001[Music] You are [Music] you [Music] happy and ring. [Music] Let me [Music] get it. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] You are free. [Music] You're [Music] right. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] I love it. [Music] I love it. [Music] You found me. [Music] You want me to feel ring? [Music] It rain. [Music] You are [Music] I got a chocolate. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Let me feel. [Music] You found [Music] me. [Music] Dpping [Music] ring. [Music] You are [Music] up. [Music] We call this meeting of the Nelson County Board of Education to order on September 23rd, 2025 at 5:30. Please join our board team as we recite the pledge of allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under
002God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. In the Nelson County Schools, we unite students and staff with people, place, and purpose to thrive and work in life. Tonight, our um meeting goals and agenda are to learn more about middle school STEM programs, discuss Thrive employee engagement data, and evaluate next steps for facility planning. And Mr. Sean Smith is going to introduce us to the Fusion STEM Lab and give us a little rundown. >> All right. Well, thank you all for being out here at OKH um today. So, we have a lot of exciting programs here at OK. We're going to highlight one today and that is the college and career launch lab or STEM lab. It's through the doors that you all came through. Before we take uh we're going to travel over there
003here in a little bit and hear from a leader over there and some students. Do you want to celebrate Laura Arnold for her kind of integral piece to get that lab off the ground last year and then moving into this year. Um it is certainly a piece that um we can give to our students to explore various um college and career experiences and it's so important at the middle school level where they have that exploratory process. So thank you for giving us the opportunity. Just some highlights on this. We have 120 kids currently engaged in that college and career launch lab sim lab right now in this semester. you see the number below that we have 106 the second semester. Um and that's because students switch electives in the second semester. So you know you
004can do your math there but we're going to have u you know 226 kids have that experience this year which is awesome. Um out of that um some highlights there is all the students in there will have at least at least if not many many experiences going to we have around 32 33 different modules that they can explore. They won't get to them all. They'll definitely engage in at least one very thoroughly. Um some highlights for that and Mrs. will talk about this a little bit. A big piece to all of those modules that you may see there. The big attraction is students are in there, they get hands-on. You'll see like small engine um you know where they're picking up these really important career centered skills, but before they get to do all that,
005they really have to engage in a lot of deep literacy work as well before they can just dive into the modules. So, I really like that balance. I think it's a good example of, you know, what we're trying to do, prepare our kids with those foundational pieces like literacy and then a really important skill set that they can use going into high school and beyond. So, I think that's really cool to highlight there. I do want to shout out Miss Hurst. She's back here. You'll hear from her in a minute when we go to the STEM lab. She um came in over the summer after she got the job and she worked tireless tirelessly to get that set up so the students could have this unique experience. There is about a thousand parts and pieces
006in these various modules. They got to be labeled and put where they're supposed to be and we have to have procedures for kids to get the stuff out and put it back and take care of that lab. Um, and that's not to even mention the curriculum that goes into knowing how all the various modules work and being able to teach the kids on those. So, she has worked um, you know, over time doing those things. So, I do applaud her for all her work. So, those are some highlights here. We are going to transition into the STEM lab and you'll hear from Miss. So, we want have the board transition first and they can kind of get acquainted with the students and everybody else can we can follow in. >> Sounds great. All right. [Music]
007You are [Music] ring. [Music] Chopping your ring. It's been raining. [Music] Get ready. [Music] Check. One, two. Check. One, two, three. [Music] You [Music] feel me? D. [Music] You are. [Music] You are me. [Music] It rain. [Music] Can't feel. [Music] You found me. [Music] You are [Music] like ring. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] I got a chicken. [Music] It rain. [Music] You are free. [Music] You got a chicken wing. [Music] ring. [Music] You are happy. [Music] Yo, [Music] I love chocolate. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Get ready. [Music] You're free. [Music] Feeling [Music] hey. You are proud. [Music] Rain. Heat. Heat. [Music] ring. [Music] You are [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] You got a chicken [Music] ring. [Music] Thank you all for checking out the uh college and career launch lab. Um and just giving some um
008you know big shout outs to our students Nova and G in there. They did an awesome job speaking about their experience and they are definitely leaders here at OKH. Couple things I want to hit on that ties in some of the conversation we've had tonight. Just some data points highlighting some other programs, but also uh the STEM lab. Um we have about 72% of all the kids here are engaged in some kind of early college and career exploratory courses. So these could be elective courses like agriculture. We have two amazing business teachers um where we offer everything from I think is a really important course but financial literacy um and we have students that go off campus like Miss Ders talked about um the ascend at the airport. Uh we have students down here if
009you look at these data says percentage of eighth grade students engage in high school level courses. So we have algebra one that we offer here. Uh we have two different math leaders that teach that. Miss Landers and Mr. Eland, Coach Eid, he's actually coaching right now in the gym. Um so they teach algebra 1 and if students receive a C or better in that course, that is going to go on their high school transcript. And then we have lots of eighth grade students engaged in that pre-ignite where they are going to both Nelson County and Thomas Nelson. That pre-ignite pathway gives them obviously high school credits, but that's really setting them up for success. um moving into uh trying to get their associates degree, too. So, they're starting pretty early um in eighth grade. And
010what Miss Durst was talking about earlier in there, we'd like to invite you all for the ribbon cutting cutting of the launch lab on Thursday starting at one o'clock. You'll see the students dive way more deep into the modules that they're in at that time. Um and it's just a good time to connect and celebrate the work that's been done here at OKH. So, I think that's about all I have for this portion of the agenda. >> Thank you, Sean. >> Thank you. And thank the students. They did a fantastic job explaining the program and Mr. um it's an exciting program. I It's going to grow definitely. So, with that, we're going to move on to guest comments. Thank you for attending the um our board meeting. Any person wishing to address the board may
011do so by following these rules. Guest comments are limited to three minutes for individuals and groups. Please step forward, state your name, address, and if present, a group, state the name of the group you are representing. >> Did you have more people than that's on that list? >> Yeah. >> So, we're going to start with the first person on our digital list. Thank you. Um, which is Sierra Ham. you can go ahead and come forward and you can speak at the microphone. Thank you. [Music] Hello everyone. Thanks so much for letting me speak this evening. Um again, my name is Sierra Ham. I am here as a mother of four. Three children go to Bees. I'm also a nurse and a member of the World Council for Health Searing Committee for the United States of
012America. I'm here to notify the board and its members that the actions may constitute a violation of the rights of the students of Nelson County Public Schools and they may be liable for actively promoting a mass vaccination clinic for students and staff with the lack of informed consent or ability to properly refuse participation. I respect and appreciate the intent to protect the health of the students, but I strongly urge you to cancel this max vac vaccination campaign immediately. Specifically, the electronic informed consent disclosures were not functioning, meaning that families were unable to access critical information regarding the potential risks and benefits and contraindications to vaccines like being allergic to eggs, being recently sick, or having an immunompromised family member at home. They also weren't told about the right to refuse this medication without penalty. There's
013six cited different federal and international treaties mentioned in this letter that go to informed consent as a as a law. Um, the product insert for the flu mist, which is a live virus vaccine, has well doumented viral shedding of live viruses that the insert says are capable of producing infection for up to 3 to four weeks after administration. That means there's no way for people to actually opt out of this vaccine campaign. Teachers and staff can become sick from this as well as students and there's already plenty of staff shortages. Furthermore, the flu vaccine is not a required vaccination. So, um it's likely to contribute problems without having a big benefit. There's been multiple years that influenza uh vaccines have been shown to increase your likelihood of actually getting the flu from the Cleveland Clinic
014most recently from last year. So there's a loss of instructional time concern. There's HIPPA concerns. How are we going to protect people's children who's either did or didn't receive the vaccine? It's a privacy issue. There's been a child in a state in the United States who killed themselves over being bullied about their vaccine status. The Physicians to Children who is administering this vaccine campaign is a research outfit that was paid over $14 million to do research on the children of Nelson County for pharmaceutical companies. >> Miss, your time is up. We really do appreciate it. >> May I make one last closing statement, please? Even though vaccine manufacturers and the administrators of those vaccines cannot be held liable for the death and harm done because of those injections. The school board can be held liable
015for that and that has been set as a precedent by the Supreme Court. >> Thank you, Miss Ham. >> Thank you. And how can I get you guys copies of everything that I referenced like the insert of the flu mist? And >> they can be um our all of our email addresses are on our website. >> Wait, I did print them out. >> If you hand them to me, I can make a copy and scan it. >> Get them to you. >> Great. >> Thank you very much. >> Next up, we have Rosanna Puro. I said that correctly. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. Has to be pretty low for me. My name is Rosanna Ponuro. I happen to be a retired teacher. I taught for 38 years. Um
016I'm familiar with the history of vaccines and children. And what I know to be true is that these vaccines today are not about your health. They're not about my health. They're not about our children's health. They're about something else totally. And I know that because God has blessed me with experiences in my life where I have experienced that these vaccines are not about our health. Not at all. I happen to have a girlfriend who is dating a pharmacist. Casual conversation. and he says to me, you know, the the flu vaccine this year is made from last year's vaccine and that vaccine mutates every year. Okay? It's not about our health. In the vaccines for many years, and they may still be in there, they put thermosol, the marisol, which is a mercury that goes in
017the vaccines. It's a preservative for a multi-dosese vial. For many years, the government told us, "Oh, it's fine. It's fine." They finally eliminated it in 1999 because there were so many protests over it. It's not about our health. I'll give you one last one because I know you're probably short on time. I had two dogs in my home. Both were rescues. One was afraid to get back in the car after she was rescued. So I had the vet come to my house. I said, "My dogs do not need the borderella shot, which is the kennel cough shot you may be familiar with. They don't need it. They came from they came from rescues. They came from kennels." He told me in my home that he could not separate the vaccines that they were all together
018in one vial. So I had to give my dog all three. So what am I going to do? give the dog all three because they have to have the leptosperosis and whatever the other one was. He leaves. I walk into my kitchen and what is sitting in my sink? Three separate vials for three separate vaccines. He told me he could not separate and that he injected my dogs with. It's not about our health, your health, my health, or our children's health. It's about something else altogether. The fi scientific research you can find everywhere. The money trail you can find everywhere. And I would urge you for your children's sake and for the future of all our children that you do look into it. Please have the eyes to see and the ears to hear. Thank
019you so much. >> Thank you. >> All right. Next up we have Amy Durban. Good evening. Tonight, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the steps that have been brought to us that have been brought to us this point and all who have contributed to moving our district forward. Over the last six months, the local planning committing committee worked with dedication to study our needs and recommended a path for the future. That process was further strengthened by the community survey where parents, staff, and neighbors spoke overwhelmingly in support of positive change and equity for all students. I want to commend this board for the courage you have shown in moving forward with these recommendations. It is not always easy to make the decisions that bring change, but your willingness to do so
020reflects a true commitment to the students you serve. Our community has spoken clearly and our children cannot wait. With your continued lead continued leadership, we can build on this momentum and ensure brighter opportunities for every student in our district. And then on another note, um our PBE site visits are in full swing. So if any of you all would like to join us, were all out and about pretty much just throughout the week now. Mr. Bradley's joined in on uh several of our visits. Miss Arnold's joining in, our principles are joining in. So uh it's really something to see and witness. It's very powerful. So just like to invite you all to join us anytime you'd like. reach out and we'll um we'll make it set up a time. >> Definitely. Put me down. >>
021Okay. Thank you all. >> Thank you. >> All right. Next up, we have Aaron Barnes. Big table. I'm here tonight on behalf of several of our community members, staff, and parents of the New Haven School. We just want to extend our sincere appreciation to the board for your thoughtful leadership and commitment to our schools. We want to thank you for honoring the recommendations of the LPC and for listen to the voices reflected in the community surveys. Your decision to move forward with the remodel at New Haven School and continue the progress on the Thomas Nelson Middle School project demonstrates your dedication to creating safe, modern, and inspiring learning environments to our students. We are grateful for the time, effort, and careful consideration that you have given to these important projects. Your willingness to hear and
022respect our commun community input while balancing the needs of the district ensures that our children will have the opportunities and resources that they deserve. Together, these projects will have a lasting positive impact on all students, families, and the wider community for the years to come. Again, thank you for your vision, your leadership, and your support of the New Haven School and the Thomas Nelson Middle School Project. >> Thank you. All right, next up we have Kurt. I believe that says last. >> Leadership is tough. Sometimes you um don't get credit for where credit is due. But um I want to just say on behalf of everybody, thank you for leading and for your efforts. We just saw a wonderful demonstration of forward thinking. I want to follow up a little bit on what uh Sierra
023said. We have been not given proper interu information. I'm an international health forensic analyst uh uh talked with fizer CDC World Health Organization right in the early parts of the pandemic scand.gov right now it was criminal is a criminal conspiracy. I presented that to CDC in uh 2020 and um they rolled out a a shot anyway against the analysts and against uh forensics uh science uh showing that these vaccines uh are uh harmful. And so what you're getting with the flu shot is along those same lines. You'd be told the mRNA is safe or effective. It doesn't do any damage to DNA. But that doesn't match the science. The uh AMA and the American Academy of Pediatrics have now been named as special interest groups because of the funding they get. They are not in
024it for health. They're in it for money. If you look at the kickbacks and the fees, uh even what Blue Cross Blue Shield gives per shot, you will see that the doctors are incentivized to um basically turn you into a income stream. So, what Sierra said, I'm going to echo Because if anybody does not get fully informed consent, that means it's not a fully informed consent means you have a a licensed health professional sitting down and verbally explaining all of the injury and death that may be associated with that unlicensed or uh unauthorized medical procedure, whether it's a uh device or an injection. And when that happens, if they are injured, you may be uh liable for criminal negligence. If they die, you may be liable for criminal homicide. And that's what we we aren't
025being told. So, um in order to protect the people, you can be held liable in your personal individual capacity, which means you you are probably need to put up a $1 billion bond. $1 billion. Because if you have 4,000 students times $10 million, you're already over the amount. And this is where leadership comes in. You have to tell these companies, "No, it's not about misinformation. It's about you have to know what liability you're being set up for, and we're here to protect you because you're here to protect our our kids and the future of this country." Um, I did pass out to you. That's really what I'd like to You can read this. Yeah, that's the uh the back part is what happens when you don't fulfill the oath. We believe you will. We believe
026you're honorable men and women. We're here to support you. Help us to defend the kids. Okay. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> And next up, we have Charles Michael. I apologize for being so late today, but uh the thing about it is is that uh the school was hard to find. So, but anyway, I'm here. One of the things that I I'm concerned about the most is your all's oath of office. The oath of office you take on 228 is a contract with we the people. You're there to protect us. You're there to keep the transgressors like the pharmaceutical companies and those that want to push these drugs out by to keep it from happening to we the people. And you it is your duty to say no. It's not to say
027yes because when you say yes, you're agreeing with them. And that's hard for me to swallow because I elect my public officials and I give them a delegation of authority to do what will protect me, not protect the corporations because that's what you're doing. You're supplying them with money to do more harm. If you have done or any research on the vaccines, they have not qualified any of the vaccines since 1986 when they were supposed to be doing damage control at that time. There's no reports. So, you're all going to ask the children to stand in line, take this shot, and the people that's giving it to you, telling you it's safe and it's good, haven't even done their job. Why do you give them credit and let them give you the money so that
028you get the stamps or you get the vaccines to pass out? I'm asking you to say no to this and send it down the road to protect your children because in your failure to protect the children, you have become just as complicit as they are in the liability and you've accepted that a liability. It's a liability that I I don't want you to take. That's why I'm here to tell you about it. It's in the Constitution. The people have remedy and that's what I'm also here to tell you the people. There is remedy in our constitution to stop what's going on. So I want I'm asking you all to think through this clearly to the point that I will say no to whatever they're asking and push it aside and say don't come back. The
029vaccines don't work. I know that Trump said what the other day that it was Tylenol. It may be a combination, but they haven't put any information on the record to give us any confidence that they are correct. I see my time's up. >> Thank you, Mr. Michael. >> Thank you. I think we're okay. We'll make sure we put it on here on the next. Sorry about that, guys. Um I was questioning we did not have people provide their addresses. >> Yeah, it's fine. Um, >> it's >> Tim. What's your thoughts on that? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Yeah. So technically it does it does read that they have to supply their address when they come in front of the board. Um >> we've never enforced it, I guess, is what I'd say. >> Yeah. >>
030Well, no, it is your name and address. >> Yeah, >> we generally don't reply to guest comments. I will just acknowledge as a matter of law that uh we don't mandate vaccines. Um we just follow the state law. State law doesn't mandate it either. Um so just as a reference point um I think a little somewhere a little over 90% of families choose to have the basic vaccines that that are part of you know childhood. And then beyond that, uh, the flu shot is also a choice some parents make. Um, but I do appreciate the comments and I think, you know, there's obviously a lot of discussion about the efficacy and the impact of these things and something we'll be working with our director of nursing to acknowledge, you know, and make sure we report
031back to the board on those details. But in terms of uh recognizing the role of the board in this process, you know, you have a director of nursing. our director of nursing is highly skilled and experienced healthc care leader who does uh have certain laws that she follows just like all healthcare providers and she does a great job. Um but I do appreciate the comments. It gives us a lot to continue to evaluate in our healthcare system as a school district if we look at it through nursing. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. All right. Moving on is the consent agenda. Um, everyone has received that in advance. Um, any questions regarding the items on the consent agenda? Any areas of discussion? All right. If not, we will need a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented.
032I'll make the motion. Thank you. I need a second. >> A second. >> Thank you. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion passes. All right. Moving on to the grant application with Dr. Sheerhorn. >> Good evening. >> So, grant season is upon us, so you'll see me a lot in the coming months. Um, today we I'm asking that um if we can apply for three different grant opportunities. The first one being from the um and I don't know if I'll go in that order, but I will discuss all three. Um the first one being the AAW community action grant which is a STEM focused grant and we would use that here at OKH um to support the um fusion program and really the intent of that grant is to provide uh rural schools uh more
033equity and access in STEM programming. So that's our first one. The second one um that we intend to apply for is the CTE innovation and support grant in the amount of $100,000. And that one is focused on creating a new and innovative approach to either a uh new career pathway or it could also be an existing career pathway. Um so we we intend to apply for that one. And then the last one is the read to achieve. Um, in previous year, we've applied for this one before. In previous years, it was called the reading diagnostic grant. Same grant, different name. Um, but, uh, all of our elementary schools will be applying for this. Um, each school is applying for $70,000 to support tier 2 and tier three literacy interventions. >> All right. Um, any areas
034of discussion around these grants? >> Are these KDE grants? Um the f the first one is not the au grant is uh not a KDE grant. It's just a grant um that an organization is sponsoring to support STEM. Um and the other two are KDE grants. >> Thank you. >> If there's no further discussion, we will need a motion to approve the G grant application as presented. >> I'll make the motion. >> Thank you. I need a second. I'll second. >> Thank you. All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Sheerhorn. Appreciate it. >> All right. Moving on with U. Mr. Martin and Miss Rogers. This will be the working budget. >> All right. So, lots of budgeting conversations obviously throughout the year. Uh, it is an
035ongoing process that M. Rogers and I engage in really with uh all of our schools and ultimately it's how are we utilizing our resources across the district and how are we structuring those so that we can be as effective and as efficient as possible. Uh this is just a reminder as terms of like board conversations. Uh we did have a draft budget conversation in January and then a tenative in May and then this would be the working budget here in September that really would set the framework for this fiscal year and how we're utilizing those resources. Um to be clear, I'd say the the through those different stages, the framework of that budget remains really stable uh throughout the year. Obviously, at different junctures, there's things you don't know at that point in time. And
036and as the year progresses, some of those things become clear. For instance, in August, you guys are able to set the tax rate. Uh property values have been finalized. Pre prior to that, they were kind of a guesstimate from the state. Um obviously, we set salary schedule. So, and and at this point in the school year, we were able to uh really look at payroll. We've we've facilitated a few payrolls at this juncture. And so, now really really able to estimate what are our payrolls uh and what that might be for the for the whole year. Uh just a few things to highlight really in the general fund and through the grant process. Uh based on raises facilitated really estimating around a million to a million three in uh increased payroll from previous year. uh
037talked about the tax rate. Also, um looking at general fund, we we had some discussions about that in August. Um we're estimating over $300,000 in additional general fund um revenue that we'll have available. Things that we still don't know, uh money that comes from the state through the seek process is really not finalized until March or April. So, really using estimates for those things in terms of state revenue. Um and then obviously tax collection and the rate in which those come in is also something that that we don't necessarily know at this point in time. Um continuing to look at operational expenses and how we can optimize those. Um that's a that's something we're looking at. trying to see [Music] and and really we believe uh based on um in order to facilitate this budget
038a million dollars in operational spendings would be what our target number is in reduction from last year to this year and then we spoke about really rising uh fixed costs such as insurance and utilities. Uh and then we also got a title one increase this year from last year. So just a few of the changes that have occurred from last year this year and then also differences between the tenative budget that you guys approved and then the working. >> So >> Mr. Martin was um can you give us an idea of the amount of increase of title one percentage wise or >> uh I'd have to connect with m Miss Sheerhorn. She's aware of those values. I'd say uh several hundred,000 >> percentage wise but it was about $200,000. >> Wow. Significant. So this slide
039really just try to provides a high level overview of um when you look at the working budget where where is the money spent on different things. Uh this child representation to the left just kind of to show you uh what's the breakdown between payroll and operational spending. I'd say we continue to fluctuate in this 75% 25% range where uh 75% of our spending is on payroll items. Um but again just a space for you to dive in to see what's spent in each of the different sectors. And then these other slides really are just reminders things that we've committed to really as a district and also as a board investment in people and making sure that our people are compensated at a at a very competitive rate. These were the salary uh raises we approved
040in April and along with different benefit packages such as CEO rank change uh and then all the benefits that we have for our staff that we've engaged in lately. And then again, this is just a reminder. So these uh ranks in terms of certified pay uh I'm expecting these to get updated in December. So these are previous values from December 24. uh and and according to the board and working with you guys again, we're in a highly competitive area and we want to rank well in terms of uh pay. So, we are able to attract the right people and retain them. And these just show you where our rankings fell in December 24, but I'll be sure to update those and show you where we fall here in a couple months. So, really uh any
041questions on working budget? I think we've all seen in the news in recent weeks of um budgetary situations and financial um concerns among districts and I would like to commend our district leadership for having ongoing uh awareness and constantly and continually reviewing to as you say optimize opportunities to save money and at the same time to continue to um keep our people first and are including both our students and the services they receive and um our teachers and staff so that we can retain those individuals and attract good ones. Thank you for that. >> Yes, definitely. >> Any additional con um conversations or discussion around the working budget? As Mr. Martin said, we sort of set the tenative budget, which sounds like it was pretty comparable to what the tenative budget was. not a lot
042of changes from the tenative to the working other than truly knowing what the income incoming funds were going to be and then you guys set your budget from there. >> You're able to solidify more values instead of estimates. They turn into more realistic numbers. Um, yes. [Laughter] >> Just you. >> All right. >> I appreciate that the updates are always succinct and that they address what we need to know for decision making. >> All right. With that, if there's no further discussion, we will need a motion to approve the U26 working budget as presented. >> I'll make a motion. >> All right. Thank you. You have a second. >> I'll second. >> All right. Thank you. All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? >> Motion passes. Thanks, guys. >> All right. We have Miss Hogan.
043She's gonna go over our Thrive. So, I've been sharing with you all over the last few months some of the work that the HR team is doing related to making Nelson County Schools and employer of choice. And uh when we look at that priority, one of the ways that we um gauge how we're doing in that is by looking at staff retention rates. And when we're speaking of retention, we're looking at how many employees remain in the district from year to year. We had a few dips in that as you can see, but we had great growth in that this last year and I just wanted to share those numbers and celebrate those numbers. >> Thank you. So um one of the things that we're doing related to that is looking at this framework for
044um how we're making sure that employees are engaged in the district and happy to be working there. So when we think about uniting people place and purpose we're also thinking about what does it mean to work in Nelson County schools and what are the benefits of working in Nelson County schools. And when I say benefits of Nel working in Nelson County schools, I don't mean traditional benefits. I mean all of the benefits of working here. So when we look at that, I'm not going to go through all the things that Alex just talked about and what I've been talking with you all about over the last few months. But when we look at career growth and development, this is just a few of the things that you all know that you've approved for us to
045do for our staff. Um, also looking at staff child care and paid um, maternity leave. That's been a great addition. We've heard great feedback on staff child care and the maternity leave has been great as well. Um, you're aware of these benefits that you approved as well. But one thing that I did want to point out is just because we wanted to come into a more common language about uh the vision for the district, we've integrated our pride values into the UP values. So you'll hear us talking a lot more about uh UP awards and uh up games and that kind of thing. So I'll be providing you all more detail about that in the future. Do you all have any questions? >> Yeah, that caught me a little I mean, I know we had
046talked about the up and then I wanted to type in pride games the other day and I was like, stop. It's not that anymore. >> I catch myself doing that, too. >> I think what's really important, I think goes back to um something Karen shared with the finance team is this. I really appreciate the amount of work that you've put in to going to the staff across the district and asking them what's important to you to continue working here in Nelson County and being able to present, you know, the high demands that they're looking for for from an employee or from an employer standpoint that allows us to make these decisions. Um, we can sit here and make and, you know, vote and pass these along, but we're not boots on the ground like you
047guys are. you're there to ask the questions and being able to present to us what they're looking for for long-term employment. I think those numbers speak volumes to what you guys are able to do um and advise us on as a board so that that we can provide the best working environment for the staff across the district. So, I really appreciate the work that you guys put into it because I know it's not easy. >> Well, thank you. But we have a lot of staff that's been involved in that benefits teaming group that was reaching out to employees and providing feedback as well. And then I'll recognize Mr. Bradley, Superintendent Bradley. He's been meeting with schools as well, having lunch with staff and talking to them about what it means to work in Nelson County
048schools. And so that's been great as well. >> Absolutely. I mean, um, Superintendent Bradley and I see his portion up there with the career growth and development packages. I think anything that we can do that surrounds our the staff of Nelson County, the teachers, um the the support staff, it's not just about vacation time or extra pay. It is about the entire person and being able to do that, I think, is why we see the retention rate that you're seeing. Um and again, yes, I commend you guys for continuing to do that. Um if you would show the retention rates the prior slide. Um I would like to note that I asked about these when they were shared with us because this is the most accurate representation of the percentage of our staff who are
049returning and sometimes there are other sources of information that are out there that are not as accurate and it has to go with how that data is collected. So um just last month in the interim joint education committee in Frankfurt there was some discussion around a school report card and how the numbers and rates reported there may not be accurate because different the way that they pull that information and that data comes from various sources. So, um I'm glad to see these numbers because this tells us that the initiatives that we are doing and and approving and the efforts that are happening here are effective. Um to have 87% staff retention rate, that's high because you also have retirements in there. You have people who legitimately move to another area geographically so or have another
050opportunity. >> Yes. And thank you for pointing that out because a lot of times people look at the school report card and they don't understand if Kim Hogan works in five different schools in the district and Kim Hogan leaves, she's counted on the school report card as leaving five times. And I think sometimes people look at those numbers and see this inflated turnover number and think, "Oh, wow. Turnover's really bad." But until you dive in and understand the reports, it really doesn't come out to what it looks like on the school report. >> And when they move school to school, that's al because they have do they have to resign a position and then go into another building. >> They do, but we don't count that in this number because they're we're retaining them inside
051the district, >> but other reports do. >> That's correct. >> Same if someone moves to administration, right? >> Yes. Yes. >> All right. Well, perfect. >> That's a good point. Thank you. >> I do just want to note for the public, we don't pay for staff child care in a full sense. It is um a revenue neutral program. So, it's fun, it's self-funded. U it does save employee about $200 a month. Um and we're still fine-tuning that every day trying to figure out, you know, we have our pay, I think, is probably quite a bit higher than some private child care because of the way our structure is. We also have high quality resources in there, but we're still doing that at a lower cost. Um, and I just want to acknowledge that we also
052don't pay for gym membership. U just so you know, >> like their discount. >> Those are just discounts that exist. We we fight for the discount. Um, so I'm just just so everyone knows would be nice. Uh, but that's um I share that just as some larger context for this work. From the staffing standpoint, the staff child care has been probably the greatest response we've seen. people are very um positive and engaged with that. Of course, maternity leave depending on where you are in your life is also uh uh positive and everyone obviously you know we say competitive pay we have increased pay over six years at 25% on average which has just not kept up with inflation as we all know there's no keeping up with it and there's just no way to to
053do that. At the same time we've been we've pushed the envelope with all of this work as a as a board over the last few years, we've pushed the envelope to put money back into the team members that are driving our district forward. So, thank you guys for that. >> Am I correct in saying it's also paternity leave? >> Okay. >> Should say parental leave. >> Thank you. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Thank you. All right. Moving on. We have facility plan next steps with Mr. Martin. All right. So, lots of facilities discussions coming up here. If you remember in August, um talked about group of different projects. We kind of had some some upcoming projects we wanted to discuss and then also some projects that we've already completed that the system that houses that
054the KD systems called FCP pack. We want to clean that system up to really bring those to closure inside that space. And that's what this first slide is. So um many of these projects such as our athletic facilities, we also had a security project at Boston and Foster Heights that needs to bring closure to and then the FMD space at Nuskany High is another example of just bringing that to closure in this space. So really what I'm asking for here is approval of the BG4 and BG5s to close these processes out. So to be clear, a BG4 is if a contract existed inside of that um constructional project, a BG4 would bring that specific contract to closure and then you would follow that with a BG5 to bring the whole entire project to closure. So
055all these others already had all those contractual closures. Uh the Thomas Nelson athletic space needed a BG4 first. So we would approve that to bring that contract to close and then next month we would bring this back to approve the Thomas Nelson Athletic BG5. Cox's Creek is a different example in that space that that was a project that we had considered in terms of our prior DFP. We had a BG1. No construction has occurred inside that space, but we still need to bring that project to closure. Each of these would ensure I worked with Mr. Rogers to make sure that the finances that we have accounted for, all these documents really account for that. Um, and that's part of the process from KDE. So, what we'd be asking for here is the current the construction
056jobs that have been completed. We would approve the BG4s and BG5s as presented. >> All right, any questions or discussion? If not, we need a motion to approve the BG4 and BG5 KDE closeout process for completed projects. >> I'll make a motion. >> I'll second it. >> All right. Thank you. All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? >> Motion passes. All right. So now the next few slides really talk about upcoming projects. Um we'll start off with with the New Haven project. Um so really the the current state uh of this project is is really we're really about to set off the design phase. That process is really I'd say in its very rough draft is kind of where it is at this point in time. The collaboration is really among Kodell Construction and also
057Picket and Pacifume our architects that are on this job along with New Haven staff myself our facility lead uh Patrick Kundiff's also involved in that and and much of this is just identifying what is the proper scope and we've talked about that as a board what's the proper scope for the project and making sure that the facility really has what the students and the community needs. So currently making sure that's getting identified. This is just a highlevel overview of really what's possible. This is not necessarily anything that's a final design by any means. Um, but conversations that have currently exist are really thinking about the front and back drop offs. We've talked about uh canopy. We've also talked about um fixing different fixtures inside the space such as bathrooms, bring those up to par. and
058then different inside spaces and making sure that that we standardize those along with some additional playground spaces or the current discussions. So, this is just kind of where the project currently is. Really, our next step is gathering that team back together to again review this and make sure we have the scope right and New Haven staff will be a part of that conversation. Um based on previous conversations with the board and identifying, you know, what is a proper budget for this project, last uh month in August, we talked about $6 million uh and and Kodell Construction was part of that conversation and thinking about again what does the space need? Uh there was an estimation process and thinking about the scope of some of these items. Uh a member from Kodell estimated each one of
059them and about how much that would cost. And based on that assessment, we feel like that'll fits well within the $6 million budget. And that's why we're bringing that to the conversation today. So, are there any questions on kind of this the state of the project and and next steps? >> No, just confirming that this approval of a BG5 is just opening up to the design phase. >> So, if we go back to the agenda, so again, this is kind of a KD formality process. our our prior discussions with New Haven was really attached to the old DFP from 2021. Since we now have a new DFP, it was KD's recommendation since that project really never occurred from a construction standpoint to kind of end the old BG and then begin a new one based
060upon the scope that we've identified. So, first we would approve the BG5 to close the prior BG and then we would open a new one that aligns to our current >> okay >> uh vision. >> All right. Any discussion on the New Haven BG5 and BG1? If not, we will need a motion to approve the BG5 and the BG1 as presented. >> I'll make the motion. >> Thank you. Do I have a second? >> A second. >> All right. Thank you. All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Motion passes. >> So now we'll have a similar process here with Nelson County High. And again, it'll be a uh again, this project was attached to the old DFP, so we'd also have a BG5 closure that we'll vote on and then along with a new uh
061BG1 really moving us forward on our on our vision. Um Mr. Bradley is currently working closely with Studio Kramers, the architects on this project and and again, I think it's in a similar state as the New Haven one and trying to identify scope. that design uh stage is really kicking off and thinking about what could the project become. We do have a few images here to represent and and much of it again is uh just possibility. Nothing's really been solidified. It's uh you could pro proceed in this direction or that direction. So So uh I did want to introduce Kate Noble Ward tonight. She's on the front row here. She would be the she's the currently the lead architect at Studio Kramer working alongside Stephen on the Nelson County High School project. Uh and she's
062not been fully deployed really uh because you're not getting paid yet. So she's, you know, she's been doing some tentative work. I think it's important to know phase one of Nelson County High School campus at Nelson County campus. This was the master plan drawing that shows the high school classrooms and new high school classrooms being two stories coming off the front and side connecting to the upcenter. I share that because this is a massive project. Um it is upwards of 35 to 40 classrooms. Uh that would replace the 1969 wing. Uh that is um as you know uh dated and when it was designed was not designed with humans in mind. Probably in the same way that we would design them today because we would have windows and other open spaces. But that was just
063the way it was in the 1969 design process. This assumes that there will be a phase two phase and I think at this point in time we're working from the assumption that we would combine phase two and phase three uh together uh as phase one begins to develop through the design process and we have more clarity. This is a year-long process. Uh it would take so that in theory this time next year the design would be coming to uh up for approval in August September area um for movement. That means in 2026 the Nelson County High School campus as the UPC center closes. It's opening up a new spot right next to it. Um I think there's we're not really at a place to speculate on the specific spot. This shows you where the original
064drawing was coming off the back after going through the master planning process. They moved it to the front um because it was seemed to be as a better use of resource also uh better for the community and a protected student commons in the back that allowed for a more outdoor use of space. So these are some of the original drawings. These are not the current drawings because the current drawings haven't really developed. Um, so we share this, this is on ncslpc.com. Uh, and it's just kind of identifying that phase one for Nelson County High School. I think there's in this case it doesn't touch the gymnasium or the auditorium. Those would all be remodeled or in theory the auditorium particular totally redesigned in phase two. So this is just classrooms replacing the entire 1969 wing.
065So I share that just as a reminder of what phase one entails. Uh it is primarily focused on the academic in inside space while there would also be a massive outdoor space that would emerge between the upcenter and the high school. Any questions about that phase one? >> So is the current BG1 or the new BG1 that we are proposing focused on phase one >> only? Yes, the current BG1 is phase one only. >> Any discussion? >> This is only for Nelson County High School. >> This phase, this is BG1 for Nelson County High School. So the current budget for this project is 40 million for the classroom wing. >> And so the uh BG1 would reflect that amount. >> Yes. All right. Any further discussion? If not, we need a motion to approve the
066BG5 and BG1s as presented. >> Make motion. >> All right. Second. >> Thank you. All in favor? >> Any opposed? Motion passes. >> All right. So, next up, we have the Thomas Nelson High School Middle School uh bids. So on September 11th, we did have a public bid opening for our Thomas Nelson uh job. Um Kodell Construction Studio Kramer led that process. Uh really throughout it, we we had lots of questions from subs. I'd say the the bidding process was definitely competitive. We had lots of bids that were submitted. I think all bid packages did receive multiple bids uh with the exception of one. And really that value when we compare it to our prior bidding process did kind of fall in line with what was expected in that package. Uh but in general the
067process was competitively bid. Uh the recommended bids are here. Construction costs 28,200,000 roughly. Um so I just wanted to show just some context on what that is for. Um, in 2021, the district purchased a 10.3 acre addition on the property at Thomas Nelson. Uh, this led to the design in 2021 2022 of this wing, middle school wing and extended uh, fieldhouse that looks like this uh, as a overview that leads towards highway 245. These are just some uh, renderings. it essentially matches the design of the current school. Um, so it was designed in the same light of that. I share that because these are all things that we have, you know, it's been some time since we looked at all the renderings. This is also on ncslpc.com with an overview of these pieces and parts.
068So the bids on this project as a total, you can see the different bid packages from earthwork to electrical uh, etc. You can see the total of those bids came in at $28 million. Just over $28 million. And that is for the Thomas Elsson Middle School. Any questions about this? >> Martin, what day did you say you opened the bids upon that? Had the >> It was September 11th. >> September. Okay. >> And so I think we talked about this, but just so in terms of what was expected, the cost and what it ended up being. So yeah, I think uh last time the project was bid, it was 24.6 millionish, uh give or take. I think uh we had Stephen Ward on the spot and he estimated roughly 10% uh addition and really that's
069him I think speaking from his own opinion. Uh and it really came in right at that. I think it was about 12% difference from the original bid. Um so really fell in line with with what we were expecting. Jim, I don't know if you want to speak to Odell. I think u feels like the bid package is definitely fall in line with current market prices. >> Absolutely. And to your point, uh yours truly also got put on the spot, I think, Miss Bowling. Uh so, uh it landed exactly where we thought it was going to. Um and, uh to Mr. Martin's point, uh, the bidder participation was really good. The electrical package, we're struggling, I think I told you all in the August meeting, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, uh, we're seeing it, state and regional, uh,
070struggling to get bids. Uh, but to Mr. Martin's point, uh, the the one package, that electrical package, it it it came in pretty much where we thought it it should. So, indicative of today's market, uh, uh, came in costwise. Uh, good group of contractors. Uh, the the biders that we're putting in front of you all tonight, all of them were the low biders with the exception of three. Uh we went with the number two bidder uh just the various technicalities uh uh on on two of them. One uh uh one case uh not so good of quality with the low bidder so we went with number two. Uh so uh feel good about the team uh that's in front of you. Uh, everyone seems uh, you know, most all of them we've had past experience,
071good experience with uh, and uh, uh, feel good about getting the ball rolling and getting getting started if the board so desires. >> I attended the bid opening along with Mr. Gilland and I would like to commend those who who did. We had excellent participation. I would estimate 30 to 40 community members were present. And um as part of that process um we had multiple bids on each of the separate bid packages meaning you know the different parts of the components of the project are bid out separately. So it was good to see that there was no single bid without competition. >> Right. And and to your point, the couple of local contractors uh are in front of you today for approval. So I think that's a good uh timeline on this. Uh we discussed
072uh if the bids are accepted uh and you move forward tonight, the timeline is early November, first week of November start date. The end date is April May of 2027. So, it's a 19ishmonth project. Um, and would be pretty visible for that entire 19month period. >> Any other discussion? >> It's exciting times. I'm uh this is some growth for Nelson County and shows that the community is growing and excited to see what this can do for our workforce and leadership in the future. >> All right. If no further discussion, uh, we will need a motion to approve the Thomas Nelson Middle School recommended bids and updated BG1 as presented. >> Make the motion. >> I'll second. >> Thank you. All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? >> No. >> Motion passes 3 to two. >>
073Thank you, Mr. Pell. I know this isn't was not an easy decision over the last um few years. But as Mr. Gillian said, I'm excited for what this is going to do for our students. Um, everyone knows where I've stood in this um, conversation for a while. So, to finally know that we're moving forward is a huge deal and I know it's a big deal for the rest of our community, too. So, thank you guys. >> All right, with that being said, we do have to move into the bond resolution. Do I need to read this out? Tim, do we need to read the resolution or can we just take the motion on the resolution? >> Okay. >> All right. So, motion will be needed to adopt a resolution authorizing the Nelson County School District
074Finance Corporation to issue revenue bonds for the purpose of construction related to Thomas Nelson Middle School construction project. >> I'll make a motion. >> All right. Thank you. Do I have a second? I'll second. Thank you. All in favor? I. Any opposed? >> Nay. >> Motion passes three to two. Thank you. >> So, in order to act upon the bond resolution, the board does recess the regular board meeting and convene a district finance corporation meeting. >> All right. So, we will need a motion to recess the regular session of the Nelson County Board of Education and convene the district finance corporation meeting. Do I have a motion? >> I'll make the motion. >> Thank you. Do I have a second? >> I'll second. >> Thank you. All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? >> I
075don't think it matters. >> Sure. >> All right. Um, did you >> Yeah. Name. >> Okay. Motion passes three to two. >> Thank you. >> Just as a matter of reference, you know, this is a separate public notice. So, we send out public notice. This was the notice that was sent out regarding that. >> All right. So now the chair becomes the president of the >> and we are all present. Um so we call this meeting of the Nelson County District of Finance Corporation to order on September 23rd, 2025. And um just confirming um we set these back in April. Um does anyone have any there's no reason to discuss that? You all can see us standing in here. We're all here. Um and then we can go to the agenda or the finance corporation.
076All right. Do I need to read this out? >> All right. Motion to approve the finance corporation resolution. >> As presented. >> I'll make the motion as presented. >> Thank you. >> Second. >> Thank you. All in favor? I. >> Any opposed? >> All right. I just can't hear you. Sorry. >> I'm not saying very loud, so I'm sorry. >> No worries. Motion passes three to two. Um recommend a motion to adjourn this meeting of the Nelson County School District Finance Corporation. Thank you. Do I have a second? >> I need a second. >> Second. >> Thank you. All in favor? I >> I. >> Any opposed? Didn't think anybody would oppose leaving it. >> All right. So, with that being said, we are going to um reconvene the regular session of the Nelson County
077School Board of Education. Do I have a motion? Motion. >> Thank you. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. All in favor? I. Any opposed? >> Motion passes. >> All right. And now we need to adjourn the regular session >> of the Nelson County Board of Education. Do I have a motion? >> Motion. >> Thank you. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> All right. All in favor? >> All right. Motion passes. Thank you guys.