[0:01] Good evening and welcome
[0:03] to the Tower Truckee Unified School District Board meeting
[0:06] of September 2nd.
[0:08] The board did meet in closed session
[0:10] with no reportable action.
[0:15] Sadie, would you like
[0:17] to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?
[0:43] Thank you. Well done. Well done.
[0:49] The next thing on our agenda is
[0:53] to approve the agenda.
[0:55] Is there any, are there any changes to the presented agenda?
[0:58] No changes from staff. Any changes from the board?
[1:02] Seeing none, would someone make a motion, please,
[1:05] for 6.0 or 6.1?
[1:10] I'll make a motion to approve the agenda
[1:12] as presented for September 2nd.
[1:14] I'll second. Second. Danielle. Got it. All in favor?
[1:19] Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Thank you.
[1:22] This brings us to the best part of our agenda,
[1:26] student representatives today.
[1:30] Before we start, I would like to acknowledge that
[1:33] Sierra High School was not able to attend.
[1:35] However, they did send us a update from
[1:40] their schools as to what was going on
[1:42] for the beginning of their years.
[1:44] So all the board members have that, which is exciting,
[1:47] but we will with our students
[1:49] that are here, start with Truckee High.
[1:51] Sadie Dorst, you introduce yourself. Truckee High.
[2:00] Hi guys. My name is Sadie Doris.
[2:03] I am a senior and the student body vice
[2:05] president at Truckee High School.
[2:07] So I'm just gonna share what we have going on,
[2:09] leadership and school-wise.
[2:12] So a little bit before school started, we had Link Crew,
[2:15] which is a freshman orientation led by upperclassmen.
[2:19] There was two days of training and one freshman orientation,
[2:22] and it was amazing that it was the biggest attendance
[2:26] and turnout that we've had since it started.
[2:29] The first day of school went very well.
[2:31] The freshman class is doing very good.
[2:34] They're very energetic.
[2:37] Then on the second day of school,
[2:39] we hosted a Hawaii themed rally and it was, it was great.
[2:44] The leadership class prepped for a week
[2:47] and summer beforehand,
[2:49] and there was a lot of work turned put into it.
[2:51] So also during that rally we played the Coach Moen tribute
[2:56] and we held a minute of silence
[2:57] and all of the kids were very respectful.
[2:59] Even the freshmen who might not have known Coach Moen.
[3:04] We have Club Rush coming up.
[3:06] So Club Rush is where everyone who has a club can table
[3:12] and kids go check them all out, can sign up for clubs.
[3:15] And this year we're a little bit more cracked down on making
[3:19] sure the clubs are active
[3:20] and that they're not going to disappear
[3:22] after people graduate.
[3:23] So the leadership class and Mr.
[3:25] Neuberger have been kind of paneling all of them,
[3:27] making sure they're good to go.
[3:30] We have back to school night on September 10th,
[3:33] and there's gonna be a freshman orientation
[3:34] before just another one for parents and everything.
[3:38] And this is kind of fun.
[3:39] On the 13th, we have a 50 year reunion tour, so
[3:46] I think it's on a Saturday, I'm not sure,
[3:48] but we're gonna be, the leadership class will be giving a
[3:50] tour to the 50 year reunion
[3:51] and they're actually donating to us to see
[3:54] the new layout of the school.
[3:56] Yeah, 13th, I'm sorry.
[3:58] 13th. You think? I'm pretty sure it's the 13th. Yeah.
[4:01] Probably have their celebration that
[4:02] Night. Yeah, Sunday.
[4:04] Sunday. Yeah, it is a Sunday. Perfect.
[4:06] Okay, moving on to homecoming this year,
[4:09] our theme is a night in Rio,
[4:12] and so we're gonna have a Rio themed homecoming rally
[4:15] and our spirit days on Monday we have welcome to Rio
[4:19] to wear Beachy things.
[4:20] Tuesday for our rally day we have rep your flock.
[4:23] So for class colors, seniors are wearing pink juniors blues,
[4:27] sophomores purple, and Freshman Green.
[4:29] On Wednesday, it's twin day called Birds of a Feather.
[4:33] And on Thursday we have powder puff, so juniors
[4:36] and seniors are gonna wear their jerseys
[4:37] and underclassmen can wear pink to support the juniors
[4:40] and black for the seniors.
[4:43] And that powder puff is on September 17th.
[4:46] On Friday we have a football game
[4:49] and the theme is Glow in the Dark,
[4:51] so everybody's gonna wear black
[4:52] and get neon like LightUp things.
[4:55] So yeah, that's what we have.
[5:02] Thank you Sadie. And then from North Tahoe High School we
[5:05] have Randy or I'll just say North TA High School.
[5:07] Please introduce yourself when you get here.
[5:16] All right, well thank you guys
[5:17] for having us. I'm Randy Martinez.
[5:20] I'm Ava Ball. All right.
[5:22] I hope y'all had a good summer, but so what's it called?
[5:26] I just wanna give y'all a little insight
[5:28] of what's going on with our school.
[5:31] We had a really good first day of school
[5:33] and when we welcomed everyone back
[5:34] with our Kiss Your Parents goodbye.
[5:36] So when the, especially like the underclassmen got dropped
[5:39] off, they had to kiss their parent goodbye
[5:42] and it was great seeing students back on campus
[5:44] and starting off another school year.
[5:46] Yeah, it was so much fun.
[5:48] Also, our seniors had their senior sunrise,
[5:51] which was a lot of fun.
[5:52] We hiked up to Eagle Lake, no to Eagle Rock
[5:56] and it was so much fun.
[5:57] It was such a good community
[6:00] and like everyone being involved.
[6:03] Also before school officially started,
[6:05] we welcomed our incoming freshmen
[6:07] through freshman orientation and Link Crew
[6:10] and our link crew leaders helped freshmen become more
[6:12] familiar with the school and kind of get to know each other
[6:14] and the upperclassmen and then to meet other students
[6:18] and hopefully feel a little more
[6:19] comfortable starting high school.
[6:20] Alright, and we would also like
[6:22] to welcome new several members joining us like Edward de
[6:26] Jordan and he's teaching a PUS history and world history.
[6:30] I would also like to welcome Tina Dees and Erica McCauley
[6:35] and Resource along with Chloe early our new resource aid.
[6:39] Also, we are very excited to welcome Pierce Martin
[6:42] to our math department and Celeste Barlow in Career Tech.
[6:45] We are also happy to have him part of our community.
[6:47] They've been super nice
[6:48] and every student has been liking him, so it's super nice.
[6:52] And the transition into fall sports,
[6:54] our team have already had teams,
[6:56] have already had a busy start
[6:57] to their seasons like volleyball is off to an amazing start
[7:00] and is undefeated so far.
[7:02] And the program has also continued to grow.
[7:05] And this year we're really excited to have a freshman team
[7:07] And Boys Tennis is making great progress under the new
[7:11] leadership of Coach John.
[7:13] I don't know his last name. So they've competed in two
[7:15] matches, but they've also picked up several wins
[7:18] and the team has a positive outlook for the season.
[7:21] Also, girls Tennis is one
[7:23] of the largest teams we've had in years
[7:25] and the players have been showing a lot
[7:26] of dedication at their matches
[7:27] and have continued to improve as the season moves forward.
[7:31] And football has played two non-conference games
[7:34] so far against Qui, Quincy and Highlands.
[7:37] And our homecoming game is on
[7:40] September 18th against Incline.
[7:42] And the theme is welcome back to the Jungle, I think so
[7:47] don't wear green support.
[7:48] North Tahoe
[7:52] Boys' Soccer also continues to grow
[7:54] with really strong numbers this year
[7:56] and they recently earned a big win against Christo Ray
[7:58] and are hoping to continue
[8:00] that momentum against Encina this week.
[8:02] Yeah, that game is tomorrow at five, so please show up.
[8:05] And then Girls' Soccer has had a strong season
[8:08] and they won a game over Spring Creek
[8:10] and it also battled Elko to a three way tie
[8:13] and it was a very competitive game.
[8:16] Girls Golf also hosted the first tournament
[8:18] of the season at the Tahoe City Golf course where one
[8:21] of our new golfers earned individual honors.
[8:24] The team also brought pizza for the other teams, which made
[8:27] for a fun day and was a great example of the sportsmanship
[8:30] that North Tahoe shows.
[8:32] And finally, cross Country is preparing
[8:34] for its first race of the season.
[8:36] It'll be open right here at North Tahoe, which is amazing.
[8:40] And our annual madman males across Country Invite
[8:44] on September 11th.
[8:47] So overall, it's been a really busy
[8:48] but exciting start to the school year
[8:50] between welcoming new students, staff, senior traditions,
[8:53] and our fall sports getting underway.
[8:55] There is already a lot happening around campus.
[8:58] We are looking to forward to see our students accomplish
[9:02] a lot of new things this year
[9:04] and sharing updates with you guys.
[9:06] And also I found it a little interesting
[9:08] that both our homecoming things are real, which yeah,
[9:13] Thank you so much and we
[9:15] hope everyone has a great evening.
[9:17] Thank you guys. Thank you guys.
[9:21] Totally fun. Thank you so much for coming here you guys,
[9:24] we really, really appreciate having you
[9:28] and thank you Daisy too.
[9:31] At this point I am moving on to 8.0, which is public comment
[9:36] and I don't see any public in the audience
[9:40] that wants to make any comments.
[9:41] So I'll close public comment
[9:43] and move to 9.0 superintendents to report.
[9:47] Thank you President Driller.
[9:49] Well, it's very exciting to have the school year started.
[9:52] We've had one week of school so far
[9:54] and all of our school sites are report reporting,
[9:57] a really strong start to the school year.
[10:00] And I wanna give a shout out to our teachers and staff.
[10:05] We just started and we already have two open houses
[10:09] complete plus one happening right now as we speak.
[10:12] So yesterday, Truckee l
[10:14] and Glens Shire Elementary had an open
[10:16] or back to school night, excuse me, for half of their
[10:20] grade bands.
[10:22] And then they have another night for the second half just
[10:24] to accommodate families that have multiple students.
[10:28] So I just appreciate that our school sites are ready
[10:32] and engaging families right away
[10:34] and talking about all of the curriculum and instruction
[10:37] and great learning that's gonna happen throughout the year
[10:40] and how our parents can get involved.
[10:46] And we of course would love to have involvement
[10:49] by our community and our parents
[10:51] for our Measure AA Citizen Oversight Committee meetings.
[10:56] Our first one is next week on September 8th. It's at 3 45.
[11:01] It actually happens here in the boardroom
[11:04] or for our Lakeside folks.
[11:06] It happens in the North Tahoe High School library.
[11:09] And we're connected through a Google Meet and live.
[11:12] So you can be on either side
[11:14] of the district and participate.
[11:16] And it's a great way to see
[11:17] and hear about what's happening with Measure aa
[11:20] and the wonderful impact it has on our program
[11:24] really provides that well-rounded
[11:26] education for our students.
[11:28] So just as a reminder, we're in our 37th year
[11:31] of community support.
[11:33] So thank you to our community and aa.
[11:36] Our current parcel tax brings in over $5 million
[11:41] and it does expire in June of 2028.
[11:44] So our board of Education called for an election
[11:49] and the elections office is naming the Parcel Tax Measure P.
[11:54] So Measure P is a renewal of Measure aa.
[11:58] It is asking our community for more support has an increase
[12:01] of $40 over aa
[12:04] and that's to help us catch up from inflation loss
[12:06] over the last eight years.
[12:08] So it's on the November 3rd election,
[12:12] and we just wanna make sure
[12:13] that the community has information so
[12:15] that they can make an informed decision when they go
[12:18] to vote.
[12:20] On November 3rd,
[12:25] Last week we had convocation our welcome back for all staff
[12:31] and I wanna appreciate excellence in education once again
[12:36] for awarding our outstanding staff.
[12:39] They really do so much to elevate
[12:42] and promote quality education in our district
[12:45] and they help celebrate our amazing team members.
[12:49] And so we had four classified Stars award recipients,
[12:53] and four Linda Brown fellows who are certificated employees.
[12:57] So congratulations to all those honorees.
[13:01] We're very excited for their recognition
[13:03] and thanks to all of our staff are working so hard.
[13:06] And thanks to Excellence and Ed for honoring
[13:09] and really elevating and recognizing our amazing team.
[13:15] Also at convocation board President DEI Driller shared the
[13:19] new district vision that the board has worked so hard on
[13:23] and shared with everyone at our last
[13:25] board meeting in August.
[13:27] We're very excited about it.
[13:29] And as we roll out the vision
[13:31] and talk with staff,
[13:33] they all see themselves connected to this vision.
[13:36] So when they reflect on this, they see how they're part
[13:39] of making this happen and come to life for our students.
[13:46] And it's really, as we've talked about, great timing,
[13:49] to have this updated guidance from our school board
[13:52] because that guidance will then help us
[13:57] refresh our strategic plan.
[13:59] So think of the vision as kind
[14:00] of like our north star magnetic north.
[14:04] And the strategic plan is then the compass
[14:06] and kind of making this vision come to life
[14:09] by identifying the priorities to make this vision happen.
[14:13] And then our LCAP will also be rewritten for next year,
[14:17] and that's where it gets into the specifics
[14:19] and really aligns district funding to the priorities
[14:23] and gets more into the nuts
[14:25] and bolts of how are we gonna make this vision come to life.
[14:28] So I'm excited that we have this vision in place
[14:31] and that we'll be working on a strategic plan refresh
[14:34] throughout this year, which will then also guide the L cap.
[14:39] But as you know, we have a current strategic plan
[14:43] and we're in year four, so I'm kind
[14:45] of calling this the bridge year.
[14:46] So we're winding down our strategic plan
[14:49] that's currently in place and getting ready to update it
[14:53] and refresh it based on the district new district vision.
[14:58] And we have actions for each of the priority areas.
[15:03] So in academic achievement, we have the three actions.
[15:06] One is to begin the ELA adoption process for TK
[15:11] through eighth grade and conclude the high school English
[15:16] language arts adoption, which they've been working on
[15:18] for about a year and a half now.
[15:20] So the board can anticipate
[15:21] that this spring there will be recommended curricular
[15:25] materials for your approval for high school
[15:27] and then we'll begin the process in probably a year
[15:30] or two years from now.
[15:32] We'll bring to you curriculum adoption for approval
[15:35] for our TK through eighth grade.
[15:37] So we're excited to get that going.
[15:39] And then the second action is really focusing in on
[15:42] our collaborative teams.
[15:44] We've been a district that collaborates for many,
[15:47] many years, but we're really providing time
[15:50] during the professional workday for our staff
[15:53] to work together as we know from our district vision
[15:56] that when we work together
[15:59] and hear the expertise from our team
[16:01] and have that opportunity to share
[16:03] that our students really benefit from that.
[16:06] And then the third action is exciting.
[16:09] Our career technical education pathways
[16:12] are very successful at our school sites.
[16:14] And so we're in the very early stages
[16:17] of exploring the feasibility
[16:18] of implementing two additional pathways, one
[16:21] for early learning and one for aviation.
[16:25] So we're excited to see where that might go.
[16:28] And then in support systems for this year, we've
[16:32] so much has happened and been accomplished.
[16:34] So our first action is to continue
[16:37] to implement the social emotional learning curriculum
[16:39] that the team has reviewed over the last two years are
[16:42] recommitted to and receive training on.
[16:45] And then also utilize our new assessment tool,
[16:49] the Satchel Pulse, to identify students
[16:51] that need additional support.
[16:54] And then for both,
[16:55] or for all of the board members here, I'd like
[16:58] to facilitate two listening
[17:00] and learning tours at our district high school
[17:03] so we can continue to hear student perspective.
[17:05] We had a very impactful time, as you know last year
[17:08] with the artificial intelligence
[17:10] with some of the board members.
[17:11] So we're gonna schedule one in the fall
[17:13] and one in the spring just
[17:14] so we can hear from a wide variety of students about
[17:17] what it's like being a high schooler right now
[17:20] and what we can do to support them
[17:22] and continue to improve their experience and their learning.
[17:26] And then actions three and four are continuations.
[17:29] We're continuing continuing
[17:30] to use our facilities master plan
[17:33] and prioritize projects from that.
[17:35] And then also we're working on our budget development
[17:38] process to make sure that our budget decisions really align
[17:43] with the priorities that we've set forth in the strategic
[17:46] plan and in the LCAP and for community connections.
[17:51] Last year our special education team had great success using
[17:56] what we're learning from our community engagement initiative
[18:00] and applying that to the parent advisory committee.
[18:02] And they're really focused on including everyone
[18:05] and making sure that transitions go smoothly for all
[18:09] of our students, but for
[18:11] that special education population in particular.
[18:13] So they're gonna keep building on
[18:15] that positive work from last year.
[18:17] And then of course second action is taking
[18:20] what we've learned from CEI just in the very beginning
[18:23] that solid foundations in place
[18:26] and now we're going next level
[18:28] and we're really looking at how we partner with families
[18:31] as allies to build their capacity in
[18:34] supporting academic success.
[18:35] So you'll hear more, especially
[18:37] during the showcases about this,
[18:39] but we're excited about our continued work.
[18:41] And then lastly, we're continuing our momentum
[18:45] with the outdoor education.
[18:47] There will be a scope and sequence finalized this year
[18:50] for all grade levels, looking at that guaranteed
[18:53] and viable for outdoor ed at each grade level
[18:56] for all the school sites.
[18:57] And then keep working on our success at Ride Out,
[19:00] which is named renamed as Tahoe
[19:02] with our overnight sixth grade trips
[19:04] and see how we can keep working on that.
[19:07] So this is our bridge year. There's always work happening.
[19:11] We're in a continuous improvement, we love feedback.
[19:14] But I'm excited for these actions this year
[19:17] and for refreshing the strategic plan
[19:19] because really together all of this is so that our students
[19:23] are well prepared for their futures.
[19:26] So I'm excited about this work.
[19:28] And that concludes my update
[19:30] and I'm happy to answer any questions.
[19:33] Thank you for the update.
[19:35] Any questions from the board on that?
[19:37] Nope, I printed it out and read through it.
[19:39] There's a couple of exciting things,
[19:41] but I appreciate having sort of a,
[19:44] and I think you gave us some info as to what your plans are
[19:48] so that we have an idea of kind of
[19:49] where your vision is going, which is,
[19:51] and then it all ties back in together.
[19:52] So that, that's wonderful.
[19:55] With that then I'll close 9.0
[19:58] and open 10.0 business services, superintendent Kramer.
[20:01] And for this item, we'll turn
[20:03] to our assistant superintendent, chief Business Officer,
[20:05] Mr. Todd Rivera.
[20:08] Thank you. Superintendent Kramer,
[20:09] president Driller members of the board.
[20:11] So tonight we're asking you to review
[20:13] and approve the Proposition 28 Arts and Music
[20:17] and School's funding annual report
[20:19] for the fiscal year 2025 2026.
[20:23] And just a little background on Proposition 28 in November
[20:27] of 2022, voters
[20:30] approved Proposition 28 titled the Arts and Music
[20:33] and Schools Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act.
[20:36] And what that act did is provide an ongoing funding source
[20:41] for schools to support arts and music programs.
[20:45] And how the funding is generated is,
[20:47] you've heard about Proposition 98,
[20:49] which is the funding guarantee
[20:51] for K 14 schools in California.
[20:54] They take 1% of the value from the Prop 98 guarantee.
[20:59] And then from that bucket of money, they distribute dollars
[21:04] to not, not individual districts,
[21:06] but actual individual school sites
[21:09] based on their average daily attendance.
[21:11] So every school in our district gets a bucket of money
[21:14] to use for arts and music programs at their school site.
[21:17] They all develop their own plans for the use of money.
[21:20] And there are some restrictions.
[21:23] Prop 28 does require that 80% of the money is supposed
[21:27] to be used for staffing and that could be certificated
[21:30] and classified staffing
[21:33] and the rest can be used for materials
[21:35] and supplies and services.
[21:37] However, they, they do recognize
[21:39] that some sites might not get enough money in their bucket
[21:43] to fund actual staff.
[21:44] So they do allow for districts to apply
[21:46] for waivers if they can't meet that 80% threshold,
[21:49] which our district didn't
[21:51] for the 2020 2324 allocation year.
[21:56] And we did receive a waiver,
[21:58] but all the school sites are spending the dollars
[22:02] every year's allocation,
[22:03] you get three years to spend that down.
[22:05] So right now, 2020 3 24 allocation is required
[22:10] to be spent by the end of 25, 26.
[22:12] And we did a good job on spending that down.
[22:16] The other requirement is an annual report,
[22:18] which I'm presenting tonight, which is just highlighting
[22:22] three different areas, the number
[22:24] of full-time equivalent teachers, classified personnel,
[22:27] and teaching aids that we're funding with Prop $28,
[22:31] the number of pupils served,
[22:32] and the number of school sites providing arts education
[22:35] programs with these funds.
[22:39] So the report shows that we have
[22:43] 1.0 FTE and new full-time equivalent teachers.
[22:47] And that's because most sites are doing partial FTEs
[22:50] because like I, as I mentioned, the funding isn't enough
[22:52] to fund a hold teacher for most of the school sites.
[22:55] We also are using it to fund 2.2
[23:00] instructional aids, which is part of our classified staff.
[23:03] And they're supporting art
[23:04] and music programs at at many of our school sites.
[23:07] And then the number of students served.
[23:09] Right now, all of our school sites are spending this money
[23:12] for arts and music, either supplies
[23:14] or contracted services or FTE.
[23:17] So all of our students are being served at the current time
[23:21] with these dollars and the number of school sites
[23:24] that are allocated money is 12.
[23:29] Any questions?
[23:31] I actually do have a question, Todd, thank you
[23:33] for such a great explanation.
[23:37] So with the 1.0 FTE
[23:42] that we potentially have to fund another position, is that,
[23:48] do we have an idea of what that class will be
[23:52] or is it not specified
[23:54] Yet?
[23:55] No, no, it's, it's specified.
[23:56] And this is for, this is what we did in 2025, in 26, some
[24:01] of the sites, it took 'em a while
[24:02] to figure out really a program at their sites, right,
[24:05] especially at the middle and high school on
[24:06] how you can fit this in the schedule
[24:08] and how you can add classes
[24:10] and fund FTE with the money you receive.
[24:14] But in 25, 26, we had an additional 0.2 FTR teacher
[24:19] and 0.71875 enhancement paraprofessionals
[24:23] that were serving the Glens Shire
[24:25] Elementary School art program.
[24:27] And specifically it was art.
[24:30] We have 0.8875 instruction, FTE
[24:34] and instructional aids to expand
[24:36] and support individualized music instruction
[24:39] in the band programs at Alder Creek Middle School.
[24:43] And then we have an additional 0.2 FTE Arts arts teacher
[24:48] that it was added, I think last year
[24:52] for a video editing class at North Tahoe High School.
[24:56] And addition,
[24:57] we have a 0.2 FTR teacher at Tahoe Lake Elementary School
[25:02] and a 0.4 FTR teacher at Truckee Elementary School.
[25:07] So we're essentially like not just, you know,
[25:12] enhancing our programs in the arts,
[25:14] but we're also augmenting them
[25:17] with more classes and more staff. Is that right?
[25:21] Yes. Yeah. Yeah. It's supplementary.
[25:24] It has to be supplement.
[25:25] It has to supplement what we're already doing. Okay.
[25:27] So since we already we're funding a lot of that staff
[25:30] with Measure aa, we've actually had
[25:32] to add programs on top of that.
[25:34] So we're adding these classes
[25:36] into the regular bell schedule.
[25:40] Yes. So that brings up an interesting question for me
[25:44] because you mentioned music
[25:46] and as we all know, the
[25:51] jazz band program at Truckee High meets daily
[25:57] and has for the last 20 plus years, at least as far
[26:01] as I can recall, and they have
[26:05] to go into school on the zero period bell schedule
[26:10] because we have not been able to integrate
[26:15] that particular class into the regular day.
[26:20] So my question is, I'm having a really hard time reconciling
[26:23] how we on a yearly basis almost add new classes.
[26:27] There's always new textbooks out there for us to review.
[26:31] It's very common for us to add new classes, not just CTE,
[26:35] but like human geography.
[26:37] And the list goes on and on and on,
[26:39] and we're able to find places in the
[26:41] bell schedule for those classes.
[26:44] Why can't we also find places in the bell schedule
[26:49] for the musicians who are in the jazz band?
[26:53] Do you know why we can't do that? I don't understand.
[26:57] I, I can't speak to the high school schedule.
[27:01] What I can say is the Truckee High School is using a portion
[27:04] of this money to help fund additional support
[27:07] for the regular band periods,
[27:11] but I don't, I don't know why they,
[27:14] So I think that's interesting
[27:15] because it's worth exploring.
[27:17] And the only reason I'm bringing this up is
[27:19] because I myself was the parent of a jazz band musician
[27:23] for seven years.
[27:26] And I got to see the firsthand experience
[27:29] of the mental health effect it has on an adolescent brain
[27:33] getting up an hour before everybody else and driving
[27:37] and getting into school at like,
[27:39] I don't even know when they start six
[27:41] 30 or something like that.
[27:43] And our very first belief statement ironically is
[27:51] students are the focus of all decisions.
[27:54] So from a mental health standpoint and a parental standpoint
[27:57] and someone who specializes in adolescent mental health,
[28:02] I think that we might need to perhaps explore
[28:06] why we are discriminating against a particular group
[28:09] of students and not giving them equal opportunity to be able
[28:13] to participate in the jazz program, which is an elite
[28:18] as well as board member.
[28:20] Hennessy just pointed out that North Tahoe is doing it also,
[28:24] and they have been for a long time.
[28:26] So I just want us to just ask ourselves the question like,
[28:31] how authentic are we about that?
[28:33] We seem to have no problem adding on
[28:35] really exciting new classes for all of our students,
[28:40] yet our musicians are basically being
[28:45] punished in a way for wanting to be jazz musicians,
[28:49] Trustee lava.
[28:51] I'm able to speak to that.
[28:52] And if you're comfortable, I will call on Mr. Mike Shepherd
[28:55] to assist me, who is a former band director.
[28:59] So the decision at Truckee High in North Tahoe High School
[29:02] to offer jazz band as a zero period rather the day
[29:05] during the school day is very important.
[29:08] If they chose to offer jazz band during the school day,
[29:13] that means students would have to choose most likely due
[29:16] to course requirements
[29:17] and fulfilling graduation requirements between being in
[29:23] the concert band or the jazz band.
[29:26] And I'm gonna let Mr. Shepherd take it from there
[29:28] and why this is the issue across the nation,
[29:31] not just our district of why jazz band always ends up
[29:36] as a additional period.
[29:37] So Mr. Shepherd, if you wouldn't mind
[29:39] explaining the details.
[29:41] Yeah. From my experience as a student, all
[29:46] through high school, I was in band, marching band,
[29:50] concert band, and I was also in jazz band.
[29:53] It was zero period when I was a teacher. Same thing.
[29:58] You typically, the issue is course selections
[30:02] and the availability of periods.
[30:04] So if you're in concert band,
[30:07] concert bands can be fairly large.
[30:09] In my middle school, my bands were about 60 to 70 kids.
[30:13] I had a big middle school jazz band typically is
[30:17] 2020 to no more than 30.
[30:20] It's a smaller group.
[30:22] So it typically is your students who are specializing in,
[30:27] they want to do jazz, but they're also in concert band.
[30:30] Some students, it gives them an, an ability to, I play
[30:36] flute and concert band, but I'm gonna play pick up sax
[30:39] and double and played sax and jazz band.
[30:42] So it gives students more, it's just a matter
[30:44] of fitting everything into the day.
[30:47] And so I don't know of a program
[30:50] where something is not zero period.
[30:53] If you're all offering a robust music program, for example,
[30:58] my, I had my, when my program grew to a, a large degree,
[31:03] I had, I had to break into two
[31:07] beginning orchestras.
[31:09] So I had a zero period string orchestra and a during the day
[31:13] because I just had too many kids interested.
[31:16] So there's lots of reasons why there's,
[31:19] there's more interest than is available during the day.
[31:22] And kids, the kids would be forced,
[31:25] if you're taking concert band, you would be forced to choose
[31:29] between that and jazz band.
[31:31] And typically, if those are competing courses,
[31:35] they're also singletons, which complicates
[31:38] where you place IM two, where all these classes are placed.
[31:42] Because typically your musicians are also in AP courses.
[31:47] So the construction of the master schedule
[31:49] really wouldn't mostly allow
[31:52] for two band periods in a day for a student.
[31:56] It's just typically not possible even
[31:58] With block schedule.
[32:00] Well, that therein lies another problem
[32:03] with the construction of a block schedule and music classes.
[32:06] So in a true, if you were, if we ran a music class
[32:11] like a, a block, you would have band in the fall
[32:14] and not in the spring.
[32:16] So we typically,
[32:17] because students are receiving a year's worth
[32:21] of coursework in a semester on the block schedule,
[32:24] but in music, it typically,
[32:26] you typically run your programs a little differently
[32:29] through the length of the year.
[32:33] And so that, that it just further.
[32:36] So yes, there's more periods involved,
[32:39] but it's really the construction and how like, and,
[32:44] and for students who want to take more, like
[32:48] I also took choir,
[32:50] but I had to do it in, I had
[32:51] to join a community chorus in the evening.
[32:54] 'cause I, there was no way I could take chorus
[32:55] during the work school day and be in band
[32:59] and have zero period jazz band.
[33:02] I kind of liken it to phys ed and an athlete, right?
[33:06] Like you get your phys ed during the day,
[33:08] but to use your word, an elite musician, right,
[33:12] an athlete has to stay
[33:14] after school instead of before school.
[33:16] But there are also many of them athletes as well.
[33:20] Correct. But I think she's just giving you the
[33:21] analogy of, of the next level.
[33:23] Look, I'm not gonna, I'm just saying, okay.
[33:26] However long we've been doing it in the system of education,
[33:30] which is probably dating back to,
[33:32] I don't even know the early sixties.
[33:35] It is now 2026. Okay.
[33:37] And I just really wanted
[33:38] to just impress upon everyone while we're having this
[33:41] conversation, while we're honoring our beliefs.
[33:46] That is not a good enough answer.
[33:48] Like, just because that's what we've always done.
[33:51] It's not the same world.
[33:53] And I just wanna say, I have seen directly, directly
[33:59] so many kids who have bags under their eyes
[34:04] who are going to jazz festivals on the weekends in like
[34:08] Folsom, Sacramento, Santa Cruz.
[34:10] They don't have the weekends off.
[34:13] Sometimes they have to come home from jazz festivals
[34:17] and then do all their homework.
[34:19] So these kids are exhausted
[34:20] and it's not just like exhausted, exhausted.
[34:24] It's a catastrophic level of exhaustion.
[34:28] And I cannot sit here
[34:31] and listen to us talk about adding new classes
[34:34] and you don't have to defend it.
[34:36] I see you getting ready to talk.
[34:37] This is not an interrogation
[34:39] and I'm not meaning to turn this into a lot a,
[34:42] a cross examination,
[34:43] but I just want to make sure that if we're paying attention
[34:48] to what is going on in this district
[34:50] and we're being rigorous to the promises that we've made
[34:53] to the community, that we need to do that to all children.
[34:57] We need to provide that comprehensively
[35:01] to all children, all across the board.
[35:03] And I, I'm emotional about this and I'm passionate about it
[35:07] because I personally knew and carpooled
[35:11] and drove to jazz festivals,
[35:14] 15, 20, 30 jazz festivals.
[35:17] Not just a couple with like four
[35:19] or five, six kids in my car.
[35:21] So I'm, I heard the conversations in the car, I knew
[35:26] what they were talking about.
[35:27] And I'm not making this up.
[35:29] I'm a social behavioral scientist.
[35:31] That's this very real stuff.
[35:33] So I'll get off of my soapbox,
[35:35] but I just think that we, we really need
[35:37] to rethink how we're doing this.
[35:40] And that's, I'm gonna leave it up
[35:42] to everybody else to figure that out.
[35:44] But I couldn't just not bring it up
[35:46] because I do think it's a huge, huge concern.
[35:51] And if we're focused on wellness programs and mental health
[35:54] and bringing in, you know,
[35:56] wellness programs into our schools,
[35:57] yet we're making kids get up at like five 30
[36:00] or five in the morning every day.
[36:03] That's just not right.
[36:05] And it's, it's, it's just a problem for me.
[36:07] So I don't think I speak for anyone else, obviously,
[36:11] but as the parent of a musician who took almost two years
[36:16] to recover from the trauma he experienced
[36:19] as being a jazz musician
[36:22] because he was so exhausted, he had to recover for two years
[36:26] and then he, his growth spurts started, he stopped growing.
[36:32] So these are clinical, medical and psychological things
[36:36] and I just wanted to just put that out there.
[36:38] 'cause I can't pretend it doesn't bother me anymore.
[36:42] Thank you.
[36:48] Any other on action item board comments
[36:50] before I put this out for a vote?
[36:55] Okay. Thank you for the update on that. Todd.
[36:58] Seeing no other comments,
[37:02] this all vote to approve?
[37:05] Thank you. Is there a second for the proposed 20?
[37:09] Proposed for 10.1?
[37:14] I'll second. Thank you. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
[37:19] Aye. Thank you. Moving to 11.0. Superintendent Kramer.
[37:24] Yes. And for this item, we'll turn
[37:25] to our assistant superintendent
[37:26] of educational services, Mrs. Sean Roderick.
[37:30] Thank you, superintendent Kramer. Good evening.
[37:32] President Driller, board of trustees and Community.
[37:35] The Truckee Rotary Club has generously awarded a $1,000
[37:38] grant for the 20 26 20 27 SAGE
[37:42] and Outdoor Education Program.
[37:45] The state and outdoor education program in partnership
[37:48] with Tahoe Unified School District is organized
[37:50] by volunteer efforts of two retired teachers.
[37:54] The program aims to instill a deeper appreciation of nature,
[37:57] science and local environment operating on the core belief
[38:00] that students will naturally want
[38:02] to protect the outdoors once they have grown to love it.
[38:05] As the staff's recommendation, the board
[38:07] of trustees accepts this generous grant for, for the state
[38:10] and outdoor education program.
[38:13] Thank you for that Mrs. Roderick.
[38:16] We always love Rotary Club of Truckee.
[38:19] Any comments from the board?
[38:22] Seeing none, I'll make a motion
[38:25] to accept the grant from the Rotary Club Truckee for Sage.
[38:29] Sage Hen Outdoor Education Program for 26 27 school year
[38:32] with a big thank you with
[38:34] Appreciation. I'll second that
[38:36] Motion.
[38:37] All in favor? Thank you Chris. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
[38:40] Thank you. At this point,
[38:43] I will close the regular Tower Truck Unified School district
[38:47] meeting of Jim, September 2nd
[38:50] and open a public hearing, superintendent Kramer.
[38:55] And for these items, we will turn to Mr. Mike Shepherd,
[38:59] our Executive Director of Human
[39:01] Resources for a little bit of background.
[39:03] Thank you. Superintendent Kramer.
[39:06] President driller, members
[39:07] of the board government code mandates the school district's
[39:10] make public the topics of discussion during negotiations.
[39:14] When proposals are first submitted,
[39:16] they must be placed on the board's regular
[39:18] agenda for review.
[39:20] The board must hold a public hearing in order
[39:22] to take input from the public on the proposals.
[39:25] The proposals for this evening's hearings is to solicit
[39:28] and receive public comment on this proposal.
[39:34] So are there any
[39:39] questions from the board on what was being sunshined?
[39:43] Oh, this is a public hearing, so this is just April.
[39:45] Never mind. Well, moving
[39:47] to 12.2, correct. Is this
[39:51] Info, Mr. Shepherd, 12.2.
[39:53] This, this public hearing and I failed to mention.
[39:57] The first one was for T-T-U-S-D
[40:01] and TTEA, the second one, the 12.2
[40:07] is our, is our Sunshine documents for C
[40:12] to CSEA.
[40:13] So this is a public hearing to solicit input for
[40:16] that sunshine document.
[40:19] And just for the record, the, the public, the,
[40:21] the board can look at what's being as well as public
[40:25] as what's being sunshined on both, for both parties.
[40:29] So with that, I will now
[40:34] close the public hearing
[40:36] and reopen the Tower Truck Unified School district board
[40:38] meeting of September 2nd, moving to 13.0 negotiations.
[40:44] Mr. Shepherd. Thank you.
[40:48] We are seeking approval
[40:49] for the Sunshine Articles from T-T-U-S-D
[40:55] to TTEA to move forward to commence bargaining
[40:58] for the 26th 27 school year
[41:02] and TTUS D'S initial proposal
[41:05] to TTEA.
[41:07] We are opening Article 12, health and Welfare benefits
[41:11] and Article 13 wages.
[41:13] And with that, any questions?
[41:19] Any questions from the board? Nope. Okay. 13.2.
[41:25] 13.2. These are action items. Oh,
[41:28] I just moved.
[41:32] Okay, so sorry. Back to 13.1.
[41:35] Would someone care to make a motion on that?
[41:38] I'll make a motion to approve the Sunshine articles from
[41:42] TT USD to move forward with negotiations
[41:45] with TTEA.
[41:48] I'll second. Thank you. All in favor? Aye.
[41:50] Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Now we'll try 13.2. Mr. Shepherd.
[41:56] Thank you. On this item, we are seeking approval
[42:00] for the Sunshine articles from TTEA to T-T-U-S-D
[42:06] and their articles are Proposal
[42:10] for Sunshine Article four Hours of Employment, article 10,
[42:15] leaves Article 11, class Size, article 12, health
[42:20] and Welfare benefits, and Article 13 wages
[42:23] and all relevant app dependencies, which includes the
[42:27] stipend tables and and whatnot.
[42:29] And they also propose to review and,
[42:32] and I also, we are doing successor agreement
[42:36] so all articles are open.
[42:38] So during that time, we're also gonna be reviewing articles,
[42:42] side letters and MOUs that are,
[42:45] that may have become obsolete.
[42:47] No, maybe the law has changed.
[42:50] There are a couple of probably language changes
[42:53] that we'll need to update because the law changed.
[42:56] And then any MOUs that we, that we have not,
[43:00] that don't have a sunset date,
[43:01] we would be incorporating into the contract
[43:04] as an article which will come to you
[43:07] for approval at a later date.
[43:11] Thank you. Thank you for that. This is an action item.
[43:16] So anyone, would someone please make a motion for 13.2?
[43:19] I'll move to approve the Sunshine articles from TTEA
[43:23] to T-T-U-S-D.
[43:25] I'll second. All in favor? A A. Aye. Aye.
[43:29] Aye. Aye. Aye. Thank you.
[43:31] 13.3 Superintendent Mr. Shepherd.
[43:35] Thank you. We are seeking approval for
[43:38] our TTU sds proposed articles for negotiations
[43:43] to CSEA
[43:45] and we are opening on Article 3.8
[43:50] 0.3 and this we are seeking
[43:54] to delete language not consistent with education code
[43:57] and in conflict with Article 3.7 0.1.
[44:02] We're opening Article 12 leaves
[44:04] and we need to update 12 point 11.7 to reflect current law,
[44:09] article 16 wages and Article 17 Health
[44:13] and welfare benefits.
[44:15] And with that, any questions?
[44:18] Thank you Mr. Shepherd.
[44:20] Any questions from the board on those items?
[44:23] I'll make a motion to approve the Sunshine articles from
[44:26] T-T-U-S-D to move forward with negotiations with CSEA.
[44:31] I'll second. Thank you. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
[44:36] Aye. 14.0. Superintendent Kramer.
[44:40] And we so appreciate our board pre the president of CSEA,
[44:44] Melissa Cruz and president TTEA.
[44:48] Aaron Lafe, they great,
[44:50] great welcome back messages at convocation
[44:52] and they were both busy tonight, but they give their best
[44:55] and they hope to be here next month with updates.
[44:58] But things are going well.
[45:01] Having many hats is tough, especially with open houses
[45:04] for moving to 15.0.
[45:06] Consent agenda, any items that need to be pulled from staff
[45:10] or you? Any
[45:12] Board members?
[45:13] No items from staff.
[45:16] Would anyone care to make a motion to approve the consent?
[45:19] I'll move to approve the consent agenda. Thank you.
[45:22] And there's a lot of them. Did everyone see that second
[45:27] and was there a second?
[45:30] Second. Okay. Thank you Bet. And then all in favor?
[45:33] Aye. Aye. Aye.
[45:34] Aye. Aye. It does say at 15 point
[45:40] 12 and 13.
[45:41] I think that that was my, I have a, a seat on one
[45:44] of those buses or planes to those trips.
[45:50] 17.0. First read board policy, superintendent Kremer.
[45:53] And for this item, we'll turn to Mrs. Roderick.
[45:56] Thank you for your consideration this evening.
[45:59] I'm presenting a first read of the proposed revisions
[46:02] to our board policy
[46:03] and administrative regulation
[46:05] regarding education for foster youth.
[46:08] 6 1 7 3 0.1.
[46:11] This policy update has been restructured
[46:13] to move foundational language regarding a safe, positive
[46:17] and supportive learning environment free from discrimination
[46:20] and harassment to the beginning of the policy.
[46:24] Because this language sets the core vision
[46:26] for supporting our foster youth.
[46:28] Placing it at the forefront establishes clear
[46:30] intent for the district.
[46:33] Additionally, the updated policy adds an explicit annual
[46:36] reporting duty required by new state law.
[46:39] The superintendent, chief learning officer,
[46:41] or designee will now formally report annually
[46:44] to the California Department of Education.
[46:47] In this report, we will document the total number
[46:50] of foster youth who graduated in their fourth
[46:53] or fifth year of high school,
[46:55] utilizing an exemption from local district established
[46:58] graduation requirements that go beyond the state minimums.
[47:02] These revisions ensure
[47:04] that our policy accurately highlights our commitment
[47:07] to student wellbeing
[47:08] and keeps the district compliant
[47:10] with state tracking expectations.
[47:12] Thank you. And I'm happy to answer any questions.
[47:15] Thank you for that Mrs. Rudick.
[47:17] Any questions from the board? Okay.
[47:19] To bring back on consent. Okay. Moving to 17.2
[47:25] For our next items, we will be turning to Mr. Shepherd.
[47:29] Thank you. The next four policies are first reads
[47:32] for your consideration.
[47:34] The first one is revisions
[47:36] to the 41, 12 0.6 42, 12 0.6
[47:41] and 43, 12 0.6.
[47:43] This is in response to new reg new law SB five 13,
[47:48] which made some changes to who?
[47:51] How personnel records can be viewed and ex
[47:54] and requested for viewing
[47:57] by certain people.
[48:00] And really they had to change this policy
[48:04] as a result of that law
[48:06] because the school districts are exempt from
[48:10] some of the exceptions.
[48:12] And so it's also in relation to changes,
[48:16] adding a new section called egregious misconduct related
[48:20] to SB 8 48 passed in 2025 regarding
[48:25] enhanced background checks for educators.
[48:28] So this allows, this change in policy is
[48:31] to reflect current law where we will,
[48:33] we do disclose egregious misconduct
[48:36] to districts seeking that from us.
[48:38] By law, we have to do that.
[48:39] So anytime we have made a report
[48:42] to the commission on teacher credentialing
[48:45] or that we have done an investigation
[48:48] and found credible that someone
[48:51] there was an egregious misconduct, we are required forever
[48:54] to report that to any LEA who requests that of us with
[48:59] through this process.
[49:01] So with, without any questions,
[49:07] Seeing none from the board, we'll bring
[49:09] that back on consent.
[49:10] Thank you for that Mr. Shepherd. 17.3
[49:15] This policy updates for the 41 12 series 0.9 series
[49:20] is in to reflect new law SB 98,
[49:24] which talks about the changes to the comprehensive school
[49:29] safety plan and really updated the addition
[49:33] of additional mandated reporters.
[49:35] So this, these policies are, have been altered
[49:38] to reflect the new law.
[49:42] Thank you. Seeing
[49:46] a shake of the head.
[49:47] We'll bring that back for consent. Thank you very much.
[49:51] 17.3,
[49:54] This policy 4,100
[49:59] series deals with professional development.
[50:03] It's, it's in the filling of classified positions,
[50:07] which has been clearly defined and communicated.
[50:09] This one's kind of a head scratcher for me,
[50:12] but we're updating it
[50:13] because it doesn't really change our practices.
[50:18] I'm sorry, are we on 17.3 or 17.4 right now?
[50:23] We should be on 17.4.
[50:25] Okay, that's what I thought. Thank
[50:26] You.
[50:30] Any comments on that? Oops, sorry.
[50:33] Seeing no comments, we will bring the thank you
[50:36] for your information and we'll bring that back.
[50:38] And then at 17.5,
[50:52] So this, this revision to regulation 42 12
[50:57] is also related to SB 8 48,
[51:00] which is in the classified realm.
[51:03] And this is also related to the other one
[51:07] for certificate, but this is for classified.
[51:10] So very similar. It's just updating our policies
[51:13] to reflect the new enhanced background reporting
[51:16] that we are required to do with school districts.
[51:21] Thank you. Just seeing crossouts
[51:25] and stuff, so sounds great on that one.
[51:27] We'll move now to 17.6. Superintendent.
[51:33] I believe that's also Mr. Shepherd, is that correct? Okay.
[51:36] Yes. This is some minor revisions
[51:39] to the forty one hundred and forty two hundred series
[51:44] that talks about the selection
[51:46] and recommendation of responsibilities for selection.
[51:52] And it's a minor, there are minor changes
[51:55] and so without any questions,
[52:01] Sorry.
[52:03] 17.6. I'm sorry, this is about
[52:07] that we clearly define, I'm sorry, I had
[52:10] so many policies I got, I know.
[52:12] Sorry. I was just thinking this one is clearly defining the
[52:15] responsibilities and expectations for administrators
[52:19] and supervisory personnel, which we have job descriptions
[52:23] that are clear and defined
[52:25] and the superintendent can clearly define her expectations
[52:29] for management, which she does.
[52:32] Okay, thank you on that. Sorry I was lost for a moment.
[52:37] Any questions on that one?
[52:39] No questions, but just general comments that I know we go
[52:42] through these quickly in a lot of meetings,
[52:44] but I find it helpful to have the track changes to kind
[52:48] of see like where we've been, where we're going.
[52:50] And if we didn't have these coming up regularly,
[52:52] I frankly think we would forget that we have a lot of them
[52:54] because I mean, even the number
[52:57] that we have on tonight's agenda, there's a lot.
[52:59] But I did find them an interesting read just to kind
[53:02] of understand like where the laws are changing
[53:05] and sort of what the expectations are with these policies.
[53:08] So I do appreciate that you bring them regularly so
[53:12] that we stay up to date and we don't get behind.
[53:15] Thank. Thank you for that Danielle. I do agree as well.
[53:19] Lots of lots of updates. All right, well thank you.
[53:23] So these are all info only
[53:25] and then we can bring those back
[53:26] for consent in the next meeting.
[53:29] Wrapping this up, 18.0 board business.
[53:33] Mr. Mooney, how do you feel like starting us off?
[53:35] Oh sure. Well it's been a whirlwind
[53:39] of a week when,
[53:41] and looking forward to more a whirlwind next week.
[53:45] I, I think I made four
[53:46] or five schools in the opening day of school.
[53:47] I, I was so fast moving from one
[53:50] to the other, I can't even remember.
[53:51] But I saw a lot of nice smooth opening at the schools.
[53:54] Some very excited teachers and excited kids
[53:58] and especially the, the TK kids up at Truckee l
[54:03] all smiles, you know, learning how to raise their hand
[54:06] to take a turn and line up at the door.
[54:09] The teacher was demonstrating how to do that
[54:11] and it was all like, oh my gosh, this is the beginning
[54:13] of a whole, you know, educational path
[54:16] that they're heading down and how exciting for them.
[54:18] But hopefully that excitement to, to learn
[54:21] and be at school remains with them.
[54:23] And I think with the teachers we have at Truckee Elementary
[54:25] and the other elementary schools as well, I think
[54:28] that's going to, that definitely gonna happen.
[54:30] I'm looking forward to some of the homecoming
[54:34] athletic events that are coming up
[54:35] for both the high schools football and soccer.
[54:37] And I, I might make a powder puff game at Truckee High.
[54:41] I don't know, it's always one of the most brutal events
[54:43] of the year watching,
[54:46] watching the girls play under the lights.
[54:48] But it is an exciting game
[54:50] and I know it's exciting for the kids as well.
[54:52] So yeah, it's the, this the next, this week and next week
[54:55] or definitely gonna be filled up with things to do.
[54:58] Fiddle. I don't have anything specific,
[55:02] but I'm gonna try and also get to as many games as I can
[55:05] and some of the back to school nights.
[55:07] 'cause I know that the teachers have put in a lot of effort
[55:09] and there's just a lot of staff
[55:10] and energy going, so I want to make sure I get to those.
[55:14] And it's, I feel the energy has been really good just in the
[55:17] community right now about school starting.
[55:19] And I think that's exciting.
[55:25] I, I kind of have a couple questions sort of comments
[55:29] in the board homework.
[55:32] You sent the matrix that Trustee Mooney requested
[55:37] and I'm wondering is that going to be open
[55:41] for dissecting
[55:43] or is it just for when trustees meet with you one-on-one?
[55:48] I see you smiling so
[55:49] Well, I'm not trying to Gotcha. But
[55:51] No, no.
[55:52] Trustees, Laak and I were just looking at them
[55:54] and she actually asked for them to be printed as well.
[55:57] So the, I mean they're just such a great tool.
[56:00] So what we're referring to is Placer County office
[56:02] of Education invited the senior leadership down
[56:05] to reflect on our L progress on our LCAP metrics so far,
[56:09] this is our last year, the lcap.
[56:11] And we have set ambitious targets
[56:13] and in many cases we've met them.
[56:15] And so when I, I meet just so community knows once a month
[56:19] with each trustee and just talking over what's happening in
[56:22] the district and answering questions.
[56:24] And so I had shared the metrics.
[56:27] Trustee Mooney happened to be first in the cycle for
[56:31] this month and he really found a lot of value.
[56:34] So then I shared it out whenever a trustee has a question
[56:38] and I provide information, we make sure
[56:39] that everyone gets the information.
[56:41] And so what we're thinking is,
[56:43] you've seen all this data at the midyear L cap
[56:47] and the end of the year L cap.
[56:48] But we, since we're using this to help support the refresh
[56:52] of the district strategic plan, you will see them
[56:55] and we're trying to figure out, the posters are so powerful,
[56:58] whether we're, I've talked a little bit about
[57:01] with you all about more discussions.
[57:04] We talk a lot about student learning.
[57:06] You see the presentations we don't always have
[57:08] and you can ask some questions,
[57:10] but we're thinking about using those metrics,
[57:13] those great posters, those visuals
[57:16] as a maybe a discussion point for us
[57:19] as a team at a board meeting as well.
[57:22] So we'll definitely have a chance
[57:23] to talk about them one-on-one.
[57:25] But I'm open to ideas and feedback
[57:27] 'cause it's a really powerful tool.
[57:30] Did you have any ideas off the
[57:33] No, I mostly my question
[57:35] and my thought right now is procedural, like I want
[57:38] to discuss it, but I didn't know was this going
[57:40] to be a different meeting or one-on-one.
[57:43] But yeah, I I, yeah, you
[57:46] and I can, yeah, it's just I wanted to break it down
[57:48] and really Okay.
[57:50] And then I'm feeling some kind
[57:51] of way about your need and your comment.
[57:54] 'cause we've talked about this on
[57:56] and off about the early start
[57:59] and we did a few years now ago,
[58:03] have a community stakeholder
[58:05] and T-T-O-S-D, educator, staff,
[58:09] et cetera committee about the early starts.
[58:12] And I know that we've talked about on
[58:14] and off it's time to revisit.
[58:16] So I'm wondering if this is something that is going to,
[58:22] if we can have a discussion about, is it time
[58:25] to start talking about it along with the
[58:28] strategic plan beforehand during it,
[58:31] obviously it's board comments, so it's, we don't,
[58:35] I'm not meaning for us to rabbit hole it,
[58:37] but I just wanted to, you know, I heard you, I've heard you,
[58:41] I've, I've heard the community, we're getting ready to
[58:45] revamp a lot of things, right?
[58:47] And I think last time we did this part of the process
[58:52] included a board member and with your expertise
[58:55] and your obviously passion around it,
[58:58] if it includes a board member
[59:00] and we get to it at some point, right?
[59:02] Like I'm guessing we will if you know,
[59:04] maybe you wanna think about if you,
[59:06] because what happened last time, what I'm remembering is the
[59:10] after school, outside
[59:12] of school extracurricular community had a concern.
[59:16] If we start dance at 4:00 PM the kids are dancing till 10.
[59:20] You know, sports was a thing.
[59:23] So if we have someone with knowledge, I,
[59:25] I think we did have a pediatrician
[59:27] on the committee last time.
[59:29] But someone to speak to the emotional piece of it, you know,
[59:34] when and if we get there and I'm not committing you,
[59:36] I'm just saying of these,
[59:39] Sign me up people
[59:41] Unless someone else wants to join you
[59:42] or do it in lieu of you.
[59:44] I think that your expertise is maybe
[59:47] what was missing last time.
[59:49] We got a lot of sleep knowledge from the pediatrician the
[59:53] last time, but not, you know, yeah.
[59:55] Not too much of the emotional stuff
[59:59] and the importance of that.
[1:00:01] And then as far as just reporting out,
[1:00:03] I did attend first day of school for the Lakeside schools
[1:00:07] and the T Corps are so teeny tiny.
[1:00:11] Like I didn't know if I was emotional happy
[1:00:13] or emotional, sad to see them, but they were happy.
[1:00:17] So I, I decided to be happy.
[1:00:18] But there's so little, it's just, yeah, it's amazing. Okay.
[1:00:23] And oh, in convocation, I thought convocation went well.
[1:00:27] Hopefully it was well received by staff that more time
[1:00:31] was set aside for them outside of our get together.
[1:00:35] But super exciting vibe.
[1:00:37] So thank you for everyone who pulled it off
[1:00:39] and put it together and thank you
[1:00:41] to excellence in education.
[1:00:44] Yeah, that's all I have. Thank
[1:00:46] You.
[1:00:47] That's kind of long-winded, sorry.
[1:00:48] Well thank you so much Chris.
[1:00:50] I really appreciate you sort of validating the position,
[1:00:56] tried to not speak about it,
[1:00:58] couldn't speak about it when it was potentially a conflict
[1:01:01] of interest right when I was a parent.
[1:01:04] So I decided to wait until about eight years passed
[1:01:07] and now I feel like something gets brought up
[1:01:10] that still bothers me, that's bothered me
[1:01:12] for like two decades.
[1:01:15] I have to speak on it.
[1:01:17] So sometimes I get a little carried away.
[1:01:19] But I really appreciate the backpack
[1:01:21] and for real, I must stay
[1:01:27] the first day of school Whirl tour.
[1:01:32] Whirlwind tour was super fun.
[1:01:35] I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to be able
[1:01:40] to witness firsthand how the first day
[1:01:44] of school feels for everyone.
[1:01:48] Some people were having a harder time,
[1:01:49] some people were having a great time
[1:01:51] and everything in between.
[1:01:54] And also the,
[1:01:55] the real notable feeling about the whole experience is that,
[1:01:59] and this never, this never ceases to amaze me is
[1:02:03] that you step foot on each
[1:02:05] and every campus in this district and each
[1:02:09] and every campus has a unique sort of frequency, vibration,
[1:02:14] whatever you wanna call it, feel ambiance.
[1:02:19] You know, they're, they're similar
[1:02:21] but they're also unique, you know,
[1:02:23] and that just speaks to the psychological safety that each
[1:02:28] and every campus really work so hard to build
[1:02:32] and construct for staff.
[1:02:34] And so people feel like they have freedom
[1:02:38] to express themselves.
[1:02:39] People feel like they are happy and they are in flow.
[1:02:43] Like that book, you know, that we read a long time ago.
[1:02:47] But you feel, you you, you can like you can feel it,
[1:02:52] you know it's just so palatable
[1:02:54] and you know, kudos to everybody in this district
[1:02:59] who just puts everything out there each and every day.
[1:03:02] I mean all the way across the board.
[1:03:04] It's just so incredible to see the complexity
[1:03:09] of education
[1:03:10] and the delicate like maneuvering
[1:03:14] and logistics that happen on a daily basis from
[1:03:17] sun up to sundown.
[1:03:19] And it's just an ama, I'm just
[1:03:21] so incredibly proud of the school district.
[1:03:23] The first day of school tours are always kind of a fun thing
[1:03:26] to do 'cause everybody's kind of warming up,
[1:03:28] coming back from summer and umm looking forward
[1:03:32] to seeing everybody at some back to school nights
[1:03:35] and all the other 5,000 invitations that they just sent me
[1:03:39] that I haven't had a chance to open yet.
[1:03:42] Somebody's been busy. Oh like, oh my god,
[1:03:47] That's too funny.
[1:03:48] Thanks Kirsten. Thank you for all of our comments.
[1:03:50] Those were lovely. I do agree
[1:03:53] that the first day of school is a blast.
[1:03:55] I think I had to apologize to Rachel Cuddle and Amy King.
[1:03:59] I, those are the two I didn't make,
[1:04:02] but I tried to stay on your schedule
[1:04:03] and not talk to everybody so I just kind of,
[1:04:05] but I missed a couple of the things I was trying to do
[1:04:07] 'cause I was like, I wanna go there, but you can't.
[1:04:08] So it is a whirlwind but it is fun. It is.
[1:04:12] Those kids are teeny, teeny, teeny. But really fun.
[1:04:17] Everybody has, they did a fantastic job getting everything
[1:04:19] going and I think, you know, knock on wood,
[1:04:21] they did a pretty good only one bell ring,
[1:04:23] like a security bell or something
[1:04:25] and then had a unexpected fire drill talk.
[1:04:27] Unexpected fi No
[1:04:28] that was a planned unexpected fire drill at
[1:04:30] tome at one of our schools.
[1:04:32] But anyway, yes, really, really fun
[1:04:36] and looking forward to open houses to see.
[1:04:40] I can't believe that we're already doing open houses,
[1:04:42] but I'm psyched to see what the classrooms are like.
[1:04:44] 'cause we just did a whirlwind
[1:04:45] and we were, one of the things I think is important for us
[1:04:48] to remember too is that, you know, as a school board member,
[1:04:50] we love going into the school classrooms and whatnot.
[1:04:53] 'cause that's where we wanna see everything.
[1:04:55] And I think you mentioned something when we were at one
[1:04:58] of the classrooms or one of the schools is just
[1:05:00] to be really mindful of, you know,
[1:05:02] we're going into their classroom.
[1:05:03] Like that's their teaching moment.
[1:05:05] So, you know, we as, as board members,
[1:05:07] I think I'm definitely pushing that we all go
[1:05:10] and do more things at each of those sites,
[1:05:12] but just remembering that, that we are
[1:05:15] visiting and not disruptive.
[1:05:16] 'cause I have a tendency to disrupt.
[1:05:17] So I, I'm taking that to heart,
[1:05:20] but I did appreciate you say giving them space.
[1:05:22] You were like, just don't, don't mess up.
[1:05:24] This is their teaching moments.
[1:05:26] But first day of school, now
[1:05:27] that we've gotten the first couple, you know, bell schedules
[1:05:30] through, you know, I'm psyched to go check it out.
[1:05:34] And then Truckee block party is next week, two weeks.
[1:05:38] Two weeks two, right after our next board meeting. Okay.
[1:05:41] So after, we'll talk about that again,
[1:05:42] but I just wanna make sure that we didn't forget that.
[1:05:44] And then other than that, I will see everybody in two weeks.
[1:05:48] Wait, can I just really quick mention something,
[1:05:50] just a little observation from a,
[1:05:55] so the, the TKs that are currently entering our district,
[1:05:59] were born in 2022.
[1:06:04] I knew you guys would feel that vibe Unreal. Yeah.
[1:06:08] So we all know what we were doing in 2022, right?
[1:06:11] I mean, these women were pregnant, they had the vaccines.
[1:06:15] They went through a lot of really scary stuff
[1:06:19] during their pregnancies.
[1:06:21] So one of the things,
[1:06:23] and even 2023, 2021, you know, this whole cohort
[1:06:28] of kids is very, very special
[1:06:30] for a lot of different reasons.
[1:06:33] So I think it's something that we all really need
[1:06:35] to keep in mind is where were we in 2022
[1:06:38] and the world which we were living in And the world.
[1:06:43] Yeah. Which is so much better. Yeah.
[1:06:48] But the, the, the fact that these kids are so,
[1:06:51] they're unique and their personalities will be unique
[1:06:54] as a result of how the world in which they came into
[1:06:58] at the time in which they were born.
[1:07:00] So really something to think about like that, that time went
[1:07:02] by pretty fast for all of us, but it's their whole lifetime.
[1:07:06] And they were born during COVID
[1:07:08] And they're still Smiling.
[1:07:09] And they're still smiling. Yes. Thank God.
[1:07:13] Don't listen to RFK Junior.
[1:07:16] Geez. 6 3, 7.