September 23, 2024 Board of Education Meeting

001good evening thank you for attending the September 23rd 2024 meeting of the Westerville City Schools Board of Education print agendas are available for our guest or you may find the agenda on your mobile device by connecting to the district's website at www.wcsoh.org click on the our district link select Board of Education and then follow the or docs link to our current meeting agenda or you can find it on the screen off to the side right here there will be two opportunities to address the board this evening the first being agenda item 9.01 the first set of comments is relative to agenda items 10.01 through 14.03 please State the agenda items you are referencing at the beginning of your comments the second opportunity is agenda item 15.01 there's a sign up sheet located on the table

002on the back of the room each speaker will have five minutes to address the board a timer will be shown on the screen and with that Miss Marshall will you please call the role Mrs Davidson here Mrs Valentine here Mrs Alman here Mrs Meyer here and may I have a motion to approve a resolution to fill Board of Education vacancy so moved second would you like for me to read the resolution pres uh so the resolution to for to fill the Board of Education vacancy whereas a vacancy has been caused in this board of education by reason of resignation of Dr Nancy Nester Baker and whereas the board of education has by law authority to fill vacancy for the unexpired term thereof now therefore be it resolved by a majority vote of all of the

003remaining members of the Board of Education of the Westerville City School District that Ana leban be here and hereby is a appointed to serve as a member of the Board of Education of this school district for the unexpired term of Dr Nancy Nester Baker ending December 31st 2025 thank you any comments discussion all right can we take the vote please Mrs Davidson yes Mrs opman yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Meyer yes you want to do the oath yeah could you miss Mrs Le ban We join me for the O do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Ohio and that you will faithfully and impartially discharge your duties as a board member in and for the said Westerville City School

004District in both Franklin and Delaware counties in Ohio to the best of your ability and in accordance with the laws now in effect and Hereafter to be enacted during the continuance in said office and until a a successor is chosen and qualified yes congratulations welcome to the board will I have a motion s e all right we have returned from executive session do you can I move along Nicole we good moving okay um next up uh is uh highlights and recognitions and we don't have any so moving along to 6.01 superintendent report Miss hurg thank you I wanted to share an update from our state report card so the 2024 official state report card was just released um we continue to make stady progress in several areas overall uh we receive four stars once again

005which indicates we've exceeded State Standards which of course we expect to do uh we had two buildings with five overall Stars eight buildings with four and a half a total of 16 of our 23 buildings exceeded State Standards so we're really pleased with that and I just want to share I want to share a few highlights um in the achievement category we achieve four stars our overall performance index is 89.1 which is the third straight year that we've had an increase in our PI score and our PI score shows the aggregate performance level of all of our students 63% of our students scored in the advanced or accelerated categories and every grade level scored above the state average for Gap closing we received five stars again which means we significantly exceed State Standards all nine

006of our demographic student groups exceeded the established Pi Benchmark for them in both math and English language arts eight out of nine met or exceeded the graduation rate uh the one that didn't meet it it was supposed to be 93.1 and they were at 92.7 so we just missed in that ninth area and our our graduation rate component we ear in four stars with a four-year graduation rate of 92.8% for the class of 2023 that rate shows an increase for three years in a row as well of the students in our graduation rate calculation 86% of those students were educated in Westerville City Schools from grades 9 through 12 so I think that's an important thing to highlight our five-year graduation rates 95.9% which shows um our dedication to improving that rate as well a

007snapshot of the class of 2023 shows that 56.1% of those students are currently enrolled in a four-year institution of higher education and another 14.5% of them are any two-year institution and finally we received three stars which is met expectations in early literacy that meets State Standards but is our lowest star component um however we promoted 99.8% of our third grader and we're diligently working across our system to make sure that we're getting reading intervention um we know that's an important area for all of our students so very pleased and proud and I just want to take a moment to thank um all of our teachers and other staff members who work so hard with our students to help us continue to grow and improve and as always um areas that we can continue to improve

008but lots of varas to celebrate so again thank you very much to all of our staff and to our students for your hard [Applause] work all right that's fabulous news um may I have a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board of Education meeting held on Monday September 9th of 2024 so moved second any comments discussion right Miss Marshall will you take the vote Mrs opman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs leian I will be of stainy Mrs Meer yes next up we have um 8.01 public hearing for Brian Garrett um Mr Cooper welcome all right good evening president Meyer vice president Alman members of the board Miss Marshall and Miss Hamburg Ohio Revised Code or orc 3309 345 outlines requirements for public school districts to rehire an employee who has retired more most

009recently from the same position Brian Garrett recently retired under the State teachers retirement system but was most recently a bus driver for the district Mr Garrett has applied to be rehired by the district as a bus driver uh requirements under orc have been completed to date these actions include public notice at least 60 days before the retiree is to begin employment which was fulfilled with the notice on our district website on August 2nd 2024 the other requirement is that a public meeting on the issue is held between 15 and 30 days before the employment begins as such item 8.01 on this evening's agenda is for a public hearing on the Reemployment of retiree Brian Garrett as a bus driver at this time any member who is requested to speak to the board on this issue

010is offer the opportunity any comments discussion I would just add that obviously we continue to Face bus driver shortages so we're pleased that Mr Garrett would like to join us again yeah very pleased agree okay okay thank you okay okay um moving along is public comments we don't have any for the first round so moving along to financials 10.01 um may I have a motion to approve the financial report Investments for August 2024 so moved second Miss Marshall will you please talk to us about this uh yes thank you president Meer and members of the board so we are going over the August 31st month in financials just a reminder July is the beginning of our fiscal year so we're the August would be this end of the second month um for our general fund

011year-to date revenues we had 77.5 million and year-to dat expenditures uh we had 35 million for our unencumbered fund balance in our general operating fund we ended with 17.2 million and for all funds we had year-to-date receipts of 94.5 million and year-to date expenditures of 50.9 million and then we ended with um an unincumbered fund balance for all funds of 253.7 million and that's all I have for you on that this month any comments discussion okay m we please take the vote Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs lean yes Mrs Meyer yes and may I have a motion to approve the fiscal year 2025 permanent Appropriations so moved second Miss Marshall will you please talk to us about this yes thank you again so uh we the board approved our temporary Appropriations in June

012uh to get us started for the year and by law we are required to have our permanence in place by September 30th and so those are prevent presented here for you today we will have some adjustments coming in October as grants are carrying over and uh we have different adjustments and then we'll come back in November after the forecast so this is just to get the permanent set for the year any questions or discussion okay will you please take the vote Mrs Davidson yes Mrs opman yes Mrs leean yes Mrs Meyer yes and may I have a motion to approve the purchases in accordance with Ohio Revised Code 57 0541 D1 in board policy 6320 so moved second Miss Marshall yes thank you yes thank you again so this is where we have a purchase

013order that is dated after an invoice date um and it's greater than $3,000 so we have a couple of uh invoices for some HVAC uh projects at South and um we had that was just some confusion with the timing and then we had the to co coach's tool chest I'm sorry for a subscription and that was a different date of um what we anticipated for the start of that and then we had one for um we had to open to the distributor instead of the manufacturer so that was just a change in the vendor but because we were past that month we couldn't change that and like I said these were all these have all been budgeted for so um I do recommend that the board approve those any question any questions or discussion okay

014we take the vote please this zman yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs lean yes Mrs Meyer yes and is it okay if we take the consent personal consent agenda as one okay may I have a motion to approve the personal consent agenda 11.01 through 11.14 so moved second and welcome Mr Cooper good evening once again tonight's Personnel consent agenda includes action items with regard to resignations retirements leaves of absence contract status changes onetime pays and other employment related decisions additionally there is one MOA with our Westerville Educators Association we have five staff members who have announced their retirement on this evening's agenda Michael Anna Hansley is retiring after 23 and a half years of service to our district Paul schoolie after 24 and a half years of service Amy Hudson with 28 years of service Sharon

015Owens with 30 years of service and Mark Stevens with 24 years of service to Westerville we appreciate all they have done in their years and certainly wish them the best in their retirement years ahead oura with the wa this evening is a renewal with regard to teachers covering for instructional AIDS when a substitute is not available due to the current one-year extension of the WEA collective bargaining agreement it is recommended this one-year agreement is also extended at this time I'm happy to take any questions you may have any questions or comments um no but I'm going to channel someone else who used to do this and say that I think that comes to 130 years of experience quick so um thank you to all of them that's amazing that is we wish them the best

016that was quick math Jen yeah good job don't check me I I'll check it when I get to back all right take the vote Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Atman yes Mrs lean yes Mrs Meyer yes president Meer um and can I just real quick okay yep my apologies uh I misunderstood the public hearing so we're going back to agenda item 9.01 um so these are public comments that are relative to agenda items 10.01 through 14.03 and um I just want to remind everybody that each speaker will have uh five minutes to address the board please State the agenda item that you're referencing at the beginning of your comments a timer will be shown on the screens and Mr Reeves will call time when 5 minutes has elapsed please keep keep your comments professional avoid the

017use of inappropriate language and refrain from identifying individuals in the event of a complaint please address your comments to the board and not to the audience and we have a lot of people here for the first set of public comments so I'm just going to ask that um if you have nothing new to say and someone's already said it you feel free to um come up state your name your address and you Echo so and so's comments or um just provide some written comments and we do read every single comments um and then just ask that people refrain from clapping so we can get through all the comments tonight and our first speaker is Jacqueline fry welcome and if I'm hoping I said your last name right okay great hello oh we're in the big

018room my name is Jaclyn fry my address is 3 3675 Panama Drive I am here tonight in my role as Speaker coordinator and speaking on behalf of Westerville parents United against release time religious instruction a group whose majority is parents of children that are currently enrolled in attending Westerville City Schools we are here to continue to speak with our concerns with the RTI policy tonight we are planning on limiting our speakers to respect the board's time and to allow you to get back to the other important issues that are facing our district we have presented our case thoroughly to the board over the last few weeks in our speeches letters and emails our group continues to have concerns over liability to the district disruption the school day not only with students but also with staff

019A disruption that has been evident in the last few very long board meetings and the potential lack of students having a true feeling of inclusion and an increased risk of bullying culture we are concerned that the liability of the district may assume even with LifeWise saying they are assuming liability the true question is can the district truly be free of liab ility if something happens when the students are attending LifeWise we have concerns over the disruption of the school day while LifeWise States it occurs at a natural transition time anyone who has tried to Wrangle a group of students for a field trip or any functions know it is never easy and never smooth the transition is going to get harder as More release time groups enter the district right now Westerville only has one

020LifeWise but there have been multiple RT groups popping up over Ohio in the last year and soon they will be competing for students I have learned within the next year the satanic temple will have enough volunteers to bring their Hail program to Westerville how easy and smooth will it be for the schools to manage the flow of students and the board to keep track of compliance with multiple RTI programs LifeWise has not been compliant for the entire time it has been active it wasn't until our group brought the liability issue to the board that LifeWise lack of compliance was brought to light and that only now is LifeWise being held accountable we are concerned with the entries bullying culture related to LifeWise we have had parents address this board and state how bullying has occurred

021due to students attending LifeWise I want to be clear we have never accused LifeWise of being bad people I know a couple LifeWise teachers and they are good people with good intentions we have never stated that LifeWise was teaching kids to bully others and I am sure that they teach against it however I am a mom and my daughter since she was young has love to throw rocks she never saw me throw a rock and definitely I didn't teach her how but yet from the time time she could grip them she'd love to test gravity and toss them I have worked hard to teach her not to but every once in a while she finds a nice one and wants to see how far she can make it go bullying is the same way kids

022aren't taught to bully they just do it LifeWise isn't teaching kids to do it but they're filling their pockets with rocks every week and telling them not to throw them I have sat here in the last couple meetings and I have been called a non-believer those people atheists and last week a secular humanist additionally at a non-board meeting we were called black shirt Ed thugs life wife feels anyone who does not believe as they do has no faith our group is pluralistic in their beliefs we have members of the Christian Jewish Buddhist and Muslim communities and yes there are those who are agnostic and atheistic I personally have deep faith and belief and trust in God but I am not a Christian because of this life why feels I have no fa and I am

023persecuting Christians for their faith this is simply not true we are parents who want our children to attend school free of religious influence I would ask for parents today who currently have children enrolled in Westerville City Schools K through five to please stand now showing now showing who the parents are standing we are in a sea of red shirts those of us who are in Black are the minority but as you listen to the speakers note the parents of the currently enrolled Westerville students who are speaking on behalf of the minority who is most affected by policies such as these those who will lose a feeling of inclusion by not being allowed to go someplace with their F their friends solely because their family is of a different Faith parents who will have to help

024their children have conversations well beyond their years defending their faith and their relationship with God there are 8,760 hours in a year that leaves 900 of those only go to this school year there are 7,860 hours for parents to fill their children's life with religion and for Christians a deep love focus on Jesus let's keep all 900 of those hours focused on our children in school I would like to lastly welcome Anissa we say we are estatic at your appointment your resume and Community work is impressive and it is wonderful to see representation on this board that shows Westerville breath of culture and diversity we want the entire board to know that we support you we know you have a difficult job and balance the needs of the entire District we support you no matter

025what your decision is is we support you in guiding the district and our children thank you thank you time's up thank you all right let's please keep it respectful um next up is Katrina cook welcome I can't really add to that so I'm just going to say I'm speaking to agenda item 13 my name is Dr krina hook I live at 594 South Spring Road I have a child in Westville schools I have a child in 11th grade at Westerville North and I have a child in seventh grade at Walnut Springs I support resending the release time for religious instruction policy thank you thank you next up we have uh Becky leech Seymour welcome good evening my name is Becky leech Seymour and I live at 370 Hampton Park North I have a daughter that

026will be entering kindergarten in 2025 and I support resending the release time for religious instruction policy thank you thank you next up we have Becca meum welcome hi uh my my name is Becca meum um family and I reside at 4509 Smoky place and um again not going to follow that just want to Echo um in support of resending the policy um of religious time instruction and I have a son here in the ELC so thank you thank you next up I think this is Jamie Parks um welcome I think you have handwriting like me hello my name is Jamie Parks um I live at 4509 Smokey place um I have a child that goes to the ELC and I would also like to Echo my support for resending the policy thank you [Applause] thank

027you next up we have Elise Smith welcome hello my name is Elise Smith I'm speaking to agenda item 13 uh my address is 380 uh windamir drive here in Westerville I have two children in Westerville School um one is in first grade and the other is in third grade and I support resending the policy just as the previous speaker said thank you for your time thank you next up we have Lucy walk welcome hi I'm a Westerville City student and I attend LifeWise I am also part of the equity team at Emerson my school counselor Miss White my school counselor Miss wisman has been implementing the circle of control at school the circle of control of Courage is divided into four parts which are Mastery Independence generosity and belonging if one of those elements are

028excluded then the circle is broken and it negatively impacts our daily life LifeWise is is a place of belonging for me and many others without it I'll lose a piece of me of who I am LifeWise helps me be proud of my beliefs and learn many important qualities I have learned many vital lessons in LifeWise and I want to continue to do so Westerville School motto is where you belong but me and many others wouldn't feel accepted without our LifeWise Academy please do not end this life giving program thank [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you next up we thank you next up we have Jackson uh speak I think that's right Speakman sorry welcome it's hard to follow that one well good evening my name is Jackson Speakman I live at 7470 Vantage Drive and I'm

029a product of Westerville City Schools I'd like to first begin by thanking the board uh for such a form to debate and discuss the idea uh the issue at hand open toor is a Bedrock belief in any free and Civil Society was our second president John Adams who once said that our founding documents presuppose a religious and moral people and that they were wholly inadequate for any other according to the Library of Congress 98% of Americans at the time of John Adams's presidency were Christian 55 of 56 of America's founding fathers were Bible believing Church attending Christians Christianity was the body politic that our Founders had in mind when they forged our founding document so much so that the book of Deuteronomy was the most quoted book at the time of America's founding our founding

030documents were not informed by atheism or non-Christian religions however America's Founders did accommodate for non-Christian and atheistic expressions of faith and morality on the basis that upward pursuit of God and or morality would be efficient in producing a uniting moral and social thread what's often not acknowledged is how rare this idea is that a people could be United by mental and spiritual Ascent the rare idea emerged because Christianity specifically created the necessary preconditions for it to occur a quick examination of any country throughout history that has embraced and continued to embrace this idea will reflect a country that maintains the highest standards of living possible it is the countries that reject this idea that remain in many senses of the word impoverished Christianity influenced the development of all Western legal systems insisting on uh Concepts

031like the presumption of innocence due process in a jury of one's peers Christianity created scholasticism and laid the way for foundations for what would directly become universities Christian thought introduced the idea of limited government and rightly affirmed the distinction between church family and state Christianity produced some of the greatest art known to mankind produced by artists like Michelangelo Bach dooi Milton and Lewis Christianity presents the highest possible standards of humanity because of the fundamental belief that every human is created in the image of God which is why Christianity is the driving force behind the eradication of the abomination of slavery my argument tonight is simple Christian ity and the study thereof produces the necessary preconditions for intellectual and moral advancement LifeWise teaches Christianity therefore LifeWise advocates for intellectual and moral advancement this evening I will

032not pretend to stand in a position of neutrality I think that every person should be Christian I'm not ashamed of my faith my faith is inherently American guys please I am not ashamed of my faith my faith is inherently americ furthermore I think that dismissing Christianity from any form is fundamentally unamerican here are some questions I would like all of us to consider what is stopping other religions from doing the same thing as LifeWise if we are in a free market of ideas what is preventing other religions or atheistic groups for making their LifeWise equivalent the answer is simple Christianity is motivated by sharing what it considers to be the most Supreme message possible that sinful human beings can have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ our genuine faith is seen by our

033actions and thus LifeWise so it follows that one who merely complains about LifeWise rather than acing actively offering to students their worldview alternative is being inconsistent I can only include that their motivation to share said worldview must be low because they have no good news their faith and works do not align the Christian name Evangelical is intentional Evangelical literally means the good news it is out of this good news that produced Harvard Princeton and Yale nearly all of the hospitals were founded by Christians all of the orphanages and halfway houses were founded by Christians and managed by Christians wherever Christianity goes good follows if our second president was right and our founding documents do presuppose a religious and moral people then my question is tonight what is wrong with LifeWise teaching religion and morality moreover

034if Christianity has produced so much of a net positive why are so many people against it Christianity in the study thereof produces the necessary preconditions for intellectual and moral advancement LifeWise teaches and advocates for moral advancement and intellectual and moral advancement to be against the Christian faith is to be against the substance of thank you sir thank you all right next up is Matt sudar shmar sorry if I'm pronouncing your name wrong on welcome please correct me no problem um I am Matt Shoemaker I am a lifetime resident of Westerville well Blendon Township I went to all the Westerville schools not all of them of course here bridge I went to Hami I went to Walnut Springs I went to Westville South and Westville North I'm basically I've lived here my entire life so and

035I was raised through the school systems I am a participant in our community I've been here for you know like for a long time okay so basically what I want to just say is that you know everybody virtue sings it seems like in our society anymore they have something they want to want to espouse okay and with Christianity they have a virtue they have virtues also and these virtues I would think would be something that our our society would want to spouse and these virtues are they're called the fruit of the spirit and these virtues are love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control there is no laws against these things so these are the things I believe the Christian Society and our society in general should promote and that's pretty much what I

036want to say thank you thank you all right next up we have Paul buza welcome Paul buza I think so I'm to speak on agenda topic 1301 I would like to thank you for your time and this opportunity present a few points regarding the LifeWise upcoming decision I live at 182 farling Court Westville resident for over 20 years my wife and I purposefully moved into Westville to have our three children get their fundamental education in the Westerville Public Schools my first point is to say thank you for providing that education all three of our adult children are now successful in their successful careers and we recently were uh allowed the privilege to to see our doctor get our daughter get hooded as uh in her ceremony as she got her doctor torial degree so again

037thank you very much in addition to the public school education my wife and I ensured that our children were raised to nurture their Christian faith and develop sound principles and a desire to care for and to be considerate of everyone in God's creation after attending the August 26 board meeting I wanted to address some points that were raised uh in that meeting first off at least one parent shared that they have a children with special needs who requires highly specialized support with a concern that the staff at LifeWise would not be able to provide that support for their child agree that each parent should advocate for their own child and make informed decisions about every activity in which they participate if an individual child would not be success fible in sports marching band theater or

038any number of other activities we do not shut down the entire program each parent and child are encouraged to thoughtfully research the environment the leaders the expectations and make informed decisions on those programs in which their child participates LifeWise is a voluntary offer offing every parent and child should have the freedom to CH choose to participate I have two other major points that I'd like to make but I want to cut to the Chase and just say that in closing as we the residents of Westerville are entrusting all school board members to provide unbiased and an unfiltered process to make decisions ensuring that the needs of all students are considered thank you thank you next up thank you next up is Sher Connell welcome she'll she'll restate it yeah hello my name is Sher Connell

039uh I've been a resident of Westerville for over 30 years my husband five children and one grandchild have either completed their education at Westerville or are in the process of of attending Westerville schools uh My overall experience at the school system has really been outstanding and I do want to thank this board and all of the um Westerville staff members for providing an excellent and supportive education so thank you um I'm going to make just a couple of points on items that I don't think have been addressed up to this point in time uh the first item is um from the Westerville City Schools website the administrative guideline manual code AG 2270 um and I quote from the Westerville website religion in the curriculum the board of education has adopted a policy favoring the understanding

040of religions by the students of this district and the contributions religions have made in the advancement of civilization the board has further acknowledged that it may not adopt any policy or rule respecting or promoting an establishment of religion and this is a critical point or prohibiting any student from the free individual and voluntary exercise or expression of the students religious beliefs end quote um preventing access to the LifeWise program is prohibiting our students from free exercise of their religious beliefs criticizing the children who are sharing their Christian faith and values with peers is out of compliance with the above administrative guideline my next point is also from the Westerville City School's website the Strategic plan that is dated July 2024 quote Priority One safe and inclusive environments objective 1.2 States create accessible learning environment to

041ensure every student feels empowered and experienced a sense of belonging through a culture of diversity equity and inclusion end quote a decision to resend the policy that allows the life life LifeWise program would send a message to current students participating in this program that their religious beliefs and rights are not recognized or respected they are being punished for exercising their constitutional First Amendment rights by speaking freely with peers about their religious beliefs their perspective invoice is being intentionally excluded from the diversity and inclusion aspects of the number one priority within the Strategic plan there are over 60 Christian churches in the 43081 and 43082 zip codes we know this school district serves beyond that but for those over 60 Christian churches if the policy that allows LifeWise is rescinded this board is choosing to ostracize

042the Christian faith community if the resend proceeds will there be a subsequent action to update the objective in the Strategic plan to be transparent that the Christian faith is specifically excluded from representation in the Westerville City School District's diversity and inclusion priorities um I also have some information about uh US Supreme Court rulings that have protected the right to publicly Express religion including a ruling that regarded that occurred in a school setting um in the June 2022 decision in Kennedy versus bremon School District the Supreme Court upheld that Mr Kennedy is entire tled in summary judgment on his religious exercise and Free Speech claims and his observance of religion uh within the school setting was upheld by the United States Supreme Court um I pray that this board makes a decision to continue the policy

043God bless all of you and God bless the United States of America thank you next up is James finy James [Music] [Applause] FY okay welcome hello um I don't think I could say anything better than what was just said said I'm I'm here just as a father as a as a business owner as a voter here in Westerville I went to elementary school middle school and high school here in Westerville and when when I considered raising a family this is where I wanted to be so I moved back to Westerville in order to make sure that my daughter was in Westerville schools and any children that I rais would be raised in Westerville schools because I believe in sorry I don't really know what to say to convince you that this is a valuable program

044that it's important to our children it's important to my child and it's important to us I just ask that that you please consider the the kids who attend LifeWise and just please don't take take from them this is something that is valuable to them valuable to their education theology is something to be studied so this is a way that they can get that education as well that's that's really all I have I just pray that you make a make a good decision with your hearts thank you thank you next up we have Tobias Gordon welcome uh good evening board superintendent thank you for having me uh thank you thank you for having the my name is Tobias Gordon I live at 6688 Callingwood Drive Westerville Ohio 43082 and I'm here to speak on as many

045others uh item number 13. 01 uh thank you very much for taking the time to listen to me once again uh regarding the release time for relig religious instruction policy this is my third time in a row speaking on this because I find it very important but I will be brief uh I am here as a parent of a second grader at Hani a preschooler and 18-month-old twins who I also intend to bring through the Westerville School District I attended Westerville City School schools from kindergarten through 12th grade and chose to have my child children attend here here as well I invested in this district and the best possible outcome and education for all of our students I am here missing family dinner and bedtime because I care that much about this situation I applaud

046the board's proposal to resend the district RT policy from a logistics perspective alone the policy is unsustainable religious instruction needs to be outside of school time I agree with prior statements in favor of resending this policy thank you for all you do to make this community a great place to live thank you thank you all right just a reminder I do appreciate you guys um you know not repeating uh but we have some more to get through so feel free to just step up say your name your address and if you support or whoever's comments next up we have Emily Dinsmore welcome good evening board members my name is Emily Dinsmore I'm a resident of Westerville I live at 297 Fairdale Avenue although I'm originally from Northeast Ohio my husband is a lifelong native of

047Westerville attending Westerville schools and graduating from Westerville South high school together we have chosen to make Westerville our home for the last eight years and we love being a part of this community unlike most others speaking tonight I do not have children in Westerville schools I do not volunteer with LifeWise nor do I have any children in my extended family that attend LifeWise I come before you today as a concerned citizen of Westerville in the past few years Westerville as a community has made great strides towards becoming a diverse inclusive City becoming known as a place where all people are welcome in 2021 the city even brought on a Dei director to steer this effort Westerville diversity Equity inclusion and belonging vision statement says on the website quote to serve and Empower all people both

048in our organization and the community at large and ensure that service remains accessible responsive and inclusive for a thriving sustainable and connected City of Westerville the mission statement also reads as follows quote to facilitate a culture where diversity equity and inclusion are respected and intentionally valued by implementing thoughtful and Innovative strategies in policy and organizational process as a resident of the city it is quite concerning to me that a double standard is being held when it comes to inclusion of religious freedoms in our schools how is it that the City of Westerville who strive so hard to include and accept all people despite differences and who upholds inclusion in such esteem would not allow a supreme court affirmed elective school program to exist in our schools where is the respect freedom and equality for those

049students and parents that wish to participate in lifel Academy they deserve the right to choose to participate in LifeWise Academy just as much as those who choose not to participate so I ask you why remove this as an option if it is completely voluntary we must protect and preserve the rights that are given to us by God and As Americans what is decided about this present issue will set a precedent for the future of this great City someday I hope to have my own children who are allotted the freedom to participate in elective programs here in Westerville so I ask the board to keep the integrity and reputation of Westerville City schools in the Westerville Community intact by allowing equal freedom for life wise Academy and all potential future religious programs thank you thank you

050thank you next up we have Naomi [Music] banga Naomi kabanga okay oh welcome and my apologies if I said it wrong it's a little hard to read the handwriting good evening yeah so my kids attend W City school is a second grade so I like the LifeWise program because it teach my kid about how to be a good like a good person they teach him about the characteristic how to be friendly kind lovely so those stuff help my kids to grow up in confidence and to be more friendly in this community because I'm from Africa so I live in Westerville and then to meet that program for me was very helpful because they teach my kids the the good way to live in the society so he learned how to be to live with friends

051in self-control to control his emotional to take care of friends to use the kind word as a Christian kids and then the other situation is out of America we know that America is the state of freedom and then they say In God We Trust that's the way we know America outside so when you you can like remove this program I do not understand that freedom the freedom with knows America outside so as like you say you don't want this program anymore I'm confused because I know where I I am is the freedom State the state of freedom and then they allow people to practice their religions in Freedom so this evening I'm very confused because the way we know America outside is the state of freedom and the state who believe in God who trust

052in God and then I can say when you read Proverb 22:6 they say teach your kids teach your kids about God because when he grow he will not forgive forget what you teach him sorry for my English I'm more French than English sorry for that so that verse is like the basic of My Life as a parent proverb chapter 22 verse 6 so follow when I found LifeWise it was for me like the hands who going to help me to to educate my kids and then this evening I'm sorry I'm very confused I'm in America who they told me they trust in God is a freedom of state and then they they they treat people like they restrict them to practice in the what in Bel I'm so confused I do not know if I

053am in the America we know from outside thank you thank you next up we have Rose Boma I'm not sure if that's an e a b or an S I'm sorry Rose bomba or SBA it's kind of scratched out all right um then we'll move along to Ann Shroyer an here welcome hello sorry I'm never sure how loud I'm going to be uh my name is trer I live at 476 belfrey drive here in Westerville um I am speaking to agenda item 13 I have a fifth grader at Robert Frost Elementary where I do want to share they go over the Falcon 5 in every piece of Correspondence that we get I should have it memorized but I just looked it up so they learn to be safe respectful responsible proud and ready to learn

054so I am grateful that they do a lot of character building already in school um as a part of their curriculum so I do appreciate that um I also want to say that I'm I'm just here to repeat what um some other folks have said that I'm here to support resending policy 52223 and absences for religious instruction I do believe that there needs to be a separation of church and state and while this program or other programs may be great there is plenty of time after school for that so thank you so much for your time I appreciate it thank you next up we have dubra goober welcome I'm sure you'll correct me if I said that wrong you did great thank you yes I'm Deborah gber and I live at 265 West Fountain Avenue

055in Delaware and I did speak last time so I think you might remember that I have kind of a very International background which I think can contributes to the fact that certain things become very obvious cultural um cultural ideas and I would like to I I was sitting next to a father that I spoke with earlier who told me you know we're we're talking about we've heard that we're supposed to have the kids here are supposed to have the freedom to speak of their own religion in school he told me that his daughter had been told that she was not allowed to speak of God in school I mean that is shocking aside from allowing children to go out for a particular type of instruction to forbid a child to speak of something that is

056dear to their heart whatever it is but in particular if it's something that's a very large part because if you have a if you have a real belief system which is what Christianity does you know it it's meant to Encompass the whole of your life and if somebody says to you you cannot speak of that here that is an attack that is an attack on your whole belief system and the idea that we can create a space that is completely free of religion which I think there are some people that I've heard that somebody have ated that because that somehow uh remains neutral is is a complete figment of people's imagination if you create a space that is free of religion what you're are saying is that there are things that we consider so unimportant

057or or so evil whichever way you want to put it that they must not be spoken of we will not talk about them you're teaching a child as actually atheism that is the premise of removing all religion now I understand there are different religions and I think it's a very legitimate thing to speak of different religions to have discussions and that is the way that America has always been we have permitted people to come and to speak and to discuss to challenge this is the way that the best rise to the top that is why in America we have always had such a thriving Nation you know it's not because there are not smart people in other countries in China you have people extremely well educated same thing in in many other countries but you

058know they come here to go University because we have traditionally had and encouraged the freedom for people people to explore ideas and to challenge the established order if we feel like they are things that need to be improved so I would challenge you to continue with that tradition because otherwise you are closing down an entire Avenue of humanity you know of human thought and that's a that's a very serious thing thank you thank you next up is Donald Smith Donald Smith okay um Jason WIS welcome hello thank you for having me my name is is Jason wins I grew up at 5765 Cairo Road and attended school kindergarten through 12th grade in Westerville City Schools as a member of the lgbtq plus Community who attended school here I can tell you from personal experience that

059extremist religious groups pushing their ideals on the school body was extremely incredibly othering and terrifying as a student here I was forced out of the closet by another student during my senior year who kept harassing me before finally asking directly in front of the entire Home Room class if I were gay I said yes I was tired of lying immediately the students in that class started shouting out all sorts of horrible vulgar insults and insufferable questions at me the teacher didn't even step in to protect me or to try to take control of the situation at all I was asked deeply personal questions about my romantic practices in gory details while the teacher didn't do anything to intervene I was told I was going to burn in Hades regularly as well as many other Mor

060graphic and offensive insults for the rest of the school year I typically verbally took on the worst offenders often insulting them more creatively than they seemed capable of threatening them um mocking them engineer generally just trying my best not to get into physical altercations by scaring them enough to not want to take me on uh this was only the last few months of my final year at Westerville North but it was insane and quite traumatic I had to really stick up for myself and advocate for myself constantly to avoid being walked all over these sorts of religious people are teaching kids that my very existence is wrong um you know if people want to do that with their children in the mornings the evenings the weekends at home or at churches of their choice Etc

061there's nothing I can really do about that but be saddened by it but for this them to regularly take children out of public schools in the middle of their day to go teach them harmful rhetoric is absolutely disgusting to me for children to miss class time to be taught hatred is incredibly gross and unamerican this sort of thing teaches them that lgbtq plus people are beneath other humans that we are wrong that we're other um that we're less than um letting this go on during the school day is just plain wrong if parents want to send their kids to this place on their own time that's their right no matter how awful it is to take them away from their school days is just wrong and goes against our n nation's separation of church and

062state I have a friend I've known since high school whose son goes to school in Indiana another place where this group has infiltrated their school district and is doing the same program he has a class every day with only four students in the class all the whole day every day or the whole classroom every day once a day and other students in the school auster ize those four kids and make them feel terrible for not going with them um on your website under the school board's values you include these two sections respect we recognize individuality and that every person has worth dignity and the right and ability to learn and contribute and inclusiveness we believe every person should have an equal opportunity to access and participate in all educational offerings these people do not share

063those values so I ask you to please keep them out of your schools as someone who has been through the school system with kids raised by religious groups like this I have to tell you it is not a good time um there is absolutely no reason and no excuse for this to occur during the school day these people can operate at any hours they choose they do not have to do this during the school day they have no right to interfere and interrupt actual educational opportunities to do their indoctrinations thanks so much for your time and consideration thank you next up we have Elizabeth [Music] nton welcome good evening my name is Elizabeth knon I live at 1096 Carousel Court here in Westerville 43081 um and I am speaking to agenda item 12 thank you

064for giving me to opportunity to speak regarding the proposed change of the date for kindergarten entrance from September 30 to August 1 my request is that instead of just one year of grandfathering for students born between those dates that you would allow two to three years of opting in so that families like mine who already have children in preschool have the option to send their children have their children attend school on the schedule they are anticipating so let me explain I have a daughter with a birth date of September 6th who's this year attending a three-year-old preschool program next year she would attend for's prechool and then we had anticipated that the following year she would go to kindergarten however if this policy passes as currently written she won't be able to as by that

065point her birthday will be after the cut off and the one-year grandfathering year will be over the timing of the adoption of the date would require my daughter to repeat a year of preschool programming or stay home to fill the extra year by considering only one year of opting in you've allowed for the students who are already in fours preschool but created an awkward situation for those of us with children in threes even though that's the age that many families do start preschool if the school district cut off had already been on the horizon last year I might have been able to make a different decision about starting her in preschool this year um and furthermore I might have had the date change already been on the horizon we might have not sent our older

066daughter who's a kindergartener this year at Mark Twain um she also has a summer birthday so we might have been able to hold her back um so that our daughters who are exactly two years apart in age could stay two years apart in school this change would force them to three and so I'm just asking that since um providing two or three years of opin during the transition from the September 30 date to August 1st would um will allow families like mine to proceed on the schedule that we were anticipating while ultimately achieving the goal of changing the cut off as a former teacher I do fully support the the earlier date but as a mother I request that you make the transition more gradual to lessen the blow for families who are already in

067the preschool Years thank you very much for considering this request thank you next up we have Holly Smith Holly Smith um I think this says Ricky Kun AKO is all right [Music] welcome hello my name is Ricky Coons Monaco I am a mother of three children who go to Westerville City School District I have one who goes here to the ELC one who is at Whittier in fourth grade and another who is in eth grade at Blendon I am a treasurer for one of our schools I go ahead and I am one of the events coordinators for one of our schools I also participate and donate my time and my energy to ensure that we have an athletic team for our middle schoolers for the a for lacrosse my husband and I run the board

068for that to make sure that those programs continue moving forward so I spend a lot of time with our students here I volunteer a lot of my time with the students here and I care deeply about Westerville my husband graduated from Westerville North and I am originally from Seattle um I just wanted to say I'm very sorry for anybody that is here who is not Christian and for you to feel any sort of way I apologize that's not how I would hope anybody in Westerville would feel and not how I would want our children here to feel while they are in school at all um unfortunately I believe that is how they are feeling right now which is why I'm here to talk about item 13 and my support for having that rescinded um I

069believe that children do naturally want to participate in these things right but religion is something that should take place at home religion is a choice for families and there is plenty of time before school and after school for those things to happen on the weekends and I think that a family is a place where that needs to grow not the middle of the school day I went to college originally to be a teacher I did plenty of student teaching before I decided to go into the corporate world and ultimately I spent time in classrooms those transition times are not easy for our teachers right going to lunch is not an easy time going to recess is not an easy time so to expect that our children can exit and go somewhere else on a really

070fun bus and not have children distracted by that isn't realistic so I'm asking that you all stand here and and look at what this does to our teachers look at what it does to other children who are here in our district look at what it does in what situation it puts other parents in and hopefully you'll see that this is an inclusive way to look at things because we don't want any children to feel as though they are being left out of anything that we are doing in Westerville I personally work very hard in our schools to make sure that all of our children feel welcome and they feel that they are part of something and they are equal and it is not fair that there is a group that is coming in that is

071making our children feel as though they are not equal whether they are Christian or they are Muslim or they are Jewish or heck some of them now think they're cats and that is completely okay you know that is who they are and who they want to be and they can go ahead and do that because they'll eventually grow up to be adults and they will figure it all out but that's not happening during school they're all talking about that at home and their parents are making that choice at no point in school are there teachers or anybody talking to them about being a cat so why would we talk to them about going to church thank you for your time thank you um next up is ingred beardman welcome hello my name is ingred Beerman

072at 147 Dale View Drive um I have already spoken with the board before however I support resending the Westerville RT policy um no school employee or board member is threatening to come into your churches your temples or religious institutions and demand that you stop practicing your religion we I wish that RT would be resented merely because it would make for a more equal learning opportunity for all children I was raised Christian I am now an atheist I am already having to tell have difficult conversations with my four-year-old who will be a kindergartener next year that he will not be on that Big Red Bus that he can see from his home because that is not what we are we don't follow that and he is is already upset and I can see that he's already

073being set up um to be in a position where he will feel left out because he knows he will not be on that red school bus there is no reason LifeWise cannot function before or after school hours if you choose to participate in LifeWise great do it before or after school or any other and this not just LifeWise any other religious based club and it is a club because it is not ordained by the school is not something that the school is functioning and controlling so choose it outside of the school day thank you thank you um we have a few more so if you don't have anything new to add I just ask if you'd be willing to come up state your name your address whether you Echo so and so's comments um next

074up is Steven Childers welcome good day um I've been a resident of Columbus my name is Steven shoulders um I've been a resident paying taxes for Westerville for 14 years I am a product of Education in two countries and three states I've seen much of this world and I know what makes this country great you um and I know what makes other countries not so great great we are great because we are good you know prover and I want to say this first actually I don't know anyone in LifeWise so I'm not affiliated with them I'm not speaking for them but Proverbs 9:10 teaches us that um the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy one is understanding I've I've listened to a lot of ideas a

075lot of isms so let's touch on atheism I've been to ALS schwitz I've I've been to horrible places and I know that atheism is the reason for over a 100 million deaths all right please let's keep that's fine now and I and I recognize Petty tyrants and um I this this school there to the idea of holding Jesus Christ out of it is absurd that is absurd I actually came here uh with the the original intent was to come here and talk about qualifications on Friday the 13th I received an email and it kind of t in with what's going to LifeWise as well I responded seeking additional information in that email in its own wording a new board member was going to come on without the voters voting on it and um it was

076describing a Somali Muslim activist sir that's fine that's your words that's what you described yeah now that's fine why did you feel the need to disclose religion not Target we that's fine I'm asking why did you feel the need to disclose religion and lineage I I don't see think those are important items you need to stop referring to a specific person on this board you keep them General we're not calling out board members okay so interesting that was that was an interesting thing to be touted okay I don't really care if someone's an atheist a Muslim a Christian and whatever else they brought on but that was brought before us now I'm kind of curious about the spread of of the um you know the different the different groups of people we've got Asians we've

077got Buddhists are we you know why why wasn't why wasn't that Chosen and at the same time I come here and I learn about okay we're going to push out the Christians and and I honestly just don't understand that that like we're pushing in it didn't need to be said why we're pushing in one group and we're pushing out another you know can you give me um the jua position on these two decisions favoring one religion an activist against another organization and further reading through qualifications I noted a CEO position and I didn't find that on the um Somali c community link it is Mr Mah tequilo we are not calling out that's fine I'm just saying that was not on a that was not on a LinkedIn sir title if you have something to

078say it is not about anyone on this particular board we are not targeting anybody here we're not making it personal what is the jua EXP the jua position on these two on these two different decisions we're pushing out LifeWise and we're pulling in another view another religious view what is that five minutes your time's up thank you you're done all right next up we have Kai [Applause] TR welcome thank you thank you m uh M president thank you for just letting me addressing address the board and um Miss lean congratulations your appointment it is uh something to be celebrated and and I trust that you make the right decision um I am my name is Dr K Tran I live in 5744 mallan Drive East and um I have as a resident of Westville I

079do have three children in our Westville system and I come here really just to be an observer one of the things that I have observed is that in the introduction um I I I I I noticed that um a board memb religious View and activism is pointed out while that is great and wonderful I think there was a wonderful attributes to have diversity I I do have a question of how that is relevant to being positive to our schools um uh education another things that I do um want to say is I do appreciate the hard work that you do as public servants the things that you do carry lots of Optics involved and in Optics as an observer is that first observation as I I didn't expect to see this many individuals here in

080this room my second observation is that the first speaker um wanted to state that she does not want to that she want an environment free of religious influence and yet this board member S I mean this board cited uh an appointee um activism in that case it appears and in what my observation is it appears that a particular group that happens to be Christian is being pushed out of the school and as an observer it forces a question in my mind that the Optics of this is why is the school board pushing an organization that happens to be Christian and yet a pointed member because of her act her Muslim activism I want you to do the I want you to consider this consider the Optics of your decision as it does appear to favor

081one religion over the other thank you next up we have Sarah mccardy welcome hi my name is Sarah mccardy um I live at 404 Delaware Drive I spoke uh several weeks ago about my concerns uh with LifeWise Academy and I'm back today to speak to agenda item 13 and to express my support for resending RT policy I speak as a parent of a current fifth grade student at Hami Elementary a teacher in a neighboring district and as a member of the lgbtqia community my contributions as a parent stem from the issues that my daughter has encountered at hambi elementary with LifeWise um and that has had a presence for a handful of years there my wife and I decided uh that our daughter would not be attending LifeWise Academy because of the organization's clear stance

082against lgbtqia folks folks and as I expressed at the previous meeting we had hoped that simply opting out would be a decision that suited our family well unfortunately our daughter has repeatedly been pressed by students in the LifeWise program to explain and defend her religious beliefs at lunch on the playground on the bus and after school she has been asked to defend the lgbtqia community to defend her moms to defend her family these are her lived experiences as a 10-year-old child and it is my job as her mother to show up and give voice to her experiences my child and all of the diverse students of Westerville City Schools should be able to receive a public education without fear of increased harassment and discrimination I'm aware that there are plenty of religious institutions in the

083area that do not condone support or welcome my family but the incorporation of LifeWise Academy into the school day creates a diffusing melding of religion and school the adults in this room can discuss the ways in which this program operates outside of Westerville City Schools but the kids don't grasp this concept students only see their peers leaving for lunch from lunch or recess to attend a club that takes place during the day it's all School in the eyes of 6 to 11 year olds as an educator I'm incredibly concerned about the impact that increased discrimination and harassment has on student mental health and well-being marginalized students especially those in the lgbtqia plus Community are frequent victims of bullying harassment and discrimination these children have higher rates of absences from school increased rates of self harm

084and suicidal ideation and unfortunately increased rates of suicide by death or death by Suicide students must feel a true sense of belonging in school and that starts during their earliest experiences in our education system I teach high school students and have co-advised the school's GSA by High School it often feels too late to make students feel safe they are beaten down by years of being the victims of bullying and harassment many which have taken place at school and much of which goes unreported but this board has an opportunity to stand up for historically and systemically oppressed student populations across a spectrum of diversity by resending a policy that facilitates the teaching of intolerance during the school day last as a member of the lgbtqia plus community myself and a longtime resident of Westerville I am

085deeply saddened that this program has been allowed to exist and flourish in our schools I attended Westerville City Schools K through 12 anhur Heritage North there's no other place I would want to live or raise my family but to see the ways in which a well funded conservative organization with such a clear agenda an agenda that has been so clearly illuminated on by previous speakers has been allowed to operate in our Public Schools is disheartening it makes me wonder if my family belongs here and if I belong here with that I again voice my support for resending the RTI policy because the decision to do so prioritizes all students in our public school system will help rebuild community recenter inclusion and restore a sense of belonging for all thank you thank you um that concludes

086that set of public comments and so moving along to Old business uh may I have a motion to approve policy 5112 entrance requirements so moved so moved second um discussion questions all right seeing them Miss Marshall Mrs Davidson yes Mrs zman yes Mrs leing yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Meyer yes and next up we have uh the first reading of policy 5223 absences for religious instruction and Miss Hamburg would you please talk to us about this yes again this is a first reading um our primary mission is to educate kids and having them leave during the day is we believe is not in alignment with that so due to continued concerns about this disruption of our primary Mission we're bringing a first reading to you tonight to resend polic 5223 absences for religious instruction thank

087you um I'm happy to kick us off um so I've prepared some comments about this because I've been thinking a lot about it initially absence for religious instruction came up as a compliance issue but as I started to look at it I realized it it make sense to take kids out of school I have significant con concerns about the distractions caused by pulling kids out of school during the middle of the day we have such limited time with students and there's a lot that needs to happen to ensure they transition in and out of school safely and efficiently also while recess is important for allowing students to blow off steam and return ready to learn it's also a crucial part of their development the cognitive social emotional and physical benefits of play are well documented

088by organizations like the American Media Academy of Pediatrics the Centers for Disease Control and prevention and others I continue to remain puzzled by the strong push to operate programs that require kids to leave school during the middle of the day especially when students interested in such programs could be dropped off before school or picked up afterwards this approach could even alleviate Child Care issues for parents in certain days or altogether while still still providing student still providing religious instruction programs offering religious instruction could pick students up after school provide child care provide religious instruction and then parents could pick their child up on their way home from work like many do from other after school programs like I did for years I'm also continuing to be mindful and concerned about the potential strain on our

089resources if multiple programs were to operate during the school day ensuring legal compliance for each program as well as managing the logistics of kids going and coming would require significant staff and resources resending this policy would be consistent with how we've handled another situation where social support Liaisons were meeting with students during the school day we maintain these meetings while during lunching recess were disruptive to the school day in the buildings there's been a lot of misinformation circulating so I want to make thing one thing very clear excuse me my concern around this policy has nothing to do with any specific religion or religious programs in general it's about utilizing the time we have with students in schools to focus on educating them and minimizing disruptions to the school day for students teachers and staff

090I believe my position allows for both it's not an either or goals to be accomplished kids get their full day in school and can participate in your religious program outside of school time I also remain concerned about liability initially when we realized this program violated our policy in the high Revised Code we focused on a solution that ensured compliance with the law as we've been looking at these release time programs which I had stated earlier my my apprehension remains about this in the attention energy that it takes to ensure that any future programs are in compliance with the law which again demands additional resources and diverts us from our core Focus I really understand my concerns May invoke a range of emotions tonight and I anticipate more in the coming days however I strongly urge

091everyone to focus on the well-being of the students in the district and refrain from spreading misinformation or even worse hate we have so many wonderful things happening in our schools and this district is filled with amazing students staff teachers and community members who care deeply about the more than 14,700 children we serve so let's come back together for the benefit of all of these children which are our [Applause] future thank you president Meer um I'd like to say that that reflects my own Journey with this right being first concerned about compliance issues and then um learning more about um allowing any outside organization to take students off campus at lunch and return them so I cannot stress enough that to me me this policy and whatever decision the board makes um you know upon a

092second reading and a vote is not about any particular religion it is about disruption to the school day [Applause] period so I Echo the comments of my fellow board members um I think you said this chrisy that this is not an either or this is not a you can have school or you can have religion but not both this is a both you can have both it's just that kids have a finite amount of time with us during school to learn and it is up to us as a board as a superintendent as administrators and teachers to provide them with the best possible environment for that learning and disruptions hinder that ability and they need to be minimized IED so again this initially started out as kind of a compliance thing and the more you

093know you pull pull on the thread other things are coming up and we want to make sure that we are minimizing all those distractions the kids have so little time in class making sure that they have everything they need to have a continuous day is in their best interest and I want to make very clear we are not prohibiting anyone from exercising their rights there is no prohibition on that nobody is saying that you aren't allowed to be who you are everyone's free to worship as they would like to worship this policy in effect or not in effect does not change that so these types of organized programs I feel are just best suited for children not in the middle of the school day [Applause] um I want to remind well I guess I want

094to educate everyone if they're not familiar what is the role of a school board member because really we only have a couple responsibilities one is to employ the superintendent and treasur and to evaluate them and then to set policy and to be fiscal stewards for our community that's our job um our job is to look at these policies and how they impact our kids which Christie said 14,700 kids and 2,000 employees how this impacts them this policy uh 5223 does cause disruption for our students and our staff I think it's time for us to take a look at these policies or this policy in particularly and how it invites all types of groups and entities into our school day and what that would cause I mean just take a moment and think about that also

095think about how important was recess to you as a child being able to play with your friends get out in the sunshine to move and mental health professionals tell us how important those things are are I also think about what happens if this would move to the middle school or to high school can you imagine a group full of high schoolers jumping into a car saying they're going to go off to some entity and never arriving there never arriving there we need to take a break look at this policy how it's going to impact all of our kids not just our elementary school kids and then move forward that's where I that thank you very much all right thank you um next up we're moving to standing business 14.01 donations Miss Marshall do a motion

096in a second oh yeah I need a motion sorry it's been a long night may I get a motion to approve the donations as presented so moved second okay thank you president Meer members of the board so um for the current request uh donation that we have is uh 93,6 188 that brings our current fiscal year-to date total to 0,58 159 it's just amazing what we have I just want to say thank you to the community for their continuing support of the Westerville City Schools this great yeah Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs leean yes Mrs opman yes Mrs Meyer yes next up may I have a motion to approve out of state overnight field trips it's all moved second welcome Miss Balwin good evening president Meyer members of the board superintendent Hamburg and

097Mrs Marshall I have several trips for you to consider for approval tonight the first of which is a trip for Westerville Central students to tour um double in Ireland during spring break of 2026 students would not miss any school days if they participate in that trip the other set of trips are our Washington DC trips can we please have thank you the other set of trips are Washington DC trips for our eighth grade student students so you see proposals from all five middle schools before you three of our middle schools will be traveling at the same time at the end of April and then walnut would be the 1st of May and Heritage would be the second week in May and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have any questions yeah I have

098a quick question are we using the same group for the travel for the DC trip so Genoa does use Prodigy and the other four buildings use prime tours okay and then I also notice um so manura park first year Middle School on track um 90 students how many eighth graders do we have there um I would have to look at the numbers for enrollment I'm sorry I didn't that's that's but I know it's not complet it's not our entire pardon I think it's around 250 so and that's an estimated number so our our students and families will have an information session um there is a cost for families on this and then our organizations the different travel companies do work with families who might need additional support too but um it is not something all

099of our students participate in something that our team has conversations about and thinking about what other experiences we can provide our students who may not participate sure sure no I love seeing 90 I thought that was great so thank you thanks any other comments questions right thank Youk you Mrs opman yes Mrs liian yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Meyer yes um may I have a motion to approve the resolution for the purchase of Chromebooks including equipment and Licensing with the annual Appropriations budget so moved second welcome Mr Stiffler good evening president Meyer vice president Alman members of the board uh Miss Hamburg Miss Marshall uh before you tonight is a resolution to approve the purchase of Chromebooks uh including Chromebook carts cases and Licensing uh we do refresh Cycles every year this

100is part of our normal appropriated budget so I'm happy to answer questions for are there any questions comments see none oh go ahead just Mr Stiffler could you just briefly remind everybody um you know where we are in terms of um Chromebooks and numbers of students sure so this uh refresh handles about 7,000 Chromebooks so these are most of the devices that were purchased right when covid started um so we're up against the end of life on this count uh we have a hair over 14,000 students as you mentioned earlier we have about 12 ,500 devices in the district so this is a a pretty fair amount of our Chromebooks that we're refreshing at one time uh like I said it just happened that because we made all the purchase at once all the refresh

101happens at once so okay thank you now we did send these out for RFP so they were done through a public bid um you guys have the results in front of you so and I I think to further answer her question we're looking at by the beginning of next school year that we would be one to one and that our older kids would be able to have one device to take home cuz I don't think you C that part correct was that what you were asking where we were with numbers it was sort of behind there but yeah I'm just thinking through the numbers myself how we're getting there the first part of this is a refresh of existing equipment the second part will be purchased for additional lot our Chromebooks that would be needed

102to get us to that one to one level so great thank you thanks any other all right will we take the vote M Davidson yes Mrs Val time yes Mrs lean yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Meyer yes I have to go um next up we have public comment and we do have a few you have a lot so I'm just going to reinstate that if you um just when you approach please state your name your address and if you have um it's someone's already said something you can please just say I Echo so and so's comments but um just a reminder each speaker will have five minutes to address the board a timer will be shown on the screens and Mr Reeves will call time when 5 minutes has elapsed please keep your comments professional

103avoid the use of appropriate inappropriate language and refrain from identifying individuals in the event of a complaint please address your comments to the board and not the audience our first speaker this evening is Gary mudler Moulder Moulder thank you for the correction welcome my name is Gary Moulder I live at 5794 Plantation Road in Sunbury I'm a volunteer for LifeWise and been doing that for the past year and I I was going to mention a number of different things that we accomplish with the children at while we have them in the classroom but after hearing your your comments with regard to disruption so forth I have to mention to you I doubt if you've ever been there when we've picked up or dropped off the children it is very orderly the kids going to recess

104go to recess the kids going to LifeWise go to LifeWise we have a recess for them so they do get lots of exercise I can guarantee you that my knees will tell you that but we also do do that's just we use the Bible as a teaching tool and the various things that they are taught are life life life benefits they they taught responsibility discernment trustworthiness teachability worth wholeheartedness humility loyalty perseverance forgiveness love availability wisdom compassion hope confidence growth availability courage stewardship kindness attentiveness which is very important in school and commitment um I would hope you would continue at least give these said a chance to uh participate in a very worthwhile character building program thank you very much thank you next up we have Joel Penton welcome good evening uh my name is Joel

105penson I'm the founder and CEO of LifeWise Academy I am not a Westerville resident but the local team did request that I come and speak a few words I'll keep it brief from uh my perspective I just want to clarify for the board that release time is a standard and mainstream practice over 75% of all school districts do in Ohio do have a release time policy LifeWise just LifeWise we're operating in over 200 school districts Statewide and so I just wanted again to clarify the move to resend your release time policy is a bold move it is an extreme move it is a radical move and it sends a very clear message to religious families in your district and that message is that they're not welcome religious families in your District sorry religious families in

106your district will be left wondering why is it that we had the choice of religious instruction like 75% of Ohio please let him speak it's okay we we had the choice like 75% of school districts why is it that Worthington old in Tangi New Albany Big Walnut Columbus City Schools why is it that all of these parents have this option and we had it but it was just taken away this is a bold move it's also bold considering we've had a program functioning for two years there's over a dozen people who are employed locally by LifeWise Academy this board if you resend the policy will overnight take those jobs away from those individuals there are hundreds of families that are engaged with this program so I just want to be clear again that this is

107very bold shutting down a religious program is not a display of Tolerance it is the opposite taking a religious program away from children who are currently enrolled is not a display of inclusion it is the opposite so I'm asking you the red shirts are asking you to don't do the radical thing don't do the extremist thing do what is standard in the state of Ohio and uphold your release time policy thank [Applause] you next up thank you next up we have Danielle I'm having a hard time reading this last name wad Watkins thank you welcome thank you thank you my name is Danny Watkins I am a Westerville City School District Parent and I live at 3410 and saon Avenue um Saigon drive my God I don't even know my own address at this point

108um Saigon Drive in Westerville Ohio I am here today to support and fully agree with resending the RTR program I also want to say that I am the proud parent of an lgbtqia student who graduated from Westerville South she had a wonderful experience there because so much effort was made to include her and I think that that does not happen on its own it happens due to action from the all the way from the school board down to the teachers due to the other students we build that respect by creating it from the ground up and that does not stay that way we have to actively engage in continuing to provide that inclusion and respect I think LifeWise program builds division it tells my child she's going to go to hell it tells her that

109I am going to go to hell because I am not I did not marry her father I don't think this is a appropriate in schools that's the end of the line for me thank you so much for your time thank you next up we have Kirk fishbach welcome Kirk's actually my brother my name's Kyle oh I'm sorry it's really hard to read some of these handwritings good evening my name is Kyle fishbach uh Westerville North class of 2002 uh I reside at 1393 Sugarberry Court in Westerville I'm a founding and current leadership board member of LifeWise Westerville resending the release time for religious instruction policy is not the solution out of respect for your time I have simply asked those in support of religious freedoms and keeping the release time for religious instruction policy to

110silently stand to acknowledge their support thank you thank you next up is Ross Alderman Alman sorry can read your handwriting thank you for the opportunity to speak to you and uh I I celebrate what's happening tonight because we have seen a wonderful display of the freedom of speech uh to present ideas and we have lots of diversity we have lots of disagreement and one of the things that comes with lots of diversity is we do have more disagreement so the to protect the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion the more diverse we become the harder we have to fight for that re freedom to be protected and the more conflict that there will be that's natural if we're not teaching our kids that that's a natural part of life that there's going to

111be disagreements then there's no way we can protect freedom of speech and freedom of religion religion and I would just submit to this board tonight that even in your expression of your opinions we heard Miss theban welcome to the board take an oath tonight to protect the Constitution Your Role is not to express your opinions on this or to make your decision based upon your opinions on this your role is to protect the con the the Constitution you all took an oath to that the Constitution and the case law around the constitution on this issue is Crystal Clear release time religious education is an appropriate protected right of the freedom of religion can it get messy yes does it require some disruption to the day and some administrative management the protection of All rights require

112disruption and administrative management if you abdicate the responsibility based upon disruption to the day to protect the right then you abdicate the responsibility of the state which is to protect these rights so if you are going to protect the Constitution you will keep this policy in place because it's already approved if you don't you subject yourselves to going against established case law to promoting discrimination whether you intend to or not it sounds like you don't intend to and I trust you on that but you actually project a discrimination and you subject yourself as a school to Legal liability and the potential of having to be involved in a massive lawsuit which you will lose because it is such wellestablished rules around this law do you really want to spend your time and money fighting a

113legal battle or do we want to spend our time and money educating our kids and protecting the freedoms of students and this isn't a Christian thing this is a religious thing it is protecting Muslims it is protecting Hindus it is protecting Buddhists it is protecting people whose religion has all sorts of different ideas about what sexuality and gender is it is protecting everyone and by removing this policy we undermined the very core of what democracy is democracy is protecting the right of the voice of the people to Express their beliefs and religious release time education has been approved as a choice for parents to choose for their children if you don't want it you don't choose it but if you want that and you are a Muslim or you are an atheist and you want

114to teach your kids atheism you have every right just as life LifeWise does to establish a religious release time instruction thing and as the state representatives our responsibility in protecting that freedom is to accommodate it and if we if we choose not to accommodate it we undermined the actual Freedom so please vote to keep this in place don't go against federal and state law and put yourself in a position of going against the Constitution and violating your oath thank you next up we have Matthew Fannon [Applause] welcome all right good evening board uh good evening superintendent Hamburg uh so my name is Matt Fanon um we reside in the Old Mill neighborhood of Westerville uh we moved there about 3 years ago from Baltimore Maryland and we were really happy to to settle into this

115community um I've been a public educator for 15 years um over 15 years actually actually as a teacher as an administrator um and and I'm a firm believer in in public education but we're also Believers in our faith our whole family wanted to be here tonight to support uh LifeWise um our youngest daughter she's in fifth grade she goes to Westerville City Schools um she really wanted to be here but she decided now soccer practice was more important I won't my wife wife and my oldest daughter um who's in eth grade had a volleyball game down the street which they won thank you um they wanted to be here too and all this stemmed from some of our conversations around the dinner table uh about the LifeWise program uh we had many conversations and our

116daughters just kept asking why why is it not starting yet why why can't I go so I mentioned tonight that we could come and support both both of them asked me to skip their practice skip their volleyball game because they firmly believe that this program needs to be in Westerville I mean my my eighth grader can't even participate in it but that's all strong that she believes as a 13-year-old she wants her sister who's a fifth grader to have that opportunity if you take it away there will be no other opportunity as I mentioned Macy is a fifth grader she's very excited about this program coming this year she kept talking about it uh and we're very proud of her growth personally and her faith um and the steps that she took herself and she

117was really looking forward to exercising her right to attend the life wi program during school hours she asked me almost daily and if the people in here know Macy when can I start when can I start when can I start it's every day so that's what we want to know when can she start um I've heard a lot of thoughts and feelings from individuals tonight in in previous board meetings um particularly even heard a a specific board member share their um what I thought was an appropriate biased opinions before some people feel like their kids will be left out or feel like they're not part of a team if they don't attend LifeWise well first of all LifeWise is for everyone right it is for everyone that's the beauty of this program it's not like

118sports where your kids can try out and they can be cut they can be left off the team it's not like our own school system where some kids get to go to Hami and and and Emerson but other cool kids don't get selected that doesn't mean I want you guys to shut down those schools or I don't want there to be Sports it just happens so the fact is LifeWise is for everyone some people feel like their students will miss on core con construction or or worry about the bus might be late if this is 1 hour for one day each week during lunch and recess they get recess time those other four days and as we heard they get recess during that day as well instead of worrying about a bus that could possibly

119be late I mean we've had our own transportation issues in this District where already four times my daughter's middle school has been let out early that's a disruption to instruction um and about the other policies I know um somebody else already mentioned this as well about possibly the lunch policy have we talked to the other districts have we talked to our neighboring districts the hundreds of schools that are providing this program so let's not have our feelings get in the way of facts the fact is it's a welcoming program for everyone it's optional you do not have to have your child attend the fact is that students can attend and they can use their right to attend this program off campus so let's stop dragging our feet and letting our feelings and opinions get in

120the way and let the LifeWise program continue in Westerville thank you thank you next up is Chad Miller I'm just going to remind you if you don't have anything new to say feel free to just say your name your address and whether your support so and so's comments good evening and thank you for giving us this opportunity to speak tonight we appreciate it I'm here tonight to represent truth and sadly many people in this country have misrepresented this truth and it breaks my heart because the gospel is for everybody statistics have been shown that it is absolutely true the children and families have greatly benefited from LifeWise I think we would all agree that we are all here today for the well-being of children in this city and a world full of lies and misinformation

121the Next Generation needs truth more than ever children need to know what they believe and why they believe it I praise God that we still live in a free country one that was founded upon the freedom of religion what does the word religion mean well here's one simple definition from Oxford languages a Pursuit Of Interest that one ascribes supreme importance I think if we would all be honest we are all religious to some degree especially if we use this definition we all have something we pursue to Supreme importance now I hope we would all agree that we should all be able to exercise our constitutional right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness taking away this violates the most fundamental basic truth of our right as an American now if a program would teach

122children how to demonstrate love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control would it be beneficial for the children in society as a whole this is what LifeWise teaches and this is what the Bible teaches this will be evidenced by one who has truly been transformed by the good news of the life the death the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ these are his characteristics that he demonstrated perfectly on our behalf and by his Spirit he enables all those who place faith without discrimination in his finished work on the cross to demonstrate not perfectly but progressively by continuing to hear this life-saving message that LifeWise provides I understand that many will not agree with the message but I doubt there is even one person in here that doesn't want positive change in our

123schools otherwise we would not be here imagine if a small percentage of students began to demonstrate this true love and joy and peace that comes from this message and they began to express it towards one another and then they reached one another and those statistics began to double and our children loved instead of hating one another which is what Jesus truly promoted now ask yourself this question are you demonstrating true love and inclusivity which what you say you proudly stand for by opposing this program everyone today wants everyone to be inclusive yet ironically there's no inclusivity towards Christians we aren't asking for the Bible to be taught to everyone in school although if if we would look at the statistics to what is happened over the decades since we removed God from our schools we'd

124see why our nation is in the shape that it's in we're here because it's our constitutional right and it's a law in this city to be able to provide students with the option of pursuing God during school hours off of school grounds but I think there's an even deeper problem here it's the truth that all of us are born born opposed to God it's the truth tonight this is not just a board meeting this is a spiritual battle and sadly I do not think you understand the implications of what you may be going against the reality is you are not just opposing LifeWise but you are opposing The God Who created you in His image please and although you you like us have all sinned against God there is hope and life available to all

125of us because while we were still weak Christ died for the ungodly are we in church and and he paid the I'm going to ask you to please stop or we'll have you removed if you do it again he paid the fine we owed on the cross and since his sacrifice was accepted by God he rose from the grave defeating sin and death and if you would turn from your sin and believe in Jesus you will be saved and that's anybody that is living in any sinful lifestyle now your relationship with God can be restored and you can live how we were designed to live which is in love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control against such there is no law so I beg and plead please repent today and please I

126plead with you to turn from trying to stop the good news from reaching these children thank you for your time all right next up we have Angela Gregory Angela Gregory okay um next up Kathy bowler welcome good evening president Meyer board members superintendent Hamburg thank you for thank you for uh hearing all the comments tonight um my name is Kathy bowler I live at 6671 Meadow Glenn and I've been in Westerville for over 25 years I've had three children very successfully graduate from Westerville City Schools we love this community for the caring kind and friendly people that live here and and obviously we have a lot of passion for our children that's why I'm here tonight is to talk about the children my heart is breaking for the youth in this District who've been attending

127this LifeWise program and who will be very very saddened when you resend the policy we've heard from children they they talk about what a wonderful program it is for them what they are learning and the kindness and caring that they learn from that program I ask you not to remove their hope the hope that they have in the messages they're learning about the gospel of God and his Saving Grace and I just ask you to really reconsider your your pre-existing opinions about that and and retain that policy thank you thank you next up we have Dan Cary welcome good evening thank you board for listening and my name is Dan cry I live at 106 Whisperwood Court 43081 I've been a member of this or uh City since I've been here since 1981 my uh

128daughter attended School K through 12 and I have a grandson who is in the third grade at Emerson and again I think I've said before we are extremely pleased with the school system here my daughter went off to otterbine and graduated he's very successful my little guy my grandson is having a good time in Emerson the principal em Emerson by the way knows all those kids by their name name he is amazing and the teachers are wonderful but I'm here tonight to support LifeWise and why is that well you've heard you've heard everything that's been said about LifeWise and I won't repeat all that and waste your time but I did talk with my pastor about what am I supposed to say I attend the the Sunbury Church of the nazarine and I asked him

129what should I say he said well they should see Jesus what with whatever you say so I said okay okay I prayed about it I should speak the truth and love I think you've heard a lot of the truth but I I think we're missing something about love my heart breaks for those people who come up here and they sound like they're broken they're angry and they're taking it out on LifeWise and they're broken in some way I my heart breaks for them I heard things that they think that life wise is against them maybe they've been hurt by religion at some point and that's sad that's not what what what we're about that's not what Jesus is about as a matter of fact let me explain a couple weeks ago before our F the

130last board meeting LifeWise had a prayer meeting at the Hope Church here in Westerville and I attended that prayer meeting and it was wonderful we got off in our little groups and we prayed about what we prayed about everybody on this board everyone we wanted we wanted you to have the spirit that this LifeWise program and RTR policy can what it can do and we wanted to change your heart and then we prayed for those people you've heard tonight they're upset they're sad they're broken they're hurting my heart breaks for folks I've heard tonight that the comments I've heard tonight from them isn't what we're about isn't what a Christian should be about and so I'm saddened that there are people like that I'm just hoping that you will reconsider and continue the RTI RT

131policy you've heard reasons why and I'm going to just read briefly here this came to me three things three things will last forever faith hope and love and the greatest that this is love that's from one Corinthians oh by the way I I told my pastor I was going to not be exactly like Jesus I won't turn over any tables tonight okay so I won't do that but there's some good news before I leave good news I attend the church in Sunbury Church of the nazarine and everybody is welcome no matter what color of shirt they're wearing and if you don't believe me you come and see me and I'll be sure you are welcomed but this week LifeWise begins their program again in Sunbury Ohio and my church this this this this year my

132church some church nazarine will be a host church for the first time getting tomorrow thank you thank you next up is Scott [Applause] Z welcome Scott zy thank you um live on Delware drive I have a daughter who is in the public school system here in Westerville in elementary school um first off uh one of the things that people have brought up is that LifeWise could bring bullying into the school system uh and they say that that's not true or not something that they preach but um I was very disturbed to see a new board member basically be bullied by a couple speakers and not one person that spoke on LifeWise behalf after that denounced that bullying so that's clearly on display um it was because diversity was mentioned in the intro and um the

133reason that was included is because diversity is good hard stop thank you for your levelheaded decision making it's not radical that is intend intentional divisive rhetoric being used it's levelheaded I appreciate it um as far as diversity and inclusion uh their side had a speaker who basically admitted that Christians are Supreme and above all others and no one denounced that either so thought that was strange um a speaker also brought up that there are 60 Christian churches in the area uh I think that's probably 60 great opportunity for good Sunday school programs if you're interested in teaching values and giving your kids exposure to Christian education just maybe look into that I'm not broken I strongly believe in the separation of church and state I will reiterate what I said in my last speech I

134chose to send my child to a school with no religious ties or involvement when I chose a public school there are many hours outside of a school day that can be devoted to Christian teachings family can be involved in those decision making it does not belong in the public school system thank you very much for your time I appreciate it thank you next up Larry [Applause] Jenkins welcome good evening my name is Larry Jenkins I reside at 58 West College Avenue I also a business owner here in town and I am here to speak on a different subject for this evening and that would be the levy that's on the ballot the combined wrestle school levy that's on the ballot for November 5th uh it's political season out there and there's a lot of noise

135and I'd like to take a moment to clearly address why this Levy is needed um even in the best of times school districts are forced to return to the ballot periodically to address operational uh cost increases because our state law holds Revenue flat we anticipate these issues but our needs are exasperated by the state leadership that uh State leadership's continued efforts to ship funding from our district to other districts in the state and to move funding from public education to private institutions the real world consequences of these funding changes are $4 million less in funding this fiscal year and the state's share of education of our children falling from 43% in fiscal year 2020 to just 23% in fiscal year 2025 this fiscal year these decisions by state leaders uh State leadership continues to put

136pressure on our district our residents and our students let's be clear this fall Levy is not providing anything new passage of this Levy will keep our schools competitive they'll maintain our current programs for all students and address the needs of required programs and supports uh and other student supports they'll continue safety enhancements for our schools and they'll update our classrooms to meet modern learning needs and to create specialized spaces for those learning environments education is a people business from teachers and educational staff are in high demand without voter support for our schools we'll be unable to keep up with wage growth and growing expenses which means we lose the best talent to our neighboring districts we fully recognize that costs are up and that people are struggling it's never easy to ask for money we

137take this this request very seriously and we hope our community will continue to make the important uh the continue to make the investment in the important part of our community like we've heard tonight when people look at a community that they're going to move into the first thing they look at is the quality of the schools not just if they have students in those schools but it's also an indicator of the quality of the community it's it's the strength of the economy in the community the values of the community our strong Community is built on what we used to say a three-legged stool and the community together comes together are the quality of our schools a strong business environment where people can make a reasonable living and strong Civic services that keep us safe and

138provide amenities where we can play and enjoy life when one leg fails the community becomes unstable and the rest begins to fall as well I'm here to ask for your support everyone's continued support for our schools we all love the quality of life that comes with living and working here but it didn't happen by accident we are here as a result of careful planning and lots of hard work I'm hoping you will join me to continue to protect the wful way of life and investing in our schools if you would like more information on the levy and the details that the board has put forth I encourage you to visit the district's web page for the levy fact page it lays out all the things that the bond and the operational Levy will address if

139you'd like to get involved and help support the effort you can find more information on the our community our schools website at OC westerville.org in closing I just ask everyone to please vote Yes for our schools on or before November 5th thank you for your time and your support thank you next up we have Holly Smith Holly Smith okay um Jordan Keller Jordan Keller huh oh welcome thank you hi my name is Jordan K I'm 658 Big Rock Drive um I'm a graduate of the Westerville City Schools public school system um and when I went to school here LifeWise was not an option but I really wish it was instead I was forced to sit in the cafeteria where the staff and the teachers yelled at our class to be quiet and stop talking because

140we are so annoying and so loud so why would I want to grow up in a system where the teachers are telling me that my what I'm saying is not worth it that my talking to my friends and we weren't loud and but that like they were too loud for all the all the teachers and staff we just had to be quiet um on top of that playground time was not a great time um we were like if you weren't in with certain people you were left out of their games um or um you just weren't included like um people are believing you are included on the playground um and I would have preferred to go to LifeWise growing up on top of all of this my siblings and I faced persecution from teachers making

141fun of us for our beliefs in the classroom in front of fellow students my sister was mocked for working at chickfila which is just a restaurant But the teacher said that she was terrible for working for such a company in front of the whole class I was told that church was just a glorified dating service and I he the teacher knew I was a regular Ender of a church in the area so I full support of LifeWise in this community thank [Applause] you thank you um so that brings us to board comments who would like to go first me to go uh just uh congratulations to our retirees um we're excited for you for this next phase of Life uh and to Ana welcome you are where you belong and I'm excited to work together

142and that's it for me um I would just like to build on that so yes welcome we're glad you're here um and wanted to reference the state report card so thank you to all of our Educators who are amazing who work very hard every day with our young people to educate them um in all kinds of different ways excuse me and the state report card measures some of those um and so I really genuinely appreciate all of the work that goes into that from our Educators and our students I got my own students at home I know how hard they work to make that happen so just a big thank you I will the welcome ana um I'm glad to have your voice and experiences at the table and I do believe that we should

143celebrate when somebody from an under represented group stands up and earns a seat at the table so I know a couple of people mention that but um so again welcome I'm excited to work with you uh I also wanted to tag on to the report card piece um because I wanted to say good job Nicole Marshall and your team because um when we look at that percentage of funds that are spent on classroom instruction we are actually ahead of the curve so we are being very efficient with our tax dollars so thank you um that's all I have I just wanted to thank um everyone for their really um kind welcome and I think I want to thank everyone for being here tonight I recognize this very Lee and regardless of what your position is

144I recognize how it is to provide public testimony so thank you and um I want to Echo my colleagues comments I am thrilled that you're here um I'm looking forward to working with and learning from you so welcome um and I'm just going to Echo uh to the retirees congratulations and the staff yes I can't thank you enough for all the hard work that you've done um and it really reflected so that is all for me and with that um the board will meet in regular session on Monday October 14th 2024 at 6 pm at the Early Learning Center which is here um that's n for people online 936 East Wind Drive and that's Westerville and may I have a motion to enter into executive session to discuss employment dismissal and compensation of public employees

145so move second Miss Marshall Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Davidson yes Mrs leing yes Mrs opman yes Mrs Meyer yes you're more than welcome to stay if you would like but we're going to head and talk and I don't know when we'll be back so thank you it's 904 so we're back from executive session and may I have a motion to adjourn so move second they're not on yeah they're not on Mrs Valentine yes Mrs Alman yes Mrs Davidson yes this leaving yes Mrs Meer yes