[ I. Call to Order] [00:00:02] ...AND I AM GOING TO CALL THE REGULAR MEETING TO ORDER. PLEASE STAND FOR 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. SEANIECE, WILL YOU PLEASE TAKE THE ROLL? DR. HANSON. PRESENT. MR. HIBBS. HERE. MS. LEE. PRESENT. MR. MEYERS? HERE. MR. MICHAELSON? HERE. MR. MILLER? HERE. DR. SUPIOT? BOARD MEMBERS, [IV. Approval of Agenda] IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA? SO MOVED. SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. HEARING NO OPPOSITION, THE AGENDA IS APPROVED. AT THIS TIME, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS INVITES INDIVIDUALS OR DELEGATIONS TO COME FORWARD TO SPEAK ON ISSUES RELATED TO SCHOOL DISTRICT OPERATIONS THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED ON TODAY'S MEETING AGENDA. CITIZEN INPUT ON ACTION OR DISCUSSION ITEMS WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THE TIME OF DISCUSSION FOR EACH AGENDA ITEM. EACH CITIZEN SIGNED UP TO SPEAK TONIGHT WILL BE ALLOWED THREE MINUTES EACH. SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? NO. THE CONSENT ACTION ITEMS ARE THE [VI. Consent Action Item(s) ] FOLLOWING: BOARD MEETING MINUTES FROM JULY 20TH 2026 - JIM VANDERLOO. BOARD MEETING MINUTES FOR JULY 27 2026 - JIM VANDERLOO. FINANCIAL REPORTS PATTY BLANKENSHIP AND SCHOOL BOARD ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP SBAC - DIRECTORS HIBBS, MILLER AND SUPIOT. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS? SO MOVED. SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? JUST A VERY SHORT COMMENT. I DON'T KNOW EVERYBODY THAT'S GOING TO BE APPOINTED TONIGHT. I DO KNOW A NUMBER OF THEM, AND THEY'RE VERY, VERY IMPRESSIVE, VERY CAPABLE PEOPLE. I'M REALLY IMPRESSED WITH THE PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING ON THAT BOARD. THANK YOU. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSITION? NONE? THE MOTION PASSES. THE CONSENT AGENDA IS APPROVED. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS. IS THERE [VII. Board Committee Reports] ANY COMMITTEE REPORTS? DR. HANSON. ALL RIGHT. I'D LIKE TO REPORT ON THE FINANCE AND FACILITIES COMMITTEE. WE MET LAST MONDAY, AS PER USUAL. MANY OF THE ITEMS ARE LISTED AS AGENDA ITEMS ON THE REPORT TODAY. ONE THAT I ESPECIALLY WANT TO CALL ATTENTION TO IS THE FIVE-YEAR MAINTENANCE REPORT OR PLAN AND I WANT TO THANK THE MANY DISTRICT BOARD DISTRICT ADMINISTRATORS WHO WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. THAT'S A LOT OF WORK, A LOT OF COORDINATION AMONGST ALL OF YOU. I DO THINK IT'S A PLAN THAT HELPS US TO MAKE MORE INFORMED DECISIONS AND BE MORE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIPE SO, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE TIME AND EFFORT THAT WAS SPENT IN DOING THAT. IT WILL BE SHARED WITH ALL OF THE BOARD I BELIEVE AFTER OUR MEETING IS CONCLUDED TODAY. SO, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THE TIME THAT YOU SPENT DOING THAT. IT REALLY DOES HELP US TO BE PLANFUL IN THAT WAY. AND DIRECTOR MEYERS WAS A KEY COMPONENT OF THAT PROCESS AS WELL. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. THANK YOU. OH, PLENTY OF 3 A.M. EMAILS. YES, YES, 3 A.M. FROM ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY. ALL RIGHT, DIRECTOR MILLER. A COUPLE OF UPDATES. ONE, POLICY COMMITTEE MET IN THIS LAST WEEK, AND YOU CAN SEE MOST OF THE POLICIES OR ALL OF THE POLICIES THAT WERE REVIEWED. IT WAS A GOOD DIALOGUE. THERE WAS A LOT OF DIALOGUE, AND I'M MIXED ABOUT WHERE WE'RE HEADED ON MOST OF THOSE POLICIES. MORE IMPORTANTLY, THOUGH, THE SCHOOL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP THAT WE JUST APPROVED, IT IS AN EXCITING TIME FOR THE SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND WE HAD ALMOST TWICE AS MANY PEOPLE APPLY AS WE NEEDED FOR THE COMMITTEE. AND SO FOR EVERYBODY THAT APPLIED THAT DIDN'T GET ON THE COMMITTEE, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOUR TIME AND INTEREST IS VALUED AND KEEP LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE DISTRICT. BUT WE DID JUST APPROVE 18 MEMBERS TO START THAT COMMITTEE AND THAT COMMITTEE IS SCHEDULED TO MEET SEPTEMBER 15TH FOR THE FIRST TIME AND AGAIN IT IS EXCITING TIME IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. THANK YOU, DIRECTOR MILLER, FOR LEADING THAT CHARGE WITH DIRECTOR HIBBS AND DIRECTOR SUPIOT. IN ADDITION TO DIRECTOR MEYERS WAS ALSO A PART OF THAT. AND NEED I SAY THAT INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT VANDERLOO WAS ALSO A PART OF THAT RICH DISCUSSION IN ADDITION TO TEAM MEMBERS THAT WERE A VITAL PART [00:05:03] OF MOVING THAT FORWARD. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT. NOT REALLY A REPORT, BUT JUST AN ACCOLADE. I DO WANT TO THANK THOSE WHO HAVE STEPPED UP IN THIS INTERIM, WHO HAVE TAKEN ON MORE RESPONSIBILITY, WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THE TRANSITION THAT WE CONTINUE TO GO THROUGH AND GET TO A POSITION WHERE WE ARE A FULLY FUNCTIONING SCHOOL BOARD. AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP DIRECTOR OR EXCUSE ME INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT VANDERLOO, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY THE TEAM, THE TEAM MEMBERS THAT STOOD UP AND TOOK ON A LOT OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITY AND CONTINUE TO DO SO, SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD. JAROD MOZER AND AMY DENNY, THANK YOU TOO FOR TAKING ON ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE INTERIM THIS SUMMER AND GETTING US TO WHERE WE ARE SO MUCH APPRECIATED. WITH THAT BEING SAID. WE WILL- IS ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY UPDATES? ALL RIGHT. WE WILL LOOK AT [VIII. Future Meetings] FUTURE MEETINGS AND THEY ARE LISTED AND I AM NOT GOING TO SPEND THE TIME TO GO THROUGH THAT. WE SEE THIS FUTURE MEETINGS THAT ARE LISTED AND [IX. Interim Superintendent’s Report] WE'LL ASK FOR INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. THANK YOU, PRESIDENT LEE. I AGAIN WOULD LIKE TO SAY THE SAME THING EVERYONE ELSE HAS SAID, THAT FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL PROJECT PLAN IS SUPER IMPRESSIVE AND THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE THAT SPEND A LOT OF TIME PUTTING THAT TOGETHER ALONG WITH WITH DIRECTOR MEYERS, SO, THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT WORK. IT WILL DEFINITELY GUIDE OUR WORK AND THEN OVER THE NEXT TWO OR THREE YEARS. NEXT WE WILL BE SELLING ONE OF OUR PROJECT HOMES THAT WE BUILT THIS LAST YEAR WITH OUR CONSTRUCTION COURSE. PLEASE LOOK FOR AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF THAT, SOCIAL MEDIA WILL BE OUT THERE AS WELL AS MEDIA- WE'LL HAVE AN OPEN HOUSE AND SO, ONE OF OUR PROJECT HOMES WILL BE GOING UP FOR BID IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE. SO, PLEASE LOOK FOR THOSE ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING. I'M ALSO EXCITED ABOUT DIRECTOR MILLER'S FACILITY COMMITTEE, I THINK IT IS AN EXCITING TIME FOR OUR DISTRICTS, AN EXCITING TIME FOR OUR CITY. THERE'S SOME POTENTIALLY AMAZING THINGS THAT COULD COME OUT OF THAT COMMITTEE, SO I APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP. WITH THAT, LOOK FORWARD TO THE RESULTS. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE RICH CONVERSATION ABOUT OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES TONIGHT AS WELL AND OUR BOARD PRIORITIES. NEW TEACHERS START TOMORROW WITH NEW TEACHER ORIENTATION AND OUR VETERAN TEACHERS START WORKING IN THEIR CLASSROOMS TODAY, SO THEY CAN ALL WORK ONE DAY A WEEK STARTING TODAY SO WE HAVE A LOT OF TEACHERS IN OUR BUILDINGS STARTING TODAY, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH DR. LINDSAY, THE NEW PRESIDENT OF WESTERN IOWA TECH, WHICH IS A RICH CONVERSATION. WE HAVE A LOT OF GREAT PARTNERSHIP GOING ON WITH WESTERN IOWA TECH, AND WE LOOK TO CONTINUE THAT. THAT BEING SAID, I DO MEET WITH VICE PRESIDENT AT BRIAR CLIFF, BRIAN PETERSON, SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE ABOUT A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE EXPLORING EXPANDING TO OUR STUDENTS HERE IN THE DISTRICT. AND THE LAST THING IS MOST OF OUR PRINCIPALS WERE IN DES MOINES LAST WEEK TO THE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS OF IOWA CONFERENCE. THAT WAS VERY VALUABLE. IT WAS GREAT HEARING FROM MR. CARVER FROM SAI ABOUT SOME OF THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW LEGISLATION THAT'S COME AROUND. SO A LOT OF HEAVY LIFTING WITH THE NEW LEGISLATION, BUT WE'RE PREPARED FOR THAT AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEW YEAR. THANK YOU, BECAUSE NOBODY HAD A SUMMER. IT FEELS LIKE WE JUST RECESSED FOR SUMMER AND THEN WENT RIGHT BACK INTO THE SCHOOL YEAR. [X.A. 2026-2027 Board Priorities – Jim Vanderloo/ President Lee ] ALL RIGHT, MR. VANDERLOO, WE ARE GOING TO GO INTO THE DISTRICT PRIORITIES. AND AT THIS TIME, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE 2026-2027 BOARD PRIORITIES? SO MOVED. SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? YEAH, I'D LIKE TO ADD, THERE'S, I'D LIKE TO HAVE A QUICK SAY. DIRECTOR MICHAELSON? YEAH, I'M GOING TO VOTE NO. I DON'T THINK THIS IS A BIG SURPRISE TO ANYBODY ON THIS, BUT I WANT TO EXPLAIN WHY. ONE OF THE PRIORITIES IS IMPLEMENTING DUAL LANGUAGE IN K THROUGH 8. IT'S A GREAT IDEA, AND IT'S A WONDERFUL ASPIRATION, BUT MAYBE SOME OF YOU GUYS THAT ARE... WEREN'T ON THE BOARD HERE TOO LONG AGO, WE INVESTIGATED THIS AND IT WAS GOING TO COME OFF AT A COST OF ABOUT 18 MILLION DOLLARS. AND THE OTHER THING THAT'S LEFT OUT OF THIS, IS THE... IT'S THE TEACHERS AREN'T AVAILABLE FOR THIS. THEY... WE HAVE DIFFICULTY GETTING THOSE BILINGUAL TEACHERS SO WE CAN RUN THIS WITH FIDELITY. THERE IS A, RIGHT NOW, IF YOU LOOK IT UP, AS FAR AS BILINGUAL TEACHERS IN THE STATE OF IOWA LOOKING FOR A JOB, THERE'S ABOUT 15 TOTAL. ONE OF THEM IS IN THE 712 AREA CODE. SO, AGAIN, I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA. I THINK IT'S A WONDERFUL ASPIRATION. ANYTIME I VOTE FOR OR AGAINST SOMETHING SO PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND, IS IT GREAT FOR THE MAJORITY [00:10:02] AND IS IT SUSTAINABLE? AND IN THIS INSTANCE, ONE OF THE TWO IS TRUE IN MY VIEW. I THINK IT'S A WONDERFUL IDEA. I THINK IT'D BE AWESOME IF ALL OF OUR KIDS COULD SPEAK TWO LANGUAGES. I JUST DON'T SEE IT AS FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE CONSIDERING THE MANDATES THAT WE'RE GETTING FOR THE STATE. THEY'RE UNFUNDED. I WANTED TO EXPLAIN MY NOTE. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? THANK YOU, DIRECTOR MICHAELSON. I APPRECIATE THE BACKGROUND. IT'S ALWAYS HELPFUL, I THINK, FOR BOTH THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS AS WELL AS THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THAT. ONE THING THAT I WOULD JUST LIKE TO CLARIFY IS WE WERE PRESENTED WITH ONE OPTION FOR HOW TO EXPAND DUAL LANGUAGE FROM KINDERGARTEN TO EIGHTH GRADE. I BELIEVE THERE ARE MORE OPTIONS. AND AFTER OUR WORK SESSION LAST WEEK, I HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE THAT THIS ADMINISTRATION AND THE TEAM THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE IS GOING TO BE LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL OPTIONS KNOWING THAT THAT IS IN THE INTEREST OF THE GREATER BOARD. THANK YOU, ANY OTHER? DIRECTOR MEYERS. WELL, I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH BOTH DR. HANSON AND BOARD MEMBER MICHAELSON. DUAL LANGUAGE IS A WONDERFUL IDEA OF WHAT WE CAN AFFORD, HOW MUCH IN ANY ONE YEAR WILL END UP BEING DECIDED DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS, WHICH REQUIRES A BUDGET TO BE SUSTAINABLE. BY THAT TIME, WE WILL HAVE BEEN SUBJECT TO THE TENDER MERCIES OF THE LEGISLATURE IN DETERMINING HOW MUCH WE CAN SPEND. I'M TOLD THAT INSTEAD OF OUR BEING AT THE TABLE, WE MAY BE ON THE TABLE IN THE UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE SESSION. SO HOW MUCH WE CAN DO IN ANY ONE YEAR, WE'LL SEE, BUT WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING, I'LL VOTE FOR IT AS AN ASPIRATION, AND WE'LL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO. THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBERS? YEAH, I THINK, SORRY, THANK YOU FOR ACKNOWLEDGING ME PRESENTLY. I THINK THAT, YES, WE HAD A PRESENTATION, AND YES, THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A $14 OR $18 MILLION PRICE TAG TO IT, BUT IT IS NOT THE INTENT TO DO DUAL LANGUAGE FOR ALL STUDENTS K TO 12 OR K THROUGH 8 OR ANY OF THAT. AND SO WHEN THERE'S A NARRATIVE THAT'S CREATED THAT IS NOT WHAT THE MASS IS THINKING ABOUT, IT CREATES A TONE IN OUR DISTRICT AND IN OUR CITY THAT IS A FALSE NARRATIVE. AND SO WHILE I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S COMMENTS, THE INTENT IS TO EXPAND DUAL LANGUAGE INTO EIGHTH GRADE. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE ARE GOING TO DO DUAL LANGUAGE FOR EVERY STUDENT BETWEEN K AND EIGHTH GRADE IN EVERY SCHOOL BUILDING THAT WE HAVE THEM. SO, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STOP THAT FALSE NARRATIVE AND SO WE FOLLOWED UP WITH ADDITIONAL PEOPLE THAT SAID YES WE CAN DO THIS, YES WE HAVE IDEAS ON HOW TO DO THIS DIFFERENTLY WELL BEFORE WE GO, BEFORE THESE PRIORITIES CAME BEFORE US A FEW WEEKS AGO AND SO I JUST WANT US TO KEEP AN OPEN MIND AS A DISTRICT THAT WE WANT TO BE THAT DESTINATION DISTRICT. WE WANT TO ACHIEVE MORE, AND WE KNOW THAT WE ARE GETTING LESS TO ACHIEVE MORE. SO, YES, THERE'S GOING TO BE SACRIFICES THAT ARE MADE ALONG THE WAY, BUT THE INTENT SHOULD BE THAT WE CREATE THAT OPPORTUNITY EVERYWHERE POSSIBLE WHEN WE CAN AFFORD IT. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP AN OPEN MIND ON THINGS, AND THESE ARE PRIORITIES TO EXPLORE IDEAS AND TRY TO GET THERE. IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE'RE GOING TO ACCOMPLISH EVERYTHING IN THE NEXT YEAR OR TWO. DIRECTOR MICHAELSON? SO I'M GOOD WITH THAT, BUT WHAT THIS READS IS IT SAYS WE'RE GOING TO IMPLEMENT A K THROUGH 8, KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 8TH GRADE DUAL LANGUAGE SCHOOL EDUCATION PROGRAM. AND AGAIN, THE ASPIRATION, ALL FOR IT. BUT AS THIS READS, AND AGAIN, I'M VOTING NO SIMPLY BECAUSE IT READS K THROUGH A. DR. HANSON, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? OKAY. I WILL SAY THAT, BOARD MEMBERS, AS YOU ALL PARTICIPATED IN, WE DID HAVE A RICH DISCUSSION WITH THE CABINET AND LOU ANN GVIST FROM IASB AND WE TALKED ABOUT OUR BOARD PRIORITIES. WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT STRATEGIC PLANS. SO WE REALLY LOOKED AT HOW THESE PRIORITIES WERE INTERMINGLED TO SOME DEGREE FOR OUR DISTRICT PLANS AND DIRECTIONS. SO THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION CENTERED AROUND THAT IN ADDITION TO US HAVING A VERY PRODUCTIVE MEETING IN MY OPINION ON OUR DISTRICT PRIORITIES AND SUPPORTING THE WORK THAT THE [00:15:01] CABINET DID TO GET US TO THAT POINT. AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, THESE, THE PRIORITIES THAT WERE LISTED ARE PRIORITIES THAT WE'VE HAD FOR MY DURATION ON THE BOARD. AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO NEED TO THINK THAT WHEN LOOKING AT THIS, I THINK FROM THAT MEETING, WE WERE CHARGED WITH SAYING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE NEED TO DISSECT THIS A LITTLE MORE AND TO TALK ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS AND MAKING SOME OF THESE STRATEGIC GOALS, IN ADDITION TO THE PRIORITIES THAT WE ARE WORKING ON. AND SO AS WE LOOK AT THE DOCUMENT THAT IS PRESENTED TO US TONIGHT, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THESE ARE INTERTWINED WITH WHAT SHOULD BE OUR STRATEGIC GOALS AND PLANS TO DEVELOP AND OUR PRIORITIES. AND ALSO LET'S NOTE THAT OUR TEAM IS ALREADY DOING THIS WORK. AND REALLY, THIS IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD HAVE HAD BEFORE THE TEAM, LIKE, IN MARCH SO THAT WE CAN BE GOING THERE SO, WE'RE A LITTLE BIT BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL, IF YOU WILL, BECAUSE THE TEAM, WHEN I SAY THE TEAM I'M SAYING THE DISTRICT WHERE THEY'VE IMPLEMENTED THIS AND THEY HAVE BEEN. WE'RE JUST TRYING TO CATCH UP TO THE PRIORITIES THAT ARE ALREADY BEING DONE AND THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN OUR BUILDINGS. INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD ANYTHING? WE ARE MOVING FORWARD AND WE'RE PREPARED TO OFFER A SECTION OF EIGHTH GRADE DUAL LANGUAGE FOR DICK'S SCHOOL YEAR. I MEAN, SORRY, SIXTH GRADE AT ONE OF OUR LOCATIONS. WE HAVE A COMMITTEE AND WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT. AND THE TIMELINE WILL BE IN NOVEMBER SO WE CAN PUT IT ON THE COURSE CATALOG. ALL RIGHT. IS THERE ANY MORE DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? THERE IS. DAN GREENWELL, HE WOULD LIKE TO BE CALLED FOR HIS CITIZEN INPUT. HEY DAN, I'M GONNA PUT YOU ON SPEAKER FOR YOUR CITIZEN INPUT. THIS IS SEANIECE, I'M CALLING YOU FOR YOUR CITIZEN INPUT. OKAY, YOU'RE READY TO GO. I'M READY TO GO, IS THAT CORRECT? YEP, YOU'RE GOOD. DAN GREENWELL, SIOUX CITY, IOWA. WELL, I APPRECIATE THE DISCUSSION I'VE HEARD SO FAR ON THE BOARD PRIORITIES. I WOULD LIKE TO TURN TO PAGE SEVEN ON THE BOARD PRIORITIES AND POINT OUT A COUPLE OF ITEMS ON THERE. THE SECOND BULLET IS THE ONE THAT'S PRETTY IMPORTANT. CONSIDER THE FINANCIAL OUTCOMES OF KEY DECISIONS. THE LAST BULLET POINT UNDER THAT FIRST SECTION IS SURE NEW OR LARGER PROGRAMS NOT PREVIOUSLY BUDGETED FOR ARE RECOMMENDED IN EVALUATION DURING THE ANNUAL BUDGET PROCESS. AND THE THIRD ONE IS INCLUDE THE FUNDING SOURCE IN THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES AND OR BOARD PRESENTATIONS. THE RECENT DISCUSSION ON DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAM, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT. BUT FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO CHASTISE MILLER. SAYING THAT WE SHOULDN'T SET A TONE OR FALSE NARRATIVE. IF I RECALL, MR. MILLER VOTED NO ON ELL CURRICULUM SOME TIME AGO. HE VOTED NO ON DR. MILLER'S APPOINTMENT... I BELIEVE WE HAVE A POLICY THAT PROHIBITS DISPARAGEMENT OF INDIVIDUALS RELATED TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO I WOULD CALL A POINT OF ORDER TO CEASE MR. GREENWELL'S COMMENTS AT THIS TIME. THE RULE FOR K-8 WAS NEVER ON THE AGENDA BEFORE NOW. THE OTHER ONES ON IMPROVING THE ELL UP ABOVE, YES. BUT DUAL LANGUAGE IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL. MR. GREENWELL. ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR ALL WAS NEVER ON A PROGRAM. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT WE ARE GOING TO CONCLUDE THIS CONVERSATION, SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CALL. HOWEVER, BASED OFF OF THE COMMENT THAT WE HAVE HEARD IN THE POLICY THAT WE WANT TO ADHERE TO, WE ARE NO LONGER GOING TO CONTINUE TO. LISTEN TO YOUR COMMENTS. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK. WITH THAT BEING SAID, SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY OTHER CITIZEN INPUT? THERE'S NOT. OKAY, THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBERS, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ACCEPTING THE BOARD PRIORITIES, SAY AYE. AYE. AND THOSE OPPOSED? NAY. OKAY, THE MOTION PASSES. BOARD MEMBERS, [X.B. 2026-2027 Legislative Priorities – Jim Vanderloo/ President Lee ] IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FOR 2026-27 SCHOOL YEAR? SO MOVED. SECOND. IS THERE ANY [00:20:01] DISCUSSION? I HAVE A COUPLE OF THOUGHTS. THE FIRST IS THE PRIORITY OF ASKING THE STATE OF IOWA FOR A 5% INCREASE IN SCHOOL FUNDING IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. WHEN WE GO IN WITH THAT, WE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY VIEWED AS UNINFORMED AT BEST, AND WE ARE UNLIKELY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE AS MUCH IMPACT ON THE LEGISLATURE AS IF WE ASKED FOR SOMETHING THAT WE THOUGHT WAS MORE... YOU'RE FINE. YOU'RE FINE. OH, IT SAYS THE ARM CLOCK. I THOUGHT I WAS WAKING UP. SO I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THAT. I'M ALSO CONCERNED WITH THE STATE OF IOWA AT THE PRESENT POINT. THEY'RE SPENDING ABOUT A BILLION, TWO BILLION, THREE A YEAR MORE THAN WHAT THEY'RE TAKING IN. THE IDEA OF AT LEAST SOME IS THAT THAT WOULD BE MADE UP OVER TIME. WITH BUSINESSES AND PEOPLE FLOCKING TO IOWA TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR LOWER TAXES, FROM EVERYTHING THAT I'VE SEEN, THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED. IF THERE IS ANY EVIDENCE THAT THERE'S BEEN MUCH CHANGE, I HAVEN'T SEEN IT, AND I WOULD THINK THOSE THAT KEEP TRACK OF SUCH THINGS WOULD BE GLAD TO. BUT THE RESIDENTS OF THE STATE KNOW, SHOULD THAT HAPPEN. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE DIFFICULT YEARS. ONE OTHER THING THAT I'LL POINT OUT IS TO ASK THE LEGISLATURE TO ESSENTIALLY QUIT TAKING SALES TAX MONEY FOR PROPERTY TAX RELIEF. WELL, PHILOSOPHICALLY, I AGREE WITH THAT. I THINK THE MOST THAT COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN WOULD BE TO ASK THEM TO FREEZE. THE PROPERTY TAX RELIEF LEVEL AS IT IS IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET. BECAUSE ONCE THAT MONEY HAS GONE OUT, ONCE THEY'VE GOTTEN USED TO SENDING IT OUT, TO TELL THEM THAT, OH, WE CAN'T DO THAT ANYMORE BECAUSE THE SCHOOLS COMPLAINED, WOULD NOT BE PERSUASIVE, BUT WE MIGHT HAVE THREE CHANCES IN A HUNDRED IN CONVINCING THEM NOT TO IMPLEMENT THE FULL FOUR-YEAR SHIFT OF SALES TAX FOR SCHOOLS TO PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION. THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBERS, ANY OTHER FEEDBACK? I DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE, I HAVE REQUESTED THAT OUR BOARD MEMBERS GIVE US SOME PRIORITIES THAT WE WANTED TO LOOK AT THIS COMING YEAR FOR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES. AND I DO KNOW THAT SEANIECE WAS COLLECTING THAT INFORMATION FROM US. YEAH, I WOULD JUST ADD THAT I'VE HEARD MENTIONED EVEN TODAY ALREADY IN THE MEETING THE UNFUNDED MANDATES AND I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO LOOK AT SOME OF THESE AND IDENTIFY THE IMPACT THAT THINGS HAVE AND ARE WE REALLY TARGETING OUR PRIORITY DISCUSSIONS WITH THE LEGISLATURES WITH THE LEGISLATIVE MEMBERS ON THE AREAS THAT IMPACT US THE MOST. I THINK YOU KNOW ASKING THEM TO ROLL BACK SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY HAVE MANDATED AND NOT FUNDED IS PROBABLY MORE LIKELY TO GET TRACTION. I CONCUR WITH DIRECTOR MICHAELSON THAT I THINK ASKING FOR MONEY BACK THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN GIVEN AWAY, SO TO SPEAK, OR FOR ASKING FOR AN INCREASE IN STATE SUPPLEMENTAL AID IS A HARD ASK. IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE SHOULDN'T DO IT, BUT I DO THINK THAT WE HAVE TO BE REALISTIC ABOUT HOW MANY THINGS WE CAN HAVE AN EAR FOR. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD THINK ABOUT IS ASKING US TO THINK ABOUT ARE THESE REALLY THE BIG HITTERS THAT WE NEED TO BE FOCUSED ON. MR. VANDERLOO, DID YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING TO THAT LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES? NO, I AGREE THAT THE SAFE FUND SHOULD BE ON HERE AND THAT SCOOP WILL IMPACT US A GREAT DEAL FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. WE CAN'T JUST SIT AND NOT VOICE OUR CONCERNS AND I KNOW THAT WE WILL EFFECTIVELY HERE IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS MEET WITH LEGISLATORS TO SEE IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING DONE. BOARD MEMBERS, HEARING NO MORE [00:25:01] DISCUSSION, SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? NO. OKAY, THANK YOU. AND ALL OF THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? HEARING NONE, THE MOTION PASSES. BOARD [X.C. IASB Delegate Assembly – President Lee ] MEMBERS, NEXT ON THE AGENDA IS THE IASB DELEGATION ASSEMBLY, AND IS THERE A MOTION TO SELECT SOMEONE TO SERVE AS THE DISTRICT DELEGATE FOR THE 26-27 SCHOOL YEAR? SO MOVED. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? TO SELECT SOMEONE TO SERVE IN THAT CAPACITY. MR. MICHAELSON WILL NOT BE HERE. HE HAS TO GO TO THE LABORATORY. IS THERE ANYONE THAT IS WILLING TO SERVE IN THAT CAPACITY? IF NOT... OKAY, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A WEALTH OF VOLUNTEERS HERE TODAY, THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. I DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU, TREYLA. SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? SO, IS THERE A MOTION TO SELECT TREYLA LEE TO SERVE AS THE DISTRICT DELEGATE FOR 2026-27 SCHOOL YEAR? SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. IN OPPOSITION, THAT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE THEY'LL LOSE. ALL RIGHT. THE MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. [X.D. Human Resources Report(s) – Barb Caskey ] ALL RIGHT. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE HR REPORT AS LISTED ON THE AGENDA? SO MOVED. SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? GREAT. SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? HEARING NO CITIZEN INPUT, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AND NO OPPOSITION. OPPOSED? NAY. OKAY, SO HEARING THAT, THE MOTION STILL PASSES. THANK YOU. SEANIECE, MAJORITY WITH ONE. OKAY. [X.E. Communications Department Update – Leslie Heying ] COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT UPDATE. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO UPDATE YOU A LITTLE BIT ON OUR COMMUNICATIONS ACTIVITIES FOR THE DISTRICT. THIS EVENING, I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT AND OUR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, IN CASE YOU'RE NOT AWARE OF THOSE. I'M ALSO GOING TO DO A YEAR IN REVIEW, LOOKING BACK AT LAST YEAR AND RECAPPING WHERE WE BECAME LAST YEAR AND LOOKING AHEAD AT THIS NEXT YEAR AND OUR PRIORITIES AND GOALS FOR THIS UPCOMING SCHOOL YEAR AND ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS OR TAKING ANY FEEDBACK THAT YOU HAVE. COMMUNICATIONS IN THE DISTRICT IS RELATIVELY NEW. IN FACT, OUR DEPARTMENT STARTED PROBABLY 20 YEARS AGO, WHICH IS, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, PRETTY NEW, NOT ONLY IN OUR DISTRICT, BUT ALSO IN PUBLIC EDUCATION AS A WHOLE. WHEN WE STARTED 20 YEARS AGO, WE WERE REALLY A PRINTING AND PUBLICATIONS DEPARTMENT. PEOPLE WOULD COME TO US WITH THEIR PRINTING REQUESTS. WE WOULD GO TO THE COPY MACHINE OR WE GO TO THE LOCAL PRINTING VENDOR, GET THOSE JOBS COMPLETED. AND OUR DAY ENDED AT 5 O'CLOCK AND WE WENT HOME AND THEN OPENED OUR BUSINESS BACK UP THE NEXT DAY AT 8 A.M. THOSE DAYS ARE NO LONGER. COMMUNICATIONS TODAY IS A 24-7 BUSINESS. WE NEVER CLOSE. WE OFFER OUR FAMILIES AND THE COMMUNITY MORE OPTIONS THAN EVER BEFORE TO GET A HOLD OF US AT ANY TIME, DAY OR NIGHT. IN FACT, I WOULD ARGUE THAT OUR MOST CHALLENGING WORK STARTS AFTER 5 O'CLOCK AND ON WEEKENDS. BECAUSE WHEN KIDS GO HOME AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY, IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY SEE THEIR FAMILIES, PROBABLY SINCE THE MORNING. THEY TELL THEIR PARENTS ABOUT THEIR DAY. PARENTS START HAVING QUESTIONS, OR MAYBE THEY HAVE FEEDBACK. WE START HEARING THAT AFTER HOURS. OR THAT'S WHEN PEOPLE LIKE TO GO ONLINE, AND I KNOW I LIKE TO DO THAT SAME THING AT NIGHT, AND I GO ON FACEBOOK, AND I START READING ALL THESE FACEBOOK GROUPS AND ALL KINDS OF COMMENTS. AND SO, AGAIN, I WOULD SAY THAT OUR MOST CHALLENGING WORK STARTS AFTER 5 O'CLOCK AND ON THE WEEKENDS. OUR TEAM IS MADE UP OF THREE OF US. IT'S MYSELF AND I HAVE TWO COLLEAGUES. WE MANAGE 21 WEBSITES, THE DISTRICT AND ALL OF OUR SCHOOL WEBSITES. WE ALSO MANAGE THE DISTRICT SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS AS WELL AS SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS WITH THEIR ACCOUNTS. WE DO MEDIA RELATIONS, WHICH I'LL TALK TO YOU ABOUT IN JUST A MOMENT. WE'RE ALSO ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN VIDEOGRAPHY REQUESTS AND GRAPHIC DESIGN REQUESTS. WE DO A LOT WITH CRISIS COMMUNICATION AND THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN, WHICH WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER THIS EVENING. AND WE DO A LOT OF SPECIAL EVENTS AND ALSO SURVEYS FOR THE DISTRICT. SO, TAKING A LOOK AT A YEAR IN REVIEW, I WANT TO FOCUS ON FOUR DIFFERENT AREAS TONIGHT LOOKING BACK [00:30:01] AT LAST YEAR. I WANT TO LOOK AT SOCIAL MEDIA, MEDIA RELATIONS, NEWSLETTERS, AND THEN OUR WEBSITE. I'M HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES TONIGHT, BUT I REALLY WANTED TO SHOW YOU THIS VIDEO. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT ON FACEBOOK, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO SCROLL BACK A LITTLE BIT. IT IS, IT'S THE BEST. SO, THIS IS ONE OF OUR HIGHEST ENGAGED POSTS FROM LAST YEAR. IT'S PRESTON FISHER, A PRINCIPAL AT BRYANT ELEMENTARY, AND ON THE LAST DAY, HE'S CAUGHT ON CAMERA DOING THE CUPID SHUFFLE WITH SOME OF THE STUDENTS. HE DOES. IT IS A PRICELESS VIDEO. HE SENT IT TO US THE DAY AFTER SCHOOL, WAS DISMISSED LAST YEAR, AND SAID, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU CAN USE THIS, BUT SOMEBODY CAUGHT ME ON CAMERA, AND WE SAID, ABSOLUTELY, WHY NOT SHARE IT? IF YOU LOOK AT THE ANALYTICS, I KNOW THEY'RE A LITTLE HARD TO READ ON HERE. THERE WERE 617 PEOPLE THAT ENGAGED WITH IT. AND THERE ARE 74,000 VIEWS AS OF A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. SO, AGAIN, JUST REALLY POSITIVE FOR US AND SOMETHING THAT WE COULD SHARE ON SOCIAL. AS FAR AS OUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT GOES, IT'S FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT. WE HAVE 44 SCHOOLS' SOCIAL MEDIA SITES, PRIMARILY ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM. BUT A LOT OF OUR SCHOOLS HAVE SCHOOL GROUP SITES THAT THEY ALSO RUN. WE HAVE A LOT OF TEACHERS THAT HAVE THEIR OWN CLASSROOM SITES. AND THEN WE HAVE OUR DISTRICT ACCOUNTS. WE'RE ACTIVE ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, X OR TWITTER, LINKEDIN, TIKTOK, AND YOUTUBE. WE DID NOT HAVE A PRESENCE ON TIKTOK UP UNTIL ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO. WE'VE HAD SOME VERY TALENTED STUDENT INTERNS FROM THE CURE ACADEMY WHO HAVE COME IN AND HELPED US REACH THAT YOUNGER AUDIENCE. I AM THE OLDEST ONE IN MY DEPARTMENT, AND I HAVE A COUPLE OF YOUNGER COLLEAGUES, BUT STILL, WE'RE FAR REMOVED FROM THAT STUDENT AUDIENCE. AND SO IT'S BEEN NICE TO HAVE A VOICE THAT'S A LITTLE MORE CONNECTED WITH OUR STUDENTS. AND THEN LINKEDIN, WE DID NOT HAVE A PRESENCE REALLY MUCH TO SPEAK OF ANYWAY ON LINKEDIN UNTIL ABOUT A YEAR AGO. AND WE DECIDED WITH OUR WORK WITH HR TO BE A LOT MORE INTENTIONAL WITH LINKEDIN. AND SO WE'VE BEEN POSTING ON THAT BECAUSE WE DO FEEL IT'S AN IMPORTANT TOOL TO USE IN TERMS OF RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION. AND THEN YOU'LL SEE OUR OTHER STATS AS FOLLOWS. WHEN YOU COMPARE US TO OTHER UEN SCHOOLS AND EVEN SIOUX FALLS, SIOUX FALLS IS LARGER THAN WE ARE, A LARGER DISTRICT THAN WE ARE. BUT OUR STATS DON'T VARY GREATLY FROM A LOT OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS THAT ARE IN SOME CASES BIGGER THAN WE ARE. SO LAST YEAR, IN TERMS OF SOCIAL MEDIA, WE POSTED 5,100 TOTAL POSTS ACROSS ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. THAT WAS A 5% DECREASE FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. I WILL SAY, IN TERMS OF SOCIAL MEDIA, SOMETIMES IT'S NOT QUANTITY, IT'S MORE ABOUT QUALITY. AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE THESE NEXT FEW STATS COME INTO PLAY. WE HAD 1.87 MILLION POST ENGAGEMENTS. THAT'S PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING IN AND LIKING OR SHARING OUR CONTENT ONLINE. THAT WAS A 95% INCREASE OVER THE PRIOR YEAR. WE ALSO HAD A 23% INCREASE IN FOLLOWERS, INCLUDING 5,000 ADDITIONAL FOLLOWERS TO OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS OVER THE LAST YEAR. AND WE HAD 18 MILLION POST IMPRESSIONS. BY THAT, I MEAN THOSE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE SEEING US, WHETHER YOU'RE ON FACEBOOK AT NIGHT AND SCROLLING THROUGH YOUR NEWS FEED OR YOU'RE ON INSTAGRAM, AND YOU'RE SEEING SOME TYPE OF DISTRICT CONTENT. AND SO, AGAIN, THAT WAS 100 AND, IF I CAN READ MY OWN PRESENTATION, 156% INCREASE OVER THE PRIOR YEAR, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT. IN TERMS OF MEDIA RELATIONS. MEDIA RELATIONS IN THE PR WORLD THERE IS WHAT THEY CALL A 3 TO 1 POSITIVITY RATIO FOR EVERY ONE NEGATIVE STORY THAT YOU HAVE. YOU NEED THREE POSITIVE STORIES TO NEGATE THAT ONE NEGATIVE STORY. IT'S A LOT MORE WORK FOR PEOPLE TO REMEMBER POSITIVE STORIES VERSUS THOSE NEGATIVE ONES AND I LOVE THIS QUOTE, SAYS THE BRAIN IS LIKE VELCRO FOR NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES, BUT TEFLON FOR POSITIVE ONES. AND IF YOU THINK BACK TO EVEN SOME OF THE STORIES THAT YOU'VE SEEN IN THE NEWS, I BET YOU CAN MORE EASILY REMEMBER THE NEGATIVE STORIES THAN YOU CAN THE POSITIVE ONES THAT YOU'VE SEEN. SO LAST YEAR, WE HAD 3,100 TOTAL PR STORIES IN BOTH LOCAL AND NATIONAL NEWS. WHEN IT COMES TO NATIONAL NEWS, THE AP TENDS TO PICK UP SOME OF OUR STORIES SOMETIMES. AND SO SOMETIMES YOU WILL SEE THEM ON MSNBC OR OTHER NATIONAL NEWS OUTLETS. AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE A NATIONAL MENTION THERE. WE PITCHED 65 STORY IDEAS TO LOCAL MEDIA. THOSE ARE STORIES THAT WE ACTIVELY WENT OUT AND SOLICITED AND WE PITCHED THOSE TO THE MEDIA. THAT'S AVERAGING AROUND A LITTLE OVER SEVEN STORIES A MONTH. TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, THAT'S DOWN OVER PREVIOUS YEARS. AND WHEN WE GO INTO THE PRIORITIES AND GOALS FOR THIS YEAR, THAT'S ONE AREA WHERE I'D LIKE TO BE A LITTLE MORE INTENTIONAL AND WORK ON AND IMPROVE ON FOR THE NEXT YEAR. AND THEN WE HAD $107 MILLION IN AVE. AVE IS KIND OF THIS LEGACY STANDARD WHEN IT COMES TO PR. ESSENTIALLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT IT WOULD HAVE COST US ABOUT $107 MILLION IN ORDER TO GET THE SAME ENGAGEMENT OR THE SAME AWARENESS THAT WE WOULD HAVE [00:35:01] GOTTEN THROUGH THESE FREE PR STORIES OR EARNED MEDIA. SO AGAIN, PRETTY AMAZING WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT IN TERMS LIKE THAT. IN TERMS OF TOTAL MEDIA SENTIMENT, EVERY YEAR YOU ALL ON THE BOARD APPROVE MELTWATER. IT'S A CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE FOR A MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA TRACKING SERVICE THAT WE USE. IT HELPS US GO IN AND NOT ONLY MONITOR LIKES AND CONVERSATIONS INVOLVING THE DISTRICT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND IN TRADITIONAL MEDIA, BUT IT ALSO HELPS US SCHEDULE OUR SOCIAL POSTS. SO WE USE THIS DAY IN AND DAY OUT. IT ALSO HELPS US COME UP WITH SOME ANALYTICS AND MEASURE DIFFERENT THINGS. AND THIS IS ONE OF THE DIFFERENT MEASUREMENTS THAT IT PROVIDES US. IT ACTUALLY PROVIDES US WITH MEASUREMENTS ON SENTIMENT, SO HOW THE PUBLIC VIEWED STORIES ABOUT US LAST YEAR. OF THIS, YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY VIEWED OUR STORIES 25% POSITIVELY, WHICH IS GREAT, 6% NEGATIVELY, AND 68% NEUTRAL. I WOULD SAY THAT LAST YEAR WAS DIFFICULT IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE PR AND MEDIA THAT WE RECEIVED. AND SO WHEN I LOOK AT THIS, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, ACTUALLY IT'S FAIRLY POSITIVE, I WOULD SAY, FOR THE DISTRICT WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT ONLY 6% OF THOSE STORIES WERE VIEWED AS NEGATIVE. IT'S ACTUALLY A GOOD THING. SOME OF THE BRIGHT SPOTS LAST YEAR, WE KICKED OFF THE YEAR IN AUGUST WITH A POPSICLE PARTY WITH STEPHANIE FELTZ AT RIVERSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. FOLLOWED BY THE WINTERTIME, WE HAD SOME WEST MIDDLE STUDENTS THAT DONATED TO THE UNITED WAY. WE ALSO HAD A PERRY CREEK KINDERGARTEN TEACHER WHO RECEIVED A GRANT. AND THEN MOVING INTO THE SPRING, WE HAD OUR DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCEMENT, WHICH IS ALWAYS A HUGE POSITIVE FOR THE DISTRICT, AND A LOT OF REALLY GOOD PR COMES FROM THAT. AND THEN IN MAY, WE HAD PROBABLY ONE OF OUR MOST HEARTWARMING STORIES OF THE ENTIRE YEAR. WE HAD A SOLDIER WHO IS COMING BACK FROM A YEAR-LONG DEPLOYMENT AND SURPRISED HIS NIECE OVER AT LOWE'S HILL. SOME OTHER NOTABLE NUMBERS FROM LAST YEAR, OUR DISTRICT WEBSITE, WE HAD 2.4 MILLION VIEWS. WE ALSO HAD AN INCREASE OF 10% IN ACTIVE USERS. WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK IN OUR DEPARTMENT OVER THE LAST YEAR LOOKING AT THE ACCESSIBILITY OF OUR WEBSITE. THERE ARE NEW ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES THAT ARE COMING OUT THAT WE HAVE TO ABIDE BY APRIL OF 2027 AND SO WE'VE DONE AN ENTIRE AUDIT LAST YEAR OF OUR WEBSITE WE PROBABLY HAVE AROUND A THOUSAND PAGES OR SO AND WE LOOKED AT EVERY SINGLE PAGE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S ACCESSIBLE AND IF IT'S NOT WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TO GET IT THERE. WE ALSO HAD A 10% DECREASE IN AVERAGE ENGAGEMENT. ENGAGEMENT ON OUR WEBSITE LAST YEAR. THERE ARE TWO SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT WITH THAT, ONE YOU COULD ARGUE THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING, RIGHT? YOU WANT PEOPLE TO SPEND MORE TIME ON YOUR WEBSITE, OBVIOUSLY. BUT YOU COULD ALSO ON THE OTHER HAND ARGUE THAT IF PEOPLE ARE GOING OUT TO YOUR WEBSITE AND YOU HAVE THE CONTENT OUT THERE THAT PEOPLE NEED, THEY MAY NOT STAY THERE AS LONG BECAUSE THEY GO THERE TO THE WEBSITE, THEY GET THEIR INFORMATION AND THEY LOG OFF. SO YOU CAN LOOK AT IT BOTH WAYS. IT'S ONE AREA THAT I KNOW THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT MORE OVER THE NEXT YEAR AND SEEING IF THERE'S ANY TRENDS THERE TO HELP US FIGURE OUT IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DO TO IMPROVE UPON THAT. AND THEN I THINK BARB MENTIONED THIS AT THE JULY BOARD MEETING, BUT WE DID HAVE A 25% INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF VIEWS TO OUR CAREER PAGE THIS LAST YEAR. WE'VE DONE A LOT IN TERMS OF ADVERTISING THE CAREERS AND RECRUITMENT, AND I THINK THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES TO THIS INCREASE TO OUR WEBSITE. AND THEN IN TERMS OF OUR DISTRICT NEWSLETTER, WE HAD 27 AVERAGE VIEWS PER NEWSLETTER LAST YEAR. WE HAVE 24 TO 2,500 EMPLOYEES. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS, I WOULD SAY A GREAT MAJORITY OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE READING OUR NEWSLETTER ON A MONTHLY BASIS. AND THEY'RE ALSO GOING BACK TO IT LATER ON, REFERRING TO IT. SO WHERE WE'RE HEADED. WELL, THIS NEXT YEAR, WE HAVE A COMMUNICATIONS PLAN THAT WE UPDATE YEARLY. AND I KNOW IT'S DIFFICULT TO READ HERE. I'M HAPPY AT ANOTHER TIME TO SHARE AND SIT DOWN WITH YOU AND GO THROUGH THAT IF YOU'D LIKE. IT'S A MASSIVE DOCUMENT. AND WE BASICALLY PLAN OUT THE ENTIRE YEAR ALL THE THINGS THAT WE CAN PLAN ON. THERE'S SO MANY UNEXPECTED THINGS THAT POP UP IN OUR WORLD EVERY YEAR. AND SO THIS COMMUNICATION PLAN REALLY DETAILS ALL THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW ARE COMING UP. THIS MONTH, LAST WEEK, WE ACTUALLY WRAPPED UP PACK THE BUS WITH KTIV. NEXT WEEK, WE HAVE OUR BACKPACK GIVEAWAY, IN WHICH OUR STUDENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT WILL GIVE OUT HUNDREDS OF BACKPACKS TO DISTRICT FAMILIES. THIS WEEK, WE HAVE NEW TEACHER ORIENTATION, FOLLOWED BY BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT NEXT WEEK, AND THEN OUR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. SO IT'S A BUSY MONTH. IN TERMS OF OUR PRIORITIES FOR THIS NEXT YEAR, AGAIN, I WANTED TO RENEW OUR EMPHASIS AND FOCUS ON STORY PITCHES. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DID GET AWAY FROM LAST YEAR. IDEALLY, I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO PITCH THREE TO FIVE STORIES EVERY WEEK. AGAIN, THOSE AREN'T THE ONLY STORIES WE'RE DOING. THOSE ARE JUST THE ONES THAT WE OURSELVES ARE GOING OUT AND ACTIVELY PITCHING. ON A DAILY BASIS, WE ARE FULFILLING INTERVIEW REQUESTS. WE ARE DRAFTING STATEMENTS. WE ARE ARRANGING INTERVIEWS. WE'RE DOING ALL OF THAT. SO THESE ARE TRULY JUST STORY PITCHES, BUT THEY'RE IMPORTANT, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE EMPHASIZING THOSE. WE ALSO HAVE A DISTRICT THEME THIS YEAR THAT WE'RE LAUNCHING CALLED LEVEL UP, AND YOU'LL BE HEARING A LOT MORE [00:40:01] ABOUT THAT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. AND SO WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING A LOT OF, THIS SHOULD STAY SAFE STAFF AND STUDENT-FOCUSED STORIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AROUND THAT THEME. AND THEN CROSS-CHANNEL PROMOTION IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT. IF CAITLIN DOES AN AWESOME STORY IN THE SIOUX CITY JOURNAL, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TAKE HER STORY AND WE SHARE THAT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND OUR WEBSITE AND ALL THOSE DIFFERENT PLACES BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT THAT IF YOU ARE ON FACEBOOK ONE NIGHT, YOU MIGHT MISS IT ON OUR WEBSITE. AND SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO THAT CROSS-CHANNEL PROMOTION. AND THEN MY LAST TWO SLIDES HERE, THIS ONE IS REALLY IMPORTANT. AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE THREE PEOPLE ON THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM, BUT WE CAN'T DO IT ALL. IN FACT, WE ALWAYS ARE, OUR FAMOUS QUOTE THAT WE SAY IS WE'RE PROBABLY THE LAST TO KNOW IN OUR DEPARTMENT ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING ACROSS THE DISTRICT. COMMUNICATIONS IS A TEAM SPORT, TRULY. SO WE ARE THE STORYTELLERS AND WE'RE THE STRATEGISTS. IF YOU GIVE US A STORY IDEA, WE CAN COME UP WITH OUR STRATEGY FOR WHERE THAT'S BEST TO BE PLACED. HOWEVER, EVERYONE PLAYS A ROLE IN THIS. ALL OF YOU, AS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, YOU PLAY A ROLE IN COMMUNICATIONS. YOU'RE THE CHAMPIONS AND AMBASSADORS. OFTENTIMES, WHAT HAPPENS AT A MONDAY NIGHT BOARD MEETING SETS THE STAGE FOR WHAT STORIES WE WORK ON FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK, RIGHT? SO YOU PLAY A PIECE IN THAT. OUR TEAM MEMBERS, OUR STORY SPOTTERS. WE'RE CONSTANTLY GETTING STORY IDEAS FROM THEM WHICH WE LOVE AND THEY'RE ALSO CONTENT CONTRIBUTORS. OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES THEY PROBABLY PLAY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECES IN THIS. THEY ARE OUR AUTHENTIC VOICES. TRULY THEIR BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND THERE'S NO BETTER PERSON TO TALK ABOUT THE DISTRICT AND COMMUNICATE THE GREAT THINGS HAPPENING THAN THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE IMPACTED AND THOSE ARE OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. AND THEN FINALLY OUR COMMUNITY. THEY CAN BOTH BE ADVOCATES AS WELL AS BOTH NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE AMPLIFIERS DEPENDING ON WHAT IT IS. AND SO, AGAIN, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE KEEP THEM ENGAGED. FINALLY, I'D BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU, IF YOU AREN'T ALREADY, TO FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA. I THINK OFTENTIMES IT'S SO EASY FOR US TO FOCUS ON THAT NEGATIVE STORY THAT WAS ON TV, BUT WE FORGET ABOUT THE 20 OTHER REALLY POSITIVE THINGS LIKE PRESTON FISHER DANCING ON THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL WITH KIDS IN THE PLAYGROUND. AND SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T MISS OUT ON THOSE, TOO, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF REALLY GOOD THINGS HAPPENING AT ALL TIMES. SO MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA. AND WITH THAT. PUT IT UP FOR QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK. BOARD MEMBERS, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION? JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE PERSPECTIVE. IT DOES SOUND LIKE YOU'RE KEEPING BUSY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR GOING THROUGH THIS AND THE INFORMATION. I ALSO WANT TO THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THE PRIORITIES THAT YOU'VE LAID OUT FOR NEXT YEAR, SPECIFICALLY THE STAFF AND STUDENT FOCUS STORIES. I KNOW AS WE COMPETE AT K-12, EDUCATION IS A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT NOW AND SO THOSE STORIES REALLY DO MAKE AN IMPACT TO PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING AND DECIDING WHERE TO SEND THEIR KIDS AND SO I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW THAT LOOKS AND HOW WE'RE MOVING THAT MARK AND HAVING THAT RENEWED FOCUS, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, DIRECTORS. I WOULD LIKE TO ECHO THE SENTIMENT. WE KNEW THAT. WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT GETS DONE IN YOUR DEPARTMENT WITH A BODY OF THREE. BUT I KNOW THAT I HAD REACHED OUT TO MR. VANDERLOO AND WANTED TO DEVISE A PLAN BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN SO MUCH DISCUSSION ON WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING. WE'RE NOT SEEING THE UTILIZATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA. WE'RE NOT MARKETING. WE'RE NOT DOING A LOT OF THINGS. WE'RE MISSING A LOT OF THINGS. BUT I WILL SAY THAT THIS PRESENTATION REALLY HELPS US HAVE AN IDEA OF THE SCOPE OF HOW YOU'RE UTILIZING COMMUNICATION AND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE DISTRICT. AND I WOULD AGREE THAT GRID THAT TALKED ABOUT... WHAT WAS IT? THREE TO ONE. THREE TO ONE YEAH. THAT THAT IT'S SOMETIMES HARD TO UNDO WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO NEGATIVELY. BUT I ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT AS A BOARD WE MADE A DECISION TO DO ALL OF OUR PHOTOGRAPHY INTERNALLY. YOUR DEPARTMENT CAME THROUGH WITH THAT. PREVIOUSLY WE'VE OUTSOURCED THAT BUT AS WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO MAKING SOME CHANGES ADMINISTRATIVELY YOUR DEPARTMENT STEPPED UP AND DID A GREAT JOB OF HELPING US COMPLETE THAT MISSION. SO, THANK YOU FOR THAT AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP. OKAY. BOARD MEMBERS, DOES THE BOARD ACKNOWLEDGE THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT'S UPDATE? THAT'S NOT A VOTE. I THINK YOU JUST ACKNOWLEDGE IT. YEP. BUT SEANIECE, I'M SORRY, I FORGOT TO ASK, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? OKAY. HEARING NONE, THE BOARD DOES ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, NEXT ON THE AGENDA, MR. VANDERLOO. [00:45:06] TONIGHT IT'S JUST THE FLOW-THROUGH MONEY FROM THE NORTHWEST AEA AND THE SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THOSE SERVICES THAT THEY PROVIDE US TO MAKE SURE OUR STUDENTS ARE RECEIVING WHAT THEY NEED. ALL RIGHT, BOARD [X.F. NWAEA and SCCSD 2026-2027 Service Delivery Agreement – Jim Vanderloo] MEMBERS, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE NORTHWEST AREA EDUCATION AGENCY AND SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT'S 2026-27 SERVICE DELIVERY AGREEMENT FOR $112,372.43? SO MOVED. SECOND. I WOULD JUST CLARIFY PRESENTLY IT'S $121 THOUSAND. WHAT DID I SAY? $112. IT'S OKAY. SORRY. I JUST WANTED IT FROM THE RECORD TO BE CLARIFIED. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, ANY CITIZEN INPUT? NO. I DID MISS THAT FIRST AND SECOND, DIRECTOR MEYERS DID YOU SAY... I SAID SECOND. YOU'RE SECOND, AND THEN THE FIRST FOR THAT, DIRECTOR MILLER. OKAY. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. MOTION PASSES. [X.G. Sign Language Interpreter Service Agreement between the SCCSD and NWAEA– Kim Neal] THE NEXT ITEM ON YOUR AGENDA IS THE SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER SERVICE AGREEMENT BETWEEN SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND NORTHWEST AEA. SO WE FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS HAVE HAD AN AGREEMENT WITH NORTHWEST AEA. THEY PROVIDE THE SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO REQUIRE THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE AND THEN THEY BILL US FOR THE COST OF THAT SERVICE. BUT THEY HIRE, THEY EVALUATE, THEY JUST COME TO OUR SCHOOLS AND SERVE OUR KIDS. THAT'S WHAT THIS AGREEMENT IS FOR. THANK YOU. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER? A.A. SO MOVED. SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? MS. NEIL, FOR THE PUBLIC, DO THEY BILL US A FLAT RATE? IS IT INCLUDED IN THE $121,000, OR IS IT A PER-USAGE RATE? THAT IS A PER-SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER. IT'S GOING TO FLUCTUATE DEPENDING ON HOW MANY YEARS A SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER PERHAPS HAS BEEN EMPLOYED WITH NORTHWEST A.E.A., WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE TO CONTRACT WITH AN OUTSIDE AGENCY TO COMMON PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES, THEY CONTRACT QUITE A BIT WTH AN AGENCY OUT OF SIOUX FALLS TO DRIVE DOWN AND PROVIDE. SO, THEY'RE JUST A NUMBER OF FACTORS, BUT ESSENTIALLY THEY FLOW ALL THOSE COSTS TO US. PERFECT, THANK YOU. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, ANY CITIZEN INPUT? ALL RIGHT, HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. OPPOSED? MOTION PASSES. THANK [X.H. Title I Third Party Vendor (Bishop Heelan) – Jarod Mozer ] YOU. MR. MOZER. YEAH, I HAVE THE TITLE I THIRD-PARTY VENDOR FOR BISHOP HEELAN. LOOKING TO PARTNER WITH FACSAT. AGAIN, THIS IS FLOW-THROUGH MONEY TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES TO THE STUDENTS THAT QUALIFY FOR NON-PUBLIC EQUITABLE SERVICES AT HEELAN. IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT WITH FACSAT EDUCATION SOLUTIONS LLC AS A THIRD-PARTY VENDOR TO SUPPORT BISHOP HEELAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS TITLE I ALLOCATIONS FOR APPROXIMATELY $160,000? SO MOVED. SECOND. FIRST AND SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? JAROD, CAN YOU CLARIFY? WE ARE REQUIRED TO DO THIS BY STATE LAW, CORRECT? WE ARE. IT'S A REQUIRED SET-ASIDE. YEAH, IT'S REQUIRED MONEY THAT THEY'RE GOING TO GET, AND WE HAVE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES. SO WE CONTRACT WITH A THIRD-PARTY VENDOR TO DO THAT. IT'S MORE COST-EFFECTIVE FOR US. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? ANY VOTES? WE HAVE ONE ABSTENTION. OKAY, THE MOTION PASSES. [X.I. Title I Third Party Vendor (Siouxland Christian) – Jarod Mozer] THE NEXT ONE IS... TITLE I THIRD-PARTY VENDOR FOR SIOUXLAND CHRISTIAN, SO SAME PROCESS, FLOW THROUGH MONEY. THEY GENERATE LESS MONEY, YOU'LL SEE, BECAUSE THEY HAVE LESS STUDENTS THAT QUALIFY FOR THOSE EQUITABLE SERVICES. AND THE REASON, I SHOULD STATE TOO, JUST THE REASON THAT BOTH HEELAN AND SIOUXLAND CHRISTIAN ARE RECEIVING EQUITABLE SERVICES, THEY PARTICIPATE IN THE FEDERAL LUNCH PROGRAM. IF THEY DIDN'T, YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE. THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. BOARD MEMBERS, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT OF FACTS EDUCATION SOLUTIONS LLC AS A THIRD-PARTY VENDOR TO SUPPORT SIOUXLAND CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS TITLE I ALLOCATIONS FOR APPROXIMATELY $60,000? SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL RIGHT. AND IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? WELL, I'M NOT REQUIRED TO. I'M GOING TO ABSTAIN FROM THAT FOR THE RECORD, TOO. THANK YOU. ONE ABSTENTION. OKAY, THE MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU. [X.J. Preschool Rental Agreement – Jarod Mozer ] [00:50:04] YEP, MY NEXT ONE IS A PRESCHOOL RENTAL AGREEMENT WITH COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY FOR THE IRVING PRESCHOOL BUILDING, AND THAT CONTRACT IS LISTED. I KNOW THAT THERE WAS SOME OTHER WORK TO TRY TO WORK OUT POSSIBLY A DIFFERENT CONTRACT WITH THEM, SO THAT'S WHY THIS ONE'S BEING BROUGHT AFTER THE OTHERS. SO THIS IS THE SAME EXACT CONTRACT THAT'S BEEN IN PLACE FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN IN THIS ROLE, AND RIGHT NOW I THINK I'M... THE COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY AND US AS A DISTRICT, WE'VE DECIDED THIS IS THE BEST ROUTE TO MOVE FORWARD AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS THE LONG-TERM PLAN FOR THEIR USE IN THAT BUILDING. THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBERS, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PRESCHOOL RENTAL AGREEMENT WITH COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY FOR IRVING PRESCHOOL AS LISTED FOR THE PROVISION OF HIGH-QUALITY PRESCHOOL SERVICES FOR FOUR-YEAR-OLDS? THE TOTAL RENT THAT WOULD BE PAID BY THE TENANT WOULD BE $44,000 FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR. SO MOVED. SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? DIRECTOR LEE. DIRECTOR MILLER. MR. MOZER, THIS SAYS FOR FOUR-YEAR-OLDS, BUT THEY DO HAVE HEAD START IN THAT BUILDING AS WELL. IS THAT INCLUDED IN THIS RENTAL AGREEMENT? YEAH, THEY WOULD BE A PART OF THAT. SOME THREE-YEAR-OLDS WOULD BE IN THERE, BUT PRIMARILY OUR CONTRACT THAT THE FLOW-THROUGH MONEY IS COMING THROUGH US FOR IS FOR THE FOUR-YEAR-OLDS BECAUSE THEY'RE PART OF THE STATEWIDE VOLUNTARY PRESCHOOL PROGRAM. SO LIKE THEIR ECI FUNDING FOR THOSE THREE-YEAR-OLDS ISN'T GENERATED THROUGH THERE. BUT THEY'RE COVERED UNDER THIS RENTAL AGREEMENT. THEY WOULD BE, YEP. THEY WOULD BE. THANK YOU. YEP. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? HEARING NONE, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? THE MOTION PASSES. [X.K. Solution Tree – Dr. Mandi Bradford ] THANK YOU. SOLUTION TREE. ...REBECCA RIEKEN HERE, I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF DR. BRADFORD, SHE'S OUT OF TOWN GETTING TRAINING FOR AN UPCOMING WORKSHOP SHE'LL BE PRESENTING. SO, WE ARE ASKING FOR A RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH SOLUTIONS TREE IN THE AMOUNT OF $16,040.32 FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR. WE'VE BEEN PARTNERING WITH SOLUTION TREE IN OUR SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO HELP US WITH OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, AND THAT PARTICULAR CONSULTANT THAT'S ALREADY BEEN SUPPORTING US IS NOW GOING TO EMBED THAT LEARNING INTO OUR ELL PLCS, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT CONSISTENCY WITH THAT PARTNERSHIP. BOARD MEMBERS, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH SOLUTION TREE IN THE AMOUNT OF $16,040.32 FOR 26-27 SCHOOL YEAR? SO MOVED. SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? ALL RIGHT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? THE MOTION PASSES. [X.L. Agreements with NAI United – Ron Koch ] MY FIRST SUMMARY IS RECOMMENDING THE TWO APPROVED AND EXECUTED AGREEMENTS LISTED WITH NAI UNITED, AND THAT WOULD BE THE APPOINTED AGENCY AGREEMENT, POLICIES, DISCLOSURES, ANY CONSENT AGREEMENTS THAT GO ALONG WITH THAT. THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBERS, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE AND EXECUTE THE FOLLOWING AGREEMENTS WITH NAI UNITED? AS MR. KOCH INDICATED, IT WOULD BE THE APPOINTMENT OF AGENCY AGREEMENT, AGENCY POLICY DISCLOSURE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, DUAL AGENCY POTENTIAL CONSENT AGREEMENT, AND BUYER AGENCY AGREEMENT. SO MOVED. SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE, SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? BOARD MEMBERS, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, SAY AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? DIRECTOR LEE, I'M GOING TO ABSTAIN FROM THAT VOTE. AND SO NO OPPOSITION, ONE ABSTENTION, AND THE MOTION PASSES. THANK [X.M. Contract for Transportation Services between the SCCSD and the City of Sioux City –Ron Koch ] YOU. OKAY, THE NEXT ONE IS OUR YEARLY CONTRACT WITH THE CITY TRANSIT FOR THE SEVEN ROUTES THAT WE PROVIDE TO OUR STUDENTS TO GET TO AND FROM SCHOOL. THAT TOTAL THIS YEAR CAME TO $353,136.85. THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBERS, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE SIOUX CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE CITY OF SIOUX CITY FOR TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR THE 26-27 SCHOOL YEAR IN THE AMOUNT OF $353,136.85? SO MOVED. THERE A SECOND? SECOND. BOARD MEMBERS, ANY DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, ANY CITIZEN INPUT? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ALL THOSE OPPOSED SAME SIGN AND THE MOTION PASSES. [X.N. FY27 East and North Middle School Boiler System Replacements – Ron Koch ] ALL RIGHT. THE PURPOSE OF THIS NEXT ONE IS [00:55:02] TO APPROVE PLANS AND SPECS FROM KCL ENGINEERING ON THE REPLACEMENT OF THE BOILERS AT EAST MIDDLE AND AT NORTH MIDDLE, AND THEN ALSO TO SET A PUBLIC HEARING ON THAT PROGRESS 24TH. THE DETAILS ARE HERE IN THE BROKEN DOWN HERE BY THE REPLACEMENTS, THE DOMESTIC HOT WATER, ALSO THE OFFICE HOT WATER AT EAST MIDDLE, AND THEN THE BOILER REPLACEMENT AT NORTH MIDDLE SCHOOL. BOARD MEMBERS, IS THERE A MOTION TO SET THE PUBLIC HEARING TO BE HELD AT 6 P.M.? LOCAL TIME AT THE EDUCATION SERVICE CENTER, 627 4TH STREET, SIOUX CITY, IOWA, ON THE 24TH OF AUGUST, 2026, AND PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS MAY BE REVIEWED AT THE PURCHASING MANAGER'S OFFICE LOCATED AT THE SAME ADDRESS. IS THERE A MOTION? SO MOVED. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. BOARD MEMBERS, ANY DISCUSSION? DIRECTOR LEE, A QUESTION. MR. MOORE. IT'S ONLY 14 DAYS FROM TODAY UNTIL THAT HEARING. WHAT IS OUR OBLIGATION FOR THE COMMUNITY? 10 BUSINESS DAYS? OKAY, THANK YOU. OKAY, AND THIS LAST ONE'S AN EXCITING ONE. OH, WAIT. OH, SORRY. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. YOU'RE COMING IN HOT, BUT WE'RE HERE. ALL RIGHT. SO ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, ANY CITIZEN INPUT? BOARD MEMBERS, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR TO ACCEPT THE MOTION FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING? AYE. AND ANY OPPOSITION? OKAY, THE MOTION PASSES. OKAY, NOW YOU'RE UP. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. SO I [X.O. FY27 Operations and Maintenance Vehicle Purchase – Ron Koch ] DO WANT TO POINT OUT ON THIS ONE THAT THERE WAS $20 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL AND... SO I HAD HIGHLIGHTED AND I TALKED TO... SEANIECE KNOWS ABOUT THIS ASWELL BUT THERE WAS A $20 DIFFERENCE IN WHAT WAS PUT ON THE SUMMARY. SO IT'S ACTUALLY, AND I CAN GET TO THAT AFTER I DO THE KIND OF THE PURPOSE FOR OUR 12 PASSENGER VANS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO PURCHASE FOR EACH ONE OF THE HIGH SCHOOLS. SO, THERE'S KIND OF TWO PARTS TO THIS. WE WANT TO REQUEST THE APPROVAL TO PURCHASE ONE 12 PASSENGER VAN, AND IT'S 26,786 MILES ON THAT VAN. AND THEN WE ALSO WANTED TO GET THE BUDGET APPROVED POTENTIALLY SO THAT WE COULD HAVE $120,000 FOR TWO MORE VANS, NOT TO EXCEED $60,000 PER VEHICLE MOVING FORWARD WITH A TOTAL OF $180,000 THERE. THE ERROR IN THE PACKET WOULD BE THAT WHERE IT'S THE AMOUNT FROM GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, FROM XYZ MOTORS, IT WAS ACTUALLY ON YOUR PACKET IT SHOULD SAY $56,560. IT ACTUALLY ENDED UP BEING $56,580 FOR THE PURCHASE OF THAT. 56,580. I DON'T KNOW THAT I EVER WOULD'VE GUESSED THAT THIS IS GONNA BE SUCH A JOURNEY TO FIND THE CORRECT SPECS FOR THE PASSENGER RAMS. SO, HAPPY THAT WE'VE MOVED FORWARD, MADE SOME CONNECTIONS DOWN IN DES MOINES, AND FOUND SOMEONE ALSO THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH. SO, THAT'S BEEN QUITE A JOURNEY. IS IT REALLY XYZ? XYZ MOTORS IS WHO THIS FIRST ONE IS PURCHASED WITH OUT OF GRAND RAPIDS, YES. IS THERE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE AWARD AND AWARD THE BID FROM XYZ MOTORS GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN IN THE AMOUNT OF $56,580 FOR THE PURCHASE OF ONE USED 2025 FORD TRANSIT 12-PASSENGER VAN AND ALSO AUTHORIZED OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE TO PURCHASE UP TO TWO ADDITIONAL USED 12-PASSENGER TRANSIT VANS, NOT TO EXCEED $60,000 PER VEHICLE, AS SUITABLE, VEHICLES BECOME AVAILABLE PRIOR TO FORMAL BOARD APPROVAL. SO MOVED. SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? COULD YOU REPEAT THE MILEAGE ON THAT VAN AGAIN? YES. I KNOW YOU HAD IT IN THERE. YES, I DO. 26.7. 26,700 ARE USED. THEN I MUST HAVE HEARD YOU INCORRECTLY BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU SAID 260, AND I WAS LIKE, WHY ARE WE PAYING SO MUCH? THEY SAY THERE'S AT LEAST A YEAR LEFT IN THIS BABY, SO IF WE COULD GET ON IT NOW. 26,000 IS A LOT BETTER THAN 200. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. IT'S REALLY HARD TO FIND, SO WE HAVE TO TAKE A WEEK. [01:00:02] ALL RIGHT. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? DENISE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? BOARD MEMBERS, CAN ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE? AYE. ANY OPPOSITION? THE MOTION PASSES. BOARD MEMBERS, I DO WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT DIRECTOR MILLER WAS A VITAL PART OF WORKING WITH OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE, TOO, TO HELP LOCATE THE OTHER... SO I JUST WANT TO MENTION THAT WE CAN FIND THE OTHER TWO BY THE END OF THE WEEK. LET'S KEEP GOING. THANK YOU FOR LEADING THAT AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU'RE DOING IN OPS. WE APPRECIATE YOU STEPPING [X.P. Facility Rental Agreements – Rebecca Rieken/ Jarod Mozer] IN AND SERVING THAT CAPACITY. FACILITIES AGREEMENT. I'M HERE TO REQUEST THE APPROVAL FOR A RENTAL AGREEMENT WITH WESTSIDE CONNECTIONS TO UTILIZE WEST HIGH SCHOOL TRACK ACTUALLY TWO DAYS AGO. AND WE DID TALK ABOUT IT AT THE RECENT COMMITTEE MEETING FOR A PRICE OF $280. SO MOVED. ALL RIGHT, THERE IS A MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND? THAT'S OKAY. SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? YES. DIRECTOR... SO, WHAT HAPPENS IF WE VOTE NO? I KNOW THIS CAME UP. I REMEMBER WATCHING JAROD GO THROUGH THIS, AND I WAS GOING TO ASK HIM ABOUT THAT. UM, SO IN THE FUTURE, I'LL TRY TO GET THESE CONTRACTS SOONER, BUT... SO, WE'LL REITERATE TO THE PRINCIPALS THAT ARE SUBMITTING THESE, AND THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE SUBMITTING THESE, THAT THEY CAN ONLY DO WHAT THEY HAVE TO GET IT FOUR WEEKS IN ADVANCE, IS WHAT WE ALWAYS TELL THEM. I THINK THE PROBLEM HERE-I DON'T KNOW, I WASN'T INVOLVED IN THIS I'M JUST GUESSING, IS IT'S THE MONTH OF JULY, WE HAD ONE MEETING. SO, BUT STILL, IN HINDSIGHT, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON THAT MEETING. I APPRECIATE THAT WE ONLY HAD ONE MEETING IN JULY, BUT WE COULD HAVE MADE THIS HAPPEN DIFFERENTLY. I HEAR YOU. AND I'LL WORK ON THAT. THANK YOU. MHM. THANK YOU. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? ALL RIGHT. BOARD MEMBERS, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. NO OPPOSITION. THE MOTION PASSES. THANK YOU. MR. VANDERLOO, THANK YOU. YOU WANT ME TO GO THROUGH ALL THESE? NO, YOU CAN DO IT COLLECTIVELY. WELL, WE DO [X.Q. First Reading of Board Policies – Jim Vanderloo] HAVE FIRST READINGS OF BOARD POLICIES THAT ARE ON THE AGENDA. BOARD MEMBERS, WHAT I'LL DO IS I'LL GO THROUGH FIRST MY MOTION AND THEN WE'LL HAVE DISCUSSION. SO IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE LISTED BOARD POLICIES AND THE FIRST READING? SO MOVED. SECOND IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? I'D LIKE TO DISCUSS BOARD POLICY 204.10, NOTICE FOR BOARD MEETINGS. I NOTICED IN READING THAT, AND I WANT TO THANK OUR SCA PARTNERS AS WELL, THAT IT INDICATES THAT MATERIALS TO BE DISCUSSED AND PRESENTATIONS TO BE DISCUSSED, IT WAS STRIKING THAT LANGUAGE FROM THE POLICY AND IT HAS BECOME PART OF OUR TRANSPARENT PROCESS TO POST ALL OF THAT WITH THE AGENDA. AND SO I WOULD ASK THAT WE REVISIT THAT DELETION. MY UNDERSTANDING IT WAS AN ERROR PERHAPS, BUT MR. VANDERLOO, IF YOU WANT TO COMMENT ON IT. IT WAS JUST THE LEGAL TERM THAT IT'S NOT REQUIRED, SO OUR LAWYERS SAID IT'S NOT REQUIRED, SO THEY'RE RECOMMENDING TO REMOVE IT. WE HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR A LONG TIME. WE AS A DISTRICT DO NOT SEE ANY PROBLEM WITH CONTINUING THAT PRACTICE, SO WE HAVE NOTHING TO CHANGE THERE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IT THE SAME. I WOULD PERSONALLY LIKE TO KEEP IT THE SAME, BUT HOW DO WE NEED TO MOVE THEN? BECAUSE WE WOULD, I STILL WANT IT TO BE A PART OF THE FIRST READING, BUT I WANT TO KEEP THE ORIGINAL INFORMATION IN THE POLICY. YEAH, WE COULD, I BELIEVE WITH MR. MOORE, BUT I THINK YOU CAN STILL APPROVE IT PENDING THAT CHANGE. I THINK IT'S JUST THAT SECTION ON THE FIRST PAGE, I BELIEVE, WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT THAT SENTENCE. WHAT WE CAN DO IS REVERSE THAT REMOVAL TO WHERE THAT LANGUAGE IS STILL IN THERE. IF YOU GUYS STILL LIKE THAT LANGUAGE, WE CAN STILL HAVE THE BOARD APPROVE IT PENDING THAT LANGUAGE STILL BEING IN THERE. SO, OTHERWISE, ANOTHER OPTION IS YOU CAN SEND IT BACK TO BOARD POLICY TO BE REVIEWED. WELL, I, FULL DISCLOSURE, I WAS NOT ABLE TO ATTEND POLICY MEETINGS, SO BOARD MEMBERS THAT WERE. DO YOU HAVE A REASON FOR US TO NOT BE ABLE TO... WE HAD DISCUSSION ABOUT IT, BUT IT WAS PURELY ILLEGAL. WE DON'T HAVE TO DO IT, AND SO HER RECOMMENDATION WAS TO STRIKE IT, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYBODY OPPOSE THAT STRIKING, SO WE LEFT IT STAND AS IT WAS. BUT I THINK THAT ADDING IT BACK IN AND APPROVING THIS WITH THE [01:05:03] CORRECTED LANGUAGE GOING BACK IN WOULD BE THE WAY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH TONIGHT'S PROCEDURE. I JUST LISTENED TO THE ATTORNEY IN THE BOARD POLICY MEETINGS. IT TURNS OUT THAT'S KIND OF WHY THEY'RE THERE. OKAY. SO THEN WITH THIS MOTION AND THE DISCUSSION THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE, WE WANT TO REVERSE BACK TO OUR ORIGINAL POLICY. SO WE'RE GOING TO STRIKE THE RECOMMENDATION TO REMOVE IT. WE WANT TO. YES. SPECIFIC? JUST THAT. JUST THAT. ONE SECOND. YES. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID. I ALSO HAVE A QUESTION. AND I JUST LARGELY, SORRY, THANK YOU, LARGELY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC AND THOSE IN ATTENDANCE. MR. VANDERLOO, COULD YOU EXPLAIN JUST THE GENESIS OR THE NEED FOR THE ADDITION OF AR503.6? SO THE NEED THERE IS JUST TO PUT PROCEDURES AND PROTOCOLS IN PLACE TO HOW AN EIGHTH GRADE STUDENT BECOMES ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL IN THE ATHLETIC PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED BY LEGISLATION AS WELL AS THE BOYS AND GIRLS UNION. SO THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS THEY CAN BECOME ELIGIBLE DEPENDING ON WHETHER WE HAVE MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT MIDDLE SCHOOL AND THEN THEY WOULD MOVE TO THE HIGH SCHOOL OR WHETHER WE DON'T HAVE MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAMS. SO DIRECTOR RIEKEN AND THE ADS HAVE WORKED WITH... YOU KNOW, A VARIETY OF PEOPLE, A VARIETY OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE OF IOWA TO DETERMINE THOSE PROTOCOLS. AND SO OUR STUDENTS AND PARENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO REQUEST THOSE NEEDS OR THOSE WISHES IF THEY WANT. THANK YOU. I JUST, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC IS AWARE THAT THIS WASN'T SIOUX CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT GOING ROGUE AND DECIDING EIGHTH GRADERS CAN PLAY HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS. THIS WAS A LEGISLATIVE ACTION. EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE OF IOWA, NO DIFFERENT THAN MINNESOTA AND THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA, BOTH ALREADY HAVE IT IN PLACE. AND THIS IS SOMETHING NEW FOR US AND SO WE'RE MAKING CHANGES AS WE GO. THIS IS A FIRST READING OF THIS POLICY. OUR FALL ACTIVITIES HAVE ALREADY STARTED SO WE DO HAVE SOME EIGHTH GRADERS THAT ARE PRACTICING BUT THEY WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE UNTIL BOARD POLICY HAS BEEN APPROVED AND THEY'VE MET THE PROCEDURES AND PROTOCOLS IN PLACE BY THE AR. THANK YOU AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE DEVELOPING THAT IN A SHORT TURNAROUND. DIRECTOR MILLER. SO WE HAD LOTS OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS POLICY AS WELL AT POLICY COMMITTEE AND MISS REIKEN, I WAS UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A DECISION MATRIX INCLUDED AND WHILE YOUR NAME WAS ADDED TO PART OF THAT POLICY AND I APPRECIATE THAT I DIDN'T REALLY SEE THE DECISION MATRIX AND A SCORING METHODOLOGY BEHIND IT. AND SO THAT'S MY COMMENT ON THAT AND THEN I WILL SAY THAT I ANTICIPATED THAT I WILL GET PHONE CALLS AND EMAILS AND TEXT MESSAGES THAT PEOPLE HAVE HEARTBURN ABOUT THIS POLICY AND I WAS CORRECTED THAT I THOUGHT WE WERE HAVING HUGE RECRUITING TO HIGH SCHOOLS STARTING AT NINTH GRADE, AND I WAS CORRECTED TO SAY THAT WE ALREADY START THAT RECRUITING IN EIGHTH GRADE. AND SO I DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A DECISION MATRIX IN PLACE AS A PART OF THIS POLICY AND THAT WE ARE TRANSPARENT ABOUT WHO GETS TO MOVE TO HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS AS AN EIGHTH GRADER AND WHO DOES NOT AND THE REASONS WHY, AND THAT WE CAN DEFEND THEM AND IT'S NOT JUST BECAUSE. HELLO. THANK YOU FOR THAT INPUT. I'LL WORK CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE ACTIVITIES DIRECTORS ON DESIGNING THAT RUBRIC ACCORDING TO THE THE GUIDELINES THAT WE HAVE CREATED. I DID SPEAK TO THEM ABOUT THAT, HAVING EACH STEP ALONG THE WAY BUILT IN WITHIN A RUBRIC TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE DID IT, AND THEN EACH DECISION MAKER ALONG THE WAY UNTIL IT THEN REACHES THE DIRECTOR OF SECONDARY ED. SO, WE'LL HAVE THAT IN PLACE AS WELL. AND THE ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT WE ADDED SINCE THE COMMITTEE MEETING, UM, CLARIFICATION THAT EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS MUST PARTICIPATE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE HIGH SCHOOL. UM, SO KEEPING IT TO THEIR HIGH SCHOOL. AND THEN ALSO THAT FINAL APPROVAL, UH, POINT WOULD BE WITH MYSELF IN MY MY POSITION AS DIRECTOR OF SECONDARY ED ABOVE THEN THE ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR. THANK YOU, AND I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT DECISION MATRIX BEING IN PLACE BEFORE WE HAVE THE SECOND READING ON AUGUST 24TH. ABSOLUTELY, WE'LL WORK ON THAT. THAT'S DOABLE. YES. BOARD MEMBERS, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE, PLEASE LEAN INTO THE LIST OF POLICIES. WE [01:10:02] HAD A ROBUST POLICY MEETING. SO THERE ARE SEVERAL LISTED POLICIES THAT ARE LISTED AND I AM ASKING FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE LISTED BOARD POLICIES FOR THE FIRST READING. SO MOVED. WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION AND SO SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY CITIZEN INPUT? GOOD EVENING. EXCUSE ME, I THOUGHT MY COLD WAS BETTER BUT IT SEEMS TO BE ACTING UP TONIGHT, SO I APOLOGIZE. I DID SEND YOU AN EMAIL EARLIER TODAY THAT I'M JUST GOING TO REPEAT, THAT AS I REVIEW THE PACKET FOR THE AGENDA FOR TONIGHT, I NOTICED THAT THERE'S A PROPOSAL TO NOT PUBLISH THE PACKET WITH THE AGENDA. SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I'M THINKING 2018-2019, BOARD MEMBERS FOUGHT TO MAKE SURE THE AGENDA PACKETS WERE PUBLISHED. I WOULD HATE TO SEE THIS TREND REVERSED. DETAILS BEYOND THE AGENDA ARE NECESSARY FOR PATRONS AND EMPLOYEES TO HAVE INFORMED AND EDUCATED DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE TOPICS BEING PRESENTED AND DISCUSSED AT THE OPEN MEETINGS. I ASK THAT YOU RECONSIDER THIS CHANGE, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU DID, SO I APPRECIATE THAT. AND I CAN TELL YOU I MET WITH SEVERAL TEACHER GROUPS TODAY, AND THIS TOPIC CAME UP. IT'S VERY OBVIOUS THAT I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO POURS THROUGH THE AGENDA IN DETAIL. SO, THANK YOU. WE APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP. BOARD MEMBERS, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? I HAVE ONE MORE. DO I? I'M SORRY. MICHAEL. HOW COULD I FORGET YOU? SO THIS WAS WRITTEN EARLIER THIS MORNING SO, SOME THINGS MAY HAVE CHANGED. MY NAME IS MICHAEL AMORE, PRESIDENT, SCEA. THIS IS MY FIRST TIME SPEAKING TO THE BOARD IN THIS CAPACITY. THE ISSUE AT HAND IS HOW THE DISTRICT WILL IMPLEMEMENT CHANGES FOLLOWING THE PASSING OF HF 2591. THIS PIECE OF LEGISLATION STATES THAT LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO PERMIT EIGHTH GRADERS TO PLAY ON A HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ROSTER, THOUGH PARTICIPATION REMAINS LEFT STRICTLY TO LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS. SO THIS DECISION IS WITH YOU. BEFORE I GO FURTHER, I WANT TO SAY I DID REVIEW THE DRAFT GUIDELINES ON AR503.6 AND I THINK IT'S A REALLY GOOD START. THE APPLICATION AND REVIEW PROCESS, ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, PLACEMENT RULES, IT SHOWS SOME REAL THOUGHT PUT INTO THIS. INTERESTINGLY, I NEITHER COACH NOR TEACH EIGHTH GRADERS, BUT MANY THAT I REPRESENT DO AND THEY REACHED OUT TO ME, BOTH COACHES AND PARENTS. SO THE COACHES THAT APPROACH ME AND I ALSO APPROACH, I ASK THEM, IF IMPLEMENTED, HOW WOULD THIS IMPACT YOUR PROGRAM? THE RESPONSES RANGE FROM EXCITEMENT TO APPREHENSION. SOME FELT IT WOULD GIVE SMALLER PROGRAMS THE OPPORTUNITY TO GROW THEIR NUMBERS. OTHER LARGER PROGRAMS EXPRESSED CONCERN ABOUT TOO MANY ATHLETES, NOT ENOUGH COACHES. THE CONCERN BEING THE MORE STUDENT ATHLETES, THE LESS QUALITY TIME A COACH CAN SPEND WITH EACH. OTHERS EXPRESSED ISSUES WITH PLAYING TIME DECREASED. OTHERS EXPRESSED CONCERNS WITH MATURITY LEVELS OF EIGHTH GRADERS COMPARED TO OLDER STUDENTS. OTHER COACHES QUESTIONED IF OR HOW THIS WOULD IMPACT MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETIC PROGRAMS, IF THERE'S A CHANGE IN THE NUMBERS OF EIGHT GRADERS SUDDENLY, HOW WOULD THAT IMPACT THAT. REGARDLESS OF THEIR THOUGHTS, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THERE WAS AN OVERARCHING THEME AND THERE WERE MANY QUESTIONS AND FEW ANSWERS, AT LEAST AT THE TIME I SPOKE WITH THEM. HAVING NOW REVIEWED THE DRAFT GUIDELINES, SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS ARE ADDRESSED, BUT MORE IMPORTANT ONES STILL AREN'T. AND IN MY EXPERIENCE WORKING IN THIS CAPACITY, IF DECISIONS ARE MADE IN HASTE, IT TENDS TO CAUSE UNNECESSARY CONFLICT AND FRUSTRATION. NOW I WANT TO GIVE YOU INSIGHTS BECAUSE WE WILL BE WORKING A LOT TOGETHER OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS. AND THAT'S HOW I APPROACH THINGS WITH THIS KIND OF THOUGHT EXPERIMENT. SO LET'S ASSUME YOU IMPLEMENT THIS. WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? I FORESEE A LOT OF QUESTIONS. DIRECTOR MILLER, YOU KIND OF SPOKE TO THAT. YOU WOULD GET A LOT OF EMAILS. I DO AS WELL. THE IHSAA ADDRESSES MANY QUESTIONS, BUT THEY DID VERY BROADLY. THE AGENDA PACKET DID AS WELL. AS A BOARD MEMBER, YOU ARE AWARE THAT AN INCREASE IN ATHLETES MEANS A CHANGE IN POTENTIAL STAFFING NEEDS. IS THAT FEASIBLE? IS IT WISE TO INCUR A COST IN OUR CURRENT SITUATION? UH WE DO STRUGGLE WITH STAFFING ALL COACHING POSITIONS AS IS. IF THIS DOES REQUIRE AN INCREASE IN STAFFING, UM ARE WE READY TO UH ADDRESS THAT? UH WHO WOULD BE ELIGIBLE? THERE IS A PROCESS UH TO SELECT THOSE. UH WOULD THERE BE TRYOUTS? SO, [01:15:03] THEN I WAS JUST, PLEASE FINISH. PLEASE FINISH. UM, A PERSONAL CONCERN THAT I HAVE IS OVERUSE INJURIES. UH I PLAYED VARSITY BASEBALL AS AN EIGHTH GRADER MYSELF. UH I WAS A CATCHER, SPENT FIVE YEARS PLAYING JV AND VARSITY GAMES. EIGHT YEARS OF EFFORT PAID OFF. I PLAYED IN COLLEGE, BUT UH THOSE YEARS TOOK A TOLL AND ENDED UP NEEDING TOMMY JOHN SURGERY, AND THESE THREE FINGERS STILL TINGLE BECAUSE OF THAT. UM SO, WHAT POLICIES WILL THERE BE TO PREVENT INJURIES FOR EIGHTH GRADERS? UM THE GUIDELINES THAT YOU DO HAVE CALL FOR A PHYSICAL AND EVALUATION, A PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL READINESS UM BEFORE APPROVAL, BUT I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT MONITORING MONITORING WORKLOAD OR INJURY RISK ACROSS THE SEASON. TO BE CLEAR, I'M NOT SAYING THIS POLICY CHANGE DOES NOT HAVE THE POSSIBILITY TO BE EXTREMELY BENEFICIAL. THE RESEARCH IS CLEAR THAT ATHLETIC PARTICIPATION POSITIVELY CORRELATES WITH UH SELF-ESTEEM, ATTENDANCE, GRADES, SOCIALIZATION. UM, IF I WERE TO MAKE A SUGGESTION, MAYBE A PILOT OF ONE TO TWO SPORTS. UH EVEN WITH A STRONG REVIEW PROCESS UM THAT YOU HAVE MADE, I THINK THAT UH A SMALLER NUMBER OF SPORTS WOULD LET US SEE HOW THIS PROCESS PERFORMS IN PRACTICE, DISCOVER ISSUES, PITFALLS, SUCCESSFUL APPROACHES, AND THEN IF DECIDED TO APPLY TO ALL ATHLETES, WE CAN BE TRULY PREPARED. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I GOT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE IT. SEANIECE, IS THERE ANY OTHER CITIZEN INPUT? ALL RIGHT. BOARD MEMBERS, WE'VE HEARD THE DISCUSSION AND CITIZEN INPUT. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF UH ACCEPTING THE OR APPROVING THE POLICIES AS LISTED SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? OKAY, THE MOTION PASSES. [X. R. Open Enrollment Request – Jim Vanderloo ] ALL RIGHT. MR. VANDERLOO, YEP, UH, OUR OPEN ENROLLMENT REQUEST. UH, WE ARE REQUESTING THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS DENIES THE OPEN ENROLL- OPEN ENROLLMENT REQUEST FOR STUDENT A TO OPEN ENROLL IN ACCORDANCE WITH BOARD POLICY, WHICH IS NO NO JUST CAUSE AND PAST THE DEADLINE. BOARD MEMBERS, IS THERE A MOTION TO DENY THE OPEN ENROLLMENT REQUEST FOR STUDENT A TO OPEN ENROLL IN ACCORDANCE TO POLICY BOARD POLICY 501.6A? SO MOVED. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. ANY DISCUSSION? ANY CITIZEN INPUT? BOARD MEMBERS, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. [X.S. Open Enrollment Request – Jim Vanderloo ] NO OPPOSED. THE MOTION PASSES. MR. VANDERLOO, UH, SO, S OPEN ENROLLMENT REQUEST, UM, WE ARE REQUESTING THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS DENIES THE OPEN ENROLLMENT REQUEST FOR STUDENT B, AGAIN, NO JUST CAUSE AND PAST THE DEADLINE. BOARD MEMBERS, IS THERE A MOTION TO DENY THE OPEN ENROLLMENT REQUEST FOR STUDENT B TO OPEN ENROLL IN ACCORDANCE TO POLICY BOARD POLICY 501.6A? SO MOVED. SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? SEANIECE, ANY CITIZEN INPUT? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL THOSE OPPOSED? NONE. THE MOTION PASSES. IS THERE A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT? SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. AYE. ALL OPPOSED? NONE. MOTION PASSES. MEETING ADJOURNED. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.