001[music] Heat. >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. >> [music] >> Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. Heat. >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> order uh the public hearing at 5:30. Can I please get a roll call? >> Oh my god. Perfect timing. >> Sorry everybody. Okay. Vice Vice Vice President Thompson >> here. >> Board member McKenna >> here. >> Board member Mcnite >> present. >> Board member Carlson >> here. >> Board member Johnson >> here. >> Secretary Meeks here. >> Secretary Terrell Yarro superintendent. >> Shelley Wagner human resources. Michelle, curriculum and instruction. >> Jason Bloom, communications and community relations. Trasher, business and operations. >> All right, we'll stand for the pledge.
002>> Everybody hold your Thank you, Aaron. >> You can lead it off here, too. >> Aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And we do not have any uh four and five any statements. Moving into the public comment section. Uh good evening everyone and thank you for coming to this hearing. I would like to call this hearing to order. This hearing is being conducted in pursuant to section 1022.13 of the Illinois school code. The hearing will begin with a presentation from administration on the issue confronting us thereafter and will be open to the hearing for public comments. Comments shall be submitted to the board president or board recording secretary before the meeting is called
003to order. Comments will be taken in sequence of which they are submitted. We do have some guidelines for public comment. They are as follows. We understand the importance of the topic before us. We greatly value and welcome your comments. Your opinions are essential to the decision-making process. Our goal is to ensure that all voices are heard in a respectful and orderly manner. Time limits. We have set aside up to two hours for this meeting. Each speaker will have three minutes to share their comments. To ensure equitable access, any public comment requiring Spanish interpretation will have a time limit of six minutes to account for the time needed for interpretation. You may not donate your time to another speaker. When you come to the podium, please state your name. All comments should be directed to the
004board as a whole, not to an individual board member, administrator, or attendees. Demonstrations such as shouting, cheering, booing, personal attacks, and or any other behavior that disrupts the hearing will not be tolerated. We appreciate your corporation and helping us maintain a constructive environment, and we look forward to hearing all perspectives in a courteous and civil manner. Uh we have 14. Uh starting here with Jake Hbert. Thank you. At the January 14th [snorts] uh committee of the whole meeting, about an hour and 45 minutes into the meeting, Mr. Mcnite stated, "Look at the district to the north that I grew up in. It doesn't work. That's one of the leading causes of having to teach kids at a lower level until they get up to the higher level until they get through the banding. The district
005to the north, you talk to their teachers, you talk to any of their administrators, that's their biggest area of opportunity. We know that. And I don't think it's fair to jump our district into the big area of opportunity they told us doesn't work. There is research out there that shows transitions can be difficult on students. But the research for difficult transitions occur when students go from having one classroom teacher to several teachers in a day. The dip in academic performance is rare when transitioning from one elementary school to another. The dip is rare when happening from one elementary school to another. My family and I lived in the Kicknik district until my youngest daughter was in seventh grade. During that time, we lost our oldest daughter to a rare genetic disorder. And of course, we
006all experienced the pandemic. As a c a current junior at Haniga High School, my daughter is doing quite well. And it was the academics provided to her, giving her the foundation in grades K through eight at Kickan, the banding system, that led her to be able to take and be successful in honors courses at Hanenega High School. because I never heard anyone complain during my time while I was in Kicknik about the the banding system uh to the north. I thought maybe I'd overlooked something and I wanted to take what Mr. Mcnite said into consideration. I reached out only to three parents and three teachers. I'll give the exact number there. And the qu two questions I asked were, "Do you dislike grade bands the grade banding system the district currently has? Would you prefer
007to have a neighborhood school? Very open, trying not to mislead anyone. I'm trying to get an open answer and factf find. Out of only the six people who I'd had a discussion with, not one person preferred the neighborhood school, and no one thought the gradeband system didn't work who I spoke with. Out of this whole elementary consolidation plan, the only program that would take a hit is the early childhood program. and the gradebanding plans are the only plans that allow for the greatest expansion if we do end up receiving more funding from the state. Plan four also takes into consideration the transitions that have been brought up by a number of of community members and it keeps the students with their peers up through fifth grade. I wanted the original uh banding plan that was
008first presented and after hearing concerns from parents who showed up, I think it was important to take uh to try to find some sort of middle ground to appease their needs. That's why I'd say vote for plan 4. >> Thank you, Jake. Next, we have Mary Hunter. Hi, my name is Mary Hunter and I have been a teacher at Parker Center for 15 years. I first want to start with a rhetorical question. Do you understand what a truly magical place Parker Center is? I think it's very unfair that a letter was read from a former Parker Center teacher as if it is the opinion of all. Has anyone talked to the teachers who have chosen to teach at Parker Center for most of their careers? Despite seniority, we choose this age group because we truly
009understand how important this foundation is. Parker Center teachers meet these young scholars where they are at. We build relationships and a love of learning that will set them up for success in the future grades. Kindergarten teachers have already seen changes in curriculum and academic expectations shift in a way that is not developmentally appropriate. We have seen state standards that clearly state with prompting and support become expected independent skills for mastery. Shifting Parker Center away from its current format we fear will further make kindergarten first preirst grade. We will continue to see an increase in behaviors as we continue to place expectations that were never meant for five and six-year-olds. Ready for first grade? What does that even mean? We meet these littles where they're at and we take them as far as we can in
010a year. all while providing a safe environment for them to learn how to be a student. Many never having been in a classroom setting. We teach them academics all while teaching them how to navigate relationships, regulate emotions, and be part of a group for the very first time. Let's not forget this group of students not having preschool will be larger moving forward. Shifting gears, did you know every year the number of students in pull-ups or very recently potty trained grows? Whether it's technology or family stressors, we are very often navigating toileting needs on top of other teacher duties. We set alarms, give reminders, and navigate many, many wardrobe changes. And that is with bathrooms in the classroom. With option three, twothirds of kindergarteners will no longer have a bathroom in their classroom. And at any
011given moment moment, there is always a kindergartener in the bathroom. This will require our muchneeded CFS to take students consistently to the bathroom or lining up a whole class to take a bathroom break, which takes away from instructional time. I understand other districts make it work. But we don't have to. We have a building thoughtfully designed to support our youngest scholars with teachers who thoughtfully plan not only to support their academics, but who truly understand what the whole young child needs to be able to learn. Please don't take this special place away. from our kindergarten. Our future Parker pups deserve it just the magical way it is. Thank you, Don Campbell. Some elementary vocabulary. Hear is a physical act of perceiving sound. listen is a conscious choice to pay attention for understanding. I had an
012entirely different speech prepared, but then I realized that closing Maple appears to be inevitable. I know this because the new proposals offered do not have a single option of saving Maple and or Park from closing. And because of that, I feel this meeting is just a formality to foregone conclusion. Especially when I see eyes rolling from board members when the topic of saving these schools is mentioned or when I read the public record minutes from December that should have reflected the numerous voices opposing these closures only to see a few mentioned. How many people stood up in favor of closing the schools? None. A threeminut speech reduced to a single sentence that somehow still managed to miss the point. So let me be very clear. I emphatically oppose the closing of Maple and I believe
013this board has dropped the ball in finding real alternatives such as leasing options, paid partnerships, thinking outside the box. You say this is a tough decision and it is, but the tougher decisions are about to be made by parents and teachers. What do we tell our kids when they ask why they're going to a different school? Why they won't see the principal and teacher they know anymore? Why my daughter won't get to do a senior walker at her elementary school and her peers will at theirs? why their school is closing because a footprint created long ago didn't have enough quarter, half or full classrooms. It is the parents, teachers, and staff who will face who will be face to face with these children when they learn that a piece of their world is being taken
014away. Face to face, not through an email, not through the media, not through social media post. You've said taxpayers are taxpayers are also a priority. So, I have to ask, will it be the board that goes doortodoor to tell the neighbors that they now have a massive vacant building in their neighborhood? One that may have been selling point when they moved in there. I lived on Venus Street for 16 years directly across from Maples Field. I taught my daughters to ride their bikes on the playground. I taught them to fly kites on the field. I waved to students walking their laps as I mowed my lawn. And I called police when a car sat just a little too long on the side of the road because not my kids, not on my watch. and I
015know many of my neighbors did the same. Closing Maple is not just an a line item. There are real consequences that ripple outward to families, to neighborhoods, to staff, and to students who had no voice in creating the situation. I do want to thank the board for one thing. My daughter has taken a deep interest in her community, this board, and in politics. She is counting the days until she can vote and her voice can be heard. But I fear in those two years, these decisions will be irreversible. Concerns fallen on deaf ears. I'm asking you not to treat this as a conclusion but as a decision. A decision that deserves real alternatives. A decision that keeps communities whole. A decision that remembers that schools are not just buildings. They are anchors. Please do better
016than making this feel inevitable. And I hope this board will eventually hear our concerns and not just listen. >> Thank you. >> Piper Campbell. Good evening, members of the school board. My name is Piper Campbell and I'm back again to talk about closing Maple. I went to Maple 1st through 6th grade. You said you listened to community, but you obviously didn't because I'm standing here again to tell you to not close Maple Elementary in Olsen Park. I told you that other students didn't want it. But I guess you didn't believe me. So, if one student didn't work, maybe four students will. I told some others about what this meeting was about. And let's just say they weren't very happy. I can report some very colorful language was used to reply to this plan. So, let's
017review, shall we? Maple has half of the early childhood classes for this district. Parker Center has only one more EC class. Also, someone on the board said, and I quote, "If we move EC, we'll need a playground fit for their height, and it has to be fenced in." End quote. Maple literally has a playground for their EC kids that they just got a few years ago. What do you mean closing Maple than spending more money to get a playground? Another problem with that, where's that money going to come from? Maple raised that money ourselves. They [snorts] also raised money for a new regularsiz playground a few years ago. By the way, there was no way I was that short as a kid. That playground has definitely gotten closer to the ground. Anyways, closing Maple would
018close the culture for that neighborhood. Is a community breaking apart enough money for you? I remember taking the shortcut to school, which was literally just walking across the field to get to the doors. When my friends and I played tag at recess, I remember one of my friends asking why I ran funny in the fields. I was running on the tops of the tiny hills so I would go faster. My friend, not knowing this, ran into the hill to tag me and literally fell on the hill because they didn't know that it was a hill. [snorts] Anyways, uh I love remembering stuff like this because as much as it keeps my friend humble whenever I bring it up, it also reminds me that Maple gave me some of my closest friends and best memories. I'm
019asking you to keep to not close Maple to keep these memories alive. If you close these schools, will they just be dead empty hust or will you sell it and make my school another car wash? Thank you. >> Thank you, >> Sophia. Oh, sorry. >> Or thank you. Anyway, hi, my name is Sophia Oark and I think shutting down both Olsen and Maple will mess up the whole busing system. I know we have a shortage of bus drivers, but with this plan, it would require more buses anyway, and I I think it would just be redundant with the added addition of new kids coming in from Olen and Maple together. It would just create a whole mess. Not to mention the other miles that would be added in anyway. Um, and what about the teachers?
020W where would they go? Would they get fired or would they have the option to become bus drivers if they wanted to? This this close could protect potentially ruin a lot of livelihoods with those of new teachers and those who grew up like me and the new generation in those schools that are outside of the one mile radius that would need to get bus. Not to mention getting put on different buses while transitioning into other schools like these sister ones K through 2 grade and third through fifth grade which would mean if all the schools started at the same time they would they would need to be more buses. Thank you >> Jones. Hello, my name is Cecilia and I am a former student of Olsen Park Elementary. I went to Windsor Elementary for 1st
021through third grade before transferring to Olsen Park for the ALP program in 4th through 6th and I believe Olsen Park should not be shut down. For starters, Olsson Park has some amazing and very understanding staff. While I was a student there, I had a lot of access to extra help with subjects that I was doing poorly in without feeling treated as less by teachers or other students for needing this help. I also remember my general reaction to first coming to Olsen. The library was massive, almost twice the size of Windsor's, and with a lot more variety of topics. The art class and music class and PE class had like a lot of supplies to use. And the playground had plenty of activities and toys for kids to use of just about any age that went
022there. The classes were engaging as well, and it helped me learn a lot. I was also a victim of bullying by a student throughout these elementary years who also transferred from Windsor to Olsen with me. He would repeatedly tell me to harm myself and insult me. And where staff at Windsor failed to put this behavior to an end despite my repeated reporting of what was happening, the staff of Olsen Park had put an end to the behavior once I reported it. This school and its staff also helped me to foster my interests in the arts like learning perspective in art class or how to play the ukulele and sing in music. And these things helped me build confidence to pursue my love of the arts going into middle and high school from acting and plays
023and musicals to attending different art classes and even learning things like animation and anatomy outside of school. The children there were great too. A lot of them were very polite and friendly and very welcoming. And some of the people I met at Olsen are still my friends now, four years later. I genuinely believe that this school and its staff and community helped me to become the person I am today, which is why Olsen shouldn't be shut down. Thank you, >> Jennifer. Jennifer Hartman. >> Good evening. My name is Jennifer Hartman. I'm a parent at Olsen Park and both of my children have walked those halls, learned in those classrooms, and been shaped by the people inside that building. I know tonight's decision has already been made that this meeting is more of a formality than
024require that you're required to go through. However, I need this to be said out loud and placed on record because what Olsen Park has meant to our children and our families deserves to be honored. Olsen Park is not just a school. It has been a second home for my kids. A place where they felt safe walking through the doors, where they were known by name, by personality, by heart. where teachers noticed their strengths, their struggles, their fears, their victories, where staff treated them like they mattered, not just as students, but as human beings. What this staff created was not normal. It was not accidental. It was something truly special. There was warmth, consistency, trust, joy. Kids were excited to come to school. Parents felt welcome. Families felt connected. There was a sense that everyone was
025on the same team rooting for these kids to grow up grow into confident, capable, loved human be human beings. Both of my children learned far more than academics there. They learned how to feel safe in the world, how to trust adults, how to belong, how to believe in themselves. Those lessons stay with a child for a lifetime. You cannot simply move students into another building and expect that culture to automatically exist. Culture is built by people, by years of relationships, by staff who care deeply and consistently. What Olsen Park had was rare. Losing that is heartbreaking. I want every teacher, secretary, custodian, and staff member to know this. What you did mattered. You changed lives. You created a place where children felt seen and valued. My family will always carry great gratitude, carry deep gratitude
026for what you have gave on our kids. I also want to say this respectfully, but honestly, many families feel unheard and deeply disappointed. When a community pours its heart into a school and into a district, they deserve transparency, meaningful dialogue, and to feel that their voices truly mattered in the process, even when the decisions are difficult. How they ma ma may how they are made matters, and the way this has been handled will be remembered. If Olsen Park must close, let it never be remembered as just another building. Let the record reflect that this is a beautiful, nurturing, extraordinary place created by exceptional people who gave children something priceless. Um, thank you for allowing me to speak and thank you to the staff who made Olsen Park a home to so many families, including mine.
027>> Thank you, >> Megan Schultz. I'm choosing to speak today to ask the board to commit to better communication. I ask that you use the board secretary, the new Harlem connect ed seesaw through principles around 122 Monday flyers or mass emails to coordinate communication directly to the parents outside of a board meeting and meeting minutes. These meetings and the meeting minutes can be difficult to follow. I have never seen a direct message from the board as a parent. I believe the anger and widespread push back during this consolidation process stems from the information from how the information was presented to us. Families deserve transparency about the challenges the district is facing, the major decisions under consideration and honest communication when things are not going well. For too long, we have been fed only the positives
028and the highlights of the district. That is why as an involved parent, a PTA board member and advocate for EC in Wnebago, I did not see this school closure coming. That is why I was so angry and confused in the beginning of all of this. I understand that changes need to be made. I still do not agree that Olsson Park or Maple should close and I definitely do not agree with any of the cuts being made to EC. In the board meeting on the 20th, one board member stated that she wishes that our community could communicate without being angry. Another member spoke to protocol of meetings being evaluated and that policies be looked at. I agree. The board needs to communicate more effectively and on a regular basis. The board needs to give us the
029same respect that is being asked of parents. We enjoy seeing the fun moments and celebrating growth. But when the difficult decisions and real challenges are kept out of the spotlight, it erodess parents respect and the trust we once had in the district. Especially when major challenges major changes like the consolidation plan are being considered. We deserve more. We deserve more. We have we deserve to have more input, communication, and we deserve to have a say in what's happening before it is happening before it happens. Well, before it happens. I'm requesting a con a clear explanation of what the board has learned from this consolidation process, both successes and challenges. I would like to understand how similar situations will be handled differently in the future. Additionally, I am seeking specific information on how communication will improve
030moving forward. Finally, I ask that the board and the district admins provide parents and community members with meaningful ongoing opportunities to advocate for and to support 122 in becoming the best it can be. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> See, we have Miles Schulz and looks like shared time with the sister Millie Schultz. I'm a student of Wilson Park Elementary School. I love my school and I love my teachers and they love me too. And the group of friends I have fit me. And if you guys take that away from me, I would be sad. I've been at Ozen Park Elementary School for 2 years and I want to stay there for more. I'm in fourth grade in Olen Park. I went um and my dad he also went he also went to Olsen. We
031like the teachers and the teachers like us. Um [snorts] I'm I'm a good friend to all my peers and I don't think you should take that away. Thank you >> guys. Jamie Richard. Good evening. My name is Jamie Richard. I'm under the impression the decision to close Olsen has been made. So, I'm going to address the ALP program. My son is a third grader in the ALP program and I'd like to address the re-evaluation of not only the third grade AOP no longer being offered, but ALP classes being phased out and transitioning to honors classes. I know the ALP is a designated classroom, but I really do not understand the honors classes structure being proposed to take over what the ALP offers. Yes, more students are eligible for honors classes and I believe they should
032be offered. But to have that as a replacement for ALOP, that is not even a comparison of curriculum approach nor environment that the AOP program offers. I'm fighting for third grade ALP to not be taken off the curriculum and to not phase out honors classes for the remainder of the program. That third grade early intervention is much needed for certain students. Despite the 30% of those offered whose parents declined the program, those students obviously were able to acclimate to their environment despite their different academic strengths amongst their classmates. For my son, that was not the circumstance at all. He hated school. He wasn't challenged enough. He had a lot of free time that allowed behaviors to rear their heads. And he struggled with peer relationships as he was left out, ostracized for his differences and
033how he presented himself. Third grade ALOP was a godsend to my son that was much needed. Many of these kids in ALOP are neurody divergent. They are in need of a different curriculum and structure approach that than what honors classes in typical classrooms cannot provide. If all the other programs intended to move to the magnet school are being prioritized, I find it very hard to swallow the elimin elimination of third grade ALP altogether and the phasing out of the program for students in greater need for higher education. The parks has no other alternative for gifted programs, which will cause many to seek outside the district, which in turn impacts the student numbers, which is partially what has brought us to this point we're currently at. Please reconsider taking taking away an academic program our area
034greatly needs. Thank you. >> Thank you, >> Christine Franklin. Good evening. I know lots of you and um I know that you've seen my face around the district. Um I'm Christine Franklin and I have been teaching at Olsen Park for 28 years. 29 years in the district, one year at Rockut. Um, I've had many of your children and um, I really appreciate the opportunity to get to speak with you. Um, I have, please don't hold this against me. I've been a Packers fan for 50 plus years and so I am all about the Hail Mary. So, I'm going to speak like no decisions have been chiseled into a tablet anywhere. So, I have been blessed and honored to be able to work for this district. I grew up in this district. I started at Maple
035Elementary School in 195 somewhere around there. Um, and uh, it's just been an amazing place to grow and learn. And um, I've had I've been hearing a lot of talk about Olsson Park and about safety and um, questions about the open concept and I just wanted to address some of those questions in that um, first of all safety. Do you know we can evacuate our entire school in under three minutes? We have so many doors that we can evacuate the entire school. Fire safety drill, whatever. Three minutes. That's amazing. Um we have um instilled in the children this open door concept. We've instilled in the children an idea of respect and teamwork. My kids know that if they're walking down the hall, they don't want to disturb Mrs. Warner's class and they're quiet. It's amazing
036to see. Um, in addition, we just got a new playground, a new HVAC unit. Our playground and parking lot were resurfaced, and it just seems to me that this plan came about rather quickly. Um, how many other options were looked at? Could we take a beat and think about what some of the other options for funding are? We used to have a grant writer who was incredible, thanks to that district from the north for stealing her away from us. That's something that's well spent on. Um that would be something that would be good to uh investigate. But again, I said it seems awful fast. Schools are barely getting cleaned in the summer months and now we're going to shift dozens of classrooms into new buildings into new grade levels and it's um the task seems
037monumental. Um so I would just ask for you to carefully consider all the things that are going to happen and um don't forget to come to World Readaloud Day. Thank you. Sarah Redner. >> Hi, my name is Sarah Rner and I teach third grade ALP at Olsen Park. While I'm deeply saddened that by the fact that Olsen Park will close under all the updated scenarios, I understand the financial hardship the district is facing. After considering the proposals, I fear scenario one would best fit the needs of the community because it keeps neighborhood schools, reduces transitions, and continues the ALP program. Scenario 4 would be the second best option in my opinion as long as you continue ALP. ALP offers opportunities for students uh that are advanced learners in grades three through five to foster their
038giftedness, work with challenging content and more. Most importantly though, these classrooms offer unique community of neurodeivergent thinkers. Parents of students in the program often express that their children are happier than ever in the program due to the peer relationships with students that they connect with, who have similar interests, who have differences worth celebrating, and who accept them for who they are. This community is built for meeting at a young age and spending so much time learning and growing together. This type of culture could not be replicated in an honors class that has a much shorter duration. In a time when we find our district already declining in enrollment, we should be encouraging families to stay and even move to our district by offering programming for advanced learners in their earlier elementary years. Other districts realize
039this. Rockford School District is home to Thorogood Marshall Elementary, a gifted academy for students in grade 1 through 4 who can then continue on through Theorogood Marshall School for grades 5 through 8. Shamberg School also offers a gifted magnet program for grades 3 through six. Linkwood offers programs for gifted beginning as early as first grade entitled LEAP. Keeping third through fifth ensures parents are not leaving the district to find better opportunities and also could um help attract new families if advertised properly. To counterargue a few points made earlier, while it is true that some students decline the ALP invite, class sizes still remain efficient. The fifth grade class has 24 students, the fourth grade class has 23, and the third grade does have 19. While there is less in third grade, it's because they used
040new cutoff this year in the process. This lower number though is not necessarily bad because it does allow for more flexibility for students joining the program if they move from another district and also if they're identified in a later grade. I would also like to give you an idea of how many students decline the invite. In 2024, 34 students were invited to reach the total class size of 24. Only 10 declined. The lowest invite score was still in the top 7.4% of the class, which is truly an acceptable number as it can uh help diversify the program. Of the 10 who declined, five were because of other programs like OLA and fine arts. I think if we had an invite process that happened earlier, then those who double qualify would know their options sooner. Uh
041while students may have different math and reading needs, teachers in ALOP, Thank you. Katie Fowler. Hello, my name is Katie Fowler and I am a preschool teacher in the Harlem School District. Looking over both plans that are being voted on, I have some serious concerns about plan 4. With the sister school proposal, students in our self-contained programs will be required to transition every 3 years. These students rely on consistency, familiar environments, familiar staff that know and understand their needs, and buildings that are equipped to meet their needs. These unplanned transitions often result in increased anxiety, behavioral escalations, and loss of instructional time. For some of these students, it takes years for them to feel safe and comfortable enough to begin forming meaningful relationships with both staff and peers. These transitions will limit the relationships these
042students can form and will take away opportunities for their growth. The sister schools also place our youngest learners in a building that is not equipped to handle their needs. As it stands, Windsor does not have a playground or bathroom suitable for our EC students. While my colleagues at Maple have worked very hard to make the best of their bathrooming situation, having bathrooms with properly sized toilets that are easil easily accessible allows our youngest learners to be independent in this developmental area, decreases anxiety, decreases the behaviors that arise when students have to unnecessarily wait, and limits the instructional time that is lost. Plan 4 also puts specialized programs at a magnet school. These programs will be limited in how much collaboration they can do together as their programs have varying needs, curriculums, etc. It also limits
043opportunities for our first through third grade students in the OLAP program to develop relationships and their languages as they will not have monolingual classrooms to push into for lunch and specials. It also significantly limits the collaboration EC teachers will have with K teachers. In the neighborhood schools model, early childhood is together at Parker Center. This will allow us to continue the work we have done over the years to align these programs and prepare our youngest learners to take on the expectations and demands of kindergarten. It also allows our youngest learners to be in a building that is designed to meet their needs. Plan 4 is not equitable across the board for parents, for students, and teachers that will be taking on the challenges it will cause. I understand that the district is in a hard
044position of needing to save money for its future stability. However, plan 4 will require a lot of projects that will need to be done in order to make sure buildings are equipped to handle the needs of all students. This includes bathrooms, playgrounds, making sure buildings are accessible and safe for all students. This will require the district to spend additional funds that they do not have on projects that will not be done by the fall. On a final note, saving money is not more important and should never be more important than our students education and futures. Please remember this when you vote. Thank you. >> Tyler Fowler Hello, I'm Tyler Fowler and I'm coming tonight as a taxpayer and community member. The reason I am speaking tonight is to help remind some of you sitting up
045there that you are representing the community. The community gave you the power to sit up there. You represent us. Uh, from the previous meetings regarding this to the posts I see on social media that I constantly see, it's pretty clear what the community wants. So far, only one person has spoke for any other proposal tonight. Um, that is [snorts] not in favor of proposal one. Um, what the people who voted you what the people who voted you want in option one is what the community wants. A few of you understand that. The other few need to realize that. Lastly, um, since Abraham Lincoln was quoted in a past meeting regarding this, I'll leave you with this. If you want to test a man's character, give him power. I guess tomorrow we'll truly see your character.
046That should be all of the public comments for today's meeting. Can I get a uh motion to adjurnn? >> So made second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> Thanks everyone.