Board Meeting 9/16/2025

001I was excited to Hey, welcome to the study session of the Canyon's Board of Education. Today is September 16th, 2025, and we're meeting at the district office located at 9361 South 300 East in Sandy, Utah. And the first item on the agenda is our annual open meetings training. And we do this because it's in state statute. And Dan Harper, general counsel, will present this. >> All right. Thank you, President Shill. Uh, you know, I'm excited to review the uh Utah Open and Public Meetings Act with you. Um, you know, you may not know this, but uh Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to be doing a sequel of one of his favorite films that he ever did. It's going to be called The Kindergarten Copy Making Cup. >> Had any jokes like that. Um, >> it's exciting

002times in the Canyon School District. Uh you you'll notice that we have a a new and improved template for our slides. >> Um there welldressed I would say. And and speaking of well-dressed, do you know what? [Music] >> He was gonna be my Vanna White there. Uh, but do you know what lawyers wear when they have to go to court? >> A lawsuit, >> of course. All right, here we go. Um, so as President Schill said, this is an annual training requirement by statute. Uh, and I appreciate, uh, President Schill always being on top of this and caring about this and also for the board. Um, you know, I I think we live sadly in a day and age where a lot of people lack trust in their government and government officials and the Utah

003Opens and Public Meeting Act is an important part of keeping that trust with them because in essence really, you know, we take our actions openly. We are transparent so people know what's going on and they can be a part of that process. Uh it ensures deliberations allow for an open and public process and as we move into some really emotional things like closing schools, I think it becomes even more important that we continue to keep that trust and people know that we are open and transparent uh and that they are an important part of the process and that's what the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act is all about. So, uh, I'm grateful for the opportunity to kind of review that. So, uh, the basic rule is that we want to make the public aware

004of what the board is doing. So, we give 24-hour notice at a minimum. Often, it's a lot more than that, of what is going on at our meetings. Uh, we have the time, date, and location. We post public notices uh both on our district office the district website. There's also a public notice website that people can sign up for, get emails on and get all the information and the board adopts an annual meeting schedule that's posted so people can plan accordingly uh to be a part of the process. Uh so one of the important things is creating the agenda so people know. So one is providing enough specificity that people know what's being discussed so they can come and be part of the process and provide public comment uh to you. Uh each topic has

005to be listed separately as an agenda item. Um and non-aggenda topics can be discussed from patrons. Um but you wouldn't take any action on those. Um, now this is probably the most significant aspect of our training and one that you want to perk up for because this was the biggest change during the legislative session last year. They changed the definition of meeting and this is great because it used to be here's the definition and here are all the things that are not. But now we just have a definition. Here is what a meeting is. Okay. So it is a gathering of a public body with a quorum president that is convened by an individual with authority to convene the public body following the process provided by law for convening the public body for the express

006purpose of acting as a public body to receive public comment about a relevant matter. uh take deliberate or re take action on deliberate or relevant matter. Um and so now it's no longer oh was it a chance social gathering other things it's just very clear that a meeting is when you've convened a meeting and you've gone through the process so it it really clarifies there aren't all the exceptions or other things and I think that's a wonderful change uh to the act that provides clarity that it's a much narrower definition that okay we are now in a meeting and these other things that are happening on the side. Oh, are we now possibly having a meeting uh it's much more clear. So, appreciate the legend Slater's uh clarifying that and I think that's a a

007great revision uh to the um we can have electronic meetings. They're allowed for uh in our policies um that allow people to attend through video audio uh connections. Um this is a a topic that kind of has come up um which is going back to this notion of being transparent. Uh and it is discussions that happen during a meeting. Um, and as we've said in the past that texts between board members, you should not be doing those because your discussions should be open. Um, but we had a situation uh where we dealt with, you know, uh an employee texting board members. Um, and you know, that was problematic. Um, and so we did a little bit of training and some of the feedback was, you know, well, what do we do when we get texting?

008And again, going to uh the purpose of the act, we really should try to avoid texting to the greatest extent we can while you're in board meeting and you're deliberating and discussing things because it kind of defeats the whole transparent and deliberating and open that there are. And I I get, you know, sometimes you need to that can be because of personal matter or something that you need to it has nothing really to do with the business at hand or there might be something that pops into your head, you know, oh, I really kind of feel like I need to get an answer to this. Um, but as everyone was saying in cabinet, they felt very comfortable that if you have a question to feel free to call them up to the mic and ask

009them that question and they're happy to respond to that question. Um, same with email deliberations during board meeting. I I don't think it's as much a temptation as texts. Uh, but you know, say it so everyone can hear it, I think is the rule we try to work through. Um but you know when you're not convened in an open meeting you know this in no way limits your ability to communicate with one another. You can be texting, you can be uh sending emails. And I think the nice thing about the change of the definition of meeting will also take you know a little bit of the pressure like oops have we somehow crossed over now and we're having a meeting uh with our communications. Uh so that's a nice change. Um so it is okay

010to email pertinent information to other board members. Always be careful about responding. We're still trying to keep to the purpose of the act. We don't want to say, "Oh, now we have this new definition that allows us to circumvent that uh by doing a lot of the business, you know, offline, not during an open meetings." Obviously, you know, we don't want to do that. Um, and always remember that your email communications are subject to grammar. We do keep copies of all those backed up. So even if you accidentally deleted them, we're always keeping a copy of those. Same with cabinet level folks. Those are all uh securely kept. Um what about text? Again, we've kind of talked in the past, they're what's considered transitory communications, so you can delete them. However, if we do get

011requests, a grammar requests or if somebody said, "Hey, you know, we're gonna litigate this matter and you need to do a hold on, you know, these topics or other things, you know, if you had it, you'd have to keep that and you couldn't delete it at that point." Okay, any questions on that? Um again this was uh not a court case but in the records committee because that's where when we have appeals to grandma if they disagree with us they can go to the records committee that doesn't exist anymore but the cases still do that they had and this was a case that just basically established that as far as the records committee was concerned text could be considered records under grammar um if you have them. Uh sometimes an emergency could come up where

012you weren't able to give the notice. It was an unscheduled meeting, but something happened that the board felt the need to to meet and discuss uh some important matter. Uh you can do that. Um you don't have to comply with the 24hour notice. Instead, it's just to provide as much notice as possible. um to the public and uh have the majority of the board approving this emergency meeting and notifying all members of the board of course about that meeting are the requirements to have an emergency meeting. Um minutes obviously are very important. It's how people review if they weren't able to to be there to review what the board has done. Um, and we keep both a recording and written minutes of all of our meetings. Uh, the minutes, written minutes are the official record.

013Uh, the recording backs that up uh, and fills in any gaps that there might be uh, in the minutes, but I think we do a good job uh, with our written minutes. Um, so uh, first let's given to the public are recording. So within three days of a meeting, we put those online. Cindy does a great job making sure those are available. So very shortly after your meetings, they're able to review those. And I think with our YouTube channels, it's almost immediate that people have access that information, which is great. Um, as I said, the the written minutes become the official record. And as you're all aware, each board meeting, uh, you recognize those, make a motion, uh, to make them the official record of the actions that you've taken and those are the elements

014that need to be in the minutes. And again, I think we do a very good job uh, with those. Um, and again, if there is anything that's possibly missing, you know, it's the recording that supplements that and that they can go and review. Um, as we move to Diligent, it's going to be a little bit different because it used to be a recording and now it's going to be the YouTube channel and we'll have it diced up into chapters um that they can still go and just find the pertinent thing and watch the video uh if they wanted to watch this or or whatever else later in in the meeting there. Um, occasionally like today we have closed meeting and procedural requirements. So you'd have to have a quorum. Uh it should be duly noticed

015uh on the agenda. Uh twothirds of the members who are present have to approve the meeting and the reasons for it have to be announced uh entered into the meetings um and the location which we do a good job about. Uh these are all the topics uh that allow us to go into a closed meeting. Those are limited to just those topics. Um there and you know we have to keep those in mind while we're in close session because that's the purpose for going and so we don't want to go outside of the topic for which we've gone into the closed meeting. um records. Uh some of them we keep a recording of, some of them we do not. The ones we do not is when we're talking about the character or the physical mental

016health or professional competence of an individual. Um then we just have an affidavit that is signed by the board president. Otherwise, we keep a recording of that. though that's not public facing but if there were some challenge about that we could provide the the recording if needed by the court if they wanted to review that um there there are certain things that you can't do a closed can't do in a closed meeting probably the most important that is final votes um you can discuss you can make your decisions but you have to go out and in the open meeting uh have your your final action there uh so the public knows what you've decided to do uh even though you may have discussed things in that closed meeting. Um and finally uh what happens if

017someone violates the open meetings act? uh it is a class B misdemeanor and a fine and six months in jail would be the maximum there and then the court could void the action that they found in violation of the act uh and we could have to pay uh court costs and attorneys fees there. So, any questions on open and public meetings? >> Are there any questions? I actually have some questions. >> Okay, Sydney, where will the recordings be? I remember you said the recordings now since we switched to diligent. >> Yes. So, now we will have a link that will take them to a a web page, a canyon web page. So, we can't actually put any of the audio diligent community. So the link will take them to a web page where it'll be

018broken down like downloading into like for instance the closed motion will be a link that takes them to the web page so they can list the closed motion and each of them as we break down. >> Okay. So each agenda item will have a link to >> okay and then my second question is okay. So, one of the five reasons we can go into closed is collective bargaining, even though now we're not supposed to. >> Well, right now it's it's on hold because it is going up for a vote. So, >> but we can, but it's it's a it's kind of a >> non-issue >> because we'll vote on it before we actually get to collect the bargaining again. So, we'll have some direction. If they would, that would be removed and that would no

019longer be And it would be something that probably Susan and Charlie would need to start working on with our legislators because we still need to be able to to talk about employment issues in close session um you know contracts and and those issues. >> Okay. So that's something if it depending on what happens with the vote may need to be changed. >> Yeah. because right now because it is on a referendum uh that that bill's I mean that statute's still in place. It just went back to status quo until it's voted on and then we'll see what the changes are. >> Um one more question like we are getting emails saying members have conflicts of interest. So I kind of wanted >> Yeah. >> that >> you read my mind. So uh recently the legislators

020have you know previously there was a requirement when a conflict of interest came up in some issue that the the board was dealing with. There was a conflict of intera conflict of interest disclosure form that we had that somebody could fill out and say you know oh I have this conflict of interest about this thing that we're going to be voting on. Okay. But just recently the legislators changed and said, "No, now you have to be as elected officials proactive and put out these conflict of interest statements that the public can review um there." And uh so uh they they review employment uh substantial financial interests in a company, stocks uh and your spouse's employment. Um, but what's important because I think as we're kind of getting ready to talk about closures and other things,

021it's important to understand what is a conflict of interest. It is a pecuniary interest. It is a financial interest there that you have, you know, ownership or you're you have you know employed by a particular company or something that could potentially be a conflict of interest when you're voting on something that is related to approving a contract um for the district because it's above 80,000 and requires the board to approve it. um that would be a conflict of interest. You know, as we get ready to close schools or other things, there's been questions raised, you know, oh, is this a conflict of interest because you taught there in the past or you've had kids attend there in the past. No, that can be a question of your objectivity there, but it isn't a conflict of

022interest there. Um, and you know, I have faith in the board, uh, and you know, that you're going to do your best in making these very difficult decisions, but I just wanted to be clear that conflict of interest has to do with financial issues that, you know, you would be voting that somehow that would impact your financial interests and that's what it's limited to there. Um so uh any questions about conflict of interest? >> Thank you. Is that all? >> That's it. >> Thank you very much. >> Looking slide deckressed. >> Okay. Um the next item on our agenda is our annual sorry annual title n report and athletic manual and website update. Dr. Tom Sherwood, director of high schools. >> Yeah, not quite. >> Slide up. >> I didn't do a slideshow. I sent

023all of you a summary report. Um I'm happy to speak to that if you'd like. Uh All of our schools from the 2024 2025 data which is the most recent available are still within the% variance on participation between male and female athletes at our high schools. There was some fluctuation. I think the highest school was at 8% um which surprisingly was Hillrest. Um it's funny that some of that is because there was a 2% shift in overall number of boys and overall number of girls in the school which plays into the proportionality. So, none of them are in uh trouble. As long as they're within a 10% variance, we don't have to have any form of specific improvement plan. Um the other two problems of title nine, which include expansion and accommodating interests. Um, we

024as a district have had we've chosen anytime the UHSA has sanctioned new activity, we've agreed to adopt it as a sanctioned activity. Those the most recent being boys and girls lacrosse, girls competitive cheer, and boys volleyball. Um, even with those, I think that's one of the reasons for the the percentage went up at a few of our schools for having few more boys than girls, but still within the 10% variance. Some of that is because we did adopt boys volleyball, which added about between 35 and 45 athletes at most of our high schools that are male specific. So um we haven't done our survey for um accommodating interests. We're hoping to send that out this fall. I included a sample survey in the document that I included on board docs. I'm going to have legal

025review that communications and see if we want to modify that at all. But we use the original survey that was contracted when we had the original lawsuit few years. Um I also put a link there to our district web page and our district handbook. Um happy answer any questions or whatever you guys have. >> Oh, sorry, Mrs. Patter. I know that's not standard procedure, but um it does say on your on your document, facilities are equitable with the new construction of the softball clubhouse at Jordan High School. There was no other specific areas of concern. And as of um A or was it September 11th, we suddenly have information that the fields are not safe at Jordan's baseball >> Baseball. I know it's not >> but we're talking Title N, >> not General. >> Okay.

026>> Well, I think that's great. I've been included on all those communications and there's some validity to some of that. Um but uh in terms of there being actually on male facilities In the last title N report, the last remaining concern softball just construction on that. So in terms of equity and gender, we're okay. Doesn't mean all our facilities are >> okay. So yes, it's a facility issue, but it's true. We do not have equal facilities for both male and female. >> Anyone else? My question is I mean there's a lot of good information on those links for like athletes, but how I mean are we sending that information out to parents >> when they have an like when will parents know that we have all that really good information on our website? >> The

027website we can send something home. >> Well, I'm just wondering if when like an athlete registers if we are sending them a link to that, right? There's a lot of good information on this. >> We we have not done that. It's just there for readily available information they would like to search. >> I'm not opposed to that. Has never come up. >> Mr. >> I just want to piggy back on that. Our website's a hot mess and you can't find anything on it. And so if it's just on the website, that kind of means it's not available. >> Yeah, I think we need to proactively send that out because I mean there's a lot of good information and a lot of work that. So I just want to make sure parents know that's >> I

028will work on that with external relations. >> Another thing for you guys to do. >> Okay. Any other questions? >> I do have one more thing to add and additionally as part of the settlement we had agreed to start doing more um positive uh encouragement in the lower grades and getting girls in high school athletics earlier and I didn't bring a sample with me. Jeff delivered the first batch of posters we're going to put in some of the elementary and middle schools today. So we are that might the number participating in sport but as a district right to have to have none of our schools with a bigger than 10% disparity is actually significant accomplishment. We're having a high really high percentage of girls participate in which is great. Thank you. >> That's great. Thank

029you, >> Michelle. I think that's a really good recommendation that, you know, to continue to show that we're trying to promote girls sports. That's a good place, I think, to fold that information into and also about reaching out to to parents and continue to encourage women to engage in athletics. And it is one of the that they're looking at a good way that information >> is a sample poster. So great. Thank you, J. Thank you, Dr. Sherwood. >> Now we will go on to our nutrition services report, annual report and Sebastian Vars, director of nutrition services will present this to us. Good afternoon. Yeah, it's my pleasure to be here tonight and to give you our annual report. Uh, a few things are the same which I want to go over quickly because you hear

030them all the time. I'll just probably highlight the things that are changing and what we will see changing in the future too um for our programs. Um, so this is as far as our workers go. Um, this is one of the first years in a while that we are actually really well staffed. Um, say that people need to work more so because of living but it's working to our advantage. We have only when I see that it's only one page of opening positions that's a great start for the school year. If I compare that to maybe four years ago when we had 94 positions to start the school year when we have 300 employees and one third was missing. That was that's that's kind of difference that we are having. So that's really good. Um

031The only one that we are missing as far as management positions. Um you can probably if you're in this building tell we haven't had a cafe manager uh for a while now. We we've had a few applicants that were not qualified. Then we went through a period of no applicants and just this week we got three new applicants. So I'm excited to review them and see if we can get a manager for the cafe. Um on the national school lunch program um pretty much the requirements have stayed the same. Um the only thing that has been different is that the reimbursement rates went down. Uh we were operating under the reimbursement rates for profit which we had a little bit more than 54 cents per meal and now they went back to precoid. Uh unfortunately

032the cost of living didn't go back to precoid. So we're being asked to do the same thing that we did before but with less money. Um as far as district goes. We've been able to manage that and during the years we were able to build a healthy fund balance and we're using that to mitigate the increase in food cost and labor cost and still not increase the lunch prices for the students. Uh other measures that we're taking to proactively mitigate this is we're looking at what has really has gone up price and the example that comes to mind is the trades that we used to have in every school. We switched to now trays that you can wash. Uh we did a cost benefit analysis and that alone was a $300,000 saving per year. >>

033Now we are having some issues still adjusting because we're losing some of the trades. Students are not returning them. So, but we're working with the schools and the principal to see if we can get support. But ultimately, I mean, we're doing those kind of things that are going to save us some money because our goal is to continue not charging a lot for students. Um, here are some pictures of the popular choices. Uh, one thing that I want to say as we look through these pictures, um, it's always nice when we get phone calls from parents that move from our states into our district and they comment on the quality and the choices that the students get in. I had a recent a phone call last week actually from a family of from Texas and

034they were very impressed with the choices and the meals that their elementary students get here time so but that's we usually hear the bad the complaints so whenever I hear the good things I'm like okay we're doing a good job um on the breakfast programs um still the same um we are mandated now if still the threshold you are over 30% of free use. You have to offer alternate breakfast programs which we are currently we have is bel offering breakfast in the classroom and all of those schools listed in the slide they're offering a second chance breakfast uh as per legislation which is great because it gives students who were tardy or were hungry and didn't get a chance to get a breakfast to go and still get something at school and continue with their

035day. Now, there's new legislation that came into place this year. Um, HB 100 allowed all of the students who qualify for free for reduced price to get free lunches. So, they're not going to be charged for lunch. We communicated that to our parents. Uh, it doesn't cover breakfast, but the 40 cents that they would pay for lunch is covered by the state. So, we have to now apply. They have a grant system that they just opened this week. will be applying for those plans because we want the cost for those students qualifying for reduced meal price. And then we have H2 which is introduces new restriction to food additives. Um as you can see on the list there's a huge list of additives. As we went through the list we only had like a handful

036of items that we serve that were impacted by this new legislation. So that was really good to to know and We're already working into getting rid of those and um replacing them for items that don't have the additives. This legislation um is supposed to start next school year, but we're practically just getting ready it so we can be this on the seamless program. It's um operating this as less schools every year. This is a trend that we're seeing that we usually had the title one schools that operated all of this program and we had really high participation especially during co those were the years that we we actually made money on this program. We normally don't just offer it as a service for the community but lately we're seeing the trend that less and less

037people are coming. Um but we so we started seeing what's going on and we know that more communications have been open around the area that students can go within distance. So that's affecting our numbers and also um we're seeing that because of the cost of living the area sandy city families are actually moving out which you probably can see also enrollment which of course affects our program but we're still offering the program and students are taking advantage of that. Uh the first first fruits and vegetable program this is also a grant that we apply for every year. Uh on free and reduced percentages per school. Unfortunately, we lost it. We lost it for Glacia Hills because the threshold for free and reduced went down and they don't have as high as previous years. So, they

038didn't qualify. Um, but we have Sandy Coat that still participated in the program and we got a roughly $175,000 to get snacks in the form of fresh fruits and vegetable for students. Um this is just some examples of the fresh produce that we offer with the meals. We always aim for color and also texture of course freshness and whenever we can we buy local we started this they were delicious. So good. Um the cafe as I mentioned is operating under minimal menus right now because we don't have manager. Um, but our plan is to hopefully get that manager hired soon and be able to cater as well so we can sustain the cafe for employees. I know they appreciate the low cost of meals that we offer building. Nutrition education is a big part that

039we do. We try to connect always our menus to the classroom and this year our theme is build a healthy body with school meals and it's based on the Minecraft movie that came out last year that was very popular with the students. Of course we use Minecraft but this is what um the graphic designer from district came up with but they did a really good a really good job. So um every school will have a promotion day where the menu is around this and we'll have activities for students to learn about how they can build a healthy body in the schools. This um I want to talk a little bit about the free and reduced percentages districtwide. Um you can see now the trend that we're seeing is that is slowly going down. We are

040down for free meals at 22.57% as of now but our reduced meals went up to 5.37%. Um The main concern I have on this is the CP program, the schools that currently qualify for free meals based on geographic location which is covered bel um the legislation we're watching this national legislation is changing uh or is being attempted to change. U lowering the threshold is one of the bills that has been introduced but there is also representatives that want to increase the threshold for these schools to follow. One of the thresholds proposed was 60% which if that goes into effect we would lose all of our C programs. We don't have the data to sustain that% are schools at >> um right now we aim for about 40% but we can we can implement the program

04125% and above to break even we need really like 42%. And that's what we aim some schools because our goal is as soon as we started with schools on free meals, we want to maintain that status. We have Mid Valley for example went below that threshold but so helping me for example is higher than Mid Valley so it averages out. So we can break. So just real quick on that that also if I remember right Sandy was our last school that threshold that also qualifies them for title automatically title one I think doesn't it is that right if I remember >> or was it a combination of that and other trying to think just when Sandy came on board that how that affected our title status too but all of that happened about the same

042time >> always been a title school >> oh mid valley Um, so at this point we cannot really say what's going to happen with legislation, but for now we're in the second year of a fiveyear cycle. So at least we have three school years until we can come up with the data. And just so you know, the data is always full on April 1 calendar year. So we have to go by that data and but we monitor the d throughout the month to see if we have more students qualifying or less. So hopefully by April 1, we run it every year and if we see data that qualifies for our programs before the five years over, we actually can certify starting at that point for another. >> How do you feel to Sebastian? I know

043in years past sometimes families don't choose to even fill out the free reduced form for lots of different reasons. I mean, do you feel like for the most part our our families are filling out the forms or do we is that something that you're we're always campaigning to get. >> So that's a great question. Um >> whether or not they qualify and that's important to us. >> Great question. So the applications are always available registration. Actually to register you have to check that you have read the free application whether to bypass it or to fill it out. Um two things with that. So the C program is not based on applications. The data that we have to pull is through the state and DWS and if families qualify for example for um this supplemental nutrition

044assistant program SNAP they automatically qualify for free meals. So they look at that percentage of students and they use a multiplier and that's when we get threshold 42% to break even. So um one thing to understand is as people are not applying so much for those benefits anymore then of course the data is going down and that's the decrease that we're seeing um now can they still do a free release application and if they qualify they get free means yes but that doesn't guarantee that the whole school if we don't have another interesting fact this is the first year actually that I've gotten phone calls from parents filling out the application don't qualify for telling us can you make an exception because they give me all of these reasons which are very valid but that

045tells me that I mean families are having a hard time >> inflation's good >> that's tough >> and I have to explain to them it's not a district based decision this is a federal program that's the threshold >> so it's hard um but I just want to let you know because I mean of course every year the data and we'll do the best to come out but we cannot tell people to apply for SNAP benefits. It's something that they either do or don't. Um we also started um to provide daycare meals this year to bright high school. We did corner jur previously and this is dayare for employees. Um they really appreciate it and we try to make it as affordable as possible. This of course is not a federal program. So we cannot charge

046the same as we would eat reinforcement but for three meals that we give during the day the breakfast snack is a $6 a day which we try to make it very affordable for our >> Okay. Sorry to one more question that comes up a lot when I'm out in schools. >> I know. Okay. This guy's here too. So employees that supervise lunch are always asking why can't they get reduced rate or free or just can you walk everybody through that in the room so it's on the record? >> So the legislation says that only employees who are directly involved with production can get under the program allow allowance to because this is federal funding for kids. So they they say you can feed your workers and the custodian assigned to the lunchroom but everybody else

047is not a student and that's not >> doesn't qualify they don't qualify for the fun >> and I explain that to people just so it's out there everyone knows >> because if I could wave a magic wand I mean they work just as hard they deserve it how we get around that >> people who have been in the district for probably 10 15 years because this changed in the past we were able to >> we could and and it wasn't a big deal, but then of course legislation has changed and everything and budget tighter. So, >> thanks for that. >> Um, but speaking of adult meals, um, we can still offer adult meals at a price that affordable. Uh, it's not free, but currently our adult lunch price is $5 and breakfast is $3. And

048with that, you get a fruit, a vegetable, a grain, a protein, and a I probably cannot think of any place outside that you can get it at for $5. Um, how is that calculated? Because we've had that question come up a lot, especially from teachers that say, "How come it's so expensive to buy?" >> Well, it used to be cheaper a few years ago. That's why. Um but um that's something that we also uh don't have a lot of control. The federal government gives us a formula and the formula is we got to take the lunch reimbursement plus the value of the USDA foods that we receive and that's the minimum we can charge and right now for lunch we are at $4.99. We charge $5. So we're making it as affordable as we can

049at this time for adults to get a lunch and for breakfast is we're actually over is 32 24. So eventually and give you the heads up as you are the ones that approve this increases. Uh eventually we will have to raise the adult lunch and breakfast. You know we'll get the phone calls again. How come we that's the reason that's what you get with with um lunch and the breakfast if you're an adult. Um let's address the other big elephant for our department which is the school lunch debt. Um it's interesting to me that over the years the school much debt is getting bigger and bigger and and I get it. I mean people are having a hard time with inflation and they're not able to pay the bills. We closed the school year 2025

050with $233,000 and of that $53,000 were from inactive students which probably we won't recoup. We we sent messages every week uh telling them that they're the negative. Um but as experience has shown that we're inactiv um we did have some donations from the private sector and this year those to $26,000 on donations which is nice um which is about 10% the whole debt but that's we're very grateful for some of them are very specific that donor actually high school student that peak was the school he picked that he decided to pay the debt school um then we had some parents calling saying how come you're paying my debt I could pay We have others that we're very grateful, but when the donors are that specific, we we are obligated to apply it to that specific

051school. If they're not specific, then we go general like high school that has um how are we able to maintain then all this and not raising the cost? Like I mentioned, we healthy fund balance. Even though we were in the negative this year, we we lost about two millions of our fund balance. Um, but just as a reminder, we did have a fund balance of about seven and a half operating funds, which by legislation were supposed to only have three months. Uh, so we had more than double. Um, where did that money go? We did invest in equipment. We bought about $750,000 worth of equipment for our kitchens just to keep them with the state-of-the-art equipment to produce the quality of meals that we always do. And the rest went to balance the cost of

052increased food cost, labor cost, and of course not charging more. Um, this year we're not going to spend much on equipment. We our fund balance now is good for another six months. So we're still double the federal requirement of three months. Um but not we're not foreseeing any increases in reinforcement from this administration and we still have a few more years to go. So we're a little more frugal and kind of watch it because our goal is to maintain the health and balance as much as we can and not increase prices for the presentation. Any questions? Thank you so much, uh, Mr. Edel. >> So, first, thanks so much, uh, because I've got kids that eat school meals every day, uh, and elementary and middle, and they they they love the food. Um, >> appreciate

053that. >> And I I hear lots of lots of great things about about the food on a regular basis. So, thank you to you. Um, and and to to your staff because really great job. Um, and then as a parent, I also appreciate you keeping the uh the prices low with the work that you do on that. That helps helps me. Um, I did get one question and um I wonder if you can provide some clarification. So, I had some people who were concerned about like the breakfast cereals and that they've got lots of sugar. And I understand though that the food that we get is different than you might get in the store. >> It is different. So I mean they may see the same brand and the same product but the formulation of

054the product is completely different. So industry has the school food industry and then they have the regular industry that they sell to the public. So for example lucky charms they would be called grain less sugar and some items could be lower fat. So it's all adapted to regulations. Now um There is some legislation coming up regulating or restricting sugar even harder. So industry is currently working reformulating the products as well. So they can make that. So yeah, that's that's the best that I can tell them. But we do have those questions sometimes and um cereal is one of them. The other one that we do is if we have raisins or if we have anything that dry fruit and it's important for the public to understand how sugar work. You have added sugar to a

055product and you have naturally occurred sugars to the product. So the naturally occurring sugars there is nothing because that's that's the product itself like raisins will it's a fruit considered fruit higher in sugar because that's the nature of grapes and then what they're trying to control is the added sugars. So yeah that will be decreasing in the future. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. No, thank you. It's a great question. >> Any other questions? I think that thank you for your work. This is always really interesting and thanks for all you're doing. Help us save money. >> Okay, so that is our last item. So now we will just have a break until we have business meeting at 7. Okay. Welcome everyone to the meeting of the Canyon's Board of Education. Today is September 16th, 2025

056and we're meeting at the district office located at 9361 South 300 East in Sandy, Utah. The first item on the agenda is to approve the agenda for tonight. So, I will now take a motion. >> I'll make a motion to approve tonight's agenda for September 16th, 2025. >> Okay. Thank you. Is there a second to that motion? >> I'll second. >> Okay. Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion to the motion? >> Okay. Seeing none, I'll call for a vote. All in favor say I. I >> Okay, that motion passes unanimously. I would also like to excuse board member Dolly. Um, she is out of the country and Mrs. Oaks will be joining us. Oh, sorry. Mrs. Nybar will be joining us a little later. Um, okay. So, the

057next item on the agenda is the pledge of allegiance and Brenda McCann, principal of Hillrest, will lead us in that, and then we'll hear some school highlights. >> Please rise. I pledge allegiance to the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Board members and community, thank you for the opportunity to share some wonderful things happening at Hillrest High School over the last year. This last year we've had some awesome academic excellence occur. Hillrest High School continues to be the leader in rigorous academics through our international bachelorette program. It's now in its 20th year and we just passed our accreditation for I think the fourth time. So that was every happens every five years and we were able to

058just complete that and passed with that. This year, our students earned record numbers of AP and IB exam scores of four and five, and our graduation rate has continued to improve, reflecting the hard work of both the students and the staff and the teachers. Student engagement. Our theater program last year received best of state and I didn't quite know what that was till this year I had the opportunity to go and be at the dinner. And I guess if you can recommend yourself or put in an application and you win best of state. So this year I went to the dinner and was able to be there with some of our students and our theater teachers and and as we were sitting there I made a comment and said, "Hey, do you think we'll win

059the overall prize?" And my teacher looked at me and said, "No way." And the next thing they said right after that was Hillrest High School come up. And we won the overall category for best in state for the grand prize for educational excellence. So, it was awesome to be able to go up on the stage and receive the best in state trophy for that. Hillrest athletics has also brought home many region championships all while maintaining an awesome GPA. We continue to expand the opportunity to be on the classroom through STEM and robotic teams and through uh well, I think we've had thousands of hours put into community service through all of our students, our Hillcrest Community Center and Teen Center. through that. I just want to go over some statistics that we've done over the

060past three years. I had her work these up for us. And we also have what's called the free market that's there. And 22 and through 22 and 23, we helped 362 students use the market. 23 and 24, we had 367 students use the market. Our school range is about 2450 students. So that gives you a little bit of an idea of the numbers that were using it. the uh last year we had over 401 students who used the free market at some level. And to break that down a little bit more, 10% of those students received produce, 26 received pantry and food supplies, 17% received clothes, clothing of some item, 8% had laundry services that they used there and supplies. 17% received hygiene products. Uh, moving on, we distributed 360 pairs of shoes. 141 winter

061coats and break bags. 201 families receive substance for Thanksgiving. 150 students received free eyelasses. 700 students were given winter coats. Out of this, we supply 22 caps and gowns for graduation. 470 prom dresses. And And there's more and more. And I'm just going to stop that. I think everyone knows Hillrest is an awesome school and something I need to say thank you to you because without the support we have for our free market, for our athletics, for the IB program which the district has helped support all along for those 20 years, Hillrest would not be able to do the things they do. And for wonderful community members who support us each day. We also would like to say thank you for our awesome football stadium. It's now pretty much almost done. there's just a little

062bit left to do and we've been able to play all our home games there this year and it's been awesome. So, thank you for the community and the board support for that. So, thank you. >> Okay. Thank you so much. We love to hear about our schools and the wonderful things that are happening there. And please um pass on our thanks to your staff for all they do for students. Okay. The next item on the agenda is the Canyon Strong employee recognitions and Jeff Haney, director and Christian Stewart, associate director of communications will present this. Thank you, President Schill, for the time that you give us in board meeting to recognize the people who make us Canyon strong. One of the strengths of Canyon's district is our commitment to honoring the principles on which our

063country was founded. We are proud to unfurl the American flag in all of our classrooms and the red, white, and blue of old glory at at all of our events. It's certainly a reminder of the importance and the brilliance of our constitution. Tomorrow, schools all across Utah and Canyon School District will celebrate Constitution Day and that make it commemorates the signing of the Constitution on September 17th, 1787. serves as a day to reflect on the Constitution's significance, the principles of American democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Another day that is close to our hearts is September 11th. We'll never forget the terror attacks of that day in 21, excuse me, 2001. This year, following a nationwide tradition, Canyon School District resource officers they climbed stadium stairs equaling 110 stories. And this feat um

064follows the first responders who responded uh to the World Trade Center on that fateful day. The 911 memorial stair climb is a symbolic gesture to remember the sacrifice of the people who ran toward danger. The Alta High girls soccer team also helped to honor our first responders here in Utah. They helped put up a commemorative flag display near Sandy City Hall. The display is made up of 365 flags representing the Utah police officers, firefighters, first responders and military service members who have lost their lives in a line of duty since 2001. Now, technology is supposed to make our lives easier, but these are the people in technology who make our lives easier when technology doesn't work. I asked Derek before if he'd actually looked through my presentation. He said, "No, I'll just be surprised like

065everybody else." You'll see that I've included a photo of Derek Zobel. He's the IT specialist here at the district office. He's fantastic here in Canyon School District. Our IT team, well, they help us keep things running smoothly. They do a lot of work behind the scenes and we're grateful for the nearly 100 IT specialists who work every day, but especially on this day. It's National IT Professionals Day. They are experts in computer systems, software, hardware, and more than 120 software applications. They touch nearly all part of our operations at the district. And the work is done when we're not looking, but if they don't do the work, everybody sees it. We appreciate them. And to all of our IT professionals, you keep us running Canyons strong. It was fall, so it wasn't supposed to be

066so hot outside, but summer persisted and it made it pretty toasty in some of our schools that had malfunctioning air conditioning systems in recent weeks. Now, on days when you hope the chiller doesn't go out, well, the chillers went out. On days when you hoped the condensers in those units don't go out, well, they went out for a few days. Temperatures were still in the 90s outside and we had five buildings with struggling HVAC systems and so our HVAC heroes jumped into action. Our big thanks to Zach Lindren who is an assistant HVAC lead, Brandon Wolf, the energy lead, Dan Bray in energy services, Casey Hat an electrical lead, and Bob Ellis a maintenance coordinator. They all worked overtime to get those systems up and running. So, classrooms and hallways and cafeterias were not hotter

067inside than the temperatures outside. They did a great job in heated circumstances and their work. Even more projects that are done be behind the scenes. It results in canyon strong learning and working environments. So, a big shout out to our HVAC heroes for their work a few weeks ago to bring back those cool schools. Now, art can be a coping mechanism for many people, but it's a proven therapy for soldiers and our veterans. Brighton High art teacher Derek Chandler, a veteran who did peacekeeping missions in Iraq and Kosovo, is a big winner in the 2024 Veterans Affairs Creative Arts Competition. He won first place in the watercolor division for the state of Utah and he will advance to the national contest this spring. This competition recognizes the process that art plays in healing and raises

068the visibility of the creative achievements of our country's veterans. His painting is titled Cherry Bomb and that's a mighty fine Mustang he's painted there. And he tells us that that is a Mustang that he and his wife are putting back together. So congratulations to Mr. Chandler. We're Canyon's strong because of people like Fred Lowry who served as the president of the Canyons Education Foundation for several terms. He's stepping away from this leadership role for now, but his influence will be certainly felt for years. The money raised through golf tournaments and gaylas and other events, well, that's one thing. But Fred was one of the biggest cheerleaders for the magic in the classroom. And during his time heading up the foundation board, he wanted us to focus the foundation's time and attention and money on helping

069truly move the dial academically. Under Fred, the foundation also bolstered the support of health and medical initiatives and our resource closet, which is packed with donated items to make sure that no student goes without food, school supplies, or clothing. We also started a scholarship so that students and some of our education support professionals can go to college to become teachers here in Canyon's district. We're indebted to Fred's leadership, his strong support of the Canyon's District Teacher of the Year program, and the foundation is holding its annual golf tournament on Thursday. The money will go to straight back toward one of Fred's favorite programs, our innovation grant program. Thank you to Fred Lowry for serving as the president of the foundation board. Now he's he's surprised by this too because he didn't know that I was

070going to include this slide. Congratulations to Superintendent Doc. Okay, you're not going to boo yourself, Dr. Robbins. A thumbs down. Yeah, Dr. Robbins has been selected by the Utah School Library Association as the administrator of the year. this he was nominated in recognition of his support of literacy programs and his support of media centers and libraries across the district the associ so [Applause] I agree Dr. Robins, I'm I'm very glad that you got this. You've been a huge supporter of literacy in the Canyons district, of our library programs and initiatives like book Blitz that encourages students to read books and then come in and participate in a game show style uh event where they rack up points for remembering things that h in in the books that they read. So, congratulations to Dr. Robbins for

071being the administrator of the year for the Utah School Library Association. Friday night lights. It's on its way. All the other trappings of fall with musicals and rehearsals. You hear the uh marching bands practicing outside in the afternoons. Go and hear the cheers, the volleyball games, the cross country races, soccer games, so much more. Homecoming crowds will roar at Jordan High and Hillrest High this weekend. They will be in stadiums. And as Mrs. man just mentioned, Hillrest has a brand new stadium thanks to the vision of school improvement of the board of education. And at Jordan High School, they will be enjoying a new scoreboard thanks to a donation by a major beat digger. We call him the beatd digger extraordinaire. That's uh Dan Jorgensson. and he has donated more than $700,000 to the Canyon's

072Education Foundation for Jordan High School. Is it Yeah. Let's give a round of applause to him. I was telling my uh the folks I met from Jordan High School here that this is my Jordan High School jacket. I just got it. I'll say it's Beatdigger colors. Good luck to Jordan and Hillrest this weekend at their homecoming games and best of luck to the students as they continue this fall reaching for their dreams through education. So, we hope to see everybody at the homecoming games under Friday night lights to see the new stadium at Hillrest and the new scoreboard and other improvements at Jordan High School. So, welcome back to the school year. This is Canyon School District where you learn more, do more, and can be more. President Schill, we thank you for this time

073to celebrate what makes us Canyon strong. We turn the time back to you. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Haney. We have now come to the patron comment portion of our meeting. The board often designates time in meetings to listen to patrons of the district. Patron comment time is limited to residents and taxpayers of Canyon's district. Students and parents of students and current employees of the district. Patrons may provide board members with written documents. And that is our board secretary right there. These documents must be submitted to the board secretary at the meeting or emailed to the office of public communications by noon of the day following the board meeting. Tonight, since we have so many people here, we are going to give individuals 2 minutes because we want to be able to hear everyone and

074groups four minutes. And hopefully we should be able to fit everyone in. Um, our normal patron comment time is 45 minutes. We're going to extend that to an hour to also make sure we can hear from all of you. Um those representing groups or themselves um will be given the four minutes and comments made during patron comment are part of the public record. It is the board's practice to listen and take notes during patron comments. The board of education does not discuss matters that are not on the meeting's agenda nor engage in public comment on individual students to protect their privacy or employee issues. If a patron wants to comment on a district employees character, professional competence, or mental or physical health, the board requests those comments be submitted to the board in writing. However,

075if the patron determines to verbally comment on those personnel issues, the comments need to be civil and refrain from personal attacks, insults, defamatory, or slanderous comments about an individual. The board of education values inputs on all sides of issues. To maintain decorum and respect, we ask that those in attendance refrain from applause or other types of demonstrations during the patron comment time as well as throughout the meeting. So the reason we ask that is that um parents, we may have two different groups of parents here and we just want to maintain respect for for all sides. Um okay, since we have so many, I'm going to read two names and then just the second person be ready to come up so we can quickly go through this. Um, also if I say your name incorrectly,

076please correct that when you come up to the microphone. Okay, the first person we have is Christa Pippen. The next one will be Tara, sorry, Taylor Burha. Burhow. Thank you, um, President Jill and members of the board and district leadership. Um, I'm Chris Pippen and I stand here tonight serving in the capacity of elected president of the Canyon's Education Association, um, CA, and I am representing all licensed educators in Canyon's district. We felt compelled tonight to come and to uh express our deep disappointment and our frustration and our disheartenment with the recent decision by the district leadership to disregard previously negotiated and long-standing agreement um that the week prior to parent teacher conferences and the week of of course that no um meetings such as PLC's and or professional development be held. Um the agreement

077has existed as a matter of professional courtesy but also for that critical support for educator effectiveness and ultimately for student success. past D district practices has recognized the importance of granting the prior week uh meeting time um so that educators had some extra time to help with the extra work necessary to prot prepare for parent teacher conferences. This is time to review and to analyze student data. Um it's their performance data. It's to reflect on students academic progress and of course it's to develop those individual goals and supports to ensure that all students have opportunities to succeed. As a district that prides itself on making datadriven decisions, it is contradictory um and dismor demoralizing um to see the the vital planning time that our educators need taken away. Uh P uh parent teacher conferences are

078a cornerstone of our collaboration with families. Um it's a vital role and we are being denied that opportunity to adequately prepare. Um and the quality and impact of that um is that our interactions with our families will suffer. We again urge district leadership to honor the commitments made in good faith and restore the prep time previously provided and negotiated for to educators during this critical part of our academic um calendar year. Our focus has always um been and has will continue to be on student growth and success and we're just asking the same commitment from our leadership through their actions that support educators in fulfilling our mission effectively. So, thank you so much for our time tonight. We look forward to restoring a collaborative relationship. >> Okay. Thank you. Um we have Taylor Barha and

079then Brooke Eastm. Good evening. My name is Taylor Burhow and I live in the Parklane Elementary boundary in my childhood home which my husband and I purchased in 2020. I just would like to comment unsurprisingly on the recent boundary changes recently recently released by the board. Um I'm apprehensive about the proposal to close either Park Lane or Granite for a few reasons, many of which will surely be touched on tonight by my fellow community members. But I'd like to specifically focus my comments on concerns about traffic flow, particularly in a scenario where the entirety of um the Parkland student body is required to drive to Granite Elementary. Most students wouldn't be immediate would not immediately qualify for busing options and I fear that this proposal will likely create a major traffic and safety issue. The

080two roads connecting the Parklane boundary area to the gr to Granite Elementary, as we all know, are narrow and winding and imparts nearly one way. Hundreds of cars trying to drop off and pick up at the same time will cause severe congestion and unsafe conditions for students and neighbors alike. Parkley Elementary, by contrast, is situated on rider wider roads which facilitate an objectively better traffic flow and consequently a likely safer drop off and pickup system. Additionally, in a scenario where Park Lane remains open, less students would have to commute to Park Lane than in the reverse scenario, also reducing traffic congestion. I mourn the closure of either of these neighborhood schools. This has been in my community since I was born, and I've had many positive experiences with both schools. The wa loss of walkable

081school options is a tragedy for all involved. I would that neither school closes, that we all maintain walkable access to our schools, which strengthens neighborhood relationships, provides children with valuable functional skills, strengthens our communities, encourages peer-to-peer social socialization, which is increasingly under attack in our current technological environment. That said, in the event that one school should close, the sensible solution from a traffic perspective is to not require an entire intact school boundary to transport kids to another school. Thank you. >> Okay, thank you. Um, now we have Brooke Eastm and then Shelley Christensen. >> Good evening members of the board. My name is Broo Eastm and I'm a parent of three school-aged children in this district. I also live in the neighborhood south of 9400 South and west of East Lel. This is the neighborhood

082that is proposed to be cut out of the Granite Park boundaries. I have many many concerns and comments with the with the proposals that were set forth at the last meeting. But tonight, I would just like to point out that the perceived savings of eliminating bus service to the elementary age students in my area is inaccurate. So, at minimum, the families living in the Pinedale and Equestrian circles are more than a mile and a half from Willow Canyon Elementary. And that's using the measuring method set forth by the Utah Board of Education. So, we will still require bus service as the school is up to 1.8 miles from some homes and it's nearly a 40-minute walk for an adult. This walk is too long and it's unsafe. So, you are either asking children to walk

083along 9400 South for a mile and cross at the incredibly busy intersection of Highland Drive or to take 9800 South and Highland Drive without a crosswalk. So, I will insist on bus service continuing to my area and I know my neighbors will as well. I think that a better option is to keep the school communities together, even if it means that a new combined Park Lane and Granite School is at or slightly above capacity for a school year or two. I think that we should consider portable classrooms. And I think that you can see that the declining population in the area is continuing. People are moving in and the children that come with them do not replace or increase the number of children who are aging out of school or through the attrition from relocation.

084This appears to be a deliberate but nonsensical carveout and it hurts our community. I support the consolidation of our two schools, but I do not support being cut out of our community. Thank you. >> Okay, thank you. Now, Sel Shelley Christensen and then Isaac Corkeran. Hopefully that's right. >> Hi, I'm Shelley Christensen. I teach at Willow Canyon Elementary and I also live, excuse me, within the canyon's boundary district or district boundaries. Um, I've read through the proposed boundary recommendations put forward by the committee and would like to share some of my thoughts with you specifically concerning the Granite Park Lane and Willow Canyon uh re reboundaries. I believe the plan is short-sighted and leaves Willow Canyon in a critical situation. Combining nearly all of Granite and Parklane enrollments into one school certainly creates a thriving

085student and parent community, but at a severe cost to Willow Canyon. With the current proposal adding only 50 regular ed students and 40 ACC students, Willow Canyon enrollment will grow, but not enough to add new teachers. This simply means bigger class sizes. Also, the 50 students slated to join Willow Canyon would have the opport the option to permit into the newly aligned boundary of the combined Granite Park Granite and Park Lane community. With the consistently shrinking population in Willow Canyon's boundary, it won't be long before Willow Canyon is back in the same critical situation it is now with low enrollment. It seems like the most obvious solution has been deliberately ignored, dividing Park Lane enrollment between Granite and Willow Canyon, creating two thriving communities. This would ensure that two excellent schools remain open with full

086staffing and uh more stable enrollments. As you know, Willow Canyon has a longstanding track record of excellence, scoring in the top 10 of uh state or schools in the state consistently. Every seat that is filled will be an opportunity for growth in the caring hands of expert teachers and staff. Thank you for your efforts and support to help Kenyon's district create the best solutions for students, parents, and teachers. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, Isaac Corkerum. and then Carrie Boyd Peak. >> Hey, good evening everyone. I'm Isaac Corkran. Um, I recently moved to Sandy and I'm a parent of tu uh two young kids. My growing family and I love our community and are motivated to share our concerns with the recent boundary study, specifically a lack of transparency, rigor, and details on the motiv

087motivation for boundary changes. The study I read contains a lot of the what, but neglects to transparently share the why. The 2025 boundary study proposes combining Park Lane with Granite Elementary, resulting in the closure of one of the two schools. Study sites a current impact on students, but misses out on communicating the impact on future students such as my children. To me, this displays a lack of rigor and planning for the future, which is a concerning uh aspect for a decision with lasting impacts. Elementary enrollment in Canyon's school district has declined 16% since 2018. Uh the study claims a projection of another thousand students uh decreasing in enrollment over the next three years. The claim of falling birth rates and rising housing costs nation and statewide displays a significant opportunity to improve the quality of

088this study by examining this same information but specific to our community. The boundary study considers impacts on uh busing and safe walking routes including potential changes like suspending special busing for certain uh schools. um but neglects to provide clarity into quantified data on increased transportation costs and absenteeism risks. Closing the school without detailed school specific transportation analyses endangers student safety and access uh violating the district's core values of safe learning environments. Thank you. >> Okay, thank you. So Carrie Boyd Peak and then Britney Jarrett. and and she's representing a group. So, four minutes. My name is Carrie Boyd Peak and I'm here today um speaking on behalf of the Jordan baseball team and uh some of the the Jordan parents. I listed the individual members on the sign-in sheet. Um, you all received an email

089from me last week and in that email was a link to a PowerPoint and some pictures that showed the current status of the Jordan baseball team field. And I did include pictures of other Kenyons district fields just for comparison. Um, I know baseball's not everybody's thing, but I just wanted to make sure that that you could see the different levels and the different um, you know, the differences between between photos. Also, in that email, I asked for uh board members to take a look at to join us to come see our field and come look at um the playing conditions on our field. our field is is very unsafe and when you don't look when you look at it from a distance it looks like a normal baseball field but when you truly get up

090there and you start looking at the field um we have a lot of major concerns and they are safety concerns and when I speak about safety I I I I see a future of twisted ankles of uh twisted knees, torn ACLs because of some of the conditions of the field. The grass on the field is supposed to be in a traditional baseball field supposed to be uh Bermuda grass or Kentucky rye. We had an investigator or I'm sorry, a landscape architect come out and analyze our field. And he said, "This is the worst field I've ever seen in at a high school, and you have a whole plethora of weeds and clump grass." And he's like, "I just don't know how long this has been like this, but this is unacceptable for a baseball field."

091Part of our field is not up to Utah code. Our dugouts are built in a manner that the bricks are not offset. There are large cracks in the dugouts. And these pictures are are also in the the PowerPoint slides that I uh sent in the email. In addition to those PowerPoint slides, I did provide two copies, two hard copies of the field conditions so that you guys could see firsthand if you can't make it out to the field so you could see, you know, what we're dealing with. our warning track, that strip of strip of ground right before past the outfield right before the home run fence. Uh, a lot of schools it's it's made out of cinder or hard packed dirt and ours more often than not is mud. And I I would never

092come to you and say things that weren't true, but you can look at the pictures for yourself. It's It's very sad that our baseball team has to play in conditions like this. Speaking of our baseball team, we've got four members right here and I'm very proud of them. They chose to sit in the front row. They they have a passion for their field and they're a great little team. Um and so I'm proud of them for coming to this meeting and and being here as well. So, I I asked the board, um, I want to make it clear that we're we're coming to you for safety needs. We're not asking for fluff. We're not asking for nice to haves. We're not asking for anything above and beyond. We're asking for basic field maintenance, maybe an

093a makeover on our field so that we can play good, safe baseball. Our Jordan baseball program kicks out collegiate athletes every single year. Thank you. >> Okay, thank you so much. Um, now we have Britney Jarrett and then Jay Garfield. >> Hi, thank you so much. Uh, my name is Britney Jarrett and I'm representing myself. I'm a mom of three. I have two children at Parklane and one will be joining them in two years. The proposal to combine Park Lane and Granite um was presented as a first attempt and we appreciate any consideration that you have taken that you'll continue to take um with regard to our feedback that we've been submitting. I feel that some key factors were overlooked and that there are definitive reasons that Park Lane should not be considered for closure.

094One of the reasons the board cited as a predictor for continued decreased enrollment is the cost of housing. I averaged the nearest houses to currently on the market to both to uh Granite and Park Lane and the average cost is over $1 million less expensive around Parklane than it is around Granite. It is highly highly more likely that young families will continue moving into the Parklane area. It's a more um condensed area. There are more houses and they are not as expensive. Um Parklane is also more centrally located. uh it's more likely to be able to supplement enrollment through permitting and bringing in students from multiple directions. Um it already is a school of choice for many parents who do uh permit to the school uh for various reasons. One being afterchool care that's available

095that can pick up from there because of the central location as well as the high standardized test scores and the outstanding reputation of the school. This leads me to some enrollment information pointed out in the study. Since 2018, the Granite enrollment has dropped by 30%. In that same period of time, Parklane's enrollment has only dropped by 18%. Parklane is not the issue here. Oakdale's enrollment is down 24%, Quail Hollow's enrollment and as well as Brookwoods are each down 31%. In the same period of time, given these percentages, why is Parklane even on the table for consideration? We are at a loss for understanding what it has to do with. Um, my final point was going to be to to talk about the safety between the two schools. I'm glad that somebody else covered it. The

096route that most families will take between the two schools, it's hazardous and it's extremely dangerous if any child chose to walk or bike to school in either direction. Um, so we do understand and I understand that this is an incredibly difficult decision to make. It's incredibly different for all the parents that this could impact. Um, and we really appreciate you taking these uh these comments into consideration. Thank you. >> Okay, thank you. Next is Jake Garfield, then PJ Manion. Good evening. My name is Jake Garfield. I'm the proud parent of three children of Park Lane. I know you have a very momentous decision on your shoulders. I respect that. I really appreciate that. Uh and when there's a potential permanent closure of a school, it'll change the character of the neighborhoods forever. It'll uh could

097change the lives of these students. So that's why there's such a responsibility on the board more than usual to be completely bi or unbiased, completely neutral, completely impartial, um when you're weighing which school to close and really just rely on the actual facts. Um on the long range planning commission, um Vice President Edel is part of that long range planning committee. He's in district 4 and he has no connection to any of the three schools that could potentially be closed. That is very appropriate because he can look at it from a neutral position. Uh, President Schill is represents district 2 where both Bella Vista and Rididgerest are located and President Schill is not part of the long-range planning committee. That is also very appropriate because I would imagine that President Schill would feel affinity towards

098Bella Vista as anyone should if they've served in a community. That's a positive thing. And so she's she's not on the long-range planning committee. Uh, board member Dolly has been serving in the Granite community for years. She's been a force in that community. She's was on their SEC and that's a a wonderful thing. She's very qualified to be on this board. I was I proudly voted for but for this purpose for the long range planning committee. It would have been appropriate if she had recused herself. Um she did not recuse herself and I think that has put a cloud over this process and I think you need to keep that in mind. Uh recently a a parent emailed um board member Dalian and asked her asked her about her her partiality to her granite and

099she said I understand that I may have biases but I work really hard to put those aside. I believe her. I believe board member Dolly sincere that she is trying to put those aside, but the right thing to do would simply be step back and recuse herself. I would recommend that you appoint a new long-range planning committee where none of the board members have any connection to any of the schools that are slated from closure that you start over with a new long-range crowning committee and uh give us new recommendations. Thank you so much. >> Okay, thank you. Okay, please no applause because we have parents from different communities. So, um, PJ Manion, then Sarah Manion. >> Um, thank you for your time and care you're putting into this process. I know decisions like this

100are not easy, and I respect your responsibility you carry. Um, I'd like to speak in support of keeping Park Lane open. The data is compelling. Park Lane's facility conditions index is 69.66%. Granite is 87.28%. Since a lower FCI score means more useful life, Parkland is a far better is in far better condition. That difference of 18 percentage points isn't small. It represents years of extended use and fewer costly repairs down the road. Parkland also has the edge in size at 62,216 square feet compared to Granite 61,79. It's a modest difference, but in real terms, it gives more room for an extended student body. On top of that, Parklane's playground is nearly brand new with multiple accessible features that benefit all students, not just some. It's true that Granite has um newer bathrooms, but a remodel

101at Parklane is a much simpler project than re relocating an entire student body into a facility that's closer to the end of its life. Um when we look at both of the when we look at both the student experience and the taxpayer investment, Park Lane stands out and um as a clear choice for the future. It's a stronger building, a better fit for families, and a smarter use of resources. I trust that as you consider these options, you'll keep the long-term well-being of students at the center. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. Now, Sarah Manion and then Meg Pac. Hello. I am here to advocate that the Parklane schools stay open because student stability and wellness matter in our district. Keeping Park Lane open is the solution that displaces the least amount of children and

102gives the most kids access to safely walkable schools. One of the best aspects of Parklane is how walkable and bikeable it is. Every day, rain or shine, you can see dozens and dozens of students out in the fresh air getting exercise and getting themselves to and from school, creating no pollution and drop off congestion in the meantime. Because our neighborhood is so walkable, Parklane doesn't require any busing for general education students, which saves hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars each year. Park Lane is ideal for safe walkability because, as has been mentioned, of its central location, the plentiful amount of stop signs, crosswalks, wide shoulders, and sidewalks that stretch out in every direction. Walking to school is just good for kids. It builds community, social benefits, confidence. Research consistently shows that it promotes general health

103and contributes to students alertness and cognitive functioning. I'm confident that this healthy daily routine contributes to Parklane's excellent test scores. Many families, including my own, chose to move into our neighborhood specifically for the ability for our kids to walk and bike to and from school. It is a huge asset that will continue to be a draw for school-aged families to join the neighborhood. The fact is that Granite Elementary is not essential or walkable. There are fewer safe walking routes near the school and its neighborhood spans a wide area. Far more Granite students currently rely on busing and parent drop offs. It's also relevant to note that many Granite students in the current boundary actually live closer to Park Lane and would be able to start walking to school if Granite and Parklane combined into the

104Parklane building. I realize that a walkable school is not available to all and it is an ideal privilege. So when this kind of ideal school does exist, it is a complete waste and it is thriving. It's in a complete waste to see it closed down to transport all of its student body to a bus ccentric and driving driven school. The long-range planning committee is supposed to consider walkability, but I urge you to make it a priority. Walkability hugely impacts student safety, health, and academic performance. And it's a crucial reason crucial reason why if granite and parklane are to combine, the Parklane building is a far superior option. Thank you so much. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, now Meg Pac, then Kinley Garfield. >> I'm Meg Pac. I'm speaking on behalf of myself and I'm very

105nervous. So, thank you for listening. Um, I've been a proud parent of Parklane Elementary for six years. What I learned at the last board meeting was that Parklane is at risk not because of failing academics, but because of a parking lot district sites cost saving, but hasn't shown the full picture. What about increased cost of busing students, upgrading Granite's older building to house additional students, and continued employment of our cherished teachers, or the impact of losing a trusted community hub? We deserve a full costbenefit analysis, a fair and inclusive process without bias, and a plan that puts kids first. Another school in our district recently upgraded their parking lot at the cost of roughly 380,000. When you factor in the proposed cost of adding four buses to move our kids to Granite, a similar upgrade

106at Park Lane would break even in less than two years. Whereas the bus costs would be a continued 200,000 per year, hitting 2 million in wasted taxpayer dollars by year 10. We'd been increasing the population or excuse me, increasing the pollution and risking clean air safety by forcing a fully walkable school community to drive or bus kids to a location that is already heavily congested. Safety concerns have already been addressed, so I'll move on. Park Lane has more square footage, more classrooms, a better FCI score, a higher population, and an open blacktop that has space available for growth. We are ready and excited to adopt the Granite community into our new school community. Enrollment is down, but what if it rebounds? From a fairness standpoint, the decision to preserve Granite would feel unbalanced. The median

107home price in Parklane boundary is 735,000, whereas the medium home price in Granite is 1.2 million. Closing Park Lane would dis disproportionately impact middle- tier families while protecting the school located in one of the wealthier boundaries in the district. That raises real equity concerns, especially when you factor in that close to 90% of the students in Parklane's boundary choose our wonderful walkable school and only 60% of families located in Granite's boundary choose Granite as their school. This highlights our boundaries robust support for Park Lane. This is a permanent decision based on temporary trends. Please don't turn our beautiful walkable school into a park into a parking lot and bus our schools somewhere bus our children somewhere when they would be happily walking down the street where they go now. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you,

108Kinley Garfield, then Christy Taylor. >> Hi, before my time starts, I have a material that was approved. Is that okay if we hold that up? Thank you. Um, so my name is Kimley Garfield. I am a parent of three kids at Park Lane and in a couple years one more. Um, and the subcommittee expressed concern about our parking lot in regards to its ability to accommodate enough buses if we were combined with Granite Elementary. Now, before I get into that, like was just said, but I want to reemphasize if buses were sent to Granite with our students when we combined that would take seven regular edes. If we were housed at Park Lane, it would take four. do the math and that's $144,000 per year more if we go to granite. Now, I also want

109to remind the committee uh the board that our school once housed 600 students at a time. So, this is a doable situation. And if we look at this map here, I'm going to step over here if that's okay. Thanks. Um, so you're going to see here, can we hold it up a little bit? Thanks. So, this is Eastale. We've got enough room here between the stop sign and this driveway for 12 buses. Again, we'd need four if we combine with granite. Um, Salt Lake School District has bus drop offs on the street in front of the school in at least three schools that I'm aware of and possibly more. They've cited no issues there. Um, another solution that I could think of is this um grass space back here is a flat area and it's

110flush with the street. Has anyone looked into what it would take to turn this into a bus drop off zone? Same thing with this black top right here. I haven't seen any analysis of whether this could be turned into a bus dropoff zone. These are large areas. We have plenty of space for our students to use already. Another thing that I haven't ever seen explored, this is an unused volleyball court at this church next door. It's basically abandoned. Has anyone ever looked into acquiring this property from this church to turn into a bus dropoff zone? Not that I've seen. So, in other words, we need to be creative in considering what we can do about parking and accommodating buses at our school before we ever consider closing our school. If we can't find a solution

111to that, then the answer to solving Granite's enrollment problem is not to close our school, but not to combine them at all. Thank you. Okay, thank you. So, now we have Christy Taylor, then Stephanie Johnson. Hello. Um, first of all, I just want to say hello to the members of the board. It's nice to see you all in person. I know we've seen a lot of emails. Um, thank you for taking the time today to listen to our communities. Um, I know you all have a lot going on and I appreciate your efforts serving on our board. I really do. I don't envy this situation that you find yourselves in. Um, my name is Christy Taylor and I am a parent advocating for families that are west of Eastale and south of I'm sorry, north

112of 9800 South. We are the pocket who are currently boundary to Granite Elementary and Albian Middle School. I served as the VP and the PTA president at Granite Elementary um and currently serve on both Albian and uh Granite's SEC's. Many of us in the Rainree Village currently have seventh graders at Albian and fifth graders at Granite, which is why this comes as such a shock to us. The decision to change our boundary effectively pulls our kids out of not one but all of their schools. My daughter Kate is thriving at Albian as a se seventh grader. Reassigning her for just one year would be disruptive and harmful during a critical developmental stage. Her little sister Olivia is excited to join her at Albian next year. My second grader is also thriving at Granite Elementary. We

113feel our small number of students in the Rainree Village is not going to make an impact at any of the proposed schools and it is our intention to special permit if we must to the tracks that we are already on. Sorry, I'm just trying to catch the notes here. Uh we feel this does not our kids do not impact your broader goals of getting the track moving where you want it to go while not displacing our pocket of students. Students whose parents have all spoken out about special permitting our kids into other schools anyway, including Granite School District if we must. This has to do with already established volunteering, car pooling, and investment in extracurricular activities. Many of us are invested more north of Sandy. We do understand that Brighton is not our school and

114our track, but we special permit there. And if you were to drive around our neighborhood, every single kid in that neighborhood has a Brighton sign. We are a tight-knit community out here fighting for the stability of our children's current education. Please join us in that fight and do what's right for our current pocket of students. As you can see, we all care. We all care deeply about this effort. We worry about a couple of things when it comes to combining with Parklane. While it is walking distance for us, they have to provide transportation to CEK and we want to know how they would justify the cost to transport all the students um in a situation where they may already be losing money. The cost of a remodel is more expensive than is what expected. We

115are also ADA compliant. >> Okay. You know, you're you're like a minute over, so >> Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I've got to cut you off. >> That's okay. So then I just want to say thank you for your time and consideration. >> Thank you. Okay, the next person is Stephanie Johnson, then Ashley Hellstrom. >> I'm a little nervous, too, so bear with me here. Good evening. Uh my name is Stephanie Johnson. I come here tonight as grateful parent of an ACC student at Parklane Elementary. You've heard outstanding research and statistics prevent presented from my fellow Parklane parents so far this evening. I appreciate all the data that is presented and I hope you guys do too. When I was approached to come speak tonight, I wanted to find the perfect way to speak

116about the proposed items moving the ACC program and from Parklane and the potential closer of Parklane Elementary. I first tried co-pilot because I do that a lot in my job. So, I figured maybe that would be the best way to do it. It gave me an awesome response. But after some thinking, I've decided to tell my Parklane story. My son started his formal education outside of the public school system here in Sandy. My son always struggled academically, but we never could really figure out why he was struggling. We decided to choose to move into the public school system for his first grade year. Within 5 days, his first grade teacher recommended additional testing for my son, noting the struggles and concerns that we had always seen. Within a matter of months, assessments, it's shown showed

117exactly what we needed to do to help our son. Within the ACC program, my my son has blossomed into a strong, confident reader within the safe and nurturing walls of Parklane Elementary. The staff here has been incredibly supportive in so many ways. The inclusive environment has helped my son reach his full potential and finding his voice, which is the most important thing we do with our kids. Moving this critical program or closing Park Lane altogether would likely severely impact his academic future and his overall security within his f familiar environment. Please reconsider the proposal of the actions of moving the ACC program from Parklane and the closing of Parklane Elementary. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. So next we have Ashley Hellstrom and then Natalie Anderson. Good evening. Thank you so much for your

118time and I want to say that I appreciate the service that you give our community. Um, and I don't envy the complex situation that you guys are in. I know it's hard and I know that you have a physical pressure of trying to balance your budget. Um, and what the complexity of small underpopulated elementaryaries looks like a um very reasonable option of how to make the balanced budget. Um but there are ways or not ways but there are rather than just numbers and maps involved there's families and communities that are being um pretty severely disrupted here. Um I was in favor of combining the two communities and we actually advocated um for that to happen so that we could have smaller we were told it would be smaller class sizes. We've actually um I'm sorry

119and as a as context um I'm part of the group on 9400 South and uh west of Eastell that's being cut out of the Granite community where we are losing two of our three schools. Um I want to just advocate that uh we are very invested in our community. Last February, we came to the uh to advocate for our teachers at their request. Um seeing that they needed a need and there was about 20 of us here that advocated for teachers to be uh two per grade at Granite and about five of our about 20 people here and five of those were from our community. We continually are invested in being room parents um and being substitute teachers and being um spending many volunteer hours at the school. We are highly invested in this community.

120We want to stay. We want to be with them and it's really hard when our sports and everything and our fundraisers all base around Granite and Albian and Brighton and for this to be ripped out from us feels pretty betrayed after we've advocated and given so much to try and be cohesive with um our school and support our teachers. Um we also want to just take the impact of what it's doing to our children as well over here. We're trying to tell them we're doing the best that we can. I have a sixth grader who is loving Albian. He was terrified of middle school. He's loving it. I would hate to have to pull him away and have him start over in such a difficult time of life and also to keep a sibling bonding

121for the his sisters to have the same pathway to the same schools that he's going. Thank you for your time. >> Okay, thank you Natalie Anderson. Then Alicia Patrick. >> Hello. Excuse me. I'm extremely nervous. This isn't usually my thing and I've never done this before, but in light of everything that's just happened in the past week, not only in Provo, but also in Salt Lake City, I think a lot of parents are feeling very frightened about sending their kids to school. And I don't want to get crazy about things, but I also don't want to be stupid about certain situations. I just wanted to bring to light that well I have two children at Draper Elementary School and the past two days I have witnessed a person making extremist videos on the path that

122leads from the Draper Park to the elementary school. It's very close. Um this elementary school is such an open community and we appreciate that so much. Um, but at the same time, I feel like it doesn't have the safety that I would desire to send my kids. I I just feel like there is some simple ways that we could correct this. We could have more safety. And one of my suggestions would be simply to just have a police car. Not even necessarily a police officer, but just police cars randomly at different schools. Who knows where they're going to be that day? Nobody knows. But just seeing that police car, I believe, is a deterrent for anybody that would want to harm our children or staff members. Um, let's see. I I'm sure I have another

123good point here. Uh um, also Draper Elementary has a very open playground. a car could drive onto that playground like that given what we know about certain tactics. I'm wondering if there could just be planters or barriers put up in certain areas so a car could not just drive onto the playground. Also, this playground is open to the public. I think there should be a gate. And like I said, I don't want to be crazy, but I don't want to be stupid. And thank you so much for your time. >> Okay. Thank you. So, next is Alicia Patrick, then Melanie Griffith. >> Good evening, board members. I'm here to speak about the Parklane and Granite boundary study with a focus though on the special education community. I'm speaking as a parent of a child with

124autism who has now been in three different elementary schools all while living under the same room in Canyon, same roof in Canyon School District. Our most recent school was Willow Canyon Elementary where my son attended the EEC program before it was dissolved in the 2023 2024 school year. That transition forced us to find a new school and we toured Granite's EEC program, but we ultimately decided it wasn't the right environment or academic fit for my son. We then chose to move to Parklane's ACC program, and that transition has been life-changing. Parklane has built a place where special education teachers like my son's teacher, Miss Fez, can excel. She has helped my son achieve more in one year than I can ever imagine possible. Park Lane has created a community where special education teachers feel included

125and valued. And that culture of support is what allows students like my son to succeed. Here's the plan that I'd like for you to consider. First look at reallocating the ABS or relocating the ABS unit from Coil Hollow to Willow Canyon. This would align the ABS students with their proper feeder school, Eastmont Middle, and then onto Alta High. It creates a clear feeder pathway for the entire southern community for the ABS students and their peers. Second, move Granite's EEC program to Quail Hollow. Quail Hollow sits right next to Albian Middle, which houses an EEC program, aligning these students with their proper feeder middle school. This move would then align them with Brighton High School, which houses an EEC program, keeping them with their peers all the way through graduation. And last, keep ACC at Park

126Lane. This preserves the natural feeder system pathway into Eastmont Middle School and onto Jordan High School while avoiding clustering two ACC programs with less than two miles. Since Glacier Hills already has one, I respectfully ask you to work with the Canyon School District special education director, Terry Mitchell, and her team. They know our community best and can help make sure that these decisions aren't just about this year, but about creating stability for years to come. Please don't let our special education community become an oversight or face unnecessary disruption again. We all belong and we all want to be included and that starts with thoughtful planning, not just placement. Okay, thank you Melanie Griffith and Laura Miller. >> Sorry, I'm not the celebrity Melanie Griffith. Just a schmo. Um, so I'm Melanie Griffith. I'm a very

127heavily involved parent at Parklane Elementary. I'm on the SEC. I volunteer in the classrooms. I'm running their reading program. Very involved. Um, I'm also here to advocate to keep Parklane open. I remember you from Willow Canyon. I used to have kids at Willow Canyon. Um uh everything that has that I have written down here has been said but as you all teach in school repetition is the best way to learn. So I just want to remind you of a few topics that the enrollment at Parklane is higher than the enrollment at Granite. And it's going to continue to be that way because of the home prices that other people previously stated. The home prices in the Parklane area are more suitable for families with children. And in fact this year our kindergarten class is larger

128than last year's kindergarten class. So, that's showing growth in the neighborhood. I'm also involved in the LDS wards and I'm seeing an increase in the primaries in my area, too. I know there are more children moving into our area. Um, so the enrollment, we've been talking about that. Um, also I just I'm a business owner. I have 160 employees. My product is a chicken sandwich. Your product is an education and great test scores. And I know in my business if I can't sell chicken sandwiches unless my employees are happy and my customers are happy. You guys have employees and parents and students who are all very concerned. And if all those things all sorry my voice is so gone. If all of those people are concerned, you're the test scores are going to struggle. Our

129your product is going to struggle. And I just want to see the Parkland community stay open because it's such a great community. The enrollment is high. you have so much parental involvement. The walking issue is a is a huge issue for us because if you come and spend a morning around Parklane, you will see the number of students and parents that are walking with their children, biking with their children, you see tandem bikes, you see trailers. It's it's really an incredible thing to see. So, due to the our population being higher and our home prices being more friendly and the community, I plead that you keep Parkling open. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, Laura Miller. >> Hi, my name is Laura Miller and I'm here to voice some concerns regarding the boundary changes and

130the impact on our most vulnerable students, the students in the UCCC program. I understand that combining schools brings benefits like better resources and more opportunities for students, but I'm worried that in this process, we've overlooked the needs of students who rely on transportation to get to school. My child, like many others in the ECC program, do not live within the new boundaries. We do not have the luxury of walking to school. Park Lane simply does not have the infra infrastructure to support the number of buses needed. Granite Elementary can fit up to 15 buses, but Park Lane cannot without a bus lane and with a parking lot that is not ADA compliant. It is not safe for these students to get to school. I have seen how combining schools can work like Edgemont and Belleview

131Elementary turned into Glacier where my son is currently at. It isn't easy, but it was ultimately beneficial. I'm not opposed to these changes, but I urge the district to prioritize the needs of our most vulnerable students in this transition. I ask that you consider a dedicated bus lane or safe drop off areas, ensure ADA compliance in the parking and drop off zones, clear communication with parents about transportation logistics. We can make these changes work, but we need to ensure safety and accessibility for every child. Thank you for your time. >> Okay, thank you. Okay, that ends patron comment time and I just want to thank you all for being here and also thank you for your respectful manner in addressing the board and we do we really do care about what you guys say and

132we will um continue to think about this and work on this process. So, thank you. Okay, the next item on the agenda is our consent agenda and I will now take a motion to approve that and please read each in um item individually. I'll make a motion for that um to approve tonight's consent agenda which includes item A, approval of minutes for September 2nd to uh 2025. Item B, approval of hire and termination reports. Item C, approval of purchasing bids. Item D, approval of August financial reports. Item E, approval of memorandum of understanding between Canyon School District and Alpine School District regarding Sunrest Bing. Item F, approval of consideration for closing Granite Elementary. Item G, approval of consideration for closing Parkane Elementary. Item F, approval of Canyon's Innovation Center naming and branding. Item I, approval

133of Ridgerest Elementary, TSSPLAN trust amendment. Item J, approval of East Midville Elementary TSSPL land trust amendment. Item K, approval of life skills academy la land land trust amendment. Item L, approval of LEA specific licenses and endorsements. And item M, approval of Crescent Elementary TSSP/Land trust amendment. >> Okay, thank you. Is there a second to that motion? >> I'll second. >> Okay, we have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion to the motion? >> Okay, seeing none, I'll call for a vote. All in favor say I. I. >> Any opposed? Okay, that motion passes unanimously. The next item on the agenda is our policy update and um Jeffrey Christensen, Assistant Legal Counsel, will present this and this is second reading possible action. Thank you, President Shiel. Uh these policies were brought up at our

134last study session. Um no new legislation. We're just doing some cleanup issues and trying to make our policies uh more compliant, userfriendly in some areas. The first one is our copyright policy. No changes in federal law, but we've updated some guidelines and checklists to make review of documents that we'll be using as instruct in instruction more um accessible and available for teachers. So, a couple of updates to the exhibits. Um, in our emergency and safety procedures policy, there was a board rule passed and this is just an alignment with um that policy to review um and conduct safety drills as well as designate a week as an emergency response week and also to update the former emergency respond plans um plan committee with the emergency management team. Um the next policy is our named gifts

135and memorials. This this policy um is going to be retitled. It's going to be expanded to be named naming facilities and naming rights. This will allow us with the uh the upcoming um purchase of the eBay property. Now, the Canyons Innovation Center at the point, it's going to have um our ability to um work with outside entities to name certain sections of the building, and this policy will allow that, giving the flexibility to the board to um publicly recognize entities and also enter into an agreements for um naming rights. Uh the next two policies are our evaluation policies and there is a state statute and board rule that allows that to be done on a um a four-year cycle rather than three. And these are just cosmetic changes to align with that board rule. And

136then the last policy or two more. There's our technology resources and electronic device policy. Um we're just cleaning um deleting some language so that when we do our annual um registration process, it doesn't appear that our um policies that all students are subject to when they enroll. Um it doesn't appear as an agreement. It's just that as you register, you're subject to all district policies, including those that um govern technology. >> And then the last is just an alignment with state statute. uh the state legislature expanded uh another valid excuse for attendance and to align with um that statute, we've added it to our attendance policy. >> I can answer any questions. These are for second reading possible action. >> Thanks for being here. >> Okay. Sorry, Holly's on Zoom and we're hearing her. So,

137yeah, because you You keep looking like one of us is saying something. We're not. >> No, no. I I just heard something. If it's a question, I'll answer it, but I'm hearing hearing voices, so you know. >> Um, yeah. Sorry about that. >> Not a problem. >> We're all hearing some voices. Um, okay. Board, are there any questions? Um, to Mr. Christensen. Okay. We did discuss these policies last meeting, so I feel like we're pretty familiar with them. Um, I don't know if we're ready to make a motion. We could do that if anyone wants to. >> I'm wondering if we ought to wait until Miss Dolly and Miss Neber are both here with us to be able to speak to it or I don't know if there's anyone else feels differently. >> I'm sure

138Mr. Christensen would love to come back and give this presentation again to us. If there aren't any questions, there weren't any questions at our previous reading. So, um, I would recommend that based on no questions that we proceed forward. We've got others to review and we'll bring them back. I don't I don't think there's any real uh objection. These are primarily alignment issues. >> There's nothing controversial >> aligning with law other than maybe >> aligning with law and and expanding our our naming rights policy which we've discussed. >> Okay. Mr. Edel had a comment. Yeah, it was just that I was actually going to make the exact same point that Jeff made, which is that we're going to be having other policies start to rotate through. And so instead of him having to do two

139two separate presentations as we move forward um that since there there has been no no comments or feedback uh then I was going to move into a motion but I just wanted to explain why I was ready to let it just sit for a third reading just because um but but then I thought of the exact same point at the exact same time. So we're like we're late today. >> Hearing voices we're on the same wavelength. Uh so with that I move uh that we adopt policy 300.04 300.05 [Music] 400.31 400.32 500.06 06 uh and 500.35 as presented. >> Okay, thank you. Is there a second to that motion? >> Second. >> Okay, who was first? We'll let Mrs. Nybar go. >> Okay, so there's a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion

140to these policies? Okay, see you none. I'll call for vote. All in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? >> Okay, that motion passes unanimously. Now we Thank you, Mr. Christensen, we appreciate it. Um, we will now go on to item B and that is strategic plan discussion and legislative report by Superintendent Robbins. >> Thank you, President Schill. Um, we've been talking about this for a while. It's great to finally get to our strategic plan and and kind of a reboot. Uh first off though, just want to express uh my deep appreciation to all of our uh patrons, parents, uh employees, and everybody that has shared their uh thoughts tonight. And um I think in the wake of, you know, everything happening uh in our country, uh this is a wonderful example of what our

141democracy and republic's all about. And I I hope I've said this before, you know, I hope we don't ever lose sight of that. That um coming together and trying to solve these very difficult problems as a community is is what makes us American. It it's what makes our country great. And I think, you know, as long as we're able to hold on to those ideals and and we can treat each other with dignity and respect and kindness that uh you know, there's there's plenty of intelligence in the room that we can we can solve these uh difficult issues. So, I just really appreciate all of the feedback. Um there's a lot uh tonight that that I certainly uh learned and took from the comments and just remind the public that we have many more hearings

142to come uh and more board meetings to come until the board ultimately will will make a decision. Uh but I think that feedback's been terrific. So uh a little bit about this presentation. You know, you think about when we first uh did our strategic plan right in the middle of the pandemic and some of the influences and things that were happening, not to give us all PTSD about that time, but um you know, there were certain things that were happening uh that have changed, right? And so it probably, you know, is a good time to to reboot, to rethink where we're at on that. Um, we know that uh as we go forward that as uh public education evolves that we're becoming more and more uh to more people and and what that means to

143their families and what that provides. And you can see that uh tonight just that deep uh culture and commitment uh to our schools and and and and it's it's just awesome um to be able to understand and hear uh the value that our schools bring to our families and and our students and and I think you know that's the challenge too right that makes it that much more difficult uh because in Canyons we do have excellent schools and a commitment uh to to providing a world-class education to our kids and and I don't think that that why is ever going to change. And so as as we go through this um I I think really for me tonight what this presentation about is really just to tee up and revisit and reboot our our why

144around our strategic plan to kind of understand you know some of the data points that we've looked at maybe to rethink uh our indicators to rethink what we're measuring uh when it comes to successful outcomes because things have have changed uh since we we wrote the plan. And we always said when we when we did our strategic plan that it really would be a living document that it's not something to just sit on a shelf, but it it is our northstar. It guides uh all of our decisions uh in doing what what we think is best for kids. So, um we'll we'll get right into it, but that's kind of the premise. Uh we'll end with uh one looking at the why again, but then kind of thinking about the what and the how and

145and maybe what I would ask as a a final objective is is to be thinking about the direction that you'd like to give us uh in our next round table. What what are the topics? What are the things that you'd like to see uh in our uh committee work and and moving uh the district forward and in making those decisions? Many of those topics we've have been shared tonight by some of our parents and constituents. So, uh we can we can take a look at those and and I'll answer questions as we go or we can wait till the end. So, um you can see just a little bit about Canyons uh going on 16 years strong. You can see the tenants there that the the district was founded on. Student achievement, community engagement, customer

146service, innovation, and fiscal responsibility. largely the indicators that we've measured for success uh have been aligned uh with those tenants um and they've they have been a great uh goalpost uh to really guide our decisions uh over the years uh in the district and you can see just some of the data points I thought were worth sharing to you know kind of um demonstrate that commitment to excellence again you know we continue to outpace our Utah peers by a large uh margin. Our AP pass rates are high. Graduation rate hovers at around 90%. Still uh work to do there to improve. Uh 70% of our students K3 are are proficient in reading. Although in third grade uh proficiency is is down um from previous years. And so I think and we saw that I don't

147know if you there was an article just recently about NAPE scores around the country uh have taken a little bit of a dip. I don't know if that's a result of the pandemic, uh, the economy, inflation, um, housing issues and whatnot. Um, but all of these social factors and everything that are at play, uh, have have definitely had an impact on on our students. You can see there, very proud of the fact that, uh, we're number one in Utah, uh, in composite score on the ACT. uh 73% of our students score above 18 uh and we overtook Park City uh in the number one slot this year. So Park City only has 5,000 kids. So awesome to take that number one slot from them. Um and then you can also see this year uh our

148seniors 50 million plus in scholarship offers. So it's just amazing and that's you know everything in the arts, academics, athletics. uh our students continue to uh thrive and and really uh you know pursue greatness. Um and you know very proud of the fact that 83% of our students in their senior uh survey exit survey uh indicated that they were very happy with their their education in Canyon School District. Um, I think a hallmark of our district has been to continue to develop uh and remodel and build uh state-of-the-art facilities for our students to learn in. And as we think about, you know, merging schools, you know, and I I know this has been a topic and we've looked at our our debt uh capacity uh you know, going forward that, you know, that may be

149something that we look at is is that as we combined we combine communities that we rebuild. And I I think that's something that our patrons and our families in Canyons have really uh prided themselves on is that they want the very best facilities for their students to walk in every day. And I I certainly see that. You walk into our schools, um our kids feel that pride. They feel that energy. They they know it's important. They know that, you know, our facilities are well taken care of and it it just sends that message that that you're important and your future matters. um a little bit about our employees and some of the things that we've we've been working on and this is an issue as well as a positive over the last three years our

150teacher retention rate has hovered at 90% which is which is excellent. So, um, through all of the, um, compensation, uh, and benefits that the board has passed, um, you can see, you know, we've in we've increased pay. I I I believe the number I read last was around 27% over the last five years. Um, which is excellent. And you see that satisfaction uh, survey satisfaction rate continue to climb. Um but with that you can also see that many of our teachers are within the first three years or the first seven years of their teaching experience and so um that comes with challenging that also indicates to me that uh PLC's and training and PD is absolutely critical uh for these new teachers especially when you consider all the issues that we've dealt with with behavior

151and attendance and some of the issues that that we've had and so continuing to float all boats to make sure they have the support they need. Uh I think is important. Then you can also see uh administration and ESP satisfaction. I I and I noticed, you know, we have employees here tonight. Long way to go there, right? Um you know, I know that we're never going to be uh perfect in in everything that we can deliver on. Uh but I know the conversations that we have truly are to try to do what's best for our students first and our and our employees, you know, right there as well. So thinking about, you know, some of the trade winds and some of the things that are changing that, you know, we might you might want to

152think about as we go into roundt and thinking about uh where best to allocate funds uh to support our students. You can see uh these changing uh demographics. Uh we're right at 30% economically disadvantaged. Uh and we we heard Sebastian talk about that and how that impacts uh our our school uh lunch program. Um interestingly uh you know that also has a great impact on on student opportunity right and thinking about you know all of the experiences they have uh in our schools. You can also see there I don't think people realize 5% of our population is homeless. um we have many many kids, hundreds of students uh that qualify under McKenna Vento uh for homeless services. And then you can also see the increase in multilingual learners. Uh we've we've seen that uh explode

153over the last couple of years and now we're up to 79 language spoken in the district. So, you know, when you put yourself, you know, in a classroom as a teacher and you have this many diverse learners, uh, and the promise that we we're going to personalize learning for every student to meet them where they're at, uh, that is a that's a heavy lift, right? And I I feel like, you know, we're doing everything that we can to continue to support that. Um, you know, part of that is getting the very best teachers that we can and making sure that they're happy and they're compensated and also uh including technology uh in that equation uh really to meet our students needs um where they're at in their learning. Uh we're still dealing with this absenteeism

154challenge. These are some of the the challenges that and this isn't, you know, unique uh to canyons. most districts uh in the state and country are not immune. Uh we are down from if you recall the last time we we looked at this number we were about 36% chronically absent when we first ran this report a few years ago. We're down to 31% which is you know a great reflection on all the hard work reaching out building relationships with our families and the great work that our teachers and our admin and our staff and our all of our employees uh deploy uh each and every day. But uh it's still you know that's tough when and and we know there's very clear correlation in student achievement. Um you can see there in our math and

155science proficiency in grades 3 through eight we're down uh slightly. Uh I you know I don't know that it it uh sends panic uh in motion. But uh when students are not in school they're not learning. It's hard to teach when they're not there. And so uh and that you know when you look at chronically absent that means they're missing more than 10% of the time. So if you're you're a student that especially in those lower grades uh it's just so difficult as we know that that climb that uphill climb is so steep if you get behind even a few days with early literacy and math. So that that might be something to think about. Um and I'm I'm grateful you know to our state. they they've launched a a campaign to, you know, really

156highlight absenteeism in our state. And again, this is a a nationwide issue that I think coming out of the pandemic that that everybody is um looking at. Um now, with I I want to also just pause right there. I early on, this is very early, right? We're only in school a couple of weeks, but things are trending in the right direction. And so I want to highlight some hope there. Um you see there the bottom uh 241 district level hearings in our DCMT uh program last year. Uh right now that number is drastically lower. I I mean much much lower. Uh only maybe a dozen DCMT referrals up to this point and we had triple or quadruple that last year at this time. So, when you're thinking about Thrive Time and all the supports that

157that Brian, his team have put in place, uh everything that we've done with cell phone policy and technology and really trying to focus on direct instruction and relationships, I think all of those things culminating uh are making a difference. I I heard from a couple of teachers today that that just said, "Hey, anecdotally, all the things that we're doing as a district uh with technology uh when it comes to cell phones, especially um and really just, you know, getting back to the expectation that students connect and that they build those relationships and and it's not, you know, based on technology that that technology is there as a support, but but students aren't glued to their phones and they're just seeing much more positive behavior with our students and that's starting to reflect uh in some

158of the numbers in our DCMT cases. So I I think that's you know some excellent news to start out the school year. So, you know, thinking about what does this look like on the national stage and at a state level and a regional stage, right? And um looking at our portrait of a scholar and some of the things that we've been working on, I think really leans in to the vision and the direction that our our nation's heading uh in when it comes to workforce development and and really engaging our students uh in a different way. Um I I think we've heard a lot about you know degrees to nowhere. Uh that that many of our college students graduate and say you know what what was the purpose? What what are what are the skills

159what skills do I gain um by this experience that you know make me competitive uh in the in the global market? And I I feel like all of you know our attributes and dispositions that we support in canyons tightly align uh to that vision. But, you know, can we do more? And yes, you know, I think the the vision we have at the innovation center to really backward map that uh in a way that that filters all the way down to, you know, as young as preschool, kindergarten students that they really do get that hands-on experience that is going to help compel them and really propel them forward uh in their learning and in their engagement to gain the skills necessary to help them be successful uh in their career and life. And we put

160this slide in because I think it kind of highlights the some of the trend lines that we're seeing uh on a state and and national level. Uh you can see that uh there's a lot of support for workforce development and really thinking about what do those skills, you know, actually look like. We're seeing much more support uh for states uh in block grant funding to make those types of decisions um that are flexible uh to us. And you can also see that in the Utah priorities that our legislature set out in their audit um that really that really highlight that right occupational skills right at the top and then also the some of the things that we've talked about uh that are dispositions in our uh plan with character development and literacy and numeracy high

161quality instruction always going to be a foundation to success. So you can kind of see some of the the trends there that that we're aligning to and we're coherent with and this plays out in some of the data right uh we know that students that engage in CTE pathways uh as completers or concentrators meaning that they take two classes uh in in one of these pathways the graduation rate hovers around 97 to 99% and that crosses all student populations. So they they may be multilingual, they they may be in special ed, they may be economically disadvantaged. Uh if they engage in these pathways, uh it's almost certain uh graduation. And and I think, you know, it's pretty obvious we see the reason why because they they see the end goal. They see how this uh

162has a direct impact on their employability and the skills that they have to to move forward. So continuing to think that through and what that looks like. Uh I I think you know thinking about maybe some ways that we want to um continue to measure uh as we go forward in our plan uh may be something to think about. I also want to add too I think there's a difference I think one thing that when it comes to our strategic plan and some of the things that we've done there's a difference between the indicators and the things that we measure and what we report right I mean I I would recommend that we still have our committees and our committee leads continue to report to the board as we've done. They're they're all amazing leaders

163doing a great job. Um but I think sometimes, you know, as I said, we we just we get into the weeds on so many things and frankly we're good at almost all of them. Um that we kind of get lost in in the question of, you know, is that really something as an indicator that we want to measure or is that something that just, you know, is necessary uh in a report to the board. So when you look at our um four committees that uh through our strategic plan and thinking about uh those goals and uh those success criteria, um these are just some of the things that roll around in Rick's brain a lot that are constantly, you know, constantly on my mind and that I'm thinking about. Um I I asked uh McKay

164and Leon one day, I had just had these drawn up and you guys have been in my office. I had these drawn up in my office and I said where where do we you know and we start to think about how do we narrow it down into you know much more manageable chewable parts uh that we can you know truly accomplish what we want and you look at the list I I don't know that any uh are any less important are any less of a priority um but as you all know the resources uh are are finite and so trying to prioritize those. I I think in this next round as we kind of reboot on the strategic plan. Um maybe we prioritize these and kind of look at, you know, a couple of them

165um to really hone in on, okay, what do we want to, you know, get done with with that. Um and not that anything's any more important, but um you know, as I've said before, the the airframe is bending, right? I mean it's our resources are maxed and and stretched to the max and so um where do we you know where do we get the the most value uh in where we allocate those those supports but um this is not all inclusive right I know there's many there's many other things that you're probably looking at it and going what about this what about that these are just some of the the major rocks that are kind of in our backpack right now that that as a district that we're we're carrying that you know frankly are

166pretty heavy. So, um, not all inclusive, but just to get you thinking about how do we prioritize these. So, we talked a little bit about right some of the why. So, then it kind of comes down to and and the by no means are these um outlined in any particular order. Um, these are just this is just kind of a brain dump thinking about what this might look like uh as we go forward in a round table. But thinking about you know again what is our why and then what's the what and the how. So how do we define those goals and then uh or what do we define and then how do we align those goals and strategies and resources uh to our plan and then determining okay from that then what what is

167an indicator that we'd like you know a goal set and and we measure uh progress on that. I do think we can be more formative that way. I think sometimes in education, you know, we we look at it more as an autopsy instead of an ongoing kind of a, you know, health checkup, which, you know, we know health checkups are much more effective than than waiting till the end to try to fix something that maybe we can't. So maybe that's something that that we look at as well. But those are just some ideas as we think about roundt and how we might, you know, go about this process. So that is that is the quick readers digest version of a lot. >> Okay. Thank you superintendent. Um board I mean I think I think we've

168got to kind of dive into a lot deeper the um some of these topics in the future but um anyway board if you have any questions or comments and we will um plan a round table in the next few months where we can do a deeper dive on these things. Mrs. Oaks. >> Um, you've heard me say this before and it's not meant to to bag on any of the other committees because they're doing phenomenal work and I I can see we're almost like a victim of um our own capacity. Like I think we get in some of these meetings and we're like, "Oh, we could do this and this and this and this." And it it gets um pretty overwhelming really fast. My um big caution is that um you know when we did

169the strategic plan the main focus the primary and most important focus at the beginning and the one that has twice as much content is high quality learning >> and quite honestly that is why we're here. I mean the whole purpose of a school district is to create an opportunity for high quality learning. The human- centered supports obviously have to happen in order to support kids access and opportunity. these I I see those all in supportive roles of the first one and um as you know like I've been a bit frustrated that we haven't made as much progress with high quality learning as I think we could have and so I would love you know when we're looking at this and we're waiting things I just want to be careful that we're not necessarily waiting them

170only as four equal parts but let's consider that the high quality learning really is the umbrella and that the other things kind of come up underneath as a support. There is so much that we need to be looking at with regard to this. And you're right, the the whole landscape has changed in the last five years. I mean, AI was not a looming figure. And like I even got an email that I read and opened today from the Southerntherland Institute, a very conservative organization, talking about how critical it is that our kids are learning how to be able to effectively navigate AI. everyone across the the spectrum is is discussing that and the conference that we just attended um you some of us over the weekend Ogden School District did an incredible job presenting what

171they've been working on in the last three years to bring their district up to speed. So, some of these things are really big. Again, I have a lot of empathy for the fact that on that list, like how in the world do you cut anything out? But again, let's remember the reason we're here is for the kids to have joyful hands-on learning experiences where they're excited to come to school and they're excited to learn. I um read a synopsis of a book called The Smartest Kids in the World. it and the author actually um interviewed students from three of the highest performing countries for the PISA test international exam. Um it was from Finland, South Korea and Poland. And it was fascinating to read that the thing that connected all of them very different cultures

172and very different approaches and reasons why the kids were successful. But across the board, the biggest thing was that in their cultures or in their homes is that there was a cultivation of a joy for learning and and that is where I'm coming from. If we don't create that or cultivate that, all of the other stuff doesn't really matter very much in my opinion. So that's just those are my two cents. >> Thank you, Amanda. >> Okay. Thank you. Anyone else want to make any comments? Okay. Wow. Okay. I guess I guess that's all. Um I think we will schedule a board round table and then we can be looking at yeah our focus groups and our indicators and see if we can align them a little. >> Yeah. I and our committees are starting

173to meet. So I I think you know this is a good launch to that that I think when you get ready to schedule the round table that we can get more data in each of these areas to you know bring that forward and then you can kind of extrapolate from that like where where you you know want that to go. But I I do think to Amanda's point you know in thinking about most of the indicators that are aligned to the tenants those were put in place when the district first opened. So, and and we have added some, right? I mean, some of these things even now like with absenteeism and failing grades, I mean, there are things that we've added since, but but to your point, I mean, the landscape is so much different

174and it's just evolving as we speak. And so, you know, how how do we go forward to really prioritize that to line up with all the needs that that we have currently? I think that's that's going to be the task. So, it'll be fun. >> Yeah. Thank you. Um, superintendent, while you're standing there, do you want to start with superintendent um report so we don't have to wait for you to >> I I think I've said enough. I I just, you know, I I just want to reiterate again, I know, you know, even within our own employees, there's there's a lot of stress. I I see it. I feel it. Um, and for a lot of different reasons. And I I I just I mentioned to our our operations group, our directors and and all

175of our coordinators uh Monday morning, I I I just hope people will give each other space um to be vulnerable, to talk about, you know, whatever is on their mind, that we give each other a little bit of grace and kindness uh in this day and age. You know, I don't think that there's ever enough of that, frankly. Um but uh you know and I I think we're all wanting that sometimes we just don't know how to ask for it or or go about it. Um you know I mean we were in a pandemic where we were told to stand six feet away and don't shake hands for two years. I mean so you know so I think we're we got to learn to re-engage uh with each other uh in a in a kind

176empathetic civil way. So just appreciate the opportunity to serve. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you superintendent. Now Mr. Wilcox for the business administrators report. >> Yes. Thank you, uh, President Schill. I just want a couple things. Just want to thank all the patrons who come and spoke tonight. Uh, I I along with Rick learned quite a bit tonight on on the comments. Uh, you know, lots of times we don't always like what the legislature puts forward to us, but uh, when they crafted this bill a couple of years ago on school boundaries and if you close a school, the process you have to go through it, there's some wisdom behind it and this is this is why uh, tonight uh, gives us that three month period at least to gather this feedback and before we

177make a final decision. So, I do appreciate all them everyone who came and spoke tonight uh, for their feedback. Uh just want to update the board. Um you probably know we'll be transitioning to a new Skyward system called Q soon. Uh this is a big this, you know, we've updated Skyward. We've had monthly updates for the last 16 years. This is a complete overhaul. This is like going from a old wall phone to a cell phone. What we're doing now, it's a complete overhaul. Uh we've sent out I won't go through all the dates. We've sent all those out to employees, but essentially starting in two uh October 13th for two weeks, we will not have access to Skyward on the finance side. So that implies purchasing, human resources, accounting, the warehouse, payroll. Uh so

178we have booked all these things in advance. We will be running two payrolls on at the end of September. for one for the regular September 29th payroll and then excuse me the September 30th payroll and then one on uh uh for the October 15th payroll. So we'll cover that in advance. We know our employees have to get paid on the regular dates and then we should be up and running the week after fall break to do the payroll on October 31st. But we planned all this out but there will be some disruptions. our hourly employees will have to track time uh by hand back in the old days uh for about four weeks while while we make this transition and then have them inputed into the system as well. So all this we've worked out

179with the principles and hopefully all the employees on this but there will be some headaches going forward with this transition. We've been gearing up for this for over a year now. So we are ready to go. This is just the first I'll call it the first baby step. Next summer we will be transitioning to Skyward Q on the student side. So you have a whole new grade book, whole new grading system, attendance, everything there on the that the schools use on a daily basis as well as our parents. So that will be a much much bigger uh transition. So want to just make you aware of that. So that's all I have for tonight. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Wilcox. We're going to start tonight with board comments with Mrs. Peterson. >> I'm

180glad Leon that we are just taking baby steps but that we are making steps. Apologize for the voice. I have a cold. Deeper than usual. Um because it is difficult to change to these new systems but it makes such a big difference in the long run. So change is hard and we go through change a lot and the technology is is good to change too but it's going to be an interesting transition. Um I first want to appreciate and you will see um a release from our communications department in parent square that our governor has sent out a video to our students that you can choose as a parent if you wish to share it with your children or not. um concerning the senseless shooting of UVU. He does not discuss any of the names

181of who's involved or any of the politics of it. But I really appreciated the fact that he reminds us to choose humanity, connection, and love. Forgiveness breaks the sil cycle of violence. He just says, "Don't believe everything you hear on the internet. And don't even more importantly, not only don't believe, but don't react. Think take a moment. think is it is it true? Is it kind? You know, those kinds of things. So, he it's a really good opener for a discussion with our um you and your child if you'd like to share it. It's only 2 minutes long. It's really short, but I did watch it and I was impressed um at the quality of information that he's sharing and the philosophy he'd like you to be able to discuss if you choose to. Um,

182I also have huge appreciation to our CSD communities who have sent many, many, many, many emails and who come to speak to us because it's so important that we know how you feel, but we I do want to mention we hear the same thing over and over and over and over. So, I don't say that's wrong. I'm just saying I think we're getting the message. I mean, we know exactly how your community feels. I just want you to think about as we as we are trying as a district to keep communities together that one of the problems that we're running into and you've even addressed it yourselves that parents will also uh that parents choose to send their kids somewhere else no matter what we do and we believe in that. We believe in choice

183but I'm hoping if we're taking this much effort to make sure we keep communities together that you do too. that um try not to all choose out of boundaries for the middle and high schoolers because you want your kids to be together. You want your families to be together and then you all go different directions. I think if you really want to build the community and keep it truly strong and it will benefit not just your elementary but your middle school and your high school. If we can really build that community, we will have even better successes in our schools. So, we're doing what we can to keep you together. Now, we need you to help us keep it together as well. It we realize there's 110 million reasons and you're they're all valid and

184you have choice. You truly do. But it's made this so much more difficult because no matter what we do, some of you will say, "Well, forget it. I'm just going to take off." And that either lowers a school or it crowds a school. And some of the factors that we're trying to compensate for or to look ahead for are so difficult when you don't we don't know what you're going to do. We have no idea. We know what the past has been, but we don't know what the future will be and never will. So, um, I just wanted to mention that because I think it's really important. I grew up in a school. We walked to school. So, I'm a walking parent. I mean, I know how much fun we had walking. We felt sorry

185for the bus kids, by the way, when we were walking to school. And we walked quite a ways. The whole neighborhood just kind of gathered up and we walked to school. And I remember coming out and we just felt so bad for those kids that had to get on the bus because they didn't get to walk with their friends. So, I lived that. That's my lived experience. And I know that we traveled as a pack. Not in all the same classes, but we definitely knew which schools we were going to be going to. And it built an identity. You look forward to say, "Hey, I'm going to be a, you know, whatever the mascot is. I went to Cottonwood High, so I'm going to be a cult." And here I knew that all the way

186back down in elementary school. So keep that in consideration because we're trying to. And then I I really appreciate the opportunity that the board has um and our leadership to go to ongoing training. Um we probably get far more training on how to be a school board than the legislators get on how to be a legislator. Um they think we don't know anything and yet we're trained over and over and over again. We did go this last weekend to the Council of Urban Boards of Education. They called it cube conference and we received training on um AI the boundaries appropriate boundaries and the appropriate use of education of AI in our educational classrooms as shared by other people who've ventured farther than maybe we have. Ogden really did do an awesome um presentation. We went

187to a a presentation about steam as and they mentioned that it's as essential for equity. It's essential for equity and student um success all the way from K12 and they're helping us to it's nice not to have to always invent the wheel, but if you can take ideas of what other people are doing, we do that often and that's probably why we're able to move as fast as we do is because we do get additional training. Um, we also got training on how we're going to improve, how others have improved their graduation and attendance rates. We're all in the same boat in the United States. Everybody's got the very same problem right there. And so having all of us be able to work on that together and have conversations with people from all over the

188United States, it was it was amazing. It was really fun sit next to someone from New York or someone from Texas. And I just want everyone to remember that we are all humans trying to do our very best. and we are going to truly um take all this input that we're receiving and we appreciate that and then we're going to try try and condense it down and do what's the very best for the most very you for the majority of the people. It's always going to have we're always going to have a problem where it's not going to fit some people, but we're going to try and get the most and and do the thing that's long term the very best that we can do. So anyway, those are my comments. Thank you. Okay, thank

189you. Um I do want to clarify one thing. The governor's message is for high school students. So, um parents of high school students will receive that message, not not younger kids. So, um I'm sure if you want to see it, you could probably find on YouTube somewhere, but anyway. Okay, Mrs. Oaks, thank you. Um I also loved the cube conference. It was amazing. I don't know how many of you have ever had the chance to watch the film Just Mercy, but the lawyer that that was um that book was written about who has pursued justice for those on death row that were wrongly convict convicted. He spoke to us that day or one of the days that we were there. It was an incredible, incredible address and deeply moving and um in light of the

190events that took place in our state last week, it hit very close to home. Um I've been thinking a lot about what it means for our state. As I've been talking to my children at home, I have some kids that are go to school in close proximity to UVU. I have children, one child in middle school, one in high school, and knowing how to talk to your kids about what this means is tricky. But I will say, um, I know that the answer is not rage and nor is contempt. The answer is reconciliation. Um, one of the writers that I have really come to love and admire his work over the last several years is Arthur Brooks. And several years ago, he wrote a book called Love Your Enemies. And he talked about the fact

191that if we want to solve the problem of polarization today, we have to solve the contempt problem. He talks he mentions that disagreement is good because competition is good. It makes us sharper and stronger. But contempt is always bad. It poisons us and our relationships. I think it's so important to remember how easy throughout the history of the world and even now it is for us to demonize people. Especially with social media being what it is, it's so easy for people to get on and put on sound bites or sound clips and say things that they would never say to a human being in their presence, especially if that if they were looking them in the eyes. We have seen horrific acts of violence from both the right and the left, and they're both equally

192abhorent. And never should we ever persist or lay um inappropriate examples to our youth that demonizing another person is appropriate. I don't care what they believe. I don't care what they say. To be able to hold space and to consider and to talk with civic and respectful dialogue is critical to a society. And it's actually one of the most important roles of education is to foster understanding across differences. I want to thank the communities that came here and spoke to us tonight. They were very respectful. They were very kind. And even though you guys have very differing opinions, I appreciate that you approached this in a way that was so appropriate. I I just keep thinking more and more about the importance of making sure that our kids in school are learning these skill sets,

193that they're learning to put away their phones, to put away their devices, and to see each other as human beings. Because I guarantee what we share and have in common is significantly greater than what we don't. I hope that no matter what happens with these school communities that we will be able to pick up and move forward and do beautiful things together. I believe in the power of reconciliation and peace and and I believe in the power of public education to cultivate that. It's actually I've been inwardly tickled to hear how much you guys love your schools. I mean really you love your principles, you love your teachers, you love your school community. If anything like maybe we did too much of a bang up job like really cultivating the sense of community in every

194school so much so that it feels like I can't possibly make a change and it it is extraordinarily painful. I don't want to diminish that. But it also highlights incredible strength and goodness in so many pockets of this district for which I am grateful. And I am grateful for every parent, every teacher, every admin in this school district and in its boundaries who seek for the betterment of children and who set appropriate examples of kindness and respect because I know there's a lot more of us that do believe in that than those that don't. So, thanks. Okay, thank you, Mr. Edel. >> I want to thank everyone who came tonight uh and those who spoke. Uh extra thanks to those of you who are still here uh at almost 9:00 or those who are still

195watching. You guys are the the true champions. Um your schools and the students within them, they're doing so well because of you. Uh, and I think that was very evident tonight with the public comment that we got. Um, th this is a hard time and it's an emotional time yet. Everyone was very polite. Uh, everyone was articulate. Uh, you are the reason that your school communities do so well. You are the reason that your students do so well. And I just want to say thank you uh for being the people that you are and thank you for raising uh students that will shepherd the new generation. I mean I I can tell that they're they're going to be amazing people and um my kids are lucky to be able to uh be able to to

196go in the cohorts alongside them. So thank you. Uh I hope for those who wish to continue to provide comment uh and input during this period that you do so. Um community input is so so so important and I don't just say that um just to say it. Uh I say it because it's true. And each time as well there's going to be different things that maybe we weren't aware of that we needed to know. uh and that's only going to come from you. So, thank you to everyone who's participated thus far and I would encourage people to uh continue that dialogue and to continue to provide community input as we move uh through this process. Um and since it's a little late, I'll go ahead and end there. So, thanks. >> Okay. Thank you,

197Mr. Edel, Mr. Jackson. Oh my gosh, Mr. Lewis, >> thank you. Uh, I also had the opportunity to attend Cube this week. That was a spectacular conference. I also want to thank our patrons for showing up. This is the most busy I've ever seen this room on my eight months on this board. I have never seen the room this busy and I loved to hear from everyone and I've I've taken countless emails. I can't possibly personally respond to each and every single email, but I am reading all of them. So, thank you for submitting your input. It is super super important. Keep being involved. Um, and I'm I have one little statement. I hope I can get through this without coughing. Um, a wave of political violence in the United States came to Utah this

198last week. Uh, and as I said a couple months ago, uh, when those two Minnesota state law uh, lawmakers were assassinated, no one deserves to have their life ended like Charlie. Period. To to preface, if you feel your worldview and ideology cannot be realized or justified unless through means of violence, then it is time to re-evaluate your worldview because violence has no place in a civilized society's political process. At the end of the day, no one deserved to die like Charlie Kirk did. To die publicly, quickly, and on camera for the world to re to relitigate adnauseium is a nightmare for anyone imagining their own passing. Not to mention the effect it had on his family members. No one deserves to die like that. And it is has no place in policym in the narrative

199of this country. That is it has no place. Please take time over this next week and o just as you build your lifestyle, take time to be off the internet. Social media is designed to infuriate and engage and to drive profit and attention. As a young person who is handed a phone, who has had a phone both in and out of the classroom, I know the down the effects not just short term but long term for the rest of a person's life. That comes from having internet access at a young age. And we saw it this week on the UVU campus. Uh parents, please monitor your kids access uh on private devices at home. We as as we all know we uh relitigated our Chromebook policy, but it is a two-pronged effort to get keep

200our kids digitally literate and safe on the internet. We only have your kids for about seven hours a day. The rest of them are the rest of those hours are at home with personal devices we cannot monitor. And that is where a lot of the damage is coming from and we're seeing it in our society. Please, please, please monitor what your kids are watching on the internet. I was one of those kids who had unaccess unmonitored access to the internet. My friends had unac unmonitored access to the internet and we are seeing the damages in the real world. I'm seeing the damages in my community. We are seeing the damages and it is coming to Utah. So, please, please monitor your kids internet access and just take active time to not be on the internet,

201period. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, Mrs. Nybar. >> Thank you for your comments. That was that was great. Very sincere and powerful. Um, I I first wanted to start off with thanking all the patrons who came. I agree with everything that's been said. very articulate. I I took a lot of notes. I um I especially um wanted to mention a few things. I I I really appreciate the comment about the special ed students. I think that they are our most vulnerable population and I really appreciated uh looking at how to make sure that those feeder systems are secure for them. I think that combined with all the other comments about the difference in population with Parklane and Granite plus the home prices, I think we really do need to evaluate and look at it

202going the the opposite way of what we're looking at. So, I appreciate that. Um, I thought the gentleman's comment about recusing ourselves. Um we that's not something we've ever considered before but um something worth thoughtful discussion and roundt I believe too as as the community has has looked into that. Um I I I appreciated the respect with which he um he he gave to our our board member who we all love and respect Katie and all the great influence she's had in the granite community and at the same time still raising the question like is this is this the best process? So I really appreciated the way he was so respectful about that. I know that all of us up here try to do our very best to look at at all the issues from

203every angle and to try to be as unbiased as possible, but I thought that that was um something we probably need to look at a little greater. Um uh I I uh because of recent events both in public and private, I've found myself in in um kind of a a timeout situation. I I've decided to call these these times my game time huddles. So, um I think the game time huddle is an important time to re-evaluate what your game plan is. You may have to devise a new game plan. Uh at that point, you may um think about what what it's going to take to finish playing the game. And for me, that's what happened with the events that happened here in our beautiful state that I was so sad about, very tragic. Um, I

204came up with a few things that I think are important in our education system. I really like what Jackson said. I think I like to think of of when we look at technology, it's really a three-prong process. I hope that in our schools, I know that we have some of this in our curriculum, but I really would love for us to strengthen this. Um, especially I know in high school we talk about um the students and and the students are taught I think it's in ELA how to decipher information and and fact check and make sure your resources um are good ones and that the information you're receiving is true and also to critically critically think through what the counterargument would be. But I think that we probably need to strengthen that. I think that

205even starting in elementary school, I think we can do a greater job of helping um children understand the negative impacts that that um technology can have in their lives when they go into bad neighborhoods online. And I think that we can train them to turn off their device when they see something that's violent or damaging um to their hearts and their minds and their souls. I think that we need to um you know, we just barely had that committee work where we looked at at screen usage in the classroom and I proposed at that time that that be a long-standing committee. Um uh Mrs. Oaks talked about our commitment to she's talked about this before and she mentioned it earlier tonight in one of the earlier presentations about AI. I think with all the development

206with AI and the different tools that we we'll continue to be utilizing as we look at 21st century skills for these kids as they graduate, I would love to see technology usage to be a long-standing committee in this district so that we're committed to helping our students thrive in our digital world and also teach them how to navigate that digital world, how to how to critically think, how to think about um you you know, especially where that um where the news sources are coming from. I just recently read a report that in one day we receive enough content digitally that we could not absorb it in our lifetime. That's how much content is put out every single day. And so, um, having some good, um, jurisdiction, uh, with screen time usage in the classroom and

207making sure that it's it's relevant to their education. It's enhancing their education and it's not, um, taking away from personal interaction and developing good interpersonal skills, I think, is very valuable. as well as looking at that. Um, I also would love to see that we have greater conversations about respect and dignity for all people, especially those who think different than ourselves. I hope that's something that we're talking about in our Thrive Time, in any character education in every classroom. I would love to see this year, and I would challenge our district and our state this year in our schools. Let this be a year of increased kindness and respect in light of what happened. Let's do all we can to crowd out um the the tragic events by an increase in kindness. I I I

208think we have a situation that's that's heartbreaking for the victim and for the victim's family. And I also think about the the killer's family as well, how difficult it is to be a to be his family member and see the rabbit hole that went, you know, he went down through the internet and all of those things. It's just it's devastating um on all sides of it and and and senseless and so very sad. Um, I think that as we look to the future, I think it's important that we also maintain perspective that separate heinous violent acts do not overshadow the collective good that we can celebrate all the good stories. And I I love um the all that we've done like that day of service with Sandy City, how we um celebrated the 911 responders,

209first responders, all of those things. that I I am so grateful that we keep putting that out there and and that we can focus on that. Um I Let's see. I had one other thing. The I really appreciated someone talked about I thought it was an interesting the second patron that got up talked about how maybe it's okay to have it at capacity or just a little higher at first and see what happens with the movement. And I thought that was a a great comment as well. Um, I hope we really dive deep into and I'm sure we will and we'll discuss this at length, but there were some really good suggestions tonight. I agree with um Mr. Wilcox that this process is so important and I'm so grateful for those of you who showed

210up for the process, very articulate, great points and and we listen and we hear you and we will try to represent you and look at every angle of this as best as we can. Um, and that's all. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Um, I appreciate all the comments by my fellow board members. Um, I think they um are very wise people, so I'm grateful that I get to work with them. Um, I first want to bring up an item. Um, our last board meeting, we um talked about the Sandy HRZ, and we had decided we were going to send a letter to Sandy and also to the committee. And um we have had a couple meetings with Sandy people since um our last meeting and I am now suggesting that we just send it to

211the Sandy City Council. So I just want to kind of ask you guys if we didn't vote on this so it's not something we voted on but I just want to ask you if that is okay with you guys. Yes. Are you guys okay with that? Okay. So we'll move forward with that. Um and then also we know that um Leon and Jackson will go and be voting members of that committee in the future. So thank you. Okay. So I just want to thank um you parents for being here. I really appreciate um that you brought suggestions, right, and ideas and also facts and um I actually, you know, thought you brought up some good questions. So So thank you and we appreciate that. And um we've gotten a lot of emails, you know, I

212don't know. I haven't counted, but more than a hundred, I'm sure. Do you think so? I have a whole list because we have to answer I have to answer. We all have to answer them. But um we really do appreciate the input and it is helpful because we, you know, we don't know everything. We don't know everything in your school, in your area. So, um I also want to just thank the Jordan baseball parents for coming. Um I I think the board we are not aware of the situation and I just want to tell them thank you for coming and the PowerPoint was really helpful with the photos. So um hopefully I don't know who maybe long-range planning can look into that um and see what can be done. And um then also I just

213want to remind the public that we do have um you know public hearings coming up and also future board meetings. So, um, if you didn't get a chance to talk tonight, there are still many opportunities. So, anyway, thank you again and I will now call this meeting to a close.