SLCSD Board Meeting, April 14, 2026 5:30 PM

001Thanks. Really? Thanks. I like >> All right, good evening everybody and thank you for joining us. Uh today is April 14th, 2026. We're here for the purposes of a Salt Lake City Board of Education business meeting. Um we will go ahead and start with our our welcome. Um I do want to take the time to acknowledge our classified association groups and presidencies who are with us this evening. Uh for buildings and grounds, we have Sam Gilchrist. Child Nutrition, we have President Tanya Slaughter. For SLEA, uh the Salt Lake Education Association, we've got President Mike Harmon and Vice President Chelsea Acosta. Thank you for being here. And for SLASSA, the Salt Lake Association of School Administrators, uh we've got President Tom Luthy, and they are represented by Adrian Lobato from Northstar Elementary. Thank you, Adrian, for

002being here this evening. Our next item of business is the Pledge of Allegiance, and I've asked um Human Resources Director Logan Hall to lead us in the pledge. Stand and repeat after me. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Excellent. Thank you, um Mr. Hall, for leading us in that. Um I do also want to make a quick announcement that Dr. Grant is joining us remotely this evening. Um she has been under the weather, and I appreciate her for for joining us this evening from home. Um our first recognition this evening, uh we have new student board members. Um I'm not sure who's presenting this. Is it Dr. Taylor or Dr.

003Ruiz who's uh presenting? Dr. Ruiz, please. Do we have Bianca Chavez? Bianca? Not quite yet. Okay. Okay, I knew one of our student board members is not going to be here tonight, so I'll start with him, and maybe give Bianca a couple more minutes to get here. So, Samson Si'oto Eggers, he's a junior at East High School. He's a member of the National Honor Society, and as a freshman served as a junior varsity captain for both the hockey and lacrosse teams. Samson's goal is to attend the US Naval Academy, and unfortunately, he couldn't be with us tonight cuz he's at real cross game. So, Bianca? No? Okay. Our second student board member, her name is Bianca Chavez, and she is an IB student from West High School. And both of these student board members are

004so talented. I'm so excited to work with both of them next year. Um so, Bianca is active on both the debate and mock trial teams and volunteers for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as well as for Salt Lake City Peer Court. So, unfortunately, we don't have them here, but we look forward Oh. I saw them in the hallway. Bianca. Perfect. >> I'm sorry. Sorry for such an odd spot. It's okay. I just provided a bit of an introduction, Bianca Chavez, our Board of Education. You want to say something to them? Um hi, my name is Bianca Chavez. I'm a junior and upcoming senior at West High School. I'm very, very excited to be on the board with you guys. Um I'm sorry for being late. Welcome. Welcome, Bianca. Excellent. Bianca, thank you for being here

005and sorry for the odd parking spot. Excellent. We will now move on to our consent agenda. Uh before I seek a motion, I do want to acknowledge to the board that uh board member Longwell did request item number eight, the ACT/Aspire Day request, um to be moved to the action agenda through the proper um channels outlined in our in our board handbook. Um so, we will add that to the to the agenda, the action agenda, when the time comes. um but I will seek a motion acknowledging that item number eight has been moved. Madam? I make a motion to approve the consent agenda as posted with the exception of number eight, the ACT/Aspire day request. I can second that. We got a motion and a second. Any discussion? All right, seeing none, we'll do a

006roll call vote starting with board member Williams. Bryce Williams, yes. Charlotte Fife. Jefferson, yes. Ashley Anderson, yes. Nate Salazar. Annie Romano, yes. Ryan Jensen, yes. Amanda Longwell, yes. All right, thank you, board. That passes. We'll revisit number eight on the action agenda. Um we've moved into our um next portion of the agenda, which is our request to speak. Um I will go ahead and read a statement that the board has asked me to read uh before we begin each public comment period. Uh the board enjoys the opportunity to hear from the public during the comment portion of its meetings. Before we begin, I'd like to take a moment to remind you of our board rules governing your comments. Number one, the total time reserved for public comment is not to exceed 15 minutes with all

007speakers or groups limited to three minutes. Two, the board will not allow public comments during board meetings that are slanderous, obscene, or otherwise violate state or federal law. Three, employees and or their representatives may not use the public comment period to address issues that should be raised through existing formal communication channels or established grievance or negotiation procedures. I'd also like to explain that unless the speaker's topic is already on the agenda, state law prohibits the board from taking action on items raised during the public comment period. However, if it seems appropriate to the circumstances, I may direct district staff to follow up with a speaker on the topic discussed. Our first speaker this evening is Ted Condie. Ted, please join us at one of the podiums or the table. You're going to need those, Dr.

008Louise. This is Destructo Manda. I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I began um Salt Lake City School District at elementary kindergarten at Whittier Elementary. I took shop class in Glendale. That's where I found welding and fascination. Welding is a science. It's not just it's more than just the word welding. It's a craft. It's a learning experience. Our kids today in the day school program where I teach now, on my 46th year of employment with Salt Lake City School District, is we began the year with 262 students. With 262 students, the after school time becomes the only time that our SkillsUSA contenders can practice or create their pieces. I've handed out pictures of Aspen and Amanda. She visited our shop and the piece was just in the beginning stages on the

00911th. She was at state competition on the 27th. That gave her 12 days. 80 minute periods only every other day. That gave her 8 hours in the end to finish her project. You can see by the first picture, she just began. She had to do a lot. The after school community education program for 10 years I have been teaching is open to my SkillsUSA contenders to come and spend that time. Last year's state champion for Salt Lake City School District. Spent many hours with my adults in the other room next to We have three rooms and his crap and his piece went on to nationals and won bronze medal at nationals. Sculpting is a portion of art and welding. The community ed students leave donations. They're hard to come by. The donations that come into

010the art program for the district art show, a lot were donated by community ed people. When a grandmother or grandfather tells their grandson or granddaughter and then that person comes as a small child to my class first year and says, "I was afraid. My grandma or grandpa took community ed. They said it's not so scary." Welding can be scary. It can be intimidating, but you want to be able to in safe environment and supervised. For my SkillsUSA kids, they are K-12. And if they lose the opportunity, I'll stay after my day program because there's nowhere to go. By the time I begin and start again. So, after school time, we call it a lab because science welding is. The lab time can only be done for K-12 students while they're under supervision. Me being a

011community ed teacher and allowing my students, not just SkillsUSA students, but time after school. We're on flex schedule, they get less than 80 minutes this year. We have after school. We participate in Skills and thank you for your time. Thank you, Ted. That's it. Appreciate it. Thanks. Our next speaker this evening is Kathleen Griffin. 10 years worth. >> I have to have a trusted assistant here to help me. Bring the catalogs for And water, too. I'm also using the chair because of that. Before I get started, I just want to say these are 50 years of catalogs that we have run programs. So, this is a this is documented. So, here we go. I am here to discuss the closure of community education. It's really important that people understand that this program has been around

012for 54 years. It's a program that affects students, families, community access, and public trust. Between the data before there were computers, we don't have all of it, but between 2011 2023, um we have uh served over 35,000 uh patrons. We have had $2 million uh revenue come in, and we've held over 6,500 classes. And excuse that I say we because this was my program or program I run for ran for 30 years before I retired. My name is Kathleen Curry Griffin, and I do bring over 30 years of a direct experience to this uh Salt Lake City School District and served as a community education supervisor across multiple schools and sites, including middle schools, high schools on both the east and west side of the district. I've also implemented many programs in the community at

013that had not been there before. This is not a casual opinion. This is based on hands-on experience, operational knowledge. It's important to know that the uh legal definition, there are codes under Utah State codes that community uh schools should be civic center points. Public schools are intended to function function as civic centers. That means the school buildings are meant to serve the community for supervised activities, recreation, meetings, and community use. The rebuttal to the district's comments is basically saying that the district is saying this is outside the K-12 program and that that would be one of the reasons why they're closing it. Again, it's contradicted that the schools are designed to be civic centers. They're intended for community use, education, and recreation. Community education is actually an operational mechanism that fulfills this law. The community

014education does not compete with the day school or the money from the day school. These are outlined. Most of you have probably already seen that I sent you a large packet to go with this cuz 3 minutes is very quick. I sent Alan Kearsley back in 2023 a multiple-page documents about how the district aligns with these goals and objectives with the community program at high schools. Family support positions have been discussed several times in this meeting. We actually support that and extend those services. It's a program that works hand in glove. At night, we extend all of the community support centers and we also provide food pantries, clothing closets. I'm going to skip to one thing. We're not a conflict. The financial cost of the district is $175,000 for three contracts plus contract benefits, but

015it's also important to know that our employees are a part of this and they need to be They They should be discussed these with the stakeholders. Sorry, I had to cut that off, but you should have a full packet. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Kathleen. Our third speaker this evening is Raj G Indeep. Hi Raj, thanks for joining us. Hi, my name is Raj G Indeep. I've been teaching at like made education at East High for about 7 years. Before someone else I've been running well over 10 years. Just I felt I bring a service to kids, bring kids people's minds in this very important in our history. And I'm not sure you've heard there's been various news stories recently with KUR, KSL, Fox 13, and then post on Reddit. And those have

016gotten I've been monitoring those comments. And overwhelmingly they are confused, angry, and want this to continue. They have taken these classes and they highly value them. And it's And I've discussed with other teachers and students in this program and they all feel the same way. They're heartbroken and angry and they want this to continue. Thank you, Raj. All right, our fourth speaker this evening is Hank Perry. Thanks, Hank. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. First off, thanks to all the board members for your dedication, concern, and hard work. With an annual salary of $12,000, I certainly understand you're not in it for the money. I also understand the broad scope of the many agendas you face puts you at times in a position where the decisions you make aren't going

017to make everyone happy. And at times place you between the proverbial rock and a hard place. I appreciate your time, consideration, and efforts to be fair and transparent in all that you do. As such, I'm seeking a better understanding and more clarity regarding your decision to close the adult community education programs that have been so beneficial so many for so many for so long. Those 54 years of supporting community education are suddenly coming to an end. I've read your brief statement wherein those classes were using resources that could be direct redirected to the or directed towards the classroom. And since this program is outside the mission of the district, which is pre-K through 12th grade, it was determined to end the program for which the current group of offerings has been reported to be 70

018classes with 700 adult education class members. I'd like to think that after all this time, it wasn't an easy decision. That more thought, discussion, and debate took place than is reflected in the brief statement that you issued. I don't know if any of you have taken advantage of these offerings over the last 54 years. I have through an introduction to computers class in the late 1980s, which gave me an understanding and propelled me through my career since. I took a tai chi class a few years later which taught me moves, exercises, and understanding of my physicality I still use today. I recently took mandolin classes along with my wife who's currently taking guitar. The The teachers have always been excellent, patient, instructional, and most importantly created sense of community with my other classmates. I also

019took cooking classes which taught me beyond the three ways I'd done before, rare burnt, medium burnt, and well burnt. I'm looking for more of an explanation. Help me understand why you made the difficult choice to end 54 years of valuable community service. I would be remiss if I didn't ask you to reconsider, to please allow this community benefit to continue. In respect and appreciation, thank you for allowing me to speak. Our fifth speaker this evening is Todd Anderson. Hi, good evening uh board chair and board members. Thank you for having us. Uh I would like to share my sadness of the recent news that the community education program is being discontinued after 54 years. Uh several years ago, I took Russian language classes through the community education program at East High. I absolutely loved the

020classes. The teacher was highly skilled and fun. I got to learn new language skills and interact with fellow community members with similar interests. And each semester was only $60, which was very affordable. These community education classes mean a lot to community members who want to continue lifelong learning at affordable prices, as well as the teachers that get to share their Yes, there are community classes provided by other universities such as the U, but many of these classes are much more expensive than the SLC program. I understand that the school district has many competing priorities and budget decisions that can be very complex. But, it feels as if this decision was hurriedly made with no collaboration or brainstorming with community members on possible ways that the program could continue even with budget constraints. I urge the

021school board to hear out community members that will be losing this precious program and seek out ways that the community education program could be saved. Thank you. >> I'd be curious to have we reached our 15-minute time limit yet? We're at 14. Okay, that's good because we have one more as an alternate, Leah Martinez. Thank you, Leah. Thank you. Hi, my name is Leah Martinez and I am a parent at Highland High School and also a school counselor. Um dear board members, at the heart of this letter is something simple but urgent. Our students need support and right now some of our most vulnerable students are at risk of losing it. For years, Highland High School parents, teachers, students, and counselors have advocated to strengthen mental health resources because we know that student well-being is

022the foundation for everything else and that work has made a real difference. Sharp data from 2023 to 2025 reveals that our students are reporting less hopelessness, fewer concerns about bullying and suicide, and a greater willingness to reach out for help. These are not small wins. They are life-changing. One of the most impactful decisions that the district and the board made in 2023 was hiring full-time social workers to work at all of our high schools. In Highland High School social worker Jessica Carpenter has had a profoundly positive impact on the lives of our students. This is why we were surprised and deeply disappointed to recently learn that Jessica Carpenter's contract will not be renewed for the upcoming school year. Jessica works with students who are struggling the most, students who are failing classes, who aren't attending

023school, they're grappling with mental health issues, they're grieving, they're battling addiction and honestly carrying burdens that no young person should have to carry. With counselor caseloads exceeding 300 students, we as counselors simply don't have the capacity to provide the depth of the care that these students need. Jessica does. We have seen students walk into her office unable to speak about their pain and leave having taken their first step towards healing. We have seen her stay after hours making calls, advocating for students and families in crisis. We have seen students who trust no one begin to trust her. These are not just services, these are lifelines. And beyond individual support, Jessica has strengthened our entire school community. She created welcoming entry points for students to talk about mental health. She's teaching classroom lessons about self-confidence. She

024created a Zen Den to help students who are going through stressful times. She's building a meaningful program and she's just getting started. If her position's lost, students will not just lose resources. They'll lose a person they trust. They'll lose momentum in their healing and growth and some may stop reaching out altogether. We can't ignore what that can mean. We're just asking you to pause and consider what's at stake. We ask you, what's more important than the well-being of our most vulnerable students and we urge you to to act. There's still time to make a different choice. I know you guys have so much to consider, but thank you for taking that into account. Thank you. That concludes our request to speak portion. Thank you everybody for joining us in sharing your thoughts and your concerns

025about the topics that you raised tonight. We will move on uh to our reports agenda. Um the first item of business there is the construction update. Um I'm assuming Isaac Astill will be joining us at the podium or the table. Good evening. Good evening, board members. Good evening. I have some pictures I want to share with you, so hopefully that'll liven this up a little bit. These are These photos are just of um the two high school construction projects. So, I'll touch on the other uh the others first. Um this last month we've been able to take major steps towards uh completing several sustainability projects. Uh the two major ones that were completed in March were at Bryant uh Slicksee Bryant Middle School and uh Whittier Elementary, where where we craned up additional solar panels

026and have have connected those to the systems there, which offset our electrical costs. So, we're really excited that those ones are near uh there and near completion. Um as far as our high schools, um these first four pictures are photos of Highland High School of of the work that was completed last week. The top two pictures are of a classroom that we worked with with Highland uh to utilize a because it wasn't being utilized. Um it's being retrofitted as the construction office, which will allow us to uh house the construction team on site without adding additional trailers and things that'll take up space. Um and also separates them from uh accessing the building. Um there there are a few that will have access to the buildings, but that's to get them to the administration offices

027and coordinate with day-to-day issues. Um and then the uh the two bottom pictures are just photos of uh the construction fence that was set up at the beginning of last week. Um, as of today when I drove by, about half the parking lot's been torn out. Uh the that classroom that's at the top, they cut a door in. Uh so that access door will just be from the outside in there for their service uh their access. Uh these six photos are of West High School um phase one. Um, they've been slinging mud all week. Um, meaning they've been pouring concrete and uh a lot of concrete. Uh but this is the work that was done last week, which was digging for the footings, putting in rebar, and then yesterday is when they started laying con-

028uh concrete there. >> to hear you. I'm sorry. Is that better? Um, so those are the major projects uh underway right now. Um, I I will go back to Highland real quick that our official groundbreaking is next Wednesday. Uh we look forward to anyone and everyone that can participate in that. Um, it's on uh it will be on the soccer field just to the north of the high school, and there will be uh information going out shortly to show where people where they can park because we are limited parking already there. So, if you haven't heard that, there is limited parking at Highland High School. Um, other than that, uh a lot of smaller projects have been completed, and I know last month you requested more input on those. I will be better prepared next

029month to show you all of the capital projects on this year's capital list that have been completed with some pictures and updates for those. Any questions or concerns? Ashley? I just have um some positive feedback. I shared an email or a couple of emails, I think, with district leadership, the superintendent, the business administrator, and also Isaac um that was positive feedback about the baseball and softball facilities at Rosewood. I know that's not being talked about right now, but while we were in the public meeting, I wanted to pass on to everyone on the board that there's been a lot of positive feedback about those facilities and specifically from parents at Highland who were guests to the facility in the preseason. So, they're really looking forward to to having their space at Dilworth and I know

030that there's a lot of appreciation for that. So, I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you. Thanks, Ashley. Sure. >> And I Oh, sorry. >> Oh, keep going. I had one question for Alan that you made me think of when you brought up parking, which is I think we've all started to hear kind of flutterings of parking and we've also talked a little bit about how that's going to become extremely difficult at West with the Temple Square reopening. Um are we directing school leadership in any way, either to you or Dr. Grant, to work on parking policies? Like where, you know, some schools only juniors and seniors can park. We had kind of had the expectation, I think, that anyone can drive to our schools and park, including students who choice in, who would

031then have to park. Is there any kind of conversation about that? Not construction, but because you brought it up. Right. There has not been, but the construction may force us to have that conversation and and cuz I know there are schools out there like maybe only the seniors and juniors get parking passes. Um so, I think we may be having that conversation depending on how things play out with our construction projects. Dr. Taylor. Thank you. Maybe Dr. Taylor has a different answer. Oh. Actually, between Isaac and I, we are saying sharing guidance that will go out in terms of our revisions regarding guidance for parking. So, we are working on that. It would include the number of reserved parts, handicap parking, teacher designated parking, as well as student parking. So. It's in the preliminary stages

032right now. So, we haven't started the discussion. That's really helpful. I would suggest that as we go through that, that we don't we don't write a check we can't cash in terms of enforcement. We also have lacked parking enforcement because we lack the staffing for that. So, perhaps as we front-load a conversation that we're having with the city specifically about the Temple Square reopening, but we could also talk about it in regards to public parking at Highland High School with students being pushed into the neighborhood that that we have some of that conversation about what our enforcement needs would be that aren't currently met by our school staffing levels. Thanks. Thanks, Ashley. Charlotte. Yeah. And then Anne. Um Could you I looked on the website to see if there was info about the Sugar House

033Authority and just for the public to know what's going on with that. Could you comment on that a a little bit? Yeah. Um we actually received So, we we had three agreements approved by the Sugar House Park Authority. Um the first of those is being that there is an existing sewer line that goes through the park and we've always had to pump our sewage uphill over to 21 South from Highland. Um so, the first MOU is a lease agreement that gives us access to that uh sewer system um in perpetuity as long as we maintain it. Um to allow gravity feed. We're also We're we have a separate agreement with uh Salt Lake Public Utilities. We're having to increase one section of pipe on Wilmington Avenue have about 11th East uh because that part of

034the sewer system was too small to take on the additional flow. Um so, that's part of this project. Uh so, that MOU and an agreement with Public Utilities for that portion. The second is uh we are recapturing a piece of property that we hadn't utilized in the past that looked like it was part of the park. The the hill just to the south of our building. Um we've been working with the Sugarhouse Park Authority for over a year and uh they've agreed to allow us to put in that wall on our property. We're going to be extending the hill so it's not such a big wall out onto their property and some of the agreements that you guys uh looked at tonight are a portion of that agreement. Um, and then the third is a

035uh soft We're moving the softball the proposed softball field from Clayton to Sugarhouse Park. Uh, it will save us some money to do it there because there's already existing uh space and an old baseball field. So, it's not going to take as much work to get that up to to what we need. And that will allow us to have a space closer to the school so we won't have to have transportation and other challenges for the softball team to get to and from. Um, those are the three agreements that we signed, sent out. Uh It's kind of convoluted because there's there's the city, the county, Sugarhouse Park Authority They all manage that. Um, but then there's also a federal level uh through the National Park Association that they had to approve. So, after we signed

036everything, they came back the feds came back and said, "Okay, there's a couple things we need to tweak." We actually just received those MOUs back today signed by everyone except us. So, those will be processed this week through Allen and uh those will be official and those payments will be completed. So, we appreciate Sugarhouse Park Authority, the city, and the county working with us on that because it's been a big lift to get there, but everybody's been very supportive. Thank you, Isaac. >> Yep. Thank you. Yeah, I actually just wanted to comment and thank you and all of your staff who've been working on a lot of these complex projects and specifically that Sugarhouse project. You mentioned all of the layers that you have to kind of um navigate through and just want to thank

037you uh for doing that. I know a lot of parents and community members are really grateful. Thank you. Amanda. So, um one thing I forwarded earlier today um is noise during school. I we all know that construction is going to be loud. Um but the audio sample I sent um class was it going on and they had like a jackhammer going right outside the door at the same time. So, hopefully that was an isolated situation. I do know that it's mostly dirt out there now, so they obviously were really quick about taking that out on Monday. Um so, hopefully it's an anomaly, but if what can be done to um mitigate that during class time, so it doesn't negatively impact our as much as possible impact our students' learning, that would be lovely. Um and

038then I'm just going to knock out my stuff and then if you want to chime in, um that'd be great. Um secondly, on the softball and baseball, it's great that you guys have heard good things. I've had a a a precinct individual have consternation over it. And I'm going to actually she gave me permission to forward that to you, Isaac, so that you could kind of look at some of the um feedback feedback and ask as we're trying to navigate through this last little nuances with the Highland High School softball baseball stuff. Um Thank you, Ashley, for bringing up the parking parking at Highland High School. Woo. Um Maybe it'll get like kind of calmer after people look at how uh to do alternative ways to get through there. Um But right now with there

039only being one entrance and one exit point into that area, it hits a major clog. Um I don't know if I know it's a cost thing, but if if that extension of that lot or something at some point, we could have another way for people to get into that lot cuz um I don't see how that's ever going to be resolved given there's only one it's a choke point. There's only one essential area that you can go in and out of there. So just a thought like I'm living it with both of my kids right now and this morning I'm like strategically going, "Okay, if I get this and I go from this angle instead of this angle, we might make it through in the next century and I can get my second kid to

040school on time." Maybe he's a something that you want. Um and then just regarding the groundbreaking next week, I had the privilege of sitting next to um one of the marketing team for the architectural firm for Highland High School rebuild um on the flight back from the um NSBA conference um and mentioned that West High School had a 3D rendering. And so they're like, "Oh, we're going to They're going to try to do similarly um so we've got for our community members uh a a better perspective of what's to come. So I felt like that was really neat that um the architects at West High did it to give people really a better perspective. So just an FYI on that one. So I guess just more info your way but you're welcome to throw in

041anything you want to along with it. Okay. Well, I will say that the incident yesterday was a one-off. Um that the noise was them cutting through the wall to open the door for that. So there was no way they could do that any other time. >> Quietly. Well, yeah, that too but uh You got a chip and hammer? >> Yeah. Um but again, I I do want to reiterate you're you're right. We're doing everything we can to mitigate as much effect to the students as possible. That's the purpose of these projects designed and built the way they are. But there is going to be pin uh pinch points along the way that are going to be frustrating for everyone. And we'll do our best to work with certain aspects of how we can work, you

042know, ensure that okay, we're not going to have a jackhammer right next to the building during class class time. But, we're literally holding school on a construction site. So, there are going to be continual frustrations and we just ask everybody to be patient and know that we'll mitigate and you know, get with the administration. They can communicate with the project manager on site or they can contact me and we can see what we can do to address things, but other than that, we can't. I mean, it's not like we can build the building at night cuz then we got the neighbors upset because we're jackhammering at night rather than during school time. Um, but uh we did have a conversation with the contractor about that today after I got your email. I asked him about

043it and he said yeah, it was a one-off, uh but they'll continue to communicate with their team to make sure they plan around class times and certain super noisy things. >> This one was the kids getting humor of trying to do a presentation and talking a little louder and then a little quieter and then a little louder. Yeah. So, right now it's kind of funny, but I'm sure at some point it won't be. Um But, thank you. Yeah, as far as the parking, um you know, that is the design for the temporary. Um, there's three phases that that parking will continue to be eliminated and then expanded. The good news is in the end there there are uh two main entrances and then a separate entrance for the buses and exits. So, that it'll be

044better in the end, but uh during construction, we are going to be limited on our accesses. But, thank you. We we we'll take the input and share it with the contractors and do the best we can. Thanks, Amanda. I don't see any other questions. Isaac, thank you for joining us tonight and for all your efforts. Um, our next item of business on the reports agenda is the budget development, capital projects, and debt service fund. Bea Kearsley. Since y'all get tired of hearing from me, I've invited our budget director Ryan Hunt to do the presentation for capital and debt budgets. So, he is going to do this presentation. It's his first time. Be nice. Oh, is there a plug-in here somewhere? Big square plug does not fit there. Hopefully it doesn't die. All right. Well, thank

045you for having me out. Uh board and Thank you for having me out. I'm grateful to be here to present this to you guys. I do a lot of work on it, and so Microphone. Is it working? Is the mic working? Okay. I think it's too plain close to it. I just want to note, see, he does all the work to it. I get all the credit when I present, so we're just trying to give him a little bit of credit. All right. So, we're going to present the capital and debt funds to you guys tonight. Capital projects is a lot about the stuff that Isaac was talking about. Basically, you know, maintaining our operational buildings and facilities throughout the district and all the costs that go into that. And so, we're just going to

046cover the cost and revenue streams that come in for that and give you guys an idea of what the budget looks like for that. So. Is it working? Oh, yeah. That's helpful. Okay. There you go. You guys can see that now. Mhm. Awesome. Okay. Uh so, this is revised budget for this year as we finish up and proposed budget for next year. So. So, the budget highlights are that, as you guys are are well aware, we are rebuilding the West and Highland high schools. Uh we have ongoing sustainability projects sprinkled throughout that, and the way that we're funding this was through bond sale. Uh this year, as we wrap up the year, uh we still have reserves that we haven't spent, and so we're not going to sell bonds uh this fiscal year. Uh but

047we anticipate the need for next year as we start spending down our proceeds. So. Uh the little tiny numbers, I don't know if you guys can see that, but that's the the budget that we're going to be presenting in the book. Um So, the first one is the the revised budget uh at 3 years of actual revised and a proposed. Uh the next page shows the uh proposed budget with 3-year uh 4-years of projections of how we expect this to spend. So. One thing to note, as you can see in the revised budget, if you look on the bond sale, there is it's zero. We're not expecting to sell those, but as we go into the proposed, so we're basically skipping this year, and then we're going to run it out like we had previously

048planned, so. Uh here's the chart that shows the numbers that we were just looking at. Um the big spike coming up and down is the timing issues that we're realizing right now during you know, massive inflow of revenue from the bond sale. Uh we haven't spent that money yet. We anticipate that to uh increase as we finish this year and start ramping up into these projects as we've uh anticipate breaking ground on them, and a lot of the expenditures will start coming in. So. Uh this is the pie chart that shows the budget for next year. Uh you can see the majority of the chart is contract services. Basically, the big projects. Um and the rest of it is the other stuff that goes into it. Salaries, benefits, debt service, equipment, supplies, materials, and other

049services. Which is pretty small compared to the larger pie. At the top, you can see that we have a $191 million land land for these projects. So, any questions on the capital stuff? So far? Yes. So, some community members have asked about the total bids for the high schools cuz as you said, like obviously this is going to fluctuate a lot. The debt service fluctuates a lot. Our last bonds just rolled off. New ones are about to roll on. Um but they're curious just about the bids for the new high schools and if they were over the cost estimated from the bond. So, I'm wondering if you or anyone else from the business office wants to speak briefly to address the process of bidding, paying, and then how those POs will be approved by the

050board. I think it's really good to make sure that community members understand what to look for in the process as we look at this chart and see a lot of fluctuation. Well, Isaac address that. That's great. Thanks. Sorry. Alan was in the back room like this. You're back. Um okay, so we through the process, we identified our project or I'm sorry, our CMGCs and and our architects. Um they gave us preliminary costs. Uh we then worked with our purchasing department to put out bids for each project. Uh each the first phase of each of those has been put out and we've received bids back for for both of those. They're publicly um put out there through our purchasing department and through the contractor, competitively bid. Um the general contractor, he they provide their um cost

0513 days before other bidders do. And if their costs are higher, then they can we actually can go to the other contractors to come in and say, "Okay, we're you should use these guys because they can do it cheaper than you can." Um so, all of that is fair and open uh to the state statutes. Um and then, to get to the big question, the the first phase is both of those have come in just about $5 million under what was projected. So, really good so far. But, that's the first phase of each. Um and we've got 4 and 1/2 years on one and 7 and 1/2 on the other to go. And so, to to address the second half of the question, what I was trying to share with the community members asking is

052that we will not follow every step of every bid because once we decide what the bond amount is and once we've gone out to bond, we sort of delegate a lot of those responsibilities. So, as things come up and costs, as you point out, go up and down, how would like an average member of the public expect to see that progress? Just on change orders or purchase orders on the agenda? Is that right, or am I missing something? Yeah. So, the the since we have a general you you hear the term general contractor and subcontractors, the general contractor pays the subcontractors. So, we don't write a check to them. We write checks to the general contractor, generally. Um Haha. So, what we what we will do is, as we get through these expenditures and it's

053part of the bond process, is on our website kind of have a high-level total bond project spent to date balance kind of information going on there. It won't get into the nitty-gritty details, but um that will be tracking on our on our construction webpage. And so, that means on the kinds of charts and the budget reports we approve that is being presented to us today, that's also where a community member could see what the total amount is being spent on the bond. Right. So, yeah, each month we do have that that uh expenditure report. Um they may not be labeled exactly So, it won't be labeled West High School, Highland High School, but they can kind of track and just see where the revenues are. And if any member of the public ever does have

054a particular question, they can feel free to reach out to me and we can do our best to answer those. Thank you. We will be providing um, you know, in the budget book once a year the updates on those projects, but that's pretty far between you know, the the projects actually going on, so but there'll be a place where we'll break it out according to the projects that have been approved and kind of like the spending and how it's aligned with the budgets and everything like that, so uh that will be I We plan to put that in this year. Since we just got started with it, so. All right, so here's the debt service. We're looking at the revised budget and the proposed budget. >> Randy, we got another question. >> Oh, sorry. Question,

055Amanda. Yeah, mine uh mine it plays into what we've previously discussed um in prior board meeting, but obviously it's worked into this uh overarching budget, um but as we're talking about like the bond, we're talking about um our currently closed buildings and like future whatever realities equate to there. A couple of things that have been turning in my brain as I was um kind of reviewing this topic was like you know, the the budget that we are looking at for next year, it encompasses our um maintenance of buildings and equipment and all of that piece, correct? Um and so what I would like to know, and I think it would be good for the public to know as well, is um with the funds that we have, we all know that we are like we

056always have a bigger need than we have money in our wallet. So with the the projects that we are working on on maintaining, improving, replacing because they're reaching their end of life. Do we have situations where they may not be critical so they're not at the top of the list, but they are impacting our students and our buildings and our teachers etc. and what they're able to do on a regular basis. So I guess it roughly if we know about what percentage of impact that is or number of projects or just a yes or a no, do we have those situations that exist out there that they're waiting and waiting and waiting in a non-desired setup basically. And then secondly, we have the capital projects maintenance and replacement list. So and that's generally ongoing. So

057is that list decreasing over time because we're able to like chip away at it? Is it maintaining? We're taking some off and an equivalent coming back on? Or are we is that list getting longer and longer and longer because we don't have enough money to go towards these projects that we're trying to do? I see Isaac going like this. So that just answered my question and it probably answered my other question too essentially. So as we're having these discussions around money and our buildings and retention of retaining or selling and stuff, that was one of those I I wanted to visit that have a get better understanding I think as we go further into this down the road. We need to really dissect that that monetary piece that's either holding up or contributing to whether

058or not we're getting this work done in the buildings that we are currently functioning in. Yeah, so to answer your your first question it's it's just to clarify it was do we have the resources to maintain the critical needs of the schools that we're maintaining, right? >> Nicely worded my long ramble. >> yeah, so we have Yeah, we have the list that we produced, you know, at the beginning of the year and you never know what's going to happen until you get into it, right? And so we may have we we just actually had a couple of HVAC units that they had to replace at some of our sites and we just got to take care of those. So we have contingency built into the budget so that if there are the stuff that arises

059that are outside of the scope of what we can plan for, we can take care of that. Um as far as like and I think you guys have seen it. There's the individual project list that goes down per site breaking it down into the specific projects that we are working on. Um there's a lot of work that goes into building that list and the the needs that are most critical are the ones that are on that list. Um and of course if there are other things that pop up during the process during the year um they we have you know, like I was saying, resources to take care of those things. So Um does that answer the first question? Okay. That answered both of them well. Yeah, that was my first but I I think

060you answered the second one with the >> So you Yeah. Yeah, uh to your to what you said earlier, you know, we never have enough resources to do all the stuff that we'd like to do and so the the end of the rainbow is just forever out there. So Thank you. Uh-uh. All right, we good to go on? Okay. All right, so like I was saying, revised debt and proposed for this this year and coming up. So um the the principal highlights are the principal and initial interest on the debt is um coming up and will be uh imposed on our first issuance this coming year. We do not anticipate another bond sale for this round for this fiscal year but like I said, next year we anticipate having to go out and sell another

061round. Um the payments on the bonds will defer until fiscal year 28. And so we'll push it out uh cuz we don't have we built the payments in so that it's future as we have to approve that as we go on. So we can take care of that. Another interesting thing is that we're going to transfer at the end of every um year, if there are unspent bond proceeds, uh we can transfer out. And this is actually based on the prior bonds that were rolled off, the old stuff. Um, transfer out to fund technology and expenditures. And this is allowed by state law. And we're going to transfer out 2 million per year to help fund technology needs in the district. Uh that transfer will be made out to the capital fund. I have a

062correction. So he noted unspent bond proceeds. They're not unspent bond proceeds, they're unspent property tax that gets collected to pay the bonds. If there's residual left in there, there's a state code that lets us transfer that money out uh and to cover technology expenses. Um, yes. Sorry. >> we build them for a fund transfer, if we don't build it into the budget, we can't do it. So sometimes we'll build it into the budget and then we see how things play out throughout the year and then transfer it if we need to or or choose to. But again, if we don't budget for it, then we can't. Correct. And yeah, he's right. Sorry about that. It isn't bond proceeds. That's um as we collect the property tax at the every area, we have to set that

063value and um there's it's never zero at the end and so we have the option to transfer out if we have resources still available. Uh you can see that in the revised budget, the transfer out of 2 million to the capital fund to take care of that. And that's we basically are just trying to exhaust the previous um sources of revenue that we have. So. There's that. Uh this is the chart of that. Um you can see that the revenue and expenditures for debt service are the same cuz we can we anticipate they tell us exactly what we're going to collect. Oh. Let's see. We know exactly what we're going to collect and what we're going to spend at the end of the year and so we just say that's the number and there always

064matches. Um and then the fund balance is always zero at the end cuz we always tie it out, so. Well, it's in my pocket. All right, this is the chart basically a breakdown of interest and other fees that we have to deal with as well as the redemption principal. Um and this is just the anticipated amount that we're planning to spend. This will increase over time as we bring on new projects and have to spend you know, more of our money maintaining the the debt that we incur. So. And then this is just the outline of kind of the next steps as we go forward. Um throughout the rest of the year while small small group meetings as requested. I guess Adam will set those up. He can invite me if he wants. Uh May

065we'll we'll go over the general fund executive summary. Uh we'll talk about final budget review uh in the next meeting and then finally we'll get to the point where we're going to approve in board action the revised budget and proposed budget as well as the approved tax rate, so. Any questions on this stuff? If I have time, like otherwise I can You have 25 seconds. It was asked of me this earning and I know it's related to the capital projects stuff that Isaac said, but still related to this. Um a community member asked and I think more would benefit as well, but basically why was the um construction determined to start now versus waiting until um end of school? I.e. the noise. So, if you could explain how that works in relation to the bond,

066that would be lovely. Yeah, that's not my department, so Well, I I'll just know. We'll We'll see if I I I've already been overturned by the back of the room once, so I might as well give it a shot. Um You know, a lot of it's timing. We The goal is to have these buildings done and ready for school by whatever the timeline is, and so they just back up, and I mean, if we just said we're only going to do construction in the summer, we would never actually get these buildings done. So, just see if Isaac uh has any other comments. Sorry. Um So, both of these projects were supposed to start the end of last year. Uh The goal was that the these noisier The goal these noisier things were were to happen

067when school wasn't in session. Um but that obviously things have happened that permits and design and other challenges that we've had that we're getting to it now. Um the challenge is is the longer you wait, the more it costs, and uh there isn't an option to say, "Hey, come work this week and then don't work the next 3 weeks." We'd never get a job done, and the the cost to um mobilize and re-mobilize multiple times would be exorbitant, and we wouldn't be able to stay within a budget that we have been given. Wasn't there a correlation to how the bonds are done cuz you got split up in like two or three, and then they had to be they had to do the work and pay the bills before um start for this time? No,

068the bonds get sold as we need the money. So, the selling of the bonds is is more how quickly we spend the money is how quickly we'll sell the bonds. There are spending requirements that we're trying to keep on top of so we don't have arbitrage problems. So So we spend it down during the year cuz we don't want to take a bond out and then sit on the money for a real long time. So we want to try and use that up as fast as we can on projects. So All right. Any other questions for Ryan? Ryan Um going it up cuz I did not I did not see this in the slides that you presented. I I don't think Were you showing all of the slides that were in the um PowerPoints that

069were shared with us and that I just missed >> Uh yeah, the the PowerPoint. I just want to know if they're We have two kind of budgetary related presentations. The next one's the next agenda item. So it's possible that Okay. Got a different one. Cuz it's money. I've been trying to go back and forth between keeping time and these different reports because I do have one when we get to some slide. >> And if we go through the other ones and that still doesn't answer, um feel free to uh circle back. Okay. Thanks. Thank you, Ryan. All right. Thank you. All right. Our third item of business in the reports agenda is budgets and legislations financial or fiscal impact. Um Bea Kierceley, I believe you're taking this one up. >> Yeah, I can't defer all

070of my my duties to someone else, right? So, this presentation's going to be um on the financial impact of the the this year's legislative session. Uh we had a uh UASBO Utah Association of School Business Officials spring conference here a couple weeks ago, where we had the state board present some of the financial information. Uh we have another Utah School Superintendents Association meeting next week, which they may because it was a pretty quick turnaround from the end of legislation to um that spring conference. So, depending on what we learn at um at the meetings next week, if there's additional information, we'll bring that back to the board. But, this is information we have up to date. Um just want to note some program cuts. So, the digital teaching and learning grant was eliminated. Uh historically,

071so this this current year, the district received $498,000 of of that grant. It pays the salary for um um salary and benefits for one academic coach, and pays for computers for teachers. So, um that one academic coach position will be eliminated, and the computers will have to come out of another um source of funds, cuz teachers do need computers. Uh in addition, there was a competency-based learning grant that was also eliminated. Uh the district received $100,000 for this current fiscal year. Uh it paid for the Magic School software and some teacher PD for using that Magic School software. So, that is um some software that we will no longer purchase, and um have to do without that, cuz the funding source has gone away. Uh additional cuts, uh there was a state funding for software

072licenses for early learning that was eliminated. Um the district received $276,000 in current fiscal year in this grant. Uh we use that to pay for Lexia Core Reading software. Um potentially that'll be eliminated. Some of these we're still discussing on what the um ultimate uh outcome is. Is it do we cut other other expenditures to keep paying for this or is this something that we could you know do without? Um so we are still having those discussions on the exact outcome. Uh in addition, the National Board Certified Teacher funding was eliminated. The district uh this year received $50,000 of that funding. That varies depending on how many um teachers participate in getting their National Board certification. Uh and this is used to reimburse those teachers 50% of the cost of getting that certification. Uh so

073that funding has also been eliminated. Uh there's a STEM endorsement incentive that was also eliminated. The district receives about 25,000 uh of this grant. Uh it uh is paid for stipends for teachers to uh want to earn their STEM endorsement. So that that uh will be eliminated and they there there won't be that money to reimburse that uh to pay for those stipends. In addition, if you remember not last legislative session in 2025, uh there was elimination of curriculum and co-curricular fees. Uh and there was some one-time funding that was spread over a three-year cycle to help districts kind of shall we say wean off the school fees. Uh there was discussion to uh this year we received about $500,000 of that money. There was discussion at the legislature to claw that back even though

074we had already received it. Uh luckily they they determined to let us keep the money they already gave us. But for the next 2 years where we are scheduled to get 300,000 next year and then 200,000 the year after that, those funds are have been eliminated. Um so we'll continue have discussions on, you know, how we those those fees that we aren't charging anymore, how do we make up those costs? So those are future discussions. So the weighted pupil unit, which is the major funding uh calculation of the state, uh was increased by 4.2% based on the estimates that the state has given us. Uh you can see there showing current So FY 2026 references current fiscal year. Um there they they give us a the state uh presents legislative estimate numbers and then they

075give us a midyear update and then a final when when they're looking at these these figures. So in their current midyear update, they have the district at uh 17.6 WPUs, which generates $82 million. Uh for next year they have us estimated at 16. almost 16.8 WPUs. Uh we're at 81.8 million. So you can see even with the 4.2% increase in the value of the WPU due to decreased enrollment, we are still anticipating uh $643,000 less in the minimum school K-12 than current year. And I just want to point out this this is probably our number one budgetary issue that we're dealing with is decreased enrollment leads to decreased funding and this is a perfect example. So of oh, great, they increased the value by 4.2%. Yet we still will um get less less money due

076to reduced enrollment. Uh the state I'm sorry about Can you go back to one slide? So the 17,000 uh WPUs, is that the number of students we have? It's not exactly it does correlate with the number of students and and I want to note that this is just the district not the two charter schools that we run. So sometimes you'll see a higher number but that'll be including the open classroom and Slickside Charter School. And so if you uh how much is it per what is the weighted pupil I like 4,000 I don't know Randy you know off the top of your head? Uh it's like 4,300 and something. Yeah, it's in the 4,000 range per per student. So if if you do the division if you take the 80 million divide that give you

077the number. >> Okay, I thought so. That's with the 4.2% increase. So the 27 years with the 4.2% increase. >> got it. Got it. Okay. I did say when we came back to this slide I do want to point out those last two lines of this. So when we receive funding for the minimum school through the weighted pupil unit it's divided into two pieces. One is the basic rate. So you may recall when we talk about the tax rate there's a basic rate. The state legislature sets the basic rate cuz it's used to fund the minimum school program. And then there's state revenue which is funded by income tax. So that top line is the total calculation of the amount of money the district will receive from the minimum school program the K-12 minimum school

078program. However, it comes from two different sources the basic rate and then the income tax because what the what the calculation is is we'll use the FY27. This the district with if if we have those 16.793 WPUs is guaranteed $81,783,000. So, the basic rate generates $73,000,000, and so the state comes in with the the income tax and makes up the difference. Cool. Uh to So, those two numbers add up to the $81.7 million. As you can see, the bulk of our minimum school comes from the basic rate and not from um income tax. Um If if we were to do this for Park City, what you'd see is their basic rate generates more money than the WPU, so that's called recapture. So, Park City has to give money back to the state because they over

079collect on their their WPU. And we don't We choose not to do that. No, we just don't >> No, we don't over collect. We don't over collect, but as you see If we were to do historical, we're getting closer and closer to where the the vast majority of that is generated by the basic rate. So, I can see at some point we we might get into a recapture situation. Um can you please explain again why we have that $643,000 less even though we had a 4.2 percent Yeah. Oh, because the >> Yeah, so in FY26, there's there's 17.6 WPUs, which are which we'll call them students for simplicity. Okay. >> And in '27, there's an estimated 16.7. >> And that's an estimate. >> So, even though the value went up, the amount of students went

080down. >> Okay. So, that offset that increase and even lower. And that's a projected These are projections from the state, yes. >> Okay. Uh the legislature did add 25 million statewide to the at-risk add-on. So, that's an additional um formula. If you see the word add-on, it's it means they take the WPU and and they kind of use that as the formula, and then they add a little bit onto it. The at-risk is added onto for students so um that have some at-risk factors, which are socioeconomic, uh English language learners. Um I I I think those are the two main ones. So, I put on here the state's estimated. So, they see the midyear update, we have 1.2 or 1,273 WPUs, which generates a little over 5 million. the state's um projections for next year

081have us at 1.5 or 1,500 WPUs. Uh which would generate 7. almost 7.4 million dollars for 2 million dollar increase. I think their number is high. Yeah. Um we will get additional money because of the 25. I think the additional money we'll get is going to be closer to 1 million dollars and not the 2.3 million dollars shown on this slide. Um so, when we're doing our budget, we're budgeting that 1 million dollars. Uh again, this is the this is the funding source that we really got a hit big hit on this year because it adjust Right. with the October 1 count. Yeah. May decrease. >> So, we set all the budgets >> Not me. and then we do the October 1 counts, and if the at-risk if the students with the at-risk factors is

082lower than we anticipated, the state takes that money back from us. And just a reminder that at-risk factors are captured by like free and reduced lunch. Free and reduced lunch >> Those were decreased this year because possibly other factors including immigration fears. So, um we are emphasizing, please fill out the free and reduced form. Um apply for fee waivers, even though maybe some of you should we, since we don't charge those curriculum and co-curricular fees anymore, maybe they feel there's no need to fill out the form. Uh if you qualify, please fill out the form because it does bring more money into the district based on this this formula. Uh there's Senate Bill 241 for early literacy. Um the district will be receiving next year uh $488,000. So, this is new money. Uh and it's

083specifically in the law states um to provide paraprofessionals who support literacy. In addition, uh we're receiving 262,000 which to provide literacy coaching and training. Uh there were we were receiving four academic coaches paid for by the state. Uh the state's not funding those anymore. So, as we look at the the cut of those plus this new money, we're still having discussions on how to best meet the both the requirements of the law, but really I mean, see how do we use this money to address literacy? Um so, we're still having those discussions and some of them might be, well, we can we have that money for literacy coaching. We can offset some of those losses from the the cut to the state coaching model. Um and then this is just other items that are off

084of the um the legislative projections for next year. Uh you can see there's a lot of negatives on there. And most everything on here well, you can see if there's a if there's a number in the column under the FY26 mid-year update and the FY27 estimate, those are student counts um WPUs. So, those funds are gen generated by the amount of students we have. So, if there's a negative there, then that's showing that that's generally as a result of a decreasing enrollment. We have that one line college and career counseling. You can see there was nothing there this year. That was just a reclassification of something out of the CTE, the top line, the career technical education add-on. So, you can see that plus and that minus largely offset each other. They just moved that

085college and career counseling to its own line to be reported separately. Um and just some other item There are There are other funding items that are on the legislative estimate um cuz they might be grants that don't come through yet. Um but these are the items that uh they put on there. Um So, seeing if there I see if there's anything else there I wanted to highlight. School LAND Trust program, let's highlight that. So, that all I mean, 100% of school LAND Trust program goes out to the schools. You can see district-wide uh there's a 494 almost 495,000 dollars in additional funds that has been allocated out to the schools in that school LAND Trust money. And then the the uh school community councils along with the principal determine how to use that money to

086meet the goals that are in their school LAND Trust plan. Any questions? Ashley? I didn't actually ask you this question before because I just thought of it now looking at this graph. Um I would I have two, and one is when we look on this graph and we see adult education, that refers to specific programs either um as part of prison education or as part of what we offer at Horizonte. Is that true? So, this would not refer generally to community education. >> There's those two separate lines. The one that just says adult education is for the adult education program at Horizonte. And then the second line is for the um the the school out at the Utah State Prison. Skyview. Oh, Skyview. Skyview. Sorry. No, that's right. Um so, when we're looking at that,

087it means something specific. We don't receive any state money for adult education beyond those two programs. There's other grants here and there, but this is the main source of funding for those two programs. And then the only other question, which we don't have to address now, I just kind of want to put a pin in it so I don't forget, is as we've seen this paints a very bleak picture, right? Like we're looking ahead at ongoing revenue loss, and there we heard in our last demographic report that the demographer does not see the bottom for Salt Lake. So, if we don't see the bottom, and we know that revenue will continue to decrease, and we also know we won't collect our maximum property tax because we lose so much of it to development, that a

088lot of teachers begin to become frustrated by the cuts they're seeing at their individual schools. We have almost all of our schools facing um FTE reductions. As we're looking at that, one question faculty have raised to me, which I haven't had the answer to, has been um focused on career and technical education, and I did not know this, but we hear a lot in special education about how our spending has to meet maintenance of effort. We have to show the same level of spending year over year um to demonstrate that we're maintaining effort towards special education services. CTE also has maintenance of effort. Is that true? Yeah, so the maintenance of effort on CTE is we have to spend the the minimum school program money, so the the the WPU, we have to spend it

089on those kids. Um and then the the CTE money is for the additional cost of those cuz CTE classes tend to be more expensive. So, our maintenance of effort is we're not just all right, now we're going to not going to spend that WPU money on those kids taking CTE classes cuz we'll just fund them with CTE. Um so we have to continue to spend the the WPU on the students. And we do that by we um we we have programs. We we record all of our stuff in programs. So our CTE programs that start with a three are means of effort programs that we're paying with with local but property tax or minimum school program. And then we have programs that start with five that are paid for with the state money and there's

090also the Perkins federal money. That's really helpful. And because it's not germane, like I said, my I have some ongoing questions about that. I think if it is relevant or you find a time on a future agenda where it's relevant, breaking some of that down might be helpful because I think what some faculty are experiencing is a little bit different than the description you gave where it seems like to allocate funding effectively in a picture where we're have less and less money overall, we're offering um CTE classes in favor of fine arts classes essentially. Or we're shifting certain course loads and it's being called maintenance of effort and it's not. So I would just kind of maybe if there's a way we could talk about that in future, that'd be helpful. Thanks. Right. Um yeah,

091thanks. I had similar questions to Ashley um kind of just related to the student health and counseling support program. I know in the public comment we had a comment on um counseling reduction. And so I see that it's -51,000. Is that just because of declining enrollment again? I'm looking for your line. >> It's the bottom line. >> Very bottom one. Student health and counseling support. And so a lot of the mental health funding is not one particular grant. It's lots of different grants. Um so this one on here, I don't know the exact cause of that decrease. Um, the the reduction in FTEs has been total elimination of some uh grants that were actually not eliminated this legislative session, but prior legislative sessions. Okay. Um, so just I I do think it's really important, like

092Ashley mentioned, for for community members, staff, parents, everyone to understand that the legislature sets basically all of our budget for us, and then it's us moving it into buckets that are allowable within the district, but also because of declining enrollment, it compounds the issue. And so overall, based on what passed this legislative session, it seems like there's not a a huge increase in funding. I mean, generally, it feels like may just correct me if I'm wrong. It's about the same as previous years of funding, and we're just seeing uh losses mainly because of enrollment. Right. First, I'd like to say a good chunk of our budget is set by the legislature. Um, not all of it. Um, but you're right. It's it it we're seeing a lot of negatives. I really you're seeing flat. Um,

093based on what was talked about first in the legislative session with all those exercises of 5% reductions, um, the anticipation was it could have been a lot worse. So, the fact that we maybe came out flat is I mean, it's not great because expenditure, you know, cost of living is not flat, but our revenue is flat, but it could have been a whole lot worse. I you know, sometimes we talk we speak in acronyms and we we understand what FTE E is and things like that, but the the community may not quite understand that. I was wondering if if board member Anderson, could you re-summarize the the challenges we're facing and just kind of explain it without using the acronyms, like just a little bit to clarify it? Do you mean what I was saying

094about maintenance of effort or just about funding reductions? >> Funding reductions. Oh, yeah, sure. That our we are having schools that have declining enrollment and as the business administrators pointed out in the presentation, declining enrollment leads to declining revenue because our revenue is primarily allocated per pupil from the legislature and backfilled with our property tax. Um, when you take that total sum and it has reduced, each student is in a ratio of how many students it takes to pay for one adult in the amount of money we receive. When you look at that ratio, as the number of students go down, so does the number of adults that it pays for. So, like at West, for example, the number of students has declined sufficient with the reduction of 10 and a half teachers or 10

095and a half grown-ups who work in the building in some capacity full-time. And as that amount goes down, people are frustrated that they see reductions of staffing in their school, but we don't have a way to generate new um, revenue for a basic school operations because it's either allocated per pupil and on the property tax which could backfill it is being diverted through tax increment financing, which is a tax practice that allows local agreements to put our money into development areas instead of back at school to solve the the problem of the missing revenue. Thank you. Thanks for being Amanda? Um a couple of things. One, I just wanted to emphasize. So, SB 241, you said that there is the early literacy for um that's a plus 408 488,000 for parapro for the literacy support,

096and then plus 262,000 parapro literacy coaching and training. Um obviously, a lot of the time we talk about students with disabilities, it's not this wouldn't be applicable only them, but I just want to emphasize that um a parapro and literacy support can be a very broad um usage of that or application of that, and it applies really to all students. So, as you're looking at how to best utilize that for the parapros, we know that part-time parapros we have high turnover, um and then um all kids can benefit from that support, especially with the um third grade retention bill that's come out, um and just the basic need how critical it is. So, just a a pushback to uh remember all students, not just the typical ones that get the general uh support. And then,

097um secondly, um I was curious about the special education self-contained funding that one increased um by 129k, um uh expect wait, so well the self-contained funding Yeah, your net increase your net increase is 129k between the two years, so I'm curious um that that estimates a positive increase that's despite the declining enrollment. So, what the what the factors are in that. Right. So, they're showing, you know, current year 582 WPU there, and then going up to 585. So, a slight increase in the WPU projected by the state plus since these are all tied to the WPU value, so the 4.2% increase kind of the as they as they increase the WPU, those fundings that are also kind of tied into that also increase. Thank you. And then one other thing, this conversation does tie into

098the public comment around the social worker position main cut. That comment was specific specifically for Highland High School, which is my precinct. But in general, I I think this is something that it pays heed to potentially re-evaluate because our board priorities are literacy priority and an attendance priority. But if our students aren't in a good healthy mental state or they're dealing with trauma and they can't work past that, then it's hard to achieve a quality attendance and that high literacy objective. So, with the statements that were mentioned in the public comment and then thinking back to our board priorities and how if we don't have our children in a place that they can even engage or show up, it's hard to accomplish our board priorities. So, we really need to think about as we're eliminating

099positions, is that going to be counterproductive towards our ultimate board priorities? Yeah, and I'll just note those particular positions were grant funded and the grant went away. Let's move into round two unless there are other questions in round one from folks that haven't spoken yet. Seeing none, we'll go to Annie for round two and then Charlotte. Yeah, I just had clarification on what board member Longwell was saying about those literacy coaches. Does the state the state I'm assuming has some metrics and like requirements surrounding those positions. The law doesn't say anything. We may get more guidance next week in our state superintendents meeting. I guess the they'll what they will also go through all these laws and whereas the UASB meeting was kind of focused on the finance piece, the superintendents kind of gets more

100focused on the implementation and all the the rules behind it. Okay. And then just clarifying there through throughout the presentation, some coaches were cuts and some were added, but it sounds like it's kind of like you'll be retraining some existing paraprofessional coaches within the district to maybe serve in these roles so that we're not cutting staff, we're just reallocating. >> Right. We're still discussing how to best utilize these funds, but that is a possibility. Okay. Charlotte. Um these are the current year's legislative the current laws that were passed, but we are still um trying to fulfill mandates that were were passed last session or the session before. So, can you talk about like I'm I'm thinking of the safety bill. Um how much money are we is that in our budget, you know, the Right.

101So, >> money do we have to allocate towards fulfilling or I'm sorry for honoring the What is it? The safety bill. So, the safety bill, you know, two large pieces. The the the capital pieces of how do you secure a building physically and then the the guardian with a an armed guard in each school. To answer your question flatly, we don't have any money to address those because there was no money um allocated by the legislature. And so we will have to be having discussions in the future, how do we fund these mandates? Because there's there's not money from the legislature to do so. Um as we're if you remember, we're not going to increase taxes this coming year. Um we'll be adopting the certified my tax rate. So a lot of these issues will

102be funded out of our reserves, out of our fund balance until we come up with a solution on how to fund them ongoing. And there what um is the deadline that we have right now to fulfill those requirements from those for those laws for safety? So the guardians are as soon as we can get them in place. We're we're working on them, getting them trained, getting them in place. The physical facilities are up it's they're roughly a 10-year a 10-year um We have a 10-year leeway to get them 10-year window, yeah. Are there any other questions for Alan, Amanda, Nancy? Thank you. Um regarding the social worker um conversation and actually could go towards community education or anything really. Um if the community were able to or wanted to to um raise money um and

103donate to the district to continue employing the social worker positions or um even potentially the community education, um they can contribute that money to SLUFF and have that um help save positions essentially, right? On a year at least on a year-to-year basis it would be They can. It's always scary to fund positions on on soft money because >> one-time money today's public may feel strongly about that and you get the donation sufficient to to fund a position, but next year things might change and then that position has to go away. So, Wow. yes, is that possible? Yes. >> year at least if there was that concerted effort, that could be a possibility. >> Right. So, is it possible? Yes. Is it something we're we're worried about when people bring it up? Yes, just because of

104the uncertainty of the funding. And also there's an increase in school land trust grants. What? So, SECs also will have an increase in funds to allocate to their own schools. Uh I I believe those are two separate things. Yeah, but I'm saying a lot of schools use land trust grants for like paraprofessionals or other staff members towards certain goals. So, I'm just saying each school can and their SEC can also use creative uses of their land trust grants. >> It's yeah, true. I I would I haven't really seen much use of that on the social work element, but yeah, true. Well, there's no further questions. Alan, thank you for the presentation and we'll move on to the next item of business. Uh I don't Oh, sorry. Brian, I missed you. You're right. This was my

105slide and I figured it out and it was in the first presentation. Okay. Can you get closer to your mic? I figured out the slide. I mean, I knew which slide it was. I should have just said can we look at this slide? I would like to look at it if we can. And this is back in the first presentation. The first budget presentation. It'll pull up here in just one second. I think it was on Ryan's computer. I have it, too. Okay. Brian, can you pull that closer to you? Okay. There we go. Thank you. So, this goes to the question that I had about a slide and it was in that first presentation and I should have just asked about that slide. And the slide is number five. That's where you have the

106straight lines going Mhm. Could you This one here? >> Yeah. Could you walk me through that? Oh, the Yep. flat So, let's look at >> Okay. Would be helpful for the public as well. Yeah. So, if we just look at our our color coding. So, our our blue is our revenues. So, you can see in 2024-2025 we have that big spike because we sold bonds. Right. And then it drops to 2025-2026 because this year we're not going to sell bonds. So, when we when we sold those bonds, we sold about 140-ish million dollars worth of bonds. So, add that on top of our regular property tax which is coming in, you see that big spike. And then going in 2026-2027 through we plan on selling the bonds for the next four years. And so, you

107see the blue is is straight cuz we're we're selling the bonds. >> the bonds. >> we when you get to the end, it drops because we're done selling that. >> stop selling the bonds. And then your expenditures kind of follow with the expenditures being the orange line as they ramp up as we're um doing these construction projects, these largely these two schools. And then they you know, and the budget's our best guess of how quickly items will get spent. But you see it ramps up and then you get there near the end of this chart and we finish those projects and those expenditures also drop off. Okay. Thank you. >> Oh, good. Thanks, Brian. Thank you, Alan. Um we'll now move on to item number four of our reports agenda, the district supervisory changes. And

108we're going to invite Dr. Ruiz to come up and present this in Dr. Grant's absence. So today we're requesting two district supervisory changes. Um the first one is moving the assessment team from our CIO, uh Mr. Sam Quance, to Dr. Jeffries, who's our assessment supervisor, to better align with his role and responsibilities. Right now he supervises the evaluation team, and so it makes sense to also have the assessment team under him in school leadership and support. The second shift in our organizational structure is moving our G5 administrator, Mr. Brian Conley, under me. He has taken additional responsibilities with our uh safety and sec- So he's also the safety and security director in addition to being the G5 administrator. Um to better align, again, with our current role and responsibilities and how we're working within the

109structure. Any questions? Commander? Um for clarity, who is Dr. Jeffries under for the executive director team? So he is under Dr. Taylor in school leadership and support. Thank you. And then secondly, I noticed that the memo, as you stated as well, but the mem- memo is asking us to approve, but it's sitting in the reports agenda, so we can't actually make a decision on it tonight, correct? That's correct, yeah. Okay. So all this Okay, thank you. Are there any other questions? All right. Thank you, Dr. Ruiz. So we'll bring it back. >> We'll have to bring it yeah. thank you. All right, our final agenda item for the reports agenda is item number five, board member considerations for G5 real estate analysis and financial economic analysis for district buildings. Just to give a little context,

110this came to us from a memo from board member Anderson that was second. Nope, is this different? Do you want me to just talk? I just was trying to give the context of where this came about, but you're welcome to do >> This was not my request. My request is in writing and it's to talk about early childhood at Banyan and at Mary W. Jackson. It is not for the feasibility firm. It was a request to study early childhood at those two facilities as part of the comprehensive needs assessment that we directed simultaneous to the feasibility study. Okay, I appreciate the context here that you gave as well, board member Anderson. The reason that it was agendaed this way is because of your presentation of the memo and the second from Bryce because of the

111nature of the sites of which that you thought that these could be beneficial for the community. It felt like it was a G5 process and maybe board legal counsel John Andrews could weigh in on this too, but this is how we decided to place it based on the conversations that we have had to give you the opportunity to share the insights and suggestions that were garnered from that were outlined in your memo from community members and other previous board members too. I can go ahead and read what my actual item in writing said. Please. >> Which is to urge Superintendent Grant to study collaborative use of the Banyan Elementary campus as an early childhood education and community learning center to be presented in a study session and one subsequent open public meeting. It does not

112talk about G5. It does not talk about anything other than that. We had multiple clarifying phone calls about it. And it it does not have to do with a feasibility study because our schools are feasible to be uh early childhood centers because they offer early childhood now. Okay. So, that was not my request and I made that very clear prior to the meeting as well. Okay. Madam I I wasn't part of those discussions, but I had overheard a little bit on some. I do want to um I guess acknowledge that we did initiate the G5 closure on those buildings. So, is it my my understanding is that because we initiated the G5 process and these requests were put in play after the initiation of the G5 closure process with the feasibility study you're trying to

113integrate these in these specific requests into the process that's already underway. So, trying to respect the requests as well as also respecting that the board approved the closure the G5 closure process that is underway. Correct. It was >> Point of order. Please. The board simultaneously directed that the superintendent would present a comprehensive needs assessment on the closed buildings because not all board members agreed that moving ahead with the feasibility study without closing the needs assessment chapter was prudent and that was the suggestion proffered. And in that open public meeting, Dr. Grant stated if we had things we would like to be considered as district needs, we had to bring them. The only way we have to bring an item to the meeting is to request it and get a second, which I did and it

114has not been placed on the agenda. And Yeah, I think um based on the G5 policy and the AP, since this is one of the first times we're going through this. We're we're seeing that there's maybe some uh confusion or timelines that um are open for interpretation. Christina, would you like to say something? Board President Salazar, you have to Put on your microphone. Oh. You have to rule on the point of order, she said. Would that be helpful if one of us were up here on these points of order? >> before we proceed, I've got to from from Ms. Kendall was that there needs to be procedurally a ruling on the point of order. Correct. Which in that case, if I accept it, then we would um not further discussion and we would move on

115with the rest of the agenda. I'll go ahead and approve and we'll move on. Um moving under the discussion agenda, we have item number one, Salt Lake Center for Science Education Charter Renewal Request. Thank you for letting me come back this evening. And I know um some of the questions that got posed last time for the discussion are um geared towards financials and some are geared toward district leadership. Um I've tried to come prepared to respond to the ones that seem to be directed more towards SLIC C and to just reiterate a couple of items and then I'll turn it over to district leadership to respond to some of your questions. Um but I thank you for your time and for the opportunity to be back. Hopefully, you don't get tired of me too soon.

116But, um I will say this that after our last discussion, I spent quite a bit of time reflecting on the questions and considerations um that was raised by that were raised by the board. And today, I do hope that I'm able to effectively respond to those and that we are able to do that. Um just to briefly anchor us, uh this proposal is to reestablish grade 6 through 8 at SLCS using a phased approach beginning fall of 2027 with 6th and 7th grade and growing into 8th the following year. This is not a large expansion, but rather a reconfiguration towards the original 6th through 12 model that SLCS was designated to operate within. I wanted to just bring up this point cuz some really great questions were asked around um the structure of the model.

117Uh this model is grounded in established educational theory. It includes Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, Bruner's model of scaffolding and gradual release of responsibility, and stage-environment fit, which all emphasize that students need structured support that is gradually reduced over time. Our design applies those principles across grade levels to reduce transition shock and improve outcomes. Ultimately, this is what SLCS used to be, and we're asking for a return to that structure. Um so, when looking at some really great questions were asked around the 6th grade specifically, uh in SLCS in the SLCS model, 6th grade does play a critical role. It serves as that transition year where students move from elementary structures into secondary expectations in a gradual and supported way. This is where academic identity, confidence, and belonging really can take some strong shape. The

118structure is intentionally designed to support that transition. So, in sixth grade, students have fewer teachers. They have extended time blocks, which allows for those deeper relationships that are so um pivotal in elementary school and and continuing well into secondary. Again, this is one thing I talked about is like secondary models can learn a lot from elementary. Um and it also allows for more integrated learning. And then in seventh and eighth, students transition into a more traditional schedule, but the teachers then loop with them, which provides continuity and support. Um this progression allows students to build independence over time rather than all at once, which is often how we transition kids into middle school. They go from that really close-knit elementary model to um suddenly they have seven or eight teachers in one day. Um I

119know uh well, one other thing I'll just talk about is um by having 6 through 12, we also can reduce the entire transition in a student's K-12 experience, where they don't have to change schools from middle to high school. Uh the benefits of reducing transitions and beginning earlier with students is not just something that the Squalicum community believes, but it's also supported heavily by research. Studies consistently show that when students experience fewer school transitions and remain within a a consistent system for a longer period of time, they demonstrate stronger academic outcomes, better behavior, and a greater sense of belonging. Transitions, on the other hand, are almost always associated with dips in achievement and engagement. What's important is that we also see this reflected in our own data at Squalicum. Students who entered as sixth graders

120scored on average two points higher on the ACT than students who entered in ninth grade. So, that's something to definitely be considered. That tells us that the earlier we can begin this work and the fewer transitions that students have, the longer students can stay within it, the stronger their outcomes are over time. Uh this early work is particularly crucial for our marginalized populations if we really aim to close achievement and opportunity gaps. Okay, but I know this is the big thing that we talked about as we are facing as a school district declining enrollment, which puts us in a really precarious position when we're talking about um expanding opportunities at a different site. So, as we consider this proposal, it's really important to ground ourselves in the broader district context. Um I did share this

121slide in the previous presentation, but I think it's worth re-looking at. Uh the district is currently experiencing declining enrollment, but the superintendent hit on this that at the same time charter school enrollment is on the rise. Um particularly out-of-district charters continues to grow. This creates a dynamic where we're not only managing internal enrollment, but also losing students to external options. So, this is where I see in any challenge, I see opportunity. Um we talked about last time that recent data showed over 1,500 students left the district and only about 600 of those moves were associated with a change in zip code, which suggests many of the families are still in our community but are choosing other educational options. With multiple charter schools within close proximity serving middle grades, there is clear demand for these types

122of programs. And so, this is where I think we can really work in partnership with the school district on the concern around enrollment. We believe that Sojourner Truth can help retain and bring some of those students back into the districts if it back in the district. If families know there's an in-district charter option that begins in sixth grade, they would be more likely to keep their students in their boundary elementary for fifth, which we are losing a huge number of students to that. So, this means you could potentially retain more students within the district for longer. Um this is some data that I I know board member Anderson asked for us to look a little bit more at trends um with the raw data. And so, this is looking at enrollment of students outside of

123Salt Lake City School District by year. Um so, this is a really important part of our uh story. Over the time we've seen a steady increase in the number of students. So, this is out of district students coming to SLCSD. Uh so, and we've seen these numbers rise. Um there's a consistent upward trend over time. Highest levels of out of district students coming to SLCSD are in the more recent years. And those um number of students participating in our programming from out of district boundaries has nearly doubled since 2008. So, this means that SLCSD's not only serving students within the system, but it's also bringing students into the district who might otherwise attend schools elsewhere. So, when we think about system impact, this represents an opportunity to strengthen district enrollment overall by attracting and retaining

124families. And these numbers are with no strategic plan for out of district recruiting. Um I was asked to consider what a plan would look like, so I have a draft of a plan that targets out of district recruiting. So, this plan is primarily based upon my own experience recruiting, and I'm definitely very open to collaborating with others on how to recruit students in. But I I think it's a good draft of a plan. And it doesn't target any within district students. We would solely be looking to increase the number of students who are living within Salt Lake district who are attending schools outside of the district or out of district students that attend schools in other school districts. So some core strategies I've included is direct outreach to elementary charter school communities. A lot of

125charter school communities are eager to share good programming to send their students to when they So when we partner with like elementary programs would be a great place to start um because then they have a place to actually send their students to. Geofence digital advertising, family information campaigns and events, mailers to families in district boundaries not attending district schools, dedicated recruitment landing page, community partnerships and community events, partnerships with local businesses and the university. We have a lot of people who commute into this area for work. And if they knew they had a great place to bring their students, I think we can be a really good landing place for those students who are commuting into the city. Um multilingual outreach, experience-based recruiting events that can be open house tours. Thank you so much. My

126left eyeball cannot see. Uh I was just doing all my work with right eye. I felt pretty good about it, but even better. Um STEM nights and different events. Student ambassadors are students. I love that within this school district our students have opportunities to go and engage with students in other schools. And there are certainly other schools um even beyond our school district boundaries that we could connect with um and build some strong partnerships. And then alumni engagement. I think this is actually probably one of our most underutilized or under underutilized assets. We do have a really strong alumni and students are really eager to share about our school and I think we could harness that. Um similar with families, utilizing families that way. Um we also have some robust community partnerships um particularly on

127the west side and we could work with them to make sure we're getting the word out to families. Um using family ambassadors and testimonials to connect with prospective families. Uh we um are a word of mouth school. We just are. So leveraging our alumni and their families to help us get that word out is really important. I've I've included a timeline and some possible metrics, but anyways, I'm very open to feedback on that. Um and I just have a couple other things to share before I shift it over, but um I would just I would just say that we would I think historically when we had a middle school, we approached enrollment a little bit more passively. People like STEM schools were not as um they were kind of new and I think lots of

128people were lining up to come to the middle school and um I don't think we had to do as much really active strategic recruiting and I I know that we would commit to doing that. Um and we have a targeted strategy to recruit students who are not currently attending our district. Um I've hit those ideas and yeah, I just I guess I really want us our goal would be to ensure that families who are currently seeking other options see really viable options within this school district and I think we can be a really great entry point for that. Um okay. So in terms of moving forward, I'll just close with this and that is I I deeply value the thought and questions this board has brought to this conversation. I love watching um the thinking

129that goes on in here and the the collaborative nature that exists in this school board. The considerations about enrollment, feeder patterns, and system impact are real and they matter. We've been very intentional about thinking about this proposal not just from a Slauson C perspective, but trying to keep in mind a district-wide perspective and keeping in alignment with district priorities and challenges. Uh we believe that what we're proposing is not expansion for its own sake, but about thoughtful reestablishing a model or a thoughtfully reestablishing a model that supports students um while contributing positively to the broader system. Um I know there's a lot of work that's going to be done around looking at middle schools and I think by launching this, which is really small, we're talking about 110 students in addition to the students we're

130currently serving, um that there could be a lot to be gained and learned from um in having that launch next year. We're definitely highly committed to um continuing to work in partnership with district leadership to ensure that this implementation supports overall district stability. And ultimately, at the end of the day, our goal is that more students have access to a school experience where they are known, supported, and able to thrive. I hope those answered the questions that you had directed at me last time. So, board er board president Salas has stepped out, so I'm going to step in and just ask if there are any questions. Yeah, yet, like Annie, you have questions? Yeah, could you go back to the enrollment um slide? Yes. Um could you explain is this for middle school students or

131is this for all students and why does it stop at 2018? That it stops at 2018 because these are the numbers that we had when we had a middle school. So, this is and we shifted the partnership in 2018. >> Okay. Mhm. So, this is enrollment of outsides of sixth grade students. Of just outside of Salt Lake City School District. So, these are >> Uh-huh. Okay. Yep. Awesome. Um I was wondering whether the data that you had on finding a 2.0 ACT increase when there's no or less transitions in a student's academic career, is that from the previous time when SLCC had um a middle school? Yeah, that's comparing like when students students that we had that entered the programming in sixth grade versus students who entered the programming starting in ninth grade. Yeah. Um

132that that makes sense. I also was just thinking about the difference between having an early high school option available and then students or students' parents being aware of that. Those may be parents that are more engaged in their students' academic career and so that might lead to um this increase in ACT scores later on. Obviously, that's very hard to predict. But I just wanted to check whether this plan is also addressing like parent involvement and looking at that. Obviously, it's good to have a middle school either way, I think. But in regard to that specific metric, it might be associated less with the school itself and more the the family. And so, is that going to be addressed at all? I think that's a really good question to ask and to be curious about. I

133think. One of our big goals in recruiting has always been to match district demographics. So, at SLCSY, we have roughly around 50% of our students are from ethnically diverse populations. I think it's like 23% of our students are multi-language learners. No, that's not right. I can't remember the exact percentage of multi-language learners. It's 23% of our students are students with disabilities. Um and normally we've hovered right around 50% of our students are from low SES populations. Um that number did decrease along with all the other comprehensive high schools. So, to answer your question, that is the challenge of being a charter is like we've got to make sure all families know about it, which was one of the goals of partnering with uh an even more high-needs middle school within Salt Lake City School District.

134Um and so, I would yes, we would definitely want to be advocating for a wide range of students to attend SLCSY. I don't know that the ACT points could be explained based on the families who enrolled because we have mirrored district demographics throughout our history. Interesting. Thank you. Yep. Are there other questions? Alan. Um so, I prepared some financial information and as I pulled up my spreadsheet, I actually don't remember if I sent it to all the board. So, do you remember seeing a financial statement? >> not. All right. So, I may have failed to send it to you all, which I'll send it to you after the meeting. But, if I may, I'd like to pull it up on the screen. Please. Oh, sorry. >> How do I get it show my screen? I

135broke it. That's what I'm saying. So to kind of do an analysis on the financial impact of adding a sixth and seventh um sixth, seventh, and eighth. Not knowing how to project going forward, so I I had Sam pull me the numbers from back when they did have sixth, seventh, and eighth. Uh two items that I was requested to to look at are what would the FTE What would the effect of the FTE be on our local schools? And then what What's the financial effect? So this spreadsheet that you see on your screen it shows all the schools across the top there in blue um that had students that were attending um SLIC C um from a grade sixth, seventh, or eighth. And you see we I I put in each year that that that

136existed. So you have follow across so calculated decrease in FTE that highlighted um orange orange um row. So I took these numbers, put them into our standard allocation calculation, and calculated all right, with let's look at Bryant with a total of 11 that would not not be enrolled, what does that affect their FTE? It decreases it by a 0.5. So you can see there in the yellow and then across across in your totals that would uh result in a negative six or six decrease in full-time equivalent or employees FTE uh for these four schools across the district. There's a total of 149 students that attended from these schools that are listed. And then here we have the answer to your earlier question Charlotte. The weighted pupil unit value for next year is 4,870. So if

137I take that 4,870 times by 149 students, that is 725,630 of minimum school program that would not come to the district because those students would not be attending a district school but instead attending Copley Charter School. And just to clarify these numbers are of sixth graders. You see over on the left sixth, seventh and eighth. Um so we've got and then you have a total that the 2015-16 is the total and then the broken out by sixth, seventh and eighth grade. But that's only if we were to only draw from within district attend currently district attending students. And where we already have families leaving to attend charter schools out in the community. Like we had seven charters that I brought up last time that are within a 15 mile radius of the district. We think

138some of them will come back like a good number of them. And so as noted, I I can't really project that so I just used actuals from historical actuals for this this analysis. So then I just did that for every year that we had those grades in. And I will email that out to you after this meeting. I apologize for not getting that out sooner. All right. So as I look at that item and I'm pulling it up on the agenda moving back from the time keeping. Dr. Taylor, I think that you are the one that um presented this. It says from Dr. Taylor. Would you go through the requested board action for us? Okay. At this juncture, because we're looking at developing the charter, the charter is not subject to approval yet until the

139next meeting. We're recommending that we stay as is in terms of recommending for the for the charter itself that it remain 9 through 12 and that we co-align any re-examination with our G5 process as we're going through grade reconfiguration. So, you're not asking for any action this evening. No. We're asking for guidance as we develop the charter. Right. Can I ask a clarification in this addition to that? I just want to make sure I fully understand. I think I'm hearing you. I think I understand what we're doing here. So, you're asking for us maybe not a formal motion, but a like majority consensus as What? Sorry. Directives? Yeah. Um as to whether you're redoing the the charter renewal as a 6 through 12 or or at 9 through 12, correct? That's correct. Um and then

140I have another question. Um Oh. Um and for my understanding, um this is just the renewal contract. There is actually a separate contract which is the um fees? The the lease of the building. There's a separate separate agreement for that. So, when will that one come to the board? This this discussion is for the charter renewal and then when will the lease renewal come before the board? >> don't believe they're aligned at the moment, but we could look at it. And are they aligned? >> They're aligned. All right. So, we can bring that up the next time we have this discussion. Okay. Cuz that that would be helpful that we're we're deciding on the whole thing at the same time. So, right now we're not voting on 6 through 12 or 9 through 12. Are

141we discussing what are we doing? We're we're We're giving them guidance as to how to work forward with this charter. Is that what you're asking for? >> That's correct. That's correct. What's the inclination of the board? Do you want to move with the 6 through 12 or as we're recommending the 9 through 12? Okay. Or I think potentially bring it back for a further discussion cuz we talked last time that there's there's not super urgency um cuz this isn't going to I mean the grade configuration isn't going to the plan isn't to change it until 27. >> 27. But the charter renewal is due in June. >> Yeah, as long as we have the charter renewed by the end of June, that's that's the deadline we're playing with. Ashley? Can you remind me if we're

142allowed to change the charter year over year or whether we're renewing it for a period? So, I Christina Kendall could weigh in, but my understanding is that we can set the deadline we can set different timelines. We've had different timelines for renewals. Some years we've done 5, 10, 3. Okay. And then also Dr. Taylor, I want to make sure I heard you correctly. I heard you say the G5 grade level reconfiguration. G5 means a great number of things. So, if I understand correctly, you mean whatever it is the superintendent recommends in the next G5 study, whether it's grade level reconfiguration, school closure, or otherwise, that at the conclusion of that study, we would renew or we would discuss again having a middle school added at Slickzoo. That's correct. So, if I understand, I think obviously

143there's a lot of meritorious research and data that's been presented and a strong position for out-of-district recruitment. I also do recognize that in a very small school district geography, school closure causes a lot of disruption for families. If you're in Granite, for example, and you can go quadrant by quadrant, there's, you know, more than 20 miles between some of the schools, and we don't have that. So, the ripple effects are very hard to predict. So, I do think that saying delaying it until we discuss school closure, and specifically grade level reconfiguration if middle school grade levels are coming back, aligning a lot of our decisions for change at once could make it more clear for families. So, I think that what would be most prudent is to to take your recommendation that we delay discussion

144of the middle school until G5, the next G5 study, but that we do take the time right now to establish what that date will be, because we actually don't have the crystal ball, and the superintendent has stated she did not initiate a G study this year and intended to next year, but we can't see into the future to know what that recommendation is, or when it would come, or exactly what the timeline will be, or how the policy might change. So, I would suggest that we direct staff to create the 9-12 charter renewal for a term of 1 year, and renew in 1 year to discuss whether or not again to add the middle school. That would be my suggestion, and by then we would have an updated timeline on G5. We could once again,

145you know, you know, punt that decision for lack of a better expression, but make sure we are not getting so far out in the future that we don't follow up. That's my opinion. I like that suggestion. I like that suggestion. I would just say um as part of that establishing a timeline for understanding the the G5. You said You kind of alluded to that, but make sure it's a two-pronged suggestion of when the next G5 proposal will come, and then Are you asking me? Yeah, I'm saying >> wanting me to respond? >> Yeah. I don't know. Alan? Yeah, I've just I'm trying to do the math of the one year because we're starting the the G5, I believe, was proposed to start in fall of 2027. So, one year renewal would get us through 26-27

146year. And then we wouldn't have technically started that. So, I wonder if a two-year might be a might line up with that process better. Or or maybe I'm not quite because a one year will get them through the through June of 2027, and then it would theoretically will start the G5 process in fall of 27. So, I'm not sure we'll have any more information in one year than we currently have. Amanda? So, um I believe I understand Ashley's intent. And um what I'm hearing is that it helps motivate us to revisit this discussion in a year, and we may continue with the exact same um 9 through 12 um configuration because we haven't completed a G5 process, but at least we are respecting Brittany and the uh 60 um campus and um bringing it back

147in a year to see where we're at in our G5 discussions. And maybe we're not quite there, but then we can, you know, give it another year. Unless Brittany would prefer like if we just do a three-year contract and we don't revisit this discussion for three years despite whatever G5 reconfigurations happen. I mean, is there Is that what I would kind of push back to you? Do you have an estimated timeline of the G5 process? Well, it's the the G5 as outlined in our policy starts in the So, in this case, start in fall of 2027 with the decision of whatever schools it may affect are affected in fall 2028. But you would know which schools like we announced closures in February. >> schools by December of 2027 as per our policy. Okay, then I

148would like to do the one-year track. >> next academic year, so it could actually take longer if a decision is not made by that December deadline. Ashley? I would let Principal Powell speak before and was cut off, so I would let her finish before you call on me. Oh, no, it's okay. Go ahead. Okay. Um I just didn't want to interrupt what you were saying. I I was saying sort of along the same lines as Amanda, that is the timeline if that is what it is approved. Part of my perspective is that we cannot predict what the board will or will not approve. So, what I'm saying is if in the future if a study is recommended by the superintendent and it is potentially rejected by this board or modified by the board then we

149don't have a clear time at which we're reviewing the charter again. And because we cannot make those predictions because G5 deliberations only happen in a meeting just like this in real time that if we set the date in 1 year, we may be able to then declare such and such thing has happened, this is the process, it will affect students at this time. Dr. Taylor continues to recommend a delay until the conclusion of that process. But if nothing happens, then we might be very well suited to move forward. If what's on G5 recommends grade level configuration, we're going to have a very different discussion than if it recommends only elementary school closure. That there's a lot of different things in the mix, and so I'm establishing 1 year so that site is not lost of

150the dialogue. Not because it lines up perfectly, but because nothing will because we don't know what's going to happen. Thank you. Thank you for the clarification. Hi everybody. Um thank you for your patience with my absence and with my voice. Um, I was thinking that we can look at this in two pieces if if the board would like. And that is to have um, to you could approve the SLICSI charter for the long extent of up to five years. Um, for the 9-12 and then revisit adding on a middle school later. So, there is a way to do this that it doesn't need to be a SLICSI charter for just a single year or two years, which I think makes sense as Alan was suggesting. Um, but you could separate those two things out and

151amend the charter at a later date, I'm thinking. That's true. I think we have done a charter amendment before when adjusting enrollment. I can't remember. I'd have to go pull all my stuff. Yeah, I mean, contracts can always be amended. I think that makes a lot more sense to me. To give SLICSI the consistency that it needs with the renewal and then revisiting this in a later G-5 process and that kind of eliminate some of the worry about it being renewed or non-renewed with a 6-12 component that you're you're seeking. But that's just my opinion. And then do you want me to come back next February and we can talk again? We'd love to have you back. Yay. So, are we saying five year with the possibility for amendment? I think that depends on where

152we find ourselves on the action agenda or if we want to move this to another meeting. So, is there a motion to move this to the action agenda to I make I make to move this to the action agenda. Second. All right. Um, this is a report, isn't it? >> No, this is discussion. No, it's discussion. >> Discussion. Keep up balance. All right, we've got a motion and a second on the table. Is there any further discussion? President Salazar, may I just speak because it's um board guidance that goes to um our legal counsel, Christina Carino, to draw up a contract that would then be brought back for approval by the board. So, I don't know that it needs a vote as much as it would take a vote when you approve the charter. Um,

153perhaps, but she could write that up with your direction. Ms. Kim, does that work for you? Right, I I'm not We aren't looking for action on this item because typically the action would be approving the charter. It was just direction to me as to what type of charter to work with SLCSD to develop. I withdraw my motion. Okay. And I suggest we move forward with maintaining a the structure of 9 through 12 and with the contract renewal of 5 years and we intentionally revisit this discussion also a year from now. So, you're giving that as guidance. >> That's my suggestion personally. So, then everybody else I guess needs to weigh in and see what we are Board members. Um, based on the suggestion by nod heads or thumbs up, is that the direction we want

154to go? >> I think Ashley has something to say. Ashley. Discussion on the original motion, which is now withdrawn. Uh, it was my intent to say I actually think it's helpful when we act on it and it is documented what our action was as opposed to uh confusion about what has been directed or not directed. I think if people are clear, I understand what was being said, but I would like ideally the notes to reflect that we said in April of 2027 this will be discussed again deliberately. Yeah, all three of those points. And sometimes when we do not document our decisions, confusion results. I also prefer a vote just because I think that allows us to differentiate what we're thinking instead of just nodding our heads, but So, I move to um move the

155Salt Lake Slexie charter renewal request to an action agenda item, which then we we can vote on. Is there a second to the motion? Point of order. >> Second. We have a motion and a second. Point of order. That's not what we're voting on, a renewal charter renewal. We're not voting on that. No. Request charter renewal request. And to the action agenda is what? Yeah, I requested to move that to the action agenda. Okay. And Ashley, you still have the second. Mhm. Okay, is there any discussion to the motion? You need to rule on the point of order. Oh, sorry. Sorry, Charlotte. I'm letting I'm denying the point of order. Okay. Thank you. Um Sorry. Um since there's no further discussion, we'll do a roll call vote starting with Charlotte. This is just to move

156it to the action agenda. So, you're voting on whether you will vote Okay. Charlotte Fife Chepperson, yes. Ashley Anderson, yes. Nate Salazar, yes. Annie Romano, yes. Ryan Chatson, yes. Anna Longway, yes. Bryce Williams, yes. All right, we'll revisit that um on the action agenda when we get there. Thank you. Um our next item of business Question for a member. Boss. Bryce the thing. Um Previously when I raised a a a small statement during this period, we were talking about how there were equivalent demographics between um the historical middle school program and the rest of the district, but that wasn't quite my intention. Um I was trying to um discuss how in my personal experience I've observed that the in high school middle school programs tend to attract a certain um demographic of family intention. And

157so as um was we were discussing having more advertisement this time around for the program at Slauson, we might be attracting a different group of families to the school because they wouldn't have to seek it out on their own as much because they'd be advertised to. And so in order to get the best results for students, um ideally the the middle school program would be promoting the importance of parent involvement and having some educational resources in place um if the the goal was to achieve the highest level of academic improvement based on that no transition program compared to what was historically observed. Um obviously, I think that the re-installment is a positive regardless as we're going to be discussing, but uh I felt that that was relevant to the students I represent just to mention

158that. Thanks, Bryce. Thank you. All right, our next item is school lunch fees. Uh B.A. Kearsley. And Sam, could you pull up the exhibit on the screen? Um as as noted in the memo attached to the agenda, it's been a lot 20-some years. So, I've got Kelly Orton, our director of child nutrition. He's here to answer any questions that we may have. If If you just just come up forward, so you're all prepared. Thank you, Sam. Number two, there you go. So, it looks like So, back in July 2012 is the last time we ever increased our our school lunch prices. Um and as you all know, cost of food is not the same now as it was in 2012. Um So, two things going on here. Uh number one is that the child nutrition

159program is losing a We're spending more money than we're bringing in. And up through last year, there was sufficient fund balance to cover those over expenditures. That situation is now gone. And the fund balance will be totally depleted this year, and um it is anticipated that the school district is going to have to supplement that program by $1.5 million to keep it um at break-even point. Uh in addition, as noted in the memo, there's uh federal rules that we can't use federal reimbursement to supplement our actual costs. So, they require that we review and increase those prices, particularly if we don't have fund balance to cover it, then we need to charge more in order to in order to prove that we're not using the federal reimbursement to supplement our local our local uh um

160expenditures in this program. Um so, Sam, can you scroll till we get to the schedule of price changes? So, we are proposing for starting the next school year uh this current uh schedule, as you can see. Um, student lunch elementary uh 15 50 cent increase, middle school 45, and high school 50. Uh breakfast at in elementary a dollar increase, middle 80 cents, and high school a dollar five. Then we have what are non-program foods. Those are meals or foods that don't qualify for reimbursement for the federal program. As per Google. Um, and so, those are just we need to cover the cost on on as we're um or selling those to students. Um, Kelly, do you have anything you'd like to add to this conversation? Uh no, that's just the situation we're in. I've been

161doing this for all these years, and this is the first time we've hit this. And um Well, as I said, we're doing everything we can. I've got a great group of employees that I work with, and they're doing everything we can to cut food costs and save labor and cut labor down, and I I like I said, we've just done everything we can. It's just the situation of the increased labor and the increased uh food cost, plus the the revenue coming from the federal government is not keeping up the with the high costs that are we're facing today. So, that's the big issue. Not just us, but uh just we got that I've been working with other districts in the state, other directors. They all have the same problem. And we've been brainstorming, looking at

162what we can do to um find great solutions between each other, stealing ideas from each other, but we still have the same problem. The federal revenue is not keeping up with the cost. You know, I just want to note that it is not expected that this increase to paid lunches will solve the deficit. No. It's just one tool we're looking at to help. Um and I also want to reiterate these increases only affect students who uh do not qualify for free or reduced. Uh if you're qualified for free or reduced, um you're you don't pay anything and you'll continue to not pay anything. Um but these are just for those those students who are um do not meet the qualifications for free or reduced lunch. Yeah. All right. This is a quick question. Um for

163free and reduced lunch students, a second helping or an extra lunch is of no cost. No. No. Or they're they it is of a cost. >> They pay the so that then becomes a non-program uh food and they pay the full price. >> So it does affect them if they're getting a second lunch. >> If they're getting a second lunch. >> I just like to clarify that because um as a parent who gets notifications all the time of a lunch balance, um you know, with a growing young child who will get a lunch and then say that's not sufficient and get a second lunch, I'm always shocked at the cost because the second lunch costs more. So I just want to point that out. Yes. Thank you, Ashley. Um what Annie brought up is something

164that was raised in finance committee. We've talked a lot about second lunch and how to manage that and what parents do or do not receive. And another thing that we talked about in finance committee when we reviewed these changes is that we don't want to stigmatize anyone who needs free and reduced lunch, and we understand that there are a number of people who may not apply for free and reduced lunch even when they're eligible because of the stigma associated with receiving free meals. And another challenge that we have that we could not sort of reckon with as a group, which I would pose, is that a lot of the non-payment is happening sort of statistically, by probability, among parents who do have the means to pay and do not pay. And it is the district

165approach to, for example, if I never pay my lunch balance, which I am capable of paying and do eventually pay, but there's a long delay sometimes before I fulfill the payment. And what you're saying to me, if I understand correctly, is that if I never paid I would not go to collections. Is that accurate? Right. So, his years ago a board said no student will ever be denied a lunch. And so all students can I mean, they won't be denied, but if they don't pay, we do our best to collect. Phone calls to the parents, etc., etc. I'll just say in the past we've used collection agencies to very limited um success. So, that's not something we really want to look into. Um and then by federal law the the child nutrition program cannot absorb

166bad debt. So, then it relies on the district to pay those balances that don't get paid by um families who are otherwise um that pay lunch. And the reason I bring this up is to again identify the reasons it's not ideal to go to collections and that it would not actually have a strong return. So, the ask is sort of three-fold I think that came out of the finance committee, which is no one wants to raise the fees and with that in mind the department is telling us they've done everything they can to minimize costs. And we know the cost of everything is increasing. And with that in mind, uh we would encourage people to apply for free and reduced lunch just to see even if you're eligible for free meals because it would be

167a reduced burden to the budget. The second and it would help you, right? And the second thing would be if you do have the means to pay your bill and you just have low executive functioning like I do at times, to please pay that when you receive the notification in Parent Square. And the last would be the reminder that the foundation does have a drop-down menu that allows you to pay for school meals. Is that true or is it only pantries? Um, I believe that's true. It is true. And we have a number of organizations that also work to pay school lunch debt. So, those were the sort of the three takeaways we had after a difficult conversation about this were, you know, can we encourage families to please apply for free and reduced lunch,

168every family, just apply. And the second would be if you get those notifications and you're just, you know, ignoring them, we do end up paying for that. So, please be aware of that. And the last would be if you are so fortunate as to have additional means to compensate for some of these increases, we do have school debt payment options as as part of the foundation and other organizations in the community. Thanks. And let me just check to see if there's anybody else, Brian, in there. Yeah. Actually, I just want to thank you for that explanation that you are sharing with us the conversation that you had in the Finance Committee. I think I've said in past meetings that I'm relying on you having those sorts of um I guess back and forth is what

169I'm hearing on how to work through that and that helps me understand the different options that are available. I appreciate that. Thank you. Amanda, I'm sorry. You just go first. >> Oh, yeah. That's fine. Amanda. Um, I I can't remember if I asked this question during um Finance Committee discussion or not. So, um I'm not going to emphasize something I might not even have asked. Is this um school the lunch fees? So, there are other fees like um for sports programs and stuff that students can ask for a fee waiver even if they don't qualify and schools can opt to um provide that fee waiver for you know families who are in a temporary hardship or whatever it might be. Can that also happen for lunch fees if families don't automatically qualify for the and

170that apply first but for the reduced fees or free can they if they're in a hardship situation like I'll talk about my personal life. I have a child who's extremely good at bits of but when it comes down to brass tacks I don't qualify for help. But there are times where we're barely breathing. So families have those temporary hardships that can they get that exception? I think since this is a federal program the answer is no but I'm going to defer to Kelly to see if I'm right. I'm afraid it is no. They have specific rules. If you qualify you get it if you don't you don't. But they're being saying that with the foundation they've stepped in. I've I've been working with the foundation on times like this hardship cases where the foundation will

171sometimes come in and help or the school will come and help but that's a separate issue. It's not a feast. So so the family would still go to the principals and let them know what's going on and they can connect them with the I've seen that happen. >> Yes. So I think that would be a good thing to communicate out to principals. So if there ear is an already to the wall on that being an option then that helps elevate that knowledge so we are helping these families in this like in between zone but still need that relief. Correct. Any other comments in the first round? Any want to go first? Yeah um so just following up on my last question about um free and reduced lunch kids and families having to pay for their

172extra lunch. So if that is the case, I'm curious as to why the increase for the extra lunch is so much higher than the increase for the proposed first lunch because that isn't I Basically, what I'm thinking is if a family could afford it, maybe we would do a a higher increase for the first lunch as more of a progressive tax sort of situation. It's largely Again, Kelly can correct me if I'm wrong. I I I try to see if I know what I'm doing. This is good. So, the extra lunch has We have to cover the cost of the extra lunch. >> Yes. Um those other lunches, even though maybe it's a paid lunch, is still supplemented by the the federal lunch program. Oh. So, the And then once you get to that second

173lunch, all the subsidies are are off, and we have to charge you the full cost of that meal. That is correct. Okay. I've been around for a while. Um and then my second question is, do you have an estimate as to unpaid lunch balance amounts at the end of, for example, last school year that were obviously were not from free or reduced lunch kids, or would you have to go and look at that? I don't have the estimate of how many are from the different categories. But total? It's been around $200,000 each year. This year, maybe it's a little bit less cuz we had a couple instances where a donor came in and paid down the balances. Um but it's amazing how quickly they build back up. Um so, I I'd say we're averaging around

174200,000 at the end of the year of total lunch debt that has to be written off and paid for by the district. Okay, so potentially that lunch debt would increase if the prices increase. Potentially, yes. Okay, thank you. Ashley. Um yes, my question would be just a process-based question, which is it seems to me like when we're endeavoring to discuss things three times, the committee discussed it once. We shared some of that feedback with you now and also in a prior report. We're discussing it now. Um, will there be time for the public to hear before we're being asked to act on the increases? Yes. So, our ask will is simply not We're not looking for approval tonight. Um, but do you want to put it on consent for the next board meeting or another

175discussion? I would be all uh the guidance we're looking for. If you're asking for my personal opinion, I I think um Kelly Orton has made clear that there's no alternative. There is no to There we can't reduce the expenditures. We can't pay our employees less and we can't make food cost less. Um, so with that in mind, I would be fine to consent to it because there are not existing alternatives. The thing I would not be fine with is if we heard a tremendous amount of public feedback about this and there was a need to discuss it in public again because one of the fears would be this impacts every family and as Amanda has pointed out, all families are impacted differently and the more we talk about it in public rather than like silently

176consent to it, the more awareness we build that the increase is coming. So, I guess I would be fine to consent to it, but a discussion may be preferable just to ensure that families have another touchstone. Um, that we've all heard and discussed it again. Would the board be open to moving this to consent and if we do hear from community members and parents um that there is a desire for us to to speak to it again, then we could have it pulled off by one of the board members uh to the action agenda in the next meeting? Yeah, I'm fine with that. Okay. Let's go ahead and go with that. Thank you, Alan. Thank you, Kelly. Thank you. Thanks, Kelly. All right. Our next item of business is English language development middle school staffing.

177I see Mr. Hall stepping up to the to the table. Good evening. Good evening board and thank you for the opportunity to be here today to present this topic. As the board has heard over the last couple of years through multiple public comment sessions there's a inherent discrepancy in the number of elective offerings that we have at some of our title one middle schools, namely Bryant, Northwest, Glendale as compared to both Hillside and Clayton middle schools. To the extent that there's a significant discrepancy in the number of electives that students can take at those schools. So the proposal before you this evening is to utilize new monies and Alan did a great job of and Ryan did a great job pointing out that although there are many many reductions in funding in the upcoming year,

178there's one very positive increase in our state provided at risk funds and we're proposing to use those funds to address this concern in being able to offer dedicated staff for ELD services at three of our middle schools in order to address this discrepancy in elective offerings. Those three schools in particular, Glendale, Northwest and Bryant middle schools have a significant number of students who require ELD and reading services which takes away from the general allocation to be able to offer other things like dance or art and just other electives that students would be able to take on a normal basis. So by providing this dedicated funding for ELD services that would free up other sources in the school to make different course offerings and and be able to create more equity amongst our middle schools across

179the district. And so that's where this proposal is coming from and I'd be happy to answer any questions. Amanda. You may have said it while I was trying to take my notes. I apologize if I'm asking something you said. >> It's okay. Um two questions. One is um the cost increase to do this. And then two um where is this money coming from? The The money is coming from an increase in the state provided at-risk funds. Okay. So, that was one of the highlights. >> um our contingency fund that's coming from the state money. So, they've actually increased and giving us Okay. That's correct. That was one of the highlights of the increase of of allocations for our budgets for the upcoming year. Do you know roughly what that's um what our net increase is

180in this um investment into that into this request? Okay. I believe the I'll let Alan speak to that. >> Average teacher salary plus benefits is about 130,000. That times five is 650,000. Uh as I mentioned in my presentation, the state has us increasing that risk money by 2 million. I think it's going to be I mean, I'm estimating it's closer to 1 million. So, using 650,000 of the 1 million dollars for these five FTE. Ashley? I have the same timeline question about are you hoping we hear about this right now and then we hear about it again and we make a determination? So, this one the only the the issue for speed on this one is getting staffing in place by next year. Um if the board felt comfortable to vote on it tonight, uh

181they may. If they don't and want to hear, you know, have another reading, have a chance for public input, it can be pushed back to the next meeting and then we'd ask the same of consent or discussion. Um do you do you use the rest of my time? I think that I understand the reason we would deviate in this instance because you want to be able to hire staff and we know that that's been a problem. So we shouldn't let our procedure be the hang-up on your main problem. I know that the loss of electives in our middle schools with declining enrollment is enormously problematic. Um it's another reason why I look forward to talking on the action agenda again about that 60 item that when we bookmark a time to talk about this, it's

182important that we do talk in G5 about the impacts to our middle schools when they when their enrollment is declining. So I think for all of those reasons, I think it's important that we move forward on this to preserve as many elective teachers as we can in middle schools. The loss of electives in middle schools, especially for students who are multi-language learners, is disincentivizing them from attending school. It doesn't help us meet any of our goals. I think this is absolutely necessary to do and if we have to do it more quickly, I would be fine with that. Is there a motion on the table? Um sure. I would move that we place the English language development ELD middle school staffing as attached in exhibit 3E3 to the action agenda. Second. Got a motion and

183a second. Any further discussion? Um Charlotte? I just wanted to say that I'm really excited about this. This was some good news. Um and yeah, we hear about this all the time and it really is a matter of equity. Um and I I've experienced this first hand just having been a partner at a teacher, an elective teacher, um as a district partner when FTE had to be cut. So yeah. Thank you, Charlotte. Um seeing no further discussion, we'll do a roll call vote starting with Ashley. Ashley Anderson, yes. Amy Salazar. Amy Ramona, yes. Brian Brian Jensen, yes. Manda Longway, yes. Chris Williams, yes. Charlotte Fife Chepperson, yes. All right, that motion passes. We'll revisit that on the action agenda. Our fourth and final discussion agenda item is construction project manager. Logan, you're still here. That

184I am. So, thank you for letting me stay. Um, the proposal for uh the construction project manager position uh is an addition to staff. This proposal is the result of the recognition that building two comprehensive high schools at the same time is a monumental task. Um, Isaac and his team have gone out to bid to see what it would take to hire a third-party contractor to be able to provide these services. Um, and the results ended up in you know, in excess of 3 million and more. And so, realizing the exorbitant amount of cost it would um incur for the district in order to outsource this resource, we were deciding to uh increase our staff with the request to add one additional con- construction project manager position to be able to manage that in-house and

185be able to do that at a much more uh economical rate. Yes, the one question I have is would this be um kind of earmarked for the funds that we've already established through our bonding and selling of those bonds process or is it coming from a different pot of money within our budget? So, this won't come from the bond funds, it'll come from our our regular capital levy. And and just to preempt the question, um this is one we haven't budgeted for it this year, it's budgeted for starting July 1. So, there is time to have this discussion and then have the doc of consent or discussion for next board meeting. Um, so I just want to lay that out there. Okay. Um, I saw Brian first and then Ashley. So, is this position just

186tied to the building of these two high schools? Yes, so when the projects are done, these positions, I mean, we've we've hired one position. So, we'll end up with a dedicated manager for each of the two comprehensive high school construction projects. And then when those positions are over, um you know, if there's turnover during the year and they may be fit in another spot, but we we wouldn't have need for those positions. Unless something changes between now and then, like but it the the intent is to address the two comprehensive high school construction projects. Thank you. Ashley. Um, yeah, this is another item we talked about in the finance committee, um, and had not had a meeting, I think, to where we had a chance to share. Um, I'll share one concern that came up

187from two committee members and how we still unanimously came to favor the position. Um, we talked about some of the frustrations board members had expressed during past meetings that the career and technical center was originally approved at no cost and now has significant capital costs and needs. And the discussion went back and forth about was, you know, the addition of other capital projects something that facilitated the need for this additional job. And it was determined through a robust discussion that, like, regardless of the merits of that, the in-house job is still more economical no matter the number of construction projects that are on the table. So, regardless of how you may or may not feel about the capital projects that are on the table, this would save us money for at the very least the

188two high schools we've committed to do. And so, as a committee, we agreed after discussion that, um, you know, some of us still have concerns about capital needs, but we felt that this was reasonable to pursue. And with that in mind, I would suggest that we place it on consent given that this kind of minutia does not tend to receive the amount of public feedback that lunch fees do. Amanda? Thank you. Sorry, did I hear my name start? Yeah. Thinking and raising my hand at the same time doesn't work. So, just some things I want to point out and correct me if I'm wrong. I support everything that Ashley said. I just say I'm on the finance committee as well on all those points are par on. But for the community's sake and just in

189general discussion. So, Isaac said we're currently under budget 5 million on our projects. Obviously, that's bond money like he said which has to go towards the bond. And that could change like you know Isaac was nervous about saying that number cuz we all know how construction goes. You're over budget, then you're under budget, then you're right on and then whoever knows whatever's going to happen. However, right now we're we're doing good. So, you're saying that this project manager will not come out of bond funds. However, indirectly you pointed out earlier in this conversation the transfer out part of the budget book. The 2 million. So, indirectly we potentially if we end up with these extra money you've already got budgeted into the or as budgeted into estimating 2 million for next year and 2 million

190for the following. So, it's already reserved. So, indirectly we are actually have um money's potentially coming in that could offset those costs as well as the very high value and reasons what Ashley pointed out. Right. So, those transfers out of the debt. So, they're not bond funds, but they are property tax kind of residual property tax for the bond payments. And they can that transfer can only be used for technology equipment. But your point is if I can use that money to pay for technology equipment, then that frees up $2 million for other things. So, the point's valid, yes. Thank you. Annie? Yeah, I had a similar question to um Amanda, and then my question is, so this position would potentially be eliminated after the construction project um and same with the other construction project

191high school. So, that would be So, this could be like next fiscal year or like 3 years possibly? Well, I think we're looking at closer to 7 to get these projects done. Okay. So, we did something similar when in the uh 2000s when we were doing a lot of rebuilds of our elementary schools. We did something similar, and then when those projects were done, um we went through the reduction in force process to eliminate those positions because they were no longer needed. Okay, thanks. I make a motion to approve the creation of one new Amanda. Uh sorry. I'll I make a motion to move it to the action agenda. Is there a second to the motion? I second. We need to I second. Thank you. Any further discussion? I I had to step out for

192just a second. We're just approving the cut construction project manager position being moved to action? Yeah. Correct. Okay. That timer was 3 hours. Charlotte, did you have Did you have anything? Okay. Cool. Seeing no further discussion, we'll do a roll call vote starting with Annie. Annie Romano, yes. Brian Chatson, yes. Amanda Longway, yes. Bryce Williams, yes. Charlotte Fife Jefferson, yes. Ashley Anderson, yes. Nate Sales, yes. All right, that passes, and we'll revisit it. Um the first item of business on the action agenda is um the consent agenda item number eight that was pulled um from the consent agenda ACT/ASPIRE date request. Amanda, is there a motion that you'd like to make so we can start the discussion? Sure. I motion that the date be reconsidered and move to either a week earlier than what was

193proposed of March 10th or after that third term ends. Is there a second to the motion? I second. All right. We've got a motion and a second on the table. Um I'm seeing Dr. Taylor come up and I think he's going to help us answer some questions based on the discussion that we're about to have. Are Is there discussion to the motion? Amanda? Yes. Um the reason I had it pulled from the consent agenda and moved to the action agenda was what I had mentioned um whenever I was filling this out because um I have a child that just went through this process junior year, ACT test a week before term end on top of um finals and um all of the term end demands and such. Um as well as trying to prep for

194the ACT test and the amount of um emotional stress was um um quite significant. So, I I I'm sure there's very good reasons why it is the March 10th, but um living through the ramification of it happening right on top of a very stressful time when students are very stressed about their college um options and future opportunities and wanting to score well there while also trying to maintain their grades and um doing all those things that you do at term end to hopefully land good term end grades to keep your GPA up and everything else. It's just very contradictory and very emotionally traumatizing. So, I really um strongly strongly strongly request we do not continue that practice of it being um the week before the the term end. Um look outside so that the kids

195like have a little bit of a buffer instead of piling on stressors. Excuse me. Dr. Taylor, is there any insight that you can give relative to the timing of when these things occur? Yes, I There are six windows. We don't determine when the windows take place. ACT does because this is part of our accountability metrics. Sorry, I'm too loud. Okay. Uh we normally the schools recommend the earliest window because that provides them with opportunities for what we call makeups to make sure that we can reach the right percentages for participation rates. If we move this back, there's one window that we could not use out of the three because it falls in a line with our spring break for next year. So, that's not available. That would either give us window one, which is not

196acceptable right now, or window three. Window three is April 6th through the 9th and April 12th through the 16th. That's going to create an issue for us because whatever percentages we get when we do the assessment, we wouldn't have an opportunity for makeups. So, we understand that there's some difficulty with it, but that's the give and take that we've been trying to afford and offer. We'll go with Ashley and then I got to make sure everybody else gets a chance. I would just ask, do other districts handle this differently than than we do? Or is the asynchronous model and scheduling the test within this window just kind of the standard practice? It's kind of the standard in practice. When we first arrived here about 5 years ago, schools were doing this as part of across

197the Wasatch Front without asking board permission. So, we started aligning in the calendar and doing this request so that we would be in line and everything would be official. Uh but like I said, this is the earliest window. There are other options. It's just difficult to say come along with those other options. I think one suggestion I would offer is that I would be hesitant to make a decision right now um using some feedback on the difficulties that the timeline posed but without collecting additional feedback on the challenges that changing the timeline would pose, which it sounds like spring break is in the mix. Not all the windows are available to us. We also wouldn't necessarily have the assessment data by the time we want and students could make it up, which would affect our

198overall accountability metrics. So, without evaluating those consequences, I would be hesitant to make a decision right now about the delay. So, my question um would be before we vote on this motion, is there actually a need to make this decision immediately or is there time to um gather more feedback now that the concern has been raised? We would have that opportunity if that's so if that's what the board desires to gather more information and then we can bring it back in May. So, if I'm understanding correctly, bringing it back in May doesn't have any consequences. The window does not go back. Nothing else changes. No. So, as board members, if this motion were to fail, we could uh redirect in a substitute motion that or a second motion cuz I'm not substituting it cuz it's

199too complicated. Um that we would make an additional motion perhaps to um agenda this on the May the first available meeting in May um after having some time to collect feedback. Would that be accurate? That's correct. Thank you. Annie? I just had a clarifying question. So, when you say makeups, is that for students who miss the initial exam who will be doing a second exam covered by the school district. That's correct. Okay, thank you. Any in the first round still? Brian? This would be a follow-up to Ashley's question. So, if we did make that motion to move it to May, are we going to give direction on what we want them to do so that we have information to be able to make a decision? Um and I'm not saying this, but do we want

200a survey? How are we going to collect information that will help us be informed in making a decision? I'm just asking the other board members. Can I speak cuz it's not our turn? Please. I I mean, personally, I would reach out to as many people as I know. I've given My children are obviously in that age range. Reach out to the high schools and stuff and get their perspective too. So, just I personally I make a personal effort. Maybe send out >> I just want to I guess I'm concerned that there's some uniform way that we're getting back feedback because I mean, we have Can we send out a survey? We have three different schools. I just want to make sure that every school feels like their voice was heard. I'd recommend a survey then.

201Okay. To me that seems like one way. I think we also need to consider that we have a motion on the table that hasn't passed or failed. And so I still have some I still want to do my second round though. Oh, for sure. Yeah, I when Yeah, if there's nobody in the first round, let's move on to the second. I'm ready. Thank you. Um so, Ashley pointed out how do other districts handle this? And it's You're You said that the ACT is setting the date regardless of the district and their schedule. So, when looking at how other districts do it and also looking at when it falls on their calendar because obviously others a lot of the other schools are starting at a different time than us and ending at different times, so most

202likely their term end is different, so the ramification is different for them. And then I presume like the makeup days, so if I heard Annie's the answer to Annie's question correctly, they have to do they have to do the asynchronous day that first day that's March 10th or they do not get the opportunity to do the makeup days or will they still have the opportunity to do it later if they just if they're not available or whatever? They will have the opportunity to do it later if they're not available. >> don't have to do the first one, but they don't necessarily get an asynchronous day on the follow-ups if there's not a if school's in session, they would just miss classes at that point. >> That's great because there are windows like I say when

203the assessment is being offered. And so maybe that just needs to be communicated out and maybe that's something the families can just decide to do that that's less stressful for their child is not doing the first and doing the second if it's an option, but um how other districts are doing it, I would definitely also want to know how how that relates to their term end. Um Hold on a minute. No, wait. If I could just intervene for a second. We would really like to stress that if parents could have their children available during that asynchronous day, then it would be much better for that. If there are accommodations that need to be made, we can work with the building administration for those accommodations to be made in the classroom. So, if you're having a

204if you're having outside assignments that are being corrupting this process or interfering with this process, then we need to work with the teachers as well as the administrators so that we can support those accountability metrics. And it's good. I think that they're I appreciate this appreciate the statement and I know that people would be willing with the request to to do those things. I just think that it doesn't necessarily always really clear down to the classroom that the priority is ACT even though it's term end. And being able to adjust that so that all of that can be balanced and that's readily done or readily made clear that that can't be done. Um so, but that those are my points. But, thank you. Thoughts? Are there ACT dates available during the summer? I know there

205are for SAT, but There There are ACT dates available in the summer, but not as part of the accountability matrix. Ah, I see. Okay, seeing no further discussion. Um Amanda, could you please restate your motion? Okay. So, I was roughly My motion was to have the ACT fall at least um a week before March 10th or at least a week after term end. I think. All right. Um we'll go ahead and do a roll call vote starting with Bryce. Uh Bryce Williams, no. Charlotte Fife Jefferson, no. Ashley Anderson, no. Nate Salazar, no. Oh, sorry. Annie Romano, yes. Ryan Johnson, no. Amanda Maldonado, no. Okay, is there a secondary motion? I move that we postpone approving ACT scheduling until the first available meeting in May 2026 and the board will simultaneously direct high school community councils

206and high school administrators to respond with feedback on the available dates by the last day of April so the superintendent can make a determination on whether to adjust her recommendation as presented as item eight on consent. Is there a second to the motion? I actually I'm going to re-say that because there's something I realized is going to be a problem, which is some SCCs already met. Oh. Um I move that we postpone approving ACT scheduling until the first available meeting in May 2026. Um the board would simultaneously direct high school community councils and high school administrators to respond to the available dates as soon as possible so the superintendent can make a determination on whether to adjust her recommendation as presented as item eight on consent. I'll second. Any further discussion to the motion? Any?

207So Sorry. My brain's just a little slow right now. Can you explain again what that motion was? So you're wanting it to be presented so that people can bring feedback. We'll talk about this again. To respond to board member Jensen, we will ask high school community councils and high school principals to respond. How they do that, I would defer to Dr. Taylor who works with them every day to come up with a way to say, "Hey, do you have any feedback about these dates?" It's not that many high schools to collect feedback from. School community councils may have already convened. They could send an email. Um we get as much feedback as is available by that first day of May and we see if Dr. Grant says, "I would still like you to approve this

208date." or "I feel it's prudent to modify." Okay, thanks. Any other discussion or questions? All right. Seeing none, we'll do a roll call vote starting with Charlotte. Charlotte Fife Jefferson, yes. Ashley Anderson, yes. Nate Salazar, yes. Jenny Romano, yes. Ryan Jackson, yes. Amanda Lowry, yes. Bryce Williams, yes. All right. That motion passes. Thank you. Our second item is SLCS, um Salt Lake Center for Science Education Charter. Ashley. I move that we direct general counsel Kristine Candle to draft a five-year charter renewal for the Salt Lake Center for Science Education for grades nine through 12. At the same time board leadership will calendar reconsideration of SLCS's request to add grades 6 through 8 um in relation to any ongoing G5 study for April of 2027. I second. We got a motion and a second. Any further

209discussion? I mean I can never remember how to get this in, but I'd like to make a an amendment to the motion. And so I know you have to finish this one and then you could do the amendment proposal, but I wanted to put stick it in there. It's just an extra clarifier. Yeah, yeah. You do it now. And then it has to be accepted or not accepted. >> Okay. So my I I make the amendment to the motion something amendment to the motion that what Ashley said in addition to and I think I I don't think it was stated. So if I if it was, then I'll just pull it back. But um to direct the Christina Kendall to draft the five-year contract. Um this is a renewal contract um as well as the

210um lease agreement. The draft beats agreement and calendar the request for the 6 to 8 in relation to any ongoing G5 studies. So basically it's combining that. It's ensuring we're wrapping in the lease agreement with the renewal of the contract language. I I think those are two separate issues or pieces to this and I don't know if it's germane >> we break it out though cuz in our discussion earlier I'm I know we're not supposed to talk outside of a motion, but whatever. Um we were trying to loop it together and I just want to intentionally ensure that that lease agreement is purposely brought before the board and not just done outside of it. Yeah, I think and we'd see I think the concern is the lease agreement's not on the agenda, so we can't

211really make any action on it. We can't take direction to we we do have a board finance committee meeting coming up uh the end of this month. We can look at it then and schedule it, you know, and then we can agenda that as as an additional item whether it's in May, um first meeting May, second meeting May, but we can get that agenda. But we can review that agreement in board finance committee and we can take that direction from the board. Thank you for that clarity. I'll pull my my motion to amend. Okay. Thank you, Amanda. I I support. All right. Um and I just wanted to point out that um we really value Slick City and their model and I think they're doing a great job of what they're doing. And that the

2126th through um 8th grade addition is just really tricky for us to understand right now due to the declining enrollment overall in the district. And so I would just like to say that we will definitely consider that as part of future discussions. Um and so to Slick City families and staff and everyone, thank you. You're doing great. Keep doing what you're doing in 9th through 12th and we'll revisit this later. Thank you. Uh seeing no further discussion, uh we'll do a roll call vote starting with board member Anderson. Ashley Anderson, yes. Nate Salazar, yes. Annie Romano, yes. Brian Johnson, yes. Natalie Goins, yes. Bryce Williams, yes. Charlotte Fife Jefferson, yes. All right. That motion passes. Thank you, Slick City, for all that you do. Uh we'll move on to our third item, which is English

213Language Development Middle School Staffing. I move that we approve um the changes to English Language Development or ELD Middle School Staffing as proposed by Human Resources in exhibit 3E3. I second. Giving it to Charlotte. All right. Um any further discussion of the motion? Okay, seeing none we'll do a roll call vote starting with board member Romano. Annie Romano, yes. Brian Jensen, yes. Amanda Longway, yes. Bryce Williams, yes. Charlotte Fife-Jefferson, yes. >> Ashley Anderson, yes. Nate Salazar, yes. Um our fourth and final um action agenda item is item number four, construction manager project manager position. Is there a motion? I move that we approve the addition of the construction management position as stated in the discussion agenda. Is there a second to the motion? I'll second. Discussion? In our um discussion we I thought indicated that

214we had placed this on consent so that we had the chance to solicit feedback. I could be incorrect about that. But that would be what I think is most reasonable just to give one more time in case there is feedback on that role. Any further discussion? Question. Yeah, you mean consent on the next on our next board meeting? Annie, um do you want to withdraw your motion? Sure, I'll withdraw my motion. I will motion that we approve the construction project manager position as posted. I feel like and I'm not going to go I can't No, I can't discuss. There's a motion. I'm putting it back on the table. Is there a second to the latest motion? Second. Okay, um I think we found ourselves right where we were just a minute ago. Um I do

215have to call for the motion and the second. Um but Amanda Discussion? I feel like um it takes a while to find a position. Um I think that um the cost of benefit is quite clear and so delaying it is actually um more of a um a a potential negative Well, not potential. Just doing HR for 30 years in um construction industry for the last 8 it is actually um negative ramifications to delay this position, so we need to move on it. But sorry, question. But didn't we say that this wouldn't be till July? It won't start till July. I mean, we'll we'll get it posted as soon as it gets approved by the board. Uh I mean, I definitely appreciate Amanda's uh Board Member Longwell's sentiment, but I also um E- E- We will

216live with either way. But I do want to maybe make a clarification from uh our parliamentarian. If a vote is taken on this action and it does not pass, does there need to be clear guidance that it is added to an next agenda item or because usually when things don't pass, they die. Right. And so, there probably should be a So, if this motion doesn't pass, then we would just request a second motion since that's where we're at in the action agenda. Okay. Any further discussion? Okay, seeing none, we'll do a roll call vote starting with Brian. No, I don't Oh, sorry, sure. Can we clarify what the motion is, please? Yes, I believe in Amanda, if I may, that we would approve the construction project manager as posted in the exhibit um 3E4. And

217then So, instead of putting it on consent as we had previously discussed, the motion is now to just go ahead and approve it. Okay. Okay. Brian. Yes, I will vote yes. Um I think it is good. I mean, we know that we need this position. And to get it out there so that it can be filled. Amanda? Amanda Williams, is that what you're asking? Bryce Williams, no. Charlotte Fife Jefferson, yes. Ashley Anderson, no. Nick Sellers, are yes. Annie Romano, no. The motion passes. Okay, we'll move on to our board member reports. Superintendent, we're going to give you a break on your report tonight, so you can rest your voice and get better for us. Um we'll start with Amanda tonight. Um I'm sure I have more to cover, so I apologize for anybody I might

218have excluded in this whole thing. The community education program, I recognize um the the angst that's there. I would say um it it I do have to point out it is ironic they're advocating for community education program right after we had a study session on community engagement. A bit contradictory. Um and so um I would just challenge the community um to help think outside the box to see how we could potentially bring that back or just brought back to the community in a different way versus um putting on the cake the pre-K through 12 um public education system to to carry that adult that community education piece. I find value in it as well as many um but if we can all get our brains together on trying to figure out how to like continue

219with that, that would be great cuz as we have discussed, we if we've only got $5, we've only got $5 and we've got to figure out um we have to prioritize it on the students first. Um Highland Park Elementary Arts Night um is Friday, April 24th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. for those who can attend and I'm excited about the Highland High School groundbreaking. They've already broke the ground as we discussed earlier and some years. But that will be fun to participate in next week. So, has to be fun. Yeah, all board members received an email from Principal Seminario at Northwest Middle I'm inviting us to attend the celebration of Northwest. It is one of my favorite events of the year and I'm sad that I won't be able to attend this year because I

220will trip be traveling for board business to attend the USBA annual retreat meeting. So, I would just encourage folks to if you can, please make that. It's an excellent event. So, I just mentioned the USBA because that's going to be my next thing. And then just appreciated the opportunity various board members had to attend the NSBA conference this past weekend. Lots of great um great opportunity to learn and grow there. Can I say one thing more, Nate? Sorry. Go on. Um I just say a reminder to all that the CTE apprenticeship signing um is next Thursday. Um so, very exciting time for students, the employers that we partner with, and others here at the district office from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. So, come. It's fun to see the kids' excitement and the the partnership and

221their excitement as well. They do such a fabulous job. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Actually, Okay. Um as was discussed on prior agenda item this meeting, um I thought would include a request that I made and Bryce seconded and to acknowledge that it did not make it on the agenda. I did want to share with pure board members um some of the research I conducted in preparing the item I thought would be on the meeting. It's most specifically a compilation of research on early childhood education as a tool for urban districts facing declining enrollment and about how it can help us meet our broad goals of reducing absenteeism, increasing college pathways and access, and improving literacy. Um while the item we requested wasn't on the agenda, I just did want to distribute that so that

222the materials could be attached. Perhaps Bryce could help me um do that, or if Well, actually Foss is going to have to say something, so he won't. Um and I also want to say, as you take a look at that research, I was able to participate in a portion of NSBA um virtually, and one of the presentations that um people livestreamed utilizing social media was on using closed facilities. And um in that presentation, the uh school in Littleton, Colorado turned one of their facilities into a community learning center, and they modeled that facility after our facility at Glendale. So, our CLC at Glendale was something that then we looked forward to as like a model use of a building. And so, I feel a little bit um deflated that our district was once leading out

223on the most creative uses of spaces for children and families, and now it feels to me like we're putting in a lot of work to avoid studying preschool. Preschool is beneficial. It's an enrollment strategy, and our district has the capacity to do really good work when we follow the directions we set forth to work with stakeholders to confirm that we really don't believe as a district we have needs for Banyan and Mary W. Jackson. Thank you. Foss. Um I just like to circle back on a previous discussion um that was had both by the board and in public comment periods about the state of the visual arts program at West High School. Uh just to emphasize that the Salt Lake District art show recently occurred, and the results were that West High students received best

224of show and first place in 2D um photography and digital media, and uh then received or third places in 2D, 3D photography and we had a student receive the Superintendent's Dignity Award. So, you know, clearly our visual arts programs are doing very well and I along with many of my peers would be saddened to see that program shrink. Just a statement on that. But, thank you. Thank you, Bryce. All right. Yes, just a couple of things. I would also echo that there are several art nights that will be at the schools that are in my precinct. I'm not going to take the time to announce all of them, but I would just encourage individuals to look at their school webpage. Those are wonderful nights. I would also there's the CTE as was mentioned, but then

225there's also the Highland groundbreaking. And I think that that's something that people ought to be aware of. That will be occurring on the 22nd of April. I also wanted to mention that in attending three different SCC meetings, there I really appreciate the work that goes into all of those land trust tasks. And to watch um those SCC members they work hard, they take it seriously and I appreciate your engagement with your schools. Um One of the things that I had thought would be celebrated this evening and I think maybe um we can follow up on this. Bonneville Elementary received the platinum level STEM school um recognition. And that is a really remarkable accomplishment. And there was a lot of work that went into that by that community and by the um staff and the teachers

226and I think it's wonderful and I want to celebrate it, but I think we should do that you know, more specifically. Thank you, Brent. Any questions? Yeah, um just want to say go Spring Sports. They went to the Liberty Elementary School play um The Wizard of Oz uh a week or two ago, which was great and um that was put on in partnership with um the names escaping me, but thank you for the community partners who work together with our school students. Um also congrats to Bonneville for the STEM designation and also the NAESP Gold Star designation. Um I am looking forward to going to some community council and SCC meetings of the Highland High groundbreaking um and the apprenticeship recognition um and just had a great time uh at NSBA. It was my first

227time and I learned a lot. Um and one of the presentations that I loved the most was discussing um parent and community engagement and it was a a district in California who who had a theme um every year and their motto um really resonated with me, which was you belong here. And I just wanted to tell everyone in our district boundaries that you belong here. We are trying to create a safe space for you psychologically and physically and we're doing a lot and your teachers are are a lot and we appreciate you and you we want you to be here. And we love you for who you are. Thank you, Amy. Okay. I have three things I wanted to comment on. Um one was that uh I am really glad to hear that um our

228associate superintendent, Caratini-Ruiz, has been going out and doing engagement with parents um at at schools, and I was really sad to have missed the one at with Glendale parents and Mountain View parents. But there was a good turnout, and so it's I think it's really important for us as a district to listen to our parents and families about the hopes for their children as as associate superintendent Ruiz Caratini-Ruiz said. Um So, and and then the other thing I wanted to say is I'm really um I'm I want everyone to know how much I value and the the community Ed um program, and it's been around for 54 years. That's how old I am. So, it's for the my entire life, and um we have some teachers in my neighborhood, you know, Dan Potts, who has

229done foraging like for wild wild foraging foraging for food out in in the wilderness, and he's done it for years and years, and I actually taught piano through community ed at East for a few years. Um but we are really faced with difficult difficult choices with our budgets. And there are 700 students of the community ed programs, but there are you know yeah, 17,000 plus students that we have to ensure an excellent education for. And so that is our that's our primary focus. And I would suggest that I mean, there might be ways to rent rooms at the schools and continue teaching these classes that have been around for decades. Um but there may be ways to continue the continuing ed. Um just finding other other alternatives, whether it be at our um like the

230Sorenson Unity Center, our rec centers, our public libraries, or by renting classes and then charging for them. I don't know. Maybe there's some kind of solution there. Um and then I just wanted to give a shout-out to our middle school band and orchestra programs. There we've had the festivals going on, and I am so impressed with the students. They are amazing, and I'm really feeling hopeful about our music programs, because if our if our middle school program, you know, music programs are are thriving, that means they're feeding into our high schools, and that's just continuing that excellence and the arts mean so much to me and to so many students. That's the motivation to keep them engaged in school. Um so thank you to the arts teachers. Annie, did you have one last? Yeah, I'm

231sorry. I failed to recognize that I also attended the Mountain View STEAM night and I wanted to shout out to all those amazing educators and community um partners who engaged and especially to um I sorry, I just had it in my notes. John Carr, I think. Joseph Carr. Who's uh the STEAM teacher who integrates um STEAM into core curriculum subjects. Um I just love seeing the creativity on that goes on in those nights and the engagement. So thanks. Great. Thank you. I do not have anything to report I'm sorry. I just have to thank all of you for your participation in that study session. I look forward to that and it's really exciting to me to think that we can start looking on different opportunities for developing a community engagement um committee or program. I

232appreciate that study session. Thank you. Thanks, Brent. Um I don't have anything to report on tonight, um but we do have a need for a closed executive session and I'll entertain a motion. I move that we Um let me see if I can find it. It's right here. I move that on April 14th, 2026, the board enter closed session to discuss one, the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual and two, collective bargaining. And that the board adjourn immediately upon the conclusion of closed session. I second the motion. I second. Any discussion? Seeing none, we'll do a roll call vote starting with board member Williams. Vice President Jess. Charlotte Fife Jefferson, yes. Ashley Anderson, yes. It's all very yes. Annie Romano, yes. Ryan Jetson, yes. Pamela Anglin, yes. Excellent, that motion

233passes. Thank you everybody for joining us tonight. Yes. I know I was there. Nice to meet you, too. So, I was at her school Yes, she is. Yeah. She's like