001Good evening. I call this meeting to order. Roll call, please. Ms. Miller Ms. Williams Ms. Chesney Ms. Kearns Ms. Lanning Mr. Moore Mr. Richmond I'll stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Is there a motion for the approval of the agenda? I have a motion. Is there a second? And I have a second. Ms. Miller Ms. Williams Ms. Chesney Ms. Kearns Ms. Lanning Mr. Moore Mr. Richmond Okay, all approved. Items for discussion. Dr. McGuinness All right, thank you. Good evening. Thank you all for being here tonight. We have reviewed multiple options for facilities and re-consolidation along with some building retirement possibilities. So, Mr. Moore, if
002you could put up here the feeder system that we're looking at tonight. Previously, administration recommended option two for a Lafayette and Central model, option seven for a Benton and Central model, also using Hyde. I'm going to do a little bit of a recap here so you guys know kind of where we got to how we got to today. So, last Monday, administration presented a revised plan two, Central High School and Lafayette High School, with a four middle school model. We reviewed the feeder system, the boundaries, and the impact on staffing, finance, and academics. The consensus from the board was to consider a modified plan 7B, which is a two high school system with Central and Benton along with a four middle school model. A plan with Central and Benton with the four middle schools was
003already in existence, and that was plan 4B. So, we have updated 4B, and it is now labeled 4BR for revised. Additionally, plan 2R as edited by administration remains an option for consideration. On Symbli, which is where we house all of our board documents, you will find all of the plans we have considered throughout this process. Pages 13 and 14 show plan 2R and plan 4RB, which is what we are discussing tonight. Similar to last week, our team will present information on the updated model for 4BR, the Central-Benton model with four middle schools. We will review the feeder system, which is on the screen, boundaries, the impact on staffing, finance, and academics. After we review this plan, we will then review the impact analysis per board policy FC, and that document is also loaded on Symbli.
004After we present the impact analysis, we'd be happy to answer any questions the board may have, and you are welcome to ask us those along the way as well. And then we will move into public comment. After public comment, we will transition from our public hearing into a special board we'll go ahead move into this model, 4BR. Benton and Central would be the two high schools. Lafayette would transition to a middle school. Robidoux would transition to an elementary school. The optimal capacity for Robidoux currently is 500 to 540, but that is calculated for middle school students. The number would increase slightly for elementary students. So, I just want to make note of that for our board. Retired buildings would include Field, Pershing, and Webster. In this model, Ellison would be slightly over optimal capacity, but
005not maximum capacity. So, their capacity runs from 328 to 378. At the high schools, the capacity is over the current maximum capacity for Benton. Capacity at our high schools has been adapted to accommodate classroom space that has been converted to offices or meeting spaces, and that's the same case at both high schools, Lafayette and Benton. As we have recruited more support services and social workers, counselors, interventionists, things of that nature, we have taken classrooms and converted those spaces into office spaces or meeting areas. So, I want to point that out for our board. Both sites would likely need to convert some of those spaces back into classrooms. Both of these models, we believe are less disruptive with the four middle school model. We would have a more phased approach to district consolidation. And now I
006will allow Mr. Kelly to review the boundaries for this model. Sure. What were the numbers for Robidoux again? I didn't write this down. 500 to 540. And that's calculated for middle school students. So, typically you can have higher capacity. And it's the same thing on the Central Lafayette model. It would just be Spring Garden. Yeah, I understand. >> There Okay. Yeah, that's good. Smaller kids, I get it. Yes. Did you want this? Thank you. Okay. So, what I am bringing up now, um, is the boundaries for this model. And sorry, it's coming. We got a bit of a delay to the projector. Um, so this is, um, attached to the board docs on assembly. Um, and I've printed off a copy for all of you guys, um, on stage. Uh, so, um, once again trying
007to affect um, our feeder pattern or sorry, our current school borders as little as possible why we did why we did this. Um, you can see Hosea Hyde and Pickett under that first purple line would be the schools that feed to Spring Garden. Parkway and Skaith would feed to Truman in the middle. Um, and then if I move up, um, and that would sorry, both of those would be your your feed to Benton underneath that, um, solid orange line. Um, and then in the north side, um, Edison, Coleman, and Ellison would feed to Bode and then Lafayette. Uh, Carden, Lindbergh, Robidoux, and Oak would feed to or sorry, to Lafayette and then to Central. Um, and then the other three would be Bode and then to Central. Um, we had to make a a few
008slight changes on this for um, to get the capacities a little bit different cuz you'll know on plan two are, um, Lafayette said about 1170 and to get Benton down to about 1070, we did a little bit more shifting of kids around. Um, but the the output or the outcome was minimal um, compared to to the other plan. So, um, do you have any questions about the boundaries? Yeah, so the the high school capacities, Central, um, optimal is 1730. I have it. >> Yeah, do you have it? >> Okay. Benton right now 884 to 999. So, that's optimal to maximum. Central to 1937. Lafayette to 1650. Any other questions for me? Nope. Okay. Um, who's next? Robert Murray. It'll be me. Mr. Krull. All right, thank you. Um, based on these projections for, um, savings
009through staffing, you'll see that there's not a lot of difference between the plan that was presented on Monday. Um, total savings under plan four B 4BR um, is 2.155 million. That's the potential savings. And then our max savings on that plan would be 3.974, which is about a $160,000 difference between the two plans. Um, I'll I'll explain that a little bit. Um, the reason why they are very similar is as Dr. McGuinness mentioned, we have really two very similar plans. We are uh, retiring two elementary schools that are, um, very similar in size when it comes to student enrollment. We have a total of 11 students is the difference. We're also, um, potentially moving students from in one plan a middle school will turn into an elementary school on both of them. And then the
010middle school would then shift over to a high school. So, not a lot of difference in those and that's that's where those savings reflect why there is not much of a disparity there. Um, staff that could potentially be displaced within this plan, we have eight administrators, um, 170 certified staff, and 83 classified staff. Compared to plan two R, um, would be nine administrators, 165 certified, and 79 classified. So, about about 10 difference on the staff members. Any questions? Sure. I can say them again. Thank you. I'm going to turn it over to Miss Stuter. Good evening. I'll say this again. I'm going to celebrate Mr. Richmond that APR at 74.7%. It's all the hard work by our teachers and our building leaders. They carry that torch for us. I'm grateful for them. And I'll say
011this. I'm always a teacher first. Teachers are what matter the most in education. They are the heart and the soul of every classroom. And without dedicated, skilled educators, even the strongest programs and resources cannot reach their full potential. Retaining high-quality teachers is not simply a staffing issue. It is about preserving, um, the very foundation of student success. The academic success of our community rests on the strength of our tier one classroom and the commitment to ensure they receive teachers receive the right tools, development, and support so that both students and themselves can continue to grow. In both models, um, in consultation with Dr. Anderson, she has already shared the current reality of our special education program. And both models presented will support the services that we need to provide for our students. As far as
012the high school settings with academic programs, it's because of the great professional learning and Dr. McGuinness when she challenged our academic service team to think about a plan for every single student to have post-secondary, um, aspirations and experiences that we came together and centered way before this facilities conversation to reimagine the high school setting. And that work has been centered around the college and career pathways. And leading the college and career pathways, we're going to have to rethink where our students receive the experiences and opportunities. And that's why we want to center our work around not only expanding and continuing the work that we see at Hillyard's because I want to remind everybody Hillyard's is our space. We also want to continue the work with Missouri Western. So many of our, um, students, um, enroll
013in the Early College Academy and we want to ensure that they receive, um, success and supports from Missouri Western as well. We have dreams and visions of other sites and we have I know we have community support for them. And so I want you to think about um, that junior and senior year looking a little bit different in the, um, apprenticeship, the mentorship, the internship experience we want our kids to have here in St. Joe. Are there any questions from an academic service program? Okay. Uh, I station listen, um, I noticed in uh, the Benton Central plan that Pershing is listed as a potential retirement. I know that we've talked quite a bit about needing expand early learning eventually. And and and right now it's that north part of town that that lacks early learning.
014Can you comment on what the closing of Pershing does the future of early learning in the district? You know, I'm I'm not exactly sure where we want to lead with that. Like I know that we had talked about it briefly in a meeting today. Um I'll let Dr. McGinnis take the lead. That's really a facilities piece that I think she'll answer. Sure. And part of expanding early learning is also in our CSEP, it's part of Vision Forward. We have expanded quite a bit since that Vision Forward process. Right now with the financial position that we are in, we need to get financially healthy before we expand that. And we don't have everything built out as far as long-term facilities plan. We talked just I threw this out in our meeting this afternoon, but it could
015be something where we consolidate into one big site. It could be when our population, if it decreases, then we look at a different elementary site. It could be that we retain that building to add. So those details have not been ironed out completely. I have one question. So I know Cara came up and talked about special education with one plan. So with these plans, how will that work? Do you know? Cara and Dr. Anda Dr. Adams have visited sites and they know that at the elementary, the middle, and the high school, they have the space to support all special programs. Now as far as drilling down to where those you can see the gaps right now. There's particularly at the middle level. Um and Dr. Adams and Dr. Anderson had worked that out. So she
016assured me we worked together. We are going to be able to provide the space needed to support learning for our students. Um I have a question about the plans. As I'm looking at 4BR, I remember a couple nights ago as you were mentioning Pershing might, I thought that was going to be like a phase plan. And if it is a phased one, then is where would that end up on the chart? It wouldn't be phased as far as the staffing goes. It could be something that was just a possibility that we talked about with early learning today. So it would still be a retired building next year in this model. But as far as if that building is going to be sold or repurposed, that has not been decided. Oh, okay. Okay, thank you. Okay,
017if we're ready for financials, you know, Mr. Krell talked a lot about the staffing plan with both um two plan two and plan four. Um and what we have done on the financial projection tool is show how that would look out to FY30. Of course, we have two scenarios. One if we have all the savings up front. You can see the impact of that in future years and when we would see the savings from the building utilities. Of course, since Webster is phased, that would be a year of retaining Webster and then a year of looking to sell that building and then you would not see the savings for that past that year. The other utility savings include both Pershing and Field. And so please note that Pershing is included in that. I know it
018hasn't been decided exactly long-term, you know, how that building, but that savings is included in this. And it's about half of that number that you see that's $196,071. So just please note that. So can you say that again? Yeah, so in plan 4BR on the long range, you see a building utility savings of $196,071. Half of that is for Pershing. So just please note that. Um and then on the estimated savings, this is how we see the staffing actually shifting out through attrition. And so you can see that spread over two years, not one. And you can see the financial impact. A couple things I wanted to mention. Both of the plans, whether you're talking about, you know, plan 2BR, plan 7BR, both have a middle school going to an elementary. And so with that,
019you would need to have a playground at that elementary. And you would also have some other changes within the building to modify, possibly some fixtures and things like that. Um In talking that over with Casey today, we believe that'll be about $150,000 for that middle school to go to elementary, whether you're talking about plan 2BR or plan 4BR. So please please note that. Um when it comes to taking either Benton or Lafayette to a middle school, both both of those buildings are very much set up for either, obviously high school kids, which it is right now, but also middle school kids. And so there might be some very slight modifications needed. And when I say slight, I mean things that our own carpenter staff could do with that are already part of our maintenance crew.
020And so it would really just be the small amount of supplies and materials needed to either maybe put in a wall or take down some existing walls or things like that, which would just be labor from the staff that we already have. So very very minimal. I would say under $10,000 for converting Benton um or Lafayette to a middle school. And then of course, the $150,000 price tag to convert a middle school to an elementary, mainly being the playground and moving playground equipment from a site that's being retired to that. And and we feel like that number is pretty solid because we had to do that at Oak Grove. Um because with that access road, we had to shift that playground equipment. So we had a an actual bid previously and actually done that work
021before. So we feel that number to be pretty accurate. So be happy to answer any other questions you might have on the financial impact. Okay, seeing none, we will move into the impact analysis. So our board members have this at your stations. For anybody in the audience, it is uploaded on BoardDocs. So if you look at the back side, this the side that actually has the front cover, you will see the board policy listed there. And anytime we have a proposed action of this nature, we have to provide possible alternatives to the proposed action, including maintaining status quo, the projected impact that each alternative would have on every affected school, and current enrollment and three-year projections for all the schools that could be affected. So if you look over at the column on the far
022left, that shows the current enrollment for those schools, and then the three-year projections, what we would have if we were to go with one of these two models. Most of this is similar to the impact analysis in October as far as the status quo and possible action, the district enrollment versus capacity. That is all the same information. The only thing that's been updated is that far left column with the schools that are most impacted. And it actually says just two options that have been considered. We've actually looked at 14 different plans now, and those are all uploaded online. If you flip that over, the two columns on the right compare Benton and Central to the two columns on the left comparing Lafayette and Central's model. So Mr. Krell, Ms. Studer, Dr. Hedgecorth have kind of
023already gone over some of that information. Other than the students and families, the students displaced would be 2,242 on the Lafayette Central model, and in the Benton model would be 2,316. Both of these models are very similar as we've said. Um so I'd be happy to have any questions you may have as far as the impact analysis or anything else. Mark Krell got that joke. Um okay, so one of the things that I think we talked about back when we had facilities committee, so I'm talking a year or two years ago, was the the maintenance costs. And I know that that was one of the reasons why Hyde had been on that initial plan. Um can is that in the DLR report or I thought there was like the the cost of maintaining the building.
024I know that that had been one of the things that had driven us to its age and then its cost. So I don't know if we still have that. I'm looking down at Casey. Or maybe I know DLR gave a score, but uh Casey, if you don't mind talking about the history of of Hyde and in your opinion on the third maintenance on that building, if you don't mind. When we talk about facilities, part of what we've talked about is how we need to get on some sort of a schedule of retiring and constructing retire every 10 to 15 years. Um so that's why I'm kind of looking to that question of if we're retiring and building new and we're doing that at older and more costly, then what does that mean for these plans?
025Well, I can give you a little history on Hyde itself. Um real beginning of 1900s, it was a four-bedroom schoolhouse. Uh the land was donated. Um after that, there was a few additions to get to where you are now. Uh the overall age of the building was originally constructed in 1902 to 1903. Um the big cost right now to rehab, to update in the electrical infrastructure, the plumbing infrastructure, HVAC, any of that is very costly and very difficult. Um the building itself is built very well. Um the bones to it are as good a bones as you probably could ever get. With any building that we have is that way. But it just it gets to the cost to rehab, to redo them, is astronomically you're two to three times the cost. I will just
026add there's one more document that is uploaded on the assembly and it talks about the year Benton was built, the year Lafayette was built. So Lafayette was built in 1916, Benton in 1939 1939. It has the square footage for each building. We did have the building principals go around and count count the classrooms. And those two principals were very consistent in making sure they didn't count gyms, they didn't count weight rooms, and they didn't count ISS. So Lafayette had 52 classrooms, Benton had 50. We also looked at the highest enrollment since 1991. Lafayette had 906 in 2003. Benton had 974 in 1999. We looked at parking spaces. Lafayette had 190. Benton had 233. And then we looked at auditorium seating. Lafayette has 430. Benton has 350 on the bottom, 196 for the balcony, with a
027total of 546. Again, both of these models are very comparable. We do think in both of these models, we would have to convert some spaces to learning spaces. And we would also have to transition from three lunch periods to four lunch periods. So there would be some details we would need to work out in either one of these models. Any questions for us? Sure. Okay. So I'm looking at this as well and you said the auditorium. I know one thing too is um the band room as well, comparable to each other. I mean, I've seen Lafayette's recently, but it's been a little while since I've been at Benton. How are those comparable? We walked um that space. I think they are comparable. I don't want to say they are exactly the same because I don't
028have that exact square footage. I can get that for you or if Casey, if you know that off the top of your head. I don't. Band space. >> Band room as well. So um so then the band space with the with this document, um the two table and it has the square footage. So it has Benton at 122,000 and Lafayette at 156. I heard I've heard a lot of talk about how much of that is hallway space, but where would you say the bulk of that difference and Stacia? I'm kidding. Mr. Kerl, go ahead. This is just an assumption, but Lafayette has three gyms. So I'm imagining there's a lot of extra space in that lower gym that probably counts into that. But that that lower gym, I think she used for baseball and wrestling
029and things like that currently. So that's probably where a lot of that that a square footage comes from. Just my guess. Appreciate that. It does have more square footage, though. Let me ask you a question about that more Well, um seems like maybe Benton has a field house where they do wrestling and things like that. Was that included in that 122,000? That is not included in either one. So that that'd be another thing that would bring that closer. >> both have the field house, though. >> Okay. Yeah. Unless I'm wrong, Casey, I think I'm 99% sure. I can't see Casey. Okay, correct. And then I have a couple more for you. Sure. So I know I've said this many a time, so I'll ask you. I see on the feather plan too that Eugene Field
030is closed, one part that's supposed to be retired. Can you speak to why we've got to that choice to Eugene Field and Pershing and where those students will go? On 4BR? Yes. So Field and Pershing would combine to go to Rubidoux. That may not be perfectly, but those those kids, those hopefully even those staff could go to Rubidoux. We would have to look at those boundaries. I'm sure that it wouldn't work out perfectly, but that's where those students would go. Thank you. Okay, so then that makes me question. So we I believe it was last year or the year before we moved some students. We moved the boundary slightly between Lafayette or between Lindbergh, Pershing, and Field, I believe. It was Lindbergh and Field. Okay, so not Pershing. So those those students got moved to
031Field. Mhm. Obviously doing very well with their 100 100 APR score. Um and then the Mark Twain students moved. Is there has there been discussion? I know we brought it up about obviously if Field closes, then there's nothing you can do about that. They'll have to move again. Um but with other the other model, would those students be able to stay where they're at or is that cuz I can't even remember how many kids were affected or if that would be feasible >> You're talking the Mark Twain kids? So we've discussed that. I think those kids would be going into sixth grade, so it should be very few students who are impacted by that, but yes, we would try to make that right for those families cuz we we gave our word on that. >>
032Okay, thanks. How many Lindbergh to Field students was that? You know, um we looked at I know that I think it was Jake and me that looked at that boundary and at the beginning we we were we were trying we were trying to take a little bit of pressure off Lindbergh um with Field having open seats. And so in the beginning it was going to be around 50. Um it ended up being about 38 >> Oh, okay. due to special programs that were offered at Lindbergh itself. Okay. Any other questions for us? Okay, Ms. Williams, do you want to set the stage for the public comment? Okay, like always, odd numbers will go this way, even numbers will be at this mic. Everyone will have up to 3 minutes and please at the 3-minute mark,
033we would really appreciate it if you would just complete your sentence. I know people have lots you know to say, but there's a whole lot of people wanting to talk and we want to be respectful of everyone's time. Also, as we mentioned about the respect, if you can also be respectful of others when they're speaking, even if you don't agree. And so we'll give everyone a moment to line up. Odd numbers right there, even right there. I don't want to hold it. voice two three Okay, guys, if you're ready to begin. Number one, Ms. Cook. And your time starts now. My name is Cynthia Cook. I am an alum of Benton. My three children are alum of Lafayette. I have spoken at several of these meetings. I'm so discouraged by everything that I have seen
034over the last month. There's been flip-flopping after a unanimous vote had been taken. There have been requests for changes to plans. I am aware the district spent a lot of time compiling and evaluating information, and you expected them to come up with something else in less than 41 hours from the end of the last meeting to when it was posted earlier today, and it is different from just changing it to four middle schools. You're not comparing apples to apples. What I see in this room are school communities being pitted against each other. What I see is the possibility that the vote for these plans will be four to three. If the group sitting before me cannot come to a better consensus on these plans than that, it tells me that these are the wrong plans
035for our community. In my opinion, closing schools should never be on a four to three margin. A four to three vote demonstrates that one or more persons has decided the decision must be made, and we don't care what it is as long as we make it. It is unwise to go with one plan over the others, and we all know how well that works out. Here's an example. Administration and the board agreed to a 7-hour class day to help with the teacher shortage. The amount of classes that a student is able to take is seven as opposed to eight with the block schedule. That's the reason you have some classes that students don't take at the other high school, not because they don't want to, but because they have to choose the class that is
036more important to them. Plan 4BR gives you four middle schools, two of which are almost twice as big as the other two. You'll be closing two of the top grade schools and putting them together. Are they able to maintain their success when they are put together? Maybe, then again, maybe not. Data shows smaller schools do better. Classroom square footage is smaller at Benton. Hallways are smaller, and student student-teacher ratio will increase. Plan 4BR puts almost 2,000 students in Central. That alone is going to increase class sizes to above recommended DESE levels. All are over optimum occupancy. It doesn't address the ELC issue that brought about this change. Dr. McGinnis has stated that the two high school model will be uncomfortable for students and teachers. If my rationale is correct, this will be more than just
037uncomfortable. Someone, please address this now before you make a decision that will potentially be catastrophic for all of our students and the teachers you place at the head of that classroom. My support is for plan A. I cannot in good conscience support any of the two high school models as they are currently designed. There are too many logistical issues that have not been addressed at this point in time. >> [applause] [applause] >> Hello, my name is Stormy Miller Drag, and I'm currently a sophomore at Benton High School. Before I start, I want to make it clear that I do not wish for us to close Lafayette. I'm advocating that we do not close Benton High School. I want to speak to you today about the priorities of our district. We want students to attend school
038in its entirety, and we want students to receive good test scores. We also need to save money. Right now, Benton High School meets all of these requirements. As of right now, Benton has the highest predictive score on the 10th grade ELA EOC by 4%. They also have the second highest percentage of attendance out of the three high schools at almost 80%. These things together show Benton is a vital high school, and it produces both test results and attendance. And in reality, closing Benton will cause a higher cost in buses. There will be longer bus routes and more miles driven to get students to the high schools they need to be at. Benton Benton is the furthest away out of all three high schools, and closing it will cause the longest routes. These also create unpredictability
039for students, teachers, and drivers. Another way Benton saves money is it is a long-term solution. The end goal at the beginning of this was to have two high schools, one in the north and one in the south. This is still possible if we make smart choices with our money now. Benton can be expanded on. It would cost much much less to renovate one school and build one new than to build two completely new schools. It avoids the problem of having to buy the land land surrounding a school, which leads to lawsuits and time, overall costing us more money. We need to look at schools in the long term. What saves us money years from now? I understand that this will be a hard choice no matter what the board decides. And I understand that there
040is no good solution here, but please take into consideration the long-term changes that we are making. Thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> Hello, my name is Beth Noble. I live just south of 31st in Pear. My daughter is in first grade at Hyde, and I want to start off by saying that with every plan my daughter is displaced. Even with plan E and keeping Hyde open, with the changing of the boundary lines, she would end up at Pickett. Regardless if she ends up in Pickett, Hosey, or Spring Garden, I'm sure she'll be fine. She's resilient. I have had two children through St. Joe School District. We are on year 14 now with two of those years overlapping with both girls. In all 14 years, we've only had one bad experience. Hyde staff is
041phenomenal. The longevity of the teachers and principal is amazing. We were hopeful as our daughter moved up, she would get those same teachers our oldest had, as several are still there. I know they say they won't have to let go of the teachers due to retirement and staff leaving our district, but I don't have a lot of faith in our administration. My daughter was the fifth first fifth grade class to put her handprint on the cafeteria wall at Hyde. We all said it was a terrible idea to move sixth grade to some middle schools, but not be consistent throughout the district. It has lasted eight years, and now we are trying to fix it. The family atmosphere between Hyde and Benton is something you won't see anywhere else in town. No other feeder system sits
042on the same property. Our Hyde students enjoy the annual trunk-or-treating at Benton. The younger Benton athletes are able to walk over and greet our students. Senior service hours are able to be complete within walking distance, not relying on friends or family who may not be able to transport them. Here are some questions I hope to be considered. Are we going to have extra counseling services for students and staff at all schools? Mental health is at an all-time high. Since COVID, it has continued to rise. I can't stomach the thought of more teenagers dealing with anxiety and depression than we already have on our plates. At my previous job, we had to screen children 12 and up with what we call a PHQ-9. The amount of teens who score high is alarming. We do not have
043enough mental health providers in this town to accommodate the need. Why are our kids suffering because adults can't budget funds? Are repercussions being held for admin who continue to fail us by not completing paperwork submissions in a timely manner? The manipulation of some of our board is uncalled for. Do we have a guilty conscience? The ability of the current board members to make educated decision well-thought-out decisions based on previous decisions and rollouts that have been less than ideal. If we close school, let's not reopen them in a few years when we don't sell them. We spend money on schools and turn around and close them. If we want to gain trust from the taxpayers, we need to make smart, logical decisions. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Okay. Good evening. My name is Carrie Kelser,
044and I have two kids that graduated from Lafayette High School and a current sophomore there. Tonight, we once again face a a decision that will shape the future of our schools, our students, and our town. According to the district's own information, we are in a financial crisis. Enrollment's declining. We are not fully staffed across the three high schools. I just looked at the job postings on the district website today. Last year, when the Southside school was on the ballot, a new Southside school, the district stated that if it failed, we would move to two high schools, Central and Lafayette, because they had sufficient capacity. That plan has since morphed into options designed to appease boundary concerns, but we are one town and that mindset must stop. If we had the funds, teachers, and enrollment, I
045would support keeping all three schools, but that is not the case. If schools must close or be repurposed, how can we justify any plan that does not provide the greatest financial stability and equity and room for growth? That's Lafayette with a higher capacity than Benton. Plan two delivers the highest savings and increases revenues to 17% by 2030. Financials matter, but so does equity. The Benton-Central model has the least savings and puts Benton over capacity by 71 students with enrollment at only 1,070. Central enrollment will be 1,914 students, which is just 23 shy of max capacity. The Lafayette-Central model is a much better balance and stays well within capacity. There is no question here. Why vote for a plan that puts schools over capacity and does not achieve as much savings? Benton-Central plan does not work.
046These shifting plans have given this community whiplash. Kids, teachers, and families are living in uncertainty and anxiety. You must choose the most financially responsible plan while keeping buildings within capacity and room for future growth. This board must act on common sense and financial responsibility, not outside pressures, threats, signs, or slogans. If you fail to act, what happens? Are there going to be layoffs? State intervention? You were elected to serve all students, teachers, and staff while being good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Please do the job you were elected to do and make the decision based on this current situation and on facts, financial stability and equity. Choose plan two. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hi, my name's Nick Molis. I'm a junior at Benton High School. Look at the situation we're all standing in because of
047the mess left behind by previous boards. Too many buildings, not enough teachers, and financial problems that were handed to you without a warning. But now look around this room. Look at the high school students sitting here, the ones who will feel the weight of every decision you make. Your choices won't just affect us today, but they will shape who we are in 5 years, in 10 years, even in 20 years when we're the ones sending our own children to school. One decision today can change an entire generation. Our education does not have a price tag. Our school, families, sports, our academics, and our futures are not something you can sell. For months, many of us students have been losing sleep over a decision that we've had zero choice in. I want to understand why we
048as students have been encouraged to stay quiet, why administrators are shutting down our efforts to show school spirit, why the people who are supposed to teach us how to stand strong in the real world are the ones silencing our voices when it comes to our own future. At Benton, I've met teachers and classmates who have changed my life. I figured out who I want to become after graduation. I've taken challenging classes, pushed myself academically, played sports I love, and made memories that I will carry forever. Going into my junior year, I was counting down the days until my senior year. Now imagine the heartbreak of knowing that might be taken away from me, not because of anything we did, but because of decisions we have no say in. Closing our school will cheat all of
049us out of graduating, celebrating, and taking steps into the real world together. And let's talk about the school pride we've built, something that cannot be measured in dollars. Last year alone, both of our boy and girl basketball teams went to state. Our track and cross country teams consistently go to state. Our baseball program also goes to state. Benton students show up when it matters, on the field and in the classroom. A majority of these teams earned academic all-state just last season. We're not just athletes, we're students who work unbelievably hard to represent our school with integrity, discipline, and pride. These accomplishments aren't accidents. They're the result of community, consistency, and a school culture that pushes us to be better every single day. Moving students, separating teammates, or stripping us of the environment that built us
050does not just hurt athletics. It hurts academics, confidence, motivation, and the legacy we are all working hard to create. As a student-athlete who has played two sports for this school over the last 3 years and earned academic all-state in one of those sports, it breaks my heart to think that some of my senior nights might be spent beside teammates I barely know instead of the ones I fought, sweat, struggled, and grown up with. We are not just students, we are the heart of this town, and we are asking to be heard. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hello. My name is Nicholas Huff, and yes, I am a true Northsider, but don't let that influence you. I am only speaking tonight about the data given by the administration, not my pride for the Northside. What the
051board truly needs to think about is the here and now, not what the vision forward plan is or was for 2040, because they need to realize that when new board members are elected, they can motion to dissolve that future plan and commit to a separate plan. Board members change, and with that, so do plans. When new board members are elected, they can when new board members are elected, they can completely disregard the path forward created 5 years ago. They can put forth a motion to dissolve that plan and move in a different direction. So, I need you to think about what is best right now. How do we fix our financials and staffing issues right now, and more so the capacity with the new revised capacity number in the Central-Benton plan with with the data
052that the administration presented, financial, staffing, less student disruption, and capacity, it all leads to plan 2R for the here and now. Plan 4BR has the high schools bursting at the seams of capacity, actually over the maximum capacity, not the optimum capacity. The administration said it would be uncomfortable before they before with either plan, yet plan 4BR has kids stuffed to the brim at Benton with it being over the maximum capacity. Kim Miller, you said in the last meeting, and I echo your statement, that we hope to see enrollment rise. How can we fit more students in the Benton when they are already over the maximum capacity if enrollment does rise? You'll be right back in another meeting in the next year or two trying to solve that issue. I see future trailers being parked outside
053of Benton like we have done in the past at other locations, possibly. Lafayette will be under the optimal capacity with room to grow if enrollment rises. 2BR has room to grow in with if enrollment rises at both those schools, Lafayette and Central. With 4BR, you have no room to handle higher enrollment in Central or Benton. Board members, how can you ignore that data in front of you that gets you out of the crisis with a higher reserve as well as building capacity that still has room to house students if enrollment were to rise? Some members are stuck on the future plan thinking that thinking that was the only way to get a new school and other reasons as well. You can get a new school with any of the 13 plans presented if wanted. Right
054here, right now, what is the best? You have the opportunity to fix a piece of the problem right now. This is what you should be thinking about. Let your legacy be that you tried to fix the issue at hand, not what the issue could be 30 late 30 years later. That is all you should be considering. Plan 2R, in my opinion, is the best for making that fix right now. Thank you. >> [applause] >> My name is Michaela Peters. I'm a junior at Benton High School. I wrestle, I play softball, and I play soccer. I stand here in support of plan 4BR, not just as a student, but as someone who has grown up in the halls of Benton High School. Someone who has seen the friendships built, teachers change lives, and a strong community
055shaped. And today I'm asking you to listen to what this school means to us. Closing Benton should not be an option. For decades, Benton has been more than a building. It's a home. It's a place where I and many others have formed lifelong friendships. And for me, it's personal. My grandmother, Betty Peters, who recently passed away, walked the same halls that I do now, and I take pride in that. She was a part of Benton's story just like many many others, and when you talk about closing this school, you're not just closing a building, you're erasing pieces of the community's history and the legacy of people like her. And yet here we are, all because of financial decisions that students, staff, and families did not make. Let's be honest, the people sitting in these classrooms
056did not create this debt, but they are the ones being asked to pay for it. And the community deserves a board that is willing to be open-minded, creative, and responsible enough to deeply explore all solutions, not just the easiest or quickest one to sign off on so you can fix the problems that we did not create. Now, I'd like to speak about budge- budgeting. It's hard to take an argument of we're broke seriously when the district decided to spend millions of dollars on a brand new turf field and upgrades across the schools. >> [applause] >> Turf fields are nice, but they don't fix academic performance, they don't support teachers, and they definitely don't help when you're struggling financially. Those were choices, expensive choices, made by a leadership. Choices that did not prioritize students, and choices
057that now have us dealing with the consequences. It wasn't the students' decision to overspend on numerous occasions. It wasn't the teachers' decisions. It wasn't the community's decisions. So, why should we be the ones losing our schools, our jobs, and our friendships because of budgeting mistakes we had nothing to do with? I'd also like to express, although I wish no schools had to close, it's clear Benton has better parking, is much cleaner, and is more updated within facilities than Lafayette. Our building is in better condition, our environment is safer, our community is stronger. So, why is the school with cleaner halls, better upkeep, tighter community, and the the one you're trying to shut down? How does that make sense for students or staff? Closing Benton would create more problems than it solves. Once you close a
058school like Benton, you don't get it back. You lose history, you lose pride, you lose the community, and you lose trust. Benton deserves better, teachers deserve deserve better, students past, present, and future deserve better. Thank you. >> [applause] >> As you're speaking, if you can remember to put your name and your address, please, as you speak. Um yes, if you can get your name and your address when you speak, and then start. Okay. My name is Chloe Strong. I live on 2612 King Hill Avenue. I'm a multi-sport athlete. I play cheer, track, soccer, and golf. My plan was to be a 2027 graduate of Benton High School. Your decision tonight will not just ruin the legacy of Saint Joe, but it will ruin the legacy of my family. >> [applause] >> Your decision tonight will
059decide if I will be the only member of my family to not graduate from Benton. As I stand here trying to come to terms with this, >> [laughter] [panting] >> I'm also confused on how we got here again. Just when we thought the board was listening to the students and the families around Saint Joe, just to wind up here again. Now, all we can do is plead tonight to tell you we need a decision to be made. All you have heard and will continue to hear tonight is our entire community has lost sleep over this. Please make a decision. Make a decision for the amazing teachers that have stuck it out with this district. Make a decision for the athletes that are trying to figure out their next step. Make a decision for the students
060that not that need to know what rankings they will fall into after this year. Make a decision for the special education students that have to get familiarized with a new building and new staff, especially those that have physical disability, and those that are only comfortable with certain teachers because those amazing teachers are the only ones that truly care for them. Make a decision. We all have dealt with this emotional roller coaster long enough. We need our school, we need our amazing teachers and staff, and we need to be able to move on. So, please make a decision. Thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Becky Hill, and I'm a proud 2006 graduate of Lafayette High School. I am also the current cheerleading coach at Benton High School and the
061librarian at Pershing Elementary. I'm here tonight to speak in support of all three high schools. Growing up, I came from a low-income household. My family didn't have money for cheer and gymnastics classes and lessons. If Lafayette had not existed, if I had been forced into a larger school where only the most experienced athletes can make a team, I would have never had the chance to cheer. When I first tried out, I was not the best, but I wanted to be. And because I was in a smaller school, I was given a chance. A chance to be a part of something, and a chance to grow. Cheerleading taught me teamwork, confidence, and resilience. It gave me a place to belong at a time in my life when I truly needed it. Cheer was the first place
062that I ever felt like I belonged. Because of the opportunity Lafayette gave me, I worked hard, I improved, and I eventually earned a cheerleading scholarship to college. And now, years later, I coach cheerleading at Benton High School, pouring into girls who remind me so much of myself. Many of my girls come from backgrounds where opportunities are limited. They are not the kids who can afford private lessons or club teams. But in a small school environment, they have a real chance to make a team, to grow, and to discover strengths that they didn't know that they had. If we eliminate one of our high schools, whether it is Lafayette or Benton, we eliminate those chances. We eliminate spaces where kids who aren't already polished, trained, or privileged can still find a place to shine. We eliminate
063opportunities for students who need smaller communities in order to feel seen, supported, and capable. Not every child thrives in a large high school environment. Some need the community feel, the leadership opportunities, and the accessibilities that small schools uniquely provide. Athletics, arts, clubs, leadership positions, all of these opportunities shrink dramatically when student populations are consolidated. I am standing here as proof of what a small school can do. Because Lafayette existed, my entire path changed. And because Benton exists, I now get to pass those opportunities on to the next generation. I ask you on behalf of the students, the ones who come from homes like mine, the one who the ones who need a small school to be their big chance, please maintain our three schools. Don't take away opportunities that cannot be replaced once they're gone.
064Thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> Hi. I'm Emery Evans, a freshman at Benton High School, and I'm here on behalf of Benton in hopes of choosing the Benton and Central plan. I'm a leader in student council, volleyball, and Young Life. My parents are both a part of the Lafayette alumni, but they still choose to raise their kids in the Southside. This meaning they know how similar the two two parts of town are. It's very unfortunate that we'll be losing an essential part of our community. Lafayette is landlocked, meaning they're surrounded by houses on all sides. Benton, on the other hand, will have room to expand into high land if need be. Lafayette may be bigger in square feet, but Benton does have bigger classrooms. When it comes down to it, the bigger the
065classrooms are, the more students you can fit into each one. Benton also has more parking spots compared to Lafayette. Lafayette is the older building of the two. This means that over time, more money will be spent trying to repair Lafayette in the future, putting us back into the same situation. You may be wondering, she's barely been at Benton, why does she care so much? You're right. I've been at Benton for less than 6 months, yet I still feel welcomed and appreciated every time I step foot inside. Every single person at Benton is so positive and grateful to go to the school we go to. I feel the same. Not one day has passed where I've wanted to go home and never return. Unfortunately, the idea of never being able to return lingers in our heads.
066Overall, Benton makes such a positive impact on our community, and it would be a shame to see it go. I only ask you to do one thing, and that is to look further into the Benton and Central plan. Thank you so much for your time, as I understand this is a hard situation for you to be put in. >> [applause] >> Hello. My name is Savannah Royer, and I'm a junior at Benton. The first time I ever attended a school board meeting was last year, when I received two certificates of recognition. One for breaking the state for speech and debate, and the other for qualifying to the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions, also for night also for speech and debate. Today, I stand before you not for another certificate of recognition, but asking for
067the recognition of my school, and to voice that Benton needs to remain a high school. From what I understand, the future plan is to create a north and south high school, if this is still correct. Closing Benton and sending all of our students to Central and Lafayette, and then asking taxpayers to pay and fund two brand new buildings, one in the north side and one in the south side, does not seem realistic. As a Saint Joseph resident, and my family who are also Saint Joseph residents, I strongly believe that taxpayers will not support this plan. It is generally more expensive to build a new structure than to add onto a existing one. I believe our community would be far more willing to support a new school in the north end and extend or renovate to
068Benton, because it would be significantly more cost-effective. How would this be fiscally responsible to close a fully functional school, and then turn around and ask our taxpayers to fund a brand new school? Though I believe taxpayers would support an extension or renovation on Benton. I believe Benton is a logical option. Though I understand it is not in favor for our north siders and Lafayette students. But the kids that would have to go to Benton, if Benton were to stay open as a high school, we would welcome them with open arms to our family, as that is what the Southside does. Thank you. >> [applause] >> My name is Callie Ebling. I'm a freshman at Benton High School. I'm involved in cheer, student council, and I intend on doing track this season. I'm here to speak
069on why I believe Benton should not be the chosen school to close. I do not push that we close Lafayette, and I would like to state that now. I have many reasons, but I think we should start with a big one, the violence. Saint Joseph has a lot of violence, and it is very well known. Putting these kids together, like the plan says, will not go well whatsoever. I understand that's something that the board cannot control, but I believe shutting down any school would cause issues. Benton has a lot of benefits to it as well, and not to mention Benton's graduation rates are higher than Lafayette's. Benton has more room for parking as well. There is area in the front to area to park in the back, and there are side roads that lead to
070to and from both the front and back parking lot that has area to park with as well. The bussing will be an issue, too. Kids will not want to sit on buses for 2-plus hours just to go to school. This overall causes issues and longer travel times for all students. Benton also has a bigger main and auxiliary gym. Our auxiliary gym is big enough to hold games and and accommodate those who want to watch the game. Lafayette does not have that. Speaking of, sports is a big thing as well. There clearly won't be as many sports opportunities. They will pick the best of the best to be on the teams. And those kids who most likely worked their butts off trying out will be devastated. I understand there's never a guarantee on a sports team
071with the three high schools right now. There's always that chance of being cut. Still. But there's also a higher chance of getting on a sports team when there's more schools that are less populated. I believe plan two is overall unfair and not just for Benton kids, but Central kids who have to switch schools because of this plan. And Lafayette kids who will be in an overpopulated school as well. With all this being said, I would like to finish by saying that the Southside community relies on Benton. Benton is like an anchor to the Southside community. It's the heart and soul. If you shut down Benton, you won't just be shutting down a school. You will be tearing apart a family. >> [applause] >> I'm going to pause right now. Everyone, if you can look at
072your numbers really quick and make sure that you're in the right order. Cuz we're mixed up somewhere. Are you number 13? I am number 15. Excuse me? I'm 11 and she's 15. Okay. Okay, number 11, go ahead and go. Hello, good evening. My name is Jessica Arona and I am a sophomore at Benton High School. First and foremost, thank you to all the board members who are giving us the opportunity to speak of an issue that will both shape the future of us students, our community, and of course, the legacy we will leave behind. As a Benton student, I am here today to express with respect and clarity why Benton High School should not be closing. I want to start off with the equity of the size of the students with Benton and Central combined.
073It is closer to equal compared to Lafayette and Central put together. I feel that is something that should really be considered just as equal to transportation. Transportation would 100% be an issue to many. Geographically, it would make more sense for the new plan for BR, so that students wouldn't have to sit on a bus for up to 2 hours. As the vice president of the board members, Rhonda Chesney, said this past Monday, if we were to keep Lafayette and Central open, we would have two high schools extremely close to each other, which would really affect many. For an example, Central and Lafayette are 2.6 miles and 8 minutes away from each other, while Central and Benton are 13 minutes and 5 miles away from each other. Additionally, I want to add advantages that Benton High
074School has compared to Lafayette. Lafayette has a smaller auditorium with no fly system, no balcony, and no backstage space. I feel these disadvantages would truly affect adding students rather than taking away. Lafayette also has a smaller main gym and auxiliary gym. I also want to mention how Benton's field house is in better conditions than Lafayette's. I don't want to seem like I am bashing Lafayette or even just mentioning the bad things about the school. I just want what's best for all of us and our community. If later on in the future expansion is required, Benton also has more expansion space and better opportunities for upgrades. Something I would also like to include is how more money and time would have to be dedicated to Lafayette since it is in fact an older building. Since budgeting
075is something that is really important for this issue, I feel that is something that should also be considered. Finally, I want to mention how Benton has really changed me as a person and has put many opportunities in front of me and our school. In the end, this decision is a really strong topic, which is why it has taken us years to figure out. I respectfully ask the board to recognize the profound value Benton High School brings to our community and to choose a solution that keeps its doors open. Thank you for your time and consideration for letting me speak today. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hello, I'm Jocelyn Gramowski and I go to Benton High School. >> [clears throat] >> For me, Benton High School isn't just a school, it's an overall family. We take
076care of our own. We help one another. We make success in our own way. Benton High School isn't just a place where we learn. It's a place where we find comfort, where we find support in one another, and where we find love in an actual family. We have alumni who've gone on to do amazing things. Some being West Barnett, Mike Rucker, Elijah Lee. And we also have an amazing basketball coach, Coach Boone, who got the Misha Coach of the Year. Just because we're a school doesn't mean that we're nothing less than a family. This school stands behind what we believe in, what we fight for, and what we think is right. And what is happening isn't right. We shouldn't be forced to be torn apart, and we shouldn't be forced to give up our family
077all because the misuse of money. You guys are making kids leave the only place that they know and graduate with the people that they once called their rivals. We have to leave all the memories and family behind that we once had. Benton High School for me isn't is my family. This school was my family when I needed it most. When I lost my brother, the Southside was the one to hold a vigil for my brother. Benton alumni were the ones to fight for my brother's chair at graduation. The ones to stand up because they knew that he wasn't just a a classmate. He was a family member. So why tear apart a family that has stuck together through thick and thin? Putting us through us kids through as much as you can because you want
078to close one of our schools. We shouldn't be forced to be torn apart. So this is why I'm telling you that Benton should be here to stay because our family is worth more than money. >> [applause] >> I am Emily Hen- I am Emily Hendricks. I'm a sophomore at Central. This entire thing has caused so much anxiety. If Lafayette was closed, it would cause extra change and extra stress that isn't needed. We belong in our schools and we know our buildings. Though all a lot Though a lot of students like me have learning disabilities and challenges. Whether they've been tested or not, it's just unnecessary change for students to move when it's not when they've already put in so much work. We as students work to balance our lives just as much as the adults.
079But it is beautiful for us as it's our first time understanding being a teenager and making friends that made us feel welcome. But closing these schools could ruin those relationships. Us kids make connections with teachers, too. Teachers we plan on seeing until we graduate. There are no way to visit teachers at our old schools or stay connected like the adults can. We work in You designed already and figured out and figured it out, and it wasn't easy. We have already We're already under so much stress. And to do what adults want, and it doesn't matter whether because it's getting taken out on the kids. We want to graduate from the same high school because it's a part of who we are. I spent years learning the building and still get stressed. But I know I
080have the school at Central to always help me and or find help. Restarting at Benton would add a huge stress to so many who have all who all who only know the good that they have had at Central. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good evening, everyone. I am one I am one of the statistics in the comment sections under the numerous Facebook posts arguing about this mess. I am a number in the hundreds of plans that change on a daily basis. I'm a piece of data that you share. I know I am more than that, but you might not. My name is Amelia Ferguson. I am a sophomore at Central High School. I'm involved in the school's marching band and currently serving as treasurer of my school's FBLA chapter. I am also a fourth generation
081Central High School student, and it would mean the world to me if that was able to continue to happen. But I understand it is not the building that makes a school. It is the people. The activities I am a part of help me meet so many people I am more than grateful to call my friends. But then the question of will I get to graduate with you comes to play. There is no such thing as a perfect plan. I know that. That is why I stand in front of you. I do not stand before you to pick to say it's pick this plan or pick that plan. I stand to remind you we are only students. You guys get so excited to make a decision. And it feels it is just so rushed. This is
082my education we are throwing around like a game of hot potato. Not just mine, but thousands of others who put their trust, their education in your hands. From the elementary schoolers like my siblings at Ellison to the middle schoolers like my sister at Bodi. We [snorts] have seen the meetings. We have seen the numbers that do not add up. And more than most importantly, we have seen this community stronger than ever ever to fight for what we believe in. This is no longer just the North End standing up or the South End standing up. These plans affect everyone in the community. Sports will be affected. Activities will be affected. And most importantly, academics will be affected. Everyone says you have a hard job and I will take moment to acknowledge that. I personally cannot imagine
083sitting in a room for hours listening to people complain and then to come home and see your email inbox filled with more complaints. But this is the future of our school district that we are talking about. It is important and there is no perfect plan. A building does not make the school, the people do. I have always been a Central Indian and I always will be. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Grayson Kiger and I am a sophomore at Benton High School where I'm a part of not only our JROTC, orchestra, and chamber choir, but I am a proud member of our theater department and family. I would like to say that I'm not for closing down any schools and I would like to bring to light our amazing families in
084our fine arts department. When it comes to the schools, I have always struggled with finding my place. When it came to coming to Benton, it was like I finally found my family. My theater department has been my family and has been the people to uplift me and be a shoulder to lean on. Along with my amazing orchestra family that I have gotten the honor to stand next to since 6th grade. >> [applause] >> It is all thanks to Miss Ritter, and Miss Amber Welcher, my amazing choir and orchestra teachers. In their uplifting motivation, I was able to score a two at districts last year and my best friend Jack was able to take a one to state. I've never been prouder. I've known him since kindergarten and it has been an honor to be able
085to go through school with him. In spring garden, I was able to find my group and find my family and I continue to grow with them at Benton. To know that I may get ripped apart from that family and never see them again and never have those shoulders to lean on is something I can never ever bear. It's been >> [laughter] >> It's been a legacy in my family to graduate a cardinal. My mom is a proud car cardinal alum night and I hoped that one day I would soon follow in her footsteps like my sister will this year as the class of 2026. I've never been happier and I also worry for my brother's future. He's only in eighth grade and I would hope that he would soon follow my footsteps in his graduating
086class and also become a cardinal. It is >> [snorts] >> It's always been a struggle to me, as I said, to find my place. I've been bullied. I've been I've been challenged, but when I found my place, more specifically in theater, I was able to flourish. This This musical, I had the absolute honor to be able to be picked for a leading role and I've never been happier to spend it with all of my family. The nights we spent on senior night crying and holding each other in our arms was the most beautiful experience ever knowing that they would soon flourish and grow up and I'm so proud of you. >> [laughter and gasps] >> I would like you to take in consideration all of these kids whose lives and these families and bonds you
087are ripping apart and these support systems as you make your decision. Thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> Hello. >> [applause] >> Couple of you know me. My name is Jackie Kiger. That beautiful thing is mine. One of my three St. Joseph School District children. I come [snorts] to you as a community member, a proud Benton alumni, a proud Benton parent, and an employee and I ask you to please stop this madness. These are not just our schools and our communities. In each of them is a family and a bond. Our athletes, our scholars, our theater kids, our JROTC, our band, our choir, our orchestra kids. Take a minute and think about those. They are families. They are bonds. For some of these kids, this is the only family they have. The only safe
088place. The only support system and the only encouragement that they will ever get. Please do not tear them apart. Think about their mental health and the overall well-being of all of our students. High school is supposed to be their best years and you are turning them into their worst nightmares. At this point, you are rushing life-altering decisions for so many of our children. Students that have participated in sports to work towards earning that scholarship or students that have worked extra hard to be at the top percentage of their grade for the same reason. Students that have put in the work to make a better life for themselves. On October 27th, you as a board voted unanimously for plan E with modifications because it was for everyone and you were our heroes. You sat here and
089you told us that we needed to be ready to step up and support you and we heard you. But plan E never got a chance. You came back a week later after telling these kids, all of them here, that you heard them and you ripped the floor out from underneath them. You lied to them and for that I say shame on you. >> [applause] >> You have shown all of them that you don't care about them. We as a community have repeatedly asked you. We have said we want our three high schools and we would do what we needed to to support that. I'm ready to. I'm sure many others in this room are, too. We need you to help us help you. So stop the roller coaster. Take the time. Get a real plan
090in place, plan E. Bring everyone together on that decision. Take time. Do the right thing for all of our students. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> Lieutenant Colonel David Jones, senior army instructor, Central High School, the St. Joseph School District JROTC coordinator, and the St. Joe NEA vice president. I'm a man who wears many hats. Right now, I have my Central hat on. Number one, stabilize Central juniors and allow them to graduate Central High School for their senior year no matter what plan you choose to implement. Number two, choose the 4BR Benton Heights Central plan. This plan is the least disruptive to Central students and programs, which are championship programs. They are nationally ranked, state ranked, and regionally ranked programs. The 4BR plan protects and preserves Central's band, music, theater, cheerleading, scholar bowl, and JROTC
091programs the best. The 4BR Benton Heights Central plan is the least disruptive to Central students and families. Number three, the 4BR Benton Heights Central plan preserves the historic boundaries of Central that have always came to Central for nearly a century. And it also saves Benton High School for the Southside. >> [applause] >> This plan unites Midtown and the Southside. This plan unites all of St. Joseph, north and south. It's a win-win for all. And now I want to switch to my JROTC hat. No matter what plan the school board chooses to adopt, here is the promise that I make as the St. Joseph School District JROTC coordinator. No JROTC cadet will be forgotten. All are part of a 106-year tradition here in St. Joseph. I will find and protect any lost sheep. No JROTC cadet
092will be left behind. They are all family. They will always have a home in JROTC in whichever school that is. And I'd like to make the board aware of something. There are five cadets in the lines tonight from three different high schools, from all three high schools, who are speaking to you tonight. I'm blown away. These cadets embody everything we teach and model in JROTC. I couldn't be more proud of these cadets who represent what it means to be a good citizen. I believe in St. Joseph. >> [applause] >> Hello. My name is Raven Miller Drake and I'm a sophomore at Benton High School. I want to say why I believe Benton should stay open. I'll do this by talking about my personal experience, mostly on how I get to school every day. I'm not
093able to get a ride from my parents, so I walk, but I live about a 30-minute walk from Benton High School. I get I'm a part of many programs that have early morning practices due to sports using facilities in the afternoon. So, I get to the school every day around 5:30 in the morning. This would not be impossible if I had to go to Central a lot yet, but it's a 3-hour walk from my house to Central. This would mean I would have to be awake at about 2:00 a.m. every morning just to get to school on time for my practices and be able to participate in those extra activities that schools offer to provide opportunities for our students. This would obviously not be healthy and would affect my academic scores, which are very important
094to me. I'm in a six-way tie currently for the number one student in my grade at Benton. >> [applause] >> If I were to go to Central, my chance at being the number one in my grade would almost completely be taken away from me and there would be nothing I could do about it. Central offers more AP classes and I would be going in as a junior. The soft the people in my grade would already have had access to multiple classes that would have raised their GPA and overall academic standing. So me and those five other people who are trying our hardest and doing everything we can at Benton would be dropped way down the list on academic ranking and have that taken away from us. This would put us at an automatic disadvantage from
095being able to enter a higher level college or or extra level of education after high school. I will not be able to be as successful as I am am at Benton as I will be at Central or Lafayette and I'm not the only student affected. So I hope that when the school board makes the decision that you think about every student's ability to participate and succeed both in extra activities and academically. Thank you. >> [applause] >> My name is Madeline Smith and I stand here tonight on behalf of moving forward with plan five uh 4BR moving forward to a Benton model. I know that this is a hard decision for all parties involved and I'm not here to convince you to keep Benton because I love it there or because my friends go there. I'm
096here to stick to the facts. Let's start with student performance because that should always come first. Benton grad Benton's graduation rates are consistently higher. That means our students are showing stronger academic support, better school leadership, and higher student engagement. If our goal is to invest in student success, then closing the school that is outperforming the other makes absolutely no sense. Next, let's talk about attendance. Benton's attendance percent percent percentage is consistently higher which tells you one thing. Students want to be in our building. They feel safe, they feel supported, and they feel connected. When you shut down a school with higher attendance, you disrupt a higher functioning student body and force them into an environment where attendance is already a challenge. Now let's address something practical, space and facilities. We have the room to absorb
097absorb additional students without hurting the quality of learning as we have expansion potential. If the district is thinking long-term and financially smart, then the choice is clear. Maintain the school with the infrastructure that can actually support growth. We also cannot ignore our athletics. Our girls and boys basketball team placed first in the district last year attending the final four. Coach Boone is the Misha coach of the year. Our FBLA team took top 14th in the nation and we had four academic All Americans in our building last year. Our success is not luck. It reflects strong coaching, strong coach culture, strong discipline, and strong student engagement. Closing the school with stronger, higher performing programs would take away opportunities from students who have worked years to build something meaningful. Finally, let's talk about community involvement because Benton
098is more than a school, it is a community. We host [snorts] events that bring families together. Our elementary kids from Hyde came to Benton for Halloween trick-or-treating. Our friendly faces program builds student leadership and mentorship across age groups. We consistently partner with families, teachers, and local organizations. So when you put it all together, higher graduation rates, higher attendance, better facilities, stronger athletics, and deeper community involvement, the answer becomes clear. Benton is the school that works. Benton is the school that thrives and Benton is the school that serves this district best. Closing Benton would be closing the stronger, more successful, more community-centered school. That is not good for students. That is not good for families. And that is not good for the future of this district. I urge you to protect what is working. I urge
099you to protect student success and I urge you to finally put the students first. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] >> My name is uh Michael Flowers and uh I uh am proudly a 238er. Have been my entire life. >> [applause] >> Grew up in this outside, attended school at Hosea Elementary, started at McKinley, then went to Hosea, and then eventually to Benton in the eighth grade. We had eighth grade at Benton High School. It was the best five years of my life. The things that I was able to obtain in that extra year was amazing compared to a four-year situation. And that might not be a bad option. You know, I'd like to ask the board a question. How many of you by a show of hands have lived in St. Joseph, Missouri your entire
100life? >> [cheering] [applause] >> With that with that being said, one of the most difficult things is to understand the tradition, the heritage of St. Joseph, Missouri and its background and its love of its three high schools and the supported gifts of those high schools. >> [applause] >> I can go on record as saying that I'm not against the closure of any school. Never have been. This summer, I had a wonderful opportunity. I had an opportunity to sit down with Mr. Richmond. And he and I had a very lengthy conversation about how we solve this problem. And he asked me, "What do you think? What do you think will work? What would best work for Benton High School? For Hyde Elementary School? For Spring Garden Middle School?" And we sat and talked about a variety
101of things. And when this conversation was over, almost an hour at least, Mr. Richmond said to me, "You've given me some really good ideas." And all of a sudden, where'd they go? What happened to them? The school board announced, "We're going to keep all three high schools." The schools were elated. The families were elated. There was joy in the streets and everyone was talking, "Yes, they made a wonderful decision." And then it's gone. It's been pulled away. I ask the Board of Education to look out on this audience and what you see. What you see are students and family members who want, desire, and deserve their school. No doubt about it. >> [applause] >> I do not envy the situation you're in. In my 35 years in the St. Joseph School District and 10 years
102at Missouri Western, I supervised many a student and many a teacher. And I've been in schools all over Northwest Missouri. >> sorry. And during that time, That's your time, I'm sorry. Okay. And during that time, we saw things that worked. >> No, I mean your time is done to talk, I'm sorry. Thank you very much. Thank you. >> [applause] [cheering] [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Lacey Cunningham. I'm a previous teacher in the St. Joseph School District who left the career in education to go work at Altec Industries. So um I want to point speak as a community member and a mother today. I am not a South Ender. I grew up at 26th and Duncan. I went to Hall Elementary, Truman, and then chose open enrollment to attend Lafayette High School. In the
103middle of my sophomore year, my parents moved and I ended up graduating from Mid-Buchanan. It was a situation where I was displaced and a small community that grew up K-12 and I did not fit in. I lost soccer because they didn't have it. I lost softball and basketball because I wasn't a part of that community. Um I also lost uh competitive speech and debate that were a part of my academic career. This wonderful man stand young man, sorry. >> [snorts] >> Standing over there is my son who is a freshman at Benton High School. He comes from a long line of Cardinals. Many of you may know Judith Cunningham and Julia Rupp who Judith is his great grandmother who started the South Side Progressive and the South Side Fall Festival. And a family that was
104so proud of being the Benton Cardinals that they named their business of 26 years Cardinal Country Bakery. I'm nervous and I know he is nervous over there, but that wonderful woman standing behind him is an educator at Hosea that watched him grow as I took him to Hosea and not living in Hosea district because I knew the people there and I knew what he would gain from that community and the appreciation for diversity that we had there. And I know that that woman will protect him over there as he gets nervous and I can't be there. As a community member, I do not want any school to close. As a mother, I know that to pay for cello lessons or dance or ninja or soccer for my younger two who attend Mark Twain and Skate
105I have to make sacrifices. I cut out my budget so I can support for them because they're what's important and that's my legacy. And that's what I hope we see here in St. Joe is supporting our kids because that's our legacy. Many of these are my former students and I am beyond proud of the stand that they have taken today. I want you to know that leaving Hosea, Gabe struggled to find his place at Spring Garden. He connected with a history teacher and Miss Ritter and he has made himself a someone that I didn't think would connect and participate in school cuz he truly is not an extracurricular kid or a school spirit kid. I had to buy him a Benton shirt recently. Um mainly because he doesn't care about pictures and he never really
106cared about going to the football games or anything like that, but he is a proud cellist. He participates in youth symphony. He um is a cadet in the ROTC and I was tearing up because I'm beyond happy to hear that he would be taken care of at at Central if he has to go there. And I know that my son comes from a loving home and he will be successful no matter where he is placed. But Benton is his home and you're taking that away from him. And that's your time. Thank you. >> [applause] >> My name is Gabriel Cunningham. I obviously come from Benton as you were told. I am a freshman. I am a part of orchestra, Benton ROTC. I plan to join speech and debate soon. And I want to talk to
107you not as a student or uh some something else. I want to talk to you as a pebble. And everyone else beside me is a pebble as well. And each pebble jumped into the water and made a ripple. Each of those ripples helped to combine to make a wave. Each wave helped to make a tsunami. And over the course of generations that tsunami has built for each school for countless years. And now you're going to take all of these tsunamis that were built from all of these different programs and made sure that they were thriving for the next generation and you were going to crash them against the shore and destroy all of the pebbles and have to make sure everyone has to start all over again by destroying one high school. Not just that
108one tsunami for that one high school, but all three. You are going to destroy every single one of them. >> [applause] [applause] >> This jacket is my grandma's. This shirt is from this year, but they are both connected by Benton throughout the years. And I know my grandma has connections throughout Benton as my mom told you. These connections will be completely lost. Sit and the same connections will be lost at Central and the same connections will be lost for Lafayette. All of these students you will be hurting their legacy, the school's legacy, the school's everything just because your budgeting mistakes happened and it's affecting our current students. >> [applause] >> Now I'm no longer a pebble. I am a student. And I stand before you as a part of a legacy and as all these
109other students are no longer pebbles and are part of a legacy of Benton, Central, and Lafayette. Closing one of these schools will cause everyone to fall. That is the end of my speech. Thank you for listening. >> [applause] >> Hello. My name is Jennifer Ray. I'm a parent. I have three kids in the school district. And I sit here tonight and I look at the crowd and I have to say I think the statement fits us all that we're concerned. I see the pride that Benton has brought with them and I love that. I love hearing these stories of legacy and history and I think if you had Lafayette students in here, they'd be saying the same thing. I think if you had Central students in here, they would say the same thing. I love
110seeing that legacy, that pride, that care. My role as a parent is to care about the academics and about my students in particular. I am concerned that we're going to throw 2,000 students into Central in one of the plans bursting at the seams. It won't be the same Central we know now. It won't be the same Benton we now know now when we have 400 more students. The programs that the kids could attend, they may not fit into any longer. Central, it'll be the best of the best and then the rest just won't have a place anymore. When we talk about transportation, the hours transportation both of Benton closes or if Lafayette closes, it just depends on what side of the town you're coming from. The hours of transportation will increase. The bus routes will
111increase. The bus costs and transportation costs will increase. You look at these two plans and whatever the administration say tonight is that both plans are very, very similar except in what they close and the changing in the boundaries. But where both plans are not similar from day one and one plan we burst at the seams. Yes, we hope in the future that we would build new high schools. That's the hope, right? I've got to be honest. I've not seen that home come to fruition in all the years we've been living here. I don't want to see any school close. I don't stand here to tell you to close any school, but we can't put 2,000 students together burst at the seams and we can't put another thousand students burst at the seams and we certainly
112can't do any plan, any of the 14 plans that we've had or quite frankly since October 27th, the four new plans that we've had. We can't do any plan unless you guys are willing to publish an implementation schedule. We sit here tonight before these kids have finals, before they go into the holidays implementation schedule. You haven't talked to them how they're going to phase it in. You haven't talked to them about what transportation looks like. You say on these school capacities you've had people go around and do a count, but you haven't said are those counts of those classrooms being those are fully functional classrooms? Are they students crammed together? What do those counts really mean? You haven't done any of this. This is a very emotionable time. Emotionable probably not a word. Emotional time.
113And as we look at it, I think before we do all of that, have someone who's not emotionable come in and say, "Hey, financially here's what makes sense. Here's what makes sense for the lines." And maybe there is a way to keep all three schools. I don't know. But I know right now you can't go off hot hot half half half measures and have a plan that you're going to make right before these kids take finals and right before they go on their holiday break that destroys somebody's lives, whether it be Lafayette's or Benton's or Central's or anybody's. You can't do it. It's not fair. And that's your time. Thank you. >> [applause] >> I just got a text from my husband saying, "Go mommy." from my girls. So this is for them. My name
114is Taylor Peters. I'm here to defend all of our schools and speak on experiences with the rest of this amazing crowd. I am a former teacher in the Southside and I am raising three daughters there as well. To many the Southside and Benton may seem insignificant, but to me and many others Benton High School built my story. I was raised in in a small house on Texas Avenue with this woman behind me. And every major milestone in my life ties back to this community along with generations from my family and my husband's. When Trevor and I first looked at buying a home, I insisted we stay in the South end. Not out of any convenience because it's so far away from everything else, but because this is where I wanted to raise my children. My
115[clears throat] career choice was intentional, too. I applied only to Hosier Elementary School because I wanted to serve and teach the children that grew up the way that I did. Nothing shaped me more than Benton. Benton High School gave me some of the most meaningful years of my life. As an eighth grader, I auditioned for Benton Singers, a legacy my mom carried. That program carried me through high school. It taught me discipline, confidence, and pride. Our choir director pushed us because she knew what we were capable of and she showed us how important that we Southsiders were to the community every time she took us out to sing during the holidays. Benton also filled my life with early mornings and late evenings and endless memories as a cheerleader. Wearing that uniform, chanting for the Cardinals,
116traveling to games, it became my identity. There was nothing like Benton's energy, its spirit, and its pride. Within those halls I built friendships, joined National Honor Society, learned from teachers who shaped my future, and grew into the person I am today. That's why any conversation about closing Benton hits differently for me. People who haven't lived here in the Southside don't understand what Benton means. It isn't just a school. It is a legacy. It's stability. It's the center of a community that has always had to fight harder to be heard and respected. And most importantly, our students are worth more than any projected budget savings. Their education, safety, opportunities, and their sense of belonging should never come second to any dollar amount. To some the Southside and Benton may be easy to dismiss, but to me
117and to countless others Benton is home. It formed a little nobody into the woman that I am now. Where I learned the value of community and where I hope my children can experience the same pride that I do. You may not understand it, but how blessed are we And that's your time. I'm sorry. >> we do about a school. We should never take away something that means something to our students. Our schools should remain as is and more pressing factors should be considered. Thank you. >> [applause] >> I'm going to remind everybody if you could please adhere to your 3 minutes, please. Thank you. Hello to everyone here tonight. My name is Alexandria Pineland and I'm a sophomore at Benton High School. I'm here to talk about why most importantly we should keep Benton open.
118Me and many of my friends live right down Do you want me to be closer? Like this? Okay. Do you want me to start over? Okay. Hello to everyone here tonight. My name is Alexandria Pineland and I'm a sophomore at Benton High School. I'm here to talk about why most importantly we should keep Benton open. First, let's give a backdrop. Me and many of my friends live right down on the Southside. We are all also extremely active. I am a proud member of the Benton JROTC program and the speech and debate team, both of which require many early mornings and late nights. But being able to be as active as we are at Benton would be impossible at Central Lafayette. They're both way further north than Benton is. So me and a lot of people
119that I know would lose the opportunity to be active in school because of time and transportation issues. A lot of the kids, like some of have talked previously, walk to school and would physically not be able to get to Central Lafayette that early because buses don't run at 5:50 a.m. which for example is the time that most JROTC practices start. How are these kids going to participate in things to earn scholarships or to get into good colleges when they can't physically get there? We get so lost in the numbers that we don't look at the people. People have an equal right to opportunity for academics and extracurriculars are vital to succeeding long-term in college. So people should have an equal right to opportunity for extracurriculars too. We should be setting these kids up for success,
120not failure. We had four Benton students make Academic All-American last year which genuinely represents the top 1% of active high school and college students. We have an award-winning basketball team. Our boys basketball coach Jared Boone was appointed Misha Coach of the Year. Our flag team in Benton High School placed first in their division. I can personally attest to the success myself. Our first-year drill team last year in JROTC took home first place out of all three high schools in our city competition. But this goes for every program. Speech and debate, FBLA, basketball, flags, orchestra, JROTC, these programs are successful for a reason. So what are we going to do when these kids in the successful programs can no longer invest the time to be successful? Someone on the Board of Education cannot go I want
121what's best for the kids and go for the most short-term and cheapest slap a band-aid on a solution over the one with the better long-term benefits and equal opportunity. Our superintendent advocated for the Benton and Central model for a reason. Talking about long-term benefits, Benton has far more potential for prosperity. Lafayette is landlocked and you would spend however much money renovating it with no room to expand on it without removing people from their homes. Benton has tons of room. If we're planning on having schools capable of competing with those in Kansas City, then Benton is the way to go. Benton fits better into the district's long-term planning. To conclude, I'm giving this speech to make a serious point about how we should consider the future of St. Joseph as a whole into the decisions that
122we're making now. Thank you the board and the crowd for your time. >> [applause] >> Hello. My name is Victoria Barron. I'm a junior at Benton High School. I play softball and wrestle. I remember how nervous I was going into high school, but I quickly became part of a family that can never be replaced. I always look forward to graduating as a Benton Cardinal. I was devastated when my parents came home Monday night after the board meeting and told me that Benton was possibly closing as a high school. The past few weeks have been the most stressful and anxious for us students, teachers, coaches and all staff. Our future may be decided by someone else and we have no say in the matter. Please don't destroy our Benton family because of others' mistakes. These should
123be the best years of our lives, but now we're worried about the uncertainty of our futures as a Benton family. I pray for the future of all three high schools, Benton, Central and Lafayette. We're all still just kids and we shouldn't feel like the weight of the world on our shoulders. Please make the correct decision for us all, three high schools. God bless us all, Victoria Barron. >> [applause] >> Hello. My name is Portland Ortega. I'm a freshman at Benton and I went to Hosea and Spring Garden and during in 2018 I found out I had kidney disease and I thought it would be fatal, but during in Hosea I had all my friends there. They'd send me like gifts and stuff while I was at the hospital and I was there for months and
124they gave me my motivation to keep me going and I have those friends there today at me at Benton. >> [applause] >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good job. Warren Ingram Staff Sergeant retired. Um The past times I've been here and I've I've had prepared speeches. And it just seemed like it got nowhere. So tonight I want to shoot from the hip. Um I'm a proud product of the Southside. I'm very proud to be a Southsider. My parents are both Benton graduates of 1958. I am a Air Force brat. I was born in California. And when we moved back here, I always asked my dad, why the hell did you move us back to St. Joe? And I didn't get it at the time. But when my kids were born, I got it. I wanted
125to be a part of the Southside. I had to be a part of the Southside. I had to be a part of Benton. I wanted my boys to be a part of Benton and they did. They also got to be under Mr. Flowers and they loved him. The parents loved him. Um As I said, I'm a graduate. I'm a proud graduate. I was not very good at school, but that was my fault. I had great teachers, great people that pushed me. And I always used to say every once in a while and please excuse me for saying this, but I always just considered myself a punk ass kid from the Southside and I was proud of it. >> [applause] >> But this kid the kid this kid got the abilities given to him by teachers
126and counselors and even the principals down there at Benton to be better in life. This kid I've been to Paris. I've been to Czech Republic. I've been to Guam. And it's all because of what that school gave me. Now also I'm part of the three school plan. I'm proud to be a part of that because we want to keep all three schools. >> [applause] >> I'm not I'm not going to sit here and talk smack about Lafayette because Lafayette's a good school and they got great people too. They're as far as I'm concerned, they're on the same level as Benton because they're blue collar, hard working people and they're proud of their school. A lot of you may not know this, but Lafayette alumni built that field house up there. They did that. So congratulations
127to Lafayette. I hope you stick around. >> [applause] >> I just want to say one more thing that yeah, I'm a part of the South End. This is my family. all these. I can sit here and talk smack about this school, but I'm not going to do that either. Cuz we were big rivals back in our day. But I look out here and I see the parents. I see the young adults. And all they want to do is just be left alone. Let them graduate from their school and that be it. >> [applause] [applause] >> Hello. My name is Kyler Palmer. First and foremost, I'd like to thank you for your time in hearing our thoughts. >> [snorts] >> I truly hope you take them into consideration. I'm a junior at Benton High School, vice
128president of my student body. I'm very involved in my school and I put a lot of effort into making it a great environment for everyone that walks through those doors no matter who you are. The thought of our school, our home and pride, the pride of the center of our community being shut down makes me very sad. I'm here [snorts] because I think plan 4 BR is the best option for the district and its future. I hate saying that because I have many friends from Lafayette and it would be very heartbreaking to see their school go too, but I know they feel the same way we do. I don't think [snorts] these students and adults sitting before you, no matter what school you support, should be suffering from financial decisions that had absolutely nothing to
129do with them. How could you do this to me, my family and my community? You would take away so many relationships, so many friendships, so many teachers, so many students, so many families and so much spirit. You're [snorts] not closing a school, you're tearing apart a family. We have We have a lot of parking at BHS and choosing this plan can allow us to potentially build a new school in the future and it follows the original long-range plan north and south schools. Benton's theater has a left and right wing as well as a balcony. Benton Springer gym is also bigger and set up better. Benton's modest is also bigger and has a lot more room for bleachers. Our field house is much bigger as well. Not only is Benton's facility more complex but our school
130is very advanced when it comes to academics and academics and sports. Our boys and girls basketball, golf, baseball, cross country have all made it to state and our speech and debate brought many people to nationals as well. We have great attendance and continue to strive and increase our test scores. Instead of enjoying the beginning of my junior year, I have had to spend the first 3 months fighting and worrying that I might not graduate in red with my whole entire class. Again, thank you for your time. I truly hope you take all these facts into consideration. I strongly encourage you to go with plan 4B or and to keep Benton High School open. Thank you. >> [applause] >> I'm going to pull this down a little bit. I'm not very tall. Hi, I'm Heather Snedden.
131And I'm I'm going to try to talk fast to get through this, but um let's just clear the air right away. We already voted no on these plans a couple months ago. And clearly we didn't mumble it. We didn't whisper it. It was a full volume community no. Yet here we are again like the district is trying to unlock a door we've already deadbolted. If this leadership was a GPS, we'd still be circling the block. It kind of feels like we're living in the Groundhog Day movie. That's because it is only because of Bill Murray's life lessons. Instead of learning Bill Murray's life lessons when he keeps coming back, we're learning how many ways a school district can ignore a community. But tonight is bigger than that frustration. Tonight is about our schools, our kids,
132and our future. These schools aren't just structures. They're the heartbeat of St. Joe. They're where generations learn, grew, and built the lives that keep this town alive. Nurses, teachers, union workers, doctors, officers, even Olympians and professional athletes. These people are St. Joe. They all came from these halls. God, I don't know why I'm shaking so much. Sorry. So when someone suggests closing a school or shuffling kids around in parts of the town they don't even live in, it doesn't just hit wrong, it hits deep. Because you're not rearranging property, you're rearranging lives. Times are tough. People are stretched thin and exhausted. The last thing families need is to a school district adding more uncertainty, more chaos, we don't have a plan yet, just trust us. Benton High School is one block away from Hyde Park.
133It is the anchor of the south end and you don't uproot an anchor to experiment with a maybe idea. That's just a gamble. Families can't afford to gamble right now. This community was not opposed to a dream of a new school. We wanted We were ready to believe in it. We wanted something positive, something modern, something our kids could point to with pride. But we couldn't and we wouldn't vote yes on a plan with no details, no transparency, and no trust. Hope is not a blueprint. And the suggestion that building a new school someday is just going to magically make families flock to St. Joe. Let's be honest. Sorry, I lost my way here. If I could stop shaking, I might be all right. Um Let's be honest. People don't move to a community because
134of a dream building on a brochure. They move because they believe the leadership is stable, honest, and trustworthy. And right now, these people back here, the people that live here, the same people who voted you in the positions you hold, they're the ones thinking of leaving and not because they want to, because the uncertainty has taken the place of leadership. And that's not a shame, it's a disaster. And we should And that should scare everybody in this room. This community is not unreasonable, but too many decision have been made without clarity for the people you serve. And the audit. The community's asked for it. We waited for it. We're still waiting for it. Transparency delayed is transparency denied. If we're truly in a financial bind, then we have the right to ask no what We
135have the right to ask to ask no ask why and should be asking the same question. The closing of a school also costs money. And that's your time, Ms. Snedden. Sorry. That's all right. Thank you guys for having me. Let me see. >> [applause] >> Hello. My name is Jaylen Brown and I'm a junior at Benton High School. I could stand up here and tell you nearly the same things you've heard from most other Benton students that have previously spoken like keeping Benton open because I go there, but I won't. The reality is change is going to happen. And do we need change in order to grow? Yes. I'm not dismissing that change is needed, but what I'm asking is that you formulate your decision based on facts and facts only. Do not do it
136by tearing apart families due to your financial errors. We know that there is potential for Benton to be closed. We know that there is also the potential for Lafayette to be closed. We know many families will have to change schools or relocate altogether. Regardless of which school you choose to close, one of our school communities is going to be devastated. What they currently know as their school family will be ripped apart. Remember, this isn't just affecting us as high schoolers. It goes all the way down to the little kids, the future generations, the ones who don't know anything other than southside or northside pride. All of this indecisiveness and postponement of the real issue is taking a toll on all of our mental health. I honestly have attended all but one board meeting and haven't
137heard any concern of mental health until Monday night. Personally, it has become a huge focus and constant worry of both mine and my friends. We talk about what will the outcome be after this meeting? Think we'll get closed? Will they really make a decision tonight? I wonder what our options will be. High school years are some of the most vital and influential years. You develop and grow so much. I'm currently one of the top students in my class and have been a 3-year starter for both volleyball and basketball. Circumstances may not be the same if I'm forced to attend another school. Closing Benton or Lafayette would mean bigger class sizes, larger student-teacher ratios, and then there's athletics. Being a female athlete is hard in general, but I've had to adapt to three basketball coaches within
138the last 7 months, which has been extremely hard. Just when you think you're in a groove, another letdown, another change. Combining all Benton or Lafayette athletes with no other schools will basically force them to feel like they're freshmen again. Not only do you have all the normal anxieties of trying out for a new team, but then you have to learn a new coaching style, get to know other players, and form new friendships and relationships. I'm not a politician nor the rest of my peers, but we are tired. We are worn out and we're ready for you to make a decision. Who is going to be the leader for this community? Who is going to step up and take the initiative and decide based on facts, not politics? And who is going to do what is
139best for the district? Thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> Uh my name is McKenzie Norton and I'm a mom of four kids, two of whom attend St. Joseph School District, two of whom will in the future. I have served in a variety of ways in the district and have spent a lot of time in some of our schools. Um I'm a current academic committee team member and I'm speaking as an engaged parent. Tonight I'm representing the students who will be in our high schools in 5 to 10 years, my children included. We haven't heard from a lot of those parents' voices, not because we don't care, but because we are in the thick of it. We are busy coaching our kids' sports teams, leading girl scout troops, and raising our littles. After the
140board meeting on October 27th when the board voted to pursue plan E with accommodations from administration, I was willing to compromise and get on board with that plan as long as it improved our district's financial status and worked with our current staffing shortage. We have heard a lot about how these different plans will affect the district's financial stability, extracurricular activities, boundaries, etc. What I feel we have not spent a lot of time on is discussing how it will affect academics at the high school level. First and foremost, a school district's job is to educate our children. Academic excellence should be a top priority for any school. On November 10th in review of plan E, Dr. Studer wonderfully presented the academic priorities in relation to three high schools and the data was not impressive. Um and
141I'm going to echo some of her sentiments. In an attempt to create equitable and consistent courses across three high school schools, will lose some of their programs as staff and students would shift to support alignment across three sites. This approach will come at a cost and spread our resources thin. The greatest barrier right now is that we are in a teacher crisis and our academic infrastructure with three high schools is currently very fragile. Core subjects at the high school level hold our accreditation together. Um Rhonda, you've been vocal with first-hand experience about teacher shortage in previous meetings. Universities across the nation are not graduating teachers at the rate they have in the past. So this shortage is not going to improve anytime soon. In 5 years, I do not want my child learning a core
142high school subject from an inexperienced, non-certified staff member and I don't know many parents that would. Considering all the data Dr. Studer presented on November 10th regarding academic excellence hinging on the quality teacher in front of our children, I can no longer support a three high school model. And if we have a board that values academics, I don't know how you could also. If we do not move forward with two high schools, I fear that in 5 years or less, we will be back in this very same situation of our administration asking a future school board to consolidate so that our children can have better academic outcomes. The time is now. Two high schools establishes collaboration and ensures a quality experienced teacher in front of our children teaching core subjects. If the perfect plan existed,
143previous boards would have already done it years ago. I attended elementary school in a community in the state of Iowa where I changed elementary schools two different times because progress was happening in our schools and I was better academically for it. Change is hard yet you as a board must be willing to prioritize not only the current high school students but students who will be walking our high school halls in five to 10 years. >> Norton. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Uh good evening. I'm Evan Hoover and I'm a senior from Benton High School. But more importantly, I am a citizen. I'm here to you remind you and the public behind me that as the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." I'm currently urging you to remember
144to live with justice, compassion, and empathy, whatever that may look like to you. I do not wish to live in a city where people are divided based on what zip code or what side of town they live on. And with that spirit I ask that we must step into the future instead of basking in the past or fumbling the present. We must create a two-school system, a new two new schools. North and South. Easy. Simple. It has shot It has been shot down again and again not because we don't believe in our education or the future of our education but because when we, the taxpayers, give you the money you need to implement this plan, we may never see it come to fruition. If we dream to become a grand city, which we should be
145we must keep Benton open until we can figure out a sustainable, a truly sustainable solution. Through all these issues that have plagued this great city, I will remain steadfast in saying equality must never die. Before I Before I go, I would like to say one last thing. We do not line up here to criticize you in these long lines and wait for hours to speak to you because we hate you or we disrespect you but because you get your power from us. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Dave Pearl. If you can't hear me, I'll talk louder. But uh anyway, I I I don't have a dog in this fight. My kids and my grandkids have all graduated through school in St. Joseph and I have nobody else in school, but
146I'm here on behalf of these students back here that they're This is part of the educational system. We have a board up here and and we have the district over there. And apparently, maybe I'm thinking wrong, but the but the the district has ideas, they present them to the board, the board decides on it, and and you go with that decision. Is that correct? Is that correct? I'm asking the question. Is that right? Okay. Anyhow, overwhelmingly, I've been hearing all these young people in here say they want all three high schools. Are Are you hearing the same thing? One of One of the things One of the things that troubles me some is if you change these schools, some of these kids are going to be on a bus for hour hour and a half.
147That's just to get to school. Now, how many bullying sessions happens on those buses? Is anybody aware of that? >> [cheering] >> It happens. >> [applause] >> You're setting these kids up for failure. You've got all these kids, parents in here, you've got school teachers that's not here. They're in turmoil now because of decisions that you people are are trying to make. Okay. Since there's only one person up here on this stage that's been here their whole life, let me give you a little refresher course of what's been going on here. Back 10 years ago, when some of you kids were very small the state come in and done an audit on our school district. Let me tell you some of the results. There was $45 million missing in there from misappropriate uh stipends that
148went through here. The FBI was involved in the thing and there's only one person in this city that that was penalized and he wasn't penalized for the $45 million that was stolen from the school district. He was penalized for the money he took from the state of Missouri educational system. He was never prosecuted. The FBI turned that information over to the to the school board and the school district and don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about cuz I've been talking to some of you up there and you flat out just don't believe me, but it happened. And the other reason that we're here tonight is because our our school district overspent $2 million last year. Where'd that money go? >> [applause] >> I mean, my family and I have been paying taxes
149in this city my whole life. I just got my bill the other day. It's well over $2,000. That is my money that disappeared. And these people and you sit there like a bump on a log and can't even answer. >> [applause] >> You know, back and I asked this question to Tom Risvold the other night and he just laughed at me and walked away. That's not the kind response that I like from a from a board member. And Mr. Pearl, that's your time. Pardon me? It's your time. Your time is up. Your time is up. All right. I'll tell you what. One more thing. I've got handouts here for every one of the board members and for the for the superintendent. I've also turned over a copy to the news media here. Thank you. >>
150I want answers for those things. These people need to deserve answers. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Sheldon Farrell. Uh the decision you have All right. >> [applause] [cheering] >> Can we get some help up here, please? I think he wants to give us papers. If you're able to get the papers and then if you're able to give them to us, I'd appreciate it. Here, sir. They're coming right here. They'll give them to Give them to right there. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Okay, sir, you can start. All right. Uh I My name is Sheldon Farrell. Uh the decision you have to make in front of you is a tough one. Over all these public hearings, you guys have sat there and listened to many people come up and say,
151"Don't close my school." And they give emotional testimonials to why that should not happen. They're speaking from the heart and that is okay to do. However, this decision must be made with your brain and leaving out your heart. Some community members may get angry. Some may make threats. Um however, more than is realized are in favor of change. I'm speaking for the uh very large group tonight. Uh many people in this community want St. Joe to be better. I'm from St. Joe. I graduated from Central in 2009. Um back then it was apparent the city and the school district was falling behind area schools. It's even more apparent now. It's obvious. St. Joe has net has a negative stigma attached to it because change still hasn't happened. I'm a parent, a teacher, and a coach
152in this district. I want my children, my students, and my players to have more opportunities than I had, not the same. That is our purpose in life. The future should always be bigger and brighter. However, I feel too many people in this town don't want better for their future generations because them themselves didn't have that. I love competition. It's a pillar of my family values and fue- fuels my daily drive. I want the best because I want to be the best. I want St. Joe to be the best. Um honestly, I'm in favor of one high school um and equal out the middle schools and and feeder system. I just think that creates equitable um opportunities for all students um and and ultimately, I think if we take all this energy and put it into
153one cause, I might think that can give us a sense of identity in the community with one mascot, one set of traditions, and a shared pride that belongs to St. Joe together. However, I believe that may not be an option um and I believe that a two-school model must take place with a correction of a feeder system. If you ask me to pick a current plan, I wouldn't be able to. Picking a plan would mean that I'd be picking some students and athletes over others because every plan Central is being ripped apart. Students from both the other high schools will get to move together regardless of the plan chosen. Then if we choose to stay three high schools or the status quo employee benefits could potentially be lost, salaries will likely be frozen, employees will
154be let go, and retirement will be messed with. That will cause more teachers to leave than closing a school. If things don't change, we are waiting for Desi to take over in the short 5 years. Maybe that's the best option for this city so that they don't they can make the tough decisions for us. Maybe we need a hard reset imposed on us. Change is hard, but change is necessary. None of these plans might be perfect in everyone's eyes, but in order to save our town, a decision must be made and continue to pause and change ideas just keeps kicking the can down the road. Keep in mind that those are the loudest aren't often Those are the loudest don't often represent the majority. We have to make sacrifices to become who we are We
155have to make sacrifices of who we are today to become who we want to be tomorrow. Thank you. >> [applause] >> My name is Lena Williams and I'm a sophomore here at Central and I live on South 18th Street. I'm writing this to express my thoughts on the proposed plans. At the same time I must raise my concerns about the Central Lafayette plan. This is an option that directly affects my family along among a substantial numbers number in our community. I'm not in favor of this plan because of the disruptions and challenges that may pose. On the other I have also I also have mixed feelings about the Central and Heights plan. While I support some parts of this proposal, I realize the possible downsides that could result and must be weighed carefully. We need
156to look at all the possible possible outcomes and make sure we consider what is best for all children families involved. I have grown a family here at Central and those two families or teachers are here in this crowd right now. And I wouldn't know what I do without them if I didn't come here. I wouldn't know what I would do if I need someone to count on them. Thank you for your time and consideration as you as you deliberate on these important matters. >> [applause] >> Travis Smith, I'm a proud North End hoodrat born and raised and I am not in favor of closing any of the three high schools and I never have been and >> [applause] >> But if we're not going to close the schools based off of money savings like in
157plan two, I don't think you guys are in favor of shutting down the school either. So if we also can bring back plan seven and do revisions, bring back plan E, do the revisions and do not lose your community support. Do what's right and And all through all these things I've been at Mr. Money Man for the school administration, you keep saying we've got these areas that we can cut to help shape the budget to work closer to where we need to be. Why the hell aren't they being cut now? Why are we having to do this? All you school board people >> [applause] >> you're in a game of poker and you've got the world's crappiest hands in your hand and you're waiting for every one of those cards to come out of the
158shoot to make a difference. But you're willing to make a maximum bet of all your chips. But unfortunately this time your chips are a community faculty members and students. Why would you do that? It doesn't make any sense. That's not a gamble to do. I'm 100% blind and can see the importance of plan E. Why the hell can you not see it? >> [applause] [applause] >> I think we're missing some speakers. Mr. Musser, are you still in the audience? Is Mr. Bowmaster is already gone? Okay. She's 41. >> Okay, next. Go ahead. Ms. Morgan. Hi, my name is Morgan Doman. I am a 2015 Benton High School graduate. I played varsity sports all four years of my high school career. So let me explain to you just a piece of the importance behind keeping all
159three high schools. Benton and Lafayette has always had a cross town rivalry from as far back as we can remember. This rivalry affects not just the athletes competing, but the student body and quite frankly this entire community. Imagine this, a minimum of a week preparation, game plans, pep assemblies, pumping these kids and parents, t-shirts being made, kids cheering and supporting, athletes feeling an unexplainable family feeling, athletes feeling the most utmost pride and passion. The gym or bleachers packed full by the community members, family and friends close and far, students, teachers, kids who aren't even old enough to be in high school yet cheering for their team that they have no siblings on adults from all schools from all different graduating years showing up for these games alone of all season games. Community members tuning in
160and keeping up on the scores of these games. This is the rivalry you want to kill. This is the passion and the feeling for these kids you want to kill. This is the coming together of our community you want to kill. Yeah, it's a love for the game for these kids. But this cross town rivalry has always been something special. It's that extra bit of competitiveness. It's that extra drive to have the pride of being the best team in your town. But more than that sports teach kids a lot more than just the X's and O's of that sport. It teaches them that dedication, responsibility, determination, teamwork and accountability. If we are being honest, for some kids sports is the only thing that keeps them out of trouble. For some it's the only thing that
161keeps them in school. You take this away and you take away these opportunities for all these kids. We are here for the kids. We are here to be their voices. We are here to do what's best for every single one of them. Closing Benton or Lafayette and moving to a two high school model is not what's best for any of these kids. Now or future ones. You think we have an issue now with behaviors and grades? If you close any of these high schools, you'll be taking opportunities away from these kids that keep them in school and out of trouble. That should be an absolute non-negotiable for all of you who sit on this board. You think you're doing what's equal for all kids and what's best for all kids, but the reality is you
162are doing what's best for you and the people who are in your pockets, not what's best for these teachers who say you care about and definitely not the students. These students thrive on the feeling of family and inclusion. Maybe they don't have that at home. This isn't what gives them that feeling. You ask anybody who is actively involved at either Benton or Lafayette and they'll tell you smaller community, the family, the pride is what made them choose to go to or stay at these two schools. The smaller family atmosphere is what students need. It's been shown and explained and pleaded to you time and time again. I'd like to think we aren't falling on deaf ears here, but unfortunately that's what has happened time and time again, a pattern more or less. Your community is
163speaking to you. >> Ms. Morgan. I'm going to end it this. All the students, teachers and families that would like all three schools to stay open, please stand up. Please stand up. If you are a team member, no, if you are a team member, listen to your team. This is your team. Listen to them. >> And that's your time. Thank you. >> [applause] >> That's my girl. >> [clears throat] >> My name is Stacy Armfield and I'm going to be real honest. Um I had a speech written for tonight and I almost didn't come um because I feel like you've heard it and you've heard it and a couple weeks ago we thought you listened. Um my husband says they already made up their mind, Stacy. What are you doing? I'm going cuz guess what?
164I'm going to sleep better at tonight because I'm here. I'm a I have Thanks. I'm a Benton graduate 1990. I had aunts and uncles go to Benton. My father went to Benton. Um I have five Benton graduates. I'm a Webster teacher. I'm a Bessie Ellison grandma. All of this right now is where I'm at. Every aspect of my life is upside down right now. I don't know yellow I could be wearing yellow. I don't I don't know what to do. Um you some of you came to Webster and you spoke to us and I asked you if you were in our were our position as educators, what would you do? Exactly. You hear that? That's what I heard, run. But guess what? I'm a Webster teacher. I've been there for 10 years. I would invite
165anybody to come work at Webster. I was going to fight for the South Side tonight. I already know I I and I will maybe if I have time. Um We're we're on the chopping block Webster all the time. Okay, maybe you'll move us to a no- another building. Maybe I won't have a job next year. This isn't about me. Exactly what I told you guys, where are our kids going to go? Because all of these kids are feeling the same thing. I might have a hundred kids that I deal with every day but I deal with them every minute. These kids go to school every day and they're now dealing with stuff every minute that they shouldn't have to. This board has spent years undermining the Southside. Every decision, every proposal, every so-called efficiency plan
166has chipped away at the schools and neighborhoods that make this city whole and enough is enough. The plan to close or consolidate schools is not about improving the education, it's about control. It's about stripping resources from one part of town to benefit another. The Southside has carried the weight of these decisions for it far too long. Every time cuts are made, every time programs are moved, every time a school is threatened, it's the Southside that pays the price. This is not a coincidence, it's a pattern. >> [clears throat] >> Three high schools are not a luxury, they're a necessity. They ensure that every student, no matter their zip code, has access to opportunity. Before you vote to take away another school, ask yourselves, do you have kids in this district? Are your kids affected by
167these decisions? And that's your time, Ms. Armfield. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hello, my name is Shea Davidson and I'm a junior at Lafayette and because of open enrollment, I got the opportunity to choose to go to Lafayette instead of Central. I went to Oak Grove, Rubidoux and I'm lucky to graduate from Lafayette. I played basketball, softball, track and I've been a part of DECA, FBLA, FCA, HSB, sports marketing. I've been student council president for my class since 8th grade. I've been keeping up with all of the recent board meetings being thrown around a roller coaster of emotions just like everyone else here today. In the spring you put in the a new South school to vote and said that if it didn't pass the Bin would transition to middle school leaving Lafayette and Central
168to be the two high schools left. Then when we all sat in Central sitting for 5 hours, you told us that we would be going with plan E and working with plan E. Here we are again today, people from the community fighting for their schools. This has been going on for months, so I'm begging you, please make a decision. As I walk from class to class through the hallways, the staff and students are exhausted. We are tired of wondering what next year will bring, where all my classmates will end up, where all my teachers will go and what will happen to all the relationships that I've built over the last 12 years in this district. While I would want everyone to keep their schools and it is horrible that we're over here fighting for our
169schools. It's like fight or flight mode every time we're here in this room with you guys. If we are in financial crisis and all these plans are an effort to save money for our district, I think that the Lafayette plan makes the most sense. The data you have presented to us even supports this decision. When thinking about what's best for staff and students, the Lafayette Central plan makes the most sense. You are not cramming students into buildings leaving them over capacity. You are not disrupting and moving as many staff members. Lafayette will have room to grow in our enrollment. We also have more room for parking if you guys would be open to that. There's a lot of room between Highland and the football field. I don't know if you've seen that, Jeff League. And
170today is the 19th of November. Monday is the 24th and you guys are going to be voting. You have 5 days till you decide the future of our district which will directly affect everybody and our whole entire city. Please choose a plan and stick with it. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good evening members of the board, administrators and community. My name is Cayden Knowles and I'm a fourth generation Benton alumni. Today I stand before you because it's not only just a school or building you are closing, it is an investment that returns value to our children, our neighborhoods and economy. I am a 2024 multi-sport graduate from Benton High School and I would like to start this out by informing you of a lot of the alumni from Benton I've talked to and their opinions
171on this decision. Brandy Destefano, a 1994 alumni graduate from Benton High School. In my strong opinion, Benton High School should not be closing. I've never walked into any other school with a more family atmosphere than I did at Benton. At Benton, we all knew each other and would never think twice about trying to help one another when it was needed. Benton's the school that will welcome absolutely anybody with wide open arms. The Molis family consists of a first generation 2000 Benton alumni graduate, a 2004 Central alumni graduate and two daughters who make up their second generation at Benton High School. The two daughters who one graduated with me last year in 2024 and one who graduates in 2027. This is a family that has come from completely different backgrounds and schools, but can still come
172together and stand firm on not closing Benton. Michelle Hart, a 1988 Benton alumni graduate. This is her direct quotes. Wow, this question really caught me off guard, but in my opinion, why close down an amazing school where the relationships you make at Benton are so amazing and the teachers who care about their students more than you could ever imagine. During my time at being a student at Benton High School, the biggest thing that stuck out to me was the camaraderie. For those who may not be aware, camaraderie is the mutual trust among those who spend a lot of time together. The support system at Benton High School is unmatched in my perspective. Madeline Cockendiffer, a more recent 2016 Benton alumni graduate. Benton should stay open. Personally, all I can see happening if they were to
173close the school is an increase in absenteeism and them harming our most vulnerable students. From what I've seen and read, they aren't taking into account the students who do not have stability at home, whether it be transportation, finances or any other resource you can think of. >> [applause] >> Casey Ludwig, Benton High School's athletic trainer since 2017. These are also her direct quotes. I love having my space to work. The athletes, coaches and their families have become my extended family. Technically, we all bleed red. With those statements from most from multiple people of all ages from different times at Benton High School as well as different parts of our cities, don't you think we should listen to our community? As for my Benton as for my opinion, Benton, Lafayette and Central High Schools should remain
174untouched. For a prime example, the softball season of 2021, our head coach Miller had a stroke and we were told this as we were leaving on an away game. There is a picture that was posted. I don't know if anybody's seen it, but in that picture, Central, Lafayette and LeBlanc took time out of their days to make signs not for our team, but also for our coach. If the schools who have cross city rivals in every sport can come together and put their pride aside and rivalry, why can you, the board members who are way and far more grown than I am, put your pride aside and realize you're tearing down a community and not a building. Past generations might have let you get close to taking our school down, but this generation will not.
175I will forever stand strong on my Southside pride and forever be and know what it means to be a 238er. You can try to shut down our school, but you cannot and will not shut us up. I mean, whether we are from Benton or not, we all bleed red, right? Exactly. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good evening members of the board. My name is Abby Kelser. I'm a sophomore at Lafayette High School and chose to go to Lafayette instead of Central through open enrollment. I'm involved in basketball, softball, FBLA, DECA, HSB, StuCo and sports marketing. I am for plan two. I know today the district came out with the new Benton and Central model. With this plan, Benton would be over capacity. If you are planning for the future, Lafayette has a
176lot more room to grow. Benton max capacity is only 999 while Lafayette is 1,650. The numbers don't lie. It is obvious what the clear choice is, plan two and it is your responsibility to make the best choice for the district and the most justifiable plan justifiable plan which is plan two. I know that if Benton and Central were were the better choice for the district, I would understand although it would be tough. And I have no sort shortage of pride in Lafayette, but our legacies should not be wrapped up in what we did in high school or where we went. We should focus on our futures and how our district can better prepare our students for their futures. If you go with and if we are truly in as big of a financial crisis as
177you say we are, the answer is clear. Students are tired and exhausted from this. Just a few weeks ago, we were here for 5 hours, so please make a decision tonight and stick with it, but please do not go off what color you see the most here tonight because at Lafayette, we have a community and a family, but you can say that about each of the high schools. So remember when you vote, you will break up one of these communities and one is not more important than the other. Thank you. >> [applause] >> How's it going? My name is Dave Hind and I I had the privilege of serving as one of the chairs on the Vision Forward initiative and I really appreciate you guys your service. I know you guys are busy and you've
178heard a lot and I know you have hard decisions and I appreciate you being on the school board and uh everybody from the district, thank you for all the work that you guys do. You know, yeah, 100% yeah, thank you. Um these guys work hard and and they're volunteering and um yeah. And I appreciate you guys. You know, I I wish we were here tonight celebrating the fact that we were breaking down breaking ground on a new high school, but we're not. We're in a 100-year-old building which is horribly inadequate and insufficient. It leaks when it rains. My friends that are here as teachers, they send me pictures with big trash barrels when it rains to catch the water. And we're in this building tonight arguing about which old 100-year-old insufficient building to close and
179to keep. All the while people are leaving our community because we can't move forward with facilities. All the while, communities all around us are building new things. They're building new facilities. And people are leaving. And wanting new facilities wanting decent facilities for your kids is not a it's not an unreasonable ask. It really isn't. I believe the way forward is two new high schools. I know that's not necessarily the vote tonight and what you guys are talking about and maybe this is just a general statement for the whole community here, but I believe the way forward is two new high schools. I've talked with administrators at the different high schools. We can't adequately We can't adequately staff three high schools. We can't do it anymore. We can't get quality coaches in all the different sports
180anymore for three high schools. I was at the facilities committee meeting for the vision forward that was at Benton High School and I remember it because I left this mission trip that I was on. I drove home and then I drove back the next day. So, I remember that meeting well and I wanted to be there that night. And I'm telling you the majority of people there wanted two new high schools. You can go back and look at the video or whatever, but that's what people wanted. The maintenance people, Mickey Gill and the other folks, came in and they talked about how insufficient our old buildings were that they weren't sustainable anymore. And look, I get it. For people that want your the the three high schools I I I went to Central. My kids
181went to Central. My brother, my nephews, I get it. But times have changed, unfortunately. So, I have I have a sympathy for you. I am a product of the St. Joe school system. Mike Flowers over there is one of the best guys ever. He was my eighth grade basketball coach and gym coach and he was a huge mentor in my life and I appreciate him so much. So, we have great teachers. We have great coaches here, but people are leaving our community. And that's your time, Mr. Hein. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hello, my name is Jeff Leak. Uh I've taught or coached in all three high schools. And I believe the three high school system that we have is not perfect, but I think there's a lot of good in it.
182I think it's good that we have a large high school. I think it's good that we have smaller high schools and I think it's good, even though messy sometimes, that we have open enrollment. I think that it's something this community could push as an advantage of look what all we have. Look at the choices that you can make. Um I'm I'm really it it it hurts tonight to see we're pitting schools against each other. It was never my intention. Uh and I and I don't like to see that. Um I I will address the plans. This was We're trying to make certain it it just weird with the numbers. I'm a numbers guy. So, plan two originally saved a million plus more than it does now because of the fourth and then plan Actually, I
183don't know if you knew this, but the the new Benton uh Central model saves more than the original plan that was presented. Why is Why was that not presented first? What Why are we not sure with our numbers on things like that? >> [applause and cheering] >> Um Lafayette has 30,000 square feet. We do have another gym, but size of a basketball court and round it's going to be about 6,000 square feet. That's a lot of lot of 26,000 or 24,000 square feet. We We're kind of like, well, where where's it at? Well, the hallways are bigger, the classrooms are bigger, but I'm not arguing for that. I'm just arguing for the fact that we lack so many details on what we're doing. And and that's really pretty disturbing to me. Um I always tell
184my players don't say the word can't. I don't accept it. I I I say if if you say can't to me, that's that means won't. And when we say we can't do some things, no, it's because we won't do some things. Items that were a big deal like capacities of buildings and optimum capacity and maximum capacity, now on new plans, it's not that big a deal. We didn't have room for for special ed in certain buildings under certain plans, but now that we have a buildings at maximum capacity or over maximum capacity, special ed's not going to be a problem. I There's just too many unknowns in this. I have a child who would go in one plan to a school of 1,900 students. And yes, there would be more offerings for him. I prefer
185a smaller school, even though there's not the offerings, because there's other value in that for my my son and my family. And I know other people have chosen the small school environment, as well. Uh if you think about it, over a third to a half of Lafayette students did not come up through the feeder pattern to Lafayette. Let the people choose. Let's have a plan that where people can choose. Let's have the best of both worlds with a large school and small, but please as the board, look at the numbers and ask questions. Don't just assume that everything works. There's a lot of things that don't make sense. And that's your time. Thank you. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Hello, my name is Lucas Chrisman. Let me start off tonight by saying this one thing. As
186a school board, you have failed this community, your students and your staff. I think it's funny how it's the talk about Lafayette closing or Benton closing. You guys have flipped back and forth, but nothing has really been said about Central. Then again, Central won't be affected much. The students will, though. You have families and students complaining about how if if the kids that go to Central go to Lafayette or Benton, whichever one closes and stays open, they won't have the same opportunities. And that's true. That's because here at Central, you have more opportunities than at any other school. You have more foreign languages here. You have a swimming team here. Lafayette and Benton don't have that. Maybe if you you would actually Strike that last statement. You just spent around $6.4 million on fields. on
187fields. Why would you close a school after doing that? It doesn't make sense. You guys have failed at keeping our financial You have failed at keeping us financially stable throughout the school district. Closing Benton or Lafayette is going to take away students' will to fight, to practice for their love sports and their grades. It will ruin grades so bad to where, you know, you might not have students graduating. It will ruin so much support that students have built with their staff members and their teachers. Students will have to relocate to unfamiliar areas and schools after being comfortable with their teachers, staff, and other students. They will have to reconnect and make new bonds with complete strangers they don't know. I am in favor of plan E, keeping all three high schools as they are. Please
188keep in consideration of what I've said. Thank you. >> [applause] >> His phone died. Yeah. Okay, so that's my son. Good evening. My name is Jess Chrisman. I've lived here majority of my life. I graduated from Lafayette High School. I have three sons that go to Lafayette. One behind me is a junior. I have a sophomore and a freshman. The great thing about St. Joseph is the spirit that all three of these high schools have. This is not a small town that just needs one school or even two. We are gracious enough to have all three and we have more options for our children, which is that's why they go to school, so they have options. I love how we have our jamboree for football and we get to see all three schools doing their
189best and showing their school pride. It makes me really sad and angry as a mom and said to my kids worrying about grades and getting into different sports that previous years have been, it's more worrying about the relationship with friends and teachers that have been there for them and where they're going to be for school next year is discussed all the time at the dinner table and it shouldn't be. They should be kids. You have heard the people say they wanted three schools and yet you're like, well, let's do this. No, let us talk. Let us listen to the community. >> [applause] >> We moved out our location and bought our house in the Lafayette district. I have mother that went to Lafayette, father that went to Lafayette, grandfather that went to Lafayette. My brothers
190all graduated from Lafayette. We are a Lafayette family, just like Benton with them and their families, Central with them and their families. >> [applause and cheering] >> When you take away any of these schools, I'm not going bash Central. I'm not going to bash Benton. I didn't go there. I can only talk for what I know, which is Lafayette. Taking away any of these schools is going to be taking away a part of history, which is what St. Joseph tries to keep, is the history of St. Joseph. Instead of worrying about which schools to shut down, we need to come together as one town, but three schools. That's what makes us unique. I'm going to vote for plan E. That needs to go back on to where we can vote. If this was a political
191thing, plan E would be it. Thank you. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Hanna Rush, and I am a completely fed up parent. Um Before I begin, I want to be very clear. We won't be censored. If you don't want the same people speaking repeatedly at these meetings, then stop giving us reasons to come back. Present us with something solid that doesn't drive division in an already incredibly divisive time. You keep shouting financial crisis like it's magic magically excuses everything, but a crisis does not justify sloppy planning, financial mishandling, or quickly drawn boundaries that adds more issues than solutions. My child can walk to Central. We live close enough that it's the logical efficient choice. Yet, your recommended map would send my child clear across town, adding transportation, adding cost, improving this
192plan was built in a conference room, and not in the actual neighborhoods that it affects. And before I go any further, I want to say this very clearly. Are you listening to these kids tonight? >> [applause] >> You as the adults and the leadership of this district should all be incredibly ashamed of yourselves for placing adult problems on their shoulders. >> [applause] >> I am so proud of our students. Their determination, their resilience, and their strength have been the only steady thing in this whole mess. They have shown up, they have spoken out, they have fought to keep their schools in ways adults in this district should be learning from. And this isn't just about my child and our issue. I'll go to battle for any child in this community, even the ones who aren't
193personally impacted, because every child deserves stability, safety, and a school district that values them more than administrative convenience. And while families and students are being told to sacrifice convenience, safety, and stability, I want to know where is the sacrifice from the top of the district? There have been no pauses on the raises you all receive. No trimming of the executive positions, even though we have the lowest enrollment numbers in decades. No closure of the already open empty buildings that we continue to fund the utilities for. Nothing. Not one shred of evidence that the highest paid people are taking on any part of the burden they expect families to carry. Closing a school should be the absolute last resort, not the first target, not the easiest place to cut because you won't look at your own
194structure. And now we get the most concerning part. You're pushing a decision that will reshape our entire community before the audit results are publicly shown, while we continue to learn of major financial errors at these very meetings. You don't make decisions that affect thousands of families when the independent financial truth is literally days away from being discussed publicly. The plans you're promoting don't add up. You're closing schools while still keeping the buildings open, still running utilities, maintenance, staffing, while also increasing transportation costs, and that's not a budget solution. If you truly believe in this plan, then show us. Where are the administrative cuts? Where is the detailed financial model, and where is the accountability? Because from where the public stands, every piece of this feels disconnected from the reality of the families who live here.
195And that's your time, Ms. Rush. I'm sorry. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hi. Sorry. My name is Savannah Ritter. I am the Southside Strings Orchestra Director. I currently serve over 100 Southside families between 6th through 12th grade, Spring Garden and Benton High School. And at every single concert that I give, I make a point to tell every family in the audience, and we're talking hundreds of people, that I have the best job on Earth, and I serve the best kids on Earth. Um I feel so supported by my families I serve and my admin. In fact, last year Stacia and her team supported me as I started my national board certification funded by the school district. Just yesterday, I was in Columbia, Missouri, representing all orchestra teachers as we look at re-examining our state
196music large group festival. I have never been without in my classroom. My building administrators have always taken care of me. I do think the team in front of us is one killer group of people, and if anybody's going to solve these problems, I really put my trust in you all. I respect you, and I love so many of you. Hold on, please. Um I remember my very first year at Spring Garden. I was told to build the program, and I recruited the most number of students we ever had, and we ran out of instruments, and I was told by an administrator that well, then they'll have to play a different instrument. I went to Dr. Gilpin. I told her that, and she said, "How much does a cello cost?" and she bought me two. I
197have always been taken care of in the St. Joseph School District. I made a really tough decision about 3 years ago to leave. That was when I put my mom and family hat on, and not my professional and teacher hat. My family is from the North Kansas City area. My daughters go to school in Liberty. I was just at one of their concerts that Monday night at South Valley Middle School in their new performing arts area connected to their middle school. Um I only stayed there for 1 year, and I had a great experience, and I am still so close with that orchestra team and their fine arts admin team, but it did not fill my cup the same way serving St. Joseph did, specifically the Southside community. So, I am a teacher I am
198a teacher that has chosen to be here. I have moved here. I am not from here. I don't have the same ties or lineage that many of you have boasted this after evening. Um after the after building Benton's program, I was recruited very hard by almost every school district in the Kansas City area. Um I believe I have been offered a job just about by every school in the Kansas City area. I am not here to promote one plan over the other or tell you what to choose, which may surprise many of my South end friends, but I want to speak directly to fine arts in our community. Many people are saying that plan two is obvious based off numbers, and then that's the case, and you think it's obvious, you are not considering fine
199arts. Our community loves and supports the fine arts. St. Joseph is a gem. We have RRT. We have the St. Joseph Symphony. I'm a proud violinist in the symphony, and guess what? It's the only professional symphony. Kansas City, Liberty, none of those have that. Um we also have the Creative Arts Production and Allied Arts Council. Fine arts are important to this community. And that's your time, Ms. Ritter. Thank you. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Hello. My name is Kenna Gayer, and I'm a senior at Benton High School. After attending the school for 4 years, I'm strongly against closing it down. Though it won't affect me, it will affect not only my friends, but my loved ones as well. And what I would like to talk about today is something that gets often gets overlooked, fine arts.
200More often than not, sports get the spotlight, and even though they are important, so are the arts. I'm a very active student. I played tennis for 3 years. I'm in choir, theater. I'm a captain on the speech and debate team at Benton High School, and what I've seen grow the most is the arts. In my freshman year, we had a speech and debate team of eight people. In the past 3 years, it was brought from eight to 63. Last year Last year alone, we sent 10 people to the state tournament, six of them breaking the finals. Most of those finalists were only first or second year students on the team. This didn't happen just by accident or pure talent. This was hard work and dedication from not only our coaches, but also our students. Another
201important aspect of the arts is theater. We at Benton have a wonderful theater program filled with amazing people. >> [cheering] >> When I first got to Benton, it wasn't the most valued or appreciated program. Most of our audiences were family members, but now we fill our auditorium and put on wonderful shows with standing ovations. >> [cheering] >> With the amount of effort put in that program, in my opinion, losing it would be a huge loss. Not to mention, Benton's auditorium is far superior considering balconies, flying systems, and new lighting and sound systems. A place for people to be themselves without worrying about others' opinions. Without the fine arts, we take a school from somewhere you have to go to to somewhere you want to go to. Speaking of things that gets overlooked, let's talk about
202facilities. As a student at Benton, I would argue that we have some of the best facilities. For starters, both of our gymnasiums are larger. The advantage of that being we can hold more than one event at a time. On top of that, we can use the larger gymnasium to hold complete student body assemblies rather than doing it in separate sessions. Another thing that concerns me is bleachers. At Benton, there are two sets of bleachers on each side of the field. At Lafayette, they only have one, meaning visitors and home teams sit on the same sides, causing conflicts and overcrowding. Alongside that, the parking lot. Benton has two parking lots, one in the front, one in the back. You yourselves said we had more parking spaces. Going to the games and events and finding a place
203to park at Lafayette is already difficult. So, we most certainly won't be able to fit more people in that parking lot just for events. I'm not pushing to shut down Lafayette. I'm pushing to keep Benton open for students like me, for the community you see in your crowd today, and for the students that will come after. And if you're not going to look into the future, please remember that not looking into the future is what got us into this mess in the first place. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hi, my name is Michelle Zeiter. Been here a few times. I hear tonight we need to get financially healthy. Well, we need an audit. We need this audit before we make any of these drastic changes. How did we get in this financial crisis? Is there
204really a financial crisis? That's why we're here. That's why all these changes are happening. We hear we need to save money by having two high schools and the students will be a little bit uncomfortable. These students and staff shouldn't be punished for the administrations poor financial choices. The community has spoke out week after week. We're all getting exhausted. The overall consensus is the three schools. You've You've heard what they people want, but but you don't want to listen. Have you looked at the cost of the bussing thousands of kids across town? And it's going to be a few thousand kids. There was just an article in St. Joe Post this week about they can't find bus drivers in Vermont and Missouri and I mean, so how much is that going to cost? I feel as
205though the administration is pitting the north side against the south side. These kids Their kids are coming out here pouring their hearts out for the love of their school. Most of these kids feel a connection to their school, their smaller school. I have mixed feelings about the juniors even being allowed Somebody mentioned being able to stay and and graduate from Central even if they the boundary lines are different. Well, that's not really fair to the Benton and the Lafayette kids. If your school's closed, sorry, but we'll work it out. You know, that's that's not fair. If you're really thinking about the best interest of these kids, you wouldn't be closing any of the schools without knowing how we got here. How did we get in this financial pickle? Is there a pickle? What you're doing
206is completely cruel to this community. If anything, it's Our kids deserve better. >> [applause] [applause] >> Hi, my name is Ethan Zeiter and I graduated from Lafayette in 2024. But tonight, I'm not speaking about my for myself, but for my little brother who's a junior in high school at Lafayette right now. Um I went to Avenue City for middle school and for elementary school, so I had the opportunity to pick what high school I went to and I chose Lafayette mainly because of the community that revolved around it and that it was smaller. So, that allowed me to have a lot more opportunities that I wouldn't have gotten if I went to a bigger school like Central. So, I got to play multiple different sports and I was in multiple different clubs and I was
207in golf and Mark was actually my golf coach. Um and smaller schools have shown to be more successful in sports. I know this isn't what all this is about, but this is something that I have know more about. So, in the last 10 years, Lafayette and Benton, which are the smaller schools, have had many different final four teams. Uh mainly basketball cuz that's what I was mainly involved in. And on based on what I've seen recently, it looks like the two schools is going to happen no matter really what the community thinks. So, I propose that this new school should be built first and then transition into the two school method. >> [applause] >> This allows uh students like my little brother to graduate from the same school that both of his older brothers graduated
208from. And and this also allows students that aren't quite in high school yet or kids who are just now getting into high school to make the decisions if they don't want to be in a bigger school. >> [applause] >> Mark Shade. My name is Mike Green. I live just up the hill. Uh my children do not go to school in this district this district. I have school great school children. Um but I was a Lindbergh flyer up till second grade and then I moved to Kansas City uh returned uh to Central for ice school. Uh just went through some trying times when I was in Kansas City. Uh I just want to say I'm very proud of the young people that came out to speak uh on behalf of their schools. Um >> [applause] >>
209Uh I've I've coached baseball here in town for with young people up to 14 or so and some of them are probably here, but I'm just really proud of what you guys did uh becoming part of the political process. Um I do think that's necessary. Uh school board, I do recognize your job is difficult. Uh I don't want to contribute to the vitriol. Uh Dr. McGinnis, this is kind of her first major task to deal with uh and that seems to be a a big mountain to climb. Um I spoke with some of you and not even really speaking. I think we've interacted on Facebook or whatnot. Uh I'm not going to say I called a situation like this that we've seen over the last, you know, month. I've been to the last three meetings,
210haven't said anything. Um but it was something that could be foreseen just because uh I don't necessarily disagree with the long-range plan. Uh the two high school model wasn't necessarily a bad idea. I just think that the way they went about it, um the first thing you did was the biggest uh slice of the pie. I think if you really focused on the young people, the school-aged children, improving those test scores, you may have gained some political capital uh to where you wouldn't have such vitriol and animosity toward you tonight. Um it matters what you put into the high schools, um which means if we could get our scholars to better test scores and keep improving like you all are doing, you're doing a very good job. Um the actually the best idea, one person
211said it. Uh not even the best idea, but the one I probably would get behind the most, the coach from Central said it, one high school. The smartest person I know in St. Joe uh suggested this to me as well. It is unfortunate. Nobody wants to see their high school closed, but I think you got to make everybody unhappy and without no conflict, you'll never have any progress. Uh I don't want to see the schools closed. I'm in preference of keeping those three schools open until we come up with a viable solution. Uh Mr. Flowers, who I have some a great deal of respect, I'm not a lifelong St. Joe resident. I just have seen seen many other districts um and the pride that these two communities that are representing themselves here tonight, you do
212not really see that many places such as suburban Kansas City where I was at or downtown 12th and Cleveland. You don't see that pride in a lot of places. Um so, I do thank you guys for that. >> [applause] >> That's really all I got. Good evening, school board. I got home last night, tired, wanting to go to bed. But I got on Facebook and I read the district's comment. Public comment at this hearing will be reserved for individuals who have not had the opportunity to speak on facilities during the last five meetings. Does everybody realize how mind-blowing that is? That our district not only broke three of their own policies, but they broke Missouri law. Per Constitution, freedom of speech and discrimination. If I was smart, I would have left it alone, called my
213attorney the next day, and filed lawsuit on you guys. That I didn't even graduate, but I'm intelligent enough to know that you broke several policies, law. I'm blown away. Who runs our site? Who in the world is running the school district site? >> [applause] >> We got to do better than that. I I I don't trust you to do anything if you can't even follow the Constitution. Every one of you should know something about the Constitution. Next thing I want to talk about is your budget. A hundred and seventy million dollars. That's your budget. In July In July 2025, every single school board member voted for a 2.2% hike. If you're in a crisis and you're at home and you have to buckle up, do you tell your kids, "Hey, we're in a crisis. We
214got to watch it. You can spend 2.2 more than you did last year. Well, things make no sense to me. Absolutely none. Head court, I've heard that you are amazing with numbers. And I I hope so. I think you can work it out. And I think the board, if they go with three schools, that man can find a way to make it work. I've heard from everybody. He can make it work. He's a numbers guy. >> [applause] >> And I have heard nothing but good on numbers with him. He can make it work. So, give us the chance. Give him the chance to really dig in. Because although our enrollment is going down every year, why is administration going up? Every year. >> [applause and cheering] >> We add secretaries, more secretaries. If you guys
215want to move forward, get the public behind you. I mean, it's really easy. It would be easy. We can all do it. But you got to listen to the community, and you haven't done it. You haven't done it for years. I mean, I don't know if you're hearing me now. I don't know if you're hearing the community. I I don't know. I don't know why you won't listen to your community. It is the only way to move forward. And we will stand behind you, and we will make changes. But you you've got it. And that's your time, Ms. Dragoo. Thank you. >> Mr. Flowers, That's your time, Ms. Dragoo. Thank you. It's your time. >> My kids went there. That's your time, Ms. Dragoo. Thank you. >> bought his parents a house. Our community is
216tightening. That is your time, Ms. Dragoo. >> man. I know it's my time, but I'm still talking. I need to be quiet. Thank you. You need to be quiet, please. Thank you. No, but Thank you. I appreciate you speaking. Thank you. Mr. Hewitt. Hello. My name is Josh Hewitt. I have a child who graduated in '24. I have a an eighth grader, and I have a kindergartner. Uh I don't envy your task, nor would I want to be in your position. Um and I thank you for what you do. I would love to keep all three high schools. I believe that the most two special communities in the town are around Benton High School and Lafayette High School. >> [applause] >> Um if you've not been to a Lafayette-Benton game, I don't care if it's
217basketball, football, softball, you have not witnessed the best environment in the town, in my opinion. >> [applause] >> With that being said, now they're all going to stop clapping, but with that being said, um it sounds like we have to choose a school to close, which I don't necessarily believe is fair. With that, I would choose plan two. Um the reason is because by your numbers, Benton, Ellison, and Rubidoux start off overcrowded. That that doesn't seem like some of you talked about future growth. There's zero growth. Um we also talk about mental health. A You're getting pulled out of your school. Imagine getting pulled out of your school, put into another one. Now that school is overcrowded. >> [applause] >> That's more mental health. You're there. Now you're also overcrowded. That's that's not fair. Um
218whereas Lafayette, as your numbers show, assuming that's correct, Lafayette and Central in that plan would be under uh capacity, which is obviously optimal. And yes, parking can be added. Um The elementary school that one of them you talked about quoting closing, Eugene Field, with obviously some of the best scores in the district. But most importantly, is we just paid to have HVAC put at Field. That doesn't make financial sense to pay to have a building that we're going to close. It was just put in last year, if I'm correct. So, we're going to close a building that we just put all that money into, and then we're going to try to ask for more money for a school? That's not going to happen. That it's not going to happen. We we have to make good
219financial decisions. Um I've got a bunch of things on here, but quite honestly, none of them matter. The main things is, let's give these kids some peace. Let's make a decision tonight, and hopefully let them have their schools. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Okay, and that is all of our uh It's all of our speakers who are here. >> to talk. It's all of our speakers. I'm sorry. What? It's all of our speakers on the list. I'm sorry. Put the list away. So, now are you telling me that I can't talk? Play with it. We might as well. It I probably won't even take 3 minutes, because what I have is real short and sweet. Okay, go ahead. Uh All these kids that came here, all these kids, they're going to need counseling. That's on
220the administration. Nobody should have ever gone into our schools before we had a plan. Nobody should have gone to our teachers before you knew what was going on. Our administration put this stress on the teachers and the kids. Nobody else. You did that. Do you feel good about it? >> [applause] >> All the crying and trauma. It's disgusting. And then you come in here and make it seem like it's money. You are the money people. You are the one that give yourself raises. You are the ones that added a bunch of positions when there was no money. Is that the way you run your checkbooks? Probably so. Some of you. And then others, the kids that you've upset are going to need counseling. The two the thousand 2,500 kids, they're going to be falling asleep,
221and what our scores are going to go down because they've been on the buses. You don't care about that. Because you don't have any skin in the game. Some of you don't live here. Not just the board, administration. Some of you just got promoted and bought outside of our district. And then you want to come in here and move everybody around and act like we don't matter. You don't send your kids here. You don't live here. You don't care. We're in this mess because of the money. The kids didn't cause it. I didn't cause it. I pay taxes. I volunteer a lot of my time in the school district. I don't appreciate what has happened from the administration or the board. The board is supposed to stand firm. You don't take instructions from the administration.
222And clearly, they don't know what the heck they're doing. There's a lot of doctors in the front of a lot of these names, and you don't even have common sense. You've got kids that know more about closing buildings, keeping buildings open, and the money's from your own district, the figures. They have spent time working on figures that you should have already had. There should have never been any of these meetings. The money you get paid, you should have had figures, construction costs, renovation. You should have >> And that's your time, Ms. Dragoo. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. >> And that's your time, Ms. Dragoo. >> pitted this community like you have. >> you. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause and cheering] >> Is there a motion to adjourn? I have a motion. Is there
223a second? Would you call the vote, please? Ms. Miller. Ms. Williams. Ms. Chesney. Ms. Burns. Ms. Lanning. Mr. Moore. Yes. Mr. Richmond. Okay, this meeting is adjourned, and let's take a 10-minute break, and then we can start. Cuz it's a new meeting. It's a new meeting. And this first meeting is adjourned. Our next one will open up in 10 minutes. Thank you.