[00:00:01]
IS NOW SIX TWENTY ONE AND I CALL[1.
CALL TO ORDER
]THE MARCH 24TH, 2026 REGULAR MEETING AT THE SISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES TO ORDER.[2.
ESTABLISH A QUORUM
]DO WE HAVE A QUORUM? YES, WE DO.I'M PRESIDENT OF THE SISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD AND THE ADMINISTRATION, WE WELCOME YOU TO TONIGHT'S MEETING.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING IS FOR THE BOARD TO DELIBERATE AND VOTE ON MATTERS LISTED IN THE AGENDA.
AS ALWAYS, WE ARE COMMITTED TO ENSURING A RESPECTFUL AND CONSTRUCTIVE ENVIRONMENT, AND WE ASK THE SAME COURTESY IN RETURN, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM ANY OUTBURSTS, WHICH I DO NOT EXPECT, UM, OR DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR.
APPLAUSE IS ALWAYS WELCOME, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE BEING RECOGNIZED DURING OUR SUPERINTENDENTS REPORT.
AND WE HAVE A BIG CROWD WHO MIGHT BE, UH, RECOGNIZED IN OUR SUPERINTENDENT SUPPORT REPORT TONIGHT.
THERE WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT LATER IN THE MEETING.
I WILL PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS WHEN WE REACH THAT PORTION OF THE AGENDA.
YOU ARE WELCOME TO STAY FOR THE ENTIRE OPEN MEETING TO LISTEN TO THE BUSINESS OF THE BOARD.
HOWEVER, IF YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE EARLY, PLEASE DO SO QUIETLY AND TAKE ANY CONVERSATIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE OUT INTO THE VESTIBULE, UM, RIGHT OUTSIDE INTO THE HALL WITH TO AVOID DISRUPTING ANY ONGOING DISCUSSIONS.
AS ALWAYS, IF YOU HAVE FEEDBACK OR QUESTIONS ABOUT ITEMS DISCUSSED TONIGHT, FEEL FREE TO SEND US AN EMAIL AT TRUSTEES@INSID.NET OR CONSIDER REACHING OUT TO MYSELF OR ANY OTHER TRUSTEE TO DISCUSS THINGS FURTHER.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT OUR SEVENTH BOARD MEMBER, UH, MR. JAMES BRADLEY, IS UNABLE TO ATTEND TONIGHT.
UM, BUT WE'LL BE BACK SHORTLY.
UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENCE TONIGHT AND FOR YOUR CONTINUED INTEREST IN SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR SCHOOLS.
WE WILL NOW BEGIN THE AGENDA WITH THE MISSION STATEMENT.
AND THE MISSION STATEMENT IS, PATTY, I ALWAYS FORGET IT.
WE UNITE OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS, CREATING A SENSE OF BELONGING FOR ALL.
WE EMPOWER STUDENTS PROVIDING AN EXEMPLARY EDUCATION THAT DEVELOPS CURIOSITY, CREATIVITY, AND INDIVIDUAL TALENTS.
WE INSPIRE EACH OTHER TO LEAD PURPOSEFUL LIVES OF EMPATHY, GRATITUDE, AND COMPASSION.
WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
AND TONIGHT WE HAVE JET REAM LEADING US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
JET IS A LIFE SCOUT WITH TROOP 70 AND WILL START HIS EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO.
HE PLAYS FOOTBALL AT WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL.
HE'S A SOPHOMORE, TEAM LINEBACKER.
HE'S ON THE PUSHUP SQUAD FOR THE VARSITY FOOTBALL GAMES, AND HE'S ALSO ON THE WRESTLING TEAM, JV.
HE STARTED SCOUTS AS A FIRST GRADER AND IS NOW A SOPHOMORE.
IN ADDITION TO ALL THESE ACTIVITIES, WHICH ARE A LOT, HE'S A COMPETITIVE CART RACER IN TEXAS.
PLEASE JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
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.
YOU MAY BE SEATED IN OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM
[5.
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
]IS OUR SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.MR. KNICKY, WOULD YOU LIKE WELCOME EVERYBODY.
OH MY GOSH, I HAVE TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH.
OUR UNDEFEATED BASKETBALL TEAM IS IN THE BOARDROOM.
I AM SO EXCITED YOU HEARD ME SAY UNDEFEATED BECAUSE WE'RE NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT THE LAST GAME.
WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS FOR A HISTORIC TEAM TO BE UNDEFEATED IN THE STATE OF TEXAS IN THIS DIVISION, COMPETING AT THIS LEVEL THROUGH AN ENTIRE SEASON.
UH, COULD YOU ALL DO ME A FAVOR AND STAND UP AND COME UP HERE SO EVERYBODY CAN SEE YOU OVER BY THIS MICROPHONE, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
AND, UH, COACH BENSON, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THE TEAM TONIGHT.
WE'RE GONNA BRAG ON YOU FOR A FEW.
[00:05:01]
SQUAD.WHY DON'T WE GIVE THEM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE WHILE THEY'RE ALL COMING UP? SO I'M JUST GONNA REMIND ALL THE ADULTS IN THE ROOM, EVEN THOSE OF YOU WHO HAD AMAZING ATHLETIC CAREERS WHEN YOU WERE STUDENT ATHLETES GROWING UP, HOW RARE THIS GROUP IS, BREATHING THIS AIR IN FRONT OF US, UNDEFEATED 40 GAMES IN A ROW, MAKING IT TO THE STATE FINALS.
THIS SCHOOL DISTRICT DOES NOT HAVE A LARGE HISTORY OF STATE FINALS IN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL.
I THINK COACH, I'M RIGHT IN SAYING THAT.
YEAH, A COUPLE IN THE NINETIES, RIGHT? IT'S BEEN A WHILE.
HOWEVER, A TEAM THAT'S GONE, 40 GAMES WITHOUT A LOSS IS HISTORIC AMONG ALL WESTLAKE NATION TEAMS, AMONG ALL ES TEAMS, IN THE DISTRICT'S ENTIRE HISTORY AND IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, RARE ERROR.
LET'S GIVE 'EM ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE.
14 OF THE STUDENT ATHLETES IN FRONT OF YOU ARE ALL ACADEMIC TEAM MEMBERS ALSO.
THAT DESERVES ROUND OF APPLAUSE.
AND I'M SURE THE REST OF Y'ALL ARE SMART TOO.
'CAUSE YOU GO TO WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL AND WE GOT A NA NAY SMITH COACHING FINALIST HERE IN FRONT OF US WITH AN AMAZING STAFF, AND THEY DESERVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR ALL THEY'VE DONE.
AND IN 30 YEARS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, I'VE NEVER SEEN A GIRLS' BASKETBALL TEAM LIKE THIS.
IT IS SO IMPRESSIVE, THE WORK YOU DO AND THE CULTURE YOU'VE BUILT AND HOW HARD YOU WORK AND HOW FUN IT IS TO WATCH YOU PLAY FOR EACH OTHER.
WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU HERE, AND THAT'S WHY WE WANTED YOU HERE TONIGHT.
UH, COACH BENSON, I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND GIVING US A COUPLE OF YOUR TAKES ON THE TEAM AND HIGHLIGHTS, UH, NO LIGHTS, JUST HIGHLIGHTS,
FIRST, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THOSE KIND WORDS.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THOSE NICE KIND WORDS.
I ECHO EVERYTHING THAT WAS SAID ABOUT THIS GROUP.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR ROSTER MEMBERS WAS AN ACADEMIC ALL DISTRICT, UH, HONOREE.
UM, AND WE'RE SO PROUD OF THAT, OF COURSE, FOR THEM.
UH, I DON'T, I I MAYBE YOU SHOULD KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IT ENTAILS TO, TO GET THAT RECOGNITION.
UH, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR SEASON IS THE LONGEST THERE IS OF ANY SPORT IN, IN, IN SCHOOL BECAUSE WE START IN OCTOBER.
WE, WE DON'T END UNTIL MARCH, ESPECIALLY IF WE GO ALL THE WAY TO STATE CHAMPIONSHIP.
WE COVER NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER WHERE THERE'S BREAKS AND WE HAVE TO STAY ON OUR GAME DURING THAT TIME.
AND PART OF PART OF THAT IS ACADEMICALLY AS WELL.
WE, WE HAVE TO MISS CLASS SOMETIMES TO GET TO GAMES OR TO GO TO TOURNAMENTS.
AND THESE GIRLS ARE VERY CONSCIENTIOUS ABOUT THAT AND THEY TAKE THEIR ACADEMICS SERIOUS.
UM, TO, TO GET THAT RECOGNITION, TO BE AN ACADEMIC ALL DISTRICT PLAYER OR MEMBER OF THE TEAM, YOU HAVE TO MAINTAIN A 90 OR ABOVE AVERAGE OF ALL YOUR CLASSES DURING YOUR PLAYING SEASONS.
AND SO THE FACT THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO DO THAT IS AMAZING.
SO A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IS A HIGHLIGHT FOR SURE.
UM, WHILE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ACADEMICS, I WANT TO POINT OUT SOME OF OUR SENIORS, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR STATE LEVEL RECOGNITION FOR ACADEMICS.
AND TO GET RECOGNIZED TO BE AN ACADEMIC ALL-STATE PLAYER AT THE, AT THE STATE LEVEL FROM OUR NATIONAL, UM, COACHING ASSOCIATIONS, YOU HAVE TO MAINTAIN A 92 OR ABOVE CUMULATIVE GPA FOR SEVEN SEMESTERS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THAT.
AND ALL FOUR OF OUR SENIORS ACHIEVED THAT STATUS THIS YEAR.
SO, UM, THIS TO ME, A NATALIE.
UM, I WILL, YOU KNOW, WE'RE POINTING OUT SOME HIGHLIGHTS.
I'LL SAY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS MY FOURTH YEAR HERE AT WESTLAKE, AND WHEN I CAME, UM, I HAD A, YOU KNOW, MEETING WITH ALL THE GIRLS WHO WERE ON THE TEAM AT THE TIME, WHICH MANY OF, MANY OF THEM, SOME OF THEM WERE.
BUT, UM, WE TALKED ABOUT OUR IQ AND HOW IN BASKETBALL IQ MATTERS TOO.
AND IN THE CLASSROOM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE IN TOP LEVEL CLASSES.
WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THEIR ACADEMIC STATUS.
THERE'S NOT A REASON WHY WE CAN'T OUTSMART EVERY OPPONENT WE EVER STEP OUT ON THE COURT TO DO.
AND SO, UH, THAT'S WHY WE'RE SO FUN TO WATCH IS BECAUSE WE'RE JUST SMARTER THAN EVERYBODY
SO ANYWAY, THAT'S THAT, UH, I WANT, CAN I INTRODUCE THE STAFF PLAYERS? IS THAT OKAY? SO I WANNA INTRODUCE OUR COACHING STAFF.
FIRST OF ALL, I'M VICKI BENSON.
[00:10:01]
OUR, MY THREE ASSISTANTS, JULIE WALKER, MALIK GANDY, AND LEXI CUNNINGHAM.LEXI ACTUALLY PLAYED HERE AT WESTLAKE AND GRADUATED IN 27, 16, 20 16.
SO SHE WAS HERE, UM, AND CAME BACK, COULDN'T GET ENOUGH OF WESTLAKE.
AND THEN I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE PLAYERS.
I'M GONNA TURN AROUND FRESHMAN AND UP.
SO LYN BYERS BEAL IS A FRESHMAN.
I WOULD LIKE TO, I'LL, I'LL TAKE THIS TIME TOO, TO LET YOU KNOW, LYN IS A RARE COMMODITY BECAUSE NOT ONLY WAS SHE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR IN OUR DISTRICT FOR BASKETBALL, SHE WAS ALSO NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR FOR VOLLEYBALL.
SO SHE'S A TWO SPORT VARSITY ATHLETE.
UM, UH, PEYTON HENSEL IS RIGHT NEXT TO HER.
SO TWO FRESHMEN ON, ON VARSITY.
UM, AND THEN A THIRD, THESE TWO START.
AND THEN, UH, WE HAVE ELLIE JACOBS, SHE'S A FRESHMAN AS WELL.
VERY RARE TO HAVE THREE FRESHMEN, UM, ON THE VARSITY, ESPECIALLY A 40 AND OH, UNTIL WE WERE 40 AND ONE, UH, TEAM.
BUT THERE'S ELLIE JACOBS, SOPHOMORE TOWNSEND HAMILTON AND BELLA NORTHROP, AND THEN A LOT OF JUNIORS.
MOLLY FRAZIER, WINT THORN, MERCY SHANNON.
AND THEN WE GET TO OUR SENIORS, GRACE SHANNON, TAMIA KING, NATALIE WANG, BROOKLYN LEE.
AND THEN YOU MET MY STAFF WHILE AGO.
UM, A FEW OTHER HIGHLIGHTS AND JUST AWARDS.
THEY'RE OUR BANQUET'S ON MONDAY, SO THEY DON'T KNOW ALL THE AWARDS YET, BUT I'LL TELL YOU THE ONES THAT THEY ALREADY DO KNOW.
WE HAD MULTIPLE PLAYERS THAT GOT RECOGNITION IN OUR DISTRICT AS ALL DISTRICT PLAYERS.
UM, WE HAD AN HONORABLE MENTION ALL DISTRICT PLAYER, AND THAT WAS TOWN, HAMILTON WAVE.
WE HAD A SECOND TEAM, ALL DISTRICT PLAYER, AND THAT WAS FRESHMAN PEYTON HENSEL.
AND THEN WE HAD FOUR, FOUR PLAYERS THAT WERE NAMED TO THE FIRST TEAM ALL DISTRICT, WHICH IS REALLY HARD TO DO.
AND, AND WE HAD FOUR MOLLY FRAZIER WIN.
THORN TAMIA CAME AND LYN BYERS WHEEL, SO IT GETS BETTER.
SO I ALREADY TALKED ABOUT LYN BEING A NEWCOMER OF THE DISTRICT.
UM, WE ALSO HAD TAMIA KING, OUR, OUR UNANIMOUS DISTRICT, MVP.
AND THEN WE HAVE STATE RECOGNITION AWARDS AGAIN.
AND WE HAD, UM, MOLLY FRAZIER THAT WAS NAMED TO THE TABC ALL REGION TEAM.
AND THEN, UM, TAMIA AND LYN WERE TABC, ALLSTATE.
AND TAMIA AND LYN WERE ALSO NAMED TO THE, UM, TO THE, TO THE ALTERNATE AT STATE, THE STATE ALTERNATE TEAM.
THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT MORE AWARDS THAT COME OUT.
SO JUST FOLLOW OUR, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL THE THINGS WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA DO.
UM, BUT LASTLY, I JUST, I WANNA HAVE OUR SENIORS GIVE A LITTLE SOMETHING TO YOU.
SO THEY'RE GONNA TELL YOU WHO THEY ARE, WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO COLLEGE, AND WHAT THEY'RE GONNA BE MAJORING IN.
I THINK YOU'RE GONNA GET A THRILL OUT OF THAT.
SO SENIORS, WILL Y'ALL COME UP AND JOIN ME? WHO WANTS TO GO FIRST? I'LL GO FIRST.
I'M GOING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON.
I'LL BE PLAYING BASKETBALL THERE, AND I'LL ALSO BE MAJORING IN INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE.
UM, I'M GRACE SHANNON, AND I'LL BE GOING TO DUKE WHERE I'M MAJORING IN STATISTICAL SCIENCE AND ECONOMICS.
I'M GOING TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY, AND I'M MAJORING IN OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND INFORMATION ENGINEERING.
I'M GOING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND I'LL BE MAJORING IN PHYSICAL CULTURE AND SPORTS.
I TOLD YOU THEY'RE REALLY SMART, RIGHT? REALLY, REALLY SMART.
WE'VE TAKEN UP PROBABLY MORE TIME THAN WE, WE SHOULD HAVE.
UH, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR HAVING US, AND THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT AND THE ENCOURAGEMENT THESE GIRLS FELT, ALL OF THE COMMUNITY TIER ALONG THE WAY, AND I KNOW THEY'RE GRATEFUL FOR IT.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
AND, UM, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA GET UP JUST A SECOND.
WE'RE GONNA GET UP AND BRING YOU SOME, SOME SPECIAL COINS FROM OUR SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEES THAT YOU CAN ALL HELP ME PASS OUT.
I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW, LIKE THEY'RE ALL STANDING HERE AND IT'S RELATIVE MAYBE WHEN THE TEAM IS HERE, RIGHT? BUT IF YOU STAND UP NEXT TO THEM, UH, THE ADULTS IN THE ROOM, YOU WILL REALIZE, RIGHT? LIKE HENSEL, SHE MIGHT NOT SEEM REALLY TALL, BUT YOU, YOU CANNOT GUARD HER, SO DON'T TRY, RIGHT? LIKE, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR'S VERSION OF WIND TIME, WHICH I COINED THAT PHRASE, JUST SO YOU KNOW, ON SOCIAL MEDIA IF ANYBODY ASKS.
AND WE ARE GONNA SHARE SOME, UH, HARDWARE FROM OUR BOARD WITH YOU.
I, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SAY THIS BEFORE WE WRAP THIS UP.
AS WE CELEBRATE NOT JUST A SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT, BUT WHAT WE'RE ALL HERE ABOUT,
[00:15:02]
WE ARE HERE TO BE THE BEST IN ACADEMICS, ATHLETICS, AND THE ARTS.AND THIS TEAM, AND THESE MEMBERS, AND THESE COACHES EXEMPLIFY THAT.
AND THE HARD WORK AND HOURS THEY PUT IN DURING THE LONGEST SEASON OF THE YEAR, YOU JUST, IT'S UNPARALLELED WHAT THEY ACCOMPLISHED THIS YEAR.
WE'RE SO IMPRESSED BY YOU AND YOUR WORK ETHIC.
ONCE YOU GET YOUR COIN AND YOU'LL COME OVER HERE AND WE, I'M GONNA BE IN, UH, THAT'S GOOD LOOKING GROUP.
ANY PARENTS? ALRIGHT, HERE WE GO.
15 MINUTES I'VE EVER SPENT IN A BOARD MEETING.
YES, THAT JOKE DIDN'T GO OVER VERY WELL.
ALRIGHT, SO WE HAVE A COUPLE OF MORE, UM, SUPERINTENDENTS UPDATES.
I'D LIKE TO JUST GO OVER BRIEFLY.
WE'VE, THIS IS A BIG TIME OF YEAR FOR ACADEMIC AND ATHLETIC AND PERFORMING ARTS ACCOLADES.
IT'S ALWAYS FUN AS WE GET TOWARDS THE END OF A SCHOOL YEAR TO CELEBRATE SOME OF THESE THINGS.
RECENTLY, OUR COVER GUARD, UM, AFTER WINNING, UH, AFTER MARCHING SEASON, THEY PIVOTED TO COMPETE IN INDOOR COMPETITIONS CALLED WINTER GUARD.
UH, THE PROGRAM HAS THREE WINTER GUARDS, OPEN GUARD, A GUARD, AND THE CADETS.
THEY COMPETE IN TWO DIFFERENT CIRCUITS.
THE TEXAS COLOR GUARD CIRCUIT AND THE WINTER GUARD INTERNATIONAL.
THE A GUARD WAS PROMOTED TO A HIGHER, MORE ADVANCED CLASSIFICATION THIS YEAR.
THEY'VE HAD THEIR TCGC AREA CONTEST THIS WEEKEND, AND THEY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE TO STATES.
THE OPEN GUARD JUST WON THEIR SECOND WGI REGIONAL LAST WEEK, AND THEY'RE CURRENTLY UNDEFEATED.
THEY'LL BE HEADING TO WGI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN DAYTON, OHIO IN APRIL.
AND WHEN THEY GET BACK, THEY HAVE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS AT TEXAS STATE.
UH, THE CADETS MADE UP OF FOURTH THROUGH EIGHTH GRADERS RECENTLY ENDED THEIR SEASON AS AREA WEST STATE CHAMPIONS FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW.
GREAT FUTURE AHEAD FOR THIS GROUP.
THIS IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF COMPETITION FOR THEIR CLASSIFICATION AND AN INCREDIBLE ACHIEVEMENT.
SO CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR COLOR GUARD AND CADETS.
RECENTLY, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF ATTENDING STEAM DAY AT CEDAR CREEK ELEMENTARY.
MANY OF OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS PUT ON A STEAM DAY, AS YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A CRAZY LEARNING DAY, UH, FULL OF FUN, RIGOR, PROBLEM SOLVING.
[00:20:01]
KANGAROO ON THE CAMPUS.I DIDN'T GET TO SEE THE KANGAROO, IT WAS TOO FAST, BUT THERE WAS A KANGAROO THERE,
AND I WANNA THANK ALL OF THE PARENTS AND VOLUNTEER PARTNERS WHO HELPED MAKE STEAM DAY AT ALL OF OUR BUILDINGS, SUCH A SUCCESS.
AND WE HAD A WONDERFUL DAY THERE AT CEDAR CREEK, UH, WITH SOME POWERFUL LEARNING GOING ON.
UH, ALSO HAD THE PLEASURE RECENTLY TO ATTEND THE BARTON CREEK SECOND GRADE MUSICAL, WHICH WAS, UM, ROCK AND ROLL WILL LIVE FOREVER.
AND, UM, YOU CAN JUST IMAGINE WHAT A SPECIAL EVENING THAT WAS.
UH, IF YOU DIDN'T GET TO GO, I'M SORRY, BUT, BUT I DID, AND THEY DID ELVIS, AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, OUR HILL COUNTRY MIDDLE SCHOOL RECENTLY PUT ON LITTLE RED.
LITTLE RED HAS A LOT OF AD-LIBBING IN IT, AND WE REALLY GET TO SEE THE PERFORMANCES OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS AS THEY KIND OF COME INTO THEIR OWN AS PERFORMERS IN THE DISTRICT.
UH, AND LITTLE RED AND THE HILL COUNTRY PLAYERS WERE PHENOMENAL.
SO THANK YOU, UH, TO ALL THE STUDENTS INVOLVED IN THAT SHOW.
THERE WERE OVER 40 STUDENTS INVOLVED AND ON STAGE AT, AT A GIVEN TIME TOGETHER.
AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THAT'S A COMPLEX PRODUCTION.
SO CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR STUDENTS AND ALL THE ACCOLADES AROUND CAMPUS.
UH, TRUSTEES, ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS FOR MR. KNICKY? I WILL JUST CONGRATULATE ALL OF THE STUDENTS THAT WERE RECOGNIZED TONIGHT, OUR BASKETBALL PLAYERS, OF COURSE.
UM, BUT EVERYONE ELSE THAT SHOWCASES WHAT WE DO HERE AT AES, UM, IS FANTASTIC.
[6.
OPEN FORUM
]OUR OPEN FORUM, UM, AGENDA ITEM.AND BEFORE WE GET TO INVITING OUR, UM, SPEAKERS UP, I HAVE A FEW THINGS THAT I NEED TO READ.
UM, WE HAVE TWO SPEAKERS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ABOUT ITEMS ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT.
UM, EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK.
PLEASE WATCH THE TIMER ON THE SCREENS WHEN YOUR TIME IS FINISHED.
UH, WHEN YOUR TIME IS UP, FINISH YOUR SENTENCE AND, UH, PLEASE STOP IF YOU DON'T FINISH YOUR PREPARED REMARKS.
YOU'RE WELCOME TO EMAIL YOUR FULL REMARKS TO TRUSTEES@SD.NET.
WHEN SPEAKING, PLEASE DIRECT YOUR COMMENTS TO THE BOARD AND NOT OUT TO THE AUDIENCE OR TO OTHERS.
TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1 PROHIBITS DISRUPTION OF BOARD MEMBERS.
REACTIONS TO COMMENTS REMAIN BRIEF AND RESPECTFUL.
IF YOU WISH TO NAME A DISTRICT EMPLOY IN A COMPLAINT, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE BOARD MUST HEAR SUCH A COMPLAINT IN A CLOSED SESSION AS RECORDED BY AS REQUIRED BY TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 5 5 1.
THE BOARD CANNOT DELIBERATE OR RESPOND TO COMMENTS ON TOPICS NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA PER TEXAS LAW, THIS IS OUR TIME TO LISTEN, NOT TO REACT OR ENGAGE.
CLARIFYING INFORMATION MAY BE PROVIDED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT IF NECESSARY.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PORTION OF THE MEETING, AS WELL AS THE REMAINDER OF THE MEETING IS BEING RECORDED AND WILL BE PUBLISHED ON THE DISTRICT'S WEBSITE WITHOUT ALTERATION BY SPEAKING YOU.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS.
WE'RE NOW READY FOR TONIGHT'S FIRST SPEAKER, WHICH IS KATE IVERS.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE, THE TIME RIGHT HERE? YEAH.
MY NAME IS KATE IVERS AND I AM HERE TO INTRODUCE MYSELF BECAUSE I'M RUNNING FOR PLACE ONE ON THE E'S ISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
I'M A PROUD E'S RESIDENT RAISING TWO CHILDREN.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALSO RUNNING RIGHT NOW, ONE FOR HILL COUNTRY MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND ONE FOR WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL TRACK.
I MOVED SPECIFICALLY TO, TO E NS FOR THESE SCHOOLS THAT THEY'RE IN.
I'M A PRACTICING AN ATTORNEY HERE IN TEXAS FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS.
I HAVE EXPERIENCE ADVISING ORGANIZATIONS ON GOVERNANCE, CONTRACTS, RISK MANAGEMENT, REGULATORY COMPLIANCE, AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.
I HELP THEM NAVIGATE COMPLEX RE LEGAL DECISIONS WITH CLARITY.
I'M SEEKING THE SEAT HELD CURRENTLY BY TRUSTEE KIM MCMATH, AND SHE'S THE CURRENTLY THE ONLY ATTORNEY ON THE BOARD.
AND SO WITH HER STEPPING DOWN, I CAN FILL THE GAP THAT WILL BE LEFT AND ENSURE THAT THE BOARD RETAINS LEGAL EXPERTISE.
THERE IS, THERE ARE NO OTHER CANDIDATES RUNNING IN THIS CYCLE WHO ARE ATTORNEYS.
OUR DISTRICT IS FACING SERIOUS CHALLENGES, DECLINING ENROLLMENT, STAGNANT FUNDING, RISING COSTS, AND PROJECTED MULTIMILLION DOLLAR SHORTFALLS.
SOME OF THESE WILL EVEN BE DISCUSSED TONIGHT.
THESE CHALLENGES REQUIRE DIFFICULT DECISIONS WITH POTENTIAL REAL LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES FOR STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND TAXPAYERS.
[00:25:01]
IN MY DAY-TO-DAY WORK AS AN ATTORNEY, I EVALUATE TRADE-OFFS, I IDENTIFY RISKS, AND I ENSURE DECISIONS ARE SOUND BEFORE MOVING FORWARD.IF ELECTED, I WILL BRING THAT SAME EXPERTISE AND LEVEL OF RIGOR AND DISCIPLINE TO MY POSITION ON THE BOARD.
THAT KIND OF APPROACH IS WHAT STRONG GOVERNANCE REQUIRES.
IT MEANS UNDERSTANDING THE DETAILS, ASKING THE HARD QUESTIONS, AND BEING CLEAR WITH THE COMMUNITY, NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT DECISIONS ARE MADE, BUT WHY THOSE DECISIONS ARE MADE.
AND ULTIMATELY, THOSE DECISIONS MUST TAKE GROUNDED IN WHAT MATTERS.
MOST ARE CLASSROOMS. THAT MEANS SUPPORTING AND RETAINING STRONG TEACHERS, MAINTAINING HIGH ACADEMIC STANDARDS, AND ENSURING THAT STUDENTS ARE PREPARED FOR A CHANGING WORLD, ESPECIALLY ONE WITH THE GROWING IMPACT OF AI.
AGAIN, I WILL APPROACH MY SERVICE ON THE BOARD THE SAME WAY I APPROACH MY WORK AS AN ATTORNEY BY LISTENING CAREFULLY, REVIEWING THE FACTS AND MAKING DECISIONS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE, TRANSPARENT, AND FOCUSED ON POSITIVE LONG-TERM OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND TAXPAYERS.
AGAIN, MY NAME IS KATE IVERS, AND I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR CONSIDERATION AND YOUR VOTE IN PLACE, ONE FOR THE E NS ISD BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
UM, OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS JENNIFER BLACKMAN.
GOOD EVENING AND THANKS FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
MY NAME IS JENNIFER BLACKMAN, AND THREE YEARS AGO MY HUSBAND JEREMY, AND I MOVED TO WESTLAKE.
SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF THE REPUTATION OF E'S ISD, WE HAVE A THIRD GRADER, JANE, WHO ATTENDS BRIDGEPOINT, AND SHE IS DOING SO WELL.
BUT FULLY APPRECIATE WHY E'S IS SPECIAL.
DESPITE BEING ONLY THREE YEARS INTO OUR E'S JOURNEY WITH JANE, I HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE VOLUNTEERING IN THE DISTRICT, INCLUDING SERVING ON THE DISTRICT LEADERSHIP TEAM IN MYRIAD WAYS AT BRIDGEPOINT AND WITH EEF.
AND THIS HAS MOTIVATED ME TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP.
I AM RUNNING FOR SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEE.
REFLECTING BACK THIS DECISION TO RUN HAS BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR A WHILE, AND I BELIEVE THAT TIME IS NOW OVER 30 YEARS.
I'VE BUILT A CAREER ACROSS BUSINESS EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP ROLES FOCUSED ON SOLVING COMPLEX PROBLEMS, MANAGING RESOURCES RESPONSIBLY, AND HELPING TEAMS MAKE THOUGHTFUL DECISIONS.
RIGHT AFTER GRADUATING FROM UCLA, I BEGAN WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE C-SUITE EXECUTIVES AS A MEMBER OF THE CORPORATE STAFFING TEAM AT TACO BELL CORPORATE, WHICH AT THE TIME WAS THE DIVISION OF PEPSICO.
I THEN WENT ON TO LEAD HR FOR MULTIPLE EARLY STAGE TECH COMPANIES, GROWING THEIR TEAMS. LATER I WORKED IN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, PARTNERING WITH BUSINESS OWNERS, ANALYZING FINANCIALS AND IDENTIFYING COST SAVING STRATEGIES THAT DELIVERED REAL RESULTS FOR STAKEHOLDERS.
IN 2005, I EARNED MY MBA FROM UT MCCOMBS, AND I'VE CONTINUALLY BEEN DRAWN BACK TO EDUCATION.
ONE OF THE MOST MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE WAS THE TWO AND A HALF YEARS I SPENT IN SEOUL, KOREA TEACHING ENGLISH FIRST K THROUGH 12, AND THEN AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL.
AND IT WAS THAT EXPERIENCE THAT IGNITED MY PASSION FOR EDUCATION.
I CURRENTLY WORK AS AN ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF MARKETING AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
IN ADDITION TO FOUNDING AND LEADING A CONSULTANCY FOCUSED ON DELIVERING FUNDRAISING AND NON-PROFIT SOLUTIONS, UH, FUNDRAISING AND DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS.
I'M RUNNING FOR THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES PLACE TOO BECAUSE I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES THAT COME WITH THE SHRINKING DISTRICT, CUTS TO PROGRAMMING THAT AFFECT OUR STUDENTS AND TEACHER ATTRITION AND MORALE.
TO BE EXCELLENT SUSTAINABLY, WE HAVE TO TACKLE THESE ISSUES HEAD ON AND WE HAVE TO DO IT NOW.
I'M RUNNING TO WORK ALONGSIDE EVERY STUDENT, EVERY PARENT, AND EVERY BOARD MEMBER.
AND I BELIEVE MY SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE WOULD BE A STRONG AND VALUABLE ADDITION TO THIS BOARD.
THROUGHOUT MY 30 YEAR CAREER, I'VE BEEN TESTED AND EACH TIME I'VE RISEN TO THE OCCASION, NOW I'M READY TO ROLL UP MY SLEEVES AND GO ALL IN FOR S IF YOU'RE WATCHING FROM HOME, I INVITE YOU TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY VISION FOR S AND WHAT SUSTAINABLE EXCELLENCE LOOKS LIKE FOR OUR STUDENTS BY VISITING MY WEBSITE AND JOINING THIS EFFORT.
[7.1 Reading/Foundational Literacy report]
MOVE INTO OUR REPORT SECTION OF THE AGENDA.AND OUR INITIAL AGENDA ITEM IS READING FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY REPORT.
[00:30:07]
GOOD EVENING.UM, WE ARE PRESENTING TO THE BOARD THIS EVENING A NEW REPORT.
UM, AS PART OF THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, THERE WERE SOME, UM, CHANGES TO THE LAW, WHICH REQUIRES DIFFERENT REPORTING TO THE BOARD.
AND SO TONIGHT THERE WILL BE THIS REPORT ON FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY, AND LATER IN THE SEMESTER WE'LL ALSO HAVE A REPORT, UH, RELATED TO SPECIAL EDUCATION OUTCOMES.
UM, SO THIS WILL BE A REPORT THAT IS NOW DONE ANNUALLY, JUST SO YOU KNOW THAT THE, WHAT WE'RE DOING AND THE RESULTS THAT WE'RE, THAT WE ARE REPORTING THIS EVENING ARE NOT NEW.
THIS IS A PROCESS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
WE JUST THIS NOW, UM, ACTUALLY HAVE TO PRESENT IT.
AND, UM, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING TONIGHT TO LOOK AT THE DATA OF, UM, SOME OF OUR STUDENTS THAT ARE STRUGGLING WITH EARLY LITERACY SKILLS AND TO SEE HOW WE CAN BEST IDENTIFY THOSE STRUGGLERS STRUGGLING LEARNERS AND WHAT WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF INTERVENTION.
YOU'LL SEE THIS EVENING THAT THE DATA IS VERY HIGH LEVEL, BUT WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT BEHIND EVERY STUDENT WHO IS, UM, BELOW WHERE THEY NEED TO BE, THAT IS THE WORK THAT MY TEAM AND THE CAMPUS DO TO LOOK AT EACH INDIVIDUAL STUDENT.
UM, SO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT PERCENTAGES AND WE ARE PRESENTING THOSE PERCENTAGES, PLEASE KNOW THAT THERE ARE INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS BEHIND ALL OF THOSE.
AND OUR JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING THE INTERVENTIONS THEY NEED.
AND ALLISON AND HER TEAM OF INTERVENTIONISTS AND CLASSROOM TEACHERS DO AN AMAZING JOB AT THAT.
AND SHE KNOWS THIS DATA VERY WELL AND WILL DO BE DOING THE REST OF THE PRESENTATION.
SO AS WE LOOK AT HOUSE BILL TWO, IT DOES FOCUS ON EARLY LITERACY.
SO IT DOES REQUIRE THE DISTRICT TO IMPLEMENT THE FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY INSTRUMENTS.
AND AS MOLLY MENTIONED, THESE ARE ALREADY IN PLACE.
THESE ARE PRACTICES THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
UM, IT DOES APPLY FOR KINDERGARTEN THROUGH, UH, THIRD GRADE.
SPECIFICALLY, WE ARE WORKING ON OUR KINDERGARTEN THROUGH OR LOOKING AT OUR KINDERGARTEN THROUGH SECOND GRADE DATA TODAY.
UM, IT DOES ALSO MEASURE THE DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY READING SKILLS FOR STUDENTS, SUPPORTS EARLY IDENTIFICATION, AND THEN HELPS US PROVIDE THAT, UM, EVIDENCE-BASED INSTRUCTION AS WELL.
SO THE FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY ASSESSMENT MEASURES KEY AREAS THAT ARE THE PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS, PHONICS AND DECODING VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT, READING FLUENCY, AND READING COMPREHENSION.
THESE SKILLS ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS TO, UH, READING DEVELOPMENT AND WITHOUT THESE SKILLS, THE STUDENTS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BECOME FLUENT READERS.
SO HOUSE BILL TWO, AS WE MENTIONED, IS NOT A NEW HOUSE BILL.
HOWEVER, SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS ARE NEW TO THE DISTRICT.
SO WE HAVE, UM, TEA APPROVED THE LITERACY SCREENINGS TOOLS, AND WE CURRENTLY USE M CLASS TEXAS BY AMPLIFY FOR GRADES K THROUGH TWO FOR THOSE READING INVENTORIES.
THOSE INVENTORIES ALSO MEET THE KINDERGARTEN READINESS ASSESSMENT AND OUR DYSLEXIA SCREENERS.
UM, WE DO SCREEN OUR STUDENTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, MIDDLE OF THE YEAR AND END OF THE YEAR.
AND THEN WE CAN MONITOR THE STUDENTS FOR PROGRESS OUTSIDE OF THOSE BENCHMARK WINDOWS AS WELL.
THIS DOES HELP US PROVIDE TARGETED INTERVENTIONS, WHETHER IT'S IN THE TIER ONE IN THE CLASSROOM, OR TIER TWO IN RTI, AND THEN IT HELPS US PROVIDE INSTRUCTION FOR ALL STUDENTS IN A TIMELY MANNER.
UM, CURRENTLY AMPLIFY IS PRO, UH, PROVIDED FREE FROM THE STATE, AND IT HAS BEEN FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
UM, IT WILL BE NEXT YEAR AS WELL.
HOWEVER, THE FUNDING FOR THAT PLATFORM IS DETERMINED BY THE STATE EACH YEAR, AND IT IS ON THE COMMISSIONER'S APPROVED LIST AS WELL, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE USING THAT PROGRAM.
SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF HOUSE BILL TWO IS THAT THAT EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF READING CHALLENGES ALLOWS US TO PROVIDE INTERVENTION TO STUDENTS EARLY ON IN THEIR ACADEMIC CAREER.
WE CAN PROVIDE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INTERVENTION, AND BY INTERVENTION I MEAN TIER ONE, WHICH OCCURS IN THE CLASSROOM.
TIER TWO IS DURING OUR RTI, UM, INTERVENTION TIME OR TIER THREE, WHICH IS SPECIAL EDUCATION.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL TIERS FOR OUR STUDENTS.
UM, IT ALSO STRENGTHENS THEIR FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY SKILLS AND THEN IT DOES, UH, HELP STUDENTS BUILD THAT CONFIDENCE AND LONG-TERM ACADEMIC SUCCESS.
SO FOR OUR DISTRICT IMPLEMENTATION, ALL NEW STAFF MEMBERS ARE TRAINED ON M CLASS PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, AND WE TRAIN THEM ON HOW TO GIVE THE ASSESSMENTS, INTERPRET THE DATA, AND HOW TO PROGRESS MONITOR STUDENTS AS WELL.
THE DATA IS REVIEWED AT THE CAMPUS AT THE END OF EACH BENCHMARK PERIOD.
SO MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, OR EXCUSE ME, BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, MIDDLE OF THE YEAR AND END OF THE YEAR.
FROM THOSE DATA ANALYSIS, THAT IS HOW WE BUILD OUR INTERVENTION PLANS AND OR INSTRUCTION THAT NEEDS PROVIDED AT THE TIER ONE LEVEL AS WELL.
AGAIN, TEACHERS CAN PROGRESS MONITOR THROUGHOUT THE, OR DURING THOSE, UM, BENCHMARK WINDOWS AS WELL AND OUTSIDE OF THOSE WINDOWS.
AND THEN WE ALSO COMMUNICATE THIS DATA WITH FAMILIES.
[00:35:01]
DAYS OF RECEIVING THE RESULTS, WE SEND AN EXAMPLE, UM, THE M CLASS HOME CONNECT LETTER, WHICH TARGETS THE STUDENT SPECIFIC SKILLS, BUT ALSO PROVIDES PRACTICES OF THE FAMILY, WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO AT HOME.SO AS MOLLY MENTIONED, WHEN WE ARE LOOKING AT OUR DATA, WE ARE GOING VERY HIGH LEVEL.
UM, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS, YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL ROWS OF RED, YELLOW, GREEN, AND BLUE.
THESE ARE BASED ON THE M CLASS BY AMPLIFY COMPOSITE SCORES.
THE YELLOW, THE RED IS WELL BELOW.
UM, BENCHMARK YELLOW IS BELOW BENCHMARK AT AND ABOVE.
AND IDEALLY WE WOULD LIKE ALL OF OUR STUDENTS TO BE AT THE AT OR ABOVE BENCHMARK, BUT WE HAVE PLANS IN PLACE FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS AS WELL.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, FROM THE DATA FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR TO THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR WELL BELOW, UM, SCORES HAVE DECREASED FROM 16% TO 9%.
UM, OUR STUDENTS THAT WERE IN THE ABOVE CRITERIA HAVE INCREASED FROM 38% TO 48%.
AND THEN AT THE TIME OF THIS ASSESSMENT, 78% OF OUR K THROUGH TWO STUDENTS HAD REACHED THE EXPECTED COMPOSITE SCORES.
SO AS WE LOOK AT OUR KINDERGARTEN DATA, YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR SCORES FROM WELL BELOW DECREASED FROM 25 TO 10%.
WE HAD A GROWTH FROM THE, UM, ABOVE, FROM 34 TO 51ST PERCENTILE.
AND THEN AT THE TIME OF THE ASSESSMENT, 76% OF OUR KINDERGARTNERS HAD REACHED THE EXPECTED COMPOSITE SCORE.
AND WHAT I REALLY LOVE ABOUT THIS DATA IS THAT AS WE KNOW, ALL OF OUR KINDERGARTNERS COME IN AT MANY VARYING LEVELS.
AND THIS IS SHOWING US THAT THE INSTRUCTION AT THE TIER ONE LEVEL HAS BEEN, UM, PROVIDING INTERVENTION, OR EXCUSE ME, HAS SHOWN THAT THERE'S A GROWTH IN ALL OF THE STUDENTS LITERACY SKILLS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
SO WE KNOW THAT OUR CLASSROOM CURRICULUM IS WORKING, OKAY.
WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR FIRST GRADE DATA, THERE WAS A DECREASE FROM 12% TO 9% FOR OUR WELL BELOW.
FOR THE ABOVE AREA, THERE WAS AN INCREASE FROM 39 TO 46%, AND THEN 77% OF OUR FIRST GRADERS MET THAT EXPECTED COMPOSITE SCORE.
AND THEN FOR OUR SECOND GRADERS, FOR THE WELL BELOW AREAS, THERE WAS A DECREASE FROM 11 TO 9%.
THE ABOVE THERE WAS AN INCREASE FROM 41 TO 46%, AND THEN 80% OF OUR STUDENTS HAD REACHED THAT EXPECTED COMPOSITE SCORE AS WELL.
AND THEN WE WILL ALSO LOOK AT THE DATA FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR TO THE END OF THE YEAR, COMPARE IT AT A DISTRICT LEVEL AS WELL, BUT THEN ALSO AT THE CAMPUS LEVEL ALSO.
AND THEN WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DATA FROM EACH YEAR, THE DATA THAT YOU ARE SEEING THIS EVENING IS COMPARABLE FROM TO THE DATA FROM OUR PREVIOUS YEARS AS WELL AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.
SO ONE ADDITIONAL COMPONENT TO HOUSE BILL TWO, WHICH IS, AGAIN, NOT NEW TO THE DISTRICT, BUT A COUPLE OF THE REQUIREMENTS ARE NEW IS OUR DYSLEXIA AT RISK SCREENERS.
AND WE DO, UM, HAVE TO ADMINISTER THOSE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR TO ALL FIRST GRADERS.
AND THEN AT THE END OF THE YEAR TO ALL KINDERGARTNERS, WE USE M CLASS FOR THAT IN, UM, SCREENER AS WELL.
HOWEVER, WE DO ADD, UM, TWO ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS, WHICH IS THE RAN, SO THE RAPID AUTOMATIC NAMING AND SPELLING TO MEET THE DYSLEXIA HANDBOOK REQUIREMENTS FOR THOSE INVENTORIES.
UM, KINDERGARTNERS WILL BE GIVEN THEIR ASSESSMENT AT THE END OF THE YEAR, THE DATA WILL BE ANALYZED AND THEN PARENT NOTIFICATION WILL BE SENT AND FAMILIES ARE, UM, NOTIFIED IF THEIR CHILD POPPED UP AS A DYSLEXIA AT RISK.
AND THERE'S A PLAN ASSOCIATED WITH THAT INFORMATION AS WELL FOR EACH PARENT.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR FIRST GRADE DYSLEXIA AT RISK DATA, THERE WAS, UH, 4% OF OUR STUDENTS, WHICH IS ONLY 18 OF OUR STUDENTS, WERE AT RISK FOR DYSLEXIA OR READING DIFFICULTIES BASED ON THE M CLASS READING INVENTORIES.
THE GREAT NEWS IS 17 OUT OF 18 OF THOSE STUDENTS WERE ALREADY RECEIVING INTERVENTION OR SERVICES THROUGH TIER TWO OR TIER THREE.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO SCOOP UP THAT ONE STUDENT AND ADD THEM TO A READING INTERVENTION GROUP, AND WE'LL LOOK AT THAT DATA AGAIN FOR KINDERGARTEN AS WELL.
SO AS WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR GOALS IN THE NEXT STEPS FOR HOUSE BILL TWO, WE KNOW THAT WE WANT TO, WE WILL BE FOLLOWING OUR GUIDELINES AND TIMELINES FOR THE 26 27 SCHOOL YEAR THAT WE'LL BE CHANGING A LITTLE BIT OF OUR DYSLEXIA RISK SCREENERS AND THE TIME THAT THAT IS, UM, INVOLVED IN THE TIME THAT IS GIVEN.
UM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO ANALYZE THE DATA TO DRIVE INSTRUCTION AND INTERVENTION, AND THEN AN ADDITIONAL COMPONENT FOR HOUSE BILL TWO THAT WILL BE PUT INTO PLACE IN 2027.
AND 2028 IS A NUMERACY SCREENING INSTRUMENT.
SO THAT WILL ALIGN WITH THE LITERACY AND INSTRUMENT AND EN NUMERACY INSTRUMENT.
BUT OVERALL, HISTORICALLY, OUR DATA FROM THIS YEAR IS COMPARABLE TO WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE PREVIOUS YEARS, AND WE KNOW THAT WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK BY PROVIDING EARLY INTERVENTION TO
[00:40:01]
STUDENTS.ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
AND WHAT I REALIZED AS YOU WERE PRESENTING WAS THAT I DID NOT INTRODUCE YOU AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.
SO WE HAD MOLLY MAY, WHO'S OUR ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING, AND ALLISON KEY, WHO'S OUR DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SERVICES.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, TRUSTEES.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, LAURA? AND THEN DIANE, I JUST HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION.
FIRST OF ALL, THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR THIS DATA.
UM, AND IT IS INTERESTING TO SEE, I NOTED THAT, UM, THAT WE HAVE STUDENTS COMING IN AND SO WE HAVE, WE'RE TEST, WE'RE ASSESSING MORE STUDENTS MIDYEAR THAN WE DO BEGINNING OF YEAR.
UM, AND SO I WONDER IF WE'RE SEEING SOME KIND OF CATCH UP THAT, UM, THE KIDDOS WHO ARE COMING IN MID-YEAR, UM, WE HAVE TO BRING THEM ALONG ALSO.
MY QUESTION IS FOR THE KINDERS THAT WE'RE, UM, SCREENING AT THE END OF THE YEAR FOR THE DYSLEXIA AT RISK, WHEN ARE THOSE PARENTS NOTIFIED? THEY'LL BE NOTIFIED BY THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, SO HOPEFULLY BY MID-MAY.
SO THEY CAN PLAN ACCORDING ABSOLUTELY.
AND THEN WE WILL HAVE AN INTERVENTION PLAN IN PLACE SHOULD A STUDENT NEED IT TO BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.
I, I HAVE A, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
THE FIRST ONE IS, HOW LONG HAVE WE BEEN USING THE BE BEGINNING OF YEAR, MIDDLE OF YEAR, END OF YEAR FORMULA? UM, WE'VE BEEN GIVING THOSE INVENTORY SINCE WE STARTED USING MAP, I WOULD SAY PROBABLY ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AGO, BUT M CLASS SPECIFICALLY, AT LEAST IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
THIS IS SEPARATE FROM MAP? NOT SO THESE ARE INDIVIDUAL LITERACY SCREENERS.
WHEREAS MAP IS A GROWTH COMPOSITE SCORE FOR READING AND MATH.
SO, BUT WE'VE BEEN USING THEM ABOUT AS LONG MM-HMM
WE'VE BEEN USING, UM, MAP LONGER.
AND THEN M CLASS K THROUGH TWO ONLY FOR ABOUT THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
AND I THINK YOU SAID THIS AT THE VERY END OF WHAT YOU WERE PRESENTING, BUT THESE NUMBERS ARE COMPARABLE TO WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
AND UM, YOU DIDN'T MENTION IT, BUT I WOULD HOPE THAT WE ARE NOT SEEING ANY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CAMPUSES.
IT'S PRETTY UNIFORM ACROSS OUR DISTRICT HOW WE'RE SEEING STUDENTS.
AND THESE ARE REALLY BASED ON INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS SKILLS.
SO IT'S DETERMINED BY THE STUDENTS, BUT WE'RE SEEING THAT CONSISTENCY.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT WHAT DO THE INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS NEED BASED FOR THAT INTERVENTION SKILL AND NO SIGNIFICANT CAMPUS DIFFERENCES THEN.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE THESE SCREENERS, WHICH HAVE BEEN FANTASTIC BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY WHEN MY KIDS WERE GOING THROUGH, THEY WERE STUDENTS WHO DIDN'T LEARN THEY WERE DYSLEXIC TILL HIGH SCHOOL.
YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS SUCH A GREAT SERVICE THAT THIS IS NOW IN PLACE AS A MANDATE.
DO WE STILL FEEL THOUGH, THAT THERE ARE STUDENTS WHO AREN'T IDENTIFIED BY THE, IN THE FIRST GRADE SCREENING AND THEN WE ARE IDENTIFYING DYSLEXIC STUDENTS AFTER THAT? OR IS THIS REALLY CATCHING THEM ALL SO EARLY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PUT, YOU KNOW, GIVE 'EM THE SERVICES THEY NEED? THIS IS REALLY CATCHING ALL OF OUR STUDENTS THAT NEED SOME TYPE OF INTERVENTION AND THEN ONCE WE PUT THEM INTO TIER TWO AND OR IF WE DETERMINE THEY NEED A, UM, INDIVIDUAL FULL AND INDIVIDUAL EVALUATION.
BUT THIS IS A GREAT STARTING POINT AND WE REALLY ARE CAPTURING ALL OF OUR STUDENTS' NEEDS TO CATCH A GOOD PICTURE OF WHAT THEY MIGHT NEED.
AND THEN JUST THE, THE ONE NUMBER THAT STOOD OUT FOR ME WAS HOW KINDER THAT NUMBER JUMPS SO MUCH AT THE WELL BELOW.
IT'S THAT JUST BECAUSE OUR PRESCHOOLERS ARE COMING IN NOT HAVING MUCH EXPERIENCE AND WE'RE ABLE TO, THEY'RE JUST READY AND LIKE SPONGES TO ABSORB.
BUT IT'S ALSO SHOWING US THAT OUR TIER ONE INSTRUCTION OR BENCHMARK PHONICS PROGRAM IS WORKING.
I, I'LL SAY IT MORE CLEARLY, IT SHOWS THAT OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AND GREAT TEACHERS ARE WORKING TOGETHER REALLY WELL.
BUT THIS IS YOU BRINGING UP THE DYSLEXIA SCREENER AND HOW OFTEN THIS HAS BEEN USED.
THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN EARLY LITERACY IN THE HISTORY OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.
AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GET AND USE A TOOL THAT'S APPROVED BY THE STATE FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WONDERFUL.
AND WHAT COMES WITH IT IS A LOT OF UNFUNDED TIME, EFFORT, TEACHING INTERVENTION.
UM, AND UM, THAT'S SOMETHING WE ALWAYS HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND AS WELL.
AND OUR TEACHERS HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB WITH IT.
THAT KIND OF TEES UP MY, MY LAST QUESTION IS, I KNOW THAT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO CONSIDER HOW WE MIGHT WORK ON OUR BUDGET.
IS THIS, ARE THERE ANY CONCERNS THAT ALL OF THE WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO HERE, UM, MIGHT BE IMPACTED BY ANY OF THE CUTS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT? OR IS THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING SO FUNDAMENTAL, THESE, UM, LITERACY SUPPORT SYSTEMS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE.
I MEAN, THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BUDGET AND EVERY PROGRAM
[00:45:01]
AND EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL THE PROGRAMS AND ALL THE SUPPORTS WE GIVE STUDENTS.DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE NOT GONNA GIVE THEM SUPPORT.
DOES IT MEAN IT MIGHT HAVE TO LOOK DIFFERENT IN THE FUTURE? POSSIBLY.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE, WE HAVE A GREAT INTERVENTION SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY, UM, FOR OUR YOUNGER GRADES WHEN WE USE OUR WIND TIME.
UM, WE DO SPEND, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE, SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON OUR INTERVENTION STAFF.
IT IS WELL WORTH IT, BUT, UM, IT IS, IT IS, YOU KNOW, EXPENSIVE, UM, TO MR. KIKI'S POINT.
YOU KNOW, THESE ARE UN MOSTLY UNFUNDED MANDATES THAT WE HAVE.
SO, UM, WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR KIDS.
MIGHT SOMETHING LOOK DIFFERENT IN THE FUTURE? POSSIBLY? WELL, I GUESS THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF, AS WE DISCUSSED A FEW MEETINGS AGO, WITH RESPECT TO THESE CHANGES THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO MAKE, HOW DO WE MEASURE THE IMPACT? AND THIS ONE IS PRETTY CLEAR.
WE WOULD HOPE THAT WE DON'T SEE ANY CHANGES IN THE PROGRESS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR OUR STUDENTS.
AND ABSOLUTELY, TIME WILL TELL.
I THINK IT'S ALSO SOMETHING YOU TALKED ABOUT WITH THE RAISE YOUR HAND TEXAS GROUP ABOUT AN ADVOCACY AREA THAT WE ARE, UM, ACUTELY FOCUSED ON WHEN IT COMES TO STATE FUNDING NEEDS.
THERE HAS BEEN SOME INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR DYSLEXIA SERVICES, UM, BUT CERTAINLY NOT THAT KEEPS UP WITH THE RATE OF THE COST.
THANK YOU DIANE, JOHN, UM, THANK YOU FOR THIS BACKGROUND AND I LOVE SEEING THE PROGRESS.
UH, SO THAT'S, UH, EXCITING TO SEE.
UH, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD WAS JUST GETTING A, A BETTER SENSE OF OUR GOALS.
SO IF WE, IF WE IDENTIFY SOMEONE IN KINDERGARTEN AS NEEDING SUPPORT OR, AND WE, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY THEY ARE, UH, IN THAT LOWEST LEVEL IN THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WELL BELOW ARE WE, WHEN ARE WE HOPING THAT THEY HAVE REACHED AT, UH, WHERE THEY'RE AT LEVEL? IS THAT BY THE END, I MEAN, ARE THEY STILL GETTING SUPPORT IN FIRST AND STILL IN SECOND? OBVIOUSLY THE PERCENTAGES ARE DECREASING 'CAUSE YOU'RE MOVING PEOPLE UP, BUT DO WE HAVE A GOAL FOR HOW LONG IT TAKES BEFORE THEY'RE AT LEVEL? UM, DOES THAT QUESTION MAKE SENSE? IT DOES.
SO WE WOULD PUT THEM IN INTERVENTION IMMEDIATELY AND THEN HOPE IF BY THE INTERVENTION THEY'RE PROVIDED BY THE END OF THE YEAR, THAT WOULD BE OUR GOAL.
BUT IT ALSO DEPENDS ON EACH STUDENT'S INDIVIDUAL LEARNING SKILLS.
SO THEY MAY HAVE SOMETHING THAT MIGHT HINDER THEM FROM LEARNING AT THE SAME RATE AS OTHER STUDENTS, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD LOOK AT IS ALL OF THEIR NEEDS AND THEIR SKILLS.
BUT IDEALLY, IF THEY'RE IDENTIFIED AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR ASSESSMENT, YOU'RE HOPING THAT THEY'RE AT LEVEL BY THE END OF THAT YEAR, BY THE NEXT BENCHMARK WINDOW.
UM, AND DO WE KNOW HOW OFTEN THAT'S THE CASE? LIKE, ARE WE, LIKE HOW OFTEN DOES SOMEBODY WHO'S IDENTIFIED IN THE BEGINNING OF KINDERGARTEN IS STILL GETTING SERVICES, IS STILL SCORING WELL BELOW IN FIRST GRADE AND IS STILL SCORING WELL BELOW IN SECOND GRADE? I THINK IF THEY WERE STILL CER SCORING WELL BELOW BY MIDDLE OF FIRST GRADE, WE WOULD LOOK TO SEE WHAT IS THEIR NEXT INTERVENTION PLAN FOR THAT STUDENT.
DO WE NEED TO LOOK THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE A LEARNING DISABILITY OR DO THEY NEED MORE SUPPORT? SO AT THAT POINT, WE WOULD ALREADY HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL STUDENT.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE THE SPECIFIC DATA ABOUT THAT, ABOUT AT ONCE YOU REACH THIS POINT, THEN WE NEED TO DIG IN DEEPER, TAKE PRESSURE.
AT THAT POINT WE REALLY ARE WORKING WITH THE CAMPUS TO LOOK AT THAT STUDENT INDIVIDUALLY WITH, WITH THOSE STUDENTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE YOUR INTERVENTIONS AND IF YOU HAVE A STUDENT THAT, AGAIN, IF THERE'S NO OTHER LEARNING ISSUE, YOU SHOULD SEE THAT IMPROVEMENT.
IF YOU DON'T SEE THE RATE OF LEARNING AND THE RATE OF GROWTH, WHICH IS EXPECTED, THEN YOU NEED TO GO BACK AND LOOK AND SEE WITH THAT PARTICULAR STUDENT WHAT IS, WHAT IS GOING ON, WHAT'S THE, BECAUSE YOU COULD HAVE A STUDENT THAT IS SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW FOR MANY YEARS BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR LEARNING TRAJECTORY AT THAT POINT, BUT WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IS GROWTH, EVEN IF IT'S NOT TO THE POINT WHERE THEY'RE AT, AT, YOU'RE HOPING YOU'RE MOVING THEM ALONG.
SO, AND BECAUSE EVERY CHILD'S D UH, DIFFERENT, IT'S HARD TO, TO SET SOME UNIVERSAL BENCHMARK OF, BY THIS POINT IT'S LIKE THIS BECAUSE IT'S EVERYONE'S TAILORED TO THE INDIVIDUAL KID.
WELL, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A DAUGHTER WHO'S RECEIVED, UH, QUITE A BIT OF READING SUPPORT, AND SO I'VE SEEN FIRSTHAND WHAT, YOU KNOW, THE HELP IN WIND TIME AND PULLING ASIDE AND HAVING THE PLAN.
I'VE, I'VE SEEN THE IMPACT OF THAT AND HOW IT NOT ONLY, UH, IMPROVES READING, BUT HOW IT BUILDS CONFIDENCE.
AND SO I, I APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING AND, AND EXCITED TO SEE THE PROGRESS.
WE HAVE QUESTIONS FROM CATHERINE.
[00:50:03]
ALL RIGHT.I I REALIZE WE HAVE SOME HEADY TOPICS HERE IN TONIGHT'S BOARD MEETING, SO I WON'T ASK TOO MANY QUESTIONS.
BUT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED HERE IN, IN THE PRESENTATION, IT SAYS THAT THE CURRENT, UM, NEW FLI, THE FOUNDATIONAL LITER LITERACY INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATE SOME THINGS WE WERE ALREADY DOING IN K THROUGH TWO.
WHEN DID WE START PRIOR TO THESE CHANGES THAT WERE REQUIRED SCREENING FOR DYSLEXIA? THAT'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING SINCE, I WANNA SAY THE 2013 WAS WHEN THE STATE REQUIREMENT FOR DYSLEXIA SCREENERS WAS IMPLEMENTED.
HOWEVER, THERE WAS NOT ONE SPECIFIC PLATFORM OR MULTIPLE PLATFORMS THAT COULD BE USED, BUT THERE WAS THE HANDBOOK THAT OUTLINED EXACTLY WHAT HAD TO BE SCREENED.
SO THIS ACTUALLY MAY HELP US STANDARDIZE THE PROCESS ACROSS CAMPUSES, WHEREAS BEFORE IT MAYBE WASN'T STANDARDIZED, IT WAS MORE, IT WAS, IT COULD HAVE, COULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT FROM ONE CAMPUS TO ANOTHER.
WE HAD A DISTRICT EXPECTATION AND DISTRICT PLAN THAT WE USED ACROSS ALL CAMPUSES.
UM, I HAVE KIND OF A QUESTION ABOUT THE SOFTWARE.
'CAUSE THE PRESENTATION OF THE DATA IS VERY INTERESTING.
IT ALLOWS US TO SEE JUST IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THAT YOUR, OUR STUDENTS WHO WERE BELOW, UM, ARE NOW, WE CAN SEE THAT THAT'S BEING REDUCED AND OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE BELOW, WELL BELOW AND BELOW ARE ALSO CUMUL CUMULATIVELY JUST IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THAT NUMBER'S SHRINKING, BUT IT'S ALSO SHRINKING IT AT, UM, WE'RE GROWING THE TOP END AT A FASTER RATE.
SO THESE ARE LIKE INDICATORS THAT ACTUALLY WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE.
I'M CURIOUS IF WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEE THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ONE END OF YEAR AND THEN NEXT YEAR, AGAIN, THIS CYCLE WILL REPEAT HOW THE DATA WOULD BE PRESENTED TO US.
SO WE COULD SEE THAT THAT SAME COHORT OF STUDENTS CONTINUES IN THIS IMPROVEMENT WHERE FEWER AND FEWER STUDENTS NEED, UM, ARE BELOW AND MORE AND MORE ARE AT OR ABOVE.
IF WE CAN TALK TO MR. KKI ABOUT WHAT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION WE CAN SHARE WITH THE BOARD OR WHEN THAT CAN HAPPEN.
I MEAN, THIS REPORT NEEDS TO HAPPEN ANNUALLY.
IT COULD HAPPEN AT A DIFFERENT TIME OF THE YEAR IF YOU WERE ALL WAITING FOR, UM, EOI DATA.
WE JUST AS THIS FIRST YEAR AND WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON, WE WANTED TO PRESENT IT NOW, BUT WE COULD CERTAINLY PRESENT THAT OR JUST PRESENT THAT TO THE BOARD IN A, IN A BRIEF MEMO OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT.
YEAH, I THINK WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION AND ABOUT DYSLEXIA SCREENING, ALL THREE OF MY CHILDREN RECEIVE DYSLEXIA SERVICES.
AND DYSLEXIA IS NOT SOMETHING THAT JUST GOES AWAY JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE RECEIVING SERVICES.
IT IS A, IT IS SOMETHING THAT STICKS WITH YOU THROUGH ADULTHOOD.
BUT THEY LEARN WAYS TO, TO WORK THROUGH IT.
AND SO THIS IS JUST AN INDICATOR THAT THIS CHILD MAY NEED SERVICES.
BUT I THINK THEN AS A PARENT OF SOMEONE WHO HAS DYSLEXIA, YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT REGRESSING.
SO THAT'S WHY I ASK THE QUESTION, DOES THE SOFTWARE PACKAGE THAT'S PROVIDING THESE REPORTS HELP US JUST WATCH THOSE STUDENTS AS THEY'RE PROGRESSING FROM ONE GRADE TO ANOTHER, TO ANOTHER? OH, ABSOLUTELY.
AND WITH THE REPORTS THAT ARE SENT HOME TO THE FAMILIES TOO, SO THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT YOUR INDIVIDUAL CHILD.
AND THEN, UM, STUDENTS ARE ALSO PROGRESS MONITORED, UM, EVERY OTHER, EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS TO SHOW THAT GROWTH OR LACK OF GROWTH.
I MEAN, I KNOW THAT IN MY TIME ON THE BOARD, I, WE HAVE SEEN THESE, THESE, UM, DISCUSSIONS ON, ON HOW WE TRACK OUR STUDENT.
SO I, I DON'T KNOW THAT, AND I KNOW THAT WE'VE HEARD OF DYSLEXIA NOW FOR, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST MY TIME ON THE BOARD AND PRIOR, UM, I APPRECIATE THE, THE EXTENT OF DATA THAT WE ARE GIVEN.
AND EVEN BEFORE THERE WERE REQUIREMENTS BY STATE GOVERNMENT THAT WE WERE DOING THIS AND WE WERE DOING THIS WELL, AND, AND CATCHING EVERYONE YOUR, UH, YOUR PERCENTAGE OF 17 THAT WERE ALREADY, UM, AT RISK.
AND JUST ONE ADDITIONAL FROM THIS NEW TOOL IS INDICATIVE, I THINK OF THAT.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
[7.2 2026-27 Budget update]
WILL MOVE TO OUR SECOND REPORT IN THE AGENDA, AND THAT IS ON THE 20 26, 27 BUDGET UPDATE.AND WE HAVE CHRIS SCOTT, OUR CFO HERE PRESENTING.
SO WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET A LOT, BUT YOU'VE NOT REALLY EVEN SEEN WHERE WE STAND YET.
SO EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT SO FAR HAS BEEN AN ESTIMATE BASED ON THAT, UH, THAT INITIAL ASSESSMENT THAT WE TRIED TO DO BACK IN SEPTEMBER.
UM, AND IF YOU REMEMBER, WE'VE BEEN TALKING FIVE TO $6 MILLION DEFICIT, UH, BASED ON CURRENT LAW AND PROJECTING FORWARD
[00:55:01]
LIKE WE HAD TALKED ABOUT BEFORE.AND I'M GONNA LET YOU KNOW, SPOIL THE REST OF IT.
UH, AND WE'LL GET TO THAT IN JUST A MINUTE.
UM, THERE'S STILL SOME THINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE UNKNOWN TO US, UM, THAT COULD COME IN ON, ON THE GOOD SIDE, UH, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THOSE AS WELL.
SO HERE'S WHAT THE, UH, THE BOARD YOU HAVE DONE SO FAR.
YOU'VE COMMITTED, UH, TO A TOTAL BUDGET, UH, REDUCTION FOR NEXT YEAR OF ABOUT $3.9 MILLION.
UM, 600,000 OF THAT IS A LOCAL REVENUE INCREASES, INCLUDING AN INCREASE OF 30 ADDITIONAL STUDENTS, UH, TRANSFERRED OVER THE CURRENT YEAR BASELINE AND 350,000 IN REVENUE INCREASES.
50,000 OF THAT IS LOOKING AT THE ACCELERATION ACADEMIES THAT WE'RE GONNA START THIS YEAR.
YOU KNOW, AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, WE HOPE THAT IN FUTURE YEARS THAT NUMBER WILL GROW.
BUT, UH, FOR THIS FIRST YEAR WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 50 K.
UH, THE, THE REST OF IT WE'RE LOOKING AT AN INCREASED, UM, RENTAL FEES, UH, AND, AND OTHER SOURCES OF REVENUE FOR THE DISTRICT.
UM, ONE CAVEAT I WANT, AND AND I KNOW I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE, BUT, UM, I FEEL LIKE, UH, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT I NEED TO, TO KEEP EMPHASIZING.
UM, SO THE STAFFING OPTIMIZATION IS PRIMARILY, UM, GOING TO COME, UH, FROM NATURAL ATTRITION.
UH, SO, UM, IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN, UM, STAFF MEMBERS LEAVE IN PLACES THAT, THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE REDUCING, UH, UH, WE'RE NOT GOING TO REPLACE THEM.
UM, BUT WE'RE NOT, FOR THE MOST PART, WE'RE NOT RIFFING.
THERE, THERE ARE SOME, UH, POSITIONS THAT WE ARE RIFFING AND WE, WE'VE ALREADY, UH, STARTED TO, UM, ABSORB AND, AND TO, TO RECOGNIZE SOME OF THOSE.
UH, BUT, BUT A LARGE PORTION OF THIS IS BASED ON NATURAL ATTRITION.
AND, UM, SO AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT, THAT'S FAIRLY EASY TO DO.
YOU'LL HAVE A CLASS OF A HUNDRED FIFTH GRADERS AND YOU'VE GOT FIVE TEACHERS THERE.
THE NEXT YEAR YOU'VE GOT 80 KIDS.
AND YOU, AND YOU TALK TO ONE OF THOSE TEACHERS, HEY, DO YOU WANT TO TEACH THIRD GRADE? WE'VE GOT AN OPENING THERE AND YOU MOVE PEOPLE AROUND.
IT'S NOT AS EASY TO DO AT, AT A LEVEL, AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL.
IF I, IF I'VE LOST, UH, AN ENGLISH TEACHER, UM, OR, OR I HAVE AN EXTRA ENGLISH TEACHER AND I'VE LOST A, AN, AN AP PHYSICS TEACHER, UH, I CAN'T NECESSARILY TAKE THAT, THAT EXTRA ENGLISH TEACHER AND PLUG THEM IN OVER THERE.
AND SO I'M, UH, I MIGHT HAVE TO HIRE SOMEBODY TO FILL THAT SPOT WHILE I WAS, YOU KNOW, UH, WANTING TO, TO REDUCE IN, IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA.
AND SO, UM, NUMBER ONE, UH, IT'S ALWAYS, UH, YOU DON'T GET ALL OF IT, WHICH IS WHY WE ONLY, UH, BUDGETED THAT WE WOULD GET 70% OF THAT ATTRITION IN YEAR ONE.
AND THEN THERE ARE OTHER 30% IN YEAR TWO.
BUT I ALSO WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES DOING THIS.
UH, MOST OF OUR SURROUNDING DISTRICTS ARE DOING THE EXACT SAME THING.
AND SO THE, SOME OF THE, THE MOVEMENT THAT YOU SEE IN A TYPICAL YEAR WHERE, UM, A STAFF MEMBER WANTS TO MOVE TO A, A SCHOOL THAT'S CLOSER TO THEIR HOME, UM, OR, YOU KNOW, TO A DIFFERENT DISTRICT FOR WHATEVER REASON, BECAUSE THEY GET A, A ASSIGNMENT THAT THEY LIKE BETTER, UM, THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN MUCH LESS THIS YEAR THAN IT HAS HAPPENED IN, IN THE RECENT PAST.
AND SO, UM, I JUST WANT TO AGAIN CAVEAT THE, THE REDUCTION THAT THE 3.3 MILLION, UH, IS, IS NOT A GIVEN.
UM, WE STILL HAVE SOME UNKNOWNS.
AND ACTUALLY TOMORROW, UH, I'M GOING TO GET THE, THE PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE OF CERTIFIED VALUES FROM FROM TAD.
AND SO THAT WILL GIVE US, UH, SOME, SOME ONGOING INFORMATION.
AND I'M GONNA BE TALKING TO YOU ABOUT THAT, UH, PRETTY EXTENSIVELY THE NEXT TIME BECAUSE I'M REQUIRED BY LAW TO DO THAT.
AND SO I'LL BE GIVING YOU A REPORT ABOUT, UH, ABOUT, UH, TAXABLE ASSESSED VALUE, UH, AND ITS IMPACT.
UH, AND I'LL TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT TONIGHT AS WELL.
AND WHAT IT MEANS, UH, DEPENDING ON HOW, HOW THINGS MOVE.
UM, THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT EARLY IN THE YEAR AND WE'VE NOT MENTIONED IT.
THIS IS NOT INCORPORATED TO ANY OF OUR MODELS YET.
UH, BUT IN THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION, UH, THE, THE LEGISLATURE, UM, DIDN'T JUST CHANGE, UM, THE MULTIPLIERS, UH, FOR SPECIAL ED, BUT THEY DIRECTED, UH, TEA TO DEVELOP A WHOLE NEW METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING, UM, SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDS.
UM, AND WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, UM, FOCUSED MORE ON INTENSITY OF SERVICE RATHER THAN, UH, WHAT THE, THE, THE CHILD, UH, HAS.
YOU KNOW, UH, I I CAN, I CAN FEEL, UH, MOLLY'S EYES GLARING AT ME RIGHT
[01:00:01]
NOW THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT THIS INCORRECTLY.UM, BUT THEY'RE CHANGING THE WAY THEY LOOK AT IT.
SO NOW IT'S GOING TO BE AN INTENSITY OF SERVICE MODEL, AND THAT HAS NOT COME OUT YET.
AND THERE IS ADDITIONAL MONEY ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
AND SO I HAVE A NUMBER IN THE BACK OF MY HEAD, UH, WHICH I JUST TOOK THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT THE, THAT THE LEGISLATURE KNEW MONEY THAT THE LEGISLATURE ASSIGNED TO THIS.
I DIVIDED IT BY THE TOTAL NUMBER OF KIDS IN THE, IN, IN THE STATE AND MULTIPLIED IT BY THE NUMBER OF KIDS WE HAVE TO JUST GET AN IDEA HOW MUCH MONEY WE MIGHT BE TALKING ABOUT.
AND THAT NUMBER IS 400 K AND I, AND I WILL SAY THAT WE HAVE ONE OF THE MORE, UM, INTENSE MODELS OUT THERE.
UM, AND SO I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF IT WAS MORE, BUT THIS IS ALSO, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE, I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF IT WENT THE OTHER WAY EITHER.
BUT I DO ANTICIPATE THAT THERE WILL BE MORE MONEY COMING TO US.
UM, BUT I WOULD ALSO NOT BE AT ALL SHOCKED IF WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THAT MODEL IS BEFORE YOU HAVE TO ADOPT THE BUDGET IN JUNE.
UM, IT WOULDN'T BE AT ALL SHOCKING IF THAT NEW MODEL CAME OUT IN JULY OR AUGUST OR EVEN LATER.
BUT THAT, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT.
UM, WE ALSO DON'T KNOW THE IMPACT OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH VOUCHERS.
NOW, THERE WAS SOME INFORMATION THAT CAME OUT FAIRLY RECENTLY, UH, SO YOU COULD LOOK AT, UM, DIFFERENT DISTRICTS AND, AND WHERE PEOPLE HAD APPLIED.
OUR NUMBER WAS FAIRLY LOW, UM, UH, COMPARED TO A LOT OF OUR, OUR NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS.
UM, BUT WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF THOSE STUDENTS MIGHT BE NEW STUDENTS AND HOW MANY OF THEM ARE EXISTING, UM, PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS.
UM, SOME OF THE EARLY REPORTING IS THAT, UH, THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE APPLIED SO FAR WERE EXISTING, UM, STUDENTS, UH, IN, IN THE PRIVATE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
UH, AND SO WE DON'T KNOW IF THAT WILL IMPACT US OR NOT.
THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE STILL WATCHING.
UH, SO ANYTHING THAT I'M, THAT I'M ABOUT TO SHOW YOU, BEYOND 26 27, I'VE BASICALLY, UH, ROUGHED IT OUT THE SAME WAY I DID THIS YEAR'S BACK IN SEPTEMBER.
SO I, I, I LOOKED AT SOME REALLY ROUGH NUMBERS OF, OF FUNDING LEVELS WHERE WE'RE PROJECTING OUR STUDENT ENROLLMENT TO GO.
UH, AND I, AND I PLUGGED IT IN THERE, BUT THE, THE, THE TEMPLATE THAT, THAT I USE STILL HAS NOT, UM, UH, INCORPORATED THE OUT YEARS INTO IT.
AND THE, THE, THE, THE MODEL'S AUTHOR SAYS THAT HE'S NOT GOING TO DO THAT UNTIL HE FEELS A HUNDRED PERCENT CONFIDENT IN THE 26, 27, AND HE DOESN'T YET.
UM, UM, I, I GET A, YOU GET A SENSE OF THESE THINGS AFTER YOU'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM A WHILE.
I GET THE SENSE THAT THE 26, 27 IS PRETTY CLOSE.
UH, RIGHT NOW, IT FEELS ABOUT RIGHT TO ME.
UM, NOW THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE WON'T STILL BE SOME WIGGLE.
YOU'VE, YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD IN THE LAST WEEK SOME TALK ABOUT, UM, THE, THE HOLD HARMLESS ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, THE, THE FREEZE ADJUSTABLE, FREEZE ADJUSTED TAXABLE VALUES.
UM, AND THAT IMPACTED SOME DISTRICTS PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY, UH, BOTH TO THE POSITIVE AND THE NEGATIVE.
OURS, UM, WAS NOT THAT SIGNIFICANT, BUT IT WAS TO THE GOOD ABOUT $30,000 MORE THAN WHAT, UM, WE HAD BEEN ANTICIPATING.
AND SO THAT'S ALWAYS POSITIVE AND WE'RE HAPPY TO SEE THAT.
UM, BUT IT, IT WASN'T A BIG SWING IN IT IN ANY WAY THAT, UH, THAT WE HAD HOPED.
CHRIS, CAN I JUST JUMP IN FOR A MINUTE PLEASE, AS YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE? UH, ARE YOU, YOU WANT ME TO GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE FIRST? YEAH.
SO THIS, I WANNA JUST REMIND EVERYBODY WHO'S PAYING ATTENTION TO PUBLIC AND FOR OUR TRUSTEES, THIS CAME OUT OF THE DIALOGUE WHEN THE TRUSTEES WERE SPENDING, UH, TIME WITH THE TEAM ON BUDGET OPTIMIZATION AND TRUSTEES ASKING TO SEE MULTIPLE YEAR SCENARIOS AND A LONG RANGE FORECAST.
AND YOU JUST HEARD OUR CFO SAY THERE'S NO TEA TEMPLATE FOR THAT.
WE ARE CREATING THIS, WE'RE WORKING ON THE LONG RANGE PLANNING, AND THIS IS A RESULT OF REQUEST FROM TRUSTEES.
RIGHT? SO, UM, THE, ONE OF THE, THE BIG ASSUMPTIONS I'VE GOT UP THERE, YOU SEE, UH, TAX-BASED GROWTH FOR, FOR THIS YEAR IS 0%.
UH, WE HAVE BEEN ESSENTIALLY FLAT IN OUR TAXABLE ASSESSED VALUE OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS.
I'M PROJECTING WE'RE GONNA GO ANOTHER YEAR RELATIVELY FLAT.
OUR LONG-TERM AVERAGE IS 5% PER YEAR.
THAT'S LOOKING BACK ALMOST 20 YEARS.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE IN 26, 27, 27, 28.
UH, I'M ASSUMING THAT EVENTUALLY WE'LL GET BACK ON TRACK FOR WHERE WE WERE.
[01:05:01]
BIG BUBBLE, A GROWTH OF, UH, OVER A COUPLE OF YEARS DURING COVID TIME WHEN WE SAW REALLY HIGH GROWTH.AND SINCE THEN, WE'VE SEEN SLIGHTLY NEGATIVE TO SLIGHTLY POSITIVE GROWTH OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
NOW, WHAT THAT MEANS HERE, UH, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TAX-BASED GROWTH, UM, AS YOU KNOW, ON TIER ONE, THE FIRST PART OF THE M AND O TAX BASE, UH, THE BIGGEST PART OF OUR TAX BASE, WHICH IS ABOUT 60 ISH CENTS RIGHT NOW, UM, THAT HOW MUCH WE COLLECT DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH HOW MUCH MONEY WE GET TO KEEP.
WHAT THAT DETERMINES IS HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE GONNA SEND TO THE STATE, UM, AND, AND RECAPTURE.
SO, UH, WE GO IN THERE AND WE ENTER INTO ALL OF OUR STUDENT DATA.
FOR US, IT'S 50 SOMETHING MILLION DOLLARS.
UH, ANYTHING WE COLLECT ABOVE $50 MILLION WE SEND TO THE STATE.
UH, IF WE WERE A PROPERTY POOR DISTRICT, UH, ANYTHING THAT WE COLLECTED UNDER, SO LET'S SAY IT WAS $50 MILLION, UM, FOR SOME OTHER DISTRICT, AND THEY COLLECTED $30 MILLION ON THEIR TIER ONE, THEY WOULD GET $20 MILLION IN STATE AID.
AND SO ON THAT TIER ONE, EVERYBODY'S IN THE SAME BOAT.
WHERE WE'RE NOT IN THE SAME BOAT IS ON THE TIER TWO, UH, WHICH IS FOR US JUST THE GOLDEN PENNIES.
AND OF COURSE, THERE'S ALSO COPPER PENNIES ON TIER TWO, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THOSE.
BUT THE GOLDEN PENNIES, UM, THERE IS NO RECAPTURE.
SO ALL THE MONEY WE COLLECT, WE GET TO KEEP.
UM, AND SO WHEN WE SEE TAX-BASED GROWTH OF WHATEVER PERCENT, THEN THAT MONEY THAT WE COLLECT ON, UH, ON THE GOLDEN PENNIES WILL INCREASE BY THAT PERCENT.
SO JUST FYI ON OUR EIGHT PENNIES THIS YEAR, WE'RE COLLECTING NEIGHBORHOOD $17 MILLION.
AND SO A, IF WE HAD A TAX-BASED GROWTH OF 5%, THAT WOULD BE $850,000 MORE THAT WE WOULD GET TO KEEP, UM, A 1%, ABOUT $170,000.
UM, BY THE SAME TOKEN, IF IT GOES THE OTHER WAY, IF WE HAD, UH, A NEGATIVE FIVE, IF WE DECLINED IN VALUE BY BY 5%, WE WOULD HAVE $850,000 LESS THAN WHAT WE HAVE THIS YEAR.
UH, SO THAT'S JUST KIND OF HOW THAT WORKS.
UM, YOU'LL ALSO SEE THAT I SHOWED ON HERE THE, ON THE SALARY INCREASE 0%.
AND I DID THAT BECAUSE, UM, YOU, YOU'VE, YOU'VE EXPRESSED THAT, UH, WE'RE GONNA DO A BALANCED BUDGET, AND THAT WAS THE NEXT THING IN LINE TO, TO GET US CLOSER TO IT.
AND SO YOU SEE TWO LINES HERE ON BUDGETED SURPLUS DEFICIT AND THEN PROJECTED SURPLUS OR DEFICIT.
SO BUDGETED SURPLUS DEFICIT, UM, IS ALWAYS GOING TO SHOW A, A HIGHER DEFICIT NUMBER.
UM, IT'S GONNA SHOW MORE SPENDING THAN WHAT WILL ACTUALLY HAPPEN.
AND TO EXPLAIN THAT AGAIN, 'CAUSE I, I, I APOLOGIZE BECAUSE EVERY ONE OF YOU HAS HEARD ME SAY THIS AT LEAST A DOZEN TIMES, BUT NOW IT'S 13.
UM, AND SO WHEN WE, WHEN WE PASS A BUDGET, WHEN YOU ADOPT A BUDGET, UH, IN JUNE, YOU'LL HAVE TO DO THAT AT THE FUNCTION LEVEL.
AND SO WE DON'T JUST PASS A GENERAL FUND BUDGET THAT'S 85 $90 MILLION, YOU'RE LOOKING AT EACH INDIVIDUAL FUNCTION LEVEL.
SO FUNCTION 11 INSTRUCTION, WE'LL HAVE A NUMBER, UH, FUNCTION 12, UH, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WILL HAVE A, A NUMBER 13 ON DOWN THE LIST.
WE HAVE ABOUT, UH, 13 OR 14 DIFFERENT FUNCTION LEVELS.
UM, AND YOU WILL ADOPT A BUDGET IN EACH ONE OF THOSE.
AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR, NONE OF THOSE, UM, BUDGETED FUNCTION LEVELS, UH, THE EXPENDITURES CAN EXCEED THAT.
AND SO WE BUDGET AT A HIGHER LEVEL TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN MOVE MONEY AROUND AND, AND THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO EXCEED, UM, UH, ANY OF THOSE FUNCTION LEVELS.
AND THEN YOU, IF WE, BECAUSE IF WE DO, THEN YOU'LL GET A LETTER, UH, FROM TEA SAYING, WHY DID YOU LET THIS HAPPEN? AND SO WE DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN.
UM, AND SO THAT'S WHY WE DO THAT.
WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO OVERPERFORM, AND THAT'S WHY WE SHOW BOTH A BUDGETED SURPLUS OR DEFICIT AND A PROJECTED.
AND SO THAT PROJECTED, AGAIN, IS ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS.
HISTORICALLY, THAT'S ABOUT HOW MUCH BETTER WE COME IN.
YOU LOOK DOWN THERE AND, AND IF EVERYTHING, NOTHING CHANGES ON WHAT WE SEE ON, ON THAT LINE ITEM, UH, WE WILL END THE YEAR WITH A FUND BALANCE ON JUNE 30TH, 2027 OF ABOUT $22 MILLION, WHICH WOULD BE ABOUT 23.5%, UH, OF, UM, BUDGETED, UM, EXPENDITURES.
UM, AND I WOULD LIKE YOU TO NOT FOCUS ON 26, 27
[01:10:01]
AND 27, 28 FOR THE REASONS I'VE, I'VE OUTLINED.UH, THESE ARE ROUGH ESTIMATES, BUT I JUST WANT YOU TO LOOK AT THE TRAJECTORY OF THEM.
UH, AND SO AGAIN, UH, THE ONLY THE ONLY CHANGES THAT YOU'RE, THAT YOU'RE REALLY, UH, SEEING REPRESENTED HERE IS ENROLLMENT GOING DOWN.
AND, AND THE NEXT TWO SCHOOL YEARS, WE'RE SHOWING A SALARY INCREASE OF 2% EACH YEAR.
SO OBVIOUSLY THAT HAS A COST AS WELL.
AND BOTH OF THOSE THINGS ARE GONNA CONTRIBUTE TO, UM, MORE MONEY, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, IN, IN DEFICIT.
AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, I HATE, I HATE IT THAT IT'S THE CASE, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE LOOKING AT FOR A WHILE.
UM, AND FROM HERE, UM, AGAIN, I'LL, I'LL MENTION, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA HAVE MORE INFORMATION FROM TCAD, UH, TOMORROW.
UM, WE STILL DON'T HAVE THE SPED AND WE AS A, UM, AS AN ADMINISTRATION ARE STILL LOOKING AT, AT, AT ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU MIGHT WANNA CONSIDER IN APRIL, UH, TO TRY TO GET THAT NUMBER, UH, FROM A $1.2 MILLION DEFICIT TO ZERO OR EVEN, OR EVEN HIGHER.
AND IDEALLY, WE'D LIKE TO GET IT TO A PLACE, UH, WHERE NOT JUST, UM, WE GET IT TO ZERO, BUT THAT WE GET, GET IT TO A PLACE WHERE WE CAN ALSO GIVE OUR STAFF, UH, A HARD EARNED, UH, INCREASE IN SALARY.
AND I'M HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
TRUSTEES, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR CHRIS? I HAVE JOHN AND THEN KELLY.
UM, SO A, A FEW CLARIFYING, SO IF YOU GO BACK ONE SLIDE, UM, OKAY.
SO THE FIRST COLUMN IS FOR THE CURRENT YEAR WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW, RIGHT? UM, I BELIEVE I I SHOWED YOU THAT IS 26, 27.
SO THAT, THAT'S, THAT IS 26, 27.
UM, I, I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T UPDATE MY NUMBERS AT THE TOP.
SO THE FIRST COLUMN IS THE YEAR THAT STARTS JULY ONE OF LIKE IN A FEW MONTHS? CORRECT.
IT JUST 27, 28, THEN 28, 29 9.
SO THAT'S WHY, 'CAUSE I WAS THINKING, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY 'CAUSE WE DID GIVE, FOLKS DID GET SOME RAISES IN THE YEAR WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW, RIGHT? YOU YES, WE DID.
'CAUSE I WAS SITTING HERE THINKING, HOW WERE WE OFF BY 3.3 MILLION WITH OUR ESTIMATE
SO IF WE DON'T DO, UH, A RAISE FOR THE NET FOR THE YEAR THAT STARTS JULY 1, 26, 27, THEN THAT TAKES US FROM 3.9 MILLION OF SAVINGS UP TO FIVE SOMETHING, RIGHT? CORRECT.
AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'VE BAKED IN HERE.
SO WHAT IS, SO WHAT'S CHANGED IS, UH, A COUPLE MILLION HAS GONE AGAINST US SINCE WE STARTED ESTIMATING LAST SEPTEMBER.
SO CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT WENT AGAINST US? UM, NOT EASILY.
UH, THERE, THERE ARE A LOT, THERE ARE A LOT OF, UH, VARIABLES THAT GO INTO IT.
AND, UH, WHEN I MADE THAT ESTIMATE, UM, IN SEPTEMBER, I ALSO DIDN'T HAVE A FUNCTIONING, UH, TEMPLATE FOR THIS YEAR.
AND SO I WAS LOOKING AT, UM, THE, YOU KNOW, THE LAW THAT HAD JUST BEEN PASSED AND TRYING TO APPLY THOSE THINGS INDIVIDUALLY, THOSE DIFFERENT, UH, COMPONENTS INDIVIDUALLY TO COME UP WITH A NUMBER.
AND THAT'S WHERE IT CAME FROM.
UM, WELL MAN, I, THIS IS NOT GOOD NEWS.
YOU GOTTA START COMING TO US WITH SOME GOOD NEWS.
UH, JOHN, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I WOULD LOVE TO COME WITH YOU WITH I KNOW.
UM, SO FOR ME, UH, JUST INITIAL REACTIONS, UH, WE, OBVIOUSLY, I'M, I'M GLAD YOU'RE COMING BACK IN APRIL 'CAUSE WE GOT SOME WORK TO DO.
UH, BECAUSE I'M, I AM COMMITTED TO, UH, TO PASSING A BALANCED BUDGET.
I'VE, THAT'S MY ONE OF SEVEN VOTE ON UP HERE MM-HMM
AND HAVE MADE THAT PRETTY CLEAR OVER THE LAST YEAR THAT THAT'S MY PRIORITY.
UM, AND SO I ALSO KNOW THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF NOT GIVING RAISES.
UM, AND SO FOR ME, WHEN YOU COME BACK IN APRIL, UH, THIS IS JUST MY, YOU KNOW, SUPERINTENDENT CONNECTKEY.
THIS IS JUST WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE AS AN OPTION IS WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO, UH, TO GENERATE ENOUGH REVENUE AND TO CUT EXPENSES FURTHER SO THAT THERE IS SOME TYPE OF RAISE THAT WE CAN GIVE AND WE'RE STILL BALANCING THE BUDGET.
I THINK MR. TROY, UH, NOT TO CUT YOU, UH, THERE,
[01:15:01]
I KNOW YOU PROBABLY HAVE SOME MORE TO SAY JUST TO SAY THAT, UM, CHRIS MENTIONED THE TEAM IS WORKING ON SOME THINGS TO COME BACK TO SHARE IN IN APRIL.WHAT WE DIDN'T WANNA DO TONIGHT WAS TURN THIS, UM, PROJECTION SHEET INTO A SIMULATOR AND GET INTO THAT TONIGHT.
BUT I THINK SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE'RE GONNA HEAR, LIKE WE JUST DID, UH, ARE THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO KIND OF PACKAGE AND SHOW YOU IN SOME DIFFERENT WAYS, UH, ALONG WITH THAT'S GREAT REVENUE AND, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR, FOR OTHER CUTS.
AND I, AND I KNEW TONIGHT WASN'T TO GET INTO THE SPECIFICS MM-HMM
I, I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSCORE, UH, MY DESIRE TO SEE THAT IN APRIL, UH, BECAUSE, UH, I THINK, UH, I THINK WE'VE DONE A LOT OF HARD WORK SO FAR MM-HMM
SO MY KUDOS TO THE STAFF, UH, ON MAKING SOME, DOING THE TOUGH ANALYSIS TO GET US AS FAR AS WE HAVE.
AND I THINK WE'VE, UH, WE'VE TAKEN SOME TOUGH STEPS AS A BOARD, UH, TO, UH, TO GET US MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
UH, AND THIS SHOWS US THAT, UH, THERE'S STILL SOME MORE TO DO.
UM, AND SO, UH, WE WILL TACKLE THAT IN APRIL.
SO I DO, UM, UH, I, I WON'T SAY I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING IT BECAUSE I, I, IT'S, IT'S NOT EXCITING NEWS, BUT, UH, I AM, UM, YOU KNOW, I DO BELIEVE WE, WE WILL HAVE TO DIG INTO IT THEN.
UH, SO THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING, ESPECIALLY THAT THAT IS, UH, THE UPCOMING YEAR OF 26 27.
SO I'LL LEAVE IT THERE FOR NOW.
WE HAVE KELLY FOLLOWED BY DIANE AND THEN CATHERINE.
SO I WANTED TO START OUT TO SAY THAT WE KEEP SAYING CONTINUED DECLINE IN ENROLLMENT, BUT I REALLY CONSIDER THIS KIND OF LIKE A DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT AT THIS POINT BECAUSE I'VE WATCHED US SHIFT, RIGHT? I'VE SEEN US SHIFT, I'VE SEEN US HAVE A LOT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AND NOT AS MANY IN THE UPPER GRADES.
SO I THINK WE'RE JUST GOING THROUGH ANOTHER DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO TELL YOU ALSO, I WATCHED VERY CAREFULLY MY NEIGHBORHOOD, AND WE JUST HAD THREE, NO, FOUR NEW FAMILIES MOVE IN WITH SMALL CHILDREN THAT DID NOT, THOSE HOUSES DID NOT PREVIOUSLY HAVE ELEMENTARY OR KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS, SO, YAY.
UM, AND OF COURSE I WAS RECRUITING.
SO, UM, WE, UM, BUT KEEPING THOSE, THE DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT IN STUFF IN MIND, I KNOW THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT AS A BOARD, THE INCREASE IN TRANSFER STUDENTS, AND I KNOW THAT YOU'RE INCLUDING THAT BECAUSE IT'S BEEN UNDER THE, FROM THE DIRECTION OF THE BOARD.
BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE A COUPLE POINTS AROUND THIS OPTION BECAUSE I THINK WE ALL WANNA BE GOOD STEWARDS FINANCIALLY, AND WE LIKE TO SEE BALANCE, BUT FROM OUR PRIORITIES, WE ALSO HAVE THE PRIORITIES OF THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STUDENTS AND ALSO THE CLASSROOM TEACHER EXPERIENCE.
AND SO I JUST WANNA KEEP THAT IN OUR MINDS GOING FORWARD, THAT, I MEAN, I CAN SEE WHAT A CHANGE WOULD BE IF YOU WERE GONNA ADD, IF YOU HAVE A CLASS OF 22ND GRADERS AND YOU ADD ONE STUDENT, SO YOU HAVE 21.
BUT IF YOU'RE ADDING 30 STUDENTS IN, LIKE THE HIGH SCHOOL PER SE, WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHERE THEY'RE GOING.
WE DON'T REALLY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT OPPORTUNITIES THERE WILL BE FOR THEM OR FOR ANY STUDENT THERE.
AND SO I WANNA BE CAREFUL WITH THAT.
UM, AND I WANNA BE REALLY MINDFUL OF THAT, AND I KIND OF WANNA KNOW THE DIRECTION OF THAT AS WELL.
UM, AND THEN I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CALCULATE REVENUE FROM TRANSFER STUDENTS.
'CAUSE IN THE PAST WE USED TO DO LIKE A FUND THE GAP CAMPAIGN, RIGHT? FOR EEF.
AND I KNOW WHEN, UM, YOU AND I HAVE HAD A MEETING BEFORE WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT THAT GAP BETWEEN WHAT THE STATE GIVES US AND WHAT E SPENDS PER STUDENT.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT TRULY IS A REVENUE INCREASE, UM, CONSIDERING THAT WE SPEND MORE PER STUDENT THAN WHAT WE GET BECAUSE WE'RE SA BIG PART OF THAT, UM, GAP, UH, IS ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS.
UH, SO, UM, AS, AS YOU KNOW, UH, FROM THE STATE TO SERVICE SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS, UH, THIS YEAR WE WILL RECEIVE ABOUT $8 MILLION DEDICATED TO THAT.
UH, WE WILL SPEND ABOUT 18 MILLION.
UM, AND SO THERE'S, THAT'S, THAT'S A BIG GAP FOR A REGULAR EDUCATION STUDENT.
UM, THE, IT'S, IT'S, UH, A PLUG AND PLAY IS PRETTY EASY ON A TRANSFER STUDENT.
UM, AND SO, UM, I THINK I PROBABLY BETTER STOP TALKING
AND IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT I WANNA KEEP IN MIND GOING FORWARD.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY MAYBE THE NEW, THE NEW FORMULA THAT'S GONNA COME OUT FOR SPED WILL HELP OUT WITH A LITTLE BIT THERE.
[01:20:01]
TALK ABOUT, UM, CELEBRATING THE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS THAT YOU'VE BEEN ESTABLISHING.I KNOW THAT RECENTLY YOU HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHING MANY, MANY PARTNERSHIPS AND, UM, WITH OUR FACILITIES AND RENTALS, I KNOW EVERYONE HAS BEEN ON IN THE ADMINISTRATION.
AND I WANNA RECOGNIZE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.
'CAUSE I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THAT.
UM, I KNOW ANYONE WHO'S COME AND ASK TO USE A FACILITY HAS BEEN GRANTED THAT, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU'VE BEEN OFFERING.
UM, AND THEN I WANTED TO, OF COURSE PUT IN A LITTLE PLUG FOR, UM, JUST HAVING, JUST TO TALK ABOUT THOSE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND CELEBRATING WHAT YOU'RE DOING BECAUSE WE HAVE A VERY INFORMED AND ENGAGED COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK IF, I THINK WHEN YOU'RE, ALL THE HARD WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING IN THIS REVENUE GENERATION, WHICH IS NOT GETTING RECAPTURED, IS SO IMPORTANT.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HONORING AND TALKING ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
I'LL JUST SAY ON THE, UM, ON THE STUDENT DECLINE, UM, WE, WHAT WE'RE SEEING AS THE TREND IN, IN, UH, E'S ISD, UM, IS BEING TRACKED ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AS FAR AS A DECLINE.
AND WE'RE PARTICULARLY SEEING THAT AT, AT THE YOUNGER LEVEL.
UM, I BELIEVE IT WAS IN 1920 SCHOOL YEAR WE HAD SOMETHING LIKE 650 MORE ELEMENTARY STUDENTS THAN WHAT WE HAVE THIS YEAR.
UM, AND, BUT DURING THAT TIME, UM, WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL, UH, ENROLLMENT HAS REMAINED PRETTY CONSISTENT.
AND, UH, CHAD AND I JUST HAD A DISCUSSION, UM, WITHIN THE LAST WEEK OR TWO THAT WE'RE WONDERING IF OUR MODELS, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE'RE ON, ON OUR MODELS.
WE'RE, WE'RE TRACKING OUT, WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF SHOWING THAT EVENTUALLY THE SMALLER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, UH, ELEMENTARY CLASSES ARE GONNA RESULT IN THESE IN SMALLER SECONDARY CLASSES.
BUT SO FAR IT LOOKS LIKE THAT'S NOT SO MUCH HAPPENING.
WE, UM, NUMBER ONE, AS IS LONG BEEN THE CASE, UM, PARENTS WORK HARD TO, TO GET A HOUSE AND GET THEIR KIDS INTO WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL.
AND THEY'RE ALSO TRANSFER KIDS.
UM, AND, AND I THINK IT MIGHT BE THE CASE, UM, THAT WE CAN LOOK, MAYBE NOT COUNT ON, BUT KIND OF KEEP IN THE BACK OF OUR MIND THAT WE CAN PROBABLY KEEP WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL AT ABOUT THE SAME SIZE.
IT'S BEEN FOR THE LAST NUMBER OF YEARS.
UM, THE, THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS HAVE DECLINED, BUT ONLY SLIGHTLY.
UM, AND SO WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF THAT AS WELL.
AND WE'VE, WE'VE LONG SAID, WELL, HERE, HERE'S SOMETHING THAT I'VE LONG SAID IS, UH, HOW HOW MANY, UM, YOUNG FAMILIES WITH, UH, RISING KINDERGARTNERS, UH, CAN DROP $2 MILLION ON, ON THEIR STARTER HOME.
UM, BUT THOSE FAMILIES, WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY GET THE RESOURCES, THEY COME AND, AND SO THAT'S WHY WE KIND OF SEE THAT UNIQUE LOOK, UH, TO OUR, TO OUR STUDENT GROWTH.
SO IF YOU TRACK A CLASS FROM KINDERGARTEN, UH, TO 12TH GRADE, THEY GROW EVERY YEAR.
IF YOU LOOK AT ANY OTHER, UH, SCHOOL ACROSS TEXAS, YOU SEE THAT THE NUMBER OF, UH, THIRD GRADERS IS ROUGHLY EQUAL TO THE NUMBER OF SEVENTH GRADERS.
UM, PEOPLE ARE COMING HERE AS SOON AS THEY CAN, UH, AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE DOING WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO TO GET THEIR KIDS IN INTO OUR SCHOOL EVENTUALLY.
AND SO WE MIGHT WANT TO START THINKING ABOUT IT THAT WAY THAT SOME OF THE DECLINE WE'RE SEEING MIGHT BE PRIMARILY AN ELEMENTARY LEVEL, UH, DECLINE.
AND IT MIGHT NOT IMPACT THE SECONDARY AS MUCH AS WE INITIALLY THOUGHT IT MIGHT, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S A WORKING THEORY.
UM, WE'LL JUST KEEP GOING DOWN THE DAAS AND, UH, LAURA, OH, WE DO HAVE QUESTION LAURA, AND THEN FOLLOWED BY DIANE AND CATHERINE.
UM, SO CHRIS, CAN YOU TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT? SO AS LONG AS I'VE BEEN HERE, WE'VE ALWAYS HELD THIS 25% FUND BALANCE.
CAN YOU TALK TO SORT OF THE REASONING BEHIND THAT FOR THAT 25%? UM, IS IT STILL APPLICABLE? DOES IT STILL HOLD TRUE? IS THAT, UM, IS THAT A LEVER THAT WE, WE COULD PULL AND MAINTAIN OUR FINANCIAL STABILITY AND LONGEVITY? UM,
[01:25:01]
AND KIND OF GIVE IT JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BREATHING ROOM? LEMME OKAY, LEMME TALK TO TALK ABOUT THE, UH, THE FUND BALANCE.I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE, I DON'T HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE FUND BALANCE IS.
UM, SO WE OFTEN HEAR ABOUT THE RAINY DAY FUND AT THE STATE LEVEL, WHICH IS REALLY A BIG POOL OF MONEY THAT GROWS AND GROWS AND, AND THE STATE CAN TAP INTO IT WHEN THEY NEED IT, BUT TYPICALLY THEY DON'T USE IT.
THEY HAVE OUTLAYS AND THEY USE THAT MONEY FOR US.
UM, WE'RE SPENDING MONEY THE YEAR ROUND AND THE, THE FUND BALANCE IS A SNAPSHOT IN TIME.
IT'S A SNAPSHOT AT THE END OF OUR FISCAL YEAR HOW MUCH, UM, IT'S ACTUALLY ASSETS MINUS LIABILITIES, BUT IT'S MOSTLY CASH, UM, THAT DO WE HAVE AVAILABLE ON, UH, ON JUNE 30.
UM, AND IF YOU JUST LOOKED AT THE, THE FUND BALANCE, WE, WE WILL ALWAYS SUBTRACT OUT, UH, THE RECAPTURE PAYMENT BECAUSE THAT HAPPENS ACTUALLY IN AUGUST.
AND SO THE AMOUNT OF CASH WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF JUNE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF HOW MUCH MONEY WE'VE GOT THAT LAST ITS REST A YEAR.
BUT THAT, BUT THAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THAT MONEY IS TO GET US UNTIL WE START BRINGING IN MORE MONEY, UM, UH, FROM, FROM PROPERTY TAXES.
UH, AND SO THERE, WE DO HAVE SOME OTHER FORMS OF MONEY COMING IN, BUT WE'RE MOSTLY LIVING OFF OF THAT, UM, FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS UNTIL PROPERTY TAXES START COMING IN.
AND SO THE QUESTION IS, UM, WHAT IS, WHERE DOES THAT 25% COME FROM? UM, THAT IS A STATE GUIDELINE IS ACTUALLY A, A PART OF THE, THE, THE FIRST.
UM, SO WHEN THE, UM, AT, AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, I BELIEVE WE WILL DROP BELOW 25% BY JUST A BIT.
AND SO WHEN THE FIRST, WHICH EVALUATES THE 25 26 SCHOOL YEAR COMES OUT, WHICH WON'T BE UNTIL 2028
UM, SO ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT, THAT IT'S A STATE GUIDELINE, IT IS, IT IS A, THERE IS A PRACTICAL REASON IT'S THERE, AND IT IS FOR THAT VERY REASON TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE CASH FLOW AVAILABLE.
WE, AND, AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, DO WE STILL HAVE, DO WE RUN INTO CASH FLOW ISSUES AT 23.5%? WE DON'T.
UH, WE WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA BE OKAY.
UM, AND, AND NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SHORT TERM, UH, FINANCING TO, TO MEET PAYROLL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND, AND AT A CERTAIN POINT, UH, THAT WON'T BE THE CASE.
AND SO, UM, I'M A BIG BELIEVER IN THE 25%.
IN FACT, I'M A BIG BELIEVER IN BEING HIGHER THAN 25%.
UM, AND I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO GET BACK THERE, UH, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
UM, AND IN THE MOST RESPONSIBLE WAY THAT WE CAN.
THIS IS A A GREAT QUESTION THOUGH.
IN THAT WE ARE, UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S BE TALKED ABOUT, UM, AND AS PEOPLE ARE ADVOCATING AT THE STATE LEVEL, THIS IS A NEW THING THAT'S BEING DIALOGUED ABOUT, UM, WITH GREATER VOICE THAN EVER BEFORE, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT GETTING SOLUTIONS FROM THE STATE MM-HMM
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS GONNA COME UP.
AND WHAT DOES THAT PERCENTAGE REPRESENT IN TERMS OF OPERATING DAY CASH? RIGHT.
'CAUSE UM, THOSE ARE OUR, SO WHEN I LOOK AT THOSE MONTHS, THOSE ARE NOT BIG CASH OUTFLOW MONTHS FOR US.
SO, YOU KNOW, HOLDING, YOU KNOW, THAT 25%, IT'S NOT A TRUE REFLECTION OF WHAT, UM, A QUARTER OF OUR YEAR EXPENSES ARE.
WELL IF YOU, IF YOU JUST TOOK, IF YOU LOOK AT THE WHOLE, RIGHT, EXACTLY.
SO IF, IF YOU, IF YOU TAKE THE, THE FULL YEAR BUDGET DIVIDE BY FOUR, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
WELL, AND THEN REGARDS TO FIRST, I MEAN, WE, IT'S, I MEAN, WE CAN, WE, WE ALWAYS PERFORM VERY, VERY WELL ON THAT.
WE PERFORM AS HIGH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
IN FACT, THE ONLY DING WE EVER GET ON THAT FIRST RATING IS A RESULT OF THE FUNDING OF THE MODEL AND HOW IT'S SET UP.
AND BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT INCREDIBLY HIGH RECAPTURE PAYMENT.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, GETTING A POINT ON THE FIRST IS, UM, IF, IF THAT ALLOWS US TO, UM, STAY FINANCIALLY SOLID AND MAINTAIN PROGRAMS THAT MAKE EE NS, UM, WOULD BE AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION.
UH, I'LL, I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST, YES.
I, I AGREE THAT, UM, IT'S, IT'S NOT A HARD, UH, HARD FLOOR.
UM, UH, BUT UH, I DO BELIEVE IT'S IMPORTANT AND I DO BELIEVE THAT IT SHOULD BE OUR GOAL TO BUILD THAT BACK UP, UH, AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
[01:30:02]
THANK YOU LAURA, DIANE.YEAH, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING INTERESTING TO PONDER.
AND I RECALL ASKING A BALANCE SHEET QUESTION A FEW MONTHS BACK ABOUT NOVEMBER.
AND THAT ONE LINE I SAID, IS THIS SORT OF REPRESENT WHAT WE GOT LEFT AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO, UM, WE, WE, IF YOU, IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR, UM, YOUR MONTHLY, UM, FINANCE REPORTS, WE, YOU'LL SEE WHAT OUR FUND BALANCE IS AT ANY GOOD IN TIME.
UM, BECAUSE, UH, OUR, OUR HIGHEST, UM, COLLECTION MONTH, OUR HIGHEST CASH BALANCE MONTH IS FEBRUARY.
UM, BUT IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO DECLINE, AND THEN IT'S GONNA HAVE A BIG CLIFF DROP OFF IN AUGUST.
UH, AND THEN, AND THEN IT'S GOING TO, TO DRIFT LOWER AND LOWER AND IT, IT MAY EVEN GO NEGATIVE.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE HAVE NEGATIVE CASH BECAUSE WE ARE ACCOUNTING FOR, UH, ACCRUING THE, UM, THE RECAPTURE PAYMENT STARTING IN JULY.
SO NEXT, FOR EXAMPLE, IF NEXT YEAR'S RECAPTURE PAYMENT, WE ESTIMATE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR TO BE $72 MILLION.
UH, EACH MONTH STARTING IN JULY, WE'RE GONNA ACCRUE A $6 MILLION, UH, CHARGE, BUT THAT WON'T BE PAID UNTIL AUGUST OF 27.
I HAVE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS AND A QUESTION.
I THOUGHT YOUR POINT ABOUT TRANSFER STUDENTS AND REALLY BEING MINDFUL THAT THERE'S ADVANTAGES TO OUR BUDGET OF BRINGING IN TRANSFER STUDENTS, AND THEN THERE'S SOME CONCERNS, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD, THIS IS SOMETHING WE CONTINUE TO HAVE DISCUSSION ABOUT, BUT IT'S NOT A DISCUSSION FOR TONIGHT.
UM, AND THE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, I WANTED TO MENTION THAT, UM, IT'S, IT IS FANTASTIC THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING NEW PARTNERSHIPS AND ONE OF THE, AND WITH THE DISCUSSION OF NEW REVENUE COMING IN, THAT AS, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GONNA COME UP MUCH WITH OUR LONG RANGE FACILITIES FOLKS WHO ARE HERE TONIGHT WAITING PATIENTLY TO COME UP.
UH, BUT REVENUE GENERATION IS SOMETHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A LOT IN THAT COMMITTEE.
WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE.
THERE COULD BE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES THERE, BUT HAND IN HAND WITH THESE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES OF OUR M AND O BUDGET ARE THE POTENTIAL TO INVEST IN OUR FACILITIES AND CREATE FACILITIES THAT COULD GENERATE MORE REVENUE FOR US.
THE, THE, THE, UH, FACILITIES THAT GENERATE THE REV THE MOST REVENUE, THE ONES THAT WE CAN RENT EVERY AVAILABLE MOMENT WE HAVE ARE SPORTS FACILITIES.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THINGS LIKE THE PAC, UM, ALSO CAN GENERATE MONEY, YOU KNOW, CAFETERIAS CAN WE HAVE, WE HAVE CHURCHES WHO MEET IN SOME OF OUR, UH, SCHOOLS ON, ON THE WEEKEND AND THEY USE OUR CAFETERIAS.
UM, IF, YOU KNOW, IF THE L-R-F-P-C RECOMMENDATIONS ARE CONTINUED OUT AND WE, UH, CREATE KIND OF MINI PACKS AT, AT THE, AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS, UH, THOSE WOULD BE PRETTY LUCRATIVE AS WELL.
UM, AND SO, UM, THERE, THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS WE CAN DO, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR COMMUNITY WILL EAT UP ANY, UM, SPORTS, UH, FACILITY THAT, THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE THAT WE'RE NOT CURRENTLY USING.
THE POINT ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION AND THE $10 MILLION DEFICIT, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S JUST RIGHT OUT THERE IN FRONT OF US AND A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR ADVOCACY.
UM, THE, I THINK THE, FOR ME, I'M THINKING BACK TO A TIME WHEN YOU GAVE US WHAT WE CALLED A BUDGET TOOL MM-HMM
AND WE CAN PLAY AROUND AND PUT IT, YOU KNOW, CHANGE A FEW OF THESE LEVERS.
UM, THIS 5%, YOU KNOW, I'D LOVE, IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET A TOOL SO THAT WE CAN GO IN THERE AND PUT WHAT WE THINK OUR WORST CASE SCENARIO IS AND, AND PLAY AROUND AND LOOK AT WHAT THIS DOES TO THE DEFICIT? UM, YES, BUT LIKE I SAID, IT WON'T WORK FOR OUT YEARS YET.
UM, AND, UM, I COULD, UM, I COULD CERTAINLY GIVE YOU ONE FOR, FOR THE CURRENT YEAR, BUT BY THE NEXT TIME WE MEET, UM, I'LL HAVE A, A VALUE ON THE TAX BASED GROWTH THAT'S GONNA BE BETTER THAN, THAN YOUR GUESTS.
BUT I, I WILL MAKE THIS POINT.
SO THE, THE WAY THAT TC AD, UH, WILL GIVE US AN ESTIMATE, WHAT THEY DO IS THEY TAKE THEIR, THEIR ASSUMPTION OF VALUES, THEIR ASSESSMENT OF VALUES AT THE, ON DECEMBER 31ST, 31ST, 2025, UM, AND THEN THEY'LL SAY, OKAY, HERE'S, HERE'S OUR ASSESSMENT OF THE VALUES.
AND THEN THEY WILL SAY, HERE'S, UM, HOW MUCH WE THINK THIS WILL BE REDUCED BY, UM, APPEALS.
AND THEN THEY'LL APPLY THAT TO IT.
HISTORICALLY, THEY ARE OVERLY CAUTIOUS ON THAT.
AND SO IF YOU REMEMBER LAST YEAR, UH, WHEN WE GOT THE PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE, UM, WE,
[01:35:01]
WE CHANGED OUR ESTIMATED TAX-BASED GROWTH TO NEGATIVE 3.8%.UH, BUT THEN WHEN OUR CERTIFIED VALUES CAME OUT IN JULY, IT WAS MORE LIKE MINUS 1.4%.
AND SO THAT TWO POINT SOMETHING PERCENT, YOU KNOW, WAS, UH, MAYBE LIKE $350,000 A LITTLE BIT MORE, IF I REMEMBER RIGHT.
UH, AND SO, UM, I WILL USE THE NUMBER THAT THEY ESTIMATE TO US, WHICH I THINK WILL PROBABLY BE CONSERVATIVE, BUT YOU COULD CERTAINLY GO IN THERE AND SAY, WHAT IF, IF FOR EXAMPLE, I, I COME BACK TO YOU THE NEXT TIME AND I SAY, UM, THEY'RE ESTIMATING 2%, AND YOU MIGHT WANNA SAY, WELL, WHAT IF IT WAS FIVE? UH, AND WHICH WOULDN'T BE OUT OF THE, OUT OF THE NORM.
UM, SO YES, YOU COULD, YOU COULD MAKE THAT, BUT I'M, I'M GOING TO STICK WITH THE NUMBER THAT I GET FROM TCA D.
SO LAST QUESTION FOR THE CENTER COLUMN, IF I SAID, WHAT IS IT, WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU TURN IT TO ZERO MM-HMM
COULD YOU, COULD YOU TELL ME THAT NUMBER? UM, OR YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S NO FORMULAS YET? I'M, I'M NOT, WELL, THERE'S NO FORMULAS YET, BUT I CAN, I CAN, I CAN ESTIMATE RIGHT NOW.
AND, AND THAT WOULD BE ABOUT MINUS $850,000 BECAUSE YOU HAD GIVEN US THIS 1%.
WHEN, WHEN A BUDGET TOOL'S AVAILABLE, I THINK WE ALWAYS APPRECIATE THAT TO GET IN THERE AND PUT OUR OWN EYES ON IT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL THIS WORK.
I HAVE MAYBE THREE QUESTIONS AND A REQUEST AND I'LL TRY TO START TOP OF MIND.
AND THE FIRST ONE IS A PROCESS QUESTION.
I REMEMBER THAT ALL OF YOUR BUDGETS ARE BUILT WITH CONTINGENCY, WHICH IS A GOOD STRATEGY ANYWAY, BECAUSE YOU JUST NEED MONEY FOR THE UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS THAT COME UP IN A BUDGET.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, A BUDGET IS EFFECTIVELY A SPENDING PLAN.
SO AS TRUSTEES, I THINK WHAT'S HAPPENED OVER SIX OR SEVEN YEARS IS TRUSTEES HAVE APPROVED BUDGETS THAT WERE DEFICIT BUDGETS, BUT YOU HAD BEHIND THE SCENES, YOU KNEW THAT MAYBE YOU WEREN'T GOING TO SPEND ALL THE MONEY THAT WAS THERE.
AND SO AT THE END OF THE YEAR, IT WASN'T NECESSARILY A DEFICIT BUDGET.
I THINK WHAT'S DIFFERENT THIS YEAR IS WE'RE SAYING, NO, IT PROBABLY IS TRULY A DEFICIT BUDGET WHERE WE'RE SPENDING MORE THAN WE'RE ANTICIPATING.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS? 'CAUSE WE, I DON'T THINK THIS COMES UP VERY OFTEN WHERE WE SPEND MORE THAN EVEN IS IN THE BUDGET ITSELF.
IS IT AN AMENDMENT PROCESS? I, I REMEMBER YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT STATE LAW THAT IT GETS REALLY TRICKY FOR YOU.
WE, WELL, WE, EVERY MONTH, UM, WE WILL ASK YOU TO DO, UH, BUDGET AMENDMENTS, BUT THOSE ARE JUST REQUESTS BY, UM, DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AND, AND, UH, CAMPUSES.
AND SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THE HIGH SCHOOL MIGHT HAVE, UH, A NEED TO SPEND SOME MONEY AND INSTRUCTION, UM, AND THEY HAVE SOME EXCESS MONEY.
THEY KNOW, THEY'RE KNOW, THEY'RE NOT GONNA USE IN CAMPUS ADMINISTRATION.
AND SO THEY'LL MOVE $2,000 FROM FUNCTION 23 TO FUNCTION 11.
AND, AND THE, AND SO THE NET EFFECT ON THAT IS ZERO, TWICE A YEAR, WE'LL ACTUALLY GO IN AND SAY, NO, WE'RE TRUING THINGS UP.
AND SO THAT WAS WHAT YOU DID BACK IN JANUARY WHERE WE WENT IN AND WE LOOKED AT, UM, AT, AT THAT TIME WE GO IN.
SO WHEN YOU, OBVIOUSLY, WHEN YOU ADOPT THE BUDGET IN JUNE, UM, IT'S NOT BASED ON ACTUAL PAYROLL BECAUSE A LOT OF THOSE PEOPLE HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN HIRED YET.
UH, AND SO, UH, WE WILL GO IN AND WE WILL TRUE UP THE, THE PAYROLL BUDGET.
AND THAT'S THE BIG SWING, UM, THAT LOOKS AT, YOU KNOW, THE ACTUAL PEOPLE WE HIRED AND THE ACTUAL PEOPLE THAT WE'RE NO LONGER LOOKING TO HIRE.
AND SO IF WE HAD A POSITION, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WAS OPEN, UH, FOR SIX MONTHS, WE DIDN'T FILL IT, WE JUST SAY, ALL RIGHT, WE'RE NOT GONNA EVEN TRY TO FILL IT FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.
OR MAYBE WE'VE DECIDED WE DON'T NEED TO.
SOMETIMES WE'LL HAVE SOMEBODY LEAVE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR AND WE'LL SAY, WE'RE JUST GONNA CAPTURE THAT AS A SAVINGS, AND SO WE'LL REFLECT, WE'LL MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS IN THERE.
SO THAT'S WHERE THE BIGGEST SWINGS COME FROM.
SOMETIMES WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, BIG EXPENDITURES THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW WERE COMING, UH, UH, A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN WE HAD THAT, THAT, UH, THAT ISSUE WITH RIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL STARTED OUT AT, OUT AT, UH, WESTRIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL, THAT WAS, UH, QUITE EXPENSIVE.
UH, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY EXPENDITURE WILL ACCOUNT FOR THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, SO WE TRY TO MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS FOR ACTUAL EXPENDITURES THAT WERE UNEXPECTED, UH, IN, UH, JANUARY.
AND THEN WE'LL DO THE SAME THING IF WE HAVE TO,
[01:40:01]
UM, AT THE END OF THE YEAR IN JUNE, UH, BEFORE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE, FOR THE FINAL ONE TO MAKE SURE WE, WE'LL DO A LOT OF JUST MOVING AROUND FROM FUNCTION TO FUNCTION SAYING, WE'VE GOT EXCESS MONEY HERE, LET'S MOVE IT TO FUNCTION 21, BECAUSE WE, WE SPENT MORE THERE, WE SPENT LESS HERE.AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF THAT THAT'S MOVING AROUND.
UH, BUT IF THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO ACCOUNT FOR, WE WILL DO IT AT THAT TIME.
UH, WE DON'T TYPICALLY BRING THOSE TO YOU ON A MONTHLY BASIS, UH, SO JUST TWICE A YEAR ON THOSE.
BUT, SO WITH FUNCTION FUNCTION MM-HMM
I, I KNOW THAT I'VE, I HAVE STUDIED THIS BUDGET
IF WE SPENT MORE THAN SAY, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET'S A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, IF YOU SPENT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN A PENNY MM-HMM
THAT GROSS AMOUNT, DID SOMETHING HAPPEN SPECIFICALLY? OH, UM, WE, WE WOULD HAVE TO ADJUST FOR THAT.
AND IN FACT, WE WOULD HAVE TO ADJUST FOR IT AT, UM, IF, IF WE'RE, IF WE HAD A BUDGETED AMOUNT OF A HUNDRED MILLION AND WE SPENT A HUNDRED MILLION IN A PENNY, UM, THAT MEANS THAT WE, UM, HAVE PROBABLY HAVE OVERSPENT IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MOVE MONEY IN THERE.
SO WHAT WE WOULD PROBABLY DO IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT, AND I'VE NOT SEEN THAT SINCE WE'VE BEEN HERE, BUT IF IT WERE TO HAPPEN, WHAT WE WOULD NEED TO DO IS TO GO IN AND OVER BUDGET FOR THAT, PROBABLY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF FIVE, $600,000, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT ONCE YOU ADOPT THAT BUDGET, SO WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE IT, UM, WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE THAT BUDGET AMENDMENT READY FOR YOU, UH, WHEN YOU MEET IN MID-JUNE.
UH, BUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR IT.
ANY EXPENDITURES THAT MIGHT COME IN, UH, THAT HAVE TO BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE, THE CURRENT YEAR BUDGET THAT COULD COME IN AS LATE AS JULY EVEN MM-HMM
UM, SO, UM, WE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, UH, WE, WE TRY TO NAIL THAT DOWN AS CLOSE AS WE CAN, BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS THINGS THAT, THAT GOT SPENT THAT, OH, WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS COMING, AND WE MOVE SOME MONEY FROM HERE TO HERE.
AND SO WE, WE TRY TO HAVE A CUSHION EVERYWHERE.
AND SO IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN, IF WE ACTUALLY SPENT UP TO THE BUDGETED AMOUNT, UM, THEN, THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO DO A BUDGET AMENDMENT AND YOU WOULD HAVE TO SAY, OKAY, NOW OUR, OUR BUDGETED AMOUNT IS 500,000, 600,000 HIGHER, SO WE CAN DO THIS.
WHAT WOULD THEN HAPPEN, AS, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER, WHENEVER WE HAD OUR, UM, OUR AUDIT IS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD PROBABLY END UP HAVING, UH, $599,999
UM, THAT, THAT WAS BUDGETED AND NOT SPENT.
AND SO THAT WE WOULD ONLY BE LOOKING AT, AT ACTUAL TRUE EXPENDITURES AT THAT POINT.
WELL, I GUESS WHAT I WAS TRYING TO GET AT IS, IS IT A MATTER OF ANOTHER AMENDMENT TO YOUR, TO YOUR EARLIER POINT, WE DO AMENDMENTS A COUPLE TIMES A YEAR.
IF YOU WERE TO OVERSPEND, NOT YOU MM-HMM
THE, THE TOTAL AMOUNT THAT'S STILL JUST PART OF THE AMENDMENT PROCESS.
IT'S NOT THIS OTHER SEPARATE THING.
SO, UH, YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO AMEND THE BUDGET WHENEVER YOU, WHENEVER YOU CHOOSE TO.
UH, SO, UH, THE FACT THAT THE, THE, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF YOUR EXPENDITURE, UM, WAS MORE THAN WHAT YOU INITIALLY ADOPTED IN, IN JUNE OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR, THAT WOULD, I MEAN, IT'S NOT GOOD, BUT IT'S LEGAL.
I'M, I ASKED THIS QUESTION BECAUSE TO YOUR POINT, JOHN, YOU'RE NOT IN FAVOR OF DEFICIT BUDGETS.
I'M A SECOND BOARD MEMBER WHO'S NOT IN FAVOR OF DEFICIT BUDGETS, BUT THE BU THE BUDGETS WE PUBLISH SHOW AND HAVE SHOWN FOR A LONG TIME THAT THEY'RE DEFICIT BUDGETS.
AND THE CURRENT YEAR, 2025 IS NEXT YEAR.
I KNOW THE, THE SLIDE IS, THE, THE HEADER'S A LITTLE WRONG, BUT THE CURRENT YEAR IS ALSO A TRUE DEFICIT BUDGET, MEANING WE HAVE PHYSICALLY SPENT MORE THAN WE'RE BRINGING IN.
AND I JUST WONDER, WE ARE GOING THROUGH LOTS OF CUTS AND WE REALLY WANNA, I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO FIX THIS ISSUE, BUT I THINK THE PROBLEM IS THAT WHEN WE'RE PUBLISHING DEFICIT BUDGETS, WHETHER THEY'RE TRUE DEFICITS OR THEY'RE PSEUDO DEFICITS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT SOME CONTINGENCY BUILT MM-HMM
AND THERE'S JUST THIS REPUTATIONAL, THE, THE WORD DEFICIT IN OUR DISTRICT ISN'T HELPFUL.
IT'S NOT HELPFUL FOR EEF WHEN THEY'RE RAISING MONEY FOR US AND SPENDING ALL THAT TIME.
IT'S NOT HELPFUL FOR FAMILIES WHEN THEY'RE EVALUATING WHAT NEIGHBORHOODS THEY WANT TO LIVE IN.
IT'S JUST, IT MAKES OUR, THE PERCEPTION OF THIS DISTRICT WE'RE ALL WORKING SO HARD FOR, LIKE, IT PUTS KIND OF A SHADOW ON IT.
SO I, WHEN I SAY I WOULD LIKE TO FIX THE BUDGET, I WANT TO TRULY FIX THE ACTUAL PUBLISHED BUDGET, NOT JUST YOU, YOU WOULD LIKE THE PUBLISHED BUDGET TO MORE CLOSELY MATCH WHAT WE EXPECT TO SPEND.
AND SO THAT'S WHY I ASKED THE PROCESS QUESTION BECAUSE MM-HMM
IF IT'S JUST A MATTER OF AMENDING, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT TASKY, BUT
[01:45:01]
IT'S POSSIBLE IF WE COULD THINK ABOUT GETTING CLOSER TO THE ACTUAL AMOUNT THAT WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO SPEND, SO WE FIX THIS LARGER OVERSHADOWING ISSUE OF DEFICIT, DEFICIT DEFICIT, THAT THAT IS, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, THAT WE COULD DO.BUT WE WOULD ALMOST, IF WE DID THAT, WE ALMOST CERTAINLY, WHAT WE WOULD HAVE TO DO IS AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE WOULD HAVE TO COME IN AND DO AN AMENDMENT, WHICH WOULD THEN SHOW DEFICIT.
BUT, BUT OF COURSE, IT WOULDN'T BE WHAT EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING AT REFERRING TO THE WHOLE YEAR, THAT WOULD BE CLOSER TO WHERE WE ACTUALLY EXPECTED TO GO.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DO.
AND, AND IF THAT'S SOMETHING, IF THAT'S THE WILL OF THE BOARD, UH, I, I LIKE THE WAY THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IT, BUT I UNDERSTAND ABSOLUTELY THAT IT'S A DIFFICULT THING TO EXPLAIN TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UM, IT'S, THAT'S A POLITICAL ISSUE.
AND IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO SEE IT THAT WAY, WE CAN MAKE IT LOOK THAT WAY.
UM, I SAID I HAD ABOUT THREE TO FOUR.
UM, OUR ENROLLMENT IS GOING DOWN.
AND SO I LOOKED AT THE NOVEMBER AS YOU'RE SITTING HERE, I THOUGHT, OH, WE HAD AN ENROLLMENT REPORT.
'CAUSE I SEE THE ENROLLMENTS GOING DOWN.
OUR LAST REPORT WAS IN NOVEMBER.
IT SAID WE HAD 7,537 STUDENTS, AND WE'RE PROJECTING NEXT YEAR THAT WE'LL HAVE 7,428 STUDENTS.
SO IT'S ABOUT A HUNDRED STUDENTS LESS.
THEN ROLL FORWARD THE NEXT YEAR ABOUT ANOTHER A HUNDRED PLUS STUDENTS A ROLL FORWARD.
AND AT SOME POINT, YOU RECALL THE SLIDE, IT LOOKS LIKE A WAVE AND IT'S GOT ENROLLMENT FOR THE DISTRICT.
ENROLLMENT GOES UP, ENROLLMENT GOES DOWN.
BUT THE LAST TIME THE DISTRICT WAS BELOW 7,500, WHICH IS WHAT YOU'RE PROJECTING FOR NEXT YEAR, WAS, IT'S REALLY SMALL.
I NEED SOME READERS
SO IT, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT CUTTING THE BUDGET AND MAKING THESE SHIFTS AND IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT.
BUT I THINK WE NEED, IF THERE'S A WAY TO JUST STRATEGICALLY SHIFT OUR THINKING AND THINK ABOUT WHAT WAS OUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND WHAT DID OUR DISTRICT LOOK LIKE IN 2009, 2010, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THESE, WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW MM-HMM
AND IT'S, I I JUST WONDER IF IT'S TIME TO REALLY THINK ABOUT IT STRUCTURALLY DIFFERENTLY THAN WE'RE DOING.
I, I EVEN SO FAR AS WENT TO LOOK AT WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SIX A SCHOOL AND A FIVE A SCHOOL? AND WE'RE NOT THERE YET, SO I DON'T WANNA SCARE ANYBODY.
BUT TO YOUR POINT, STRUCTURALLY, I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO THINK MAYBE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS IN A, A PATTERN OF WHERE WE ARE NOW AND WHERE WE'RE SPENDING OUR MONEY VERSUS WHERE WE WERE WHEN WE HAD ENROLLMENT.
AGAIN, IT'S BEEN, WE'RE WE'RE, WE'VE ROLLED THE CLOCK BACK 15 OR 16 YEARS TO A MUCH SMALLER DISTRICT THAN WE, THAN WE HAVE BEEN FOR A LONG TIME.
YET WE'RE SPENDING MORE MONEY THAN WE EVER HAVE.
AND SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE THIS REAL TENSION BETWEEN WANTING TO PROVIDE ALL THE SERVICES THAT OUR DIS DISTRICT HAS, POST COVID HIGH INFLATION.
WE'RE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE'RE SAYING WE'RE NOT GONNA GIVE OUR TEACHERS INCREASES, SALARY INCREASES.
AND OUR ENROLLMENT HAS BEEN IN A DECLINE, DECLINE SINCE COVID SINCE 2019.
SO WE'VE BEEN IN THIS ENROLLMENT DECLINE FOR SEVEN YEARS.
SO I'M WONDERING THAT, MY QUESTION IS, IS THERE A WAY THAT WE COULD LOOK AT THESE BUDGET TOPICS IN A, JUST A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAY THAN WE HAVE BEFORE? 'CAUSE IT FEELS LIKE WHAT WE'RE DOING IS, AGAIN, TRUSTEES, WE'RE HERE TO GOVERN.
SO THINK STRATEGICALLY, WE HAVE OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES.
HOW DO WE JUST SHIFT THE NARRATIVE TO DO A LONGER, BIGGER TERM SOLVE? SO I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT, UH, IF THAT'S OKAY, UH, FOR A MINUTE.
CATHERINE, I THINK IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I THINK THE IDEA OF SHIFTING HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BUDGET, UH, TO YOUR POINTS REALLY IMPORTANT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE WORD SHRINKING.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT THE TRUSTEES HAVE BEEN WORKING ON, UM, WITH NOT JUST THE CURRENT, UM, FUND BALANCE AT THE END OF LAST FISCAL YEAR.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT FUND BALANCE, YOU KNOW, THAT REPRESENTS THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF ALL THE DECISIONS MADE IN THE DISTRICT UP TO THAT POINT.
SO IT'S, AS CHRIS SAID BEFORE, IT'S A SNAPSHOT, BUT IT'S ALSO A HISTORICAL NUMBER.
SO THOSE STRATEGIC DECISIONS MADE BY THE DISTRICT ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2009 ARE ALSO REPRESENTED IN THAT NUMBER.
AND SO IF WE WANT TO TAKE A 30,000 FOOT VIEW OF HISTORICAL TRENDS, WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN 2009, 2014 15, AND WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW IN THE NATIONAL ECONOMY IS IMPACTING ES IN A VERY UNIQUE WAY, EXCEPT THE DIFFERENCE MAYBE BETWEEN THEN AND NOW HISTORICALLY,
[01:50:01]
WHICH WE COULD POINT OUT AND LOOK AT IN A DIFFERENT WAY.UM, I THINK THERE, UM, AFFORDABILITY FOR YOUNGER FAMILIES WITH LESS CHILDREN TRYING TO FIND AN ENTRY POINT TO THIS DISTRICT HAVE CHANGED, WHICH I THINK CHRIS WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER WHEN HE THOUGHT ABOUT THE SIZE OF OUR ELEMENTARIES.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT WAS THE SAME IN 2009 HERE, BUT TALKING ABOUT THAT WOULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LONG TERM SOLUTIONS FOR RIGHTSIZING, A DISTRICT THAT IS RETURNING TO THAT SIZE, UM, FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
BECAUSE THAT ENTRY POINT FOR NEW FAMILIES IS NOT GONNA CHANGE IN THE NEXT TWO TO THREE YEARS, UNLESS I'M WRONG ABOUT THE NATIONAL AND STATE ECONOMY AND FUNDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
SO I THINK TO YOUR POINT, YES, WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THINGS AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT IS ONE WAY TO DO THAT.
UH, AND TRENDS IS ANOTHER WAY TO DO THAT.
AND THEN, UM, TALKING TO PEOPLE WHO WATCH THE TRENDS IN REAL ESTATE IS A WAY TO DO THAT, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE'RE STARTING TO DO MORE GRANULARLY HERE AND NOW, UH, BECAUSE THE TRUSTEES ASKED US TO DO THAT.
AND THOSE WOULD JUST BE THREE EXAMPLES TO GET TO YOUR POINT OF, YEAH, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS DIFFERENT AND WE HAVE TO CALL RIGHT SIZING WHAT IT IS.
WE WERE TALKING ABOUT REVENUE.
I'M ALWAYS IN FAVOR OF TOP LINE IF WE CAN FIND THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND I JUST WONDER, THE LONGER I'M HERE, THE MORE PEOPLE I SPEAK TO, THE MORE I LEARN ABOUT, AND YOU TALKED ABOUT FIELD RENTALS AND THAT TYPE OF THING.
LIKE IF, IF WE BUILT A FIELD
ANYWAY, FOOTBALL TICKETS AND THAT TYPE OF THING TO OUR SPORTING EVENTS.
DO WE RECEIVE THE REVENUE FROM THAT TYPE OF THING? OR DOES THAT WE, WE DO.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S, I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S A LINE ITEM.
UH, HOWEVER, UM, THE TICKET PRICES ARE NOT SET BY US.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE SET BY THE DISTRICT.
UH, SO EVERY, EVERY UH, SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT? NO, NO.
THE, THE THE ATHLETIC THE ATHLETIC DISTRICT.
UH, AND SO EVERY SCHOOL IN THAT DISTRICT WILL CHARGE THE SAME RATES.
UH, AND SO, UM, WE MIGHT, COULD, UH, WITHSTAND A, A HIGHER TICKET PRICE, BUT WE CAN'T CHARGE IT.
THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTION BECAUSE IF WE TALK ABOUT PRICING ELASTICITY, I THINK TICKETS TO EVENTS IS PROBABLY PRETTY ELASTIC.
I, I INELASTIC, I, I'M, I'M PRETTY SURE THAT OUR PARENTS WILL GO SEE THEIR KIDS, UH, PERFORM AND, AND, UH, COMPETE.
JOHN, YOU HAD ANOTHER COMMENT? I DID.
AND I'LL, I'LL BE VERY QUICK SINCE I ALREADY SPOKE.
UH, AND KIRK, JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS.
I'VE HEARD SEVERAL PEOPLE TONIGHT TALK ABOUT ENROLLMENT, UH, AND I KNOW THAT'S DEFINITELY TOP OF MIND FOR ME TO BE THINKING ABOUT THAT.
UH, MY PERSONAL BELIEF ON ENROLLMENT IS THAT WE LIVE IN A, I THINK WE HAVE SOME ABILITY TO INFLUENCE IT.
I THINK WE LIVE IN A MACRO ENVIRONMENT THAT WE CAN'T CHANGE.
LIKE WE CAN'T CHANGE THE COST OF LIVING IN AUSTIN.
WE CAN'T CHANGE HOW THE RATE AT WHICH AUSTIN IS GROWING.
WE CAN'T CHANGE THE INTEREST RATES THAT THE FEDS SETTING.
UH, BUT I DO THINK WE HAVE AN ABILITY TO INFLUENCE IT, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU START TO LOOK A LITTLE FURTHER OUT, 2, 3, 4, 5 YEARS.
UM, I THINK, AND I THINK AS WE, WE HAVE BUILT A GREAT SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THAT IS ALREADY INFLUENCING IT TODAY.
AND I THINK AS WE CONTINUE TO CONTINUE AND GET BETTER, IT WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO INFLUENCE IT.
UM, AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US DO SOME ADDITIONAL, UH, MODELING AND THINKING ABOUT, UH, OUR GOALS WITH ENROLLMENT, UM, BECAUSE THERE ARE KEY LEVERS THERE TO PULL, UH, AND QUESTIONS THAT HAVE POPPED UP TONIGHT AROUND OUR PHILOSOPHY WITH TRANSFERS, UH, AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, DO WE, DO WE WANT TO TRY TO, UH, WORK AGGRESSIVELY TO STAY AT THIS, UH, AT A SIZE THAT MORE APPROXIMATES THE 7,500 OR HIGHER? UH, OR, OR ARE WE OKAY SHRINKING DOWN? UM, AND THERE'S A BIT OF ACKNOWLEDGING THE REALITY OF THE MACRO ENVIRONMENT, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO A BIT OF SAYING WHO DO WE WANT TO BE AND, AND WHAT DECISIONS DO WE WANT TO MAKE, UH, THAT INFLUENCE IT? UH, AND LATER ON TONIGHT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT LONG RANGE FACILITY PLANNING.
I THINK THIS TOPIC IS VERY RELEVANT TO THAT AS WELL.
UH, AND SO, UH, I KNOW I WOULD LIKE TO DIG IN SOME MORE INTO THE ENROLLMENT PIECE.
UM, AND SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN DO THAT.
UH, AND THEN MY LAST AND FINAL POINT, UM, AND THIS, THIS CAME UP, UH, AND HOPEFULLY I'M NOT GETTING TOO FAR AHEAD OF THE LEDGE COMMITTEE HERE, UH, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IS HOW THE STATE HAS GOTTEN MORE AND MORE PRESCRIPTIVE WITH WHAT IT FUNDS.
UH, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT
[01:55:01]
THE THREE OF US WERE DISCUSSING, UH, WAS JUST GOING THROUGH THE, THE LIST OF THE THINGS THAT THE STATE IS FUNDING AND JUST EVALUATING EACH OF THEM AND MAKING A CONSCIOUS CHOICE OF IS THIS SOMETHING THAT ENSS WANTS? IS IT NOT, IS THIS TRUE TO OUR VALUES AND WHO WE ARE AND IS IT NOT? UH, AND JUST, AND THERE'S LIKELY SOME STUFF ON THERE THAT WE WOULD WANNA DO AND SOME STUFF THAT WE WOULD NEVER WANT TO TOUCH WITH A 10 FOOT POLE 'CAUSE THAT'S NOT WHO WE ARE.UH, BUT I THINK GOING THROUGH THAT LIST FROM A REVENUE GENERATING PERSPECTIVE, AND I CALL IT REVENUE BECAUSE THE STATE'S FUNDING IT, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THERE'S NOT ITEMS WE'RE MISSING THAT WE COULD BE TAPPING INTO.
I KNOW I HAVE QUESTIONS ON THAT AS WELL.
AND THAT POPPED UP IN A LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, JUST ABOUT DOTTING OUR, I'S CROSSING OUR T'S.
UH, GIVEN THAT THE STATE ISN'T INCREASING THE BASIC LAW AND LIKE THEY USED TO, BUT THEY'RE FUNDING THINGS PRESCRIPTIVELY.
UM, IT'S JUST ANOTHER THING THAT I'M EXCITED TO DIG INTO AS WELL.
UH, JUST A COUPLE OF COMMENTS.
I'LL, I'LL SAY, YOU KNOW, ALL OF US HAVE TOUCHED ON DIFFERENT THINGS, NOT ANYBODY UP HERE ON THIS DAIS.
UM, WELL, WE MAY COME AT IT FOR D FROM DIFFERENT WAYS ON THIS DAIS AND THIS PUBLIC IN THIS COMMUNI COMMUNITY WANT THE BEST SCHOOL? WE'RE THE NUMBER ONE SCHOOL IN TEXAS, NUMBER 10 SCHOOL IN THE US.
AND NUMBER SEVEN, THANK IN THE TOP 10.
I WAS GONNA SAY, BUT NUMBER SEVEN, THANK YOU FOR CORRECTING ME,
UM, WE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE HERE TO DO THE BEST FOR OUR STUDENTS, AND YES, WE ARE HERE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BUDGET FITS WHAT OUR STUDENTS WANT US TO DO.
BUT CHRIS, YOU, YOU'VE BEEN UP HERE FOR ALMOST AN HOUR.
UM, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS FOR 25 HOURS THIS YEAR, AT LEAST, UH, THE BUDGET AND, AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN SCRATCHED THE SURFACE.
THERE ARE SO MANY VARIABLES IN, IN THAT GO INTO THIS BUDGET.
JOHN, YOU JUST, UM, TOUCHED ON THE UNFUNDED MANDATES AND THE WAY THAT THE STATE CONTROLS WITH ALL OF OUR GREAT EFFORT AND ALL OF OUR REC REVENUE INCREASED MECHANISMS, WE'RE STILL DEALING WITH THINGS THAT ARE OUT OF CONTROL, THAT ARE OUT OF OUR CONTROL.
AND WE'VE GOTTA MANEUVER THAT AND IT'S COMPLEX.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN I HEAR THINGS LIKE WHERE, WHERE, YOU KNOW, THERE IS JUST NO WASTE AND THERE IS JUST NO, UM, UM, SILLINESS ABOUT, UM, MONEY THAT IS NOT SPENT OR MONEY THAT WE, WE ARE NOT DOING GOOD WITH.
I MEAN, THERE'S SO MANY THINGS THAT TIE OUR HANDS IN THIS BUDGET, AND I THINK THAT ALL OF THESE IDEAS THAT COME OUT OF THIS DISCUSSION, AND THIS IS THE 13TH DISCUSSION OR SO THAT WE'VE HAD ON THE BUDGET, UM, INCREASE THE ABILITY OF THIS DISTRICT AND THE GOVERNANCE, UM, ABOVE THIS DISTRICT TO MAKE IT A BETTER DISTRICT AND TO HELP OUR BUDGET AND, AND TO GET US ON ON TRACK.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE NOW FROM OUR REPORTS SECTION OF THE AGENDA INTO THE DISCUSSION
[8.1 Discussion on potential Bond scenarios]
SECTION OF THE AGENDA.AND OUR FIRST TOPIC IS THE DISCUSSION ON POTENTIAL BOND SCENARIOS.
CHRIS, ARE YOU NOT, ARE YOU JOINING FOR THIS PRESENTATION OR IS IT I'M, I'M, I'M NOT UNLESS, OKAY.
UH, WELL, I'LL, I'LL LEAVE IT AS AS PLANNED.
SO WE HAVE TOM ALER FROM VLK ARCHITECTS, WE HAVE HOLLY NOLL AND CRAIG BOYLE, WHO ARE LONG RANGE FACILITY PLANNING COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS.
IT HAS BEEN A, A LITTLE WHILE SINCE, SINCE WE SAW YOU BACK IN MAY.
UM, SO I THINK I'M GONNA KICK THIS OFF.
SO, UH, MADAM PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND SUPERINTENDENT CONNECTKEY, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE TODAY.
UM, WE DO HAVE, UH, AND THE ONE THING I WANTED TO MAKE CLEAR, AS I WAS READING THIS, I WAS, I WAS READING POTENTIAL BOND SCENARIOS, AND I THINK THAT'S MAYBE NOT, WE'RE REALLY HERE TO TALK ABOUT PLANNING SCENARIOS AND HOW, HOW WE CAN PUT TOGETHER A PLANNING PROCESS AND KIND OF CONTINUA A CONTINUATION OF THE WORK, UM, THAT THIS TEAM DID, UH, WITH THE LONG RANGE FACILITIES PLANNING COMMITTEE.
UM, SO I THINK THERE, IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I THINK, UM, AND WE CAN EVEN GO PAST THAT.
SO WHAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IS REALLY KIND OF WHAT A PLANNING TIMELINE WOULD LOOK LIKE AND WHAT WE AS, SO VLK ARCHITECTS, WE ONLY FOCUS ON K 12 EDUCATION.
AND SO I'VE GOTTEN TO WORK ON NUMEROUS BOND PLANS ACROSS THE STATE WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
THIS SCHEDULE IS PRETTY REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT WE WOULD TYPICALLY, UH, SEE FOR A PLANNING SCENARIO, PARTICULARLY
[02:00:01]
WITH ALL THE WORK THAT'S ALREADY GONE IN, UH, OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS WITH THE, THE LONG RANGE FACILITY PLANNING COMMITTEE.SO THE, THERE'S KIND OF TWO MAJOR COMPONENTS, AND WE CAN KIND OF TAKE THE, I MEAN, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT HERE IS TO SAY, HEY, IF YOU, IF YOU WANT TO GO TO A MAY OF 2027 PLAN, THIS IS KIND OF WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE, AND THIS IS WHEN WE WOULD WANT TO START.
UM, I THINK IT WOULD, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO BE PRESUMPTUOUS AND SAY YOU'RE GOING TO CALL A BOND OR YOU'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING IN MAY, BUT IF WE WANT TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING IN MAY, THIS IS OUR BEST CHANCE TO GET THERE.
IF THE BOARD DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING ELSE AND SAY, HEY, WE STILL WANNA DO SOME ADDITIONAL PLANNING, OR WE WANT TO GO OUT TO NOVEMBER, UM, THIS STILL GETS US THERE.
UM, SO THERE'S THESE TWO COMPONENTS.
THE ONE THAT YOU SEE KIND OF IN THE YELLOW BOX IS KIND OF THE TYPICAL PLANNING.
WE WOULD HONESTLY SEE AROUND ABOUT SIX MEETINGS.
THERE COULD BE SCENARIOS WHERE IT COULD GO LONGER.
UH, THERE MIGHT BE ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY INPUT THAT'S, THAT'S IN THAT PROCESS.
WE, WE'VE ALSO LEFT SOME FLEXIBILITY IN THE CASE THAT WE WOULD WANT TO GO TO JANUARY.
OUR GOAL WOULD BE TO GET TO A POINT WITH A BOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT DOES A, UH, FORMAL PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD WITH A RECOMMENDATION IN DECEMBER.
UH, GATHERS INPUT FROM THE BOARD AND LEAVES SOME TIME TO, UM, RESPOND TO BOARD QUESTIONS BOARD, UH, BOARD DESIRES.
UM, UNDERSTAND THE GREEN SIDE IS REALLY KIND OF THE, UH, BOND CAMPAIGN SIDE AND, AND IS GUIDED BY STATE LAW OF WHEN YOU HAVE TO CALL A BOND AND, AND SOME OF THE LEGAL, UH, CRITERIA AROUND THAT.
SO YOUR LAST DAY TO FILE FOR ELECTION WOULD BE FEBRUARY 12TH.
AND SO WE WOULD WANT, WANT EVERYTHING IN ORDER, UM, AND IN A PLACE WHERE THE BOARD IS COMFORTABLE WITH CALLING A BOND PRIOR TO THAT DATE, SO YOU CAN FILE ALL YOUR PAPERWORK.
UM, AND, AND THEN AT THAT POINT, IT WOULD JUST TURN INTO A COMMUNICATION OF MAKING SURE THAT YOUR COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS WHAT YOU'RE DOING, WHY YOU'RE DOING IT, UH, WHERE THE POLLING LOCATIONS ARE, ET CETERA.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS I JUST WANTED TO TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT AS, AS WE START WORKING WITH THE BOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND, UM, REALLY KIND OF BOLDED OUT THIS WORD CONSTRUCTION, BECAUSE AS, AS DISTRICTS GO OUT FOR BONDS, I ALWAYS SEE WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF, WELL, WHY IS THIS DISTRICT, WHY ARE THEY DOING IT FOR THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY? OR WHY ARE THEY DOING IT FOR THIS OR THAT? AND, AND SO ROUGHLY A ROUGH ORDER OF MAGNITUDE, UM, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ARE GONNA BE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 50 TO 70 MILLION IN OUR MARKET.
YOU'LL FIND SOME THAT ARE SLIGHTLY LESS AND SOME THAT CURRENTLY MIGHT BE SLIGHTLY MORE.
THERE'S A LOT OF, A LOT OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT PLAY INTO THAT.
BUT JUST AS A ROUGH ORDER MAGNITUDE, THIS IS WHAT WE CURRENTLY SEE IN OUR MARKET, AND THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT DRIVE THAT.
IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, AND I, I WON'T TOUCH ON ALL OF THESE, BUT, UM, CURRENTLY IN OUR MARKET, UH, IF YOU LOOK AT ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT AS A KEY DRIVER, UM, WE LIVE IN A VERY ROBUST ECONOMY HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
IT, THE AUSTIN AREA IS UNFORTUNATELY THE MOST EXPENSIVE, UH, CONSTRUCTION ENVIRONMENT IN TEXAS.
THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS FOR THAT.
SOME OF THOSE ARE SITE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVEN, UH, BUT ALSO IT'S A, IT'S A FACTOR OF WHAT ALL'S GOING ON AROUND YOU.
I JUST READ THE PAPER THIS MORNING ABOUT TESLA AND, UH, ELON MUSK, AND NOW HE'S BUILDING A BIG, UH, WAFER FABRICATION PLANT.
UM, WELL, IF YOU GO BACK A COUPLE YEARS WHEN SAMSUNG STARTED CONSTRUCTION OF THEIR NEW PLANT UP IN TAYLOR, UM, THEY LITERALLY GOBBLED UP EVERY BIT OF CONCRETE CEMENT IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
SO WHAT HAPPENS TO THE COST OF CEMENT? IT SKYROCKETS.
SAME THING HAPPENS WITH COPPER AND OTHER THINGS.
SO, UM, ALSO IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING THE MARKET OUT IN BASTROP, LOTS OF DATA CENTERS THAT ARE ABOUT TO COME ONLINE, DATA CENTERS EAT UP ALL OF OUR TECHNOLOGY AND, AND ELECTRONIC COMPONENT.
SO IT, IT DRIVES THE, THE PRICE OF GOODS UP, BUT IT ALSO SUCKS UP ALL THE LABOR.
SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT, AND, AND ALL OF THESE THINGS, UH, IMPACT CONSTRUCTION.
THE ONE THING THAT SCHOOL LAYOUT AND DESIGN, AND THAT'S REALLY AS AN ARCHITECT WHERE WE REALLY PLAY A BIG ROLE, BUT AS, AS WE'VE WORKED AS A TEAM, WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THIS THROUGH OUR LONG RANGE FACILITY PLANNING, IS THAT WE NEED TO BE EFFICIENT, WE NEED TO BE EFFECTIVE.
AND HOW CAN WE DO THAT? AS WE'RE DESIGNING, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE PROJECTS HERE WITHIN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
UM, I KNOW ALL OF Y'ALL HAVE SEEN THE PRESENTATION PREVIOUSLY WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT MULTI-LEVEL SCHOOLS.
THERE'S STRATEGIES TO THAT TO MINIMIZE THE EARTH WORK, TO MINIMIZE THE FOUNDATION, TO MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF ROOF, UH, AND NOT JUST AS AN UPFRONT COST, BUT THAT ROOF HAS TO BE REPLACED OVER YEARS.
SO IF WE CAN MAKE THOSE THINGS SMALLER AND
[02:05:01]
MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF WALL TO AREA RATIO, THEN WE CAN CREATE A MUCH MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE COST, BOTH ON THE UPFRONT SIDE AND THE LONG-TERM SIDE.SO JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME GUIDANCE AND LET YOU UNDERSTAND HOW, HOW WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THIS TEAM IS THAT AS WE DEVELOP COSTS, AND WE'VE ALREADY BEEN WORKING ON THIS, IS THAT WE DON'T JUST KIND OF SAY, WELL, WE THINK IT'S GONNA BE THIS.
WE ACTUALLY, UH, PUT TOGETHER DETAILED COSTS BY SPACE AND SIZE.
AND SO REALLY CREATING BUILDING PROGRAMS FOR EACH FACILITY TO THE DETAILED, UH, UM, THING.
SO IT'S A STORAGE ROOM, AND THAT STORAGE ROOM IS 200 SQUARE FEET, AND THIS IS A, A WEIGHT ROOM AND IT'S X SQUARE FEET.
AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS HAVE DIFFERENT COST AND VALUE AS YOU CAN THINK.
IT'S MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE TO, FOR US TO BUILD A SCIENCE LAB THAN IT IS A HALLWAY.
AND SO WE WANT TO KNOW, WELL, HOW, HOW MUCH SCIENCE LAB ARE WE BUILDING AND HOW MUCH PREP ROOM, AND HOW MANY OTHER SUPPORTS? AND THAT ALLOWS US TO DRILL DOWN AND GET TO A MUCH FINER AND MUCH MORE DETAILED COST.
WE'RE ALSO, UH, WORKING WITH LOCAL CONTRACTORS TO REALLY VERIFY AND, AND JUDGE THOSE COSTS TO THE MARKET.
UM, THOSE RATES CONTINUE TO KIND OF EVOLVE AND CHANGE.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOME DAYS A A BRICK IS CHEAPER THAN ANOTHER, BUT ONE THING I CAN GUARANTEE IS THE PRICE OF BRICKS ARE GOING UP, UH, AND THE PRICE OF THE LABOR IS GOING UP WITH IT.
SO WE WANT TO HA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH CONTRACTORS THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, THEIR DAY-TO-DAY PULSE ON THE MARKET, AND THAT WE'RE VERIFYING THOSE.
THE OTHER THING I WANT YOU TO KNOW IS THAT WHEN WE PRESENT COSTS FOR A BUILDING, THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER FACTORS THAT GO INTO THAT.
IT'S NOT JUST THE BUILDING COSTS.
WHEN WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER A BOND, THERE'S CONTINGENCIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROTECTED FOR THOSE UNKNOWNS.
UM, THERE'S ALSO THE FEES THAT GO INTO THAT FOR PERMITTING, UH, TAPPING IMPACT FEES, PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FEES, FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT TECHNOLOGY.
AND THEN OF COURSE, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT, WELL, WHEN IS THAT PROJECT GONNA START? AND HOW MUCH INFLATION NEEDS TO BE BUILT INTO THAT TOO.
SO AS, AS THIS TEAM AND US ALL WORK TOGETHER, UM, ON A, AN ADVISORY TO COME BACK TO YOU WITH A PLAN, THIS IS HOW WE WILL BE WORKING AND DEVELOPING THOSE THINGS.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE IT CLEAR ON THAT.
UM, SO I THINK THE ASK OF NEXT SLIDE, UM, IS TO TURN IT OVER TO HOLLY AND CRAIG AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THEY BELIEVE NEEDS TO HAPPEN GOING FORWARD.
UM, WELL, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW, UM, OF THE LONG RANGE FACILITY PLANNING COMMITTEE.
UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, BECAUSE IT WAS MAY THAT WE PRESENTED OUR, UH, FINAL REPORT.
UM, WE WERE A 16 MEMBER, UM, COMMITTEE OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
WE STARTED WORKING JANUARY OF 24 AND GAVE OUR FINAL REPORT IN MAY OF LAST YEAR.
SO IT WAS WELL OVER A YEAR AND A HALF WORTH OF WORK.
UM, VERY ROBUST MEETINGS, BOTH IN COMMITTEE AND IN SUBCOMMITTEES.
UM, WE WERE CHARGED, UM, THIS ISN'T THE FULL LENGTH OF CHARGES, I'M NOT GONNA READ THE WHOLE THING, BUT JUST AS A REMINDER, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE TOPICS HAVE ALREADY BEEN TOUCHED ON IN THIS MEETING, WE WERE CHARGED WITH ASSESSING, UM, ACADEMIC NEEDS AND THE EDUCATIONAL APPROPRIATENESS OF CURRENT FACILITIES, REVIEWING CURRENT DEMOGRAPHIC REPORTS AND FUTURE ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS, EVALUATING ALL FACILITIES VERSUS CURRENT TEA STANDARDS, WORKING TO UNDERSTAND BEST PRACTICE PRACTICES FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY FROM A FACILITY LENS, UM, AND SEEKING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCREASED PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY USE WITH THE GOAL OF DRIVING, UH, REVENUE.
UM, SO YOU HAVE A, UM, IN FRONT OF YOU THAT SOME OF THE ACTUAL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE MADE, THESE ARE MADE SPECIFICALLY TO THE FACILITIES.
I'M NOT GONNA READ THEM ALL OUT LOUD, BUT AGAIN, IT WAS A FOUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MODEL THAT WE RECOMMENDED.
UM, AND EVERY FACILITY THERE WAS EITHER A RECOMMENDATION OF A FULL RECONSTRUCTION, UM, A REMODEL, OR IT WAS CALLED AN ADDITION IN A MODERNIZATION OR SOME HYBRID OF BOTH.
UM, YOU WANNA TAKE ME TO THE NEXT SLIDE? THE NEXT ONE? YEAH.
IS THERE A NEXT ONE? YEAH, THAT WAS IT.
SO I JUST WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, THE TIMELINE.
UM, IT'S REALLY HARD TO READ ON THIS SLIDE, BUT THERE WAS A VERY DETAILED TIMELINE.
THE TIMELINE ITSELF IS ALSO A RECOMMENDATION.
UM, THIS REALLY IS LESS ABOUT YOU HAVE DATES, UM, AND MONTHS IN HERE THAT IS REALLY MORE JUST TO SHOW YOU, UM, HOW LONG THINGS CAN TAKE.
THE ACTUAL RECOMMENDATION IS REALLY MORE A SEQUENCING OF EVENTS THAT THE LONG RANGE FACILITY PLANNING COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED.
THE TIMELINE AND THE SEQUENCING OF
[02:10:01]
EVENTS THAT WAS RECOMMENDED WAS BUILT WITH TWO FACTORS IN MIND.THE PRIMARY FACTOR WOULD BE THE NEED OF THE ACTUAL FACILITY AND WHERE IT MEASURES WITH THE STANDARDS THAT WE WERE TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
UM, AND THE SECOND CONSIDERATION WAS LOGISTICS.
SO THERE ARE SCHOOLS IN HERE THAT ARE NOT AS, UH, FURTHER TO THE FRONT OF THE PRIORITY, NOT BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T A PRIORITY, BUT BECAUSE LOGISTICALLY, UM, IT DIDN'T WORK TO START CONSTRUCTION ON THEM FIRST.
A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS IS, UM, IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS, YOU CAN SEE ON THIS TIMELINE THAT IT'S RECOMMENDED TO START CONSTRUCTION ON WESTRIDGE BEFORE THE REBUILDING OF HILL COUNTRY.
THE REASON FOR THAT IS, IS THAT, UM, WE ALSO PRIORITIZED KEEPING INDIVIDUAL STUDENT BODIES TOGETHER AND FINDING LIKE SPACES FOR THEM TO GO TO DURING A FULL RECONSTRUCTION PROCESS THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR PROGRAM FOR ALL CURRENT PROGRAMMING, UM, TO CONTINUE.
SO FOR HILL COUNTRY, FOR EXAMPLE, THOSE STUDENTS WOULD BE MOVED INTO THE OLD NINTH GRADE CENTER AFTER PHASE ONE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL IS COMPLETE.
AND THE FIRST PART OF PHASE ONE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL INVOLVES A ENTIRELY NEW ACADEMIC BUILDING THAT THEN WOULD ALLOW THE HIGH SCHOOL TO EVACUATE THE NINTH GRADE CENTER AND HILL COUNTRY TO MOVE IN FOR THE PERIOD OF TWO YEARS THAT A RE, UH, FULL RECONSTRUCTION OF HILL COUNTRY WOULD TAKE, UM, AND ALLOW THEM TO STAY TOGETHER AND THEN ALSO HAVE A SIMILAR, IF NOT EQUAL, UM, EDUCATIONAL AND EXTRACURRICULAR EXPERIENCE WHILE THEY'RE, UM, IN MIDDLE SCHOOL.
UM, AND THEN I'M GONNA GO, I THINK THAT'S OUR LAST, OH NO, HERE WE GO.
SO CRAIG AND I WERE TASKED WITH COMING UP WITH A CONTEXT, UM, OF PUTTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS INTO THE CONTEXT OF A A, A FUTURE BOND.
UM, AND I WANNA POINT OUT THAT THE TIMELINE THAT, THAT I JUST SHOWED YOU ALL WAS NEVER REALLY TALKED ABOUT AS FAR AS IF IT WAS GONNA BE ONE BOND OR TWO BONDS.
IT WAS ALWAYS CONSIDERED THAT IT COULD BE THREE BONDS, IT COULD BE TWO BONDS, IT COULD BE ONE BOND.
THAT WASN'T OUR DECISION TO MAKE, AND WE WEREN'T NECESSARILY ATTACHING DOLLAR AMOUNTS TO INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS.
THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION WAS JUST THAT THE WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND THIS IS THE ORDER WE BELIEVE IT SHOULD BE DONE IN.
UM, AND SO FOR THE PURPOSE OF TALKING ABOUT THIS, IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT THAT TIMELINE IN TWO PHASES OR IN TWO BOMB PACKAGES, THAT WOULD BE PHASE ONE WOULD BE, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, BRIDGE POINT, CEDAR CREEK, UM, THE PHASE ONE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL AND THEN WEST RIDGE AND PHASE TWO THEN BECOMES BARTON CREEK FOREST TRAIL, HILL COUNTRY, AND PHASE TWO OF THE HIGH SCHOOL.
UM, PHASE ONE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL, LIKE I SAID, INVOLVES, UH, TWO PARKING GARAGES, A BRAND NEW ACADEMIC BUILDING, AND THEN SOME MINOR, UM, SOME MINOR THINGS FOR THE BAND AND, AND A MARCHING BAND FIELD.
BUT FOR THE MOST PART, PHASE ONE IS ACADEMIC AND PARKING GARAGES, AND PHASE TWO IS EXTRACURRICULAR AND ATHLETICS.
AND I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO CRAIG.
YEAH, JUMP BACK A SLIDE HERE JUST SO WE CAN LOOK AGAIN AT THIS, AT THE TIMELINES THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS.
AND, AND AGAIN, TO HOLLY'S POINT, THE, THE COMMITTEE THAT MET DISCUSSED OVER THAT COURSE OF, OF 18 MONTHS, ALMOST TWO YEARS WORTH OF WORK ON THE NE THE THE NEEDS OF THE DISTRICT AND HOW WE WOULD TIME THOSE NEEDS OUT OVER A POTENTIAL SEVEN TO 10 YEAR PLAN.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT HOW TO FUND A SEVEN TO 10 YEAR PLAN, SOME OF THOSE NEED TO HAPPEN MORE IMMEDIATELY THAN OTHERS.
AND SO THE CONVERSATIONS HAVE RECENTLY TURNED TO POTENTIALLY WE COULD SPLIT A BOND OUT.
IT WASN'T THE REMIT OF THAT COMMITTEE AT THE TIME TO DISCUSS WHAT A BOND WOULD LOOK LIKE SPECIFICALLY, OR HOW WE WOULD GET A BOND PASSED.
UM, WHILE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, TELL US WHAT WE SHOULD DO AT EACH CAMPUS, REALLY THE, THE TRUSTEES ARE NOW PLACED WITH THE, PROBABLY THE BURDEN OF DECIDING WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE FROM A SINGLE BOND VERSUS A MULTIPLE BOND.
UH, ARE WE GONNA BE ABLE TO POTENTIALLY ONLY PASS ONE BOND? AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? OR CAN WE STRETCH IT OUT APPROPRIATELY FOR A COMMUNITY THAT IS READY TO SEE CHANGE, BUT IS WEARY OF BUDGET PLANNING? UM, THE, UM, THE COMMITTEE THEN THE LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE, WHEN WE FINISHED OUR ASSESSMENTS LAST YEAR, UH, AND REPORTED TO, TO, UH, THE BOARD RECOMMENDED AT THAT TIME THAT WE IMMEDIATELY FORM A BOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO START LOOKING AT THESE.
WE RECOMMEND STILL THAT SAME PLAN.
WE KNOW THERE'S BEEN, UM, SOME HICCUPS IN FROM THEN TO NOW, BUT WE STILL RECOMMEND AN IMMEDIATE FORM OF, OF, UH, FORMATION OF THAT COMMITTEE SO THAT WE CAN START LOOKING AT THE PLANNING PROCESS,
[02:15:01]
STARTING WITH A BOND.WE RECOMMEND THAT WE TAKE MEMBERS FROM THE LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE THAT CAN BE SELECTED BY THIS BOARD TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT BOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AS WELL AS THOSE THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN INVOLVED WITH BOND PROCESSES BEFORE FROM OTHER COMMITTEES AND PUT THEM TOGETHER.
WHEN WE LOOKED AT THOSE TIMELINES, WE'RE LOOKING AT FEBRUARY, REMIND ME THE EXACT DATE, TOM 12TH BEFORE WE HAVE TO HAVE, UH, EVERYTHING SUBMITTED FOR A BOND THAT GIVES US LESS THAN A YEAR.
AND WE RECOMMEND HAVING PEOPLE THAT KNOW THE PROCESSES, BOTH IN THE LONG RANGE PLANNING AND IN THE BOND PROCESS TO COME TOGETHER TO BE ABLE TO DECIDE ON WHAT TO DO NEXT.
UM, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE A LITTLE MORE EFFICIENT WHEN WE INVOLVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
WE ALSO RECOMMEND THAT THAT COMMITTEE NOT BE TOO LARGE, BUT ALSO NOT TOO SMALL.
WE'RE TRYING TO DECIDE, UH, HOW CAN WE GET THE COMMUNITY BEHIND A BOND.
WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND COMMUNITY INPUT TAKE PLACE THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THAT BOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE'S REMIT, AND IN PARTICULAR PROBABLY STARTING, UM, AT THE END OF, AT, AT THE END OF THE SUMMER, UM, THAT WE START TO PULL THE COM THE COMMUNITY IN THE RIGHT WAYS TO GET THEIR IDEAS AND THEIR THOUGHTS BEHIND WHAT A BOND WOULD LOOK LIKE, WHAT A POTENTIAL TAX BUMP MIGHT LOOK LIKE, UH, WHAT PHASING OF A BOND MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
THAT FEEDBACK WILL BE INVALUABLE TO SEE HOW MUCH CAN WE, UM, PROPOSE AND WHAT PROJECTS SHOULD TAKE PRIORITY AMONG THOSE PROPOSITIONS.
I THINK THAT'S ALL WE NEEDED TO ADDRESS FROM WHAT WE HAVE.
THE COMMITTEE WORKED REALLY HARD, AND THIS IS JUST A, A BRIEF 10 MINUTE OVERVIEW OF ALL THE WORK THAT WENT IN FROM THAT COMMITTEE.
SO WE'RE ALWAYS, UM, VERY KEEN TO RECOGNIZE THE, THE, UM, EFFORTS THAT WERE PLACED ON THAT COMMITTEE AND THAT YOU GUYS, SO, UM, KINDLY, UH, RECOGNIZED LAST YEAR, UM, THAT COMMITTEE, UH, WORKED TO BETTER OUR DISTRICT AND WORKED FROM A VARIOUS, UM, FROM VARIOUS POINTS OF VIEW, FROM PARENTS TO EDUCATORS TO PROFESSIONALS, UM, TO COME UP WITH SOME OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, WE, WE DO FEEL THAT THAT WORK WON'T GO IN VAIN.
UH, AND SO WE, WE CARE ABOUT THE PROCESS FOR HOW NOW IT MOVES TO THE NEXT STEP TO GET PASSED ALONG.
CAN I JUST SAY, UH, AGAIN, AS THE NEW PERSON AROUND WITH FRESH EYES, I WAS THRILLED I GOT TO MEET WITH YOU BEFORE, UH, THIS HAPPENED, BUT HOW IMPRESSIVE THIS COMMUNITY COMMITTEE AND YOUR VOLUNTEERISM WAS, UH, 18 MONTHS.
UH, AGAIN, WHETHER SOMEBODY'S LISTENING RIGHT NOW OR NOT, WE ALL KNOW THAT THAT'S A LONG TIME AND A LOT OF HOURS, AND IT'S AMAZING THIS PROJECT THAT YOU ALL WENT THROUGH.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH AND, AND WE WILL RELAY OUR THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO WAS A PART OF THAT COMMITTEE AGAIN.
AND AS WE GOT TO TALK, I THINK I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE TWO THINGS, AND IF I SAY THIS WRONG, MAYBE YOU CAN, MR. EHLER, YOU CAN CORRECT ME.
THERE WERE TWO THINGS WHEN WE MET THAT CAME OUTTA THE DIALOGUE THAT I JUST WANNA REITERATE BASED ON WHAT YOU SHOWED US THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT FOR THE FUTURE.
ONE, I THINK YOU SAID THAT REGARDLESS OF WHEN THE BOARD WOULD MAKE A DECISION ABOUT A BOND AND IF THEY HAD AN INTEREST IN MAKING A DECISION ABOUT A BOND IN, IN MAY OF 27, HYPOTHETICALLY, THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF STRATEGY, UH, FROM THE COMMITTEES, NOT ONLY THE BOX OF THE PAST, BUT ALSO THE LONG RANGE FACILITIES PLANNING COMMITTEE TO BE KEEN ON PRE-CONSTRUCTION PLANNING PHASE AND GETTING AS READY AS POSSIBLE TO BE AS SHOVEL READY AS POSSIBLE THE DAY AFTER THE ELECTION.
THERE'S A LOT OF TRUTH TO THAT.
YOU DID, BECAUSE THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR OUR SAVVY COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND WANNA SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.
THE MINUTE THEY KNOW A RETURN ON INVESTMENT COULD BE COMING RIGHT.
AND THE, THE BOARD MAY HAVE TO CONSIDER PRE-CONSTRUCTION PLANNING AND PHASE AS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS POST-ELECTION.
SO THAT'S A GOOD A YES, THAT IS CORRECT, THAT I GOT A PART OF IT.
THE SECOND THING I THOUGHT I HEARD WHEN WE WERE TALKING WAS IF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT PHASE ONE AND PHASE TWO, BECAUSE THE, THE BOARD AND OR FUTURE COMMITTEE, UH, BACK WOULD FEEL LIKE TIMES HAD CHANGED OR SOMETHING HAD CHANGED, THAT YOU COULD STILL GIVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS IF A BUILDING WAS REMOVED FROM ONE OF THOSE POSSIBILITIES OR SOMETHING SHIFTED BETWEEN A PHASE, BUT IT MAY IMPACT OTHER THINGS THAT YOU PLANNED AND THAT YOU LOOKED AT IN, IN THAT LONG RANGE TIMELINE.
BUT THAT IT, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT COULD LEAD TO FURTHER DIALOGUE, BUT THIS WAS THE WORK THAT WAS DONE THEN.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD NOT BE NAIVE THAT MAYBE THERE MIGHT BE SOME OTHER QUESTIONS THAT COME UP BETWEEN
[02:20:01]
NOW AND DECEMBER WHEN WE NEED TO MAKE A DECISION.AND, AND PART, PART OF THE, PART OF THE DISCUSSION ABOUT HAVING PEOPLE THAT ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE PROCESS ALREADY SITTING ON THAT COMMITTEE IS THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO GO BACK AND DO THE 18 MONTHS OVER AGAIN.
AND THAT THAT'S A, THAT CAN BE A MAJOR CONCERN.
THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN, SUCH IMPRESSIVE WORK.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THIS CONSULTING AND, UH, WE WILL RELAY THAT.
BUT THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO, TO SHARE.
UM, TRUSTEES, ANY QUESTIONS? DIANE, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
GREAT TO SEE YOU ALL HERE THIS EVENING AND WAITING SO LONG.
IN THIS MEETING, YOU MENTIONED THIS GOLDILOCKS NUMBER FOR THE COMMITTEE SIZE.
HAS THAT BEEN DISCUSSED AT ALL BETWEEN ANYONE HOW BIG THIS COMMITTEE SHOULD BE OR NO.
AND I'M CURIOUS, I THINK THERE WAS SOME OUTREACH TO THE LONG RANGE FACILITIES PLANNING COMMITTEE TO SEE HOW MANY OF THOSE MEMBERS WERE INTERESTED IN MOVING FORWARD.
CAN YOU COMMENT ON THAT? YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK WE SHOULD PROBABLY RE-PULL PEOPLE SINCE WE ASKED THEM, UM, IN JUNE OR MAY
UM, SO I'M NOT SURE WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT YET.
BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, IN AN IDEAL WORLD FOR OR SO, FIVE OF THOSE COMMITTEE MEMBERS IS, YOU KNOW, PLENTY TO THEN REPRESENT AND THE WORK THAT WENT INTO THE LONG RANGE FACILITY PLANNING COMMITTEE AND TO BE SOUNDING BOARDS IS THE, UM, BOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE, I GUESS AT THAT POINT, UM, SORT OF GOES THROUGH THE TABLES AND, AND DECIDES WHAT PROJECTS ARE NECESSARY, WHAT'S NOT, WHAT CAN BE COST ENGINEERED AND ALL THAT.
SO JUST THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE THAT ARE STILL GUIDING THE DIRECTION OF, OF, AND, AND BEING ABLE TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS OF WHY IS THERE A PERFORMING ART CENTER AT WESTRIDGE? AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? MY INFORMAL POLLING SEEMS THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST AND I SUSPECT THERE STILL WILL BE.
PEOPLE ARE PASSIONATE AND THERE ARE DIFFERENT TIMES.
IT'S BEEN A YEAR, BUT I EXPECT PEOPLE ARE STILL ENGAGED.
LAURA, I WAS STILL MAKING NOTES, BUT I WANNA GO BACK TO, UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK Y'ALL.
IT'S SO NICE TO SEE Y'ALL AGAIN.
UM, WHEN Y'ALL PRESENTED THIS TO US THE FIRST TIME, IT WAS JUST INCREDIBLY EXCITING AND IT IS JUST AS EXCITING NOW AS IT WAS THEN.
UM, IT IS, AND I'LL KIND OF REPEAT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I SAID LAST TIME.
UM, THERE'S A LOT TO THIS OF COURSE.
UM, THERE'S, UM, A HUGE COMPONENT THAT Y'ALL DIDN'T TALK ABOUT BECAUSE IT'S MORE RELATED TO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE CHARGED WITH.
UM, OR WHAT YOU'RE GONNA BE CHARGED WITH IS THE COMMUNICATION.
AND WE NEED TO BE PREPARED TO DO PROBABLY THE BIGGEST COMMUNICATION PUSH THAT WE HAVE EVER DONE IN THIS DISTRICT.
IT NEEDS TO BE ON PAR WITH WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FROM A LONG RANGE FACILITY PLAN, UM, AND BRINGING IN THE COMMUNITY AND GETTING AS MUCH INPUT AS WE POSSIBLY CAN GET FROM THE COMMUNITY.
I THINK THAT OUR, UM, I IT IS TIME THAT OUR DISTRICT HAS FACILITIES THAT REFLECT THE QUALITIES AND THE CALIBER OF THE EDUCATION THAT WE PROVIDE.
AND IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE'VE HAD THAT.
UM, AND SO I'M EXCITED TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
WE'RE NOT THERE YET, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS JUST EARLY PLANNING, UM, THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT THAT'S A VERY EXCITING THING.
UM, CRAIG, YOU SAID THAT WE WOULD HAVE THE BURDEN, THE BOARD WOULD HAVE THE BURDEN OF, UM, DOING THE, THE PART OF THE WORK WHERE WE DECIDE WHAT WE WILL, WHAT THE BONDS LOOK LIKE AND EVERYTHING.
AND, UM, I'M EXCITED, I'M EXCITED FOR THIS.
UH, SO I, I'M EXCITED AS WELL.
UH, AND ALSO SHARE THAT ABOUT THE FACILITIES.
UH, IT'S ABOUT TIME THAT WE, UH, RENOVATE THE FACILITIES AND GET 'EM TO BE AT THE LEVEL THAT, THAT WE WANT HERE IN ENS.
UH, AND I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT, LIKE EARLIER WHEN I MENTIONED THAT WE HAVE AN ABILITY TO INFLUENCE ENROLLMENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU LOOK FORWARD AT 2, 3, 4 YEARS, I THINK PEOPLE WANT TO GO TO SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN NEW MODERN STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITIES.
LIKE I THINK THAT HAS AN IMPACT ON ENROLLMENT AS WELL.
UH, AND SO I DO THINK, UH, YOU THAT HAS AN ABILITY TO HELP ATTRACT FAMILIES HERE, UH, AND FOR FAMILIES WHO MIGHT HAVE CHOSEN ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE TO SAY WHO
[02:25:01]
LIVE IN THE DISTRICT TO SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS IS THE RIGHT FIT, BECAUSE THEY'RE SEEING HOW WE'RE INVESTING IN THE FACILITIES, UH, AND THAT THEIR CHILDREN WILL GET TO BENEFIT FROM IT.UH, SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
I ALSO JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I THINK THE TIMING COULD NOT BE BETTER THAT WE HAVE AN EXPERIENCED BOND PROFESSIONAL ROLLING OFFICE PRESIDENT JUST IN TIME TO JOIN THE BACK
UH, LIKE, IT'S ALMOST LIKE WE ORCHESTRATED THIS PERFECTLY.
NO, I, UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE A PRIVILEGE TO CONTINUE SERVICE IN SOME WAY, AND I KNOW I WILL.
UM, I, I ALSO HAD A QUESTION, UM, OR I GUESS I HAD COMMENTS.
I, I APPRECIATE WHAT TRUSTEES HAVE SAID.
UH, I KNOW THAT IN PRESENTATIONS IN THE PAST, UM, THE THOUGHT WAS AROUND HOW WE REVISED OUR FACILITIES, NOT JUST FOR THE AESTHETICS, WHICH I DON'T DISAGREE THAT IT'S TIME, UM, IT'S PAST TIME.
BUT THE LEARNING THAT GOES IN FOR OUR STUDENTS DOESN'T NEED TO BE 1950S LEARNING.
AND WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE FACILITIES AND THE, AND THE PURPOSEFUL BUILDINGS TO EDUCATE OUR KIDS.
AND I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE SERVICE THAT ALL OF YOU HAVE DONE.
I HOPE THAT WE CONTINUE, I HOPE WE, THIS BOARD CONTINUES SEEING YOU UP HERE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, PRESENTING AND, AND HELPING LEAD.
AND I CERTAINLY KNOW THAT THIS COMMUNITY'S GONNA GET BEHIND A BOND, UM, BECAUSE IT, IT IS FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR STUDENTS.
DID YOU, OH, CATHERINE, I, I'M SORRY I MISSED CATHERINE.
I, I'M LOOKING AT THE TIMELINE SLIDE, NOT THIS ONE, BUT THE ONE THAT SHOWS KIND OF A DRAFT BOND PLANNING TIMELINE AND, AND THE REQUEST OF A NEW BOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE IN THE MEETING.
TIMELINES, EIGHT MEETINGS TO LEAD UP TO A JANUARY, UM, SORRY, FEBRUARY 12TH, 2027, FILING FOR A BOND.
AND I, I ALWAYS THINK IN LIKE PARALLEL PAST ALL THE THINGS WE'VE GOT GOING ON AT THE SAME TIME.
'CAUSE WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO BALANCE THIS BUDGET.
AND IT'S NOT THAT I DON'T THINK OUR COMMUNITY WILL EVENTUALLY GET BEHIND A BOND, BUT THE MESSAGING AT THE SAME TIME WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE JUST SAW THE PRESENTATION WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ZERO TEACHER RAISES, AND THEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE FOLLOWING YEARS, PERHAPS ONLY 2% RAISES IN THE FACE OF A DISTRICT THAT'S IN A STRATEGIC SHIFT DOWN TO LOWER THAN 7,500 STUDENTS, WHICH MIGHT BE A VEHICLE FOR THE ARGUMENT THAT WE NEED TO GO DOWN TO FOUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
LIKE, IT'S NOT THAT WE CAN'T WALK AND CHEW GUM, BUT I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S STILL SOME WORK, NOT THAT THE BOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE NEEDS TO DO, BUT THAT THE TRUSTEES NEED TO DO WITH KIRK AND THE COMMUNITY ON THIS BIG STRATEGIC PLAN TO ADDRESS THESE OTHER ISSUES BEFORE WE PICK UP THE BIGGEST OF ALL ISSUES, WHICH IS $800 MILLION IN A RENOVATION OF THE DISTRICT TO MAKE IT A WORLD CLASS, WORLD CLASS FACILITIES THAT MEET THE WORLD CLASS EDUCATION.
SO, NOT THAT THIS TIMELINE IS BAD, BUT I JUST WONDER IF THERE'S SOME OTHER WORK WE HAVE TO DO BEFORE WE START TALKING ABOUT THE BOND ITSELF, ABOUT A STRATEGIC SHIFT IN THE DISTRICT IN ORDER TO MAKE IT SO WE'RE ABLE TO WORK WITH OUR NEW SHIFT IN DEMOGRAPHICS, THE BUDGET CONSTRAINTS TEACHER NOT RECEIVING RAISES, AND YET WE'RE BUILDING, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MASSIVE RENOVATIONS IN OUR DISTRICT.
THESE THINGS ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY REALLY TIGHTLY ENTWINED.
JUST WONDERING, BEFORE WE GO ASK A BOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE IN AUGUST TO GO SIT THROUGH EIGHT LONG MEETINGS AND CHURN AND GRIND THROUGH SOMETHING, ARE WE READY FOR THAT? IT'S KIND OF AN OPEN-ENDED QUESTION.
I JUST, I'D SAY THERE'S NO BETTER TIME FOR A STRATEGIC PLANNING PHASE THAT WILL KICK OFF AT A STATE OF THE SCHOOLS ON APRIL 8TH AND, UH, BE DONE BY NOVEMBER.
AND I THINK WE WALK INTO GUM AND SKIP ROPE AND, YOU KNOW, JUGGLE.
WE JUST HAVE TO, THERE'S ALSO A BIT OF A RISK IN INACTION ITSELF.
AND SO THAT, THAT RISK, WHAT WE'VE LOOKED AT, AND, AND AGAIN, WHEN WE SHOW A POWERPOINT SLIDE, IT SAYS, THIS IS WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
IT DOESN'T SHOW TWO YEARS PRIOR TO THE POWERPOINT SLIDE.
AND I THINK FEASIBILITY WAS A KEY TERM HERE WITHIN THIS COMMITTEE BECAUSE WE SAW WHAT WAS FEASIBLE AND THEN WHAT WAS NOT.
[02:30:01]
THINGS THAT YOU SEE INCLUDED IN A, IN A PRESENTATION, YOU DON'T SEE THE, YOU KNOW, 38,000 OTHER THINGS THAT WERE EXCLUDED.UM, SO IN ACTION AS WELL CAN HURT OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT A LITTLE BIT BY NOT BRINGING IN FAMILIES THAT WANT TO BE IN A MODERN SCHOOL DISTRICT.
I WON'T EVEN SAY STATE OF THE ART, I'LL SAY MODERN.
AND IT ALSO HURTS TEACHER RETENTION AND TEACHER RECRUITMENT.
UM, TEACHERS DO WANT SALARY WAGES, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PRIORITIZE THAT AT EVERY STEP.
BUT TEACHERS ALSO WANT TO TEACH AND BE A PART OF A SCHOOL THAT'S, UH, NEW AND FITS WHAT THEIR IDEAL, UM, TEACHING ENVIRONMENT MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
UM, IT IT IS, IT'S ALL THE THINGS AT ONCE.
AND YOU DID A, UH, I THOUGHT A REALLY GOOD POINT TO SAYING THEY ALL INTERTWINE 'CAUSE THEY DO.
UM, BUT I DO WORRY THAT INACTION WILL HURT US DOWN THE ROAD BECAUSE THIS IS A LONG RANGE PLANNING.
UM, AND THE FURTHER WE KICK THAT DOWN, THE MORE THINGS CHANGE AT, UM, ON CONGRESS STREET AND THE MORE THINGS CHANGE WITH, UH, WITHIN OUR DISTRICT ITSELF OR DEMOGRAPHICS OR INTEREST RATES AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
WE'RE NOT AT, WE'RE NOT AT A POSITION NOW WHERE, WHERE WE CAN DO TOO MUCH DAMAGE BY MAKING A FORWARD DECISION.
UM, WE ARE AT A POSITION WHERE WE CAN DO DAMAGE BY STOPPING.
WE'VE GOT A COMMENT FROM KELLY AND, AND THEN JOHN, WELL, IF EVERYBODY ELSE TALKS, I WANNA TALK.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I REALLY LIKED WHAT YOU JUST POINTED OUT, CRAIG, THAT THE, THE INACTION IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO AVOID.
AND I KNOW WE DON'T NEED TO, BECAUSE THE PRESENTATION YOU GAVE ME WAS MOVING US INTO THE FUTURE, AND IT WAS YOUR COMMITTEE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT ALL THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT BECAUSE EVERY SPACE YOU DESIGNED WAS FOR SAFETY, WHICH IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
EVERY SPACE YOU DESIGNED WAS LOOKING AT POSSIBLE REVENUE SOURCES THAT ALSO INCLUDED SAFETY, LIKE BUILDINGS WHERE WE COULD RENT OUT SPACES BELOW AND HAVE SAFE STUDENTS ON TOP.
YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW YOU USED AND I SAW PICTURES OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS INFLUENCING WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING AT IN YOUR DESIGNS.
SO I FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT NOT DOING THIS WOULD ACTUALLY BE MORE HARMFUL TO OUR DISTRICT AT THIS POINT.
ALSO, WE TALKED ABOUT THE CLASSROOM SPACES BEING MORE FLEXIBLE AND THE SIZES OF THE SCHOOLS BEING FLEXIBLE, HAVING FOUR FLEXIBLE CAMPUSES IS MUCH MORE LOGICAL.
UM, SO ANYWAY, I THINK WHAT I REALLY APPRECIATED HOW YOU LAID IT OUT AND HOW YOU PRESENTED IT, BECAUSE IT TOUCHED ON EVERYTHING THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT, ALL THE CONCERNS WE HAD AND HOW THEY COULD BE ADDRESSED WITH THESE BUILDINGS.
JOHN, UH, CATHERINE, I JUST WANTED TO RESPOND TO, TO YOUR COMMENT AS WELL.
UM, SO I DO AGREE, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF STRATEGIC PLANNING ELEMENTS IN THIS DOCUMENT.
FOR EXAMPLE, IT INCLUDES CLOSING A CAMPUS.
WE'VE NEVER DISCUSSED THAT AS A BOARD, BUT NEVER.
UH, AND SO LIKE I JUST USE THAT AS AN EXAMPLE OF THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME WENT INTO THE BLEND, UM, AND HOW, AND HOW OFTEN THE BOARD TALKED ABOUT IT.
AND WE HAVE NEVER DISCUSSED AS A GROUP OF SEVEN WHETHER WE WANT TO CLOSES ELEMENTARY OR NOT.
UH, AND SO I BRING THAT UP AS JUST SAYING, I AGREE WITH THE COMMENTS OF THERE IS SOME URGENCY AND THERE IS A NEED.
AND I DO THINK, I DO BELIEVE MAY 27 IS THE RIGHT TIME TO PUT SOME VERSION OF A BOND FORWARD.
UH, BUT I WANT TO UNDERSCORE THAT I AGREE THAT THERE ARE SOME BIG STRATEGIC TYPE DECISIONS BAKED INTO THIS PLAN THAT THE SEVEN OF US HAVE NEVER DISCUSSED, AND THAT WE NEED TO MAKE TIME FOR THAT.
UH, BECAUSE THAT, YOU KNOW, CLOSING NEEDS IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF THE STRATEGIC DECISIONS THAT ARE BAKED INTO THIS, THAT THE SEVEN OF US HAVE TO HAVE TIME TO CHAT THROUGH AND WRESTLE THROUGH.
UH, SO, UH, UH, I AGREE THAT WE NEED TO MAKE TIME FOR THAT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING AND STAYING UNTIL NINE O'CLOCK.
I, I HOPE WE SEE YOU BACK SOON.
[8.2 Board priorities discussion]
ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS, UM, THE BOARD PRIORITIES UPDATE.SO BOARD MEMBERS, I PROMISE WE'RE GONNA KEEP THIS SHORT AND SWEET BECAUSE ALL OF THE DETAIL YOU NEED ABOUT THE UPDATES TO THE BOARD PRIORITIES, DISCUSSION AND TALKING POINTS, WHICH WE'VE REFERENCED THE LAST TWO MONTHS IN WORK SESSIONS ARE COVERED IN THE HANDOUT THAT ARE BEFORE YOU.
UM, THE TEAM HAS PUT TOGETHER,
[02:35:01]
YOU'LL NOTICE SOME BULLET POINTS UNDER EACH OF YOUR CURRENT BOARD MANAGEMENT PRIORITY AREAS.UH, AGAIN, WE ARE, UM, WE SPENT SOME TIME, AS PEOPLE RECALL LAST MONTH IN A WORK SESSION AND THE MONTH BEFORE IN A WORK SESSION TALKING ABOUT THESE THINGS.
AND AS YOU ALL KNOW, UM, AS YOU WERE VETTING YOUR NEW SUPERINTENDENT, WE WERE ADDRESSING EACH OF THESE ITEMS. AND, UH, SOME OF THE IDEAS UNDER THE SUB POINTS HAVE COME UP DURING OTHER BOARD MEETINGS.
UM, HOWEVER, UM, IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT SOMETHING IN THE BULLET POINTS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT, WE CAN DO.
I'M NOT GONNA READ THEM ALL TO YOU, UH, BUT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THE, THE TEAM, UM, HEARD YOUR, YOUR FEEDBACK AND INPUT AS WE TALKED ABOUT VISION AND MISSIONS FOR THE FUTURE, AND ALSO KEEPING IN MIND THE ADULT MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES THAT WE CONTINUALLY WORK ON FOR IMPROVEMENT AND FOR REPORTING REQUIREMENTS, UH, NOT ONLY TO THE BOARD, BUT THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SO THAT'S WHAT'S BEFORE YOU AND, UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY PARTICULAR QUESTIONS, I'D BE GLAD TO TRY TO TALK ABOUT THEM, BUT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU SAW THOSE UPDATES.
UM, DIANE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I HAVEN'T READ EVERY SINGLE WORD ON HERE, BUT A LOT OF WHAT I'M SEEING IS I LOVE IT.
UM, BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT SURVEYS.
I'M JUST CURIOUS, IF WE'RE GOING TO LAUNCH SURVEYS IN APRIL, WHEN WOULD WE EXPECT TO SEE THE RESULTS OF A SURVEY THAT'S PUT OUT? UM, WHEN WE ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THE STRATEGIC PLANNING, THERE WILL BE MORE SURVEYS THAN YOU CAN SHAKE A STICK AT PROBABLY OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS EXCEPT FOR JULY.
SO AS WE PUT THEM OUT, THEY WILL BE, UM, SOME OF THEM WILL LOOK MAYBE LIKE A TRADITIONAL SURVEY TO YOU.
SOME OF THEM WE'VE ALREADY COLLECTED, FOR EXAMPLE, STUDENT CTE SURVEY FEEDBACK.
UM, WE WILL ROLL THOSE OUT WITH A CALENDAR AND UH, THOSE WILL COME IN FRONT OF DIFFERENT AUDIENCES.
SO AS WE COLLECT STUDENT FOCUS GROUP INFORMATION, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WILL THEN ROLL UP TO A CORE TEAM AND A VISION TEAM THROUGHOUT THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS.
AND THEN EVENTUALLY, UM, SOME OF THAT WILL DISSEMINATE AND MAKE ITS WAY PUBLIC IN FRONT OF BOARD MEETINGS IN THE FUTURE AS WE DO STRATEGIC PLANNING UPDATES.
UM, YOU WILL NOT SEE REPORTS AT BOARD MEETINGS ABOUT EVERY SINGLE SURVEY THROUGHOUT THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS MM-HMM
UM, BUT THERE WILL BE TEAMS WORKING ON ALL THAT DATA.
SO THIS ONE THAT'S CALLED A CLIMATE SURVEY? YES.
IS THAT WHAT WE HAVE TRADITIONALLY SEEN? I MEAN, I WOULD EXPECT THAT IT WOULD BE REVISED AND YES, HOPEFULLY SHORTENED.
THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING YOU'D BE FAMILIAR WITH.
AND THAT YOU WILL SEE MAYBE JUST THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS AS WE MOVE FORWARD THIS SPRING, BUT YOU WILL GET THAT INFORMATION AS A BOARD.
AND THE TURNAROUND TIME FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS, I DIDN'T REALLY ANSWER THAT, THAT QUESTION YET, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT AGAIN, WHAT WE DO THIS SPRING BEFORE WE LEAVE FOR A JUNE BREAK.
UM, AS EVERYBODY LEAVES TOWN, UH, FOR JULY, UM, WE WILL SHARE AN UPDATE, UM, IN THE EARLY OR MID-JUNE BOARD MEETING.
AND, UM, THEN WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU AGAIN LATE AUGUST WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? THIS WILL BECOME AN ANNUAL LOOK THAT YOU'LL GET ABOUT THE ADULT BOARD PRIORITIES AND REPORTING.
SO IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT THE FORMAT OR THE LOOK, PLEASE LET US KNOW BETWEEN NOW AND THE FUTURE.
AND WE DO HAVE A, A COMMENT OR A QUESTION FROM KELLY.
IS THAT, WHEN WILL THAT COME IN? LIKE WHEN WILL WE KNOW WHEN THOSE, UM, TEACHERS HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED OR WHATEVER THEY HAVE TO BE APPROVED? DO WE KNOW? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
LORI, DO WE HAVE AN ANSWER ON THAT? DID YOU HEAR THAT? DID YOU KNOW WHEN WE'LL KNOW? WHICH POINT ARE YOU LOOKING AT HERE ON THAT? OH, THE LAST ONE, STAFF SUPPORT ENGAGEMENT, THE TIA ALLOTMENT.
SO WE'RE STILL IN OUR YEAR OF DATA.
WE WILL NOT EVEN GIVE THAT INFORMATION TO TEA UNTIL FALL OF THIS NEXT YEAR.
AND THEN WE WON'T KNOW ANYTHING UNTIL, I THINK IT'S FEBRUARY OF 27.
AND WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM LAURA OR A COMMENT? UH, I, I, I, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT, BUT JUST I, I'VE SLEPT SINCE THE LAST BOARD MEETING.
UM, WE WILL, FROM THIS, WE WILL, UM, UH, DISTILL DOWN THE SORT OF, UM, METRICS THAT, THE TOOLS THAT WE WILL USE
[02:40:01]
TO MEASURE OUR SUCCESS ON THESE ITEMS. IS THAT CORRECT? LIKE FOR THE DLT, I MEAN FOR THE DIP, YES.FOR THE, THE DIP, THE SIP, THESE PRIORITIES THAT WE ALWAYS LOOK AT THAT ARE ALIGNED TO THOSE, YES.
WE WILL LOOK AT METRICS AND MEASURES FOR THOSE.
AND THEN AS WE MENTIONED LAST MONTH, OUR NEW STRATEGIC PLAN WILL RESULT IN NEW MISSIONS WITH NEW METRICS WE WILL FOCUS ON.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.
[8.3 First Reading of Board Operating Procedures update]
ITEM IS THE FIRST READING OF BOARD OPERATING PROCEDURES AND UPDATES.SO I HAVE GOTTEN QUESTIONS AND SOME FEEDBACK FROM ONE TRUSTEE, UM, RELATED TO THE BOARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
SO I THINK OUR VERY FIRST, WELL THIS HAS BEEN POSTED ONLINE FOR THE COMMUNITY TO WEIGH IN ON, BUT, UH, THE QUESTION I HAVE IS ON THE QUESTION I RECEIVED IS ON PAGE 15 REGARDING REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES.
THE POLICY COMMITTEE HAD MET TO DISCUSS, UH, IF WE WANTED TO ADDRESS SOME BOARD BUDGETING GIVEN, UH, THE DISTRICT'S FINANCIAL SITUATION RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND THE, THE, THEY HAVE PROPOSED TO THE BOARD REDUCING DISTRICT REIMBURSEMENT FOR TRAVEL AND EXPENSES TO LIMIT REIMBURSEMENT OF THAT TO THREE NIGHTS INSTEAD OF SIX NIGHTS, UNLESS THE TRAVEL'S RELATED TO A LEADERSHIP TASB, UH, TRUSTEE WHO, WHO'S SERVING IN THAT CAPACITY.
AND ALSO TO LIMIT, JUST TO BE CLEAR, THAT ONLY ONE TRUSTEE SERVING AT A TIME IN THE LEADERSHIP TABS BE POSITION CAN SEEK REIMBURSEMENT OR SORRY, STAKE.
WE WILL HAVE TO SPLIT, THEY'LL HAVE TO SPLIT THE COST.
SO THEY'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT DOUBLING COSTS ARE, ARE YOU ASKING QUESTIONS? OKAY.
UM, YEAH, THE, UM, TWO TRUSTEES FOR LEADERSHIP, TAS B, IT'S BELTS AND SUPE.
THEY'RE NEVER GOING TO TAKE TWO TRUSTEES FROM THE SAME DISTRICT.
BUT THAT'S, I'M, I DON'T, AGAIN, NOT OPPOSED TO THAT.
UM, THIS, AND I'M STILL READING THIS LIKE THIS.
I THINK WE CAN MAKE THIS SENTENCE A LITTLE MORE CLEAR.
BECAUSE I STRUGGLED, UM, WITH THIS, THE, THE LANGUAGE.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, UH, JUST HARD STOP THAT IT'S LIMITED TO THREE NIGHTS PER YEAR.
YOU KNOW, IF TRAVEL, IF TRAVEL IS RELATED TO LEADERSHIP, TASB, THEN THE INDIVIDUAL SHALL BE ELIGIBLE FOR EXPENSES RELATED TO NO MORE THAN SIX NIGHTS PER YEAR.
JUST SOMETHING TO KIND OF SEPARATE THOSE, THOSE TWO.
WILL THAT, WOULD THAT CHANGE THE LEGAL MEANING? WELL, I, I MEAN, I SEE IT, I GUESS I'M CURIOUS WHAT YOUR, WHAT IT IS YOU WOULD WANT, WHAT YOU WANT IT TO BE, AND THEN I'M HAPPY TO WRITE IT TO MAKE IT CLEARER.
RIGHT NOW IT'S THREE NIGHTS, BUT IF YOU'RE DOING LEADERSHIP TASB, YOU CAN GET SIX NIGHTS.
AND I, AND I READ THAT AS, 'CAUSE AGAIN, THE OPENING LINE DISTRICT REIMBURSEMENT FOR TRAVEL AND EXPENSES MM-HMM
AND SO IT'S, IT WAS SIMPLY JUST A REDUCTION OF THE ACTUAL NIGHTS.
SO IT STILL COVERS TRAVEL AND EXPENSES, BUT FOR THREE NIGHTS SO THAT THERE ISN'T, IT'S JUST A CAP ON YEARLY TRAVEL.
YEAH, I THINK, I THINK THAT CAN YOU LAURA? YEAH, I'LL, I MEAN, BECAUSE AS CATHERINE AND I SERVE ON THE POLICY COMMITTEE MM-HMM
I MEAN IT WAS, IT WAS OUR RECOMMENDATION.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS A TEAM OF EIGHT, WE GO TO SLI, WE HAVE HISTORICALLY MM-HMM
AND SO THOSE THAT SLI TRAINING AND TEAM BUILDING IS ONE OR TWO OR THREE NIGHTS MM-HMM
DEPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO PARTICIPATE IN MM-HMM
AND SO WE, WE LOOKED AT CUTS IN LINE WITH EVERY OTHER ASPECT OF THIS DISTRICT.
WE WERE SAYING THAT AS A GROUP OF SEVEN, YOU KNOW, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS A, A GOOD BASIS FOR EVERYONE ATTENDING SLI.
[02:45:01]
WE HAVE HISTORICALLY ALSO PARTICIPATED IN LEADERSHIP TASB, AND THAT PERSON WOULD GET REIMBURSEMENT ABOVE THE, THE UP TO THREE DAYS.SO IT WAS LEADERSHIP, A SB PERSON CAN GET REIMBURSEMENT UP TO SIX DAYS.
EVERYBODY ELSE IS UP TO THREE DAYS.
I, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND MM-HMM
AND I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THAT.
IT, IT, IT ABSOLUTELY, I THINK THAT'S A CHANGE, AN ADJUSTMENT THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR A COUPLE YEARS ACTUALLY.
SO IT'S NICE TO SEE US MOVING FORWARD THAT WITH THAT, HONESTLY, AUDREY, IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST THE WORDING ON IT THAT HAS ME STUMPED.
AND IF IT'S JUST ME, THEN GO FOR IT, MOVE FORWARD WITH IT.
I'M NOT GONNA, DO YOU HAVE WORDING YOU WANT TO PROPOSE? THAT WOULD BE CLEARER.
OR I WOULD DO A HARD STOP AFTER THREE NIGHTS PER YEAR AND THEN TO DO PERIOD.
SB WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR RE TRAVELING EXPENSES, YOU KNOW, REIMBURSED WHATEVER UP TO SIX NIGHTS PER YEAR.
I MEAN, THAT'S JUST, I DIDN'T GET ALL THE WORDS IN THERE, BUT YEAH.
IS THIS, ARE THESE SIX NIGHTS IN ADDITION TO THE THREE? NO MORE THAN SIX? NO, IT'S, NO, IT'S A TOTAL.
SO, UM, IT ALLOWS YOU WIGGLE ROOM BETWEEN THE TWO.
I HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS TO US, LAURA? I KNOW, LAURA, ARE YOU FINISHED? YEAH.
AND THEN JOHN, AND THEN DIANE, I JUST HAVE A FOLLOW UP ON THAT, JUST TO CLARIFY.
IS THAT IN, UH, SCHOOL YEAR? WHAT WAS THAT, A CALENDAR YEAR? WHAT IS THAT? I MEAN, OUR, I WOULD SAY IT'S OUR FISCAL YEAR.
UM, THE FIRST IS, UM, HIGHER ON THAT PAGE, LETTER E AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT THE PROTOCOL IF A TRUSTEE WANTS TO ATTEND A DISTRICT OR SCHOOL RELATED MEETING OR BUSINESS MAY BE DISCUSSED, SUCH AS A BOOSTER CLUB, MEETING, OPEN HOUSE, ET CETERA, IN THEIR OFFICIAL CAPACITY.
AND THE, IN HERE IT'S WRITTEN THAT WE EMAIL THE PRINCIPAL AND ANY OTHER APPLICABLE PARTIES SUCH AS A BOOSTER CLUB PRESIDENT AND COPY OF THE SUPERINTENDENT, AND THAT IT'S NOT REQUIRED FOR SPORTING EVENTS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
I AM CURIOUS BECAUSE IN THE PAST AS A BOARD, WE HAVE HAD A GOOGLE SHARE SHEET IN WHICH WE HAVE THESE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE COVERING HERE LISTED OUT.
AND IT'S, I FOUND TO BE A FANTASTIC TOOL SO THAT WE CAN HAVE TWO DIFFERENT TRUSTEES SIGN UP AND THEN I BELIEVE THE BOARD PRESIDENT USUALLY CAN BE THE THIRD PERSON.
WE NEVER WANNA BE IN A WALKING QUORUM.
NOT THAT WE'RE NECESSARILY TALKING THERE, BUT, UH, WE'VE LIMITED TO TWO TRUSTEES TO ATTEND THESE EVENTS.
AND I HAVE REALLY APPRECIATED THAT TOOL.
WE HAVEN'T USED IT MORE RECENTLY, WE HAVEN'T BEEN FOLLOWING, I, I HAVEN'T BEEN FOLLOWING THIS PARTICULAR PROTOCOL.
UM, SO I'D LIKE TO THROW OUT THERE FOR CONSIDERATION THAT WE REVISIT THAT.
BECAUSE WHAT I FIND IS THAT WHEN WE HAVE THESE ACTIVITIES GOING ON, IF WE HAVE THAT AS OUR TOOL AND THAT AS OUR METHOD OF SIGNING UP, THAT WE CAN SEE AS A BOARD, WHETHER WE'RE REPRESENTING OURSELVES AT DIFFERENT EVENTS AND IT'S NOT THIS ONE-OFF LIKE, OH, I'M GOING TO EMAIL THE BRIDGEPOINT, YOU KNOW, PRINCIPAL TO SAY, I'D LIKE TO GO TO THIS, AND WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COVERING OUR BASES, SO TO SPEAK WITH THAT.
WE AS A BOARD HAVE EYES ON WHAT'S GOING ON ON IN THE DISTRICT.
I DON'T HAVE WORDING FOR THAT, BUT I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW IF THE BOARD WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF US REWRITING THAT AND, YOU KNOW, I COULD POTENTIALLY DRAFT SOMETHING OR WHO, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ME, BUT THROWING THAT OUT FOR CONSIDERATION.
UM, AND THEN I, I GUESS I'LL ADD MY SECOND COMMENT.
THIS IDEA OF WHICH I'VE NEVER BEEN A PART OF BEFORE VIVA VCE, I THINK IS HOW YOU SAY IT.
THIS ELECTION OF OUR OFFICERS FOR THE BOARD IS VERY CURIOUS.
I FIND, UM, I AM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TIMELINE IS IN WHICH WE'RE COMING BACK TO VOTE ON, YOU KNOW, A FINAL BOP.
I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN MAYBE BRINGING TO THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T HAVE IT HERE TONIGHT, I APOLOGIZE.
UM, DON'T HAVE OPTIONS TO PRESENT YOU, BUT I'M CURIOUS IF PEOPLE BE OPEN TO OTHER METHODS OF ELECTING BOARD OFFICERS.
AND I WOULD INVESTIGATE THIS BY REACHING OUT TO OTHER BOARDS, YOU KNOW, WITH ACROSS THE STATE AND SEEING WHAT THEIR PRACTICES HAVE BEEN AND WHETHER THEY'VE APPRECIATED OTHER WAYS OF DOING THIS.
[02:50:01]
THEY'RE NOT REALLY QUESTIONS, I GUESS FOR YOU AUDREY, IT'S MORE OF A, A BOARD THING AND WOULD, YOU KNOW, BE INTERESTED IN HEARING WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY.WHAT DIANE IS REFERENCING START, IT STARTS ON PAGE SEVEN AND GOES TO PAGE EIGHT OF THE BOARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
IF YOU HAVE 'EM IN FRONT OF YOU REGARDING ELECTION OF BOARD OFFICERS.
UM, DIANE, I GUESS I WOULD COMMENT ON, ON THE SHEET, UM, OF SIGNING UP FOR, YOU KNOW, STATE OF THE DISTRICT OR, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE ATTEND, NOT JUST AS A PARENT BUT AS A TRUSTEE.
I MEAN, I KNOW THAT SHEET IS OUT THERE AND BECAUSE I SIGNED UP FOR A NUMBER OF THINGS.
UM, BUT IT MAY BE THAT IT'S NOT THAT, THAT WE'RE OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH A, AN OPERATING PROCEDURE.
IT JUST, WE HAVEN'T BEEN REMINDED OF IT AS FREQUENTLY AS WE HAVE IN THE PAST.
AND, YOU KNOW, SO PERHAPS WE'RE, THAT SHEET COULD GO OUT TO US AS A TEAM OF SEVEN.
UH, SO THAT WE ARE REMINDED THAT WHEN WE'RE GOING TO ATTEND AN EVENT THAT WE SIGN UP AND LET EVERYONE KNOW.
I MEAN, THERE IS A GOOGLE SHARE DOCUMENT THAT, UM, ALL OF US CAN SIGN UP ON.
UH, I MEAN I I I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND, AND IF, IF I MISUNDERSTOOD YOU, IF YOU'RE SAYING, I MEAN, I'VE NEVER WRITTEN TO SHERRY BRYANT WHEN I'M GOING TO VISIT BRIDGEPOINT, I'VE WRITTEN TO THE SUPERINTENDENT BECAUSE IT'S SOME VERSION IN THE PAST IT SAID, I WAS TRAINED THAT YOU ASKED THE SUPERINTENDENT'S PERMISSION BEFORE YOU ATTEND A SCHOOL EVENT.
ARE, ARE, THOSE ARE TWO SEPARATE THINGS.
SO WHAT ARE, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE, WHICH ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? UM, I'M TALKING ABOUT BOTH.
I GUESS I WOULD HOPE THAT OUR PRINCIPALS WOULD WELCOME US AT CERTAIN TYPES OF EVENTS AND THAT WE WOULDN'T NEED TO BE TELLING THEM THAT WE'RE COMING NECESSARILY.
UM, SO IF WE HAVE THIS DOCUMENT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT HAS EXISTED AND WE'RE USING THAT FOR A SET OF EVENTS IN WHICH WE KNOW THAT TRUSTEES ARE WELCOME, THAT IT MAKES THINGS A LITTLE BIT EASIER FOR US IF WE JUST HAVE TO SIGN UP ON THE SHEET RATHER THAN EMAILING.
LIKE, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THE BOO THE BOOSTER CLUB PRESIDENTS ARE, QUITE FRANKLY.
I MEAN, I, I WISH I COULD, YOU KNOW, SAY I KNEW THEM ALL, UM, OFFHAND, BUT TO, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT COULD BE EASIER FOR US AND IT COULD BE MORE BENEFICIAL FOR THE COMMUNITY IF WE JUST USE ONE TOOL, IF IT'S A GOOGLE SHEET AND IT ISN'T INCUMBENT UPON US TO EMAIL THE PRINCIPAL OF THE SCHOOL AND THE BOOSTER CLUB PRESIDENT BEFORE WE GO TO A BOOSTER CLUB MEETING.
SO THAT, I I DOES THAT CLARIFY WHAT I'M SUGGESTING? THAT CLARIFIES FOR ME, JOHN, DIANE, ARE YOU ALSO SAYING THAT? 'CAUSE I'M THINKING OF THIS GOOGLE SHEET AND IT'S THE STATE OF THE DISTRICT, IT'S THE INSPIRATIONS.
UM, I THINK MAYBE ONE WE, IN THE FALL WE HAD, UH, WHEN DR.
TRIGG WAS HERE, WE HAD THE SCHOOL TOURS ON THERE.
UH, ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO BROADEN IT TO INCLUDE MORE EVENTS THAN THAT AS WELL? UH, SUCH AS SOME OF THESE BOOSTER CLUB EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? LIKE PUT MAKE IT A MORE ROBUST GOOGLE SHEET? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? AND THEN EVERYBODY WOULD STILL SIGN UP ON THERE.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S LIMITED TO MAYBE TWO OR THREE EVENT TYPES.
AND I, I DO BELIEVE SOME OF THEM KIND OF OVERLAP.
I THINK SOMETIMES THE BOOSTER CLUB DOES BECOME THE STATE OF THE WHATEVER DISTRICT EVENT.
SO YES, I THINK IT COULD BE IN, AS YOU'RE DESCRIBING IT, BROADEN TO INCLUDE THESE TYPES OF EVENTS THAT WOULD BE BE BENEFICIAL FOR TRUSTEES TO ATTEND.
NOW THAT WOULD HAVE TO ONLY BE EVENTS THAT WE KNOW THAT WE ARE WELCOMED AT.
AND SO THAT'S A DISCUSSION TO HAVE.
BUT, UM, I MEAN I DO, I DO FIND THE GOOGLE SHEET QUITE EASY AND, AND I'VE USED IT A LOT AND IT'S NICE AND THEN YOU CAN, AND SO I, I WOULD BE FINE WITH BROADENING IT SOMEWHAT TO INCLUDE GREATER EVENTS AND THEN FOLKS SIGN UP ON THAT.
AND THEN IF YOU'RE ATTENDING AN EVENT THAT'S NOT ON THAT SHEET, THEN YOU COULD USE THE CURRENT SYSTEM AS LAID OUT IN THE BOP.
BUT OTHERWISE, UH, MAYBE, MAYBE THE, THE SWEET SPOT IS SLIGHTLY BROADENING THE GOOGLE SHEET TO MEET THE NEEDS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
BUT THEN FOR ONES THAT DON'T, AREN'T ON THE GOOGLE SHEET, THEN YOU WOULD STILL EMAIL THE SUPERINTENDENT OR THE PRINCIPAL.
YEAH, WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE.
EXCEPT IN, IN GENERAL, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS, FIRST OF ALL,
[02:55:01]
THE INTENT OF NOT HAVING A WALKING QUORUM IS ALL I CARE ABOUT.UM, AND TWO, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A CULTURE WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT INFORMING PRINCIPLES THAT YOU'RE COMING TO THE BUILDING INFORMING THE SUPERINTENDENT AS A COURTESY.
AND IF THE GOOGLE SHEET WORKS, THEN WE'LL EXPAND IT.
SO ARE WE PROPOSING ON PA, ON SUBSECTION E PA THE TOP OF PAGE 15, DELETING THE, SO IT SAYS BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD EMAIL THE PRINCIPAL AND OTHER APPLICABLE PARTIES.
IE BOOSTER CO PRESIDENT AND COPY THE SUPERINTENDENT.
IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE PROPOSING DELETING SHOULD EMAIL, I MEAN, SHOULD, I GUESS YOU SHOULD JUST EMAIL THE SUPERINTENDENT AND BOARD PRESIDENT.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE PRO? IS THAT, IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU? IS THAT YES.
MAYBE JUST SAY INSTEAD OF EMAIL, SINCE WE'RE GOING TO USE THE SHARED PLATFORM, JUST NOTIFY.
AND IF IT'S NOT SOMEHOW ON THE SPREADSHEET, THEN IT'S JUST UPON YOU TOO.
UH, AND KIM, THE, YOUR OTHER COMMENT ON THE TRUSTEE ELECTION, UM, UH, I DON'T HAVE A PARTICULAR VIEWPOINT ON THAT.
UH, I'M NOT OPPOSED TO SOMEBODY BRINGING BACK ALTERNATIVES FOR US TO CONSIDER, BUT, UH, IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WAS ON MY RADAR TO CHANGE, BUT IT, BUT IF THAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU AND YOU WANT TO REACH OUT TO OTHER, UH, DISTRICTS AND SEE HOW THEY DO IT AND BRING BACK OTHER IDEAS, I MEAN, I'M, I'M ALWAYS OPEN TO REFLECT ON IT.
I, I DON'T HAVE A, UH, A VIEWPOINT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, BUT I'M HAPPY TO LOOK AT IT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? AUDREY, DID YOU HAVE COMMENTS? OH, NO, I HAVE NO COMMENTS.
THIS IS, THESE ARE YOUR PROCEDURES.
TWO, I WILL SAY, 'CAUSE I DON'T SEE THE GOOGLE DOC FOR SIGNUPS.
IT'S JUST ENTERING NAMES, RIGHT? NO COMMENTS CAN BE, NO.
UM, WELL IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE ON BOARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, ANY OTHER OTHER COMMENTS? LET'S GO ON TO FIRST READING OF LOCAL POLICY UPDATE, GKB AND FMH.
SO LAURA ALSO POINTED OUT A GOOD, A TYPO ON, ON UH, GKB.
SO I HAVE UPDATED THAT IT WAS, LET'S SEE, ON PAGE TWO TO FIVE, WELL, THAT, I ADDED THAT, BUT SHE HAD ANY, ANY DISTRICT FAC FACILITY, IF IT IS, AND I WAS MISSING, THE WORD IS BEING USED.
AND THEN I WENT AHEAD AND ADDED THE CLARIFICATION ABOUT, UM, WE HAD PUT IN THAT FIVE SIGNS WERE ALLOWED AND ADDED UP TO FIVE SIGNS, NOT MANDATING FIVE SIGNS, BUT PUTTING A CAP.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS JUST PROPOSED LANGUAGE FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD ON THESE LOCAL POLICIES? NOPE.
UM, AND CLARIFICATIONS FOR THE COMMUNITY.
[9.1 Election of Region 13 Board of Directors Place 5]
GO ON TO OUR, UM, DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM, WHICH IS ELECTION OF REGION 13, BOARD OF DIRECTORS PLACE FIVE.AND WE HAVE, IS ANYONE PRESENTING THIS OR ARE WE DISCUSSING THIS? KURT, YOU HAVE.
WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US, UM, AN OFFICIAL BALLOT FOR REGION 13 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION.
AND YOU HAD IN YOUR PACKET THE RESUMES FOR, UM, THESE CANDIDATES FOR THE TWO CANDIDATES.
AND SO I GUESS AUDREY OR IS, IS THE ASK, AND MAYBE YOU'RE NOT THE RIGHT, I MEAN IS THE ASK THAT WE COMPLETE THE BALANCE OR PAT YOU MAKE THE CHOICE.
CHOICE SEAL IT IN THE ENVELOPE.
I SEND THIS TO REGION ON THE REGION.
I MAKE A LIST OF WHICH BOARD MEMBERS ARE HERE TO VOTE.
WE'RE, WE'RE NOT PASSING A RESOLUTION.
INDIVIDUAL VOTE, BUT COUNTS AS ACTION.
WE HAVE TAKEN ACTION FOR 9.1, THE ELECTION OF REGION
[03:00:01]
13, BOARD OF DIRECTOR PLACE FIVE.[10.
ACTION - CONSENT AGENDA
]IS ACTION ITEM IS THE CONSENT AGENDA.AND DO I HAVE A MOTION FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA? SINCE YOU THUMPED ME, I MOVE THAT THE BOARD ADOPT THE CONSENT AGENDA AS POSTED.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? I HAVE A SECOND FROM KELLY.
I MOTION FROM LAUREN, A SECOND FROM KELLY TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS POSTED.
ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? NOT SEEING ANY, UM, ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE CONSENT AGENDA AS POSTED.
THE MOTION PASSES SIX ZERO AND WE HAVE COME TO THE END OF THE NIGHT AND WE HAVE
[11.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
]UPCOMING MEETINGS.WELL, WE HAVE AN UPCOMING MEETING.
UM, WE HAVE AN UPCOMING STATE OF THE DISTRICT.
APRIL 8TH, SIX O'CLOCK AT THE PACK.
JUST AS A REMINDER, THERE'LL BE GRAPHICS AND MESSAGING COMING OUT AT THE END OF THIS WEEK, AND WE'LL BE SENDING OUT AN ALL CALL ABOUT THAT EVENT.
APRIL 8TH, SIX O'CLOCK AT THE PACK.
TELL EVERYONE, TELL EVERYONE YES.
AND AFTER THAT OUR, OUR FURTHER UPCOMING MEETINGS FOR THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ARE APRIL 14TH, 2026 AND APRIL 28TH, 2026.
WE HAVE ON THE AGENDA, UM, CLOSED SESSION, BUT THERE WAS NO NEED TO GO BACK OR TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION FROM THIS MEETING.
SO I WILL SAY THAT AT 9 23 WE STAND ADJOURNED TONIGHT.
THANK YOU FOR THE VERY LONG MEETING.