Lawrence Public Schools Board of Education Meeting | January 27, 2026

001Yeah, you're fine. We're going to call to order the board of education meeting for January 27th, 2026. Can I get approval of the agenda? >> I move the board of education approve the agenda for the January 27th, 2026 meeting. >> Can I get a second? Second >> fires. >> Yes. >> Gordon Ross. >> Yes. >> Kadu Blackwood. >> Yes. Yes. >> Yes. >> Kimble. >> Yes. >> Lancaster. >> Yes. >> Motion passes 60. >> Okay. That'll move on to the report of the superintendent of schools. Thank you, President Gordon Ross and members of the board, all who are joining us in person and remote. It is uh we're moving to the end of January and continue to be encouraged by the way our students and staff, families and community are navigating this cold and dark

002time of the year uh to really focus with care for one another. uh we have centered during January on the theme of perseverance which is our character strong emphasis in January. I didn't have quite enough time to get it into the report tonight but members I'll send you a beautiful uh video of a first grader today saying what perseverance means. Um, and we are all really focusing in on that idea. All our values that align closely with the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Uh, many of our board members alongside members of our leadership team had the tremendous opportunity to join in the 9th annual MLK Junior Community Breakfast last Monday that's hosted by the Jay-Hawk Rotary Club. Thank you. I was forgetting to show the photos which are the best part. Okay, I'll

003let you do that, James. There we go. Uh the Jay-Hawk Rotary Club on Monday. What an inspiring event. Uh we were so delighted uh with the vocals of Vanessa Thomas and then a moving keynote address from speaker Deborah Dandridge. She is the recently retired but clearly still engaged um uh field archivist and curator of the African-American experience collections at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library. A highlight of the morning and you can see it in the photo on the far right is that uh our uh Free State student Iwa Adutepee from Free State High School was awarded the Jay-Hawk Breakfast Rotary Club MLK scholarship. What a point of pride. and she shared uh it was shared remarks, inspiring remarks uh in front of the entire crowd. It was very impressive um how beautiful and confident uh

004that she was in front of such a large crowd. These uh themes have resonated during this past week and remind us that learning and leadership are rooted not only to our focus on academic growth, our critical mission, but also in how we show up for one another dur during moments of challenge and opportunity. So, uh, we were just thrilled last Thursday night to have the great opportunity to host the One Dream MLK celebration at the Elite Center of Kansas. Uh, this year's theme, Mission Possible, too, building community, uniting a nation, the nonviolent way. It was just such a great night to honor uh staff members and students uh who were awarded for their own uh really embodying those principles uh espoused by Dr. Martin Luther King and then also the student performances. You can see

005several of them here. And just to share a little bit with those who maybe were not able to make the event, uh here is junior at Lawrence High School, Jalana Ayala, uh singing Stand Up by Cynthia Arivo, calling me to answer Heat. HEAT. HEAT. YEAH. HEAT. That's just a taste of an extraordinary evening uh hosted in one of the finest performance venues in the state of Kansas uh featuring our very own students. Um and I just want to share our gratitude to our communications team, the school teams who nominated all the award winners and to everyone who helped plan, perform and attend uh such a meaningful event. Uh that's the other thing members that it was a very cold night as you all know and the auditorium was filled. Um and I shared just a

006few other photos of just beautiful families who joined us uh for that evening. Uh the following um uh event was last Tuesday evening at New York Elementary School. Over 500 uh members of that New York Monasteri community. Um and they were neighbors. Uh they were parents, they were students, they were staff members. They were staff members from across the district. I spoke with one uh with actually with a couple of families who had just moved into the area. One uh woman uh has moved into the area, does not have children in her school in our schools, but had heard about the event and wanted to get to know more about the community. So, it was really truly meaningful. The 39th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Chili Feed. Um, I want to thank the New

007York Elementary team, volunteers, and community partners who made the evening possible. Uh, just the definition of community over there last week. Uh, in addition, Free State High School recently hosted an event that I'm very excited about. I don't think we've always done these, but they called it performing arts day and they welcomed elementary and middle school students from across the district for a day of exploration, performance, and inspiration. So, student leaders from Free State shared their talents, their experiences, their pathways into the performing arts. They took questions. They provided a firsthand look at what it means to be a high school uh performing arts student. Um, and events like this really highlight the power of peer-to-peer learning and reinforce the role of the arts in building confidence, collaboration, and student voice. Uh, Dr. Colamaya was

008called away for another event. He's not with us tonight, but it really reminds me of that work coming forward this spring to align our pathways so that students really are able to mentor younger students in pathways of learning in the district. So, thanks to Free State students and staff who planned and hosted this event. Uh just a reminder, our winter 2026 community conversations are currently underway. I'm continue to be grateful for the time and thought that our comm community members are dedicating to this work. Uh just a reminder, there are about a half a dozen ways that you can choose to participate. The point is we want to connect with you. We want to hear from you. So, you may choose uh to just simply complete a midyear survey. Uh we put a lot of

009time and effort into uh two kinds of surveys. One is that traditional survey will take you about 15 minutes. Uh but our team also said, "Well, what about folks that just have five minutes maybe while they're waiting in the student pickup line at one of our schools?" So, we have on our website also at this uh location uh what we're calling a pulse check. It literally can be completed in the space of time it takes you to get through the pickup line. Uh five minute survey. Thirdly, we ask that folks may uh who want to may take time for openended questions. uh that's under the icon at this uh location on our website of share your thoughts and I know a lot of folks really like to just free write to us and write all

010of their thoughts that's a great place also and then uh finally we have a series of in-person meetings that you can see here in addition every principal will host both a staff meeting and a community meeting at their school location. All of our managers of teams across the district will host meetings of their teams. So, we hope to get lots of great data and we look forward to getting all of that in during January and February and then sharing that back out with our board and our community prior to spring break. I do want to offer a clarification. Uh this question keeps coming to the top members of our list and uh we are often receiving questions about immigrant and refugee students. I just want to refer students and we put out a message today

011to all of our staff. It is almost the identical message that we put out uh one year ago, January 25th of 2025 um that we put out today. And it really does direct folks to the Kansas State Department of Education statement which is very clear and that is that by law school personnel and their ultimate responsibility is the education and protection of all students. All students have a constitutionally protected right to receive an education. Along in that full communication comes a few guidelines. Uh and that is that we do not ask about a child's immigration status at school. Public school districts have a legal obligation to enroll students regardless of their immigration status. It continues to be the policy of the Lawrence public schools that if we are um asked others from outside organization are

012asking to come into the school, they are directed to the superintendent's office where we do look for at all times a subpoena or other way of ensuring that our student privacy is protected and those furpa rights are protected. did as we work on every day in our normal dayto-day work. So I would ask that anyone with questions about that we will have our statement posted so folks can look to that for more information. Uh we do have just a reminder it is January and February so these reminders are good. Remember I always think of it this way no news is good news. If we do not notify, that means we are on. All students are coming through the door. It's a great day to be in the district. If there is a change, remember we

013will notify in all of those ways that you check when you enroll your student. That's text, email, voice calls, and all the ways. I will add to point number two that when possible we will always make the decision as early as we possibly can. That is as a courtesy to our families with young children who need to make arrangements. Uh finally we will um work uh with media to get those um announcements out. The media are always really great about spreading that information. Um, and if you have any questions, just give us a call. Uh, remember the most important thing is to check to make sure that your notification information. If you changed your email or your phone number, this is a great time of year to check in with that school assistant at the

014front desk at your school. give give that person a call or an email and make sure that your information is updated. Uh we are excited and looking forward to Sunday, February 1st. We're turning over a month and turning over a tremendous program. Uh the 10th anniversary of our district-wide talent show for middle and high school students, Ovation. It's sponsored by the Lawrence Schools Foundation and benefits uh all of the monies go to that endeavor to benefit our students and families in our district and that's coming up at 700 p.m. on Sunday evening. Finally, we are right at the time of parent teacher conferences. They are coming up Friday, February 12th um uh and the 13th. I'm sorry. I think that is wrong on my note. Just want to encourage families to check in with your

015school and get those dates and times just right. I think there might be an error here. I'll work to correct that. The conferences are the best time ever to make sure that we are connected with teachers, with students, with families. Um, I am so proud in Lawrence public schools that at our elementary level, we've been way above 90% consistently over time of parents participating in parent teacher conferences. Preschool enrollment is opening uh on next Monday and it runs through March 22nd. Our preschool programs provide a strong, joyful start for our youngest learners. There's nothing better. Uh we will now be offering programs at six locations in the district. Uh so we ask you to get online, call or email us, and we'll help you in any way we can to get you enrolled. Um we

016have uh great events coming up. Um here you can see parent teacher conferences uh and those dates Thursday there it is Friday February 6th and then Thursday and Friday February 12th and 13th. Um members we've been uh celebrating uh throughout this month board appreciation month. Uh I hope uh that we don't all wait till January to share our appreciation. Uh but we do make sure to do it uh at this time of the year. Um as we wrap up January and this month, we're really excited to finish this month with some beautiful notes that you have at your location. Uh they are authored by classrooms of students and signed off on by students. Uh I looks like these are from Langston. Uh there are also some beautiful handwritten notes. I believe they're from administrators and

017others and they are also at your location. Um and then we are delighted to share uh this beautiful uh hands and heart artwork members that is for you to have at home to remind you of the our appreciation for the work that you do. Each year at Deerfield Elementary School during transition day, kindergarten students visit first grade classrooms to meet their future teachers and learn about what lies ahead. As part of this experience, students create heart hand artwork, coloring their hands in ways that represent themselves and connecting them together as a symbol of welcome and unity. These heart hands are displayed in first grade classrooms and serve as a reminder to students as they arrive that they are valued and supported as they take their next steps in transition. Special thanks uh to Deerfield kindergarten

018teachers Andrea Kelly, Kristen Fiser, and Jenny Hberg. and the first grade teachers, Megan Bland, Stacy Canson Meyer, and Jennifer Day for helping us to create this year's uh board member art recognition. We are pleased to present this artwork to our board of education members as a gesture of gratitude and appreciation. It is a small token that represents our vast appreciation for your work uh and a reminder that it represents not only the creativity of our youngest learners but also the heart of Lawrence Public Schools where relationships, belonging, and care are foundational and a prerequisite to learning. The strength of Lawrence Public Schools is rooted um in a connected community that believes in children, takes action to support their schools, and remains committed to their success now more than ever in a community in partnership and

019support is key and critical. Thank you for your partnership, your perseverance, and your continued support of our students and staff. Thank you members of the board and I'm happy to take questions if there are any. >> Any questions? Okay. All right. We'll move on with the agenda. Move on to report of the president of the board of education. Um since our last board meeting, um couple things. Uh I was able to attend a facilities committee meeting on Wednesday, January 14th. Um, we heard a presentation on the Reuter building NRA. That's on our agenda for later this evening. Um, between November and December, we held 2014 events across our buildings in the district. Um, we're working on scheduling a ribbon cutting for the solar installation at uh, Sunflower with a date uh, to be determined. Uh,

020learned that the preschool classroom at Woodlon has been completed. So, that was that was really good news. and then updates on various other projects in the work in the works across the district. And then lastly, we learned that we're exploring some point of sale solutions for our secondary schools for events and we'll have a solution in place for the fall. Um on consent, two items related to facilities uh engineering services for choice campus at Centennial. That's $143,87275 for engineering services for the renovation of the campus um from Capital Outlay and then Cintigics um not to exceed $146,200 um and that's includes uh paying for the current system plus an 11.5% uh increase to accommodate potential replacement badges and also to cover the choice campus at Centennial. On Monday, January 19th, I attended the MLK Junior

021Community Breakfast. And then on Tuesday, January 10 uh 20th, I attended my first Lawrence Schools Foundation board meeting. Um the board is looking for staff to submit a grant proposals. Uh foundation uh scholarship applications are now open and the foundation is looking to secure a grant to help support backpack meals, um both snacks and full meals. and hopefully they have to they will have something in place um to launch by spring break. And then as Dr. Swift mentioned, Ovation is this Sunday at 700 p.m. at the Lead Center. And then as I conclude this evening, I'd like to say a few words as board president on behalf of the entire board. First off, I'd like to thank Dr. Swift for her clear report and recent guidance she has shared with staff. We acknowledge the painful

022events this weekend in the greater Minneapolis area and concern many families and staff may be feeling. We are thinking of the students, families, and districts affected, and we stand in solidarity with communities working to keep children safe, and supported. I want to reaffirm the board's commitment to making USD 497 a welcoming, caring place where every student who comes here is seen, heard, and valued. We will continue to follow board policy and the law while supporting our students and staff. And we will continue to work alongside Dr. Swift and her team to guide any next steps. Thank you to our educators and staff for the work you do every day to create classrooms of belonging. >> And with that, we'll move to board committee reports. So Bob, we'll start with you. >> Actually, I have >>

023Okay, Carol, >> I don't have any. >> Kelly, >> uh since we last met, um the there's been enough time for review of uh the policies listed on consent 2.6 6 to 2.11. They're on second read. The policy committee do not receive requests for additional re view from the community um or from anyone in the district and so we're hoping that uh they'll be affirmed by the board. Anything else? Nothing else. >> Uh not yet, but I'm excited to get started. >> Okay, perfect. All right, Shannon, you want to do your legislative update? >> Yes. Um, thank you, GR, and um, uh, my board colleagues. Uh, just, uh, fair warning, this is a little long. Um, it's only been 15 days of the legislative session. Uh, but it's going to sound like we've been there

024for three months. So, just a fair warning. Um, okay. Uh, on the legislative side, um, the big topic that is being worked on this week is the K12 education, the big budget. So, all of our funding for public schools plus the funding for the for KSDE as an agency. Um, a couple of important things about what is being considered. There's sort of three different budget being looked at. There's there's the request from KSDE for all of our funding in their agency budget. There's what the governor has recommended in her budget and then there is this special legislative budget process. They did it the first time last year. They're doing it again this year. So, they have their own budget bill. So, special education, uh, the state department of education has requested that the legislature fund

025special education at 80% of excess cost, which for this year would mean putting in $145 million in new funding into the special education funding formula. Um, the governor recommended only 50.6 million in her budget recommendation. That would put us at about 70% of excess cost for next year. Um the legislative budget right now has zero new dollars for special education in it. So that would cause our percent of excess cost that's funded to go down um somewhere between 60 and 65%. So that's those are the 0 to 145 million is where we are. Um the K12 education budget committee in the House and the Senate Education Committee uh are both working on the K12 education budgets this week. Uh the expectation is that both committees are going to make recommendations and likely pass out their

026recommendations on Thursday. Um notably the House Education Committee had an opportunity today for members of the public to weigh in on requests for the K12 budget. Uh there was some live testimony at the hearing and I know that there was a lot of written testimony submitted uh by interested parties. So appreciation to um the chair uh of that committee is uh Representative Jason Gats from Dodge City um for providing that space for public input. In the Senate Education Committee, there has not been space for public input on the budget. Although people are are free to email the members of that committee at any time uh to provide feedback. it just doesn't become part of the legislative record. Um they are not working on the budget tomorrow because the Kansas teacher of the year team is

027being recognized during that time. So uh they've they've kind of finished hearing recommendations. They're going to start making decisions on Thursday. Then when once they do that, it'll get kicked out to the budget the big budget committees. Um and that's where all of the back and forth is really going to happen. The good news is that the state board, the governor, and the Kansas legislative budget committee all agree on funding the base state aid formula for the projected enrollment for next year, as well as including the requested uh inflation adjustments to that to that funding. So, that all comes through a some recommendations what they call the education case load. um it's a it's a kind of forecasting process that they go through. That was all presented to the legislature. They've all agreed that um

028they're going to include those in the budget at least to start with. Um the big conundrum that is left in all of that is that because of statewide enrollment declines um last year, this year, and what is expected in fiscal year 27, so for next year, um the budget that the legislature passed last year, which is a two-year budget, um is overfunding K12 education. So, they've appropriated all told between fiscal year 26 and 27 about $24 million more than they're going to spend um because the enrollment projections were a little higher than our actual enrollment has ended up being. um the total amount of money that the the state department of education requested in increases on top of special education for some other programs, like if they funded everything KSD asked for, it would be

029$164 million more than was appropriated last year. So, there's plenty of money already in the budget to fund everything KSDE has asked for and still have about $40 million left over. Unfortunately, um, uh, the leadership of the House and Senate have, uh, indicated that they don't intend to reappropriate that money to K12. They're going to use it to make budget overall budget cuts to the state budget. So, while there is money there to for one thing fully fund special education, um, the general conversations are not real positive in that direction. Um, so that's the update on the budget work. Um as far as legis policy legislation um for the board to be aware of um it has been a frantic pace and we are only on day 15. Um I wanted to share about some

030big issues and some bills that have already had hearings and then a couple of things that um have been filed but haven't heard hearings. Um, so there was a hearing last week in the House Elections Committee on a bill that would move all local elections from oddnumbered years to evenumbered years. Um the thing to be aware of for boards of education is that um based on the text of the bill, we really have no idea exactly what the bill's sponsor thinks is going to happen for board of education elections because um because of the timing of when we're elected versus when we take office and the way the bill is written, it doesn't it doesn't transition everybody the way that they think it does. So it's yeah I won't go into the details of that.

031Let's just let's just say that um if that bill moves forward out of the house there's some significant work to be done and probably some need for input from people who are actually um impacted on boards of education. Um there is a bill that was heard in the House Elections Committee and then a version of that that's getting a hearing um tomorrow in the Senate that would um make it a class C misdemeanor to uh be found to have used public funds or public assets to advocate for a bond election or any other ballot question. So, if you think about the rules that apply to um boards of education and district staff around advocating for a candidate, you can't advocate to vote for a candidate, right? That's already in the law. This would add um

032and and that is actually also the rule that applies because of a bunch of attorney general opinions to advocate a yes or no vote. that's already the way it is, but right now it doesn't have a criminal penalty associated with it. Um, they want to add a criminal penalty to it. So, uh, the fear is that that will have a significantly chilling effect on the ability of districts to share information about a proposed bond issue. So, that's the issue there. Um, we've had voucher bills, uh, we had a hearing on a voucher bill in the House this last week that would that would grow the size of the current voucher program in Kansas and also opt the state into the federal voucher program that was passed as part of HR1 last July um, by Congress.

033There's a companion bill on the Senate that hasn't been heard yet. There is a big push to pass this this bill. Um then uh I'm sure everybody read about the cell phone ban bill. The thing to know about that is that it would um invalidate the policy that we have already adopted uh because it would override the decisions that our local board made about how to implement that policy. Um it would not allow us any flexibility and it would also define social media platforms in a way that would prevent us from using Gmail and Parent Square um most likely. So, there's some problems in the in that bill. There's also a house companion bill for that one that has not had a hearing. Um, you know, the governor said in her state of the state

034address that she wants she will sign the cell phone ban. So, I think it's really important for um legislators to hear what the needs are of districts to be able to make this workable. Um, and that's really the focus um on that bill. Some other things that have had a hearing or have hearings set this week. Um there's a bill on Thursday in the Senate that would require school districts to verify 100% of the applications they receive for free and reduced lunch. Right now under the federal rules, we're only required to verify three. We can we're actually allowed to audit three up to 3%. We can't audit any more than that. Um this would require 100% verification. It's a huge unfunded mandate. Creates a lot of red tape for districts. It would also require legislative

035permission if a district wants to opt opt into the community eligibility provision. That's the one that allows you to provide free lunch to everybody if you have enough students who are who qualify through being um on Medicaid or receiving food assistance or something like that. Um there's uh a bill that would mandate that 100% of our high school um students would have to take um the work keys assessment which is a which is not a college prep assess assessment like ACT. It is a career prep assessment. Um so right now there's no mandate that um all students take the let me back up. The state of Kansas will pay for all students in our high schools to take either the ACT or the ACT work keys or both. Uh but it's still right now it's

036up to the students. It's it's a choice. This would mandate that all students have to take the work keys or something like it. Um so kind of the theme here you're going to hear um going through these bills is a lot of mandates and a lot of overriding of local control um in decisions by boards. There's a hearing in the House of Education on Thursday that would um require that any student who um enrolls in and attends kindergarten must be potty trained before they can start school. Uh there was a bill in Senate Education last week to mandate that districts must provide at least 30 minutes of recess in and elementary grades. Um there was a bill that would um define uh mental health uh school-based mental health services so broadly that it would cover

037um all the interventions that we do in um I'm going to speak some as you speak. I'm sorry. Um in tier 2 and tier three in our classrooms. So basically like classroom management and um um student like all the tools we use to help make sure kids are learning in the classroom um would be swept into the definition of schoolbased mental health services. Um there is a a bill that would um invalidate our agreements with higher education institutions for dual enrollment classes and prescribe how teachers would be get paid and who pays for materials. And we think, although it's a little unclear from the bill text, um, that it might mean that the colleges would be keeping money that would otherwise come to the school district. So, that's a problem. Um, there's a bill that

038got a hearing this week that will will mandate um fingerprint and background checks for all school district employees every 5 years, not just uh licensed employees, but all employees. Um there was a bill that would uh open the doors to having uh religious chaplain serve in a counseling capacity in schools. Um and then there those all those all have had hearings or or are having hearings this week. There's a couple other bills that haven't been scheduled for hearings but have been filed. One of them is um is called Aeron's Law um Senate Bill 385. This would mandate age appropriate instruction on identification and reporting of signs of sexual abuse. um both for staff and for students. And then um the last one I wanted to mention, Senate Bill 350. This one um it would uh

039prevent districts from using any electronic devices whatsoever for any purpose with students, no digital textbooks, no online testing of any sort, not even standardized testing. um no devices at all in grades K through five, no more uh no one to one devices in middle school and no more than an hour of use a day and high schoolers would only be allowed to use a device for an hour and a half a day. So, you know, you can kind of tell the theme here is micromanaging um what goes on in classrooms. And so this is uh I think it's really important um to know that that is the kind of policy that is um being talked about almost almost exclusively. Um I there's I I tried to find something I could add into this list that

040was um positive and helpful and not overly intrusive and there really isn't much. Um, so that's uh that's what's been going on the first 15 days um in the legislature. I just briefly wanted to touch on an issue that I I think I mentioned in my report on the state board uh a couple weeks ago. Um they were looking at some guidance on ABA therapy in public schools and ultimately the state board did adopt that guidance. Um and a lot of the discussion at the state board, interestingly, was about how they felt like they needed to adopt guidance because they didn't want the legislature >> um to pass a bill mandating this. Um a senator introduced that bill the following week. >> So um I think this is an issue for everyone to watch. Um,

041and again, it kind of gets into those local control questions about how much control do we have as the governing body over um who is allowed in buildings under what circumstances. Um, and when is when is an IEP team involved in making a decision about what services a student needs to receive to res to have a free and appropriate public education. Um, and so those are those are going to continue to be questions that come up and we're going to have to watch what what develops with this guidance. Um, and in that potential bill pretty closely. So, um, thank you for your uh time this evening to allow me to share that information. Um, and I'm happy to uh answer any questions if uh, Mr. President wants me to answer questions. >> I have uh,

042one question. Um I know you said last year was the first time and I've read a little bit about this, but could you talk a little bit more about the um legislative budget versus the governor's budget in this world of two budgets? >> Yes. So um so in Kansas, the constitution requires the governor to prov to present a budget to the legislature each year. So that is a constitutional process. And up until last year, the way that the budget worked um is that the governor and her and the governor's staff would spend the months in the fall um meeting with agencies, hearing their budget. They had budget hearings all fall deep dive into agency budget requests, needs, staffing, all that. and then the um the governor's um staff and the um budget state budget director

043would put together a prop a budget proposal. That budget proposal would then be introduced in the House and Senate as a budget bill. Um that is still happening. But what um but what would happen is the the in the past the the bill would be introduced and sometimes it would take a couple weeks into the legislative session for that bill to be introduced and then they'd have to have all of the budget hearings in the legislature and then make recommendations on changes to the governor's budget before it went to the floor for consideration. What they're doing now is they're having a special budget committee that is meeting in the fall. So those agencies are having to present to the governor's staff and then they go and they meet with uh staff from Kansas legislative research

044division and then KLRD is presenting a bunch of information to this special committee on each of the agency's budget. The special committee is then voting on what they are going to propose to put into the budget bill. And this year, like last year, they said, "We're just going to use the budget that we after hearing all that information, there's we're taking everything out that anybody has asked for and we're just going with what we approved at the end of last session and that's our base bill." And that's the budget bill. That is the legislative budget bill. And so the committees are all working from that bill, not the governor's recommendations. So that's Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Anybody else have any questions? >> Okay. >> All right. Thank you. >> We'll move on to

045board commentary. Matt, we'll start with you. >> Um, not much. Um I did have the opportunity to go to that uh Chili Feet in New York and um it was really great to see a lot of educators, a lot of family members, kids running around and um a lot of people coming out to perform and um it was just really special time for uh the time my family and I were able to be there. >> I've been in the legislator legislature for 15 days. I don't have anything to share. Thank you, >> Carol. Uh let's see. Uh I would like to um thank Miss Ashley Smith for once again inviting schoolboard members to come in and serve as guest readers. I was able to come in twice and read to her students and they are

046um I don't I'm beginning to form a relationship or bond with these kids because I I'm like a repeat guest reader. So it's it's really fun to see and recognize their faces and I'm beginning to learn them on a first name basis. So that's it's exciting to see and I like going in there every every time. Uh let's see. And I did um observe and u take part and um was proud to stand and support our students at Lawrence High School today in the the walk out. And I would also like to add that this does in this does align with the Kansas and you spoke about this earlier about the Kansas State Department of Education, but this activity the civic engagement. It does align with the Kansas State Department of Education's um core standards

047of civic engagement. And so again, I I think it's um appropriate, it's like twice that it's been mentioned tonight to go to the Kansas State Department of Education to look at the core standards. Um yeah, and I'm just very proud to proud of our kids and I went to Lawrence High School quite a while ago. I was class of 92 and so it it took me back to my days of activism there in the 90s and Lawrence has a proud history of civic engagement and activism. And finally, I just came in from the Billy Mills Middle School basketball game. And I was I'm glad to see the combination of Liberty Memorial Central Middle Schools combined with uh Billy Mills Middle School to form one team because the students at Liberty Memorial didn't have enough players.

048So, they um joined um resources with the students at Billy Mill. So, it was really good to see them. And um yeah, I was a they won handedly against Pratt and that's it. Thank you. >> Okay. All right. Have a retirement. >> Yep, we do have a retirement. Board would like to thank Kevin Herrell for his 25 years of service and dedication to Lawrence Public Schools. Congratulations, Kevin, on your retirement. All right, we'll move on to the consent agenda. Consent items. Consent agenda items are those that are considered routine and are adopted by one motion unless any board member or the superintendent request that an item be removed. The item items removed or voted on separately. Can I get a motion on the consent agenda, please? >> I move the board of education approve the

049items listed on the consent agenda. >> I second. >> Gordon Ross. Yes. >> Kimell, >> yes. >> Buyers, >> yes. >> Lancaster. >> Yes. >> Jones. >> Yes. >> Could you Blackwood? >> Yes. >> Motion passes 6. >> Okay. Move on to new business and item 4.1, preschool age tuition. Dr. Swift. >> Thank you, President Gordon Ross and members of the board. Uh we are uh here at this time in January where we want to help our community be well prepared in advance of next year. And so each January we really review where we will be with preschool tuition rates. Um I do want to just step back and share that members as you are well aware and have supported we see our preschool programming as a fundamental equity strategy in the district. There are

050few things uh like early childhood education, quality early childhood education that serve as that onramp and really provide a gamechanging impact for students. Decades of research shows that all the way into middle age, you can see the impact of quality preschool. So, we're proud of this effort. Uh we're proud that in beginning in the fall of 2025, the board supported an effort to expand preschool programming into elementary schools all around the city. We are currently at the number six location. So we're a little more than halfway to our goal of full implementation in every school. And our vision over time of course is a preschool seat for every child in Lawrence. Um the board is well aware but I want to say it for the benefit of those in the community that we are funded

051through preschool age at risk funding for this program. And so that does help to defay the cost to the general fund budget. Now I know that what naturally comes to our mind when we think of at risk funding is poverty impact. We are grateful that there are actually nine eligibility factors for at risk funding for preschool. So, the net is wider and we're so happy for that because it allows us to serve many more students with quality preschool uh programming. We did some research as we were um first of all, I want to say that the board has been clear in the past that we will do everything in our power to keep preschool tuition rates uh as low as we possibly can. So you all are well familiar uh with the work that Miss

052Frick has done to uh really calibrate the tuition rate um and not put on uh any burden beyond just what we need to defay a little bit of the cost. So it's that algorithm that we have used to produce the recommendation that we move from the rate this year of 660 per month to 690 per month. We take that very seriously. We're very cautious because we know that this impacts young families in our community. And I will share with you members of my team and at the school team work with every single family to do everything we can to sort out those at risk factors so that we are charging only uh those families who are not in uh not in that category. Um, we did some research uh over the weekend and today just

053to doublech checkck tuition rates around the community. We found uh that they range as high as double this amount. Um, and they are all higher than this amount. Uh, we don't use that as a license to just keep increasing. we really do anchor this to the district's costs. So, we're happy uh to take your questions. Uh we are delighted to be able to expand the program to uh Prairie Park um and uh to uh help me guys, Deerfield um and Prairie Park and in addition to the four uh that we already had in place. Um, so that's our next step and we're happy to take questions as you have them. >> Uh, I just want to express my deep gratitude for this work. I think it's some of the most important work we've done in

054the last eight years that I've been on the board. It's exceptional that we're able to do this at the rate that we're doing it at. And it really when we think about all the things that Shannon talked to us that are happening at the state level, it's disheartening not to hear. And also we're looking at how do we cover pre-K education for all canons. So to find a way to do it in an affordable approach is much appreciated and really speaks to the equity work that we have committed to. Um I really um had hoped that we would be able to keep the cost a little bit lower but I can see that you've done the work to keep it as low as it needs to be. So, I absolutely support the increase even though

055it's not ideal for our families, but I think it's important to continue to um consider how do we well staff the programs that we have. So, with that, I I want to say that Bob and I had an opportunity at um the Dr. King event to talk to principal Green and hear a little bit informally about her experience bringing in um early childhood education to a K through5 setting. I don't want to use her words without her being here and I know she's addressed the board previously, but it was really it was very exciting to hear what they've learned, the way that they're reviewing how they incorporate um the little young ones into the larger community at uh Sunflower and I know that's happening in other schools. So to the early um childhood education uh

056teachers out there in Lawrence, thank you for those that came before you and those that are joining us now. This is a really important work that we're doing, as important as anything else we're doing in the district. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Um I want to echo um I can't overexlain the importance of early childhood education. Um and and it is truly um something uniquely special that we're we're growing growing our own here in this district. I have uh you know friends and close ones in many districts around that aren't um you know haven't even begun the conversation as to how to do this. So um you know taking the initiative um as a district to to provide this you know incredibly necessary step for um outcomes is is is truly heartening. Um, I

057had two um questions or or just things I wanted to um air. Uh, you know, I I I have a young one myself. I know a lot of people obviously in my own age group that have a young one. Um, and it it does feel like um everything, you know, nothing's getting cheaper. Um, and we're stretched to the absolute limit. Um, so much so that my parents who raised me can't uh fathom how expensive it is now, just, you know, 20 years later to do so. Um, so you know, the first thing I want to ask about is is the bottom line impact. And I know this is a rough rough generalization. You can't speak to specific numbers without having specific numbers of kids in those seats next year. Um, but you know, how how

058much will this help, you know, versus the the the offset of of charging families more? Um, how much how much will this help the the bottom line um to kind of pat out why it's getting more expensive? And then the flip side of that, um, like you said, as as somebody who's had to navigate multiple early childhood, uh, facilities, uh, here in town, this is still incredibly less expensive than everywhere else. um the the fact that it is, you know, primarily funded through at risk early childhood funding. Um you know, what thoughts um or what work maybe have you done previously um that I'm just not aware of to avoid, you know, a bunch of folks jumping ship that can pay um and rooting out families that maybe can't. That's just one area of of

059thought that I had. We've been very fortunate in Lawrence that we really have had families come with a specific and and very uh much in need of the program. So, I've been very inspired um that we truly are providing a program for families who for whom there are not options available. So that bottom line impact I will always continue to brief the board uh the few times out of our fiscal year where we can catch a glimpse of that. Um we do understand that there is impact to the general fund and in our desire to continue to offer the program really have uh historically had our capable families have the tuition and have felt that um using that as an equity strategy is the right step. Thank you. This is Carol. I just I really

060just want to thank you and commend this district and and especially you and this board for this very important work that you are doing especially now as we see the um we're hearing about the housing crisis and with the unhoused issues and I work in social services and I'm alongside some of my my board members here and colleagues they've worked in social services and sometimes you just feel like you're grasping at sand and this is just one way to get go upstream to the source and we can start with our our very youngest so they can you know give them every means necessary to support them so they don't have to access those services down the road. >> That's right. >> So thank you. >> Thank you. >> And for me I would also congratulate

061you Dr. Swift and the board on this action. Um I worked 40ome years in child welfare uh primarily here in Douglas County. Uh the other part of that is I worked in that work also dealt with dayc care that was provided through the state state. Um and what I know is there are shortage of daycare beds seats everywhere all over Douglas County. So this is not would not be supplanting anyone's need. This is simply us adding more more opportunities. Uh an opportunity I think that benefits us short term as well as long term. >> Thank you. >> So um there's a a stat that really stuck with me. So, a couple years ago when um they had the ribbon cutting for the beginning of the uh Children's Community Center project over by the hospital, uh

062the executive director of that organization was sharing that their survey data um showed that for Douglas County, now this was 0 to five, not just three to five, but 0 to five, showed that there were about 3,000 more uh 3,000 fewer spots for child care and prek than what was needed to meet the existing need, you know, three years ago or so, um, in that space. So, um, I feel pretty comfortable that, especially given that we've had preschools that closed during COVID and did not reopen. I feel pretty comfortable that we are filling kind of stepping into the breach in in a way with expanding this program. Um, but I also wanted um to kind of draw a line between the board's work in this area and something that I think we're going to continue

063to be pressured on um in terms of what we are doing in K through five or especially K through three around literacy. um uh there's going to be continuing um emphasis from a policy perspective in our state to making sure that kids are reading at grade level proficiency by third grade. And so one of the strategies that I've heard lots of people talk about but that is as you noted is not getting talked about in the funding space um in Topeka is highquality early childhood. So I am excited that we are expanding those opportunities. Um and you know I I don't mean high quality early childhood as like more academic drilling at ages three and four because that's not what highquality child care is at that age but um or highquality preschool. So, you know,

064but knowing that we are going to be providing a high-quality program that aligns and prepares kids then to enter kindergarten more prepared and ready to begin that academic journey um has me really excited for um the steps that we've made and I appreciate the work um in this area. So, thank you. >> Can I say one more thing? >> Yeah. I um and I appreciate the clarification. Maybe I I didn't articulate my my second point well enough. Um I was I was just wondering if it is a concern that somebody who, you know, families that have a spot in a more expensive um you know, a private situation or a different facility around town sees the price tag and >> jumps to that taking a spot that could go to somebody who would qualify due

065to their at risk eligibility. That's what I was um concerned about. >> Yeah. Duly noted, I we've not had a lot of worry about that early on, but I see I see that as a concern potentially. Yes. >> Thank you. >> All right. Can I get a motion? I move the board of education approve tuition of $690 monthly for nine months for preschool students attending the 2026 27 preschool age program that do not meet the KSD eligibility criteria. >> I second. >> Kadu Blackwood. >> Yes. >> Buyers, >> yes. >> Kimbell, >> yes. >> Lancaster, >> yes. >> Gordon Ross, >> yes. Jones. >> Yes. Motion passes 6. >> Okay. Moving on to item 4.2, staff and community calendars. Dr. Swift. >> Thank you. Uh, President Gordon Ross and Mr. Pulus coming down to help

066us with this item. I do want to share my deep gratitude to a hardworking and really very bright calendar committee. Um and uh the complexities of a school calendar just cannot be overemphasized of all of the parameters. Uh members, I shared with you a parameter sheet just for you to peek at yesterday just to get an idea of all of the moving parts and the complexities that our calendar committee has to address. Um, particularly members, I just want to share that I've appreciated the last two years that I've been involved uh that there's been a real effort toward alignment of the calendar across levels, elementary, middle, and high. We had um a couple of years ago a lot of days that were kind of oddball for either one level and another level, and that made

067it harder on families. So, I'm very grateful for the alignment work. I'm also grateful for the thoughtful approach around really complex topics, school days versus minutes, uh all of the ins and outs of a school calendar. I appreciate the support uh that this calendar committee and uh Mr. Poke have brought with the bringing of two years of calendars. I've been in this seat uh in this great place and in a prior one and that is the one overarching request from parents and families is give us a calendar in advance. And I it is a great day to sit here tonight and see 2 years of calendars so that our families can plan. I just appreciate overall the thoughtfulness. 170 times a year the bells ring and we want to make it count for kids and

068a lot of the way that we make it count is by having calendar that works for families. So with that uh Mr. Pulk is here and just a shout out to the calendar committee and to you Mr. Pope for your leadership. I know you're going to walk us through what we're looking at here and then take great questions from the board. Thank you. >> Yeah. I just want to recognize the work of the committee that made up uh 16 individuals that represented all levels of the district uh ESP certified and our administrative team including uh preschool, elementary, middle, and high school. uh we met uh three times over the course of the first semester and once this semester uh to work out the details of these two calendars and um truly it was a really

069productive process that um was uh really fulfilling. Um as uh Dr. Swift noted um we made some great strides in the calendar last year by unifying it. We moved conferences into February in order to better align with our instructional calendars. We really targeted creating natural breaks throughout the school year so that teachers weren't going longer than five weeks at a time um without um some of those breaks. We also one of our big changes was putting snow days um kind of behind the scenes. So instead of putting it on a public facing calendar, we're now reporting it on the SO66 which allows us to absorb more days and protect ourselves so that we can absorb up to 10 days like this year. So um that's some of the work that we did. Um, some of

070the things we're really excited about on the next two calendars are, um, we were able to continue to honor, uh, fall breaks, um, that week-long break that happened several years ago. Um, our winter breaks are, uh, 8 to 10 days between the two years. So, we're really excited about that. We also in the month of April were able to build in a second day off for students as April was often a long long month with very few breaks in there, especially during testing season and kind of the crunch time of the end of the year. So, we're really excited about the calendar that we're putting forward and I appreciate the opportunity to be here tonight to talk to you about it. >> Questions? >> Any questions? Um, I'll just I'll just start by uh one

071I having been on negotiations for a long time, I wanted to specifically um over the years watching this work, wanted to acknowledge the work of um specifically our our union partners as as we worked on that consolidation um from where we started to to to what got us to this point. Um and then I'm I'm I I know I have I have asked this question somewhere. It may have been to you in this exact space, but um with the two-year calendar next year, you will bring us a 27 28 and a 28 29 calendar. It It's not like you're going to bring us a calendar every other year going forward. >> Correct. My co-chair Josh Sprdlin and myself have had some of those preliminary conversations about what this looks like moving forward. And our plan

072is to continue bringing calendars every year to you. We won't take years off. and we've had such positive momentum with our committee and the work that we've done in alignment with uh the union that we do want to keep that momentum um going. So, we will prepare to bring you one next year this time. Y >> any question? >> Yeah, I um you mentioned uh curating natural breaks and as a former teacher and high school administrator myself, the moving the conferences into February um I can't thank you enough. I always felt that February was the absolute worst month to work in a school. Winter break is behind you. You know, spring break and summer break you can't see and you know behaviors ramped up and it was it was hard to keep keep the momentum.

073So truly um you know providing that earlier engagement um to align with you know instructional outcomes absolutely but um giving kids and staff a break uh in that worst month is I I think you know really important. >> Anybody else? Uh, I want to just say amen to the two-year calendar. Congratulations having watched the calendar committee under like extraordinary leadership before you as well. Um, that's some exceptional stuff you've done and I greatly appreciate that work for families and also for educators. Um, I I really I just have a couple quick questions and these are not this is not asked for a change. It's just a question. Um, we have talked about in past years uh giving um election day off to to staff and and that's just maybe something to think about. I've asked

074about it before. It might just not fit. And I know that you're working with um union leadership and other um folks in the in the district where you can't have everything. So maybe this was one of those things that just didn't work out and Jamie Shu's done some great work to make sure that we all can vote. So uh it I just wanted to note it. The other thing I wanted to double check and is um some work that I know Dr. Swift has done, but we did uh in this calendar and then we're not approving school-based calendars, but I just wanted to name we've had some issues with conflicts with religious holidays. So, is this also part of your um work uh in when you're looking at uh the Yeah. >> Yes. So, uh,

075Jake Potter's helped us to really be mindful of our religious and holy day calendar. Um, it is not expressly noted on this calendar, but that religious calendar will live alongside this calendar and will be uh very much uh uh in the front of the minds of our administrators as they plan their school calendars for the year. Um, and I think the other question I had that comes up quite a bit with uh calendars is um the spring break alignment with KU. Was that something we were able to achieve over the two-year? >> Yeah, it's actually in our parameter checklist, I'll call it. It's a required um feature of that. So, we will always be in alignment with KU spring break. Yep. >> All right. Thank you very much. Those are my questions. I also um

076had the question about um election days and and you know staff ability to to vote. So and there are days uh election day indigenous people's day that the committee does continue to have conversations around. So as we continue with this process and the work that we're doing those are things we're actively discussing and trying to figure out how we can accommodate some of those things. >> Okay. And along those lines, I think the board has to do a better job of ensuring that our calendar also avoids I mean we might you know we might have to be in um session on days when we would not want to be but that we're being more thoughtful in our scheduling um particularly mentioning indigenous um people's day. We have made an error on that several years in

077in a row. Thank you. >> That was my this is Carol. That was my question because I don't see that here on the calendars. Um, I see that we have Thanksgiving, but not Indigenous People's Day. And it's something that, you know, we as a a a country have always been thankful for the indigenous peoples here for welcoming people to this continent. And it's something that is very relevant today is that as we acknowledge indigenous, we're acknowledging Thanksgiving, but not I don't see indigenous people's day here. And forgive me if I'm rambling, but it's just something I'm very passionate about as you know, we are in this climate. >> I appreciate that very much. Julie noted >> um Mr. Pulk. So, uh, not to get too much into the details of it, but obviously, uh, the

078way that we handle snow days has been something that we have, um, had a lot of conversation about at the board table over the last couple years. Um, and I noted in the in your presentation, you said that you've taken them off the public facing calendar and put them on the SO66, which I know is important to those of us who are um, it's steeped in the acronyms, but could you explain and kind of uh, layman's terms what it is that we're doing to make sure we have built in enough time to the calendar that we don't find ourselves >> in the situation we were in a couple years ago. So before Mr. P jumps in, I want to say it in a lay sentence um being a novice, but it it is built in

079behind in the in the way that we clock minutes over the course of the school year to meet all of the targets. So that's why rather than seeing a day in April and saying to the world, this is a snow makeup day. if we don't have snow days, you get it off. That really worked against all of us in a in the mental uh frame for students and families who often would have planned their travel or planned for the day and then we had to pull it back. So essentially just on the novice level, those minutes are built in so that we don't ever have to think about it. Um, now you will have the technical explanation from our technical expert. >> Before you start the technical explanation, can I ask a question about that?

080So, does that mean that we've built it in because I know the state allows us to um count both minutes that students are in the classroom, but also some other kinds of minutes in our calendar for uh that are time that teachers are working. >> Yes. um they count those as instructional minutes. So, is that part of the strategy? >> Yes. And then also, as you guys recall from last year, because we got in trouble with the nine days of blizzards, etc., um there is some matching that the state does that if you're willing to build in the minutes, they will match us sometime. Okay. So, all of that algorithm is built in on the layer behind what we see. >> Yes. So I I will try to keep it broad so it's not too

081technical but um we build in uh uh buffer minutes or hours into our school year. So we students attend 170 days, staff are here 186 days. We have minutes on top of the state's required minutes and however many minutes extra there are. Um that's how many snow days we could build in. So this year we have uh three buffer days built in. So we attended those days in September. Those are the behindthe-scenes days that we marked. And so if we get three snow days, we can absorb those with no penalty. If we get a fourth, now we start getting those days back from the state. And so the state will say, "Well, you attended your inclement weather days, so we'll actually forgive you a day." So we start kind of doubling that back. So that

082buffer works with that state forgiveness which allows us to build in this larger window. Whereas before when we had the public facing day, we could only build in one of those days. So the forgiveness from the state was less whereas we already are going to be forgiven up to three if we attend that many. >> Okay. Um and and just to clarify so that people understand we every year in July as a board choose to use instructional minutes for our calendar even though that works out to students attending 170 days. Like we're not we're not being evaluated on the number of days. We're being evaluated on the minutes. >> 1,116 hours. >> Okay. Thank you. So, because you know that number by heart, I'm I apologize for my next question. Okay. >> We've asked for

083um Indigenous People's Day for several years in a row. If you had to go back and get and find that day um what what consequence is there for that for um the and you would not know we have done that of course and I've seen the the previous committees work toward this. So, I'm asking if we delayed the approval, what impact does that have? Um, and uh is there something you could do that we're not aware of in in a short term that would have a quicker turnaround for families and and uh educators? >> Um, so because uh and and I believe you guys saw the parameter checklist that we operate from, um, our our window and our uh flexibility with the calendar is is pretty limited. Um, so it's really less about, hey, we're

084going to we're going to be out an extra day or we're going to be in an extra day. It's really about trading days. >> Um, so if we were out that day, we would have to identify another day that we would then go in that we're currently scheduled to be out. So it's kind of like putting a puzzle together and fitting it the best way possible. And some of the some of the issue we run into is uh aligning it as as we're strategic around those breaks that we're taking throughout the year, those natural breaks. Um some of those days start stacking into those breaks. And so that's where it gets really kind of complicated. And so um it is about trading and and that's where the committee sometimes runs into that opposition where we

085can't move forward with certain things because we weigh other priorities and things like that. >> So we've never asked you to go back. I think maybe one other time we've asked people to go back and and revise a calendar. The question I have or I understand the tradeoff piece. What is the the timeline you had for getting this approved? Does it have to be approved at this meeting for any reason that I don't know? >> It uh we can always work with the board as we need to. Um and I'm sure that the committee and the team can help us to understand what the downside of that is. But if that is the will of the board, then that is absolutely what we'll do. >> So, I have a question about that. Um, right now

086that day is not a paid holiday for employees under board policy. And so, it's my understanding that that's why we've not ever had it off because it's not included in our paid calendar. >> That I believe that is correct. >> Um, so there would be a budget impact. >> Correct. Y >> okay that is a a good point unless as Mr. Pope noted it was traded for another day. >> Yeah. >> So if for example on Monday of of thank >> but but so here's here's the question I'm asking though. Um the other days that we have off in the calendar. Um okay I see. So like if we were trading like a day in the week of Thanksgiving for example. >> Okay. >> Because um this is Carol I see June 19th the district

087is closed for Junth >> right? But we added Junth to our list of um board approved paid holidays for 12 month staff. Um >> would we be able to? >> Right. So >> I mean we c we can. I'm just I'm just trying to understand the trade-off that we're asking to make and whether it would um also involve us having to go back and um do some approvals on the holiday calendar, for example. >> It likely would. And my thinking is if we were going to take it back, we would then update the board within a few days of what those impacts, whatever they are, positive and negative, would be. We would bring that to you in a in an email briefing. Um because I don't think it's responsible to try to think of them

088on the spot tonight. I think we need to do some deep thinking with the calendar committee. Miss Robersonson, you were remembering some history that probably needs to be spoken into that microphone there. >> Wonderful. I had the pleasure of being on the calendar committee for quite some time. Um, and uh, Member Kimple, that's exactly my recolle recollection as well. Those those federal holidays um, and the paid cal the paid holidays that the board approves are those ones that are identified on the calendar. Now there's you know we can we get we could identify >> right >> whatever but that's that was the reason the pinch point um along the way. >> Okay. >> So that might be a step that would be required. >> Thank you. >> But also there is the option of trading

089another day >> and and so we would develop what that might look like and >> I would say there's there's always an option. There would just be consequences. good or bad >> and I I've watched the the explanation of it and I know what I'm asking is a giant ask. I mean in terms to go back when you have something that is really beautiful. Um I but I I I would I would like to know before I personally my my colleagues might not I would like to know what the options might be before voting. That's me. >> Very good. And it's always good to know that we're we're pleased to sort that out and get it to the board. >> Okay. >> As you all would like. >> This might be a simple question or

090too simple of a question, but you said 1,116 hours for instructional contact time um or instructional hours that we can count this calendar. Does that come in, you know, right at 11:16? Is it it's I assume it's a few higher. >> Um it depends on the level. Um that's part of the calculation I do when developing it. So um on average the levels are are around 1,142. Um that allows us to have that buffer and then build in some of those inclement weather days. >> Thank you. >> And my question in trying to sort through it in my mind is there appears to me to be two issues. One is can we can we do we have the time or the day? That's one issue. The other issue is, okay, if you're going to let

091people off, you gota you got to decide, are we paying them or not? >> And I think those to me that's where it comes down. Yes, we can switch a day, but that doesn't mean we pay them for that day. >> And and most of the days that students have off, staff are still working. So we we would have to kind of find that would be the challenge one of the challenges. Yeah. >> And to clarify that and not to over step there we and this is the duality of the calendar we have to do that 1,116 hours for the state reporting and then the contractual obligation of 186 days or something whatever it is. Um and then those student days those are all defined within the negotiated agreement. And so by trading a day,

092we're really not talking about the 1,116 hours. We're talking about the contractual days of staff. And that's where the payment piece comes in. That is that make sense? >> Yes. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> We're pleased to take on this task and to return to the board on February 9th with information. >> We're okay with that? >> Yes. All right. All right, we'll move on with no action. Thank you. All right, we'll move on to item 4.3. Dr. Ingleberg >> and Cindy >> or just Cindy. >> Thank you. Yes. Um we the district has been asked to participate in a neighborhood revitalization tax rebate for a property here in Lawrence. Um, this would be a cooperative agreement between the city, the county, and the school district. And so, here to tell us about

093this project tonight, we're going to start off with Patrick Watkins with Watkins Law Office. And Tom Calico. Yeah, if you want to come over. Uh, Tom Calico uh will also speak to us from Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors. Also here tonight is Brandon Maguire, the assistant city manager of the city. Thank you. >> Thank you. Good evening board members. My name is Patrick Watkins. Um I'm here on behalf of the property owner. It's a company owned by Matt Gilhouse and Matt is here with us tonight. Um also with us is Connor Trainer. He is the architect on this project. Connor and I are both products of the school district here. And I'll start by saying we all have a profound appreciation, deep respect for the work that you all do. A good portion of Matt's development

094team is also uh USD497 products. My mom was a librarian at Cordley and Sunflower for 20 years. Um thank you all for your service. Um I'm here to tell you about an interesting product. Um can we do the PDF first? Apologize. An exciting project. This is the Reuter Oregon Buildings. >> Good morning. Um could you move the mic a little bit closer? >> Of course. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Is that a little better? >> Yeah, that is better. Thank you. Yes. Um, this is a project uh that presents a unique opportunity um to return two of the most important historic resources in Lawrence back to productive use. Um the item that requires your consideration, as Cindy mentioned, is an NRA. It's a property tax rebate. Um it it has to go before the city,

095the county, and of course your board. We all have taxing jurisdiction and we're seeking your partnership on this. Not all projects qualify for an NRA. It's a product that's granted by state statute and there's three criteria under which an NRA can be granted. And to briefly summarize, you either have to have a property that's just downright dangerous, uh, a property that is deteriorated to a significant degree, or a historically recognized property. Um those are the three criteria under which you'd see an NRA and so it's a particular product that makes sense for development agreements under certain circumstances. You'll see them most often for the historic significance. Lawrence packs a punch for historic preservation work and this is oftentimes the partnership of choice for historic preservation work. Um so it's important to have some understanding of

096the historic significance of this uh property and the building. This is a building that many of you might recognize. This is one of the older photos. Um, it's right at the intersection of Sixth and New Hampshire. Uh, it's part of the historic fabric of downtown. I might click through some photos so you can watch those. Um, it's been here forever. It's been here for 150 years or going on 150 years. It's one of the oldest buildings in downtown. And I'll give you a little bit of the history and and why this is so significant of a project. The Wilder Brothers Shirt Factory was located here. Um, and they built the building in 1882. This is 20 years after Quantrell's raid. Um, it's just a few years after the completion of the first Car River Dam,

097which was an old conveyor belt system for providing electricity to just seven buildings downtown. So, this is one of the pillars of the industrial fabric of downtown. Wilder brothers were one of the major early employers of Lawrence. At their height, they produced 22,000 shirts annually. They employed 70 factory workers and 20 salespeople. You'll find if you talk to the folks at Watkins Museum that uh the Wilder brothers were one of the first in the country to make standardized shirt sizes at the time in the in the late 1800s. Reuter Oregon factory relocated to Lawrence in 1919 and built the North structure as an organ assembly room. In 1927, uh, Reutder built Little Red, which is connected by a walkway, um, and tunnel to the larger factory building as offices for the building and space for

098the designers and draftmen. By 1948, Rider Oregon was the only Oregon company between St. Louis and California. Uh, they continued to operate until 2001. At their height, they employed over 125 employees and constructed over 60 organs a year. You'll notice that all of our churches in town have recognized Reutder, Oregon organs. They were placed all over the world, but they were located in Lawrence for a good portion of their existence. I'll give you a little bit more of a history with just the photos. These are some of the early organs that would have been produced. There's both wood organs, metal organs. This is Little Red. This is the smaller building to the right. It's comes a little bit later, but both of these properties are designated his historic places. This is early Lawrence crafts people,

099um, designers, carpenters. Um, you can get a feel for the size of this building. Some of the spaces in this building are unique to downtown. No other spaces have a fourstory assembly room like what's found in Reutder, Oregon building. This is a great photo showing some of the early carpentry work. These organs were part of the churches that they would go into, but they could fashion and fabricate the entire front of a a church or the entire backside of a church in the in the factory. The bottom level was essentially a sawmill. Here's a picture of the four-story volume in the north building. Unique property. For the last 25 years, the building has been vacant. In the last few years, the building suffered some damage that left it at risk of collapsing. Um, if not

100for the investment that was made to keep it upright, it certainly would have collapsed. Um, the owner has developed or assembled a capable development team for the rehab project. CT Design is the local architectural team. Rosen Preservation is the preservation group out of Kansas City that's doing the historic preservation work. RA construction will be the contractor. The rehabilitation project, as you might imagine, is comprehensive. Uh it's a range of structural work being completed. All new wood posts and beams, tuck pointing, a metal frame that will hold open the four-story volume. It's a massive project to keep this property into productive use. It all it needs all new commercial and potentially residential space. If you have questions about the work uh or the project itself, we're eager to provide further elaboration on what needs to be

101done to this building. I will show a few more photos of the current condition. This is with its cleaned up. These posts have been installed and and on the bottom level, I think they're 14 in uh wide wood beams. Um, you can kind of get a feel for the industrial look on the interior of the building. There is no replacement for seeing the building yourself. If at any time um you all would like to have a tour or take a closer look, we are eager to get people in there to see to show the preservation work. One major challenge on this project is finding the navigable path for financial feasibility. We want to we all want to save an old building. We all hope that it can be done. But the risk in this type

102of project is uniquely high. So it's important to note that every avenue for financial feasibility has been considered. Much work has been done already to make this project possible. It is an opportunity zone project that provides a little bit of extra financing benefit. It is a state and federal historic tax credit project which is probably the largest single uh incentive being sought here. If you preserve, you can get some tax credits for that work. Private financing from banks is an absolute reality for this project. Uh it cannot happen if we cannot meet basic underwriting requirements for debt coverage ratios, appraisal requirements. We also sought additional incentives from the city and the county. uh an IRB, which is an exemption on sales tax for the construction costs, and a CI, the opportunity to produce additional sales

103tax at this property, have both been sought uh and and uh approved. Um under every conceptual scenario for these buildings, some sort of public participation on property taxes is going to be needed. Um so the incentive application, including the NRA, is wrapped into our feasibility model. Um, and Tom with Baker Tilly is the third party that was tasked with reviewing our financial model to make sure that these incentives are really needed to make sure that the NRA is is part of the requirements for making this pro property or bringing it back into productive use. the p the public support makes it tolerable, but as Tom will mention in his uh presentation, our market returns are still not excuse me, the returns on this property are not market rate. In other words, it doesn't produce what

104would be qualified or uh calibrated as a market rate return. It's still very much an altruistic endeavor. This is the last uh public approval meeting that we have to attend. Um, as I mentioned, we don't get to see you all that often as uh people in the development world. Um, but at every stop in the last year plus of visits, this project has enjoyed near unanimous or unanimous support uh from every stakeholder that we've met. We started with the city manager's office. We submitted our application sharing the financial commitments needed for the project to take place in the city manager's office scrutinized our application required edits of us and eventually supported it. We engaged with Baker Tilly on the third party review and convinced their team that this project required incentives. We went to the

105city commission uh and received multiple uh city commission hearings and were eventually unanimously approved by their body and the county commission of course we we visited them most recently and we got unanimous approval there. Um as part of this process we've also received letters of support. The Lawrence Preservation Alliance is a big proponent and fan of this project. The Douglas County Historical Society is also supportive of this project. Every group that has had the opportunity to my knowledge to look at this project and understand it thinks this is a great thing. But the stakes are high for this project. Stakes are high high tonight. An approval means this project gets to move forward. A denial means that this project will sit the property will sit vacant. Uh we will work harder for some other solution

106for the financing challenges here. Um, but a denial is likely going to shut this project down. Um, there's a good chance that as a result of a denial, the property taxes will also go down. So, I want to make sure I Tom will talk about the economic development impact of this, but this is a long-term investment in the NRA process and the NRA product, and he can tell you exactly how much funding is at stake. You guys are not writing a check, though. I want to be clear about that. Tom can speak to those things. As we've worked through this process, it has become clear that this is more than about just preservation. This project represents an opportunity to reverse the long-standing trend on the 600 block of New Hampshire, the northeast quadrant of the

107downtown area, which is once a cornerstone of downtown activity, but it's been overlooked for decades. This project is about investment and a community defining project that elevates our most important community asset, downtown Lawrence. It has the potential to enhance its identity at a time when investment is still deeply needed. It's a project that makes Lawrence relevant and attracting families that desire a thoughtful place to live, aware of its place and time and history. It's a project that even with the NRA will have a positive impact on the property taxes and sales taxes that it produces. We also have the right developer. This is really driven by Matt and Kalin who after the sale of their wind energy company in Kansas City have invested in historic pro preservation projects in East Lawrence and in downtown over

108the last several years. We have the right developer. Um we're open to your questions. We're eager to have you all review it. Um the stakes are high and we really look for your support. >> Earl, I just have a question. I maybe I missed something, but um I'm looking at the other slide presentation that we were presented or given. But what is the vision for this project? Is it simply just cleaning up the building or is it is it going to be an apartment complex or business just for the general public so they know cuz that wasn't on this presentation. >> Thank you. And I'll I'll click through a few more slides. >> We have committed to commercial andor residential uses and we're still examining the potential feasibility of both. Um we don't have a

109future tenant. This is a speculative project in that sense. Um but it is to clean up the building. it is to make it habitable commercial or residential space. The residential space has a little bit more difficulty though. You can't fit >> residential a ton of residential units in in the oldest building downtown. Um but you can see from the vision uh I think the early uh concepts were office space. It's right next to city hall. It's right in a great corridor for downtown. It's got great parking. Um there's some renderings that suggest that there'll be conference rooms and co-working space, but it's not nailed down. We had to make a commitment that what it was commercial though uh and resident and or residential. Does that answer the question? >> Yes. Thank you. And I'm I'm

110you know I'm personally aware of the building. I'm very fortunate that I've lived here for quite a while like Mr. Magguire here, but I did have a relative that worked in the the Oregon building. He was actually employed there. And when he was employed there, I said, "Really? Hey, they still make organs, but that was a long time ago. So, thank you for answering the question, but um also you said the one of the appeals to this is that it's close to city hall. So, if we approve of this, I mean there's always speculation and rumors that city hall needs more space and then it's it will also be across from Q39, but I'm just like I am excited about this project, don't get me wrong, but I just would like to know I would

111like a clear vision. >> Yeah. and and we're not at a place in this project where we know exactly who's going to be in there. We did u submit a proposal to the city manager's office when they requested proposals for additional city hall space and they they did not accept our proposal. So, uh it's likely to remain privately owned. If it was for some reason or another transferred to public ownership, property taxes are no longer an issue. They don't get charged on publicly owned property. So, this is a bit of a moot conversation if that were to happen at some point. But if if there is a scenario where the city desires to have office space and and we hope they would consider this space um they would pay rent and the rent a portion

112of the rent u would have to be used to pay property taxes and that increment is what we're talking about with the NRA. It's a portion of the incremental increase in property taxes. So there's a scenario where the city does occupy it potentially. um they have their own decisions to make about where they're going to locate, but um we certainly think it's the right place in some respects for more uh public offices. >> I uh I have two preliminary questions and then maybe a couple of others depending on um what everybody else says. Um so I just want to check my own understanding. Number one, I I checked the boundaries for the C and NRA. Um and it looks like it's essentially the footprint of the building and a little bit into the parking lot.

113It's not um a swath o over there. Would would my understanding there be correct? >> Yes. >> Okay. And my second question, um I saw the difference in the residential and the commercial rent. The residential being estimated at $210 per square foot at about 42,000 square ft. I uh I think I recall. Um, I know you don't have um because you just said I I know you don't have a clear this is how many apartments will be here and and whatnot, but any any idea of what kind of square foot apartments we're looking at and what we can expect um for total rent um based on those on those square footage projections and >> the total amount of rent for a residential space >> for a residential apartment in that building. Yeah. >> Um either

114Connor or Matt, do you guys want to come up here and speak to some of this? I mean, I think we have round numbers on what we can receive and Baker Till's role was to analyze whether or not our assumptions were fair. Um, I think we have in the model forecasted rent for individual spaces, but it's just based upon that square foot. Uh, >> right. And that's that's all I was really asking is how many apartments do you think you can fit in there? Um, you know, with the commercial, um, occupancy as well and ballpark. >> Sure. >> You know, what are we looking at for total residential rent? Yeah. Um, you know, I think the most residential apartments that could fit in there is 25. >> Um, but that's if I think if you

115just did residential only. Um, we forecasted 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 12 13 units as part of this financial feasibility study. The total monthly rent is 25,664. >> I was an English teacher. I don't have my calculator. the, you know, if you were to look at it, um, the these are these are not the cheapest rents in town. Um, there's no doubt about it. This is not appealing to affordability issues. Um, and we've had to respond to the concerns. I mean, certainly, uh, the developer looked at a a potential affordable housing project here. And Connor and I both work for LITC developers. Um, I think we understand the virtues and the benefits of having affordability uh, when you can have it. Um, we've got a great program with sales tax here. We have

116a state KHRC corporation that looks out for for Douglas County and does award projects locally. And we have the affordable housing advisory board that helps grant local projects with affordability criteria. Ultimately, this project doesn't make an ideal candidate for affordable housing. It's just the oldest building downtown. >> Right. And I yeah, I didn't I I wasn't assuming or didn't want to assume um that it takes all kinds of of housing. I just wanted a ballpark of how many apartments and and what kind of round we looking at. >> Yeah, I appreciate that. >> I know Tom has a presentation to follow mine. >> Okay. Thank you. Can I grab that background? All right. Good evening. Tom Calico with Baker Tilly Municipal Adviserss. We're the economic development financial adviser to the city. Um our role is

117primarily due diligence. Uh when the city is uh the recipient of a request for incentives, uh we are largely charged with looking at the necessity uh the of the incentive, whether an incentive is needed at all, what the appropriate amount would be, um eligibility under city policy, state statute, that kind of thing. I'm going to apologize in advance. I may look down a little more than I normally do. I'm suffering from a little bit of uh double vision. Um I'm okay and I I promise I'm not drunk. Uh but uh yeah, I've got a little little problem. So I may look at my notes a little more. The I've got two screens up here. So okay. Uh I wanted first to just update you on a couple of other incentive applications that are working their

118way through the system at this point. Um, Amar Manufacturing, uh, which is a resident of the East Hills Business Park, um, has made a request for, uh, tax abatement. Um, that would be under, uh, industrial revenue bond, so it would not come, uh, directly before the school board, but there is an opportunity for comment. Um, the other one that is working its way through the system is uh is a affordable housing project, the Fort Hill Apartments. Uh it's 121 permanently permanently affordable housing units. Uh it's a tenants to homeowners project uh at Bob Billings and K10. Um, that's also an industrial revenue bond tax payment project and some requested city waiverss of fees and other assistance that I have down actually February 3rd, but I think that's been revised uh to the third meeting in

119February, which I believe is the 17th is when the city commission will uh uh will consider that. So, moving on to the uh topic this evening, the Reuter building. Um, I won't go into the the nature of the project. Patrick's done a great job of explaining that to you. Um, he referenced the budget. I'll show you here in a little more detail. Uh, you've got the sources on top, the uses on the bottom. Um, as as Patrick alluded to, the construction loan and and owner equities. You know, there's a large amount of private financing supplemented by both federal and state tax credits. Um the you'll see uh the construction budget makes up the vast majority of the cost at 10 million of the total almost uh approximately 17 million. Um it is the line share

120and as we'll discuss it's it's it's an expensive construction project. The requested incentives uh the neighborhood revitalization act obviously uh the purpose for our discussion today. to 95% 15-year uh property tax rebate um through the neighborhood revitalization act. That act, as you recall, uh requires the affirmative uh consent and involvement of all the taxing entities. So, city, school district, and county uh being proposed here. It's eligible for an NRA due to the uh the building's deterioration, obsolescence, and its historic uh nature as well. Um it's about 1.8 1.38 million total over the 15 year. Um, and I want to stress here that, you know, in case anyone um, doesn't recall, this is an abatement on the incremental increase in taxes. So, none of the taxing entities, including the school district, are being asked to give

121up any of the taxes that they currently receive from the property. um and they would receive 5% of the incremental increase in in uh in taxes. Uh the second uh incentive is a community improvement district which 2% add-on sales tax. So it's additional sales tax beyond what's currently being charged in the city. Um that's predicted at this point based on the performer that we evaluated to be about 1.25 million. Um the uh developer has asked for authority up to three million if they were able to surpass what we currently for uh uh what we currently forecast and I'll return to that when I talk a little bit about the return to the project. And then the last uh incentive is a sales tax exemption on construction materials. Um this is uh we're able to do

122this through state statute where essentially like I said we're just exempting uh the sales tax. The cost of that is largely born outside of of warrants. I'm going to go into a bit of detail on the butt for analysis. I want I want you to have the benefit of this because this is where we really get into the question of is an incentive needed and is the amount of incentive requested appropriate to get to you know a feasible project. Um so the analysis considers the likelihood that the project would occur without the requested incentive. Importantly, it it's the proposed project in the current market. Um, it's not a feasibility study. We're assuming that, you know, the applicant has determined whether or not the project's feasible. So, we're not necessarily addressing whether the trade area market

123can absorb the project. Um, we're we are assuming the project, you know, as is able to move on as proposed. Um, and lastly, this is a financial forecast. You know, the results will obviously vary to some degree. Here's our approach for doing a butt for analysis. The first thing to do is to um evaluate the applicant's estimated project costs. Uh then we also evaluate their estimated revenues. We then consider a hypothetical sale. Um the way we we calculate a rate of return which is the gold standard for measuring the profitability of a real estate investment. And to do that you we assume a hypothetical sale in the 10th year. It doesn't necessarily mean that the applicant is going to sell. This is just a means by which we can then create a value for the

124future uh revenue streams um and to calculate a rate of return. Um and finally we compare that rate of return to what investors would seek in comparable projects. And we're very fortunate and that we have this wonderful tool the Price Waterhouse Cooper investor survey. It's done every quarter and it as the name implies it surveys investors. Hey, what would you know what what amount of in of return would incent you to invest in certain types of projects. All right, going to summarize the results of those steps. The first, as I as you recall, was uh looking at project costs. Um the acquisition cost, it was $12 a square foot. Um the market cost according to CoStar uh which is a uh a wonderful source of real estate information is anywhere from 181 to an 86

125in the current market. No surprise here it's a very low acquisition cost. Why is it a low acquisition cost? Well the building as Patrick just alluded to was in very very poor condition. Uh rehabilitation this is the bulk of the of the budget. $286 a square foot is what the applicants performer showed. We used um RS means which is a great source of uh estimating uh uh construction costs and it it said if hey if we were to try and build a like building it' be $26 a square foot. Now so this is above and we would expect it to be above because you know we're not building a like building right this we are rehabilitating a very old building. It's going to be a complex difficult construction. It's going to have to adhere to

126historic standards. um it will it will you know it will be expensive. So we felt that the $286 per square foot is was a reasonable cost. Uh we looked at the developer developer fee which is a little under 8% of the total project cost. The industry standard is 5 to 10%. So that seemed uh reasonable. The soft cost similarly about a little under 8% industry standard there again is 5 to 10. So again reasonable there gets a little more complicated when we look at the revenues. Uh the residential rents were forecasted at about $210 per square foot as alluded to earlier. Um market is$129 to 174. So it's a little high. Um you know we have to understand that if it's high that you're potentially overstating the return. They're not understating return. And for the

127purpose of doing the butt for analysis we worry more about somebody understating the return. So uh but we do recognize it's a unique property. It's going to have some unique views. Um, so you know, we we didn't uh we didn't change the the uh residential rents assumption. Commercial rents um are pretty much in line with the market. They're showing anywhere from 6 to 27. Depends on the position in the building. Um average uh in the market is 1684. So we found that to be reasonable. There were a couple of modifications that we suggested and made to the uh developers proforma. they had uh both the residential and commercial vacancies at 7%. The market's running about 2.7 3.7 uh respectively. So we made that adjustment. Um they had an annual growth rate in rents at two

128to two and a two and a half% which is high compared to the market but again this would have the effect of potentially overstating not understating the return. And finally they had a capitalization rate which is uh you know basically a discount that we consider at the hypothetical sale. Um we increased that from 7 to 8%. So just some adjustments we made to get the performer more in line with the market. So this uh this graph illustrates kind of where we came out. the shaded area, the shaded rectangle that you see at the top of the graph, that's the uh Price Waterhouse Cooper investor survey acceptable range uh running from 7 and a quarter to 11%. With the incentive with the incentive uh this we project that this uh project would have a return of

1291.34%. So even with the assistance that we just talked about, it doesn't get into the market rate of return. Without the incentive, you don't see the return on the table because it's negative. It actually would produce a negative return without the without the incentive. Um so for that reason, we concluded that the project is not likely to proceed uh but for the requested incentives and you know the challenge and the challenges are quite clear, right? I think it's easy for all of us to understand why the project needs the assistance. You know, it's a heavily deteriorated bu building. Um, it has historic preservation standards, uh, preservation requirements that are going to be expensive. Um, and we're, you know, currently in a in a period of elevated costs of capital. Okay. So, returning back to the

130incentive, uh I think I've covered that fairly well. I just will note that the uh the cooperative agreement for the neighborhood revitalization act is modeled after some that you've seen previously. Um the Nandell Apartments, Penn Street Lofts, Nell um Hundell Apartments 2. Um so this you know this is this is basically the same approach that you've seen before. Um the details of that are all in the NRA plan which I believe was provided to you. All right. Economic impact. So this is uh something that uh Larry and Cindy and I have worked on together as a means to try and illustrate the economic impact to you in a way that makes sense for the school district. Um so this first chart or first uh slide shows this from the impact to the taxpayer. I'm going

131to code to the impact on the district in just a moment, but this is from looking at it from the taxpayers's perspective. Um and this is in $225 and assumes all the levies stay constant during the 15-year term. Um so you'll see that uh from the taxpayer standpoint um you've got the current column and then you can see during the term. So from a taxpayer standpoint there's going to be a slight increase in the general um local option budget slight increase again because you know again we're only we're only uh rebating 95% of the incremental increase. the capital outlay is un is unchanged. So there's no the capital outlay levy is exempt from NRA capture. So you'll see there's a fairly large increase uh during the NRA term. Bond and interest again just that small

132bit of growth. All right. So looking at it from the perspective of the district itself um on the general there's no real impact right because of the distribution through the state the capital outlay again here the uh the district sees the entire increase of the capital outlay both during and after the NRA period and then all the remaining levies you're going to see some increase uh because again we're only rebating 95% of the incremental increase and then obviously um a larger increase after the termination of the NRA. So, you know, this is an investment in historic preservation. It's a investment in the long-term uh tax base growth of the district. And that's all I have for you this evening. I appreciate your attention. Uh happy to respond to any questions. Great. Thank you. Any questions?

133Have >> a question. I'm not sure if it's for Tom or if it's actually maybe for Mr. Magcguire or Mr. Watkins. Um so um in Mr. Watkins in your presentation, you talked about the three uh things that the state statute that authorizes these target. You can do dangerous buildings, deteriorated buildings, or historic preservation. Um, I may be misremembering, but I served on the public incentive review committee for about 12 of my 15 years on the board. Um, and I know when when we would talk about projects there that the city in adopting the ordinance that authorizes the city to participate in these, there's some there's some goals that the city has for projects that get incentives. um um how do those goals align with the NRA requirements and how many of those goals are checked

134off in with this particular project in terms of the city's interest in seeing these go forward. I'm not sure if you get a copy of my cover letter on the incentive application as part of your packet, but we did have to consider the city's economic development policy. I think that's what you're talking about. >> I think that's that's it. I I recall that you did provide that >> at the facilities committee. I will apologize if it was in the packet for tonight. I didn't see it. >> That's okay. The city's economic development policy was enacted in 2018 and it sets forth the criteria that the city requires each project hit to be eligible for certain types of uh economic incentives. And each one of these three that were considered for this project, CI, IRB, NRA,

135they all consider sort of a the broad list of practical considerations that are paid to economic development applications. It's what you might think. It's the It's the values of our community. It's downtown uh development. It's historic preservation. It's low-income housing. It's job development and job creation. Um there's not much about job retention. Um so each one of the potential incentive products has criteria that you need to meet. In my letter, I indicated that each of the three applications that we made meet with the city's economic development goals and they fulfill the criteria in the economic development policy um primarily because this is a downtown ancient um potentially a job generator. Um and those are sort of the three big ones. historic preservation also. Okay. >> And preservation is one of those sort of uh city

136um goals that is highly um is is rated in that economic development policy. >> Okay. Thank you for that. >> Does anybody else have any questions? >> No. Okay. >> We ready for a motion? Do >> you want discussion first or >> Yeah. >> If the rest of the board is ready for a motion, let's just make the motion then. But >> I would like the take you up on the invitation to see it. So, I hope you're serious. Uh, I move the board of education approve the district's participation in a 15-year 95% neighborhood revitalization area tax rebate for the Rudder Buildings economic development project. >> I second. Buyers, >> yes. >> Gordon Ross, >> yes. >> Blackwood, >> yes. >> Lancaster, >> no. >> Jones, >> yes. >> Kimble, >> yes. >> Motion passes

13751. >> I also would like to see the building if there's an opportunity made available for that. Dr. Swift, thank you. Yeah, >> I I would love to see it. And uh just my own comment, I would um would like to thank whomever is um getting this idea and making it happen and saving the the the building and providing jobs. So, thank you. >> Okay, with that, we'll move on to item 6.1. I get a motion. I move the board of education recess to executive session for the purpose of evaluation of the superintendent with Dr. Janice Kersswift superintendent invited to be present and with the board to return to open session in this room at 8 uh 9:04 p.m. with no action to follow. >> Second >> Campbell. >> Yes. >> Jones. >> Yes. >>

138Could you Blackwood? >> Yes. >> Gordon Ross. >> Yes. Fires. >> Yes. >> Passes 6. >> Yeah, we're open. >> Listen to the easy have returned from executive session with no action. Dr. Swift, any announcements? Well, yes, President Gordon Ross, I'm delighted to announce, and I should have shared it earlier, um, that tomorrow is designated by KASB as board clerk appreciation day. >> So, we will be appreciating our board clerk, not only tomorrow, but all the time. Uh, Miss Nikki Nman, thank you. >> All right. >> So appreciated. >> All right. Can I get a motion to adjurnn? >> I move we adjurnn. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> All right, we are journed. Thanks everybody. >> Thank you guys.