October 14th, 2025 - Alpine School District Study Session and Board Meeting

001I want to welcome everyone out to our study session. It is 4:00 on October 14th. >> Um and I'm going to call our study session to order. >> Superintendent Smith. >> Yeah, thank you. We're excited to be here today and and uh receive a we we got the the um I know the primer in September and now we're here for the full monty and Roy Darington is going to go ahead and provide us a detailed report. I previewed it. Uh he and his team have done a great job and uh Roy turn it over to you. Take it away. >> Well, thank you uh board members. Uh thank you for letting me come and participate again and I hope that I hit the mark as always. Um coming to this meeting this is for your

002benefit and the hard work that you you all do. Um I hope that what I bring to the table information wise can inform you in the decision make the tough decisions that you have in front of you particularly with the split coming up in in a couple years and all the all the moving pieces that happen between now and then. Also, I want to just take a second and acknowledge that, you know, any parents that we have that took the time to come and visit and be part of of this meeting, thank you for being here. And a shameless plug that I got permission to throw out. Um, my area directors, Lucas West, if you'll stand up or raise your hand. Cindy in the south, raise your hand. Cynthia in the central area. any parents.

003We are we are looking to try to bring in uh some parents that will be willing and and in that have students with in our special education department that would be willing to support us on a parent committee, steering committee for the district. We've been trying to recruit and and uh we're coming short on the numbers that we want. So, a shameless plug, if you're interested, find your area director before the meeting gets over and and we would love to have have you come and help us shape and form our decisions. Um, as an introduction, I was asked to kind of report on three different areas and I'm going to try to weave them together a little bit, but in fairness, they they are kind of just three distinct topics. The first one is a

004thank you and report to the board on the investments that they've made in special education um through tax increments in fiscal year 24 and what that has allowed us to do and and will continue to allow us to do moving forward. The second thing is a discussion and recommendations around special schools and our post high programs um in in uh the three new districts. And then the third thing is more just starting a conversation about a move towards serving students in their neighborhood schools rather than in a cluster model which Alpine um utilizes at the moment. And again just starting a conversation. So, in response to or in recognition of the decisions made in fiscal year 24, um there was roughly $6.5 million through tax increments that were that were um directed towards special education

005services. The first one is $4 million that was changed from uh basically soft money to ongoing funds to guarantee that we had Paris support in our schools. Um the the the short version is a lot of that support was being paid for out of money that wasn't guaranteed year on year on year. It came through some one-time grants that happened around CO um and some of those uh federal and state dollars that came in and then in that uh the board at the on the back end of that as those dollars were beginning to go away, the needs were still there obviously for those services and the board took it upon themselves through the tax increment at that time to to solidify these dollars and guarantee that we had that $4 million ongoing for PAR

006support. And that is huge. Um, to put that into perspective, one pair of professional in our district is roughly the equivalent of 20 to $25,000 a year. So, you can imagine how many how many um paraprofessionals to support our students and our teachers in the schools that $4 million puts in our buildings. So, I appreciate that. The next one in fiscal year 25 there was another $469,000 that was just put into sped support that that really was used to reduce case loads uh meaning the number of students that each individual served and then in fiscal year 20 fiscal year 26 it 1.1 or 1.7 million for class size reduction for our sped classes and this has happened through the addition of six SLP speech language English pathologist possess uh positions and then an addition of

007two and a half small group classes in the district which we were able to then just reduce class sizes and then an ongoing quarter of a million dollars that we use for sped parap flexibility which means as we have students throughout the year um and every year this is the case that move in or we identify students or new needs exist in in in any particular school that requires some additional support. we have an a mechanism that we can get that support immediately out to the schools without going through a big long process of of trying to identify and allocate additional resources postbudget. And so I just want to say to the board, thank you very much for that support and the the ongoing commitment to all of our students in special education. The second

008discussion that I I've been asked to talk about and probably the probably the biggest part of this meeting is to come to this to come to the board today with information regarding the needs and the recommendations for post high and uh special schools as we move towards the transition from one district to three districts. The purpose of my presentation today will be really straightforward. Recommend a strategic direction for special schools. Discuss why now is the time to do that and why discussions in 2025 are important for something that's going to happen or be impacted in 2728. And then finally, ensure that we're focusing on equity, sustainability, compliance, and access. These are all super important topics in the world of special education and they're not just things that we talk about. They're things that we're we're

009required to make sure are in place for our students and they deserve it. So, jumping right in before I go going too far, I want to make sure I say thank you to my team and a lot of them are here today. This is this was not something that I did in isolation. There's a lot of experts in the room. You can see I I all my directors, our special schools coordinator, our principles and directors from our a tech programs, they were all part of our team and we've been meeting for 3 months working on this to ensure that we're taking the best information that we can put together. And so what you're hearing is a combination of the team's recommendations, not necessarily just roid in isolation. So as we talk about that and as

010we may move forward the discussion will follow this outline a definition and scope of what special schools and adult and post high programs are some of the legal and compliance foundations that we have to adhere to. What are some of the current challenges that that exist right now today in Alpine School District in our in our uh special schools and our post high programs. We will present a recommended model along with some of the physical facilities and timelines that we recommend and suggest. What are some of the risks and how do we mitigate those risks? Budget and finance implications and ultimately our recommendations for the board to consider for action andor next steps. So the definition of a special school, a special school is a school that is external of any general education students. In

011other words, it serves special education students only. It is part of what is called the least restrictive environment continuum. It's required by law. It must exist in every district in one shape or another. And it's meant to serve students that have significant cognitive, behavioral or medical and or medical needs. And so our sometimes our most vulnerable population. Okay. Our most vulnerable students. An adult high program is part of the special education continuum. It is part of our responsibility to provide transitional services or services that focus on transition in the interim for our students with IEPs that do not graduate with a high school diploma at the end of high school. They are continuing on and we are focusing on how do we build independent skills? How do we help them develop life skills to where

012they can transition at 22 into society in the most independent way possible based on their individual disabilities? And as you know, when we talk about special education, we are talking about each child and each child is unique and special and their needs need to be provided for in a unique and special way. So, we never talk or try to do things as a one-sizefits-all. Um, and then at the end of at the the third thing is to make sure that we're articulating our current realities, which are our our enrollment, um, our locations and our current staffing and projections the best we can projecting those needs for the next two to three years. So, let's start with legal and compliance foundation. The first one is LRE, least restrictive environment. This is a big one. This is

013a focus across our district in all things special education, not just our special schools. But as you'll see in a minute, when we talk about least restrictive environment, what we're really talking about is a continuum where depending on the need of the student, the district is required, the LEA is required to have a continuum of services from least restrictive, which would be a general ed classroom, to the most restrictive, which would be in a hospital or institution type setting. A special school is just one of the offerings in that continuum. And again, these are legally required in every LEA as services for services for students. IDA and USB board rules. They are our guiding kind of our guiding legal documents in this space and we must ensure that we are meeting all compliances associated with

014those. On the adult high side, we uh we have the the post high, we have the adult transition, which requires again those students that are not high school graduates that have an IEP the opportunity to continue to work on independence and transition skills until they are 22. And what those schools look like is vastly different and should be vastly different than say your traditional K12 or even a 1012 high school. And so when we put try to put those programs together with grade school K through 12 programs, that's not appropriate. And the reason why it's not appropriate is because they focus on totally different things. This has been called out in court cases over and over again. Um that being said, from a facility standpoint, can you utilize similar facilities? Yes. But the but the

015programs themselves should be distinctly different and the students should be being served in a distinctly different manner. This is the continuum of environments that were required. This is the LRE. You can find a hundred different versions of this diagram. But hopefully what you take from this is you understand that at the top of it full inclusion is that is the starting point. That is the default expectation of every student whether they have an IEP or don't have an IEP. We start with every student is a general education student. Now that being said, each student also has the right to receive the appropriate education that aligns with their unique disability or their unique needs in learning. down there you can see towards the bottom where a separate school or residential school as they're sometimes called depending

016on how they're being utilized. You can see where that falls in a continuum. This is a very restrictive environment and the students that attend these schools have very significant needs that typically are not easily addressed or appropriately addressed in a general in a in a in a brickandmortar normal school that would exist in a district. It's not that you couldn't provide these services, but on the other side of the responsibility of of our district is the budget budgeting issue. Sometimes it's a lot more efficient and effective and appropriate. So, we are required to have this as an option. So, when we do identify students that need this environment, we have that environment ready, willing, and able to meet their needs and serve them. >> Roy, can I ask a question really quick? >> Absolutely. So

017when we talk about I know you you've labeled in this one like pull out services. When we have push-in services, does that qualify under full inclusion when we do push in or is it really is it more closer to the pull out? >> So if you were if we were to take this broader than the special school conversation, >> this is how this would exist. And and this is good to I'm glad that you brought this up because when we get to the third conversation, it it it is about this that whole conversation is about the ability to do this. Full inclusion means that a student is receiving their specially designed instruction in a general ed classroom by a general ed teacher. And if you were to walk into that classroom, you would see no

018different from one student to another. In fact, you would not be able to pick out which student has an IEP or doesn't have an IEP. The student still is receiving something that is guaranteed just for that student. That is their specially designed instruction. and that's that's aligned with their IEP. If you were to push in in a regular classroom, say a parah with a student to go in and get some support, that is a little more restrictive. Why? Because a typical student, and when I say typical, we're talking about the norms of a whole school. The average student in a classroom does not have an adult come into a class with them and sit by them and help them with things that are appropriate for them to help them. But if that's what's required, that's

019what's required. But because that adult is there, that's why it's considered more restrictive. And in some court cases, they have ruled that adding a parah or an adult, sometimes referred to as a as an aid, a onetoone. One:1 meaning that there's one student with one adult that is caring for whatever their need is, which can be fast. Some have argued that that is as restrictive as some of these down here. because it puts the student from a social construct at such a disadvantage to their peers. And no longer is the conversation about specially designed instruction and special education solely about access to curriculum as it was when IDA was written back in in the 1970s. It refers to their social adaptations and their their ability to develop in the social and adaptive world as well.

020And that's just not appropriate. And then we go to special classes. Special classes are any class where a gened student is not allowed. We refer to in our district and I'll I'll explain this a little bit more later, but when we talk resource, there is no difference between a resource and what we do call special classes. They're the exact same thing as far as the continuum is is concerned. And the reason why they are the same thing largely is because they're both environments that genetic students do they're never involved in. Now, the actual special class or separate class or small group can be more restrictive when you change from a student that is accessing a curriculum at grade level, which is our hope for all students. Sometimes in special education, some of our students are

021so significantly cognitively behind they fall into another group that is called 1enters or alternative assessment students. What that means is they take a separate assessment based off of individually determined curriculum. They are not taking assessments like the RISE or the Aspire Plus that everybody in that same grade level takes. I'm kind of getting in the weeds a little bit, but that's that's kind of how you distinguish when you're talking about restriction. It can be an environment. It can be the access to curriculum. It can be the support from the school in in the terms of paras or or um teacher supports. It can be the actual room that they go to. The idea is is we want students to have an experience. The goal of IDEIDA from the beginning was always to give students an

022experience as close to and equal to their non-disabled peers as possible in light of their unique and individual disabilities. That has never changed. court cases have driven that in a lot of ways that have provided a ton of nuances that now IDA has been it it's very restrictive now in how we administer the services we provide much more so than when it was written but that's on the backs of court cases that have said you will do this and you will do this and you will do this which are the nuances of special education does that answer your question >> yeah no I appreciate that clarification >> thank you >> all right our current challenges in our special schools and our ATH programs. Sorry if I say a tech, I apologize. These are our post

023high programs. Um in our post high programs and our and our and our um special schools right now today, capacity is an issue. We do not have room to really accommodate the students that we have now in you know because of the needs that they have. For example, I have Principal Heming here. Principal Heming, in your building at Dan Peterson, how many how much storage space do you need just for the unique equipment that you need in your facility? >> Yeah. So, right now we have a full-size classroom that stores all of the standers, walkers, any sort of mobility equipment. Um, it's all it's actually called a parking lot. We have a parking space for every student's walker, standard, and any piece of equipment in it. We have to use one full-size classroom. Plus, we

024have a storage room that's behind that classroom that houses one full just one classroom, all the equipment. And that is just the mobility and standing ability. >> Horizon is in the same boat. ATK East, ATH West, they're in the same boats because of some of the unique needs of our students that are in these very specialized um schools and programs. That is a consideration. We are bursting at the seams. Not to mention the size of our classrooms. And you'd say, "Well, wait, Roy, Dan Peterson is has an average of 8 to nine students per class. Horizon's 11 to 12 students per class. Come on now." But if you have 8 to nine students that require all kinds of specialized equipment and additional adults in the room to help facilitate their needs and support them in

025their needs, it's not the same. You can't think about these schools even in any way, shape, or form the same way we think about sometimes staffing or space in a regular quote regular school that we would have. Um, and so that's why these are things that we have to be aware of. This is a current reality. And we'll talk about numbers and and it it's scary in two years where we're going to be as far as numbers based on growth trends and projections, but this is a reality today. This is not a this is not something that will wait for that the new boards will have to they will wrestle with this, but we have demands that are today that we need to deal with for our students that that deal with space and capacity.

026Um the second thing in inconsistency in our IEP placement practices. This is something that we can work on internally. There are certain students that IEP teams find it appropriate to send them to special schools when sometimes the special school staff would look at them and say, "Wait, I don't know that that's necessarily the most appropriate." Sometimes it's we undersshoot and we have students that we've kept back in in in gen or in in general school settings when if we look at them closer we're like man this student could really thrive if we had them in the special school. So it's a little bit of both. That's just a reality. It's just a challenge. What makes it challenging is in the size of Alpine and the number of students we're dealing with and the number of

027IEP teams we're dealing with, it's my job and my team's job to try to bring consistency in our practices. Because if we don't have consistency in our practices, it becomes a problem for us in trying to anticipate or predict how many students will be coming or going in these programs. which then goes back to bullet point number one that really impacts capacity. And it only anyone that has worked in these school, one student can make a significant change in the resources that are needed for that student to be successful in that school. And so it it it is something that is worth noting that we need to get better and more consistent. And I take that on wholly as my responsibility to work on with our teams to try to build that consistency. Oh, sorry,

028jumping ahead. transportation in inequities. This is always going to be one. Um again when you think of our population that we work with in both of these in the program and in the special schools their their needs for transportation are so different that trying to keep up with those is really really hard. It's really really difficult. the the traditional practices where we try to make projections years out in advance, they kind of go out they kind of go out the window and we're just doing our best always to just read the tea leaves the best that we can. Um knowing that at any any moment an individual student can completely throw that just blow off our best leg plans and then we have to adjust and that becomes that becomes a factor. Transportation is one

029of those. Um, one student can require complete alterations to a bus to meet their needs. That costs money, money and planning and and meeting the routes and all those things that are needed. And then also facility grants. We do not have consistency. And while I was asked to talk about and we'll get to recommendations around um special schools in the south and a tech or sorry adult programs post high programs in the south what I'm talking about and my team wanted to make sure that that the board understood this is not about the south this is what's best for every special school this is what's best for every post high program and currently with the ones we have. There are issues. There are things that we would love to address. There are things that we

030can look at and say, I hope we will look at and say, is this appropriate for this population? Are we sharing the message? Are we are we giving them the support that we really want to give and we mean to give? And that should be considered equally across all three new areas, not just the south. And I want to be very clear about that. So when we talk about facility gaps, these special schools require some very very unique very very unique um facility ad adaptations from therapy rooms, sensory rooms. If you've never been in a sensory room or don't know what that is, I would invite you to do a little research on that. If you're a parent of a student that requires a sensory space, then you know how important it is that our

031schools have those to help them to be able to self-regulate and to and to work to work towards independence. The recommended model that my team feels adamant, we feel very very strongly about that is that there is an independent post program in every district. also that there is a special school in every district. I cannot in good faith stand up here and recommend anything other than that. I hope I've been clear enough to to explain the legal implications, but there's a moral imperative to it as well. >> Yes. >> I'm just checking my thinking. If we weren't reconfiguring, you would be standing there and saying the same thing. >> I would be. I would be. And some of you I've talked I've talked to you about this before because right now currently today Dan Peterson

032is in a a place where we've got to figure some well not just Dan Peterson Dan Peterson and Horizon is in a place where we've got to figure out how we are going to adjust to meet the growth just like we would with any other school like we're bulging at the seams. We know we've got growing enrollments. We have to prepare for that. This is a growing enrollment that is a little bit unique in that it requires a lot of special preparation for the needs of the school. Thank you for asking that though. Um the reason why we recommend that the biggest benefits beyond just the legal and ethical components of it autonomy. Each district needs to have the autonomy to meet their own needs. Just because these are these are special schools and they

033all have the same title. These special schools are not unique of a personality and their own their own cultures and we've got great cultures in in all of our programs in Horizon Dan Peterson. They're they're wonderful schools and I would hope that if we develop a new school in the south, it has the ability to grow into what it commu its community needs it to be and meets the needs that's more than just the nuts and bolts, but really speaks to the heart because all of these students deserve to have that authentic school experience and all the bells and whistles that go with an authentic school experience. some considerations that I will touch on. Obviously, staffing, placement guidelines, which we won't spend a lot of time in this meeting talking about. That's something that my

034team has to wrestle with and make sure that we're training out. Um, and then PD alignment, which again is more just something that if we did it, we have to ensure that the people that we're putting in these buildings are highly trained and they are ready to hit the ground running because we're moving. We would be moving, if this were to happen, we would be moving from two known programs and schools to a new unknown program and school that is starting from scratch. That might not scare us as educators because we've gone through this before with lots of schools. But I want you to consider what it would be like for you if it was your child that requires all the services that these schools and these programs offer. What would it feel like for

035you? How terrified would you be? We want to make sure that we're good stewards of our community and we want to make sure that we are providing the comfort to our to our patrons that they can maintain trust in us that we'll do what's best for their students and why their students. So, let's talk about physical facilities. Obviously, security goes without goes without saying. There are some very unique situations and I smile because sometimes they can be a little humorous. But there are students in these that will test our security protocols. There are students that will challenge us to make sure we are we are on our toes. So these schools sometimes go a little bit above and beyond. Okay. We have medical emergencies that happen. So how do you how do you have a

036system where you can rapidly get medical attention to students and not once a year? This is the norm like once a day we respond. Okay. Emotional or behavioral situations that are just unique to these environments. They just require different level of need and attention that doesn't exist in some of our other schools. Calming designs with sensory and medical spaces. These are not optional. These are required. These are required. We would never want to be in a place where we're receiving medical support, diapering, feedings, all the things that happen in these schools. We would never want to be on display. What makes you think any one of these students would want to be on display for these things? We need spaces that accommodate their their their needs so they can receive those in a very appropriate

037confidential way and and that that is that that maintains their dignity. Adaptive playground and therapy areas. These are things that have to exist and they don't look the same. They just aren't the same. It's not a it's not a onetoone. Well, we've built playgrounds before so we know what that is. These playgrounds are unlike most playgrounds that we build. But do they deserve a playground? Absolutely. They like to play. These students like to swing. They like to, you know, be on the ground and and and move around and do all the things that every other student likes to do at recess, but they're just a little bit different and they have to be considered. We talked about storage of equipment and and I can't overstate or rather understate how important this is. Like if you

038haven't been in these schools, this is a huge reality. Equipment takes up space, but it's not equipment that just can just be locked away somewhere because we have to use it so frequently. So that has to be considered when we move from special schools to adult highs. Adult highs are post high school. Sorry, I'm I'm using similar language but in in same different language in the same way and I apologize for that. I just noticed my language there in my slide. But in our postype programs where we're trying to build independence, these students need apartment settings, they need laundry settings, they need kitchenetss, they need all the opportunities to learn to be independent. And they spend so much time in these programs helping helping these students to be able to do these things, practice job

039interviews, practice skills that will make them successful in jobs. And then we get them out to jobs. And so for our post high programs, central locations in each leas, ideally locations that are close to public transportation. The reason why that's so important, remember, these are students that are transitioning to independence. That's our goal. We want them to ride the bus if we can. We want them to ride front runner if we can. Those are important life skills that may be the difference between their ability to navigate independence and not and that's the job of these programs. So, some key recommendations for timelines. I'm going to give you two and I want to be very clear. Both of these timelines, one is for the consideration for a start next fall. That's this one. If we were

040going to try to create a special school and an adult and a post high program in the south for next year, we would be have to get to work right now. Winter 2025 facility planning. These are these are things that are beyond my team. And this is the whole district's force coming together. Um facilities, the planning and funding, a feasibility study, all those things would have to be considered by spring of 2026, the new South District School Board, and this is just me throwing that in. Of course, that would be in partnership with this board. There would have to be decision- making how to to finalize designs, hire staff, unify transition criteria, initiate facilities, reconstruction or remodeling. Again, all the things that I just talked about. And then by the fall of 2026, we would

041be launching these schools. Big part of launching these schools would be the ongoing monitoring of what's happening in enrollment and equity. Equity, making sure that we're getting the resources. Now, let me touch on pros and cons with this model. As my team saw it, here's the pros. It's a soft landing. We would still be alpine. These new this new special school, this new post type program would have the support of an two existing special schools with two very successful principles to support and staffs that can support the ast program. Same would have the support of we would have staff potentially moving. they would have to from existing programs that are already trained in these spaces. Now, that's universal for both, but but there's a little bit of of backs stop to support the to support

042the new school and and program with existing schools and programs. Okay. What are some of the cons? Well, other pros, let me I'm getting ahead of myself. I apologize. Other pros, one is with our parents and our students. It allows us to build some confidence in our parents and students because they will be able to see and feel the continuity between our existing programs. And that I think is important for our parents. We've heard that from our parents that have asked for this is important to us. And again, remember, think what if this was my child that was in this that was that that was in this program or in this school and what is that going to look like moving them from where they are currently to what will be that's unknown. And that's

043always scary in anything we do. We value the known and underestimate the unknown. And that's fair. Okay. The second Oh, cons. Let me get to the cons. One of the big cons in the short term from here to next next fall physical facilities would probably be limited at we weren't asked to try to recommend any one specific facility or anything like that. So we didn't really get into the weeds of that. We didn't talk about it. But what we did talk about is the reality that if we were going to pull this off for next fall, it would have to have something that we can either buy and retrofit very quickly or already exists and has space and we can retrofit very quickly. And what we are aware of as a team and the board

044I would trust you would know much better than we would. But what we were aware of of possible facilities may not be the ideal facilities for what these programs and schools should be in the long term. And that is a con because we I would not want to recommend that we that we move to this through this timeline and then just settle for an insufficient facility. >> Okay. >> Can I ask you a question on that? >> Yes, please. >> So, just because they wouldn't be ideal, did you have discussions around um being able to put something together that would absolutely be usable for a couple of years to transition into something else? Yes, that would and and I Yes. Can I come can I hit that one again? Make hold me accountable on my

045next slide to to come back to that. So, if we move to the 2027 star timeline, everything is pretty much the same. The difference is is you have one more year. The con is we don't have the son soft landing. We're just going to be starting fresh and it's going to be starting fresh in a new district. And I know we want to talk about collaboration between districts and I know that the people that will be involved in these schools and in these programs will know the the but the truth of the matter is is once you become different districts the level of collaboration between those districts will be less than it is as one. Not because of any other reason than it's just reality. Um, and so that soft landing when you talk about

046inequities, that creates an inequity for the south area. And the inequity is is they're being asked to start something just out of the blue that never existed for them. And that's not equal or equitable compared to the other two districts. So as a board, you have the power to consider that and and kind of mitigate for that. That's a decision that you have. One of the pros is potentially in two years you have more time to consider physical facility and you might find or build or whatever a better more appropriate facility in two years. Maybe that could be a pro to board member Baitman's specific question as we talked and as a group it's somewhere in between. We value the move next year for a lot of reasons. Capacity being one, which we're going to

047get to of our current reality in our schools. We also value that just because we could move and start it next year that we would have ongoing consideration of the appropriateness long-term of the facility and work into in in a in short order the perfect facilities. Now, that's not just a south recommendation. The West needs attention. Dan Peterson and A Techch East need attention because again what we're talking about as far as what these students deserve is a universal. They all need something and that something that they needs to be considered by all the new districts moving forward. >> So Roy, I'm looking at your timeline because I sit on capital planning and this is super aggressive. >> Very aggressive. I mean like I I'm Frank's not here but I want to say like Frank

048likes as much time as we can give him. I'm just wondering, have we considered a hybrid version? And I'm just spitballing this where maybe it is we make sure that we get the right facility and so the construction or the retrofit happens to maybe December of 26 and then we have January to June where we do a shift there and then maybe can run it for six months and that's our soft landing so that we get the facility right and the support right. Is there a hybrid in there that's been talked about? I don't remember us ever talking about anything along those lines specifically. No. But could it be? Yes. And again, when we get into facilities and like the the actual reconstruction and that you're getting out of our ex well, our expertise, but

049also anything we were asked to consider. >> So, we didn't go deep into that area. We're just trying to present. I was asked to make sure that I made it clear what do the facilities need to do for our students and make available for our student. So I would say yes that that's something that people much smarter than me should consider if it's a possibility and and it is I I I'm just being honest to to board member Baitman's point. There's pros and cons both ways. If you if you were asking Roy, me to be the decision maker, it is something in between. And it it is aggressive. Why is it aggressive? Well, because I was told to present on October 14th. That's the best I could do. Here I am. And I can't control

050between now and August of 2027. But I do understand the needs that will be in front of us. And I do understand, I can foresee the angst and anxiety of our parents and our students because there are so many things that have to be right. And there are so very few things that we can afford to be wrong. And I think that's the balance that I'm kind of trying to look for is we don't want to invest money in the wrong place, in the wrong situation. We want to get it right. Is it worth taking, you know, the few extra months to make sure that everybody's in the right space? So, I'm just kind of thinking through, right? Like, we want to spend the money. We want to put the effort in the right thing

051and not do the fastest, easiest version. It's better. I mean, at least my perspective is I would rather take the time and get it right and not feel like we're bandating something two years after the fact. I I Anyways, >> how much is like movable, if that makes sense. So like if we set up something in the meantime but then we wanted to build something that was like special for >> a lot of the equipment obviously specialized equipment is specialized equipment very few things are >> there are some but very few things would be like retrofitted or built into any any new facility that couldn't be moved. >> Okay. >> Um now I I won't argue if you build something or install something twice you're paying to have it done twice. That's that's a true

052statement. But there are some realities that are immediate that if we don't do something, we're not going to solve the realities that are here on January 1 of this. They're here Monday. And we've got to solve those problems. And when we get to numbers, maybe I can help illuminate some of that a little bit, too. But I won't I won't disagree or argue with anything you're saying. This is why I will never run for school board because these are hard decisions. >> Just you're probably going to get to this so I'm probably ahead of myself. But is the equipment the more expensive cost and then the installation is something that or it's all okay. Thank you. >> If if we're worried about cost, >> yes, >> the answer is yes. And I will just say

053this, if we're worried about costs, there's not an easy way through this, >> right? this if but you will never hear me say anything but I'm advocating for our responsibility to provide the appropriate resources for our students each student and no education has never been equal but we should do everything we can to make it equitable and those are vastly different things all All right. So, current numbers. Um, this is where we're at today. So, you can see on here, and I apologize. This is you're seeing my my deficiencies and trying to build slides and get things in a way that you can see them or even line up zeros apparently. I apologize. But currently, right now, Dan Peterson has 121 students. Um, Horizon has 72 students. A tech East 152, and a Tech West

05490. They are all bulging. They are all full. Currently, right now, we have students that are attending uh Horizon that technically with the boundary changes need and will move to Dan Peterson. We're not moving them to Dan Peterson cuz Ryan, where are you going to put them? >> In the equipment room, the parking lot. So, we have that's an immediate need today. And if I have is I didn't see Dan come in, but if Dan were here, Dan Heaps, Principal Heaps from Horizon, >> he would he would say the exact same thing like I'm bulging. What do I do? And we know that in the West, they didn't slow down growth in the last two months. It it's it's growing and it's not going to stop growing and these populations will continue to grow. So

055hypothetically, what I wanted to put in place for you at least to inform and provide numbers, what if we split in 2026? This is just purely hypothetical from a number standpoint. We would have a Dan Peterson. Dan Peterson, which was at 120 something students, would split and send 61 students to the south, the new south school. And you're saying, "Well, Roy, that math doesn't math." Well, that's because I built in a projection, growth projection based off of a trend line from the last 5 years of growth in both our special schools and in our uh post high programs. Those numbers are 2% average year-on-year growth in the special schools in enrollment and 8% year-on-year growth in our post high programs. Yes, >> sir. And also that number pulls in the students from Lehi that currently

056attend Horizon. >> So now you notice the drop in Horizon's number. That's because we pulled from Horizon. 21 students I believe it is that we know today need to come or will come to Dan Peterson in the in the projected split of boundaries. A tech West East and South. You can see what their numbers would then be as well. That also creates growth. That growth also equates to new hires for for the for the adults that need to run these programs. Okay. Two being well we'll get to those in a second. If we wait till 2027 or it doesn't matter whether we wait or not. These are just the 2027 numbers based off of another year of that anticipated growth. And notice how big we are. Dan Peterson is back up to 107 already. Horizon's

057at 53, South Schools at 63, A Techch East 88, ATH West 104. I can tell you right now, we are we cannot facilitate 104 students in ATH West with its given location. And if I can be honest, portables for an A tech program, not appropriate. That's not appropriate today, right now, this moment. And we have to own that. So, we can't push conversations, in my opinion, we shouldn't and can't push conversations down the road of things that we owe to our students to deal with today. And that's one that has to be dealt with today. We're already oversized and we're going to be way oversized. Okay? And again, those are based off of trend line projections. the best I could do using the past five years of growth in special schools and in um adult

058high programs. So again, just in whether it's the 2026 or the 2027 or a hybrid or somewhere in between that you decide on as a board, one thing that I'm going to advocate for and recommend and that we have to do is hiring. These are minimum hiring for next year. We we will need two new administrators. We'll also need three teachers and we'll need seven pair of professionals. And that's just for 2026. So regardless of what we're doing in 2026 or 2027, we'll need these. So when I come with budget proposals in the spring, these are coming. Just have to. They're required. I mean, we we we can't get around that. If we aren't splitting way before we ever got to here, we already know that there's a demand that exists in administration. I was

059coming to propose for two administrators regardless for two big reasons. Number one, we are putting our principles in a huge liability because there's just one of them in in our most vulnerable buildings in the district. And we say, well, there's only 100 students there. There are only 100 students. But if you look at incidents that happen every day, they're bigger than they're busier than our biggest high school in the district. And yet when they have to be pulled out, we leave a lack of administration. Now my staff, my my my my coordinators, they try to fill back fill and support them when they can't be in their buildings. But there's another important thing. If we could get a an administrator that could work as a a liaison or work as a support for both the

060the post high program and the special school in each area. when we do get ready to split, we've just we've just trained we have two administrators that have been trained in these programs and are prepared to step in and fill roles because this is not something that any other administrator in our district is prepared to do. You don't start on day one and say, "Oh, I want to be an ad administrator. Put me in charge of a special school." Not it. It takes time. It takes energy and it takes a lot of training. So just an awareness there that is coming down the pipe in my perfect world. Oh, sorry. Go ahead. >> No, I just wanted to switch gears and ask just something really quick because I know that consistency is kind of the

061backbone for effective special education. >> I remember that when you arrived because I remember once we were talking about bus drivers and even a change in a bus driver can have a massive impact on some of our students >> as we are looking. My biggest fear as a board member is I don't want to do anything. So, it's like, well, we'll do a little here this year and then a little something years to come because I feel like that would add to the inconsistency >> and be harder for our students. What would you recommend in terms of or are you even tracking like potential disruptions for our vulnerable student students during the transition? Yeah, that's a huge concern for us and that's something why as a team we we talked extensively about that that there's

062two types of disruptions. There's a disruption of physical location like I'm not going to the same school I was going to and my classroom doesn't look the same. It's different colors on the wall. The carpet's different. All these things matter to some of our students in these schools. But I would argue that the bigger disruption is what happens when I'm in that school. And that's the continuity that I think we should be focusing on. So if we can create the spaces that have a continuity of services that are appropriate that will support our students. We are not I don't I don't see any in in the bigger chess game that this is. I don't see any scenario where we don't disrupt these students and and their lives. It's just not going to happen. I at

063least that I'm aware of. Some level of disruption will happen. I think that this is a long game that we have to play that has short-term consequences right now that we have to address. Again, I don't I don't envy your decision making as a team, as a board that you have to consider. But but those are the realities of the situation. And yes, I hope that whatever we do, we are very very involved with our parents to understand what their needs are and what's happening to their students in all of this. and not just to the split but through the split and beyond. So that's a very great good point. Thank you. Um risk and mitigation. Obviously we talked about a lot of these and we're getting short on time. We'll jump through it. Um

064unequal facilities. The mitigation to that would be that we are doing ple pre-split equity rubrics. Again this would be part of a fe feasibility study at the at the request of the board. Staffing shortages. If we wait till we're there to staff these programs, this is not like like a normal school. If we wait to staff, once we're there, we've already lost. We're already behind the game. These need to be staffed people that have an opportunity. Yes. Overstaffed, costing us more in our budgets. But the investment is is we're putting investment into highly trained, specialized teachers, administrators, and pair professionals that do a job that is unlike anybody else's in our district. You don't just learn that in a week. Okay. And then over under utilization of our resources. It it's it's going to be

065a little bit of a constant monitoring. The mitigation is just that. It's constant constant review, constant iterations, constant change for a little while. And and one of the costs that was pointed out that constant change does have some collateral damage that that we have to be aware of. budget and finance, things that we know we're going to have to pay for. Construction and renovation, specialized equipment and furniture, staffing, transportation adjustments, community- based transport transition partnerships. All of these things will cost money. They all have to be accounted for. How much? I have no clue. Have no clue how much. A lot. Um, but these are things that it's an investment. It's like anything else. It's an investment and I don't know how you value the outcomes. Our recommendations for board action and next steps would

066be that you that this board approves a regionalized special school. Again, we do that because we believe that we're better off to get going on it now. Um, authorize a feasibility and facility study. That would be people smarter than me. Form a transition planning team to account for all the things that we're not thinking of. I know there's things that we've missed. I know there's things that we haven't seen that we're blind to. We want to put as many eyes on this as possible. Launch engagement with our staff and with our families to bring in all of our stakeholders into this conversation to account for the things that we know we don't know that we don't know, but we need to know. So, those would be our recommendations. questions that you guys have that we

067haven't answered to this point on this section. I guess I just like to ask the superintendent for clarity. So the recommended board action next steps, how many of those do you feel like can be done in committees versus needing to be done in like a board action in a meeting? because like we do facility studies and feasibility studies all the time kind of internally. So I'm wondering how many of these you feel can be handled internally at committee level versus need to be taken in a full board. >> Yeah, great great question. My thought is to take the recommendations to committee and then put a plan together, get direction from the committee. That might mean um board action in the future for finance recommended whether it's an appropriation in budget. >> So basically budget and

068finance would take a piece. Capital planning would take a piece. >> Okay. >> Those would be the two committees that I would take before we take it there. I would take it back to district leadership team. I asked Roy and his team to be bold and to tell us what they need. and I think they've shared a pretty comprehensive story of of how we can best meet the needs through the split and I've heard that from you at least a couple of times and I appreciate that but I think now we take that back DT looks at it and then we parcel out the pieces that need to go to the committees for additional dive um feasibility as was mentioned review uh options and And then that's for there's three board members that serve on

069those committees and then that's reported back to the full board for potential action. The the challenge is just timing. >> So what so with the boundary study like we could open because we have to do a boundary study, right? So we could open that in January. >> Could >> um >> we have some people that couldn't hear your answers. >> Oh, >> do you mind just >> turning around and being a little louder? Is that helpful? >> Okay. And is that too loud? >> Not at all. >> All right. So, so we have working committees that take pieces of the district operation and they get specific or into the weeds, whether that be our finance committee looking for ways to fund or resource, our capital planning committee that looks at facilities needs, remodeling, reconstruction, um

070even acquisition if we need to do that. and then those committees flesh out the work and then bring it back to the board for board action. Um there's three board members that serve on those committees. Senior staff uh serve on those committees and those senior staff work with their teams to do the work. So that's that's all we do. Is that okay? >> That help? I just I guess just for a level of clarity, just because there may not be an action in a board meeting doesn't mean that we're not pursuing recommendations or doing work. It's just that those need to be addressed in those can be addressed in smaller committees and and we can look at numbers. Um, I realize this might be out of side of your wheelhouse, Roy, but I'm wondering too

071how like if you have a recommendation for how we balance this out because we're going to have new board members elected in less than a month. How we balance that out with supporting new boards and maybe directions that we get from them, how you see us working as partners in that to fulfill student needs. So, I know that as a district across the board, we're going to be making presentations to the new boards as soon as we're elected across a whole bunch of department needs. I think I think that there is an urgency to some of the things that from from multiple departments, not just bed, but there'll be certain things that there's an urgency that can't afford to just be put on the back burner for another year because they are they are contingent

072on so many moving pieces and and and things we need to we don't start it today. Like you say, 2026 is really hard. 2027 is still hard. Like that those are just realities. And so every day we kick it down the road is just squeezing those timelines. 2027 is going to be here no matter what. Working with the new boards, I think that I think that there again, you're asking my opinion, so that's all this is. I think that I think that there's a reality that there's going to have just like any transition of leadership, there's going to have to be some conversations about what was melded and meshed with what we want it to be. new the new boards are going to be loaded with new board members that are still trying to find

073their footing that are still trying to figure out what it means to be a board member. That's just a reality and you guys have all lived that. You know, you don't just come in on day one and understand the whole landscape of the process. So, they're going to be looking for support and how to to move that because some of these things still have to have decisions made. So, some collaborative effort but an urgency in those collaborative efforts. We get to choose sometimes our deadlines and we some we get to choose sometimes the things how long we put them to take and discuss and to go and other things we say this is just urgent and we have to get it done. This would be one of those things that I think would be more

074on the more urgent side. um um not unlike a lot of other things will be when those boards come in. But in that that that soft handoff or pass where we can can we come to some consensus as an existing board and a new board because as my understanding is you guys will still be controlling a lot of the purse strings for certain decisions that have to happen pre-split and they're going to have to take those and live with those. We also have the issues of what will happen with certain dollars if we don't utilize them. um in restricted funds. Some of those could get taken back by the state. There could be carryovers that we don't want. We don't want that to exist. But how we're looking at budgeting, you have this question of

075do we invest on the back end of the split or do we invest on the front end of the split to increase our our springboard into the back end of the split. And I'm one personally that believes in investing heavily on the front end so you hit the ground running, not hit the ground and then start building it. That's me personally. That again is rod's opinion um only. So >> well I appreciate your cander. Thank you. >> That would be that would mean be my address at the board's will. We are past 5:00. We do have a quick discussion. I don't know it's at your discretion if you want me to just stand there or if you want me to keep going for another 10 minutes. >> Um I have some questions as a board

076member Wilson. >> Okay. At my age, you never know if you start hearing voices. You have to check yourself. >> Yes, please. >> Sorry. You >> um and thank you Royce for you know, as you say, the bold vision of of what we each need to accomplish in our three districts. Um, I just wanted to to ask, do you know the current cost per student in our special ed department and in our high school, special high schools? >> Cost per student in a total operating budget. I do not off the top of my head. >> Jason, Jason will help you out this morning. >> I I would know how to find it, but I do not I do not have it in front of me. No, but it will be our most it will be

077our most expensive per student cost period in the district. >> I just I just want to point out that that cost will not be going down. >> No, it will not >> uh no matter what we do. Um do you know Royce what percent currently federal dollars pay for our special ed um efforts? What what part do they contribute federal dollars >> from the most of our money comes from the state? >> Yes. So from >> and that money is not going to increase. Is that correct? >> That's correct. On our federal dollars we currently this year our operating budget I may need somebody who can do a calculator quicker than my brain. Federal dollars would be approximately 14%. Jason, does that sound about right? >> About about 14 I'm do I'm doing that in

078my head, so don't don't hold me exactly. That's about 14% 15% >> For special ed for just special ed? Yes. >> And that doesn't seem like it's becoming more reliable uh given the the recent events. Um so there is a dependence on state dollars and and with um the split those state dollars will not increase. Is that correct? >> Proportionately they'll remain the same. Um and what I mean by that is our sped and federal dollars both are given to us on a WPU or a a weighted pupil unit percentage. So, so proportionately that will remain the same just split across the proportionate numbers of students per district which in this population is not exactly proportional to the overall populations of of each district. >> True. Yeah. I I think that the south proportionately carries

079a heavy burden. Um I don't I don't want to say heavy burden. We just have a a he a big challenge and um and we do want to meet that challenge. Um I do believe that we need to put the feasibility study first before we you know make a decision. We need to talk about the feasibility which I think should happen in our committees. Um, and I don't know, we've identified already, you know, huge building needs in the west and we hear about some building needs in the central area. Would you equate uh this need for special facilities in the south to to those needs that have already been some have been have been addressed and some have not but um would you equate them to to those needs of of growth that we've seen

080in other areas? >> Go ahead. >> Board member Wilson, the superintendent. Hey, I'll take that. uh we have identified existing facilities to support each of the three districts in each area as well as needs andor opportunities for capital in each of the three districts. So we have that as a team. We've identified that initially and we're working on solutions and options to close those gaps or meet those needs. So, we we have already done that. Um, and if I haven't shared that with you, then that's on me. But I think we've provided that. >> I think the link went out. >> The the link for that went out I think couple a week or two ago. It was the pictures of the whiteboard that we worked as a DTO. >> So, I think you've seen

081some of that. There's more work that needs to be done. All right. And and just a final question. Can the capacity issues be addressed by pushing students back into regular classrooms? And you see that as being a good thing or a bad thing? >> So I I will speak directly to that from a legal perspective. We don't have the option to just push students back into the classroom. um if if their needs dictate that they are in the environment that they're in. Now, I think it's always a healthy practice for any sped department in any district to constantly constantly look at every student and I I I spoke to that earlier that we do have inconsistencies sometimes that we're working on, but those are things that have to be addressed at an IEP team and

082are not even appropriate to consider at a as a systematic approach or as a as a cost-saving measure. That's the that's the reality of special education. We don't even consider those things um in our decision making because that's not how it works. We we drive we drive based on need. We provide the support and and that's how special education functions. >> Thank you. And and can you just kind of identify the decision makers in that process? >> It's the IEP team. >> I just for our public, can you describe an IEP? An IEP team is at minimum the parent, the LEA which is the school. It is a special education teacher and it is and any other any and a classroom teacher and any other person that is deemed necessary that has meaningful understanding and

083knowledge of the student that could speak to the needs of the individual child. That is an IEP team. they make decisions for the children and based off of protocol that are clearly established in IDA and in the state rules and regs. So that's how that process happens. >> Thank you. I just wanted that clarified. >> Absolutely. Thank you. >> Other questions? Any other >> I'd love to keep moving. >> I'm at the well at the board. Whatever you want me to do. Yeah, let's keep going. I mean, >> okay, we'll make it quick. So, so the next again, we're going to leave special schools, but we're going to jump into another conversation. And this, please, let me be very clear. This is to start a conversation, not to be taken out of here and say,

084"Oh, guess what? I heard the district is doing." We are not. This is a conversation. And that conversation starts with a question of where should our students with disabilities belong. And the reason why I ask that question is because currently Alpine operates through what's called a cluster model. And very simply a cluster model is is we bring students to services rather than we bring the services to students. The tradeoff is you are more efficient. often times you can utilize resources a little better, but the cost is that you remove students from their neighborhood school. You remove them from the community that they live in. You remove them from their peers and the opportunities that their peers have to have a well-rounded experience with students that are different from one another, which reflect our society. That's

085the cost. Travel becomes an issue because we ask families to send their students somewhere somewhere else than their neighborhood school. The neighborhood model vision is just this. Every student in our school is our student. If you live in our boundaries, you are ours. We own you. We want to serve you. We will find a way to make you successful. When we talked about the continuum, the LRE continuum, this is all about the first step to inclusion is make these students feel like they belong just like their peers belong. That is the number one step. Build inclusion from the ground up. Grow up with your friends, grow up with your peers. Key areas that have to be considered that we would need to want to start talking about the first one is instructional capacity. staffing and

086resources, facilities and access, community engagement and equity and outcomes. And I apologize I am moving kind of quickly because I do understand we are over time. This is our current reality in Alpine in Alpine. Our current reality is this special classes. >> Thank you. >> Special classes or small group classes are not in in every school currently. There is no distinction in services between our >> Oh, >> you need to mute your mute your uh Zoom call. >> Sorry. >> No, you're I appreciate Thank you. I I am the poster child for easily distracted. So, the voice in my head was mixing with the voice in the and I'm not sure which one's being honest right now. Um we currently have students that are being removed from their neighborhood schools and being sent somewhere else

087for services on the pre because the services is is not readily available for them in their school. Okay. Parents are being forced to fight for their students to be in their neighborhood school because of this fact. This is a reality. Parents shouldn't have to fight to keep their kids in their neighborhood school. I don't say that. I know that that is contrary to what we do in the district, but I say it because it's legally, ethically, and morally appropriate. We are we are in we are in a place where we should be working to make this happen for students, not creating situations where they have to fight to get us to do what we should be doing already. And it also creates a concentration of students with complex needs. When you talk about what is

088each stool, each school each student's experience in school, if I put 10 students with very complex needs in the same classroom, how is that fair to those 10 students? Whereas if I let them in their neighborhood school, maybe one, two, three students in a school with complex needs, that's okay. but they're surrounded by a whole population of students that can help them that they can see what what what their peers are doing that they can learn with and from their peers because their quality of of of of learning experience matters. So what if we prioritized a neighborhood school model today? Those considerations the first thing that has to happen and none of this would be an overnight. This would be a clear focused journey that was well organized and planned out to provide support at

089all levels. The first being our personnel. I am not putting any type of blame on anyone. It's just our current reality. That's it. It's just where we're at. We get to choose. Do we move forward or live in that reality? I want to move forward. I want to lead a district sped department that wants to move forward. To do that, instructional capacity is the first thing. Meaning, I need to work with my principles, my teachers, my parents, our parents. Educate, educate, educate, educate because it'll be a different reality than what we currently exist in. That requires significant support and training so people can understand what that reality looks like. Staffing and resources. I will tell you right now, I think I may have even jumped one. I apologize. Oh, no. This one it won't, again,

090like everything I propose, it's not cheaper. It will cost money. We're going to jump into a graph real quick, but based on my 60,000 foot first draft, the big cost would be in para expense to the tune of about 195 hours per day that we currently don't provide in the schools. And I'll explain why in a minute. It would change our current staffing model to something that is needs-based based on the school and the students that are in that school because I have to support each school independently for what the needs are of that school, not with a district-wide one-sizefits-all staffing program that just speaks to titles and labels, not the needs within those titles and labels. five FTE and sped teachers to make it so we could have and by the way this is

091an elementary conversation this is an elementary only conversation our secondary schools already live in this world largely not completely but largely and I'm going to apologize there's a ton of information and this is teenytiny print so get your magnifying glass out but I wanted you to have this in front of you what you see here is every elementary school the ones in red the ones in red and a parenthesis. They have a special class in them or a small group class in them and that's how many they have. This column right here is the number of students that are listed as AB students. That means the minutes of time of specially designed instruction that they need. Rather than saying resource or anything else, this is this is a language that is more common to the

092world of special education. We are talking about based on the time that you need services you are either mild and moderate or you are severe A, B or C. So these are the numbers in each current based off of their geo ge ge excuse me geographical location. Okay. So if we were to do this today, these are the numbers we would be dealing with with each school. over here. You will see in column the the the third column over this is a straight staffing formula based off of our numbers today which says one teacher with a student that is AB at a staffing rate of 1 to 38. I just use that cuz that's what we currently use in the district in our other formula. But if you look at this 1.54 does not equate

093to we would never hire a 1.54 teacher or a 1.64. We would hire in halves at best. So the next column accounts for what I believe would be the actual FTE we would need in either halves or full FTEES. Board members, is that making sense? Okay. Thank you. I'm going to skip through all that and let you pour through it on your own time. But down here in the corner, the total based off of this would require 181.5 FTEES. We currently have 176.5 FTEES in our in our elementaryaries teaching right now. That means we're only five off to be able to do this in every school. From a staffing perspective, we're only five teachers off. Par hours using a new needs-based staffing model puts us at 1461 par hours per day. We currently, as of

094today, have,66. Now in fairness I want to point out that that 1266 hours per day that we currently have today I guess that was yesterday I apologize yesterday doesn't include additional PAR hours that we've had to assign because needs are insufficiently being met. I could put that together but it would just increase this number a little bit. So we're going to get closer but yeah I will admit to do this it will take more Paris support. Why is that important? because it also gives us the support in the buildings to now ask our buildings to increase the inclusive practices with their students. It takes adults to support the students to be able to have inclusive opportunities and inclusive experiences. Okay. Facilities and access. Not all of our schools currently in our elementaryaries have space. I

095will go on record. I mentioned this a few times and I apologize, but how in the world are we talking about schools growing in new schools where we aren't assuring that special ed classrooms or classrooms to facilitate students that need special ed services are not being counted equitably and equally in those schools in the name of growth. We have we have currently small groupoup classes that are being pushed to schools because there's an open classroom, not because of what the needs are. I know that's hard to say out loud, but that's what we have to answer for to our community. Those are the questions I get asked. How do you do this? Why does my school not have a classroom? Well, be because we're working on it and we are working on it. I will

096work on it. I will continue to fight for it and push for it and inform the board of the need for it. But it is something that has to be considered. We couldn't do this today because we don't have the physical space to do this in every building today. But is something that we can't plan for and start thinking about in our boundary discussions and how we're we're trying to build students. Again, this is not a change everything in one day. This is set a new target and aim for it. Put a plan in place and strategically work towards it. Community engagement. I want our parents and students needs to be known. I want them to be part of the process. They need we need to know what their concerns are because I'll be honest

097right now. I have a parent I have parents that have students in an autism classroom that believe that something in that autism classroom is different than just a special classroom that's in their neighborhood school. It's not. It's the same classroom. It's a small group classroom. has a different title, but it's the same classroom. But I need to make sure that those parents and those students feel confident and comfortable that we are going to meet their needs in their neighborhood school as well. Equity and outcomes. This is something that constantly has to be measured. It has to be tracked. It has to be purposefully attended to. We can't do anything if we're not holding ourselves accountable to trying to hit benchmarks or targets that we're setting. The journey from placement to belonging belonging requires courageous leadership

098and shared commitment. It starts with vision. I believe that firmly and that's what I'm trying to put on the table is a vision. Nothing more. Let's start a conversation. It grows through support and it succeeds through accountability. Our students are our schools and our future. With that, I want to say thank you again to you for letting me have this time, more time than I deserve, but I appreciate it. I think these are very important conversations. Obviously, it's the world that I live in and it's the people that I argue and advocate for and and you you I can't tell you enough how much your support means and you have been very supportive. Everything I've needed, you found a way to get it to me and I appreciate that. So, thank you. Are there any

099questions that I can answer in this conversation? >> Thank you. Awesome. [Applause] Um, thank you Roy to you and all of your team. That was you've given us a lot of things that we need to work on and so appreciative of your your cander being willing to say the hard things. So, thank you. Appreciate that. Um, we're going to go ahead and end study session and we will be back at six o'clock for our board meeting. Okay, we are going to go ahead and call this meeting to order. We are going to start tonight with um our pledge of allegiance by Dr. Vicky Carter and then following that we'll have our inspirational thought by Jamie Dawson, the principal at ORM Jr. >> Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance to the flag

100of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Everybody's looking a little nervous for me. Um, but they told me to be short. So, I just wanted to share with you guys a quote uh that I have next to my desk. It says, "Attention is your most important asset." And deciding how to invest it is one of the most important decisions you can make. As a parent myself, an educator, a principal, and a community member, um I carry this quote with me not just in my desk, uh but in all the decisions that I make. In public education, we are constantly surrounded by competing demands, urgent tasks, new initiatives, limited resources, and growing needs. Uh, but tonight, I want

101to take a moment to remind us that what we give our attention to, who we listen to, what we prioritize, where we choose to focus shapes the future of our schools and our students. We may not be able to control every challenge that comes our way, but we can choose to focus our attention on what matters most. on listening to the voices of our students and families, on supporting the educators who show up every day with passion and purpose, on building schools that are not just places of learning, but places of belonging. Attention is more than focus. It's an investment. And in this room, every one of us is an investor in the future of public education. Let's invite invest wisely. And I'll just share that quote again so you guys can jot it down

102and keep it with you. Attention is our most important asset. and deciding how to invest it is one of the most important decisions you can make. Thank you. >> Thank you, Jamie. As the board of education, it's important for us to recognize various accomplishments made by students, employees, and patrons from the 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 who we are recognizing tonight. We appreciate your attendance. After all of the recognitions are completed, if you're here for one of these recognitions, you can feel free to leave or stay, whichever you would like. All right, I get to start. Students from the Tempanogus cluster have had artwork

103displayed here at the district office for the past few months. We would like to thank all of the students for allowing their art to be displayed in our hallways. 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. Um, okay. So, we're going to start with Aspen Elementary. Okay. Please forgive me if I say one of your names wrong. So, can I have Ammon Wilkerson come up? Claire Dylan, Ellis Finlandson, Hazel Keith, Kiara Brown, Lucy Turvart, Ruth Cox, and to Noah. Thank you, Fo. [Applause] Oh, okay. You want to get your own [Laughter] [Applause] Thanks J. Okay, next up we have Bonavville Elementary. Can we get Bridger

104Ship, Felipe Uloa Tapia, Gabe Tolman, Jorge Salazar, A Aoko Aok. Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry you guys. Jude Wilson, Luke Merrill, Morgan Wilson, and Satie Wilson. Hey. Okay, next we're going to recognize Northridge Elementary. Can we get Andrew Hamilton, Beckham Lyn, Beckham Lynch, Bennett Barton, Dana Guadalupe, Gonzalez, Sera, Felicity Whiting, Jacob Webb, Ryan, and Spencer Idol Idol. [Applause] Okay, next up we have Oak Canyon Junior High. We um tonight we're going to recognize Adelaide Aught, Adeline Wilkerson, Adeline Johnson, Alice Allen, Belle Funes, Gabrielle Moffett, James Garlic, Kiara Nichol Nicholas, and Railen Hayes. Thank you. [Applause] Next up, we are going to recognize students from Oram Junior High. Can we get Ashley Copus, Brandon Lopez, Naharo, Kyla Hutchings, Clarissa McCarter, Emma Holly Richweine, Janette Aava, Mate Zamurano, and Valentine Peterson. Valentine Anderson, sorry, Swedish names.

105[Applause] All [Applause] right. Next, we're going to recognize students from Temponogus High School. Um, we have Adriana Foreman, Amelia Wilson, Aspen Johnson, Bethany Goobler, Brady Lowe, Cam Weiss, Cougar Peterson, Elena Jensen, Grant Dixon, Helena Peacock, Llaya Murdoch, Madison Meyer, Valerie Bujorn, and Zia Peterson. This time for real. [Applause] Okay, last one for me. Windsor Elementary. Can we get Alex East, Avery Scott, Brooklyn Ramrell, Charlotte Libert, Kora Chalice, Penelopey Johnson, Roose Gonzalez, and Tobias Martinez. Thank you. [Applause] Yeah. Next board member Ken. Yeah. Okay. Next up, Alpine School District is thankful for so many teachers 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. remarkable, inspiring, selfless, encouraging. >> Our first

106nominee is Ann Marie Simmons. She is a bus driver for West Transportation and was nominated by Kristen Orgill. And if we can have Ann and Kristen come on up. And Lex and David. [Applause] Christian wrote, "Anne cares about every single person on the bus. I have received multiple phone calls from her concerned because my child wasn't on the bus or she was worried about a student on the bus and wanted to check in." She also just sends a text to say hi, something kind about one of my kids. She also lets us know if there was a problem on the bus or it's running late. She treats each student with kindness and they all adore her. She is truly amazing. Congratulations, Ann. Next, we have Amberly Phillips who is a teacher at Polaris High. She's

107been nominated by Karina Ariaga who's a student. And we invite Amberly, Karina, and Principal Hannah to come forward, please. Karina wrote, "Amberly has always been my true life inspiration. From the very start, me and her have always had a great connection. I will always admire her as a person and a teacher and as a woman I look up to. She is she is an amazing person and her class made me feel love made me love her that much more. She will always be the person talking me through my hard days without even trying. She stands there and proceeds to give me a smile and is so proud that I am here every day. I adore my Amberly and I wish I didn't have to graduate because I will miss her so much. Thank you. [Applause]

108Our next winner is Loel Penrod. She's the head custodian at Willow Creek Middle School and she was nominated by Danny Cooper, an employee. And we invite Lel, Danny, and Principal Shane Hill to come forward. [Applause] Danny wrote, "Lwell has been the most supportive and helpful person for years. He serves without pretense or desire for recognition. He does so much behind the scenes that he makes everything and everybody else's job possible. He is our head custodian and truly a great caretaker and a steward of our building, the grounds, and every individual that comes into Willow Creek. Without him, none of the teaching, learning, counseling, practicing, socialization, or growing could happen here. He is indispensable, and I hope he knows it. Congratulations. [Applause] And our final award winner tonight is Amy Pillar. She is a teacher at

109North Point Elementary. and she was nominated by Noelia Eolgo. Um, and we invite Amy and Noelia and principal April or her representative to come forward. Noelia wrote, "Amy consistently goes above and beyond to support our students. As a resource teacher, she is a strong advocate for meeting each students unique needs and ensuring they have the tools to succeed. She works closely with her team, collaborating with teachers and families to provide the best possible support and to create a positive learning experience. Amy's dedication, professionalism, and genuine care for students makes a tremendous difference every day. She truly embodies what it means to be a North Point navigator. Congratulations, [Applause] We would also like to honor this evening our state champion teams from various schools. Uh just for your information, award certificates will be sent to the

110schools to be given to the student athletes during their recognition ceremonies. We first would like to recognize Lone Peak High School, their 6A girls state tennis champions, state champions. Congratulations to Lone Peak and Skyidge High Division C Special Olympics Unified Soccer State Champions. Let's give them a round of applause. All right, we now have up to 30 minutes set aside for public comment. This opportunity is allocated for patrons living within the Alpine School District boundaries. A signup sheet was available 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 the QR code in the lobby will also direct you to the form. As you're called up,

111please introduce yourself by stating your name. You'll be given up to three minutes to speak. While the board does not engage in a discussion during the public comment period, they may arrange for 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. Okay, we are going to start with Christopher Ortega and then after that will be Lo Sheffield. Good evening. Uh, I'm First Sergeant Christopher Ortega. I'm the Salt Lake Recruiting Company first sergeant. Uh, I am not here in an official capacity. I just got off work and, uh, didn't have time to change. Um, I have three students that

112attend schools within Alpine School District. Uh, one of them attends Bonavville Elementary. Uh, the other two go to Parkside. Um, my the reason I'm here today is we have a problem. Uh, within the last couple weeks, we have had multiple firearm involved incidents within schools in our district. And when addressing the administration in those schools, uh, I was met with, we don't have a budget to fix X, Y, or Z. U, my concern is that if we don't have a budget to fix these issues, what is the cost that actually meets that requirement to make changes? Uh, I've served for 15 years. I've been in the infantry as an instrument and sniper overseas. I've seen violence. I've seen what violence does to our our people and our mentalities. That's not something our students need to

113be exposed to. So, uh, I guess in In closing, what is every child worth? What are we willing to do to protect these students in our schools? Uh, you know, metal detectors, I brought it up, was not in the budget. So, what are we going to do? How do we make these changes to protect and safeguard our schools? And what can you each do to make the impact to make a difference? I intend to reach out to the governor's office as well. Uh so if we can come together and get on the same page that would be incredible. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> Next is Lo Sheffield followed by Becca Morales. All right. Um good evening. Thanks for the opportunity to speak really quick. My name is Lo and I'm from

114Saratoga Springs and I'm here as a parent and a member of this community to share my concerns about the proposed boundary changes. Um neither of the current boundary studies adequate adequately address the needs of our small area in both versions. Our neighborhood is still separated from our existing community. Um I want to express my gratitude for the work that does go into this process. I know these decisions are complex and that you're balancing a lot of competing needs. Um, but that's why this proposed change feels extra hard. One of the determining boundaries criteria on the website says that keeping neighborhoods and communities together. And this proposal does the exact opposite for my specific neighborhood and community. And at first it feels like a city issue because my specific neighborhood is located in a different city

115than the proposed the one that the proposed school change serves, which means our kids wouldn't participate in the same city sports leagues, library programs, or community activities as their classmates. And from a logistical standpoint, the numbers don't seem to justify excluding our singular neighborhood as well from Thunder Ridge because it appears to make Pony Express more crowded in the process. So, not only does this create social and emotional strain for families, it just doesn't make mathematical sense. And beyond that, I also fully understand and respect that religion and public education must always remain separate. But to completely disregard how ward and neighborhood relationships naturally overl over overlap affects our community, how it functions day-to-day. When you overlay the Quallill stake, which I'm a part of, you can clearly see that our small neighborhood, one single

116ward, is the only one being separated from the broader community and school change. That separation doesn't just impact which elementary our school will attend, but it also changes where they feed into middle school and high school, which creates a ripple effect of disconnection for years to come. And these rel these relationships that we formed aren't religious, they're human. and um they are impacting friendships, carpools, service projects and neighborhoods ties that build a network of support for our children and families. And when you add that all up together, this small group of kids would be completely disconnected from every circle of community that they currently know, not just at school, but in the city and at home. And so at the heart of this decision should be community stability, child well-being, and preserving relationships that make

117our schools feel like home. Our families aren't asking for special treatment, but we are asking for a decision that reflects how this community truly lives and functions together. And that is it. Thank you for your time and your service and not just for considering the numbers, but the people behind them. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we have Becca Morales, followed by Emily Campbell. >> Hi, my name is Becca Morales. Um, and I am here as both a parent of a student at Dan Peterson and also I'm serving as the SEC chair right now. So, fortunately, my son um will be in the central district, so he'll be able to attend Dan Peterson no matter what. Um, and I'm actually really relieved to say that uh I had a beautiful public comment prepared on how

118essential this school is going to be in the South, but I think Rey's presentation made that very clear that a new facility needs to be um created sooner rather than later. Um, I think instead I would rather direct my comments towards priorities. I think I um made a very similar comment almost a year ago about the need for this school and how important I felt it was and how disastrous it would be to not um prepare a place for these students and it's been almost a year now and we don't even have a feasibility study. So, I I think I want to direct my comments to you to make this a priority to to um approach it with urgency, right? I think the two timelines that Roy presented were great options. I'm excited that they

119both offer opportunities for the new boards to have input on the schools that are going to be in their area. So, um I just would would urge you to make this a priority. I think you also have the chance to do something. There's a reason we have special schools, right? They're special for their culture. They're special for their services that they offer. um and you have the chance to create something really special. So, I'm excited for that and I'm excited to be a part of it. I hope I can in any way, shape, or form. So, thank you. >> Thank you. So, next we have Emily Campbell, followed by Sterling Hilton. >> Oh, all right then. Sterling Hilton. >> Hi, I'm Sterling Hilton. I am here as a parent of a child at Tech East.

120Um so she's been in received specialized services throughout her educational career and just want to say thanks to Alpine School District for the services that have been offered. I too am here because of the situation that we find ourselves with a three-way split um and only two specialy schools and only two post high school situations. So I really appreciated what Roy had to share. Um, it I think he made a a a really clear case and a compelling case for the need to act in order to meet the needs of those students. Um, I at first came here a little bit skeptical to the to the work meeting um wondering if it's working now, can't we just share services until the south district has a chance to get it right? I was unaware of how

121much at capacity the current schools are. And with that piece of information, it just seems like it's really important um to act now in order to meet the needs of those students who are actually most v vulnerable. So, I would encourage you to to move forward um and and to consider um and this is going to be the challenge, but to consider the benefits of a soft landing at a mediocre place versus uh maybe a little bit harder landing at the right place and trying to get the balance. And I I guess I would say that in the long run, getting the right place and finding the right facilities for those students is probably my top priority. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> All right. Next on our agenda is the approval of

122minutes. I will entertain a motion. >> I move that we approve the minutes. >> I'll second it. >> All right. We have a motion by board member Clement and a second by uh board president King. Um, all in f Wait, do does anybody need to discuss? It's now open for discussion. All right, seeing none, all those in favor of approving the minutes? >> I >> All right, that was unanimous. All right, now we have um our claims and routine business. Superintendent, >> board members, you've received the claims for the month and uh have had a chance to review those. would recommend you accept the claims. >> All right, I'll entertain a motion. >> I move that we accept the claims. >> Second. >> All right, with a motion by board president King and a second

123by um board member Baitman. Any discussion? All right, seeing none, all those in favor? I >> I >> That was also unanimous. All right, routine business. Superintendent. >> Board members, you've received the routine business uh in your board packet. And for the public, these uh items include a summary of budget transactions for the month. Um a summary of the Alpine Foundation Board transactions, personnel hiring and releases, LEA specific licenses, FY26 TSSA plan, which uh are funds that are directed right to the schools um that affect directly student learning and student programs. Uh school land trust amendments. there's one of our schools that need to make um an adjustment to their land trust plan and then a student expulsion and I would recommend the board approve the routine business items. >> I move that we approve

124the routine business. I'll second it. >> All right. With a motion by board member Bon and a second by board member King. Do we have any discussion? >> Okay. Seeing none, all those in favor? Hi. >> Hi. >> All right, that's unanimous. >> All right, now we have our discussion action items. Uh, superintendent. >> All right, I would like to invite our deputy or assistant legal counsel, I think is the correct term. Hyram, thank you for being here tonight. Uh, Craig is away and um he uh is going to discuss uh the four policies we have. Uh we also have members of our association leadership here. We're grateful that they could be here with us as well. Um two of these policies we had on the agenda for last board meeting. I pulled them off

125just to make sure we took some additional time to talk with our uh associations and I think we're in a good spot. And so with that, Hyram, would you go ahead and cover each policy and address the questions for the board? >> Certainly. Thank you, Superintendent President King and members of the board. Thank you for your time. The first policy that I would like to bring to your consideration tonight is policy which relates to the audit of accounts. It subjects all Alpine accounts to an annual audit that's performed in accordance with generally accepted standards and practices. It also ensures that our audits conform to the uniform classification of accounts that the state auditor has established. After review by the business services department, we recommend this policy to you for renewal with a single modification that

126updates the reference to the governing statute. So, no material changes to this policy that we are suggesting tonight. Okay. Um, do I have a motion to approve? >> I move that we approve policy 3053. >> I'll second it. >> Go ahead, Mark. >> All right. With a motion by board member King and a second by board member Clement. Um, any discussion? All right. Seeing none, I will All in favor? I >> I >> Okay, next up. >> Yeah, the next policy for review is policy 3059, board review and approval for expenditures outside the annual budget. Hyram, >> thank you, Superintendent. This policy clarifies that the board will review and approve unanticipated capital maintenance or operational expenditures and reo reappropriations that are in excess of $50,000. This ensures that you as the board maintain control of

127significant expenditures, especially ones that take place outside of the annual budget process. This policy is up for its five-year review and renewal. But beyond that, we also consider that this policy and the transparency and board control that it provides are particularly relevant as reconfiguration approaches. So, after review by the business services department and by the district leadership team, we recommend this policy to you unchanged for renewal. >> Okay. Thank you. I will entertain a motion. I move that we approve policy or renew um policy 3059. >> Okay. With a motion by board member King and a second by board member Baitman. Any discussion? >> All right. Seeing none, all in favor? >> I Okay. Um next is policy 4252, purchase of retirement service credit. Thank you, Vice President Peterson. Uh, this policy details a long-standing

128benefit that Alpine has offered to its contracted employees. Under this policy, employees who retire prior to their full Social Security retirement age may use all or part of their Alpine School District retirement stipend to purchase credit for years of service. Uh, and that credit is purchased through the Utah Retirement Systems. The proposals to this policy have been negotiated with the association and they include a new statement of policy and definitions for two key terms. Those terms are actuarial reduction and social security offset. We worked with both the association and our human resources department to ensure that these definitions match current practices. These definitions are intended to fill a gap that was noticed in these policies. In this policy, actuarial reduction and social security offset were both used but not defined. And so we wanted to

129solidify and uh get everybody on the same page with these terms for this important policy. Other than that, we have not made any substantive changes to this policy which we now present to you. Okay. Thank you. All right. I will entertain a motion. >> I move that we approve the revised policy 4252, purchase of retirement service credit. >> I'll second. >> Okay. With with a motion by board member Lincoln and a a second by board member Baitman. Uh any discussion? >> Vice Chair Peterson. I just want to again reiterate that no material changes were made to this policy that it is still intact just as it was this morning that it is just clarifying and putting current practices in into the policy and defining those. So I just wanted to reiterate that. Okay. Thank you.

130All in favor? >> I >> All right. Unanimous. All right. Last policy. Policy 4253, retirement incentives and eligibility. >> Thank you. Perhaps a bit of history will help orient the board to the current recommendation for policy 4253. Uh this policy details certain retirement incentives that Alpine offers to its employees who retire from Alpine School District. So in addition to the retirement stipend which we just discussed, this policy has in the past provided an insurance benefit to employees who were hired prior to March 2006. With board approval, this policy was changed in 2023 to provide that in the event of a retired educator's decease, the insurance benefits available to their beneficiary would terminate 45 days after their passing. The only to the policy which we now recommend again following negotiations with the association clarifies that this

131change to insurance benefits made in 2023 is only applicable to employees who retired after that time. So after July 1st of 2023. Our intent with these proposals is to reaffirm that employees who were who retired prior to that July 1st, 2023 date are are grandfathered in, that they receive the benefit of the of the policy under which they retired. Uh again, as as board member Lincoln shared with the prior policy, this is not an attempt to to change anything. This is not an attempt to alter current practice. We simply want to give reassurance to employees who were uh grandfathered in under a prior version of this policy which we now present to you. >> I move that we approve the revised policy 4253 retirement incentives and eligibility. >> Second the motion. >> All right with

132a motion by board member von and a second by board member Clement. Do we have any discussion? >> Okay, seeing none, all those in favor? I >> I >> Any opposed? All right. All right. The last item on our agenda is uh our membership report. Superintendent me. Um can we pull that up? I don't know who's running the computer. Can you actually pull up the membership report? Awesome. So the public can see this. Just thanks to our business service team. Let's make that a little bit bigger. A couple of things in this report um that's helpful. It has uh all the schools on the left side listed alphabetically down. Um the the the business services team does a projection and you can find those projections online. Uh if you're very interested, it's a really nice

133thick book. There's about five different um pieces of information that underpin that. Um but the the two columns on the far right show the change um from one year to the next um and from projection um to current. And I think those are helpful for the board and for the public to see movement year-over-year um within the report. But if you follow the total column and go down the yellow column, you can see the change from actual versus the prior year projection. So if you look at that at the elementary, we're sitting at 41,497 students. And you can see the projection for the current year was 41,942 or slightly less than what actually we project a little bit more than what actually we have uh enrolled. Um, go down to the next section, you'll have

134the junior high piece as well as the high school piece and then our special schools. And again, following that comparison, you can see some of the changes. We reviewed this in detail in our finance committee this morning and um there's a lot more to it, but um I think in some areas uh the projections were spoton and in some other areas just a little bit off. One of the things I'll note is the kindergarten incoming kindergarteners. Um that number continues to be lower than what we've seen in the past. So that compared with graduating 12th graders makes up some of the difference in the decline um that you see overall as a district. We do have areas that are growing um as well as areas that are declining. But that's the summary and um a

135few hundred students different than what we projected. Jason, anything else you'd like to add to it? >> Thanks. Thanks, Superintendent. Yeah, these are the September 30th numbers. The official count is the October 1st. We're working on finalizing those and then we'll get a projection book for next year and the following four years after that. So, that'll be presented in the board meeting in November. So there's just one one board meeting in November and that will be one of the topics in the study session. >> Okay. Thank you. All right. We now have some time set aside for board member and superintendent reports and information items. So, one of the things that I'm absolutely loving this year is that all my elementary schools have a um very intentional, exciting, not not a a sign. It's a

136sign. It's in various ways, but it is very clear when you walk in the door that we need to check in at the office. And I love this because I had gotten some feedback that had said that people weren't sure what the policy was. Especially want to shout out to North Point who has a complete line. So you have to very pointedly go through the um narrow opening and secretaries are reporting that it is going well which is better than we can say for years past. So shout out to all the parents who are happily happily following the process taking their IDs when we uh when they check their kids out. Um our schools very much appreciate the cooperation and I love every effort to keep kids safe. >> Thank you. I just wanted to

137draw attention to a change on our agenda this month um with the inclusion of our mission at the top of the agenda. I really appreciate that this focuses um and clarifies for the work that needs to be done for the district that's done at this table and throughout our 91 schools that the Alpine board is committed to high levels of learning for every student by strategically prioritizing student achievement, teacher effectiveness, and community engagement. And I appreciate the clarity um and transparency that this reinforces in our shared responsibility to prioritize student learning. It's a meaningful way to keep the mission at the center of every decision. Thank you. Okay, I'm gonna go first because it So, there's two types of knowledge and this there's like you know something in your brain and you know that it's

138true and then there's experiencing something and um through the very most of unfortunate circumstances, I learned through experience how much our educators love our kids. and I knew that. But actually seeing them step in in ways that I would want them to and seeing people who were going through things that I would never want to go through step up in ways that I could only hope that I could in those circumstances um gives me just that greater knowledge of how much our educators love our kids. I've always known that, right? I just haven't had an experience through which I could see that. And so, um, I just want to say a huge thank you to all of our educators and all of our admin who show up for our kids every day. Um, literally I

139there are no words for the gratitude that I have that I can trust my kids with you guys and know that um, they're going to be safe and protected and taken care of um, in all the circumstances. >> Ditto to that. Thank you for sharing that. Um, I have two things. Uh, board member Wilson is online, but we just couldn't hear her um throughout the motions and so forth. So, board member Wilson, I think you're um listening in. Sorry we we couldn't hear you um but I think you have been able to hear us. So, also I want to project something in line with our mission in focusing on high levels of student learning. Where do I need to connect? Which solstice? when you see the numbers come up, it's a beautiful thing. So I

140just in line with uh our mission of student learning, uh this board has talked about um Alpine by the numbers and um I wanted to bring some student data um because they are what we care about deeply and their success is what we we seek. grateful for those opportunities to serve our our parents and communities uh in the education of of these children. And so um Jason Croin, thank you if you're listening in. Um Joel Perkins, Vicki, thank you um for uh putting together some information that I could share with the community, with the board tonight. um want to talk about um our MLS and our WEDA data and um just want to highlight Alpine was recognized recently by the state uh board of education um for its excellence. Um Alpine had the second highest

141um uh results when it came to our multilingual learners uh and their individualized growth towards English proficiency. And so, uh, to Dr. Bera and all of our our teachers in our schools, um, just tremendous work, um, has been done in this area and and a lot of success for our students. Uh, the only district that had a higher percentage, I think, than Alpine was Park City, which is um, significantly smaller um, than than our district. Um, so here's the recognition as well as the scores. Um if you look at uh the number of students who attained proficiency, we had 631 and want to celebrate each one of those students. Each one has a story, each one has a family and um the the work um that they put in to achieve uh that success. The

142WEDA um assessment measures students academic English proficiency um in a couple of areas uh listening, speaking, reading, and writing. And again, it's targeted specifically at growth. Um, and wherever they're at, we meet them and then help them succeed and grow. And so that's our student data um emphasis for tonight. And uh we'll be bringing these types of things for the community and for the board to look at each board member or each board meeting moving forward. Um, Dr. Perkins, Dr. Carter, anything else I should point out here? Okay. That's all I got. >> Thank you. Um, another just piece of what you're talking about, we also have been focusing a lot on seals of biiteracy and um, many of our WEDA testers also get that which is really amazing. It's it's a superpower to be

143able to speak in more than one language. Okay, we have need for special session or closed session tonight. Um, so we need to do a roll call adjournment. So, um I move that we go into a close session um to discuss personnel, property, and litigation. >> All right. With a motion by board member King and a second by board member Bon. Um we will do a roll call starting with uh board member Lincoln. >> Board member Lincoln I. >> Board member Kimman I. >> Board member Baitman I. >> Board member Peterson I. Board member King I. Board member Bon I. board member Wilson, I don't know if we can hear you. >> Still no. >> Okay, we stand adjourned. >> Oh, she did just text me. She said I. So, there you go. >> Okay,

144now we stand adjourned. >> Oh, absolutely. Yeah.