001com call this meeting to order would everyone please rise for a moment silence pledge to the flag I pledge algi to flag un stes all right I'd like to thank everyone for coming tonight there's a log up front uh if you haven't done so please sign in if you have anything in particular that you would like to bring to the board's attention please also write that down if at any time during the meeting you would like to mention something on an agenda item please raise your hand to be recognized after the normal business there's all please raise your hand be recognized um when speaking publicly please speak directly into the microphone with that Ricky can I please have a roll callon angle here Michael H here Rea Hoffman Cecilia Hol Jason cck here Jeremiah light
002here Dennis udicious here Daniel Wimer here Laurel Ziggler here thank you Ricky so I'm going to move on to agenda item three reading of notice of the meeting the board of directors of the kown area school district will hold a special board meeting on Wednesday December 20th 2023 at 700 p.m. in the library of the high school 50 Trexler Avenue cstown 19530 for official action may be taken on items including but not limited to policy maintenance related to policy 809 since we only have one uh item on the agenda this evening that we are going to move right into public comment the board requires that public participants be residents or taxpayers of this District or anyone having registered a legitimate interest in a contemplated action of the board participat must be recognized by the presiding
003officer and must pre their comments by an announcement of their name municipality and group affiliation of app wall each statement made by a participant shall be limited to 3 minutes duration no participant may speak more than once on the same topic all statements shall be directed to the presiding officer no participant May address or question board members individually the presiding officer May interrupt or terminate by participant statement when the statement is too lengthy personally directed abusive obscene or irrelevant request any individual to May request any IND idual to leave the meeting when that person does not observe reasonable the Quorum and may call recess or adjourn to another time when the lack of public the Quorum interferes with orderly conduct of the meeting Mr C can I just share something before we go to public
004comment sure um last meeting Mr Zer was speaking on the motion and um there was a call to order related to a board member's limit to speak for 10 minutes in at um first about the motion and then in rebuttal to somebody else's comment um and while that there are no specific limits within our board policy for the time limits for board members to talk are for public uh Mr C just read um our board policy 006 establishes parliamentary Authority so parliamentary procedure and in the United States Roberts rules is the um understood and expected application of parliamentary procedure uh so I think that Mr Ziggler off guard a little bit but that's because it's not a direct policy um statement but it's the reference to parliamentary procedure and then the the application of Robert's
005rules um So to avoid that in the future I want to make sure that we as an Administration kind of share more details about Roberts roles with the board uh it is typical in the United States for smaller boards such as ourself to not follow very formal parliamentary procedures because it it just makes business a little bit clunkier that's unnecessary in their size of a board but at times or a call to orders for that so I just wanted to make that comment related to the board mtion thank you Mr oh I'm sorry I have the list uh first on the list uh to speak on agenda item is Mr Jim schrder from Green Township do I need a microphone please come up okay grab the microphone for folks online so I'm Jim Sher um
006ring Township and uh I guess the reason I'm here is I don't like stating my group affiliation i' like to be just known as an individual so I want to commend the board the majority of board for moving in the direction that you're moving um you know from from my perspective it takes us back towards meritocracy and uh focus on each student's individual needs and I think you're doing a good thing thank you Mr sh next on the list is uh Miss Trisha Li good evening Trish liby Max atani thank you for the opportunity to speak again in the last school board meeting Miss Zigler requested specifics on the harm policy 809 has done I think it's critical to look back at the Genesis of 832 and in essence 809 in 2021 Mr temp shaten
007replied to a series of questions that community members have compiled I'd like to read one of those to you question was is policy 832 809 really a reaction to any instances of bias racism or violations of other policies in place the answer was the recommendation and Adoption of policy 832 and the equity team were not in response to specific acts of bias or racism in our school community by this admission there was no discrimination no bias no child being failed by the school that caused the creation of 809 in essence 809 was a solution looking for a problem it's unreasonable to demand specifics for a policy to be repealed that had no specifics to be addressed in the first place as for the three things the equity committee did recently recommend there's no evidence these
008things would not have happened without 809 this is already covered by the comprehensive plan required by the state which already looks at data on the numbers of English language Learners those with disabilities and economically disadvantaged as a matter of fact the most recent comprehensive plan documented the increase of English language Learners which the district has an action to address as well as looking at prek programs none of this is a tied to 809 or the equity committee on Monday evening there were numerous comments from the community including M Ziggler alleging lies fear and misinformation during the 2023 campaign ironically these accusations are asserted by individuals leading people people in the community to believe that without policy 809 students won't get the support they need completely ignoring the existing laws and policies already in place to
009support not only is that a flawed position it implies that students have only been getting what they need for the last two years with 809 but not before we all know that's not true it's also an insult to the teachers of this District as it implies these students won't receive the education and help they need without 809 it begs the question how kown achieved anything prior to 2021 without 809 especially the Blue Ribbon School designation allowing the community to believe that without 809 their child's needs will no longer be met with IEPs and 504s is a complete misrepresentation of what 809 really is that is promoting fear and misinformation in the community policy 809 is a wolf and sheep's clothing to perpetuate an ideology that life should be viewed through victim oppressor mentality and forcing
010everyone to Value not just tolerate but value and affirm others beliefs particularly about their sexual or gender identity people are using Scare Tactics that their students won't get the help they need unless this policy is in place in an effort to push their own values and worldview I and many others on November 7th said no to this ideology being in our classrooms I look forward to the formal resending of 809 this evening thank you for your time Wilson Oh W oh you or Steve checked on Steve no I'm good thank that's all I have on the agenda signed up on the log just checked in to speak Dr Myers do we have anybody online no we do not I apologize ever late arrival and I would like to have another please thank I'm here to
011make a few comments about policy 809 and to respond some to some comments that were made at the recent policy and curriculum committee meeting and the board meeting that was held earlier this week policy 809 is not simply a knockoff of 832 which was a predecessor passed by the board in 2020 and eventually repealed in 2021 because it did not really speak for our community and it led to the untimely and ill-conceived morning announcements at green witch Elementary School in the spring of 2021 policy 809 while retaining some aspects of that policy went through a very different vetting process in addition to the community input sessions that Miss Ziggler uh noted in her presentation at the committee meeting there were also attempts by me and others to sit face to face and listen to those
012who were upset with 832 and what had wrought they con their concerns were included in 809 to make it more reflective of our community and to include an opportunity for Community input through the educational Equity committee unfortunately there were those who chose from the very beginning to create lies and false narratives about 809 then and and they continue to do so even now witness the recent election where the LIE reached their Zenus in a 47-minute video and a letter which sought to create fear by painting a false picture of our district and what policy 809 will produce lies that were supported by current members of the board who attended meetings of the educational Equity committee and knew better and knew that they were supporting lies and acques to them all the same it was said
013at the last meeting that elections have consequences and indeed they do and I fear that they will not be good ones for many of our students that could have been and would have been identified more readily by the type of data that the committee was examining And discussing as recently as this past Monday evening like it or not change is here and is coming at an ever increasing Pace to the demograph demographic makeup of our district policy 809 could have served to keep us on The Cutting Edge of that change sadly we probably will never know at the recent policy and curriculum committee meeting the newly elected chair of the committee noted in his remarks that night that he believed policy 809 was divisive and its repeal would restore peace to our district the repeal
014of policy 809 does anything but that it simply infuriates another sizable segment of our community and our district continues to be divided and there will be no peace if your intent really is to bring peace to our district then make an effort to find Common Ground through conversation with those in the community who believe your actions to be shortsighted at best and downright foolish at worst Dr R can you please be yes I will I'm near the end another member of the committee that same evening indicated that she had tried to get outside of the echo chamber and talked to some of our principles asking them if 809 had made any differences for our students she noted that the answer was no Dr while your effort to escape the echo chamber was commendable it was
015untimely because the first proposals stemming from policy 809 just reached their final formulation and have yet to be enacted obviously 809 has not had a chance to to impact our students positively you and your cohorts are aborting it before it has a chance to do so I'm finishing thank you very much I understand I understand and in the spring of 2021 people spoke longer than their five minutes so just be patient I'm putting the mic down thank you all right M Ziggler that's my role please I'll take thank you folks please let's keep our comments to ourself keep them civil thank you all right we're going to move on now to agenda item number four policy maintenance related to policy 809 is the recommendation of the policy and curriculum committee that the board of school
016directors approve the second reading to in policy 809 educational Equity do I have a motion so move we have a motion do we have a second second we have a motion and a second for I have any board members would like to comment to make comment but I'd like to offer it up to anyone else first the sign the floor is yours okay so as you all know by now I am a strong advocate for welcoming students from diverse backgrounds into a safe inclusive classroom and I am a strong advocate for educational Equity within our clown schools our community has benefited from increasing diversity in recent years with our latest school year enrollment comprising one in five students from a diverse family and two out of five students from an economically disadvantaged home the very
017fabric of our community is evolving and we must ensure that our educational system adapts to these changes to provide an equitable and supportive environment for every student who walks through our doors this is not only our moral responsibility but it is also our legal responsibility as a school board we have the benefit of two years of history with this policy in place we don't need to speculate on the impact that this policy might have on our students we simply need to look at the facts unfortunately we have yet to hear any specific negative outcomes that have been experienced by our students with this policy in place instead we had the opportunity to hear about the equity team's progress over the last year they have identified three specific recommendations that I strongly support as reasonable and
018appropriate actions including providing prek Services recognizing students as gifted in ways Beyond just academics and communicating and languages other than English to Our diverse families I strongly support these recommendations unfortunately rather than assess the policy on the merits of the recommendations provided by this committee we have heard a lot of opinions but we cannot resend a policy based on opinions it must be based on facts and outcomes opinions that were shared extensively over the last several months by a small minority voice that policy 809 are all about reallocation of resources racism White Privilege critical race Theory oppressor victim mindsets pronouns lgbtq bathroom use gender and sports selection of individual books teaching history of racism all of these are unfortunately just not simply supported by any factual evidence none of these terms are found in our
019KD school policy 809 nor in any other policy on the books and yet this is what our voters were led to believe this policy addresses some might not be comfortable with the world changing around them well that is their right it is not their right to impose their own beliefs on other students and community members this is a public school district and our legal responsibility is to look out for all students in fact the rhetoric has been so strong that it has muddied the waters on what this policy actually does the current KD policy 809 clearly outlines the following it directs the administration to collect specific ific data on our student population so that we can understand at a deeper level who is attending our schools the policy directs that an equity committee be established
020with individuals across our community including administrators school board members teachers instructional and non-instructional support staff coaching staff students and parents it directs that the committee to draft an equity action plan with recommendations to be proposed to our very school board for review and consideration it instructs the superintendent to prepare an annual update to the community and the board and lastly the policy shares guidelines to that committee on the areas for their focus the guidelines and principles from the policy emphasize the following that we should be providing our students with multiple Pathways to success we should provide access to the materials for all students to achieve their own personal best outcome we should provide a safe welcoming inclusive and bias free environment in the classroom that reflects and respects A diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints we
021should welcome and Empower students and families from all backgrounds we should make informed decisions based on ual data we should continually review policies practices and programs looking to expand benefits to all and eliminate marginalization of individuals or groups we should promote fairness and respect and acknowledge the distinctive contributions of a diverse Society We should strive for a highly effective Workforce that reflects racial gender and linguistic diversity and lastly we should ensure that our professional development Fosters the skills and knowledge to support our students in understanding different cultures and supports our students mental health these principles are not only necessary but they are reasonable and they are creating an economic or an educational environment that truly meets the needs of every student these are recommendations similar to those that we see coming from professionals in the
022field of Education the argue that this policy duplicates existing references to diversity is an oversimplification as policy 809 serves a unique purpose to provide a targeted and comprehensive framework for addressing educational disparities how to support growing diversity and economically disadvantaged families is one of the most important issues facing our district and we should be thoughtful and focused on it by resending this policy without just cause we are sending a message to our community it is not just about rejecting a document it is about rejecting a commitment to Preparing our students for the world that they live in not the world that we grew up in our children look to us as examples and the conversations that are happening in homes about the actions of the majority of this board members are extremely disappointing to those
023who voted against this policy let's be clear on what you are voting against your vote is a reflection of how you choose to treat our diverse community and those from economically challenged backgrounds you are sending a clear message that you are unwilling to welcome the changing demographics in our community in a clear and intentional way moreover it is disconcerting that the previous version of the policy was deliberated on for seven months while this revision has been rushed through in a mere 13 days during the holiday season with an inappropriately called special board meeting this evening and attempts to silence members of the board the legal and Financial Risk that asending this policy puts upon the district given the current landscape of lawsuits and issues at other school districts in the area cannot be ignored equally
024concerning is the lack of specific evidence shared as to how this policy which has been in place for two years has created negative outcomes for students my fellow board members have been willing to engage in only very limited actual discussion not at all on the verbiage and content of the policy to look to amend it for their unnamed areas of concern in conclusion as we move forward let us remember our moral responsibility our duty to provide an education that prepares all students for the world they navigate further clarifications and updates to the policy structure should have been considered abandoning the principles and of equity and inclusion is not the solution we need to move forward working together to build an educational environment that truly serves every student in our diverse Community thank you thank you
025Miss Sigler does anyone else have any comment hearing none on the question related policy manat related to 809 I will state the question again it is a recommend recommendation of the policy and curriculum committee that the board of school directors approved a second reading to resend policy 809 educational Equity Ricky could we have a roll call please excuse me Aon angle yes Michael H no Jeremiah L yes Denis disa yes Daniel wmer yes Laurel Ziggler no Jason cck yes motion carries fifth item on the agenda Mr Tim Chan do we have other business this evening business Pardon Me Do any other board members have other business they'd like to address I just have one question um at the last meeting uh we had talked about I don't know uh Mr President You' directed um Mr
026T chaten about updates to policy 2 or any policy where you think it fits as we look 216 might not be the right one because that's more about the data that we have out students when you a student information system um but the intent I think was to look at where we can include the report some of the reporting components of 809 in a data policy about reporting we um we've identified there's a district report card policy that should be updated because that is a Antiquated state report doesn't exist anymore it's now the um Futurity INB be could be an appropriate place to look in update that okay and then is that something we would just look at get our yearly data review like we did ear a weeks ago so I mean I think
027from the reorganization um Mr cck had indicated we we would like to call several academic achievement committees throughout the year so we had agreed in January to sit down and look at what that can look like because we are working with our team just because data comes in at all different times um but now looking at a better comprehensive idea of what those can be including these reports um we'll bring up a pro proposal to the board for those meetings in January which they would be the inous qu see if that's thank you thank you Mr H anyone else all right uh do we have a motion to adjourn so move second second all in favor I I motions J