001know couple people he's not they e e e m [Music] big all right let's call the order at 5:30 FL of the United States of America to the repblic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all public notice noce so um we've had a few changes in the last hour um Lydia withdrew her nomination for the interviews so the only person we'll be interviewing tonight is meals um so we will still go through the normal process of asking him our four questions uh and then us as a board uh discussing where we're at with that and then we will vote to uh either appoint meals or leave the seat open so with that said I'm going to start public [Music] comments yeah so I'm just going to modif
002my comments um uh I guess one of the things I want to point out tonight is that currently there's uh two sets of board policies on the website so um one of them is policy 133 was adopted August 14 2017 and policy 0142 f.5 is also on the website but it has uh so many strikeouts and there's no adoption date that I question it's validity so um I guess um just bringing that to the board's attention because having two different sets of policies can be confusing um and and as well as maybe cleaning up what's on there because it doesn't um install confidence Ines that's it just address that yes uh Val just so you know that the for us during the Neola conversion when we're posting things online this is temporary because of the
003fact that they've been modified Neola won't do a full upload until they're all done so then once we're done and through in policy reviewing all of them then they can upload all clean versions of everything to the website so what we're doing for now is we're putting up what we can the redacted and the modified versions so that the public has access to what's been approved right now today so but then taking down the old policies would probably be wise that I don't know I'd have to look at what it is and where it's at I don't know I can I can only comment on the 142.5 that's that's how all of them so every policy we make those changes we can push them up there for now but Neola won't do the full upload
004until they're all done okay Courtney so again I guess I don't need to say all of my comments but it's dark out and I rarely leave the house after dark in Winter because it's ridiculous but it's important and um so I wanted to show up just to uh once again give my supportive meals I know I emailed all of you and I appreciate your responses um I Neils is a excellent candidate and um he's I'm just bored by how he shows up and honestly the school board stop is super dry and boring and yet he seems to read it all any comments on it and he seems to care about it so I mean let's let the guy be on boor are thank you thank you Darcy I apologize I do not have a very
005good voice tonight um but again I can modify mine too um but I do want to show my support again for Neil because uh since we've gone through this process before I have seen Neil show up over and over and over again and I can't make that many than I tried so um so I think that would be great to have him as an addition on the board I thought that the first time you interviewed and then that's thank you Matt Matthew crof I two kids in the district just here tonight to support Neil and say I think you'd be a great addition thank you thank you okay that concludes public comment all right you don't have to leave the room you don't have to pull from a hat um if you want to go
006to the mic or if you even want to just bring the mic down and you feel more comfortable thank you so Neils if you want to just kind of give us an introdu well you know an introduction and then we'll go into the first question sure um so I I know all of you fairly well um a lot of us ran in the collection together um but not everybody knows me and so while I want to give you my background if you don't know it also for the entire Community because this is not just about you guys this is about everybody and there's a lot of people here that are passionate about our school district and our kids and teachers um and Community um so if you don't know my background is firmly rooted the
007United States Navy I was a naval sumar officer um for five years on USS moming as a watch officer leading divisions and watch teams on five submarine deployments um so a lot of my background and professional development comes from the Navy um and I really draw through lines back to my Naval experience when it comes to questions of culture and Leadership and all that kind of stuff because you can draw so many different parallels when you're trapped on board of 560 foot Tu with 160 of your best friends so if you can get through that you can get through anything um last nine years I've worked for a medical device Corporation and I'm a manager in program management um so not only only do I work on strategic workforce planning and look at national accounts
008and and health systems and strategic Partnerships but I'm also training our next generation of f project managers and coaching and mentoring them um which ties in great it's my background in the Navy with coaching mentoring young Sailors um as well as being a part of a community like this where you have lots of wide diverse opinions and viewpoints and it's your job to take them all in and take the consideration and act in the best interest of the community as they've expressed it to you um in the community I'm pretty active uh I love volleyball so I coach my daughter in volleyball I actually coach Matt's son in volleyball um the last seven seasons at the Bor YMCA so I volunteer Every Spring and fall uh coaching girls and boys and uh it's more rewarding
009than anything else that I do I can guarantee that um then lately uh when we registered my son I got two kids in the district um my daughter's at Heartland uh South and my son is in sixth grade here at the middle school and we did our school registration one of the things that he was super excited for was the Dungeons and Dragons club and that was no longer a thing um and that's when my daughter piped up and said hey Dad you can run that and so I did so now I'm involved here at the middle school um every Wednesday it's about 15 kids and they all play Dungeons and Dragons and that also was so cool to watch the giggles and laughs and whatever it is as sixth seventh and eighth graders do
010and how they find you know entertainment and those after school activities so involved in the community involved in the district and strong professional background for the job um as you all know and a lot of the community know I did run in the last election I did not make it out of the board um close um I've already filed paperwork on on the next election uh because for whatever reason I find this interesting um uh the thoughtful comments from Chris and Amy going through policies the financial reports the strategic planning um your leadership on the board Tiffany uh it's just the local this is just really neat um and I also think it's really really cool to be a part of this community that is so passionate about this District um that really motivates me
011and and drives my passion for all of our kids and and our teachers and and our staff and our fam so just something that you know being a part of this for the last probably two years that I've been coming to Schoolboard meetings it my wife complains sometimes because one Monday a month I'm here and she'll text me and is it over yet no not yet right um but it's it's something that I find really engaging um so I kind of going in and maybe this might answer some of your questions but we I looked at when the notice was put out there was a couple of questions that were put out in the notice um and I think one of the important ones and ones one that you probably care significant about and the
012community at large is what role does the school board play right how do we how do we fit in as a community how do you fit in as a school board how do I hope to fit in if you appoint me um and and it's interesting to think about it especially over the last we'll call five years um nobody here on the board now was on the board 5 years ago in fact the most senior member I think is is you Tiffany and it hasn't been that long I feel like that you've been on the board make good to me exactly right and so right so there's a fair amount of turnover and it also is is a fair drag on your time I mean I I hear you guys at the board meetings and
013I remember looking at all these board meetings especially with superintendent search and coming with strategic worforce planning it is a significant investment of your time and one that is not probably probably sustainable for 6 9 12 years and so there's going to be turnover on the board and that's really unique because the board itself is an enduring institution right you guys set policies and make decisions that affect generations to come um in three or six years on the board and so it's really a unique opportunity to be that voice for the school district right you're charged with stewardship of the district in the three years that you're on the board um and it's the district and the community it's not five families it's not the same person that emails you 20 times it's the entire
014district and it's it's a challenge and it's a challenge that I I think is is really invigorating to to solicit that input and and be stewards of the community as a whole um so that's kind of what I see the school board doing and and first and foremost the school board are listeners right you have to listen before you can talk um and and that I think would be my biggest Drive is is is being on the school board and being a listener an active listener to concerns in the community and then coming together as a board and acting members so that's that that's me the school board background and all the above so I look forward to talk with you tonight and and answering your questions thank you Chris quick audible question so is
015that Dungeons and Dragons open to the public or what so it it is for kids um um the library is starting oh absolutely well I can use addition Che um the library is starting up uh on also the guns and Dragons Club as well um so the new children's librarian is starting that up and that should be coming over in the q1 next year so are you the DM I am not in supervising I well so I want the club to endure and so the more I put in myself the less the kids put in so want the kids to own it and run it so that when I'm not a chaer anymore they've got multiple grades that can sustain this thing and then it's not a travesty if they can't find somebody who knows
016anything about it I love it I was thrilled to hear that that's great so the first question is how it's a two-part question yes how should the board approach discussions and decision making on complex topics how would you navigate strong and opposing opinions within the Community while ensuring that not only the loud voices are heard but also the quieter majorities are considered absolutely um I I think to answer the first part of your question right any conversation amongst the board has to be open at board meetings and be a healthy discussion um so having those discussions when when things are coming up having a healthy discussion on the board and tabling issues if you can't a resolution but having that discussion happen I think is something that is incredibly important I think sometimes when we
017look at an agenda and it says discussion and decision we have a discussion we make a decision there should always be an option of you know what maybe we need a solicit Waring point maybe we've had such a strong discussion and I've heard an opinion from a board member that I didn't consider before um it's a challenge and a blessing that you can't talk to other board members to solicit opinions on a topic outside of a board meeting um that's challenging because all your discussions have to happen in the moment you can't just have like a quiet conversation exchanging of ideas because it has to happen at a board meeting that's a challenge but it's a blessing because in the entire Community can hear that discussion hear those viewpoints and then weigh in themselves right
018so when you talk about those complex and challenging issues it's not enough just to have discussion and decision it's discussion and if it's that charged let the community hear different board members opinions and then be able to respond to those opinions at a subsequent meeting to send emails whatever it is because those kinds of complex decisions are not anything that should happen you know at at that moment if it's that charg and complex there should be a healthy discussion around it that might last a board meeting or your second question was about soliciting input if you will right not letting the a potentially loud minority outweigh a silent majority or something to that effect um and I really think that goes into play when we talk about active listening um people who feel passionately about
019an issue are the ones that are going to go out there and give you their opinion um and those opinions are discussed at a board meeting there are some people that may not feel comfortable sitting in a microphone and getting a public right maybe because more comfortable writing an email um at the end of the day as a board member you have to if you think there is some kind of silent majority out there you have to reach out and you have to find it and as a board if you feel like we're not getting the input that that we need then it's the board's responsibility to solicit that um and reach out and grab it for those complex issues thank you [Music] May I'll just speak loudly sorry I don't know what that was
020um right okay thanks for your an fars um so listen I believe that a board or a team works best if there's a kind of a diverse mix of people with different talents and strengths um so what trait skill or Talent do you feel you can offer the board that may be missing or lacking amongst the four of us that's a good question mat um is a challenging one because without the only interaction I really see transparently is interaction as a board meetings um where I think my greatest strengths lie is my background of of working with a diverse group um so again I take it back to my experience in the Navy you get all people all walks Alik in the Navy you get people that are looking for a job because of a
021broken home you get people that are looking for purpose you get people that are bored and just want something to do um and obviously you get people from all over the country Urban rural whatever it is um and you're stuck with them um I think about my professional experience and what I was doing with um by Corporation prior to to being in the world that I am um and a lot of what I worked with was was Healthcare renovation Hospital operating room design construction that kind of stuff and you think about the gamut of people that you work with in that scenario you have your Tradesmen you have your plumbers you have your electricians you have your drywallers Carpenters General Contractors you have your Architects you have your electrical engineers mechanical engineers you have your
022clinicians you have your your Tex and the O you have your surgery managers you you have your your sea Suite right so you you look at a broad cross-section of our community from people going out there working a 9 to5 people Tradesmen working a 6 to2 to you know seite employees um and listening to those perspectives and listening to the motivations of what does a o director care about versus what does an electrician care about right you're trying to get that harmonious mix of all those people working in the same direction for the end of the day patient care and I think about that for a school district right same diversity you've got parents with kids in the district you've got community members that care about the property values and their taxes you've got teachers
023that don't live in the district but work here you've got staff and administrators you've got kids and you've got Schoolboard members right everybody has a different Viewpoint different perspective I would love to think that everybody and all those different diverse groups are all striving for an excellent School District excellent School District STS property values to live here makes it desirable for families to move here makes it desirable for teachers to want to work here and administrators to want to work here right so there's that shared goal everybody's a different Viewpoint and a and a different motivation but finding that shared goal and bringing that Harmony to get everybody screwing in the same direction that's where my experience lies um and I think that's what I can bring to the school board thank you thank you
024thank you um my question is right now we're in the early phases of uh a strategic plan and with a shortterm appointment only lasting until spring um with B guarantees of the collection going through uh where do you see your involvement where's your inspiration in that in that process or exercise we're going through that's a great question Chris um I was here for the stud of workforce planning when they solicited the community input um and it was a little eye openening for me because there were so many issues that were brought up at that meeting that I didn't know about um I think it's going to be a real challenge for the school board to take a lot of that input and kind of tying into Max's question right there's a lot of different motivations
025for input as to where the school district should go strategically um and a lot of that input comes from a narrow mindset which I have a problem I want that problem fixed right and as a school board taking all of those narrow problems and motivations and aggregating them to a broader vision is a Monumental task um I don't know what the timeline is but I think it's a challenge that I would look forward to I think it is a challenge to sort those issues out tie them into common themes and then come up with a strategic plan that addresses the them themes and the root causes to demonstrate that as a school board we're listening to not only the parents and and the administrators and the staff but the community as well because all those
026elements play a role in that strategic plan um and and I think it's going to be a really exciting challenge to be a part of if if I can you know if you appoint me in the Schoolboard I don't know if I answered your question it's kind of yeah you can ask it follow yeah yeah yeah I I just want to make sure because I you kind of came back with where your involvement isn't it so I think you Circle back okay all right I I want to make sure sometimes I can I can go so okay this year the Biden Administration issued executive orders directing federal agencies to protect gender identity the new rules issued redefine sex to mean gender identity sex stereotype sex characteristics pregnancy related conditions and sexual orientation the scope of
027sex discrimination changed as well which is significantly different from the objective standard established by the Supreme Court all of this has been met with much controversy and litigation across the country many believe this is an illegal interpretation of Title 9 because the department is acting outside of the scope of the law that the regulations undermine parental rights and violate the First Amendment our district is currently covered under one of these injunctions set by current litigation the litigation allows the school named in the injunction list to not have to approve this whole line Title 9 policy until the adjunction is removed what is your opinion in regards to this executive order and how the board has handled this complex topic that's a tough question um and a very very charged one um I guess to answer
028the last question the last part of the question you asked how has the board handled it difficulty um I think hearing a lot of the community input after that decision and I gave some of my own comments um I went and I did some research um because a lot of us can have an initial feeling one way or the other but I think one of the things that's done in the right way is what is the responsibility of the board you saw legal advice and you followed it and that's the right answer um with regards to the broader executive order man I mean I don't think we have enough time for me to talk about executive orders but they're a piece of paper that gets revoked the next time the administration comes in right they're
029not permanent um and they're almost always challenging some way in a court and and and I think I think you said at the board meeting like or maybe it was Matt like you have to let it play on you have to follow the law um when you talk about Title 9 or or any of that anti-discrimination law you know the laws are there to protect our staff they're there to protect our teachers and they to protect our kids right that's the intent and purpose of the law um while as a board we're limited to what we can do legally in policy because of lawsuits and whatever it is you know we still have to protect our kids our students and our staff like we have to have a title line policy and enforce it so
030you know at the end of the day we have to follow you know legal guidance and not go out on a limb one way or another and honestly it seems like no matter where you step you're going to open yourself up to a lawsuit um or the potential for a lawsuit whatever it is and the fact of the matter is we're already there right I mean you said I mean we're already named in one of these injunctions so I mean at this point it does just kind of feel like like legal limbo um and until better legal guidance comes out or until it gets resolved um I don't think there's much that the board should be doing about it and when it does get resolved we update the policies of the resolution and we move
031on thank you okay that concludes our four questions so we are going to open it up to discussion now with board um anyone want to go first do you want me to leave the room for your discussion you don't have to I you're not going to hurt my feelings so it's it's completely up to you it's an open meeting so you you do not have to leave what sorry I'm trying to find my other hold on one keeping notes for myself and also keeping notes for the meeting I'm trying to get back to having a hard time with the two screens there it is okay what was it now sorry I had to get back the agenda did you want to go first no um little bit the side of the going first but I
032I guess from my discussion I just want to address a couple things I received a lot of feedback uh from the community and I thank everyone who sent that information in um I did want to comment on a couple things that were out there just to just to kind of help with guidance on it and one of the things that kept get brought up was kind of a precedence of a previous event and I just wanted to address that while there is a similarities to it there's not quite an Apple's app was comparison and while there was decisions made it wasn't the UN decision there were people making decisions with their best efforts at that time um so when it was asked toy I just wanted to address that I don't believe that fell into
033this case um I believe the process of interviewing and going through here making sure the right candidate for the position that we have open to a point is important and this process is important so I did want to say thank you for that information but at didn't think it's an Apples to Apples comparison um I do believe we just have to have consist our policy and how we move forward um and just makeing sure we find the right person to fit this role for the next uh four to five months as we continue forward to fill the gaps or and strategic plan am I good okay well look I think Le is matour name Neils is here and Neils just showed up since he lost the election participated in strategic planning for Dungeons and Dragons
034Club he stayed active um there was a vote both and lyia were part of that vote you received about 200 more votes than lyia I think the community has made a decision um I thought Amy did a nice job on the board I Kent Chris had a nice Chris ad said had a nice thing going with the policy committee when now short the policy Committee Member I I think we would be foolish to leave the seat open Neils has stepped up the community's voted for him um some of you know I know Neil's a little bit personally with neighbors coach my kid is intelligent he cares I think you've seen from his his his answers here tonight he's very thoughtful he's very articulate he's good people like we need good people on this board um
035so I think we should move to appoint nails to the SE um yeah I'll go I actually have um I me I quite a bit to say so I'm going to actually move over here the media that I know is watching I respectfully ask that when you publish parts of what I'm about to say you do it accurately and without a narrative spin Neils I think you're great I think you're a a good person um I think you are everything everyone has stood up and said about you you've been consistent with coming to school board meetings and I know how difficult it is even for me to get here with the Crazy Life we live um I very much appreciate your demeanor um and very much respect that you um are open to collaborating and
036um you're very responsible to every so I think you absolutely have all the qualifications that are needed for the board and to be honest I think most people have qualifications to sit on this board that's the whole point of local government is not to have a board that has five education experts we want to hear from the different parents and Community MERS um so what I'm about to say it it relates to this because after receiving the barrage of emails I I really was just very disheartened um we received a lot in support of both candidates um the difference that I saw was those that supported Neils also attacked Lydia's character those that supported Lydia did not attack me's character and they express concerns specifically about ear tile lion stance but not anything like I
037saw come in for Lydia um Lydia is not here tonight and I think it's really unfortunate and sad that she felt she needed to remove herself from a toxic in uh situation um which my understanding is is also the reason why she pull out of HF um so you know it's watching what happened during this past campaign campaign season where people bashed Lydia for being a bad mom talked garbage about her 2-year-old and literally wrote if you support her you should be embarrassed and you should remove your science from you it's completely unacceptable so with that although what I'm going to say is not specific to the vacancy and our process it relates to um our over overall issue we're having at the school um so I'm going to use a couple minutes here tonight
038to talk about the issues that I think are facing this school district and this board and this community first I'd like to address the narrative that I set a precedent for filling future vacancies because I was of the opinion last vacancy meeting one year and seven months ago that being the next vote getter in the most recent election warranted Neil's appointment this year no I did not set a precedent it was my own individual opinion that Chris deserved the seat based on the fact that he actually ran in the election however it was not my only reason for voting for him my vote went to Chris because he is charismatic genuine and always brings a sense of positivity I felt the board was in desperate need of that coming off previous controversies he was very
039engaged throughout his campaign posting videos meeting with people and attending candidate traines his demeanor just like Neils was absolutely perfect for dealing with diverse groups of people which his time on the board I think has proven where people are confused is this vacancy had two candidates that had previously campaigned and lost an election although I spoke to how close Chris's vote count was to the winner in 2023 it was not about vote count but that he was the only one out of all of the candidates that interviewed that had put him he out there and run in the actual election I stand with all of my comments everything you quoted me on I do um but when it comes down to it legally it was not a precedent the board utilized a state statute and
040policy to guide them not previous opinion as I've tried to keep the peace and Liberty among our community during my term as well as build trust I'm now forced to address several road blocks that are stagnating our District's future success the most major one being that a small part of this community has radical ideologically driven community members who have pulled Focus from our children for their desire for power and no I am not speaking about the westre candidates my issue and please note this is not with anyone who needs L part of my family is liberal many of my friends are liberal it has nothing to do with that um I welcome anyone's emails anyone's public comments and I take into account anyone's opinions my issue is with those who are bringing chaos and disruption
041into the school through activism that has nothing to do with our kids the false narratives that continue to plague this board and admin are orchestrated by local activists that only has ties to our district through this development of a small portion of our community some of you have been seen sitting with this man f ping this man talking strategy with this man online and donating to gofund new pages here Jared this group utilizes the community advocacy and influence model that includes seven areas of focus the focus areas are winning at The Ballot Box one-on-one lobbying and influence group based lobbying and pressure public comments public demonstration legal pressure and last but not least media coverage the group I speak of will coordinate attacks using these seven areas to focus on anyone with opposing views bully
042them assassinate their character spread lies basically beat them into submission until they get worn down and quit after all creating pain is part of your process this is exactly what you are doing to our amazing new superintendent which ironically is what I was accused of doing to our previous District administrator you know I have no problem with people having different values or morals or voting a different way than I am where I start to have a problem and where it starts to become an issue for us here is that one side acts like they don't lean a Ser they act as if they're nonpartisan which is completely false um you guys went in The Ballot Box I mean you utilize GoFundMe pages to raise funds to send postcards out together just like whis red what
043why is why are the wh red candidates any different I mean you create llc's at Mass grade is nonpartisan group such just come together Blue Sky publishes your names the email campaigns the petitions which we saw during the Nancy uh resignation um the cut and paste emails it's it's different I have no problem with people public comenting it'd be nice if people weren't always so nasty um public demonstration oh the black T-shirt protests that have been last year with our final two superintendent candidates how utterly embarrassing for our district how utterly embarrassing two Educators who had come here to try to get a job who wanted to work for us had their longtime education reputation smeared in the media because they wanted to work here completely unacceptable the use of open reference requests hey it's
044our legal right I have no problem with it but the onl of ones that are completely menial that prevent us from moving forward and last year when we were drowning in them and using legal to help us support our compliance to them and then we were literally yelled at and told we they were you guys were concerned that we were spending money on the very ORS that you were submitting is ridiculous I know all about your change equation building a compelling Vision I mean it's not everybody's Vision it's your vision creating this this is the big one creating a dissatisfaction with the status quo false narrative spun to create an illusion of underperformance this is constant constant defining next stops well that's pretty much the removal of all the people that you don't want in
045place and because this is your formula no matter how many positive things are superintendent does or how much she communicates it would appear she will continue to be chastised for the most minor thing and not only will she not be shown respect it appears the constant assault on her character and skill set will continue as after all the end game is of course to wear her down and push her out although this boort has been trying to make decisions in the best interest of the children and has been successful in collaborating collaborating and coming to a consensus on almost everything and that's apparent in our voting record the statement about the board going in the wrong direction because we are politically driven will continue to be a narrative spun on baseless claims parents with opposing
046views will be beat into submission on social media through name calling character assassination and lies stories will be leaked to the media by insiders within this district for the sole purpose to actually hurt our own District just in an effort to discredit and blame those they want gone I I can't even imagine that stories we can't even get the media to pick up the story that we we got the blue ribon Bo we've asked probably three or four times they refus to do a story on our blue ribon award but the minute something goes wrong or there's something negative they're right there why does this all matter to me it matters because it's complete hypocrisy and I want this disruptive behavior today it matters because anyone who identifies with conservative values and moral is the
047least and is the least bit vocal about it is painted as being political and map here for the kids which is completely untrue it is all smok and mirrors by the very people who SC scrutinize conservatives for pushing a political agenda when they are in fact hurting our kids because they are the ones engaging in professionally organized political activism you see education has long been dominated by the left conservative parents had trust in their institutions until they started seeing seeing a focus put on how children should feel forcing them into a different moral value system instead of focusing on academics we want our kids to learn how to think not what to think so no I didn't run for the school board to try to ruin teachers or the very School my own children go
048to that's literally been said to me and put on social media that I'm here to destroy the district why would I destroy a district that my kids go to school to I ran to get involved to ensure public education remains successful in developing our future leaders and to ensure my parental rights were not being violated because of radical activism however on top of that I ran because I'm a creative person and I have lots of ideas on how to make this school better this strategic plan this is my wheelhouse I'm so excited there's so many Visionary Global them that I want to contribute unfortunately a lot of my time on the board has been stolen from me because of all these political games yes I ran is a whis red candidate and that upsets people
049I did that so the voters who carried my same values and morals knew I existed I didn't run I didn't run under a fake facade of having no base for my perspective however I myself am a critical thinker and I do not make decisions just because I'm a certain um I support a certain political site this should have been evident based on my removal of the previous board president and my extreme effort to make the superintendent search as transparent as possible however the day after I removed our ex-president I believe it was posted on social media with a poop emoji that I was the same poop emoji but a different stink the superintendent search I thought wow we are we've we've got our issue out of the way we're going to gain some traction here
050we're going to gain some trust I chose every absolute possible platform for stakeholders to be involved I opened it up so much that in the end it actually worked against us I know people are upset that Tina got brought in without um additional interviewing one we were going to lose her to another school but two there was no way I was putting her in the line of fire to have her reputation ruined like you guys were doing to the last two that got run out and then I received another barrage of emails saying that I did not run a transparent superintendent search that I should have done it like swallow you know what swallow did their conservative president handpicked all by themselves not even with board input who he was going to make this little
051committee for to to participate in all the interviewing and whatnot I could have done it that way I didn't so what this has taught me is it doesn't matter I will never be a good board member who puts Kids First in your eyes because it's not what I've learned it's actually not about with r it's about me viewing things potentially differently than you and it's it's unacceptable it's unacceptable to you you want me to think and do everything that you you want to this division has been created by this and now I'm responding because as president of this board it is one of my duties to protect this district and our children and I'm I'm done with this nonsense I don't care which way you vote I respect everyone as a human being everyone gets
052to say so in their kids education I will listen and the narratives that say we don't listen we don't listen as a board we do listen just because we don't do what you have demanded doesn't mean we're not listening it's our job then to take that in and decide what we think is the best for that decision or whatever it is [Music] so so in closing what I'm asking as we fill this vacancy move into another election cycle work on our strategic plan is can we please come together and start treating each other respectfully we are never going to agree on everything we aren't well we are all human beings and everyone deserves to be treated in a kind way and that is not happening our kids are watching we have a behavioral issue in
053the school where does that come from it comes down from the parents no one should be getting bullied no one should be harassed because they think differently it's not okay Wiis R isn't going away we will have candidates that run whis rut again and I would imagine our local activist is not going away either all I ask is for people to be upfront and honest about who they are what they think what they feel and be respectful about it and if we decide something differently than what you wanted I'm sorry that's just how it that's how it goes we are making the decision because that's what we think is best for kids so Neils I 100% want you on this board I will be voting for you to sit at the table with us I
054turn my time over to Mr I won't be that long meals if you remember back you mentioned who we campaigned at the same time do you remember when we all met one morning and had pastries and tea coffee only one person wasn't able to make it he was traveling but all of the candidates got together and it was polite you and I have been back and forth talking for a couple years since I met you in the same seats doing the same thing you were before and communication has always been respectful you've always been a gentleman you've communicated well you've shown up you comment with courtesy and everything that people said about you is true you're a good man you're a good man the unfortunate thing is the some of the same people that said
055that you're a good man also attacked the other candidate and I hope that when when you're on the board that you will do what you said in your introduction and you will actively listen and you will work to try to unite the people out there because what she just commented it went through it's unnecessary this is probably the very best District in my country and I would argue potentially in the state and for us to have this division it it filters down it filters down to the kids I'm not here for political reasons I ran Wiis red I'm a conservative of course so of course I did I want people to know that one of my campaign promises was always to listen and to reply when I sat in your seats a lot of times
056I didn't have people reply to me I remember the previous board I'd sometimes be right there sometimes would just sah and they would thank me for coming thank you for coming thank you for being here we really appreciate you coming because no one else did couple times I sat there by myself Chris you have anything to say no nothing but okay and then when I'd sent emails to the board you know what I got back nothing not a single reply not a thank you appreciate your comment nothing and during this entire process we got a barrage of V I replied to every single one of them individually I did not cut and paste every single one individually I was attacked for having a presupposed choice before you even got here when I was advocating for
057Equity the one thing that some groups like to argue that we don't stand for and yet when I stand for equity and giving both candidates and equal opportunity at a position I was told I was showing favoritism because I wasn't following policy doesn't make sense so I hope that the things that you say match the things that you will do there's no question that Amy and I disagreed fundamentally on certain things Matt and I have disagreed on certain things but we get it done we work together well I will disagree a little bit with your statement on Title 9 I agree somewhat with what you're saying as far as the legality part of it but no matter what comes down from the White House from any Administration anyone that puts a law I'll put that
058in parenthesis in place that says if my daughter gets older goes into a locker room to change before a sports event and comes out and tells her coach I don't feel comfortable with that person in the locker room that has male genitalia and then she could be in trouble for harassment I'm sorry Neils I disagree with you you completely that we should put it in because supposedly that's a law now there's some things that supersede law and that's the protection of children for anybody who can't read this you see what it says back here it says for the kids and together we are better that's why you sit up here you don't sit up here for politics you don't sit up here for power I was was at a Schoolboard meeting for Arrowhead yes I'm
059on two I'm insane I know I was there last night till 11:15 I was there Monday night till I forget what time I'm here again tonight every other night at Schoolboard because I love the community I don't get paid don't get anything for it I love it and I'm sitting here listening to you and I believe you that you really will do the job that you care you're very eloquent you participate and show up you read the documents probably better than some previous board members did and that's amazing so I'll support you here and I hope that you will stand true to your word you'll honor your your history in the Navy are standing up for America and the freedoms that we're fighting for for our kids too so that they can learn how to
060think and not what to think and together just like this we can be better so you have my support do you need a motion no and I Mak I just have one quick thing to say I was just going to say you know I got accused of not going into it enough of on the last interviews when when you and H's interview the last vacancy interviews [Music] um and I I guess I just wanted to add that Neils had I not voted for Chris you you would have been my pick that that go I'm I'm getting you were a little bit of an angry so yes I felt like you came in angry and you were kind of badmouthing the very people that were going to be the ones voting for you and that was
061was a very big turnoff to me and made me feel like you are not going to be a collaborator now since you've been on the board I don't think that is the case you have been very amable very efficient which I greatly appreciate um and you you're you you're logical and you have brought a skill set to the to the board with Finance background um that's great so I guess my point in saying my kid think I'm to I guess my point in saying is is we need to get past these you're liberal you're a conservative because we have way more in common than people think and we want we the most part the same thing and it would automatically jump to a conclusion because this title is attached to us you're never going to
062get anywhere so that [Music] any final comments kids Madam president yes I move to accept the appointment application of Neils Peterson to fill a bacon board position I'll second that all in favor I welcome aboard Neils let's do [Applause] it Australia Tuesday uh can we postpone table motion so we will we'll swear you you're not prepared to swear him in no we will swear you when you get back into the country yeah and we don't it doesn't have to be at a board meeting you can come into the um the district office and we can just do it real quick sounds good well enjoy your vacation thank you have a awesome is your family going with you as everybody I would like to motion to a joury at 6:28 p.m. second all in favor we'll
063get you um an on binder as well and uh if there's any