001Well, it is 4:30. It is time for us to start. So, welcome everybody to our study session today and I will turn the time over to Superintendent. >> Okay. Thank you, Board Member Peterson. Great to be here with you tonight. We have one item on the agenda, a couple of guests um that we would like to invite to share. We have Kim uh hello here, our district nurse. We have Jessica Johnson here who's gonna be doing the presentation. And I think Kim Jones is here. And you know, we have somebody new. I'm gonna embarrass her and she's probably gonna say, "Oh, I need to do that." But Kim, Robert, would you just stand up and let me introduce you? Kim, we're so grateful to have her this week. Um she's joining our team that will
002be working with our secondary schools out of the West. And We got her um this week and she'll be full time end of July 1st of June. End of June 1st of July. >> Yes. >> Right. >> Yes. >> Thank you. Very excited to be here. It's an honor >> and welcome everybody else to Jessica. Thank you. Um I'm Jess Benson. I work over in services from the curriculum department and I oversee our health and physical education um our secondary teachers. As part of that job, I get to be um oversee the human sexuality committee. Um and once a year we come and report to our amazing school board about um our health policy assurances so that we can now send that information up to the state to make sure that we are following all
003of the policies and procedures that we need to when it um comes to sex education and our um health classrooms which also include our CT like CTE health sciences and some of our um science classes as well. So um here is our review for you for this year. The elementary um maturation committee met on April 23rd. They did approve two new items that were will be available to use. Um they are still using the same maturation program and our school nurses are still the only ones that are allowed to direct those maturation programs at the elementary level but they have updated two items that those school nurses can implement with the in the maturation program. Two small clips. Um those clips have been sent to Brianna, right, Brianna? >> Yes. >> And so if you
004would like to preview those at a later time, you can. That way you can have the links. Um those clips are um they go over a little bit about self-esteem and some um emotions during um puberty for those elementary students. So it's just two clips that the nurses can use on top of the already approved maturational program. Um secondary um no items were um no um items were removed from either the elementary or the secondary approved. Here are the number of reported pornography complaints for the elementary, junior high and high school level which is consistent to what we've been seeing the last couple of years. Um the number of reported sex education curriculum complaints. We had zero from elementary from maturation from the parents. We did have one recorded complaint come from a high school
005parent. Wasn't really a complaint. It was a note written to the teacher and when I asked the teacher what the complaint was about, they said the concern was that the students should be allowed to learn more and expand more on the material. So the teacher just was I mean the parent was saying that they wish the curriculum would allow for more at the high school level than what is allowed. But um the teachers at our high school are very great with making sure that they stay within um their core and what they're allowed to teach. Jess, is that a certain grade or is that >> That was high school 10th grade. >> 10th. Okay. >> Yes. >> Um it could actually be any Typically we see the kids take it in 10th grade, but it
006would either be a 10th, 11th or 12th grader. Once in a while we do have a a high school student who waits until their senior year to take help. But um I'd say the majority of our high school kids take help as 10 in 10th grade. That's kind of how the counselors try to help them place it. But >> the parent was just left over the consent form and had written a note that they wish that there was more than the teacher could expect. >> Okay. Now, >> well, I'm Kim Lo, the nurse supervisor for our district, and I am very happy to report that our teen pregnancy trends are going down. >> Uh, from 2019, 11.4 teen pregnancies per thousand um adolescence between the ages of 15 and 19. And now jump to 2023,
007it's eight per 10,00 which is great news. Uh comparing us with the US uh we are lower than most of the United States. You can see from 2019 Utah was 11.4 compared to the US uh of 16.7% rate. And then 2023 again we're at 8% and the US is 13.1. However, what was really interesting is um there were nine states that are a little bit lower than Utah and those states are New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Minnesota, and New York. And that was reported by the CDC in 2023. Uh so I thought that was really interesting information on that. But it is good to see those trends going down. Um, as far as STD, sexually transmitted diseases and infections, two years ago when we reported there was a significant spike
008and today I am happy to report it's going down. Um, overall it's going down. Um, and so we're very pleased with that. Um, sexual abuse cases however are on the increase. Uh, in 2020 3,346 cases as compared to 20 24 8,791 confirmed victims of child abuse or neglect. Now, why? One reason is we're doing a better job of reporting. In July of 2023, CPS in Utah implemented an online electronic form that those who are concerned about other children being abused can go on and complete for CPS rather than having to hold on the phone and talk to someone on the phone. So that is is a really big reason. And I draw your attention down to the graph on the right hand side where it shows the sources of the reports. 23% is law enforcement,
009but the next highest is schools at 19%. And so it just shows the importance of the education we're providing in the schools. Even in our maturation classes, we, you know, we tell the young ladies and the young men, if anyone ever says anything to you that makes you feel uncomfortable or touches you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, you must tell a trusted adult. And we talk about trusted adults, who those people are in their lives. And we actually have them identify to themselves um through an activity who they would tell if that happened to them. And so we feel that even though those numbers are not the direction we want them to go, we feel those numbers have been high for a long time and just have not been reported. But now
010because of the electronic form that's available that has really helped a lot and the ongoing education that we give as well. Do you have any questions for me? >> Yes. So you say um maturation is only done by nurses now. And so how many nurses does it take to uh get to all of our elementary schools? >> Okay. So for Yeah. So >> they the the ones that are assigned to >> the one that are ones that are assigned to each of the schools and and typically we will invite another school nurse to be with us. So there two of us presenting uh with the boys maturation program. We encourage if there are fifth grade uh male teachers or sixth grade male teachers and even some of our administrators have been gracious to step up
011and be trained uh in their schools because they are trusted adults in those schools. Uh the students are with them majority of the time during the week and and we want them to be able to talk to them if they need to and have their questions answered. So that's how we're able to do it. Any other questions? >> Well, thank you for allowing us to present. >> Thank you. >> That concludes our items >> for tonight, unless the board has other items to discuss. >> No. Um, I wanted to take a moment and excuse Julie and Stacy. could not make it tonight and um we are board meetings as well. Thank you. you all for coming tonight. I'm going to go ahead and call us to order and we can start our meeting. Um before
012we get into our agenda, I just want to take a moment and excuse um President King and Vice President They both could not make it tonight. We are going to start the meeting with a pledge of Can you hear me now? Ha, there we go. Okay. Um, we're going to start with the pledge of allegiance by Eric Woodhouse and then a thought by Jack Kingsford. Please rise. Repeat after me. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. So I wanted to share uh I guess a section of a book that's changed my life. So there's a book that I read with my faculty or staff when I first start working with a school.
013It's called the happiness advantage. I was introduced to this book when I first became a principal in Alaska. And when I was in Alaska, it was very difficult. If you want to hear some crazy stories, come talk to me after. and and I came across this book and it it literally changed my life. And one of the principles that I learned from this book I I continue to do every day without fail. In fact, I've I've done this activity for I think this is my seventh year every single day. And so I'm just going to read what the activity is and and why it's why it's such an important important activity that that I recommend everybody do. So, the study or the quote or the section I'll read right now. Just as it takes days
014of concentrated practice to master a video game, training your brain to notice more opportunities takes practice focusing on the positive. The best way to kickstart this is to start making a daily list of good things in your job, your career, and your life. It may sound hokey or ridiculously simple, and indeed, the activity itself is simple. But over a decade of imperial studies has proven the profound effect it has on the way our brains are wired. When you write down a list of three good things that happened that day, your brain will be forced to scan the last 24 hours for potential positives. Things that brought small or large laughs, feelings of accomplishment at work or strengthened connection with family, a glimmer of hope for the future. in just five minutes a day. This trains
015your brain to become more skilled at noticing and focusing on possibilities for personal and professional growth and seizing opportunities to act on them. At the same time, because we can only focus on so much at once, our brains push out those small annoyances and frustrations that used to loom larger in the background, even out of our visual field entirely. This exercise has staying power. One study found that participants who wrote down three good things each day for a week were happier and less depressed at the one-mon mark, three month, and six month follow-ups. More amazing, even after stopping the exercise, they remained significantly happier and showed higher levels of optimism. So, I encourage everyone, go on Amazon, buy a one line a day journal, and start writing some positive things that happen in your day.
016That's my message. Thank you for that. All right. As the board of education, it's important for us to recognize various accomplishments made by students, employees, and patrons from throughout Alpine School District. As we honor the individuals and groups this evening, we acknowledge the families and others who have helped them achieve their goals. Thank you for the support you have offered to those we recognize at this time and we appreciate your attendance here tonight. Uh a note after all the recognitions are done, you are free to leave. It's not rude or anything else. You can see your um when we move into the board meeting, you're free to go. Um and tonight, I'm so excited for this. I love this. Um we have students from the Oram cluster who have had artwork exhibited here at the
017district office for the past few months. And we would like to thank all of our students for allowing their art to be displayed in our hallways. We love passing by the artwork and we talk about it. We we love it. Um their artwork has transformed the district office into an art gallery of sorts, adding color and beauty for all to enjoy. Quite often you can see patrons and employees stopping to admire the different pieces that are displayed. We're going to start with Canyon View Junior High. Come on in. There we go. All right. And we have Ashlin Voit, Annie Carrier, uh, Ameliano Agir, Levi Heard, Peter Johnson, Lucy Jane Hudson, Savannah Provost, Lucy Brimhall, Ace Allen, Claire King, Ella Oberansley, sorry about that, Ethan Hansen, Isabelle Toro, Keech, and Hazel Ped. Ped padin pedakin. Anyway,
018congratulations Canyon View. Thank you so much for sharing your art with us. All right. Next up, we have Cascade Elementary. Come on in. Okay. Okay. And we have Amber Lee, Autumn Olsen, Ethan Mata, Florence Henry, Jade Ambberts, Jane Padikin, uh Patrick Wiggins, Rea Davis, Ruby Ray Story, and Siri Coulson. Thank you for sharing your art with us. All right. Next up, we have Centennial Elementary. Come on in, guys. All right. From Centennial, we have Abigail Johnson, George Grover, Kevy Albi Jr., Nico Mlakio, Parker Burns, Sage Lauder, Zia Dowler, Calvin Pope, Maxwell Lewis, and Alli Mauerman All right, next up we have Foothill Elementary. Come on in, guys. All right, we have Bra Belle Barbos, uh, Brian Packer, Ellie Hansen, Igger Estrada, Juliet Keel, Katie Peterson, Lizzie Zemp, Cammy Wright, Zevea Keel, and Will. Thanks, guys.
019Next up we have Orchard Elementary. Come on in. Okay, we uh from Orchard Elementary we have Caliop Mildenstein, Ivana Vega, Owen Raleigh, Zara Henderson, Parker Harmon, Gregory Bizant, Felix MS, Bonnie Jackson, Maddie Knight connect um and Nash Nelson. Thanks for sharing your art with us. All right, last but not least, Orem High School. Come on in, guys. Awesome. All right. From Oram High, we have Bailey Williams, Berlin, Liny, Christian Welty, Clara Larson, Jet Fingler, Lynx Christensen, Marin Blake, Anika Hobbs, Bana Clark, Kase Day, Lauren Finch, Marin Blake, Max Rojos, and Phoebe Dew. Thanks. It's a different one. >> Our next award tonight is the Do the Right Thing Challenge. We invite Natalene Bernett, teacher Chance Carter, and Principal Eric Loftton to come forward. Nataline Bernett from Lehi Jr. was selected as a finalist in the
020Utah State Board of DTWT writing challenge, standing out among more than 2,000 students statewide and 261 essay submissions. Her essay thoughtfully explored the impact of youth, youth violence, its cause, and how young people can become part of the solutions. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement. Your voice and perspective are making a difference, and you should be proud of the impact your work represents. Special recognition also goes to her teacher, Chance Carter, for supporting her and guiding her through this accomplishment. Alpine School District is thankful for so many teachers, staff staff members and staff members who excel in making a difference for students, parents, colleagues, and others. Tonight, we would like to recognize nominees who have been selected to receive the Alpine School District Rise Award award. Wow. Words. Okay. Um it stands for remarkable, inspiring, selfless,
021and encouraging. >> First up this evening, um we have Melissa Ducker. Melissa, can you come up please? And with you, Melissa, we want your principal, Mrs. Cooper. Carrie Cooper, is she here? There she is. And also to come forward. Um, and by the way, uh, Melissa is a nutrition service manager and Traverse Mountain Elementary. Um, and is Rachel Kennedy here by chance? Who nominated you for this? Okay, this is what uh, Kennedy wrote. Mrs. Ducker, our head nutrition worker, has transformed lunch service into an organized, efficient, and welcoming experience. Her leadership ensures the lunch line moves faster than ever, and her positive attitude fast uh fosters a culture of kindness and respect among her team. Students truly appreciate the nutrition workers, which reflects Mrs. Ducker's dedication to both her staff and the school community. Her
022commitment to excellence and genuine care make her an invaluable asset to our school, and she was very proud to nominate Mrs. Ducker for such an outstanding contribution. Congratulations, Mrs. Ducker. Okay, next up we have Deborah Jorgensson, who's a teacher at Oak Canyon Junior High. >> Come on up. Yeah, Deborah was uh nominated by Kimberly Tremble, a parent. We invite Deborah, Kimberly, and Principal Ross to come forward. Um or Dr. Mau to come forward. Okay. Kimberly wrote, "Deborah Jorgensson is an exceptional teacher. My daughter has struggled in math for the last five years and has Mrs. Jorgensson this year, and she is so willing to help her and all the students. She stays after school most days to help any kids that need it. She met with me for almost an hour and had a plan
023for my daughter to help her. I left with tears of gratitude. She has been an answer to our prayers. She really cares and wants to help those who struggle to understand and she sacrifices so much of her time. If anyone is deserving of this award, it is her. We would also like to recognize Leighton Darington, a teacher at Harvest Elementary, who was nominated by Megan Mccclaclin, a parent, and we invite Leighton, Megan, and Principal Kingsford to come forward. Megan wrote, "Mr. Darington is a lifechanging teacher. My son comes home and the things he tells me he learns are not just academic based but character-based. The way he interacts with kids makes me want to be a better person. He has a true gift of seeing the positive in children. A child who may be labeled
024difficult is filled with confidence for their differences in his class. The impact he is having on these kids is truly life-changing. He is imprinting confidence on their souls and making a difference in the world. I wish all kids could have a chance to feel the empowerment he gives them. And now we'd like to invite Emma Hinckley, a teacher at Parkside Elementary. Come on down. Also with uh we also would invite Mr. John Shelton, principal, and she was nominated by Laura Margato. Is Laura here? Okay. All right. Well, let I will tell you what Laura wrote about you, Emma. I would like to express my sincere appreciation for Miss Hinckley and the exceptional work she has done with my daughter. From the very beginning, she made every possible effort to include her. Thanks to Miss Hinckley's
025care and commitment, my daughter truly loves going to school and being in the classroom. What could have been a challenging experience, adapting to a new country, a new language has felt much easier because of her patience, kindness, and genuine dedication. They have made a meaningful difference. Miss Hinckley's work deserves to be recognized and commended. Thank you. Next we have Brida Amu who is an assistant librarian at Tempanogus High School. Um she was nominated by uh Jeremiah Hartsock an employee. So we invite Brida Jeremiah and Principal Murphy to come forward. They are not here. So we're just gonna talk about them. Good. We're gonna talk well about them behind their backs. Okay. Jeremiah wrote, "Brida is a rock star in our media center. As an assistant librarian, she has been incredibly knowledgeable and supportive, helping me
026navigate the digital library in a world that's quickly moved beyond simply checking out books in person. She keeps things running smoothly, knows expectations, and ensures students are where they need to be." As Mr. Bookman from Seinfeld reminds us, the library is a place of learning. Brida lives that out daily. Her reliability, expertise, and positive presence make her truly deserving of the Rise Award to have Lori Man, an occupational therapist in the special education department, come forward along with uh Gary Robson, Robinson, and director Roy Durington. and she was nominated by Emily Mikum. So, if they could all come forward, that'd be terrific. Emily wrote, "Lori has been the OT for two of my kids and has made the a tremendous impact on our family's life. My son started working with her when he was three
027and in the sped preschool. He graduated from all of his IEP services at the end of kindergarten just in time for his younger sister to start in sped preschool with Lori. My daughter is now fourth grade and has made leaps and bounds in her development. Lori has been wonderful to work with and taught me so much about how to advocate for my kids and helped me to find additional resources to help them be successful. We're so lucky to have worked with her. Thank you so much. I'm excited to share something this evening that we don't get to see much at uh at a board meeting and you probably didn't even know that this existed, but we want to talk for a minute about a Braille challenge and congratulate um Duke and Skyl Monday for their
028outstanding achievements in the Utah State Braille Challenge. Skyl was named a Utah finalist and Duke has now advanced as a national finalist. um one of only 50 students selected across North America to compete in the national finals. So we even though they're not here, will you please join us in celebrating these remarkable students? And just for your information, uh if you couldn't tell, they are from um Traverse Mountain Elementary. And so we want to recognize them for representing Alpine School District with such excellence. We appreciate them. We also um they're not here tonight, but we want to recognize two of our junior high teachers. Uh Elizabeth Ledwig from Lakeidge Junior High and Sherry Pitcher from Mountain Ridge Junior High. These are teachers who have received the prestigious Sorenson Legacy Awards for Excellence in Arts Education.
029This is a a state level award. So this is quite an achievement for these two teachers. Let's give my hand. >> We also have some state champions uh teams from various schools that we wanted to acknowledge even though they're not here tonight. So, and just so you are aware, award certificates have been sent to the schools and they'll be given to the student athletes during their recognition evenings. Um, first we have Lehi High, the 6A boys volleyball state champions. Great job, Lehi. Next, we have Mountain View High School. They're 4A boys volleyball state champions. >> Bruins. >> Great job, Bruins. And next we have Lone Peak High. Their 6A boys tennis state champions. Great job, Knights. That's me. Hi. Okay. Um, so anybody that was here just for the recognitions, you are welcome to head
030home if you would like to. Sorry, I know I need to talk further into here. Okay, so we now have up to 30 minutes set aside for public comment. This opportunity is allocated for patrons living within the Alpine School District boundary. A signup sheet was available pri prior to this meeting allowing up to 10 patrons the opportunity to speak those living outside of ASD and those who were unable to sign up before all slots were full can submit written comments at alpineschools.org/schoolboard. Scanning the QR code in the lobby will also direct you to the form. As you are called up, please introduce yourself by stating your name. You will be given up to three minutes to speak. While the board does not engage in a discussion during the public comment period, uh we may arrange
031for a staff member to communicate with you later. Personnel issues are not appropriate discussion items for an open meeting environment. If you have a personnel concern, please contact a member of administration or put your concerns in writing and address it to the board of education. All right, so um first up we have Joe Nielson followed by Alen Alger. I I apologize profusely for my pronunciation of names. It is not a gift that I have been given. So, okay. >> Hi there. I'm Joe Niels. I'm a patron. Just kidding. All right. Can you all hear me? Can you all see me? Okay. All right. I'm Joe Nielsen. Uh I've worked for Alpine School District for 28 years and I'm a painter for the district. I've been all over the district including Clear Creek today. Anyway, um
032I have the great honor to represent the education support professionals and I would like to have my friends and colleagues stand up. You can't hear me? Can you stand up? represent, right? Okay. These are all of our friends and colleagues and we would like to thank you every year for the opportunity that we get to come to the table and negotiate. And this year, we wanted to come in person and say that we voted no for the first time ever that I know of. Okay. And uh the reason was the cola right but first of all I want to explain what education support professionals are okay a lot you know all of us think of school as maybe a teacher standing in front of a class right what a lot of people don't realize is
033that an educational support professional is the first on to see our students in the mornings. Usually one of our bus drivers, great bus drivers, get our students there safely, right? The second one or third one may be the secretary, one of the paris that are standing out helping at the crossing guard in front of the school, right? Another one is our great nutrition service workers. They go into breakfast and greet greet those ladies. My my mom was a nutrition service worker. And so I'm proud to be able to work with these ladies. Anyway, we were we were a little disappointed this year. We wanted to to let you know, okay, that we had the vote on the proposed package and the members voted no because we believe that something better can be done. Okay. the
034the 0.5% cola, it doesn't cover even close to what the rise the rising cost of everything right now is. And so it doesn't cover the deductible that is going to go up for us either. and we are so grateful for the opportunity that you've given us to to go back to the table and and and renegotiate and talk it through. But I wanted to to come and introduce these great people as my friends and colleagues, okay? I've got a a guy back there that I see every morning and if I don't see him, the smile isn't there for me. He doesn't know that. I'm telling him right now that uh we call him the puninator, you know, and he's really important to me and I I'm sure too that all of our students, these people
035are important to them. Okay. Um as far as you know what can be done, uh we we hired a consultant to look into the funding and and we know that there are funds there that we can work with and we're grateful for the opportunity to go back to the table and work with you great people. We know we have the best financial team that that we that there is. We've worked with you for several several years. So, I wanted to just tell you that personally. Thank you. Uh, next we have Alen, please. Alger. >> And then up next will be Jackie Hogan. Thank you. >> Thanks. My name is Alen Alger. I am uh Time's up already. Yay. I'm an education support professional. I am an elementary school librarian. and I work at Parkside. And
036um first of all, I just want to say while I have a moment to say personally thank you. It takes a lot of work to do what you do and I've always appreciated that. I recognize your leadership and I'm grateful for it. It's time away that you could do something else, but you brought your expertise and I just say thank you. Um, when I started out being a librarian, that was about 14 years ago, I had a brand new principal and not only new to me, but new as a principal and came time for him to do as an evaluation employee evaluation. And he was very candid and he sat down and he said, "I'm sorry, I don't even know how to do this because I don't know what it is you do." And I
037thought that was candid and honest of him to just be so upfront. And so being an educator, I educated him and I told him, you know, all of the things that a librarian usually does, I do. But on top of all the curation and cleaning and cataloging and researching of books and balancing a budget and protecting all of the taxpayer uh funded resources that we've got. I I'm also an educator. So I'm making lessons and I'm teaching those little kids. Every single one of them from prek on up through sixth grade. I get the sped kids. I get the EBD kids. I get all of them. and I know all of them. And I spend significant amount of time getting to know them and what they want, what they do. And you get a lot
038of those kids who'll come out of the classroom going, "Oh, I hate reading." Because they've been working hard and they're stressed out and they're just done. But they'll come into library and by the end of library, if we work our magic, right, and we always bring our agame, don't we? When we get done, I've had kids who came in and said, "I hate reading." and they're leaving like, "Did you see this? She's got one of these books and just losing their minds and they're so ready to go and read because we changed their mind. Not I'm not a reading teacher. I'm a cheerleader. I fight apathy. I inspire curiosity. I work my magic every day. I bring my agame or I get eaten alive. I bring my agame. And so does everyone else that I
039work with as I rub shoulders with all of these amazing people. You know, the lunch ladies, they feed the ravenous. I I think lately of my custodian at my school. He's fighting the bathroom bandit. We don't know who that is yet. Bless their little cloven hooves. We're going to find them and help them do better. But honestly, the jobs that no one wants to think about or that you don't know are happening are quietly happening. And I hope that by the time we get a chance to come to the table, you'll take a moment to educate yourself more on what it is we're actually doing so that you can see better what we're worth. Thanks. Okay, thank you. Yes. So, uh, Jill Broadhead or Jackie Hogan and then Jill Broadhead. >> I'm a little bit
040shorter, so I think I can probably just leave it in the stand. Can you hear me? Okay. All right. I am Jackie Hogan. Um, I am an educational support professional. I work in nutrition services and have for the last 16 years. I will tell you that my job is my heart and soul. I feel like I have the most important job in the school because if children aren't fed, their stomachs are hungry and they can't concentrate and they can't learn. So, that being said, I feel like I'm the most important person in that school. And a lot of the kids at the school that I work at say the same thing. Um, they often ask me how I remember their names. It's because I see them every day, twice a day sometimes. Um, like I
041said, I've worked for the district for 16 years. My husband has worked for the district for 18 years, as well as my son. My husband's a head custodian and my son's also a head custodian and he is going to school to be a special special education teacher. So our family is very familiar with the school district. Um I want to talk a little bit about how the negotiated package affects me personally in my job. Um >> okay, sorry. Um, for me as a nutrition services manager, the 0.5% increase would mean 17 an hour. That's an extra $1.19 a day. An extra $5.95 a week and $21426 a year if I did my math correctly. And I I think I did. I think I'm pretty good at math. Um, as the nutrition services manager, I don't
042teach math, but like I said, I feel like I'm pretty good at math. Um, I do know that $214.26 a year is not keeping up with our increases. Gas alone at a current average of $4.25 25 now compared to 300 not 350 but $3.50 last year um is an extra 75 cent a gallon. My car takes 21 gallons. At 75 times 21 that's $15.75. If I fill my gas tank twice a month then that doesn't even get close to what my increase would be. My husband and myself are honored to be working in schools that are giving educational opportunities to the children of our community. I proudly raised my son here and he is proudly raising my granddaughter here. But we are a little disappointed at the district at this time in which they are
043not choosing to prioritize its lowest paid workers and support them this year. I don't know the answers, but I believe that this community and this board and our educational leaders can do better than 17 cents an hour. Thank you. I appreciate it. Okay, we've got uh Jill Broadhead and Shannon Styoff is um on deck next. >> Okay. Um, my name is Jill Bradthead. I work at Willow Creek Middle School as a finance secretary. I have been with Willow Creek for 17 years. Um, and first of all, I just want to thank you for the opportunity to be able to come and talk to you tonight. Um, I'm here to address the concern regarding the lane 11 junior high finance secretary, junior high administrative secretary, registars, and the junior high attendance secretaries. Um, we were all
044skipped in the the last job study. I don't know if it was skipped or if it w I'm not sure what happened. Um, we did not receive the lane bunt and um we feel that this was unfair unfair especially because most of the other positions did receive the lane bumps and in that increased their pay. um our positions were left behind even though our work the work that we do is specialized essential and it carries significant responsibility with each school within each school. These roles are not simply support positions that can easily be covered by someone else. In many of our buildings we are essentially standalone positions. We don't have people that can step in and take over for us when we're gone. So our work piles up and it becomes an inconvenience to our
045students, our teachers, parents. Um so it makes it really hard for us to feel okay with missing a day. Um finance secretaries manage student payments, deposits, purchasing budgets, fees, fines, reconciliations, and audit sensitive responsibilities. Admin administrative secretaries handle payroll, hiring paperwork, staff time, leave tracking, leave tracking, substitutes and communication scheduling in the daily flow in the building. Registars manage enrollment records, withdrawals, transcripts, scheduling data um and the accuracy of student information. That is super important for the safety of the students. Um, attendance secretaries manage daily attendance, parent communication, truency tracking, documentation, and other critical student accountability records. Each of these roles require specialized knowledge and accuracy account and accountability. When these positions remain, let's see, sorry, remain in the same lane as many of the others that were reviewed and adjusted, it creates frustration and
046makes employees feel undervalued. We are not asking for other positions to be minimized. Every school employee plays an important role. We simply are asking that the district take an accurate and fair look at the work that's being performed by lane 11 um junior high finance admin and registars and attendance secretaries. We would we would sincerely appreciate seeing the job study completed for these positions and have them reviewed in a way that reflects the actual responsibilities, expectations, workloads, and lack of backup coverage for our schools. Thank you for your time. Good afternoon. My name is Shannon Steinoff and I spoke a couple of months ago expressing concern over the schoolisssued Gmail accounts and requested these accounts not be activated until at least sixth grade. I want to start by recognizing Dr. Draper and the technology team
047for taking the time and effort to meet with me and to look into this. I want to thank Dr. Stoell and the communication team for adding additional information to the district website. I want to thank Mr. Beckstrand for taking the time to attend our school community council meeting when this topic was discussed. Every school and district representative that I have interacted with has been professional and kind and I appreciate that. Our school principal assures us that this is an active discussion at the district offices. I am sure that's true and I want to thank each of you for that. Unfortunately, I feel the need to speak again today because I sense a lack of urgency in a decision being made. Sadly, it looks like our young eight and nineyear-old children will go all summer with
048full access to these email accounts before a change is made. I worry about the countless students whose parents don't realize there is something to monitor. On the other hand, the parents that are aware of these email accounts are not happy. This weekend, I informed I informed some people that I know that I plan to speak with you today. Over a busy holiday weekend and very minimal effort on my end, 47 taxpayer taxpaying residents who all live within Alpine School District wrote and sent me letters addressed to you to express their support that we do not want our third graders having active Gmail accounts. It is too young and we want the activation age changed. I have those letters here. This is a conversation that parents care about and we need to see some urgency in
049choosing to protect each student that you represent. I know you care about these students. Please choose to stand up for them. I guarantee that if I start surveying more broadly throughout this district, we will see an overwhelming amount of support from parents and taxpayers who are wanting this simple change. We are only requesting email access be delayed just like it already is for kindergarten through 2. Postponing activation until sixth grade would not disrupt any other applications on student Google Suite. I have personally tested this on my kindergartner's account who whose email is not yet active. They cannot send or receive emails, but they can still access the um and utilize all other Google applications. I have not heard one valid reason to delay the decision to make this change. I hope this weekend's cyber security
050incident can be a wake-up call for all of us of how vulnerable our students are and recognize the urgent need for these safeguarding changes. Please link arms with us. Choose the safety of these kids above all else. Change the age of activation to at least sixth grade. 8 years old is too young. to have open access to the powerful tool of emailing. I am hopeful that we can work together as parents and school officials to create a safer learning environment for all. I would love to request a follow-up if you want to let me know who I can expect to hear from. Um, and I also wanted to ask who I could hand these letters to. All right. Next item on our agenda is the approval of minutes. And I will entertain a motion. I
051move that we approve the minutes. >> Second the motion. >> All right. with a motion by board member Bon and a second by board member Clement. Any discussion? All right, seeing none, all in favor? >> I >> Any opposed? All right, I will now turn the time over to Superintendent Smith for claims and business. >> Thank you. You've received the claims uh and reviewed those. Would recommend the board accept the claims for the month. >> I'll entertain a motion. I move that we accept the claims. >> I second. >> All right. With a motion by President King and a second by board member Wilson. Uh do we have any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say I. >> I. >> Okay. Uh superintendent, >> thank you. Um, in the routine business uh items, you have
052a budget summary, the Alpine Foundation board report, personal hiring and releases, and then LEA specific licenses. Would recommend the board approve the routine business items for the month. >> Okay. I will entertain a motion. >> I move that we approve our routine business as itemized in our on our agenda. >> I'll second it. >> All right. With board me with a motion. Thank you. Why is that word flying out of my brain? The motion from board member Wilson and a second by board member Bon. Um, do we have any discussion? >> All right, seeing none, um, all in favor? I >> I >> All right, superintendent. >> Action items for this evening. The first one uh is our 2026 2027 land trust plans. Just want to say thank you to Sam Wrencher, Dave Mau, Jody
053Pilgrim, our school principles, and the supervisors, and each of you board members who have poured over um those plans. Um it's a requirement that the board adopt those or approve those plans for the following uh school year. So, I would recommend that you approve the 2026 2027 land trust plans for Alpine School District. >> Okay. Do we have a motion? >> I move that we approve the land trust plans. >> Okay, I'll second. Uh with a motion from board member Clement and a second by board member Peterson. Any discussion? >> I just want to thank all of our school community councils who have gathered and done the hard work. uh put their names to these plans and uh now they get to watch them unfold next year. >> Great. It's pretty It's really a great
054process. Um all right, with a motion by board member Clement and a second by board member Peterson. Um all in favor? >> I I >> All right. Any opposed? >> Any opposed? All right, superintendent. All right. Next item. We'd request that the board table policy 5146 and um take that up at uh a meeting in in either next Tuesday uh if the board chooses then or in June. >> Okay. >> Go ahead. >> I move that we table our discussion on policy 5146 uh for further review. >> I'll second it. All right, with a motion from board member Wilson and a second by board member Bon. Um, any discussion? Okay, seeing none, all in favor say I. >> I. >> And any opposed? All right, superintendent. >> The next item uh is the FY27 school
055fee and spend plans. The board received a report from our business services team uh last month in study session. The board has had a chance to look at those spend plans and school fee schedules. There were minor changes, very few changes, probably the fewest that we've seen year-over-year and would recommend the board approve the FY27 school fees and spend plans. >> Okay. Thank you. Um would somebody like to make a motion? I move that we approve the FY27 school fees and spend plans. >> I'll second. >> All right. With a motion by board member Clement and a second by board member Lincoln. Do we have any um discussion? >> I just want to let our public know that um these spin plans are available for uh you to see. they um set a maximum amount
056that can be charged. So in many cases what is actually on the spend plan is not what is in uh practice. Um I don't know if you want to comment on that further Rob but >> yes so let me just uh clarify that we establish the maximum in the fee schedule and the spend plan outlines how those funds are received and what they are used for with detail. oftentimes uh programs and schools charge less than the maximum. So that's just some clarification. But yes, all of those plans are available for the public to look at. >> Yeah, I just wanted to make that clear because when you read them, it can be a little shocking until you realize that that's not it's it represents maximums and not actuality in most cases. >> Thank you for
057that. Um, with a motion by board member Clement, a second by board member Lincoln. All in favor say I. >> I. I. >> And any opposed? >> I, by the way. Okay. Superintendent. >> All right. The next item of business is resolution 2026007, bus vehicle surplus. Um, the board has approved a prior uh version of this. We're just trying to uh get rid of some of the old buses that um either are not used uh to transport students or would take uh significant resources to restore and make operable. So, you've had the list of buses. Each of the uh three new districts also have to approve resolutions when we dispose of property and so would recommend the board approve resolution 2026-007 this evening. Okay. Would somebody like to make a motion? >> I move that
058we approve resolution 2026-007 um to surplus the buses and vehicles. >> I'll second it. >> All right. With a motion from board member King and a second by board member Bon. Uh any discussion? >> All right. Seeing none. Um all in favor? I. Any opposed? >> Okay, superintendent. >> Okay, next item of business is the sale of the Walker property. It's known to us as the Walker property. It's a parcel in Saratoga Springs that was acquired for a middle school. That use uh is no longer um needed by Alpine School District. The Lake Mountain Board approved the action to sell that property on April 30th, 2026. This is a concurrence action by Alpine's board um to approve the sale of that that property as required by law. Would recommend that Alpine's board approve the sale
059of that property. Proceeds would uh remain with Lake Mountain uh school district. >> Okay. Thank you, Superintendent. Uh would somebody like to make a motion? >> I move that we approve the sale of the Walker property. >> I'll second it. >> Okay. with a motion by board member King and Lincoln and a second by board member King. Um any discussion? All right, seeing none, all in favor? >> I any opposed? >> Okay, superintendent. >> Okay, last action item tonight is resolution 2026. Well, it's not 2026007. Let me pull up my documents. I'm guessing it's 2026-00008, but scanning down to page 157 or 156. It's somewhere right at the very end is listed as 007. Um, let's see. Yep, just the resolution is numbered twice. I would just recommend we label it 2026-00008 and we'll note
060it on the document. So with that, resolution 2026-00008 renumbered is a memorandum of understanding for the use of Cedar Valley Elementary School, which the board took action to close after the current school year. Uh thisou is is with uh APA charter school um and uh will proceed a lease agreement that that charter school um we will consider. the charter school um was fasttracked and I think approved was it last week by the state board and so um would recommend the board approve thisou or resolution 2026-008 so that Cedar Valley Elementary School could be used for a charter school site um and then the lease will come at a future date. >> Okay, thank you superintendent. Uh, I will entertain a motion. >> I move that we approve resolution 2026-00008 and MOU for use of Cedar
061Valley Elementary School. >> I'll second it. >> Okay. With a motion by board member Lincoln and a second by um board member King. Uh, any discussion from the board? >> Okay, seeing none, who uh all in favor? I >> I Any opposed? Okay, that appears to pass unanimously. Um, superintendent. >> All right, just a couple items. Uh, Rich, will you pull up the output by the numbers? I'm just going to talk briefly about the membership report. Um, it's typical. We're down a few students at the secondary level. Elementary is holding pretty flat. It is down a few students. Um, the reason for that is we have students exit our system towards the end of the school year. They transfer out of our schools. They go online. They graduate early. they take GEDs etc. So it
062is a typical pattern. If you dig a little bit deeper, you'll see growth in uh certain schools in certain areas and you'll see some decline in certain schools in certain areas, but typical for this time of the year. um like to focus on uh the Alpine by the numbers and again this is something that uh thanks to Jason Cro and his team um highlighting the data um that drives our work and um our conversations that we have on how we can better serve students and partner with our parents and enact your policy and direction. So this tonight we're going to talk about the engagement survey. This highlights about uh 1,290 educators uh their perceptions about leadership, collaboration, growth, job satisfaction, etc. Next slide. That's some good graphs, Mark. This I think you always asked for
063um a few pictures instead of just tables and numbers. So, here's a few really good graphs. Um this one uh shows uh that our our teachers or our team is prepared to manage student behavior. About 90% of our educators felt well prepared to uh manage student behavior and their work responsibility. Next slide. Um the support from the administration uh with behavior and discipline. This is an area where I think we have some uh opportunity to improve. And so again, one of the things I've tried to do over the year um is highlight some things we're doing very well at, but also highlight some things I think that we can improve on. And as a team, I think that growth mindset is what's driving us uh to try to get better. Uh the team works effectively
064together. Our our our capacity and our ability to collaborate. Um again, extremely high uh scores on this, over 90%. Um, next slide. Uh, professional learning opportunities are high quality. This is an area I think we can also do a little bit of work on. Um, there are some lower uh scores here and some of the the narrative or the um um comments um give us some insight into some things here that we can do to improve. Next slide. Uh, personal growth. This one I was really pleased to see. so high uh nearly 90% um saying yes. Uh we set goals um those goals are measurable um and they're timely and we have supports to help achieve those. Next, um my day-to-day work is rewarding. Um this is an area I think a lot of people
065um feel that their work is rewarding. We heard from some of our great classified employees tonight about the importance of their work. Um we've highlighted some teachers um and staff with different awards tonight um competent, caring people that um do work so hard. But there are some areas here that um I think we can maybe do a little bit better to celebrate and support our our team members. Um mentoring, coaching, improving instructional practice. Pretty good scores here. Um but again, I think some opportunity here to improve. Next, in summary, um here's the celebrations. Um some of the comments that came in, uh I'm just going to hit three or four, um that stood out to me. Uh third bullet, staff feel supported by administrators who are approachable, caring, and responsive. Um collaboration and leadership opportunities
066help teachers grow. And then finally, educators appreciate PD that is practical, relevant, and they can immediately take and use in their classroom. Opportunities is the next one. Um, time, behavior, overwhelmed. Those are the themes that you see here. And I just want uh to hit um a couple of bullets. I know the board has worked on over the years. Uh we've got more work to do, but um specialized staff um that are needed and have heavy case loads um sometime feel overlooked or or not seen. And then um we we like to add things but sometimes we don't like to take away things and so things continue to pile and um that weight is felt by our our team members. Overall, uh, in summary, um, solid, uh, great place to work, amazing people, um, they're
067supported, they set goals, they achieve those goals, and there are opportunities for us to improve in the areas mentioned. So again, uh, just a quick report about some of the numbers and some of the data on our team. >> Thank you, Superintendent. Okay, uh, last item on our agenda. We have some time for board member and superintendent reports and information items. >> Um I just wanted to apologize for my tardiness. I um was at we had two sets of MTech graduation today and just wanted to congratulate all of our Alpine School District students who graduated from MTech. Um we've had such a large class of graduates that we actually had to split it into two ceremonies to accommodate all of them and their families. So that is an excellent problem to have. Um so just
068appreciate that partnership with MTech. Um also wanted to recognize Cedar Valley Elementary. They had um a celebration of the school. It's closing after this school year. It's 116 years old. It's the oldest school in Alpine School District. Um and it was just a great way to celebrate the community, the school, the history, and love seeing the students um from student council who participated and welcomed everyone into it. It was just a great event and um I'm incredibly grateful for all the work that went behind that and recognizing and honoring that community. >> I just wanted to take a second to honor all of the graduates that are going to graduate across the district, but more importantly, I want to honor all of the people that helped them get there. the parents, the education support um
069professionals and all of their arrays, their teachers, every teacher from kindergarten all the way through grade 12 has made an impact on their lives. So, thank you and thank you for the parents and that endless um nagging that we do as parents to get the homework done. Hopefully, you're almost to the end of that, but um just a big thank you and just to honor those that have helped our class of 2026. Yeah, I wanted to I want to second that. Um, and I wanted to add, I spent the other evening at a scholars night at um, one of our high schools and I was so impressed by the diversity of accomplishments of our seniors and how many programs we've been able to offer them and seals of biiteracy and arts and um, athletics and
070um, military just a huge breadth of um, opportunities that we've been able to offer our kids. And um I also want to second what Join said that um thank you to all of the community members and teachers and everybody that have helped these seniors throughout their education. It it really takes a village and um so congratulations class of 2026. I want to just mention that many of us had the opportunity to attend a retirement u event last night where uh several of our ed uh admin uh were highlighted. But across the district, it's it's a happy sad time as many of our educators and uh employees have made that decision to retire. Um, uh, lots of tears, lots of hugs, and lots of looking to the future. So, good luck to all our retirees. Okay,
071having reached the end of our agenda, I will entertain a motion to adjurnn. >> I move that we adjourn. >> I second. All right, with a motion by board member Clement and a second by board member Lincoln, we are uh all in favor. >> I I >> Okay, we are adjourned. Thank you.