Work Session - August 20, 2025

001We. Can. Be. Wrong. You. Can be. Having a hard time. Saying you. Are. One person. Way too. So I'm still working. I know it's not. Still getting. Back. Recording. Okay. Okay. Good afternoon. Let's get this work session started. It's August 22nd, 2025. Time is 4 p.m.. In attendance are six board members that are not later to come back to anchor. Senator Kerry. And we have some of the superintendent's team in attendance as well. The first item on the agenda is the board vacancy candidate interviews. I will provide some context and then, we'll go through this. We announced earlier this month the board currently has a vacancy at the, August 6th board meeting. The current through resolution invited qualified applicants to submit their application. And, Superintendent Carl is joining us, and, the board established some guidelines

002for that application process and says for qualified candidate applications were received for the board vacancy, that candidate packets for those on the community, that candidate packets along with bio. As you may, all that information is available for the public to view on the new board website that that's where the board meetings are. That it's the diligent website. Today the board will have an opportunity to spend some time with each of the four interested candidates through a public interview process. Again, as a reminder, this board directed appointment is for a short term, and the appointed board member will serve in this capacity for the next approximately four months until after the November elections, at which point in time the newly elected the newly elected board members will be sworn in for the next four years. The

003order in which the candidates will appear in front of the board this evening was picked at random. And so we have our first candidate, Miss Huber, joining us in a minute. And, before we begin, the first candidate and I'll share briefly the process to ensure consistency and fairness, each of the candidates will be asked the same set of questions. Board members. The questions are shared with you. Last week, a printed copy is in front of you. I will start with the opening comment question and then go through the board. And each one of you can, call out your name, and then you can, ask one of the subsequent questions that's there. So be ready to ask the question when I come to you. After the interview process is completed this evening, the board will receive

004an informal straw poll. Please complete that straw poll by noon tomorrow. This will show if there is a clear top choice candidate. If that is the case, the board will formally vote to approve that top choice candidate, that selection at the September 3rd board meeting. Following that approval, we will have a swearing in ceremony ceremony at the September 3rd. Board meeting for the new board member. The entire process, various steps I shared with the board on the process received approval from the district's legal counsel. Must step, make sense? And lastly, I would say, just to protect the integrity of the process, I would suggest that board members not publicly discuss their candidate choices. we will discuss this publicly at a board meeting, but not, outside of the board meeting. That's what I meant. Any questions?

005Board. At this point in time. Okay. With that, the first candidate we are inviting and who's joining us at this time is Mr. McKnight. Huber. Thank you. Welcome. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for your willingness to step in, complete the application packet and your willingness to serve in this capacity as well. You will just to set what is going to happen at this time, you will have an opportunity to introduce yourself, an opening statement and a closing pitch closing statement to the board as well. In between that opening and closing, closing, we have identified five questions to ask you. With the opening closing of the five questions, there are approximately seven components out there. Miss Olson will, as you can see, set the clock for a total of 18 minutes for the entire

006process. Roughly about two to 2.5 minutes for each question. But that's something for you to monitor if you want to take extra time answering one of the questions, that's up to you. But then you may have lesser time later on to answer another question. There will be a hard stop at 18 minutes. Okay. Any questions from you, Miss Huber? At this time? Okay. The thoughts and you can start the clock. And I will start with the first question to you, Mr. Cooper. Start by introducing yourself to the board and also the community, who you are, your background, what experiences of skill set that you bring to this process that will help your servant, this capacity highlighting specifically any relevant connections you have with district 11? I'm Amanda Huber. I know all of it's good to

007see familiar faces in here. I'm a mom of six kids, including foster kids. My kids have spanned across eight different schools. Karen D11 so I've got a lot of experiences with various communities within D11. I have previously served as the budget subcommittee chair for the district. I've been involved in PTA, SAC. Every once in a while, there's a random committee that pops up and closes down when work gets done. I've worked on a few of those, so I am here to help, and I've served as that chair where I did. I reviewed budgets, aligned resources with district priorities. I have quite a bit of experience. I think the thing that I'll be able to bring into this would be I can come in on day one, not going to need as much training. I'm very

008familiar with everyone in this room and the different committees that the district works with, and. Okay. Thank you. I come to you, Vice President, here for, question one. I, why are you. Interested in serving in the short term position on the board? What's your motivation for being part of this governance team? I would like to assist in fulfilling the vision that's already been set for the district and helping to fill those priorities. And I think that at this point in time, it's a very short appointment period. So that stability is really going to matter. It's going to be something that we need to see through the things that we've started and not start a lot more things until we completed what's already in progress. One area that is gives me inspires me. I do a

009lot with extracurricular activities throughout the district, with robotics, kids, and various different sports and activities, so that's been a fun way to stay engaged. I look forward to engaging with that community further. Assisting with partnerships and developing just trust, support and faith in the community here. And do you like thank. Jason, I'll come to you, doctor, to discuss question. Next question is what's your understanding of the role of a or school board director. So the school board director's position is very different from the superintendent, so that you will be responsible for the vision, the some of these priorities. You're going to set the policies. And then even though he's a very visionary leader, he is going to set the operations. So the school board directors is not supposed to be involved in operations, and they're

010supposed to oversee the what. And while the superintendent and his team, because of how. To track. Christian three, in your opinion, what is the primary challenge facing district 11 and how would you address them? At that time? So I'm going to pause on that one. I think the biggest challenge right now would be has to do with academic achievement or test scores for 30% math, 40, 45% of proficient in English. Those numbers are not acceptable. And I think the district has put a lot of investment into improving that, and they are going to continue to improve those numbers that in order to be able to improve that, you're going to have to invest in even more in high quality instruction. And I think that that will be the biggest challenge facing the district and how

011they're going to strategize, whether it is, staff training, the kind of resources that they're bringing the schools, the kind of interventions that they're doing with the kids, I think they've got to be really methodical in that process for how they are going to move from this space into the goal that's set, which obviously the goal would be for every student to leave high school reading, writing and doing math for. Thomas, when making decisions for the district, what. Principles and priorities would guide your thinking? I think you've got to keep in mind that you're here for the students. So I think a student centric mindset is imperative. Whatever else is going on in the world. But we need to keep our eyes on what is happening right here with the students that are right here. I

012think that we also need to be data driven and focus on that and really to pull in to what's working and what isn't working and be responsive to those changes that need to be had. I also think listening, families, teachers, staff, they have provided valuable input. The reason that I'm here today is because I saw that this board was valuing parent input, and the more you offer it, the more receptive you all are, because the very receptive board to parent voice and family input. I think listening to that community while also being able to filter through what common themes are we hearing and what are we? Are we staying true to our mission consistently over? Tell us about a time you worked with people who had different priorities or perspectives than your own, and how

013you handle the situation. So I was the chair of the budget subcommittee previously. It's a room full of people, and there's a lot of times very different opinions on things. I think what we do well is when we collaborate and work together, and you can kind of hear shared themes throughout different times in your slides. This is a part of the agenda. Are we going to be focused on is a sticking to the agenda? Is this what we put on our charges? If not, we move a. Lot, you know. Find some common ground and we come back together. And we do try to always have a united message when we bring things forward to the community and to the board. Does that answer that question? I guess. Is there anything else you want to add

014that would be good. But the question I think that's okay. So we are at the end of the interview, pretty much. So I'm going to ask you to make a closing statement at this point in time. It's kind of an elevator speech. If you were asking the community to vote for you, what would you say to the community to convince them to choose you? And in closing, is there anything else the board should consider while making this decision? So you've got 11 minutes, or if you want to take the 11 minutes, I don't know. I'm glad I'm on the arm wrestling match downstairs. Oh, I think, I bring stability student first mindset. I'm always there to help. I've tried to do that consistently throughout the district. I've worked with budgeting and planning some community processes.

015I try to do as much outreach as I can possibly do on our community. I don't think that there's probably a school and 11 that I haven't been in before. I've if this were an election, I'd ask for the community's trust because I've shown that through years of service. But it's not. So I'm committed to working hard, listening carefully, and continuing the board's work. Okay. And they're going to be all right. I should take it a little bit longer, you know, and if it turns on jokes, if you'd like. But you got here. You got some great kids. I'm always happy to take back time. If I need to fill the air for ten minutes as well. And I think that that's another thing too, that I would bring to the board. It's like. Oh,

016you're telling jokes. It's okay, let's do it. But thank you for your time. And I'm sure you got some excellent applicants down there. So I look forward to working with you all in the future, however this goes. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. And you can stay in the room if you choose to. You don't have to go back. Yes. There's a. Couple. Back to school nights tonight. Okay, great. Yeah. You've got other priorities. Please do. The next one is Nicole Lynch. Again. Check this. Next check. Okay. Check. Forest X is the next candidate. Excuse. I have that one, right? Yes. Okay. Yeah. I see you. Just making sure that. She grows up. Reflect on why that is correct. Yes, yes. I. Welcome. Good afternoon. Yeah. And I see I'm. Oh, no, I

017not first. I was going to do that and I thought, no, it's probably not a good idea. You're reviewing with them. Not with me. I think that's the right address. That's exactly why I didn't do that. Thank you, Mr. X. Thank you for, your willingness to step into this, a vacancy role. Complete the application and serve in this capacity of selected, quickly going through the process for this evening, you will have an opportunity to introduce yourself, make an opening statement, and then also a closing statement to the board. In between the opening and the closing, the board has identified five questions which will go around the room asking you, so between the opening statements, closing statements and the five questions, there are seven components. You have a total of 18 minutes. You can use the

01818 minutes however you choose to. You can take, longer time answering one question, and you'll have a shorter time answering the, rest of the questions at the end. There will be a hard stop at 18 minutes. Any questions from you at this time? No. Okay, great. So, missiles. You can start the clock, and I'll start with the first question. Introduce yourself to the board and the community, who you are, your background, what experience, and skillset that you bring to this process, and to serve in that capacity so that the board member capacity highlighting specifically any relevant connections to district 11. Thank you. All right. Well, let me start by saying I am seeking this position on the Board of Education because I believe I can meaningfully contribute to the board's work. My résumé outlines my

019background experience in district 11, as well as my community service to outside organizations here in Colorado and Colorado Springs. I've watched several different boards, worked tirelessly to make district a little and all that. It could be. My observation, with few exceptions, led me to believe that the solutions were basically the same old approach with different. Names. With hope that the results would be different with few exceptions. Maybe they were not. When this proposal might have observed a very different approach in your governing philosophy in the past, I this board policy was at times very operational in nature, not allowing for much innovation or room for change. Now, district policy is broad, broad enough to allow for change within the district led by the superintendents. Implementation of the policy. It has always been my belief and

020experience that this form of governance governing from the 30,000ft level. As Doctor Magnuson said, leads to the best results. The result for district 11 shows for very innovative investments in the staff and students. Perhaps the most important change that I have seen in this board is the return to parents rights. In the past, it seemed to me that the district turned away from parents rights and replaced them with the policies that gave the administration the authority to override or ignore parents. I am so grateful that common sense has returned, and parents are once again responsible for their students and have an important role to play in the education of their students. In my opinion, this is a giant, positive step forward towards engaging community and families in public education. I've been around the district long

021enough and believe me, it's been a long time to see the inclusion and exclusion now. Inclusion of academic choice for the district local community. I'm a firm believer in offering as many educational pathways as possible. The choice of programs now offer a considered and district government far exceed anything that I was ever aware of in the past. I believe the choice at that choice is an opportunity to succeed, not a hindrance to educational success. For these reasons, as well as many others, I would consider it the highest honor to be a director on this Board of education, even though it is only for a short period of time. I believe we can continue to move forward in a new development environment. That's a long way. Saying goes keep leaning forward in the foxhole and never

022swinging back. I'll go to the sparrow this time around. Thank the members for the first group. Kind of address this, but, let me ask it again. Why are you interested in serving this short term position on the board and your motivation for being part of this governance? I think that, this board is a revolutionary school board. I think you, whether you realize it or not, you know, Colorado and many different things that you've already done that now is becoming the thing to do. And and I think that my experience both as, within the district, as a faculty member at the University of Phoenix, as a classroom, with classroom experience and, substitute teaching, the math tutor at Dougherty for a couple of years gives me a really a real depth of, experience that I think can

023help even in a short period of time, move us forward, which is what I want to see. I always have for 20 some years. Right. Okay. What is your understanding of the role. Of the board. Director? Well, I, I believe that the, the role of the board director is to hire a superintendent. That's a, that's one of the roles that they have to do. But more importantly is to establish the policy with direction so that the superintendent or whoever has the guidance that they need in order to run the district in accordance with the policies that the school board creates. I draw, In your opinion, what is the primary challenge facing district 11 and how would you address it? I think the communication within district 11 to the parents and everything is spot on. And

024I think you spend a lot of time doing that. But I think the real problem is how are how is the district communicating with the rest of us, the taxpayers, the grandparents that don't have kids in school? How are you communicating the fact that district 11 is not a major role change that's happening within Colorado Springs? That, to me is probably one of the biggest problems because older folks like myself that are involved, I'm involved in the district, so I'm not a great example, but older folks are because I am one. They know they are paying attention. They don't watch Wednesday night TV and stuff like that. So I think part of what has to happen next is we have to figure out a way to change the culture in the district, because that's changing.

025But outside the district, the people that want to buy a house in district 11, not in district 20 or 49 or somewhere else. Like the children's. It for? Yep. When making decisions for the district, what principles and priorities will guide your thinking? As you know, you've heard my resume, and I was the governor of the Rotary District, Karen and Southern Colorado. And rotary has four things that we guide that guides our decision making. First of all, and this is my isn't the truth. So if someone says they're being bilingual, is that really true or not? Right. So or. Is it fair to all concerned. Well that has to be a discussion piece. But is it fair to all concerned. Well it build goodwill and better friendships. And that's what we're in the business for, to

026try to do that so that our kids end up in excellent schools with excellent teachers doing very well as future leaders of our community and country. And then finally is Will it will be benefit that I said that will be beneficial to all that again? That that that means that when we make decisions as a school board, I see that as we're trying to make it as beneficial to all as a, as a reason, as a way to, Get together and form a unified position. Those are the four things that will help my guide, my thinking. Back. Hopefully just, I had. Could you tell us about a time you worked with people who had different priorities or perspectives than your own, and how you handled that situation? most of my life is spent, after retiring

027from the military, which, as many of you may know, we don't always agree, but we should, you know, keep moving forward after 250 years. So, but I would say that my experience as both the president of the Cushing Campbell Settlement Club, as well as, the Pikes Peak chapter of the American Society for Training and Development and all of these leadership positions outside of district 11 have taught me very much. And coming out there taught me a lot about how we negotiate leadership to arrive at a decision and a consensus. Not not that long. Working with Lyman Keizer. I was also on. Okay, we are pretty much at the end of our interview process. So this is a time for you to make a closing statement. So it's the elevator speech. If you were asking the

028community to vote for you, what would you say to the community to convince them to choose you? And as you go through this closing statement, is there anything else that you have not shared with the board that you would like the board to consider while making its decision? I think, well, at. I have run from the school board and school district 11. I did way back in the 80s. I didn't get very far. It was a different environment, a different community. And then again, right around 2000 and unfortunately, when, by 2001, when 911 hit, I lost, a good friend of mine that was a three star general and another young, department in the Army, civilian. And from those experiences, I would say to them that what you see is what you get. And I think

029that by framing any kind of a speech that I might have around those four principles, I talked about truthfulness and so on, I think that's what I would use if I were ever to run for the school board again. And that would mean I'd still have to be vertical. And I, I, I just think that this is one of the most important jobs. I have always thought that that, a volunteer can actually take on. I mean, this is this is really tough work. And, I commend you all for getting to where we are today and, and director OD for helping us with the military stuff. Director forward, director Nelson. I'm I'm here for just like I said, what you see is what you get. And I hope that, And I believe that I can keep

030this district along with the school. Board. Moving forward. And you go back and repeat that for. Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Yeah. Well, build goodwill and better friendships. Okay. I missed that one. Yeah. Thank you. And then will it be beneficial to all? Okay. Thank you, Mr. X, again. Appreciate your time. And you're more than welcome to sit in the audience if you choose to or you can. The last time I did that I got in real trouble when I got home. But I'm getting. So I don't think I will. But thank you. And we don't. Want you to get into trouble because. You don't really. Let's matter next. School is right there. For you. Yeah. Okay. Warren. I. Okay. Hi. Welcome back. Thank you for completing the application. Your

031willingness to step in, and, serve in this capacity if appointed to this position. Just going through, some basics as to how this is going to run today. You will have an opportunity to introduce yourself at the very beginning and also, have a closing statement at the very end. In between the opening statement and closing statement, the board certified five questions that they're going to ask you. And as you can see on the monitor, you have a total of 18 minutes for those, seven, questions. The opening statement, closing statements, and the five questions you can monitor the clerk, figure out how you want to allocate that 18 minutes to answer those questions. If you take a longer time to answer one questions, you will have a shorter time at the end. There will be a hot

032stop at 18 minutes. Are there any questions for me at this time? Okay. That's also and we can start the process on the clock. I'll start with the question first question, please introduce yourself to the board and also to the community who you are, what your background is, what experience and skill set that you possess that you bring to this, process and to serve as a board member highlighting specifically any relevant connections you have at the state level. Well, my name is Boring Madden, and I am currently a rural carrier with the U.S. Postal Service. I've been there for 13 years. I've lived in Colorado Springs for 16 years, and over half of that has been in the D11 district. So I have, come to know several people that actually do work with the district.

033I volunteered several times for the district, and I, actually worked up part time with some of the schools. Where I'm at. Okay. Hit me with the first question. Hi. Why are you interested in serving in the short term position on the board? And what's your motivation for being part of this governance team? Well, I see it as a great opportunity to contribute to the D11 community, to come alongside the board members to continue improving and enhancing, the educational needs for the students. At the Children's. I carry the best. And what is standing up for the role as a board director? My understanding of the role is to come alongside with the other board members, setting school policies. Going over school budgets, working with the superintendent. Also, working with teachers, parents and the community to make

034sure that they know that the school district is doing the best to enhance their students educational needs. Background. In your opinion, what is the primary challenge facing district 11 and how would you address it? You I think the primary challenge actually is for all schools. I think students are leaving schools unable to read, write or do math at their grade levels. So I think that's, it's unfortunate for the students that walk out of the classrooms, but it's also to me, it's a bad rep of the school districts because they are letting these students walk out. If I had a say in that, I would my option would to probably start an early intervention program. In the schools. So that we see the need early on instead of later as they're walking out the door. Thank

035you. Patrick. When making decisions for the district. What. Principles and priorities would God. Most definitely the students, their well-being, their needs, to make sure that the policies that are in place are there to enhance their educational needs, not to just be there. Also, that the finances are there to enhance their needs and the educational process. Of like the schools and. Tell us about a time you worked with people who had different priorities or perspectives than your own, and how you handled that situation. That's in almost every workplace, any place I've ever worked. Honestly, I. Think that would probably. Work. I guess when it comes to me is, I worked with, a nonprofit, and my job was to make sure that all our clients were receiving equally, the benefits that we provided to them. I did

036work with several people who wanted to, offer more to other clients than certain clients, and I felt the need that we can't do, that we can't offer one need to one person and not bring it to everybody. So, there were several times that we had knock out, drag out discussions, but we came to a mutual agreement. Thank you. So we are pretty much at the end of our interview process. So this is your opportunity to make a closing statement. What sometimes we call an elevator speech. If you were asking the community to work for you, what would you say to the community to convince them to choose you? And as you go through this closing statement, is there anything else that you would like to share with the board that you haven't shared yet? So

037the board can consider that while making its decision? Well, I. I would consider. Voting for me because I'm willing to come along alongside the board to help contribute and move forward on the positive process that's been going on. I'm not a politician. I'm not here to make waves, to make myself, you know, put up a flag for myself. I'm here as a community member to reach out to help in the district that I live in, to do positive things for the schools in this area. I am very, very strongly committed to listening to people so that they are that they know that their their voice being heard. So listening to employees, listening to community members, it's, something that I do just that helps them to ensure them that they know their voice is being heard.

038When we go into our meetings or, or a board meeting on decision making. Okay. Thank you. That's better. Again, appreciate you, putting yourself out there, willing to serve in this capacity. We are at the end of the process. You are welcome to sit in the audience if you want to, whatever. Your choice. Okay. Thank you. And we will let you know at a later point in time. For the fourth candidate we have, it is Lisa. So. So much. Yeah. I want to make sure I pronounce her last name right. It's Salako. So. Yeah. And spelling. Great. You. Oh, we may be done with that lot sooner than react expected. I. But we're aware, you know, we may be doing the interview process till 530. He may be done by 445. The way it looks like

039it's 445. And I. It's interesting. And nobody wants to sit and listen to anybody else. Like that with you. Like in every setting. I definitely wouldn't want to just leave. Hey, I followed the article. Welcome. Thank you very much. You take all you some of my time. Thank you so very much. Thank you guys. Hello. I thank you for this music. Thank you, thank you. So thank you. I. Thank you very much. Okay. Thank you again. Thank you for your willingness to complete the application and go through this process and serve in this capacity. You have appointed to this position. So going through the process for this evening, you will have an opportunity to make an opening statement, introduce yourself, and at the end, let make a closing statement as well. In between that opening

040statement and closing statement, the board has identified five questions to ask you. And as you can see on the monitor, you have a total of 18 minutes of this interview process, so it's up to you to monitor it yourself. If you take a little bit longer. Time to answer one question at the beginning. You may have a little lesser time at the end. Okay? Okay, so there will be a hard stop when we reach 18 minutes. Okay? Okay. Any questions for me at the center okay. Thank you. Okay. Start the process. And the clerk meselson. I'll start with the first question. As a as I said, it's opening statement. Introduce yourself to the board and the community, who you are, your background, and what experience or skill set that you bring to the table that

041will help you serve as a board member, highlighting specifically any relevant experience you have in district 11. Okay, so, good afternoon. My name is Lisa Salako and I have almost 15 years of connection with district 11, first in 2011 as an elected council member, that represented downtown, which is the heart of the city, and Palmer High School is part of that, as well as additional D11 schools. Then in 2018, I worked with district 11 procurement Services. I was sought out for my professionalism as a land broker, and district 11 was considering on selling some of their vacant ground. So I had brought forward a contract and I worked with, Miss Odom, I believe was her name, Christine at the time. And then in, 2019, I became a homeowner here in district 11. And I have

042also been a substitute teacher, and I have a professional license in school counseling. So that's my connection with district 11. And then my background is I have a master's of school counseling, master's of science in school counseling. My bachelor's was in clinical counseling psychology, and I was halfway through an MBA when I was elected to city council. I have a long standing, probably almost 25 years of, service related, experience. I've been a known, member in the community of being an advocate, especially for families and particularly women and children. And, I have a definite interest as a homeowner and a single parent, in having a strong school district in our community, I think it makes a great community. Personally, I'm a single mother to four daughters, three of them that are in the Colorado school systems

043and I, I know the school district. And so one of the reasons that I wanted to run is because I believe that this board and Superintendent Goll has made great momentum in improving the excellence, if that's the desire for the school district. And I know that as a parent and a homeowner that that's what we're looking for. And so from observing what this board has done, I believe that even though it's a four month vacancy, you need somebody to come in here and support the initiatives that you've made. You need somebody to come in here. And my background, I've dealt with stakeholders. I've dealt with the press. I've dealt with tons of community members. I'm comfortable. I'm known for my professionalism. I'm known for being prepared. And so I think it would be a great,

044opportunity for me to come in and support the continuity that the board and superintendent call has going right now. Thank you. You I come back because. You kind of address this. Let me ask it again. Why are you interested in serving in this short term position on the board and your motivation for being part of this governance team? Well, again, I'll just reiterate that I think when you this board has set goals and have been able to accomplish that, one was a hiring of the current superintendent and sitting here and saying, we're going to mix things up. We are going to focus on student learning. We're going to support our staff. We're going to be looking at different policies that we believe will improve the, school districts. And so that is something that I think

045to not be taken lightly. Again, you know, a lot of people may sit here and think that it's only four months, but you don't want to lose that cohesiveness that you this group has developed in that amount of time. And I personally, I have no other motivating. I'm not running for anything. I, one of the things that I think is actually really important is, I've heard several of you talk about in past meetings that nobody really understands the role of a senior governance board. I definitely do, and I don't think people really get the time commitment. So you need somebody that, I myself am a retired, I only serve on one other board in the community, which is a social board. I have three children that are way now. And so I have the time

046and commitment. And again, I'm known for my preparedness. So I think that, I think that it would be a perfect timing to have somebody that could come in here. And again, you don't have to worry about, having them catch up to speed because again, is, you know, you expect preparedness, which I'm always, prepared. And then you have somebody again to that can go along with the initiatives at the board. Has, has been, setting its goals for being a substitute school teacher. I, I've been in the schools. In fact, I just did at Bristol yesterday. Elementary. It's it's a hard time. It's a hard time for students. It's a hard time for parents. It's a hard time for educators. And district 11 is on that right. Strong path for excellence. And I would like to be

047part of that. Thank you. Practical. What is your understanding of the role of Port Director? Well, the governing board has just said it. It establishes the policies and is in charge of all the different schools within the district. So, again, is when my previous experience on city council, I've done large, budgets from, you know, I've done on several boards $1 million budget, up to a $3 billion budget with the utility boards. I understand that you look at different policies, within within the school district, and then now you're setting different, objectives. You're dealing with, structural issues and things like that. So I have a pretty good understanding of what the board expectations are. Back on. In your opinion, what is the primary challenge facing district 11 and how would you. Well, I would say address. Okay.

048Well, I would say the beginning is, of probably taking, you know, when you have new people come in and new attitudes and new expectations, and you're dealing with one of the largest districts within the city and the expectations that people have had. I mean, there's been a whole philosophy change. And 11 we're going from having 18 schools that were almost considered subpar to three. I mean, you have measurable improvements over the last several years. And so I would assume that one of reputation. So to go from, of knowing that, the reputation of a district that maybe had some challenges, maybe didn't appreciate their staff as before, to all of a sudden taking a new role of saying, oh, no, we're taking our students first, then we're taking our our educator second, we're going to make

049sure that they're prepared. We're going to make sure that they know that we're all and then hiring the right type of staff to have that same type of vision and going forward and saying, okay, this is what we have, set up as a goal, and we're only going to hire and bring in people that can help us need that. And that includes teachers now. So I've been following along about what the expectations, hiring, how the school, individual schools are going, things like that. Thank you. Thank Richardson. Yeah, we're making decisions for the district. What principles and priorities would guide you thinking. Why is it students first again, is, making sure that education you know, as a parent, one of the things that I was, always concerned about is, was my child getting the best education.

050Did they have the best educators? You know, I know that we've had a real big problem in all of the school districts about children being below, grade level. And if I had the opportunity, one of the reasons why I started substituting again is. And superintendent, go, you might appreciate this. I went to, Citadel Mall and made a purchase of a purse, and the young lady was about 18, and she did not apply for 35% off. And so I brought it to her attention, and she started becoming flustered. And she could not figure out what, 35% off of $300. And so I had to go through the steps. And so when we look at numbers of like students being like 30% of reading level or math level and things like that, that made me want to

051get back into the schools since I have the skills. And, and again, two is watching this board with some of the policies that you've brought forward in the last two years. Those are policies that I would have voted for myself. Their policies I've discussed, in the community. And, and so I'm excited to see that, progression. And I'm excited to see staff, committed to saying, hey, we are changing things up and we're going forward. We can either come with us or we're going to leave you behind. Thank you. Eric, they really I think. If you could tell us about a time you worked with people who had different priorities, your perspectives, than your own, and then how you handled that situation. Right? Oh, trying to think of specifically because I worked with so many neighbor neighborhood

052groups. So my background came as being a neighborhood advocate and so, You know, one of one of the oh, you know, what I'll talk about, too. So I was a previous Castle gal. The board's familiar with what that role is. And again, to it was then taking that role and dealing with the judicial system and advocating for the child and having to talk to them about what their expectations were and what my role as their Casa gal and as a parent. So it was a little bit different of having to follow kind of, a subset of what their expectations were. And then me as that mother and, role to kind of interject some, some differences, but I've had several, several positions where I've found myself having to explain and justify. But I'm a non facilitator,

053so I, I've always, I've always wanted to go room deal with that. My, my wife had a concern going through her adoption process. Maybe just briefly explain what that is for everybody. Yeah. So it's a court appointed special advocate and a guardian ad litem. And I first was one in, Illinois, and I actually had one of the most difficult child abuse cases that was in the state. And so, what we do is we advocate for the children within the judicial system, depending where, if they're in a family, domestic case or abuse case, and our application is for the child. So basically, what you guys are doing for your students. Is outside school for them. Thank you. So this is your time to make a closing statement. So what we call as an elevator speech, if

054you were asking the community to vote for you, what would you say to convince them, to choose you? Okay. And is there anything else that you would like the board to consider in, when making this decision? Well, again, respectfully, I would just ask that when you're looking at, all of the candidates to, to understand, what the motivation is for wanting to join the board and if they share the, boards, initiatives and will continue on the policy that, the D11 board has, set in motion. I also would sit here and say that, I think I am in an advantage of not only being a current, substitute teacher within district 11 and also another district. So I understand the difference of, Bloom's Taxonomy and Maslow's hierarchy, which a lot of people don't. And so, again, is it's

055a really important role. This is a very important governing role. And again, to is my only, reason for stepping forward would be, is to I want to keep that excellence with being a homeowner here. I want a strong I want the best school district, in the, in the city. I want people to be aware of that. You know, we're offering pre-K when no other districts are that we're looking at, our, different buildings are different schools that we have improved hiring and expectations in those departments. So again, too, is, I would just like to offer that it would, you know, hopefully offer some confidence that you would have someone coming in. That one is educated, one has a true passion and long standing history for almost 30 years of advocating for children and families and that,

056my only role is to collaborate and keep on the continuity so that we can keep that excellence going. Okay. Thank you. I appreciate your time. Thank you so very much. Like, yes. I pass on that person's part of me to say that I on I know. I was a different one. So. Thank you so. Much. Thank you. So that completes the interview process. So the board will have an opportunity to listen to all four candidates. We know the process at this time. So you will pretty soon get like a formal travel survey if you want to think about this overnight practice, complete that, great survey by tomorrow. And then I will keep you informed as to what the next steps on the process on. Okay. So I'd like to acknowledge Miss Olson and, Chief Hopper

057as well as the board members. This is a nice process, you guys. I think we're nice and tight. I think this is fair and equitable, but I just appreciate the work that's happened behind the scene. Miss Olson briefed executive cabinet today on this process, because obviously we are all employees of the board. And understanding what is happening here is important not just for the dynamic of the board, but for those who carry the work for it every day. And so just a chance to say thank you to all those that had a part in this process. As you all know, that vacancy opportunity. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate that. Appreciate all the people that help us put this process together. Come up with the questions. And also legal counsel who helped me through this process, developing

058this process. So, with that, we will take probably a five minute break and then, start again with the rest of the work session. We have two agenda items, and, we'll start at 5:00. I want to get some. I just I'm looking for some. New. Things. Be. Be. Be. You. And. The board, a couple weeks back. Requested discipline data, and, probably an update on the behavior policy and the cellphone policy. With that, I'm going to hand it over to superintendent call to set up this conversation. Good evening. Good afternoon. Board. I guess 5:00 is almost in the evening now. Right. So good evening. Thanks for the opportunity. I have at the table with me our chief of strategy, Nicole Armor. I also have, Carol fry standing in for Deirdre. I. Deirdre is normally the person who

059leads this work, of which, doctor Schultz is going to help share with you the data and the plans that we have going forward. But two years out delivering an adult child to college. And so I appreciate Doctor Fry, standing in, in that space as well. Let me start. First and foremost, thank you to the board for being very clear on the ABCs. Last year, last year, we made a great swing. I heard some of the candidates talk about. We set a standard that said we have a higher expectation for our learning environment, for children, first and foremost, with cell phones. That has now and being debated as a statewide standard. I get, if you watch social media, there's a gentleman. Actually, I believe in Alabama, an educator that actually is, going viral right now. That

060said, it was as simple as taking away the cell phones. Children are now in trouble for talking during class or sharing a, sharing a note during class. But his comment really was in just a short order of time. Everybody is actively taking notes in class again, which is our goal is that as we put our professional educators in this space to share the learning opportunity that students are equally, engaged in that space, of the work that we have to share with you today, I will say that the win has been cell phones is sticking. You'll see that in the numbers. We have lots of cell phone incidents. That's good, because we're reporting that. But what we no longer have is, a retreat from this idea that we cannot tell children that electronic devices are not

061appropriate in the learning environments. Yes, we are tracking that. You will see that data on there. Well, I will add caution and I will, you know, task myself and my team because we're working very hard on it is there is still great inconsistency even in the small size of this school district. Late last year, I walked through a unnamed high school, and there was a sign that said, you know, basically you earned, the right for your cell phones for today. And I had to tear that down, and I had to take that into an administrator's office that said, I don't think you understand. This is not, a policy that we are wavering on, and it's not something that you're bargaining with students. There are thousands of other ways to talk, and convince and control students

062and to thank you for the work that you bring. But access to your cell phone is not one of them. We have extended resources towards this. The, yonder pouches, our processes have gotten tighter this year. We started smoother this year than we did last year on that piece. But when you see the behavior data here, we really had to call our data, because the original, as it is actually taken, says in some schools, of which none of the student population has changed, there is a 300% increase in incidences of which it is not a 300% increase in incidences. We are just now actually tracking incidences where some of the anecdotal fears of, doctor Bank is get sent to the office and come back to it with a lollipop. Those are things that we heard that's

063now tracked at that school. So but the behavior wasn't 300 times worse at that school than it was before. So the data you were going to see right here is kind of redacted to be representative of the schools that we believe didn't have major shifts in administration, that now say this belongs in that column instead of that column. And yet you'll see in between cell phone and then all these other trackable items is the ubiquitous other. We can't report others. We have to now start getting to the place where if the largest category is other, that's not giving you a feel good that we're actually doing the things you've asked us to do. And it's not giving us actionable data because David's other in one school might be different than Nicole's other and in other,

064it's a lot of others that's like a triple negative or a triple other. So to that, I will kick over to the team. I want to hold the questions for the end, let us get through this. And then, let's, see where we are meeting the board's desire as we continue, to drive for more consistency, more clarity and more transparency in what is or what isn't happening. And then I'll say my final comment for the end of my promise to the board. Doctor Ciotti. Well, first of all, I would just like to say good evening. It's nice to see all of you. I saw some of you at the back to school events already. I haven't met you formally yet, but it's nice to be here with you this evening. And also just wonderful to be

065able to share this information. With you tonight. So thank you for having me here tonight. So, you can see on this slide it outlines our accountability structure. So beginning last year, the district took a more focused approach on the ABCs or attendance behavior and cell phone policy. And within our behavior reporting, we focused on a clear accountability structure that held all students accountable for their actions and ensure the safety of staff and students. That a learning environment, because I want you to hear loud and clear that safety is the utmost importance for all of our schools. And so you'll see here, and I don't know if you've seen this before, but these are behavior expectations. Because again, like I said, we want to clearly outline what the expectations are. And so again, in 20 2425

066we trained all principals in the requirement to document every incident that is state reportable through Powerschool. This replaced inconsistent reporting systems across our district. And this training also emphasized parent communication regarding discipline, because we firmly believe that having that family school partnership and all of us working together, we will see a difference in these data moving forward. And so these are just specific areas that we are mandatory. We make referrals from mandatory law enforcement. So we include law enforcement for each of these areas. They're automatically referred to law enforcement. After college L to this over to you. I'll speak to a couple slides quickly here. It really goes back to what superintendent all this was speaking about. And we have had a noisy system for, for several years, several years before this point and inconsistent

067reporting, incomplete reporting or reporting happening in a very localized fashion, meaning literally there's a spreadsheet or a piece of paper on a principal's desk. And that's the kind of keeping some tally marks. Obviously, those are not actionable. It's an actionable approach, and it's not a systemic approach to get to where you want us to be. So we have really dialed in and with the work of Doctor Schultz, his team, and, chief here, we're in a really good place to tighten up that reporting. Start to condense some of them, many, many categories. So to the, there's way too many others in the data set really categorizing better. And then all incidents re, reaching the principal are now being consistently documented ensuring this complete review. Just out speaking with several principals, we are still working towards that

068consistent part. there is still some inconsistency in the amount of reporting, but the expectation is clear expectations. Now we systematize that expectation. So what you'll see then is by better reporting, by by tighter categorization, better business rules, we see these high. So this is a very high variability year. So hence the 300 300% at some sites and then down 2% at other sites. And these are not reflections of reality necessarily, but a high variability due to, new reporting and new business rules. What you can expect to see is that as we move into this year or level setting, and we would expect that variation to become more moderate, or we're still having some isolated cases where a principal might be hesitant to report a conversation they have with it, with a student that will be

069tightened up, so we'll have fewer missed incidents. Variability shrinks and then increased confidence as we grow into the third year where we sustain our practice and that becomes slow variability. So these are the metrics that my office will be using to measure the systemic approach that we're taking and the effectiveness of that approach, where if we're still seeing high variability into this year, we have business, business rules to attend to and reporting factors to account. So this is kind of what you would expect to see over three years of normalizing our data into a consistent approach that is actionable, that then we will layer on top of other other outcomes. Five would be a great a great spot to start on top of any academic outcome and top on top of any data set that's

070indicative of behavior. So, it's exciting to have be in this space, but it comes with this high variability factor. This. So now I'd like to go over the total behavior incidents. And then I will also break it down by other I'll do elementary first and middle then high school. So you can see on this graph the total incidence compared from 2324 to 2425. There has been a report or a rise in reported behavior. So overall our increase in incidence is due to a significant rise in violations coded as other. And the next slide we'll break that down. So you can see at the elementary level the two primary areas within the other category are unsafe behavior and other violations. And so. What other would not. Say again. Other within other other. Within other. Right. And

071so we're really wanting to work with our school staff this year and say, how can we move all of those incidents from the other other into a more succinct area that will help us to take further action? We just need more specificity in our data. And the good news is, cell phones are not an issue at the elementary school. Exactly. Luckily. And now I'm moving into middle school. So you can see an increase in behavior incidents at this level as well. With almost doubling in size. So this was our first year, as you all know, enforcing the cell phone policy. And I would like to apply to all of you for implementing that policy, because I think moving forward, we are going to see more and more improvement, more engagement, students more engaged not only

072with peers, but with us as the adults as well. So here's for middle school, other. And you can see the cell phones. That was the highest level in the other category. I'm sorry I didn't interrupt you. Can we just define, incidence? Is that a but not necessarily referral where you to get somebody a referral for the entirety of middle school. But they are logging these things, these incidents in our school. Exactly. That's just like hey David was happening again today. Our target again today. And again it's on here in Pakistan. Okay. Yes. And so total high school behavior insurance. Again, another two things. And primarily due to cell phones as you can see here. And again that is the highest level in the other category. Yes. Can I ask a data classification cell phone. So

073is this even a category in 2324 it was not. And it should be noted too, that majority of those violations happened early on and over the course of the year. Within the school year, you saw a decrease level incidents. But as that policy came into effect, it took longer to make sure that we were having that happen without, pushback. So can I just make a very quick data point here? Can you go back one side? So from 22 different sides. Correct. So from 23 to 24. Right. If you take a look at the actual. Delta between those two. And then you look. At the cell phone category, the cell phone category actually explains even more of the gap between those two, which implies that other incidents. Must have decreased. Right? Yes. I could grab a

074calculator and, you know, we could work out the numbers real quick, but I just would like to make that point that if cell phones were not being tracked in 2324, and why would they be? There was no policy then. This gap is entirely if and more so. Explained by cell. Phone incidents. If you go forward, is that it still doesn't excuse the fact that, particularly as we advance our relationships on connected intelligence with power School, the fact that other outside of cell phones is still either the highest or the second highest category in each of the different school type levels, we least need to be scanning and searching for key words into what was typed into that incident. So if I were just to make a difference between my hair and PA's hair, you would

075be able to find in that incident the word hair twice. So we would be able to, at least at this macro level, say there's a hair issue at table number nine, where table number nine, there's a way where to get that joke. Table number nine, wedding singer. Sorry, we have a number that stinks. That's right. But that's that's an area that we have to train ourselves and our business rules to be better at because we can't have. It would be fine if the other category was the one or the two, because, yes, every data point is important, but what you see here is there are still trends you've seen that classroom tardiness is still an issue that we as it is connected. The fact that the A's for attendance and the C's for cell phone

076are both showing up in the reporting says we're still not there yet. Now, how many data points are in the possible number of parties at high school, when maybe 550 is actually statistically insignificant? But I can promise you that that is not quite standardized across either building, and certainly not classroom. Some teacher has said not taking it, that Jurgensen is late anymore, and Jurgensen gets sent down because they're outside of that window and it's disruptive to the classroom environment. So there is still much consistency and sterilization to happen. But I appreciate the call out on the cell phones. There's more slides. I will show you the isolated nature of some of these. And I'll. Go back. And so this is just explaining the overall increase in this gives you just in another visual representation. And

077again showing that cell phones are the primary concern for the increase in incidence. And Director Jorgensen, to your point, you can also see that classroom tardiness is also a concern, As well as. Other violation, which we need to tease that. Apart. And then I'm saying to behavior as well. Can anyone comment before we go on, just on how those categories are kind of driven by state reporting, you know, so we don't look like we just refuse to make new categories, like, what's the genesis of why these are categories? The other category know. Just any of the categories that we report. So they're all state reportable. And so we work directly with staff to clearly define what we think should go into this system so that we are accurately these ones, like it's happening in our

078schools. Like May, and we have gone overboard with the number of categories and, on the fly categories that we've been using. So beyond state report. So these would be an example of state reportable. And then we've created additional categories to capture different situations. So we are working. Actually work. We are almost done with that work to have a system that prevents that in the future. So we meet the state reportable category. We we retain the flexibility to have other. But we're. Not going. To have hundreds of possible categories being. Sky one. So all of the ones that are listed here are state reportable. Is that correct? That's correct. I don't think we need to belabor the point about cell phones too much more, but I will just name, as Doctor Schulte said that ABC focus

079kicked off principal training in the 2425 school year, and it did again this year in the 2526 school year to refine, inform, the processes continue to standardize what is happening in schools related to those three pieces, specifically the distribution of yonder pouches. Back to school. We know we had incoming sixth graders that had to get used to under pouches and incoming ninth graders, too, in their new environment. Those were distributed at those sites, most of them before the first day of school when students came to check out their laptops. We had honed those procedures. Here's your pouch. Here's the tag to it so that you know it's yours. And how to use those at schools like Palmer, we had to reset where some of the unlocking devices were given the changes to the campus. So

080we set up all of those kind of procedures with principals on August 1st, before students were back in building to make sure that we're getting consistent implementation of that moving forward. We know in 2012, in our system, they use yonder pouches and in the elementary schools the devices are away in backpacks. You also are aware that in Colorado House Bill 25 1135, it's called communication devices in schools packs in the legislature this past session. It goes into effect July 1st, 2026, with guidance coming out from the Colorado Department of Education to districts in December. We're well ahead of that because we've already instituted this policy thanks to the board. And years prior to when the state putting in that piece for all schools across the system. And I would like to say I was inspired.

081The first day of school, students were saying, where are the yonder pouches? I need to put my cell phone in the yonder pouches so the routine is sticking. They know what they need to do and they're following through with it. I'll show. The opposite side of that is, I saw a middle schooler walking in and figured out how to have their cell phone in the yonder pouch, but have their fingers act as the magnetic. Shield. Such that the clip couldn't clip and clip it close and walk down until an administrator said, get your head out of the pouch and so that I. Could so. And I will say that the the largest challenge that we have, with cell phones is how do we incorporate, the because we locked them down on campus, but all of

082our high schools are on open campuses, and so is it at lunch time that you can open your phone because you're going out for lunch. But what if you're out are a free period? Or what if you transition the school to go? Some of our, children will attend, organizations that are outside of the high schools. And it's easy to see that if you pull up outside of one of our schools in the northeast side of town that has, benches right out front, that all, you see our kids just sitting there going like that, like we can modify some of the things. Our goal is to have kids engaged in school. Our goal is not to say this is the line or the the line of where you can or cannot have a phone. So if

083you're involved in school, we're happy to then stretch out. That says if you're waiting for your mom or your dad, you can have your cell phone out because now you're getting that communication. But if you're on a free period or you're just waiting for lunch to end, how about we get that thing wrapped up and get back into school? Because the children are, especially the children that have been resistant to this, are still suffering from the access generation, addiction to the FOMO and what's happening somewhere else. And the kids that we have seen that have been more obedient to this have actually thanked us. I was in a meeting at a different high school that remained unnamed west of I-25. I see why I'm doing this, and the kids wanted a meeting with the superintendent

084last year about cell phones. We want to. Right. This is not fair. This is not that. But, you know, actually, I'm more engaged in the class and I'm having better relationships. And I know that there's less cyberbullying happening. But how dare you take away my cell phone? So that information again, is we want to be reflective of how our students are feeling about this. But we're setting an expectation that says learning can and should be better. If your focus is on the quality of the instruction that we're offering. Yeah. So this graph is the percent of student population by grade level. And you can see that the blue line, these are students with at least one incident. And then the yellow line students with three or more incidents. So you can see over time that

085those students are learning their lessons. Right. There are far fewer students that have three or more incidents that have one incident. It's just interesting how it takes a bell shaped curve. And most of the problems are in seventh and eighth. Grade, right. And then it decreases. Yeah. But also that's very consistent with the challenge that we brought forward last year of the inconsistency and what our expectations are in middle school and our inability to intervene. Earlier. I also heard that in candidate conversations today, which is we have more than enough data to tell you exactly what's going to happen for literally every child in the system. And yet still, even as a governing board and then as an administration. We're still a little slow. To act on what we know to be true. There's a

086lot of hope as a strategy. And let's just, well, Kumbaya. I will give it another try. These data points, these are the types of data points that large organizations use for metadata analysis that tells you what are the trends, not a district 11 trend, a trend in our country. And that's how you know, people. People don't really want you to click and buy something on social media. They want access to your data on what did you click and buy, because that's the piece that they're actually selling. We have the data and it's and it's tipping our hand. And it'll probably take another 2 or 3 years to come to to to reality. But the idea of having an enterprise relationship with a data company that will be looking at our data and how it connects

087to outcomes for students will put us in front of how hard it seems for us to be to say, it's time for this student to consider a different school in order to ensure we get them back on track. We wait too long to make the decision points and make the recommendation for families. We're still confused when we get that brief to you all. And what's the perfect purpose of summer school? It was a very clear purpose. A different generation ago. You failed to meet the learning objectives, and now here you have a chance to make it up. That's all there was. And now there's no teeth to that. Now it's a daycare center. So, this, I think is important. That one, we do still have a middle school problem. You can see exactly that. We

088hold on to kids of fifth grade, that same child. And if we were to show this by cohort experience, it's not that that's the Covid kid that went from fifth grade to sixth grade. That's not the year that kid doesn't school start a Covid bubble. It is a transition from an environment to an elementary school, where there are very clear expectations, and then into a middle school where now suddenly there might be expectations. But there hasn't been a match of both expectation and accountability. Is the concern. Let's get after it. I thought earlier you were saying that that was also a factor was, variability of enforcement across schools? No. Say that again. Not when you're when you started to comment. Yeah. My my first comment is overall, we still have great variability in how things

089are implemented in schools. This is telling you that even with that great variability, your problem is middle schools. My problem is middle schools. That's where kids become most expressive of pushing back against as an expectation or not, and how that is handled. The good news in that is, is often more often than not, our terms of the week. More likely than not, the student does that once and then it's course correct. The yellow line is your repeat offenders, and that's much, much lower than is the blue line up. Now I'm in sixth grade, so I guess I'm supposed to act differently. I appreciate, Doctor Salty's comments about swagger, jump start, date, swagger, which was on Tuesday, and all I saw was delightful children who couldn't wait to come learn and swagger. And I said to

090Principal Cockrell, Doctor Cockrell, I is like, how is it that we can just make swagger sweet again? Why don't you make every eighth grader go down and witness these sixth graders who came in and waited patiently in the cafeteria to be introduced to their busses and understand what the rules are. This is, you know, God bless every middle school administrator and teacher. This is where children are going through adolescence, which means, you know, we are with our middle school accountability. We're leaning in very heavy into this space. But that's where the messiness is. Okay. And so this graph shows our total expulsions for primary, primarily a result of assault and violence, and all of the expulsions that were issued in the lower grades. We are more likely to defer the expulsions. And then in high

091schools, they are serving their expulsions. Okay. Can you go back for more on the expulsions? We share this in our Mars report. I just want to make sure because all the community doesn't get the Mars report, there are three non-negotiables, when expulsions come to my desk because, first of all, I think they are so egregious that they require immediacy and real, consistency in how we react to them. And secondly, because although I know that many of those behaviors are a manifestation of another challenge that is presented in that child's life, we lose more families when we don't act on these items. And so if you can't pay attention to what they are for all of us, we are drug free campuses. Period. I know that our state has this ongoing, that our state is supportive

092of recreational use of marijuana. The law says that 21 years of 21 years of age, the law is the same thing about alcohol. We treat that very sternly, and we need parents to understand that if parents are accepting of alcohol or drug use in their house, we are not in our schools. It is not fair to our educators to have to have children who are not bringing the full, not yet fully developed cognition of their brains into that space. Children are not better prepared by coming to school drunk or high period. Every study in America, even the one sponsored by Colorado, has said that regular use of marijuana and or alcohol and not fully developed brains is more detrimental than it is, whatever that our social belief is that it can be relaxing or easing

093or some other stresses. The second one is weapons. This started four years ago. When I got here, we had a consistency rolling threat. We're going to shoot this school up and we're going to pass the social media thing of a of a weapon on it, or make a threat on a teacher or another staff member. We expel those students. This is the state where it all started. The fact that we still. Don't. Have laws that actually go even further on what is allowed and not allowed and started school is again crazy to me. When I think about what happened in Columbine a generation ago and the third, when I say assault and violence, that means the police have shown up and they're writing a report that is going to press charges. That is not how

094a school handles the normal, who goes up on who in the hallway. And somebody said something, and we do a very good job with our security staff and our SRO relationship to de-escalate those those blue ones on that are somebody has gotten stitches. The cops are showing up. This is going to court. Because, again, even though there might be something that generated that that could have been handled beforehand, it can't continue because kids go home and tell their parents that and their parents. Say, my kid's not going to school. They're my kids, is not going to school there. Doctor Salty's comment on the middle schools. We opened up Tesla middle school two years ago. We used Tesla middle school because I know how much more challenging is at that middle school level. And we defer

095the middle school students over to test the middle school. We haven't had all parents take that deferment. Some parents have said no and some parents of them pull their kids. We share this information with our neighboring districts. Our agreement cross boundary is people don't reenroll somebody else is expelled. Student. We honor those expulsions. We offer educational opportunities during expulsion. That's called Yelp. We're merging that in with the work that we're doing in the joint Chief, to make sure that our kids are getting all the supports that they can. But we have to make sure that safety is the first thing that comes out of our mouths when we talk about what it means to come to school and when we get these egregious levels of behavior, we do we do respond to them. And now,

096some time for celebrations. So Coronado, decrease in behavior incidence by 40% from 2324 to 2425. So when we reached out to the principal, these are some of the things that they are doing to include proactive check in and check out with our students. It's an opportunity that for for the students to know that they have an adult that they can check in with on a regular basis to make sure that they're on track. Reduction of peer conflicts through consistent cellphone enforcement, clear and consistent family communication regarding consequences. Again, that family school communication is critical. Dean visits twice a year to ninth grade classes to revisit policies, procedures and answer questions. Students may have, expectations because we know we teach the expectations, but we need to go back and reteach and reteach, right? And so that

097we're all on the same page. And we are meeting those expectations. And when we aren't meeting those expectations, what are we doing to support the youth so that they can? And then Russell Middle School neglect negligible change from 2324 to 2425. They have high and clear expectations, logical consequences, high levels of supervision during unstructured times. Because we know unstructured time. That is a time where sometimes things get out of control. So the fact that they have high levels of supervision, they're being proactive about that. Parent engagement. Again, that's a theme throughout teacher expectations for classroom management and focusing on academic engagement and also personal responsibility. So when a mistake does occur, how does my action impact not only myself, but how does it impact others? So we go back on board. Yeah. So are we

098to infer then, that, Russell had a low, quantity of incidences? They just didn't have an increased significant change rate. And we're highlighting it because it stayed stable. Right. We're highlighting it for we've had, there's another piece to the Russell that I asked him to put this in here. If we remember, Russell took on a new sixth grade as Jenkins relocated there. That is a prime opportunity for us to lose the ability to manage the school the way we normally manage the school. And so even in that middle school is difficult. What Russell has predicted is very clear sets of expectations, very clear levels of accountability. And even with that great distractor of what's happening upstairs, I can't believe my best friend's former person that they used to know is now upstairs. And I can't wait

099to go poke them. You know, I'm making middle school fun. I've helped middle schoolers out. With Russell did was study any. And so now that's not a win. The win is we're seeing decreases in behavior. But I did want to share that. We saw the decrease at Coronado and a stable environment. And what we saw in Russell was not an increase. When we kind of lost the fun. We kind of lost the farm. And I already gets credit for that as well. And really, the real winner in all of that from the middle schools. And I'm sorry we don't have a slide for it is actually Jenkins. Right. We split that community and put them in two different schools. And those kids were focused there, learning the soft data that's come back from the state.

100Since Jenkins has continued to be a high performing middle school in spite of being relocated to two different buildings. So to what I think you would look, would ask me in a more direct question, is this with high and clear expectations and logical consequences, we have a very manageable system. And then finally, Edison, they had consistent reported incidents between 23, 24, 25, 26 school year. 2425. Excuse me. Despite the overall district numbers that we've seen. So when asked about strategies and Robyn asked her ILT team and you can see that there are a couple of quotes up here, culture, our staff as a family, while each individual teacher may have a roster of 20 kids, they are all our kids. If a kid in kindergarten is struggling, there may be a third grade teacher in

101the hall on plan time helping that student. Robin frequently says c a need meet a need. And then the next quote says Robin leaves in a solution driven manner, which is growing us in a direction to teach children the skills they are demonstrating. They need to learn. What's the solution? Let's get it done. If we don't know what the solution is, let's figure it out and make sure it aligns with our code. Our core values, not just checkbox, humor, fun focus, and getting down to business. A beautiful balance of all of these attributes exist, and I feel our kids feel it and see it so they get opportunities to live it. And so on to actionable steps. You have heard Superintendent Cole and others talk about the team of teams approach, and then we also

102have an area model. So all of the Chiefs that have now been reorganized to align what we're doing as a district is going to help us to align our work across the district. And and hopefully when we see you again next year, we'll see decreases in these behavior incidents because we are going to be really working together between departments and breaking down silos. Also, that data driven, targeted intervention supports recognizing what the need is and intervening quickly, not waiting until it becomes a bigger problem. Creation of support plans for students to plan displaying behaviors. So if we recognize a need that a student is struggling with the expectations, we are going to get in, develop a plan and support those students. We also have a development of a full continuum of placements for students with

103disabilities, with the inclusion support classrooms so that continuum of supports that we have throughout our system. And then Superintendent Gayle mentioned the middle school accountability framework and really honing in on that and meeting the needs quickly. And this is just another visual representation. The team of teams you can see in the center D11 student success. That is our ultimate goal. And so the area model, you can see the breakdown of the folks that are part of each area as well as the student services department. There are a lot of folks that are supporting our students, working directly with our family. You can see at the bottom the family, school and community partnerships that we have. And with all of us working together, we are going to see higher levels of student success. We get to

104Question time. I think we are at the question time. Okay. Is there anything you want to? I just am appreciative of, Doctor Schultz, taking on the role that she's taken on this year, as you can see, what you see kind of in this team of teams. Thing is, we're not thinking about student success as solely a siloed space. I will tell you that the data still reads in a similar manner of how we were structured last year, which was in a siloed space. The state mandates that this is what we report, and if we have infinitely more others than we do anything, then we just we're looking at that passively. There's a much more active way in how we're addressing the needs that happen in each building. I know that there are still a lot

105of anecdotes, and we're happy to take, those questions and comments and direction from the board. What I share to everyone is if this doesn't feel how your building or your classroom runs, please let us know. Yes. You want to know about the other thing I'll stand very firmly on because I said it from the dias last year, is we are done with the ways of the past. The other piece that Doctor Schultz has joined me on is we have started conversations with some external partners of how do we bring the language of what has been labeled as social emotional learning into the idea of character and values based frameworks for children to have skills that fit our our graduate profile? So we hope to be able to come to the board in the spring with

106a way that we want to transition that over time. There's really not a ton of difference in those different skill sets. It's just whether we look at them as an opportunity to gain that, or if it's a deficit mindset of what you don't have and we're trying to be in the former of how do we build children towards resiliency? Instead of saying, I know you don't have resiliency, now, that's a fine line, and I'm certain somebody will email me or text me later on what I know or what I don't know. But what I do know is that systems with high expectations have to have scaffolds in there for people to be able to learn those skills, to be able to meet those expectations. That is our goal in this idea of characters vast values

107based. I will tell you that that is a big pendulum swing, not in district 11. In public education writ large. I heard other candidates this morning talking about or this afternoon talking about families as partners in this work. The other thing that I've been clear about is we will never have enough money to cure all the challenges that exist in our city and our society. We want to focus on building readers, writers, and arithmetic ers. That's a new one, right? Oh, and down from my lack of English, who are equipped to handle the challenges that come forward in their lives and then when we get to this smaller subgroup of students who have greater needs, we want to be able to steer them in their families in directions where they can get the help that

108they actually need to overcome, that we can't be the space where all problems are dropped off on our doorstep and think that we can solve them. We get less money per pupil every year we have 85% of our budget is taken on by salaries of which we need, and those salary increases will increase at our rate greater than any new monies will ever come to the system. So to be clear, we want to engage with our families. We want our students to be successful, but we are not going to sit around and hold hands and ask everybody if they feel okay to get ready for school. We are ready for school and we show up and the children who are not ready. We will find the scaffolds for them to be ready, but we're taking

109a leap forward this year that says this is our expectation, and then we'll fill in the gap for the kids who can't meet it, instead of just assuming everybody's not ready for that expectation. Okay, we ready for your questions. Yeah, we'll open it up for discussion. Thoughts, questions, concerns. Back to me. You got your. I just have a few. The first one is this only at the school level that we're taking this data or is it all levels like transportation behavior on busses, That transportation should, have access to report behaviors. They report them through the school is how the protocols are. We can double up to see if we see that same level of inconsistency. I could imagine that a bus driver once or twice is tried to report something and maybe somebody said, you

110know, I, you know, call me later. So the standard don't. Report is not reflective. Of it, is it is. I'd like again, I can't give you a, an answer to me. But there's obviously. Yeah. Can you define what unsafe behavior is? What does that mean? And can I have the state report about how do you know literally defines it. So just bear with me for a moment. Honestly. I don't know exactly where it is in this document, but. I will find it. If you can go back and pull one of those, Slides, which. Got more? Yeah, but here are the high stats. High school. Yeah. 28 instance of unsafe behavior. I was expecting a large number for some folks. Like when you look at the middle school number 566, right? I mean, that's a pretty

111big umbrella. It's the same thing, like middle school. When you look at the dress code, it's 50 around 49. But I think I saw high school, it was five. I think I like the back. Because when you make. The dress code violations at the high school level, that's code violations. It's like five. I think director rankings could hand out five seconds. If you visit a high school. There's always dress code violations. Yeah, there's at the high school. Oh I see. Do you have another one while they're searching. Yeah. So when you're searching for that, the other, I have two more. What about consequences? Are those recorded? What? What are they? I mean, is it is it just. Well, you're going to get a verbal warning. Hey, don't do that again. Or is there actual. Teeth

112to it? And. Yeah. So we, give that authority to the principals. And I know that there's still some concern from some staff members that I sent something down, and then it comes back and it is inconsistent or not known with that consequences. I think we can pull reports. And we can we can pull discipline related reports from the same system for consequences. Because I can remember putting in into, Infinite campuses. But now I. Keep getting help you with kill. No, no, you. Break you up. After you work our school. Yeah. Our school. Right. There's so many of them. You put it in there, but then there wouldn't be any report back on what was the outcome. So then I would have to follow up with that. And in a lot of cases, teachers either don't

113have the time to do that or they forget because there's so much. On their plates. So we will provide second quarter update on this. I will come up with a closure ratio of how many things sit open and, acted upon. And then what I don't want to do, if there are concerns with the quality of the closure like that doesn't meet your expectation, I'd like to take those offline for the individual schools, but will report a metric through the data team that actually says X number of incidents put in should have a very close to X letter, Y number of closures that are met. So we can't leave them open ended. So on the last slide, the D11 student success star. Yes. And I know that this is probably the way you intended it. But

114what I'm missing in here I see all sorts of different titles for all sorts of different jobs, for all sorts of different adults. Yes. I don't see anything in there about students being responsible for their own success. So there's a lot of things on adults plates, but students don't have any personal responsibility. And I'm sure that that's the way that you designed that particular slide. But if I want to make sure that kids are understanding that they have a responsibility. Absolutely. And you know, handling their own behavior as well. And I think by looking at all of these adults on this slide, we have the exact same philosophy as we want them to understand that your actions affect not only yourself, but other people. Yeah. So yeah, so we are all. Messaging. The same. And

115all this slide doesn't show it to my, monologue there on my soapbox about character development that is centered on the students. And if you recall the shift that we made in academics and really the focus of the year on student agency is actually saying that it's not just the quality of the teacher that determines whether or not there's learning, it's the participation of the students in the learning continuum that is now a central part of our overall focus. Without getting into some of the slides, the anecdotes from our instructional empowerment schools have been that their behaviors are checking themselves because the students are now active in that learning environment and that many of our behaviors, I don't want to say all or most, I'll say many, are manifestations of a child's discomfort with the learning

116environment. I will sit quietly until you ask me to read out loud, because I am not confident in my reading. And so then either I cower to that, or I act out to a space that Miss Haley says, get out of my class, go somewhere else. And all that is really about. I haven't been comfortable with the learning environment and the agency work is starting to bring that to bear. I am immediately thinking about our Audubon, visits and the work that, Erin shared in, Florida to a national audience on his high fliers now became active learners, and some of them were 5 or 4 kids. Some of them were Spy Kids, and some of them were just the kids that we couldn't get our arms around. And then what we found was actually they were

117engaged in the learning in a way that helped them get to a space where behavior wasn't the way that they acted out. So then finally, last month, teachers with all the PD that they're going through, is there any classroom management? Is there is there a lot? Because teachers are telling me I need PD on classroom management. And truthfully, when I was teaching, I didn't have the trouble other teachers had. I had good relationships with my kids. It doesn't mean that that I didn't send them down to the office from time to time. But what I noticed, at least during my career and that's a long, long time ago, is not now. But, we never had. And I say that never. I'm going to underscore that because I cannot remember a time when we had classroom

118management training. We had training for. All sorts of things, which was great. But classroom management training really needs to be underscored for teachers, at least when they're talking to me, they're begging for it. Carol, can you highlight the differentiated PD we offered and how it was by, self-selection? I can, yes. And I think I can speak to what we've already done, but also a continued call moving forward and sort of explain how we're weaving that in to further PD opportunities. So to begin this year, I think that same call that you asked or of like, do we see professional development just around classroom management when we offered new teacher PD, but we actually gave adults that do was the agency to select the sessions that were most appropriate to their learning. Right. So we had

119standardized sessions around the core priorities and structurally for us. But then what we saw in one of the highest attended sessions was actually some fundamentals around the classroom set up. Right. And to mention the feedback that we received from new teachers was that was one of the more actionable sessions, right? They could immediately take it back into class than last year when we identified this continued need in our system. We offered individualized, differentiated PD by one of our most experienced teachers who was just had left the classroom and is like deep in that work and we worked with school embedded coaches and principals and teachers to say, is this an opportunity that you want to engage in? And so rather than go in a huge space with everybody, they were small all day long sessions

120of less than ten participants. Superintendent was able to pop in on a couple of those, but in those cases, teachers were really able to share what they needed. And we designed in the moment around those individual needs moving forward, I think there's a need to weave classroom management into all of the PD that we offer, which sounds like it's not a standalone thing, right? Instructional strategies that engage kids are rooted in some of the philosophies in classroom management, but we need that to be connected to the learning in Eureka, right? We need that to be connected to some of our other instructional priorities. So as we move forward, kind of three pathways, one teacher agency and choice and selecting sessions that are most appropriate to their needs and learning in the classroom to will continue

121to offer standalone professional development when it makes sense and is appropriate. And so if someone's watching saying like, I really need that support, we are entirely structured around the needs of a teacher right now, and so we are very excited about meeting those needs as they come up. And we've been deploying already in the first five days. I have a team going out tomorrow, actually, on a on a first year teacher who said, I'm putting my hand up, please send support. We're out there tomorrow. And then third, all of our PD moving forward is focused on the needs of students, right. Which is really at the root of all of this is how are we engaging kids in the classroom. So that's the second I'm sorry. That's an ongoing thing. They can they can choose

122to classroom management PD all year long if they need it. Yeah. So we're completely restructured. The academic team this year, which we introduced last year in May that there Servpro would be my business model. You got a flood in the basement, somebody shows up three days later, you're watching the ballgame in the basement. We are deploying staff, not I got to wait for a PD day. Does it fit into the PD schedule? We are not waiting for that because we can't leave it to chance. So my obligation to the board as you watch all of this is when you have examples and it did not happen. Let us know and we will be responsive. I know that some teachers will be resistant to raise their hand, that they need support, because maybe they ask their

123principal or their AP or their dean, and they got something that it didn't quite work. We have to get high quality instruction, right. Part of high quality instruction is an expectation of how we exchange learning and information in a setting of which behaviors is a part of that. We do not want to treat behaviors alone as its own thing, because then what we do is we end up playing whac-a-mole and just chasing behavior around the system, the interconnectivity of who we teach, how we teach, and what we teach is the way we have evolved. The academic, experiment to go far. So I've looked. At the nation of unsafe behaviors that I'll take for you from the state. It's detrimental to the welfare or safety of other students or school personnel, or that create a threat

124of physical harm to the students self or others. Okay, so it's marked the physical. Yes. But that is sufficiently egregious level. It would be categorized differently. Not yet. Another threat is kind of a key piece there. If you say it versus if you do it, then it would move to another category. Thank you. Okay. Any other questions observations. Doctor Jorgensen if you go back to that side of the three boxes. The very first year, one year, two years, three. No. Okay. Three boxes. Three. No. There we go. So on the y side here, are the teachers. So it sounds like teachers got the chance to choose to get PD on classroom manager if they wanted. With all the behaviors, things we've heard, I would make it mandatory. But that's operations, not governance. But have they

125been trained on. Imagine logging the incidents. Does every teacher know where and how to log things to that, even if they're busy? It's just a quick thing in Powerschool under this tab. Do they all know that they do? Yes. There's an on demand video available that, principals can use, but in their back to school meetings, that's one of the pieces that they had also, the new reporting mechanism that we put in last year that this is derived from this year, because it's going to continue create that two way dialog between the principal and the teacher. That was the big change in where we ask them to report and powerschool, because now in a student is referred to the office, they can have a conversation back through Powerschool letting them know what happened, because that was

126some of what we were hearing from teachers. When they're sent there, they don't hear what happened because of it. So they can check that out. To your question. And reduce the click off to your point about the time. It takes. Yeah. To minimize that okay. Good. And then those now when teachers input those is there a way for admin or deans to adjust those records to make their school look better later? If the teacher goes this is egregious, habitual, detrimental, whatever it was. And then and the admin goes in there and can change those words so it doesn't look as such, is there any way for them to manipulate that or can do? Are we trusting our teachers to put on a record and that what happens at all? Like doctor college, you comment on

127whether or not people can actually change a record? I think the way it's written is, is that the teacher makes an input and the administration makes a comment there afterwards, but I'm fairly certain that the administration doesn't have rights into the teacher's comment space. Now, I again, we will report a closure ratio or percentage that might show that we might still have unanswered, which is just as unsupportive to a teacher. Right. But, I, I'm confident that what we don't have is a brewing conspiracy of I undo the incident that you put that's there. And if that's happening, you'd like to hear that. Again, if you have an example, please share it with me and investigative report back on there may not, So much I ask a question. Are we aware that we can't change that?

128So, and then the the bullet points are on the right block. There. Were those all accomplished since you have an August 6th deadline there, was that something that that building principals for sure went over so that we can get a handle on incidents? Yeah. Anybody want to cover the ABCs? The area Supes, anybody over there actually is. On August 1st, the principals heard that. And then at their first, building meeting date, that was part of the learning in every building meeting day was to review that. And remember, this year was a review of it because the new process was actually put in a year ago. So that video still exists. That's why it's done through a video too, because it can be watched on demand, because we know as we're standardizing the process, there is

129another button you could click in there. We trained people way better this last year to go away from that button and report over here, because it allows the two way dialog. But anytime an incident is reported in the wrong place, we have the on demand video to say, hey, remember if you got comments on this because you haven't had to do it in a while. What's the name of that? Just for anybody watching. And they got an incident report, a quick incident report. Got they got the title there. Yes. Okay. Thank you. And then you mentioned in that last bullet point on the right block, utilize the behavior matrix. I've found a behavior matrix or a progressive discipline chart on our website. My question is when was the last time that was reviewed and updated

130or could it be streamlined because it's quite a few pages long. And if I'm a teacher trying to with kids, trying to go, all right, what does little Timmy need right now? I mean, is there anything because what we don't have, what everyone don't want, doesn't want, I don't want is the minute I felt like I had to call on admin to the room or send that child out, I lost the authority and the respect of that child because I couldn't handle it myself. And not that I'm it's out of pride, but it is that. I mean, principals come in and it's like, okay, we're taken over because you can't handle it. And that's what kids see sometimes. So has this been updated or reviewed? To be simple? In the progressive mention that you mentioned

131earlier, Mr. Gall, and if not, do we need to look at that? I understand and correct me if I'm wrong that it was revised last year. That's correct. Okay. It was not with significant revision. Okay. So, again, if we want to discuss, we have a quarterly commitment to the ABCs to the board, if you'd like. If there's a thumbs for us to bring that matrix forward and get input from the board. Although following with their operations, we are more than open to hear the board's review of the said matrix. Maybe just I'd rather have a pulse, from teachers on ease of use first if it's been working, great. But if it's like it's. I looked at, like, I don't know if I. Right. Yeah. That matrix. The reality of it is I don't think many

132people go to the matrix. I think it is. That's another one down communicate. Right. And I think the administrator is then thinking about the matrix of the appropriate level of accountability that matches set behavior. There is and should still be the opportunity for administrators to run their buildings without us being so tight that they can't make those day to day beds. And yet there needs to be accountability to some of those numbers are just not. Yeah, putting us in the place that we need to be with. If the other three slided one year, one year or two year, three, our belief is that as we get tighter on the expectations for the reporting, it will be clearer where those spaces are that somebody is giving too much. Now, I think any of you on your

133school visits can easily tell us what is the difference between a school with a culture of high expectations and an accountability, and a school without that camp, right? And again, anecdotally, by all means, when you have those school visits, feel free to say I'm not sure where you all are. Our briefing is happening here. I might want to get a view on this or that classroom. And we will be responsive to that in the same way that we are being responsive. Thank you to that first year teacher who said, please come back. Excellent. Two more quick questions. If teachers didn't choosing a classroom management as it was optional, do teachers where they give any sort of tools or. Yeah, they're they're building leadership develop a plan that said, here's how we're doing things at Galion,

134here's how we're doing things at Edison. So that even setting up a classroom management plan, they knew what their principal wanted to do and that autonomy. That's the expectation of every building leader to provide those basic functions inside their building. And again, if absent, please let me know and we will correct that. And maybe it's on your desire to go, hey, every building I have and I want to know what that was that you share with staff as we make sure that the boilers know everybody has one. I don't know, I, I want to make sure that teachers know as I don't want to hear again. And visits of behavior are still an issue. And because there's some sort of disconnect between what we say at a board meeting, which very few people watch what

135you say at K-12 principals meetings, and then what teachers are getting in the building because they're still going, my little Timmy is still doing this or that, and I'm just pulling my hair out. And when he act, when he's absent, I'm thinking the good work in the classroom can run. And that's what we don't have happen. So that I'll leave it up to you. The last question is the attendance tardy issues on the data here. We're like the second highest hours on these graphs. We adjusted what tardiness meant in that policy. Do we need to go back and revise that so that this can be accurate or aligned better for data purposes? And do we miss that mark last year with tardiness. And we need to go back and look at that now. I think

136it's again the reflection of tighter tighter practice. Until then we were very very loose starting lot going going into the last year that we really worked on alongside cell phones. Okay. Yeah. I think if there is an action from the board, on that it's not really internal or external. Again, in listening to the candidates, it's always interesting to hear how people who aren't in our insular world are thinking about it. The challenges still exist not in district 11, but in America is it's okay to not be in school. We normalize that through Covid. We said, you don't have to be here. And now we're struggling with conveying back good the value proposition. Everybody at this table comes from a different story, that public education is the thing that got us to the chair wearing today.

137And again, not a district 11 problem. And state. In El Paso County, a national problem is chronic absenteeism is through the roof. Tardiness is crazy. We are all okay with scheduling dental appointments in the middle of the school day, because that is what works at the easel. The convenience of our daily life. Now, there are ways for us to access learning. When we miss the learning opportunity, we are getting better at that. But if the board is looking to be a true partner in tardiness and or absenteeism and attendance, it's helping us get that message out that says, please, 90% is too low. We used to compete for who. When, not the whole school year without missing a day, but who goes an entire school experience without missing a day. And we have very few

138examples of that now. Excused absences, unexcused absences. We play sports in the middle of the day. We do all kinds of things in the middle of the learning day. When we went after attendance last year, we saw that one of the major issues we had was excused absences. Every time a child is not in front of the teacher of record or what is on their schedule, doesn't mean we're not adding to learning when we give kids other opportunities. But we are missing that core learning. Yeah. So please, please, please send your children to school, roll them over and say, come on, it's time to go. I took your temperature. You don't have a fever. Let's go to school. Last question. Did that, on demand video. Where does staff access that? Is that on our has

139power schools log in under behavior or tutorials or. Where does it as a banner on the web page for the next couple of weeks. So if we can take a note that the banners that flow through will say, missed this training, it's available here on the D11 board web page. Okay, great. Thank you. So I had some okay. Moving on to any other board members. Any other questions. At this. Point I. Covered. Anything else from you guys? I will try to, provide some feedback. Probably grabbing my pen and pack muscle enough. Teachers, they spoke and who cleaned up the classroom. My expectation as a parent when my child goes into a classroom is what you talk about. Call that, a child. You have the highest quality instruction. So if there are the PE high fliers

140and those class that are constantly disrupting that instruction and taking away the experience, my child is getting in that class, then as a parent, it's a concern to me. And if it gets an unsafe condition, then as a parent, that's what I hear all the time that I'm going to look at other options. What I expect as a parent, I know as a board member as well, is start at the beginning of the school year. All schools, the expectations are from your principals through your area superintendent is that they set high expectations for the entire schools out there. When they have open houses and parents are walking in, get all the parents together and communicate that right there to the parents. These are the expectations that we expect, including attendance that you are talking about.

141Wake up your kids. We cannot. It's kids. They are not there at the classroom. Open houses are the best time when we have the highest amount of foot traffic in our schools to get parents together in one single area and communicate that, and then hold those students to those expectations. Students, naturally, from what I've seen, they tend to push boundaries and try to get away with that. But if we set those expectations in that very first month consistently, then they respond to those high expectations and then most of these problems are going to dissipate. So that is my thing. And then, there was that continuum of support, that was talking about is that something that in one of the slides that talked about that, somewhere out there, I think, you know, I was at the,

142inclusion. One slide deck, sorry, you're moving forward over the next hour. Is that something that, you know, sometimes when I'm at schools, that type of support that is available to IEP students and students on special needs, it's limited and the number of slots available are straight up. And then, other students who need that support are not available to access the support. Is there anything from the board level that you want from us, to provide that type of support for all students who, I think you're asking me, do we have enough in the school supports? Well. I think if you go back to, that's like what I'm talking about, the. Continuum side of placement. Yeah. I. Would say that. Let me see what it, the educational lingo. Okay. Yeah. Okay. One slide. Okay. It talks about,

143it was said that, the fourth point, development of a full continuum of placements for students with disabilities. Do we have if there are students I've been at, I've been at schools. And I'll give you an example. This is about our inclusion support program. So, again, Deirdre would be best to explain this, but I think Carol can handle it and give a couple of examples of how we have sought to provide the least restrictive, most inclusive environment and yet also acknowledge that some students have a specific set of needs that, when served together, can be better supportive of the student and so do you want to. Yeah, just like an example like at Stratton. So one example I will give you. I was at an elementary school just this last week, and there is a student

144at academy level that likes to take off from the classroom. So the teacher has to constantly monitor this kid. And even when I was in the classroom with the teacher, turned her back and the student took off. And now you have to call, principal or somebody from the chase down with the students down the hallways. And he doesn't, you know, take off through an open doorway or something like that. To those students that need more monitoring. Is that what we provide. To what superintendent Call just spoke to? I think that idea of what is the least restrictive environment where the kid can get the the best access to high quality instruction. And kindergarten is a great example of this. We have all of these supports in place wrapped around that child to to provide every

145support possible in that classroom to, to help that student acclimate to that environment. Certainly if that becomes an ongoing need. Right. Kindergarten is a great example because all of our kindergartners are at day six, right? As they kind of learn what school looks like. And we have kids that have been in preschool for three years next to students who this is their first day away from mom or dad. Right. And so we're really trying to wrap all of these supports in a different way this year than before, where sometimes we were siloed. Right? If it was a child with a disability, we had to call that team. And if it was a child, it wasn't. We call this team. What we're looking at now is it's just a kid, right? It doesn't really matter what

146that label is. We're going to wrap the same level of support to make sure that that child is successful. Does that help answer that question? Yeah. Then you were talking about strategy, maybe that, Well, I think the example that that I'll double, dovetail on Doctor Fries thing is can is if people do watch Wednesdays, please send your kids and sign them up for universal pre-K. The goal of universal pre-K is to acclimate your child to a learning environment such that they are ready to be in spaces where there are higher expectations. We don't have heavy hands in kindergarten, but we do need a kindergarten to function and not have runners and have kids seeking to play hide and seek because the entirety of the system needs to function. So please sign up for universal pre-K.

147We are the largest provider in El Paso County, although the third largest, school district in the county. So I'm excited to continue that. To answer, the more specific question, at this time, we don't need anything more other than families to see the value in exposing their children to school as early as possible, and then partnering with the school team to understand that when we get to particularly non IEP type behaviors, which is maybe just the John or Sally thinks it's fun to run away from the teacher, that the parents are partners with the school that says that's not a behavior that's going to work for us in school, so we don't get into that spaces. This isn't a place where other children want to come to learn, because everybody's running after John or Sally. Okay.

148Sorry. Apologize. And Sally's. Thank you. I appreciate that. And we look forward to follow that out, through the rest of the school year. I think this is something that the board is interested in. I'm, without even talking to the rest of the board, I think this is something that is a priority. What we are looking for as this process goes. Center was a slide. We talked about tier two and tier three. That consistency of application. The behavior metrics and consistency of recording data as well. And as we go through, we have keep keep me informed and we can bring that to the board at the next time. Okay. Moving on to the next item on the agenda, which is the bond conversation. So I know that the. In, Before the summer break, we did, engage

149in some of this conversation into looking at ways that we can address some of the, facility challenges that district 11 faces. I know, we have, considerable amount of, Facility work going on at Jenkins, and also at Palmer. And we looked internally at our funding structure to fund both those things. But going forward, especially at this time of the year when you go and visit, Lawson Academy campus or, I was at even Russell, which is a fully air conditioned building, but some of the areas yesterday were pretty hot, and we were at that open house. So. But, how do we ensure that in this day and age, every student has and every staff member has, comfortable, learning environment where they can thrive and for their best effort. And, part of it is having this conversation about

150the bond looking into the future and see when is the right time to go and ask the community for support, for, additional, renovation of our school buildings. Superintendent. Along with that, I'm going to come to you for you to set up this conversation. Thank you, President Adam, to continue this conversation that we had started, a little bit last year, but now bringing it to a work session of public, like, how old am I? I'm so old, but not older than the average building in district climate. I am 58 years older than the average build in a district over 65 years old. Our average age of a student, I guess is a sixth grader makes them 1111 year old is the average age of our product and our customer who is in buildings. That is not

151just older than their parents might actually be their grandparents age. So I just frame for you as we start this conversation and having lived, we all lived through a Jenkins experience last year, our newest middle school required $37 million worth of repair. We are on the thinnest ice of any district that I have led, and I have now been in four districts and or any other district that I have visited and or sold to when I was in the sales space than I've ever seen before. We are one phone call away. We are one more either fire department visits or heavy rain or spring snow away from being in a position we will. We won't have the money to actually make the repair. It is time for us to ask our community to. Was it?

152I'm sorry. The doorbell that forever ringing doorbell. We've never heard that. Or part of our upgrades. The central office building has been a new doorbell and I know if you can hear it, I know it's working really well. Okay, to reframe where we started this, nothing could have been more true to date than the work that, Mr. Shannon Bigham brought to us and our demographic review. Every area that we have invested of his recommendation, we have seen that were greater in return. And yet the system is still struggling. Our high schools, other than the, very specific work that we're doing at Palmer, have not had major renovations. And remember, we're 20 plus million dollars into Mitchell, and none of that is a major renovation. Every one of those has been a small project. Our high

153schools have not been touched since they were built in the 70s. And again, I happen to be a little bit older than that. And we have started, with Palmer High School. But this also idea of a fast track facelift when you drive by most of our elementary schools, they look like they were built in the 70s and 80s from the inside. Many of them are bright and refreshing, but from the outside, we still say to people, anybody moved with their spouse and done, house shopping. Sometimes you never get inside the house because you drive by with the realtor and you go, nope, you have no idea if there's a brand new kitchen inside that house. We've done good work from the inside out, but I do think it's time for us to ask our community

154if the average age is 65. And when we get into that work and you see what those facilities index scores are, what do we really want for our kids that are in the system for their kids to inherit? Do we really. Want them to walk that. Same exact hallway? Yes, we want to honor the legacy every time we touch one of our buildings, but we have to embrace the future for this district. This again coming from that demographic study. Continue. High school, quality school renovations. I don't think we have the slide in here, but you've seen it before, our decreasing enrollment over time. That slide actually has two bumps in that. And both those bumps for when we open new buildings. When we open new buildings, people are responsive to that. They go, wow, a

155new building. That's interesting. We will, see that as well when Jenkins reopens and Palmer opens going forward, I'm going to share this slide that I'm going to hand it over to Brandon just because I asked the team to build this slide. I know it's very hard, and particularly in the, in the community that we live in and how people talk about, fixed incomes and how they talk about taxation and they talk about, my right to control my own money. Everybody around us in the last 20 years has been bonding to invest in the structures and the facilities of where their kids either went to school, where go to school, or where they are just single home owners in the system. Again, I heard from candidates today because they have to be the 11 residents to

156serve on the board. Having a high quality school system is important to me, even if my kids aren't here anymore, because it actually attracts and retains the value of our system. We have two that are actually running for, bonds right now, married to in Cheyenne Mountain. And so a lot of this and we'll I'll cover the polling data when we get to the end of this, that we did over the spring. Everybody will tell you it's not the right time. It's not the right time, it's not the right time. Over the last 20 years, it seems like it's been a hell of a good time for everybody else. But also when we lost by 11 votes, we lost by 11 votes. That's crazy. That district 11 can lose by 11 votes, but we didn't lose

157by 11 votes. We lost by 10,011 points. Because the authority to tax your community to go put a bunch of shovels in the ground and rebuild the schools has to be a majority, has to be more than 12 votes, which would have had us on the plus one. Otherwise we would have people lining up and saying no. Our work at Palmer is showing people that we are invested in recapitalizing this district, and the students are ecstatic. And the staff thank you to the staff for handling that, handling the operational changes. They've handled it with great aplomb. We've had zero complaints coming to my level on my classroom. I can't do this anymore. I can't do that. Same thing with Jenkins. We talked about how thankful we are to the Jenkins community, the Doherty community, to

158the Russell community for supporting that. Please go visit Jenkins and see I get it, it's a model. Every kid deserves a fully air conditioned building that is fluid and that allows them to move. And we've done an awfully great job of making that. So even in a modular space, those are the nicest modulars I've ever seen. Over to you, Doctor Comfort, to talk in depth about our opportunity. Yeah. Good evening. Board. We've we've discussed this before. We have kind of the the bond opportunity at the top, remember, that's not even close to our total bonding capacity because of the increase in our, wealth as a as a community, as a district. And so we're bucketing this into, into a few different places. We're talking about $750 million. Again, we need some transformational investments across the

159system. We're not building large new schools. That's not in our future, but we do need, transformational, investments. And so, as we've discussed before, we do want to rebuild the middle school. We think that we have to do some things with our middle school portfolio. And one of those is make a significant investment. We do want to complete the entire Palmer master plan. We want to repay that existing CLP that that currently our Mlo is, helping fund. Remember when we do that, we then have some more money that we can put towards some other district initiatives that could be significant and game changing for this district, for years to come. And then we also have we would have the money there to do one additional projects. So that could be a really significant renovation, or rebuild

160of an elementary. There's a lot of things. Remember, we have every single data set you can imagine to inform. Us. All the way back to the facility's master plan, to the educational adequacy, to the facility index. I have every toggle point you can imagine. If you want to say, I want to prioritize free or reduced lunch rate bop bop bop. I want to prioritize where enrollment challenges our bop bop bop we're going to find is the same school surface. Or obviously was one of those schools Jenkins was not. But we had to do what we had to do. Jenkins. So outside of transformational investment, we also want to do some large scale modernization. This can be the opportunity where we never talk about Hvac ever again. We never have to get that email after we

161talk about Hvac. And somebody says, well, only half of the classrooms at West Campus are air conditioned, right? I get that, you know, every single time. I'll probably get it tonight. After we have this conversation, we can put that to bed once and for all. And the superintendent will know, because I'm in charge of operations when we have the heat wave. The week before school started, I was like, thank you that it was the week before kids came back. And it wasn't when we had 25,000 kids in schools. We got really lucky, but we were one week away from being overrun with, complaints because it was 100 degrees in Colorado Springs. We need to address Hvac, superintendent Guy said. If you've been to our high schools, I'm really proud of the work that we've done

162at our high schools, especially Metro High School. We've done some great work there, but it hasn't been significant. You have the former principal of Coronado over there. We haven't had we did some new flooring and we done some painting, but we haven't done significant renovations to our high school since they were built. Superintendent Gall said. The average age of our building is 65 years. I want to put that in to a number. Other statistic 75% of this district's current square footage was built between the 50s and 70s, and then it's a bell curve. There's a little bit before further north and some of those buildings and a little bit after that, but 75% of every single square foot the kids are walking in this district was built in those two decades or three decades. So

163we want to really modernize our high school so that they stay attractive. And then we want to do significant work to middle schools. Again, we have to address the middle school portfolio. As you've been around at the beginning of the year, our building staff are doing and, and facility staff are doing everything they can to make those buildings look great. And there's lots of work to do that. So we have to do that. And then we want to make targeted investments. This doesn't mean elementaries get less, it just means it doesn't cost us much at all. At an elementary school, $5 million elementary school is the former elementary principal. I don't know what I would say to that. I mean, you can do crazy stuff with that kind of money where $5 million that high

164school doesn't do a lot. And so we want to make some significant, elementary investments. Obviously, we want to make sure our charters are supported, especially because that's why, and so you can kind of see how that's broken up, across the $750 million. Again, that's just a concept, an idea we can shift and adjust that all we want. But that's, a really clear indication of where our strategy is. I right now can give you a project listed every single school in five seconds. I can say, here's what needs to happen to every school. We also want to reengage with all of those communities and say, if you got $2 million at Halbert, does anybody have an Albert Einstein? The front of Albert is amazing. I like that I took pictures, somebody that I was taking pictures

165of kids I like. I promise I'm a district staff member. I have my badge up. Because I was I was blown away by the front of Albert. Imagine if we gave $2 million to Hobart and to do other work there. I mean, it would be transformational, right? And yet the playground at Albert doesn't say it's an yes. Right. It's a giant paved sand. Horrible parking lot here. We made the investment up. We have to finish those investments that the buildings tell you what they are. Again, if I use my my language is curb appeal. When you drive by it, you got to say I want to see more. I want to see more. If you pay attention to the small things, first of all, anybody watching come into central office, go up and down our

166hallway while we're waiting for student art, we have put in the future capital visions up and down the hallway. We had our partner, ANP, change the construction signs at Palmer to not just say, AMP over and over again while things are crumbling and there are piles, we put what the buildings will look like on the construction fence. You have to communicate to people what you're trying to get to, instead of what people think they are going to lose. That and the things that we're doing, the walk through, we had the media all show up for the grand reopening of Jenkins, and that reporting was a. Heck of a lot different than it. Had. Been six months earlier, about everybody taking pictures of cracks. And now you can't see that because there is no crack. So

167vision came forward that says these targeted investments, they're not a cost. It doesn't cost us $8 per month per $100,000 of assessed value. It's an investment that says this rate will continue to serve its students and its population. Not until the next building falls, but until those kids come back. What is the thing that makes district 11 special? We hear it all the time. Please watch our social media. It's have a complete refresh. There's a piece on there by district 11 on our, welcome back to Robeson. And everyone said I went to school here. My mom or my dad taught here. I've lived in the city the entirety of my life. We own the legacy of this city, and it's time for us to preserve that going forward. Yeah. To. I'm sorry, director Mason. So

168then the question is, how do you communicate that with staff? Just like, Mr. X was saying that you have to go beyond just the parents. How do you get that communication disseminated to, there's the Chamber of Commerce. But let me get to it. When we get. Grandparents. I'll get to it when we get to the hall. Yeah, but I do want to say, it's the greatest opportunity for the community engagement in decades in the district, right? When people get to be a part of designing what will happen, that's when people come. Have we had any issue with engagement about what we're doing at Palmer, or even what we had to do in fast order or Jenkins? No. People want to show up to tell us what they want to see in those spaces. What we

169need is the funding in order to bring it to the community to say, what do you want to see in this space? If we let the community design their playground, I guarantee you it's not going to look like if I call a playground guy and say, can you put a playground there? And so that's a single amazing opportunity for the community to engage with the district. Okay. We've also talked about this before. This is just a build of the last slide. We can get into a bond cycle. This is how many districts, especially large districts, operate. We don't think about one bond every 2 or 3 decades, but instead we think about cycles. I will say, if we pass a bond, I'm going to be really, really satisfied and happy, that we're not even going

170to talk about bond cycles for, for a little bit. But we do want to think about an ongoing recapitalization effort in this district. We cannot go another two decades or three decades without investing in our in our campuses. Otherwise we will be in the position where we're in. We're again, I love the work that we're doing, but we are never catching up. We're always just like, well, we can't do the play around it. However, we can do the front well, we can we can do this. We're always having to pick and prioritize instead of doing big transformational projects. And as Brandon gets ready to transfer slides, because we get, normalized into how we normally spend or how we're currently spending money, bonds are for facilities. Mlo are for people's, programs. We are funding our capital

171program from our mlo right now, because we don't have enough operational dollars to do that now, that's not not transparent. The MLA Oversight committee, everybody has voted on that. That is funding the way that we do this. There is at least $20 million of new program and compensation available every year. If we can put ourselves back into the buckets of every other district in America, you pass bonds for facilities. You may take them out of general operations budget. That's a normal cost. The sink breaks the thing does you need new carpet over there because, the science class had way too much fun. Those are the normal way to operate. But these I got to be careful here because people this happened at Jenkins, like, people don't understand that a new wing is $30 million. Repairing

172inside of a current building is a million and a half or $2 million. Maintaining that space is in the management of what your facilities team does, which is maybe we needed some overtime, maybe we did. We have to put our money back into the spaces it's supposed to go. So all our bond is not related to compensation. We've talked about this in other conversations. We're spending 60% of our money on instruction. We want to spend 70% of our money on instruction. Right now. Starting salary went from 42 to 50 grand. Over the last couple of years, we've toyed with how do we start at 70, go mid career at 85, and anybody who wants to make a career in teaching makes $100,000 a year. We could do that if we weren't spending all of our

173well and all these capital costs and all these other things that have happened in the past, we have massive amounts of milling and bonding capacity inside this district, and I won't make them go backwards. But over the last 20 years that we have not tapped into, that everybody else has tapped into, nobody builds a building. Right now, we're building two buildings without bonding. We're doing that to show folks that we are actually great stewards of the dollar. And we believe so much in doing that that we're going to demonstrate at first, both those lots at Jenkins and Palmer are clear. And in literally just weeks, we'll be pouring concrete pads, will be putting up steel girders, and we will be showing physically that it's not about what went away. It's about what's coming for. Yeah.

174Just to expand it will it will give the district and will give the board the opportunity to control more of its, its future. Then hoping and waiting that the state increases the SFA. Right. I mean we can all forecast that's not going to be great news. By freeing up how we use our mlo, the board would have, at its discretion, significant money to once and for all, change how we compensate, how we do a variety of things that is never coming in this year or next year, or the next year's SFA. It is it is an opportunity that no other system around us has. We should be really grateful for the community support through that inflow. And should we really intentional to make sure that we're maximizing its value for what the district actually needs?

175Okay. Those are bond cycles. These are, just some milestones and timelines. We had a we had a slide about this last year. Again, lots have to go into a bond, which is why we're having the. Well, we had the conversation last spring, and we continue to have the conversation we know to do this, right. We have to do this right by getting really intense and really, communicative while we can until we get, say anything. And so you'll kind of see some of those timelines there again. Fine. Finalize project list. If you ask me to give you a project list, I can send that to you tomorrow morning. We absolutely will go through an engagement with every single school community. But we have all of the data that we need. And then you can obviously see

176some of those formal steps that need to happen. We contracted last spring with, with an organization to do some polling to understand what is and what is not. The likelihood of support. Is there more than one slide here? Is it. Just I think it's just the one. Just the one standing, the general number that, we had shared in executive session with the board is 60% favorability means that you're more likely than not to pass your bond. And what we saw was not a statistical difference in November of 25 or November of 26, and we saw a number of roughly 58% of likelihood that that bond would pass. That's close. And again, this is, actually you were on the board. Were you not direct or not when we 2021? Yeah. When when we missed by 11

177votes. I can only imagine the anxiety of going through counts and recounts and messaging on what it means and what it doesn't mean. Our recommendation to the board is that we go in November of 26, which gives us a little bit of time as the rules work, because once ballot language is finalized, then we're hands off on what's happening with with the ballot of the bond initiative. But we have one way right now to engage with our communities. If you go back to slide and talk about building out an actual budget, an actual bond plan would go to the one with the milestone. Sorry, the where we actually say not a major investment in a middle school, but based upon the facilities index. What middle school? Now, we're not tipping any hands right now on

178which one. We think that is because we think it's important to hear from the community on what that is. But right now, the polling said you are just as likely to win in November of 25 as you are to win in November of 26, and both of them are really close. On whether or not you'll actually win. We think waiting until November of 26 gives us an opportunity to. I said I would address your question to start screaming and sharing the information of we believe in children. We believe in the future of district 11. This is a board and administration that is here to stay, and we have the results that say we are moving in a direction that is actually answering. I believe it was Mr. X's rotary thing that are we making more

179friends and are we doing better for the good? You know, we might not answer everyone specifically, but we are raising all boats in that regard. And so we think that you tasking us to actually build out that bond package for November of 26 positions us in what the polling said was the right thing. The polling is very clear. Parents are very responsive to new 21st century, air conditioned, safe buildings. Those are the things that we have to be able to promote and we want to add to that sustainable. We have to acknowledge the challenges that exist in the moneys that we spend on utilities, and that we should not be spending on utilities. I asked the question all the time, why does in every building in Colorado Springs just have a west facing wall of

180windows so we can all admire Pike's Peak and the answer is, that's really hard to heat and cool, and to keep one that window clear of condensation and not run a crazy, bill for utilities know I think you saw on the Palmer work. Hey, let's do a geothermal. Let's actually, if we're going to make that level of investment, let's do this in a way there's some no irony lost on me and the individual conversations that I've had on, places like Palmer and Jenkins that we are so normalized to 65 plus year old buildings that people had said to me, a Palmer, when we initially pitched a reinvestment, one comment was, but what are you going to do about the air conditioners on the third floor? Like so? There's no possibility that bonds go forward and

181every and every room is not modernized with conditioner. No Russell ish answer of yes, there's air conditioning. You just can't feel it. Everybody needs conditioner. Another one was, I just want to know that my Ada, my IEP, my special ed students, we meet Ada compliance and they can transit one building to another at Palmer High School which they currently can't do. And the way the law is written is because it's an old building. We have a waiver, we have a workaround, but the way the law is written is a new building. There are no waivers and locker rooms, but the misunderstanding of what that investment means is people are still caught in the well. Is the elevator going to work in the office building? A power? There has to be a way that we move

182our special ed students in an Ada compliant way. When you make an investment, a new building so embedded in all that, and I appreciate the lack of communication that there has been through the system. We thank giving this another year. But besides, November 25th is tomorrow, getting this this full year, it gives us the ability to do a series of engagements with our community here, where the places they want us to invest. What are the areas and the buckets that are most responsive to them? We believe the polling is fairly consistent for that. So I do want to take a second to talk about sustainability. I missed the meeting last year, at the end of last year when we had a capital conversation I brought to this district this opportunity to make a significant sustainability

183investment. And through a process which is called an energy savings contract called an ESCO, which is how do we take our savings that we can generate through utilities and buy in some features that we don't have? Do we have led lights in every space? Do we have programable thermostats? Are we modernizing our filtration to meet today's standards? Do we have shades that are helping to deter what our cooling costs can be in some of the spaces? I brought that recommendation in 2023, when I came here to demonstrate to the Board of Education at the time that there are ways for us to get creative in how to reinvest in our system, because I think we were still reeling from the lost bond. We have moved in a direction similar to that with our co-op for

184Palmer and for Jenkins to be able to make that investment, which is borrowing against our own money. When this board decides that they want to go for a bond, it's my recommendation that you task us to make sustainability a portion of that bond and not borrow against your own money right now to make smaller investments. We can do these larger investments as a part. Go back to the one with the money breakouts. One of those targeted investment areas for $40 million could be to levy every classroom in the building, whether or not the building gets a major facelift, and we can pay for that without having to borrow against it. And I'm going to tell you, I ran that business. The business the risk in that business is we have to use less to pay

185down the thing that we borrow from. There's a devil in the detail that says, you really can't run games on Friday night. You got to run them on Saturdays because you don't want to use the electricity of what it cost to light up Gary Berry on a Friday night. I don't know if we are ready to be accountable to keeping our systems that tight and having to borrow against them. My recommendation, had I been there that evening and I apologize for having a prior engagement, would not for us to pursue a actual relationship where we borrow against our savings. I think we add to that project list a significant amount of money that says sustainability has to be reached in every one of these projects. First of all, it's how people design right now anyway.

186But secondly, it's the cheapest way for us to get there and the least risk for us in the 20 plus years that it takes us to pay off that potential relationship that I did bring to the board. So I'm telling you that my recommendation on that earlier piece that says, let's borrow against our potential utility savings, I would say, let's double down on bond and let's actually buy the car instead of leasing the equipment. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate that. This is, a good time to have this conversation. We are going for, on a b for a communications contract as well. So that will set us up in the right, way to communicate all the, good things that are happening in the district and earn the trust of our community. If we are going to call

187for about a year from now. And, I will say one thing about the Jenkins project that is going to be, visiting Jenkins quite a bit. I've not been as engaged with Palmer. The amount of work that has gone on at the Jenkins and the Community Feedback Garden, February and March. And you were there at all those, town hall meetings when we had screaming parents who didn't have the trust and, now talking to the same parents who didn't have the trust and know that the students are coming back to sixth and seventh grade and checking that they are all happy with the current, project, how Jenkins has renovated that something that every child in our school district deserves. What they are getting at Jenkins and Palmer. That's the conversation that we are having now. So let's

188talk about the bond. Is there any, feedback from the board? What, from the, administration, from superintendent call is, even though the composition of this board is going to change after November, that at this point in time, at least, we passed the superintendent to the staff to come up with a plan. What this is going to look like in that $300 million bucket and, 250 and 100, and that is going to require some right of way engagement with the community. Have some, town hall type of meetings with each quadrant of the community and see the facility index and which are the schools that need that kind of rebuilt or, the modernization that is out there. So, that's what we through this work session, we can pass the superintendent to perform that work and come back to

189the board, but that it's going to be this board or three months from that, when you put. It it's like, well, I just say it's always going to be informed about your facility needs and what money can make, how it can make a difference for your schools. I certainly support that, but I've always found I'm more concerned about the withdrawal of support for the energy Sustainability plan and what a we can affect that change now and start seeing savings now. So that that may be the secondary conversation, though. Yeah, I think I want to just to clarify the statement. I don't withdraw the support. I shift the support to a different funding mechanism. Nothing disturbs me more than seeing the amount of money we do spend on the costs for our buildings, but I think

190it's better that we own that than we borrow that. It was a real challenge to convince myself and the board and the community that we should borrow against our mlo to actually make an investment at Palmer and to be able to do the other repairs that we've done. We are upside down. And what it costs us to keep this district afloat. And we have been managing on very thin ice for a very long time. I am all in on sustainability. I want 21st century spaces. I want programable controls that we actually run extremely tight. I just know that I was in this business and what we don't have is the massive amount of utility spend to actually save on Own again, when I was in this business, it's all about controlling the amount of conditioned

191air. That's where you spend most of your money, which is in your air conditioned space. I mean, those schedules and keeping them tight and keeping those systems efficient is how you save the money to borrow against our challenges. Even though we are 98% now in elementary schools because of the West, these that's not always does not work. A district spends its money and spends its money. When you have a fully air conditioned Coronado, a fully air conditioned Dougherty, a fully air conditioned Palmer, and a fully air conditioned Mitchell. Because those are the places that you're spending, believe it or not, over $10,000 a month, an electricity bill that we don't have right now. So we don't really have the amount of savings to put on the table to borrow against. That was actually a limitation

192when we entered into that energy audit. That said, we don't have a big chunk. That's going to be an EV easy savings. The piece that was presented to us is what I would call a mid-tier opportunity that is easily absorbable in this type of a bond project. And if the bond fails, that offer still is able to be refreshed. To say the community doesn't want. To make this type of investment. But we do want to lower our utility costs and be able to borrow against. I think the hard part for me is I don't know if I want to if I use an example, LED light, an entire building that that I come in a year later with actual cash that is in borrowed cash that says, no, I'm going to retrofit the building. So

193I don't want to lead with an LED light setting that then says, I'm going to redo the entire hallway anyway because it's so much cheaper if I if I'm going to put L.E.D. lights in Palmer, if I put LED lights in Palmer, the 1939 building right now, AMP and Perkins in Eastman is just going to redo all that. We got to wait to get the bond piece first to add in those smaller pieces. So that's my recommendation. I don't want to be unsupportive of sustainability. I want it to be a main safety, sustainability, 21st century learning spaces. I think that's a package that works for our our internal community and our external community instead of and again, I brought it. We were piecemeal in our way. If you add these dollars up, go back to

194the bonding side. We're asking for more than basically all in El Paso County. Nope. The amount now more than everybody else is done in combination. Because we have the oldest system. We're asking for three quarters of $1 billion that says everybody will be sustainable, not what can we borrow against to get a small amount of savings at a small amount of time. So I and I certainly understand that you've been a champion for this for a long time, and I appreciate it. What I'm asking for is not a loss, but a pause was some more efficient use of our dollar then us extending a more borrowed space for the district to be that. I don't know if we can actually achieve those savings to pay it off. It'll be very convoluted. There's this thing called

195a baseline that you set and what your usage is. As soon as we make a bond adjustment to that building, we've got to readjust that baseline. And again, I was on the other side of that. The district is going to lose on the readjustment of that baseline. That's how those companies make sure they get their payback. Anybody who leased a car that says they're only going to drive a 10,000 miles a year always drives it more than that and has to write a check at the end. So I just don't want to pay for it twice. Treasurer deputy. Can I. Can I just because it's been a few months, can I just articulate back what I, I believe you to be saying and then can you or Doctor Comfort tell me where I messed it

196up? So the company that we had talked to at the end of last year, the basic mechanism is, okay, we're going to go into debt to fund a series of kind of utility investments. There are certain money back guarantees that they were able to promise us. What I understand you to be telling. Me is that, number one, going into debt under our current situation with Palmer and everything else is dicey. And number two, they're going to levy constraints on our operations. You use the example of, you know, putting games on a Friday night and they'll tell us no. In order to be in fulfillment with the contract, they got to be at a different time. They won't tell us no. It just changes our usage versus our baseline. So you have you run the risk

197of paying for it twice. You're going to borrow against the savings that is guaranteed if you follow these steps. And then as you change your usage and or even as rates go up, this is the classic 401 K. If I could, every time I get my for one cases, I can retire in eight years, and every year I get a new graph that says in eight more years I can retire. The projected usage rate is dependent upon how our operations changes. I will compliment Doctor Comfort and Chief from last year on the incredible ability of our facilities team to keep things running, but many of our buildings run in a condition that I just call is called enhanced. The engineer comes in a morning, they turn the building on. We run protocols over the winter

198time that says we are going to have an extreme cold event. We know which buildings that we will run all weekend long to make sure they're ready Monday for school. Because yes, utility costs are high, but educational opportunities for kids are more important than that, said, utility cost. When you. Enter into. These deals, when you make that decision. That costs us. Because that's a savings that doesn't come. That's how we buy. And leverage for that equipment is from that projected savings up. If we were not talking about a bond, you I'd be the first guy to sign up because we have to modernize our buildings. And if the. Board decides to not go for a. Bond, then bring that contract in. You'll have my full support. But if we're going to go for a bond,

199it makes no sense to lease the car when we're getting ready to buy the lot, if that makes sense. Right? So then. So then your claim is, since we're going for a bond, we just have that as one of our investments and we just pay for it outright. Yes. It's gotcha friends. What is good. And this is kind of tied into that bond conversation. At a point in time, we will have a better understanding as to what are the schools. I think this came up even in that meeting when we discussed, the renewable energy, solutions that we got to be cognizant of, which are the schools that are going to be impacted by the bond and then not have to touch that building twice. Or if areas of the building are going to be torn

200down or renovated, things of that nature. Yeah. And I'm. Investing. The size of this bond. If we were going for a smaller bond and we were only going to impact a few schools, we could do the energy work at the other schools, we could do both. This bond is going to touch every single school. So again, it doesn't make sense, to do work to then to then touch the whole thing. I would have to tell the company every building is off limits because every building is going to work and we don't yet quite yet know what every building would get. But we're going to modernize every single building. We're not going to we're not going to spend $750 million and say, well, we didn't get to LED lights at Henry Elementary like that. Just that's

201not that's not a feasible option. To go back. So you had some okay. So the feedback that superintendent got market is the board at this time supportive of the administration pursuing this opportunity, engaging with the community and coming together with a comprehensive plan that they can then present this board or the next board. These are going to be the specific projects that are going to result out of that $750 million, investment. Yeah. Is there you know, that's what he wants. And superintendent goal is that $750 million is not something set out. It's not like, moving target. Can we go from 500 and then maybe under 800? I think the right way to think about it is the amount of impact that the board wants to look at the projects, not the dollar figure. We'll let

202the community give us the feedback on the $8 per month per 100,000. We are in a unique position that we have the most bonding capacity of any district in the city. The other strategies to pass a smaller one several years in a row, the way I look at it is, is if you think that you've got the yes vote, you should go for everything that you need now and then, actually hold ourselves accountable to it there afterwards. So I think that the next step is, if directed by the board, for us to now put, some more depth into that to show you all, how is it that every school in the system is benefiting from that opportunity and what that looks like? And we want to get to a place that if the board, then

203goes for a ballot initiative on it, that we're not just talking pie in the sky, that we have the renderings again. You know, when I talk about Palmer, the Palmer Project just looks a lot different with the vision on a construction fence than just an empty lot. When you drive by the construction fence, we have to show people what we think that investment will look like. And just as I looked at the Jenkins thing, I said, I love the layout. You got to change the exterior because it looks boring. Like a year from now. It won't just be a rendering on a fence, it will be that you have everything be there so people can walk into that buil I, I like it. I think you go for, you know, somewhere around that big chunk

204and and get it all gone. I think about people that have younger kids, like myself. Right. I could be investing and looking at how to make my neighborhood middle school, you know, cool with this, with this bond. And my wife can work in the elementary school, and, you know, you can have that multiple level buy in of you know, hey, we're we're a feeder school to Coronado. So let's go look at Coronado one two and know that our kids will get in in X amount of years. So I think bringing that that community in to say, how do you want, you know, Coronado, that how do you want, Edison or Russell or whatever it is to look, I think that's that's cool. I think, Doctor Comfort shared the the heat wave the week before school

205started. Well, that happened to be PD week. When I was in buildings I was thanking staff for, particularly at the high school, putting up with not really workable workspaces. And so without. Kids bodies in the building. Correct. That was without if it's generating to use. Yeah, exactly. So I hear something from you. Yeah. Anybody else? Well, I support again. Yeah. Supporting. What we are asking, like, we are not making the decisions other than asking the superintendent to come up with a clear plan, engage with the community as we go through this process and developing that plan, and come up with a solution in front of the board, whether it's going to be 2 or 3 months from now with this board at the next, I'm going to make the decision, potentially to go for the

2062026. But I think you have that full set data on this, and then, the sustainability piece of it, if you can also make that part of that board. Absolutely. And in one of those buckets up there. Okay. I think that, Thank you, Doctor Coppock. Mr. discretion for the work session today. Just, letting the world know and also trying to get your feedback next week, 27th is going to be about the retreat, I think, the Olson the location is going to be that CSD building. Yes. They're looking by an. Address in the hours. Okay, great. So the, it's going to be is that the, exponential impacts building, Work to be clear, is it in the exponential impact space or in the new Ccsd space? And so the entrance is the backside of the building. Okay. So

207if you go either on the north or the south part of that building, you can get to the backside, you'll see the rocket and you'll see the stairs in the ramp that go in there. You can actually get there from the inside, but that's a lot harder than just driving around back. Okay. One of the things that we will certainly talk about is policies that the board wants to address this, academic year. What are the policies? If there is anything else that the board particularly want to address during that board retreat, it's an opportunity for the board. If you already have an idea, you can share right out the space, or if you need a couple of days to think over it. If you can get back to me by Friday, you can send that

208email to me at, Director Heflin, just letting us know so that we can prepare adequately and if we need some external support to drive that conversation, we can have that external support. That's what is that. So I'll open up that conversation for a couple of minutes. Now, is there anything specific you are looking for at the retreat? Next week as a board. Like you mentioned, policy update. So again, that's you know. Yeah. So as a board, please take a look at what you want to bring to the table that we can have a robust conversation about. But we do have to have a casb, you know. About the immigration policy. I'm aware of it, I got that I found that that tool, doctor X and, Chief Hartman as well. So, for the specific policy itself,

209they provide. Lisa. Okay. Great. Let them take a look at it and bring her recommendation to the board. What that is talking about is, state law that requires us to talk about an immigration policy, and a deadline to September 1st. I don't I don't know if that's probably the earliest we can do this. That September 3rd or third meeting. So, hopefully that's compliant enough. Okay. Anything else other than policies? That, yeah. I'd like to have a conversation about. The length of our meetings and. Protocol for keeping things moving efficiently. We are continuously on regular meetings going into, you know, actual discussion of action items like three hours into the meeting. And it's just not reasonable to expect people to do useful thinking at 8 p.m.. Okay. Key word frequency of meetings. We've we well, better

210than we were wise. It's going to be a lot of times board members have to monitor themselves. And so I think considering. I'd like to have a conversation. About, okay. Anything else on this. Task we want to. Tackle. I think we could just review our roadmap for academic excellence for our, you know, marketing or any of improve student outcomes as you know, we're getting better on the access to high quality instruction and maybe having a brief from superintendent go on out the good holes we've gotten so far and where we're going and just kind of having that. Yeah. So I think I got to give you our spotlight on September 3rd, will be our academic strategy at depth. And then September 10th work session will be a review of last year's data. Okay. So that's

211already scheduled. Yeah. Is there anything Superintendent Gault wants to brief for some? I will be, out that week. I have a personal, thing to attend to, so I will not be there, but my staff will be there to support the needs of the board in the retreat. But is there anything from your perspective, that you want to be talking about? Another group. Okay, that's the board's retreat. Okay. Do we want to look at the middle school accountability stuff or is that forthcoming stuff? That's something, that to carry and that a behaviorally when you guys at the end of last year you're not talking about did you, did you meet with. We met with the area superintendents. Okay. So maybe you can give us an update as to. There hasn't been anything okay. Been made aware

212of since that particular. We'll bring an update after the first marking period to the board as part of the normal work session. Okay. We just don't have enough instructional days to have anything different than what we briefed you of our intent last year. Yeah, we were mostly in the room kind of giving feedback. From some of their initial ideas with what they did, which me back, I don't know. Okay. Think about it in the next couple of days, if you want anything else, send me a note, email or text and then we can, if it's possible, let me know by Friday. So prepare accordingly for that comment. States will me, starting at 4:00. Okay. And if, we need to additionally discuss, the board vacancy, after, so the board. Yeah. Then we'll talk about it at

213that. Okay. Before you adjourn, there's two emails that I want to bring your attention to. One is the straw poll from this evening. The, chief former sent us. And also I sent you one, I believe it was on Friday for the board self-evaluation, that we need by the 25th. So we can have the results on the 27th at the retreat. That's going to be part of that, board retreat discussion as well. So if you haven't done it yet. Yeah, don't get it done. I think it's on the email. From Friday the 15th. Yeah. That's due by Monday the. The 25th. Yeah. The, self-evaluation is due by Monday. The straw poll by tomorrow, 12. Okay. With that, we are adjourned at 710. We have £0.05 on Saturday. Five K on Saturday.