Nelson County Board of Education Meeting May 20th, 2025

001[Music] Feel me? [Music] You found me. [Music] ring. It ring it. [Music] You are. [Music] Chocolate rain. [Music] Make it rain. [Music] You are free. [Music] You follow me. [Music] I [Music] feel [Music] like you are [Music] Keep it ready. [Music] real. Don't [Music] You are free. [Music] Feeling hey. You are happy. [Music] Rain and rain. [Music] You [Music] are you [Music] ring. [Music] You [Music] Hey everyone. [Music] Make it rain. [Music] We call this meeting of the Nelson County Board of Education to order on May 20th, 2025 at 5:30. Please join our board team as we recite the pledge. I pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. And

002as always, we are going to um read our mission. in the Nelson County schools. We unite students with people, place, and purpose to thrive in work and life. So, tonight we will be covering um and evaluating the fiscal year 2026 annual budget process and determine the next steps for the district facility plan. And Miss Laura Arnold is going to start us off with celebrations tonight. Good evening. This time of year is very special in schools because we have the opportunity to step back and reflect on the year and celebrate our students and staff. It also gives us the opportunity to celebrate those parents and community partners who have helped create success. And tonight there is a very special group that we want to recognize and that is our Upcenter Dragons robot gladiator team. And I'm

003gonna ask Miss Barryman to come on up. And on her way up, um, the other night I was attending a meeting and someone in the meeting asked, "What does it mean when Nelson County Schools talks about opportunity and access for our students?" And I think as we think about the future of school, opportunity is creating experiences that students and families want to be a part of. And this team and the IT program at the UPCenter is a great example of opportunity and access because it is made up of Nelson County school students, Bardstown students, homeschool students, and private school students. And these families have said yes to Nelson County Schools because of the great things and the great experiences being provided by this team. So, I'm going to turn it over to Miss Barryman to

004actually celebrate this very special group and Mr. Cantrell. Before I get started, I just want you to take a minute just to soak this picture in. It's my favorite. It's be my favorite forever. Um, so we're I'm excited to share with you all our incredible Robot Gladiator League team. Um, they are undefeated two seasons straight. Um, and we are that team. We walk in and people are like, "Oh, they're here." Um, we we cut off some people's tires, some wheels. It's it it's a little violent, but it's wonderful. So, if you don't know what Robot Gladiator League is, it is battlebots at the high school level. So, students um come together to build robots and they are trying to get kill switches, they're trying to knock down pins, they're getting points, and there is a

005champion, and that is us. Um, what's great about our team, our students, and our leaders is that they have that creativity, that critical thinking and problem solving where they can take the rules and they can work within them to do some pretty big damage. And that takes special kind of smart and a special kind of um intelligence that they bring to life. So, I'd love to introduce to you all the incredible leader, Mr. Canrell, who's going to come up and share a little bit and the wonderful team that's here with us tonight. [Applause] this on mildly embarrassed and I'm we're shouting out the uh the team cheer which is if you're not in you're in the way if you're not in you're in the way. So that's what we were doing. That's what the that's

006what the yelling was about. And so so Wes participated with us in that. But um it's it's been a great ride the last two years. It's a lot of fun. Uh there's lots of things we could probably talk all evening about it. I think what Miss Barman said is probably the coolest thing about me about the rather about the league is that what what we're doing is that we're able to incorporate lots of the programs as well. Lots of schools, lots of programs and lots lots of inclusivity as far as the participation what we can get across the school as a whole. Uh we work tightly with welding, we work with electrical and also work with carpentry. And so there's a lot of there's a lot of interoperation between those programs. And so I've got

007Francis Aller here who's the team captain senior. I'm not sure what I'm going to do next year without Francis. Francis has been my right hand, but so hopefully we'll have somebody to fill those shoes. But Francis, I'm sure, has some things to say. Yes, this Yes, this program has been very inclusive and very fun to do as a student because not only is it technically a sport for the STEM academics and everything. So, usually stuff that is involved in sports, but it is also something you can kind of show employers and stuff like that and be like, "Okay, well, I'm a welding student. I was able to weld this weapon and everything. It withstanded over 800 lb of fort directly against it and everything and still survive. Didn't bend or anything. As a welding student,

008that would be a great thing to tell an employer or to show off and stuff like that and be like, "This is my skills put into the real world." So, not only is it something that incorporates everything into it, but it also is able to be something that employers, schools, the whole nine yard can look at and be like, "Okay, this student's skills can be interpretated into the real life workforce through this method. Can we trust this student?" And by the looks of it, we can because their skills show in these very bots. So, I'm glad to say that as an IT student and everything, we could look at the coding of the bots. We could look at the mechanisms of the bots and everything and be like, "Okay, we worked on this, this, and

009this. These skills could be interpreted into this, this, and this." And so we could look at these pathways to to be like, "Hey, so I did this, this, and this. These are the pathways I am fluent in, and these are the skills that I'm able to show off to you in this sport." Not only that, but it's fun. And you get to kind of take a break from stuff to be able to fight bots every single weekend. Come on, what's not fun? kind of on a note on that is that one of the things I joke with Wes about is that who else would pay me to play with toys? But the great thing about that is the great thing about that is is that they're you know seriously the blade over there is not

010a toy. It has to be in an arena because it's 2,000 RPM tip speed of about 100 miles an hour and we were cutting the wheels out from underneath these other robots. They hated us because like Miss Barryman said that we're undefeated. Not just undefeated, undefeated for two seasons. So yeah, we're that team. So Nelson County, we're that team. So anyway, we have some 3D printed swag over here, some stuff. If as you guys leave, there's stickers and some 3D printed stuff the team wanted to make to give out to you. And so if there's anything that you want, feel free after the meeting's over or during the meeting, grab what you want to. So I will say, um, I am sad to see Francis leave as well because she has been such a fantastic

011spokesperson for this program. Um, at at the Kentucky School Board Association, she was there talking this program up to just anybody that would walk by. and you articulate it so well in the way that it does really encompass so many programs at the UPCenter and um yes you guys gave me a heart attack at the state championship against Russell County like that was way too close but it's so impressive how you guys work together it is definitely team effort it's critical thinking involved when something breaks they have to be in that ring and I think this is something that really we have to advocate for in our community is finding a way that we can get these kids here doing these these robot gladiator wars. It is such a spectacular event for small kids to

012sort of see and get involved in looking at what is available for them when they get to this to this age when they're ready to really be in the ring. So, we are looking for sponsors to be part of these programs to get us up and running with the ring here in Nelson County. And on on that note, what she's talking about is Tracy's encouraged me. This was a conversation we had at KSBA. We're looking at doing one pound to three pound and eventually the 12 pound weight weight sizes. We've been doing an 80 pound range is what we're doing, but it's kind of limited. It's kind of like an orphan type league. But what we're looking at, and this is one of the things we're looking at, we went we broke the sound barrier

013twice with state competition. Now we want to go suborbital with one pound. And you might say, "Well, that's kind of backwards." Yeah, but if you look at what they're do semi-pro and nationally, they're doing one pound, 3 lb, and 10 or like I think it's 12 pound and 30 lb. And so we want to build a local arena and do some local stuff. And so keep your eyes hopefully on the horizon for, you know, things take time to build, but we're going to get there. Absolutely. So great job, guys. You all [Applause] [Music] All right. So, we are moving on to guest comments. Um, thank you for attending our Nelson County School Board. Um, any person wishing to address the board may do so by following these rules. Representatives are limited three minutes. Please step

014forward as I state your name. Um, you can share your address if you would like. Um, and whether you are representing a group, please state the group. Um, first up is Bill Osborne. Thanks, Charlie. Thanks, guys. Uh, thank you for allowing me to speak tonight. And I'm I'm going to try to be brief. I just want to say to the two board representatives last night that attended the the coffee. Great job. There was a lot of great dialogue. The meeting kind of got out of hand at times, but we recognized it and we nipped it. We sat and and we were able to talk both sides. And I think I got more out of that meeting last night than I have in two years. That's what it's all about. Coming together as a community and

015talking about the needs of the county. and and when the dust settled, you know, we had agreed on a lot of things and and I just want to say tonight, I know you guys are going to address this D uh the DFP and I agree with most of it, but the only suggestion I would have and it's not by vote, but before we invest hundreds of millions of $100 million, let's make sure that all our tees are crossed and eyes are dotted because that's a lot of money. It's a lot of money. Now, the the second thing I want to talk to you about, and I've got a minute, it won't probably won't take this long. When I spoke uh before the LPC committee last week, uh I had a couple people later on that

016week ask me, "What's your purpose? What why are you here? You come to meetings, but but I do a lot of things behind the scenes." Uh one of the last things I was able to do was drive a school bus after I retired. And in 2019, I had a major internal lead. An hour before I collapsed, I had 50 kids on the bus or an hour after I got the kids off the bus, I collapsed. Was in the hospital for 10 days fighting for my life. So, I had to make a decision that I could not jeopardize kids uh any longer. So, I had to bow out. But recently, I told this story last night. Uh there was a late a school teacher in Bulock County, Kentucky that noticed three siblings walking into school one

017day dirty, hungry, and just not in not very good shape. Well, child protective services within a week or two removed those kids from that house. That teacher took those kids in as foster children. And later on in life, this there was two girls and a boy. The son was struggling and they were all addicted or their mother was addicted when they were born. So they had issues. So the the young man ended up at the Bluegrass Challenge Academy at Fort Knox, Kentucky. I was asked to mentor that kid recently. Well, it's been about a year ago. So every other week I would go to Fort Knox and mentor this kid. And the week that I wasn't at Fort Knox, my brother in Georgia did it via Skype or Zoom or whatever. But I stand before

018you tonight and tell you that I'm going to attend that child's graduation in county on Friday night. That's awesome. Something as simple as that means more to me than anything. So, I just want to let you all know I can't do the physical work that I used to do, but I'm going to be here for the kiddos, and I'll do whatever I can do to make their life easier and better and make this place a better place than what we found it. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks, Bill. All right, next up, we have Amy Durban. Durban. I'm speaking uh on behalf of myself. Good evening. Tonight, I come to you with hope and gratitude. First, I would like to express my appreciation to the local planning committee for their tireless work and thoughtfulness

019throughout their important process of voting on a plan to move our district forward. Your commitment to detail and listening to diverse perspectives perspectives is valued. Thank you for putting in the long hours to shape a plan that serves all students. I also want to acknowledge Miss Bowling, Mr. Gillind, and Dr. Lee for consistently showing up, not just to LPC meetings, but to events where our students and staff are recognized and celebrated. We see you. Your presence sends a powerful message that you value our schools beyond pal policy and paperwork. You value the people in them. Tonight is not about looking back. It's about looking forward toward growth, innovation, and opportunity for every student and family in our district. The DFP presented by the LPC is not just a plan on paper. It's a path forward

020for all students. But let me be clear. While the community moves ahead, there remains a small group continuing to push a false narrative. One rooted not in fact or collaboration, but in fear and division. Please don't allow this noise to pose a distraction from the reason we are all here. Students, our students are watching. They are waiting. And they deserve our action. Let's give them them a future we can all be proud of. Thank you. Since I have just a little bit of time, it's Miss Sue's birthday. I don't know if you all know Miss Sue. We do know Miss Sue is my bus driver and she's still driving a bus and she's amazing. If you don't know Miss Sue, you need to know Miss Sue. Just wanted to shout out Miss Sue. I appreciate

021you shouting her out. All right. Next up, we have Casey Vantor. Hi. Um, hi. I'm Casey Vanvactor. Um, and I'm representing myself. As a community member who deeply values the role our schools play, I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. The time is now. Our students and staff have waited long enough and this is the moment to move our district forward. The local planning committee was thoughtful and intentional in its decision-making and the plan they've recommended is something to be excited about. This isn't just a plan. It's a path toward better opportunities for our kids and a stronger future for our schools. The Nelson County School District is focused on looking ahead and creating opportunities for our children that many of us only wish that we had when we were in

022school. This this plan represents that vision. A future filled with possibilities, growth, and success for every student. I respectfully ask you to vote yes and help turn this vision into reality. Together, we can move past the uncertainty and start building something our community can celebrate because our students and our students and staff deserve nothing less. Thank you for your time and for your commitment to doing what's best for our schools. Next up, we have Deborah Bochetski. Hi, thank you for allowing me to speak. Um, I see on the agenda that the district facility plan is listed. It doesn't say if if you're calling for a vote or a motion. I can only assume you are. Um, but I want to make sure that you guys are aware just because something is on the agenda, just

023as the same as just if because something is on the DFP, it doesn't mean you have to go forward with it. There are a lot of moving parts yet that have been barely touched on and I would hope that you as the board will look at all of the data. There is a lot of data out there that was again barely touched on. I don't know if you guys are familiar with all of the enrollment numbers, how we are very low on the young end. I mean, that's all going to build up to what's going to happen eight years from now. All of that needs to be looked at. We need to look at um the survey. There was a community survey and a parent survey. I hope you guys got the results to that.

024There wasn't a whole lot of participation, but I don't know if anybody outside of Facebook saw the survey. So, that's a little bit skewed there. I mean, we've got a lot of community members who are not on Facebook. So, just keep that in mind. Um, let's see. Something else that came up, I don't know if you guys are aware of the youth football fiasco that's going on right now. Um, we might not have a youth football league. There's, from what I understand, there's still a vote. And part of the problem is because administration wants one team, the conference wants two teams. So why is it okay to have one team here but not other places? I mean again moving parts, we don't have to make a decision tonight. You guys do have the allowance to

025table things and um just because there's so many moving parts. I have so much data. If you guys have any questions, I've open record requested several things. I can help you out. It seems like we're trying to fix the system by adding more layers. So, please be mindful of your decisions. Thank you. Thank you. Next up, we have Kim Hogan. I'm representing myself. Good evening. I'd like to take a moment tonight to recognize and extend my thanks to every member of our local planning committee. Their work has not only been thorough, it's been thoughtful, focused, and deeply rooted in what's best for our students. These individuals volunteered their time, energy, and expertise. They showed up consistently. They engaged with data. They made tough decisions with one goal in mind to build a better future for

026all of our students. As vice chair of the committee, I was fortunate enough to be up close and saw firsthand the way the members approached their task with open minds, a willingness to consider every option, and a commitment to respectful dialogue. They didn't shy away from hard conversations. They looked at what was best, not just for our students, but for our staff and for the long-term financial health of our district. The balance isn't easy to strike, but they did it, and they did it with integrity. Similar to our last local planning committee, this committee went through a very detailed process, reaching a similar conclusion, and each time the outcome has been strikingly similar. That consistency tells us something that despite the many voices and perspectives in the room, the facts and data continue to point

027us in a common direction. Real change is never easy to come by. While there have been differences in opinions, strong ones at times, through it all, the committee's commitment to a student centered plan never wavered. But now the time has come for us to move forward. Let's give our community something to look forward to. Let's provide hope and direction. And most importantly, let's start the work of bringing our community together around a shared v vision that puts students first. To every member of our local planning committee, thank you. Your service, your leadership, and your dedication have not gone unnoticed. We're grateful and we're ready to move ahead. Thank you. Next up, we have um Kelsey Bryman. Good evening. Uh my name is Kelsey Barryman. I've requested to speak tonight to celebrate the work of our

028local planning committee and the plan that's going to be coming before you today. I've worked in the Nelson County schools for over the past 12 years in various roles ranging from elementary age students all the way to the high school at the UPC center. I'm energized by the opportunities that this plan will bring to life for stronger pathway development, leader collaboration, and districtwide unity. I've had the honor of seeing the positive impact of early exposure to college and career opportunities with all age levels of students. Years ago, my fourth grade class tooured three local businesses in the construction industry, including our local 181 training center and a live construction site. My students came back changed from that experience because many had only seen the careers in their daily lives. Teacher, doctor, lawyer, chef. One student

029in this picture back here, shameful plug, uh stopped me when we came back and said, "I didn't know women could do that." Talking about operating heavy equipment. Maybe I could do that one day. That's the p that's the power of early exposure career and technical education. Not to put students on a pathway, but to give students a chance to explore what could be. By uniting our middle and high schools on the same campus, programs traditionally offered only to high school students, we'll be able to bring to life exploratory opportunities for middle school as well. I can account firsthand that our current model of introducing students to various college and career pathways at the UpCenter at the end of 8th grade is too late. Students need to have space to explore what exists and what their

030passions are and aren't early to be able to make informed decisions as they continue through high school and beyond. This facility plan brings so many advantages for our adults as well because student enrollment and in turn teacher allocations will not shift. Our amazing teachers will have the ability to collaborate with an expansive professional community. Due to intentional planning from our central office leaders, instructional alignment has become has begun through summer leadership pathways. But imagine what unity could look like if teachers across grades 6 through 12 met cycllically to align curriculum and address learning gaps. Imagine diverse content and elective teachers coming together to build purposeful learning experiences that answer that age-old questions. Why do I need to learn this? The collective efficacy of instruction will be supremely impacted and we will see student success like

031we've never seen it before. Over the past four years outside of the UPC center, we've been standing still. We can no longer waste time and our students deserve a powerful vision for the future. I'd like to share gratitude to the local planning committee as they have taken time to listen and learn from teachers, parents, and our community partners in creating this plan. And I'm eager to say that I fully support the 612 model. Thank you. [Applause] Next up, we have Tiffany Clark. Tiffany Clark, Springfield. Good evening and thank you again for letting me speak tonight. Um, now that we've completed the process with two separate local planning committees and reviewed two very similar district facilities plans, we are encouraged and frankly we're pretty excited to see that the voices of the community were heard with

032respect and diligence. Tonight represents the most significant step forward that New Haven families have experienced in many years. This moment brings us closer to equitable programs and access for all students in our community. It supports the kind of school environment where families can build lasting relationships, where students can sustain the strong culture they've grown up in, and where clear patterns of success are established for their entire school career. We are counting on every single board member to recognize the urgency at this moment and to move forward tonight. This is not a time to look backward or rehash old arguments. The most recent data and recommendations are clear. The process was thorough. The feedback was consistent. Now is the time for our representative to stand with the community they were elected to serve and vote in

033alignment with the future we are all looking forward to. This is an opportunity to solidify trust to honor the work that's been done and to help build a strong and visible lasting presence for the New Haven families within our school system. We're ready to move forward and we hope tonight you are too. Thank you. Next up, we have Rebecca Dye. I didn't see her come in. All right. Um, next up, I know Miss Barnes, you said you were not. Are you good? Okay. So, Aaron Barnes, she was concerned about the weather, so she had reached out earlier. Hey, it's been a bad couple days, so we understand. [Music] Thank you for being here tonight. Whether you're a parent, a teacher, a staff member, or a concerned member of our community, your present here speaks volumes

034about your commitment to our schools and to our future of all of them. But let me begin by stating the obvious but necessary. The renovations at New Haven Elementary are long past due. For years, we've heard promises, proposals, projections, plans, but now is the time for action. The condition of our school facilities is no longer something we can afford to overlook or keep delaying. Our HVAC systems are outdated, often unreliable, and in some cases simply just not working. Our plumbing, well, it belongs in a different era, one where expectations were lower than they are today. Our students and staff deserve better. The time has come to move forward with urgency and with purpose. Renovations must begin as soon as possible. Not next year, not in the distant future, but now. These improvements aren't just about

035aesthetics or modern modernization. They are about ensuring a safe, comfortable, and supportive learning environment where our students can thrive and our teachers can focus on what they do best, teaching. But there's something more at stake here. With these renovations, we have an opportunity not just to improve a building, but to reshape the future of New Haven. There is a strong potential for increased enrollment at New Haven with this renovation. With some thoughtful maybe redistricting, we can balance capacity across our schools. And let's be honest, facilities make decisions ba families make decisions based on school quality. When they see a school getting a long overdue exciting remodel, when they see an investment in momentum, they take notice. Imagine the energy that will come with the newly renovated New Haven Elementary. Imagine the pride our students will

036feel walking into a building that reflects their value. Imagine the message it sends to the parents. That New Haven is growing, thriving, and putting its students first. Renovation isn't just about fixing what's broken, though that alone would be worth it. It's about building a foundation for the future. It's about saying once and for all that we refuse to let our children learn in outdated conditions, that we believe in the promise of the school, and that we are ready to invest in its excellence. Thank you. Next up, we have Jeff [Music] Parish. [Music] Maybe Jeff Parish from New Haven. After the last two years of chaos, we have learned a lot. We tried the rogue plan our former board majority mandated and learned it isn't a good one. It's been fully tested and proven to have

037awkwardly segregated our communities within the same building. And even though our educators, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and maintenance staff made the very best of what they were mandated, our kids didn't get to try something that was aimed to benefit their future. My family has learned it's impossible to drive your kids in three different locations to school. That's important to my wife, spending time with our kids on the way to school. The current school year, she gets to pick which child she can spend time with in the morning and who gets to ride the bus. My family has learned that the extra transition has caused a tremendous amount of stress trying to shuttle our kids around to after school activities. How much time would have been saved if my son could just walk to Thomas Nelson

038for soccer practice after school instead of having to be scrambled around and picked up to make an extra transition? Thank goodness my parents live in town to help us on a daily basis or my kids would miss out on many activities. The kids who already have things stacked against them in the southern part of the county likely found it impossible to participate. My family learned that the attempt to get bids on only one part of the former DFP, which is New Haven's Renault, didn't work. My son missed his eighth grade year at New Haven. The school hasn't been touched. So his transition to OKH added stress to his young school experience, but for what? My family hopes he will vote to approve the current DFP we have, the community campus plan. This would allow better

039feeder patterns, stronger connections built with our communities, one less traition transition for our middle schoolers, less driving for our parents, equity across the county, efficiency and proximity for collabs, higher level classes, improved sports and involvement in afterchool activities. We hope you will listen to the parents who've lic effects every day and think about what is best for everyone. Very few loud voices with personal agendas who have seemed to be the only opposition to this have caused a ton of division and wasted money the last few years. The suggested one high school model at Nelson County is what sparked many protests in our community. And it did not appear that anyone supported the idea of closing Thomas Nelson and creating a traffic nightmare on Bloomfield Road. The board members that were concerned about mixing high school

040and middle school students must not have considered that those kids are currently and have been riding the same buses with one another. Not only that, but the prior board approved the advanced course opportunities for OKH students. Those courses are in our high school with high school students. This has been a very tough time for everyone in our community and I want to close by sharing my disappointment that our elected board member, Mr. Norman, has not shown up to any of these discussions within our community. With all the stress going on, that's tough. Thank you, Mr. Parish. Next up, we have Bernie S. I'm just representing myself. Uh so good evening members of the board and to the parents and families here tonight. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm here in support of the

0416th through 12th grade school model. Not because it's convenient structure, but because I truly believe it can be a powerful and effective way to support our students academically, socially, developly, developmentally, sorry, when well done. Let's start with what I know many of us are thinking. Middle school and high school are in very different place places in life. Parents are right to raise concerns about maturity gap, safety, ensuring younger students aren't exposed to things too early. But those concerns don't argue against the model. They make the case for doing it thoughtfully. When we bring grades 6 through 12 into one campus with purpose, we eliminate one of the biggest disruptions in a student's educational journey, the transition from middle to high school. Students stay in a consistent environment with staff who know them, and we build

042real continuity and relationships, support systems, and learning. That continuity also allows us to align curriculum and services more intentionally. Instead of treating middle school and high school as separate worlds, we can create a more seamless academic path, introduce challenges earlier when students are ready, and offer interventions that don't get reset at a new building. Another strength of the 6th through 12th model is leadership and mentoring. Older students can serve as peer role models and help shape a culture of respect and belonging. But just to be clear, this model doesn't mean sixth graders are eating lunch next to seniors. Physical spaces must be designed with clear separation in mind. Programming, supervision, and schedules are tailored to the needs of each age group. It's one campus, not one classroom. Now, let's talk about something else that matters

043deeply in many of our communities. Sports and extracurricular feeder patterns. A 6 through 12th model gives us an excellent opportunity to strengthen athletic and extracurricular programs. Younger students have earlier access to training facilities, coaching philosophies that match the high school level. It creates a more unified vision across teams with middle school athletes being coached in ways that align with the high school system. This means fewer growing pains when they make the jump to varsity programs and better development across all levels. It also helps build team culture earlier. Athletes feel pride and connection to the program long before high school triyouts. They already wear the same colors. They know the coaches and understand what it means to represent their school. Finally, this model is about relationships, relationships, and long-term investment. When students are with the same

044school community from 6th through 12th grade, they feel a deeper connection not just to academics and athletics, but to each other and to their school as a whole. That's how we build strong graduates and even stronger citizens. To the board and every parent here, your concerns are valid. Your hopes for your children are deeply respected. And I truly believe this model, if done right, can be a better, more cohesive, and more supportive experience for everyone. Next up is Audrey DS originally put [Laughter] um thank you all for letting me speak. I don't know if you can hear me. Um my name is Audrey DS. I am a preschool teacher for Nelson County. Uh my children both go to Foster Heights. Um I'm very invested in this district as a whole. Uh I wasn't going to

045speak. I signed up and then I wasn't going to speak and then today I just felt the need to just introduce myself and also just put my face out there. Um I'm sorry I'm gonna go off of the LPC or that's beautiful work that's being done but mine is to more of the concern about the youth sports. Um I recently was asked to be on an advisory team and I won't discuss any of that but I want people to feel confident in the voice that is been asked to be a parent side for this um board. There was a coach and a parent asked from both sides uh Thomas Nelson and Nelson County. Um, so I was very flattered because I am very passionate. Um, I have several parents that are in this room. Sorry

046to speak on you all. Um, anybody who knows the work I do. I really love this district. I really love my kids. Um, I don't go to bat for my kids necessarily because my kids do have the opportunities. Um, I'm a sped teacher, which is a lot of time those um, lowinccome, those low demographic children that I also am pushing for. So, I just really want to speak on I know there's so much negative and unfortunately Facebook is starting to uproar and things are getting talked about. Um, I've been in beautiful meetings with last night Mr. Martin and uh Mr. Bobblet and again it was a really great meeting. I unfortunately am the emotional woman on the board also. Um, I can't tell you facts or numbers or football. um what I know about football

047is what my nine-year-old teaches me. Um or what I am googling or what you all are teaching me. So, I don't want people to think that I know more than I do because I don't. Um I know what's been told to me. I know what's been given to me. But I want everybody to feel confident that um I want to be somebody who wants to unite everything. I don't want to be a you versus us. Um Mr. Paris said something. I've been taking notes on this notebook and I've read none of it. um he said something and it said awkwardly segregated and I wrote those words down because I feel like that's where we're at right now with youth sports. We know that's a mess. Um also Mr. Ay spoke so beautifully. What he talked

048about was all the things that can follow is the same for youth sports. What you talked on like this feeling of compassion and being you know heard um wanting to do what's best for everybody. That's the same with sports. um whether it's the Gladiators, which was amazing. What they feel is what my nine-year-old feels about football. And I don't want it to be all about sports because it's not about sports to me. It's so much more than that. Um I want it to be about all kids. Um the ones who, you know, can't show up because they don't have a ride. Um I joked, "Give me my CDL and I'll go pick up kids." So, just know I'm sorry. Just know that I'm here. I want to hear people's concerns. I want to be a

049voice that everybody can trust um to help speak on this behalf. So for the future, Audrey. Audrey. Very good. [Applause] And last up is Holly Smith. [Laughter] Am I not supposed to do that for [Laughter] myself? All right. So, you all know, most of you all in here know me. My name's Holly Smith. And, uh, I I teach at Thomas Nelson. Uh, I have coached college softball. I've coached high school softball. I have coached flag football. I have coached travel baseball. Uh, and I'm currently coaching Thomas Nelson baseball. So, um, I have a lot of years of coaching under my belt and I'm here tonight to speak to you as a coach. So, let me start by saying this wasn't in my notes, but somebody triggered this for me a while ago, but we uh

050we practice as a program. So, when we practice in the fall, in the winter, and most of the spring, we are middle school and high school on one field doing drills and all the things together because we are a program. That's how you build programs. So, with that being said, my intent when I took the job as a baseball coach wasn't to build a team. I really, quite frankly, to be blunt, didn't really care about that team. I wanted to build a program, but I needed that team to help me build the program. So, with that being said, as a coach, I would never want my players to be defined by one moment. I would never want my co my players to be defined by one at bat, one pitch, one defensive play. It's sports,

051right? You never want to be defined by one moment. I also hate to lose more than I like to win. So, I'm very competitive person. So, with that being said, I think for me and my program, I need to build character. I need to build growth. I need to build something bigger than themselves, something bigger than myself. And that's what I instill in my players. In 2009, I we won a national championship. As a coach, I won a national championship at the college level. I say that because that moment doesn't define me. That's just part of my story. That one championship doesn't define who I am. It makes my story even better. But I don't want to be defined by what happened in 2009. I'm still building. I'm still making things happen. I'm still giving

052everything I got to go after something more. So when I I expect the same thing out of my players. As a coach, I don't want to be defined by that moment. I think that I don't want the national championship to be who I am. I want relationship building, character building, building young men and watching them turn into mature adults. That's what I want to build. To watch somebody from sixth grade to 12th grade is unbelievably powerful. And I think that this 612 east west model gives me personally as a coach the opportunity to build a program. Thank you. [Applause] Thank everyone that came up to speak. We don't always um it's been a while since we've had a list um this this large, but we know it's not easy to get up in front of

053everyone and speak. So, thank you guys for speaking tonight. So, we have the consent agenda is next on our list. Um was there any questions from the board? These are things we get in advance and look over. Did anyone have any questions or discussions on the consent agenda? If not, we will need an emotion. A motion, not an emotion. Sorry. We don't need that. A motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. I'll make a motion. Thank you, Miss Deon. Second. I'll second. Thank you, Dr. Lee. All in favor? I. Any opposed? All right. Motion passes. Next up, we have our um grant acceptance with Dr. Sheerhorn. Good evening. I don't know what order these delayed in that. We have them all on the same slide deck. Okay. So, I can go in any order.

054Yeah. Perfect. All right. Um so, tonight I'm here to ask for um accepting three different grants that we have recently been awarded. The first one is for um it's our summer boost reading and math grant. Um and what that will allow us to do is to provide reading and math resources through the summer feeding program to kids to get it in their hands um to to help um eliminate or prevent that summer slide, keeping it uh fresh in their minds. Is this a supplement to the food distribution programs? We'll be doing it together. Yes. Okay. Uhhuh. Thank you. You can present all three. Okay. The next one is um an AED grant. We were awarded u the ability to purchase 19 new AED devices. And thanks to the work of Felicia Flanigan, she was able

055to work with the company and get more free stuff because we were spending this much money. Um, so we actually got more than the 19 AEDs with it. Um, so we'll be able to purchase that if approved. And then our last one is the Kentucky numeracy counts grant uh in the amount of $70,000 uh to be utilized in grades K through three across the district to provide math curriculum and curriculum based professional development for teachers um in the HQIR illustrative mathematics. Could you tell us what an HQIR is? Um it's a high quality instructional resource. Um so it's a curriculum um or sometimes supplements to a curriculum that have been vetted and show that they work um with all types and groups of kids populations through through verified research studies. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Yep.

056So to be clear, the third award is is physical books with the Kentucky numerousy um the boost reading and mathematics. Yes, it will be physical books that we will put in the hands of kids along with resources to help uh parents engage with students around those um reading and math resources um to help boost during the summer. I love books. Like I think it's helpful as a parent to have the physical books. So that's a great that's an exciting one. Yep. All right. Any discussion on these grants? All right. Thank you, Dr. Lee, for always doing such great work with these programs. So, we will need a motion to accept the grants as presented. I'll make a motion. Thank you, David. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Jody. All in favor? Any opposed?

057Motion passes. Thank you, Dr. All right. Next up is the tenative budget with um Alex Martin and Miss Rogers. Exciting stuff. All right. So, really just starting off looking big picture as we think about um financial priorities over the last seven years. These three themes continue to resonate in terms of where we're investing our resources. Obviously, starting with our people and we're going to uh reiterate some of that conversation we've had around investing in our people. uh also with the budget continue to look at operational efficiencies and how can we uh continue to work smarter so that we can maximize uh obviously the money for people and uh staff and students and then just like Miss Shorn finished up there continuing to invest in uh competitive grants that bring in additional revenue but really these

058three priorities uh have been our focus over the last seven years we go um so just as a reminder in April uh We engaged in our salary schedule uh discussion and really these three things continue to be the focus. First off, we you guys approved uh a raise for all staff uh at our salary level. We we have $1,000 salary schedule increase at every step and also 50 cents for hourly workers. Uh, also we're going to look at that in just a second, but we also advanced our step for most experienced workers and now uh you can essentially get a pay increase as you bump up to step 28, 29 and 30. Uh, also we're continuing to invest in CEO rank change programs and then we spent a lot of time focused on additional staff

059benefits. You guys have been engaged in those conversations. We're continue to explore those things such as maternity and paternity leave and staff child care. So those will continue to come up. But this is just a reminder of the conversations that we have had uh again last month looking at our salary schedule. Uh really extending this to honor the work of our most experienced employees, extending that out to step 30. Uh and then really as you look over the last seven years, continuing to make investments with our people through raises and essentially since 2019, depending upon your rank and step, anywhere from a 17 to 22% increase for our certified employees. Classified has seen a much larger jump. Um but again, we could argue that they needed that. And again, I think this is just a

060a healthy reminder that we are investing in our people um through salary. So, as we think about really the tenative budget process, uh we've had lots of financial conversations since then, but really the last time we kind of looked at this uh was in January. We took a look at our draft budget. Uh since then, we've had lots of conversations with our principles. Uh we've looked at student enrollment projections for August and used those models to essentially set our staffing allocations and then in April you guys approved a salary schedule. At this point in time looking at the tentative budget uh here in May, but you can see there are still lots of conversations that are to be had. Uh Jessica's going to talk about that here in just a bit. But really things that

061are still coming up are um property assessments, uh tax rate, and then also our final seek payment. We won't know those things until March. But here we are today. Tenative budget just just kind of shows us where we're at in this process. Uh one conversation really is uh something we spend time investing in is what is our general fund balance? Meaning kind of how much money do you have left over at the end of the year with your general fund? This graph shows uh that balance over the last several years. And really you can see here over the last uh two to three years we've seen our general fund increase uh say from around 5 million up upwards to 8 8 and a half million. Just as a healthy reminder some of that is insulated

062from additional ESSER money. Um the federal government obviously supported schools with during the co era and we received additional revenue at that time and that did help us insulate our general fund balance. uh we were expecting that those funds are no longer available. Uh and so some of the programming that we were spending on with ESR dollars, we're now working on absorbing that through our general fund. So I say that I say that to say as we project out what might our general fund balance be the 1 of July, we are going to see a dip in that. Um but again, that was expected. We anticipated that and part of that's really why we're insulating ourselves with that er money over the last couple of years. Um but the fund balance will be something we

063continue to monitor uh and project as as we reach that July date. This slide is kind of a summary of our tenative budget and it's pretty much percentage- wise stayed the same that we were obviously we focus on our salaries, our people, investing in people. We want that to be our biggest percentage and we are working very hard to decrease operational expenses. Um that's biggest take away from that one. And then wrong. So when we talk about the tenative budget, we're in just a step in the budget process. I know I'm a broken record. I say that every year, but right now we know a lot more than we did for the draft budget, but we don't know everything for the working budget. We know the raises that were approved, the benefits we're talking about,

064but we're still building our staff. We're still working on hiring. We have people retiring, people changing positions. So, as we work on the staffing sheet, we will be able to predict more of our salary expense. Exactly. Um, we know that, um, everybody knows prices are increasing and everything. We know our insurance is going to go up. We don't know an exact number yet. Um, we look for, uh, opportunities to save operationwise, but there's places where I had to increase the budget as well. Um, things we don't know right now, like Alex said, we don't know our property assessment yet. We don't know our ending balance for sure. We have a good projection, but we won't know certain until after June 30th. Um, and we don't know our exact staffing because we are building that process

065right now. Um, our next steps, we'll keep reviewing uh budget line items. Uh, we do this daily it seems like. So, we're always looking for opportunities to um save and optimize and we will to continue to monitor the ending balance and also um confirm our staffing. Like I said, our payroll department is working every day to work on the um staffing sheet, working closely with HR. we try to build a good prediction of how much our expenses will be. Um, I would like to note that when you approve the tenative budget, um, you're also approving that section six money can be carried forward again this year if that's what you choose. I know our schools really count on that and it really encourages smart spending and helps them plan, especially the small schools that don't

066get quite as much section six and um, it's just important to note too, the tenative budget is just a step in the direction. Um, things will change between now and September when we get to the working budget and we work on the income and nail down the expenses better. Miss Rogers, could you remind us of what you're referencing there with that section six carry over what that how that has been used or what that is? Um, so before um schools, it was kind of a use it or lose it mentality with section six money, the money that they receive per student each year for operations. Um, and about two years ago, I believe, we decided to let schools or suggest to the board to let schools carry forward that money so that it could be

067used in a more responsible manner in a way so that you know you're not trying to spend it at the end of the year. You're more looking forward and making a plan with that money. So, is that essentially like what used to be instructional resource allocations where there's a certain amount of dollars per student? Yes. So if let's say that you know that you need some larger expense um I remember it used to be iPads or graphing calculators or something maybe you can't afford it one year but you had enough extra one year and if you added the extra from the second you could do it. Absolutely. Okay. And if you talk to the bookkeepers at the schools they will say they depend on that money to carry over because they do plan. They think

068okay we can we can sort of set aside so much money at the end of the year so we know we can carry it over. So we can purchase that big typically used to be curriculum too like they were buying curriculum but now they are able to kind of be a little bit more focused on what the resources really taken a lot of stress off of the section six money with the Amazon backpack money for teachers that's really helped um the district is playing paying for a lot of the curriculum now and some of the um software and different items like that so section six has really gotten a lot of pressure taken off of it and the schools are allowed more to use it for things that they for ideas that they have and

069use it as they see fit. We have significant number of grants also that offset some of those pieces and we'll provide those. Will we be continuing that Amazon cart for our teachers? It's in the budget. Yes. Okay, good. I know that's very beneficial to help our teachers so they don't have to spend as much out of pocket. Yes. It really helps the teachers and it really helps the section six. How much is in Amazon accounts right now? How much do the teachers get? $500. Still 500 of them. And when we look at this budget, that does factor in those raises and benefits that we um calculated. So for like those calculations such as the maternity leave that we discussed and that included reflected it is projected in there. I will say there is some work

070to be done on that. Um, I do think that payroll is a little overprotected in this budget, but as we hone in on exact, it will be not so much, but right now it is a little overprotected. I would say that's probably your single greatest cost, right? Absolutely. So that it makes sense to over thing to overstate it either because the with the paternity leave, we don't know exactly what that will bring in the new year. So it's not exactly a bad thing to overstate. Thank you. And I correct I'm gonna correct myself as paid um parent leave or parental leave. Yes, I'm still using those old terms. Yes, it's hard to forgive you today. Any additional discussions? All right, we will need a motion to approve the 2026 tenative budget as presented. I'll make

071the motion. Thank you, Dr. Lee. Do I have a second? I'll second. Thank you, Doc. Dr. Norman David all in favor. Any opposed? All right, motion passes. Thanks, guys. I think we have um Miss Rogers up there one more time, right? Yes. The audit letter. Finance is all about compliance. Everybody reminds us that every day that that's all we're about. But part of that is our audit. and I'm asking you to approve the contract and engagement letter with our auditors we've had for the past couple of years Patrick and Associates. Um they work very well with us. I am I highly commend them. They are so informative and educational and just so wonderful to work with and um that's just part of the yearly annual or sorry annual compliance that we have to do the

072engagement letter and sign the contract and then I will if you approve this I will um submit it to KDE and then they'll come and they'll do the audit and then next probably January February they would present to you say I feel like we just had that yes discussion it was a little late this year I know sometimes I've heard people ask why we use entities that people may not be familiar with and is it still the case that these have specialized training? Absolutely. There's only there's only a handful of of school auditors around. Um and I believe that we have found some really great ones. All right. Any more discussion on that? All right. We will need a motion to approve the fiscal year 2025 audit contract with Patrick and Associates. I'll make a

073motion. Thank you. And second. I'll second. Thank you. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Rogers. All right, moving on. We have um we're welcoming back Mr. Lefavorvers and not sure if Mr. Martin is going to be part of this. Mr. Martin may join in as well. I hope he does. Good to be back at the board. Good to be Nelson County. The baseball coach had me inspired there. I'd like to play baseball. It's clear if I keep you in mind. Yeah, it's pretty strong. Um, please remind us of who you are in case someone missed the earlier meetings. I'm Mike Lefvers, program consultant for the district, 30-year educator, and um 14 years superintendent prior. So, uh, last time we met, we went over some recommendations. you all said,

074"How do we know if they're happening?" And I said, "Well, you'll see policies come before you in the coming months." And I think you you had a first reading of one of those policies. And so, I'm back tonight just to talk to you a little bit more about that, give you some more insight into some work I've done, Mr. Bradley's done, Alex, etc. And so, we'll begin with the first slide here. And so, um, a couple things that make you all unique. One of them is that uh in terms of the city government, county government, parent groups being involved in youth athletics, it's not as much as you see in most communities. So, your your district over time has felt the need to step in and fill that gap. And I think, you know, it's

075been appropriate to have done that. Um because of that, you have employees who are more heavily involved in youth athletics than you would see in most districts and they should be based on the based the structures that exist, right? And so if you have employees involved in that work, the board has to have policies regarding how those employees will carry that work out. That's how you all are involved, right? And so it talks about it right here. What's the board's roles to develop policy framework which all other structures can be built upon and remember our policies are all about what's best for kids. The second one talks about it's the fact that you have employees involved in the work of youth athletics that makes the policy you're considering night so important for you. U policies

076direct district leaders regarding budgets, human resources, facilities, etc. And the last thing is it ensures financial and legal security for the district. So that's why the board is involved. Now as you know as you remember I had I met with many people doing my the first round of my work. Uh I think the remember if I remember right it was over 30 people and what they kept saying to me many things right you start hearing the same things over and over but this was along the line of what I would hear which is that the youth athletic policy was created to inhibit. They wanted us to inhibit certain things. Here were five things that kept coming across to me. Recruitment and manipulation, discriminatory practices, inequity and access and resources, adult agendas and politics, arbitrary financial

077spending. So if you look at the policy, what you'll see are these six things which inhibit the things identified before. They're actually in contrary to those six things, right? Those five things in the previous slide. And so this is the policy and the first part's about governance and oversight. It talks about the superintendent. Uh talks about what his role is, what other people's role, the board. It speaks to other employees in the district. Number two is the one that becomes really interesting because it talks about participation standards and it goes I know this y'all's second reading so I'm not going to read it line by line. But I like 2.4. I like 2.5. Uh, youth athletics shall not be used a vehicle for recruitment or promotion of future school enrollment decisions, etc. So, the things

078we talked about that people wanted to see in uh the policy not do are in here. What they wanted the policy to do, they're in here. Right. I think it's it's really it's really strong work uh that the district's done. I've been in consultation with them through the process. This Mr. Mr. Brown, anything else you want to add on the policy? I think uh one thing that's important is because of the Nelson County Schools elementary uh organization where we have two of our prime our larger schools that serve u over a thousand students. Those two schools, Coxus Creek and Foster Heights from a if you were to say they are a feeder pattern, they don't have a feeder pattern, right? So they're relatively split. Uh and I think that's important to note in this context

079because because of that we are unique. Um there are districts around us that are not necessarily organized that way. However, Delson County has a long history of diverse schools and are geographically determined by where communities existed 100 years ago. And you know the Boston school had a high school 100 years ago. New Haven School was a big part of that community and it continues to be. Same in Bloomfield, right? So I share that to say our community is unique. We're not in many districts around us, Bullet and Hardens, some of these middle school, elementary school feeders to high schools, they they addressed that 10, 15, 20 years ago. So we're going through a transitional period right now in this conversation. We're also coincidentally just so happened to have a athletics conversation that is going on

080K5 in this case K6. So this is the data that Mike presented before that shows where our students attending these elementary schools end up attending middleand or high school. We share this as a reference point just to acknowledge because of this uh it's also creates other irregularities and I really appreciate how Miss D said you know we we all recognize it's not ideal. How do we move forward in a way that gets people excited and and motivated knowing that. So it begs for a further conversation. It does. There's no policy that's going to be perfect. This policy doesn't transfer perfectly to any other district. Um but I think this data you collected along with some other data So maybe we just continue on before the the board votes. So you know something that's come up

081recently around youth football and this could be any sport. It just happens to be youth football at this moment is there's an outside group wanting Nelson County schools to uh fit into it's kind of like a square peg round hole deal, right? And it's just maybe not understanding uh the the uniqueness of Nelson County. We're wanting to be great, but we're not necessarily wanting to be just like everyone else. And this is one of the unique things. Now, I know this is something that that Mr. Bradley said needs to be worked on over time, but that's not going to you're not going to snap your fingers and fix that tomorrow. It's going to take time to fix that situation. You know, Coxus Creek being a great example of that, right? Um and so I talked

082to several football coaches in the area and said, because you know, you mentioned not just have a great team, but have a great program. And that's what the when I talked to some of the best football coaches in this area, they all said the very same thing. And the idea was, okay, you I want the team I'm coaching this year to be great, but what's coming up is just as important, maybe more important. So I said, well then what would you do? If you're starting from scratch, how would you build that great program? And here's some of the ideas they laid out. The first one is structure the leagues for collaboration. Winning at age 10 isn't the priority. participation is. You see that in the policy. Build grade level groups that can compete together. Combine

083all youth athletes across the district into a neutral draft system. This is just coaches that don't even know. I mean, they know me from Bole County. They don't even know really that I'm they're talking about me in terms of Nelson County. They just think this is Mike Lefavers, the guy that used to work at Boil County, right? So, they're just telling me what they would do. Combine all youth athletes across the district into a neutral draft system. Use independent coaches not tied to either high school to create balanced teams. Start the season with three weeks of inner county play followed by games versus outside programs. Make it exciting. Make it cool to play football by building excitement and pride early. Emphasize effort. Launch a May 7 on seven youth league playing on Sundays to grow

084interest and reps in the offseason. Get kids excited about flag football. Develop coaches and players. Push kids with tough structured practices, but always pair intensity with love and support. Focus on athletic development early. Introduce the weight room by grade six. Track uh key benchmarks, eg lifts, 40-yard dash, etc., and include every athlete in the process. So, those were some of the really key ideas that came across in those coaches I talked to. That would probably work some some version that would work in almost every sport. Am I right? Sounds awesome. Yeah, every sport. So that's what the policy is designed to do. The policy is designed to to get us closer to that, right? So the next slide. Go on to the next slide. This is what in the last few years youth football's looked

085like in Nelson County. You'll see there's been times no teams, right? We want more kids out. Participation up. The policy does that. Next slide. This is just back to the beginning. So, what's the board's role? The board's role, since you all are unique in your feeder pattern, you're unique in that you've got a extra burden on youth athletics that many districts do not have, have had it for a long time. You've got employees working in youth athletics in a way they don't in other districts. Because of that, you all have a policy role, and you're considering that policy tonight. What questions do you all have for me? I've heard a great deal about this this week, both from emails and some phone calls and just individual conversations. And one of the questions I think we've

086had that you have answered here in my mind is why does this board need to develop a policy? And one of the things that I've learned is that currently um our board does provide resources to support the programs directly or indirectly through some stop-ins for athletic related to athletics in the elementary. There is use of the facilities, the gyms and the fields and we cover liability insurance. And because of those three things, my understanding is that is a primary reason we do need to a policy. However, some of the things that have been have come up are important conversations, but they are not governed by the board. And so when I see for example the slide you had where you'd spoken to the other coaches and I do not devalue that at all. Our role

087is to have a policy that puts people into place and helps them have roles to enable these things. And something about this policy it speaks about is having the advisory panel, the advisory board that Miss D spoke of. And I think that is important so that there's representation. And when I look through the policy because I went back through it and I thought am I want to know exactly how this might relate to the in relation to the concerns we're hearing and many of you in this room have sent emails. What I see in this policy and I'm just roughly summarizing as a board we are establishing a district coordinator for K through six essentially single sports coordinators. It's we're setting parameters by which our youth sports are not used to recruit students to a

088specific high school. It's a mechanism to involve students to play. It is um it does create the advisory group and it aligns to the state mandates and laws for financial governance because we currently have no policy that essentially says that um in addition to me youth sports there is no governing body like the KHSA you know this is its own thing and this is the first district in which I've personally been involved that did not have a youth policy and so I just want to say for clarity I do not feel like our vote is related to some of these issues and I know that from seeing the email from the conference one thing that that came up is there's these concerns about the number of teams and when I read this proposed the proposed

089policy that we're doing on the second reading on it speaks to um the ability for the decision to be paid to combine teams if there are insufficient numbers essentially. And as a board, we want to ensure that if that were to happen that all students, no matter where they go to school or where they live, have access to being on a team. And if it's there's not enough students in their school, this creates a system by which that can happen. And when I read what that conference had sent down, one of the things they said is that if there's insufficient numbers and team can't be filled, you know, there could be decisions about that. So I don't think this is in contradiction. Um and and if anyone feels it is I'd like to hear that

090and know that and I'd like your feedback because I assume you've seen some of this and had conversations with this conference because I saw an email in which you were they indicated she talked to you. Yeah, I actually talked to the vice president and president tomorrow. Um, I'm just like you. I think the policy goals of the district and actually the goals of the uh the organization, the football organization align. They're about participation. They're about getting kids out. Equity as as are we. And so I would think when we talk to tomorrow, there's enough common ground to have a solution would be my hope. Um, and I'm with you. I think our policies will be in line. Can I just ask a question? This is probably a I don't know how intelligent this question is,

091but just for clarity sake. So if there are not enough students, I mean with the understanding we all want children to be able to participate. So if there's not enough students, we would look at just a combined team to enable as many children as possible to to participate. Is that correct? But if there aren't if there are enough children, you know, maybe for the I think there was a diagram or a chart there that had Southwest and it had the Spartan emblem we can see. So, if there are if if there were enough children um for the for the Rams there, would there be separate teams in that case? Is it just a case by case basis we're going to evaluate? Well, I want to kind of I and maybe I want to kind of

092answer that a little bit. Um and how I view it. Again, I think that's where we've crossed our line. like our role is looking at this policy and saying okay these are the parameters that we want to make sure that we have participation ethical integrity and all of these important things that are around policy but then we step back and now this is part of who is running that program they're going to decide what this looks like okay so that and again I'm just that's how I envision it and you may be seeing it differently or I think it always works best like that the board sets the policy see the administer administrators administer it and then the coaches etc. carry out those plans, right? I mean, I think that's always it's always an effective

093way to go. I just don't like getting in the wheat. Well, and I wasn't trying to do that. I just want to just I think it's important to understand, you know, what we're doing. So, we're essentially just as we're just saying that we're good with the ability to combine if if it enables more children to participate or Yeah. because I think the the thing that as a board we don't want to happen is we don't want to see kids not be there and um I'm probably even worse than Miss Downs. I know nothing about youth football or baseball or any of that for matter. I just know that to me when I look at youth sports whether it's football, baseball, whatever, I'm I'm thinking about six, seven, eight year old kids just learning foundations, just

094learning how to play safe and play as a team and to and to understand what it looks like to be part of something bigger than they are. It's not it's not about recruiting where you're going to go to high school. It's not even recruiting about where you're going to middle school. It's about learning the sport. It's about learning how to be that and how to do it safely. And I feel like this policy does just that. It says we want everyone to participate and we want everyone to participate whatever that looks like when it's handed off to the athletic commission and the athletic group of people that are dividing and conquering. That's how I I again I really liked the policy. The more I read it, it it just seemed to align with what we've

095been talking about. Increasing participation does. And like this bullet point says right here, winning at age 10 isn't the priority participation is speaking to what you're talking about. Um that's the goal. Get get uh as many kids out as possible. Get them excited about whatever sport it is. Um the rest will take care of itself. Yeah. So, there's a lot of conversations out there for those that are engaged in this conversation. I think it's important to note there in under no circumstances have we had any conversations about not having football next year. In fact, we've had more conversations about how to make it exciting and to build participation than ever before, partly as a byproduct of this youth athletics policy discussion. I had a young man today at Foster Rights come up to me and

096he said, "Are you cancing tackle football next year?" I said, 'Well, uh, do you know Donald Trump? He said, 'Yes. I said, ' That's fake news. He seemed to get it. He seemed to get it. Um, so I mean, I say that to say this. We as a community are going through a conversation. It's a very young conversation. The board really has two options from a larger perspective. The two options are to move forward with a policy that ensures a more collaborative structure that allows for uh kind of a anti-recruitment approach or define the feeder pattern. Those are our only options that exist from a from a structural standpoint because if we say, "Hey, hey Rams, hey Spartans," and we've had a lot of people very invested in these programs. We want you to have

097enough more players than the other team so it you can survive next year. I think we know what's going to happen there. It's going to be just a lot of recruiting, a lot of phone calls. Hey, we got 26, they got 14. You're going to have be joining us. So, that's what we're trying to move away from is a structure like that. We want to we want to take time to recognize that everyone involved in both of these programs have a lot of of emotional connectivity to each other. We recognize that by nature athletics can be uh a very um uniting force. But as a as a district and as a board, we really have two options. And this I think this is going to come to light as we look even at middle schools.

098um is you either choose to say you draw the line or we establish an anti-recruitment unified structure at for 8 n 10 11 year old football. I share that because football's unique basketball they have enough kids at the schools you know it takes it takes five to seven. Um but I think uh Mr. Martin will be pushing this conversation and really we need more people in the room. Miss DS is great. Uh Mr. Bobblet, Mr. Wam, I think his name is great to have on, but we need more people in that room to contribute to this conversation. And that's really Alex's next step. He's super excited about it right there on the second row. And and again, I want to thank Miss DS for her comments. I think the spirit that you bring to the

099table of openness around it is really important and it's important we all model that during a unique transitional conversation. So I think the policy it's not fixed. We could always change it but right now it does provide some structure in the given context that exists that says hey we can lean against this. Think of it the alternative is have nothing to lean on really from any standpoint. I think there's nothing in this in this particular policy I would say that's gonna set us backwards. It's only going to allow us to have a better conversation. we could come back in a few months and change something in there if we feel like it's inhibiting us. Um, today we wouldn't be aware of what it is. And I would encourage families if you see something, you know,

100please communicate that to us because this board is open to that information and we certainly want to maximize opportunities for our students. We want all children to be playing foot uh sports, but I would like to table this until we get more information. I would like to talk to Miss DS here, someone that's unbiased and and and just talk more to get more opinions and make sure there is no recruiting and and very punishable crime if caught have that in there because I think this is I think this could lead up to recruiting. I think this is going to cause bigger problem in my opinion. So that's where I'm coming from. I think that the longer we wait on this policy, I think the bigger it's going to grow. And I think we have an

101opportunity right now and a responsibility to make sure that we put guard rails in place because these programs are already starting. And I don't want students in any part of our county to be at a disadvantage in this conversation. And if we don't take a stance, like uh Dr. literally said, you know, we're responsible for facilities and people and different things of this and I think we we have to make a decision on this. Um this is our second reading. Um this conversation, everyone was present at the board meeting when we've read the first and went over this policy. So I guess this line 2.4 is that youth athletics and this is again this is where we are today. youth athletics should not be used as a vehicle for recruitment or promotion of future school

102enrollment. And then it delineates that further. Would you say that I mean that aligns to your where your head is? Yes. I Yes. That's what I want every child playing, but I don't want any recruiting. Well, I think if we're really careful about and intentional about the people that we put on this committee because, you know, I mean, I think we can find neutral people and perhaps there was language in there, right, about the at toward the beginning. Um, you know, I think we have to just be really intentional about the people that are on there because, you know, we have good athletic directors and and both high schools and, you know, they wouldn't be doing their job if they weren't promoting programs and their own program. And, you know, I it would be they

103wouldn't be doing their job if they weren't. And so, I think just making sure that we are neutral in the people that we put in that position. Um, I think that would make it better. And it says here shall receive annual report that includes participation data equity reviews program outcomes recommendations for improvement of policy and governance. Also in the slide it talks about why is the board involved. It talks about setting policy and why do you policy because it's best for kids. Some along my fear is by not acting that likely not be in the best interest of kids based on the fact that these uh seasons these sports are beginning to kick off. I feel like we need to move on it just because when you don't it just causes more confusion and causes

104more stress, causes more anxiety about what's going to happen. So, let's do it. If something's wrong and hopefully the people that can come come tell us that something's not working and then we can adjust fire from there and and what we need to do because I think it's important to realize that policies while they are guard rails, they're not set in stone. the board has the ability to come in and adapt them to fit the needs of the district. And I think if we come into this open-mindedly, and I agree, neutral parties are at play. And we know that it's about keeping it all four kids focused always, it's a win for our students. For sure. Need a motion to approve it. I need a motion. If you guys have don't have any further discussion,

105I want to cut anybody off if there's anyone else. All right. Are you the motion? I'll make motion. All right. So, we need a second. I'll second it. All right. Thank you. All in favor? I. Any opposed? No. All right. We have four to one. That was David Norman. He got it. Okay. I just want to make sure. All right. Moving on. Good discussion, guys. All right. We have um Adam Gossum. Sorry. Oh, you know what? favor. Is it okay if we take like a five minute break? Yes. We just Sure. Okay. I'll set the timer. All right. Thanks, guys. Check weather. We'll get everyone back situated. Thank you all for giving us a few minutes to take rest. And I know the storms are coming. If you feel like you need to get out

106of here before the storms get here, go ahead. Um, we want you guys to stay safe. If not, if you got a long drive, you may want to just hang out here so you're staying safe inside the building. There's the basement. Yes, there's a basement. All right. So, Adam, right? You cannot leave. So, Adam Gossum U was our local planning committee chair and he's presenting tonight um on the district facility plan. Take it away, Adam. All right. Uh, Adam Gossum. Uh, for the you those of you that don't know me, I was the the parent um nominee for OKH um with a very stratious draw the LPC members and stuff and then I was nominated as board chair uh once we began our first meeting. So, the LPC has been working hard over the last

107uh couple of months. So, this kind of goes through the different timelines and stuff that uh we can see and we'll go into this in a little bit more detail. So I do want to first thank quickly uh every member of the LPC. Uh there was 18 of us total u of 19 of parents um administrators and uh teachers and stuff across the district. So I appreciate everybody's time and dedication to that work. So, for anybody that hasn't already viewed or been in person to all the LPC information, um, visit ncslpc.com. Um, there's all the videos there, uh, all the minutes to all the different meetings and stuff and you can see and actually here tonight if you want to look at it, some of the work that we've done uh, back there in the

108corner on the tables. So, the different stages of the LPC development. uh we started out with developing and understanding the purpose of the LPC went through all the specific training uh and guidance that we needed from KDE on that. Then we worked on proposing uh models based on the benefits uh we studied the models and all the data requests uh and compared those and then we evaluated uh components for the DFP. So to quickly review each meeting the first meeting um Mr. James Nihoff was um our facilitator uh for the LPC. So we we built we built the team, we got to know each other, uh we reviewed the current district facility plan uh that had already been approved in the past and all the requirements. Uh we drafted a calendar and then established uh

109LPC organization and then um Mr. Martin provided us with a a packet of documents uh and data and everything for the first meeting. Second meeting uh was at OKH. Um we reviewed uh the DFP uh all the requirements again looked into that. We reviewed the different uh data requests that the members of the LPC had requested and then uh we established uh best practices and uh prepared for the uh the first public forum. Our first public forum was at uh Bloomfield. Um we um reviewed the feasibility of uh Bloomfield Middle School as a CTE program. Uh we talked about uh extracurriculars and feeder patterns um just like uh we did tonight. Mr. Lefvers was there to present to us. We proposed the different organizational models to evaluate. And then um once we got finished with

110that, we uh focused on the data and structure that we wanted to present at the uh next meeting which was the New Haven public forum. So at that meeting at New Haven um we had the public forum there. We reviewed the um the current DFP uh around New Haven and what that looked like and the different priorities and uh status there. And then we started diving into um the different models and stuff and the models that we reviewed were all um asked for by the LPC. So we had four different models that u were proposed and and that we re received data on and um studied those. Next meeting was at Foster Heights. Uh we reviewed the data. Um uh Devon was there that went over the the busing and cost of services proposed uh

111by the different uh models. We evaluated more in depth at that time the uh elementary DFPs. Uh we discussed uh preferred middle school and high school models, the DFP uh changes and the recommendations. And you can see here um and we'll get into it a little bit more detail when you can see it, but you can kind of see some of the work that we've done uh in our meetings. And that work is also back there for you to look at. Uh the next meeting was at Cox's Creek. Uh we discussed the KDE pricing uh and bonding capacity. Mr. Martin shared that information with us. Uh we evaluated the draft uh DFP and then we voted on that. And once we voted on that um it was sent to for review and then they got

112back with us. These are the different themes uh from the three uh public forums. that were um unanimous uh themes that we we heard and after each public forum, Mr. Nihoff had every member of the LPC go through and repeat back what the highlights were uh from those themes and that's how we kind of captured some of these. U we've talked about this tonight already. Uh clear school feeder patterns, access and opportunity for all uh community belonging and belonging data informed decision- making. uh our students can't wait. Uh focus on staff and student benefits. Uh ensure adequate use of all buildings and ensuring that uh Bloomfield Middle School and OKH um there's feasibility for the CTE programs in the future there. Uh we had talked about uh the survey that went out to both uh

113parent uh and community representation and those uh the feedback on the the surveys and stuff are in the link on the the website as well. So you can look at that information. So these were were the uh f four focus points uh that we really uh used when we were choosing which model served best. Uh so the blue is teacher access, the green is smart use of funding. Um the yellow is location and busing and then the red is student access. So those were our four u the four that impact students the most and you can see from our work. So what we did is each member of uh the LPC we were given a each color sticker and we went up and so the four different models that we looked at number one was

114an east and west middle school and an east and west high school. Model number two was Tom Thomas Nelson having 6 through 12 on the west side and then Nelson County having 6 through 12 on the east side. Uh, model number three was Nelson County being the one high school, Thomas Nelson being the one middle school, and then model four was Thomas Nelson being the one high school, and Nelson County being the one middle school. So, you can see uh our job was to go through and keep those different factors in mind, those four points in mind, and put a dot on which model u filled that row for us. And you can see between models number one and number two uh some of the busing uh and location was on the line because it

115it kind of filled both of those uh models on there. So from the work that we did in our small groups and stuff this uh was discussion and verbatim quotes uh from some of the work that we did around the choice for option two. So under student access um best model to allow for early academic access and diversity of courses including CTE programs more kids have an opportunity to participate in clubs and sports. There's over 544 students participating in current high school athletics and then an increase in student belonging under teacher access and academic success. Middle school and high school sponsors and coaches are in the same building together to plan together and work together. It's helped to build those programs. Uh fosters and builds a 6 through 12 student and family connection. Fewer student

116transitions. According to the uh American Psychological Association, students who move out of a school feeder pattern were experienced an average of 10% reduction in performance. And that's some information and data that Mr. Lefavers had shared with the group. Uh staff can walk down the hall to support students and teachers um and improve staffing flexibility. As far as lo location and busing, um siblings are together. Uh best model to increase long-term family engagement, streamline busing transportation. Uh fewer student transfers and busing hubs. Uh currently 875 students spend an additional 20 minutes or more on the bus. And under smart use of funding, increased enrollment and CTE programs uh increases funds to spend on students. Fewer buildings lead to reduced operational spending and uh optimizes staffing models and then an effective uh for future growth and flexibility.

117And then this is a copy of the the draft uh DFP and as we kind of kept in mind in reviewing it are four points there. So this page of the draft DFP and there are copies up here if anybody uh would like those really focuses on 6 through 12 east and west campuses uh middle and high school um on those campuses and then uh transitional to uh career techn and technical uh programs at OKH and Bloomfield Middle School. And then this section of the DFP focuses on um the new high school wing at Nelson County and then a new middle school wing at Thomas Nelson. And then this last section here uh talks about expanded uh CTE programs again at those two schools and then the remodel and u renovation at um New Haven

118and Coxus Creek. And then this portion here, um, it's not part of the district, uh, district need or state funding. Uh, it's long-term discretioning, uh, projects that you all can include to to tie into some of the other projects. And I will say as we went through this, um, we left a a lot of room in the DFP for the board to make decisions on when to do things, how to do things. Um so you all have that right to uh in that process and this goes back to the different regs and what what's important uh to the group and to the board uh equity and adequacy for all students alignment with educational instructional and enrollment trends uh strategic and financial responsibility and then overall uh long-term planning and agility. And I'll just say that

119I know that myself personally came into this process with an open mind. Uh and I feel that all of my counterparts on the LPC did as well. We studied the data, reviewed the data, went through our training. Uh and this is the recommendation that we we came up with. So any questions for Mr. Gossum or members uh of the LPC? We do thank you for again leading um the local planning committee and being part of that process. We thank all of the members because it did take quite a few weeks showing up to those meetings and being present and looking at that data. You might not have been openly discussing it because I saw the emails. I know how much you guys were getting. So I know you were getting um the information and you

120guys taking the due diligence to actually review it. So I appreciate that time. I would strongly encourage anyone um who has not followed along to go back and look at the website, but also we had a work session. Was it May 5th? Is that the the 6th? May 6th, we had a work session and the board spent an extensive amount of time going through this process and reviewing and asking questions. And if you've not seen that, I would encourage you to go back and do so. And also you can find that on our um meeting logs and agendas. Wes, can you just It's here as well. Yeah, it's right here in this and it's on YouTube. But also um this ncslpc.com that is the LPC central hub. It it's you know it's separate from board

121things but it it has all things all data information links recordings. So any discussion or I I don't know if there's you might get have a seat. I don't know if you guys you have any questions for Adam. You guys good? So it really just sort of opens the board up for discussion or do we want to talk about the do you want to talk about the open meetings act prior to talking? We had asked just something that had came up in a meeting and um Dr. Lee had said, you know, maybe we need to review this conversation with Mr. Crawford, our board attorney. So, I say we go ahead and do that before we have bigger discussion around open meetings. There were some questions regarding open meetings and there have been some statements that

122perhaps these have been violated. So, I asked we received that training as board members. It's at length and very in-depth. So, I requested that our board attorney um present highlights here. There's an entire document from the attorney general that is open and available online. Some of it talks about who has to adhere. We already know that we have to adhere. So, we're good on that end. But there there are key parts there that I think need to be revisited of the minimum requirements because I want to ensure that our district is following through on clearly meeting the requirements of this law. In general, a document that Dr. Lee's referencing is from the attorney general. It's a 40ome page document that outlines the overview of the open meetings and open records act. And as you've stated

123by statute 160270, you have to schedule one regular board meeting a month. And that's what you have here. And the way you do that is at the beginning of each year is establish a meeting schedule, for example, the third Tuesday at whatever location and at whatever time, date, place, and time. And you have and this is one of those meetings that you have scheduled. That's also on your website. That's how I keep up with your meetings. You get on the website to see where your meetings are, the time and and the place. Now, what happens if you alter that date, place or time, it becomes a special meeting. And there are three ways of having a special meeting. And that's changing one either the date, place, and time of a regular meeting or madame chair

124can call a special meeting or three members of the board can call a special meeting. The basic differences between a regular meeting and a special meeting is you don't have to pre-publish your agenda at a regular meeting. You can amend your agenda at a regular meeting. You came at a special meeting. You have to have public comment if there are public comments to be made at a regular meeting, not at a special meeting. The difference is with a special meeting or you have to have a two-part notice of agenda. So if you have a special meeting, say Friday evening, which is not one of your regular meetings, you have to pre-publish a notice of date, place, and time, call it a special meeting, and have the agenda. And once that goes out more than 24

125hours before that meeting, you cannot amend that agenda after that 24 hours before the meeting or during the meeting. You don't have to have public comment at a special meeting. Uh, what else could change a regular meeting? What if you just change your lo What if you had pre-published that you're going to be here for your regular meeting? Storm comes through, bust the windows out, we got to move. Well, we it's a special meeting. Well, you know what? The storm comes through early and you can't meet, then you're going to change date, place, and location. That's a special meeting. Uh, so just and let me see if there any other notes here. Um, and the difference between a regular meeting and a special meeting is you don't have to give 24 hours notice to all

126five board members and you don't have to give notice to any media who have given you written request for copies of your notice and agenda for a special meeting. The also that another difference is on your regular meetings you don't have to post anything on the doors but on a special meeting you have to post that notice and agenda both here at central office and on the front door if you meet somewhere else. Let's say for example you go across the street here to Am I pointing the right way? Yeah. Yes sir. Yeah. It's one of these directions. If we walked across the street, then then your special meeting, you'd have to have the notice and agenda here and a notice and agenda on on that front door. And these same rules apply to the

127local planning committee. Absolutely. A any committee of the board of education has to abide by the open records and open meeting regulations the same as the board of education does. There are some additional rules for the LPC. A week, you need a week's notice on a public forums, right? Um there is no requirement uh of the LPC to send their agenda but just notify of the meeting. We sent our agenda as well, but that was the only shift that I really saw there. So what I've gone over is just some of the basic requirements with you and we appreciate that. Again, as Dr. Lee said, we we work really hard to make sure we're following the rules, but sometimes not everyone understands that what the rules are. So we want to make sure our community

128is just as aware as we are. So, when I read through the um attorney general's um document there, my understanding is you have to provide the 24-hour notice to any media who in advance have signed up basically to be on your distribution list. You don't have to send it down members of the board. You don't have to post it in the newspaper, on a website, on social media. Okay? I want to make sure that we're clear. Do we need to be doing that? So, if I had WTC, if I didn't give you a written request for your notice and agenda for special meetings, you're not bound to send those to me. But if I give you something in advance, would you please send me your notice and agenda for all special meetings? I have to

129get that notice in the same time frame that the board does, more than at least 24 hours before that meeting. Okay. And who sends that out in our district? Kristen Probus. Miss Probus. and your policies are in alignment with the statutes under the open meetings act as well as the open records act. Does she keep evidence of like that that has been sent in those time frames? Yes, she keeps track of all of it. We have to for the DFP we have to go even greater steps, take pictures of the newspaper, notices, etc. She has to include all that. So for KD to approve the first draft, they had to review all those steps as well um in order to move the process forward. So we have already submitted uh all the information up to

130this point to the department as a part of our original draft plan. And I have received nothing from the department of education's office of facilities management nor their legal office that anything has been been done incorrectly in the process that led you to hear this point tonight in the LPC process. Thank you. Right. And I have no red flags that pop up in my mind. I would hope you'd let us know that too. I absolutely would. Thank you, Mr. Crawford. Any more fresh questions? I may have 10 seconds. Yeah. the the young man that was with me, I introduced to a couple of you. He lost his dad and he graduates Saturday and is going to University of Kentucky. He wants to be a lawyer and for some reason he likes school law and he

131want to go to a schoolboard meeting. And I said, "If you want to see an example, meet me at Barnestown at 5:00 next Tuesday." He did. That's awesome. I'm from London. We lost 20ome people over the weekend. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Thank you, Mr. Crawford. Mr. Robert. So, um, with that, we're going to open the floor for discussion on the district facility plan. I will just say that I'm glad I was part of that process. Thank you for letting me take part. Uh, I feel like we got a lot of data and to my understanding that was even more in depth than the last one. I'm not 100% sure on that because I was not 100% in on the last one, but uh we

132did get a lot of data and I think that uh again I've said it I think every meeting we've had that everybody was taking it very seriously and very open-minded. Yes, I'm sorry. Very open-minded and I feel like it uh was a very effective process. I think you should rem restate your first statement. I don't remember what I said. I'll be like poor skunk. But that's all I got to say about that. Availability of data. Availability of data. Okay. To my understanding, we got a lot of data and it was more data than what we had in the past to my understanding. Um, I feel like everybody took the process very seriously and uh kept an open mind and uh I was glad to be a part of the process and I learned a lot

133and it was a good process. Did you have access to more than what was presented in the meetings? Um, yes. There was a lot lot of data that we we had that you could look at and like I said, if you go to the website, it's it's all there for you. Well, I appreciate the the sacrifice of time and the personal commitment for these individuals that served on the LPC. I mean, that's not a small I mean, especially this time of year when most of you all have children involved in activities and to once a week commit to to doing these meetings is that's a pretty big endeavor and a pretty big sacrifice. And I I appreciate that. I know every all of us do. Um because you all worked hard and you know I

134I know that you all were genuinely you know invested in the process. Um and I think we all agree um or I I believe that we all agree that there is time I mean it is a time for some decisiveness and and and change whatever that looks like. I do think we're at a point when we need to be able to move forward and and and do that. Um, and just looking I appreciated that that the whole process was so transparent and online and you could participate from home or wherever. And I mean, you know, just the the concerns that were voiced about the the feeder pattern issue, you know, which is like the I think I dream about feeder patterns because we say it so much. Um, but it but it is obviously something

135that needs to be dealt with and and I heard talk about teacher and staff retention and the need to build community while being a good steward of taxpayer dollars and and the need for decisiveness again. I mean, and all these are like that's that's real. I mean, all that is that's heartfelt and that's that's legitimate. Um, and and we've been out this for a long time and y'all have heard me talk about it way more than anybody wants to hear. So, you know, I'm I'm still here and I'm I'm still talking about it. I I do have concerns, you know, and and we're here tonight. You see this recommended motion would be to approve this draft facility plan, which is a it doesn't it's not just individual projects. It's a plan that includes a lot

136of things. So, it includes necessary renovations to some of our schools that are aging and have needed an an overhaul for years. And there's great things on this plan. uh many of which I I firmly believe are necessary, long overdue and need to be invested in. But you know, tonight we don't get to vote on specific things. We vote on a plan and then later on as a board you we would decide how to carry that out. So you know we we got to understand that process and these are my concerns. Um, you know, the feeder pattern is a big deal and I know it impacts a lot of families, but we're still going to have elementary schools that will still continue to feed into different high schools. And I don't believe there's a solution

137to that that is affordable, you know, just because of the way our communities are. We can't just start all over from scratch and build new elementary schools and, you know, align to that. So, so we're still, even when we leave here, should this get voted in, we still have issues with feeder patterns. I mean, we do our our biggest elementary schools with I think Mr. Superintendent Bradley said a thousand students. I mean, they're still going to be going into a school that ultimately feeds into different high schools. Okay. So, that's still still an issue. My concern about putting money into I think as long as we have an open enrollment policy, too, which allows parents to choose the desired school um of choice in the future. So, if you live in Boston and you want

138to send your child to Nelson County or whatever that looks like, as long as we have that, and I believe that's a policy that most parents feel like is a good one, I believe it's a good one. I like the ability to choose what works best for your family. But I believe as long as we have that, we're going to still continue to have conflict over, you know, the division of resources. And ultimately, the biggest resource our schools have are children. And so, you know, this divisiveness, while I I just don't think this eliminates it, the the 612 campus model, I do not believe that it eliminates this battle that we have over resources. you know, if this was a business, you know, and in a way this is we we receive money and we

139our product is is well educated, well-prepared students who uh, you know, learn through meaningful experiences and opportunity. I mean, our product is that it really is students that are able to join the workforce and hopefully stay in Nelson County and make it better. But if this was a business, and it is, because it's money, we we take taxpayer dollars and try to create the best product possible, we would have to look at efficiency. And so my concern for the future is that we have the six or 12 models on two campuses is still dividing our resources. So I mean, I I just I believe that in the end, we are still duplicating services on two different campuses. I don't think that means that we wouldn't be doing great things on both campuses because I believe

140that we have great teachers and and great programs and you know people like Kelsey Barryman and just people that invest in this but I still think that we are dividing our resources. You know, we talk about busing and certainly transportation is always going to be a challenge in our community because of the geographic shape of it and and we're still busing students, you know, to and from during the school day to and from the two different high schools because we can't have exactly the same programs in each in each one. Um, so I still have concerns about that. Um, you know, we have a a lot of square footage in our we have a lot of underutilized square footage and we have to look at and obviously the bonding potential in the future is something,

141you know, we're able to pay off some of these projects and there's going to be money, but but I still we're still going to be overhauling older buildings. Um, so I I just still have concerns. I I imagine a system in which every dollar we put into a high school benefits every student in the county. Imagine that a true feeder in which whatever elementary school your child goes to and however middle school is reconfigured and it likely needs to be reconfigured. But in the end, the feeder pattern is we're all ending up at the same place. You know, given the projection down the road of of the students in Nelson County, you know, our county has grown and we drive the the traffic tells us that the the industry that has come is is incredible.

142But that growth isn't school a it doesn't mean that we're gaining more school-aged children. And so I have concerns about investing a hundred million dollars plus into something that is counting on growth that just isn't necessarily going to be realized. Perhaps it will. More students would be a wonderful thing. But but I have concerns about that. So you know I don't think this is a surprise to anybody. You've heard me talk about it. I'm one of five here. But but I still have those concerns. And so while there's wonderful things on there, the the model that's presented it, I still have reservations about that. Thank you, Miss Deon. So, and I'm I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time talking because but I just want to address a couple things that I 100%

143when I look at the information that was provided um when I looked at the data that was provided I could easily argue a one high school, one middle school across the this county. I could argue it because if I was only looking at efficiency, if I was only looking at what it would cost us to daily operate those spaces, it's similar to the 612 model. Very similar. Um, you're not really duplicating resources in the same way that you are if you have two middle versus two high. You're not really duplicating those because those kids are connected. but efficiency in that sense of daily what it's costing us daily. And I think a few meetings back the superintendent made a a remark that just sort of I highlighted. Our goal is of course to be extremely

144respectful taxpayer dollars, but it's the 53 cents. It's the it's the not the facility dollars that we are focused on that really optimize us. It's the daytoday 53 cents that we get for students that we have to optimize. That's where our teacher salaries are. That's where the lights are paid. That's where the bus transportation comes from. That's where our resources are coming from. So when I look at that very similar on that on that paper and that's why you sort of see these conflicting stickers. Um, I can argue all day long that when you're looking at efficiency and cost savings, I could argue that. But where I you lose me and where I get lost is what's best for students. And I am a big believer that every kid's face should be known in our

145buildings. And when you put 1,400 kids or 1300 kids in a space, we lose that. We lose the ability to connect with students and we lose the ability of teachers feeling like they're connecting with students which more than anything is the most important part because when students and teachers connect, real things happen and real big things happen when the entire community connects. And when you're talking about building that over time, I I do think that there is a a much more powerful thing that we can't even realize yet. And I agree that the the elementary programs are still going to be an issue because the feeder patterns aren't going to be fixed. And that is something that maybe the board has to have courage about. You know, not building buildings, but really looking at what

146that looks like. And I'm not saying that we're introducing that. By the way, please do not come at me. I'm saying everything that we do has to be thoughtful. It has to be student focused from the minute we open our mouth and we open our mind to what we're discussing. It has to be what is best for students. So I 100% looking at that I could argue both of those models. But when it really came down to it, which model best gave us the outcome of student success is going to be because here's the thing. If we're talking efficiency, it's going to be four. If we're talking about being really connected to schools and really spending not just our tax dollars in our facilities and in our um day-to-day operations, it's going to be Thomas

147Nelson as the high school because we know what it's going to cost us to build on space there versus a $100,000 or hundred million. Sorry, I wish it was hundred,000. nearly hund00 million to renovate if we do it right at Nelson County High School. So, I am not willing to sacrifice the traditions and the experience of people at Nelson County High School for that. I don't think that they would like that. I I don't think that that the people that have put their heart and soul into Nelson County High School want to see that go away either because either way, one high school, one middle school, identities are lost. And that's not just the identities of the school. That's the identities of a lot of our kids. Top 1%, we know you're going to be

148known. We know you. We know where you're at. We know what you're doing. And unfortunately, the bottom 10%, we're going to know you, too. And unfortunately the resources for you are going to be so little and so stretched and so small. And in that model I'm not willing to sacrifice students. And so that's that's sort of my argument to excuse because again I can I've talked to you about that before. I can argue I mean again if that is what the board had decided if the LPC had brought us one high school one middle trust me I would put my heart behind it 100%. and I would make sure that I would learn and know exactly think what I needed to be as a board member to make sure that everything those schools had would

149be there. So that's just my two cents on it. Thank you. So, I have some things to say, too. And it may be a little lengthy. Um, as some of you know, I like to talk, I guess. But, um, when I came when I began decided to run for board, I spoke to transparency and being able to explain my decisions so that people would understand that. And the one thing that I have really held to is to be neutral and to go into all decisions with a clear mind and an open mind because I want to do what is best for our community and our children and I'm passionate about that. And um one of the things that I have thought through in this process first I read every email you send. I appreciate every

150comment that is made in a grocery store to me that is made when I am taking my child to the doctor's office. I appreciate people who talked to me before board meetings and after board meetings and um I had conversation with a couple of people in the room who I think felt like maybe there would be some tensions because we had been on different sides of things. And I say to those people, you are important to me. I am elected and I represent you and I want to hear the opposing side as much and make as much as those who agree with me because in many ways it's more important for me to know what I am missing and not thinking about. And I have some notes that that I'm going to share today because

151I want this down in my record for because this is one of the most important votes that we will make. There are many more but this is vital. And when we came into the conversation, there were these words, efficient and effective schools. Some of you may not know this, but I work for the legislature and that is constant conversation. But there's no definition. And it's because what each district needs is different and unique. And so I asked that we define that and that the LPC go through that process of effective and efficient schools. from there find the data that supports the different models and challenges each model in that and one of the things that I think have learned through all of this is I did not clearly make up my mind until really today

152because I was trying to stay open-minded and I wanted to go back through everything and hear the perspectives and what I have realized there are a large number of diversity iverse perspectives, opinions, and facts out there. Most statements, even when they're opposing each other, can be true. Thanks to the internet, we can find data and research to support anything we want to do. I was a longtime grant writer. I can speak to that. It is hard to find things that are just supportive only. It is easy to find things that support whatever we would like to do. And what's true in one community again is not necessarily true in another. I've heard dozens and dozens of solutions, ideas, and suggestions for next steps. And what seems obvious and easy to people can have unintended consequences.

153There are domino fallouts from decisions that happen. And I will say, I worked in districts for a long time, 18 years in central office alongside superintendent, hearing the decisions. There were still things I did not know when I came on as a board member. And it can sound simple to do something, but putting it in practice has different views than we can see. I've had to con continually revisit my role as a board member when it comes to things and I feel like my job is to separate myself from emotions to remain neutral, open-minded and listen and weigh consequences and I do my own homework to verify accuracy of what's presented and shared. I recognize that regardless of any outcome, there's no perfect solution. There's no perfect plan and no one-sizefits-all answer. At best, we

154have to compromise. And for me, doing my due diligence has included verifying through external sources key information pertinent to decisions and following up to find answers to question posed by you, our community members, through comments and through emails. I ask those questions because they are valuable and I want to know the answers. For example, when the question of when is one acre of land sufficient and adequate for some of the work proposed through this DFP, I reached out to Mike Embry from the Boston Training Center and Scott Thompson who is our program instructor to hear their direct answers and I have um looked at the claims of enrollment counts to make sure they're accurate through independent KDE records that the state data collection All of this is to say we can't lean on the past

155beyond using it to learn lessons. What happened in 2021 was in 2021. And I come back to the purpose now of this vote. Tonight, we are asked to approve or reject a plan developed by the LPC as required by law. It's not my job as a board member to develop the plan, but to ensure the process is legal, ethical, fair, and comprehensive. And I'm rem reminded that the DFP is just that, a plan. We can do nothing in our district with regard to facility renovation or construction, including what is much needed in New Haven, without an approved plan. I've had a few people reach out in the past 24 hours asking for the plan to be returned to the LPC and to extend the timeline of the decision. Accepting a plan does not set action

156into motion. Many more individual decisions are needed across years of time that build an opportunities to just this plan if there's significant changes in this community or the district that make the plan less effective. In fact, we can do all of the plan or none of it. Those decisions will come down the road and require more consideration by this board. I'm fully committed to and appreciate that this plan retains elementaryaries in every single community that this is a must and it is a top priority. I entered the role clearly stating that I believe it's irresponsible and unethical to leave any building vacant. It's detrimental to communities and it's a waste of taxpayer dollars. I see no evidence that the plan presented by this DFP um sorry lost my spot. I see no evidence that this

157plan is contrived or something that is made up. My conversations with Scott Thompson indicate that this is the best option for his program. he needs more space than what would be available in leaving it in one of the facilities connected to the ATC. And I did ask him if I could quote him on that. So, um I I think he may be here. I'm not sure. He is. Okay. And and thank you. If I am misspeaking, please correct me. Okay. Thank you. He's our teacher in this program. He knows what we need. Um, in addition, this plan benefits a community. We if we are moving a middle school away, we have to do something to strengthen that community in return. And having the space and expansion of programs and I heard him say he's already

158had four new partners reach out just in the past couple of weeks. Outside of our county, this is growing bigger. We should be able to support this program if it's implemented. We hear a lot of reasons as the basis of concern for declining enrollment. Some say academics, some say athletics, and others say opportunities. All of these apply. All are true. And each family has their own individual reason or combination of these reasons for taking their children elsewhere. What I do know is I went to hundreds and hundreds of homes. Every home I went to, I wrote down the house number and the street address if those people were home and what their concern was because I listened to it. And I have those notes and I have been going back over them. Every night I

159sat down and summarized the themes of what I was hearing from families and from people. People who took their children out. All of these things were cited, but the number one thing that was a concern across our homes that I went in, and I was in over a thousand homes personally in about a seven-month period, was that people are struggling with the lack of agreement and the arguing and the discord in our community. That is what is most detrimental to our enrollment. It's the ongoing conflict and division in Nelson County. It's happened recurrently. Folks from all sides call for unity. And what that means is that we all have to compromise and take steps. And it's not just waiting for the other side to be the one to compromise. If we things don't go the

160way we want, we still have to work together. Last night, I scheduled a discussion in Bloomfield. I invited Amanda Deon to come along because we were talking about this. We had nearly 20 community members and I don't like the term sides, but if there were ever sides, we had representatives from both sides. The people many are here tonight, it's our people we've heard recurrently speak up loudly and clearly. And I will say there were moments that were difficult, they were emotional, and they were challenging. But people came to the table with a common goal of trying to find something that will better our community. We had different ways of doing that. Mr. Osborne, you spoke and I heard you say tonight that you thought that was a very valuable thing because we could engage in

161dialogue. And I say that whatever the outcome is of this, I hope we can continue to do that and honor and respect one another because we did not come to consensus and agreement. But my understanding was everyone in that room left with a pretty good feeling that they were valued and that they were heard and knowing that we need to stop the division in Nelson County. Amen. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you. Any further discussion, Mr. Norman? Any discussion? I think you know where I'm at. I'm still not changed my mind. I've still talked to many many people across the state and people are still concerned about putting sixth graders 12th graders. I know they ride the same bus. I know it's still talking. I know they still ride the bus together, but it's different. Children

162learn differently and different different areas. Please let me speak. And it's something I'm passionate about. Each grade learns differently. I get it. I get it. There's high advanced kids. My daughter's one of them. I know what it's about, but I still believe in me my heart and what I campaign for. Whether people want to change that or not and call me a liar, that's fine. But each grade level learns differently. Each group and I still feel the same way here. But we are in agreeance that the middle school and the high school are going to be separate. I mean, they're not going to be sixth graders taking high school classes. They're going to just one campus. Thank you, Mr. Norman. Thank you. And one of the things I appreciate across all the other four board

163members and we have been engaging in conversations and trying to work together. We may not be in agreement and I hope that I'm okay in saying that, but we have verbally said, you know, we may not agree on things, but we've got to work to be kind. Right. And I appreciate you, Miss Miss Lee. That's one thing you've been respected even though I disagree with you and we do agree a lot. We agree more than we disagree. Yeah. And you you brought it to my attention the other night. We agree a lot more than we disagree. And we have to do something here. Yeah. About our academics. Thank you. About our theater patterns, better sports. I do agree. We just want about a different way. and and we all represent that, you know, a community

164and there's five people and if if we all agreed on everything, then we wouldn't be putting a lot of thought into probably our votes. And so that that is what it is. I think that probably shows that everybody is invested in and thinking things through. And the only thing that I would ask is that because this is a decision by the board, um, no matter which way it goes, we find a way to move forward. And, um, one of the LPC members, actually, Ashley Simpson said it when she was, um, making her conversation. It is about bringing whatever decision it is. We have to find a way to to move forward and not try to sabotage everything that that that happens and everything that's going around. The process that the LPC went through, the process

165that we're going through to have the conversations, to work through these conversations is what's important. These are the things that that have transparency that that carry the weight of us being in these seats. we have to have that ability to say, you know, we may disagree, but maybe we need to talk about what how we get to a common ground. So, I think that um those are growing pains for an effective board. They're growing pains for us to understand how we find a path forward because it's our leadership that allows the community to follow us and and really being able to trust the decisions that we're making is in the best interest of students. There's one more thing I would like to add about my thoughts on this and I have been quiet about this.

166I went to a combined middle school high school. I'm a product of that. My parents are a product of that. And um I know what it is to be a student in that. And during the LPC process, there was a com there was one night down at Bloomfield when Miss Sakowski was speaking to that and it occurred to me the re what makes those programs work or not work well are responsible, dedicated staff. We have that and I I'm the one who called that they put up the safety that night when Missy Casease um presented that because it is a key viewpoint and and it's so important and if we have awareness ahead of time and we can plan that and we are intentional about having clearly defined spaces and areas for students and staggered

167hall times and separate restrooms, we can do that if we our people are good. Our people can do this and our students will most of them will step up and do the right thing too and help help one another. Miss Lee, I hope you're right. I really do. I do have concerns about it. I really do. Just whatever we decide, we'll go forward. Any further discussion? So, we will need a motion to approve the 2025 draft facility plan submitted by the local planning committee and reviewed by KDE. I will make a motion to approve the facility plan. I will second that motion. Thank you guys. All in favor? I. All opposed? No. No. All right. Motion passes three to two. I want to I want to commend David and Amanda just being just speaking to

168really I believe what is in your heart and what you really feel needs to be said. I appreciate that and I think that is exactly what our community is looking for. We don't all have to be in agreement, but we do have to find a way to speak and use our voice. And I hope our community will continue to be respectful of, you know, people making decisions and that we will continue to work together as a board in the ways that we can. Thank you all. Thank you. So, moving on be we do need to set the public hearing date and officer um let you guys go. So, um, thank you for being here. Yes. Thanks, guys. Um, so with that, I didn't know we had Alex down to present that. I don't know. Are

169you good to present that? Yeah. Okay. I mean, in short, um, June 9th at this office um, allows us to do a couple things. It gives us two and a half weeks, uh, almost three. It also gives you the two weeks uh requirement on the notice and it would allow for the board to consider those comments at uh meeting shortly thereafter. So that was the June 9th uh Monday June 9th at 5:30 p.m. in this office would be the location. That's the first conversation and we just we could consider the second one is the hearing officer, right? And then and just to make that clear, the board does not have to be present at that. That's our discretion if we want to show up to that. Um, and again, it's open to the public. Anyone

170can sign up for that. Um, the second part would be to do we want to do that all in one or just do this? Um, I think if we just take them one at a time. So, the recommended motion would be to schedule a public hearing to record comments on the district facility plan on Monday, June 9th at 5:30 at the Nelson County Central Office. Do I have a motion? I'll make a motion. Thank you. Do I have a second? I'll second it. Thank you. All in favor. Any opposed? Motion passes. So the next part is about the facilitator which needs to be a neutral party and because um Mr. Nyhoff had done such a wonderful job with the local planning committee um we had talked about him being sort of the conductor of that

171meeting. They don't really have it's not a debate. It's basically him listening and guiding that conversation. Um, so any discussions regarding that? All right. So, if you guys are in favor of that, we will need a motion to appoint James Nihoff to conduct the public hearing to consider the testimony on the Nelson County Schools District Facility Plan. I'll make the motion. Thank you. A second. I'll second. All right. Thank you. All in favor? Any opposed? All right. Motion passes. Um so looking at the calendar and um board celebrations there were there was a revision here June 10th location would change to the central office at 6 if uh the board chooses you this could be adjusted further you could the up center from 4:30 to 5:15 we could keep it at this had a tour

172of the up center from 5 to 5:45 and then a central office meeting would start at 6:00 In order to keep to prevent it becoming a special meeting, I think it would be wise if we offered that upcenter tour from four, as you mentioned, was it 4:45 to 5:15 and keep the meeting at 5:30? I agree. I'm excited. So, yeah, I agree. So, the tour of the UB center is not would just be a just a additional layer to it. Very informal. 4:30. Wait, what time? Up center tour would start at 4:30 and we would end at about 5:15. We have about 45 minutes. Yeah, let's get back here. So, anything additional on that? Um, I did want to talk a little bit about graduation because I promised to do that and we'll keep it

173clear. Sounds like the um middle school and elementary principles are excited to sort of be part of that conversation. I talked to the superintendent today. They're just going to find us a space to to be present. um we're not going to be working it even though but just because of the way our timeline is we would be able to help one high school but not help the other. So we're gonna just sort of let this become what it is over the next few years and I'm really hope that you guys are willing to just talk about what our role is in this this conversation. Um definitely we need to be part of the graduations. we need to be there to celebrate the students. But I think this is a great start of us um defining

174our roles in that process and board celebrations. Do you guys have So we would need to make a motion to adjust this the um calendar to include the June 10th meeting at the central office. It was previously at the UPCenter. This location would change. Okay. So I will need a motion to um approve the updated calendar. I'll make a motion. All right. Thank you. A second. I'll second. All right. Thank you. All in favor? I. Any opposed? All right. Motion passes. So now, can we do celebration? Yes. I want to say something. They got some great tools. Uh toys here. Yes. Hey, I've been sitting playing with the whole meeting. Can't put it down. So, was the superintendent. I almost had Amanda reach over and take it away from me. Um, I would like to

175uh take a moment to celebrate that we have had so many events happening to for our students and celebrations for our students. Unfortunately, there's so many I can't attend them all, but that is a good thing. It's not about me and us as board members, but how wonderful to be in a district that spends so much time trying to honor our students and their accomplishments that we a person cannot get to all of them. And so that that is wonderful. So couple things this week. The dig deep had their final uh this is their first year. They finished off strong. Um they're introducing is it second and third for Dig deep academy next year. Um the kids were extremely excited. They got to sort of present evidence of their critical thinking, communication, and um collaboration.

176and hearing them talk about the events that they've had over the year which were they went to the market. They um presented projects around um the lights and the decimals and um they did the wax museum which was really cool where they played where they weren't they basically just wrote their revolutionary war history on themselves whatever character they were. Um, and it was just exciting to to listen to these kids in fourth and fifth grade talk about their experience and say, "This is why I learned how to this is how I learned to be a communicator. This is where I collaborated with my classmates." And it was really exciting. Now, granted, it did override the preschool graduation, which also is an amazing event that they hold at the high school, which is even better because

177you see the kids on that huge stage and they're so tiny. But, um, Dr. Lee's right. The district and the schools put so much time and energy in celebrating the students and it is really a two week whirlwind for our educators and our staff and um our parents as they celebrate their students. And if there's a few things going on this week with seniors and you have a chance to stop by, take that moment and really just celebrate these kids and their accomplishments because they're doing great things and they're going to be great Nelson County people. So, I'm excited. I'm ready to celebrate class of 2025. I'm so excited for them. I mean, they they're graduating here in a couple days and they are going to be out into the big world. So congratulations to

178to them and wish them the best. Absolutely. Um, just one more thing. Thank you to everyone who offered feedback of any kind along the way in our process because it was all important. And um, I hope that that everyone will continue to do so because these there are more decisions to be made and we need ideas and to hear all the perspectives. So, please continue to offer those to us. Okay. So, anything else? And we'll move on to We do have to a um an executive session this evening. Again, you guys be safe if you're leaving. Be careful out there. Um but we do need a motion to enter into executive session pursuant to KRS61.8101C for discussion on student discipline. Do I have I'll make a motion. Thank you. Do I have a second? I'll

179second. All right. All in favor? I. Any opposed? All right. Motion passes. [Music] You found me. [Music] Dpping ring. [Music] You are free. [Music] I got a chocolate. [Music] Rain feeling. [Music] You are free. [Music] You want [Music] me to drop? feel. [Music] High chocolate. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] You feel me? [Music] You found me. [Music] D. Ring. [Music] You won't. [Music] Yo, [Music] ring. Dump it [Music] away. [Music] Make it rain. [Music] You are free. [Music] You are [Music] free. [Music] Feel me? [Music] You [Music] and it rain. [Music] Get it. [Music] You [Music] are hey. [Music] feel me. You [Music] You are. [Music] Chicken ring. [Music] It [Music] You are [Music] You're beautiful. [Music] Feeling real. [Music] You are free. [Music] It rain. [Music] You are. [Music] You are free. [Music] feel. Hey

180You [Music] are you [Music] are Heat. Heat. N. [Music] I love it. [Music] You found me. [Music] You falling ring. [Music] It [Music] rain. Heat. Heat. [Music] Chocolate rain. [Music] Hey ring. [Music] You found me. [Music] Drop it ring. [Music] It [Music] rain. You are [Music] I got a little [Music] We we will need a uh a motion to reconvene the regular session. We need a motion to reconvene the regular session of the Nelson County Board of Education. Make a motion. Thank you. Do I have a second? I'll second. Go ahead. It's on. I never turned it off, apparently. Um All right. All in favor? Any opposed? All right. um the board's actions. Um so recommended to uphold the discussion discussed expulsion recommendation by the expulsion committee. I need a motion. Motion. Thank you. All

181in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Now we need a motion to adjurnn. Who wants that one? I'll make a motion. I'll make the motion. First, second. All right. All in favor?