001Disregard. We're actually just going to move it into public content in board docs now. So, you may have to refresh this page for the high school update after we've done so. Bob, I am not emailing it to you. You don't have to open your email. We moved it into public content. Ethan, can you hop on there? He's back here. Okay, we're going to go ahead and get started. Um, I'm going to call this meeting to order and we will, um, this is, um, our September 9th work session. Um, this meeting is now called to order and we'll start with the pledge of >> 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. >> Okay. We
002will start with our audience of citizens and I will start by reading the statement again. So this meeting is being videotaped for community cable channels and streamed live. Individuals attending this meeting and intending to speak to the board should be aware that they are being videotaped. In order to meet the requirements of Pennsylvania's sunshine law, it is necessary to record the names of all citizens who speak to the board during the meeting. To assure compliance with this requirement, it is essential that those planning to address the board state their name and municipality. Members of the audience are asked to limit their questions and comments to three minutes. As a reminder, the audience of citizens portion of the meeting is designed for residents and taxpayers of the district to provide comment and feedback on matters which
003are or may come before the board. It is not designed for debate or discussion with the board. When appropriate, individual school directors may choose to respond to public comments that have been made once the audience of citizens period has concluded or request that a member of the administration follow up with the speakers after the meeting. And this is in reference to board policy 93. Anyone interested in making public comment this evening? Jason Lirdale. Uh kind of want to pick up where I left off. Uh the contract with Pluty is is on board docs. So there's there's no secret information there. Anybody who wants to bid on this project could could easily go log on and find that. Well, it's not as easy it should be, but you can find it. So, there's no secretative of
004information as to why what would somebody else who will bid on the project going forward when they pull out, which they will be pulling out, by the way. I don't know if you know that, but they will be pulling out. So, when Ryan Holmes or WB or whomever, they know how much they bid because it's public information. The question is is why didn't you pick what was the determining factor to pick them and when did you start investigating their bid? because their bid seems to predate the okay from the board to actually go and uh solicit bids for uh development of the movie lots. Why? Who did that? Why does it predate it? Why is there more information available that uh that predates the supposed okay of it happening? Yeah. No. Am I wrong about
005that? Why is it that we're spending all this money preventing uh the information from being shown on the other bids? We spent, like I said, $500,000 on lawsuits, and it's uh Mr. Summers firm, which is listed in this court doc, saying they're they're appealing releasing that information. Why won't the board just make a resolution out to to release the other bids? What's What is What is in the other bids that you don't want us to see? No. Why not? Why not just release it then? There's no no great information. You guys seem to be smirking about it. Why? What's Why not release? >> Tell me what you think is in the bid so I know. >> I want to know why the high bids weren't weren't accepted. >> That's what I'm asking. Why? You guys
006have the information. I don't release it and then we'll know. >> I'll defer to Dr. Bower's explanation from finance and again after this. >> So it's not again Cassa again the public the de the bid is known the amount is known from from pity. So why did you not accept the higher bid? >> Why? >> Dr. Bower explained you should watch >> because it's four months out. Who cares? Who cares what the So what made the other one's not acceptable? It's an important thing. This is this is not your land. This is the public's land. And you guys seem to be playing fast and loose with the rules in terms of bidding and accepting bids on this land. It would be just as if you paid, I don't know, did a no bid contract for
007architect or whatever else. Why are you not doing things by the book? just answer the question or do what you're going to do what's going to have to have be done anyhow >> because their appeal the appeal is going to get at what point do you stop doing appeals and when you release the information >> excuse me a quick point of clarification just because I can't believe this I thought it was answered already but um Dr. Bower or um Mr. summers. This is different than just giving just arbitrarily picking uh a bid which we don't ever do say for an architect as was mentioned. Um I is my recollection correct that this went before a judge and a court of law. So I just want to make sure that what's out there is understood by
008the community has been reviewed and gone through uh independent legal review. >> Yes, Mr. Kasa. Good question. So when uh school district owns property uh you there are two options if you go to sell that property. One is a public auction with or a private sale and this went to a private sale. Um Mr. Summers feel free to weigh in because you're the actual attorney, not me, but I'll I'll do my best here. Um if we accept a a bid, it's not really a bid, it's an offer. So this is not a public bidding process where it is leg like when you bid a project you have to go to the lowest responsible bidder. That's not what this is. This is a private sale. Um what we do have to do is have the an
009assessment done on the property to prove that the value that we are getting in the acquisition or the the um sale itself is more than what it is appraised at which we did. This was substantially more than it was appraised at. Um and we are not required to accept the highest offer. However, the highest offer when you are selling something is not just the number value. Uh as I outlined in the previous meeting has to do with when the money would be delivered, when the settlement or closing is uh how many settlements there are. Just like is there a home inspection when you sell your home? Is are they willing to wave this? Are they so it's all part of the decision-making process. Um, and what is not at a discussion point here is the
010bid that or the offer that was accepted. It's the other, and again, I said last meeting, I'm not positive on the number. I'd have to look. It's been quite some time. But let's say it was eight. We accepted one. So, there are seven remaining. The other seven is what we don't want to share publicly in case the fi the other deal is not finalized. And now we're talking with those seven developers or individuals who offered to buy the property to see if they would like to put in a new offer. Uh so that's where we are and hopefully that will again come to fruition very very soon. Uh we are down the home stretch. Uh PTE is doing their due diligence and finalizing some things and we'll know soon. Mr. Rush. >> So so so
011like like uh Mr. Kasa said this this process went before a judge and a judge looked at the decision-m process and said that the decision-m process was uh was uh good for our community >> by two judges to say that you should be releasing >> so anybody this is still public comment would anybody else like to make public comment >> said two judges said you should >> Mr. Lir comments over so Mr. Mr. R is referring to the judges that presided over the hearing for the sale. Mr. Laneir is talking about something completely different. Um, so Mr. Rash, your question about did we go before a judge? Did the judge approve the sale? Was that hearing publicly notified, etc. All those things are true. So the sale was approved. Mr. Laneir is talking about a
012right to know request about the actual proposals. So yep. Can I also just make a quick point >> that Mr. Laneir his comments, you know, he tries to insult us and impugn our integrity, but we're not the ones who put the land up for sale. That was really all done by Mr. Scrocky, our former CFO, who is one of the most straight by, you know, straightforward, you know, by the rules person I have ever met. So, you think you're insulting us, but you're really insulting him and imputing him. >> So, I would suggest you think about that. When you try to insult us, you're really insulting the staff. You guys can allow the information to be seen by making a All you can do is just >> All you can do is make make a
013>> Thank you, Mr. Lineer. >> Mr. Lambro, we we're grateful that you're here to make public comment. It is your time. >> All right. So, Yanni Lamrose Lansdale. Um, so look, I get cuz not trying to come up here and insult people. Not about that. But at the same time, you know, you guys should try to understand too uh in your own right, you guys are in a public position. You're dealing with public funds, public land. It's not very fair to compare it to your average medium home purchase. Um, and I do, you know, I can say that I'm a licensed realtor. Uh there's a lot of difference between buying a house or selling a a single family home and selling huge plots of land for subdevelopment, whatever you guys are planning on doing or
014the builders are planning on doing. So people are going to feel some type of way. Make sense? People feel like why did you go with the bidder that may have not given the highest dollar amount? I can understand that too. I get business. I get keeping certain information hidden until the right moment to benefit. I understand the fact that you know you do not depending on how the deal could be structured whether it's you know am I getting a big payment is the school holding the bank themsel however you want to do it one shot multiple shots list of contingencies probably a mile long you guys have a lot to deal with that way I get it but at the same time again the public is curious to why because it it would kind of
015make sense what Dr. Bower said in reverse. If the actual deal that is, you know, underway right now was not public, I don't understand how that makes sense that the other offers would affect that, especially if other offers were higher in the price because anybody like Jason did express could go um search the public records, find the deal, and then They could pull their bid out if this one fell through, then come back to you with a different bid, more in their favor. So why does it benefit anyone, including the school and the taxpayers, to keep the other bid information hidden to this point? That I don't understand. I think it sounds good, but if you really stop and think about it, what's the point? You know what I mean? And again, I saw some
016numbers. If they're accurate, it looks like you're spending a little bit more roughly the same on the high school renovations than you are on all combined Oh, sorry. All combined maintenance of all the other schools, which >> Thank you, Mr. Lamp. >> Firmly disagree with. >> Thank you. >> Um, and as we move I believe anyone else interested in making public comment. Okay. And as we move into our agenda, I just want to say that I am very proud to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with um every single person at this table, administrators, school board directors, and in all of the decisions that have come before us, none of them would be ever would I ever described as fast and loose. It the process of serving on school board and the decisions that we have to be ma
017have to have to make have to be made in certain ways have to be well considered. And I think even going back to one of our um our items on the agenda um from our finance committee meeting, you know, I think we some of us wanted to have a decision made about the firefighters. Nope. We're going to go back. We're going to have more discussions, more meetings. So, I can assure the community that this um every single person at this table approaches every decision that comes before us in that manner where there is a great deal of thoughtful consideration. Um and just like our community, we are members of this community, too. And so we want that same level of integrity um to be brought forward for each. Okay. So, moving on to our agenda,
018we're going to move forward. We do not have any new business, so I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Bower for the superintendent's report. >> And before I present my report, I'd like to ask Mr. Summers to offer a solicitor's report. >> Thank you, Dr. Bower. Um the board did meet in executive session earlier this evening for the purpose of discussing a matter of personnel involving contractual terms of employment for two administrative employees. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Summers. Next, I recommend the items listed on the consent agenda which include the alternative placements, the student agreements, and the contracts. >> So moved. >> Do I have a recommendation? A second. um from recommend from Mrs. Stole, seconded by Mr. McBain. Any comments or questions? >> Okay, seeing none, all those in favor
019say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> I don't know that we mentioned uh for the record that in this meeting Mrs. Mc Merry is also uh virtual. So, we just heard your eye, Miss McMerry. Thank you. Um next, I recommend the personnel items as per the attached Do I have a motion and a second for the items listed? So moved. >> Second. >> Motion by Mr. Fusco, seconded by Mr. McBain. All those in favor say I. I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Any items under other business? If not, we can move on to the high school project update. >> Yes. Uh so next I am very pleased to introduce representatives from CHA and from Shrader Group Architects. I'm sure we will hear from Mr. Slaughter at some point as
020well. Um I guess we'll kick off first here with Mr. Weiss from Shrader Group. Good evening Eric. >> Great. Good evening everyone. My name is Eric Weiss. I'm a project manager with Shraider Group Architecture. Um on behalf of the entire design team, appreciate the opportunity to share some updates to the high school renovation project this evening. Um, as you know, bid package one well underway in construction. Uh, bid package two will be kicking off in construction soon. Uh, so tonight we'd like to share some of the design updates to bid package three. Um, which is the final of the building related bid packages. Um, then wrapping up with bid package four on some of the site items in the future. Uh, next slide please. >> You can jump to the next one too. Yep. So,
021we'll start by just kind of highlighting some of the scope areas for this bid package. Um, in short, it's the rest of the building. Um, so we've covered A through E pods in bid package 2, K pod, and the niatorum. Um, bid package one. So, bid package three kind of working right to left in the plan here alphabetically through the pods. Uh, we have the F-Pod edition, which is the new performing arts edition kind of bridging C and F-pods. Um, this addition not only provides some modernized spaces for the performing arts programs, um, it also provides an additional path of circulation throughout the building, uh, connecting CNF pods, kind of alleviating some of that, um, EP pod clog and providing some more opportunities for students to work through the building. Um, continuing on through the
022plan, uh, the auditorium itself, I know at the, uh, May work session, this was one area that we hadn't really fully developed yet, so we're excited to show you some images of that space tonight. um full facelift um all the AV and technology upgrades in that space. Um so it'll look and sound uh brand new. Uh the auditorium lobby, you'll see some images of that space and how that's developed. And then the concourse connecting down through to the main entry lobby. Uh new security vestibule at the front of the building. Um similar to some of the upgrades we've seen at the APOD edition at the back of the building. Um and then just new finishes, new systems uh throughout the concourse area itself. Um continuing on, JPOD. Um, for those of you who have or
023haven't seen, um, earlier on we discussed, you know, bringing the fitness center down from the gym loft onto the first floor in Jod as the art programs in JPod are moving to the APOD edition. Um, so the original plan was to maintain and add to the existing J-pod structure. Um, but after working through some design iterations, um, considering some of the structural complexities with kind of renovating and modernizing that space, as well as just the general inefficiency of the circular structure of JPOD, um, we kind of went back to the drawing board and considered, you know, what if this space was a new addition with the existing J-pod demolished and a more efficient structural layout that would provide opportunities to really modernize the space um, in a new and efficient structure, in a more efficient
024footprint um, that allowed us to build uh a new construction addition versus renovating the existing space at the same price point. Um so after working through some uh design iterations with our team members at CHA, uh we were able to come up with a solution that did not add anything to the budget um and still provides the the required space needed for that fitness center. Um so you'll see some of some glimpses of that space as we walk through. It's still kind of in development, but you can see the general footprint and that circular space um the circular line there which indicates the existing footprint of the existing J-pod. Um continuing through athletics auxiliary gym and uh wrestling room um more or less staying in their existing footprints. Um upgrades to the locker room spaces
025adjacent to those ADA accessibility upgrades. Um new finishes throughout. Um and then the ox gym and the wrestling rooms themselves, new equipment in those spaces but kind of maintaining their existing functions. Um the gym lobby you'll see some nice upgrades to that space really providing uh new opportunities for both students and public. Um so it's kind of a you know an 18hour space um through so for you know PE during the day public events at night um really providing a lot of opportunity in that area and then working back through uh GPO the gymnasium um an area that's still under development. We've got a lot of good feedback from the athletics department on how that space uh will be fit out. We don't have any images of that to show tonight but we will in
026the future. um just know that those are are well underway. Um the same kind of upgrades to the locker room spaces adjacent to the gymnasium. And then finally back into the teched area um keeping a lot of the existing teched spaces but again new modernized equipment and technology in those areas um and providing you know modernized educational spaces for students. You jump to the next slide. Um fewer second floor spaces uh in this area but again working right to left FCS classrooms on the right hand side of the plan kind of shown in blue there. Um again, new modernized equipment for those spaces. Um providing accessibility upgrades to them. Uh the health classrooms in green, kind of adjacent to the auditorium in that space, they're receiving the same kind of typical classroom layout that we
027are providing throughout the rest of the project. Um but just know that that's where those are located in this bid package. Um and then as you can see, the fitness loft above the gym uh will now be replaced with a mechanical and storage space. Um is that it's not a accessible space. Um there's no elevators or anything up there, hence moving the fitness center down to JPOD. So that's kind of a quick overview of the the scope areas for this project. Um we can jump into some of the imagery now. Next slide, please. So we'll start with some of the academic spaces. Um just for these slides, kind of a similar to layout to what we showed back in May. Little key plan there with the blue dot indicating where in the building you are.
028Um and then a before shot of either that exact space as it exists now or the space that it's kind of replacing in this bid package. And we'll touch on those as we go through. Um so second floor fod uh the text styles FCS classroom um working a lot with the end users on these spaces on how they wanted them to be fit out. So kind of perimeter workstations in these areas and then centralized kind of group work areas um as well as plenty of um opportunities for display for demonstration. Um you can kind of see that mirror display area in the back corner of the space. So these areas were really um dictated by the the faculty and staff that had a lot of really great input on how they should be laid out.
029Next slide please. Still in the FCS area, the cooking lab. Um so you can see pretty similar to layout to what's there now, but again modernized equipment. Um accessible workstations for those that u may need them in these areas. Um some additional technology so things can be put on display above the teachers workstation. um just really freshening and modernizing these workspaces um in addition to the enlarged windows that you've seen uh throughout the course of the project to bring more daylight in as well. Next slide please. Uh so then jumping to the we'll call it the CF edition, the performing arts edition uh connecting CNF pods. Kind of a somewhat unfair before and after photo, but the the photo of the existing band room before. So um these are replacing the existing tiered music rooms
030that you have now. Um so these are fully accessible spaces. the existing tiered classrooms are going to be infilled, which not only provides again accessible spaces, but um opportunities for the ability to move equipment and musical instruments easily from those performing arts spaces to and from the stage and into the classrooms. Um so really just kind of streamlining that process. Um but you can see in the classrooms themselves um kind of right size volume for these um performing arts areas, the the higher ceilings, acoustic treatments throughout. We're working with our acustitians to really tune these spaces not only to isolate the I won't call it noise, the the beautiful sound from the the spaces um from the adjacent classrooms um but also really tuning the interior sound um specific to the band, the orchestra and
031the coral. Um so those are some of the details we're working out in these spaces as well as plenty of uh area for storage and display throughout as well. Next slide please. You see a lot of similarities as we jump through these, but some kind of nuanced items um between the various performing arts rooms. Um so the coral room is kind of a multi-purpose. It can be used, you know, in the tiered kind of performance setting or in more of a classroom layout. Um you kind of see both in this image here. Um but again, opportunities for display. Uh the the really dedicated acoustics in these spaces and plenty of daylight as well. And finally, the orchestra room. Um in the addition, um again, same ideas in the space. you can kind of see the
032existing um C pod beyond uh kind of the intersection of C and E pod. So that's kind of where that sits um in relationship to the existing building, but really similar um kind of on paper, but when you dive into some of the details, especially with the acoustics and uh some of the dedicated storage in these spaces, they're really focused in on those specific programs. >> If I may, real quick, Mr. Weiss, uh just this is almost like tongue and cheek. So you see that picture there of the orchestra room. I want to be clear that Northbend High School does not have an orchestra room. So that's a that's a stage in the audon that we use for orchestra right now. Uh the picture you see above is an actual orchestra room. So great. Yep.
033Next slide please. All right. So jumping into the auditorium. Um so full cosmetic facelift in this area. Uh new technology, new audio sound equipment. Uh new stage rigging. um some seating reconfigurations. Uh you'll see spaces for um accessible seating areas kind of in the foreground on the lefth hand side. You can see there's a couple house monitor stations so some of that light and sound mixing can be brought out in a more kind of intimate tunedin location out in the house area. Um and you'll see lighting upgrades throughout. Um all new seating throughout, a reconfiguration of the seating layout that kind of is a more modern approach to an auditorium seating. Currently that center aisle that the center of the auditorium is the best space to sit in a performance setting and right now it's
034taken by an aisle. Um so kind of reconfiguring some of the the layouts there to provide that optimum uh location. Next slide please. Here's a view from the stage. You can see the solid plaster ceiling is gone. So kind of a more open airy feel to the ceiling space itself. Um the sidewalls are a combination of reflective and absorptive wall paneling that we're working through the design uh with our auditorium consultants to really again uh tune these spaces acoustically uh to make sure they're optimized for performance. Next slide. Uh the balcony is um a lot of a lot about railings. So the um kind of the front edge of the balcony if you've ever been up there um me as a tall person especially feel relatively unsafe uh approaching that front balcony guardrail. It sits
035about 2 feet off the ground. Um so one of the upgrades we're providing up here is a new glass guardrail that sits on top of that knee wall up to code compliant height um to not reduce any of the sight lines from the balcony but to provide a safe environment up on the balcony as well. Um as well as added handrails, added guardrails across that front row of seats. um in the front um to just provide a more safe and comfortable environment up on the balcony space. Next slide. So then jumping out into the auditorium lobby, you can kind of see the the before and after of this space here. Um one big noticeable difference uh the blue I think it was an existing or originally a ticket booth and concession stand which I believe
036is now Mr. Burgerer's office which is kind of like plopping a house in the middle of a freeway. Uh but uh so that that space is removed to kind of open up this corridor. Um maintaining the existing auditorium entrances, but we are providing another set of double doors outside of the existing. So there's kind of a light and sound lock um to reduce any interruptions during a performance. Um if you'll recall, you'll see a lot of similar upgrades to finishes, lighting, how we're kind of treating the space to some of the other public areas around the building. The idea is that you know even this even though this project is phased out over five years of construction um in the end we want want it to feel like it was designed and built all at
037the same time. Um so really trying to create a lot of similarity between some of these public spaces to make it feel as cohesive as possible. Next slide. Um kind of just looking back the other direction back toward the concourse. Um some of the feedback we heard was um some additional areas for seating in this space. Um again just providing those opportunities for students to sit and gather. um whether it's during the school day or before and after a performance. Um just kind of providing those opportunities within the space. Next slide. And then just one kind of close-up shot of the kind of the back of the auditorium lobby. Um you can see that glass wall beyond that is a new connection out to the courtyard um which connects directly back to the rear of
038the APOT edition. Um, so if you can imagine some of those lobby renderings that we showed of the AP- pod edition and the discussions about, you know, connecting through the courtyard um, from uh, A-pod to FPOD, this is where that connection would happen. So, opening up some of the office space that sits there currently. Um, and not only providing those opportunities for circulation, but also some additional daylight into that space. Um, another kind of improvement here, the uh stair you see on the right there, there's an existing stair that's located here in a stair tower that is relatively underutilized. Um, and the thought here was to provide an open stair that gives a a visual cue and connection to bring students up to the second floor of FPOD um more immediately than having to travel
039back through the rest of EPOD. Again, trying to reduce some of those circulation challenges that happen um at certain places within the building. Next slide, please. Uh this is a quick look at the concourse. Um no major reconfigurations here. Just again trying to provide some a little bit more life in these areas. A little bit more color. Maintaining these as um places for students to gather and socialize. Um kind of the you know the main thoroughfare coming in from the main entrance of the building. Next slide please. So this is moving back through JPod and this is where you're going to have to start um using your imagination a little bit. Uh the before picture here the rendering is actually taken slightly to the left of this. So if you can imagine um that wall
040that you see in the center of the before picture that is actually the line of round columns that you see in the rendering. So that is the existing exterior building line. Um so as part of the J-pot edition we're not only providing the space for the fitness center, the trainers area um and concessions but also widening widening the corridor between the auditorium and gym lobbies. Um and the idea here is that you know obviously um improvements to circulation giving a wider thoroughare through those spaces um but allowing this JPOD corridor not just to be a hallway but to be an extension of the the two lobby spaces so events and gatherings can kind of spill into the space and providing a nice transition between the performing arts and the athletics areas. Next slide please. So
041then jumping down to the gym lobby um you'll see kind of a more open feel here. We've eliminated a few spaces kind of to the back right of this area to open up um what feels like a very long uh and narrow lobby space right now. Um upgraded finishes. All the graphics that you see in these um on the wall are placeholder. We're working through the design of those uh with Dr. Nicholson and our team to really hone in some of the details. So any of the graphics graphics that you see in these images are just kind of placeholder for now. Um, but you see on the lefth hand side there an opportunity for a large display that could either be broadcasting the sporting events going on in the gym. Um, even something going on
042in the field. So students that are gathering before practice in the gym lobby can watch a field hockey game that's going on out in the field while they wait. Um, so just a nice kind of interactive opportunity to kind of cross-pollinate a little bit between the different athletics um, teams. Some of the feedback that we got in some of our uh student sessions were that uh it'd be nice to have some places to kind of sit down and and study or socialize, you know, before practice after school and those kind of down times. Um if you've ever walked through these spaces uh before or after school, you'll see students sitting on the floor, backs against the wall, you know, trying to scribble on their notebooks. Um so trying to provide a a array of both
043built-in and flexible furniture in these spaces uh for both student and community use. Um, in this rendering here, kind of directly in the center, you can see the entrance to the new fitness center. Um, so that's that J-pot edition we discussed earlier, trying to provide some transparency. So, you know, there's a level of interaction um both from the inside and outside. Um, you can see the daylight that kind of comes in through that fitness room space. So, it's going to be a really great uh modernized um and wellutilized space on the first floor of uh the athletics area here. Next slide, please. So then working further back uh into the gym lobby um you can kind of see the before shot of the existing Hall of Fame area. We thought it'd be nice to really
044kind of try to integrate the space a little bit more into the gym lobby itself is you know still its own space but an extension of that um and provide opportunities for display and you know honoring of the athletics both current and past. Um, still a lot of details to work through um, in terms of, you know, how and what is displayed in this space, but the idea is that it's its own kind of extension of the gym lobby um, and has a little bit more uh, I'll say pizzazz than it does currently. >> Mr. Weiss, I have to pause here and bring everyone's attention. I don't believe this was intentional. If it was, it was brilliant. But you will see on the mural on the left hand side of the wall there, there is
045a basketball player. That's Norm G. I think I think that is >> I think that is Dr. G's son in the mural there. Eric, if you did that on purpose, >> that is a happy accident. [Music] [Laughter] >> Congratulations. >> Yeah. How about that? I just saw that now and I've looked at this 10 >> when I said when I said the images weren't final. That was except for this one. This one's written in stone. >> It is him, aka Mama's Love. He's not at high school right now, so I can say that he's far away in another state in college. That is him. So, thank you for including >> You can let him know. He's He's going on the wall. >> That's great. [Laughter] >> All right, you can jump to the next slide,
046please. And just another view of the the Hall of Fame area there. Um, and again kind of looking at some of the seating areas beyond and and the fitness center um to the far distance there. Next slide. So, those were the the design updates. Um, I don't know if we want to pause here quickly. Are there any anything anybody wants to go back to to look at any questions on any of the the design currently? >> Mrs. Ram, can I speak? >> Yes, go ahead, Mrs. McMorty. >> Hi. So, thank you so far for the presentation. And on a lighter note, I'm happy to see that the colors and the materials um do not look like when I was in high school because now I'm showing my age, but the the dark greens and the
047dark paneling and all of that I'm glad to see is gone. So, I appreciate that. I also want to comment on and and I think you said it as well that the accessibility and I think it was in the chorus area but also um in what I forget which part it was for for this third phase that there'll be accessibility for all students much much better um going forward with the different designs and the tables and the chairs. Is that fair? It'll be much more fluid for them and safer, I would think. >> Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Uh some of the the accessibility items that, you know, we've tackled go from, you know, the full infill of some of those band rooms and it'll come down to the the furniture layout in these classrooms. Um when
048we looked at the FCS spaces, you know, appropriately sizing some of those workstations. So, not only is there a place for a student to, you know, work at while they're in that class, but also to safely and easily navigate to and from those spaces. So it you know from the big big picture down to some of the smaller detail items we've really tried to take that into consideration in all the areas. >> Yeah, this board has been focused and committed to making sure that the design and access is um available to all students um for this high school project. So we appreciate you focusing on that for us. >> Sure. Thank you. Could I ask a question? Um, so just thank you for the photos. I'm very much like a picture person, so this is
049helpful in the sense that I really like how wide the hallways are because thinking about just the accessibility for our students and just the widening of the hallways are huge even just in between classes, them trying to get uh to classes. I um I was looking at the student involvement pages and it looks like we have student involvement up until August 13, 2025. Will are there additional opportunities as you move along in the project based on the areas that you're in to get feedback or have we kind of gotten to the point where we would be in terms of I see on the on the the last slide where it says future involvement. So those will involve um because we had a lot of feedback um which has been great from our enact club. Um
050so there'll be some additional like when we get to the theater part we'll be able to engage with um our students to determine what will best support them and and what they're doing like is that how the ideas and I guess this is probably partially also for Dr. Nicholson as well. Is that the idea? >> Yes. Yeah. And I'll let Dr. Nicholson, jump up if he wants to add anything. But um yeah, we've had a number of sessions with students um specifically in the performing arts and athletics area because that's um there's just a a really good sense of um you know, feedback and community within those groups um especially in some of the commons areas and how they use them before and after school. It's we have the end-user meetings that focus on, you
051know, the the faculty and staff needs within the classroom spaces, you storage requirements, display areas, things like that. But when it comes down to some of those more public spaces that students are using to socialize and gather in, um, that's where that feedback becomes really important because it's a little less tangible than saying, you know, I need four shelves and a bookcase or whatever. Um, so that's where that feedback is really come in handy and you'll see some of the additional items we can go through in a minute, but I don't know if you want to add anything to that. >> Yeah, I think you answered the question pretty well, but uh, some of these things that are on here in future involvement have actually started to some extent. U, Mr. Royce and I were
052actually just talking earlier today. They have a a student that's doing a mentorship with them throughout this school year looking at the different um aspects of engineering. Um we have already had some conversations with Chip with bringing student involvement in. Um we're talking about bringing Shield students over and again that that's a pilot that just started maybe a week and a half ago, but looking at how we can get elementary students involved in the building that will be uh done and completely renovated when they come up to the high school. So kind of building that enthusiasm there and learning uh on the ground and just involving students in these phases. Now that they see it's happening, there's a lot more excitement. Uh early on when we started to bring students in, they renovation, what renovation,
053right? They're they're so um I guess tunnel vision on what they're doing and involved in what they're doing that, you know, now that they see that it's going on. I actually walked a student around in the building today um who's involved in photography and involved in our our accolade yearbook um and that will start to to gain involvement as well the night prior bringing students in to do those things. So this is kind of the tip of the iceberg. We've been talking about other ways to get students involved um but it is a priority now that we are started with the renovation to really have them involved in this throughout. >> Thank you. Um I just had one second question sorry Mr. And that was just um Oh, Miss Dr. Nicholson, you probably want to
054come back up. Sorry. >> It's uh it's definitely more of a programming slashdesign. I mean, we've continued this board to talk about the importance of career readiness. >> Um and that all students aren't necessarily going on to college and that it's our job more than ever to make sure that our students have these opportunities. And so we've talked about how spaces can be used for dual purposes. Um, and I know that wasn't necessarily reflected completely and but I'm I'm just wondering when in that like where in that project or in the project we'll start to see some of that um some of those spaces that we can use for some of those purposes and are we thinking about that? Um because over the course of when is the final date? This is going to be
0552031, right? I'm just thinking about that. That's, you know, six, seven years from now. And so, seven years from now, we're even going to be in a different place as it relates. It's going to be even more expensive for them to get a trade or go to college. And so, like, we've really got to be thinking seven years ahead. So, I'm just wondering I know that you've been thinking and talking about this. I'm wondering where we are with some of that. >> Sure. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think, you know, the goal is to get that involvement going. I think you hit the nail on the head with the Nor Monaco technical career center visits. I think that's a big piece. Our students that are involved in the trades, making sure they see this work as
056it's happening. Um, you know, realistically, we're about two weeks into this school year and it started right at the end of last school year. So, I'm in constant contact with Dr. Manastra over at the tech school. We'll be probably pinging those conversations up at the end of this month just to see when they're settled in, when we're settled in, when we can start doing some of that. But I think you're exactly right. It's ultra important to get, you know, those students that may not be moving on to college, maybe moving into a trade to see this. I mean, it's real world hands-on. This is how you apply the trade in the real world. It's, you know, happening right in the building that they spend four, five, six periods a day in. So, we should be
057uh involving them in that. So, as soon as things kind of settle on this school year, we'll be looking at how we can involve that. Thank you. >> Sure. >> Um, if I may, um, and thank you for the descriptions, and it helps all of us to have these visuals. I I think it's important at this great time of year uh for local democracy as this community has discussions about the renovation. It's it's important for us to to all challenge each other to bring the facts and some really good constructive criticism to the table. I I think this board is more than willing to listen. Uh, and that way we can get beyond bells and whistles or vague statements about um things that I don't see in these images or in these updates. Uh, when
058it comes down to inclusive spaces, it's essential for us to have those updates. when it comes down to open spaces which I I don't know why they get derided um it's part of modern education and it actually adds to not only the vibrancy and the welcoming atmosphere but part of the the you know crime prevention through environmental design. I don't want to get technical and bring my career into it but it's really important for us to understand what that means in these spaces and we shouldn't be held back by having the ability to challenge each other. But when we're talking about lighting and paint and finishing that, if you look at the overall budget is nominal compared to the systems upgrades and what is being done for all students and community members, the circulation and
059to hear you address the clog that is vitally important to this community to ensure that the school is even safer than it is now. That's not bells and whistles. And I the branding, wherever that may come out, the modern technology, these are the type of things that once again, I don't think they're bells and whistles. I'm not one who's going to renovate a basement with uh shag carpeting and wood paneling and keep it when I decide for the 21st century, we need something different for our students. And so when we have the community conversation, um let's actually bring some some details. What are the bells and whistles? what is the lack of quality uh that we can accept um when I hear about high quality investments. The reason why we're at KOD is that it's
060falling apart faster than the original building. And there's a point that we've learned here in facilities and operations over many years, not just campaign season, that if people sit and listen, they would realize the history of deferred maintenance and that we can't cut corners because the taxpayers ultimately pay in the end. So, thank you for for bringing this to light and to fruition. And I just love how this is student and staff informed. Uh not some Gen X or some boomer or people who have no idea what future students and those and our staff now in our buildings need. So, thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> As chair of the Oh, sorry. As chair of the tech center, I I realize how much of the updates that are done to the tech center
061are actually done by the students. Uh they've done the lighting at the tech center. They've uh done updated electrical panels at the tech center. Uh they've done numerous projects to keep the uh tech center updated as part of their work studies. post so to say. So, I would like to see if it's possible for some of our tech students to help with some of the updates at the high school itself uh going forward. Thank you. >> Um I have a question. It's probably rather superficial compared to the others uh comments that I appreciate very much. um when I'm looking at uh you know these design concepts and in particular the branding and the paint and and and whatnot and the things I think that are designed to give students a sense of pride in the
062institution that they're in. Um, you know, I I notice that, you know, we have the Hall of Fame for our athletes, right? But we also have a student media that wins Emmys, right? We have a music program, art program that is equally deserving of a space that honors those accomplishments from those groups. I'm just wondering, is there a space somewhere as well in the building that's going to honor their achievements? Yeah, one of the areas that we didn't show images of tonight, we're still working on designing, but the items that you mentioned are part of the overall design for it is the entry lobby at the CF edition. Um, so coming off a sea lot, there's a new basically performing arts entry at that spot. Um, that has opportunities for display and those sorts of
063things as well as opportunities within the auditorium lobby itself. >> Great. Thank you. >> Last meeting, >> great questions and really a great update and a great presentation. So, thank you all so much for that. Any other comments or questions from the board? >> I would just like to briefly introduce Bill Hamley from CHA. He's our new boots on the ground project manager from CHA. Joined us on Wednesday. Bill, >> correct? >> Yeah. So, um, just welcome. We're pleased to have you here and I hear great things so far and you you have a tough evaluator over there. So, he's still smiling. That's good. So, good to have you, Bill. Thank you. >> Welcome and thank you so much for coming to our meeting and thank you for being a part of this project. So,
064this is this is an effort um that means a lot to all of us sitting here, but our entire community. It's a project that's long overdue um and one that our students um really deser do deserve. So, we're grateful for that. >> Okay. >> So, thank you. >> Okay. And I I think that is that's it for our meeting. Do I have a motion and a second to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Second. Okay. Thank you all so much. Meeting adjourned.