001Almost there. >> Do I have to wait till 7, don't I? I do, don't I? Yeah. >> Okay. Someone's right here at 7 650. I know we're all excited, but I have to wait till seven. It's almost seven, so hold on. It's a long seconds here. Yeah, >> your computer says >> my computer. Okay, everything has a different time. Okay, one of my devices says 7 o'clock. So, I am going to call this regular meeting of the Midway Independent School District to order at 7 o'clock. We have a quorum. Everyone is here tonight, which I'm thankful that that is happening. First, I want to welcome everyone to the district. On behalf of the board, I extend a warm welcome to those present and to our online viewers. We appreciate the time you have taken to
002join us and for your interest in Midway Independent School District. It means a lot to us because we know how busy everybody is. If you haven't already done so, would you please silence your cell phones so they won't go off during the meeting? And I want to remind you that the B board's role is to set goals, listen to reports of the superintendent and staff, approve budgets, set tax rates, approve contracts, approve personnel recommendations, and make policy for the district. We are not here to make management decisions. Management is the responsibility of the superintendent and his staff. And as we do each month, we'd like to start the meeting by reading our mission statement. And one of our board members gets the honor of doing that each month. And not only will they read the
003mission statement aloud, they will give us some of their thoughts today on what that how that inspires them. And Jordan Barry is going to do that for us tonight. >> All right. Our mission statement. Midway ISD will maximize individual potential within a learner centered and supportive environment to prepare students to excel in a global society. So for me, the mission statement exemplifies that no matter what circumstances that a student may face, that Midway gives each one the tools to succeed. When a student graduates with a Midway diploma, they will be prepared whether they decide to go to college, start a career, or go into the military. >> Thank you, Mr. Barry, for those thoughts. Appreciate it. >> We would like to all have a moment of silence, so we will start that now. Thank you
004for that. Next, we have the Pledge of Allegiance, and tonight it is going to be the Midway Middle School with Kayla Brown leading the gang. So, Kayla, tell us who all's here tonight. All right. Thank you to the board for allowing me to recognize um some of our campus leaders. So, present today are some of our Midway Middle School student council members. I have Hank Ducey, [clears throat] Amari Holland, Maddie Chad, Bren Clark, Sienna Gordon, Hunter Simmonson, Mia Duch, Lincoln Gallagher, and our sponsor, Cole Cesman. These students and the remaining uh members of the student council proudly serve our campus by modeling the seven habits through their leadership, character, and service. This year, they demonstrated what it means to be proactive by stepping forward to lead our food for families food drive, collecting more than
0052400 pounds of food, over a 2,000 pound increase from last year. They also consistently begin with the end in mind as they plan meaningful experiences for their peers, including the current hunger-free MISC fundraiser and the in upcoming seventh and eighth grade school dance. In balancing academic service and leadership, these students truly put first things first. the members of our MMS student council are leading the way making a positive impact on both our campus and our community. So, thank you all for everything that you do. And now we'll recite the pledge. Go ahead and turn around, please. 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. >> All right. Well done. Thank y'all. >>
006Thank y'all. [applause] You all sound like you have an outstanding student council and raising food is always a good thing because we have so many families in need. So, well done. >> Thank you. >> Okay, Mr. Barry just thought he wasn't going to get to do anything else, but we're going to do recognitions next. And Jordan Barry is our board member that's going to assist with that process tonight. But before he does that, Dr. Allen's going to do our January rec recognition days. >> Thank you, Miss Vic. Uh, January is schoolboard recognition month. More on that in a few minutes. It's also National Mentoring Month. January the 6th is Sam Raburn Day. Who's Sam Raburn, you ask? Well, he's the longest serving speaker of the house in Texas history. 17 years in that role. Uh,
007January 19th is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. January 26 through30 is Holocaust Holocaust Remembrance Week. And then January 30th is the 100th day of school. And so we ought to stop and celebrate that. Those are the recognitions for the month of January. >> Thank you very much. Now we'll have Dr. Kudson come up to the microphone and do the National Board Certification Teachers recognitions. >> Thank you so much. We are excited tonight and very proud to recognize four newly certified National Board Certified Teachers. This is the highest voluntary credential in the teaching profession. So, I'll call them one at a time. Please join me at the front. Angela Brown from Huitt Elementary. [applause] They've got quite a few goodies up here. So, we're going to have Kathleen help. Yes. Thank you. Um Christy Bash from
008Park Hill Elementary. [applause] Josh Deert from Midway High SCHOOL [applause] and Sharon Kramer from Park Hill Elementary. [applause] [applause] National Board Certification is a very rigorous and performance-based process that reflects excellence in instructional practice, reflection, and student impact. Earning this certification is no small feat. It represents months and sometimes years of dedication beyond the classroom. And it doesn't happen in isolation. It takes continuous commitment, support, and strong mentorship. So, at this time, I want to recognize the mentor teachers who have helped support this group of educators throughout their certification process. Mentor teachers, if you're here, please stand as I call your name. Tammy Johnston, [applause] Lindsay Stevens, [applause] Kathy Lintz, I don't know if she's here. [applause] We can clap for her. Sure. Molly Sanders is Molly Molly wasn't able to make it. We can
009clap for her, too. [applause] And our fearless leader, Kathleen Menchu. [applause] mentors. Thank you so much for exe investing your time and expertise into um these newly certified teachers. I know that u the strength in their work is due in large part to your help as well. Since the Midway National Board cohort began 5 years ago, a total of 24 Midway teachers have either earned or renewed their C uh national board certification. That's a testament to the strength of the program and the culture of excellence within Midway. With these new certifications, Midway ISD is now home to 20 National Board Certified Teachers Districtwide. And we're incredibly proud of the educators and mentors who make this possible. Um, please join us one more time congratulating these outstanding educators. [applause] Again, yeah, mentors, y'all want to run
010up here and take a picture together? That would be great. Perfect. Thank you. [applause] >> That is outstanding. And it's our teachers like y'all that take all the extra time and do the extra hard work to get national certification that makes m Midway such an excellent school district. and to now have 24 is just outstanding. So, thank you all for all the extra time it took away from your families and on top of your normal job to do that. We appreciate it. Thank you. >> Okay, next on the agenda is Texas Schoolboard Recognition Month and Dr. Allen is >> Yes, ma'am. So, it is uh schoolboard recognition month. Uh we like to stop and just take a moment to appreciate our school board for the hard work they do. You have found some things that
011the DAS have been provided by the campuses as well as from administration. I'm going to read a few things here. I'm going to start with a proclamation from the governor. Throughout our history, each generation has been called to strengthen our foundation and prepare the way for those who follow. This spirit is reflected most clearly in the education of our children. For it is through a quality education that we place students on the path to lifelong excellence and achievement. Providing a strong education is the work of many, and school boards are essential to this effort. These local leaders devote their time, energy, and expertise to setting and reviewing budgets, overseeing the management of Texas public charter schools, and in Texas public and charter schools, and ensuring that every student has access to an exemplary education. By
012partnering with teachers, parents, and community members, schoolboard members help inspire a lifelong love of learning in the next generation. They will continue to play a vital role as we pursue educational excellence across Lonear State. Each year, the month of January is set aside to honor the many contributions of school boards and to recognize their commitment to education. At this time, I encourage all Texans to acknowledge the more than 7,000 school board members whose service represents the best of our great state. Signed by Greg Abbott. You do all that for free, I might add. We give you a cookie every now and then. [clears throat] And so, our board members bring not only leadership and governance experience, but also deep personal connection to Midwayd. They are parents, alumni, and community members who care deeply about public
013education and the future of the district. I'd like to recognize our board members one by one. Our board president, Susan Vic is in place two, been serving since 2011 and the proud parent of four Midway alumni. Pam Watts is our board vice president, place five, serving since 2016 with four graduates who attended Midway schools from K through graduation lifers, as we like to say. Uh Mr. Mr. Colin went, board secretary, place three, serving since 2021 with two Midway graduates and one current student. Uh, and then we want to recognize in place one, Mr. Jordan Barry, who has joined the board in 2025. This is meeting number two. Yes. Uh, your wife's a Midway employee and you have three children currently in the district. Mr. Alford, place four, serving since 2018 with four Midway graduates. Mr.
014Green Place 6 is a proud graduate of the class of 2000 who joined the board in 2022 and has three children currently enrolled in our schools. And Mr. Talis has been serving since 2013 with four children including three alumni and one who's currently a senior. On behalf of our students, staff, families, and community, thank you for your leadership, your time, and your commitment to Midwayd. We are deeply grateful for each of one of you and for the service you provide public education. And I think the only thing that really frustrates me in all this is it feels like those words just fall so short. Sometimes all you can say is thank you because it's all you got, but man, it's not nearly enough. And so, um, we know what we have to work on. You
015know, all we do is mess with other people's children and taxes. So, you know, nothing there that's for controversy. And yet, we try and do it in a way that provides these kids a great education. Um, the governor said in his proclamation that school boards work to make sure that every child has access. That's not our board. our board make sure they don't have that access, but they successfully engage in such a way that no child is not included in what it is we're trying to do around here. That is not necessarily typical across the state of Texas. So, thank you very much for the work you do and um thank you for continuing to try and do something that makes the next generation better than the one that we currently live in. Thank you.
016Thank you. [applause] >> And I think on behalf of the board, I can say thank you for all the lovely goodies we had up here when we got here. So, thank you. >> If the governor wants to send some goodies our way, that'd be okay. >> Thank you, Dr. Allen. Appreciate the kind words. >> Public comment is next, but I do not believe we have anyone here for public comment. So, we will go on to information items. Does any board member want to talk about an information item? >> Just to clarify your vote on >> Yes. >> Do I need to read those out loud? Okay. Next is presentation and discussion items. And first up is going to be Wesley Brooks to give us our monthly financial report. Thank you, Wesley. >> Good evening, uh,
017Miss Vic and members of the board. Um on page 35 of your board packet uh you'll see the beginning of our monthly financial report um for the month of December. Um if you'll move down to page uh 44 of your packet um you'll see our um six weeks um ADA uh reports and we have the um third six weeks um available that we did not have last uh last month but our ADA actually dropped in the third six weeks. Usually there's one um six weeks per year where we get hit with the you know the flu or our attendance percentage is is way down. Usually it's the fourth six weeks. Sometimes it's the third. I'm hoping that it was the third uh this year and then the fourth six weeks will pick back up. But
018it was 8,098 about 150 less than the previous two six weeks. And at the bottom there too, you can see our attendance percentage dipped to 95% in the third six weeks. Um the first six weeks it was 97 and then 96.7% um in the second six weeks. And so kind of what that looks like um for our projected ADA in Wada on page 39 um of your report um you can see there we budgeted uh ADA of 8,199 projecting 8,169 uh but our WA we're still projecting um higher than budgeted at 11,151 um versus what we budgeted of 11,98. So, we're still predicting to receive more state aid uh than we budgeted. Uh but we'll keep you posted on our um ADA for the the next six weeks as we get those numbers in. Now,
019our property tax collections on page 45 of your report. Um still kind of early uh to know really where we stand there. Our percentage collected is about 37%. It is a little lower uh than this time in previous years. Uh but really by the end of February is when we um expect to collect close to 100%. So we'll know have a better idea at that point of what our collections look like. Um and so our uh state aid and collections tax collections play into our general fund projection on page 47. Uh you can see there um this is our projection for the fiscal year the current fiscal year 2026. Uh we budgeted a deficit of 3,491,000 projecting a deficit of 2.8 8 million. Uh our revenue, we're projecting about 300,000 more than budgeted. And our
020expenditures, uh we're projecting about 400,000 less. And on those expenditures, uh you may want to notice too that the last line there, the capital outlay, uh we budgeted 72, projecting 499,000. That's the middle school roof. Um that carried over into fiscal year 26. We budgeted in 25, but it didn't didn't get completed. So really, if you back that out, then we're even looking uh more favorable uh for the current fiscal year. Um the next page u is our budget calendar. So we're um already getting ready for our um fiscal year 2027 budget. Uh I'll release budget packets and allocations um next week for campuses and departments part to start putting together um their budget request uh for next year. Um and then finally, we do have our um uh construction manager at risk bid is
021out um for the um high school additional gym and locker room renovation. Uh those bids will be due February the 2nd. Um and we will have uh approval of those rankings to take to the board at the February board meeting. Any questions? >> No, but I'm happy to see the uh shortfall is down. That's amazing that we've got higher revenue and y'all are always watching your budgets and >> trying to be careful. And also, I I've been at a couple elementary schools this month and new kids are coming in. So, maybe we'll have a a big influx in January more than usual. I don't know. They all seem to be surprised how many kids were coming in. Anybody have any questions, comments for Wesley? >> Was there anything besides the flu outbreak to account for
022the ADA? >> I don't know. I'm not sure if campuses have heard anything. I don't know if it was flu or strapped or I don't know. Number of things usually. >> Yeah. >> Mean like a boycott or something like that. [laughter] >> I think it's all the flu. >> All right. >> There. Can I ask one other question too? You may you may talk about this when we get down there, but I know there's a >> there's an action item related to the Huckabe contract for the athletics edition. Looking at that, to me it looks like the only thing we did was change the names to get Aubry's name on it. Is that basically the only change? >> Or is there anything else from a budget financial perspective we should know? >> Um, we we
023will get to it then, but what I >> That's fine. We can wait if you want to. >> What I'll tell you is we uh the back and forth in the conversation with them was getting the rate they were going to charge down half a percent. >> So, we got a half percent. >> Better. >> Yes, sir. >> Great. >> Yes. Awesome. Any other questions? >> [clears throat] >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Brooks. Next is Senate Bill 11, designated prayer and reading time. Dr. Allen, like going to let you take that one. >> Yes, ma'am. Thank you. And what I will tell you is this is presentation only. Action will be required in February, but this is just to get this uh on your radar a little bit, get you thinking about it. So, Senate
024Bill 11 of the of the 89th ledge. Uh what it basically does, if we'll go ahead and flip to the next slide, that's when I'm not going to read this whole page to you, but the text is here for you to be able to make reference to if you'd like. Senate Bill 11 requires a school district to take a record vote to either establish a daily time of prayer and reading of religious scriptures or decline to establish. So, we currently have a a practice here in the district and um this is not one of those where we can just do nothing and say no thank you. You're going to have to vote one way or the other. Y'all remember we did chaplain not too long ago and it was a similar setup. >> This is
025very similar to that. >> It's uh worth noting that just as a sampling of statutory requirements. >> Um if the board should choose to do this, it cannot substitute for instructional time. Um so this would if the board wanted to do it be a time before or after school. It requires those who choose to participate to sign a consent that includes things such as but limit not limited to acknowledgement of the choice of whether or not to participate uh acknowledging that they do not object to hearing the prayers or scripture readings of other people waving their first amendment rights in uh to the United States Constitution related to federal law and the prohib some of the prohibitions in the first amendment. It also says that at any point a guardian can withdraw or revoke a
026person's consent under this section. Um that it must occur before normal hours. And I think it's worth noting that regardless of whether the board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of an open roman charter school adopts a policy. This section does not prohibit a student or employee of the district of a school from participating in prayer or Bible reading other than the time set aside. So, in other words, if the board were to say, "Well, we we don't want to set aside a specific time for this." It doesn't mean that kids can't read their Bible before and after school like they're currently doing now. They would still be allowed to do that. Um, you I've given you lots of information, an actual copy of the bill itself for you to read.
027I just wanted to make sure that you had a chance to get a good look at this before we come back in February and I mean, I'm sorry, come back in Yeah. come back in February and take action because we're required to have taken action one way or the other by March one. >> Anybody have any questions on this before they ponder it for a month? >> I guess Go ahead. >> What What purpose does this really serve? Yeah, that was that was my >> I mean like if we can still allow students and staff to read religious texts before school to memorialize it, what is what is purpose does this serve? >> I do not know. >> Okay, fair enough. >> I got a I've got an idea. >> Yeah. >> So, Senator Amaze
028Middleton is the one who put this bill forward, who's actually running for attorney general. So, it's interesting to also note that he homeschools all his kids. So >> doesn't doesn't even >> it's just a political stunt. >> The main purpose that it's trying to accomplish is to get us all to argue over it. The main purpose. >> Yeah. >> And to get voters for him. Yeah. All right. Okay. Okay. Thank you Dr. Allen for bringing that to our attention and we will take action on that next month. Next on the agenda is the MISD marketing update and Emily Parks is going to talk to us about this. Good evening, board members. Um, I'm Emily Parks, your director of communications. Can you all hear me? Okay. >> Kind of not. It's weird. It's like you're in
029a well echoey >> or something. >> I'm short better. >> Those of us that are under that 52 window, we we struggle in life. So, um, we've got to make extra accommodations. So, thank you. Um, tonight I'm just going to give you all a very high level overview of uh what we're doing uh marketing wise for the district um [clears throat] and point out um some of the changes that are taking place in um the direction of where we currently are, where we're going. Um not only in the landscape of where we are and where we're going, but also looking at internally moving and shifting from a communications focus to a split marketing and communications focus. and achieving both of those um in a connected way as well as um in a way that achieves
030goals on both sides of that since they are two very different things and done um for very different reasons. Um so first of all, we're going to talk about our our um context. We know that public education is in a completely different place than we ever have been since any of us were in school, which I just found out tonight that Jonathan and I um Mr. Green and I graduated the same year. So, we're good class of 2000. So, even back when we were in school, we weren't dealing with this. Um, long before that, we weren't. Now, parents have more choice. There's more noise. Um, as noted by the things that y'all just talked about in the comments that you made. Um, parents also have higher expectations. They want to see um in this environment,
031credibility is what matters. Um, you know, and we, Dr. Dr. Allen and I talked um at length, not at length, but um the difference between the word reputation and credibility um and the difference there. And so understanding that your reputation cannot carry you if the credibility and the accountability is not there behind it. And by accountability, I don't mean your test scores. I mean the things that you're doing um that make you who you are, your district who it is. Um and really just let your parents, your families, and your community know that you are the real deal, which is where our our marketing plan comes in. And so what we're marketing here is four levels really. Trust, stability, excellence, and value. These are the things that our families and our staff hold highest to
032them. And we know this because we have asked them. Uh Robert and I have worked to um do some um small pulse checks throughout the last two years and understanding what is driving content, what is getting engagement, what people are saying and telling us they is important to them. Um we've taken that, we've packaged it into really marketing a confidence in Midway ISD rather than just marketing Midway ISD. Um it's kind of taking it that one level deeper so that we know that we're really hitting to the heart of the people that we're trying to reach. Whether that be um students um that we're trying to pull over from another district or it may be um you know families making a choice between private or public staff trying to make a choice between a district
033that's going to pay more than we do because of our recent laws. How we get above those barriers um and use our credibility. We go back to that credibility piece and we do that through anchoring on trust, stability, excellence and value. And when you can demonstrate these things to your audiences, that's when they ultimately make the decision that they do in an informed state. So these are you see a note here. Um these four are aligned with uh my department's uh 2628 strategic marketing plan which has combined our uh communication goals as well as the marketing that goes with that to ensure that we're not separating as well as we're not over overworking um the things that we are working. So if we use a vid if we make a video we're not making it
034for one thing. actually used in a tiered system of ensuring that our our communications is also marketing as well. So, we have a number of marketing channels that we use. Paid owned, earned, that's uh what we call them. Paid is when you can see I put uh right on y'all's desks. You have two two handouts. These are two examples of paid uh channels that we've used. These have been published as uh print magazine ads in both the Waco Chamber uh magazine as well as the Huitt Express magazine. We modify these in different sizes to use in um print for the newspaper. We use them in digital ads. U we use them across the board. So we'll take we'll we'll create one item and then use it in snippets over the course of a semester or
035a year. So, um you'll also see one thing that we've started doing over the past two years, Google search ads. We're doing um a lot more paid social media ads and really pushing to reach out where our families are. The importance here is that we want to our goal is to have a a decision made at the end of whatever message it is that we're trying um to push. So, whether it's come join us as an employee, come join us as a student, move here, and come to Midway ISD as a family. uh and how do how do we get to that? So, we look at the channels that we're using and they each have a purpose and then we break those apart and then we use them as we need depending on who our
036audience is. Our focus here is we want to go where our families and applicants are already looking for information and then provide that information. These tools can all be measured. That is what sticks out about these tools. I can go put a billboard up on 35 and it's going to get a lot of views, but I cannot measure what that's actually doing for me. That billboard is going to cost me $1,800. And I can get so much more just measurement, analytics, and knowledge um to know what's working, what's not working through the channel. So, we're going where families are, and then we're using it appropriately as we need to. Some of the things that you'll see um our website just serves serves as a decision-making hub. Um video and storytelling um talking a little bit
037about how we are combining uh uh communications and um marketing. Just earlier you recognized four teachers for national board certified. We will write a story about that tonight. Um we'll have their photo that we put out because that's board news. That's action that you guys took in recognizing our staff. Well, in addition to that, we created a video earlier this year. Um, it's a video series we've started called Why Midway? And it featured Sharon Kramer, who's one of the teachers that we just recognized of her talking about why she chose Midway. Now, we take that video and we use it in two channels. We can use it for families because her children come to school here, but we can also use it as recruiting because she's a teacher. And so we can take you know
038five 10 30 second snippets out of that video and use it in different channel all of these channels here wherever is appropriate. So we've created one item one uh piece of collateral that we can use in different channels in different ways. So it's not it's efficient. Um it's cost effective. It also um it's a lot easier for me and Robert to manage together. some of our sample marketing campaigns that you may have seen. Um we've done enrollment campaigns. Uh last year we started with ready set and roll. We also did uh some marketing campaigns for the prek and kindergarten preview uh to start getting those parents and reaching those parents that are not already in our systems. We also do an annual um focus with recruitment for HR. Um we are meeting with them very
039soon to start this next round and we're having some scheduling conflicts because we're we're all pretty busy. So normally we'd be started by now. Um we do have that plan in place ready to go just need to get heads in in the same room on it. Um what we're doing here with these sample campaigns is finding the things that the district has identified as a goal. So, we're looking at um our mission statement that you guys read every month that we look at as the driver for the decisions that we make in the district. And so, breaking that down, it's focused on students. So, we're focusing on enrollment. It's providing for staff recruitment in order to focus on those students having, you know, the very best staff. Um, so we're we're really targeting the things
040that we're doing and um not doing a shotgun approach, if you will. We're not just shooting out there and throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. We're really working on what areas are going to move the district forward, uh, help us meet our goals, address issues or problems, um, increase our credibility, etc. um our website as a marketing tool. This is something over the past three years, Robert has redesigned our website. He's the mind behind that. Um it is now a marketing tool. Um traditionally websites are used as an information hub. It's very rarely is it two-way. You put information on there that people want to go see because then you can point them to them and say that's where that is. And we still need to use that in our website. Parents
041still need to know where the playoff game is. They still need to know what's going to be on, you know, the lunch menu. Um, get their calendars. Staff needs to find their information, but we also have an audience of people that are coming to us because they're interested in us. And so, we want to reinforce our value and our credibility. We want to communicate why uh Midway is the right choice. So, what we've done is we've separated the website internally to different sections. So, if you are responding to an ad that I've put out or I've created, it's going to take you to our Y Midway sections. You're never going to route into our parent portal because that's not going to be useful for you. If you're a parent, I'm never going to push the
042Y Midway pages to you because that's of no use to you. You're already here. Now, I want to build on the things that you already know and are learning. So, we're moving towards um Robert and I will work toward having pathspecific um tools on our website where it will recognize how you got to the website and automatically direct you to the pages that you need to know to help the user. So, we're working a lot on user experience uh through our website and through our marketing. Um media and community relations continuing now. We have a great uh relationships with our media here. Um, oftentimes all four of them will work together or one right after the other to pick up the same story. So, we get um coverage. We're they're also very good about uh
043working with us when we have information that we need to get out or even good news um storytelling that we need to get out. This is really critical because it is it it's free number one, but it's a third party. It's somebody else saying, "Hey, look at what we're telling you. If your auditor says that you did great with your books, then you did great with your books." you say you did great with your books. Uh we've got to look into that. So having a third party um really is going to help with our community inside and outside of Midway recognizing those four pillars that we're talking about value, trust, stability, uh and excellence. We track visibility, engagement, and action. So, we want to see the action that that folks are they seeing the message?
044Are they interacting with it? And are they visiting where we want them to visit? And then we look for patterns over time. And if something's not working, we stop it or we change it. It It's that simple. And that pattern could be a two weeks, it could be a month, it could be six months. It's dependent on the message. It's dependent on the need that we have and what we need parents to do. So often times we can be looking at something and working in a very fast environment of we need to make change that word right now or change that photo right now. Other times we'll we'll look and see that information and um play it out depending on what campaign it's in again what what goals that we have. And ultimately this work
045just the basic marketing that we're doing in the district is about um protection and support. We're supporting enrollment. for supporting recruitment. Um those things support budget. They support um our reputation, our credibility, they support our community trust. Um they also protect our our long-term stability. We know we just talked about enrollment numbers increasing and decreasing and what that does um over the long-term future and marketing is having a direct impact on that at that that bottom line when you get right down to the bottom of it. So protecting our stability um and supporting the things that we do everywhere and every day in all of our schools. So changing landscape um you'll see very interesting uh the three things that are changing are the three things that we are in right now. We still have
046increased competition for families and staff. We still have expanded uh school choice and we still have higher expectations. That's what we've always seen. That's what we deal with in marketing. So for the marketing purpose, we're not necessarily making any changes, but what we are do is we are getting more narrow and more focused. So again, it's not about volume. Um it's not about how many how many places can I go put my stuff. Um it's not about how much money I can spend. It's about making sure that what I am doing is working and getting the goal that I need it to do. We look at data. We look at analytics for that. Um and if we need to adjust over time, we do. Um, we can't control the landscape, but we can control how
047clearly we are understood. Um, and if we need to adjust our tone, or as Dr. Allen likes to say, throw in an elbow or two, um, we will when we need to. Um, but as long as we really just stick to what Midway is known for, tell our story and help people understand and know us, we will be recognized for the excellence and the best that we are. So, um, really just continuing what we're doing. Uh, we're doing more proactive position positioning, uh, clearer value storytelling, making sure that those stories line up to, uh, the values and the pillars that we've talked about. When I do a story on, um, Mr. Brooks presenting our budget calendar tonight, that will directly line up to district uh, governance and stability um, and tying in all of those
048pieces. That's marketing and it's it's organic at at best. Um and then when I need to, I can take that and turn around and use it paid if I have to, if it hasn't had the impact or the effect that it has. Um so what's next? Continue um focused enrollment marketing efforts. We're going to expand the use of targeted um and paid digital advertising. We're going to maintain consistency over the next three years with the Midway plan, which is a combination of communication and marketing within the district. And then we're going to monitor uh performance and adjust as we need. Um what's important here is that Midway's reputation, we know we are excellent. We know that we we we talked about this on Friday. We can bring anyone here into the district and we can
049show them this. There are proof points that we are excellent. That we are our purpose is driven by excellence. What our marketing plan and efforts are doing is they are telling that story and letting families know here's the proof behind our claim that we are the best. When they are ready to make a decision and in nearly every case, they will make the decision that's best for their family. And if we're the best and we've proven that point, then that decision becomes us. for families, for staff, for people moving to the area, for all the areas that we need to maintain trust, excellence, stability, and value. Any questions? You made reference to the meeting on Friday. I was wondering if you'd like to speak to that a little bit as we were interviewed by the
050judges for the HB excellence and education award because that was a chance to tell our story. I I don't know if you wanted to talk about that just a little bit. >> Absolutely. So um and and how that aligns with marketing. I've again taken an event one thing and used it in a number of areas. We have um written a news release that we sent out to media. So we got coverage um thirdparty coverage on on that. We have our own PNN story uh that's there that's featuring pieces of our application. Uh we've also taken that and converted it over to uh social media. Um, I created a graphic that we then I posted just as a normal post. Hey, here's great news about us. But then also did a paid boost on it to
051push it around. I don't I don't know if any of y'all saw the >> Yeah, I saw Facebook. >> Oh, good. The paid version of it. That's great because typically I don't market to you guys because y'all already know this and I don't want to waste my dollars on people that already know these things already. [laughter] >> Just that one criteria we haven't quite met. >> There you go. um you know so that event was um it's an excellent example of ways that we can use marketing and on top of that it's just another proof point um that we are driven by excellence and our purpose is is about excellence and by the way um off of marketing Friday went swimmingly well. I was very very pleased by it. Um the alignment between our students,
052our teachers, our administration um was it it it in my heart I walked out of that knowing that I made the best decision when I put my daughter here in Midway. I made the best decision when I decided to come work here and I'm going to make the best decision when I move here in a couple of months. Um it really it it just was an excellent example of all of the things that we claim to be happening in real time. I was very very blessed to be a part of that. >> What will it mean for a district recognition that obviously if we win but even just being in the top three finalists what does that say? uh you know it when we look at enrollment marketing um we have some limitations there right
053somebody from Houston can't necessarily come be a student in midway now they will have an opportunity with a virtual school so we do we are going to expand the way that we market in enrollment and specifically there but when we're recruiting I'm already marketing in Houston and in Dallas and in Austin because that's where we're seeing those are the analytics that we look at with HR is where are the applicants coming from? Where are the families coming from? We also use um analytics on our website to see people who visit our website and come to our apply enroll or hiring pages where where they're at. They're geographic locations. So, when you have something a statewide award that's known everywhere, um you know, there have been districts across every region of Texas that have won this
054award. So, people have heard of it. There's there's name recognition. There's and it's HB, you know, HB loves Texas and HB loves teachers. That's the website for the actual program. It bolsters and it and it boosts our recognitions. Um it bolsters and boosts our ability to draw students, to draw families, to draw, you know, if somebody is thinking I, you know, I live in Dallas. I'm going to move to Waco because I have to and I could go here or I could go here. and you come look at our website and you see something like that, it's a whole lot. It It just It's a game changer. It really is. And being able to market that and use it not only as a story, but a marketing tool as well. It's It's very good. >>
055Having had a chance to sit in that room with Dr. Allen and Miss Vic, one of my favorite things that I heard that day was from, I think, from across all of the judges. Wow. Wow. We can see why this district is one of the top three finalists. Absolutely. Uh my favorite comment was um y'all are legit. [laughter] That that was a good one. That was a really good one. >> Okay. So So ultimate success, at least on the on the student side, is enrollment, right? >> Yes. >> And and I guess you've got >> some ways you're tracking that to to see if if it's working. >> Yes. >> Do do we as I kind of thought about this while you were talking >> for for students who haven't enrolled in our district before,
056do we track where they came from? like were they homeschooled? Are they in another school district or did they move in? Do do we track that? >> We we don't currently. Um there are some tools um for the levers and transfers that tea reports give us um but we don't currently do that. Now that is something that we worked with uh PES last year to add some questions to our enrollment forms so that we can start tracking that. Uh we'll also be working with HR to add some questions to our um hiring our job applications to track that as well. Um as we've started looking at the data we have, it has developed the need for additional data and it's identified the things that we need to know in order to be effective at marketing.
057A lot of the things that we're doing had never been done here in Midway before. There wasn't a need for it because our reputation um you know carried the weight for a lot of that. and now we have to look down into those areas and fight it. So, working toward it, that's on our what that would be on our what's next slide. >> Um, and at least in our area, who's who's your nearest peer as far as having this sophisticated of a marketing plan or is there anyone who's exceeds it? I mean, give >> from a for a school district. Um, there's not one. and not in this region, not in Mlennon County that markets the way that we do and has um a a plan of any sort. Um Waco ISD does have some
058branding and some messaging done, but um they've had some leadership turnover and they have not gotten off the ground of getting their communications and their marketing pieces tied together. Um, and with a lot of the just the daily experiences that Waco has, they haven't been able to get as far along in their process. They would be our closest and they're not off the ground. And in fact, around the state, we're there's Robert and I found very very few school districts that we could model after. >> So, >> good. >> One of our goals is to continue to be the leader in that. One of the other challenges I I didn't see it on here that we got to consider uh if if you go out and Google the birth rate chart in the United States.
059>> I mean it is scary how how much it's dropped and I mean [snorts] that's has a lot to do with >> sure >> declines in the elementary grades. Anyway, just thinking of it like from a business standpoint when you're getting fewer and fewer customers, you really got to think about that and now you're you're you're ramping up. >> Sure. And you know, the the the the race system is what we use in PR um you know, research analytics. um the research side here knowing that information me knowing that we're going to see a dip in you know kindergarten students for these years um you know for Wesley knowing that for us as an industry knowing the things that are going to impact what we're doing it affects us from budgeting to marketing to um
060you know the to HR um all the way so that those are definitely things that we're looking at and keeping it keeping track >> I think this class we're about to graduate it's the biggest class we've had or close to But if you look back on that chart on when the birth rates dropped, they're the last >> age of births that it started going down from there. So, >> so when people go to the website either through a link, an ad, or they just go to our website and they have questions, is it the typical if you have questions contact and then they have to email someone or is there another way they ask question? I'm sure it's not live, but is there a way they can ask questions or if they don't find the
061information they want? Uh so right now they would search for the information that they need and want. We're working on actually we have a a meeting set up at our conference next month to have a a chatbot option that would help with uh some of those. Um we do have to stay within budget constraints though. So making sure that we're using our dollars efficiently. understanding if that's what parents need on our website or if our website is that's also the reason why we're working on recognizing where a person that a visitor is coming from and directing them to the places that they need to be rather than having them do the search. We want to do it for them and actually split the website internally once they get on there. So, we're doing that and
062then working with other tools that are available, >> right? Because like you know the the keep their interest the best while they're there. And then the other question was you're you're saying when students do enroll in the district, we're trying to find out where they're from. Are we gonna ask a question like did you did you enroll in Midway because you saw an ad? Are you okay? So we will know if they actually chose us in that way, not just moved. >> Absolutely. And and we'll be doing more of that throughout the year just to the the district and parents as a whole. Um how do they hear about us? Where do they get their news? Where do they get their good news? There's a difference between board news and celebrations, you know, so really
063diving in and separating and segmenting a lot of what we're doing communications wise as well as marketing. Uh because now they have to work together. Uh we're not just a communications department anymore. We we are communications and marketing. >> And do we know if someone comes here with a voucher, do they physically bring a voucher? I mean, how does that work? Are they going to come to enroll and say, "Here's my voucher." Do we know how that's >> Well, they shouldn't be enrolling here with a voucher because >> well mean someone >> we wouldn't be eligible for a voucher unless they were paying us for something that we provide that is not part of our normal ADA which we've not really gotten into yet. We there's some opportunities for that with the alleart version of
064our virtual school and we'll see how that plays out. Okay. >> Now, February 4th is the window where the comprollers's office opens applications for parents to apply for vouchers and they are supposed to have the rules in place by then. So, maybe we'll know that within the coming weeks. And we've aligned a lot of our uh choice and value u marketing efforts right around that window as well because that's when people are going to be looking. >> You talked a lot. Go ahead. I was I was just going to say I think what we're doing for students and for marketing has been great. Just looking across the web, social and some of the paid stuff that I've seen, I think anytime we can get smiling faces like that on there, I think that's that's huge
065for us. Um I'm I'm really encouraged though to hear you talk also not just about recruitment in terms of trying to bring in new staff, but also the way the way the marketing side for that interacts with the communication side for retention, right? for how well do we communicate internally to our existing staff? So, are there um is is your office sort of interface with with with Ashley's to to help figure out, okay, how do we how do we communicate internally? A great example is what you just mentioned, which is, hey, we have four new national board certified teachers, right? So, how do we how do we take that story and squeeze every every bit of juice out of it that we can, right? to help convince not just great teachers from Dallas to move
066here, but also our teachers to stay and here's you can see yourself in this role kind of thing, right? So, what how does how does the marketing and communications work together from a message standpoint for that? I mean, and maybe you don't have to answer, but just I think it's great that you're looking at that. >> Yeah. Um, and it I will answer because we I have already looked at this from my perspective and um I really was uh I'm afforded a very very great position in the way that Dr. Allan has his executive team set up that we all come together weekly and we all talk about the things that are important that are coming up that so sort of the way that um you know I may hear stories here and there I
067I know she has these things coming up I know that the hiring window is coming up or the budgeting is happening um and I can ask those questions and then the depth of knowledge around that table is you know um uh Mr. Off was the one to recommend Mindy Barnes to be a the teacher representative, the middle school representative for our HB piece from his knowledge of being a principal and a coach and just being here for that long. So looking for those stories are built in to this executive team and then into the administrators and they could really push me to know, okay, we have these recognitions for the month. How can I take this and do more with it? We work together phenomenally as a team. So I'm in tune with each department
068and what they need. um not only on communications but on marketing. >> She did a great good great job by the way. >> Yeah, that's great. The other question that I had because we're, you know, having worked with at Baylor and University Marketing for several years, I know that when when an organization gets that big, man, it's really hard for an internal staff to to to carry all the buckets of water that need to be carried to do that really well. And you guys have done a phenomenal job given I mean I had a school district a friend at a school district here in the area ask me hey what agency did you go to to design your website >> and I thought I thought I had the answer right and I asked you and
069you confirmed the answer was the agency that's sitting in the front row over here and [laughter] and my my second >> second thing I said was and you can't have him. So, but but but the question is are we do we feel like we have the resources we need there and and is there is there a way to leverage >> um partnerships, interns? I know there's some conversations going on at Baylor to help us get some help there, but is there is is there a need to to engage more of a more of an agency and helping us down the road? >> So, the way that I operate there is a a lot of the work that I've done here is because of the changes that we're being faced with right now. Um, my department
070is different than it was three years ago. I know that. But we've made our work to where what we're doing is effective. That's why one piece of content works in seven different areas now. Um, that's why we're looking at communications and marketing and how they tie together rather than being really disjointed. Um, of course I'll sit here and say yes, please. You know, but realistically as an administrator and having a heart for public schools, I know that we are in a deficit and I know that any dollar spent on me or on one of these printouts is a dollar that doesn't go into our classrooms. So, I want to be respectful of that and I want to make sure that the money that I am spending is targeted to exactly what I want. That's why
071I'm not going to go spend $1,800 on a billboard that I cannot tell you what what's happening. Um but yes, as we grow, um I I would say that the capacity is um it's at a it's at a moderate level. Um but but we work really well with that. Robert and I have found a really really good rhythm. Um Dr. Dr. Allen has a phenomenal brain that just gives us great ideas a lot of times that we can take and turn into um the executive team does as well that um we're we're operating at a high caliber right now and I think that we can sustain that until the system can can indulge us if you will. >> We we do have some partnerships. They've been in place for a while. We're you might have
072heard me talk a little bit about some work that we're doing with Baylor that's just because of relationship with a professor >> but like for example Huitt Chamber which Emily mentioned earlier you know they're the ones who sponsor our student of the year >> program well that's just free marketing and it's huge and it's fun and that highlights the best of Midway which is our kids. um we do some work with the uh Greater Waco Chamber and that gets us a little bit of uh space with them and some of their publications and so we do have some of those partnerships that are kind of part of the network. Um because I mean some of these organizations it gives us an opportunity to connect with some of those networks in terms of an actual outside
073ad agency. We've talked about it. We had got that far yet. Yeah. Yeah. >> I'll also say this, >> one of one of our probably under recognized marketing partners is the Education Foundation. Mhm. >> Every single time that they they have a pretty big footprint and a pretty strong presence on social media of their own >> and every time they do something in support of our teachers that sends a message about recruitment and retention and about our great kids and about innovation and ideas >> and so um the education foundation has a separate mission but the overlap there and the partnership on that it is not unusual for Ashley and Emily to be working on kind of thinking through how [clears throat] to make messages overlap and align when when appropriate. like they've got their
074mission and we've got ours, but there are tons of opportunities for overlap. >> That's great. Thank you. >> Another opportunity there, and this is um a goal that we've worked on, it was being worked on years before I got here, and we really firmed it up this year, is um using our students as well, giving them real world opportunities to do some of the things that we need done. Um take photos, get videos, um you know, do storytelling on their own. So, we've created um a Midway student media drive that our CTE teachers uh video and um uh journalism, photo, commercial, all of those pieces have access to where we have given them a list of here are the things that we're doing throughout the year. If you can be at one of them uh
075and do any of these items, let us know. And then they submit their work to us. We look at it um and we give them realw world feedback on um can we use this, will we use this and then publish it with credit to them. So we do that with stories, we do it on PNN uh and we'll continue doing that. So we are doing it from the bottom trying to build those kids up as well as working with Baylor through digital uh marketing as well as um just traditional public relations. on my campus tour today. I got to meet an eighth grade student through that. That's exactly what she does and she's very proud of being able to help tell our story. It was fun to see them at work. >> Very good. >>
076So, we we have a secret advantage that we've got all these great locations saturated in our market. >> Yes. >> So, a lot of times, you know, the whatever the marquee boards are moreformational, but we should, just like you're saying with the website, we need to think about using those for more marketing. And then I then I also thought about this building. There's >> what' you say? >> I was thinking about this building. I mean, it sits here on the busiest, you know, highway through our district. And um I mean, I'm sure you could partner with a Lamar to put a huge billboard there. >> Sure. >> And they wouldn't charge us, you know, we let them certain times a year sell it for other advertising and then but then they would let us use
077it. I don't know. There's there's something there. or put up our own billboard that's not going to cost us u cost >> sit and pick your brain and fill in the three-year plan of where these because it really is that's where that's where we're at getting the foundation going and then moving forward with what comes with it what comes from it. >> Yeah. Anyway, >> yeah, our electric marquee would even we couldn't get a billboard. >> I mean people would kill for this location to do advertising on. So, >> Emily, you talked a lot about ways that we're marketing. >> What can our community do to help with that? >> So, one of the changes that uh we made, I guess it was year before last, is um we were doing a lot of paid
078advertising that our own community wasn't seeing because they're not the folks that we're trying to reach. I'm not trying to reach teachers who already work here. Um however um we did find and HR was really this another you know talking about are we connected HR was really big on saying our teachers are a a tool for they're not seeing this and they don't know how to get other people to come work here. So everything that we put out paid, we also do organic. Everything that we put somewhere that is not targeted to our community, um we make it available to them. And the best thing that they can do, um I think Pam remembers this email, like, comment, heart. >> Oh yeah, >> we just really building up that engagement. The more that you comment
079or that and that's specific to social media. Um if you see stories on um our website, share them with your friends. Um having conver if you have questions, contact us and ask. If you see something that's wrong or incorrect or that may may need to be changed in order to continue us in the right direction, let us know. It's engagement is what it is. Parental engagement, community engagement, um and you know, working that at the campus level, at the district level. um through again the education foundation. That's how the community helps us. >> It's such a simple way to boost the algorithm where you said a heart carries more weight than a like >> and then when the more comments that a post gets, the more traction it gets. And obviously sharing >> um and
080just to make sure that that we're f if as social media followers, I'm following the Midway the district. I'm following the education foundation. I'm following our campuses so that I know I'm aware of the content that's going on because I want to be able to share it, right? >> And then and help get that traction, >> you know. And something else that drives that, too, is the content itself. Um, I don't know how many of y'all saw the little 10-second video of the science experiment at Spring Valley >> that I stopped by. Is Kathy here? Is she still here? Is she leave already? Um, and she was short-handed that day, so I said, "Well, I'll take pictures for you." And took this little 10-second video of the smoke cloud. you know how storms are created
081when cold water and vapor come together. It It's right now at 17 million views. >> Oh my gosh. >> 17 million and and still going up. >> Wow. >> And because of that video, um Dr. Allen and I had a conversation. What benefit does that do for us? Okay, we got 17 million views. What does that mean? Well, now our account is considered an influencer account by Meta. And so anything that's in our Facebook or our Instagram gets boosted in the algorithm. So it gets seen more. And so as we're liking and hearting and commenting, it's doing that exponentially. Um and we've also as a a uh this is completely sight of that. Um as a influencer account, we now get paid for content. >> But say revenue source. >> We've already made almost $1,000.
082So come on. Yay. All right. There you go. Awesome. Any other questions? >> Yeah, I had a question with with AI now being kind [clears throat] of a bigger thing. I mean, is there anything we have to do specific to like chat GBT, Gemini, Claude that puts us in a more favorable slant if somebody searched for us on like AI or you know like did something like that? It's like what are the best school districts in central Texas? Are we just sort of at the mercy of what you know is kind of scraping the website or is there anything we can specifically do to help us position ourselves with within AI? There is uh Robert and I actually just sat in on a webinar about this um about two [clears throat] weeks ago and [cough]
083uh it was with Reddit and using Reddit ask and they gave us an example of how Lululemon used Reddit and AI to determine pain points of their product and why people were not buying certain things. And then instead of going and addressing that problem, they went and did a marketing campaign on how to fix it. Never once did they say what was wrong with their product. They only addressed it by telling people how to fix it. And within a year, their sales had increased by 35% of that particular product. So what did I do? I went and I got on AI and I got on Reddit and I went and searched best school districts in Waco, Mlennon and found started doing research on how we're perceived in the market in that realm. I know how
084we're perceived in the market on TV and uh you know on Google and all of these places, but some of those other places you got to dig down to. So, we're doing the research on that um to position ourselves really well there. Um and there are ways that you can uh on the back end of uh chat GPT of Gemini um some of the the the paid tools feeding it information about it. It it it's it's similar to um how Wikipedia used to be. you could get on there and put what you wanted, but when enough people put the right and the same things in, then it was confirmed and validated. Um, you you can do that as well. And so, we're we're working on that in the back end and understanding how because AI
085is still shifting and it's still changing so much that I could spend time going in and telling my chat GPT all of these great things about Midway, but they're going to change the way that Wesley sees it when he gets in there or they're not going to connect those accounts or his account is not going to pull from what I've set, you know. So really learning and understanding it. Um we're trying to stay on the forefront of that. >> Oh, that seems like a whole another job. Okay. Anything else for Miss Parks? >> Thank you. That was a really good uh presentation you put together. We appreciate all the work you and Robert did on that. So, thank you. >> The work of like 10 people. So, >> really do. >> Thank you. Um the
086next item on the agenda is discussion of real property. We are going to move that to the end of the meeting because we're going to go into close session for that. So, next are going to the consideration items and the first one is the consent agenda. One, minutes of the December 16th, 2025 regularly scheduled board meeting. Two, minutes of the January 8th, 2026 special called board meeting. Three, early graduation request. Four, call trustee election for May 2nd, 2026 for places one and two. Do I need to read it Spanish? I may [clears throat] >> I could do that. Number five, resolution to establish non-b businessiness days for public information. Six, resolution of the board of trustees of MISD regarding administrator contract for services with Baylor University. Seven, prevailing wage rate recommendation. Okay. I don't know
087why my computer's dinging at me. Okay. >> Okay. Does any uh board member want to pull an agenda item before we have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> I don't hear anyone wanting to pull any items. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented? >> Second. >> Motion made by Mr. Tullus, seconded by Mr. Barry. Any more discussion? All those in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? Okay, the motion passes. Okay, next is FDA local admissions interd district transfers. Dr. Allen, do you want to talk about that a little bit? >> Well, this is just a tweak to our policy that allows us to drop our transfer fee. We've talked about this in previous meetings. This is just uh formalizing that in policy. >> Okay, very good. So,
088um, does everybody understand what we're going to do for the admissions for the interd district transfers? >> And is that begin the beginning of next school year or is it in effect now? >> Beginning 2026 27 school year. >> Okay. Yes, sir. >> So, next se August. >> Mhm. >> Okay. And the motion is written on our agenda sheet. Do I have anyone wants to make a motion? >> So, moved. >> No, make the mo. I need you to make the motion. I want to read. You do you not have it? Oh, am I the only one that has it? >> I need to ask for a motion to accept the amended change to FDA local, which will remove the transfer fee for out of district transfers beginning with the 2026 2027 school year. Do
089I have a motion to do this? >> So, now >> I think that's I think that's good, is it not? >> Okay. Um, it's moved by Mr. Wit. Do I have a second? Second. >> [laughter] >> Okay. Can't speak up. >> Mr. Alford, do we have a second? Any more discussion? All those in favor say I. I. >> Any opposed? >> Okay. The motion passes. Next is revised Huckabe contract to Midway High School Athletics Edition. >> Yeah. And we've kind of covered this already, but the revision I wanted to highlight is that um they want us to come in at a higher percentage for their fees. We were able to get them down to six and a half. Um, and that's what you see reflected here. And that is for the Midway High School athletics
090edition. That doesn't include any other work that may need an architect because we're looking at different delivery methods that actually may save us some of those fees. So, just wanted you to be aware of that. This would allow us to pick up and start carrying forward so that when we do get our CM named, we can kind of start hit the ground rolling with that. >> Administration recommends approval of the Huckabe contract as presented. >> You let us know what was >> what did we factor into our planning for the bond? What percent was that? Was that seven then? And is that what >> Well, we were using different escalation fees depending on what we did, but yes, sir. What they came back with was seven for high school editions and 7.25 for all other
091work. I told him six and a half, and I wasn't going to talk about the other work until we got there. >> Okay. >> And as you just stated, this is part of our bond package, >> right? Yes. >> And it's the additional gym at the high school. Any other questions? Okay. If not, I need ask for a motion >> to accept to accept the 6.5% cost of work build by Huckabe Architects as compensation and time on MHS athletics edition. >> Okay. >> Now, can I move? >> Miss Watts. >> Do I have a motion to accept as presented? >> Moved by Miss Watts. Do I have a second? >> Second by Mr. Green. Any more discussion? All those in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? Motion passes. All right. Um, consideration of personnel.
092We are going to go into close session for that. So, we will move that to the end of the agenda and we will go to our superintendent comm excuse [clears throat] me, communications. Dr. Allen, >> I'll be brief because to some degree what I was going to talk about has already been um preempted. My thunder is appropriately stolen. Um, sorry >> y'all. No, no, it's all good. The visit Friday was something else, y'all. And I think that everybody who was in the room came over with a slightly different feeling about it. I'm going to highlight just a few things very briefly and then we'll move on. If anybody tries to convince you that the best thing about Midwest SD is anything other than our kids, they're not paying attention. [snorts] Our kids are just unbelievable
093in the way they communicate and how well they represent our district and their families in the community in which we get the privilege and honor serving every day. They were just fantastic. Um they interviewed me for about an hour and then we went into a group of 12 uh where they asked a bunch of questions. I was not allowed to talk. You will not believe this, but Miss Vic and Miss Watts can testify. class after for an hour and a half and didn't say a word >> and they were watching him, y'all. They were like, "He cannot talk." And they said that he cannot talk. >> What I know that they don't know is how many of the things that were said in that room that are 100% mirror what I was saying when we
094did the one-on-one talk. Uh, and for me it was particularly gratifying because you work really hard on things you don't know if it's like getting through. And oh my gosh, was it um it was one of the more moving things that I've been a part of in a while. When you ask an eighth grader, "What's one thing you would change about school?" And she says, "I don't know. I can't think of anything." >> Right. Can you come back to me? Yeah. >> And then you ask a senior in high school the same question. She goes, I'm not sure what I would do either. And at the end of the day, what they say is it'd be nice if we could have French. >> Like [laughter] that's all they could >> from the kids perspective. That's
095the glaring hole. And by the way, I listen, we used to offer French and German and ASL. Y'all know what the problems are and why we don't do that anymore. But like, >> man, it was really something else. And so, um, it was a really good visit. It kind of to where you go, Emily's point earlier, we get the honor and privilege of getting to work in this district. Um, but to have external validators come in and look around and say, "Y'all are doing some things that that are noteworthy is super exciting." So, we're going to take a trip to Houston, uh, the 1 of May and go see if we won or not. But, I'm telling you, um, there's not amount of money that could replace the feeling I had walking out of that
096event. And I think that those that were in the room felt the same way. So, >> we'll take the money that comes with it, too. >> We'll take it. But, you know, Yeah. >> Yes. It was a very validating and emotional just to hear the community members that were there, the students, the teachers >> um just rally and say all the things you would want them to say, but they did it on their own and just they were also enthusiastic and just like chomping at the bit to say more, you know, and they weren't cut off, but you could tell everybody was, you know, kind of tapering because we were on a time limit how long we had to to do the lunch. So, we had uh we had administrators, we had teachers, we had
097students, we had Miss Vic and I, we had uh representatives from the Ed Foundation. I went home that day and uh connected with my my mentor and I said, "This is the most amazing thing I think I've ever been a part of in in this district and I've been a part of a lot of amazing things. This was off the charts. >> It was amazing." Yeah, it really was. It was very cool. >> So, well done to all the Midway staff for making everybody. >> Yes. For us being even nominated for that. >> Okay. You done? >> Yes, ma'am. >> Okay. Well, we're going to recess this meeting and go into close session pursuant to Texas Government Code section 551.072 regarding real estate and 551.074 regarding personnel. And the time is 8:14.