 Gonna call the meeting to order at 631 Do we have any adjustments to the agenda Think we will we won't have For assigned times and timekeeper we won't have a time limit for the Board agenda items, but I think we will have a time limit for public comment Individual public comments So I'll go ahead and keep time for that Right what is the current Time that we locked for the public. I know how the board means. It's three or five minutes Yeah, I think three minutes is what we've typically done when it seems like there's gonna be significant comments, so I think we'll do that and then at the public comment at the beginning to a maximum of 20 minutes And then we'll Have more comments at the end of the meeting All right Moving to the consent agenda We have a motion to approve the minutes of Tuesday, September 20th 2022 All in favor say aye Okay, we'll move on to public comment and before I do I just want to Say that the way this is gonna works at the board meetings is the public gets a chance to speak and everybody can say what they Have to say as I said earlier. I'm gonna limit it to three minutes per person and the board is going to listen and then when we get to the agenda item we'll discuss The Comments from the public and at the end there will be another chance for the public to speak And I just ask that everybody keep it courteous and respect everybody's Positions on on the issue so We'll try and if somebody anybody wants to speak raise your hand and we'll try and Go in order of what happens what happens if the Public comment isn't part of the already Approved agenda, so when would well, I think we can have the board comment board can speak to what the public says Okay Why don't we start with State your name? My name is Kate Jarvis and I moved to Bethel 17 years ago in 2005 and have raised all three of my daughters here since then all three have attended Bethel and Royalton schools for over 17 years Starting in pre-k with Miss Karen at the age of three Although I'm currently residing in Woodstock my two youngest daughters who are currently 12 and 14 Attend the middle school in Bethel in the high school here in Royalton I'd like to start off by saying that I do not have an opinion on the locker room issue at hand And that I am a supporter of the LGV TQ plus community I simply do not have enough knowledge as a parent and I'm sad to say that I think there are many parents who are in my same boat Let me clarify though This is not because we don't care as some have recently said on public forums Including members of our own school board They've also stated that we can send our kids to private school if we're not happy with the board's current policies I'd like to think that folks in the community teachers and administrators who have known me for many years Most definitely know that I do care about my children and about all of our children Including those in the LBG TQ plus community I may not know all of the proper pronouns or language that is to be used But that is by no means a sign of disrespect or hatred. That's not who I am The reason I felt the need to come tonight and to speak publicly is the recent public behavior by one of our local school board members We elect and we vote for these members to bring our community together We trust them to make important decisions Regarding our schools and our children to protect and advocate for them all of them To inform and communicate with members of the community After which policies are passed I'd like to share a few comments and or posts that have been made recently by school board member Shannon moral Cornelius I've also printed these comments that are extremely concerning with no doubt bullying and hurtful to parents students children and other members in our community and I I would say that some of them are Explicit, I don't know if their child rated so before I read them aloud. I don't know it's okay. Kate. They're my kids, okay so Let's see on 1013 after posting numerous comments included in the handout provided may I hand out so you have Have to share because my work printer was not going to allow It is getting close to the end of the And I'm just about finished Andrew. Thank you. So I'm 1013 after posting numerous comments included in the handout on a public Royalton forum and in response to a new article that was shared about the recent incident in Randolph Shannon posted to a public social media page Chris Tutian I will just taught me a new term while reading the latest BS on the community forum from the Transphobe trolls in town He's just jacking off stands for assholes who keep coming at you with but I just have a question We have a few in this town who have jacked off so much over there. The forum is a wash and they're ejaculated quarries I'm sorry Shannon that we as parents have questions On 10 7 she posted I'm not going to be pushed around anymore. I'm not going high when they go low and walking away Standing up for something isn't a fault and I am so over giving a fuck what the Trumpy white boys in this town think of me I'm calling it out Post a Shannon's page. She commented after sorry. That's okay. May I finish? I have one more By Courtney Collins Appreciation post for Shannon moral Cornelius who was absolutely destroyed in all caps a Transphobic asshole on a local Facebook page let the record show that her voice prevailed I have gorged myself on his pathetic male tears Shannon loved and post and commented the good news is history isn't written by the trolls But by those who show up and do the work wait until he finds out I'm transitioning my career to teaching at the high school Thank you But I think I have to include an action I'm a concerned parent and I've spoken to concerned parents in the town We ask that her board seat be Removed immediately. She is causing further divide and conflict and hatred in this community And it's not going to bring any resolution Thank you. Anybody else who's here in person like to speak at this time James got here. I'm a resident of Royalton Two kids that came through elementary all the way up throughout high school and I actually sent an email to the board this week There's been a massive debate on Facebook And I actually came tonight. We just ask if there's any possibility of clarifying There's a lot of speculation and and arguing that this is the board's policy when in reality I think that the board has taken from on state law the best practices and implemented what they say should be done And I think if people understood that if that is in fact the case Then Really, I think there's no question that the school is doing what's best under the law and doing what's best for every and all student You know, I really just wanted to come today to say that I support Every single student in this community Whether they be straight whether they be transgender However, they identify and that's the policy that I think the school is following and as a parent Not of a current student, but two students got a great education here I felt it's important to to come and and express support for my friends I have a lot of friends who still have kids here some who Who identify in different ways and I don't want them to read facebook pages that make them feel like less of a person And I can understand people have concerns from all sides, but I just think it's it's about the kids Okay, thank you um, are there people online who Would like to speak somebody we have somebody who's raised their hand, but there's no name next to it So they have joined using the pending mode so they're seeing the median take place of their camera and like the turnoff Okay Okay. All right. Is there any other public? online or in person Okay, sorry, that's okay. Try and speak up Um, did you have anything you wanted to say? Okay, okay. Well, it sounds like we're Through public comments at this time Um, so everybody have a chance to speak at the end Um So move to board comments and if board members like to speak at this time I'll just clarify that these are taken from my personal wall not a community forum And the one from a friend of mine That's that's a lot of digging that went into that But also posted on her personal wall not on the community forum That was the public forum comments The the one from christa tingin No in that packet. There are many public forums. Oh, I'm sure there are further down But the ones you read were from my own wall not from the public forum. There's many they were they were photographed And put in the public forum not by me There's many that speak about the school board there In the those comments. I never spoke for the school board I can't speak for the school board and I made that very clear I was speaking as a parent We're bringing our concern to the board so they can consider it That's that's your parade. I agree I'd like to make a comment, please in in regard to the comment that these Um, facebook comments were not intended to represent the board. I as a Impirational observer felt that they clearly were an intent to represent the board and to Tell anybody that had a different opinion that it would not be taken into account um I could probably pull up some of the the uh specific quotes, but I think they were given a little bit earlier and The word board was used many times I was your name Sorry, could you just state your name Your name keep moment Okay, are there any other board members have I had a board comment didn't have to do with this topic, but Well, kind of but not really So I had the the opportunity to visit brand off last week when they had their community discussion in regards to The transgender and gender non-conforming students and the incident that took place over there So I was just kind of curious and and sat in to see the community's reactions and comments I guess some things that I I mean first of all it's Very terrible for what all the students Randolph Randolph had to go through or are continuing to go through there It's uh, it's a very big distraction on their part. I there was lots of comments about Students either not feeling safe at school or not wanting to go to school to learn because and you know and these were children that weren't necessarily directly impacted but And You know that the amount of hate that that it came to Randolph through, you know, national media there was comments about you know emails and phone calls and debt threats and I think the su page was was Well su and the high school pages were tampered with and they had to take them down. So I mean it was just Terrible all around But some takeaways that I had there as a new board member was because it wasn't really I think there were questions that were asked from the community that weren't necessarily answered by the su over there on And I think one gentleman here in the army shirt. Sorry. I forgot your name games kind of elaborated to it was The difference between state law and su policy um So I got kind of thinking through that and You know just like any policy at some point we should always revisit policy to see, you know, is the policy still Um giving us the desired result of when we put it in right? Or Has the policy like we talked about with bullying harassment at the last meeting, you know, has it been implemented in our schools So in this case, you know that in randoff there was a lot of privacy Concerns in regards to locker room bathroom and and other areas of the school. So That was kind of my big takeaway is maybe or what I would suggest through the board is that we we do revisit the The policy as well as Put some time into seeing how that policy currently has been implemented in our schools Um for the privacy of all of our students Because I would just I mean I would hate for any Anything like what happened in randoff to happen here in our school. Um, and I think it could have been very easily avoidable So that I guess that was my big takeaway from that And that was the only board comment that I had so okay. All right um, I guess, uh, you know, it's What I would comment on the situation is um you know, I think As board members, we do have the right to have private opinions and express them or our own opinions and express them and I Do did see that the posts and Shannon was explicit in saying I do not speak for the board That being said we are voting on a Um social media policy today and you know, I think that as board members we should try and Abide by the social media policy. We're going to be asking our employees to abide by and so in the areas where Things may have transgressed that social media policy. I think you know going forward We all need to be careful to abide, you know by what we're asking the the Um Employees to abide by So I think that's all Sorry, we'll hold public comment for the end. So thank you Maybe just to clarify quickly if you're okay with that Andrew. There is another Um Somewhere in here There is another public comment section. So normally we open it to public comment We'll go through our agenda items and then there's an opportunity for I guess you call rebuttal public comment period for another public comment period if you happen to jump on late, so Okay Okay, I think we can Move on unless there's any other board comment at this time Um, let's move to the celebration of learning learning at the Middle grades institute spotlight for summer planning may I introduce that? Mr. Karate. Yes. Thank you Good evening. I'm Owen Bradley, Queenie White River Valley Middle School principal. Nice to see a student here and um Siobhan Kelly one of our teachers Is going to talk tonight about some of the middle grades institute study that they've done And that it's about our advisory system and how that works for us I do you see Siobhan there mr. Belug before she does that I'll just say that um the middle grades institute which is hosted by uvm and st. michaels college has Existed for over 30 years We've sent a team to that since we Became a middle school for the last four years The work that comes out of there is based in an action research model Which is that teachers work together and create something that they all will work on throughout the school year to better the school And I would turn it over to Siobhan Kelly And that would go through of course mr. Belug. I'm sure you'll figure out how to get her on Ray, let me know if I'm good to go. I guess Yeah, go ahead Siobhan Okay, um, I'm shaman kelly. I teach english at the white river valley middle school Um, I've been teaching in in the classroom. I'm in for about seven years So quick merger for those of you that don't know me um and yeah, so at mgi this year we focused on um our pod Program, which also incorporates our morning advisory program um Where we sort of greet students and anchor them for their day every morning and then In the afternoons twice a week We work on some various projects. So I'm going to give a little bit of Context for what the pod program is kind of where it started and where it is now and specifically The improvements we're trying to make this year Uh, so the pods formed because of pandemic teaching which required self-contained groups um And that was in the year 2020 2021 school year And then in the next school year 2021 2022 that continued um Mostly due to the positive regard that students and teachers felt for the program Is it the deeper connections it? Enable us to create between student to student within the pod and also teacher to student and However throughout the year We got some feedback from community parents students and even amongst our own teachers about sort of what the value was of this We knew that it had some value like I said in that like creating deeper relationships But we kind of found ourselves and um, well my graduate professor We call project land where everybody was doing all these different projects and they didn't necessarily have a lot of um bigger learning goals or Targets that really went with them. Also. There's a lot of inequity between each group depending on um What that pod leader decided to pursue for projects and the way that they approached it So this year we tried to solve some of those problems um in our work over um mgi So we had some questions such as like what are the skills and dispositions that we hope students will acquire in pod We settled on um citizenship scholarship relationship and ownership which were four Pillars identified back when we were sort of first coming together as a school and deciding What our values were going to be and that was worked on with student Input so we thought that that would be The best choice for pod since pod is really supposed to be very student centered um and then We asked how would we align those skills and dispositions the practices we implement In pod and so like the first thing was really just taking that time to do that backward design Pick the goals first and then figure out how we were going to get there Um, and then I did am I able to share my um screen? Yes Okay, um, so I made this and it's really um just something I made for myself um And it's a bend diagram of some different um teaching initiatives And the ways that they overlap So one element of pod is negotiated curriculum. So that's where the students get to have voice in What they're learning about and and what projects they're working on So that involves their own passion projects and involves integrated curriculum I saw that as a connection with our goal of scholarship and ownership And then we have our social emotional learning. That's what scl stands for And restorative practices and that's sort of the advisory program part of it And I saw that as going with our Practices around regular restorative circles identity exploration and team building activities and obviously that lends to relationship And then community connections at the bottom And that kind of goes along with the idea of uh, you know Projects that have to do with community service and also we have our student-led conferences that connect The parents and teachers and students together And I saw that as aligning with our goal of citizenship And then, you know, there are some overlapping areas And with sort of the um, the the the middle the the best part Projects and initiatives that students make that improve our community. So it's kind of where we're all Trying to get to So i'm going to stop sharing that part and We really chose these Important ways of learning because they promote Putting students at the center And they help students who Have issues associated with things like trauma Which disproportionately impact marginalized students including bipop and lgbtq plus students and they improve our school and local community overall The way that we are promoting equity and consistency through all of the pods this year is Continuing our common planning time and using shared resources. I think really the backwards design is You know, obviously the foundation of all of that and so like knowing that that's our shared goal Really helps us drive that planning time we have together And then our final question was how do we effectively assess these skills and dispositions and then report out to families? so we're using a student portfolio that is a A set of slides google slides a slide deck um that students are going to use to keep track of their learning and set goals throughout the school year um, and then we're also made um progress reports that students can fill out and send home to their parents that um kind of get more of the um the nitty gritty grades reports and um would be something that Would help parents see um that part of it too and and be kept in the loop with the the grades as well because the student-led conferences are really More about what the student wants to share and what's important to them as a person and not necessarily um, how many assignments they have missing and things like that um, which Parents always want to know about and should know about what we were trying to find a way to do that that didn't Overshadow what the kids want to share um, and so where we're at right now is We're working on a project focused on student identity So they're going to be making something that shows who they were who they are now who they want to be in the future So it's our first big project and we're all working from the same Lesson plans with that so that helps create the equity between the pods We are rolling out our portfolio tomorrow, which kids will work on during pod time But we'll also work on in all of their other classes So they can make connections in our learning between the discrete subject areas And then we are currently in the process of setting out progress reports We're all kind of in different spots with that, but we have started that For the first round and we're kind of finding that we feel like we don't have enough time Common planning wise and also with our students in pod to address all of these really important initiatives, so I'm trying to make our schedule cooperate with all the really great stuff you want to do All right. Thank you. And now I'm ready for questions Okay, thanks very much Yeah, well, it's great to hear that you guys are are focusing on bringing some more rigor to uh To the pod time and making sure that there's a focus for it Um so Just to clarify all the pods are doing basically the same project at the same time Okay, right and It sounds like all the teachers are kind of involved in planning what the project will be together Yeah, so the project we're using is adapted from one that had already been Um, like the lessons had already been planned out. Um, so we were able to Take that and adapt it for each of our groups Yeah, um so one of the things that was great about the previous one was when a teacher was kind of had something that was Inspired them or whatever then there were some really special results that kind of came out of that and of course The downside of that is the equity part where you know sometimes if you luck out and get into one of those groups Then you get a great project and if not then, you know so I do you feel like the staff is is kind of Enthusiastic about this approach and I think people appreciate Um, it taking the load off from them to have to like make a lesson plan. Sure Because it's already been done for them, but I do think that um, it can be Um challenging teaching materials that you didn't necessarily make and aren't necessarily made in the way that you want to make them It's hard for me to speak for my co-workers But we have been trying to find ways to sort of balance the time we spend on This project as well as um other like, you know going back to activity land a little bit just to Give teachers the chance to be creative with what their passions are and to share those with students And to give kids like a time to Connect with each other where they're not being asked to do something that feels very academic, so we have two hours of pod time usually when I Have my pod will do one hour working on like the big project We all are working on together and then we have an hour that we design together As far as what activity we're going to do or how we're going to spend that time Okay, does anybody else have questions or comments? Oh, thank you very much Good to hear about how this is evolving. All right. Thank you. Shevaan. Uh early to bed you have school tomorrow Thank you Okay, we'll move to the reports to the board. I'm starting with superintendent Uh, I'll start thanks to all the staff that have been participating in our celebrations of learning I think it really gets us focused on the work that we're doing with kids. So thank you for for Joining us tonight Shevaan and so the The there's going to be a community letter coming out from me tomorrow to the board teachers greater community parents Talking about that we just found out Just over a week ago that the agency of education is making a pivot with How they measure standardized Testing scores based on the common core state standards. So accountability measures So prior we did smarter balance assessment consortium testing s back. That's now going away and being replaced with Cognio What is that? Cognio. Cognio. Thank you. I totally made up the name at Sharon earlier tonight. I knew it started with the scene um, and so Parents will see in my letter. I will reference what the secretary of ed has indicated are the reasons why a shift Um, we are we've done some research On this pivot to this new assessment platform. There's not a lot of information readily available for us at this time as soon as we have it We will be sharing it out with faculty staff and families. We still expect the testing window to be in the spring It is and I mentioned this in the letter. It is still measuring our students achievement On the common core state standards and next generation science standards. So it is measuring the same standards but the testing System being used by the state to do that accountability measure has changed And so that letter is going out um I also wanted to mention to the board the full board retreat It is on thursday evening. It's an opportunity for the full board to get together Um dinner will be provided. It's happening right here in south royalton Also looking at the full boards 22 23 Uh performance goals that have been recommended for adoption, which are aligned Um pretty closely to my superintendent professional goals With the concept being that the full board and the superintendent should be working hand in hand on the same task and outcomes and outputs Um And then also I have received some feedback on the strategic plan I've got some time put away tomorrow to try to work on another draft There's going to be some suggestions. I won't get in a draft too, but I'm gonna at least start to Incorporate some of that So it'll be a rough draft too and then I'll share with the board where we hope to expand that strategic plan to Um, and so that's on the agenda for thursday night as well. And then, um I'll take any questions the board may have Uh, I have a question. Um on replacing the SPAC one of the challenges we have had Jumping around with all of these different forms of testing and covid and all the things that have been thrown at us in five years with a brand new district Is where the heck do our kids stand? And is performance improving? How is this going? How are teachers doing? Are we going to be able to compare anything to the SPAC scores? We already have or are we starting completely over with a whole mother barrel of oranges instead of out? Well, we'll have we'll have new scale scores And so what we'll be able to do is at least have a sense of Where is our cohort scale scores at with this new assessment system? Versus where they were before the score won't equate to the same But at least we'll know based on Where the scale score was versus the state average whether or not we're doing as as well compared to the state average and so the su board had set goals by 2025 that in literacy we would be above the state average scale score And in math that we would be meeting The state average and so we'll still have a state average scale score And a district scale score. They just that scale score won't be the equivalent To what the smart of balance assessment scale score is we still the smart of balance assessment testing data From last spring is still embargoed I heard a rumor that the secretary french may release them later this week or the first and next week I'm hopeful that that happens and then you will receive the run results at your upcoming november meeting Along with track my progress testing Um, we'll be this the fall testing for track my progress will be shared at november meetings as well First round using this I think it's just frustrating because we were hoping That our math scores would go up and so not being able to compare is going to be really difficult Well, we can still compare them to the state average scale score It is what it is. Yeah, it was not it that that is not a local decision by any means it was a state decision Well, hopefully they'll measure what we want to measure better than just that. All right. Um, any other questions for jamie or comments? And we'll move to the principles So, uh, thank you and welcome are we do this on the three goals The first one that we have lined up there in your report is Um, and just I'll do this for the for the crowd here tonight to continue to develop a robust multi-tiered system of support for students We highlighted the elementary universal team. I'm happy to speak to it. So I'm just gonna mansplain it. I know don't We have a Universal team and one of the things we do is we have an elementary wild cat fridays Um, and we mix we're so excited to do this this year. We mix and mix age groups Um, and so there's one one week week one week a month is a lesson on respect right now We're setting respect and then we have our assembly and this two fridays ago We had our first whole school Community builder where we bust Bethel over here and did apple activities and mix groups all day long Which just it felt really good to have The whole school here. It was really funny the kids from Bethel saw me. They're like, what are you doing here? I'm like, I know you don't know that I'm actually here half the time So it was it was just really great. And so they um got to be with like age peers and mix groups Press apples do different apple relays and all things aptly, but um, it was it was a good feel good event and I'm happy to do more of that. I think we're gonna try to do that a couple different times a year So I'm excited for Royalton to get busted Bethel so they can also do the what are you doing here? And um I think we'll go to the second goal and it's enhancement of our proficiency learning Model with attention to literacy math and flexible pathways I'm gonna highlight that from the middle school And we've been very busy and we are working with regeneration core And one of the things we're doing I want to highlight is our flexible pathways work that we've done. Mr. West As you know the board has taken on that role And I was thinking about it with the pod advisory piece and projects That's really turned into a place where groups of students can have a project or an individual student can have a project There's actually one of the students in the audience tonight is a store owner at the school And they have worked uh to help develop a school store that Liberty has done that that will move on to other students. So it's shared among the students And uh, I'm not going to put you on the spot too much liberty, but I'll keep saying your name out loud And maybe you'll get extra credit And the store has been very successful They've lined it up with pop corn day that the elementary does so we've taken full advantage of that we sell pop corn And we sell other school products kids might need pencils erasers all those things And we'll have more of that coming and they're learning the How a business works and how it runs and and more to come on that So goal three And we'll let uh let we'll have Jeff take that one on and goal three. I'm just going to read it out loud if you don't mind Jeff Expanding our community outreach in ways that help us effectively engage And partner with students parents in our broader community So to start with we had a great homecoming with the bonfire and the night game for soccer And then uh, we had open house and open house this year was like community We had a great barbecue. There was a fine chef that they had come in There was some pizza that was delivered there and uh, it was a great evening So we started with barbecue and then it was like uh, instead of uh, the schedule being eight minutes and and uh, Parents going to each classroom for eight minutes, which seems like too much and it's chaotic It was just kind of like teachers were in their rooms and parents were mingling with them It was kind of great and then we ended the night with a concert and it was our our choir and our band And it was just awesome. It was such a great night and it was funny because like I was in the hallways And there was quite a few people there, but then we walked in the auditorium The whole community seemed like the whole town was there. It was a great evening. So uh, community is a big part of that We have our senior led group called cool cats that are doing a podcast If you want to see the podcast or listen to the podcast you can listen to that on our website There's uh, their podcasts are there and they're going to be doing a visual one And we're getting a tv screen so that kids can see the news and community members that come through the school Can get that news from the cool cats Um, just yesterday we uh went on an outing. It was our first school outing. We had kids chose hiking mountain biking Rock climbing kayaking and life skills back home So it was a great event for I think to build community in our school. So Questions for us or comments. There's a bunch more in the report as you know I would just add last but not least our new wet our new newsletters been launched Um, and it looks really good if you haven't seen it Um, and a lot of things to Kate McLean helped us reformat it so that when you get the email It's right there and not you don't have to click a link. So I think it's really beautiful and we're really proud of that Yeah, thank you. I did appreciate the new newsletter I also would say in regards to both the flexible pathways and community outreach the Facebook posts communicating the flexible pathways That there's been good communication on that and I appreciate that. Does anybody else have anything for the principles? We're always there if you need it and the pictures are really nice. Yeah Jeff gets credit for that The information with the picture, you know, even if you didn't have the opportunity to go to it Yes Um, Tara's not here, but Okay Tara and I are splitting duties. I was at Sharon earlier tonight, but they had a large presentation on a possible Expansion project. So I had her stay there and I'm fielding for her here. So you have a reported hand I'll be able to speak to the proposed student support budget as well Which is draft one and walk newer board members to about the budget process around draft two draft three draft four um the We've been wrapping up our um audit and so we're on good timing to have that wrapped up and approved by boards december january like last year So I'll have those numbers and the projected surplus to use for budgeting process and um or special Reserve funds the other big thing that we have going on right now is um, frankly due to the audit that we received back in 1920 if you remember that audit had some areas of concerns That we yeah school year 19 into 20, but there was um some areas that we needed to work on in the fiscal office Which we did and cleaned up. We had no findings in 2021 The aoe still works off of that 1920 audit And so what that means is the aoe is um in our office auditing over our federal grants this upcoming month All of our ester funds title funds So the business office has been in Engaged deeply in audits both from the auditors that we hire that do a single audit on us and also Working with the agency of education. So I will speak for terra that she's been working incredibly hard The good news is we did a secure a payroll slash accountant person So the business office is back up to uh fully staffed at three people. So that that's been a huge relief for terra Do you know how long The 1920 audit is going to be on our record now that the 2021's that that that's been completed and improved Moving forward fiscally the aoe will use that audit not that 1920 audit But what it does is it flags us for areas of concern, right? Agency needs to really make certain that they're checking in on us Okay, any other business manager related questions Okay So Full board uh supervising and full board updates on the Lincoln school districts Let me just give a quick overview of that. Yeah, so you received a um Email from kathy galouzo our wrbsu chair in regards to Requesting that the board consider writing letters and or community members consider writing letters to The state board chair and Secretary french in opposition of lincoln school district joining the wrbsu the wrbsu full board did a A straw poll um at our september meeting it was the unanimous that we were opposed the the full board was opposed To having lincoln join us Just uh and not all the board members were there So the the history with this is lincoln back in the spring Voted to decouple from the mount abraham union Unified school district which serves the towns of bristol new haven Starksboro munkin munkton lincoln and um bristol and so They voted to um decouple because The mount abraham unified school district is currently Going to be holding a vote in early november for them to have what the state board calls a super merger With the district that serves virgin high virgin's high school, which is adison northwest And so that would become one merged Pre k-12 district that has multiple elementary schools and it has two high schools within that proposed merger the articles of agreement have changed that A smaller school could be closed by a super majority vote Of the the whole unified district versus the town of the school Being proposed to be closed in that was um frightening for lincoln. So they decoupled They um approached me back in july to see if there'd be any desire of white river valley To work with lincoln. I should with them The opposition that the full board had around lincoln joining us a year prior and sorry ripped in joining us a year prior and reminded them that lincoln is Geographically much further for us than ripped in even as so I said I didn't think that the full board would be entertaining that But then I would certainly be checking in with the board I didn't find out until about five days before the state board hearing That in a letter from lincoln to the state board that they Um had designated us as their preferred choice of placement And I found out actually through a letter that had been directed to the state board that we were not copied on Um, so we went and uh testified in opposition to that Um, and we've also run financials We expect the addition of lincoln to be approximately and this is a conservative figure of about $450,000 addition to the su budget and you may say well why they're a small school Our ability to share special ed services is really difficult because our closest school is 50 minutes away in rochester Where now we'll we'll share staff across multiple schools like sharing strafford tumbridge chelsea Or bethel rochester stockbridge specifically 50 Are a really good day. Yeah, and so That means all related service providers special educator We wouldn't be able to share even though they have a school That's about 74 students right now and their enrollment has been declining And so we we estimate that their average daily membership will continue to decrease And remember we assess out as an su around average daily membership So the increased cost at the su level versus their percentage paying in At the su budget It was not to a net positive for the member districts of wrbs u other than grand bill handcock Which is a non operating district They're the only ones that would see any tax relief by lincoln joining and so the Right now the state board can make a decision of lincoln becoming its own supervisory district and having to create Their own supervisory services as a standalone district They could take in the couple mount abraham union and make them a supervisory union, which is not the preferred governance model Through the state board they prefer one unified district governance model They could place them with us or they could place them with central romant supervisory union And central romant supervisory unions norfield williams town orange washington two districts one su And geographically they are closer than we are And so we expect secretary french to make a recommendation to the state board in november And the state board will take action on this in november And supervisory union boundaries are at the leisure of the state board. They can redraw those And so There's not any legal Argument for us to make it really is frankly a political argument about how this could be a detriment for the wrbs u students And so that's the argument we've been making We are having we are creating a contingency budget at the su level In the event that linkin is placed with us and we'll be sharing that throughout the budget process to the su board Because the state board has requested that we do so Our business manager is meeting with the mount abraham unified school district business manager and the cbs u business manager on friday So that we're creating budgets together so there can't be argument that one district is Creating a different budget that's inflated versus another and so they're sitting down Also in the mount abraham unified school district has a real good sense of what services they're currently needing and getting provided So terra is doing that friday as well What percentage currently does our budget carry of the superintendent's budget? At the su i you know it was a little over 40. It's in the book I don't have it off the top of my head. I know that your adm dropped a little bit So it actually decreased last year the percentage wise I can send that you that information. I just don't have it readily available terra could tell you All right, thanks for that update Keep our fingers crossed Okay Unless there's any other comments or questions Move on to the policy committee update Opposed flag policy reading I believe this was sent to everybody in the with the board documents with the post flag policy Was everybody had a chance to read it and does anybody have any feedback Yeah, yeah, I've had ample time to review it. I think I Mean, you know, we were I don't know. What was it June? I think when we had Our first opportunity for input into the flag And you know kind of looking through this. I think the thing that scares me is Is anything that we put in a form that could be subjective? Because when it when it becomes subjective then it kind of loses the purpose of which So right now the policy the way I see it is is pretty subjective when You know a student slash teacher sponsored Symbol would then go to the superintendent to get Read through and make sure that it is meeting certain criteria To then be voted on at the board So there's there's quite a bit of subjectivity and I'm you know for both both ends or any end of it. So That concerns me because you know one board could be different another Superintendent could be different another, you know, so there's lots of lots of combinations there that could affect the students I have been looking at it and This flag policy here is very similar to the one that waterbury has um, and I was looking at some of the other issues right now and There's there's been several issues that have reversed their policies of late going from A flag policy back to a restrictive based policy based on Feedback from the communities as well as as obviously litigations and things going on throughout the state in the country with with different things That so Reading through this one thing that I came that came to my mind on you know, how can we make this work? But at the same time not make An adult or adults that could be politically motivated or through subject matter not want to take place in it Or we'll want to take place in it. How can we you know the the The initial goal is that this is a student A student body presented symbol that they want to fly high At their campus, right? I mean that's kind of the goal So how can we do that? So I guess what I was thinking and and I like a lot of the the verbiage in here, but How about having the students? Make their own proposal You know, maybe there's somebody that can help them make sure that the criteria that's in the policy is established Still have an individual either, you know a principal or I don't know if everything needs to go to the su but Have somebody be able to look through that application to make sure that those criteria that were spelled out in the policy Are met because I think I think the policy of the criteria was good on you know Meeting goals that support The school and and things that you know could be hatred Pieces make sure those are all accounted for and then What I was thinking this was after talking to some students as well as my own daughter is is why not Establish this as a democratic event where students scored Then on campus for a period of time and it's a week or two weeks period Is vote on it So say this is the application that we want to do this is the symbol that we want To fly at this campus and then have a democratic event where The student body can vote on it through a ballot process not a how many people want it raise your hand but more of a It will be available at the make it up the cafeteria where you can vote on it for a week And then have a process to collect the votes and and establish the results right and then you know the results carry the day I think it would be a good learning event for students One have their voices heard To learn about the democratic process that they will have to take place when they get to be adults And and you know obviously experiencing the power of vote and you know So I guess that was kind of my my take on it So you're suggesting Basically taking the board out of it and so it goes to the administration then the students wrote on it and if the students approved then it Yeah goes up Because I think the way it is right now is I mean Looking looking through just the state of Vermont There are several boards that either have restrictive policies are keeping them restrictive There are policies that have flag policies that have gone back to restricted policies and then there are some like like um Water burying some other ones that do have a flag policy, but there's It's a mixture out there. So I'm trying to think of how can we do this? It seems to be a lot of the comments negative comments out there on the flag policies is that It becomes subjective. So the board's gonna approve it or not approve it and if they don't approve this one How can they say they're not you know, if they prove this one How can they say they're not going to prove this one if it meets it, you know, I mean, so if this is truly a student-led Initiative then why not let the students have their voices heard and and vote on it and You know, I don't know put it into rules. It's 51 percent or whatever it is then then it goes up And I have a clarifying question. Sorry to interrupt. So my understanding of the policy and correct me if I'm wrong is that These proposals would already be Student proposals student applications possibly from a group of students Most likely from a group of students that put all these components together So to clarify the thing that you're asking to change is just that it wouldn't go through the board It would go through a vote of students Yeah, because the way the proposal is set because I actually like a lot of the proposal that has to the students have to Do a lot of the front end work I I think that's great and the way the proposal is in layman's terms right now is that The the students and or a sponsor would help put the we'll call it an application together, right? And then that application would then go to the superintendent to review to make sure that Certain criteria is Is in it And then after that then it would come to the board for a vote And I guess where I'm at is I would rather see that go to the students to vote on Rather than have the board Which could be a board made up of all kinds of different individuals at different times and different, you know settings that could Short negative positive or whatever sports thing. So I'm just thinking why not have the students do it Yeah, I mean they do have a demonstrated student support for the proposed flag, but that is somewhat big so You know But like right now the way it is is Make it up, but you know, someone could propose it. It could be a it could be Five students that could propose wanting to put a symbol up with a A teacher helping them put the application together, right? And then it would go to jamie jamie would look through the criteria say Uh, okay, it met everything or no it didn't I'm going to kick it back once you correct this and then it would go to us to vote on But I just thought maybe Well, one I think it's a good idea to have the students voices heard, but two I think it's a good opportunity for them to learn the process of voting Having your voice heard Actually voting because there'll be students that probably won't vote or And they don't have to be scared to vote. Yes. No for against whatever it is, right? So I that that's kind of mine My take on it, but does the administration have any feedback on The workability of Doing that I think the only The concern I could hear from some of my district boards Being that this it would be an su wide this is actually policy and that's what our policy says And so I think some of my districts that operate schools of you know, k6 Could really struggle with that concept I was thinking that when I was looking at our two campuses is how How would that look at the elementary school level, right? Because a lot of these Topics come up at maybe the middle school level in higher. So, you know, how would that how would that look? but I was just trying to find a way that we Could have the students I mean expressions heard, but I guess like what we If if we do want to keep it Something that would apply to the whole su. There's nothing that prevents us by sent from saying as a board like Demonstrated students support should show majority student support or something And then basically they would go through that process and then bring it to us Or how would they show I guess in that case how would they show their majority of support? Would they have a vote because it could be part of the procedure is that I guess I get back to that You know as well, I think it's best for students to have the ability to vote sure in privacy so that they Regardless of they vote for or against something that you know, they're not harassed or You know something after the fact that you didn't support it or he did support it or you know There's a lot of logistics that go with that if you're going to leave a box out for a week Are you ballot stuffing? Are you like there's there's just logistics that go with running that that would be on our administrators? And I think some of the cool things that I get the high school At the high school level, I correct me if I'm wrong you have student council So it's an opportunity for the student council to be in action, right? They could take control of the ballot box and put it in a secret You know or a secured location overnight that could be the ones to count the ballot And I think maybe at the middle school level, and of course you gotta figure out the elementary school level But at the middle school level, maybe it's an opportunity to resurrect a You know a small board of students that want to take part in the You know the their civic duties But I mean I think the way it is if it's got to come back to the board It just puts us in a difficult situation because it becomes at this point If he meets the criteria you need to approve it, right? But that doesn't mean that this board we might see that right now We might approve every single one that comes through that meets the criteria But the next board or the next person in the seat might not do that and then You know it becomes an unfair system for everybody. Well, but at the same time like We're voted on by the public So, you know if people vote for a board that will reject flags then, you know that so be it, you know And I was also thinking on the On the The piece of litigation into things is how A lot of you know boards have reversed their policies just because of fear of litigation for Certain topics right now, and that's you know, Randolph reverse theirs. Wyndham SU reverse theirs. So if we had this more as a Hey, the students Supported this and here here's how we can show the students supported this That then in some ways wouldn't I don't know not a lawyer, but yeah Would that take some of that potential litigation off our plate at the board level and say well the The students voices were heard Rather than say You approved this one, but you didn't approve this one. So now we're going to sue sure, you know So I guess that was kind of my thinking throughout Yeah, I would say whatever I'll bring all this feedback back with Rodney to the the policy committee. There's been feedback on this um Policy as proposed by every board. So I think the policy committee is gonna gonna have some work to do over the next month based on that feedback and It's important for the board to know that that every policy That we put in front of you for approval is vetted by the board by our attorney or written So example, this policy was modeled after harwood union, but our attorney Crafted this this wasn't crafted by me. You're my office. This is crafted by our our district attorney But it's you know, again, it still doesn't stop somebody from litigating against it, right? Well, I mean they were saying that they think that we've got a real strong argument not to be litigated against right That's why we were even looking to do a policy to begin with We pay them to make certain our policies are not going to be litigated And if they are that we're gonna win Right and that we're gonna win But again, it just becomes that there is a scary situation where sure not just the board could get Could be sued but individually board members could be sued for things too. So I mean, I don't want to be in a cord brah Having to defend myself every time we pass or don't pass something, right? So I guess that was how can we make that easier for everybody, right? But still The topic at hand could move forward, right? So Um Do we want to have any further comments on the flag policy? Okay, I'm gonna bring your proposal as you've said it Chris to our attorneys to get their thoughts That's gonna be a next step. Yeah, I and I'll share your thoughts and the attorney's response at the policy committee Okay, moving on to our action items Um So the first policy we'll be looking at Adopting is the social media policy We've had A couple of readings of this already And it's been warned And posted in the papers that we would be voting on this tonight Um Is there any uh discussion on this item? Well, I I hadn't had any comments on it. I was going to pass it as as written, but We also had some of the comments earlier in regards to How how do board members be held responsible for their actions? um And I know it's tricky because You know, technically an elected position the voters elect the person the voters can unelect the person so that's That's the process And now right now we have So Us two are appointed right we have an empty seat So let's say we had three appointed individuals half the board would be appointed which I think in that case Appointees would follow more under the policy because you are an elected official is that Sound correct. You're still a volunteer We're not involved in the policy the way it was if you were an appointed individual Okay, so I guess the at this question, you know from what the The audience is, you know, how would an board member be held responsible for A lot of the same things that we're asking our administration and teachers to be Or is that a separate Whole policy that may needs to be looked at I think we would need to get do a separate policy Or if you want to Now this is to apply to the Employees that know super Sure, yep You know, I I do think we should follow it because we're asking them to and it's, you know Right, we should hold ourselves to the same standards. We expect everybody else to be held to We're asking to follow so Um, but I you know, it's certainly not like This wouldn't apply in a strict manner to board members So other than that, I would make a motion to accept policy p 35 the social media policy All second, okay Any further discussion? Okay, all in favor say aye Hi fine All right Past unanimously. All right Thank you. We have passed policy b 35 To move to policy c 35 the verification of student residency for tuition payment policy and corresponding affidavits so again, we've had this At the last couple of board meetings as as reading in for feedback And at this point we're looking to adopt it It applies mostly to the tuition towns not so much us. Um, so I would entertain a motion I'll make a motion to act to adopt policy c 35 the verification of student residency for tuition payment policy and corresponding affidavits second Okay, any discussion All in favor see aye Hi Any opposed Okay, the policy passes unanimously broadening Was was that an aye or an opposed? No, no Okay, um Yeah So I'll move on to the discussion items So we've got the presentation from the administration on the proactive and reactive procedures in place regarding hazing harassment and bullying I'd like to I don't need to do all this I was talking to you too I'm good at I'd like to introduce Shane Oaks to do some more talking Great motion I don't know Do you guys want to explain Shane Oaks's role? Yeah, that's what I was gonna do Shane Oaks is one of three student support coordinators Shane is also a An invaluable employee that helps resolve problems among students among faculty And most especially among the principal And Shane is um representing those two other folks. Uh, Ashley throat Sandy Tracy, but also he works very directly with us on the hazing harassment and bullying work And he acts as our uh title nine coordinator for the su Shane can introduce himself really well And a bunch of you got to know Shane as our COVID-19 coordinator in the past Yes, I'm not my poor guy. I thought my board meeting days were behind me, but So thank you. Oh, and yes, I'm Shane Oaks. Happy to work here as student support coordinator on the South Railton campus and Focus primarily the high school students this year And happy to speak about our hazing harassment and bullying policies Um here Uh, what how are bullying harassment policies being implemented? Here at school Well, first and foremost, I think it's important to recognize that all staff across the district go through uh Different trainings on hazing harassment and bullying That is through a vector training that we do Annually at the beginning of each school year and then new staff coming on do as part of their orientation That provides a really thorough foundation understanding of what hazing harassment and bullying look like different scenarios that it might come up and and brings awareness In general understanding to the issue Um, so that's something all staff go through and then kind of as Owen alluded to Beyond that we have uh teams of of folks that really work to specialize in this area and be able to respond to this so each Administrator Is part of that team and they're the decision maker when it comes to responses there But also they work in conjunction with designated employees who work to Conduct investigations take referrals and really Kind of dig into situations that come up to understand what happened there So those folks And you know, I see ashley on the call with us as well Go through an additional level of training And currently we're engaged in that you didn't need to bring ashley Bigger bigger Uh, and so we are we are taking um a series of trainings on both hazing harassment and bullying and title nine that is being held and facilitated by vis bet an attorney that works To put that together and that is really specialized to vermont law and statute. So it's uh, you know the vector training I think is is more broad, but this really speaks to specifically what we need here in vermont And also provides us with a lot of tools and resources That guide the process So next steps so As I just mentioned the administrative The administrators and the designated employees have been going through Additional training through vis bet that goes through november As a result of this we have adopted a new referral form for tracking and documentation For all situations that might come up throughout the school year And I think that's really an important part of the process Because you know, not all concerns that come forward are actually meet the level or definition of bullying or harassment But having that that That paper trail Is important as maybe patterns of behavior emerged. So So that's really good We have so we rolled out this form this year We've followed that up with training during faculty meetings so that folks on the ground that have gone through the vector training understand it Know how to complete that and who to give those referral forms to Um We work closely With uh in partnership with the police department To investigate Um and respond to situations. So part of the Uh bullying harassment Sometimes events happen outside of the community, but they have a profound impact on the school environment or students Comfortability or willingness to come in the school Which kind of makes it our Issue and something that we have to deal with and respond to And so i'm glad to say that we have a really strong relationship working with the police in conjunction when Situations like that that have come up that maybe didn't happen on school property, but it impacted our school community So that's good And the policies themselves can be found in the student handbooks on school websites and get mailed out to Any individuals that receive notification that a policy or that a Investigation may be opened up regarding that And then how do we how do we respond to? situations And and I think first and foremost we we work proactively To create an environment and a culture that is built on positive behavior Mutual respect We heard earlier presentations tonight talking about Our pbis system at the elementary school in the way that they are Delivering lessons on respect across the whole school The middle school Mentioned that as well in their presentation with their advisory system Some of the restorative practices that they do community building that goes into that and studies show that the The more positive and healthy your culture is the fewer incidents of bullying harassment hazing are going to come up And so that's really been a been a focus for us But that being said there are going to be situations where things come up And so we need to respond to those and Actions that would be taken You know referral comes forward there will be Notification in a process that's followed out by and by The vis-a-vis training with the formal referral notification letters And then an investigation will start If Any of these are found to have taken place Then there will be consequences a disciplinary action that's taken by the principal That will be developmentally appropriate And based on the situation and circumstances presented in that situation, so We don't have a blanket. This is what happens. It's really administrators choice decision based on The facts and circumstances at hand Then there is a restorative or reparative work That may go into that To try to repair the the relationship the damage that has been done to the community And again, that is going to look different based on the The situation itself the age in the stage for the for the students In the type of impact that is have but we work really closely to Be sensitive and do that reparative work where it's warranted And then lastly there needs to be safety planning to make sure that victim in this situation Knows that there are going to be safety measures put in place to ensure that this Behavior doesn't happen again And that they have the appropriate supports To feel safe and to continue to engage there In their schooling so There are some additional things that we need to that we have on our to-do list of things to do We'll finalize our trainings through vis-bit. Those are scheduled through november We've identified that we need to create a system for anonymously reporting Concerning our problem behavior. So right now we have identified staff within the buildings Who? Folks can go to We really create a culture within the middle school and high school of having teacher advisors that really Support people and go to and and we encourage students to Reach out and share concerns with any adult that they trust But this is something that just provides an additional layer For students to to raise concerns with us So we'll be looking to implement that And then at the end of the year, we'll be within our leadership team structure Kind of reviewing our data from the year How things went with the new Steps that we've implemented and see if there's any additional Training considerations changes that we might need to make looking into going to the next school year Thank you Does anybody have any Questions or follow-up machine No, I had I had written two questions down, but I you just pretty much answered them on the last slide one was You know, how how could an individual student report a behavior In a in a method that they wouldn't be in return harassed or you know, honestly So that was that was good to see that because I think Having experienced that with a child before You know, how how can one Safely report something without being a target, right? And then the second one I had was because I had asked a question I don't know earlier this year in regards to another topic, but I had asked, you know, um, you know, how many instances of You know Bullying as you know based upon, you know, either You know sexual orientation or another piece of it have we had inside Our campuses just so that we can see, you know, or You know, do we have an issue? What is the issue? What's the magnitude of the issue? So it was nice to see that You are going to be tracking Yeah So I guess I at what level would you be trying? Is this like you're going to encompass every single event that you have is going to be put into like A database that you can go and see how many instances there are a year or how do we measure? I guess We do enter that into our web-to-school database. Uh, and then I think we report out to the state annually those exact figures so I would have to do some digging to look at some of those more specific questions like what was the basis of those Uh, and are there trends that it's one particular area of that uh, hhb spectrum That we would want to focus on but those are certainly things that we'll be looking at As a leadership team when we kind of review the data and look at what do we want to do for next year? Uh, if we see trends or areas there That stick out then we would want to focus that on our universal Intervention supports or some of our targeted support to make sure that we're addressing that so And then in addition you'll get you will start getting I think it's in december is the first social emotional report Yeah, um We track all office referrals on the database as well Yeah, and I kind of I kind of compare it to like standardized testing scores is how do we Rank like do we have a problem? Do we not have a problem or what? Or what are the types of problems and how can we better utilize our resources towards that? Yeah, that's another Set of data that we've been trying to establish that's been a little disrupted with cove Yeah, but Yeah Good to hear because we were at the last board me and we were talking actually I brought up about Bowling and harassment and providing a safe and healthy environment for children to learn right and you know We have rashes of it and unfortunately had to pick on the one because it happens to be that age group of kids that You know between fifth grade and ninth grade that tend to be the spike, right? You know and how how do we combat that and it's the beginning of the year So how do we like really put our foot down and set the example for the year that this is what's not tolerated Yeah, and the approach that we have taken is really to lean in heavy with building a positive and supportive culture And i'll say that um while there's more work that we need to do in creating an anonymous An anonymous system of reporting we have a student body that is uh, I think feels empowered to come forward and report concerns That has been my my experience in working with students. And so as issues come up We generally hear about them pretty quickly And so I think that speaks to a lot of that work as well as the the trust that students have with the Staff and the adults that they're working with on a regular basis There are regulations we have to follow in timelines So an example is we need to when we have a report that that's reasonable. We have five days to complete that So there that's an example of many the parts that we have There's a lot of procedure in place that we must follow which keeps us structured and honest about it and um Also the definitions of things like bullying harassment and hazing are very specific A lot of times in our culture people talk about I was bullied It's a very specific definition within a school system And I think you know my experience with you know An unfortunate situation that we had to deal with um was I I think The action at the administration level was was very good. Can you say that one more time? I'll say But I mean I think at that level it was very good. I think The challenge was is you have you have this environment of I'll call smaller little harassment that turns into bigger harassment and And unfortunately it has to wait to get to the big level, but How do you take care of all that little stuff that we have? I think at school, but if I can respond to that I would say when we report out In december, it sounds like on the social emotional and behavioral data That's where you'll see those smaller trends and we try to focus our Our supports our social emotional learning curriculums proactively to try to do Focus on some of those things which is why you're talking about our focus is respect this month and that's what we're working on The only comment I would have would be to if it's possible to kind of share with parents kind of the like What you're recommending for the students to do this so that if a student comes to a parent they're able to say well Director kid how to respond No, I think I think maybe oan had touched on at the last meeting potentially about um Like these community events where you would have a topic Chains, so it might be on bullying and harassment and how how to report it I think we're talking about and where we're talking about maybe getting that back and going again There are these series of events to have group meetings. Yeah and meals Well, food's always good right now. We'll find a chef right only if you have so many things to have her as a hot dog Pizza But I think that's a lot of times How do we bring it to the attention At the right time right right it doesn't just have to be parents Yeah, of course. Yeah, right Yeah, okay. Well, thank you very much Shane and Everybody um We'll move on to the proposed board resolution. Thank you lgbtq identifying youth Um Do we have this printed out? Okay Shannon did you want to speak to this? So sure this was shared with the board And it is lgbtq i a plus History month pride month is in june And so in honor of that and with thoughts toward what has gone on in our community Um our broader community I wanted to bring a resolution to the board Um supporting our students who identify as lgbtq i a so this has Circulated I think some of the Highlights in the whereas this is three page document. I'm not going to read it word for word. Um, but some of the highlights Um, certainly I've listed out and this is based on NEA model language So listed out the laws that are In place listed out that our values our respect responsibility safety and kindness Um lgbtq youth are four to six times more likely to attempt suicide Than heterosexual youth and specifically i'm sorry and cisgender youth And specifically 41 percent of transgender youth report having attempted suicide at some point in their lives And so I wanted to provide this resolution to let our students who identify this way know that their board supports them and supports Supports teachers and staff as well So the first part of the resolution I think Is the most important let it be resolved that the board declares the district to be a safe space for Students meaning that the district is a place for students to learn to thrive And to seek assistance information and support free from discrimination and bullying And then it goes on to reaffirm that we have policies in place a prohibiting discrimination Um against all persons Students family caregivers of a student or district employee On the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation gender identity Or gender expression or the actual perceived sexual orientation gender identity or gender expression of their associates and There are a very few action steps in here. I know that we do already um at the middle school level at least last year We had a gsa um a gender and sexuality alliance Or gay straight alliance or it was something it was called a gsa but something a little bit different in my time So um that we will continue to support those types of groups that our district um dress code should be gender neutral And that we will provide students with access to resources And that we will designate october as lgbtq history month and june as pride month It also resolves that the um employees have academic freedom to discuss the resolution If they would like to As is age appropriate any other questions the um Well the biggest question that I had um I happened to stop and uh to see jamie yesterday on a different issue and And I asked them for a copy because I didn't there wasn't a board copy for the resolution in the packet It came out by a separate email Uh, I didn't get any of it and so jamie had forwarded to me yesterday So I I sent it to the whole board yesterday. Yeah, so I really didn't have the opportunity to look at it until today and I hadn't really had the opportunity to look at it and it's Thorough, but I guess some of the questions not have read it yet Would um would just kind of be you know, what does the resolution cover that already isn't state law and or school su policy I guess was my first question hadn't read it yet It's a resolution not a new policy So it's not covering any new ground. It's just reaffirming that we stand by these students And that we have policies in place Does anybody Rodney or Peggy do you guys have Comments have you had a chance to read it really only skimmed it over very quickly I mean, I'm certainly in favor of the non-discrimination. I certainly believe in that I think there was a I think the only issue that I think it got into Again, I could say I only saw a brief, you know skimmed it over was the bathroom changing facilities As to how that works because I know that's a very sensitive issue for many people And how how we work around that? I think that's That that that's the part that I find to be the most sensitive is As to how to work around that issue So Peggy, I will say that um When reviewing this and reviewing the model language I have been to both campuses. I've used the facilities on both campuses as a female And so I talked to someone who had used them as a male who happens to live in my house So All of the things that are in this policy are I'm sorry all of the things that are in this Resolution are things that are already just in place We have Um I'm trying to find the language, but it's it's there we have places for people that change that are private And we already support people using the facilities that they That match their gender identification It doesn't change any of that Um And it doesn't say we would we would provide anything that we're not already providing Did you have any comments on it Rodney? All right So I guess uh Do you have an opportunity to Read it now or I mean are you willing to I guess what would the next step be I guess the next step would be Make the motion to adopt the resolution So what happens I I guess I My recommendation right now is is having only received this late yesterday, and I didn't have any time to look at it other I'm looking at it now I think it would be unfair justice for me to vote for against it not having the opportunity to look through this thoroughly Um Just quickly glancing through some of the stuff. I do have questions. Um, I I'd like to have the opportunity to Study or find those answers myself if possible Is I mean is there an opportunity for us to adopt us at the next meeting or Or go for a action item at the next meeting or That's certainly a possibility Yeah, I think that given that people haven't read it thoroughly We should probably table it and make sure everyone is fully in support of it before we adopt it I think that makes a much stronger Message to our staff faculty and students okay that sounds good, so everybody read it, um, and come prepared at the next meeting to Discuss and Take action Okay, thank you, Shannon Um, would you mind holding your comment for the public comment time? That's not fine. Thank you Um, we're almost there. Yeah, we're getting there Only a few more things. All right draft number one student support budget 23-24 Yeah, so this is uh, the student support budget which makes up your administration our student support personnel school counselors pair professionals nurse um and an assistance Every our pathways coordinators we consider as part of that Support system sometimes as well. So they're in there also your activities director um, and so This is proposed budget one of student support You'll get based on conversation tonight and as an administrative team that we meet We're going to be looking at the rest of your teaching staff universally And so sometimes that adjusts what this budget looks like as well for draft number two So next month you'll get all your all the all the bodies which make up about 80 percent of your budget presented into you via student support And all the rest of your universal instructors, which are your classroom teachers. It is um Your essential teachers everyone else. That's a license educator In the building and so you'll see that Then in december you're going to get the third draft of this second draft of everybody else in as far as universal teaching staff And all your maintenance and facilities everything else broken out in function codes The board will have an opportunity to give feedback then Typically what that then results in is a special meeting in january um Jess focused on budget And then we look for you in january to adopt a budget Okay, so that's just to give you again the overall timeline. So the big changes tonight As far as an fte is is that we did add a school counselor to have four school counselors this coming year We are leveraging some grant funds to help cover that We believe that that position is a position that we're going to need moving forward So we have two elementary counselors a middle school counselor That also serves the high school a high school counselor that also helps support the middle school 612 That you're seeing budgeted locally with the idea being that that is a position That we want in the budget because we would need to keep that position definitely moving forward And that's in addition to the counselors The the mental health counselors who are here from claire martin. That's in addition. I know we don't have one on the Bethel campus right now How many are we supposed to have and how many do we currently have in the district? We currently have And those are not just funded through ester by the way So you guys know that those are funded by other grants that we receive like Medicaid We get something called mac funds Which are used for social emotional health that are that we receive as an su as well And so those are two sap student assistance counselors Who do short time therapeutic interventions and supports for students either one on one or in small group There's one of those budgeted for each campus And a full-time school-based clinician through claire martin that can see students individually one on one The those positions are when it says grant funding to remain the same on currently funded positions. Those positions are all in there And so we're we're moving forward with an sap on each campus and a school-based clinician on each campus right now We are short a school-based clinician on the Bethel campus We're still projecting six interventionists the And that is continuing to be budgeted locally and Um through title funds just so you know so when it says grant funds remain the same We're projecting the same revenue that offset some of that expense Via title funds and you will see the revenue budget I'm start to line up with this in december by the way The but right now we're going to continue to support it the same percentage in revenue around title for intervention The guidance we just talked about nurses would remain the same at two You'll see regular ed paris had bumped up by three fte We are seeing some more intensive needs around behavioral supports Needed for some of our students And what we're doing is we have a contracted Behavioral support person Through claire martin. That's a board certified behavioral analyst. His name's christian recrory. He writes behavioral plans And then we have paraprofessionals that can help support the implementation of those behavioral plans And what that results in though is that we need instead of us going and contracting out Behavioral intervention is through claire martin We're hiring our own paris and training our own paris up. So we have some students Then in the past may have needed placements and alternative programs all by the way, which are full Right now. So I will tell you that um an out-of-district placements typically just to remind the board cost of anywhere from 80 000 to upwards of 120 000 per student um Well, we're actually finding right now jet not just our supervisory union But regionally is that the out-of-district placement type therapeutic placement schools that we would typically refer student to are full What school districts are now being told is if you have a student that you think may need an out-of-district placement You need to get on the wait list for next year And so as we continue to invest in our own alternative programming and also trying to beef up the supports we have here Students are entitled to FAPE Free and appropriate education. So part of that's resulting in us needing more of our own paris that we train up to implement Intensive behavioral plans. And so that's the bump there um The subs was reduced to get us more in alignment with actuals of what the Current subs have been costing us um across rod And we had budgeted higher based on covid Our expectation hopefully when we're hopeful that we're going to see that need for subs to decrease Um, and then you get your three student support coordinators Um within the budget your athletic activities director in the budget And then your two pathways coordinators are in the budget and some of that change in salary there is fte Benefits things of that nature Would that also explain why? That one extra fte is 157 000 for the guidance Well, that is not just one staff. That's That is negotiated increases for whole four staff Right and taking in benefits and a reminder that family benefits Are right around 23 000 for an ft. So that's remember all salary and benefits are on these lines not just salary Right right and in earlier you had said that the extra full-time um counselor there was grant funding tied to that and I guess Well one part is that's great that we're getting another counselor that we desperately need But how do we backfill that revenue when the grant May not be there in year three. That's why we're looking to budget locally um Because that's always the you know, we create a position based on grants and then a couple years later It's not there and then we get the pump with the money ourselves And then I I'd asked you that I'm gonna put you on the spot, but they had the um So increase is wise and I know there's a complicated formula at the Education to figure out what one penny on the tax rate means versus an increase of a budget, but Could maybe you get that to me on what I can definitely get it to you It's going to be all ballpark off last year because what goes into account of that is the yield Which we don't know yet and our equalized pupils Is what makes it challenging. It's a ballpark around That's about what it's about Penny, okay 70 to yeah, it was 72 maybe one year it's something somewhere in there It's just nice to know those things when you're for this For an example in some of my smaller districts a penny can be 19,000 Um Are you looking to do that hiring of peras to avoid out of district placements SU wide? Each district has a different need. Yeah, I mean no, we're trying to build up our own our own bench and staff Um, I would also say the intensity of need and the principals can speak to this Better than I can because they're in they're on the front lines every day. I would say Our k through three population Have really suffered from coven, right? Um, and our their ability to have the social skills and The early intervention at pre-k For us to be able to head off Some of the concerns that have gotten bigger now in first and second grade and we're kindergarten Has been a significant concern and We try to fade peras by middle school the goal And you see that in your buildings and you see that in all my buildings Most of our paraprofessional staff Are deployed at the elementary level to implement behavioral plans by the time students get to middle and high school We're looking for them to be independent, right? Like we put an intervention plan in place We support the student and then we try to fade the plan off the student off from that intensive Need of a one-on-one or two two students on one adult Um, what we're finding is is that the need at those really early primary levels is significant Um, yeah, well, I fully support And why you're seeing in regular ed by the way is, um, One special ed law changed and so, um Typically you would see these peras budgeted at special ed level at the su level around f te's but In regards to and i've been talking about this at the su level the changes to special education law Is that you need to put early interventions and supports in place first Before a school team could even consider specialized Instruction or programming so one of the questions and criteria we have to meet for the state now is Did you put a level of intervention in like a behavioral intervention plan for a student? Implement it with other academic interventions and accommodations before we came and talk about Would the student qualify for special education? Yeah, I guess my question with uh, so part of that increase at the local level too is us understanding that Some of those supports where we would just move to a special ed referral and a student may qualify for an iap And part of that iap intensive plan may be to receive paraprofessional support Is something that we need to be providing sooner, which I believe in by the way, I hope not saying that I don't I think early interventions were at I think we should be providing early intervention for students Um It's just in the past those positions Maybe you'd be seen at the su level those bumped up by three or you won't be seeing that Significant of a bump up in paris and special ed Um support right now it it's tending to be more at the local level Would you agree about the early intervention and yes, yeah Um Any other questions for jamie or comments on the student support budget? All right. Thank you For the next but next month Okay, yeah, I actually should get lower. Yeah, I would hope so. Yeah E I update on summer 2023 heating age back Yeah, so I was with um e I this evening actually they did a Significant presentation down at sharing tonight about a proposed possible expansion project So e I is going to be with us in november Right now terra is working with e I to solidify All of the esser funding that we're putting toward this project and what I mean by solidifying is Anytime we want to use esser funds For anything to do with building upgrades the aoe needs to give us prior approval on each individual project What I mean is not we're going to use esser funding to help Provide better air quality for the royalty campus. They want to know What what are you doing? Like what air handlers? Are you replacing? They want specifics? And so right now e I and terra working Hand in hand to get all those prior approvals so that when we come to you In november and we say we have this amount of esser revenue It's already been certified by prior approval. So that's the work we're doing right now The other grants that we talked to you about that came in around wood chip pellets In grants to offset In addition to esser to offset some of the work we want to do Around fresh air those have been we've been given the green light on those So we're feeling really good about that revenue that we showed you Is really the esser revenue now that we're securing and so in november He's going to come into you with you eric about detail figures detail revenue The hope is that it continues to move in the right direction Meaning not at a cost for us as a district And then I would say as a district you'll need to make a decision november no later than the december To say yes, let's move forward a reminder in the public didn't hear this I'm saying it for this them too the plan is to do Um a whole new heating system hvac lighting at bevel And redo some of the controls here and new lighting on this campus At no increase right from the taxpayer and so I think that's a really exciting thing It's uh something that I think we should be really proud about In addition to that starting next month, I know that the music boosters This is something we had talked about last year was this idea of an expansion to this campus to better support performing arts E I is now involved with the architect bandwell on that that's who's partnering at sharon and so E I Is going to be working with bandwell And that group around the expansion of a performing arts lab to come in front of the board We're just preliminary drawings and figures Um in december with the concept being in that the board would continue to explore that if there's a desire by the board to do that Not in that we wouldn't be moving forward on any work on that until the following summer right So this coming summer is phase one new new boiler New hvac new lighting um This coming summer and then the board can consider that expansion project as possibly a phase two Um, but that wouldn't come in front of the board until december So those are the E I updates I have Okay, can you please thank terra for us? I'm sure that all of this nitty gritty is not something she expected to have to become an expert in Sort of like when she had to go take food service classes. So Yes, absolutely. You know, uh federal grants are great, uh, right It's bringing revenue and we're able to accomplish some things that we typically wouldn't the, uh capacity and strain On um the folks that deal with grants and finances increase Significantly when you're using federal money and state money. So I guess one Would we have to have another single audit for for those projects being that they're going to be federally funded? So it's part the that single audit that we had this year was on s or two We're using s or three funds. Okay. They will do a single audit on our auditors next year on Um, we'll just probably want to make sure we have it budgeted for extra auditing or whatever Sure, whoever I don't know if that's our level your level And yeah, so it sounds like that at the december meeting we'll Have information so we're a member meeting you'll have phase one information right details Um, and maybe in the december going forward. I just want to make sure going into our You know townwide meetings school board school meeting That will have information about what we're planning so we can Absolutely have for you mean phase two. Yeah, we would have solid information and whatever direction you want to go for phase two So by perch because yeah having having the ability to say what we want to do with our surplus funds. Yes All right, great. Thank you Um Okay, we've already discussed the action items So any new hires resignations? No, we have a couple pair of resignations. What's there at the su level? Okay Then we're on to public comments Yeah, go ahead. Sure So Andrew as the chair of the board i'm going to just speak to you briefly I noticed when I handed out the packet that you didn't have a chance to review any of the attachments that I sent I shared them I shared them with the newspaper with the the randolph valley herald and I shared them with the valley news I'm going to read a couple aloud because I think it's important that you do know what they consist of It's important that you do review them And um, so one of them says oh jude, I couldn't imagine these let me clarify. These are on the public royalty forum Oh jude, I couldn't imagine anyone has as much happiness in their life as as I do Great kids supportive and loving family wonderful friends. My life is full of blessings You however are obviously a miserable Lonely old trumpeter who is so bored with his insignificant life and jealous of mine That his only joy is posting crap to the town forum to try to piss people off It's pathetic and the populations that you target have your number go poke someone else for a while I've got books to read in a weekend with people I love to get back to if you'd like to speak to me again This part's important. You can do so at the public board meetings You won't be effective in changing anything, but stop in any way You can see what the grown-ups do while we're actually working on building community instead of tearing it apart So that was addressed to a member of the community who originally posted About the concerns going on in the schools right now Another one says jude. I think public school curriculum is created at a level way past your pay grade jude And if you don't like it, you can move your kids to private school Oh, yeah, you don't have kids in the system anymore You are just spitting into the wind and trying to rile up a population who has not seen fit to hop on and help you out here Where are all the angry parents jude? The list and the posts go on and on and we've sat here and we've listened to We've listened to the social media policy and how it doesn't affect or apply to members of the board But I can assure you as a realtor who sells property in the area to parents moving into the area And sending their kids to this school that when a school board member speaks like that about our school And our community and speaks to and addresses members of our community that way It is not going to bring folks to our community It is not going to make them want to send their kids to our school And it is not going to bring the community together So I am asking you as the chair of the board If you choose not to address anything and do anything now We're not going to drop this so what do we do as concerned parents? Um to respond I mean I Certainly you can Express your opinions with your votes like if you don't like a board member you it's not about not liking a board It's not has nothing to do with that I I certainly hear your concerns about you know how people express themselves, but you don't deserve to be on the board You can certainly bring your bring keep bringing it up in public session if it remains a concern for you You know I I'm asking that the board vote that you hold a special vote or a special discussion And you review the material that I provided to you and you discuss it and you take it into consideration And you think of how it affects our community and our kids and the sensitive subjects that are that are at hand right now With our school and our surrounding communities Thank you There Are there public comments at this time and we talk about respect Okay For our children that need to be respectful How can they be respectful when they don't have respect running the show? You know Shannon you should be ashamed of yourself. I know you just want to smile at me There anybody else who would like to make comment sure Um Can you state your name by the way? Oh, sorry. My name is jason jason. Okay, christy bowman Um, I wanted to hop back to flag policy Um offer some comments there I apologize for being a little late to the discussion. This is new to me So I ask this in genuine intent Why do we need a flag policy? I would recommend if it is possible That an american and a state flag be where it stops personal opinion Seems a little unnecessary Um Some of the discussion that I heard tonight on the flag policy seemed to Give the students a little bit too much power There's been a lot of this flag discussion going on at the school that I'm aware of And there was a pretty considered amount of pressure Put on some middle schoolers With petitions that went around To choose different flags that were being put out there Let's just stop it with the american and the state flag personal opinion I don't know the history of why it evolved and I Take responsibility for not being aware of that but that's an opinion. I'd like to share it with you There was petitions going around You know, I don't know the true definitions. Um that were provided for hazing and harassment and bullying But it was certainly pressure Um to participate in that when it happened, you know in the last few months a lot in A lot of it I heard in my household as well Um Jump a subject if that's okay Sure, but keep it brief. Just so that okay. Yep. Um I appreciate the fact that you're giving yourselves additional time on the resolution um On the lgbt qia plus policy But if it is A resolution of support it seems unnecessary to me If the place if it's already covered somewhere else The other question and I don't know if someone hasn't the answer about that I've heard a couple of comments about that. It's already state law I would love it if someone could take an action item. I'm not sure who it's appropriate for and let me know What state law that is I did a little bit of review on my own today and I found that there are Best practices out there, but I didn't see anything that referred to statute I'm just not aware of it. So I don't know if that's something possible that Someone could take an action item and let me know what this what state policies are out there My current senator was not aware of any I I can respond to that real quick great. Um, so there are two kind of main laws that we have one is the kind of anti-discrimination side of things where we're not allowed to You know Discriminate against the student from participating in activities based on gender or orientation or any of that stuff. Yeah The other side of it is the right to privacy. So the school shouldn't be the one who outs a student essentially So if a student is transgender and they have not revealed that to other people the school can't make a policy that Forces them to reveal their You know biological sex or whatever are those so that means we can't have are those guidelines I mean, that's the those are laws Okay, I just I didn't know if someone knew the vsa act number so I could look at it. Uh, that one is the the federal family That's the furpa I don't mind I see I see title nine I just see a lot of the other stuff that was more general policy when I looked it up and I would encourage us to not be Strong armed by State's policy and look into that on an individual basis. And I think a lot of that policy gives us that leniency Okay, thank you I would add to The public accommodate from our public accommodation law is the overarching policy governing the The controversy around transgender views of the bathrooms. There's nothing board again, obviously the board has its own attorneys, but You cannot require a transgender student or adult to use a bathroom that disagrees with their identified gender from our law No, whether the board of education or the school boards have power to James that It's a decision someone has to make I guess Uh, can you state your name again James got here? Thank you. Is there anybody else who like speaking? I was just going to say that I I want to remind you that I'm coming from a place of good intention And I think that it's clear with us parents being here that we're just we're not informed About this stuff. And so for a resolution to be brought here And for members of the board to say I skimmed it I skimmed it and then a member of the board to say what I I Proposed that we adopt this resolution So There are members in our community who are not informed about this stuff Wouldn't the the right thing to do be to hold a public forum? Before litigation and further ridicule about our school or our town I mean it just seems like we could be proactive and provide information That is not one-sided and not name-calling and answer questions that parents have Thank you. Thank you Um And also I think a lot of the reason a lot of us is here Is because of that purpose of the the bathroom deal and uh I don't think that uh, a lot of these young girls in the bathrooms would appreciate Going in and and happen to look at somebody's penis That is not happening It's just what's I mean, I don't change clothes That's what happens I know Parents need to be just informed It's a sensitive subject We can't be met with Patriot and name. No Okay, are there any buddy online who has any comments they'd like to Provide, okay I don't know Okay, one more comment on the back Thank you all. I'm just pending Griffin. I just have a comment All through school I played every sport I could Walking into a locker room and changing in the public with Multiple girls was uncomfortable Saying nothing about The other side being in there as well It's the way it is I don't know. I think um Allowing them They want to change in the girls locker room fine, but not at the same time as the rest of the girls It's it's we're asking for trouble Nobody should be put in that position These kids should not be put in that position. You need to protect the kids Changing fine Do it separately going and change Then the rest go in for vice versa Don't make every joint thing It's wrong. I can't believe we're here for this, but this is already been passed And that's that's why we're here because it's been passed and resolutions continue to be passed and we're not informed So we are not informed, but the comments that were made were that it's our fault and we don't care And that's why we're not informed. That's what we're here to clarify We do care. We want to be informed. If nothing is done about this There's other people here that should machine themselves today. Thank you And it will get worse, I'm afraid Is there anybody else who would like to make a comment? And I feel like right now you're shutting us out We're giving everybody a chance to wait it and wait it and now why can't we speak you Are giving I've given you an opportunity to speak it was your turn to speak and then other people started speaking You all speak together to one another Just the way the public forum works Is in order for it to be orderly Right Do it in a certain way and everybody gets a chance to speak And you know we have time limits so that everybody has an opportunity and I'm trying to let everybody Things just happen to come up as things go on. It's sure the problem You have to understand that try and be as flexible as we can. Yeah, thank you for hearing Thank you for I do appreciate everybody coming out. It's nice to see people getting involved and you know We'd love to see I would like to say something really I let my 14 year old son read some of those And um his comment was They tell us to act our age Why don't they So Yeah, if that had a kid's name associated with it we'd be seeing a lot of counselors and a lot of disciplinary action. Yeah If it had my daughter's own name on it I'd have been hearing from you guys Rightfully so Yeah There needs to be consequences. Okay Are there any Final comments Thank you everybody. We're going to be Um moving into executive session um Next so I think the public portion of the Is Thank you Um Yeah, we'll need a motion gendered executive session inviting janey the union representatives um Could the union representatives identify themselves so that You know who to invite into the executive session I think it's uh, my name is grace ransky. I'll be one of the union representatives. Okay And say I'm done Say I'm the union grievance chair Okay Why don't we make an exact motion to go into executive session first and then Yeah, I would make a motion to go into executive session at 844. Thanks. Thanks. Okay. Thanks We now invite in jamie Inviting jamie andra and the union representatives Okay, thank you More time uh motion to return to public session With no action taken at 935 second For rest of our agenda Future agenda items. We have the lgbtq plus resolution For next month, um, and then More important than today On updates to the flag policies, but we will write those are kind of our Yep, um next meeting dates Tuesday the number 15 6 30 p.m at the temple campus And then you have to entertain a motion to adjourn