Corvallis School Board Meeting (May 8th, 2025)

001Well, hello everyone. Um, welcome. The me the May 8th, 2025 meeting of the Corvalis School Board is now called to order at 6:35 p.m. To support the health and safety of all community members, particularly those who are immuno compromised and their families, the board continues to offer a virtual participation option for board members and district staff. Public comment is available at select meetings both in person and virtually. Details on how to provide public comment are available on the Corvalis School District website. Tonight's agenda, board packet, and a link to the district's YouTube channel can be found on the schoolboard page of the website. All public meetings are livereamed on YouTube, and recordings are typically posted the day the following day. Tonight, we have Judah, Chris, Theres, Bernie, and me in attendance in person. Sammy is

002in attendance virtually and Shauna is excused. And um I did I just want to take a moment to say welcome. We have a full house tonight, so it's good to see you all. I didn't say hi to everybody individually. Um and we're going to go ahead and get started on the agenda. The first item is the acknowledgement of AsianAmerican and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Corvalis School District 509J acknowledgement of Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month resolution number 22-0401. Whereas the Corvalis School District recognizes and pays tribute to the significant contributions made in our community by Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. And whereas the Corvalis School District affirms that students, families, staff, and community members should be valued for all aspects of their identity. And whereas Asian AsianPacific herit Oh, I apologize. Whereas Asian-American and Pacific Island

003Islander Islander Heritage Month grew out of the efforts of former Capitol Hill staffford Genie Genie Jew Genie Jew in the 1970s and whereas Asian-Pacific Heritage Week was first proclaimed proclaimed by the US House of Representatives in 1977. And whereas Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month has been proclaimed by several states since. And whereas Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are largely left out of academic discourse. And whereas members of the Asian-American community have historically been subjected to inclusionary laws, discrimin discriminatory policies, segregation, and interment, and continue to be targeted by anti-Asian violence and actions of hate. And whereas Oregon proclaimed April as a AsianAmerican and Pacific Islander Heritage Month permanently in 2021. And whereas what was then called Asian-Pacific Heritage Month was first proclaimed at the national level in 1978. And whereas Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders have

004contributed to the history and collective future of Corvalis and Benton County, Oregon. And whereas Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month provides an opportunity to continue the district's growth in learning about the many contributions of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders to the nation, world, local community. And whereas education is a necessary component for creating a more equitable and anti-racist community and world. And whereas the Corvalla School District has committed to equity and anti-racism and whereas the Corvalis school district has a responsibility to honor and respect the diverse histories of our community. And whereas the Corvalis School District believes each and every student must be celebrated and appreciated for the distinct and vibrant contributions made by sharing cultures, language, ideas, beliefs, and values within the school community. Therefore, be it be it resolved of education of the Corvalis

005district does hereby proclaim May 2022 as well as each May annually as Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the district and strongly encourages students, families, staff, and community members to join in existing local celebrations and encourages all schools in the district to help highlight this month in great appropriate ways as well as highlight the contributions ions of all Asian-American and Pacific Islander peoples to the local community, nation, and beyond, both historically and in current times. Adopted by the board of directors of school district 509J of Cordalis of of Benton and Lon's Oregon at its regular meeting this 14th day of April, 2022. Thanks everyone. And we reread our um proclamations every year on the months that they are designated to reaffirm Corvalis's school district. um to what is contained in them. The next item

006on the agenda is board member reports. Do we have any board members with reports, Britney? Yeah, I had a a chance to uh uh to watch eight minutes left by over at Cresian Valley High and uh I really encourage you guys to come watch it. This is the closing weekend, tomorrow night and Saturday night. So, it it's a wonderful little show. So I think uh many students and I see a few here who are part of it. So it's wonderful. Thanks Bernie. Any other board members? Chris? Um, first of all, I was able to attend a or invited to attend a Altrusa meeting yesterday and um it was really neat because they were uh awarding a bunch of seniors some scholarships and our own Eileene received a scholarship from them as well as some other

007College Hill students. So, that was pretty exciting. Congratulations. And then I also just want to acknowledge um that it's certified teacher week appreciation week. And I just really want to show and talk about appreciation to our certified staff, our teachers. I'm so glad so many of you are here today. Um but I just I want you to know that we see you and the many many hours you put into education teaching our kids. Um, I was at the Mayday rally in front of the courthouse and many teachers were there and I just thought, you know, they just worked all day and then they're here advocating for public education and then I heard many of them had to go back to school that evening for an event. And I just I really want to acknowledge that

008we see you and all the time that you put into education and teaching our kids. And I know there's been a lot of um there's been a lot of uh public input right now on on different social social media sites about state testing. And I know that's hard to hear as teachers. Um and that it's kind of a hit to educators when people are making comments about that. And I just want to acknowledge that and that people don't understand sometimes all the work that teachers do. State testing isn't the only source of assessment to show how our kids are doing and that they our educators work hard to make our kids succeed. And there's just so many ways that we're seeing the success of our students um through just being amazing humans that they are.

009Um we hear kids that come back after college or while they're in college and tell us how well their teachers prepared them for college and that their classmates who are from other districts and from other states are not doing as well because they're not as prepared. And I just I know the amount of time that people spend on um preparing and everything it takes to to be a teacher and I just really appreciate it. Thanks Chris. I think we all agree with what you just shared. Um and you won't hear a bunch of comments from us right now be around this because we have that later on the agenda too um as well. So, uh, did Sammy have his hand up for anything or is he good? Okay, Teres. Yeah. Okay. Uh, well, lots of

010things. Um, first I just want to acknowledge that right now the um Lionus Pauling Mariachi Band is having their Mother's Day uh concert. And I want to make a request that we stop putting board meetings on the same nights because I would really rather be at the concert and we can't be. Um, but thank you um all of our music educators. I'm sure it's an amazing concert. My son's there supporting his friend. I'm here supporting our schools. Um but let's try to um let us both support all the things in the future. Um uh also, I don't know if the community has been tracking this um but a really exciting thing happened uh earlier this week. Um LBCC and OSU entered into an enrollment articulation. Um so how about that? our kids in our district

011um that already have such great alignment with LBCC will now have a very streamlined enrollment process to OSU. So, that's fantastic news for our our students, especially those kids that have been accessing coursework um either through College Now classes or enrolling in and taking um extra courses over at LBCC. So, it's really exciting to know that we're continuing to open more doors and remove more barriers for kids being able to get into higher education. So, really happy about that. And then the last thing I wanted to share is that um the um Boys and Girls Club breakfast happened. And um I bet that most of the community doesn't know that Boys and Girls Club selects a youth of the year. You might know that part. What you might not know is that if the youth

012of the year wins in our area, they go on to the next level and then the next level. And as it happens, a Corvalis youth is advanced to the West Coast uh Boys and Girls Club of the um uh youth of the year. And so in June, she'll be representing our school district in Los Angeles. And so congratulations to Trail Hall. We're very proud of all of your work and I can't wait to be there. I'll be watching virtually to clap for her when she wins. So that's all I've got. Thanks. Thanks, Theres. Um, I was just going to say I really had fun at the art event that was um a couple weeks ago and I seen all kinds of awesome creations and also bought some nice jewelry and my daughter wears her necklace

013and bracelet every day that I um got from one of the student artists. So, I just wanted to share that um as well about the art event and um Okay, so the next item on the agenda is Oregon School Board Association and National School Boards Associations updates. Sammy and I both do those. Um Sammy, are you ready to go? I am. Can you hear me? Okay, we cannot hear you. Can you hear me? Okay. No. Can you hear me? Okay. Yes. Oh. Wonderful. Thank you. Uh so chair, uh thank you for the introduction of this topic and uh I do have an update from the National School Board Association. Uh as a reminder, uh I'm really grateful for the Corval school board for sending me to represent on the state and the national level as

014an local elected school board member. And uh we do have uh uh representation from Oregon to really bring uh news and updates from the national level that impact us locally and also bring up uh topics and issues that impacts us locally to the national level. So I do have two updates. Uh one of them during the delegates assembly earlier in April uh there was discussion whether NSBA the national school board association would lean in and stand in support of uh students uh regardless of their documentation status and make sure ensure that they receive education and funding uh as per the Supreme Court ruling and the practice that we do here in Oregon and in Corvalis and consistent with our resolutions. uh there was a discussion so it was really a heated debate and I did

015uh speak in favor of uh the work that we do here locally and the resolutions that we have and the resolution passed in support of uh um ensuring NSBA advocates in favor of students uh regardless of their undocu uh regardless of their documented status. The second updates, it's a call for action for my colleagues on the school board and I will be sharing that with you over email where you can receive it and also uh for the community who are interested and I will ask the chair uh permission if it is okay I will provide my email on the school districts where people can reach out and ask how they can participate. The call for action is NSBA is calling for to speak out against budget reconciliation threats. So, Congress is moving forward with federal

016budgets reconciliation proposal from uh the presidential administration or executive branch that could have devastating impact on our public schools and the students we serve and as school board leaders our voice is critical right now and I would extend that also to our community members. uh we are urged to contact our members of Congress today and ask them to oppose the use of budgets reconciliation process which requires simple majority on both chambers of uh the Senate and United States Senate and United States House to advance harmful policies. So they're not only budgetary decisions, they are in the interpretation of NSBA harmful policies and they are briefly three. Number one, diverting federal tax revenue to subsidize private school choice through a new tax credit program that lacks accountability and oversight. And arguably that might be an option

017for uh residents of Oregon, even though in Oregon we do not have private charter schools that receive public monies. Uh however, this federal tax revenue policy might be really a huge risk for our public institutions in uh Oregon and across the nation. The second threat is a policy about cutting Medicaid funding for school-based services such as the ones that we have in Corvalis, putting supports for students with disabilities and low-income families at risk. And the third threat is slashing federal nutrition programs that help ensure students have access to the healthy food they need to learn and thrive. So those proposals uh threaten to undermine the foundation of public education by reducing resources, forcing unfunded mandates on school districts, and deepening inequities for vulnerable students. the way we can act. I will share a link with

018folks where they can see the proposal and they can communicate uh our opposition for these cuts uh to our members of Congress and uh NSBA graciously agreed that we can share that with community members. So I can uh share that with folks if they reach out to me at sami corvalisk12.org us. So that's my update and happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Sammy? Student reps are working. Okay. Thank you, Sammy. And I will um add in as well that um a lot of the work that the Oregon School Board Association is advocating for is the same thing that the National School Board Association is. And I um instead of re saying what Sammy already said about the three things, um I'll share why the Educational Choice for Children Act is important for our

019local community to know about. Um what that does is it reduces the amount of revenue that's could come in um for our public schools and we're already facing cuts from the state and have threats of funding decline nationally. And so if we have even more of that coming federally where we're going to have less funding, um it will have devastating impacts on the community. Um and I was looking for the amount because it's on here. It is it would require about $10 billion annually in federal spending to um fund that program for the Educational Choice for Children Act. Um, and I would say that I think there's a lot of value in in public education and I understand private education is the choice for some folk and it and it works better for their circumstances.

020Um, but I I do feel like this is a really tough one because of the um horrible impacts it would have for public education and we really need to keep our funding the best we can. So, that's one thing that um OSBA is working on. In my role with OSBA, for folk who don't know, I represent the Lin Benton and Lincoln counties, all the school districts in our three county area on the board for the Oregon School Board Association. So, that's why I'm providing this update um and sharing this with you all as well as the um impacts to the school meals eligibility for school meals that could happen. And so if anybody's interested in learning more about how these um would impact us locally, you're welcome to reach out to me as well anytime.

021And my information is on the web page, my phone number and my email. So um I will leave it at that because um we have a lot of things to cover on the agenda tonight and I know a lot of community members would like to share their voices as well. And so with that, I'm gonna move on to Ryan for the superintendent report. All right. I just have a few updates that I wanted to share with you all tonight. The first one is that tomorrow I will be going to Salem to provide testimony in front of the joint um ways and means committee related to the needs for Osborne Aquatic Center. Um and so that's been supported by Senator Geller Bluan and Representative Finger McDonald. And so um Rick Gunther who runs CAT and myself

022will be there. Um we only get two minutes and uh we will be there between 12 and 4 and at some point we'll have chance to give testimony but the feedback has been that if you're not present then the odds of receiving any funding from the joint um ways and means committee is not going to happen. So we're going to go and we're going to share what we need to share. But the real work is going to happen after that and that is going to be the work of the community to talk about why Osborne's an important um gem for our community um from the number of free lunches that we provide kids every summer. So we probably provide 125 breakfasts and 125 lunches every day over the summer at Osborne. Um it's our most

023um widely used place. We know that we have thousands and thousands of swimmers that use Osborne as well. We know that it's important to have a pool for safety. They make sure Osborne makes sure that there's life jackets out in swim areas around our region. Um so we are going to go and continue to advocate for funding so we're able to repair Osborne. Um having pools is not a luxury. It's a necessity when we think about safety of kids. And so that's really the um the stance we're taking um as we go forward. Um that we will not know if we receive the funds till the end of the session. It's um called the Christmas tree bill and it's called that because there's winners and losers and it's one of the last things they do

024before they leave at the end of the session and some people feel really good about the outcome and some people feel pretty crummy about it and so it's that's just the the way that it happens. So we have basically um eight weeks to continue to advocate. We have support coming in from actually all over. Um one of the things that I've shared with the board before is Osborne is not just a local pool. It is one of two pools in Oregon that are um highly used because of the 50 meter aspect, the size of the deck, the number of bleachers that are there. Um and it's used by swimmers from Oregon, from Washington, from California, from Hawaii and Idaho. Um so again, that is an area that we're going to continue to advocate in. and

025also the agreement that we've worked with the city to have over time that they maintain um the pool um on our behalf and we're the owners um since it was built in the 70s and so we have shared um responsibility and also shared advocacy that's happening. So just wanted you to know that. So I'll be reaching out to all of you because we're going to need um ongoing support. So far we've had support from swimming groups to OSAA athletics um our cons um OSBA support. So lots of different organizations who are helping us in that effort. Um a couple of events that are coming up that I wanted to highlight. The first one is the AP Art Student Portfolio Showcase and that is going to be at CHS on May 21st and it begins at

0265:00 in the T South building. Um, attendees will hear about students creative processes as they share the guiding questions and conceptual frameworks that inform their work. So, an opportunity to go see some incredible artists. Um, we also it's graduation season, so there's a number of graduations that we get to participate in. The first one is the native graduation ceremony, and we'll make sure that Chris sends or Kim sends you all these dates, but that's on May 27th at 6. That's followed by our dual language immersion um ceremony and that's at CHS May 30th. So again, these are starting to come up pretty quickly. Wings, which is for our students 18 to 21 year olds. Um so it's our 21-year-old students who are um moving on from Wings and that's going to be at CV this

027year at 6:00. Our life skills graduation at CHS that happens on June 5th at 10 a.m. So that's during the day. College Hill High School will have their graduation and then follow the following night we'll have CV and um Corvalis High School and that's on June 6. So again, lots of opportunities to celebrate the success of our of our students. Um and again just a way to celebrate the work that happens in our schools. Um moving from graduations to summer school. So we're preparing for summer school. Again, the Krell Public Schools Foundation allows us to provide summer school. There was a um notice in in the Oregon on Oregon live there was talk about um money coming for summer schools that money does not um come to Corvalis and so we still rely on our

028foundation to help us to provide summer schools for students. So some of those programs are kindergarten academy credit recovery for our high school students K5 literacy uh transition math camp for from 5 to 6 and 8 to 9. Um and then also some other grants that were requested by staff that were supported by um the Corvals public schools foundation. So we'll make sure to send you all um a date and a time to go and visit and see what's happening in summer school. And again, I can't emphasize this enough. It would not happen in our community without the foundation support. Are you question? Um yeah, I can. Okay. Um, so go ahead and ask your question because then I want to rec recognize our board reps. That's I was like I can ask a question

029really quick about summer school. I don't think um folk may not know why we're not receiving funding for the state from for summer school. So I was just going to see if you can just clarify that real quick. Yeah, there's just there's a prioritization process um and it's looking at things like um families percentages of families navigating poverty to um academic outcomes and those are all put into a um a formula to identify which districts um receive those funds. Um there are a lot of little charter districts or charter charter schools that are in that list, but we were somewhere around 200 um in the list of of prioritization. And I know that the $30 million will not go that far. Um with some large districts well up ahead of us in that need. Thank

030you. I just think that's helpful for folks to know. Thanks. Yeah. Yeah. Then the next thing I'm going to say is um another thing to invite you to and so we have had a long-range facilities planning group coming together. They have been looking at demographics. They've been looking at capacity of our schools and they've also been looking at um facility conditions. And so on uh May 28th from 6:30 to 7:30 at Linus Pauling, we're going to have an opportunity for community to come and do a gallery walk to look at the information that we've received thus far and ask some questions because we will take that information, try to report back out and then in addition to that, we'll be sharing that with the board at your August retreat. So another opportunity to give feedback

031as we move through that process. Um, now I want to go ahead and recognize our student representatives. So, there's a lot of you here tonight. Um, but our student representatives, some of them serve for one year, some of them serve for two years. Um, but it is an opportunity for students um, to provide their perspective and voice in this space. It's also one of the things I really like because I get to um, really know some of our students um, more deeply because we spend quite a bit of time together. Um, and so tonight I just want to recognize those of you who are here um with a a certificate and then Kelly is here somewhere and she'll take a picture of us. I'm thinking maybe she's in the back. All right, I'll come back

032to you. I'm sorry. And I'm gonna hand these round of applause. [Applause] who's been with us for a couple of years. Also got to come to the OSBA conference this winter and talk about what it's like to be a student representative. So, thanks for doing that. Laura, year one. [Applause] We're gonna do a photo. So, it will take just a second. You guys all want to come stand over there on that wall behind Judah? Is Kelly back there? Oh, we're all in there. Okay. I was looking for I was looking for Kelly, too. We're all getting in there. Okay. For people online, we're taking a picture with our student representatives or who are watching later because this is their last meeting for the year. Let's give one more round of applause. Sometimes board meetings are

033exciting and sometimes they're a little bit boring. You all show up and help us out and give us your view points. I really appreciate that. Um Dr. Dr. Wiper, could I have a point of order before we begin the Um, could we announce where the restrooms are and the water fountain is? I think we might we have a lot of people here tonight. Um, yeah, there the restrooms. Thank you, Judah. For folks who don't know, are um if you go out the door and you go to the left, there should be a sign on your left that shows you where the restrooms are. Um, and so that's where they're and there's a water fountain right by by them, right? Yeah. At the turn. Thanks. Does um if there might be a couple extra chair. We

034can't take the We can't take the ones for public comment. No, but these two there. Oh, yeah. We can move these two. We're going to move some chairs, too, for a couple more people. We just have to make sure we have like the safety walk way clear. There's a couple spots over here that Judah is creating if anybody would like to sit there and one on the other side that Melissa is creating. And while we're doing that, is there any did any of the board want to say anything to the student reps? Well, thank you for I know it's hard to come here in the evenings. You got homework to do. You have to get up early and go to school. Thank you so much for being here and we so appreciate hearing your voice.

035It is so important to us and I just think it's a gift that we have you here and um really get to hear what you're doing and what's going on but your concerns um and how we can make things better and I just have always really appreciated student voice should be number one. Thank you Chris. Go ahead Sammy. Yeah, I just want to thank every school uh school board me students representative for their contributions. You've made this school board more informed and more deliberative and centering uh your voice and the students voice. So really thank you uh sincerely for each one of you. Special shout out to Eileen for your contribution uh during the panel at OSBA uh alongside with two other students representatives. Uh thank you very much. It was really valuable for us

036to hear from you from across Oregon and having your voice. You made us really proud and also your participation earlier uh when uh the school board uh and community members were meeting to develop the school board goals uh that was bottom up and you participated and contributed to the conversations and uh forming those goals that we are following in our budgets and we are following in our policies prioritization. So to all of you, thank you and please uh uh spread the word out for future uh student representatives about your experience. How can it be better? And uh looking forward to see you alongside of us uh as elected board members in this community if you decide to stay or in any other community you decide to call home. Anybody else? Go ahead, Judah. Um I

037just want to pass along what everybody has said. This is it's been truly an honor um to get to know these incredible kids uh young people, enterprising young people. I see more enterprising young people out here tonight and I'm sure many parents here have some at home and every school selects their representatives differently and so if they have an opportunity to participate just everybody know that they are truly a valued member of this team. Anybody else? Good. Okay. I just want really quick. I wanted to say thank you as well to you all. Um, a lot of what I was going to say has already been said, but I did want to say I do thank you. I always say don't just bring the updates, but bring things you think we should be working on

038better and concerns. And so, I just wanted to thank you for that. And um, I did want to point out that Eileen's um, panel that she was on was not just like a conference session. and it was in front of the entire conference at the Oregon School Board Association. So that school districts from all over Oregon got to hear um students from our district along with other students speak. So I think that's really awesome. Um so thank you for that. And um and again thank you for bringing your voices throughout the year. And just one more thing and then I'll be done with my super report. Um, I've been thinking a lot about this week and how this week represents teacher appreciation and how teacher appreciation comes in May. And it comes in May at

039a time when folks are usually feeling um pretty tired, pretty down and especially in times like this where we're having to make really hard decisions and um that affect people directly. And so I just want to say as authentically as I can that I do appreciate the work that all of you do. I am proud to be in our schools seeing the things that are happening for our kids. And um just making decisions that are hard is is more than difficult. Um and I just again with with my heart I do appreciate all the work that you do day in and day out for students. And as our students are here tonight um advocating for some of you um it's a p it's that's a really powerful thing and oftentimes we don't hear those things

040often enough and it's and it's a hard time for that to happen in a hard way for that to happen but I know that I'm going to be getting lots of public testimony on behalf of many of you and I want to also know that I'm listening to that public testimony but I am also seeing it as an honor to the work that you're doing um because again what you do matters a ton And again, what's happening in our schools can't be um over um over highlighted because there's excellent educators in this community. Um there are things that are happening in our schools day in and day out and I think our community should be really proud of those things. So, thank you for all you do. Thanks, Ryan, for your report. Um the next

041item on the agenda and for those words to the teachers, that's Thank you. um is a student representatives report. So, I don't know who wants to go first. I'm gonna mute and you all can decide because these are you all's reports. The urban farm students are enjoying the transition into spring and their first farm stand is this Friday morning. Uh this will continue throughout the summer and into the fall. Students will be selling farm fresh eggs, produce, fresh vegetables, hanging baskets, and even some prepared items like jam and pesto. Come out and enjoy all the delicious treats and support Corvalis students. Um, the annual College Hill Film Festival will be next week, May 13th at 7 p.m. in the CHS theater. You can come and hear the young filmmakers share their stories of hope, resilience,

042family, beauty, and strength. It will be an inspirational time and will showcase what incredible storytellers our students are. The college here, the College Hill yearbook was just completed and is now at the printers. It's a beautiful representation of the incredible work at our school this year. We want to thank the Corvalis Public Schools Foundation for helping us get that started last year. And um we want to thank Jenny Smith for working with our students to build something truly incredible. Our fundraisers to lower the cost of yearbooks and make them more accessible to all of our students have been successful so far. And we're currently holding a coin war fundraiser until the end of May in which the losing staff will have an ice bucket dumped over their head. This is going well with our staff

043drumming up some friendly competition. All right, we have some new academy courses to be offered at College Hill in the fall. Our students will have the opportunity to take two-dimensional and threedimensional art as well as piece literacy. For the first time, College Hill will have a certified art teacher teaching our students about design, creativity, and expressing themselves through art. This is such an foundational need that we have as humans and we're eager to see that all of our see all that our students accomplish. In addition, College Hill in a partnership with Peace Literacy Institute will be offering peace literacy as a course option from uh for our students. In this course, our students will discuss interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, and how we interact with the world around us. Peace literacy empowers us to protect the

044survival of our relationships, families, communities, nations, and the world by equipping us with the skills needed to build strong communities, confront root causes of problems, navigate struggle and uncertainty, use technology with discernment, create peace that is resilient and sustainable, and thrive as human beings. Our world needs peace literacy now more than ever. First of all, we had the blood drive on April 25th, which was a huge success and lots of people donated blood. Planning for a drive-in movie has begun, which is very exciting. Prom is set to go for next weekend on May 17th at the Reese Stadium Toyota Club. Spring sports like track and field are still going strong and set to wrap up in the next few weeks. And those are the announcements that I have. Thank you. Um so um us as

045representatives from CV we have a slightly a different report today. Um so we have um a resolution that passed our core council and so I'll read that out to the school board now. Dear members of the Corvalis School Board, we the elected representatives of Cresant Valley High School's core council write to formally request the immediate resumption of the boundary adjustment process that began in 2019 and was halted due to the CO9 pandemic. For years, Cresant Valley High School has faced declining enrollment, not because of a lack of interest from students and families, but because district boundaries have remained unchanged despite significant growth and demog demographic shifts in within Corvalis. This ina inaction artificially surpassed CVHS's enrollment, putting our school at risk and threatening the programs, opportunities, and sense of community that define Cresant Valley. The

046school district recognized and the need for a boundary adjustment in 2019 when it initiated this process. It is now time to finish what was started. The failure to address this issue has directly impacted student opportunities, weakened school programs, and put unnecessary strain on both CVHS and CHS. We urge the board to take immediate actions to resume and complete the boundary adjustment process before irreversible harm is done to our school community. This is not just about the numbers. It's about opportunity, sustainability, and the future of Crescent Valley. Crescent Valley has been a pillar of academic excellence, extracurricular achievement, and student success for decades. We will not stand by and allow inaction to determine our school's fate. We ask the board to do what is right and prioritize students over short-term convenience. Our school depends on it.

047Sincerely, the Associated Student Body of Cresant Valley Core Council comprised of the Associated Student Body President, class presidents, equity commissioner, mental health commissioner, sustainability coordinator, junior and senior schoolboard representative, social media coordinator, publicity coordinator, spirit commissioner, secretary, treasurer, technical coordinator, and athletic coordinator. And apart from that, the captains of the Cresant Valley football team, girls and boys soccer team, volleyball team, cheerleading team, track and field team, girls and boys basketball team, girls and boys swim team, girls tennis team, girls golf team, boys golf team, baseball team, and wrestling team. Thank you, Papa. Are you going to email that to us so we can have it later? Okay, if you do board at Corvalis, that one will go to all of us at the same time. Thank you all for your reports and thank you for

048bringing the resolution through your report um for you all. Um the next item on the agenda is public comment. I know we have Right. That's Yeah. Oh, Trace threw me off for a second. Um, I know we have several comment cards and while we're getting that set up and before I read the formal script, I want to let folk know that public comment is not a place where the board can engage in conversation and answer questions. Um, I just want to make sure you all knew that process. It's one of the harder parts of um, being on the board is hearing you all's voices and not being able to engage in conversation at that time. If you do want to engage in conversation with us, I would encourage you to reach out to board members

049to do that. Um, we are going to hear your voices this evening as well. Um, and if there I'm going to read the thing in here in a little bit, too. But, um, if you are here speaking on behalf of perhaps a staff member, for privacy of them, please don't say their name. You can say their position, but that's just a request for privacy of who they are. And it's not to try to silence you. Um, but if you want to say their position, that works, too. Um, so I just want to make sure that that was clear. And when I'm reading this, I'll be pointing to the little timer. There's a lot of you that are in the hallway that may not be able to see where I'm pointing at. So, um, there's a

050timer in the middle basically if you're back there and you're providing testimony. Okay. We'll now open. Yes. If staff have given their permission for their name and it's in I believe so. Yes. If it's if you have their permission. Yes. Okay. That's the question for folk who are online was if staff have given their permission in writing to say their name. Um and that should work. So thank you for clarifying because that's a really important point. Appreciate that. Yes. Okay. We will now open public comment period. We value the lived experiences of students, families, staff, and the community and welcome public comment as an essential part of the district and board's work. The complete guidelines for public comment are available at the registration table, outside the boardroom entrance, and on the board's website. I will

051now share some important points. When it is your turn to speak, please come forward and take a seat and direct your comments to the board. And there's a couple different spots up here. Speakers may provide objective criticism of district operations and programs, but the board will not hear complaints about individual district personnel. As a reminder, you will have three minutes to make your comments. I will alert you when you have 30 seconds. And I will tell you right now, the timer right here, I wave at you because I don't want to interrupt your time by me having you pause. it turns yellow on the board it starts or at the table it starts green. Yellow is 30 seconds and then when it's red your time's up. When your time is up I do have to

052ask you to um stop talking. After your comments the board will have three minutes to ask clarifying questions but cannot engage in conversation. If board members wish to revisit a topic or issue raised during public comment, they may do so at the appropriate time in the agenda. Before stating your comments, please state your name for the record and indicate whether you reside within the school district boundaries and Kim will start calling people up. So, thank you. Oh, you have to turn on the mic, too. I was That's a m That's a really important detail. Um when this turns red, the mics the it's on. There's a little button with a person on the front of the thing. Can you start her time over, Kim? Thank you. Okay. Um my name is Miriam Bera. I'm an

053eighth grader at Linus Pauling and I've attended school in the Corval school district since kindergarten. and one of my parents has currently has a position as a teacher. I understand that it is a very stressful time for students, parents, teachers and admin. But not only students are facing inequity, so are teachers and DAs. But what I do not understand is the obvious inequality between the salary of admins, especially those at the highest level versus teachers and educa educational assistants. While we are facing these budget cuts, I find it strange that the difference between the highest earning admins and an average teacher salary. And it's even worse for educational assistants. Many educators that I know and value have now been put out of a job, including one of my favorite teachers at LPMS. So, please help

054me understand why it's fit to lay off so so many educators while also keeping administrator salaries so high, as well as the number of admins. I know I speak for a lot of my peers about the hurt these layoffs are causing at our schools. And I hope we're keeping as many teachers as possible. And um that's all I had questions, but I don't think I can ask them. So, I mean, you can state them, but we can't answer them. Unless unless you would rather email us later. Um, that's okay. I can state them. A question I have for the board is what cuts are being made for admins at the district level and how does cutting this many teachers benefit the school district other than f financially? Thank you very much. Okay. Does anybody have

055any questions? Thank you, Miriam. [Applause] Amanda, Amanda Cordis. I am a parent in the district and I also reside within the 509J boundary. I went back and forth for a long time as to whether or not I was even going to make a comment today. And I couldn't figure out why I was so conflicted until I realized it was because I didn't believe it would matter. I no longer believe that the school district cares what we think. Sure, they hosted a budget feedback survey, which sounds great, and 443 people responded, which is amazing. But am I expected to believe that the district fully reviewed those 443 responses between March 31st when the survey closed and April 10th when the staff reductions were communicated? Maybe. But if that's the case, why weren't the survey results published

056until April 25th? Presumably, if you're using those results to guide your decision-making, they would be available at the time the decisions are made. And then the cuts themselves are almost completely opposite of what the community identified as priorities. The community said elementary enrichment is really important to us. The district says, "Cool, we're going to cut elementary music like we did art and library last year." And then the first place I learn about the changes that will negatively affect my child's day-to-day is from a paywald Gazette Times article. How is that acceptable? The district didn't send out their own communication until days after the article was published. Corvalis is a town that values education. People always vote the levy. They donate generously to the Corvalis Schools Foundation to support our students even further. I cannot understand

057why the district persists in ignoring their stakeholders. I am here to ask the district and to ask the board as my elected representation to ensure this. I ask the district to meaningfully engage with their stakeholders in a genuine manner and not in whatever this current check the box exercise is. Thank you. [Applause] Does anybody I'll wait to um Does anybody have any questions? Thank you, Amanda, for your time. Hi, Rich Carter. Um, I am a parent and a longtime resident of Corvalis. Um, as we enter the month of May, graduation se will soon be upon us. This year is bittersweet. It'll likely be the peak number of graduates high school nationally. If you don't know, over the past several decades, US education has benefited from a fairly increasing number of students. K12 systems and universities

058around the country will now have to adapt to meet the moment caused by the new reality of declining enrollment for the next two decades about 13% over the next 20 years if you don't know. Um as a parent professor and small business owner I am deeply passionate about the role of education society. Recently a brave student Alex Gosoff that I'd never met shined a light on the Corval school district with the best of intentions to try ensure the district we all depend on meets the moment. His article in an informative vibrant conversation with a local schoolboard member catalyzed me to dig deeper. Why do I hear from my own kids, neighbors, colleagues, and friends of the frustration with CH CSD, particularly around the balance between the rigor made available to high achieving students and the

059moral obligations to ensure every student graduates. There's reason for hope and optimism. CSD performs well in most common metrics. I specifically compared Medford, Tiger, Twaldon, Springfield, Albany, and Corvalis together. CSA graduation rates at 87% compare well to our peers. There's been concerns raised about salaries, particularly around the long-term superintendent Ryan Nos. Data shows that he's fairly compensated as compared to his peers at similar school districts around the state. There's been discussion that the challenging housing prices in Corvalis, which are of course true. However, Corvalis is not significantly out of the line compared to other desirable college towns such as Bosezeman and Bellingham. One set of figures, however, really stands out. The vast difference in college readiness scores for CSD, which averaged 39.6 versus Tiger Twalin at 71. Despite having residents um similar levels of residents

060with college degrees, if you don't know, Corvalis has about 61%, Tiger Talin's between 45 and 50. These figures are at the heart of where CSD needs to rebalance. Many parents are looking for CSD to provide opportunities for high achieving students to reach their full potential, which likely includes attending college. If CSD cannot provide for them, we will lose them to private schools, and that will only hurt CSD more. Please note, college is not the only career path for students. Is equally important to prepare students for rewarding professions that do not require a college degree. The richness of our society benefits from the wide cross-section of options. This need is reinfocused in the is re is also shown in the recent data from CSD's what's called FTA comparison document where you'll notice that math academic success

061is 43% compared to the average of 34 and the highest competitor is or highest comparator is 62. This aligns with this moderate performance align with our college res readiness score and requires additional focus. Furthermore, the announced 17 teacher staffing cuts plus part-time discussion reductions. Rich, I have to interrupt you. Sorry. Your time can I finish my sentence if you don't mind? Yes. Thank you. Um, when overweight with administrative and FTE accounts, which is now 28 128 versus 155, we have way more administrators than our comparators even though we have more revenue compared to others. Thank you for your time. Okay. Does anybody have any Does anybody have any questions? I had one question. Sure. Where did um you get the percentages for college college readiness? Uh it's pulled from US News and World Report. If

062you look in my report that I submitted, I have every single data point documented. Thank you. I was just asking for folk who didn't know who didn't get the email who are in the audience so they know where to look to. Thank you so much for your time, Rich. Bastion. Hello, my name is Bastian Sasonson and I'm a student at Crescent Valley High School. You'll be hearing from me again soon on this topic, but I wanted to take this opportunity to remind the room of everything that the music programs in our schools do for our students. I want to begin by highlighting the community that music programs foster in schools from elementary all the way to high school. Students make deep connections with their teachers and their peers in musical environments simply by the virtue

063of what making music together requires of an ensemble and its members. These peers will become lifelong friends and these teachers become students trusted adults. This is only possible, however, through the presence of long-term teachers who are passionate and committed to their students and their positions. It also cannot be understated what a flourishing music program adds to every aspect of its school. Pep band makes all the difference in upload uplifting the players and the fans at sporting events and brings out the school spirit at school assemblies. Music classes teach confidence, worth work ethic, and other such life skills and encourage building community. Music students themselves are proven to be better students. Even just last year, the Crescent Valley High School Wind Ensemble was recognized for having among the highest cumulative GPA in the state. The best

064ensembles will bring back awards like that from competitions, as many ensembles of this district historically have. With your support, we can go in that direction once again. Really, music programs are no different from any sport program or otherwise. The very same camaraderie and unity can be found in both. For me and countless of my peers, music is the way forward in our lives, the way to college, the way to jobs, the way to connect with our communities. For many, music is a career, a living. But getting to that point requires a strong formative program, especially at the elementary level and middle school level. Though I may be graduating and moving on this year, in light of the current financial hardships and the reductionary approach being taken to our school music programs, I sincerely hope that

065music continues to be everything I've mentioned and more for future classes. And I implore you all not to forget the profound impact music has in our schools. Thank you. Any questions? Thank you, Brenman. Hello there. My name is Matthew Bulman. I am a student at CVHS. Uh I also wanted to talk about the importance of the music program especially starting off at the elementary level. Uh if I had not had a foundation within uh music at at an elementary level multiple times a week, then I probably would not have been able to pursue music in ele school and high school such as in band. Uh once within the high school band, I met some of my closest friends and have really just gotten to enjoy the camaraderie of the school, which I would have most

066likely avoided if not for the community of band. Uh having a good relationship with band directors and teachers is really what makes classes enjoyable and helps people succeed. Uh I have noticed that in the classes that I have a better relationship with the teacher in I usually succeed a lot better and have a higher grade uh just from enjoying being in the class. A good example is in my band class. My director is an amazing teacher who supports students, encourages them to improve and really pushes them to meet what their potential truly is. such as I have gone for different camps and clinics and there's even a trip uh in the summer of 2026 which will be a full tour across Europe uh which I would never be able to go to or achieve without

067encouragement from amazing teachers uh on all levels. Yeah, that's that's about all I had to say. Thank you very much. Oh, just a second. Is there any Is there any questions? Thank you, Matthew. Hello, my name is Mars Ruse. I'm a student at Crescent Valley High School. For a little bit of background, I moved here from Southern California in 10th grade and my parents were incredibly nervous. Part of that is because I come from an incredibly small community. My high school in California was only 40 people per grade. And this had some downsides, but one major upside was that it gave us big connections between staff members and students and opportunities for foundational programs such as music. I had a incredible music foundation at those schools and that was primarily in elementary education. Now in

068middle school and high school I was not able to do music sheerly because of the size of my school. That being said, I am in band here now and I would not be able to do band here now if it wasn't for the absolute privilege of music education that I had in elementary school. Music is also a safe space for me. I would not be I would not feel safe in some of my schools if it wasn't for music education and the friends that I have made in those spaces. in addition to theater and many other extracurriculars. In addition, it's very very much so the teachers who make me feel safe as a I was being heavily bullied in 10th grade and 11th grade. and music educators were a safe space for me to share

069that I was being bullied and a and that those music education educators help me significantly. This is also happening across different um subjects not just in music. I shared a poem with one of my um English teachers and it was quite concerning. It involved um heavy t discussion of mental health and he emailed me back asking are you okay and that sparked me to find a therapist and discuss my mental health further. I have also had a history teacher who helped with preventing me from spiraling, helped me recover from panic attacks, helped me with a potential eating disorder, and led me to create goals for the future that I have would not have created on my own without teacher support. Thank you. Any any questions? Thank you. Mars Amanda Buchanan. Good evening. My name is

070Amanda Buchanan. I am a CSD employee. However, tonight I'm here as a parent. I have two sons who have been students. Oh, sorry. I have two sons who have been students in this district since 2014. They are now a junior and a sophomore at Corvalis High School. I've been hearing a lot about falling enrollment and the narrative that this is an issue rooted in low birth rates and housing shortages. So, I just wanted to come tonight to give you another perspective that feels timely as my older son will soon join the ranks of those leaving the district for reasons having nothing to do with housing or birth rates. My son Quay is autistic and this is a fact that we embrace and support. Quay has lived in what feels like a middle space all of

071his life. He's capable academically with supports and thoughtful pacing while also having deep struggles with functional daily living skills and adaptive skills. Starting at the transition meeting in eighth grade and continuing into ninth grade, we designed a five-year graduation plan for Quay, supported by his IEP team. This enabled him to pace out his core classes in a way that he could handle, while also leaving time for meaningful transition services that all students on IEPs are entitled to. It was a beautiful plan and a template for students who exist in this middle ground, a middle mostly inhabited by autistic students. We have followed this map for three years of high school. That is until suddenly CHS administrators told us this school year that there is a district policy that states if a student can mathematically graduate

072in four years, then they have to. So despite what Quay wants and needs, despite his long-standing IEP transition planning, despite his parents' input, his medical doctor's input, the district has told us that they are acting unilaterally in Quay's best interests. And so my son, who needs sensory breaks, movement breaks, study hall, adaptive PE, and low-key electives cushioning all of his core classes to make it through his day, is now being told that only the school understands what is best for him. And that will look like a schedule next year with more core classes than he's ever taken at once, no cushions between core classes, and no transition skill building. And they aren't budging. So he is leaving. So, when we talk about the enrollment crisis, let's also talk about our 20% dropout rate for students

073on IEPs. And let's really talk about the way parents are treated in this district. We are systematically dismissed. We're not encouraged to build relationships with our schools. We're not treated as members of our own children's IEP teams. And when we think about why students are leaving, and there are many reasons, please consider the way this district has treated Quay. a student with a disability who simply asked for an extra year to graduate. Thank you for your time. Any questions? Thank you, Amanda. Ber. Okay. Um, my name is Christa Schmeer and I am a CSD graduate and I have two kids at LP and I am a teacher at Corvalis High School and I'm also the union president. Um, there are a lot of people here tonight on behalf of CEA and they will be saying

074um some staff names but all the staff names that we'll be sharing have been cleared by those people that we can share them. Um my fears in celebrating these amazing people tonight um that were affected by the FTE reductions in our district um is that this will be the last time I get to do something meaningful for them as a union member uh because they get hired by other districts and we don't get an opportunity to hire them back. And then my second fear is that I'm going to miss someone and leave them out. And so if I do miss someone, I'm just saying into the ether like it was not on purpose. We do have some uh reps that weren't able to come tonight and they will be sending some public record of acknowledgement

075of their staff members to you as well. Um tonight there is public comment recognizing 21 uh certified staff members that have been impacted. Um this does not include folks on temporary contracts whose positions will not continue. This doesn't include the six or so people that are impacted by partial layoffs and now have to come up with a new financial plan with their family. And it doesn't include retirements. This is just the people who are laid off. Um, my daughter has had amazing teachers here. Each of them has been an important co-parent to my kids during their growth both academically and as good people. Lucas Peterson is the one I'm acknowledging and he is one of those teachers. He's one of my daughter's favorite teachers. And so I just asked her to write something and of

076course she said something totally mini me. And so I'm kind of embarrassed to read it, but here we go. Um, she said, "He is a great teacher. He helps all the kids, even the ones I don't think he should help because they are pretending to be lazy or actually being rude." And she probably said it like actually being rude. He cares really deeply about his students. Like really all of them. He makes you think and write and suggest the perfect book every time. She said, "I'm also really sad that he doesn't have a job because he's having a baby. Babies are expensive and I wanted to babysit for him. Please tell him that I hope he comes back soon except to CHS because then I can take his class again. Um, I would also like

077to point out that he's doing his part to um bring a mini human into his family unit and try to increase our enrollment. And so um I know he has a 27month uh job rights window and I hope we can get him back so that someday I can have his kids in my class and return the favor. Thank you. [Applause] Is there any questions? Did you Oh, thank you, Christa. I thought you had one. [Music] You've got the paper. Members of the board, I'm Satiana Contreras and this is Ellie Fitz. I'm a seventh grader and she's an eighth grader at Sheldin Middle School. Our current orchestra teacher has helped us thrive and grow. Both of us have made it to all state orchestra this year. And thanks to our orchestra teachers, inspiration and encouragement. By

078shrinking our music programs, you're shrinking our souls. Music helps the bland spaces explode with color and life. A part of our hearts travels to yours through every performance. If it if it is okay, we would like to play a short piece for you. Instrument, please hold. I got to get I'm going going to do a point of chair privilege to um expand their time to allow further um song demo. Thank you. If you want to record from the front, you can come up. Okay. This Kim, can you make sure that mic's turned on? [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] doo doo doo doo doo doo. [Music] [Applause] What is this? Did anybody have any questions for them? I have to ask. It's part of the process there. I see Judah Rose's hand. So, I I do have

079my hand raised. And can you all one of you all come back up here to answer? Thank you. You have a question. And just to preface, board members are not allowed to make comments, but audience members are later. Um, could you share with us please the name of the piece? Uh, Gauntlet. Thank you. That was Teresa's question as well. Thank you both very much. [Applause] Hi, my name is Naomi Hartman and I teach music at Lincoln Elementary. I would like to read some words of appreciation about three of the four music teachers that we are losing to this year's budget cuts. Andrew Zyler, band at Corvalis High School. Andrew has already made a big impact on our students and music scene. You might not be able to tell he is a new teacher with the

080way he engages his students, even getting them to show up in the wee hours of the morning for the dreaded zero period. Getting kids to come in that early takes a special person. He graduated from University of Oregon and was very excited to have a long career with CSD and CHS. When he was asked if there was anything he wished this wished the school district and community knew about him, his only concern was about the students. More than anything, he wanted us to know what the program needs is stability and consistency. Some of these kids will be experiencing their third band director, and he was concerned way more with their love of music and their education than himself and his livelihood. I hope we get to see him again in our classrooms soon before someone

081else seizes this opportunity. Marissa Schwarzman, Franklin Elementary Music. Marissa has been teaching music to elementary students at Franklin for the past seven years. She is passionate about music and deeply caring towards her students. I have known Marissa as a supportive colleague and friend during her time teaching in Corvalis School District. During our music teacher PLC's, she always has a fun and educational music lesson to share. As a team, we have depended on Marissa, especially for her expertise in teaching music to the youngest grade levels. She brings with her a special touch when it comes to early childhood music education, and she has a talent for bringing even advanced instruments such as the ukulele to our youngest students. In addition to teaching elementary music at Franklin, Marissa has been our most sought-after music sub. Whenever she

082covers my classes, I get rave reviews from my students. Her students at Franklin will miss her, and we hope that she will continue to be a guest music teacher in our district, bringing the joy of music with her own special touch to our students whenever possible. Jenna Wells, choir, Sheldin Middle School. Jenna Wells took over the choir program at Sheldan Middle School after last year's cuts reduced the number of choir classes and the previous choir teacher found a new position in a different district. Her passion for music in general, choir in particular, and especially equity in music education is obvious from the start. She wants all students to have the opportunity to find their voice. Some of Jenna's favorite moments have been working on something challenging with her middle schoolers and watching them succeed. For

083example, when they work hard to sing a chord and it finally comes out just right, which is a moment of celebration for everyone. She enjoys making music with her students using bodies, minds, and teamwork. Choir is not just a musical experience. It is also about supporting each other through our difficulties and gaining confidence in our own voices. Naomi, your time ran out. Just wait a second. Do you all have any questions? Judah. Naomi, could you would it be possible to finish reading that in the remaining? I have four more words. Jenna will be missed. Thank you. Was there any other questions? Thank you, Naomi. Um, hello. I'm Dier. Um, I'm a both a parent and a CSD staff member, music teacher in the district. Um, I'm sharing with you an open letter on behalf of

084the music teachers of Corvalis. We, the music teachers of Corvalis district, have been very concerned about the proposed changes to music for the coming year. While we understand that FTE was going to be reduced because of lower student enrollment, we disagree with the decision for elementary music to go from 30 minutes twice a week to 45 minutes once a week. Students will be losing out in multiple ways. With this change, the time in music will be reduced from 60 minutes to 45. And with less frequent music classes, information and skills will not be retained as well. K through five music teachers will also be split between two schools and manage upwards of 700 to 800 students which will limit our capacity to build strong relationships differentiate instruction provide concerts and continue extracurricular programs such as

085elementary choir mariachi bila for folklorico and mima we are also look looking at losing about 33 years of teachers relationships I want to say that again 33 years, okay, by moving students, so sorry, teachers around because um to the respective schools because of moves and layoffs. And I just want to reiterate just all those kids who testified, those are the relationships you are impacting. This is also an equity issue when music instruction in public schools is reduced. Families who can afford music for their children outside of the school day will do so. And students who do not have access to music outside of schools are the ones who will lose opportunities. The effect will be further multiplied as the students who access extracurricular music are going to be more successful in these sec um secondary

086music programs like band, choir, mariachi, and orchestra while those who do not will fall even further behind. Going to once a week is a huge step backwards for the Crell School District. Approximately 20 years ago, students had music once a week, and teachers were split between two and even three schools. Corvalis has had music twice a week since the levy was passed around 2006. Voters have consistently renewed the levy every five years because Corvalis families value strong public schools that include art, music, education for all students. Reducing music may reduce the likelihood that Corvalis residents will pass the levy if these reductions continue. And lastly, I just want to say that music along with art and PE and library are what makes school engaging. And if you ask kids what their favorite subject is, um,

087you know, those are the things that rise to the top. And if that's your time, I'm sorry. Okay. Can I just finish just that sentence? Um, Corvals, if they want to um keep students engaged and attending, you need to keep your most engaging [Applause] subjects. Is there any questions from anyone? Thank you, Dia. This a bird. Whoops. Am I good? Okay. Hi, my name is Dr. Melissa Bird and I'm a mom with kids in the district. I'm also a social worker with over 25 years of experience helping people navigate grief and loss. I'm here today to ask you to consider adding suicide prevention to policy JFC hazing, harassment, intimidation, bullying, cyber bullying, teen dating violence, and family violence. I and my family have lost family members and friends to suicide. Suggesting that someone should commit

088suicide is becoming an increasingly common tactic that bullies use with their victims, especially online. Adding language in the definition section about suggesting that someone should commit suicide could help save lives by letting victims and perpetrators know that such language is deeply harmful and unacceptable. Additionally, including suicide prevention under the training and education section of the policy would also prove useful for students and staff. I know that suicide is a difficult conversation and yet it's impacting so of many of us every single day. Thank you for always being so responsive when I have emailed the board to express my views and for considering this important issue for our staff and students. Thank you Sammy. Yeah, go ahead Sammy. Uh thank you. Uh I do thank you Dr. uh Bird for the uh comments and I do

089have a question. Uh the Corval school board has a policy JH student suicide prevention and uh you referenced another policy that uh the board actually revised recently uh JFC and your reference in JFC or your suggestion is related to defining that uh mentions of suicide might uh under the umbrella of bullying and hazing. Is that what's the scope that you're proposing for that policy? Yes, I'm proposing that I I I'm familiar with the suicide prevention policy that the board always already has. Um, and I'm suggesting that it would help to improve um, student and staff experience and ability to deal with particularly cyber bullying if suicide prevention was included somewhere in um, JFC. Thank you. And if I have followup question, so you're proposing also to expand uh, suicide prevention to be inclusive of both

090staff and students, correct? Yes. Thank you very much. No further questions. Any other questions? Thank you, Dr. Bird. Thank you. Jackie Moses. Good evening. I'm Jackie Moses. I'm a music teacher at Bessie Coleman Elementary and also a parent of a kindergartener at Garfield. Um I'm reading today a statement as a CE member of some uh teachers who were laid off because of reductions and also um just want to say as a music teacher uh this affects um all of us who see all kids in our buildings every day. And so I'm reading about two teachers at KJH Katherine Jones Harrison who are um gone because of the reductions in music. I am.5 next year at Bessie Coleman and 3 at KJH. So that would be over 700 students for me. Um KJH will feel a

091little less bright with Irene French, a remarkable secondyear second grade teacher. Even in her short time at KJH, Irene has been some who the staff deeply admire and will be dearly missed. She embodies flexibility, builds incredible relationships with her students, and approaches every child with an authentic asset. based mindset, seeing their strengths first. Irene's natural optimism and humility have made her invaluable as a member of our staff. Her classroom was a special place, a perfect balance of providing students with emotional support while maintaining high academic expectations. Irene is a true warm demander. It's hard to believe Irene was only in her second year of teaching. Her natural talent and highc caliber teaching skills made her seem far more experienced, a testament to her innate abilities. The loss of Irene to our students, our teachers, and

092our entire staff is significant. We wholeheartedly wish her to be the best in her future and her future teaching career. But without a doubt, whatever school is fortunate enough to welcome Irene will be gaining not just a teacher, but a rising star in education. Staff at KJH also know and love Gus Stober, a teacher whose dedication is as bright as his smile. Gus led our life skills classroom, a role that uniquely blends opportunity with challenge. He facilitated the learning of students with significant developmental disabilities while also guiding a team of staff support staff. What Gus is most proud of is the incredible growth he's witnessed in his students in the empathy, resiliency, and sense of belonging. true life skills that will pave the way for their success. A firm believer that every child can, Gus

093beams with pride at the reading progress his students have achieved this school year. We want to extend our deepest gratitude for Gus's flexibility, his wholehearted commitment to the leading of our life skills classroom. And I just want you to say those skills are continued in many of our teachers. Setting up instruments is one of those skills that teachers we do that. Thank you. Is there any questions? Thank you, Jackie. Um, just one second, Kim. How many more do we have? Okay. Um, so we're like at the we're hitting the towards the end of our time. So I wanted to make sure that the board um we're going to extend public comment if that's okay with everyone. Yes, because we want to make sure Yeah, I was going to say that too. I just want to

094make sure that um it was on the record that we're doing the time as all but because we want to hear from y'all. Do we need unanimous consent on the record? Um, and it is also past 8:00 PM and that's the time where student reps are unless you wanted to stay, which you of course you're always welcome to stay, but if you need to go do homework and everything, we understand. So, um, we need to take a moment to excuse u the student reps that do need to go steady since he's past eight. Um, but you can go ahead and get the next person queued up. Hi everyone. I'm Casey Pearly. I'm a teacher at Crescent Valley and also resident of Corvalis. I'm here today on behalf of CEA to celebrate Daniel Mucula. Daniel Mccula

095teaches literature at Crescent Valley High School. He's been a teacher who's made a real and lasting impact on our school since coming back postco. In just a few short years, Daniel has become one of the most loved and respectable teachers on campus by literally everyone, student and staff alike. Daniel's classroom is a space where students feel seen, challenged, and supported. He sets kind but clear boundaries, always with the goal of helping students grow. He's not just a teacher. He's a mentor, a guide, and someone who genuinely cares about the journey high schoolers are on. Whether working with the students in credit recovery or those in AP and honors, Daniel has treated every learner with the same care and belief in their potential. All students, and we do truly mean all, come out of Daniel's class

096better for having been in it. The world is a better place because of the young people he's mentored, and our school has been lucky to have him. Daniel and his bow ties will be missed more than words can express. Thank you. Any questions? Thank you, Casey. standing room out there. There's a couple seats in here. If anybody There's like three seats in here if people want to sit. One, two, three. Yeah. Cool. I'm really good at this. Hello, my name is Amanda McBride. I am an educator in the school district. I am a parent in the school district and I am I a renter in the school district. Um I am here on behalf of CEA members to celebrate Matthew Gradwall, Canton Leech, Peter Coons and Angela Wendelowski at Lionus Pauling Middle School. Matthew Gradwall

097is a CSD graduate with a passion for giving back to his community and serving others. He volunteers for so many extra opportunities to support our students through tutoring and summer school and many co-curriculars like dances and movie nights. He truly believes in public school and has and the impact a great group of adults can have on our kids. He has taught math at Corvalis High School and currently teaches at Lionus Pauling Middle School. You might recognize him from one of his many Spider-Man accessories. He never takes the great power and responsibility for of teaching for granted. He hopes to return to CSD in the future and keep giving all of his students a heroic effort. Peter Coons is also a graduate of Corvalis High School in 2008. He worked as a substitute for a year

098prior to landing a job at Linus Pauling and has been teaching social studies for the last six years. He has been an incredible advocate for students and a huge support for his co-workers as he led professional development teaching offers uh to teach others how to use new platforms and systems through the pandemic and in our recent work with Canvas. Canton Leech is a true Renaissance educator. He started in CSD in December 2020. He has been a huge part of the sixth grade team at Linus Pauling this year with his patient and kind manner. He has an incredibly positive can do attitude, a wicked sense of humor, and is the master of dressup days. Canton has been bumped around a ton in the past few years. He has taught social studies, math, a coding class, PE,

099AVID, health, sixth grade, ELA at both Sheldin and Linus Pauling Middle School. He is the ultimate team player and does it all with grace, kindness, and plenty of humor. Angela Wendelowski has been an educator for 15 years and joined the Lionus Pauling Pride in 2024. In that short period of time, she has worn many hats and lifted very heavy loads. All students have started their day listening to the morning announcements she has continued to create and has led our student leaderships group leadership groups to lead schoolwide events like assemblies, our recycling program, fundraisers, and the design and creation of the LPMS yearbook. Our leadership students are learning so much about community outreach and service. She also has a vast knowledge of supporting teachers and students with differentiation strategies as she's acted in the position of

100TAG liaison. She also co-ees a pride advisory class and is a member of our alted team teaching a section of connections and she is a member of the district assessment team. She has made many connections with so many students in the past year and she will be greatly missed. Was that your last one? That was it. Okay. [Applause] Is there any questions? Thank you, Amanda. Thank you, Curtis. My name is Curtis Peterson. Um, I'm here to celebrate Andrea Nordall, Shannon Rice, Salam Alahhabi, and Brian Weissman. Andrea was a teacher at Adams last year, and this year she has resided at Leticia Carson. Uh, she leads with her heart. Her love for children shines through. She has a calming tone and demeanor that puts students at ease. She holds high expectations for student learning and behavior.

101She's a clear and kind. She is clear and kind with her words and she's also a team player. She collaborates with her grade level teammates and staff. It's a great listener who contributes to the team. My other former colleague um Shannon Rice also taught at Adams last year and this year is the MTSS coordinator at Leticia Carson. Shannon is willing to jump in whenever and wherever help is needed. Her experience and knowledge helps fill in gaps. Whether that be with student learning materials or professional development. She's a clear communicator and is the first to say, "I'm not sure, but I will find out." And she does. She has led many staff meetings and trainings. Um, she is organized and prepared. She gives the team a fresh perspective and helps find solutions. Brian Weissman was a

102math teacher at Linus Pauling Middle School and he's currently on paternity leave. Salam Alulhabi um was our only Arabic teacher in the district and was laid off because the funding for our grant expired. Our hope is that she'll return the to the district in a way that feels meaningful to her because she is wonderful with students and a kind, humble member of our community. And I really hope these four folks are brought back to our district soon. Thank you. Is there any questions? Thank you, Curtis. Thank you. My name is Clara Fitz and I'm a student at Crescent Valley High School and I am zoned for the Central School District. My family moved here in the summer of 2023 and we made the ultimate decision to move to the Corvalis school district due to the

103rigor and the outstanding band program that they have instead of staying uh going to Central High School. And this was because of arguments with the school board that they were having there. Yet we're having the same ones here in the Corvalis school district which was what we were trying to get away from. The central school district has had constant uh budget cuts and yet we're following their footsteps. And I've lived in Maryland and Nebraska and neither of those school districts ever had any of those problems. They never had to make budget cuts even after COVID. So why aren't we taking after those school districts and instead of following after central school district? And for the band program, we have a wind ensemble that has been able to qualify for state for the past few years.

104And the middle schools have been able to create safe spaces. My sister, one of them, she's been able to go in in the mornings and now there's a whole group of them that go in because they see that it's a safe place for them to be. Yet by spreading the teachers so thin over the music programs, how are these kids supposed to connect with these teachers and have this safe place to go if they don't even they can't even interact with them or build these relationships with them? That's all I have to say. Did I say something too? Yes. May I say something as well? I think we have to do a separate or is it Okay. Yeah, we can. We'll have her go. We can have her go next. It's okay. But um Oh,

105go ahead. Sorry. Uh sorry. Uh and a lot of these students, the band has to do a ton of fundraising on their own just to keep the program grow going even though it's a class. It's elective that many people choose and a lot of people can't afford these instruments and it's very upsetting to see that they're cutting these these funds for these students to be able to play. There any questions? Thank you Clara for sharing your words. Thank you. Did you have a comment card in? Did you do a comment card? No, I don't need to talk. Okay. Sorry. Hello, my name is Katherine Berg and I am a teacher at Mountain View Elementary School. I am here on behalf of the CA to recognize two teachers who have been laid off at our school.

106PE teacher Dan Wolf and music teacher Zach Vineyard. During his single year with us at Mountain View, Dan Wolf quickly managed to make positive changes to our PE program. He brought structure, organization, knowledge, and a focus on teaching physical education standards to our students. Within our staff, Dan stands out as a positive, flexible, calm, understanding person and a true team player. He is open to feedback and strives to do his best every day to meet the needs of all students. Making PE a place where every child can thrive, grow, and learn. I asked some of my students to comment about Mr. Wolf, and here are some things that they said. I love how he pushes us to our limits so I can accomplish things that I did not know that I could. Mr. Wolf is

107very helpful and keeps us active. I appreciate how he cares about me and helps us work through our problems. Dan hopes to continue his career in our school district and I can confidently say that any school would be very lucky to have him. We are truly thankful to Dan for the short time that he spent with us at Mountain View and we do wish he could have stayed with us much longer. Zach Vineyard has made an incredible impact during his two years at Mountain View. Our community will feel the loss deeply. In Zach's classroom, students are noticeably engaged in music and they are eager to learn and explore. Zach's enthusiasm and passion for both children and his subject area is contagious. With his creative spirit, he makes music class fun, inviting, safe, and welcoming for

108all learners. In the words of some of my fifth grade students, he is the best music teacher we have ever had at this school because he is fun, patient, and he never gets mad. I really like his kindness. He always has a smile on his face, and he is very happy. I like how he makes music interesting and exciting. He is awesome. Zach is proud of the lively music programs that he brought to life at Mountain View. He loved working together with his students to create performances that brought families together in celebration and community. We are so thankful to Zach for the time he spent with us at Mountain View. We know he will continue to make a positive difference in his future endeavors. Thank you. Is there any questions? Thank you, Katherine. Well, hi.

109Uh, my name is Jana Wells. Um, this year I am the choir teacher at Sheldon Middle School. I also have four children um who attend CV, Sheldon, and Mountain View. Uh first I want to add support for the elementary music program. Um staying at twi twice a week and not being reduced to once a week. Our brains need frequency and repetition to learn any skill and having those teachers stretched between two schools will significantly reduce the relationships and other music opportunities that those teachers can give. This will have long lasting negative effects on every single student in the district. Second, I ask for a choir class to be offered again at CV High School. For the last three years, there have been three choir options held at CHS, one before school and two during school,

110but zero at CV. While CV students can join these choirs, the barriers of transportation, feeling like they don't belong, and having choirs scheduled at the same time as required classes have made it so less and less students have been able to take choir. Third, I want to touch on an aspect of secondary music education that people might not know if they haven't been involved in it personally. That is that whenever there is a transition in teachers in middle or high school ensembles, it is normal for there to be a dip in enrollment and a few years of adjustment regardless of how good the new teacher is. This is because each of us as teachers teach differently and some students who enjoy the program and work well with a certain teacher are hesitant to continue with

111a new person. Sheldon choirs have been through several transitions in the last few years. When I was hired last summer, I was hoping to give the program stability since I live in this community and I'm very committed to these programs. I naively didn't understand my temporary contract and I didn't expect for the Sheldon choir program to be cut in half again and change teachers again this year. Going forward, I call on the board, district, and union to find a way to keep music teachers in their places as long as possible. Don't if possible don't make music teaching positions temporary. Give these programs a chance at stability. Also, please involve music teachers in any future district music decisions. Music and especially group singing has been part of every culture in human history worldwide. Singing together regulates

112our minds and our bodies, builds relationships and con connections, motivates, inspires, comforts, builds confidence, and helps us learn and remember information in any subject. School choirs and music classes are crucial for giving kids these opportunities. Again, I ask that we keep elementary music at twice a week, reintroduce a choir class at CV, and keep music teachers in their positions as long as possible to give programs stability. Thank you. Any questions? Thank you, Jenna. It's already on. Fantastic. Uh, my name is Wayne Fitz. I am a parent of the two other Fitzes that were here before me. Uh, and I reside outside the school district. So, you can start your timer now. Um, we made the decision when we moved back to the area after my uh, career in the Navy to send the kids down

113here to Crescent Valley. Uh, I grew up in the area. Crescent Valley had a reputation of being an awesome school. And I learned that, hey, we have this opportunity to get the kids enrolled there instead of at Central High School, uh, which I did graduate from and was aware of its reputation at the time and I'm still aware of its current reputation. So, we made that choice of, yep, let's truck them down there. So every day we truck our kids down to CV and to Sheldon. Uh both of which are right now great programs, great schools. Um so that's my my backstory there. Um first off, I echo all the comments from the previous speakers here from the community. Uh everything that they brought up seems to be right in line with uh with what

114I've got going here. Um, the big part of this is, as you as you heard my daughter playing in there, is the music education. Um, cutting back the time from elementary school all the way up and then cutting back our teachers. It's doing a disservice for these kids. These are the these are these are the people that we're going to be depending on later in life. And not preparing them for the future is doing ourselves a disservice. Um, Miss Hawkins, you brought up that we prepare our kids for college better than than other places. That's today. Where is that going to be five years from now when we continue to cut programs? Uh, what are our class sizes doing? What are we doing with these kids' time? What are we doing with their time since

115we're cutting back on music and other programs? What are we filling that time with? Is it going to be like more science, more math? Are we going to create some rocket scientists coming out of uh coming out of this school district? I don't know what the plan is there. I'd like to see some clarity from that. Um we look at the budget cuts and a few things that came up. We're cutting all these teachers yet we have a really topheavy administration here. Why is that? Why are we Why are we not looking at cutting back on our administration staff instead of cutting back on teachers? We look at Another thing that jumped out to me from my research on this was pay. Um a fourstar admiral in the Navy or a ground pounder general if

116you if you wish, they make less than our superintendent. These are people that make life and death life and death decisions somewhat regularly. Uh some of them have, you know, they're they're in control of some very important equipment and they make less than our superintendent. Wayne, I have to Yep. Let's see if anybody has any question. Fire away. Speechless. No, we have actually Sorry, Wayne. Um we do have questions. We had to wait till everybody was done clapping. Oh, fire away. We do have a question. So, sure. I was just gonna ask if you had like you want to finish your last statement or do you have No, because it's kind of along the same lines. I talked about a four-star general making less than our superintendent. I was going to mention that our executive

117assistant to the superintendent makes more than the commanding officer of an aircraft carrier with 5,000 people on board depending on them. Thank you. Just like to point something like that out. There's a question online too. No questions. Go ahead, Sammy. Oh, yeah. Thank you. Uh I have two uh concluding your remarks. Uh sorry if that's that's the remarks. Thank you. The second question is um usually the school board uh looks into comparator school districts uh and and what's the market rate for superintendent in the area or similar districts. Have you looked into that as well? Comparative the comparative salaries of other superintendents. I'm not following question. Correct. That's the question. Well, actually, yeah, we were just looking at that online. Um, and some of the numbers were actually even more disturbing. The Salem Kaiser Salem

118Kaiser School District superintendent who has, I think, like five schools, high schools, uh, makes a little bit more than our current superintendent. Uh, Tiger and Lake Asiggo are the numbers that popped to mind. They make less than $200,000 a year. And I mean that's that's Tiger and Lake Asiggo. Those are huge metropolitan areas. And we're down here in what I belovedly call cow town. It's a term of endearment for me. I graduated here. Um and I I'm just not seeing I guess I'm not seeing the return on the on the investment there. And I no fault of your own that you're making as much money as you are. But I guess my my argument is how much our administration makes and how we continue to hold on to those people when the ones that are

119facing daytoday interaction with the students in the trenches, some of them literally um we we gloss over them and when it comes time to cut a budget, we look at the most junior people and go, "Well, let's just take this list and those ones at the bottom go. Um, you know, it's a lack of a lack of accountability, I guess. Uh, and this is systemic in our education system where we continue to hold on to teachers who are mediocre and they're tenured, so we hold on to them. But yet, these great young people that come in and are full of energy and full of wisdom that they want to pass on and make an impact, and often times the kids are feeding on it. Yes, ma'am. We're out of time. I have to be equal

120on the time with everybody. So your question period is done. But thank you so much for time time limit on my questions. Everybody does. Yes. I have to keep it I keep it very equal for everyone. No. Thank you. So thank you so much for your time. Yep. Thank you for your guys' time. Appreciate it. Jason Severs. Good evening. Uh my name is Jason Severs. I'm a parent of a high schooler at Corvalis High School here in town. And uh first I'd like to thank all of you as board members for your public service. Uh thank you very much for that. Uh I would like to uh read a couple remarks about some of our teachers as well. But um first I just uh wanted to uh thank Chair Whitebear and Superintendent Nos for mentioning

121the art programs. I'm glad you went and thank you for mentioning the AAP program. Uh my daughter uh just finished her AP project and submitted it this afternoon. Uh so I highly value the arts and art and music uh is is really about the heart, right? And if we are trying to educate our whole students, when we cut music in the arts, it brings a special kind of heartache to our community and to our students. With that thought, I I will um say it's a privilege during uh teacher appreciation week to uh acknowledge a couple of teachers. I'm doing this um on behalf of art teacher Emily Thomas who could not be here tonight. Uh and full disclosure, she is my spouse. Um uh Emily writes, "When I met Alana Vul and shared her interest

122in best practices in art education, I knew that she was going to be a rising star in the art education world. It takes a special kind of person to be a middle school art teacher and to love it. She connects deeply with her students and gets those who are not even interested in art to be passionate about the subject because she shares her passion, positive energy, and creativity. It is a shame that a rising star and a CSD grad has to be cut because these are the kinds of teachers we need to uphold and carry out the future of teaching. We would also like to celebrate Steven Hoke and Emma Jacqueline. They were laid off last year and still have potential job rates here for the next year. Steven has made an effort to stay

123engaged in his students lives by attending the district-wide art show and volunteering to come and see former students on his personal days from Central School District. Um, and the last thing I'll just say is that I know uh your jobs are hard and job cuts are tough. I'm a former teacher myself, no longer in the profession because of multiple years of budget cuts. Uh so thank you for what you do and um just give an extra nod to the art and music please. Thank you. Oh um thank you Wayne. Okay we don't we can't ask questions because he left. Okay just making sure everybody knew that was watching online why we're not asking questions. Stephanie Bowman Hello, I'm Stephanie Bulman. I'm a parent and a longtime resident and um I appreciate the opportunity to speak

124tonight. Um I appreciate all the work that you guys do. Um but this recent budget is not the first time that I felt like as a parent you guys aren't listening to what we're saying. um or I mean the the fact that we had a survey was great but then it seemed like you didn't listen to the answers we put on and I know there's been other times where issues have come up and we weren't even given a chance to give a voice to our opinion. Um, I'd really like to speak to the cuts in music because music was a huge part of my kids' experience as well as my experience. Um, when I was in school as well as for my kids, that's where we've found our people, where we found our friends. Um,

125we had teachers who were so supportive of us. I know um for my son, he was um you know, as early as elementary school, really pulled out of his shell. He got to have all these great experiences by his elementary music teacher. Um you know, getting up and performing in front of the whole school. Um things that I don't think he would have done if he didn't have that experience, that teacher that was pushing him. um and on into middle school and high school. He's had so much support um such good relationships with the music teachers especially. And I know for my daughter um as early as elementary school, she was feeling unsafe and bullied on the playground, but her music teacher gave her a place of safety, gave her a place where she could

126go hang out and feel like she was accepted, feel like she was safe. Um, and that has continued through into middle school. Um, her music teacher gives her a safe space to go when she feels like there's hardly anywhere that she does feel safe in school. And I just I really appreciate all the work that they do. And um, like has been said, it's those long-term relationships that make such a huge impact in our kids' lives. And um if you cut those programs, it's just making a huge huge impact on kids that don't um find other places to go like it sports or other things. For some kids, music is the space that they um they thrive. And so that really needs to be supported especially through budget considerations. Thank you. Any questions? Thank you,

127Stephanie. Catherine. Get it pulled up here. I am writing as a deeply concerned parent of a student at Bessie Coleman Elementary to express my outrage and disappointment regarding the budget decisions that have resulted in the cutting of teaching positions and enrichment programs. These cuts directly undermine the quality of education and extracurricular opportunities available to our children and I believe they are a disservice to the students, families as well as our community. It is profoundly troubling that while excuse me essential programs and staffing are being reduced, the district continues to award substantial annual raises to administration. The highest super or the superintendent received a pay increase of almost $80,000 since 2020. In the light of the ongoing budget cuts affecting frontline staff and programs, this raises serious questions about the district's priorities and the equitable distribution

128of resources. It is difficult to justify such increases when the very programs that directly benefit students are being sacrificed. Elementary arts programs are being cut, depriving students of essential opportunities to explore their creativity, develop cognitive skills, and enhance emotional well-being through music, visual arts, and performance. Furthermore, given the district's ongoing decline in enrollment, prudent and thoughtful resource allocation becomes even more critical. As fewer students attend our schools, maintaining a highquality educational environment should be the top priority. Instead, these budget cuts threaten to further diminish the educational experience and could potentially accelerate the decline in enrollment, creating a vicious cycle that jeopardizes the district's long-term stability and success. Regular access to art and music education is vital for children's development. These programs foster creativity, enhance cognitive skills, improve emotional well-being, and promote social skills such as

129teamwork and communication. Numerous studies have shown that children involved in arts and music education perform better academically, develop greater confidence, and are more engaged learners. Cutting these programs deprive students of essential opportunities to explore their talents, express themselves, and develop skills that are crucial for their overall growth and future success. Our children deserve a well-rounded education that includes dedicated teachers and enriching programs. Reducing these vital components not only hand hampers their learning but also sends a disheartening message that administrative priorities are misplaced, that they don't care. I strongly urge the district to reconsider these cuts and prioritize the needs of students and frontline educators. Transparent, equitable, and responsible budget decisions are essential to rebuild trust and ensure that our schools serve the best interests of our children. I also wanted to ask about the rainy

130day fund. Um, it looks like there's close to $5.6 million available and Bethl School District recently used their times up and or Katherine, I'm sorry. Okay. And just one second. You also need to state your name and whether or not you reside in the district. I do. Yeah. No, you need to you actually need to state your name, too. My name is Katherine Dunn and I I reside in the district. Yes. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Just one second because we need to see if we have questions for you, too. Uh, does anybody have any questions? Thank you. Yep. Okay, that was our last comment, it sounds like. Um, I did want to thank everybody for bringing your voices to the meeting this evening and for hanging in there. Um and um with that being said,

131the public comment period is now closed. I invite you to stay for to hear our other business if you would like. Um we have some great presentations coming up. Um and we are going to take a short break for a few minutes as we transition to the next topic. Okay, welcome back everyone. Thank you for um your patience and we are back. Uh the next item on the agenda is um the title six Indian education grant application and I know we have a presentation so I'll welcome you all up. Good evening to the board. Nice to see you. Um my name is Marcanne and I'm the u multilingual programs and equity coordinator and I'm Christy Jones and I'm the um Indian parent committee chair for the Indian education grant through Corell School District. Yes. And

132we're both really honored um to be presenting for you tonight. We have um some slides that we want to share with you and it wouldn't be a presentation without pictures. And so tonight you'll see some pictures of some amazing events that have happened um really because of the Indian ed grant. And so we'll provide you with some updates um provide you with some information that we've been doing, some great things that we've been doing this year and then also end with some updates for next year. Okay. Sound good, Christie? Yeah. Okay. All right. Um so as part of this grant our one of our goals is to strengthen um the support for the unique culture, language and educational needs for our current and future native students. Last year we had an amazing event. It was

133a native community gathering where we where we were able to gather feedback from the community and based on that feedback that informed some of the events we did last year as well as some of the events we did this year. This is year two of the grant. So, we're really excited about the potentials for future years. And um the objectives of the grant um are to increase the academic achievement, knowledge of cultural identity and awareness of our native students as well as increase parent participation. Okay. Right. Anything else you want to say? Um I also want to um further introduce myself. I do not live in the district. That was one of the things I remember other people saying. Um but I choose to have all three of my kids um go to school in

134the district and I'm also an alumni of the district as well. I graduated from Crescent Valley. I won't say what year. Um but I also won a state title for that school. So there's that. Um with hopes u my kids are playing um sports with some of y'all's uh grandkids. Um, I don't know if I'm allowed to say that, but uh, sorry. And, uh, tonight I wasn't able to make my daughter's baseball game, but she plays for the little league. So, I just wanted to, um, further introduce myself to let you know where I come from and um, how how I'm here. Great. All right. So this next picture uh came from or picture set of pictures came from our November native community gathering and uh the purpose of that gathering was really to bring

135the Indian parent committee together as well as the community. Uh we provided time and space for grant overview information um as well as just having time for folks to be together. Um, it was led and organized by our Indian parent committee and I know Christie will be talking a little bit more about that. It was a potluck style and so folks were able to bring food and we also had a local vendor provide a meal as well. So it was just a beautiful evening to come together and break bread together. Uh we were able to hold hold it at the um the CS community or Corvalis community center. Okay. Yes. which is central in Corvalis. So, it was very walkable for a lot of folks or um on the bus lines for other folks who

136couldn't make it with their own transportation, too. Yeah, that wasn't me. I promise. Oh, there we go. Um don't know. Is it cuz it's 9:00? Maybe like the building shuts down. Yeah. Yeah. We can continue and then yeah, for folk online, we're trying to get the picture back up. Oh, there we go. Screen. One thing I'll I'll say before I hand it back over to Christie. I'll never forget when we had this evening at the very end, we were just thinking about um what activities we wanted to do next. And I remember um some of the members of the Indian parent committee saying something um you know, wanting to bring people back together to uh for ribbon skirts and ribbon shirts. And so that dream came true. Uh so this past April just We had

137our first ever ribbon skirt and shirt making workshop here in the Corvalis school district and so I don't know if you want to talk about that Christie. Yes. So this is very impactful for our community. Um we held it at Katherine Jones Harrison Elementary. Um we felt that that was also a central place in Coralis that is easy to for parents and families to get to and also because of who it's named after. Um, every day I drop my daughter off at KJH and I see that beautiful Stephanie Littlebird um, tapestry that's hanging up. I I you know, I'm I'm really glad that my daughter gets to see part of her culture. Um, even though we're not from the same tribe, but it's part of Native culture. Um, I'm glad that she gets to see

138that every single day. So, um, we hadn't hosted an event at that space yet. And so, I thought, um, in the art room, why it's a beautiful nice large Why don't we try to host this um ribbon skirt and shirt making event? Um we were able to bring in uh Sonia M Sonia Moody Herado who um is a select tribal member. She's award-winning um with all of her um arts and crafts and regalia making. And she's also um a mom of one of the OSU um students here as well. and she's also on an Indian parent committee um through the Corval or not the Corvalis uh Salem Kaiser School District. She's involved with their Indian ed program. Um so it was a it we were able to get supplies and um as you can see

139the students and their families were able to make ribbon skirts and shirts. Not everyone was able to finish because we had a wide range of people who had sewing abilities or who didn't have sewing abilities. We provided everything um from materials and people who could sew, who could teach you to sew. Uh we taught uh my daughter sewed her own ribbon skirt and she's in kindergarten. So, and we also had a grandma there who uh was learning how to sew. So, there's a wide range and it was just a great family gathering and just super impactful for our community. Um and I know in a couple slides that we're talking we're I'm going to talk about what a ribbon skirt is actually. Yeah. Right here. system right here. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, we we already

140had it up there. I don't have to read it. Um, so it's part just part of our culture and just a symbol of um our resilience. Some people wear it for ceremonial purposes. Um, some people wear it every day just as everyday wear. Um, I tend to wear mine when I have a like a speaking event or a presentation just to be able to dress fancy and just be able to show my culture. Um, and it's really it was really awesome seeing the youth and the parents um finish their their projects because um like once someone would finish everyone would start cheering and start clapping for them and just be so happy that they had something that they could wear and be um proud of their heritage as well. Uh we also provided opportunities um

141for places where they could wear their their um new ribbon skirt, ribbon shirt, and that could be at um some of the local powows. And so I do want to plug uh for OSU, we have a pow-ow coming up on uh May 17th. Um so that could we um the families different pows that are in the the area where they could uh wear their their new attire. Yeah. One of the things when we debriefed that evening, uh, as we were walking out to the parking lot, um, we looked at each other and said, "You know what? Maybe next year we need to do this on a Saturday." Because we scheduled it for, was it two and a half hours? Yeah. And it wasn't wasn't enough. But we had some, um, amazing, um, people behind, uh,

142sewing machines sewing as quickly as they could. And so, uh, it was great to have that opportunity. But definitely we'll need more time next time, right? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So, uh do you want to talk about this one too, Christie? Oh, yes. Um we had a lot of uh families sign up. Um I don't I didn't bring the count of the number of families, but as you can see Oh, 18 right here. Yeah, you had it. Sorry. It's okay. Um but between the 18 there was um 16 youth shirts. Yeah. Um 16 adult shirts. um six ribbon skirts or I'm getting these mixed up. It's hard to see. I need new glasses maybe. Um it's the higher numbers are with the skirts. Yeah. Um so not everyone was able to attend. You know,

143things come up last minute or not everyone was able to finish and so we were able to partner with um Carvalis Sewing and Vacuum and they were able to offer during their business hours um people to come and finish their projects and their um skirts and shirts there. It was wonderful. All right, so yes, looking ahead, yeah, native graduation um like Ryan mentioned earlier is on May 27th. We currently have 34 seniors that will be getting invitations uh for the um graduation and we will be uh we have ordered and we'll be getting native souls from uh Kuosten Designs and um she's a Hoopa Valley tribal member from Northern California. Yeah. And then do you want to talk about Indian parent? Yes. So I was very um fortunate to remember when I made the sign

144up for the ribbon shirts and skirts event to add are you interested in joining the Indian parent committee and so we got a lot of we got about five parents who were um who we hadn't seen before at um prior events that want to be involved with our Indian parent committee. And so um just like any committee it's hard to find times that are common for people. So some people want to do committee work and this type of work during the day during work hours and some people have their normal job and aren't don't have flexibility and so they want to do it in the evening. So um just trying to build our um Indian parent committee and finding common times when everyone's available. Um so that's what we're working on. Excellent. And then our

145goals for this upcoming grant cycle will be just as it says on the screen to strengthen our parent participation, increase academic achievement, increase knowledge of cultural identity and awareness. And we're really excited to share that because of the number of forms that we'd received back from families. We were able from students um we were able to increase our funding about 150% for the 2025 2026 school year. So that means that we will continue to do the things that we did this year and also expand them into next year. So um I think with that um I'll stop sharing and see if we have any questions. Thank you Marcen. It looks like Bernie has his hand up already. Yeah. Um can you tell me um in your report you said there was a public hearing uh

146today. Can you tell me more about that? Yeah, that's gonna happen right afterwards. And um so we've got some participants that are going to that are going to do a public hearing. It's actually part of the grant. It's a requirement that after um uh we present about the Indian ed grant to the school board and then a public hearing afterwards. Y other questions. Oh yeah, go ahead Judah. Um, I just wanted to thank you so much and you Marcen, but I hear from you I hear volunteered their time and a lot of it and this is incredible. So, thank you to you and the other volunteers for making that a labor of love. Thank you so much. Thanks. I was just curious if you might share with us um with particularly like with the event

147that you were um the uh the skirt and shirt event um what kind of strategies did you use to encourage or um promote within the community to um get to get participation? uh we use social media um and um on my personal page and and then also we emailed participants too who I identified um who have filled out forms um and then I'm not sure yeah and so um we went through our synergy system and found students that um had in synergy had enrolled as an American Indian Alaskan native and we did a huge email blast obviously All the emails were u blank copied so we didn't provide any confidential information but that was just we just invited everybody and then um Christy was kind enough to put a form where people could RSVP and

148that's where we had families RSVP saying how many family members were going to attend from their family. So yeah great and a lot of word of mouth too. So yeah. Thank you. Um, thank you for being here and uh, I was able to attend the was it the graduation ceremony last year at LP and I just it was so powerful and it was just such a great way to honor the culture and so I just I can't wait to see it again and to attend and just thank you for making that happen. Yeah, you all are invited. Please come. Any other questions? comments. Um, I had a Oh, do you have another one, Britney? Okay. Okay. I hope uh Marian, you would invite the the new group to uh DEDI next week, too. I think

149uh their voices and what we plan to do is going to be good. Absolutely. Yeah, we sure will. Um, I just want to say thank you to Christy and Marcianne for all your work over the last um, couple of years and it's been really cool to see it grow now. You all know what I'm talking about when I do my board report as lay um, and why I get so excited about going to things. Um, and it was really awesome to I was able to um be Sonia's assistant um because I've I've known her forever because I'm part of the community in Cletes and so um being able to um I should say so it's on public that I'm not enrolled in Cletes so nobody gets that mistaken. Um, and it was really nice to

150be able to be her assistant in that capacity too and spend time with everybody and bring some of the ones that I've made for examples and show the students there like this is what you can do in the future when you learn how to do designs and stuff like that into the families. So, it was really fun to be able to gau engage in that way. And so, I just wanted to um share that. And um Christie, you mentioned um the native students at OSU, and I just wanted to see if you minded sharing really quick about their involvement too with the um with the students here and because I think that's such an important way for students to see themselves in college after um after uh K12. Yeah, definitely. Um because the students only

151listen so much to us because they look at us as, you know, either the parent or the auntie. So, um the students through the Native American Student Association at OSU, um they have made a commitment to come over to our events and help mentor the students during the events. Um so, it's a very informal. There's nothing like um like one-on-one with students or families or anything, but during the events, they come and help out. So last year, for example, they came to one of our beading nights and helped um families and students bead and um and then Jocelyn came to our ribbon skirt making event. And so they the students at OSU want to show the K through2 students, you know, what it's like to be in college and to show that they belong in

152college and, you know, to to create that um that bridge between K through 12 and and college. Awesome. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Thank you. Yeah. I think um we're done with questions from the board. Did Sammy have anything or no? Okay. Um Okay. So, thank you both for your presentation and the next part is um public testimony regarding the title 6 Indian education grant application. Um we will now open the public comment period regarding the title 6 Indian education grant application. We will follow the same guidelines that I shared for general public comments earlier in the meeting. If you are not here, um make sure this light is red. And there's a timer. And when it's green, your time is full. When it's yellow, 30 seconds. When it's red, your time's up. You

153need to state your name. And if you reside within the district for public record as well. So name if you're in the district. Yes. Okay. Blakeley. Can I go? I'll go first if that's okay. And then she's not quite warmed up. That's possible. And then can I sit next to her? Okay. Okay. Hello. Uh my name is Sadelle Harrison and I am a parent and community member in the school district. I have three girls in uh Corvalis School District, one at LP and two right here at Adams Elementary. Um I guess I'm just here in support of the Indian Education Grant. I did I am the newest person on the parents committee. Um so I actually have only participated in a couple events. one meeting and then I did make the ribbon skirt um sewing

154class which was great. Um, as a Oregon tribal descendant, I'm from eastern Oregon. So, I'm Cailluse and Walaw Wala from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatil Indian Reservation, which is where I grew up. And then I'm enrolled in Yakama Nation, which is right across the border, um, in Washington State. But I'm also the first generation immediate family member to go to college to get two bachelor's degrees to get a master's of public health and then get a PhD in health promotion and health behavior. So big proponent for education um and after my PhD chose to stay here in the district because of the school and um the things that my kids have achieved here. Um Blake is going to talk to you in a moment, but she's my middle child and she is on she

155her team won OBO this year for Adams Elementary and went to the regional qualificate qualifier and uh got beat out there, but I think they made it into the top eight. Um she's in Mima, so tagging on to before I I was in music classes at my small Eastern Oregon school, and so listening to all of the testimony tonight was really powerful for me. Um, I was in the singing class until I could move up to band and then band took me all the way to Washington DC for the uh, Independence Day parade that I marched in uh, playing the trumpet. So, um, she's in MIMA. My older daughter is interested in theater. Um, and then my youngest is running around here. She's in second grade. And um you know I just really appreciate the

156the committee the the Indian education grant for providing opportunities for us to share our culture as a student who's gone through a terminal degree. It's a heavy load to be the only native student in the room and to be doing as much educating as you are getting educated in every room that you're in. And so I am here to help uh maybe move forward in in a little bit bit of that education um widely in the district so that there's less for our kids that are coming through the system behind us. And then that's all I have. Um and then you'll hear from Blake next. Thank you. Thank you. So is there any questions? Thank you. in the school district for your ready. Um, what do I say? Um, hello. My name is Blake Ashley.

157I'm in fifth grade. I go to Adams Elementary. Um, I'm a part of the Caillou Yumatella Walawala. uh Yakoba and Paloo tribes. Um I think the programs for the for Native American students are important because um it teaches people about our c our culture. Many people don't know um much about Native Americans or their culture or history. I like sharing about my culture. I do this at school on culture day. At Adam's um day at Adams at culture day, we celebrate um all religions and cultures. I dress up and carry the trai my traditional flag in the parade. People ask many questions about my culture like um who made my regalia, who beaded my um necklaces to my headbands and a lot of questions like that. I like being able to answer these questions. Um

158I participate in SAFE. Safe creates a pa a place to talk about um your religion and problems you may have at school. I am glad to be in safe and Miss Roman and with Miss Roman because we can ask her anything. Um I am one of three sisters in my in the Kovalis school district. Kai is in seventh grade uh going to Linus Falling Middle School. My little sister, um, Riley, is in second grade and goes to Adams Elementary. I want to share my sister, Riley's flag. Um, she was asked to draw a flag from any country or a Makebelie place. Um, this is her flag. Does anyone recognize it? We're not supposed to go in conversation, but I do recognize it. This is our traditional flag from the Confederated Tribes of Umatella Indian Reservation.

159Out of all the flags, uh, she chose ours and and it's pretty cool. Next, I want to show uh my sister Kai's portrait in fifth grade at Adams Elementary. Um, each student chooses a special outfit. Kai chose her regalia and I will and I would take mine on May uh 23rd in my regalia too. Thank you. [Applause] Any questions? Do you have a question? I look like you were gonna Can I see the flag in the picture up close? Any other questions? Thank you, Blake. Thank you, Did you tell me? Uh, hello. I'm I'm Jacobe. Uh, I'm in 10th grade. I go to CB. Uh just like the the stuff we do is like pretty fun. No, it's like learn about my culture and stuff. It's pretty cool. That's all I got. Any questions for

160Jacobe? Do you have a question? I can tell he wants to be here. So, what's one of the favorite things that you learned this last year? probably how to make a a ribbon t-shirt. T-shirt. Thank you. Any other questions? Okay. Thank you, Jacobe. [Applause] Samia. Samia. Samia has chosen to withdraw her Okay. Um, with no further comments, the public comment period is now closed. Thank you all for bringing your voices to us this evening. Yes. Um, Judah needs to Oh, yeah. We should Yeah, because Sammy's online. Yeah. Yeah, we're just um Judah is excused for the rest of the evening. Thank you, Judah. Okay, next on the um agenda is the Groud Alliance report and that is with Melissa. Sorry that was loud. I actually have two reports in a row. The Grat Alliance is

161um just questions that you might have based on the board report that was submitted. So um that was available in your packet. And um if I was to add any extra information to that board report, um I would want to thank Eric Wright for his leadership at College Hill. He's been um supporting the program from an administrative perspective. Um and um we are actually the report is already outdated because I think we had 11 students at the time of the report and by um just today we um added two more students to the program. So I'll take any questions you might have. Questions for Melissa on the GRD Alliance? Go ahead. I do. Oh Sammy. Yeah. Go ahead, Sammy. Oh, yeah. Thank you. So, uh, thank you. So, thank you, Melissa, for the report. I

162do have a couple of questions. The first one is, uh, well, this is really great news. So, now we have two in addition to the 11 that you mentioned in the reports. The ADMW that's the district receives per students approximately is how much? I don't know what our ADMW is right now. I'm looking to Lauren. About 10,500 is what I got just got from Lauren. So, um, again, just as a reminder, students who enroll in Grad Alliance are enrolled as Corvalis school district students. Their ADMW then comes to the school district and then we remit a payment to Grad Alliance for a portion of that because they're doing um that work with our students off-campus. And that percentage ranges in a piece wise as it is is mentioned on the report from 1 to 14

163and 15 to 39. Uh could you tell me more about that FTE? So do we mean by FTE per FTE that the alliance uh provides to serve the students or per that might be a little confusing. This is contract language um with graduation alliance. When they say FTE, they're saying if one to 14 FTE, um I think you can replace that word with students. So if one to four students per month are participating in graduation alliance, then the amount of um uh payment we return to them is ADMW times membership days um times 86%. And as you noted, it goes how much we have to pay back to them decreases as more students enroll in the program. So the FTE is a full-time equivalent of a student participating. Yes. As a student. Yes. Got it.

164Thank you. Now one question and I'm going to appine here. I'm assuming those students graduation and uh assessments and all data related to those students are going to be associated with their high schools or with their home schools. Is that correct? That is correct. Wonderful. That's what I wanted to know. Thank you so much. Those students are also invited to walk at graduation with the high school that they had attended if that's their choice. Um and they also have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities at the high school that they're boundary to if that's a choice that they want to make as well. Wonderful. Wonderful. Thank you so much. Yep. Um Melissa um in your second paragraph you mentioned uh the the students uh have to use a Wi-Fi enabled laptop. Are those uh

165districts? Those are not district issued. Those come from graduation alliance. Okay. So it's part it's part of the cont. It's part of the package of becoming a student with the program. Yes. Thank you. Yeah. So, um I really love that we have uh this program in an effort to reach students for whom our traditional model didn't work, right? Um or even our alternative to the traditional model is not working. Right. So, um I think it's really great to recognize that's how many that's the diversity of learners, right? My question is really um for anybody that is listening, if you could um just very briefly summarize why we should care about these kids who are coming through our district as a and there's a pass through to pay this other group to take care of this.

166Like why should this district care that we are making this effort and capturing these these these kids and helping them get through the system? I think what speaks to me the most is that we do have a we do have a percentage of students for whom our schools are not working and um we are trying interventions after interventions and opportunities and changing schedules and doing everything we can including placement at College Hill if that's the place that works for them and it's still not working and we care that these students get a college or I'm sorry a high school diploma. So this is our opportunity to um to do that for them. we care that they're connected to their community, which is another thing that Grat Alliance does. So, that's the kind of the touchyfey

167part of me that that's important to me. Um, when I think about the benefit to the district, we get to say we're we're supporting those students in a way that they need, which is what our, you know, one of our equity stances is to make sure we're meeting kids where they're at and give them the things that they need to succeed. Um, but on the financial end, we're able to recoup a little bit of funding as well. So, this is a plus for us. um those students are just aren't just lost. Uh one of the things that was great about Graduation Alliance when we started, I mean it's it's it's a it's a very good program as we're moving through it and learning as we go because we're brand new to it. Um is that

168the first thing we did is um gave them just kind of a data dump of students that we can't find. We don't know where they are. They never returned to school. We don't have any forwarding address, anything like that. They went out and found kids and we were able to take them off our roles. No, they didn't drop out of school. they actually enrolled in a different school in another state. Grandma told us that and now we can at least know that they're taking care of somewhere else. So, there's a lot um I I think I talked more about the good things that we are doing for kids with Graduation Alliance than the monetary function, but both of those things are true at the same time. Any other questions? Thank you, Melissa. Thank you. I

169think I'm gonna stay here. Yeah, because I was going to say next item on the agenda is Melissa. Yes. If you just give me one second. And we have a presentation on the bias reporting update. Yes. This always does this. Okay. How am I looking? Am I up? Okay, there we go. Okay, so this is um kind of an interim report because it's not a full year, but um we know um that you all like to hear about how things are going, you know, last year's data at the start of the school year and then just kind of a quick check-in here. So that's what this um report is. Is this a check-in on data? Um, for those of you that were able to check the um the uh the agenda, you'll see all of

170the um the data that looks similar to the last time I did the report, I left uh the year before and last school year's data up so that you could make some comparisons. So, um, for people who are just listening, um, knowing that this is data from September of this school year through February 25th, 2025, and I want to be clear that the reason that it's through that date is because at the time of retrieving this data, um, that would be the last date where we could also track the four-week check-in after the incident occurred. So, that was one of the things that we had been talking about was the four-week um, check-in on our students um, who were harmed to see how they're doing. So that's why that was that last date. The data

171is all in that report and happy to answer questions there too. But this is usually the opportunity for me to kind of fill out some of the information a little bit more for folks. So um one of the things that I think you saw uh in the data was about reporters. Um and I just wanted to show you the trend that um reports made by staff are increasing in this category. That's two words. um in this category. Uh that to me is um again that continued training with our staff that when things happen, when students report things to them, when they see things that they're filing those reports as well, remembering that we're tracking um incidents and bias incidents in our um our software that we're using to track complaints and and bias incidents, but

172we're also tracking bias incidents that result in um some kind of a consequence in our synergy student information system. So, we have things happening in both places. So, shout out to our staff who realize they do have to do it in both places and they're continuing to do that at um good numbers. Uh I think that the numbers for what types of biases were reported was um in the report, but what you have here is just a little more of an explainer of what um what we're seeing. I also want to um I put Kristen Mahoney's name in the report and and that's important to me because Kristen is monitoring the um complaint and bias incident software. So, she's watching all of these complaints. She's tracking them to make sure things are happening, but additionally,

173the software isn't doing exactly what we want it to do yet. We'll be meeting with some representatives this summer. Um so some of the things that we want like this kind of data she had to go through and and pull herself. Um so she went through every one of those incidents and she made her own spreadsheet where she was trying to create um categories where we could pull together data like this. So um when it came to bias incidents about race again the most common racial bias continues to be the use of the n-word by our students. um and LGBTQ plus bias. What we're noticing is um the use of the word gay in a negative context, the um continued use of the f the fslur and then purposely not using a student's preferred pronouns

174and uh with disability bias, which came in at 11%. Um what we're seeing here is uh the use of the rword and students who might have been mocking someone else's disability. One of the things we talked about um was levels and how this is um how this is working at our high schools and our middle schools. Um the first time I ever brought data forward, remember we had just a huge number of kids in the middle school and it didn't seem like anyone else was reporting. We're seeing that kind of start to balance out a little bit. Um our elementary schools are at 54 uh reports, high school at 31. um which again if you look at the numbers um or the percentages in your report you'll see that we're we're trending in the way

175that we want to be trending with regard to our high school students reporting bias incidents and um I wanted to put a disclaimer in there. We have two programs that overlap grades. So um Franklin K8 is included in elementary numbers and the Bridges 612 program which is over here at Western View um is included in the high school count. That's just that's just to kind of you know it's hard to separate that data out. And um again we're seeing the trend. We don't want bias to happen. We want people to report bias incidents. And Marcian and I have worked hard with our high school students to make sure that they are reporting bias incidents at the high school level. One thing we haven't really talked about before is consequences. So what's happening after the report

176happens? the the um there's a report, there's an investigation, then there's conversations, and then there's consequences. So, remembering that sometimes two or three of these things can be true for the same incident. Um our greatest percentage uh as far as a consequence is concerned is reteing. So sitting down with those students and talking about what it is um that they've done and why it is a problem for um for the student that they impacted for the community um for them being a functional member of of our society. And that is the um that was the goal of this uh law that was written by the state you know a few years ago which created the biased incident process was um the opportunity to retach. But in some cases, reteing isn't enough. And there are um

177there are consequences that um students have to um uh have to experience that include in school or out of school suspension, sometimes a loss of an activity or um sometimes a detention if we have schools that are doing that. And then um a lot of our um incidents also involve meetings with a parent or guardian. They all have our phone call, but sometimes it goes so far as to have parents come in and have a bigger conversation. Our one-mon check-in is it's going okay. Um I was uh recently met with everyone of the levels um admin to talk about what's going well with bias incidents as far as um the program and the investigations and what they're up to. um they're they're faced with a few challenges with one-mon check-ins. I reiterated to all of

178them at each level how important that part of the process is because it was a promise we made to our students that this is how we were going to ensure that they knew that we were taking these um incidents seriously. So again reiterating that um the critical aspect of it um when we looked at data from one month check-ins we um see that the most common response from the person being harmed was that um things have improved and that's kind of where they want to leave it. There are responses of no that kid is still bothering me or this thing is still happening in this class. And then what I see there are follow-ups from the administrators to um to work through those uh problems with like with the student who's causing harm. And I

179think that's all I have questions. Thanks Melissa. Any questions? Bernie. Hi Bernie. Yeah. uh your data tracking, does it go down to define granularity like repeat offenders and so on? Do you what what what is that trend looking like? So that was something that I just recently talked to all the levels about so that they can take a look at searching our program. That's what the great thing about this this program is you can search by a name and then you can see that a particular name was associated with one, two or three different events. And so what we need to do now is that follow-up training on making sure that that's something that you're um you're analyzing with regularity. It could be coming out of my office or if it's happening in a data

180team at a high school or middle school, elementary school so that they can take a look at those names and and start to look at that process a little differently for students who are repeat offenders. Uh do you use that data to determine the consequences that you you discussed? Yes. and at the what they can do right now instead of looking in that program is they can go to synergy the student information system where we track all of those behavior incidents. So they can go through there and see if it's the students first, second or third. And then we have um we have a uh a rubric so that you can look at what needs to come next when it comes to a consequence for a student with a first offense, second offense, or if

181it's a um the severity of the offense. the first time might look like an out of school suspension or it might not. So there is a rubric to follow for all administrators. It's also in the parent handbook, parent student handbook, so people can see it there too. Any other questions from the board? I have questions. I always have questions on this report. Yep. I'm ready. You're ready. Um, we see a the repeated pattern of antilackness and LGBTQ on many things. Yeah. And so I'm wondering how training is going for staff on how to respond to those in particular. We're doing those um the the training that's happening that's happening at the start of the year, which I highlighted in the November presentation, um, is something that I think we need to expand to our buildings.

182We've talked a little bit with um principles who've said, you know, if this thing is serious enough, then we should be having these conversations with our staff. Um I have reservations about just going, "Okay, go ahead and do that." Um because I would rather be able to prepare something for them that they can talk with their staff about. We've done that with the kids. That's what Nikki and her advisory committee in particular as well as the middle schools have done with advisor. That's what our equity lessons are at elementary school. They're prepared. They're ready. We're giving the same message. what needs to come next and this is the work that needs to happen is um is that consistent message to staff about what that looks like. Thanks. Yeah, because there's the um part where there's

183like safe students helping educate their peers and then they're like but then stuff happens and sometimes teachers may not have the training to respond to some of it in the moment. And so that's kind of why I was asking that one. Um that way they feel like it's happening on their end and from peerto-peer and also um from the staff side. Yeah. And then um I have a question about the um I did see that it seemed like the numbers went down. Did I read it backwards for overall reporting? It's because we're only halfway through the year. Never mind. Yep. Erase that. Uhu. Um I'm curious about the part about the discipline. Like what leads to increased steps in discipline? like is it like a step thing or is it a severity thing? Like how

184is that and that's what I was I was saying with Bernie we have a we have a rubric inside what is our district behavior guidelines and that would include um this is part of the harassment page and in that we have um we have categories for you know severity or just sheer number of events. So yet they kind of have to do a little bit of a grid work. Um and a lot of times they also call me um and say, "Hey, this is what's happened. This is this, you know, this is the second time it's happened, but it looks like this." And we walk through the district behavior guidelines and come up with a consequence that fits that consistent use of that rubric. Okay. Um and then I should have asked this with the

185other one. Um I don't remember disability being as high in the past. Is that do I remember that properly? Yeah, it's it seems to be going up. Okay. So, that seems like another area a lot of times people are not trained on that part either, especially because it's such a like overlooked kind of intervention on Right. There's also so many disabilities that are unseen, right? So, um yeah, so we have some training to do there as well. You've just given us all of our Marcy I'm still here. Yes. All of our behavior incident response team uh goals for the summer. So, thank you. That's awesome to hear. Um, well, thank you for your work on this. I know it's been um over the last few years. And I wanted to mention for folk who may

186not know about this, who are listening maybe that um the updates were in response to student voice. And I think that's always important to remind folk that some of the steps that the district took was in direct listening and um and board listening to students and district responding to. Yeah. So, thank you. Thank you. Okay, awesome. Now we're up to curriculum adoptions and we have Nikki, Kim, and Amy for this. And you'll have a presentation it looks like. Hi. Um, we're going to start with introductions. My name is Amy Leon and my role is elementary coordinator and we're excited to talk to you about a few different curriculum things that are happening in our world right now. And I'm Nikki McFarland. I'm the high school coordinator. And I'm Kim Johnson. I'm the middle school coordinator

187and also running bridges this year. One of the things you'll see on this first slide is of course we'll be talking about our adoptions that you saw the report on, but we also have some data to share with you and that's the and more that's included at the bottom. Surprise. So we shared this with you earlier this year. Um this slide outlines the adoption process. Um we go through adoptions each year. OD publishes a list of approved materials. Teachers and administrators review those materials. Um choose materials to pilot. Um and then make a recommendation for adoption. Our team then works with Kelly and communication to gather feedback from the community. Um a really awesome thing that I'm seeing this year is that uh we're getting a lot more student feedback than we've ever gotten before.

188were able to use Canvas to push out really short surveys to students about the curriculum. So you'll see when I talk about science, I think we had a hundred of our responders were students giving feedback about science. Um then we uh come to you all with our adoption. So that's where we are and then teachers collaborate to support the implementation of the materials in the following school year. Okay. So, we went over this, I think, in a previous adoption, but it's it's good to keep in mind where we are because we're kind of always living in a few worlds at the same time. So, this school year, we implemented middle school science. Last last spring when we came to you, Nikki and I came and kind of postponed um science. Was that two two years

189ago? That was last year. And then um but we we did a partial implementation at elementary this year and now we're coming to you with the the rest of the science materials and then also talking about health which we've been working on this school year. So then next school year we will formalize those um science adoptions at elementary and high school will K12 have health and then we will be working on social science materials and that process is already started. Um I think I just want to make a note here. Nikki and I were able to attend a state and Kim Yeah, you're with us. She's the principal most of the time and so when we get to see her it's really fantastic. Um, we went to a statewide adoption session about social sciences. And

190the thing that struck me when I was there was how thankful I was for you all because there were definitely districts there when we were talking about social sciences and and Oregon's um standards that are pretty um they're really awesome and they are definitely a little more intense than I would think a lot of states are. and many of our colleagues around the state didn't have the support of their board or their superintendent to really dig into social sciences. So, I just want to say thank you. Your work around um all of our policies um that support the work in social sciences actually really matters. So, thank you. So, we'll be doing that work with teachers this coming school year. So we're just getting started with that and then the following year we'll implement those

191materials and we'll work on it in theory um adoption for world language arts and physical education materials. So it's kind of always evolving. And so tonight we're here we're going to share with you the elementary science that Amy talked about was postponed as well as the high school science that was postponed last spring. and then the K12 health adoption process that we've gone through this year. Okay. So, what I want to share with you about science is when I came last time, I had hoped um that what I'm seeing this year is what I'm seeing. And what I can tell you is I have been in classrooms and I am seeing more science happening this year than I've seen in a long time. And I think it's due to the supplemental programs and the combination

192of what we ended up purchasing and and moving forward to as kind of a trial that now we're coming to you as yeah, this is like the full deal. Um I get regular emails with photos. I had a message this week when somebody saw this was going a teacher shared with me an experiment about mold that they're doing in their classroom and offered for me to come by and see it. So, and that is fairly new that I'm seeing more science um than I had seen in the past. So, just a reminder, what we're doing for our science is a a combination of things. There's some kits, foss kits is what they're called. They're a little they're very much more time inensive for teachers and they're very hands-on and they're very expensive. And we have

193a few really good next generation kits that go out for teachers. That's one piece. And we have uh mystery science which is mostly online but also has hands-on and projects and that one wasn't formally approved by the state. Foss kits were. So we have a combination of those. And then we're also doing uh community partners for every grade level. So like when you're in fifth grade, you do outdoor school and you do salmon watch. And so just formalizing that and make sure field trips are in place and that community partner is ready for every grade level. So those are the three um kind of things that make up our science adoption at the elementary. So, at high school, I came to you last year and said we were postponing because the teachers had reviewed well,

194we had two things going on. One, we had um budget constraints last year as well. And the teachers had looked at the materials and they didn't really see something that was a lot different than what they already had. They did request updated materials for the advanced placement classes and those were provided through the high school success budget and some building funds as we wrapped up the fiscal year last year. Um so I met with them again this fall and said okay this is where we landed last fall. We do need to do some kind of adoption um because we have done a postponement and they like unanimously agreed we do not need new materials. Um we would like to readopt our current materials and have some time to collaborate on on um becoming more aligned.

195And that was unanimous. like nobody felt like they were making a concession or like or saying like I don't I'm just going to say I don't need it but I do. Um it was very clear uh that that was the direction that the teachers wanted to go. So we are here to readopt those science materials through the year 2031 and that it's really um because that's what the teachers have asked for um and we have community feedback that was shared in the board report that supports this decision as well. So now you're going to see something that was not in the board report. It is tangentially related to our science adoption. So one of the board goals um addresses ecoiteracy stewardship and sustainability. And one of the things that we try and do when we're

196working on um the budget is make budget decisions that are aligned with our board goals. And this is a um that goal around um ecoiteracy stewardship and sustainability is something we didn't really have any solid data about. And so last year I started working on a survey. Um I will tell you the first round of the survey we gave to the administrators and they were like what the heck I don't know the answers to these because it was more like a test like do you know what these things are? Um so I made some revisions. Used to teach environmental science. It was great. It was highend. Um, so made some revisions and then I went into high school classrooms and I um got feedback from students and did another revision and realized we really just

197needed to get baseline data about what is happening in the classroom in terms of environmental education. And so we administered that survey on Earth Day. Um, and we had 864 responses grades 4 through 12. And you can see our results there. So students do think learning about the environment is important and only 35% responded that they feel like they learn enough about human activities u how human activities affect the environment. So this tells us that in our science implementation we need to really make sure that we are including those environmental topics. Of course the environment also comes up in the social sciences. It comes up in literature um and it comes up in mathematics. But I think science is a place where it lives and maybe that's because I was a science teacher. Um we

198also asked a question about what students are doing because that really touches on um the stewardship. And so it wasn't a big surprise, right? Reduce, reuse, recycle has been um I think a phrase that I I feel like I've known for a long time. And so when you look at what our students say they're doing, these are their top four responses. They are reducing. they are reusing and they are recycling. Um, and then there were some other things that they're doing, you know, not as consistently. So, that also can give us some an idea of where to go next in terms of environmental education. Um, and and honestly, like my next step, I do like to include student voices to bring this data back to the students and say, "So, now what? So, here's what

199we know. Here's what students are saying. What do you think will resonate with students? And then that will kind of influence what happens next. And now we're gonna I think we're hard pivoting to health. We're going to go to health. Is that right? Okay. Yeah. Uh okay. So elementary uh what drove our decision? I shared information in the report, but what I wanted to tell you were these kind of surrounding these four bullets support the survey that I did that asked teachers about adopting the great body shop. We had 88% that were strongly agreed or agreed. And so that's a pretty high percentage of our teachers supporting that curriculum. The second bullet point is about familiarity. This is a previous health curriculum that we've had. So most teachers know it and they're familiar with it.

200So it won't be as heavy or hard as a lift of adopting and using something new. Uh the all studentf facing materials are available in Spanish uh from the company and majority of the teachers guide from the previous versions have already been translated. So we're in the process of looking through those to see what we need to have updated. But having that in Spanish is also key. And then um I think an important factor there was only one curriculum that that got vetted through OD in the state for elementary and it was all about healthy sexual sexuality instruction and it's a critical component. It's part of our standards and the great body shop has a pretty robust component that involves that. So those were our kind of four decisions, four things that drove the decision

201to stick with Great Body Shop. Want to go first or do you want me to? I'll go first. Okay. Um we I have five health teachers in the middle school and we dove into the list of what was available for the health curriculums and they piloted two of them. They piloted Great Body Shop and the GW that we're going to um end up adopting and they uh we ended up after doing all of the piloting and looking through the materials and having the kids weigh in, we did a survey with students and had the students give feedback on the material as well. Um uh we're going to be going with the sixth grade for Great Body Shop, which ties into the elementary. So, they'll actually have the Great Body Shop from K through six, um,

202which makes one less transition for the kids as they move into sixth grade in the middle school. And then the seventh and eighth will go with the the other piece. Um, a lot of the things that are listed up here are what the teachers came up with and the students gave in feedback um through the pilot process. So, at high school, we only had one curriculum that was on the state approved list and our teachers were not really excited about adopting those materials and opted to look at some of the materials that were not initially approved. The the same publisher, the Good Heart Willox, um is the one that they would like that they are recommending um for adoption. and that publisher took all of the things where they didn't meet the state criteria and

203made the adjustments. So, they really improved the materials. They've been really responsive to meeting with our teachers and getting them ready to use the materials in the next year. Um, all of these are reasons that my high school teachers listed um for adopting these materials. And I think most importantly, the teachers have been getting together once a month since October. Um, and they're actually getting together next week and the following week because they want to be like rock solid ready for implementation in September. I've never worked with a teacher group that is like so aligned and excited to collaborate and it is it's really been amazing. Um, I think in my experience, the teachers I've worked with have been a little reluctant to come into adopting new materials because it's a big change. they're being

204asked to do something different and already we as we have acknowledged the job of educators is very hard. Um this was a group that's like I can't even remember the last time I got new materials. I'm and then they looked at the first ones and they're like I don't want these. And then they found something like these are amazing. There's so many great activities. They're so adaptable and um this this adoption like it excites me too. Um just because this the teachers really are thrilled to be collaborating and getting ready for next year. Yeah. And I just want to add to that, we we did um in January when they're doing grades for semester breaks at the middle school, we have trimesters. So we have two PD days on that time. And one of our

205days we spent a good chunk of time working on scope and sequence. And the health teachers were super excited because they'd already finished one trimester of piloting on the good goods. That's why I say GW. Uh and so during that time of of working on the scope and sequence, the five teachers were actually able to work together and did the scope and sequence for the new curriculum. So it's already there and ready to go for next year. So they're excited as well. So the materials um that we're um recommending for adoption are aligned to state standards. We all listen to our teachers. Um, I know our teachers appreciate the choices that they have within the curriculum. And then there is also community support for the adoption of these materials. And do you have any Questions?

206No questions from anybody? I'm very surprised. I actually I have questions, but I was waiting to see if they were going to Do you have questions? Go ahead. My brain taking the answer. I know. I think you can. Um, so I was wondering, this is a a theme that I imagine should be not imagined, it should be present in each of the curriculums at an age appropriate level. Um, so I'm wondering about continuity across the different curriculums on the subject of teaching and talking about consent. Did you guys look at that as a thinking about the messaging from if I've got a kindergartener all the way through to a high school senior? Are they going to get consistent and progressively more complex thinking about that idea? I have a couple things. One, the really tight

207alignment to standards and Oregon standards being intentional about some skill-based components of the standards and skills instruction. And so that fits into that that whole concept and for sure it is all in the um K5 and I and I'm not sure about middle and high because we didn't talk a lot about that. Yeah. And we didn't talk specifically about that. We did talk about the continuity K6 and then the continuity 712. That was important I know to the high school teachers that they weren't that our middle school students weren't going to um experience this big switch. Um, but in the conversations I've had with the health teachers, um, similar to what Amy shared, there is a lot of skills-based learning in health. Um, I didn't dive into the consent lessons with the teachers, but we

208were looking at lessons um, related to suicide prevention together. And I I was surprised at how well they aligned to the QPR training that all of our staff also receive annually in teaching students the skill of asking the question um about whether a person might be considering suicide. So seeing the the skill building in there, I'm I'm I'm not I can't say 100% but I'm pretty confident it's also in our curriculum and age appropriate 712 because it is skills-based um and really asks students to practice in the activities that are given. Yeah. And we did dive into it in the middle school because that's a concern for the for the students at that age. And um it was it was all based in the skills and very um progressive through the through the middle school

209years. Other questions? Okay. I had a couple questions. Um one I wanted to say how awesome I think it is that there's so much teacher and student involvement in um in deciding the curriculum. I think that's important. um and that I think it's really important for these topics in health to be discussed and I think it's also important that um I noticed on there that there's the opt out for families who um who do prefer that and I think that's important to also um center in our conversations that that's supported as well. Um my question is can you explain I know it's really late but um it's I don't think it's that hard of a question though just for folks to know because curriculum does cost money and um why it's important to adopt new

210curriculum because I know we talked about like why we put it off and you kind of touched on a little bit like can you explain to folk briefly like why it's important to update curriculum. I would say I would say from high school I I did mention this. It's our teachers can't remember the last time they had like what they would actually call a curriculum and we're just pulling together this like amalgamation of many things. So the idea that all of our students in our high schools will um have be you know experience the same curriculum with the same materials the same activities. I think to me I was hearing from them that was really important. Um, and it also felt really important to them to feel like they were using something that was vetted.

211They're like, I don't know. Sometimes I was teaching something and thinking, I think this is good, but to have curriculum that's published and that's vetted and that, you know, your your um colleagues are using so that if you do have a lesson that you're like, I'm not sure how that went, you can check in with them and find out about it. Uh, so that that's what, you know, like speaking from what I've heard from the teachers, they want the materials. They believe they'll support students um to have a better health learning experience. Yeah. Yeah. We went from uh Great Body Shop at the middle school which was not um for the seventh and eighth grade just wasn't as in-depth or as robust as is needed for the middle school. So they were really looking for

212something more than that. Um, but the but the sixth grade great body shop that's tied into the the K5 was good, but they just needed more things at the at the seventh and eighth grade level. So, and I think the other important thing as um we become more and more tech uh focused and available, our curriculum isn't at the elementary level wasn't just um here you have this textbook and you can teach it and use it. the the great the great body shop adjusts every year. The teachers manual changes every year. And once you don't pay for that subscription anymore, you don't get it. And so it's it's a little bit of like, yeah, we we have this, but we need to continue to to do this to access the the curriculum, right? Um so

213my question was more about in general for curriculum adoption, but I think that was a good example of why updating curriculum in general is important. um in a more detailed answer than I was probably expecting at 10 pm. So, thank you for that. And um also, I appreciate that the curriculum updates make life easier for teachers since there's so many demands and they're stretched so thin. So, um if they feel good about it, I think that says something too about whatever the curriculum adoptions are and there's several in this one. I think just real quick, the other thing to note is we did a postponement, but OD asked us you you can only postpone for two years and part of the division 22 message is we are current on our adoptions and so there's also

214rules that we're following. Yeah. That are tied to probably funding for schools. Yes. Thank you for pointing that out. Okay. A we're done with discussion. The red light went off. [Music] Um, does anyone want to make a motion? There are three separate motions. I must say this. We're going to do this three times. And you have um you have language in the packet for three separate motions. Does anyone want to make a motion? You can pick which one you're looking at first or you can go in order. Make a motion. Good. Chris, I move to readt the elementary school science materials of mystery science and foss. Is there a second? Second. Okay, it's been um moved by Chris and second in by Theres. Is there any further discussion? Okay. Has been moved by Chris and

215seconded by Theres to read the elementary school science materials of mystery science and foss kits. And I will do the roll call. Sammy I. Chris I. Theres I. Bernie I. And I vote I. That one passes. Do I hear another motion? I'll make a motion. Good. Trace. I move to readopt the following. High school science materials. Biology Glen Co. 2017. Introductory Chemistry from Sgage 2015 and College Physics of Strategic Approach Pearson 2019. Is there a second? Second. It's been moved by Theres and seconded by Bernie. Any further discussion? I'll just say it's it says college physics. That's cool. But um Okay. Has been moved by Theres and seconded by Bernie to read the following high school science materials. Biology uh Glenco 2017 introductory chemistry sage 2015 and college physics a strategic approach Pearson 2019 Bernie

216I Chris I Sammy I vote I motion passes um do I hear another motion me go ahead go ahead Bernie I move to adopt the great body shop K to6 uh comprehensive health skills for middle school, seventh, eighth grade, and comprehensive health skills for high school 9 to 12 curricula for Corvalis K to2 schools. Second. I'm so sorry I interrupted. That's okay, Sammy. It's been moved by Bernie and seconded by Sammy. Is there any further discussion? Okay. has been moved by Bernie and seconded by Sammy to adopt the Great Body Shop K6 comprehensive health skills for middle school 78 and comprehensive health skills for high school 912 curricula for Corvalis K12 schools. Chris I Bernie I Sammy I I vote I motion passes. Thanks you. Yes, go ahead. I just I do want to add

217on a bit about the high school science adoption. So, you only see the core materials there. I do think it's important for you and the community to know that we continue to offer um advanced placement courses in biology, in chemistry, in physics, and environmental science. And those materials are not on the state adoption list. Those come from the college board. And so, we adopt those on 10ear cycles or sooner if they are requested by the teachers. I just want to make sure that that's clear that we're not ignoring those. They aren't going away. Um we know that our students and our community really value access to advanced courses. Thank you for clarifying that. Okay. The next item on the agenda is adopt resolution number 25-0501 Jewish American Heritage Month. Is there any discussion, comments or

218questions from the board? Theres, just a comment to express gratitude for um chair uh for La Hoy for uh Shauna and for Chris for spending time to develop this. Um I don't know, community members don't um necessarily um uh always know why we've done some heritage months and not others yet. And so it's a process. It takes time to create a thoughtful resolution. But um whenever we have one in front of us and it's done, it always feels really great to recognize that we've extended a little bit more um of that feeling of inclusion to the community members and that they know that we do see and that we do think that's important. And so I'm really glad to have this one in front of us tonight and to be able to um to bridge

219uh any um well just to make a bridge into feeling um that our Jewish American community members will feel seen and recognized. Along those lines, I want to um thank Nikki um for bringing community together to work on the resolution and to provide input. I really appreciate you doing that and moving that forward. Any other chair? Oh, go ahead Sammy. Yeah, I want to echo the gratitude u and for the leadership to take taking the uh lead on this work and for staff supporting it. I did receive community inputs from folks uh giving me a heads up that this is coming in and sharing the gratitude for the conversations and for the board. So I just want to share that gratitude from members of the Jewish community that reached out to me uh about this

220resolution. I was eager to see it and I am very grateful for your leadership on making it happen. uh our commitment for our Jewish community in Corvalis and Oregon beyond is uh reflected in this resolution and um as I understand it, it is our practice that we uh follow our resolutions with call for action for us to reflect on how our students and our staff and community celebrate the contributions of the community. So with these words I want to say thank you and if there is no further comment I would like to ask permission to move uh for the resolution. I have a comment too so we have to wait. That's good. Okay. I just wanted to um actually Shauna is not here but to thank Shauna for her leadership in this resolution. She's really

221I don't want to I want to make sure that her leadership centered on this one. Um, and also wanted to thank Chris for your involvement too and Nikki. Yeah. And thank you Nikki as well for your support. And I wanted to say thank you to the community for your patience to make sure that um we were doing this in a way that made sense and um everything. So yeah. Is there um any other further comment? Okay. I think um I think we're ready to hear a motion. I heard somebody excited about it. Uh chair, uh may I make a motion? Yes. I move to adopt resolution number 25-0501, acknowledgement of Jewish American Heritage Month, as submitted. Is there a second? Second. It's been moved by Sammy and seconded by Theres. Any further comment? Okay. Has

222been moved by Sammy and seconded by Theres to adopt resolution number 25-0501 acknowledgement of Jewish American Heritage Month as submitted. Bernie I. Theres I. Chris I. Sammy I. And I vote I. Motion passes. Kim, we don't have this one printed to read out together, huh? Okay. Um, I'll go ahead and read the whole thing then I can read the whole thing. It's fine. Yeah. Um, okay. Bear with me everybody because reading out loud is takes me a minute. uh Corvallis School District 509J acknowledgement of Jewish American Heritage Month resolution number 25-0501. Whereas the Corvalis School District recognizes and pays tribute to the significant contributions made in our community by Jewish Americans, including people who identify as Jewish American by ancestry, culture, andor ethnicity. And whereas the Corvalis School District affirms that students, families, staff, and

223community members should be valued for all aspects of their diverse identities. And whereas JewishAmerican Heritage Month grew out of efforts led by Jewish American leaders and politicians to recognize the many contributions of Jewish Americans to the United States history and culture. And whereas beginning in April 1980, the United States Congress designated one week as Jewish Heritage Week. And whereas Jewish American Heritage Month was first recognized nationally in 2006. And whereas Jewish American Heritage Month has been proclaimed by several states including Oregon since that time. And whereas representation of diversity in the contributions of Jewish American people past and present has been limited in academic settings. And whereas Jewish Americans have historically been and continue to be targeted by anti-semitism, genocide, violence, and acts of hate. And whereas Jewish Americans have contributed to the history and

224collective future of Corvalis in Benton County, Oregon. And whereas JewishAmerican History Month provides an opportunity to continue the district's growth in learning about the many contributions of Jewish Americans to the nation, world, and local community. And whereas education is a necessary component for creating a more equitable and anti-racist community, nation, and world. And whereas the Corvalis School District has made a commitment to equity and anti-racism. And whereas the Corvalis School District has a responsibility to honor and respect the diverse histories of our community. And whereas the Corvalis School District believes each and every student must be celebrated and appreciated for the distinct and vibrant contributions made by sharing cultures, language, ideas, beliefs, and values within a school community. Therefore, let it be resolved that by the board of education of the Corvallis School District does

225hereby proclaim May 2025 as well as each May annually as Jewish American Heritage Month in the district and strongly encourage students, families, staff, and community members to join in existing local celebrations and encourage all schools in the district to help highlight this month in great appropriate ways as well as highlight the broad and diverse societal contribution ions of all Jewish American people to the local community, nation, and beyond both historically and in current times. Adopted by the board of directors of school district number 509 J Corvalis of Benton Inland Counties, Oregon at its regular meeting this 8th day of May, 2025. Thank you for your patience as I read out loud. Okay, the next item on the agenda is consolidated action. As a reminder, the items under this portion of the agenda are for action.

226Does anyone have a question about anything in consolidated action? If there's no there's if nobody would like to pull anything, you can I would entertain a motion. I think they're looking for the language. You just if you're wondering what it says, it's consolidated action items as submitted. It's pretty short. Chair, I move to approve consolidated action as submitted. It's been moved by Sammy. Is there a second? Second. Been moved by Sammy and seconded by Chris. Any further discussion? Okay. Has been moved by Sammy and seconded by Chris to adopt the consolidated action items as submitted. Chris I. Theres I. Bernie I. Sammy I. And I vote I. Motion passes. And the next item on the agenda is consolidated information. As a reminder, the items under this portion of the agenda are for discussion. Would anyone

227like to discuss an item in consolidated information? I do, but give me a second. Okay. While you're looking at that, um I would like to discuss policy JFC and policy IKI. JFC is hazing, harassment, intimidation, bullying, cyber bullying, teing, teen dating violence, family violence, and policy. IKI is academic integrity. Any others? I'd like to discuss IKF. IKF, which is graduation requirements, correct? Yes. There is one more. Does anybody want to pull that? I'm joking. I I would like to discuss the schedule. The schedule. Oh, there it is. Okay. Okay. Let's start with a the schedule. Theres, I just want to um restate my um request that we give consideration when we are scheduling district-wide events. Um it's a bummer as a board member to not be able to attend the end of the year achievements

228of a lot of our students and the you know kind of the pinnacle of their work that they've been learning all year and we miss quite a few of them. I've kept track and I realize that there are particularly the middle schools I feel like we never get to go to those. So um I don't have a problem with this schedule. I would just ask you to maybe just encourage the scheduling on the school side to see if it's possible to do that a little bit more. That's it. Thank you, Theres. I agree. Yeah. I do just want to also u make sure everybody is aware that we moved that last uh board meeting in the or uh budget committee meeting to the Wednesday instead of Thursday because Thursday was a religious holiday and we

229can't shift it either direction because of law and trying to meet the law. The one in April. April 16th of next year. Yeah. May. It'd be the May 7th. Oh, no. That's the Oh, the May 20th. Yes. Or something. Yeah. May 20 is a Wednesday instead of Thursday. Okay. Any other comments about that? I actually do. Um, go ahead, Sammy. I was just about to move on. All right, go ahead. You're fine. Go. I actually do and I'm sorry to raise this a little bit late. So, we're trying to avoid a holiday on the 21st of May and we're having a meeting on the 20th. Correct. Correct. Um, I would say it is very likely that the holiday is celebrated by sundown. I'm not sure for sure uh the significance of this holiday and if

230that's I also Oh, sorry. I checked with um a member of our staff to um set that date. Okay, then I don't have any objections. Go ahead, Ryan. Just want to express appreciation for Kim um and her ability to um maneuver around um a lot of really important days for families. Um this is uh a strong effort in in order in trying to do that. Okay. Um so sounds like we're okay with that. And then um policy IKF graduation requirements Bernie Yeah, it's just a a minor uh thing, but under uh certificate of attendance, you made reference to footnote 16 and 17. They look identical, and I'm just wondering, can we incorporate that in the paragraph itself? Sorry, I'm looking for the page where I see footnote 16 and 17. I don't have a page

231number. Yeah, I I'm I'm almost there. Oh, there it is. So it's the definition of documented history and um that is referring to a certificate of attendance. Oh, and then have a documented history is also defined. So um this is OSBA language, but I understand I mean I could just Yeah, it's just confusing two of the same footnote on there. I think if we define documented history, we probably would be fine. So I can make that adjustment. Thank you. Any other comments on that policy? Okay. Um policy JFC, hazing, harassment, intimidation, bullying, cyber bullying, teen dating violence, family violence. Very long title. That policy incorporates a lot. Yeah. Okay. Um I just wanted to know if you noted all of the suggestions and if they make sense where they were suggested where they were suggested.

232So what I heard was to add um there was reference to cy putting it near cyber bullying but that idea of encouraging another person to um to commit suicide would be an act of harassment and and would also be a problem or a definition that we would put in here. Is that Yes, because that not included at all in here. And so I had encouraging another to com to complete suicide, I guess, would be I'm trying to figure out the terminology that I need to use. Yeah. Chris, could you help me? Chris, yeah, I would not use the word commit. Okay. I would either say die by suicide is actually the most preferred way to that is the preferred way. Okay. and the connection to cyber bullying. I should this just be another definition area

233or I think we because does this one this one does have does this one have cyber bullying in it already? It does and I worry if we put it there it's limited to there cyber bullying. I think it was a overall statement from how I heard the testimony. Um, and it was asked to put that kind of language in there specifically because it doesn't exist and that is something that said a lot and so to like really specify it in the um in there. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't think it was necessarily just only under the um cyber bullying. I think it was just in general in totality. Yeah. And I would recommend language to put it in the terminology like Chris is suggesting because I know what you're talking about too. Language that would

234relate to that. You know what I mean? Because it's said in multiple ways by young people. Okay. And I don't want to list them all out right now. I was going to say, should I write examples or just not do No, I wouldn't nec I I wouldn't put all the examples. I would say language that would fall under this umbrella of um insert language. Okay. Yeah. And Okay. Well, I'm almost done. Um, and I did want to say I appreciated gaming in here. Uhhuh. Big time. And um and I will share that specifically that was part of what led to my nephew that I've referenced several times in meetings to his um death by suicide and it was related to also what was suggested by Dr. Bird. So, I appreciated her bringing that up and

235um also know that it exists in those realms and so having gaming on there I think was really important. I believe that was your ad when we were work doing that work together. So, thank you. Um and I think that this would apply outside of school hours then the way it reads it's student to student, right? Yes. Okay. That's why I just wanted to clarify because some of times the bullying that we hear about in those realms in electronic world Yeah. It's about that nexus. Like what how is it impacting a student's experience? Yeah. So, I don't know if that needs to be specified or not, but that would be something I would I wouldn't want to see that like a loophole used if that makes sense. Yes, totally. Yeah. Thank you. And Sammy had

236a comment. Yeah, I had a couple uh I think we covered it. The first comment I think you covered it, which is adding it to the definitions but not limiting the definition. So including but not limited to kind of uh uh language that includes the suicide prevention language but also encompasses other cases. Is that the direction uh the the board is going for? That's what it sounds like. Yes. Yeah, that's what I'm that's what I'm hearing. Awesome. So that's what I'm in agreement with. The second one actually is related to what we just talked about. Uh there is a Supreme Court case that's being heard and NSBA is actually participating in Amicus brief to provide an opinion on it. And the case uh lays on the idea that if a student is disciplined because of

237their uh behavior outside the classroom or outside the school uh such as Snapchat uh and the specific case was student made uh racist comments against another students. They were disciplined and the students is appealing their case of being disciplined uh be on free freedom of uh speech cases uh basis and being outside the classroom and education advocate. School boards as well are advocating on the other side which is uh the the impact on the operations on on the students in the classroom or in the school is impacted. So their behavior outside uh warrants the discipline. Um, I would I don't know where to go with this other than keeping an eye on that Supreme Court case and making sure that we we pay attention to whatever ruling is there and we update the policy accordingly

238if that makes sense. Right. So, we'll just watch that as that comes through. Those all come through in October. Yeah. Yeah, I'd rather see the policy how we it makes sense for us and then now and then if we need to make updates based on if that case would change how we're defining it. Yeah. Go ahead, Ryan. It's it's like the legislative session. We receive a lot of new policy at the end of this after the session. I think this is feels falls into that same category. So the other suggestion from Dr. bird had to do with um the suicide prevention trainings for staff and students because it's mentioned things are mentioned in here about training. So what's the what what's the consensus here? I was wondering about the how we cross reference policies. You

239know what I mean? And if those two are being cross referenced with each other um the suicide prevention one and the bullying one if they cross reference anywhere. That was my other question. I can make that I can I can put that at the bottom easily because they do. And then we also heard from our health presenters tonight that we do suicide prevention instruction in our health classes. It's part of what we're up to. So that I can look to see if that doesn't um also cross somewhere as well and mention that. Go ahead, Ryan. And and we do provide QPR training to all of our staff, which is something that we've just decided to do as a district. It's not it has not been a requirement of the state or anything but it's an

240important thing for us to do and so that that would meet that piece for sure. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Any others on this on JFC? Okay. Um yes, thank you. on IKI. Yes. Um, academic integrity. I wanted to say thank you for including AI in there because I think that will help add some consistency for teachers. Yes. To fall back on on like what we mean and stuff like that. So, I just want to say thank you for including that in there. Thank you. That it was really easy. Yeah. Okay. Anything else on iki since it's pulled? Yeah. Um, just going back to the AI, do we want to put some language in there on proof like catching uh uh catching students using AI? I that that wouldn't be in the policy wouldn't be in

241the policy. No, that's more of the um that could be an administrative regulation, but we don't haven't we don't even have a policy in place yet for this. Um, and I think that that would also be um practices at each level of how that they're looking at those kinds of things. So that's more of the practice on the policy and then there is new OSBA guidance around um AI and policy and so Melissa and I just have been looking at that recently and so that will be coming forward in the future. Yeah. Not this school year. Not this year but next school year. Okay. Cool. All righty. That's um everything from consolidated information. Oh, Sammy, sorry. I'm really sorry. Uh, if I may go back to the uh the discipline case, I'm wondering if adding

242the language that causing substantial disruption warrants us to is warranted. And I'm looking at another ruling from 2021. Uh, is that something we want to consider? You're cutting out, Sammy. I didn't understand what you said. No worries. I'll I'll I'll share that to a later date. Right. We have a This is just first read. So, if you want to send me something in particular, then I can see where it would fit. Whatever the case may be, I'd rather our policy like really think about what it means for our district and if there's anything pending. If there's a case that's already would prevent any of that language, then that would make sense. But yeah, and it sounds like that's what you're talking about. That's right. There is a a previous case about off-campus speech and and

243how uh discipline or preventing uh or holding students accountable for off uh campus speech and the rule that the key word there is if it causes substantial disruption. So that language actually Sammy is present under the the heading scope on the first page. the second paragraph. This policy also applies to off-campus conduct that causes or threatens to cause a substantial or material disruption at school or other district property or interferes with the rights of students or employees to be free from a hostile educational or employment environment, etc. I feel that sounds like that covers it. Yes. Thank you. It does. Thank you. Okay. All right. Moving on to board member comments. Oh, comment or was it? Okay, cool. Yes, go. Not about that. Yeah. Okay. Comments. Yep. Um I just want to note this has

244been a really tough week. Um there's been a lot of public out communication about all kinds of things going on and I appreciate Lou that you have spent a lot of time trying to post facts um to just try keep things clear and I appreciate that. I know that's a lot of work on your part. Um, and I think we just have to continue as board members to be diligent about stating facts and understanding that. Um, I appreciate the number of students and staff that came today um to give their voice. I do appreciate that and I know that um that could be really hard to hear and I think we need to think about more about what's you know what we're doing as board members. Um, I also wish that we could find a

245way to communicate our district office people um, how much work you do, how much time you spend um, because it's it's really behind the scenes and our community doesn't always see that. And I feel bad because you guys do so much work and you work so hard. And um I just think we need to be better at figuring out how to um make public what all the work that you do because um it is behind the scenes and people don't see it. So I just want to acknowledge that. And also, um, Ryan, you took all of that really well. And, um, I know that's got to be really hard to hear. And I going to just speak from my heart and say I hope we don't lose you because of what you're hearing from the

246community. Um, I don't think people are looking at other districts um, and what's going on in some of those districts because of poor leadership. And so we I just will continue to advocate for that. Thank you, Chris. Other board member. Okay. Theres then Bernie or Bernie then theres, whichever way you all they're they're deciding who's going first. Uh yeah, it's just uh um listening to the testimonies tonight, it became very clear to me that we probably need to do a lot more outreach in our individual capacities or even in small groups uh with the community. And sometimes getting ahead of misinformation is more important than than just not engaging at all. So, thanks Bernie Theres. Yeah, a lot of um really important and powerful words um from community members tonight. Also, a lot of really

247important and powerful work being done by our um district leadership. Both of those things are true. And I think that one of the things that's challenging sitting here listening to all of this is that this is a both and situation. It's not an eitheror. Um, we need our we need district leadership who can do the heavy lift of figuring out how to get good rigorous curriculum into our classrooms. We need people that can be responsible to provide coaching and mentoring for our teachers so that we have strong leadership in our classrooms. We need all of those things. And we also we need music, right? Like it's not it's not an eitheror. And um and we don't have enough money to do all of those things the way we want to do them. And um I

248was thinking as as I was sitting here two things that came to mind. One is we talk a lot about does the community understand. I think we've heard a lot about things like administrative uh bloat and over you know compensation. And what maybe we haven't done as much is communicate how we've arrived at the decision that these administrative positions are important or how we've arrived at a process around compensation. our um our other associations are classified and are certified. Those processes I think are a little bit more public. Um this is a different it's a group of employees. It's a different process. And so there may be some growth opportunity for us in thinking about how to communicate that this is not happening in a vacuum. It's not happening in a vacuum that it's not

249happening um without any reason behind it. And so it may be time for us to think about how we're going to communicate about that a little bit more transparently um so that it's clear to folks that there is something guiding that. The other thing is that um I love music and we need to have more of it and I want to see Oregon and I want to see the US Department of Education if it manages to continue to exist somehow. I want them to make music a required subject. Why don't we have it as a required subject? We are talking about cutting back from 60 minutes to 45 minutes because we don't have enough funding to staff all of the classes to meet all of the educational requirements. And you know what? If music was

250a requirement, then we wouldn't be able to cut those positions. We would have to figure out another solution. So all of those people, all of those kids, I'm ready to go with you, but let's go sit in Salem. Bring your instruments and let's make it abundantly clear to them that we can be very noisy, but we want required music education. I want every kid in our district to know how to read and play, at least fundamentally play the piano by the time they leave elementary school. It's a it's a good life skill to have. And uh we are not going to get there by just having leveies in our communities and we're obviously not going to get there by waiting for folks that have the purse strings to say let's give you enough so you

251can make this choice. So I think it's time for our community and Corvalis is a great community to lead the way in this to say if you're not going to give us enough money for us to choose it then at least be decent about it and say this is a important and valid subject and everyone should be getting it. So, um, email me if you want to go to Salem because I have time. Thank you, Theres. Any other board member comments? I do. Okay, go ahead, Sammy. I just want to express my deep gratitude for uh for all in the room. Uh I know it's a late hour and especially Kim for your homework and support of the board and making sure that uh we're receiving the information we need to make those decisions and

252uh for Ryan for his leadership and for the community for holding us accountable and asking us to do better. Uh we are in a very uh tough place right now as public education in every district in Oregon across the nation for many reasons. And I think keeping the faith in our public education is going to be so crucial and that only happens with continued engagement and seeing where uh there are missed opportunities for us to engage and communicates about things that are uh have not been uh uh learned about. Uh and I I I really want to acknowledge that the boardroom is where the final decisions happen, but it's not where the action and the deliberation and the listening only happens. uh we can't really rely on seven volunteering board members to do all the

253work and it's not fair because we have experts we have people with lived experiences and we have processes that require uh more bodies and minds than seven and I think that's an important thing to highlight and keep communicating with folks that uh uh no matter what's the decision it is there is a reason why the process is there and sometimes the process is inefficient uh such as how the states uh have its forecast about how much money it's going to get uh in few weeks from now after we have uh listened to the budget and they require us to provide notices to staff about non-renewal much earlier. It's just some processes are not working and they are mandated on us to do them in a specific order. Um, and we're learning about that as we

254go. I want to really also thank the board and and share with the community that I am one board member and I've received an influx of communication. Um, and as one board member, I think there's no board that's successful if we don't work as a team. And we do as a Crell school board. And I want to remind the the community that uh they should have access and they do have access to each one of my colleagues. Uh so um I'm grateful for folks who reached out to me individually and uh grateful for people who wanted to share about questions about decisions or feedback um between board meetings. I wanted to continue to do that but also understand that as a board of seven uh they do have equal access to each one of my

255colleagues and I lean on uh your wisdom when we make those decisions and when we process uh community inputs. So it is really important for the community to feel comfortable reaching out to uh each one of you and I I know for a fact you are open for those conversations. So just want to put that out there uh and encourage the community to reach out to the board as a whole. Uh it it makes it more effective and also uh encourage us to trust that there are instruments of listening that the school district does that help us learn in a more uh systemic way and we need to trust those listening instruments that the district uh leads uh between board meetings. uh and also uh ensure that we can improve them. So we can listen

256to more community members and ensure that we are listening in an equitable manner for those who are impacted most by the decisions uh have their voice heard. So these are my comments and remarks. Again, deep gratitude for every one of you for the good work, including community members who uh wanted to share their voices uh with us and uh many different platforms, whether tonight at the board meeting or through communication or meetings. Thank you. Thanks, Sammy. Um I had a couple um technical things board related that I want to bring up as well. Um not in addition to a couple comments. One of them is um I seen that the cell phone bill is going like starting to move forward. So, I just wanted the community to be prepared for that next year. Um and

257there's probably going to be a lot of feedback on that one, both positive and concerned around cell phones. So, I just wanted to let folk know that's coming up probably in the next year. And then um I was wondering if the how I think I brought this up, but I can't remember for sure. Um so I just wanted to bring it up in case I didn't about reviewing our proclamations um to review them and make sure they're all updated because a couple of them have some dated like it doesn't exist and now it has. You know what I mean? And so I think it would be good if we if you all are okay with that if we reviewed them um for next year. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Um, so we'll go ahead and do

258that. Just take a look at all of them. Probably not the ones we just passed in the last like year, but um, which is not many. There's just a couple. Um, and then the other one is, um, there has been a lot of asks for more community engagement like Bernie said, and I don't know what the best way to do that is. Um, I know we have community conversation opportunities, but um, I think that's just something we should really be thinking about. It's really hard to have conversations because we can't in this setting because that's not how public meetings are set up. So, if we can figure out something um, for that I would I think that would be good. Um I know that I had mentioned I think I mentioned to you Ryan right

259about a math conversation perhaps and so that's like something I think topics are important too and that's something everybody's not everybody a lot of people in the community are passionate about um and so I think that might be good to demystify the math part for people. So things like that I think it would be good if we had a way to gather the topics that are important to community to bring up too. Um, and then I did want to also um mention that information that was presented earlier about Ryan's salary was not correct either. And I think that's important to say that the number was just rounded for the 80,000 and that's the number being floated around. Um and so it's important for people to um think about over the course of several years um

260the last five six years five years or is it six? I think it's five years since 2020. Yeah, it's um it's 76 730 that way it's not the 80 and which isn't enough to fund a teacher for a full year fully. And so I think that's important for people to think in the context of what that means. It sounds like a big number to a lot of people. and we really appreciate your work as well as the rest of the admin. But I just wanted to mention that from earlier as well um because that really stood out to me that that's a number that's rolling around and I've been asked about personally too. Um and then the um other thing I was going to say is a lot of the strain on our budget comes

261from unfunded mandates too. A big number of that. So if folk are thinking about what's coming up, that is part of it. If we have things that are approved by the state or mandated by the state but it's not funded then that puts a strain on our resources too. So, um I just really encourage involvement with the state and federally to be on here again. Um and the budget is really hard and um I can go on and on about that part, but I did want to say um that that engagement with the state is critical and um we should I would take Theresa up on her offer. I like going to Salem. I can't go that often, but you should let me know when you go. And um that way we can be more

262have our voices more present too as a community. I think that's important. And um the last thing I will say I had notes and now I don't understand what my notes say. Some of them that's because it's really late. I do want to acknowledge that we stayed we're like an hour over our time because we made space for community um voice in the public comment period. And so I wanted to say thank you to the staff for staying so late and community members who are still here for staying this late. Um it's almost 11 p.m. And so I wanted to point that out to the community that we while we do want to make space for you when we do that. This is what we end up doing with our meetings is going really late.

263And so um and so I just wanted to mention that as well. And I will see you all at the next one. And the meeting's adjured at 10:54