Springfield School Board — December 8, 2025

0:00 All

1:51 righty, folks. It is, I think, five o'clock on the dot, actually. Um, I'm gonna call this meeting to order and, um, we are going to do our Pledge of Allegiance to start. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And Director Cole will read our n- land acknowledgement. Okay. We acknowledge that our district is situated in the traditional homeland of the Kalapuya people, specifically the community that was known as Chippend, the area

2:38 that we now call Springfield. Kalapuya people, who have lived in this region since time immemorial, were illegally dispossessed of their land and forcibly removed to what are now the Grand Ronde and Siletz Reservations over several years, but most notably in treaties between 1851 and 1855. The Kalapuya are now members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and members of the Kalapuya still live, work, study, and thrive in this area, and continue to make important contributions here in Springfield, across the land we now refer to as Oregon, and around the globe. This information is shared out of a responsibility to prevent the erasure of native culture, heritage, and people, and to

3:23 ensure a quality contemporary education for future generations. Thank you, Director Cole. Um, we are going to move into executive session to review legal advice pursuant to ORS192.660, Subsections 2F, um, when we will return, uh, we're gonna close th- the meeting and return, um, around 07:00, hopefully. (laughs) Like, I don't know when they use the...

23:39 (footsteps)

24:35 Hello, everyone. We are back starting at 7:09. Apologies for the delay. Um, we've already done, we've already called the meeting to order, done the pledge of allegiance and the land acknowledgement. Um, so we are going to move right into our oath of office renewals. What is my role with this one? You have them stand, and then you have, you have them recite an intro. Oh. You stand. Yep. So, uh, Director Light and Director Cole, if you can both stand please. Um, I'm gonna have you both repeat after me. And say your name, not the other

25:21 person's name when we're doing this, okay? So, I- I, Jonathan Light, do. Do solemnly swear. That I will support the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution of the state of Oregon. And the laws thereof. And the policies of the Springfield School District. During my term. I will faithfully and impartially. Discharge the responsibilities. Of the office of board member. To the best of my ability. Wonderful. Thank you. I'm gonna have both of you sign these, and we'll get them back to Marty.

26:08 Um, do I have a motion to approve the agenda? I move to approve the agenda. Second. Any discussion? Okay. Uh- Oh, go ahead. Sorry. Yeah, sorry. Um, one thing here. Is this where I make a correction? To when? Um, let's see. I think it's page nine. Let's see. This is where I nominated myself, or I'm sorry, where Jonathan Light nominated me, I nominated my- Oh, no. When we go to approve the consent agenda, that's when you're gonna pull it. Got it. Okay. Thank you. Okay, so we're good on approving the agenda as it stands?

26:53 Yes. Can I get a vote? We'll just do it all at once. Aye. Aye. Thank you. And now we're gonna move to our student representatives. Good evening, everyone. So, we're excited for you all to share reports. We're gonna do it in a different order. We're gonna start with A3 just to shake things up a bit. You're welcome, Kaden. (laughs) Um, okay. Uh, so the biggest news is tomorrow is the first day of our two-day Confluence. Um, for winter Confluence, it's the 9th and the 10th, with morning sess- sessions at 8:40 to 10:25 for the school and evening sessions from 5:30 to 7:30 PM for the public. You're all invited. Um, the theme this year is Be the

27:41 Change, and you can come see how A3 students envision the future with new realities of gender equality, economic justice, world peace, and surprisingly more than that. This Thursday, the 11th, A3 will have their Artibration. We have this twice a year. It's an opportunity for the student body to see artwork from other classes. This includes performances from our choir class, our dance team, and our ensemble group. Um, speaking of our ensemble group, A3 group ha- had their fall concert, um, this last week performing pieces by jazz icon Harvey Hancock in honor of A3's theme. Um, we also just conducted our auditions for our spring musical, Once Upon a

28:28 Mattress, and I will have those dates for you these upcoming weeks. We're still figuring out what location we'll be hosting that at. Um, ooh, I forgot to mention that the A3 group performed with, um, a former A3 student at the jazz station, uh, Tori Newhart, and, um, which was really exciting. This musical will also be our, um, choir teacher Thomas, um, Gustavo, I think is his last name. Sorry. Um, it'll be his first, um, time directing at A3, which is really exciting. Um, we also celebrated last year being our second year in a row that A3 has had a 100% graduation rate. Um, and on the topic of celebration, A3 was also able to give out 200 turkey dinners in the community thanks to a large

29:16 donation. Um, and this week during lunch, the leadership class has been working tirelessly to have a December, um, sendoff because this is our last week before break, so there were things like ornament making and a hot chocolate, like, bar thing, um, for our students to be very festive. Wonderful. Thank you, Bradley. Does anyone have any questions? Director Just a couple of questions, Bradley. Uh, for the Confluence, are those the same sessions both morning and evening and both days? So- Yeah. ... if I go Wednesday but not Tuesday, I'll see the same thing? Um, no, actually. Oh. (laughs) Um, so the morning and the night sessions are the same, but our Tuesday and Wednesday are slightly different.

30:03 Um, it'll be the same concept, so you'll still get to see like- Okay. ... the buildings all set up, but different students perform different days, which means different performances happen. Um, Confluence changes dramatically from show to show. I imagine, um, you guys are familiar with that. Um, this one, there's like theater performances. There's also people like giving talks. Um, so there's a lot of variety. I think either day you choose to come, there'll be great things happening, um, and you'll still get the main work, uh, and concepts. Okay. So when I've gone before, it's been tables and presentations from each table, so it, it'll be a little different this time? Yes. Um, this year, uh, the Be the Change is more set up like

30:49 last year's, um, '60s- Okay. ... Confluence where each room has a different theme. For example, my room is economic justice, and my group specifically focused on, um, unfair banking laws. So we did a lot of, like, uh, banking, uh, reformat and, like, um, system changing. And ours is, like, a huge art piece. You just get to come in and see it and read about it, but other teams have, like, interactive theater pieces they're doing. Um, so each room's different. Okay. And then on the Artbration on Thursday, is that just, uh, internal audience? Um, yes, but, um, we do have a spring music and dance concert that will happen later in the year. So all of the pieces that the school gets to see kind of in their, like, um, second draft phase right now will be open to the public in the

31:37 spring, and I will make sure to have those show dates- Okay. ... when it gets closer. Thank you. Any other questions? All righty. Thank you. Aiden, you're up. Mm-hmm. Hello. I'm Gateways High School's representative. Cosmetology students had their first mentor meeting, which was a success. We had the opportunity to speak with the first year students and get to learn more about them and why they chose the program. The second year students have been working hard to complete all their practical work in each field of practice to work towards efficiency and attention to detail in order to sit for their state board final in May. As a hair student, I have to complete 105 hairstyles, 160 haircuts, 180

32:24 chemical services, 10 shaves, and 77 sa- safety and sanitation mark-offs by April. Each month we receive a tally card that Ms. Shirley checks off after each service we perform, and it helps us look at where we are and what we need to complete. We are preparing for our holiday celebration in Willamalane Day of Beauty. The first year students are preparing to come out to, into the salon and start working on their mark-offs. The salon is open to the public Monday through Friday, 12:30 PM to 3:05, and after school hours on Tuesday from 3:05 to 8:00 PM. We encourage the public to come in and support Gateways Cosmetology Academy. We also have opened our interest form for current sophomores who are

33:12 interested in the hair design, barbering, aesthetics, and nail technology. In leadership, we set up the quarter one assembly. We celebrated attendance, GPAs, and RISE awards. We are also starting to fundraise for our prom. As a class, we are planning a countdown to winter break with fun activities and spirit weekdays. Our spirit weekdays for December 8th through December 12th are PJ day, teacher student swap day, we wear pink on Wednesdays, Thursday meme day, and Friday welcome to Whoville. These were the results from the survey we had sent out earlier this month where students voted on their top five days from the list our class came up with. For December 15th through December 19th, we are

33:57 planning some fun activities to do during advisory or lunch. A few examples are just dance, coloring, origami, and on Friday we are having a hot cocoa and treats to send us off to winter break. As a suc- school, as a school we had a successful finals day and ending of, to the quarter. We are also working on our overall attendance and ways to improve our attendance as a whole school. A student panel had a chance to talk at a recent GHS staff meeting about attendance. From their perspective, they spoke about what helps them to get to school and the obstacles they face. Staff said they really enjoyed hearing from students. (finger snaps) Love the finger snaps.

34:43 Do we have any questions from our Gate- for our Gateway rep? All righty. Thank you very much. Lucy with Springfield? Mm-hmm. Oh, I think you need to push the button. You might need to keep it held down. Hmm? You don't need to push it. No? Nope. Okay. Maybe just pull it closer. Last month, our senior leadership team put together a beautiful farewell honoring our wonderful college and career specialist, Ms. Dapkus. In her time here at Springfield, she has helped countless kids with college applications as well as scholarship opportunities. Her dedication and compassion has made lasting differences in our Miller community. While Ms.

35:30 Dapkus will be missed, we are excited to welcome our new college and career specialist, Ms. Katrina Stilwell. Ms. Stilwell comes from S- comes to SHS from Willamette High School, where she worked the same role for the past two years. On Saturday, November 22nd, student members of our Social Justice League stood in front of Erika's Meat Market in protest of current immigration issues. They held signs and stood together for a couple of hours. Many customers shopping during that time showed their appreciation for the support. Coming up this month, our choir group is performing on the 11th at 7:00 PM in the Springfield Auditorium. The following Tuesday, our band will be performing at 7:00 PM in the auditorium as well. These performances are an

36:18 amazing way to get into the holiday spirit and spend time with family while supporting our Millers. The band also continues their streak of performing every single Christmas p- parade last Sunday. This year was the tw- uh, 74th annual parade. Winter sports are gearing up for this- for a successful season with tryouts for basketball, wresstle- wrestling, and swim in full swing. Schedules will be posted on OSSA li-And in the next coming weeks, don't miss the chance to watch our Millers and support our athletics. With the help of Springfield Faith Center, an individual donor helped facilitate supporting 80 families with

37:04 Thanksgiving meals this year. Winter is coming up and so is the need for warm clothing. It is time for our SHS resource room to stock up on winter essentials, such as sweatpants, sweatshirts, flannels, socks, gloves and hats. We are accepting clean, gently used donations for the resource room and we are grateful for all contributions and look forward to supporting our students and families throughout the coming winter months. Thank you. Thank you. Do we have any questions for our Springfield High rep? Nope. All right. Sorry to see Mrs. Dapkus leave. She's meant a lot to a lot of kids, so- Yeah. All right. Hunter from Thurston High.

37:51 S- is this on? Awesome. My name is Hunter Murphy. I am ASB President representing Thurston High School. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. We completed parent-teacher conferences. Parents got to connect with teachers and celebrate the strong start to the 2025/2026 school year. Looking out for our community. Day of Joy fundraising has begun for our future Colts. First period advisories are working together to raise funds for gifts, books and clothes, uh, for students in need at our feeder elementary schools. Donations are also accepted in the main office. THS student Teagan Merritt, a state championship wrestler and ded- dedicated, uh, OH- SET member

38:37 survived a serious car accident in November. Teagan is awake and talking, already mentally preparing for her next wrestling tournament. Our student body has come together to amplify the GoFundMe in support of her medical expenses and recovery. Now Miss November attendance challenge is complete. The number of students attending 90% of school days increased in the month of November and our perfect attenders were entered into a raffle. A successful run of The Wizard of Oz closed with over 500 attendees coming to support our Colts musical. Our fall sports season wrapped up with Thurston football sustaining a difficult second round playoff loss to Churchill. Thurston is the Midwestern League champions and swept the Midwestern League honors for offensive

39:25 player, Justin Fischer, uh, defensive player, Cruz Gray, and coach, Justin Stark, uh, of the year. Congratulations to football on another great season. Women's soccer had their season end in the first round of playoffs with a two to one loss to Canby. Great job to all our athletic programs. Uh, winter sports begin. Prepared, ready for what comes next. Our career technical education CTE programs took part, sorry, took part in multiple industry tours and field trips to get some exposure and hands-on experience in both fields. Our advanced and intermediate forestry students visited a locally owned farm and worked, and, and working

40:10 forest... Locally owned forest and working farm where they practiced tree shrub identification and forest, uh, measurement skills. Students are working toward developing a management plan for our forested property. THS Advanced Metals classes attended, uh, Connected Lane Counties manufacturing tours. Stop, stops on the tour included, uh, Aztec Industries, uh, and, and Ninewood. Both are local manufacturing companies that are potential future employers for our manufacturing, completers. Lunch was served at Spark at Booth Kelly, Connected Lane County's wonderful Youth Innovation

40:55 Hub in Springfield. Our FAFSA lab helps students start their financial aid applications. Our goal is 65% of students to submit their application, a critical step in financing their post high school training, uh, from the trades to four-year college. Our next FAFSA lab is today. LCC application day helped over 60 students submit their LCC application, nearly one in four current seniors. Other students are starting to get acceptances to four-year colleges. Uh, follow @ThurstonColts to celebrate our Colts going to college. We hosted a credits with a purpose workshop helping THS students make strategic choices around transcribing their

41:43 courses of rigor. THS offers more than 15 College Now courses giving Colts a running start toward their post-high school goals. Thank you. Thank you, Hunter. Do we have any questions for our Thurston High rep? Nope. All right. Last but not least, Kaden. I have to hold- Yeah. Aw. (laughs) Yuch. All right. Well, (laughs) this report is a bit more disorganized than the normal ones. There were some unforeseen circumstances recently. They've been dealt with. Either way, good evening. I'm Kaden Finney representing Lem Leadership Academy. The last few weeks and the next few weeks are going to be or

42:28 have been relatively eventful with parent-teacher conferences and possibly the biggest promotion board we have ever had in this school, including both staff members and students, where you go up upon a board made up dependent of who you are. Staff members went up upon a board with their administration. Students went up on a board with the...... with their specific staff members. This board determined who, and we are still determining who is going to be the new majority cadet leader for the entirety of our battalion, and the rank system for the staff members. This, I believe it was this Saturday, it's the 6th, that we had our color guard members and our cadet

43:15 NCOs take part in Springfield parade. They were holding flags, rifles. I am sure you can find some pictures on our website. We have hopefully gotten it updated (laughs) by now. (laughs) Another fairly entertaining thing. Veterans Day, when we went to celebrate Veterans Day, we've now decided we are going to celebrate year round. Anybody inside or outside the school can submit pictures to the office. We have an area right once you walk in, it's a big board, they'll put the picture up, they'll say who it is. Any and all veterans past, present, I wouldn't say future, but I suppose you have your own options there. (laughs)

44:00 I believe that is it for this month/last month since I wasn't here last month. (laughs) Thank you, Caden. Not very organized, but you know what? I got the point- You got the point across. Yeah, totally good. (laughs) Do we have any questions for our Willamette Leadership Academy rep? I, I have a question for Caden. Uh, just, um, because I think you'll probably not be here later. So, were you guys at the very beginning of the parade? Of the color guard? I wasn't at the parade personally. Let me start over. (laughs) I wasn't at the parade personally. (laughs) Okay. (laughs) I was up with North Eug- North Eugene doing robotics, so. Okay. Well, that sounds fun too. I didn't see them, but I, you know,

44:46 started further back. And the parade, a number of board members, uh, attended and, and were in the parade. Uh, but if you would extend our thanks to the color guard and the NCOs for participating. It was very well attended. The weather was wonderful and, and, uh, and you guys leading is always special. I, I could be wrong, but I believe we were in one of the first three slots. Uh-huh. That's about where we are every year. Yeah, that would make sense. So, anyway, thank you. It, it was a great parade. Pass that on to him. Okay, thank you. Anything else? All righty, students. If you need to go, we understand. Homework takes precedence, um, but you all, as always, are invited to

45:31 stay. Thank you so much for joining us, and I hope you all have a really good winter holiday and winter break. You too. All right, so the next item is public comments. Uh, this is the portion for, of our agenda for public comment. The board provides three ways for community members to share public comment: written public comment, in-person oral public comment- (coughs) ... and virtual public comment. Written public comment is received via email. Public comment received via email for this evening has been reviewed by the board, and has also been posted on the district's website. The deadline for submitting a request for oral public comment was today at 2:00 PM. Those who submitted a request, um... I'm sorry, those who requested an opportunity to speak

46:19 this evening were notified by the board secretary about their request. Time permitting, the board may also hear public comment from individuals who signed up in person at the administrative office before the meeting. We encourage groups with a common purpose to designate a spokesperson. If your comments will be covered by a group spokesperson, please indicate so when your name is called. I want to remind those members of the public who have indicated a desire to make comments, that our policy provides for a limitation of three minutes per person. And we have a fancy new timer for y'all. So, you can actually see where you're at on the timer rather than wait for us to wave a sign at you, and then, then it's gonna beep at you. So, that'll be fun. Um, the board will not hear comments regarding any school personnel, whether named or implied.

47:04 Any complaints regarding a particular employee must be processed through the procedures set forth in board policy KL, which requires that complaints be submitted in writing to the superintendent. This procedure must be followed before there's any invol- any board involvement with such issues. A compliment involving a staff member should be sent to the superintendent, who will forward it to the employee, their supervisor, and the board. Speakers are reminded that their public comments will be limited to three minutes. Do we have any additions to the list? No. Okay. Uh, so we will start with Sarah B. Are there any other Sarah Bees this time? (laughs) No. I guess not. (laughs)

47:49 Da-da-da-da-da-dun. Well, hello again. My name is Sarah Bosch, and I'm a former Springfield teacher and the parent of a c-current Springfield student. And I'm also the initiator of the change.org petition demanding a well-rounded education for our Springfield Elementary students. I'm here again this evening on behalf of the now 584 staff, former staff, parents, and community members who have signed the petition. As we approach a whole new year, we have yet to hear from district leadership regarding our concerns. Although I started the petition 117 days ago on August 13th, students have been getting shortchanged for hundreds more days than that, and the silence feels deafening. You're ignoring teachers who

48:35 voiced concerns over two years ago. You're ignoring the 75 teachers who submitted a letter of concern five months ago- Sarah, I'm sorry, um, w- we have open investigations regarding these issues, and I'm not sure that it's appropriate for the, the board to, to hear those matters. I- What? I've been speaking about this every board meeting, so I don't know why this is different. So we have a public complaint process. I'm not complaining to the public, formally. No, but you, this, your... the change.org complaint is in current investigation. The change.org is a petition, not a formal complaint. Let her speak.

49:21 We do have a public comment policy about implied... you just read. Yeah. I, I am sorry. I'm... we just, I just read the public complaint policy and so I'm just trying to follow the policies that we have outlined. And now- I, I think if it's... my understanding, if it's deemed a complaint, it can't be spoken of in public session. But if it is not a complaint, uh, is... does that same rule apply? That's what I'm trying to figure out. Maybe she can- Okay. ... um, leave her comments about staff out of her comments? There's no staff named. I- implied. Well, (laughs) staff is the, you know, a piece of the pie. I'm not complaining against staff or about staff. I'm actually

50:08 feeling like I'd like to support staff, in fact. As, as do we all. We wanna support staff. And so, I'm trying to- Let her speak. Don't shut her up. I'm not attempting to shut her up. I'm trying to ensure that we're following current board policy. So, how about if I skip over, um, that little section and keep going, and you can flag me if you think that that is inappropriate? I'm not sure exactly what piece of this speech that I've given three times now, this is the fourth time, I think, um, is now inappropriate when it was not inappropriate prior? (sighs) It was. I just think that it was a hard thing to try and to c- um, corral.

50:53 So how can we get accountability if we are not un- if we're unable to speak in a public comment? Isn't the whole point (clapping) that there's a, a commitment to transparency in this process? So if you want to let her finish her comments as long as they stay within the bounds that she's requesting, that's up to you. (sighs) Disappointing, at the very least. (sighs) How, how are we... how is the public expected to interact with the school board if we're not allowed to have transparency regarding the process?

51:40 (Sighs) I'm not trying to be a turkey (taps table) , I just wanna know. Okay. Yeah. Let's take a recess. Let's take a recess. Yeah. We did it. (laughs) We did. Recess. W- we're gonna do a five-minute recess. Be my pleasure to wait. Okay.

52:27 Thank you.

56:33 (heavy rainfall)

1:01:22 ... say we resume. Hi there, Amber Langworthy speaking. Um, I invite Sarah Bosch

1:02:08 back up to speak. Uh, we're just gonna have some- some rules around what we're going to talk about. Um, right now there are certain things that we can't discuss. Um- You can listen. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so Division 22, we can't discuss the petition right now. I'm ... And I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news and- and you know, this is a rock and a hard place that we're- we're in right here. These are what we're told that we need to stay in align with, so I hope- Told by who? I- I- (laughs) I- I hope that you can respect that we are a community of volunteers, board

1:02:54 members, and we're really trying our best here. And yes, we were told that we do need to stay out of that type of conversation, but I welcome you back. Um, but as long- Hopefully I can edit my speech on the fly. Oh, yes, and that would be very much appreciated. I will have to stop you if- if you do- I'll try not to. ... bring any of those up. Okay, thank you. S- That's a very ambiguous, um, an ambiguous request, so I appreciate you doing it anonymously. Y- yeah. (laughs) Thank- thank you. Okay, so bottom line, okay, I'm not going to make this about anything specific. I'm just gonna throw it out there as a generality because I know that that thing that shall not be named is something that has, um, systems that are repeated in

1:03:42 other ways. All right? So here's the deal. The public wants accountability and it really feels like every time people come here and speak at a board meeting, we hear nothing back from the board. So it's like what- what is the purpose of a public comment when nothing comes of it? So, I don't know. I don't know what the purpose is. I don't know if there's urgency involved on the parts of the board members. I mean, to me, I ran for school board, right? To me, the job of the school board is to keep district leadership accountable, but it does not feel like that's taking place. So, I believe that since it's not happening in the way that I'm like, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, um, I'm going to engage in creating some sort of

1:04:28 a forum where people outside of a board meeting can go ahead and have these conversations and work toward a solution. Because it's been way, way too long where nothing has been said. If there is progress, by golly, please share it with us. I don't want to- to persecute anyone. I just want to know what's going on. That's it. So, that's the gist of it. (laughs) Thank you all for listening to me and I don't know if I, how to continue to bring this up when, um, I feel like I've been... Uh, we have to avoid the hard stuff. That just feels really icky, so we have to avoid the hard stuff. No individuals are being named.

1:05:15 It's just a what the situation. So thank you all very much. I appreciate your patience and I'll see you next time. Win. Thank you. Next. Ooh. Next one speaking is Ryan Herdlins, um, increasing opportunities for feedback. Hi, Ryan. Hi. Uh, give me just a moment to reset this, please. Sure. I won't take all three minutes. Okay, you may begin. Thanks. Uh, good evening. My name's Ryan Herdlins, I've been a science teacher at

1:06:01 Thurston High School for the last 13 years and I would like to share a teacher's perspective on the importance of seeking feedback and its impact on relationships. We here would probably all agree that our students would be best served by a collaborative decision-making process across all levels in Springfield Public Schools. Now, I regularly ask my students for feedback on teaching and I collect data because I know I can always improve and my job is to serve them as best as I possibly can. Leaders who ask for honest feedback demonstrate both curiosity and humility. Now, if we zoom out a bit, the team supporting students grows to building admin, to district management, and the board. Yet teachers, the ones on the ground with students every day,

1:06:48 are never asked anymore for feedback, uh, like we once were. Is this because folks lack curiosity? Is it because they lack humility? 'Cause I assume everyone would like to know how they can ultimately serve kids better. And we teachers would like nothing more than to be part of that conversation. So, where are the surveys? I encourage you, the school board, to ask these questions as you guide and evaluate district management. Why do they not seek feedback from their employees? What are they afraid of? And how does this demonstrate the kind of leadership we all deserve? Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Thank you, Ryan. Thank you. So

1:07:45 now we're gonna move on to the consent agenda. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented? I move to approve the consent agenda. Thank you. Do we have a second? W- uh, is, is this Now the right time that there's, uh, one of the items I wanted to pull from the consent agenda, so that was, uh- That would- ... item, uh, three, the financial statement. Correct. This would be the time to pull it. Okay. And then on page nine, um, is this- You have a correction to make. Yeah, I have a correction to make. Yeah. Okay. And this is, uh, minutes from which meeting? Uh, this is from the 3rd, I believe. Sorry. Um, (clears throat) kind of took me off.

1:08:32 Yes, it's where, um, it says Jonathan Light nominated me. I actually nominated myself for vice-chair. Yeah, so we'll pull the, we'll pull those two agenda items. Um, so is, we have the minutes from November 10th, then, is what we're going to be approving (laughs) in the consent agenda. Okay. So I have, um, a motion on the table. Um, can I get a motion to approve with- Move. ... just that on the table? Move approval for, um, item two to be approved for the consent a-agenda. Fantastic. Do I have a second? Second. All in fa- uh, any discussion? All in favor? Yes. Okay. Um, (clears throat) so then let's go to item number one, which is the November 3rd special meeting. Um, Vice-Chair Langworthy, what

1:09:20 were your corrections? Yeah, on ... My apologies. I kind of got taken off of my, uh, rhythm here. Um, let me see. Page ... It's the night of patience. Um ... So it's the one directly after, towards those minutes, I think. Yes. So, do, do, do, there you go. Oh, uh, yes. It was, uh, November 3rd, and this is page nine of nine where it says Nomination, where, and it says Director Light

1:10:08 nominated Director Langworthy to serve as board vice-chair. I, I nominated myself. That's all. Are there any other corrections to those meeting minutes? I had submitted some previously, and I was told they were made, so. So those ones have been submitted. So with that correction, would we be, be able to approve those meeting minutes? Yes. Can I have a motion on the table? Move approval of the minutes for the, uh, meeting on, uh, September 3rd. November 3rd. Or November 3rd, excuse me. As amended. Yeah. As amended. As amended. Thank you. Can I- Second. Thank you. Um, any further discussion? All in favor? Yes. All righty. And then the financial statement.

1:10:54 Director Cole, what were your questions? Yeah. Um, so I, I noticed that, um, Director Yancey had noted and, and noted previously that we were, um, you know, were starting to, um, pull into our ending fund balance and, and using more funds than we had anticipated. And showed up in this statement where we had, um, the ending fund balance was reduced by another million dollars. Um, and I noticed, um, you know, there wasn't a particularly a, uh, there wasn't a, a corresponding reduction in, in, um, expenditures, were just showing it in, in the revenue side. And so I guess, um, couple of questions. One, are we expecting that we'll see a con- uh, kind of the continued rate of the ending fund balance go down?

1:11:39 Uh, uh, are we expecting a million per month? Is that- No. So, uh, thank you for the question. So what I'm trying to do here is I'm trying to always project to the end of the year. Um, and it's gonna continue changing. We're only 40% of the way through the school year. Um, the change now, um, came in resources, and early November, um, ODE did their first adjustment based on the first quarter reports that all the school districts, uh, submitted. And, um, so that, that is what the impact on revenue was. The impact on expenditures is still a little tricky. Obviously, looking at trends and looking at, um, some of the things that we've done in the past, I'm trying to estimate salaries and benefits. Um, what also complicates

1:12:26 that is that we are still in collective bargaining. Yeah. Uh, so I need to be, be aware and careful of that. On the, uh, rest of this purchase services, capital outlay, some of those types of things, I'm being very conservative because of the structural engineer, uh, work that's being done right now. We know that there will be issues. We've already been given that verbal statement by the engineers, but we don't have any idea what that looks like. So, I'm still staying conservative on the expenditure side. And so, what I will continue to do moving forward is always present a conservative picture for the board. Okay. As we get into particularly April, May, June, then, then as we've done in the past, you'll start seeing that

1:13:11 clarity come about. Okay. But I appreciate you bringing it up, 'cause, and that was my point with this. I, I knew you guys would, would see that, and I, I just think it's important that we always keep that in front of us, that we are spending our reserves. Yeah. I wanted to make- So thank you for that. ... sure we were highlighting that as well, so thank you. Yeah. Uh, just following on the, uh, have we already started the RFP process for the structural? We have not. Um-We have only received one report. Uh, the EMC warehouse- Right. ... stamped report saying we're good. That's not the significant ones I'm looking for. That's a very... It's one beam and, and... But I think what the structural engineers were doing is they sent that report up to, um, our insurance carrier Pace to see, to ensure that's the level of report Pace

1:13:57 needs. Um, right now they're spending a lot of time back in their office doing load calculations, uh, on the trusses that they've inspected and they still have some more schools. So we have started the inspection process. We have. I wasn't clear in my question. I'm sorry. Yes, we have started the inspection process. I will be issuing a report, a written report when I have more information, probably in a Friday update to the board that's summaries as we go. But then the board can expect a very comprehensive report once we have more concrete information. Do you have an estimate on that timeframe? I, I do not right now. Um, w- because we're entering our winter holiday break and they can get in our schools without being disruptive to teaching and learning, that's... I'm looking forward to that. Um, and then it's a matter of doing a lot of those calculations that engineers need to do.

1:14:43 Um, because remember what we're doing is, uh, essentially if it is not accepted by insurance, the structural engineers, if they don't do their work, they're assuming some liability there as well. Right. So it's a very sensitive issue with that. Um, they are assuring us that if there is any major issue that, that would be an... They bring that to our attention immediately. Uh, so, um, and so far there's been one minor issue. We've already taken care of it and, and repaired the issue. It was in a, uh, a classroom. We, during conferences, moved out the teacher made the repair in house, got signed off on, moved on. Awesome. So I'm hoping there's more of those, meaning versus

1:15:28 major issues. I mean, are there some of our schools that don't have these beams in question? Yeah. Springfield High School. Yeah. Metal trusses. Steel trusses. How about our new, like Thurston L? Yeah. Thurston L- Maple. Maple, Hamlin. All of those are great. So we don't have to do them all? No, we do not. Yeah. Thank you for the questions. Kind of deviated a little bit off the financial statement, but it, it will impact this, um, as we move on through the year. Sure. Thanks. Any additional questions? Can I get a motion then to approve the financial statement as submitted? I move approval of the financial statement. Thank you. Seconded. Wonderful. Um, since we have no further discussion, can I get a vote on this? Aye. We all move to approve? Aye. Thank you.

1:16:14 All righty. Um, next on the agenda, back to the agenda. Uh, we're gonna take action on the information discussed in executive session. Um, so I don't have that document in front of me. Thank you. Wording is hard. So I am going to move that the board decline to hear the complaint that was reviewed in executive session and authorize me, the board chair, to draft a response to the complaint stating the same. Um,

1:17:01 and then I do... Well, no. Well, I'm just gonna make that motion and then we'll discuss. I'll second. Okay. Now we're open for discussion. Does anyone aside from me wanna say something? (laughs) I, I don't. There's not a lot I can say. Yeah. So. Um, we did discuss in this that collectively as a board, we want to, um, improve what we are doing and how we are doing it. So we will be further discussing and setting, um, setting ourselves up for additional training and, um, meetings so we can be more collaborative and communicative moving forward. Um, so I've made the motion.

1:17:49 We have a second. Any further discussion on that topic? Not that I... There's not much we can say. Um, all in favor? Can you do roll call? Oh, sure. Roll call. Um, Director Light. Yes. Director Cole. Yes. Director DeGraff. No. Director Langworthy. Yes. And I vote yes. The motion passes four to one. The next on the agenda is approving... Or I'm sorry, appointing budget committee members. Thank you. Yeah. Uh, so tonight, um, we have two vacancies. Uh, but we... Uh, what I'm asking is, or recommending is that the board of

1:18:35 directors appoint Nancy Cameron to serve as a member of the budget committee in position number two. That would be a continued term for her. Uh, renewed January 1st, 2026 through December 31st, 2028. The other position is the required member from the Educational Equity Advisory Committee. And I don't believe that they have a recommendation at this time. Okay. Thank you. And I will bring that as soon as they do to the next actio- uh, business meeting. Okay. Um, do I have a motion to appoint Nancy Cameron to serve as a board member, um, in position two, effective through December 31st, 2028? Yes. I would move to approve Nancy Cameron. Yes.

1:19:20 Who've been excellent on the budget committee. So yes, please. Wonderful. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you. Um, any discussion? Just to say, I think Nancy's done a great job and I would add to- I would add to that sentiment. Yeah. Okay. Um, all those in favor? Aye. Motion passes unanimously. Um, wonderful. We'll move on to...... uh, the student investment account grant agreement that will be presented for approval on, um... Mr. Collins, I believe this is your motion. Or your- Resolution. ... your resolution. Excuse me. Yes. Thank you. On behalf of the district resolution, yes, I'm presenting

1:20:06 that for you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Um, so just as a reminder, our integrated guidance has multiple requirements and things that happen through the year. Uh, last spring, we came forward. We provided, uh, our biennium application. We talked about processes, the board approved that. The next step in that is to move that forward. We submitted that to the Oregon Department of Education. And then from there, uh, the Department of Justice, working on behalf of the state, prepares grant agreements of the various grants that are included in the integrated guidance, um, revenue. And one of those is required by law, legislative, uh, is the student investment account grant agreement that

1:20:52 then comes back to the board for approval of the specific grant agreement. Continues to move us forward in the process. When we're in a biennium, we re-engage and we expect to re-engage with the... So that's the step tonight, I apologize. The next step is we re-engage. We report on the measures that are happening. We will re-engage with the state, uh, related to the longitudinal performance growth targets that are identified in here. We've heard that that is supposed to h- be happening in the spring. There's other measures that are potentially being considered that may be involved in this, and we'll report back at, uh, to the board related to that. And then at the end of the year, we have a final quarter four report, which is more, uh, has, has

1:21:37 a lot of, uh, information related to the success and the investments and, and the, uh, various performance measures that are identified within these grants that are then reported back. So this evening, it's recommended that the board of directors approve the Springfield Public Schools Student Success Act student investment account grant agreement as presented. Director Ly- uh, Director Cole? Um, yeah. Uh, I... Doesn't really, I guess it, it's not, uh, directly pertained to this agreement, but I, I noticed, I went back and looked at the... The previous agreement I could find was from two years ago, and it had a, um, expiration date of September of '24. And so there's a gap between the one I saw

1:22:23 I... My research may not have been thorough between when that, the previous agreement expired and when this one takes effect, and I'm wondering if there was something that happened in between or- Well, that's a great question. So every two years, every biennium, we go through this process with the state, submit a new application. Grant agreements are for a one-year period. So that is what's being brought forward. And I believe that was what was brought forward before, was the 2024 through 2025. But I could go back and, and double-check that presentation. And then there's other agreements that happen in the second year. Okay. Yeah. Oh, so, yeah. Would those other agreements go to the board? 'Cause I, I looked around the same timeframe, I didn't find it. So I didn't- Not, not all agreements go to the board. Some are just engaged between...

1:23:08 Again, it's, it's we work directly with the Department of Justice, who, who, uh, creates this document, and it's reviewed by Brett and Todd and others to make sure that- Yeah. ... we can, we can meet the requirements of that. And I, I can tell you, this is an ever-evolving process as the state continues to try to coordinate and integrate multiple funding streams. So as, as we get information and learn things, we, we are trying to adapt to that. Okay. The only other question I got- Uh, I have a point of order question. Do we need to have a motion- Yeah. We already discussed that. ... uh, before we can add? 'Cause I have some questions too. I just want to make sure. Okay. Yeah. So can I get a- I move to approve. So just point of order clarification. It is appropriate to ask Dave questions before you discuss-

1:23:54 Before. ... if you're asking clarifying questions. The discussion then focuses on your, um, position on the decision. So clarifying questions are appropriate right now. Okay. Does that make sense? Does that answer your question? Clear as mud for everyone? Yeah. Okay. So I got one, one other question, I guess. So there's more informa- um, -ation uh, I guess, th- there's some additional targets. And I'm read- reading through the agreement, are there, um, consequences if we don't meet those targets? Mm-hmm. I think that was on, on the appendix A on page, what, 23 of 28? Yeah. Is it? Depending on what we're talking about potentially, yes, as outlined in law. I could get the... I don't, I don't have the verbatim language, but yeah, there is definite consequences, including identification of

1:24:42 schools as targeted schools and through the continuous improvement and a more intentional engagement with ODE support staff in, in specific targeted areas. Um, so yes. Do we think we're close at all, or we think we're, we'll meet these targets or... Oh, w- w- we were, we were feeling really good about last spring when we were able to come forward and provide updates related to those measures. Yeah. Those measures are definitely where we are on track. We're not meeting all of them. One of the areas that we identified was attendance rates. We're behind in that, but we're seeing growth in graduation, in our reading proficiency, in our ninth grade on track. Um, some of the, the growth is not exact. And, and I would refer you back to the-

1:25:28 Okay. ... presentation that we provided you in the spring. It has all of that- Okay. ... detail. So Mr. Collins, one of the things that I think it's really important to add for the board is Senate Bill 141, which came out of the last legis- legislative session, is, um...... changing the nature of accountability, and it is directly tied to this and the other integrated applications. So this will continue to evolve over time. Uh, what that looks like when a district doesn't meet their targets is still to be determined by the State Board of Education, and that is a process they're navigating now. So if that's something that you're interested in taking a look at, I would encourage you to look at the upcoming State Board of Education agendas, where they're discussing the Senate Bill 141, uh, the, the components associated with that and what the outcomes will be

1:26:15 for districts that are not demonstrating the progress towards their goals. All right. Thanks. And there was a really wonderful, um, webinar recently by OSBA on the accountability and, and that Senate Bill, so, um, I believe they have it up on their website now. They went through a lot of the new requirements, so highly recommend watching that if you haven't already. Director Light, you also had some questions? Uh, yeah. Is this the appropriate time? Mm-hmm. Okay. Um, so there's, uh, six bullet points, right, on the, on the Relevant Data page, the front page, and are those, um, sort of discrete buckets that we fund? So, um, my curiosity is how much money of this, uh, 16

1:27:02 million that we're getting over the next two years, how much is ascribed to each of these buckets? It doesn't have to be information you provide tonight. I, I can answer that question, actually. So what's interesting is those six buckets each have their own funding stream. Tonight's grant agreement is specific to the second bullet, Student Investment Account. So all- Okay. ... of the funds identified in this grant agreement are correlated to that. Overall, and I, I believe I shared it, approximately $30 million total with different, um, uh, revenue streams for each one of those areas that they've integrated together. Um, a couple of them are dependent on enrollment, SEA, High School Success, CTE goes through our ESD, EIIS

1:27:49 funds are specific to data collection and adjust up or down slightly, but- Okay. ... I... Does that answer your question- Uh, yes. ... Director Light? So, so we're really only talking about bullet point two, the SIA? For this grant agreement, this is the- Right. ... grant agreement that requires it to go to the board for approval specific- Sure. ... to the SEA funds based on prior- Okay. ... legislation currently, and that can evolve. Yeah. I got confused with the- Yeah. ... the CTE, Perkins, and, and that. Okay. So that, that's helpful. So then do we have to be accountable, um, for the SIA, SIA funds as far as how they're spent in that category? Is that the total amount for what we spend in that category?

1:28:34 That's... Yes, that We don't supplement the SIA account? Um, no. Okay. What, what the purpose of this... Sorry. Great questions. I'll, I'll try to provide clarity. When revenue began, we started with High School Success, Measure 98. Yeah. We then moved into Student Success. We added Student Investment Account. Each of those had their own distinct kind of areas of focus, as you know. Mm-hmm. You were part of all that work. And then the other buckets, we had, uh, chronic absenteeism for a while, and so forth. CTE has been fairly constant over time. And each of those were their own independent grant revenue requirement, all of those things. And through this process over the last several years, the state

1:29:20 has turned this into integrated. So they've taken all of those into an integrated, and within that, we submit the application which we presented to you last spring. All of these different funds connect to that application and those data points and those outcomes that we provided to the board i- in that application process. All of the funds are connected to the measures in one way or not... or, or another. We've, we really have focused on that integrated process of that. And so I hope that... Does that answer your question sort of? I thought you'd answered, and now I'm getting confused. Okay. So (laughs) , um... I'm really good at that, Jonathan. Well, no. You're f- you're actually usually pretty good. Um, it's just my o- own understanding of it.

1:30:07 So again, we have six bullets. One is the Student Investment Account, and the grants that you list on the next page are related only to SIA. The g- the grant funding? Yes. Yeah. 16- The amounts that are listed on- ... million, 18 million. ... on page two? Absolutely correct. All right, great. Yeah. Okay. Um, then I was just wondering, uh, you're showing sort of what I would call the aspirational goals of the grants starting with this school year. Of course, the data is not in yet. This is page 23. LPGTs. Got it. Yeah. Yeah, I'm with you. So is there a possibility that the board could get the information for the years 2022, '23, '24 so that we sort of have a, uh, a trend as far as what our,

1:30:55 our goals were? Um, yes. Those, those are reported each year. Um, I certainly could not get that right now. I know, I know. But moving forward, I would encourage the board to have those discussions around data sets that you're interested in. All of these are ones that we submit through this process and then receive information and report back to the board. So I'm- So put it in an email would be helpful? I, I would, I would suggest that you reach out to chair and superintendent- Okay. ... regarding your request and how and when you'd like to receive information and what information you'd like Yeah, I just would like to see sort of how, how we're doing with the- Yeah. ... the appropriation of these funds. And then I w- I would add, I was trying to avoid the s- the current work at the state 'cause th- this, this is gonna

1:31:42 change everything. We're gonna come back to you in the spring, and we're gonna give you a whole lot of new information based on the decisions that are made and the reaching out to the various communities that informs what this iteration looks like when we come back in the spring, and then that will- Is that a result of the Senate Bill? It is. Yeah. Okay, thanks. I'm good. Any additional questions? All right, um, can we get a motion to approve the SPS Student Investment Account Grant Agreement as presented? I move to approve the SPS Student Investment Account Grant Agreement. I'll second. Any further discussion? All those in favor? I. I. I.

1:32:27 Uh, this passes unanasmously, unanimously. Thank you. Um, we're gonna move on to the OSBA votes for two positions. Um, there's one for the board of directors position six, and then the legislative policy committee, also position six. And I'm gonna turn it over to Superintendent Hamilton. Sure. I'm happy to jump in here and support the conversation. So, as you, as many of you know, every two years, Oregon School Board Association, um, provides an election opportunity b- for both their board of directors and their legislative policy committee. Candidates from regions around the state are invited

1:33:15 to nominate t- candidates for those positions. The first item, or, um, the first item of business tonight in front of the board is for the board to approve a board of director for position six. Uh, this board nominated, uh, Director DeGraff. The Siuslaw board nominated Director Miltenberger, and the Eugene 4J board nominated Director Rabasa. So, it is not often that we have contested races, but tonight you have a contested race, and so you would move forward with your, um, standard nomination process. Or excuse, yeah, standard nomination process. You have three candidates.

1:34:02 Okay. So, I, we, we had this on our agenda for the previous night, but we delayed it 'cause two of the other candidates wanted to make- They- ... statements or presentations. They, they had indicated that they were interested in making statements and then, we're, I was informed that one of them was definitely not able to make it. Okay. Um, I also reached out to, um, a lo- uh, as many as I could, and get responses back from, um, board chairs and, um, members of other school boards to find out if they held time for, um, those members that were on the candidate slate that they, like, had them come in and communicate, um, and also chatted with OSBA about like what the standard

1:34:49 practice is, 'cause this is the first go-round for this for me. Um, and they indicated that none of them had other individuals come and speak at their board meetings. That's not common practice for this. Um, as always, th- the individuals, if they had, had been interested, public comment is available, um, where they could have come and provided additional, um, clarification or information about their application, um, but there was no one that, for public comment regarding that today. Okay. So in your board packet is candidate information submitted by the candidates to the Oregon School Board Association. So, that's the information, uh, that we included for your

1:35:37 consideration. Yeah. It was also available on the OSBA website. Does anyone have any questions about the, the process, what we need to do next, or any further discussion that we need before we make a motion? So, I'm going to... I'm allowed to make motions. Yes. Um, I'm gonna move that the Springfield Board of Education support, uh, Director Nicole DeGraff for the OSBA Board of Director position six. I'll second. Wonderful. Um, any discussion? Okay. Hearing none, um, I will call for the vote, and we'll do a roll call for

1:36:23 this. Uh, Director Light. No. Director Cole. Yes. Director DeGraff. Yes. Director Langworthy. No. And I will vote yes. So that passes, um, three to two. And then there are two candidates for the legislative policy position six. I'm sorry, legislative policy committee position six. Um, and we also get a single vote for this position. The two candidates are Judy Newman from Eugene 4J and, um, Adrianne Pollet from, I don't remem- Siuslaw. From f- also from Siuslaw? Siuslaw School District, yes. Um, can I get a... Uh. All sorts of paper. Um, I'm gonna m- move that the

1:37:10 Springfield Board of Education support, uh, Judy Newman for the OSBA LPC position six. I second that. Any discussion? All those in favor, we'll do a roll call again. Director Light. Yes. Director Cole. Yes. Director DeGraff. Yes. Director Langworthy. Yes. And I also vote yes. That passes unanimously. Um, I, we're... Do I need to include this in the motion? We're, uh, gonna instruct the superintendent, or does he need to submit these votes to OSBA no len- no later than midnight on December 15th, 2025? So, in an ideal world, we typically include that in the last motion. Um, whether you move forward with the motion or not, we're gonna go ahead and submit your votes.

1:37:56 But if you would like to formalize that, you're welcome to, uh, formalize that as a separate motion. I move that we direct the superintendent to forward our, uh, votes to OSBA. Second. All those in favor. Aye. Thank you. Okay. (sighs) So the next item on the agenda is a discussion regarding board development. So we have ... We did go through, um, a priority setting regarding agenda items, um, and I want to adhere to that as much as possible. But

1:38:41 ... based on discussions that I've had with individuals, um, and comments that have been made, I think that it is prudent for the board to engage in some additional training and some time for us to collaborate, uh, to actually have board goals created, um, for us to complete trainings, um, regarding public meetings, board governance, board operating agreements, and make revisions to, uh, policies as needed, um, after having discussions about those. And then also, doing a, like a strategic

1:39:26 planning schedu- session so we can all ensure that we're on the same page and we are moving forward with the best interests of students. Um ... I think it's really important for us all to, to be on the same page and for us to have better communication and collaboration. And so, I had originally wanted to propose either extending one of our special meetings, uh, to allow time for those trainings or determine if there's another day that we can, n- you know, have a, a meeting scheduled in order to complete these trainings and these

1:40:13 processes. Um, whether we call it a retreat or some other, some other thing, I think it's really important for us to, to be able to work together. Um, so the meetings that I had, or the trainings and processes that I was hoping that we would complete would be things like the public meetings and ethics trainings that OSBA and OGC offers. Um, OSBA off- also offers a board governance essentials training. I think it's important that we review the board operating agreement and the superintendent and board agreement, um, and make adjustments if necessary. I believe that strategic planning is very

1:41:00 important for us, um, and that's not something that we have done while I've been on the board. And I also think that that would give an opportunity for us to do some vision-directed planning for student success, um, and open that up to the community at large to engage in that planning process with us. Um, but I would ... I welcome your thoughts and opinions on this matter. Um, if we- Okay. ... don't want to do this, you know, it's, it ... This is the will of the board, but I think that it's really important for us to all be on the same page of what is expected of us and what are ... and, and what we expect, uh, of one another and the district in turn.

1:41:46 And we're not there right now, and so anything we can do to be more collaborative and communicative and move forward together in a united way, I, I want that. So, that was the reason I put this on, on the agenda today. Would that include board self-evaluation and training? Yes. I ... So- Because there's a lot of training that comes along with that. Definitely. Um, so this is along the lines of, um, the document I handed out at last meeting regarding the, I- it's the boards of honor. Yeah. Um, and an evaluation is, uh, very much one of those things that is required to be a board of honor. And so, I would love for us to get to that

1:42:31 place. Um, and an, yeah, an evaluation is definitely one of those. So I'm, I'm definitely supportive of that. I guess I just would like to know again- Yeah. ... thing about the details on how the ... you know, and timing and details of what that involves, you know, and, and the timing of when we would do that and the format, and- I mean, I would like to do it sooner rather than later. Yeah. Um, so I, I don't know the process for scheduling additional time that is not an already scheduled meeting. Um, that's something that we can probably get (laughs) some information on from district staff right now. Um, but the, the longer we wait to do these really fundamental pieces together, the less effective we're gonna be

1:43:19 as a board, and all that's gonna do is, um, make it so we're not actually focused on student success and achieving the things that, that we all joined the board to achieve, all the things that we cared about. Um, it's really hard for us to get there if we're not all on the same page of what it is that we're trying to work towards. So, I mean, I'd, I'm ... I think my schedule's a little bit more crazy than everyone else's, considering I work more than a full-time job. Um, but I'm committed to, to taking the time that's necessary to make this happen. So however quickly we can get things scheduled and communicate with OSBA, um, and other entities about the needs of train-

1:44:05 you know, the needs that we have and come up with a training plan, then I want to make it happen. I think it'd be, uh, maybe s- I suggest, um, coming up with a couple of dates that we already have work- work sessions scheduled, because I don't have, um, much extra time for another meeting. So- Um, and then find out when OSBA can do this Board of Honor training, if it's... Um, I don't know what order that- Yeah. ... the evaluation and the training goes in, but- Mm-hmm. ... maybe get some possible dates, and... So the cool thing about the Board of Honor is they don't really tell you the order of operations for it. They just say, "These are the things, and as you do them, you can submit, you know, proof that they- that you've completed them."

1:44:50 Mm-hmm. And then they compile that all. Oh. Yeah, so that's- that's the other thing. We do have a finite amount of- of meetings. Um- So was the Board of Honor, is this training specific that OSBA puts on? Did- No. Okay. No, this is a new, like, honor, like- Right, so we would apply for this, but we would- Correct. ... need to do, we would n- need to arrange for our own training scheme and- Correct. ... and program to get there. Yeah. And so the- the training topics that I have suggested on these agendas, um, I literally just went on the OSBA website (laughs) and tried to figure out what made the most sense for us to do, and I threw them in the dates of

1:45:37 existing special meetings with the exception of- January 19th. ... January 19th, perhaps having one additional meeting that month. Um, it makes it difficult because we have winter break, and we have spring break, um, and we have budget meetings, so there is a finite amount of time. But I think all of this is important, and so if we're able to perhaps extend some of the time for these meetings, um, that are already scheduled, that might make sense. I- I'm hoping- And I presume this is gonna be contingent on whoever's doing the training, their availability. Yeah. And again, I'm- I'm open to suggestions on how we want to move forward together, but I'm just throwing out the random ideas that I've had so far.

1:46:22 Do we have to have OSBA do the train- is it- I'm sorry, is it OSBA that we would hire to come here and give us training? Potentially- ... as- ... but there's- there's other facilitators that are out there depending on the meeting topic. Oh, okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah, that would be, that would be great to know our options, um, as long as we're hitting our, um, our desires here. I- I will say if we wanna get it done sooner than later, to go with OSBA. Um, I don't know who you're thinking of. Well- I just know from last time, trying to get a retreat facilitator took a long time, and then it didn't happen. Uh- Yeah. So I know from my random internet searches, I know that OE- OGEC, the Oregon Gover- Government Ethics Committee,

1:47:09 um, offers trainings as well. So if there's particular tomic- topics that align with, um, items under their purview, that could be potentially something. But again, this was my random internet searches just trying to figure out, trying to figure out what we can do and how we can do it. Do you have any... Um, I- I have n- no idea timing about what it typically takes or any of that. Well, once we, once you have direction from the board, uh, we're happy to work with you to reach out to OSBA to see what their availability is and what they have to offer, what the Ethics Commission is, has to offer. There are other, um, training groups that are not necessarily schools-specific but

1:47:56 still might have board governance. So for instance, our partners at Willamalane in the City of Springfield and sub have people that come in and provide board training to them, board governance training. So we can check in with them to see who they use for those trainings and how that aligns with what your interests are. Thank you. With, uh, with recent developments in the, uh, in the district, um, I'm very supportive of the need for board development, but I differentiate between board training, which is a how-to and prescriptive and more supportive of

1:48:41 development, which I consider as sort of how-to and common understanding and shared understanding. Uh, you know, I, of course, we're just getting this. So at the end of September, we developed a board agenda prioritization. Mm-hmm. Board development was number six. Um, and we haven't gotten to some of the others. Does this preclude, then, doing any of that? 'Cause this basically runs to the end of the year. So it doesn't preclude it. Um, again, this is me attempting to- Mm-hmm. ... figure out when we can do this. Um, I very much want to get to the agenda topics that we discussed

1:49:27 and that we prioritized, but I recognize that it's difficult for us to be aligned and to make decisions when we haven't had the opportunity to sit down and actually come up with the board goals and know what we are working towards, because at the moment, like, we- we all have our own priorities, the things that, that we care about as individual board members, but we don't have a shared priority as a board. And dis- and student success is a neb- a pretty nebulous term, and we don't have, we don't have anything identified that says...This is what we're trying to achieve.

1:50:14 This is what we're working towards, and how are we gonna know that we're there if we don't have those goals in place? How are we gonna know they're there if we haven't- Mm-hmm. ... if we don't have anything that we can measure against? And so, I'm all for continuing to go along with the agenda that we have. I think some of the information that is, that we wanna get, and we, we're anticipating getting on the agenda, we can maybe take upon ourselves as board members to do our own reconnaissance and information-gathering, um, and then bring information back to the board, um, because there is a finite amount of time. And again, it's hard to work towards something if we don't all

1:51:02 know what we're working towards. And so, I wanna, I wanna figure that out, and I wanna involve the community in figuring that out 'cause that hasn't been done. So, should we start with listening sessions or some other thing? I, I've been through several of the self-evaluation, the board, uh, things, and they're very time-intensive, and, um, I'll just say that I haven't found them that useful in the past because we didn't have, uh, or we didn't create the opportunity to have full discussions in the aftermath. Um, so, to me, the board training, uh, becomes a little bit like

1:51:47 paint-by-numbers, and I'd rather, I think the, the more imminent and important work is to discover where we are at as individual board members, our likes, dislikes, how we need information, each of us, and, and come to some agreements. I think operating agreements, having a review of that is important, and policies related to those. So, I'd rather start there than, you know... Uh, this, this schedule, to me, it runs from January to April, and I'm just concerned it won't allow us to get back to some of these priorities. So, those topics don't need to take up an entire meeting necessarily. We can also

1:52:33 extend ... I'm making assumptions, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong. We can add on hours to existing meetings if necessary- Mm-hmm. ... to accomplish these goals, to get it done faster. My attempt here was to use the existing time we have with the exception of January 19th, um, but if we want to try to front load everything and be ready to go with the vision-directed planning and the strategic planning process earlier in the year, I think that's acceptable, but I think we have to have the

1:53:18 foundation first in order to move forward. I think having a strong foundation on public meetings, ethics, board governance essentials, the board operating agreement, I think us all being in alignment and having a clear understanding of those topics gives us a stronger foundation and makes it so any strategic planning that we do is going to be successful and has more of a chance at being successful. Is January 19th a no-school day? I believe so. I don't, I don't remember. I was picking a random Monday in the middle of January. So, uh, I'd just like to say, I'm supportive of this, uh, but I'd like to see us do, in parallel,

1:54:05 this and the, the topics we talked about. And you, you mentioned, you know, go back and do the learning on ourselves. In, in my view, part of that was to get that information in a public meeting and have questions and stuff so the public can see, you know, what we're concerned about and how we're thinking about these and how it relates to, you know, student outcomes, student achievement. And so, it's, to me, it's important to not just do that on our own- I would s- ... and also be in the same room, and we, you know, we all see how we're thinking about those things. Yeah, to clarify, I wasn't suggesting that we do it on our own and that's the end of it. Mm-hmm. I think that, that at least gives us, uh, I think all of us consistently doing our own homework and doing our site visits, meeting with staff, um, speaking with

1:54:50 constituents, that's something we should be doing this whole time. And so, I encourage us to continue doing that. But if there are specific agenda topics that we have more of an interest in or more of a concern about, I think spending the time doing that makes sense in addition to discussing it at a public meeting. So, I'm encouraging everyone to, you know, look at that agenda list and figure out if there are things that, you know, if it's, if we put it on the agenda and it's not something that actually needs to come to the board for a vote, if it's something that we can disseminate, uh, information in another way, if there's a different way of getting questions answered, if it's something that we can have a shorter presentation on, things of that

1:55:35 nature. I'm not opposed to having things on bo- you know, doing, having it run parallel. I'm just trying to figure out timing for everything. So, I'm, to help facilitate this, and I'm one of, you know, 'cause we're trying to do this at meetings, right? Mm-hmm. You know, and not do stuff between meetings. Can we delegate one of us to work with the administration to kind of flush it out and come up with a schedule that, or, you know, come up with that, if that works out, so then we have, um, you know, some work can happen between meetings, you know, and get... I, I think that's acceptable, um-I think knowing if folks have availability outside of the board

1:56:21 meetings, and if we don't, if there are meetings that we can extend, um, if that's an avail- available option, and then also coordinating with whichever trainers we're gonna have. I think that, that all makes sense to do. So... Yeah, I would suggest get the availability first, and I need to look at my calendar 'cause I don't know if some of these off in the distance, but yeah. But my intent is to, is to get m- m- back to our prioritized agenda as quickly as possible. I'm just trying to figure out how do we do that and accomplish the goal of getting us all on the same page and us figuring out what the board goal should be. 'Cause again, it's hard to measure when we don't have anything that we're working

1:57:06 towards. It would be nice if there was an outline like board governance, um, public meetings laws, this, like five different things that you wanna fill in for an hour on January 26th with another agenda item and then February, an hour of that, and then a regular agenda item. Yeah. I don't... Kinda flying blind. Any help would be appreciated. (laughs) Thank you, yeah, so what I heard Director Cole ask, and I think this is where you're leading to, is, uh, d- delegating the board chair to work with us to kind of refine this list, work with some groups to see who's available, and map out a plan. Yeah, I wasn't res- necessarily thinking it had to be the board chair. It could be any board member, right? I think...

1:57:53 'Cause I think, you know, as Heather has mentioned, she's got a lot going on and so it could be e- anybody that had time off. I don't have a preference who does it if... I mean, I... Yeah. As long as they have some sort of direction from the board. Yeah, there's direction and engagement- Yeah, we just, so- ... from other people. All, like, I just wanna know, like, are the topics that I've outlined and, and stated things that we agree we wanna do and it's a matter of figuring out the timing for them? S- Sorry for the really tiny writing. I'm- I can't. (laughs) ... really sorry. Okay, so I will say it again. What is the- I'll say it again. ... big one? I know, and I'm like, "Whew, I think I need readers." Yeah. Uh, public meetings and ethics training, board governance essentials,

1:58:38 board operating agreement review and update, strategic planning process facilitation, and vision-directed planning for student success. I think the operating agreement coming after some other training first is good. I would encourage you to connect with some of the facilitators because a lot of the facilitators will have, um, a structure and a flow to the professional development so that one professional development builds on the professional development at the prior meeting, so they might actually have some preferences on sequencing- Mm-hmm. ... and especially around when opergrade- operating agreements kind of fall into that sequence. Historically, with this board in the past and working with the School Board Association, operating

1:59:24 agreements generally comes after a core foundational set of training because then you have the foundation of those training experiences, so when you're looking at the operating agreements, it makes sense. Mm-hmm. So when you start talking about board governance, when you've had the board governance essentials and then you get into the operating agreements, you've already had that training. So working with those professional developers, they will have a preference on that sequencing, and I'm happy to work with you. You've done half of the, the groundwork already, so continuing to roll this forward is not a heavy lift. And if you need help with that or want to delegate, I'm happy to step up. Thank you. Mm-hmm. So are y'all okay with me moving forward trying to get these things scheduled, talking

2:00:12 with various trainers to figure out availability and sequencing, and trying to get this done in conjunction with our existing agenda topics and priorities? Hmm? I would need to know more specifics, honestly, because, uh, the training to me is, is really different. I don't disagree with some of these topics, uh, but I've already said that I've, think we've set prioritization and I think, uh, that a lot of the work, uh, that we should be doing is around relationships and understanding, shared understanding. Um, I don't think that's necessarily OSBA's strength. I think they're good on, on just the out now training

2:00:58 on that, and I'm not saying it's not important. I just think if I'm going to prioritize board training, uh, I'm going to prioritize, prioritiz- ugh, prioritize board development over board training. And, and, but I'm in agreement that sooner rather than later, whatever that means, and I would acquiesce to whatever works for you 'cause I think you have the most challenging schedule. Little bit. Yeah, and for me, I feel like tonight was the most conversation we've, actually I've ever had with me being on the board, and I, um... Conversation is great and, um, if I'm to sit in training like I have at two

2:01:45 conferences, I, you know, I never got once close to you guys at all. I never had a discussion, never, I mean, it, (laughs) uh, we will remain. Um, it would be great to have a facilitator that could help us, uh, connect and, um, help with our board relations. I, I feel like that is really, really the most important thing, and along with the training as well, and I've been watching webinars and I've been doing what, what I can when I can and I do as much as I can. Um, but I really feel like relationships are, are the key to moving things forward.

2:02:30 So what do y'all want me to do? Or what do we wanna do? Yeah. Well, do you want to, um... Do you want me to find times for everyone? Um... Yeah, how does that... So I don't... W- how does scheduling work? If, like... Should we talk with the part, the, um, anticipated, um, facilitators in advance? Figure out what their schedules look like, and then survey the board to figure out if there's availability outside of meetings, or before meetings? I think that's a great idea. Okay. So where I think you're at, as the outside observer, is you've, you've got some interest. You've got some different perspectives from board members around what that

2:03:17 training might look like to meet their needs. I would take that, I would reach out to a couple of different, um, experts who facilitate board trainings, talk with them about their plans, talk with them about their availability. We can take a look at board meeting dates to see where there's some existing overlap, and we can put a plan together. Okay. And then we can come back to the board and say, "Here's a... Here are a couple of options for moving forward." So I, I know it's hard for some members, but I would be up for, um, longer meetings to get through this quicker. Okay. Yeah. Same. I'd prefer starting earlier. Yeah. Yeah, Starting earlier would be lovely. Yeah. So we're not meeting till 11 or after. I get real tired after 9:00 PM. I'm- Yeah. ... getting older. Yeah. So yeah.

2:04:02 So is that okay with everyone? Moving forward with that? And I'll get back to you on what I find out with availability and, and topics, and suggestion for how we do this- Yeah. ... from the facilitators. Yeah. Same. And I'm, and I'm also okay with extra, you know, if we have to schedule something in between that we don't... Okay. You know, just to get through this. Yeah, and I just wanna make sure that we're not, um... We're not gonna be... I wanna make sure that we're gonna be stay- staying on track with our board- That's the intent. Yeah. ... priorities. Okay, okay. That is the intent. Could I suggest that we add to the January 12th agenda a further continuance? Uh, because since this is the first conversation we've had on what board development means, we could

2:04:47 not only talk about board development and our ideas around that, but also could look at the agenda topics. There are some things that could be split off separately. Mm-hmm. So maybe hone that down and make it a little bit more manageable. Yeah, we can definitely add that to then. And by then, hopefully I have some, um, some responses from the facilitators- You know, maybe. ... about- Yeah. ... you know, what they suggest and availability for that. Okay. And... Thank you, Heather. Thank you for- Thank you. Thank... Yes. (inhales deeply) Trying. Yeah. Thank you. Um, (clears throat) and then, uh, yeah, I guess... I, I, I, uh, you know, I'm gonna hold that one. I'll hold off.

2:05:32 Alrighty then. Never mind. Thank you. (laughs) (laughs) All right. Um, yeah. So we'll coordinate, figure it out, and come back to y'all. Okay. Moving on, superintendent communications. So this is a very busy time of year, and it feels like I say that every month, but the nature of the season changes every time we have this conversation. And one of the things that I would encourage you to do if you haven't, is all, is take a look at our website, take a look at our social media channels, and then dig into those newsletters that you're getting. You're getting copies of the staff newsletter and the parent, uh, newsletter communications that we're sending home. There's a l- lot of really great work happening in the district, and I really wanna make sure that, uh, you get a chance to see that outside of what you're

2:06:18 already seeing on your visits. Um, at the last meeting, one of the things that I shared with you was that we were going to continue tracking what's happening at the state level regarding revenue. And since our last meeting, there was an economic forecast. Uh, we monitored that very closely, and, um, we received less bad news, I think is probably the best way to say it. It's not good news, but it's less bad news. Um, the next update will be... The next economic forecast will be in February, uh, near the beginning of the legislative short session. So technically, it's the March economic forecast, but it occurs in February. And I just wanted to let you know we're continuing to track that

2:07:03 information, because the legislature will be asked to, um, take a look at the revenue that's coming into the state, and they may very well be making some decisions. At our level, one of the things that we're continuing to do is track what's happening at, uh, the federal level. So one of the small pools of funds that you have seen in your, um, board packet has to do with the circ- secure... Um, well, we call it Federal Forest Fees, but it has a different terminology. Um, if that's something that you're interested in, there is a vote expected on the House floor tomorrow, um, regarding that bill. So we're hoping that, uh, that continues to move forward. For us, it's about

2:07:48 $700,000, and for a lot of the rural districts, it has a pretty significant impact as well. So that's one of the things that we're tracking. We did get an additional update on House Bill 1 at the, um, federal level and the impact that that has on our state, um, budget, and that's really the big driver right now. So more information to come. We're tracking that. We'll have more updates with you. Brett is preparing the work sessions for the budget committee. Uh, this will be an ongoing conversation. Uh, if that's something that you're interested in tracking with us, let me know. I'm happy to point you to various, uh, resources. But at the state level, uh, next update will probably be at our... either our February board meeting or

2:08:35 our February budget committee work session.Um, one of the things that occurred o- between the last, uh, board meeting and this board meeting is conferences. And this is a, a great opportunity for our parents and our teachers to connect, and our students to celebrate the great work that, uh, is happening in our classrooms. Uh, we just wanted to share that conferences happened, and attendance was, was good this year. We provided additional opportunities for families that were struggling or, um, had some concerns about coming in person. We provided virtual opportunities, which helped increase, uh, the participation in conferences. So, um, preliminary numbers are rolling in, and maybe that's something that we can share with you at a future board meeting. But, uh, preliminarily, we're, we saw some, uh, some good participation by our

2:09:22 families. And then, uh, for those of you who were around on Saturday, Springfield hosted, as you heard from our students, the 74th Annual, uh, Christmas Parade. And I just wanted to take a moment to share some kudos with our transportation and our maintenance teams, who put together some floats to participate in the parade. This is a longstanding tradition that they've had, and it takes a lot of time and energy volunteering outside of their regular work days. So for those of you who joined them at the parade, thank you. But I also wanted to take just a few minutes now to thank them for their energy. And so I hope that Brett will carry that forward to, um, Mike and Terry, who led that with many other volunteers. And I'll leave you with that. Thank you.

2:10:07 Uh, piggybacking on that commenting on the excellent job that transportation did, the number of kids that were thrilled to see the giant Olaf on the front of the bus. Um, I heard that over and over again. The kids were very excited, so good job to the team. Uh, also kudos to SEA for their, their float and their participation. I know a lot of members, uh, had a really good time, and I appreciate that you all involved their family as well, um, in participating in the parade. So really good job. Um, we'll turn it over to the rest of the board for their communication and comment. Does anyone have... We'll just, we'll just go down the row. Hi, Jonathan. Hi. (laughs) What do you wanna share today? Well, I'll sort of reiterate the thanks that are going out. It takes a lot of work, you know, to put together a marching band, and do all the

2:10:54 leg- logistics. Both Springfield High School and Thurston High School were represented, looking great, sounding great, but you know, it, it's, uh, has this impact on families, and, and all that. So just thanks to everyone who made an effort there. I couldn't find the bus driver float because I was looking for a yellow bus, and they had totally changed it to be white. And it was great. It's obviously, they put a lot of work into, uh, you know, decorating the bus and making it fun and fun for kids. And they, they were giving out candy. Um, and then SEA did their book distribution, and I think it was 8,000 books. Wow. But partly because the weather was so great, I think, there was tons of kids of all ages and their families, and they were

2:11:42 absolutely ecstatic to get books. I mean, eh, some of these kids couldn't even read, but just, you know, having something given to them that had a fun cover was, was great. So... And then Willamette leadership doing the, the color guard, that's a perennial favorite of everybody's. So just, uh, you know, a shout-out to everybody who participated. And behind all that participation is management helping them get coordinated. So I know it's a group effort, and I think it reflects well on the Springfield School District. Um, couple of other things. You know, g- given the comment tonight and then recent emails, m- perhaps part of our board development work we can do is devise some plan or coordinating

2:12:28 mechanism so that we not only acknowledge, uh, people giving comment in whatever form they choose to do, but some idea of, of what the response might be. And, um, I think it's important for the board to keep that line of communication, uh, meaningful. Um, so, um, I'll probably add that to my list. And then, my understanding is, and I could be wrong, but I, I think we're up for a social studies adoption, so I would just, from my point of view, would like to know sort of where we're at in that process. 'Cause, uh, usually we form a committee to take a look at the choices of curriculum. I don't know if we've done that yet, or maybe even what the timeline is as far as when it might, uh, um, come before the board.

2:13:16 Mm-hmm. So... And that's, uh, that's all I have. Director Coole? Yeah. Um, I got to attend the, uh, Briggs Thanksgiving, um, Feast, that which was great to see, uh, all of the effort that goes in from all of the staff and the volunteers, the emergency services that showed up to volunteer, International Paper. Um, and it's fun to, uh, interact, see the differences between the, the sixth graders and the seventh graders and the eighth graders as they, uh, (laughs) get their meals and interact, and, and, uh, see, um... catch ups with some teachers my kids went to school there. So it's been many years ago, but s- a lot of the teachers are still there. It's pretty amazing, and cool to see them there. Um, I also got to go to, um, S- Springfield High

2:14:04 School, the physics, they were doing an egg drop. They wanted volunteers to judge the kids on how they, uh, understood, uh, physics applications of energy, and that was, um, fun to talk to them about that, and work with that. I also attended the, uh, LCOG board meeting, and, um, there was some discussion, uh, about, (laughs) um, our dues, and through some... Yeah. There was, uh, some vagaries of the system. We ended up paying less dues than, um, Bethel, South Lane, Creswell, and McKenzie. Hmm. And just (laughs) v- yeah, s- You responsible for that? Yeah, y- you know, yeah. So, um, there was action taken by the board to-... make everybody pay the minimum. So, our f- our dues are gonna go from $979 to

2:14:51 $1,020. Hmm. Um, yeah. Um, the other thing was that the ESD had conducted for a lot of, um, public agencies, uh, what they call the resiliency event, talking about how funding for different agencies, how, you know, what is the, the risk of different funding exercise, you know, funding streams. And they said, actually they said that, uh, Lane ESD was gonna put on a similar, uh, event and do that for schools. So, I don't know if we've heard about that yet or not, but that should be coming so we talk about, you know, where we're susceptible in certain funding streams and how we will deal with those things. So, that's what I got.

2:15:36 Cool. Hmm, my first update is about, um, Springfield Education Foundation. Um, we, our innovative educator grant applications are now open until April 1st. Um, we also have tickets on sale for our Jazz & Bubbles & Books fundraiser on the 18th, so it's a fundraiser for Book Fest this year. Um, SEF is the community partner for Douglas Gardens. Um, we are providing holiday food boxes for 15 families. And we're also excited to announce we received a big grant from OCCU, $20,000 to support our family resource centers at all of our schools. Um, I, um, I can't remember everything I've done, but I've done... I, (laughs) everybody talking reminded me. The, I had a- Sure.

2:16:21 Did help out the Briggs thank- Thanksgiving. I had a great serving partner. He was a first timer, but he did great. Um, and, uh, I, you know, sometimes when I see the, the work that the communications team does, it's not just, "Oh, that's really neat that's going on in the school." It also connects some of this black and white stuff that we see that we're, um, you know, the agreements and it kind of connects to where that is happening in schools. So like- Mm-hmm. ... this week, or maybe last week, you talked about the mystery science lesson ads on algal blooms, um, at, um, Maple School. And then there was another one, um, at Walterville. They'd had an all-day school, art school day or whatever. I'm probably saying that all wrong. But that doesn't just inform me, 'cause we can't go out to all the schools and see,

2:17:08 um, everything that's happening. So, I appreciate that, but it also helps me visualize what it is we're actually doing in the boardroom. And that's it. Thank you. (clears throat) Yeah, so in the past month, uh, I got to visit Thurston Elementary, um, Thurston Middle, and Thurston High School. And wow, there are wonderful things happening in that high school. CTE is just like out of this world. Um, I also got to attend their football game. Uh, I was invited, uh, by the Eugene Symphony Youth. There was a youth concert, Carnival of the Animals. That was, that was a lot of fun.

2:17:54 Um, and you know, the, there's teachers out there going above and beyond to make that happen for their students, uh, for them to be able to attend the Hult Center. And, um, it was also helped with education and community engagement director, Katy, Katy Vizdel, who believes in enriching lives through the power of music. I also got to go to the nutrition and transportation facilities. That also was out of this world. Um, I just, I can't believe that's been in my neck of the woods and I, I, I drive by this all the time. Um, there are some really powerful things happening in our community and being able to talk to, um, (sighs)

2:18:39 uh, bus drivers, uh, custodians, especially when I was in the parade. Uh, that, it- it- it was just really wonderful. Um, and after I did the facilities, um, I went to Ridgeview Elementary and was able to talk to folks about nutrition. Um, I also, like I said, I was able to attend the parade. I went with transportation for quite a while. I finished the route and then backed up and walked with SEA and passed out books. (laughs) And SEA was just sweating. These teachers were just working as hard as I imagine they do every day at work, so they were incredible. Um, my last thing I wanna leave off with is, um,

2:19:26 a teacher came here for public comment November 10th. And they, there were 15 educators from eight elementary schools who formally invited the board members to the classroom. And, uh, I publicly stated that I accept the invitation. Um, according to our board policy however, all communications and visits must go through the superintendent and board secretary. Uh, Superintendent, so I am, uh, third in line or fourth in line to get scheduled for that. Um, I also had an email I wanted to send to the teachers but, and it was just an email to thank them for their, um, for the formal invitation to their classrooms. Um,

2:20:12 and as a board member, I, I really look forward to seeing and saying hello and, um, supporting the excellent work that happens in their classrooms every day. And I do look forward to seeing them and I'm hoping I get to see them by the end of February. Um, yeah, we will... So anyway, um, I think that, I think that is it. Um, I attended a lot of the same events that my fellow board members attended. Um, I do want to- ... extend the invitation that was given to me by band director, Jonathan Bridges at Springfield High School, uh, to have the school board actually perform with the bands next year

2:21:01 during the parade. Uh, I know I play a couple different instruments, and Jonathan does as well, um, and I think Nicole does as well, right? I don't know about, uh- Yeah. ... anyone else, but there's- Tambourines. ... there's always tambourines and cowbells. If they start now. I know, if you start now, um- Still won't be able to. (laughs) I got a sparkly shirt. Yeah, you do- the sparkly shirt is definitely ... yes, that will- that will help, um, but I thought that would be actually a really fun thing for us to do, is attempt to march along with the Thurston High and Springfield High Bands. Whether or not we actually accomplish that, I have no idea, but it's an idea. Um, the Briggs Thanksgiving event was amazing as always.

2:21:48 The kids are so excited. Um, I was tasked with cutting pies, and thankfully, the pies were precut (laughs) so no one was shorted on the pies, which is great. Um, but I did want to extend a thank you out to- to Briggs and everyone who, uh, made that possible for the students, but also for sending the leftover pies to Ways to Taste to distribute to- to families. I thought that was a phenomenal, uh, use of the leftovers, and I know that with, um, food insecurity, especially at this time of year, it's really hard, um, when you can barely get the essentials that you need, so having those pies available for families during the Thanksgiving holiday, I'm sure

2:22:35 really helped brighten a lot of- a lot of people. Um, the egg drop was really interesting, um, I do not understand physics and these kids really, really had a good time with it. Um, there was only one egg casualty, uh, that occurred, and, um, my husband, Craig, actually went with me to volunteer. Uh, he is a scientist and he was happy to don his lab coat and safety goggles, and the students thought that was hilarious, uh, and I think took it a little bit more seriously because there was a real scientist there with them. Um, but that was really entertaining to- to be a part of that, and I- I like all the opportunities that

2:23:20 we get as a board to- to go into classrooms and actually see the really cool things that are happening and the way that students are engaging, um, with the material that they're taught every single day. Um, with regards to the Wildish Community Theater, um, we have welcomed General Manager, Molly Sky, um, as the new general manager for the organization. There are many, many, many holiday concerts coming up, um, and we have concerts booked up through June at this point at the Wildish, so if you have any interest in, uh, seeing something local, um, there's something for everyone. There's stuff for kids, there's, uh, events for, uh, jazz lovers. There's events for, um, circus performances. I mean, they literally have

2:24:08 everything over there if you're- if you're interested in trout fishing, they are having a video for that. Like, literally, a whole heck of a lot of things that are really cool. Um, and then I'm helping to work on the case statement, um, for the Wildish Theater to really highlight what we've been able to accomplish as a community theater, um, and the needs moving forward. Um, arts are super important in th- in- in the community and in everyday life, and so I feel really honored to- to work with the Wildish and figure out how we can make sure that we are able to keep a community theater, um, 'cause it benefits everyone. It benefits everyone in the community to have local theater, so excited to continue working with that board. Um, I don't ... Does anyone have any further comments, questions?

2:24:56 Okay. Um, so with that, we will adjourn this meeting at 9:09. The next meeting is on January 12th, 2026. Um, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and stays safe and warm and dry, if at all possible. Have a good evening, everyone.