001Time for therapist and we're all here together. I'm with you here on this one. Everybody all set? >> Good. >> Okay. >> Uh, if we could reconvene our meeting, I'm back away. >> Okay. >> To open session. The board has been in executive session since 6:00 to discuss a tenure candidate uh contractual matter and a personnel matter. If we could please 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. >> Introductions. >> Start over there. >> Why don't we start on your side? >> My apologies. John Mc Phillips, Dave Hurst, >> Yuan Mcnake, >> Lauren Grazo, Merides, Moriardi, Holly Donba, Jody Monroe, >> Robert Teen, >> Katherine
002Nat, >> John Walston, >> Rose um and do we have any um pig students visiting us tonight or SUPA students? There we go. Um welcome. Thanks for coming. Your obligation is to stay until 9:00 or the meeting is over, whichever one comes first. Um, and don't leave without coming and signing up on one of these handy sheets that are up here. That way you get credit for being here. Okay. Um, and uh, I'll just start out first by saying thank you. Feels very echoey here. Um, thank you to Eagle for hosting us this evening. Uh, first up on our agenda is our approval of minutes. It is recommended by the superintendent that the board of education approve the minutes from the September 3rd, 2025 regular board meeting. So move second. >> I Any discussion? All
003in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? That carries? Item three, meeting reports. Um first is our superintendent report. >> Sure. Thank you. Uh just a quick reminder that um if you are a family who'd like to receive a backpack through the weekend backpack program, please contact main office at your child's school. Also a reminder that we do still have a couple of open houses, the high schools tomorrow and we have a middle school one next week and we still are collecting items for the backpack program that can be dropped off um at the open houses. Uh the only other committee meeting I wanted to just update the board as we had our first meeting uh with the committee to review the elementary zones last Wednesday. Uh Tyler Tech representatives are here tonight to provide a
004presentation and summary of that particular meeting and I did provide the board with the minutes in the updates on Friday. So if you have any questions related to those uh feel free to let me know. And that's all I have for tonight. >> Uh next is the board report. Um, and first I just wanted to recognize that school seems like it has gotten off to a good start since our last meeting. Um, and in particular I wanted to recognize the people that were involved with having um, a field day at the high school. Um, I think from what I have heard that seems like it was a success um, and a fun way to start out the year for um, all of our high school kids. Uh I also wanted to thank all of you
005guys for um participating in our board retreat um last week. Uh I thought that um we had a good uh presentation from Doug Morrisy um on special ed and I think everybody learned a lot. So thank you all for being there. Um and then lastly uh we need as need to select a voting delegate um for the annual NISBA meeting which is coming up I believe October 16th. um I think at 4:00. Um so I'm before I sign up myself, I'm just double-checking whether anybody else is very excited and eager to >> jump in the to replace you. Go right ahead. >> Okay, Britney. Would you mind um registering me for that? And thank you. Holly, if you need a um substitute, I'd be happy to be your >> my second. Yes, my alternate alternate.
006I appreciate it. Um, does anyone have anything else they wanted to share from the board? Catherine? >> Yeah, I'd love to share a brief report. This past Monday, I attended the um special ed parents and teachers association, which I think you'll start hearing around as SEPTA around school. Um, this is an organization that's getting up and running um for families with special ed and for the larger community. Uh we've got about one out of every 10 students in Bethlehem as part of our special ed program in one way or another. Um and so this is really an organization dedicated to making Bethlehem number one for all of our students and and making sure that all of our students are are out there and fully engaged um and getting parents in the community involved as well.
007This is a fantastic um organization, great turnout, and I mean, just a couple things to share. Coming up real soon on the 30th of September at 5:30 at Hammer, they're going to be hosting a dessert potluck for those of you in search of dessert or some good uh hangout time on our fantastic Hammer Hammer playground. Um and all families, everybody in the district is invited to that. Uh they're also looking at rolling out additional events as the year rolls on and making sure that the special ed PTA is a visible and active presence in school and district um activities as well. So keep your eyes peeled that the trunk or treats and the Halloween celebrations coming up and everything. Um it was a great conversation, a fantastic uh leadership there and you know thanks to
008Doug Morrisy who uh was there you know reporting out and representing the district and and just fantastic. So really really cool group of people great opportunity um and come for dessert on the 30th at 5:30 if you ever >> Thanks Katherine. Anything else? >> You >> uh two things. One, just for those of you who like me have a kid looking at colleges, there's a college fair next Monday. Um always worthwhile to go see those places. And second, Jod's um comment on committees reminded me. Did the lab school follow-up committee ever achieve a consensus or meet much more? It just kind of vanished into quietness, >> right? >> Yeah. After last fall, there was no further meetings. >> That's too bad. Holly, I'm sorry. Um, if I could ask my colleagues, it's it's the acoustics
009are challenging. >> Project more. >> Thank you, Catherine. >> Um, anyone else? >> Thank you. Uh, next are our student reports. And Rose, do you have anything you'd like to share this evening? I would just like to thank Capital Region Boseies for holding the training that Claire and I attended today. Um, it was very good. It was very informative and there was a lot of different schools from different districts around the state that attended that >> and this was a training for new student board members. >> For new student board members. Yeah. >> Great. Thank you for taking the time to go. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Uh, next um on our agenda are our presentations. We have three this evening and our first presentation is on our elementary art program. So I will turn
010it over to Diana. >> Hi everybody. Welcome. Um can you hear me? Okay. Because I know it's a little bit it's hard to hear back here. So I'm going to speak a little bit louder. Um we're doing a presentation tonight on the arts in in our art department and their curriculum and instruction in Bethlehem. Um, but I wanted to start with a little bit of the history of arts in education in New York State. Um, if you were alive in the 70s, you might remember that there was a big fiscal crisis and actually there was a movement for a nation at risk which is really shifted us back towards basic math in ELA. And I actually have a personal connection with it because my mom was a teacher here for five years full-time and then
011in the 70s she she got cut to part-time. And I remember she had to they we had a music and an art class combined in the middle school and it was called arts and education and she had to make it up one summer and she doesn't have a musical bone in her body like and I remember her struggling with that. So the district still tried to keep it there but that was not where the state was going. And then um an important step was in the 1980s and early 90s after actually midon 90s they adopted the first set of state learning standards and those standards guided the art instruction for more than 20 years and then in 2017 they added media to the arts as a new discipline and had national core art standards for
012the first time. And today arts and education is formally recognized at both the state and federal levels as part of a well-rounded education. Schools across New York are continuing to imple implement the updated standards with a focus on access, equity, and quality instruction. In the end, the arts drives student success in academics, workforce readiness, wellness, and equity. Everything. Um, you if you were around in the 70s, you might have remembered you got to have art. Does anybody remember that slogan? Okay. Well, it was really big, right, Melanie? Yes. And then of course the most important thing with any department whether it's art or math or music are the teachers. And we have an amazing amazing set of teachers here. So I'd like to introduce Emily Judah and Shaina Vishon. And they're going to come up
013and do the next part. >> You got choice. Cool. >> My next slide. I thought I was on that slide. I'm sorry. Am I cooking? Yeah. Okay. >> Diana said, "My name is Emily Judah and I'm the art teacher here at Eagle. This week marks International Dot Day and we've been celebrating Dot, the book, the Dot all week. It should be happening in all the elementary schools on in the district as well. We in the art department believe that every child is an artist and a lifelong learner in the arts, even those that say they can't draw a stick figure. We're going to be watching the dot as this is getting pissed passed around and Shaina's going to come with some supplies and instruct you on what you can take. >> My name is Z.
014The book I'm reading is The Dot by Peter H. Russell. My name is Z. The book I'm reading is The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. [Music] Our class was over, but Vashi sat glue to her chair. Her paper was empty. Vashi teacher leaned over the blank paper. "Ah, a polar bear in a snowstorm," she said. "Very funny," said Vashi. "I just can't draw." Her teacher smiled. Just make a mark and see where it takes you. Vashi grabbed a marker and gave the paper a good strong jab. >> There her teacher picked up the paper. and studied it carefully. H she pushed the paper towards Vashi and quietly said, "Now sign it." Vashi thought for a moment, "Well, maybe I can't draw, but I can't sign my name." The next week when Vashi walked into art
015class, she was surprised to see what was hanging above her teacher's desk. It was the little dot she had drawn. Her dots all framed in swirly gold. I can make a better than that. She opened her neverbefor set of watercolors and set to work. Resty painted and painted a red dot, a purple dot, a yellow dot, a blue dot. The blue mixed with the yellow. She discovered that she could make a green dot. Vashi kept experimenting lots of little dots and many colors. If I can make little dots, I can make big dots, too. Vasti splashed her colors with a bigger brush on a bigger paper to make bigger dots. Vasti even made a dot by not painting a dot. At the school art show a few weeks later, Vast's many dots made quite a
016splash. Vasti noticed a little boy glanting up at her. "You're a great artist. I wish I could draw," he said. I bet you can, said Vashi. Me? No, not me. I can't draw a straight line with a ruler. Vosi smiled and handed the boy a blank sheet of paper. Show me. The boy pencil shook as he drew his line. Vasti stared at the boy's wiggle and then she said, "Please sign it." The end. Thanks for reading with me. Goodbye. >> I'm just gonna use my teacher voice. >> And let's see where it will take you for the next minute or so. You can explore and play on that little area inside the frame. If you want to trade colors or come and change colors, I have a box here with a little bit more variety
017if you'd like it. And we're gonna make you sign these, too. >> Yes. And then you're going to sign it when you're finished. >> And I'm hanging them in the hallway. >> So, this actually marks um International DOT day, which was September 15th. Um this is also National Arts and Education Week. This is a nationally recognized week. Um talking about the arts and education and student success in every measure. Um the arts is one of those things that doesn't have scores that we can measure, but these are some of the things that we we strive to include in our programs. It's high academic achievement. Um there's proven facts that our education programs increases test scores and graduation rates. um workforce readiness, building creativity and collaboration with students, student wellness, providing emotional outlets and supportive communities
018for our students, and ensuring that all students have access to transformative learning experiences. Um you'll find the philosophy of our art department fits with the book that we just was just read to you where art is really about the individual and every student can be an artist. So, we're going to make you sign your pieces. So, grab a marker where you can sign these with because I've heard many of you say to me before, "Oh, Melanie, I cannot draw a stick figure." And I know you can. You are all artists. And that's the philosophy that we really lead with in our art programs. >> There's no mistakes. So the K5 art curriculum, it's a standardsbased curriculum as Diana mentioned. Um we have new standards from 2017. Um I was actually on the standards writing committee
019for those for both the visual arts and the media arts as well. Um our K5 elementary curriculum focuses on these standards and incorporates connections with both math and literacy um in our classroom experiences. The art teachers use art collections and engaging books with our students like the dot that we just looked at. Um the crayons go back to school. You will see some of these crayons around Eagle Elementary School as you walk around. Um and the king of kindergarten was another one that we worked on with our K students as well. Our kindergarten program at the elementary school um is very experiential experience based for our students. We focus on letting the students create things that they are comfortable with creating. So this is a choice-based program where the students will build upon their skills.
020But you'll notice many of these things have similarities with one another, but we allow students to work at their own pace with different projects with different materials. So it's a very choice-based curriculum, but focusing on those standards that we want to keep for each grade level. And we can work with things like we have the dot philosophy um is incorporated by all of our art instructors. They utilize shape rec recognition to teach various art forms and things like weaving, sewing, fine motor skills of print making and in some cases at the top the students were actually learning some quilling too. Um so many of our programs focus on those fine motor skills that they learn in the art program. Collaboration is also a key to our program. We develop students communication skills with one another.
021You'll see many projects where not one student works on something but many students work on them together. Uh the collaboration promotes social and emotional learning with our students. The working together, the students create empathy. They have respect for one another's ideas and perspectives. And they also learn to navigate conflicts and solve problems by working together in groups. And these are just a few of the pieces that were in the elementary art show at the end of the year that the students worked on. Um the students used the choice in their elementary curriculum to foster creativity, autonomy, and critical thinking. Um they explore their individual interest. Um this was from the faculty show that was at the public library in the spring. You'll see on the left that's a pen and ink drawing by one of
022our art teachers, Gwen Kavachic. She inspired the students to create architectural pro architectural drawings and you'll notice that the students did them in many different ways inspired by the topic of what is your home. So it the differentiated instruction meets the diverse needs of all of our students allowing them voice and choice within their art programs. And we've also worked on a new program review with our program as well. Um, so we're embracing these new ideas. Um, one of the other things that I did want to point out is I know that you have your school boards association conference coming up. Uh, we have many of our students will have artwork in that exhibit that you will see when you go there. And one of our students actually won the high school contest. Um, this
023is Riley McCannernney's piece. Um, Riley's piece will be featured on all of the publications that come to you as the uh at the conference. So, you will see her artwork as well. Um, this is one of her largescale paintings that's in the permanent collection at the high school. If you go up the stairs, right above where you normally have your board meetings in the high school, you'll see this painting hanging in the hallway. So, we're really thrilled that Riley is representing our program at the school boards association. So, um, she's actually in college. She's at Syracuse University. She's studying aerospace engineering. So, she couldn't be here tonight. Um, but our program review, we went through and worked on this all of the last year, focusing on our programming and it incorporates many of the things
024that we talked about tonight. Um, just this philosophy of making sure that our students have lots of choice within their program and learn these collaborative skills within our within our program. So, do you have any questions for us or the art teachers before we close today? Is there anything? >> I'll let I'll let the teachers talk about that. Anything? All right, we're good. >> And both Shaya and Emily have come to us in the last This is Shaina's first year here and Emily's first year here. Um, oh, third year here. I'm sorry. >> Fourth year, >> just yesterday. But, you know, one of the things that they always talk about is how supportive the art program is here. Um, you support having an art supervisor here that can work with them on individual instruction. You
025support many of their programs. Emily's presented at the National Conference several years in a row. Um Shane is presenting at the New York State Conference. So having those we have some really great art teachers that not only teach what they're doing, they're teaching this to other teachers around the state and around the country, too. So, you know, we really are a a force here in Bethlehem for art education in New York State. >> Any other questions? >> Thank you, Melanie. >> Thank you. Are we getting prizes for those? >> That might be my only other question is what's happening with those? >> Is the facilities presentation interactive? >> We're going to go hang these up. Uh >> oh. >> Where are you hanging them up? Uh, next our second presentation this evening is um the
026report out on the uh zones of attendance committee. >> Good evening. Uh I'm Ted. I'm the vice president and general manager for Tyler Technologies and I want to apologize. I don't have anything nearly as exciting as Bashi's dot. So bear with me uh for about the next 10 minutes here and we'll we'll get through an update on the uh the zone of attendance. uh report. As a 40-year resident of the district, I'd like to start by thanking the board and the district administration and the teachers for providing just phenomenal education experiences for our students over the years. Both my children spent their entire K12 careers here at Bethlehem. They receive phenomenal educations that benefit them to this day. So my sincere thank you to the board. Also, as a resident of the community, we have
027a vested interest in making sure that this project is successful and achieves its intended outcome uh which is to deliver uh a goal or deliver a result that balances the needs of the district, the teachers, and the community. And so tonight, uh, we're going to walk through, uh, the following agenda. First, we'll we'll talk about why we're here. Why are we talking about zones of attendance and making changes to those perhaps? I'll introduce you to the team, some of whom are here with us tonight, uh, who are going to help guide us through this process. Uh, we'll talk about the activities that we've gone through to date, the approach that we're going to use to get to some of the recommendations, and then the timeline. And I promise that we'll leave time for questions at
028the end. I am going to ask that you hold your questions so I can get through of material first. And then the last thing I want to do is assure everybody here maybe who's watching online that there have been no decisions made about any potential changes in enrollment zones at this time. The goal of the committee and the consulting team is to be uh incredibly intentional and transparent in the process that we're going to follow. We want to make sure that we get community feedback and community buy in into what we do. Uh and be very clear about the process that we're going to follow to get to any recommendations. So why are we here? Why are we talking about role or zones of attendance? I think there's four or five areas that lead us
029to to taking a look at this. The first is that enrollment is changing. The district enrollment, as you know, has declined over the last 10 years, but through a series of circumstances is looks like it might be starting to grow again. Uh those enrollment changes have led to differences in building capacity, building usage. So, some elementary schools are under capacity, some are at or over capacity. uh and that has really happened as a result through co uh we also have program equity differences and that's not necessarily a bad thing. It just means that not every program the district has to offer is offered in every building and that could be the result of just a critical mass of students who need that particular program in that school. What is happening is that we're seeing some
030transportation efficiencies where students are being transported across the district to get access to these programs or to reduce overcrowding and balance class size. And that is an you know we like to try to work on that problem too. For for reference what you see behind you there is the this graphic which shows the current zones of attendance for the district. uh those are in the color shaded areas and then the dots show where the various school buildings are located. And so what we what we know about the district from a demographic or geographic perspective is we have some rural areas of the district that make it hard and and create long bus times. We have some more densely populated areas. Uh and we also were seeing some things where folks like myself and my wife
031uh the empty nesters were staying in the district longer and so neighborhoods aren't turning over as long as frequently and that's led to some of these changes that we're seeing. There invariably end up being five competing priorities that the team and the and the committee are going to try to balance. And let's just work from left to right here. The first is class size, right? Um, we all know that there's ideal class sizes and there's a lot of passion around what is the right class size, where can I be effective as a teacher based on class size. Um, but there's also school equity as we talked about. Not every program is offered in every building and how do we balance that? We talked about transportation efficiency, trying to figure out the right way to minimize
032the ride times, minimize the mileage, work with the capacity of the district's fleet. We obviously want to minimize movement, right? Uh it's a very emotional decision to change an enrollment value. People have made selections on their houses based on where they think they might go to elementary school. Uh but the last thing we're going to try to balance is that if we do have to make changes to boundaries, we want to be sensitive to the neighborhoods and make sure that we're moving neighborhoods, not one to children. We want to keep children with their peers and their friends uh if we do end up having to make changes. The team that we've assembled has a wide variety of backgrounds to address the different needs here. U in addition to myself, we have Tim Ammon who is
033part of the Ammon Consulting Group, Tyler Technologies and Tim Ammon have worked together for 25 plus years. Tim has completed over 400 different projects like this and uh is a great asset to have uh on the team. With us here tonight is Dr. Ross Habber. He's in the audience. Uh Dr. Haber has a long uh experience both as an educator and as a consultant working on over 250 projects like this around the Northeast. Doug Hamlin is also part of the team. Doug is my predecessor at Tyler, a former resident of the school district. and we brought Doug onto the team out of retirement to help provide some continuity for maybe some of the past decisions that were made. And then we also have uh Jenny Denmore who's here tonight. Jenny's been with Tyler 10 years,
034has completed over 300 consulting engagements, and it'll be Jenny's job to come up with the transportation scenarios once we've looked at the enrollment changes that we might need to make. In addition to the committee or to the consulting team, the district has thoughtfully assembled a 28 member committee uh to work with the team and so that there's input into the project from all the various stakeholder groups. So we have district administration represented. We have district or building administration, teachers and parents from all of the elementary schools and we also have two members from the high school. So far, the committee has looked at the uh enrollment projections developed by the capital uh district regional planning commissions and have tried to align those with the current district enrollment. We're going to wait until we get the
035final numbers here at the end of the month and sync those up. Uh we've also looked at the current and proposed building and development projects and their potential impact on future enrollments. Uh Tim and Dr. Habber have done a facility walkthrough and analysis to make sure that what is classrooms are actually being used for is what's shown on on the plans and evaluated programs and inventory the programs that are being offered in each building. So we know the constraints the facility constraints and program constraints that we have to work with. And then as uh Superintendent Monroe mentioned, we've had the first meeting of the zone of attendance committee where we reviewed the project approach. We gathered some initial feedback and we had some discussion around some initial prioritization of those five elements that we talked
036about on the previous slide. The approach that we're going to follow uh will take us from where we are tonight to hopefully coming back here in December with the board uh having some decisions to make and some options to evaluate. In addition to some of the things that we've talked about already, uh Dr. Dr. Haber and and his team will be working on disagregating or breaking down the enrollment projections below the district level down to the building and carrying those out through the study period. Uh another important task that we have uh will be starting soon is working on the enrollment boundaries and the neighborhood boundaries. Meaning we want to identify the sort of unofficial boundaries uh the neighborhoods that we all kind of know and make sure that they're reflected. We'll need a lot
037of community input and committee input to get that done accurately. Once we have all that data gathered and that baseline established, the next step in October will be to begin to model some of the options. One of the things that came up at the committee meeting was to look at class size options. We talked about how the current class size target at the elementary school might be in the 18 to 20 student range. We need to model what a 20 to 22 class size would look like or a 22 to 24 student class size. What would be the impact if we looked at that? We know there's a trade-off, right? Those five wheels are all interrelated, right? There the teachers have thoughts around what is the ideal class size where they can still be effective.
038Um in October we'll also uh look at the neighborhood planning units and taking those disagregated enrollment projections. We now need to carry those down to that neighborhood cell level. Right? If we're going to move a group of uh houses from one boundary to another, what will that actually mean in four or five years from now? And then as I said, we need to model the transportation impact of all this. So we have a lot of work to do in October and a lot of models to put together and try to evaluate. Our goal in in November is to come back and present our findings so far. Uh show you some of the options that we've been studying. Uh it's also also our intent to have some committee or community feedback sessions where we will present
039the neighborhood boundaries to the committee or to the community get their feedback on it. We will also have some options for them to look at, some potential scenarios of changes uh to get their feedback and input on those. And then we hopefully will be back here in December with our final recommendations to the board for you to decide and contemplate. Some of the things that we talked about at the committee meeting last week again were the enrollment discrepancies, uh the change in boundaries, class size, and capacity. you know, super important factors, right? We may want to, you know, maybe a 22 to 24 student class size would minimize the the enrollment boundary changes, but maybe the classrooms can't accommodate that many students in one classroom. Finally, the last thing that we talked about uh at
040the committee meeting was supporting the families. If indeed we do have to make some changes, what can we do as a board and as a community to support these families as they go through this transition? Those will be some tough changes. We talked about keeping neighborhood boundaries intact. I know in the past we've looked at creating some grandfathering scenarios. And so I think it'll be up for the committee and this board to figure out what are the right ways to support the committee or the community as we move forward on some of those proposed changes. So the the immediate next steps that we're going to take are evaluating the class size impacts like I discussed, identifying and starting to socialize or get feedback on the neighborhood boundaries. Um having the the committee prioritize those five
041areas that we talked about. What is going to be most important? Is it class size? Is it minimizing the transportation? Is it minimizing the enrollment boundary changes? I think it's important that the committee weigh in on that. have a transparent and healthy debate about that and come up with some final recommendations and then we'll also as I said wrap up the the next steps here in October working on some uh boundary options who has questions questions over here [Music] >> so when you're you're assuming I mean, I I know that minimizing the moves is one of the sort of the priorities, and it sounds like um you're looking for input about how to weight those different priorities um in terms of, you know, which one, you know, obviously takes precedence over the other. Um when
042when you're let's say that you were redrawing lines, is it always the the idea or the goal to you keep them some I mean, I assume you keep them somewhat contiguous. >> Absolutely. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Yeah. Yeah. there there uh I don't think there's a a reasonable case at this point where you would have a non-ontiguous enrollment boundary. There isn't a let's say a geographic boundary >> or you know major railroad or highway or something like that where where it would make sense to to uh to not have continuous batteries. >> Okay. Thank you. Could you speak a little bit more about what you mean by program equity differences? >> Sure. So, um, and I'm gonna get a little bit out of my depth here, but I I'll give one example. Uh, I believe
043there is a, uh, new English learner program that is only in three of the elementary schools at this point. >> Right. That I can clarify that. So, some of our one of the discussions that came up in the committee meeting was that ENL currently is only offered in three of our buildings and not five. And that's done uh because that's generally where the majority of the ENL families reside. Those are our three larger buildings. Um we've talked about does it make sense to have the ENL population across all five buildings? Does that make sense from a staffing standpoint as well? We also have some special education programs that are in only certain buildings because of the smaller population of the cohort of those students. So there are differ there's different reasons for why those um
044decisions have been made. So looking at all of that as we look at this just makes sense. >> Yeah. Yeah. And and it it plays into the enrollment projections for the buildings, right? So we have to allocate classrooms for those programs. We now are transporting kids or students purposefully across enrollment boundaries to attend those programs. >> I'm really interested um if you would expand a little bit on public information and outreach sessions. That might not be the phrase you used, but kind of what you might have in mind there or or any any more information there. >> Sure. Um, our intention at this point and and I can see this evolving over the next 60 days, uh, is to solicit feedback on the neighborhood boundaries to make sure that everybody is in agreement that that
045the a neighborhood or what we call a planning cell is appropriately defined and we're not cutting and I'll throw out an example here, Haswell Farms in half, right? Haswell Farms is a pretty tight community. Um, it makes sense for a whole host of reasons just for the way the transportation would work that students would go to the same elementary school who live in Hazard for example. Uh so we want to get public feedback on the definition and the drawing of those lines. Um I think it's also important too that we present some of the initial scenarios to the public um if there is indeed going to be enrollment boundary changes and what their thoughts are are going to be around that. >> Thank you. I think one request that I would put to the team
046working on this is um doing everything we can to make sure that there are Zoom options or online options in addition to inerson options for those feedback sessions because I know >> um and and I know hybrid is hard. Maybe that's not the way to do it. Perhaps it's two different, you know, time periods or something. But um but just to provide different ways for members of the community to provide that feedback. >> Great idea. Thank you. >> We'll see what we can do. Other questions? >> Okay, thank you very much. >> Thank you very much. See you next month. [Music] >> And our third presentation this evening is a followup u presentation on our future bond project plans. So I'll turn it over to Nick. >> Thank you and good evening. Uh, first I'd
047like to introduce um we do have our construction team here, our design team. Uh, Drew Jones from Ashley McGrath, Katherine Wolf from Ashley McGra, Mike Collins from Turner Construction who's uh doing our pre-refer pre-referendum estimating, and Brian Bodner from the district. Um, so we left the last meeting uh talking about a couple of items that I wanted to follow up on and provide information to uh the board of education and to the public. uh the first being the updated scope list um that that um we have been working on and the I don't I can't say final pricing but the most up-to-date pricing based on some work that we did since the last meeting. Um the updated final scope list uh really the updates uh we're we're still tracking we are at 138 we combined
048one um so we're at 137 scope elements that include the high priority items only the only two two changes to the scope I mentioned the u we combined one and we added the air conditioning to the middle school facts and the high school music G100 space. Um, after th those changes, we were able to spend the time with our uh consulting engineers walking through every building, looking at all of our HVAC and determining what strategy we're going to take to air condition the spaces that that we previously discussed. After doing so, uh, we learned a couple of things that some of our strategies may or may not work because some of the equipment is obsolete. So, we're able to update our pricing with those items and our current overall pro projected estimate is 58,545754. Um,
049real quickly, I'm don't plan on going through all of these, but I wanted to present them so that folks could see them if there was any questions. Uh, these are the scope elements listed uh for the elementary schools and then again for the middle school, high school, and the remainder of our buildings. which include transportation and operations and maintenance. Um before I move on from these, does anybody have any questions on the scope elements list? Thank you. So we our our big concern right now is our our schedule and phasing. As we discussed uh last meeting, uh we determined that um this is a three-year project due to the scope and complexity of the work. Um, we cannot fix fit $60 million worth of construction uh especially with the type of work we're doing into
050a two summer project. There's just not enough time um and not enough manpower out there. So, the team got together and we recommended the work be uh completed in two phases. And what I mean by phases, it's not we're going to do this in one phase and that in the other. It's really the bid packages. Um, we're recommending two separate bid packages for the same three-year period. Um, and that's a strategy that we're looking at to try to get two different general contractors, electric, electrical contractors, and so on so that we get twice the manpower working on all of our scope elements at the same time. One company most likely doesn't have the staffing and manpower to complete these 137 elements in this this tight time frame. So it's way too large of a project
051or we we project that it is. We're not saying but that's one of our strategies and one of our recommendations. So to do that phase one um again it it's interchangeable with package package one phase one it's not a timing thing it's a dollar thing. So phase one would be uh approximately 26 million866. Um and then we would put that in one bid package and bid it out. And then we phase two would be the remainder the 17678. Okay. And if you did the math you'd say that that doesn't add up to 58 and and change. And that's because this construction is just the hard cost the actual construction work. It does include the incidental costs such as architectural fees, consulting fees, uh furniture fixtures and equipment. Okay. So, um this is right now as
052we stand this is another strategy and uh it's a recommendation that we would make. Um the timing of the phasing and the bidding will be developed as we progress as we near that once we have approval. uh the big topic here and and the the biggest concern we have is uh the elementary instructional space uh renovations. So in other words, the classrooms and the elementary schools. That's uh our big theme for this project. Um and it's a long time coming. We have not done this work in the last two capital bound projects um quite frankly because it's very hard. It's very expensive. Um but we feel that it's necessary to get us into the 21st century. So the the classroom work and I'm going to get into a little more detail but generally will take
053three to six months to complete and it depends on which building and I will go through that shortly but I would like the board of education to understand what the challenges are when we talk about classrooms. The first thing is um we have hazardous material that is in in good shape. However, we have to abate that before we can do any work. Uh that includes the the sink basins, the floors, the walls and ceilings. Not all classrooms and all buildings have these situations, but many of them do. Um, the casework, and what I mean by casework is the the the sinks that are in the classrooms that include the bubblers, they have to be abaded before we can remove them. Um, so one of the challenges we ran into last bond project was the lead
054time of the actual replacement casework or the countertops to to put that in perspective. All right. So our plan was we were going to abate it in April. We were going to have them come in, demo it, measure it. We order it. We would not have gotten them in that that actual calendar year. So we had to forego doing this work. So the casework is a substantial part of the time it takes to complete a a elementary classroom. Uh high school classrooms don't have the sinks and bubblers or the bathrooms within the space. Um the other challenge we have is something as simple as that case work. That's why I use it as an example is to take that to to replace that case work. We have multiple prime contractors. That means we have the
055plumbing contractor that has to come and do the disconnect. There may be a an electrical outlet nearby. So we have to wait on the electrician and then the general contractor comes in and does their thing. So um it takes a bit of time. Just something that simple. Um, the other thing that I would like to mention is that Ellismeir and Glenmont have major abatement work that needs to be completed prior to any renovation within the room. Um, several of our buildings h still have the uh asbestous containing floors. Uh, again, they're in in great shape, but since we're touching the wor room, we're taking that opportunity to abate that floor, get rid of that hazardous material, and get it off of our Hera list. Um, Glenmont also has major hallway work to incorporate into the
056classroom renovations because we are touching the space. Um, the cubbies are currently in the hallways and they jut into the classrooms. Since we're touching the space by code, we have to now fix that problem. We're grandfathered right now, but it does not meet code uh fire rating for an egress pathway. So the design team and and the construction team, we've incorporated, hey, it's going to take x amount of time to do this work. And we actually invert it. We bring the cubbies to within the classroom and we put up a rated wall. Additionally, as I proceed, you're going to see that um we're not just talking about the uh classrooms when we do these block schedules. We're going to do proximal spaces uh that are peripheral. If there's a bathroom, obviously next to the classroom,
057we're not going to not include that in the project um that portion of the project or that phase and um the uh kitchens, uh cafeterias, things like that. So, I'll get to that in in a moment. So, here we have um a simplified uh block schedule that begins in the uh spring of 2027 if the referendum passes. Um, and I'm going to have to look at my notes because I can't see up there. But, um, we can look at this in detail. I have it in, uh, text version here in a minute if we don't want to look at that. But, as you can see, um, what I try to demonstrate here is starting in uh, two 2027 that this would run us all the way to December of 2029. So, that would be three
058full summers plus work in between. Um, real quickly, uh, I'll give you some examples. Ellir first floor classrooms, there's nine total. Um, excuse me one second. The that's a six-month project, and I'm going to get to that as to why those classrooms are six months and maybe slingins are only three months. Okay. 2028, Ellir, let me do this and make it easy for everybody because that's what I'm speaking to. um Ellir had um you know in 2028 we start in uh the summer and we do Ellir's second floor classrooms and finish that off. All right. Um and then again in 28 we take care of half the classrooms at Glenmont um half the classrooms at Hammerril and then half the classrooms at Slingerlands. All right. Additionally at Slingerlands we're going to do the kitchen um
059in in one phase and then in 2029 we'd be doing the cafeteria. So, we flip-flop that. Okay. Um, and I'm going to get to that. I I promise I'm talking quickly. There's a lot of information up there, and I'm going to illustrate it for you in just one moment. So, um, this is our first and and I don't want to say stab at it, but our first look knowing what we know at this moment. Um, there's still variables associated with that with this. That's will we have two sets of contractors? Does the winning contractor or approved contractor have the staff to do as we are presenting here? We believe so. So, this is the direction we're proceeding in. So, to illustrate um what we just talked about at Ellir, for example, the area shaded in
060red are the classrooms that are going to be affected by construction in this bond project. Um, so all of the classrooms with the exception of the art room that's already been done up here and the three bathrooms will be touched in classrooms one, two, and three down here. Um, those are the only classrooms that aren't being touched. Everything else in red is being touched. That's why we have to phase this. Okay. Uh, additionally, I shaded in blue. This is the LMC that is getting a full renovation and we're still working on when we would I don't want to use the term lump, but when we would include that in which phase. Okay. So, we we we still have a slide puzzle here to put together and present to the board, but that would be down
061the road once we have approval and we get into our design so that we know exactly what we're doing. Right. Oops. I got to switch hands here. Um, next we have uh Glenmont Elementary School. And you can see that the the main focus is the back wing or the fifth grade wing I believe it's known as. In addition, the uh two musical music spaces up here. Um and then again I have the cafeteria that is shaded in blue because when we did our walkthrough, we learned that um it has a hard ceiling and then to be able to air condition it, we actually have to take the ceiling out. Um because we're disrupting the cafeteria. I wanted to present that and let folks know that that that's not as simple as, oh, we changed the
062air handler in the penthouse and now we have air conditioning. So, we have to change the duck work. Anybody that's interested, if we cool that duck work and we don't insulate it, it will condense and drip all over the place. Okay? So, this duck work, as you see in here, this space is um scheduled for air conditioning. We have to wrap all of the duck work that you see, the spiral duct everywhere. If not, it will condense and drip all over the floor when we have the cold air coming through. Wrong one. Um, over at Hammer, again, you can see we're we're talking uh about a lot of classrooms in our elementary schools. Um, the entire long wing here, which includes the art and music spaces. Um, we we plan on splitting those in half
063and doing one half in one summer and one half the other the next. Additionally, we have a a space that uh the principal has requested to recover or reclaim. It's currently used as storage and we have a need for a psychologist office over there. So, we'll be touching this area here as well. And then in the blue, we have uh scheduled a main office renovation um and the gymnasium or cafeterium. It's the cafeteria and gymnasium combined. Um uh refinishing the floors, paint, ceiling, and lighting. and the buildings that are applicable also includes our air conditioning. Okay, I think my battery died. All right. Um, next we have Slingerlands. Uh, Slingerlands is our least challenging as far as classrooms because of the quantity. There's only six in this area. However, we have a larger challenge with
064our cafeteria and our kitchen renovation. So, again, we plan on splitting three classrooms in the kitchen. one phase three the balance of the three classrooms and the cafeteria in the next phase along with the the two uh student bathrooms that are in dire need of renovation. Is there any questions on uh the the diagrams? Okay, next we we um moving on to we've seen this slide before. There's been a couple of things that um did get updated. Um, you know, we're looking at our challenges that we face. Um, obviously the the limited swing space. Um, we we've been talking with administration. The presentation uh that was before this may assist in our abilities once we get a little further along in the fall here. I think it's December. We'll know, you know, student population and
065and zoning, etc. If there's any changes, it may help us. It may hinder the the project um strategy. So, we we talked about alternative solutions, second shift shift construction with the contractors, double shifts. Um, again, working with Mike and his folks and his team. Uh, Turner Construction is global. They're also very large within our region. And, you know, currently it's pretty difficult to get folks to work double shifts. Um, and depending on which trade it is, they'll work second shift no problem most of the time. So these are variables that we don't know yet. Um and then um the other strategy is temporary relocation of classes to other areas of the building. And again that that would be for example at Glenmont we have a gymnasium that has a mechanically operated partition. Uh unlike this
066we have a walk draw curtain that splits the gymnasium. we can physically put a hard barrier across and possibly have a a section of classes within the audit or correction gymnasium. So, or if there's spaces that are aren't being used or or I call them dark areas during a period uh if uh are on a car all these things um that we may be able to do within the building. However, if we can achieve that goal, there is the potential that we do have the I don't want to say the option, but we would possibly have to move some of the students to another building. Okay. Um and that again, as as the previous presenter said, nothing is in stone right now. These are options, ideas, and and variables that um we're going to find
067out as we proceed along. Um, one of the new alternative solutions, uh, thanks to Turner and and the team is the multiple prime contractor bid package idea. So, if we split this up, um, again, we don't know this moment. Do we bid them concurrently or do we bid one and then a month later bid the other? And it's really going to have, uh, we won't know that until we look at the climate and what's going on elsewhere. If there's 10 different schools going out to bid at the same time we are um you know we'll work with the team and come up with the best strategy and recommendation to the board. Um the other considerations when we look at any of these options or alternates alternative solutions is you know what is the impact to
068our transportation department. Um you know the phasing um as as I talked about some of these classrooms only take three months some take up to six months. So, do we extend that in um or affect these spaces or potentially affect these spaces in the spring or do we extend it into the fall? So, do we want the students coming back starting class then getting disrupted or do we want them in class and and going through and then starting early? We can make the change so that we don't disrupt disrupt the students flow in the program. And we would consult with the principles and and and our administration to come up with the best strategy for that. Um, and then, you know, the biggest variable I just mentioned is the contractor workforce. Um, you know, as
069we sit right now, it's pretty I'll I'll use the term pretty good out there. Um, uh, we're we're growing back from the COVID time. I know that was 5 years ago, but it's really had an impact on everything from our supply chain to the workforce. Um, I think the, um, I won't, it's not an opinion, but part of that is, you know, all these programs that, you know, the free money, everybody's got to go back to work now. And I think that's it's helping with our, uh, trades out there. So, I wanted to uh, illustrate some of our classrooms and why these take so long. I know that I I had a few folks ask me, "Well, geez, you know, to slap some paint on and, you know, do a floor and put a ceiling
070in would be pretty simple." So, um, if anybody's interested, I can tell you which building this is, but if you don't care, I can explain. But the the room on the left right here is the exact same. If you notice, um, there is nothing above about an 8ft line in this space. Okay? And the reason being is there is a coating of hazardous material from 8 foot up to about the 13 foot measure in this room. That includes the walls all the way around above the windows across and the ceiling is coated with a material that they use for insulation many years ago that is no longer authorized. So we cannot touch that for any you know there's no tack sticking in it. There's nothing drilled into it. Those light fixtures are the actual light
071fixtures probably from 1950s that have yes they've been renovated in the fixture with LED bulbs but we can't even take those down because we would disturb the hazardous material up there. So this is the exact same photo of a typical classroom at this building and this is what it looks like after we just take the asbestous out. Okay. So, we have to take it down to the bones. All right. Everything has to go, including all the plaster, all the wall material, and we're down to the studs, and as you can see, the roof deck up top. All right. In this building, um, we're going to have the board meeting will be at that site next week. I spoke with the superintendent and maybe um we'll take an opportunity to take a a little field trip
072up into the spaces um because at that building the we have one classroom that has been completed which is the one on the right before it was completed when we demoed it and then one directly next door to it that you can see. So the order of magnitude is what I'm trying to demonstrate here. This is u not just slapping a coat of paint on putting a ceiling in. So now we have um this one on the right had uh not skylights but sidelights. They provided natural light. This classroom here on the left does not. So that is one less thing that we have to deal with. But um fortunately in this photo you can see that the floor has already been taken care of. So a little less work in that space. Uh again
073at the same building this is that same classroom looking. Notice there's nothing we can do. It's very bare above the walls. The lighting is um adequate at best and the ceiling is very um uh sterile. So the picture on the right again I took advantage of our last bomb project to demonstrate to folks what it takes. So if we do have to abate a floor, we have to take it down to the bare concrete and take the mastic off the floor as well because that could contain Yes. I hate to interrupt, but I think it's actually useful with the pictures as you go along. Sorry, I hate to interrupt, but I think it's actually useful with the pictures as we go along. Can you go back to the first one you talked about? >> Yes.
074>> So, let's imagine we didn't do any of this. >> Yeah. >> What would happen to that? Like, are things going to fall off the ceiling? Are the lights going to stop working? What are the consequences we're talking about of doing nothing? >> Well, the consequences um well, there's a there's a need to have more wall space and and things like that. But the the direct answer to your question is nothing. However, if we did have any failure and we had to get into that space, we would have to shut the classroom down. >> We would have to put it under containment. We'd have to have it abaded and then we would have to have to make our repair. Then we would have to of the electrical component. Then we would have to fix the
075actual structure. So, you know, it's a very challenging and that's no different than a a floor. If I wanted to run a new electrical outlet in some of these spaces, I cannot do that unless I go through the wall at a low area because the floor has hazardous material. Even though there's a basement and the the distance is that far, I have to go all the way around because I cannot disturb that material. So, um, again, this is our oldest building within the district and it hasn't been changed since I I honestly don't know when. Um, and there's a lot we can do. But more importantly, before I forget, the these classrooms at Ellir, the second floor classrooms, this happens to be a first floor classroom. The second floor classrooms are scheduled for air conditioning.
076And as I mentioned in the past, we want to bring these 13t ceilings down to 9 ft so that we're not air conditioning all of that space up there for no reason because no one's going to reap the benefits of that. So, we're looking at the efficiencies of it. We can size our equipment smaller when we lower these ceilings and we can actually enhance our lighting. The other challenge we have in those spaces, I get asked constantly, is there anything I can do with the acoustics because it's all hard surface and children are children and it's very difficult, especially in some of our um uh special ed rooms, you know. Um it's it's very loud in there because there's a lot of stuff going on. So, we're trying to um you know, bring the ceilings
077down, treat them acoustically, enhance our air conditioning and our lighting, and have a have a better space once we're completed. And if you do go uh to Ellir, you'll see a space that's already been done and the changes that >> Okay. Um again uh I just wanted to show that something as simple as just doing the floor you know um there's the uh abatement company comes in they have to take the floor tile out and then we take it down to the bearer and then we have to take the all the mastic and then it has to be checked and and ensure that we got it all etc. But the key to this this photo right here is anything that's on the floor on top of that asbestous has to be taken out. Okay. So
078this space right here, we had to take the air the the HVAC unit off the floor because the material was underneath it. So again, that brings in, oh, I have to have the electrician come in and disconnect it. Then I have to have the HBAC guy come in and disconnect it. There's hot water piping going to it. Is that plumber? HBAC. Then we have to have somebody remove it, store it, and and or salvage it and store it. And then we have to put it back when we're done. So, it's it's it's it's a lot of work to do something that simple. Um, you know, I'm going to step out of my box a little bit, but like home. Um, picture going into your house and replacing your carpet in your living room. You know,
079it sounds pretty simple, right? They come in and they do that, but where do you put all your furniture? You have to empty that space entirely for the contractor to come in and do that. This is a little more challenging because our things are built in and they're they're fed by utilities that come from who knows where. Okay. So, um, some more classroom renovations. You know, um, this this classroom here, uh, is at another building, and I took these pictures, and from afar, you would say, "Hey, these don't look that bad." Okay. Um, but but what you're not seeing up close, and it was very difficult to demonstrate. This is a one that has a material on the wall that is failing. And this is what preventing it prevented us from doing this in the
080last Capitol bomb project. When we did some destructive testing, we learned what was behind the walls. It's it's a I still don't know what it is. It's some kind of vinyl material. Okay? And it's not actually uh structurally sound. So, we have to take that material off the wall. Then, we have to put studs in and put real walls back. So, when you look at this classroom, it's all shiny. It was taken the day before school opened at or the week before school opened when the custodians went in and the short floors are shiny and everything. But what you will see is it's an exo exposed ceiling with a tectum deck. Um the lighting again the lighting is poor. Um these light fixtures were retrofitted once in 2016 with LED strips. Um it's not there's
081no dimmability, none of that stuff. So, it's either on or off, and they're not actually laid out properly for for teaching. Uh, the walls were the big uh challenge in this uh particular building. Um, what I want you to see, and I know it's difficult, and I apologize, but this is the backside of the cubbies. My next photo, this is just the backside of the cubbies that are jutting from the hallway into the classroom. And I had mentioned that. So, I'm going to jump to the next slide. And here is the hallway side. And those cubbies, when we do this room, we can no longer have this. You can't have it due to code. So, we're going to flip-flop that. But before we flip-flop it, we actually have to put a rated wall from here
082all the way down. Okay. And then I also strategically took this picture because the door also doesn't meet it. Uh state requirements. There's no glazing in the no glass in the door. Uh typically there's a quarter light or half light because SEDD requires that there be visibility into a classroom. Okay. So um and then the the last picture here on the right for this particular building um I wanted to show you the the status of this is what we look at. Okay, these blinds um I don't know how old they are. They are metal and they're not standard and we are phasing them out as they fail. Um, however, this building has a plethora of those. We refer to those as window treatments. U, but more importantly is the casework. Um, the color selections back
083then. Um, I guess it was a different era. Um, I'm thinking like Austin Powers era. Um, they're really interesting colors, but you can see the doors are long since gone and they're using curtains and curtain rods instead of doors because there aren't any. Um the faces of the drawers and the cabinets are delaminating and you know we repair them to the best of our ability but some of these are very far gone. Um some classrooms we've actually had to replace them um in an ad hoc manner to keep program going in there. Uh again uh this this these classrooms this is another building. Uh again overall it doesn't look too bad. Um however um the the what I want to show is uh we did do some work in the ceiling area here. This is
084when we put the ventilation in in the last bond that it literally had no ventilation other than the uh heating component and these are exhaust fans that draw fresh air through the space via the unit ventilator in there. The lighting again is is uh poor and the classroom layout is also a challenge. But most importantly in this photo is these are the cubbies. And these cubbies um also act as the return air grills for the air handling equipment. And I don't want to get into the weeds, but air handling equipment is you take your fresh air, it goes through a fan just like at your house. it comes back via return air and gets treated whether it's heated or whether it's cooled or whether we're just running it in a circle to ventilate the space
085and provide fresh air to the uh the people. I don't know how that was okay but these doors where the students put their materials have slots in them and the air gets drawn out of the classroom through their clothing. They make great filters and then it goes back to the air handling equipment. So it's it's actually quite remarkable and we have to fix that. That's not okay. And they're in in quite a disrepair over the last 30 or 40 years of use. So in this space right here, um these are supply air all the the large round pipe and then you can see on the wall right there is a return air grow. That's what I was trying to say. The return air is going through their lockers inside the classroom. So, the design team's
086going to come up with a uh a super plan, I'm sure, to uh alleviate that and come up with real cubbies within the space. Um, again, this is the same building. Um, it's really hard to see on this screen in particular, but um this case work is completely um past its useful life. These sinks are all uh sink area is all delaminated and um that's it's kind of not repairable unless we decide to buy laminate and really become a cabinet shop at O and M. Um I mentioned about having to abate the sink. This sink basin is coated with a asbestous material. It's a spray. They sprayed it so that if you had cold water or hot water, it doesn't condense and go and leak underneath and cause mold and mildew within the the cabinet.
087So this was uh you know kind of showing you what we're dealing with and this case work doesn't match that casework. Somebody made these and stuck them on top. And again the design team after meeting with the stakeholders are looking at our storage needs and the layouts of the classrooms to best suit the needs of the the teachers and the program. Um again we have another classroom. Excuse me. Um, this is back one. So, this is another building and you can see again extremely high ceilings. Okay. Um, and you can't see it in this, but this is a black and brown asbestous containing material floor. So, it's it's kind of like awful. Uh, it's very shiny right now, but it's it's really bad. And this is a typical classroom within uh within this building. As
088you can see, we don't have the ceiling and wall asbesus problem that we did in another building. But this classroom is it's it seems very busy and the materials are stuffed in there. This is looking toward the the teaching uh or the front of the classroom if you will. And then this is looking toward the back and the storage is uh not adequate for the teachers. And I want you to notice that this classroom uh had a a need um and it's got an air conditioner located up here, but it's augmented by an air conditioner that's going out the window as well. So, you know, again, we have an air conditioner, the ceilings are so high, it really doesn't do anything for the space, so we had to add an auxiliary one. Um, so to
089modernize these spaces, um, lay it out a little better, our storage, um, the I shouldn't say there's hooks in the wall instead of cubbies at this particular location. So, we need to get those hooks off the wall to meet code and we need to get the students uh, belongings and stuff within the classroom. All right. And this is the same building uh, a different classroom. But again, I just wanted to give you an overall general impression of why we need to update these spaces. Um, again, the floors are shiny, but they're black and brown. Um, again, who picked the colors? Um, okay. So, now we're coming down to the financials. I'm going to come back and answer any questions that anybody would have, but I'd like to turn it over to John McFillips and uh,
090he can go through the financial aspects. Thank you. >> Thanks, Nick. I'll be brief. Um so at present the recommended project total is roughly 58.5 million. Based on the off uh the business office analysis we're recommending funding of that project total through two different type of funding streams. First and foremost the use of the available funding that we have in the 22 capital reserve which we anticipate to be roughly around $16.6 million. uh that will be most of the available 22 capital reserve uh that we have booked. That figure is still subject to audit, but I'm pretty sure it may go up a few thousand here or there, but that's a pretty firm number in terms of the available funding we'll have for that specific reserve. The balance of the project funding will come from
091the issuance of both short-term and long-term debt of just under $42 million. That $42 million translates into a principal and interest payment. Britney, can I get next slide, please? Sorry. There you go. That $41.9 million translates to just over $55.6 $6 million in terms of both principal and interest over the course of what we're assuming will be a 15-year term of the payback period. The district's current building aid ratio is roughly 71.8% 8% which when you apply that to the total project cost gets you uh to a budgetneutral u perspective on the overall project on the long-term debt issuance because we're using again $16.5 million in available cash almost our savings account. Whatever we're borrowing between both the principal and the interest amount will be offset by uh the state aid building aid ratio as
092it is today. Our future debt service payments for the 25 capital project which we're discussing today are expected to be somewhat consistent with the existing debt service payments from prior capital projects that were paying over the course of the time today. In fiscal year 2930, we have a large amount of old debt that matures that will clear the way for the new debt payments in 3031. So what will happen from an operational budget p uh perspective is that we have principal and interest payments built into our operating budget. Those will come off for the as the old debt matures and is paid off. that will be replaced with roughly the same amount of debt that we're issuing for the 2025 capital project. The reason this is important and provides some consistency in the budget development
093and the calculation of the allowable tax levy under the property tax cap law. The goal of the business office is to try to stem the eb and flow of principal and interest payments on payment of debt service that drives um other budget considerations. uh in terms of program equipment needs and what have you. It's trying to maintain some level basis point. >> So you're talking about debt service payments but we're also assuming state a would match that basically exact amount. >> Yes. >> If I'm interpreting correctly whether or not we issue this bonding system would actually make no to how much the district was spending in a given year. Is that am I hearing that correctly? >> As it is now based now the state aid ratio can change from one year to the next.
094The debt service payments may change because I don't I can't for uh necessarily anticipate what the street will charge in terms of interest rate, what our bond rating will be. What I can tell you today is based on the information I have, it's it's a budget neutral um position in terms of the issuance of the debt, not necessarily in terms of the total project cost. Because when you look at a 55, let me go back here, a 58.5 million project, we're paying a total debt payment of 55.6 plus savings of $16.8 8 million. So when I'm saying it's budget neutral, it's budget neutral in terms of the outlay of debt that the district will be incurring to offset the cost of the project. >> Look at if I can just as an example, you're going
095to buy a car. >> It's, you know, I don't know how what your market is for a car. $50,000. you have a $10,000 down payment that you're going to pay. That's our $16.5 million. We're going to, you know, lease or or or pay down uh a car loan of the remaining >> at an interest rate, but you're going to get reimbured. >> The state's going to pay that $400 back. >> That's right. If you find that car loan deal, let me know. So I >> I did ask our bond council um I I always like to at least put the language of the proposed proposition language um to the board as well as members of the public. There's a lot of lot of words and and language here. I did highlight a couple of um
096key u components of the proposition. It references a maximum estimated cost not to exceed 60 million. That was the figure that the board had referenced a few meetings ago in terms of what its comfort level was. The board can certainly change that up or down between now and the next meeting. Excuse me. Any change on that 60 million will sort of tweak the other numbers. It allows for the expenditure of the $16.6 million in the capital reserve uh along with a principal amount not to exceed the $43.4 million. That's only to get you back up to the 60 million. But I did include some language for the board's consideration to allow use of operating dollars or unappropriate fund balance if it so chooses to sort of take the sting out of the debt um issuance
097if if need be because we're we're By the time we're issuing debt, it's going to be four or five years down the road. We'll be issuing some bond anticipation notes in the first instance. We're certainly going to use our capital reserve dollars first because those are our dollars. I don't want to pay interest any earlier um or later than I absolutely have to. So, we'll use our $16.5 million until such time that funding is exhausted. will issue bond anticipation notes to probably in on an annualized basis based on the forecasted need for the project that may be $10 million one year and maybe $20 million the next, but we'll do some short-term borrowing. I'm only going to be paying interest on that. I can issue bond anticipation notes for a project up to five years
098until such point that I have to actually roll it into some long-term obligations. Then we'll issue our long-term debts so we don't necessarily negatively impact the operating budget. I can take All right. So where where where we stand today, uh the September 17th board meeting, final discussion, you know, confirm your amounts and financing. Any other uh questions for Nick and his team as well as um the architects and the construction manager. October 8th is our next scheduled board meeting at which point the board will consider and adopt a resolution similar uh or the same as the language presented earlier. The October 8th date is critical only because it drives all of the other dates moving forward. An October 8th vote uh provides time for the drafting and issuance of the public notice to the various
099um newspapers uh of record. And that provide that notice has to be issued and presented 45 days in advance of a vote which puts you to that December 2nd vote which is a Tuesday. Uh that vote will be held at the Bethlehem Central High School from the hours of 7 am to 900 pm and excuse me. Um the next meeting um will be at Elmere Elementary School. I just want to highlight that because all the other meetings are usually scheduled in the high school room D122. >> Thank you, John. Um I'm sure there are questions for one or both of you. Um, and I just wanted to Nick, just to to recap with the elementary classrooms. So, it sounds like the last time some of these classrooms were updated was in the 50s or 60s.
100>> Correct. Well, um, I would I know some of the materials in there are from the 50s. Um, you know, and some is from the 70s. Um, and there's been changes over the years, but not a a full renovation of the space again. And that's why I say ad hoc. There may have been enhancements to lighting in some but not all of the classrooms. Other than that, nothing else has been done in that space. Maybe the floor got replaced at some point, but but nothing as a whole. And each space um they generally look similar, but there's differences in every one of them. >> And when you're talking about abatement, you specifically mentioned asbestous. Is that the only thing we're talking about, or are there other things that need abating? Okay. So, that's a great
101question. So, when we do any capital project, we do a hazardous material survey. Okay. Um, knowing what we know from the last project, because we did do a hazardous material survey in these buildings, uh, specifically Glenmont, I'm going to use because we planned on doing that work until we found the issues. So, we test for uh, asbestous. We already know where it is because of the emergency hazardous uh, Aera I can never remember that acronym but we know where it is. We monitor it and we track it. So the issue is we have to to as I said before we have to abate it before we can actually touch anything. So we we verify though that if it hadn't been previously tested for example we don't know what glue is holding on that. If it's
102suspect we test it. We also test for lead. Okay. because some of our paints and we have found some at the exterior of Hammerrail for example when when tested we determined that that was lead based paint and we had to treated as such when we abated it. And then uh typically or lastly we check for PCBs. Um um you would say where would that be contained? Uh mostly in caulking materials like window caul, door sealants and some of the uh roof penetration sealants. Um, and I think that's our standard. If there's something um obvious like at transportation, we had to check the soils, but we we're not going to have a gas a gasoline leak in a classroom. So, those are automatic. We if we know we're going to touch a space, we do a
103hazardous material survey, they go through. Uh, the only building that wouldn't be affected by that is Eagle Elementary because it was our newest building and the law was already in effect. >> Okay. But we still have to fill out paperwork that says we're not and we can't just say, "Hey, we're not applicable." >> Okay. >> Katherine, you have a question. >> Um yeah, I just wanted to make sure I was understanding on the uh on the fiscal side of things, John, you had mentioned that the $16 million um appropriation from the 2022 capital reserve would be would be most of what was available. Just to fully understand are are we keeping some um in that account for future use or are you just hedging your accounting and going based on what we know for a
104draw down number? >> So presently the dollar amount in that reserve is what I anticipate the full value of the reserve to be. Okay. >> So if we were to pull that back the reserve status for capital projects would be other than a few maybe thousand dollars would be zero. However, I do anticipate at the close of 25 26 fiscal year 26 27 fiscal year moving forward any surplus funds that we have to the extent that they exist the board can consider adding them to the 2025 capital reserve that was created um specifically in the May 2025 ballot. >> Yeah. Now, with those additional funds, I won't be able to grab them to offset this project because the proposition language is is sort of uh paint you into a bit of a corner because you
105can only a use the reserve dollars that you have coupled with once the money is in, I need voter authorization to take it out. So, if we were to put $5 million in the 2025 capital reserve at the end of the 2526 fiscal year, I would need voter authorization to take those dollars out for whatever purpose may be needed. Now, the board can certainly come back to the voters and say rather than issuing $41 million worth of debt, I want to rather I'd rather use some more savings, but that would require another vote to do so. But that is an option uh for the board as well. >> Thank you for walking us through that. >> Bob, did you have a question? I did. So this sort of going off of what Holly was saying
106about the abatement. So in other words, each classrooms and I suppose sort of also kicked off by what you were saying, you know, why why do this to begin with? So in terms in addition to the abatement issues, in other words, we have some there's potential for hazardous materials. You' mentioned that, you know, some code things that have been grandfathered in and I just want you to sort of expand. I mean, what what does that mean? Just from my edification, what does it mean to be grandfathered in? Okay, I'm going to use Glenmont's um and and I I'll go back to that. Uh there the the lockers, excuse me, the cubbies in the in the hallways. So, prior to uh code changes, it was okay to have wooden exposed cubbies out in the hallways. Um
107now, you could say, well, could we keep them now? We sure could as long as we don't touch the space. But we have a need to touch the space. Therefore, we are no longer grandfathered. We have to address these cubbies. >> And and so by by the the term grandfather, what you mean is that there are construction issues that exist within these classrooms that were these build were these being built now would not be up to code. >> That is correct. >> Okay. >> And I I can share with you that um in my previous job, we had a wing of an elementary school. We actually raised the wing and built it new. state ed said you cannot put cubbies there. Um they weren't they didn't look like that. They were modern cubbies. However, we
108could not do that and we ended up having to put in lockers so as to provide them and the the little guys with the lockers. It didn't go so well. Um you know and it was a challenge for them and it was very unfortunate because we learned that way late in the project. This is years ago. I mean, >> sure, sure. I mean, and cubbies are one thing, I think. But I mean, I I guess I my understanding of code generally is there's a reason for having the code the way it is and there's safeties issues. There's there's different things that why the code has changed from 1950 to to >> in this particular one, it's fire, >> right? >> This is a path of egress and this would um meet code with our fire
109rating. And again, I can let Drew speak to that because he's the the guru on that, but you know, it's interesting that you mentioned that. Um, that yellow paper, if I'm not mistaken, in this room is actually glass behind there and it's covered up. So, the theory was back in the day, hey, we're going to let natural light and we're going to share it between the hallway and the classroom. And that that glass that's covered up is not rated glass. So, if a fire were to break out, it would it could go from the hallway in or vice versa. As well as the uh flammable materials that the uh current cubbies are made of, it's plywood. Um, that's probably got varnish on it because it's so old. Doesn't have lead based paint though. >> Thank
110you. >> You're welcome. >> Rose, did you have a question? >> Um, yeah. Uh, I was wondering the plan to renovate uh these asbestous classrooms while students are in the building seems like it might raise issues with parents. Um, is there a way that like or what's the containment plan for the suspenses or is there a way that the construction could happen while students weren't in the building? >> Good question. So, we do have the ability to do both. It's really up to the board of education and our superintendent on how we want to do that with this type of abatement. This would have to take place when the building is not occupied. Um, for example, um, when when we're doing that back hallway at Glenmont, very large space. Um, could you do it while
111we're occupied? Yes. However, your point is they see, you know, parents are dropping their their children off and they see people in white suits and respirators. Okay. So, um, it's really up to us. State said it's best if you can forego it while it's occupied however we can because there's engineering controls that can be put in place. There's air monitoring and um the the engineering controls, the air monitoring and state law we have them come out and they have to inspect it and it's very highly regulated. So the majority of what we're talking about we're recommending that we do and if you looked at that block schedule you'd see that there's not a lot of work in 27 in the classrooms actual construction within the classroom. So, we're hoping first summer we can get a
112lot of the abatement done and then and start rebuilding because again the the the abatement of the floors is minimal. It's the walls and ceilings that are very challenging. The floors take a week. Um once they're cleared, we can start putting new floors right back over top of them. It's the other items, the sinks. We would do, for example, we would do that on April break when the building is not occupied and the students are on recess because it's just a sink and we can go and get all of that done. The impact is the students no longer have a sink in there because we wouldn't actually start construction until July 1ish, you know, end of school. So, you know, these are some of the challenges that we're faced with. It's not as simple as
113just going in and and abating it. But the answer to your question is we look at these and we coordinate. Can we fit doing this abatement and then we can start the construction then? And um we've got a ways to go to develop that because we're going to be trying to figure out what our best methodology and plan is to get all of this construction um with the least amount of impact on our program and students. So, um we've already begun talks about that, but at this point it's really speculation. It's projection. We're hoping and and we believe that it can be done this way. Um, but yes, we can do it. We typically don't. We normally do it when the space is unoccupied. Just to follow on with that, sometimes if it's something minor,
114uh, for example, we're working in a ceiling and we found, oh my gosh, a pipe is there and we had no idea and we found it because it was hidden. We can do abatement in the evening and by the morning the errors are uh the final clean errors are taken. So we can do it while school's in session but typically not occupied. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Meredith you had a question. >> Um yeah so I had um a question about how long some of these projects are working are taking. Um you said for example um in Ellir the nine first floor classrooms would take from July to December. So about six months. So my question is, is that an issue of every classroom taking six months or does it take six months because you're
115doing nine of them? For example, if we did fewer number at a time, could that be done at a in a shorter time period? >> Um, I want to think about that for a moment. >> Okay. Um I'm I'm just going back through my mind and looking in my mind at the first classroom jump. >> Yeah. >> If you know the answer, please feel free to >> So I I think the the question is it six months for nine classrooms. Um let's take Ellir for example has a lot of asbestous. So if we were going to go in there and do all nine classrooms on the first floor, I would say abatement alone, which we no one else can work in there except the abatement companies, could take up to almost four weeks just to
116get abatement. And once that's done, then we got to come back in. Um I would have to say if we did less classrooms, I I don't necessarily know if it would take if we, you know, nine or excuse me, nine classrooms, we cut that in half, would that take three months? Probably not. because the abatement even though we're doing less abatement in the rooms, there's still the same kind of setup, the same kind of time to um you know, all the the pre-work that has to go into abatement. They could set up for almost three or four days in that area before they even start. Um at the end, they have to go through through the same rigors. They've got to they've got to test and clean everything. So, u the abatement piece is really
117what is what pushing uh the the the length of the work. So, I wouldn't say doing less takes a whole lot less time. >> Okay. >> Um, >> and also Mike, I think when we talked about that there would be additional cost because we're asking them to come in for let's say four rooms to do abatement in one time doing all the work than coming back and they're going to have to set up the whole uh, you know, how they have to set it up for abatement of five more rooms. So there would probably be additional costs associated with doing that versus doing them all at one time where they can kind of conceal that same that whole area. >> It sounds like there's some efficiency for just setting up once in a >> There
118is definitely an efficiency there. No rebalization costs and you can get all your you can get that that's the worst part of the of the work. Get that out of the way. Did you have an additional >> Yeah, just just to follow up on that. Um you know, John, um you were talking about uh the 60 million number being put up there. Um if we chose to raise that number, could we with more money, could we offer less disruption for our students? You know, I think all this work is so important and I absolutely agree with it. I just want to make sure we're doing everything we can to lessen the disruptions. Obviously, there's going to be a lot of disruptions, but um if there are things that we can do to make this easier
119on our students, you know, I want to know if if it is, you know, just amount just an issue of some more money um to make it less disruptive for our students. Is that something that we should contemplate? >> Um and this is really quickly if I understand your question right. If we spent more money, could we not disrupt the students and make it happen quicker? >> Um, there is the answer is yes. And the way that you would do that is to your point, we would reduce the number of classrooms that we would do in each phase. >> So, we were planning on doing this in in in three summers. Okay. Um please understand that we're only talking about the classrooms particularly because this is a uh a very important part of it but
120we have all the other work to do as well. >> Um so the way that you would do that is extend it to four summers, five summers, six summers. >> All right. and we have taken into account the uh we have a contingency set up for extending and and right now that's why the cost didn't change by us changing to three summers instead of two >> right >> because that contingency was built in for three years all right so escalation excuse me I said contingency so if we extend to four now it's going to have a financial impact so the answer is yes we could spend more money um and and increase our funds, but that would also extend us out further into another summer and so on. And and the question is um you
121know where where do we stop? Um and and I again I appreciate the concern and I I'm a parent. I had children have children. Did I say had um I am so I meant I had children in elementary schools. I'm sorry about that. I have children. I still do. uh the uh the thing that that that makes this difficult. So obviously we haven't done this you know um we were talking and I actually did the math I talked to a couple of the principles and found out you know the students spend 91.86% of their time in their classrooms and in elementary when they go out for their specials and then they get their lunch and recess. So these students are living in these spaces pretty much all day. Um, these spaces need help and they
122need love. And the reason that they got like this is because it's hard. It's challenging and and you know it's really difficult to make this happen. You know um I had the advantage in another district and I don't want to get on stories but I was able to uh due to enrollment and everything um you know we had a space we moved all the kids out and we just got the building done and put them back in. You know we literally were able to put them displace them. It wasn't in phases. It was boom and now you're back and your whole building's done. So, you know, unfortunately we don't have that luxury. We don't have the swing space here in Bethlehem. >> Can we borrow Clark's bill for a while? Is that >> Yeah. That
123joke that joke came up. >> Can I just add one thing to in regards to that? Even if we broke that down further and let's say we wanted to do them in four classrooms, five classrooms at a time, >> we would still have to there. We don't have enough. Take Ellir for example. If you said, "Let's do four or five." >> We have no space at Elmmere to relocate four or five classrooms. >> That's the reality of it. So, I think that breaking it down even smaller. I'm not sure gets us a whole lot more um except for it's going to cost more money and ex extend the time period. We just don't have that kind of capacity in each building to say shut down four or five classrooms and move them to these four
124or five. We don't have that kind of capacity, >> you know, and we're also considering the um I I term it equity. I think that's the term, but you know, if we're you do classrooms, I'm picking the number one and two the first year and then the other 11 aren't touched until the fourth year. You know what I mean? So, it's progressing. So you've got students that are being taught in modern state-of-the-art classrooms and then you still have students on the fourth year still in this 1950s vintage classroom. So, you know, we're trying to get as much done in the shortest amount of time possible so that we can actually have this the students and and the faculty realize the renovations to these spaces. Um, you know, and again, this is a it's very difficult
125and it's it's painful, um, if you will, because I would love to be able to come in and poof, overnight it's all done. Um, unfortunately, that's not how it works. Um, and and these are, uh, some of the areas are very complex. Um, it's not just putting up a sheetrock wall. The architects have to design a wall, make sure it's to rating, and remember, all this has to get approved by state as well. >> Katherine So to that end and you know Jody I'll direct this question your way there will that what I'm hearing is there will be disruptions this will be disruptive um and and I'm also hearing this will be worth it right like there that there's good reason um however how do we how do we get through this this time of
126disruptions as you point out there you know it whether you're looking at Elmir where we're looking at nine classrooms at a time or hammer where we're looking at seven classrooms at a time um that to some extent touch the school year. What's what's the thinking about how we work through this? >> Right. So, we we had the presentation about the zones and potential shifts there earlier, and I think that um I've had conversations with Tyler about that we have uh we're planning a bond project that potentially um we will have to shift uh classrooms to other buildings potentially in this. So, I think that once we make some decisions about the actual zones and we see that as Nick said, I think it could help or it could make it harder. It could help in
127some buildings because we have capacity issues for example in Eagle and Glenmont. Glenott's getting significant renovations. Having less students in Glenmont because of the shifting of zones potentially can be helpful in disrupting students. Uh at Hamigrail for example, we are looking to potentially increase their enrollment because they've declined significantly. Um so that may present more challenges. But I think once we determine that and then you know we have a proposed plan for the different classroom and phases but those I assume can be adjusted >> um you know that's kind of best thinking right now but then we would come up with a plan for um how we go about um planning those changes. So, for example, if we're thinking that there's some classrooms in an elementary school that aren't going to be ready till December
128or October, then we would determine maybe we look at the upper grade students remain in that building because there will be um classrooms that are still operational and maybe the incoming students for K who haven't been in that building yet or K and one go to another building until those rooms are ready. So, you know, I think you have to be a little bit strategic in how that how that will work, but that's really what we would have to determine and then letting families know. I mean, we have a lot of lead time before this is going to happen. So, I think certainly that we can make those plans um well in advance and let families know. >> I think just to provide some um some feedback on what you were just saying, that makes
129sense. I also think it's going to be really important to be as I could I could see people getting easily confused between if we're saying there is a temporary displacement versus this is where you will ultimately be and just being >> um both crystal clear in the planning and the presentation in the runup and then also in communications that that parents are getting in hard copy about their students placement, right? >> Um so that it is it's just as clear as possible. And then the other thing I think about um because you mentioned that you know the grades um and working to keep keep kids in their classrooms. Another thing that occurs to me is keeping cohorts together wherever we can. So if we've got you know if it's if it's possible to be and
130I don't know that this always will be but to be moving all of third grade from one school to the other school or >> so on and such forth, right? um that seems like it could be uh something to really consider as well. But I this is going to be um this be a logistical >> somebody's earning their PhD here. Um so uh so thank you for taking this on and and thinking through the various >> iterations. You did you have a question? >> Yeah, a couple and part of it was to follow up that I was just you know counting classrooms. I think you're dead right. The reason this hasn't been done by previous school boards is because it's not like we have six excess classrooms in any school. It's just the space is
131going to be really hard to find. And there are going to be there are going to be kids taking classes in what was your word? Cafeteriums. >> Cafia. Uh that kind of space or music rooms for regular classrooms or whatever. It's going to be a big chunk of disruption. >> So I think we should be really upfront about that. Um, I wanted to express my particular thanks for this evening's presentations because Nick's really helped me to understand where some of the the cost I've been a little skeptical about, right? It's not just I'm redoing my kitchen, it's 30 grand. It's okay for this kitchen that's going to cost 400 grand to renovate. Why is it 400 grand? Right? That really helped me a lot. So, thank you for that. Um, and then particularly, John, the
132state aid piece because I I'm still pretty skeptical now from my New York state taxpayer point of view that this is a a fiscally good thing to do, but it turns out to be much easier for me to have my schoolboard hat on. Is this a fiscally responsible thing to do because we're only paying 25% of the cost effectively? Um, so just mostly expressing thanks for those two person that really helped. Um, I really appreciate it. Nick and your team in particular have just done an excellent job of meeting my requests for information. So, thank you. >> That was it. >> Katherine, do you have another question? And just to plant a seed, >> I have one more. Sorry. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> Oh, no. >> This last bond, I think it was the
133middle school auditorium, got kicked out of the bond because the amount we budgeted turned out not to in fact be adequate for the things we'd had contracted to do under that. Do we have mechanisms in place going forward for that not to happen again? So we spend 58 million, it will get this stuff done. >> Okay. Um so when when this bond went out to bid, the last bond, excuse me. Um that's when CO really was hurting us and um to get anything done cost twice as much. So, um, we didn't want to I'll use the term skimp on the auditorium and, um, actually it was brought up I I know that we talked about it in administration because we were challenged. We also had the workforce challenge there. So, we we felt that um,
134we we broke that portion out. Um, you and before um, you were a board member, we also had a problem with the pool. um when we went to do the work, we found that our pool had a structural issue. So, we said, "Let's stop and we're still going to go out with the the bond and get all the other work done." And then once we got caught up with the design and figured out what we had to do to fix the pool, we created a little mini project within that. So, um do we have something in mind? We we carry our contingencies. We carry escalations for normal um things that are going to come up. Um do we plan on another, you know, I can't tell you what the future holds, but we believe that
135we have a a very good estimate. We have our uh our contingencies and our escalations in place and I um we're very comfortable with the number that we presented, but I can't say that something could change between now and then. >> Thanks. Sorry, Kathy. >> Thank you. Um, and just to I mean just to plant a seed, we don't have to discuss this this evening at all, but I'm just wondering, you know, we we purchase buses on a schedule. We that we've got a maintenance and and updating schedule for that. And I wonder if it is worth considering for future years, thinking about something similar for classroom upgrade and renovations. I mean, we've got our building plans. We've got the bonds that we do. Um, and and yet, you know, we're still here. So, is
136there are there other ways to do that? That's a question. >> Sure. Thanks. >> Any other questions? >> Just one question on the proposition language. >> Um, do you want it to uh because it will come back to the board for next week for approval. Do you want to say up to 60 million or do you want it to be the actual dollar amount that uh >> I mean the 60 doesn't tie us to correct? >> Yeah to 60, right? >> Are you comfortable with that? >> Yes, >> I would be comfortable with that. >> Okay. >> Thanks, Nick. >> If I may take the liberty, I just, you know, I I really appreciate the board's concern. Um, obviously these are young children and any change to the routines can be very disruptive. Um, this
137is going to be a challenge. Um, and I know this sounds a little corny, but we have the team in place. Um, and I want to assure the board of education and our administration that we're going to do everything in our power to minimize the disruption. However, there is going to be disruption. >> Um, there's, you know, we've looked at this in angles. um you know if we did one classroom a year sure but to be uh cost effective um there's going to be some disruption but you know again with Ashley McGrad they've done literally hundreds of uh K through2 schools hundreds of millions of dollars um uh Turner Construction they do this for a living and they've got talented people and I think we got the right team to really make the recommendations to
138the board to minimize the impact and and you know again We're we're constantly thinking about this, you know, the idea of having uh two prime contractors at the same time. So, these things come together each time we meet and we're strategizing on how we can best do this to uh to bring a good product to the students. And I wanted to share a moment because I'm normally not, but I was so proud. Um, I was at Hegirl Elementary School when the parents were doing their walkthrough with their children and um, we renovated the pit area. Everybody's familiar what I'm talking about. And I will never I got goosebumps. I'm getting a little emotional. Um, >> but a little one of the little students said, "Look, mommy, look what they did." And they brought it they
139they brought their parent to the pit and was showing like how awesome this is. And I think that um our students and our children deserve that in their in their spaces to where they spend most of their time. And I I really think it's time. I'm not trying to sell it to you, but I think we got the team >> and I think we can do this. So, thank you very much. >> Thank you, Nick. >> Um I'm mindful that it's uh 9:00. So, before we continue, let's take um just two minutes and let our soup and pig visitors >> You're welcome to stay. >> Go. Yeah, you certainly can. But um make sure you come up and sign out. There's sheets scattered around. Now would be the time to come to the microphone. Uh
140next uh item six, action items. A finance action items. It is recommended by the superintendent that the board of education approve the following finance action items one through three. >> So move second. >> Uh any discussion? >> All in favor? >> I think little discussion. Just to thank thank Christopher Brothers and >> Oh yeah. >> and specifically Nick Russo for their generous donation. That's all. >> Thank you, Bob. Uh all in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? That carries. B. Professional personnel action items. It is recommended by the superintendent that the board of education approve the following professional personnel action items 1 through 13. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Uh, that carries. Sorry, there was a bug. A bug that just
141flew in my face. Uh, see, support personnel action items. It is recommended by the superintendent that the board of education approve the following support staff action items 1 through 7. So, >> move second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? That carries. D. Other action items. It is recommended by the superintendent the board of education approve the following action item number one. >> So move. >> Second. >> Uh any discussion? >> All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? >> Any abstensions? That carries? >> Uh item seven, recognition of public comment on a non-aggenda item. If we have any visitors who would like to address the board on a non-aggenda item, now would be the time to come to the microphone. Uh item eight, future meetings and events. Um our next
142regularly scheduled board meeting is on Wednesday, October 8th. Um anticipating executive session at 6:00 and reconvening to open session at 7 and that will be at Ellir Elementary School. Um and then our meeting after that on Wednesday, October 22nd, uh will be at Slingerland's Elementary School and again anticipating executive session at 6 and reconvening to open session at 7. Oh, the walkthrough Nick mentioned which I think we are we going to do that as part of executive session. You going to meet ahead of time? >> Probably just at the end. We'll just leave executive session >> for a few minutes. >> That's fine. >> Go walk. >> Um that's how we've done it in the past. >> Okay. >> I see no need to go back into executive session. Could I have a motion to
143adjourn the meeting? So moved. >> Second. All in favor? I. Meeting adjourned.