[1. CONVENE] [00:00:05] GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THE APRIL MEETING OF THE FERNDALE SCHOOL BOARD. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US WHETHER LIVE OR ONLINE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS AND EVERY SCHOOL BOARD MEETING IS TO CONDUCT THE BUSINESS OF THE BOARD. THAT BUSINESS IS TO FACILITATE THE MISSION OF OUR DISTRICT WHICH STATES, WE, THE FERNDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT, PREPARE EACH STUDENT TO THRIVE IN AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD BY PROVIDING A RIGOROUS EDUCATION THAT FOSTERS ACADEMIC GROWTH, NURTURES CONFIDENCE, AND ENCOURAGES CRITICAL THINKING. OUR COMMITMENT TO HIGH EXPECTATIONS ENSURES EVERY LEARNER ACHIEVES THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. WE CULTIVATE RESILIENCE AND INNOVATION IN EACH STUDENT AND FOSTER A SENSE OF BELONGING IN A SAFE AND INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT THAT EMPHASIZES CARING AND COMPASSION, PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THEIR FUTURE. TO FAITHFULLY EXECUTE THAT PURPOSE, THE BOARD NEEDS TO HEAR AND DISCUSS A WIDE ARRAY OF OPINIONS ON EACH ISSUE. THAT PROCESS IS BEST SERVED WHEN WE... WHEN ALL INCLUDED, FOCUS ON THE ISSUES RATHER THAN THE PERSONALITIES. A COUPLE OF QUICK HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS FOR THOSE THAT MIGHT BE NEW. IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY, THE SAME DOOR THAT YOU ENTERED IS THE EXIT OUT OF THIS MEETING HALL. IF YOU NEED TO USE THE RESTROOMS, OUT THE DOOR, UP THE RAMP, AND TO YOUR LEFT, YOU'LL FIND THEM. WITH THOSE HOUSEKEEPING MATTERS OUT AND TAKEN CARE OF, IF YOU WILL ALL PLEASE JOIN ME AS WE START THE MEETING WITH 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 NEXT, WE'LL HAVE THE LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, AND FOR THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MARCUS. WE, THE FERNDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT. ACKNOWLEDGE WE ARE RESIDING ON THE TRADITIONAL, ANCESTRAL, AND UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE LUMMI PEOPLE. THE LUMMI PEOPLE ARE THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF WASHINGTON'S NORTHERNMOST COAST AND SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA. THEY LIVED IN VILLAGES THROUGHOUT THIS TERRITORY AND CONTINUE TO HAVE AN ONGOING RELATIONSHIP WITH THESE AREAS. SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL, THEY HAVE CELEBRATED LIFE ON THEIR WATERWAYS AND ON THE TRADITIONAL, ANCESTRAL, AND UNCEDED LANDS OF THEIR PEOPLE TO PERPETUATE THEIR WAY OF LIFE. WE HONOR THEIR ANCESTORS AS WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE LEMMING PEOPLE AS ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF THIS LAND. THANK YOU. THAT BRINGS US ON [2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES] TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING. AT THIS TIME, THE FLOOR IS OPEN FOR ANY CORRECTIONS, REVISIONS, OR A MOTION TO ADOPT THE MINUTES. SEEING AND HEARING NO REVISIONS, THE CHAIR WILL PUT FORTH THAT WE ADOPT THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? OKAY. THE MINUTES HAVE BEEN ADOPTED, [3. ADOPTION OF AGENDA [GC-4.7]] WHICH THEN TAKES US ON TO ADOPTING THE AGENDA FOR TONIGHT'S MEETING. ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR REVISIONS THAT NEED TO BE MADE IN THE AGENDA? OKAY. SEEING AND HEARING NO REVISIONS BEING PUT FORTH, THE CHAIR WILL PUT FORTH THAT WE ADOPT THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? OKAY. WE, THEREFORE, HAVE ADOPTED THE AGENDA, [4. PUBLIC COMMENT [GC-3.3]] AND WE WILL MOVE ON. FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS, THEN, IS TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT. AS YOU'RE AWARE, PUBLIC COMMENT IS A TIME WHEN THE BOARD CAN HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY WHAT IS ON THEIR MIND AND IS IMPORTANT TO THEM, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. WE APPRECIATE RESPECTFUL, CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AND WELCOME SUGGESTIONS FOR SOLUTIONS. PUBLIC COMMENT IS NOT A TIME FOR DISCUSSION. IT IS A TIME FOR THE BOARD TO LISTEN. BOARD MEMBERS MAY INTERJECT TO ASK CLARIFYING QUESTIONS AND OR MAY DIRECT SOMEONE, MOST OFTEN THE SUPERINTENDENT, TO TAKE FUTURE ACTION. RELATED TO THE STATEMENTS, BUT AGAIN, IT IS NOT A TIME FOR DISCUSSION. OUR SILENCE IS NOT A SIGNAL OF AGREEMENT OR DISAGREEMENT, BUT MEANT SO WE CAN RESPECTFULLY HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY. PUBLIC COMMENT IS NOT THE ONLY WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE BOARD. THOSE THAT ARE NOT COMFORTABLE SPEAKING IN FRONT OF A GROUP ARE CERTAINLY WELCOME TO CONTACT THE BOARD VIA PHONE OR EMAIL, [00:05:01] WHICHEVER THEY PREFER. WE ROUTINELY HEAR FROM A NUMBER OF DISTRICT STAKEHOLDERS EACH MONTH AND ASSIMILATE A WIDE RANGE OF INPUT ON DISTRICT ISSUES. WE APPRECIATE HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY AND INVITE THEM TO USE WHATEVER MODE OF COMMUNICATION THEY FEEL MOST COMFORTABLE WITH. OUR CONTACT INFORMATION IS READILY AVAILABLE ON THE DISTRICT WEBSITE. SO TO THOSE THAT WANT TO SPEAK, WE ASK TO SIGN UP ON THE SIGN-UP SHEET THAT WAS IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM, AND IT LOOKS LIKE TONIGHT DOM FAHM IS OUR FIRST SPEAKER, SO I'LL INVITE HIM TO THE PODIUM. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS DAN PHAM. I IDENTIFY AS A FERNDALE RESIDENT. MY FOCUS TONIGHT IS THE ROLE OF TEACHERS' UNIONS, A BROADER ISSUE THAT AFFECTS NOT JUST THIS DISTRICT, BUT PUBLIC EDUCATION AS A WHOLE. A RECENT ARTICLE TITLED, IS THE END OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS IN SIGHT? ARGUES THAT THERE IS A GROWING DISCONNECT BETWEEN TEACHERS' UNIONS AND THE PUBLIC, AS WELL AS THE EDUCATORS THEY CLAIM TO REPRESENT. THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS REPRESENTS ABOUT 1.8 MILLION MEMBERS. HOWEVER, ITS ACTIVITIES CONCENTRATE MORE ON POLITICAL ADVOCACY THAN ON EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES. THIS POLITICAL ACTIVISM BRINGS UP A FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION. WHAT SHOULD THE PRIMARY ROLE OF A TEACHER'S UNION BE? IN THEORY, UNIONS EXIST TO SUPPORT TEACHERS, IMPROVE WORKING CONDITIONS, AND ULTIMATELY BENEFITS STUDENTS. BUT IN PRACTICE, BIG UNIONS HAVE INCREASINGLY PRIORITIZED POLITICAL AGENDAS, OFTEN UNRELATED TO CORE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. THESE ACTIVITIES RISK DIVERTING TIME, ATTENTION, AND RESOURCES FROM FUNDAMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES, WHETHER THEY INVOLVE LOBBYING, PUBLIC PROTESTS, OR CAMPAIGNING ON CONTENTIOUS SOCIAL ISSUES. WE ALSO NEED TO CONSIDER OTHER NEGATIVE IMPACTS. FOR INSTANCE, STRIKES SUPPORTED BY TEACHERS' UNIONS HAVE RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF INSTRUCTIONAL TIME. ACCORDING TO DATA CITED IN THE ARTICLE, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF EMPLOYEES HAVE PARTICIPATED IN STRIKES OVER THE PAST DECADE, RESULTING IN NEARLY FOUR SCHOOL YEARS OF LOST CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION NATIONWIDE. AT THE SAME TIME, THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE HAS SHIFTED. IN 2018, THE SUPREME COURT'S JANUS DECISION GAVE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES... A CHOICE NOT TO SUPPORT UNIONS FINANCIALLY. SINCE THEN, UNION MEMBERSHIP HAS DECLINED, SUGGESTING THAT A SIZABLE NUMBER OF EDUCATORS NO LONGER FEEL ADEQUATELY REPRESENTED. IN RESPONSE, ALTERNATIVE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE EMERGED, GROUPS THAT FOCUS MORE DIRECTLY ON PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT, CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, AND ACADEMIC FUNDAMENTALS. THIS SHIFT REFLECTS A BROADER TREND. EDUCATORS AND FAMILIES ARE INCREASINGLY QUESTIONING WHETHER EXISTING INSTITUTIONS ARE ALIGNED WITH THEIR PRIORITIES. SO THE ISSUE BEFORE US CAN BE CONDENSED INTO THESE SIMPLE QUESTIONS. ARE THE SYSTEMS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT INFLUENCE PUBLIC EDUCATION PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON STUDENT OUTCOMES, OR ARE THEY INCREASINGLY DRIVEN BY EXTERNAL PRIORITIES? AS WE CONSIDER POLICY, FUNDING, AND GOVERNANCE DECISIONS AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL, THAT IS A QUESTION WORTH ASKING BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THE SUCCESS OF OUR SCHOOLS SHOULD BE MEASURED NOT BY POLITICAL ACTIVITY, BUT BY HOW WELL STUDENTS ARE LEARNING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, DOM. SO DOM WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT HAD SIGNED UP FOR THIS EVENING. AGAIN, JUST BECAUSE PUBLIC COMMENT TIME IS OVER DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE ARE UNAVAILABLE FOR THOSE COMMENTS. WE ENCOURAGE THE THE PUBLIC TO GET A HOLD OF US AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING AT ANY TIME AND BY WHATEVER MEANS IS MOST APPROPRIATE FOR YOU. SO WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE ON [5. SHARING [GC-7.E.]] TO ITEM 5.01, WHICH IS SUPERINTENDENT SHARING, AND I WILL TURN THINGS OVER TO CHRISTY. HELLO, EVERYONE. IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU. I'M LOVING THE WEATHER. I'M GOING TO LET SELENA PULL UP MY POWERPOINT. [00:10:03] AND YOU KNOW WHAT, NANCY, DO YOU WANT TO USE MINE? AND THEN BRIAN CAN TAKE YOURS AND WORK ON IT. SO I JUST WANT TO LET THE BOARD KNOW THAT AS WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE SHARED WITH YOU IN THE PAST, WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT WAYS THAT WE CAN IMPROVE STUDENT OUTCOMES, BUT ALSO THOSE ITEMS THAT ARE COST SAVINGS. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE LOOKING CURRENTLY AT ALL OUR ONLINE PLATFORMS AND ASKING OURSELVES, YOU KNOW, ARE WE GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THOSE? ARE THERE WAYS WE CAN REDUCE? I'VE LOVED THE CONVERSATION, AND I'VE HAD IT WITH MULTIPLE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, THAT IDEA OF MAYBE LESS TECH TIME. SO IF WE'RE NEEDING LESS TECHNOLOGY TIME, THEN ARE THERE SOME WAYS THAT WE CAN BE DOING SOME COST SAVINGS AROUND OUR TECHNOLOGY PURCHASES? SO JUST MORE TO COME. I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE DOING THOSE DEEP DIVES, AND MORE CONVERSATIONS WILL BE HAPPENING. BUT I'M EXCITED ABOUT IT, ESPECIALLY. AFTER WATCHING WHAT HAPPENED AFTER REDUCING CELL PHONE USE, AND I THINK PEOPLE KIND OF GOT THE BUG A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT FELT GREAT TO HAVE CONNECTIONS. THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO REINSTATE. SO HOW DO WE KEEP EXPLORING THAT ROUTE? SO, OH, YEAH, THE ONE OF THOSE EXAMPLES IS THAT SELENA EMAILED YOU THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING A WEBSITE TRANSFORMATION. SO WE NEEDED TO... UPDATE OUR WEBSITE, GET SOME MORE EFFICIENCIES WITH THAT, IN THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SAVE SOME MONEY. SO PARENTSQUARE IS GOING TO ACTUALLY NOT JUST BE A COMMUNICATION TOOL. IT'S ALSO GOING TO BE OUR MAIN WEB PAGE. AND, SELENA, WHEN DOES THAT LAUNCH? WHEN CAN THE PUBLIC EXPECT TO SEE THE PLATFORM CHANGE? JUNE 17TH. SO OUR TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING HARD ON THE BACK END OVER THE LAST MONTH TO MIGRATE THE CONTENT INTERNALLY. ACTUALLY, OUR DEADLINE IS THIS THURSDAY. AND THEN THE PARENTSQUARE TEAM WILL BEGIN BUILDING THE NEW ONE AND THEN CLEANING IT UP OVER THE NEXT MONTH. AND SO WE DO EXPECT IT TO LAUNCH JUNE 17TH. I SHARED THIS WITH THE BOARD. I DON'T HAVE THE DETAILS IN FRONT OF ME, BUT ONE OF THE BIGGEST REASONS WAS BECAUSE OF THE COST SAVINGS. SO OUR CONTRACT WITH OUR CURRENT PROVIDER WAS ENDING THIS SCHOOL YEAR. AND TO SWITCH OVER TO PARENTSQUARE WILL BE SAVING US ABOUT $5,000 TO $7,000 OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, A YEAR. QUESTION? YEAH. SELENA, WILL IT AFFECT BRANDING? I MEAN, WILL THE OVERALL LOOK OF THE WEBSITE KIND OF MORE CHANGE KIND OF INTO THE WHOLE YOU BELONG TYPE BRANDING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING? YES. SO THE GUIDANCE WE'VE PROVIDED THE PARENTSQUARE TEAM IS TO FOLLOW OUR STRATEGIC PLAN BRANDING SO THAT IT ALL JUST BECOMES FAMILIAR TO OUR COMMUNITY. SO IT'S THAT CONSTANT CONVERSATION OF HOW DO WE INCREASE QUALITY AND AT THE SAME TIME BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE. SO WHILE $5,000 DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A LOT, IT ADDS UP. $5,000 HERE, $5,000 THERE. IT STARTS TO PUT THINGS BACK INTO CLASSROOMS. YEP, PEGGY? SO I'VE WONDERED ABOUT BOARDDOCS. DO WE HAVE OTHER SOFTWARE THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO WHAT BOARDDOCS DOES? YOU KNOW WHAT? THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION, PEGGY. BOARDDOCS AND I. WE'RE CONTINUING TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS AROUND THAT. CHRIS, I THINK, ALMOST QUITE OFTEN IS HAVING CONVERSATIONS AND NOT JUST WITH BOARDDOCS BUT WITH OTHER DISTRICTS THAT ARE USING BOARDDOCS AND THEN THE ONE PIECE AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT IS MAKING SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO DO THE VIDEO LIVE FEED SO WHATEVER WE DO THAT WE DON'T CHANGE THE QUALITY OF COMMUNICATION. WITH OUR PUBLIC. SO I THINK I'VE SHARED THIS WITH YOU BEFORE. I'M ALWAYS SO, ACTUALLY, I LOVE IT, HOW MANY PEOPLE WATCH OUR MEETINGS LIVE AND THE RECORDINGS, BUT NOT ALL PLATFORMS ALLOW THAT FEATURE. SO WE'D WANT TO MAKE SURE. SO LOTS OF QUESTIONS, BUT YES, WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS. CHRIS, ANYTHING YOU WOULD ADD THERE? HOW'D I DO? OKAY. I JUST WANT TO SHOUT OUT PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW, BUT EVERY SINGLE, JUST ABOUT EVERY MONTH, THERE IS A TEAM THAT MEETS WITH THE DIFFERENT LABOR GROUPS. AND I AM CONTINUALLY GRATEFUL. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT TODAY IN EXEC TEAM ABOUT WHAT AN AMAZING GROUP OF LABOR LEADERS WE HAVE. AND I JUST THINK, YOU KNOW, [00:15:01] THAT'S A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY THOSE FOLKS GIVE TO REPRESENT. THE DIFFERENT BODIES OF WORK THAT ARE HAPPENING ACROSS OUR ORGANIZATION AND I THINK AS A BOARD WE SHOULD FEEL INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL FOR THE STAFF THAT WE HAVE HERE IN FERNDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE TIME AND ENERGY THEY GIVE SO I JUST WANT TO DO THAT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THIS EVENING THE FFA PLANT SALE IS HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND, AND I'M SO EXCITED. AND THIS YEAR, THEY ARE ADDING YARD ART. SO WE HAVE HAD STUDENTS IN OUR WELDING PROGRAMS MAKING YARD ART. BUT I CANNOT SAY IT ENOUGH. THE QUALITY OF THE PLANTS IS AMAZING. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS AMAZING. I LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT GARDENING EVERY YEAR FROM OUR STUDENTS. SO I'M VERY EXCITED, AND I HOPE OUR PUBLIC COMES OUT, BECAUSE THIS IS MONEY... THAT GOES RIGHT BACK INTO OUR PROGRAMS AND OUR STUDENTS SHOULD FEEL SO INCREDIBLY PROUD BY THE WORK THAT THEY HAVE BEEN DOING IN PREPARATION AND THERE ARE PLENTY OF MARIGOLDS FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND. SO LUMMI EDUCATION BOARD, IF YOU REMEMBER WHEN WE HAD OUR MEETING WITH THEM EARLIER THIS YEAR, THEY WERE LOOKING TO ADD SOME MEMBERS TO THEIR BOARD, DOING SOME TRANSFORMATION WITH THE BOARD. THEY HAVE VOTED ON THREE NEW MEMBERS, AND SO I'M HOPING THAT WE'LL GET TO MEET ALL THREE OF THEM IN THE FUTURE. BUT ONE OF THEM IN PARTICULAR THAT I WANT TO SHOUT OUT IS OUR VERY OWN MIA OWINGS HAS JOINED THE LUMMI EDUCATION BOARD. AND SO SHE IS GOING TO BE REPRESENTING THE NATION IN THAT WAY AS A BOARD MEMBER, BUT ALSO IT'S JUST BEEN A BLESSING TO HAVE THAT LIAISON AS SOMEONE WHO'S IN OUR SCHOOL. SCHOOLS AND SUCH AN INCREDIBLY STRONG ADVOCATE, AND ALL OF THEM ARE. I JUST, WHAT AN INCREDIBLE BOARD OF LEADERS WHO ARE CARING CONSISTENTLY ABOUT THE EDUCATION OF OUR STUDENTS. SO, AND OUR STUDENT BOARD REPRESENTATIVE PROCESS, EVEN THOUGH HARLEEN WILL PROBABLY BE ZOOMING IN FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, WE WILL ALSO, WE WILL ALSO, IT'S TIME TO START. I BELIEVE THE APPLICATIONS WENT OUT, AND SO NEXT MONTH WE WILL BE INTERVIEWING FOR A NEW BOARD REP, AS WE WISH HARLEEN FAREWELL NEXT MONTH WILL BE HER LAST MEETING. AND MARCUS, YOU ARE READY TO TRAIN UP A NEW PERSON, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN OUT TALKING TO STUDENTS. I'M SURE THEY'LL TALK ABOUT IT, BUT I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT PROCESS IS GOING, AND WE WILL STAY TUNED FOR TIMES BECAUSE THEY'LL HAPPEN BEFORE THE MEETING. IF YOU REMEMBER, WE HAVE TIME BEFORE FOR YOU TO INTERVIEW THOSE BOARD REPRESENTATIVES. AND I KNOW THESE TWO AMAZING STUDENTS ARE OUT THERE TALKING IT UP. WE HAVE SOME UPCOMING EVENTS. WE HAVE THE RETIREMENT CELEBRATION IS MAY 6TH. SO NEXT WEEK, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE ANY BOARD MEMBERS COME WHO ARE ABLE TO SHOW UP. SELENA, WHAT'S THE TIME OF THAT? 6 P.M. I LOVE THIS CELEBRATION. YOU KNOW, TEACHING, WHETHER YOU ARE TEACHING ON THE BUS OR YOU'RE TEACHING ON THE PLAYGROUND OR YOU'RE TEACHING IN A CAFETERIA OR YOU'RE TEACHING IN A CLASSROOM, WHEREVER YOU ARE PROVIDING AN EDUCATION TO OUR STUDENTS, IT IS A TRUE CALLING. AND THERE ARE SOME INCREDIBLE JOYS AND HEARTACHES THAT COME WITH EDUCATION. AS YOU POUR EVERY PART OF WHO YOU ARE INTO THAT JOB. AND SO I LOVE THIS RETIREMENT CELEBRATION BECAUSE WE GET TO THANK PEOPLE WHO HAVE DEDICATED THEIR LIVES HERE IN FERNDALE TO HELP OUR STUDENTS. SO LOVE TO HAVE YOU COME. BRIAN, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YEAH. DO YOU THINK WE COULD GET A CALENDAR? YOU BET. YEAH, WE CAN DO THAT. WHERE IS IT? IT'S RIGHT HERE. YEAH. WE TRANSFORMED THIS ROOM. SO STAY TUNED. TK KINDER OPEN HOUSE IS COMING MAY 14TH. AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME, I MEAN, I KNOW, I'M AN EARLY LEARNING PERSON, SO I LOVE THIS NIGHT. I LOVE THIS NIGHT SO MUCH BECAUSE IT'S NOT A WELCOME TO TK OR TO KINDERGARTEN. IT'S A WELCOME TO FERNDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT. AND THE JOY THAT OUR YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES EXPERIENCE THIS EVENING, THEY GET TO GO SEE THE SCHOOL, THEY GET TO MEET NEW TEACHERS, THEY GET TO MEET STAFF. AND FOR SOME OF OUR FAMILIES, IT MIGHT BE THEIR... LAST KINDER TO COME THROUGH OR IT MAY BE THEIR VERY FIRST. IT'S JUST A NIGHT OF PURE JOY. SO I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE ANY OF YOU AND IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THAT, JUST LET CHRIS KNOW AND SHE WILL LET THE SCHOOL OF YOUR CHOICE KNOW AND YOU CAN GO OUT AND SPEND TIME. AND THEN MAY 27TH IS THE [00:20:01] SENIOR SCHOLARSHIP NIGHT. I KNOW THAT THEY LOVE TO HAVE BOARD MEMBERS THERE. I'LL BE THERE AS WELL. IT'S AN INCREDIBLE CELEBRATION AND I JUST CAN'T HELP BUT I FEEL A LOT OF PRIDE ABOUT ALL OF THE THINGS THAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE ACCOMPLISHED, AND IT'S A NICE WAY TO HONOR SOME OF OUR SPECIAL SENIORS. OKAY, I'M GOING TO PASS IT OFF. OKAY, THANK YOU. THAT WAS A VERY GOOD INTRODUCTION BY DR. DOMINGUEZ. BUT, YES, I'M HAVING MY LAST MEETING NEXT MONTH, YOU GUYS. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT BECAUSE I'M GOING TO GET EMOTIONAL. BUT, YEAH, SO MARCUS AND I, THIS MONTH, OUR FOCUS WAS MAKING SURE EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT THE APPLICATIONS. WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU GUYS A GOOD VARIETY, AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BIG TURNOUT. OKAY, I'M. CROSSING MY FINGERS, KNOCK ON WOOD, BUT I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BIG TURNOUT BECAUSE ALL OF THE KIDS WERE REALLY ENGAGED. WE WENT INTO ALL OF THE SOPHOMORE HISTORY CLASSES AND WE SPOKE TO THEM FOR ABOUT LIKE FIVE, TEN MINUTES AT THE BEGINNING OF THEIR CLASS AND KIND OF EXPLAINED WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A BOARD MEMBER, SOME OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU RECEIVE, AND JUST LIKE THE RESPONSIBILITIES AND KIND OF HOW TO APPLY. AND A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE VERY ENGAGED IN THE CONVERSATION AND HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND WERE VERY INTERESTED. AND SO I'M EXCITED FOR YOU GUYS NEXT MONTH. MARCUS AND I ARE GOING TO BE THERE DURING THE INTERVIEWS TO JUST WATCH AND, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT ALL OF THE STUDENTS. BUT YEAH, THAT'S KIND OF BEEN OUR FOCUS THIS MONTH IS WORKING ON THAT. SO LET ME THINK ANYTHING ELSE I GOT TO SAY, MARCUS IS GOING TO GIVE AN OVERALL UPDATE ABOUT THE SCHOOLS, BUT I THINK THAT'S ALL. YEAH, SO WE WENT ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY OF LAST WEEK, ACTUALLY, AND THERE WERE LIKE AROUND, I THINK, TEN CLASSES, THERE WERE SOME PERIODS WHERE HARLEEN AND I HAD TO ACTUALLY SPLIT UP BECAUSE THEY WERE LIKE, OH, WE HAVE TWO HISTORY CLASSES THIS YEAR THAT WE NEED TO GO TO. SO WE'RE LIKE, WE'VE GOT TO DIVIDE AND CONQUER. SO I HOPE THAT WE HAVE AN AMAZING TURNOUT. I'VE ALREADY HEARD FROM A LOT OF STUDENTS ABOUT LIKE, THEY'VE BEEN LIKE ASKING ME QUESTIONS LIKE OUTSIDE OF CLASS, AND THEY'VE BEEN LIKE, OH, LIKE, IS IT LIKE SCARY? AND I WAS LIKE, NO, LIKE, JUST COME DO IT. LIKE, I PROMISE YOU IT'S NOT THAT SCARY, EVEN THOUGH I WAS KIND OF TERRIFIED WHEN I INTERVIEWED. SO A LITTLE BIT OF FALSE HOPE, BUT THEY CAN HANDLE IT. BUT WE'VE RECENTLY, SO THERE'S ACTUALLY A LOT THAT'S HAPPENED. WE HAD PROM THIS LAST WEEKEND, AND SHOUT OUT TO MR. MACHADO FOR DJING. IT WAS AMAZING, THE DANCE WAS AMAZING, I DON'T THINK WE HAD ANY PROBLEMS, AND I HAD A LOT OF FUN. I WENT AND TOOK PICTURES IN SEMIYAMU WITH A GROUP OF MY FRIENDS, AND IT WAS JUST AN AMAZING TIME. WHICH ALSO CAN I NOTE, I'VE ACTUALLY HEARD FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE, THEY LOVE THE MUSIC. WE'VE ALSO HAD STATE TESTING FOR I THINK ALL OF THE SCHOOLS IN OUR DISTRICT. SO I KNOW THIS YEAR I TOOK THE SCIENCE S-BAC AND I ACTUALLY FINISHED THAT LIKE LAST THURSDAY. IT WASN'T TOO BAD, IT WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY NICE. AND I KNOW MY SISTER. MY LITTLE SISTER, SHE'S A FOURTH GRADER AT SKYLINE. SHE CAME HOME TODAY AND SHE WAS LIKE, MOM, I JUST GOT DONE WITH TESTING. AND I WAS LIKE, OH MY GOSH, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU. AND SHE WAS LIKE, YEAH, I HAVE ANOTHER ONE. AND I WAS LIKE, OH. I REMEMBER THE TIMES WHEN I WAS LIKE, THAT WAS LIKE A REALLY BIG FOCUS. BUT WE ALSO HAVE AP TESTING COMING UP THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF MAY. AND I'M TAKING TWO OF THEM. I'M KIND OF SCARED, I'M NOT GOING TO LIE. BUT THAT'S HAPPENING. WE ALSO HAVE... OH, THIS WEEK IS OUR CINCO DE MAYO SPIRIT WEEK, WHICH IS HOSTED BY OUR LIA. SO IT'S JUST A WAY FOR LIKE, COINCIDENTALLY, ACTUALLY, IT'S JUST A WAY TO LIKE BOOST STUDENT MORALE, ESPECIALLY DURING LIKE TESTING WEEK. I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE GET STRESSED. SO WE HAVE AN ASSEMBLY THIS FRIDAY TO CELEBRATE THAT. AND THAT'S THROWN BY OUR HIGH SCHOOL LIA. AND THEY DO A LOT FOR OUR SCHOOL TOO. SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE THEM. OH, SPRING SPORTS GOING PRETTY GOOD. I KNOW. I CHECKED AND OUR SOFTBALL TEAM'S LIKE, I THINK THE NUMBER ONE TEAM IN OUR CONFERENCE RIGHT NOW. SO GO THEM. WHAT'S IT CALLED? I THINK THAT THE SEASON'S ENDING SOON FOR LIKE, JUST LIKE NORMAL SEASON. SO I THINK DISTRICTS AND SUB-DISTRICTS ARE STARTING UP ALSO THE FIRST WEEK OF MAY, KIND OF LIKE THAT. AND THEN GRADUATION, I THINK WE FINALLY GOT A DEAL ON THAT, WHICH IS JUNE 5TH. SO THAT'LL BE FUN. IT'S VERY SAD. I HAVE A LOT OF FRIENDS THAT ARE SENIORS, SO IT'LL BE SAD TO SEE THEM GO, BUT I'M ALSO ALSO READY FOR SENIOR YEAR. AND, YEAH, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH ALL I HAVE TO SHARE. ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE STUDENTS OR CHRISTY? [00:25:06] OKAY. [6. UPDATES] THEN WE WILL MOVE ON TO THAT MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR, HOLLY AND THE BUDGET. I HAVE A FAIRLY QUICK UPDATE. WHILE THERE'S A LOT OF WORK HAPPENING KIND OF BEHIND THE SCENES, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF UPDATES FOR YOU. SO THIS SHOULD GO PRETTY QUICK. SO WHAT WE'VE DONE, AND SINCE THE LAST TIME WE MET, WE'VE COMPLETED THE F-203, WHICH IS THE ESTIMATE OF STATE REVENUES. THE CERT STAFF WHO ARE BEING REDUCED NEXT YEAR HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. HR IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON NEXT YEAR'S STAFFING. IT'S KIND OF A PROCESS WHERE THEY ROLL FORWARD THIS YEAR'S AND THEN JUST KIND OF WORK ON THE CHANGES WITHIN THE STAFFING. SO IT'S A VERY BIG PROJECT. SO THERE'S SOME PEOPLE WORKING ON THAT, AND IT'S JUST A LOT OF WORK HAPPENING. THE ASBS IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS, SO BOTH MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND THE HIGH SCHOOL, ARE WORKING ON THEIR BUDGETS. THE STUDENTS ASSIST WITH THAT, AND THEN THEY APPROVE IT. THEIR BOARDS APPROVE THAT BEFORE IT GETS SUBMITTED TO THE BUSINESS OFFICE. AND THEN THE OTHER FUNDS, THE CAPITAL PROJECT FUND, DEBT SERVICE FUND, AND THE TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE FUND, I'M WORKING ON THOSE BUDGETS, TOO, THE REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES FOR THOSE. SO THAT'S ALL KIND OF IN PROCESS. FUND BALANCE FOR THE GENERAL FUND, WE'RE UP TO $4.3 MILLION AT THE END OF MARCH. 4% OF OUR BUDGET EXPENDITURES IS OUR FUND BALANCE POLICY, AND THAT'S $3.7 MILLION, SO WE'RE NICELY ABOVE IT. AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO BE VERY FRUGAL AND JUST WATCH OUR SPENDING. HERE'S A GRAPHIC OF WHERE OUR FUND BALANCE IS RIGHT NOW. WE'RE AT THAT GREEN, SO WE KIND OF TIPPED ABOVE WHERE WE WERE IN 23-24. WE MANAGED TO STAY ABOVE THAT RED LINE, WHICH IS GREAT. OUR PROJECTION FOR FUND BALANCE FOR THE END OF THE YEAR, THIS IS OUR BEST GUESS ESTIMATE. HERE WE ARE, SO WE'RE KIND OF RIGHT A TINY BIT ABOVE WHERE WE THOUGHT WE'D BE. AND I HAVE BEEN COMMUNICATING WITH THE COUNTY TREASURER, AND OUR LEVY COLLECTION IS COMING IN JUST AS PREDICTED. HOPING IT WOULD BE AROUND $5.5 MILLION FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL. I HAD TO THINK ABOUT WHAT MONTH IT IS. AND WE'RE RIGHT THERE. THIS MORNING WE WERE $5.2 MILLION SO FAR, AND THERE'S ALWAYS SOME THAT COMES IN RIGHT AT THE LAST MINUTE. SO THAT'S LOOKING GOOD. AND THEN OUR AUDIT IS ALL THE SUBSTANTIVE WORK IS COMPLETE. THE TENTATIVE EXIT CONFERENCE HAS BEEN SCHEDULED FOR THE 13TH OF MAY, AND SAO WILL REACH OUT TO ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS AND INVITE YOU. IF MORE THAN THREE OF YOU COME, IT'S A QUORUM, SO IT'S BEST IF JUST TWO COME. OTHERWISE, IT HAS TO BE AN OPEN PUBLIC MEETING. SO IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON ATTENDING, PROBABLY JUST WORK WITH CHRIS AND MAKE SURE WE KNOW WHO'S COMING. AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE. ANY QUESTIONS? NO QUESTION, JUST A COMPLIMENT. I LOVE THAT GREEN LINE HOVERING ABOVE. OUR MINIMUM FUND BALANCE, ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS. I'M RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. THANK YOU. AND THANKS TO BRIAN'S SUGGESTION THAT SHE KEEP THE DOTTED LINE OF THE PROJECTION. SHE'S DOING PRETTY GOOD ON THAT ONE TOO. SO THANK YOU, HOLLY, AND THANK YOU TO YOUR TEAM. WE APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK YOU'RE DOING AND EVERYBODY'S WORK BEING FRUGAL AND FINDING WAYS TO SAVE. SO THANK YOU. OKAY. THAT THEN BRINGS US TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE. I HAVE THE MOST BORING JOB OF ANYBODY, AND I'M JUST GOING TO SAY, I'VE BEEN THERE, LOOKED AT IT, DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING. SO, NO, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. IT'S GOING TO SCARE ME THE DAY THAT YOU COME TO THE MEETING SAYING, I'VE GOT EXCITING NEWS. I DON'T THINK THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT. GOOD DEAL. OKAY. THEN I WILL TURN THINGS OVER TO NANCY FOR THE LEGISLATIVE REPORT. BEFORE SHE GETS STARTED, THOUGH, I JUST WANTED TO LET THE BOARD KNOW THAT I DID SEND THE EMAIL THAT WE DISCUSSED AT OUR LAST MEETING TO SENATOR SHOEMAKE AND REPRESENTATIVES RULE AND TIMMONS, THANKING THEM FOR THEIR EFFORTS ON BEHALF OF EDUCATIONAL FUNDING DURING THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION. SO THAT HAS BEEN DONE. THANK YOU, KEVIN. AND THAT IS A PERFECT SEGUE BECAUSE ONE OF THE... THINGS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WHEN I WENT DOWN TO ARLINGTON FOR THE REGIONAL BOARD, THE DA REGIONAL, DA1 REGIONAL MEETING. SO FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T SURE WHAT THAT MEANS, DISTRICT AREAS, THERE ARE 11 OF THEM [00:30:01] IN WASHINGTON STATE, AND OUR DISTRICT AREA IS UP HERE IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER. SO WE MET IN ARLINGTON, AND I DISCOVERED THAT... SOMETIMES WHOLE BOARDS GO TO THEM, EVEN WITH THEIR SUPERINTENDENTS. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A ONE-PERSON THING. THIS IS MY THIRD TIME GOING. I SHOULD HAVE FIGURED THAT OUT LONG BEFORE NOW. BUT IT'S A COST-SAVING MEASURE TO JUST SEND ONE PERSON, SO IT'S PROBABLY BEST THAT WAY ANYWAY. SO ANYWAY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT IS IN THIS NON-LEGISLATIVE SEASON NOW, NOW THAT THE LEGISLATURE IS OVER FOR THIS YEAR, NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS. SO WHAT DR. ERICKSON DID WAS GREAT, TO WRITE A LETTER TO THANK OUR LEGISLATORS. AND WE BOUNCED SOME OTHER IDEAS OF WHAT ARE OTHER WAYS THAT WE COULD REACH OUT TO OUR LEGISLATORS. SO WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT? INVITING THEM TO OUR GRADUATION. THOUGHTS? I'LL REACH OUT IF EVERYBODY'S OKAY WITH THAT. AND THEN, CHRISTY, I COULD TALK WITH YOU ABOUT WHERE WOULD THEY SIT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. LET'S SEE. WHAT ELSE HAPPENED WITH THAT? WE MEET MONTHLY AS LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVES. THEY'VE CHANGED IT FROM LEGISLATIVE NETWORK, LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVE NETWORK, TO WASDA ADVOCACY ACTION NETWORK. BUT THEY'RE THE SAME ZOOM MEETINGS. I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS A BETTER NAME. BUT ANYWAY, LET'S SEE. YEAH, PRETTY MUCH WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT WHAT TO DO IN THIS OFF-LEGISLATION SEASON. I HAD SENT OUT TO YOU WITH THE DO NOT WRITE BACK THING SO THAT I COULD GIVE YOU SOME OF THE PROPOSALS WHICH WE MIGHT CONSIDER SUPPORTING OR YOU COULD JUST LET ME KNOW WHICH WAY YOU WOULD PREFER THAT AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY I VOTE EITHER FOR OR AGAINST ANY OF THEM. MY COMPUTERS NOT WORKING NOW, SO IT'S OVER THERE, SO I DON'T HAVE THOSE IN FRONT OF ME LIKE I WAS PLANNING. ANYWAY, DID ANYBODY READ THE DIFFERENT PROPOSALS? DID YOU READ THEM? OKAY. LET ME PULL THEM UP. UNDER 30. IT TAKES A VILLAGE. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO THE FIRST SEVERAL, I THINK THERE WERE FIVE OF THEM, THAT FIRST OF ALL, KEVIN ASKED A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. WHERE DID THESE COME FROM? DID YOU WRITE THESE? WELL, ACTUALLY, NO. I NETWORK WITH OTHER BOARD DIRECTORS THROUGHOUT WASHINGTON STATE. AND WE TALK ON ZOOM TOGETHER, AND THESE PARTICULAR ONES CAME FROM TRISH HUDDLESTON OF WOODLAND, AND SHE IS BRINGING THEM TO HER BOARD. AND, OKAY, I GOT IT. ANYWAY, SHE'S BRINGING THEM [00:35:03] TO HER BOARD, HOPING THAT THEY WILL SUPPORT, AND SHE THINKS THAT THEY PROBABLY WILL. SEVERAL OF THEM ARE. TO RETIRE BECAUSE THERE ARE OVER 225. IT WAS 225 LAST YEAR, AND NOW THERE'S MORE. SO PROPOSALS, ACTUALLY, THEY ARE NOT PROPOSALS. IF THEY ARE ACCEPTED, THEY ARE POSITIONS, AND THEY'RE EITHER LEGISLATIVE POSITIONS OR PERMANENT POSITIONS. AND WE HAVE MORE POSITIONS THAN ANY OTHER STATE IN THE UNION. AND SO SHE TOOK THE TIME TO GO THROUGH SOME AND FIND ONES WHICH HAVE REALLY GOOD REASONS TO GET RID OF THEM, LIKE LONG-RANGE FACILITIES PLANNING. SHE WANTS TO RETIRE THAT ONE, AND I AGREE WITH HER. I WOULDN'T HAVE BROUGHT THESE TO YOU. STATE LAW ALREADY REQUIRES LONG-RANGE CAPITAL FACILITIES PLANNING, ENSURING ADEQUACY IS NOT MANDATED AND IS OUTSIDE OF THE CONTROL OF SCHOOL BOARDS ALONE. THIS POSITION IS THEREFORE MISLEADING AND UNNECESSARY. AND ALL FIVE OF THEM HAVE THAT SAME RATIONALE SO IF YOU UM IF YOU HAVE A COMMENT ABOUT THAT I'M OPEN ON EARS YEAH YEAH I GUESS MY COMMENT IS UM UH IN TERMS OF LETTING MOISA KNOW WHICH UM PROPOSALS THE BOARD STANDS BEHIND WHAT'S THE PROCESS FOR DOING THAT TELLING YOU DO WE HAVE TO VOTE ON IT JUST YOU JUST SAY WHETHER YOU SUPPORT IT OR NOT. I THINK IF WE GET THREE TO DO THAT, THEN WE JUST SUBMIT THEM. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M PERFECT. HERE'S THE UPSIDE OF SUPPORTING THEM WITH THE NAME OF OUR DISTRICT. THAT SHOWS THAT MORE THAN A FEW DISTRICTS OR MORE THAN ONE DISTRICT IS ASKING FOR THESE CHANGES IN THE PROPOSALS. AND SO THAT WOULD GIVE MORE WEIGHT TO. PEOPLE LOOKING AT THEM AND DECIDING WHETHER THEY THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE A THUMBS UP OR A THUMBS DOWN. BECAUSE AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ONE OF US, AND SO FAR IT'S ALWAYS BEEN ME AS A LEGISLATIVE REP, VOTES YAY OR NAY ON THEM. WE WILL ALL GET A CHANCE TO SEE THEM BEFOREHAND, THOUGH, AND BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THAT. GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS, I THINK, IN SEPTEMBER. SO THIS IS THE START OF A PROCESS OF MAKING THE POSITION CHANGES. SO IF WE WERE TO SAY, YEAH, LET'S SUPPORT THESE, THEN I CAN SUBMIT THEM AS JUST PUTTING FERNDALE'S NAME ON THEM, ADDING FERNDALE'S NAME. IF YOU WOULD RATHER NOT DO THAT, BUT YOU SAY VOTE THAT WAY, THEN I WOULD JUST VOTE THAT WAY. OR IF YOU THINK THAT... ANYWAY, SO YEAH, YOU'VE GOT SOME OPTIONS ON WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. YOU COULD JUST SAY, WELL, THERE REALLY IS ONLY TWO THINGS TO SAY. LET'S EITHER SUPPORT EACH INDIVIDUAL ONE OR SUPPORT ONE AND NOT ANOTHER. AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH TIME TO LOOK AT THOSE AND THINK ABOUT DOES IT MATTER TO YOU. YES. WELL, ISN'T THE DEADLINE LIKE MAY 1ST FOR GETTING THESE SUBMITTED? OH, I'M SORRY. YEAH. AND I THINK, YEAH. THAT'S WHY I WAS THINKING IF WE NEED TO MAKE A DECISION. IT'S ACTUALLY THE END OF APRIL, I THINK. YEAH. I THINK IT'S APRIL 30TH. OH, OKAY. SO THAT'S THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. SO IF YOU WANT TO HAVE ANY SAY ON IT, THEN YOU NEED TO TELL ME NOW. AND IF YOU DON'T, I LIKE THEM AND I WOULD VOTE FOR THEM, UNLESS YOU OBJECT. SO THERE WE GO. I'M IN AGREEMENT WITH WHAT NANCY FEELS ABOUT THIS. THANK YOU. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. SO NOW DO YOU WANT... ME TO SUBMIT THEM WITH FERNDALE ON THE NAME AS WELL, OR DO YOU WANT ME TO JUST VOTE ON THEM? I ONLY HAVE A QUESTION ON ONE OF THEM, WHICH IS THE ONE AT THE END ON CHANGING THE THRESHOLD FOR THE HIGHLY CAPABLE STUDENT FUNDING. OH, YES. I MEAN, WHILE I AGREE, I THINK STUDENTS SHOULD BE IDENTIFIED AND FUNDED. I'M JUST WONDERING HOW THAT'S GOING TO AFFECT. BUDGETS AND ALLOCATION OF MONEY IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IN TERMS OF, LIKE, SAY, SPECIAL EDUCATION. IT'S A SIMILAR SORT OF THING IN TERMS OF REQUIREMENTS PLACED ON DISTRICTS FOR IDENTIFYING AND WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR, JUSTIFYING. THE RATIONALE? YEAH, THAT'S THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE ON THAT IS, YOU KNOW, IS THERE LEGISLATION, [00:40:01] PROPOSED LEGISLATION ALREADY IN PLACE FOR CHANGING THIS? YEAH, OKAY, SO THAT ONE, FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT, IT'S AMENDING AN EXISTING POSITION, SO IT'S NOT A NEW POSITION. AND THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE IS EDUCATION AND FUNDING FOR GIFTED STUDENT PROGRAMS. WASDA SHALL INITIATE AND OR SUPPORT LEGISLATION WHICH WOULD ENSURE FUNDING FOR THE EDUCATION OF GIFTED STUDENTS AT A LEVEL OF 10% OF THE STUDENT POPULATION. PLACE THAT FUNDING WITHIN THE BASIC EDUCATION ALLOCATION SYSTEM. AND SET A MINIMUM NUMBER OF STUDENTS TO BE FUNDED IN SMALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS. OKAY, SO THAT IS HOW IT READS RIGHT NOW. OKAY, SO IT'S A LEGISLATIVE POSITION, CATEGORY LEARNING, WRITTEN OR ADOPTED IN 1987, AMENDED IN 2005. THEN THE AMENDED STATEMENT IS WASDA SHALL INITIATE AND SUPPORT LEGISLATION TO ENSURE FUNDING FOR THE EDUCATION OF GIFTED STUDENTS IDENTIFIED BY THE DISTRICT. SO BASICALLY IT TAKES OUT THE VERBIAGE THAT INCLUDES 10% AND IT ALLOWS THE DISTRICT TO DETERMINE THE PERCENTAGE. SO JUST FOR CLARIFICATION'S SAKE, DOES THE CURRENT LEGISLATION SAY THAT IT FUNDS IT AT 10%? IT DOESN'T. IT DOESN'T. OKAY. LOOKING AT TRINA. YEAH. THAT'S ABOVE MY PAY GRADE. I DON'T KNOW. YOU CONTRIBUTED THIS. OKAY. CAN I INTERRUPT FOR JUST A SECOND AND I THINK PROVIDE THE CLARIFICATION THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL? SO THESE ARE WASDA'S PROPOSALS OR POSITIONS. AND THE WAY IT WAS EXPLAINED TO ME, AND I THINK IT WAS DONE REAL WELL BY THE PERSON WHO DID IT WHEN THEY ORIGINALLY WERE, WHEN I WAS FIRST LEARNING ABOUT THEM, IS. DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, THINGS ARE HAPPENING FAST AND FURIOUS, AND WASDA'S LOBBYISTS DON'T HAVE TIME TO ALWAYS REACH OUT TO THE VARIOUS BOARDS TO GET INPUT. SO THEY LOOK AT THESE PROPOSALS OR THESE POLICIES AS, OKAY, WHAT HAS THE ASSEMBLY AGREED UPON? SO WHICH WAY DO WE LOBBY? IF THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A BILL SAYING, OKAY, WE WANT TO PROMOTE 5% FOR GIFTED EDUCATION, OR THAT'S WHAT THE BILL IS SAYING. HOW SHOULD WE LOBBY ON IT? WELL, THIS IS GOING TO BE THE PROPOSAL OR THE POLICY THAT THEY UTILIZE TO MAKE THEIR OPINION IF THEY DON'T HAVE TIME TO SURVEY ENOUGH BOARDS TO GET INPUT. OKAY, SO WOULD YOU PREFER ME TO SUBMIT THESE WITH OUR NAMES ON IT AS WELL, OR WOULD YOU PREFER ME TO JUST VOTE IN? FAVOR OF THEM. WHY CAN'T YOU DO BOTH? I COULD DO BOTH, BUT I WOULD NEED YOU TO APPROVE IT. WE'D NEED TO HAVE CONSENSUS ON THAT. AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE GOT, PEGGY, HOW ARE YOU FEELING AFTER THAT EXPLANATION, THAT ONE? SO IT SOUNDS LIKE I'M SEEING AGREEMENT IN ALL OF THEM, AND IF WE'RE AGREEING ALL AS A BOARD, UNLESS THERE'S ANY OBJECTION, I WOULD SAY YOU COULD PUT THEM DOWN AS FERNDALE BEING IN FAVOR OF. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY, GREAT. AWESOME. AN UPDATE ON, REMEMBER LAST YEAR WHEN WE SUBMITTED A PROPOSAL TO AMEND ABOUT PARENTS BEING THE PRIMARY VERSUS JUST IMPORTANT STAKEHOLDERS IN CHILDREN'S EDUCATION? THAT IS BEING BROUGHT BACK AGAIN, AND I WOULD HAVE STUCK IT ON HERE, BUT I JUST DIDN'T. IT'S A DIFFERENT SOURCE. BUT THAT WILL BE COMING UP AGAIN, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET ANOTHER SHOT. WAS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I WANTED TO TELL YOU? OH, YEAH. JUST BECAUSE THIS IS LOCAL AND LEGISLATIVE, SORT OF, I GUESS, TWO BOARD MEMBERS FROM BLAINE ARE RUNNING FOR HIGHER PUBLIC OFFICE. SO ERICA KREIT IS RUNNING FOR THE POSITION THAT WILL BE VACATED BY SHARON SHOEMAKE BECAUSE SHE'S CHOSEN NOT TO RUN. AND THEN RYAN SWINBURNSON WILL BE THROWING HIS HAT IN THE RING FOR A PROSECUTING ATTORNEY. SO I THINK THAT'S PRETTY COOL. AND, OH, YEAH, ANOTHER ONE, JUSTIN PIKE FROM FERNDALE. HE'S THE GUY WHO HAS FERNDALE LAUNDRY, AND HE'S ALSO A SHERIFF AND ALL THAT. HE IS RUNNING FOR THE 42ND DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE, WHICH IS CHALLENGING JOE TIMMONS' SEAT. SO THAT'S THE LATEST I KNOW ON THAT, AND I THINK THAT WRAPS UP MY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE. ANY QUESTIONS? [00:45:04] I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU, NANCY, FOR DOING A GOOD JOB WITH THAT AND FOR KEEPING US UP TO DATE AND TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON. THANK YOU. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU AGAIN, NANCY. APPRECIATE THAT UPDATE AND ALL THE WORK YOU DO ON THE LEGISLATIVE FRONT. SO THANK YOU. IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE PLAYING ROTATE THE COMPUTERS. ANYONE ELSE FOR MUSICAL COMPUTERS? ANYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE WANT TO PARTICIPATE? HEY, IT KEEPS IT WORKING. OKAY. OKAY. [7. MATTERS RESERVED FOR THE BOARD] SO NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA THEN IS A RETURN TO THE BELL TIME ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS AND DISCUSSION ON THAT. THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF OUR DISCUSSION FROM LAST MONTH. AND SO AT THIS POINT, I'LL OPEN UP THE FLOOR TO ANY DISCUSSION, ANY QUESTIONS, ANY COMMENTS. I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND SHARE A FEW THOUGHTS THAT I HAD BECAUSE I HAVE SPENT A FAIR BIT OF TIME LOOKING AT THINGS. FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE COMMITTEE FOR ALL THE WORK THAT THEY DID AND THE TIME THAT THEY PUT IN, READING THROUGH THEIR MINUTES AND THAT I APPRECIATE THE TRANSPARENCY THAT WAS THERE AND THE WORK THAT THEY DID LOOKING AT ALL THIS INFORMATION. AND I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I... PROBABLY STARTED WHEN I STARTED LOOKING AT THIS STUFF, I CAME WITH A BIAS OF WHY WOULD WE CHANGE THIS? BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE LOOKING AT IT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE THAT I HAD AT THAT TIME. BUT THE MORE RESEARCH I DID, THE MORE I STARTED GOING, WHY WOULD WE KEEP IT THE SAME AS WE HAVE? I CERTAINLY WANT TO RECOGNIZE AND. VOICED MY APPRECIATION FOR THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT WEIGHED IN, FOR THE STUDENTS THAT WEIGHED IN, AND GAVE THEIR OPINIONS AND THEIR PERSPECTIVES BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO HEAR FROM A WIDE VARIETY, AS I STATE EVERY TIME WHEN I TALK ABOUT PUBLIC COMMENT. THE OTHER THING, THOUGH, THAT I CAME BACK TO AS I WAS LOOKING AT THIS INFORMATION IS SOMETHING ELSE THAT I FREQUENTLY SAY AS I START THESE MEETINGS WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF THE BOARD IS TO... FACILITATE THE MISSION OF OUR DISTRICT. AND PART OF THAT MISSION STATES THAT WE ARE GOING TO PROVIDE A RIGOROUS EDUCATION THAT FOSTERS ACADEMIC GROWTH. AND AS I LOOKED AT THIS AND LOOKED AT THE INFORMATION, AND HONESTLY, AS I WENT TRYING TO FIND REASONS NOT TO CHANGE THE BELL TIME, MOST OF WHAT I WAS FINDING WAS THINGS THAT WERE, THAT FELT THAT WE COULD MITIGATE OR CHANGE. BY CHANGING IN SYSTEMS, WHEREAS A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT SUPPORTED THAT BELL CHIME CHANGE WERE NOT. IT WAS INTERESTING, YOU KNOW, WHEN I DID MY SEARCH, IT WAS SAYING I WAS FINDING NO EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTED, OTHER THAN OPINION AND FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS, THAT WAS SUPPORTING HAVING A SECONDARY EDUCATION TIME STARTING EARLIER AS FAR AS HELPING EDUCATION OR LEARNING. THERE WERE BIOLOGICAL REASONS FOR CHANGING AS FAR AS CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS AND BEST LEARNING TIMES. ACADEMIC OUTCOMES SHOWED IMPROVEMENT. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, HEALTH AND SAFETY. DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY DROPPED DOWN. OBESITY RISK DROPPED DOWN. ILLNESS RATES DROPPED DOWN. TEEN CAR CRASHES DROPPED DOWN, WHICH IS A REAL INTERESTING ONE. BUT JUST LOOKING AT ALL THE STUFF THAT I WAS SEEING, IT JUST BECAME CLEARER AND CLEARER THAT IF WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE BEST IN EDUCATION AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR ACADEMIC OUTCOMES, I THINK WE HAVE TO. PART OF ME KEPT ASKING MYSELF IF WE WANT THINGS TO CHANGE, IF WE WANT TO SEE IMPROVEMENT, AND WE KEEP ASKING CHRISTY AND CHALLENGING HER AND THE TEAM TO [00:50:02] IMPROVE ACADEMICS. THEN WE'VE GOT TO BE WILLING TO DO SOMETHING. WE CAN'T KEEP DOING THE SAME THING AND EXPECT TO SEE CHANGE. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ATTENDANCE AND HOW THIS COULD POTENTIALLY HELP ATTENDANCE. YES, THERE ARE CERTAINLY SOME LOGISTICS THAT WE'VE GOT TO WORK AROUND. THERE ARE SOME CHANGES THAT ARE GOING TO HAPPEN. WE'RE GOING TO SHIFT CHILD CARE NEEDS FROM BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL TO POTENTIALLY MORE BEFORE. BUT LIKE I SAID, I WAS SEEING THOSE THINGS AS... PLACES WHERE WE COULD WORK AND CHANGE THINGS ANOTHER BIG THING THAT HAS COME OUT THAT CHRISTY HAS TALKED ABOUT IS OUR ELEMENTARY TIMES ARE THE SHORTEST OF ANY DISTRICT IN THE COUNTY AND IF WE WANT TO MAKE A BIG IMPACT OR IF WE WANT TO HELP IMPROVE THE IMPACT ON OUR EARLY LEARNING THEN IT'S LENGTHENING THAT DAY AND ABOUT THE ONLY LOGISTICAL WAY WE CAN DO IT IS EITHER FLIP OUR BELL TIMES OR RUN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LATER IN THE DAY. I KNOW THAT I'VE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH HER. SHE'S TALKED WITH LUANN UP AT THE BUS GARAGE AND THE LOGISTICS OF THAT, AND THERE'S NO WAY THAT WE CAN START ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ANY EARLIER WITH OUR CURRENT BUS RUNS AND THE LOGISTICS OF THOSE. AND SO IN THAT REGARD, YOU KNOW, WE EITHER ARE GOING TO BE FORCED TO ASK OUR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS TO BE IN SCHOOL LONGER. OR WE, YOU KNOW, KEEP THEM AT THE SHORTER DAY. AND IT WAS AMAZING THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THAT WORKS OUT TO IF YOU JUST ADD 10 OR 15 MINUTES TO EACH DAY. SO I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, THAT BECOMES ONE OF THOSE THINGS OF ARE WE WILLING TO PUT OUR, YOU KNOW, ACTION, OUR SCHEDULE WHERE OUR MOUTH IS OR WHERE OUR INTENT IS AS FAR AS LEARNING. YES, CERTAINLY. THE EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, THERE'S GOING TO BE A CHANGE OF LOGISTICS WITH THAT. BUT I WAS ALSO A LITTLE BIT SURPRISED, SHOCKED, AND YOU GUYS HAVE ALL SEEN THEM AT SOME OF THE ACADEMIC LEVELS IN SOME OF OUR ATHLETES AND THOSE PARTICIPATING IN OUR AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. THAT WAS CONCERNING, TOO, AND I THINK IS AN AREA THAT WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT. AND I KNOW CHRISTY HAS MENTIONED IN THE E-MAILS THAT SHE SENT US THAT SHE IS. THAT. IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, I CAN TALK ABOUT MORE OF THESE OR THROW OUT MORE INFORMATION THAT I'VE GOT, BUT I THOUGHT I'D START WITH THAT. I'D LIKE TO ADD A LITTLE BIT. SORRY. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD A LITTLE BIT TO THAT. I WOULD HOPE THAT EVEN IF THIS DOES NOT GO THROUGH, THAT IT'S NOT SEEN AS A WASTED EFFORT, BECAUSE QUITE FRANKLY, I'VE SEEN MANY BENEFITS JUST COME OUT OF JUST STARTING WITH THE INQUIRY. FOR EXAMPLE, TODAY BRIAN AND I SAT AND CHRISTY SAT IN ON CHRIS HARDING'S CLASS AND GOT TO LISTEN TO THE KIDS THERE DEBATE THIS TOPIC. AND IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE HOW WELL THOUGHT OUT IT WAS, HOW ENGAGED THEY WERE. I FELT SO BAD AT THE END OF THE DAY. I MEAN, THEY ASKED WONDERFUL QUESTIONS. THEY WERE AWESOME. OKAY. AND JUST THE LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT THAT IT BROUGHT TO THEM ON SOMETHING THAT AFFECTS THEM. AND SO... ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOU'VE DONE IS YOU'VE PROMOTED CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY DOING THIS. YOU'VE CERTAINLY CONTRIBUTED TO THEIR ABILITY TO REASON, THINK, AND WRITE. AND I FELT REALLY BAD FOR THOSE KIDS WHO DIDN'T GET THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED AT THE END BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY KIDS CHIMING IN THAT REALLY WANTED TO ASK QUESTIONS. AND WE COULD HAVE GONE ON FOR PROBABLY A COUPLE MORE HOURS, BUT THE NEXT CLASS WAS COMING IN. SO THERE WAS THAT. AND I HOPE THAT MAYBE WE CAN... FEED OFF OF THAT AND CONTINUE TO ENGAGE STUDENTS LIKE THAT WHEN IT COMES TO THAT. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT GET SPREAD OUT FROM NOT JUST THE CLASS WHERE, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE HIGH ACHIEVERS. BECAUSE I THINK THAT SORT OF THING IS WHAT ENGAGES KIDS AND REALLY GETS THEM GOING, YOU KNOW, AND WILL HELP TO ELEVATE ACADEMICS, QUITE FRANKLY. WHAT I SAW THERE WAS REALLY INSPIRING. AND I ESPECIALLY WANT TO SAY THIS, COMING ON THE HEELS OF THE FACT THAT RIGHT NOW, I AM IN THE PROCESS OF SOMETHING I DO EVERY YEAR OF SCORING ACHIEVEMENT TESTS FOR SEVENTH GRADE THIS YEAR, SO THAT WAS VERY APPROPRIATE, AND JUDGING WRITING SAMPLES. AND SO COMPARING WHAT CAME OUT OF THERE TO WHAT THE AVERAGE IS THAT I'M SEEING, AND THIS IS ANOTHER STATE, BY THE WAY. IT WAS REALLY REFRESHING AFTER THE, QUITE FRANKLY, MIND-NUMBING THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN READING. SO THERE'S THAT. NUMBER ONE. NUMBER TWO, WHAT YOU'RE MENTIONING ABOUT ACADEMICS, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT WOULD HAVE [00:55:01] COME TO LIGHT SO QUICKLY HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE BEGINNING OF THIS. SO I JUST WANT TO SAY I THINK THAT EVEN IF THIS DOES NOT LEAD WHERE YOU'D HOPED OR THAT THERE WERE SOME BENEFITS FROM IT, AND I THINK THERE COULD CONTINUE TO BE BENEFITS. THE LINE OF INQUIRY HAS STARTED LOOKING AND GETTING MORE INFORMATION ALONG THE LINES OF COST SAVINGS, AND LIKE YOU SAID, INCREASED ACADEMIC TIME. I THINK THOSE WERE TWO VERY IMPORTANT THINGS THAT ONLY SEEMED TO COME UP KIND OF LATE. YOU KNOW, KEVIN, IT'S INTERESTING THAT YOU ARE SAYING, YOU KNOW, IT'S CLEAR THAT THERE'S ACADEMIC AND, YOU KNOW, ATTENDANCE ISSUES. MY INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AND GOING OUT AND JUST LOOKING DID NOT BACK THAT UP. AND THAT'S WHY I'M KIND OF LIKE, AND I WAS LOOKING AT INFORMATION FROM OVERSEAS AS WELL. I MEAN, IN CHINA AND SOME OF THE EASTERN ASIAN COUNTRIES, THEY GO TO SCHOOL REAL EARLY AND THEY STAY REAL LONG. AND THEY'RE KICKING OUR BUTTS ON INTERNATIONAL TESTS. SO TO MAKE THE ARGUMENT... NOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEIR MENTAL HEALTH IS LIKE OR WHAT THEIR PHYSICAL HEALTH IS LIKE. I CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT, BUT I'M JUST SAYING. SO I'M NOT NECESSARILY SEEING WHAT YOU'RE SEEING. AND I THINK THAT THE, REALISTICALLY SAID, THE ACADEMIC LEVEL WAS LESS, AT LEAST ON TEST SCORES, OF WHAT I WAS SEEING. BUT SOME OF THE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES THAT WERE COMING OUT, WHICH IS PART OF IT, SOME OF THE STRONG SHOWINGS IN THE PAPERS AND THE RESEARCH. AS FAR AS BEHAVIORAL ISSUES DECREASING, ENGAGEMENT, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS WHERE WE HAVE OFTEN TALKED ABOUT TEST SCORES, HOW ACCURATE ARE THEY IN MEASURING WHAT'S BEING LEARNED. AND I THINK IT ALSO, WHAT I WAS SEEING WITH THOSE INFORMATION, WAS IT WAS PARTIALLY DEPENDENT ON DEMOGRAPHICS AS WELL. CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS WERE ACTUALLY MORE, HAD MORE BENEFIT ON THE ACADEMIC END THAN OTHERS. AND MOST OF THOSE WERE THOSE ACADEMIC OR THOSE DEMOGRAPHICS WHERE WE'VE BEEN STRUGGLING TO SEE THE BEST, THE MOST IMPROVEMENT. I CAN SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT I SAW. AND I WAS ABLE TO GO NOT TOO FAR AWAY, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I COULD GO TO A PLACE WHERE THEY HAD IMPLEMENTED THAT, THAT IS CLOSE TO OUR CULTURE, CLOSE TO OUR... DEMOGRAPHICS AND GEOGRAPHIC AREA TOO, SO I JUST WENT TO BELLINGHAM AND I WAS ABLE TO TALK TO A PERSON THAT WAS VERY CLOSE TO THIS DEVELOPMENT. AND I, FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I APPRECIATE THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH. IT HAS DEMONSTRATED TRANSPARENCY, THAT'S WHAT WE WANT. WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO, FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW, STAKEHOLDERS TO UNDERSTAND. BOTH OUR KIDS AND THE PARENTS, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING. SO WHAT I LEARNED FROM BELLINGHAM, IN SHORT, IS SLEEP TIMES HAVE NOT INCREASED, TARDINESS HAS NOT IMPROVED, SCORES HAVE NOT IMPROVED BY THIS. THERE WAS AN IMPROVEMENT RIGHT AWAY, AND THEN IT DIPPED. AND THEN WHEN IT WENT TO... TO WHERE IT WAS BEFORE. AND THIS IS FROM ME ACTUALLY GOING OUT THERE. I THINK THAT CHANGE IS VALUABLE WHEN THERE IS PURPOSE, DIRECTION, AND INTENTION BEHIND IT. BUT FOR A CHANGE TO HAPPEN OF THIS MAGNITUDE THAT IS GOING TO AFFECT EVERY SINGLE FAMILY IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, IT HAS TO BE DEMONSTRATED. IT HAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT... WE CAN GET BEHIND AND REALLY UNDERSTAND THE BENEFITS OF IT. THERE'S A LOT OF LOW-HANGING FRUIT THAT WE CAN GRAB, THAT WE CAN DO BEFORE GOING INTO SOMETHING LIKE THIS. AND ONCE WE GET THE LOW-HANGING FRUIT, I SAY, LET'S GO FOR IT. LET'S SEE, AND LET'S CONTINUE DISCUSSING THIS. I JUST, A GREAT PIECE OF KNOWLEDGE THAT CAME TO US BECAUSE OF US LOOKING INTO... WE'RE RETURNING EVERY SINGLE STONE IS THE ATHLETE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, WHICH I DON'T THINK IT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH WHAT WE'RE DISCUSSING RIGHT NOW, BUT IT CAME UP AND IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN ADDRESS. AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT. AND ACTUALLY WE CAN ENFORCE IT. WE SHOULD BE ENFORCING FOR AN ATHLETE TO PERFORM OR FOR A PERSON IN AN ACTIVITY, THEY HAVE TO HAVE CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS MET. THAT HAPPENS IN COLLEGE. THAT HAPPENS. AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS HELP OUR KIDS PREPARE THEM FOR THE FUTURE. AND IF WE'RE NOT DOING THAT [01:00:01] RIGHT NOW WITH RIGOR AND HELPING THEM UNDERSTAND THAT IF THEY DON'T CREATE SYSTEMS AND THEY DON'T HAVE CERTAIN THINGS IN PLACE, AND IF WE, THE WORST ENEMY WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS THE SCREENS. AND THERE'S RESEARCH AFTER RESEARCH AFTER RESEARCH THAT I FOUND. AND THAT THE PEOPLE IN BELLINGHAM SHARED WITH ME THAT REALLY THE PROBLEM IS THIS. AND IF WE ARE ABLE TO GET OUR KIDS TO GO TO BED EARLY, TO LEAVE THESE SCREENS... DOWN ON SOMEWHERE AWAY FROM THEIR BEDROOMS, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO GET A BETTER SLEEP BECAUSE IT IS PROVEN THAT RESEARCH HAS SHOWN, AND WE KNOW THAT, THAT SLEEP IS GREAT FOR US. THAT'S HOW WE RECUPERATE FROM THE DAY, RIGHT? SO I REALLY THINK THAT BEFORE WE GO INTO SOMETHING THAT NEEDS MORE EXPLORATION, I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF LOW-HANGING FRUIT THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY, LITTLE GAINS, MOVING THE NEEDLE BEFORE WE DO SOMETHING THAT WILL AFFECT US. AFFECT THE PARENTS WITHOUT US UNDERSTANDING THE REAL BENEFIT OR HAVING A GOOD INDICATOR THAT IT'S THE RIGHT CHANGE. IF I CAN JUST ADD A LITTLE BIT, JUST TO PIGGYBACK OFF THAT. FIRST OF ALL, THE ATHLETIC PIECE FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. I HAPPENED TO PULL UP THE GRADES OF OUR ATHLETES, AND IT WAS ALARMING THE NUMBER OF ATHLETES WHO, ONE, HAVE... UNEXCUSED ABSENCES OR AMOUNT OF ABSENCES AND TO THE NUMBER OF F'S ACROSS OUR SYSTEM BY OUR ATHLETES. SO I JUST NOTICE I DON'T HAVE THE ACTUAL PLAN. COMMUNICATION WILL BE COMING, BUT WE WILL BE RAISING THE BAR SIGNIFICANTLY. AND IF SOMEONE WANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN ATHLETICS, THERE'S GOING TO BE AN EXPECTATION THAT YOU ARE AT SCHOOL AND THAT YOU ARE DOING YOUR JOB AS A STUDENT FIRST. I'LL JUST LEAVE THAT THAT MORE TO COME TO OUR COMMUNITY. IN TERMS OF BELLINGHAM, I ACTUALLY WAS A PARENT AND A STAFF MEMBER, AND I WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE STAFF MEMBERS WHO WAS IN CHARGE OF KEEPING TRACK OF THE DATA. AND IT DID MAKE A SUBSTANTIAL DIFFERENCE. WHAT CHANGED IN BELLINGHAM WAS COVID. AND LIKE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE, EVERYTHING WAS GOING GREAT. AND THEN THE PANDEMIC HIT. AND THAT'S WHEN WE SAW THE DECLINE. SO I CAN'T SAY THAT THE DECLINE YOU DIDN'T SUSTAIN BECAUSE OF BELL TIMES. I THINK IT DIDN'T SUSTAIN BECAUSE THE PANDEMIC HAPPENED. AND LIKE ALL OF US, WE'RE STILL CLIMBING OUT OF THAT. SO I DO WANT TO PUT THAT BECAUSE THAT WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF MY JOB IS TO CONTINUE TO GO OUT AND TRACK THAT DATA. AND SO WE WERE SEEING A DIFFERENCE IN ATTENDANCE. WE WERE SEEING A DIFFERENCE IN PARTICIPATION. WE WERE SEEING STUDENTS MORE AWAKE. AND THEN I WAS A MOM. I HAD AN ELEMENTARY STUDENT, A MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT, AND A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT. AND I THINK THE WORST PART OF THE WHOLE BELL TIME CONVERSATION IN THAT PARTICULAR DISTRICT WAS EXACTLY WHERE WE'RE SITTING RIGHT NOW IS THE LEAD UP, THE ANTICIPATION OF WHAT IF, WHAT IF THIS HAPPENS, WHAT IF THIS HAPPENS, WHAT IF THIS HAPPENS. AND AS SOON AS IT HAPPENED, ALL THOSE THINGS DIDN'T, WE JUST DID IT. IT WASN'T, WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IT ANYMORE. WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THE EARLY START TIMES. WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT ANY OF THOSE THINGS. AND KIDS GOT IN THE RHYTHM AND SCHOOL WENT ON. SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, LIKE ANYTHING, I THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU GO TO THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GOING TO GET A SHOT. ONCE YOU GET IT, IT'S FINE. BUT UNTIL YOU GET IT, YOU JUST THINK ABOUT IT. AT LEAST I DO. OVER AND OVER AND OVER. SO I JUST FELT LIKE I NEEDED TO ADD THAT. BUT YOU CAN EXPECT FOR THAT THERE WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT, AND I THINK A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT, REGARDLESS OF BELL TIMES, A CHANGE IN ATHLETICS. AND I THINK THAT IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT PAINFUL FOR OUR COMMUNITY. SO I JUST... I WANT TO HIT THAT. AND THEN IN TERMS OF THINGS THAT ARE EASY TO FIX, ADDING 15 MINUTES TO ELEMENTARY DAY DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A LOT. IT'S GAME-CHANGING, AND THAT'S A PHONICS LESSON FOR CHILDREN. THAT'S A MATH LESSON. WHEN YOU ACTUALLY LOOK AT AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DAY AND YOU ADD IN RECESS, YOU ADD IN LUNCH, WHICH KEEP IN MIND THAT THE STATE LAW IS GOING TO CHANGE IN ABOUT A YEAR, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ACTUALLY HAVE LONGER LUNCH TIMES. SO WE'RE GOING TO LOSE EVEN MORE INSTRUCTIONAL TIME IN THE ELEMENTARY DAY. TO ADD 10 TO 15 MINUTES OF INSTRUCTION FOR AN ELEMENTARY STUDENT EVERY SINGLE DAY ADDS ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE CHILDREN. AND WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT IS A COST SAVING. SO THE MORE WE DO UP FRONT, IT SAVES US MONEY AND IT SAVES US TIME LATER ON. AND SO I JUST HAVE TO SAY THAT IS ACTUALLY A SUPER EASY WAY TO DO IT ON MONDAY. WAS WORKING WITH TRANSPORTATION. PART OF WHY WE CAN'T ADD IT TO THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY, THAT WAS ONE OF THE QUESTIONS, SO I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT. WE TALKED ABOUT THE ROUTES, [01:05:02] AND SO I'M GOING TO USE CUSTER FOR EXAMPLE. THE BUS GOES OUT TO CUSTER CURRENTLY, PICKS UP, COMES INTO THE HIGH SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL. THE BUS DRIVERS GET A 15-MINUTE BREAK, THEN THEY GO BACK OUT. SO WE CAN'T SHORTEN THE TIME. SO WE COULD ADD THE TIME TO THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY, BUT WE WOULD HAVE TO ACTUALLY INCREASE EVERYBODY'S. DAY. WE'D HAVE TO MOVE EVERYBODY. SO HIGH SCHOOL WOULD HAVE TO START EARLIER. MIDDLE SCHOOL WOULD HAVE TO START EARLIER. AND THEN IF WE ADD IT TO THE END OF THE DAY, IT ACTUALLY ENDS UP COSTING US SOME MONEY IN TERMS OF OVERTIME, BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME DRIVERS THAT DRIVE MIDDAY BUSES. SO THEY DRIVE THE MORNING BUS, THEY DRIVE THE MIDDAY BUS, AND THEN THEY WOULD BE OVERTIME IF WE PUSHED THEM LATER. SO I JUST, THAT'S NOT JUST, THAT'S WHY. I JUST WANT TO EXPLAIN WHY IT'S TRICKIER, BECAUSE I MADE LOOSE BEND. PROBABLY FAR TOO MUCH TIME ON THAT TO TRY TO MAKE THAT WORK BECAUSE EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID UM ANTONIO IS LIKE WHAT ARE THOSE SUPER EASY LITTLE WINS AND ADDING SOME TIME TO THE ELEMENTARY DAY IS A SUPER EASY LITTLE WIN I GET THAT IT HAS TO SHIFT THE WHOLE BELL TIME TO MAKE IT HAPPEN BUT IT IT'LL MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE SO I JUST I WANTED TO ADD THOSE THREE THINGS IF I CAN SHARE SOMETHING REAL QUICK BECAUSE I THINK THERE ARE OTHER WINS THAT WE CAN DO AND ONE THING IS THAT I THINK THAT AS A BOARD WE CAN FOCUS A LOT ON IS ON BEHAVIOR AND DISCIPLINE AND GIVING OUR TEACHERS THE OPPORTUNITY AND AUTHORITY TO EXERCISE IT AND I KNOW THAT FROM SOME PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE CLASSROOMS SOMETIMES IT TAKES. A LITTLE TOO LONG TO GET GOING BECAUSE THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT ARE PUT IN PLACE THAT DON'T ALLOW THEM TO GAIN CONTROL OF THE CLASSROOM. AND THAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD ABOUT, AND I THINK 20 MINUTES, I WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS THIS CLASS THAT 25 MINUTES WERE PASSED AND NO INSTRUCTION WAS STARTED BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ABILITY TO START IT UNTIL... THE CONTROL WAS THERE, SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF THAT WE CAN DO, AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, TIME. I THINK IT'S QUALITY, TOO, AND I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE CAN DO AS BOARD TO HELP THE TEACHERS, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING THEM, THAT THEY KNOW THAT WE HAVE THEIR BACKS, AND THERE ARE OTHER IDEAS THAT WE CAN DISCUSS, BUT I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THAT UP, CHRISTY. BUT I REALLY THINK THAT THERE'S OTHER THINGS THAT WE CAN EXPLORE AS A BOARD, AND THIS EXERCISE HAS BEEN GREAT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE NOT SEEING THAT WE COULD GRAB AND DO. I'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU COME SEE SOME OF THE CLASSROOMS BECAUSE THAT'S NOT THE NORM, THE BEHAVIOR PART. I THINK IT DOES HAPPEN, AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE THE TEACHER'S NOT WORKING HARD. THAT'S JUST THE REALITY OF IT. TEACHING YOUNG CHILDREN OR CHILDREN. BUT I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE ANY BOARD MEMBERS COME OUT AND SPEND SOME TIME AND MEET WITH TEACHERS AND SEE WHAT THEY'RE MANAGING. SO JUST KNOW THAT THAT OPPORTUNITY IS AVAILABLE AT ANY TIME. WE GOT SO MANY EMAILS FROM SO MANY PEOPLE WHO FEEL VERY PASSIONATELY ABOUT THEIR POSITION. AND AS IS THE USUAL, YOU HEAR FROM THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT SOMETHING MORE THAN YOU HEAR FROM THE PEOPLE THAT DO WANT SOMETHING. SO MOST OF THE LETTERS THAT WE RECEIVED, THE EMAILS THAT WE RECEIVED, WERE NEGATIVE. BUT THEY HAD SOME QUESTIONS THAT THEY HAVEN'T GOTTEN THE INFORMATION ON, AND I THINK WE HAVE ANSWERED THOSE QUESTIONS, BUT YOU HAVE TO LISTEN AT THE RIGHT TIME AT THE BOARD MEETING OR SOMETHING. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW. A FEW THINGS. SO ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WAS, WILL ATHLETES MISS THEIR LAST CLASS FREQUENTLY FOR AWAY GAMES? SO, CHRISTY, YOU HAD TALKED ABOUT THAT. CAN YOU ADDRESS THAT? YEAH. SO THAT IS ONE THING. I JUST WANT TO BE HONEST ABOUT THAT. WE CURRENTLY HAVE ATHLETES MISSING CLASS BECAUSE OF AWAY GAMES. THAT'S NOT THAT'S NOT GOING TO BE A NEW THING THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENING. SO TO ACT LIKE THAT'S A NEW... THAT'S GOING TO BE ALL OF A SUDDEN A SHIFT. IT'S CURRENTLY HAPPENING. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN AND WHAT I WAS FEELING STRONGLY ABOUT IS PUTTING THIS OUT A YEAR SO WE CAN PLAN WELL. REALLY GOOD PLANNING, REALLY GOOD COMMUNICATION, THINKING THROUGH IT, WORKING WITH, AND I LOVED IT. PEGGY, BRIAN, I WISH YOU ALL COULD HAVE BEEN THERE. IT WAS QUITE AMAZING. OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, THEY BROUGHT THAT UP. SO WE WOULD HAVE STUDENTS AT THE TABLE PLANNING THAT. SO WE NEVER WANT... [01:10:01] STUDENTS TO MISS. AND SO IF THAT'S CURRENTLY HAPPENING, SO IT'S A CONVERSATION WE HAVE TO HAVE REGARDLESS. SO, BUT IF THE BELL TIMES WENT SO THEY WENT LATER, WOULD THERE BE MORE KIDS MISSING? SO IT WOULD BE, WE WOULD NEED TO SIT DOWN AND PLAN. SO WE PLAN WITH THE OTHER DISTRICTS ON WHEN GAMES START AND ALL THAT. SO THAT CONVERSATION JUST NEEDS TO HAPPEN UP FRONT. WHAT ARE OUR STANDARDS? WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN? AND THEN I THINK IT COMES BACK TO THAT CONVERSATION OF YOU AND THE REALITY IS THEY ARE GOING TO MISS SOME THINGS, WHETHER WE CHANGE THEM OR NOT. SO THEN HOW ARE WE SUPPORTING STUDENTS? SO I DON'T SEE THEM MISSING IT ANYMORE. I THINK, TOO, THE BIG SHIFT WAS, AND IT'S 45 MINUTES WE'RE TALKING. IT'S JUST A 45-MINUTE DIFFERENCE THAN WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE. SO WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY ONLINE, I CAN'T REMEMBER. DOES ANYONE REMEMBER WHAT TIME IT SAID WE'D GET OUT ORIGINALLY? IT WAS LIKE ALMOST AN HOUR OR SOMETHING. ORIGINALLY? YEAH, SO THEY WOULD START AT 08:30. SO THEY WOULD START ABOUT, AND NOT EVEN 45 MINUTES. THEY WOULD START A LITTLE BIT LATER ABOUT, SO REALLY WHEN I'M AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, THEY START ABOUT 7:55. I'M LOOKING AT 7:40, 7:40. AND SO THEN THEY WOULD START AT 8:30. THEY CAN BE DROPPED OFF EARLIER THAN THAT, SO THAT DOESN'T MEAN THE BUILDING'S NOT OPEN. BUT CLASS WOULD START AT 08:30. AND SO YOU WOULD SHIFT IT 40 MINUTES LATER, NOT EVEN 40. YEAH. SO IT'S NOT AS BIG A SHIFT AS IT ORIGINALLY SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO BE. AND THEN ANOTHER QUESTION THAT WE GOT WAS, WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS THAT HAVE JOBS AFTER SCHOOL? NOW, YOU HAD SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THEY CAN GET CREDIT FOR JOBS, FOR WORKING JOBS. CAN YOU EXPAND UPON THAT? SO THERE'S NOT A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL. WE DO HAVE SOME STUDENTS WHO GO TO WORK RIGHT AFTER SCHOOL. I'VE MET WITH SOME OF THOSE STUDENTS, AND THEY SAID THEY START. WORK AT ABOUT 4, 4:30, SO THEY WOULD STILL MAKE IT UNDER THE CURRENT BELL TIME IF WE WERE TO SHIFT. BUT IF THEY DON'T, I THINK, AND I SAID THIS TO THE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TODAY, I WANT ALL OUR STUDENTS TO KNOW THIS, THAT IF THEY HAVE A JOB, THEY CAN ACTUALLY GET HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT FOR THAT JOB. SO THEY SIGN UP. IT'S AN INDEPENDENT CLASS. A TEACHER IS ASSIGNED TO THEM. THEY WORK WITH THEIR EMPLOYER WERE ACTUALLY TRYING TO GET INTERNSHIPS. BUILT INTO SOME OF OUR STUDENTS' SCHOOL DAY. AND THEY GO AND THEY MEET AND THEY TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE SKILLS YOU NEED IN ORDER TO DO THIS JOB? AND THEY CAN GAIN, JUST LIKE OUR TWO STUDENTS HERE GET HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT FOR BEING AT THE BOARD MEETING, WE CAN OFFER THOSE TYPES OF WORK CREDIT FOR OUR STUDENTS. ANOTHER QUESTION THAT I REMEMBER READING WAS, WHY WERE THERE TWO BOARD MEMBERS ON THE COMMITTEE? WELL, THAT WAS SO THAT WE COULD HEAR WHAT EVERYBODY HAD TO SAY. NEITHER OF US VOTED. WE WERE NOT PART OF THE VOTING ON IT. SO I JUST WANT THAT FOR THE RECORD. AND I WOULD ADD THAT PEGGY'S CURRENTLY SITTING ON A DIFFERENT ADVISORY FOR HIGHLY CAPABLE. WELL, ACTUALLY, JUST FOR THE RECORD, IN THE MINUTES ORIGINALLY, IT HAD SAID THAT I TALKED ABOUT MY... PARTICIPATION IN THIS THING AND REALLY I'M NOT CONTRIBUTING ANYTHING THE IDEA IS TO SIT BACK AND LISTEN AND REPORT BACK AND SO WE DID RECEIVE I THINK EVERYBODY GOT THE SAME EMAIL YOU KNOW WHERE SOMEBODY WELL OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE NANCY JUST BROUGHT IT UP WAS QUESTIONING YOU KNOW HAVING BOARD MEMBERS IF THAT THEY'RE THAT THAT'S A CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND SO I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT. BUT, YOU KNOW, I WAS CONCERNED THAT MAYBE THAT MIGHT BE A PERCEPTION THAT PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE. AND I THINK, I HOPE IT BECOMES PART OF OUR CULTURE THAT WHATEVER BIG CHANGES OR ADVISORIES THAT YOU, DIFFERENT BOARD MEMBERS SIT ON THOSE ADVISORIES. JUST LIKE THE BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, STEVE USED TO SIT ON THAT. HE DIDN'T EVER VOTE OR WHATEVER. BUT HE SAT THERE AND HE REPRESENTED THE BOARD AND THEN HE COULD COME BACK AND ANSWER QUESTIONS. AND SO. I HOPE THAT JUST BECOMES THE CULTURE OF OUR ORGANIZATION. SPEAKING OF THIS KIND OF A SEGUE, I WAS WONDERING IF WE MISSED SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT EARLIER WITH THE FERNDALE CITY LIAISON. HE WAS NOT COMING TONIGHT. OH, OKAY. BUT ERIN'S SITTING IN, SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF SHE WAS. OKAY. SORRY, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE DIDN'T OVERLOOK THAT. YEAH, THANK YOU. I DO HAVE A QUESTION. SO, CHRISTY, YOU MENTIONED THAT THE SHIFT WOULD ONLY BE AROUND, LIKE, WHAT WAS IT YOU SAID FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS WOULD START AT 8:30? IT WOULD START AT 8:30. ON BOARD DOCS, IT SAYS THAT HIGH SCHOOLS START ON 8:45. [01:15:02] AND IN ANOTHER PLACE, THE PROPOSED SAYS 9:05. YEAH, THE 9:05 WAS THE ORIGINAL THING THAT WE SHOWED AS AN EXAMPLE. IT WAS JUST AN EXAMPLE. IF YOU REMEMBER, OUR DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION WAS OUT FOR A LITTLE BIT, AND SO WE WERE JUST TRYING TO SHOW WHAT IT COULD BE. WE'VE SINCE WORKED ON THAT, AND IT WOULD BE 8:30. IS THAT CORRECT, LOU? YES. THAT WAS ONE OF THE PUSHES THAT THE ADVISORY ASKED FOR. THEY DIDN'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE 9 O'CLOCK START TIME. SO MAY I ASK, WHAT ARE THE THREE START TIMES, IF PROPOSED? LET ME LOOK THIS UP. OKAY, I CAN'T EVEN READ THAT. SO WHAT IS ON BOARD DOCS AS THE PROPOSED, AND THIS HAS MOVED AROUND AS IT'S BEEN DISCUSSED, BUT ELEMENTARY WOULD BE 7:55 WITH AN END TIME OF 2:10 TO 02:15. MIDDLE SCHOOL WOULD BE 9 O'CLOCK WITH AN END TIME OF 03:30, AND HIGH SCHOOL WOULD BE 08:45 WITH AN END TIME OF 03:21. OKAY, I WAS WRONG ON THE 08:30. IT WOULD GO FROM 8:45 TO 3:21. 08:45. I HAD 8:30 IN MY HEAD. SO WOULD THE SHIFT BE LONGER THAN JUST THE 40 MINUTES? THE GOAL IS TO GET TO 8:30. OKAY, THANK YOU. I THINK, AGAIN, AT LEAST IT'S MY IMPRESSION, AND CHRISTY, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, BUT PART OF THAT AND THOSE START TIMES... THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF FLUIDITY BECAUSE WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE SCHEDULE AS FAR AS BUSES AND TRANSPORTATION AND ALL THE OTHER LOGISTICS THAT GO INTO THAT. SO THERE MAY BE THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT THOSE ARE NECESSARILY SET SOLIDLY AT THIS POINT. WELL, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER, EVEN THOUGH THESE ARE THE START TIMES, THAT'S NOT WHEN STUDENTS GET DROPPED OFF AT THE SCHOOL. THEY GET DROPPED OFF AT THE SCHOOL TYPICALLY 30 MINUTES PRIOR. 30. NO, EVERY SINGLE BUS? OKAY. I BET WE'RE GOING TO GET TO 15. SO YOU CAN SEE THIS IS WHY WE NEED A WHOLE YEAR. BECAUSE UNTIL SHE PUTS EVERY BUS ROUTE INTO TRANSFINDER... THAT'S WHERE IT'S GOING TO DO, AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE DOING SOME REROUTING. I THINK YOU BROUGHT UP A GOOD QUESTION THERE. WE WERE AT A TENNIS MATCH AT SQUALICUM LAST WEEK, AND IT'S INTERESTING. WE GOT DROPPED OFF AT ABOUT 02:55, I THINK, OR 3 O'CLOCK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND WE WALKED UP THERE AND... THE KIDS ALWAYS USE THE BATHROOM FIRST AND THE ADMINISTRATORS OUTSIDE SAYS, BE CAREFUL, THERE'S GOING TO BE A RUSH OF PEOPLE COMING HERE AT ANY MOMENT. AND SURE ENOUGH, ABOUT HALFWAY IN, THEY DID. BUT WHAT I FOUND INTERESTING WAS THE SQUALICUM TENNIS TEAM WAS ACTUALLY ALREADY ON THE COURTS BEFORE SCHOOL ENDED FOR A HOME MATCH. SO I DO KIND OF WONDER, I MEAN, THE ONLY TEAM THAT STARTS, AND THIS IS JUST ONE SPORT, THE ONLY TEAM THAT STARTS LATER THAN 4 O'CLOCK FOR MATCHES IS SEAHOME. ALL THE OTHER SCHOOLS, FOR WHATEVER REASON, START AT AND THEN EVEN EARLIER, REAL QUICK. EVEN EARLIER, CEDRO STARTS AT 03:30, SO I, TOO, GET ALL THE EMAILS, BECAUSE I'M A COACH, ABOUT THE KIDS GETTING RELEASED FROM SCHOOL EARLY, AND A LOT OF KIDS ARE MISSING THE ENTIRE LAST PERIOD OF THE DAY. AND FOR INSTANCE, WE LEFT AT 01:30, OR THE KIDS GOT OUT AT 01:15 YESTERDAY. THEY WOULD BE MISSING TWO HOURS OF CLASS OR SCHOOL. I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF TIME, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I TOOK A LOT OF TIME IN THE LAST MEETING ABOUT SOME OF THE CONCERNS I HAD. BUT I WANTED TO JUST ADDRESS THAT. OBVIOUSLY, THERE'S ALWAYS ISSUES THAT CAN BE WORKED THROUGH, BUT THAT WAS JUST AN OBSERVATION I HAD FROM LAST WEEK. I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT HIGH STANDARDS, SEAHOLM AND CEDAR WOOLLEY HAVE THE HIGHEST EXPECTATIONS OR RIGOR FOR STUDENTS AND SCHOOL AND SPORTS. SO JUST KNOW THAT'S ALL I'M ADDING TO THAT CONVERSATION. SO LAST MEETING WE SAID THAT TODAY WE WERE GOING TO VOTE ON WHETHER WE WERE GOING TO [01:20:02] KEEP THEM THE WAY THEY ARE OR A CHANGE, RIGHT? SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE VOTING TODAY. I DON'T RECALL THAT WE SPECIFICALLY SAID WE WERE GOING TO VOTE, WE WERE GOING TO DISCUSS IT MORE, BUT CERTAINLY THE OPTION FOR TAKING A VOTE TONIGHT IS THERE IF THE BOARD IS AT A POINT WHERE WE'RE READY TO MAKE THE DECISION. THERE'S NOTHING THAT WOULD PRECLUDE US FROM DOING THAT. I SUGGEST THAT WE JUST VOTE TODAY, WHETHER WE KEEP IT THE WAY THAT IT IS RIGHT NOW OR WE CHANGE. SO IF YOU WANT TO PUT FORTH, IS THERE ANY, BEFORE I GO THAT DIRECTION, IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? STUDENTS CAN WEIGH IN, TOO. I SEE THAT. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A REAL HAND OR IF THAT'S A FAKE HAND. OK, SO OBVIOUSLY, AS A SENIOR, I'M LIKE MY PERSPECTIVE IS A LITTLE MORE SHIFTED BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THIS ISN'T REALLY TRULY GOING TO IMPACT ME. BUT ALSO I'M THINKING ABOUT ALL THE STUDENTS THAT WE'VE MET WITH AND, YOU KNOW, I'M UP HERE REPRESENTING PEOPLE FOR A REASON. AND I DON'T KNOW, THIS IS. I MEAN, YOU GUYS KNOW THIS IS ACTUALLY A VERY, VERY HARD DECISION BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY MOVING PARTS. AND THIS IS PROBABLY LIKE THE ONE DECISION THAT I'VE THROUGHOUT MY WHOLE LIFE SO FAR THAT I'M LIKE, OH, MY GOSH, LIKE I REALLY DON'T KNOW. BUT I DON'T KNOW. IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC THAT YOU GUYS WANT TO KNOW FROM MARCUS AND I? ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE FOR US? I'M IN AGREEMENT WITH HARLEEN. I FEEL LIKE THERE'S JUST SO MANY LIKE DIFFERENT FACTORS AND IF A DECISION IS MADE I THINK THAT THE COMMUNITY DESERVES MORE TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT AND MORE COMMUNICATION FROM US ABOUT LIKE WHAT WOULD CHANGE AND WHAT WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED SO I THINK IF A DECISION IS MADE I WOULD SUGGEST THAT IT WOULDN'T BE IMPLEMENTED NEXT YEAR WHICH I THINK WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED THAT BUT YEAH. YEAH. I FEEL LIKE FOR ME, MY BIGGEST CONCERN ISN'T ATHLETICS, JUST BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY, LIKE, I DON'T THINK THAT MAKES UP THE MAJORITY OF, LIKE, ALL THE STUDENTS IN OUR DISTRICT. BUT I FEEL LIKE THERE'S SO MANY MORE THINGS OUTSIDE OF ATHLETICS AND, LIKE, EXTRACURRICULARS AND JUST, LIKE, THINGS IN OUR LIVES. AND, LIKE, I DON'T KNOW. IT'S A REALLY HARD DECISION. AND WE'VE HEARD FROM, LIKE, A LOT OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, NOT JUST, LIKE, THE ONES THAT WE SPOKE ABOUT. FROM OUR LEADERSHIP CLASS AND THERE ARE DEFINITELY KIDS LIKE WE MET WITH THE PRINCIPAL'S ADVISORY AT THE HIGH SCHOOL AND THERE WERE KIDS WHO WERE LIKE I MEAN GO AHEAD LIKE THEY WERE LIKE WE CAN FIND A WAY TO ADJUST BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO THE SAME NUMBER OF KIDS WHO ARE SAYING YEAH LIKE I DON'T LIKE IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY LIKE WHAT I'M SEEING HERE AND FROM THE RESEARCH THAT SOME OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS HAVE DONE IS THEM SAYING LIKE THAT THERE'S ONLY A TEMPORARY INCREASE IN IMPACT. BUT IT'S HARD TO TELL HOW IT'S GOING TO FIT INTO OUR DISTRICT AND HOW IT'S GOING TO WORK. SO IF YOU GUYS HAVE A SPECIFIC QUESTION FOR US, MARCUS AND I CAN TRY OUR BEST. I THINK WE'RE READY FOR A VOTE. OKAY. AT THIS POINT, I DON'T HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR, SO IF I HAVE A MOTION, THEN WE CAN TAKE A VOTE. A MOTION THAT WE KEEP THE BILL TIMES AS THEY ARE. OKAY. BEFORE I MOVE ON THAT MOTION, I'M JUST GOING TO ASK OUR STUDENTS, I WILL GIVE YOU GUYS, THIS IS YOUR ONE-TIME OPT-OUT CARD IF YOU WANT TO CHOOSE IT. DO YOU GUYS WANT TO DO AN ADVISORY VOTE, OR DO YOU WANT ME TO CONSIDER THIS PART OF THE CONSENT AGENDA OR UNDER THE CONSENT AGENDA RULES? OKAY. WE'LL DO AN ADVISORY VOTE. OKAY. APPRECIATE YOUR... OKAY, SO IT HAS BEEN MOVED AND PUT FORTH THAT WE KEEP THE BELL TIMES AS THEY ARE NOW. SO I THINK I'M GOING TO GO AROUND JUST BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE A LITTLE HARDER TO KEEP TRACK. I'M JUST GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GO AROUND AND DO A ROLL CALL VOTE UNLESS THERE'S ANY OBJECTION TO THAT. SO, BRIAN? WHO'S GOING FIRST? OH, SORRY. THANK YOU. TRYING TO KEEP ALL STRAIGHT. OKAY, YOU GUYS ALL JUST DO IT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR ON AN ADVISORY VOTE, SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? [01:25:02] OKAY, SO THE STUDENTS HAVE VOTED TO KEEP THE BELL TIME THE SAME AS IT IS NOW. SO NOW I'LL GO INTO THE BOARD, STARTING WITH BRIAN. AYE. ANTONIO. AYE. PEGGY. AYE. NANCY. NAY. OKAY. AND I WILL ALSO SAY NAY. SO, BUT THE RULING IS THERE'S THREE TO TWO, SO THE VOTE GOES WITH KEEPING THE BELL TIMES THE WAY THEY ARE. THANK YOU, GUYS, FOR A GOOD DISCUSSION. AND AS ANTONIO DID MENTION AND WAS BROUGHT OUT, AND I THINK PEGGY BROUGHT OUT AS WELL, LOTS OF THINGS HAVE COME OUT WITH THIS, AND THE WHOLE PROCESS, I THINK, HAS BEEN GOOD. SO THAT WILL GET US. I THINK THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE HAVE LEARNED ABOUT THAT WILL HELP US TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES AS WE MOVE FORWARD. MAY I ADD, I REALLY DID APPRECIATE THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO THIS AND THE INFORMATION THAT WAS COLLECTED. I HOPE THAT THAT INFORMATION COLLECTION WILL CONTINUE BECAUSE IF THERE ARE MAJOR COST SAVINGS, A MAJOR REASON THAT I VOTED NO ON THIS WAS BECAUSE OF THE UNCERTAINTY. IT'S LIKE WHEN YOU'RE... UNSURE WHETHER THERE IS GOING TO BE A BENEFIT. IT'S PROBABLY BETTER TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION AND JUST NOT. THAT'S MY PHILOSOPHY. BUT IN TERMS OF, CHRISTY BROUGHT UP SOME REALLY INTERESTING POINTS, WHICH I WISH I HAD SEEN MORE INFORMATION ON IN TERMS OF COST SAVINGS FROM THE TRANSPORTATION ANGLE AND FOR ADDING TIME TO ELEMENTARY. I MEAN, I THINK THERE MAY BE OTHER WAYS TO DO THAT, BUT I'M JUST SAYING. THE OTHER SIDE OF IT THAT I DIDN'T REALLY SEE WAS HOW MUCH IS IT ACTUALLY GOING TO COST TO DO THE SWITCHOVER? I MEAN, THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME COST INVOLVED IN THAT AS WELL. THERE HAS TO BE. THERE WAS ACTUALLY A COST SAVINGS IN TRANSPORTATION. THAT WAS THE PIECE. I THINK THE TIME WOULD HAVE BEEN SPENDING PLANNING NEXT YEAR. I WILL SAY I'M DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE IT'S A LEVERAGE THAT I NEEDED IN ORDER TO CHANGE FOR ELEMENTARY. AND SO I'LL JUST BE REALLY DIRECT ABOUT THAT. I CAN'T CHANGE OUTCOMES WITHOUT MORE TIME. AND I WANT TO THANK THE ADVISORY THAT CAME FORWARD AND SPENT THEIR TIME. THEY HAD FEELINGS. SOME OF THEM HAD VERY STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT THE... YOU KNOW, THEY CAME IN WITH PERSONAL, AND THEY PUT THEIR PERSONAL PARTS ASIDE, AND I APPRECIATE ALL THE EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND ALL OF THAT, BUT YOU DON'T SCORE ME ON THAT. WE'RE NOT RATED ON OSPI BASED ON OUR ATHLETIC OUTCOMES. WE'RE NOT RATED ON OSPI BASED ON ANYTHING BUT OUR ACADEMIC OUTCOMES, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'VE CHARGED ME WITH. AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AS AN ORGANIZATION, IS TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR ACADEMICS. AND WITHOUT MORE TIME IN ELEMENTARY, THAT IS GOING TO BE VERY CHALLENGING, AND I JUST WANT TO BE UPFRONT ABOUT THAT. THAT WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO GET THE TEACHERS CAN'T WORK ANY HARDER THERE THERE'S NOTHING THEY CAN DO ANY MORE THAN WHAT THEY'RE DOING PRINCIPALS CAN'T WORK ANY HARDER AND SO IF WE'RE NOT WILLING AND I'M NOT GOING TO BRING THIS FORWARD AGAIN FOR A WHILE IF I SHARED WITH PEGGY TODAY WE'VE SPENT ALMOST AN ENTIRE YEAR PREPARING FOR THAT DOING THIS WORK MEETING WITH LABOR GROUPS YOU KNOW THE HOURS WENT INTO IT AND I APPRECIATE THE EXTRACURRICULAR THINGS, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT OUR JOB IS. SO IF THAT'S GOING TO BE ELEVATED ABOVE THE ACADEMICS, WE JUST HAVE TO OWN THAT AS A TEAM. AND I SUPPORT WHATEVER. EITHER WAY, I TOLD YOU THAT. EITHER WAY, I DO HAVE TO SHARE THAT BECAUSE EVERY DAY I'M CHARGED WITH MAKING THE BEST ENVIRONMENT POSSIBLE. AND I DIDN'T WANT TO SAY THAT. BEFORE THE VOTE BECAUSE YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR VOTE BASED ON WHAT YOU BELIEVED. BUT I JUST, AS A SUPERINTENDENT, I HAVE TO SHARE THAT. CAN I SHARE SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S BEEN SITTING IN THE BACK OF MY MIND THAT'S BEEN REALLY BOTHERING ME? AT THE PREVIOUS MEETING, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT THE GENTLEMAN'S NAME, THE TEACHER WAS, THAT CAME AND SAID THAT HE HAD STUDENTS THAT DIDN'T WANT TO START, YOU KNOW, ANY LATER BECAUSE IT WOULD UPSET WHATEVER THEIR DYNAMIC WAS IN TERMS OF CHILD CARE AND EVERYTHING. I WAS ALSO AWARE OF SOME STUDENTS IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES THAT WERE DIFFICULT TO GET THEM TO ATTEND. [01:30:01] THEY GOT THEM TO ATTEND, AND NOW. AND I WAS THINKING, OKAY, THOSE ARE YOUNG STUDENTS. AND THE GENERAL ATTITUDE WAS, OH, WELL, LITTLE KIDS DON'T NEED THAT SLEEP. THEY DON'T. I'M COMING AT IT PARTIALLY AS A PARENT OF A KID WHO EVEN WHEN HE WAS LITTLE, JUST WAS A SLEEPER, NEEDED MORE SLEEP. SO, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW REALLY. I THINK THERE'S ONE-OFFS FOR EVERY CHILD, RIGHT? LIKE EVERY CHILD HAS THEIR OWN STORY. YEAH. AND SO, YOU KNOW, HEARING THAT THERE IS A GROUP THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY GET THEM THERE AND THEN THINKING ABOUT TAKING THAT SAME GROUP AND MOVING, YOU KNOW, THEM EARLIER JUST KIND OF MADE ME CRINGE. WELL, I DO HAVE STUDENTS. WE DO HAVE STUDENTS IN OUR ORGANIZATION WHO START AT CHILD CARE AT 6 A.M. I MEAN, I THINK WE HAVE TO REMEMBER, WE HAVE KIDS GOING TO CHILD CARE AT 6, ELEMENTARY KIDS, STARTING CHILD CARE AT 6 A.M. AND NOT STARTING SCHOOL TILL 9.20. SO, LIKE, THERE'S JUST ONE-OFFS, RIGHT? LIKE, WE'RE NEVER, I THINK THAT'S THE THING WE HAVE TO REMEMBER. WE'RE NEVER GOING TO CREATE A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL. WE'RE PUBLIC EDUCATION. WE MEET ALL KIDS. WHAT WE DO IS WE DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE TOOLS WE HAVE. AND IF I ALSO MIGHT ADD, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW, TO CHARACTERIZE THIS AS ELEVATING SPORTS. ABOVE ACADEMICS. I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S NECESSARILY A WAY TO LOOK AT IT, CONSIDERING WE SPEND SO MUCH TIME PUSHING THE ANGLE THAT INVOLVEMENT IN SPORTS ELEVATES ACADEMICS. AND IT DOES, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I KNOW, AND I FRANKLY, CHRISTY, I THINK THAT IS ONE HUGE BENEFIT FROM THIS. AS I SAY, I SEE SOME VERY POSITIVE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THIS. AND AND... AND I THINK THE INFORMATION COULD BE ADDED TO AND MAYBE REVISITED DOWN THE ROAD. I REALLY DO. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND IF I COULD SHARE SOMETHING. THANK YOU, PEGGY, FOR YOUR COMMENTS. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD SOMETHING THAT, FOR ME, I THINK THAT UP FRONT, HAVING THE CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WAS THE GOAL WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY HELPFUL. IT STARTED WITH ATTENDANCE TARDINESS AND WENT TO SLEEP. AND FOR ME, THOSE REASONS WERE NOT SUBSTANTIAL ENOUGH THAT IT JUST CREATED A CONFLICT IN MY PROCESS OF REASONING. AND THEN WITH THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSE FROM THE COMMUNITY, AND WE REPRESENT OUR DISTRICTS, AND I DID. SAMPLE, AND I HAD PERSONAL CONVERSATIONS WITH MANY PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T WANT THIS BELL CHANGE, SO I REPRESENT THEM, AND THEY TOLD ME THEIR REASONS WHY, AND THAT IS THE REASON WHY I'M COMING TO THE TABLE. IF I WOULD HAVE HAD CERTAIN ARGUMENTS THAT I COULD HAVE KNOWN AHEAD OF TIME, THEN I COULD HAVE MAYBE ENGAGED IN BETTER CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM, BUT I AM HERE REPRESENTING THEM, AND I WAS TOLD BY YOU, CHRISTY, THAT THERE WERE GOING TO BE SOME PEOPLE THAT WERE GOING TO REACH OUT TO ME THAT HAD QUESTIONS REGARDING MY COMMENTS FROM THE LAST MEETING. NO ONE REACHED OUT TO ME. I ASKED FOR INFORMATION FROM ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS NO INFORMATION THAT'S WHY JOEL WAS HERE LAST MONTH THAT HE WAS ACTUALLY HERE AS A RESULT OF THAT UNFORTUNATELY IT WAS NOT THE INFORMATION THAT WE NEEDED AS A BOARD AND I SENT AN EMAIL WHERE I ASKED FOR ALL THESE THINGS THAT WE NEEDED AS BOARD AND WE DIDN'T GET THOSE ANSWERS WE DID GET SOME COMMENTS WE END AND FROM FROM THE PRINCIPAL AND IN A TEACHER BUT WE WERE ASKING FOR INFORMATION AND WE DIDN'T GET IT. SO WITH THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSE, I HAD TO DO WHAT I THOUGHT WAS BEST AND AT THIS TIME DO THAT. BUT I THINK THIS IS A GREAT LEARNING OPPORTUNITY FOR US THAT MAYBE WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE BACKGROUND FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS IT THAT THE GOAL IS AND MAYBE WE CAN DISCUSS IT WITH MORE INFORMATION AND MAKE A DECISION. SO I'M SORRY YOU DIDN'T FEEL LIKE YOUR QUESTIONS GOT ANSWERED. I THOUGHT JOEL DID A REALLY NICE JOB ANSWERING THOSE QUESTIONS, AND HE WAS ACTUALLY REPRESENTING ALL THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS. HE WAS HERE AS THAT. I WILL JUST SAY THEY BOTH SAT ON THE COMMITTEE, AND I THINK THAT'S JUST ONE THING FOR THIS BOARD TO UNDERSTAND. THE APPLICATIONS FOR COMMITTEES GO OUT TO EVERYBODY. FEA TAPPED PEOPLE ON THE SHOULDER OVER AND OVER ASKING THEM TO APPLY. I WENT OUT AND ASKED PEOPLE TO APPLY. WE HAD A STRONG GROUP, AND I THINK AS A BOARD, WE GET TO TRUST THOSE ADVISORIES TO DO THE DEEP DIVE. IF THE BOARD WANTS TO BE [01:35:01] IN CHARGE OF THOSE DEEP DIVES, THEN WE CAN MOVE TO A STRUCTURE WHERE YOU DO THAT WORK, PERHAPS, AND LET THEM, BECAUSE WHAT I DON'T WANT TO HAVE HAPPEN IS WHEN AN ADVISORY COMES FORWARD, AND YOU'RE GOING TO GET ANOTHER ADVISORY RECOMMENDATION HERE SOON, IS THAT THEY'RE DOING THE DEEP WORK FOR YOU. AND THEN OUR JOB IS TO TRUST WHAT THEY BRING FORWARD IN TERMS OF RECOMMENDATIONS. NOW, YOU MAY NOT ALWAYS AGREE, AND THAT'S FINE. THAT IS TOTALLY FINE. BUT I JUST WANT TO TALK ABOUT EVERYONE IN THIS COMMUNITY, PARENTS, STUDENTS, STAFF, ALL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY TO THE ADVISORIES. WE MAKE THEM VERY WIDESPREAD. AND WHEN PEOPLE SIGN UP, THEN THEY'RE SAYING, I'M GOING TO... TAKE THIS ON, I'M GOING TO DO THE RESEARCH, I'M GOING TO DO THE DEEP DIVE, AND THEN THEIR JOB IS TO MAKE THE BEST RECOMMENDATION BASED ON STUDENT OUTCOMES FOR THIS ORGANIZATION. SO JUST FOR FUTURE, BECAUSE I THINK THE ADVISORY BIT IS A BIT NEW HERE, AT LEAST US GETTING IT ON THE WEBSITE, PEGGY, IS NEWER, SO TRANSPARENCY THAT WAY, AND ALWAYS KNOW THAT IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS THAT YOU'RE LIKE, CHRISTY, WE STILL DON'T FEEL LIKE WE HAVE THAT ANSWER, YOU JUST HAVE TO ASK. ME AND I WILL MAKE SURE BECAUSE IN MY OPINION THOSE THINGS DID GET ANSWERED BUT I OBVIOUSLY MISUNDERSTOOD AND THAT'S MAYBE WHERE I FEEL THAT MAYBE I DIDN'T EXPLAIN MYSELF RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I I DID NOT HAVE THOSE ANSWERS AND WE AS DECISION-MAKERS AS A BOARD YES I UNDERSTAND THE WORK OF ADVISORY COMMITTEES I ACTUALLY PARTICIPATED IN THREE OR FOUR ADVISORY COMMITTEES MYSELF, KNOWING THAT THE DECISION MAKER IS GOING TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISION REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE DO. AND IN THIS CASE, WE NOT ONLY REPRESENT THE RESEARCH, BUT ALSO THE OUTCOME AND THE CONSEQUENCE AND REPERCUSSION ON OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT AS A WHOLE AND IN THE DISTRICTS THAT WE REPRESENT. SO WITH THE OVERWHELMING RESPONSE THAT WE GOT AND THE LACK OF RESPONSES THAT WE RECEIVED, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS CLEAR THAT THAT PRESENTATION DID NOT MEET MY EXPECTATIONS, STILL THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO ME AFTER THAT. SO THAT IS WHY I FEEL THAT THIS IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OR OPPORTUNITY FOR US IN THE FUTURE THAT IF WE HAVE A NEED FOR... FOR MORE INFORMATION THAT MAYBE YOU CAN TAILOR IT FOR US IN OUR KNOWLEDGE BECAUSE DEFINITELY WE HAVE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE BUT NOT THE COMPLETE PICTURE. AND MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN DO. SO FEEL FREE, ANY TIME, ANY BOARD MEMBER, IF YOU FEEL LIKE I'M NOT ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS AND I DO APPRECIATE HAVING THE ONE-ON-ONES WITH YOU, I THINK THAT DOES HELP, JUST REACH OUT TO ME. I THINK I'M VERY ACCESSIBLE, HAPPY TO MEET WITH ANYBODY. SO IF YOU LEAVE A BOARD MEETING AND YOU'RE LIKE, I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING, GIVE ME A CALL. I'M THERE. I'VE GOT A QUESTION. I'VE OFTEN WONDERED, YOU KNOW, WITH SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT WE MAKE, IF THERE COULD BE LIKE A COST ANALYSIS, YOU KNOW, A FISCAL NOTE ATTACHED TO IT LIKE THERE ARE WITH SOME BILLS. I MEAN, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REALLY CHANGE. YEAH, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A FISCAL NOTE. THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. WE DO THAT WITH CURRICULUM ADOPTIONS. I ANTICIPATE THIS ONE DIDN'T HAVE A COST WITH IT, RIGHT? LIKE IT WAS A SWITCH. IT WAS TAKING OUR RESOURCES AND FLIPPING THEM. THE COST WAS INCREASED TIME TO THE STUDENT. I THINK THAT'S IT. I THINK THROUGH EVERYTHING THROUGH THE LENS OF INCREASING STUDENT OUTCOMES. SO I'M GOING TO KEEP PUSHING THAT ENVELOPE. THAT'S MY JOB. AND I'M JUST GOING TO ASK THE BOARD TO DO, I THINK THAT'S OUR, I THINK WE ALL SEE THAT THAT'S OUR JOB. I, ONE NOTE, ONE OF THE STUDENTS TODAY ASKED US, WHAT OTHER IDEAS DO WE HAVE? AND I THINK, CHRISTY, ONE OF THE BEST ANSWERS I'VE EVER HEARD HER SAY, AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, CAN YOU REPEAT IT? YEAH. IT WAS AMAZING. SO ONE OF THE STUDENTS ASKED, THIS IS MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BUT THEY ASKED, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO TO INCREASE STUDENT OUTCOMES IF WE DON'T SWITCH THE BELL SCHEDULE? AND I SAID, NOW IT'S ON YOU. WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN DO. WE'RE NOT CHANGING THE TOOLBOX AT ALL. SO FAMILIES HAVE TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE OUR KIDS COME TO SCHOOL, CHECKING GRADES, MAKING SURE KIDS ARE NOT FAILING CLASSES, DOING THEIR HOMEWORK, SHOWING UP. I MEAN, WE HAVE SOME SERIOUS... ATTENDANCE ISSUES AND CHILDREN CAN'T LEARN IF THEY'RE NOT IN SCHOOL. SO AT THIS POINT, I SAID TO THE KIDS, IT'S ON YOU. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO DIFFERENTLY? YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR SCREENS AWAY. [01:40:01] YOU NEED TO TRY TO GO TO BED EARLIER. YOU NEED TO GET TO SCHOOL ON TIME. YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE COMING, EATING WHAT YOU NEED TO EAT. WE'RE GOING TO KEEP DOING OUR PART, BUT IF OUR TOOLBOX DOESN'T CHANGE, THIS IS WHAT WE GOT. SO YOU'RE GOING TO BE HEARING MORE ABOUT THAT. CHRISTY? I HAVE TO SAY I REALLY APPROVE YOUR MESSAGE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. BUT I DO HAVE TO SAY I'M GOING TO KEEP WORKING. I'M GOING TO WORK WITH THE TEAM ON WHAT WE CAN DO DIFFERENTLY FOR OUR ELEMENTARY KIDDOS BECAUSE WE'RE NOT GIVING THEM THE BEST SHOT RIGHT NOW. AND THEY KNOW IT WITH OUR CURRENT SCHEDULE, AND I'M AT A LOSS A LITTLE BIT, I HAVE TO BE HONEST. I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO THERE. SO WE'LL KEEP WORKING AT IT. WELL, I'D HAVE TO SAY TOWARDS THAT END, YOU KNOW, WE DID GET, AS NANCY MENTIONED, AND I WILL ATTEST TO BECAUSE I WROTE UP ALL THE ONES, THE DIFFERENT E-MAILS THAT WE GOT. THE CHALLENGE I HAVE WITH THAT E-MAIL INFORMATION AND THE COMMUNITY INPUT IS MOST OF IT WAS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. SO THE DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE CROSS-SECTION NATURE OF THAT INFORMATION, IN MY MIND, WASN'T THE BEST DATA AS FAR AS MAKING A DECISION ON. BECAUSE WE HEARD ONE GROUP THAT, YOU KNOW, WAS LOOKING AT THEIR EFFECT ON THEM AND NOT THE WHOLE DISTRICT. BUT WE'VE MADE A DECISION, AND AS WE'VE MADE A DECISION AS A BOARD, WE HAVE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH IT, AND WE HAVE TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN COME UP WITH A WAY TO INCREASE THAT ELEMENTARY TIME. IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT. YOU KNOW, EITHER WE MOVE EVERYBODY EARLIER OR WE MOVE THEM LATER. AND THERE WAS DEFINITELY A LOT OF INPUT THAT I HEARD FROM PEOPLE OF WE DON'T WANT OUR KIDS GOING TO SCHOOL ANY LATER THAN THEY ARE, PARTICULARLY THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT ARE GETTING HOME LATER. SO THE CHALLENGES ARE IN FRONT OF US, AND WE WILL KEEP WORKING THEM THROUGH. [8. MATTERS RESERVED FOR BOARD ACTION] SO THANK YOU, EVERYONE. AND SPEAKING OF THAT, MOVING ON TO ITEM 8.01, WHICH IS OUR MONITORING REPORT FOR RESULTS POLICY FOR FUTURE READY. WITH THIS, GET ME BACK TO MY SCRIPT. SO THIS REPORT HAD TWO INDICATORS, AND I WANT TO THANK THE FOUR BOARD MEMBERS THAT COMPLETED THE SURVEY. THE FIRST INDICATOR DEMONSTRATED, THE FIRST INDICATOR WE AGREED THAT DEMONSTRATED REASONABLE PROGRESS WITH EXCEPTION. THERE WAS A CONSENSUS AMONGST THE BOARD REGARDING THE HISTORIC GAINS THAT THE DISTRICT HAS MADE IN GRADUATION RATES, BUT CONCERNED WITH THE LACK OF PROGRESS. AND OR DECLINE IN CERTAIN SUBGROUPS. THERE WERE COMMENTS ABOUT INDICATORS OR DATA THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL IN ASSESSING THE PROCESS, PROGRESS BEING MADE IN THIS AREA. I THOUGHT NANCY ALSO MADE AN INTERESTING OBSERVATION, NOTING THAT A FAR GREATER PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS GRADUATE ON TIME THAN MEET THE STATE STANDARDS ON MATH AND LITERACY TESTS. THAT POSED SOME QUESTIONS IN MY MIND AS WELL. THE SECOND INDICATOR DEMONSTRATED WE AGREED THAT DEMONSTRATING REASONABLE PROGRESS WITH EXCEPTIONS. AGAIN, THERE WAS CONSENSUS AMONGST THE BOARD REGARDING THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN CTE ELECTIVES, THE ARTS, HEALTH, AND PE, AND SOCIAL STUDIES REMAINING STEADY OR STABLE, BUT QUESTIONS REGARDING THE INDICATOR AND WHETHER ENROLLMENT TRULY INDICATES FUTURE READINESS. THERE WERE ALSO QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW THIS INDICATOR CORRELATES WITH THE PORTRAIT OF A GREAT... OF A GRADUATE AND HOW OTHER ACADEMIC AREAS, ENGLISH, MATH, AND SCIENCE, PLAY INTO FUTURE READY. AS A REMINDER TO THE BOARD, TONIGHT WE ARE DISCUSSING THE MERITS OF THIS REPORT BASED ON THE EXISTING INDICATORS. IF WE DEEM THAT THE INDICATORS NEED TO BE CHANGED, THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED AT A FUTURE POINT WHEN WE EVALUATE THE INDICATORS. SO WITH THAT, I WILL OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION. I HAVE A QUESTION. I GUESS I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT... IS IT OKAY TO ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THE INDICATOR SALE, OR IS THAT, SAVE THAT? NOPE. NO, YES. OF COURSE IT IS. WE HAVE SO MANY RULES THAT WE JUST KIND OF WORK AROUND, SO GO FOR IT. I APOLOGIZE. I JUST SAID SO LONG AS IT'S IN MY BRAIN, I'D BETTER ENTERTAIN IT OR IT WILL LEAVE. SO THINGS HAVE A WAY OF DOING THAT. I GUESS MY QUESTION WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE AN INDICATOR THAT SAYS THAT IT WILL BE, IT SHOWS PROGRESS IF. THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE THINGS, CTE OR ART OR SOCIAL STUDIES OR WHATEVER, IS INCREASING. AND MY QUESTION IS, THE PERCENTAGE, OR WHAT ELSE? WHAT'S THE OPTION? AREN'T THEY REQUIRED TO TAKE THOSE THINGS? AND WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES? I MEAN, I GUESS THAT WAS WHERE, THAT WOULD BE A LITTLE CONFUSED. [01:45:02] BECAUSE I WOULD THINK THE PERCENTAGE WOULD STAY THE SAME ACROSS THE BOARD, UNLESS YOU'RE LOOKING, HERE'S. I GUESS THE QUESTION, UNLESS YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT AND SAYING, OKAY, WE HAVE SO MANY IN CTE RIGHT NOW, SO MANY AREN'T, SO MANY IN THESE THINGS, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE'S NOBODY ENROLLED IN THIS PROGRAM, AND A TON OVER HERE, EXCEPT FOR THAT DIDN'T REALLY QUITE FIT WITH WHAT THE THING SAID. SO IT HAD ME CONFUSED BECAUSE I'M THINKING, IS THAT JUST TO SHOW THE BENEFIT OF CERTAIN PROGRAMS, OR I ADMIT MY CONFUSION ON THIS ONE. WELL, SINCE YOU OPENED THE CAN OF WORMS ON THE INDICATORS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE PROPOSED SINCE THE DAY WE STARTED DOING FUTURE READY, AND THAT'S BEFORE I THINK EVERYBODY HERE, WAS IS THERE SOME WAY WE CAN DO A SURVEY OF OUR GRADUATES, WHETHER IT BE ONE YEAR, FIVE YEAR, TEN YEARS OUT, AND I KNOW THERE'S LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES WITH THAT. BUT WHO BETTER TO TELL US IF THEY'RE FUTURE READY THAN THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT THERE IN. CAREERS IN COLLEGE, IN TRADE SCHOOL, WHATEVER, AND GETTING THE FEEDBACK THAT WAY. AND SO THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING THAT I HAVE KIND OF, IS THERE A WAY WE CAN DO THAT? YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I THINK WHO BETTER, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE IN BUSINESS, YOU ASK YOUR CUSTOMERS, HOW ARE WE DOING? WHAT CAN WE DO BETTER? SAME KIND OF THING. HIGH SCHOOL REUNIONS. GOOD POINT. WHAT, HOW, I MEAN, WHAT'S THE TYPICAL TURNOUT FOR HIGH SCHOOL REUNIONS OVER THE YEARS? I HAVEN'T BEEN SINCE MY 10TH. I HAVEN'T EITHER. SO FAILING MISERABLY. I WAS GOING TO SAY, BUT I HAD TO GO ALONG WITH IT. I THINK ONE THING I THINK WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND IS THIS IS OUR FIRST YEAR WITH THIS ONE. ONE OF THESE INDICATORS KIND OF REALLY ARE ROLLOVER. IT MAKES ME WONDER IF THE TEAM AND I NEED TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THIS THROUGH THE PORTRAIT OF THE GRADUATE BECAUSE THAT ACTUALLY CALLS OUT SOME THINGS AND PUT THOSE IN INSTEAD OF THESE PARTICULAR INDICATORS. NANCY, YOU ASKED A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. WHY DON'T WE HAVE THAT CORE ACADEMICS IN THIS IF IT'S FUTURE READY? PART OF IT IS BECAUSE WE ALREADY REPORT ON THAT. AND SO I THINK THIS COULD DEFINITELY BE ONE THAT WE TAKE BACK TO THE TABLE AND JUST SAY, WHAT IS IT WE'RE TRYING TO MEASURE? POST-GRADUATION IS HELPFUL. I THINK. IT'S HARDER TO TRACK, KIND OF LIKE WHERE ARE THEY BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS, WHERE ARE THEY AFTER. BUT I DO HAVE SOME WONDERINGS ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR ONE THAT I WANT TO SIT DOWN WITH THE TEAM AND TALK ABOUT. WHILE I THINK PART OF YOUR QUESTION EARLIER WAS WE OFFER A LOT BEYOND WHAT A STUDENT HAS TO TAKE. SO IN THEIR PATHWAY FOR CTE, THEY CAN TAKE SOME ADVANCED COURSES WHERE THEY DON'T JUST, AND OUR TWO AMAZING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS COULD PROBABLY TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE CLASSES THAT ARE WAY BEYOND WHAT YOU NEED TO GRADUATE. YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT? YEAH THERE'S LIKE A LOT OF CLASSES THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE SO I THINK KIND OF WHAT I'M SEEING WITH THIS LIKE INDICATOR OR IS IS THAT HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE LIKE GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND THEIR HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT AND LIKE TAKING AND USING THOSE CTE CREDITS AND THOSE ART CREDITS THAT WE HAVE BECAUSE YOU ONLY NEED WHAT TWO YEARS OF AN ARTS CREDIT AND PERSONALLY FOR ME I AM NOT AN ARTIST PERSON, SO I GOT MINE DONE VERY QUICKLY, AND I HAVE NOT BEEN BACK SINCE. THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION, BECAUSE I WAS JUST UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ELECTIVES REQUIRED AND THAT THAT'S WHAT WAS IN IT. SO IT WAS LIKE, BUT IF THE ELECTIVES ARE REQUIRED, THEN WHAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE? YEAH, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. THAT CLARIFIES IT MUCH ABOVE AND BEYOND. OKAY, THANK YOU. THAT WOULD HAVE HELPED, I THINK, WITH THIS. I JUST, I THINK... THIS FOR ALL OUR REPORTS THIS YEAR, AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONE THAT I WAS GOING, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS WRITTEN. WE PASSED IT. WE SAID WE'RE GOING TO DO IT, SO WE ARE. HERE WE ARE. BUT IT'S ONE THAT I DEFINITELY WANT TO GO BACK AND SAY. I'M NOT SURE THAT THIS ONE HIT THE MARK. THERE'S BEEN A COUPLE. I'M TRYING TO THINK OF THE OTHER ONE. BUT I WOULD LIKE US TO POSSIBLY. ACADEMIC. YEAH. I THINK THOSE TWO WE NEED TO GO BACK AND ASK WERE THE INDICATORS AND SPEND SOME TIME WITH THE TEAM LOOKING AT THE INDICATORS. REALLY WHAT I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IS ACTUALLY WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE? AND THEN WE WRITE WHAT'S THE DATA YOU WANT TO SEE? AND THEN WE DEVELOP THE INDICATORS AROUND THAT. I LOVE THAT IDEA. YEAH. YEAH. GOOD. I THINK, AND WE'VE KIND OF MENTIONED THAT AND DOING THAT AT OUR RETREAT AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO SPEND SOME TIME TO DIG DEEP OR AT STUDY SESSION. SORRY, PEGGY. I JUST WANT TO, WHILE YOU SAID RETREAT, MAKE SURE TO EMAIL YOUR SUMMER DATES TO CHRIS. THANK YOU. I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION. OKAY, SO THE STATE BOARD OF [01:50:01] EDUCATION IS LOOKING AT CHANGING GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS OF 2027, RIGHT? HOW SOON DO WE GET THAT INFORMATION? AND THE OTHER THING I WANT TO KNOW IS, YOU KNOW, HOW DO THEY COLLECT DATA? I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THEY MUST LOOK AT WHERE PEOPLE ARE GOING, WHERE THEY'RE BEING HIRED, YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO MAKE PEOPLE FUTURE READY SINCE THAT'S KIND OF THEIR MANTRA RIGHT NOW ANYWAY. DATA DO THEY COLLECT AND DO WE HAVE ACCESS TO THAT SAME DATA ONLY ON A MORE LOCAL LEVEL? I HAVE LOTS OF RESPONSES IN MY HEAD. A LOT AREN'T APPROPRIATE, SO I'M NOT GOING TO SAY THEM, BUT I WILL LOOK INTO THAT. THAT WILL BE APPROPRIATE. I LIKED BRIAN'S IDEAS ON THIS WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT KPIS, KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, SUCH AS ATTENDANCE ON TRACK. GRADUATE DROPOUT RATES STUDENTS FAILING ONE OR MORE CLASSES THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE VERY INFORMATIVE SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO FIXING THIS YEAH WE'LL WORK ON IT BUT YOU KNOW I KNOW YOU HAVE TO SCORE IT BASED AS IS TONIGHT AND BUT I THINK THIS IS THE POWER IN THE COMMENTS SO I DO WANT TO THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO PUT COMMENTS IN BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S HOW WE IMPROVE THAT'S THE FEEDBACK WE NEED MORE THAN THE SCORE I 100% AGREE. IN FACT, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE READING EACH OTHER'S COMMENTS. AND I THINK THAT IS THE BEST COMMUNICATION PIECE WE HAVE WHEN WE'RE NOT HERE TOGETHER. BECAUSE WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS EXCEPT WHEN WE'RE HERE. SO IT'S GREAT TO SEE THESE BECAUSE I CAN KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. SO THANK YOU. I WILL ECHO THAT AS WELL BECAUSE I LIKE NOT ONLY KNOWING WHAT YOU'RE THINKING, BUT HAVING SOME TIME TO GO, OH, LET ME THINK ABOUT THAT IN MY MIND TOO. BECAUSE IF YOU JUST HEAR IT HERE, THERE'S SO MANY OTHER THINGS GOING ON, SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO PROCESS THAT. SO I WOULD AGREE THE COMMENTS ARE WORTH MORE THAN THE WHICH BOX DO YOU CHECK. OKAY. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY. SEEING NONE, THEN THE CHAIR WILL PUT FORTH THAT WE ADOPT MONITORING REPORT FOR RESULTS POLICY FOUR. ARE FOR FUTURE READY AS MEETING REASONABLE PROGRESS WITH THE EXCEPTIONS AS NOTED IN THE COMMENTS STARTING WITH THE STUDENT ADVISORY VOTE ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE AYE ALL OPPOSED OKAY SO THE STUDENT ADVISORY VOTE IS IN THE AFFIRMATIVE NOW TO THE BOARD MEMBERS ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE AYE ALL OPPOSED OKAY SO THE REPORT IS ADOPTED I HAVE ONE LITTLE THING. CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT IT IS ON THE RECORD THAT DEMONSTRATES REASONABLE PROGRESS WITH THE EXCEPTIONS SO IT'S NOT JUST ON THE MINUTES? THANK YOU. OKAY. SO FOR TRANSPARENCY PURPOSES, I DID WANT TO MENTION THAT THE BOARD WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DISCUSSING AND ACTING ON POLICY 5011, SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF DISTRICT STAFF PROHIBITED TONIGHT. AS WAS ANNOUNCED AT OUR LAST MEETING, SINCE OUR LAST MEETING, SOME CHANGES HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED TO THIS POLICY AND ARE BEING REVIEWED BY LEGAL PRIOR TO THE BOARD ACTING ON THE POLICY. THE POLICY WILL LIKELY BE UP FOR ACTION AT OUR MAY MEETING. CAN I ASK CLARIFICATION ON THAT? PEGGY OFFERED SOME REALLY GOOD LANGUAGE FOR CLARITY. I BELIEVE, KARA, SOME... WORKED AND SOME DIDN'T. THE LEGAL PART WITH THE LAWYER, IT DIDN'T REALLY CHANGE THE MEANING, THOUGH. SO THE LEGAL PART IS REALLY JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW. IS THAT RIGHT, KARA? SO MY QUESTION TO THE BOARD IS, SHOULD WE PUT IT UP FOR REVIEW AGAIN, GIVEN THAT THERE ARE SOME CHANGES, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE VERY NUANCED, AND THEN YOU VOTE ON IT IN JUNE? OR DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU JUST WANT IT TO VOTE ON NEXT MONTH? WHAT WOULD THE BOARD PREFER? CAN WE PUT IT UP AS POTENTIALLY TO VOTE ON, AND IF WE FIND THAT THOSE CHANGES WE HAVE MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT, THEN WE CAN TABLE IT OR BUMP IT TO JUNE? YEAH, I THINK THAT'S FINE. I WILL SAY, HAVING WORKED WITH PEGGY ON THE LANGUAGE CHANGES, THEY DIDN'T CHANGE THE MEANING OF THE POLICY. I JUST WANT THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THE INTENT OF THE POLICY WAS NOT CHANGED, BUT WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ALL. IT'S A VERY SERIOUS, YEAH, A CLARITY. SO I THINK THAT WORKS. I JUST WANT TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT THAT. OKAY. OH, I GOT A QUESTION [01:55:02] ON THIS HERE THING. DEMONSTRATE. EXCUSE ME, THIS HERE THING. OH, I'M SORRY, THE MONITORING REPORT. OKAY. SORRY. NO WORRIES. JUST SO MUCH. I'M JUST CURIOUS. OKAY, SO WHEN WE'RE SAYING THAT REASONABLE PROGRESS WITH EXCEPTIONS, WHICH EXCEPTIONS? I MEAN, ALL OF THE, I MEAN, CAN WE IDENTIFY THOSE EXCEPTIONS SO IT'S VERY CLEAR WHICH EXCEPTIONS WE'RE REFERRING TO? I HEARD THE EXCEPTIONS WERE THE INDICATORS. OKAY. AND BRIAN'S COMMENT, I THINK, SUMMARIZES WHAT ONE'S. YOU WOULD LIKE US TO LOOK AT. THAT'S WHAT I HEARD. AM I TAKING THAT AWAY CORRECTLY? THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. ABSOLUTELY. I THINK YOU HEARD THE CONSENSUS. AND WE WILL, WE'VE GOT CHRIS HAS GOT A LIST I KNOW BECAUSE WE'VE COMPILED OR WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT AS FAR AS SOME OF THOSE INDICATORS TO GO OVER WHEN WE GET OUR RETREAT SCHEDULED BECAUSE THAT SUPPOSEDLY WORKS AS A GOOD TIME. YEAH, AND I WAS GOING TO SAY, I MEAN FOR THE SAKE OF JUST CLEARLY FOR CHRIS' SAKE, BECAUSE I LOOKED AT THE LAST MEETING'S MINUTE, AND I'M LIKE, WELL, THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. AND SO I WENT BACK AND I WATCHED THE MEETING. I'M LIKE, WELL, I CAN SEE WHY THAT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. MAYBE TRY TO BE MINDFUL OF CHRIS HAVING TO NOTE THIS DOWN AND WHAT THE RESPONSE IS GOING TO BE IF WE'RE NOT SUPER CLEAR ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY SAYING ARE THE EXCEPTIONS. THANK YOU. EXACTLY. KEVIN, DO WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL AUGUST 8TH TO ACTUALLY? HAVE OUR INITIAL DISCUSSION ABOUT THESE INDICATORS? COULD WE START PUSHING THESE FORWARD NOW? WE CAN START PUSHING THEM FORWARD, OR THEY CAN START WORKING ON THEM AT ANY POINT. THEY AREN'T GOING TO COME UP AGAIN UNTIL NEXT APRIL WHEN THEY PRESENT THAT REPORT AGAIN. SO I'M HAPPY TO DO WHICHEVER, BUT THAT TIME IS WHEN IT'S THE EASIEST TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION, A LOT OF TIMES BACK AND FORTH. WE CAN CERTAINLY START IT EARLIER, BUT THE INDICATORS AREN'T GOING TO COME INTO PLAY UNTIL NEXT APRIL, MARCH OR THEREABOUTS WHEN THEY START WRITING THAT REPORT. YEAH, I MEAN, THIS IS THE, LIKE I SAY, I THINK THIS IS THE SECOND ONE THAT WE TALKED ABOUT. I THINK THE DECEMBER MEETING WAS THE OTHER ONE THAT WE WERE GONE, BUT THREE OF YOU SAID WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THIS. AND IT HASN'T. WELL, SO WHAT WE'LL DO, THE TEAM AND I WILL BEGIN WORKING ON THEM, AND THEN I'LL PRESENT THEM AT THE RETREAT WITH THE NEW INDICATORS. SO THEN THAT WAY YOU CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION. WE CAN ACTUALLY DO SOME WORDSMITHING. DID WE GET IT? IT'S JUST SCHEDULED TIME IN THE RETREAT TO DO THAT. AND THEN YOU WOULD JUST SAY, YES, I THINK THIS GETS WHAT YOU WANT. IF IT'S NOT, THEN WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO YOU AT ANOTHER TIME. AND THEN, LIKE YOU SAID, YOU'LL SEE IT AGAIN. WHAT MONTH IS THIS? APRIL. APRIL, THANK YOU. YOU'LL GET IT. YOU'LL GET IT. YOU'LL VOTE ON IT AGAIN NEXT APRIL. BUT WE'LL HAVE SOME ONGOING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT IT, AND I'M JUST KIND OF PULLING THOSE TWO ASIDE FOR RIGHT NOW. DOES THAT WORK? WHAT ABOUT HAVING A SPECIAL MEETING TO GO OVER STUFF LIKE THAT? WELL, WE'VE GOT A SPECIAL MEETING NEXT MONTH AS FAR AS THE STUDY SESSION, WHICH IS THE BUDGET, AND THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE. THAT I CAN'T REMEMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD? WELL, WE JUST HAVE, IT'S THE END OF THE YEAR. SO YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF EVENING EVENTS COMING UP WITH ALL THE SENIOR STUFF. AND THEN IT'S SUMMER. THAT'S WHY I'M REALLY HOPING WE CAN FIND A FULL DAY IN THE SUMMER TO JUST REALLY DO SOME OF THIS WORK. BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED IS A SPECIAL MEETING. MAYBE EVEN TWO, IF I CAN JUST GET THE DATES. SO, YEAH, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL. BUT THEN PART OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO AT THE RETREAT IS PLAN THE STUDY SESSIONS FOR NEXT YEAR. SO IF YOU WANT SOME STUDY SESSIONS THAT ARE PARTICULAR FOR REVIEW OF POLICIES, THEN I INVITE BOBBY TO THOSE AND THE TEAM. I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE IT DIALED IN BEFORE THE START OF NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. THAT'S WHY I. I KIND OF LIKED HER IDEA AS FAR AS HAVING A SPECIAL STUDY SESSION AROUND THESE INDICATORS. SO IT WOULD BE SUMMER BECAUSE MAY YOU HAVE A BUDGET, AND THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER. DO WE HAVE TWO WHERE WE HAVE TO DO BUDGET? WE HAVE THE SUMMER MEETING. WE HAVE TO APPROVE THE BUDGET. YOU HAVE A LOT COMING UP WITH FINANCES. AND I'M ALL WITH YOU AND FOR IT, BUT I'D. NOT GOING TO EMBARRASS US RIGHT NOW BY ASKING CHRIS HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TURNED IN THEIR DATES FOR AUGUST. SO THE CHALLENGE HAS BEEN [02:00:02] TRYING TO THINK, THE CHALLENGE IS ALWAYS TRYING TO SET THOSE MEETINGS BECAUSE TRYING TO FIND THE TIME THAT EVERYBODY... HEY CHRIS, AS OF NOW I AM ABSOLUTELY OPEN FOR AUGUST, SO JUST SO YOU KNOW. BUT WE WILL HAVE IT BEFORE THE SCHOOL YEAR STARTS IF WE HAVE THE RETREAT BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS. WELL, THE LAST TIME WE HAD SUCCESSFULLY PLANNED A RETREAT IS WHEN WE HIT IT IN THE MEETING RATHER I MEAN BECAUSE IT FORCES EVERYONE TO LOOK AT IT RATHER THAN ALL SUDDEN IT'S OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND SO I I LIKE THE IDEA OF AUGUST 8TH SATURDAY AUGUST 8TH YEAH, SO I PUT FORWARD AUGUST 8 IF YOU SAW THE EMAIL. THERE'S ACTUALLY A LITTLE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE THAT THE 6TH AND 7TH, IF ANYONE WANTS TO JOIN ME AT. AND THEN IF WE DID THE RETREAT ON THE 8TH. I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT WORKED FOR EVERYBODY. SO IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AT YOUR CALENDARS AND SEE IF THAT WORKS. PUT ME DOWN FOR AUGUST 8TH. YOU CAN PUT ME DOWN FOR THE 8TH OF AUGUST AS WELL. I WILL CHECK WORK SCHEDULE AND GET BACK TO YOU GUYS. OKAY. I'M CLEAR RIGHT NOW, SO I'M GOOD. DOES IT WORK FOR YOU? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. OKAY, SO TENTATIVELY. AND THEN I WILL SEND OUT THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE AGAIN. I THINK THAT COULD BE FUN IF PEOPLE CAN COME. IT'S THE 6TH AND 7TH. THEY'RE BOTH FULL DAYS, SOME OF THE TEAM. AND I WENT TO THAT LAST YEAR. IT'S JUST LOCAL. SO IF ANYONE'S INTERESTED IN DOING THAT, AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE THE... IS THERE A COST INVOLVED IN THAT? I'M GOING TO SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME COMP TICKETS. OKAY. OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE? THEN THAT TAKES US ON TO OUR CONSENT AGENDA. [9. SUPERINTENDENT CONSENT AGENDA [GC-2.4]] [10. BOARD CONSENT AGENDA [GC-2.4]] AS PART OF TONIGHT'S CONSENT AGENDA, WE WILL WELL, LET ME START OVER. THE CONSENT AGENDA IS A GROUP OF ROUTINE ITEMS THAT ARE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO US AHEAD OF TIME AND CAN REVIEW AND GET ANSWERS TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE, AND WE ARE ALLOWED TO VOTE ON THOSE IN ONE VOTE AS OPPOSED TO ON EACH INDIVIDUAL ITEM. AS PART OF TONIGHT'S CONSENT AGENDA, THE BOARD WILL BE RECEIVING THE MONITORING REPORT FOR OPERATIONAL EXPECTATIONS 2, OE2, COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS. THE BOARD WILL BE DISCUSSING THIS REPORT AT OUR MAY MEETING. AS ALWAYS, WE ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC TO REVIEW REPORTS AND POLICIES WE RECEIVE AND WILL BE ACTING ON AND TO SHARE ANY THOUGHTS YOU HAVE ABOUT THEM WITH THE BOARD PRIOR TO THE NEXT MONTH'S MEETING OR DURING THE PUBLIC COMMENT TIME AT THE MEETING SO WE CAN HAVE YOUR THOUGHTS AND TAKE YOUR THOUGHTS INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN ACTING ON THESE ISSUES. SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE THE BOARD AND SUPERINTENDENT CONSENT AGENDAS BEFORE US, AND THE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN EITHER ANY CONVERSATION OR A MOTION. PEGGY. A QUICK PIECE OF CONVERSATION, BECAUSE I TALKED TO CHRIS, I THINK, ABOUT IT EARLIER TODAY ABOUT THE DCYF CONTRACT, THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT. WE COULDN'T FIND THE PREVIOUS ONE. IT'S, YEAH, ANYWAY. I USUALLY LIKE TO COMPARE, YOU KNOW, TO THE PREVIOUS ONE JUST TO SEE IF ANYTHING'S CHANGED, RIGHT? AND WE COULDN'T FIND IT. SHE LOOKED FOR IT. BUT I DID NOTICE THAT IT LAPSED. IF YOU GO TO THE DCYF SITE, IT SAYS THAT IT LAPSED IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR. SO WHAT HAPPENS IN THE INTERIM? I MEAN, DOES THE AGREEMENT STAY IN EFFECT UNTIL THE NEXT? HOW DOES THAT WORK? YES. YEAH, IT'S GOOD. WE COMMUNICATE BACK. THAT'S NOT AN... I'LL JUST SAY THAT MAY BE NOT UNCOMMON SOMETIMES. SO WE'RE GOOD. OKAY. SPEAKING OF THAT, AND THAT REMINDED ME, AND WE HAD TALKED AT THE PLANNING SESSION THAT WE WERE GOING TO MENTION THIS EARLIER, BUT I KNOW LAST MONTH THERE WAS A CONTRACT, AND OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS, WHERE THERE WAS, IT SAID X OF SO MANY PAGES, AND THERE WERE PAGES MISSING. YEAH. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE AGAIN. TRANSPARENCY'S SAKE, THE REASON THE MISSING PAGES WERE THE PAGES THAT RELATED TO OTHER DISTRICTS BECAUSE THAT CONTRACT WAS FOR NOT ONLY FERNDALE BUT OTHER COUNTY DISTRICTS AND SO THE PAGES THAT WERE NOT THERE WERE THE PAGES FOR THE OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITHIN THE COOPERATIVE. THANK YOU FOR FINDING THAT OUT AND REPORTING BACK ON THAT BECAUSE IT'S LIKE, OH. YEAH, I WAS KIND OF LIKE, OH, OKAY. THANK YOU. YEP. OKAY, SO NOT SEEING ANY OTHER COMMENTS REGARDING THE CONSENT AGENDA, THE CHAIR WILL PUT [02:05:02] FORTH THAT WE ADOPT THE SUPERINTENDENT AND BOARD CONSENT AGENDAS AS PRESENTED HERE TOO AND MAKE THEM PART OF THE MINUTES. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, AGAIN, NO ADVISORY VOTE ON THE STUDENTS' PART. SO ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OTHERWISE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? OKAY, SO THE SUPERINTENDENT AND BOARD. AGENDA IS ADOPTED AS PRESENTED. SO THAT TAKES US ON TO SHARING TIME. [11. SHARING [GC-7.E}] AND ONE THING THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PLANNING SESSION FOR THIS MEETING WAS THAT THIS IS ALSO A GOOD TIME, IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS OR THINGS THAT YOU WANT ADDED TO OUR NEXT MEETING OR A FUTURE MEETING. I WON'T GUARANTEE THE NEXT ONE. AND SO IF THOSE THINGS COME TO MIND AT THIS POINT, OR FEEL FREE TO VOICE THOSE, AND OR AT ANY TIME, FEEL FREE TO SEND THOSE TO CHRIS OR MYSELF OR CHRISTY. PEGGY, WE'LL LET YOU GO AHEAD AND START. WELL, OH, I SHOULDN'T HAVE STARTED. I'M WINDY TONIGHT, SORRY. BUT I WAS GOING TO MAKE A REQUEST TO GO ALONG WITH THIS. SO DO YOU WANT ME TO START? YOU ASKED FOR IT. I GUESS I'LL TAKE THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME, WHETHER I'M AT THE BEGINNING OR THE END. IT DOESN'T MATTER, RIGHT? THAT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, OKAY, YOU START. START, BECAUSE I CAN'T FIND MY PAPER. THANK YOU. OKAY, BRIAN'S GOING TO START. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, I'VE BEEN IN THE SCHOOLS TWICE IN A WEEK, WHICH WAS, IT WAS INTERESTING. I HAVEN'T DONE, I MEAN, I'M IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ALL THE TIME, WELL, AFTER SCHOOL ANYWAY. IT WAS DIFFERENT BEING IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. I WAS ABLE TO GO TO SKYLINE AND TALK TO SOME GREAT FOLKS ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING WITH BEHAVIOR, AND THAT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE. IT WAS NICE TO SEE HOW HARD THEY'RE WORKING AND HOW PASSIONATE THEY ARE ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING. AND THEN TODAY, LIKE WE KIND OF MENTIONED EARLIER, WE WENT TO CHRISTY HARDING'S CLASS WITH SOME EIGHTH GRADERS. AND I'VE SAID THIS A COUPLE TIMES, BUT IT WAS LIKE IT'S LIKE A ROOM FULL OF HARLEANS AND MARCUSES. LIKE, JUST THE FACTS AND THE, THEY THINK ON THEIR FEET SO FAST, BUT THEY ALSO ARE VERY RESPECTFUL AND VERY ENGAGING WITH THEIR PEERS ABOUT THEIR OPINIONS. I REALLY LIKE HOW SHE'S SETTING THOSE KIDS UP FOR FUTURE SUCCESS, FOR HOW TO BASICALLY HAVE DISCOURSE AND JUST DISCUSSION OF DIFFERING IDEAS. ALL THAT TO SAY, I DON'T WANT TO TAKE UP A LOT OF TIME BECAUSE PEGGY NEEDS SOME, BUT I WANT TO DO THAT MORE. I'M HOPING THAT I GET MORE OPPORTUNITIES BECAUSE I FELT SLIGHTLY UNCOMFORTABLE JUST BECAUSE I HAVEN'T BEEN IN THAT ENVIRONMENT IN A LONG TIME, AND I THINK IT'S GOOD TO BE ABLE TO SEE THINGS OUTSIDE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL THAT I SEE SO OFTEN. ANTONIO? I NOTICED THE PAPER SHUFFLING. I WOULD LIKE TO ECHO WHAT BRIAN SAID ABOUT SKYLINE. WE WENT THERE, WE SPENT SOME TIME, AND IT WAS AMAZING. THE PROGRAM THAT THEY HAVE WHEN IT COMES TO BEHAVIOR IS REALLY GREAT. THE PASSION THAT WE SAW FROM THAT TEAM, AND PAT AND STACY SHARED WITH US, AND YOU COULD NOT BE NOT EXCITED. VERY INCORRECT GRAMMAR, SORRY, BUT IT WAS JUST EXCITING. IT WAS FUN. WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS AMAZING, VERY INSPIRING, AND IT JUST FEELS GREAT TO BE AROUND TEACHERS THAT ARE THAT PASSIONATE ABOUT IT. SO I APPRECIATE THE INVITE, AND EVERY TIME WE'RE INVITED, WE'LL ACTUALLY GO THERE. I EVEN TOOK MY WIFE THERE. SHE'S AN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION MAJOR, AND I WAS ASKING MY WIFE, EXPLAIN THIS TO ME, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THIS WORK? AND SHE WAS JUST AMAZING AT TEACHING ME. REALLY GREAT. AND I WANTED TO SHARE REAL QUICK SOMETHING. THE POWER OF A PLEASE AND THANK YOU AND ALSO YOUR WORD, WHEN YOU GIVE YOUR WORD. THEY ASKED ME A LONG TIME AGO IF I COULD DO PROM, AND I SAID YES. LIKE, YES, I'LL DO PROM FOR DJING, RIGHT? AND SORRY ABOUT I'M NOT A PROFESSIONAL DJ, BUT I DO HAVE THE EQUIPMENT. THEN I REALIZED THEY TOLD ME THIS IS THE DATE, AND I HAD A TRIP TO DISNEYLAND WITH MY FAMILY THAT WEEKEND. [02:10:03] AND I WAS LIKE, UH-OH. BUT THEY SAID, PLEASE, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU. AND, OF COURSE, I'M NOT VERY EXPENSIVE. I'M COMPLETELY 100% CHEAP AND FREE. SO I WAS LIKE, OH, AND IT WAS WEIGHING ON ME. IT WAS WEIGHING ON ME. AND THEY ASKED ME SO NICELY THAT I WAS LIKE. YOU KNOW I TALKED TO MY FAMILY AND LET'S MOVE IT RIGHT AND WE MOVED IT COST ME THE CHANGE I DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THE THE MONEY IT COST ME I DON'T CARE WE'RE GOING NEXT WEEK BUT THEN AFTERWARDS SO WHAT I'M TRYING TO SHARE HERE IS THE ONLY THING THAT I ASKED WAS CAN YOU JUST HELP ME WITH THE EQUIPMENT BECAUSE THAT'S HEAVY AND I BROUGHT THE BIG GUNS I BROUGHT THE BIG SUBWOOFER AND THE BIG SPEAKERS AND ALL THAT BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU GUYS FELT THE THE BASS RIGHT SO I GET THERE THERE'S A TEAM OF KIDS WAITING FOR ME HELP ME BRING EVERYTHING IN AND THEN AT THE END OF THE OF THE I HAVE A TEAM OF PEOPLE HELPING ME PUT IT BACK IN THE CAR AND IT JUST FELT SO GOOD IT FELT GOOD AND EVERYBODY'S SAYING THANK YOU THAT'S ALL WE NEED AND IT WAS GREAT UM RAV'S HUSBAND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW RAV'S HUSBAND HE'S MASSIVE AND I HAVE UH I BOUGHT THE BIG SUB WHICH IT'S AN 18-INCH SUB. IT'S MORE THAN 100 POUNDS. AND I BROUGHT THE 15-INCH SPEAKERS TOO. WELL, HE GRABBED ONE WITH ONE HAND AND THE OTHER SPEAKER, AND HE JUST CARRIED IT. AND I WAS ASKING FOR HELP. HE MADE ME FEEL REALLY LITTLE. BUT JUST WHAT I WANT FOR BEING GREAT AND FOR SAYING THANK YOU. IT GOES A LONG WAY. AND I THINK THAT IN YOUR FUTURE AND THE TEAM THAT PUT THIS TOGETHER AND THE SENIORS AND THE JUNIORS AND ALL THE PEOPLE WERE JUST AMAZING. AND I THINK THAT WHEN YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF ATTITUDE AND EVERYBODY WAS DANCING, EVERYBODY WAS HAPPY. SO IT JUST MAKES ME HAPPY AND MAKES ME WANT TO DO IT AGAIN. SO DJ MACHADO IS WILLING TO CONTINUE OFFERING HIS SERVICES, FREE SERVICES. MAYBE I'M GOING TO CHARGE A LITTLE BIT, A DIET DR. PEPPER. THAT WOULD BE MY COST, BUT I THINK THAT'S AFFORDABLE. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. PEGGY? I FINALLY FOUND MY SLIP OF PAPER. ANYWAY, THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS ACTUALLY CAME FROM CHRISTY AND MARK AND THE WHOLE CONVERSATION SURROUNDING THE MULTIFAMILY TAX EXEMPTION. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL KNOW THIS, BUT RIGHT NOW THE COUNTY IS WRAPPING UP ITS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. AND I FEEL LIKE, ONCE AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD A SEAT AT THE TABLE OR THAT WE'VE REALLY HAD A VOICE THERE. AND SO I HAVE A PROPOSAL. I WROTE IT DOWN BECAUSE I CANNOT KEEP ALL OF THIS IN MY BRAIN, SO BEAR WITH ME. I'M JUST GOING TO READ IT. FERNDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY OF FERNDALE REGARDING THE MFTE. LAST MONTH, THE BOARD EVEN APPROVED A RESOLUTION TAKING A STANCE AGAINST THE MULTIFAMILY TAX EXEMPTION ON PRINCIPLES OF FAIR TAXATION FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS. WE HAVE TAKEN AN ACTIVE PART IN THE CITY'S GROWTH PLANS, AS WE SHOULD. WE SHOULD BE PARTICIPATING IN THESE PROCESSES AT THE COUNTY LEVEL AS WELL, AS THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT DECISIONS MADE BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL HAVE SIMILAR IMPACTS. FOR EXAMPLE, THIS MORNING AT 11:30, THE PLANNING COMMISSION MET TO REVIEW AND VOTE TO RECOMMEND AN OPEN SPACE RESOLUTION TO THE COUNCIL. NOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY CHANGED ANYTHING. THEY WERE JUST GOING OVER WHAT THEY ALREADY HAD, AND, YOU KNOW, I HAVE NO IDEA. BUT THEY MET AT 11:30 THIS MORNING TO DO THAT. UM, THE DESIGNATION OF OPEN SPACES AFFECTS OUR TAXES IN A SIMILAR WAY TO THE MFTE. WHEN LAND IS SET ASIDE FOR CONSERVATION, TAXES ARE REMOVED FROM THE PARCEL, AND THE FINANCIAL BURDEN IS SHIFTED ONTO THE BACKS OF OTHER TAXPAYERS. I BELIEVE THE VOTE ON THAT RESOLUTION PROBABLY TOOK PLACE TONIGHT AT THE COUNCIL MEETING. AS YOU MAY APPRECIATE, THE TIMING OF OUR INVOLVEMENT IS IMPORTANT AS WELL. SINCE ALL COUNCIL COMMITTEES, INCLUDING THE PLANNING COMMISSION, ARE NOW COMMITTEES OF THE WHOLE, MEANING ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS SIT ON THE ADVISORY COMMITTEES. DECISIONS ESSENTIALLY ARE MADE PRIOR TO THE ACTUAL COUNCIL MEETING SLASH VOTE. AS THEY'RE SITTING THERE, ALL OF THEM, HEARING THE SAME INFORMATION AND HAVING DISCUSSIONS, I SEE IT QUITE POSSIBLE THAT THEY COULD FORM A CONSENSUS ABOUT ACTUALLY VOICING IT. SO IT'S A LITTLE CONCERNING BECAUSE THE STRUCTURE USED TO BE. YOU'D HAVE A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS ON THE ADVISORY COMMITTEES, AND THEN THAT WOULD COME TO THE BOARD, BUT NOW THEY'RE ALL THERE, SUCH AS IT IS. ANYWAY, I FEEL THAT GIVES THE POTENTIAL FOR, ESSENTIALLY, CONSENSUS TO BE REACHED BEFORE IT ACTUALLY COMES TO THE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. THAT MAKES IT IMPERATIVE [02:15:02] TO COMMUNICATE PRIOR TO THE PLANNING MEETING INVOLVING THE TOPIC OF INTEREST. STEPS TOWARD ADOPTION OF WHATCOM COUNTY'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ARE WELL UNDERWAY. THE COUNTY COUNCIL BEGAN ITS FINAL REVIEW AND PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE DRAFT PLAN IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR, WITH PLANS TO REVIEW AND AMEND INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS OVER A TWO-MONTH PERIOD. ALTHOUGH WE ARE LATE TO THE GAME, THERE IS STILL TIME TO VIEW, CONSIDER, AND RESPOND TO LAND USE PROPOSALS THAT WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL. THE FINAL ORDINANCE APPROVING THE FULL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IS SLATED FOR ADOPTION IN MID-MAY. I ASK WITH SOME URGENCY THAT WE IDENTIFY ISSUES THAT WILL AFFECT OUR TAX BASE. DETERMINE OUR STANCE, AND DRAFT A RESOLUTION TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL STATING OUR POSITIONS. THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WILL AFFECT LAND USE ACTIONS FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS. WE OWE IT TO OUR CONSTITUENTS AND THE DISTRICT TO BE A VOICE IN THE CONVERSATION. AND I WOULD ADD THAT, YOU KNOW, WE VALUE THE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT FERNDALE SCHOOLS. WE WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY AND THRIVE IN THIS AREA. AND SO I THINK IT'S INCUMBENT UPON US TO SUPPORT THE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT US. AND THAT'S WHY I AM URGING THAT WE IDENTIFY THOSE ISSUES, FORMULATE A STANCE, AND PRESENT IT TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL BEFORE THEY TAKE THEIR FINAL VOTE ON THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. AND I MAY ASK IF WE CAN PUT SOME OF THIS ON THE SPECIAL MEETING. THE PROBLEM IS THE TIMELINE. SO THANK YOU FOR HEARING ME OUT. YEAH, YOU SAID THEY'RE VOTING ON IT MID-MAY? I THINK FINAL IS JUNE, ACTUALLY, JUNE 28TH, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THE TIMELINE GOT PUSHED BACK, BUT THERE'S A LIST OF DATES FOR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU CAN ATTEND THEM BY ZOOM. THERE'S NO PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GO WATCH, BUT. ANY PUBLIC COMMENT THAT YOU HAD WOULD HAVE TO TAKE PLACE AT THE COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING. THAT WAS TONIGHT, AND THEN UNFORTUNATELY OUR MEETINGS COINCIDE, YEAH. YEAH, CONFLICT OF TIMING. YEAH, THAT'S THE BIGGEST THING. I MEAN, WE COULD CERTAINLY PUT SOMETHING ON PART OF THAT SPECIAL MEETING THAT WE'RE HAVING REGARDING THE BUDGET. WE'D HAVE TO TITLE IT. DIFFERENT, AND CHRIS COULD DEAL WITH THE LOGISTICS OF THAT IF WE WERE GOING TO MAKE A DECISION OF SOMETHING. I'M SORRY, CHRISTY, YOU NEEDED ONE MORE THING ADDED TO YOUR PLATE. MARK, I APOLOGIZE, TOO. IT WOULD JUST BE THE LEGWORK OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T BE LIKE WE COULD TALK ABOUT WHAT WAS FOUND OUT AND MAKE, WE WOULD ALMOST NEED TO HAVE, I GUESS IT'S LOOKING AT THE TIMELINE TO SEE IF WE ARE EVEN ABLE TO MEET THAT WITHOUT TRYING TO CALL ANOTHER MEETING IN BETWEEN. YEAH, WELL, AND THE OTHER THING IS, I MEAN, LIKE... THE COMP PLAN, MY UNDERSTANDING, IS LIKE 900 PAGES LONG, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN PEOPLE THAT HAVE, YEAH, I KNOW, MIXED LIFE. JUST LIKE, OH, YEAH. MARK WILL READ IT. HE'S ALL READY TO PAGE THREE. ANYWAY. PAGE FOUR. ANYHOW. CAN I OFFER THIS? HOW ABOUT MARK AND I HAVE A CONVERSATION? WE'LL DO SOME LEARNING. I'LL SEND OUT AN EMAIL TO YOU ABOUT WHAT WE LEARNED. IT IS PRETTY AMAZING WITH AI WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH A 900-PAGE PLAN. I'D BE CURIOUS IF YOU WOULD EMAIL US INDIVIDUALLY WHAT QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT. AND THEN WE COULD BRING FORWARD EITHER A LETTER THAT WE RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD SIGN OFF ON OR NEXT STEPS. AT THE STUDY SESSION. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A VOTE. IT WOULD JUST BE A CONVERSATION. DOES THAT WORK? MARK, CAN YOU THINK OF ANYTHING YOU WOULD ADD TO THAT? YOU SEE HE IS BUSY READING IT. HE'S ON PAGE SIX NOW. CAN'T PUT IT DOWN, CAN YOU? SO ANYWAY, DOES THAT WORK FOR THE BOARD? WELL, AND POTENTIALLY IF WE LIST THAT AS A, IF WE LIST THAT MEETING, THAT STUDY SESSION APPROPRIATELY, THEN WE COULD MAKE A DECISION ON IF THERE'S SOMETHING TO DECIDE ON TOO. OKAY. THANK YOU, PEGGY. WELL, AND CHRIS USED AI TO CONDENSE COUNCILMEMBER MUTCHLER'S WORDS INTO A NEAT, TIDY PARAGRAPH. APPARENTLY IT CAN BE. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, LET'S HAVE FUN AT JOHN'S EXPENSE. HE'S IN ANCHORAGE, AND HE CAN'T DO A DARN THING ABOUT IT. WE CAN JUST SIT HERE AND MAKE FUN OF HIM. OH, BOY. WE'RE LOSING CONTROL. WELL, AND AARON LEFT. WE NEED TO GO HOME. OKAY, WELL, MEANWHILE, MARK'S ON PAGE EIGHT [02:20:01] AND GOING COUNTING. ONLY, WHAT IS THAT, 892 LEFT TO GO? OKAY, NANCY. MINE IS VERY BRIEF. YOU'RE WELCOME. WE JUST STARTED YESTERDAY THE FERNDALE HERITAGE SOCIETY, THE PIONEER PARK EDUCATION PROGRAM, AND FERNDALE WAS OUR MAIN CUSTOMER FOR THAT AND WILL BE AGAIN NEXT YEAR. YEAR WHEN THE THIRD GRADERS GO, HOPEFULLY, THIRD GRADE OR FOURTH GRADE, YOU GUYS HAVE TO IRON OUT THOSE DETAILS. BUT WE HAVE SO MANY SCHOOLS THAT ARE COMING THAT HADN'T BEFORE BECAUSE I HAD TO DO OUTREACH SINCE WE'RE NOT GETTING LYNDON OR FERNDALE THIS YEAR. AND WE HAVE A LOT OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS, CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS, HOMESCHOOLERS, AND A COUPLE OF MOUNT VERNON, BELLINGHAM, A COUPLE OF THEM. SO ANYWAY. DAY TWO TODAY, AND IT'S JUST SO MUCH FUN, AND IT'S SUCH A WONDERFUL THING TO GIVE TO THESE KIDS, AND THEY HAD A BLAST. SO ANYWAY, IT'S REALLY FUN TO BE A PART OF THAT. THAT'S ALL I GOT. OKAY. I WILL TRY TO BE BRIEF AS WELL. JUST A REMINDER, OUR NEXT MEETING, OUR STUDY SESSION, AND THE MARK AND CHRISTY'S ROAD SHOW ON THE COUNTY COUNCIL. SINCE I HAVE LACK OF ANYTHING ELSE TO CALL IT AT THIS POINT, PEGGY WILL HELP PLOD THEM ALONG. DISSERTATION. ALSO, IF YOU DO HAVE IDEAS OR THINGS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE ON THE AGENDA FOR FUTURE MEETINGS, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO SEND THOSE TO ME, CHRIS OR CHRISTY. THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO REITERATE OR TO KIND OF FALL IN LINE WITH, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SCHOOL VISITS. ROBIN AND I HAD THE... PLEASURE OF PARTICIPATING IN CASCADIA'S STEAM NIGHT LAST WEEK, THE WEEK BEFORE TIME FLIES. AND HAPPY TO REPORT THAT COULSON VETERINARY HOSPITAL'S VETERINARY EXHIBIT THAT WE HAD THERE WAS, WE WERE TOLD, THE BEST BOOTH THERE. NOT SURPRISING. WE HAD THE GROSSEST SAMPLES. I'M SURE THAT THE TEACHERS AND FAMILIES WERE THRILLED WITH THE THINGS THAT WE HAD ON DISPLAY. WE PROUDLY EXPLAINED. ROBIN EVEN CONVINCED ONE FAMILY, YOU KNOW, THAT KIDS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE REALITIES OF LIFE, SO LET'S LEARN ABOUT THIS. SO IT WAS A LOT OF FUN. IT JUST AMAZED ME, AND I THINK THE TAKE-HOME MESSAGE FROM IT WAS JUST THE DIVERSITY WITHIN THE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES THAT WERE COMING THROUGH AND HOW THAT ALL KIND OF PLAYED TOGETHER. I HAD KIDS THAT WERE TRANSLATING FOR THEIR PARENTS, WHICH WAS... REALLY INTERESTING. YOU KNOW, I HAD PARENTS EXPLAINING THINGS TO THEIR KIDS THAT I HAD TO POLITELY SAY, WELL, THAT'S NOT QUITE RIGHT HERE. LET'S MOVE IT AROUND. BUT JUST LOTS OF FUN AND LOTS OF WIDE EYES. AND I THINK IT'S GREAT FOR US AS BOARD MEMBERS WHEN WE GET INTO THE SCHOOLS AND SEE WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. SO I APPRECIATED, YOU KNOW, BRIAN AND ANTONIO MENTIONING THOSE THINGS. AND PEGGY AND NANCY HAVE MENTIONED THEM IN THE PAST. BUT I THINK IT'S JUST A GOOD REMINDER FOR US ALL. THAT'S WHY WE'RE REALLY HERE AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH IS HELPING THE KIDS GET THE BEST EDUCATION AVAILABLE. SO WITH THAT, I WILL ADJOURN TONIGHT'S MEETING AND HAVE A GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU, EVERYONE. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.