001Okay. Good evening. We're going to go ahead and get started and welcome to the May 13th, 2026 Board of Education meeting for the Elsinore School Board. We'll go ahead and start with the roll call today. All right. Potter? Myers? Here. Erzah? Here. Riegel-Decker? Here. Bailey? Here. We have a quorum. Yep. And our board member Potter is absent from this meeting for some family business. Moving on to 1.3, changes to the agenda. Does anyone have any changes to make for tonight's meeting? I do not have an official change because they made it before we sent out the agendas, but um I did have one last minute addition to the section just so you guys know, it's an appropriation increase for student grants. Thank you. We'll get to that point in the agenda. All right, on to
0021.4, approval of the minutes. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes for the April meeting? So >> [clears throat] >> I second. Erzah? Yes. Riegel-Decker? Yes. Bailey? Yes. Myers? Yes. Motion passes 4-0. All right, moving on to section two, communications and presentations and reports. Um first is communications, which we did not receive any this month, so there are none to discuss. Section 2.2 is the district honors, recognitions, and schools in action. And we have a lot to celebrate tonight, so I will go ahead and turn it over to our administrators to get us started. All right, thank you. Oh, turn it on. All right, thank you very much. I would like to first um bring up the email part. Um Noel Anya Youngster is the one. Miss um Medina favorite, come on up
003Medina. SHE WAS NOMINATED BY MRS. GREG Peters um for being fantastic. I'm going to say that. Here's her favorite. Medina consistently gets outstanding effort, a positive attitude, and a commitment to excellence both inside and outside of the classroom. She's shown respect, cares and shares, takes responsibility for her learning, and goes above and beyond to contribute to her personal best. We are proud to recognize her hard work today. Keep up the great work. That's from Miss Oberlin and Miss Courtney. And you get paid in dollars. >> [laughter] >> All right, next Thank you very much. All right, next up I am proud to ask Miss Rayland Sage to come on up. Ray, come on up. >> [applause] >> All right, Ray is our Yellow Springs Alumni Association Fine Arts Scholar of the Month, and she was
004nominated by both Ms. Minehart, our arts teacher, and by Mr. Mayor from Andover. Okay, okay. And here's what they had to say. We'd like to nominate Rain for Fine Arts Student of the Month, highlighting her consistent commitment and effort in the fine arts. She exhibits remarkable technical ability and inventiveness in her art class assignments and approaches projects with creativity and fearless thinking. Rain also excels as a piano student in the band, where her dedication and growth are equally evident. She is a wonderful example of a student who fully embraces the arts with both talent and determination. AND SHE'S PRETTY FANTASTIC. >> [clears throat] >> MY FIRST RECIPIENT IS actually not here tonight. She is preparing for an ice skating competition, but I still want to recognize her as our Yellow Springs Student of the Month.
005It's Ali Boyd. Ali is kind to all, hard working, inquisitive, and thoughtful. In both Algebra and ASL 1, I see them working towards deep understanding and application of everything they are presented. I have observed that no matter who Ali works with in class, their positivity and work ethic is contagious, positively impacting the classroom community. They bring a smile to my face every day simply by being who they are. That is Ali Boyd to be recognized by Mr. Knight. Congratulations. Next, I would like to recognize our Trophy Sports Scholar Athlete of the Month, Austin Thomas Conover. >> [applause] >> Austin was nominated by his tennis coach, Coach Horton, who said, "Austin glows differently. His integrity, integrity, natural leadership, enthusiasm, determination, humility, and sportsmanship make him a well-deserved recipient of this recognition. He has led the tennis
006team all season as a captain while maintaining high academic success. Congratulations, Austin. With Austin being performing in our concert after the coordinator's night, I know he wants to to go see another aspect of his well-roundedness. Finally, I want to recognize our favorite employee of the month, Mr. David Johnson. Come on up. >> [applause] >> Mr. Johnson was nominated by Mr. Bachman, who said, "Mr. Johnson has served the Yelm school community for many years as the calm, consistent support for our juniors and seniors. He connects with our students on various levels and is a trusted adult that many of you lean on for guidance. Mr. Johnson has a unique ability to support students with critical feedback and advice that lands safely with our students and does not push them away. His care always shows through and
007is felt and appreciated by our students and equally by our staff. Mr. Johnson further further serves our community as a cross country, bowling, and track coach. CONGRATULATIONS TO HIM. >> [applause] [applause] >> ALTHOUGH SHE ALREADY RECEIVED AN AWARD, on April 23rd, Jerry and I had the opportunity to attend the Greene County Public School Teacher of the Year Award um reception and our very own Naomi Hyatt. Naomi, do you want to COME ON UP? NAOMI RECEIVED AN HONORABLE MENTION and after the event um sponsored by James Investment, Greene County Community Foundation, and the Greene Giving Foundation, Naomi was awarded with $1,000 to spend in her classroom or an experience for her students. >> [applause] >> All right. So, normally this part of the um of our agenda we would be doing our community schools in action
008and seeing some of our uh students uh perform or um offer some insight into what they're learning. However, tonight um we have the privilege of recognizing Dr. Terry Woodin. SO. [laughter] SO, THIS MAY BE YOUR LAST MEETING AS OUR SUPERINTENDENT. SO, we want to take a minute and honor her. Come up here. Dr. Woodin has served the Yellow Springs schools for 7-plus years now. And while serving 7 years may sound straightforward on paper, anyone in public education knows that 7 years as superintendent is no small accomplishment. Terry began her leadership here in late 2019, only to be immediately handed one of the most difficult moments public education has ever faced. COVID, right? I didn't want to say the word, but While I wasn't on the board yet, as a parent, I want to personally thank
009you for the way you navigated that time. While still learning the unique needs of our district, you led with honesty and understanding, which captures your leadership style as a whole. You always had an artistic way of balancing compassion with reality. If someone wants an honest opinion, the advice around here is simple. You just ask her. You tell people what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear. And that's a rare quality in leadership. Your influence is best reflected in the exceptional people that you recruited and helped empower to lead our schools. Take a look around this room at our great amazing educators, administrators, and staff who are helping move this district forward. Strong leaders build strong teams, and your impact will continue well beyond your retirement through the people you invested in
010along the way. And perhaps the most telling of all, your focus this past year has not been, "How can I get out of here as fast as possible?" Instead, your focus has consistently been, "How can I make sure this district is set up for success when I'm gone?" That commitment to succession planning has every says everything about your character. Public education needs leaders who care more about the long-term health of institutions than personal recognition, and you've modeled that for them. Terry has been an unwavering advocate for public education and for this community. More now More now than ever, we need to appreciate and recognize hard-working, good people willing to step into difficult spaces and lead against the grain. Because the truth is, leadership is complicated. There's an old saying that I heard recently, and it's
011the problem with being a leader is that you never really know if people are following you or chasing you. That said, there's one additional point that deserves to be mentioned. Terry, your leadership was not always presented under easy circumstances. There were times when your expertise was questioned, your professionalism was undermined, and disagreements crossed into personal and unfair territory. Despite moments of hurtful rhetoric and fictitious accusations to your professional reputation, you continued to show up for this district with composure, integrity, and commitment. You remained focused on the long-term well-being of this community, even when it would have been understandable to walk away. That resilience says a great deal about your character and about the kind of leader you chose to be. And yet, somehow, even during difficult moments, Terry continued to move this district forward with
012determination and humor. Those tough moments are where I learned how to dissect her serious meter by the way she signed her emails. It's like when you're you know you're in trouble because you're being called by your middle name. Well, watch out if she signed her email with her middle initial, you knew she meant business. >> [laughter] >> But underneath all of the business was someone who cared deeply about the students, staff, families, and community. And outside of education, she's a foodie at heart and a passionate advocate for women's sports. Recognizing the direct the direct correlation between athletic experiences and future success. And also incredibly competitive. Always finding the fun in attending nearly all of the district events. This one of my son was playing in a basketball game and uh he's my youngest son and
013Terry was there and he got knocked around a little bit and she was come on little guy, we can find it's it's okay, shake it off. That passionate energy and that investment in kids has always been genuine. One thing I admire most about you, Terry, is your willingness to own mistakes. In leadership, it's easy to protect yourself, but you've shown the ability to take accountability and I've seen you take a fall for others when you believe it serves the greater good. That takes courage and confidence. I also want to take a moment to recognize two incredibly important sources of support in Terry's journey. Thank you to the board member team back in 2019. Some are here tonight. Who recognized her potential and entrusted her with leading the district during a pivotal time of of transition.
014And of course, Holly. To spouses and families of school leaders, the community often sees the public side of leadership, but they don't always see the evenings away, the late night calls, the stress carried home, or the emotional weight that comes with serving the district. Thank you for often watching from screen and maybe yelling at it. >> [laughter] >> And for sharing Terry with all of us through so many absent evenings and demanding seasons. And finally, Terry, my hope is that you truly understand the impact you had not just on this district but on the entire Yellow Springs community. The positive ripple effects of your leadership will be felt for years to come through our future leaders who may never even realize that your fingerprints helped shape the opportunities they experienced. I have absolutely no doubt
015that retirement will simply be the beginning of whatever meaningful task you decide to tackle next. And I think we can all agree that we can't wait to see what you do. Some leaders leave behind programs, others leave behind a culture, and you've done just that. No one has earned this next chapter, but you will most definitely be missed. And on behalf of this board of education and the entire community, >> [laughter] >> I um just want to say a few things and I I promise >> [clears throat] >> I'll keep it brief, but thank you. Um I'm trying to control my emotions because you've been through retirement. It's a tricky time. And you're trying to find your new place. So, I'm not a lot of transition, but it's been my honor Sorry about my back.
016It's been my honor to stand before you here. It is my honor to stand before you here at the close of seven incredible years in this school district. These years have been both some of the best and some of the most challenging of my career. >> [cough] >> To this Board of Education, in my seven years, you are the sixth different board that I have worked with. I thank you for your leadership, guidance, and commitment to doing what is best for students. I thank past boards for the same. And I I do thank that board that hired me and took a chance on me. Um board support has allowed the district to move forward with purpose and vision even through some significant challenges. To students, you are the heart of this district. Your curiosity, resilience,
017and talents have been a constant source of inspiration. It has been a privilege to watch you learn, grow, lead, and become who you are meant to be. To families, in an age of choice, thank you for choosing North Penn schools and trusting us with your children. Education works best when schools and families stand together. In partnership with you, we have been able to help our students think boldly, learn deeply, and have a great career success. To you for supporting our Thank you for supporting our schools. Your investment, encouragement, and pride in this district have helped shape a place where students can thrive. Strong communities create strong schools. I ask that you remember that our children are not a problem, but the solution. To teachers and staff, thank you. Your dedication, professionalism, and care for students
018goes far beyond what anyone sees day-to-day. You show up, you give your best, and you make an impact that lasts a lifetime. It has been an honor to serve alongside you. To my central office team, thank you for being a friend. You have finally learned not to be intimidated by my animated language. You get my video super-sizes and my need for coffee all day, and my preference for a cool office. >> [laughter] >> It has been a pleasure to come to work with you every day. To my administrative team, a special thank you. You have seen me at my best, and you have seen me at my worst. We have held each other accountable. We have laughed together and cried together. We have argued like siblings. We truly have had some adventures. With every decision
019you make, you advocate for what is right for our children. You are the right team to take this district in the future. Taking this position 7 years ago required my wife and I to move 55 miles north, to give up a home, a neighborhood, and a community that we cherished, to move to El Sereno, where neither of us had any family or friends. I will not lie. It was very difficult. And then it got better. And then it was even more difficult. But I can look out here in front of those of you who made me I I am sure made my life feel um welcome, respected, part of this community. And over time, through this generosity and kindness, we developed many friendships in the village. Yellow Springs now truly feels like home, and that
020is such a gift to me. As I step away, I do so with deep gratitude and confidence in the future of the district under the leadership of Dr. Lewis. The work we've done together matters, and I know it will continue to grow and evolve in the years ahead. The superintendent position is both a calling and a privilege. I will carry the memories, relationships, and lessons from these seven years with me always. Thank you for the opportunity. >> [laughter] >> Now I want to welcome up Bob Peters of the Alumni Association. She has a gift to present to Dr. Lewis. >> [clears throat] [clears throat] >> Well, I was nominated to speak on behalf of the board office staff and the admin team, but I can honestly just say ditto to everything that Amy Bailey just
021mentioned in her speech. So, I will skip part of my speech and go kind of to the middle of it. Over the years, she has worn many hats that we can count. A construction hat. She knows all of the acronyms better than I do, so I better get to work. She wears um an architect hat. Yep, she walks She walks those construction sites and those men are scared. >> [laughter] >> She wears a designer hat. As a matter of fact, she can probably tell you the exact name of every paint color and number that is the way it is each building. So, we are all impressed. She's an expert. But, one of my favorites, and one of the team's favorites, she is an expert comedian. Even when she's trying to be serious, some of us
022start chuckling, and then she tries to get more serious, and then sometimes she gets frustrated with us. But, I know that she's probably prac- practicing for retirement. So, watch out, I won't mention names, she is auditioning for her own Netflix show. >> [laughter] >> So, our fearless leader, our fearless leader, just has so many hats that we can go on and on and on. But, in all seriousness, her impact will be felt for years to come, and we are all better leaders because we have the opportunity to work with Dr. Terry Holden. So, Dr. Holden, congratulations on your retirement. I'll be watching Netflix. And, thank you for leading with courage, grace, and heart. Our last little gift to you. Well, it's not our last gift, actually. I think Jack has something, but it can't be
023shared. Um, >> [laughter] >> maybe another time. So, we um we went to who this really matters the most about, right? We went to the children, because they're honest. So, please watch and enjoy. >> [music] >> Hello. Friends of Dr. Holden, how do you like retirement? And, what is retirement? Retirement is stopping working. So, for Dr. Holden, it's not fair. Why? Um, celebrating to have retirement from the family. And then we And then What do you think Dr. Holden did when she retired? What do you think Dr. Holden did when she retired? She went to the beach and got a tan. >> [laughter] >> Mhm. Like the doctor. I don't think she would do anything fun because she is a doctor. All right. What did she do then? All right. >> [laughter] >> So, what
024do you think Dr. Holden did during her retirement? She said she could relax. Like play card games with her family. And like have a seat. And have a seat. What other things do you think Dr. Holden did? Mhm. What do you think Dr. Holden What do you think she did during her retirement? Um I don't think Dr. Holden did anything. She just sat around and did She wasn't done working. Um >> [clears throat] >> I found my lotions. What do you think people do when they retire? >> [music] >> I think they go on vacation. What do you think Dr. Holden did after she retired? Probably went to her other place. Um What do you think Dr. Holden did after she retired for the month? What do you think she Dr. Holden did to celebrate
025her retirement? She went somewhere. Um maybe to China. But but she went to China for her retirement. What do you hobbies does Dr. Holden have on her retirement? She loves to read and write. >> [laughter] >> Everybody says I hope Dr. Holden has a great day and a fun life. I hope you can find something you love in life. You get to do something and then say have a good retirement and do something you love and still be happy. What's not should she always have at home on her retirement? Books, snacks, her wallet. Her hair, some lotion, some good stuff. What's not should Dr. Holden keep at the house during her retirement? Um >> [music] >> I don't know. I don't know. I'm guessing. What do you like most about Dr. Holden? Her generosity. If
026[laughter] Dr. Holden could go anywhere in the world, where should she go after she retires? Her own house. >> [laughter] >> So after she retires, she should Go to sleep. Okay, if Dr. Holden could go anywhere in the world, where should she go? Wherever she wants. >> [music] >> And if I find out I would like to go to Spain with her. How has Dr. Holden helped our school this year? Um you got a lot of stuff that's really good. And you guys got a lot of stuff and everything that we expected this year. That is How has Dr. Holden helped our school? I think she's the best. >> [laughter] >> How does Dr. Holden help our school? Um I'm going to um help our school >> [music] >> by um fighting war and making
027uh um new regulations. How does Dr. Holden help this school nation as a mayor? He helps our school by um helping other children like me. I'm the mayor of the city. Help children and play. Help >> [music] >> our school and me. So like you help our He helps our community. Um Dr. Holden will wake up our future. We can do that. Um He helped me this morning by because he has hurt her arm. Like she got hurt. She got hurt at work and now she's not. Good and awesome. >> [laughter] >> He helped me fight Dr. Holden. Um I have one in my family. >> [music] >> He is very very >> [music] >> awesome. He is very awesome. Very Thank you, Dr. Holden. >> [music] >> Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Holden. >>
028[music] >> Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Holden. Thank you, Dr. Holden. Thank you, Dr. Holden. Thank you. I love you, too. You love Dr. Holden? What? I love you, Dr. Holden. >> [applause] >> All right. So, thank you all for joining us this evening to celebrate Dr. Holden. There are refreshments at this table, so please help yourself, please. And so, for 7 years of dedicated service of to the El Segundo Unified School District, thank you for your visionary leadership, steadfast commitment to children, and lasting positive impact on our school district. With deep appreciation and best wishes for your retirement. Thank you. >> [laughter] [applause] >> We're going to go ahead and take a 5-minute recess and we'll return in 5 minutes. >> [laughter] >> Mhm. >> All right. Honeymoon is over and we're back to
029business. >> [clears throat] >> We will move on to item 2.3, which is community comments. But, we do not have anybody signed up for community comments this evening, so we will move on to 2.4, which is the final year administrative reports. All righty. I wanted to keep this focused on our celebration of the golden spike. Just quick and a year recap some of the amazing things that we are doing at the end of the year. This is bike week right now, and it's just great fun. Everybody's on bikes. I've got mine in my office, and I hop on at all and any times. PTO has been really great. Thank you, PTO, for pulling field trips. As science wizard type person, just sixth grade going out. Just really celebrating the end of the year and a
030lot of hard work. Um, for me, we hosted our first declaration day, where our seniors declare what their next step is after high school, which is a good sign that that we're at that point in the school year. So, I really just want to congratulate our seniors, class of 2026, and invite everybody to our ceremony next week on Thursday. Um, it will be our first event in our brand new gymnasium, so we hope to see everyone there supporting the class of 2026. Um, I want to shout out and recognize our Metro League Conference champion baseball team, softball team, and as of last night, girls track team. So, the girls track team is not too FAR BEHIND [laughter] THEM. AND THEN, I ALSO HAVE JUST LISTED events for the end of the year, so we hope
031to see everyone out celebrating our students. Thank you. Thank you so much. It is a busy time year, so appreciate you guys putting this last minute items together. All right, moving on to Miss Long PTO. >> [laughter] >> This is my last board meeting. So, last night we had our official um uh voted on new board members for the next school year. Um so, I'm stepping down as president, uh but Emily Gray will be stepping in as the president role. She's been the vice president for the last year. She's incredible, so um should be a a really smooth transition. And it was a great turnout at last night's meeting, so um I think that we just we have a lot of momentum going into next year for the transition and that sort of thing, so
032it's exciting. Megan Meyer will also be the vice president, so uh a lot of those communications, I think that you've been getting from us will continue from those two, so um thank you to Terry. I just want to reiterate, Amy, what you said was incredible. Um thank you for your support over the last few years, um just with everything. Meeting with us when we we first got the PTO back going again after COVID and had no clue what we were doing and and all that stuff. It was really, really helpful, uh so congratulations and thank you just thanks again. Um coming up, we have just the end of the year events. We're helping out with field day. Thank you to Jack and Joy for the uh the Q&A session. That was awesome. I know a
033lot of parents have referenced the the PDF as well, um and have just mentioned that it was really, really helpful, so um you'll see an email probably coming from me uh within the week just with some follow-up questions and um and all that, but again, thank thank you. That was great. Uh the big thing coming up is um Street Fair. >> [laughter] >> Um so that's a Saturday, June 13th. Um and it's our biggest fundraiser of the year and we need volunteers. So if anyone's willing to come out and help support us, it's a lot of fun. It's usually an in-state, believe that's really big to make all the money. Um and we just park cars all day and we could, yeah, we could use the support, especially as we transition to um the middle
034school high school and are looking to support more teachers and and students potentially. Um so come out to uh our next board meeting. It's going to be the second Tuesday in June. Second Monday in June, I'm sorry. Um and it's going to be at the Dripping Springs Library. Um and we'll talk about uh all the events for next year. We got most of them laid out this case that needs to be done. So Am I missing anything? All right, thanks, guys. thank you for all of your years of service. [cough] All right, moving on to item three, which is the district community updates. I'm going to go with the last name. >> [laughter] >> Thank you. Wow, Ben. Um We're out of the bank today. Um I want to give the board um a what
035I'm calling a a true update of where we are. So this is a different type of report than I normally do. Um the market report from Comal is in there all all my building updates now. Did you just bring up my update? And so I I want to talk about each building and and where we are in terms of cost. So if you remember this was a $55 million project. The middle school high school is a demo reno and Mills Lawn is a reno but it's was not a full reno. That's my diagnosis. We thought about it in the facilities committee and eventually realized that we have to get our building to dress up. So the final plan wound up to be about $12 million going to Mills Lawn. That's tricky when you have a
036building from 1962. And so we expected some uh surprises. We have had far more than we expected. So I've listed these by phase because you know this is a phase project. So phase one and two is this hallway and then the primary hallway. Phase three is everything um in the direction of Mills Lawn. So the the cost I have for these items um I give to you just as an example of the types of surprises that that we get. And so these are what are called change orders. And and in this contract report it will come come out as these are owner owner changes. That that's really misleading because owner changes just means that the owner is going to pay for it. Not necessarily that we caused the change. Although there were some design changes,
037construction changes, we drove those. Uh but I'd say at least 75 to 80% of these are non owner changes. So they're surprises. Um and I wanted to give you kind of the breadth of what we were seeing. Some are small. Some are I'm going to give you an example, exterior ground smoke detectors, almost $120,000. Now you're saying, "Smoke detectors? Should we have them?" Well, in the design and planning, um we were told that we didn't need these. And then once uh the budget is finalized, after that point, if you make any changes, it is a change order leading to a change event. We got our partners and so we guess what we're doing. We We can't say no. We're not going to We're not going to do smoke alarms. Um so that kind of is
038what you're looking at. This is not all of it. And so if you if you go to the end for Mills Lawn, since the project start, there have been change events. You can say, "That Is that high?" Yes, it is. And I've had a discussion with our architect and our CMAR. He's high. Um we're not finished. We still are waiting on a sum. I'm going to tell you another big one that is going to um come through. And and I tried to discuss this in the narrative. You know we have a water issue here at Mills Lawn. It pools in the Where am I? It pools at the corner of Walnut and Limestone. You know John Gudgeon's office has consistently flooded. Um I think was it last year, uh Megan, that there was a trench
039filled with water? Um water issues. So we have paid to have everything investigated. That is complete. We know what we have to do. I met in fact with the village manager this afternoon to talk about um what I hope that the village does in terms of their piece to really um make sure that we resolve all our water issues. And and it involves regrading, it involves adding new lines, we have a collapsed line at that end. I mean there are there's lots of things. I don't have even a Maybe I should have used the acronyms. I don't even have a rough order of magnitude we're talking for that now. Um but I'm going to tell you do not be surprised if it comes out 200k. Do not be surprised if it comes out at 500k.
040I mean it is a significant issue. But something like this as we go along and we talk about this internally all the time, do we not address it? And the answer to that is no. Because I think that's how we got to where we are. We are addressing issues because now that the community spoke and and generous passed the bond issue to renovate this building, it's going to have to last. So >> [clears throat] >> I'm happy to answer questions, but I just wanted to give you some sense of what we're looking at. Um I'm going to talk about the total picture when I finish middle school high school. And then after that in the report are some things with middle school high school. That project is a little different because there's only one real
041renovation piece. Um I will say that we're just now kind of getting to the bulk of that. So we may have some surprises there. Um a lot of these things come from uh items missing in the scope. So here's a maybe easy to understand example. If you drive down East Teana and you see the modulars, there's this little concrete building there. That houses our gas structure. Okay? This building is almost all electric. In the scope, it's called out to uh terminate the gas at the street. So, when the kids are out, teachers are out, we're going to terminate the gas at the at the street. But, what's not called out in the scope or drawings is to get rid of the building. But, we have to get rid of that building because it sits in
042the middle of our new driveway. So, just that I know is going to arrive at my desk as a change event. Excuse me. It won't arrive at my desk. It will arrive at Dr. Winstead's desk as a change event. Um So, that that might help you kind of understand this. So, the middle school high school ones are different. What What I didn't include here that also comes as a change event are big expenses that we know all along. I'm going to give you an example. Our theater. We know the seating just everything involved in this theater are um they both were significant expenses. We set them aside, excuse me, as an alternate. So, as we go along and it's time to do that, Jay is on it. We say, "Okay, we're going to approve this
043change event." It comes in as a change event because we had set it aside initially, but those were things we anticipated. So, I say all of this And And by the way, there have been 101 change events at the middle school high school. In December, I talked about a capital campaign. We We put it together. Obviously, got a lot of uh pushback from the community um about our capital campaign. Um and Megan and I are the two that that have been working it. And I'll be honest with you. We haven't worked at that part yet. Because our treasurer is fiscally responsible and has worked very hard to make sure that a lot of what you see here we were able to cover, right? We are to the point now where we need to push on
044our capital. I I I don't think we need as much as we did for sure. Um but we need to push on that and quite honestly we're going to need your help. I think when these buildings I am so excited about this new city because the community coming in seeing the gym I think it's going to give them a glimpse of just what this building is going to be. Um but I can tell you that that these two buildings will be showcases for the village. Um if you even been in that wing you know how different it looks from what it used to be. Um and and that's our goal to provide the best environment for our children to provide um really the best um payback for taxpayers. You know, they are investing in in
045something that is beautiful that will last that is safe. Um so I just wanted to to give you kind of that whole piece. And I'm happy to take Questions? I think um you know, when we uh did all of this projects I think we knew that there would be a lot of these changes and a lot of pieces of the project that were going to come up that we weren't expecting. That's what happened with renovations. Um so I do appreciate your openness here and kind of updating us as to where we are at. Um, and I also appreciate this your fiscal responsibility, Jay, and um we'll get there. Yeah, I'm I'm confident that that we will, but um, we will need to to do a little capital campaign and and I think um both the
046community has been generous with the approval of the bond issue. Um, but we also know that um sometimes you need more for things that that the state won't pay for, etc. Um and there are ways that these buildings can be used um in the community once they are open and discuss that a little bit. And so, everybody wins. All right. Any other questions or anything about facilities? All right. We'll talk later about um having the opportunity for our board first to walk through um here in the this one up here. Um, so, we'll move on to item four, which is the superintendent's report. One last thing about facilities. I don't have any exact data yet. The Parker County would present how it was some damage and might not pull up a chair. It's going to
047be tricky. But anyway, Okay. Uh, >> [clears throat] >> next Friday, May 22nd, and Tuesday, May 26th, we are giving away our obsolete furniture. Um we discussed internally again in case there are any questions, uh, it would cost us more money to store it or try to sell it um, than it's worth. So, this is an opportunity for the community to come in, walk through each building. Um now, teacher teacher personal positions and other things are not for the taking. But, we will clearly have more information available. You just have to take it that day because we don't have space to store. And the reason why we need to get this done is because once everything's out of the modulars Excuse me, the modulars and the tower, they can start disassembling, um cutting off the
048power, pulling the modulars out. Once the modulars are gone, the tower can come down. So, we're on a pretty tight timeline. Um think cafeteria tables and chairs, student desks, um other chairs, perhaps teacher chairs, teacher desks, filing cabinets, uh bookcases, science lab tables, um but, please spread the word for that. Next, I would just like to uh I'm not going to read this whole thing. What I provided for the board, it is a a retrospective of what we have accomplished the past 7 years. Um and this is not what Terry has accomplished cuz um Terry doesn't do anything without the support of an amazing team. But, I tried to group it by year. Um and most of these things revolve around systems. Um putting systems in place. So, 1920, this very system that we use
049for our board meetings, Board Agenda for Docs, um did that. Um we had a food service provider um leave, and so we had a new food service provider who was Southwest. And then, that was my first negotiations. The next year, um I put a couple of other things. We finished the track um project, but that was really surviving COVID. Which was um a task. We all lived through it, so you know. Um we also bought a second bus then. The next year, again some academic things. That was when we sold the the access to Oberlin for Mary's Way. Um HR software, expanded some roles from half-time to full-time that I felt were critical. Um the next year, again more curriculum 22-23. Midway through that year, we moved from Walnut to more appropriate sized board offices
050at the Nord Family Spaces. Um had security for the buildings, a school visitor program, more cameras. We added cameras for um the bus. We brought Green and Denny on board, which has been a you know, a PR communication which has been a game-changer for the district. Um outside maintenance in. You know, we used to contract for outside maintenance, brought it in. Um hired our student advocate. Started our staff and student recognition program. Started our staff service recognition program. Um parent square, started seeing at the schools, quality profile. Um 23-24, more curriculum. Um asked about issue. Again, these are successes I I did not put in there that we failed issues that we had. Just earlier. Um purchased another bus. Um You know, there was a break there for from the Ohio Department of Education and
051workforce on report card, but once they started, we've been at five stars or four and a half stars. Um and then last year we got a coding grant. Um continued to think about how we were going to grow our PBL pedagogy as we look towards new buildings. Um for the past two years we've been designated best music community by the NAMM Foundation. Passed an operating levy. And then this past year, um again, really did did some things, more successful negotiations, more uh security for buses. But this year really has been consumed by facilities. But all along, I will say, and I did not put this on here, um we just got our preliminary uh state assessment results. We're we're moving, and and that's a credit to um everybody at the buildings and the leadership and
052the principals. Um and and so just a little bit. And again, I said this is for time it's about transitions, and so you think, gosh, did you get anything accomplished? So it's good to step back. Um and and this team did a lot. And then I just have some spring dates at the end to >> [clears throat] >> Great, thank you so much for all of that. Um like you said, it's nice to see it all together. Um and I think Dr. Woods has some issues to solve. So, does anybody have any questions or comments or anything for updates? >> Just wanted to say thank you one more time. Thank you. My pleasure. All right. We'll move on to item number five, which is your report and procedures. Do I have a motion to approve
053the first reading for board policy 6424? So moved. Second. All right. Thank you. And uh I believe this is uh regarding the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education It was one that probably should have just been in the last batch. Um Did you have any No. Okay. Any questions about that? Rachel Garland? Yes. Amy? Yes. Father? Myers? Yes. Hiersoux? Yes. Motion passes 4 to 0. All right. Do I have a motion to approve uh policy uh 5421? So moved. Second. All right. And this is regarding grading, so I will defer to Dr. Martin on this. Um this is This should have been in the last one as well. Um I just We had pulled it out Mr. Hatter was looking at it. Um all of these changes from the grading policy There was one we
054already approved on last night. Stem from changes in the in the law due to the governor's merit scholarship. And so um Mr. Hatter has This thoroughly And so these changes are good. Questions? Amy? Yes. Myers? Yes. Hiersoux? Yes. Rachel Garland? Yes. Motion passes 4 to 0. All right. Item 5.3, uh these are the uh school board protocols. Do I have a motion to approve the board protocols? So moved. Second. All right. So this is something that I brought to the table earlier this year. Board member Hatter has his concerns uh regarding it. moving forward with this but this is just kind of a collective documents that um uh outlines our commitment to um effective and collaborative working with our administration. Um so I think right now we're revisiting this fuzzy thing. Uh revisiting this now
055at a time of transition especially with Dr. Lindsay coming on board is important to set the standards for moving forward. So we've had several months to look over this. I know none of you have any questions or concerns so far. Um so if you don't have any now we'll go ahead and call roll. Do you have any questions or comments or want to call the roll? Yeah. Myers? Yes. Harris? Yes. Lego Burton? Yes. Bailey? Yes. Motion passes four to zero. Okay. Item six. The consent calendar for the administrator items. So I have a motion to open the consent calendar. So moved. Second. Board, I just What I just say? Four items? Three items in the consent calendar. One is the school forest um trip proposal for the end of the school years to come. >>
056[clears throat] >> So that information is in the packets. Um 6.3 is the annual approval of our services agreement with Rebecca and that would be for things like progress log financial software etc. And then probably the most important thing in this section item 6.4 approve the candidates for graduation for the class of 2016. I'm just curious, I didn't know all the districts have to approve the candidates, correct? Like what? It's It's in a in a potential audit. It's an audit. Okay. document. Any questions? All right. Lawyers? Yes. Anderson? Yes. Michael Burke? Yes. Bailey? Yes. Motion passes 4-0. All right. We'll move right along to item seven, which is the financial consent calendar. Do I have a motion to approve the financial consent calendar? So moved. Second. Okay. Okay. Um it's going to move through pretty
057quickly. You all have a chance to look at the March financial report. Were there any questions on that? Okay. Um the forecast update is just an update. Um we're not actually approving anything on it. It is just um showing the work as we move forward. Um we have the August on that we're approving, which is why our consultants have a May update just to be finally ready for August. Um the biggest changes on the forecast will go up to the top. Um you will see our property taxes are going down next year, and that is due to um some of the state changes. Um so that that is You don't know what you can see. One thing you can see is state reimbursements goes up. It does not capture every penny that we are losing.
058So, we are losing on this deal. Um and then you will see that we do not get back to our prior to the state changes, municipal property taxes in the next 5 years. So, we're seeing some of those changes. And then we have an approval of a transfer. This transfer we did this in the flash year we transferred money to fund 70 because the state was also doing some things in their their budget and we were told that we weren't allowed to have too much cash on hand in our general fund, so we moved the money to money to the project fund. Now, we uh we've now the state has dropped that requirement, so we are going to just move to move the money back to the general fund. And then the last minute change
059that I talked about earlier, the appropriation changes. This is for two grants, two state grants we are anticipating on receiving. Some of the one of them is not completely finalized yet, but we have to appropriate the money before we can spend the money. So, this is the increase to our budget for those. One is 40,000 and the other is just over 30,000, so that's where we get the 70,000. Any questions? What are they for? Um [clears throat] they are Both are they're both workers, not the ones that I had in School safety? School safety and Mr. Ryder, correct me if I'm wrong, but are these for equipment to keep the schools safe? And your schools require building Still the cameras outside of the gym are one of them. Yeah, so they're they're both safety-based. I
060think one is more equipment different types. Um very similar brands, but that's essentially what they are. Any other questions? Here's a Yes. Regal Burger? Yes. Bailey? Yes. Myers? Yes. Motion passes 4 to 0. All right. We want item eight, which is the consent calendar for personnel. I have a motion to open that. So moved. Second. to 0. Please hear you have um six personal schedules some resignations to a resignation and a formal rate. Um some certified staff hires uh and the substitute senses so and human resources classrooms for Mr. Adams teachers in the middle and if not so he's not there. Um support staff schedule uh volunteers a large schedule G which is non-renewal of supplemental since you're part of the and all and then schedule each is for our school forest workers who will
061be working in um the summer. Uh and when would you typically see a large personnel resignation schedule? Is that May, June, or would never? Well, I know, but if you were to see one, when is that when does that typically happen? Uh honestly, by this time you would have seen so fingers crossed. Um teachers have until July 10th Okay. Great. Yeah, that's really All right. Any questions on any personal services? Regular meeting? Yes. Bailey? Yes. Myers? Yes. Here's our Yes. Motion passes 4 to 0. All right, thank you. Thank you very much. Same thing. >> [laughter] >> All right, so we're going to move on to item 9.1, which is discussion on property taxes. So, um I brought this forward. I just wanted to start the discussions now publicly regarding what's going on with property
062tax reform. Um So, as we know, there is a movement to abolish property taxes. Um So, there is a group coming forward to try and get this put on the ballot in the 4th of November election. Um Dr. Winston, Jay and I attended a conference this past week uh that talked about all of the important aspects of that and the impact it would have on public schools and other public services. Um they also discussed ways that we can as a district start to have these discussions publicly about what our public schools provide and how we receive our funding. Um so, the information in the packet um is a lot of the information that was shared at that meeting. Um you can see through I'm not going to go through the all of the slides or
063anything, but um there is a a one-page fact sheet that is very helpful for the community to take a look at. Um so some of the points to make on there, Ohio is now 45th in the nation in state funding for public schools. The second. So Ohio now ranks 45th in the nation for state funding for public schools. Um in 1991 homeowners and farmers paid 47% of school property taxes and now they pay nearly 70%. Um so schools are now doing more with less money um and I think we all know that. So basically um this is just these are some talking points for us to start uh talking to our community members, legislators, um and to start speaking up about how to properly fund public schools. Um so I talked with our administration team
064and we want to start rolling ball out with this information to the communities. Um so whether that looks like um a community meeting later on this summer or in the fall to provide information on what our schools provide, how we're funded. Um I think education is going to be key um and one of the first things that we need to do though is to discuss um the resolution I'm putting forward tonight um which is to uh discuss what defines proper public purpose. Um so the state auditor's office, I guess we should probably do the question and answer first. So can I get a motion to So can I get a motion to um approve the um resolution to define a proper public purpose? Second. All right. So um the state auditor's office um is very
065specific in what defines proper purpose for funding for our first schools to be spending. Um so, what's we need to discuss or approve for tonight basically states um that we are determining that the school district's actions and expenditures regarding education [clears throat] and raising awareness about the constitutional amendment and the lack of revenue replacement mechanism and its resulting school district impacts are reasonably related to the funding to funding the school district's statutory duties, thus being proper public purpose. So, we're basically saying that we are allowing our administration and our board to discuss this publicly, to use public money should we need to use money to discuss how this impacts us as a district. Um does anybody have any questions about that? Well, I think that's fair. So, this was actually a resolution uh presented at
066a meeting that we were um at. Um it was Buckeye administrators. Yeah, I can't remember. Buckeye Association of School Administrators. So, it was a room full of probably three to 400 superintendents, treasurers, board members. Um it was refreshing to see that there were so many people concerned about this issue. Um but our the legal team that we hired, they are the ones that um presented this information and um recommended that this is one of the first steps for districts to take um in order to start these conversations. Um some of the other things coming up that we will need to look at are changing some of our policies that um limits uh what the um the language that says that a political issue that teachers, staff, administrators cannot discuss. So, we'll look at those policies
067later, but for now, I think putting forward this resolution and approving it gives us the groundwork to start having these conversations and getting information prepared for the for the community. Do you guys have any input or anything else to say about putting that block on pause? >> [laughter] >> Yeah, we could do that first. What's that? Yeah, we could do that first. [laughter] >> Right. You want me to call the roll? >> Yes, we can call the roll. Bailey? Yes. Myers? Yes. Harrison? Yes. Riggleman? Yes. Motion passes 4 to 0. Um So, since that's passed, now we can talk about it. Um it was uh a very enlightening and um enlightening And I would say it's the most depressing professional development I've ever been to um learning about the um sort of the dismantling of
068public school funding over the last 30, 40 years. Um and something that everybody has talked about is property tax reform. And you know, school districts do make up a large portion of property taxes. Um but when you look at the facts behind it, and you you can kind of see why. One, we are just the largest government entity in most places, but the shift over the last 30, 40 years um away from businesses paying more and individuals paying less. Now, individuals as farmers pay more, and then the state continuing to fund less. What one thing that they like to say all the time is, "We're giving more money to schools than ever before." But they ignore inflation and title. So, yes, you know, if you give me $10 today, that's more than $9 40 years
069ago. But it's still not that much more because of the inflation. So, when we see the way that schools are funded, um it it certainly is something that people should be upset about. But then the property tax thing, when they talk about eliminating property taxes, that doesn't mean that they eliminate taxes. That just means that they're going to change the way that people are taxed. And if you look at the history on how taxes have shifted away from businesses and on to the individual, and away from the state and on to local municipalities, that's a shift that that doesn't seem like it's going to stop unless people ask their state legislators to put a stop to it. There's no for the abolition of property taxes. If If they don't get this issue under it, it's
070not going to work. And so I think what the public needs to be aware of is that there isn't No one has has offered a viable solution to the abolition of property taxes. Um to make up that sort of money, sales tax would have to increase to 20 something odd percent. Um income taxes would go up astronomically. And and for small communities like those of Illinois, um this would impact not only the schools, but the village. Um it would impact senior services, it would impact police and fire. Um so it would impact the financial market. So, the the consequences of this are pretty substantial. That's why um this is not a I'm just going to stick my head in the sand on this issue and hope that it goes away. Um, so we hope that
071folks will pay attention and having to see this situation as Um, so one of the other, uh, options on here is a sample letter to the editor that was drafted. If everybody's okay with that, I don't want to submit it. Just so we can start educating the community on what we're really looking to do here. Um, and then I I signed it with my name, but I can add to it for the whole board if that's okay with the board of education. So I'll find it all of us. Um, >> [clears throat] >> so, um, the next steps will review this with the board policies. We might have some of those coming back to us in the next couple months to adjust some of the language there, um, to give our administration more flexibility. Um,
072and then a community meeting at some point later on. Please let me know if I'm going too fast. Does anybody have any questions? All right, thanks. We're on to item 10, which is board communications. So 10.1 is YSCC, which is myself. I uploaded the March meeting minutes. The April ones haven't been uploaded yet. Um, YSCC is moving along. Um, I started participating in a, um, scenario planning group um, that's focused community on the hardware store property. Um, so, um, that is moving along. I talked to Holden after her YSCC tenure and after our last meeting last week. And that's pretty much all for YSCC at this point. Um, do we have any questions for YSCC? Okay. Our Village of Yellow Springs, um, liaison that's myself as well. I uploaded the council memo, uh, council memo
073that they had in their packets a couple of weeks ago. This is regarding a parking discussion that they're having. Um so, one of their one of their goals or priorities this year is to to talk more about their parking and how they can improve that in the village. Um this is a memo that just basically gives um some maps and and recommendations from staff on where they can improve the parking and improve it in the village. Um it shows around the most lines, so we want to make sure that everybody sees um what they were thinking. They have decided to put this off for now um because we have our construction project going on. Um we haven't quite figured out yet drop-off and pick-up situations, so um they have put their their conversations on hold.
074Um but I just wanted to provide that information. Um Not heard yet any information on the joint meeting. Um I did send um the staff of the village our dates um and when they get back, I'll let you let you all know. Move on to the active transportation report. We don't have an update for this month. Um the meeting last month was canceled, so there will be a meeting that's coming up Tuesday. Um but I did just want to emphasize the importance of this is the timely meter figuring out that drop-off and pick-up plan because of that will impact everything for active transportation as well. And the studies will reflect And they need to have enough information to address that and discuss that. Um I will share with the board and chance to update you
075next month. All right. Item 10.4 is the legislative report. So, Can you hear Yeah. It's fine. >> [laughter] >> It's fine. Okay. Um I put two points of action on this month. It's kind of a weird month because legislative things are coming back now, but it's been they were out for a while in April. House Bill 180 is kind of old, but it's still popping up and it's something that I think is really chilling. Uh given the name Act of the Charter Schools to get parent permission before using students' preferred name and pronouns if they differ from the student's birth certificate. Opponents of the bill argue that parents should be informed and involved in decisions about their child's and identity at school. As a parent, I understand wanting to know what goes on in your
076child's life at school. But as a teacher, however, I've seen firsthand students who do not feel safe being their true selves at home. Um [clears throat] and school is the one place that they can be themselves. In order to learn, students have to feel safe and accepted. If we strip away students' right to autonomy, especially high school students, um but all students, we make school another place they have to hide. It is impossible to learn under these conditions. We've all studied Maslow. We know that our basic needs are safety and acceptance. Um threatening to punish teachers if they don't help their students to me is just unimaginable. It is just it's unimaginable. House Bill 693, uh Affirming Families First Act, it bans state entities, entities likely including schools, from protecting LGBT Is that okay? LGBTQ+
077youth from unsafe home situations due to the child being trans or non-binary. So, the bill asserts that parents' rights outweigh a child's rights to safety, security, and acceptance at home. So, agencies may have less ability to act in situations where a child's mental health or well-being is at risk. Judges, social workers, and medical professionals may be restricted from using their expertise in decisions. It strongly prioritizes parental control and protection from government intervention. And it limits how much courts and agencies can consider gender identity in decisions about children. Um so, this would be weakening protections for some of normal small volume absolutely shocking. So, there are links on the PDF that is in the agenda for people to act and reach out and contact legislators. It just never ends with these people. It never ends. Um
078one other um update I think yesterday um the vultures through Ohio um that's in session with the um um the sports and it's actually looking favorable that's um that the state's going to be able to pull that out. So, um any questions about legislative report? All right, moving on to other board member announcements. Um I have a couple of things to discuss briefly. Um board member retreat dates I sent everybody um calendar invites. We are looking at this summer to um bring in the Ohio Sports Association. Um I met with our administration and um Kristy and I discussed it briefly um the importance of putting together a board handbook. Um we think that it will be a great uh great groundwork for us to have as a board to especially for new board members um
079to know uh what the expectations are. Um so, OSBA has services that come in. So, they will um they will come in and on the first session >> [clears throat] >> they come in and present information um a sample um board protocol for a board um handbook and then we provide input. They take it back, they come back, we meet again later in the summer to offer another revisions um and then finalize the final copy. Um and then August in August um the 5th we will have um our last retreat session and that will be to meet with um OSBA as well to discuss um just the different board roles and administrative roles. Um just so everybody's kind of clear on what's what we're supposed to do. >> [laughter] >> Um I think just in
080this political climate there's just been a lot of confusion and not necessarily on our board but just um on a lot of other school boards or um other councils. Um it's just it's a good refresher to kind of understand what what our two roles are. Um so they'll come in and discuss that with us. Um so more information will be sent out to you guys for that. Um I will be out for the June regular meeting. Um I'm going to be out of town. That's something that was planned a year ago. Um so that will be Dr. Winston's first meeting as superintendent. Um so Kristy will um have that meeting. Um there will be no work session next week. Um I don't know what we were thinking that we'd have a work session in the
081middle of graduation but we will not be doing that. >> [laughter] >> Um so superintendent and treasurer evaluations um that's another thing that we'll um bring on this summer. Um and then the other thing is the board walk-through that you guys talked about uh last month. Um we'll reach out to you each of you individually to to schedule for you to come during one of our facilities meetings this summer to come walk through. That's probably the easiest way. Um that way we don't have any sunshine law violations. Him or I um if one of you can come to one of the walk-throughs we'll just stay back for that one and let you guys go through with the with the um architect and the construction team. So does anybody else have any other announcements? Just want
082to say to our administration, principals, thank you for a great year. We had a faculty advisor meeting last week and it was really refreshing to hear how well this school year went. So, thank you so much. Dr. Holden, thank you. >> [laughter] [laughter] >> All right, do I have a motion to adjourn? Second. Myers? Yes. Harrison? Yes. McMurphey? Yes. Haynes? Yes. We are adjourned at 7:07. Lucky numbers. We out?