001National anthem of the stage mountain singers led by Mrs. Meredith. >> 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. [music] Oh, can [singing] you see by early lights so proud we last [singing] brightly [singing] streaming And the walkers were clear. No one's mercy in gang for the [singing] land of the free. The [singing] home of the bra. [applause] Please be seated as we enjoy another performance by >> [music] [snorts] >> If I [singing] could have one wish, [music] it would be for me and you. [music] Peace [singing] in our hearts and peace on [music] peace now and ever for all and so [singing and music] may our voice. >> [singing and music]
002>> How may we sing our song of peace? [singing and music] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] Love is Oh [singing] my of our [singing] True. Don't know. [music] If I could [music] truth [singing] the truth. The sin of God and Jesus now. [music] [singing and music] Oh may our voice never [music] speak. So may we sing our [singing] song of peace. [applause] >> [clears throat] [applause] >> Do that one more time. Oh no. [applause] Oh no. [music] [singing] Give me my way. I'm the [music] And I love me my [singing] go Let my leg [applause] away. More all the way. [music] [applause] >> [applause] >> As our students take their seats, we want to thank them and Mrs. Dor for taking the time to share their talents with us today. Let's give them one more round
003of applause. [applause] Okay. At this time, the reporting secretary bill will call the role. >> Rex Blair >> here. >> Amy Tney here. >> Shelley Shaw >> here. Jeremy Vice >> here. >> All right. Thank you. A quorum has been established. Board members, you have the agenda for this afternoon's meeting before you. Do I have a motion to adopt the agenda? >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> Anyone opposed? The agenda is approved. Before we move on to next business, I want to take a moment to recognize uh two of our city council members who are here today, Steve McClennon and Robin Schultz. Appreciate you coming uh to join us today both for the board meeting but also as we uh celebrate uh today with Sage Mountain. And then
004also I want to thank Ethan Vice for being here from Representative Gary Palmer's office. So it's nice to have so many of our uh local leaders here as well. So thank y'all for coming. Okay, board members, included in your packet are the minutes from the January 13, 2026 board meetings board meeting. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes? >> Do I have a second? >> All in favor? >> Is anyone opposed? Minutes are approved. The next item is the consent agenda. >> Thank you, Mr. Vice President. I recommend approval of our consent agenda which include personnel actions, contracts, educational and athletic field trips and surplus items capitalized as you. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as recommended by the superintendent? >> Do I have a second? >> Are there
005any questions from the board? Okay, no questions. I have a motion and a second. All in favor? >> Is anyone opposed? The cons the consent agenda is approved. >> Thank you, Mr. Vice President. And thank you. >> Okay. Up next, we have business actions. Our business actions are uh I will ask our CSFO, Melinda Buck, to provide an over >> [clears throat] >> Good evening, Shakes Mountain community and school. And what a great job. That was so wonderfully done. We appreciate that. Leaving board, Dr. Maddox. Included in your packet is a summary of general purpose financial statements for the month ending December 31st, 2025. As of December 31st, 42.9% of the budgeted revenue for fiscal year 26 has been received. Property tax collections for November and December were recognized, aligning with the revenue reporting timeline.
006Revenue is expected to increase through March as property tax collections continue. The results of operating operations reflect three months of activity. At this point, we would expect approximately 25% of the budgeted reoccurring expenditures to be spent. General fund expenditures remain slightly behind this benchmark at 23.69% of the budget. The general fund reserve stands at 10.64. It is it is important to remember that this reserve will fluctuate as a loan tax collections are received and expenditures are processed in the coming months. In December, payments were made for the Berry Middle School filled restrooms and storage buildings, elevator monitoriization at Trace Crossing Elementary School, along with finalizing the payments for the Hoover High School theater renovations. December expenditures for the special revenue funds total just over 7 million or 30.24% of the budget. This fits our standard
007pattern of federal programs where spending is focused on the school year and reimbursements are processed for months in a total payroll for the month of January were 24,673,1.31 and the re the expenditures total for December total 3,745,32989. Thank you, Miss Buck. Are there any questions from the board? >> Okay. Do I have a motion to approve the business actions? I'll move. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Are there any questions from the board? I have a motion and a second. All in favor? >> Is anyone opposed? Business actions are approved. >> Thank you, Mr. Vice President, and thank you, board. I hope you guys can hear us in the back. Okay, perfect. >> Yes, difficult to tell where we're sitting and being in a different venue. You know how we all creatures of
008habit team. So, if we look awkward up here, it's probably because we're a little awkward and we're just trying to kind of figure out the venue. Thank you so much. At this time, I would like to ask Matt Wilson, our director of operations, to come forth to address any bid related questions regarding the R22 conversion project. Matt, would you like to begin by telling us a little bit about what we're what we're doing? Yes, sir. We are in the process of converting our old HD equipment over to new R22. We have a lot of equipment through our facilities districtwide. So we did an analysis of the conditions of the equipment and we're doing the schools with equipment and subpar conditions first. Uh what we bid up this time was the conversion of equipment at associates
009crest elementary school hoover hall and the central office. We saw those being in the worst condition first. Uh we did it out separately between three different projects basically uh so we get the best price. Um [clears throat] the first bid was for Southshade Crest Elementary School. It was received all received on February 3rd and it's for 1 million $13,300. Uh second bid received was for Hoover Hall Crossroads and that was the amount of $665,755. Uh third one was central office and that was for $680,247. What we did to for two reasons, one is to capture a savings that we can as well as prevent lead time issues. We we're going to order the equipment ourselves separately outside those contract prices and that total on equipment has been going around $686,000. Uh I'm happy to say
010that it looks like this project is going to come in under budget both on the equipment side as well as the u contract price side. about $100,000 under budget for that. This project in this project collectively we have $100,000 worth of contingency allowances in there. Of course, I'll try to minimize those as possible as much as possible. Could bring this project down to around $3 million for everything, which is compared to last year. We visited last year came in a lot higher. We were concerned about tariffs. We postpone it this year. Costwise, it has come in pretty much flat to what we did what we did last year except for the fact that we did reduce some scope because we had to replace some of the equipment pulling some of this past summer. I'm satisfied
011with the contractors. Margie Mechanical is the one that was the lowest bid on Sache Crest and Systems. It was a low bid on the other two projects and I've done work with both those contractors capable and very satisfied with both work for us. All right. Thank you, Matt. Mr. Vice President, I recommend approval of a bid for package C Hoover City Board of Education central office HVAC upgrades be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, Comfort Systems USA, Mids South, for a total bid amount of $680,247. Do I have a motion to award the bid for the HVAC upgrades at central office to Comfort Systems USA as recommended by the superintendent? So move. Do I have a second? >> Second. [snorts] >> Are there any final questions from the board? >> Okay, I have a motion
012and a second. All in favor? >> Anyone opposed? Motion passes. >> Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Thank you, board. Next, we have um South Shades Crest Elementary. Mr. Mr. Vice President, I recommend approval of the bid for package A, South Shades Crest Elementary School Hback upgrades be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, RJ Mechanical, for a base bid award of 1,86,600, including alternate one for $16,700. adding isolation valves on a piping loop for a total bid amount of 1,13,000 $13,300. It's a lot. >> Do I have a motion to award the bid for the HVAC upgrades at South Shades Crest Elementary to RJ Mechanical as recommended by the superintendent? >> Do I have a second? Are there any questions from the board? [snorts] I have a motion and a second. All in favor? Is anyone
013opposed? The motion passes. >> Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Thank you, board. Lastly, I would like to recommend approval for bid package B, Crossroads Crossroads HVAC upgrades be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, Comfort Systems USA, for a total bid amount of 665,755. >> Thank you. Do I have a motion to award the bid for the HVAC upgrades at Crossroads Comfort Systems USA as recommended by the superintendent? >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Any questions from the board? All right, I have a motion and a second. All in favor? Anyone opposed? The motion is approved. >> Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Thank you, board. And thank you, M. >> Thank you, Matt. All right, it's now time for recognitions. So, I would like to ask Merrick Wilson, executive director of communications, to
014come forward. [clears throat] >> Thank you, board members. Before I get started, I would like to thank Shakes Mountain Elementary School for hosting our board meeting this month. Um, this is probably one of the most beautiful cafeteria transformations I've ever seen. So, I'd like to thank you guys for having us and hosting our board meeting. Um, I'd also like to thank Shades Mountain Baptist Church for the beautiful reception that we will get to enjoy this afternoon as well. It is above and beyond and so we thank you for taking the time to celebrate our schools. And then also would like to give one more round of applause to Miss D'vor and the Shades Mountain Singers for their AMAZING [applause] We are excited that we were able to take over the board meeting and transform into
015blue as we celebrate the amazing faculty and staff of Shades Mountain Elementary School for being named a national blue ribbon school. This recognition reflects Shades Mountain's commitment to outstanding teaching and learning, a culture of high expectations and support, and a strong commitment to ensuring that every student has an opportunity to be successful. This honor reflects the dedication of our teachers, our staff, our administrators, our students, and our families who work together every day to create an environment where our students love to learn and have fun doing it. Today we're celebrating not only this remarkable recognition, but also the teamwork, commitment, and passion that made it possible. So, at this time, I'd like to ask Shades Mountain School Principal, Mr. Irwin, to come forward to give us a few remarks and to introduce our speakers. Just
016got to get a few pitches out. >> [laughter] >> Uh Dr. Maddox, former principal. Dr. Robbins, former principal. Dr. Smith, former principal. There's a lot of former administrators that work in the central office. And the first thing a principal does when he gets to work at 6:15 in the morning is check front line to see who's going to be here and who's not. The good thing about Shakes Mountain staff is most of them are good enough to text me before that time and say, "I got something going on." I'll talk about that in a second, but I won't be there today. So, which one of these is the most important blue piece of our puzzle, our building? >> You can't tell which one's Miss Collie. You can't tell which one's Mr. Brandon. You can't tell
017which one's Miss Cece. You can't tell which one's Miss Burger because at any given time during the day and about 20 times today, I really didn't care which one of these pieces was on my left and I really didn't care which one was on my right, but I sure was glad there was someone on both sides because we've had some moments today on the mountain. And it required all of us to [clears throat] be part of something bigger than ourselves. And I I think what makes this faculty great is because you're willing to do that no matter which piece you are and where you're lined up, you just jump right in and hook in. Now, you're good at really good things. I I see a great pair of professional right there. I see a great
018third grade teacher right there, but you're so willing to do much more than that. Now, I will say when I see you on front line like this, I'm only thinking about the big picture. How are we going to take care of all the kids at Shades Mountain and each other today? Which is why the first thing I say when I email you, what is the first line? >> Thank you for being here today. This place is better when you're here because it matters. When there's a piece of this missing, I feel it and you feel it. So, we really do appreciate that you germax and you take your vitamin C because we really need you here. But when I put these blocks in this hand, then I know who's got a baby who's teething. I
019know who's nervous because they're fixing to have their first child get tubes in their ears. I know who's caring for an ailing parent. I know who just lost a parent. And I'm not the only one. Everybody on this staff knows it. And that's what makes you great, too. So, I am thankful that this place celebrates you because you're worth it. And whether this is a real title or not, we've already talked about that. We're a great school because you make it a great school, not because we wear a t-shirt that says national blue. So, I'm proud of it. So, Miss Collie said, "Who's supposed to be following me?" And there was part of me that said, "Well, Miss Wizen Hunt's great. She'll talk to anybody." [laughter] Then, on the other hand, when I put the
020block on the other side, Miss Wizen Hunt's great. She might not leave without 30 minutes of talking. [laughter] But either way, it's going to be great. So, Miss Wizenhut, please come represent our staff. [applause] So, I was asked to speak today because I love this school with my whole heart and soul. Shane's Mountain Elementary is truly my happy place. I come to school each day excited and ready to begin a new. Once those doors close, the outside world fades away and my focus becomes my students and the meaningful collaboration I share with my teammates. Jave Mountain is truly a special place, a place where everyone is always welcome and deeply loved. The faculty and staff work hard each and every day, not because we have to, but because we genuinely enjoy what we do and
021believe in what we're building together. I have been here since 2009. Many have come and gone, but each year we stay together. We are building this school to be stronger and better than ever. I truly feel that our students data reflects the heart we pour into them. The growth we see comes from consistent support, encouragement, and love. Shade Mountain isn't just a school, it's family, and I'm so grateful to be part of it each and every day. And next up is Mr. Al Dixon, OUR FIFTH GRADE. >> [applause] >> TO SUPERINTENDENT MADDOX, board members, distinguished guests, and my Shades Mountain family. Good afternoon. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Al Dixon, and this is my eighth year at Shades Mountain Elementary. I began my career here as a fourth grade
022teacher and later moved to fifth grade. Um, Shades Mountain was the third place I interviewed and eight years later, I'm still thankful that it's the place I landed at. What I didn't realize at the time was that Shades Mountain had always been a part of my story. During my undergraduate studies at UAB, I completed a steam night um at Shaes Mountain as a part of a science class requirement. Years later, when I walked into my classroom for the first time as a teacher, I realized it was the very same room I was assigned to for that sting night as a pre-ervice teacher. That moment didn't hit me right away, but when it did, it felt like a quiet reminder that this place has been shaping me long before I officially belong to it. One of
023the first times I truly felt a sense of belonging was during my first budget committee meeting. I remember sitting back, listening, and assuming that my role was to simply observe. You're the newer teacher. More seasoned teachers were engaging in conversation back and forth, and I stayed silent. Then my principal paused the conversation and said, "Mr. Dixon, what do you think? Do you have any thoughts on how we should handle this?" And I immediately thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, you want to hear from me? I'm I'm not sure." But it was in that moment that it became clear that what I thought mattered. um not because of how long I've been teaching, but because I was a part of the team. That invitation to speak and contribute and to be trusted set the tone for
024what it means to work at Sha's Mountain. Another defining moment came during my first coaching cycle. Initially, I saw it as a weakness or how I would be viewed as a teacher. I worried about how it might look to my colleagues. Instead, became one of the most supportive experiences of my career. Our reading coach made growth feel possible. My colleagues offered thoughtful feedback and I learned that at Shades Mountain improvement is not something that we hide. It's something we do together. That culture is what makes Shades Mountain such a special place to work. Teachers are trusted here. We are reminded daily um in those emails in the morning of both the gravity of this work and the privilege that it is to serve students, one another, and our community. Our school is led by two
025true servant leaders. Leaders who show us every day that no job in this building is beneath them. They are often the first to arrive and the last to lead. And they don't lead by their position but by example. That kind of leadership builds trust because it shows us that we are all in this together. They strike a delicate balance between freedom and accountability, trust and oversight. There's no shame in needing help because help will always be there. When we call, somebody comes, an administrator, an instructional coach, a EL teacher, a colleague, whoever it is. Feedback flows both ways in this building. And it's made abundantly clear that every member of this building is valued and heard. In fact, it's hard to believe that we're even being celebrated by our PTO this week for teacher appreciation
026week because at Shaes Mountain, we're constantly reminded both in words and in action just how much we're valued and appreciated by our colleagues, our families, and our community. We are also who we are because of our partnership with Shades Mountain Baptist Church. Their consistent support of our school community is something I don't take lightly. They uplift our teachers through monthly appreciation refreshments and on professional development days, but more importantly, they support our students in meaningful tangible ways. Through weekend and backpack programs, they ensure that students who may not have consistent adult support at home on the weekend still have access to food. [clears throat] And that kind of care speaks volumes about what it means to truly serve a community. Shades Mountain works because we believe that every child matters, not just academically, but socially,
027emotionally, and mentally. We recognize one another's strengths, respect each other's expertise, and know when to step up and when to call in the expert. Through experiences like multicultural day, Shades Mountain Singers, and monthly school clubs, we work to remove barriers and give students access to opportunities they might not they might not otherwise have. Because kids do better when they feel better and because school should always be a safe place. When I heard that Shakes Mountain would be recognized as a national blue ribbon school, I felt pride and validation. We're often described as the smallest elementary school in the district. But this recognition says that we are more than our size. We are more than our numbers. We are more than a small school tucked away just off of Alford Avenue. We are small, but we
028are mighty. We're small, but you will see us. We are small, but by God, we move mountains. Thank you. That was is going to be hard to follow. >> [laughter] [clears throat] >> My name is Katie Collins and I'm a first grade teacher in Cub City Schools. But this year I have had the incredible honor of representing all teachers across the entire state of Alabama as the 2025 2026 Alabama Teacher of the Year. This year has literally taken me out of love park and all over the state in a car with a giant Apple decal on the side lovingly known as the Apple car. And yes, it does get noticed. From that car, we've launched we my best new best friend Aubrey Bennett who is the secondary teacher of the year for the state of
029Alabama. We've launched a podcast called Driving Education. Feel free to like and subscribe. But more importantly, the Apple Car has taken me into classrooms all across our state. And what I've seen, y'all, I am blown away by the collective progress that is happening in Alabama. In fact, I'm not sure if you guys have had a chance yet to read the article that was published just yesterday in the New York Times about Alabama's educational progress. But let me just say this clearly, the nation is watching Alabama. And speaking of the nation, back in August, I was given some very, very I was kind of excited top secret information that I'd be traveling to a school the following month to speak at an incredibly prestigious ceremony. out of nearly, and don't quote me on this, 1,800 schools
030in Alabama. Does that sound about right? We have district um we have an Alabama state board member. Does that sound about right? Kelly Moody, by the way, let's clap for Kelly Moody. She's a state board member here. Thank you for being here. So, out of nearly 1,800 schools in Alabama, only five were selected to receive the National Blue Ribbon Award. Okay, I was already stoked. But then I found out that it was a school from my district, Hoover City Schools. This is a school that's deeply loved by its community. a school often referred to as the best kept secret. And on top of that, it's the school that my niece Nora Klein attends. So yes, I was pumped. But but then just like so many moments in education, things changed. It was like planning the
031perfect lesson. Y'all know what I'm talking about. Only to have it interrupted by a fire drum. Okay? Or it was like my dear friend who planned her wedding for March 14th and then, you know, no big deal. The world shut down due to a global pandemic and she ended up getting married in her backyard with only immediate family. Disappointments happen, but guess what y'all? They don't define us. And Chase Mountain, whether this recognition continues on a national stage or not, your impact is already written where it matters most, in the lives of every single student that you serve. One of the greatest lessons I've learned while driving that Apple car around the state is [snorts] this honors titles and recognitions. They're exciting. They're cool. But you know what? The work behind them is what really
032matters. Shades Mountain, your work matters. Your work is seen. And today I'm incredibly honored and proud to be here celebrating one of Alabama's bestkept secrets, which let's be honest, is no secret at all. Thank you for the meaningful lifechanging impact. Okay, I'm looking at you guys. The impact that you are making every single day. Thank you. [applause] Well, thank you, Miss Collins, and to our teachers who spoke today. I will say I have never really gotten teary eyed in a board meeting, so this is a first, [laughter] but oh my goodness, what amazing words. And we want to thank Kelly Money for being with us, having someone from the Alabama State Department of Education. That is a really big deal. So, thank you for being here today and celebrating our amazing faculty and staff. Um,
033I'd also like to ask another special guest to come forward. We have Ethan Vice from Representative Palmer's office who would like to make a special presentation. [snorts] >> Well, thank you to the school. Thank you to the board, Dr. Maddox. Appreciate this opportunity. Thank you. And I sure can't follow those teachers and all their remarks. Uh, but I did want to come by. Congressman Palmer couldn't be here. We tried to get him here, but unfortunately the House is in session and he's uh doing the work of the people in Washington. I'd like to thank Leah for making me aware of this event. We've been communicating over the past few months. But what we have here today is a flag that was flown over the United States Capitol uh in honor of Shades Mountain Elementary. And
034I'll just read the certificate here. This flag is presented by US Congressman Gary Palmer to Shades Mountain Elementary School. This flag was flown at the request of the honorable Gary J. Palmer, member of Congress, in recognition of their outstanding academic performance during the 2425 school year. And while we did put it in this very nice presentation box, uh you are more than welcome to free the flag and let it do what it was meant to do and fly proudly out front. So, thank you. [applause] Thank you, Mr. Vice. As I heard our teacher say today, many times it came up, family. And to all of our families that are here today, to all of our students, take a look at the faculty and staff here. They did something pretty amazing. They were recognized to be
035a blue ribbon school across the nation. That doesn't just happen every single day. That is a really big deal. And so today, as we celebrate all of you, we want to thank you for all that you do, not just for these students, but for the families that are sitting out here and for our community. This is a very special day that we get to celebrate you and thank you. And so, we would love for you all to stand so we can properly give you a round of applause for this amazing accomplishment. [applause] Oh, wow. That's tough. First of all, we are so thrilled to be here. I can't tell you how exciting it is to take just being on the road and what a better place to come to. I I must say I've never
036been in the cafeteria when it when it looked like this. So, um such a special place. Now, I think you know many of you have probably only been only worked at Shades Mountain. And if you haven't been anywhere else, um, sometimes you really may not understand how special a place is, you know, until you've been somewhere else. And I remember one of the first visits to Shades Mountain, I can't remember which classroom. I apologize for it, but when I walked in, I just remember looking around the room and going, "Wow, you know, what a diverse group of kids." And and if you remember, raise your hand which teacher was. I'm so sorry. I can't remember. Okay, there you go. And I think you said something like there were five or six or seven different languages
037that that could be spoken in your classroom. And so you asked the students raise your hand if you could speak is I'm sorry Yemen Yemen [laughter] like a student raise their hand, Spanish student raised their hand. It was the most impressive thing that I have seen and it reminded me how diverse, you know, we know our district is diverse, but how diverse our classrooms are. So, it was a really special moment for me and the kids were so engaged and so interactive. Mr. Boore watching the Shades Mountain singers and listening to them, they're so amazing. Um, anytime I walk into Mr. class though, she makes me do something like sing, dance, move. Um, and as someone who can't do any of those things very well, you know, it takes me out of my comfort zone,
038but um, I appreciate the fact that you do that. And Mr. Irwin is does such a great job of setting an example and modeling what it is to be a selfless leader whether it's driving a bus or you know working carpool or substituting or whatever it is that that you can do. Uh he he's always out there and willing to do it. And I think it's it just is a mindset that you have here and it's just really really special when we learn that that you guys have won this award. I'll be honest, I was I was just like Katie Collins. I was really excited but not at all surprised. And I'll tell you why. When I first came and we we were looking at data, Dr. Robbins and we started looking at student achievement
039data and you guys were just killing it. And I remember saying to Dr. Robins on a couple of occasions. What are they doing at Sha's mouth? Like, what are they doing to get these results? Um, how can we bottle that up and and take it to other places? What you guys are achieving is absolutely amazing. And you know, I don't have a chance to say that to you, so I'm saying it to you now. It is a special place. It is a hidden gem. And I'm going to tell you, it's not a secret anymore. When you're named a National Blue Ribbon School, you can't hide anymore. Um, so I'm really excited that you guys won this award. One of the things um that that I was disappointed in is about, you know, a hot minute
040after we found out that you had won it, the program was kind of kind of faded away. And I knew that we wouldn't have the opportunity for you guys, some of you guys to go to Washington, represent the school, attend the awards ceremony. So I started thinking, you know, what can we do to recreate an experience similar to what we should experience had everything stayed the way it was. So we obviously planned this event. Um Leah did a phenomen Where are you Leah? You back there. Leah did a phenomenal job organizing it, meeting with us, planning everything. And so I reached out to Melinda Buck, our our CSFO in front right there. And I've heard that I have as a superintendent some discretionary funds. I wasn't really sure what that meant, but I know now.
041Um, some discretionary legislative funds, which basically means there's a little pot of money that that I can control, right? There's not many pots like that for me, but but I'm happy. So I said to her, is there a way that we can stand a contingency, a group from Shades Mountain to Washington to have a similar experience to what you would have had you been able to go normally. So Melinda says yes. Okay. So we're going to send a contingency less than 10. Don't get too excited. can't send everyone but also I reached out to you know Katie Brett Sen Senator Chuckerville we will reach out to some of my representatives also to say hey you know what can you do for us like um and I think it's just really goes to show that you
042know this is something that you guys earned and we're not going to pretend you didn't earn it. Um, you deserve every accolade that we can give you, every accolade that the state department can give you, as they will on Thursday at the state board meeting. Um, every accolade that that you can, you know, receive in Washington. Um, anything that we can do to to show you the recognition that you deserve. That's really our goal. So, I want you to know that, Mr. Irwin, you can draw straws or flip coins or do whatever you need to do uh to select the group. We'll talk more about it later, but I am excited to announce that that some of you will be traveling to represent your school to to Washington. UM, [applause] we also have our teacher
043of the year, Kate Collins, who is is in the running, the finalist for national teacher of the year. [applause] go to Washington also before before you guys were able to go. But uh anyway, I just wanted to say thank you very much. Thank you guys uh for all that you've done to make um to make today happen. Um very worthwhile. And again, I want you to to know how how special this place is. When I drove up and saw the blue shirts and I told Dina, I'm not sure what size you ordered, but I'm not sure I can get it on, [laughter] but it's on. So, I'm thankful. Um, but what a what a phenomenal way to celebrate and, uh, just wanted you guys to know that. Um, I'm going to move on to one
044other thing. Sergeant Foreman, you're in the back. We have a recognition. Sergeant Foreman, kind of work your way to the front. We're not going to make you sing or anything, but we are. >> Sure, we are. Sergeant, how long have you how long have you [clears throat] been in your current role? >> About 10 years. >> Okay. Sergeant Foreman is is one of our SRO supervisors. Uh does a phenomenal job. Loves this school district. Uh he [laughter] oh he's on the piano. Um he you know he's such a steady presence. He takes safety very very seriously. Um I just so much appreciate all the work that he does and has done to keep all of you and all of our students safe each day. and even for board meetings. You know, he's here this afternoon
045to make sure that that some of you don't get too rowdy in the meeting. Uh and we appreciate that. But this is his last official board meeting. We're going to recognize you at the next one formally, so be prepared for maybe some kind of solo. Um but I just wanted to recognize you and tell you how much we appreciate all that you've done in this school district. and um you know anytime there's anything going on anywhere of significance he's involved in it and so you never have to worry about who knows or what they know or when they know it. Um Sergeant Foreman we appreciate your service all that you've done. I know he and I have talked um last year at some point he went out and bought kind of a what would we
046call it? A a sports car, a hot ride. All right. He could probably get out of tickets where we can, but you know, we want you to enjoy your retirement, but also want you to know how much we appreciate your service to this school district and this community over a long period of time. So, thank you so much for that. [applause] that vice president. I give it back to you. >> All right. Thanks, Dr. Maddox. Next, our attendant is public comment, but no one has submitted request public comment tonight. So, we'll move on to >> We have someone who would like to give a short public comment. If you can do that quickly, that's okay with the board. Absolutely. We've changed it from 3 minutes to 30 seconds, Robin. >> I can pull that up.
047But I won't. >> Thank you very much. Uh my name is Robin Schultz. I am one of the council members and one of the things that uh my colleague Steve McClinton and I get to do on a monthly basis is we get to uh look at budgets. We get to approve resolutions. But one of the most important jobs that we have, the single most important job in my opinion is that we get to appoint members to the board of education. And next month we will open up applications for uh a the uh appointment that we will be making in the month of April. Uh and what happens here with the board it als it starts with the board but it ends up here. And what I'm seeing here in this school is just phenomenal. Your
048principal taught two of my children. Uh he was he was an administrator for for one of them. Um and uh I've started Foreman. I've known him for 20 years. The history in this school is just phenomenal. But it all starts with the board. The board appoints the the superintendent. The superintendent appoint hires the principal uh or recommends the hiring of principles. So, it's a very very important job, one that we take very seriously and uh we look forward if anyone has any interest in becoming a board member uh we look forward to your applications and thank you very much for your time. >> Hey, thank you sir. Appreciate that. Uh, typically we would do board comments, but I don't think any of this can top all the wonderful things been said about y'all. So, and
049I bet everyone distributor system long. Um, so we've come to the point in our agenda where we're consuming. The only remaining item on the agenda is an executive session where no action will be taken. I will entertain a motion to recess so we may attend a reception motioned by Shades Mountain Baptist Church honoring the teachers and staff of Shades Mountain Elementary School and then return for recess afterwards for the executive session. Do I have a motion? Is there a second? >> Any discussion? All in favor? Anyone opposed? The motion is passed. We are in recess. Please join us for the reception honoring Shay Mountain. >> [music]