001good evening everyone as it is 5:15 p.m on Thursday April 14th I will call the meeting to order as is customary during the annual reorganization meeting of the Board of Education the superintendent presides over the meeting until board officers are elected once the board President and Vice President are elected I will then turn the meeting over to the board of Education president to continue the meeting the first item on our agenda is item 1.01 verification of unofficial election results I ask that Mrs Mary leac Chief Communications officer provide the unofficial election results for the April 20 April 2nd 2024 election this laac good evening on Election Day voters in the Rockwood School District decided upon candidates for two open seats on the board of education The Unofficial election results posted from St Louis County and
002Jefferson County show that Tammy Romberg and Phil Milligan have received the most votes thank you thank you Mrs leac moving on to item 1.02 administer the oath of office to new board members we ask that Mr Phil Milligan and Miss Tammy Romberg uh join me just by the flag on the side of the stage States support [Applause] un up m [Applause] the next item 1.03 is the reorganization of board member officers as an overview in a moment I will open the nominations for board president you may nominate yourself or another member of the board I will take those nominations in order received once there's a pause in the announcement of nominations I will ask for a motion to close nominations once we have a once we have a second and any necessary discussion I will
003ask Mrs Sadowski to conduct a rad call a roll call vote to close nominations we will then proceed with a vote of each nomination are there any questions okay hearing none to begin I will open the floor to take nominations for board president I nominate director lyette for president are there additional nominations I'd like to nominate director Romberg are there additional nominations hearing none I would entertain a motion to close nominations for the office of president for the Rockwood Board of Education so moved we have a motion and we have a second roll call vote I believe Mrs Bacher yes Mr cigan yes Miss Clark yes Mrs imig yes Mrs midet Mr Milligan yes Miss Romberg yes the motion carries okay we will start with uh actually uh director limid yet no since she won
004no she hasn't we just Clos the nomination process right okay and again all board members understand the process as it relates to the vote itself okay we will start with a um a vote for limonette to serve as the Rockwood Board of Education president those in favor I I this is actually roll call roll call Mr Gigan Miss Clark yes Mrs imig yes Mrs midet Miss Mr Milligan yes M Romberg yes Mrs Bacher yes the motion [Applause] passes we now have a new board of education President congratulations President midad all right one more we have uh is actually for the vice president presidency okay so the same rules as I mentioned earlier will apply for the vice president I would like to nominate Tamara Romberg are there additional nominations I'll nominate Carrie Barret are there
005additional nominations okay hearing none I would entertain a motion to close the nominations for the office of Vice President of the Rockwood Board of Education we have motion so move second and a second roll call vote one more time to close nominations Miss Clark yes Mrs imig yes Mrs midet yes Mr Milligan yes Miss Romberg Mrs Bacher yes Mr cigan yes the motion carries okay we will now go into the process itself for the Pres vice president of the board of of the Rockwood Board of Education again we will start with Tammy Romberg and we'll roll call vote again those in favor Mrs yes Mrs M yes Mr Milligan yes Miss rberg yes Mrs Bacher yes yes Mr cigan yes Miss Clark yes motion carries congratulations vice president Romberg okay done that so at this
006time I shall yield the gavl to president ly manette and she is going to continue the reorganization meeting thanks a lot all right I'm assuming we're at 1.06 and this is the election of treasure do we go through the nomination process all right I think we need a motion here so make a motion there's a motion that's written on there just read that motion she does it oh I'm oh yeah motion that the Chief Financial Officer Cindy bias continues to serve as the treasur of the Rockwood School District for the 20 2024 2025 fiscal year motion second any discussion okay roll call vote Mrs Bacher yes Mr cigan yes Miss Miss Clark yes Mrs imig yes Mr Milligan yes Miss rberg yes Mrs midet yes the motion carries I now have a motion that Janet
007sadasi if I could say her name right continue to serve as the secretary of the board of education for the 2024 2025 fiscal year so move second any discussion okay roll call vote Please Mr Milligan yes Mrs Baker yes Mr cadigan yes Miss Clark yes Mrs IG yes Mrs Miss Romberg yes Mrs midet absolutely motion carries 1.08 the authorization to continue the use of the current signature plate the motion is to authorize the district to continue the use of the current signature plate until the new plate bearing the signatures of the 2024 2025 president and treasur are received motion second any discussion roll call vote please Mrs imig yes Mr Milligan yes Mrs Bacher yes Mr cigan yes Miss Clark yes Miss Romberg Mrs midet yes the motion carries 1.09 this is discussion only and
008the new board member orientation procedures so um we can all everyone can talk about this as needed but both Phil well not Phil will be signed a mentor and I think the thinking is that the mentor will be tamy i' like to point out this is Tammy's third Mentor that she has third year in a row so she's really good at it we also have in our library on bardocks the mentor uh process and if you like go in there and take a look at that that's really good we worked on that last year we have that kind of outlined how that will happen um and then of course you can reach out to any of us at any time for for support or help or questions and we are here to ensure that your
009uh work with the board is good good for the district and and good for yourself did I leave out anything can I make a recommendation that the msba training started sooner rather than later I felt it was very beneficial to go Bob and I went to the very first one I'm in columia yeah and I think you'll quickly learn why we call Janet the goat so as you in this process there's just one additional item uh and that is board seating ultimately is something that that you all as seven board members will um ultimately need to uh determine I will say that there's been some history of past practice there's been some history of the mentee um physically being seated relatively close to the mentor but that'll be up to the um um the the
010the desires of the Board of Education as a whole but those are our two items for uh board member orientation as relates to process for now can promise you there'll be more coming in the future yeah I had a question is do we according to seniority and we've never done that in my history here AR Tammy um so it's it's just just next to our mentors or we're logically you and Janet tell us where to sit and that's where we'll sit well Janet kind of does that so uh but yeah next to the mentor is good I mean and where Dr K where you want us P positioned and the different superintendents over the years have done it a little differently so we uh would value your input as well at this point typically the
011president and the board of of the superintendent are seated relatively close to each other um outside of that really the purview of the board okay all right okay okay do you want to discuss the placement before we go into close to come back out in in the I I would like to put it in your hands as the Secretary of our board I trust your judgment okay I concur so mov no I I I was going to say we could swap um the way you are now to to move Phil and Bob switch them over and then Phil would be by Tammy and then other than that if everybody's good where they're at yeah I feel like that would work if that works for you he's the same so after we come back out of
012close then we'll move those around so that everybody's in their correct positions if everybody's good with that sounds good okay good so as we the practice in the forever since I been on the board it is time for us to read and reaffirm our code of ethics and we do this as a group and to go through and read the numerous items on here and we just round robing it and so director midet um can you make the motion yes ma'am I can I motion that the current board members reaffirm their commitment to the code of ethic so moved second second any discussions or needed clarification only that I don't think I have a I willly share he can even share a microphone do we we need a vote Janet read it first and then
013at the end we'll vote finish the vote I can start please start from here okay to govern and control the Affairs of the district as provided by law yeah just one the district guide develop PRI polies to oversee the management and fiscal control of the schools as provided by law and to review evaluate and judge the effect Ness of of the educational program the roles of the member of the Board of Education are to recognize that it is the responsibility of the board to see that the schools are properly administered and not to administer them to hold the superintendent design responsible for the imple implementation of board policies and the administration of the district to give the superintendent or designate authority to commensurate with his or her responsibility to vote on board matters only after
014considering the recommendations of the superintendent or disy and any and any in oh my gosh I can't see and any interested citizens to maintain a working rapport with other members of the board and the superintendent to respect and encourage the right of others to hold to support the board once a legal decision has been made by majority vote to avoid inappropriate or disparaging remarks in or out of board meetings about other board members or their opinions to realize that the responsibilities are districtwide to recognize that Authority rests with the board in legal session and no individual board member has legal authority to request action from the staff or to otherwise speak or act on behalf of the board with the exception of the board president to avoid comments which may be interpreted as undermining the
015decision of the board or the administration of the district to assure that special committees when appointed have a well-defined objective and there is understanding that the committee serves in an advisory capacity respectful fair to uphold all applicable laws rules policies and regulations and comply with all laws rules policies and regulations as they apply to the board to maintain a professional decorum when discussing School matters in and out of board meetings including but not limited to refraining from making disparaging or inappropriate comments regarding students staff or the Rockwood community in addition members of the Board of Education will work through the super superintendent design and his or her staff not over or around them to support the superintendent or designates effort to appoint the most qualified persons as employees of the district reinforce the efforts of
016the superintendent des and the staff so they may perform their assigned responsibilities in the most effective manner provide the superintendent or designate Council as requested or required initiate and Implement all efforts to secure adequate financial support for the district assure that all transactions of the district are ethical open and above board conduct activity and alignment with the board's policies and regulations and the vision mission and core values of the district District fulfill all professional duties with honesty and integrity and always act in a trustworthy and responsible manner support the principle of due process and protect the civil and human rights of all individuals so the motion is that the current board members will reaffirm their commitment to the code of ethics roll call Mr cattigan yes Miss Clark yes Mrs imig yes Mr Milligan yes
017Mrs Bard yes Miss Romberg Mrs midet yes the motion carries thank you okay 1.11 is there a motion the next page okay top of the next page so the motion is that policy and regulation 0342 nepotism conflict of interest and Financial disclosure are readed as submitted so moved second has everyone had an opportunity to look at the policy and regulation 0342 yes yes any further discussion roll call please Mrs Bacher yes Mr kigan yes Miss Clark yes Mrs imig yes Mr Milligan yes Miss rberg yes Mrs midet yes the motion carries 1.12 board standing committees and assignments the no motion there's no motion this is discussion okay of the different committees and on this on um sheet in front of you it tells who current members are of these different Committees of the board so
018um at this time usually there's conversation and um you all discuss who you want or who wants different committees to to be on different committees if I may just uh interject there are two components that are new to this the capital planning advisory committee has been something that's been discussed about in the past but uh we made sure that there was a a write up AG frame of what the work of this committee will in fact look like and why that's why you see it included um as a second to last committee for discussion and ultimately assignment and then the very last one is an advocacy committee um I know you'll be working through conversation with the other committees that are listed on this particular agenda item with this one I think it is critical
019that there's some real conversation around some very clear guard rails of what the committee's work will be and what it in fact won't be if you think about what you just affirmed with uh the policy 0340 as it relates to code of ethics one of those actually relates to uh in addition members of the Board of educa Education will that six statement talks about securing adequate financial support for the school district and so there is a space for that to become an extension of the that committee's work to become an extension of the policy itself but I really believe it's very important to have some very bright lines of some guard rails of what that committee's work will be and what it won't be do we need to Define um that committee before we assign
020members to that or assign members and then Define the committee and come back I I think it would make some sense to actually have conversation around the work of that committee and then ultimately assign a board member um or members depending upon how you decide to delegate uh that Authority afterward is that something Co disc how about we use this as a u opportunity to prime the pump and as we're having the conversation about the other committees I think we land on that by the time we get to that one all right one of some thoughts I had as I was reviewing the Committees in the past couple days is I think it's really important for everyone on the board to serve on a committee at least at least one hopefully two when I went
021through and looked at the number of people I think there are 12 12 spots for people and so uh historically my understanding is that the board president does not sit on the Committees and so that allows some other people to to be on the Committees in which I served on previously which makes me sad because those those are you know really an opportunity to do great work so again I think it's important that everyone you know participate and committee assignments and and the work and the movement that we uh we get from our our work in committees so with that being said let's just start at the top and talk about the Missouri School Board Association right now we have Jessica Izzy and tamy serving I would like to continue to serve as a delegate
022I would like to stay as well I am not going to do with this here okay all right so I have a question um as I looked through the Committees and heard about the Committees earlier I would just ask for your opinions would that be something that would possibly help a brand new person to maybe become oriented to Schoolboard work definitely more quickly yeah definitely Phil attending any of the msba conferences and and all of the sessions that they have keeps you AB breast of what happening with school boards across the state and really helps you network and have a deeper understanding of our work together there's also a growing pln professional Learning Network uh specifically in the St Louis region when it comes to mba's work that's pretty powerful and very much connected so
023it's you saw me shaking my head yeah that said I strong comments in serving now with that being said we all participate in all the different all the different opportunities with msba to learn and and to and the professional uh networking opportunity that we have but now you are a vote right as a delegate so you you get to be a vote with us and just so you're aware the delegates meet twice a year at the msba conference in the fall and the summer Summit in June and that's usually when the delegate committee meets and the three represent atives would attend that meeting and and vote on behalf of Rockwood so those two things are usually the same week every year so you kind of know ahead of time when and tomorrow we'll go over
024the dates of those I know what they are for this year so so are you thinking or no I I I would be willing to do that okay all right next on the list is the policy Review Committee and is say you've been on that for the past two years I believe policy no it's it's my first year okay but someone else can take it the policy review okay I'd like to be on that committee if no one else would absolutely so the Special School District governing Council so there's one main person and one alternative although last year it was Carrie and myself and uh and I again I'm having a hard time giving this up because this is my my love my passion but um I think it worked well that we both were
025very very involved and and actually attended the meetings together and you can do that we as Rockwood we only have one vote but you can have both the the member and the AL alternate uh attend the meetings and and do that so I would like to continue to serve so I would suggest car that you would be the member and not the alternate okay and that said I would be willing to be the alternate okay that makes sense to me and the communications Outreach and public engagement committee three people usually serve on this committee um in 23 24 it was Carrie myself and and Tammy I would like to continue as well I would like to join that committee so recognition and awards committee one person sits on that committee and I don't know Jessica
026I'm gon look down at you to see if you would have time for that I would like to and we'll talk about it later okay yeah all right I think I'm on it you are on it yeah I would like to continue okay again I'm just trying to get everyone involved here and not have one person doing too much and then the last one uh standing committees and then we'll move on to the capital planning the wellness committee okay and now the new committee Capital planning advisory committee I would like to volunteer to be uh a member of that committee if I could please that makes sense to me think it's calling your name Bob I do and may may Cindy forgive that I ever volunteered so I think it's we've already talked about it
027it's fine I didn't know you could give a spot raise so now to the discussion about the recommended advisory committee advocacy committee I'm sorry ADV so how many people are going to sit on that what are you thinking well first I think we need to think about what what is the purpose of it and I know having um and I've mentioned this before at previous board meetings um about having the advocacy and being aware of what is happening with legislature that's affecting public education our funding uh sources um and so I think it's important that we as a board stay informed and that we keep our community informed as to what's happening so that's kind of the mission I see of it is communicating out to our community and to our keeping our fellow board
028members informed of what's happening with legislation affecting public education just a thought um that could take the form of during our comment board and superintendent Comet uh period where that would happen uh in terms of the frequency of count that feels as though that would be quieter in the fall but in the spring it could be pretty pretty uh active so um it just feels like there's definitely a space if if that is the direction the board's going to go that they're they're we could either either carve out a I don't think there's a need to do that I'm debating this in my head sorry this is a circular conversation the whole world is seeing and I apologize for that I do think there's a space during that the comment period to be able to
029to provide that that call out of uh updates for our community so if I could ask a refining question here a little bit so is this a in information providing information to to the board or is this or is the committee going to then own actions if we want to get involved D in shaping legislation or responding back to the legislature as a board I would think it's both I agree but I think it sometimes being informed will lead us to some actions yeah if if it would deemed to be necessary or appropriate right so let's just say for example you know the legislature is moving down the path of cutting funding for schools all right we would you would this committee would inform the board that that's the legislation that's currently in committee being
030reviewed and then this board may decide to take action to to as a board vote to say we'd like a declaration or submission of some kind to the legislature saying we are opposed to Senate Bill 1027 because of its impact on school funding and after that school education and quality of Education because of funding am I understanding that correctly with that framing that makes sense to me that um these committee this Committee Member or committee members are gathering information having that awareness then providing an update to our Board of educ the Board of Education and whether it's a statement Proclamation whatever that looks like the board as a whole is deciding if that's something that it wants to do I like that so it's a loose tight kind of coupling of how that would operate
031now this this could range anything from uh Financial you know uh jurisdiction the uh you know students School of Choice anything really book Banning anything really that's affecting our educational environment uh you know for the district those are pretty uh wide swaps that you were that you were targeting and some are more sensitive than others yes so I do think that it will require some conversation amongst the board of how comfortable how adment is the board uh on on the variety of topics that could be before that's that's part of what I was when I was talking about rail that's definitely part of the conversation it needs to are you thinking it will be important to prioritize what the committee works well what's the most important to the district I think establishing a frame before
032a session begins is important to quite honestly protect the committee um but we also have Clarity heading into a session versus having that Clarity once a legislative session is up and going shouldn't it also depend on what's actually going on at the time and what we're going for you know what I mean like what do they have on their bill what's going on I I believe um through when we were at msba and I said in a session um a lot of school districts School boards um I don't want to say Proclamation that's not the best but goals and they say you know um we want to um uphold um finances that will support public education so they kind of come up with five to 10 that's right word so I would see this this
033group defining that us voting on it and then they would inform us on our platform right that makes sense that would likely be a very very late probably January late December probably January time frame um if you're doing so by April it's too late so between January and ideally February that would be a targeted window to establish that and I think that' be part of the process of the advocacy is that this committee would be bringing those topics forward as they're being formulated so that we can prioritize them and put them into motion as we move into the legislative sessions and we know the state of Missouri tends to repeat and repeat and repeat we know friends that are going to appear I would see see this committee meeting over the summer to look at
034what what got pretty far but didn't quite make it because we know it's going to reappear next year during session do you do you see this committee also reaching out and having discussions with other districts I think clarifying that would be important um and by the beginning of May the Omnibus Bill is something that's going to be a unique rinkle to work through because that could be pieces of four or five different um either house or Senate bills that have come together and trying to decipher and really sift through um the wide- ranging nature of an Omnibus Bill we'll take some some work but yes that networking and connection is a very good idea just something for us to consider as we look at this board this this committee rather sorry two pieces the first
035being given our legislative session it occurs right after we have Schoolboard elections so you may have a transition of members on this committee for next year's session right at the moment the legislator is about to get involved depending upon who's on the committee and what their election cycle is uh the second piece though is this committee can look at a number of things tell the board what's going on and the board can decide by vote we're not interested in that keep us informed but we're not going to do anything or wow we really want to double down on this this needs to be on the agenda every other meeting from now on until the legislature is over so that's that's the power we have to steer the committee to say yes we care about this
036no we don't care about something and and also I would I would assume that you would be part as superintendent you would be part of this committee or would you designate someone else on your cabinet to help us uh we'll work through that but I my my gut says that I be more of an advis I don't know advisory role we'll figure that out desat we'll figure it out yes yep there are some resources out there to tap into absolutely right you mean you don't want to be on every single committee still are we still like formulating it do we want to have committee assignments to it that that can here's my thinking is if we had some um board members assigned to it they could rough out some of the platform what it would
037look like the mission of it and then bring that back to the board as we move forward and would this be for this current session are we looking at establishing this committee for session 25 25 okay we'll continue those of us that are advocating and being part of MSB now will continue to bring forward what we know right as we've done in the past right there could be a session at the October msba conference for example that could help inform this this hypothetical right they could help inform this work as well but getting up and going um for session of uh spring of 25 makes sense so so where does the advocacy Day activities fit into all this it's it's next week but it's every year so not just this year but going forward definitely
038point a conversation if the msba platform aligns with what the uh the the ideals the priorities that are identified in the Rockwood um School District uh platform if there's alignment there it does make some sense to do so now how many are you thinking about having in this committee Tammy I would think two to three two at least two possibly three would be better I agree I I would say three as well do we need a motion to establish this committee we didn't for the other one for the for the new Committee of the capital planning the capital planning committee though is is a cabinet committee that they're asking for a person to be on this is more like a cope committee which is a board committee so I feel like motion would be fine
039I would I would move that we that we have a advoc advocacy committee with the mission of informing the board and community of the of platforms for legislative issues I second that any further discussion roll call or roll call vote Please Mr Milligan yes Mrs Bacher yes Mr cigan yes Miss Clark yes Mrs Emig yes Miss Romberg yes Mrs midet yes the motion carries I would be interested in serving on the committee I would too me too okay so thank you all for volunteering to serve on the different committees the it's important work it's crucial work so appreciate your uh diligence here and I believe it's time to have a motion to go into close session to discuss legal actions cause for actions or litigation and preparation for negotiations with employee groups so moved second
040roll call V vote please Mrs imig yes Mr Milligan yes Mrs Bacher yes Mr cigan yes Miss Clark yes Miss rber Mrs Mett yes the motion carries okay