainly the continued increase in revenue that shows you what our assessed valuation has done. Um but because of the Hancock and other things in place and the growth that we've seen, you have seen for several years in a row that decline um as far as rolling back the tax rate. >> Correct. >> Equally important is what we can anticipate being the conversation this spring. if there are changes to property taxes, whether it's
056real or personal. Um, you know, the senior citizens tax credit plays into this as well and how we're impacted in new and different ways that either continues to see that tax rate decline or if need be to be able to work back toward the ceiling that we have in place to recoup revenues that could end up being lost because of changes to property tax collections or laws. So, just something to keep in mind as we continue to see a lot of conversation around that. And the tax rate ceiling for the operating and capital combined is where we sit today. So we are at our ceiling. The maximum tax rate voter approved for our district is $526. So we could raise it up to that if the if the assessed valuation so warranted us to do
057that. >> Other questions of Miss Sullivan? I move the board set the 2526 tax rate at $5.5375. >> Second, >> Nick, >> yes. >> Jen, >> yes. >> AJ, >> yes. >> Drew, >> yes. >> Angie, >> yes. >> Karen, >> yes. >> Motion carries. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Uh, next item then under new business is 6.2 and that's our insurance and benefits utilization plan. We are used to seeing Matt Wheeler here. Um, but as Dr. Marriott mentioned, Jessica Deeds is here with us this evening. I'm not sure if she gave Matt the night off or if he delegated. >> A mixture of both. >> A little bit of both, but she's uh going to walk us through a little bit more of the detail, but do want to thank team Liberty and
058the work that they've done. you have uh the recommendations that were shared with you last week along with um that uploaded this evening uh that come from team Liberty to the superintendent and then on to the board. I appreciate Dr. Marriott for hitting some of those highlights, but we'll turn it over to Jessica to walk us through that. >> Thank you and thank you for letting me speak with you tonight. I will try to do Matt Wheeler justice because I know he's phenomenal. So, >> he's not here. We have >> faith and confidence. >> Thank you. Um if you want to go to the next slide. So just overview of what we'll talk through. We had a lot of discussions with team liberty. So we just want to ensure that your team is up to
059speed on how we got to where we landed and then review team liberty's recommendations. Um a lot to read on this page. We just like to show year overyear kind of where we landed last year and how we got there and then what we went through this year. all of the marketing that we went through with medical, dental, life and disability and work site. We will go into specific recommendations with those details. So, the first major thing to touch on is just how the medical plan has been performing. Um, year-over-year, we continue to see increases in where the plan is trending. Currently, our performance is about 9% over contract. And when we trend that out over the remaining 17 months to the next plan year, we're calculating at a 21 and a half percent increase.
060So going into this year, we knew that we would have to get um really start looking at marketing and what other carriers had available and look at other options. Um we always go back to Blue Cross and see what plan changes we can make available, but we really needed to look at the full market to make decisions going into 2026. So for marketing this year, we looked at multiple different contract options. So fully insured is what you currently have with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City. We also looked at self-funded options. So for self-unding, we went to Meritane, UMR, and Santivo as well as looking at carveout pharmacy. So a pharmacy trend really one way that we could have pulled a lever to help your spend is using a carveout PBM like Centivo or
061Capital sorry capital RX or Smith RX. So we will model kind of where all those landed but we wanted to show you overall who we went to in the marketplace because we truly did look at all the options that were available including stop-loss carriers too. So, we called out, we did reach out to 17 different stop-loss carriers, nine of which declined a quote and Sunlife had the most viable options. So, when we model out self-funded options, that is who we're showing for self-funded. >> Oh, keep us smart here. What is stop-loss mean? >> Stop loss. So, great question. So, with stop-loss, each individual has a maximum amount that you would pay towards their claims. So, currently what you have in your contract is $200,000. So, Liberty would not be responsible for anything over that $200,000
062limit for an individual. You're fully insured, so it doesn't change what you're paying with your current premiums. However, it does impact your experience. So, anything over 200,000 doesn't count against you. >> Okay, >> cool. >> So, when we went out to the market, we want to show kind of where everything landed. So that first purple bar is your current contract premium. The next purple bar is where you're calculated at your renewal. So we're calculating a 21.5% increase. >> And that's before any negotiation, right? >> Right. Correct. >> And historically, we've seen Blue Cross back off 40 to 50% by the end of negotiation. So our our hope is always to be much lower than that 21 a.5%. However, the market is hardening just with increased risk on pharmacy throughout all different carriers. So, going into
063this year, we were hesitant if they would truly back off 40 to 50% like they historically have. >> So, when Blue Cross came with their initial renewal, it came in at 13.8%. And that's with plans asis. When we look at other carriers, Sigma is the only other carrier that came in with the fully insured contract and their initial quote was at 9.3%. So that's what Team Liberty really had away in that first meeting is that we could stay with Blue Cross as is at a 13.8% increase or move to Sigma at a 9.3% increase. We then went back to both Blue Cross and Sigma and proposed some plan design changes, which is typical to what we do each year with team liberty to figure out at what point they felt comfortable with the premium increase
064as well as plan design changes. So when we met at the last meeting, Blue Cross came in at a 6.7% increase compared to Sigma's 4.8% increase. To the far right is just showing what self-funded options would look at like. So self-funded at expected meaning looking at where your claims are currently trending paying the administrative fees for a self-funded carrier as well as stop-loss. It was coming in at around a 21.9% increase. And the maximum ceiling, so if with the stop loss you hit the top amount that you would pay towards claims, it'd be a 67.7% increase. We will continue to monitor if self-unding makes sense in the future, but this year that did not seem like a viable option. Any questions on those numbers? >> Now, I mean, more curiosity on the self-funded piece. Do
065you have districts you work with who are self-funded? >> The majority of the districts that we work with are on a fully insured or cost plus contract with Blue Cross of Kansas City, I would say, is kind of the balance there. just with the all-in risk of self-funding and being able to budget, it typically isn't a viable option. >> Okay, >> so looking at Team Liberty, their recommendation is to first off accept the district's subsidy increase to $89 as well as move to Sigma. With that move to Sigma at the 4.8% 8% overall increase. One key thing to call out is there is a $700,000 premium credit. So, we got to that 4.8% with a premium credit. They will apply in in January as well as a 10% rate cap. When we received Sigma's proposal
066for such a lower number initially, we wanted to put in place a rate cap to know that you don't move to Sigma and then find yourself in a position next year where you're marketing and have to go elsewhere. So, there is a guarantee that it won't be more than 10% off the full premium rates before that $700,000 premium credit is applied. Um, truly this is prioritized based on payroll increase because when team liberty sits down, we analyze all the different things that could could come into play. So, we look at provider disruption, pharmacy impact, loss of spyraare centers, um, behavioral health resources. They truly did weigh everything and ultimately the payroll difference between the two was impactful. You will still be able to have employeeonly coverage at zero cost for two of the plans as
067well as the health savings account contribution from Liberty at $1,200. As far as plan design changes, there will be a few adjustments this year. The first one being an increase to the RX co-pays on the EPO plans. So they'll increase to 25,75 and all the EPO plans will have their deductible and out of pocket increase $250. So the plan names will change to align with that increase. And then finally, the high deductible health plan does have a mandated increase of $100 from the IRS as well as an additional $200 that will be applied on top of that. So those will go up $300 in a high deductible health plan. >> Any other questions on medical? >> We we didn't lose any major networks, did we? >> So the shift with network, it is going to
068be a different network. It is still a narrow network with Sigma. So in 2018, you moved with Blue Cross to their Blue Select Plus network, which is the narrow network and that only the narrow network is available. With Sigma, their network is called Local Plus. There will be an addition of the HCA hospitals. Okay? >> And the ones that are going out of network are St. Mary's, St. Joseph are the two top of mind. There will be disruption overall, but also adding in that HCA network. And I know the Liberty team is being very specific in their communications to ensure that everyone is aware of where to find providers so they can begin that discussion if there's going to be a change on the dental piece. We moved to Sunlife 2 years ago and knowing
069with the increase that we were facing at that time, we knew once once our 2-year rate guarantee was over, we would have to market again. So, here we are. We facing a 44% increase with Sunlife. We did go out to market. And with that, carriers across the board were also calling for an increase. So what we ended up doing is level setting the two dental plans to align more with industry standards and Sunlife is now able to hold the current rates. So with a few minor tweaks, we're able to lock in a 2-year rate guarantee and instead of utilizing the 44% increase, rates will remain current. So it will still be free at that employee only base level and no changes to any other tiers. The changes that will go into place is on the
070base and buy it plans. Both of those deductibles will increase by $25. We're moving endodontic services to m to major services, which is typically where they align within a dental contract. And currently how it's set up is your basic and major services both are covered at 80%. We're going to move major services to be covered at 50%. So there's just a little more co insurance that employees need to pay if they are utilizing those major services. >> Any questions? >> Considered a major service. >> Major services would be like crowns, bridges, and dentures. So currently you're paying the same price for those for any other services that you would go into the dentist for. And that truly is industry standard how we've aligned those. It was a pretty rich plan and each time we've went
071to the market that's the feedback we've gotten is that people are just utilizing much more services because they're able to get it covered at 80 80% versus 50. Then the final thing that we marketed this year was the standard lines of coverages. So that basic life insurance, short-term disability in the ancillary products with that with the market check, we did find based on how experience was running that an increase is needed for basic life insurance as well as short-term disability. That is paid by Liberty Public Schools. So nothing will be hitting the employee paychecks there. And on those voluntary benefits, there is a decrease to the accident insurance, critical illness, and hospital indemnity rates. Both of these, due to the marketing efforts, have been able to be locked in for three years. So, no changes
072will occur with any of those lines of coverage. And those are the main updates I have for you. So, any additional questions or comments? Any questions for Holmes Murphy, for Miss Deeds this evening? Anything to add, Dr. Marriott or Miss Sullivan? >> No, other than what we've already shared is that team liberty engaged in some really difficult decisions and discussions. Holmes Murphy always does a tremendous job of uh when we do have a suggestion at team liberty or an idea they go back and revisit that with the potential providers and come back to us with the best rates possible. Um, so we will, you know, look forward to that continued relationship and very confident in our HR team to launch that new benefits renewal, making sure that we are educating all of our team members
073on the changes and be available for any questions that they do have. >> I know you don't have a slide for it. I hate to put you on the spot. I know we've seen shifts over the years more towards our HDHP plan. >> Has that continued to be the case as it continues to increase? Enrollment continues and I I could find a slide somewhere quickly, but enrollment has truly went up and really tools like the Alex, the decision support tool has helped people see that that ultimately could be the best fit for their situation. Okay. So, the Liberty team will continue to offer tools like that to help them truly weigh the premium, the health savings account contribution, and what their utilization looks like. >> Perfect. So again, as a reminder, our timeline, you'll see
074this information again in October. And so if you have questions or need additional clarification, um don't hesitate to reach out. You can connect with Holmes Murphy if we need to pull them in for additional clarification. Um appreciate Christelle and I'm going to throw Rebecca uh Fischer in there as well and that they are glad to help and assist in any way that they can. So uh be in touch if you have any questions or if we can provide additional clarification. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Nice work, by the way. >> Yes. >> Crushed it. >> 6.3. >> Uh, we do have a few contracts and purchases and we'll turn it over to Mr. Anderson to walk us through those this evening. >> I'll I'll hit each one and then take a quick pause
075in case you all have any questions. Uh, the first one is with the Blue Springs School District for special services uh related to student services for um heart of hearing program. Um and in that there was a Friday update on that a couple weeks ago. >> Steve, is that a person that comes to us or kids that go to them? >> Um that is a good question. >> Okay. >> Yeah, I think we go there. We go there. I believe that's correct. >> Yeah. >> U the second item is with Kamco. Um this was a larger contract um that uh somehow got missed with between security, tech, and transportation on the renewal. Um that's why it's here in front of you tonight, but we had to for continuation of services, we had to kind of
076move that through the system a little quickly. Um the third item is Nova Center. This too is for individual student uh care for special education services. Um and again that was a Friday update a couple weeks ago. The next item is with University of Missouri um forou regarding grow your own teacher grant funds. Um and again this one was u presented to you in at the end of August as a Friday update just to get it formalized and moved on to the university. And then the last item was one that was actually in consent and then after some conversations today, we decided to pull it out and put it under um open session with Catapult uh which is a um I learned a little bit more about it today, but it's a system pretty high-tech
077system to measure movements uh for uh um um weight training programming uh with specifically at Liberty North. The uh unusual thing about this is that funding. It's about almost $50,000. That's roughly 16 1617,000 a year for three years. And those funds are coming out of Eagle Club uh through privately raised funds. Um and Liberty High does not use this program. They're going to be monitoring this to see maybe eventually if they want to move to it. Um those are the items we would appreciate your approval of. tonight >> is the grow your own to supplant the funding that was not renewed at the state level. >> So it is a grant through EMPER the Missouri partnership for educator renewal. They have an opportunity for study grants they call them and so uh Dr. Copeland as
078well as working with um finance team um and Dr. Andrea Dixy as well to submit a grant. It's a smaller amount. >> Yeah. >> But it is well it's welcomed. >> Yes. So we will not receive a state grant because those are no longer available. This will be a small supplemental piece. >> Okay. >> I'm sorry. Steve, can you tell me one more time catapult is what the seed? >> Yeah. So it's I Dr. Moore >> I know Dr. Dr. Moore has dove in and learned quite a bit. a velocity based training system. Um so it's a camera system that goes on the racks. Um so it gives immediate feedback to the students as they're doing the weight so that um it's more of a safety protocol so that if they are lifting too much
079it will tell them to slow down um safety wise if they're you know if they can go faster. So it um kind of helps them uh gives immediate feedback to them to help them know what what they should be doing and what they should not be doing. >> And technique specifically as far as if they're doing the proper technique. >> Proper technique. It does like kind of an infrared scan um of what they're doing. We'll tell them, you know, you need to bend your knees more. So it gives them that automatic feedback on an iPad. Um that's also right there on the rack with them. >> Okay. And then the funding for this was raised privately. >> So the the breakdown is you mentioned 16,000 some over the each year increment. And so we're working
080with Liberty North Eagle Club. So then boosters have raised the funds that then will be deposited in the district's funds to pay for it. >> But then you'll have to do that year upon year moving forward. So >> but this is three-year deal. >> Is that correct, Dr. Moore? for the three-year commitment. >> And this is for the school or just for a certain program. >> It'll be in the Liberty North High School weight room and it'll be used by other programs. Okay. Um, PE, athletic programs, >> all correct. >> Thank you. >> Other questions on contracts? >> Move the board approve the emergency contracts and purchases as presented. >> Second. Nick, >> yes. >> Jen, yes. AJ, >> yes. >> Drew, >> yes. >> Angie, >> yes. >> Karen, >> yes. >> Motion carries.
081>> All right. All right. We're at the board part. Legislation and advocacy. We've already kind of hit that a little bit with talk of legislative priorities. I would say if you have a chance to print out last year's priorities and take a look at them before study session, maybe be prepared to talk about them a little bit next time. Um, >> MSBA's advocacy committee met last Monday. >> Okay. >> And reviewed um advocacy positions that were put forward by several schools. Kind of combined some added some to some current ones. had a little discussion on what the purpose of the advocacy um positions were um in regards to the MSBA members um staff who go to the capital and those will be placed in the booklet for the delegate assembly in Octo. That's in the
082upcoming dates. It's the very next thing. So, it's a very good se segue good like that. So, so that'll be October 23rd through 25th, I think. Do we have Is everybody planning to go? >> Oh, I see a shaking out there. >> Sorry. Plan Plan vacation. >> Okay. Plan vacation. >> Have to go down. >> I mean, when the dates came out, I planned the vacation. >> It's all right. >> Thanks for your honesty. Oh. So, well, we'll we'll fill you in. I'm sure there will be some some good things, but we'll >> I have a nerdy announcement >> for all those mathematicians out there today. This is Pythagorean theorem day, which will not happen for another >> who knows how long, >> but a squ is 9, b^2 is 16, c^² = c^2, which
083is 25. >> I heard this this morning at 5:00. >> Totally nerdy impressed that I remember she was a nerd. But the thing's the day. >> I love it. >> For all my math friends, there you go. You got your >> Are there a lot of math friends? >> There's a few of us in the room. >> All my math teacher friends who taught me the Pythagorean theorem. >> For all those kids who say, "What do I use this for?" for a calendar date. >> I'm sure Hallmark has a >> lifetime. They have a conference. No, I said that. >> Oh, they did. Yeah. >> When the train load to Jefferson. >> So, any other remarks? I I want to say for sure to the team over here that thank you for I mean I
084I know people have talked about the start of the school year. The last time we were all here was the night before and so it has felt like a really nice start to the school year and lots of really good >> good energy and appreciate the the energy tonight as well, Mr. Acrian and bringing in the students and it's just it's really nice to see. So thanks thanks to the team thanks to you. >> So many positive comments from parent from family members who attended tonight. They were very excited about that and I think that is the kids were obviously excited but I think having brought so many of their family members I think future ones will be interesting to see >> and the diversification across building levels I think is awesome >> any other
085remarks folks for the good of the order >> move the board journ >> second >> feel like I need a Jeopardy we need like jeopardy button. >> Nick, >> yes. >> Jen, >> yes. >> AJ, >> yes. >> Drew, >> yes. >> Angie, >> yes. >> Karen, >> yes. >> Carries. 820. >> Thank you everyone. [Music]