001All right, everybody. Good evening. We will call the April 13th, 2026 work session to order. Any one who needs to sign the guest list? Nope. All right. All right. Great. Let's get it. Come on in, Chris. Tell me to unmute Chris. You got the chair and the table right there, sir. >> Wow, that's pretty serious. Sit anywhere you want as long as it's right there. >> Yeah. Welcome. Good evening. Thanks for having me. Thanks for being here. So, we've all got the application you filled out. Thank you for um applying for this position. We appreciate that. We've got some um questions. We're just going to go through and ask you. Each of us has a question for you. Um Answer it any way you want, and uh we'll go from there. Okay, sounds good. >>
002You ready? Yes. All right. Question number one. Why are you seeking a position on the school board, and what do you hope to achieve? Well, I'm here to serve. I'm here to listen, and I'm here to learn. To support our community and our staff. They're I'm deeply committed to Cascade School District. Um as Ruth knows, all three of my boys went through Cascade um school district. For the last 8 years, I've I thought it was six, but it's actually eight. I looked at some documents. I didn't time but I mean Well, sort of. I have volunteered at Turner Grade School, and that started with Dan Peterson, and it's Lisa Iverson, of course. Um So, that that connection I have a I have a pretty good idea what's going on in at least one grade school.
003Um Beyond the Beyond the classroom, I've served on the board for CASA. I was a CASA uh mentor with a caseload. Um I have a route on Meals on Wheels, which I mentioned. I volunteer at Salem Hospital uh in the NODA program. And I've done that for years. And I'm involved in my church a bit. And each of these experiences strengthen my ties to the community. Additionally, I've served as the vice president of a professional liability insurance company. Where I led strategic planning, financial management, and organizational growth. I'd be honored to do this. And the other good thing about it, it's only 18 months. So, Yeah, sorry. I probably shouldn't have said that. Yeah, because I know the term is is shorter, which is which makes it even more appealing to me. Right, there you
004go. I like it. I like it. Nice. Okay, perfect. I think that was question number one. Thank you. Uh what specific skills, experiences, or perspectives would you bring to the board table? Well, you just named a few. >> I was going to say that too. Yeah, I was going to say that. >> ahead. I I answered number one. The one thing I've learned, and maybe this happens when you get old, is I'm a lot better listener than I used to be. So, decisions the board makes really impact people in the district. And in a district this size, they tend to be way more personal than in, say, a larger district. But part of the appeal. The other thing is I didn't mention this, but I was I taught school on Saio. I taught in middle
005school for 2 and 1/2 years there before I taught at Salem-Keizer and before I went into professional liability insurance. So I do have some classroom experience, so I know what it's like a little bit to be rude, but not a lot. It's anyway. One other thing real quick and I apologize. We've got on the phone Spencer, our other board member. He's not able to be here live, but he is live on the phone in a beautiful hotel in Prime Pardon me. Pendleton. Thank you. So he can hear you and Anyway, just be aware that I used the word beautiful. You've got You've got all four of us, but he wasn't able to be here in the room with us. >> Thank you. So anyway, I I neglected to say that at the beginning. All right.
006Next question. Number three. All right. Uh what is your understanding of the time commitment required for this position? Uh I I have limited understanding of the time commitment, but the good news is I'm retired and I all I do is volunteer, so I can make whatever time I need to do it. I I can I'm a pretty quick study on on learning like what we're talking about and gathering information. So I from a from my perspective This doesn't help you, but from my perspective I've got plenty of time to to do it and obviously it's every second Monday. Um and so that's Yes, technically it could be every second. We meet every fourth. So we the second Monday of every month. Yes. >> Yeah. Yes. And that Yeah. >> You got to get in there
007and say something. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. So from a time perspective I don't Am I answering your question or am I missing it totally? No, that's fine. Um would you I think you kind of answered the question as far as what it is from our side. Do you have any questions as far as that goes? No, I I assume there would be some I would have to do some of my own research and gather information however you do that beyond just the board meetings. Uh No, not so really. No, we Darren does a fabulous honestly I'm I'm well, I'll say this jokingly. He does a fabulous job of spoon-feeding us and making sure we're very informed as as we need to be. So and that is that is
008the truth and so um no, we don't do a lot of we're we're not tasked with bringing doing a lot of homework and and having to dive into it again. Um we are they handle they handle us with kid gloves and he does a very good job of making sure we're completely in the know on what's going on. Yep. The the goal is always policy. Like, you know, how do we manage policy? What does that look like from this level? They turn the operations over to me and then I'm I'm tasked with making sure all the building administrators do their work. Technically, the school board has one employee. The person that sits in my chair. One employee. Our job is policy, procedure, and evaluation of the superintendent. That's it. We don't run the school. We
009don't care what's for lunch. We don't know when recess is. That's not our jobs. Yeah. Policy, procedure, evaluation of the superintendent. But the upside is, right, we've said in the past and we've done that in the past where we have people say, "Hey, you know, you you want to say I'm going to go visit Aumsville Elementary go visit, see how it goes, and and meet with the administrator and find out, right? That that's totally fine. We've done that before. Um lots of people are over the years that I've had administrators or sorry, board members um some have been retired, some work. So they're like, "Hey, I can't meet there, but I'll be there for the board meeting." Uh once a year we do the state uh conference and I invite all the board members that
010want to go up to the state conference usually in the second week of November. Um and we can do that generally up in Portland. That's where they cut it for a number of years. We'll see if that continues. But, you know, questions there, but the reality is, yeah, if you've got concerns, they pick up the phone and call me and say, "Hey, what do you know about X?" And so then I can kind of say, "Well, this is what I know, but what do you what do you need me to find out?" So, we kind of go from there. Hope that makes sense. It does. Okay. Okay. It did. Okay. Good. So, what questions do you have for us? I know it's not on the list, but I'll ask. What questions do you have for
011us? Uh how do you feel about where you're at on the bond issue? Like, yay or nay? I feel like Greg has done a fabulous job on doing the social media, getting that out to the to the community. Um whether it passes or not, that time will tell, but I think the district has done everything it can as positively as it can to promote that issue and get it out to the community to to show to tell our story, quite frankly. And again, Greg Castillo, is that how you say his last name? Castillo. He's done a fabulous job, just fabulous on being the voice of that. I'm hopeful. That's the word for me. >> everyone's hopeful. As far as will it pass or not, I don't know, but has has the district done its role?
012I think the answer is yes. I think we feel really positive about it, and I'm hearing a lot of positive comments out in the community that I wasn't hearing the last time. Well, he did a great job of making their voices heard. >> Yeah. So that we knew what we were bringing to the table, the community was on board with with that plan. Versus last time, I think they didn't feel like they had a voice. So, I think he did that really well this time. He's definitely done things differently. Strategically more involving the people that don't always vote yes. He's trying to reach that group. And so, I'm really positive. I Mhm. Spencer, do you have a Do you have a comment on that? I I did. I just I That's that And the clerk,
013thank you for being here. I'm I'm apologize that I can't be there in person. I wish I were. I guess my question was interestingly the only one I wrote down was I was curious in what you thought about the bond and what your feelings were about that process moving forward and and your support or not support of it as a potential board member. Good question. I I'm I'm one of those guys that always votes yes for education. So, it doesn't even matter what the bond says, but I do know a little bit more about the bond this year than usual. It seems to me like from a taxpayer's standpoint, it makes absolutely no sense to vote against it because it really doesn't cost anybody a dime. Yeah. And so, it I don't know how you
014get that message out like Hey, voter. This is not going to change your assessment. It's a buck 09 or whatever. And we get 10 million in matching funds. It's like this is slam dunk. Yeah. I mean from a So, I'm sure that over answered your question, but I'm totally supportive. Always. No, that was That was wonderful. Thank you. Good. So, any other questions you have for us? I don't think so. Okay. Um If Do you have another question for me? It's okay. >> more for Spencer? Anybody else any other questions that we have? No. No. All right. Oh. I This is my So, I guess we can be on the record. I guess I can't help but be on there. This is a letter I got from Dan Peterson and that's This is actually the
015way I cuz I applied for the cross country job, which I didn't get. So, it's never good to build on a negative, but here you go. But he wrote me a letter of recommendation unbeknownst to me and it's from 2019. But when I read it I almost started crying again. Anyway, so anyway, this is for your perusal and I think you all know who Dan is. Okay, he's just kind of an icon in anyway. Nice. Thank you for that. >> Because I coach the town here. Nice. You might not turn it that way, but All right. Thank you. All right. Thank you for coming in. Good luck with your Appreciate you. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clark. Uh you can call me Chris, it's all right. You're welcome, Mr. Grill. Yeah. All right. Did
016you happen to mention to him he could stay? I I Looks like he's leaving, so Yeah. This is a public meeting. Yeah. Yep. I mean if they're not They're here. They're great. But She's out there. I can ask if she's ready to go. Might as well. We don't need to adjust. Yeah, that's fine. Let's go. All right. Are you ready? Yes. All right. You got the seat with the the desk and the chair. And Brittany Sandor. Brittany Sandor. That I'll say to you, you can sit anywhere you want as long as it's right there. Oh. You know, that's one thing that I really appreciate it. Yeah, the the comic the the the comic factor I bring to the table is just amazing, isn't it? Yeah, it's incredible. Great job. At least you know what you're
017getting yourself into. All right. Thank you for coming in. Appreciate your interest in this position. So, we've got Spencer on the phone. He is traveling today, but he is sitting there on that speaker and he can hear you and >> Hi Spencer. I'm waving. So, we have a set of questions that we're going to ask you. One of a question from each of us and then Spencer, if you want to throw a curveball at it, we can do that and then you can ask us questions at the end if you've got anything for us. I I've been practicing. >> Okay, you're ready? Okay, here we go. Why are you seeking the position on the school board and what do you hope to achieve? Why is because, you know, I think I I have a lot
018of experience as a board person already, not here, but in my past board experience. I've been a member of the community for a very long time. Cascade graduate myself. Um, three Cascade grads in my household and four more coming up. So, we This is the fourth generation living on the same piece of property. We've been here for a bit. We're planning to be here for a while. And so, um, that's one of the reasons I want to be on the board is to bring that longevity piece and to help plan for the the continued success for the future generations. All right. Very good. Thank you very much. Okay. What specific skills, experiences, or perspectives would you bring to the board table? Um, as president of a nonprofit board, um, I dealt with a lot of
019different things in the past. It was a multi-million dollar budget that I helped make sure it was spent correctly. Strategic planning, I've been part of that process. Um, I've been part of hiring and firing um, with un- uh, through unpleasant circumstances. Um, I've also had experience on that board with dealing with a other agency input that also was not very pleasant. Um, so, and with that, too, I learned a lot about how to really support the people working in that organization throughout that those difficult times. Perfect. Thank you. Uh what is your understanding of the time commitment required for the position? My understanding is that there there could be a lot of time commitment, and there could be minimal. I mean, I know that there's there are monthly board meetings. I know that there are
020also additional times when the board meets to um discuss other situations that may arise that only the board should be hearing. I'm guessing, you know, that was That was one of the questions I would have. I'm guessing that that the commitment could be um several hours a month, and that's probably not um outside the limits of what would be expected. You know, I'd say that sounds about right. Mhm. Yeah, that's fair. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Um Spencer, do you have any questions for Patty? I just just one. Uh Patty, I'm sorry that I couldn't be there in person. Thank you for being available. Um you have a extensive history of of service. Um which uh I I I should say public service or or just service generally. Um which one do you think best qualifies you
021to be a a board member with with Cascade? That's a really good question, and I don't know that it's any one in particular. I think it's all the different things I'm I'm involved in, because even though I'm not currently in a working with or on the board of that nonprofit, I'm still involved with that nonprofit, and I'm still involved as in a on a uh smaller well, smaller level with a nonprofit, too, for the a particular for Down syndrome. And with that particular organization, I've been with that group for a long time. I think my that the piece that I bring to is that I'm dedicated and I stay with the group as long as I could possibly can in through good times and bad times. And so I bring all those different pieces, even
022the local let Mary, you know, Mary can do a lamb and wool show. What is that? You know, it's an important thing for the kids in our communities to have that opportunity to show their sheep and it's a great time for them. So I think I I think all of that not just one not just one thing or the other. I think it's all. Okay. Wonderful. Thank you. So what questions do you have for us? I really tried to come up with a great one for that. I really tried. And? And Brett. No, you're asking the group not Brett. No, that's the question. This is not pick on Brett day. You started this. You know, you told me I could ask anything. All right, stop. Bring it on. >> Okay, Brett. What is the one
023thing in your position because you've been on this board the longest that has been the most difficult? Easy, COVID. Without a question. It was the dealing with COVID. Um we are we were required at the end of the day we have to play by the rules to get the money. It's all about the money. Right. >> And and Mr. Drill had to make decisions and we had to require people to do the face mask. We had to require all sorts of stuff that wasn't fun, but we had to to play play along. At no point did anyone call Mr. Drill and say, "Do you want to do this? How would you feel about doing this?" They said, "Thou must." And so we had to play by the rules and frankly I think the board stood
024behind Mr. Drill on that wholly and said, "We expect you to play by the rules because we're being told we have to." And so we had a lot of people who were very unhappy with us as a group because we weren't standing up and protecting whatever, call it what you want, but that was the hardest part. What would you say if somebody's trying to watch those meetings from outside the building, there was no point. It was just nothing but pandemonium. Absolutely. And so, the the meeting we had in the in the in the auditorium was just next level. That was uncharted territory for all of us. So, that that issue, that event, if you want whatever you want to call it, was hands down the hardest thing we've had to deal with. When I came
025on in 12, so yeah, a long time ago, we were in a the budget was not fun. We were dealing with stuff when I came on. And in fact, my wife told me, "Don't don't run for that. It's they got problems and you don't want part of that." Apparently I was did not a good listener at home. So, um You're still married? Yes. Yes. So, That might have been it. That wasn't a whole lot of fun either, but I maybe I was new enough then I didn't really notice it or feel it. I didn't know what was I didn't know why everybody was mad. Yeah, and in fact, I'll tell this is cuz I thought it was funny. We had a meeting in the and I think it was in the library. And when we
026came out, I can't I was new, so a lot of people didn't know who I was. And we came out and one of the teachers, and I can't remember who it was, she had a flat tire. And one of the level boys was standing there and he and I were changing her tire and we got it switched for and put back on. And she said, "Hey, thank you. I don't know your name. Are you the new teacher in you know in Arms Hill?" And I said, "No, I'm the board member you just got done yelling at." "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Well, thank you." So, it's kind of funny. So, anyway, yes, question. And so, between the between COVID and some of the financial hurdles we've had have those have always very challenging issues
027to deal with. Cuz there's times when people just aren't real happy. Yeah. So, there's your answer. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I'm sure as the board, because I've been on the board and I been in those particular meetings, um personally as board president, um you get people coming in with their grievances and they're not always the kindest with their words or with their intensity. Yeah, I I don't know other than outside of that meeting with COVID, I don't know that we've had people just berate us and be completely horrible. Like Mr. Drill does a fabulous job of deflecting that and taking most of those shots on our behalf. And when people do come in, you know, we have to We can only talk about certain things. We can't talk about personnel. We can't talk about staff
028things. So, we're kind of limited in how we can handle It's nice. Yeah, we have to follow certain procedures that that way. And the board does have like board insurance. Somebody did cover that. >> Perfect. Necessary. Absolutely. And we're all covered under that policy. Believe me, I I really appreciated that in the previous board position I held. >> Cuz you just never know. Yeah. You never know what's coming at you. Yep. Yep. And in fact, in all fairness, when I was called when again a million years ago, that was my first question is is there any insurance in place before I accept this role? I'm going to need to know that. And they got back to me Heather did and said, "Yep. Okay." So, you know, that's fair question. And I have a comment. >>
029Yes. I just want to say how much I admire you being here at all the meetings. I don't know if you've ever missed one since I've been a board member and I notice you every meeting and I know if you're not here, you're online and that's what dedication is, really. I mean Well, I kind of made a commitment several years back when I had to do a basically it was kind of a cold call Darren. As part of my training, I did a Partners in Policymaking 6-month intensive training. And so, I'd pick people that I really had never talked to in the environment Darren and that was kind of when like, "Okay, let's start Let me start figuring out what's going on with this board and what's going on in my school district." Yeah. Well,
030it's very It's great. You really to be commended. Well, thank you. Yes. My kids think it's just silly. I'm going to. Oh, they're supposed to. >> Of course they do. All right. Any other questions for us? No, I don't think so. Do you have any for us? >> Any other questions from the board? Spencer, anything? My favorite color is pink. No, kidding. No more questions. Yeah, thank you for that. Okay. Okay, we'll see you at the meeting. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. See you at the meeting. Yeah, exactly. Okay, 2 minutes. Okay. It's okay. It's all good. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. All right, I think you're moving on to the deliberations. Okay. Um, appointment deliberations. So, we just had both of our candidates come in and there's no further candidates. Does
031anybody have any comments about Mr. Clark that we would like to discuss or go over? Frankly, I think both of them are in a position where they have time to dedicate to this cause regardless of what how much time I mean there's times when we all spend more hours than not than other months, but um neither of these individuals are in a position where they're going to have to um it's going to be a challenge to get time out of them which is positive, I think, for sure. I do, too. And I think both candidates are dedicated community members. Yes. No mistake. Yes. Um did and I forget I I will look it through my notes, but did Mr. Clark have um I know he volunteers for a bunch of stuff. Did he have board
032Did he have any board background? Was he on He said he was on board Well, no, he was on the insurance um he was a Oh, it said it in his He had a role with an insurance >> he said he was on a board with CASA. All right. Okay. Or he was a he was a CASA member. I don't know if he said he was on the CASA board. I know he got he probably he acts as a CASA. Right. I didn't think I heard board anything. Okay. For for what it's worth, I thought we had two two excellent candidates. So did I. I agree. I agree. And I I think Ruth you just said this. I apologize if if I'm But it was both people are clearly very committed to their their small
033community and also their larger community, which I think is really impressive on both behalf. Yes. I think they both were they they're both those kind of people who are clearly dedicated to doing doing good work. Yes. Right. Okay. So, are we in a position Do we want to deliberate on this on these two individuals and talk about it anymore or do we want to vote? And I'm thinking for the voting, we I already wrote my name on it. So, we put our name on the ballots. And we because we have two it's going to be a little simpler versus having to give numbers to everybody. Do we just put a mark next to the individual that we choose and leave the unchosen one blank and then we just simply add them up? Yes. >> Sure.
034Okay. And then >> it. Does Spencer have any input on how Spencer ought to go about this or is he just going to shout out a name? I think he's going to need to set it this way. He's going to need to give a name. He's going to get need to give a name. Okay. So, Spencer hold your thoughts for a few minutes and we will the three of us can write down we can mark our ballots. It just so frankly so your your name doesn't influence anything and then I'll just take your name and write that down. Do we have an extra piece of paper that I could write this on? Perfect. Um you can use the back. There it is. That one right there. Let's say we tie, can we go back and
035deliberate again and try to sway a vote either way since there's only four of us? Okay. Okay, I've got mine mine written down. Ruth has hers written down. Aaron has his written down. Spencer, go ahead and give me a name if you would, my my man. Yeah, I I I I feel like I get to say something and you guys don't. My circle is this, I thought both were great. I my vote is for Ms. Taylor. I think she's a is the candidate that I I think would serve our district the best. All right, fair enough. So, with that being said, do I need to get Well, I can get a total because we've all got our names on it. So, we've got four in favor of Patty Taylor. So, across the board the four
036of us agreed that that's probably the best fit for the um for the group. Okay. Okay. I believe voting is done. So, we've got 20 minutes. You guys can you can end your work session and then we can start back up with the regular session at 7:00. All right, then so be it. Spencer, anything from you before we uh adjourn the work session? Nope, thank you guys. Thank you for allowing me to appear remotely, I appreciate it. >> Yeah, are you going to join us for at 7:00 or are you done? No, I'm I'm coming back. I wouldn't I wouldn't miss the fun. Do you want to Spencer, do you want us to call you back and set it up again so you can take a break I'm going to go get some Lysol and
037work on my room a little bit and then but I'll be back here. Take an adventure into the bathroom, see how that works. Yeah. Go go brush Go brush your teeth. Go brush your teeth >> Okay, I'll have them I'll have them call you just before we get started. >> All right, work Thank you. Our work session is now Thank you, everyone.