[0:10] I am going to declare this Hardin

[0:11] County Board of Education meeting open

[0:12] . Good night. I am going to declare

[0:14] this Hardin County Board of Education meeting open

[0:15] . If

[0:16] everyone stands, we will begin with

[0:18] the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:22] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[0:24] United States of America and to the

[0:27] republic for which it stands, one nation

[0:30] under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:33] justice for all.

[0:37] Thank you. Mr. Bland, do you have our

[0:44] commitments to the board?

[0:45] Yes. To improve our effectiveness, the

[0:49] Hardin County Schools Board of Education is committed to putting

[0:51] children first,

[0:53] listening, being prepared, being

[0:55] professional, demonstrating

[0:56] financial stewardship,

[0:58] representing the entire district and supporting

[1:00] district goals, and

[1:02] backing board decisions.

[1:04] Thank you. It's good to see the room full. He

[1:07] tells me that summer is

[1:09] officially over. Back with many

[1:11] accolades, Mr. Wright.

[1:12] Yes, ma'am. We have several, which

[1:15] is great. So, if you approve those

[1:17] resolutions, Madam President,

[1:19] we will begin.

[1:20] I propose that we approve the resolution.

[1:22] Second.

[1:22] I have one motion and one second. Everyone

[1:24] who is in favor, say yes.

[1:26] Against? The motion is approved.

[1:27] Very well, thank you, Madam President.

[1:29] Okay, first of all, let's

[1:30] introduce the

[1:32] North Middle School Beta

[1:34] Club song festival group. Forward. It seems that tonight it

[1:37] 's just women. Come in, ladies.

[1:39] Yes of course. Give them a hand. They know that

[1:46] North Middle Beta, Madam President,

[1:48] has taken off a lot in the last two

[1:51] years, and this group has come in second

[1:53] in the country. That is the United States of

[1:56] America. Second in the country at the

[1:58] song festival at the

[1:59] Beta National Conference. Well,

[2:02] there was a group of these young women. I'll

[2:04] let them introduce themselves. They didn't know he was going

[2:06] to do that. Maybe not. I'm going to

[2:08] let you introduce yourselves and say your

[2:09] names, please, ladies.

[2:11] Hi, I'm Julia Chris. I

[2:13] 'm Emmy Bird.

[2:14] I'm Lauren McDonald. I am

[2:15] Aisha Dia.

[2:16] I am Elizabeth Langley. I

[2:17] 'm Jenna Langley. I

[2:18] 'm Gabby Bird.

[2:19] And their parents are here. Parents, if you

[2:21] are here, please stand

[2:22] up. We will recognize them. All of you

[2:24] played an important role in this.

[2:28] Thanks, guys. Congratulations. Second

[2:30] in the country. That's great. Congratulations

[2:33] . We're going to give them a hand. And is Jade

[2:38] Bruner here? Jade, come up. Let's go up

[2:41] again, Jade. This is Jade

[2:43] Bruner, as you just discovered

[2:45] . She finished second in the country

[2:47] in ceramics at the Beta conference.

[2:50] Congratulations, Jason. As you can see,

[2:58] Madam President, it was a very

[3:00] productive summer for our students at

[3:01] the Beta National Conference. And now

[3:03] we're going to introduce a group of

[3:04] students from Central Hardin who

[3:06] did very well there. Case Preston,

[3:08] Jude Tabor, Jackson Hayes and Elijah

[3:10] Jorgenson. Get up here, guys. These

[3:19] guys won the national championship.

[3:21] These are the national champions in Quiz

[3:23] Bowl in the Beta national conference.

[3:25] Congratulations.

[3:31] Moms and dads are here too. So,

[3:33] congratulations to everyone. Thank you,

[3:34] gentlemen. And also, Rhett Edlin,

[3:38] Reagan Caster, Charles Reinhold and Wyatt

[3:41] Moore. Are they here? Come here,

[3:43] boys. These gentlemen won a

[3:50] national championship in musicology at

[3:52] the Beta National Conference. And Rhett,

[3:55] Charles, and Wyatt also won a

[3:58] national championship. Two, two medals,

[4:03] Mr. Casey. They won a

[4:06] national championship in solo instrumentalists,

[4:08] duos and trios at the

[4:10] national beta conference. Congratulations, guys.

[4:17] Brilliant. And now we would like to introduce

[4:19] Laken Yates. Come on, Laken. And this is

[4:22] the dress, Mr. Wise, that you may have to

[4:24] model later. This is

[4:28] Laken Yates. She won a

[4:31] national championship, first place in the

[4:33] nation, in fashion design at the

[4:35] FCCLA national conference with this

[4:37] beautiful design that she worked hard on

[4:39] . His parents are here.

[4:41] Congratulations, ladies. Tonight,

[4:49] many national championships with

[4:50] student recognitions, Madam

[4:52] President. Now we would like to

[4:54] introduce our Difference

[4:55] Maker awards.

[4:56] Mr. Wright, two students

[4:59] from North High School came.

[5:00] Yes, come here. Come and ask them to

[5:02] come in.

[5:03] That's how it is. They have to introduce themselves to everyone

[5:05] present.

[5:06] Wait. If the rest of the group can

[5:08] come, we...

[5:09] Yes, come again, ladies, so

[5:10] we can take a picture with all of you

[5:12] . Thank you, Mrs. Morgan. I didn't see them

[5:14] come in. I

[5:15] know. And now, the two young women, please

[5:17] introduce yourselves. State your

[5:20] names.

[5:21] I am Leona Johnson.

[5:23] I am Leona Mason.

[5:25] Brilliant. We have our new photo. Do

[5:27] they have a photo? We

[5:29] have it. We have our new photo.

[5:30] Brilliant. Congratulations, Skyler. Thank you

[5:33] . Very good. Well, now we would like to

[5:37] recognize the award winners

[5:39] who make a difference. Shyla

[5:42] Cortez was the first to be here

[5:44] this afternoon. Come, Shyla. She is a

[5:47] senior at

[5:48] Central Hardin High School. That's right

[5:49] , you can lend a hand. Shyla is

[5:53] our dedicated student. And this

[5:55] is the reason. She was a peer mentor in

[5:56] the low-incidence unit at

[5:58] Central Hardin High School,

[5:59] which means she works with

[6:00] students with special needs.

[6:02] He's been doing this for the last 2

[6:04] years and takes his role very seriously.

[6:06] It has a tremendous positive impact on

[6:08] our students. She is a true

[6:11] friend, helper, and role model for

[6:12] the students. She stood in line with her

[6:14] fellow mentors who were

[6:16] nervous about attending the

[6:18] homecoming dance, and they and she never

[6:19] left her side. She spent the afternoon

[6:22] dancing, taking photos, and

[6:23] including them in every minute of the

[6:25] night. She often attends

[6:27] extracurricular events and builds relationships

[6:29] with students in the

[6:30] low-incidence unit, and makes sure they

[6:31] are included and enjoy

[6:33] their time at the events. It is obvious that she is

[6:35] passionate about students with

[6:36] special needs and that she makes a

[6:38] positive difference every day in the

[6:39] work she does with them. Thank you

[6:41] for what you do, Sharon. And I know his

[6:47] family is here tonight.

[6:48] Raise your hand. Thank you all for

[6:50] raising a wonderful young woman. Very well

[6:54] , Ms. Megan Varella, come closer. Come on

[6:58] . We have to...I know she's

[7:00] excited to be here. Ms.

[7:05] Varella is the library media specialist

[7:06] at

[7:07] James T. Alton High School. She is a

[7:09] trusted leader, problem solver, and

[7:11] team player who

[7:12] consistently contributes ideas, supports

[7:14] school initiatives, and helps others

[7:16] succeed. Ms. Varella has an

[7:18] incredible ability to bring

[7:19] people together and move projects forward.

[7:21] Whether creating professional materials

[7:23] , helping staff members

[7:25] solve challenges, mentoring

[7:26] new teachers, or taking on

[7:27] additional responsibilities as a

[7:29] volunteer, she does it with a

[7:31] positive attitude and a commitment to the success

[7:32] of the school community. She does all this

[7:35] without seeking recognition for

[7:37] herself. She works quietly behind the

[7:38] scenes to help others succeed

[7:40] , improve school culture, and

[7:41] ensure that students and

[7:42] staff have what they need to

[7:44] thrive. They're incredible. Thank you, Reverend Miss

[7:45] . They also have a

[7:52] cheerleading section here.

[7:55] Next, we mentioned that

[7:56] our active collaborator was the

[7:57] president, and we would like to mention

[7:59] some more active collaborators, and

[8:00] this is one group. So come on over, if you're

[8:03] wearing a red shirt, come on over,

[8:04] or if you're affiliated with Central

[8:06] Kentucky Rods and Machines. Come

[8:08] here, boys.

[8:09] Oh, yes.

[8:12] We would like them to be here

[8:13] before we start talking about them.

[8:19] That's how it is.

[8:29] But there are many words we could

[8:31] say about this group, Madam

[8:32] President, the Central Kentucky Rides and

[8:33] Machines Group, and Mrs. Morgan might be able to

[8:35] add a few because she

[8:36] works very closely with this group.

[8:39] They take the names, work with

[8:41] our Family Resource Centers

[8:43] , take the names of between 200 and 300

[8:45] students, and work to bring them

[8:47] gifts during the holiday season

[8:50] and make sure they have

[8:52] bright and wonderful holidays. It's not just

[8:56] a day or a week, it's months and

[8:58] probably a year, probably a

[9:00] whole year's effort that these

[9:02] people give to our students

[9:04] , and they do it with a happy heart, and they

[9:06] are so wonderful to our

[9:08] students. So, we can't say

[9:11] that we appreciate them enough.

[9:13] Thank you for what you do. Thank you for what you

[9:15] do.

[9:15] Thank you.

[9:19] Yes sir. I'm

[9:21] going to praise the club. This club

[9:24] started in 1975 here in Elizabeth

[9:26] Town. And we have been

[9:29] celebrating this Christmas for children for 45 years

[9:31] . And I asked my boys to

[9:34] tell you the first and last things

[9:35] we did.

[9:36] Yes that's fine.

[9:37] 45 years ago we held a

[9:41] car show and the people who came donated

[9:45] money. We made $248. The first one we did

[9:49] had eight cars at the

[9:50] car show. Last year

[9:53] we were at Central High School and

[9:55] we couldn't bring cars inside because of

[9:58] True. They tried.

[10:02] Last year, you can see who does this. We do

[10:06] n't have everyone here. Some

[10:07] of them went to another

[10:09] car show or something like that. They went to the

[10:10] hospital. There are 17 members. I think there are 17

[10:14] members in my chapter.

[10:17] Last year, when we closed the books on the

[10:19] last day of Thanksgiving,

[10:21] right after the weekend

[10:23] following Thanksgiving, we made

[10:25] 68,400.

[10:26] That's wonderful.

[10:33] Thank you, thank you Teresa. But this

[10:36] year we have a 50,000 square foot building

[10:39] and we expect to fill it with cars

[10:42] . My goal this year is $70,000

[10:45] to take care of these children.

[10:48] Thank you all very much.

[10:49] Thank you for what you do for our

[10:51] children. I appreciate it. Thank you all.

[10:55] And I thought you were all

[10:56] bus drivers.

[11:01] Hey, you have to see how

[11:02] these sports cars drive. We

[11:04] know.

[11:06] Thank you all for what you do for

[11:07] our students.

[11:08] Thank you.

[11:09] We were troublemakers.

[11:11] But we appreciate them. Thank you. Yes,

[11:14] ma'am. Thank you.

[11:19] It's an organization I work for.

[11:22] That's how it is.

[11:26] Breanne Cunningham here? Is

[11:28] the young lady here? Come on, Miss

[11:29] Cunningham. I thought I saw her, but I

[11:30] wasn't sure. This is Breanne

[11:32] Cunningham, Madam President. She is the

[11:33] new assistant principal at

[11:35] Ronnie E. Betts Elementary School and is our

[11:37] personal advocate this month. In her

[11:39] previous position, she served as

[11:41] coordinator of

[11:43] the school's multilevel support system, MTSS in

[11:45] teacher jargon. It has integrated these

[11:47] efforts in unprecedented ways and

[11:49] has given teachers the

[11:51] opportunity and confidence to handle

[11:53] these tasks. It has also revamped the

[11:55] behavior management system and

[11:56] removed obstacles to create

[11:57] better reporting systems that

[11:58] have ultimately led to

[12:00] improved student behavior

[12:01] . Her behind-the-scenes work has been

[12:03] instrumental during her valuable time

[12:05] at Ronnie Bell Elementary School.

[12:06] Thank you. I appreciate them. Congratulations

[12:12] on your new position, Mrs. Cunningham.

[12:14] Very well, Mrs. Anita Howard, come in. Mrs

[12:17] . Howard, I saw her here. This is Mrs.

[12:20] Anita Howard. She is our

[12:23] effective communicator this month, Madam

[12:24] President, and she is the

[12:26] South End transport coordinator at our

[12:28] bus garage. He manages a

[12:30] very large geographical area with a

[12:32] large number of

[12:33] bus drivers, and his work is hectic

[12:35] every day, as you can imagine,

[12:37] but he never stops listening and always

[12:39] tries to help. Her nominator, who

[12:41] is in the room, Ms. Case,

[12:42] principal of Central Hardin, points out

[12:44] how Ms. Howard manages

[12:45] transportation just for her 1,800

[12:47] students across five different campuses

[12:49] where Central Hardin students

[12:51] attend class every day and

[12:52] always accommodates the needs of

[12:54] the school. Ms. Kay points out how

[12:56] Ms. Howard has made it possible for

[12:58] all first-year students to

[13:00] participate in clubs at Central Hardin

[13:02] despite being at Ruin Academy. They don't

[13:05] miss a single morale meeting and

[13:06] attend all the assemblies. It

[13:08] ensures that students do not

[13:09] miss opportunities due to

[13:11] limitations and barriers. She has even

[13:13] driven routes herself. He always

[13:16] makes possible things that seem

[13:18] impossible. Most people don't realize

[13:20] the time and effort they dedicate to

[13:21] their work. Show patience and

[13:23] understanding every day. You're

[13:24] amazing. Thank you, Renee. I

[13:26] apreciate it. And Mrs. Jenny Hyatt, come and

[13:33] bring your assistant. I think

[13:35] she probably deserves

[13:36] this award too. Well, this is Jenny Hyatt

[13:38] . She is a dental assistant instructor

[13:40] at the Early College and Career Center.

[13:43] And she is our responsible citizen.

[13:45] She and her daughter were working

[13:47] late one day after school when

[13:48] a fellow staff member approached them

[13:50] who wasn't feeling well.

[13:51] After assessing the situation,

[13:53] she quickly called 911.

[13:55] Mrs. Hack's daughter was also present and

[13:57] helped by searching the building for another

[13:59] adult to assist her. After an

[14:01] unsuccessful search, he returned and

[14:03] provided the necessary assistance. Mrs.

[14:05] Hack and his daughter, Finley, worked

[14:06] hard to ensure that

[14:08] the needs of a

[14:09] fellow staff member were met. Thank you for

[14:11] being there, Ms. Hack. Thank you.

[14:17] Your program, as you know, Madam

[14:18] President, is flourishing. The

[14:20] dental assistance program is

[14:22] working very well in EC3. So we

[14:24] thank you. Thank you, Madam

[14:26] President.

[14:26] Mrs. New. Tonight we'll focus on

[14:29] academics.

[14:31] Yes. My name is Brandy New.

[14:33] I'm here tonight on behalf of the

[14:35] Department of Educational Services.

[14:40] To invite you to something that is a great

[14:42] milestone for us, something we

[14:43] have been working on for the

[14:44] past two years, along with the

[14:46] instruction we have talked about

[14:47] for the past few years. We will

[14:50] show you many things with

[14:51] project-based and

[14:52] problem-based learning and the vibrant

[14:54] learning experiences that you all

[14:56] helped us celebrate last

[14:57] April. The experiences that

[14:59] teachers are creating in our

[15:01] classrooms every day. We see what

[15:03] our teachers do because they support

[15:05] each of these things for which we just

[15:06] saw awards here. Beta and

[15:08] all these external events, but there are

[15:10] also the children who only

[15:12] come to us during the day.

[15:14] We believe that the instruction

[15:15] we provide during the day is

[15:17] dynamic, offering

[15:19] many opportunities and giving

[15:21] children the chance to learn things

[15:23] in ways that seem relevant to them,

[15:25] and they will also be able to apply them to their

[15:27] real lives. Portrait has gone hand in

[15:29] hand with that. We are in the third year

[15:31] of a four-year plan, with

[15:32] Portrait of a Learner. Last year,

[15:34] all of our fifth and

[15:35] eighth grade students had to do

[15:37] defenses. And attending them and having

[15:39] the opportunity to see them in many of

[15:41] our schools, represented a change

[15:43] from the old style in which we

[15:44] only asked them questions. They came

[15:47] to us prepared, gave

[15:49] excellent public talks to

[15:51] strangers and adults, and were able to

[15:53] talk to us about those things. They cited the

[15:57] experiences they had in their classroom.

[15:59] The ones that attract their attention the most

[16:00] are those they are

[16:01] learning about. If they are doing a

[16:04] project and they have to carry it out and it becomes

[16:06] a community service

[16:08] or something that serves

[16:10] their school community, they are now taking note

[16:11] of: "Hey, that makes me a

[16:13] responsible citizen because I have to

[16:15] do this." Or when I work in groups

[16:18] and learn the group roles and learn how to

[16:20] talk to each other and respect, you

[16:22] know, with empathy and to value the

[16:23] opinions of others, they are

[16:25] starting to make the connections that

[16:27] those everyday things they are

[16:28] doing in their classroom, those

[16:30] vibrant experiences they are having,

[16:32] are also helping them to be

[16:34] effective communicators and collaborators. So

[16:37] we're very excited. This year, once

[16:39] again, we are nominating teachers and

[16:41] the instructional services department

[16:42] is in our

[16:44] buildings all the time, you know,

[16:45] checking the classrooms and seeing what's going on

[16:47] . We are already nominating teachers

[16:50] this year. We got a good

[16:52] certificate. We decided that all the

[16:53] nominees deserved a certificate, not

[16:55] just the 15 winners at the end of the year

[16:57] . You've probably seen them on

[17:01] social media if you've been following us for the

[17:03] past two weeks, because we really

[17:05] started handing them out in the

[17:07] last two weeks, but this year is

[17:09] the first time that all or all 900, I do

[17:11] n't know the exact number today, 900

[17:13] senior students will be doing their

[17:15] defenses. We will do them on November 23rd and 24th

[17:19] . That's the Monday and Tuesday

[17:21] before Thanksgiving this year.

[17:25] I'm taking a deep breath because

[17:26] the logistics behind this are keeping us up at

[17:27] night, but it's okay. We'll

[17:29] try our best. Casey will

[17:30] email

[17:32] everyone after tonight to

[17:33] follow up and check their availability.

[17:35] We would love it if all of you, if

[17:37] you can come for an hour or half a day, could

[17:39] tell us which of the three

[17:41] high schools or EC3 you would like to

[17:42] sit in and watch the students' defenses

[17:44] . We can invite you to

[17:46] see some of our children.

[17:48] Seeing them is something very special. You know

[17:52] a child. They feel like they know you. I

[17:54] told Miss Morgan that

[17:56] yesterday a boy approached me and said,

[17:57] "Hey, do you know me?" He hugged me in

[17:59] North Middle and I said to him, "I know you

[18:01] ." I attended hundreds of defenses and he

[18:04] told me, "You did my defense in

[18:06] Woodland last year." So those

[18:09] eight minutes I spent with him

[18:11] impacted me so much that now he thinks I

[18:13] know him. Yes, you know what I mean

[18:15] ? I could recall her little story

[18:16] once we started chatting, but it

[18:18] 's very special. Furthermore, schools

[18:20] are working very hard to

[18:22] ensure that teachers can

[18:24] see them because there is nothing more

[18:25] rewarding than sitting with a

[18:27] teacher who sees a student talking

[18:29] about all the lessons they learned from

[18:31] the experience that teacher gave them. It

[18:34] simply lets you know, as a

[18:35] teacher, that's why I do this.

[18:36] We teach content, obviously that's

[18:38] the goal, but all these things,

[18:40] the skills, the portrait of a

[18:41] student and the formation of these

[18:43] human beings, and you know, these

[18:44] strong human beings who have all these

[18:46] other characteristics, that's the

[18:48] reason why we get into this

[18:49] work and it's really exciting and

[18:51] valuable. So we'll send you some

[18:54] information, let you know your

[18:55] availability, and hope to see you

[18:57] all on November 23rd and 24th for

[19:00] part of what we hope will be a successful day or

[19:02] two of exam defenses

[19:04] for us this year. So say that

[19:07] . Thank you. Thank you.

[19:12] Very good. Next up is the

[19:15] recognition of visitors, and

[19:17] nobody has signed up. So that will

[19:20] bring us to the

[19:21] construction updates, and I think we have...

[19:22] We're here tonight to present

[19:24] . I

[19:27] 'm Justin. I didn't

[19:37] even see you hiding back there.

[19:54] Very good. For those who don't

[19:56] know, my name is Justin Vanzant. I am

[19:57] the project manager for the new

[19:59] West Hardin High School. Well,

[20:02] this is just an aerial view of what

[20:04] the building looks like

[20:06] today. You can move on to the next one. These

[20:10] are the different phases into which they are

[20:12] divided. We will review each phase and

[20:14] make a short progress report

[20:15] . We'll start with D, which you'll see in

[20:17] a couple of photos. Here's the

[20:20] gym. As I said in our

[20:22] previous meetings, it is

[20:25] 99% complete. All we have to

[20:28] do is sand and finish the

[20:30] gym floor. The finish is simply a

[20:34] polished look, all the colors, and

[20:35] then it will be 100% finished. The

[20:38] following photo is just an image of

[20:40] the stands that have been installed. You can

[20:43] move on to the next one. This is just a

[20:45] quick snapshot; there's nothing to see, just

[20:47] the engine room with all the

[20:49] geothermal equipment and everything that works

[20:51] there. This is a quick panoramic view

[20:54] of the band room. That's

[21:00] practically done.

[21:02] Next, we'll take a short

[21:04] tour of one of the corridors with

[21:06] the finished terrazzo flooring, and then

[21:08] we'll walk through the art room to

[21:10] offer a brief panoramic view.

[21:14] You can see that we have all the

[21:16] furniture finished, the flooring, and all

[21:18] the windows. Okay, you can move on to the

[21:26] next one. This is just a

[21:29] quick glimpse of the exterior of the restrooms that

[21:31] are finished in Zone D. I think we'll

[21:33] now go and look at Zone C, which

[21:35] contains the cafeteria, which

[21:37] will also be the auxiliary gym and kitchen.

[21:40] Here you can see

[21:42] the cafeteria floor being laid as

[21:44] we speak. We should finish up sometime

[21:46] next week. I would say that

[21:48] 80% has been completed. No, the

[21:50] three-dotted line doesn't look like that; it

[21:52] 's stepped. They will enter and

[21:54] finish it, where it is a

[21:55] really sharp line. Next,

[21:58] we'll take a quick tour of the

[22:00] kitchen. You will see all the

[22:02] different components. You'll see the

[22:04] refrigerator and freezer area here on the

[22:06] left. And then you'll see the entire

[22:08] kitchen extractor hood, the

[22:10] kitchen equipment, the

[22:12] service lines. We're almost 99.9%

[22:17] ready. Next, we'll move on to area B in

[22:21] the top right corner. This is the

[22:24] rear aisle that leads to the

[22:26] rear bus canopy. That

[22:28] floor is just a protection for the

[22:29] ground. All that terrazzo is now

[22:31] finished. You can see that the painting is already

[22:33] finished. All the windows and

[22:36] doors are ready. The following one

[22:39] I think is just one of the wings of the

[22:41] classrooms. You'll see that we have all the

[22:43] lockers installed. If you look to the

[22:45] right in that block, you'll see some

[22:47] white lines. That's just a minor tweak

[22:48] ; They will return to paint it until it is

[22:50] a single, uniform color. And

[22:53] then I have a couple of rooms under

[22:55] construction. Just to give you an

[22:57] idea of what they look like right now. This

[22:59] is the resource room, and this is just

[23:01] one of the low-incidence rooms on

[23:03] the second floor that overlooks the

[23:04] back parking lot of

[23:06] Cecilia Valley Elementary School. And this is just

[23:09] a view from the rear

[23:11] bus canopy where the entrance

[23:14] used to be visible. And then we'll go down to Area A.

[23:17] That's where

[23:19] most of our construction is taking place right now

[23:21] . So I don't have much

[23:23] to show other than just a lot

[23:25] of equipment, materials, and people

[23:27] working. So this is just a

[23:29] quick look at the library as it

[23:30] appears. All those little

[23:32] square panels on the floor are just

[23:34] covering the holes where

[23:35] things will pass through. But other than that, it looks

[23:38] good. We should start

[23:40] doing drywall, doing all the

[23:42] suspended ceilings, all of that here in

[23:44] the next two weeks. This is the

[23:46] press box. So, to the

[23:48] left is where they will go up and

[23:49] organize all the

[23:51] concession stands that also have a view of the

[23:53] football field. The next photo

[23:56] will be of the press box where

[23:57] all the matches will be held and where everyone will be

[23:59] seated, and the following photo will be

[24:01] of the lower level of the press box,

[24:03] which will serve as a

[24:04] storage area. And this is an

[24:09] overview of the sports fields from

[24:12] the food stand. And I think

[24:15] the last one will be a quick aerial view

[24:17] of the project showing how

[24:19] the football field is completed with

[24:21] all the turf laid and what

[24:23] the school looks like today. And that's all I

[24:27] have. Any questions for

[24:29] me? It looks

[24:30] great. It looks great. It

[24:32] looks wonderful.

[24:33] Perfect. Thanks, guys. Thank you.

[24:42] Very good. Good night. My name is

[24:44] Caleb Carpenter. I am the

[24:46] project director for Trojan Way Elementary School

[24:48] . We won't talk about where it's

[24:50] located. It seems that this is being

[24:51] debated lately. Well, it started in

[24:54] March. We expect to finish it by

[24:56] early June 2028. That's still

[24:58] the plan. It's an

[25:00] updated background image, but we'll keep

[25:02] reviewing it, Shelly. Well, the

[25:05] current progress of the site. The

[25:08] site leveling is 100%

[25:10] behind schedule. We just have some

[25:13] general clearances, clean-ups, things like that. That's what you

[25:15] 're seeing in the

[25:16] bottom left corner. It's across

[25:18] the street from the school.

[25:21] A small table is being built. It will be

[25:23] covered with grass and covered by the

[25:25] end of autumn. Down to the right,

[25:28] they are seeing the rest of the other side of

[25:31] Trojan Way. So, all the

[25:34] water management, all of that is in place.

[25:36] You can see if you look to the right where

[25:39] the water will cross the street and then

[25:41] cross over to Joe B. Prather there.

[25:44] All of that has been done again. The

[25:46] retaining walls return to the

[25:47] top. Obviously, the

[25:50] construction platform is in place. They were

[25:51] looking from one end to the other. All

[25:54] the foundations have been completed, at

[25:56] least on the outside. We are

[25:59] working on the inner foundations

[26:00] from the other side of the image towards

[26:02] us. Well, we expect to finish them

[26:05] in the next month and a half, depending

[26:06] on the storm shelter and the

[26:08] masonry work that's going on

[26:10] there, which is a lot of the

[26:11] taller walls you can see right in the

[26:13] middle of the picture. Michelle, we can

[26:15] move on and start inspecting the

[26:17] building here. The building is

[26:19] divided into three different areas, A, B and C, from left to right

[26:25] in this photo. We will move to area A, one

[26:27] of the wings of the classrooms. These are the

[26:31] areas that, upon entering, I think I

[26:34] should have said C. C. has

[26:37] changed me. Unit C has classrooms,

[26:39] also has its own kitchen and

[26:42] then leads to the cafeteria

[26:44] there. The kitchen area would be in

[26:46] the image below, in the

[26:48] lower right corner, down here next to the

[26:50] high wall. That wall is the one that leads to

[26:53] the cafeteria, which is that

[26:54] open space on the right, which is also

[26:56] an auxiliary gym in this school.

[26:59] Everything else to the left are classrooms

[27:01] . And this photo was taken today. Well,

[27:05] we're heading there and then

[27:07] we'll put some hollow boards here

[27:09] , probably in 3 weeks, in that

[27:12] area as we go. So,

[27:14] Shelly, come this way. Area B, which I

[27:17] hope is Area B, is. The

[27:19] storm shelter is coming

[27:23] . We have all the

[27:25] door frames there, as you can see, on the

[27:27] left side of the photo below, the

[27:29] right side of the one above. Those are

[27:32] hollow boards that enclose a

[27:35] mezzanine area that was installed yesterday. They

[27:38] welded them together. They are starting to

[27:39] prepare all the meetings. We'll pour

[27:41] the slab and then this

[27:43] storm shelter will go completely

[27:45] vertical over the next month or month and a

[27:48] half here, and we'll close off this area and

[27:50] really start making progress on

[27:52] this building. You can move on to the

[27:54] next one. Area A, which is Area A.

[27:59] Wonderful. As you can see, there is still

[28:02] foundation work to be done. A

[28:05] lot of excavation has been done. In the photo

[28:07] above on the right that you see, they are

[28:08] ready. They plan to dump them tomorrow. So there's

[28:11] not much left to do regarding

[28:14] the interior foundations in area A

[28:16] for this first floor area here, and

[28:19] then we're preparing the

[28:21] initial block placement for pouring the slab, just

[28:23] like we did in area C. And then,

[28:26] again, it will go vertically from that point

[28:28] . Next slide for me,

[28:30] Shelley. And most importantly, behind

[28:34] the school is a large field of

[28:36] geothermal wells. 150 wells were

[28:39] drilled. We finished drilling on

[28:41] Tuesday of this week. If you see that large

[28:43] ditch running across the back, that

[28:45] was our water management for that

[28:47] process. If you haven't been there, that's a

[28:49] lot of water. From 50 to 60 gallons per

[28:52] minute in some cases. It needs to be

[28:54] contained and managed, especially

[28:55] with the stream that runs behind the

[28:57] property right here. You can't

[28:59] mix all that mud with water. It would be

[29:03] a disaster. Well, all that was just

[29:06] a provision to manage the water,

[29:07] pump it across the road, and

[29:09] make sure it's clean before it

[29:10] goes back into the community. And well,

[29:13] all that will disappear during the

[29:15] next month or month and a half before

[29:17] the winter season arrives. Okay

[29:20] , next. And then, this is just

[29:23] a fun little

[29:24] drone flyover. You can speed it up as much as

[29:28] you want, Shelly.

[29:32] Okay, great.

[29:33] The four rooms on the right.

[29:35] Repeat that.

[29:37] The four rooms on the right,

[29:38] that was the part we added. We're almost

[29:40] finished with it, right?

[29:42] Yes sir. Yes.

[29:43] Mhm.

[29:44] Okay. Yes. Okay, I understand. Alright

[29:48] . But yes, all of that is a

[29:51] low ceiling area here in the

[29:52] bottom right corner of what I was

[29:54] talking about, and then that will

[29:56] transition to a high ceiling section

[29:57] right where you see the

[29:59] door frame in the middle of the slab and where they are getting

[30:01] ready to move in. And all of that

[30:04] is again classroom space that

[30:07] extends to the kitchen area, which

[30:10] already has a slab poured right there.

[30:13] And then the refrigerator freezers

[30:15] will be in that back right corner

[30:16] that's a little hidden.

[30:18] So, the original design didn't

[30:19] include those four additional classrooms,

[30:21] but the cheapest time to

[30:22] add those classrooms is now.

[30:24] Correct.

[30:26] First it was drawn to add.

[30:29] Yes.

[30:31] They took advantage of the day to put it up. Yes.

[30:34] Taking into account the cost of

[30:35] construction materials.

[30:36] Clear. And then this is the

[30:38] gym's storm shelter area

[30:40] that we're focusing on right now

[30:41] . It's the most complicated one, and that's why

[30:46] we attack it first, we remove it from the

[30:48] path.

[30:50] And that's the new legislative requirement

[30:52] from, you know, 3 or 4 years ago.

[30:54] Yes. Yes. Correct. And it was hot today,

[31:02] so forgive those guys for

[31:04] standing still and watching it pass over

[31:05] them. We got off to a good start. Thank you all.

[31:10] Very good. That leads us to consider the

[31:13] consent agenda.

[31:17] Student Services, we have the approval

[31:18] of the school district calendar committee

[31:20] . Approval for the

[31:24] Central Hardin High School senior class to travel to

[31:25] Atlanta from May 6-8 via

[31:27] a commercial airline. Approval

[31:29] for John Hardin's senior class to

[31:31] travel to Atlanta, Georgia. It's

[31:32] becoming a popular destination.

[31:34] From May 6 to 8 via a

[31:36] commercial airline. And approval

[31:39] for John Hardin's FCCLA High School to

[31:41] travel to Orlando, Florida,

[31:44] from October 17-21. And approval

[31:47] of the December 12 graduation date

[31:48] for the summer,

[31:50] fall, and winter graduates of

[31:52] Hardin County High School,

[31:53] College View, and E-school. In

[31:56] financial services, we receive

[31:58] monthly financial reports. We approved the

[32:01] accounts payable reports, and

[32:02] we received the school's financial reports

[32:04] . We are approving the

[32:07] work budget for fiscal year

[32:09] 2027. That was thoroughly reviewed at our

[32:12] lunch meeting. Approval of the

[32:17] fiscal year 27 indirect cost rates, approval of some

[32:19] change orders for Central Hardin,

[32:21] approval of change orders for

[32:23] Trojan Way, and approval of

[32:26] school-wide fundraising. We have our

[32:29] certified and classified personnel actions and

[32:30] approval from all 27

[32:32] optional benefit providers. We received the

[32:36] SBDM minutes, package information,

[32:39] and all our board minutes.

[32:42] We were busy last month. And that's

[32:45] all on the consent agenda.

[32:47] Motion to approve the

[32:49] consent agenda.

[32:49] Second.

[32:50] I have one motion and one second.

[32:52] Any further discussion?

[32:54] I would like to say that Jess has been

[32:55] here for the past 20 years. He

[32:58] guided us well with our

[33:00] budget and I appreciate what he has done

[33:02] . Sometimes it hasn't been an easy task

[33:05] because I think the

[33:07] peanut butter and jam sometimes

[33:09] thin out and we have to spread it

[33:10] a lot. Yes, he has done a good job.

[33:14] I appreciate what you've done.

[33:17] Of course. I know it's been a

[33:19] lot of hard work, so...Very good.

[33:22] If there is no further discussion, I have one

[33:24] motion and one second, so all

[33:25] those in favor, please

[33:27] state "I".

[33:29] Against? The motion is approved. That

[33:32] brings us to the action items,

[33:34] name selection, mascot, and

[33:35] school colors for the new

[33:37] elementary school being built in

[33:38] Radcliff to replace

[33:40] North Park Elementary. That's what we just saw

[33:42] at the meeting.

[33:45] I propose that the board approve the

[33:47] elementary school name Trojan Way, that it use the

[33:49] colors blue and white, and the Trojans

[33:51] as its mascot.

[33:53] I will support the motion.

[33:55] Really?

[33:58] Very well, Mr. Weiss. Any further

[34:01] discussion? I couldn't think of

[34:03] anything better.

[34:04] I think we chose that name

[34:06] primarily because we were looking to have a

[34:08] new beginning, and we believe that by

[34:09] starting with a new name we will have

[34:11] a new mission and a new era for

[34:13] that school. So I hope

[34:15] people understand.

[34:17] And it's definitely going to be a good thing, I

[34:20] mean, it's a really

[34:23] new school, a new concept, and I think we

[34:26] stumbled across Trojan Way as a sort

[34:28] of placeholder and we started

[34:31] liking it. It seems to encompass many

[34:37] different meanings and things like that,

[34:39] so I'd just

[34:40] like to say that the decision to

[34:42] choose that name wasn't

[34:44] particularly easy. In fact, this

[34:48] has been one of the most

[34:50] discussed, debated and commented-on decisions

[34:53] we have made since I joined the

[34:55] board, and I have been here for 6 years now. Because

[34:59] a school is only named once. That's why we need to

[35:02] try to make a good

[35:03] decision. We had some good

[35:06] suggestions, but there was one of those

[35:08] rare moments when we had two

[35:10] or three board members as one, and

[35:12] two or three more as another different one.

[35:15] But in the end, Trojan Way

[35:17] became something we

[35:20] all

[35:23] got used to and started to like, and

[35:25] we started calling it that

[35:27] ourselves. So I think that's why

[35:29] we feel comfortable moving forward

[35:31] with it. It's a

[35:32] new beginning. It's a new school. And I

[35:35] think it's a very fitting name

[35:38] for that particular school.

[35:44] And the Trojans have their four things they

[35:47] say: be prepared, be

[35:49] productive, be polite, and be

[35:52] punctual.

[35:52] Thank you. And that would be the

[35:56] Trojan way. And it makes a lot of sense for

[35:59] elementary school. Of course.

[36:02] So.

[36:04] Very well, if there is no further discussion,

[36:06] I have a motion. I don't know if anyone

[36:08] seconded her.

[36:08] Yes, we have one...

[36:09] Oh, sorry. Good. So I have a

[36:11] motion and someone seconded it. All

[36:12] those who are in favor, please

[36:14] indicate so by saying "yes".

[36:16] Against? The motion is approved. Very well

[36:20] , and I don't think we have any

[36:22] new business.

[36:22] No.

[36:23] And that brings us to the superintendent's report

[36:24] .

[36:25] Yes, mine will be very brief. I am

[36:28] pleased to say that at the meeting with

[36:30] our kindergarten teachers

[36:32] this year, Mr. Wise

[36:34] shared that he appreciated me

[36:35] sharing about what parents

[36:37] should do to prepare their children

[36:39] for school. And I will share that

[36:43] several kindergarten teachers

[36:45] have shared that when they are doing

[36:48] a mandatory Brigance test,

[36:51] several students talk about reading

[36:53] with their parents. Open a book, not a

[36:56] phone, but open a book and how

[36:58] much they enjoyed reading with their

[37:00] parents and knowing which way to

[37:02] put the book so that the words

[37:04] were at the bottom and which

[37:06] way to turn the pages. And I think

[37:08] parents are hearing that

[37:11] their young students don't need

[37:13] technology, and I hope our

[37:15] grades reflect all that

[37:17] work from our parents, but if

[37:19] you are one of them, please continue

[37:21] reading to your children. If it isn't,

[37:24] start. And again, we're

[37:27] finding many studies that say

[37:29] children under five do

[37:32] n't need

[37:34] screen time, unless it's a

[37:36] video call with a grandparent or other

[37:38] important adult in their lives. So, for

[37:41] those of you who do,

[37:42] thank you. We are realizing

[37:43] that. Our teachers are

[37:45] noticing it. And if we maintain that trend,

[37:47] we'll be in a much better position.

[37:49] So, thank you.

[37:50] Amen.

[37:52] Perfect. Very good. And we don't need

[37:56] an executive session.

[37:57] No. It

[37:58] takes us to our

[38:00] meeting schedule. September 18, 5:00,

[38:02] Crescendo for academics at The House

[38:05] on Helm. It's a fundraiser

[38:08] for the orchestra, right?

[38:09] Yes.

[38:10] And on September 24 at 11:00 a.m.

[38:14] Eastern Time, there will be a luncheon for

[38:17] distinguished HCS alumni at EC3. From October 5th to 9th, it

[38:21] 's already autumn vacation.

[38:25] Yes. On

[38:26] October 12, classes end for

[38:28] Professional Learning Day.

[38:30] Our next

[38:32] board meeting will be on October 15th. Our

[38:35] lunch meeting will be at West Hardin Middle

[38:37] and our afternoon meeting will be

[38:39] here.

[38:41] Brilliant.

[38:43] Motion to adjourn the session.

[38:46] Second.

[38:48] I have one motion and one second. Everyone in

[38:49] favor, please show it by

[38:51] saying yes.

[38:52] Against? The motion is approved.

[38:54] Thank you all for coming tonight.

[38:56] Good evening, Mr. Gibbs.

Hardin County Schools Board of Education Meeting September 17 2026

Transcript