1
00:00:00,050 --> 00:00:01,170
Thanks, Clara.

2
00:00:03,570 --> 00:00:05,290
Is there a motion to approve the agenda?

3
00:00:05,990 --> 00:00:09,330
Good motion to approve tonight's agenda. Second.

4
00:00:10,430 --> 00:00:14,470
Okay, it's been moved in second into approve the agenda, any one opposed?

5
00:00:16,890 --> 00:00:21,150
Seeing no opposition, the agenda is approved. That brings us to public recognition.

6
00:00:22,050 --> 00:00:26,810
And to my knowledge, there's no schedule, unless Board Member would like to offer any public recognition.

7
00:00:29,060 --> 00:00:36,180
Okay. We'll say that for next month. That moves us on to citizen remarks. And first for the

8
00:00:36,180 --> 00:00:41,800
audience's sake, we'll just read this. Citizen remarks is an opportunity for community members

9
00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:47,560
to be heard. The board will note the topics and we'll not enter into discussion or take any

10
00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:52,880
official action on any of the topics presented, but we'll refer items to the administration to be

11
00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:57,200
researched. The board will not engage in discussion with the speaker or answer questions.

12
00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:02,460
Citizens having a concern should discuss the matter with the superintendent first, individual

13
00:01:02,460 --> 00:01:05,940
students and personnel may not be discussed in public form.

14
00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:10,620
Please contact the district office throughout these matters through the appropriate channels.

15
00:01:11,540 --> 00:01:16,160
A sign-up sheet is available before the meeting, which I have with me right here, to allow

16
00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,540
community members to sign up for an opportunity to speak before the board.

17
00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:25,120
Speakers are limited to three minutes each and we will be holding tight to that this evening,

18
00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:27,720
except by consent of the school board.

19
00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:34,720
And just wanted to remind everyone that board members cannot engage or ask questions with the community during public comment.

20
00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:40,760
So first up, registered for public comment is Frankie Earcard.

21
00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:47,320
Good evening.

22
00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:51,220
I actually have a parent letter to read for us if that's okay.

23
00:01:51,780 --> 00:01:57,280
There's a concert tonight, a Halloween concert, and they asked that I read it because they can't be here and that I'll read my letter.

24
00:01:58,460 --> 00:02:04,620
This is from Alicook. I am unable to attend this meeting as my child's winter concert is this evening.

25
00:02:05,020 --> 00:02:09,400
I'm in a loss with both proposals, separating children who have been together for years,

26
00:02:09,860 --> 00:02:12,680
having my child spend hours on the bus to go to North Point Higgins,

27
00:02:13,100 --> 00:02:17,160
or having them not have music and physical education also library.

28
00:02:17,780 --> 00:02:19,960
I don't understand how this is where we are at this point.

29
00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,480
I, Ally Cook, and my family, Toby Perry, spouse,

30
00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:27,400
Taylor Perry, son, junior at K. High, Leo Perry, son,

31
00:02:27,780 --> 00:02:30,460
second grade at Houtling, please ask that you vote no,

32
00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:32,260
until we can come up with a different solution.

33
00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:35,140
Please, I do not want to pull my youngest from school

34
00:02:35,140 --> 00:02:36,240
and attempt to homeschool.

35
00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:39,220
He has learned so much from every teacher he has at Houtling.

36
00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:40,920
Please, please vote no.

37
00:02:41,140 --> 00:02:42,440
I'm certain there are other options.

38
00:02:42,820 --> 00:02:44,200
Please, please vote no.

39
00:02:44,580 --> 00:02:47,480
My kids and all their friends would be absolutely heartbroken

40
00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:48,440
with either option.

41
00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,360
They love howling, they love Ms. Gillian, they love Ms. Jen and they love library.

42
00:02:52,740 --> 00:02:53,880
These kids are a future.

43
00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,300
Thank you for your time and consideration, Alley Cook.

44
00:02:58,730 --> 00:02:59,690
And then this one's me.

45
00:03:00,570 --> 00:03:00,990
Good evening.

46
00:03:01,610 --> 00:03:06,510
I am here to ask a school board to vote no on the budget proposal that will involve transporting

47
00:03:06,510 --> 00:03:08,730
our youngest students to the ends of the island.

48
00:03:09,330 --> 00:03:13,310
While I appreciate that the board is starting the budget conversations early this year,

49
00:03:13,670 --> 00:03:18,010
it feels like this decision is being made without time to explore other options that would

50
00:03:18,010 --> 00:03:23,850
less disruptive to families. Last August, during the first budget committee meeting, I asked the

51
00:03:23,850 --> 00:03:28,950
budget committee to explore charging the cruise ship companies that come to Ketchikan in education fee.

52
00:03:29,390 --> 00:03:33,210
I'm just curious to anyone on the committee follow up on this for the borough or the city.

53
00:03:34,410 --> 00:03:38,290
I just read that we have an additional three cruise lines coming to Ketchikan in the summer of

54
00:03:38,290 --> 00:03:44,610
2026. If we charged each passenger even just a flat fee of $10, with projected cruise ship

55
00:03:44,610 --> 00:03:47,310
visitors we could bring in millions of dollars for our education.

56
00:03:48,090 --> 00:03:52,030
This is a revenue that I don't believe has been tapped, and I wonder why it hasn't been

57
00:03:52,030 --> 00:03:52,450
explored.

58
00:03:53,550 --> 00:03:58,550
In looking at the proposed budget cuts, there is no mention of cutting any district administration

59
00:03:58,550 --> 00:04:01,730
at either the building level, nor the district office level.

60
00:04:02,290 --> 00:04:04,670
Only teachers, parents, and programs for students.

61
00:04:05,410 --> 00:04:10,310
When I first came to work in the district back in 2007, our district office looked very different.

62
00:04:10,310 --> 00:04:14,390
We had very few administrators in the district office compared to now.

63
00:04:15,050 --> 00:04:19,670
There was a superintendent, special education director and a curriculum director who were all administrators.

64
00:04:20,530 --> 00:04:26,270
But we also had a business manager and a human resources director who were both classified employees.

65
00:04:27,150 --> 00:04:32,090
We could save a lot of money if we cut these administrative positions and return them back to classified positions.

66
00:04:32,970 --> 00:04:37,130
Another money saving idea would be to consolidate some of the positions in the district office.

67
00:04:37,130 --> 00:04:41,990
Perhaps the business manager and grant coordinator could be just one person, just as an example.

68
00:04:42,610 --> 00:04:48,370
Our teachers and parents have been asked for years to do more with less, and now it might be time for the district office to do the same.

69
00:04:49,170 --> 00:04:57,530
If the current budget proposal passes, we will be adding an extra .5 administrative position to next year, which is more than what we have now.

70
00:04:57,530 --> 00:04:58,870
Okay, Frank, thank you so much.

71
00:04:58,950 --> 00:05:00,610
Out of respect for everyone's time this evening.

72
00:05:00,870 --> 00:05:01,410
That is three minutes.

73
00:05:01,410 --> 00:05:02,830
I read someone else's letter first.

74
00:05:02,990 --> 00:05:05,650
Can I have her time added to my time?

75
00:05:05,830 --> 00:05:06,950
I did have about another minute.

76
00:05:07,290 --> 00:05:08,030
Thank you.

77
00:05:08,490 --> 00:05:12,890
In the current budget proposal, past, we will be adding an extra 0.5 administrative position to

78
00:05:12,890 --> 00:05:14,410
next year, more than what we have currently.

79
00:05:14,970 --> 00:05:18,330
There's a shared vice principal position between FOM Mountain and Point Higgins.

80
00:05:18,590 --> 00:05:22,150
Next year, the budget is calling for two full-time vice principal administrators at both of

81
00:05:22,150 --> 00:05:22,670
those schools.

82
00:05:23,010 --> 00:05:26,350
This is an additional admin position in the same budget that's considering cutting

83
00:05:26,350 --> 00:05:28,830
PE, music, and librarians at our elementary schools.

84
00:05:29,410 --> 00:05:33,230
Administrators are at well workers, meaning they do not have tenure in our offered contracts

85
00:05:33,230 --> 00:05:37,190
on an annual basis, so they can be cut at the end of any school year.

86
00:05:37,490 --> 00:05:40,890
While we're proposing to app and our children and families, let's take a look at the leaders

87
00:05:40,890 --> 00:05:43,850
of these schools while we're at it to ensure we have the best of the best.

88
00:05:44,290 --> 00:05:47,150
I would love to see the school boards then out of survey to staff students and parents

89
00:05:47,150 --> 00:05:51,830
of all the schools in the district to gather information about how the current administrators

90
00:05:51,830 --> 00:05:53,610
are doing in each specific school.

91
00:05:53,610 --> 00:05:56,550
What kind of climate are they creating for those staff students and parents?

92
00:05:56,830 --> 00:06:01,510
Are they supportive and do they address the needs of all stakeholders in a positive way?

93
00:06:01,850 --> 00:06:05,050
Not all administrators are the same and I can tell you that we could use more principles

94
00:06:05,050 --> 00:06:06,690
like Kurt, Linda, and Jared Garlic.

95
00:06:07,190 --> 00:06:10,470
I would like the school board to collect the service from parents and staff to make sure

96
00:06:10,470 --> 00:06:13,350
that we are getting the best of the best in charge of all these schools.

97
00:06:14,510 --> 00:06:18,790
Also, the Superintendent's budget's presentation stated there's a budget gap created due to

98
00:06:18,790 --> 00:06:21,410
inadequate funding as well as increased cost due to inflation.

99
00:06:21,410 --> 00:06:28,480
one element I found clearly absent was any accountability by the District Office of Administration for their mismanagement of District Funds.

100
00:06:29,210 --> 00:06:32,430
At the example at the end of the last school year I was teaching Summer School at Rubela.

101
00:06:32,790 --> 00:06:35,630
The school district didn't have enough money to pay all the bills for June.

102
00:06:35,950 --> 00:06:38,770
So in order to pay everyone they had to request more money from the borough.

103
00:06:39,190 --> 00:06:45,530
I don't think we should advocate any more money until we have the District Administrative Office who can balance budget.

104
00:06:55,050 --> 00:06:57,650
Next up is Nila, your card.

105
00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,900
Hello, my name is Nila Erkar, and I am a senior at Ketchikan High School.

106
00:07:10,180 --> 00:07:13,960
Over the past month, I have heard many students and adults in the community discuss the ideas

107
00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,180
that school board has taken considered about saving money for the schools.

108
00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:21,520
Every single person I've spoken to has talked to me about how detrimental it would be for

109
00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,180
any more teachers or electives to be removed from the high school.

110
00:07:24,540 --> 00:07:28,300
We already lost multiple teachers in classes since last year, and I have seen it directly

111
00:07:28,300 --> 00:07:30,180
impact other students as well as myself.

112
00:07:30,180 --> 00:07:36,560
So many students show up to school every day just for their electives because those are the parts of their day that bring them the most joy.

113
00:07:36,900 --> 00:07:39,560
Removing classes removes incentives for students to show up.

114
00:07:39,980 --> 00:07:43,960
A lot of the electives that were cuts were the ones that helped students get jobs right out of high school.

115
00:07:44,340 --> 00:07:49,540
Because of the significant cuts made to the CTE department, many students are left without the opportunities they had before.

116
00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,180
Another way that the teacher and class cuts have affected students and staff is the class sizes.

117
00:07:54,580 --> 00:07:57,760
There are almost twice as many students in each classroom compared to last year.

118
00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,900
One of the things I liked best about K-Hi is that it had smaller class sizes so that the

119
00:08:01,900 --> 00:08:05,640
learning experience was more one-on-one and the teachers had time to give each student individual

120
00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:06,100
help.

121
00:08:06,660 --> 00:08:10,620
With 20 to 30 students in each class, there are significantly less time for these opportunities

122
00:08:10,620 --> 00:08:12,000
if there is any at all.

123
00:08:12,260 --> 00:08:15,920
Teachers are too overwhelmed to help each student because they have taken on more students

124
00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:17,660
than they can help during one class period.

125
00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:21,520
The other main method of saving money I've heard people discuss is the district's idea

126
00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,560
to combine elementary grades into separate schools for each grade level.

127
00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:28,880
Combining all students from the same grade into one school not only creates class sizes that

128
00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,620
are unreasonable to manage, but also takes away the children's right to choose a school

129
00:08:32,620 --> 00:08:36,400
that suits them more. There are so many different kinds of teaching styles and even more

130
00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:40,580
kinds of students. There is no possible way that every child will receive a quality education

131
00:08:40,580 --> 00:08:44,460
while only being able to attend one school. Many families have more than one child.

132
00:08:44,660 --> 00:08:48,580
Are we expecting that parents will have the time or means to drive one child to a school on one

133
00:08:48,580 --> 00:08:52,560
set of town and then commute to a school on the office of the island for their other child?

134
00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:57,560
Even if we were to forget about the inconvenience of this possible scenario, how would this be saving us money?

135
00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:02,060
And if it is saving money then is saving money at the cost of these kids education?

136
00:09:02,860 --> 00:09:05,580
The school district is supposed to put its students above anything else.

137
00:09:05,820 --> 00:09:11,780
But right now, it feels like they are more concerned about finding ways to save money that will undermine our education rather than cutting from the top.

138
00:09:12,300 --> 00:09:18,800
There are so many people who have spoken out and said that they think we should save money by cutting off loose ends from the top of the district, and I completely agree.

139
00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:23,680
It is not personal, but we are considering consciously deciding to undermine the education of

140
00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:27,640
students in Ketchikan to save the buds of the people at the top that were in charge of making

141
00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:30,340
sure we didn't get into this budget crisis in the first place.

142
00:09:31,020 --> 00:09:34,920
If the district wants to save money as desperately as they are trying to make everyone believe,

143
00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:39,080
then they will consider making the right decision instead of the more convenient for themselves.

144
00:09:39,620 --> 00:09:40,360
Thank you.

145
00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:48,440
Amy Taufer?

146
00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:50,200
I hope I said your name correctly.

147
00:09:55,160 --> 00:10:01,440
My name's Amy Tepfer, and I'm bringing on my behalf, and these are my thoughts on my thoughts alone.

148
00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:10,920
I want to start by acknowledging that you all are an incredibly difficult situation, and one that is not entirely of your own making.

149
00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:17,020
I commend your effort to serve the community, and I know everyone in this room wants what's best for our children.

150
00:10:18,100 --> 00:10:23,180
The two proposals set forth during last meeting are not what best for our children, though.

151
00:10:23,180 --> 00:10:26,720
They're not what's best for our teachers or our community.

152
00:10:27,700 --> 00:10:31,540
Both proposals focus on cutting at the lower levels

153
00:10:31,540 --> 00:10:34,320
where the impacts hit the hardest to our children.

154
00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:37,640
The proposals are sacrificing our children's education

155
00:10:38,100 --> 00:10:41,880
and well-being to maintain administrative luxuries.

156
00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:45,260
Our teachers and frontline staff are exhausted.

157
00:10:46,100 --> 00:10:47,360
They have been jerked around,

158
00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:53,020
asked to do more with less and had the burden of maintaining a cheerful and educational atmosphere

159
00:10:53,020 --> 00:11:00,100
in times of uncertainty, uncertainty, and up people. They have stepped up over and over again

160
00:11:00,100 --> 00:11:06,190
thinking of the children first. I personally and truly grateful to each and every one of them.

161
00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:13,870
But this isn't how we keep or attract quality educators. If we end up following either the

162
00:11:13,870 --> 00:11:18,610
proposals that were put forth by Michael Robbins, we will have degraded our school district

163
00:11:18,610 --> 00:11:19,370
to the point.

164
00:11:19,710 --> 00:11:21,590
We will be driving families from this island.

165
00:11:22,610 --> 00:11:24,110
Our schools are not luxuries.

166
00:11:25,350 --> 00:11:28,730
Our libraries and librarians are not luxuries.

167
00:11:29,390 --> 00:11:32,250
Our RTIs are not luxuries.

168
00:11:32,950 --> 00:11:36,730
Our music and PE teachers are not luxuries.

169
00:11:37,670 --> 00:11:40,770
Our preschools are not luxuries.

170
00:11:41,650 --> 00:11:45,090
These are essentials for well-rounded education.

171
00:11:45,970 --> 00:11:49,790
They provide safe and stable environments to the children who need it most.

172
00:11:50,430 --> 00:11:54,390
These services, safe and change lives.

173
00:11:55,730 --> 00:11:58,750
These proposals do not make a community welcoming to families.

174
00:11:59,430 --> 00:12:02,450
I would go so far as to argue that they push families out,

175
00:12:03,090 --> 00:12:04,730
which will further decrease your funding.

176
00:12:05,830 --> 00:12:08,630
It is time to take a hard look at the administration level

177
00:12:08,630 --> 00:12:13,570
And the direction that the current administration is steering this school district.

178
00:12:14,590 --> 00:12:18,230
Don't be fooled by forecasts. They're just that. They're forecasts.

179
00:12:18,690 --> 00:12:24,950
They can be readily changed by putting funds back into creating a strong district.

180
00:12:27,290 --> 00:12:31,450
Our children deserve better than these proposals. That's the hard fact.

181
00:12:32,350 --> 00:12:36,230
There are futures. Let's not short-change it.

182
00:12:36,230 --> 00:12:42,090
Finally, I just want to touch on the tone-depth social media post that the school district

183
00:12:42,090 --> 00:12:45,710
put out last week, congratulating the administration staff.

184
00:12:46,610 --> 00:12:51,350
I'm not going to go into details because I'm sure most of you have seen that.

185
00:12:52,030 --> 00:12:57,830
I hope that this board addresses that with administration and ensures that it never happens again.

186
00:12:58,950 --> 00:13:01,510
Administration should never be seeking praise.

187
00:13:01,510 --> 00:13:04,590
The operation has come from a well informed world, right in here.

188
00:13:05,110 --> 00:13:05,330
Thank you.

189
00:13:05,330 --> 00:13:08,690
Not a self promoted social media post.

190
00:13:09,290 --> 00:13:09,650
Do better.

191
00:13:10,450 --> 00:13:10,840
Thank you.

192
00:13:19,340 --> 00:13:23,180
Lisa Milna Dewitt and Natasha Clevinger.

193
00:13:31,750 --> 00:13:33,410
YG YG Hanas, the Katyuan Ganesh,

194
00:13:33,970 --> 00:13:36,930
it's at the Nakhya Khseai.

195
00:13:38,350 --> 00:13:39,310
YG Khatewa Sa,

196
00:13:39,430 --> 00:13:40,560
Lisa Milney Dewitt.

197
00:13:41,830 --> 00:13:42,610
Khsebkh.

198
00:13:43,250 --> 00:13:49,710
Keisqa, you can do us up, Khaad Lekha, Kheinak, Natasha Klavinger, my name is Keisqa.

199
00:13:50,030 --> 00:13:52,390
My taxpayer's name isn't Natasha Klavinger.

200
00:13:54,490 --> 00:13:58,410
Again, if she is, we are part of the Keisqa native education parent committee that

201
00:13:58,410 --> 00:14:03,470
title sixth grant, the District Receives, are myself in the chair and Keisqa here, vice chair,

202
00:14:03,570 --> 00:14:04,470
we'd like to read you a letter.

203
00:14:07,090 --> 00:14:11,790
KGBSD School Board, the title sixth Keisqa native education parent committee is reaching out

204
00:14:11,790 --> 00:14:15,190
helps to collaborate in the continuity of the IEA preschools.

205
00:14:15,250 --> 00:14:18,010
In school years past, the K&EBC is tirelessly advocated

206
00:14:18,010 --> 00:14:21,110
to keep these preschools in our district full time.

207
00:14:21,490 --> 00:14:23,990
However, to help keep them full time, commitment is needed.

208
00:14:24,650 --> 00:14:26,950
For the last five years, K&EBC has allocated funds

209
00:14:26,950 --> 00:14:28,930
from our formulated federal grant to create

210
00:14:28,930 --> 00:14:31,250
and keep the district's cultural coordinator position,

211
00:14:31,730 --> 00:14:34,030
as well as part of both of the IEA preschools

212
00:14:34,030 --> 00:14:36,570
currently residing at Font Mountain and the Pioneer Home.

213
00:14:37,490 --> 00:14:39,310
This decision was made with the understanding

214
00:14:39,310 --> 00:14:43,430
that the school board school district would also contribute towards the I.A. pre-schools.

215
00:14:44,450 --> 00:14:48,170
Given the district's current financial status, we thought it would be beneficial to have

216
00:14:48,170 --> 00:14:52,250
K&PC and the district enter in a memorandum of agreement. We requested our local education

217
00:14:52,250 --> 00:14:56,970
association liaison to inquire on this matter. After watching the recent budget meeting and hearing

218
00:14:56,970 --> 00:14:59,130
nothing regarding this from our liaison.

219
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:04,540
And not having any of you follow up. We thought it best to directly approach the school board ourselves.

220
00:15:05,380 --> 00:15:18,280
As we more than understand the uncertainty of the amount of funds to plan with, each school year, we are asking the school board to help these preschools by entering it to MOA that will be submitted with the grant application until such financial sufficiency is given to the preschool programs.

221
00:15:18,820 --> 00:15:22,840
Perhaps you can consider this in an annual step as the application for the title six funds.

222
00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:27,920
Just as you must plan so much, we, the K&BC, look forward to better communication and partnering

223
00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:30,100
to enrich the education of our youth of Ketchikan.

224
00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:34,040
Going to teach, Hela, and Deluxe, and Newsom, Quayana, for your time.

225
00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,320
If you have any questions, please reach out to us.

226
00:15:36,620 --> 00:15:38,200
Kuchoeth, that's thank you very much.

227
00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:40,000
Pat Tully.

228
00:15:50,300 --> 00:15:51,260
Good evening, everyone.

229
00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:55,380
My name's Pat Tully, and I live at 438 Old Dairy Road.

230
00:15:55,920 --> 00:16:00,180
This evening, I'm speaking only on my own behalf, and not in my capacity as director of

231
00:16:00,180 --> 00:16:01,340
the Ketchikan Public Library.

232
00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:06,140
First of all, thank you so much for serving on the school board.

233
00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:10,460
I really appreciate your dedication to our schools and our community.

234
00:16:11,260 --> 00:16:14,900
Particularly at this time of year, I know you've got a lot of difficult decisions to make,

235
00:16:15,180 --> 00:16:16,520
and I don't envy you.

236
00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:22,840
So I am speaking here tonight and support of what has been termed special programs such as

237
00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,040
Music, Physical Education and School Libraries.

238
00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:30,780
I think it might be a misnomer to call them special, since there are central in preparing

239
00:16:30,780 --> 00:16:36,060
students to become well-rounded adults who are able to fully enjoy and participate in

240
00:16:36,060 --> 00:16:37,000
the life of the community.

241
00:16:37,820 --> 00:16:41,900
Our democracy requires the kind of well-roundedness that these programs provide.

242
00:16:43,180 --> 00:16:48,500
Physical education teaches the skills of teamwork, perseverance, and camaraderie that are vital

243
00:16:48,500 --> 00:16:50,120
to success in adult life.

244
00:16:50,900 --> 00:16:55,020
Music is a large part of all of our lives, and an acquiring some skill at

245
00:16:55,020 --> 00:17:00,520
playing or performing or at least appreciating music inspires many to consider music as a rewarding

246
00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:05,940
career at least a hobby. School libraries allow children to explore different perspectives

247
00:17:05,940 --> 00:17:12,360
and experiences across time, cultures, values and individuals to discover what kind of

248
00:17:12,360 --> 00:17:19,500
books they love and to return to these again and again. On a practical level, Kecchiken's school

249
00:17:19,500 --> 00:17:24,420
libraries in the public library share an online library system which makes it possible to share

250
00:17:24,420 --> 00:17:30,040
books between libraries. This collaboration is possible because each library is confident that

251
00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:34,900
staff at the other libraries will be available to check out and track the books so they can

252
00:17:34,900 --> 00:17:40,280
be returned to their home library after use. In the case of the public library, we require

253
00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:45,640
this assurance because books at the public library are city property and we are the stewards

254
00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:51,080
of that property. Without the staff at each school library, we would not have this assurance.

255
00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:59,500
Also, the schools in the school library collections are intended to support and enhance the curriculum and other classroom activities.

256
00:18:00,460 --> 00:18:06,540
The public library does not acquire books and other materials necessarily to support classes or other school activities,

257
00:18:07,380 --> 00:18:10,680
and rarely adds more than a single copy of the book to our collections.

258
00:18:11,420 --> 00:18:19,240
Public library serves a different purpose than the school libraries, and cannot take the place of the libraries in the librarians and our schools.

259
00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:25,440
In conclusion, I ask you to continue to fund and stay after the physical education, music,

260
00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:30,700
and school library programs that are vital to the development of our children into capable,

261
00:18:31,460 --> 00:18:32,820
creative, and successful adults.

262
00:18:33,540 --> 00:18:34,240
Thank you.

263
00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:35,080
Thank you.

264
00:18:37,690 --> 00:18:38,710
Jason House.

265
00:18:52,070 --> 00:18:52,690
Good evening.

266
00:18:52,810 --> 00:18:53,890
My name is Jason House.

267
00:18:53,950 --> 00:18:58,070
I have two students in the district on the Assistant Principal at Schombar, but I'm here

268
00:18:58,070 --> 00:19:01,990
tonight as the president of the Ketchikan Leadership Organization, which represents

269
00:19:01,990 --> 00:19:07,970
our district's admin team, and I think I need to point out our district admin team represents

270
00:19:07,970 --> 00:19:13,570
just slightly over 5% of our district staff and we are very small team. I'd like to

271
00:19:13,570 --> 00:19:16,790
begin by thanking the superintendent and school board for their leadership and for beginning

272
00:19:16,790 --> 00:19:22,010
this budget process early. Thank you to our community for being so engaged in this very important work.

273
00:19:23,170 --> 00:19:27,070
As a member of this community, I've been deeply troubled by the negative comments directed

274
00:19:27,070 --> 00:19:31,790
towards our administrators over these past several months, including tonight, including last week's

275
00:19:31,790 --> 00:19:37,610
committee meeting. Then, the next day, when the superintendent took time to publicly acknowledge

276
00:19:37,610 --> 00:19:42,270
and thank our admins for their efforts, I was astounded by the number of negative responses

277
00:19:42,270 --> 00:19:48,230
to the simple act of recognizing the group of hardworking employees. Or maybe you all remember

278
00:19:48,230 --> 00:19:53,350
last spring when the board made the difficult decision to cut nearly 20% of our already small

279
00:19:53,350 --> 00:19:59,250
admin team. There was literal applause and celebration in this very chamber as four of our friends,

280
00:19:59,250 --> 00:20:04,470
neighbors and colleagues lost their jobs. So maybe you can understand why so many of our

281
00:20:04,470 --> 00:20:08,930
admins are feeling unappreciated and might have needed a message of support from the superintendent.

282
00:20:10,470 --> 00:20:15,270
Yet, I choose to presume positive intent because I believe that every one of us wants

283
00:20:15,270 --> 00:20:20,050
what is best for our students. I choose to believe that this negativity is simply based on

284
00:20:20,050 --> 00:20:26,290
the lack of understanding of the impactful work our admins do. So I ask them, what do you wish people

285
00:20:26,290 --> 00:20:29,110
new about the work you do and here's what they said.

286
00:20:29,850 --> 00:20:33,310
I wish people knew how much time we spend worrying about our staff and students.

287
00:20:34,230 --> 00:20:37,830
I wish people understood how much work we do just so that teachers can focus more

288
00:20:37,830 --> 00:20:39,190
of their energy on teaching.

289
00:20:40,450 --> 00:20:45,090
I wish people realized that we also have our boots on the ground right alongside our staff.

290
00:20:46,010 --> 00:20:49,850
I wish people knew that I do this job because I love it and I find it meaningful and important

291
00:20:49,850 --> 00:20:50,690
for our community.

292
00:20:51,690 --> 00:20:55,630
Most of all I wish people understood that the decisions we make are because we believe

293
00:20:55,630 --> 00:20:57,150
their best for our students.

294
00:20:58,990 --> 00:21:01,810
Research consistently shows that strong and effective leadership

295
00:21:01,810 --> 00:21:04,650
is one of the most important factors in the success of schools.

296
00:21:05,370 --> 00:21:07,050
In the past two years, our district has seen

297
00:21:07,050 --> 00:21:09,170
significant improvement in our school facilities,

298
00:21:09,910 --> 00:21:12,990
student achievement, graduation rates, and dropout rates.

299
00:21:13,430 --> 00:21:16,270
These gains are the direct result of strong effective leadership

300
00:21:16,270 --> 00:21:18,750
from administration and the hard work of our staff.

301
00:21:19,630 --> 00:21:21,790
Yet now, we are already seeing the negative effects

302
00:21:21,790 --> 00:21:24,930
of the admin cuts made last spring as our district struggles

303
00:21:24,930 --> 00:21:30,310
to meet the goals of our strategic plan. We call upon the board to restore the lost elementary

304
00:21:30,310 --> 00:21:35,490
assistant principal and curriculum director positions as those two admins will have immediate

305
00:21:35,490 --> 00:21:39,770
positive impacts that will enable us to better support our staff and students through the changes

306
00:21:39,770 --> 00:21:45,950
and restructuring that is ahead. Finally I encourage each of you listening to connect with your school

307
00:21:45,950 --> 00:21:50,970
and district admins, find out what they do and why they do it, and then I hope that you too

308
00:21:50,970 --> 00:21:52,510
We'll want to thank them for a job.

309
00:21:52,730 --> 00:21:53,150
Well done.

310
00:21:53,450 --> 00:21:55,090
Thank you.

311
00:21:55,190 --> 00:21:55,430
OK.

312
00:21:55,530 --> 00:21:56,650
Thank you very much.

313
00:21:57,330 --> 00:21:58,050
Sophia Pilgrim?

314
00:21:59,010 --> 00:22:01,110
Can I present a copy of these comments to the board?

315
00:22:02,310 --> 00:22:03,070
They dropped it up.

316
00:22:12,530 --> 00:22:12,870
Hello.

317
00:22:12,930 --> 00:22:13,990
My name is Sophia Pilgrim.

318
00:22:14,030 --> 00:22:14,950
I'm a K.I. Jr.

319
00:22:15,090 --> 00:22:17,510
and I'm speaking as an individual and solely for myself tonight.

320
00:22:18,090 --> 00:22:18,490
Good evening.

321
00:22:18,550 --> 00:22:20,170
Members of the Board, staff, and community.

322
00:22:20,450 --> 00:22:22,350
First and foremost, thank you all for being here tonight

323
00:22:22,350 --> 00:22:22,790
and serving.

324
00:22:23,150 --> 00:22:25,610
This is not an easy job and I appreciate that you do it.

325
00:22:26,090 --> 00:22:28,150
I also want to share my thanks for Superintendent Robbins.

326
00:22:28,170 --> 00:22:29,810
He was willing to meet with me this week.

327
00:22:29,810 --> 00:22:33,610
to discuss my concerns, and that meeting helped me for my opinion here today.

328
00:22:34,170 --> 00:22:37,590
So tonight, I'm here because, like many others, I'm deeply concerned about our financial

329
00:22:37,590 --> 00:22:39,130
crisis that our district is facing.

330
00:22:39,750 --> 00:22:41,730
The choices before us tonight are not good ones.

331
00:22:41,830 --> 00:22:42,670
They are not solutions.

332
00:22:42,810 --> 00:22:45,990
They are compromised to minimize harm and a situation where harm is inevitable.

333
00:22:46,490 --> 00:22:49,690
We are at a point where we must choose what hurts the least because we simply don't have

334
00:22:49,690 --> 00:22:51,450
the money or time for anything better.

335
00:22:52,050 --> 00:22:54,290
I understand this crisis is not just about catch-a-can.

336
00:22:54,630 --> 00:22:58,710
It's a reflection of a systemic failure in Alaska's education system and a broader national

337
00:22:58,710 --> 00:23:00,390
failure to prioritize education.

338
00:23:00,950 --> 00:23:05,110
For years, we've watched education funding be stagnated as a debt and deferred decisions

339
00:23:05,110 --> 00:23:08,410
of piled up and as the needs of students have pushed aside.

340
00:23:08,990 --> 00:23:12,590
We can't do those years of neglect overnight, but we can't also can't afford to keep

341
00:23:12,590 --> 00:23:15,550
operating this way with limited transparency and outdated practices.

342
00:23:16,330 --> 00:23:19,950
How can we, as a community, be asked to, accept the options presented tonight with a

343
00:23:19,950 --> 00:23:22,030
clearer, without a clear line by line budget?

344
00:23:22,430 --> 00:23:25,710
How can we make decisions that will affect students, staff, and families without knowing

345
00:23:25,710 --> 00:23:27,030
exactly where our money is going?

346
00:23:27,030 --> 00:23:36,390
The last time the district posted a red book budget was in 2019, yes, I understand that COVID disrupted everything, but it's now 2024 and it's no longer a valid excuse.

347
00:23:37,010 --> 00:23:39,670
We need better transparency and I believe we need it now.

348
00:23:40,090 --> 00:23:43,690
I have the utmost respect for everyone working to find solutions in this challenging time.

349
00:23:43,850 --> 00:23:49,390
I know the administration is doing everything they can with what they have, but respect and trust require transparency.

350
00:23:50,110 --> 00:23:54,730
More than slide shows, more than sit down discussions, we need a detailed itemized budget.

351
00:23:54,730 --> 00:23:59,290
without it, how can we expect the community or even the state to have confidence and decisions being made?

352
00:23:59,910 --> 00:24:03,750
It's clear that the governor will not give us the 1400-based student allocation raise we need.

353
00:24:04,210 --> 00:24:06,990
They have said that they need more transparency before they consider it.

354
00:24:07,250 --> 00:24:09,770
Why can we not try our hardest to meet them on that?

355
00:24:09,950 --> 00:24:12,570
Why can we not demand more of ourselves when the stakes are this high?

356
00:24:13,110 --> 00:24:17,850
You may not have created this crisis, but we're responsible for how the district responds to it.

357
00:24:18,070 --> 00:24:21,010
If we're going to weather the storm, we need a clear understanding of where we stand.

358
00:24:21,490 --> 00:24:25,270
And I am more so frustrated with the priorities that have been shown in this budget discussion.

359
00:24:25,690 --> 00:24:28,890
With all of our respect to everyone in their livelihoods, we need hands on the ground.

360
00:24:28,990 --> 00:24:30,610
We need teachers, parents, and parents.

361
00:24:31,270 --> 00:24:33,110
We need to change the direction in which we're cutting.

362
00:24:33,450 --> 00:24:37,350
We need to cut central office admin before we cut teachers, parents, and student programs.

363
00:24:37,910 --> 00:24:42,610
But I say this with the most respect I can, because I do not like to call for who should be fired and who shouldn't.

364
00:24:42,850 --> 00:24:46,050
It's a disgusting situation, and I hope we can solve it with the least amount of harm.

365
00:24:46,630 --> 00:24:49,630
I'm a junior now, and I know this problem won't be fixed by the time I graduate.

366
00:24:49,630 --> 00:24:51,610
but I'm still in the fight for the long run.

367
00:24:51,890 --> 00:24:53,450
My youngest brothers, a fourth grader this year,

368
00:24:53,490 --> 00:24:54,910
and I hope that by the time he graduates,

369
00:24:55,470 --> 00:24:57,150
this will be well and truly behind us.

370
00:24:57,530 --> 00:24:59,930
Tonight, I'm asking for clarity for an itemized budget,

371
00:25:00,110 --> 00:25:03,010
for an audit, and for a vote no until we can get the transparency

372
00:25:03,010 --> 00:25:04,750
and effort that we deserve as students.

373
00:25:05,230 --> 00:25:06,010
Thank you.

374
00:25:07,690 --> 00:25:08,490
Thank you.

375
00:25:09,190 --> 00:25:09,950
Rob Arnold.

376
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:22,300
My name is Rob Arnold.

377
00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,680
I'm city and city, and I'm representing myself tonight.

378
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:38,260
Through the President and School Board, let's keep pushing, be proactive, vocal, demand, transparency.

379
00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,520
Keep talking, stand up for our kids.

380
00:25:42,420 --> 00:25:48,380
News alert, Southeast population is shrinking by 17% until the year 2050.

381
00:25:48,900 --> 00:25:53,960
The superintendent is correct. We cannot rely on state and federal money to make up the difference.

382
00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:58,440
The incoming federal administration seeks to close the Department of Education.

383
00:25:59,060 --> 00:26:02,140
That's 10% of all public school budgets.

384
00:26:02,980 --> 00:26:07,860
Nationwide since 2000 there's been a 95% increase administrative jobs.

385
00:26:08,420 --> 00:26:15,640
39% more principles and assistance while only 10% more teachers and 5% more students.

386
00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:22,800
We spend the most of any nation in the world by double and get amazingly the worst results.

387
00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:24,780
Our children deserve better.

388
00:26:25,020 --> 00:26:29,020
Our town absolutely needs a functioning relevant school system.

389
00:26:30,340 --> 00:26:34,520
Superintendent Robins proposals offered no plans to cut administrative jobs.

390
00:26:35,340 --> 00:26:38,420
His plan won't work unless fair cuts are made.

391
00:26:39,100 --> 00:26:41,660
One option will pack the charter schools.

392
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:47,300
First, two-third grade into an old and crowded building

393
00:26:47,300 --> 00:26:50,360
because low-income families have not the wear with all

394
00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:54,060
to send their little ones out on a cold bus or drive.

395
00:26:54,540 --> 00:26:56,080
This is going to give parents more reasons

396
00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:56,920
to homeschool.

397
00:26:57,620 --> 00:26:58,100
Solutions.

398
00:26:58,980 --> 00:27:01,440
Rent one of our mini buildings to a private parent

399
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,580
run classical model K through H school.

400
00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:07,760
Keep music and gym for students well-being.

401
00:27:07,940 --> 00:27:09,500
It's vital to their mental health.

402
00:27:10,300 --> 00:27:13,000
Make it six through eight grade at shown bar.

403
00:27:13,060 --> 00:27:14,640
I don't know why we don't do that.

404
00:27:15,420 --> 00:27:16,020
CTE.

405
00:27:16,980 --> 00:27:18,700
We must have project-based learning,

406
00:27:18,700 --> 00:27:20,320
not just as an elective.

407
00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:22,660
City of Ketchakhan needs linemen.

408
00:27:23,140 --> 00:27:26,620
There's a report that K-Hive will not let KPU talk to seniors.

409
00:27:27,220 --> 00:27:27,940
Is this true?

410
00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:32,560
There's no maritime now, there's no auto shop, is this true?

411
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,000
What is the $1.8 million doing for us?

412
00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:38,900
Now, you say graduation rates are up.

413
00:27:39,300 --> 00:27:41,520
That's great, but what are the rewards?

414
00:27:42,060 --> 00:27:44,420
Give reveal a more space without cuts.

415
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:46,080
I saw a comment.

416
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:49,800
All you need to do is just email your representatives and the governor.

417
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:52,480
We will, but what are you doing?

418
00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:54,580
Lots of ideas out there.

419
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:59,180
Let's see private public partnerships, turn off the lights, et cetera, et cetera.

420
00:27:59,660 --> 00:28:04,140
It's hard to talk about a budget that's tonight because on the agenda, we see more money

421
00:28:04,140 --> 00:28:08,880
and administrative contracts and one of your policy adds more money to the bottom line.

422
00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:15,840
Stop spending, learn to budget without federal and state money to save you, do the hard

423
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:20,520
work now. Isn't that what you ran for? As a homeowner, you're responsible for our money.

424
00:28:20,780 --> 00:28:26,460
Balance the books. Make our schools better, stop avoiding the tough choices and stop the

425
00:28:26,460 --> 00:28:31,840
blame game. Thank you, Rob. You can be courageous. You can consolidate. Really, realize you'll never

426
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:37,020
make everyone happy. Make the big sacrifice. Thank you, Rob. And let's make education work for us.

427
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:38,080
Thank you very much.

428
00:28:41,610 --> 00:28:42,670
Kevin, Chris DeVitch.

429
00:28:56,260 --> 00:29:00,780
Good evening. Kevin, Chris DeVitch. I'm here to

430
00:29:00,780 --> 00:29:05,540
speak about the CTE courses that have been eliminated.

431
00:29:07,100 --> 00:29:11,680
And being a lifelong resident, a catch can,

432
00:29:12,140 --> 00:29:14,320
went through school here at K-12,

433
00:29:16,740 --> 00:29:17,940
what really disappointed

434
00:29:17,940 --> 00:29:20,800
me to see was those classes being eliminated.

435
00:29:20,980 --> 00:29:27,500
The maritime, the aviation, culinary arts,

436
00:29:27,500 --> 00:29:33,220
And the child, child care, that was on the cuts.

437
00:29:35,020 --> 00:29:37,240
We only have two ways in and out of catch can,

438
00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:38,740
it's either by boat or plane.

439
00:29:39,860 --> 00:29:41,920
And by you guys cutting this out,

440
00:29:43,180 --> 00:29:46,480
you are pretty much cutting off your foot.

441
00:29:50,260 --> 00:29:53,020
I realize that there's a need for this.

442
00:29:53,260 --> 00:29:55,820
These are elective classes from my understanding.

443
00:29:55,820 --> 00:29:59,280
They were when I went to school, but they need to be made mandatory.

444
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:10,480
We need people in maritime industries and all sectors. Be in commercial fishing. The ferry systems in peril have been shut down because they don't have people to put to work.

445
00:30:11,300 --> 00:30:24,640
Kids are going to need to learn how to cook. They can go into further culinary careers to make their life better. We need child care. People need affordable child care. We need these people to learn this.

446
00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:31,280
My question is, how long are these classes going to be eliminated from your budget?

447
00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:35,740
What's going to happen with our school boat that is just sitting there in shambles

448
00:30:35,740 --> 00:30:40,640
because the school district did not have qualified people to maintain that boat?

449
00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:46,220
I offered last year to volunteer to help out in maritime.

450
00:30:46,500 --> 00:30:49,400
I took maritime and all four years at Kay High.

451
00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:52,580
My last two years at school, I took it twice a day.

452
00:30:52,580 --> 00:31:01,420
Growing up as a commercial fisherman might add on two boats. I knew most of the fundamentals before I got to high school. I was running a boat before I could drive a car.

453
00:31:02,740 --> 00:31:08,760
So, we learned about stuff like this. I had an idea to enhance the maritime class.

454
00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:16,880
I called, I reached out to Katherine when she was campaigning for school board told her the importance about maritime in catch a can in our area.

455
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:22,440
I called the district office to speak with the superintendent twice.

456
00:31:22,580 --> 00:31:24,100
My calls were not returned.

457
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,640
I emailed the superintendent and got no response.

458
00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:30,480
We need to bring these classes back.

459
00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:31,620
They need to be funded.

460
00:31:32,220 --> 00:31:39,600
We need to get our people trained to do these classes so they can further their careers, aviation.

461
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,860
When I went to high school, a lot of kids took it and a lot of kids are flying planes.

462
00:31:45,860 --> 00:31:51,120
Some of them are here. Still flying float planes. Some of them study their own float plane business.

463
00:31:51,660 --> 00:31:59,280
The rest of them are flying commercial jets now. We need this. You guys, I mean, budgets are tough.

464
00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:01,700
But you guys need to start making the decisions.

465
00:32:04,620 --> 00:32:05,660
Kelsey McNeill.

466
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:20,620
Good evening. My name is Kelsey and I'm the parent of one elementary school student in the district.

467
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:28,040
Although Ketch can't get liberal school district references their attempts at transparency and communication and their recent Facebook posts,

468
00:32:28,620 --> 00:32:34,420
I have found it unnecessarily difficult to find information on the budget situation even when I'm actively looking for it.

469
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:38,920
There are some events in Ketch can that are so well advertised that I couldn't miss them if I tried.

470
00:32:39,860 --> 00:32:47,420
If the KGBSD budget specific website is not getting as much traffic as you'd hope for, then it's simply not being advertised well enough.

471
00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:53,720
One of the things I love about living in catch can is the community's ability to rise up and help each other in times of need.

472
00:32:54,220 --> 00:32:58,200
We know how to face hard things we've demonstrated the capacity to care for one another.

473
00:32:58,540 --> 00:33:07,320
In the past few weeks, I've spoken to several parents and teachers about the daunting web of decisions and domino effects that we're facing as a community in regard to school funding.

474
00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:15,120
In having these conversations, my eyes were open to several contributing factors to our current crisis that I would have never otherwise known about.

475
00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:22,900
I also heard creative ideas and solutions that I never would have considered, a perfect example of the importance and stakeholder engagement.

476
00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:30,360
It seems as though we're facing the reality of losing important essential beloved teachers in either of these two options going forward.

477
00:33:31,020 --> 00:33:33,320
I hope that that's clarified tonight.

478
00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:39,060
And there will undoubtedly be compromises and difficulties in whatever plan gets put into place.

479
00:33:39,780 --> 00:33:42,420
It doesn't seem like there's a painless way out of this.

480
00:33:42,420 --> 00:33:48,400
What I'd appreciate most at this point as a parent and a community member would be hearing the district come to the table with transparency

481
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:55,420
Accountability and compassion for the many families that have been and will be affected as we pull ourselves out of this deficit

482
00:33:55,420 --> 00:34:03,000
Trust is earned by expressing humility and not asserting authority. Thanks for your time. Thank you

483
00:34:06,390 --> 00:34:07,510
Jolene Thomas

484
00:34:18,710 --> 00:34:20,170
Jolene Thomas

485
00:34:20,170 --> 00:34:27,510
Um, Roosevelt Drive, most of you know me, or I've been at meetings with you, or I've spoken

486
00:34:27,510 --> 00:34:29,850
loud and proud because I tend to do that as well too.

487
00:34:30,610 --> 00:34:35,290
So, but I'm a mom, a grandma, and a teacher, and I'm invested in all the schools where

488
00:34:35,290 --> 00:34:41,530
they'll okay high, and a fun mountain, possibly point Higgins, and Huttling.

489
00:34:41,870 --> 00:34:44,810
So, I have a pretty good investment, I'm in the district.

490
00:34:46,230 --> 00:34:50,130
Um, first of all, I want to acknowledge, I know, I know where we're at.

491
00:34:50,130 --> 00:34:54,890
financially, the budget I know and I understand and it's hard. You got, you have a hard job.

492
00:34:55,350 --> 00:35:02,210
And I apologize for anything that might make it more difficult for you because I know it's going

493
00:35:02,210 --> 00:35:09,090
to be hard. What I would like to say is, first of all, I'm here first as a mom and grandma,

494
00:35:09,790 --> 00:35:14,470
but mainly as a teacher, change is hard. I know I was forced transferred to helping this last

495
00:35:14,470 --> 00:35:21,370
after 16 years of being at Fund Mountain, and it was hard like I cried all summer, and I spent

496
00:35:21,370 --> 00:35:26,730
my whole summer moving, and it was rough because what I survived, because I had great

497
00:35:26,730 --> 00:35:31,550
people that helped me. I have students, I have parents that have been supportive and helpful.

498
00:35:32,270 --> 00:35:38,030
My family, the administrators have been exceptional. I can't even speak to them and how great they've

499
00:35:38,030 --> 00:35:43,310
been through all of it. So, change is hard, but we can do hard things. We saw how we pulled together

500
00:35:43,310 --> 00:35:47,590
the landslide and just many other things. I've just seen it. My husband was in his accident.

501
00:35:48,070 --> 00:35:54,110
The community within minutes had meals for months for us because we care about each other

502
00:35:54,110 --> 00:35:59,650
and that's why it's hard and that's why it's emotional for all of us but we can do hard things.

503
00:35:59,810 --> 00:36:03,650
No matter what decision is made and I truly believe that and I believe in positive intentions.

504
00:36:06,290 --> 00:36:10,690
This was already said so I'm just going to really quickly say that I would like to recognize

505
00:36:10,690 --> 00:36:16,410
administrators, they're taken a hit on Facebook. And I'm going to tell you, I have worked with

506
00:36:16,410 --> 00:36:21,530
some of the hardest administrators ever. And I see them running upstairs, downstairs,

507
00:36:22,270 --> 00:36:27,290
outside, inside, six o'clock, nine o'clock. It doesn't matter. They're working. And our administrators

508
00:36:27,290 --> 00:36:32,310
deserve recognition in a positive way. And I'm hurt that I'm Facebook. They're being slammed,

509
00:36:33,350 --> 00:36:39,990
so so hard. Can we make changes? Sure. But I'm not here about that. I'm here to recognize how hard

510
00:36:39,990 --> 00:36:41,130
they work.

511
00:36:43,410 --> 00:36:50,010
Now, for my passion, this preschool, preschool is research and evidence-based to increase

512
00:36:50,010 --> 00:36:55,790
student achievement, especially when we're looking at those children's specific early intervention needs.

513
00:36:56,550 --> 00:37:03,050
Our developmental preschools here are designed to meet the individual needs of students. That takes teachers

514
00:37:03,050 --> 00:37:07,630
with specific trainings. Day cares do not do. They're great and they have their purpose,

515
00:37:07,630 --> 00:37:11,290
But they don't do what we do in our preschools.

516
00:37:11,290 --> 00:37:17,310
We are specifically doing things to increase student achievement

517
00:37:17,970 --> 00:37:19,370
for special needs children.

518
00:37:19,570 --> 00:37:23,970
For example, we might have, oh, it's not three minutes already.

519
00:37:24,170 --> 00:37:24,410
That's three minutes already.

520
00:37:24,410 --> 00:37:26,910
Oh my gosh. Okay. All right. Thanks, Charlie.

521
00:37:27,330 --> 00:37:30,310
Yes. So I'll write that out and give you a show.

522
00:37:30,490 --> 00:37:32,690
But anyway, preschool might be cut and don't do it.

523
00:37:32,870 --> 00:37:33,910
Just think about it, please.

524
00:37:34,390 --> 00:37:35,170
Christy Johnson.

525
00:37:45,830 --> 00:37:51,830
I am Christy Johnson and I know you guys have a thank-list job, so thanks for doing it, but I have

526
00:37:53,330 --> 00:37:58,590
I have 6, 7, 8, 9 grandkids in school right now in various classes

527
00:37:59,330 --> 00:38:06,450
5, 6 of them are in grade school, 3 of them are in pre-school ones in Shombar. I have another one starting pre-school next year

528
00:38:06,450 --> 00:38:09,590
and in a few years after that, I have a couple more that will be going into pre-school.

529
00:38:12,170 --> 00:38:18,990
They're all invested in staying here and right now, most of them are at one school because

530
00:38:18,990 --> 00:38:22,870
we chose to have that there, all there together so they will have their siblings together

531
00:38:23,430 --> 00:38:24,250
and their cousins.

532
00:38:24,410 --> 00:38:30,830
We have numerous cousins there also and I'm just curious how if you split the schools and then

533
00:38:30,830 --> 00:38:31,550
still cut positions.

534
00:38:31,650 --> 00:38:33,470
How is that going to help them?

535
00:38:33,510 --> 00:38:37,370
Well, that make bigger classrooms where it's going to be harder for them to learn because

536
00:38:37,370 --> 00:38:39,350
there's less teachers but more kids.

537
00:38:40,550 --> 00:38:43,450
And then if you cut all the extra classes they have,

538
00:38:44,010 --> 00:38:46,130
like music, PE and stuff,

539
00:38:47,090 --> 00:38:47,910
actually it's not PE.

540
00:38:48,010 --> 00:38:50,590
It was required by state and everything

541
00:38:50,590 --> 00:38:51,810
to have free to graduate.

542
00:38:53,250 --> 00:38:54,610
So I don't know how much you would do it.

543
00:38:54,670 --> 00:38:56,130
Besides having it.

544
00:38:57,630 --> 00:39:00,790
And when I was in school, there were way more kids

545
00:39:00,790 --> 00:39:03,130
in school here, way more kids in school.

546
00:39:04,930 --> 00:39:12,310
way less administration, way less issues like this. I've been trying to look at the

547
00:39:12,310 --> 00:39:16,310
budget for a while. I used to be on the APC for charter school and we looked at

548
00:39:16,310 --> 00:39:21,090
the budget when we had to budget for our school there when my older kids were in

549
00:39:21,090 --> 00:39:25,190
school, but I have not been able to see a budget here in the last five or six years that

550
00:39:25,190 --> 00:39:29,790
I can really look at and pick something out if I want to and see where we're at.

551
00:39:30,570 --> 00:39:37,210
And I don't know how you can make any decision without having a clear budget that shows everything.

552
00:39:37,750 --> 00:39:42,650
So you know exactly where you're at, where you're going to be, what the costs are going to be.

553
00:39:42,990 --> 00:39:47,570
Without one, I mean, I can't do that for my house for my own home.

554
00:39:47,570 --> 00:39:51,650
If I don't have no, what I have in the bank, what repaying whatever, I can't balance.

555
00:39:52,350 --> 00:39:55,470
I don't know how this school district can without it.

556
00:39:55,470 --> 00:39:57,590
I also noticed I just had a question.

557
00:39:57,810 --> 00:40:01,250
I noticed the business manager is going to get a contract and I said they were always like

558
00:40:01,250 --> 00:40:04,930
at will, employees kind of.

559
00:40:05,050 --> 00:40:06,930
So that was something different this year.

560
00:40:07,730 --> 00:40:12,990
And in a business when there are usually when there are budget constraints, they look at those

561
00:40:12,990 --> 00:40:17,830
newest jobs, they did first to kind of look at where they can cut or how they can cut back.

562
00:40:18,890 --> 00:40:21,370
And our teachers got cut last year.

563
00:40:21,830 --> 00:40:23,010
So they're going to get cut this year.

564
00:40:23,150 --> 00:40:24,550
Are they going to get cut in next year?

565
00:40:24,550 --> 00:40:28,350
You want people to move to town people are going to want to move here. They're going to look at the town

566
00:40:28,350 --> 00:40:34,330
It's a hey the town's nice, but the schools and don't really know if I want my kids going there because next year, what are they going to cut?

567
00:40:36,270 --> 00:40:40,610
I mean without knowing that's a real hard one and

568
00:40:40,610 --> 00:40:49,170
If they can't get a budget or if you can't get stuff taken care of, I just think it is my time up. Thank you

569
00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:54,800
Alley Jones

570
00:41:07,690 --> 00:41:14,670
Hi, my name is Alley Jones and I'm speaking for myself and as a student who will be affected by any decision you make.

571
00:41:15,450 --> 00:41:17,330
I just have one question, what's next?

572
00:41:17,590 --> 00:41:23,270
You take away our exercise with some students who's as a vent and the only exercise they get on a daily basis.

573
00:41:23,750 --> 00:41:28,190
Second, our arts that has affected so many kids and some of you as adults on the board.

574
00:41:28,610 --> 00:41:33,210
And studies have shown improved so many things including mental and physical health.

575
00:41:33,210 --> 00:41:39,790
Next are libraries, which are the pillars of reading comprehension, giving us a world to escape to.

576
00:41:40,010 --> 00:41:46,170
What's next? Are foreign language programs? Which colleges look for? They look for well-rounded individuals.

577
00:41:46,630 --> 00:41:50,910
Getting rid of these would rep this away. You as the school board are supposed to be looking out for us,

578
00:41:51,110 --> 00:41:57,170
but you are limiting our chances for scholarships, which many kids rely on and decreasing our chances to be accepted.

579
00:41:57,750 --> 00:42:01,230
Not only by, with an educational standpoint, but also our mental health.

580
00:42:01,230 --> 00:42:04,470
We need these outlets because of stress from school.

581
00:42:05,010 --> 00:42:07,970
I'm not even talking about the students, but the teachers.

582
00:42:08,510 --> 00:42:12,450
They already have higher numbers of students and now you want to ask them to have more.

583
00:42:12,630 --> 00:42:15,650
Plus, teach things they didn't even go to school too teach.

584
00:42:16,250 --> 00:42:18,210
And on top of that, decrease the day length.

585
00:42:18,750 --> 00:42:22,030
Asking so much more of the already stressed and overwhelmed teachers.

586
00:42:22,490 --> 00:42:27,290
We already aren't getting the best education we can because the teachers can't pay more attention to each kid

587
00:42:27,290 --> 00:42:29,810
with one-on-one-time, even when trying their best.

588
00:42:30,510 --> 00:42:34,850
I just want you to think about the impacts that it has on us, the people and students who

589
00:42:34,850 --> 00:42:40,970
have lives and futures and who you are supposed to protect and help, well people are slowly

590
00:42:40,970 --> 00:42:46,090
cutting and chipping away the essence of our schools for the sake of poorly managed budgets,

591
00:42:46,350 --> 00:42:50,570
something that could have been handled in the beginning, but it was failed to do so.

592
00:42:51,350 --> 00:42:56,530
My mom is even talking about how if this doesn't change, if this changes, she would rather send

593
00:42:56,530 --> 00:43:02,670
to New Jersey, then have me continue to go to the school system you are proposing. If that doesn't

594
00:43:02,670 --> 00:43:08,310
show the raw concerns of these parents, I don't know what does. Please talk about making cuts

595
00:43:08,310 --> 00:43:12,990
that actually matter. I don't know maybe even from the top positions instead of the bottom

596
00:43:12,990 --> 00:43:18,190
of splitting up families that already stressed about this and the people that try and help the situation.

597
00:43:18,830 --> 00:43:23,230
Thank you and think of us. The people and students who rely on us for our future.

598
00:43:25,390 --> 00:43:27,600
Thank you.

599
00:43:27,900 --> 00:43:28,700
Martha Thomas.

600
00:43:35,270 --> 00:43:36,330
My name is Martha Thomas.

601
00:43:36,490 --> 00:43:40,770
I'm here because I have some serious concerns about my son's education.

602
00:43:41,370 --> 00:43:49,570
I have two sons who have small engines as their first period class, and they let me know that they spent time in the library and haven't even used a wrench.

603
00:43:50,370 --> 00:43:53,890
The reason is because they don't have a teacher and haven't for most of the school year.

604
00:43:53,890 --> 00:44:00,550
My second son, I've asked him to talk to his English teacher and to have him great his assignments from November.

605
00:44:01,270 --> 00:44:05,130
My son tells me that his English teacher has been absent a lot.

606
00:44:05,570 --> 00:44:07,310
And there always seems to be a sub.

607
00:44:07,670 --> 00:44:13,330
I'm now learning that this teacher will become the vice principal at Point Higgins and has spent most of this semester

608
00:44:13,330 --> 00:44:18,190
Learning his new role and not teaching my child, let alone other children.

609
00:44:19,030 --> 00:44:22,850
If as a district, you saw this coming when you find a better solution.

610
00:44:23,610 --> 00:44:25,750
Maybe someone in your administrative staff,

611
00:44:25,750 --> 00:44:27,330
at least for the remainder of the year.

612
00:44:27,990 --> 00:44:31,030
You don't pull an English teacher in the middle of a semester.

613
00:44:31,390 --> 00:44:32,850
Are you saying that Ketchken High School

614
00:44:32,850 --> 00:44:34,170
doesn't need an English teacher?

615
00:44:34,610 --> 00:44:37,490
My son's grades in this class could or would be better

616
00:44:37,490 --> 00:44:39,550
if he had a consistent instructor.

617
00:44:40,610 --> 00:44:41,870
Or when that grades assignments.

618
00:44:42,470 --> 00:44:46,310
Are you saying that this is okay to just pull a teacher

619
00:44:46,310 --> 00:44:49,310
from a core class and have the students take the fall?

620
00:44:50,110 --> 00:44:52,130
I've been upset with my child about this problem

621
00:44:52,130 --> 00:44:54,350
and now I'm learning it's not all his fault.

622
00:44:55,110 --> 00:44:57,950
As a parent, I should be informed of what's going on.

623
00:44:58,230 --> 00:44:59,690
This is not my child's fault.

624
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:11,000
That you as a district have decided to pull this teacher in the middle of the semester and not inform me, or any of the parents of this English teacher, someone needs to be accountable for what's going on.

625
00:45:11,600 --> 00:45:21,660
And times, it's time for the school district and staff to inform parents of what's going on in the district and not just hide behind rose-colored glasses.

626
00:45:22,140 --> 00:45:25,940
Please let me know what you're going to do to fix this situation.

627
00:45:27,020 --> 00:45:27,820
Thank you.

628
00:45:27,820 --> 00:45:28,900
Thank you.

629
00:45:32,560 --> 00:45:39,500
Okay, that is all of the people that signed up to speak. Is there anyone else that would like to be heard?

630
00:45:41,120 --> 00:45:46,570
Okay, with that being said, I've been asked to read. Oh, I'm so sorry. Please come forward. Tell us who you are.

631
00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:54,580
I'm Gary Williams. I miss the sign and jeet. I wanted to speak tonight because of my experiences with

632
00:45:54,580 --> 00:45:59,280
the school district and I'm speaking for myself, not anything associated with the district.

633
00:45:59,980 --> 00:46:03,760
Before I get into it, I want to tell you guys who I really am as an educator.

634
00:46:04,600 --> 00:46:06,320
I did my student teaching at Point Higgins.

635
00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:09,920
I was hired as a para while I was working as an intensive para.

636
00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:14,420
I did things like organizing science night or volunteering as an after school tutor.

637
00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:17,900
And I did all of this while I was completing a master's in special education.

638
00:46:18,880 --> 00:46:22,160
I got hired as a special education teacher at K. High in 2015.

639
00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:29,360
While I filled many roles that nobody else has stepped into, I was the GSA advisor, I served

640
00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:30,360
as a P coordinator.

641
00:46:31,220 --> 00:46:35,020
When we moved to a one-to-one laptop model, I went and got another master's degree in learning

642
00:46:35,020 --> 00:46:38,280
in technology to be better equipped to deal with our students.

643
00:46:39,160 --> 00:46:45,560
During COVID, I really got stretched thin and I worked as the Special Education Manager at

644
00:46:45,560 --> 00:46:50,080
RYC and at tribal scholars, so the students would still get service times.

645
00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:59,160
I've served as KIA President and delegate and now I'm a building rep, I have worked all over

646
00:46:59,160 --> 00:47:02,900
this district doing everything I possibly could to contribute to our kids education.

647
00:47:04,280 --> 00:47:10,100
In 2020, I did my required 4,400 hour practicum in educational leadership with multiple administrators

648
00:47:10,100 --> 00:47:16,020
in the district. When I ended up being met-of-act to encourage with complications to my pregnancy with my twins,

649
00:47:16,020 --> 00:47:20,720
I kept working from a hotel room to give my kids their IUP service times.

650
00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:22,460
I kept in touch with students.

651
00:47:23,200 --> 00:47:27,260
I have done everything imaginable to work for our kids.

652
00:47:27,800 --> 00:47:30,840
And I see all of the other teachers here doing that too.

653
00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:36,660
So that is why it hurts that I have a master's in educational leadership.

654
00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:38,820
I have an administrative certificate.

655
00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:42,720
And when I applied for the Open Vice Principal position,

656
00:47:42,820 --> 00:47:44,720
I wasn't even granted an interview.

657
00:47:45,260 --> 00:47:51,660
And the contract was offered to someone who does not have a certification and does not have the degree completed.

658
00:47:52,820 --> 00:47:58,720
So I am asking to consider why we are hiring people for certain positions.

659
00:47:59,420 --> 00:48:01,420
We have requirements in place for a reason.

660
00:48:02,460 --> 00:48:05,160
My family and I are now looking at if I should take a job elsewhere.

661
00:48:05,560 --> 00:48:08,760
It would be easier to have access to metal care care for my son.

662
00:48:09,120 --> 00:48:13,380
It also means taking my children away from the place that their ancestors have lived for thousands of years.

663
00:48:13,380 --> 00:48:23,320
I thought I would spend my entire career here, but now I'm really reconsidering and I know I am not the only teacher considering leaving.

664
00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:29,120
There are at least seven others within Kay High-Lone who have looked at other job opportunities.

665
00:48:30,260 --> 00:48:34,660
We are in a great state of uncertainty and our teachers feel it.

666
00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:41,500
We need support from our school board, from others on staff, from our administrators and from our community.

667
00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:44,440
We don't need to be talking about cutting administrators.

668
00:48:45,380 --> 00:48:47,820
We need to be talking about how can we find more resources.

669
00:48:48,600 --> 00:48:50,720
Our admins do ahead of a lot.

670
00:48:51,060 --> 00:48:52,540
Our teachers do ahead of a lot.

671
00:48:52,780 --> 00:48:53,760
And we're going to take care.

672
00:48:54,040 --> 00:48:54,280
Thank you.

673
00:48:54,280 --> 00:48:55,000
Thank you very much.

674
00:49:01,920 --> 00:49:01,940
Okay.

675
00:49:02,100 --> 00:49:07,460
Due to the help in concert tonight, we have had two individuals who have asked to have

676
00:49:07,460 --> 00:49:08,180
letters read.

677
00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:10,740
The first one is from Miranda Tucker.

678
00:49:11,340 --> 00:49:13,480
Hello, catch can get we were a school board members.

679
00:49:13,640 --> 00:49:14,820
My name is Miranda Tucker.

680
00:49:14,820 --> 00:49:20,220
tonight. I have written this letter as a parent in our community. Last week, our community was

681
00:49:20,220 --> 00:49:24,360
presented with two options for the upcoming school year. Well, I understand with our current

682
00:49:24,360 --> 00:49:28,960
budget and funding that big changes are necessary. I cannot believe that these are the only two

683
00:49:28,960 --> 00:49:33,800
options our community can move forward with. Regarding option two, I would like to share a personal

684
00:49:33,800 --> 00:49:39,940
story with you from my experience with forced school borders in removing parent choice. I was raised

685
00:49:39,940 --> 00:49:48,280
town called, this is me, I will butcher this name, coquit them, which is located in the lower

686
00:49:48,280 --> 00:49:53,060
mainland of British Columbia, Canada. A very big city in comparison to catch Canolaska,

687
00:49:53,580 --> 00:49:57,600
a grew up in a family with three brothers, myself being the youngest of the four of us. When

688
00:49:57,600 --> 00:50:01,980
I was in fifth grade, our school district decided to change the school boundary lines. The boundary

689
00:50:01,980 --> 00:50:07,200
line for my parents house was changed by one single block. But this single block forced me to attend

690
00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:11,700
separate middle school than my siblings. The school I attended was further away from my home and

691
00:50:11,700 --> 00:50:16,640
often put my parents in a difficult position of choosing which school events they could attend.

692
00:50:17,080 --> 00:50:21,420
Growing up, close to our neighborhood elementary and middle school, I built very strong bonds

693
00:50:21,420 --> 00:50:25,940
with many of my classmates. These connections were something I needed entering middle school,

694
00:50:26,280 --> 00:50:30,960
but I was never able to regain my new school. On top of that, I didn't have my siblings

695
00:50:30,960 --> 00:50:35,040
at my new school for support or help when I needed the most. Attending the school may have

696
00:50:35,040 --> 00:50:40,260
go from loving school to absolutely griting school dropoffs. This is not something I want for my kids.

697
00:50:40,520 --> 00:50:44,600
Like many families, my parents chose to purchase our family home near neighborhood schools. They

698
00:50:44,600 --> 00:50:48,680
knew trusted and loved. When my husband and I got married, we made the choice to stay and catch

699
00:50:48,680 --> 00:50:53,680
kind of raise our family for many reasons. Our children's education being a main reason, which included

700
00:50:53,680 --> 00:50:59,080
parent choice in the schools or children in tent. School borders and grades section schools will

701
00:50:59,080 --> 00:51:03,960
force our future kindergarten or to bus 50 minutes minimum in the morning and again in the afternoon

702
00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:04,860
to point Higgins.

703
00:51:05,360 --> 00:51:08,960
It refused to believe that we are five-year-old's best interest to spend almost two hours

704
00:51:08,960 --> 00:51:12,600
each day on the bus to attend the school for this to away from his home.

705
00:51:12,740 --> 00:51:17,300
Our rows are already structurally unsafe, adding in winter conditions and congestion from

706
00:51:17,300 --> 00:51:17,820
tourism.

707
00:51:18,480 --> 00:51:20,180
And this is not in our child's best interest.

708
00:51:20,740 --> 00:51:24,880
My husband and I both work in town and I live at most two-minute drive-to-houtling if our

709
00:51:24,880 --> 00:51:27,560
son were to need us with work or current road conditions.

710
00:51:28,020 --> 00:51:31,660
And the distance point Higgins I would be at a minimum of 45 minutes from my child.

711
00:51:31,660 --> 00:51:33,620
this is completely unacceptable.

712
00:51:34,520 --> 00:51:36,700
As a community, I truly believe if we come together,

713
00:51:36,900 --> 00:51:39,120
we can collectively come up with a plan

714
00:51:39,120 --> 00:51:41,720
that aligns with our students best interests

715
00:51:41,720 --> 00:51:44,060
and our current budget and funding crisis.

716
00:51:44,940 --> 00:51:47,000
So let me back out of this one.

717
00:51:47,400 --> 00:51:56,060
And the next one is from, let me find it,

718
00:51:56,240 --> 00:51:59,500
I started, oh, it's up here.

719
00:52:00,420 --> 00:52:07,440
There we go. It's from Gillian Pollock and let's see if I have three minutes enough for this.

720
00:52:07,480 --> 00:52:11,120
My name is Gillian Pollock and I'm the music teacher at Houghtling Elementary. I would like

721
00:52:11,120 --> 00:52:16,480
first to address and thank everyone who has involved in this conversation and decision-making process.

722
00:52:16,880 --> 00:52:22,140
Changes difficult and while it is very apparent changes must be made to accommodate our budget next year.

723
00:52:22,540 --> 00:52:26,560
This change hurts and we must consider what is inevitably going to hurt the least.

724
00:52:26,560 --> 00:52:31,540
I have been a K6 music teacher in this district for 10 years, however I am more than just

725
00:52:31,540 --> 00:52:32,240
to music teacher.

726
00:52:32,520 --> 00:52:36,940
Our school as well as others has seen inconsistency and absence of a counselor in

727
00:52:36,940 --> 00:52:39,120
our school since I began teaching in this district.

728
00:52:39,620 --> 00:52:44,600
As a music teacher in Dorston's psychology, I infuse social and emotional learning into every

729
00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:46,080
single class in less than every day.

730
00:52:46,420 --> 00:52:51,920
From the ages of 5 to 13, I provide crucial continuity through relationships I build with

731
00:52:51,920 --> 00:52:54,400
students through the seven years I have with them.

732
00:52:54,400 --> 00:52:59,040
In addition to the social and emotional learning, I am able to effectively provide with the

733
00:52:59,040 --> 00:53:04,020
K6 population, I am able to set the foundations in their primary years that allows me to form

734
00:53:04,020 --> 00:53:09,400
the connections necessary to minimize negative classroom behavior increased student buy-in

735
00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:13,820
and lay the groundwork necessary for effective music instruction as they grow with me.

736
00:53:14,100 --> 00:53:18,260
That being said, we are being given two very real and likely scenarios tonight.

737
00:53:18,680 --> 00:53:23,160
One of these options include music education for K6 in this community and one does not.

738
00:53:23,160 --> 00:53:27,200
Well, I could spend time discussing the impacts that option 2 would have on our community.

739
00:53:27,640 --> 00:53:30,040
I'm forced to advocate for myself in music education.

740
00:53:30,580 --> 00:53:32,720
That means I must inevitably outline the benefits.

741
00:53:33,420 --> 00:53:38,740
I see as a music educator when considering option 2 specialized school boundaries by grade level.

742
00:53:39,220 --> 00:53:45,680
As the primary 4 to 6 music educator in this district, it is clear I would have a much greater reach within our population.

743
00:53:46,220 --> 00:53:51,720
I would see connect with and provide music education to almost all 4 to 6 students on the silent.

744
00:53:51,720 --> 00:53:56,780
given this opportunity, I would find greater ability to implement consistent language and instruction

745
00:53:56,780 --> 00:53:59,360
to students before their middle school years.

746
00:53:59,700 --> 00:54:04,320
This will lead to increased numbers in our secondary music programs through my ability to

747
00:54:04,320 --> 00:54:09,340
instill excitement and proficiency in the areas of voice instruction, ukulele, songwriting,

748
00:54:09,500 --> 00:54:10,460
and beginning band.

749
00:54:10,700 --> 00:54:14,780
Currently I teach 7 classes a day and 14 total lesson plans each week.

750
00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:18,060
Throughout the day, I see K all the way up to 6.

751
00:54:18,060 --> 00:54:23,060
this leads to vast differentiation in my instruction-style materials used in music fundamentals

752
00:54:23,060 --> 00:54:23,540
covered.

753
00:54:24,020 --> 00:54:28,060
By focusing on a smaller number of grades in lessons each week, I will be able to focus

754
00:54:28,060 --> 00:54:33,740
my instruction and energy levels to a specified area of music that I feel will be more impactful

755
00:54:33,740 --> 00:54:37,360
as I will not be spread so thinly in areas of planning and funding.

756
00:54:37,760 --> 00:54:42,760
With option 2, I continue my model of upper-level instruction by providing voice lessons

757
00:54:42,760 --> 00:54:44,300
and choir to all fourth graders.

758
00:54:44,300 --> 00:54:49,320
I would continue to provide ukulele instruction and songwriting workshops to all fifth graders.

759
00:54:49,960 --> 00:54:52,720
I would provide beginning band instruction to all six graders.

760
00:54:53,140 --> 00:54:57,240
It is through these instruments that I can enforce the fundamentals of music taught at

761
00:54:57,240 --> 00:54:59,920
the primary level in a applicable and exciting way.

762
00:55:00,120 --> 00:55:00,780
I love catch can.

763
00:55:00,880 --> 00:55:05,060
I move to her because I feel strong since I belong through the arts community removing music

764
00:55:05,060 --> 00:55:08,820
from our schools with not only push our students away from the access to the arts.

765
00:55:09,280 --> 00:55:09,660
Time's up.

766
00:55:10,380 --> 00:55:16,140
I almost made it. I tried to read fast and that isn't present.

767
00:55:16,500 --> 00:55:20,020
Is that was that sent through like an email? I don't I didn't see that one come through.

768
00:55:20,020 --> 00:55:26,260
It was sent through the clerk and I've specifically asked to be read. I will forward it back

769
00:55:26,260 --> 00:55:28,780
through the clerk to all the board members. Thank you.

770
00:55:31,060 --> 00:55:34,620
Okay. So seeing no more citizen comments?

771
00:55:34,740 --> 00:55:38,960
I got a couple hands up. Oh, I'm so I'm so sorry. See this is why you need where the glasses

772
00:55:38,960 --> 00:55:41,100
for the close-up stuff.

773
00:55:41,460 --> 00:55:42,660
Please come forward.

774
00:55:51,430 --> 00:55:51,690
Good evening.

775
00:55:51,850 --> 00:55:53,190
My name is Darby Maynardee.

776
00:55:54,150 --> 00:55:57,610
I am a parent of four children who will be in this district, eventually.

777
00:55:58,290 --> 00:56:01,730
Three children who is head and point against elementary school, I did come and talk to the

778
00:56:01,730 --> 00:56:02,290
budget committee.

779
00:56:02,510 --> 00:56:06,950
So some of you have already heard me speak on the issue I'm speaking on tonight.

780
00:56:07,890 --> 00:56:10,990
Number one, I am against a split up of our elementary school students.

781
00:56:11,130 --> 00:56:13,050
I do not think it's what's best for kids.

782
00:56:13,830 --> 00:56:15,770
What's best for families is best for kids.

783
00:56:15,770 --> 00:56:18,130
Kid families can't get to your school.

784
00:56:18,510 --> 00:56:20,230
Families have to attend two different sets of conferences.

785
00:56:20,930 --> 00:56:22,030
Two different parent days.

786
00:56:22,510 --> 00:56:24,410
All of those things are not going to be best for kids.

787
00:56:24,590 --> 00:56:26,130
If their parents can't show up.

788
00:56:26,610 --> 00:56:27,190
Not just that.

789
00:56:27,230 --> 00:56:28,210
It's a daily drive.

790
00:56:28,470 --> 00:56:31,350
Every single day, you're going to be busing kids from town,

791
00:56:32,330 --> 00:56:34,310
You're going to be busing kids from north to town.

792
00:56:34,790 --> 00:56:37,190
I honestly do not believe it's safe with our road conditions

793
00:56:37,190 --> 00:56:38,690
and the winter I heard that already said,

794
00:56:39,110 --> 00:56:40,110
but I believe very strongly.

795
00:56:40,230 --> 00:56:40,970
There's many days.

796
00:56:41,190 --> 00:56:43,590
I choose not to drive to town because of the road conditions.

797
00:56:45,430 --> 00:56:50,370
And I really just think that we need to step back and look and say, is this what's best for kids?

798
00:56:50,570 --> 00:56:53,570
To spend two hours of their life potentially on a bus.

799
00:56:53,850 --> 00:56:56,790
It is 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

800
00:56:57,150 --> 00:57:00,530
Those hours are not going to be spent in a car with conversation with mom and dad.

801
00:57:01,090 --> 00:57:01,970
They are going to be on a bus.

802
00:57:03,150 --> 00:57:04,750
That's a lot of their life.

803
00:57:06,090 --> 00:57:09,070
I do think that we shouldn't just sit here and say we don't like your ideas.

804
00:57:09,210 --> 00:57:10,850
We should come with some solutions, right?

805
00:57:10,850 --> 00:57:13,350
So I have a few creative solutions.

806
00:57:13,950 --> 00:57:15,770
Number one, at point Higgins, about 10 years ago,

807
00:57:15,870 --> 00:57:17,110
we used to use grade combos.

808
00:57:17,850 --> 00:57:19,510
We've done it a few times in the past.

809
00:57:19,590 --> 00:57:21,510
It depends on teachers who are up for it.

810
00:57:21,530 --> 00:57:23,550
But if you're worried about balance class sizes,

811
00:57:23,630 --> 00:57:25,990
let's not just say, hey, we need all the first grade teachers

812
00:57:25,990 --> 00:57:27,070
to have even number.

813
00:57:27,110 --> 00:57:28,890
We can have a first and second grade split.

814
00:57:29,350 --> 00:57:30,650
We can have a two, three split.

815
00:57:30,910 --> 00:57:32,590
You need teachers who are willing to do that,

816
00:57:32,590 --> 00:57:33,850
but I believe they exist.

817
00:57:34,730 --> 00:57:37,990
And I think that if you're looking at keeping our schools intact

818
00:57:37,990 --> 00:57:40,590
and looking at trying to keep our special teachers intact,

819
00:57:40,590 --> 00:57:43,210
people are willing to do some creative things, right?

820
00:57:44,530 --> 00:57:48,810
If we are in very dire straits, I think we should be looking at our claims report every single meeting.

821
00:57:49,630 --> 00:57:53,030
Diane Gubertayo used to sit on this board, and I would listen to every single school board meeting.

822
00:57:53,330 --> 00:57:56,270
She almost always pulled one up and said, what is this about?

823
00:57:56,570 --> 00:57:59,650
I just met a few minutes at the beginning of this meeting, looking at our claims report,

824
00:58:00,370 --> 00:58:05,870
and I'm not trying to be nitpicky, but I can just throw a few things out that look like possible ways to money,

825
00:58:05,870 --> 00:58:09,870
or possible things we could consider in terms of the rest of this school year

826
00:58:09,870 --> 00:58:11,590
into next school year saving some money.

827
00:58:12,250 --> 00:58:14,730
There were $220 spent on post-it notes,

828
00:58:15,350 --> 00:58:16,590
that were a specialized in custom.

829
00:58:16,810 --> 00:58:18,750
I'm sure they could have been used regular wallpaper.

830
00:58:19,350 --> 00:58:21,750
We have a $300 mobile phone bill in thousands

831
00:58:21,750 --> 00:58:24,130
in school phones every month, or both of those necessary.

832
00:58:24,750 --> 00:58:25,350
I'm not sure.

833
00:58:26,450 --> 00:58:28,850
We spent $200 per month on the Jack Cotan

834
00:58:28,850 --> 00:58:31,030
for it to sit there and for our kids not people's use

835
00:58:31,030 --> 00:58:32,230
that that makes my heart hurt.

836
00:58:32,670 --> 00:58:35,330
$200 waste it and we're cutting that CTE program.

837
00:58:36,410 --> 00:58:40,590
but this is the biggest one and I don't mean to be rude to central office but it costs

838
00:58:40,590 --> 00:58:46,270
$4,718 per month for them to rent this space here at this building that used to be a

839
00:58:46,270 --> 00:58:53,950
k-high. Why can we not save that $56,000 every year? Seems easy to me. I love our principles. I

840
00:58:53,950 --> 00:58:58,750
want to keep them all. I want to keep our specials. I want to keep my kids at their school. Thank you.

841
00:58:58,830 --> 00:58:59,330
Thank you.

842
00:59:05,850 --> 00:59:08,210
I thought I saw someone else. Come on up Dan.

843
00:59:10,160 --> 00:59:14,680
Good evening. My name is Dan Ortiz, and I am currently your state representative of my term

844
00:59:14,680 --> 00:59:21,980
ends on January 20th. I am here tonight to first of all thank each and every one of you for the work

845
00:59:21,980 --> 00:59:28,400
that you do, both in administration and board members. You have been very difficult job. I know a

846
00:59:28,400 --> 00:59:34,100
little bit about difficult jobs and feeling public pressure, and I appreciate your willingness to serve.

847
00:59:34,100 --> 00:59:43,120
With that said, I think it's clear that the proposals that are before us, each of them

848
00:59:43,120 --> 00:59:51,160
have big downsides to them, and you're going to have a public that is unhappy with

849
00:59:51,160 --> 00:59:52,540
whatever direction you choose.

850
00:59:54,480 --> 00:59:59,980
So one of the things that I'm here to advocate for is to have this

851
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:09,900
Board, this community began to let your voices be heard at the state level. It is not a option for the state to fund education.

852
01:00:10,280 --> 01:00:16,660
It is a constitutional mandate that they adequately fund education. It's right there in the constitution.

853
01:00:18,460 --> 01:00:27,980
So, yes, money is getting tighter at the state level. Well, prices this year are projected to be lower than they have been in the past couple years.

854
01:00:27,980 --> 01:00:37,400
that's a problem. However, when you have less resources, you have to function, you have to find the solutions.

855
01:00:38,240 --> 01:00:50,340
First of all, with what's absolutely essential and what's absolutely essential under the Constitution is that the state fund public education and that they fund public safety.

856
01:00:50,760 --> 01:00:53,340
Those are the only two things. Everything else is optional.

857
01:00:53,340 --> 01:01:00,640
And so you need to unite, get your voices heard, and demand that the legislature do this.

858
01:01:01,660 --> 01:01:10,380
Just so you know, back in 2012, the base student allocation was $5,930.

859
01:01:12,240 --> 01:01:17,460
Today, the base student allocation is $5,960.

860
01:01:18,720 --> 01:01:33,480
The equivalent money of the $5,960 per student when you factor in inflation is compared to what it was valued at, and FY12, is $4,451 per student.

861
01:01:34,040 --> 01:01:38,240
So that means we've lost per student in real spending power.

862
01:01:38,240 --> 01:01:41,140
$1,300 since FY 12, per student.

863
01:01:41,480 --> 01:01:42,020
What does that say?

864
01:01:42,020 --> 01:01:46,060
It says that we value our student's education,

865
01:01:46,460 --> 01:01:48,720
each and every one of our student's education

866
01:01:48,720 --> 01:01:53,460
across the state of Alaska, less, $1,300 less.

867
01:01:54,600 --> 01:01:55,620
That's what it says.

868
01:01:57,200 --> 01:01:58,660
That's unacceptable people,

869
01:01:59,040 --> 01:02:02,660
but the problem is we don't have,

870
01:02:02,700 --> 01:02:05,140
and it's not just the K&K community's responsibility.

871
01:02:05,620 --> 01:02:08,020
We need a unified statewide voice

872
01:02:08,020 --> 01:02:14,820
saying what's been happening at the state level is unacceptable. Thank you very much. Thank you.

873
01:02:27,730 --> 01:02:32,070
So I'm Kendra Adams. I'm the parent of a first grader and a third grader at point against elementary.

874
01:02:33,010 --> 01:02:37,070
I realize that no matter what not everyone's going to be happy but both of the proposals brought

875
01:02:37,070 --> 01:02:42,830
forward are non starters. One proposal splits my children apart next year. They won't be together

876
01:02:42,830 --> 01:02:47,630
and that is a non-starter to me. The other cuts library, which is laughable, consider and we've

877
01:02:47,630 --> 01:02:49,730
the Alaska Reads Act, and you're going to cut library.

878
01:02:51,090 --> 01:02:53,950
I've already felt the impacts of the cuts we've experienced from last year.

879
01:02:54,370 --> 01:02:58,770
On Thursday mornings, I'm using Leave to take my six-year-old to speech therapy, because

880
01:02:58,770 --> 01:03:01,170
we're using virtual speech therapists at point-higns.

881
01:03:01,530 --> 01:03:03,090
You can't do that with a six-year-old.

882
01:03:03,150 --> 01:03:04,070
They're easily distracted.

883
01:03:04,770 --> 01:03:09,410
I'm then also having to deal with the results of having her beat hearty every Thursday.

884
01:03:12,010 --> 01:03:16,190
As far as having kids in different schools, a lot of people have mentioned the challenges

885
01:03:16,190 --> 01:03:20,450
of that just with being a parent and having to divide your time. I'd also like to bring up

886
01:03:20,450 --> 01:03:25,510
the fact that the busing is so irregular and inconsistent, even at point against my children,

887
01:03:26,050 --> 01:03:31,050
nine times in a two-month period, between September 27th and November 19th, the buses were

888
01:03:31,050 --> 01:03:35,990
10 plus minutes late. There were multiple times where I was using the tracker on my daughter's watch

889
01:03:35,990 --> 01:03:40,930
to see where she was, because she wasn't making it to where she was supposed to be. And that meant

890
01:03:40,930 --> 01:03:44,790
we were then therefore having activities that we weren't attending that were paying for,

891
01:03:44,790 --> 01:03:46,990
because she wasn't getting off the bus on time.

892
01:03:47,210 --> 01:03:50,530
That is too long for an eight-year-old or a six-year-old to be on a bus.

893
01:03:51,010 --> 01:03:53,690
I don't see that getting better with the proposals that have been mentioned.

894
01:03:55,030 --> 01:03:59,630
I would really like the board to vote no on this and say that we need to consider more options.

895
01:03:59,770 --> 01:04:04,110
It's early enough. We have time. Let's see what else is out there. Thank you.

896
01:04:04,890 --> 01:04:05,370
Thank you.

897
01:04:11,130 --> 01:04:13,270
Okay. Any other further public comment?

898
01:04:14,330 --> 01:04:17,870
Okay, moving on, information or reports from board members?

899
01:04:21,920 --> 01:04:22,740
I have a couple.

900
01:04:24,780 --> 01:04:31,420
So, the budget committee met last Wednesday, and that's why many of us are here in the room,

901
01:04:31,900 --> 01:04:33,880
because we're going to continue that conversation.

902
01:04:34,160 --> 01:04:41,380
I appreciate everybody who was in the room and shared, which is present.

903
01:04:41,380 --> 01:04:48,280
And then also, last Wednesday, there was a burrow liaison committee meeting, that was our first

904
01:04:48,280 --> 01:04:53,580
one that we've had since our new board, and I know that Superintendent Robbins is going

905
01:04:53,580 --> 01:04:58,820
to talk about that, but I just want to cover a few of the things that we talked about.

906
01:05:00,340 --> 01:05:07,460
So Michelle and I are on the board, and I believe that Tom is the alternate, and we actually

907
01:05:07,460 --> 01:05:09,880
had a very productive meeting.

908
01:05:10,620 --> 01:05:14,860
So I was on the Berlin's and committee last year.

909
01:05:16,000 --> 01:05:19,860
And boy, some of those meetings were very tense.

910
01:05:20,620 --> 01:05:28,320
There was a lot of, you can just see that there was a lot of,

911
01:05:28,320 --> 01:05:34,700
I'm just going to use the word like distrust and like a broken working relationship

912
01:05:34,700 --> 01:05:40,640
between Burrow staff and district staff, it was very uncomfortable.

913
01:05:43,240 --> 01:05:45,820
You could just really see it, and you could feel it.

914
01:05:46,240 --> 01:05:52,660
We made it through those meetings, and coming to the Burley's and committee meeting that

915
01:05:52,660 --> 01:06:01,060
we had last week, it was night and day difference in regards to the relationship between district

916
01:06:01,060 --> 01:06:03,040
staff and Burrow staff.

917
01:06:03,040 --> 01:06:10,060
It was obvious that there was a lot of collaboration and communication and teamwork that had

918
01:06:10,060 --> 01:06:18,460
happened in regards to problem solving, coming up with good solutions for different things.

919
01:06:19,420 --> 01:06:24,800
We've been able to, by working with the borough, we've been able to actually pay down our health

920
01:06:24,800 --> 01:06:30,580
care debt significantly and I assume that Rob is going to speak more about that.

921
01:06:30,580 --> 01:06:38,600
And then the borough also assisted they've been working with our business manager, Mr. Schuler,

922
01:06:38,960 --> 01:06:48,320
on finding ways to present the financials to the public in a more readable way.

923
01:06:48,860 --> 01:06:53,660
So if you look in our packet, that's available for this meeting.

924
01:06:53,660 --> 01:06:58,120
you can see under the November 2024 Board Financial Report.

925
01:06:58,480 --> 01:07:06,780
On the second page, it actually includes a very easily consumable one-page sheet that

926
01:07:06,780 --> 01:07:13,180
tells you what our budget is, where we're at in that budget, there's numbers, how much we

927
01:07:13,180 --> 01:07:16,500
have remaining, what the percentage is, and then it even has like bar graphs.

928
01:07:17,400 --> 01:07:23,400
So rather than having to scroll through, however many pages the report was previously, we

929
01:07:23,400 --> 01:07:25,520
have a nice amount of those.

930
01:07:25,980 --> 01:07:27,480
We have that nice sheet available.

931
01:07:27,960 --> 01:07:30,540
And that was due to the collaboration and teamwork

932
01:07:30,540 --> 01:07:32,840
that's been happening between the burrow and the districts.

933
01:07:33,580 --> 01:07:38,500
We have also been invited to participate in the burrow

934
01:07:38,500 --> 01:07:40,480
assembly policy days.

935
01:07:40,840 --> 01:07:44,180
So every year in January, they take two days

936
01:07:44,180 --> 01:07:48,660
and they go, they make their budget start to work on their budget.

937
01:07:48,960 --> 01:07:51,500
They work on, they determine what their assumptions

938
01:07:51,500 --> 01:07:58,520
are going to be for income and for expenses and they want us to have a joint meeting with

939
01:07:58,520 --> 01:08:05,180
the borough assembly and with the school board to meet together on Friday, January 24th

940
01:08:05,180 --> 01:08:12,340
from 9 am to 11 am to so that we can know what they're expecting to bring in from property taxes

941
01:08:12,340 --> 01:08:20,240
and that is a lot of what that's what funds the discretionary and or the required contribution and

942
01:08:20,240 --> 01:08:22,640
and also their discretionary contribution for it.

943
01:08:22,820 --> 01:08:24,740
So we can have an idea of what they're expecting,

944
01:08:25,300 --> 01:08:27,260
and they'll also talk about capital projects.

945
01:08:28,080 --> 01:08:30,200
So it was a very, very productive meeting,

946
01:08:30,280 --> 01:08:33,400
and I am very proud of not just the district staff,

947
01:08:33,780 --> 01:08:37,360
but also the borrows staff for really working hard

948
01:08:38,000 --> 01:08:41,280
to come together and be able to work as a team,

949
01:08:41,980 --> 01:08:45,060
and really work through all that conflict and tension

950
01:08:45,060 --> 01:08:46,720
that had existed previously.

951
01:08:47,160 --> 01:08:47,280
So.

952
01:08:48,600 --> 01:08:58,920
Thank you. I agree. Having been on that borough liaison committee date myself back in 2012 or something.

953
01:08:59,240 --> 01:09:02,640
Yes, it's definitely a different tone. So it's good to see.

954
01:09:02,800 --> 01:09:06,000
Good to see any other information reports from board members. Tom.

955
01:09:06,400 --> 01:09:16,680
The EOL Task Force met last Tuesday, December 3rd working with the superintendent on recommendations and questions.

956
01:09:16,680 --> 01:09:45,680
be answered by staff. We'll next meet January 6th, 4 p.m. in the K. High Library. Policy committee yesterday, we have three fairly simple policy recommendations coming to the board soon. We're working on one more that was a little more complicated getting some questions asked from Council. Policy will meet next January 14th.

957
01:09:46,240 --> 01:09:48,540
11 a.m. here in the chambers.

958
01:09:50,320 --> 01:09:51,420
Okay, anything dead?

959
01:09:51,920 --> 01:09:52,080
Okay.

960
01:09:52,860 --> 01:09:53,040
All right.

961
01:09:53,140 --> 01:09:54,360
Any other information reports?

962
01:09:55,480 --> 01:09:55,520
Okay.

963
01:09:55,800 --> 01:09:56,680
Moving on.

964
01:09:57,760 --> 01:10:03,480
Any questions on the claims or on the board financial report on the reports for information?

965
01:10:08,140 --> 01:10:09,980
Seeing none, a student report.

966
01:10:13,580 --> 01:10:17,500
Hello, my name is Clara Odin and I am standing in as the student representative of

967
01:10:17,500 --> 01:10:23,520
this meeting. Kay, has had an activity filled last couple of weeks. The wrestling team will attend

968
01:10:23,520 --> 01:10:27,300
the Region 5 tournament in Haines this weekend. Then the state tournament will follow next week.

969
01:10:27,740 --> 01:10:32,140
When our sports have also kicked off with basketball and cheerleading trials, happening last week.

970
01:10:32,340 --> 01:10:36,380
Meet the Kings will be this Saturday at six with a fundraiser dinner before and starting at four.

971
01:10:36,620 --> 01:10:44,520
And the Clark Cockering Christmas Classic will be on Star on Friday the 27th and go through Sunday the 29th.

972
01:10:44,520 --> 01:10:49,020
Usually, as usual, we hope that our community will show up and support our basketball team's

973
01:10:49,020 --> 01:10:50,680
cheerleaders dance team and pet band.

974
01:10:51,400 --> 01:10:55,440
The drama debate in forensics team will leave this weekend to compete at a meet in Juneau.

975
01:10:55,760 --> 01:10:59,740
The academic to Catholic team will also be attending a competition in Craig this month.

976
01:11:00,180 --> 01:11:03,700
The annual performance of the Nutcracker was last weekend at K.I. with many students

977
01:11:03,700 --> 01:11:05,240
putting on an amazing performance.

978
01:11:05,980 --> 01:11:09,680
Two weeks ago, the K.I. student government had the opportunity of meeting with Mr. Robbins.

979
01:11:09,680 --> 01:11:22,960
We were able to fill them on, fill them in on projects throughout our school and ask questions about fixing larger projects, such as bathroom and locker room maintenance, as well as missing classes such as maritime aviation, culinary, child careers,

980
01:11:23,440 --> 01:11:27,020
aviology, astronomy, economics, psychology, speech, choir, and Spanish.

981
01:11:34,810 --> 01:11:35,770
Thank you very much.

982
01:11:37,530 --> 01:11:39,290
And you needed to leave early.

983
01:11:39,770 --> 01:11:40,290
Do you still?

984
01:11:40,310 --> 01:11:40,990
Oh, you're good.

985
01:11:42,290 --> 01:11:43,250
I'm giving you homework over there.

986
01:11:45,950 --> 01:11:48,810
I'm going to have a brief report tonight.

987
01:11:49,250 --> 01:11:52,030
There'll be a much larger discussion I guess during the work session.

988
01:11:53,110 --> 01:11:53,710
I'll go through there.

989
01:11:54,170 --> 01:11:59,530
I would like to take a moment to extend my heartfelt thank you to our mayor and members of the

990
01:11:59,530 --> 01:12:00,310
Barrow Assembly.

991
01:12:01,310 --> 01:12:06,550
For their continued support, especially with the recent ordinance introduced at the last

992
01:12:06,550 --> 01:12:10,830
Barrow Assembly meeting, the mayor has been instrumental in helping our school

993
01:12:10,830 --> 01:12:15,770
to start over the past year and the passes of the ordinance has played a critical role in balancing

994
01:12:15,770 --> 01:12:21,870
our budget for fiscal year 24. We are truly grateful for the ongoing support of our students

995
01:12:21,870 --> 01:12:28,490
and our staff. This partnership is vital to ensuring that our district continues to move forward.

996
01:12:29,350 --> 01:12:34,670
I would also like to highlight an important achievement shared that are recently as on committee meeting.

997
01:12:35,270 --> 01:12:39,170
As many of you know we have been diligently working to reduce the health care debt

998
01:12:39,170 --> 01:12:42,970
that at one point reached a high of 4.9 million.

999
01:12:43,610 --> 01:12:48,590
I am pleased to report through the hard work and collaboration of many dedicated individuals,

1000
01:12:49,350 --> 01:12:55,370
the debt has now been reduced to 1.7 million, a 3.2 million dollar drop,

1001
01:12:55,890 --> 01:12:59,210
or a 65% reduction in just two years.

1002
01:12:59,670 --> 01:13:01,170
This is a remarkable accomplishment.

1003
01:13:01,410 --> 01:13:05,230
I want to acknowledge all the people contributed to this effort.

1004
01:13:05,230 --> 01:13:11,490
In particular, I want to thank the borough of staff, their patients support and cooperation

1005
01:13:11,490 --> 01:13:16,170
in helping us understand the challenges and find solutions have been invaluable.

1006
01:13:17,150 --> 01:13:22,170
This has been a team effort, and I truly believe that this collaborative approach has

1007
01:13:22,170 --> 01:13:23,610
been key to our success.

1008
01:13:24,310 --> 01:13:29,250
Additionally, I want to express my appreciation to the members of the assembly for their

1009
01:13:29,250 --> 01:13:31,050
continued support of our students.

1010
01:13:31,050 --> 01:13:37,030
Their commitment is crucial to the ongoing success of our schools and the well-being of our community.

1011
01:13:37,830 --> 01:13:43,990
I'm also happy to report that our relationship with the borough has strengthened significantly in the past few months.

1012
01:13:44,690 --> 01:13:52,670
We have worked together more closely and more effectively, and I am optimistic that this positive momentum will continue throughout the upcoming budget season.

1013
01:13:53,570 --> 01:13:59,210
Once again, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to everyone involved.

1014
01:13:59,210 --> 01:14:06,690
our mayor, the assembly, the bro's staff, our school board, our staff, our teachers and our

1015
01:14:06,690 --> 01:14:12,690
students, and our community partners. The more we work together, the better it is for our students,

1016
01:14:13,090 --> 01:14:15,950
our school and our entire community. Well, I don't know.

1017
01:14:18,800 --> 01:14:20,320
All right, thank you. Any questions for

1018
01:14:20,320 --> 01:14:20,760
the superintendent?

1019
01:14:25,400 --> 01:14:30,640
Okay, thank you very much. Is there a motion to improve the consent calendar?

1020
01:14:30,640 --> 01:14:39,900
Mayor President. Yes. I moved to adopt the consent calendar of December 11, 2024.

1021
01:14:41,100 --> 01:14:43,640
It's okay. It's been moved in second to it.

1022
01:14:44,500 --> 01:14:46,220
Kerry, could you please call the roll?

1023
01:14:49,950 --> 01:14:56,550
Actually, before I made to need to make a, before we go to the vote.

1024
01:14:57,330 --> 01:14:59,170
I'd talk to you about this earlier, Madam President.

1025
01:14:59,170 --> 01:14:59,970
but just

1026
01:15:07,200 --> 01:15:17,240
Item 8 E. And a , regarding student travel out of state, I've done this consistently since

1027
01:15:17,240 --> 01:15:22,880
I've done the school work for past three and a quarter years and just making the public and

1028
01:15:22,880 --> 01:15:30,320
to wear that. I also an advisor slash coach for 18 at the high school. However,

1029
01:15:33,470 --> 01:15:34,350
we don't

1030
01:15:34,350 --> 01:15:41,570
have any, I guess, way to benefit or not benefit from this being adopted or opposed. So I just

1031
01:15:41,570 --> 01:15:45,450
want to throw that out there and let you rule and whether I can. It's not, it's not a conflict

1032
01:15:45,450 --> 01:15:51,090
of interest. If you're making another, another quick comment, just because this is, this is

1033
01:15:51,090 --> 01:15:58,730
up before, but the unrelated to you, Keenan. But on the consent calendar, there's two motions

1034
01:15:58,730 --> 01:16:05,990
to approve out-of-state travel for the K-I baseball and K-I self-ball teams. And I just

1035
01:16:05,990 --> 01:16:10,930
wanted to make it clear to the public that those are self-funded trips, those funds do not

1036
01:16:10,930 --> 01:16:17,270
come from the district. So sometimes when they come in groups like that, we do get questions

1037
01:16:17,270 --> 01:16:24,270
from the public. Yep. Okay, so it's been moved in second-in, clear, would you please call the

1038
01:16:25,010 --> 01:16:25,650
roll?

1039
01:16:31,450 --> 01:16:32,590
Thank you.

1040
01:16:33,130 --> 01:16:33,430
Yes.

1041
01:16:34,890 --> 01:16:35,190
Yes.

1042
01:16:36,110 --> 01:16:36,750
Yes.

1043
01:16:37,690 --> 01:16:37,970
Yes.

1044
01:16:38,550 --> 01:16:38,690
Yes.

1045
01:16:39,770 --> 01:16:40,130
Anderson.

1046
01:16:40,410 --> 01:16:40,730
Yes.

1047
01:16:41,510 --> 01:16:41,730
Yes.

1048
01:16:43,470 --> 01:16:43,610
Okay.

1049
01:16:44,430 --> 01:16:45,390
That passes.

1050
01:16:46,170 --> 01:16:47,650
No unfinished business?

1051
01:16:48,570 --> 01:16:48,590
No.

1052
01:16:48,590 --> 01:16:50,730
Okay and no new business.

1053
01:16:51,170 --> 01:16:51,190
No.

1054
01:16:51,810 --> 01:16:51,830
Okay.

1055
01:16:52,990 --> 01:16:55,510
That brings us to a work session.

1056
01:16:56,390 --> 01:16:56,510
No.

1057
01:16:56,910 --> 01:16:57,030
No.

1058
01:16:57,170 --> 01:16:57,670
Discussion.

1059
01:16:58,350 --> 01:16:58,830
I'm sorry.

1060
01:16:59,270 --> 01:16:59,950
I've skipped it.

1061
01:17:00,290 --> 01:17:02,690
So we have discussion about the school board meeting calendar.

1062
01:17:03,650 --> 01:17:04,910
And that is in your pocket.

1063
01:17:06,250 --> 01:17:08,850
So the question is about the January meetings.

1064
01:17:09,770 --> 01:17:12,930
And so with the winter break.

1065
01:17:14,070 --> 01:17:18,430
We're looking possibly doing alternative dates and making those January 15th in January.

1066
01:17:18,430 --> 01:17:27,750
to 29th just a quick clarification is just the sole reason just to make sure that we put

1067
01:17:27,750 --> 01:17:33,550
enough distance between break and when school starts to just have more possible engagement

1068
01:17:33,550 --> 01:17:37,670
with the public or like what would say that's a that would be a large part of it.

1069
01:17:38,250 --> 01:17:44,510
Okay, that's clear. Yeah, because these will be very crucial, you know, they we've got

1070
01:17:44,510 --> 01:17:48,990
a work session on the budget tonight. We're still going to be having active conversations

1071
01:17:48,990 --> 01:17:56,770
with the public and working on solutions so you know it's not like we're we're

1072
01:17:56,770 --> 01:18:00,550
going to be sealing the deal on a budget tonight right so we still need that

1073
01:18:00,550 --> 01:18:07,590
critical public input and by putting these dates in a time frame where a lot

1074
01:18:07,590 --> 01:18:12,310
of public can attend and it gives a lot of people time to think and I believe we'll

1075
01:18:12,310 --> 01:18:16,470
let the superintendent talk more about this but we're going to try and allow just

1076
01:18:16,470 --> 01:18:21,350
tiny bit more time before anything is finalized than sent to the burrow.

1077
01:18:21,690 --> 01:18:27,010
Now, I would remind the public also that technically speaking, the school board does not

1078
01:18:27,010 --> 01:18:31,090
have a requirement sent anything to the burrow until May 1st.

1079
01:18:31,650 --> 01:18:34,610
And so the goal is to do that significantly earlier.

1080
01:18:36,470 --> 01:18:43,760
But we also have to think about that from a time frame where we give the public enough time to

1081
01:18:43,760 --> 01:18:49,840
about it, make input, do we need to make adjustments? And so by moving these dates, I just gave

1082
01:18:49,840 --> 01:18:55,820
you like a big thesis, but I guess there wasn't like another reason outside of just, it's too close

1083
01:18:55,820 --> 01:19:04,500
to the winter break. But I'm fine with it. I just as it kind of, I should be fine, but I have

1084
01:19:04,500 --> 01:19:09,620
a potential work engagement for the 29th as the Board of Fisheries is going to be in town.

1085
01:19:09,620 --> 01:19:16,620
And generally, they're good about staying ending at 5 p.m., but I can't guarantee that.

1086
01:19:19,000 --> 01:19:22,460
I probably still would make my best effort to get here by 6.

1087
01:19:23,480 --> 01:19:24,480
It's just...

1088
01:19:24,480 --> 01:19:25,360
Yeah, that's fine.

1089
01:19:25,820 --> 01:19:26,500
That's fine.

1090
01:19:27,500 --> 01:19:27,820
So...

1091
01:19:28,140 --> 01:19:29,900
I'll probably be out of town.

1092
01:19:30,720 --> 01:19:31,700
I can zoom in.

1093
01:19:31,920 --> 01:19:32,020
Okay.

1094
01:19:34,340 --> 01:19:34,840
Okay.

1095
01:19:37,260 --> 01:19:37,400
Okay.

1096
01:19:38,060 --> 01:19:41,920
Okay, so that seems to be acceptable, so we'll go ahead and make that happen.

1097
01:19:43,320 --> 01:19:48,040
Okay, now we're moving on to the work session, but we're pushing 725.

1098
01:19:48,340 --> 01:19:54,660
So I recommend that we take a break until 730, so then we can move into the work session.

1099
01:19:55,300 --> 01:19:56,440
Please, thank you.

1100
01:30:20,140 --> 01:30:37,540
And we will enter into a work session to you discuss the FY26 budget. I would like to remind those watching at home and also members of the audience that this is a work session only. And this is not, there will be no motions of any action to be taken.

1101
01:30:47,180 --> 01:30:47,620
Okay.

1102
01:30:48,080 --> 01:30:48,080
We

1103
01:31:04,430 --> 01:31:05,250
got it.

1104
01:31:06,270 --> 01:31:07,710
Can you stay on the screen?

1105
01:31:09,350 --> 01:31:09,870
Can you hear me?

1106
01:31:10,090 --> 01:31:11,070
Okay, back there?

1107
01:31:11,650 --> 01:31:11,810
Go ahead.

1108
01:31:12,590 --> 01:31:12,970
Okay.

1109
01:31:13,410 --> 01:31:19,810
This is very similar to the budget committee meeting that we had on Wednesday, which I believe

1110
01:31:19,810 --> 01:31:23,110
all the school board members got a chance to take a look at.

1111
01:31:23,350 --> 01:31:28,010
So I will go through this because maybe some of the members of the public did not get a chance

1112
01:31:28,010 --> 01:31:29,190
to see it.

1113
01:31:29,190 --> 01:31:36,570
this will be posted online sometime tomorrow on our budget website and I know that somebody

1114
01:31:36,570 --> 01:31:44,030
had asked where that is on the school district website. If you go to the home page and

1115
01:31:44,030 --> 01:31:49,890
right underneath the pictures, you know, the pictures of the kids graduating and a beautiful

1116
01:31:49,890 --> 01:31:57,290
picture that was taken over a sunset, it's right underneath there. It says budget, that's how you

1117
01:31:57,290 --> 01:32:04,570
So for those who need it and if you need help and you can't find it, please just give us a call.

1118
01:32:05,630 --> 01:32:09,170
Okay, as always we talk about the student being the center of our decisions,

1119
01:32:10,650 --> 01:32:15,850
that all of the people who are involved in this believe that we're doing what's best for students

1120
01:32:15,850 --> 01:32:21,910
and I believe that and sometimes we're not going to agree on what's best for our students,

1121
01:32:21,910 --> 01:32:26,350
But please note, one of the things that we had talked about in Mr. House

1122
01:32:26,350 --> 01:32:31,610
brought it up, that presuming positive intentions, that we are all working hard,

1123
01:32:32,410 --> 01:32:36,370
that everybody in our organization is trying to do what's best for what they believe

1124
01:32:36,370 --> 01:32:43,030
for kids in our students, and sometimes we're just not going to agree on what those things are,

1125
01:32:43,350 --> 01:32:48,710
but that's okay. That's why we have the process that we have, and that's why we started it

1126
01:32:48,710 --> 01:32:58,510
early. Okay, so introductions in rationale, the budget gap created by inadequate funding from the state

1127
01:32:58,510 --> 01:33:05,170
increased cost to do inflation. The based out of student allocation funded by the state is

1128
01:33:05,170 --> 01:33:10,390
unlikely to increase. We budget it. We'll get into the assumptions a little bit later on

1129
01:33:10,390 --> 01:33:17,870
$680 because we've got indication from the commissioner of education that that's where the

1130
01:33:17,870 --> 01:33:23,670
will start the conversation. Hopefully we get more. I think Mr. Ortiz did an excellent job of

1131
01:33:23,670 --> 01:33:29,690
explaining the impact that everybody can have on-state government by being involved in sending

1132
01:33:29,690 --> 01:33:39,850
along notes and having conversations with not only our representative, Mr. Minum, but also

1133
01:33:39,850 --> 01:33:46,990
with other representatives in the state. It's okay to contact those people. And once that

1134
01:33:46,990 --> 01:33:51,370
it's finalized is where they are and what committees they're on will make sure we

1135
01:33:51,370 --> 01:33:54,650
forward that to the community and to our school board.

1136
01:33:55,030 --> 01:34:02,410
I think that truly you have an impact on BSA and on school funding.

1137
01:34:03,350 --> 01:34:07,730
We testified twice last year in front of the State Senate Finance Committee.

1138
01:34:07,910 --> 01:34:09,450
I think it does have an impact.

1139
01:34:11,090 --> 01:34:16,530
Decisions need to be made as soon as possible, but also understanding that there's a

1140
01:34:16,530 --> 01:34:22,150
online for discussion and I think that that's why we moved or one of the main reasons

1141
01:34:22,150 --> 01:34:26,110
why we moved the January moodings just to give us a little bit more time to have this

1142
01:34:26,110 --> 01:34:34,530
discussions. So this was discussed both Mr. Ortiz. We really have not had substantial increase

1143
01:34:34,530 --> 01:34:43,310
to the base student allocation. We had one in 2017 to 18 but that was a relatively small amount.

1144
01:34:43,310 --> 01:34:49,130
We had $30 increase to the base student allocation and we had outside funding.

1145
01:34:50,010 --> 01:34:57,670
The base student allocation gives us an opportunity to make sure that we can plan from year in to year out.

1146
01:34:58,070 --> 01:35:00,690
And that's incredibly important in school districts.

1147
01:35:01,410 --> 01:35:09,170
We don't know our funding last year until June and the end of June of last year.

1148
01:35:09,170 --> 01:35:14,830
And that is because the governor's budget was not completed and signed into law until then.

1149
01:35:15,430 --> 01:35:18,790
We start our fiscal year July 1st.

1150
01:35:19,390 --> 01:35:27,110
And so it's very difficult to plan when we don't have a BSA that's consistent and inflation proof.

1151
01:35:28,730 --> 01:35:31,150
So, estate funding levels remain the same.

1152
01:35:31,150 --> 01:35:38,750
at 5960 and the SAA 680 and then maintaining those current staff levels that we have, we do have

1153
01:35:38,750 --> 01:35:43,730
decreasing enrollment and I'd like to emphasize with the decreasing enrollment that it doesn't

1154
01:35:43,730 --> 01:35:50,870
decrease all in one grade and it doesn't decrease in all in one area. It's howling may lose three

1155
01:35:50,870 --> 01:35:59,250
kids in third grade point-higgins may lose five and fun mountain may lose one. That impacts how we

1156
01:35:59,250 --> 01:36:05,630
staff and when we staff and I think somebody had asked me a question is do we zero-based budget

1157
01:36:05,630 --> 01:36:12,190
every year we do based on staffing and what the students are based on the number of students

1158
01:36:12,190 --> 01:36:19,490
that we have and then we staff accordingly. But unfortunately we have a situation where

1159
01:36:20,410 --> 01:36:28,750
we may only have 37 kids in the class and say third grade. They drop down then to 34 kids

1160
01:36:29,250 --> 01:36:33,030
We still need two teachers. We're not going to have 34 kids in the third grade class.

1161
01:36:33,870 --> 01:36:41,430
And so, although we do have a decrease, that then causes an issue where you still need two teachers.

1162
01:36:41,610 --> 01:36:44,370
You still need to staffing, but we don't get the money for the enrollment.

1163
01:36:44,850 --> 01:36:46,310
Can you read it?

1164
01:36:46,410 --> 01:36:46,550
Yes.

1165
01:36:47,410 --> 01:36:52,570
I have two questions that are sort of related to your fingers on this slide.

1166
01:36:53,430 --> 01:37:14,050
The first is a rough estimate from you, I could probably do the math on my head, but if obviously we're at 5.5960 PSA, how much money would we lose if we were not given another 1x680?

1167
01:37:16,890 --> 01:37:18,830
3.4? 3.4 million.

1168
01:37:18,830 --> 01:37:28,910
Okay, and that's assuming that, you know, obviously there's been discussions with the commissioner to at least start the discussion at 680, but that's not guaranteed.

1169
01:37:29,530 --> 01:37:30,470
Correct. Yes.

1170
01:37:30,950 --> 01:37:42,710
My second question is, obviously, we're, again, we're hopefully assuming that we're going to stay status quo with 560 plus 680.

1171
01:37:43,450 --> 01:37:48,710
However, obviously we have a, you know, inflation has been a factor in other things that

1172
01:37:49,610 --> 01:37:51,930
other expenditures that we need to consider.

1173
01:37:52,970 --> 01:37:58,690
I don't know if you, you were the business manager, no, what, this number could be,

1174
01:37:59,210 --> 01:38:04,890
but what you say that, what would that increase at least in one time be a say to maintain

1175
01:38:06,410 --> 01:38:08,470
what we have from this year to next year?

1176
01:38:11,650 --> 01:38:14,610
So I want to make sure I understand this correctly.

1177
01:38:15,370 --> 01:38:18,830
So are you saying, if it's a one time increase

1178
01:38:18,830 --> 01:38:22,950
meaning just a lump sum just for one year,

1179
01:38:23,330 --> 01:38:25,810
or is this 680 moving forward year

1180
01:38:25,810 --> 01:38:27,250
after you're meaning a permanent thing?

1181
01:38:27,330 --> 01:38:31,530
It's for past like four years that they've given us one time

1182
01:38:31,530 --> 01:38:32,930
different forms.

1183
01:38:33,490 --> 01:38:36,830
There's been years where they just said it was like 80 million

1184
01:38:36,830 --> 01:38:39,230
and then it distributed through all the school districts

1185
01:38:39,230 --> 01:38:41,570
in the state, and in the past two years,

1186
01:38:41,690 --> 01:38:43,870
I believe it's been just an additional one time

1187
01:38:43,870 --> 01:38:44,390
six eighty.

1188
01:38:44,850 --> 01:38:45,870
Okay, so to that point.

1189
01:38:45,870 --> 01:38:50,970
So then I comment was going to be for newer board members

1190
01:38:50,970 --> 01:38:52,450
and also members of the public.

1191
01:38:53,170 --> 01:38:55,830
It's extremely dangerous and I think foolish

1192
01:38:55,830 --> 01:39:00,410
to do any sort of long-term budgeting on a one-time BSA.

1193
01:39:00,830 --> 01:39:03,910
Because then what happens is you are automatically

1194
01:39:04,610 --> 01:39:06,450
putting people at risk in terms

1195
01:39:06,450 --> 01:39:13,070
planning their future. You can't say, oh, great. We've got this one-time BSA pot of money, and

1196
01:39:13,070 --> 01:39:18,750
now let's go hire a new third grade teacher because no, because that might not happen the

1197
01:39:18,750 --> 01:39:24,230
following year. Catherine, also want to just make a distinction about like a one-time 680 funding.

1198
01:39:24,470 --> 01:39:33,270
It is not included into the BSA amount. It is, and so it doesn't go through the formula, it doesn't

1199
01:39:33,270 --> 01:39:40,610
do and does, it does, it does, okay, well, let me just explain really clearly. The 680 that we have

1200
01:39:40,610 --> 01:39:46,910
this year does go through the formula. I don't know in the past what that was, I got a question

1201
01:39:46,910 --> 01:39:53,110
about that yesterday. In this case, it did go through the formula. Mr. Bynum had brought that up,

1202
01:39:53,210 --> 01:40:00,610
touring the discussions in the spring. Mr. Schueler confirmed that in the budget,

1203
01:40:01,250 --> 01:40:08,930
with the, excuse me, with the budgeting people at the state level. So in the past, that may not have been necessarily true.

1204
01:40:09,250 --> 01:40:23,970
That is true for this year. And so, and that's why putting 680 into BSEs, BSA, so critical to Madam President's comment, you can't really budget more than the year that's in front of you.

1205
01:40:23,970 --> 01:40:28,390
like you can't look out two years, three years, knowing that you may have retirement,

1206
01:40:28,630 --> 01:40:35,130
so that you may have natural attrition through people moving. It really just

1207
01:40:35,130 --> 01:40:40,330
you're a year to year to year operation in every school district in the state.

1208
01:40:41,570 --> 01:40:46,270
I just have a quick clarifying question for the superintendent over the business managers.

1209
01:40:46,270 --> 01:40:54,890
So basically, my question was, what one time increase would it be to inflation prove for

1210
01:40:54,890 --> 01:40:59,290
next year to at least offer the same stuff that we're offering this year to next year?

1211
01:41:00,150 --> 01:41:05,950
So is it like 750, 800, but you have a rough estimate, what would be, if not, that's okay.

1212
01:41:06,050 --> 01:41:08,590
I just curious if somebody happens to know that off the other hand.

1213
01:41:08,710 --> 01:41:13,370
Mr. Schuller, do you want to, let us take some time or do you want to answer that?

1214
01:41:20,830 --> 01:41:26,410
Can you let me put together some scenarios and get that distributed out to the Board of Education?

1215
01:41:27,670 --> 01:41:31,990
And I'll also put that on the budget website for those who are interested.

1216
01:41:34,600 --> 01:41:40,740
Okay, so I'd like to start really with the process that we had.

1217
01:41:41,700 --> 01:41:50,740
We had determined after the budget committee met informed that the sites and when I say sites schools

1218
01:41:50,740 --> 01:41:59,820
with me. And so they met with staff members, they met with community members, and then they

1219
01:42:00,660 --> 01:42:07,500
forwarded their recommendations to myself. And we looked at them with our building principles,

1220
01:42:08,300 --> 01:42:14,800
and we brought together these two ideas. So these really generated from our teachers,

1221
01:42:14,800 --> 01:42:21,940
our paraprofessionals, our building principles and then they kind of flowed through the district

1222
01:42:21,940 --> 01:42:28,860
office and then we put them together along with our building principles and that way we

1223
01:42:28,860 --> 01:42:37,560
wanted to maintain the last year we had some concerns that you know the because of the way that

1224
01:42:37,560 --> 01:42:44,200
it occurred in the timelines that we had that there wasn't as much sight and teacher involvement

1225
01:42:44,200 --> 01:42:49,040
And this year we wanted to change that, and that's why we started the budget process so early.

1226
01:42:49,880 --> 01:42:56,120
And they did that. They came together and they had some good ideas and they had some ideas that may not have worked.

1227
01:42:56,500 --> 01:43:00,280
But they did work together with us and in a district office.

1228
01:43:00,300 --> 01:43:09,440
And I think that's a much better format is to have an understanding at the site level or school level of exactly what occurred.

1229
01:43:09,440 --> 01:43:16,240
I took those, and we worked together with the budget committee to present those ideas that came from

1230
01:43:16,940 --> 01:43:20,320
the schools, and I think that that's a good process.

1231
01:43:20,980 --> 01:43:26,940
We presented to the budget committee, and then now we're going to present to the school board

1232
01:43:26,940 --> 01:43:34,960
of what the ideas were that came out of those discussions with our schools, and then we did

1233
01:43:34,960 --> 01:43:41,520
community events they weren't, all that well attended, but now I think that there's more people

1234
01:43:41,520 --> 01:43:46,100
engaged and that's good. That means that we're going to have also other ideas that we may not have

1235
01:43:46,100 --> 01:43:47,540
thought of at the site level.

1236
01:43:49,840 --> 01:43:55,280
So really, our budget consists of 91% of our budget is personnel.

1237
01:43:56,600 --> 01:44:04,380
We are a personnel driven organization. It's what our strength is, and it's also what drives

1238
01:44:04,380 --> 01:44:14,400
All of the decisions, unfortunately, when it comes to where we need to make cuts as far as a reduction if necessary during a school year.

1239
01:44:14,860 --> 01:44:17,780
And that is just the makeup of schools.

1240
01:44:18,820 --> 01:44:22,620
There is, and I'm going to show you here on the next slide.

1241
01:44:23,060 --> 01:44:26,580
This is what each site received or school.

1242
01:44:27,020 --> 01:44:29,240
I'm just going to choose howling.

1243
01:44:30,240 --> 01:44:36,520
And as you can see, between salary, insurance, life and health,

1244
01:44:37,100 --> 01:44:42,520
a psychic contribution, retirements that were required, retirements for purrs,

1245
01:44:44,760 --> 01:44:50,080
and that is the bulk of those particular schools.

1246
01:44:50,320 --> 01:44:54,800
And each school got a copy of this, for their particular site,

1247
01:44:54,800 --> 01:44:59,980
Also, the schools got a copy of all of the sites.

1248
01:45:00,210 --> 01:45:12,090
So, they could see what everybody else was spending money on and what they were. And really, like I said before, it's 91% personnel.

1249
01:45:13,190 --> 01:45:30,050
So, it's driven by all of the people that we have working for us who are doing a fantastic job. But even if you took out utilities in water and garbage in electricity and gas and diesel and supplies,

1250
01:45:30,050 --> 01:45:39,910
that still leaves us, you know, $250,000 short, and we wouldn't have lights in paper

1251
01:45:39,910 --> 01:45:49,190
and whatever we might need for students or heat, and so this is howling had a

1252
01:45:49,190 --> 01:45:59,190
$402,000 deficit moving forward based on contract health care and those items, and so

1253
01:45:59,190 --> 01:46:02,770
Each one of the sites receive this in the beginning of October.

1254
01:46:03,410 --> 01:46:11,510
They work through their processes and then they brought forward ideas to us as a school district.

1255
01:46:12,550 --> 01:46:15,690
So this is option A that we talked about.

1256
01:46:15,850 --> 01:46:17,150
I tried to clarify.

1257
01:46:17,430 --> 01:46:20,270
I got some feedback from some budget committee members,

1258
01:46:20,530 --> 01:46:23,730
some members from the community to try to look a little bit more clear.

1259
01:46:24,310 --> 01:46:27,210
So I'll try to do the best I can for these.

1260
01:46:27,210 --> 01:46:29,790
Can you go back one slide please?

1261
01:46:29,830 --> 01:46:30,450
Yeah, good.

1262
01:46:31,030 --> 01:46:38,330
So, I just kind of another thing to think about, and because catch can is very, very

1263
01:46:38,330 --> 01:46:42,390
dedicated community, right, and very passionate about our children and education.

1264
01:46:42,950 --> 01:46:43,890
That's a great thing.

1265
01:46:44,310 --> 01:46:50,310
And so people are coming up with all sorts of ideas, which, again, catch can is very good at coming up with

1266
01:46:50,310 --> 01:46:51,030
great ideas.

1267
01:46:51,750 --> 01:46:57,190
But the one thing I think that's really important to note is you could literally take every

1268
01:46:57,190 --> 01:47:02,770
single idea that people have come up with, and I'm just going to use Houtling here as an example.

1269
01:47:04,010 --> 01:47:10,170
You take away one teacher, you take away other, I'm just going to make this up here.

1270
01:47:10,230 --> 01:47:14,410
I'm going to take away the garbage, I'm going to other purchase services.

1271
01:47:15,170 --> 01:47:19,130
It's still when you take away all of the little things that have been suggested.

1272
01:47:19,130 --> 01:47:25,950
It doesn't even come close to making up that deficit in that pie.

1273
01:47:25,950 --> 01:47:28,190
So, thank you.

1274
01:47:28,790 --> 01:47:34,390
So I tried to, and these two options try to clarify a little bit what came from the site

1275
01:47:34,390 --> 01:47:37,010
levels up to us.

1276
01:47:37,390 --> 01:47:43,830
And really what you're looking at is, in the secondary schools, and understand that Ketsuke

1277
01:47:43,830 --> 01:47:50,210
and High School and Shumbar and Reveila, they've already received reductions over the last

1278
01:47:50,210 --> 01:47:51,510
few years.

1279
01:47:51,510 --> 01:48:01,390
And so it would be a pretty significant reduction in the secondary staff, increasing student numbers.

1280
01:48:02,490 --> 01:48:10,430
And you're looking at, you know, 27 to 1, 29 to 1, 30 to 1, and high school classes, same with middle school.

1281
01:48:10,430 --> 01:48:21,930
We're Villa has a little bit smaller PTR people to teach your ratio, but that's really based on the needs of the students that they have at that particular program.

1282
01:48:22,630 --> 01:48:34,030
And just a quick shout out to Reville and I know Mr. Lunderman here is that they had the highest graduation rate that they've had since they changed over at 82.2% last year.

1283
01:48:34,030 --> 01:48:36,510
And that is a, we can clap for that, can't we?

1284
01:48:36,690 --> 01:48:37,010
Thank you.

1285
01:48:38,150 --> 01:48:40,230
And I know Aaron Knights here too, so I'm going to point

1286
01:48:40,230 --> 01:48:41,570
her out, she's a teacher there.

1287
01:48:42,710 --> 01:48:45,610
And that's a phenomenal, phenomenal number.

1288
01:48:46,310 --> 01:48:50,450
And so, but that's why that number is the little bit smaller

1289
01:48:50,450 --> 01:48:51,530
based on the needs of the child.

1290
01:48:53,470 --> 01:48:56,430
So the level of reductions in the secondary schools

1291
01:48:56,430 --> 01:48:58,810
will really be based upon the decisions

1292
01:48:58,810 --> 01:49:01,170
that has and made regards to the elementary schools.

1293
01:49:01,170 --> 01:49:05,790
So with option A, here, this, and like I said,

1294
01:49:05,890 --> 01:49:09,190
this comes from the sites, point Higgins right now

1295
01:49:09,190 --> 01:49:12,690
and found mountain and have a half time they split.

1296
01:49:13,930 --> 01:49:18,250
And their request was that they have a full time

1297
01:49:18,250 --> 01:49:19,370
at the system principle.

1298
01:49:20,350 --> 01:49:25,110
And so we try to reflect that in the proposal

1299
01:49:25,110 --> 01:49:28,210
that was given to us and that we look through that

1300
01:49:28,210 --> 01:49:29,870
and we thought that was a really good idea also.

1301
01:49:29,870 --> 01:49:34,530
And so as a result of that, that's why you look, and you see that there's an addition,

1302
01:49:35,110 --> 01:49:39,770
but the reason why we had the addition is that both sites, and we want to listen to our

1303
01:49:40,830 --> 01:49:42,810
staff's request to that would be the case.

1304
01:49:43,670 --> 01:49:49,970
And this circumstance, unfortunately, no library, music or PE, there was a question that I had

1305
01:49:49,970 --> 01:49:54,270
as PE would be taught by the teachers or a combination of the teachers.

1306
01:49:54,770 --> 01:49:59,110
And so I wanted to say that we'd still have that, but it would be structured completely

1307
01:49:59,110 --> 01:50:05,910
differently. We are lucky enough to have phenomenal physical education teachers in our

1308
01:50:05,910 --> 01:50:11,210
schools, and so that's why when you look at, oh, I'm sorry, right here. It would be

1309
01:50:11,210 --> 01:50:18,750
about a 1.3 to 1.5, 1.6 million dollars. But once again, this is an estimate, and it's

1310
01:50:18,750 --> 01:50:24,370
based on the average cost of staff, staff members, healthcare, payroll taxes, pension. These

1311
01:50:24,370 --> 01:50:28,670
figures may change based upon experience levels of remaining staff, and healthcare

1312
01:50:28,670 --> 01:50:32,270
renewal, which we will not know until late April, early May. Go ahead, Judy.

1313
01:50:32,650 --> 01:50:35,290
If you go back to the previous slide.

1314
01:50:38,370 --> 01:50:38,370
Yeah.

1315
01:50:38,370 --> 01:50:45,170
To the point, Higgins and Font Mountain are reduced by 30 minutes, and

1316
01:50:45,170 --> 01:50:50,290
Houghtling doesn't have that reduction. Can you explain?

1317
01:50:51,940 --> 01:50:57,100
I'm going to try. Yes. If not, I can get back to you on it. It has to do with the way

1318
01:50:57,100 --> 01:51:00,060
their special schedules are that they currently have.

1319
01:51:00,460 --> 01:51:02,180
And so when the special schedules change,

1320
01:51:03,140 --> 01:51:06,440
that's then shown as their school day based upon what they have now.

1321
01:51:06,960 --> 01:51:10,120
And so I can give you a little bit more detail on specifics with it,

1322
01:51:10,120 --> 01:51:13,400
but that's the macro picture of it.

1323
01:51:13,700 --> 01:51:13,780
Thanks.

1324
01:51:13,780 --> 01:51:14,180
Thank you.

1325
01:51:14,420 --> 01:51:14,500
Yeah.

1326
01:51:14,780 --> 01:51:19,520
I think my answer later, but just in case you don't.

1327
01:51:19,900 --> 01:51:23,600
On an average here, how many people would you say

1328
01:51:23,600 --> 01:51:30,100
would be like retiring, because that that happens a natural thing. I know I think it

1329
01:51:30,100 --> 01:51:34,540
prefers it's been like four to eight, if but I don't know for sure but I don't

1330
01:51:34,540 --> 01:51:39,460
want to say we want to count on that but that is something that will help if this

1331
01:51:39,460 --> 01:51:44,820
is an option that we pursue. Yeah it's usually more than that. It's usually between

1332
01:51:44,820 --> 01:51:50,160
eight, seven, five to twelve depending on the year. We get we start to get

1333
01:51:50,160 --> 01:51:56,460
It's between now and really towards the end of the year, but there's in a small incentive

1334
01:51:56,460 --> 01:51:58,700
of the contracts, so we try to get them around June.

1335
01:51:59,700 --> 01:52:07,140
It's another reason why we might, as part of our timeline, bring tenure contracts to the board

1336
01:52:07,140 --> 01:52:10,300
earlier, so they have 30 days to sign those contracts.

1337
01:52:10,880 --> 01:52:16,760
Then we will know, be able to know which staff is not returning, which then helps us place

1338
01:52:16,760 --> 01:52:25,280
staff in those particular positions and in our school district our size we would need all of our tenure teachers to come back

1339
01:52:25,280 --> 01:52:27,260
So bringing that to the board

1340
01:52:27,260 --> 01:52:33,880
Doesn't necessarily put us in a financial liability because we're going to need those anyway regardless of of where we are at

1341
01:52:33,880 --> 01:52:35,220
But we'll never get to

1342
01:52:35,220 --> 01:52:45,200
I know you and I had this conversation a little bit earlier where I asked about the the viability of keeping the vice principal part-time and the music teacher part-time, especially because

1343
01:52:46,200 --> 01:52:53,520
music, we can't fill the second decision as is. Is there any possibility that we could

1344
01:52:53,520 --> 01:52:59,800
explore that viability still? I know that the principles of asked for a VP, but...

1345
01:52:59,800 --> 01:53:07,140
The stats also. I just want to... I just like to emphasize that this comes from the teachers

1346
01:53:07,140 --> 01:53:13,840
in the paras and the principles and that that's what they requested. Yes, we can explore whatever

1347
01:53:13,840 --> 01:53:38,840
You know, and so I would say one of the reasons why we have one floating teacher now in music is that we just couldn't find a second music teacher, and that is a concern not only here in Ketchakand, but in Alaska in general, we had over 650 openings on day one in the state of Alaska, and it's also the same that's true in

1348
01:53:38,840 --> 01:53:46,480
In the lower 48, I have friends of mine who are superintendents in Watertown, New York, and Greenville, Pennsylvania,

1349
01:53:47,800 --> 01:53:51,220
and they have difficulty finding elementary teachers.

1350
01:53:51,660 --> 01:53:57,440
And that's usually a pretty, there's a lot of them usually, but in this case, there's not good.

1351
01:53:57,620 --> 01:54:04,060
I guess some of my point was, even if we were to do the K-3-3, it's possible that we would still have to have a floating teacher.

1352
01:54:04,460 --> 01:54:06,860
Yes, because, because of staffing, right?

1353
01:54:06,860 --> 01:54:09,180
Yeah, that's an excellent, I'm sorry, Mr. Pointer, but yes.

1354
01:54:10,000 --> 01:54:16,760
Yeah, it's absolutely, the case is that sometimes when you don't have programs, we

1355
01:54:16,760 --> 01:54:21,300
want to have a maritime program, we could not find a teacher for a maritime program.

1356
01:54:21,660 --> 01:54:28,700
Like, we want to have these programs, I think that sometimes we get this idea that we don't

1357
01:54:28,700 --> 01:54:30,180
want to do that, that's not true.

1358
01:54:30,500 --> 01:54:32,560
It's just sometimes staffing is very difficult.

1359
01:54:32,560 --> 01:54:42,100
And sometimes you have to know somebody who wants to do it, and somebody that reaches out to them, and now that they know that there's an interest, then we find people like that.

1360
01:54:42,780 --> 01:54:48,700
It's unfortunate that we're in that position, but the same thing can be said about our SSP case, right?

1361
01:54:48,940 --> 01:54:51,660
Like that we have hard time finding speech people.

1362
01:54:51,780 --> 01:55:00,400
I mean, of course, we'd like to have speech here on the island with people, but unfortunately it's not that easy to find who want to move up here.

1363
01:55:00,400 --> 01:55:03,940
So it's an excellent question, and we certainly, we would look at it, and once again,

1364
01:55:04,300 --> 01:55:09,700
the earlier that, you know, if we know in February and March, it does give us an advantage

1365
01:55:09,700 --> 01:55:12,060
when it comes to recruitment and retention.

1366
01:55:12,720 --> 01:55:18,920
I know that it's difficult, and it stresses our HR director out constantly is because we need

1367
01:55:18,920 --> 01:55:23,300
to know, you know, who's not coming back, how we place people and there's contract language

1368
01:55:23,300 --> 01:55:27,280
that we certainly want to follow, and we need to follow, there's state law that we have

1369
01:55:27,280 --> 01:55:31,240
follow when it comes to those things and we certainly want to be in compliance with that.

1370
01:55:34,300 --> 01:55:41,500
Okay. Option B, there would be much less of an impact on the secondary schools simply because

1371
01:55:41,500 --> 01:55:49,200
of the specialization part and some of those are zero to one. Revealment might be zero to

1372
01:55:49,200 --> 01:55:58,340
one. Shumbar zero to one because they've already taken a lot of the cuts or reductions and

1373
01:55:58,340 --> 01:56:05,340
Class sizes may still go up a little bit, but not as significantly, I think that those would

1374
01:56:05,340 --> 01:56:08,720
stay around 20, 20, 15 to 1, 26 to 1.

1375
01:56:09,980 --> 01:56:14,700
But those may drop a little bit depending on what classes they're taking, the flexibility

1376
01:56:14,700 --> 01:56:17,920
that we would have within those structures because we'd have to lose less staff.

1377
01:56:19,460 --> 01:56:25,460
The specialization idea, K-3, K-3, K-3, 4, 6, and once again I'd like to reiterate that

1378
01:56:25,460 --> 01:56:32,640
came from our school buildings and our school staffs as what is best for in a very difficult

1379
01:56:32,640 --> 01:56:39,220
situation. The reason why they picked K3 was really centered around the Reeds Act. The Reeds

1380
01:56:39,220 --> 01:56:46,720
Act came in two years ago kindergarten through third grade is required by the state to implement

1381
01:56:46,720 --> 01:56:52,720
the Reeds Act. We felt that through professional development and I'll get into this a little bit

1382
01:56:52,720 --> 01:56:59,200
is that is helps our students and helps with alignment and we go from there.

1383
01:56:59,860 --> 01:57:01,540
I'm sorry. Go ahead.

1384
01:57:01,580 --> 01:57:04,640
Just for the last slide, we had talked about just to clarify.

1385
01:57:05,320 --> 01:57:09,040
This option includes preschool staying where they are as is.

1386
01:57:09,180 --> 01:57:09,460
Correct.

1387
01:57:10,140 --> 01:57:13,840
That would be a discussion once again probably, well, Julie was here,

1388
01:57:14,440 --> 01:57:17,000
but in Sally's talk house and director's special education.

1389
01:57:17,600 --> 01:57:21,460
We'd have to have a conversation if that's where they wanted to stay.

1390
01:57:21,460 --> 01:57:26,120
I think there's an indication that we do, but that might shift.

1391
01:57:26,880 --> 01:57:31,340
I would say that it's helped streamline our preschool program.

1392
01:57:31,540 --> 01:57:37,580
It's helped with collaboration within our preschool structures and, you know, change is

1393
01:57:37,580 --> 01:57:41,900
hard it is and it was difficult, but I think the benefits we have seen.

1394
01:57:42,220 --> 01:57:46,420
But once again we're still working through it and also with preschool, we've changed

1395
01:57:46,420 --> 01:58:11,280
I think every year for like five years in a row, seven years in a row, thank you, Julie, is that I think we try to, maybe we try to do something two years in a row and see if that works and then we move forward and we go from there, but if you ever get a chance, you should talk to Miss Turina to go visit down there, it's pretty awesome what they've done with that space.

1396
01:58:12,140 --> 01:58:17,660
What do you think I want to clarify to that was mentioned in public testimony?

1397
01:58:18,380 --> 01:58:26,140
Well, I would agree that I would not classify preschool as a luxury, that's not what the state thinks about preschool.

1398
01:58:26,440 --> 01:58:28,840
We do not get a single well.

1399
01:58:29,740 --> 01:58:34,800
We get some special education money for the students that we need to service for who are ages of three and four.

1400
01:58:35,680 --> 01:58:38,620
And that's based upon the amount of time of service.

1401
01:58:39,300 --> 01:58:41,840
It's not necessarily like a 1.0.

1402
01:58:41,900 --> 01:58:47,360
It's based on the amount of time that they have in their IEPs and go ahead.

1403
01:58:47,440 --> 01:58:53,440
No, it's just a thing that I want to make it very clear that like I think everybody on this

1404
01:58:53,440 --> 01:58:57,620
word will agree with me that preschools absolutely have a significant value, especially within

1405
01:58:57,620 --> 01:58:58,260
our communities.

1406
01:58:58,440 --> 01:59:02,780
But it does make things a little bit more difficult when we are trying to allocate money between

1407
01:59:02,780 --> 01:59:08,860
all of our different sites when we're having to, again, I don't want to call it a luxury,

1408
01:59:09,360 --> 01:59:15,320
but, again, in the States, it is a luxury to have a preschool that's not funded by the IEA

1409
01:59:15,320 --> 01:59:16,160
title six grams.

1410
01:59:18,620 --> 01:59:23,460
So it's just another piece of the puzzle that we have to consider when it

1411
01:59:23,460 --> 01:59:29,970
putting our budget together. And I think there's a misconception of what is,

1412
01:59:31,490 --> 01:59:35,550
Just where is the money coming from to support those services and it has to come from somewhere

1413
01:59:35,550 --> 01:59:40,390
and if we want to support a preschool, it's possible we might have to take from somewhere

1414
01:59:40,390 --> 01:59:43,210
else depending on how much money we do have available to us.

1415
01:59:43,590 --> 01:59:49,250
And I would like to say that by moving it to howling has streamed on a little bit of the staffing

1416
01:59:49,250 --> 01:59:52,410
that we need to have and that's truly made a difference.

1417
01:59:52,590 --> 01:59:56,730
I mean that's a benefit that there's also many other benefits of having it there and they've

1418
01:59:56,730 --> 01:59:57,490
done a great job.

1419
01:59:58,050 --> 01:59:59,930
with that being said, though, with pre-school.

1420
02:00:00,000 --> 02:00:06,720
That means students into our district earlier than they would. So technically we are getting the BSA for them.

1421
02:00:07,520 --> 02:00:19,560
No, we don't. So yeah, it's a good question. So let me try to clarify this as best I possibly can. We receive funding for students in preschool that have special education needs.

1422
02:00:19,560 --> 02:00:24,440
So we have something called child-fined and we're required to do this.

1423
02:00:24,720 --> 02:00:28,360
We then identify students who may need special education service.

1424
02:00:28,760 --> 02:00:30,640
Whatever those might be.

1425
02:00:31,160 --> 02:00:36,880
Having a preschool program like we do, we can service those students in those classrooms,

1426
02:00:37,380 --> 02:00:40,260
which I think has a long-term benefit.

1427
02:00:40,820 --> 02:00:47,600
It has a short-term benefit of obviously providing the services they required for the IEPs that are created,

1428
02:00:47,600 --> 02:00:53,060
But it has a long-term benefit and I agree that now they're connected to our schools.

1429
02:00:53,460 --> 02:00:54,820
We know who those students are.

1430
02:00:55,100 --> 02:00:59,680
We can identify the transition into kindergarten a lot easier in first and second grade.

1431
02:01:00,240 --> 02:01:06,280
And if literacy is a key to success, particularly in kindergarten through third grade, preschool

1432
02:01:06,280 --> 02:01:10,700
allows us to have a more of a connection, a stronger connection with the schools.

1433
02:01:10,700 --> 02:01:19,280
So we do service kids and we do get a certain amount of funding for pre-K based upon special education needs.

1434
02:01:19,740 --> 02:01:30,640
Now, if a student doesn't have any special education needs, for example, and they go to preschool, then we then as a school district would then pick up that particular cost.

1435
02:01:30,640 --> 02:01:36,760
with IEA pre-school, there's a grant that's, well, title six, it's not a grant, but title six

1436
02:01:36,760 --> 02:01:45,020
monies that we receive, they've paid for 1.0, the school district pays for 1.0, and that's been a very successful

1437
02:01:45,020 --> 02:01:52,600
program for us for a long period of time, and I think they've done a fantastic job of helping our students,

1438
02:01:52,820 --> 02:01:58,500
particularly our last native students, who struggle in kindergarten through third grade when it comes to literacy.

1439
02:01:58,500 --> 02:02:04,780
Now, we've caught up our literacy scores with our Alaska Native students over the last two to three years,

1440
02:02:05,440 --> 02:02:10,480
but there's still a little bit behind. We have some other things in place to help students in kindergarten

1441
02:02:10,480 --> 02:02:15,740
through third grade, but certainly preschool in the IA has done an excellent job of helping

1442
02:02:15,740 --> 02:02:20,440
transition into those kindergarten classrooms in first grade classrooms.

1443
02:02:23,090 --> 02:02:26,070
So, if you look at, this is the dividing line.

1444
02:02:26,070 --> 02:02:34,630
And like I stated before, we tried a variety of different spaces for places to divide.

1445
02:02:35,010 --> 02:02:40,650
We sat down with some elementary administration to look at it.

1446
02:02:40,790 --> 02:02:45,190
We helped the administrative assistants helped with this process extensively.

1447
02:02:45,650 --> 02:02:52,170
We worked with our school bus company and we tried Jefferson Street first.

1448
02:02:52,170 --> 02:02:56,150
That did not create an equitable distribution of students.

1449
02:02:56,830 --> 02:02:59,970
That's why we had to move the line to white cliff.

1450
02:03:01,030 --> 02:03:04,390
And so I just, we tried to balance the kit.

1451
02:03:04,490 --> 02:03:09,430
This is not going to increase the money spent in transportation.

1452
02:03:10,250 --> 02:03:11,190
Correct, yes.

1453
02:03:11,710 --> 02:03:17,430
We worked with our bus transportation provider first student.

1454
02:03:17,430 --> 02:03:26,490
And they said it would be a cost neutral move for us as far as the transportation costs and I'll get into that a little bit later.

1455
02:03:27,150 --> 02:03:33,690
So the projected total enrollment would be 176331 and 172 that's equitable.

1456
02:03:33,990 --> 02:03:36,130
And once again, these are projected enrollments.

1457
02:03:36,890 --> 02:03:43,670
They change a few kids here, a few kids there, kids move, kids move into the district, they move out of the district.

1458
02:03:43,670 --> 02:03:51,830
We have a lot of people that go in and out based on, we have co-starred families and they come in and out.

1459
02:03:52,090 --> 02:03:58,230
And so these are our projected enrollments based upon the look this map that we had here.

1460
02:04:00,360 --> 02:04:04,800
So if we did, if the school board decides to move in this direction,

1461
02:04:05,760 --> 02:04:12,680
Pre-K with today's currently structured, we'd have pupil the teacher ratio of about

1462
02:04:12,680 --> 02:04:16,880
20 to 1, 21 to 1, that's a relatively low number.

1463
02:04:17,200 --> 02:04:24,380
If you compare that to Juno or Anchorage where they're at 28, 29, 30 to 1, that's significantly

1464
02:04:24,380 --> 02:04:31,180
lower than where we are right now, we would have, obviously, special education teachers

1465
02:04:31,180 --> 02:04:38,200
There's an RTI teacher, RTI program is very strong over the last couple of years that we've

1466
02:04:38,200 --> 02:04:45,000
developed, physical education, teacher dedicated to that particular school, library media

1467
02:04:45,000 --> 02:04:51,700
specialist, or teacher, and then the music teacher that we have, and then to your point,

1468
02:04:51,800 --> 02:04:57,220
board member, hopefully we'd be able to find the music teachers that we would need, if

1469
02:04:57,220 --> 02:04:59,220
not then we'd have to figure something out.

1470
02:04:59,220 --> 02:05:05,800
And maybe we hire some, maybe an art teacher and a music teacher and kind of flip them and we'd have to look at those things.

1471
02:05:06,900 --> 02:05:16,540
And then once again, the system principle which came from the sites and the site discussions, and then the principle that we have, obviously we have to have a principle.

1472
02:05:16,540 --> 02:05:27,280
So that's, that is where the sites came up with as far as trying to make a sustainable

1473
02:05:27,280 --> 02:05:29,580
structured change.

1474
02:05:30,660 --> 02:05:36,860
And so this is a significant shift from what has happened here over the last couple of years.

1475
02:05:37,300 --> 02:05:42,180
Let's look at the current staffing versus proposed specialization.

1476
02:05:42,800 --> 02:05:49,920
You would have a seven person cut and certified, and to board member Sanderson's point.

1477
02:05:50,260 --> 02:05:57,520
We do have retirements, we do have a tradition, and through those natural processes,

1478
02:05:58,100 --> 02:06:03,500
I believe that we would keep the same teaching staff that we currently have, and we may

1479
02:06:03,500 --> 02:06:09,820
end up hiring teachers, which I know sounds a little strange when you're having cuts or reductions,

1480
02:06:09,820 --> 02:06:17,800
But based upon where those reductions are based on, where their certifications lie, you may

1481
02:06:17,800 --> 02:06:25,300
end up having to hire teachers in this particular, certainly we would be hiring another

1482
02:06:25,300 --> 02:06:30,640
music teacher in our school district if this proposal went through because we wouldn't

1483
02:06:30,640 --> 02:06:34,560
have, we need another one and we couldn't get one this year.

1484
02:06:35,780 --> 02:06:40,840
And then the spend pair is so I did try to color code it a little bit because we did

1485
02:06:40,840 --> 02:06:44,080
add some questions on our pair of professionals.

1486
02:06:44,440 --> 02:06:47,220
We have a phenomenal group of pair of professionals.

1487
02:06:47,940 --> 02:06:54,000
We have a really strong core group of about 80 to 85 pair of pair of professionals who have been

1488
02:06:54,000 --> 02:06:57,780
working for us for a long period of time in our community.

1489
02:06:57,780 --> 02:07:05,220
We do have some difficulty trying to find, you know, that, like, that last 8-10%, we have

1490
02:07:05,220 --> 02:07:10,100
a lot of pairs that start and they don't, and they don't finish with us for a variety

1491
02:07:10,100 --> 02:07:11,080
of different reasons.

1492
02:07:12,000 --> 02:07:17,020
This reduction, we would be able to keep the pairs that we have now, pair of professionals,

1493
02:07:17,280 --> 02:07:20,040
who are so critical to the education of our students.

1494
02:07:21,500 --> 02:07:26,920
But we wouldn't have to try to go out and get the other 8-9-10, 12 that we need every

1495
02:07:26,920 --> 02:07:33,960
single year. That consolidation helps us save a significant amount of money based on the benefits

1496
02:07:33,960 --> 02:07:45,460
and purrs requirements. And so when you look at the colored chart here, you can see that

1497
02:07:45,460 --> 02:07:52,440
it's a diagonal movement. And so by consolidating classrooms, which is essentially what you're

1498
02:07:52,440 --> 02:08:00,340
doing by going to a K-3-4-6 model, you then need less pair of professionals that we have

1499
02:08:00,340 --> 02:08:02,060
difficulty hiring anyway.

1500
02:08:02,940 --> 02:08:09,820
And so I wanted to emphasize that this is you're moving on the diagonal way.

1501
02:08:10,420 --> 02:08:15,300
And like I said, I don't believe any of our pair of professionals that we currently have

1502
02:08:15,300 --> 02:08:19,840
would lose their positions simply because of this reduction.

1503
02:08:19,840 --> 02:08:25,140
And this is getting us to where the classes can come together, and it's easier for us to

1504
02:08:25,140 --> 02:08:25,600
staff.

1505
02:08:26,540 --> 02:08:28,520
It saves us about, yeah, Jordan, go ahead.

1506
02:08:28,680 --> 02:08:35,100
Can you say, I have an idea of what might be the reason for a reduction here, but can

1507
02:08:35,100 --> 02:08:40,420
maybe explain a little bit about why his specialization would fire less spread here.

1508
02:08:40,520 --> 02:08:41,500
Yeah, that's a great question.

1509
02:08:41,500 --> 02:08:47,520
Let me try to explain it as best I can, so let's say, for example, you have a three to one

1510
02:08:47,520 --> 02:08:54,160
student and so you have pair of professional and three students that work with that particular

1511
02:08:54,160 --> 02:09:02,240
pair of professional based upon their individual education plan IEP. Now, if you have only two

1512
02:09:02,240 --> 02:09:11,620
kids in that particular class, you still need to have one pair of professional because of the IEP.

1513
02:09:12,420 --> 02:09:19,440
What this model does is that you can move kids around in those particular classes, because

1514
02:09:19,440 --> 02:09:24,220
you have a third grade, a fourth grade, a fifth grade, a sixth grade, to where as those

1515
02:09:24,220 --> 02:09:31,500
three to one models are met, which keeps us in compliance, but then also allows us

1516
02:09:32,160 --> 02:09:35,560
to streamline the number of paraprofessionals that we have.

1517
02:09:35,560 --> 02:09:40,420
And so one of the things that we ran into last year

1518
02:09:40,420 --> 02:09:45,360
with as much student movement that we have on a yearly basis.

1519
02:09:45,940 --> 02:09:51,320
And we've tried to limit that a little bit is that you would have three to one

1520
02:09:51,320 --> 02:09:56,580
and then you'd get another student in your school that needed special education services

1521
02:09:56,580 --> 02:09:58,780
but you can't have four to one.

1522
02:09:59,160 --> 02:10:01,620
So now you would need to add another pair of professional

1523
02:10:01,620 --> 02:10:06,420
to either have a two-to-one setting or a one-to-one three-to-one setting.

1524
02:10:06,780 --> 02:10:11,080
And so as a result of that, you have to add the para-professional, right?

1525
02:10:11,160 --> 02:10:16,280
Because compliance with federal law is something that we are going to do.

1526
02:10:16,740 --> 02:10:21,680
And so obviously, and so this, what this does is,

1527
02:10:21,960 --> 02:10:25,040
allows a little bit more flexibility within the schools,

1528
02:10:25,480 --> 02:10:28,240
so that the principles, special education teachers,

1529
02:10:28,240 --> 02:10:34,780
our paraprofessionals can address the needs of the individual education plan or IEP to those

1530
02:10:34,780 --> 02:10:36,340
particular students.

1531
02:10:37,360 --> 02:10:38,600
Did that make sense at all?

1532
02:10:38,880 --> 02:10:39,680
Anybody out there?

1533
02:10:40,120 --> 02:10:40,680
Another comment.

1534
02:10:42,160 --> 02:10:48,680
I feel like I got something that was telling me that in the past several years that the

1535
02:10:48,680 --> 02:10:53,480
number of Sped students says personal has increased exponentially.

1536
02:10:54,300 --> 02:11:01,480
We have seen an uptick in special education students and the number of intensive students.

1537
02:11:02,100 --> 02:11:06,260
And so we're still looking into maybe why that might be.

1538
02:11:06,580 --> 02:11:08,200
It might be one of the results of COVID.

1539
02:11:09,020 --> 02:11:14,560
It might be one of the results of that we have an excellent child-fined program that identifies students

1540
02:11:14,560 --> 02:11:17,380
at an earlier time, which is what we want.

1541
02:11:17,380 --> 02:11:21,140
that's a preventative education or preventative

1542
02:11:21,960 --> 02:11:24,440
when you find a student, that helps them.

1543
02:11:24,680 --> 02:11:26,960
The sooner that you get an IEP,

1544
02:11:27,860 --> 02:11:29,360
that does help students.

1545
02:11:29,760 --> 02:11:33,420
And then they may not be, have an IEP later on,

1546
02:11:33,760 --> 02:11:36,740
because you've met the needs of those students earlier

1547
02:11:37,420 --> 02:11:41,240
and they kind of move on after that

1548
02:11:41,240 --> 02:11:42,280
and they leave the IEP.

1549
02:11:42,280 --> 02:11:56,140
And as you can see, as they get into 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grade, they may need less special education services because of the early interventions that occur in pre-school kindergarten first grade second grade.

1550
02:11:59,480 --> 02:12:02,140
Okay, this saves us once again about the same amount of money.

1551
02:12:02,660 --> 02:12:11,440
It's also based upon the estimate of the average cost of staff members, healthcare, payroll taxes, pension, and we're not going to know what those numbers are.

1552
02:12:12,100 --> 02:12:15,840
We'll know our health care may be late April, early May.

1553
02:12:16,620 --> 02:12:22,260
It could be 8% like it was last year for us, and it could get away from our school district.

1554
02:12:22,360 --> 02:12:25,760
It could be 22% like it was in Scythka last year.

1555
02:12:26,460 --> 02:12:32,940
It just depends upon who makes up our particular group of individuals.

1556
02:12:33,560 --> 02:12:36,200
What our claims are, what our claim history is.

1557
02:12:36,520 --> 02:12:39,220
There's a lot of factors to go into those particular things.

1558
02:12:39,220 --> 02:12:47,100
how U.S. I negotiate for us and in as far as what contracts are out there, inflationary pressures.

1559
02:12:48,700 --> 02:12:54,340
Those six things and about ten other things that make up what healthcare costs for our school district.

1560
02:12:56,280 --> 02:13:01,220
So, what are the benefits? Because this is a shift from what we are doing now.

1561
02:13:01,220 --> 02:13:08,840
So I did want to spend a little bit of time on what came out of the site budgets as far as

1562
02:13:08,840 --> 02:13:11,860
are their benefits to this particular structure.

1563
02:13:13,000 --> 02:13:17,340
And necessary remedy for long-term structural deficit, create flexibility and district

1564
02:13:17,340 --> 02:13:20,680
budget, maintain current program format.

1565
02:13:21,900 --> 02:13:30,500
Last year during the budget process in the spring we heard and I believe we heard loud

1566
02:13:30,500 --> 02:13:35,080
clear that librarians, music, and physical education are incredibly important in the elementary

1567
02:13:35,080 --> 02:13:41,640
schools, and that's true, and they, and so when, just having these conversations at

1568
02:13:41,640 --> 02:13:48,700
the site level and at the district level, this format here keeps those programs in place,

1569
02:13:49,020 --> 02:13:53,720
and although it looks a little different as far as the schools are concerned or drastically

1570
02:13:53,720 --> 02:13:59,020
different, I guess from your point of view, it certainly keeps those programs in place.

1571
02:13:59,020 --> 02:14:03,080
And it allows for reinvestment and additional classroom resources.

1572
02:14:04,140 --> 02:14:06,960
The number of secondary reductions would be decreased significantly.

1573
02:14:07,940 --> 02:14:13,400
And it hopefully will install a buffer for projected budget shortfalls in fiscal year 27,

1574
02:14:13,760 --> 02:14:17,520
based on BSA health care and those types of things.

1575
02:14:18,980 --> 02:14:21,020
Option B elementary specialization.

1576
02:14:21,620 --> 02:14:25,500
It would be an improved instructional focus because it's K3 and 4.6.

1577
02:14:25,500 --> 02:14:31,640
principles would be focusing it on those particular great areas, and once again, why they were chosen

1578
02:14:31,640 --> 02:14:39,080
was because of the Reed's Act, Reed's Act is a K3 program that's required by state law.

1579
02:14:39,160 --> 02:14:47,200
It was passed two years ago, and so easier curriculum alignment, it's both a vertical curriculum

1580
02:14:47,200 --> 02:14:51,560
alignment, and when we say vertical, that's kind of an educational term, that's kindergarten first

1581
02:14:52,740 --> 02:14:55,180
3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade,

1582
02:14:55,360 --> 02:14:57,600
that vertical alignment, K-12, essentially,

1583
02:14:58,320 --> 02:14:59,980
or horizontal curriculum alignment, which...

1584
02:15:00,000 --> 02:15:16,200
Which is kindergarten teachers, first grade teachers, second grade teachers, third grade teachers, and having that more collaborative experience with more teachers and promotes consistency and instruction student achievement and equity across classrooms.

1585
02:15:16,900 --> 02:15:26,000
We had a person to be heard last week at the budget committee talking about, you know, we have 42 kindergarteners in one school.

1586
02:15:26,260 --> 02:15:32,480
We have 32 kindergarteners in another school and we have 23 kindergarteners in another school.

1587
02:15:33,440 --> 02:15:38,620
This would balance those out, and so they wanted to be to make sure that I put that in there.

1588
02:15:38,940 --> 02:15:43,060
Targeted professional learning communities focused work with instructional coaches.

1589
02:15:43,060 --> 02:15:50,520
We have grant funded instructional coaches that work with our teachers to increase their levels of pedagogues

1590
02:15:50,520 --> 02:15:53,620
You based on student achievement and helping student achievement and learning

1591
02:15:55,120 --> 02:15:58,980
They can offer specialized support for those K-346 buildings

1592
02:15:58,980 --> 02:16:02,240
They offer support now in our buildings. They do a fantastic job

1593
02:16:02,240 --> 02:16:07,960
We have a K-3 instructional coach for our last Canadian focused on our last Canadian literacy rates

1594
02:16:08,760 --> 02:16:12,220
And those have improved we have a K-6

1595
02:16:12,800 --> 02:16:19,900
instructional coach and another K6 instructional coach and then a secondary instructional coach and those are not paid for

1596
02:16:19,900 --> 02:16:25,580
out of our general fund, 100 budget, those are paid for out of grant funding.

1597
02:16:26,180 --> 02:16:30,120
I think that they've done a fantastic job and it helped our teachers.

1598
02:16:30,500 --> 02:16:35,780
It's been very positive feedback but they would be able to focus a little bit more on grade centric.

1599
02:16:35,780 --> 02:16:42,400
The same goes as ES enhanced social emotional learning and restorative practices.

1600
02:16:43,140 --> 02:16:47,960
We have seen a significant decrease in a number of suspensions for our students and our

1601
02:16:47,960 --> 02:16:48,520
schools.

1602
02:16:48,820 --> 02:16:55,280
I think that that has helped keep kids engaged, helps attendance rates, and those things that

1603
02:16:55,280 --> 02:17:00,720
do make a difference with kids, and those would be more specific for those grade levels.

1604
02:17:02,800 --> 02:17:04,500
Now, there are challenges to this.

1605
02:17:04,500 --> 02:17:09,700
I mean, this is a loss of a community school identity.

1606
02:17:10,240 --> 02:17:12,920
That certainly has an impact on people.

1607
02:17:13,140 --> 02:17:15,520
And I totally understand that.

1608
02:17:15,740 --> 02:17:19,000
I have a child in the school right now.

1609
02:17:19,020 --> 02:17:22,360
I have a first grader, and that's certainly like a lot of families

1610
02:17:22,360 --> 02:17:26,500
that would be impacted increased transportation times.

1611
02:17:26,760 --> 02:17:28,860
For some students, they will have longer bus rides.

1612
02:17:29,280 --> 02:17:31,260
For other students, they'll have shorter bus rides.

1613
02:17:32,700 --> 02:17:39,980
I would like to note, and Board Member O'Brien mentioned this, our transportation costs would remain the same.

1614
02:17:41,340 --> 02:17:49,200
Additional school transitions. Currently, we have a K6 transition into 7-8 into 9-12.

1615
02:17:49,900 --> 02:17:55,600
You may only have two transitions in this school district. If you go to K6 and then go to reveal it for 7-12,

1616
02:17:55,600 --> 02:18:00,680
When we do have students for that, that certainly would be something that we would need to take a look at

1617
02:18:01,680 --> 02:18:10,600
Not only with our building principles and but with our teachers. It's a shift from the current catch a can school structure and that is a difficult thing

1618
02:18:12,100 --> 02:18:23,780
To digest in a lot of ways and it does move away from the neighborhood elementary school and that's certainly something that needs to be reviewed and looked at by the school board and

1619
02:18:23,780 --> 02:18:31,340
is it's something that you will have to weigh when you make that decision and then it could be

1620
02:18:31,340 --> 02:18:37,680
a temporary budget solution based upon once again we may be back here next year if the state

1621
02:18:37,680 --> 02:18:43,940
funding doesn't increase if inflation goes to 10% if healthcare moves up question yep so between

1622
02:18:43,940 --> 02:18:52,660
A and B which one of these offers more more longevity and flexibility I would say the kindergarten

1623
02:18:52,660 --> 02:19:00,000
3, 4, 6 model would be able to be more flexible for us as far as, and the longer on, yeah, because

1624
02:19:00,000 --> 02:19:05,160
you would be, because of class sizes, move up and down, it's easier in those buildings to assign

1625
02:19:05,160 --> 02:19:11,140
teachers and students and paraprofessionals because you have the same levels of grades and that would

1626
02:19:11,140 --> 02:19:13,980
provide long-term stability.

1627
02:19:16,610 --> 02:19:23,330
And I wanted to just say that, once again, Ketchken is not in, we are not alone.

1628
02:19:23,330 --> 02:19:25,830
This is a statewide issue.

1629
02:19:25,930 --> 02:19:27,470
I think somebody mentioned it.

1630
02:19:27,470 --> 02:19:29,150
The National White issue.

1631
02:19:30,070 --> 02:19:30,830
And people to be heard.

1632
02:19:31,010 --> 02:19:33,490
Anchorage is looking at closing four schools.

1633
02:19:35,530 --> 02:19:41,330
I know this, Kodiak, who is kind of, they are the exact same size as we are.

1634
02:19:41,350 --> 02:19:42,950
They have about 2,100 kids.

1635
02:19:43,510 --> 02:19:47,070
They have a similar budget than what we have.

1636
02:19:47,130 --> 02:19:49,390
They're closing a school this year.

1637
02:19:50,210 --> 02:19:55,330
We have, I have been in communication with their superintendent over this process.

1638
02:19:55,570 --> 02:20:00,730
There is very similar place that we are, they presented to their school board on Monday,

1639
02:20:01,290 --> 02:20:02,430
we're presenting here on Wednesday.

1640
02:20:03,410 --> 02:20:07,870
We are actually, we were a little ahead with them because we did a site budgets in that regard

1641
02:20:07,870 --> 02:20:13,410
and we had a budget committee, but they're in a very similar place that we are in.

1642
02:20:13,410 --> 02:20:21,370
And this is a statewide nationwide issue that has gone on for a long period of time.

1643
02:20:22,090 --> 02:20:26,370
And then the school board will have to make a structural decision,

1644
02:20:28,390 --> 02:20:29,450
contacting your legislators,

1645
02:20:30,590 --> 02:20:35,450
state senators and representatives, attending and speaking and hearing electronically

1646
02:20:35,450 --> 02:20:36,430
or in person.

1647
02:20:36,430 --> 02:20:44,610
And then once the determination is made, then staff will work with our KEEA, our Vice President

1648
02:20:44,610 --> 02:20:45,310
is here.

1649
02:20:45,850 --> 02:20:53,150
We would certainly work with our friends from KEEA and our KLO and our paraprofessionals

1650
02:20:53,150 --> 02:20:58,270
to make sure that those transitions are as smooth as we possibly can to whatever has chosen

1651
02:20:58,270 --> 02:20:59,710
or whatever combination is made.

1652
02:21:00,030 --> 02:21:01,150
But we do that every year.

1653
02:21:01,290 --> 02:21:04,970
We certainly want to our employees need that and deserve that.

1654
02:21:05,010 --> 02:21:06,150
We try to do the best we can with that.

1655
02:21:06,150 --> 02:21:18,410
I was wondering if you could explain the notion of the cap because I believe it was one of the speakers

1656
02:21:18,410 --> 02:21:26,010
tonight, you know, said, why can we not use cruise ship funds or other ideas will come out,

1657
02:21:26,270 --> 02:21:31,670
but if I understood correctly there's there's some limitations that handcuff us.

1658
02:21:33,130 --> 02:21:38,550
Mr. Schueler, jump in if I start going the wrong direction here.

1659
02:21:39,190 --> 02:21:41,370
So I'll try to explain this as simple as I can.

1660
02:21:42,510 --> 02:21:50,470
We, about 75% of our budget, is received from state funding based on student population

1661
02:21:50,470 --> 02:21:52,430
and the base student allocation.

1662
02:21:53,830 --> 02:22:03,570
Another 12.5%, 11% is a required local contribution from the borough.

1663
02:22:03,930 --> 02:22:11,110
It is based on property tax, it's in state law they have to give us on to us.

1664
02:22:11,650 --> 02:22:17,510
Then there's a discretionary contribution that's given and that is up to the borough.

1665
02:22:17,510 --> 02:22:24,150
They have been incredibly generous and my time is super-intended, and so I thank them again.

1666
02:22:25,270 --> 02:22:33,670
But there's only so much that can be funded inside the cap, or excuse me, outside the cap.

1667
02:22:34,930 --> 02:22:37,710
And it's really based upon those.

1668
02:22:37,710 --> 02:22:38,630
So hold on one second.

1669
02:22:38,970 --> 02:22:47,130
So you've got a cap, which means it's the top limit that the combination of the burrow and state funding.

1670
02:22:47,130 --> 02:22:52,370
Correct. Yes. All right. Yeah, so that we can't go ahead. Just add to that really quickly.

1671
02:22:52,510 --> 02:23:02,510
That amount is stated in law. Like we can't the burrow cannot contribute more than a certain percentage of

1672
02:23:02,510 --> 02:23:09,930
I can't even remember what it is, but that is like so that's what determines the cap. Correct.

1673
02:23:09,930 --> 02:23:16,970
And if I may, I'm President, I don't know the full specifics, but maybe our superintendent does.

1674
02:23:17,390 --> 02:23:22,250
I do believe there was a situation in Juno where they were maybe you can explain that situation.

1675
02:23:22,250 --> 02:23:32,690
I'm going to turn that over to Mr. Schuler when it comes to cap calculations and what occurred with the state now,

1676
02:23:32,690 --> 02:23:39,530
moving forward on limiting the items that can be outside, quote, unquote outside of the cap.

1677
02:23:39,890 --> 02:23:40,750
Go ahead, Mr. Schumer.

1678
02:23:42,550 --> 02:23:50,610
Yes, and Juno, there was what are called in-kind contributions that were taking place.

1679
02:23:51,290 --> 02:24:01,210
And so there were items that were being funded by the Burl and closer and louder and louder.

1680
02:24:01,210 --> 02:24:08,850
like me? Is this better? Yes. Sally? Thumbs up from Sally. Okay, go ahead Mr. Schueler.

1681
02:24:09,550 --> 02:24:22,740
Okay. And the state has now, they were alerted to this with respect to what was being funded by

1682
02:24:22,740 --> 02:24:32,860
the burrow in June, because what they want to do and what the formula is designed to do

1683
02:24:32,860 --> 02:24:40,440
is to provide equitable funding across the state. And so when you have instances of burrows

1684
02:24:40,440 --> 02:24:51,040
providing other additional funding outside of the cap, that creates red flag for bead.

1685
02:24:52,100 --> 02:25:08,600
And it went to the point that now deed has put together a recommendation of what can and cannot be included in funding by the Burrows to local school districts.

1686
02:25:09,660 --> 02:25:15,800
And that is going to be coming up, I think it's going to be presented in January and it doesn't come up for a vote in June.

1687
02:25:16,240 --> 02:25:19,320
Yes. And what is our current cap right now?

1688
02:25:19,320 --> 02:25:26,300
the cap number just to overall what we can spend no cap number for the

1689
02:25:26,300 --> 02:25:36,640
verb I believe that number for 24 25 is 12.9 out of a 42 million dollar

1690
02:25:36,640 --> 02:25:44,960
budget yes and the required contribution is about 5.4 right okay so just to make

1691
02:25:44,960 --> 02:25:48,160
that clear, so it's 12, 9, roughly.

1692
02:25:48,460 --> 02:25:48,820
Roughly.

1693
02:25:49,120 --> 02:25:51,500
5.4 is the required.

1694
02:25:51,540 --> 02:25:52,460
Is the required?

1695
02:25:52,480 --> 02:25:55,000
Regis mandated from property taxes out.

1696
02:25:55,340 --> 02:25:59,460
That is 12, 9 out of a total funding of 42 million

1697
02:25:59,460 --> 02:26:00,020
roughly.

1698
02:26:00,220 --> 02:26:00,740
Roughly.

1699
02:26:01,580 --> 02:26:05,760
And the state's contribution is roughly about 25.

1700
02:26:07,260 --> 02:26:11,180
And so if you look at it from the perspective of what

1701
02:26:11,180 --> 02:26:14,880
is actually required to be provided to the school district.

1702
02:26:15,960 --> 02:26:17,660
It's about $31 million.

1703
02:26:19,640 --> 02:26:25,220
And so that's why as superintendent Robin says alluded to,

1704
02:26:26,280 --> 02:26:31,100
we rely upon the good graces of the borough

1705
02:26:31,100 --> 02:26:35,680
with respect to the discretionary amount

1706
02:26:36,260 --> 02:26:39,860
because of the fact that without that money coming

1707
02:26:39,860 --> 02:26:48,940
in the door, if you think you're looking at cuts with these options, take that number back

1708
02:26:48,940 --> 02:26:55,700
down to 30 million, 31 million of just the required and no local discretionary contribution.

1709
02:26:56,640 --> 02:26:59,520
I'm not exactly sure how we could even open the doors.

1710
02:27:01,280 --> 02:27:04,860
And they've done, like I said, they've done an excellent job of supporting the schools there.

1711
02:27:07,680 --> 02:27:18,960
So is it the that's going to be making the recommendations on what is allowable for inside and outside and will that be they're going to be presenting that in January to whom and who's voting on it.

1712
02:27:19,080 --> 02:27:20,720
I think.

1713
02:27:21,460 --> 02:27:24,960
Are they presenting to the legislature or is the commissioner present?

1714
02:27:25,880 --> 02:27:26,240
I'm not.

1715
02:27:26,440 --> 02:27:27,680
Is it the state school board?

1716
02:27:27,720 --> 02:27:28,100
Yeah.

1717
02:27:28,600 --> 02:27:32,020
I believe it's the state school board that it's going to be presented to.

1718
02:27:32,020 --> 02:27:37,840
And this has been a discussion that's been ongoing for the past year and a half, since

1719
02:27:37,840 --> 02:27:42,520
I became superintendent two years ago, but certainly in the last year and a half, it's

1720
02:27:42,520 --> 02:27:49,200
certainly starting to pick up on what is identifiable as inside the cap funding and outside.

1721
02:27:49,540 --> 02:27:55,400
And the state now is certainly more attentive to what those expenditures are.

1722
02:27:56,480 --> 02:28:01,840
And so thank you for, I forgot that somebody had mentioned that, but I wanted to address

1723
02:28:01,840 --> 02:28:08,580
that there's just certain equity issues that we have to have across the state and one of

1724
02:28:08,580 --> 02:28:14,320
those, the way they solve those, is through this process through law.

1725
02:28:15,520 --> 02:28:23,000
So, Heather, so that means that we would not be able to accept monies from like a cruise ship head

1726
02:28:23,000 --> 02:28:29,040
tax in addition to what the, what the, what the borough contributes because of that law.

1727
02:28:29,900 --> 02:28:53,780
Just to kind of add on that on to that too, I'm not a legal mind by any sense of the definition, but one thing that we also have to consider, I'm not so I'm not going to ever say something as an awful idea, but we do have to consider what we're legally allowed to do and then also another consideration is that we can't control what other entities do.

1728
02:28:54,420 --> 02:29:04,580
The school board doesn't have jurisdiction over a potential cruise ship tax, but neither does it grow. That's all up on the city and the city and the cruise ship industry.

1729
02:29:05,560 --> 02:29:11,440
I mean, I don't want to necessarily speculate on that relationship, but I don't know.

1730
02:29:11,860 --> 02:29:14,800
I was going to leave at that.

1731
02:29:14,800 --> 02:29:22,860
We can't rely on outside entities to come out and save us.

1732
02:29:23,480 --> 02:29:27,960
We're having to do the best of what we can with the Burrow, and especially the state government.

1733
02:29:31,340 --> 02:29:32,840
I'm kind of around with the business.

1734
02:29:34,020 --> 02:29:37,920
The majority of funding really falls at the state level.

1735
02:29:38,840 --> 02:29:44,040
The discretionary money is incredibly important and they've been very supportive, but that's

1736
02:29:44,040 --> 02:29:52,520
small percentage, smaller percentage of our overall budget, and really the base student

1737
02:29:52,520 --> 02:29:59,980
allocation and the lobbying effects efforts that we need to have really should be directed to.

1738
02:30:00,300 --> 02:30:29,240
The state level in our state representatives in our governor. The burrow also does an excellent job of lobbying for us with a mayor. I guess the mayor just became, well, I don't want to announce that, but anyway, he's in a very influential position. And he uses that as part of his platform when he speaks. He did an excellent job of speaking in the Senate Finance Committee last year.

1739
02:30:29,240 --> 02:30:36,300
They are advocates, and so if you do contact the borough member, I would be contacting them

1740
02:30:36,300 --> 02:30:39,180
then to try to continue to advocate and what they've already done because they've done

1741
02:30:39,180 --> 02:30:39,760
an excellent job.

1742
02:30:39,940 --> 02:30:40,580
Go ahead, Mr. Schulder.

1743
02:30:41,120 --> 02:30:45,960
Well, what I was going to say is that in the presentation that you made to the Senate Finance

1744
02:30:45,960 --> 02:30:52,720
Committee, we included a slide that showed what has transpired over, I believe the last

1745
02:30:52,720 --> 02:31:01,680
10 years in terms of the split in funding between the state and then also the local contribution

1746
02:31:01,680 --> 02:31:04,560
that we received from the borough.

1747
02:31:05,680 --> 02:31:14,180
And the burden over the past 10 years, you see it increasing on the local contribution and it's

1748
02:31:14,180 --> 02:31:16,580
pretty much flat at the state level.

1749
02:31:16,580 --> 02:31:23,680
And so the burden has been increasing on local contributions and not coming from the state.

1750
02:31:24,140 --> 02:31:24,160
Sure.

1751
02:31:24,540 --> 02:31:29,660
And we, I would just like to emphasize, and I talked about this from our report, is that

1752
02:31:29,660 --> 02:31:36,160
we have significantly reduced the debt that was there when I came in.

1753
02:31:36,420 --> 02:31:42,340
And that is, and we are properly funding the healthcare, and that's, once again, working with

1754
02:31:42,340 --> 02:31:46,640
the borough or partners from the borough, but that has a significant impact on our budget.

1755
02:31:47,280 --> 02:31:52,860
You know, 20 to 25 percent is an employee benefits. That's a significant number that we have.

1756
02:31:53,500 --> 02:31:58,020
It's what we want and what we need to keep and retain the phenomenal staff that we have.

1757
02:31:58,700 --> 02:32:00,100
But it does come to cost.

1758
02:32:02,500 --> 02:32:07,640
I just want to ask this question, maybe because there's people who don't know about it.

1759
02:32:07,820 --> 02:32:13,440
But like, so how did we pay off that money if we're talking about doing these giant cuts right now?

1760
02:32:13,440 --> 02:32:17,680
Um, how were we able to bring that debt down so much?

1761
02:32:18,160 --> 02:32:20,600
Um, Mr. Schill is going to take that.

1762
02:32:20,600 --> 02:32:25,580
The local education fund and, and that sort of stuff kind of rolls around that.

1763
02:32:26,040 --> 02:32:26,640
Yeah, well,

1764
02:32:28,400 --> 02:32:28,720
yeah.

1765
02:32:30,960 --> 02:32:32,020
Don't be shy.

1766
02:32:32,440 --> 02:32:34,760
Sally can't hear you.

1767
02:32:35,220 --> 02:32:36,440
Sally doesn't need to hear me.

1768
02:32:37,880 --> 02:32:38,700
I don't think.

1769
02:32:40,240 --> 02:32:51,760
What transpired in 2023-24 and then also what is taking place in 2024-25 is that there

1770
02:32:51,760 --> 02:33:04,760
was a portion when you take a look at the maximum cap of required and discretionary in terms

1771
02:33:04,760 --> 02:33:09,060
of actual dollars that the district received is less than that.

1772
02:33:09,660 --> 02:33:21,180
And so that gap, the burrow took that as an incime contribution and wrote down the note

1773
02:33:21,180 --> 02:33:23,820
receivable in the health care liability.

1774
02:33:24,680 --> 02:33:31,060
And so in terms of actual dollars going out the door, that didn't necessarily happen,

1775
02:33:31,060 --> 02:33:37,620
But they were able to use, and take a look at that cap calculation, and instead of providing

1776
02:33:37,620 --> 02:33:42,600
the dollars to us, they used it as an incline contribution to write it down.

1777
02:33:44,660 --> 02:33:55,360
I'll follow up a question, so then why can't we get the actual dollars?

1778
02:33:55,360 --> 02:33:56,620
Well,

1779
02:33:59,710 --> 02:34:07,790
that's a question, I think, for the Burrow, because we did make a request of the Burrow

1780
02:34:07,790 --> 02:34:13,430
for in February 1.6, which would have taken us to the cap.

1781
02:34:14,590 --> 02:34:19,970
But that was a request that was not fulfilled.

1782
02:34:21,710 --> 02:34:32,110
But what they've done in turn is, after the fact that I have used that 1.6 in a little bit more to write down the note receiver.

1783
02:34:35,650 --> 02:34:37,010
Is it okay at Michelle?

1784
02:34:37,310 --> 02:34:38,090
No, yes, I'm sorry.

1785
02:34:38,410 --> 02:34:41,270
I just wanted to add it to that a little bit.

1786
02:34:41,590 --> 02:34:49,330
So just from my understanding of like,

1787
02:34:49,330 --> 02:34:58,010
And that's where, you know, the property tax money goes to, that's where the marijuana tax money goes to and that's what they use to fund us.

1788
02:34:58,910 --> 02:35:06,410
That local education fund inside of their, their codes or statue or whatever it is that they have ordinances.

1789
02:35:06,410 --> 02:35:15,790
But I believe that they have that $2 million floor or that the local education fund cannot

1790
02:35:15,790 --> 02:35:24,050
go below $2 million without having a super majority vote of the borough assembly and other

1791
02:35:24,050 --> 02:35:24,390
things.

1792
02:35:24,430 --> 02:35:30,890
And I think that that played into why we didn't actually get that cash when we made that

1793
02:35:30,890 --> 02:35:41,290
mental request because there's it just adds a layer of complexity, it adds another layer of approval to this whole thing.

1794
02:35:41,350 --> 02:35:46,690
So I just wanted it to just to make everybody aware of that as well. So the debt needs to be paid.

1795
02:35:46,870 --> 02:35:51,650
Yeah, and it needs to be paid. We just don't want to keep carrying it down the road. So

1796
02:35:52,290 --> 02:35:54,710
And I think we've done a pretty good job of that. So

1797
02:35:56,050 --> 02:35:57,570
Okay, any other question?

1798
02:35:57,830 --> 02:35:58,090
I'm sorry.

1799
02:35:59,070 --> 02:35:59,210
Yeah.

1800
02:35:59,210 --> 02:36:04,650
You know, especially given that we've heard lots of ideas, I'm kind of curious, are there

1801
02:36:04,650 --> 02:36:08,170
ideas that are on the cutting room floor that you're like, you know, we explored this,

1802
02:36:08,330 --> 02:36:12,470
we thought about it, and this is why it wasn't practical, we're talking about ever strategies

1803
02:36:12,470 --> 02:36:15,350
for addressing the shortfall, and it has a very big question.

1804
02:36:15,610 --> 02:36:15,850
Sure.

1805
02:36:15,990 --> 02:36:21,170
And I'll do the best I can to try to answer those questions.

1806
02:36:21,690 --> 02:36:24,890
We did look at a four day school day.

1807
02:36:26,410 --> 02:36:31,030
There's some positive to that, financially, we don't believe that there would be that much

1808
02:36:31,030 --> 02:36:36,310
of an impact in and as far as getting to 1.4, 1.5 million.

1809
02:36:37,270 --> 02:36:38,490
There's some drawbacks to that.

1810
02:36:39,210 --> 02:36:48,230
Certainly, I think, 34% of our kids are food dependent, and that's just within the last 30 days.

1811
02:36:49,210 --> 02:36:54,290
We just got our YRBS survey, and I was looking at that today, and that's a pretty significant number.

1812
02:36:54,290 --> 02:36:56,310
when you think of one out of every three students.

1813
02:36:58,130 --> 02:37:01,010
And that would be, we had that conversation

1814
02:37:01,010 --> 02:37:02,490
about Thanksgiving break, right?

1815
02:37:02,850 --> 02:37:05,090
That's two days, but this would be every Friday

1816
02:37:05,730 --> 02:37:07,210
moving forward.

1817
02:37:08,490 --> 02:37:11,150
That would be, I think, someone difficult to manage

1818
02:37:11,150 --> 02:37:14,250
when it came to student care

1819
02:37:15,510 --> 02:37:19,690
and the daycare situation that you might need to have

1820
02:37:19,690 --> 02:37:28,550
And that certainly impacts families who have smaller ones, if we can't take care of themselves, obviously.

1821
02:37:28,930 --> 02:37:30,690
And so that would certainly be looked at.

1822
02:37:31,710 --> 02:37:36,690
Really, the cost savings in those particular cases centered around transportation.

1823
02:37:37,530 --> 02:37:40,510
You would need the buses a little bit less.

1824
02:37:40,510 --> 02:37:46,330
You may need food service a little bit less simply because you know, they wouldn't be reporting in on Fridays.

1825
02:37:46,330 --> 02:37:54,110
but you would also, your school days would be longer during the school year, kids still

1826
02:37:54,110 --> 02:37:58,610
would miss, because of travel, we have a pretty extensive travel being here in the

1827
02:37:58,610 --> 02:38:04,150
Southeast, our kings are going all in nights are going all over the place, and so that

1828
02:38:04,150 --> 02:38:12,110
would impact those students as far as, you know, missing those school days that

1829
02:38:12,110 --> 02:38:14,610
schedules are, it might be a little bit different.

1830
02:38:15,190 --> 02:38:17,450
The advantage is if they left on Thursday nights,

1831
02:38:17,650 --> 02:38:19,050
they wouldn't be missing any school on Friday.

1832
02:38:20,350 --> 02:38:23,470
So there was some discussion about light sensors

1833
02:38:24,310 --> 02:38:28,450
or moving, reveal or moving district office.

1834
02:38:29,310 --> 02:38:30,590
That always gets brought up.

1835
02:38:30,650 --> 02:38:33,170
I think one of the things to address that

1836
02:38:33,170 --> 02:38:35,410
is there's a certain amount of confidentiality

1837
02:38:35,410 --> 02:38:36,610
and privacy that exists.

1838
02:38:37,070 --> 02:38:38,570
When you come to district office,

1839
02:38:38,890 --> 02:38:40,470
there's medical things being discussed.

1840
02:38:40,470 --> 02:38:48,290
There's human resources, when you're in a school that certainly allows more people, more

1841
02:38:48,290 --> 02:38:53,790
eyes on something that somebody may not want anybody to know about, except those people

1842
02:38:53,790 --> 02:38:55,390
who do in those situations.

1843
02:38:56,370 --> 02:39:01,410
I think that one of the reasons why the borrows staff and the school staff are working

1844
02:39:01,410 --> 02:39:06,690
so much better together is that we are literally one floor above each other and we run into

1845
02:39:06,690 --> 02:39:10,110
each other, we talk to each other, we can communicate with each other.

1846
02:39:10,330 --> 02:39:16,930
It's an incredibly important relationship that we have, and it needs to be where it is

1847
02:39:16,930 --> 02:39:22,050
right now, where we can call, I talked to the mayor today, he's been incredibly supportive,

1848
02:39:22,330 --> 02:39:27,910
talked to Borough staff, they are our partners in education, they do help us.

1849
02:39:28,470 --> 02:39:33,870
The drawback is, yes, there is money that gets expended for being in this building.

1850
02:39:34,770 --> 02:39:43,310
And so, I think that you have to look at both sides of that when it comes to that particular

1851
02:39:43,310 --> 02:39:43,870
issue.

1852
02:39:44,230 --> 02:39:47,010
I don't believe that we should move or villain at all.

1853
02:39:47,070 --> 02:39:50,690
I think that the strength of their program is centered in that site.

1854
02:39:50,950 --> 02:39:51,690
They own that place.

1855
02:39:51,910 --> 02:39:52,830
They love it.

1856
02:39:53,590 --> 02:39:56,630
They arrange night shaking or head, no, don't move it.

1857
02:39:57,730 --> 02:40:00,150
And if you ask those kids, they go there for a reason.

1858
02:40:00,250 --> 02:40:03,750
If you've ever been in that school, the sense of community is amazing.

1859
02:40:03,750 --> 02:40:09,470
If you look at our climate connected survey, the highest levels of relationship building exists

1860
02:40:09,470 --> 02:40:14,590
at Revilla, and they don't have an 82% graduation rate because they locked into it.

1861
02:40:14,790 --> 02:40:19,810
They have an 82% graduation rate because they take every kid, they care about them, they work

1862
02:40:19,810 --> 02:40:24,470
with them, they build relationships with them, they love that building, they care for that

1863
02:40:24,470 --> 02:40:24,810
building.

1864
02:40:25,170 --> 02:40:29,450
So I don't believe that that would be something that I would recommend as superintendent.

1865
02:40:29,850 --> 02:40:32,530
I'm sure the Rick kids at Revilla wouldn't recommend it either.

1866
02:40:32,530 --> 02:40:39,770
North of the staff and so we did look at those but once again when you're looking at a 91%

1867
02:40:39,770 --> 02:40:48,930
personnel there's very little things that we can look at you know we cut four administrators

1868
02:40:48,930 --> 02:40:56,350
last year we cut three district office administrators last year in a vice principle we cut

1869
02:40:57,130 --> 02:41:03,570
four and a half tech positions in the last three years and we are in the process I think

1870
02:41:03,570 --> 02:41:10,490
there's two reductions in maintenance and it makes it very difficult to run school districts

1871
02:41:10,490 --> 02:41:15,730
without those particular groups of people in all of those areas. We have a one to one we

1872
02:41:15,730 --> 02:41:23,110
have over 4,000 computers that we use on a daily basis and that makes it difficult to maintain

1873
02:41:23,110 --> 02:41:27,310
that environment and they do a fantastic job under very difficult circumstances.

1874
02:41:28,930 --> 02:41:29,930
So, then that needs to be your question.

1875
02:41:30,930 --> 02:41:31,350
Allie.

1876
02:41:32,750 --> 02:41:33,730
I just had a question.

1877
02:41:34,250 --> 02:41:35,290
I had an email to you.

1878
02:41:35,830 --> 02:41:39,250
One is North Point Higgins still classified as Title 1.

1879
02:41:39,630 --> 02:41:42,150
If not, are there steps to get that back?

1880
02:41:42,570 --> 02:41:42,770
Sure.

1881
02:41:42,770 --> 02:41:45,470
I don't believe that there are Title 1's school currently.

1882
02:41:47,430 --> 02:41:53,970
So, that's fun mountain and howling and reveala, KCS,

1883
02:41:56,670 --> 02:42:15,370
and that's T-S, with the shift in the demographic population, if we did go to the second model, they may become a title one school, but they may not, it's, we're having, and this is across the state, the filling out of the forms although we've tried to do a much better job of that.

1884
02:42:16,210 --> 02:42:21,670
And they're in different languages, it's still been a little bit of a struggle for us.

1885
02:42:21,870 --> 02:42:24,010
And some people just don't qualify anymore.

1886
02:42:24,290 --> 02:42:29,890
I mean, they're in terms of raised or they don't qualify under the regulations of

1887
02:42:29,890 --> 02:42:30,470
Title 1.

1888
02:42:30,710 --> 02:42:31,650
That's the next one question though.

1889
02:42:31,670 --> 02:42:38,050
And then the other question was, I know, so we talk about preschool, not getting funds.

1890
02:42:38,690 --> 02:42:43,210
I was kind of poking around in the Reeds Act before is there a reason why we haven't

1891
02:42:43,210 --> 02:42:45,590
proceeded with trying to get our preschool funded.

1892
02:42:45,890 --> 02:42:48,550
So we did the first year and we were rejected.

1893
02:42:48,550 --> 02:42:51,550
We were resimitting our application this year.

1894
02:42:52,570 --> 02:42:57,590
And so we are hoping that we've made some changes in our program

1895
02:42:57,590 --> 02:43:00,410
that we think that will help us with our application.

1896
02:43:01,250 --> 02:43:03,350
We talked to the state this past week.

1897
02:43:03,850 --> 02:43:08,110
We had a meeting that I was a part of with the preschool teachers

1898
02:43:08,110 --> 02:43:10,150
and T-SAS and looking at those areas.

1899
02:43:10,150 --> 02:43:16,190
So we are a recent meeting our application, this school year and hopefully will be successful.

1900
02:43:16,990 --> 02:43:21,930
And if that was the case, then some of our students would receive that 0.5 ADM.

1901
02:43:22,170 --> 02:43:22,590
Excellent question.

1902
02:43:22,830 --> 02:43:23,850
Thank you.

1903
02:43:24,990 --> 02:43:25,230
Catherine.

1904
02:43:26,250 --> 02:43:32,210
One of the ideas, you know, I think you even put it on our initial budget committee meeting

1905
02:43:32,210 --> 02:43:35,870
of, you know, possible ideas was closing down one of the charter schools.

1906
02:43:35,870 --> 02:43:42,030
Um, and I haven't heard much about that since then, so there's there's certain amount

1907
02:43:43,130 --> 02:43:51,490
of, um, processes that would have to go into that particular, um, discussion, um,

1908
02:43:51,490 --> 02:43:55,070
that would be certainly a much broader discussion with their APC.

1909
02:43:55,610 --> 02:44:02,670
Um, that would be a significant change in what we do, um, our, our charter schools do an

1910
02:44:03,230 --> 02:44:08,070
in our community of providing education in a different way for students.

1911
02:44:08,830 --> 02:44:10,370
Family certainly have that option.

1912
02:44:11,350 --> 02:44:15,790
I think that that would be a much broader conversation with the school board and their APC.

1913
02:44:15,870 --> 02:44:17,330
Isn't there a contract in place?

1914
02:44:17,510 --> 02:44:18,850
There is a contract in place.

1915
02:44:19,110 --> 02:44:21,890
There's some things that you can, I'm sorry.

1916
02:44:22,090 --> 02:44:24,070
There's some things that you can

1917
02:44:25,030 --> 02:44:29,050
makes that contract null and void and I'll forward that to the school board.

1918
02:44:29,050 --> 02:44:34,970
but that, like I said, that would be a much longer conversation and something that

1919
02:44:36,230 --> 02:44:41,590
would certainly take some time. And I don't know to say that we would recommend it in a short

1920
02:44:41,590 --> 02:44:47,850
period of time, as far as that would be concerned. Thank you. Okay.

1921
02:44:49,250 --> 02:44:54,650
Good going. Oh, you're done. Oh, you're done. Go away. Okay. Well, thank you. Thank you very much.

1922
02:44:55,170 --> 02:44:58,890
And so just as a reminder to the public, those who are watching and those who are still here,

1923
02:44:59,050 --> 02:44:59,970
Thank you for staying but

1924
02:45:00,620 --> 02:45:17,860
That this is very much a discussion in progress. And so we appreciate your input. And I would not anticipate any sort of decision on this until probably the earliest, early February, but more than like limit February.

1925
02:45:19,200 --> 02:45:26,180
So anyway, with that being said, any board, that'll take us out of work session, any board comments?

1926
02:45:27,520 --> 02:45:45,760
I can start. I really appreciate it representative Vortez coming up and talking about the need for a united state voice up and you know because that is he's fully correct in that.

1927
02:45:45,760 --> 02:46:02,140
And I was hoping that we as a board could make a decision sooner rather than later about whether or not we want to participate in the upcoming Alaska Association of Alaska School boards legislative fly in.

1928
02:46:02,300 --> 02:46:06,740
I believe it's scheduled for February 7th through the tenth somewhere around those dates.

1929
02:46:06,740 --> 02:46:31,660
But I think, you know, we participated in that last year, and and it really did that on top of a, there's a lot of, you know, my goal and Daniel testified in front of the Senate committee and, you know, and different things like that, but we really did make a difference and then the governor veto did, but I think that it's very important for us to continue doing that.

1930
02:46:31,660 --> 02:46:44,380
And then also to show up to represent our community, our region, southeast as a whole, because it's easy for people who live really far at North, to just be like, oh, yeah, those people down there, they don't matter.

1931
02:46:44,740 --> 02:46:52,180
That's where the veto came from. Exactly. And we do matter. We absolutely fully do. So, so I'm making that request.

1932
02:46:53,080 --> 02:46:55,140
Okay. Any other board comments?

1933
02:46:57,600 --> 02:47:01,380
Ali. Just to kind of add to Katherine's, I'd really like to see students go into the

1934
02:47:01,380 --> 02:47:05,560
fly-in. That would be really beneficial and it would really hit home for a lot of the

1935
02:47:05,560 --> 02:47:09,360
legislatures to hear our students speak more so than board members.

1936
02:47:13,360 --> 02:47:14,580
I sent all of my questions

1937
02:47:14,580 --> 02:47:20,600
to Mr. Robinson. He's been really great about getting back to me. I know we heard a lot of community

1938
02:47:20,600 --> 02:47:25,400
comment about wanting to cut admins and something that Mr. Robbins has worked on is a list

1939
02:47:25,400 --> 02:47:30,400
of admins and what their duties are and why they're important to the district and I do believe

1940
02:47:30,400 --> 02:47:32,500
he plans to put that on the project website.

1941
02:47:32,880 --> 02:47:32,900
Yep.

1942
02:47:33,140 --> 02:47:40,440
I can put that there and just like to reiterate that there has been a significant reduction.

1943
02:47:40,560 --> 02:47:41,860
I just put it then on there too.

1944
02:47:42,200 --> 02:47:42,860
I'll put that on.

1945
02:47:42,960 --> 02:47:47,220
What actually has been reduced over the past two to three years?

1946
02:47:47,220 --> 02:47:48,500
Thank you.

1947
02:47:48,500 --> 02:47:50,900
Back to that really fast.

1948
02:47:51,060 --> 02:47:54,820
Can you have like average for like what are

1949
02:47:54,820 --> 02:47:58,200
admin salaries to like others districts?

1950
02:47:58,620 --> 02:47:59,240
Oh, yeah.

1951
02:47:59,360 --> 02:48:00,160
Yeah, percentages.

1952
02:48:00,340 --> 02:48:01,020
Yeah, percentages.

1953
02:48:01,280 --> 02:48:02,660
We used to get that all the time.

1954
02:48:02,820 --> 02:48:03,320
Now remembering.

1955
02:48:04,460 --> 02:48:04,680
Yeah.

1956
02:48:05,580 --> 02:48:05,640
Yeah.

1957
02:48:05,880 --> 02:48:06,080
Okay.

1958
02:48:06,460 --> 02:48:10,100
And do you want like how other district offices are structured?

1959
02:48:10,180 --> 02:48:12,100
Like close to our size or no?

1960
02:48:12,500 --> 02:48:13,860
I don't know.

1961
02:48:14,000 --> 02:48:14,960
I don't know where.

1962
02:48:14,960 --> 02:48:21,080
I think what would be helpful to the public is not thanks, Katherine, now I'm remembering

1963
02:48:21,080 --> 02:48:21,740
this.

1964
02:48:21,800 --> 02:48:31,660
I'm a decade ago, but it was always noted that the catch can distance office was say 3%

1965
02:48:31,660 --> 02:48:38,720
of the budget, but the average, and other say like acreage, Juno, sick, all these other districts,

1966
02:48:39,340 --> 02:48:43,800
they all average, literally like 10 or 12% of the overall budget.

1967
02:48:43,800 --> 02:48:48,300
Yeah, and so it's a good comparison,

1968
02:48:50,360 --> 02:48:54,500
and then also just the reduction, I mean, this goes back to the transparency that people are asking for.

1969
02:48:55,200 --> 02:49:02,100
And I can also share, for example, like, what Codiac has, and similar side schools to what we have.

1970
02:49:02,440 --> 02:49:05,840
I'm just to give context, take that information for how you want.

1971
02:49:06,260 --> 02:49:08,900
I had another thought now, I'm trying to remember it again.

1972
02:49:08,900 --> 02:49:10,400
So, would you do an email?

1973
02:49:12,560 --> 02:49:15,000
Maybe, I'm trying to remember what it was.

1974
02:49:17,380 --> 02:49:21,640
I can come back if it's okay, any more board comments?

1975
02:49:22,080 --> 02:49:26,300
Okay, Tom, and I'd like to thank everybody you showed up tonight.

1976
02:49:27,000 --> 02:49:32,260
I'm going to be honest, I'm sitting here, I'm sitting in a pool of sweat, because there

1977
02:49:32,260 --> 02:49:39,400
was such a powerful, such powerful passion brought to these meetings and such articulate

1978
02:49:40,140 --> 02:49:49,320
arguments to this board and the student, the students who showed up and delivered a very powerful

1979
02:49:49,320 --> 02:49:56,160
cogent message. I'm just, I'm so grateful for you and I, you know, I like O'Donnell or

1980
02:49:56,160 --> 02:50:02,080
Tez and just say, keep bringing this pressure on. Thank you. Okay. I remember right now. Okay.

1981
02:50:04,420 --> 02:50:29,360
Yes, as has been said, thank you for the the impassioned commentary. The comments bring ideas to the group to consider as we go through a really challenging process. I can't help but want to remind everybody that again when we're talking about cutting personnel we're talking about shaping things every decision we're talking about this someone's life is someone's family is someone's role in this community.

1982
02:50:29,360 --> 02:50:38,620
And while I think we're having bracing and difficult conversations, say we have to do the best with what we're going to have from the state and from other funding sources,

1983
02:50:39,720 --> 02:50:47,840
when the tone of the conversation changes from expressing priorities of what we feel is best for kids to

1984
02:50:47,840 --> 02:50:53,060
accusing other people by either being like unhelpful or not having the interest of kids in place.

1985
02:50:53,060 --> 02:50:59,020
I think it's really challenging and hurtful to hear, and so as we go through this process over the next couple of months,

1986
02:50:59,840 --> 02:51:03,920
I just hope that Keshe can keep the spirit that's gotten us through so many other challenges,

1987
02:51:04,500 --> 02:51:06,960
which is wrapping around each other and supporting each other,

1988
02:51:07,260 --> 02:51:10,700
and finding something to like about each other even when we're having challenging discussions.

1989
02:51:11,080 --> 02:51:15,960
I think we can get far and find something creative to make the best of what we have. Thank you.

1990
02:51:15,960 --> 02:51:16,480
I agree.

1991
02:51:16,960 --> 02:51:16,980
Ellie.

1992
02:51:17,600 --> 02:51:17,980
Two things.

1993
02:51:18,460 --> 02:51:23,080
First, I know that there was a post or in Mr. Robbins.

1994
02:51:23,220 --> 02:51:27,260
You've talked about how the public was invited to be site budget meetings.

1995
02:51:28,200 --> 02:51:28,820
I'm a mom.

1996
02:51:28,900 --> 02:51:32,200
I have four kids in this district in three different schools, K.I.

1997
02:51:32,320 --> 02:51:33,820
Howling and North Point Higgins.

1998
02:51:34,460 --> 02:51:38,240
While I do believe howling had something in their newsletter,

1999
02:51:38,480 --> 02:51:40,580
but it was only on one or two occasions.

2000
02:51:41,180 --> 02:51:43,620
I did not see anything in the North Point Higgins one,

2001
02:51:43,980 --> 02:51:45,060
which I went back.

2002
02:51:49,020 --> 02:51:56,800
So maybe if we could post it on the school face book, not just their PTO, because I didn't

2003
02:51:56,800 --> 02:52:00,860
even follow all of the PTO pages for that, so.

2004
02:52:01,280 --> 02:52:02,260
Good suggestion.

2005
02:52:02,600 --> 02:52:04,140
Yep, we can certainly do that.

2006
02:52:04,620 --> 02:52:05,340
So thank you.

2007
02:52:05,420 --> 02:52:09,620
And it's once again why we have the budget process early, so we're not up against the May

2008
02:52:09,620 --> 02:52:10,200
first deadline.

2009
02:52:10,740 --> 02:52:11,000
Okay, Judy.

2010
02:52:11,000 --> 02:52:36,980
And I would just like to say that as soon as we can can not only the school board, but the staff and parents receive a list of those legislators who should be contacted, but also other state officials like even the Governor's office should

2011
02:52:36,980 --> 02:52:37,240
Absolutely.

2012
02:52:37,720 --> 02:52:38,560
Here from us.

2013
02:52:38,760 --> 02:52:42,380
I'll have, when I clearly get back from her training, I'll make sure that she gets that out

2014
02:52:42,380 --> 02:52:46,880
to everybody and we'll put that on Facebook and on our website for you to reach out.

2015
02:52:48,380 --> 02:52:54,100
So it's a situation where the more that we talk to them and more that we have conversations

2016
02:52:54,100 --> 02:52:57,740
with them, the better off we're going to be.

2017
02:52:58,560 --> 02:53:00,540
Extra pressure for the VTIL guy.

2018
02:53:03,560 --> 02:53:05,180
Okay, moving on to advanced planning.

2019
02:53:05,180 --> 02:53:14,780
We talked about much of this already January 15th, the 29th of January and February 12th will be the next meetings.

2020
02:53:15,480 --> 02:53:27,480
Can we add to this the borough assembly policy session? That was for Friday, January 24th from 9 to 11.

2021
02:53:33,170 --> 02:53:43,630
Madam President, we haven't said a date yet, but the Native Education Committee has expressed interest in having a meeting sometime in early to mid-ish January.

2022
02:53:45,030 --> 02:53:51,670
I will try to get a more finalized date in time so that it can be posted and well in advance.

2023
02:53:51,990 --> 02:53:53,090
Great, thank you very much.

2024
02:53:53,090 --> 02:53:57,210
The location will probably still remain the same, which is a 615

2025
02:53:57,210 --> 02:54:00,430
Steadman Education Building for the Catch Canine community.

2026
02:54:01,470 --> 02:54:05,410
Date and time will need to be figured out

2027
02:54:05,410 --> 02:54:09,370
at what works best for us three community members and

2028
02:54:09,370 --> 02:54:10,310
the staff at KSU.

2029
02:54:11,170 --> 02:54:12,030
Okay, great.

2030
02:54:12,410 --> 02:54:12,850
Thanks, Gita.

2031
02:54:13,750 --> 02:54:16,150
But we're looking at one meeting in February.

2032
02:54:17,090 --> 02:54:20,330
Well, that's as far as we're going in the schedule right now.

2033
02:54:25,990 --> 02:54:29,910
I'm assuming no one's opposed to adjourning.

2034
02:54:30,130 --> 02:54:31,350
We are adjourned.