McGuffey School Board Meeting June 19, 2025

001It is now 6:04 p.m. Good. And we will now call the um committee to order. Dr. You threw me off at the volume. Sorry. Thank you, Mr. President. Good evening to our board of directors. Um to community members, teachers that are in attendance. Uh this evening, I have three items on committee. Uh first uh and here to present and give us an update and also a look to the future of our gifted program is Miss Jen Han. Jen, as we know, um took over a program that had sort of morphed for a little bit of time and uh she's done some really wonderful things, her and the students. And so I wanted to give Jen uh an opportunity to present to the board what she has accomplished this past year. And I think you have

002even some ideas for the future here. Is that correct, Jen? So with that, Jen, I'll give you the floor. Miss Han, yes, that we're going to have you there. Yep. We want to check to make sure the mic. Yep. Good evening. It's nice to be here and meet everyone. This is actually my first time attending a school board meeting. I was on vacation when I was hired, so it was all over Zoom. But I'm I'm really pleased to be here tonight and it's a pleasure working with the children of this great district. I really have been enjoying it this year and I look forward to the future and getting to know them through the years as they grow and really getting to know the individual child that way. Um I do have tonight a slideshow

003um that I've put together with pictures and some comments on there and to just tell you what we've done this year. some things that were the same and some things that are different and ideas for next year. One of the things that I did was to join another we belong to the Washington consortium where we compete with other schools as one of the um great enriching experiences of gifted but we also um there's other groups out there as well. So, I joined another group called the South Hills Area Gifted Consortium where we had some additional opportunities. Um, for instance, I had a couple high school students attend Battle of the Books Literature Festival this year and that was something new that we offered. Next year, I'm looking at expanding it and not just taking some

004gifted kids, but other kids that are interested in reading and going to compete at the school. Um students also attended the teen screen documentary the cure for hate where the subject of the film along with the filmmaker was present and so the students had the opportunity for a question and answer session afterwards which was a different kind of enrichment than some of the planned things that we had had in the past. Um, I'm going to get started and kind of show the slideshow as we go through if that's okay. And if anyone has any questions for me about anything, um, some of our K through five events that we have, Mingo Creek, that was a science outdoor exploratory that's been in session most years. We take turns planning these events and that was a great

005opportunity for the students to experience the outdoor classroom and they had a chance to do things with science as far as testing water, learning more about nature, trees. They also had technology where they um were able to fly drones and see some things about thermal imaging. So, it was a really great opportunity for the students. And whenever we do these experiences, I have a class dojo. So, I will send the parents videos of their children and pictures of them doing these activities. Um, one of the great things that happened this year, we had two finalists from our elementary schools. Uh, the students competed in the paralyzed veterans of America contest, how um, accessibility for all was the theme. So, we were reading about Stephven Hawking and you know what he has had to overcome in

006life. And with in doing that, we paired along that with this poster contest. One of our first graders came in first place for the region. Um, so they had first place for first and second grade. So that was Cora Welsh and Baxter Grace for grades three to four. So I was quite amazed that happened from the same school. One from Clayville, one from Joe Walker. But I was so proud of all of the students who participated. Um, then um, McGuffy, we hosted some events this year. So last year I was a gifted teacher at Claysville for fourth and fifth grade as we had that position split up. This was my first year learning K through 12. Um and so McGuffy didn't host last year while we were getting used to everything, but I did host

007the Halloween primary STEM challenge. The students did things like build a cauldron that can hold the most marbles. So there was STEM challenges. We had a BBOT hay maze opportunity where they had to do coding of the bebots to get it to be the first to go through the maze as well as other fun activities. Um quizbull history bowl was something where we went down to the hind history center in Pittsburgh. There were a lot of other schools that participated. They did a scavenger hunt through the museum where they were using the displays to actively learn more information about the museum in a fun way and working in groups. And then math 24 for the primary grades. We had two students that won I I can't remember now if it was first, second, or third

008place, but they they did win awards for scoring the most individual points when we went to that competition. Oh, it's right there. Sorry. Um, so we had one in second place, one in first place, Kora with second, Everett with first, and at this time that I was writing it, we didn't have some of those competitions yet, but I can tell you that we hosted the fourth and fifth grade litfest here at McGuffy, and that was in this room 105 in the library program. And that was a great experience, too, having the schools come together. The students prepare for the literature festival all year long. I'm preparing right now. I'm on my eighth novel this summer already. I have 18 to read over the summer to get ready. Great. Perfect. I I absolutely love the literature

009festival. Um and it's and it's great to integrate it, do different things that relate to the books. So, for next year, I'm already thinking about for primary K through three, they're going to read about Jane Goodall and I'm going to take them down to the Pittsburgh Zoo in September and they're going to learn more about the chimpanzees, you know, see them there in the monkey house. So, I like to integrate a lot of that curriculum to involve enriching experiences. Um, so we also have America Bull is when the students are learning about the states and the capitals and everything great that goes along with that. presidents calc problems and the students work together in groups on some of the problems. Other ones they have to solve individually and they give awards for both kinds. Um

010and then we did an enrichment trip um for the younger kids. We went to the aviary at the end of the school year. The older kids did were the first school group to do the tour and crawl program at Laurel Caverns. So we were we were guinea pigs but had a great time. These are some pictures um Mingo Creek and we have some pictures there of the PVA award winners there. News that's a BBOT hay maze and some of the other activities. There was a Halloween escape room in this room where students had to break codes and unlock the box. And one of the things I didn't mention is that the older students in the gifted program are getting leadership experiences. So they I have my middle school and my high school students volunteers are

011helping to run the different stations. So that's great experience for them. And then these are some pictures. One of the things we like to do is enjoy a lunch together. Whether we go to a fast food chain or the students pack a lunch and we go to the park, it's a great bonding experience for them. This is the middle school and one some of the events that we've done this year. The sixth graders were still included in the Mango Creek trip. So, they did go uh in the math 24 competition. The team won second place and we had some students that won individual awards for scoring the highest amount of points. So they they actually first and second place for seventh grade. Um Claysville does a steam night and that's something that as a past

012Clayville teacher I used to help out with. So my students helped run two of the stations there and we're planning on going back and doing that again next year. And that was a great leadership opportunity for them as well. We did squishy circuits and Alcasela rockets and the students also were trying to explain the science behind it while they were doing the fun activities. Um there's also connects challenge was something big that the middle school students prepared for that was held at Penn West University. So they have to they had to design their own prototype to solve a problem that's going on in the world and they did infrastructure. So one of my groups had a floating bridge for when all these bridges are breaking and need to be repaired. So they had to research

013find the problem design the floating bridge. You're not allowed to come with it. It's it all has to be built there and you have a set time limit and then judges come around and they present their idea. and the other group did um I'm trying to think of the exact name for it, but it was a truck that could instantly fill the potholes. So, they they came up with great ideas, both groups for that. And they participated in Science Bowl in February. That's why that's not listed on here yet. That was held at the Museum of Natural History. And the students once again got to do a scavenger hunt through the museum. And I know that their feedback was they would like to go back another time and just get to pick what exhibits they're

014doing. So that's feedback that I'll take into future years, not just about the competition, but seeing what's there for themselves. We did do a student expo night that was held in May at the end of the year. Students who are in sixth grade on, actually fifth grade on, they pick an independent learning goal. For some of them, it could be an enrichment class that they're going to take. For other students, it would be doing a project. And there were a lot of various ideas that were there. And that's something I plan on doing again um and maybe inviting some of the younger grades to participate and do a showand tell. We also did participate in the IU1 showcase at Penn West University to represent McGuffy this year. These are some pictures. That was at the

015Hind history center at the trolley. And that's math 24 with the middle school team. These are more pictures of them through the exhibits. In addition, I've talked a lot about the competitions, but in the classroom, we're doing a lot of STEM building activities. That's the tallest spaghetti tower. So, they are going through the engineer design process, learning the planning steps involved for all of these different things. no matter what it is. And then um working sometimes as individuals, partners or in small groups. So they get the experience of all of it. And then for high school, we have academic league is something that's been a longestablished tradition and we continue to participate in that. Next year in the fall, I will host an academic league for the first time. So we're going to do one

016in November. the high school students um had the opportunity to go to Alageney General Hospital for open heart surgery and I know the previous gifted program teachers had also done that in the past. So that's offered once every two years. So we will definitely be going back in the future and it was it was a great experience. The hospital actually takes the time to talk to them before they observe. They first talked to an ER nurse and then they talked to the actual surgeon before they went in and saw the observation. You don't see anything with the patient. Everything's very confidential. Um, you only see a small rectangle. And I learned in that experience that it's the only hospital on the East Coast that offers that kind of view from above. So, it was really

017a great opportunity for them. Um, I I talked about LitFest already. We had some students that participated in that and they had to read a total of four novels to be able to compete. They joined with another team since we just had two that did it this year. I'm hoping to open that up um to other interested students so we can take more than one team perhaps this year. Um we hosted NACLO here which is a linguistics competition and we'll continue to do that. um resume writing and college prep workshops was something that I offered during Highlander periods for students who wanted to partake in that. During the time that they're with me, we practice for academic league. They work on their individual learning goals and we have some other activities that we'll do in

018class together such as logic puzzles, things of that nature. Um they did participate in the range resources cage drop competition. That was a program that they had to work together as two teams, collaborate, they had to research how to protect a wellhead drill, and then design a cage prototype that fit certain dimensions. Once you get to the competition, your cages are tested out. If you survive the challenge drop, I'm sorry, the beginning drop, then you get to go to the challenge drop. You're not told until the day of what the max height or weight is going to be. So, it's it's a lot of strategic thinking and also some physics involved with trying to figure out what to do. But the research was also equally important. The students who did the best on their digital

019notebook, they got to go last. That way, they could see what other teams had tested out and what they thought would work. And our teams did really well overall. Um, our one team unfortunately did not pass the ch the first drop to enter in, but their digital notebook had one of the highest scores. So, I was very proud of them nevertheless. And our other team placed six out of 17 teams. This is um the view that we had for the open heart surgery. the lead surgeon wore a GoPro camera on his forehead and we actually had the same screen above where we were in that room and Mrs. Walters who was previously the gifted teacher here. She that's what she does is the student programming. So um it was nice for the students to have

020a little reunion as well and she takes you through every step of the surgery. And as you can see in some of these pictures they actually pass out replicas of what is going to be used. The students learn all about um the difference. This was replacing a heart valve. So, we learned about the pros and cons of what type of valve to use and what are the risks involved as well as watching the surgery. Did anyone have any questions about anything so far? Okay, this is just showing a little bit that is literature festival on the the two pictures on the left and one of our students K, she was selected by the poet to read her poem out loud in front of that um the other students there and then we have Claysville scheme

021night helpers posing before all of the kids came. One of the things we did this year was enter into the Pittsburgh gingerbread house contests and that's held down at the city council building. So the students work together on a fun kind of enrichment activity. While we're down there, we toured the city council building and students went ice skating. And for some of them, it was their very first time learning how to ice skate. It was a great bonding experience for them as well. These are some pictures in the classroom of some of the different things that I do with the students. They had to create a a maze and get their bots to go through the maze by coding them. And that was something we had both Ozbot Ozabots. Um Dr. Gotri and I had

022borrowed a kit from him used it at different levels. Students had a lot of fun with that activity. And this is just a little bit um of what I was thinking at the time looking into next year. I attended a training in January for bots IQ where we had an opportunity to work with microbots and co-bots and I am new to that. However, one of the things that I learned is that they have kits. Um it doesn't cost anything. You can sign up and borrow it from the IU1 and you can take it to the school. You can also have them come to you and teach the kids how to use these. So, that's something that I'm definitely going to do at different levels next year in the classroom. And I am working on developing

023a website for the gifted program. I know there was one before, so I'm going to go back to doing that again for next year. These are additional pictures of the kids. This was at the Museum of Natural History. Kids cracked me up some of the pictures running away from the dinosaurs. Uh, this was a great experience. Uh, we did a girls um engineering exploration day and there were all kind of hands-on activities there. You're not able to pick. You don't know what area of engineering you're going to go into. It's randomly assigned. However, they have a station in the middle that has a little taste of all the different kinds of engineering. And that's something I would definitely take them back and do again. They also have colleges that are there working with the students.

024So they had biomemed engineering for instance. They had a 3D printer that was showing how to print a vein or like a cartilage replacement for a knee. They had a robotic dog that the kids made chase me while they were there. But um lots of different um experiences happened. pictures of them. This was um America Bowl where students are competing. And these are some additional programs. That's um KY Crush down there and some pictures mixed in of different challenges I have them do in the classroom when I work with them. So, we do a mixture of advanced math. I do a lot of STEM activities and we do stuff for Litfest as well as just other engaging experiences. This is a picture of the floating bridge that the middle school students did at the connects

025activity. They they did a great job and that's both groups there. And this was the IU1 showcase. So students who wanted to participate in that, they all came up with their own project that they wanted to do. Some of them used their independent learning goal. Other kids used something that they did as a novel extension from our LitFest books. And others just came up with a completely new project that they wanted to do a show and tell for. But we had a great range. Several students wrote novels this year, short stories, and we are getting their books bound and everything. Then this was our literature festival where we had um our students placed first and second place at the fourth and fifth grade litfest and they had to read five books for that competition. Some

026of them were really big. Mysterious Benedict Society is almost 400 pages. They read it in about a month. Um, these are some examples of student projects working on that that presented at the student expo night for gifted. And even the middle school students enjoy going to the playground. This was our cage drop competition for the high school students over at Range Resources. And this is Quizbull where one of our teams did place first place. This was the Laurel Caverns experience. And yes, I was crawling with the kids through the caverns all except for the second one which involves some heights and I'm afraid of heights. Did my best. But um definitely you know it's been a great year and I'm looking forward to more time to come with the students. And then the middle school

027students had their literature festival in May and they also did really well at that competition. So they placed second place at the litfest. Oh, and I have to tell you we've done so many STEM projects this year. One of the stations was a build a boat and they were just going to give some individual points per marble that you could fit in the boat. They never dreamed that the students would have more than 30 marbles. So my one team had I think it was 136 and the other team 168. And so they had to redo all of the scoring because it wouldn't be fair to let them win off of one station. But they did a great job. This this would be my K through three students at the competition. So they they have a

028lot of engaging ways for the students to demonstrate their mastery over the novels. There was Pictionary, hidden clues, um they they did all of the different things along with trivia. They had to do sequencing of events. There were about 20 cards per book. They had to remember like what happened when. Okay. Okay. And that's actually my last slide there. Um, looking into next year, I know that I'm registering the high school for hometown HighQ, which would be something I don't know if it's been done in the past or not here, but I'm going to years bring that back. And um, for students interested in the Shakespeare monologue contest, that's going to be something that we do in February. There is a pumpkin drop that takes place down in Pittsburgh where they have to design a

029way to protect the pumpkin. and they actually drop it down from a height of a building. And uh there's a Shaylor steam project. I know last year they had to design catapults, like big catapults and launch things across. It's an outdoor project. So those are some activities, ideas that I'm going to pursue as we get into this next school year, as well as continuing to just look for ways to enrich them and keep them engaged. So thank you everyone. Thank you. Jen, thank you for jumping with both feet in. Thank you. And I wanted to say congratulations to all of the students that placed and everybody that participated and did so well. It was that was really cool to watch. Thank you for coming and presenting. Absolutely. And it's it's been a pleasure with working

030with all of the students and you you would you would just love to see the projects. I'm going to do a better job next year of getting more of the word out to the community for gifted expo night because I would love to show them off. Only question I have. Yes. Who's invited to exp? Anyone can come. Yes. I just kind of circulated it around the emails of the school, but my plan is next year to get it even more out there in the community. That would be awesome. All right. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Uh next on the agenda, I have Mrs. Jackson with the policy committee update. Uh it's going to be real short and sweet. Um, we have a policy that is up for um, second reading for vote tonight. Um,

031so I have not heard from anybody. Um, it's been out for a month. Um, so there's that. The, um, last meeting that we had, I think you'll see the agenda um, is there um, from uh, the June 10th meeting. um we were asked to bump a policy that was timesensitive for something that needed to be filed um with the state. So we've moved up policy 216 which is on copy of student records that is there for a first read tonight there other than um and with all of these policies a lot of it is just cleaning up grammar mechanics you know spelling commas um I'm an English teacher at heart so there's a lot of that uh but other than that the only big change is under guidelines. FFA needs to to say specifically that

032student records are kept electronically for at least 5 years after graduation. That's really the only big change in the policy. Um, and that wording came directly from the FFA guidelines and that's why it's there. So, tonight's the first reading. You'll have a month to look at it. uh community has any questions or anything, they can contact uh your school school board director. You can contact me. That's fine. School board members, if you have anything, please get that to me. Um and then it'll be up for a second reading in July. And the second reading is when we typically vote. So after that, that actually didn't take that long to do. We continued with looking at policy 8:15. And that's where we are. That's a pretty big policy, that one. And the one to follow, 8:15.1

033is a new policy that we're looking at. So those are both probably a bit more time consuming. Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Thank you. And finally, um, to give the budget presentation for the update on final numbers is Miss Huck. Thank you. School board members, in your packet, you have the 2526 final general fund budget report that comes out of the Pennsylvania state system that is similar to the report I gave you last week. Um, however, there are a couple little tweaks and we'll get to those. You also have my presentation and it's very short today. I'll start with again the 2425 budget update. On the revenue side, we're we're looking very positive. So, it's good to see this. We've budgeted just under 35 million. As of May 31st, we have received 35.4 million in revenue.

034So, we've actually met and exceeded our revenue goals. Um, the three items you see there are the main contributors to that extra revenue. Our delinquent taxes, we actually have collected over 166,000 more than what we actually put into the budget. Our earnings on investment a little bit higher too, 112,000. Our rental income is where the big one in is, and that's $247,000. And that's mostly because of a new range resource lease and all of our royalties are going into that rental category. Expenditures, we had budgeted just under 36 million. As of May 31st, we had spent just over 31 million. So 86.4% of that budget. I'm I'm feeling a little bit confident at this point that we may come out a little bit ahead instead of spending, but I I hold my tongue a little

035bit because we still have to pay some bills through June obviously and we pay teachers through the summer and that is reflected in the 2425 budget. So, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but uh again feeling positive and we don't really have the final numbers on the that budget until fall. And yes. Yes. Until fall, usually about October, it's kind of settled. The 2526 general fund budget. Not a lot has changed since the proposed budget, but there were a couple items on the expenditures. I had originally proposed 37,189,630. On this one you will see that increase slightly 37,288564 there were two reasons for that one is the electric usage the electric we are in a consortium with the IU1 they get the energy through you us source so we had a

036meeting source reached out to all of the districts that are in that consortium with estimated costs for the 2526 year ours actually, excuse me, ended up being about $65,000 higher than what I had originally anticipated and I had anticipated an increase of about 15%. But it's still even going to be higher than that. Um, and that is across the board that is energy costs are rising as we all know. The second contributor to that increase is our liability, cyber and workers compensation insurance. They had been projecting a 22 to 20 to 22% increase, which is what I originally anticipated and put that number in the budget. It came in about $36,000 higher than that. And a lot of that has to do with our workman's compensation um insurance policy. On to the revenue. This is

037slightly higher than last time as well. We had 35 million 519279 in the original proposed. It went up slightly to 35 526 551. That is due to an increase in our assessed property values. So a couple times during the year we get information from the Washington County Tax Claim Bureau on our assessed values. Excuse me. I received one in May and our property values increased from 940 million to 942 million. So a little bit more in revenue there, excuse me. You will see however that now the revenue is at 35.5, our expenses at 37.2. So our deficit increased slightly from last time from 1.6 6 million to 1.7. I just again gave you information on the general fund reserve and what we're anticipating after this 2425 year a total fund balance of 5.2 million with

038unassigned of 2.1. And then my last page on that presentation is what I'm projecting for of June of 2026 or after our fiscal year having an unassigned of only $431,000 with a total fund balance of 3 million. And of course it's all fluid but your recommendation is still Yeah. So, we can um we need to hopefully finalize this tonight and and approve this final budget. I have to have it open to the public for 20 days and then we can put it into the state system. I have to have that done by July 15th. Mr. labor. [Music] We still do have some subsidies coming in for the month of June. We'll have some reconciliation subsidies for transportation any subsidies are still to come. So there will be some it's not going to be huge amounts

039like we see like every other month up in but getting into June and July we're about to the end. I'm sorry. So again I just to clarify you're still recommending that we go to the index. Well we already voted on that last week. Well we voted on the on the proposed or the uh we voted on the tax increase plus the approval of the proposed budget. Right. The proposed budget, correct? Yeah, that's what I was asking with the tax increase. Yeah, thank you, Dr. Oberg. It is now 6:38 p.m. That'll conclude the committee meeting. We will reconvene regular school board meeting. Since we're a little early, we'll do it at 6:50 Yeah. It is now 6:51. I'd like to call to order the McGuffy School Board regular school board meeting. Roll call, please. Miss Cyber

040Miss here. Mr. Ro here present present Mr. Here Mr. Thomas here I want to make a couple announcements before we do the prayer. Um, I want to take a moment and send our thoughts and prayers to our neighbors in West Virginia and surrounding areas that have been affected by the recent floods. We also have several McGuffy employees that are dealing with property damage and the possibility of a total property loss due to the flooding. Um so please take your thought uh send your thoughts and prayers to them and there will be some donations and some drives that will be announced here shortly by our staff. Also want to take a moment and um sadly pass along the McGuffy family mourns the loss of former athletic director Larry Rollins who recently passed away. Larry became the

041athletic director after the sudden passing of his predecessor Richard Cole. During Larry's tenure as the athletic director at McGuffy, uh the McGuffy athletic department thrived under Larry's toutelage. The W uh the football team went to back-to-back WPIL championships in 93 and 94, winning the title in 94. Larry was also the athletic director when McGuffy had their first four-time state wrestling champion in Jeremy Hunter. Um, Larry was instrumental in the new gymnasium and the athletic facilities we currently have. Um, Larry also served for years on the WPIL wrestling committee. He truly loved McGuffy. Services will be private, but memorial memorial contributions to be made to the Nathan Kennedy memorial scholarship. So, our thoughts and prayers to the Rollins family. Like to introduce Evan Wright. He is from the Dutch Fork Christian Church. Uh Evans also a

042Grove City uh college graduate and also a McGuffy alum. Yep. Front and center. Welcome. If I may, also uh anything you can give will help with the uh the flooding in Valley Grove. Uh you mentioned the employees. We actually had the pleasure or pleasure sad, however you want to look at it, of working with and helping a maintenance person uh from the elementary school. Uh it's truly tragic what happened down there. So, anything you can give will uh truly be a blessing. Uh so, shall we pray? Dearly father, thank you for this day. Thank you for everything you've given to us. Thank you for your son. Uh thank you for the gift of him dying on the cross for us in our sins. We ask you to uh please be at the meeting here tonight.

043help everything that is uh said to be good and pleasing said and done to be good and pleasing in your sight. Let your will be done tonight. I would ask you to put a special uh uh your arms around uh the entire Ohio Valley community. Everyone who's lost loved ones, lost items, lost their houses, whatever it is, everyone down there has lost something. Um, and we ask you just please be with everyone working uh whether it be donations uh giving uh handling those, delivering them, whatever it is uh on the front lines, uh searching for people, moving pulling cars out of the creek, uh cleaning houses, shoveling uh mud, whatever it is, just please be with everybody and uh put your uh give them your strength and uh give please give everyone down at your

044comfort and your peace. uh we ask you to just please continue to let the support from the community be strong uh in that and thank you for everything and thank you for uh places like this where you can still get up and uh pray before a school board meeting starts. In your son's name I pray. Amen. Thank you. Thank you, Evan. Would everybody please rise for the pledge? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We held two executive sessions. One was held on Tuesday, July 10th, and one was held today at 5:00 p. to discuss personnel. At this time, we will take public comment on agenda items. [Music] Thank you. Dicky

045Jordan, Buffalo Township. I have a lot on this list tonight, but I think I'm going to forego some of it tonight just because um of course I'm going to start with coaches. We have a list of coaches being on the agenda for rehire and again parent no input from parents. no input from student athletes. And as I've told you all, every time you put it on the agenda, I'm going to stand before you and ask you to include the parents and the students, their input to who is coaching them with that being such an important part of their lives. Their voices should be heard and you continue to neglect them and not hear what they have to say. Doesn't necessarily have to be bad. Maybe it's all going to be good you hear. I think

046you're all smart enough to wade through what's vindictive and what's not. Um, the special education teachers, are they part of the budget? The two new hires. Okay. I'm also confused why we're not naming teachers who are residing from the district. We've never done this before. The names have always been on there. We have to hear it through teachers, cafeteria workers, PAR educators. Everybody knows. Why doesn't the community know? I feel we have a right to know that information. I think it's important for us to know. Maybe we want to thank them. Maybe we want to cheer their gone, but we have the right to do that. I'm gonna skip that one because I don't want to be mean tonight. No, I don't want to do it. Uh, the only other thing I'm going to say

047tonight is about our solicitor who isn't here again. I hope you have all decided it's time to move forward with a new solicitor and give this board a chance of uniting together. I don't think it's ever going to happen under our current solicitor. I think we're overdue for this. And I hope I hope tonight you guys can put aside your differences and really look out for what's the best interest of the district and move forward with a new set of eyes and ears. Um, again, I'm going to limit what I say because it's not a pleasant thought in regard to this particular solicitor. So, I'm just going to ask you guys, please, it's time for us to move on. And with that, I'll see you at n on agenda. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,

048Mr. President. The next speaker will be shingle. Thank you. I'm going to be speaking about D1 also. Um, I want to begin with this. I, Betty A. Shingle, do solemnly swear and and affirm that I will support, obey, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the Commonwealth and that I will discharge all the duties of my office with complete fidelity. I have recently been reviewing that and thinking that I'm not so sure we shouldn't say that every single time we take these seats just to remember why we're here. When I took that oath, it was for the students, for the taxpaying residents, and we somewhere along the way have become so um disoriented. I'm sure that you all know I've for the last year and a half I have asked

049myself what can I do personally? I'm the oldest one on the board. Gosh, I may be the oldest one in the room. What a thing to have to admit to. But but then that's a fact. Well, the thing is I I have had some life experience. This is not the first time I've been in a difficult situation, but about a year and a half ago, our board really was fractured and it was found that there truly was some bullying going on. You all have talked about it. You've all seen it. It's been demonstrated. The very last board meeting you had our superintendent being bullied. I mean, and the solicitor being run off and whatever. The thing is those are not why we're here. We're here for the students of McGuffy District, which is a great

050district. We are so blessed by so many good things. We need to get ourselves back in focus of the students and the taxpaying residents. And that means showing trust and respect for our administrative team, for our superintendent, for the solicitor, for all of the board members. And that's just not happening. I've been in the medical field long enough to tell you when a wound occurs, just leaving it dull and ignoring it, it never heals. So, this is the problem because we had this infraction and it was huge. It was never resolved. So, it just kept building factions. So, then you had these people and these people, which you all have seen now. And that's nothing but the good, bad, and the ugly. Really, really stinking ugly. And it's going to continue until we do something

051different. That's us. I'm talking about us collectively here. So, here's the thing. This is where we get to the solicitor situation. The whole process of the way that was approached was wrong and not according to our procedure. So, that's a little bit of an issue. But one person to choose from is not a choice make. So, even though you may think that that's a great thing, as some of you have said, it's time for a change. Okay, there's still a proper way to do it. Having one person to choose from is not the proper way. Having the way it was addressed to us as other board members was not the proper way. And that puts a downcast on every decision that we make after that. And here's the thing, and guys, I mean this with

052the utmost love and respect and compassion. I know every one of you took that oath to same as me, and you all feel the same way in your heart. And we've all been hurt at different times, really hurt to the point that you want to leave the building screaming and never return. And that is a sad state of affairs. The thing is, we've got to get off of this selfishness. I want to talk longer. I want to speak more. I want to overtalk everybody else. That's just plain disrespectful. And a new solicitor, however you feel about it, is not going to heal Miss Ford's problems. That's just something to be thinking about. Thank you, officer. Last person on the list is Jackson. Thank you. [Music] I am a stea steadfast supporter of our constitutional rights

053and I have advocated as such as a schoolboard director for McGuffy School District. I have consistently promoted untimed public comments and spoken against efforts to monitor how and what is said by community members, often at the eye of fellow board members and at times the district solicitor. It is not always easy to listen to these comments such as whether they are filled with profanity which is not a part of my everyday language, provide information that is inaccurate or just plain untruthful or are mean and rude. Yet I would fight with my dying breath to protect any citizen's right to free speech and would be the first to speak up even in opposition to leadership against an attempt to limit someone's freedom. To be clear, that is not what happened at last month's meeting. The community

054member who was removed from the meeting had her full time to speak with the only interruption being when she engaged a member of the board by addressing him by name. It was after she left his podium and continued to disrupt the meeting by shouting out and cursing that she was removed. Definitely not a moment of which any of us should be proud, but also not a denial of anyone's right to free speech. One of the primary duties of the board president is to maintain the order of schoolboard meetings. A lack of order in any assembly will result in chaos. And the proof of order is the absence of bedum. Perhaps no one has said it better than Martin Luther King. Peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of justice, of law,

055of order. Dr. King and our founding fathers knew that our freedoms must be tempered by our morals. Indeed, the second president president of the United States, John Adams said, "Statesmen may plan um excuse me, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. In other words, no matter how well a constitution is constructed, it will not ensure freedom and prosperity unless it is supported by a moral, virtuous people." The situation at last month's meeting has brought into focus the problem at our schoolboard meetings which is not sus suppression of free speech but rather a lack of personal constraint in the expression of our freedom. More simply we myself included give ourselves too much permission to say mean and rude things

056with the intent to hurt or humiliate another all under the guise of free speech and transparency. For as much time as we in this room on both sides of the table spend talking about bullying, it is astounding to me that we do not bat an eye at meanness and rudeness. What is bullying, but meanness and rudeness left unchecked. Yet, not only do we overlook mean and rude behavior in speech, we also rationalize it. For example, a statement that begins with with all due respect, will almost assuredly follow with something that is not respectful, something that is mean or rude, as if a qualifier excuses the malicious and often hostile speech. The question is, how do we balance free speech and kindness? As with all things, the answer is found in God's word. I will preface

057this by saying that the Bible must be taken and followed as a whole. Contrary, messed up you real quick and I'm sorry. What agenda item? See public comment. No agenda item. It is an agenda item. What agenda item are you addressing? It is public comment is on the agenda. I'm addressing public comment on the agenda. Okay. Okay. All right. Continue. I apologize. Did you restart my time? The question is, how do we balance free speech and kindness? says, "With all things, the answer is found in God's word." I will preface this by saying that the Bible must be taken and followed as a whole. Contrary to how many people use it, even in this forum, by cherrypicking a verse and plucking it out of context to make a single point, pure and practical application of

058the Bible is following all of its teachings, not just the parts we like. There is a difference between what I'm allowed to do and what I should do. 1 Corinthians 10:23 states, "All things are allowed, you say, but not all things are good." All things are allowed, but some things don't help anyone. In other words, just because I have the freedom, I'm allowed to say anything I want, doesn't mean I should. Rather, I should consider whether I want to what I want to say is good or helpful to anyone. Indeed, the Bible teaches that words can bring about life or death. Proverbs 8:21, "An unruly tongue is dangerous, even evil." James 3:8-10. It is important to keep one's tongue from evil and deceitful speech. 1 Peter 3:10-12. Guarding one's mouth and tongue can keep one

059out of trouble. Proverbs 21:23. And a gentle anger turns away wrath, while a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1. Ephesians 4:29 sums it all up. When you talk, don't say anything bad, but say the good things that people need. Whatever will help them grow stronger. Then what you say will be a blessing to those who hear you. Some listeners are no no doubt shaking their heads and wondering how we are going to address issues and concerns in such a manner. Certainly we can't be good and positive all the time. Can we? God doesn't say we can't discuss hard even unpleasant topics. It's not about the topics themselves but rather the intention behind and the manner in which we broach such topics. The Bible consistently highlights the importance of tone and kindness in communication. We

060will never be successful in addressing concerns and moving forward if we choose to use our free speech to get in our digs at each other with mean, rude, and disrespectful words. We need to remember that we can agree to disagree. It is unrealistic to expect that we will all agree on all subjects at all times, and having a different opinion does not make someone evil. The term needs to be reserved for the real threat in our lives. Ephesians 6:12. Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places. Everyone has been created by God and deserves to be treated kindly as part of God's creation. The Pharisees once asked Jesus, "What is the greatest commandment?" Jesus answered, "Love the Lord your God with all

061your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." This is the first and most important command. And the second commandment is like the first. Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself. Matthew 22:37-39. Jesus was clear that we should treat others with love and respect. Indeed, he went on to say in verse 40, all of the law and the writings of the prophets take their meaning from these two commands. In other words, these two commandments to love God with everything we have and to love others as we love ourselves are at the core of all Christian tenants. If we can't do these two things, we can't truly say we are Christians. We must do better for our community on both sides of the table in the way we act toward and speak to each

062other, myself included. In the words of Spider-Man's Uncle Ben, "With great power comes great responsibility. Let's use our power of free speech responsibly so that we may all work together to accomplish great things in our school, in our district, and in our community. I would like to take this time to personally apologize to anybody to whom I have spoken unkindly. It was not my intent. I do get caught up in the moment sometimes when you are constantly being bered and have unkind things headed your way. It is sometimes challenging to not respond in kind, but I should and I will work on that moving forward and I apologize. But the message is for all of us. It's not just free speech. It's not just moving forward. It's how to do those things together. Times up,

063Miss Jackson. Thank you, Officer Liber. No more. All right, I need to make a motion. Um, I motion we go to executive session. I need a second. Second. Huh? Uh, yes. Personnel. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Vanetta. Um, motion's on the floor. Second. I need a vote. All in favor to go executive session to discuss personnel say I I opposed. Motion carries. We are in recess. [Music] I had to train. [Music] It is now 8:27. We will reconvene. Uh we held executive session to discuss personnel, contracts, and possible litigation. Moving on, need a motion to appoint Rebecca Hall of Weiss Burkhart Kramer to serve as solicitor for the McGuffy School District under the terms and conditions of the board. Second discussion. I will say that um concerns about New Hall and Weissberg Parks and Kramer

064aside, my biggest concern is and has been the manner in which this has been brought about. It is quite frankly appalling to me that more people aren't concerned with the fact that we had one board member who acted outside of the knowledge and consent of the rest of the board and contact an attorney of his choice and asked her if she was eligible for the position and then motioned for that in a public meeting without notifying ifying the the rest of the board. I don't know how we get beyond that. By that same token, each member of the board should be provided an opportunity to call a solicitor of his or her own choice and ask them to consider employment with us and to sit for an interview. Barring that, I make a motion to

065table this motion of hiring Rebecca Hall of Weissberg Cart and Kramer pending posting for RFPs and holding interviews for a solicitor so that we have more than one choice. I second the table. We have a motion on the floor to table the appointment of the solicitor and we have a second um the cyber roll call that vote you're voting yes to table. You're voting no to not table it no yes no Mr. No, Miss Chingle. Yes, Mr. Thomas. Yes. Mr. Banata. No, Mr. Karn. Yes. 54. So, it fails. Fails. It fails. All right. So, we will go back to the appointment of solicitor. We had a first. We had a second. Any further discussion? I would just like to say that um I also was not aware of this of M Miss Hall being contacted

066prior to the motion, but I also would say that it was brought to the board and the board made the decision as a whole and here we are today and that was when the the decision from the board as a whole was made. Um, that's where we're at with it. The division decision was by a majority of the board, not the whole board. I think that needs clarification, but the majority of the board, that's how we do things. But I don't know how we move forward towards unity when we continue to make decisions. We haven't had it so far, so it's worth a shot. Any further discussion? Mr. Sybert, I will ask a roll call vote be taken, please. Mr. G, you are voting yes to appoint, no to not appoint. Jackson, no. Mr. Leer,

067yes. Mr. Yes. No, Mr. Thomas. Yes. Um, my vote really doesn't matter one way or the other right now, but I am going to say I'm going to echo Mr. Thomas. I'm only voting no because of the violation of the schoolboard policy, how it came about. Miss Hall, congratulations. Welcome to McGuffy as our solicitor. [Applause] Let's just take a couple minutes while she gets situated. Thank you. Before we go any further, I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Andrew and Price for their many years of service to McGuffy School Board. Um, even in face of some horrific treatment from this community. um realizing not everything that was ever done was always okay with everyone, but they did serve this district and they served us well for a long period of time. Thank

068you. All right. I need a motion to approve the minutes from the May 15, 2025 school board meeting. So move. Second discussion. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. I want abstaining. Need a motion to approve the general fund schedule of bills from May 12th, 2025 to June 19th, 2025. Check numbers to check number 81008 in the amount of $775,27.31 as submitted. Second discussion. All those in favor say I. Oppose. Abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to approve the food service schedule of bills dated June 19 June 19th, 2025. Check number 7796 to check number 7799 in the amount of $63,5516 as submitted. So move discussion. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? Abstain. Motion carries. Why can I not see the screen? I need a motion to approve the treasurer's report for

069the month of May 2025 as submitted. So moved. Second. Discussion. All those in favor say I. I. I. Opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to approve as presented the memorandum of understanding for MCER for the 2526 school year. Senator second discussion. Yes. Can it can it be explained as to what this is? Why why we're receiving anou? I mean, I read it, but I don't understand exactly what it is that they're asking. So, three three basic points. One is going to be the evaluation of staff that would do on court. Two is laying down the differences between cyber and when it call day. And then three would be the compensation. Currently, we have three staff, two high school, one middle school. We actually have five. that we currently would have next year. Their compensation

070is $1,000 per semester. Those the main points of what you've read as far as disaster. The reason why it is every year is because it was not in the current contract. So the next time that comes around, we'll be sure that there hasn't changed uh since last. Okay. Further discussion. And it's also budget for our Yeah. Okay. Thank you. All those in favor say I. Opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. I need a motion to approve the attached list of books be removed from the high school middle school library and authorized disposal of the books as per the terms and conditions of district policy 706.1 disposal of obsolete outdated equipment. So move second discussion. Just a reminder to the community that it's all right. Go ahead Jackson. Just a reminder to the community if there's anyone interested

071in those to contact the superintendent. That's right. Kind of leads me into my question is I know we ask about this all the time. What happens with the books and I know you've mentioned before that some of them stay in the school in the upstairs library that is that correct? So for these this is correct. This is the middle school library that's being housed second floor. um and the work. And by the way, I want to actually stick to you. I've made uh Miss uh Laura Mcnel, she's our middle school ELA teacher, also also the ELA chair. Um she would go down on her preps and go through the stacks. I'm holding for that work. A lot of work. Yeah. So with that, they are remaining in the building. They're just not remaining in circulation.

072The high school. Well, just removing from circulation. These I guess I'm confused on how they're being used. No, these are discarded library books that have been checked out. They may be redundancies, right? Um what so what she's doing is twofold. Discarding those books that are not used, old, whatever it may be. And then she's keeping those books that are actually being housed right now on the second floor. of our middle school component of of McGuffy is housed for but these books will be removed from the library and discarded. Absolutely. So unless somebody calls and wants copies I think that's where I'm confused. I'm under the impression that whenever we're asking for these to be removed from the high school, middle school, that they were going to another room in the in the building and being

073used there. That was the impression that I got one of the last times that I had asked you. And I think I'm still confused on that. These will no longer be in the building once. Okay. I don't know if it would help you any, but other schools that I've worked with, we've got some of those books because we needed them and it helps. No, I'm aware of that. I just I guess I was thinking maybe there was a program that a teacher was using some of these books for. They were no longer needed in the library, but they wanted to have something available to students in another room. I guess I was just confused on how that worked. The student wouldn't have to actually check them out. they could just go up to the room

074and take whatever they wanted or needed. I guess that's where I was confused. So, I appreciate the clarification because now I understand 100%. Thank you. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. Oppos? Motion carries. Need a motion to declare the attached list of textbooks along with any supplemental or related resources associated with the attached list as unused and unnecessary and authorized disposal of the items as per the terms and conditions of McGuffy School District policy 706.1 disposal of obsolete outdated equipment. So move second discussion. Yes. um with it's on the last page there's Webster's intermediate dictionary, Webster School Dictionary, Webster Schoolus. What is it that's unnecessary or obsolete about the particular books? I I could speak to dictionaries and just these books are no longer in use by the district. they haven't been

075have been used by our STS or STS. They're going to be looking at often times something that they use their SARS for. They'd actually probably Google it first and foremost. We have seven different titles that are there for you to look at in back as far as 1969. Most majority of the titles that are being discarded again not being used by anyone in our school are from the 90s, early 2000s. and dictionaries, ants, any reference book like that, they do get updated. So, they're out of date, which is why nobody's using them. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? Abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to approve the application for homebound instruction for student D grade nine for medical reasons. So move second discussion. All those in favor say I. Oppos?

076Abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to approve Washington School District student W1 to attend McGuffy High School for the 2526 school year to participate in the engineering technologies CTE program of study. So move second discussion. Are they just coming for the PTE program or they will be attending math as a whole to get that? Okay. What makes them eligible to attend is that we offer that program in their district. Right. Right. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Stain. Motion carries. I need a motion to approve Washington School District student W. Should be W2. That I thought. Approve. Why? Let me start over then and switch that. Approve Washington School District student W2 to attend McGuffy High School for the 2526 school year to participate in the engineering technology CTE program

077of study. I motion to amend the motion to reflect the correct number. Oh, mine said W2. Mine didn't. It just switched over. Like the screen says W2 computer was a little bit slow then. Sorry. Mine says on the paper copy, approve Washington School District student W2 to attend McGathi High School for the 2025 school year to participate in the general agricultural CTE program. Yeah, but it doesn't have to. Yeah, I don't know. I follow the paper. That's because when she's looking at it, it's running off. All right. All right. So, we're all straight. Sorry. Sorry. The confusion. It's okay. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. I believe so because we were just Yeah, that's okay. Yeah. Well, we just really just out there on this one. Did we all vote? I

078have no idea. Did we vote? Just to be sure. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? Abstain. Motion finally carries for W2. I see small screens. I need a motion to accept a grant of $1,437 from the Alice Boone Main Memorial Fund per McGuffy School District policy number 702 gifts, grants, and donations. So move second. Discussion. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Say I. Thank you. Motion carries. [Music] Can we lump all these in? Yeah. All right. So, I make a motion that we accept the donation for items 8 through 14, right through 14 as written and reflected in the agenda. Second frozen. All right. So we will vote on 8 through 14. Um your motion was to actually combine them. Correct. So well to combine them and then we have to

079vote to accept them. Okay. Okay. I'll make a motion to combine items 8 through 14 as donations as they are written on the agenda. All those in favor say I. I. Wait, somebody second that. Okay. Um opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. Now I make a motion to accept. Well, I have to make that motion. Oh, because you already agenda. You already amended it. Yeah, you already amended it. So now I'll make a motion for all the donations be accepted. Okay, there you go. Any discussion? And the that is per the terms of the McGuffy School District policy 702 gifts, grants, and Okay. So, you're making a motion. So, I do second, Chad. Okay. Okay. Do we need to vote on that then? Huh? We need to vote to have them, correct? Yeah. I'm getting ready. Oh,

080okay. It's okay. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Stay. Motion carries. Mr. President, is there any way we could just quickly say Absolutely. or whatever. Yep. I will run them down. Uh, one is from, and thank you, Mr. Laser, that's a good idea. Uh, a donation from the Chapman Corporation for $500 for the middle school Kennywood field trip. One is from Bud Bear Auto, Washington for $200 for the middle school Kennywood field trip. The third is a donation from donor's shoes of $100 for of gift cards to classroom supplies for Mrs. Porter's classroom and another project with a $191 value for Mrs. Allison's classrooms. I'm waiting for it to come. Come on. Another one is from donor's shoes. All right, I'll get back. Did you say Olivia Scott? I tried it wouldn't open.

081So, I'll get to Let me do number 12 real quick. Donors choose for adaptive paper and flexible seating um a value of $643 for Mrs. Oscar's classroom. Accept the donation for Olivia Scott Foundation for two futons for Mrs. Allison's classroom. Flexible feeding probably. Yeah, you're welcome. Um, we'll get back to that. Mr. Thomas, accept a donation from CNX for 7500 to eliminate student cafeteria debt. and a donation from United Presbyterian Church for $935 for graduating seniors outstanding debt. The graduating seniors had outstanding debt. Not anymore. Oh, for individual students, outstanding debt. I thought you meant the class as a whole. Oh, you mean like graduating students who had like bill a bill at the cafeteria or something like Okay. All right. Do you want to answer it? I would imagine I'd imagine in the case

082of Mrs. Alison's class that was for comfortable seating arrangements for her third graders like a reading flexible seating. Yeah. Okay. Thank you to everybody that donated. Need a motion to approve as presented the new textbooks and related resources for K through five science and 6 through 12 social studies. So move second discussion. Again I would just like to thank Dr. Botran and his team for all that they did in that process, especially um in making them being so transparent with the process itself and making materials available for members of the community's view over the last month. They have consistently gone above and beyond the board's expectations for transparency in the process and I thank them for that. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to

083accept with regret the letter of resignation for employee number 2616 effective June 2nd, 2025 and authorize the administration to post an advertise if necessary for the position. Second. Discussion. Not I mean in relation to resignations in general. So I'm going to use the opportunity for this resignation. I also do not like and don't agree with identifying them by employee number. We've always done by name. I don't understand why it can't still be by name. Um and so I think that needs to be addressed and discussed as a board. I recall it was a recommendation from the solicitor as to what she spoke to two months ago. maybe it was or two meetings ago. Um she was the one who had recommended it. I also disagree with it though. I would like to see their names

084on there for the public knowledge. Is it something we could change moving forward? So generally I see the districts that I work with taking different approaches on that. Um, and you know, oh, typically the districts would use a personnel number. Uh, we could I I would assume there would be some reasons for resignation. Maybe an employee wouldn't want shared or, you know, so maybe we could start asking employees if it would be okay to share the name on the agenda. But typically, it would be an employee number just for confidentiality. That's just for us. That's okay. It's okay. You're able to see it. I I understand what he's saying though because this paper is back on that table and everyone coming in here that got this has this where it says content and it has

085the name. Yeah. These were here when we got here so I didn't know if they were printed specifically for us. Yeah. I was just curious. I thought that was just our view as well. It's just our view on board docs on I'm saying on board docs on board docs only board members have access to the administrative content but the but the printed copy has all of it. So something definitely we can revisit. Yeah. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Oppose. Stain. Motion carries. I need a motion to accept with regret the letter of resignation for employee number 2400 effective May 30th, 2025 and authorize the administration to post and advertise if necessary for the position. So move. Second. Discussion. All those in favor say I. I oppose. Same. Motion carries. Need

086a motion to hire Joseph Dunan as a high school mathematics teacher at M's plus 30 step one subject to assignment. Current assignment McGuffy High School as per the terms and conditions of the current McGuffy Education Association agreement and pending receipt of all required clearances, medical exams, and act 168 verifications. So move second. Discussion. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. Um here to present Joseph is high school assistant principal Brady Stoy. Brady. Thank you. Good evening McGuffy community. I'm Mr. Stoy, assistant principal of the high school. It is my honor to introduce Mr. Joseph Dunan, our candidate, selected as the newest member of the high school math department. Mr. Dunan studied at W&J, graduated in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in math and a minor in Spanish. Upon graduation, Mr. Dunan

087further pursued his education, obtaining a master's in statistics at West Virginia University. During his time at WVU, he worked as a teaching assistant and also tutoring students who were not math focused, but need help needed help on their required math courses. Mr. Mr. Dunan then worked as a data analyst in Columbus, Ohio. He returned to the Pittsburgh area after a decade in this role to pursue his true passion teaching math. Mr. Dunan obtained a second master's degree of arts of teaching mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh and completed his student teaching experience at Carrick High School. He went to both Pitt and WVU. Mr. Dunan brings a unique mixture of excuse me of corporate statistics work experience a lifelong love of mathematics and a passion for educating future generations about the significance of learning mathematics

088and applying it to enrich everyday life. I am pleased to present Mr. Joseph Dunan. I'm going to make it short and sweet. Um I'm just very excited to be to be here. very excited to get going and just from interviewing with Mr. Snowy and Mr. Bonis, I feel like I'm going to fit in great here and it's been a great environment. So, thank you. Thank you. Need a motion to hire Carly D. Grola as a middle school special education teacher at bachelor's step one subject to assignment current assignment McGuffy middle school and per the terms and conditions of the current McGuffy Education Association agreement and pending receipt of all required clearances medical exams and act 168 verification move second discussion yes um just for clarification this is not a new position this is um a

089position that we've had that we're fulfilling. Correct. Thank you. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? Abstain. Motion carries. Here to present uh Carly is our supervisor of special education. Miss Kellyanne Mate. Thank you. Well, we are very excited to welcome an exceptional special education teacher to our Msgi School District family. Uh, this energetic educator brings a specialized background in early childhood and special education from Slippery Rock University. Combined with diverse experience working with children across multiple settings, she's known for her high energy and genuine passion for building meaningful relationships with both students and families. Carly is committed to creating supportive learning environments where every child can and will succeed. [Applause] mine short and sweet as well. I just want to say thank you for this opportunity. It absolutely means the

090world to me and I just in my interviews I felt truly at home here and I am so excited to finally start my journey in this welcoming culture. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Need a motion to hire Samantha Bonus as an elementary special education teacher at bachelor's step one subject to assignment current assignment Claysville Elementary School and per the terms and conditions of the current McGuffy Education Association agreement and pending receipt of all required required clearances medical exams and act 168 verifications. So move second discussion. My question is the same just for clarification. Is this position something that we've had and we're just selling? Correct. Any other discussion? All those in favor say I. I oppose. Abstain. Motion carries. Julia. So Sam, you may well she may be a familiar face to us. Uh she

091brings a unique combination of fresh fresh certification credentials and extensive hands-on experience within our own district. As a muff McGuffy alumni, she has deep rooted connection to our community and has progressed from emergency substitute to building substitute to long-term special education teacher, demonstrating unwavering commitment to our students and profound understanding of our district's culture and expectations. She also holds a bachelor's of science degree from Slippery Rock in physical activity and fitness management. And with the recent completion of her prek to 12 special ed certification from Point Park University, she's exceptionally wellprepared to make an immediate positive impact in her new permanent role here at McGuffy. [Applause] I thank you all for this opportunity and I am happy to be home. Welcome. Congratulations. [Applause] Need a motion to approve Isaac Nef as a long-term substitute teacher

092for the first semester of the 2526 school year per the terms and conditions of the current agreement between McGuffy Board of Directors and McGuffy Education Association and pending receipt of all required clearances and act 168 verifications. So move second discussion. All those in favor say I. I. I opposed abstain. Motion carries. I need a motion to approve Elizabeth Krauss as a long-term substitute teacher for the 2526 school year per the terms and conditions of the current agreement between McGuffy Board of Directors and McGuffy Education Association and pending receipt of all required clearances and act 168 verification. So move second discussion. She's another McGuffy person. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. Be a motion to approve Francis Williams, Lucy Sap, Stacy Booth, Charity Crashar, and Sheila Moore as drivers for GGNC

093for the 2425 school year pending receipt of all required clearances as presented. So move. Second. Discussion. All those in favor say I. I opposed. Stain. Motion carries. Need a motion to approve Kelsey Fee, Paul Mlan, and Michael Zalletki as drivers for first student for the 2425 school year pending receipt of all required clearances as presented. Move. Second discussion. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Obstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to approve the employment agreement as presented for the payroll and benefits specialist effective July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2030. So moved. Second. Any discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? Abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to approve the renewal of the administrative assistance employment agreement as presented. effective July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2030. So move second discussion. All

094those in favor say I. I. Opposed? Stain. Motion carries. Need a motion for approval to post an advertise for an accounting specialist. So move. Second. Did I get a second? Sorry. I'm sorry. Um discussion. Is this in the budget? Yes. Thank you. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? Stayain. Motion carries. Okay. I need a motion to rehire Justin Kthers as the head track coach for the sports season. I would again just ask that we continue to read the whole recommended action for the sake of those who are listening as per the MEA agreement in the event of a partial season salaries will be prrated second discussion I'd just like to thank Mr. brothers. He does an outstanding job with track. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? Abstain. Motion

095carries. Need a motion to rehire Miss Caitlyn Group for the 2026 head boys tennis coach spring sports season as per the MEA agreement. Second discussion. Again, thank her for all that she does. Thank you. Well, with that, all those in favor say I. I. I. Opposed? Abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to rehire Miss Carly Pettit as head softball coach for the 2026 spring sports season. As per the MEA agreement, in the event of a partial season, salaries will be prrated. So moved. Second discussion. Uh I will say um Miss Pedock and the softball team had their playoff victory this year against um Ligonier Valley I believe and it's the first playoff victory in over 11 years I believe for the softball team. So congratulations to the team and to her. Congratulations. All those in

096favor say I. Opposed abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to rehire Mr. Brent Graham as head baseball coach for the 2026 spring sports season as per the MEA agreement. In the event of a partial season, salaries will be prrated. Second, discussion all year in do the next one. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? motion carries. Need a motion to approve policy 827 for adoption. Second discussion. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. Policy 216 is there for the first reading. Just a reminder once again, if any board members um have anything they'd like to um any questions that they have or anything they' like to submit regarding that, please um contact me and any public members, members of the community as well before the next vote next month. We

097need a motion to approve the agreement between McGuffy School District and Transitional Employment Consultant Incorporated for Special Education Services for the 2526 school year. So move second discussion. Yes, I'm I've read through this. I guess I'm just unsure. It's not transition learning. It's a different company al together. Correct. This is TEC. They provide again if I'm going to break it down pretty simply. They they provide transitional services, vocational services. So the student has an IP that would identify them as needing that. Uh they provide if we need transitional services, transportation, and then also uh ESY students for the school year. Okay. So what we're what we're what we're entering into agreement and we've done this every year is if there's potential for a need in those basic three areas. Have we used them? Yes. A

098lot or? Yes. Okay. Yes. Thank you. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to approve the Pennsylvania Schoolboard Association membership renewal in the amount of [Music] $14,847.94 which is an increase of $52.37. So move second discussion. Yes. Um you all know where I stand with PSD. I have concerns about outsourcing our authority. Um, but with that being said, how often has TSBA been used with the exception of the, you know, monthly reports? Um, how often have we relied on them in the last year since we approved this last year? I think one of the biggest things we had was the uh board retreat that was held at IU1. A number of of of the members here attended that and that was a great uh full

099day training. Um again we look at that when it comes to our policy of course uh we have not had a policy that necessarily has looked at but they provide on a quarterly basis they provide updates to policies that we would bring to our attention in the policy uh committee. Um, thank God we've not had emergencies where I've had to use their emergency services to craft communication, but when that did happen over a year ago, that was something I definitely relied on. So, okay. And with the intermediate unit retreat, PSDA sponsored by Yes. Okay. Yes. There was still a cost to go to attend. Okay. Thank you. Can I not could I ask a question? I wanted to ask the solicitor. Are have you used that? Our last solicitor, we asked this question last year

100and she explained how she used it. Do you use it and how do you use it? If if you ask the SDA, then I would access it if you would like me to work on policies. I know I'm new, so we haven't kind of discussed yet my role in certain aspects of the district, but um I do like to use CSBA for the policy update. Uh they stay very on top of those trends. Um and you know, the board trainings are are generally um very good as well. So yeah, thank you. Thank you. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I opposed abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to approve the purchase of Front Lines Financial Planning Analytics and Budget Management Analytics software. There is a one-time imple implementation fee of $1,892. The

101recurring annual fee is $13,200. This software package is offered at a $5,800 discount since Front Line is our absence management system. So moved. Second discussion. So the 13,200 annual fee is reduced by 5,800. Am I reading that correctly? Yes. For how long? This Well, we're doing a one-year contract with them. So for one year? Yes. Uh this is a product. I gave you examples on the website. We had talked about future planning, future financial planning. This is a tool that's going to help us do that in a much quicker and have more accurate data. Okay. And then we'll reevaluate at the end. And then we'll reevaluate. Correct. Thank you. Thank you. And this is in the budget. Yes. Thank you. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. Need

102a motion to approve payment to Andrews and price for invoice dated April 30th, 2025 in the amount of $2,895 as submitted. So move second discussion. All those in favor say I. I. I. Opposed. Stain. Motion carries. I need a motion to approve payment to Andrews and Price for invoice dated March 31st, 2024 in the amount of $2,955 as submitted. Second discussion. Yeah. Right. Yeah, I see it. Yeah. Should it be May? All right. So, we're going to make that May 31st. So, do we need to motion to amend it? Motion to amend. The subject is accurate. The details are not in the recommended action. The recommended action shows says Jed March. All right. If there's a qu we let's just go ahead and amend it just so so I would need a motion to amend

103it. Am I understanding correctly though? It's it's the recommended action that needs Okay. I just I got confused for a second then. Okay. So Ken made a motion to amend it to say May 31st, 2025. Should that be 2025? Jeez. All right. Yeah. All right. And did I get a second? Yes. All right. All those in favor to amending the motion say I. I. opposed. Abstain. Right. We need to vote on it. Now we need to vote. So I need a motion to approve payment to Anderson Price invoice dated May 31st, 2025 in the amount of $2,955 as submitted. Second. Do we need to discuss it any further? Okay. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Seeing motion carries. Need a motion to approve resolution 2024 2025 number five authorizing 2025 real estate tax

104assessment appeals program as presented moved second discussion can we just could this just be explained on what what this will be doing what what are we entering into I mean I I did read it but it Yes. So, every year we send an authorized resolution to the Washington County Tax Plan Bureau identifying who our solicitor is. That solicitor then has power to do appeals on behalf of the district for real estate property values. If the board directs them in that, yes. Thank you. Um, Miss Harbor, um, I've always had an issue with this in the past because we've never published what we're actually doing and you could have young couples buying a house and then it gets reassessed and then they can no longer afford to buy the house because the payments are too high

105because the increase in tax. Saying all that, I would make the motion to table this until we can present the resolution number five to the public to be able to view so they could see the exact details of what it is. So Ken's made Mr. Sorry, has made a motion to table this motion. I will tell you it has to be submitted by July 1st in order for us to take advantage of any tax assessment appeals for the 2526 school year. So if we table it for next until next month, we're tableabling it for you. All right, I'll take that motion off the table. Is there any way you could explain to the people what it says in the prices so they know? Yes. So, the prior contract that we had with the entries and

106price, if the property value um was purchased at $25,000 or more of what the assessed value was, they would go to the tax claim bureau and ask for a reassessment of the property. So, for example, if the assessed value right now is $150,000, the house sells, it sells for $200,000. Andrews and Price would then go to the tax claim bureau and ask them to reassess that property based on the new sales price. And they did that for any property that was over $25,000 difference in the original assessed value and what it sold for. that over the past four or five years has neted the district almost $400,000 in additional tax revenue and that was just automatic. That wasn't and that was automatic. Yes, the board doesn't Yes, they do it automatically. Yeah. Well, I think

107that's why I had asked at least the board directs it because by doing this we're saying that this is your say that like Bart and Kramer would be directed to continually do this. We can create the terms of what the value difference is. Yes, they did $25,000 in price. But remember, if we don't do any assessment appeals when those properties sell for $250,000 and they're assessed at $100,000, we're losing out on tax revenue. Would it be the realator's responsibility to let them know that it could be reassessed? three orders will not let them know because it's detrimental to their sales and commissions. Right? And that's the problem is we as a district have never been able to at least that's this is my opinion of the problem. We have never educated our community enough to

108know what's going to happen when they purchase a property. um because the real estate agents will not tell them this and they don't find out until they get a letter from the Washington County Assessment Office. And if their escrow account is, let's say, $50 a month and you increase their taxes, then their payment goes up, let's say to $100, that individual may not any longer be able to afford that house. I agree with doing the reassessments. I would just like the numbers publicized so the residents know what it is. And under item number two of the resolution, it states uh whereas the recorded purchase price adjusted by the applicable common value ratio is 25,000. Is that the same as a $25,000? I thought the common ratio was different. It is a little different than the

109dollar dollar figure, right? Yes. Is this I guess I would defer to our solicitor. Is this something that could have been made public prior to this evening? Would that be the board's choice to do that or because I know, you know, there's a difference between contracts and things like that. Certain things can't be, but is this something that could be a a resolution? And and so I'm again I'm still gaining my feelings here and I'm speaking on things that I have one hour of experience on so I say that cautiously. But um the resolution I would have thought would have been public. I what I I'm asking, but wasn't didn't we say that when we voted? We voted for this and passed it at the time because I remember us talking about what the amount

110was going to be if it was 25,000 more or 50,000 more or whatever. So, didn't we at the time say that we wanted it to be publicized? It seems like to me we did. I I don't recall that conversation. I I don't remember, Miss Shingle. I'm sorry. Okay. Well, it comes up every year. Yeah, but I think but we have people coming in and out of the district too. My apologies. Um I think though what Mr. Leer is and you can correct me if I'm wrong, but what he's asking for is if we can keep it public like if we're putting it on our website somewhere or the the terms and conditions so that people who are considering moving into the district have that information available to them when they're looking at houses um so

111that they know it's a possibility. Am I misunderstanding that, Mr. No, we need to be able to educate our residents that are buying houses in our district that they're going to get their taxes reassessed at a certain level. Then that gives them the option of whether they buy the house or don't. Um, so in essence, yes, you're right. that I'll go back to this common level ratios $25,000. Is there anywhere you could give me a ballpark? So common about what that might be based upon the value of the sale. Common level level ratio is a ratio that compares a county's base year assessments to the current market values of property. Right? So 25,000 that's what we had deter some determined years ago apparently that if it sold for more than $25,000 compared to what that

112base assessment was we would appeal it at one time when we originally did this years ago it was $25,000 and then I don't know at some time it was dropped and then at some time it picked up was a h 100,000 and now it's 25,000. So, I just want the public to know that if you buy a house that is appraised or you pay more than you pay more than $25,000 than what it's currently assessed at, McGuffy will be reassessing your property and your taxes will go up basically. Correct. That's the norm at every school. Wait, is it a given that one of the reasons they give them their taxes go up? I didn't think that was the way that worked. It's it's my it's not a given. So, um you will meet uh one

113of my associates at my firm, Lee Deler, who does all of our tax assessment work. He's fantastic at it. And he will take a look at all of the properties that have um been purchased, sold in your school district. He'll come um with a list of those in an executive session because it is a litigation item. Um, and then we'll use that threshold of that 25,000 to help guide, but then this board will assist in making the final determination. Then it'll be up to the court, too, whether if what the court feels about the matter. We're not going to have the final say as a school district. We're going to obviously appeal that assessment value, but um, you know, the court could say, "No, McGuffy School District, you're wrong. Um, we're going to keep the

114value as what it was." So, But the language wouldn't be like taxes will go but they may go they may go up. They may they may but but the court will obviously have the final decision on that miss solicitor. That's but that's the norm for every school district. That is the norm for every school district. You are not you are not doing anything different than any other district at all. It's somewhere on the website or somewhere that Mr. is asking that we do something different in publicizing. You you could put I mean we would work on the wording because it would be like if you do this we are absolutely going to appeal but yeah we could work on some guidance. Absolutely. Yes. Thank you. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I.

115Opposed? Motion carries. Need a motion to approve resolution 2024 20225 number four as presented providing up to a $49046 cents homestead farmstead exclusion for those residents of the McGuffy School District that have been approved for the property tax relief by the Washington County Assessment Office and meet all qualifying conditions. So move second discussion. So they they've been approved then they have to meet the qualifications. Do they have to like apply to have? Well, they have to apply to be approved for farm systems that qualifications could vary from year to year because it's based on the amount of funding you're getting from the state and you run that through a formula to see what the uh least amount of assessed property value is. So for excuse for for this year it's around $35,000. So if your

116property is assessed less than $35,000 and you were already approved for form that you won't see the farm. No, I think my question was more about like do they have to do anything else? They've already sought approval. If they've been approved then they will get notification that they qualify or they don't qualify. Correct. their real estate tax bill will show the farm system to be done. This is an area where I think we need to educate our community better because I think there's a general lack of understanding based on the name homestead farmstead. I think a lot of people don't understand what that is and who can apply. Um so I that's an area where I think we should try to get more information out. It usually comes with the taxes when you do your

117taxes. That's the question. We do get every year from the tax bureau a list of residents that we are to send or send applications to because they currently aren't approved. So we do that every December. Any further discussion? For further clarification, this is what was proposed in the budget. We are now approving the amount. This is the approval of us allowing the taxpayers to have the offset of the homestead farmstead. Okay, that's okay. Thank you, Mr. President. One last thing, just some clarification because I know it was some some confusion several meetings ago. Once you apply for the Homestead Farmstead Act, you do not have to reapply every year. Once you apply, it stays. which is why I think we need to be better at educating people because they don't think they understand this. Any

118further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? Abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to approve the mill and lease agreement between Blueprints Head Start and McGuffy School District at Clayville Elementary School for a one-year period as presented. So move second discussion. Yes. So this is approving both like they're on one motion instead of approving the meal agreement on one and then the lease on another. I know I know why it's like that, but um I know last year I had asked about whether or not we could um negotiate rent prices, the fees has has did any of that happen? Actually, this contract last year was 3600. It is now 4,800. They are flatfunded from the state to run this program. So they don't have a lot of money to increase the lease payment

119to us. Um in my mind 4,800 is better than 3600 and you can't get money if it's not there obviously. Right. Right. And the the options are we take what we get or we don't have the lease at all with them which does a disservice to our community. Right. And I'll just claim on Joe Walker. Yes. it that higher dollar amount instead of I know it doesn't matter where it's going. I get that. But it's not like they get a certain amount for Clayville and then a certain amount for Joe Walker. Correct. It's just they get this lump sum and they give this much to this district and this motion. Okay. Thank you. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. Need a motion to approve the one-year meal

120and lease agreement between Blueprints PreK program and the McGuffy School District for a classroom at Joe Walker Elementary July 1st, 2025 as presented. So move second discussion. I just want to say thank you for following through with negotiating. Thank you. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? Motion carries. Need a motion to approve CSM Consulting Incorporated to provide -ate category one and two services at a cost of $3,500. No increase over last year. Move. Second discussion. No increase. That's amazing. Thank you. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Abstain. Motion carries. [Music] Need a motion to adopt the final budget of the McGuffy School District in the amount of 37,288,564 for the 2025 2026 school year. So moved. Second. Miss Cybert roll call. M. Wait, before we do that discussion, I wanted to

121just say this is what I was asking earlier at the committee meeting that I think nobody understood. My question was, did you have a change in the recommendation for tonight's vote on the final budget? That's what I was asking and your answer is no. Okay. Thank you. Any further discussion? Roll call. Miss Mr. Grove. Jackson. Yes. Mr. Yes. Mr. Jingle. Yes. Mr. Thomas. Sorry. The budget approve the budget specific but it includes the tax increase. Okay. Mr. M. Yes. Mr. Yes. Motion carries 90. The facilities use report president. Um school community uh was school 42 times in the month of May. 19 times community a lot of girls do basketball. We had a balia very nice ceremony by the way uh the day before graduation relays the life an annual event here at the high

122school. And then also we helped to I think make make better the national pike festival. Fantastic. The budget expenditure report for the month of May 2025 is presented for your review. The cafeteria reports for the month of May 2025 is presented for your review. The Pecard spending report for May 2025 is presented for your review. Madam solicitor, do you have a report? Well, I I will just introduce myself. Um I'm Rebecca Hall. I'm a partner at the law firm of Vice Perkart Kramer. It's truly a pleasure to be here. Um, just to say a couple words because I know that this has kind of been an ongoing debate over the past couple meetings. Um, I'm pleased to be here. Um, I'm pleased to work with this board. I I want to achieve great things with

123this board for this district, but we can only do that together. the school district um entity is my client, but as a board and as administration, you're the constituents with whom the district acts through. And so because of that, as a solicitor, I'm bound to implement the will of the board. And that's the majority. And it is my goal that this board can come together, continue to achieve wonderful things for the kids of Muffy School District. I'm a resident of Washington County. Um, very proud resident. Um, a farmer. Um, and I love working with communities down here. I have multiple school districts in this area. So, give me a little time to catch up. Um, you know, you guys have handed me a whole school district to learn and read about, and I will do

124that diligently, but I will need your help and catching up on the history. Um, and I'm only as good as the information I can get. So, I'm excited to meet with Dr. Oberg and the administration and and see what I can do to assist um in carrying forth the will of the board. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Solicitor. You're welcome again. Thank you. Uh, Western Area Career Technology Report, Miss Ry, I had forgot my notes on my desk at home, so I apologize. Um, but we did meet since our last meeting and um, we meet again next week. So, um, what I will do is I will provide additional from what I didn't bring with me this week and I apologize about that. I will make up for it next month. All right. Thank you,

125Miss Ry. Pennsylvania School Board Association report, Miss Shingle. Okay. I I really have to say there was a lot of things last time and we didn't get to go over them. One of the big ones, and I know that Dr. Ogre did forward this in his emails to us, was that survey. I do hope that you all did that survey because the survey is there to help them better serve us. So, plea, I hope that you did that. It's too late now. It had to be done and we we ended up canceling that meeting. Okay. Um on those 10-minute reports reviews on the countdown, this one for the 17th, you still can get it if you go to the website. It is on a breakdown between the difference of policy and administrative regulations. It's really

126good. It's, you know, 10 minutes long. I really encourage you, please take the time. I've tried to forward these, but that never seems to work. the link never works. I guess you all I can do is tell you and you go on log on to your uh PSBA and you can find it and that is something worth listening to. They're they're all very good, but that was something that I wanted to share. They also have sent an update that every single person in the community, but especially schoolboard people should be calling their legislators, you know, and we should. That's been brought up many, many times. That's something we need to be doing. And they're sending us reminder, please do this. They have a registration that's open now for fall things. These are both on-site things.

127So if they would, you would have to travel there. But one is October the 19th and it is for a leadership conference. And the other one is onboarding new directors and that one is for September the 12th. The thing I want to mention there, just because it says new directors doesn't mean it's not worthwhile information. Sometimes maybe you've been serving for a while and you think you know all this, but you know what? I find every single time you go through it, you learn something new. So, I really want to encourage you. They're offering this to us. We're paying for it. So, please take advantage of it. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Shingle. At this time, we will take public comment on non-aggenda and agenda items. Thank you. [Music] Yes, Bob. Have the time,

128please. Vicky Jordan, Buffalo Township. Um, I'd just like to speak tonight about the word respect and it goes both ways. So, to kind of counter some of what Mrs. Jackson had to say tonight. First, I want to apologize for threatening to sue the district last month, but I was pretty heated over what happened. I would never want to cause damage or any harm to the district. But I will say when you sit on this side of the table and you watch the lead people have side conversations while you're speaking, it's pretty frustrating and it's pretty disrespectful. And I will say on Mrs. Walker's behalf, she was at her second meeting here. This was a woman who was pushed over the edge. She was frustrated. She has issues that she's repeatedly tried to address. She came

129out here out of pure frustration. I don't agree with the language, but it's her choice to use the word she did. And I will tell you, knowing her, she filtered herself. So, you should all think about that. She did filter herself. Do I agree with it, her approach? No. But I will also say you used the word bullying when you were talking about the board and things happening between board members. But I know I have stood before you for years talking about the bullying issues in McGuffy School District. I sat with Dr. Ober personally in his office. He gave me an hour of his time. We spoke about bullying. Every time I bring it up in a meeting, the best I get is a legal definition of bullying. You feel bullied as adults. That's how

130these kids feel tenfold. And that's where Miss S, that's where Tiffany Walker was at. She addressed the board. She came up here angry in the first place. She saw a side conversation coming up. I've watched the meeting several times. I didn't want to speak out of turn here, but Mr. Kern, you kept addressing her. You kept addressing her. You were taking her time. You were frustrated. You were mad at what she had to say. And you need to learn to sit there when your feelings are hurt and just be quiet. You need a thicker skin. You provoked her and you pushed her over the edge. That's all you had to do was say nothing and what happened would not have happened. So, you want to talk about respect. How about we do it both ways?

131I'll be more respectful when I stand up here and speak before you. Stop your side conversations. Listen to people what people have to say. Fake it. Fake it if you have to. You don't have to want to listen to me, but you could at least make it look like you are. I'm not going anywhere. My grandkids are here. I will fight for what I believe in to the end. And you guys need to start having more respect for each other. You need to have start having more respect for the people in this audience. When you lead by example, you'll see it will come back to you. We will be more respectful when you all are. So with that said, I want to thank you all. I do appreciate everything you do, but you need to

132appreciate the fact that we come here on our time and we dedicate ourselves to the same cause. what's best for these students. So, hear us and again, if you don't want to at least fake it. Thank you. Thank you. [Music] Items for discussion by board members. I would like to say that um to Mrs. Jackson's public comment. I accept your apology. Um, I do think we have to work together just like your marriage or your your relationship with your girlfriend or boyfriend or what have you. You have to work at it every day. And I think that we all can do better. Um, I left the meeting, the last meeting that we had very hurt, very upset. Um, I do my best not to take things personal. I went to church that Sunday and we

133had a sermon about how, you know, you put on the armor of God and and you work, you're stronger together. And you don't have to be a Christian to do that. You can be stronger together as a team, whether you believe in in the Lord and the Bible or not. And that's that's what I'm asking of this board. I I did not believe we would be able to do that and until we had some new counsel. Um we do not have that. We have a chance to prove to our community that we can set aside our differences. We can be respectful to each other. It's going to be work, but I think we all deserve that for ourselves and for each other, and I look forward to moving forward um with what we can do

134in this district. Thank you. I would just like to say that um it's not the solicitor's responsibility nor duty or obligation to unite the board. That's not her role, any solicitor's role. That's only going to happen when we quit working against each other. That's really what the crux of it is. And when you have a little faction here and a little faction there and you have a board member who's running rogue and doing things on his own and other board members who are left in the dark with things and you know and we're using these times to to get in little personal digs and that's where the problem comes and that only changes through us. And it starts with little things like getting rid of the public gotcha moments which really serve no purpose than

135to try to humiliate somebody in public. I know everybody hates this whole idea of chain of command, but that really comes from biblical tenants. In the in the Christian church, we talk about the the creeds of the Christian church. One of them is speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible's silent. The beauty of that is the Bible's not silent on much. It gives us a guideline for how to handle conflict resolution. And step one is you have a private conversation with a person. There's a lot of things that are said publicly that would never have to be in a public meeting and quite frankly should never be. If I have a problem with Dr. Oberg and I don't understand why he wasn't present in something, I should call him and have

136that conversation with him. If I have a problem with Mrs. Fry about something, I should call her and have a conversation with her. that shouldn't come into the public venue unless that private conversation doesn't resolve the issue and a mediation with somebody else doesn't resolve the issue, then you bring it to the public forum. That's just one example of ways that we could improve. But to be clear, the improvement starts with each one of us, not the solicitor. Any other items for discussion? Yes, Mr. Leer. [Laughter] paper. They've been putting out paper copies for us. Yeah, that's what I use, too. Any other items for discussion? Yes. Go ahead, Mr. Leisure. I made a comment. Um, I don't even know when, a couple meetings ago. I think I was supposed to make this comment that

137I'm making now last meeting and I don't think I did, but I don't remember. So, all that being said, Dr. Oberg, I stated that you wasn't at the high school and didn't visit the PTO moms whenever they put on their lunchon. I apologize to you in executive session for that because I did not know that you was not in the building. you was on a field trip with the fifth grade. So, I want everybody out there in the audience to know that I was wrong. Dr. Oberg wasn't in the building to address them. I assumed he was. I was wrong. And Dr. Oberg, I apologize. Miser, I um I accept your apology. You're already forgiven. I've forgiven you uh for that comment. Um so, I thank you for saying that. Any other items for discussion?

138Need a motion to adjourn the meeting. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed. Motion carries. Meeting adjourned at 9:49 p.m. Bye, Mr. Thomas.