001I would like to call the special meeting of the Lraine Hunt City Schools Board of Education to order. Roll call, please. Mr. Ferguson, here. Mrs. Washington, present. Dr. Ballard, here. Mrs. Nazario, here. Mr. Sturgil, here. All right. Uh, good evening everyone. At this time, I have the honor of introducing our high school principal, uh, Mrs. Cheers, to the podium, uh, so she can introduce some very fine achieving students to lead us in the pledge of allegiance and share on their accomplishments on this evening. Mr. Cheers. Good evening. To lead us in our pre our pledge tonight, we'll have Gerald TC cadet, First Sergeant Sebastian Brewer. You could please come up. Please stand. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under
002God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Sebastian, thank you. Thank you, Sebastian. And thank you to the board and Dr. Graham, Mr. May, and Mr. Scott for this opportunity to congratulate and present the names of 27 seniors who were awarded scholarships through the community foundation of Lorraine uh community college. I'm sorry, the community foundation of Lorraine County, our community organizations and families. Our students were awarded the Beth Stalker scholarship, the Betty K. Hoffman Memorial Scholarship, the Dozen Dunn Scholarship, the Frank Kern Scholarship, the Lraine High School JOTC Eric M. Barn Scholarship, the Mildred R Memorial Scholarship, and the Ted Jacobs Memorial Scholarship, as well as the Red Cross scholarship. I will call the names of the students that were awarded tonight with the help of assistant principal Miss Jones. And all of our students
003couldn't make it tonight, but I do want to mention that we've made it a point to communicate with our families and students to try to increase the participation and our students applying for scholarships. And that number actually quadrupled this year. And so our selection committee had quite a few applications to go through. Um the first recipient go to take the certificates is Elon Boyd. He won the Ted Jacobs scholarship for [Applause] $500. Jamie Cabrera was awarded the RAW scholarship for $1,000. And if you're here, please come up to receive your certificate. Malaysia Casey, the RAW scholarship, $1,000. Marina Schle Blowski, the Stalker Scholarship for $2,000. Rodney Crawford received the Ted Jacobs Scholarship for $500. [Applause] Naya Daer the Karna scholarship for $2,000. Courtney Dumas was awarded the RAW scholarship for $1,000. Aiana Green was awarded
004the Dozend scholarship for $5,000 and the Huffman scholarship for $450. Joey Hall Jr., stalker, $2,000. Briana Johnson, the RAW scholarship for $1,000. Aan Killian, the Kern Scholarship, $2,000. Katie Lee Stalker, $2,000. [Applause] Andreas Lopez Negron, the stalker scholarship for $2,000. Allei Morero Rivera, Gerald TC, [Applause] $1,000. Peter Marshall, the RAW scholarship, $1,000. [Applause] Marilyn Miss Cannon. She was awarded the Dozen Denen scholarship for $5,000 and the Huffman scholarship for $450. Daniela Ortiz, the RAW scholarship for $1,000. Erica Michelle Ortiz, the RAW scholarship, $1,000. Susan Park, $2,000 from the SC Stalker. Hannah Puit, $1,000 from JOTC. Isaiah Ray, $250 from the Red Cross. Antonio Rosario, $2,000 from the Kern Scholarship. [Applause] Roger Raven Shaw, $2,000 from the Kerna scholarship. Carrie Tamasik, $5,000 from the Desenden [Applause] Scholarship from Stalker. Penelopey Wallace was awarded $2,000. And Jalia
005Wright, $1,000 from the Roll Scholarship. and Zach Zang, $2,000 from the stalker scholarship. And that is roughly five uh $50,000 in scholarship money to those 27 applicants. Congratulations. Thank you. And congratulations. Congratulations to the families. Recognition of visitor. I think one more first. Right. That's where That's where this is. Oh, we have Did you have something else? I just didn't know if we were going to do a picture, but there's another do a picture before we do the picture. So, no one leaves. Oh, let's do that. We have a recognition of one more group, right? Yeah. Did you want to do picture with them first or do the Let's recognize. Go ahead. Who else do we have? Uh, so we have uh our celebration. Yep. Another celebration. Uh we have three music teachers here uh
006to Cool. Uh want to go there next? Yes, please. All right. Perfect. So we two weeks ago, actually the day of our last board meeting, we found out that we were recognized as one of the best uh communities for music education in the country. So really excited. Tonight we have with us um three of the leaders of our music department on our arts council to share with you about the award and just what goes into our music education now three years after your big investment a few years ago in our arts programming. So, I'm excited to welcome um Emily Pac and Angelo Cartika and Ted Trune uh to come on up. We we literally are are now one of the best communities in the country for music education and thanks to to their leadership. You
007to blame. So, thank you for that. Sorry. Yeah, thank you. Um so, yeah, the award do do you want me to use this please? It's for TV. Yeah. Um, so the award is uh given by North American music merchants who obviously have a vested interest in seeing us teach music to students. Um, we're one of uh under 900 music or 100 districts who receive the award and of there's about another 100 individual schools that receive the award. Um, the application process is pretty thorough. They ask about our student population, uh how we use our funding to to support music ed, how we uh develop our music professionals, so what what music um specific professional development is offered for us, as well as the education level of your music staff. They look at collaboration within the
008music department and across departments, which we do a lot of already. Uh our community and administrative support, which we have so much of, and I, you know, we we're going to say thank you a million times. So, here's another one of them. So, thank you for all the support. Um, they look at uh what performances, what performance opportunities we offer our students, not only in-house, but where we take our students to perform outside of our buildings and outside of our community. They also look at um the music ed off offerings that we give and what access we allow our students to have from prek all the way through high school which is as far as I know every student has the ability to participate in some sort of musical offering which is incredible. Uh they
009also look at the amount of time we all lot for music instruction which is honestly one of the reasons I came to teach here and why I love teaching here is because of the amount of time I get with my students. it's honored as equally as all the other classes that they take. Um, they also look at what music offerings as far as diversity is given to our students and we do a great job of offering a lot of different things and then of course our community support which is which is large as well. Um, this award is going to affect us in a few ways. It's going to attract quality candidates. When we have a music position open, that stamp on your website will get you more applicants. um vendors will take note and
010we will we might start to see sponsorships. We might start to see discounts from larger vendors knowing that we're doing good work and that we're going to be invested in for the long haul. Uh hopefully our families take note and encourage their students to participate in our programs. And of course it's a point of pride not only for our district but for us as music educators because I get to say I work at one of the best communities for music education. Um I've got Emily and Ted here with me. I can speak to what's going at the middle schools, but I'm gonna hand it over to Emily so she can talk about what we're doing at the elementary level music wise. Um, I wish I knew more about what she did, but um, I'm excited
011to hear what she has to say. Yeah, please. Hi, my name is Emily. Um, I'm the music teacher at both Admiral King and Palm and also a part of the arts council. When I first started at Lorraine four years ago, I walked into the art room, looked in the cabinets, and saw a box of old rhythm sticks, a few broken drums, and some odds and ends. Now, as I close my fourth year, my cabinets are overflowing with instruments, and it has been such a progression to watch. Across our 10 elementary schools, all of our kindergarten through fifth grade students have two performance opportunities. These performances this year included concerts, piano recital, ukulele Titan Fam event, second grade musicals and informances. A time where families can be immersed into the music classroom with their students. One
012of the amazing opportunities our kids have is learning how to read music and play instruments at a young age. They don't have to wait for middle school band anymore. All of our third graders across the district have learned how to play the recorder. Our fourth graders have learned how to play the keyboard. And all of our fifth grade students have learned how to play the ukulele. Keeping it the same across the district also helps. When students are moving, they know what to expect and they are still learning the same instrument. In addition to learning in the classroom, students at several elementary schools have gotten the opportunity to join music and piano clubs. Our students are thriving in the music room and they are hungry for more opportunities. This summer, we will be offering our first
013ever elementary music camp, which is only a few students away from already being at capacity. Since we have expanded our elementary music program, both our middle school band and choir programs have grown. We are seeing more students coming into sixth grade wanting to continue their music education, which is a huge testament to our program. Our students are getting to experience both performance and learning opportunities that just a few years ago were unobtainable. Their confidence is growing. Their love of music is growing. And the best part is that our kids are flourishing. Our music rooms are giving our youngest students a safe place to express themselves. Four years later and our elementary music program is almost unrecognizable. I look forward to seeing where the program goes from here. Thank you. So, that's that's a lot of
014really cool stuff at the elementary level. Um, at the middle school level, you know, I came here uh to work at Longfellow came here to work at Longfellow at the beginning of last school year, and I had a 5-year plan. I have already been able to accomplish almost everything on that 5-year plan in two years, thanks to administrative support I've gotten from from you guys and from our building principles. Um, we have a steel band at Southview. Uh, both both Southview and Longfellow have begun competing at the OMA large group event. All three middle schools have sent students to solo and ensemble contests. Um, we have been able to coordinate a middle school band night as well as the summer middle school band camp which is going to show a massive increase of in recruitment
015and retention to the high school level. Um, we've also started string offerings at all three middle schools. So, we're teaching students string instruments again, which used to be a robust uh program in Lraine. Uh we've also made good use of the Lraine City Schools endowment grants. Uh Mrs. Herszle at Longfellow took a group of students to participate and see uh Ann Juliet and then they got to talk to some of the cast members from that production. I was able to secure a grant to take my students to music in the parks where they performed for rating and then they spent the day at Cedar Point together and they had a absolute blast doing that. Uh we also were able to bring in some guest artists to the um artsfest on March 8th which was the
016land brass band. And I got some quotes I wanted to share. Um one of my students uh with regards to adjudicated events said it makes the process worth it because we got to do stuff with our friends at Cedar Point and got to make long m long lasting memories with them. And some of those students are now planning on participating in high school band that didn't. Uh the contests themselves didn't make me think of music differently but being in band class definitely did. Although I had a few ups and downs in the process of learning all the music pieces, it was definitely worth the months of practice. Everything has a purpose and I truly mean it when I said being in band was one of the best experiences I could have had in 8th grade
017before joining high school band. And then with regards to Dan Brass Band, I had students just exclaim, "That's the best band I've ever heard." They said it right in front of him. It was really fun to hear. And another student has a strong interest in playing jazz now. So we're developing a momentum at the middle school level that uh it's been amazing frankly and I think Mr. Turhune over the next few years is going to see a massive influx not only of numbers but in the quality of students and what he's going to be able to attain with the band. And with that I'm going to hand over to Mr. Turkin to talk about what's going at the high school. [Applause] Good evening. Good evening everyone. Um so you've heard from some of our high
018school students earlier this year and their experiences, but I just want to uh share some other things we've had going on at Lorraine High this year that have been just um really wonderful for our students and their experiences. U you know increased visibility at um county and district events. That's OMA. That's Lorraine County. Um and an increased use of guest artists. Uh we had visit us this year Dr. Matthew James from Ohio University. He brought his entire jazz ensemble here. Uh Dr. Antoine Clark showed up in as a guest conductor to work with our students. Uh we got to travel to Cleveland State to work with Dr. Burch Browning. All these experiences add up to um a greater result for our students. Uh 52% increase in student enrollment and uh just uh personally seeing students
019being more actively engaged in uh the music classroom. I I think I really noticed it this year during second semester. A lot more buyin from all of our wonderful students. Um, you know, the addition of more music courses at Lorraine High School. I'm just so excited about because it's going to add more on-ramps for our students. So maybe if a student didn't get a chance to learn an instrument uh in middle school, maybe they're maybe they're coming from a school, maybe that's not offered. Um they can have that opportunity to be involved. Um, I can tell you, uh, you know, you heard from, uh, a student earlier this year, uh, Hannah Puit, who received a $6,000 scholarship, uh, to go to Cleveland State to continue playing in their band. Uh, I received an email from
020an alumni the other day, Madison Jones, who, um, is at Kent right now. And, uh, she, uh, went to Kent as, I think, an undecided major. Uh, decided to change her major to music education. She's playing piccolo in the orchestra there. She's a section leader in the marching band and is really just continuing to be a leader. Um, all these things that are happening are a result of our fine arts expansion and just the wonderful opportunities students have been given. Um, I can tell you that many, many alumni just in the past couple weeks have been reaching out saying, "Hey, can I get more involved in the community for music education? Can I come help out with band camp? Can I help out with the middle school camp?" Uh, I just think it's a really
021exciting time for Lancia schools and our wonderful students. I'd like to thank the board of ed. I'd like to thank all the um all administration for your wonderful support uh with all this because it's a uh it's a community award and without the community uh it wouldn't be possible. So, thank you. So, I I was going to tap out, but I wanted to say one more thing. Um I know music is fun and it's great and the fact that we're spending a lot of time and effort on this is not just for fun. Um, we're we're seeing elementary students develop empathy and teamwork and I see that at the middle school level already as they come in sixth grade. I see my middle school students care more about their attendance. They care more about their
022grades. They care more about staying out of trouble so that they can participate in these programs. And then I see at the high school level students thinking about college and where they're going to go to college and setting foot on campuses like that picture right there at CSU where they get to see these these universities that maybe they would have never visited if it wasn't for a concert they were giving there. So what we're doing for our students is fun but the product of the the action of making music and making music together is developing better students for Lraine. And if they never play an instrument again after graduation, this this program and what we're doing is serving our students in ways that will impact them the rest of their lives. And I think we'll
023start to see it as a district in our numbers with regards to math scores, attendance, discipline issues. I think those things will start to go down. Actually, there's tons of research that shows that. So stay the course, please. We really appreciate this. And and you will see more than just blossoming music programs. You're going to see wonderful human beings coming out of the rain schools. Not that there aren't already, but we'll see more of them. So, appreciate it. Thank you. [Applause] I just want to say thank you for so many things. Obviously, it's not just about opportunities, it's about quality opportunities. I want to thank you um for for bringing to the table what you do. Um I've watched you guys with the kids and I agree. not only they they eating it up um
024but the quality relationships that they're establishing that they otherwise would not have had a chance to. Um so thank you for your mentorship. Thank you for your leadership. Um and thank you for putting us in a position where we are recognized nationally. So thank you. Thank you. Photo time. Yep. Come on everybody. Everybody please come on up. Get a picture taken. Then you can make a run for it. Everybody, students, staff, I'm coming. You're good. Use it. Cut it out. There we go. [Applause] This is the part of the board meeting where we conduct business. Thank you for coming. Yeah, we'll refer once again to Mr. May, Mr. Scott with their four slides. Uhhuh. parameters. Um, we good? Actually, let me start real quick. And again, I want to thank everybody for the per or
025the the process that we followed. Um, again, we have great relationships with our teachers. Uh, we have many, many committees that we work on together, DLT, BLT, PBIS, MTSS, um, always come to the table with a voice and this this process was no different. Uh, we had a bunch of teachers volunteer, some administrators volunteer to be a part of this. I would argue that it actually we had a couple board members who were part of it. Um, and I would argue that there was conversation, as it should have been, was driven mostly by teachers. Um, we uh agreed to a lot of things, and I'm not sure actually if we disagreed on anything. I don't I'm looking, but I don't I don't think we did. We agreed that there was some confusion. Uh, we agreed
026that there were a lot of supports, but folks did not know how to access them as they as easily as they they should have. Um, and there were gaps in in our practices and there were gaps in our expectations. So, mostly what we did is figured out how to be better at those things. Uh but again driven by teachers um and it was nice to see um conversations that were focused on not only what's best for children and education um but to do it in a way that was so collaborative. So again, I want to applaud um our folks in the audience and we're having a conversation before the board meeting and policy uh about relationships and how well we work together and we've come a long way in in a short period of time,
027but I it's to me like the ultimate compliment and I don't talk much in those meetings. I listen um and and try to guide and direct a little bit. Um, but it's nice to see the level of trust that has to exist for processes like this to be able to not only be created. Um, but I think that there's confidence at least in that room that it will be implemented. So, I just want to say thank you to our teachers and to the admin who are part of that. Uh, thanks for volunteering and I think Ross started every meeting with uh, uh, thanks for giving up part of your day to come hang out with us because this is important. So, I will defer. All right. But again, thank you. Thank you. Um, so we'll
028do for those that are on the team over here, if we'll do just a little context stuff and then you guys want to come up a bit when we get to the statement. Does that work in a minute? Um, all right. So, uh, Dream going to the next one. Um, so just we we wanted to very very briefly just, um, just show a few graphs that, um, what we're going through here in Lraine is not unique. And we, we recognize that that CO was an extremely challenging time. Coming out of CO has been a challenging time. These trends also started to show before COVID. So, so these are some graphs graphs from uh Jonathan height. He's a researcher. He wrote the book um anxious generation and he's looked at mental health across the world. And
029so what we've got here is the percent of teens with major depression. Um in the top left, it's United States. Um but this is also happening in Canada. It's happening in Australia. It's happening in United Kingdom. It's happening all over the world. The kids are not all right uh with mental health. And it does not mean that that that lets us here in Lorraine off the hook. Not at all. But it does mean that we need to be cognizant of the larger picture and do whatever it takes to interrupt it. So um so that's just the very very brief um context here that I think matters. Uh Drew, can you go to the next one? So, as Jeff said, we had multiple multiple meetings with uh actually a few different groups and initially we had
030a larger group uh primarily of of LEA members and a few building uh leaders and from there we we really nailed down what our needs are. So some of the big things that we we identified from those from those sessions were we do have some students with some really challenging behaviors, some intense behaviors, some harmful behaviors towards themselves and towards others and and uh with violence with aloping that we needed to to have tighter procedures on. Um early elementary and kindergarten especially really stood out. Um some elementary encore settings um rose to being a level of concern. Um some students with disabilities with the most extreme behaviors. We had some confusion around cl uh communication with roles, procedures, and tools with our different personnel groups and which tools we were supposed to be using. And
031one of the big themes throughout is our staff is saying we just we need more training. We need help. We're not trying to throw kids away. We we're not um we just need more help. So those were were the main main needs that we were able to identify. So from there then our our groups evolved a bit. Um and you want to go to the next one and after several sessions again Jeff described earlier where we landed is a statement here. And so um I'll read the statement and then u we're going to uh talk in a little greater depth about um about some of the items here. So after a thorough review of behavior concerns with the Lorraine Education Association, LEA, Lorraine Administration Association, LAA, District Administration, and Board of Education representatives, our collaborative
032team has implemented a comprehensive action plan. We convened multiple sessions on 1217, 312, 410, 417, 51, 515, and 520 to analyze the issues and develop targeted solutions. While the group evolved throughout the dates, LEA and LAA members worked with central office members and two board members to develop this plan. We recognize that the work is ongoing and not a quick fix. We as a group attempted to address all concerns that apply to all levels and did emphasize early elementary as the most concerns were related to early elementary. We heard the staff desires to expand our current alternative school and or open a new alternative school. Our plan does not include expanding or opening a new alternative school at this time. As a result of these collaborative efforts, we one developed a comprehensive behavior support flowchart
033that clearly outlines intervention procedures and ongoing student support pathways. Two, clarified the roles and responsibilities of all support staff based on feedback gathered from various stakeholder groups, ensuring efficient coordination delivery of services. Three, scheduled a series of professional development sessions beginning with summer training and continuing throughout the school year focusing on evidence-based behavior management strategies including crisis prevention institute, trauma-informed practices, resilia practices for kindergarten, and the use of panorama as a tool for staff to use. Four, we recommend implementing a balanced approach integrating both structured and unstructured play in the learning environment. This will require flexibility from school staff, particularly during soft openings, post lunch periods, and soft closings. Five, recommend the hiring of additional behavior coach to provide specialized guidance for staff. Six, recommend the hiring of pair professional so that each kindergarten classroom
034has a dedicated full-time pair professional. Seven, clarified procedures for students who display behaviors where the safety of the student and other students is at risk using logical consequences that follow Ohio law and Lraine City Schools code of conduct. We believe these measures represent a thoughtful, systematic approach to addressing behavior concerns while creating a supportive environment for all students and staff. We welcome the board's feedback as we continue to refine and implement these initiatives. So, at this time, I'd like to invite um Tammy and Christine and Amy, Julie. Um so active members of the group that uh developed this talk in a little greater depth about a few items um here from our plan. And while they're coming up uh note that you know life happens for a couple of the members too that did plan
035on uh showing their involvement and they couldn't make it. So um there were a couple other teachers that uh told us today that they weren't going to be able to join us. Thank you, Madam Secretary. Hello. Good evening. And so I'm going to just speak to the importance of leaders having clarity about staff roles because that is very important because a lot of times you hear well I don't know what I'm doing. Is that something I'm supposed to be doing? Then the path and the lines get blurred and then people have a tendency to start overstepping each other. And so I just have some quick talking points about that importance. So having clarity in roles ensure that responsibilities are distributed appropriately minimizing overlapping and confusion. So when everyone knows their roles, tasks are completed faster
036and more effectively allowing for the school to run a little bit smoothly. It also strengthens accountability. So clear roles make it easier to measure performance and have accountability for your staff. This creates a culture of responsibility and professional growth which directly benefits students. It enhances collaboration. So when staff understand their own roles in those of their colleagues because we spoke to having a behavior coach and also having a pair professional in the classroom. um for kindergarten collaboration becomes more strategic and less fragmented and teams can complement each other's work versus duplicating it. It also can increase and improve staff morale. Okay? Because you start feeling confident about what you're doing because I hear a lot being admin, I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. I was told this by one person, I was
037told this by the next person. What am I supposed to be doing? So now if you have more clarity in the roles they feel confident, secure and about what they're doing. It reduces burnout and frustration and then ultimately it's support student success. So the goal is why we did this to have student achievement in mind and when adults in a school system are clear on who is doing what they can respond more quickly to student needs and maintain a consistent supportive environment. So as school leaders our responsibility is not only to set the vision but ensure our teams are equipped to execute it. That begins with absolute clarity around roles. And when every educator knows their purpose and how it aligns with our mission for Lraine City Schools, we can build a school culture that
038is coherent, focused, and driven by impact. Who's connected? Sorry, I'm a little bit on the short side. I have a couple I apologize. I'm trying to help out um Anna Boer what that also was on the committee with us. She couldn't be here today, so I kind of doing two. But um I was asked to speak about the structure of the day. We're looking at doing a soft opening and a soft closing. So, I was asked to kind of share what that would be for the elementary. It will be a little bit it'll look different than middle school and high school since we have we don't have block schedulings and that type of thing. But, um what we're doing is starting for example from 8 to 8:30 in the morning we call it a soft
039opening. 2 to 2:30 in the afternoon soft closing. In the middle of the day, the day we have 30 minutes of true play, recess, not it took you 10 minutes, put your hat on, your coat on, we got outside, so now we're down to 20. Studies have shown that play equals happiness for children. That play should be selfinitiated and self-controlled, that play is freedom from adult control, that emotional breakdowns decrease when there's time to have true play. um students feel independence, they build their confidence and students are happier. They're more successful into adulthood. So we thought about the wise and in order to have basic needs met for your health, mental health, you need autonomy, you need competence, and you need re relatedness. And we need to bring that normal childhood back to children. So
040many children are directed every day what to do. They don't have time to make their own choices, their own decisions. So what this time would give them and the benefits of it, they will be able to come in a little calmer. They're not as rushed. Something happened at home. You had, you know, you're a few minutes late. It's okay. It gives them time to come in to calm down. that child that has a problem maybe with that separation it's okay they have the time to calm down you can and just because it is soft opening I do this in my classroom every morning and every afternoon and it's a lot easier I will be honest it is a lot easier to do in the morning in the afternoon your day gets going and you're like
041oh no I'm missing but it looks like this. They come in in my room, they eat breakfast, and they can sit wherever they want with their breakfast. They can talk to a friend just like we all talked up until the minute this meeting started. We They get to share ideas. They can pick a game. They can play Connect 4. They can do um Jenga, they can play war. There's a lot of different activities. I'm working on adding more activities so that we can maybe have something along the line. I would like to add more art. I have some art, but some more art, maybe some dancing. We t even talked about maybe like an exercise area. But we also want to encourage no screen time. Screen time is up so much. And it and it
042it is it's becoming the pro like the the ma the big problem. I mean, that's the that's the huge cloud hanging over. We are not talking. Kids are coming to school. I have first graders. They don't know how to p a pencil or crayon or scissors. So let them. So we're really trying to do this and they're learning. They're learning to talk to each other. They're learning to communicate with each other. They're learning in these soft starts and start closings that they can play a game and they can lose and it's okay. They congratulate each other. Things that they couldn't do like puzzles, they're doing them faster and quicker. And what they are they're this is all part of learning. So we are just trying to to bring back what children are missing and all
043of it will help with um the social emotional um of children. So here are some of the benefits and I wrote them down so I don't mess it up. The benefits of doing play and letting kids enjoy themselves and make choices for themselves. It reduces anxiety. It helps students who struggle with separation from caregivers or have anxiety about the day ahead calm. It smooths the transition from home to school, especially for your neurode divergent children. It builds a classroom community time for gentle peer interactions and connections with a teacher before structured learning begins. I know Ross may come in my came into my room the other day and he got to see it doesn't always go perfectly. Kids have some, you know, they have confrontations or little disagreements, but they come over and my job
044is to try to help them solve it themselves. You know, I beginning of the year, we had kids that would spill milk and they would stare at it. And now the kids are they know what to do and others help them. Little things um time um builds encourages collaborative play and social skill development. Improves focus and readiness to learn. It allows children time to wake up mentally and emotionally leading to better engagement in their lessons. It minim minimizes the rush and stress of that immediate academic demand like walking in and I was guilty of this for many years. Walking in and there's work right in the bucket. Get that morning work done. Go ahead. Don't spill your breakfast on it. So, and it let students choose from a variety of tasks supporting autonomy and intrinsic
045motivation. and it really has made a difference in my classroom this year. I have been able to see the benefits of it. I feel like this year I I probably have the best attendance I've had in years. And I'm not saying it's because of this, but I'm not going to say it's not. So, the kids are coming in, they're prompt, they want to play the newest games that I bring out, the newest activities, and their social skills are becoming better. I hear them cheering for each other more. And our overall goal is that yes, we're taking away people are going to say we're taking away learning time, but we're hoping that by giving them back time to be a kid and to play that when we are having that structured learning time, they're more able
046to focus, they're more able to be involved, they'll ask questions, and we'll see great results. So, that was my job to tell you guys. Now I will tell you middle school and high school we are doing it. It will look differently but there are going they're same with them they the the middle school and high school they would we need that calm start calm ending to give them a break from the racing down the hallway and getting into class before the bell rings. So it might look different and that will be for those teachers to discuss. Okay. Thanks Amy. Yeah. Thank you Amy. Um, [Applause] I just want to echo what Dr. Graham said about we were part of that process and we tried to stay out of the way. I think Dr. Ball more
047successfully than myself. But uh the conversations were so open and honest and focused that it was just a great process from start to finish. And Mr. May and Mr. Scott, thank you for your leadership and guidance in that whole process. And I'm encouraged by the results. Thank you. First hearing of the public. I have a quick question. Can I quickly Sure. So that's an hour and a half though out of the day. So 3030 and 30. Just I wrote it down. If I wrote it down 8:30 to 2:30. Yep. Okay. Yep. Yep. Do you want to share the information you had on lunch? How much actual recess time we get? Yeah. It it so it varies, but we had a number of staff say that by the time kids actually get done eating lunch, they
048get if they're going outside, they got to put a coat on and then clean up and then come back in. That instead of getting full 30 minutes, it some cases it's 10 minutes. And so by the time they get out, they just get started, they come back in, it's more frustrating than anything else. And that we need more protected. I mean, I think Amy said it well, protected time in the middle of the day for kids to be able to be kids um and play. And it's it's not out of the day. It's just different use of time during the day. Correct. Right. And a lot of research supports that when you do that, the rest of your day is so much more productive that you're not you're not losing time and behaviors improve, attendance
049improves. I mean, there's just strong correlations between this and and uh it was in the book that we was referenced a couple of times and shared it in these meetings. Um, kids used to be raised by play and through play and that was how we've developed. Now they're being raised by computers and uh iPads. And as a result that you see that chart that was up there originally, mental health issues, especially among our children are through the roof. Um just exponential growth. So we shouldn't be surprised that our children have different needs more related to trauma, mental health issues that are not quick fixes. Um so we need to make sure that our our staff has not just a toolbox full of tools. We'll work around the PD part as we mentioned uh but also
050other folks to help them with those tools and provide supports in a way that's more productive than than what happened this year. We identified a number of areas where um we had the right people, the right tools, but we didn't connect the two very well because of bad processes that we believe we have ironed out through a pretty ugly flowchart at this point. But we can we can share it. Um but it's will make it prettier a little easier to read, but I think we agree with the process. Yep. collectively agree and unstructured time look as Amy indicated will look different at middle school and and high school. So if you hear the number like what was projected as a possibility at the elementary obviously takes on a different beast at the middle school and
051the high school, right? Um but that's where structured play um might increase as well. So you know our students like to debate that could be considered. There's a gradual release there. Um there's many different ways but we want to bring um like we have done in the past. Let's say with co planning we brought groups of folks together to kind of say hey how do we figure this out? Um knowing that here are the marks that we need to meet. Uh the same thing applies for this. So in regards to innovation this idea of bringing that into all levels um is important but it's going to look and even from a time standpoint feel different. Um but I was one I'll say when I left I was a middle school principal in Lorraine city schools
052for four and a half years and we didn't have like a recess prescribed we had um opposite lunch we called it uh at that point I think it was eagle challenge or whatever it was called um we had an opportunity to engage and whether it was an enrichment but teams had the autonomy to kind of decide what they wanted to do. So there were times when the weather permitted that folks got out and did some things. Other times we did some um remediation or or enrichment. So I think given some of that control back to but just like this was a listening session we'll have to create those groups and then um you know try some things see what works come back to the playbook. Um so I don't believe that this is an end
053for this group to continue the meeting and if it has to evolve like it has continued there's opportunities there but um I just did want to put out for all of us like we have shown and I think I said this last board me we have shown over time that we can get together into spaces and do some things that are right by students and staff alike. um this is just the um immediate challenge facing us before, but we've had those challenges over the last you know four going on five years and we've been able to meet some marks on some things too and I I'm hopeful that this continues to be the approach that we take and I hope everybody realizes that with unstructured or structured play there's learning going on you know it's
054not just we're just digging in the dirt we're finding out things and part of the reio and what we used to have monosuri there's a lot of learning that happens. Can I add to this or were you going to No, I have something else. Go ahead. Do you mind? No. Okay. Um I hate to be the the negative person, but I do have questions. Um this comes as a joint statement, but um and we do uh Dr. Graham did say um we're working on the the flowchart. Um I am concerned that this does sound like there there is a plan there is um procedures it references and I personally don't know what that is right now. Um I can you I like what I heard now. Um I do think it's important for the kids
055to come in um and we don't say you know bell work or get busy. Um those things I think you know help help our kiddos get a get a good start for the day. Um I think same thing uh reason why I was against uniforms um why I am against cell phone bags uh because I don't want us to police kids as soon as they walk in the doors. Um but I don't feel we have a plan or if we do have a plan I don't know what that is right now. Um and I feel like that's what I am hearing from uh parents and educators both is we want to know xyz. Um what happens when what do we do when this happens? What happens? Um and I know things are different versus if
056a child might have an IEP or something like that 504. Um but what are the consequences? consequences are all outlined in the code of conduct and we follow them subjectively. Yeah. Yeah. If Jay does something and Courtney does something, it could be the same thing. If Jay's done it six times and Courtney's never been in trouble before, it would be handled differently. Or if there are other there sometimes there are just a lot of circumstances that go into it. It's not typically as cut and dry as X then why. But but I think Ross is trying to pop up the flowchart to kind of so again the consequences with your question I think that's that's our our actually that's board approved board directed that's what we follow but in terms of how we get from
057um unhealthy behaviors to healthy behaviors I can't see so I think there a couple couple things first so so one of the things that we identified through our um again our our meetings is that we don't have good understanding of of what is to be um classroom managed versus office managed behavior. So, so this is I think and you'll see it I mean it's on our flowchart um but this is something that we've had now for several years but we have not done a good enough job of being clear and supportive on what is office managed versus classroom managed. So, so this is um foundational to make sure that we're we're clear across all of our staff who's responsible for what. And then our flowchart. And again this is a in draft form but conceptually
058uh where we are here is that uh just working from the top left is that we have to reset um clear understanding of what's classroom managed versus office managed behavior. And then when we look at um how we communicate, one of the things that we we recognize is we have to do a much better job partnering with our families and and when we look at our office referral data, um the overwhelming majority of our referrals do not have um some type of family involvement. Um so we'll have a lot of referrals, but not but the overwhelming majority do not have uh family involvement. And so we had a discussion about how we connect with families. And one of the things that we realized is that we use technology a lot. It's easy to text. It's
059easy to use classroom dojo. Um but we don't when we look at and and just talked about um how our our staff is connecting and partnering with families. Um we've got some work to do to do a better job meeting face to face or with a phone call to have a conversation with them. So, we want to be able to partner with our families and not um either just not have that good partnership or working around them or we're working with the families after the fact. So, as soon as we have a presenting challenge, we want to make sure that we're partnering with our families and in a face toface or phone call type of a setting. So, underneath that then and and just weekly our staff is meeting. we call them C3 teams, but
060uh it's it's the collaborative team for our staff to to get together to design to plan instruction, problem solve together. And one of the things that we realized is that our especially at the elementary schools, our counselors are used differently in each of the schools and and we do have excellent counselors who are very skilled. You heard them a few months ago. In several of the schools though, the C counselors are later down the line in when they get involved in supporting our supporting our staff to design instruction and designing the environment that meets kids needs. So, we need to be quicker on a lot of fronts. So, we need to be quicker in helping our staff design instruction so that we're not looking at just a behavior problem, but we're looking at how can
061we adjust the environment for the kid to be more successful. And our counselors are really uniquely qualified to do that. So, we need to have them more involved earlier on with our staff when they're designing instruction. We also recognized that we did not have clear procedures delineated for when we need to to intervene quicker around if we have a student that is um causing harm to to themselves or causing harm to others and and their safety concerns. So from there, we also if we have a student that is presenting, you know, significant safety concerns that we need to be much quicker in developing a safety plan. So, so you'll notice we've got our green arrows going off that right now. Um, one side that says, "Yep, look, we we've got some environmental concerns that we
062need to make adjustments with here. Let's involve our counselor." can um on the safety side of things if we need to be much quicker because we've got some some concerns um let's do that and then we begin our interventions uh right away and then both in both cases and that would signify for us tier two which is then a more uh intense level of intervention. Another thing that we recognized um and and learned from our our staff in a couple different groups is that we have very mixed implementation of the tool panorama. Panorama is a tool that we invested in uh two years ago in a small scale. We tried at the high school first um actually at Success Academy and then at the high school and then with our um principles, our counselors and
063some of our schools are using it well. Others just aren't to the point of using it yet. They all need to be and and will be going forward. So in a couple weeks here when we do start our professional development and then in August for all staff and throughout the course of the year next year uh Panorama it combines uh several data sources for us into one place so we can see students academic scores and we can also see their u response on the social emotional learning survey. um actually the ones our students just completed last week. And it also brings in our um attendance data for the students if the student has had a um a removal, a suspension or emergency removal. Um that's in there as well. And it also allows us to
064u have access to interventions targeted to the specific area of need and a way to collect data that's embedded um right there in one place. and and we have scattered implementation of that and that needs to be our house for all of all of that information. So our teams need to be empowered to use that. We need to have a regular review. So when we have interventions that we've designed that we're reviewing and revising if necessary. Then you'll see um again we've got FBA um so all kind of edges speak here but functional behavior assessment. So where we figure out if we need to get to that point like what's the real cause going on that's triggering that behavior and then uh BIP stands for behavior intervention plan um and then connect with agency supports
065um underneath that and then you see different staff groups on the right. So one of our action items uh about six weeks ago was to survey our staff that have some role in supporting student behavior. And so we asked our behavior coaches and our wellness coaches and our counselors and our special education supervisors and our school psychologists and um our safety officers, our SEOs, anybody that has some type of role in student behavior, like how's it going in short? And and the responses were pretty similar that everybody's spread thin, that they're trying to put out fires. Um and and when we looked at all the responses, they really overlapped each other a lot. So, so what we recognize, we need to be much clear about who's doing what. So, our behavior coaches uh can't be
066running all over school to school trying to intervene with individual kids. We'll never have enough behavior coaches to do that. But their role by design needs to be to work and help support our staff around behavior, to develop environments, to recognize sensory needs, to recognize intervals for breaks that kids may need, and to make adjustments that way. not to run around and to work with an individual kid or be the intervention for an individual child. It's not their purpose, but that's also our fault for not being clear about how they should be used and providing that um that support and guidance. So, uh wellness coaches doing very similar work as behavior coaches currently. They shouldn't be. They need to be doing mentoring work. They need to be helping our students get reaclimated to the school
067environment if a if a student has to have been removed um for through a suspension or an expulsion. Our special education supervisors have been spending a large amount of their time going to every single IEP meeting. They don't need to go to every single IEP meeting. Uh they have exceptionally good skills in um consulting with staff, coaching our staff. They need to be able to do that and they need to be able to prioritize more time around helping support and lead um functional behavior inter uh assessments and development of behavior plans, but the way that they're currently used um it it doesn't really free them up to have that level of expertise and targeted support where we need it best. So all that to say that our school leaders need to be supported then to
068know we've got behavior. So this is why on the right side, behavior coach, wellness coach, special ed supervisor, school psychologist, um are there so that that they can help coordinate those services so we don't have a situation where individual people are all reaching out and saying, "I need a behavior coach. Well, they're not available. I need a wellness coach." And and then we end up with a really incoherent support as opposed to a really coherent support um to help our teachers. And we've got to be much again quicker. So So we need to connect to how our teams are planning right away. Again, our counselors need to be much more involved on the front end um and and just much more coherent as a whole with how we uh provide our supports. Yeah. And to
069be clear, this is not in lie of consequences to your point. This is parallel with it. So along the way, we have to make sure that we're but we're coaching and developing and not just punishing. And that was emphasized uh in the meeting because originally we had six uh recommendations to present and then one of the staff members did say hey I think we just need to be very transparent that code of conduct law will be followed. Um and we say yeah of course um so even including that number seven was with intentionality to make sure that we're not saying all of these things are happening in lie of um consequences. Ross, you you used the term putting out fires and I think what we looked at was preventing fires, correct? Is was the focus.
070Yeah, correct. Yep. I have one. Oh. Um the pan panorama you mentioned um that they just took the quiz. The students just survey survey. Yeah. Um, will that information follow them to next year? That does. Yeah, it does. Yep, that does. Y will any behavior or any grades or any of that? Uh, teachers be able to see that as well? The Yeah. So the grades do the um the uh incident does the description of the incident does not in Panorama and uh and uh so we can see it but what we don't want and and this was a decision we made a few years ago our PBIS team is for students to get to high school and they've got a wrap sheet from kindergarten um that follows them all the way through. Thank you. Yes,
071ma'am. Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you. Um, Sander Pelquin, I heard wonderful things here. Um, I think it's a really good, but my question is, um, and I'm an elementary land teacher. I'm especially new. I'm I don't have the tools in my toolbox like say Amy does. Where where where are the funds coming for this? Um, when are the teachers going to be notified? Like there's only eight days left of school. I need to be notified. I'm that kind of teacher and I think all teachers are reflective and we're constantly incubating. I might not be sitting down there cutting things out in my living room, but I'm constantly thinking of things and looking for ideas. I heard um the wonderful things about the music program, which are, you know, incredible. Uh she said when
072she went there, there were some broken sticks and that's it. Well, they weren't taking ukulele lessons and piano lessons on no funds. So, you know, where is that coming? Our school is going to have a bank of games to pull out and switch out. You know, this this costs money. It does take money and you know you're going to have some new teachers coming in. They're, you know, not going to be a lot of money. They're going they're paying student loans. Um they're going to need that that supports the teachers as well. Not just um the behaviors of the children, but the teachers need that as well. So I just hope that you guys have talked about that and know where that's coming from. Yep. Thank you. We we would not create expectations without support.
073So do we have a budget? I mean, we're gonna work on a budget. We're still finishing up this stuff. But yes, then. Yeah. And a lot of stuff is low cost. Playing outside is not Yeah. So they're morning. No, that's recess, but the morning and the after and like and Amy is has been a teacher. We're so lucky to have her experience and to be a teacher. Yes. And a great teacher. But we know that we had so many teachers retire and we're bringing in a lot of new teachers. So they come in with nothing. Yeah. So part of part of that is we're we are revamping how we bring our staff in. And so part of that we u want to have our behavior coaches work with our new staff on what that classroom
074environment looks like. So what unstructured play looks like, how we transition from one activity to another during the structured instructional time. Um so so that that we look at to your point, I mean we we'll be hiring 50ome teachers. We've already hired a number of them, right? um to make sure that we've got that connection all along the way. M I um just from my shared experience, I have a seven and eight year old at home that experience um unstructured play at times and you know one of the things that I was asked as a parent um was to have a indoor recess bag. Um there were parameters around that but students got to bring in certain things of their own. I think we can get into a space and have some creative thoughts around
075that. Um also, um it was mentioned earlier the power of the endowment grant. We talked about that as a group too and I know that's late usually later released but you know when we're still thinking about those things those are pieces. Um we also discussed in the meeting um we have a policy on crowd funding and getting that community support and engagement. Um the one of the first steps is presenting the idea and I mean a lot of our teachers if I were to ask you how many you know follow that policy and do those things. We do have a lot of staff members that do that as well. I think there's a collaboration and the schools still have budget. So really talking to how we reallocate and direct some dollars. Okay. Um but you
076know there is part of this that is the lived experience too. So yes while I think the mention was you know there's eight days left to do this process. You saw the dates. It does take some time and we are in a different crunch and you know bringing people in in the summer when we bring people in to talk about things. Um, we followed a contract in regards to the non-instruction rate and paying people for their labor and and and and preparation. Um, another thing around new teachers. Um, we have new hires um that uh have new hire orientation, but then also aren't they assigned a a mentor of sorts, Sue? So, there's there's work there to support and once again we'll just have to continue to lean in and be better, right? Yeah. By
077coincidence, I think those are very valid points that we want to hear. I just wanted to give some of those responses because we had those uh in our pocket um as part of the conversation um because the representation didn't matter and those were some of the things that were brought up and just like in our time together you know those things that were brought up came up and then like I do believe 100% that um with our families we could partner with them um with some clear expectations on what you know unstructured play could look like and what they could bring into um add to that classroom as long as they got it back and things of that nature. And you know there's times where eventually you get tired of doing this so the bag
078has to change. But that's just one of the you know ideas on the table from my lived experience that has been pretty cool. Um that way the kids also get engaged with other kids. So we're really teaching them like hey this is how you share toys your toys or your games. Um and that's not just for the littles. I think the middle school kids have those same experiences because I saw kids playing adult Jenga when I was a middle school principal and adult connect for you know those and they like that. So, if we gave them that opportunity, I just think we what I've learned from this experience is when we get into spaces and have real true communication and collaboration, which is two-way, which is also meaning, hey, you know, we can get in
079the space and really get messy and try to figure this out, some good things can come from it. And, you know, I'm going to invite you in too because uh you had some points about how to fund this and things of that nature. Well, what I was going to say is what you're absolutely right there. We're not expressing everything that we talked about in all seven meetings I think we had. Um, but we talked about doing maybe a make it take it getting grade levels together with ideas. Can you explain that to those that may not understand what a make it take it? A make it take it is pretty much what it sounds like. We come in and we bring ideas, maybe some materials and we would share different ideas on something and I
080shared with um the group. I had tic tac toe boards. I literally made them out of cardboard marker and in the fall I brought in leaves and acorns and they played tic-tac-toe with leaves and acorns and then I changed it. I have little onboard. I had ice cream snowballs. Those cotton snowballs and in the winter time we did it with just change it up building. A lot of us we have manipulatives left over from you know the last six math programs we've had and you can sorry and you can build. So those some of those are almost eight years old. But I'm just saying there are materials in our classroom that we can use and there are just you know things. But you're right. But I I don't think it's I don't think it's something
081that we should make anyone overwhelmed by. It's not that type of a the slow opening and slow closing. A lot of teachers already do it. I mean, we have teachers on my building that do it all the time. I'm not unique in any way, shape, or form with this, but we also have some that do others that, you know, do the other way. Come in and start your morning work. And you can, it's just like anything else. you can progress and and add more things. At the beginning of the year, I didn't have as many choices as I do now, you know, and you have to it's it's just like when you teach all your your daily routines and structures and stuff of your classroom, you teach them how to use the materials and how
082to put the materials back. So, when I say now it's time to clean up, we're getting ready to start. and everybody just starts moving and they put their stuff together and they know when they're done they're on the carpet and they're and it's just once it becomes a daily routine they really do get it and it's and one thing I was reminded about by my friend Miss Lindsay over there is she asked me about recess and recess is we are the group that we put together I think unanimously agreed it should never be used as a a consequence like you can It's not recess is is recess and that kid that in your classroom that might be causing some trouble might be the one that needs that recess the most. Yep. So, you know, you
083know, maybe it's a maybe a little tough time sometime during the day, but got to let them roll. All right. I'm gonna add to what Amy said. Um, thank you. for the new teachers because we all remember what that's like and you're broke and you don't have any money. So what we do the LEA we ask our retired teachers to donate any supplies that they have that we can use and we give them to the new teachers at our new teacher lunchon. So they are getting a little bit of support some of those old manipulatives bulletton board things like that. So we do put that out for them so they have that opportunity. Also, as I bragged often, LEA has money. So, if we need to buy kids recess bags, we can do that. So,
084take me up on my own. I think that's a great idea. All right. Anything else? Oh, and somebody asked me about um it was mentioned that the elementary schools were going to be getting quiet rooms. Um I can't think of sensory rooms. Exactly. Do we know the status of any of that? Yes. Um, Linda Code who's not here to represent that has been working. Um, she was her and some special education supervisors along with others have, you know, worked on the previous renditions of that and they are working with the school leaders and things of that nature, I believe, moving forward so that those can be uh in place. I think her last update to me were a couple weeks ago that order was in. Um, things are moving forward. Um, but I I don't
085want to talk out of turn completely about that, but that ball was moving. Um, and then obviously there's the communication of what it is and what it isn't. That is just as important as having the space because it could be just as damaging if the perception is the room is for this and we're using it for this. So, we the to me like the big takeaway from all of this too is just increase clarity around the resources whether it's humans uh or spaces. Yeah, we just have to be clear on those, but those are, you know, for the elementaryaries. Um, we should have outfitted spaces for all 10 by the start of next school year. That was the objective. And, um, I just don't want to speak out of turnout for that right now, but
086we'll follow up. And based on how you asked the question, you might be asking a different question. Uh, if it was coming through you, a quiet space. I noticed something else came up was a space where um if a a child is unruly a place where that child can be until that child is regulated to a point where it's appropriate to go back. So we're looking at those as well. Okay. Thank you. But the sensory room piece was to you know there's a a proactive piece to that where it's not just a space where u the regula disregul regulation can occur but you know they're brought in there to learn specifically how to apply certain strategies and how to use certain tools. Um and then sometimes there is just over stimulation. So that might be
087an appropriate place. We just have to make sure that we're all clear. The idea is to make sure we have the spaces and then that everyone that is responsible for um helping students access access those spaces have them. Um so we'll be talking with you know in my mind the counselors will be a huge part of that conversation. Yes, the school leaders will be a part of that and then the other outside agencies that help support us during the day should also have a familiarity with our spaces too because um just like we teach and this is cliche so bear with me though but just like we explicitly teach reading, writing, math etc. we also need to help students explicitly learn socialization, regulation, even acts of meditation. I've sent some things to you that has
088been shared with me from staff members. this is what we're intentionally teaching um students. So, we have to continue to do that and that space is just a place to help um those lessons be taught. But I will make sure that we have an update from that team maybe at the men's board meeting. That's okay. Thank you. Now, are we on to the hearing of the public? Yes, Miss Public. All right. So, Julie Garcia, president of the Lauren Education Association, and I am here with a position statement opposing the changing of the school start times. As dedicated educ educators committed to the academic success, emotional well-being, and overall development of our students, we, the Lorraine Education Association, firmly oppose the proposed changes to school start times. While we acknowledge the intention to improve student outcomes,
089we believe that altering the established schedule will result in unintended negative consequences particularly regarding student behavior, academic performance and family routines. The first one would be disruption of of established routines for the students thrive on consistency and structure. Second, strain on extracurricular participation. Sports clubs and employment opportunities play a crucial role in promoting positive behavior. A revised schedule could restrict students ability to participate in these structured and enriching after-school activities, leaving more unsupervised idle time that can lead to problematic behavior. Elevated stress and anxiety. For many students, adapting to new schedules, especially when paired with academic and social pressures, can heighten stress and anxiety levels. This emotional toll often manifests as defiance, withdrawal, or classroom disruptions. And finally, afterchool programs, club, tutoring sessions, and athletic events rely heavily on teacher involvement. These activities not only
090build strong relationships and enhance students academic and social development, but shifting school hours could push the end of the instructional day later, thereby reducing or eliminating the time teachers have available to facilitate or support these crucial programs. Teachers already manage demanding workloads, often using time after school to grade, plan, and communicate with parents. If the school's day ends later, their ability to balance professional responsibilities with personal commitments such as child care, secondary employment, or continuing education will be compromised. This could result in lower teacher morale, reduced willingness to participate in voluntary programs, and ultimately a decline in the quality and availability of afterchool opportunities for students. Maintaining the current schedule supports both student enrichment and staff sustainability with the benefit of well-rounded educational experience and a committed engaging teaching staff. We strongly advocate for keeping
091the existing student start and end times unchanged. We urge decision makers to consider the broader implications of changing school start times. The behavioral and logistic challenges that come with the shift may outweigh the intended benefits. Rather than restructuring the school day, we advocate for targeted interventions such as improved mental health resources, academic support, and community engagement. We also ask that you consider elementary teachers start their day at 8:00 a.m., not 8:15. I have a plethora of pictures that my staff has sent me that show students in the classroom at 8:00 working. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? I entertain a motion to approve or amend the minutes of our previous meeting. So moved. Do I have support? Roll call, please. Mrs. Washington, yes. Dr. Balor? Yes. Mr. Ferguson? Yes. Mrs. Nazario? Yes. Mr. Sturdel? Yes.
092Uh, under old business, I'm not sure if this is the right spot, but I'd like to take a minute to recognize and congratulate the 24 Lorraine High seniors who actually graduated last Saturday uh from Lorraine Community College. Uh, 24 associates degrees earned by our seniors in the top two or three in the county. I've been looking for an update but didn't get that. It's just really impressive work uh by students and staff and it's something we should be proud of and I think that next year's total might approach two and a half times as many. So, lots of good things going on in the classrooms, reports and recommendations of the treasurer, please. I have the May forecast for presentation. First, we'll take a look at a simplified version of the updated forecast. This includes the
093district's beginning cash balance, revenues, expenses, deficit spending status, and ending cash balance for each year. Based on current revenue projections and spending plans, the district is deficit spending in the general fund this fiscal year, meaning expenses are exceeding revenues. The district is projected to have a negative cash balance in fiscal year 29 if expiring levies are renewed or in fiscal year 28 if they are not renewed. Keep in mind that the forecast is a projection of the future based on a snapshot of today. That snapshot, however, will be adjusted and the further into the future the forecast extends, the more likely it is the projections will change. Several factors will ultimately impact the forecast such as the state budget that is adopted every two years. Changes in district strategic plans, the status of current tax
094levies, and any changes to property tax laws, changes in costs to operate the district, changes in grant funding such as federal title funds. With these factors in mind, our numbers will continue to fluctuate and future updates may look significantly different. Compared to the November forecast, fiscical year 25 revenue is trending slightly higher than expected, primarily due to increases in line 1.035, unrestricted state grants and aid, and line 1.06, all other revenues. However, projected total revenues for fiscal year 26 through fiscal year 29 are lower than those in the November forecast. These changes reflect the ongoing state budget process for fiscical year 26 and fiscical year 27. At the time this forecast was prepared, both the governor's and the house's budget proposals had been released. The district is now waiting for the Senate's proposal and the
095final budget, which should be approved by July 1st. This forecast is based on the House's proposal funding levels for fiscal year 26 and fiscal year 27. For fiscal year 28 and 29, it assumes the state funding will remain at fiscical year 27 levels, but with declining funding guarantees since the funding formula for those years is not yet determined. We'll look at a few different scenarios later on in the presentation. The district's expenditures are now projected to be lower than previously estimated in November due to several key factors. These include the reduction of nearly 30 positions through attrition, almost 50 certified staff retirements, lower health insurance costs resulting from a new insurance consultant, and plan cuts to spending on purchase services and supplies. Additionally, when the forecast is submitted, the district will no longer be under
096fiscal precaution status with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. This improvement is a result of updated spending plans which eliminated projected deficits in the first three years of the 5-year forecast. Let's take a closer look at the state of Ohio's budget impact. As the state of Ohio continues its bienial budget process, the final outcome expected by July 1st remains uncertain. With that in mind, the district has developed four forecast scenarios based on different potential versions of the state funding formula. Each scenario begins with a cash balance of about $22 million in fiscal year 25 and projects a decline over time with all of them ending in a deficit. First, our current forecast that uses the house budget with guarantee reductions shown in green projects the cash balance dropping to about $13 million by fiscal
097year 29. Second, the fair school funding plan with continued phase in in blue offers the most favorable outcome ending with a smaller deficit of around3 million. Third, the House budget with no guarantee reduction shown in orange falls in the middle with a projected balance of about6 million. And finally, the governor's budget in gray ends with a deficit of almost negative $14 million by fiscal year 29. These projections clearly show how different state funding approaches can significantly impact the district's financial outlook. Looking ahead, if the final budget from the state of Ohio includes any major changes to the state funding or other key aspects of the district's financial plan, an updated 5-year forecast will be prepared and submitted to the board of education for approval in July. As we plan for the next update and November's
098forecast, we will continue to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of our programs and services, adjust the budget accordingly, review our current levies, and then determine when to ask our taxpayers for continuing and or additional funds to support the district. Changes in any of these areas could cause the numbers in the November forecast to significantly fluctuate. As we move through our planning process, we remain committed to transparency, collaboration, and responsible financial management. We will keep the community informed about key financial updates, involve stakeholders in decision-m, and develop a plan that supports the long-term success of our students, staff, and community. Our top priority remains delivering a highquality education for our students while also supporting the adults who serve them. This concludes the May forecast presentation. Um, if there are no questions, I have items 8.01 through
0998.06 for approval. Discussion move. Support. Roll call, please. Dr. Ballard? Yes. Mrs. Nazario? Yes. Mr. Ferguson? Yes. Mrs. Washington? Yes. Mr. Sturgil? Yes. Dr. Graham. Thank you, sir. I like the board to consider for approval items 9.01 to 9.07. Uh, personnel matters. For those of you that may have old copies of the agenda, the two an item has been added to this section uh, regarding some administrative contracts who weren't on the uh, agenda originally. So, moved. support. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Dr. Ballard? Yes. Mr. Sturgil? Yes. Mr. Ferguson? Yes. Mrs. Washington? Yes. Mrs. Nazario? Yes. I'd like the board to consider for approval items 10.01 to 10.15, operations matters. Move to any discussion. Roll call, please. Mr. Sturgil, yes. Dr. Balor, yes. Mr. Ferguson, yes. Mrs. Washington, yes. Mrs. Nario, yes. That's all I
100have. Okay. Any new business for anyone? Committee reports and requests from board members. I think we covered that in the behavior section. How about second hearing of the public? Thank you. Um, next board meeting will be May June 9th uh at 5:00 pm right here in our beautiful new boardroom. Be there. And at this point, I would entertain a motion to go into executive session for reason A2 employment. We have a motion for Mrs. Washington. Roll call. Mrs. Washington. Yes. Mr. Fur? Yes. Mr. Ferguson? Yes. Dr. Ballard? Yes. Mrs. Nazario? Yes. The board will not be taking any action when we disperse.