001Good evening. Welcome to the May 5th West Claremont School Board Meeting. Mr. Romano, please take role. Mr. Patton, present. Mr. Chumley, present. Miss Samborg, present. Mrs. Spencer, present. And Mr. Rudy did let us know he would be absent tonight. Thank you. Uh, please join me with the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. First up is the motion to adopt the agenda. Would someone like to make a motion? So moved. Thank you, Mr. Chumley. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Miss Spencer. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Mr. Chumley, yes. Mrs. Spencer, yes. Mr. Patton, yes. Miss San, yes. Four, yes. Looks like next is the Ohio Board Association
002Veterans Board Member Award in Miss Sambboard. Mark Ewing is coming for that. Thank you. You can you can stand by the mic. That would be great. You can do both. Uh thank you for having me here. I'm This is kind of a dual purpose thing. I'm here to honor Tina Sanborn as a 10-year veteran board member by the Ohio School Board Association. And also Tina is also been recently elected to the Southwest Region Executive Committee for the Ohio School Board Association. She's the first West Claremont representative we've ever had from this area. So, I know I called my [Laughter] Thank you very much. Thank you. Next up, it looks like Dr. Folz. These are one of those exciting days we get to recognize our retirees. So, West Claremont is proud to celebrate and honor our
0032425 retirees. These dedicated professionals have given so much to our students, school, and community. Their years of service reflect a deep commitment to education, support, and care for each child, for every child who walks through our doors. We are grateful for the differences they've made and wish them all the best in their next chapter in their life. So, we are proud to recognize them. I'm going to have the principal say a little few uh words about each one. So, let's start with Shane Short, principal at Ameilia Elementary. Good evening everybody. Uh I am thrilled to uh congratulate Miss Jennifer Smith on her retirement this year. Uh this is her 32nd year of teaching. Uh she has taught in Lakota Loveland. Loveland, I'm sorry. Uh Loveland, West Claremont, New Richmond, New Richmond. I was going through
004the list in my head. So, um but but uh we are thrilled that she has been uh at West Claremont Middle School and Amelia in her career. Um and she does a lot of awesome things with our students. This year we're bringing rockets. Uh Rocket Day is coming up. Our kids are super excited about that. Um but she was very excited to find out that her 32nd year uh would be able to retire. And uh when I got that phone call, you could hear it in her voice that she was ready. So congratulations, Miss Jennifer Smith. Thank you. I have two others that couldn't be here tonight. Uh we also have Miss Chris Burnernheimer also retiring. Um she has served uh 32 years of her teaching career. Uh 24 in West Claremont. Uh so she
005was unable to be here tonight, but we thank her for all her um numerous uh just things that she's done with our kids and and growing those kids as as the years go on. It's it's amazing to see. uh and also Lynn Hatfield is retiring after 34 years as an intervention specialist uh all in West Car. So, thank you to those two be here tonight. All right, next we hear from Curtis Mason, principal at Club Pike Elementary. Good evening, board. Hope everyone gets some sleep tonight. Uh big day tomorrow. Um Mrs. Sloan um could not be here tonight. Dr. Folultz, I gave her I told her a heads up that you might give her a hard time about that. Um she felt very very guilty for not being here, but Miss Loan has been a
006teacher for 31 years. 22 of those years at Kluff Bike alone. So she's seen people like me come and come come and go. Um and she has just been a complete asset to to Kluff. I was talking to her today and I said, "Miss Sloan, I think it's probably safe to say that you enjoyed and loved every minute of teaching at KL." And she said, "Absolutely not. Not every minute." Um, she's one of those rare talents that has that mixture of uh very strict and stern, but also very loving and caring. It's sort of that it factor that we're always always looking for. Um, so it's a it's an honor to recognize Miss Salone. Thank you. Next, um, we have the district office, which is Sue Pedigrew and Kathleen Reed. I don't think either shown
007up, so you go first, Josh. Congratulations to Sue Pedigrew, um, who's retiring after seven years uh, as a custodian within the district. Uh Sue took great pride in her work and would often leave friendly notes and even drawings for those that she worked with. Um that positive attitude was a nice touch at the end of a long day and she's already missed here at district office. I'd like to also congratulate Kathy Reid. Congratulations to Kathy on retiring as a math specialist within the district. Uh Kathy served West Claremont for 31 years. Her principal stated Kathy is an amazing hard worker that always has a positive attitude. She will do anything to help any kid and always meets them where they are. We'll miss Kathy and we'll sure the best of luck. So, congratulations to both
008Sue and Kathy. Next, we have Josh Young, principal at Holly Hill. Come on. Even superintendent, treasurer, board. Um, here she comes. So, I've got two absolute rock stars for you this evening. Got Cindy Wright, uh, Rita Reynolds here. Rita spent 34 years of feeding the huskys. So breakfast and lunch and lunch and occasional lockins. So um kids love her. She's the best. Um just works really really hard and makes sure to go that extra mile to take care of the kids as they're coming to that lunch or their breakfast line. So love her. She's phenomenal. We're trying to figure out how to replace her. So uh the same for Cindy here. Cindy's been in the district 28 years. uh worked at a number of different elementaryaries as a par professional. Uh is it fair to
009say you found your your spot in preschool? I did with the babies. So the last few years been with our little three, four, and 5year-olds out there at the Wolf Pup preschool. So we're phenomenal human beings. Um emotional we're hanging. So we love them. They're they're great. Uh thank you guys. Appreciate it. Next we have Principal Aaron Parker of Merwin Elementary. Good evening. I have three dedicated staff members I'd like to recognize today. Up first is Miss Lisa Hughes, which there she is. Miss um Hughes has dedicated eight years of her teaching career at Merwin Elementary. In those years, she's taught kindergarten, fourth, fifth grade. She's also taught third in previous districts. Mrs. Hughes is a teacher you'll see burning the midnight oil in her classroom, reviewing data, planning lessons, and communicating with families. She's
010invested uncountable hours in club events at Morwin. This is just a small list. Drama club, the fourth grade outings to the Freedom Center, which happens on Saturdays, field trips, movie outings, genius hour, and lit circles. Words her team would use to describe her as a teacher and friend include empathetic, collaborative, loving, talented, advocate, mentor, and thoughtful. Thank you, Mrs. Hughes. We will miss your fun energy, especially on spirit days, and the love you show all [Applause] Mustangs. Up next is Miss Amy Noble, who was also recognized last week for county as an outstanding teacher. Mrs. Noble has dedicated 32 years of her teaching career in Merwin Elementary. I believe you actually student taught in the exact room you're in now. Is that correct? Yes. Um in those years she's taught first and second grade. Over
011the years of dedicated service to Merwin, she has co-chared the variety show and led her team as an instructional leader. Mrs. Noble is a teacher that students continue to connect with throughout their West Claremont years because of the positive relationships she builds with students and families. She leads and teaches by example every day. Words her team would use to describe her as a teacher and friend include gracious, inspiring, mentor, work mom to most of us, coach, friend, and irreplaceable. Thank you, Mrs. Noble, for your all-in attitude every day and for your mentorship you've provided me over my last three years at Merlin. And last is Miss Cheryl Stevens. Also hopping on the 32-year bandwagon. She's so excited. She came in that like after that weekend. Guess what I was so excited for. She has completed
012her 26th year in West Claremont. She taught six years prior at a different district. As a West Claremont wolf, she has taught at Glenestie Middle School as ELA Willowville Brner. We were together at Brner and Merwin. She's also an alumni of Merwin and Amelia as well as her husband and kids. I think she bleeds blue. Miss Stevens loves all students unconditionally. She also knows the strengths and needs of her students and responds. You should see her data binders. Words her team used to describe her as a teacher and friend include positive, energetic, and encouraging, knowledgeable, supportive, kind, passionate, loyal, committed, kind, funny, thoughtful, collaborative, dedicated, determined, trustworthy, and a great team player. Thank you, Mrs. Stevens, for many years of service and the great times that I've had with you at both Brandner. One year
013does really matter. And now my win. Next, we have Principal Lisa Courtney from Somerset Elementary. Good evening. It is my honor to recognize Mrs. Carrie Anderson. Um she is retiring after 27 years in the field of education and it has been my privilege and honor to get to know her through the years. She's at home probably enjoying her dogs and her family um and has set her sights on Tennessee at this point as she's building a new home for herself and a new adventure. But in the 27 years she's been in the educational field, she's been dedicated to our students, dedicated to our staff, and really just continued to serve um in a range of grade levels and in a range of expertise as she has fostered a foundation and just really been an outstanding
014educator in our field. So, she will be greatly missed and um I'm just grateful for the time that she's been at Summerside with me and uh the all of the years of experience that she's continued to pour into our students in West Claremont. [Applause] [Music] Next, I'd like to call Principal Jake Cogn from the Westclar Middle School and our nutrition director, Jessica Walker, up. Thank you. Um, sorry for the next person has to lean down like that. Um, all right. West Claremont Middle School would like to honor four retirees this evening. um two of which are cafeteria workers, Miss Pamela Allen and Yavon Cole. Um both of who were people who I think what they really brought to our building was always a smile and a sense of kids seeing being or feeling seen and
015valued. Um we are also val or honoring tonight uh Mr. Chris Vandergri who is incomparable in his own way. Um Mr. Vandergri worked in West Carmont Middle School for over 30 years, was a teacher, mentor, and a constant source of support and inspiration. Um, students always gravitated toward him, not just because of his engaging lessons, but because they knew that he truly cared for them. Uh, he listened, he showed up, and he never hesitated to go the extra mile. Whether that meant staying late to help a student or finding creative ways to connect learning to real life. Uh, his classroom was a place where colleagues um could go to him to offer or receive guidance, encouragement, or just a steady voice of wisdom. So, we're very grateful for Mr. Gra Mr. Vandergri and um wish
016him well in his retirement. Um, our last retiree in the middle school is Mr. Matt White, who has had a uh impact on our district that's been both lasting and meaningful. Um, as a teacher and administrator, he's been vice president of the union. Um, he's always been somebody who has provided uh more collaborative working conditions and has been a trusted source for being able to build bridges in times of change. Um, so we want to make sure we thank Matt for his years of service in West Claremont Middle School. Thank you for having me tonight. Um so today we have four honores from the child nutrition department. Pam al Pam Allen, Yavon Cole, Cindy Evans, and Rita Reynolds. Um which they have a combined service of over 70 years um working for West Claremont schools.
017Um, though I've not been here very long, um, I know the true attributes of the lunch lady really means. Um, being a lunch lady takes more than knowing your way around a kitchen. It takes dedication, patience, and unshakable work ethic. It takes early mornings, hot kitchens, and a deep understanding that food is more than just fuel. It's comfort. It's care. And for many of our students, it's the most consistent thing in their day. It takes compassion to serve hundreds of meals with a smile. Even on the hardest days, it takes pride to make sure every tray is safe, healthy, and filled with love. It takes heart, so much heart to do it day after day, year after year, often without the recognition deserved. Our retirees have been role models of quiet strength. They've g greeted
018students with kindness, offered encouragement with every serving, and helped create a welcoming cafeteria that felt like a second home. On behalf of the child nutrition department, we thank you. you've made a lasting impact in ways that go far beyond the lunch line. You you are and will always be part of the heart of our schools. Um I'd like to congratulate them. But then I also have a thing for Rita. Um so for over 30 years, you said 34 years. She has been with the district um most of that time was at Holly Hill, but she did have some years at Ameilia Elementary. Um, she is a true leader in child nutrition whose legacy will be felt for years to come. She has been a guiding light in our program. She hasn't just served meals, she
019served people with heart, with joy, and with unwavering commitment. Her kitchen was more than a workplace. It was a place of encouragement, learning, and love. She led by example, always the first to lift someone up, the first to lend a hand, and the first to flash the signature smile. Even on the toughest days, she treated every student like her own, offering warmth, kindness, and some sometimes the only smile child might see that day. Her leadership wasn't loud, but it was powerful. She helped guide others with grace, positivity, and a deep sense of purpose. She built a team, a family, and a legacy of service that fed not just little tummies, but spirits. Thank you for your decades of service and your vulnerable heart and your belief that every child deserves to be fed with dignity
020and care. You have truly made a difference and your impact will live on every life you've touched. Thank you. And finally, we have principal uh Greg Pabomb for West Claremont High School. Good evening. Seems that half my science department's leaving tonight. Um so I'll start with Marcia Beamer who couldn't be here. Um, if you don't know, Marsha probably couldn't be here because James is still talking to her right now. Marsha spent the last eight years as as James uh as the athletic secretary and then before that she's been a principal secretary and a secretary in the building. Um, Marsha is a true asset to to everybody that she comes in contact with and her institutional institutional knowledge will be very hard to replace. So, we're really going to miss Marsha Beamer. Um, next is Michelle
021Butin, who's down here. Um, she's our guidance counselor. I've got to work with Michelle for eight years now as an assistant principal and a principal, and I can't tell you how much, um, I've had to lean on her. Uh, our graduation ceremony is so seamless because of Michelle, and it's really it's going to be very hard to replace. there's huge shoes and um you know as a as a first year assistant principal I could always call her and count on her for a good honest answer and and make sure that you know I was going to get the right answer. Um and that was so helpful to me and and you've been amazing. You've helped me out so much in my career at West Claremont. So I can't thank you enough. Um next is Mary
022Hutchson. Mary couldn't be here. Mary's a campus coordinator. Um she's served in the district for many many years. Um, and uh, Mary was probably as reliable as they get when it comes to to her job. Um, she always put kids first, uh, even when she didn't like it. But, um, Mary was always as reliable as a clock. If you asked her to be there at 7:15, she was there at 7:10. So, um, we're going to really miss Mary. Um, and then there's Joan Lewis. And speaking of reliable, um Jones the Jones our CCP chemistry teacher, so that's really easy to replace. And um the first time I met Joan, she was yelling about the fact that she didn't have enough file cabinets. Joan remembers that story. Uh I said, "You can have the one in
023my office." And that seemed to to to help her a lot. But a simple story that you'll hear about Joan, and I'll tell this again later. um since I've been at West Claremont High School, Jones had two hip replacement surgeries and um she schedules them both for June so she can back in August for students. And I don't I don't think we have more dedicated people than that, Joan. And and it's been an honor to work with you those eight years. I don't know that I would have said that right after that file cabinet incident, but it really has. It's been an absolute pleasure. It's filled with 40 years of materials. Um, and that's not an exaggeration. Um, and then we have Lisa Reeves. Um, if you know Lisa, she's one of the sweetest people
024you can meet. Um, I get random texts from Lisa at different hours about her being on the golf course or what she's seeing out there. Um, but I got a really sweet text from her once. Um, and I'll keep that kind of between us, but it was about uh it was about me as a leader and it it it touched me and almost uh brought me to tears. But Lisa has a a way of seeing people and and making them feel seen that's really special. Lisa is also our French teacher, which is just again really easy to replace. And so she's really going to be missed. Um, we have Pat Willis. Pat is our AP physics teacher. So again, just the you know, not important roles, right? They're just they're just small. Um um Pat's
025one of those guys that you could just sit and talk with about anything. We tend to talk about golf more than anything because uh that's what we do. Um but Pat's been a leader for his department for the last eight years. He's been our instructional leader and um and he's a voice for his teachers, but he's also a voice for the building. And um it's been an honor to work with you and to work with you and the leadership team. And um when you look at these four people standing here, you're talking about 30 something plus years of administration or of education. And then you have what probably four to 5,000 kids each that you've taught. And Michelle, I don't know 10,000 kids that you've worked with as a counselor and a teacher. and like
026the amount of lives that they've impacted their their impact on this world far outweighs anything that that most people could do and it's just been incredible and so we're so proud of you guys and we're going to miss you but um it's welld deserved. So thank you. We'd like the teachers to come around and shake your guys' hands. So teachers, if you want to start that way. Congratulations. [Music] Thank you so much. [Applause] I enjoyed it. Congratulations. Thank you for your service. Congratulations. You're so obligated. Oh, so I want to tell them something. Can you have us step in for just a second before Sorry, it'll it'll be fast. Just stay in for just a minute. You want to get a picture? I know. I know. I told her I said take charge, but then
027I'm changing. So, thanks for stepping in for just a second. First of all, when Jim Rudy isn't here during a retirement celebration, something is definitely missing because he loves you all. He's worked with you all. He knows your moms and your dads and your cousins and um so a special wellw wishes from Jim Rudy in his absence today. Um second, the the frame that is inside of your gift is a one-of-a-kind um painting by Gary Brooks, former superintendent of West Claremont. So something very special that he gives back to the school district every year. Not a talent that any of the other superintendents possess. So we really appreciate for that great work. Uh third thing is just to say that David Folultz and Josh would be happy to have your sub license updated so that
028you can come back and sub. You're welcome anytime. And finally, you're a very special class of retirees. It's it's very hard to picture West Claremont without all of you. The investment that you've given to each student in the classroom as well as um to the bigger picture of West Claremont is is really um something that we we are just so grateful for. And even though there will be people that will step into your classroom or step into your kitchen and take that role, you will you will not be replaced here at West Claremont. You leave a legacy. So, thank you for your um your great work, your commitment, and we wish you the very best in your retirement, which includes good night sleeping on Sunday night. So, thanks again. So, I think at this point
029we're going to take about a 10- 15 minute break. Um, and we'll be out. We'll come back in about 10 or 15 minutes. Okay, thank you. We are now back. We'll be talking about artificial intelligence. We have a video. Oh, we have a video. Okay, baby. [Music] Imagine this. You spend hours writing the perfect essay for the state test. You triple check your grammar. You make it relatable to your audience. You hit submit and then wait for your grade. But here's the thing. It isn't a teacher reading your words. It isn't even a human at all. It's a machine. We think that writing is an art, not a math formula. So, we believe that it needs to be addressed and we need to add personality. So, how does AI or artificial intelligence know what's good
030writing? A group of eighth graders at West Claremont Middle School and their teacher wanted to find out. So, they became detectives. Their mission to crack the code behind the machine. It kind of started out with us. Our teacher asked us, she showed us some essay responses that the OST had graded and she asked us what we thought they would would have been graded. And the results were kind of shocking. Like essays that we thought were good, they weren't really that good to the OST AI. And then she told us how previously she had kids try to figure out things that the AI liked. And so that was our main goal was to try to figure out what the AI likes and how we can get better scores on the OST test. Their investigation found that
031while AI catches grammatical mistakes and likes big words, it misses what really matters, creativity, originality, personality, the things that make us human. Core issue is basically that the AI is very deprived of personality. It doesn't want the writer to write with personality in it. Like when you address somebody in an essay like using the word I, me, you etc. The AI deduct deducts points for using the pronouns like I, me, my or you. And even that simply takes away personality. It wants to use a formulaic approach to things with uh claim evidence reasoning specifically. So what are the real life effects of this? So I'll give you a simple example. You're writing your college application and people reading that they're human. And normally you want to write a college application with some person with a
032lot of personality to touch the hearts of the people reading it. And if you are trained to write for an AI for your whole elementary through high school career, then you're going to be writing like a robot to them. and they're gonna think you're boring and you're not gonna fit into the school or on job application, same thing. So, how did they come to this conclusion? They actually asked AI for help. They fed it essays, changed a few words, then ran them through again and again. They even learned code and developed their own AI that they say is better. Well, um, for one, recently I kind of learned how to use and like manipulate code because, um, me and AJ and like everyone kind of helped with it. But, um, we started we kind of
033tried to replicate the Ohio State test AI by making our own website, which is still a process right now. Um, but I definitely had knew nothing about code before that. And now they are getting national recognition. They first presented their findings at the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts annual conference and then to the National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research. And most recently, they met with Ohio Representative Adam Bird. Oh, these guys, they were awesome. They knocked it out of the park. I was so happy to hear uh about how hard they've been working and and it's a little distressing at the same time because what they had to share today is is something that I don't think a lot of people know about. And you know, we've got to
034make some changes when it comes to the testing and accountability system in Ohio. I've tried to be a champion for that and I'm trying to get more people to to back me on making changes to the testing system here in Ohio. I think it went great. Um I'm He really considered the problems that we gave him and he wants to basically have us tell other lawmakers that he works with about this problem that we've been facing with the AI. I want to see him come to Columbus and I'm going to try to make that happen. We want to see them come and and share the kinds of things that they've been investigating, researching. I want to see them share that with some of my colleagues in Columbus. So, what exactly would these students like to
035see changed? Ideally, in a perfect world, we would basically like a new AI to be developed or at least started on because I know that they're in the future already making tests that we probably won't even take right now, but they need to develop a new AI in order to save the the art the art of writing. Honestly, I think that it should be taught in schools how to write for AI cuz it's just so different. And like younger kids, they're like writing how they would for their teacher and they're getting crushed cuz they don't get good scores and that's not their fault. Their teacher agrees. She's already begun making changes in her classroom. Well, writing genres, right? Thinking about audience and purpose. And and I tend in my own practice to teach genre. Um,
036I don't have them just write essays. Like they might write a review rather than an argument. Um, they might write a little chapter from a memoir instead of doing informative writing about somebody. So I focus on genre. What would be an actual thing that we would see in the real world? And I also teach essay as a genre. Um, this is yet one more genre, which is what I've been doing, but now it it It confirmed my it confirmed my thinking in and the practices that I've been doing for the past couple years because I don't want to turn out students to high school who only know how to write five five paragraph essays that make an AI happy. I don't think that's the goal of education and it's important that it's taught cuz it's
037not going to go away. I mean like as our world evolves, AI just keeps becoming a bigger thing. It saves money and it saves time and they're not going to give that up. I think there's a couple different ways to look at this. The first way is yeah, you can take what we found out and improve your test writing skills, right? But that's that's just super cut and dry. Here's a worksheet. Do this little checklist and we're done. I think the bigger picture is how we can use this experience to help teachers maybe think about how they could do something similar in their classroom. not necessarily with AI, but with a passion project or research or just allowing them to kind of explore something that they're interested in and then using that experience to help
038them with their writing and their their presentation and speaking and communication with audience and purpose. We are West Claremont strong. What is your WC strong story? [Music] Okay, thank you for that video. Next, it looks like public speaking. I do not believe there's any cards back there. So, at this point, thank you. We will move on to the consent agenda. Dr. FS. Good even Good evening. In front of you is the personnel agenda for May 5th, 2025. On the agenda today, we have the retirement of Jennifer Smith and Cheryl Stevens. You got to meet them a little earlier today. Um, we wish them well in their next adventures. Uh, we also have the resignations of nine teachers at the end of the school year, three pair of professional aids and one custodian. This agenda also
039includes a proposed hiring of nine teachers for next year, two custodians, one high school counselor including the extended 15 extended days and one school psychologist intern. On this agenda, we have a proposed approval for supplemental contracts for a resident mentor and a home tutor. And also included in this agenda is the proposed approval for multiple unpaid leave of absences, substitute custodian, substitute care professional aid, and multiple school volunteers and student teachers. So, this concludes the review of the personnel agenda submission for your consideration. Thank you, Dr. PZ. Next up, looks like we have Good evening. This evening, we are thrilled to uh seek your approval of this year's the class of 2025 West Claremont High School graduates. After that, we have two overnight field trips that we're also seeking your approval for. The first one
040is the West Clar High School boys basketball summer tournament. That tournament will take place um in Sandusky, Ohio at the Cedar Point Sports Complex. Students um will depart on June 27th and return back to school on June 29th. Um the cost of that trip um includes lodging, meals um etc. Parents will be transporting students to um on on that particular trip as well. The second overnight field trip that we're requesting your approval for is for girls basketball. And this is um the NCAA live recruiting tournament that takes place in Winchester, Kentucky. They will um depart on June 12th and return the next night or the next day, excuse me, um June 13th. Any questions about either of those? Great. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Item 7.05 is request for the approval of minutes. That was
041for the meeting that was held on April 21st, 2025. The consent agenda is item 7.01 through 7.05 as recommended. Thank you, Mr. Romano. You've heard the recommendation. Would someone like to make a motion? So move. Thank you, Mr. Chumley. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Miss Abborn. Is there any discussion? Thank you. Roll call, please. Mr. Chumley, yes. Miss Sanborn? Yes. Mrs. Spencer? Yes. Mr. Patton? Yes. Four? Yes. Good evening. So, we have um a few policy updates that we are basically is going to be language. And so in in talking with legal and talking with what our protocol is, we have the right to wave the first reading and go right into an action item on this and with all the changes and the things that were coming down the road, this might
042be something that is going to be more often than before. Um, and in the board updates prior to these meetings, if we do this, I'll give you the rationale for what we're doing. Most of them is about language. It's not about new policies and things. So, we won't bring the policy committee together for that. Um, but we've already got and Mrs. Adams gave me today two more that language that may be changing that we had already just approved back in December and February. And so, it's it's constantly changing and I'll keep you guys up to date uh through the board update. But, if you ever have any questions about it, um, please let me know uh before the meeting. So, we'll go right into a second reading. And again, these will be around changes probably
043around language and keeping up to date with with whatever House bill has been passed and keep keeping up to the dates that we have to get them in by. Um, and so tonight, um, we have three that are around language. The first one is 5460 around graduation requirements. And again, all these that we're talking about tonight, these are not new policies. We're not putting in new policies. We're not changing policies. We're just updating language. Um, and this particularly is under graduation requirements. We're not changing graduation requirements. We're not increasing. We're not decreasing. We're just doing a little bit more ex explaining as far as what the requirements are from the state. And that is around fine arts, which we didn't have in our policy that this could happen between grade 7 and 12. We want
044to be very specific about that in there as well, so it doesn't confuse everybody. The other one is around um the financial literacy. Before it was always you have to be exposed to financial literacy. Well, now that you have to have a half a credit and so that is also specifically in there and I can tell you from being a principal more that you are specific about that when it comes to graduation the better so that you can fall back on policy. So those are two um that we would want to update the language on that as well. uh policy 8550 8510 is around wellness and in grade six all we do all we're doing here is removing the grade six uh as we do not require recess or this isn't mandated for our sixth
045grade to have recess um they are um they get their wellness uh through physical education u and then the final one is um uh the policy uh 2111 parent family engagement. All we're doing is removing one of the lines um that so we are staying in compliance with the uh title n compliance that we just passed. And then the last one as we go through our policies and we find things that could be subject to not falling in title n then we'll just take those out u so that we can continue to follow along with that. So I'm asking the board uh as a second reading to approve those changes to those three policies. Thank you, Randy. You guys have heard the recommendation. Would someone like to make a motion? So move. Thank you, Mr.
046Chumley. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Miss Samour. Is there any discussion? Thank you. Roll call, please. Mr. Chumley, yes. Miss Samborg, yes. Mrs. Spencer, yes. Mr. Patton, yes. Four, yes. Item 8.02 is our statement of facts. It's just a reminder to everybody that the statement of facts as well as one pagers and FAQs, demonstration videos are all available on our website. We are on the ballot May 6th. That's tomorrow. And I want to cover just a few questions that came up over the weekend. One being what will happen? Do we have enough funding to maintain these new buildings? If this process would go through, will we be able to maintain them? So, I thought maybe you could spend some time talking about the Yep. Yep. Uh the income tax and how that works.
047Yeah. So, uh really three things with the three funding sources for the maintenance of our buildings. Um first of all, we do have a permanent improvement fund up until uh the last reappraisal and valuation increase. Um most of that money was dedicated to um paying off or paying the debt for the new high school. Okay, that's where the inside millillage is and that was dedicated to that to that payment. With the valuation increase, there are uh a little bit of additional funds available so that we could do some things with the existing buildings as necessary. That that's not enough to build a new building or build an addition, but that really helps support the maintenance of the building. The second source of funds is the half a mill OFCC requirement. So when the district years
048ago went into the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission program and the state did a percent matching um with that construction project, um the district had to dedicate at least a half a mill uh towards the maintenance and upkeep of those buildings. The way we've been um looking at those funds is taking half of the half of the money and setting it aside for a future use of a major component such as a roof for windows or HVAC or uh the electrical systems and things like that. The other half we look at that we could spend on current maintenance that needs to be done so that those buildings are really uh kept up in good condition to do that. So as um the the success of the the the bond issue goes through those new those buildings
049will have funds available to them from that half mill. So currently right now of our nine buildings six of them can access that those funds. Three of them cannot because they were not built with those with those matching funds. There's a third source as this issue passes on the earned on the as you know it's a combined earned income tax and property tax. With the property tax it's really um a fixed dollar amount of bonds and the county auditor adjusts the millage so that they're just paying off the bonds and the interest on those bonds. Okay. So if our valuation goes up, the millage rate would goes down just so that we're paying off that debt on the earned school district earned income tax, which again is on wages. Um basically you're working and you
050get a W2. It's not on social security or pension or retirement or earnings on investments, but on um on on wages, on earnings as those earnings grow throughout time. And this is a 30-year those uh the the debt for those would be over 30 years. As time goes on and as historically has happened, earned income has grown. There was only two periods in time in the last I believe 30 years that it did not. That was during the general or the great recession and then during COVID. the expectation that um the earnings would grow. We can't count on that, but we do know that if history repeats itself that the school district earned income tax would grow. Because of the ballot language, any additional revenue that's derived from that has to go for permanent improvements.
051It has to go for new construction, renovation, things that have a life of five years or more. that was specifically in the ballot language. So to answer that question, we actually have three sources when those new facilities, whether it's the renovations, whether it's the new buildings, okay, and things that we have, there's actually three sources that we have that could assist in that. Um, the other thing, and I think I think it might have been with that question too that came up was the assets. Yeah. What about the disposition of any assets that we have that that are not going to be used or not serve the public purpose? I think that one of the two things question one of them was the elementary schools that are being replaced. What about those properties? Uh for
052those properties, a there's some uncertainty about our enrollment growth. Again, the projections that we have are um in excess of 1300 students between now and 2030. When you think about that, 1300 students is about two elementary school buildings. So, um the the best thing for us to do to look forward is when when we know when projections become more real than just projections, then we'll know whether or not those assets could be utilized, should be utilized by the district or, you know, would be available for disposition with that. So, there's there's a holding period on that. other property that we have that the board deems that um you know is not going to be used or not serving a a educational purpose or public purpose then we'll at the at the right time dispose of
053of that um asset because those assets are um fall under the uh the realm of infrastructure or permanent improvements. any proceeds from the sale of those would go to the permanent improvement fund and that money would be used also to maintain the buildings with that. So that also helps out in the maintenance too as it goes forward. And if I could add I know there was another question that Miss Samborg you had had raised to me earlier and we're getting some information on that but just kind of give you a high level description of what that is. There was a question I think from the public about how our ESSER funds were being used, how the the federal aid from COVID was being used. So, we received $14 million, high side of $14 million beginning
054in the 2021 school year. Um, there were three um rounds of that federal assistance that were provided to school districts. Um the qualification of that was it had to be spent on certain things and it had to be spent by October of 24 one and I know the question you asked is how did we determine you know how to use those funds. So, if you go back over the years and on the website and other meetings that we had, you would hear that term onward and upward. Hopefully, I'm saying it the right way. Onward and upward and upward and onward. Okay? But you've heard that term. That term was really the the label for the planning process and our utilization of those funds. Um, and I can recall that, you know, I I was fairly
055new at that time when I came in. Um what was really um unique to me was the ability of this district, the leadership in the district to um again there was the the money became available. I know some of my peers in other school districts were struggling on how to use the money. That was not a struggle in this district. there there were uh past work that was done that identified the needs of the school district and if funds were available how that would be used. One of the conditions that the the team talked about was um and they heard this you've heard this term the fiscal cliff the financial cliff right and school districts would be in trouble because it was one time only money and if they used it for ongoing expenses they
056would end up in trouble in October of 24 so the conditions that we put on the utilization or one of the conditions that we put on that funding was if it was one-time money we could use it as an investment. Okay, not just an expense but an investment in different resources. The other thing that we knew because at the same time that that that fund became available, there was back in 2020 a reappraisal property valuation increase and there was some ongoing funds with that and that was about three million. Yeah, about three million. That was right after the levy passed. So, so with the availability of the ESRE money and with with that valuation increase that is the funding that drove the onward and upward program. Again, the conditions were it was really all about
057investing in people, investing in program, investing in resources that already had been identified identified that were needed in this district. That plan was put together in a relatively short period of time. Um and and I think we were pretty true to form from 20 to 21 through October 24 of spending that money in I would say five major categories. The first major category is really for the safety of the students because of COVID and the staff. Okay. Or or the community as they came into our buildings and there were different materials and different supplies purchased that were really to to help out prevent the spread of CO to do that. Second was there was technology purchase because there was a time period when students and staff were remote and so we had to make sure
058that we placed a um a handheld device in every student a handheld device in every teacher that we had the right software and the right program so that students and staff could communicate and learning could continue on. That was the second major expense that was there. there was a a need identified in curriculum. Um I know the superintendent tells the story well but prior to that time period our curriculum had not been updated in over a decade in some subject areas. Some it was even longer. Yeah. Some longer. And so there there was a need with those resources because there there was a learning gap that was being developed that we need to look at create a curriculum replacement cycle so that our curriculum was updated on an ongoing basis. That updating of the curriculum
059was several things. It wasn't just books or software or material but it was also an investment in the staff investment in in instructional coaches. Okay. to make sure that that would be implemented in the correct and the right way. Hopefully I'm saying this the right way. I'm not just the money guy. These guys are the experts on that. But that that and I I felt very good, you know, a year or two afterwards. I know with the math when the when the math coaches came in talked about what had happened, it was it was phenomenal the increases in performance that student were having because of the increased curric because of that um the adoption of the new curriculum with that. So that was there with it. Okay. Um the fifth major area was really looking
060at our ability to um and I think that the term often used over time you know in business is attract and retain. Well one once COVID hit I think those terms were reversed and working with Dr. Folultz it was really we need to focus on retaining first okay because that's what's really causing us to go back and try and attract people. So the more we can retain you know the better off it is for us. So and so there were funds that were really dedicated to the staff not just because of co but to make sure that we were retaining the staff things that we could do there like developing them and supporting them. Correct. We do that. I think the the the big term in all the $14 million or the or the federal
061relief is that we tried to focus on how do we make that an investment into what this district really needed. So even though it was a one-time only payment over the three periods of time or three distributions, we were taking that investing it in people, investing in programs that we had, making sure that we had the right resources um for the staff and for the students to to move forward with it. I would say that if there was another guiding principle that we had and I I can still remember the meeting today, the leadership sat in the in the room and agreed upon the fact that we needed in this district. We didn't want to come out, we didn't want to go back to way to the way we were. We wanted to come out
062better. And so if you look at the things that we invested in and the things that we did with those funds, that was the sole intent, not to just not to go back to the way we were, but to come out of that COVID era or time period better than the way we were before we went into it. Well, unconnected to that idea is this thought of the 2020 levy. We we in our messaging said that this was to stabilize the school district. This was just to protect and keep everything in place. And with this additional valuation money, with the esser funds, we were able to do more than that over this time period. Invest in the classroom in ways we hadn't been able to invest. We were just going without. And so we can
063draw a direct correlation to the curriculum being updated, technology in the hands of our students, supports around the classroom that hadn't been there in the past to the results that we are getting. and performance performance was certainly um our ultimate goal to make sure we were changing the student experience and changing the outcomes that they were receiving. I kind of associated uh with this question it came up today uh connected in in one of the TV interviews that I did. Um people were saying on I think she got this from social media saying that you there was more valuation increases recently. Why didn't you spend that money on the buildings? So can you talk a little bit about that? Yeah. So there since I go back to 2020. So there were two periods of reappraisal.
0642020 first collection and 21 and then 2023 first collection in 2024. Um and and again the 2020 as we said was about 3 million increase. The 23 valuation increase was much more. I term it the postcoid valuation increase. It not only happened in Claremont County, it it happened all over. One of the things that is we need to note is those funds, most of those funds are in the operating fund in the general fund. And when those when we started to see those come through is when we started to look at how do we take um what was pegged to have a a levy in 2024 because the 20 the commitment in 2020 was that the school district would not come back to the community to the voters prior to 2024. And so when um
065we were aware that that reappraisal um would add additional funds to the general fund is and we even noted in our five-year forecast, right, that we started looking at how can we extend that commitment into 25. How can we extend it into 2026? Today we we know we can we do not have to come back until 2026. we are still having ongoing efforts to how can we extend that to 2027 if we possibly possibly can to do that. So those we recognize that those those funds became available to us and we really looked at how do we extend that further out to make sure that commitment not only went to 2024 but uh will last as long as we can make it last because it it is additional funds. There's no question about that. Have
066you guys gotten any other questions or things that you think need clarified so that everyone can be informed for tomorrow's decision? I think we've loaded plenty of great information and multiple avenues that we've put. So, um I think it's great. I'm really Let me add what I think is you and I discussed it today. Okay. Maybe it's the headway into the advocacy. Oh, okay. Okay. is is that as we look as we do the five-year forecast and we start looking at certainties, there's more uncertainty than there is certainty. Um, one of those is and especially as we looked at the, you know, when the valuation increase came in. One of the things that that is misunderstood and and and hard to understand about school funding is the higher valuation or the the higher the state
067sees the wealth of the district which is measured by two components. It is measured by property valuation per student and it's measured by the adjusted gross income per student. Okay, those two variables basically say if the state sees our school district of being more wealthy per pupil, property value and income per student, then the state says we have a formula that is going to pay less to the school district. Part of that uncertainty within the last year or so has been the question of we are on a guarantee from the state. that is that since the fair school funding formula came into existence and even prior to that the state came back and said this is a wealthy school district and because of that we're going to cap how much money we give you. In
068fact, as time goes on there's the possibility that the guarantee will go away and we'll give you less money. So to to really help with that uncertainty, okay, when valuations come in like that and and there is money that comes to the state, we have to look forward one, two, three, four years or two bianiums is four years is what is the state going to do? Are they going to enact that provision that does away with the guarantee? So therefore, the state is going to give us less funding, which then puts more pressure on local funding, local taxpayers to do that. But that's the reality that we're in, okay, with that. So, yes, we recognize the valuation increase. We recognize we're at the 20 mil floor. We don't hide that. But, um, you know, part
069of that is is the uncertainty of what's going to happen at the state level, too, that we need to prepare for. Yeah. So, that's a good segue into my comments. I want to thank you all for participating in the Chamber of Commerce legislative event uh this afternoon. And I think it's really important that we continue to stay connected to our local state legislators. I was able to meet with um Representative Burden Schmidt last week just to continue to reinforce our messages. And uh Dan and I have an appointment with Senator Johnson on Wednesday. And what we spent some time doing today is what we want to share with you. We plan on submitting some testimony. I need one. Oh, sorry. Yep. You're okay. Thanks. Thank you. We're going to submit some testimony to the Senate
070um coming up this week and just wanted to hit some of those points with you so you would know. Uh what I shared with the key communicators at our meeting last week is that once the bond issue of May um six was behind us that we would be spending some more time working with our community to advocate uh to help us get this message beyond us. We we kind of just kept it between us and and you guys advocating with our legislators as to not confuse the community with more information and what's going on in Columbus. Um, but we will we will pick up our banner kind of starting this week um to to help just educate everyone on what um what's at stake for West Claremont and what needs more attention. So, do you
071want to start here? We'll walk through that. So, um well, kind of start with is there there's really three things that um we're advocating for um as we go forward. They're actually at the top of the second page. The first thing is that we want to maintain the guarantees that with that are within the fair school funding formula and I know when that came into existence over four years ago actually became in as part of the bienium a lot of work was done before that. Um but one of the things that that people talked about is that the guarantees were built in and back then no one saw that they would ever go away that would be there. um with for a district like ours, the important thing with that guarantee is this. We we
072are plus or minus 8 8,000 students in the district, we are set up for some significant growth within the next five years. Okay. Um I know in the governor's bill there was an inference that um if you're on on the guarantee that they're paying for empty seats in this district. That is the farthest thing um that exists. The state isn't funding empty seats. In fact, three years ago, David, three years ago now, because of the growth that we had, we had to look at closing open enrollment because we wanted to make sure that there was a desk or a seat for students that lived within West Claremont. So, we had done that. So, that was there. The second thing that that we're advocating for um is to remove the temporary bridge funding that was in
073House Bill the original House Bill 96 and to really go in and maintain the phasing of that fair school funding formula because it went from the the governor's proposal was for West Claremont to go backwards $2.1 million and by the time it went to the house the house created some what they call this bridge funding that really takes you off the formula and just kind of peace meals. some opportunities. So we are advocating that we stay with the guarantees and fully fund the formula as designed. So the third point in and that connects to the fully funding is update the base cost inputs to reflect current costs. So what's happening right now is that there are certain inputs like our property valuation per pupil that gets updated but the cost inputs are not updated. They
074go back to 20 22 I believe. Okay. To do that. So the the request is to update those inputs to do that as we go forward. So those three three things we have an ad advocacy for. If you go to the first page, one of the things that we try and and set the stage for is a profile of our school district. Um I know often uh the superintendent myself had said, "Hey, we're we're almost the poster child for what some people are complaining about. We're at the 20 mil floor. We have reinside millillage that is with the permanent improvement fund, but that funding is dedicated primarily to pay off the debt for the new high school. Okay. I think a lot of people were under the misimpression that that that high school came up
075out of the ground free of charge. No, it didn't. Okay. The the inside millage that's in the PI fund dedicated to pay that debt. Okay. to do that. Um, we have an emergency levy that was passed in 2020 is to be renewed in 2030. We have a continuing substitute emergency levy that was passed in 2009 meeting that meaning that the original emergency levy was before that. Right. So that's just a continuation making it permanent um to do that. The the um the most recently passed failed bond issues in May. Excuse me. depending on what happens tomorrow. Okay. Before that was 2007. Yeah. The last one was 2007 that was passed. So you're talking um just under 20 years, you know, between uh bond issue levies to do that. Okay. We do and we don't hide
076that fact. I just talked about it that um between 2020 and 2030 there is going to be a need for additional operating funds. And so right now that is targeted sometime either in 26 or 27. Um that is what we you know move forward from 2024 anticipating to do that. Um the biggest thing in the in the five-year forecast that I try to portray when we talk about the revenues is the continual um pressure on local funding where the state has fixed the dollar amount that they give us. And so over time we are now at about a 65 35% split. 65% of local funding 35% from the state. Okay. It used to be you know 6040 used to be 5545. Okay. But um that is going there's a chart that um I took that
077if the if the formula was funded and the guarantees went away we are looking at um a a revenue split or or a share from the state that goes down to about 15%. Meaning that 85% would need to become locally. So as the dollars go away from the state, the only real source of revenue that we have are local funds to do that. So So that's why it's going to be so important to move advocacy beyond um us into our other families, our community so that people better understand what's what's happening. You can also see that the the reason we explain the nuances of West Claremont is because sometimes the legislators position some of these things like emergency levies and continuing emergency levies as a way to um they say game the system or work
078the system or whatever. We these are all these fall in in terms of things that we are allowed to do and we still are spending in the bottom 16% of the state. So we we are um $2,000 less per pupil on average than the state chair or the state um average. And um that ends up being $40,000 less per classroom um annually. And so those um mechanisms that we're using are just helping us survive and stay afloat. They aren't um thriving. They are they're causing us to thrive. They're they're helping us thrive performance-wise, but financial well because we've been able to spend money in the classroom and not just on keeping the lights on. And that's what, you know, when people ask me, I I was even asked tonight, what's going to happen when um
079if if the levy doesn't pass and and and we we know here, we've talked about it, but funds will have to go into dealing with the enrollment growth. And so that could be in the form of a modular, it could be in the form of other things like class size or whatever, but that that was a million dollars of investment at Merwin Elementary, just as a reminder. and we'll have to begin some aggressive savings looking at the roofs, the pavement, the heating and air conditioning, the windows, the plumbing, all those things if we don't have a long-term solution will have to be invested in. And so obviously there's no more money coming into the system. And so that will have to be taken away from the classroom into the the operational keep the lights on,
080keep us operating um focus. So when people ask me sometimes, you know, what keeps me up at night? Well, what keeps me up at night is uh you know, Mr. Lefada um you know, and Mr. Gart did their work, checked with the architects, and when they looked at the building conditions and the architects gave a number of about $65 million to upgrade the HVAC, the roofs, the electrical, the plumbing, every I mean, okay. Now, is that going to occur next year? No, but over time it will. Um, included in that dollar amount is the amount uh for space for for for portables or mobile units for students. Okay. But I don't know when that's going to occur, but we need to be prepared for that. Right. Some could occur next year, some the year after.
081But that 65 million is if we did do it next year. Like that 65 million is not going to be 65 million in five years. Correct. If if the if if the levy doesn't pass, you know, it's there. It it's that doesn't go away. Modules were not in that number. So the 65 modulars are not in there. Not in that number. That's just for maintenance and that's just maintenance. So we can take our mod few more million. So is the 65 million just for the West Claremont High School or is that No, it's all that's for the district. Okay. Well, and and and really it's three schools. So there would still be needs at Wester High School and Willowville and Somersside. Those those numbers just really concentrate on the the medias buildings, Holly Hill, Merwood.
082So those are the three old buildings. So So there would be more money to spend in operations, right? Certainly. Because there's other areas that we're going to need money in. Yeah. High school is going to be 10 years old here before you know it. So that's like for example though with the with the other buildings, the other six, that's why the state came back and said when you go into this program, you need to put a half a mill aside to keep those buildings up to date. That half mill is not cannot be used for the buildings that weren't part of the program. So these buildings will now be part of that program to have the upkeep and maintenance for it to do it. Okay. There's another part of advocacy that we would focus on
083which is in House Bill 96. it districts with a carryover balance above 30% of the prior year's expenditures could face property tax reductions. And so we are asking that that 30% limitation be removed. And you can see in the examples there um different re different um occurrences that have happened over time here that with that puts that 30% um at risk when you are um trying to do some long-term planning. It it really prohibits long-term planning. There's also a a caveat in there to move from five-year forecasts to three-year forecasts. And so our advocacy would be for a five-year forecast for planning. And it gives some examples on why that's important. So this is just a draft at this time. We're still refining it, but we wanted to get it into your hands to see
084if there's anything else that you would want us to add as we prepare this written testimony for the Senate committee and as we prepare for our visit with Senator Johnson on Wednesday. Yes. So the the timeline is to in order to be submitted, we do have to submit it by tomorrow. Yes. Okay. And again, we're going to go see Senator Johnson on Wednesday. Yeah. And then then we'll start working with getting broader communication through um our our normal channels to to get more voices. Is this information just for the representatives you'll be meeting with or is this information you're gathering also for public consumption? Yeah, it it'll end up being for public consumption, too. I'm right now planning on um focusing on Senator Johnson in the committee and the Senate. Uh but I, you know,
085told Representative Bird and Schmidt that I'd be sending them copies. I want to send them to our local legislators as well, just so they understand like what we are advocating for for the chamber as they um help us in in getting our message out. And um and then then we will we really will broaden this because I I think uh this will this budget process will be worked on all through June. So it gives us time to engage with our staff. We we've already had our union um WCA has done some advocating at the state level. Um we we just hope to scale it so that people understand that these these issues are not just about a West Claremont tax bill, not just about West Claremont education. It's it's it's a statewide issue and u
086there are certain things at risk that we want to bring to people's attention. Do do we know when they'll be the uh legisl when they'll be voting for this like Yeah. Well, it'll uh there's there's several processes. So, um May 7th and May 14th will be when the Senate committee hears it. Then it moves into a joint committee process, but the the final piece it will go all the way through June. Okay. So, there's there's different checkpoints along the way. I don't have those all memorized, but there there's a process like almost every two weeks something kind of big happens. We can send you that calendar. Yeah. Okay. I'm just curious. We'll do that. So, um, could the Senate tell us that we I have to do a fiveyear instead of a five-year forecast, a
087three-year forecast, and that forces us to do a three right now. It's in the current House amended substitute house bill. That provision is in there. Yeah, we're we're just asking for that to be taken out and for it to return to a fiveyear. Okay. Thank you. Sure. But if after reviewing this, if there's other input or feedback you have, pass that on to superintendent, myself. Okay. Yeah. We hope to submit this late tomorrow afternoon. Yeah. That's all for my comments unless you guys have other questions for me. Okay. So you two piggybacked or do you have we piggybacked it and the only thing my only comment is congratulations to Miss Amborn for the 10 years I it's um although the number is 10 if you multiply that times the number of hours that you spend
088I that is significant so congratulations on that to to the retirees too um to do it. So Thank you. Uh, moving on to board business. Second, Mr. Gart. Yeah, we do have we have an action item for you guys to vote on this. We do have the final uh version of the board handbook. I know that uh policy committee and went through this and uh did a great job putting this together and so we do have the final revision I shared with you and I'm asking the board to approve this tonight. I'll just remind the board as we do this any type of handbook. We can revise this. We can do this. We typically do this annually and this will probably be in the January retreat. But typically with a handbook, what you'll do if
089you have some recommendations and some revisions or things, you can send them to me or you can keep them in a folder like we do um and when we get together in January, then we will go through those and then make those revisions um in January. So, it's usually an annual review unless you see something that's really um needs to be changed. But the idea is that for you to approve this tonight, if approved tonight, then we would put this on the web page under the board. Um, and it would be an item on on your web page board docs. Board docs. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Garter. You've heard the recommendation. Would someone like to make a motion? So move. Thank you, Mr. Chley. Is there a second? A second. Thank you, Miss Spencer. Is
090there any discussion? Thank you. Roll call, please. Mr. Chumley. Yes. Mrs. Spencer, yes. Mr. Patton, yes. Miss Sambort, yes. Four. Yes. Moving on to board comments. Start with Mrs. Spencer. Thank you, Ryan. Um, I just wanted to uh thank everybody. I got to go to the helping hands award ceremony at Amelia last week and it was it was really a lot of fun to see the kids and how they got to volunteer and how they really enjoyed volunteering and how um I think Miss Miss Smith I think is the lady who does it over there. She's wonderful with the kids and how much they really appreciate enjoy doing it and um and I was I was thrilled to be able to be part of that. I enjoy doing that. That's kind of the fun part,
091I think. And I appreciate when they send us invitations to do that kind of stuff. If I can do it, I would do it because that's to me that's the fun stuff. This is kind of the harder part of it of our job. But like graduations and awards and all that, that's the fun part. Um, but I appreciate everybody that I know the parents did a lot of work doing that, you know, when the kids are being shuffled around. You know, dinner's going to be late because somebody's at a nursing home field trip. And I I get it. We did it, too. and but it really makes a big impact on the little kids and how much they enjoy giving back to the community and stuff. So I'm thrilled that our school system still encourages
092that and and does that kind of thing. But and uh just don't forget that we are voting tomorrow. Everyone vote. I'm done. Sam, um I just want to reminisce on my 10 years. Um, I've been on the board 10 years and I've went through three superintendents and two treasures. Dr. Gary Brooks, Alana Craropper, Dr. Keith Klein, Alana Craropper, Natasha Adams, Kelly Sininger, and each superintendent and treasurer has a different uh leadership style in moving the district forward. And they each uh bring on a different uh perspective of how and what needs to happen in order to move this district forward. And it was very eyeopening for when I first became on the board that when um we at my second meeting, Dr. Brooks was in this room and he said um to the board members
093that we are going to have to cut busing and we are going to have to cut specials. And um I know Dr. Folultz remembers that because all the special teachers were over by the door, side door there. They each had a a letter to read to the board about why they wanted to stay here, what impact they would it would have on the district if they got to leave the district. And it was it was just very humbling, but at the same time, it's very sad that they had to get let go because each one of them um you could tell they really wanted to be here and they wanted to continue with this district. And so um I felt I felt bad that night that we had to do that. Um I can remember
094my second meeting that um Dr. Brooks said that u Denise Smith was uh had a wealth of knowledge and and I spoke up and said well it's not only Denise Smith but it's also uh Mrs. Beamer she's been uh with a uh board for a long period of time. The the real people that make the difference in the lives of students are the teachers that teach the students. the the students advocate for the teachers when things happen, good times and bad times and I want to thank them for volunteering their time and also for working and being a support for each student. The administrative team and cabinet team, they play a small role in the lives of the teachers and students, but they do make a difference. And I want to thank each superintendent, Natasha
095Adams and Dan Romano for the lives that you have touched. to the current board members. Each one of you make a difference in the decisions that we are making both currently and in the future and I counted an honor of being on this board. We have also lost or I have been through the loss of three board members, Joanne Beamer, Mark Merchant, and Denise Smith. And I want to close by saying they were really great mentors to me. They helped me in so many ways and I can't thank them for all the time that they have spent with me over the years to talk to me to show share information with me so I could be more informed. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Yeah. Uh I want to congratulate all the retirees. Uh it's not
096fun seeing such a large group, but um I want to thank them and congratulate them. Um I hope everyone is gets out and is safe tomorrow, but performs their civic duty and and uh hits the voting booth tomorrow and I'm looking forward to graduation in a few weeks. So yeah, thank you, Mr. Chland. First thing I'll say is before I forget, because I tend to forget, our next board meeting is May 19th at 7 PM it will be here at the Civic Center. So again, May 19th uh at 7 p.m. here at the Civic Center. I I too want to recognize the the retirees tonight. Again, it is um alarming to see that many uh that much talent leave at one at one time. The other thing that I'd like to say is that, you
097know, we sit up here and we thank everyone, uh, you know, as far as staff, and I do appreciate everything that the staff does, but it it has dawned on me the last couple of weeks that it it's the community that I also would like to thank. Um, we have really seen the community on whichever side you're on, we have seen the involvement. And one of the things that I would continue to ask is is to continue to get that involvement. come to our board meetings. Uh take your three minutes and tell us what's on your mind. Ask those questions. One of the things um uh while I've not been on the board, this is my first term, I've been in the district for many years, and one of the things that I can say
098is that this has been a very transparent um superintendent and a very transparent um treasurer. Back when the high school was built, there was lack of transparency. uh and there's and that has affected us today because everybody we we get confused on how that came about. But again, one of the things that I really want to emphasize is that I appreciate the community. I appreciate their involvement. I appreciate what they do um as we uh continue our journey. Um so with that, I think I've said my piece. We do not have a reason to go into executive session. So at this point, would someone like to make a motion to move? Mr. Chumley made a motion. Who would like to second that? Second, Miss Miss Sanborn. I am assuming there would be no discussion. Roll
099call, please. Mr. Chumley, yes. Miss San? Yes. Mrs. Spencer? Yes. Mr. Patton? Yes. Or yes. And who would like to redecorate this room?