Feb 24, 2026 School Board Regular Meeting

STAND ADJOURNED. AND WE ARE

[1.

CALL TO ORDER

[00:00:04]

[2.

ESTABLISH A QUORUM

DURING THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. THERE IS TYPICALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT IN THE MEETING, BUT TONIGHT WE DID NOT HAVE ANYONE SIGN UP FOR OUR OPEN FORUM FOR TONIGHT'S REGULAR MEETING.

YOU ARE WELCOME TO STAY FOR THE ENTIRETY OF OUR OPEN MEETING AND LISTEN TO THE BUSINESS OF THE BOARD.

IF YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE EARLY, PLEASE DO SO THROUGH THE DOORS BEHIND YOU AND TAKE ANY CONVERSATIONS OUTSIDE TO AVOID DISRUPTING OUR DISCUSSIONS. OR THE PRESENTATIONS. AS ALWAYS, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK ABOUT THE ITEMS DISCUSSED TONIGHT, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SEND AN EMAIL TO THE TRUSTEES AT EANSISD.NET. OR CONSIDER REACHING OUT TO A TRUSTEE OR TRUSTEES TO MEET AND DISCUSS THINGS FURTHER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENCE TONIGHT, FOR YOUR PATIENCE WHILE WE WORK THROUGH THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. AND YOUR CONTINUED INTEREST IN EANS ISD AND OUR COMMUNITY.

WE WILL NOW BEGIN OUR AGENDA WITH THE MISSION STATEMENT.

AND OUR MISSION STATEMENT IS, UNITE, EMPOWER, INSPIRE. EVERY PERSON, EVERY DAY. WE UNITE OUR COMMUNITIES THROUGH RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS, CREATING A SENSE OF BELONGING FOR ALL. WE EMPOWER STUDENTS, PROVIDING AN EXEMPLARY EDUCATION THAT DEVELOPS CURIOSITY, CREATIVITY, AND INDIVIDUAL TALENTS, AND WE INSPIRE EACH OTHER TO LEAD PURPOSEFUL LIVES OF EMPATHY, GRATITUDE, AND COMPASSION. OUR NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, AND TONIGHT WE HAVE STEPHEN DURRELL LEADING US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.

STEPHEN IS A FRESHMAN AT WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL, A LIFE SCOUT. HE PLAYS THE TRUMPET IN THE WESTLAKE BAND AND IS ACTIVE IN THE LATIN CLUB.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, STEPHEN, AND IF YOU COULD HELP US. I PLEDGE 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. THANK YOU, STEPHEN, AND I'M GOING TO BRING YOU A LITTLE SOMETHING AS A TOKEN OF OUR GRATITUDE. THE NEXT ITEM

[5.

SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT

SO LAST WEEK I GOT TO VISIT OUR WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA CONCERTS, MIDDLE SCHOOL CONCERTS, GET TO SEE OUR MUSICIANS ALL THE WAY UP THROUGH THEIR PROGRAM. IT WAS A WONDERFUL FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE AND SIMPLY AMAZING THE TALENT LEVEL AND TO SEE THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS, WHICH WAS AWESOME. I ALSO WAS FORTUNATE LAST WEEK TO ATTEND THE EANS CARE COMMITTEE MEETING, AND THIS EVENT IS USUALLY LED WITH STUDENT FACILITATORS ALONG WITH ADULTS. AND I WAS SO IMPRESSED BY OUR HIGH SCHOOL

[00:05:02]

REALLY WANT TO CELEBRATE WHAT WE'RE SEEING HAPPEN WITH A STEM AGAIN IN THE DISTRICT, AND I THINK THE FUTURE CITIES ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT. SO OUR EANS ISD STUDENTS MADE THEIR MARK AGAIN, WINNING A GLOBAL PLACEMENT IN WASHINGTON, D.C. RECENTLY.

WESTRIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL PROUDLY REPRESENTED THE DISTRICT. THIS YEAR'S FARM TO TABLE THEME CHALLENGED TEAMS TO DESIGN INNOVATIVE WAYS TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE WHILE KEEPING FUTURE CITIES HEALTHY AND SAFE.

DEFINITELY AN ADMIRABLE PROJECT, WORTHY OF OUR TIME.

WESTRIDGE'S TEAM PLACED SECOND IN THE GLOBAL COMPETITION IN THE WORLD AND EARNED A SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN LAND SURVEYING, BRINGING HOME $5,000 PRIZE FOR THEIR PROGRAM. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THOSE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THEIR ADVISOR. JUST WONDERFUL WORK, AND AGAIN, ANOTHER EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF STEM HAPPENING AROUND THE DISTRICT. ALSO OUR GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM WHO WILL BE TIPPING OFF HERE VERY SOON. ARE CURRENTLY SITTING AT 37-0 IN A HISTORIC UNDEFEATED SEASON.

THEY ARE ALSO THE AREA CHAMPS.

WE WANT TO CONGRATULATE THEM ON THEIR WIN LAST FRIDAY EVENING, AND THEY'RE COMPETING TONIGHT IN THE NEXT ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS AT GO CHAPS.

WE CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR HOW ALL THAT TURNS OUT AFTER THIS MEETING. ALSO, LAST WEEKEND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND OUR STUDENT LATIN CONVENTION, AN AREA CONVENTION RUN BY STUDENTS, FACILITATED BY OUR LATIN STUDENTS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, AND WE TALKED. TO THEM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS IDEA OF ACTA NON VERBA, DEEDS NOT WORDS, AND WHAT LEADERS DO.

AND IT WAS SO WONDERFUL TO SEE OUR STUDENTS FACILITATING THIS AREA EVENT AND LITERALLY LEADING ALL OF THE ACTIVITIES AND THE AGENDA THROUGHOUT THE DAY. GREAT EXAMPLE OF OUR ADULTS SUPPORTING STUDENTS, ACTUALLY TAKING CONTROL OF THEIR OWN ENVIRONMENT FOR THE DAY. I WANT TO JUST SAY HOW IMPRESSIVE THE EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS ANNUAL GALA WAS. WE WERE ABLE TO ATTEND SUSIE AND I OVER THE WEEKEND. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE DISPLAYS OF PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS I'VE EVER SEEN. IN 30 YEARS. I CAN COUNT ON THREE FINGERS HOW MANY SIMILAR EVENTS I'VE SEEN IN MY LIFETIME. SO I HOPE THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS PROUD. I KNOW THAT OUR FOUNDATION LEADERS WORK VERY HARD ON THAT, THERE ARE A LOT OF VOLUNTEER CHAMPIONS. IT'S THE REASON THAT WE'RE ALL HERE FOR OUR AMAZING STUDENTS. AND OUR STUDENTS WERE ON DISPLAY THAT NIGHT, WHICH WAS WHAT WAS SO SPECIAL TO BE HEARING FROM SOME OF OUR STUDENTS SHARING WITH THE COMMUNITY. SO THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WITH THE FOUNDATION FOR THEIR TIME AND DEDICATION AND ANYBODY WHO ATTENDED. WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. FINALLY, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, CALLED DID YOU KNOW. OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM HAS BEEN ROLLING OUT VARIOUS DID YOU KNOW? FACTOIDS BASED ON QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY AND INSIGHTS FROM OUR COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE. WHICH IS ALSO A GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS THAT HELP OUR COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND THINK ABOUT THE THINGS WE WANT TO SHARE. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TRANSPARENCY, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT'S PRETTY TRANSPARENT, AND WE TRY TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE WITH THESE FACTOIDS. SO WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK, AND IF YOU HEAD TO THE EANS ISD WEBSITE, YOU CAN CHECK OUT SOME OF THOSE FACTS FROM THE PAST AND WATCH FOR THOSE ON SOCIAL MEDIA MOVING FORWARD.

DID YOU KNOW? A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION THERE.

ALL IN ALL, IT WAS A VERY BUSY COUPLE OF WEEKS SINCE WE LAST GOT TOGETHER, AND THAT'S THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. THANK YOU, MR. KONECKI. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? ALL RIGHT. YES, LAURA? DO YOU THINK WE COULD GET AN UPDATE ON THE SCORE AT SOME POINT DURING THE MEETING? YES, I WILL TRY TO REFRAIN FROM LOOKING AT MY PHONE, BUT IF I CAN GIVE YOU AN UPDATE, I WILL. MAYBE SOMEONE IN CABINET OR IN THE AUDIENCE COULD.

CLAUDIA'S GOT US. WE HAVE SOME TIME. OKAY. GREAT. WE WILL NOW MOVE ON. AS I SAID EARLIER, ON THE AGENDA, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS OPEN FORUM, BUT NO ONE SIGNED UP TONIGHT TO SPEAK. SO WE WILL MOVE

[7.1 Board subcommittee reports]

FOR THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND AND FOR THE TRUSTEES TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR VARIOUS BOARD APPOINTED OR BOARD CREATED SUBCOMMITTEES THAT WE SIT ON. SO WHO WOULD LIKE TO KICK OFF A SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT? I'M LOOKING THIS

[00:10:02]

THANK YOU SO MUCH, KIM. I AM GOING TO BE REPORTING ON TWO COMMITTEES THIS EVENING. I'LL START WITH THE FINANCE AND PERSONNEL SUBCOMMITTEE. WE HAVE A PRESENTATION THIS EVENING ON BOND CAPACITY, AND OUR MOST RECENT MEETING OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE WAS ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH.

SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING TO BE PRESENTED HERE AND GIVING FEEDBACK. WE HAVE FIVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS ON THAT SUBCOMMITTEE. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN THE PAST, BUT JUST AS A REMINDER, WE HAVE. AS OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR, WE HAVE FIVE, WHICH IS MORE THAN IN THE PAST. COMMITTEE MEMBERS ON THAT SUBCOMMITTEE. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THAT GROUP GOT TO MEET WITH OUR NEW SUPERINTENDENT, KURT KONECKI. IT WAS A VERY PRODUCTIVE MEETING. WE, AS I SAID, WERE MOSTLY FOCUSED ON BOND CAPACITY.

BUT IT'S HARD NOT TO ALSO TALK ABOUT THE OTHER CHALLENGES THAT ARE FACING US AS A DISTRICT.

SO WE'RE A LOT OF GOOD DISCUSSION, TALKING ABOUT THE CHALLENGE WE FACE AS WE MOVE THROUGH THESE BOND CONVERSATIONS. AND BEING MINDFUL THAT WE ARE GOING TO NEED TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THESE TWO DIFFERENT BUCKETS OF MONEY. AND HELP THE COMMUNITY REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS, THAT THE PATH THAT WE'RE ON IN BOTH OF THESE PATHWAYS. SO I DON'T THINK I NEED TO SAY MUCH MORE BECAUSE, OKAY, TESTING, THERE WE GO. WE WILL SEE THE PRESENTATION THIS EVENING. WE'LL BE MEETING AGAIN IN APRIL TO DISCUSS THIS MORE.

ABOUT THE BOND AND CONTINUE TO HELP CHRIS AND LORI UNDERSTAND WHAT SOME OF THE CONCERNS ARE COMING FROM THE COMMUNITY. DO YOU WANT ME TO ROLL RIGHT INTO THE LEGISLATIVE REPORT OR WOULD SOMEONE LIKE TO BREAK THIS UP? YEAH, PLEASE DO. THERE'S NOT MUCH NEW TO REPORT SINCE. WE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT WE HAVE A COMMITTEE OR A COHORT OF 10 PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH RAISE YOUR HAND TEXAS, A NONPROFIT HERE IN TEXAS. FOCUSED ON PUBLIC EDUCATION. AGAIN, KIRK KONECKI IS GOING TO BE PART OF THAT. WE HAVE OUR FIRST KICKOFF WITH OUR COHORT ON MARCH 11TH. IT'S COMING UP RIGHT BEFORE SPRING BREAK. WE HAVE TWO IN-PERSON EVENTS THAT WILL HAPPEN THAT WILL BE BIG OFF-SITE EVENTS FOR THE COHORT. EXCITED ABOUT THOSE. WE'LL REPORT BACK AFTER THAT KICKOFF AND LET YOU KNOW MORE. BUT A GREAT GROUP OF PEOPLE AND EXCITED TO DIG IN AND EDUCATE THEM SO THAT WE CAN EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY.

THANKS, DIANE. AND FOR THE PERSONNEL AND FINANCE, IT'S YOU AND CATHERINE. AND FOR LEGISLATIVE, IT'S YOU AND KELLY AND JOHN. THANK YOU. I WAS REMISS IN MENTIONING THAT. GREAT.

THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? LAURA? SO I'M GOING TO REPORT ON THE SAFETY AND SECURITY MEETING THAT WE HAD BACK IN NOVEMBER. WE MEET ABOUT TWICE A YEAR, I BELIEVE TWO OR THREE TIMES A YEAR.

THIS IS A STATE-MANDATED COMMITTEE. KIM AND I BOTH SERVE ON IT, AS WELL AS SOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND SOME SPECIFIC MEMBERS OF THE CABINET AND TEAM. I THINK THE BIG THING THAT CAME OUT OF THAT WAS AN INITIATIVE CALLED STOP ARM CAMERA PROGRAM. AND CHIEF, I'M LOOKING AT YOU. THAT STARTED FEBRUARY, RIGHT? OKAY, SO WE'RE IN THE PILOT PROCESS FOR THIS. THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT IS NO COST TO OUR DISTRICT. IT PROVIDES CAMERAS ON THE SCHOOL BUSES THAT CATCH PEOPLE, DRIVERS, WHO ARE PASSING OUR BUSES WHEN THE STOP SIGNS ARE DEPLOYED.

YEAH, IT PROTECTS. PROTECTING OUR KIDS AS THEY GET ON AND OFF THE BUSES. WE PARTNER.

THERE'S AN AGENCY THAT MONITORS THESE CAMERAS. THEY THEN REVIEW IT. IF THEY SEE ANYTHING THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED, THEN THEY REPORT IT TO THREE OF OUR THREE PARTNERS, WHICH ARE THE ROLLINGWOOD PD, WESTLAKE PD, AND AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT. AND THEN, IF THEY DETERMINE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A CITATION ISSUED, THEN THEY WILL ISSUE A TICKET.

LIKE I SAID, IT COMES AT NO COST TO US. A LITTLE NICE. BONUS IS THAT WE DO RECEIVE A PERCENTAGE OF THE REVENUE FROM THOSE TICKETS, BUT THAT'S REALLY NOT. THE PRIORITY IS KEEPING OUR KIDS SAFE. THANK YOU, LAURA. JOHN, WOULD YOU LIKE TO REPORT OUT ON EEF? I WOULD. WELL, AS WE ALREADY HEARD TONIGHT, THIS PAST WEEKEND WAS A HUGE WEEKEND FOR THE EANS EDUCATION

[00:15:01]

AND IT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS THIS LAST SATURDAY NIGHT. IT WAS AT THE J.W. MARRIOTT, THE ANNUAL FUNDRAISING EVENT.

OVER 550 PEOPLE ATTENDED. AND BIG SUCCESS CELEBRATING STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND STAFF. AND AS YOU WERE SAYING, MR. KANEKI, IT'S A HUGE TESTAMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE AN EVENT LIKE THAT, WHERE OUR COMMUNITY IS SO DEDICATED AND STEPS UP TO SERVE OUR KIDS AND OUR STAFF AND OUR DISTRICT. IN ORDER TO FUND THINGS THAT THE STATE DOESN'T FUND. AND SO JUST A BIG THANK YOU AND CONGRATS TO THE EEF STAFF.

TO THE EEF BOARD, TO THE GALA COMMITTEE, BECAUSE SO MANY, COUNTLESS HOURS GO INTO THAT.

AND JUST A FEW THINGS TO HIGHLIGHT FOR THE COMMUNITY AS WELL. SO EEF IS ON TRACK FOR THEIR $2 MILLION DONATION THIS YEAR, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. AND EVERY YEAR, EEF STRIVES TO GIVE $2 MILLION TO THE DISTRICT. AND IF YOU'VE BEEN LISTENING TO OUR MEETINGS LATELY, YOU KNOW WE'VE BEEN TACKLING A DEFICIT OF $5 TO $6 MILLION FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SEVEN TO EIGHT MILLION IF IT WEREN'T FOR EEF. AND SO THEY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALREADY COUNTING ON THEM AND VERY THANKFUL FOR ALL THAT THEY DO. ANOTHER THING I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT IS THAT THE EEF ENDOWMENT HAS BEEN GROWING AS WELL, THE EANS ENDOWMENT. AND IT NOW CURRENTLY SITS AT 2.3 MILLION.

AND SO THAT HAS CONTINUED TO GROW OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS AS WELL. SO BIG KUDOS TO ALL OF THEM FOR THE HARD WORK. AND THEN THE WORK DOESN'T STOP, SO THEY WILL CONTINUE TO BE FUNDRAISING AND MOVING FORWARD ON DIFFERENT INITIATIVES THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. THANK YOU, JOHN. ANY OTHER REPORTS? CATHERINE, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. KIM AND I ARE ON THE POLICY COMMITTEE, AND WE ACTUALLY MET LAST THURSDAY. WE REVIEWED A NUMBER OF. POLICIES THAT YOU WILL SEE COME TO A FUTURE BOARD MEETING, WE'LL REVIEW THOSE, SO IT'LL BE OUR FIRST READING IN MARCH, PRIOR TO THE MEETING WE HAD LAST THURSDAY, WHICH WAS THE 19TH WE HAD MET IN OCTOBER. SO IT HAD BEEN A SPAN SINCE THE POLICY MEETING MET, AND WE'VE ALREADY VOTED ON THOSE POLICY CHANGES. SO NOTHING MUCH TO SAY THERE.

THANK YOU, CATHERINE. I THINK WITH THAT THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD, FROM TRUSTEES. ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU. AND THIS IS JUST AN ILLUSTRATION OF HOW THE BOARD, IN ADDITION TO SERVING AS A BOARD, WE SERVE ON VARIOUS SUBCOMMITTEES IN THE BUSINESS

[7.2 Bond capacity scenario presentation]

THIS IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. I MEAN, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE IN-DEPTH, AND IT KIND OF GOES INTO HOW YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THIS TRANSFORMATIVE BOND AS WE MOVE FORWARD. SO I WANT TO START OUT TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BOND TIMELINE. AND THIS SPRING IS ALL ABOUT YOU.

SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO CONSIDER AND THINK ABOUT.

NUMBER ONE, WE'RE KIND OF KICKING THAT OFF TONIGHT.

WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE INS TAX RATE AND WHAT CAPACITY THAT BRINGS US. AND IF YOU'LL NOTICE, I'VE HIGHLIGHTED, I'VE BOTH MADE IT BOLD, AND I'VE PUT IT IN ITALICS, THE WORD APPROXIMATE. AND THAT'S BECAUSE YOU WON'T NECESSARILY BE ABLE TO SAY, THIS IS OUR TAX RATE, AND WE KNOW THAT THIS IS GOING TO COVER US, BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT TAX RATES A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY ON THIS BOND THAN WHAT WE HAVE IN THE PAST. SECOND THING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE ASKED TO DO THIS SPRING IS TO TALK ABOUT WHAT IT IS YOU WANT THE BAC, THE BOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE, TO DO. SO ONE OPTION WOULD OBVIOUSLY BE, SAY, HERE'S THE LRFPC RECOMMENDATIONS. WE WANT YOU TO DO THAT. IF THAT'S YOUR TASK FOR THEM. THAT WILL BE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.

IT'LL ALSO BE PRETTY EXPENSIVE.

AND SO I'M ENVISIONING THAT.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO INSTEAD PRIORITIZE AND LOOK AT SOME SUBSET OF THE FULL RECOMMENDATION.

AND SAY, HERE'S WHAT WE WANT

[00:20:02]

BY INCLUDING SOME NUMBER OF THOSE COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO HELP GUIDE THE BAC WITH THEIR EXPERTISE THAT THEY GAINED OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS SERVING ON THAT COMMITTEE. AND SO I PUT THAT LAST, BECAUSE YOU CAN REALLY DO THAT AT ANY TIME. THE BAC... WON'T REALLY AND CAN'T REALLY KICK OFF THEIR WORK UNTIL YOU'VE DONE YOUR STUFF THIS SPRING.

AND SO WHAT I ENVISION IS IN THE FALL IS WHEN THE BAC WOULD START THEIR WORK. AND LIKE I SAID, WE'VE NOT DONE ONE LIKE THIS BEFORE. IF WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT AN M&O BOND, LIKE WHAT WE'VE DONE BEFORE, WE KNOW EXACTLY HOW THAT GOES.

THAT'S FOUR MEETINGS, PLUS ONE MORE TO CUT IT DOWN TO WHATEVER NUMBER YOU GUYS GIVE THEM. SO IT'S A CHALLENGE. A TOTAL OF FIVE MEETINGS. IT'S A LOT OF WORK, BUT IT'S A PRETTY DEFINED PROCESS. WE KNOW HOW TO DO IT. THIS ONE, I'VE NOT DONE BEFORE. WE'RE GOING TO FIGURE THIS ONE OUT, AND I ANTICIPATE THAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE CONSIDERABLY MORE TIME.

AND SO RIGHT NOW, WHAT I'M THINKING IS THE FIRST COUPLE OF MEETINGS WOULD PROBABLY TAKE.

YOUR PRIORITIES, WHATEVER THEY HAPPEN TO BE, GO THROUGH THEM WITH THE WITH OUR ADVISORS, WITH THE LRFPC MEMBERS, LOOK AT WHAT THE TIMELINE TO DO THAT IS, KEEPING IN MIND THAT SOME OF THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WERE MADE WHEN THE LRFPC WAS PUT TOGETHER MAY NOT STILL HOLD NOW. AND SO MAYBE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU WERE THINKING WERE GOING TO HAPPEN, CAN'T HAPPEN, AND THAT MIGHT IMPACT TIMELINES.

AND IMPACTING TIMELINES IMPACTS TOTAL COST. AND SO I EXPECT IT WILL TAKE THE FIRST COUPLE OF MEETINGS TO LOOK AT THOSE TIMELINES. AND COSTS OF YOUR PRIORITIES. THEN I THINK WE'LL DO THAT PROCESS THAT WE'VE DONE BEFORE, WHICH IS WE GO IN AND LOOK AT THE M&O PORTION OF THE BOND, AND I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT, AND I'LL SAY THAT SEVERAL TIMES TONIGHT, THAT WE'LL HAVE TO MAKE ROOM IN THIS BOND FOR THE M&O STUFF. BECAUSE THAT HAS BECOME SUCH AN INTEGRAL PART OF HOW WE BUDGET IN THIS DISTRICT THAT WE CAN'T JUST FORGET ABOUT THAT. AND SO THERE WILL BE A PORTION OF THIS BOND PACKAGE THAT WILL HAVE TO BE DEDICATED, THOSE M&O PROJECTS. AND HERE I'M NOT TALKING, YOU KNOW, THE TYPES OF PROJECTS I'M TALKING ABOUT.

SO WE'LL HAVE TO REPLACE BUSES AND TECHNOLOGY. WE'LL HAVE HVAC UNITS. WE'LL HAVE ROOFS. ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE DO EVERY TIME, EVERY FOUR YEARS WE COME TO YOU, WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO DO IT AGAIN. AND THEN, FINALLY, I THINK WE'LL TAKE, AND HERE'S WHERE IT GETS.

REALLY FUZZY FOR ME. HOW MUCH TIME IT'S GOING TO TAKE. WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO TAKE THAT M&O PACKAGE AND THAT TRANSFORMATIVE BOND, THAT CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE, AND WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO RECONCILE THEM AND GET THEM TO FIT INTO WHATEVER NUMBER YOU GIVE US. AND SO, LIKE I SAID, WITH THAT M&O BOND, WE WOULD DO IT IN ONE MEETING, ONE REALLY LONG MEETING. I DON'T THINK ONE MEETING IS GOING TO DO IT FOR US THIS TIME. AND SO RIGHT NOW, THE WAY I KIND OF ENVISION HOW THE FALL WILL GO IS PROBABLY THREE MEETINGS IN AUGUST, THREE MEETINGS IN SEPTEMBER, AND THEN WE'LL PLAY IT BY EAR. WE'LL SEE HOW MANY MEETINGS WE THINK WE HAVE TO DO, BUT WE'RE PLANNING ON, WE MIGHT HAVE TO DO THREE MEETINGS A MONTH THROUGH NOVEMBER TO BE READY TO GIVE YOU YOUR FINAL RECOMMENDATION IN DECEMBER. I'M HOPING THAT BY THE TIME WE GET THERE, MAYBE WE CAN EASE OFF A LITTLE BIT. MAYBE IT'S...

RUNS A LITTLE SMOOTHER THAN IT COULD, AND WE CAN DO IT A LITTLE FASTER. WE FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO FRONT LOAD A LOT OF THOSE MEETINGS BECAUSE THIS IS NEW TO US. SO THAT'S GOING TO BE OUR PROCESS IN THE FALL. THEN THE BACK WILL HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS TO BRING TO YOU IN DECEMBER. YOU'LL HAVE A MONTH OR SO TO LOOK AT IT,

[00:25:04]

AND AT THAT POINT, A LOT OF THE WORK THAT I AND THE BAC AND OUR COMMITTEE WILL HAVE DONE WILL BE DONE, AND THEN IT WILL MOVE IN. KIND OF YOUR COURT AGAIN. AND CLAUDIA TO TO INFORM THE COMMUNITY OF WHAT IT IS, THAT THAT YOU'RE PUTTING FORWARD. SO TO START OUT YOUR THINKING ON THAT, LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT INS TAXES. AND SOMEBODY MENTIONED EARLIER TODAY, WE, YOU KNOW, THAT INS AND M&O TAXES ARE DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT BUCKETS, AND THAT'S ABSOLUTELY TRUE. IF YOU LOOK AT OUR INS RATES, COMPARED TO ALL THE DISTRICTS AROUND US, WE'VE GOT THE LOWEST ONE, AND THAT'S A FACTOR OF, ONE, WE HAVEN'T BUILT SCHOOLS. THE LAST ONE WE BUILT WAS IN THE 90S. AND WE COME EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS FOR THOSE M&O TYPE BONDS TO HELP RUN THE DISTRICT. AND WE'VE GOT A VERY HIGH TAX BASE FOR THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WE HAVE. AND SO OUR INS TAX RATE CAN BE RELATIVELY LOW. BUT WHAT YOU NEED TO KEEP IN MIND, WHENEVER WE COME TO YOU EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS AND YOU SAY, WHAT IS OUR BOND CAPACITY AT 12 CENTS, AND I GIVE YOU A NUMBER. I'M MAKING A REALLY, REALLY CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE SO THAT I KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO COME IN HERE AND SAY, UH-OH, WE NEED TO INCREASE THE TAX RATE FROM 12 TO 14 CENTS. THE WAY THAT I'M ESTIMATING IT, WHEN WE DO THOSE TYPES OF BONDS, I KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE SAFE. HOWEVER, WHEN WE SELL THOSE BONDS, THESE ARE INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTS, WE GET A TRIPLE-A RATING.

ON THOSE WITH THE WRAPPER FROM THE STATE. AND THE REASON WE CAN DO THAT IS BECAUSE THESE ARE UNLIMITED TAX SCHOOL BUILDING BONDS. AND WHAT THAT'S IMPLYING TO THE INVESTORS IS THAT YOU WILL SET THE TAX RATE AT A LEVEL SUFFICIENT TO SERVICE YOUR DEBT. AND SO IF WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THAT NOW, KEEP IN MIND THAT WE MIGHT BE TALKING ABOUT HAVING A TAX RATE THAT MOVES. THAT. WHEN THE COMMUNITY VOTES ON THAT BOND REFERENDUM, THEY ARE GIVING YOU PERMISSION TO DO THAT. AND SO UNLIKE ON THE M&O SIDE, WHERE IF YOU WANT TO INCREASE IT, WE GO THROUGH THE VADER PROCESS.

THERE'S A LOT OF STEPS TO GO THROUGH. IT GOES TO THE COMMUNITY SAYING, WE WANT TO INCREASE THE TAX RATE. DO YOU AGREE? WHEN THE COMMUNITY ADOPTS OR APPROVES A BOND REFERENDUM, THEY ARE GIVING YOU PERMISSION.

TO SET THE TAX RATE WHERE YOU NEED TO SET IT. AND SO THERE'S NO NEED IF THREE YEARS DOWN THE LINE. WHEN WE SELL A TRANCHE OF BONDS, IF WE NEED TO INCREASE THE TAX RATE, WE JUST INCREASE THE TAX RATE.

IN FACT, YOU'RE REQUIRED TO INCREASE THE TAX RATE.

WITH THIS STIPULATION, THERE'S A 50-CENT MAXIMUM INS TAX RATE.

LIKE I SAID, WE'RE AT 12 CENTS.

A LOT OF DISTRICTS ARE AT 50 CENTS. AND I PUT A NOTE ON THERE. THAT IF SELLING THE BONDS WOULD SET A LEVEL OF DEBT THAT CAN'T BE SERVICED AT THE 50 CENT RATE, YOU CAN'T SELL THEM. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO A NUMBER OF DISTRICTS LOCALLY IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AS THE LEGISLATURE HAS GONE IN AND MADE CHANGES THAT EFFECTIVELY LOWERED WHAT YOUR TAX BASE WAS.

SO THEY WERE PLANNING ON SELLING SOME BONDS, THE LEGISLATURE MADE A MOVE, AND THEN THEY SAID, WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO SELL THESE BONDS BECAUSE WE CAN'T SERVICE THEM AT 50 CENTS.

THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE A PROBLEM FOR YOU, BUT I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THE. THAT IS A HARD LIMIT ON WHAT THAT INS TAX RATE CAN BE. AND I'VE ALREADY MADE THAT LAST POINT. SO HOW DO WE GO ABOUT FINDING AND DETERMINING WHAT OUR DEBT CAPACITY IS? THIS IS THE REQUIRED DEBT SERVICE FOR OUR EXISTING DEBT. AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT 2026, WHICH IS THIS YEAR, WE'RE COLLECTING THE MONEY RIGHT NOW, AND ACTUALLY, WE PROBABLY COLLECTED ALMOST ALL OF IT AT THIS POINT.

FOR ALL THAT ROUGHLY $25 MILLION THAT WE NEED TO PAY IN 2026. SO WE JUST MADE AN INTEREST PAYMENT IN FEBRUARY, AND WE'LL MAKE A PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENT IN AUGUST, WHICH WILL BE ABOUT $25 MILLION. WE'RE COLLECTING A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT.

NEXT YEAR WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT LOWER PAYMENT, AND THEN YOU SEE THAT THERE'S A STEP-OFF IN 2028. SO HERE'S HOW WE GO

[00:30:02]

NOW YOU CAN LEGALLY SELL LONGER BONDS THAN THAT. YOU CAN SELL BONDS TO A MAXIMUM OF, I BELIEVE, 40 YEARS. MOST DISTRICTS DON'T SELL 40-YEAR BONDS, BUT A LOT OF DISTRICTS SELL 30-YEAR BONDS, AND QUITE A FEW DISTRICTS WILL SELL 30-YEAR BONDS, AND THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE ONE BOND THAT'S 35 YEARS, IT'S A BIG KIND OF LUMP SUM PAYMENT, WITH THE IDEA THAT BY THE TIME 35 YEARS ROLLS AROUND, THAT WON'T SEEM LIKE AS MUCH MONEY. WE'VE NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE, WHICH IS WHY YOU SEE ON OUR DEBT CAPACITY. KIND OF THAT STAIR STEP LOOK. AS OLD BONDS COME OFF, THEN WE HAVE A LOWER DEBT PAYMENT, AND THEN WE FILL THAT UP, AND SO THAT'S HOW WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP A RELATIVELY FLAT TAX RATE. ACTUALLY, NOT ONLY HAS IT BEEN FLAT, IT'S DECREASED. OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, WE'VE GONE FROM $0.1725 TO $0.14, NOW TO $0.12. AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IN JUST A MINUTE.

BUT HERE'S HOW WE DO IT. SO HERE'S OUR AVAILABLE DEBT SERVICE. AND SO THIS IS, AGAIN, THE THEORETICAL OF, IF I WAS PRESENTING TO YOU, WHAT OUR CAPACITY FOR AN M&O-TYPE BOND WOULD BE.

SO WE HAVE THIS REQUIRED DEBT SERVICE. THIS IS ROUGHLY HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE COLLECTING THIS YEAR, AND I SAY THAT'S HOW MUCH MONEY. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SERVICE THE DEBT INDEFINITELY. OUR TAX BASE IS NOT GOING TO INCREASE OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS. THAT'S IT. AND SO WE GO IN, AND WHAT WE LOOK AT, WE SEE A GAP RIGHT THERE IN 2027, WHICH WE ANTICIPATE. AND WHAT WE HAVE HISTORICALLY DONE IS THAT WHEN WE HAVE THAT GAP, WE GO OUT AND TAKE ONE OF OUR OLDER CALLABLE BONDS, PAY IT EARLY, FILL IN THAT GAP. AND SO IF WE WERE TO SELL, WANTED TO SELL BONDS IN 2027, THOSE BONDS, WE WOULDN'T START MAKING PAYMENTS ON THEM UNTIL THE 2028 SCHOOL YEAR. SO, THE 27-28 SCHOOL YEAR. AND SO THIS REPRESENTS A $100 MILLION BOND. AND SO THAT GAP IN 2028 BETWEEN HOW MUCH WE ALREADY HAVE TO PAY VERSUS HOW MUCH WE'RE GOING TO BE COLLECTING IS ABOUT $7.2 MILLION. SO, OUR REQUIRED DEBT SERVICE IS $7.2 MILLION. 18-ISH MILLION DOLLARS IN THAT YEAR.

AND SO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT WE'RE COLLECTING IS HOW MUCH MONEY WE CAN USE TO SERVICE DEBT, AND THAT COULD SERVICE ABOUT $100 MILLION. AND SO IF WE WERE DOING WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST, I'D COME IN AND SAY, YOUR CAPACITY IS $100 MILLION, AND I WOULDN'T GIVE A PRESENTATION, AND WE'D BE DONE. BUT, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE LOOKING AT IT A LITTLE DIFFERENT. SO THIS IS WHAT WE WOULD DO WITH AN M&O TYPE BOND. AND THE BIG PARTS... ARE WE'RE ASSUMING NO TAX BASE GROWTH. WE ARE USING THE INCREASED CAPACITY, AS WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE TAX BASE GROWTH, TO RETIRE DEBT EARLY.

AND WHEN THE SITUATION ALLOWS IT, WE'VE LOWERED THE TAX RATE.

AND THE REASON WE CAN DO THAT IS BECAUSE OUR TAX BASE OVER THE LONG TERM DOES NOT STAY CONSTANT. AND SO THIS SHOWS OUR GROWTH FROM THE 07-08 TO OUR CURRENT YEAR. YOU CAN SEE WE HAD QUITE A PEAK THERE FOLLOWING COVID, AND WE'RE A LITTLE BIT, WE STILL HAVEN'T CAUGHT UP TO WHERE WE WERE. WE WERE STILL LOWER THAN WE WERE BACK IN 22-23.

BUT THE OVERALL TREND AND MY, IT LOOKS LIKE MY LINE GOT A LITTLE OFF KILTER FROM WHERE IT WAS, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE IDEA. IF WE TAKE WHERE WE STARTED IN 07-08, AND WE LOOKED. OUT TO 25-26, THAT CORRESPONDS TO A ROUGHLY 5% PER YEAR CHANGE. BUT YOU CAN SEE SOME YEARS MUCH HIGHER GROWTH THAN THAT, SOME YEARS LOWER. SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOME YEARS THAT ARE NEGATIVE GROWTH.

BUT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT IT OVER THE LONG TERM, WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO GROW.

SO THIS IS NOT WHAT WE SEE. WE ACTUALLY SEE SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE THAT. AND IF WE SHOWED IT OVER THE ENTIRE TIME, YOU SEE THAT OUR OUR CAPACITY TO SERVICE. MORE AND MORE DEBT INCREASES OVER TIME, WHICH IS, AGAIN, WHY WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO TAKE ON LARGER AND LARGER BOND PROGRAMS AND, AT THE SAME TIME, LOWER INS TAX RATE. SO I THINK WE NEED TO CONSIDER SOME DIFFERENT ASSUMPTIONS WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT THIS TRANSFORMATIVE BOND.

SO FORGET ABOUT SOME OF THOSE, BUT KEEPING IN MIND, WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF DEBT. STILL NEED TO PLAN ON THOSE MAINTENANCE BONDS.

AND I STILL THINK A 20-YEAR MAXIMUM MATURITY IS APPROPRIATE FOR THOSE. BECAUSE WE'RE NOT

[00:35:01]

SOME OF OUR, YOU KNOW, TECHNOLOGY, FIVE YEARS OR FOUR YEARS. AND SO IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO STRETCH THE DEBT FOR THOSE OUT 30 YEARS. HOWEVER, IF WE'RE BUILDING NEW BUILDINGS, IT ABSOLUTELY IS DEFENSIBLE AND MAKES SENSE, I THINK, TO LOOK AT 30-YEAR BONDS FOR THOSE.

AND, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, OUR NEWEST SCHOOL IS OLDER THAN 30 YEARS, SO THEY DEFINITELY HAVE A LIFESPAN OF LONGER THAN 30 YEARS.

BUT WE, I THINK WE NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE TAX BASE WILL GROW. AND I THINK WE HAVE TO ALLOW SOME UNCERTAINTY IN WHAT THE INS TAX RATE IS GOING TO BE, BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW WHAT THE HISTORICAL AVERAGE GROWTH IS, ANY GIVEN YEAR WE DON'T KNOW.

AND, AGAIN, JUST BECAUSE IT'S HISTORICALLY DONE, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT'S WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE 20 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE. IT MIGHT BE LESS. IT MIGHT BE MORE. WE DON'T KNOW. BUT IT WILL GROW AND IT WILL CHANGE. SO I WANTED TO KIND OF SHOW YOU WHAT THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE. SO THE 2027 TOTAL PACKAGE, IF WE LOOKED AT THE FULL LRFPC RECOMMENDATION, PROBABLY SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF $800 MILLION, JUST THE CONSTRUCTION PORTION OF IT. RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT THE M&O PORTION NEEDS TO BE ROUGHLY $100 MILLION. SO IF WE THOUGHT OF THAT AS A TOTAL PACKAGE.

WE'RE LOOKING AT $900 MILLION.

AND SO I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

IF WE DO A $100 MILLION M&O PACKAGE IN 2027, AND THEN WE DO THE CONSTRUCTION PORTION.

SELLING THE FIRST PART OF IT IN 2028, $200 MILLION, $200 MILLION IN 2030, AND THEN $400 MILLION IN 2032. NOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE WOULD ACTUALLY DO THIS. I THINK THAT... THAT'S PROBABLY A PRETTY AGGRESSIVE TIMELINE FOR DOING THE WHOLE THING. I DON'T THINK WE'D NEED THE MONEY THAT FAST, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU JUST SOME IDEA BECAUSE WE WOULDN'T SELL IT ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

BUT I ALSO WANTED YOU TO SAY, TO KNOW THAT. IN THE MIDDLE OF DOING THIS, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THOSE M&O PACKAGES AGAIN EVERY FOUR YEARS. SO I PUT ANOTHER ONE OUT THERE IN 2031. THAT, AGAIN, WOULD BE A 20-YEAR PACKAGE AT $125 MILLION, AND ANOTHER IN 2035, A 20-YEAR PACKAGE AT $150 MILLION. SO HERE'S OUR EXISTING DEBT. IF I LAYER ON THOSE M&O PACKAGES, SO YOU SEE A NEW ONE POPPING IN THERE IN 2032 AND ANOTHER NEW ONE POPPING IN AT 2035, THAT'S INCREASING OUR DEBT PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY. IF WE WERE TALKING ABOUT ONLY DOING THOSE M&O PACKAGES, 12 CENTS WOULD PROBABLY BE SUFFICIENT TO COVER THAT. BUT IF WE LAYER IN THAT $800 MILLION FOR THE FULL PACKAGE, AGAIN, $200 MILLION TWO YEARS LATER, ANOTHER $200 MILLION TWO YEARS LATER, PLUS $400 MILLION, YOU SEE THAT INSTEAD OF HAVING A TOTAL DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENT IN 2026 OF ROUGHLY $25 MILLION, IT'S JUST SHORT OF $90 MILLION IN 2036. SERVICE CLOSE TO A BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF DEBT. AND ACTUALLY, IT WILL BE MORE THAN A BILLION DOLLARS OF DEBT WHEN YOU INCLUDE IN ALL THOSE OTHER M&O PACKAGES. SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? IF WE WENT WITH THE WAY THAT I'VE GIVEN YOU YOUR DEBT CAPACITY BEFORE, ASSUMING THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO SEE ANY GROWTH IN THE M&O, EXCUSE ME, IN THE TAX BASE, IT LOOKS MUCH WORSE. AND LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. SO YOU? THAT'S WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE, ROUGHLY IF THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN THE TAX BASE. NOW, I SUSPECT THAT IF WE GOT TO 2028 OR 2030 AND WE ARE SITTING IN EXACTLY THE SAME TAX BASE, THEN THAT WE ARE NOW, YOU WOULD SAY, DO NOT SELL ANY MORE OF THOSE BONDS. WE'RE GOING TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO WITH WHAT WE GOT. WE'RE STOPPING NOW UNTIL WE SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

BUT IF WE DID DO IT, THAT'S WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE.

NOW, I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE, AND SO I WANTED TO SHOW YOU. NEXT, WHAT IF WE LOOKED AT THE 5% ANNUAL TAV CHANGE, WHICH IS WHAT WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST NUMBER OF YEARS. IT STILL LOOKS MUCH BETTER, BUT STILL WE TOP OUT AT 29 CENTS IN 2033. NOW, MOST DISTRICTS AROUND US WOULD SAY 29 CENTS INS RATE, SIGN ME UP,

[00:40:02]

BUT THE 5% GROWTH RATE TOPS US OUT AT 15 CENTS, WHICH IS LOWER THAN WHAT WE WERE, LIKE I SAID, A FEW YEARS AGO, WHEN I FIRST GOT, WELL, I SAY, IT'S A FEW YEARS AGO, IT'S TURNED OUT. I'VE BEEN HERE A LONG TIME NOW.

BUT WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE, WE WERE AT 17.25 CENTS, AND THAT WAS A PRETTY LOW RATE THEN. AND SO, ROUGHLY FOR THREE ADDITIONAL PENNIES, WE THINK YOU CAN PROBABLY DO $200 MILLION. BUT AGAIN, THAT'S NOT A GUARANTEE. AND I'M GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THOSE UNCERTAINTIES IN JUST A MINUTE AS WELL. A $400 MILLION PACKAGE, AGAIN, AT ZERO GROWTH, TOPS YOU OUT AT AROUND $0.31. AND IF WE GOT, AGAIN, THAT AVERAGE GROWTH, THAT'S GOING TO TAKE YOU UP TO ABOUT $0.19, WHICH IS ROUGHLY, AGAIN, WHERE WE WERE 10 YEARS AGO. SO THERE ARE A LOT OF SOURCES OF UNCERTAINTY.

NUMBER ONE, THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT AND INTEREST RATE FLUCTUATIONS. CALCULATIONS ARE BASED ON WHAT THE MUNICIPAL BOND MARKET IS LOOKING LIKE TODAY. WHAT WILL IT LOOK LIKE IN 2027, 2028, ON OUT? WE DON'T KNOW. SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO FLUCTUATE WITH THE MARKET, AND WE DON'T KNOW HOW IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. TIMING OF CASH NEEDS. I THINK I'VE SHOWN A FAIRLY AGGRESSIVE SELLING OF THESE BONDS.

REALISTICALLY, I THINK THAT WE WOULDN'T NEED THE MONEY AS COMPRESSED TOWARDS THE FRONT OF THAT AS WHAT I'VE SHOWN.

AND THAT WOULD ALLOW US ACTUALLY TO SPREAD IT OUT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER AND PROBABLY ACHIEVE A LOWER TAX RATE THAN WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. IF WE, YOU KNOW, AT 5% GROWTH, WE COULD PROBABLY COME IN A LITTLE BIT LOWER.

BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU KIND OF AN IDEA BECAUSE I KNOW THAT.

THE INITIAL ESTIMATE WAS THAT THIS WHOLE THING COULD BE DONE IN SEVEN YEARS. I THINK THAT'S.

VERY AGGRESSIVE. I'M NOT SURE THAT CAN HAPPEN. BUT EVEN IF IT IS COMPLETELY DONE IN SEVEN YEARS, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY NEED ALL THE MONEY IN SEVEN YEARS. IT'S GOING TO STRETCH OUT OVER A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.

INFLATION, OBVIOUSLY, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THAT.

BUT CONSTRUCTION INFLATION KIND OF SOMETIMES OPERATES A LITTLE BIT SEPARATE FROM CPI. AND THE LONGER THE TIMELINE PUSHES OUT, THE MORE EXPENSIVE THINGS GET.

FINALLY, THE LEGISLATURE AND THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE IS WELL AWARE OF THIS, THAT THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AND THE GOVERNOR HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS. THE GOVERNOR HAS ACTUALLY MENTIONED ELIMINATING PROPERTY TAXES FOR SCHOOLS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE, BUT THAT WOULD THROW A MONKEY WRENCH IN THINGS. BUT SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THEY'VE TALKED ABOUT IS DECREASING THE AGE FOR FROZEN LEVIES FROM 65 TO 55. THAT WOULD GIVE US A HUGE HIT. I'VE HEARD THEM TALKING ABOUT CAPPING PROPERTY VALUES AT AN ANNUAL INCREASE OF 3%, NOT JUST HOMESTEADS, BUT ALSO COMMERCIAL PROPERTY.

THAT WOULD BE A HUGE CHANGE AS WELL. RIGHT NOW, THERE'S A CAP OF 10% ON HOMESTEADS AND NO CAP AT ALL ON COMMERCIAL PROPERTY. ONE

[00:45:01]

ON HOMEOWNERS, THE HOUSE TYPICALLY LIKES TO INCREASE COMPRESSION, WHICH IS ON TIER 1 OF THE M&O TAX RATE. THE SENATE LIKES TO INCREASE THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, WHICH HITS INS AS WELL. JUST AS AN FYI, AS A DISTRICT, WE PREFER COMPRESSION BECAUSE, NUMBER ONE, THAT DOESN'T IMPACT. RNS, IT ALSO DOESN'T IMPACT OUR GOLDEN PENNIES, WHEREAS WHEN YOU CHANGE THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION, IT DOES. AND THEN, FINALLY, OF COURSE, ELIMINATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOL PROPERTY TAXES.

IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN, BOY, WHAT A MESS. I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WOULD HAPPEN. WHENEVER A LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD DECIDES THAT THEY WANT TO BUILD A SCHOOL, DO THEY HAVE TO GET PERMISSION FROM EVERY VOTER IN THE STATE TO DO IT? I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WOULD WORK. SO, BUT THAT'S BEEN THROWN OUT THERE. SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT NUMBER OF YEARS AS THIS THING IS GOING ON. AND EVEN IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN IN 2027, YOU SEE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT SELLING THOSE BONDS OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS. SO SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN BETWEEN THE TIME WHEN YOU PASS A BOND AND WHEN YOU ACTUALLY GET READY TO SELL THE BONDS, THAT WOULD IMPACT. EITHER YOUR ABILITY TO DO THAT OR WHAT THE TAX RATE WOULD HAVE TO BE TO SUPPORT THE DEBT. SO, AGAIN, JUST ONE OTHER THING TO KEEP IN MIND, NOT THAT YOU NEED TO BASE YOUR DECISIONS ON THINGS THAT MIGHT HAPPEN, BUT JUST HAVE THEM IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND. SO I WANT TO GO BACK AGAIN TO THIS.

THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT OVER THE NEXT NUMBER OF WEEKS. TONIGHT IS JUST THE FIRST DISCUSSION.

BUT THEN WE NEED TO START TALKING ABOUT WHAT IS YOUR PRIORITY MOVING FORWARD SO THAT WE CAN GET THIS WHOLE PROCESS MOVING. AND BE READY TO PRESENT A RECOMMENDATION TO YOU IN DECEMBER. AND I'M HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

THANK YOU, CHRIS. THAT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION FOR US.

TRUSTEES, WHO WANTS TO KICK OFF QUESTIONS? OH, GREAT.

YOU'RE EXCUSED. JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, WHAT ARE YOU ASKING FOR US TONIGHT AGAIN? YOU DON'T NEED TO GIVE ME ANYTHING. THIS IS JUST INFORMATION AS YOU GET READY TO GO ABOUT YOUR DISCUSSIONS ON THE OTHER ISSUES. SO THAT WHEN WE COME TO MAY, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO GIVE STRONG CHARGE TO THE BAC COMMITTEE. THANKS FOR THE CLARIFICATION. ANY COMMENTS? CATHERINE? ALL RIGHT.

SO DIANE AND I HAD THE LUXURY OF ALREADY SEEING A PREVIEW OF THIS PRESENTATION, OR A VERSION OF IT A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.

BUT AS YOU WERE TALKING, IT JUST MADE ME THINK A LITTLE BIT. CHRIS, MAYBE YOU CAN PONTIFICATE ON WHAT HAPPENS IF, SO LET ME JUST CLARIFY, INS RATE, WHICH IS WHAT WE USE FOR OUR MAINTENANCE BONDS, WHICH IS NEW ROOFS, HVAC REPAIRS, THAT TYPE OF THING.

THAT STILL HAS TO GO FOR VOTER APPROVAL, EVEN IF WE'RE NOT INCREASING ABOVE THE 12 CENTS. CORRECT.

IT STILL GOES FOR VOTER APPROVAL. THAT'S RIGHT. SO THAT HAPPENS IN A MAY 2027 REFERENDUM? RIGHT. SO RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ASSUMING THAT, WELL, LET ME BACK UP. IF YOU WEREN'T GOING TO GO FOR... THE FOR THE TRANSFORMATIVE BOND IN MAY OF 27, OR YOU DECIDED TO SHELVE THE WHOLE THING. WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T GO FOR THE M&O BOND AT THAT TIME BECAUSE WHEN WE PASSED THE 2023 BOND, WE KNEW THAT THIS DISCUSSION WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. AND WE SET IT UP RATHER FOR. INSTEAD OF A FOUR-YEAR CYCLE, LIKE WE NORMALLY DO, WE, WE FUNDED IT FOR A FIVE-YEAR CYCLE, AND SO WE WOULDN'T NEED TO GO UNTIL 2028.

BUT BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO GO IN 20, IF YOU'RE GOING TO GO IN 2027.

FOR THE TRANSFORMATIVE BOND, WE WANTED TO INCLUDE THE M&O BOND BECAUSE WE DIDN'T THINK YOU WOULD WANT, AND I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE WISE TO GO FIRST FOR THE 2027 BOND AND THEN WAIT A YEAR AND GO FOR THE M&O BOND. I THINK THAT'S TOO CLOSE TOGETHER. AND SO WE'D

[00:50:02]

WE, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE IDEA WAS BROACHED THAT WE MIGHT HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT SOMETHING TRANSFORMATIVE, WAS THAT, AND THAT'S PART OF WHY WE SET THAT UP FOR A FIVE-YEAR BOND IN 2023.

IF WE GO OUT IN 2027, PRESENT A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY SAYS NO.

PERSONALLY, I WOULD TAKE THAT AS A HARD NO ON CONSTRUCTION, AND I WOULD COME BACK IN 2028.

AND OUR BASIC MESSAGE, I THINK, WOULD BE WE'VE HEARD WHAT YOU'VE SAID, YOU DON'T WANT TO, YOU KNOW, CHANGE OUR BUILDINGS, AND HERE'S WHAT WE NEED IN ORDER TO KEEP OPERATING.

HERE'S THE M&O BOND ONLY, YES OR NO. SO I THINK WE WOULD COME BACK IN 2028 WITH A PAIRED BACK, M&O ONLY BOND. SO LET ME SEE IF I CAN FRAME THIS UP. IF WE WENT FORWARD IN 27 OR 28 WITH A MAINTENANCE AND A CONSTRUCTION BOND, THAT WOULD BE JUST TWO LINE ITEMS THAT VOTERS HAVE TO PONTIFICATE AND VOTE FOR? IT WOULD PROBABLY BE MORE THAN THAT, ACTUALLY. SO THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT NEED TO BE SEPARATED OUT. SO ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH SCHAAP STADIUM NEEDS TO STAND ALONE. ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH STUDENT TECHNOLOGY NEEDS TO STAND ALONE. NOW, THE THE BULK OF THE M&O BOND AND THE THE CONSTRUCTION BOND COULD BE BUNDLED TOGETHER. AND AND THAT'S THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT YOU'LL NEED TO THINK ABOUT, BUT THAT'S, I DON'T THINK THAT'S SOMETHING YOU NEED TO, AGAIN, DECIDE NOW.

I THINK THERE'S PROS AND CONS TO DOING IT. NUMBER ONE, IF YOU WENT IN, HERE'S AN EXAMPLE. SO SOME PEOPLE HAVE IDENTIFIED OUR GREATEST NEED AS CEDAR CREEK ELEMENTARY, HILL COUNTRY MIDDLE SCHOOL. IF THAT WAS YOUR, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO WAS. HILL COUNTRY MIDDLE SCHOOL AND CEDAR CREEK, THAT WOULD NECESSITATE THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE A PLACE TO PUT THOSE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WHEN WE'RE REBUILDING THEIR SCHOOL. AND THE IDEA FROM THE LRFPC WOULD BE THAT THERE WOULD BE PART OF THE HIGH SCHOOL, CONSTRUCTION, WOULD BE A THREE-STORY ACADEMIC BUILDING.

AND SO THE PROCESS WOULD BE, YOU BUILD THE THREE-STORY ACADEMIC BUILDING AT THE HIGH SCHOOL. THEN YOU CAN MOVE THE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TO THE OLD NINTH GRADE CENTER AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, MOVING THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS INTO THE BUILDING, KNOCK THAT BUILDING DOWN, REBUILD IT, MOVE THEM BACK.

AND DEPENDING ON HOW IT WORKS OUT, MAYBE THEN YOU MOVE THE ELEMENTARY KIDS OVER TO THAT SAME SPOT THAT YOU JUST MOVED THE MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS OUT OF. TO DO CEDAR CREEK. SO IF THAT'S YOUR PRIORITY, THEN IT DOESN'T WORK UNLESS YOU BUILD THAT THREE-STORY ACADEMIC BUILDING AT THE HIGH SCHOOL. AND SO I WOULD SAY, IN THAT CASE, YOU PROBABLY NEED TO BUNDLE ALL OF THEM TOGETHER, SO IT'S EITHER YOU DO THEM ALL OR YOU DON'T DO ANY OF THEM. BECAUSE PASSING SAYING WE WANT TO BUILD THE MIDDLE SCHOOL, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY PLACE TO PUT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, KIND OF NEGATES THAT WHOLE PROJECT.

AND SO THERE MIGHT BE SOME THAT YOU COULD SEPARATE OUT. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THEM ALL TOGETHER AND FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS. THAT BEING ONE, THE OTHER ONE BEING THAT. WHEN YOU ARE PRICING THESE THINGS OUT AHEAD OF TIME, YOU'RE REALLY LOOKING AT WHAT DOES IT COST TO BUILD PER SQUARE FOOT? KIND OF THING. AND SOME THINGS ARE GOING TO RUN OVER, SOME THINGS ARE GOING TO RUN UNDER. AND TO HAVE THEM ALL

[00:55:01]

I'LL PROBABLY HAVE MORE QUESTIONS, BUT I'LL PASS THE MIC. OKAY.

THANK YOU, CATHERINE. KELLY? OH, SORRY. OKAY. KELLY, JAMES? I SAW JAMES HAD A QUESTION.

YEAH, CHRIS, A COUPLE OF THINGS. I THINK CATHERINE ASKED A COUPLE OF THESE, TOO, SO I'LL SKIP THAT. BUT, UM.

OBVIOUSLY, YOU BRING UP A GOOD POINT. THAT WHERE I WAS HEADED WAS, WE WOULDN'T DO MAINTENANCE ON A BUILDING. WE WERE GOING TO TEAR DOWN IN A YEAR OR TWO. HOWEVER, IF THE PLAN TO TEAR DOWN THAT BUILDING, IF THE VOTERS DIDN'T APPROVE THAT BOND, WE WOULD NEED TO DO MAINTENANCE ON IT. SO THERE IS THIS SORT OF, IF YOU MAKE THE MAINTENANCE BOND ITS OWN LINE ITEM, IT WOULD BE DIFFERENT BASED ON THE OUTCOME OF... A CONSTRUCTION BLOCK. YEAH, THAT'S ANOTHER REASON TO HAVE THEM TIED TOGETHER.

RIGHT. ANOTHER THING THAT OCCURRED TO ME WHILE YOU WERE TALKING WAS. WE STILL HAVE THE PFC. AND THE PFC COULD BE USED, YOU KNOW, IF WE GOT REALLY CREATIVE, TO FUND A REVENUE GENERATING PROPERTY. AND I THINK ABOUT LIKE, A PARKING GARAGE COULD BE A REVENUE GENERATING PROPERTY. AND SO YOU IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE BOND, YOU COULD USE THE PFC ON SOME THINGS THAT COULD GENERATE REVENUE. HAS THAT BEEN CONSIDERED, OR WOULD THAT BE CONSIDERED? IT HASN'T BEEN CONSIDERED YET.

WE CAN OBVIOUSLY LOOK AT THAT. THERE ARE ISSUES WITH USING THE PFC. NUMBER ONE AMONGST THEM IS THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ISSUE AAA-RATED BONDS. AND SO THESE BONDS, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT... THEY WOULD NOT BE UNLIMITED SCHOOL TAX, SCHOOL BUILDING BONDS. THEY WOULD BE REVENUE BONDS, MEANING WE'RE COUNTING ON REVENUE COMING IN IN ORDER TO MAKE THOSE DEBT PAYMENTS.

WE'RE GOING TO GET A HIGHER INTEREST RATE.

AND SO THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE WAY IS TO, AND OBVIOUSLY THE SAFEST WAY, IS TO SELL SCHOOL BUILDING BONDS.

BUT YES, YOU'RE RIGHT. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY. PARTICULARLY IF WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT WE BELIEVE WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY REVENUE GENERATING. HOWEVER, IF WE THINK THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, A PARKING GARAGE WILL BE REVENUE GENERATING, I WOULD RATHER THAT REVENUE GENERATED GO TO THE M&O FUND RATHER THAN BEING USED TO PAY REVENUE BONDS. A COUPLE OF THOUGHTS ON YOUR QUESTION. I TEND TO AGREE, AND NOT THAT YOU'VE ASKED FOR IT, WITH YOUR PROPERTY VALUE GROWTH MODEL. THE ALTERNATIVE TO THAT HAS HUGE IMPLICATIONS ON THE U.S. ECONOMY AS A WHOLE.

IN OTHER WORDS, WE WOULD BE IN A LOT BIGGER TROUBLE WITH A LOT OF THINGS IF THAT SORT OF SCENARIO DIDN'T PLAY OUT IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. AND THE OTHER THOUGHT I HAD WAS BUILDINGS AREN'T GETTING CHEAPER, ARE THEY? SO THE LONGER WE WAIT, IF WE FEEL THAT THERE ARE FACILITIES THAT NEED... SIGNIFICANT ATTENTION.

THE LONGER WE WAIT, THE MORE IT WILL ULTIMATELY COST THE CITIZENS OF THE DISTRICT.

YES, THAT'S TRUE. UH.

CONSTRUCTION INFLATION GENERALLY RUNS HIGHER THAN CPI.

YEAH, AND THEN CAN YOU REMIND ME AGAIN, OUR LAST BOND? WAS IT 2023? WAS IT WAS OVER 100 MILLION, 130 MILLION, AND WAS THERE SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT? BECAUSE NOW YOU'RE SAYING 100 MILLION AND THEN YOU'VE GOT IT GROWING. 25. WHAT DID WE DO IN 23? WAS IT THE SOLAR PANELS? WHAT WAS SO BIG IN 23? THAT WOULD MAKE YOU THINK THAT 100 WORKS NOW? WELL, NUMBER ONE, 2023 WAS A FIVE-YEAR BOND. AND SO IF WE WENT OUT IN 2027, WE'D ONLY NEED TO FUND THREE YEARS. SO IT WOULD KICK OFF. SO THE 2023 BOND WILL RUN THROUGH THE 28TH SCHOOL YEAR.

AND SO WE WOULD START OUT USING THAT MONEY IN 28-29. SO THERE'S A SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME IT'S GOING TO BE USED. PLUS, WE'RE LOOKING, LIKE YOU SAID, THAT WE'RE ASSUMING SOME OF THOSE THINGS ARE GOING TO BE LESS. BECAUSE IF WE'RE KNOCKING DOWN A BUILDING, WE DON'T NEED TO REPLACE ITS ROOF. WE'RE ALSO

[01:00:01]

TO TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THESE MORE UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT MIGHT BE AHEAD OF US. AND YOU ALSO USE 30-YEAR BONDS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION BOND.

CORRECT. AND YOU EXPLAINED THAT, BUT YOU DID MENTION THAT THERE'S AN OPTION FOR A 40-YEAR BOND. AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT GOING OUT FOR BONDS, YOU TRY TO MATCH IT WITH THE LIFESPAN OF WHAT IT IS THAT YOU'RE FUNDING. AND AS WE KNOW, THE SCHOOLS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THEY'VE BEEN AROUND FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS. SO IT WOULDN'T BE INAPPROPRIATE TO THINK ABOUT A 40-YEAR BOND IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES. CAN YOU TELL US, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT THIS WOULD LOOK LIKE? I'VE NOT RUN THOSE SCENARIOS, BUT I CAN. I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT THAT.

I KNOW THAT THERE'S DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE ARGUMENT. YOU'RE BURDENING FUTURE TAXPAYERS, BUT THEY'RE GETTING THE BENEFIT.

SO I THINK IT WOULD BE WORTH LOOKING AT THAT BECAUSE THESE ARE INVESTMENTS IN THE FUTURE.

I THINK WE HAVE SOME GOOD ARGUMENTS OF WHY WE WANT TO INVEST, BUT THE QUESTION IS, OF COURSE, HOW MUCH. I KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LONG CAPACITY HERE TONIGHT, BUT YOU TALKED A GOOD BIT ABOUT THE BACK AND THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT GOES INTO THAT.

WE'VE BEEN VERY BLESSED THAT WE HAVE SO MANY COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO PUT QUITE A BIT OF TIME INTO THESE COMMITTEES. I KNOW SOME OF YOU HAVE SERVED ON THEM, THESE TRUSTEES HERE.

I'VE ATTENDED THE MEETINGS I HAVEN'T SERVED, AND I'VE ALSO ATTENDED A LOT OF THE LONG-RANGE FACILITIES COMMITTEES. YOU'RE TALKING, WE'RE TALKING, I JUST WANT TO THROW IT OUT THERE. I DON'T NEED ANSWERS, BUT I WANT TO CHALLENGE US. I'M CONCERNED.

WHEN I HEAR ABOUT THREE MEETINGS IN AUGUST, THREE MEETINGS IN SEPTEMBER, A LOT OF ASK OF THE COMMUNITY TO SIT IN THESE MEETINGS. THE QUESTIONS I HAVE ARE, HOW CAN WE MAKE THESE MEETINGS AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE FOR OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS? AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T SOMETIMES HAD THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO BE HYBRID. I THINK THAT COULD BE HELPFUL.

WE, YOU KNOW, OUR FLIPPED CLASSROOMS, WHERE PEOPLE GET INFORMATION TO DIGEST AHEAD OF TIME. HELPFUL. SO I JUST WANT TO. PUT THAT OUT THERE BECAUSE IT'S A CONCERN OF MINE AS WE'RE LOOKING FOR GOOD PEOPLE TO COMMIT. YOU NEED PEOPLE TO BE PRESENT FOR EVERYTHING, TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SMART DECISIONS. AND I GUESS THE LAST THING I'VE NOTED FOR TONIGHT WAS JUST IN ADDITION TO THOSE SOURCES.

OF UNCERTAINTY THAT THE LEGISLATURE PUTS ON US. THERE WAS SOMETHING CALLED HB19 LAST TIME AROUND THAT WANTED TO LIMIT OUR BOND CAPACITY AND ALSO WHEN WE CAN PUT BONDS ON THE BALLOT. SO THAT'LL BE COMING BACK AROUND NEXT SPRING AND IT'S SOMETHING ELSE TO CONSIDER. IT DOES EVERY YEAR. SO I WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT THERE AS WELL. BUT I THINK FOR TONIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS INFORMATION. THANK YOU, DIANE. WE'LL NEXT HAVE JOHN, FOLLOWED BY LAURA.

CHRIS, THE 5% HISTORICAL GROWTH, THAT WAS GOING BACK TO, WHAT WAS IT, 2007, 2008? OKAY. IF WE WANTED TO BE MORE CONSERVATIVE AND GO BACK EVEN FURTHER, HAVE YOU DONE THAT? AND WHAT DO WE AVERAGE OUT TO? I WENT BACK TO 2007, 2008 BECAUSE THAT WAS AS FAR BACK AS I COULD FIND THE DATA.

BUT I CAN DO A SEARCH AND SEE IF I CAN FIND MORE AND STRETCH IT BACK A LITTLE BIT FURTHER.

I'M JUST THINKING, IF YOU...

IF YOU WERE TO SAY, IGNORE SOME OF THE BOOM, WE GOT AROUND COVID AND ALL OF THAT AND TAKE THAT OUT AND THEN SEE WHAT WE CAME OUT TO, PART OF ME PUSHING BACK FURTHER WAS TO TRY TO WATER THAT DOWN A BIT. JUST TRYING TO SEE WHAT A, WHAT A CONCERN, BECAUSE I DO AGREE THAT 0% IS TOO, TOO CONSERVATIVE. I MEAN, TO JAMES'S POINT, IF WE'RE GOING THIS AMOUNT OF TIME WITH 0% GROWTH, OUR COUNTRY HAS FAR MORE SEVERE PROBLEMS. BUT MAYBE FIVE IS STILL TOO ROSY. AND I WAS TRYING TO COME UP WITH, IS TWO AND A HALF A CONSERVATIVE BUT REALISTIC, OR IS IT SOME OTHER NUMBER?

[01:05:01]

MY GUT FEELING IS THAT TWO AND A HALF IS PROBABLY PRETTY CONSERVATIVE, THAT THE REAL NUMBER IS IN THE 5% RANGE. IF YOU LOOK AT KIND OF THE TREND WE SEE THERE BETWEEN... 11, 12, AND RIGHT BEFORE COVID, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE JUST ABOUT REGRESSED TO THE MEAN.

AND WE'RE PROBABLY, RIGHT NOW, ALL MY MODELS ARE PROJECTING 0% CHANGE FOR THE COMING YEAR.

THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'RE HEARING, THAT WE'RE STILL KIND OF DEPRESSED HERE IN AUSTIN.

BUT I'M ANTICIPATING, HOPING, THAT THE FOLLOWING YEAR THAT WE'RE GOING TO START MOVING.

YOU KNOW, IN THE POSITIVE DIRECTION AGAIN. OKAY. AND THEN I'M TRYING TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND WHAT THESE INCREASES IN THE INS RATE WOULD MEAN TO THE AVERAGE TAXPAYER. SO JUST TO PICK A ROUND NUMBER, FOR EVERY 10 CENTS THAT WE INCREASE THE RATE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE AVERAGE HOME BUYER OR HOMEOWNER, I MEAN? OKAY.

WELL, WE COULD SAY, LET'S JUST PICK IF A HOMEOWNER HAS A MILLION DOLLARS OF TAXABLE VALUE, WHICH IS, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S THE MEDIAN, BUT IT'S IN THERE. SO THAT WOULD BE, 10 CENTS WOULD BE ABOUT $1,000. YEAH, OKAY.

JUST BECAUSE, JUST FOR THE COMMUNITY'S BENEFIT, THESE RATES ARE, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER OF PENNIES PER $100. CORRECT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

SO THEN SOME OF THESE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I THINK OBVIOUSLY PLENTY OF FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY DO HAVE HOMES OVER A MILLION IN VALUE. AND THEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THESE RATES THAT ARE HIGHER AS WELL.

BUT THAT'S A DECENT THING FOR EVERY A MILLION FOR. EVERY MILLION DOLLARS IN VALUE, IT'S GOING TO BE $1,000 FOR EVERY 10 CENTS? YES.

OKAY, SO THAT WORKS. MILLION DOLLARS IN TAXABLE VALUE, WHICH WILL BE LESS THAN THE APPRAISED VALUE. BECAUSE OF THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION? HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION IS CORRECT.

RIGHT. AND THEN CAN YOU WALK THROUGH HOW, LIKE, ONCE YOU'RE... ONCE YOU HIT SOME OF THESE CAPS, LIKE ONCE YOU HIT 65, HOW DOES THAT IMPACT THE INS RATE? SURE. SO ONCE YOU HIT 65, WELL, LET ME TELL YOU HOW IT WAS.

FOR YEARS, IT WAS ONCE YOU HIT 65, HOWEVER MUCH MONEY YOU PAID IN SCHOOL TAXES THE YEAR YOU TURNED 65, THAT WAS THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT YOU WOULD EVER PAY. MNO AND INS, BOTH? MNO AND INS, BOTH. OKAY. FROZEN TAXES. SO WHATEVER YOU PAID THE YEAR YOU TURNED 65, THAT'S WHAT IT STAYED. A COUPLE OF SESSIONS AGO, THE LEGISLATURE ACTUALLY WENT IN AND SAID THAT. OUR SENIORS WHO HAVE FROZEN TAXES OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THIS COMPRESSION.

AND SO THEY CREATED A SYSTEM WHERE, AS THE TAX RATE COMPRESSES, THE FROZEN TAXES COMPRESS AS WELL. SO, ACTUALLY, MOST SENIORS' TAXES ARE GOING DOWN. IN FACT, WE GET CALLS.

AROUND TAX NOTICE TIME EVERY YEAR NOW, SAYING MY TAX BILL SAYS ZERO.

IS THAT RIGHT? AND THE ANSWER IS YES, IT'S RIGHT. SO SOME OF OUR SENIORS ARE ACTUALLY PAYING ZERO IN EANS ISD SCHOOL TAXES BECAUSE OF COMPRESSION. OKAY.

WOW. I THINK THAT'S IT FOR NOW, KIM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, JOHN. LAURA? CHRIS, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION AND FELLOW TRUSTEES FOR THE GREAT QUESTIONS.

JOHN, I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING UP THE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE IMPACT ON THE TAXES. WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK AHEAD OF US, AND I THINK THAT WE NEED TO SEE A PLAN. I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL FOR US TO SEE A PLAN OF HOW THIS COULD ALL POSSIBLY PLAY OUT. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE LOTS OF MOVING PARTS. COMMUNICATION IS GOING TO BE A BIG PART OF IT, CLAUDIA, AS YOU KNOW.

WE NEED TO DO SOME STRONG COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND THEN WE'LL ALSO COME BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AS WELL TO DO INFORMATIONAL. PROBABLY IF WE DO THIS, THEN IN THE SPRING WE'LL NEED TO GO WITH A HEAVY INFORMATIONAL CAMPAIGN. AND SO I THINK SEEING SOME OF THOSE PLANS AHEAD OF TIME COULD BE HELPFUL FOR US. OH, AND JOHN, I HAVE A THOUGHT. YOU ASKED ABOUT LIKE THE PREVIOUS YEAR BEFORE 07-08. SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT IT WENT UP EVEN MORE

[01:10:03]

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS NOW.

NOTHING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, NOTHING THAT'S BEEN SAID, IS SET IN STONE. JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY IS AWARE OF THAT. THERE ARE, ULTIMATELY, THE BOARD WILL MAKE THIS DECISION BASED ON A LOT OF IMPACT FROM THE COMMUNITY.

I'VE SEEN BONDS, MAINTENANCE BONDS, THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE JUST MAINTENANCE BONDS, AND THEN WHEN IT CAME TO THE BOARD AND FOR THE BOARD TO APPROVE IT, BASED ON OUTPOURING OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT, WE ADDED THREE FACILITIES ONTO THAT BOND. SO WHAT WE TALK ABOUT OVER THE NEXT TEN MONTHS, NOTHING WILL BE SET UNTIL WE REALLY, THE BOARD SITS AND REVIEWS THE PRESENTATION AND DECIDES WHAT'S GOING TO BE ON A FUTURE BOND FOR US.

CHRIS, I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION BONDS, AND I NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT THAT IS COMPLETELY SEPARATE FROM M&O. AND WE TALK A LOT ABOUT OUR M&O BUDGET AND OUR M&O BUDGET, THIS, AND THAT'S COMPLETELY SEPARATE.

FROM THIS MAINTENANCE BOND.

THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT, LAURA. I WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFY THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE CERTAIN EXPENSES THAT BY LAW MUST BE IN THE OPERATIONS BUDGET. AND THEN THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT ARE ALLOWED TO BE COVERED BY BONDS AND SERVICED BY THE DEBT SERVICE TAX RATE.

AND SO... ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE WORKED ON FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, THIS HAS BEEN, LIKE I SAID, ONE OF OUR PRIMARY...

BUDGETING STRATEGIES IS FINDING EXPENSES THAT WE'RE PAYING ON THE MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS SIDE OR IN THE OPERATIONS BUDGET, AND MOVING THEM TO THE INS SIDE. AND SO JUST TO RECAP SOME OF THOSE THINGS, WE, IN OUR LAST BOND, OF COURSE, WE DID. ONE OF THE VISIBLE ONES THAT EVERYBODY SEES IS THE SOLAR PANELS THAT WE PUT UP EVERYWHERE. ELECTRIC COSTS ARE EXPENSES, BELONG IN THE OPERATIONS BUDGET.

SOLAR PANELS ARE CAPITAL. YOU CAN PAY FOR THEM OUT OF DEBT SERVICE, AND THEY HAVE THE BYPRODUCT OF LOWERING YOUR ENERGY BILL.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE TOOK A LOT OF OUR SAAS SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE, WHICH MUST BE CAPITALIZED NOW, AND WE HAVE CAPITALIZED THAT IN THE... DEBT SERVICE BUDGET.

AND SO THAT'S A BIG ONE. AND WHENEVER WE FIND EXPENSES LIKE THAT, WE LIKE TO MOVE THEM OVER IF WE CAN.

AND SO OVER THE YEARS, IT'S BECOME JUST ONE OF OUR MOST POWERFUL TOOLS THAT WE'VE GOT TO HELP OUT OUR OPERATIONS. BUDGET.

BUT YES, WE ARE NOT CHARGING M&O EXPENSES THAT MUST BE M&O ON THE OPERATIONS BUDGET TO INS. THAT WOULD BE ILLEGAL.

EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN THE INS BUDGET IS LEGAL, EVEN THOUGH IF WE WEREN'T PAYING FOR IT THERE, WE WOULD PAY FOR IT OUT OF OPERATIONS. THANK YOU.

AND, CATHERINE, YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT ESSENTIALLY WHAT HAPPENS IF A MAINTENANCE BOND WERE NOT TO PASS. SO THE BOND LANGUAGE IS VERY, VERY PRESCRIPTIVE.

WHAT? WE CAN SAY ON THE BALLOT AND HOW, AND CHRIS KIND OF TOUCHED ON THIS, HOW WE HAVE TO SEPARATE THINGS OUT. SO NEW FACILITIES HAVE TO BE A SEPARATE, HAVE TO BE SEPARATED. AS CHRIS SAID, TECHNOLOGY IS SEPARATE AND ANY KIND OF SPORTS STADIUM. SO THOSE WOULD ALL BE, AND COULD ALL BE SEPARATE.

AND CHRIS EXPLAINED WHY HE PREFERS TO LUMP THEM TOGETHER.

BUT IDEALLY... WE WOULD SOLICIT ENOUGH SIGNIFICANT INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND DO ENOUGH COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND EDUCATION. THAT WHEN WE GOT

[01:15:02]

THANK YOU, LAURA. I'LL JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS, AND THEN I THINK, AS LAURA HAD SUGGESTED, I KNOW THAT. THIS IS THE FIRST, MAYBE NOT THE FIRST, BUT IN A SERIES OF PRESENTATIONS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM ADMINISTRATION ON BOND CAPACITY, ON OUR FUTURE OF EANS ISD, AND WHAT I GOT OUT OF THIS PRESENTATION, WITH ALL THE SPECIFICITY, THERE WERE SO MANY VARIABLES, AND SO MANY VARIABLES ARE MOVING AND UNCERTAIN. THAT LIST OF UNCERTAINTY COULD BE A LIST OF 50 INSTEAD OF FIVE. AND THERE'S NO CRYSTAL BALL, AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO HIT IT RIGHT IN THE TARGET. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THE HARD WORK.

IT'S NOT EASY WORK. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO THE HARD WORK OF MAKING OUR EXPERTS, GIVE US PRESENTATIONS AND GIVE US SCENARIOS, AND DO THE BEST WE CAN FOR THIS COMMUNITY. I DID LIKE LAURA'S IDEA, AND I THINK OTHERS' IDEAS OF...

AS WE CONTINUE THESE DISCUSSIONS, IF WE LOOK AT THE $200 MILLION BUCKET AND THE $400 MILLION BUCKET, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN AS TAXPAYERS? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO EANS IN TERMS OF FACILITIES AND HOW WE CAN IMPROVE WHAT WE DO FOR OUR STUDENTS AND OUR TEACHERS? SO I LIKE THE COURSE THAT YOU'RE SETTING FOR US, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO FUTURE DISCUSSIONS. I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO MR. KINNICKY, TOO. I JUST WANT TO SAY FIRST, THANK YOU, CHRIS, AND THE TEAM AND THE FINANCE COMMITTEE. I THINK THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE TONIGHT OF OUR CFO DOING A LOT OF HOMEWORK AND LISTENING TO A LOT OF PEOPLE. AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, BESIDES TRUSTEES, THERE ARE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO SAT ON THIS COMMITTEE AND MADE SOME GREAT SUGGESTIONS. SO A LOT OF THAT ENDED UP IN THE DECK IN THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT.

AND WITH CHRIS'S GUIDANCE.

HELPING TO PREPARE ALL THAT.

SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THE INPUT AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE HOMEWORK THAT CHRIS OBVIOUSLY DID. AND I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT I HEARD A COUPLE OF REALLY IMPORTANT FACTS.

CHRIS IS REALLY GOOD AT SHARING AS WE WRAP UP AFTER THIS. ONE, WE'VE GOT BUILDINGS THAT HAVE REACHED THE END OF THEIR LIFE SPAN, AND EVERYBODY KNOWS IT. TWO, THEY ALWAYS, IT ALWAYS GETS MORE EXPENSIVE TO BUILD THE LONGER WE WAIT.

WE HAVEN'T BUILT A NEW FACILITY SINCE THE 90S. AND THEN, ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, IF WE LOOK AT ALL THOSE THINGS AS OPPORTUNITIES, WE HAVE THE LOWEST TAX RATE IN THE REGION, AND IT'S BEEN LOW FOR A LONG TIME. AND IT COMES BACK TO A STANDARD THAT REPRESENTS THE HISTORY OF THIS ENTIRE DISTRICT.

IN THE ACTIONS OF TRUSTEES OVER THE DECADES. AND OUR CASH BALANCE REPRESENTS THE HISTORY OF THE ENTIRE DISTRICT AND HAS BEEN STEWARDED BY AMAZING TRUSTEES AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS SUPPORTING THESE STRATEGIC MOVES OVER DECADES. AND SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS AS AN OPPORTUNITY, AND WE TALK ABOUT GENERATIONAL CHANGE, WHICH IS WHAT A TRANSFORMATIONAL BOND IS ABOUT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SECURING AND PROTECTING THE FUTURE GENERATIONS. JUST AS THE PAST GENERATIONS DID WITH REALLY STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING. AND THAT'S A GREAT DIALOGUE AND CONVERSATION TO HAVE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF EAN. SO THANK YOU, CHRIS. THANK YOU

[8.1 Request to approve the District action plan for the application submis...]

TO APPROVE THE DISTRICT ACTION PLAN FOR THE APPLICATION SUBMISSION FOR DELAY OF TEACHER CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.

WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA WELCOME LAURIE LEE AND ABBY BRIDGES. AND PRIOR TO THE PRESENTATION, DO WE NEED A MOTION? YEP, CAN I HEAR A MOTION? I MOVE THAT? THE BOARD APPROVE THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION DOI EXTENSION PLAN AND DISTRICT ACTION PLAN FOR THE DELAY OF TEACHER CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.

IN ACCORDANCE WITH HOUSE BILL 02, 89TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE, AND TEXAS EDUCATION CODE 21.0032, AUTHORIZING SUBMISSION OF THE PLAN TO THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY AND POSTING TO THE DISTRICT WEBSITE. I HAVE A MOTION BY KELLY. DO I HAVE A SECOND? I HAVE A SECOND BY LAURA. THANK YOU. AND I WILL

[01:20:03]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, KIM AND KELLY. THAT'S QUITE A MOUTHFUL. WE APPRECIATE THAT.

ABBY AND I ARE PLEASED TO BE HERE. WE'RE A LITTLE INTIMIDATED FOLLOWING MR. SCOTT'S PRESENTATION OF BOARD CAPACITY, BUT WE'LL DO OUR BEST. SO WE'RE HERE TODAY TO TALK A LITTLE BIT AND PROVIDE SOME CLARITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE CHANGES THAT HAVE OBVIOUSLY HAPPENED WITH OUR DISTRICT OF INNOVATION OR OUR DOI. YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY FOR THE BOARD. YOU KNOW THAT WE STARTED OUR DISTRICT OF INNOVATION IN 2016, AND THAT WAS GAVE US LOCAL CONTROL OVER SEVERAL THINGS, AND TEACHER CERTIFICATION WAS ONE OF THEM. BUT CALENDARS, START DATES, CLASSROOM, THANK YOU.

SIZE, WAIVERS, THOSE ARE ALL PART OF OUR DISTRICT OF INNOVATION. AND YOU CAN FIND OUR DOI OR OUR DISTRICT OF INNOVATION ON OUR WEBSITE IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT IT. WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE AMENDED IT PROBABLY EVERY FEW YEARS. YOU MAY REMEMBER, AS RECENT AS LAST YEAR, WE DID A COUNSELING CHANGE TO OUR DISTRICT OF INNOVATION. THAT ALLOWED US TO HIRE OUR SCHOOL-BASED THERAPISTS, SOCIAL WORKERS, IF WE COULD NOT FIND A SCHOOL COUNSELOR. BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE. LICENSED SCHOOL COUNSELORS ARE BECOMING VERY HARD TO FIND, AND SO WE DID GIVE OURSELVES A LITTLE BIT OF FLEXIBILITY IN THAT AREA.

SO WE'RE HERE TODAY BECAUSE THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS MADE SOME CHANGES TO OUR DISTRICT OF INNOVATION. AND HOW WE CAN HAVE THAT LOCAL FLEXIBILITY THROUGH OUR DOI IN CERTIFICATION. AND WE WERE ASKED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS TO PROVIDE YOU AN ACTION PLAN OF WHAT WE WOULD DO BECAUSE OF THESE CHANGES. CHANGES THAT HAVE COME ALONG. SO BASICALLY, THEY ARE NOW NARROWING HOW WE CAN USE OUR DISTRICT OF INNOVATION FOR EXEMPTIONS IN THE CORE SUBJECT TEACHING AREAS. ABBY'S GOING TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT BECAUSE SHE IS OUR CERTIFICATION QUEEN, BUT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT. READING, MATH, AND SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES, THOSE WOULD BE FOUNDATION AREAS THAT THESE WOULD NO LONGER BE ABLE TO BE EXEMPT IN. SO THERE IS A TIMELINE THAT THE STATE HAS ALLOWED US TO GO THROUGH, WHICH KIND OF GIVES US SOME A LITTLE BIT OF A RUNWAY TO MAKE THESE CHANGES. NOW YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO BE AWARE AND NOT BRING YOU A LOT OF UNCERTIFIED TEACHERS. I KNOW ABBY HAS A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ON THAT AND SHE CAN TALK TO THAT IN A MINUTE.

BUT WE JUST WANTED TO KIND OF LET YOU KNOW OUR PLAN.

DURING THIS NEXT SCHOOL YEAR.

WE WOULD NO LONGER BE ABLE TO BRING K THROUGH FIVE READING AND MATH TEACHERS IN A DOI EXEMPTION, ACCORDING TO THIS NEW LEGISLATIVE CHANGE.

AND THEN BY 2930, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE. I MEAN, WE REALLY NEED TO BE FINISHED WITH ALL OF OUR DOI OR ANYTHING THAT WOULD WE WOULD DO IN THE AREA OF THOSE FOUNDATIONAL SUBJECTS.

NOW. YOU'LL ALSO HEAR LATER THAT THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THINGS LIKE KATE. AND SOME OF THOSE OTHER AREAS THAT ARE STILL HARD TO FIND CERTIFIED TEACHERS IN, AND MAY HAVE REALLY QUALIFIED BACKGROUNDS IN SOME AREAS. SO WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT, TOO. I'LL TURN IT OVER TO ABBY. SO WE ARE VERY, VERY FORTUNATE. WE DO NOT DOI VERY MANY PEOPLE, VERY MANY TEACHERS, I SHOULD SAY. AND THIS YEAR, WE DID PLACE ONE FOUNDATIONAL SUBJECT AREA TEACHER, A SECONDARY SCIENCE TEACHER, ON THE DOI WAIVER.

MANY NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS ARE PLACING 50, HUNDREDS OF TEACHERS. WE ARE SO FORTUNATE THAT WE'RE NOT IN THAT POSITION, BUT THESE CHANGES STILL DO AFFECT US.

AND WE LOOK AT THIS MORE AS DOI, USING THE DOI CERTIFICATION WAIVER IS OUR LAST RESORT OPTION WHEN WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE HIRING PROCESS FOR A TEACHER. IT'S OUR SAFEGUARD. AND WE BELIEVE THAT BY APPLYING FOR THIS ACTION PLAN AND SUBMITTING THE ACTION PLAN TO TEA AND SEEKING APPROVAL TO DELAY. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS NEW TIMELINE JUST GIVES US A LITTLE BIT OF SAFETY NET FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS. SO, ESSENTIALLY, WITH YOUR APPROVAL, WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO DO IS TAKE THIS ACTION PLAN, SUBMIT IT TO TEA. IF WE ARE GRANTED THAT APPROVAL, WE CAN STILL USE DOI FOR THOSE FOUNDATIONAL SUBJECT AREAS UNTIL THE 29-30 SCHOOL YEAR.

OUR PRINCIPALS ARE AWESOME.

THEY WANT TO HIRE A CERTIFIED TEACHER, BUT THEY ALSO WANT TO HIRE THE BEST PERSON, THE BEST CANDIDATE FOR THAT POSITION. AND WHAT WE SEE MOST OFTEN IS A LOT OF TIMES THEY FIND AN OUTSTANDING TA, THEY FIND AN OUTSTANDING SUBSTITUTE TEACHER IN THE DISTRICT THAT IS READY

[01:25:02]

AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE SOMETIMES LEAN ON THIS, ON THE DOI WAIVER. TO ALLOW US TO WORK WITH THAT TEACHER TO BEGIN THAT PROCESS.

BUT DEFINITELY, I WANT YOU TO HEAR. IT'S ALWAYS OUR GOAL TO FIND A CERTIFIED TEACHER, BUT SOMETIMES THIS GIVES US A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO GET US IN THAT PROGRAM AND GET GOING.

AND LAURIE MENTIONED THIS, AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, BECAUSE WHAT TA HAS SAID IS THAT THESE CHANGES ONLY APPLY TO THOSE CORE SUBJECT AREAS, AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE OFTEN USE DOI.

FOR THOSE CLASSROOM POSITIONS, LIKE I SEE TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS SOMETIMES COMES UP, OR WORLD LANGUAGES, MORE OF THOSE ELECTIVE COURSES, WE'RE STILL GOING TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE UTILIZING DOI AS NEEDED BEYOND THAT 29-30 SCHOOL YEAR MARK. AGAIN, THIS ACTION PLAN IS REALLY AROUND THOSE FOUNDATIONAL SUBJECT AREAS.

AND THEN IT. WE, LAURIE AND I, FEEL REALLY STRONGLY ABOUT THIS. WE HIRE TEACHERS AND WE DO PLACE THEM USING THAT DOI WAIVER. IT'S ALWAYS OUR GOAL TO GET THEM CERTIFIED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WE DON'T LIKE TO DOI PEOPLE YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR. WE COME UP WITH A PLAN. AND AS LAURIE MENTIONED, I SOMETIMES FEEL LIKE I'M HOUNDING OUR TEACHERS A LITTLE BIT ON. WHERE ARE WE AT? WHERE ARE WE AT? WHAT PROGRESS HAVE WE MADE? BUT AS SOON AS WE ONBOARD AN UNCERTIFIED TEACHER, WE'RE SETTING DEADLINES. WE HAVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH APPROVED EDUCATOR PREP PROGRAMS. I'M CONNECTING THEM WITH THOSE PEOPLE OR HELPING THEM KIND OF MAKE SOME DECISIONS IN WHAT PROGRAM IS BEST FOR THEM. AND NOT JUST GETTING THEM IN THE DOOR, GETTING THEM STARTED. WE KNOW THAT AND THEN SETTING DEADLINES ALONG THE WAY. AND I'M CHECKING IT WITH THEM ALONG THE WAY.

OH, THIS IS YOUR FEBRUARY REMINDER, WHICH MANY OF THEM JUST GOT A FEW WEEKS AGO.

WE'RE APPROACHING THIS UPCOMING DEADLINE. AND OUR BIG PUSH IS ALWAYS WE WANT TO SEE SOME PROGRESS. AND WE WANT TO SEE THAT CERTIFICATE, EVEN IF IT'S A TEMPORARY CERTIFICATE, BEFORE WE ISSUE CONTRACTS FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR.

BECAUSE THAT MAKES US FEEL REALLY GOOD THAT WE'VE GOT YOU CERTIFIED AND YOU'RE IN GOOD STANDING. LET'S HAND YOU ANOTHER CONTRACT. WE ALSO LIKE TO JUST BRAG ABOUT SOME OF OUR RECRUITING EFFORTS THAT WE'RE DOING. IT'S ALWAYS OUR GOAL TO RECRUIT AND BRING IN CERTIFIED TEACHERS FROM THE BEGINNING. WE'RE ATTENDING JOB FAIRS. WE ARE HOSTING VIRTUAL INFORMATION SESSIONS. SPECIFICALLY, IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF SESSIONS THAT ARE SCHEDULED SPECIFICALLY ABOUT HOW TO BECOME A CERTIFIED TEACHER.

SO GIVING CANDIDATES THAT INFORMATION UP FRONT. IF YOU'RE READY TO TEACH IN THE FALL, IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO ENROLL NOW. YOU CAN BE READY. SO GIVING THEM THAT INFORMATION UP FRONT.

PARTNERING WITH UNIVERSITIES AND EVEN EDUCATOR PREP PROGRAMS TO BUILD OUR STUDENT TEACHING PROGRAM. I BELIEVE WE HAVE ABOUT 15 STUDENT TEACHERS RIGHT NOW IN THE DISTRICT, WHICH IS A REALLY HIGH NUMBER FOR US. I'M REALLY PROUD OF THAT, AND WE MOVE QUICKLY TO TRY TO HIRE THEM. WE ARE ALSO WORKING ON, LATER, YOU WILL HEAR MORE ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO START A RESIDENCY PROGRAM, WHICH IS JUST GOING TO BE ANOTHER RECRUITMENT MEASURE TO BUILD THAT PIPELINE. WE CONNECT WITH CANDIDATES THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA. I CONNECT WITH...

PREP PROGRAMS AND SEND OUT TARGETED EMAIL MARKETING FOR POSITIONS. OR, HEY, WE HAVE THIS EVENT HAPPENING AND LOTS OF STUFF IS HAPPENING IN THAT BACKGROUND. SO THAT WE CAN GET THOSE APPLICANTS INTO OUR POOL. AND THE PRINCIPALS HAVE THOSE CERTIFIED IMAGE INDIVIDUALS WAITING IN THE QUEUE FOR WHEN THE JOB HAPPENS. AND TO ADD TO ABBY IN THE 15TH. OR STUDENT TEACHERS THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T SEEN NUMBERS LIKE THAT SINCE ABOUT 2015, LIKE 10 YEARS. SO I'M HOPING.

THAT ALSO MEANS THAT OUR UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS ARE STARTING, STUDENTS ARE STARTING TO TAKE INTEREST IN TEACHING AGAIN, AND THEN WE'LL START TO SEE THOSE PROGRAMS GROW.

THANK YOU, LAURIE. THANK YOU, ABBY. THANK YOU. TRUSTEES, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR LAURIE AND ABBY? JAMES? NOT REALLY A QUESTION, MAYBE GETTING ON A SOAPBOX FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR A MOMENT. PUBLICLY FUNDED TAXPAYER DOLLARS THAT GO TO PUBLIC CHARTERS AND NOW TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS, THOSE SCHOOLS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HIRE CERTIFIED TEACHERS.

IN PUBLIC EDUCATION, WE ARE AND WE'RE HELD ACCOUNTABLE WHEN WE DON'T. WE MAKE IT KNOWN TO OUR CUSTOMERS WHEN WE DON'T.

AND I THINK THAT'S HUGE FOR US, AND I APPRECIATE ALL OF THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING TO HELP OUR TEACHERS WHO ARE SEEKING CERTIFICATION TO GET THAT CERTIFICATION. AND I THINK THE STUDENT-TEACHER PIECE IS HUGE. THAT'S GREAT

[01:30:01]

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, JAMES.

DIANE? I'LL JUMP ON THE SOAPBOX WITH YOU THERE. YOU GOT ROOM ON THAT SOAPBOX? MY MICROPHONE IS A LITTLE BIT BROKEN. LORI, ONE TIME IN CONVERSATION, I LEARNED FROM YOU THAT WITH THE STUDENT TEACHING PROGRAM, THE STATE PROVIDES...

A CERTAIN LEVEL OF FUNDING FOR THAT. BUT IN FACT, THEY REQUIRE US TO PAY $20,000. CAN YOU JUST SPEAK TO THE FACT THAT THIS IS JUST ANOTHER AREA WHERE WE'RE MANDATED TO DO SOMETHING? AND WE'RE NOT FUNDED AT THE LEVEL THAT THEY TELL US WE NEED TO OPERATE AT? SO THE STUDENT TEACHING AND THE RESIDENCY PROGRAM ARE NEW, AND THEY WILL BE NEW TO US THIS NEXT SCHOOL YEAR.

WHEN WE TAKE A STUDENT TEACHER, THERE ARE NO FUNDS THAT NORMALLY COME WITH A STUDENT TEACHER.

FROM UNIVERSITY. AND WE HAVE SOME AMAZING MENTOR TEACHERS HERE AT EANS ISD WHO TAKE THEM IN AND, YOU KNOW, TEACH THEM THE ROPES, RIGHT? THEY CO-TEACH WITH THEM, THEY WORK WITH THEM. THEY PUT A LOT OF EFFORT AND TIME INTO THAT. AND AS A DISTRICT, WE PROVIDE THEM A VERY MINIMAL LITTLE STIPEND TO DO THAT, BUT IT REALLY IS JUST, IT'S REALLY NOT MUCH AT ALL.

SO, UNFORTUNATELY, OR FORTUNATELY, THEY ARE DOING THAT REALLY OUT OF GOODNESS OF THEIR HEART, BECAUSE THEY'RE WANTING TO GROW TEACHERS, RIGHT? WE HAVE NOW JOINED, WE JUST WERE GIVEN INFORMATION THAT WE BASICALLY WERE ACCEPTED TO THE LASSO 4 PROGRAM. WE DO NOT QUALIFY FOR ANY GRANTS IN THAT PROGRAM, AS TYPICAL FOR EANS ISD, BUT WE DID GET SOME ALLOTMENT OUT OF THAT. AND ONE OF THOSE ALLOTMENTS IS FOR THE RESIDENCY PROGRAM, WHICH WE WILL BE PARTNERING WITH TEXAS STATE. THAT'S A YEAR-LONG PROGRAM FOR RESIDENTS OR STUDENT TEACHERS WHO COME IN, AND THEY CO-TEACH WITH OUR TEACHERS. THEY WILL EARN $20,000. AS A RESIDENT TEACHER, 10 OF THAT IS GOING TO BE GIVEN TO US BY THE STATE. SO THAT ALLOTMENT IS THE $10,000 THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, DIANE. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE OTHER $10,000 THE DISTRICT WILL NEED TO, THAT WILL BE OUR LIFT, RIGHT? SO WE WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW MANY RESIDENTS WE'RE GOING TO GET OUT OF THIS PROGRAM.

OBVIOUSLY, YOU GET REALLY HIGH QUALITY TEACHERS FROM THIS PROGRAM. SO A LOT OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS AROUND US. ARE CLAMORING TO PARTICIPATE. ADDIE AND I WENT LAST WEEK TO WATCH SAN MARCOS AND THEY ARE IN THIS PROGRAM AND THEY ARE DOING IT REALLY WELL. SO WE WENT TO GO TALK TO THEM AND TEXAS STATE SO THAT WE COULD SEE HOW THIS WORKED. SO WE'RE REALLY, VERY EXCITED. AND WE HAVE SPOKEN WITH THE BUSINESS OFFICE ABOUT THAT EXTRA MONEY THAT WE KNOW THAT WE WOULD NEED TO APPLY TOWARDS OUR RESIDENTS.

AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE HOPING THAT WE GET FIVE OR SIX, BUT THAT'S A BIG FINGERS CROSSED. WE ARE NOT SURE. AND I THINK THE DISTRICTS AROUND US ARE NOT SURE EITHER, SO WE'LL SEE. WELL, THANK YOU.

IT'S CLEARLY AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE WHEN WE'RE INVESTING IN TRAINING, AND THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT.

ABSOLUTELY. SURE. THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OH, CATHERINE. ALL RIGHT. I'M THINKING ABOUT THIS. THE FIRST THING I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SAY IS THAT A CERTIFICATION DOES NOT NECESSARILY CORRELATE TO A SUCCESSFUL TEACHER, RIGHT? I THINK WE CAN SHOW THAT WE PROBABLY HAVE SOME VERY SUCCESSFUL TEACHERS WHO HAVEN'T, AREN'T CERTIFIED. SO I HAVE, I JUST WANT TO PUT THAT OUT THERE BECAUSE MY QUESTIONS, I REALLY, THIS IS KIND OF A NEW TOPIC FOR ME. WHAT'S THE PROCESS AND THE TIMELINE FOR A TEACHER TO ACHIEVE A CERTIFICATION? I THINK YOU SAID THAT WE BRING IN TEACHERS THROUGH ALL SORTS OF CHANNELS. MAYBE IT'S THROUGH, THEY'RE A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER.

WHAT, IF SHE OR HE DECIDES THEY WANT TO JOIN US, WHAT'S THAT TIMELINE LOOK LIKE FOR SOMEBODY TO BECOME CERTIFIED? THIS IS MY FAVORITE TOPIC. SO IT VARIES. I WOULD SAY IT DEPENDS ON THE CERTIFICATION AREA. IT DEPENDS ON THAT INDIVIDUAL'S CREDENTIALS. FOR EXAMPLE, IF AN INDIVIDUAL'S ENROLLS IN AN ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION AND THEY HAVE A DEGREE IN ENGLISH, BUT THEY WANT TO TEACH SOCIAL STUDIES, THEY MIGHT HAVE TO JUMP THROUGH EXTRA HOOPS TO SHOW THAT THEY HAVE CONTENT KNOWLEDGE IN SOCIAL STUDIES.

SO THAT MIGHT TAKE THEM A LITTLE BIT LONGER.

AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL, IF YOU PURSUE AN ELEMENTARY CERTIFICATE, YOU HAVE TO TAKE THREE EXAMS, NOT JUST ONE CONTENT EXAM.

EACH EXAM YOU TAKE,

[01:35:02]

BUT I WILL TELL YOU, IF YOU'RE VERY MOTIVATED, YOU ENROLL IN AN ONLINE KIND OF SELF-PACED PROGRAM, IF A TEACHER WANTED TO ENROLL TODAY, THEY COULD BE READY BY AUGUST. YES, WE HAVE INDIVIDUALS THAT COULD TAKE A LITTLE BIT LONGER, BUT I WOULD SAY A FEW MONTHS.

AND YOU COULD REALLY BE IN A GOOD PLACE. THERE IS A CERTAIN POINT IN THE PROGRAM THAT YOU, IF YOU'RE HIRED BY A SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE CAN WORK WITH THE PROGRAM AND PLACE YOU ON KIND OF A WAIVER. AND SO YOU CAN GET A TEMPORARY CERTIFICATE WHILE YOU COMPLETE SOME PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. AGAIN, IT DEPENDS ON THE TEACHER'S CREDENTIALS.

THAT'S THE HARD PART. IT'S ABOUT CERTIFICATION. IT'S SO INDIVIDUALIZED IN A LOT OF WAYS. IS THERE A PAY DIFFERENCE FOR, LET'S SAY, A CERTIFIED TEACHER VERSUS A NON-CERTIFIED TEACHER? IF CETERIS PARIBUS, THEY'RE BOTH TEACHING AN ENGLISH CLASS, BUT ONE IS CERTIFIED, THE OTHER ONE ISN'T. DO WE PAY THEM DIFFERENT AMOUNTS? WE DO NOT. WE HAVE... CHOSEN, WE HAVE MADE THAT DECISION AS A RECRUITMENT METHOD. THERE ARE SURROUNDING DISTRICTS THAT CHOOSE TO PAY THE UNCERTIFIED TEACHERS LESS. WE THINK THAT THAT'S A REASON THAT THEY MIGHT CHOOSE US TO COME WORK HERE VERSUS ANOTHER DISTRICT, AND THAT HAS SERVED US WELL.

WE ALSO KNOW THAT YOU'RE TEACHING FULL-TIME, YOU'RE WORKING FULL-TIME, YOU'RE DOING ALL THE WORK.

IN THE BACKGROUND, YOU'RE DOING EXTRA WORK BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING HOME AND STUDYING FOR YOUR CERTIFICATION EXAM, OR DOING MODULES, OR DOING CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS ONLINE.

AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE RECEIVE BENEFITS AND THINGS LIKE THAT SO THAT THEY CAN DO THIS JOB AND GET CERTIFIED. SO IT BENEFITS US IN THE LONG RUN. WE FEEL PRETTY STRONGLY ABOUT THAT. WE PAY THEM THE SAME. IS EANS PAYING FOR A TEACHER'S CERTIFICATION, OR DO THEY DO THAT OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKET? THEY DO THAT ON THEIR OWN. THAT CERTIFICATION WILL FOLLOW THEM FOR THE REST OF THEIR CAREER IF THEY CHOOSE, YOU KNOW, TO CONTINUE TO RENEW THAT. WE DO HAVE ONE PROGRAM SPECIFICALLY WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION. WE HAVE A REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM FOR ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION FOR UP TO 10 NEWLY HIRED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS EACH SCHOOL YEAR. I WORK WITH MATT ZEMO CLOSELY ON THAT. AND SO WHEN THEY HIT CERTAIN MILESTONES WITHIN THAT CERTIFICATION PROGRAM, WE WILL PROVIDE PROVIDE A REIMBURSEMENT UP TO $5,000. THE PROGRAMS COST ABOUT $4,000 TO $5,000. ALL RIGHT. SO IF I'M A TEACHER, IT DOESN'T PAY ME NECESSARILY MORE TO DO THE CERTIFICATION, BUT THE DISTRICT IS PAYING FOR IT AS AN ADDED BENEFIT. I'M GOING TO SAY IT'S KIND OF A BADGE OF HONOR, IF YOU WILL, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD. BEING A CERTIFIED TEACHER, WE'RE SAYING IT'S IMPORTANT.

WE'RE NOT SAYING IT'S NOT IMPORTANT, BUT THERE ARE SOME BENEFITS TO BEING A CERTIFIED TEACHER VERSUS NOT. WELL, IF YOU WANT TO WORK IN ANY PUBLIC SCHOOL, YOU'VE GOT TO HOLD THAT CERTIFICATE. AND I THINK THAT'S THE IMPORTANT PART. LONG-TERM, THEY NEED THAT. AND SO IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE AND STAY IN TRS, ULTIMATELY YOU'VE GOT TO GET THAT PIECE OF PAPER.

RIGHT. OR THE ALTERNATIVE IS TO, I THINK IT WAS JAMES' POINT, YOU WOULD HAVE TO GO WORK IN A PRIVATE SCHOOL WHERE IT'S NOT REALLY REQUIRED.

CORRECT. OKAY. OR CHOOSE A DIFFERENT ROLE. YOU KNOW, YOU COULD BE A TA OR SOME OTHER OPTIONS. SO THIS MIGHT BE MY LAST QUESTION, BUT I'M REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE CERTIFICATIONS AND THE TEACHER INCENTIVE ALLOTMENT.

IS THAT THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT WE GET WHEN A TEACHER IS PERFORMING ABOVE A CERTAIN LEVEL AND THEY GET EXTRA MONEY? IS THE CERTIFICATION REQUIRED? LIKE, COULD THAT, WOULD THAT BE ANOTHER INCENTIVE? INCENTIVE OR MOTIVATOR FOR A TEACHER TO GET CERTIFIED? YES. YES.

YES. RIGHT. SO THE STATE REQUIRES WE WANT OUR TEACHERS CERTIFIED AND THEREFORE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE TEACHER INCENTIVE ALLOTMENT. THOSE TWO KIND OF GO HAND IN HAND. YES.

BUT I WILL HAVE TO REMIND MYSELF, LIKE THERE ARE SOME. CTE IS A GREAT EXAMPLE. YOU CAN BE ON A WAIVER FOR A VERY LONG TIME AND NOT IN LIEU OF A CTE CERTIFICATE.

AND WE'RE NOT IN A PLACE IN OUR TIA JOURNEY THAT WE'RE EVEN LOOKING THAT WE'RE AT THE POINT WHERE CTE WOULD QUALIFY.

BUT THERE MAY BE SOME CAVEATS TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, AND SO THAT'S WHY I'M SAYING YES, BUT WITH, LIKE, A LITTLE HESITATION. ALL RIGHT.

BUT A TEACHER COULD, THEORETICALLY, GO MANY YEARS AND NOT BE CERTIFIED.

SINCE WE HAVE THE DOI, THE DISTRICT OF INNOVATION. IT IS, IT CURRENTLY, AS IT, AS WE'RE OPERATING, THEY DON'T HAVE TO. CORRECT.

WE CHOOSE, THOUGH, IT'S OUR,

[01:40:02]

BUT YES, IN THEORY, A SCHOOL DISTRICT COULD PLACE A TEACHER ON DOI WAIVER, CERTIFICATION WAIVER, AND REMAIN THERE FOR SEVERAL YEARS.

ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU, CATHERINE. WE'VE GOT JOHN AND THEN DIANE. I'LL BE QUICK.

THIS IS JUST A COMMENT. I WANT EANS TO HAVE AS MUCH LOCAL CONTROL AS POSSIBLE. I TRUST Y'ALL THAT Y'ALL ARE OUT THERE FIGHTING TO HIRE THE ABSOLUTE BEST WE CAN. AND IF YOU'RE CHOOSING TO HIRE SOMEONE WHO'S NOT CERTIFIED, I'M SURE THERE'S A GREAT REASON. AND SO IF WE CAN GET A LITTLE MORE LOCAL CONTROL FOR A LITTLE BIT LONGER, I AM ALL FOR IT. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, JOHN. DIANE? YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO ADD ONE MORE. I THOUGHT YOU BROUGHT UP TIA, CATHERINE, AND PART OF WHAT WAS IN THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION WAS THIS NEW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TITLE WAS, BUT RECOGNIZED CATEGORY, A LOWEST TIER FOR NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION, WHICH IS GOING TO BECOME A PART OF THE CONVERSATION AS WELL.

AS YOU POINTED OUT, WE'RE ON A JOURNEY WITH TIA. IT'S NOT PART OF THE CONVERSATION YET.

THE ADOPTION IS A LONG PROCESS.

NO, BUT THEY WOULD NEED TO BE CERTIFIED TO EVEN BEGIN A NATIONAL BOARD PROCESS. SO THAT IS... DEFINITELY CONNECTED.

AND WE DO HAVE ONE NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHER WHO IS RECEIVING AN ALLOTMENT, SO THAT'S GREAT. OH, FANTASTIC.

SO THEY MUST HAVE GOTTEN IN A DIFFERENT DISTRICT AND BROUGHT IT HERE WITH THEM THEN. THE TIA ALLOTMENT TRAVELS WITH THEM.

SO, YES, BUT NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED HAS BEEN ONE ALWAYS.

THAT WAS UNDER TIA, AND THEY ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT REMOVING IT, BUT THEY DID NOT. AND SO THAT IS ONE THAT WE'VE PAID FOR FOR SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE, EVEN YOU. THIS STARTED WHEN WE WERE NOT IN TIA. YEAH, YEAH, THANK YOU. THANKS, DIANE. I'LL JUST ADD, I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT THAT YOUR ORGANIZATION DOES FOR ALL OF OUR TEACHERS, GETTING THEM CERTIFIED AND THE INCENTIVES THAT YOU GIVE. IT HELPS THAT COMMUNITY OF TEACHERS, AND IT HELPS OUR COMMUNITY OF OUR STUDENTS. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND IN FRONT OF US. ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION? THE MOTION PASSES 7-0. THANK YOU.

THANKS, ABBY. THANKS. THANK YOU

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ACTION - CONSENT AGENDA

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UPCOMING MEETINGS