March 11th, 2025 - Board of Education Meeting

001e [Music] a [Music] he [Music] a [Music] okay [Music] all right 701 the board pre previously met in close session under exceptions uh C9 C1 and c21 with that i' like to call to order the March 11th 2025 walking Public School Board of Education meeting if I can have a roll call Mr McBride yes Miss Fabian present Miss Gonzalez here Mr riddle president Miss Hannah yes Miss lensing president president y here so we do have a Forum uh with that I like a motion to resume open session so moved second motion by Mr riddle seconded by Miss Gonzalez all in favor signify with i i any oppos nay we are in Open Session uh Miss Witherspoon if You' be so kind as to lead us in the pledge I pledge the flag United States of

002America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you Miss Weatherspoon all right uh board president's time so uh Happy women's History Month uh this March there are tons of celebrations that are going on as we also gear up for spring spring break and other celebrations so excited for that and hope that you all can get some much needed rest unless we have a special meeting um this month which we may um this is the only board meeting that we have scheduled so um you know we do have a student achievement meeting next week uh so again I'll keep the board updated on all of those items uh it's been a really busy time um lot of different events going on I know

003that I was able to attend the color ball at uh Andrew cook which was really fun so if you were able to see all the students in their different colors representing their houses uh what they call it is uh four houses but one family uh it really promotes uh inclusion and uh team building and a lot of fun so I am in the house divided so I'm in the black house but my wife and two my sons are in the blue house uh I'm in the green house miss Hannah's in the greenhous and so even on the board we have uh different uh houses that are represented so excited to participate in that um it is election season I keep reminding individuals that elections are coming up um myself and Miss Gonzalez will not uh

004be seeking another term but we do have two board members that are up for reelection as well as many others that are seeking election um and so there is a Schoolboard candidate Forum um one is for students and this is March 12th which is tomorrow um and that'll be in room 2011 at Washington campus for fifth and sixth periods and then there is a community Forum at trap at Brookside and that is 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. also uh that one's open to the community at the Trap Auditorium so 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. uh March 13th I apolog we'll make sure that that it's on social media but again March 13th trap at Brookside 6: to 7:30 is open to the community there's also a w Mayo candidate Forum on Saturday March 26th by the League

005of Women Voters um that will be at the Patricia A Jones Center uh formerly Park Place on Lewis Avenue and that one is 3:30 p.m. until 5: p.m. once again on the 22nd so make sure you get informed and that you um vote I'll send it to you Mah okay um in addition I want to um say that the board in solidarity with uh our teachers who last week uh wore blue in order to uh stand up for uhal f against theal against budget cuts yes so stand up against budget cups um and just make it known that education is extremely important um I just read a headline that over over 1,00 jobs have been slashed uh at the education department and what we want our legislators to know is just how important the educated

006department is uh how important and critical that funding is for walk and public schools and so I do want to thank Miss Hannah for encouraging us to stand in solidarity with our teachers and so we are wearing blue uh in support and and and protest uh of those cuts so uh go ahead Miss and and just to add to uh What uh board president was saying that they're also um have been cuts of of the funding freeze on the federal food program and um that's just another thing that we're going to have to be dealing with yeah so again there are tons of stuff going on please uh follow the district social medias sign up for for the email alerts um parents make sure that your emails and things are updated because there's a lot

007going on um and if you guys can believe it the school year is coming almost to a close so we only have a little over 60 some odd days left in this school year so make every one of them count with that I'd like to turn it over to our student board member for the student board member report um is this on is this on yeah okay um thank you for your time but I don't have anything to present today thank you we do have a spotlight on 60 so if we can get that queued up right now and while we get that queued up I do want to just say the superintendent unfortunately was unable to make it this evening uh Dr Cesario is sitting in in herstead uh due to a funeral so

008thank you um Dr Cesario go ahead [Music] today is our open house and it's a way of showing our what our students have accomplished and learned so far with the partnership with jets and controls originally I had asked for engineering but they put me in this class because it was full and it was a it was a good idea though because there's a lot of exposure here that I wouldn't have gotten in any other [Music] class so we are super excited to be celebrating the actual usage of our HVAC lab it has been a long road and we are just excited to to be having actual students being able to participate in the classes to learn what it is to be a HVAC [Music] technician something that I really like about the class is me

009personally I'm a very Hands-On type of person I like working with my hands using some tools and I felt that this was a good opportunity to learn something new as I'm a I'm not a big sit down and read a book type of person I much rather get real experience working with things like this the exposure to all these different types of tools like for me I said I would like to pursue engineering so the different type of tools will like prepare me for when I go to college and like I already have like a grasp of what to do in certain [Music] areas CTE is so important to our schools um CTE has proven to actually increase the graduation rate up to 20% of students that would normally be in Jeopardy of graduating the

010Career and Technical education aspect is is really critical you know these jobs are not only stable they're also expanding we're always going to have Heating and Cooling we're always going to have electrical we're always going to have Plumbing you know people are going to have a place to go they're going to need comfortability and this also translate not just residential but commercial properties as well as Automotive it translates to a lot of different Industries [Music] wonderful want to say um seeing that uh the different programs that are coming back I know uh we have board members Miss Hann and one of them that talk about um Career and Technical education I know we use those acronyms that's what CTE stands for Career and Technical education um but bringing more those back in District we still

011do participate in Tech campus um but trying to create more of those opportunities at the high school so excited to see this is one of the programs uh you had a question Miss faan no keep going time no go ahead no I just um I love the program and I was privileged enough to see Temple gr and she's been a proponent for really adding CTE when they were talking about the graduation rates because there are students that need that handson but um I was really looking at also their t-shirt shirts and reading I was like that is did they like coordinate that is that part of the program they come in uniform too I love those shirts um I know when I was down there they were all in the UN yeah like I was

012wondering if they're also preparing them for for that part of it um and then I had just one more comment on just for the community again I know I've said it before but you know the the rules have changed to become a CT teacher so if you're retired have extra time those programs can only happen if we have Educators so um those of you who are looking for a career change after retirement and you have experience in those areas I encourage you to um look at is.net and look at the requirements to be a CTE teacher awesome um and then I did forget something before we go to uh approval am minute so just uh a of the president's report is uh he been brought to my attention and continues to be brought to my

013attention and that's why I'm saying it publicly about the uh safety gate uh at the Brookside campus so I did bring that to um Mr Deputy moton or um and Deputy moton if you want to just speak to the solution for the board and the community good evening members of the board Dr Cesario staff and Community um the item that the board president references is a swing gate that is at the Brookside campus um as part of the new parking lot um that is something that can open and close based on the needs of the school in the morning and in the afternoon as well as for after school activities and Specialty items such as snow plowing um due to the concern brought forward we're going to leave that in the open or closed position

014at all times to ensure that it is secured and no longer a safety concern and that be a place for tomorrow then Deputy molon yes sir this evening um and then I did want to uh Miss uh Fabian just uh something that we've been trying to get in the practice of as a brief moment of silence just there been a lot going on it's always a lot going on and it's a way to help center ourselves as well as recognize those who have passed uh and again we don't know all the time unless we get the names who that individual is uh so we just wanted to do a blanket moment of silence can I say one name go ahead Miss Hannah um we did um unfortunately lose one of our longtime safety officers Mr

015Otis moodi thank you all right we do have approval of uh close session minutes from item 8 a so it's recommended that the Board of Education approve the Clos session minutes dated May 16th 2023 M March 12th 2024 September 24th 2024 November 12th 20124 February 11 2025 that were previously reviewed in close session I still Move Motion by Miss Hannah seconded by miss lindsy all in favor signify with i i any oppos nay min are approved all right we are now at item 8B approval of the minutes for the Open session meeting of February 11th 2025 if you can read that one uh director Cesario now make a motion that we approve the minutes as presented second motion by Miss Hannah seconded by Miss Gonzalez any comments questions Corrections on the minutes all in favor

016signify with i i any opposed n minutes are approved I I passed because I wasn't there one pass Mr riddle all right and now it's the opportunity for public comment so for public comment there will be a time clock on the screens each Speaker gets three minutes uh this is your opportunity to address the board it's a one-way uh push of information the board will not uh engage in conversation at this time uh but it is your opportunity and right to address the board we do want to remind all speakers of Civility we do ask that you refrain from mentioning student and staff member names and your remarks if you need translation services translation service will be provided for you and you will get six minutes to allow for the translation uh first three names

017in order Jennifer Witherspoon Ray vukovich and lose Granda good evening board members it's so good to see some of you I haven't seen you in a long time um my my name is Jennifer Witherspoon I'm an attorney you you most of you I've had contact with before I'm here today for very troubling reasons as most of you know my children went through Wan Public Schools I'm a member of Wan I've been a member for a very long time and I just want to make sure that the board really knows what's going on I'm getting calls seriously daily from teachers from students in regard to unfair treatment that they're experiencing here at the WAN Public Schools some of that those that treatment has um resulted in investigations being going on I don't know how aware you

018are but the average investigation if somebody gets back to that teacher or that student takes three months as a matter of fact I have three cases that's been around since 2024 now not to go into exactly what those about those are about because I don't want to do that as you all know you may know and those that don't know I used to be the hearing office officer here and one of the things that I used to do I would make sure that it was fair if if a teacher you know did something wrong I'd make sure that they understood that if the student did something wrong I made sure that they understood that they did something wrong what's going on here is unacceptable it really is I you know I can't soften it up

019I can't say it any other way it it's unacceptable and it hardens my heart every every time I get a call from a student or a teacher talking about that they you know they were treated you know they weren't allowed to take a to go to a a a meeting or if they weren't allowed to go uh uh uh find out something about a student or a student who who was taken off an IEP and they weren't even aware that their child was taken off of that IEP I don't know what's going on I don't know who is responsible I for it but this is just me using my person I I'm looking at you up there and I know that the majority of you up there have integrity and I want to read this

020a school board that pursues its ends through the delegation of authority has a moral obligation to itself and the community to determine whether that Authority is being used as intended you know uh again a client that I had we we had to end up going outside of the WAN school district for my client to be heard that doesn't make any sense thank you m thank you for your time Mr vukovich good evening uh Mr President I want to thank you for bringing up that item about the swing gate I'm the one that brought that to your attention some six weeks ago and while you know might sound like a little item to somebody that a gate doesn't get locked you know that's yesterday was the third time in six weeks that I brought it to

021your attention and you indicated that the deputy superintendent would take care of it and have it done that was yesterday at dinner time I had brought it to your attention and you just uh responded today Deputy superintendent says it'll be locked tomorrow as of 6:30 tonight it's still out there it's still a hazard and the reason I'm bringing this up is because 30 years ago in this District at Whittier school there was a young lady who was decapitated by one of those Gates yes she was driving around the back of the building and the sun blinded her she drove right into it and it killed her this District PID made out a SE seven figure settlement on that didn't bring the the young lady back but it cost this District dearly so this isn't something

022that happened on the East Coast or on the west coast it happened right here in this district and by God somebody needs to lock the damn gate how difficult is it you have to unlock it to open it and you have the same lock you locked a thing I I I don't understand how difficult that can be yeah and and by the way the city of Wan outlawed those Gates and there's there's some back and forth over the years where you all think that you don't have to follow city ordinances well once stuff's on the outside with fencing and things like that you're supposed to be following it but it's about time that that thing gets locked and stayed locked because if it doesn't I will keep bringing it up and bringing it up until

023the top person respons is gone because this District shouldn't have to go through that again no member of this community should have to go through that absolutely on another matter I I see you put signage up at 214 Washington Street you know sometimes I've said some people around here have their heads up in the clouds um apparently that's that's the audience you're looking for because six stories up Wan Public Schools you could see it from the jail and the county building or if you're in a helicopter but at street level you can't see it so I don't know who thought of that one but thank you thank you Mr vukovich L Grand if we can get uh six minutes uh good night uh I'm really grateful that you are giving me the time to talk

024to you and um um give me this opportunity I really need your attention I don't know if you can hear me I don't hear myself okay I'm here because I was looking at the test result that the students had on the February 27th when it says that 84% of the students were not doing good while the 14% they were on their way and my student the ninth grader is the one that did really bad this is not the first time that I am here to ask help in lit for my student I have done it all the time that my student was at middle school and I feel that have always been ignored and now that I see these percentages I see that I was not wrong my student and his companions need help and

025they need it soon because these students are supposed to be prepared to go to college and I know that you on the board ask questions to the lady in charge of lit and in me translated translated right she says that you got she said that the lady says that it will be in another time I I think especially for the high high school students as soon as you see a results like that especially after the ACT that's the time to help them the results of the ACT tells you what and where the students are lacking knowledge since February 27 I communicate with the lady of the bilingual Department no depart oh and the department of literature there is a section in the act that my students to my children told me that it's a grammar

026section and in this section the students need to know exactly how to put the period commas accents and the student really need to know this I think it's very important you help the high school students and is very important that you right now before the summer have a program so they can help the students to reach their potential and if you see the percentage is 80% and then 14% you know this is urgent I'm going to send emails and I'm going to send more emails and more emails until I am heard and do something else so you can hear me you have I have you have heard me three years and this is the fourth year why are you what are you waiting for to hear me please help the students of wo high school

027they need it and my student too don't forget the message that I'm telling you right now uh don't go after this meeting is over then then you forget everything what I just asked gracias thank you than Grand next three names in order are rayan Edwards Randy secki and Javier Javier Granda good evening everybody it's been a while it feel contagious being in this building but um first of all I want to say congratulations to the walk Keegan Bulldogs um them young men um did something amazing not just on the court but off the court um they gavanized the whole Community together they brought all of those people in the building and that's not always easy to do so I want to say congratulations to them boys cuz I'm so proud to be a bulldog okay

028now having said that um I you know sometimes when we come up here and speak it's almost it's redundant cuz the message is getting missed I come back because I get a message that a autistic kid was hit in our district and that this mother found out four weeks later I see the test scores being read out at a school board meeting not at a student achievement meeting that was strange to me and I asked myself why would they do that because see at that student achievement meeting we have real dialogue at the board meeting you guys can't we can't have that tonight Mr riddle I remember you um I had the distinct pleasure of being in the Lake County Jail um you have a lot of friends of mine get their GED you was

029real firm with that I remember you Jeff McBride I remember you from a kid to almost an adult and a lot of people often times ask me where I get all of that from was people like you that I learned this from who fought against people who pushed back against the norm who did what was right even when it was hard and no matter who it was Brandon I've been knowing you for a very long time um from the People Choice days when I was bringing all of the kids there you was awesome bro Miss Hannah I've been knowing you just as long watching a lot of things of what you did in the community but today as I stand up here I ask myself and I'm and I'm wrestling because I'm almost like I

030don't know who you guys are two employees is all you had that's it one of your employees do what she wants to do she writes her own goal she do all of that it's unheard of I don't know what we have to do to get things back but despite what those boys did on the court it's a black cloud because of this board and our babies are losing so Lucy it kind of explain to you why a lot of top dogs in this District kids go to other schools because of those scores thank Mr [Applause] Edwards I'll try not to drop it this time all right so I also want to congratulate the Bulldogs it was amazing to see that gym packed but one thing that I was disheartened to see what about halftime what

031about prom or the Palms the cheerleaders and all that where is that their opportunity to showcase their talents and their hard work that they've done that was a tradition in this District they've always put on halftime shows we have a lot of amazing singers in this District where's someone singing the National Anthem it's a lot more meaningful when someone sings it than to play it on a recorder and and that really Hypes up the gym especially when it's packed so I'd like to see you know th that stuff come back and so for some reason it wasn't there um and then one of the other things I want to talk about it's funny uh Mr Edwards mentioned it is goals so I'm asking for a recommendation for the people that are going to remain on

032this board and for whoever is going to sit on this board you have two employees superintendent should not be writing her own goals that's your guys' job you guys write the expectations of the superintendent that's your employee that's the way it should be done when someone can write their own goals and out of 22 schools we only had one of the goals is for one school to move up in the state report card to get a bonus that's ridiculous out of 22 schools that needs to change the superintendent's been here what 9 10 years these scores haven't changed they look like this since she's been here we've sat here for a lot of presentations under this top Administration leadership and heard of all the stuff that's supposed to be done and wasn't done Darren Co

033and I'll keep bringing it up Mr Cesario is Darren Co all the support these kids were supposed to have when they're at home for Co they didn't get my kid was one of those five times with Co he was he was Co and had to be home he didn't get no support and all we ever get when it's brought up is sorry that happened to you sorry that happened to you when in is this board and the future board is going to hold their employees accountable we hold teachers accountable we we don't hesitate to write them up and then mention their name up on this dis why don't we do that to to to our administrators why does this school district have a high turnover we talk about teacher shortage a high turnover of Administrators

034in this District besides the top couple it's a revolving door obviously there's a problem in our district and one of the other things I say we have two Deputy superintendents contracts end at the end of this year how about we go and actually give them smart goals let's base their Performance Off the I test results and the SAT results when those come back let's give let's go off those goals to see if they come back to this District or not thank you mrsi Javier Grand uh hello members of school board Dr sario Comm members uh I come to represent the walking High School JTC uh I would like to formally invite all the board members this Saturday to the walking High School 99th military ball it'll be at lakur camp at lakur Plaza it'll start

035at 5 it would mean a lot for you guys to come out and see uh what JTC does in some ways and it'll be a formal event formal attire uh We've not really had many board members show up we always have plans in the case they show up but uh we'd like to you guys show up if possible I would also like to advocate for more grammar help in uh High School uh starting from nth grade since I'm an 11th grader now and grammar help would be nice but but it would be better if we start off with a better foundation in nth grade which will help us build those scores up for colleges and just in life in careers we always need like grammar good grammar good writing for any job we do so

036I would like to advocate for more Gramma help and that's it thank you for your time hope to see you all there on S thank you thank you Mr Granda and thank you to all our uh speakers this evening um 5 with that we do have our consent agenda which is up these items um are voted on in order to expedite the work of the board uh they should be non-controversial and or previously discussed there are four items here any board member can ask to vote on any item separately if you like to do so please give me the letter at this time board president can I vote uh or can we vote separately on a a a anyone else all right then I need a motion to approve items 10 b c and d

037so moved second motion by bince linding seconded by Miss uh Fabian any comments questions on the motion this is for B to D B to D BC and D just a quick comment go I just want to give kudos to the board because um as you all know I used to do face and do the back to school resource Fair um with no budget and no staff and to see that the board has been continuously supporting the expansion of our back to school Fair um personally I will say I really really appreciate it thank you all right roll call Mr McBride yes Miss faan yes Miss Gonzalez yes Mr riddle yes Miss Hannah yes Miss lensing yes president Ying yes IEM approve motion cares and read those for the record 10B renewal uh for consumable

038program 6-8 grade e SL materials uh C approval of pivot Learning Network LLC and D approval of the purchase of prek 12 school supplies all right now we got item 10 a light foot pyramid professional development if you read the recommended action it is a recommendation of the administration that the Board of Education authorize a superintendent or her design to approve Nicole session Jessica Beck and Christina Tenon to attend the pyramid conference in Tampa Florida from April 20th through the 26th 2025 the total cost is estimated at $8,250 which includes registation lodging travel and meal perdm rate motion to approve second motion by Mr riddle seconded by Miss Gonzalez any comments questions on the motion uh my only comment is while I do like that our staff are teachers especially are going out to get

039professional development um unfortunately I can't support this just because of the location to be um in the State of Florida and in com to remain consistent with my prior voting as well thank you roll call Mr McBride yes Miss Fabian yes Miss Gonzalez yes Mr riddle yes Miss Hannah yes Miss lensing no president Ying yes item approved motion carries we are now at item uh 13A for personnel that the Board of Education accepts the administration's recommendation to approve the appointments retirements retirement extension requests and accepts the resignations as found on schedules f102 L 949 and g660 motion to approve second motion by Miss uh Gonzalez second it by Mr riddle any comments or questions on the motion um we have some retirees um that are listed would just like to um give them uh well

040wishes uh whenever they do they put in but they have extended um they've extended their stay here in the district thank you Miss hannnah roll call Mr McBride yes Miss Fabian yes Miss Gonzalez yes Mr riddle yes Miss Hannah yes Miss linding pass president Ying yes item approved motion carries item 168 Financial reports ratification of the first processing of March 2025 board bills manual check request payments of National Bank insurance payments for the period of February 19th 2025 through March 4th 2025 it is a recommend ation of the administration that the Board of Education ratify the 1st March 2025 processing of board bills manual check request payments and Old National Bank insurance payments for the period of February 19 2025 through March 4 2025 the accounts payable board payments for the period of February 19

0412025 through March 4 20205 totals 3,282 4865 the manual check request payments for the period of February 19 2025 through March 4 2025 totals 59,92793 through March 4 2025 totals 2,951 2262 cents I'll make a motion that we that we approve no I remove my motion somebody else motion do you have a motion I motion the recommended action motion by Miss Gonzalez second seconded by Miss Fabian any comments questions or motion roll call I'll go ahead Miss yeah I am asking um I am asking uh the board for us to uh be very conscious of the what we are approving from here on out I have asked before about um reducing the spending particularly in um in our foods but I'm going to take this request across the board because of the different um uh

042things that are going on in Washington that we have no control over but we do have control over what we do here uh in our school district and we we we may not be in problems right now with our finances and we don't know in the future what's going to happen so I am saying that the reduction and spending in the district overall needs to go down um I think Miss handle makes a positive point I do know that the budget is being worked on um invitations should be sent out shortly if they haven't gone out already for the budget Workshop that's something that our finance department watches very regularly um and so uh if you know it's that noted all right roll call Mr McBride yes Miss Fabian yes M Gonzalez yes Mr riddle

043yes Miss Hannah pass Miss lensing pass president Ying yes item approve motion carries all right uh committee reports I have we want to do to no go ahead missah okay um uh I the committee the wellness committee um had was able to attend um a uh professional development um and I don't want to um I'm just uh reporting that out but um I don't want to steal the Thunder of Miss dos and and it will a report will be coming forth regarding the PD but we are um uh we received our book we have a uh a book that we're reading in the um uh Wellness committee and the anxious generation and how the great uh rewriting of child hood is causing an epidemic of mental illness and so uh I'm sure it's going to

044be interesting um but Mr riddle do you have anything else because not really I think we're still working on on the on the posters and on the uh progress with getting our our VAP anti vaping and uh um the program and you know into our schools right so we're working with the health department and with with the um nikasa yeah okay yes thank you favor so the PAC will be meeting this Thursday the 13th at 5: at harez or you can go on Zoom um if you need that Zoom link you can reach out to student Outreach at wps60.org I wanted to say something to board president go ahead Miss G um and I don't know if you want so U Miss lensing and I sit on the equity advisory Council led by um Dr

045Fields and um we recently met uh virtually um last week on Wednesday to talk about what the future of equity work really looks like in the district considering all the federal changes and um the challenges that we're seeing at the uh at the federal level um but I can say all of us on the council and everyone I'm sure who's participated at on policy committee um uh meetings that they're committed to the work and um you know we've had to rethink um some of the language in the equity policy that uh will soon be brought to the board at at some point but um you know a lot of the focus and the effort that has been done under the direction of Dr fields and the face team um is well underway it's still going

046to um move forward um we're just navigating um this climate so that people aren't targeted and um and so I just wanted to shout that out because um that's something that a lot of folks have been waiting on there's a lot of great events that are happening and that are being facilitated um but you know the work just is navigating different barriers um so more more to come but I wanted to say that unless you wanted to yeah I'll I'll add on to that and this is from a a personal perspective so I'm not saying this on behalf of the entire board but it's very frustrating for um our leaders in Washington to take this position against Dei because really what it is is breaking up the boys club on the golf course Dei is

047intended to ensure that everyone truly does have a chance at succeeding in any career path they choose in this country so to hear that people want it to be merit-based that is what Dei is so while I am grappling with how we stay true to making sure all of our students are seen their individuality celebrated and encouraged to just be their authentic selves we in my opinion as a district want to continue to facilitate that in our students and our staff our families in the larger Community while also adhering to federal law to miss Gonzalez's point so that we are not targeted and we are not losing the funds that this District desperately needs so I'm really happy happy and thankful for the work that this community is putting this committee is putting in to

048make sure that we are addressing the needs of our students so that they can succeed no matter what labels people want to put on them can you just add to that thank you Miss uh Fabian I understand all the inks with the federal level but I also want to remind everyone that we are um in my eyes fortunately in a state that does support Dei we have several school code that also supports those initiatives so we also have to be mindful to continue to follow our school code and ensure that we are teaching um all of those mandates that we are required to teach thank you all right uh delegates report uh just a reminder for everyone uh tomorrow evening we do have our spring Lakes division um a dinner meet uh meeting and um

049I don't know if we are uh going to ride the bus or if we are individually driving but either way we'll find out but hopefully everybody can attend yeah I think um those that needed or requested Transportation should have uh reached out to Jasmine and uh anybody else we expect you to make your way there all right uh we have our superintendance report at this time uh Dr sario are you leading at cther yes I I think it's uh Miss Vander Brooke U so this is just uh again we had this presentation ready to go uh but while we were literally in the meeting there were a bunch of executive actions that were overturned so this is obviously the information that we know as of this point today uh but it is a fluid situation

050as we continue to Grapple with the impact of the um executive actions go ahead Miss vandero is the mic there we go um I was asked to just give an overview of the executive orders and guidance that we have out to date in terms of some of the issues that are coming through so this is is really just meant to be an informational presentation um there are um plans to do a further workshops with the board we will speak to some other next steps at the end of the presentation the topics we're going to cover are um include DEA the DEA Dei deia and environmental justice Equity ideology executive orders orders addressing Title 9 and gender IDE ideology and parental rights in that context school choice and parental rights as well as briefly touch on

051English as the official language of the United States before I dive into the detail um the executive summary and the highlights of this is that it's fluid it remains fluid um from a key piece on the question of federal funding which is concern at multiple levels not just at the local school level um there are uh very uh a number of Courts who have issued preliminary injunctions on stopping distribution of funds that have already been committed those preliminary injunctions generally speaking are not saying that the federal government has to continue to provide funds not already committed those cases as to the authority of the executive office as opposed to Congress to commit those f funds are still working their way through the courts um there's also an executive order with respect to funding about school

052choice and expanding funding in that area for parents as it comes to investigations those investigations can go forward um and they are being opened by the office of civil rights on their own initiative as well as in response to complaints historically the bulk of complaints that come are investigations that are initiated are as the result of an individual complaint but we have seen things for example um with respect to women in athletics under Title 9 OCR has initiated their own complaints on their own accord based on statements that uh Wisconsin uh Athletic Association for example indicated that they were looking for guidance from their attorney General on a conflict of Law and that was enough for them OCR to open that investigation so I do anticipate that active investigations will go on in alignment with

053how the uh executive orders are looking at the eii and Title 9 and gender uh identity questions and issues for Title 9 itself there are multiple cases that are working their way through the courts on a variety of different issues some of which will ultimately have an impact in the schools in terms of what is the definition of sex primarily uh use of pronouns accepting names and so forth those cases are not yet at final uh points however where there are cases that were filed by transgender individuals the uh Department of Justice is starting to drop those cases and the courts are having to Grapple with what does that mean in terms of whether the case should continue so we're still watching and monitoring those closely OCR has however put out specific guidance in N

054FAQ that schools and administrators should pay attention to because that will be the guidelines they're looking at and they're giving some examples as they do investigation shouldn't investigation be opened I have not yet seen an FAQ related to Title 9 um I have seen some legislation at the Congressional level hr28 which seeks to amend Title 9 with respect specifically to um the participation of transgender females or males as the executive orders put it in women's sports they have not addressed that with respect to transgender males or females participating in men's sports there is however a shell bill out there hr1 1557 that has no content that has yet been posted so we'll see where that goes Senate Bill 9 was another bill that um was I I believe has been defeated at this point and

055it'll be hr28 that goes forward those two bills were very similar State guidance as um has been in indicated by some of the board members today is that state law um and both at the school code and the Illinois Department of Human Rights um those protections against non-discrimination curriculum expectations continue to apply the guidance that we are providing to staff and we as the administration is to continue to meet the individualized educational needs of students making cases on a case-by casee determination because as things evolve particularly as they involve in the courts and in the uh changes to legislation it will inform what our obligations are and potentially impact those obligations at the state level as well so remaining uh slides are going to speak on some of these issues more specifically each content area

056at the outset we do provide you with the titles of the executive orders or guidance or memoranda that we are referencing with the highlights that we've bulleted and there are links for any of you who choose to look at it more directly hopefully all of the links work and we'll take you to the document cited if for some reason you find a link doesn't work please let us s and we'll try and correct that link um what I tried to do was just hit highlights of what is addressed in each of these areas and very briefly it's much of what I shared in the executive summary so I won't uh stand on it for an extended period of time it is a lot of detail on each slide I do acknowledge that um but there

057is a pause on funding for activities associated with programs implicated by the executive orders now this is what the order addresses it's not necessarily the current state of affairs with respect to deid and environmental justice what is quoted from one of the executive orders is that there is to be a termination of all discriminatory programs including illegal Dei and diversity Equity inclusion and accessibility which is what deia a stands for if those weren't sure what the a was for mandates policies programs preferences and activities in the federal government under the name they appear which includes Equity related grants or contracts in all Dei or deia performance requirements for federal contractors or grantees so when that area settles down and as it moves forward uh for those federal funds that we do receive we're going to

058need to be paying attention to how those get modified as they come forward there's also language here in these executive orders which require a change to the certification statements when you sign off on accepting a grant from the federal government that we are to agree that we are in compliance with the federal anti-discrimination laws that are um material to the payment decisions right we're acknowledging that this is a material compliance is material to the federal government giving us this information and if we sign off on that and are deemed not to be in compliance by the federal government we risk false claims Act uh violations um and we also are to certify that we do not operate any programs promoting Dei that violate federal anti-discrimination laws that's very broad language what that means will depend

059on what we know at the time we're asked to sign off on anything there's also uh information at the federal level that dis defines discriminatory Equity ideology it's a long definition that's why it's not in here so if you're interested please look that one up and to reestablish the 1776 commission to promote patriotic education in schools um the agency recommendations to the president's office on how to enforce this are due by May 21st and um we do have some information that's been given to the public by OCR as I mentioned previously at this point and OCR has made it clear that if they are looking at discrimination issues and matters with respect to Dei they will be using strict scrutiny which is a very high bar to pass in order to have any programming or

060decisions that are supported based on uh calling uh looking at somebody's race gender sex identity Etc um at the state level ISB has recognized State protections against discrimination of specific protected classes and we give you the list that is be cited in their commentary and the Illinois Attorney General similarly supports maintaining state law there are no amendments that have been put out to the state rules that I'm aware of at this point I did check earlier today um and I have not seen anything that has been put forward at the state level to amend the Illinois Human Rights Act or anything in the school code arising out of these executive orders at this time I do think it's it was an important clarification from the Illinois attorney CH General to differentiate practices that promote diversity

061Equity inclusion from those that are preferences in hiring in program programming involvement so that is um an important clarification from them and then what are the key considerations that come out of the uh information addressed in these orders um you know we I've mentioned OCR will be doing investigations and is initiating those the FAQ will give additional guidance that as uh we're looking at programming internally we should be mindful of how the um OCR will be looking at those questions overall and existing contract termination certification and enforcement Provisions are preliminary and joined based on a court case but not investigations and I've cited the case I don't believe we've had any um further orders in either of these cases uh that would give a final order coming out that may be appealable we're still in

062the hearing stages on that so the important piece there is in particular that the certification language on the grants at this point there's a preliminary injunction from that being enforced and that is a nationwide injunction can I are you finished with the this may be a good time to take a pause because I'm about to flip to Title 9 so if we'd like to take a pause in questions I'm open to that and I'll do the best my best to answer I I just been I've just been thinking about it you know ever since the stuff started right and it it I'm is this contradictory absolutely wait welcome to the US I don't mean to welcome but otherwise we'd cry oh right yeah um this this is contradictory to um the 14th Amendment of the

063US it depends on who you ask yeah if you read if you read the ocrf AQ they will outline in great detail how they interpret the law that's what's Pro that's what's wrong with the law it's always being interpreted by man look read it the way it's supposed supposed to be but anyway well there's two different lenses right there's the laws in found as you all know lawyers make arguments yeah and but it it it just it it just smells so much of um of it being just so it number one it's hypocritical number two it's in it's in direct violation of of the 14th Amendment the the cases that are out there are being argued based on uh First Amendment Viewpoint discrimination procedural matters under the 14th Amendment yes um Flatout discrimination um we

064are not seeing as many cases filed I'm not saying I know them all so they may be out there that are specific to discrimination under Title 9 that they're really challenging separation of powers what is the authority of the executive agency to dictate that versus congress's power to issue over the purse to issue funding um we so it's very fluid as I started it's fluid and it is changing and we are still looking at meeting the needs of students on an individualized basis and making cases on a case-by casee basis decisions on a case-by casee basis at the point in time an issue comes to us because things are moving M L I just want a reminder out to our community that we have representatives in the state to miss fabian's point point we are

065democratic and it is leaning more towards what we are doing here in our district for our students in our community however if anything that you're hearing tonight is against what you want please connect with your local Representatives along with your state Representatives I know Schneider's holding Town Halls um please reach out we can't solve these case problems to miss Vander Brook's point we are tracking and monitoring and adjusting as appropriate you need to escalate beyond the school board if you disagree with these cases so I will remind the school board you're sitting as a board and we need to keep the board activity separate from politics apologies we are nonpartisan in these non issues that just a reminder and impact school funding and student outcomes Absol so I'm going to I'm going to continue from

066this point if there's nothing else specific to the Dei executive orders okay title 9ine again we have the various orders that are out there in the OCR as well as DHHS guidelines the DHHS guidelines um are where you will find a definition of of sex female and several other terms that the executive orders have asked be clarified uh through the agency actions um in this case these these executive orders and statements from OCR and DHHS identify that federal policy is to recognize only two Sexes male and female it defines uh the terms sex wom or girl man or boy male female mother father gender ideology gender identity you will find those spelled out in detail in the DHHS guidelines it directs um resending of federal funds to programs that support male participation in female sports

067social transition or gender ideology that funding piece remember those are the ones where the courts have ordered existing funds that have been committed cannot be pulled back but new funds do not have to be committed um is is where the courts seem to be on that the order also looks to restore single seex intimate spaces that has not yet been defined per se but I believe that is bathrooms and locker rooms um it requires parental notice of a student social transition such as student asked to have their preferred um pronouns or name changes recognized in the school setting and OCR enforc efforts again will be based on a recognition of only two Sexes under the key considerations you will see they are determining one's sex based on the biological ability to produce eggs or sperms

068as determined at the time of birth so that is part of the dhss definition um isby again recognize State protections against discrimination of specific classes I reiterate what those classes are here under the Illinois Human Rights Act sexual orientation it's clear in regulations is where they're picking up protections for gender identity uh we spoke a little bit about the uh Congressional activity on the house resolution 28 funding is at risk as with many other things uh in the executive orders because that is the stick that they have with these orders is to pull your funding if they find non-compliance there is one court case I am aware of where a preliminary injunction was issued it affects the plaintiffs only who were two transgender individuals attempting to participate in female sports so this one is not

069a nationwide injunction there may be some a a case out there that has that established I just was not able to catch it before today's meeting I'm not 100% sure on that if not now I'm expecting there will be one soon um but the the issue there is what is what cases are they dropping that have been in progress in the courts and how are the courts handling that versus the new cases that they're bringing that they're bringing on behalf of cisgender individuals who are expressing concerns um so that's Title Nine school choice the there is one executive order on this it basically announces the federal policy to expand money available able for parents to choose to send their students to private faith-based or public charter schools we don't know exactly how that might impact

070monies that are available for public schools um so we're waiting to see what that looks like as more information is fleshed out and um they are prioritizing educational freedom in the Department of Education discretionary Grant programs but um we don't know what the Department of Education is going to look like ultimately based on a recent announcement that was made by the newly appointed head uh but we have no details um but she has acknowledged that her role is to start to dismantle and downsize the Department of Education but we don't have details on that and I don't have any links in the presentation to that statement if you search it on the website if you're interested you can probably find her statement the last uh piece that I have pulled out as being specifically applicable

071but not necessarily sure how in the school setting is English as the official language of the United States and the the key piece here is that it is giving a federal agency's discretion as to whether or not to continue to ensure that individuals who don't speak English can access information by requiring it be translated or whatnot on websites so the order gives the federal agencies the discretion whether to pull down translated Pages for example versus have them up all in English it also removes the executive order that was put in place in 2000 that otherwise required federal agencies and fund recipients to ensure there was meaningful access to governmental information and programs and services um um so again we don't have specific guidance this guidance should be coming from the Department of Justice according to

072the executive order I did not see any uh published as of today um this order is relatively new though March 1st of 2025 yes ma'am just with um with the um English as an official language I'm just wondering um have you looked into how this is going to impact um the bilingual program because see that's a federal program and um do we know how it's going to impact that and the um the funding not at this time I haven't seen any guidance around it I have been waiting for some guidance to come out speaking to title 3 um uh which is where I think much of that funding comes from to support bilingual programming I was encouraged that the executive order itself gave the federal agency's discretion I'm hopeful that will continue to allow uh

073States and local agencies to exercise discretion but anticipate there will be a drop in funding to support getting that done I do believe that the government is interested in those who do not speak English learning English so we may that may be one that there may not be as much effect as in the areas of Dei and Title 9 but that's purely speculation at this point and and I just want to end by saying that um the um the the we do get get money for the bilingual program right but much of that funding is local and so would it even um be impacted if if we if the money is local I don't believe so but it's going to depend on how they roll out their compliance pieces and whether or not that that

074somehow is affected by somebody asserting discrimination somehow because there's money going to teach individuals to learn English it's it's I don't know we don't have guidance at that at this point other than they are the federal government is encouraging people to learn English and acknowledging that they want individuals in the United States to speak English and so okay yes there are federal uh the all these are uh Federal Executive Orders but as my colleague said earlier about the state um we are bound by our state yes we we are bound to comply with both state and federal law as the federal law applies to us and I guess maybe I should restate re re restate it we're we have to wait until the state is kind of like the flow through money go from the

075feds to the state and then down to the districts and so the state has not received anything on this that you know the only thing I've seen from the state is the superintendent message that is linked in I think the first slide on Dei and that message was to continue to comply with the dictates in the school code which would include serving our our English learner population and there have been no amendments presented with respect to that statute yeah and I was speaking more in general terms than just bilingual but yeah and only I'm go to miss linding but because I do want to remind the board that I wanted you all to be briefed I think it's important for the community to know what all we're up against but it is still really fluid

076uh and so to kind of go in depth or I know Miss uh Vander Brock was also hesitant to kind of do the the game plan is because things are changing uh she uses the term fluid but it's almost daily at minimum um priorities are Shi sometimes hourly and and the superintendent has a plan for next steps so if we can go to next steps we can identify for everybody what the next steps are as well question out in there we can do that I just I just want to reiterate a point that you had made that I just want to make sure is extremely clear and correct me if I'm off base but to your point yes we have to comply with both state and federal laws and when they're in conflict with each

077other that is where the big discussions are going to need to happen right and while we don't know what they are right now I would assume that those are eventually coming uh yes and I would assume that the courts will be addressing them these are the concepts of the plan these are I'm sorry I appreci I appreciate the statement right um you know that that ultimately at some point this board may be fac with the decision do you want to do a or do you want to do B and what are the and we don't know if we will the case of first impression if you choose one over the other we will make decisions on a caseby Case basis in the interim meet the individualized needs of students irrespective of race gender sex sexual

078orientation religion national origin Etc I'm going have uh you speak to the next steps so then if you still have your question Miss uh faor thank you so next steps um that the superintendent and administrative team have put forward include continuing as I've said to meet the individual needs of all students on a case-by Case basis monitoring the developments and ensuring that significant developments are communicated to those that are impacted by the decisions um uh and inform our obligations she does plan to schedule board workshops to discuss aligning District activity with the federal mandates um we will also be looking at um policies programs and practices that may be affected and looking for direction from the board as to what you would like us to be doing in that regard at any point in time

079what you might all agree is appropriate today might not be where you stand in a month or in 6 months nor May the issues that we have to consider still be the same in 6 months so it is still fluid but we are trying to know what might be in play and have some ideas about um you know what we would need to do and when and so forth and that will be part of what I understand the board um workshops will address in part but I'm not running the workshop so if I have not accurately uh describe that the superintendent will set me straight and she should um and also to keep all stakeholders informed so it is a fluid process this was an initial step to make sure that the board and the

080community were aware of the orders that are out there that are most impactful on the school setting and then have you be able to think about that access those documents uh to support having a further dialogue Miss uh Fabian you still had your question more of a comment just to the the community that again these are executive orders so I don't want us to cause panic and think that all of these things are um going to happen but at the same time it's what we've been saying this entire time right if you stay prepared you don't have to get prepared so if we um kind of can look at all of those different ways that uh we can be impacted so we have a plan like you said a b and c but I also

081want to um be mind that we're not causing um mass panic or that people are getting super anxious because again this nothing is set in stone and it changes so quickly that I mean even within the same day so um thank you for sure all of the information because it is a lot to digest yes thank you Miss Ling final question um so no you're fine I had sent this in an email and I understand I it didn't trickle its way to you for this presentation but as we continue to have these conversations I think having the dollar amount of federal funds potentially at risk as we navigate these conversations for clarity purposes is going to help us right so as we kind of EB and flow with what's going to happen with what is

082happening with has been signed seal delivered this is happening we need to know in order to make these decisions on where we're going to land we need to know the financial impact tied to it absolutely uh Dr Cesario Mr Moten you caught that thank you we should have some information yeah we should man that's very important all right uh fore report is there for information uh we do have uh old Business board policy 6040 it is recommended that the Board of Education approved the amendments to board policy 6048 excuse me 6040 discipline of students is presented for second reading motion to approve motion by Mr riddle seconded by Miss Gonzalez any comments or questions on the motion and again these are uh after PTAC review and Technical up uh changes based on changes and uh

083code and law all in favor sign um roll call Mr McBride yes Miss Fabian yes Miss Gonzalez yes Mr riddle yes Miss Hannah yes Miss lensing yes president Ying yes item approve motion carries item 19B board policy 648 use of isolated timeout timeout and physical restraint second reading it is recommended that the Board of Education approve the amendments to board policy 6048 use of isolated timeout timeout and physical restain as set forth for second reading motion to approve second motion by Mr riddle seconded by Miss Gonzalez any comments or questions on the motion roll call Mr McBride yes Miss faan yes Miss Gonzalez yes Mr riddle yes Miss Hannah no Miss lensing yes president Ying yes item remove approve motion carries we now have a new business so this is discussion item that was brought

084forward by uh Miss linding so she did uh post a draft resolution which was available and visible to the board uh so it's not being submitted as an I mean it's discussion no I know it's not an action my question is if the board decides that it wants to act on it from a process standpoint do we have to bring It Forward for a first and a second or if there's adequate support will we be able to vote on it at the next meeting because it's been introduced to next meeting I'll look and see what our practice has been with the other resolutions okay that's fair all right um go ahead if you want to introduce the topic m l of course um so we've had several discussions as a board with regard to the

085climate in our district with the sense of belonging that we want to Foster with our students and while we are navigating the very fluid Waters in front of us I thought it was good to reinforce that while some things may be changing we are staying true to what we are wanting to accomplish within this district and so there this resolution is just recognizing that we value all of our student staff families and community members we appreciate them for things that they have in common for things that they have different um and in order to create a safe environment and create an actual Community within the school district there's some things that um we want to make sure that we continue to do one of such things is creating traditions and maintaining any Traditions so I

086know um during public comment it was talked about having performances during the halftime at basketball games we have principal for a Day within this District we have our homing homecoming parade where various organizations create floats and and go through the community so I wanted to um create a resolution that essentially reinforces many of the things that we're doing and keep it at the Forefront of every of everyone's mind that we are committed to this community and we want to do Best by everyone involved um the other thing that we wanted so to specifically tied to the comment um we have to do a better job of explaining when there are changes so uh I know me and Mr McBride had conversations I know Mr Al zakus was probably annoyed with the the phone calls and

087emails uh but when we host sectionals or some of these other events sometimes There are rules that we have to follow and so while our bulldogs were playing whoever would have been in that game would have been playing it just so happened that we were at home and so some of those things don't happen during sectionals or aren't able to or if you have the band that may mean that you also limit the number of seating so I'm not saying that that's a reason not to do it just to give greater context specifically to the uh comments like why didn't we do those things during that specific game is because that specific game was a championship champ with rules part of the rules with ihsa the school district while Keegan was following the IHS rules

088um and maybe at another time um our athletic director could come and present on that uh because that's something that we um asked to do which is to host the sectionals and the Regionals is not something that we are required to do at the school district so we have all we we um it it's it's kind of like a like a honor it it is and I think that's why for our district to be chosen to uh hold uh the the sectionals here it it you you know it's always been and um and I certainly hope that um that we can continue with that um W with with that uh bit of tradition and I just uh I I I I love the fact that we are um promoting a culture of respect um you

089know and a sense fostering a sense of belonging for every student and staff member and um that we are uh prioritizing safety the well-being of students staff family and community and to this is really big the um that that we create uh spaces free of bullying harassment and discrimination not only among students but this is among the adults um the administration everyone involved in our district community and um I I am hoping I give kudos to um to miss lindsy um for uh bringing forth this resolution because at this point in time I mean we've been sitting here and um we we hear uh many things um many complaints that uh um that students have staff have family have community members have and this resolution is the beginning of trying to um we trying to

090get some kind of um I don't know I want I don't want to say well I to me it'll be normaly normaly back in two districts 60 um and so um uh thank you so much Miss linding for for this and um I certainly hope the rest of the board is on board with this resolution thank you president go ahead Mr R yeah again I'd like to thank Miss lensing as well for this I think you know certainly uh this uh expresses uh what the board feels about climate and culture and and traditions and and I think we've been doing a lot of this stuff but it puts it down on paper that this is this is something that is most important for our students and our staff and and I like the fact that

091um you know some of the resolutions are looking for new ways to encourage this among our students also Pro uh um honoring Traditions but also looking at ways which is to um not only improve through focus group surveys partic disor meetings but also number nine says regularly assess and evaluate our school culture and I think maybe that's one area we may have been lacking and that we don't do enough of that asking students asking staff how do you feel how what can we do differently letting them bring some input so I I like this resolution I don't uh see any reason why the board couldn't you know approve something like this and um put it down that that this is something we feel is is is most important I don't know if we have a

092a policy on climate and culture uh that expresses all of these ideas so thank you very much I certainly support um a resolution like this and and just to piggyback off of Mr um Mr ridle um um I I would like to see something in here regarding um like staff surveys that's in here staff satisfaction survey that's number 11 you put that in 11 that's in that's item 11 very good and the other part that's good about this missah oh no go ahead is is the very final thing that be it further resolve the superintendent staff are directed to develop and Implement a plan to carry out these actions as outlined in this resolution so again it's directing our staff which is what really policy is supposed to be doing the a board is not

093we're not doing it the administration is doing it the the staff are doing it it it shows how important you know a sense of belonging um is for success and we all need it so just recognizing a human need um that we've talked about many times as a board but it's putting it down as a resolution so I certainly support what you've written here thank you so much Miss lensing thank you yeah and this is one of the things where from uh even us as a team to your point Mr uh riddle there are uh pieces of different policies right we do have one on student supports and bullying and you know all of those things but the resolution is what how the board speaks with one voice and so a lot of times when

094I promote it draft the resolution in that way it allows us to have something to discuss and it allows us to speak with a voice um I do support um the culture and climate and kind of more pointedly uh I'll speak to why part of this was brought up um we have a tradition it's a song It's a song that's been played in high school for decades decades and the band appreciated it was something that between the classes right whether you graduated in in 01 or 97 um you or or 11 well I don't know Miss Dirty Bird went down in 75 but but but we but we um we will have it and so again this is not targeting that individual but it goes to when we talk about understanding culture is there maybe

095something uh like the dirty bird that people say oh it may offend you but that's not necessarily your prerogative and I'll say it to change that tradition or culture right especially if you don't understand the significance of the history or the connection that it has so part of this is the band has a song we have a school song I think we should teach our school song oh yeah right because when it comes on no matter where I am it's like probably stand for that more than I Stand For The Pledge sometimes but um you you will is you stand you clap with it there's a Cadence it ties us all together um you know the purple green and gold the history of the ey patch right what that means how you honor the legacy

096of the two buildings these are things that were taught to me I I I transplanted to walk Kean in Middle School um but I was able to learn about the history and I appreciated it and that's why I want to give that experience and I agreed with Miss Lindsay when she proposed it to bring those Traditions back and to memorialize them I think sometimes it's unintentional that things get lost like uh we actually had a situation where a principal reached not a principal teacher reached out to me about uh we put up a Muro at the school again I graduated M School in 2006 so that seems like a long time ago now and again the school has a right for the kids that go there now to be able to have their own Traditions

097but how can you also honor you know that mural and that history and a lot of times if you weren't there 30 years ago 20 years ago right it it may not have the same level of significance that you have um so I do want to say I want us to bring back the dirty boy bird there is a uh petition to bring back the song so it has only about 110 signatures but that also shows the uh if I would have known I would have he he said it he sent it to me cuz I he they I got tagged in the post literally saying I really appreciate the dog pound being packed but what about the dirty bird and who got rid of it and why they get rid of it and I

098said well it's not a board issue but we will be discussing preserving Traditions at the the board meeting so um I support it if you guys do have changes or you know some suggestions I know Kathy would want to review it and may have some technical suggestions um that she can present and then we can bring it back for our first reading all right it's 838 so what I do want to do is uh we have a couple and we do have to read the entire all right fine can't say it is drafted all right fine we don't now just the the conversation for those that are watching online was just we have some lengthy um resolutions um and I was seeing if we could take those together we cannot so we will take them

099separately item 21A exposion proceeding student number Ed in 384 whereas following a building level investigation student XXX 384 was determined to have possessed a weapon while at school which under school code requires a mandatory referral for expulsion for a period of at least one year unless Modified by the superintendent whose decision may be modified by the board parentheses 105 ICS 510- 22.6 D2 whereas the Board of Education of Wan Community Unit School District number 60 did receive and consider the principal's recommendation and superintendent's agreement to modify the mandatory expulsion period for unit XXX 384 and the reasons therefore and whereas the modification proposed is in the best interest of the district and the student and based on a totality of the circumstances supports the maintenance of a school a safe School environment free of disruptive

100influences which can be a distraction to learning while continuing to hold the student accountable for the student's conduct now therefore it is hereby resolved that one the where's Clauses are adopted herein by reference as findings of the board two the board concurs with the superintendent's modification of the mandatory minimum expulsion period to three days out of school suspension the days already having been served a board reprimand and an individualized safety Plan Three the superintendent or the superintendent's design is to notify the parents of student XXX 384 in writing of the board's determination within the next five School business days this resolution is a effective upon approval by the board I motion to approve is read you had a motion by Miss Lind second seconded by Mr riddle any comments and questions on the motion roll

101call Mr McBride Miss Fabian yes Miss Gonzalez yes Mr R yes Miss Hannah pass Miss lensing yes president y yes item approved motion carries item 21b exposion proed proceeding student number ending in 573 who has the resolution I do not have that sorry whereas following a building level investigation student XXX 573 was determined to have possessed a weapon while at school which under the school code requires a mandatory referral for expulsion for a period of at least one year unless Modified by the superintendent whose decision may be modified by the board under 105 Illinois compiled statute 510 through 226 D2 whereas the Board of Education of w Keegan Community Unit School District number 60 did receive and consider the principal's recommendation and superintendence agreement to modify the mandatory expulsion period for student XXX 573 and

102the reasons therefore and whereas the modification proposed is in the best interest of the district and the student and based on the totality of the circumstances supports the maintenance of a safe School environment free of disruptive influences which can be a distraction to learning while continuing to hold the student accountable for the student's conduct now therefore it is hereby resolved that the wear ass Clauses are adopted herein by reference as findings of the board two the board concurs with the superintendent modification of the mandatory minimum expulsion period of 5 days out of school suspension the days already having having been served a board reprimand and an individualized safety plan and three the superintendent or the superintendent's design is to notify the parents of student XXX 573 in writing of the board's determination within the next

103five School business days this resolution is effective upon approval of the board motion to approve the resolution is read second motion by m linding seconded by Mr riddle any comments or questions on the motion roll call Mr McBride yes Miss Fabian yes Miss Gonzalez yes Mr riddle yes Tana yes Miss lensing yes president Ying yes item approved motion carries we are now at 21c expulsion proceedings for student number n206 whereas following a building level investigation student XXX 206 was determined to have possessed a weapon wallet school which under the school code requires a mandatory referral for expulsion for a period of at least 1 year unless Modified by the superintendent whose decision may be modified by by the board parentheses 105 ilcs D2 whereas the Board of Education of Wan Community Unit School District number

10460 did receive and consider the principal's recommendation and superintendent agreement to modify the mandatory expulsion period for student XXX 206 and the reasons therefore and whereas the modification proposed is in the best interest of the district and the student and based a totality of the circumstances supports the maintenance of a safe School environment free of disruptive influences which can be a distraction to learning while continuing to hold the student accountable for the student's conduct now therefore it is hereby resolved that one the whereas Clauses are adopted herein by reference as findings of the board two the board concurs with the superintendent's modification of the mandatory minimum expulsion period to three days of out of school suspension the days already having been served and an individualized safety Plan Three the superintendent or the superintendent's designate is

105to notify the parents of student XXX 206 in writing of the board's determination within the next five School business days four this resolution is effective upon approval by the board I move that we approve the resolution as read second motion by m linding second it by Mr riddle any comments or questions on the motion roll call M McBride yes Miss Fabian yes Miss Gonzalez yes Mr riddle yes Miss Hannah Miss lensing yes president Ying yes item approved motion carries uh item um 22A board member time love my board last board member time took 38 minutes uh I didn't time it it was sent to me but I say that um just again this is our opportunity for the board uh to speak and so a lot of times we get to hear from the community

106so it is an important time I do just want to uh make sure although I won't be your president for too much longer one of my biggest complaints is the length of meetings so you all are holding us up Miss faan uh five Essentials is open please take um that if you want to share your opinions on um how we are doing as a school um again those links should have been sent out that information has been texted and emailed out to parents um and then if we could also get the information for military ball sent to us that would be appreciated and on board with the Traditions um if we could look at also how the history of walk Keagan is taught throughout the curriculum from K through 12 because I know that's something

107that hasn't been specifically pulled out um in our or highlighted in our curriculum oh I was just wasn't sure if we were bouncing um to that point I remember being a junior and having a walk Keagan project and I talked about The Distillery we used to have so I'm I'm all in support of that um it's been a busy time everybody um so I'm just going to go through some of the lovely events that I got to partake in just within this last week um I was invited to do reading at Clark again I always love that they invite the the board and other members of the community to come read to the students for both Black History Month and women's History Month um Miss mlin Miss mclin's class was fabulous um they did not

108know about artha Franklin and that broke my heart um so maybe we can Infuse that in our curriculum as well it was oh it was a shame it was a shame um so we taught him about that and o I know I they taught me and then I lost it I I was practicing so basically that was thanks to Miss Garcia's class for helping me read to them in Spanish today helping me with my pronunciation which I still need practice on um and I hope you have a great rest of your school year um on top of that uh over the weekend the WAN Symphony had uh a performance in the Trap Auditorium for a Disney sing along I attended that it was really great to see some of the park district kids do some

109of the backup choir for them that was really fun um I did attend the color ball with Mr ying and Miss Hannah um people came lavishly dressed and I am just so impressed and I hope that becomes a new tradition and it was great to see everybody excited and I talked to many of the kids and they're just like I loved it some were running playing tag some were dancing their heart out some were getting a sugar rush it was great all around so many many kudos to the Cook staff it was great um and then last but not least I know two of our community members said it during public comment but I also wanted to do a shout out to the WAN basketball team and coach and the WAN Community um so I

110graduated in ' 04 and we had a pretty good team um I know Mr Jeremy Richmond's team was a little bit better they made it down to state but I just haven't seen that reinvigoration in such a long time and to be in the dog pound with a large sense of community with everyone just cheering on these kids was so wonderful to the point where the ne it was a hard loss y'all fought y'all did great two overtimes we are so very proud of you you did a very good job um and then the next day just seeing community members at drip and culture congratulating one of the basketball players I'm not going to name names um on a on a job well done that was great to see and we need to have more

111Community involvement and it was just it took me back to my high school days and why I love this community so I just want to thank you for bringing that Nostalgia back and having a great game I'll leave it at that thank you Miss Anna um I too was busy this week um I I attended the hvv AC open house and that was amazing as everybody witnessed with the U um Spotlight on 60 um the color ball was just fabulous I mean the um the enthusiasm that the that I saw in the students in the parents it it was just wonderful and um and one of the things that struck me was that um that all of the refreshments that were there and I mean it was uh over a ton don't don't don't tell

112them them no Miss Hannah well families brought it up no that's what I'm say no I'm telling you what was amazing about it was that the family no no I'm joking because of the the the the well this F well you know what it was a good night it was a fun night I'm sorry it was a very fun night and it was amazing it was amazing because of the um the sport that the parents gave and I I doubt very seriously I don't know but I'm presuming that um that that no District money was spent on all of that all those refreshments and that they were brought by uh by the parents that's excellent anyway um uh hopefully again um that will so uh that that color ball will continue um I uh attended

113the um Glenwood black history program uh the Greenwood black history program there was some uh the students were um were were good and I I just uh want to give kudos to um to EV all of the staff that worked hard to put that together um the um the wellness committee I spoke about that earlier um where there was a PD the um I think it was five members of The Wellness committee that attended uh the PD and the thing is right here's the good thing it was free they had 5 hours of professional development surrounding um surrounding students and um helping with uh the alcohol uh smoking uh vaping all of that the things that we're now talking about now and so um I don't want to go any further because like I say

114Miss uh dobs will be presenting um I was going to talk about the halftime cheerleaders too and a comment by a uh Community member was that a funeral was more lively hadn't that I'm like oh my goodness you know but anyway um I certainly hope that we can bring back um bring back some of the traditions because you you know that that's the traditions are um that they're there that's why we have alumni that the the alumni I mean wh why would we need alumni if we remove traditions and so we we we here in walk Kean we're not going to just readily let our Traditions be taken away and um and so um that that is that that's priority one of my priorities aside from student reading but um the last thing um I

115uh I don't know if anyone saw it on Sunday Channel 7 um Sunday news um they um interviewed uh Mrs sakasi from Bravo walk Keegan and they she they highlighted um our school with Bravo and there were they they showed our students uh playing uh playing the violins and everything right there on channel 7 news and so I say Bravo to miss Sakari and everything that she has done done over the years um uh for our school district for our students and U many of our students have went on to use the musical talents as um their their careers and stuff we have um what Lee England one of our yeah Lee England you know uh but uh Miss sakoski thank you so much for uh all of everything that you're doing I remember when

116Bravo just started it was only a a little a few students and it has blossomed and um and many students enjoy that opportunity thank you thank you Miss Hannah Mr McBride yeah speaking of school Mario you know um I was sitting in that gym I was kind of looking up at the Raptor it's before my time but I seen a Palmer Graham and I was thinking about what happened to corki Kon that left here and went and play for the NBA uh then I started thinking about rayan that went and played for the NFL MH I'm wondering why are there pictures not in that Raptor right cuz we you know we only get maybe one or two out of wke can ever make it that far just like ad Graham did so uh I would

117like to uh ever get a chance to talk to klette to get Mr Calhoun in them Raptors because we might not see that a long time somebody leave he'll go to the NBA right we did do Jeremy they did have him on 41 they did uh recognize him and put him up on one of those uh uh Billboards and stuff and uh for the state but uh also uh I say yes to the modification of expulsions but a again uh trying to uh go along with with uh quite uh uh status quoe with the board trying to compromise and reason with the uh board in terms of uh trying to be sympathetic towards our children but when you're wrong you're wrong and that's the bottom line to it but I think that we could do

118a little bit more in terms of uh getting the message out that it's it's wrong to do bring anything into school that's harmful period And I think if we had to stop the teachers just have to stop in in each classroom and make that clear because apparently it's not being clear because it's happening too much simple as that thank you thank you Mr McBride Mr riddle um yes I would just uh uh also want to thank Mrs seosi uh and her husband who's passed away but they 15 years ago they started Bravo Wan and the uh Lake County community that can afford to um help us out has done a fabulous job with so many of our students they have a an honorary uh benefit uh Saturday this Saturday um and it's the 15th year

119they're honoring her and of course it's a fundraising event as well um some of us will be attending that um anyway I wanted to also mention that if you are a graduating student this year and you're looking for some scholarships I just wanted to make you aware that the WAN Park District every year gives out5 $11,000 scholarships to students who um are either going to college in the fall or plan on attending a a Career Education Place such as CLC or that you know um and and they have to have a some idea that they were going to do something that would be somewhat related to Parks it can be you know maintenance it can be uh horiculture it can be anything like that but there's an application online if you go to wanp parks.org

120scholarships uh there's an application up there that tells you all the details uh fill it out um five of our students will get that scholarship this year you have to get the application in by June the 10th and then I want to do a shout out to Charles Jordan and his twin brother Matthew um who were highlighted in an article in yesterday's new son um both of those young men um this is their fifth year attending wagan schools they started as uh in in in kindergarten at cook school and both of those young men um are in the bilingual education program that's the Dual language so they we have about 7,000 students that are in who whose native language is not English but we also offer to students um who want to learn a foreign

121language especially uh Spanish um they can start as early as kindergarten um at Oakdale at Cook and then we may offering at another school and these young men talk about what a blessing it has been in their lives they can now speak right and and have friends who are Multicultural so it's been a great blessing to them um and um they're both of them uh if you didn't see the story look back into yesterday's uh new son because both of these young men talk about what a great thing it has been for them um they will continue right through uh high school so they'll get a a bilingual certification on their diploma when they graduate so uh it's a terrific program um and then along that line I visited um as well as was Miss

122Hannah besides the our our own um program here uh the at the um Wan Washington campus the the HVAC program I had a chance opportunity last week to visit uh The Tech campus um out at CC and I'm just really pleased that we have um around 200 students that attend that all kinds of of programs out there they were they were um they have just expanded uh their welding so they've got a second welding lab now that they were just uh showing uh showcasing um and and touring the campus again and seeing all of the different um careers that students can get into and the excitement that goes on at that campus I just would encourage students in Wan apply for that you can you can get into it you're Junior and Senior year and

123many cases you can earn a certificate um or even an almost an associate degree um by the time graduate and get certified in in a lot of different things you know different programs you might um get become an EMT you might get into food service you might get into welding there's great needs for a lot of those jobs and they won't be going away those jobs will be there um and then the other thing I did just wanted to highlight was I I had an opportunity to visit the new Museum you may have seen it going on the WAN Park District along with the Historical Society have been renovating the Carnegie um library and that is phenomenal um it isn't opened yet but the exhibits are are are pretty much completed and you I'm I'm

124just encouraging people in the spring late spring or early summer when that museum opens it is going to be wonderful for w Egan for Wan students and families you're going to be able to learn the history of Wan uh there's there's also a ray Bradberry room because one of our um students uh who was in walk Eagan schools got his education really by going to the library and became an internationally famous author his name is Ray Bradbery and they've got a whole room dedicated to Ry so it's there's some fabulous exhibits there um Wan has needed something like that and there was some grant money available in the Park District um you know along with the Historical Society has done a wonderful job in planting exhibits um renovating that building and um definitely get yourself

125in there the other thing about it all the exhibits are in English and in Spanish so um all our Community they did that deliberately so that you know members of our community who are um who have a little trouble with English can can can read it in Spanish so it's a just a great museum it will become open very soon um certainly by this summer so you want to do that U thank you m last but not least um I'm probably wearing blue today and solidarity with Educators to stand against Federal funding freezes um and I also am wearing um proudly blue to celebrate and honor my Ron CL Clark Academy house revoir um in French the word means dreamer or idealist um I actually met some students uh from cook who are also of

126my house during the Black History Month celebration who taught me about the black Rosies um forgotten his heroins African-American heroins of World War II and um I'm probably wearing it because I actually couldn't go to the color Ball but I've heard from fellow board members and other folks um that it was an awesome time and everyone uh showed out um I also wanted to say congratulations to all the Bulldog players and Coach ashlaw um for leaving it all on the court um to be honest I feel like they played hard on Wednesday and then having to play again on Friday under all that pressure um was incredible I loved seeing the community come out um I know the outcome isn't what we wanted but um we still uh came together to see both teams play

127um enjoy friendly competition um and to hopefully encourage these students to to keep at this because they are really great athletes um and I do congratulate our neighbors for winning um you know I was really impressed by their gameplay too um over at Warren um I also want to uh shout out a couple things that we have going on this week um we have an Mel um uh the africanamerican male uh initiative task force meeting this week um and then on Saturday we have uh an event going on um called you belong the breaking barriers um which faces uh hosting so I'm hoping to be a part of that as a volunteer and um I do want to wish a happy late uh International women's day um to everyone out there and last but not

128least I do want to Echo what Miss Granda was saying about um having grammar help in high school for all students you know Miss Hannah talks about literacy a lot um and I think that one of the biggest things for me about pitching the and supporting the um the restructuring of the credits was so that people students could get remedial help um so you know at any phase of their educational Journey it doesn't help it doesn't hurt to help reinforce some of the foundational um uh skills that all students can um use later on in life so thanks everyone that's it and at just one go ahead I just want um speaking about uh scholarships I don't want us to forget and uh those listening um the retired yes teachers also are offering scholarships and

129so uh hopefully talk with um talk with the um administ ation they should have the information but um I want to shout out to the retired teachers for bringing that forth yeah and we have the walk Kean schools Foundation scholarship up as well so no shortage of opportunities see you and a lot of these scholarships go uh unapplied to so just make sure you uh look those up um I had the final comments and uh break M rule no I'm joking I'll get through it fast um but I did want to say um just personally again I know that I'm exent but the attack on diversity Equity inclusion and accessibility um is appalling you know to me as a black man because it represents a direct assault on the progress to Generations before me fought

130so hard to achieve uh education has always been the key to opportunity yet throughout history black people have been systematically denied access to Quality education my own grandfather and grandmother migrated to the north not great great my grandmother because that was not a black high school and so as we talk about what these opportunities mean and what these programs um have meant for many of our students is frustrating um that we're having to try and defend choices that we're making to support our students right um initiatives on to we have been promoting um efforts to support all students especially those from marginalized backgrounds um as someone who served on the school board for eight years I've seen firsthand how targeted support culturally responsive teaching and Equitable policies can make a difference when you dismantle deia

131you're not just removing a concept you're actively harming students particularly black and brown students by denying their representation support and the right to learn an environment that values their identity and their experiences so as we continue to have a conversation I do for the record understand we don't want um to lose any type of federal funding but someone has to speak up on behalf of our students um and so thank you to this board thank you to uh Our Community member that has stayed this entire time um and to the many people who spoke in public comment uh these things are not going unaddressed there was one and I'll say it's a fallacy anybody on the board but I have to say it superintendent does not write her own goals right um she does give

132suggestions these are things I think we should focus on the board then discuss we didn't vote on those goals publicly so uh I just for the record have to say that that's something that you know again when we say those things people interpretate as in a different way that's why we don't show up on time in Open Session because we're always arguing we're arguing about him and talking about him trying to debating not arguing but no I appreciate that and with that uh I would like a motion to adjourn so moved motion by Miss Lindsay seconded by Mr riddle all signify with I any oppos name meeting is a Jour thank you all