001Um, as we change over our boards, um, you we will hang this in just outside of the boardroom and then hopefully, you know, years down the road, you can bring your grandkids here and say that was me um way back when. But the accomplishments that you've also um had here are extremely numerous. They're going to be very noticeable in the community in particular with all of the the changes that are happening. Um, Gareth, I don't think I've spent more talking about parking in my entire life. So, I just want to thank you um for all those moments of uh just like, you know, 10 p.m. text messages like we'll keep going. We'll keep going. Um, but um just those those things that you've all accomplished as a team and and everything together are really really
002remarkable. And you don't get paid for any of this. There's no thrills in it at all. It's just because you believe that it's the right thing to do. um to be a public servant for all of our community. So on behalf of our entire community, all of our students, all of our staff, and all of our administration, we say congratulations. We say thank you. So, if any board members would like to say any words, we'll certainly open the floor. And then, um, as we're doing that, I'll I'll pass out the box. Start. Yes. Um, I think a couple of words um, come to mind when I think of um, each of you um, that I think really embody what you have brought to the board. Um, and at least the last two years here for
003me, Phyllis, I think when I think about um, you sitting around the table, I think first and foremost of the passion that you bring. I think you bring passion, deep, deep passion for all of our students, um, for all of our schools and for all of our teachers. It's, um, so evident in everything that you speak about and how you speak about every issue. Um the the emotion, the passion, the excitement, the enthusiasm that you have has rallied us at different points um around different issues and um moved us and accelerated us and um driven us um I think at critical points. So thank you for that. I think you also bring incredible conviction um in what you believe, in what you think is right, in what you think um we should be headed and
004um you stay true to those convictions. And um often we agree, often we don't. But in all cases, you have been incredibly forthright, incredibly honest about your conision convictions around the table, and it's added to the um the diversity of, you know, opinions around the table and landed us at a better answer because even when we've disagreed, it's it's given us a richer answer because we've been able to have all of the different perspectives and different opinions around the So, thank you um for that clarity of conction as well. Um Denise, I think um one word that comes to mind is um care. I think um what folks don't often see is um all of the care that you have for um just the staff and um students um across the district that doesn't necessarily
005show up in our board meetings. I got a chance to be privy to some of that um as the vice president the last two years because I got to see all the tiny things that you do on a week to week and dayto day and monthto month basis that I don't think we even hear about sometimes. You remember everybody's birthdays. You know when um individuals are hitting key life milestones. You um check in on when a new assistant principal is joining a school. You care enough to um rally all of us and rally different um team members around um the human element of all of this work. Um and I think you have helped kind of humanize the board um and help all of both through modeling but also just directly um make human connections
006between the board and individual staff members and I don't know if everybody gets to see all that you do behind the scenes. Um but you've left some really big shoes for all of us to fill. Um I think it's going to take several of us to fill all those shoes but it's um it's really immense. So I think that's one. I think two is for me um real mentorship. It's been tremendous just to kind of um serve alongside of you and to be mentored by you. I think you approach um mentoring really from um a place of um true kind of giving and thoughtfulness and humility. Um is all about what you can do to help others versus any ego in the game. And I've just learned a lot about board service, learned a lot
007about being a leader, and learned a lot about um just how to approach different situations um that that I that are new to me just by watching you in action. And then um you don't have to be scared. Um I think when I think of you um I think of first and foremost um you know the expertise that you bring. It's not on one particular thing. Um although you definitely bring expertise not only in Robert's rules. I still have that big book and over the last week I'm like maybe I should read that book now that Gareth is no longer going to be on the board and we now have to figure out Robert's rules without him. Um but also just in finance and facilities and all of the immense areas that you contributed to.
008I think um again you leave just like Ellis and Denise and Dimmitri big shoes to build in terms of that you bring and the historical knowledge and just the kind of um strategic lens that you brought to all the different issues is going to be really really missed. Um but secondly I think you bring really immense rigor to the conversation. Um, it's been a real immense pleasure to be in conversation on issues and have you press really thoughtfully and strategically at how do we hold uh not only one aspect of an issue in our hands but multiple aspects of an issue in our hand. How do we balance both wanting to do more um in terms of x y and z programming but also want to be wanting to be fiscally responsible. How do we
009ensure that we do um this while also doing that and I think really pushing us to think through in a rigorous in a complex in a multiaceted way to ensure that we to the best possible answer um has ensured that we are able to provide counsel and advice to the administration in the best way possible but also able to make the best decisions of the board. So just tremendous um gratitude for all that you've done and the the rigor and expertise and thoughtfulness that you guys have two hard people to follow after that. Um, I'm g start with Phyllis. One of the things I most appreciate about you is about how prepared you always are. Um, you know, our board book back and front, forwards and backwards, um, all of our minutes, everything. I know
010that you care about the work. You don't just come prepared, but you care very deeply about the work that this board does and that the district does. and you care about it because you care about this community. So, I'm really grateful and appreciative to you for that. I also really appreciate how you're always willing and always willing to really step up and get another person there to make corum for committee meetings. Um, anything like that. It was like how can I help? Um, and personally just thank you for when I onboarded. You helped fill in a lot of gaps of knowledge for historical knowledge and things in the last couple of years. And um, I appreciate that from all of you in terms of you made it to join a bar and especially when it
011was kind of a difficult time in our community, you made that board easy for us bringing us on. Thank you for that. Thank you for your service. I am going to miss sitting next to you um and having my board buddy next to me. Um you have such an attention to detail. I feel like I do read the fine print, but sometimes I you know, I'm like, if I don't need to, got it. Um, if I accidentally forget something, I know that you have read it and that you will call attention to anything that we have missed or anything that we should hold off on. Um, and that's something I've learned from you is the ability to be like to take pause and say, "Let's table something if we're not if we're not ready for
012it so that we can make a better decision." Um, I like that when we disagree, we can disagree really and have a really good helps me often come to a better understanding of what we're thinking about and maybe something that I had a blind spot about. I think that helps us come to a better solution as a better decision for our district. Thank you for all that special thank you for the onboarding of the financial for that was the biggest on my first like what is what does this mean the budget? And then Denise, um I am going to miss you so much. I have appreciated your leadership. Um your leadership is one of the reasons why it made me feel comfortable to run for board service just watching you lead our community through a
013very difficult time. I think you make this so much easier than it is. Um you're able to hear so many different perspectives and pull everybody in and hear those and then help us both stay on task um and move forward at the same time. Um I think your counseling skills have been so helpful for not just the board but for the community. Um especially serving through a pretty difficult time. Um and I'm so excited for everything that is coming for our community because of the hard work that you've done that you have done and that you have done. Um And hope that you guys will come to all the ground breakings because you should be there to celebrate those successes. Okay. Thank you. You want to come? Go ahead. Okay. All right. Um, well, I
014was just gonna say a few words really about kind of what we've done over the last Um really when we got this job four years ago, nobody else wanted it to be honest. It was it was not you know most favorable time join that time. That was I think one of the biggest things I call it the tale of two halves that went on that first half that was a challenge was you know we had mission here to educate children which very much conflicted with everything else that was going on in the world at the time. So that was that was a challenge very divisive time and had hundreds of emails but hopefully I read them all and respond to it but but you know there was definitely a lot of passion forunately we all
015got through that and we were able to move on and but also at the same time that was the other big achievement finally was put new know was the end of that proved to be a very I think a lot of things you know beyond the referendum but I was obvious but fixing pocket and field was one of the accomplishments that came out of the um after after many years of that being an issue and being raised by by the city by boards and commissions of the city but we got it done which is good proud of that but also we did things like I think Samantha making sure that you know Lucy Kens is gone thank God I know when I talked to Monica was when she was coming on the board she agreed
016100% that needed to go and so glad and team were able to get that Press plus. I know Carol's in the room. You know, Carol raised that, you know, years ago when I first got on the policy committee when I first got on, but this the second half we managed to get that done. Um, and I think one of the things in the formation meeting two years ago was I asked structure. I think a lot of the divisiveness as well was a lot of the sentiment from the first board that I served on was really the fact that we didn't have a committee structure couldn't felt like it was a lot of decisions through I think committee structure I hope next continues that because I think it really helps us flush out and have a
017little influence that we have a little we have board members I think going through committee structure helps mold form and lets the know what our thoughts are ahead of time um review another big one at least one anyway and then just financial the last um I think that's that's better um but all work kind of never done but I feel like we're leaving things but you know where it's not done if I was to highlight finishing construction, right? That's key in the next two years plan middle school phase two and then it's executed as well then I don't come back up public comment here but in a few years time we want to see that 20 year capital plan I think that that is kind of key so that in 20 years time we don't
018need another referendum community And I think that that was something a great idea that we had coming out in the refer to see that come to fruition. Finally, the risk management really about proper traction, but I know that's the law has changed and that's an important risk management technique. I hope we don't, you know, there's always warnings out there like Orange County lost 1.6 billion control I know discussion in the next few months but with that those are what I had but but my thank yous are really thanking my fellow board members both this time around last time around that was you know it's been a good ride for you all um and then um also cabinet thank you for everything you do every day kind of the unsung heroes get complaints or the complaints
019that are serious enough. So you do all the hard work behind the scenes. Thank you so much to you guys as well. Dan isn't here. I always remember Dan. Dan he's not here one one night. He isn't here. Um but Dan has always been there after the long hours with us uh you know broadcasting. Um and last but not least a lot of time not so much hundreds of hours. Thank you all. You want to go? You want me to go? All right. Yeah. I just want to say quickly as I was thinking about this meeting, um it's really weird, you know, to be here. Um it's been a it's been a ride for six years. Um, and so I think the the metaphor that that came up, I think right at the time I
020came on the board, I went to Six Flags Great America and my children who are amazing supporters, one of them is here today, convinced me to go on Superman and I was like, okay, I will try this. It it's kind of what you on the board there were people asking you to go to try it. You're like, uh, this is a new experience. Can I do it? Can I not? But my family was there for me. my husband is here too and um just such great support over the years that I couldn't have done this without them. And you know, you're campaigning, you're waiting in the snake of a line and then you get to the front and it's not just you in your car, it's all your other people you have to support. Community
021members, the board members, the staff, the administrators, just so many people have been so supportive during this journey and I couldn't thank everyone. I know I forget. So, you know who you are, but that has just been so meaningful. All the connections and people I've met through this. I mean, District 64 will hold such a place in my heart because of all of that. Um, it's made me a better person. It's made me a better leader. Um, now I'm starting Superman. I'm getting on. And what do they do? They flip you horizontal. Okay. So the being on a board is really a different experience and um and it's not one I've had before. I probably won't have it again. I'm not going on Superman again either. So um and you know the one thing though
022when you're on your roller coaster, you're on your view is the balcony. Your view is the the park from that level. That's really what as a board member you have to continue looking at the district from that level and not getting into the ground where the administrators and staff are doing their amazing work. And um and then you know pretty soon fly by that Superman ride is over and you get back and you're like I did this. I'm glad I did it. I'm probably not going to do it again. And but and the train is ready for the the next to get to get on and um and do great things for the community. So, so I really thank you for the ride. It has been it's been a growing experience for me and um
023like I said, it made me a better person for it. So, thank you. I have served in this district Being on this board has never lost track and I know that I'm leaving the district and I know in my heart for every child always that I remain proud of the work accomplished inity of meaningful question. Thank you for your support here tonight. Nice. All right. And with that, um, brushed up on my Latin earlier today. It's a German adjournment Cena Dia and it's uh without a day meaning that this board will not meet again. And so is there a motion to adjourn? All right. So, Phyllis had the motion, Gareth had the second. It is 7:10 p.m. And um wait, all in favor? I All oppose. Okay, thank you. It is 7:10 p.m. and this
024board is adjourned. Had to do the gavl. Thank you everyone.