[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.

TTUSD Trustees, Sept. 2, 2026

Transcript