Springfield School Board — February 23, 2026

4:15 Good evening, everyone. I would like to call the Springfield Board of Education special meeting to order. This is February twenty-third, two thousand and twenty-six. The time is five thirty. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands,

5:00 one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Director Cole will lead the land acknowledgment. We acknowledge that we are in the traditional homeland of the Kalapuya people, specifically the community that was known as Chifen, the area 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 eighteen fifty-one and eighteen fifty-five. The Kalapuya are now members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand

5:47 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 honor the heritage and the humanity of all people and to promote unity within our school district. ... Thank you. Moving to the- well, before we move to the approval of the agenda, I just want to welcome everybody for being here on this rainy, rainy day. So hopefully you didn't have any trouble getting here. Uh, Jeff, how many do we have attending virtually? Sixty-two? Okay, well, I also want to acknowledge the people that are here

6:33 virtually. We can't see you, but we definitely appreciate the attendance and the participation of everybody who's involved. So now we'll move to the approval of the agenda. I'll move approval. I will second. I'll entertain a motion at this point. I did the motion. For amendment. Oh, for amendment. Oh, okay. I will move, uh, for a motion to amend for additional items. I will second. Okay, a second from Director Langworthy. And even though it's on the agenda, the amendments came in late, and so

7:18 under the advice of, uh, OSBA, um, would like to formalise that. So there's nothing added, it's just what's, what's typed- Not the final agenda- Okay ... this is just sort of a procedural thing. Okay. So I would move to include, uh, the discussion around acting superintendent candidates, and also the action item for appointing the acting superintendent under four A, and then four B, the authorisation to the board chair to negotiate and execute agreement for the acting superintendent. So do I have a second? I'll second. Okay. Moved by Director Light, seconded by Director DeGraff,

8:04 to add those items. And again, apologies if you were late, uh, to the development of the agenda. Hopefully, you have the updated one, and I'm sure Marty has provided some outside on the table. Okay, so first thing up is, uh, agenda item- Do we need to vote on that? Oh, thank you. Yes, I would-- Now that we have the motion on the table, I'll call for the vote. All in favour, indicate by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Are there any nays? Hearing none, the mo- motion carries four to zero. So then moving on to agenda item three A, the acting superintendent candidates' discussion.

8:49 Does anybody have any feedback? I, I would like to start by just acknowledging, and your suggestion to move it forward to this evening's meeting. Uh, for myself, it was really a benefit. I heard from more constituents. I was able to really go back and review all of the applications and do more research in that. And so for me, uh, it was a good thing, and I appreciate that. Okay. So do we need to have a motion first before we continue discussing this- So this is the discussion item. Okay. So. Oh, okay. So if people wanna just, uh, jump in, no particular order, on, um, the review of the candidates or the criteria, any of that, that would be great.

9:35 So like the debrief that we did the first time? Similar to, yeah- Mm-hmm ... maybe including some of the additional information or d- additional work that you've done in the meantime. Okay. Um, I can go first. Okay, thank you. Um, I feel like if we get this process right, um, we'll protect the district, and most importantly, our students. Um, I just wanna share what I have learned over the, um, the weekend. Uh, with speaking with people who have worked closely, um, with some of the candidates in supervisory roles, um, I believe it's important for us to, as a board, consider the depth of experience and qualifications needed at this moment. It's clear to me that this role is, uh, not a learning opportunity or audition. It requires someone who can step in and lead effectively on day one. So I just wanna take a moment to discuss, um, the two candidates I feel have the most, um, the

10:23 best qualifications to be able to immediately step in. Um, I feel like they've shown, um, this, the depth of their experience and perspective. Um, first of all, um, Jodi, um, O'Meara, so she has done the actual work of a superintendent. Um, though the school was small, she had to wear many hats, as she had mentioned, and, um, she led teams through complex challenges, including COVID, as she described. Um, she knows state laws, budgeting, organisational structure. She mentioned how she handled, um, other conflicts as well, and she listens to learn. Um, she mentioned that a few times, that she, she wants to understand first to bring people together to solve problems. Um, she has administrative experience across all K-twelve

11:08 levels, which gives her a broad perspective, um, to figure out the needs of students and staff. Her transition plan, um, which I don't know if you guys still have, it impressed me. Um, I don't think we'd just hand off her transition plan to anybody. It could be im-implemented. I feel like it needs to be im-implemented by somebody, um, who has that depth of experience. Um, for example, she talks about, um... I don't know if the public has seen this, but there's a section for transition timeline, and she details who in the district by name, their title. Um, if she's going to be talking to the technology director, she understands, um, she understands what technology at each building level and district

11:53 level, um, develop- all the development needs are. She knows, um, she mentions the, the director of communication, equity and inclusion coordinator. So all these discussions she's planning on having, she has, um, knowledge and experience behind that. So she knows what questions to ask and, and how to listen, um, which helps when you, when you know the job, you know what questions to ask, and you know what to look for. Um, and then at the end, she has um, a-... she has this thing where she wants to have coffee and conversation with the school district, um, with people in the school district twice a month, and then she also has a staff- couple of ideas of staff surveys in her welcome letter. Um, so I really feel like with this, um, transition plan, she's very, she's been very thoughtful.

12:40 Um, she brings mentoring experience and knowledge in, in many, uh, buildings in our district. Um, I feel like after hearing from staff and community, that she would be well-supported in this role because she's, she's respected. And then, um, getting to Dr. Magert, um, while he's not a superintendent, he knows this district inside and out. Um, he understands our internal connections, he's very relational, he's supported multiple superintendents here in this district. Um, he has experience with special programs, legal matters, finance, um, bargaining. Um, he has administrative experience across all K-12 levels, and he knows how to navigate conflict because he does it on a daily basis. Um, he's on the front lines in that area. He also has strong connections to the community, um, partners, which he also

13:27 mentioned, um, which is very important to us because we have some difficult decisions coming up. Um, I just feel like given our current needs, I believe the school should prioritize candidates who have demonstrated the ability to lead a complex organization. So I feel all- I feel those two candidates are very strong, but for me, overall, Jodi Amara has the leadership skills to step in immediately. Thank you. We appreciate the, um, your perspective. Others? Ken? Um, so, Nicole, um, I appreciate the time you've been in, and I, I echo your, um, your comments. I think I, I agree, um, completely. I guess I would just like to add, I, I appreciate that, um,

14:14 for, um, Amy, it's clear that, um, she has the support of many of her staff and students, and that she is doing an excellent job at A3. However, uh, I'm concerned that she doesn't have the direct experience for the role of superintendent at this time. Um, to me, it's evidenced by, um, her letter of interest that she presented. I, I felt like it, um, it, it seemed to show a lack of the necessary understanding of the duties, and, um, yeah, I think it would, uh, take her a little too long to gain the necessary understanding under our current circumstances. And, and I'm also concerned about how this correspondence style would reflect on the district. And so I'd be, um, for that re- for those reasons and, you know,

15:00 the amount of time and effort that, um, Jodi put into the administration portfolio, this, her plan, transition plan, which I thought was excellent, and her experience, I would- I think Jodi would be our best candidate. Thank you, Ken. Really appreciate your, your perspective. Amber? Yeah, I, I've been reflecting a lot on Friday night in the interviews, and I have also been reflecting on what my community has been wanting, and things that have come up through the campaign, throughout time being, my seven months of being on the board. We've talked about bullying, we've talked about graduation rates, we've talked about, uh, we talked about quite a bit, and

15:45 Amy seemed to have checked all of those box that was really important to the community, and that's where I was coming from when I chose to vote for Amy. Um, and, and then I also, I look and I echo what, what Nicole and what Ken has said. I mean, they... I mean, e- everyone is just, um, Jodi, Brian, they, they're just- everyone's just been a beautiful candidate. This is a really, really hard choice. Um, I, I still would really, you know, it is four months, um, and I do see the, the ties Amy has to

16:32 her, her community at A3, um, whether it was during the time of the RIF, um, you know, they, they stepped up. That shows me what kind of leadership she has within her school and her community, and that, that spoke volumes to me. Um, and there, it's, it's, uh, this has been a really hard choice. This is- Thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah, I... And again, I, I really appreciated the extra time. Uh, we heard from more constituents, and, you know, it's a, it's a telltale sign when you have so much support for every candidate that actually

17:20 applied, uh, or said in their letter of in- interest, and, uh, that always means that you've got quality on the table. Each had experience or expertise in certain areas. It'd be wonderful to be able to combine into, you know, a candidate. Um, but, uh, you know, Brian has worked... It, it's just so obvious the passion around students and all the students that he's worked with, and working with federal programs, et cetera, et cetera. So, uh, it was outstanding to really have the time to pick through that. Amy, with what she has done at the Academy of Arts and Academics, is impressive. A lot of the results are, are things that, uh, we aspire to as a

18:05 district. Um, but I also had the opportunity to reach out to, uh, active superintendents and former superintendents to get their perspective, and, um, yeah, and, and having the time to reflect on that, uh-... really helped me, and, and saw, sort of narrowed the window. I was looking for, you know, we're on a obviously short timeframe. Um, but there are things behind the scenes, not the big picture stuff, the little picture stuff, that you can only know when you're, uh, in that superintendent role. Um, things like developing agendas and, you know, working your way through a district budget, uh, especially in short fall years.

18:53 So, um, yeah, it became apparent to me that, uh, for the acting role, um, that, um, that it might be important to have that experience. So any other further thoughts or comments before moving to the action item? No. Hearing none, uh, then we'll move on to action item 4B... I'm sorry, 4A, uh, which is the appointment of an acting superintendent. I will then entertain a motion at this time. So I would move that we appoint Jodi O'Mara as our acting superintendent.

19:38 Second. Okay, so, uh, motion by Director Cole and a second by Director DeGraff. Any additional comment? So I, in that reflection period, um, over the weekend, I, I do believe that we need someone with a little bit more experience, um, just to, as she said, calm the waters. Um, this has been a really trying year, and I would like for someone to be able to come in and just hit the ground running. Um, yeah, I'm just... I'll, I'll leave it at that.

20:24 Okay. Thank you. Any other additional comment? Mm-mm. Okay, I'm gonna call for a roll call, a vote on this. So, um, Director DeGraff? Yes. Director Cole? Yes. Director Langworthy? Yes. Director Light is a yes. So, uh, congratulations. Uh, as a board, we certainly look forward to working with you. So action item 4B is to authorize, uh, the board chair, myself, to negotiate and execute agreement for the acting superintendent. Uh, that's common practice to work out the, the nitty-gritty of the details, and, uh,

21:11 it, you know, the authorization allows us to move forward without calling another board meeting. I move to approve to authorize the board chair to negotiate and execute agreement for the acting superintendent. Moved by Director DeGraff. I'll second. Seconded by Director Cole. Any questions or comments? No. Moving forward with the vote, again, I'll do a roll call, starting with Director Langworthy. Yes. Myself, yes. Director Cole? Yes. And Director DeGraff. Yes. Okay. Motion carries four to zero. Finally, action item, uh, 4C-

21:56 Got it. Yeah. I'd entertain a motion. Um, I move to approve the resignation agreement with Assistant Superintendent Collins and to delegate authority to the board chair to execute the agreement. Second. Motion by Director Cole, seconded by Director DeGraff. Any further questions or comments? No. Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. We'll just do a, a straight up vote. So all in favor say, "Aye." Aye. Any against? Motion carries four to nothing. Thank you. Uh, so moving then on to discussion item, uh, 5A, which is the board member appointee process. Just want to reiterate the way it's structured now, and

22:42 then, um, turn it over to the board for discussion. Does anybody want to sort of say their understanding? So I, I believe at the application period closes at the end of this week. Mm-hmm. Is that- That's correct ... And then, and then, uh, March 9th, is that our board meeting where we'll interview- Yeah ... candidates? Mm-hmm. Okay. So, um, it's hard to know. I know in the past couple, we've had, um, great interest to be on the board, and I appreciate the community wanting to do that. It was a little, um, not sure how effective it was for us to interview every candidate, and I'd like to us to figure out if there's a way to, you know, narrow the list of the

23:28 candidates that we want to interview, depending on how many apply. Mm. Okay. Marty, uh, is the deadline 4:00 pm this Friday? 5:00 pm, I'm not sure what I... Yeah. Uh, okay, so it's the end of the day, and the plan would be then for Marty to forward the applications to the board. At this point, I don't believe any of us know how many or who- Right ... uh, is per, uh, protocol. Uh, so we'll basically have from February 28th through March 8th for us to review. Ken, you bring up a great point. If we have three candidates, it's easy. If we have thirteen candidates, not so much. Uh, my understanding, and again, I'll entertain, uh, comments and questions from board members, is that

24:15 if we're going to winnow down the list to be more manageable, that would require a meeting of some time.... which we certainly have time in that week, uh, but, uh, it's not a question for one person to decide. Right. So- Okay. Close at noon. Thanks for the clarification. I'm just looking up the policy, 'cause I don't know about pre-screening. My understanding is if we do a pre-screen, it has to be in public session. Anything that would be... Yeah, result in a decision to, I would think, eliminate candidates- Mm-hmm ... I would think we'd need to do in public session. I don't remember reading anything that was that specific. I think it just says we have to, you know, we get applicants-

25:01 Yeah ... make a decision. Um, I guess depending on the, the we probably- BBC is big. What's that? Yeah. BCBBC. We probably need to decide on the number that we'd wanna interview now, otherwise we'd have to probably have a public meeting to decide, you know, what that number- the number of candidates, and whether or not we were gonna have a pre-meeting to, you know, winnow the list. And- I think the question becomes: how do you determine... I, I mean, it's easy to pick a number, but then do we take them in the order they apply? Do we take them on the basis of what we, of our review of the application? So the criteria around how

25:46 we make that selection is important. Oh, that's the first piece. I was thinking that, you know, if we had more than, say, eight applicants, that we should plan to maybe have, uh, a meeting in advance of the ninth meeting- Oh ... to just- So just to do- We could do, we could do, we could do rankings and s- set those and say, you know, that the, whatever the top eight candidates or six candidates or whatever, that we're gonna interview. But I don't know h- I don't know how many candidates we'll rec- we'll get. Does anybody recall, and maybe, maybe Amber, you can help with this, what's the timeframe that we allowed for each interview? Uh, it- 15 minutes, you think? Yeah. Was it 15? Yeah. Brian might know also.

26:36 Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay- Oh- I'm okay, R- uh, first of all, um, when people ask questions, when board members ask each other questions, I, I wanna make it clear that asking questions and slowing down the process doesn't mean, um... Like, it's okay to disagree. Um, with that said, I find it ironic that we're gonna take so much time on board member vacancy when we didn't on the superintendent, which has far more weight. Um, and that's not, it's not a criticism, I just find it, it's just ironic. Um, I'm okay with interviewing all the candidates, because I feel like we kinda owe the public, um, a very transparent process for just about everything from here on out. And I know it takes time, and I know it's difficult, but I'm okay with leaving it

27:22 that. I'm not sure the, um... We'd have to ask Rebecca, the attorney, um, about the legality of doing pre-screening. And, I mean, BBC says the board decides what the procedure are, but I don't wanna complicate it or confuse it. Okay. So I'm okay with leaving it simple. Honestly, I don't remember how many applicants we had previously- We, like- ... but it was a lot. We had, like, we had four, like, we had three different panels- Mm-hmm ... of three or four. And if we stay, if we stay organized, then we- Mm ... you know, we had one person read all the questions, and they read the same question, and then we get through it, and I think that is the most simple thing to do. Yeah. The time before that, I think we had 14 or 15. Yeah, and we got through it. Yeah. And we have, uh, as usually happens, is some people

28:08 choose not to interview. Yes, we did have a- And that, that- Yeah ... that winnows the field somewhat. I'm fine interviewing everybody, because I agree with you, Nicole. I think it's better- I think it's, it's transparent, and, and everybody gets a shot. I hate pre-screening, because there's always things on an application and a resume that aren't on the application and resume, and that- And some people interview better than they... Like- Yeah ... better on paper. Yeah. Amber, your thoughts? I'm good with what- however we do it. I know y- you guys have been through this before. I was on the other side of this before. And so- Okay ... um, and I enjoyed hearing everyone, uh, interview. That was, um, it was nice to see where everyone was

28:54 when they came and spoke. Yeah. Okay. I got the time. Sounds like there's a leaning towards just allowing it to be open. Yeah. And just looking back- That's fine ... is that okay? That's fine. Okay. Yep. Um, now there is the issue, then, of the questions and how to develop the questions. The, um, for this acting position, it was very abbreviated, given the timeframe that we were dealing with. We do have more time. We have that full week, uh, we have this week and next week to be thinking about it. So are there any suggestions? Um, sometimes when you have a prescribed list of questions that you ask of every candidate, this is just my own feeling, you get the same answer down the line, and particularly because everybody

29:40 can be in the room, present during that questioning, and so it gives a certain advantage to people who are interviewing later in the process. So we took a little bit different approach with the acting superintendent, uh, position, but I'm open to suggestions on how we can be consistent and be fair, but also, um, have some flexibility. Uh, my, I remember my rubric was filled with different answers from everybody. Um, I don't remember feeling like the same answer was answered the same time. Um, I think the continuity of asking the same questions means you can see how someone's gonna answer it. Um, and-... And we also did it in a way that, um, we changed- it was a

30:28 round robin, so the same person didn't answer the same question first. Mm-hmm. So, um, I think that made it, um, creative enough, but also, um, consistent, too. So the- and I don't-- I haven't looked at the list of questions in a while, but I thought they were good questions. So... And we can look at it again if s- if somebody wants to send that to the board, and- I recall there being, what, uh, Brian was kind enough to send out the list that we used last time. Oh, that's right, yeah. Uh, was there five or six? So manageable. Yeah. Other thoughts around the questions? No. Okay. Uh, let's see, the- So will we pro- uh, will we provide that list to the

31:16 candidates in advance of the- Yeah ... the meeting? Yeah. I think- I'm fine with that. Yeah. Okay. Uh, the one... The last thing then is, I think our meeting on March 9th is a regular meeting, which means it starts at 7:00. Mm. I would suggest- Start early ... starting earlier, uh, on that meeting. Um, for myself, 5:30 works fine, because I think we'll have other things to also go over, so it won't be limited just to the board appointment. We did that last time. Did we start at 5:30? Yeah. So again, input on everybody okay? Mm-hmm. That works for me. Then we've got plenty of time to post. Okay, anything else on the, uh, board member

32:02 appointee process? Did we cover everything? So, um, we'll receive the list of candidates after- Friday ... the close, the closing. We should- We'll get emailed to us? We should receive that information on Friday after the close, and, you know- Okay. So we'll have that weekend, the next week, and the following weekend then to really review and dig in. Okay. Okay, thank you. Uh, the next item, discussion item 5B, is new board member orientation, and I didn't want to place this on the agenda when we're actually picking, but we've got two board members who have gone through the onboarding. Three, probably Nicole, I'm not familiar with yours.

32:47 Um, but the, uh, the statement is that, as a new board member, it's like drinking from a fire hose, and I want to, as a board, have a conversation, how can we mitigate that, to the best of our ability to do that? So, um, I don't know if board members have had a chance to take a look at policy BHBHA. Um, but it's, it sort of has a list of what we do. It isn't specific, and so I, I have to say, I don't know whether to eventually circle back and update our policy, or somehow I would like it's more definitive as maybe not only what we provide, but who provides it. And, uh, so make it a little bit

33:34 easier process. Of course, we can use our... Whoever we select as the new board, uh, member, we can select them as our guinea pig to try things on. But, um, so I, I'm gonna cede the floor to, to Ken, and Amber, and Nicole for your experiences on how can we be better? Uh, you know, there wasn't a real defined process. Um, I think there was, uh, you know, there were some challenges, you know, you know, being, uh, elected, and that gap between when I'm elected and that. Um, I think our policies talk about making sure that those candidates, once they're elected, get all of the, the

34:19 materials. Mm. Um, there's some constraints on some of that. Um, uh, but so it wasn't real well-defined. I did get to, um, come in and meet with the administration, I think, before I actually served, which was helpful, and they gave me a packet of, of information and material. And, um, but to me, I think it would be great to have, you know, point to, you know, policies and say, "You know, here, start with these policies," and start thinking about working through each one of those, um, you know, the policies, and, and to get up to speed and ask questions based on that. But I think there's also, there's good information here in our, in this policy

35:04 about meeting with the superintendent and the board chair- Mm-hmm ... and meeting, you know, you know, with other staff to discuss the services they perform in the district. So, you know, trying to facilitate that and have that happen as soon as possible- Okay ... you know, I think is, um, depending on who we select, there may be, um, you know, a lot to learn, yeah. Okay, thank you. Uh, Nicole, any thoughts on that? Um, I think, I think OSBA's been developing this, so I think they'd be good to lean on for, for new board members. I know that the, the summer conference happened and is being split up now to, I think it's July 16th, so that's good time for newly elected ones. Um, I

35:52 know for me, it was helpful getting the, the policies and immediately having a meeting with the, um, you know, the leadership team. And, um, the thing with being a board member is y- you can't read policies and go, "Oh, I got it." You, you have to learn as you go, and you have to be patient with yourself and everybody else. But, um, one thing I think that's really important is from day one to know that you're, um, you're responsible for following, um, laws and, um, you know, ethics and laws, um, from day one. So I think, um, having a class on that or asking OSBA how they, how they- Mm-hmm ... would recommend that, because, um, that's pretty important, I think, uh, right off the bat. Um-... um, yeah, I felt like, um, I had

36:37 enough to start off on when I first, um, got elected, but you really just have to learn as you go. That's not saying you can't make the orientation better, it's just, um... Yeah, having a booklet of policies is kind of hard to just read, and then, I mean, I'm still looking for policies that I'm not familiar with, so. Yeah, I think I know them, and then I go, "Oh, I don't really know this." Um, other things, Nicole or Ken? I had one other thing, and, and I know there's a, a, a challenge with this, but I think, you know, they're gonna meet with the chair and the, and the, um, superintendent. But also, I guess, you know, meeting... Uh, being able to meet with the other board members,

37:23 and as long as, you know, we're not talking about, uh, you know, something that we're gonna decide, you know, but getting to know each of the board members, and, and start to have that before, you know, they start having to make decisions, I think would be very helpful. Okay, thank you. Yeah, I, I agree. Um, although, uh, responsibility via policy falls to the board chair and the superintendent, I think the more people, other board members, that this person can touch base with, the better. Amber? Yeah, so I got elected in July 1st, and I think on August 1st, I had to formally ask for, uh, to be onboarded. And the earliest date was August

38:09 20th, um, after my first board meeting, and that, that was really challenging. Um, it was, uh, it was pretty nerve-wracking because I didn't understand, um, quite a bit of what was going on. I never... You know, I didn't receive this yet. Uh, this is what I was given, um, at my orientation. That would've been great, um, to have that. I felt a little like I was twisting in the wind. I, I would definitely like to be able to meet with or, um, to meet with new board member. I think having a mentor would be great. Again, I, I, you know, you, you, you... As a board member, you feel like you're on an island. Uh, you can't talk about a lot. I gotta keep

38:57 tight-lipped, and yet, especially as a new person, and especially if you're going through a hard year, you, you just don't know where to go, what to do, who to talk to, and it's very, um, drinking from the fire hose is kind of an understatement. Um, so yeah, this, this, uh, this would be great, too, and I've al- actually already started a onboarding packet. Um, OSBA does have, um, a good, uh, layout of, of what they have, and one of their suggestions is July, uh, that's when you first get your onboarding, and I, I, I think that would be one of my most important

39:43 things. A mentor would be great, and having serial communication, uh, discussed and, um, right off the bat, having that printed off, like, having that well-known to everyone, uh, is, is also beneficial as well. And, um... Helping the new, new board member walk through, uh, the, the, you know, how a board actually runs. Mm-hmm. Um, and, you know, as an elected official, it's, it's a, it's a unique thing, 'cause a lot of us don't have educational backgrounds. We don't have... I mean, honestly, if you were to take my resume, uh,

40:28 and look at it compared to, I mean, 900 people, I would not have gotten this job. However, you know, I, I got elected into this, and I try to keep that perspective when I'm working with the superintendent or when I'm working with people, um, that, you know, I, I think as a board member, we, we need to know what our lane is, but we also need to be- it also needs to be understood that we can be a board member with curiosity, and we need to be supported with that, um, curiosity, and, um, grace and understanding, and bringing people in gently. Um, I, I think that would be really a wonderful thing for a new board member for

41:13 orientation. I have many other thoughts, but I'll, I'll, I'll pause there. All right. Well, thanks for all of the input. I think it's very helpful. John- Yeah. Jonathan, I just had... One other thought just occurred to me, and maybe we could also leverage former board members to- Mm. They could serve- Mm-hmm ... as mentors we could reach out to- Love it ... to some of those that, you know, then we don't have to worry about the serial communication. Right? So they could- Yeah ... they could- Great one. Um- There's also books. I know that we got, we got given some books in the beginning, um, that were very helpful for board, Basic Governance, Governance and Robert's Rules. Um, I think, uh, knowing Robert's Rules is very helpful, because then, um, you're kind of not floundering if there's, uh...

41:58 Yeah, the administration gave me- Yeah ... yeah. So and, and then there's more books. Gave me this Robert's Rules of Order book. I think there's, one of our policies says specific about which version- Yes, ... I'm not sure that if we have those or get those and provide, that would be great. Yeah. Great. Well, thank you. Um- Oh, I have one more thing. Okay. We'll add this. So as another thing, as a new board member, you don't know what you're allowed to ask for. You, y-y-you just... I mean, you learn as you go, is, is what I hear. It takes t- two years before you know what you're doing, and I, I wish that wasn't the case. That's halfway through-... your, um, your seat.

42:43 And it would be great to be able to have that open conversation on it, because I do not want to be manage- micromanaging anyone. I would, I would never want that for myself. Um, but I do want to know what is available to me, 'cause the more I know, the more I can, I can sit with it. I can ask questions, I can, I can look out to the community and find out what's important to them by, you know... And then I can come back and, and, and get a report or whatnot, and then what's the timeline on that? Um, we need to have some really big conversations here, and I think it would be great to, um, to just unpack things at the very basic

43:28 level, what it means to be a new board member. I'm, I'm, I'm excited about that. Yeah. I think a lot of it is, um, personal responsibility, and I think OSBA can help with that, um, because they get down to the nitty-gritty about, um, being a board member, what your role is as informed oversight, versus the superintendent, who's the one that manages the day-to-day operations. And I- and at our last conference, the speaker said, "This is an easy way to remember it, is that the board members are the what," you ask the what questions, "and the superintendent and his staff are the how." Um, so that would've been helpful, just hearing what and how in the very beginning, so. Mm-hmm.

44:23 Okay, um, well, before I say anything, it seems like we need better definition, uh, around what is included. And so this is not, uh... This is not what I would call the end-all be-all as far as putting this out here, but, um, but I do think we have the opportunity with the designation of a new board member to use that opportunity to see how we can do better, and, uh, always wanting to, uh, to learn. So here's some things that I would suggest. Um, so I don't think that we necessarily need to wait to start the onboarding July 1, when a board member is officially seated.

45:08 So once the election happens, I think that's the time that we can do certain things, uh, like providing a board member binder. I know that that's very helpful. It has the district vision and goals. It has the, uh, the board calendar schedule, you know, things like talking about, well, when is the OSBA training? So that they can get that on their calendars as soon as possible. OSBA, their August training, for example, uh, which I only realized this last time, and then in reflecting back to previous years, uh, the day that people don't go up, the Friday, I think, is, is really dedicated to new board member orientation. So that's something that should be communicated

45:55 whatever the date is, the election May 20th, and, you know, by the 21st you should have that information. Um, where are our buildings, and who are the principals and assistant principals? This kind of thing. Set up the district email. Um, and we can certainly get guidance on what we can and can't provide post the official seating, which happens at the first meeting in, in July. Um, and I agree with the comments to designate a board member as a mentor. The advantage of a current board member is, you know, when things happen, like the changing of public meetings laws, which happened out of the last, uh, 2024 legislature, things change. But

46:40 for someone who has experience, I think former board members can be, again, sort of that safe place to ask questions and get guidance. So, um, providing the dates. Um, if there is a retreat on the docket, just make sure they have, the new member has all the dates or possible dates, so that they understand the time commitment, and that's the time commitment that is already sort of prescribed. And then additionally, board members can offer their perspective on the board member, um, the, the time that might be desirable if they, if they can commit to it. I think OSBA provides some great materials on boardsmanship, on Robert's Rules of Orders, et cetera, that could be in that binder. So, uh, as they have the time to review that, that

47:28 could help. Um, I think a, a tour of district properties, in fact, that came up not related to, to board orientation, but just came up as a suggestion, and, um, I know that of quite a few of the properties and, and, uh, buildings, et cetera, but I think it would be advantageous for whoever wants to attend, and maybe that's something we do sooner rather than later, just to give a perspective. Not to knock on doors, not to say hello- I think we did that- ... necessarily Didn't you, didn't you do that, too, tour the operations and facilities? We... I've been out- Yeah ... to a few of them. There's a lot- Like in the beginning ... of properties. I was with you, yeah. Um, well, there were some of that, but yeah, but not all of the, you know, not a, you know, a tour of all the, the vacant properties-

48:13 Oh ... we have and, yeah. Yeah. So I just think that would be really valuable. I can speak from my perspective. I'd love a review, uh, a reminder of, of what it entails. I think it gives a very good picture to the board appointee, uh, of the breadth of, literally, of our district and, and all the buildings. And, you know, for exam- for example, we still own Mohawk Elementary, but it's empty, but people should actually see that, I think. Uh, that's my thought. And, you know-... grab some sack lunches and grab a bus, and, you know, head out, and whoever wants to attend. So I'm gonna suggest that. So anyway, thank you. I- at some point, we might wanna revisit the

48:58 policy and put more specifics in. Uh, it'd be nice to include whoever we appoint in that conversation, so it's very relevant to someone who's actually experiencing the onboarding. When you say you wanted them to onboard ahead of July 1st, um, the election isn't really certified till, like, the last week in June. So what were you- So what, what's that? The election isn't certified until the last week in June. Well, and that might be- So were you thinking- ... something to, to pay attention. I don't know how that necessarily plays. Yeah. That's where you would sort of need a legal- Like June 25th or whatever- Right ... so you can't really do anything until- But if we know somebody's coming on board, it makes sense to me, if possible, if it's legally permissible- Yeah, some of them are really tight elections. Huh? Some of them are real close.

49:43 Sure. Yeah. And that's why maybe we don't wanna prescribe it in policy- Yeah ... but allow that latitude. Right. That's a good point. Thank you. Any other comments, questions on, on this? Okay, so then moving on to the next agenda item, which is the board development conver- conversation. Um, as you know, uh, Amber has agreed to sort of run point on doing the preliminary information. The goal tonight is so that we can take it from sort of global outcomes, and structures, and things like that, to something that we can put into a request for a proposal. Um, because for w- for us to get a good perspective of cost, anybody who provides that service

50:31 has to have more specificity than we're able to provide right now. So feel free to weigh in. Uh- ... length, time, you know, goals, and I'll let Amber take it from here. Thank you. Um, yeah, I'm currently gathering information from potential facilitators for future board governance training. These are options only at this stage, no decision being made tonight. Um, and, um, if, if you have other people that you would like to add, facilitators you would like to add, please, uh, reach out to me. So far, the organizations that I have contacted include Oregon School Board Associations, Oregon Educational

51:18 Collaborative, and Aligned Education Consulting. Uh, each offers different models and scopes of work related to board governance roles, responsibilities, board superintendent coordination, and board development. Still getting over a cold. Um, so- And this, this was, uh... Sorry to- Mm ... to ask the question. Mm-hmm. This was training specific to roles and responsibilities? Um, yeah, I've been talking to these people. Um, so they, they all offer, um... They a- they all can tailor to our needs. Um, they can all have interactive, um, uh, trainings. Uh, they

52:05 can, they can, they can, uh, make it as long as five hours, or two days each. They can sh- And w- we can also- Professional. Yeah. Yeah, um, so, so the training, um, they can- they all have said they can tailor it to, to us. So that, um, that would be, uh... Let's see. T-t-t-um, yeah, so they would be helping, um, yeah, through, um, transparency, accountability,

52:51 public trust, um, teach us about confidentiality, duties, and care and loyalty, conflicts of interest, uh, ex- uh, professional conduct, communication as a board. Um, eh, everyone has quite a bit that they can roll into this. Um, and they all have, uh, bits of, uh, ethics training involved- Mm ... with the board roles and responsibilities. My understanding is we've taken preliminary steps to have Oregon Government Ethics, uh, Commission do our training around public meetings, laws, and- Mm-hmm ... serial communication. So, uh, board members, is there some s-

53:36 can we be more specific on what we want in the, the training? And we've said roles and responsibilities, but that's pretty general. So if we could, uh, narrow it down so any of the, uh, companies or facilitators who are responding to the RFP have a, a clear idea of, of the outcome that we're looking for. Well, I d- I have continued to say that roles and responsibilities as it relates to, uh, board members' role versus the superintendent's, uh, role, and I know that OSBA does that well. Um, I did have a question. I, I am not opposed to growing more as a board member, but what are we trying to accomplish if we've covered all of this stuff in different conferences? Are there- are- is everybody on the board feeling like they

54:22 don't understand a lot of this? I mean, I, I don't understand everything, but I'm just curious what, what we're hoping to get out of, um, specialized training when we paid for it with OSBA conferences. Common ground, maybe. Um, having, having someone here to help facilitate, having someone here to answer our questions in the moment. Um, I, I, I am all for having common ground. I, I would, um... To be a united team is, is what I'm striving for here, and I, I think we all are.... And with, uh, OSBA has been incredibly helpful. I also

55:07 am interested in other, um, other viewpoints out there, um, other experiences that these facilitators can bring to us. Um, it, it, it, it would be, um, I think it would be helpful for all of us, and the new board member that will be coming on, and to get us all just, you know ... Just let's just, let's just level the field. So when you, you named three different companies- Mm-hmm. Um, I'm not a- I'm not familiar with requests for proposals. I don't- I'm not sure the board has authority to hire consultants like that. Are you gonna- is someone working with the superintendent or the finance department or anything on that?

55:54 I'll speak to that. When, when, um, the board decides on a course of action that requires an outside party to come in, uh, it's similar to a request for a proposal, let's just say, in dairy products, where it's a very specific list of things you wanna do, and it includes delivery dates and all that kind of thing. It's a similar thing when you're hiring a consultant or a facilitator. Um, what's the timeframe? How long do we want it to be? What do we want to cover? Um, so you develop a, a pretty set list, and then it's sent out. We don't send it out as a board. It's sent out by the district leadership to people who want to respond. So typically, an RFP, or at least in my

56:39 understanding, is posted to the website, and firms who do this kind of work then will be scanning and, uh, you know, and then they'll respond as they... if they're interested. So at what point does the board need to make a motion for Amber to contact those people or... Yeah, at what point in the process do we need to make a motion? I don't... Go ahead. So, um, I was hoping that once we get the new board member on, um, uh, then I could share out more information to you guys, uh, to review it, and then we vote on who we would want to give, um, want to sign a contract

57:25 with. It seems like we would have to vote before that- I think- No, before we, we voted on one. Like, we'd have to vote on a board member doing that or vote on instructing the superintendent to collect proposals. So- Ken? Um- You have a little expertise in this area, right? Yeah, so I, I think we, we would make a motion that we wanted to solicit for, um, terms- Right ... to, um, provide those services, provide those professional services, you know. And so we would provide information on what we wanted the- them to, the services we're asking for, and then it would be a matter of us, uh, making a decision on, you know, reviewing the proposals and taking action on who we wanted to select

58:13 for, to provide the services. Okay. I just... I'm a little confused because we didn't delegate any authority to anybody else to gather that, those, um- Mm ... company names and stuff. Right, right now- That's the thing. I feel like we skipped a step. I, I don't believe so. Okay. She's just doing some research and trying to figure out, you know, what, help us understand what the training would be. Um, certainly, you know, once we, you know, if we take a motion and, and ask staff to solicit for proposals, she could, uh, Amber or any one of us could notify firms that this is, this proposal is out there. They still have to go through the process of, um, submitting the proposal directly. It wouldn't be a problem to con- it shouldn't be a problem to contact anybody you want. But she's already contacted Education Aligned or whatever, so she's already

59:00 telling them- So, uh- Yeah ... the chair, former chair- Process ... uh, yes, uh, so former Chair, um, Heather, she delegated it to me. I have the email if you would like me to send it to you. No, I'm concerned about give, we're giving other entities... If you do a proposal, you're gonna make it open to the public, versus you've contacted three individual companies or whatever. Yeah, it would- You're giving them an advantage. That's all I'm asking. Yeah, they would not have an advantage because we would post the propo- you know, post solicit for proposals, so any firm could apply. They- But have you already contacted them? But she's not contracting with them. No, I said contacted. Have you already contacted? I'm not contract, contracting. No, you've contacted them and- Is there a, I mean, is that in policy I can't contact?

59:45 I'm asking, did you contact- I'm gonna jump in. I talked to OS- Yeah, we don't want to give anybody the advantage if we're gonna open it up to the public. Yeah. That's my point. I'm, I'm gonna jump in here a little. It's, it's very typical that, I mean, the whole board could be in this information-gathering stage. Uh, but generally, when you're looking for something like this, you designate someone who gathers only information, makes contact and says, "Is this something you do?" Because honestly, it's not within the board's expertise generally to know what the ex- expertise or interest, and that's why it's incumbent across the, for the board to develop sort of the list of criteria that then we put into a, a request for proposal, then that's posted by the district. Right. And Amber has- I was just confused if she-

1:00:31 Responsibility ... had given them in- information, 'cause I thought you said you were giving them information about what we wanted. So that hasn't happened yet? I'm just asking. Well, let me, me finish. Trying to- Okay, let me finish. So, so she's gathered all this information from the companies that she knows of, um, and basically it's a yes or no. "Are you interested? What services do you provide?" Uh, they can't get into cost because there's not definition yet, and that's what the board needs to provide, definition on outcome, definition on time, 'cause time is money, literally, in this circumstance. And then, uh-... um, there are p- I'm sure there's other firms out there that we're unaware of. So that's the advantage of then

1:01:17 district posting it to the website as an RFP, and, uh, my understanding is that it's routine for firms who do this kind of work or do dairy contracts or do nutrition services, they're always surveying districts. Mm. And this comes up as an opportunity, and then they decide, "Do we want to meet this?" Or maybe they decide, "Yes, we're interested, but we need more information." Right. We don't call three different dairy pro- co- companies up and say, "Hey, you wanna... Are you interested in this?" That's what I was curious about- Yeah, no- -if she had already contacted. Yeah, no- They, they may contact dairy firms and say, "We're gonna have a proposal coming out-" Yeah. "-in the near future. We're gonna need-" She said we give them... Y- I thought you said you gave us, gave them what we were interested in. That's, that was a con-

1:02:02 We don't know yet. That's the purpose of this discussion. I'm collecting that right now. Yeah. I, I was hoping to collect information from you guys on what you would like. And I would imagine then she'll circle back to the board again, saying, "Is this what I heard?" Mm-hmm. "And is this... Is, does, does this cover..." 'Cause we need to be, particularly board training, we need to be in agreement w- with what we wanna have happen, you know, and the timeframe. So I might put this out, if, if I may, to the board, when you're thinking the timeframe, uh, uh, what, what is acceptable to you at this point, as far as duration? How long for a roles and responsibility training?

1:02:47 You mean how long would the training be, or how long before we would have the training? How long would the training be, physically? Well, I think that also depends on what we're wanting, because when I, when I s- when I'm looking at everyone's information, and I've looked at more than just these guys, this is just what I was able to just put out for tonight. Everything can be tailored, so it, it's, it's not a definite this, this place does five hours here, this one does, um, you know, three hours. It's, it, it can be tailored to what our needs are, and that's why I'm asking tonight, what is it that you're looking for exactly? So, may I might I suggest that, you know, if we were going to

1:03:36 OSBA and they were putting these on, there's, there's probably about four hours' worth of training here. We go to each and to one of these individually, and so maybe that's a, a benchmark is, you know, we'd be looking at, you know, a half a day of training to cover each one of those topics is an hour, and, you know, as a rough guess. Mm. That's one way to go about it, particularly if a, uh, an organization has sort of a prescribed program. They'll say, "Well, it takes X," and then we can agree whether we wanna do X. But maybe part of the criteria from the board is, we only wanna spend two hours, and if we go further, we can always schedule additional training to go beyond that. So it's, I think, at least in my view, it starts from the board saying, "We want this much, and we

1:04:24 want it to include these topics." And then the firms often will come back on an RFP and say, "Well, here's what we can do," or, "Here's what we suggest." And so it becomes sort of that negotiation about, "Well, you didn't allow... I can't, you know, we can't do our program, so can you be more specific and narrow down what your ask is, given you only want to spend an hour?" That make sense? So it, it is a back and forth, but if I put a contract out for, for dairy, and it doesn't meet with what the company is able to provide, most of them will come back and offer some alternatives.

1:05:11 So, uh, so I'll start as far as time. I would like a two-hour training to start. And I would like it to come from a, a, a different source than OSBA. I've sat through numerous, uh, OSBA training, so I think I have a good handle on their perspective. Um, but I would like perspectives from others outside of, of the in the arena kind of thing, and they all have expertise. Um, so that would be my, my preference. Do we have, um... I know we had the board, board work session, or, um, budget committee work session, and they mentioned the hiring, or not hiring, um,

1:05:57 spending freeze at the school level. Um, so maybe we should think about that too, as far as our board budget. Which I think would be appropriate once we know the proposed cost, 'cause we're under no obligation to, to go forward with it. We might go, "Wow, just can't do it," or we might go, "Well, it's necessary," but that's a board conversation. Yeah, and don't we have a board budget? I, I believe I recall seeing the board budget in, um, the budget book. Um, I think we had- Yeah, there's a separate, uh, board budget in, in each budget, and that's a place to start.

1:06:44 Uh, we would wanna know in real time where we sit, 'cause we're seven months through the year. Okay. 'Cause if I remember it right, and it was a little while ago, I think we had, mm, I wanna say fifty-five. Has anyone else looked at that? That's, that was, I think the- Is it my- Yeah, I think you're right. Yeah. The, that number was for professional services, but I don't know how far into it we've spent. Okay. Uh, and then again, to Nicole's point, if there's a freeze and, and we can accommodate that, that would be great. Uh-... I do know that we're not participating in United Front, which is our annual trip back to, uh, Washington, DC, so maybe there's money that can shift. Again, that's something we

1:07:31 could and should follow up with- Yeah, and I- Prior to making a decision. Yeah, and I was looking at the prices of these, and they're not, they're, they're really, um, they're, they're really not bad. So, um, but that depends on what kind of training that we're, we're gonna be getting and how much time. Yeah. I, I think we need to be... We just need to be really mindful. I saw a, a public post by, I think it was an aide in one of our elementary schools, looking for, um, people in the public to donate, um, snacks for her class, because, um, uh, things at the building level were, um... Like, I'm not sure. Obviously, they'd be getting snacks, but I just thought we need to be mindful of, um- Mm. Especially when we have some of this training under our belt, so really being,

1:08:18 um, watchful of that. I just... I, yeah, I, I agree with that. I definitely participate in my own kids' school when teachers are needing snacks. Um, but because we are the board of education at this district, I really feel that we need to, to work as a team, find a way to work as a team to get the, to a place where we can collaborate, and that, that will be worth it. Uh, it, it is gonna be worth its money. When you said you already- you looked at some of these and, and the cost, they weren't bad, um, was it something that was posted on their website, or...?

1:09:04 No, they, they did send that to me originally. Yeah. How did they send you anything if we haven't done an RFP? Well, I didn't know what I was doing. I had asked for help, and I was told that people were too busy. So then I had to ask for those people to not add any money into it, and I, I'm doing the best I can . I think- Well, and we had conversations, Amber and I, as chair and vice chair, around... At this point, cost is, is, is not really a discussion item, because there, there's a whole big difference between a five-hour training and a one-hour training. And I know, uh, one of the, I think it's OEC does training, but it revolves

1:09:49 around a membership, but he also does individualized. So there's just a lot of information still lacking to really draw a bead, in my opinion, on, on, uh, actual cost. Okay. I was just concerned about process as well, so- Yeah, and at the beginning, I didn't quite understand what it was. I didn't even know what a RFP was at the beginning, I'll be honest. Um, so, you know, it, it's been a learning process, so I made sure to, uh, educate myself a little bit more, um, figure out what was needed. Um, I'm, I'm learning as I go, and I'm trying to go through the process with the most transparent way, and trying to

1:10:37 drink from the fire hose, and pour a lot of energy in trying to figure out what we all need, just so we can get on the same page here. I, I just like, uh... It shouldn't be a problem for Amber to, you know, get budget-level numbers from the firms. She's not signing the contract. They will have to go through the RFP process and get selected based on their qualifications and that, so it's not... I don't know that she's-- She's not executing a contract, um, by herself on behalf of the board, so it shouldn't be an issue. So I would, uh, respectfully ask board members to please communicate to Amber sort of the scope of the training that you would think would be helpful,

1:11:25 and the timeframe, the length of, of the session, sessions. Um, and even if you're able to, to look future forward, is there a good time to do that, or when would you anticipate? Uh, for me, that timeframe is any time after we bring on our new board member, uh, but it's a shared decision. So providing her with that information, uh, I would even suggest we maybe put a deadline on when we get that information to Amber, so that we can develop, uh, uh, this proposal, which we can then bring back to the board. Is that okay? What was the specific ask- I guess, reiterate what you're asking us as a board to provide to Amber? What was the-

1:12:11 Scope- Okay. And then, so what are the outcomes we wanna see? What do you, what do we want covered- Okay ... in that training? So sh- she had already asked us to provide- Yeah ... some of that, right? And so we did- That time, yeah. Did they- We're looking for more detail, or? I didn't know if we needed to have it said out loud here. I'm just trying to, uh, get it. Boy. What I wanna make sure is that Amber has enough information to develop a solid proposal she can bring back to the board, uh, for approval going forward. And so I, I, I don't wanna put her in the position where later on it's like, "Oh, well, I, I needed this," and-

1:12:57 Yeah ... you know, kind of thing. So just trying to be efficient with our time and being open with the public, being open with the board, so. So- Do you need additional information, Amber, or are you good with what you have? I'm good with what I have. So I would suggest, I think we've brought in OSBA to do similar kinds of services in the past, and we've, I- ... they probably had a scope of work- Yeah - that by which we paid them, and that would be a draft you could start with that kind of lays out what, you know, the process, you know, would look like, and what the scope of services would be, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You know- Yeah ... use that. And is that the four-hour training you were talking about? Uh, yeah, they have that. Mm-hmm. So, and they-

1:13:42 So, so then board members are comfortable with the four-hour timeframe? Not in a row. We, we, I mean, we can certainly change it. I mean, I'd say we'd like it, but that's-- I mean, just saying there's a draft, probably scope of work, that is really what we're trying to- Okay ... um, develop, and then if we had that scope of work, then- Okay ... just the district could put their paperwork on top of it for soliciting proposals. Yeah. So good suggestion. So can you, uh, send that to the board members, the information only, of course- Mm-hmm ... uh, on what is entailed in their four-hour, um, facil- facilitation? Can do. Okay. All right, thank you, board.

1:14:27 Uh, so then let's move on to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission training. Yes. Um, so I have a potential date for us, um, for May 11th, uh, for, um... Sorry, let me d- back it up here. Here we go. So Oregon Government Ethics, uh, they... We can have a meeting, um, a training session with Ruth Sylvester regarding public meeting laws. Um, she can be here Monday,

1:15:14 May 11th, from 6:00 to 8:30. We- I'll, I'll have to look at the calendar to see what we're already doing at that time, and of course- It's a business meeting ... talk with you. What's that? It's a business meeting. Yes, and actually, uh, you know, that's why the conversation, that's actually the meeting that the budget is first submitted to the board for approval. Mm. Uh, and given the time of year, it tends to be a pretty packed agenda. Yeah. Okay. So currently, I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, Amber, we tried to align a board meeting with the training. I'm not sure... Well, OGEC training does training on other nights or days or whatever,

1:16:00 than Monday. So it- we could also see if there's other times, other days, other Mondays, to do the- Yeah ... the same training. So would you like Amber to check with them to get a more comprehensive list of possibilities? That makes sense to me, yeah. Okay. Is that free training? It is free. Yeah, and they just cover all elected officials. Um, it's, it's not just for board members, it's- School board members ... uh, city... Yeah, it's not just for school board members. It's city, county, um... But, but they can tailor a bit to our needs, but, uh, they are going to be pretty broad in what they're gonna cover.

1:16:47 Um, this, it, it will be a two-and-a-half-hour training and will cover essential aspects of the public meeting laws, um, the individual responsibilities of governing body members, how the statutes apply to convening a public meeting, a general overview, and of executive session provisions, and a look at the grievance process. Uh, the training will be, can be interactive. Uh, uh, Ms. Sylvester could bring her laptop, HDMI cable, project, um, to project the presentation, and clickers to allow for anonymous and individual participation and polling questions.

1:17:32 Just speaking for myself, two and a half hours is pretty much a standalone as far as trying to do any other thing, uh, 'cause it's, it's, and it's intensive training. One of the ways I'd like it to be more specific to our district is between now and the training, to come up with actual scenarios that we've experienced, that we've had questions about, that we could actually get their guidance on. Oregon Government Ethics Commission is sort of the, uh, uh, adjudicating body currently, although a lot of their adjudication is... There's not case law specific, 'cause the law from the legislation is, is, uh, been too new. But they are

1:18:18 probably the best resource in my mind for being able to add some clarity around this. They can also go over, um, serial communication, and I can, um, they... You know, I have, uh, the web page, the PDF, I can send out to you, and they also have training resource pages. I can also send out just so we can prep for it. Um, they also said, um, that because of this, this is purely factual and educational, we can choose to have it in public meeting or in more private, but I think having it more in a public meeting, um, adds for transparency, so that, that's one I would choose. Yeah.

1:19:06 Okay. So, uh, my only suggestion is, I think this is, um, generic enough that we may wanna open it up to some of, like, Willamalane and Sub if they're interested to, you know... They're gonna have a lot of the same issues. There shouldn't be, and, you know, they might be interested in participating in as well. Yeah- I'm not sure about the city council, um, but- Maybe, maybe even some of the neighboring districts. ... Yeah, and they, they do do that. They, um, they held one not too far away from here about a month ago. I mean, anybody can go to it. Yeah, if we're gonna have it, and just let, uh, other- anybody that's interested know, they could come and- Mm-hmm ... get a interch- a chance to interact with the other boards in our

1:19:52 area, and yeah. And that would be a good opportunity, too. The only downside to that is that we will not get our specifics addressed as we would if it was just training to our board. So, and again, at this point, just a consideration to throw out there. Yeah. But, uh, there's a lot of ambiguity, uh, around serial communication and public meetings law, and at the risk of being somewhat provincial, I want it really targeted to this board. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I, I actually wouldn't mind having other people here, other boards here, just because, you know, what's on my mind could be on another person's

1:20:37 mind, too. Mm-hmm. And they could be asking questions I didn't even think of. Um, and yeah, you bring up a really good point. The serial communicate- the, the law around public meeting laws got changed in 2024, and there's been no test case to it. And there's, uh... You know, I've talked to a lot of people out there, and y- you know, the words and policies are may, could, and, you know, it's just so vague that it's, it's kinda left open to interpretation until you have a test case. Um, and, uh, it, it would be great to just, just seal it down, and what I really like about having the other trainers come in, too, is they can cement it, because what

1:21:26 we would get with OGEC, um, Oregon Government Ethics Commission, um, you know, it'd be general. And then when we would get training with a facilitator, they would narrow it more to us. They would understand exactly where we're coming from, and be able to cement that in for us, so we do understand where our guardrails are. And that's, I- that's really important to understand where our guardrails are, 'cause yeah. Yeah. You know, it's important. Any other follow-up the board wants Amber to do in that regard? I'm hearing possible dates, uh, times, that kind of thing, which you can certainly do.

1:22:11 Yeah, I- And at this point, of course, it'd be silly to try to narrow it to a date. So if we can- Yeah ... have a list of possibilities, that would be great. Yeah, yeah, I- And a lot of it is based on their availability. Yeah. They're super booked because, of course, they're trying to cover the entire state. Okay, uh, are you good going forward, then? You and I can, uh, can work on this and bring something back to the board. Yeah, and um, I just wanna check, does anyone have any issues? Uh, please let me know if you have, um, any questions. Um, I, I wanna be as helpful as I can, and I, I would also like, you know, some, some ideas or support or whatnot. I'm very open

1:22:56 to, uh, collaboration and listening, so- Okay. Just so you know. Well, thank you. So that brings us to the end of our agenda. Our next, uh, board meeting is March 9th. I think that we, uh, we're moving the time to 5:30. Correct me if I'm wrong. Yep. So that's the meeting on the 9th. Uh, meanwhile, I'm excited to continue to move forward. Yeah. So thank you, everyone. Uh, with this, I'll adjourn the meeting at 6:50.