001[Music] Go for it. >> Okay. Calling the meeting to order. Uh, can I roll call please? Mr. Davis. >> Mrs. Eicholtz >> here. >> Dr. Hooker >> here. >> Mrs. Dston >> here. >> Mrs. Lewis >> here. >> Mrs. Sing >> here. >> I have a motion to adopt the regular meeting agenda. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Roll call. Roll call. >> Dr. Hooker. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Lewis. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Johnston. >> Hi. >> Mrs. S. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Eles. >> Hi. >> Uh, can I make a motion to go into executive session for um Ohio Revised Code um 121 G1 to consider employment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official. and G3 conference with an attorney concerning disputes involving the public body
002that are the subject of pending or imminent court action motion. >> So move >> second >> Dr. Hooker >> I >> Mrs. Lewis >> Hi >> Mrs. Johnston >> I >> Mrs. S >> I >> Mrs. Hi I have to take a break. Yeah. Live, >> Elizabeth. >> Sorry. Okay. Looks like >> Okay, we're live. >> Okay. Uh, all right. We're back in open session and we'll start with the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance 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. >> Mr. Connecting, recognitions, correspondents, and announcements. >> Good evening everybody. Um, before we start with the listed recognition correspondence announcements, I just would like to introduce a couple of our new employees.
003It's been a while since we've been together live. Uh, first I'd like to introduce Andrew Cox, who is our new administrative assistants at the district office. If you haven't had a chance to meet Andrew, he's here tonight. Welcome, Andrew. >> Welcome. Nice to meet you. >> And I'd also like to introduce in person our athletic director who's been working since uh late May really, Brian Phelps. Brian is here and I've asked Brian if he would uh share a few words. Brian comes to us with a ton of experience as you know uh having worked both in a a preparatory school in Texas and also with 7 Hills for years. Uh he's an experienced athletic director and of course joined us at a crucial time as we're trying to prepare for our um new school year.
004And I thought it would be nice to hear from Brian for just a few minutes about what we've been through uh as we got ready to launch the 2021 school year. So, Brian, welcome and and thanks for joining us. >> Thank you. And um just want to say thank you to the board for adding me to the uh Indian Hill School District. It's been great so far, even under the circumstances, which we all know have been uh tough for everyone, but with athletics in particular, has its own challenges. I think that um our coaches and our kids have done a really good job responding to the challenges ahead. Uh we started off uh the year once we knew we could kind of get going with coaches holding Zoom meetings and discussing what our protocols and
005procedures would be to practice and of course waiting on the news from the OSAA and the governor's office if we're going to have a season. So it's been really step by step a new territory for all of us. Um, currently we're uh we're operating under a 15% capacity in our venues which uh some really are no problems and some are a little tougher. For instance, when we have our home soccer games, we're 40 people in the stands and that makes it really tough. Volleyball games are 220 and football games are 330. So, we are um we're doing the best that we can. There's obviously the constant reminders of the protocols and procedures that we have in place every day. Uh as Kirk um says often that really has stuck with me, crisis fatigue sits in
006and we have to um remind each other um why this is so important for us to continue to move on. And uh a something that I feel like um I've said a lot lately when you know coaches, maybe parents, maybe kids get a little grumpy of some of the things that we have in place. I it's a reminder 3 weeks ago we were just happy for the kids to be playing. So we kind of have to remember that every day is a gift and we're going to continue to try to do everything possible for our kids to continue to play for as long as possible. So, uh, we're really excited to get another day and another week and, uh, we're going to take it a day at a time and a week at a time
007and and be thankful for what we have so far. >> Welcome. Thank you. >> You knew what you were walking into, right? >> Yeah. You've had a lot of years experience. Nobody's had this experience. That's right. >> We appreciate you being here, Brian, and welcome. We're we're glad to have you. Brian has been also involved in the build building steering committee from day one as well this fall. So, we appreciate him uh helping out with that. I also just want to thank our PTO leaders and members. Um many people may have noticed that our K through five students are wearing fanny packs that are going to be like loaded up with the safety uh materials that we have, wipe packets and hand sanitizer and our PTO has agreed to help make a donation to help
008support those things. Um and we really appreciate that. Uh on behalf of PTO, I want to thank everybody. Um, and I think our students are thrilled to have these fanny packs, especially when they're out um on the playground during recess. You can imagine having uh the ability to store their things throughout the day is is really nice. So, we appreciate all the help from our PTO. It's been a while since we got to focus on athletics and academics in this way. So, a couple of really uh nice recognition pieces tonight. I want to congratulate some of our uh departed seniors and students at IHS IHS. Callie Gibson, Julianne Lambert, Ricky Martin, Marian Narita, Joy, Samara Summers, and Elsa Zang, who competed at the Just Right State Competition for competitive writing in May. Uh Joy and
009Elsa placed in the top 15 of all the writers at the competition and are having their stories featured in the Just Right Anthology, which showcases the best of the best from the competition. We also want to congratulate our class of 2020 graduate Olivia Sheldon as well as rising sophomore Alex Sheldon who both participated in place at the National Junior Classical League Convention which was held in July. And as you can imagine again all of these things were kind of modified because of the pandemic this summer and yet they still took the time to compete and show out and uh we want to congratulate the ladies. Indian Hill High School uh is also being represented by Ethan Marx, Sarah Matawi, Sydney Poffenberger, Audrey Bristol, Brooke Youngblood, Tacy Hutton, and Claire Hardik at the Bulldog Invitational, which
010is a special invitationonly mock trial tournament that is hosted nationally by the Yale Mock Trial Association in October. This is a coveted invitation uh to a special mock trial competition and because of the strength of our team uh they have been invited for the first time. That's really cool. So very happy for for this group of students. You'll also notice uh this evening board members that uh our enrollment reports for the year are included. I'd just like to point out a couple of of of items um with regards to that. get my notes straight here. Our enrollment in our district is up for five of the last six years now and for the third year in a row to 2141 students. 30 students have enrolled into our district this past school year to start the
0112021 school year from private schools in the area and only 14 have withdrawn or left our district. Sometimes I think that out there in the community we'll hear information, rumors, gossip about the numbers with regards to enrollment withdrawal. That's been pronounced uh I think because of the pandemic also in COVID and school planning. But the fact remains that overall we've brought in 30 new students to the 14 that have have gone out and our enrollment is up. Um and at the high school specifically it's basically four in four out very very uh uh static. So, we're pleased that our enrollment is up again and that always affects how we plan our operations and and our school year as we move forward. Uh, also I want to make sure everybody is aware that today we released
012our 8th annual quality profile. Um, it's a really nice report. Uh, I hope that everybody has a chance to look at the data that is in the quality profile. Um, it's full of data. Uh, not only does it have our rankings as a a nationally renowned school, number five by US News and World Report, number nine by Nich, um, our communities of music best award from last year, being a top workplace in 2020. Uh, it also has some really important data as you go through the pages that I'm so proud of. One of which is that 95% of the students at the Indian Hill School District are involved in multiple activities. That's not just athletics, that's all activities. For a public school district to have 95% of its students involved in activities is just tremendous
013and speaks to the culture and the involvement and engagement of our students and their families. I think that's just a wonderful number that we want to remember. Uh, also at at the high school, I think it's important to note that even with everything that went on last spring and being remote for some time, 10,379 hours of service were contributed by our students at IHS throughout the school year. That's simply amazing. That's over 17 hours per student on average. That's really, really amazing. We also had teachers, counselors, coaches that received uh national honors throughout the year last year. And of course, in the quality profile, there's really important facilities and financial information that we want to direct everybody's attention to uh as well. Also, today the state released the new report card for the school year.
014And I think it's important to note that this report card will look a lot different than any report card in the past. And that's basically because all of the areas where you would have seen grades for our school district now say NR or not reported. And that's because of COVID and the waiverss and the testing changes throughout last year. You'll probably see this again this year. There will not be many graded measures on any report card. So when people are looking for that data, it simply was not factored in uh this year. And so the report card that people were used to seeing just doesn't look the same. And I just want to make sure that everybody's aware of that. Okay. So, moving on to the um superintendent report if that's okay. First up, we
015have uh a renewal and approval of our career advising policy. This is something that we have to do annually. Um under letter A. Uh, under letter B, again, we have a renewal and approval of our Beacon Sports Medicine Services Agreement. We've worked with these partners in the past for several years. This is a renewal of this contract for a 5-year term. We also have our annual approval of student handbooks under letter C. Um, the approval of our bus routes and stops under letter D. We have an annual uh renewal of our membership for the Alliance for High Quality Educ Education. This is a group that does advocacy for us and that we network with with our administrative team in terms of school quality. Uh they help us with everything from our profile to data collection
016to advocacy with legislation under letter E. And then under letter F of course there are several personnel actions. Um some of you uh probably remember because of the timing of our last special meeting and today I just want to point out under number two um our assistant principal who is new at the primary and elementary Mr. Guber who's already been working uh that that's his contract there. Um and we have several um approvals for supplementals. We do have two uh retirements um Cheryl Eli and Terry Lman. And uh we also have several other approvals for substitutes uh and tuition reimbursements all the way through uh to letter X there under number eight. So that's a long list if anybody has any questions. >> Any questions? >> Uh just a a question. Uh when I was
017going through this and you did a nice job representing it, but I did not see the link to all the stuff with niche and all that. Is that in a separate report or is that not attached or is that >> the uh quality profile was sent on the board report last week and I will send you a link that will send you directly to it via email. So >> I think it ought to be included in the minutes. >> Quality profile. >> No, but I'll just say in the quality in the minutes. We'll make sure it's in the minutes. >> I think it should all the people in the community want to see that. So >> good point. Okay. Could I have a motion to approve letters A through uh let's see sorry number >>
018yeah A through trying to find the numbers >> F. Thank you. >> There's so many sub things and so uh letters A through F of the superintendent report please. >> So move. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Was there a second? >> Second. Okay. Um, all those in I'm sorry. Roll call. >> Dr. Hooker. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Lewis. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Johnson. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Sing. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Eichol. >> Hi. >> Okay. Treasurer's report. Mr. D. >> Under my report for this evening under letter A, we have several minutes to approve. uh the August 4th regular meeting, the August 4th special meeting, the August 9th emergency meeting, and the August 20th special meeting. Uh letter B is to approve the financial reports for month ending August 31, 2020.
019Item C is a resolution to join a class action suit um under the um United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. It involves the Purdue Pharma LP and their chapter 11. Item D is several contracts um for student services. Um number one is an amendment to um the the Hamilton County Educational Service Center that was approved back in August. Um item two is Claremont County ESC. That's attendance services for a student. Claremont County Educational Service Center, educational services at the Jensen student center for a student. Uh Claremont County ESC interpreter services for a student. Claremont County ESC, again, special education supervision services, uh $675 a day, one day per week. Item six is Jefferson County Educational Service Center for the Virtual Learning Academy services. That's $1,500 plus fees for service as needed. And
020the final item is Sonia Horton. That is services for a student per that students individual individualized educational plan at $30 per hour. Item E is a res resolution declaring the impracticability of transportation and offering payment to parents in lie of transportation. Um those are some some missed uh parents from school year 2020. one item under now and then invoices EMMS link incorporated that's website maintenance and the cost was $5,148 and then finally item G is an acceptance of donations uh the PTO donated two separate donations to the high school for $2,000 for last year's junior day and last year's sophomore redo day. As always, we appreciate those donations and the uh the programs that they support. >> Any questions? >> Uh can I have a motion to approve items A through G of the treasures
021report, please? >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Dr. Hooker, >> I. >> Mrs. Johnston. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Lewis. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Sing. >> Hi, >> Mrs. Zikols. >> Hi. >> Thank you. >> Uh, under item nine, board members, we have a Neola policy updates for the fall. Uh, these are first readings of the of the list here, um, A through O. And, uh, specifically, I would just point out that, um, uh, letter C 2266 is the Title 9 update, uh, regulations. That's the biggest policy change that's been kind of talked about in the news and we've needed to make sure that we were um updating all of our policy language for the new laws. Um it does require a district coordinator designation which we have. Mr. Nichols is our uh designated uh
022title 9 coordinator and requires staff training and all of our staff members have been trained. So, um, board members, just let's be sure to review these carefully since we will vote at the next meeting. >> And I assume these have all been passed by Mr. Deers, our legal counsel, and he's approved all changes. >> Okay. Other business operations committee, the minutes are posted and um B, we will have a presentation by Mr. brands modes engineering regarding the energy performance contract. >> Uh can I make one comment on the operations committee? Uh we met and actually looked at all of this stuff that what's being presented. So it's already gone through one look and deep dive and again we'll have one now for the whole board. >> Great. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you Nancy.
023Um so in terms of just a little recap, we were retained uh last fall to provide criteria engineering services for the energy service contract. The first step of that was an RFQ which was done publicly on the OFCC website. >> Can't hear you guys. >> Um do you want to sit here and use a microphone? >> Sure. I can do it. Thank you. Sorry about that. No problem. >> Thanks. >> Better for people out there too. They can hear better. >> Okay. So, our our firm was uh retained last fall to provide criteria engineering services with respect to the energy service contract. Um, an RFQ was uh posted on the OCC website and qualifications were um uh received from nine firms um at in early November which we worked with Mick uh Davis and Ken
024Stegman to score those and five firms were shortlisted. out of that um qualification process we deemed that four firms were extremely qualified to go ahead and to submit proposals. So with that uh we uh uh prepared those uh proposal requests for proposal documents. There were some delays uh due to CO of course and uh we got proposals back in early June and from those proposals of the four that we received it was apparent that there were two vendors that we deemed that were most qualified in terms of uh the costs that they were proposing and those were the firm of Brewer Garrett uh based up in Cleveland and uh energy optimizers in the Dayton Ohio area. So from that we um we notified all all the firms that we were intending to move forward on
025that basis and we received additional bids the end of July and some clarification numbers in early August and and from that we feel that energy optimizers is the best approach for the district. I believe there's a re resolution that is uh pending for perhaps this evening which would give us the authorization to move forward in the final negotiations with them. This criteria engineering is probably a little different than what you've been used to in the past. In other words, every other project we've done for you the last 15 years, you know, there's been a set of documents, there's been a firm bid and um and you award. This um process is a little bit different because the the final design will actually be done by these organ, you know, the organization that we select with
026with our oversight. Um and then we will commission uh the work. But what we're envisioning, so there's two two two important pieces in terms of what we're envisioning. One has to do with the lighting. So as as a part of the RFP process, we we got a lot of ideas from other vendors including the the the two finalists. But so that was why we did the additional um uh bidding the end of July. We we expanded the number of alternatives that we were requesting so that we could look at some additional items for energy savings. And then the other thing of course that we wanted to look at was what were things that we could do to improve indoor air quality. And there were one component we looked at the end of July was um
027ultraviolet light. Um and we have um really advanced to the point where we think bipolar ionization is a better solution. It's um about the same cost. So for the primary school, the elementary school, and the high school, that investment on those units will be around $100,000. Um the middle school wasn't in that mix. Um we we'd like to recommend that it would be in the mix and with the idea that any u equipment that's deployed there would be able to be reused and repurposed if and when a new middle school is constructed. Um so that's not in the $100,000 number. What bipolar ionization does um in the very simplistic form is it it has positive and negative ions that charges the and this device is located in an air handling unit typically and it charges
028these particles and it helps them to group together to get bigger so that your filters filter them out. The other thing it does is it um removes the as I understand it the oxygen from these particles. So it's been tested on CO it works it works on all kinds of pathogens. So it it will be a um a a good solution not only for now but for moving forward in terms of having healthier and uh and and and better air quality within your buildings. These devices last about 15 years. So it's it's not like it's a um you know it's not like it's a 25 year product, but it's not like a filter that you have to change every year. So um we'd like to as a part of this process if we're given the
029permission to to go ahead with energy optimizers would would be to explore these items. The other item that's the and it is the main energy savings is is the lighting. And so again, we initially requested the lighting proposals based on replacing fixtures with the kind of the new standard the district's been using. For the lack of a better term, I'll call it the razor fixture. You've probably seen it. is the light fixture that has just one kind of LED um strip down the middle of the fixture. It is a very sharpl looking fixture in my opinion. It's very high quality. Um but worth we're thinking that there's a a series of options and there might be best a hybrid approach. In other words, the that the razor fixture would be used in a number of
030areas that are um high profile. A lot of public um uh sees the the fixtures, but in other areas, and I'm particularly thinking at the elementary school and the high school where you have fixtures that are in very good condition, that there are a number of areas where you might just want to relamp those. It's a significant savings to do that and it's something that we would uh work with the energy optimizers and as well as I would assume MSA architects to get their ideas on on where best uh to do that. And then the the third piece of the lighting was that one one of the vendors had uh suggested a flat panel um replacement. And so we we think and we've talked with with Nick and with Ken about this that there be
031an option almost for a hybrid where there's kind of three levels. We have the razor fixture in certain areas where it it makes the most sense aesthetically. you know, uh, in other areas we would go with the flat panel that might be used, you know, a fair amount, say at the primary school where those fixtures are older. And then at the elementary school and the high school, there would be opportunities where we have fixtures in good condition to simply retrofit, replace the lamps, and instead of them being fluorescent as they are today, they would be LED. So, um I believe in your packet there's a comparison of bids that is is just the the two finalists. Um and if if if you're looking at the the columns, I would look at the 8 1020 bid
032which is August 10th. Um and so there are three numbers at the top, three groupings I should say. Um, there's a a bid recap with everything excluding alternate seven and eight. And then there's a a dollar payback and a year payback. And then uh there's one for um item one and alternate 7 and item one and alternate 8. And those differences are the lighting. Um, but in any event, I think that we're looking at a project that's going to be when you factor in the bipolar ionization, I think it's going to be in the uh 3 to3.5 million range. And I think there's going to be a savings of about $150,000 a year. that savings is not as great as um we had initially thought it might be. But some of that is the B
033some of the items like bipolar ionization has very little energy savings. But we're able to do that through this lease u uh buyback arrangement um that that the state allows to be done. So stay with that. It makes sense just to open it up if there's any questions or or comments. >> And was there anything from the operations? >> Well, I just think it Can you just explain again because it's been a while how this program works? We take a loan out and it's paid back based on the savings. Can you just give a a high view, don't get too far into the weeds, but I think for the public, they need to understand what we're doing here. >> Right. So I believe the resolution that's uh in in front of you is that to
034go to the next step with energy optimizers but also to go out and to obtain uh options with respect to financing. And so, um, certainly you have have bond counsel that has helped with that in the past, but there's other sources for, uh, for financing, and we're going to try to look at what the the absolute best option is for that concurrently with getting the final pricing from energy optimizers. And so that this energy savings pays back the capital that you borrow to facilitate the project. >> And one of the benefits of this, Dr. Hooker, is that these these uh lease loans are at a much lower rate than typically um you would find on the open market for this. So the goal is to get these Z at zero or near 0% uh over
035the term of this loan. And at the same time, we're using those savings to pay that principle and interest back. >> Right? The whole point is that this needs to pay for itself as best as it can do. Now, the ionizing thing is an add-on where we're trying to improve the quality of air so that it's not going to return like lighting. Lighting is your big wonderful hit. You save tons of money. It pays for itself so fast it makes your heart sweat. But, uh, we've got to have high quality air in these schools. Uh it's CO today, but it would be something else tomorrow and it's the flu every year. So we need anything we can do to improve the quality of air in these buildings. >> I have a recollection that when we
036were presented with something last fall that there was some kind of guarantee by the organ how does that work out? >> Is that the same thing? So yes, you're right, Kim, that the um the final there will be a guaranteed energy savings each year. And I think for the first year or two, our firm has been retained to as a part of our original agreement to review that information and confirm that we either agree or don't agree with that. So if they if they don't hit that number, let's say they're to save 150,000 a year and they don't hit that number, they have two options. One, they cut you a check. Or two, they do additional energy savings at their own cost so that they get up above that $150,000 threshold. >> Any other questions?
037Wasl, did you have any questions? >> I have one question. So, this does not include the current middle school or does it have >> you're you're correct. It does not include any of the bipolar ionization for the middle school and and I would recommend that we incorporate that with the final negotiations. I believe that with the various iterations of pricing that we've done with energy optimizers, I think we have enough information to be able to feel confident that we're getting fair and competitive pricing. And really, and I probably should have mentioned this earlier, really the whole the reason for this process and why it's taken a while is we were trying to get the best overall value for the district. We we felt very confident that any four of these contractors could have performed this
038contract. So after that it was about well let's get the best value in terms of the pricing and and and the return. And so that's how we got to where we are. And so moving forward, um I think between all the numbers we have, we feel very confident that we can get additional competitive pricing with these last couple of pieces of work. >> But to Nikki's point, we're not doing there's many things we're doing in the under buildings that we are not doing in the middle school, >> right? We're not this that would be the only thing that we would be doing in the middle school and and it would be done with the uh intent to repurpose that equipment in in the uh in the new units that are designed. And to the extent
039that you know these things come in standard you know sizes and lengths and that we would in case there are a lot of air handling units at the middle school as you're probably aware if you ever looked at the Google Earth image but anyway you know we we get some if the standard length is a 6ft one that we're using at the middle school and um or excuse me at the high school and the elementary school for example then we might get that same length there so that if one fails s, you know, we have a light piece of equipment to use as a a stock item because I think ultimately we'll have fewer air handling units at the new middle school than what you have today. And and one thing when we we looked
040at this project, um we had already done the work with the facilities committee and they had determined that the the life of that that middle school was was pretty close to the end of its its life that it served its purpose here in Indian Hill. Um we we've talked that through with a potential um replacement with a bond here in the near future potentially. Um, so the idea was that we wouldn't want to go through and replace the lights and do all the things to upgrade that facility and then have nowhere to put those items or to repurpose those items. So, that was the reason why we didn't look for those savings at the middle school. I'm sure if Brad's company looked, we would find plenty of places to save with that old building. Um,
041windows, you know. >> Yeah. But only save if you kept the building for another 15 years. >> And that's that's the point. it would have to be over a period longer period of time to get those savings back. So that was the reasoning we did not uh look at the middle school when we we started this project. So there won't be if we spend the money at the middle school and then we decide to move forward at a later point in time to do a bond with the middle school, we're not it's not lost money. It's and it's not going to be expensive to remove to um put to to repurpose it in new H track units. Is that correct? >> That is correct. >> Great. >> Any other questions or comments from from the
042board? Any questions? >> Um so I guess that takes us to >> this is the timeline. So you all uh were given prior to the board meeting um the resolution that is in front of us. Um is there any discussion? >> Are there any um is there any discussion or questions specifically about the resolution? >> Kim, how are you doing? >> Okay. Hearing none, can I have a motion to um pass the resolution that is in front of us for the uh energy performance contract and the exploration of lease purchase financing? >> I so move second. >> Um roll call. >> Dr. Hooker. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Sing. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Johnston. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Lewis. >> Hi. >> Mrs. Iicults. >> Hi. And I do want to extend our thanks for from
043the district to Moes Engineering, Brad in particular, for all the work you've done to uh make sure we're procuring the most savings we can with this project. >> Brad app I actually want to also thank uh Miss Lewis uh for uh helping us to step back, rethink, look at this carefully before we did pull the trigger. So, uh, it's taken us a while to get here, but it was worth the time. So, I think we're doing a whole lot better job than we would have had we made a quick decision. And we obviously went with a different company. >> I thought this process was very good. >> Yes. >> That that's why we have five board members. >> Okay. Next. Next, we have the computer >> health consultation with Bethesda Healthcare. um attached to the
044agenda. >> Yes, >> this is something that we discussed along the way about having a health consultant that was not um an employee or a board member uh dur particularly during this co experience uh so that we could have our own um healthcare expert kind of on call as needed. Um is there any other information that we should be sharing? Yeah, I just like to go over a short summary. I think this is a really was a great suggestion by the board members and I think that we're really excited about this new partnership. Uh Bethesda Healthcare Tri Health or its design are going to provide ongoing consultations regarding COVID 19 related health orders, guidelines, laws, resources, and services for the Indian Hill School District Board of Education and its administrators under this uh memorandum of
045understanding. Um they're going to do uh this provide this service to us in several ways. First, they're going to assist with education and information sharing for our students and staff with regards to COVID 19 related health guidance, laws, resources, and services that are out there in our region. They're going to consult and advise with the board and school administration directly on health policy questions and the data reviews that we do in the future. They're going to consult and advise uh and examine trend data that they see locally, regionally, and give us opinions about those. They're going to give us opinions about the health orders. They're going to share uh information related to how contact tracing data evolves and how it should be evaluated. U and they're going to advise us on school operations uh as
046we move forward, which we've already gotten some help with, which we really appreciate. Um, and then they're also going to refer school officials and administrators to the resources and services that are out there, not just for students and families, but also for staff in the future as those things become more readily available. As you know, this is probably going to take some time and we're going to have questions that come up and when new services or innovations uh come online, whether it's testing um or some new new type of vaccination in the future, all of those things are things that we'll be able to get uh information on from our consultants. I want to thank uh Terry Bremer, who's the vice president of employer solutions at Tri Health, for her assistance to make thisou possible.
047Uh and Dr. Rob Dunham, the director of clinical services, and Dr. Malia Harper will be the primary consultants for the Indian Hill School District through Tri Health moving forward with this partnership. And we want to welcome them and thank them for all their help. >> And Mike, you point out that this is not costing us any >> this is not costing us any money. This is a memorandum of understanding for a consulting service that the Tri Health organization would like to provide to us and partner with us and it is a unique partnership. They have not entered into this type of agreement with the school district in the area uh as of yet. I I want to point out that uh I had nothing to do with who was picked. I purposely stayed out of
048it because it's not my job. Uh but I do think Tri Health makes a lot of sense. They're already uh with Miami University. They're already at Xavier University. They're used to working with schools at a different level. So, I think this is a natural partnership. There were other good people being looked at, but I think it this this could work out very well. And certainly, if you talk to Miami and Xavier, they've been very happy with the relationships. There there are two things that because of this partnership have already evolved that I just want to speak to because I think that it's come up in questions from parents several times. First is how we make the decisions about our shifts. And if people look under the students and parents section on our website, they can
049see very clearly how we're going to do our data reviews and what elements we're looking at. And talking with Terry Bremer and her team, that helped develop some of that that thinking that went into our list for our data review. Um the second thing is they made a suggestion early on which we went live with today and that is a weekly update or data page to share uh our COVID 19 information with the public. And so on our website under the students and parents section, you can now see an updated list every week of our cases positive uh our number in quarantine and a percentage so that anybody who wants to have that data can have it. And early on that was just something that came up in a conversation and our team followed through
050with and now it's a reality and all of those kinds of things along the way are very helpful to our team and the board. So we really appreciate it. >> Okay. The one the one question I had um it's under the term it appears that we'll start this you know effective when we sign it. Um it'll remain in effect until we cancel. So this could be an ongoing relationship outside of the co >> situation. That's the plan. >> Yes. Okay. So this is not just for the co time period. >> Yes. And based on the services and the resources they may be able to provide beyond co I think uh there are some educational benefits for our staff and then of course some strategic uh things that we can talk to them about moving forward
051that could benefit our organization. >> I I think that things will come up when we're trying to decide how to run our nurses. that they can give us advice on many levels and >> it's something we should have probably had a long time ago and I'm glad we're having it now. >> Great. >> All right. Um, so >> we need a motion to approve this, right? Accept it. >> So, can I have a motion to accept the health consultation with Bethesda Healthcare? >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Roll call. >> Mrs. Lewis >> I >> Mrs. Singh >> I >> Dr. Hooker >> I >> Mrs. Johnston >> I >> Mrs. Eckles >> I >> Okay. Is there any other other any other other business? >> Um >> from the board. >> Should
052we say anything about where we are right now? >> I think maybe from you that just you kind of where we are or something. >> Yeah. Is that something that >> Well, I I think in general, um, if we're talking about our our shift to our plan and our update, I think where we are two days in is in a really good place. I think students and and our staff overall have made some amazing adjustments to shifting from a hybrid model to bringing students back on campus 5 days a week. I do want to point out that um about 20% of our students chose our Brave Virtual Academy or online option. That's a significant number. So, one of the things that, you know, when we made this shift back to five days a week in
053person, we're also shifting back, but not everybody is coming back to campus. And not only did they have that option, uh, but also uh it allows us to maximize the social distancing we can do in our buildings. And while we cannot do 6 ft of social distance at all times and in all places in our buildings, we are practicing that and educating our students and staff to continue to improve. And we're learning it as we go. And I am so proud of our students and the way that they have conducted themselves. Yesterday, for example, I watched our primary students line up to leave for the day and wait for the car pickup and the bus dismissal. The students did not need verbal reminders even though they got them. Our nurses present, our teachers are present,
054the bus drivers are present, but the students are outside practicing their social distancing, keeping their masks on. They're having conversations with each other, and they're being patient and showing everybody grace while they're waiting for a very long parent pickup line that was coming through. All of our staff were out helping. Our treasurer was out helping. Our directors were out helping. our assistant superintendent out helping and it was it was really a a communal effort the last two days and it was amazing and it was unique to see. I've never seen anything like it in 26 years but I'm really proud of the way people are practicing. We know that in the secondary level at the middle school and high school where we can't get to 6 ft of social distance all day long and we
055have to have class changes. Our students are continually learning and working on that. And you can walk down the halls and see the students learning to make adjustments while they're walking. The learning is happening all the time. And I think that's the thing I would just remind everybody about. This is an ongoing learning process. Learning how to navigate in a school where everybody is so used to showing affection and caring and being within close proximity. That has totally changed in order to be able to operate school. So now we're operating school and we want to get all of those amazing experiences in but we have to do it in different ways and I'm really proud of the way people are adapting and showing that um and I think our teachers are showing a resilience um
056to do this and I really appreciate it and they have just tackled it and uh there's great lessons happening in classrooms and that's what counts and we always talk about the students psychological and emotional um preparedness and development and security and I think our students feel safe and our students are happy to be back uh with their peers and that's important. >> I want to say that I think uh most people you know there's been different opinions in our very intelligent uh community on plan A versus plan B versus you know everything. And I want to say that I think that most people have been very receptive to the change from B to A that people may not have agreed. I I wanted to start in A, but I was like, okay, we'll start in
057B. I really am proud that the community as a whole has been very receptive and very supportive, and if we'll keep wearing our masks, that's how we can hopefully get through this uh together. And we'll keep monitoring everything. >> Exactly. We really appreciate the families doing their part outside of school because that will keep CO hopefully from coming into our schools as much as possible. Um, I'm curious, Dr. Stuart, just maybe just a quick academic update since it's been such an interesting start to the year. >> Yeah, I'd be happy to. So, it's it whether we're talking about students in the virtual academy or we're talking about our students here in the face to face as we always have done, the start of the year really is the foundation for building relationships with students. Um,
058and it's been really interesting to have conversations with parents because starting in plan B as well as having students in Brave Virtual Academy created a window between home and school that has never been able to be there before. And so there were times that it was an opportunity to have some really great conversation about like, huh, I didn't know that we didn't jump into academics on the first day of school. And it was nice for us to be able to say we never have. and sometimes you have to go slow at first to go fast later. So now we are full-fledged into some of the academics and really we're spending some time getting grounded at the beginning of the school year including doing assessments. So I'm sure everybody has been able to see some of
059the latest news reports on what they call the COVID slide and how well students are starting the school year and compared to when they left. and we want to gather our own information about that um and rather than just take information from the news source. So, right now we're in the middle of assessments trying to determine where our students are so we can move forward. But our goal is to have the same academic progress this year as we always have prior to CO. If the goal was to have some students be able to read at a certain level at the end of a grade level, that's going to continue to be the goal for this year. Great. Anything else? Any other questions? >> I would just also just like to say publicly a thank you
060to Dr. Kim Gibbon. She is the supervisor of Brave Virtual Academy and she's just doing an amazing job. Um it's almost like starting a brand new school in some ways and right now she's actually meeting with parents in a town hall meeting to get some feedback about how it's going. We know that it's going to be important in this case to ask frequently of our families what's working really well that you never want us to change and what's not not working so well that you want us to consider as well. So she's going to be having those meetings regularly and her first one is tonight. >> How how many did because initially wasn't the plan that it was going to be 10% raise virtual academy that that was the initial estimate if we had to
061move teachers from >> Okay. And that's gone. Okay. >> Yeah. I would also like to give credit to all the teachers in Brave Virtual Academy as well. Some of them didn't know that they were going to be assigned to that position until a week before school started. And they have absolutely embraced it and have been working so hard to make sure that it feels like a highquality program to our students on a regular basis. Um, when we made the switch from plan B to plan A, we also wanted to be responsive to our families who shared with us that they were no longer feeling safe. So, we had 23 different students reach out and ask if they could move from the face-toface model into Brave virtual academy and we said yes immediately and the teachers
062welcomed them with open arms, had orientation settings and allowed them to do that. Additionally, right now we are serving 24 students in Brave Virtual Academy who are going to be there temporarily because they're part of a quarantine. >> And in those cases, not everybody is joining Brave Virtual Academy during a quarantine, but there are some families who are asking for that level of support and we would like to be able to do that. >> And I think to your question also, Dr. cooker for the future. When we talk about this number of 20%, it is over what we estimated originally and it's a significant part of our operation now and I think it's going to be moving forward and so we're going to have to keep that in mind as we do our planning for
063the future. >> Question I just got to say one more time though uh to anybody watching talk to all your friends the game has changed this year. If you are sick in any way at all, I don't care if it's a stuffy nose, stay home. There's no penalty. There will be no penalty. There will be no problem, but you are taking a grave risk sending that kid to school and exposing a bunch of kids if that kid has CO. I don't care if you're wrong and you kept home a kid with allergies. That's fine. But if you send the kid to school with COVID, now you have affected the lives of many kids who now have to be taken out of school due to quarantine. So please, if you're sick, stay home. If you're sick,
064see your doctor, decide whether you need to be COVID tested. Many times the doctor may say, "No, this is just allergies. You don't need anything." But please do not send a sick kid to school under any circumstance at all, and there will be no penalties. >> Thank you, Dr. Booker for reiterating that. >> It's important to know. >> Any other comments or questions? >> Okay. Um, Mr. Davis, we have any public commentary? >> There was none. >> Okay. There being none, uh, do I have a motion for journ? >> Yes. I so move. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. A basic break even. >> I know.