WEBVTT 00:00:00.930 --> 00:00:09.117 - Meeting the order, please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the 00:00:09.117 --> 00:00:17.546 - United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty 00:00:17.546 --> 00:00:25.733 - and justice for all. Thank you very much. Please be seated. And welcome to the special board meeting 00:00:25.733 --> 00:00:28.894 - that we're having today, July 8, 2026. 00:00:29.026 --> 00:00:38.030 - for the Richland Bean Blossom Community School Corporation. Please let the record reflect that Mr. Tucker, 00:00:38.030 --> 00:00:46.698 - Mr. Durnall, Mr. DeMoss and Mr. Kerr are present. And are there any visitors who would like to address 00:00:46.698 --> 00:00:55.198 - the board? Seeing none, we will get right into it. And so first action item we have is consideration 00:00:55.198 --> 00:00:57.470 - to approve the appointment 00:00:57.602 --> 00:01:06.995 - of Lucy Fishman as principal of Edgewood Primary School. Dr. Sanders. You know, when you go through 00:01:06.995 --> 00:01:16.388 - the interview process, several of you in this room have been in one way or the other have been part 00:01:16.388 --> 00:01:26.814 - of that process. But I always love it when, you know, you're about halfway through the interview and you know, 00:01:27.586 --> 00:01:35.528 - This is our person. And that's how we thought about Lucy Fishman, Dr. Lucy Fishman. And I recommend 00:01:35.528 --> 00:01:43.788 - her to be the next principal at Edgewood Primary School. She has a bachelor of science degree in social 00:01:43.788 --> 00:01:52.444 - studies education, a master of science degree in teacher leadership, a master of science degree in strategic 00:01:52.444 --> 00:01:56.574 - management, and a doctor of educational leadership. 00:01:57.186 --> 00:02:04.475 - and policy, all from Indiana University. Lucy has 22 years of experience in education. She has served 00:02:04.475 --> 00:02:11.692 - as principal at Highland Park and Binford Elementary Schools before going to the Center on Education 00:02:11.692 --> 00:02:19.124 - and Lifelong Learning in Indiana University. Lucy is a dedicated and knowledgeable educator. She's very 00:02:19.124 --> 00:02:24.126 - collaborative and she's already inspiring her staff and that's when I 00:02:24.770 --> 00:02:32.566 - as we're going through the interview. And I'll probably say the same thing about James because as you 00:02:32.566 --> 00:02:40.209 - go through the interview, you can just see the lights going on in the eyes of the teachers and they 00:02:40.209 --> 00:02:46.782 - start connecting with them. And so we're very excited to have Lucy. She's going to be 00:02:47.234 --> 00:02:57.110 - Really great, not only for EPS, but the school corporation as a whole. So we'll be giving her a two-year 00:02:57.110 --> 00:03:06.799 - contract, $92,500. Her husband, Rob, is here. And son, Aiden, is here. And another one, Sam, could not 00:03:06.799 --> 00:03:15.358 - be here tonight. Unfortunately, he's at Purdue. You won't hear that joke again. All right. 00:03:20.194 --> 00:03:31.142 - And I'll happily second that. We'll get some Mustang sportswear now. Yeah, here we go. Yeah. I was happy 00:03:31.142 --> 00:03:41.881 - to sit in on the interviews. And it was definitely a great experience and wonderful conversations that 00:03:41.881 --> 00:03:47.198 - we had there. So all those in favor, say aye. Aye. 00:03:50.626 --> 00:03:59.902 - and say a few words. And just to let everybody know, the microphones are for cats. They don't 00:04:00.162 --> 00:04:06.198 - Oh, got it. Project. OK, great. So you gotta use your teacher voice. I have a teacher voice. OK, 00:04:06.198 --> 00:04:12.669 - I'll use it. Thanks so much for the opportunity. I just am so grateful. And Dr. Sanders and Jen Barrett 00:04:12.669 --> 00:04:19.141 - have been so helpful this whole time that I've been getting to know the corporation and getting to know 00:04:19.141 --> 00:04:25.799 - EPS. And I can't wait to start. And I really appreciate seeing teachers and staff here today. It's really, 00:04:25.799 --> 00:04:28.350 - it means a lot to me. So thanks so much. 00:04:28.770 --> 00:04:34.352 - And I'm just looking forward to this opportunity. I can't wait to get in there at EPS. We toured the 00:04:34.352 --> 00:04:39.934 - building this afternoon. I'm blown away. So congratulations to the whole corporation for having such 00:04:40.034 --> 00:04:46.519 - an incredible facility and taking such great care of it. And that says a lot about how you take care 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:52.940 - of each other. So I'm just thrilled to be part of the team and can't wait to meet everybody else. I 00:04:52.940 --> 00:04:59.745 - also want to point out that Mrs. Peggy Chambers is here and she's my mentor. She hired me as a substitute 00:04:59.745 --> 00:05:06.359 - teacher at Bachelor Middle School years ago. And she's been at all of my board meetings. So thanks for 00:05:06.359 --> 00:05:08.606 - coming Peggy. So thanks everybody. 00:05:10.690 --> 00:05:18.097 - our staff are here tonight to support Lucy and James. So glad to have you. All right, and next 00:05:18.097 --> 00:05:26.283 - is consideration to approve the appointment of James Robinson as assistant principal of Edgewood Primary 00:05:26.283 --> 00:05:34.314 - School. Dr. Sanders. Yeah, James has a bachelor of science degree in special education from IU, master 00:05:34.314 --> 00:05:37.822 - of science degree in educational leadership, 00:05:37.986 --> 00:05:47.532 - and Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership, all from IU. He has worked the last several 00:05:47.532 --> 00:05:57.078 - years as Assistant Research Scientist at IU. Now, research scientist sounds very official, but James' 00:05:57.078 --> 00:06:02.974 - personality, that doesn't reflect. He's a very personable guy. 00:06:03.458 --> 00:06:13.395 - very encouraging, and he'll be great to work with our teachers. James has spent the last several years, 00:06:13.395 --> 00:06:23.046 - how many years has it been, over 10? No, in a cell. 19. But what that means is 19 years of going out 00:06:23.046 --> 00:06:31.550 - into schools and working with teachers and encouraging teachers and supporting teachers. 00:06:31.650 --> 00:06:41.660 - learning new strategies and so he's gonna be very welcomed and like Lucy's interview, as the interview 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:51.475 - went on, you know, we didn't know James except for his resume, but as the interview went on, he just 00:06:51.475 --> 00:06:57.598 - started thinking, man, this is a guy I could work with and so, 00:06:57.826 --> 00:07:08.326 - We're excited to have him and all his knowledge and experience that he brings to the school corporation. 00:07:08.326 --> 00:07:18.526 - James will also have a two-year contract at $83,000. And his wife Jennifer is here tonight. She works 00:07:18.526 --> 00:07:25.726 - at MCC. Special education transition in the north and south, basically. 00:07:26.370 --> 00:07:35.080 - And they have a son, Nash, who could not be here tonight. He's has a, James says he has his first job 00:07:35.080 --> 00:07:43.875 - and we didn't want to risk that. And they have a family dog named Topper. Now, do you guys have a pet? 00:07:43.875 --> 00:07:52.158 - Because I didn't want to leave out anybody. So we recommend James as assistant principal at EPS. 00:07:52.450 --> 00:08:00.538 - I should probably add for EPS teachers, he is more than willing to wear the cone costume. It was asked 00:08:00.538 --> 00:08:08.548 - in the interview. And so he has formally committed to that and any other K2 silly costumes that we do 00:08:08.548 --> 00:08:16.165 - for the sake of kids, willingly. He's ready to go. So just know that James is your guy for that. 00:08:16.165 --> 00:08:19.934 - He's like, did I sign something that says that? 00:08:26.914 --> 00:08:39.720 - I'm James Robinson, Assistant Principal of Edgewood Primary School. I'll second. Moved and seconded. 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:54.174 - Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. 00:08:54.786 --> 00:09:01.984 - I can't tell you how excited. Again, as Lucy said, for you all to be here, that says a lot on a summer 00:09:01.984 --> 00:09:09.112 - when there's other things you could be taking your time for. Like Dr. Sender said, I've spent so many 00:09:09.112 --> 00:09:16.100 - years in so many classrooms with so many great educators. And when this opportunity came to be able 00:09:16.100 --> 00:09:22.878 - to turn my attention back into the day-to-day lives of schools, you know when something's right. 00:09:23.330 --> 00:09:30.322 - And every step along this process has been right. Sitting in here last week with some of you and having 00:09:30.322 --> 00:09:37.314 - that interview just felt comfortable and conversational. And I really do like, I love the dialogue with 00:09:37.314 --> 00:09:44.037 - teachers and that felt like it started that day. And so I'm really excited to move the conversation 00:09:44.037 --> 00:09:49.886 - forward in the ways that Lucy and I know from the years we've spent together, but also 00:09:50.114 --> 00:09:57.169 - with the reality that you guys have been building and the good things that you've been doing over there. 00:09:57.169 --> 00:10:04.089 - So I'm just so glad to be part of your district and your community. The costumes I did not know about, 00:10:04.089 --> 00:10:10.943 - except. However, two things. One is that as soon as this was a thing, my wife sent us a picture of an 00:10:10.943 --> 00:10:14.302 - inflatable pony costume. She's like, we need one. 00:10:14.434 --> 00:10:22.432 - I have a sister who's been a long time principal up in Westfield, and I've got plenty of pictures of 00:10:22.432 --> 00:10:30.351 - her in costume, so I knew it was coming. So I can get fitted outside. But again, thank you all very 00:10:30.351 --> 00:10:38.270 - much. I promise to do everything I can to earn your trust and do my best job. Thank you. We're just 00:10:38.270 --> 00:10:41.438 - so excited to have both of you and look 00:10:42.274 --> 00:10:50.218 - So much look forward to this school year and the excitement that you guys are gonna bring to EPS. And 00:10:50.218 --> 00:10:58.161 - I think EPS is starting a wonderful journey with you guys. So glad you're both here, both here. We do 00:10:58.161 --> 00:11:05.949 - have a few more appointments here. We have consideration to approve the appointment of Sarah Fig as 00:11:05.949 --> 00:11:10.622 - the Student Success Coordinator of Edgewood Primary School. 00:11:13.794 --> 00:11:21.441 - seven and eight sit in the same position. Yes, I would very much be open for that. Also, at the same 00:11:21.441 --> 00:11:29.165 - time, we'll consider to approve the appointment of Jordan Truax as the student success coordinator at 00:11:29.165 --> 00:11:36.888 - Edgewood Intermediate School, and consider to approve the appointment of Brittany Shaw, Straw, sorry, 00:11:36.888 --> 00:11:42.718 - as the K-12 mental health coordinator. And so now, I'll turn it over to you. 00:11:43.298 --> 00:11:52.866 - So as far as the student success coordinator position, this idea pretty much grew out of a plan that 00:11:52.866 --> 00:12:02.340 - we implemented at Edgewood Junior High School. Today, there's so much on everybody's plate, but our 00:12:02.340 --> 00:12:12.382 - principals with having requirements to be in the classroom to conduct evaluations, cover behavior issues, 00:12:12.738 --> 00:12:21.652 - communicate with parents that sometimes that could lead to not having enough time in the day to support 00:12:21.652 --> 00:12:30.653 - our teachers. And the downside of that, if you're a teacher in the classroom, is sometimes the principal 00:12:30.653 --> 00:12:39.224 - doesn't have time to sit down and really talk with the student about what's going on in their lives 00:12:39.224 --> 00:12:40.510 - and to address 00:12:40.610 --> 00:12:49.239 - behavior issues and still at the same time support our teachers. And so we added a dean of students 00:12:49.239 --> 00:12:58.299 - at the junior high, Tom Norris, and that has been a really huge success. It really has made a difference 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:00.542 - in the school in terms of 00:13:00.738 --> 00:13:08.873 - Mr. Norris handles most of the behavior issues, and the principal and assistant principal can focus 00:13:08.873 --> 00:13:17.821 - more on their other duties. So we've been looking for a way to replicate that at the primary and intermediate 00:13:17.821 --> 00:13:26.200 - schools, but the problem has always been how are we going to pay for that? And we've figured out a way 00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:28.478 - to do that through a grant. 00:13:29.026 --> 00:13:39.465 - And so we actually did a little experiment with this at EPS at the end of the year with Sarah Figg being 00:13:39.465 --> 00:13:49.407 - in that type of a role. And I think it really worked out well, even though it was just a month. But 00:13:49.407 --> 00:13:57.758 - so we really kind of had Sarah in mind when we were trying to define this position. 00:13:57.890 --> 00:14:07.524 - And she just will do a great job. She wants this job. She wants to serve in this way. And so she's going 00:14:07.524 --> 00:14:17.342 - to bring to the EPS and Jordan at EIS, they're going to be able to bring when we're, you know, as children 00:14:17.342 --> 00:14:26.701 - are growing, they're coming to school and they're learning how to act in a different environment than 00:14:26.701 --> 00:14:27.710 - from home. 00:14:27.810 --> 00:14:36.402 - And it's a learning time of their lives when they're learning not only the academics, but they're learning 00:14:36.402 --> 00:14:44.753 - behavior. And so Sarah and Jordan will be able to take time. If a student has a behavior issue, they'll 00:14:44.753 --> 00:14:52.943 - be able to take time, talk to that student. They'll be able to coordinate with the mental health team 00:14:52.943 --> 00:14:56.958 - more. And so we believe it's really going to help 00:14:57.090 --> 00:15:26.622 - EPS and EIS as a whole. And so I recommend both Sarah for EPS and Jordan for EIS. 00:15:27.266 --> 00:15:35.989 - Moved and seconded. Any discussion? I'm always excited when one of my former students is moving up in 00:15:35.989 --> 00:15:44.884 - the world. So I had Brittany. Sorry, I had Sarah. Actually, Sarah was on my younger son's little league 00:15:44.884 --> 00:15:54.462 - team. And was the best hitter on the team. All right. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. 00:15:55.426 --> 00:16:02.632 - Sarah and Jordan both wanted to be here this evening. Sarah's family has a vacation scheduled this week, 00:16:02.632 --> 00:16:09.632 - so they are out of town. And Jordan has a new baby in the family. So getting away right now is not an 00:16:09.632 --> 00:16:16.563 - easy thing for him to do, even though he really wanted to be here. So yes, absolutely. So new little 00:16:16.563 --> 00:16:23.700 - churaks at home. So about a week old. I tried to combine too many of these. So now we will now consider 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:24.798 - the appointment 00:16:24.930 --> 00:16:34.078 - Brittany Straw as the K-12 mental health coordinator. So, you know, I think, as I think about someone 00:16:34.078 --> 00:16:43.226 - who asked me earlier how many years I've been here, and I think just nine years, but maybe one of the 00:16:43.226 --> 00:16:53.630 - things that I'm most proud of is how we've grown our mental health team. When I got here, we had counselors, we had 00:16:54.146 --> 00:17:04.917 - social worker, but really not a lot going on with mental health. And I remember it was, there was I 00:17:04.917 --> 00:17:15.796 - think a school shooting in Florida. And when that happens, I just want to lock down the campus, make 00:17:15.796 --> 00:17:21.182 - it harder to get into than, you know, an airport. 00:17:21.378 --> 00:17:30.566 - As I thought about it, I realized that the real answer was mental health. And so we started down the 00:17:30.566 --> 00:17:40.301 - journey of, if you guys remember, down the journey of looking for grants. And we established a partnership 00:17:40.301 --> 00:17:46.942 - with IU, and that's brought in several million dollars of grant dollars. 00:17:47.106 --> 00:17:56.017 - to support mental health. And we've just grown to a point now where we need one person to manage the 00:17:56.017 --> 00:18:05.192 - K-12 mental health program. And once again, a lot of times people just rise to the top in terms of they 00:18:05.192 --> 00:18:14.456 - don't even have that position, but they're already exhibiting the skills of leadership and in this case, 00:18:14.456 --> 00:18:16.926 - knowledge of mental health. 00:18:17.410 --> 00:18:27.467 - and what that means. And so Brittany really came to mind pretty quickly in terms of being this K-12 00:18:27.467 --> 00:18:37.625 - mental health coordinator. It's not only going to be coordinating the whole program, but also taking 00:18:37.625 --> 00:18:45.470 - on grants and keeping those grants flowing. And so we're really lucky to have 00:18:45.570 --> 00:19:10.235 - I thought we were going to have another little guest here tonight. Any rate, Brittany, she has a lot 00:19:10.235 --> 00:19:14.142 - of great ideas. 00:19:14.402 --> 00:19:22.118 - I think our job, Jen and I, is just trying to maybe keep up with Brittany. Yeah, for sure. And I talked 00:19:22.118 --> 00:19:29.686 - to her about, you know, her office will be in the junior high, and just gave a little bit of guidance 00:19:29.686 --> 00:19:37.180 - that, you know, your office is in this building, but you need to be in all the buildings, and that's 00:19:37.180 --> 00:19:40.222 - not going to be a problem with Brittany. 00:19:40.418 --> 00:19:50.154 - And she'll be moving about. They'll probably hardly ever see her at the junior high. But, and I'm glad 00:19:50.154 --> 00:19:59.984 - to have Brittany's family here, Chris. Do we have a motion? The approval of the appointment of Brittany 00:19:59.984 --> 00:20:07.262 - Straw as K-12 mental health coordinator. Moved and seconded. Any discussion? 00:20:09.250 --> 00:20:19.327 - All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Brittany, do you want to say anything? Sure, yes. Okay, 00:20:19.327 --> 00:20:29.598 - hi everybody. I am thrilled to be here. I've talked to Dr. Sanders and Sparrett many times just about how 00:20:29.698 --> 00:20:38.022 - This role is something that I have worked so hard for and I could not be more proud to be doing it anywhere 00:20:38.022 --> 00:20:41.182 - other than here. My time at RBB has been 00:20:41.762 --> 00:20:49.512 - a godsend. Like it has been wonderful. I have learned from so many wonderful people. I work with a phenomenal 00:20:49.512 --> 00:20:56.769 - team and I am so excited to start being in all of these buildings and building those relationships and 00:20:56.769 --> 00:21:03.955 - then also still having the opportunity to continue work with Barley, who is our therapy dog, but also 00:21:03.955 --> 00:21:09.310 - with students through the edge. And so I could not have thought up a better 00:21:09.410 --> 00:21:18.460 - position than what Jen and Jerry presented, and I am just so thankful. So thank you for having me, and 00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:27.599 - I look forward to growing this as far as we can go. Yeah, thank you. You're welcome. This is definitely 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:36.913 - one of those the sky's the limit positions. You know, when Jen Anderson started our mental health program 00:21:36.913 --> 00:21:38.846 - through Tim's grants, 00:21:39.458 --> 00:21:45.655 - years ago, Jen would tell you the same thing. She doesn't have a background in mental health. She's 00:21:45.655 --> 00:21:51.977 - not a social worker. She's not a counselor. We can run grants and we understand numbers, but actually 00:21:51.977 --> 00:21:58.546 - understanding the work that is being done is something that when Jen left and it rolled over to my plate, 00:21:58.546 --> 00:22:04.062 - I couldn't really help with those things. And so to have a mental health coordinator who 00:22:04.194 --> 00:22:10.934 - understands what it's like to work with kids, to now have somebody who's working hands-on with our students 00:22:10.934 --> 00:22:17.299 - at the Edge. This is growing our capabilities here at Edgewood even further than what we've seen them 00:22:17.299 --> 00:22:19.358 - before, and I'm so excited about 00:22:19.458 --> 00:22:25.403 - where Brittany has some ideas about where we're going to take this program, some billing that we can 00:22:25.403 --> 00:22:31.348 - start doing through Medicaid, which we haven't been able to do before. So this year is going to be a 00:22:31.348 --> 00:22:37.352 - year of growth. It's going to be a year of learning. I've told her, and Dr. Sanders has said the same 00:22:37.352 --> 00:22:43.592 - thing, please don't try to do all the things in the first three months. Chris, I promise we have stressed 00:22:43.592 --> 00:22:45.534 - that she does have to come home. 00:22:46.434 --> 00:22:53.150 - But we're really excited about the support. Not only is this going to provide to our mental health counseling 00:22:53.150 --> 00:22:59.256 - teams, but also to our administrators, our teachers, and ultimately the impact that it will have on 00:22:59.256 --> 00:23:05.728 - our students. So this is going to be really, really great. And I'm excited to see where it goes. Awesome. 00:23:05.728 --> 00:23:11.895 - This looks exciting. Yes. Meeting awesome. This is the best board meeting we've ever been a part of, 00:23:11.895 --> 00:23:15.742 - by the way. This is so much more fun than it normally is. Yes. 00:23:16.674 --> 00:23:30.536 - Okay, now into some more mundane things. We do have a consideration to approve revisions to our 26-27 00:23:30.536 --> 00:23:44.670 - school calendar. Dr. Sanders? Yeah, so we, a couple years ago, moved from 183 teacher work days to 185. 00:23:45.346 --> 00:23:56.537 - And as we got word on the financial impact that Senate Bill 1 was going to have on school corporations, 00:23:56.537 --> 00:24:07.513 - we immediately started trying to figure out ways that we might be able to save some money. And one of 00:24:07.513 --> 00:24:11.710 - those ways was to go back to 183 days. 00:24:11.938 --> 00:24:21.926 - So I probably prematurely brought that to the board for approval because since it does have the potential 00:24:21.926 --> 00:24:31.537 - to impact teacher salaries, that needs to go through bargaining. So since we have to promote and have 00:24:31.537 --> 00:24:41.054 - an official calendar before we start bargaining, we are going to go ahead and restore those two days 00:24:41.346 --> 00:24:49.511 - And so the 26, 27 school year will have 185 days. So that'll be two days at the beginning of the school 00:24:49.511 --> 00:24:57.362 - year and then two teacher work days at the end of the school year. That's where we're adding on the 00:24:57.362 --> 00:25:05.370 - extra days because it was gonna be one at the beginning and one at the end. And then we'll go through 00:25:05.370 --> 00:25:10.238 - bargaining and we'll see if what happens as a result of that. 00:25:10.370 --> 00:25:22.300 - And, you know, maybe we'll just stay at 185. That'll be part of the bargaining process. I move approval 00:25:22.300 --> 00:25:34.689 - of the revisions to the calendar. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. 00:25:34.689 --> 00:25:39.966 - And now we're looking at to advertise for the 00:25:40.290 --> 00:25:48.968 - Junior high in the high school additions and renovation projects. Yeah, so this is a the latest project 00:25:48.968 --> 00:25:57.313 - we've been working on for the last several months had several meetings evolving teachers principles 00:25:57.313 --> 00:26:05.825 - in terms of what our needs are at mainly at the junior high and high school because we want we really 00:26:05.825 --> 00:26:09.246 - need to expand the band and choir areas. 00:26:09.826 --> 00:26:20.157 - And so that's been a work, like I said, last several months. And we've fine-tuned the designs of both 00:26:20.157 --> 00:26:30.487 - projects. At the high school, not only will we be expanding this front corner out for band and choir, 00:26:30.487 --> 00:26:37.982 - but where the current band and choir rooms are will become our biomedical 00:26:38.178 --> 00:26:46.777 - and sim labs for our biomedical project that we're working on. And then at the junior high, there'll 00:26:46.777 --> 00:26:55.631 - be a new wing put on the back of the junior high for the new band and choir areas and where the current 00:26:55.631 --> 00:27:04.230 - band and choir programs are will become classrooms to help out because the junior high is especially 00:27:04.230 --> 00:27:07.806 - pretty full right now and so that'll help 00:27:07.970 --> 00:27:18.081 - with that project. So we have to advertise for bids. And so asking permission to do that, the bids will 00:27:18.081 --> 00:27:27.998 - go out this Friday, July 10th, and then the following Friday, July 17th. And we'll have a bid opening 00:27:27.998 --> 00:27:35.582 - on August 6th at two o'clock. I have motion. I move approval to advertise for 00:27:35.778 --> 00:27:45.441 - Junior high school and a high school for additions and renovations That's part of the roof on the high 00:27:45.441 --> 00:27:55.103 - school, correct That's gonna be the roof on the high school to that's part of the The renovation part. 00:27:55.103 --> 00:28:00.638 - Okay. Okay. So all of them will be on the sixth in perfect 00:28:06.210 --> 00:28:16.447 - Favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Our last action item is to approve policy 5136 involving 00:28:16.447 --> 00:28:26.484 - personal communication devices. Okay, as probably everybody knows, the state legislators decided to 00:28:26.484 --> 00:28:34.814 - basically ban cell phones during the school day. The law says that they have to be 00:28:34.946 --> 00:28:46.893 - powered off and inaccessible. And so we've revised the handbooks accordingly. We are also a part of 00:28:46.893 --> 00:28:58.959 - the policy is the students will not be able to have their phones out on the school buses to and from 00:28:58.959 --> 00:29:04.574 - school. And now there'll be certain situations 00:29:06.690 --> 00:29:14.443 - emergency situations or if a student has a medical issue where they would be able to use the cell phone. 00:29:14.443 --> 00:29:21.828 - We're not saying as some schools are specifically saying the cell phones have to be in their locker 00:29:21.828 --> 00:29:29.360 - or they have to be in their book bag. We're basically saying that what the law says, which is powered 00:29:29.360 --> 00:29:35.710 - off and inaccessible. So they just can't have them out. They have to be out of sight. 00:29:36.450 --> 00:29:44.785 - And we are putting together a little flyer that we're going to send out Friday. It's not quite done 00:29:44.785 --> 00:29:53.370 - to show you guys tonight. Trying to explain what students are allowed to do. They are allowed to bring 00:29:53.370 --> 00:30:01.872 - their phones to school. After school is out, if they have after school activity, either band choir or 00:30:01.872 --> 00:30:06.206 - some sport, they can use their phones after school. 00:30:06.338 --> 00:30:15.084 - If they are on, if they have an away game, then they could have their phones out on the bus 00:30:15.084 --> 00:30:24.877 - for extracurricular activities. And, you know, we're trying to follow the state law and I hope parents 00:30:24.877 --> 00:30:34.479 - understand that this is motivated because it is a state law. And, but yet we want to be able to have 00:30:34.479 --> 00:30:36.190 - some common sense 00:30:36.354 --> 00:30:47.215 - and understand that there are practical issues for using cell phones. So we want to accommodate that. 00:30:47.215 --> 00:30:58.396 - The consequences for having them out, the phone will be confiscated and taken to the office and a parent 00:30:58.396 --> 00:31:03.294 - will have to come to school to get the phone. 00:31:04.386 --> 00:31:14.925 - If there are multiple violations of the rule, it'll be treated like any other violation where a student 00:31:14.925 --> 00:31:25.566 - might be violating the rule over and over again. So they'll follow the normal behavior discipline matrix 00:31:25.566 --> 00:31:31.038 - for that, if that's the case. But I think personally, 00:31:31.650 --> 00:31:40.771 - I think this is gonna be a really good thing for our schools. Of course, I grew up in a time where we 00:31:40.771 --> 00:31:50.250 - didn't have cell phones at school. And I remember the day that I let my daughter take her phone to school 00:31:50.250 --> 00:31:59.550 - in junior high, and she didn't have it out. She was following the rule, but her grandmother called her. 00:32:00.866 --> 00:32:09.871 - phone went off in class. So, you know, there are reasons why we have these rules. And we want to be 00:32:09.871 --> 00:32:19.237 - able to have the highest quality educational environment for our students and have them totally focused 00:32:19.237 --> 00:32:28.513 - on what's going on, the learning opportunities in the classroom. And I think this will help with that. 00:32:28.513 --> 00:32:30.494 - Now, I will say this. 00:32:30.850 --> 00:32:37.353 - We're asking you to approve this policy. You've approved a handbook. But anytime you have something 00:32:37.353 --> 00:32:43.985 - new like this, and it looks good on paper, there may be where we may have to come back and tweak this 00:32:43.985 --> 00:32:50.943 - a little bit. We'll just see how it plays out. But I think we're off to a good start. We have good policy. 00:32:50.943 --> 00:32:54.910 - And we'll get this communication out to everybody on Friday. 00:32:56.930 --> 00:33:03.337 - I think the other thing to add in there, like Dr. Sanders was saying, I've already seen some things 00:33:03.337 --> 00:33:09.808 - out on social media where my child who uses a phone for their glucose monitor or I have a kiddo that 00:33:09.808 --> 00:33:16.279 - is living with me who doesn't speak English and they use that as a translation device through Google 00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:22.430 - Translate. There are a lot of exceptions to this and like Dr. Sanders said, common sense has to 00:33:22.594 --> 00:33:28.926 - to also take some precedent here, even though it's a state law. So we're considering all of those pieces 00:33:28.926 --> 00:33:34.956 - and where it needs to be utilized, when it should be utilized, those allowances will be made. We're 00:33:34.956 --> 00:33:41.408 - not gonna put a kiddo's health in danger. We're not gonna prevent a student from being able to communicate 00:33:41.408 --> 00:33:47.619 - effectively with peers and teachers. There are a lot of cases that the law allows leniency and we will 00:33:47.619 --> 00:33:51.358 - make sure that those pieces are in place. That's why we have, 00:33:51.490 --> 00:33:57.950 - Co-ordinators who work with our ELL students are our students with mental health who potentially could 00:33:57.950 --> 00:34:04.661 - have some things there going on as well I think our coordinator may have her hands full with some Students 00:34:04.661 --> 00:34:11.498 - who may have some issues with having those literally removed from their hands during the day some withdrawal 00:34:11.498 --> 00:34:18.083 - going on maybe some things we haven't seen before with 9th through 12th graders, but all lightness aside 00:34:18.083 --> 00:34:19.902 - cell phones provide a lot of 00:34:20.066 --> 00:34:25.880 - positive pieces. And those things will also be taken into consideration outside of the academic world 00:34:25.880 --> 00:34:31.750 - where we know that they're needed. So just to kind of quell some fears that might come up with parents 00:34:31.750 --> 00:34:37.507 - or have already come up, I think they'll see in our plan that we'll get out on Friday blasted across 00:34:37.507 --> 00:34:43.263 - social media, email, all of that, that all of these things are being taken into consideration. And I 00:34:43.263 --> 00:34:44.574 - think the hope is that 00:34:44.866 --> 00:34:52.343 - keeping them in backpacks and inaccessible during the day that our students and families can respect 00:34:52.343 --> 00:34:59.820 - that. And we can keep that policy that way. I don't think we want to get to a point that we say they 00:34:59.820 --> 00:35:07.668 - have to be kept in cars or not brought to school at all. So we're hoping that we found some middle ground 00:35:07.668 --> 00:35:12.702 - there that our families can work with us on. Policy 5136. I second. 00:35:16.674 --> 00:35:23.580 - No, I agree with Dr. Sanders. I know it's the state law, and we've got to use some common sense. And 00:35:23.580 --> 00:35:30.623 - I'm just looking around this room for the last 15 minutes. And this is an anomaly. I don't think I saw 00:35:30.623 --> 00:35:36.914 - anybody looking at their phone. Somebody's got in their hand, though. I knew you did, yeah. 00:35:36.914 --> 00:35:44.094 - But it's amazing. Even when I'm talking to two people in front of me, a husband might be texting a wife. 00:35:44.802 --> 00:35:52.469 - And it's just, it's everywhere. And the consequence, Dr. Sanders, is what it was in 2008. That was my 00:35:52.469 --> 00:36:00.287 - last year here, I think. Parents had to come and get the cell phones. And it was an opportunity to meet 00:36:00.287 --> 00:36:08.179 - more parents for a while. And it was not always enjoyable, but it's like, come on, let's just talk about 00:36:08.179 --> 00:36:12.990 - your kid. And it's gonna be a challenge for the administrators. 00:36:13.186 --> 00:36:20.115 - and the classroom teachers. And you can't babysit every classroom teacher. It's going to happen. But 00:36:20.115 --> 00:36:27.181 - I think the common sense thing is there. And I'm old school, but I've had an intern at the office, and 00:36:27.181 --> 00:36:34.247 - he shows me how many hours a week or how many hours a day he's got cell phone usage. He's like, golly, 00:36:34.247 --> 00:36:41.382 - who could be on a phone that much? But that's just the world we live in. So hopefully, the parents will 00:36:41.382 --> 00:36:43.166 - understand and accept it. 00:36:43.874 --> 00:36:53.146 - And we will follow the state law. I know this is as horrible as the mask issue was, but like I said 00:36:53.146 --> 00:37:02.788 - back then, if there's a law, it is important for us to make an example for the students that you follow 00:37:02.788 --> 00:37:12.894 - the law. No matter what that law is, you follow the law. If you don't like it, take steps to change the law. 00:37:13.538 --> 00:37:24.174 - But if there's a law, you have to follow it. You don't get to pick and choose what you follow and what 00:37:24.174 --> 00:37:34.913 - you don't. I'm happy with this policy. I think that it was very common sense based. One of my daughters 00:37:34.913 --> 00:37:43.070 - had a bee allergy, so she had a phone earlier than some of the other kids did. 00:37:43.202 --> 00:37:51.648 - we felt much better about it when she had a phone. So for those parents that, you know, she didn't have 00:37:51.648 --> 00:37:59.932 - to have it out, she didn't have to have it powered on in my mind, but she, for me, I felt better that 00:37:59.932 --> 00:38:08.216 - she had it. And so I think still allowing them to have them, but having them out of sight and powered 00:38:08.216 --> 00:38:12.926 - off is a good approach. And I just hope that they respect 00:38:13.570 --> 00:38:23.541 - how commonsensical we are being with this and know that others are taking it much more extreme than 00:38:23.541 --> 00:38:33.511 - we are. We're trying to work with them and working with the parents. Anything further? We've come a 00:38:33.511 --> 00:38:39.294 - long way. From my career, I had to stop and find a phone. 00:38:39.426 --> 00:38:46.388 - Then I had a beeper, still had to stop and find the phone, you know. So, yeah, the cell phone really, 00:38:46.388 --> 00:38:53.282 - really made, I know I've been in law enforcement for a long time and Mr. Leggio back there makes fun 00:38:53.282 --> 00:39:00.313 - of my horse when I first came on, so. But, you know, I definitely think there needs to be some control 00:39:00.313 --> 00:39:07.070 - over the cell phone. It's gonna take a while, you're not gonna be able to do it the first day, so. 00:39:07.682 --> 00:39:15.238 - You know, common sense is going to prevail, hopefully. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion 00:39:15.238 --> 00:39:22.720 - carries. OK. There is a time for board member comments. Mr. Tucker, do you want to? Welcome to all the 00:39:22.720 --> 00:39:30.203 - new hires tonight. And as Jennifer said, it's a lot nicer than having one of those COVID meetings with 00:39:30.203 --> 00:39:35.870 - everybody with the mask on and people yelling at you. So I'm glad we're here. 00:39:35.970 --> 00:39:42.881 - Hopefully everybody's having a good summer and excited about the New Year DPS and good to see the teachers 00:39:42.881 --> 00:39:49.340 - here tonight. And I'm looking forward, it's gonna be pretty quick, about four more weeks, five more 00:39:49.340 --> 00:39:55.864 - weeks. Yeah, it's coming up fast. 37 more days, Ms. Goss, something like that. All right, thank you. 00:39:55.864 --> 00:40:02.582 - Thank you, sir. Lucy and James, I met them back in the Jennifer's office and they indicated they toured 00:40:02.582 --> 00:40:03.486 - the building. 00:40:03.618 --> 00:40:09.691 - Of course, you know, it's a 20 year old building and it still looks pretty well brand new. And you'll 00:40:09.691 --> 00:40:15.705 - find all of our buildings are like that. We've taken very good care of our buildings. I'm very proud 00:40:15.705 --> 00:40:21.659 - of this corporation. You know, I'm a long time board member and it really means good to me that you 00:40:21.659 --> 00:40:27.673 - two are gonna take over up there. And I see the teachers back there smiling and raising their hands. 00:40:27.673 --> 00:40:32.734 - And so it's very good, but welcome aboard. And Brittany, congratulations on your new 00:40:32.994 --> 00:40:41.192 - position and wish you well. Thank you, sir. I disagree. The steps we're taking tonight are going to 00:40:41.192 --> 00:40:49.389 - reverberate for the next generation. And yeah, the project, the building project, is important. And 00:40:49.389 --> 00:40:57.095 - I'm looking forward to that. But the personnel changes, Brittany and Sarah and Jordan and Dr. 00:40:57.095 --> 00:41:02.014 - Fishman and Dr. Robinson, I think I'm very excited and very 00:41:03.234 --> 00:41:12.584 - optimistic about the future. So welcome. Of course, I echo all that. And I'm so excited that Brittany's 00:41:12.584 --> 00:41:22.113 - taking on this role. I think that level of coordination is something that we really, really need. Because 00:41:22.113 --> 00:41:31.283 - I personally have had a hard time wrapping my brain around how all of these positions that we do have 00:41:31.283 --> 00:41:32.542 - are connected 00:41:32.706 --> 00:41:42.704 - and who, you know, who sees who and who takes care of what. And so I look forward to, and we've talked 00:41:42.704 --> 00:41:52.605 - about in future board meetings and down the road we're gonna have a discussion about that. So we, and 00:41:52.605 --> 00:42:01.438 - now we've got a really great person in that position to lead us down that road. So, and I, 00:42:01.858 --> 00:42:10.836 - I'm really excited for Lucy and James to be here. I wasn't in the interviews with James, but I was with 00:42:10.836 --> 00:42:19.900 - Lucy. And in that, I explained that I'd had some concerns about the last year that EPS has gone through. 00:42:19.900 --> 00:42:29.310 - But I feel excitement about where they're headed this year. And the fact that so many of you showed up today 00:42:29.410 --> 00:42:37.833 - you know, makes me think that you guys are excited too. And so that makes me feel really good going 00:42:37.833 --> 00:42:46.678 - into this next school year. So just, you know, I'm glad my vibes or feelings are changing and, you know, 00:42:46.678 --> 00:42:55.101 - because you're all great people. And, you know, this is just wonderful to have you all here tonight 00:42:55.101 --> 00:42:58.302 - to support one another. So with that, 00:42:58.626 --> 00:43:02.238 - This meeting is adjourned and you all have a wonderful evening.