Revere Board of Education Meeting, October 21, 2025

001Uh good evening everyone. We're going to get started here. Uh today is October 21st, 2025. We are here for the rear board of education uh regular meeting. Mr. Berdine, please call the role. >> Mrs. Brackett >> here. >> Mr. Haidu >> here. >> Mr. Malik >> here. >> Mrs. Rainey >> here. >> Mrs. Stein. >> We have some students from Richfield who are going to lead us in our pledge of allegiance. So, I will turn it over. >> Thank you and good evening everyone. Tonight, we are proud to begin our meeting once again with four outstanding Richfield Elementary students who will lead us in the pledge of allegiance. Each of them was chosen by their teachers for demonstrating what it means to be rever ready, being respectful, responsible problem solvers. When I call their name,

002if they'd please come up and then we'll get the whole group up here to lead the pledge. From Mrs. Schwartner's first grade class. Kian Copco. Kian is a ray of sunshine who comes to school eager to learn, shows kindness to everyone, and is always ready to help a classmate in need. From Miss Coleman's first grade class, Laney Herman. Laney leads by example. She's a creative problem solver and encouraging friend and helps make her classroom a place where everyone feels welcome and supported. from Mrs. Kennedy's second grade class. Brock Estroski brings a positive attitude and a strong work ethic every day. He's a leader both in the classroom and on the soccer field, and his cheerful spirit brightens our school. And from Miss Ror's second grade class, BM Moaholic stands out for her kindness, responsibility, and

003focus. She treats others with compassion and is a wonderful role model for her classmates. All right, guys. We're going to look at that flag right over there. To the flag of the United States of America and to the for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Great job. [Applause] amilies, you come up front and center and get pictures right after Mrs. Paul is done. You don't have to stay off the side. >> We'll hold them for you. Don't worry. >> Stay there, people. in the back. So, don't run. >> One more. One more. One more. [Applause] All right, >> Mr. Fry, you want to introduce introduce our next guest? >> All right. Good evening. Thank you. Um, I'd like to have Miss Elise Dobin come up and Mrs.

004Mackenzie Smith. Elise has been our amazing um wonder sub for us this year. She was long-term sub to start the year and finished last week and started just this week in Angela Andrea's class. So, we're going to keep her working every single day that we can. She's been absolutely fantastic. I'm going to give her a shout out before I have her introduce our board recognized student. >> So, as soon as we heard that we were able to nominate a student, we instantly knew who we wanted to nominate. and that is Elena. She's just a ray of sunshine every single day. So, just a little something we want to say about you. So, from the moment she walks into the classroom each day, Elena brings a positive energy that lifts everyone up. She's the kind of

005student who leads by example, always on task, eager to participate, and respectful to both her peers and teachers. What stands out most about Elena is her genuine love for learning. She asks thoughtful questions, not just by not just to complete an assignment, but to really understand the material. That curiosity makes her a stronger student and helps those around her to engage more deeply, too. She's also incredibly kind and inclusive. Whether it's partnering with someone who needs a friend or offering help without being asked, Elena consistently goes out of her way to support others. Her classmates respect her, look up to her, and feel comfortable around her, and that says a lot. We truly believe Elena shows the qualities of what it means to be a team hero. [Applause] >> Are we doing individual Everybody congratulations.

006[Applause] Dr. Oberhouser. >> Good evening. We have three students that are here tonight with their families. We are very proud to announce and, you know, tell you a little bit about them. I will tell you this is a very hard process. Each month we ask for nominations and with almost 700 students in your building. We have so many who are worthy of being here but some just you know stand out and I'm so like fortunate to have teachers who support us and I have four here tonight who are going to tell you a little bit more about these students. So we have sixth grader Teddy Bolter, we have seventh grader Pria Jacob and we have sixth grader Tyson Warner. So we are going to have their teachers come up here right now. If I could

007have Mrs. Delah Hunty, Mrs. McIntyre, and Mrs. Toth. And Miss Christie, please come to the front, and I will let Miss Delah Hunty go first. >> All right. Well, I will try and keep this short, but there are so many things I could say about my nominee, which is Teddy Bolter. He is a great kid, and um I mean, I wish I could end it right there and just say he is a great kid, but there's so many things to say about him. um he he was the very first person I thought of when it came to nominating somebody who could represent everything that you're trying to have for the vision of a minute man. So Teddy creates solutions every day by taking information we cover in class and applying he applies that independently with

008confidence and creativity. He doesn't have to ask me a lot of questions after. He really takes that information and thinks about it and he's not afraid to make mistakes. He takes it and you know just runs with it. And that's what you really want because the class that I teach is personal transitions. And so that's what we're hoping for for students to do is to make mistakes on their own. Um he engages with purpose every day, often stepping up to help classmates who need extra support. He's empathetic, patient, and respected by his peers, many of whom have described him as a really cool kid. In fact, he wasn't here this morning, and we were like, "Where's Teddy?" And they had a conversation about him, and they all just voluntarily said, "You know what? Teddy's a

009really cool kid." And I think that's the ultimate compliment is to get that from your peers. And as his teacher, I can honestly say Teddy has been a huge help to me because with only one of me and many of them in the sixth grade, Teddy often takes the lead when I can't be everywhere at once. It's a very hands-on class. And he guides others, keeping the the group on track. He sets a great example through his leadership and kindness. And Teddy perseveres and adapts when challenges arise. And he communicates truth with honesty and care. His positive attitude and willingness to help make our busy, busy classroom stronger every day. And Teddy truly embodies what it means to be a River Minute Man. And I'm so proud to recognize Teddy tonight. [Applause] >> Mrs. McIntyre

010and Mrs. >> To Mrs. Toth and I had the privilege of nominating Priya Jacob who has been with us for all of sixth grade and now beginning of seventh grade and we've just seen so much growth and progress. Um we wrote a little poem has a little bit of humor so that you guys can truly uh appreciate what a day with Priya is like because it's a lot of fun. So I'm going to go ahead and read it. In sixth grade she was new to us. She brought energy and fun steadily making progress shown by all the hearts that she has won. Now she's in the seventh grade an age not for the faint of heart. Yet, she's exceeded expectations right from the very start. She loves to learn about your family. She leaves no

011question left unasked. She's the first to volunteer and do any given job or task. She's stylish and she's honest, rarely leaving anything unsaid. And she'll compliment your classroom and adds, "But it could use a bed." During the news, she gives the lunch report and loves to take the lead. When Mr. Py stops to say hello, for an early dismissal, she will plead. Pria is as kind as she is thoughtful, a sweet and caring friend. Her love of singing and dancing truly has no end. Her smile is contagious and she rarely ever has a frown. And if you make a mistake in front of her, she will never let you live it down. She's excelled in academic. She loves math with Mrs. Toe the best. She tolerates language arts by celebrating every unit ending test. Pria

012is the best version of a minute man, spirited and kind-hearted. It's hard to believe that in seventh grade she's only getting started. So, [Applause] and Miss Christie. This is embarrassing because I almost didn't recognize that my student who I nominated was here. I had to ask Mr. Dr. Oberhouser to point him out to me because I am I must need cataract surgery. Uh but we're good to go. Um I am so so so thrilled to uh nominate Tyson Warner, my student this year. He has already shown um remarkable initiative and entrepreneurial spirit. Uh this summer Tyson started his own business TNW Landscaping with the motto your lawn our passion. He worked tirelessly this year mowing lawns, cutting down trees, raking leaves, basically taking on just any job with a variety that you know, whatever anybody

013asked for. Now, I have to say, we just started our economics unit uh earlier this uh this month, and I brought this up to Tyson, and I said, "How did it go?" And uh he was refreshingly honest. He said, "It didn't start off that well." And it was a great response. But you know what? That is Tyson. He is persistent. He's reflective. And he's always ready to learn. And I figured out what made his business a success. He told me it was basically through word of mouth. After he did a great job, he learned that people were sharing his their experiences on what Tyson had done. And soon others started calling him up for doing their jobs. Facebook moms did what they do best. They got in the computer and said, "Hey, we know this

014great kid. Let's hire him." And so his reputation grew. This is a realworld example of how hard work and integrity truly do pay off. Tyson's entrepreneurial spirit is exactly an example of what our sixth graders will soon see as they begin their own market day projects later on this week. He continues to be a leader in my own classroom. He's always willing to share his experience and to guide his peers. Tyson shows us all uh what it means to combine passion, effort, and a little bit of honesty to create something that is so meaningful. And of course, as we know, the leaves are starting to fall. So before you leave, please, please, please, if you have not already, hit Tyson up. It is the perfect time to get those leaves raked. Thank you. [Applause] Thank

015you. [Applause] All right, Mr. Ferris. >> All right. Hey, good evening everybody. Thank you. Um, this is a perfect opportunity to remind any of the parents or students that are recognized tonight, the students that are recognized tonight, there is an amazing backdrop that lives in the atrium of our school that is branded as Rever School. So, that's a perfect opportunity to take a picture with your um student that's being recognized and I'm sure Mrs. Mole would appreciate posting to social media and tagging River Schools so that we can continue to promote the amazingness that happens here each and every day. Okay, I'm going to go ahead and ask my three to join me up here. You know who you are. This month, we wanted to focus on the music programs. So, our uh rever choir,

016band, and orchestra. When you have uh three programs that encompany about, you know, a little less than 20% of our school, we have to be doing something right. And so, I did reach out to Mrs. Pabon, Miss Pabon, Mr. Chair, and Mr. Bowman and asked for three students with an example of how they uh embody the vision of the minmen. So we are going to start with uh Mr. Max Richardson and orchestra. Max is uh and this is from the the words of Mr. Bowman the director. Max Richardson is one of the leading members of the river orchestra program. From the time Max first came to River in ninth grade he had been the embodiment of each point of the vision of a minute. Uh Max gets involved in every opportunity possible and is heavily

017relied upon in each of these areas due to his ability to complete tasks at a high level and lead others in the process. Max is a member of the chamber orchestra and the honors orchestra here at River and performs with the Akran Youth Symphony. He has also been selected for the last two years to participate in the Ohio State Honors Orchestra weekend on the campus of the Ohio State University. While constantly improving his own skills as a violinist, he also takes time to help others. He leads the viola section, not by force, but by an example and with compassion and empathy. He is always willing to help other violinists understand the key signature or work on their bow technique. And he volunteers to help in every orchestra event, whether it's setting up the stage or

018helping the new fourth grade orchestra students learn how to hold their instruments. Max is truly an example of what we desire our men and men to be. So, congratulations, Max. [Applause] Next up is uh band and we have Miss Sophie Garing being recognized by Mr. Tom Cheer and Miss Montana Fosnot. Sophie Garing is our 2526 senior band council president. She has been an essential piece of our marching minute men's success this year on and off the performance field. In addition to her service as TUBA section leader and an accomplished performer herself, Sophie has shared a relentless and passionate energy to recalibrate our leadership team. She has spearheaded fundraising efforts, spirit days, team building activities and initiatives to share our talents with the community. Just last spring, she organized a volunteer ensemble to perform at the

019inn at Apple Ridge. She is creating solutions and wells surpassing goals set with her fellow classmates on what they collectively want to accomplish with their time together. Sophie is a force of positive initiative and I can definitely testify to that. She clearly models strong communication skills with her peers and her directors. Her ability to embody confidence and empathy has allowed her to build strong relationships, creating a foundation for her opportunity to effectively lead this year's group. So congratulations, Sophie. [Applause] So Sophie and Max are both seniors, but we do have our sophomore class being represented by Mr. Chase Fern. And this is for choir. And these are the words of Miss Sierra Pabon. Chase Fern is an outstanding member of the River High School Coral Department. He is involved in symphonic choir, our mixed traditional

020coral ensemble, and reverse ac capella. our auditioned select contemporary ac capella ensemble. Chase enters every rehearsal rehearsal with an impressive learner's mindset which is significant which is a significant competency of rever's vision of a minute. Chase often goes above and beyond expectations of a typical rehearsal by asking her questions about vocal technique to make sure that he is bringing his best to every rehearsal and making the most of his experience. Whether it is asking questions before after class, stopping by during lunch, or recording himself at home and during rehearsal, Chase is extremely thorough in the process of understanding his instrument, and he is an active advocate for his education. Chase is also a great model of engaging with a purpose during rehearsals. He is always focused on the task at hand, is intentional in his

021practice, and determined to be better every single day. It is so inspiring and exciting to see young individuals this invested in their education. So, thank you, Chase. All right, let's go ahead and get a picture, guys. Come on. Yes. I just >> And I was going to make the announcement for parents. We know it's getting later, so please feel free to take your students home. Thank you all for coming. And we'll give you just a minute to Yeah. clear out and get home and get ready for bedtime routine. Thank you. All right, Mrs. Roach, are you ready? >> Yes. Good evening, everyone. >> Good evening. >> Hope everyone's having a good night. I always have a hard time getting this to start to move forward. If you remember from the last month, >> Mrs. Mrs.

022Roach and Mrs. Harker. So, thank you both. >> All right. Now, we're in business. All right. Well, Mrs. Harker and I are here this evening to provide some updates on the gifted education program in Rivier Schools. And really, first and foremost is to introduce Amy Harker as our new gifted coordinator. I know she was introduced briefly at the August meeting, but she didn't have a chance to speak with everyone about our vision and some changes that we look forward to this year and in the coming years. I am thrilled that we have her as part of our team because not only does she bring experience in gifted coordination, but also as a personalized learning specialist working through Northeast Ohio ESC in previous years. And what that means for us is that we have another person

023who is focused on learner profiles and seeing students as individuals and helping all of us grow in serving students as individuals which is great. A couple highle things just 30,000 foot level that I want to share before I pass the mic over to Mrs. Harker is really just how all of the work we're doing in Gifted supports our vision for the future which as you know is that we want every student to thrive. I have this vision that I would like to look at instruction as a tree where the trunk is really tier one. That's our core instruction that's guaranteed for every child every day in all content areas. A lot of times by law and by necessity, we put a lot of energy into those intervention branches that go off of that trunk of

024tier one. We support students to make sure they have scaffolding, they're getting what they need so they can achieve proficiency. What we are really working on now is how do we add as many branches that are looking at enrichment tier 2 and tier three enrichment making sure that we're seeing every student where they are providing support to teachers to figure out what do I do with a student who enters kindergarten reading Harry Potter while I also have a child who doesn't know the letters in their name. So that's really part of this overall vision that we have and a couple steps that we're taking right away that Mrs. Parker will elaborate on because she is truly the expert in the room when it comes to gifted education. Um, a couple things though. First, and she

025will talk about this more, we are going to see more student involvement in goal writing and personalization of their pathway. So, we'll be moving the WEPS from a print document into a digital document and students will be part of writing their own goals. Teachers will be part of that. Parents also will have opportunity for some insight. We're going to have more, we've already started this, more targeted professional development for teachers. We have enrichment clusters starting in first grade this year and advanced coursework honors classes and we're really pulling teachers and sending them to training so that they can figure out what's the evidence-based practice to grow students who are already achieving at a high level. We're working on increased communication and information for parents. You'll see in the slides tonight a gifted parent meeting. Some

026information will be coming out soon about that, but you'll see that date tonight. Um, and then also focusing enrichment differentiation during core instruction and during that IE period at the elementary level, which is intervention and enrichment and the support period at the middle school and then in all courses at the high school. So again, this is our vision for this year, but coming years, it won't all happen exactly the way we want it to be in one year's time. I'm going to pass it over to Mrs. Harker to continue. And while she's getting started, I'm going to hand out the crosswalk from the 2018 gifted operating standards to the 2025 gifted operating standards. First of all, thank you for those kind words. I am thrilled to be here and I'm excited about the conversations I've

027been having around the district with the the building leaders, the district leaders about their vision for where they want to go with gifted education and incorporating all those together with what you'll see here is the crosswalk of the new operating standards. I highlighted on I always hate to have so many words on a slide but this particular slide I wanted to summarize what these this 10-page document is saying and first of all you'll see that um we've always had um different areas that we identify in gifted uh superior cognitive specific academic and math and reading and then also um in the area of creative thinking and creative thinking is no longer going to be a whole grade level um screening however we'll still do it if a parent requested with under referral. Um they're reviving

028reviving gifted audits. So that means that at any point in time um ODW could come in and pull a few of our webs and seeing if we are in alignment with the new operating standards. It is um one of the aspects of it is this distribution to parents. It's no longer just something that's made available but it has to be distributed. Every parent has to have a district the district plan in hand either through um you know knowing that it's on the internet or knowing that it's being actually given to them. And at the parent meeting we're going to be talking about that so that the parents who come will um receive that. We are working on a district-wide plan. you've always had one, but we're revamping it to make it um more parent friendly,

029too, so that the that it's easier to read and understand and the layout is a little bit friendlier. We um that that is done and it's being reviewed at central office. Now, um we are also looking at class size ratios. Instead of it being 20 as the gifted limit, they are making that whatever the school district's maximum limit is. Um we always cluster groups together. In order to be a cluster they have changed that to be at least three students. Um and I think this is the biggest one that goals being able to um write a goal that is a smart goal in the web that it's personalized to the student. Um we want to make sure that as we are working with teachers this year that we work with them on how to to

030make sure that it's it's something that's going to meet the needs, interests, and um abilities of the students that we're writing the goal the webs or the goals for. The um eventually we'd like the students to be able to to give input into the webs as well and it is required that parents ask for input as um into the writing of the web. One of the big differences now is that they're expecting high quality professional development for all educators working with gifted students, which is a little bit um there's a lot there's a lot of hours there. So over a four-year period, they're asking for 15 hours for each teacher working with a a gifted child. So that means anytime I'm with them, anytime um one of our gifted intervention specialists is with them is

031considered professional development. We'll be tracking that over time to make sure we get those hours in. Um we're going to be moving um our assessment to what's called the Ngleri nonverbal assessment. It is um abbreviated the NNAT3. We're going to try that this year instead of the Kogat for a couple different reasons. The length of that is only 30 minutes, so it's only taking away 30 minutes of instruction time. It's less frustrating for those students that are um going through the process. It's um also ensures equity for all because it takes away the aspect of it's a non reading test. It's all problem solving with pictures. And so it it removes that and then also scoops up some of those students that may have a a reading disability but may be gifted in other areas

032or maybe ha has a English as a second language. We're also going to look at modifying our visual and performing arts screening this year to include and ensure that we're doing a portfolio assessment of those students that um through a rubric process will be identified as visual and performing arts. You'll often hear me talk about written education plans, which are abbreviated of WEPS, WEPS, and then written acceleration plans, which are WAPS. Those, like um Marcia already said, are going to be digitized. They're going to be using a platform called Same Goal. I'm so excited because over the weekend a group of us had gone together and we spoke with Sangal because their their form was not quite in align with Ohio and we ended up um it changed over this weekend. They didn't tell us

033they were changing it so it came as a surprise that it happened this weekend. So we do have a wonderful model uh web that's going to be utilized for this year. Um, being able to put it on same goal allows input from all the stakeholders and it's easy to collaborate together and it also um it allows parents to have a copy at all times because it's electronically available and they will sign it electronically as well. So, it makes it an easy process. Um, as Marca mentioned to you, we're kind of working on three things. planning, implementing, and serving. And through that, the first thing that we obviously want to do is make sure we're aligned uh with those the new operating standards. As of July 1st, we want to make sure everything we're doing encompasses

034that. We want to make sure we're providing that high quality professional development to teachers. And then finally, as we are looking, which is the most important part, making sure that we're ident identifying opportunities that empower our gifted students to be able to explore their strengths, interests, and talents and therefore setting meaningful goals for themselves to foster their growth and to challenge themselves. We do have a gifted parent meeting that's coming up November 11th. That'll be at 6:45 and it's a little later because the high school is using their gym for their theater productions. So, we're going to uh tag team with them at the end of the evening. And if you um I will be sending out email invitations to all the gifted parents and anyone who wants to can come if they're just interested

035in learning more information. All the new identification letters for this fall have gone out and they've already been invited. So, any questions that you might have for either Marsha or myself? >> Do you want I know you have you go. Well, you and I have spoken about this and so I would kind of like to go over some of the questions that I've probably already covered, but as a parent who has been through this program and also somebody who's on the board, I'd like to just cover some of these questions so that people know that this has been like thoroughly thought through and thought about. >> Um, so do we have a plan for when parents will get like the web? So they used to come in the spring for the year that the kids

036were in and I know we talked about that and do we have a plan for kind of the target goal of when the parents would see that the process has to be an education piece for teachers to be able to go through that process. So in order to make that um process chewable and um digestible we need to have a couple months to get through that education piece. So I would think that by I'm hoping December that we we have them out there. But by doing it this way next year, we'll have them at the beginning of the school year which will make it easier to keep progress right throughout the entire year. >> Okay, that's first. And then you said that there's a change in the class size. This was one I didn't know

037about. So, um, are we just going with whatever our normal class sizes or do we have a separate goal for class sizes of those that are in gifted clusters or classes depending on? >> Currently, our none of ours are exceed exceeding 20. So, we don't have that issue to deal with. Um, but at the same time, it's something that Marsha and I and um the building leaders will see if that's if we want to stick with the 20 or and it's not mandated that we can either way. >> Right. Okay. And then the can you just talk a little bit about the personalized goals for students? Like when you're talking about them having input into their own goals, which I think is a beautiful idea because everybody has different interests and talents and strengths. Um

038what age are we looking at starting some student input and does it ramp up as they age? Marsh and I haven't had an opportunity to talk about this, but in my mind I was thinking I would like to start at the high school. I've already talked with um Mr. Ferris and he's um wanting to be able to have the kids do some of that input and we've explored the school links uh platform to do that which will allow me to be able to communicate with them uh via school links. I don't know when that's going to actually be implemented. We don't have that timeline underway yet, but we're certainly looking at options to be able to explore those the goal writing. >> Okay. So, mostly high school. >> Yes. And it's going to be a

039systemic process from elementary to high school as well. And so being able to wonderfully Just to add to that, um, school links really is something that we're accessing starting sixth grade and we've added on to what we use school links for to track CCWMR, the report card component that's was new this year. And with that work, Elizabeth Long and I have spent some time looking at how we might develop a plan to get students, especially those who are writing their goals and their webs, getting them in in sixth grade so that they are starting to think through their passions, their interests, because we know, we've talked about this, that especially for our gifted students, the possibilities that as they are trying to make decisions for college and career, they get very overwhelmed because there's so

040many things that academically they feel prepared for and they're afraid to make the wrong decision. >> So that's something that we Elizabeth Wong and I have started to look at how that could start in sixth grade and as we continue to work on just the operating standards and figuring out the webs that's something that we're still working on what that process will look like for Amy but also at Bath fourth and fifth graders are using time during IE to set goals for themselves. That's all students, not just those who have a gifted ID. So, it's really something that we are able to start when we get into Bath. And and who knows, maybe we can find ways that Mr. White and I talk about we want kindergarten data binders where we're supporting students to like

041color in a picture with different data as they get different data points. So, I think there's room to grow there. Okay. And we're exploring a lot of different things. >> Love that. Thanks. Um, and then teacher training of 15 hours, which I heard you say. Does that include our like elective teachers or are we talking about core only? >> The ones that are identified gifted in. So, right now we're identifying gifted in reading and math. >> Okay. >> And then also superior cognitive. So, any teachers that are serving superior students? Um, and then that is something that we just have to figure out. The hours that I'm I'm sitting with them is considered professional development, right? But I want to make sure it's high quality. And one of the things we've talked about is addressing

042instructional strategies and how we can um fit those in and their regular meetings so there's not a lot of additional time that's spent because we know time is precious. >> Yeah. 15 hours on top of all of the other expectations. Yeah, I agree. Um, and then you're switching from the Kogat to the NNAT3. And when I heard this originally, and I was thinking like there's like multiple days of different tests for Kogat to a 30 minute test, I kind of stepped back a second because that, but you had a really lovely explanation when we talked about how you were able to um basically compare the results and determine that it really was a high quality test. So, if you could just kind of >> in another district that I worked, um, we were kind of

043the same way. We were like, how can a 30 minute thing do the same thing as this three-day assessment and we ran it side by side and we found that it scooped the same students except for we found that it did get some of our twice exceptional and some of the students that u may struggle a little bit with reading but is are wonderfully um mathematically gifted or in another area. um as thinking or problem solving. So, we felt very comfortable moving forward with it um in the other districts I've served and it's an approved test by ODW um to do the same as um the KOAP. >> Yeah, great. Um and I think that's it for me. Thank you very much for going over those. >> I should have done first. You're right. >>

044Sorry, >> I just have one. Can you talk a little bit about the gifted um ELA servicing of Bath? I know we have for math we have the pull outs and then we have an actual math class. Um yeah >> it is a challenge isn't it? We we don't have a pullout teacher for ELA for gifted at Bath. We do have students in enrichment clusters. Um most years that's in two different groups where it's four different teachers and the students who whether they're gifted in ELA or in math would be clustered in those classrooms. This year it's actually um one switch pair in third grade, in fourth grade, and then two switch pairs in fifth grade. Those students, and I'll speak specifically to fourth grade just to give concrete examples. When we look at the

045assessment data we have in that fourth grade group, the students are all projected to score either accelerated or advanced on the OST. their MAP data is putting them all in this higher end um in their RIT scores which is giving that like norm data compared to all the students in the nation. So it it one how we serve that is we're looking at some additional novels, additional um writing that's maybe increasing the complexity with the goal of constantly creating critical consumers of information. So we do have to it it's really that like tier two tier three of the tree that I'm talking about that I that I mentioned earlier. We have to look at what beyond the core programming will help these students to continue to grow and be challenged in their coursework. The challenge

046there, the flip side of that is that when we have clustered groups, the makeup of the classroom as a whole in all of the other classes shifts a little bit. So that's where we're always looking at enrichment as a whole and fluid grouping during intervention and enrichment time that IE time. Have we thought about Rick? Close your ears. Have we thought about having a an ELA teacher give a gift? I mean, have we thought about that? >> I don't know that I'm >> just wonder I'm just thinking like through >> that, you know, that's >> Yeah, >> there's a lot of things I've thought about, but um >> yeah, I just think when I think about ELA, I think about you're not only reading and you're answering questions and there's achieve and all those things,

047but there's also that rich discussion piece with text, right? And I think in math the kids have that they're together. They're they're in their own class, right? And I just think with ELA, I just wonder if we're missing a piece there. I don't know >> if that makes sense. >> There there's only so much that can happen with adaptive technology. Um it does help to have enrichment clusters for a variety of reasons that you can maybe go at a faster rate. You can maybe add in some more complex questions. Um there's also the social emotional piece that we know it's it's researchbacked that many students who are gifted also have different other learning needs as well and finding peers who are like-minded helps them to thrive as well. So there's a lot of a lot

048of value that comes from grouping them together. >> Um >> it'sough it is it is tough honestly. Um, another thing that we've looked at and Britney Moravic and I visited Nordonia schools last year to look at future problem solvers. It's actually an extracurricular that really takes a lot of shape in middle school but starts in the intermediate grades and that I think is a wonderful opportunity for us. Um, we've started to talk about how we might pursue that. Uh but it is it's an extracurricular piece where students are given real world problems and then together as a team of peers they have to solve the problem create a skit and they present it. There's states has held it at Solen every year. So that's one thing that we've looked at that's extracurricular that if we

049get the right people interested to invest time as adults to run that it's it's a next step that is doable in the next two to three years. >> Thank you. Do you have any other questions? >> No, I would just say to back Natalie, if you feel like there is a need for an additional FTE, Rick, close your >> then let's have this, right? I mean, that is what we're here for is to serve the needs of our students. And if that truly is something that you feel like we need, let's have that discussion at least. I mean, at least have the discussion about it. So, that's all I'm gonna add. I can add to that too or just say like I don't think it's been something that's been like that's not going to happen.

050What I really appreciate about the approach that Mrs. Roach, Mrs. Harker taking is they're looking at first what's the research tell us about best practices to ensure that we're providing those best practices for all of our students and then just kind of work from that perspective of what's the best practice, what gets the best results and then where we how do we compare and what steps can we start to take to make sure we're going in the right direction. And if we need to start having that conversation at some point, potentially we do. But I do like the current plan, I think we'll see what results we get because the research does talk a lot about having students of mixed abilities within one classroom, how enriching that can be for all of them. So those

051are things I think that we're working through. So it's not come down yet to say we're not going to do that. It's more of like let's take these steps first because we may get the results we want from this. >> Yeah. Anything to add to that? I was just going to say we we've made a lot of changes from last year into this year and then there's many things that we have kind of met it out throughout this year. So I am very hopeful that we will see the fruits of that labor and I am so excited to have this person as a colleague as we are trying to navigate this and serve students. >> So thank you. >> Thank you both. >> Thank you. Thank you. Great job. We're gonna move on through our

052agenda. Next is public speaks to agenda items. If anybody wants to speak, come on. >> Hi. Um Oh, I'm Whitney. Um, I've spoken a bunch before. I do want to say that this is the most anxious. Um, I know the timing is weird. Um, but this is the first read of a policy that I'm really concerned about and um, that's the appropriate time to talk. Um, so just bear with me if I get a little trembly. Um, I am deeply concerned that we are dissolving schoolboard committees under policy 110 for finance legislation and facil over repealing the financing and audit committee without giving clear alternatives for in-depth discussion. I find it a little alarming also that I knew the policy committee had been disbanded. Um, but I didn't realize that these three committees hadn't been

053meeting since since January and I feel like I really follow things. So, so that's a little bit concerning. Uh quick side note, policy 103 is the one that develops the um policy. So that's that policy should be reviewed if that's where we're going. Um I understand why we're not meeting in committee. Um it's because the district was sued for violating open meetings act and I honestly appreciate that everyone wants to make sure that this isn't going to happen again. But it's really important to remember what the open meetings act actually requires. It basically it says that the majority of the schoolboard meeting or even a committee of the board meets to discuss public business and that meeting has to be open to the public. It has to be announced out ahead of time and minutes

054have to be taken. This rules applies to committee that are doing real work like reviewing finances, looking at policies or making recommendations. The law doesn't say that we can't have committees. It just says that the meetings need to be open to the public and transparent. What what worries me now is that since we've been pushed into full board meetings, we aren't having that discussion anymore. In the last board or work session, there was four minutes of discussion on policy. The meeting before that, there was eight minutes work session. I love that the review board members have reviewed edits to policies. I love that change. But there is no place that a line by line read has happened. For example, I raised the issue of policy 704 when it came out a year ago because the

055policy contradicts itself. But without that line by line read, nobody's like finding those those changes. We had 12 minutes of policy discussion time during work sessions to truly look at 15 policies. Um the one policy that the board members are all wonderfully read in on um the cell phone policy there was wonderful discussion on. So we just need to make sure that everybody's read in enough that they can ask questions. Um I also want to with the volunteer and uh uh policy I do want to say that it's policy 902 the visitor policy that was violated last year at Richfield. It was not the volunteer policy. So, as we are considering policies, that is a policy that should be made for update. And I just need to know who to talk to because I I

056know all these things. I don't know who to talk to anymore about policy stuff. Um, knowing that the policy committee hasn't been meeting, I've been trying to prioritize myself reading in, but I didn't know about the finance and all the other committees. So, where has the discussion and push on legal spending been happening? We fought the Ames L lawsuit, but I'm sure that our legal expenses in that were higher than our settlement. We're using an expensive legal firm for routine records request. We've had two buyouts where the pled and a a sped lawsuit and we've somehow managed to double our legal spend since last year. I think we're at about 500k now. Where uh where are the discussions of the increase in external costs and decrease in in our spending on education happening? Committees that

057follow open meeting rules have actually are more transparent. They let the public see detailed work being done and they give the board time to think about complicated issues before voting. So, as you guys think about this policy, please have a strategy in place for who should we should contact a contact person on everything so we can actually advocate because right now I don't know how to do it. And I I I feel really nervous because I know the timing, but it's also the first read. So, I I really wanted to give thoughtful feedback. Thank Thank you so much. And any community member can always reach out to me about policies. So you can contact me, Whitney. It's fine. >> Yeah, we have in the past. So that's not changed. Uh just to make a little

058bit of clarity, um you know, we uh spoke about uh this during our organizational meeting back in January. And one thing that our district does that several other districts doesn't do is we have work session meetings uh every month uh which give us the opportunity to uh talk about uh certain things if we uh need to talk about it. Um we're not mandated to have committees. Uh in the past we had two board members on a committee. In this instance, we've decided in order to be more transparent, uh we wanted all board members to be involved or have the opportunity to talk about uh whether it's policy uh anything else that may come up um during our work session uh because it is noticed and people do have the opportunity uh to talk during the

059first read, the second read. Uh but that's the opportunity for the board to discuss it if it so chooses. There's a need. Many of the policies that uh were on a secondary today are um you know uh a few changes. I know we have to add change names because we've had administrative changes so we have to change names. Uh there's a few things that changed in Ohio law so we are updating that. Um but as far as uh the first read on the other two um obviously you've been here when um we've had uh officer dresser come and speak on a couple occasions regarding the volunteer stuff and obviously uh we've heard from committee members uh regarding that and in the past there was a oneandone when it came to background checks meaning somebody could

060get a background check when their child was in kindergarten and never have to get one again until that through their graduation. Uh and now uh the proposal is uh every three work every three years and the idea there is every time the student were to transfer to a new building in essence they would be requiring that parent to get uh a background check because most of our buildings are three years you know uh kindergarten and first second for Richfield and then um third, fourth and fifth at Bath and sixth, seventh and eighth at the middle school with the exception being the high school of four years. So that's the thought process there in conjunction with hearing back from our Richfield and um Bath Police Department uh leaders. Um so we we um have thought about

061it uh and that's you know the re just going back to the committees and why we don't uh aren't having them. It's really an effort to allow all board members to participate in that discussion and as well to ensure that um everybody is receiving notice and uh that it is being more transparent as opposed to having it on a separate day uh you know uh where we notice it on a separate day. So that just to add some clarity. Thank you. Thank you, >> Keith. Can you add some clarity? She brought up the legal fees um that we've spent more money on legal fees this year, right? Is that right? Yeah. I mean, we've we've had more records requests over the past year than we've ever had. So, Mr. Verdine used to be able to

062handle all those requests on his own, but we had so many that he couldn't do it. And we have a certain time period that we have to get those done. So when someone sends us a record request, we don't have time to sit in a committee and talk about it. We have to, you know, we have to respond to those. So we've had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of records requests. So I mean there's, you know, that's that's a big part of our legal fees that we've spent money on. So you know, there there's not >> Huh. >> Well, we're not going to I'm not this is not the place for a debate or to go back and forth. Um, we are we give you the opportunity to go up there and we just made

063some clarifications. Um, based upon what Whitney went up there and talked about, we can save your discussions for the campaign trail. >> I just want to make a quick comment, too. As someone I think Courtney and I had maybe one or two policy committee meetings when we first came on and then we moved. Um, so as someone who sat in the committee meetings, I think it's more helpful to have that done during a work session because you're going from a committee meeting to then having those discussions to then trying to transfer that to the rest of the board to it just felt like a lot of steps versus sitting in a work session, everybody getting the same information and having it all those are recorded and people can see those. So I think from someone

064who was in those committee meetings, it's much easier to do it in a work sessions. that just um it it makes more sense I think for everybody in terms of transparency and everything else. >> Well, we what we have had like when we talked about what was the work session where we talked about Keith you weren't there but we talked about like the volunteer policy and the background checks. I mean that was like almost a two-hour work session and we went through almost line by line because remember Kasha you and I were talking about different things in it. So there, you know, I think we >> right and I and I don't keep a stopwatch on how long we're meeting. Um if just because uh we're talking about certain things. If there's no debate or

065if there's nothing that we feel that we need to discuss, we don't have to debate it. Um you know, it's there. If uh honestly, we don't hear a lot except for from the same few people. um you know so it's uh and we listen you know when people do come in um you know so the the fact that we're not uh having debate doesn't mean that we need to have debate. Uh you know you just don't debate to debate. Uh if there's a reason for it the board will have a discussion. If there's not then we won't. So all right let's move on. We don't have anything on the board of uh education agenda. Uh nothing for CBCC. Uh Mr. Berdine, treasur's agenda. >> I would propose taking all of Roman numeral 8 1 through

0664. One action item, please. >> So moved. >> Second. The uh minutes for the two September meetings have been all of this has been provided in advance September 9th and 16th. The financial report uh for the month of September it looks very favorable. That's purely a timing issue. We received the homestead and roll back payment in September this year. Previously it's been October. We have some various issues in other expenditure revenue areas but the bulk of that is accounted for there. The details are all in the report on the website. Uh the purchase order list has been provided to you in advance where those are out sequence with timing of the order versus payment versus date of the invoice. And then we have um five donations that were received. $2,879 to the high school football

067program from Fall Haver Funeral Home, $315 from Bethl Evangelical Lutheran Church for a student with some financial needs in our district. Uh, math PTA $2,631.39 for half of a kiln for the art program at that building. I'm pretty sure I will butcher this next name, but $5,000 from the Mari Krishna Shaderi Ponum. I think I got that part right. Um, it's Dr. and Dr. Ponum. Uh, the second time they have donated to Richfield Elementary School. Um, and it's unrestricted to be used at the discretion of Mr. Pavlich. So, that is very generous. And then the Gardener family has donated also very generously. This is not their first time either, $500 to our McDonald Jordan. It's our special education classrooms at River High School for an upcoming field trip they have to castle Noel. >> As

068I've said many times in my now 10 years here, Amazing generosity from our community continues. >> Absolutely. I echo your sentiments. >> Thank you, Mr. Berdine. >> Uh, Mr. White, superintendent. >> We do a roll call. >> Oh, yeah. Sorry, >> Mr. Malik. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Bracket. >> Yes. >> Mr. Haidu. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rainey. >> Yes. >> Thank you all very much. >> Thank you. >> I also recommend we do Roman numeral nine. Uh, number one A and 1 B is consent. >> So moved. >> Second. All right. So, we have salary increase for those four individuals listed there under A and then B, we have co-curricular non-athletic supplemental contracts for coming school year. So, there's one resignation and then supplemental appointments listed under that. >> Are there any questions? >> Hey,

069Mr. Bike. >> Mr. Malik. >> Yes. >> Mr. Heiden? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Brackett? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rainey? >> Yes. I'll confess I missed letter C. I should have added that to that consent as well. But for under Roman numeral nine number one, letter C, we have two maternity leaves also on the agenda. Any questions on this? >> No. I'll make a motion. >> Second. >> Mr. Go ahead. Mr. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Brackett. Yes. >> Mr. Haidu. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rain. >> Yes. I'd recommend letters two, Roman numeral 9, letters 2 A through 2 H as a consent. >> Motion >> second. >> All right. So, we have Mrs. Schmidt there. Contracted bus driver is resigning for purposes of retirement. And we have a couple other resignations for us. There B. We

070had new hires under C for us. Both Holly and Jennifer coming to help with the contracted bus driver and then part-time food service. D's bus drivers in training, Ashley and Katrina. And then we have substitutes. Uh letter E, a list of seven there for you. Then letter F, we have the non co-curricular non-athletic supplemental contracts. G is our athletic supplemental contracts. List of our coaches there for you. And then H we have our four game workers for the 2526 school year. Any questions on any of those? No. >> Mr. Bain. >> Mr. Haidu. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rainey. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Brackett. >> Yes. >> Mr. Malik. >> Yes. All right. Number three, we have student services. No items at this time. And then 4 A and 4 B, I'd recommend we do as

071consent. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Thank you. At letter A, we have the memorandum of understanding for the modification of our work days. And just be clear too for the community, this is not changing anything as far as student days when they're here or not. It's just dealing with the actual work days when we don't have students, but we have teachers here working. So it changes up our professional de development. So that first three days we have the teachers have a full day to work in their rooms. Then we have a day with convocation, professional development, then half wellness and half building administration. And it changes each of our end of quarters for um how we handle the professional development those days. and then work days for teachers. So we have a full PD day

072coming up at the end of the first quarter. End of the second quarter is half a day PD. Half a day is time for teachers to work. Third quarter will be full PD for us. That's are going to be our plan for our transition days. And fourth quarter is full day for the teachers. Okay. 4B we have our revised policies. The second and final reading. President Malik, I think you were referring to some of those. And I will share too um I do like there's probably pros and cons to different ways on how you do different things, but I appreciate like as I provide information as we get information from our legal council regarding policies and updates being able to provide information to the five of you and then going into like a discussion or

073work session where we can have time to just you've had a chance to review the information and then have a conversation. I like the uniformity of all five of you getting that information and then just coming to the meeting with okay questions and things you might have as we work through those policies. I think it it's good that all five are getting all at the same time and that way as you come to our work session you can have ready what questions you may have or you may not have any questions. Some of the policies are pretty straightforward. So I think a lot of these on here were pretty straightforward and we've talked a lot about the 6.51 the electronic communication devices, cell phones continues to go very well for us at the high school

074level. >> Yeah, most some of these uh you know are are some minor changes that were actually recommended by our attorney. We did have the opportunity to review them uh individually um and obviously they've been posted as part of our agenda. Um, so I will make a motion uh to pass. >> We already have a motion and a second by you and Mr. Hyde. >> I thought I did. >> Yep. For 4 A and B. >> All right. Are there any um >> You didn't put D in there, did you? >> I did not. >> Okay. So, just A and B. >> Yeah. >> Are there any questions, comments board members? >> No. >> Okay. >> Nope. >> Mr. Mr. Malik, >> yes. >> Mr. Haidu, >> yes. >> Mrs. Brackett, >> yes. >> Mrs.

075Rainy, >> yes. >> C is revised policies, first reading, no action. >> Any questions on those are the school volunteers and criminal records. Check the background check every three years. >> I don't have anything further. Does anybody else? >> Okay. >> All right. Okay. And then 4D is an outofstate field trip to for our Model United Nation students to go to Chicago for that international trip. And we do need to take action on that one. >> Motion >> second. >> Any questions? >> Can you maybe just let people know what that is? >> Sure. So, model United Nations. This is new, >> but I don't think everybody else does. >> Yeah. So this is uh a new trip for them as I understand. So my own United Nations is an opportunity for our students to

076be involved in u really exactly what it says when you think about the United Nations and the form that it presents for us for the world. model United Nations is an opportunity for students to emulate that they'll take on different countries or situations and have a basically go to these um I don't know it's not really a competition necessarily but >> yeah it's a international type competition I I learned more about it by meeting with the adviser but >> so they are compet >> they've had local competitions they've typically done local regional state type competitions we had a couple students who were interested who were qualified to go to the international competition. That's not been done before. They met with the advisers, said they wanted to go. The families are willing to pay their own

077way. The advisers willing to go. More students than were interested in going. And we are partnering up with other area districts. I believe it's Solen is leading to charter a bus. Our students and adviser will participate with them. We'll pay a prorated cost for that. But our families are participating extensively in the cause for their students to go. But it was something they wanted to add to their uh schedule of activities at least for this year because of the particular students and their high level of success that they've experienced in their educational career here. >> Do we know how many are participating? >> I think five. >> Okay. >> I think that's right. >> Six. believe I brought that with me. I will tell you. >> So the competition's not new, just new to us.

078>> Correct. Correct. >> Four. >> Okay. >> And the two with the greatest interest, they have career interests in international relations, government type aspects. They're looking colleges based upon that type of programming that they're interested in receiving. Three are junior, three are seniors, one is a junior. Mentor is the lead, not Solen. My apologies. Mentor has 30 students going, but they're making the other seats available to other districts. >> Nice. >> That's great. >> And we would be part of that. >> Thank you. >> I got involved because they wanted money and I said yes. Even earlier. I was like, I'm the Scrooge, right? >> So, you have reputation, right? >> That's all good. >> Do you have any questions? >> Other questions? >> All right, Mr. Bang, >> it sounds like a great opportunity,

079great program. >> Absolutely. >> Uh, Miss Ham is the adviser. I took that out. Yeah, she's super excited about it. >> Mrs. Brackett, >> yes. >> Mr. Malik, >> yes. >> Mr. Haidu, >> yes. >> Mrs. Rainey, >> yes. All right. Next, we do have uh information on discussion items versus the review of policy, no action. It's 1.10 committees revised and 9.1 uh which is finance and audit committee purpose function and to resend it. I've already talked about this a little bit. I don't have anything further to say. Does anybody else have anything they want to discuss or talk about with in regard to that? Sorry. No, you're fine. >> No, other than generally these are provided for us just for transparency sake, provided to the board and we have an opportunity to read them,

080review them, reach out to Mr. White for questions or whoever else is involved depending on what that policy is specifically and the hope was to make it feel more transparent. I understand maybe that's not coming across. So, we should work on that for sure because we want to be transparent. But the the hope was to take it from a two-person committee to somewhere that we could have more discussion. But I think maybe in the process of providing it to the five of us where we individually can read it, review it, reach out with questions, some of those questions that might naturally come out if the first time I ever saw it was in a meeting get answered beforehand. So, thank you for speaking up. I take your feedback and I think we can try to

081do better at having some of those like I did tonight where I had already talked to our gifted um uh coordinator and reasked those questions because I felt like they were important. So, point taken and we'll I'll do my best to do better so that it becomes more transparent. >> Yeah. I mean, I can tell you I I don't want to say bother, but I phone Mr. White and Mr. Berdine, not daily, but darn close to daily. Um, and they are uh doing extraordinary job of getting information to me so that I can make an informed decision when this stuff comes about. Um, and when we do hear from community members, we do listen. Um I think that was evidenced by recent uh policy that we amended. Um so we do listen. We do do

082our best uh to to stay transparent and I think Miss Bracket makes a good point that um although the purpose here was to make sure that all board members are involved as opposed to maybe just two to make sure that we don't lose stuff in translation. you know, when you only have two people involved in something, their interpretation or what they hear might be different than what I might hear. Uh, so this way we can all hear it. Um, but it still means that we have to do our due diligence and reach out to the powers that be that be Mr. Berdine and Mr. White when we do have questions. Uh, and we do that on an individual basis. I mean, that's uh that's how we have to work as a board when we're not

083meeting as a in a public uh setting. Um but it's you know they are open um and they do get us the information when we need it and that's how we make our informed informed decisions. Um so we can always uh work towards making things uh better. Uh but the purpose here was to clearly be uh more transparent and ensure that we're doing uh you know everything we can to make rever. So, if >> I could offer a comment, I almost did earlier. I >> didn't, but I I will. And >> since I'm at the end of my career, maybe I get away with it. But >> the interesting part, I've been a part of that policy committee in the past when it was twoerson committee, I've been invited. I think Sheldon's been in some

084of those meetings as well in the past as a media representative. Um the RTRI policy we know is what created the distrust that I feel exists which is unfortunate in a district of this caliber. I've worked in six of them now um across 40 years but RTRI policy was presented with a different set of five board members a twoerson committee. Some of you have read as almost as many emails as I have related to RTRI. Um, and that policy when it was presented went nowhere. It wasn't stipulated by the state. It had to. I think the law said that if you were going to have release time for religious instruction, you had to have a policy. So, those two veteran board members were then not on the next board. We had two new board members.

085I was not at the policy meeting that fall either. I was off sick at that time. Um, we had new board members elected. One was and they were appointed to the two of them were appointed to the twoperson policy committee. I was president I believe it was February for that meeting and it was presented by a former superintendent um and they've all been nice. I maybe I'm not so nice but it was presented by a former superintendent that we have to have this policy. Well, we left off the prepositional phrase that if we're going to allow release time for religious instruction, so that wasn't told to the committee, that wasn't told to the board. Tremendous unrest has obviously occurred since that point in time. Um, a lot of good people both sides of the issue.

086Um, but I absolutely believe 100% in my heart the two former board members did what they believed was right for River, which was to say no to that policy. I believe the superintendent, former superintendent absolutely knew what he was doing when he brought that policy back to two new board members and presented it with too few words and what should have been brought to the table. We all know now what has occurred since that point in time, which has been chaos, it's been distrust, it's been money, and here we sit now, it's the board's decision how to have their committees. Um, I don't think we've ever had a board finance committee in my 10 years here. We've had a treasurer finance committee. It's listed in the policy. Um, we've met twice a year, typically around

087the forecast time. Um, but it's two community members who were actually on the treasures finance committee longer than I've been here and they still do that. Mr. Pard and Dave, his name, the last name just escaped me, but there are two of them still on or Mr. Buser used to be on as well. Um, so the structure of the policy committee is probably not the issue. The distrust that occurred really came from what I I think those of you who've read the emails know how that happened with a citizen approaching the superintendent and then all of a sudden there's an item that's on a policy committee agenda and then all of a sudden there's a policy that's enacted and then all the the excitement has occurred since then and the distrust of folks that I

088know are good people actually. So, um, it's been unfortunate, but it's really been driven by one policy, and now it's extending into these other policy considerations, which I don't, no one seemed to take exception with how Mr. White handled public meetings about cell phone policy. Nobody seems to take exception with how Mr. White handled the parents bill of rights policy, but we're still back on RTRI, which is unfortunate, which I will forever lay squarely at the feet of one person. And I'll stop. Thank you. >> Thanks. If I could add to that uh too that this actually worked perfectly tonight for how we the intent in the sense of like by having policies presented to the five first is discussion then as a first read then as a second read. This is the intent like

089to give people opportunity to come and speak and if I ever uh recommend to the board to do something faster than a discussion a policy faster than a discussion first or second please call me out on it because that's not what we want. We're not trying to surprise anybody. It is meant just like the whole change to the committees to build really trust with the community. So we do things, you know, I'm recommending we do things as a discussion, first item, second item, so people do have time to review, do have time because it's hard to know what would be a policy that might really upset people, what might not. Now, some are more apparent than others. But we do do want to present that transparency and give people a chance to speak. But at

090the same time, we also kind of have to move because some of these things are state law and so we got to get them approved more quickly. But I, as we're all sharing, really tonight was beautiful. It's exactly how it was meant to be handled. Give people a chance to respond or share their feedback and we board can hear that and decide if it wants to make changes or not. >> I could just add Dave Gford is the name. I forgot. If Dave is watching this, I apologize because I should not have forgotten that. So, thank you. >> Can I make one more comment? When we had a policy committee before, I think it was in 2017, our policy committee updated all of our policies and they made a decision at that point to leave.

091Was it Niola or OS? Niola and go to Peppa Wagner. >> Correct. >> Huh? >> Yes. >> No, no, I know. But what I know, but but what I'm saying is that was a >> that was all prior to anybody on this board. >> Yeah. Yeah. That was a that was >> that would No, the policy committee made that decision and and no one knew about it or no one said anything. The way that our policy committee is structured today, you would know exactly what we were doing. We would be transparent and that would be in a work session. So, no one knew that we updated all of our policies and there was a decision made in that policy committee with those two people and our superintendent to move from Niola to Pebble and Wagner.

092Right? because it might have felt like there was transparency. And I'm not saying and I'm and I don't I don't I think they just made the decision that they thought was best, but no one knew that. Well, the way our committee is set up today, you would know that because we would have discussed that in a work session that's live streamed and everyone can see it. So, you would be able to have feedback. So, we are trying to do what is the most transparent we can with our community members. >> Okay. Um, thank you everybody. Uh, next board meeting, uh, work session will be held on Tuesday, November 11th. Is that Veterans Day? >> Yes. Okay. Um, I'll be here that morning uh in the high school for that. >> Um, that's beginning at 5:30

093p.m. uh here in the rear uh admin building. And then our regular meeting will be Tuesday, November 18th, beginning at 5:30 p.m. uh here in the high school media center. Uh we do allow any other concerns of the public. Uh now's your time. Sure, come on up. >> I had a hand out. My name is Mary Slave and I'm a parent in the district. >> Mary, how are you? >> Mary. Hi, Mary. >> I did model. >> You should have helped me. >> Did I do everything? >> Yeah, you should helped us out. >> Um, so I have uh three kids in the district and I wanted to help improve the middle school experience. And for our kids, they go from bath to having recess and regular PE to going to the middle school without

094recess and without a lot of physical activity. Um, so right now you can sign up for a quarter of PE each year. Um, I think a lot of our students have wanted to do more than that, but because there's not enough like availability of gym time and teachers, they're limited. Um, so I would suggest trying to look at ways we can get more PE. Um, maybe even having like outdoor sports class first quarter and fourth quarter or um, you know, looking at teachers who have dual certifications and working with the schedule to just and I, you know, so many studies show exercise is good for mental health. It's good for focus in class, you know, for behavior. So I really think that our students would um, that would improve our middle school experience. So that's

095what I want to bring to you today. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you very much. >> Can I just say that I do agree with you. I think having recess and we've been talking with the middle school teachers on how we because we do have a gym right now that's currently being used. Um and I ask for stats on that because I do agree with you the mental health piece is huge and looking at how we could have a recess in the middle school or adding more um PE classes so those kids are not stuck in that building moving around. So I haven't heard the idea of like out time um stuff in the in the spring and fall when we do things and then also in the spring. So >> um thanks

096for bringing that up because I think those kids need to get out and take off get some energy out. >> Yeah. And I think if you lot ask a lot of kids what's your favorite part of school, especially boys, it's gym class. It's, you know, going outside at recess. So, >> you know, this and um and a couple other events that I've had or I've attended here recently, I've brought this up um because I think it's a great idea. Uh I have an eighth grader um and his first I think his first year he was there, he was able to you could take two gyms if you chose >> eighth grader too, >> but now you can't do that. Um, and you know, obviously recess, you know, even if you extended lunch, you know, to

097create some extra time for them to decide if they want to go outside or go to the gym or, you know, whatever it may be. I mean, I we are looking into it. It's been a discussion. Um, I mean, when I went to school, which was ages ago, we had extra time to do this stuff in middle school. >> Um, it was a long time ago. Uh but uh I I appreciate you bringing this up because it is a good idea. Um and we are looking at it. So hopefully fingers crossed we can find a solution. >> I have a fifth grader so I he's my youngest. So >> well you have a I have a four-year-old so I I'm hoping by then he'll we'll have something. So >> yeah, I do like the idea

098of structured physical activity too because I think at that age sometimes those kids get caught in the trap of it's not cool to do it. And so to have it in a more structured manner than just a recess will maybe keep the kids from like clumping in a group in the corner and not actually moving. So thank you. >> And they're doing that at the high school like they're starting a strength and condition. A lot of schools do a strength and conditioning class. We hired a um strength and conditioning coordinator at River three years ago. Is that right? Or four years ago? that. >> Well, we had it before that as well and >> it was outsourced, but we currently I just got the stats today. We currently have 550 athletes using >> that strength

099and conditioning coordinator. So, kids are craving physical activity and it is a huge piece to help them with, you know, getting rid of anxiety and getting out and moving around. So, >> well, maybe that employee do some kind of course, you know. Yeah. >> All right. Thank you. Thank you. Hi Travis Singer 4747 Granger Road Bath. So regarding the comment earlier pertaining to which by the way I mean I haven't brought up anything about money. I haven't spoken in public about money about any of this, but this is the second time I've heard the onus put on the public records request of the lifewise the people that were against the lifewise movement. As Mr. pointed out very generously and I appreciate it, is that there was trust that was destroyed during that. Now, I don't

100know whether or not people think that I had some understanding of or coordinated all these public records requests, but to my knowledge, there was about a baker's dust that we had because we were trying to figure it out. And we were trying to figure out what happened here exactly. And when we saw, for instance, which we wouldn't have had we not had the public records request, that the lifewise letterhead was the petition used to request the RTRI policy before it was mandated. That raised some alarm bells. We looked into that organization. I just don't think it's fair to put the onus of the legal fees over the past year on the lifewise request. I'd also be very suspect of the fact that that's the majority of our legal fees of a half a million dollars.

101Maybe I'm wrong. And if I am, I give you my word. I'd stand up here and say I was absolutely wrong. But it wasn't like they were being done, at least the ones that I was involved with, out of some kind of flippant let's waste resources. So, I don't think that it's fair to just put the onus on the records request pertaining to the RTRI policy on the anti-life question. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, I'll comment. I wasn't I said that I wasn't making it pointing at you for the records requests. There were a bunch of records requests. I was just saying that legal fees can fluctuate up and down. And part of the legal fees that we paid were because we had an exorbitant amount of records requests. It could have been for something

102else that wasn't directed at you. Um it >> well well you've been to two campaign nights, so you've heard me say it twice there and you're you're here tonight, but it wasn't pointed at you. It was just I was simply stating that legal fees can go up and down. at our campaign night in um at River High School. Keith hit on this like you know sometimes we have people that sue the school that we're not in control of. So I was just bringing up some things that might have a fluctuation of us you know that they could be higher than normal because certain things happen. You can't control those things. That's all I was stating. >> I also quickly want to say you mentioned that petition just to clarify we never saw that petition and

103I'm not Mr. Bdan went a little bit further. I won't. Um, we never saw that. I'll leave it at that. >> All right. I stand on every word I said because I know they're 100% factual. Anything I stated tonight is 100% factual. So, they're kind. I'm not, but that's how life rolls sometimes. >> Thank you. >> Anybody else? One of the things I think I do believe that policy committee stuff has improved. I do believe the process has. What I am concerned about is the legislative, financial, and what's the other one? Facilities aren't going to have a working group session. And so what I would like to know is how you guys as a board are going to address like who who is the contact person. I have a policy concern. I can I can

104talk to Mr. White, but you guys are responsible for policy. That is that is the core of your job. You you are the policy creators. Now he can make recommendations and he's excellent at he's very good at building consistence. But you guys are actually responsible for that. You're also responsible for public dissemination of information. So if you're getting thousands of records requests, that's not a Mr. White problem. That's a trust problem. And we need a place or a forum that we can come. So, we're not getting these legal things because I haven't actually made that many because I call, you know, like I am not the person that is is is making those go up because I I talk to people because I I do believe in creating that and reducing risk and liability for

105a district. So, I do want to clarify that when you take committees away and you take line by line reads away, you need something to replace it. So that policy 704 was read eight months ago, a line item was put in that directly contradicts. I raised this issue la last time it came up and I'm like this policy is still there. They're going to know if you guys had just sat and done a line by line read, you guys would have picked it up or like there needs to be a place that public can comment. So I'm not I'm not saying that anybody's bad. I I have seen improvements but when I I don't want to get misconstrued with what I said because I was so nervous about speaking out I didn't speak strongly enough.

106So what I am concerned about is if you take committees away just please have a way that we can talk to you so we don't want to do records requests so we feel the trust. Okay. I make one more quick comment. Um I will be quick in regard to that. I feel like I'll speak to RTR spec just because I was in that policy committee. Um, I feel like there was a lot of digging because people said we were talking to Lifewise, we were I I don't think unless there's some smoking gun that I don't know of, I don't believe any of that was ever found because we weren't. And so, I feel like a lot of us were trying to meet with people and have conversations and answer questions. And at some point, it

107felt like there was no more information we could give that would be accepted in good faith. And so, there was digging, digging, digging. I don't know what was ever found because I never heard of what was found because I don't believe there was anything there. So that became frustrating. I will just say from someone who's on the policy committee meeting because we took a lot of meetings, we took a lot of phone calls, we answer a lot of questions and there was just perpetual digging because people were making assumptions is what it felt like. And I I say that with all due respect, it's what it felt like. So it's like I think they did add up because people were looking for something and they thought there was a smoking gun. In reality, we had

108a very quick meeting. >> A citizen went to a superintendent and that's how it all started. >> And it was presented in a way that >> Travis has read that question. And that's a different issue. You >> a couple of times. >> I think we all have. >> Yeah. >> And I'll say Whitney, I think the timing of Dr. T's leaving. There was a gap where we felt, let's wait till Mr. White come. We knew it was summer. I think the majority of that was summer. Let's wait till you came on. We spoke with you about that. It was like a holding period and we were in a weird time, I think. Right. And so when you came on, I mean from the gate you started tackling that issue. So it wasn't like we were

109behind the scenes doing all this stuff and waiting intentionally. It was like a period of transition if that makes sense. And you did, I think, a great job from the gate um getting on that issue. It was a hard time to come in. So >> you did a great job. >> Thank you. But we didn't know about that. I mean that was not something right like >> do you don't understand what that we don't know everybody's email. >> Yeah. >> No >> I mean we weren't told that information by anybody. Right. It's not our job to be police. >> I've said a hundred times, I never once talked to anyone from Lifewise. And if I did, I would tell you because I'm not afraid to admit if I had talked to someone. I've been transparent

110through this whole I've never met anyone from Lifewise. >> I've never talked to anyone. >> I guess ultimately what we need to remember is we didn't vote on Lifewise. We voted on release time for religious education. And um you know lifewise while though you know we saw anti-lifewise signs it wasn't life-wise that we voted on as a board. And one of the discussions I know I had with a couple of you is I anticipated back in the at that time that the state was going to mandate that we have that policy and that your fight should be at the state level not at the river level. And I don't know what effort was made by any revered citizen at the state level regarding that. Um, but that's where the true fight was because they mandated

111that all districts have that in the state of Ohio and we did that. We had it done before and we didn't have to make any changes. And you know, uh, it's it's just it's it's disheartening that we have that big black eye for something that many districts had before we even considered it. And the state ended up mandating it several months after we implemented along with the uh modifications we did. So, No, no, but I think there's still this like I think for me it feels like there's this mistrust that we're like, you know, there was a red bus. People had seen a red bus and Lifewise was going to be here, right? There was never a red bus. No one had ever talked to Lifewise. I think there's this mistrust that like we're trying

112to keep something from you, but as you know, if you call me, I'm going to call you back. I'm going to be upfront and honest with you. Like I'm not I'm not I I I know you're representing a lot of people. So, I'm I'm not I'm not pointing at you. I'm just saying in general, the truth is we want to be transparent. We want to be honest. We want to do the best job we can because our job is to oversee and not interfere. So if a teacher is sending out an email, I wouldn't know that because number one, I'm not going to go question or ask a teacher because that's overstepping my boundaries, right? So I I mean there's a lot of things that go into river that I don't know about, right? Because

113it's like I'm not privy to it, you know, and and and and I don't want to overstep my boundaries as a board member, you know? I mean, that's just that's where we're at. But I mean, I can honestly say that in no way have I ever had a conversation with anyone. How do we hide this from them? How do we do this? Our meetings that you see are the meetings we see. And when we when we talk individually, we're trying to be the best representations of us as a school board to the community and try to answer and try to decide on what the majority of our community members want, right? And sometimes we're split down the middle. Some people come to meetings and some people don't. But at the end of the day, we're

114just trying to make the best decisions that represent river as a community. And that's I mean, you can believe that or not believe it, but that's the truth. I'm not saying you. I'm saying in general for anyone. I'm not I don't mean to say you. I'm just saying in general for everyone. >> Yes. And I will say there has been I think a number of people who have repeatedly said one of us, two of us, Courtney and myself try to bring Lifewise in try it's it is amazing how something that meeting ballooned into what it ballooned into because I can tell you right now the five of us never spoke with Lifewise. It was never an agenda. We're not signing our kids up for a lease. All of that that that ballooned into was has

115been shocking. Shocking. The digging the digging. Let's find some. And there's nothing there. There was never a smoking gun. Period. It it it's just been so frustrating to see very good people's names dragged and there's accus. It's just been shocking. Very shocking. >> All right. Thank you everybody for your comments, for your >> involvement and uh need a motion to adjourn. >> Motion >> second. >> Mr. B. >> Mrs. Brackett. >> Yes. >> Mr. Haidu. >> Yes. >> Mr. Malik. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Rainey. >> Yes. >> All right. We're adjourned. Thank you everybody.