Board of Education - April 7, 2025

001The April 7th board of education meeting is called to order and I welcome everyone present. I also ask for your patience with my voice as it has been in and out for the last week. Um but Witchaw Public Schools will be the premier district of choice and inspire each student and staff member to thrive and become future ready within the greater community. This is a business meeting of the board of education and we are pleased that you have taken the time to join us. All board members are present tonight. Please join me in a moment of silence. Thank you. Tonight, our color guard is from Southeast High School. And please stand for the presentation of the colors followed by the pledge of allegiance. the face. You may post the colors. Thank you, ma'am. Arms reverse

002guard outward face. Please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Forward. [Applause] Okay, thank you. Southeast Color Guard Platona. First item, student board update. Welcome gentlemen. Thank you Superintendent Beerfeld, President Albert, and members of the board for allowing us to share with you tonight. My name is Coen, and I am proud to have served as the first ever Wood Public Schools student board president for the 2024 2025 school year. Over the past year, your student board has been hard at work reshaping our leadership model to better serve all 44,000 students across Witchaw public schools. One of our proudest achievements was hosting the Witchaw Public Schools annual winter leadership conference,

003a powerful gathering of student leaders from both middle school and high schools. This event created space for meaningful collaboration and showed our younger peers just how powerful their voices can be. This shift was necessary. SuperSAC, as you know, had run its course, and it wasn't delivering the results the students deserve. I'm incredibly proud to have led the effort to build something new, something stronger. While we're not claiming perfection, I can confidently say we've laid a foundation for a board that's ready to lead and make a difference in a lasting impact. But we're not done yet. With your continued support, we're ready to keep pushing forward together. While we're proud of our growth, we need the board of education's help in two key areas: exposure and early leadership development. First, awareness. Many students in middle and

004high school don't know this board exists or how to get involved. We're asking for the board's support in promoting our work through districtwide events, social media posts, district-wide emails, and even short promotional videos. Every student should know they have a platform here. Second, pipeline development. While we encourage all types of students to be involved in the student board, this is not a first-time club. The students that represent their schools on the board are ones that are already dedicated to making change and are passionate about Witchaw public schools. Most of our members are juniors and seniors, but leadership shouldn't start late. So, we want to create freshman and sophomore opportunities to mold them into leaders that can efficiently serve on the student board once they are upper classmen. With your help to spread the word about

005our initiative, we can get underassmen involved now, preparing them to build a stronger, more representative board for years to come. Good evening everybody. My name is Lana Hosch. I'm a junior at Northeast Magnet. And first thing I want to do is thank you. Thank you everybody to this room, but especially thank you guys. Me, Cohen, and Alexis who sadly can't be here tonight have had many opportunities to go and connect with the community this year and it's been an honor. Our goal is to lift students up. That's our main goal. That's consistently what we're here to do. We love to embrace humility. And what we've learned this year is that humility is not about thinking less about thinking less of yourself. It's about thinking less about yourself. And we've used that consistently through this year.

006But I know this year was a foundation. So what does next year look like? And we have a couple of changes coming. Next year we're excuse me, we're using we had four boards this year. We're cutting it down to three boards. We're going to use those students minds and put them all together so that everybody can have a collaborating voice. We're going to have three main important boards that will actually settle the next meeting. And in that next meeting, um, if you know, uh, we talked about this earlier this year, we have seven committee chairs. And so, naturally, since one board is leaving, that opens up a committee chair. And we, so we determined this year that we need a social media manager. And that social media manager will broadcast everything we're doing on the

007student board. Everywhere we're helping students and everywhere we're lifting students voices. And like I said earlier, um, at the next meeting, we're discussing those boards, but we're also discussing new positions. And so every single student has to run for a position if they obviously want a leadership position. It's not like a term limit that you just get to do it another year. And these students, this is a nonpartisan election. There's we're not voting red or blue. Um they're simply voting about what the le what leader is best for the position. And so we have nine students running for around seven committee chairs. So we're really excited to hear their voices and hear what they have to their goals for next year. Um finally um for next year obviously we're senior heavy and so we have

008a lot of seniors with a lot with a lot of wisdom but they do have to graduate and so we we determined that in order to keep building this B board um we're sending each uh usually should be around two students back to their schools to recruit two more students. Those students will be a junior and senior and so those that one junior can build for the next year and the senior can also learn and give their wisdom um on the board for the next year. We're incredibly excited for next year. And as Cohen mentioned, we have around we represent around 44,000 students. And what I'd love to say uh is that every one of those students has a name and every one of those students has a story. And one of those stories I'd

009like to share with you tonight is Trace Tomkins. Trace Tomkins is a special education student at my school. And uh he didn't really have community the last couple of years. He's in my grade as a junior like me. So for two years, he really didn't have anybody to cling to. But we actually got him uh hooked up with his class of the year, his class competition, and uh he's now an important member in his class uh class activities. Um but one of my favorite things about Trace is Trace loves the student board. And he's not on it and he won't be on it next year sadly, but after every single meeting on Wednesdays, Trace comes up and asks me about the student board. And he also will tell me his ideas and sometimes those ideas

010are a little bit radical. Um but we try to get them done as best as I can. But I love seeing the smile on his face when I tell him that, hey, I did tell the student board we probably should have pajamas every single day at school, but they said no. Um, that that's that smile on his face really means a lot to me. And that's exactly what the student board brings. It brings value to each student. It makes each student feel at home. It makes each student's voice be heard. And that's exactly what we're here to do for this year, like we've already done, and what we're here to do for next year. I'll let Cohen close it out. Like we've kind of said before, I just want to thank all of you guys

011for the opportunity to change. Um, like we said before, Super Stack, while it was great when we had it, this this change was necessary and we're grateful for all of you guys creating this change for us so we can create a change for our district. And to kind of wrap things up, we're happy to answer any questions. So, let's help keep building a stronger future for all 44,000 of us students. Thank you. Melody, do you have any questions? soon as soon as I pull it down. Yes. Um, you all are are pretty phenomenal. I'm sure you already know that, but um, so first of all, your it's not a theme, but your what are you calling it again? Your goal is what I wrote is lift students up. Correct. Yes, ma'am. That's exactly what we're

012here to do. And how are you doing that? We're making students voices feel heard. I love saying that if Most people all they want to be is seen and heard. And so that's our goal is so uh we're really a diverse student board. We have people from every single school obviously um but also different cultural aspects of life. So whether it's somebody coming from a poverty uh uh area in the West High School or some high school basketball store at Heights, we're here to represent every single person. So, you've almost answered my second question and that is you said that you represent approximately 34,000 students. Is that what 44 students? 44. So, you represent everyone. We try to. Is that what you're say? Okay. That's why hearing. So, that's why I was going to say

013how how are we where are the other 10,000 plus students? But you've you've obviously answered it. I I think that's those are the two questions that I had. I just wanted to give you a big kudos kudos. I met um Alexis and she's just as excited as you all are. I mean, she presents extremely well. Also, what is her is she a junior or a senior? Uh she's a senior at South High School. She is a senior. Yeah. Um, and you're trying to recruit younger or under younger classmen and persons to come in, right? Yes, ma'am. We're good. Next year, uh, each student should go back to their school and recruit a senior with obviously a lot of wisdom, but also a junior that they can build up. And I think that um board member

014Nak Vong had something to do with lifting the voices of students uh knowing that it is so so important. So I just wanted to simply say that it is indeed and I'm looking forward to really good things. Thank you. Thank you. Knock. Yeah. I just want to say I'm beyond proud of you guys. I'm beyond grateful for you guys. Uh first, uh I would love to shadow uh you Cohen or you, Lannon, or any of the other student board members just to learn more about, hey, what does your day-to-day uh look like? Because I think there is something that needs to be said about the importance of our district elevating youth voices, youth perspectives, youth leadership, and especially like as you guys are building this foundation for student board, you're working on changes to your

015student body, uh changes for your student body, you're working on changes for your school. I want you to think long term at a district level, what policies would you recommend changing for us to be more student centered, for us to improve outcomes, and how can we make that happen? how can we work together? So, long story short, I'm beyond I'm excited. Um, you guys have done amazing work and I look forward to seeing how else we can help this elevate this even further. Thank you. Thank you, Knock Kathy. I can echo what the other two board members said, but I want to say, where were you when I was in high school? You know, one of the things that people in general want is just to be accepted. And you have now made a path

016for that to happen. And I so appreciate the ones that might feel excluded or just dismissed or rejected. You are making a difference. And I am so proud that you have stepped forward and you've stepped up to this. I want you to groom everyone recruited just like you. So because if if they're like you, I mean the entire the entire school district can have a change and be lifted up and we adults actually learn from you. So thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you gentlemen. Thank you so much for being here. Keep up the excellent work and uh continue to invite the board members to your meetings because we uh we've enjoyed the ones that we've attended. So thank you very much. Thank you so much. Have a great night, guys. Latona. Next item.

017Witchita Public Schools Distinguished Classroom Teacher of the Year Awards. Welcome, Tammy. Good evening, President Albert, Superintendent Belone, members of the board. Um, tonight is a great night because tonight we get to honor and recognize 16 outstanding educators. and I'm gonna invite the finalists to come on forward right now. Um, every year we have our distinguished classroom teacher awards and this year we had over 250 educators that were nominated individually for these awards and tonight you're going to meet the top 16. So coming forward are finalists here and they're going to come step in front. All right. So when I call their names, they're just going to wave. Um, in the new teacher category, we have Deborah Montgomery, third grade teacher at Kinsler Elementary. In the new teacher secondary category, we have Michaela Taylor, math teacher

018at Brooks Middle School. In the primary category, we have Heather Brereslin, kindergarten teacher at Riverside Leadership Magnet, who needed to go her kids ahead of activities, so she was here earlier. In the intermediate category, Giana Grant, third grade teacher at Eley Traditional Magnet. In the middle school teacher category, we have Maryanne Olsen, math teacher at Pleasant Valley Middle School. In the high school teacher category, Samantha Sorya, Spanish teacher at Southeast High School. And in the support teacher category, elementary, Braden May, psychologist at Eley Traditional Magnet. In support secondary category, we have Laura Almquest Parks, behavior interventionist at Coleman Environmental Magnet Middle School. And so big congratulations to all of our [Applause] finalists. And I'll invite down our winners now. if you can come stand at the front. So, these are our eight winners for each

019of their categories from this year. So, the distinguished classroom teacher award winner in the new teacher category is Bill Nester Brown, fourth grade teacher at Black Traditional Magnet. All right, now we are ready to concentrate and use our brains. Bill strives to create an environment where students feel supported, encouraged, and inspired to reach their full potential. He loves seeing the light bulb moments when a student grasps a new concept or overcomes a challenge. I am confident. I am confident. I am brave. I am brave. He was the first in his family to earn a college degree and initially went into the corporate world before beginning his educational journey. He was inspired by his grandfather who only had an eighth grade education but was self-taught and a successful business owner. His grandfather instilled a love of

020learning and the determination to never stop pursuing knowledge. Good job. He wants his students to leave the classroom with confidence, a love for learning, and the belief that they can achieve anything they set their mind to. You're smart. You know things, right? Yeah. Yes. In the new teacher secondary category, we have Laura Arisa, business teacher at North High School. [Applause] Can someone share why do they think people struggle to save money even though they know know it's important? Laura's path to becoming a teacher took a few turns. She pursued a career in business and worked at a bank. But after taking a job at North as a secretary, her passion for education ignited and she went back to school to get her teaching degree. She uses that experience as an example to her students to

021never stop learning and pursuing their dreams. You have $500 in your savings account and as your group, you're going to decide how you spend or save that. She believes that learning should be fun and engaging for students. She likes to incorporate games and projects in her classroom to encourage her students to think creatively. Tails minus 100. She says the rewards of teaching come from seeing students grow in confidence, take ownership of their learning, and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways. You get $200. Woohoo. You needed that. In the primary elementary category, we have Kristen Harris, first grade teacher at Ortiz Elementary. Touch your brain and think ways to show people you care about them. The main reason Kristen became a teacher is her own experience in school. She was kept back in third grade after

022being identified as having a learning disability. She says the support she received from her elementary teachers who recognized her challenges and provided her with tools to embrace her unique learning style allowed her to thrive. This experience fueled her desire to work with others who may be facing similar struggles. I love this word fork. Fork. Kristen uses a lot of kid- centered activities in her classroom to keep students engaged. She incorporates puppets and music into her lessons. And her students love her insect collection. Empathy. What is our rule? Empathy. She wants every student to feel valued and supported so she can watch them flourish. Who runs the world? Everybody. In the intermediate elementary category, we have Michelle Paige, fourth grade teacher at Lawrence Elementary School. If it's a product, and here's a big hint, you were

023finding products yesterday. What type of equation are we going to have? Michelle's mother encouraged her to volunteer at an elementary school while she was in college. After she saw how the teachers helped students grow both academically and emotionally, Michelle knew that she had found her calling. Two, because it's times two. Michelle celebrates that all students bring their own unique abilities and experiences to the classroom. She creates lessons around what's unique about her students, which not only makes the lessons meaningful, but also allows her students to take ownership in their learning. Give me a thumbs up if you're with me so far. This should be a review from third grade, right? Michelle says working as a teacher brings rewards that you don't always see right away, and it's an investment in the future. Seeing her students

024gain confidence in their abilities over time makes it all worth it. Ready? In the middle school teacher category, we have Jennifer Kirk. She's a band director at Christa McAuliff [Applause] Academy. The quarter notes at 53 clarinets, those need to be brought out. Can you circle those? Jennifer has always had a passion for music. Growing up, the band room was where she was free to express herself and work with others to create something beautiful. She strives to do that now with her students, letting them know that every one of them plays an important part. Trombones, I was going to make you freeze there, but that posture looked very good. Her music classes go beyond band and orchestra. Students come to school early to practice in the school's drum line, and her jazz band tours elementary schools

025and retirement communities. Ah, there it is. Can you play measure 1551? 1551. Here we go. 1 2 Here's measure 50. rest. Her students know that they can have fun in her class, but also know that she has high expectations and they need to be prepared to work. Her students want to be part of that environment. That's it. The gong is great. In the high school teacher category, we have Aaron Matlock, English teacher at South High School. When you agree or disagree, make sure you tell me why. Give me evidence. Give me reasoning. Why is it that you feel that way? Everybody got me? Aaron always wanted to be a teacher, often playing school when she was little. Her parents were advocates for public education and instilled in her the belief that education is a gateway

026to opportunity. All right, tell me why. Especially if you haven't spoken yet. Besides teaching language arts, Aaron also runs the teaching pathway. She says helping the next generation of teachers find their passion for education is a fantastic reward. Have you taken psychology? Yes. Yeah. I was like, that's definitely a psychology answer. I love it. Aaron loves working with teenagers. Even though they can sometimes act tough, she knows that what they really want is someone to care about them. She says if they develop confidence to accomplish their goals, then she has accomplished her goal. Everybody good? Okay. In the support teacher category, elementary, we have Tish Habert, comprehensive support coach at Adams, Buckner Enterprise, Lovaturer, Mueller, and White Elementary. Before we get started, talk to me about how ELA is going right now. Tish believes in

027the power of learning for both students and educators. Her goal as a curriculum coach is to help teachers recognize and build upon their strengths. She knows teachers are better able to support student success when they feel confident and supported. And Ariana, I have been so impressed with the way your kids are partner reading. Tish had a difficult home life as a child, so school gave her that sense of safety and belonging. She credits her kindergarten teacher with instilling a love of learning and inspiring her to become a teacher. What is the purpose of that suffix? What is it doing? Tish strives to build meaningful relationships with others. She says helping a student grow, overcome challenges, and realize their potential is the greatest reward in teaching. Yes. Nice work. In the support teacher category for secondary,

028we have Brooke Johnson, instructional coach at Witchah High School East. Where do you see yourself and what skills from AVID might help you? Brooke works to build relationships that empower both her students and her colleagues. She says building relationships doesn't always have to be formal, but can be in everyday moments like hallway conversations or notes of encouragement. You know, essentially, you're modeling for them the things you just talked about, modeling with students. She says she didn't fully know she wanted to be a teacher until one day while she was student teaching. The teacher was gone and the sub put her in charge. She was very nervous to have all that responsibility, but knew she had to step up to the challenge and she was glad she did. I am really curious to hear how the

029nested class goes the next couple years. It'll be good. At the core of her teaching philosophy are curiosity, risk-taking, and community. She believes that fostering these qualities in both students and teachers creates an environment where learning thrives. Thank you guys. All right, we have just a couple extra announcements before you guys sit down. But before that, if you are here as a family member, a principal, a cheerleader of one of these incredible educators, or one of our finalists, can I get you to stand up because yes, can we give them a round of applause, too? So, as um distinguished classroom teacher award winners, we do have a couple extra um nominations that we get to make. So, two of our teachers will be our nominees for the Kansas Horizon Award, which is an award from

030KSD for firstear teachers. And our nominees this year will be Bill Nester Brown and Laura Arisa. We'd also like to name those who will represent Witchah Public Schools as nominees for the prestigious Kansas Teacher of the Ward. And our nominees for this year will be Kristen Harris and Jennifer Kirk. What you don't know is I just gave all four of you more homework. So, let's give it up for these guys here. This truly is a great way for us just to celebrate eight 16 of our incredible educators that are impacting our students every day. So, thank you guys so much for your time. Thank you so much. Congratulations everyone. Thank you for the hard work that you do and the dedication that you serve um for students and the families that we serve here in

031the district. So, thank you very much. [Applause] Kate Lona. Next item. United Teachers of Witchah. Welcome, Mike. Good evening, President Albert, Vice President Melody Craig Miller, members of the board, and Superintendent Befeld. Congratulations again to all of the DCTA nominees and award winners. I think they deserve another round of applause from all of us here. We're represented by an incredible group of dedicated educators that serve students across our community. And it's with that I'm pleased to talk tonight about community schools. I was privileged to have the opportunity to attend a community school visit last week hosted by the Albuquerque public schools and AFT National along with deputy superintendent Gil Alvarez, board members Miller and Nvong, and elementary and secondary educators from United Teachers of Witchaw. I'd like to share a few reflections with you about

032the experience and offer some insight into how community schools might offer a powerful community support model for our students and our families. To do this, we first look at the original vision of community schools that many of us have talked about before. Community schools are teacher centered whole focus and before the Albuquerque visit, it was our belief that a plan for community schools should emphasize teachers and building leadership, providing wraparound services for students and families, creating one-stop hubs for family engagement in our schools. Confirmation from Albuquerque tells us that our ideas are validated and putting educators in the schools in the center of the community and integrating health, social services, after school programs remains a proven formula for sustainable impact for outcomes through a school district. I think that we also can also take away

033from our visit that a gradual implementation will lead to long-term success for programs like this. Before we visited, we recognized the importance of pacing and ensuring stakeholder buyin in conversations about community schools. And that was affirmed with Albuquerquekey's go slow to go fast approach, which includes building trust and clarifying roles, including principal and community school coordinator, and reinforcing the values through preparation and incremental roll out that best serves our community. Some key details from Albuquerque that should inform Witchah's decision- makingaking. one, the importance of guard rails and safeguards for any system that we build. Albuquerque is developing and employing uh clear guard rails around funding, accountability, and scope to prevent their model from drifting off course. And it's important that we take the opportunity from the start to begin on that pathway. The Witchaw opportunity

034is to review our existing school policies and contracts to formalize these safeguards, especially around community school accountability structures and budget transparency. Secondly, collaborative governance and partnerships. A joint powers agreement in Albuquerque empowers county commissioners, city agents, and the public schools to work together to share resources and credit. This creates opportunity in Witchah to proactively invite our county commissioners, city council members, local legislators and business leaders to co-create a local version of this partnership framework that ensures responsibilities and resources from our community are shared from the outset. Third, teacher buy and trust and transparency in community schools. Frequent staff briefings, open financials, regular updates provide the trust needed for long-term cultural shifts that we would be talking about. The Witchaw opportunity is to establish a predictable schedule for communication and building level staff, ensuring teacher buyin

035and voice is heard from the beginning and can help steer the program's direction through a pilot. And finally, defining what community schools mean to our community. Albuquerque leaders stressed that a clear definition of what a community school is, tying it to researchbacked methods in the local context was important. The Witchah opportunity is for you as a board to set a succinct set of non-negotiables, integrated support services, teacher-driven leadership teams, culturally responsive programming so that we align on what community school means within the USD259 strategic plan and framework. So three, I offer you some actionable takeaways as board following up from this visit as we start conversations. One, it's to reaffirm our timeline and a phased roll out. If we're going to talk about community schools, Albuquerquekey's example confirms that success hinges on deliberate pacing. And

036I emphasize to you as a board that timelines which take time and phase the pilot out and gradually expands it is aligned with best practices. Secondly, we pursue new partnerships with the county and the city. I think this is the place that I'm most excited because it gives Witchaw an opportunity to take the silos off of resources in the manner in which other elected leaders from other government bodies have talked about for so long. We have the opportunity to align and replicate the multi- agency collaboration that we've seen in other areas in Witchah and in Albuquerque. And I think it's important that we start talking from the for and creating formal dialogue with our commissioners, city officials, and other potential partners. Secondly, we have the opportunity to establish clear guardrails for our conversations together. I

037would propose that we create a community schools framework to adopt districtwide outlining definition roles accountability measures and this is probably a necessity for consistency and safeguarding the integrity of the program across schools that would be a part of the pilot. Next, maintaining a teacher centered model. We saw that a formal teacher advisory group and teacher buyin at each pilot site to ensure educator voices are the driving decisions about curriculum alignment, family engagement strategies and professional development needs is crucial for the success of these programs. And finally, regularly reporting progress to the stakeholders and to the community. We have to commit to scheduled updates to the board, to staff, to community on milestones, achievements, funding progress, performance metrics, whether it be attendance, academic outcomes, social emotional indicators, or legislative needs. In conclusion, by combining lessons from

038Albuquerque and with our established vision and the conversations that we've had, I think that through teacher leadership, deliberate pacing, robust partnerships, and transparent guard rails, we can create a thriving community schools network and initiative in Witchaw. On an important aside, as we discussed collaborative partnerships across the community, over the weekend, a news article aired on KWCH stating that schools across the country are being asked to sign and return a certificate to the United States Department of Education, affirming the end of diversity, equity, and inclusion DEI practices as a condition for receiving federal funding. I want to be very clear, this framing is misleading and dangerous for our community. Diversity, equity, and inclusion practices do not discriminate against any group in favor of another. In fact, they are grounded in the principles of fairness, access, and

039belonging for all students, regardless of their race, background, ability, language, or economic status. Federal funding is not a privilege. It exists to help level the playing field. It exists because states failed to protect the rights of so many students. Under Title One and special education idea laws, these funds are designed to ensure equity, not to eliminate it. to suggest otherwise distorts the very purpose of these programs and undermines the work that educators do every day to serve students with a wide range of needs in Witchaw schools. When students feel seen, valued, and safe, they learn more. They engage more deeply, and they grow into the confident members of our community we want them to be. Belonging is not a political idea. It's a human one. And we must continue to build schools where every child

040has the opportunity to belong. Thank you. Thank you, Mike. Platona. Next item. Service Employees International Union. Seeing no representative. Next item, public communications. Okay. We have Mr. Dave Fish. Okay. For public communications, want to thank you for joining us tonight. And if you have signed up for public comment, you will have three minutes to speak. And we kindly ask that you acknowledge your allotted time according to the timer displayed on the screen. We encourage you to share your thoughts openly and honestly, but we ask that your remarks remain focused on school related manners and are respectful and constructive. The board will listen to your input, but will not respond during this meeting. However, we are listening carefully and may follow up as appropriate. So, welcome Mr. Mr. and Mrs. Finn. Thank you. Can we start

041when I start? Yes. Okay. Thanks. Thank you. Uh board superintendent and team I'm Dave Fish. This is my wife, Marty. Uh, we want to recap and urge you to reverse an okay closure decision before summer. The board voted the board vote and coupled facility master plan failed. The board has the responsibility and authority to represent. The scope of the bond plan vote was not right. Uh kudos to Kathy Bond for realizing that the no vote means that more than revisiting the plan it needs revised and reversed. Okay should remain open for good and the poll results do confirm that reversing the okay closure should be important. It deserves the same urgencies that you've shown over the last year to regain trust in the people who want that who who you want to who who want

042to help you. The plan missed the most important issues. It's not been about buildings at all. It's been about helping our kids improve performance and keeping up school maintenance. The minutes show the Ohio guys and their 85% success rate and the builders all miss the mark and a well-meaning public. So, why am I here? Uh, this is this is important. OK's mission for the last 150 years has been to teach and you decide to close it in months. Neighbors have acted quickly and now you need to act quickly because you're responsible. I know that plans to close okay based on beginning being a 1948 building aren't factbased. I also know how good okay is. I know how great it's been and I know how great it can be. We can help. You need to help

043us help you. Urgency. The board can move with with urgency. We saw you uh your March 20 24 vote closed schools in two months with a bold swift stroke. You proposed rebuilding seven new schools and closing four in the facilities master plan, including Okay. Our team opposes OK's closing and asks you to remove OK from all closure plans before the summer break. Mission and your opportunities. Keep okay open for good. Closures affect all. This is our mission. They're your opportunities. Okay. Elementary doesn't fit the 60-year-old narrative. Okay. Structurally sound. Has a capacity for 450 kids. That's an opportunity. OK has a history of excellence, stable neighborhood, support, and leadership opportunity. OK has taught from its local of choice for 150 years next year. Thank you, Mr. Fish. Thank you. Close it or celebrate it. You

044going to close it or celebrate it? Uh, take okay closure off the table. Keep okay open for good. Show some urgency. Make a statement before the school finish in May. We appreciate your time this evening. Thank you very much. Thank you. I I I urge you to seize this moment of opportunity. Uh, we provided some extra information and the board members have that information. And we thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Fish. Platona. Next speaker, Jessica Carr. Welcome, Jessica. Thank you. Greetings, Superintendent Bill, members of the board. My name is Jessica Carr. I'm a resident of Witchah. I'm speaking today regarding removal of USD259 messaging regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion. I have a PhD in education specifically in the area of developmental psychology. And I wish to emphasize that language, images, and all forms of representation

045are key to a child's understanding of their place in the world. All of us also know that historically equity and equality have not been granted to all members of our community. Thus, the removal of such messaging and programs is a serious misstep. I urge you to stand up for what we all know is true and honorable. I read now sections of a February 2025 statement from the New York State Education Department. Although we live in Kansas, the facts of this statement remain true. And one of the facts stems from a Kansas court case, Brown v. Board of Education. In 1954, the Supreme Court held that separate schools for African-American children were inherently unequal. Since then, Congress has protected and prioritized historically neglected students through legislation such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Individuals

046with Disabilities Education Act, and the McKini Vento Homeless Assistance Act. These laws recognize and celebrate personal, social, and economic differences. They are models of strength through diversity. The statement continues, "Recent executive orders issued by the president are antithetical to this tradition. We denounce the intolerant rhetoric of these orders. Our children cannot thrive in an environment of chaos. They need steady and stable leadership that we will endeavor to provide. End of statement. I now encourage the board of USD259 to take a similar stance. The facts are the same. Public education is a social asset for the public good. Reinstituting DEI messaging and programs is a matter of principle both for free speech and for the importance of these initiatives. that you enshrined in policy and program in the first place. Thank you. Thank you, Jessica. And

047I'll I'll just remind uh everyone that Witchaw Public Schools tagline is every student future ready and every student does not have an asterisk after it. Um so we mean every student and so we will continue to provide uh to meet the academic needs of every student that we serve within our district. So, Latona, next item, strategic plan goal two, middle school progress monitoring report. All right. I'm gonna welcome uh Tim Hamlin and Brandon Johnson to the table to share with us an update on one of our interim goals about the five-year plan that we are working on putting in place for um our all of our all of our middle school students as they head into high school. So, take it away, gentlemen. He's making me That's like a European car I'm driving from the

048right side. Okay. Well, good evening, President Albert, Vice President McCrae Miller, Superintendent Beerfeld, members of the board. Uh my name is Brandon Johnson, executive director of secondary schools. Tim Hamlin, executive director of college career readiness, and we're here to talk to you about goal two, middle school interim goal. Our update is around the strategic plan, student success outcome number two. Just click the button arrow. Oh gosh. Look at that. We did it. Look at us. Okay. So, our goal is to prepare students for life, college, and career. That's the outcome that we want to happen. The next slide will give us that the actual percentage we want of students is 50% by 2029. So, we know that we need to put in the work now with our middle school kids to have their five-year plan

049of their interest of what they want to pursue from now all the way through the class of 2029. We can have 50% of them reach their with five or more post-secondary assets. Our goal for this year is that 100% of our current eighth graders will complete their five-year plan by the end of May of 2025. And in this presentation, we'll give you an update on where we are with that goal. Okay. So, we probably should take a moment to explain or review what we are meaning when we say five-year plan. So, in this situation, as the name implies, we have every eighth grader, they will work to list all of their courses that they will take each year in high school. So, that's four of the years. And then the fifth year is simply their

050plan for that first year out of high school. So that is the five-year plan. How we managed to achieve this is uh it was a very large undertaking. If you think about all the students in Witchaw public schools, we had to have a plan. I would like to publicly thank a couple people here, Laura Barker, Lee Casper. They were instrumental in developing the training and the timeline that our staff out in the buildings had to follow to help us achieve this goal. So, how it would work, um, students would work with their teachers, either their core or their advocacy teachers. Um, let's take English for example. An eighth grader at some point during this school year would meet with their English teacher. They would look at and map out and select which would be the

051appropriate English class for them each year of high school. Same would be repeated for math, science, social studies. In advocacy, the students would learn about the elective options at the high school level, including career and technical ed. I had to make sure there was a plug in there for that one. So once again, it is our goal here to prepare the students for life, college, and career. What you see on the screen is a timeline. You also have a handout that I believe Latona passed out that's in far more detail. What our slide here represents basically is a progression starting at the beginning of the school year when we would have the middle school counselors, teachers trained and then we come all the way to our present where our students are with that five-year plan.

052Like I said, lots of people have helped in this and I want to thank all those teachers out there in the in the schools. It looks like the It's a two-sided document. There it is. Yeah, it's coming. We didn't have it. You didn't have it. It's coming around now. Now you have access to it. Eagerly anticipated. There we go. So, as I said, that has far more detail than what you see on the slide being projected presently. Um on the back there are some of the links to the resources that were developed to train our teachers and the middle school counselors. So again that uh that is a a wonderful document. So we're going to go ahead and look at what the result has been. 100% we met the goal. Now when you throw 100%

053up there I understand that is an easy target for people to try to shoot holes in. So, I do want to tell you that at this day, as I said here, if a student had enrolled at one of our middle schools after this process, it's entirely possible they do not have their five-year plan completed yet. But at one point, every single student in our school district had the five-year plan completed in Zello. Zello is the career exploration program that our students use in Witchaw public schools. And inside there there is simply this tool. Students go in there as I indicated earlier. They select courses that they would like to take in high school. And when that matched or reached 23 credits that constituted a completion and there we were for 100%. So in the process

054we wanted to share some of the positive u feedback. I have some negative as well, but some of the positive comments that our middle school teachers shared. Basically, they enjoyed the process having that opportunity to visit with a student about their future. Um, it also allowed the opportunity for our high schools and middle schools to collaborate. In terms of the pre-enrollment process, we did in experience a few challenges. Um, as I indicated, the 100% anytime a student had completed their plan, all it would take is if the high school decided not to offer a program that that student had placed on theirs, then that student's five-year plan would revert back and have a gap in it. So, it was kind of a moving target throughout the whole process. But, um, other things that we learned

055is the collaboration on the timeline. I think we're going to move that up a little bit more so into the first semester. This year, we had it after the winter break where the middle schools and the high schools actually started to design the pre-enrollment process. Okay. Next, we're going to talk about strategies for continued uh progress because we know that this is just year one. Our kids are going to be getting needing this every single year until they graduate from high school. Um, so the next thing up on our list to keep us moving along is we certainly want to maintain the goal of 100%. Uh, that that saying that if you shoot for the moon and you miss but you still land among the stars, that 100% is a is an excellent expectation for

056us to have. Strategy two is to have middle school, high school collaboration move to first semester, which Tim just talked about. Our high school principles, counselors, they like to get pre-enrollment going as soon as possible so they can get master schedules built as close to spring break as possible. So getting many of those eighth graders pre-enrolled in the right classes early helps them troubleshoot and get it close to 90% in their fill rate for their their master schedule for the next year. One thing we would like to try next year to increase the parent engagement in this process is we would like to through parent link send a message out monthly that would have a for lack of a better term a canned question that we would ask parents to ask of their student hoping

057that that will generate some conversation or dialogue about that student's five-year plan and their individual plan of study. And then strategy four is to explore the capacity of Zello to batch elective courses based on students individual plan of study. So throughout their sixth, seventh, and eighth grade years, we have them explore using Zello to find different careers they're interested in, not interested in, create that individual plan of interest for them. So we can start getting them in the right prerequisites as a freshman and sophomore so that when they're a junior, they don't just discover CTE classes. They've known about that since middle school. They've known the prerequisites. They get those things out of the way. We're trying to align our system so that kids have as much exposure to the great things we have early

058and often because when they find out about it their junior year, it might be too late to get them all the things they could have earned for credentials when they go out into the field. So, we know aligning those making that the stuff that we control on our side will only help us uh on the back end. And with that, we'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Be before we get to questions. Um first off, great job. Um, this is the direction I I think we all know we need to head and we want to continue to head. Um, Brandon said alignment. Tim said alignment. That's a big part I think of from the board's perspective over the next 12 months, depending on how ambitious we can be. We're we're really trying

059to align the system so that options are clear for students. Um, that's a big part of what we're trying to do here. Um, back in back in my day, you know, it's a piece of paper. every year you'd fill out, you know, and you pick your classes and you'd send them in. Um, this is really about thinking about your future, thinking about what you want to do after high school, think about what careers you want to have and getting into the first course so that you can take the second course, you can take the third course. Um, if you don't get in um, general service autom automotive one until your senior year, you don't have enough time in your schedule and your in your progression to get all the way through it. So if you

060can get in in as a freshman or sophomore, you can complete the pathway, get the credentials, get the workbased learning, which makes you even more and more successful. So this is a little bit bigger than just five-year plan, even though this is a great start here. Um how we enroll kids, how we market our pathways and our options to parents. Um you will see more alignment coming um through enrollment, out of district enrollment, industry enrollments. A little bit of the theme, not really planned this way, but a little bit of the theme tonight is about great educational options for kids and making sure we have it. Um, we we have more opportunities as Witchaw Public Schools than any district in the state of Kansas. So, we need to make sure people know that and understand

061how to access it. Um, it's really about accessing the the opportunity. I love the idea of including the parents in the conversation. Um, because if you're like some of my kids, you know, they'll sign up for all the the lower level classes. is like, "Hold on, time out." You know, we're going to take at least one honors class here. Um to challenge yourself and push yourself a little bit. So, parents want their kids to do well. They want their kids to to succeed and be ready for college or career and life. Um and that's a big part of including them in the conversation um to help those kids achieve their goals. So, keep up the great work. Great job. Thank you. Excellent job, gentlemen. Um can you explain how a student would change their information

062in Zillow? As Brandon indicated earlier, obviously this is a an organic process, if you will. Um, what the child thinks in eighth grade could dramatically change by their sophomore year. So, this will continue once they move into advocacy in high school. And so, they have that opportunity at any point. They can go into Zello, they can make changes to their five-year plan. So, it is they're not locked in as an eighth grader. So, when they get into high school, it's going to be really in that advocacy class. And we have those classes that they're going to be taking more. They have we have program things their freshman year, sophomore, junior, and senior they do to explore Zello itself. And if things change, okay, hey, let's go in there. You were lined up to take all

063these fax classes and you're going to go be a cook chef. Oh, turns out you don't want to do that anymore. Now you're interested in automotive. Let's go in there. What classes do you need to take now? Change. Let's get those going. Put those in your IPS and Zello. And then when you meet with your counselor, we can talk about changing your schedule to get those things done. It's an ongoing process. The other thing about this is it goes on with the kid for two years after high school as well. So they have access to this beyond high school. So they can use this in their post-secary venture as well to be like, "Hey, this is what I was interested in. This is what I've done." They can use it as they go on to

064the next step. So the other the other thing I want to throw in on that topic, um, because it's it's uh housed in the cloud, it's accessible all the time for the kid. It's really more than just I know Tim likes to talk about CTE, that's his big thing. Um, but it's really more than just that, right? Uh, every adult in the kid's life hopefully is a career counselor. Every single one. So, if the football coach says, "Hey, you're looking you want to play D1. Let's look at the NCA clearing house and the courses you need to take. Wait a second. You're zeal. You need to fix this. You need to take a third science class or fourth. I don't know what all the the guidelines are." Um, the math teacher can say, "Hey, you're

065really good at geometry. You need an honors algebra 2 next year. Go in and change it right now." Right? Um, we can preload some of the the prerec classes in there. Um, we can batch load some of the um, students that are that are when they do the choir screening, all the kids that make magical goals, they put them in there automatically. Um, so it really allows everybody in the kids' life to have to help them achieve their goals instead of putting it all on the shoulders of the counselor or the advocacy teacher. Um, both who know the students really really well, but they may not know um, case loads are big. they may not know the math aptitude or the science aptitude for every single kid that they work with. So, it allows everybody

066to access it. It's it can be updated all year round anytime the kid wants to make a change. Okay. Very good. Thank you, gentlemen. Melody, thank you. Um, so I'm going to hone in a little bit on the parent perspective because I know you were saying that uh it's possible that we can put something a link in parent view. Is that what I heard or? Yeah, the plan for next year is using parent link parent link right to send messages once a month trying to again just generate that conversation around the five-year plan right and so how are parents and and would there the way that they actually engage or interface with this only in Zillow that's the primary place and I believe I may need some help here but I believe part of the

067conference format in both the middle schools and high schools is to refer to the Zello the IPS. Um so there's that opportunity there. Um also parents set you there with your child. They can log in 247. Um they also there is a possibility the opportunity for parents to have a login as well. So right in Zello or in what? In Zello. Yeah. Okay. So I the point that I'm I'm getting to is not all parents are going to be sure and I've kind of heard it in your voice. So, so what would be our other options to really uh try to either assist them in being a not only aware of Zello but to be able that it's user friendly, you know, that they can actually access it or how else can they get engaged

068with helping their student with their scheduling and ensuring that we not only keep this 100% rate that we have, but as they metriculate on into high school, school where they're going to be working on the plan in advocacy and we'll be checking in on them. Um that parents will be able to follow along with that. Is go ahead. We're getting ready. Well, I was are you are you comfortable coming down, Rob? So, so this is part of the alignment that I was we've been talking about um is a a single sign on for parents. um as a parent with kids in three different schools and six different kids in those schools. Um I do have my kids zello login but it's separate than their than their student view and it's separate from the bus and

069it's separate from the lunch and it's separate from everything else. So um talk about in the consent tonight there's actually you'll see online enrollment in there as a part of consent. Uh the first stage of this is enabling single sign on for a parent. So, a parent will they'll have a landing spot similar to our staff and students where they'll have all the services that we offer to a parent that is available via single sign on. So, they won't have to remember very different passwords for parent view, Zillow, all the other programs that we offer to a parent and we'll be able to expand options for parents as well. And and when is that going to happen? Uh this summer. This summer. So, by the August by online enrollment. and they come back by online

070enrollment. Well, I like that concept that I mean that simplifies things that makes it very accessible. Um, but once again, that is for that is going to be for parents that actually get on there. Correct. Correct. I don't know if we have any other methods is what is what I'm asking to really engage parents in that process. Absolutely. It's a great it's a great question and and a very real situation. um as I indicated with the 100% obviously we have we have students in our schools that maybe are non-verbal that were not able to actually manipulate and enter that information. So we had adults either through special services or ESOL actually set and work with those students. It would be my hope in my former life as a building principal that those adults and those

071students lives during the school day maybe can be creative in reaching out to parents trying to find ways because obviously this is not the only way right that we had to communicate. So it's a good point you bring up. I appreciate that. Yeah. And and I'm going to continue to kind of talk about uh I'm gonna slip community schools into this because that may be also an opportunity for from um from a partnering perspective. There may be groups um not only mentoring but groups in in the community in these different pockets that could be able to be those not support parents but plus ones, you know, where they actually can help them outside of the school setting because it may not always happen in the school setting. So, we'll continue to think about that. Thank

072you. Okay, seeing no further questions, thank you gentlemen. We appreciate the update and uh look forward to continued progress. Thank you. Have a good night. Thank you. Okay, Latona. Next item, Creative Minds program update. All right, so next up is Rob Dixon and Olivia Sumar who are going to talk to us about uh Creative Minds, the pilot project that we have uh put in place this year. Uh they're gonna give us an update on feedback and next steps. Welcome. Welcome. Uh President Albert, Vice President McCrae Miller, Superintendent Beerfeld. Um this is an update to creative minds. Many of you have uh come and visited it. It's at the learning lab and uh I'm going to start with a short 48 second video that was displayed uh when we won our innovation award for the Wishto

073Business Journal. So, Jennifer, there's audio to that school. A modern-day one room schoolhouse designed for kindergarten through sixth grade students. Here, learning is an adventure. Our students explore their passions and demonstrate mastery through creative projects using tools and materials you won't find in traditional schools. Families are at the heart of our approach, actively shaping a curriculum that inspires curiosity and creativity. From designing inventions to exploring ecosystems or celebrating cultural traditions, every project is a step toward unlocking your child's potential. Creative Minds Vertical School, where education is a shared journey of discovery. So we uh we were awarded the innovation award through the Witchaw business journal this year and uh it was an amazing experience. We got to bring a couple families to the table with us. U I would say when you talk about family

074engagement, I don't know of another program that engages the family as much as Olivia does in that program. I would say it's at least on a daily basis. Wouldn't you say, Olivia? Oh, yes. We have parents in every single day. We use our parents as experts. Uh they come in to volunteer. They bring their friends and family in to volunteer. Uh we take all the help we can get. Our parents are integral. Um if you don't know, it's a one room vertical school, a classroom. So, we have K through six in in one classroom. Uh it has its challenges and different iterations. I would tell you that uh the very start of this year, the program uh and and how we scheduled is today is very different than it was in the very beginning. And

075some of you have have come and visited. And what I would tell you is even today uh I was there today. It looked very different than it did even just two months ago. So Olivia, could you tell us a little bit about what a day looks like, what the projects look like? Yeah. So on a typical day we start with our good things in our community building. We are piloting future ready um with is it ringing ring? Yeah. Ring ranging. So the students are answering questions that help prepare them for life and then we talk about those and we dive into math. Each student is working based on mastery not grade level. So I have a kindergartenner working at the end of first grade. I have a fourth grader that's working on some second grade

076work before he hops back up and anything in between. So, whatever the student is at, they're not limited either direction. We make sure that they're getting what they need for mastery. And then we have our reading which is completely again based on mastery. So, we have the groups like you would see in a classroom as far as interventions and core time. We have our reading, our writing, our grammar, but it looks a lot different because they're based on how this child is doing versus this one. So, I might have a second grader learning with a kindergartener. I might have my sixth grader helping a fourth grader. Whatever that looks like for the day based on what the students need is what we're doing. And it is it's always evolving. It's ever changing completely based on

077students needs. they take a very large part um of their responsibility for their learning. They tell me what they're interested in, right? And I build our curriculum around that. So, I just got to say today I was there and uh we had a student, they were one of their projects was creating a robot and it had a projector built inside of it and so the kids were kind of producing what their um showcase was going to look like. So I I wanted to kind of talk a little bit about the showcase and invite you all to come see the showcase when it it happens. Yes. So our current PBL umbrella, so our project based learning umbrella is innovation and invention. So students decided that they wanted to make something better and that could have been

078anything from a gardening tool to a robot that happens to be a companion. So the team he's talking about have built a prototype with a projector inside of it and they have created a bunch of content that would interact with a child and it's called the Cambot. It's bestybot. So your f your new child's best friend is what they're marketing it as. And they will actually be going to Groover Labs on Thursday to get some marketing advice and see how they can improve their prototype. So that's super exciting. So how did they get connected with Groover Labs? They had to research who would possibly be interested. They had to make those connections. They wrote their scripts and they cold called companies with us sitting next to them. Of course, this is K6 students. And that

079particular team is two fourth graders and a fifth grader that decided on the robot. And we have all sorts of different inventions. The innovation showcase is April 17th from 3:00 to 5:00 and we will have all of our different inventions there. It's a public event. We're inviting everyone um all of the community partners that have given some feedback. Johnson's Garden Center has helped a student of ours. We've reached out to so many local um April 17th, so it's Thursday from 3:00 to 5:00. Yes. At Learning Lab. Yes. Yep. Yep. And I would say uh we're pretty spoiled at the Learning Lab uh from a facility standpoint like Yes. to have the STEM space, to have the the media space where kids can edit videos and uh actually create commercials there. Um it's it's an amazing

080space to to work out of. And I I would say I think the future of education looks like spaces like that if you were to think of what our schools look like. And anytime you walk into the school, it will also look different because the furniture is always moving and changing based on how the kids are collaborating. So, we have some student data here. You want to kind of give us a heads up on what this looks like? So, you're seeing student data from the start of the year and some I was able to pull from May of last school year to between December when we did our interim for FastBridge and two of them are actually showing February's results for their um fluency in particular. But there are some fluency, some math and some

081comprehension. Um we are seeing growth across the board. Um fluency is obviously an easy one to see that growth in but it's exciting how we've seen the growth from any of the core curriculum and I think a big reason for that is our afternoons are so crosscurricular and the students have that ownership. They decided what they wanted to research. They decided what they wanted to create and then we are learning through all of that creation. So, it's awesome to see their confidence grow. And like one of our third graders said, he can finally be a kid again. They get to learn their way. And I think that's a pretty awesome way to represent us, but also learning lab in general. Yeah. So, where do we go from here? Um, we have uh talked with the

082learning lab. They they love us being a tenant there, and they're going to allow us to expand uh to two classrooms there. We currently pay about $6,000 for the entire year to use that space. So, uh, pretty fortunate to be able to to have access to a space like that. And and that includes all the supplies and everything. Correct. Right. We don't pay for any supplies or anything uh within the lab. So, it's a pretty pretty great deal. So, and honestly, timing wise, I had no idea that the learning lab was being built whenever Kelly and Michelle and we kind of just dreamed this up. Uh, it just kind of fell into place. So, pretty amazing. So, that's what the space looks like. It'll be two classrooms uh with a divider in the middle and

083so you can have both independent class time uh or uh class together. And next year we will offer uh breakfast and lunch. So our parents are very excited about that. So questions. So I'll ask you a couple questions just to um so two classrooms next year. What what are some lessons you guys learned? So this was a pilot. We kind of jumped off and had to do a lot of figuring out. So what are some things we learned this year? Oh, breakfast and lunch maybe. So breakfast and lunch is huge. Yes. Yes. Um it it was a burden on families to, you know, make their lunches every day and they come in with donuts a lot because we have busy families. Speaking as a busy parent, I would also say it's both you learn a

084lot in having a one room schoolhouse and how to facilitate that. And it's also something else to think about the day and how to deliver core and project-based learning at the same time with uh also a sixth grader middle school student with all standards. So we do the power standards for elementary, but you have all standards for a middle school student. And so mixing all that together uh presents some complexities that I I don't know that we were ready for. Yeah, that was uh we knew that standards would be a lot, right? Because it's seven grade levels. But once you really start digging in Yeah. Um that sixth grade did throw us for a loop definitely. Um we're very fortunate though that again our parents are so involved. So if there is anything that we're

085struggling in, the parents are always they're always there to help. They are just a phone call away if even. Sometimes they have they have memberships to learning labs. So sometimes they're down the hall. So, we do have those extra hands when we need them. Um, I think the vertical classroom, I've worked with multiple grade levels, but again, not seven grade levels at once. And so, learning how to um combine those kids and and how they will work best together. They have actually started calling themselves siblings. They say they don't feel like friends, they feel like siblings because that's what it feels like when you've got that many different ages in one space. And so it does feel like it's navigating a family more than a classroom. So if you want to add some complexity on

086top of that, there are four other micro schools inside of the learning lab and we also, you know, co-operate with them within that facility. So there's a lot a lot of variables. So what would be a I probably should have prepped you for this question, but I think some of for some board members or some some people in the public, you know, why why would you go to a separate space for this? What would be some of the challenges if we were to have started this in a existing school? Um, how might that have complicated things? I would say uh size of our classrooms uh square footage uh is not the same. Um when I even think about how the day is there is very much fluid. Like you'll see kids in the hallway all

087the time. If you walk down one of our elementary schools, you don't see that. like just the the busyiness of traffic in that day is is very different. I mean, Gav, you've been there and visited and Diane, you've seen what that looks like. I think it's it's a very different space and it lends itself to a very different culture and uh than what I think we're used to as a system. The independence that the students have as well because of the stewardship that the building facilitates um is tremendous. I mean, my kindergartenner will go into the kitchen, she prepares her meal, and she goes and sits down, she cleans up her meal, and while we're there to support her, it's not necessary. Now, at the beginning of the year, there was a lot there was

088a lot needed during lunchtime, but at this point in the year, the students are so independent because they are they know what's expected and they have those that resource available to them. we're in a traditional building, there's just so many different things happening that things have to be so scheduled, it's not an option. I could see this as a school within a school though. Yeah, eventually. So, and and I'll I'll quit asking questions, but um I do think we we have a a clear plan for next year. Beyond that, you know, I I don't know that we want to make any commitments uh right away, but um I think about a month or two ago, Rob shared with me the feedback, the parent feedback that I passed along to you all, and it was, you

089know, 12 out of 12 gave it five, five out of five stars, right? Um parents are very happy with it. They have an incredible teacher. They have an incredible space. There's a lot of advantages to it. Um but it's also a very student- centered model, right? That's the point is that the kids are focused on the learning. I'm excited for year two because the other the other advantage to this is um think of year-over-year growth for a teacher that knows kids as well as they do. Um I also wanted to lift up that you know these kids t take FastBridge, they take state assessments, all the other accountability measures of of a regular school or all of our other schools are there in place too. Same standards just a different approach to teaching it. Um,

090I think, you know, one of one of my visions uh for our district that I think we need to continue to to challenge ourselves in how we think are are magnet choice opportunities uh in the past have really been uh mostly about the what the what of learning. So, you might learn about communications or literacy or uh engineering um not necessarily about the how or how you learn. And so having different magnet options that offer different hows, different schedules, different flexible models, different ways that you can interact um with one another and the curriculum. Um I think there's demand there. I think we can show impact and show effectiveness and um there's obviously increasing choice across the educational landscape and we I I don't say this uh to brag, but we we are the best

091choice. We we can offer something better than really any other institution could offer. Um but we need to keep innovating like a lot of those institutions are innovating to keep up. So yeah, there's not one family that wants to leave Creative Minds. Right. Exactly. Yes. In fact, the sixth grader is very sad that he has to leave. Yeah. So all 15 students that can continue will be with us next year. That's awesome. So all right, I I'll quit. Thank you. Thank you, Superintendent uh Knock. Yeah, thank you for the uh presentation. Could you go back to the student data real quick? Uh what's on the uh top left? Uh that is fluency. That is Yeah, that's a student's fluency data that got cropped. Okay. Yeah. Sorry. Then what are the uh the black boxes? That's

092where we hid the students name. We have such a small student group there. I didn't want to identify any students. Okay. Would it be possible to send us like an a like an aggregate like of all the students? Sure. Um for like you know the fast bridge um all that and I'm assuming like state assessments scores haven't come out. No, we're actively taking them. We finished math taking them right now. Yeah. And so how many students are in are in this uh program right now? 16. 16. Um and then do you happen to have like a breakdown in terms like like here's how many kids are in kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade? Yes. Do you want me to give that to you now or do you want me to just send it to

093you? Yeah, just yeah, maybe just um send it to me. And then you guys mentioned you're expanding to uh two classes. So would you still be the only educator or would or there be like another teacher on board? There would we would uh we currently have a open position for another teacher. So yeah, because like that's going to be a lot of work. So thank you. All right. No, that's all. Thank you. Y Stam, thank you. Um one of the roles of a board of education member is to uh plant seeds. Um, and we're like a big uh ocean liner. Uh, we don't take sharp turns in the middle of the ocean. Um, but one of the issues that has come to my mind that I and Kelly can confirm that I talk to him

094about this all the time and that is I think the future of America and education is really going to ride upon how well we are doing in the area of creating uh critical thinkers. uh you only have to look outside of what's going on and you can see that we are lacking that ability right now because we're just we have so much as citizens thrown at us in all different direction. A lot of it is deliberately misinformation. And so I was hoping maybe and I think we're going to have to incorporate critical thinking abilities in everything, every level, every subject. Uh I'm not just talking about social studies. I'm talking about all you must be able to critically think about something and make up your own mind about it other than to just follow in

095line with everybody else. So I guess w with that in introduction what I'd like to know is what examples are you doing in the area of critical thinking? Can you give a specific example of how you're trying to develop that? So I think all of our project based learning units um focus very heavily on problem solving and critical thinking. this current one we're in with inventions and innovation. They have to research what already exists and they have to confirm that that's a valid source. We do a lot of digital citizenship in the classroom for that exact reason and then they have to build their prototype, get feedback and make it better, right? So, how can it be better? Why what could possibly make this better now? And so, really critically having to process through all

096of that. if we go back to our um community and culture unit where we worked on the um cardboard carnival and we're earning that money to hopefully have that tiny home built for Witchaw by the end of the school year. Um that was all them thinking critically how they could solve a problem in our community and they chose to focus on the homeless and so then they had to decide how could they earn that money. Right. So she's gonna have us dancing. That that that's a that's very good. We'll we'll just enjoy the music for the second. Yes. I'm sorry. That's okay. You know, I would also say that, you know, our students are so exposed to devices that they also have anxiety issues and developing conversations with people outside of their circle of influence.

097And I think the projects that we're doing right now, having a kid create a script and cold calling are the right types of activities and functions that a kid can use to operate just in life in general. Can I kind of um narrow in on you said identifying sources. Yes. And what little research I've done and the seeds I've been trying to pass on is that seems to be critical. Just because Stan research says something does not mean you have to take it as 100% truth. That's just a s the source is Stan Reer, but that doesn't mean he's correct in that. So, how do you do that without getting a agenda that can be uh attacked as well, you're just you're trying to exclude uh sources, which is not what critical thinking is about

098at all. Matter of fact, you want to read some misinformation. Sure. So that you can understand the information, right? So, uh I appreciate you mentioning identifying the sources because I think that's the skill that we have lost uh recently. And so I I hope that uh we can uh spread this critical thinking uh to all levels and all courses. Oh yeah, that's an issue that goes far beyond creative minds, right? Like that's something that every elementary, middle, and high school and college and beyond is currently facing. Um we can just Google the answer and well Google said so, AI assistant said so, right? Wikipedia said so. Whatever it might be, and no, that's not good enough. What is this website? What is after the dot, right? Is it org? Is it comm is it net?

099What does that mean? Um you said this is the author. Okay. Well, let's look that person up. And like Rob said, when we are contacting these community partners, we have to figure out who those people are first. So, okay, Groover Labs, well, who did you speak to? Let's look this person up. Why are they an expert? How can they help you? So, really just diving deep into what we're finding online because yeah, that first AI answer can't be our answer ever. Thank you. Thank you, Stan. Kathy, Olivia, thank you for your participation in making this first year such a success. And Rob, you too. Um, Mr. Belill, can you refresh my memory? When we first initiated this, um, we had invited students to attend that may have not are falling through the cracks. Is that

100correct? Can you refresh my memory on how we got the 16 students? Off to Rob. Yeah. So, we originally uh did a query of any student having an exit code from the district, either homeschool or another district. And so, we queried those folks uh initially to to get kind of where we are today. That's right. Um I would say in the future, I mean, obviously it we're an open district and that's kind of like where I was going with my next question now that we're expanding with the second classroom. Yeah. Are we going to query again or is it a first come first serve? Is it going to be 16 more students? So, I think we'll end up uh in a lottery, but it will be by grade level so that we don't um one

101of the things I'm trying to think about is having two teachers will likely break that up K3 and 46 in that space. And so I don't want to overload one side of that grade level, you know, of of that banding to make it easier. So we'll likely do uh an interest with a lottery by grade level. And do we ever see this going maybe to eighth grade? I mean, if we're going Eisely K through eight, I mean, is this not another opportunity where we might be able to look through K through eight? Yeah. And I think that's part of why um you know, Mr. Harris talked a lot about trying a pilot, starting it slow, getting it off. You know, we want the foundation laid to see is is K6 right, K5 right, K8 right,

102whatever it is. Um, as they get to middle school, complexity increases, standards increase, right? There's there's challenges with that, but that doesn't mean it's it's a non-starter. So, well, I was quite impressed when I visited and I'm going to make sure to try to come on April 17th. I to celebrate with you. Um I I think as even it's been mentioned here at this board, many of us learn different ways and it's more prevalent now in 2025 that not everybody can sit in a desk all day and stare at a blackboard and maintain attention. So I think this is a very good stepping stone. So I'm real excited about this. Thank you Kathy Melody. Thank you. Uh just a couple of basic questions. So if we're planning for growth and we already are going to

103actually add another classroom that would be an additional 15 or 16 students um have you extrapolated out andor projected growth over let's say I don't know 5 10 years so um our current uh queue right now is reaching close to 100 students um on the waiting list on the waiting list. Okay. Okay. But yeah, so I think it it depends on how fast you wanted to grow. I think this would be compounded. I think if we go two, you could go double that for you could just double every year. Um I think that would be a choice of the board and and Kelly at that point. And I I we've had some of these conversations, but I I directed Rob on this presentation to just talk about next year. Okay. just because, you know, we

104don't when we say things publicly that sometimes they become a more more a promise than we intend them to be. So, we know what next year looks like. Um, if we continue to to see growth like that, parent uh meeting parent expectations the way we have, I don't know why we wouldn't accelerate it, but we don't want to make any promises to um with what it might look like in the future. So, right. And we look at when when you're going to look at the per pupil price cost, how would you say this compares to a traditional elementary or K through eight? So those kids are counted as a traditional student today. So are we saying that it is about the same? Yeah. Cost. Yep. Maybe even less. Possibly even less. No. No. We we

105do take all students. So, we have students with special needs. We have students with gifted IEPs. We have students with um you know, from from all, you know, just like we would in a regular school. Um so, that's been some of what we've had to navigate is what does um IEP support look like if you you can't just walk next door to get services, um speech services, whatever those might be. Um again, more of what we need to continue to to make sure we're we're ready for before we scale in a large way. But yeah, I would I think that, you know, cost per pupil, if that's what you're asking, is probably lower than average, but close to whatever the average is. I would also say like it's a discovery process because uh some of

106these students are coming from the micro schools that are around so they've never been tested. So there's a process for that. Sure. So that was one of my my final question was students with with IEPs. So how do they receive their uh additional? So, we partner with Franklin right now and Franklin and EIA both uh help us with IEP assistance currently, but I mean they're supports in the classroom setting. So, like send they send staff over back and forth from actually send staff over. We have a gifted facilitator that floats to the prochial schools that also comes to us for gifted. Um we have our sped support is um Christy at EIA and she meets virtually with the students who need that support. Okay. To make sure we're meeting those minutes and we have um

107if we have a student who needs hearing services or speech services, they come to us for that. Okay. Those there are a couple other you know there's an advantage to being at the learning lab for for some reasons. There's also would be advantages to being in a school. you think of serving lunch and breakfast, right? You know, um things like access to service providers when it comes to IEPs. So, it's a give and take. All these things have have uh we'll be delivering a a large refrigerator to the learning lab this summer to to deliver uh breakfast and lunch. So, good. No, and I plan I'll plan to be at the 417 event. Awesome. Thank you. Very good. Okay, seeing no more questions. Thank you guys very much for your presentation. Uh I think this

108is an exciting opportunity for students and families um within the district and Olivia, thank you for your continued support and dedication through this process. So thank you for your support. Okay, Latona. Next item, non-resident enrollment and mission overview and seat capacity recommendations. All right, I'll invite Michelle Drumight and John Weiss up to the podium for non resident enrollment and admissions overview and seek capacity recommendations. You win the longest title of an agenda item tonight. Good work and the most interesting. Yes, I agree. I agree. Good evening, President Albert, Vice President McCrae Miller, Superintendent Beel, and members of the board. Um so tonight uh to lead off our presentation, Dr. Michelle Drumright is going to uh start us off with a overview of the Department of Choice Enrollment and Programs. Then we're going to go into

109uh the state statute and um the board policy that govern uh how to uh make seats available for non-resident students. And we're actually gonna walk you through uh what our recommendations are going to be for this year. Oh, we already Thank you. All right. Show. Okay. So, we just wanted to take a moment to talk about the Department of Choice Enrollment and Programs. So, knowing that with open enrollment now in effect in Kansas, that providing a clear, welcoming, and accessible um experience for our families is more important than ever. So um this department of choice enrollment and programs is designed to streamline and strengthen and as um we've been speaking about align the processes um across all of our schools um and just across the district. So mainly I want to highlight what we're focusing

110on. So first of all uh simplifying open enrollment and special assignment processes for schools and for families showcasing school options across the district. As you all know, we have a lot of great opportunities for families and just building a platform to better showcase and share those opportunities with all. Um, ensuring consistent and transparent processes uh between schools and across the district. So, we're saying the same message no matter what what school or department um that a parent is talking with. And then really importantly, delivering exceptional customer service. So, customer service to our schools and to our families and to the community. Great. Um, so, as I'm sure you know, a couple of years ago, KSA 723123 came into effect that uh lined out how school districts are supposed to provide seats to non-resident students. Um

111this essentially um you know broke down the process but also um not a good driver. Uh but it also uh ident identifies a couple of deadlines uh May 1st to get uh our board's approval but then also June 1st actually published uh so that the public can see what what vacancies are available at which of our buildings. Uh policy 5506 uh was also brought into effect shortly after that that uh uh the board approved in November of 2023 and then also again earlier this year whenever uh the time frame for applications was actually extended. Um then uh this policy actually breaks down uh additional timelines, the processes that will follow and then also breaks down um you know where our priorities fall in terms of the non-resident students uh who have applied then um what

112qualifies as good standing. when uh when a student applies gets accepted uh further years they don't have to continue to apply but they have to stay in good standing and then also um any differences in the process for uh those students who want to apply for magnet programs and I'm way ahead of myself I'm sorry good this chart here um actually is a highle overview of what uh vacancies we have throughout the district. Um at the elementary schools and middle schools we have to break it down by grade level. Um then at the high schools we break it down by school. Um in your packet and this is just an example. In your packet you actually have the uh proposed recommended uh seat vacancies per school and per per level. Um you'll see that we

113have it broken down by each grade uh except for of course at the high school level and then uh we've got our total capacity, the projected number of students that we have coming in and then also uh the total open seats for that school. Um the way these numbers were determined uh see we have a um a high amount of mobility throughout the district and uh there are a lot of special transfer requests. Uh we have pushins from newcomer and uh any students that are categorical with IEPs that uh require them to be pushed in for certain uh certain uh subjects. Um and we want to most importantly provide the same opportunities for our students as what we're actually providing for uh non-district students. So at the secondary level uh there was a 2575 split

11475% of those being those vacancies being kept for internal students for all of that uh that movement. Um then also uh um at the elementary level it was a 50/50 split. Um okay so if you just look at the timeline it's April 7th. So today we're presenting the recommendations to you um with the goal of by May 1st that the recommendations have been approved by the board of education and then um by by June 1st we'll have these numbers published on the website for uh the community. Uh the application is currently open right now it opened January 1st and it's open until June 30th. Uh so we are accepting applications for all non-resident um out of district students and then by July 15th we will run a lottery if that is necessary. So depends on

115how many u people apply to each school based on the capacity that we are presenting to you tonight. So if a school has five available seats and they have four people apply those four people will automatically get in. If they have 10 people apply, that means we'll have to run a lottery to get just so we can just place the five um students. So that will be done by July 15th. Okay. So John talked about all these things a little bit, but out of district students um already enrolled in the district, so students we accepted last year or previously do not have to reapply. Um, so we will keep them in the district through graduation. Uh, we want to make sure there's an understanding that the magnet application process and timeline does not align with

116this. So, um, anyone from out of district that is applying to any of our magnet schools still has to go through the magnet application process. Um, so those that timeline is different. Actually, the magnet application timeline has already closed for this year. So, if an outofd district family wants to attend a magnet school, it's a different application. They have to go through the magnet application for that. Okay. And then out of district enrollment can be revoked at the end of the school year if a student is not in good standing. So each spring we will do an audit or a review of all of the students that are enrolled in the district as out of district to ensure that they are um staying within good standing as outlined in the board policy. Oh sorry. So,

117we would like to recommend that you um approve the seat capacity that we have presented to you this evening that is in accordance with the Kansas law KSA723123. [Music] Okay, very good. We have uh a few questions here for you guys. Thank you for your presentation, Stan. Um this is the second year we've done the out of district capacity seating. Um it's a little more formalized this year. Last year was almost like a trial run if if it's my understanding. Um but did we ever and I apologize if this has already been reported. Did we ever hear what the final numbers were on number of out of student out of district students that uh WPS uh received last year? Yes, we did. I the final count was under a hundred students. I I can't tell

118you exactly because some of some of them changed, but it was under 100. I'm actually surprised it it was was it fairly close to 100? Um I think by the end it was like 60. Yeah, 65ish by the time we went through and realized some of the people that had applied for out of district were actually in district. So yeah. Okay. Yeah, that was a common uh misconception I always got every time this subject comes up was it's not a open enrollment within the district, it's an open enrollment from out of district. Um, so if you said it was in the 60s, did we have a number of how many students we did we lose that they chose to go to another school district? That is a question that we are looking into. So we

119I've asked that question also as I've stepped into this role with this department. So okay I think that's something the board will want to hear in uh in the future on what our net gain or net loss was. Um I'm encouraged to hear it was that many. Um I really expected it to be even lower than that. Um and it's been really interesting. Sorry, but like looking at what school districts also um you know, we've been able to sort the data by what school districts the majority of our kids are applying exactly to come from and and get a percentage of what kind of where the movement actually was. Um I'm assuming a lot of our requests at the high school level is going to be because of our career pathways and we don't have

120all our career pathways at every single high school. So, if you are if you have a child I'm just trying to think as a parent here. If you have a child that's extremely interested in firefighting science, uh, and there's 14 seats available at South High, uh, you've got a I'd say you'd have a fairly decent chance that you could, uh, maybe succeed in get in getting over here. Um, let's But these ones that only have one seat available, uh, I'm looking like a southeast. If you're really interested in that pathway that's only offered at Southeast and there's only one spot, um, is there any way to uh, you almost hate to turn away somebody that u uh, has a great interest in that pathway uh, but we only have one seat available. Is there is

121this hard and fast? Yes and no. Um so the difference between the in district and the out of district I think that for right now in my learning about this um we have a we're not talking about in district but most of the students that would be wanting to transfer to a high school because of the CTE pathways are currently in district. One of our goals with this department is to better communicate all of the opportunities available at our high schools to draw people in. So, at that point, we're working with the programs um individually, like how many can a program handle versus the capacity at the school. I was going to say because if we want to draw people in but our capacity is showing almost nothing then uh we're we may be sending

122the wrong message there or a mixed message maybe but but I'm encouraged that it was that many and I'd like to see it I'd like to see that continue to grow. Uh, I just am a little concerned that, you know, if our capacities are so low, are we going to be able to uh, you know, take advantage of this this program? No, those are great points. And Michelle, if I could, so correct me if I'm wrong because there's a good chance I I won't correct you. You're gonna be right. Yeah. These are based on capacity with current teaching staff, correct? Right. Yeah, we could add a hundred to one of these schools if we wanted to add more teachers to create that capacity. So, so th those are decisions we make along the way that

123if we if we were to get a huge interest in some of these buildings that we we possibly now it's harder at high school because it's departmentalized at the elementary it's easy. I mean, if we had 20 kids and wanted to go to building X and we had available classroom space, we could add a teacher to accommodate those kids. So this is this is with current staffing what we project and this is a lot of kids. I can tell you uh in my former district where we had four sections or three sections for one grade level and that was it. This was pretty easy and straightforward. Um this is complicated. John mentioned mobility special ed placement newcomer classes. You mentioned CTE pathways. I do think part of it at the high school level, part of

124what we're reflecting though um is a response to feedback we've got about some of these high schools being being full. Southeast, you know, at capacity, East at capacity, Heights at capacity, right? Like, and are they are they at capacity that we couldn't squeeze one more kid in there? No. But um you know, we can't we can't squeeze 50 more kids in there without adding more more staff. Does that make sense? Yes. And that's how I and that's how uh when when you answered yes and no, that's how I took it. So um not to end the conversation and we can still have a lot of conversation and questions, but I uh but I would like to get a motion on the table uh Diane that uh I move that the board of education approve the

125seat capacity presented this evening in accordance with Kansas law KSA72-3123. I'll second that. Motion made by Stan, seconded by Kathy, we do have more questions on the table. So, uh, Melody. So, looking at the capacity, uh, depending on the building, depending on the grade level, we have quite a bit. And, um, do we market any of the buildings? Do we market the programming? Yes. Yes, we do, but we can do a lot better. So, that's one of the goals of this department is to work with our strategic communications team um under our new leadership, which we're excited for some new ideas to develop for that. So, yes, we we can do a lot better than we have. So, um do you have any insight as to how what that might look like? I understand that

126you've got a committee that's going to work on it. Do you have any I think the first thing is um the website and how we communicate that. We've had lots of conversations with families and even families um that that work in the district that have children that attend that didn't even know about opportunities that we have. So absolutely for me it's about in my department, not me personally, but it's getting in and working with all of the other departments. So CTE as an example um of digging in and and getting um a better plan to communicate all of the special programs we have in the CTE pathway. And I would I would jump in and say you're right on. I mean, yeah, like I said, we didn't plan this theme for tonight, but the five-year

127plan is a piece of that, and what Rob talked about with the single sign on for parents is a piece of that, right? Like these these these all tied together. It really Michelle's done amazing work organizing and systematizing. Um, but it'll need to be bigger than her office to market this in a way that's meaningful and appropriate. Um, we'll get Ernestine CrarAel on a billboard. Um, with, you know, like she always dreamed. Um, hey, she did Facebook request me. So, there you go. There you go. But, but to be serious, like I said, we have exceptional opportunities and and we have more than anybody else around. So, we need to share those opportunities. And it's we sometimes our heads go to high school. We talk about all the programming in high school. Uh, but really

128it's starts in pre-K. It starts in free-year-old, four-year-old prek, all day prek. like things that other places don't offer that we offer. Um so from all the way from there up to uh the concurrent credit opportunities at high school. So um it'll be it'll be ongoing work, but um it's a it's a it'll take a team and it'll take uh focus and and dedication to get it um refined. But like I said, over the next 12 months, I hope you see, you know, this alignment and a seeing a clear communications picture to community and to parents about what our options are. So, can I add what um Kelly said about the single sign on? So, we are working with Rob also where families this will be a part of the single sign on instead of

129the separate application process too. So, we are working in conjunction. In the past, we've had if you haven't been a parent, um, you know, if you wanted to apply for IB, you filled out a Google form. If you want to fill out Biomed at North, it was a Microsoft Teams form. If it was AVID, if it was whatever. And so, as a parent, the savvy parents that understand and know, they know who to talk to, they were able to navigate the system. but to create genuine equitable opportunities for every kid. What what Michelle's team is doing will really align it and allow kids to have the full menu just like when you walk into, you know, you know, Cheesecake Factory. Well, Cheesecake Factory has too big a menu. We don't want to give them that

130is over something simpler like Applebees or something, right? But you see the menu and you know what your choices are instead of having to know I go this way for this and this way for this. So we can we can hopefully offer better opportunities to communicate it better by aligning all of this. Very good. I think the less usernames and passwords we can have in life, the better. So, uh, seeing no more questions from the board, we do have a motion and a second on the floor. Um, so I think we're ready to go for a vote. Okay, motion passes 70. Thank you very much for your presentation tonight and your information. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Okay, Latona. Next item. Consent. So for the public's information, the purpose of the consent

131agenda is to help the board handle routine matters efficiently so that the board can spend more time reviewing, monitoring, and discussing the educational issues of the Witchaw public schools. Students academic success is the top priority for the board of education. Board members review these items in detail during the agenda review workshops held at 10:30 a.m. on the Fridays prior to each regular board meeting at the AAC building. These workshops are open to the public, but no action is taken there. They are for discussion and questions only and your presence is always welcome. And I'll just remind board members that we can have questions without pulling an item um and then still can still vote on consent items as a whole. So, with that being said, are there any items up for discussion? Uh, yes, Madame

132President. Actually, I would like to discuss and I don't have it in front of me, but it's going to be um regarding the our first student contract, the student transportation services contract. Yes. Okay. So, that is going to be D2. And Addie, are you taking the helm on that? Absolutely. I've only told her, so. Yep. I I think um Melanie and I discussed a little bit today. I think just an overall why is the increase uh what it is. Sure. Um so just to talk a little bit about the process. I think that's important. Um and we'll talk about a couple well of caveats of how we got to this 27 and a half first year increase. Right. Um we have had a very thorough process. Um we started this almost a year ago I

133think. Um we asked our friends, our other urban district friends what some of their daily rates were for their busing services. Um when we got initial contract proposals from first student, we said let's take this to RFP and make sure that what we're bringing to you this evening is a market value product that we got the best pricing and the best agreement before you. Um in addition to that, the last four years of our previous first student addendum contract, um we were paying about 2.5% in as a CPI increase. Um, we've been getting much more than that in Bay State aid increases year-over-year and the board has been offering our employees higher wage packages uh in return. And so when we look at uh the services that First Student is providing, they also almost met

134the same level of wages that we were meeting with our own employees, but we were only giving them two and a half% to do it. And so these are people that are serving our kids and providing a critical service to the community. And so um that 27 a.5% is um what's required to maintain those levels of salary that are uh commensurate with what the board has done over the past for salaries. Um and it will you know prep this contract for success over the next five years as well. Thank you. If I'm if my music isn't going I'm at the mic. Right. those. So, um, thank you very much for that, um, clarification and and explanation. Um, so would you say then that what we are actually doing is paying for the increase um in

135wages that the bus company has already employed. Uh we're basically we're we're basically supplement or I don't even know are are we um it's a solid combination, right? We've got to look ahead to their upcoming wage packages that they've already negotiated with their their union. Um you know, I think of these people so closely as kind of a direct link to our employees, too. Um and so part of it, you think about this contract, part of it is wages, part of it is equipment. Equipment is the other piece that over the last five years um we've seen increase heavily in prices. So a 25 to 30% increase looking back five years ago to what the cost of a bus would be today. That makes sense based on what we've seen um in our in our

136own agenda items that we provide to you um on board meetings. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you, Addie. Are there any other discussion items? Okay, seeing none, I move that we uh accept consent agenda as it is published. Second. Uh motion made by Diane uh seconded by Melody. Okay, motion passes 70. Latona, next item. Sorry. Discussion policy 5511, special assignment of students. Okay. I'm trying to get down there, too. Okay. Are there any questions or items to discuss on this? Just uh basic um we updated the other policy that had to do with out of district students. This is aligning our current policy with in district students. So, um that's about all there is to it. Okay. No action will be done on this item tonight. Um but we will bring it back next month for

137a vote. Okay. Liptona. Next item. 2025 2026 and 26 to 27 board of education meeting calendar. Are there any questions or comments on the board of education meeting calendar? This is a two-year calendar to continue to try to line with uh we're pending our two-year school calendar. Um and just trying to keep things the same across the board. Are there any items or questions? Okay, seeing none, we will bring this back to the next board meeting for a vote. And Latona, next item, superintendent report. Hey, Kelly. All right. Thank you. Um, two items I wanted to touch on. First off, um, it's always it's always a good night. This time of year in the school season is always fun. Um, to to do a lot of celebrating and it's cool to celebrate our teachers there.

138Um, I am a little competitive. Um, and so I think it's worth stating every every school district has gets two Horizon nominees, an elementary and a secondary, and gets to uh Kansas teacher of the year nominees, elementary and secondary, regardless of size. So when you see the top eight teachers out of 4,000, um, that means something pretty special. That means that there's a lot of, uh, a lot of high quality. Olivia that was here earlier, she was a former DCTA winner. Um, so, uh, I think that's worth noting. We have phenomenal teachers, um, and and many many many deserving ones of recognition. And so these are, uh, the cream of the crop and the very very top. So, uh, good luck to to our nominees. Um, and we've had we've had finalists the last two

139years in Kansas teacher of the year and Horizon winner uh, from True Sale this last year. So, uh, lots to celebrate there. I did want to make mention of something uh one of the public speakers that Jessica had mentioned. Um and just making sure the board's up to date and the public's up to date on um some of the the current goings on as far as the the DEI um along with the Department of Ed um things that are that are happening. Um it is uh ever changing I should say. Um, since January, there's been lots of uh um changes in in all directions. So, what we're trying to do is look at the long game. We're doing the right things for students. We're doing the same thing uh that we've always done for students

140um and making sure we don't get um too out over our skis when it comes to uh getting ahead of ourselves. But recently there was uh that was mentioned um a requirement of states to make a statement about um following the law when it comes to uh DEI and executive orders and all that kind of stuff. And so I think it's important that um we are following the law. Uh just I know it sounds crazy to have to feel like we have to say that but um we we are confident and we're following the law and what we do and um what's being expected of us. Um states are reacting different to uh to this you know um mandate. Um so we'll see uh the we've learned from KSD today that the there was an

141extension given to uh towards the end of April for decisions to be made about this from the um from the state level. Um, so we don't know what's going to be asked of us, if any. Um, these types of asurances, that's what they call them. Uh, or any any federal money we get when it's title one, two, three, four, um, whatever it is. Um, it comes with a number of assurances that say we're not not discriminating and following the law and going to use the money correctly and all that kind of stuff. So, it's not out of out of the norm for these asurances to be um asked of states or local institutions. Um but um it seems maybe a little redundant that that we're being asked to to verify that we're following the law

142that we've always been following. So um anyway, more to come on that. Again, uh might change tomorrow. Uh there might be other updates. Um but we we we continue to I guess the overall message I think that's important is that we show up every day for kids, helping kids, helping every student to feel like they belong. Um, and we're going to continue to do that regardless regardless of what else goes on and um, not get hopefully ahead of ourselves when it comes to reacting to some of these things that that are that are out there. So, um, we don't want to have to do, you know, like we had to with a snow day not that long ago, you know, change course in the middle of it where uh, I we headed one way and

143then we had to had to head a different direction. We want to hopefully keep everything stable. uh just keep a level head and just move forward um as best we can methodically, but continue to just do what's best for kids. So anyway, uh more to come on that and I'll continue to keep you guys updated as as more things happen. But uh I wanted to just uh bring that to your attention. That's my report. That's what I have. Very good. Well, thank you uh Melody. And it's really not even a response. It's really about the district. So the things that you've said right now and I know that there is more to come. Uh to me that builds in and what I'd like to be able to do with our from the district to the

144public and to uh and the public includes our schools and all staff is that we're about consistency as a district. Um and some of the machinations and changes and which you've already spoken to it changes. is very seems to be very fluid um changes regularly but our district um is providing that consistency for particularly our students which um I know for a fact some of them are not going to see consistency uh across the board from at home but at least they'll continue to receive and see that consistency from their district and that would you know filter down to the classroom setting. So, I just wanted to kind of build that in that I am I'm proud to know that USD259 is going to is remaining what we've always been. We're not changing. Thank you,

145Platona. Next item. New business and board of education requests. So, I think as far as it's not really new business, but just to let the public know, um kind of in a continuous improvement model and through listening to a lot of the public in general, uh the board has requested um more financial oversight from the district. And so we we have asked the superintendent to create a financial oversight committee and these they're are currently accepting applications until Friday uh April 11th. Um for people that are interested in applying I just want to read off the committee responsibilities and you can go to our website at usd259.org uh finance um and then find the financial oversight committee from there. And so the finance committee responsibilities will be to review financial and budgetary challenges facing the district

146to evaluate short-term and long-term funding strategies for school facilities to make recommendations on funding allocations including fees mill levies and etc. And to ensure transparency and accountability in district financial reporting. And we have heard um from the public that they want to seek more transparency and more accountability and this is an action step towards that end. And so for anybody uh especially if you have finance um background if you would like to apply for this uh please go to our website and fill out the application. They are due on Friday this week. Kathy, can I get some clarification? They don't have to have financial education to apply. Correct. They don't they don't have to. But it's it's we are we are accepting applications for who should apply finance, accounting or budgeting, facilities planning or construction,

147K through2 education or higher education, community leadership, advocacy or public engagement, business, nonprofit or civic engagement experience, WPS students, parents, and school administrators. These meetings also if if you'd like to be on the committee and you're not selected for the committee, these meetings will be open to the public as well. Um and so people are welcome to participate at different levels for the financial oversight committee. Okay. See no other comments. Uh Latona, next item. Executive session student. I move that the board go into executive session to discuss matters relating to actions adversely or favorably affecting a person as a student except that any such person shall have the right to a public hearing if requested by that person to protect the privacy rights of a student who is identifiable for 15 minutes. The executive session

148will include all board members present and general counsel Dan Lawrence, Superintendent Kelly Belafeldeld, and board clerk Latona Hoy. The open meeting will resume here in this boardroom at let's just say 8:25. Latona. Yes. Second. Motion made by Diane, seconded by Stan. Motion carry 70. We're in executive session until 8:25. The board is back from executive session. No motion was taken during executive session, but I move that the board uphold the findings of the hearing officer. Motion made by Diane, seconded by Melody. Motion carries 70. Latona. Next item. Adjournment. I move we adjourn. Motion made by Stan, seconded by Kathy. Motion carry 70. Meeting is adjourned.