Springfield School Board — March 9, 2026

2:16 Good evening everyone, and welcome to this March 9th, 2026 meeting of the Board of Directors for the Springfield School District. Uh, Jeff, how many do we have? 14 online. And for everybody who's here in person, thank you for being here. We welcome you to the meeting and appreciate the interest in Springfield Public Schools. Uh, we've already done the flag salute and the land acknowledgement, so we're gonna move right into our agenda. And the first item on the agenda, or this evening is the approval of the agenda. So do we need before, do we need a motion to approve it before we have the discussion about Sure. In the end. Okay. I'll move approval of the agenda. Second approved by Director Cole, seconded

3:03 by Director DeGraff. Any input amendments questions? Yes, I, I'd like to, um, have, uh, items four A four, the financial statement and the, uh, six, the annual integrated pest management, um, pulled from the consent agenda item for discussion. That's items number four and six from consent agenda. Yep. Okay. So we will go ahead and move those, uh, below number five, the personnel report. So I will make a motion to approve the consent agenda as amended unless there's any other input. So I will motion, I'll second I'll motion for the consent agenda

3:50 to include items 1, 2, 3, and five Second. So move by Director light, seconded by Director Cole. Call for the vote. All in favor of approving the agenda, say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Are there any against? Motion carries four to zero. And then we get to our student communications. So, welcome. Thank you for being here. Um, somebody want to go first? Okay. And, and welcome. Again, we really appreciate, uh, Willamette Leadership Academy being represented

4:35 Board. My name is Doris Diaz. I'm representing Willamette Leadership Academy. This winter, we host our first high school winter formal plan by a dedicated student community committee with support from staff and our parent student association. This event gave students a great opportunity to develop leadership skills and strengthen our school community. And for the first time, both our middle school and high school students are participating in the organ battle of the books. Bob, we will send them to the regional competition on Saturday, March 14th. And we're proud of our students for taking on this new academic challenge. We are also hosting our First Spirit Week from March 9th today to the 13th. Designed to build school pride, encourage participation across grade levels, and create positive energy throughout the school. Additional events include our inaugural College and Career Day on March 6th

5:20 and intramural volleyball competition in April. And an art competition where students will work on, well. Students work will be on display during the Spring Carnival. Our Parents Student Association will is also organizing a Spring Carnival community event on Saturday May 9th at the Eugene Masonic Lodge. Property proceeds will support the PSA and community partners are invited to host tables or booth. These events help foster leadership creativity and stronger the connections within our school community. That is all. Thank you for your time. Thank you. I appreciate the communication from Willamette Leadership Academy. Hunter.

6:05 My name is Hunter Murphy. I'm the a SP President representing for Thurston High School. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. Sources of Strength Peer Leaders did their annual training on recognizing and connecting students to mental health supports, building our community strength and resilience. The focus this month was identifying our superheroes, the adults who we know care about us and our success. Shout out to the superheroes in our lives. Our mental, our mental wellness student union is off to a strong start. They're preparing mental health resources to support the student body. Good work to all involved in making that happen. In semester two ninth grade, students came together for a class meeting and set goals to off-campus privileges students with above 90% attendance.

6:50 Earned, earned an off-campus lunch privilege last Friday. The day was overall a success grade job to our freshmen who were represented our school. While in the community elections for class representatives are complete. We are looking forward to hearing from and working with our new class representatives. To finish the year strong, our student directed play Mall of the Dead was our most successful student run play. Thank you to everyone who came out to see the show. The next theater performance is our spring show. Dracula opening April 16th. Robotics sent two teams to the qualifying competition with one almost breaking into the state tournament with a clever robot launcher fabricated in our, in our robotics lab. Winter sports are wrapping up both basketball teams finished

7:36 out their seasons with wins over Churchill in Ashland. Um, the boys with the playoff first round playoff win against Ridgeview. 57 to 40. Good job to them. Great job to our girls team and amazing work by our boys. And we wish our boys basketball team good luck in the post season ahead. We are also excited to celebrate two state championship winning teams. Boys Wrestling won the state title. Congratulations to our boys and coach Simons on the first on Thurston's first wrestling team title since 2002 and Boys Swimming won the state title. Great job to our Boys swim team on their first state title and program history. Nearly 400 students were recognized with honor, uh, for honor roll for, um,

8:21 with honor roll for their achievements. A SB partnered with Crumble cookie to support the celebration. Good work to those students. And we hope to see even more students achieve academic success this coming semester. The second semester began with a variety of different classes to choose from, including college now, AP Honors, and CTE classes. Good luck to our students. This semester, students are starting to hear exciting news, college acceptances, scholarship awards and more. We celebrate an OSU, celebrated an OSU Presidential Scholarship recipient earning a full ride OSU more than 50%. 57% of our seniors have completed the FAFSA and LCC visits on March 13th to walk through the enrollment process for all who are choosing local.

9:09 Thank you. Any questions or comments? Hunter? Moving on then. Hi, Lucy. Good evening School board members. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share special events from SHS. Last week, our Classified Staff Appreciation Week campaign was a school-wide success. It celebrated our classified staff and what they do every day to support students, families, and our school. We have such an amazing team, and without them, our ship would surely sink. Our freshman showcase is coming up March 17th, five 30 to seven 30. This is a great opportunity for our current eighth graders

9:55 to experience the SHS community this night offers a lot, including meetings with potential teachers, staff and administrators, and finding out about certain class requirements in CTE opportunities. Our girls varsity basketball team just won the first round of state playoffs. Throughout the season. The players and coaching staff had put in countless hours and hard work and dedication, battling game after game to secure victory after victory. Their effort paid off as they finished co champions of their league with only one league loss. Our avid ninth and 10th graders went to Reed College in PSU March 2nd, giving them an opportunity

10:42 to explore and experience the campus firsthand. In late February, our DECA team traveled to Portland for the annual conference where students competed and tested their business knowledge against others from across the state. During the event, our very own Miller Mart earned gold level recertification, a testament to the hard work of the students who help run it. Several of our DECA members also placed in their competitive events and were recognized on stage for their achievements. We are incredibly proud of our DECA team and the commitment they continue to show both in and out of the classroom. Students delivered outstanding performances this week at the O-S-S-A-O-M-E-A District 12 Solos

11:27 and ensembles Festival held at LCC. The festival, which included participants from all over Lean County, is open to students from every school classification and provides the opportunity to qualify for state festivals in Portland. This may, many of our students prepared their pieces largely on their own with little to no guidance from their teachers. Their dedication, independence, and hard work were clearly reflected in their performances in the College and career Center. Ms. Stillwell and our UA mentors are working hard to help our students meet deadlines for and essay expectations, offering office hours and essay editing opportunities. We appreciate all the hard work put into supporting our graduating millers this year. At SHS, reading across all subjects has become

12:15 more than a focus. It's becoming part of our school culture. Through our book Love initiative led by our English teachers and library students have already checked out more than 3000 books the first time we've reached that milestone since 2014, and our high highest pace since 2001. This month, our counselors are visiting classrooms to help students with forecasting for next year. They guide students in choosing classes, understanding graduation requirements, and thinking about how their high school experience prepares them for life after graduation. Thank you. Thank you. Lucy. Questions or comments? Thank you. Hi, Aiden.

13:01 Hello. Good evening everybody. My name's Aiden. Hi. I'm the Gateways High School Board rep. We had a very successful to the start of quarter three. We began the quarter with the school-wide assembly where we celebrated quarter two achievements and welcomed our new students. One of the highlights of the assembly was a game of sharks and minnows, which was a big hit with both students and staff. It was a great way to build energy and community. As we entered the new quarter in leadership, our leader in February, our leadership team organized a quarter three spirit week. This week included decades day class colors. Sophomores wore pink, juniors wore red, and seniors wore purple. Hello Kitty day, camo day and Sesame Street Day.

13:47 It helped promote school spirit and student engagement across grade levels. Sources of strength has started meeting again on Mondays and Tuesdays after school. The group is currently planning its first campaign of the quarter, focused on promoting positivity, connection, and support within our school community. Our second year, cosmetology students have been working diligently to complete all the required practical work in each field of practice. They're focused on improving efficiency and attention to detail as they prepare to sit for their state board exams in May. In addition, the second year, students will present their avant-garde showcase on May 21st from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM industry partners, parents, incoming first year cosmetology students classes

14:35 of 2027 and 2028. Staff administration board members and members of the public will be invited to attend this event. The salon remains open to the public Monday through Friday from 12:30 PM to 3 0 5. We encourage the, we encourage community members to schedule appointments and support the gateway's cosmetology program. The senior's final day working on the salon floor will be May 7th. Overall. Quarter three has been productive, engaging in full of opportunities for students to grow both academically and professionally. We appreciate the continued support of the board and our community. Thank you. All right. Thank you Aiden. Any comments or questions from board members?

15:21 Thank you to all of you for being here and, uh, commenting to the board. We appreciate your time. Uh, if you want to stay, you certainly, uh, encourage to do so, but if you have to leave to do studying or you know, these kinds of things, we are supportive of that. Also. Have a good night. Item three on the agenda is public comments.

16:09 So I'll read the little, uh, statement disclaimer. This is the portion 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, 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 requested an opportunity to speak this evening were notified by the board secretary about their request time permitting.

16:55 The board may also hear public comment from individuals who signed up in person at the administration 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. The board will not hear comments re uh, regarding school personnel, whether named or implied any comments regarding a particular employee must be processed through the procedure set forth in policy kl, which requires the complaints be submitted in writing to the superintendent.

17:41 This procedure must be followed before there is any board involvement with such issues. A compliment involving a staff member should be sent to the superintendent who will then forward it to the employee, their supervisor, and the board. So then moving to the list, we're just going to take, uh, the public comment in the order that it was, uh, signed up, and then we had one additional one come in this evening prior to the meeting. So first up is Mindy Laue. Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you today.

18:27 As a 27 year educator across two districts with experience spanning K 12, I bring a broad perspective on education and how Springfield schools fit within our community and across the state. Over the past seven years in Springfield, I've come to care deeply about our district and the students' parents and dedicated and devoted staff who make up our special place. I've also come to respect the incredible work happening in our schools. I've been honored to witness what we've accomplished during what has been a challenging time in education. I'm humbled and proud to report that we've seen graduation rates reach historic hives. Student achievement has grown compared to other districts throughout the state.

19:12 We've built financial reserves and developed expertise that position us to navigate more challenging times. These outcomes do not happen overnight, nor by sheer force of will. Instead, they reflect years of dedication from teachers, classified staff, administrators, you, our board members, and our community. They reflect stability, thoughtful decision making, and a shared commitment to students. That is something we're celebrating. Our schools open their doors every day with caring adults ready to serve students. Classrooms are spaces of growth and opportunity. Administrators are working tirelessly to support staff, students, and their families to help solve problems

19:58 and dismantle barriers to creative teaching and learning. There is real meaningful progress happening here and it deserves recognition. We are also entering a season that will require continued courage and collaboration. Hard decisions are part of sustaining long-term success. What personally gives me confidence is what we've already proven. That when we work together with shared vision and clear roles, we can accomplish extraordinary things for our students. Strong governance, steadfast and reliable administration, and committed and devoted teaching are not competing forces. They're complimentary. These shared strengths depend on regular communication, grounded in accurate information, and a universal commitment to students.

20:44 When each group leans into its responsibilities with transparency, trust, and respect, we create the stability that allows our schools to thrive. The work ahead will require unity, clarity, and a continued focus on students, our students and family benefit most. When we model the collaboration, we expect and keep the conversation centered on what supports learning and future success, I believe deeply in this district. Let's celebrate the progress we've made and build on it together. Let's keep our students at the heart of every decision. Thank you. Thank you, Mindy. The next person up is Colin Lyons.

21:37 Is he online? Nope. Not online. Okay. Moving to the next person then. Angela Landy, welcome. Thank you for being here. Thank you for having me. Um, hello. My name is Angela Landy and I'm an administrator at Agnes Stewart Middle School. My de decision to speak tonight comes from a desire to shed light on positive things that are going on in the district and at my school. There are terrific things happening in school buildings every day across our district, and I would love to take a minute to focus on some. I would like to start by saying

22:23 that we have an amazing staff at Agnes from teachers and cooks to secretaries and educational assistants. Folks at Agnes care deeply about students and work hard every day to make school a place where they feel safe, welcome, and valued. Our eighth graders just had a visit from a three and are getting ready for forecasting visits from Springfield and Thurston High Schools. Our eighth grade leadership class is constantly doing things to help make Agnes a positive, welcoming, and fun environment. They recently made a huge sign, uh, in honor of classified appreciation week. They drew individual pictures of every classified staff in the building and hung them up on the walls and wrote them notes telling them how much they appreciate their hard work.

23:08 Stephanie Lawless is working with a group of our seventh and eighth grade science students once a month to do the water and Energy Learning lab project funded by the Springfield Utility Board. Our students learn about water quality. They participate in invasive species removal as well as plant native species along waterways in our community. Last week, the students planted native trees and shrubs along Gory Creek, a small stream channel of the mill race that helps recharge the wells. Right now we have battle of the Books groups competing against each other. Our sixth grade teachers are planning outdoor school for all of our sixth grade students. That will happen in April. Our band and orchestra students will be busy This week. The orchestra students went today

23:53 to a middle school showcase at Thurston High School. Tomorrow, our band students will be going to a showcase at Springfield High School. And on Friday, the orchestra students will be participating in a music festival in Salem. Our girls basketball, uh, just ended our eighth grade girls Were undefeated this season and our boys basketball is now starting up. We have several affinity groups that meet on advisory schedules, including Black Student Union, native American Student Union, gay Straight Alliance, and a new club called MBD Mind Body divergent for our divergent student population, we have talented and gifted group and a group of eighth grade students who meet for a devotional every Friday at lunch. We also have a terrific life skills program

24:38 that has a huge heart for kids and who do amazing things every day in our building. I wanna say thanks to all of the hardworking staff who make up Agnes Stewart. You are the best. Agnes Stewart's mascot is the Wolf Pack. And when you walk into the commons area of our school, you'll see a quote by Rudyard Kipling that says, the strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack. I love this quote because it embodies a sense of community that is so vital for our staff and students. We have individuals who have the courage to take risks because of the support that they get from the community around them. And as a community, we are strong because we are made up of those individuals. Thank you. Thank you for sharing the wonderful things

25:23 that are going on at Agnes Stewart. I appreciate that. Uh, Sarah b Hello folks, for those of you new in the room, my name is Sarah Bosch and I'm a former kindergarten teacher at Walter Elementary. And I'm a current parent of an A three student. I wish to continue on the topic of community engagement this evening in conjunction with a local community group, Cape Community apply Alliance for Public Education. I've now hosted two public forums at the Springfield City Council Chambers. The topic of our first meeting was specifically about our community's interest in assuring there. Our K five students are receiving a well-rounded education, and the topic of our second, uh, meeting was adjacent to the first and inspired by statements.

26:09 The decrease in enrollment in Springfield schools was due to external factors such as housing costs, family size in the economy. We presented the case to forum attendees that despite there being some external factors at play, SPS already has access to resource and knowledge that could actually draw students back into our classrooms. The Academy of Arts and Academics, known as a three is an excellent example of this. As approximately 50% of their students do not live within the Springfield School District boundaries. If you build that, they will come. I also shared the results of an informal survey I conducted online of parents who've already unenrolled their students from SPS or are planning on doing so in the immediate future. None of the respondents cited external factors

26:54 for their decisions to unenroll. If we're brave enough to step outside of the limitations of boring box curricula and top-down management, we could turn the ship around taking accountability when harm is unintentionally done, bringing teachers' voices and passions to the table and building trusting and transparent relationships with parents and guardians is the way forward. I wanna emphasize that the attendees of these forums have not been angry, raging detractors of SPS, but concerned parents and hopeful community stakeholders in education. We wanna help make Springfield Public Schools a place where students and staff truly love to believe be and we believe that it is possible. I'm encouraged by our new acting superintendents hot off the press announcement of coffee and conversations, um, opportunities

27:40 for community engagement. And I'm optimistic that this may signal a change our approach to what Forbes decision making at SPS. So thank you for that. Please, please, please, all of you consider what this precious organization has to lose by airbrushing a bright and shiny public image instead of modeling the grit and effort required to rise up stronger after a stumble. Thank you. Thank you Sarah. Robert Morgan. Good evening. Uh, my name is Bob Morgan, and I would like to say up front, I'm excited for you because you're at the beginning of a new chapter in our school district.

28:26 I know it's taking more of your time, but it's very important. It's an important job that we have the right mix of people on the board. Look at the strengths and weaknesses that we have on the board right now, and pick a new member who will work well with you and fill in the weaknesses of the board. When searching for our new superintendent. Keep your minds open and be patient for the right person. Someone with vision who wants our district to be a model for other districts would love to emulate going forward. As a district's important to remember why we do this. It's for our children. Why is there such a disconnection between parents and the district? Why are we losing so many students each year? Why is our online school not growing? What changes can be made? Hard questions.

29:12 Questions that need answers. Sorry. There are online schools out there that our students are moving to and what are they doing that we're not? How can we get parents to trust us Again? Personal contact would be a good place to start. Make parents see and understand that their children are always put first in our districts. When cuts have to be made, they're done in a way that has the least amount of impact on our students. Show them that we're trying to improve our vision of education. Be open and personal. Be seen. Have our student superintendent be out and be a part of the community. Have department heads. Go to the school and interact with the students. Be visible. That's how you're going to gain trust back. Show parents that you really care. Remember, teachers are the backbone and in the forefront.

29:59 They're the ones parents will interact with the most. So let's retain our teachers, make them feel needed. Not just employees, but the most integral part of our district. Happy teachers equal happy students. And that will translate into trusting parents. It's easy to dwell on the things that have happened. I know, because when I sat down to write this, that's where I started. But a wiser person, I pointed out that looking back is important. So we don't make the same mistakes, but we're looking forward and I'm trusting that you as a board will make the right decisions. Thank you. Thank you. Robert. Katie, Ryan.

30:45 Hi, Katie. Okay. Ooh. Okay. Uh, good evening. Members of the board, staff and community. My name is Katie Ryan and I have been teaching in Springfield for three years. I'm also the early career representative for Springfield Education Association. And I wanna start by being honest. I am nervous to sit here as a non tenure teacher because I have seen the real consequences of speaking up in this district. And yet it is my honor to present the letter of no confidence in our district leadership on behalf of many colleagues, including those of us who are directly impacted by midyear staff, reductions by being either laid off or moved from other buildings.

31:32 This letter of no confidence in dis district leadership was not written lightly. It reflects a clear response to the decision to reduce licensed staff in the middle of the school year, as well as the events that led up to the decision. Over the past months critical budget information was shared in fragmented, technical and often inaccessible ways. Details were presented late, leaving educators, students, families, and even board members without a chance to fully understand the consequences and explore alternatives. The vote we took was grounded in process and transparency, not a personal grievance. 94% of our certified colleagues who participated in this action voted in agreement. This overwhelming support underscores the seriousness of our concerns. Even as we lack this confidence, we remain hopeful.

32:19 I hope the district leadership and our community can come together to rebuild, trust, communicate openly and center students and educators in every decision that affects our schools. The letter outlines a list of demands, and we call for the following actions. One. Future staff reductions and or reinstatement of rift educators must be reconsidered. Two. Budget information must be presented in clear accessible language with explicit explanations of impacts on student, staff and schools. Three board members and the public must be given meaningful opportunities to review, discuss and understand multiple alternatives to reducing educators in budget shortfalls. Four. Any vote on approving a reduction in staff must occur only after transparent communication

33:05 and genuine community engagement. Five. An evaluation by SPS Board of Education and SCA of district's. Leadership's capacity to rebuild, trust, communicate honestly and lead collaboratively must take place. We understand that there have been recent change to district leadership and we hope that the board takes these concerns seriously, that the district hears us. Also, whoever holds these leadership positions, we wanna work together to strengthen Springfield Public Schools for the students we all serve. Thank you. Thank you. Katie. Wendy Simmons.

33:50 Is Wendy here? She signed up tonight. Okay. Um, for those who did, uh, speak tonight, I would add the caveat. If you're able to send us, uh, the written transcription of what you said tonight, that would be helpful to at least one board member, if not all of us. So, and you can do that by reaching out to our secretary Marty. And again, thanks to everyone, uh, who came forward this evening. Moving then to, uh, agenda item four are action items. We lead off with the approval of the consent agenda.

34:37 And remember that's items 1, 2, 3, and five only. Do I have a motion? So I'll move approval of the amended? The amended amended consent agenda. I'll second approved by Director Cole, seconded by Director Langworthy. Any comments or questions regarding that? Okay. Go ahead and call for the vote. All in favor indicated by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Are there any against? Okay. Motion carries forward to nothing. So at this point we'll move on to items that were pulled from consent agenda. The first was item four, a number four financial statement. And I believe Director Cole, you pulled that? Yeah.

35:23 Do we, do we need a motion to approve it before we have discussion or just go ahead, proceed with, I'll make that motion to approve. Item four, A four financial statement. I'll second. Okay. Moved by director light. Seconded by Director. Cole, comments, questions? Yeah, so, um, in reviewing this, I noticed that in comparison to previous months that, um, capital outlay, um, we were as, uh, the projected expenditures are down by about 600,000. And, um, so I'm curious why that is. It just all of a sudden that, um, showed up?

36:08 Yeah, so thank you. Um, as I have explained clearly to the board before, we are in a structural engineering study, um, and we're waiting on the information so that we can issue a request for proposal being this late in the year. We are likely going to be issuing that. I just got the plans today. We're likely gonna be issuing that later this week or early next week. And then we have to allow probably three or four weeks for that request for proposal to be responded to. That means that the board won't act on it until April, potentially maybe later. And to get a general contractor on board and start that early. Our fiscal year ends June 30th. So we're anticipating that we can do some of the work, but we won't be able to do all of the work. And that's what that budget line item has been redirected for.

36:53 Okay. So we're saying there's, um, so initially when we, the budget was developed, we didn't anticipate any of the the structural work, I believe is, is that correct? That's Correct. Right. And then when I, when I brought the structural information forward, I had shared with the board that we were redirecting a majority of that budget to take to try to address Those needs. And so now it's that you we're only gonna, so you're estimating that Yeah. That work this year will take it place. The question I, uh, second question based, is it a request for proposal that we're doing from, for the work or is it, are there bids? It's a Formal request for proposal. It's gonna hit that level. It's gonna be a, in excess of a six figure response, I would imagine. So that's a formal process, Right? For But is it, is a bid propo?

37:39 I'm used to proposals being for, um, qualifications and so, or or is it a bid where we're asking for construction bids that we're We do, um, it's a low low, yeah. It's a request for proposal where we're asking for bids. Okay. A combination. Yeah. We, we are much different than odot. Um, I think that's how ODOT does their business, which has been your experience? We Do. It depends on the budget. Yeah. We do a request for proposals for our stuff. We did A RFP low bid for Hamlin Middle School, and that was $52 million. Um, the other thing I noticed was, um, we're talking about now that the ending fund balance has increased where it was, uh, I think 13 and a half million or less, um, over the last few, uh, these financial statements.

38:24 And, and now we're estimating 14.7. Correct. So with the, the hiring and spending freeze except for essential, um, items that naturally and that occurred, I believe that was implemented February 11th. So before I got here. However, with that freeze, that then naturally will increase water, our ending fund balances because that what was budgeted in that line will no longer be leaving. So it stays in the district and it adds to ending fund balance. Okay. I, I was That's, I thought, I thought I understood that. Yeah. That the, um, that that balance was taking into account that we were gonna need to do the reduction in force, but apparently it didn't before. Yeah, It did. Did

39:09 it? So remember, the reduction in force was, um, with the board approved 0% cola and we gave 4% at the table. So we didn't have those resources allocated. So that was the reduction for that action approved by the board. Now we're talking about moving and looking down the road for next year's budget and knowing that we have a deficit coming. We implemented on February 11th that spending freeze and hiring freeze so that we can try to do everything we can to offset additional reductions and, uh, and limit the impact on the District. Okay. So that's the primarily the spending freeze and hiring freeze. Mm-hmm. Separate from the RAF. Okay. So, um, that, and I just note it looked like there was, um, some of the percentages, how they were assigned in the, um, verbiage document were, um, they don't match

39:57 with the table that was presented. Are you talking about the funding, the funds First bullet, the under the expenditures? Um, it talked about, um, what, um, the purchase services and capital outlay expenditure projections were shown at 97 and 99.6. But I think the capital outlay is what you're saying is 70% now, right? Yeah. Those numbers got transposed. You can see that. Um, that's what the limitation on supplies and materials said 70. So obviously those got transposed. Okay. Um, the table, the financial report is correct. Okay. That's the information, the questions I had on that. So just, just to be clear, the RFP that we're gonna issue is going to be for the repair of, uh, That's correct. And okay, so,

40:42 I'm sorry, uh, chair light. What we're issuing RFP for is to, um, hire a general contractor to conduct the repairs. Yes. So, and then they'll, they'll go on and do their work. Right. Um, so do we know what the engineering report, uh, the final cost on that? We do not yet, because, um, we know that it's sitting at $278,000 through February. And what we still have is the month of March, which now they just gave me the plans today. And then there's gonna be some project management costs associated with that because the engineers have to come back and certify all of the work that's been done so that that will, that cost will continue and that is shown in the, um, capital outlay line item as well. Okay.

41:30 When we get to that point, if it, it would be helpful for me if we could break out what was the engineering, the initial report that we had the discussion about versus the project management. But I understand they can't just do it and then, Hey, it's all good. Yeah. I've also requested, um, cost estimates from the structural engineers as well that was mentioned, I think, by the board at a previous meeting. And so we requested that that be included in their, um, reports to us so we can see what they estimate the repairs to cost. And then we're gonna get a hard bid on the, from the general contractors. Okay. Thanks for that clarification. Any other comments or questions? Okay. So we have a motion on the table. I'll go ahead and call for the vote. Um, all in favor please indicate by saying aye. Aye.

42:19 Aye. Any against? Hearing None. Motion carries four to zero. Moving on then to the other item that was pulled. Uh, action item four a number six, the annual integrated pessary management report. Uh, do I have a motion? I will move to approve the annual integrated pest management report. Second, I think Nicole seconded. Oh, Second. So motion by director light second by Director DeGraff. Director Cole? Yeah. So, um, as the, uh, I know this report,

43:05 I believe is the requirement of the, um, the integrated pest management plan that the board approved, um, what in October of 19, I think, uh, the plan was presented to the board, um, for that. And so I had in reviewing this document in comparison to the plan that the board approved, um, I had some questions and, um, some things that Yeah. Would like clarification on or understanding of. So, um, one, I guess just first off is the report says that the, um, the report says that it's required by the, uh, ORS 6 34, is that, I couldn't find that requirement in 6 34. Yeah, so it actually does the, the pest IPM plan. So Integrated pest management plan is required by ORS.

43:53 The plan is Correct. So the, the, it's re the plan is required. So ORS, um, 6 3 4 requires the board to have its own integrated pest management plan Yes. For the district. And then this report is a part of both the district plan as well as ORS. Okay. All right. So I, I, I understand what you're saying. Okay. Um, so, um, part of that plan requires, um, some other information that doesn't appear to be included in here. One is the cost for the, the PMPs and the pesticides. Any, uh, prevention and management steps taken to that proved ineffective and whether the application provi proved effective. So I didn't see that in the, in the report. So it under, you'll notice on page two,

44:40 under the effectiveness note, that's the note of what was tried and if there was anything that was not effective. And the effectiveness note indicates that during the reporting period, there were no prevention and management steps that proved ineffective, um, that led to a different decision. So that I think, meets that requirement might be a little bit buried in there. Um, it does not, this plan does not include the costs. I know prior plans have include the costs and it, it just didn't have time to necessarily dig that deep down into what the costs were. We can provide that for you if you're, if you're wanting it, it just, that takes a little bit more of a deep dive into what was pur, not what was purchased, but what it cost. Okay. I I mean, that was part of what the, you know, when the plan was presented to the board

45:26 for adoption, that's what included. I just wanna make sure that, you know, we're, we're getting what you know, right? Is That something the board wants? Is like, want us to, because I looked at the costs in the last report that was presented and it, it was so detailed as to how much does, how many yellow jacket traps did we buy and how much did they cost? So that takes a little bit more of a deep dive into the costs. If that's something the board is interested in, we can do that. It, It's up to the board. I think that's a little bit too, I guess that's, I would just say that that's part of the plan that the board adopted was to include that information. So, um, right. We're doing something different, it seems then that should come before the board for to change it. We look, I in reviewing the integrated pest management plan and it, it's definitely very intricate.

46:12 It kind of contradicts itself where sometimes it says, it says it indicates costs should be put into the, uh, plan, report and then another spot it doesn't mention costs. So it has been done in the past. So if that is something the board wants, just let us know and we'll provide that. It's up to you. I think in order to be consistent that we should include that. And it's also more transparent to the community. Uh, if it's part of what we're, Or we could change that, because I don't really think we need to know or how many wasps suits and traps and You don't count. I mean, if, if there was a general number of how much money we spend on pesticides a year, I don't know. That's probably somewhere, but not getting into the weeds. Well, and that would be my point. If we're gonna change it, then we should get in

46:59 and change it, but be consistent with how we report. Is this something the board would like to revisit as far as changing? So I believe, um, we're required to op the plan this year, so I think we'll have to be, um, revisiting that at, you know, we'll be doing that this year and we can talk about that. So are we saying now whether or not to revise this or revise this report for under the current plan? From my own perspective, if we use the opportunity to re-approve the plan at that point, that would be sufficient for me. And then we could also look at things like you mentioned that aren't congruent with each other mm-hmm.

47:44 Within the plan. Mm-hmm. So we want to be as clear as possible on that. And if there's faults that we can correct, we should correct. Uh, and then I would, I always err on the site of completeness of information. It may not be interest to me. Uh, the number was traps. We have An example, but, But, but you know, it might for say a, a parent. Mm-hmm. You know, and, and who has a child who's allergic? I don't know. But That's, dunno, I had a different question On Same About pest management. Okay. But not, not, Is it under the bullet point. Let's let Ken work his way through and then if it

48:31 Do we want to include the, I mean, um, on that, do we want the cost to be included in the annual report currently? Um, That's what the, our plan says. So, but sounds like Nicole isn't tied to that. So, and What would be your opinion? I, I'd prefer that just, you know, for consistency sake and until we, you know, that we're following through, I view it also as, you know, the plan was adopted. That's what we told the public we were gonna do. And so that we be consistent with what we were, we told the public we're gonna do. And if we change that, so be it. Is it that hard to include that information? It would Just, we would just have to redirect staff to put their efforts towards dealing down deep into the weeds of that budget. So it would just take time,

49:19 Nicole. Um, but yeah, I'm, I'm fine with modifying as we are discussing later. I, I'm fine approving this as is and then, um, since we have to op then deal with it all then If the policy, if if what we have said in the past, um, that we told the community that we would put them, um, put the cost out, then that's what we should probably do until we change things. So it makes sense. Seems like there's a leaning from the board to go ahead and include that information since that's how we've done it.

50:06 Um, uh, two other things. One I noticed, so the report says that we put, um, that we, um, used Crossbo, um, and as I understand it, we're supposed to provide the, the pesticides or herbicides that we use are supposed to be off of the, um, uh, list provided by ODA. They're low impact. Mm-hmm. Um, um, pesticides. And it doesn't appear that that's on the list. So I'm concerned about that. We'd be Right. So the list has not unfortunately been updated since 2021. Uh, so what we choose, what we've been doing is consulting with, his name is Tim Stock, he's the director of the state IPM program. Just to ensure that the chemicals we're using are approved and Crossbo is one of the ones that is approved

50:53 for our district to use because it is listed, like you said, as a low impact pesticide and a non carcinogen. And so it has been approved for our district to use. However, the list due to their staffing cuts has not been updated since 2021. So it is currently on The list. Oh. So when I, 'cause when I looked at the, yeah, it had July 21 list. It, it was July of 21, it said, um, prosper was not approved. So is that documentation you can provide to the, to the board on that? ODA says it's approved. So on October 30th, 2024, the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention showed both active ingredients and cross and crossbow and classified that as Group D, not classifiable as to human carcinogens. And based out on that information,

51:38 cross bone meets the criteria established under or S 6 3 4 7 0 5. So we have, um, again, we're working with Oregon State University and the director's office and we have the written guidance from that office that says that we're we're approved and we've been approved all along to use Croswell. Yeah. So what are you, I what are you looking for? Well, I, I thought our plan said that we had to use, and I think it specifically says that we used the low mm-hmm. Something from the low impact pesticide list put out by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Those low impact based on The list. It's on the list. Okay. It'd be great if, if you have that list, I, I'd love to see it because that's not what I saw. Okay. Yeah, We can provide the link. Yeah. When you Google it, it's not updated. I mean, can we make, it's not, it's not updated,

52:24 Doesn't show low, which since it's not updated, that's why we work with Tim to make sure that what we're using is on that list, even though it's not updated on their website. So then if it's Low, if it is low impact, you can use it in parking lots and that That's correct. Okay. Could we add an asterisk to that so that then it is, people do know that it's on the approved list. Do we, but I'm not, we don't control that list. Okay. And so if there, if Ossu staff is not updating the list, we have no control of that. Oh, you Mean put a footnote on our thing? I'll put a footnote on ours saying it was approved needs anybody in 24. Sure, sure. So yeah, we don't control Their Do you want the updated list of what is on that ODA approved list sent to the, to the whole board?

53:09 Um, I, I don't know about the whole board. I would be great to, I would appreciate having it send the board. It seems to me it'd be good to attach to the report that shows, um, the approved list. It's just the supporting documentation. Um, the last thing I have is that, um, when the board approved the plan, we, um, the ORS 6 3 4 requires that the board, um, designate a coordinator for the IPM and it was listed as Chris rears guard at the time, who I believe is no longer with the district. And then the, I see that the plan was modified subsequent to that, um, and listed somebody else as the IPM career. Are they still the IPM coordinator or who is the IPM coordinator? It was modified in May of 2025

53:55 and we sent it to Oregon Department of Education for review. And it is updated with our current IPM coordinator who works in the facilities department. It's not posted to our website. And we can work with our communications department to get that posted. But we have updated the, we updated the, um, plan in May of 2025. Yeah. Yeah. And it lists the current IPM coordinator. Okay. That's, those are the questions I had. Okay. Amber, did you have another question then? Yeah, I had a question. Um, is it a policy to put up signage that there has been spray put down on the properties? Mm-hmm. Okay. Mm-hmm. The problem, um, some community members have shared with me,

54:43 'cause we, I live in between Paige and Yolanda, is they're not putting that up. Uh, and that's just what we've noticed. And there's just, we have tons of dogs in our community and kids who come over and play afterwards, we're just a busy neighborhood on that bike path and without that being on their tennis court, and so we just haven't been seeing any signs for a while. So we can check on signage. They're trying to, yeah, they're not, they're on the, they're usually on the fence. They're pretty small. Too big. I, I get that. Yeah. Okay. But no, we'll, we'll check on the signage. Any other comments or questions? So go forward with the vote.

55:28 All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Any against? Okay. So motion carries four to zero, and I assume with the caveat that some of the changes we talked about we'll move forward with. Thank you. So action item four B is the approval of the out-of-state travel request by the Springfield High DECA Club. Mindy? Yes, thank you. It is recommended that the board approve Springfield High School DECA students travel requests to Atlanta, Georgia to participate in the DECA International Career Development

56:14 Conference 2026. The dates of travel will be April 24th and 29th. Students will miss three days of school. The DECA students have fundraised 1000 of the approximately $5,750 needed to cover the cost of this trip. Any additional funds needed will be covered by a SB monies or the students' families. There will be no cost to the district for this trip. Do you have any questions For those of us who don't know what DECA is, could you, This is sort of a, one of those little factoid things. It's A business club. It's A-C-T-S-O for the business, which is a student organization. And what does it stand for? Greg

57:02 Stand for Distributed Education chapters in America. Uh, but they don't refer to, Like, there you are. Okay. Three 19,000 students from across country. Um, and it's international basis, but, so 25,000 students will Palm right. On Atlanta, Georgia during that time. It looks like a, a fascinating conference. Yeah. Uh, what these kids have to, uh, what they have to go through, whatever their choice of, um, interest is, Right? It's comp competitive, which is what makes this interesting and a little bit different and why it's coming so late. Because we had a number of students do really well in the state competition. And then last Tuesday they had to submit if they were,

57:48 if they, if they placed in the top 20, they got to submit to go to the national competition, but they just submit it. We don't even know if they'll all get accepted, but we just wanna get this in front of you for approval because it's April 24th and 29th, which is just right around the corner. So, yeah, it's exciting for them. Neat opportunity. Absolutely. Just other comments, questions, seems like the least we can do is to approve this. It's great that we can, the opportunity to do that. Uh, familiar with deca, it's a, it is an amazing opportunity for kids. I mean, this conference, they do presentations in front of their peers and, and, uh, they really, deca really highlights the leadership aspect,

58:34 not just the business stuff that goes on, but the leadership aspect. And, uh, I think for some kids it's, it's, uh, life changing. So thanks for taking the kids. Thanks for getting in front of it with this on the expectation that we will be able to send some kids, uh, so I move approval. I'll a second. Thank you. Call for the vote. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Definitely. Aye. Motion carries forward to nothing. Thank you, Mindy. Uh, then moving to item four C, the approval of designating a district clerk resolution two five dash 26 0 4 5.

59:20 Mr. Yancy. Thank You. So, as the district has transitioned to acting superintendent effective March 1st, it is necessary that the board authorize the designation of Ms. O Omar as the district clerk. We, the board typically does this at, for the beginning of a new school year. Um, what a district clerk is allowed to do is basically obligate the district through contracts, um, for any business, uh, and that the district clerk is the superintendent. So, um, knowing that we had not made that change before tonight, I'm asking the board to go ahead and approve this resolution. Um, designating Jody Oma as the clerk of the district for the remainder of the, uh, 2020 5 26 school year.

1:00:05 Fiscal year. So moved Second, Moved by Director light, seconded by director. Cole. Comments, questions? Do we only have one designated clerk in the district? We have one designated clerk and two deputy clerks. Okay. So if you're out on vacation, well, It helps with division of duties as well. Absolutely. So it covers you there. Yeah. I just wanna do your first meeting here. Okay. Uh, call for the vote. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Motion carries forward to nothing. And then finally, moving to action item four D, the board appointment. In our previous meeting, we agreed to

1:00:53 move three names forward for discussion. And let me find my notes. In no particular order, it was, uh, Zachary Bessett, Robert Brew, and Matthew Brandt. So open, uh, open it up for discussion of any or all of the candidates. So, um, I guess my thought is of the candidates that we're discussing now, I, it seems to me that, um, Zach can best hit the ground running, having had direct experience serving on this board. And, uh, I think that's, uh, a real benefit with, um, the issues we have coming before us.

1:01:40 So that's who I would advocate for. Okay. I agree with that. Um, I feel like, um, and there's, for those that weren't here in the the four o'clock meeting, I just wanna just reiterate that, um, having that knowledge and be able to, uh, step in immediately there's, uh, very little learning curve and the fact that he wants to do it, um, knowing that we have some hard decisions because he's made hard decisions before. Um, and the thing that was really important to me is that, um, the board has struggled with some governance and some process issues. And I feel like, um, from what he said, um, even in his application he wrote, um, my special interest is, is in governance. I really care that things are done the right way and the future boards have ground the groundwork to effect,

1:02:26 effectively evaluate and direct the superintendent. So I just, um, I agree with you on that as far as being able to hit the ground running and, um, step in and just kind of being, um, uh, we can just learn from him as a fellow board member. Okay. So, yes, I'm, I'm a, an admirer of his previous service to this board. Uh, I think there's a tremendous benefit in that. Um, I think also just his, his work with, uh, child welfare and human services is also an asset. Um, I have concerns just really about sort of moving, um,

1:03:16 of not continuing for the full pair, you know, because, um, this is a different board, a different situation. We're facing a shortfall. So although there's similarities to the situation, I think there's differences in the situation also. And, uh, figure that might be important moving forward. I, I'm not sure I followed that, Jonathan. The not serving the full term, I thought The full term is actually 2029. And so Zach, uh, is only interested in filling the appointee position, which terminates June 30th, if I'm correct, 20 2027. But that would ul regardless of who selects who we choose,

1:04:03 they would be, that position would be at the will of the voters. Yeah, That's true of the next election. The question was specific in who was interested in running. Mm-hmm. Who would be interested in granted, we, we don't know the will of the voters. Um, but, uh, for me that continuity or potential continuity is an important factor. So he definitely has the resume and, and that board experience is very valuable. Other thoughts For me? Um, I'm really focused on Matthew Grant. Um, he has shown us that he can, he can learn quickly. Uh, he is,

1:04:55 he's got skin in the game. He, he really seeks out public engagement trust. Um, he really wants to focus on letting the community be heard. And right now the community definitely needs to be heard. Um, he, he has shown us over and over that he's willing to stretch himself, be a little different, get what we need, which is a community that needs to be heard, staff needs to be heard, students need to be heard. Uh, this is a great opportunity for us to get somebody in here that can help with that.

1:05:46 I really truly believe that he can do the homework and get, get himself up to up to date on what's happening here. I really do believe that he has shown us quite a few times that he can do that. Yeah. Regarding Matthew, what I, what I like is he, he brings a different perspective, um, to this board. And the fact that he created a website and a petition that had over a thousand people sign on. Uh, I mean, maybe that's, maybe that resonated with a number of individuals in our community. Uh, I also like the creativity, uh, around

1:06:33 okay, we're, we've got a certain set of circumstances, but here's maybe another way to look at it. So having, uh, a unique perspective and not afraid to voice that perspective. Um, it's got extensive experience in customer service, and I would argue that perhaps that's something that the district needs to pay attention to, um, given that we've been through, uh, some rather difficult times. So I think for me, he just brings a sort of a fresh set of eyes to the district and would be valuable in that regard.

1:07:18 Um, you mentioned, uh, the district needs to pay attention to more customer service, but this, to me, this is about having another board member that can work well, and one of the public, uh, commenters mentioned looking at our strengths and weaknesses. And I feel like we're really, um, we're kind of weak in, uh, governance. And I know, um, our taxpayers, we, we owe them, uh, good governance and, um, I think that Zach would just step right in and not have to, um, learn a whole lot. So we're not gonna just be relying on an unknown quantity here. I really think that because we have OG a coming here horse's mouth coming right here, uh, to talk to us about governance.

1:08:03 And we are also gonna get board training. We are on track to do well with this. Uh, Zach's already been like, he's, he's on his application. He's already done the OSBA gold, gold, um, level education. So he kind of already knows that. And Oeck doesn't, uh, train you. Um, they tell, they talk about public meetings and ethics And serial communication. Yeah. That's ethics and public meetings last. Yes. And they do have, I attended a live webinar. I've been reading up, I've been following legislation house Bill 4, 1 7, 7, just, um, on serial communication because there's been so many issues throughout our state on serial communication, on the inability for board members

1:08:50 to have conversations with, uh, their constituents. I mean, it's been such a problem that it made it all the way to the, to the, um, to legislation and it got passed. So things are changing. So we'll also be very interesting to have them here to talk to us about those changes. Things are moving, things are shifting. I, I really think that this is a time in our community where we need to think outside of the box we are doing. I, yeah. Well, no offense. I mean, Zach, Zach presented himself very respectfully, and I haven't seen that from the other candidates. I've experienced the exact opposite. So I would like somebody that would be coming here

1:09:36 and just leave the drama and the personal agenda and work with board members and the district. So, personal agenda. So children is that, is it wrong to have a personal agenda when it comes to kids? Our policy says we'll leave our, our personal agendas, um, at the door when we come in. So it all, it's all about kids, but my point is our weaknesses is governance and, um, having somebody that we can work with well, and that is respectful is, um, pretty important. Respectful would be really nice. Yeah, I agree with that. Um, go ahead. So, um, I, so Ken, so, um, you know, I've been around the district. My kids went to schools here for, we were involved in the schools, and I've sat on

1:10:23 various committees. The, you know, I was on the budget committee for a long time and sites, facilities committees, and bond oversight committee. And, um, all of that, I'm not sure completely prepared me for being on the board and knowing what to do. And I think, you know, we're appointing somebody that we can only guarantee for a little over a year that they're gonna be in that seat. And so, to me, I value, I think it's most to have somebody that can hit the ground running for that short period of time, that's all we can control is, um, I think the, the biggest thing. And then I would hopefully, you know, Matt and the other candidates can continue to be involved in the district and learn what's going on and, and go before the voters

1:11:08 and get selected to be on the board. That would be, you know, where I land on this. Well, I come back to the fact that, uh, I'm not sure, although I appreciate the offer from Zach, I'm not sure a placeholder is, is who the board needs right now. There's No guarantee, right. Of whoever we select that they would, they're make, I know anybody would be, I know there's no guarantee. I think I've been pretty upfront with that. Um, but nevertheless, um, you know, maybe the community, and this is not just any, any referring to the petition that Matthew put out there. Uh, but, but there's been a number of comments

1:11:55 to the board about a lot of different things. And so it's apparent to me that Matthew has had his ear to the ground and really listening to the guidance, the suggestions, the comments from the public. Um, so I would be looking for someone who's maybe more attuned into our, our customers. Uh, and I'm not saying that Zach is not, uh, it's just that until we opened up the appointment position, uh, there wasn't this involvement. Whereas, least in Matthew's case, when he heard about the shortfall

1:12:42 and the midyear cuts, he actually came forward to do something about it. And I, I admire that there is another candidate. Yeah, there is, there is to bring forward, uh, Bob Brew. And, uh, yeah. I mean, when I look at his resume, I see perhaps an even greater participation at the board level in just the work that he's done at the state, uh, with different agencies. Um, you know, the Oregon Student Access Commission, uh, Oregon Heck,

1:13:27 the Higher Education Coordinating Commission worked with the Oregon Secretary of State's office and their business services division. Uh, he's also expressed interest before he is worked with the city of Springfield. I mean, uh, and then he mentioned tonight working through the, um, nine 11 situation at the airport. I mean, that's, that's big time crisis management. Um, and honestly, I've, I've never had a naysayer, um, when he submitted his, uh, application before for the board. Uh, so I think I can see some very, uh, powerful attributes that would serve the board well here with, uh, with Mr.

1:14:14 Brew. So he was the other candidate that I was supportive of. And I think, um, yeah, based on his resume and presence here tonight and his history, I think he would make an excellent candidate. Yeah, I mean, city counselor. Um, he's, he's served in our, in our capacity with the city, uh, planning commissioner, um, all sorts of, uh, endorsements and certifications. Um, and, and, uh, actually when you look at the scope, pretty broad from city to state. Um, and that's, um, that resonates with me.

1:15:15 It is so quiet. Yeah. Is This all? I Don't, it's a lot of, a lot to consider, isn't it? Well, and again, when you have great candidates, uh, it is a tough decision because each probably brings something to the table. Um, but we have to select one. Any additional thoughts or comments or, I, Well, we need to get to somebody that Yeah. Can get three votes and it, you know, head count.

1:16:02 It appears like we have three candidates with two votes. Yeah. I think we need to remember that we have to attract a good quality superintendent in this whole process coming up. Um, and we did make a decision to, um, go with experience. Um, and I just feel like, um, with that, having someone that already has gone through that, um, would be very helpful. And it would be a steadying force on the board for Zach. Everybody, anybody have anything additional to add? Then I'll make a motion. I would move that we a appoint Robert Brew.

1:16:49 I will second that. Any additional comment? Okay. I'll do a roll call. Vote on this. So, uh, starting with our vice chair, I will vote yes. Yes. Dr. Cole. No,

1:17:36 this is just a really, really hard decision. Just trying to think of the person who keeps showing up, who's been proactive, who's got skin in the game, yes or And both of the resumes, I mean, B'S resumes. Great. So is Matthews,

1:18:35 I am sorry, I'm taking a moment. Mm-hmm. Sorry. It's interesting to think about the trajectory that all of this would take, right? It's, we, we, we've already done discussion. It's, we're already in the middle of roll call. Thank you, Nicole. Um,

1:19:24 no. Okay. The vote is deadlock at two two. Can I move to nominate Zach Bassett? I will Second. Okay. We have a motion by Director DeGraff and a second by Director Cole. Discussion. Okay. I'll call for roll call vote, then starting with di, director. Degra. Yes. Director Cole. Yes. Director Light. No. No. So we're deadlocked again. I, I nominate Matthew.

1:20:11 I will second. Okay. Uh, motion by director Langworthy, seconded by Director Light. Any further comments, questions, Uh, that I think, I don't wanna reiterate what I said for the, you know mm-hmm. Why, who I think ought to be the, our selection, so, Okay. So call for the vote. Uh, director Langworthy. Uh, Yes. Director Light. Yes. No. Director Cole? No. No. Okay. Director DeGraff? No.

1:20:56 So we're again, deadlocked at two. Okay. Speaks to the strength of the candidates. It does. Um, at this point I'll nominate Bob, can we do it again? Yeah, Go again. We'll, we can go around and I think we do need to appoint, so, uh, nominated. We have a motion on the floor for Bob Brew as the appointee. I will second that. Okay. Any further discussion? Call for the vote. Yes. Yes. From Director Langworthy. Yes. From Director Light. Yes. Yes. From Director Cole. No. And no from Director Degra. So congratulations, Bob.

1:21:44 So, three to nothing or three to one, excuse me. Correction. And again, uh, would love to have the involvement of not only the two other candidates, but also, uh, the many other candidates that we interviewed tonight. There was such amazing talent on display and passion for kids. And, uh, bottom line, we need both. So moving forward, so there's some paperwork. So do we do, when do we do the oath of office? We actually do that to At the end of the, At the end of the meeting. Okay. Okay. Well, congratulations again, Bob. Um, I'm excited to be working with you.

1:22:32 Okay. So moving then on to, uh, agenda item five. Discussion. Uh, first up is the discussion of the 20 26, 27 academic calendar co-presented Whitney McKinley and Brian Meger, but I don't see Brian, so it's just Whitney. Thank you, Just me this evening. Um, the attached 26 27 academic calendar includes 174 school days for students. One full day collaboration for staff on January 4th, 12 early release collaboration days. This calendar is for first reading, and as such, may require adjustments to fit projected budget conditions prior to board approval. In June. You'll notice, uh, I think it's on your third page,

1:23:17 there's key points about the 26 27 academic calendar. We rolled this calendar over from last year, so there's no significant changes for our community. August 31st falls on a Monday, so it pushes, uh, labor Day out pretty far. So our start date is, um, a little bit later. It lines up with four J. We did make sure that we were in alignment with our big district next door, and, uh, we did make adjustments, you'll note on the calendar, um, after our contract, uh, was finalized, we agreed to a Teacher Choice day in September and a teacher Choice day on the last day with students. So both of those things have been reflected on here as well. Um, there are other key dates there on your notes. And with that, I'll pause and see if you have any questions for me.

1:24:03 Otherwise, um, we'll come back for approval in June. I believe it's in any Questions. Uh, do you have any idea whether it lines up with Bethel? Uh, I know we have staff that work in neighboring districts, and if you're not able to get Involved, uh, superintendent Amara there, but just because she was, she had asked if I, if, if I wanted her to reach out and, uh, we didn't confirm that, so I apologize. I can confirm that tomorrow. Okay. It's just one of those nice things. Absolutely. If we can do it, it's easier on our families. And she Actually offered to get it for all of Lane County, so we may get more than what you asked for. My guess is that Bethel will align with Eugene and will align with Springfield. That would be, my guess is that the all three will be aligned.

1:24:49 And to Whitney's point, it is nice the more districts we align with, especially if they're geographically close. So Pleasant Hill, south Lane, et cetera. So, other comments or questions for Whitney? And this will come back at our April 13th meeting, or is that too early? That's our next regular meeting, I think, uh, I think we can bring it back in April, but I did notice on our first read that we, since we're in the middle of our budget process, if we needed to make any adjustments, I suppose we would bring that back in June. That, that's probably a true statement. Yeah. I think, I think the way we've done it in the past is as there is needed adjustments, if we get there, and I can only think of one other time when we got there,

1:25:35 um, then the board would come back to the board for reconsideration. Reconsideration. So Yes. In April. In April or, or in June. In, In April. And then if there's changes that need to be made, you can we'll bring 'em back to the board for consideration. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Thanks for the clarification. That helps. Other comments or questions for Whitney be before we move on? Okay. Uh, so agenda item six B board, uh, I'm sorry, is five B interim superintendent process. And my goal on this topic is if we can give, give the district enough information so that we can come out

1:26:20 with an RFP as soon as possible for the search firm. So, um, the time we have left in the, in the rest of the year is actually pretty short. You know, when you're doing a permanent search, and Jody, you can help with this, it's five, six months oftentimes and allows you plenty of runway to be inclusive and collaborative. Um, we can do it I think in the shorter timeframe, but we have to be aware of that much shorter runway. So, um, board members were, uh, you know, if you'd like to help us out, you know, when I'm looking at some of the, the things that would be goals of mine would be to have a permanent,

1:27:08 or not a permanent, I'm sorry, the interim position filled by July one. Um, and inclusive of all of our associations, the O-S-E-A-S-E-A SAC and community. And sometimes that process can take time. And so we wanna make sure and allow enough time there. Uh, ideally I prefer to have an applicant screening committee. So as the applications roll in, um, that we involve, uh, different constituencies in that, um, the actual timeline usually happens after you've selected the firm. Mm-hmm. So tonight, I really just want enough that we can put together and, and come up with the RFP.

1:27:54 Um, do you have information, Jody or Brett, you know, on what to be included? What, what do we need to have so that we could ideally put out an RFP prior to spring break? So, um, with the tight timeline, I think there are a couple of options available for the board. Um, if the solicitation, or if the proposal is less than $25,000, then you can do a much more abbreviated process where it's, it wouldn't necessarily have to be a formal RFP, you could have your criteria, you could have your evaluation criteria, and you could put just the solicitation for bids out, um, which would probably benefit the board in this situation

1:28:39 because of the short timeframe. Okay. I'm concerned, I would be concerned with an RFP about the fact that you may not even have a, a possibility until June if that's the direction you went. So just something to consider is just the solicitation for bid, which could be conducted by the purchasing office. And I think you started on this, this very important list, and that's what you want them to offer proposals based on. Yeah. And that's the, the key element is what's, what's the, what are the key parameters that we sort of need to delineate so that a search firm can do a qualified bid? Uh, I think there's enough time and,

1:29:26 but that's why if we can get ahead of the curve on the RFP before spring break, 'cause they're not on spring break necessarily, these search firms. Uh, and then I would even entertain the idea of course, up to the board members of, of maybe having a separate meeting on April 6th. Uh, so having the closing so that we could make a decision on April 6th. And again, I'm going to rely on expertise and experience, uh, as far as that, but it makes me nervous to wait till mid-April to really start having the conversations with the search firm. And I'd love to have them under contract before then. So maybe we can do some meaningful work on the 13th. So How long does the bid or our have to be out

1:30:15 before you can close? I, I would, oh, sorry. I would, um, I would recommend minimum two weeks. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Well, that's all we have, right? It's before spring break, right? Yeah. Because, because you wanna make sure that it is not a rushed process where you have to make sure that it's a fair process. Yes. And that's what's I would say most important, that it's, it's fair and objective. Um, that way you would really, um, protect yourself against possible protesting of the, of the process. Correct. Yeah. I don't wanna rush this since I feel like we rushed the other process. So fair is good. Even if it's after spring break. No. If it's doable, if two weeks is doable, then

1:31:00 Are you asking for to get the, when, when is as soon as we can get the bid and or RFP out? Yeah. The, the other challenges we have is, um, the advertising of this requires a certain amount of time, you have to advertise it for a certain amount of time, and then you have to allow them a response of a certain amount of time for it to be a fair and equitable process. And so rushing, I mean, you we're definitely up against the time. Mm-hmm. And that's what I, why I wanted to start it tonight, is bring that forward. Um, you were talking about staying under 25,000, and again, I'm gonna rely on your experience. Um, I I think based on before We did internal interim of course, uh, but if we're actually casting the net, which I'm assuming we will, um, do you, is the 25,000 cap,

1:31:49 do you think it'll cost that much? I don't think so. Okay. I, I think, I mean, I'm not Gonna hold, Please Don't, don't, don't hold us up. I think there's three options, and I think you all have probably thought of what those options are. You can appoint an interim internally, you can extend, which is a different conversation, your acting superintendent into an interim position for the next year. Or you can go through a process and select based on, uh, uh, portfolio of candidates, um, and interim based on, you know, whatever the selection firm does. Okay. Yeah, I remember that. I believe four J actually started the search process, got midway into it, maybe not even midway, and then selected who, who was serving, uh,

1:32:37 in this case it was interim to permanent, but Okay. So if we kept it under 25,000 and did this just went out for bids. Yeah. I think that's the only, that, that may be the only way we hit our timeline. It's quicker. Okay. Yeah. Well, I would lean that way. Yeah. And I mean, I, I think the, the benefit is, is that you, there's a lot of things that you can require and request, um, but it is for one year, and then you are, I'm anticipating that the board is gonna want to go for a very formal, um, large search process for permanent. Yeah. That's really the intent from acting to interim Yeah. To permanent is to get increasingly more runway acting was rushed and it wasn't, You have blocked the runway for what we wanted, huh?

1:33:23 Yeah. Blocked the runway for the permanent process. And I think that that's great. Retreat in, you know, summer and I mean, you, those are all kinds of, you, you do, we, I think we just build a calendar, right. Start with the end in mind, build backwards for your permanent superintendent. Right. On the interim though, I think we're sort of, uh, it has to be collaborative with the search firm. Yeah. I mean, there's, there's only so many search firms that do this Right. Level of, of um, offer this level of process. And so I think we can put a quick, our feelers out. I know that some of you have already, um, have a, have ideas of search firms that we could in that we could send the bids to, the opportunity to bid to. And we could also put, we know some too. Mm-hmm.

1:34:09 I mean, there's a lot of 'em out there. Yeah. Her connections. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I think, you know, I came up with a list of the usual suspects, you know, about five, but I know there's more out there. And so, Well, and typically when they return and they respond to the bid opportunity to bid, they will tell you, we're gonna do community engagement, staff engagement, student engagement, this many, they will detail it out for you, and that's what you want. Mm-hmm. You want them to tell you what they're gonna do, and then you pick the one that best meets the needs of the board or the board expectations and their timeline. They'll give you a timeline and everything. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I guess I'm just not clear on the timeline. So, um, we're asking, um, staff

1:34:54 to start the process and do the advertisement and, and solicit for proposals. Mm-hmm. And then who would make the selection? Would that come back to the board to choose from those firms? And that's what we're looking at. You're talking about early April in a month or so to be able to, hopefully the board would select somebody. Yeah. Staff isn't back until the 30th, right? Yeah, I think so. Yeah. To, to answer your question directly, Ken, um, this is the board's selection. So I think the staff is just providing the support to get the mechanisms in place to ensure that we are meeting public procurement law and all that stuff. But this is a board's process, so we're just navigating that road for the board. And as superintendent Amara said, the firms are going to be,

1:35:41 are going to present you with the process, and then you get to make a choice on what you like or don't like. So you'll have a selection committee that then ranks, you'll have a matrix that you'll rank all of the different bids that come in with what your expectation is. I mean, then typically there's also an interview process where you interviewed the people who have put up the companies that have provided the bid. And so there's all these different, um, and, and there, there, those are predetermined, typically matrices that you look at, and then you rank 'em, and then that's how you selection committee determines which bid to go with. And will the board be doing that ranking or that matrices or stack Your, you would, uh, identify the selection, yeah. Team. Okay. So it could be the board. And that's why, because we don't have any other board

1:36:28 meetings, it would seem advantageous. So I'm not necessarily going there yet, but that April 6th meeting, so that a decision could be made on, at our regular business meeting on the 13th. Yeah. I think there's gonna be three main criteria that you're gonna evaluate. One is gonna be just the submission of their proposal or their bid. Okay. Um, one is gonna be cost and one is gonna be if you choose an interview. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And that would give you face to face, it'd give you written documentation, it'd give you their, their pro forma. Mm-hmm. So I think, I think you can do a reasonable job. Okay. So personally, I'm okay if we designate a committee, you know, maybe a board member or two and you know, staff to do the selection. I don't feel like it needs to come

1:37:13 before the whole board to pick the selection. And maybe that would expedite the process. So you, I mean, it could be that you designate the chair and the vice chair to work with the superintendent and, and maybe Brett, you know, uh, yeah. Again, but it is, it's the board's decision on that. If we could make that tonight, it would be helpful, I would imagine. But it doesn't necessarily have to, I think to move forward tonight, we would need a motion to direct the superintendent and COO to develop a bid to go out for search firms for the interim superintendent, And not necessarily, yeah. So I would move that we, uh, delegate the, the superintendent to solicit proposals for a search firm

1:38:01 for an interim superintendent. Second Call for the vote. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Any against? Motion carries forward to nothing. Thank you, director Cole. So then could we also make a motion? I, I would do a second motion to delegate authority to the chair and the vice chair to work with, um, the superintendent to, um, review the proposals and select somebody for the, and enter into a contract at expedite the process. Okay. Well, I wanna be a part of that, That, or I'm fine with whoever we, if we wanna delegate to the chair and director to Graf is fine with me.

1:38:48 Head nods. Okay. So I will second the motion. Uh, uh, can you restate the motion for clarity? Yeah. Yes. Move that we, uh, delegate authority to the chair and director DeGraff to work with staff to, um, select a firm for the interim superintendent search. Okay. We have a motion. Do we have a second? Second. Motion by Director Cole second by Director DeGraff. Any comments or questions? Call for the vote. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any against? Motion carries forward to nothing. So I, I appreciate your expertise and experience and, and helping us develop that.

1:39:34 And are you feeling you have enough information to go forward with this? Yeah, I think, um, you started on a list that we're gonna wanna dive a little deeper into, and that's the, what you're looking for for them to respond to. Okay. So I think for you and, and Nicole, that would be helpful to understand what are the things that you would like a search firm to, um, can you, what would you like the bid to consider a search firm respond to? So you're gonna have qualifications, you're gonna have process, you're gonna have price, you're gonna have, you know, those types of things. So just maybe thinking about that and we'll give a superintendent and, and finalize that list. Is this prior to the development of the RFP? It's for the development of the bid. So sooner rather than later. Yes. Okay. Please.

1:40:21 I, I'll make room in my schedule. Okay. And hopefully it'll, uh, line up with, uh, Nicole's availability also. And, and I'm, I'm assuming that you're okay. I'm gonna be bringing some purchasing staff in to, to accommodate this. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Anything else on that topic? Okay. So moving on. Thank you board for, uh, moving Ripley on this as, uh, we want to allow as much runway for the meat and potatoes of the search process as possible. So, um, okay. So moving then onto, uh, agenda item six, reports and information.

1:41:07 Superintendent O'Mara. Thank you. So, I wanna take a moment to highlight some of the many positive things happening across Springfield Public Schools. Our students, staff, and community continue to demonstrate excellent creativity and resilience every day. We're seeing encouraging progress in student achievement across the district, including, uh, improvements in graduation rates at the district and the high school levels. One of our students, um, was, uh, published actually showcasing the academic and creative work, um, happening in our schools. Um, Springfield Public Schools continues to be home to exceptional educators. We have our 2026 Oregon teacher of the years, Holly Golden. She recently traveled to California

1:41:52 where she joined 56 State Teachers of the Year at Google headquarters for national orientation, professional development and collaboration focused on innovative technology and equitable AI use in education. While there, she participated in workshops using Google's Gemini AI to develop classroom tools, shared instructional strategies with fellow educators, and completed professional media interviews highlighting how technology supports student learning. Our Youth Transition coordinator, Garrett Davidson, received the 2026 Innovative Agency Provider Award at the Oregon Statewide Transition Conference for expanding meaningful work experiences for students with disabilities through partnerships with local businesses

1:42:38 and community organizations. I think I heard it from some of our student, uh, liaisons as well. There. High school's wrestling team and swimming team, both earned league championships. Whoop go Colts. The SHS Equestrian team go. Millers qualified for the state competition and Thurston Boys and Springfield girls basketball teams advanced in the state tournament over the weekend. The Hurst Thurston High School Band and Orchestra program led by director Connor Egan has been selected for the Eric Hammer Memorial Community Outreach Program through the Eugene Symphonic Band. Recognizing this strength of the school's music program, We have many partnerships. Uh, Springfield schools has been recognized

1:43:23 for innovative work happening in our schools. The Oregon Department of Ed selected two of our schools to participate in a statewide attendance study, examining strategies that help students stay engaged and present in school. These highlights represent just a small snapshot of the incredible work happening across Springfield Public Schools. I'm grateful to our students, educators, staff, and families and community partners who make this work possible every day. Um, I am also continuing to schedule visits to schools. I was able to visit Thurston High School this week, uh, last week. This week I'll be heading to, uh, river Bend to read to a kindergarten class and tour with, uh, principal Donaldson sent out staff letter and survey.

1:44:08 I've received over a hundred responses to the survey, and I've read every single one of them. So thank you for responding. If you haven't, please do. And then sent the parent letter out. And finally, please come to coffee and conversation Wednesday, seven 30 to nine 30 at the Washburn Cafe on Main Street. We are looking to schedule another one as well. If you can't make it Wednesday, though, That's am Right? That's am Director Light. Okay. Thank you. Uh, board communication and comments. I have a few updates from SEF. Yeah, that's great. Um, uh, as most of you know, Christina has, uh, retired as the executive director, so we have a new one.

1:44:53 Um, her name is Sona Ho Hoai, and, um, she said to stop by her office or to say hi, or you can email her. And, um, there's still time for the SEF grants. The deadline for applications is April 1st. Um, and we also need a few more volunteers for, uh, grant reviewers. So if anybody wants to read, um, any grant applications, you can ask, um, Ashley about that. Um, and then the Oregon Battle of the Books, uh, elementary tournament is this Saturday, March 14th at Thurston High School. And I know, um, a CF is volunteering. They, they do a really good job of putting, um, helping with that. And, um, and then they're also planning on doing some Pamper School staff parties at Waterville Ridgeview in Thurston High in March and April. Um, and then they're also hosting a new series at the public

1:45:39 house, uh, every month. It's a fundraiser. Um, uh, this March event, I think it's the 19th. Yeah, March 19th, Thursday will be, um, the events for Waterville. And then in April it will be for Yolanda. So every month you can look on their Facebook page, your website to find the exact date. But, um, for each event, 25% of the food and drink proceeds go towards, uh, that school that they're, um, hosting for each month. So if you wanna contact them about scheduling your your Own school's event, you can contact us if Lots of good thanks. Yeah. Dr. Cole, I, I don't have anything this month, Dr. Langworthy. I, uh, I hope I can visit some schools with you. I still have yet to visit early any schools.

1:46:24 Um, uh, so that would be great if I, if I could get scheduled or if I could, uh, go with you, um, just so I can get into schools. Uh, I would really appreciate it. And I also appreciate you sending out these surveys. I mean, these open put as many characters you want in there. It just, it really showed how willing you are to listen to the community and the parents and the staff. I mean, it, it really made staff feel good to have that. So I appreciate that quite a bit. Um, and, uh, again, I'm also really excited that, uh, the House Bill for 1 7 7 was, uh, reconsidered 'cause social,

1:47:11 or, um, in a serial communication, it became a very big thing, uh, to the point where it was hard for, uh, board members or, uh, just public officials to actually talk to constituents to talk with even each other without their, uh, fear, um, even if there was no conversation. So I'm really excited to be, uh, having og e here. And of course, they're just gonna be sharing this very broad, um, information on, on the ethics. But we, I'm looking forward to, uh, to talking in, in depth with them. I've already done a live webinar with them. I've been on the phone with them quite a bit as well, uh,

1:47:56 just to get all kinds of questions answered. So I am very excited about this. So, and I hope, uh, I know I'm waiting on one more board member to respond to timing, and then we can just start moving on with some training. Sounds good. Um, in a previous conversation, conversation, you mentioned there's another IC webinar coming up. Maybe you could send the link Yeah. To other board members in case they wanna March 18th. There is a live webinar that's, um, and it's great. You get, a lot of people are going on there for their certification, but you get an opportunity to ask a lot of questions. And OG is short for another mouthful, Oregon Government Ethics Commission.

1:48:43 So we shortened that. But that's the organization, and they're responsible statewide for the interpretation of the legislation around public meetings, laws, and serial communication. So, and particularly 'cause the legislature did some work around that this session, which just ended, it'll be good to have that training hot on the heels of, of their interpretation on that. Yeah. And I was watching legislation, and if you go to its page, they have a, over a, I think a hundred people who have submitted a, a public comment on how it's been affecting them and, and within their boards or within their, just, you know, their areas. So there was a lot of, uh, misinterpretations or people who were able, able

1:49:28 to take interpretations and apply it. And again, like I had said before, there's been no test cases yet. I know Hoyle and Salem, like, there was something very different going on there. So, but you know, there have been, um, some unfortunate things that were happening. But, um, anyway, um, I'm looking forward to clarity. Okay. Well, thank you Uhhuh. Um, so I've, uh, have some congratulations to throw out. So I was able to attend the, uh, Springfield High School production of Joseph in the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat. Incredible production, the talent. I mean, everybody from the behind the scenes people to the costumers, to the, the music

1:50:14 and all that that went into it. Uh, not the least of their amazing director. So it's just incredible, those kinds of productions. They involve so many kids, and if they're involved in that, they don't have time to get in trouble in other things. So, again, a shout out to them. Uh, also a shout out then to John Bridges for hosting the, uh, ninth Springfield Orchestra Festival. I was invited to be the master of ceremonies there, and it was such an honor to hear these groups from Ashland and Grants Pass and Salem and Far North as Portland. Uh, really incredible work and gives them the opportunity to hear other ensembles, quite the learning experience. Uh, we're fortunate in that we partnered, uh, we meaning,

1:51:00 uh, John Bridges in Springfield High School partnered with Eugene Symphony, who provided their new musical director and conductor Alex Pryor, to be the onstage clinician. So he came up and worked with the kids, and, uh, if you've not met him, he's a, he's a force of nature and very excited, and the kids were so engaged. It's really fun to watch that. So, uh, thanks to, uh, Springfield High School Orchestra program for doing that. Um, you mentioned the, uh, Eric Hammer Award. So I'm a member of Eugene Symphonic Band, and we had a joint concert with Thurston High School on their stage. I confidently state that they probably never had that many people on their stage.

1:51:45 So, and we were seated every other person with a Thurston person. It was really fun. And, uh, get to hang out with the kids, and then yes, then they got that award, which comes with a, a significant cash donation. So, so that'll help. And, uh, I hope we do that with a high school program in the area every year. Um, I think the board, I just want to reiterate that most of you, if not all of you, received an invitation to the Eugene Symphony Youth Concert. And, uh, and, uh, Jody has said she'll be there. Uh, if you, there's, my understanding is there's seven elementary, uh, school programs participating, and, uh, it's really something to watch. Again, I want to thank the music teachers.

1:52:31 It's a lot of work for them to put this separate event together. Um, but seven will be there at the morning show. So 10 30 at the Holt Center, uh, be there early, um, because once the kids come in, I mean, it's 2,500 students, they're gonna be there. And, uh, it's, it's impressive. Um, yeah. And I just, uh, want to thank our new superintendent for a week. You, you've been busy and done a lot. And, uh, I really do appreciate your effort and acknowledge the continuing effort you'll make. So, welcome aboard and, uh, thanks for serving Springfield students. Is this the time then when we, okay, so not on the agenda,

1:53:19 but a very important part. We'll be the oath of office to our newest appointee. So, Mr. Brew, Do you have, I need a mic for the recording. Thank you, Jeff. Ready? Oh, are you doing that one?

1:54:06 Right. And center Testing. Raise your right hand and repeat after me. Aye. Aye. Bob Brew, Do solemnly swear, Do solemnly swear That I will support the Constitution of the United States, That I'll support the Constitution of the United States, The Constitution of the State of Oregon, The Constitution, the state of Oregon, And the laws thereof, And the laws thereof, And the policies of Springfield School District, And the policies of Springfield School District. During my term, I will faithfully and impartially Discharge the responsibilities, Discharge the responsibilities

1:54:51 Of the Office of Board member to the best of my ability Of the office of board member, to the best of my ability. Congratulations. So, on that very positive note, uh, just a little housekeeping. Our next meeting is April 13th, 2026. It's a regular board meeting at 7:00 PM and then April 27th is our special meeting at five 30. So this meeting is adjourned at 8 55.

4:10 I think we're gonna go ahead and, and get started since we've got a pretty busy agenda. So I'd like to call this special meeting at the Springfield Board of Ed Education to order on this March 9th, 2026 at 4:03 PM Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge Allegiance. States of America stands one Nation under God, indivisible Liberty. So,

4:55 Welcome everyone. Uh, Jeff, do we have people attending yet online? So we have 12 online, and then we've got the people in the room. Thank you, uh, again, for showing up either online or in person. We appreciate as a board the interest in the Springfield School District. Um, our land acknowledgement is going to be read by Director Langworthy. We acknowledge that we are in the traditional homeland of the Ka pua people, specifically the community that was known as Shiff area that we now call Springfield Ka Pya. People who have lived in this region since time immoral were illegally dispersed of their land

5:41 and forcibly removed what is now called the Grand Ron and Settes reservations over Silver Years, but most notably in treaties between 1851 and 1855. The Caap Pua are now members of the con econ, excuse me, um, kind of Frida tribes of the Grand R and the, um, tribes of the Celeste Indians and members of the Kapu 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 outta responsibility to honor the heritage and the humanity of all people and to promote unity within our school district.

6:27 Thank you. First on the agenda is just sort of, uh, the board is gonna review sort of the process we're going to undergo. Uh, we have 14 candidates, uh, tremendous turnout. And, and I want to thank each and every one of you for being interested enough to go through the rigors of, of filling out the application. Um, I think there's a couple who cannot make the interviews today, Krista May and Oral. Is that correct? And, and one hasn't shown yet, though. She may. Okay. So Hannah and, uh, board, chime in on, on any

7:12 of my understandings. We are going to interview in panels of three. Um, if we have the other members show up, there will be an additional panel of four. Otherwise it'll just be three panels of three. Uh, there's a list of questions, seven questions, I believe that were sent to the candidates. I think we have four panels of three. Yeah. Four. Four. What did I say? You said three panels of three, four panels. You did say to chime in. So yes, we have a, a panel four schedule, but it doesn't look like we're going to need that. So four panels of three, which if my math is correct, is 12. Thank you. Um, uh, so the questions will be asked by a board member, and then we will allow for the entire panel to ask,

7:58 answer that question. Um, and we might want to keep track of time. There's 30 minutes per panel, and, uh, at least from my perspective, if we ask a panel of, or we ask a question to one, then all three should have the opportunity to answer. So we don't want to ask a question with 19 minutes in, you know, so we might just be aware of that. And you're holding the clock, is that meaning you're volunteering to be the timekeeper? Great. There's only two on the panel. It should only be 20 minutes sent. And also, you said board members will ask a question, but our process was the last time the board chair asked them all.

8:43 Uh, I assumed we'd do it like we did the acting superintendent. We'll just go down the line on questions. I can ask them all if you want, but I think it is more representative for, since we have seven questions and four board members, I'm okay if you ask, ask 'em all. Okay. And would you I don't have a, I'm okay with that. I don't have a strong preference either way. That's what our process was saying here, so I was just clarifying that if everybody wants to ask a question, that's fine. How would you like to do it? I wasn't having a strong preference on that. Amber, your mic. Yeah, I don't have a strong preference on that. It's, it's not a big deal to me. Either way. You would like to take a break from asking questions.

9:29 I'm happy to ask. Sure. I mean, that works for me. Is it okay with the board if we sort of rotate through? That's fine with me. Okay. So yes, 30 minutes per three person panel. Thanks for the clarification there. Any other questions or, or comments? Okay. So we might as well jump in then. Um, let's go ahead and get rolling. So, has Hunter been, how do we wanna handle? Okay, we'll just do the panel of two.

10:14 So we'll have to adjust the minutes. Two 20. Okay. Okay. And would you like to ask, ask the first question? No, I'm playing with this, Nicole. Yeah, we're going with the two that we have here. Are we gonna fill in? Hmm? Are we gonna fill in another spot? Or we're just gonna ask, I guess we're gonna go with a panel of two. Okay. So then this would be 20 minutes then, right? Yes. Okay. And I think she's adjusting Diane. Okay. So the first question I will start with, um, Matthew Brand. How would you describe your approach to interacting with others? And how would you contribute to the team as a board member for the remainder of the term? Yeah, I, I would say that, um, my approach in interacting with others is, is usually to gain an understanding of

11:02 what we're working on, how people are approaching things. I like to think that I'm pretty easygoing, very approachable. I, I don't, uh, believe in dominating a conversation. I like to understand what people are coming through and their point of view and, and active listening. And I know that active listening is often kind of tossed out there, but for me it's always been a very basic understanding that you're listening with intent. Meaning that if somebody is actively talking to you, you're processing what they're saying, not simply waiting for your turn to speak. Mm-hmm. And so it's important to me that people feel understood and heard, and that their point of view is being considered. Um, growing up, I, I was strongly of the mind and, um, experience. I, I took speech and debate in high school, and one of the key things that they teach you is

11:47 to understand different points of view, right? When you debate an issue, you don't always debate through the point of view of view that you agree with. And sometimes you're taking positions that you don't necessarily agree with, but you approach it in a way that you make sure that people are, felt, they're understood, they're respected, uh, you keep things professional. Um, and I think that's something that I've carried through a lot in my life. I, uh, make sure that you know, where I can, I, I offer kindness and understanding and easygoing listening. I don't, uh, think that it's necessary to, uh, just always push my agenda point of view. I do advocate strongly for things that I believe in, and I like to make sure that I'm informed about the things that I'm talking about. So if there's something that I don't know, I'm absolutely always willing to admit, maybe I don't know the answer to this thing.

12:32 We'll look into it. Um, and so it's, it's something that's important to me that it's clear to others that when I make decisions on things and when I interact with them, that I'm approaching it from a point of view of the best understanding that I can at the time, whether it's their perspective or my own. So, Um, yeah. Okay. Thank You. And Brody, the same question. I'll repeat it. How would you describe your approach to interacting with others? And how would you contribute to the team as a board member for the remainder of the term? Thank you. Um, I would describe my approach as collaborative and respectful. I try and listen first and understand different perspectives before form, uh, forming conclusions. As a board member, I would contribute by being prepared, thoughtful, and focused on working as part of a team

13:18 to support the district and its leadership. I also think it's important to be present in the schools, uh, school community, visiting schools, attending activities, fundraisers, uh, and taking the time to listen and learn about each school's needs. Ultimately, my goal in this role would be to help maintain stability, support the work already underway, and keep students in the community at the center of our decisions. Thank you. And, Sure. Um, am I switching? I can't remember. Am I switching? Going back? Yeah. And forth or, yeah. So now Brody answers this question. Mm-hmm. Um, Brody, how would you balance representing the interests of multiple perspectives or constituents?

14:03 Um, provide an example of how you've done that in the past, please. Yeah. Um, I believe balancing multiple perspectives starts with listening and understanding where people are coming from. It's important to consider the impact of decisions on the whole community and not just one group. Uh, for example, uh, I serve on the Springfield Education Foundation, um, where we had, uh, to decide how to allocate grant funding across several programs. Uh, there were several opinions about priorities, uh, but by listening, asking questions, and focusing on what would benefit students most, we were able to reach a decision that everyone could support. I would bring that same approach to the school board. Great. Thank you. Matt, same question. How would you balance representing the interests

14:49 of multiple perspectives or constituents, and provide an example of how you done that in the past? Yeah, absolutely. I think balancing, uh, multiple perspectives is just something that, um, that I'm kind of really comfortable with at this point. Uh, a lot of the jobs that I've had over the years, I started out in a customer service job, very humble one, working at a call center. Um, and I worked my way into the escalation queue. And if you're not familiar with call centers, where you call in and you get upset with your representative, you can ask for their manager, their supervisor, and that was me. I would come on the phone. And very often you come at it with somebody who has a very different perspective than your own, uh, and about what they think the company should be doing and how you can handle that. And so you have to naturally balance how you're comfortable, number one, deescalating the situation, trying

15:35 to understand their perspective, help them understand what the company can and can't do, what tools are available to us, and making sure that we come out it with a positive outcome for everybody involved as best as we can. Uh, over the years I've gained other jobs. My current role that I've been in, I've been at for over a decade now. Uh, one of the things that I had spent the most time at was being a product manager in our software company. And one of the things that is a core tenant as a product manager, uh, and many of the other roles that I face there is, is, uh, balancing the needs of the customer, in our case, our client versus what we can technically achieve. What is possible, what timelines we have, uh, making sure that people understand. There's very often three levers that you can deal with. You can do things quickly, you can do things with quality,

16:20 or you can do things very expensively. And very often those three levers, uh, you can only typically pick two. So if you want something with high quality very quickly, it's gonna cost you a lot of money. If you want things, uh, with low cost, uh, and high quality, it's, well, it's gonna take you a long time. Right? And learning how to balance these trade-offs and explaining people, uh, what the impact of their decisions are, uh, and, and what the consequences of these things are, often helps people to really find their way to the other end of the solution, right? Uh, making sure that people feel like their input is considered right. It's being valued and respected. You can balance it. You just gotta find your way through to common ground and making sure you focus on common ground. Like in this case with the school board, we have a lot of important issues that are coming up, right?

17:05 There's budgetary issues, there's curriculum adoption programs, and all these other things. And it's gonna be important that I step away from some of the more recent advocacy that I've been doing, and make sure that I'm taking into consideration, you know, the fiduciary responsibility to ensure everybody is considered not just the local and hyper-local things that I've been involved with. Uh, as a volunteer at schools, I often gain an inside perspective of what the life of those people are at the school. But again, I have to remember that I've gotta balance not just for those people that I'm friends with, but everybody in the community. Sometimes those positions may not be things that I agree with, but are for the greater good. And I understand that distinction, and being able to balance that is going to be important. Thank you.

17:54 So I guess I'll take the next question. So, what do you feel is the primary responsibility of a school board or any board of directors? Well, the primary responsibility of this school board in particular, obviously, is to help shape the outcome and the vision for our district and our community and our students, right? As a, as a school board itself, our job's not to really dictate how things go into operation, right? Uh, that's the job of the superintendents, the job of the administration. Our job, though is to help lay out the foundation of what the objectives we expect of the administration, what we want and strive towards. So hopefully, uh, our job as the school board would be to ensure that we're putting forth priorities that align with the things we care about, which is high graduation rates, high competency rates, uh,

18:40 successful outcomes for everybody involved, successful and happy employment through our, our, you know, staff and workforce. Uh, these kinds of conditions are the kind of priorities and the vision and policy that we shape, hopefully are always pointed in that direction. Um, and so it's our job to make sure that we're not thinking about what is the current crisis, but rather to focus on the long-term sustainability of the choices we're making. And sometimes that means that we're balancing, um, the, these very, very difficult and complex situations, but it's important that we remember that we're just handling things at the, at the vision level, right? And not necessarily getting bogged down with that. Well do this X, Y, and Z. Right. Thank you, Rudy.

19:27 Um, which question? Uh, question six. What, what do you feel is the primary responsibility of a school board or any board of directors? Yeah. Uh, so my understanding, the Springfield School Board of Directors, um, is the policy making body for Springfield Public Schools, and, um, effectively, uh, meet the system's challenges. The board of directors must function with the superintendent, um, as a cohesive leadership team. Okay. I wanna do a, just a sound check with the audience. Can everybody hear okay. In the back? Do we need to boost that at all? Doing good. Okay. Thank you. Amber.

20:19 Given the short term nature of this appointment, how would you quickly become a contributing member and make informed student-centered decisions? What would you need from us or staff to support you? Uh, to me, Yes. Um, so I believe I would be able to hit the ground running in my current role as a board member for the Springfield Education Foundation. I'm already familiar with board procedures and the use of Robert's Rules of order. Um, that experience has given me a good understanding of how boards operate and how, uh, to participate effectively in discussions. Uh, I would want to connect with district leadership and fellow board members to get up to speed on current priorities, ongoing projects, and any issues that, uh, need attention, uh, with

21:06 that information, uh, and some time to review materials. I'm confident that I would be able to, um, within about a week I would be to be able to fully prepare and participate in, uh, board work. I, So same question, given the short term nature of this appointment, how would you quickly become a contributing member and make informed student center decisions? What would you need from us or staff to support you? Yeah, absolutely. I, um, I, as I had mentioned before, I, I believe in being a proactive response to things. Um, I don't try to wait around for things and an assumption that, uh, should I be appointed?

21:52 I went ahead, especially having left the board meeting a couple of weeks ago, thinking heavily about this topic, right when you guys were discussing how best to onboard a board member. And one of the things I did, uh, utilizing my software background is I built with ai a, a web tool for myself called Board Ready. And it was designed to scrape information about all the policies for OASB, uh, ODE, lane, ESD, our Springfield board policies, and compile it all together in a kind of a self, uh, paced learning module system. Um, and have been using that to kind of bring myself up to speed. One of the things we talk about in the software industry a lot is the J curve. And that's when you adopt a new policy or procedure, there's very often a, uh, very pronounced drop in productivity

22:37 or efficiency for a small period of time. So as time goes on, you see this small drop, but then you see an exponential increase in productivity and efficiency as people come up to speed. Uh, my job in doing that was to try and reduce any kind of j curve effect and just hit the ground running as far as going on to get support to help being effective. One of the first things that I'd like to do is really dive deep, uh, into information about the current issues that are facing the board right now. Obviously, the budget shortfall is top of mind for me. It's, it's a very looming, large problem that is immediately important. Um, and so that's something that I would pursue helping get as much information about alternative solutions, budgeting models, things that we've considered, what other impacts could happen if we make certain choices.

23:23 Uh, and it's something that I would strongly advocate throughout my tenure, is to make sure that we're always running scenarios, uh, rather than just taking a, whatever the current approach is, right? We need to have as much information as possible. And that's usually how I make the basis of most of my decisions, is gathering all the intelligence that I can and running these comparative scenarios. Um, and that would be what I would expect to do, uh, as soon as I hop on. So, Thank you. Time, check 13 minutes. Okay. So back to you, Nicole. Uh, we didn't go nor, so how many we've done 1, 2, 4, and six already. Correct. Okay. Um, and how do I start with, sorry. Sorry. I think it's Brody. Back to Brody. Okay.

24:12 Uh, how would you navigate a difficult conversation or address a challenging topic when you disagree with a fellow board member? Um, thank you. Uh, I think disagreements are a natural and healthy part of any board's work, especially when we deeply care about the issues brought before us. Uh, when I disagree with a fellow board member, my first step would be, uh, to make sure I fully understand their perspective, uh, taking time to listen and ask clarifying questions. Uh, if we still disagree, I would approach the conversation respectfully and focus on the issues, uh, rather than the person. My goal would be, uh, to keep discussion constructive and centered on, uh, what is best for students in the district. I also think it's important to remember that the board functions as a team. So even when there are different opinions,

24:58 maintaining professionalism and mutual respect is key. At the end of the day, I'm comfortable with expressing my perspective, uh, but I also respect the board's, uh, collective decision making process and would support moving forward together if a decision could be made. Okay. Matthew, how would you navigate a difficult conversation or address a challenging topic when you disagree with the fellow board member? Oh, yeah. I definitely un understand, uh, disagreement. It's something that, um, especially in my recent effort in joining this, uh, there was a strong disagreement on my point of view on how we handle the reduction in force. But I, I understand perspectives, and one of the things that I like to do is I like to make sure that I can advocate

25:43 for my position while being respectful of other people's positions. And it's important to me to understand where other people are coming from, um, especially to understand if, if I'm going to try and persuade somebody to my own point of view, that it's important that I can understand their point of view so that we can, we can arrive at a conclusion without feeling like somebody has to simply give ground. But I do understand that dissent is important. I mean, it's, uh, absolutely a problem that, uh, we need to face group think. Uh, I don't believe in unanimous decisions on things that are weighty and complex decisions. I think it's important and healthy that there are absolute, uh, disagreements from time to time. And I think it's absolutely important that we also maintain a unified presence, should a decision be made that we don't all agree on

26:28 that afterwards. We understand that's gonna happen from time to time, but we're a unified body and we represent ultimately, uh, successful outcomes for the students. And so long as any decision that made it drives towards that, it's still the right decision. Um, and I just believe that, uh, it's very easy sometimes to get lost in, uh, person to person, interpersonal communication time to time, but keeping in mind and remembering what we're all here for, why we're here, uh, hopefully helps us drive right back into the side of let's just respect that we sometimes are going to agree to disagree. And I think that's perfectly fine. All good. Great. Um, so I guess we go to you first on this one.

27:13 So what is your understanding of school district governance? Well, and, and a lot of that I feel is very similar to, um, you know, what is our responsibility to the school board, but the school district governance in particular is a lot like, as I'd mentioned in my role as a product manager, um, where I spent years kinda help shaping, uh, directive for our engineering team software. Um, it's, it's a very similar concept, right? Our job under governance in this case is, is to typically define what it is we're looking as an outcome, right? What we, what are we trying to achieve? It's not my job product manager to tell engineering how to achieve that outcome, but to give them enough instruction and groundwork for which they can come up with a solution and implement it in an effective way that meets everything

27:58 that we're setting out to do. Uh, school district governance is very similar, right? What we're trying to do is outlay what our priorities are. We wanna make sure that this district comes out of this, uh, current situation with a positive, uh, balanced budget. We wanna make sure that we have the right staffing and workforce that's going on. We want to make sure we're picking the right curriculum. It's gonna be the right curriculum for the next seven, eight years, right? Uh, these are very weighty, important decisions. And our job as governance is to make sure that we're putting out the proper priorities, the proper policies, and making the decisions on the things that are brought to us from the administration that make the most sense to achieve those goals. Uh, and so that's our job under this governance, to make sure that we're carrying out on behalf of the entire district, not just, uh, a few hotspots here and there.

28:46 Thank you. Rodie. Um, so I understand, uh, school district governance, um, is that the board focuses on big pictures, uh, big picture setting the district's vision, adopting policies and approving budget, and, uh, providing oversight. While the superintendent and district staff are responsible for the day-to-day operations of running the schools, um, as a board member, uh, uh, the role is to work collaboratively with the superintendent and other, uh, board members to make thoughtful decisions and support students and staff and the community while staying focused on policy and accountability. Thank you.

29:32 We got two and a half minutes. We're at 1845. Do we want to entertain another question, or, this seems going pretty quick. I think we have time to, okay. Yep. So, um, Brody, the, the appointment for position two expires, uh, June 30th, 2027. Uh, would you be intending to run an election complete the term, which expires in 2029? Um, yes. I plan to seek, re, uh, reelection, um, after, uh, this appointment. Matt, the same question. Well, let's see how it goes. I mean, that was my original plan was to, uh, work my way into the board. This opportunity availed itself much sooner than I expected to actually run for the board. But yeah, I mean, it was my original intention to try

30:18 and run the next appropriate term. And obviously I'd like to avail my services, um, as soon as I can. So there We're good. Thank you. Thank you. Looks like that sort of brings us to the close of our first panel. Thank you again so much for your application and your thoughtful answers to the questions. Thank you. Call up the next candidates. Call up, um, Zach Bassett. Christina Scott, that would bring in a punter at this time also. Okay. Here.

31:17 Thank you. Yeah, that one's fresh. Ask the first question. Okay. Oh, I was, I'm sorry. Ready to ask. I was like, that's my job. A rock paper, scissors. Okay, then. Okay, we'll get going. Thanks again to all of you for being here. Uh, Ken is going to start with the first question.

32:02 So I'll start with Zach. Zach, how would you describe your approach to interacting with others, and how would you contribute to the team as a board member for the remainder of the term? There we go. I like to observe first, uh, see how things are going, feel outta room before I contribute. Sometimes, uh, I like to, uh, make note of how people are feeling when they're interacting and what the emotions are like in their room. And before I speak, I like to make sure that, uh, I'm gonna speak in a safe way that people feel will hear what I'm saying, and, uh, won't be hurt by my words.

32:51 Um, I contribute to, to this team specifically. I think I contribute because I have a base knowledge of how a board works, and I have a lot of OSB education that this community paid for. Um, knowing what's expected of board members. Um, I think the re for the remain of this term, uh, I could be pretty useful because I think I can step right in and do the job. Um, and I know the resources to reach out to if I need answers or que or I have questions. And I think another way is that I'm pretty good at, uh, pretty good along. I get along with people I can get along with just about anybody find common,

33:37 find some common ground, and a way to move forward with just about any person. And I think I've brought that to groups. I've been a part of, um, the board here for one, as well as, um, I, I served on a lot of youth sports boards and things over the year, and I, I feel like I am, uh, a uniting force. Maybe that might be really bold, but yeah, that's my answer. Thank you, Christina. Uh, same question. How would you de describe your approach to interacting with others, and how would you contribute to the team as a board member for the remainder of the term? My approach to interacting with people always is gonna be community first. We're all good at something and we all have something to offer. So I try to mend that

34:22 and highlight each person's strong suit in a team, and then we each kind of lean on those As far as interacting with others, I am a business manager and I have employees and dozens of kids and grandkids. I am really great at reading the room, working with personalities, masking my own, um, withdrawing. I listen to learn. I, um, believe in everybody being equal. Nobody's better than the next, which also includes myself. Um, so I try to equalize any situation and offer compassion and a different perspective without being disrespectful.

35:07 Thanks. Thank you. Hunter. Oh, oh, did you have you guys a term? Oh, So sorry. Uh, the second part of the question, for the remainder of the term, I'm really looking forward to, um, I have three days a week I can get involved into the schools and the systems. I would like to build more bridges in the communities, through the businesses, to the schools, targeting children that are under-resourced, maybe kids that need jobs, um, housing issues and things like that. And providing them with opportunities, because that's what I've been doing in the streets for the last eight years or so. Yeah. Um, networking kids with business owners and things like that so that they can show up and get an education because all their needs are met before they got to the door. That's it. Thank you.

35:53 Thanks. Under the same question for you, how would you describe your approach to interacting with others? And how would you contribute to the team as a board member for the remainder of the term? Yeah. So lemme just preface by saying, I, I believe that we all, um, despite the ways that we think and the ways that we conduct ourselves differently, I believe we're all here for the same reason to answer the question. Um, when working with others and with interacting with others, I typically tend to take an approach of letting em e everyone share their ideas. Um, at the end of the day, uh, especially in a board setting, we all have the right to vote how, um, and to voice our opinions in the way that we feel is, um, right in the way that we believe.

36:42 Um, I would contribute to the team simply by doing that, simply by saying, you know, this is how I believe about this issue. Uh, I believe that while there may be disagreements on specific issues, I believe we all have a unified focus in this room, which is securing a successful and a fruitful, um, future for our youth. Um, and that's how I would contribute to the team, uh, for the remainder of the term for Thank you. Who's next? Jonathan? Yeah, I'll start. Uh, the next question, I'll start with Christina on this one. Um, so it's question four. Given the short-term nature of this appointment, how would you quickly become a contributing member and make informed student-centered decisions?

37:30 And, uh, the follow-up is what would you need from us or staff to support you? What I do in my free time already is gonna be student centered, um, and getting children into their next phase of life, into adulthood and teaching them responsibilities and such. So I would love to do that at a bigger perspective and would just need the green light to get involved and get in the door and go and teach people what I have been successful at so that the kids can grow from there. Okay. Thank you. Hunter, Can you repeat the question for me, please? Sure. So given the short term nature of the appointment,

38:17 how would you quickly become a contributing member and make informed student-centered decisions? And the follow-up is, what would you need from us, the board or staff to support you? Yeah, for sure. So, you know, given the short term nature of, um, what's being asked, I, I just think that applying, you know, principles of, um, you know, allowing people, um, to share their opinions to, you know, to conduct ourselves with dignity, you know, despite there being sort of an urgency with such a short term. Um, you know, I, I feel that with my current role with the board transferring to, uh, an advisory to, um, do a voting role would be, uh,

39:03 a seamless transition in place of maybe lack of experience. In other regards, um, as far as what I would need from staff, I would just say, you know, cooperation in trying to figure out what issues are on the mind of our students and of our staff. And, um, yeah, and just cooperation in dealing and with meeting with, um, different individuals in that process. Thank you. Amber. I'm sorry. My apologies. I given, do you wanna read the question or you want me to skip? Mm-hmm. I can read it if you'd like, or I can go Let's try it. Okay. Um, I think I'd quickly become a contributing member,

39:52 um, for student-centered decisions because, uh, I know how to do the job to some extent. I've done it before. That's not the only reason. Um, sorry, I got stuck. Um, I, I think I know the job. I think I know what it entails. Um, I'm not afraid to speak my mind. And, um, when it's appropriate. And at a time like this, I think it's really important that you have somebody who, uh, really cares about governance and how the board works and, and how the board operates. And from you. What I would need to be able to step right in would be the board's operating agreements.

40:38 I'd probably like to have coffee with the new superintendent and get to know her a little bit. I'd like to get to know all of you a little bit better. Um, I think that's, that's about what I would need. Thank you. And now to Amber, What is your understanding of school district governance? And this is for Hunter? Yeah, So in my understanding, a school district as far as its governance is, um, governed by an elected board, usually consisting of five, seven, or nine members. These members are usually elected by the public or appointed by other officials, in my understanding, in larger cities.

41:24 Um, I believe that, um, the role of, you know, school district governance, governance is governance is to, um, you know, is to allocate the resources and the, the time and the resources of, and the attention of, um, that school district and that respective group of people. I would just highlight that, um, at the end of the day, um, you know, the school or job isn't necessarily to enforce policy, right? I believe that's the job of the superintendent, but it's to, um, make decisions, make key decisions on key issues. Thank you. Zach, what is your understanding

42:13 of school district governance? Uh, governance is a big term, but, uh, overall it means that, uh, we set the, or the, the board sets the priorities of the district. Governance is the term for all the stuff you do, which is setting the priorities, setting the goals for the superintendent, uh, term, determine the direction where, where we're going, um, voting on critical things. And I think the biggest thing is hiring a superintendent. And more importantly than that, is evaluating a superintendent in an ongoing matter in a meaningful way. I've seen, um, those evaluations when I came to the board were very much a letter. I remember signing off on a letter that I wrote to Sue Ricky Smith talking about how great she was

42:58 and all these things, and, and singing all these praises. 'cause that's what I was told I had to do as a board member. After, after I was a part of that evaluation, I sought out OSBA to make, uh, a very thorough process for evaluating a superintendent, because I felt that's what the community needed and deserved. I think all those things make up what governance is. Thank you. Um, we've already got the chat GBT definition down. So I'm gonna say it's the ethnicity above management. So we adopt the policy, we go over the budget, we make sure everybody's acting within their spectrums, and, um, we should be representing as leaders.

43:45 And that's what I look at as the school board, their governance. There's a step above management. It's the law. Thank you. And we covered everybody. Okay? Yep. Uh, Nicole. Okay. Um, we asked two yet this time. Um, how would you balance, I'm gonna start with you, hunter. How would you balance representing the interests of multiple perspectives or constituents? Please provide an example of how you've done this in the past. Right. So, um, I've been in a lot of situations where people disagree about a, a lot of times

44:31 what are weighty and kind of, um, really important issues. This is what I'll just say. Um, Yeah. Um, I think the key to that is to let everyone speak their mind. I, without fear of, um, you know, retaliation, I believe that especially when an issue is filled with passion and is heated, it's important to let people just express that in a way that, you know, as an organization, whatever that might be, that we understand that, you know, that's not personal. That's just how people believe, um, in that moment. And a lot of times, you know, the safeguards and the filters just come off when really debating, um, a key issue. Um, specifically referring to, uh, constituents

45:17 and, you know, people in the public who disagree. I would just say this, you know, as a board, we all have the right to believe what we believe and to, you know, vote however we see fit. But I believe conducting ourselves with the public and with each other, with respect and with, um, a sense of dignity, I think is very important. And I would just, as a board member, that is something that I would want to really prioritize. And that is something that I would want to urge our existing board to keep in mind as well. Um, Christina, number two, how would you balance representing the interest of multiple perspectives or constituents? And please provide an example of how you've done this in the past. I think a great example is, um, not leaning towards one side or the next.

46:02 I pretty much strive down the middle of the road. Um, the best example I could use to explain it is, uh, I do food reviews, restaurants around town. Um, not everybody likes the restaurants, but we keep it an open positive message community. We gather around the same interests, which is food. Nobody comes and goes to the left without, uh, checking for understanding, and then we bring it back to the middle. Um, I just feel like everybody's gonna have opinions. And if we could all bring it to one common goal, which here is gonna be every student every day. So as long as we're all here for that, we should be able to listen and learn and, um, agree. Even if we are agreeing to disagree, we're gonna do it

46:49 for the best of the district, which is for the students. Thank you. And Zach, number two, for you. I think, uh, ial, I, balancing the interests of all the stakeholders we have, um, it's really important to listen first, uh, hear what everybody's saying, um, one, so you can get the perspective two, so you can hear what the impact of your decision will be to kids or the perceived impact of your decision will be to kids. I think it's important not just for your decision making, but also to know the gravity of everything else your decision impacts. And so that's one of the few ways you get all that information, is by listening to your constituents.

47:35 Um, I can provide a lot of examples. Um, the biggest one, and the one that's probably the hardest for me to talk about is, um, when our district went through the COVID-19 pandemic, um, really, really hard decisions had to be made. Um, I didn't make, I didn't make a lot of friends with the decisions that, with the way I voted, uh, I voted to send kids back to school because I, I felt like it needed to happen. I felt like kids should have been in school and everything else should have closed down, because that's the most important thing to me on as a school board member. Um, but people were worried. Teachers were worried they were gonna get hurt,

48:20 teachers were worried that we were sending them to die. Um, my own wife presented me with, challenged me with those kind of questions as well. And I had to talk to, I had to look at facts. I had to look at data. I had to talk to my other board members. Um, I had to talk to community members and see what they thought. And at the end of the day, we have a job to do, and I was teaching kids, and so we sent kids back to school. The outcome of that was, I gotta hear from the association who supported me, uh, quite a bit in my board role. And, uh, I disagreed with them, and I'm okay with that. And I would make the same decision today again. And at, at the peril

49:08 of my personal relationships with people I knew I was cut off from a lot of people in our lives because of a decision I made. Not even a decision, I made a decision the board made that I weighed on. So, um, yeah, that's my answer. Oh, yeah. Yes. Everyone you want me to ask? Mm-hmm. Okay. Um, I'm gonna start with, uh, Christina. Um, how would you navigate a difficult conversation or address a challenging topic when you disagree with a fellow board member? I'll definitely get in writing first. Just kidding. Um, it's real easy 'cause we're all here for the same goal,

49:54 and that would be students first. I would definitely just approach it with, um, maybe some cookies and a light conversation, uh, coffee, like the superintendent's planning on doing. Um, I believe difficult conversations are gonna be had always, um, like I said, I manage four employees and one's always got childcare issues, and then having to move hours and schedules, having to cut hours. Um, I've been able to navigate and successfully do this for my son who's disabled. Um, so I believe I can handle pretty much any adult conversation, especially when we're all here for the same common goal and the same interest as being the students.

50:39 Okay. Yeah. Thank you, Zach. Uh, same question. How would you navigate a difficult conversation or address a challenging topic when you disagree with a fellow board member? I think tho those are always, situations are always difficult. And I, I don't think Christina's wrong saying that, uh, making some cookies and bringing coffee. We're all community members. We're all people that want the right thing for kids. Um, and remembering that we all have a job to do here. We all have agreements that we, things that we've agreed to on how we're gonna communicate with each other. And at the end of the day, we, we put every, every, we put kids first.

51:24 And I, it's, for me, it's for me, it's never been hard. Conversations have never been easy, especially in this environment. But the thing is that is easy is focused on what we have in common and moving towards that common goal and being able to knock off the, the outliers, the things that we don't agree on. Thanks. Good. Hunter, how would you navigate a difficult conversation or address a challenging topic when you disagree with a fellow board member? Yeah, you know, I, I, I just think I would prioritize first and foremost, you know, keeping an even tone. If we're thinking, you know, just practically in the moment, keeping an even tone, allowing people to, like I said, speak the mind to understand that while emotions can, can really get ramped up and we can disagree on key issues.

52:11 The, the point of why I believe all of us are here is to, you know, to secure a successful future for our students. First, I would just say, um, in more of a broader view, this idea of, um, you know, in this practice of diff navigating a difficult conversation, really, I think comes down to understanding that in the end, you know, all of us can vote and can voice our opinions in the way we, you know, the way we see fit. And that, um, when we create a space where everyone can just be open about how, you know, they believe both personally and professionally about a policy or about a decision, I just think is super important and super vital. Thank you.

53:03 Let's see. I think I'll start with Hunter on this one. Um, what is the primary responsibility of a school board as a collective? Uh, any type of organization? Yeah. You know, I, just looking at the question, um, how it's put down, you know, the primary responsibility of a board of directors is to, um, is to broadly govern, to allocate, um, the resources, time and attention, um, of, of that respective organization to look at how it specifically right refers to a school district. Um, and a school board is the responsibility of the school board is to, you know, appoint and oversee the superintendent. It is to, um, you know, vote on

53:49 what curriculum is used in our schools. And it's, you know, to manage staff, to manage staffing and to, um, deal with some of these more difficult but overarching issues in our district. Um, I don't believe the point of a school board is to necessarily, uh, you know, meddle for lack of a better word, in, in school's affairs, but I do believe it is to say, um, and, and it is to provide guidance for the direction of a district as a whole. Um, and that is my current understanding of the school board and their role. Thank you. Zach. Uh, the primary role of the board is to, uh,

54:35 set, set policies and hire the superintendent and give the what, which is like the goals and what are we gonna do, what's our priority for the year? Setting these priorities for a superintendent so that they have a clear path of, of what you're expecting for the year. I think another, uh, another thing the school board does is in setting priorities. Sorry, I mean, the thing, it's important that the school board does set priorities for the superintendent and focuses on items, uh, finite items because the superintendent can't fix everything at once. And as a board, we communicate what our primary needs are, and you can't cast a net out bigger than your superintendent can pull in.

55:21 I didn't think about that analogy very well. Sorry. But, um, yeah, just making sure that they have the tools to get you what you want, which is good communication. And Christina, And with this guy, thank you, guy. Similar to another question. So my response will be similar, um, the governance over the management. So we would adopt policies, watch the budgets, and hire the superintendent, that sort of thing. But I think ours is pretty cool to being active and involved around, um, and listening to different community members, different, um, types of students, different, uh, cultures, everything. I mean, you're here, you are the top of the totem pole

56:09 or the bottom of the totem pole. I think when you, I think the strongest is at the bottom. Anyway, uh, we govern the management. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Amber. Last one left. Uh, the appointment for position two expires June 30th, 2027. Will you be intending to run an election to complete the term, which expires June 30th, the 2029? I think we're Zach. Absolutely not. I want nothing to do with any political party, any election, any popularity contest.

56:54 I don't want anything to do with any of that. I'm just here to help you guys out for, to get by for a year and help things go seamlessly as possible. If I can, Um, I would consider it. I'm here to represent the under-resourced and underserved kids special education. And so depending on what we accomplish together and how much I can get going, I would love to run again if that's what the community would like. So, Um, regardless of the results Of this appointment, I do intend to run for school board in 2027. Thank you.

57:46 Okay. Well thanks to all of you. We've been completed our list of questions. Thank you. The next, uh, three candidates are d Dele, guy Latham, and Jill Curos. Yeah. Want me Touch this? I hope I pronounced all of your names right. Is it Aya?

58:36 Hmm. Is that correct? DD dLee, yes. Okay, thanks. Okay, well, thanks again for being here. Um, sure. Appreciate your intro. Amber, the timer. Thanks. Good looking out. It's a detail.

59:21 Am I starting on this one? Sure. Okay. Um, I think I'll start out with, uh, the question four. So given the short term nature of this appointment, how would you quickly become a contributing member and make informed students centered decisions? And then what would you need from the board or what would you need from the support staff to help you with that? Um, I'll change up the order. I'll start on this end with Jill. Great, thank you. So typically when I enter into the scene in a new environment, um, I like to listen first, but with the quick nature of this, I would say that I would be in a position to need to balance, uh,

1:00:08 being both a listener and a leader. Um, I would rely on the team as well as the staff to provide me and navigate me to the i important information as quickly as possible, um, for the board meetings to come. Um, I would also, um, be interested in building relationships with the, um, acting superintendent, as well as gathering as much information about, um, things that the district is working on that are behind the scenes, maybe not in the media, maybe not in the board minutes, but all of the sort of peripheral things that also need to be addressed. Um, so I'd lean into the team to network me all that, the access to all that information.

1:00:53 Okay. Thank you. Uh, let's just go right to left guy. So past jobs and all that stuff, working in public safety and the fire service, um, those are always, you know, you gotta observe, learn quickly, and make decisions. I like to listen and, um, make my listen to everybody and make a sound decision. Um, so basically I would think I would quickly learn what's going on. Um, I'd also like to look at, uh, past minutes, um, to see what has been going on with the board, speak with you guys as well and staff, and also speak with the acting superintendent, you know,

1:01:38 come up with a, uh, good plan and basically go from there. Okay. Thank you. And Janaya? Yeah, so this is my first time on a mic like this, sorry. Um, um, I'm a school psychologist and my position is kind of unique, um, where I work because I get to work with district administrators, principals, general ed teachers, special ed teachers, educational assistants, students, parents. So I get to see how, um, board decisions impact all levels of the school system, the adults and the kids. So I think that I can contribute with that perspective

1:02:23 to help with, you know, board decisions and board policy. Um, practically speaking, I would have some catching up to do, you know, I would, um, do some more review of minutes and have to interview fellow board members to make sure I'm up to speed and understanding the background on any pertinent decisions that were happening. But, um, I think given the nature of my work and what I've been doing for the last 12 years, um, I have that perspective to see how board decisions and board policies affect all levels of the system. So I would hope that that would help contribute to the, to the decisions. Thank you. Amber,

1:03:08 How would you navigate a difficult conversation or address a challenging topic when you disagree with a fellow board member? Um, so fortunately, or unfortunately, I do have a lot of practice with this, um, because a lot of decisions that happen in schools, um, you're gonna have some people who disagree and some people who disagree very passionately, because we all care so very much, right? We all, um, want what's best for kids. We all care so much about every kid getting their needs met. And, um, you have to face the reality of, you know, how do we make this happen with the resources that we have? Um, and I had a great mentor, um, my first years

1:03:54 of working who said that, you know, conflict is just the water you weighed through to get to the solution on the other side. So, you know, that's okay, it's an everyday part or it's part of your life in, in working in schools. Um, and so you just have to follow a process of listening really deeply to understand another person's perspective and really, really understand where they're coming from. Um, really kind of put yourself in their shoes, imagine what it's like to be them in that situation. And, um, you know, go through a critical thinking process in your own mind of, okay, what if they are right? Um, what if I'm wrong? And then, you know, have a honest and meaningful conversation stating your case or stating your opinion and the reasons

1:04:40 and facts that you have. And sometimes though, you're not gonna come to a total agreement and, um, that's okay. Uh, you know, at, at that point, if two people just aren't successful at convincing each other, then you rely on a more formal process, right? So, um, in the case of my work, you know, then it's an administrator's decision, and on a board, there's a board vote, and you accept the decision of that formal process and move on, um, even if it doesn't go the way you wanted it to, because getting bogged down in conflict and drama isn't good for anybody, and it's certainly not good for kids. Thank, Thank you. And guy, same question. How would you navigate a difficult conversation or address a challenging topic when you disagree

1:05:27 with a fellow board member? So, difficult conversations are never easy to deal with. Um, everybody does have an opinion. Um, but at the same point, you know, you gotta be open-minded and listen to what's going on. Um, you know, you might not, I might not agree with something that you may agree with. Um, with that said, I gotta respect your opinion on that and move forward with it, even if it's something I don't agree with, but it's gonna be for the better of the school district. You know, you gotta just gotta put your differences aside and move on with it. Um, pertaining to challenging topics, you know, there, it's everywhere and it's hard to deal with,

1:06:13 but honestly, being open-minded and understanding to everything and moving forward in a, uh, positive manner is gonna be the key goal, especially for the students and the staff and the school district. Thank you. You're welcome. Good. Hey, Jill, same question for you. How would you navigate a difficult conversation or address challenging topics when you disagree with a fellow board member? Absolutely. So, in an effort to signal for you my calm leadership, um, I do believe that healthy disagreement is a part of governance. Um, my approach is to listen carefully, focus on facts and policy implications, and then to keep the conversation grounded into what serves students and then our long term stability for the district. Thank you. Yeah.

1:07:12 Yes. I'll do number six. Um, we'll start with Guy. Um, what is the primary responsibility of a school board? So, if it's anything like what I've dealt with, uh, I was a, uh, board clerk for a local fire district in California. Um, basically the board was the oversight of the fire department and all that stuff. I would imagine that the same goes for the board for school district. Um, you oversee, I oversee, uh, policies, procedures, budgets, um, given guidance to the superintendent. Um, same thing was with the fire board, was, uh, the board gave guidance to the fire chief and, uh, on making sound decisions. Um, honestly, that's my,

1:08:00 my idea of what I think the board is here for. Okay. Uh, Jill, number six. What is your prim, what is the primary responsibility of a school board? Thanks for this opportunity. So I firmly believe that a board's, uh, goals are to set policy, provide oversight, hire, support, and evaluate the superintendent, which my understanding is that we'll be two and a half, um, opportunities in the next 18 months. Um, there is a level of protecting the fiscal integrity of the district and then representing the community interests. Um, I believe that boards govern through policy and oversight. They support the superintendent in leading the organization while insurance, ensuring transparency, accountability, and then alignment with the community's values.

1:08:49 And Dania, um, what is the primary responsibility of a school board? Um, I don't know if I can add anything to what other folks have answered, but it's just, I see it as the communities, um, you know, it's community members, ensuring that the district is holding to its priorities, um, helping the school districts set the priorities and the vision and enacting policy and, um, providing that oversight to make sure the district is kind of holding to that and that they're sticking to those priorities and, you know, fulfilling their responsibility to, to achieve that vision on what's best for kids. And, um, a strong school board that really understands,

1:09:35 um, schools and, um, understands the needs of the community is a great asset to helping a school run really well, or a district run really well. Okay. Want me to go? Mm-hmm. All right. So I'll start with Aya. So, uh, question number one. How, how would you describe your approach to interacting with others? And how would you contribute to the team as a board member for the remainder of the term? Um, yeah, like so many have already said, you know, you start with listening deeply, um, genuinely and, um, really understanding other people and, um, you know, to work with others effectively,

1:10:23 there has to be a level of trust and honesty and, um, you know, building relationships with people. Um, and so that's what I do in my work. Um, I work in multiple buildings, multiple teams, and, um, I interact with lots of different folks all the time. And, you know, step one is listen and get to know others, and then, um, also just really understanding, you know, the shared goal and the shared vision, um, so that you can work together. And, um, I, I don't wanna be redundant with what I said before, but, but I think that my work perspective, um,

1:11:09 and my work with some of the most vulnerable people in our community and in our school systems, um, students with extra support needs, um, students who are navigating really tough situations, students with learning difficulties, um, students with mental health needs, uh, my understanding of that perspective I think can help contribute, you know, to, to the decision making. Thank you. Jill. Would you answer, how would you describe your approach to interacting with others, and how would you contribute to the team as a board member for the remainder of the term? Great, thank you. Um, I would take, I take, um, a collaborative approach. Um, like I said earlier, typically when I'm new, um, I like

1:11:54 to be a listener first, but I understand the nature of this board appointment, and I also understand the need to hit the ground running. Um, as a member of the team, I will maintain my portion of the whole. Um, and then as a board member, I would hold myself accountable to the leadership charge of keeping the conversation centered around students. Great. Okay. Thank you. So, guy, uh, how would you describe your approach to interacting with others, and how would you contribute to the team as a board member for the remainder of the term? So, I believe they've spoke on, uh, quite a bit of what they would do. And my feelings are the same as well, too. Um, I'm a quick learner. I do like to, uh, basically observe

1:12:39 and give positive feedback when need be. Um, and basically I hit the ground running. Um, just be part of the team, you know, there's no I in team. Okay. You know, there's, I wanna be part of the team, and that's what I would do. Great. Thank you. You're welcome. I'll go ahead and, uh, start with, uh, question seven, and I'll start with guy on this one. The appointment for position two expires June 30th, 2027.

1:13:25 Will you be intending to run in the election to complete the term, which expires June 30th, 2029? So I understand this is volunteer position. Um, you know, I do have a nine to five job, and it has lots of opportunities, but as long as I'm still in the area, my goal would be to run again, honestly. Okay. Thank you, Jill. Absolutely. Um, I'm not opposed to running again. Um, I do think that we're poised in a unique situation in

1:14:11 that we have acting superintendent. It looks like the intention is to, um, secure an interim superintendent and then the long-term superintendent. And so I do find that that transition and, and sort of everything that that's going to bring, um, to be very unique for your district. And so if necessary, I would continue, um, and consider running. Um, I would like the opportunity, of course, to evaluate myself and my efficiencies and my effectiveness over the 18 months, um, that this, um, looks at. But I do think that there's a, a situation there for you that would need a unique and continuous, um, sort of brain power in the room, um, for all the things that you are going to be faced with in the next two years. Okay.

1:14:59 Thank you. Yeah. And Aya, The honest answer is, I don't know. Um, the idea of running in an election is intimidating. Um, but I, I would have to, I would, I would be interested in it if I felt that if I were to get on the board, and I felt like I was a helpful, contributing member, um, and doing a good job. So that's the best answer I can give on that one. It is somewhat daunting before you actually tried that. Thank you. And Amber, How would you balance representing the interest of multiple perspectives or constituents?

1:15:45 Please provide examples of how you've done this in the past. I think it would be you going, is that right guy? Yeah, that's fine. Okay. Um, so how I would balance, uh, represent perspectives, you know, listening to the perspectives and all that stuff, um, constituent wise is basically being there, being an open ear to everybody. Um, in examples, I really haven't been in the political field, but, um, pertaining to my fire service and all that stuff, I was kind of a liaison for our, uh, fire department, uh, pertained to mental health, um, and advocating for us.

1:16:30 And basically I was able to get a mental health program running for, uh, the fire service and, uh, helping, uh, get that going, honestly. Thank you. Hey, Jill, how would you represent, or I'm sorry, how would you balance representing the interest of multiple perspectives or constituents? Please provide examples of how you've done this in the past. Absolutely. So, I mean, ultimately listening, um, and when I say listening, I mean the voices that are in the room and the voices that are not in the room room, I think that's really an important component of it. Um, as a board member, obviously my role is

1:17:15 to center students by upholding policy. Um, as my application describes, I do work for a neighboring school district, and so I am accustomed to, um, regularly managing multiple perspectives. Um, and my goal is to always meet people where they are in order to be able to listen. Um, often I find that the needs, um, can be met inside of what is already happening. As a board member, I do know that it will be our responsibility to listen to those voices, but also to support the superintendent in the operations that they would be able to solicit what actually can be supported. And if there is a reason why we would need to address policy to support that, that would be our role.

1:18:07 Um, so I think that to represent the interests of multiple perspectives, you have to really understand, um, the stakeholder's perspectives. And sometimes, um, you have to actively ask. And sometimes if you're in a leadership role or you're in a decision making role, you don't remember to ask as much. You might think you know what folks' interests or desires or opinions are, but, um, you really have to ask and be proactive about that. And sometimes you have to ask in the right way. Um, and then, you know, when you have all that information, that's when you can balance their interests, their perspective with the priority

1:18:54 that you've already all agreed to. Um, this is something that I do have a fair amount of practice with. Um, you know, we're having to balance oftentimes in the decisions we make in schools or in meetings that we have the interest or perspective of the student, including what the student thinks their interest is versus what the adult thinks their interest is, you know, the interest of the parent, the interest of the teacher, the interest of the principal. And, um, you know, it, it can be a lot, right? You have to really understand everybody's perspective, um, get a shared understanding of what the goal is, and, uh, then make a plan to work towards that goal. And so, um, following that general process, uh, can,

1:19:42 can help, you know, a team or an individual be able to balance all of those interests with the decisions that you have to make. And you also have to remember what the priorities are in any given situation. Thank you. Okay. And Nicole, I think five is the last one, right? Yeah, Five. Um, I guess we'll start with Jill. What is your understanding of school district governance? Because you asked question number six, which was the primary responsibility of the school board? I'm going to answer the, my understanding of a school district governance a little bit differently.

1:20:28 I'm, I'm not going to combine that with the responsibility of a school board. Um, and I believe that the, um, understanding of school district governance is the outcomes of the district match the vision, mission, goals and priorities that the district has set. Um, and for this district, I see instruction operations and student outcomes being a big portion of your goals and priorities. And so, um, that's what I see is that those outcomes match those goals and priorities. Um, de um, the same question. What is your understanding of school district governance? Um, yeah. I, I have never been on a school board before. I have attended school board meetings, um, and read board policy.

1:21:13 Um, I have been on a board of directors for the Oregon School Psychologist Association, which is a very small organization, so not entirely comparable. Um, but, uh, you know, my understanding, um, you know, again, is that the board's role is to provide those policy decisions that ensure that the school district is working towards those priorities and, um, working towards that shared vision. And that, you know, the school board is a tool and an organization that can help make those things happen and keep the school district on track and, um, ensure that, you know, the needs of the community are, are being met as best they can.

1:22:10 Oh, sorry guy. You're Fine. Um, what is the under, what is your understanding of school district governance? Um, you know, I really can't say much more than what they've already said, but my understanding is, uh, help adopting policies and procedures, um, giving guidance to the, uh, superintendent, um, you know, and just making sure that the outcome of the, uh, school district and the goals are met to, uh, smoothly operate as a, uh, unified district. Thanks.

1:23:00 Okay. That was all the questions. Alright, well, thank you again so much. Thank you. Yeah, guy Bill, appreciate your time. And I believe our final panel is Robert Brew, Emily sson and Devin McCort.

1:23:46 Hmm. Okay. Play with this clock for a moment.

1:24:33 I, yeah, there we go. Got it. All right. Thank you for your patience on that. Well, welcome to you all, and you sort of probably have sat through this so you sort of know the, the system or the process. So we're gonna start with Amber to ask the first question. So, with, uh, question number one, I'll go to you, Bob. How would you describe your approach to interacting with others, and how would you contribute to the team as a board member for the remainder of the term? Good question. My approach to working with others is grounded listening,

1:25:19 respect, and problem solving. Over the course of more than 30 years in public service, I've worked with people from many different professional backgrounds, viewpoints, legislatures, agency staff, educators, labor, UK representatives, community members, and at groups I found productive. Big operation begins for making sure people feel heard, understood, and respected, even when they are disagree. I also tend to approach issues analytically and constructively. Much my career has involved helping organizations work through complex policy and financial decisions where resources were limited and priorities compete. My role is often gonna help people focus on shared, shared roles that identify practical solutions

1:26:05 to move the work forward. As a board member, I would contribute by bringing that collaborative mindset along with my background in public sector, finance and governance, school boards, ultimate teams. And their affecting this depends on how well members work together and what they do with the administration. I would strive to be a steady, thoughtful participation in, in board discussions, asking useful questions, supporting transparent decision making, and helping the board focus on what matters most the board, students, staff, and the long term. Thank you, Emily. Thank you. Um, my approach to interacting with others is rooted with respect, collaboration, and active listening.

1:26:51 I believe that teams are built when people feel heard and different perspectives are valued. I also believe in transparency and clear communication are essential to building within the community. School board serves the public. So it's important for our discussions and decisions to remain accessible to families and stakeholders that we represent. My background, working directly with students and pursuing my master's in special education gives me a perspective that keeps students in the middle of the dec of the decision making. Thank you. I do the homework before I walk into the room. That's my approach to everything that I do regarding governance. Uh, I read the financials, I learn where the disagreements actually are,

1:27:36 and I try to engage with what's real instead of what's political. And that's been true on the higher education coordinating commission where I sit with people who see higher education funding, uh, very differently from each other. And we still end up governing, uh, we produce our budgets and we hold our institutions accountable. But those and those disagreements that, you know, come up, they don't disappear, but the work always gets done. Anyway. I know that the board is aware that I'm a petitioner on a recall effort. I want you to know that I did suspend it. Uh, honestly, it kinda stopped making sense to me to be collecting signatures against someone who I'm asking to sit next to and do budget work with. So I stopped. What I would bring to the board for the rest of the term is fiscal analysis experience from the heck and four years of bond oversight, uh, a connection

1:28:23 to this district that really isn't abstract as I have, uh, two siblings at Thurston High School and a brother-in-law in Springfield High, and the ability to show up on Thursday for the budget committee meeting ready to, ready to contribute immediately, not eventually, but on Thursday. Thank you, Nicole. Um, we'll start with Devin. How would you balance representing interests of multiple perspectives of, or constituents? Please provide an example of how you've done this in the past. Well, when I was working on a student representation policy for the McKenzie School Board, I spent a lot of time talking to folks who had a lot of different perspectives. You know, I had administrators and our superintendent Lane Tompkins, who was worried

1:29:10 that a student seat might slow decision making. I had teachers who, you know, were worried, um, about the student input perspective. They wanted the student input, but they wanted it in a structured way. And then I had some board members who believed that maybe it wasn't the right fit for our school, but I built the final version of the policy around what each group actually told me they needed. And, you know, the policy worked. Um, it passed unanimously by all board members, and at the end of the day, and that's not because, you know, anyone was talked into it, that's because the proposal addressed the real concerns and the needs of the school district and the board members sitting on our board, um, rather than just assuming what those concerns of the board members are, on the heck, the subcommittee's work is a constant balancing act, uh, community colleges and universities compete

1:29:56 with for the same dollars. And workforce advocates want different metrics and transfer advocates. I look a lot at that data and I try to figure out where the evidence actually points to. Uh, Springfield right now has parents who are devastated by mid-year layoffs, a board that was watching reserves drain and made a, uh, a fiscal judgment called about sustainability. And teachers who are under enormous pressure and a community asking hard questions about governance. I believe that all of those perspectives carry pressure and a community asking hard questions, I'm sorry, uh, real information. The next person in this seat cannot just represent one of them. They have to add, uh, they have to represent all of them. And I'd add that I'm, I'm analyzing this from the outside. Uh, my family is in these classrooms,

1:30:41 so I really do have skin in every one of these aspects. Um, Emily, how would you balance representing the interest of multiple perspectives of, or constituents Balancing multiple perspectives Start with understanding and listening to the concerns of all stakeholders, students, families, educators, and also community members. My approach is to here, listen, ask questions, and then focus on decisions and what best supports students and the overall success of the district. My work in education, I've balanced many viewpoints between students, families, and staff. Thank you. Um, Bob, the same question. Number two,

1:31:31 Public institutions almost serve diverse communities. So now different perspectives. Some sense my approach is always been to listen. Thank you. Shall I start again? Sure. Um, public institutions always serve diverse communities. So balancing different perspectives is an essential part of responsible leadership. My approach has always been to listen carefully and make sure I understand the concerns and priorities of different groups involved. Often those perspectives reflect legitimate interests that deserve consideration, even when they appear to conflict. After listening, I try to focus the conversation on shared objectives and education. Those common goals usually include student success, responsible stewardship of public resources,

1:32:18 and maintaining a strong and sustainable system for the future. When people can see how their interests connect to those broader goals, it becomes easier to find workable solutions. Next to my budgetary and financial experience, balancing multiple perspectives while working toward agreement is the area in which I'm most accomplished. I could give many examples. For instance, serving as the finance director for the Eugene Airport on nine 11, when I had to balance the needs of the newly formed TSA, the airport tenants, airline passengers, and the Eugene City government. As you can imagine, tensions were very high, and my responsibility was to remain calm and work through the problems. Another example was on was when I was on the planning

1:33:03 and implementation team that took the work of seven separate state agencies with vastly different operating structures and constituencies, and brought them under a single agency, the higher education, uh, higher education coordinating commission. That project involved legislators, higher education officials, multiple union bargaining units, and many, many nervous employees. Again, keeping my eye on the goal and working towards an equitable outcome. I could point to my time serving on the Springfield City Council and Planning Commission, balancing the sometimes conflicting needs and desires of my constituents and fellow council members, or most recently, serving on the Lane Lane County Public Safety funding task force, working along with board, working

1:33:49 with a broad class section of the countywide community to come up with a mutually palatable set of funding recommendations for the County Board of Commissioners. Those experiences have reinforced to me that while it may not always be possible to satisfy every perspective, it is always possible to treat people respectfully and make decisions that are thoughtful, well explained, and grounded in the public interest. So, um, I'll just stay with, go to question number three and, uh, I will start, um, start with Bob. Uh, how would you navigate a difficult conversation or address a challenging topic when you disagree

1:34:34 with a fellow board member? Disagreement is a normal and healthy part of public decision making. In fact, thoughtful disagreement can lead to better outcomes if it's handled constructively. When I disagree with Mike with a colleague, my first step is to make sure I fully understand their perspective. Sometimes disagreements arise because people are working from different information or assumptions. Asking clarifying questions and listening carefully often helps identify where common ground might exist If differences remain, I believe it's important to keep the discussion focused on the issue rather than the individual respectful dialogue, clear reasoning and a shared commitment to the district's missions help keep the conversations productive.

1:35:19 I also think it's valuable to look for areas of agreement and build from there. Throughout my career, particularly in state government and local government roles, I have often worked with teams where members have strongly differing viewpoints. My role is frequently to facilitate discussions and help people move towards decisions that everyone could support, even if those decisions were not anyone's first preference. Ultimately, board members share the same responsibility to act in the best interest of students in the community. Keeping that shared purpose at the center of discussions helps maintain constructive working relationships even when there are disagreements. Okay. Um, Devin, how would you navigate a difficult conversation

1:36:04 or address a challenging topic when you disagree with a fellow board member? Thank you for the question, and I think I can, I can tell you exactly how I handled this just because, um, it's already happened, uh, specifically with someone in this room, and that would be you, director Cole. Uh, you and I both disagree about the January layoff vote. You've said that you were watching reserves drain and you were worrying about what that meant for future bus budgets and that it didn't look sustainable. Uh, I, I think that the district handed you a crisis by adopting a budget that didn't account for a cost of living adjustment that anyone following the negotiations should have seen coming. I think that that's a real disagreement, and I don't expect it to go away. But in February, uh, I emailed Director Cole about the interim superintendent question. I made a case using enrollment and fiscal data, and he wrote back the next morning

1:36:49 and said that he felt no tension, called my arguments thoughtful, and passed my testimony to the rest of the board. That really meant something to me. This is someone who evaluates what's in front of him, even when it comes from someone on the OO other side of a recall petition. And that is how I think disagreement should work. You take the other person's, uh, seriously, director Cole's concern about sustainability is legitimate. Where I'd push back is on whether reactive media cuts solve that problem or accelerate it, because in Oregon's per pupil model, families who take revenue, or sorry, uh, leave, take revenue with, with them. But that's a disagreement that I think that boards should be making, uh, together and, and shouldn't be making worse. And I think that's the whole point of having five people on, on a school board rather than one.

1:37:36 Thank you, Emily. Uh, same question. How would you navigate a difficult conversation or address a challenging topic when you disagree with a fellow board member? I think we can all agree that disagreements are a natural part of governments and they can be productive when approached with respect and a shared focus on students and educators, I believe that it's important to listen carefully to all of the perspectives, ask thoughtful questions, and work towards solutions that prioritize what's best ultimately for the students, even when the board members have different viewpoints. Transparency, transparency with the community should be about decision making process that helps maintain trust. Ultimately, the goal should always be collaboration and thoughtful discussion that leads to decisions that points that support students

1:38:21 and strengthens the district as a whole. Great. Thank You. Thank you. Hmm. I'm gonna move to question six. Um, I will start with Emily. So, what is the primary responsibility of a school board or any board of directors? The primary responsibility of the school board is to provide governments and oversight for the district. This includes setting policies, establishing visions and goals for the district, and ensuring responsible use of resources. Ultimately, the board's role is to make decisions that support student success while representing the community. That also means maintaining transparency, listening

1:39:08 to stakeholders, and ensuring that the district is operating in a way that best serves students and families as a community. Thank you. Bob, same question. What is the primary responsibility of a school board or any board of directors? Thank you. I believe the primary responsibility of the school board is to provide district governance and accountability. This means, while working with the superintendent, they set the district's vision, goals and policies. They establish the budget and ensure the district is spending the public's resources

1:39:55 responsibly and they hire set goals for and evaluate the superintendent to ensure the district is delivering on its mission for students. Thank you. And Devin, Thank you. I think that it's making sure that the, the resources our community puts into the school actually reaches our classrooms and produces outcomes for our students. Um, I I think that that really is the job of the board. The tools, of course, are hiring the superintendent, setting policy, approving the budget, ensuring legal compliances. But those are tools that serve one purpose.

1:40:41 And I believe that purpose is stewardship, a stewardship of public money, of the community trust, and of our students' futures. What that looks like in Springfield right now is specific, the deficit is structural enrollment has dropped in 10 years, and the trend is continuing in a per pupil funding model. This means every round of reactive cuts pushes more families out, uh, which of course drops revenue further and which forces more cuts. A responsible board, I believe, breaks that cycle with a multi-year plan built on real projections, uh, not another emergency production. It also means meeting that May 15th, ODE deadline. So our elementary students get the curriculum that Oregon law requires, and it means running a superintendent search that actually rebuilds trust. Those are not abstractions to me.

1:41:27 That's what's on our table. Thank you. And I guess, uh, over to you, Amber. Mm-hmm. Number four. Uh, given the short term nature of this appointment, how would you quickly become a contributing member and make informed student-centered decisions? What would you need from us or staff to support you? Uh, go for it, Emily. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Um, my priorities would be ensuring that students remain at the center of every decision. Supporting educators who are working directly with students each day, and maintaining strong communications with family and the community. Because of the short terms, I would need to get up to speed

1:42:14 and hit the ground running as quickly as possible. I also believe that transparency is critical for building trust between the district and the community. When families feel informed and understand the district's goals and also challenges, it creates stronger partnerships that ultimately benefit students. My focus would be on policies and decisions that support student success, while also ensuring that the community feels heard and included. Well, the budget committee meets on Thursday, and if appointed, I would like the district's current financial status by tomorrow so that I can be the most useful person, uh, who's newly appointed in the room. I, I, I think that I wanna be straightforward about why I believe that I'm qualified to, to serve in this position.

1:43:01 And I think that on the heck funding and achievement subcommittee, uh, I, I review institutional budgets already. I evaluate funding models and funding formulas, and I analyze the cost per student efficiency across every public community college and university in the state of Oregon. Uh, I've done you four years of fiduciary oversight on LCCs $121.5 million bond. Um, that's financial reviews, compliance checks, and, uh, flagging any discrepancies that come before our committee. Um, I've also testified in over 200, uh, pieces of legislation in the Oregon State legislature since ninth grade. Uh, that analytical framework, I believe this, this district really needs for restructuring right now. Um, and this isn't work that I've done in a past career. This is work that I'm doing currently this month. Thank you.

1:43:51 Because this, because this appointment is short term, my first priority would be to get up to speed quickly and to be a constructive contributor from the start. Fortunately, my background in public governance and budgeting means that I can understand the framework and the law, and am comfortable reviewing policy documents, financial reports, and strategic plans, and grasping the key issues quickly. I would begin by reviewing the district's current strategic goals, major policy initiatives, and financial outlook. I would also take time to meet with the superintendent and key staff to better understand the district's current priorities and challenges. Listening to my fellow board members would be equally important as they bring valuable knowledge and perspective from their ongoing service. My focus would be on supporting continuity

1:44:37 and stability during the remainder of the term. Rather than trying to introduce new initiatives, I would concentrate on helping the board make thoughtful student-centered decisions that align with the district's existing goals and commitments. In terms of support, I would appreciate access to the key briefing materials that current board members rely on. Recent budgets, strategic planning documents, and major policy issues. Currently under discussion, a brief orientation with district leadership about current priorities would also be helpful. With that information, I have no doubt that I could quickly step into the role and contribute meaningfully to the board's work. Thank you. Thank you, Nicole.

1:45:22 Bob, we'll start with you. The appointment expires June 30th, 2027. Will you be intending to run in the next election? That is my intention. Thank you. And Emily, the same question. Um, yes. I was born and raised in Springfield. I graduated outta the Springfield School District. I worked for the school district. I have a passion for helping students in my community, um, and helping them succeed. My daughter's about to be in school in a few years, and if the community thought that I was valuable, and then yes. Okay. Devin, same question for you. Uh, thank you, Nicole. Yes. Uh, I, I wouldn't be here if this was a short term for me. I believe that the deficit is a multi-year problem. The superintendent searches a multi-year problem, and the, the situation

1:46:07 with ODE is Alta also a multi-year problem. So, uh, I look forward, I would look forward to serving out, uh, the, the full term and then running for, uh, election to, to fill that. Thank you, Ken. Alright. Question. Uh, last question we have here is, um, Emily, we'll start with you. What is your understanding of school district governance? My understanding of school district governance is that the board, the board's role is to provide oversight, set policy, and establish a vision of priorities for the district while supporting student success. The board works collaborati collaboratively with the superintendent managing day-to-day operations, uh, that the district and implementing policies

1:46:52 and the goals that the board sets. Thank you, Devin. Uh, thank you. Uh, I, on on the heck, governance works like this. So the, the commission sets our vision and our policy, and we write oar if needed. Uh, our executive director, he runs operations. We don't get into the weeds. We don't manage the agency. Um, and we provide oversight, approved budgets, evaluate outcomes, and hold the executive accountable. This is almost extremely similar to the same structure of a local school board. The board hires and evaluates the superintendents That's policy approves the budget and insurance compliance. We don't manage buildings or district staff or make curriculum decisions at the classroom level. I think that that boundary between governance and the administration is one that this district has specifically struggled with.

1:47:38 And I don't say that to point fingers. I say that because I wanna be clear about where the line is and what side of that line I intend to stay on. Uh, the piece I most care about is fiduciary duty. This board is a steward of our public's money. Four years of bond oversight has taught me that in practice that you review expenditures, you flag problems, and you ask hard questions when the numbers don't line up, uh, a $10.4 million structural deficit demands that kind of rigor, I believe. And, uh, I will be honest, I'm 19. There are things about K through 12 governance specifically that I'm still learning. Um, but I want you to know that I would complete the OSBA training immediately, and I would lean on staff expertise. I believe that good governance isn't about already having every ever, sorry, having every answer.

1:48:24 It's about knowing what questions to ask and being disciplined in how you ask them. Thank you. Bob, you want me? I'll repeat the question. And what's your understanding of school district governance? Thank you. School district governance at its root is the board representing the community it serves and setting the district's direction through goal setting policy and priorities. The board recruits, hires and evaluates the superintendent based on the goals and priorities they have set, including student outcomes and responsible use of public resources. Equally important, the board identifies resources and establishes the budget that allow the superintendent and the employees of the district to carry out their work quality. Government quality governance helps rebuild

1:49:09 and maintain public trust by making thoughtful decisions, listening carefully to differing perspectives, and working collaboratively with administration, educators and the union representative employees and the community while leaving the day-to-day operations to the superintendent and the staff. Thank you. Thank you. Well, thanks again to the panel. Bob, Emily, Devin, appreciate you being here. Uh, that concludes the interview portion. So we'll have a brief discussion now among the board members. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

1:49:58 So is is the intent that then we'll reconvene at seven? Right. And then during that, we'll, we'll do a, maybe a preliminary discussion pre this point. Obviously we can't make a decision, but then the decision would happen during the meeting starting at seven. So, yeah, I would suggest that maybe, uh, an outcome of this discussion would be to maybe narrow the field, um, so that when we get into the more detailed discussion in the regular session, uh, we would have a more limited set of candidates to discuss. Well, I, I would start by, um, commending everybody that chose to, um, put their names forward and participate in, you know, trying

1:50:44 to best serve our students and the kids in our community. Um, kudos to you. I really appreciate that. And I'm impressed by, um, the experience and, and the, um, interest in doing that. Um, having said that to me, what, what I value in terms of selecting another board member would be, you know, somebody with, uh, experience doing that as well as, you know, a history of being, you know, involved in public service, I think is important. Um, and so those, those are the things I'm gonna be looking for. And so there's a, a couple of names I think I've identified that I would rise to the top of my list.

1:51:30 Yeah, I kind of agree with you. Um, I had some criteria that I was looking for as I was, um, kind of scoring and writing, taking notes. Um, I think that it's important that there is some prior knowledge of governance. Um, for me it's, uh, it really matters if somebody knows, um, what a board member does, what the, um, primary role of the board member is, um, and that there is some community involvement and that there's a, a commitment, and I get a sense of somebody wanting to work with the current board. Um, and then just remembering that we're, we've been kind of in an unstable period and, um, what the hard decisions that are coming. And so looking for somebody that we don't have to onboard

1:52:15 for, um, a good length of time that, um, has some experience with some of these decisions that we have to be making is, um, something that I was, um, looking for. I started looking at, um, the 12 balance governance standards. Uh, I was searching within what I, what I wanted, what my values were for, for a new board member. And that's where the balanced governance standards came in. I was looking for someone to vision directed planning. Um, that person who engages community and staff, um, um, someone that

1:53:06 it can show effective leadership. Uh, it's proactive, uh, able to learn the organization quickly. Someone that, uh, values transparency, um, who can, who can help unite us as a board, uh, who can assist us in bringing together common ground. Those are all the things that I'm looking for. People who mention the curriculum, uh, people who have skin in the game. Uh, I got a kid in the school, that's why I originally joined, um, or ran for the board.

1:53:56 I, I wanted to, I valued her education. Um, Amber, the timer's about ready to go off Thing. Just throw this thing across. You Don't hear that, huh? I thought Just I'll leave it at that. Yeah. Those are the things I, I came to the table with when it, um, good grief. I just want you turn off. There we go. Um, those are the things I came to the, the table with when thinking about the candidates. And boy, there are a lot of wonderful candidates here. Indeed. Yeah. I mean, it's already been mentioned by other board members,

1:54:43 but, uh, you know, the demonstrable commitment to community service is important to me. Uh, and maybe in specific, uh, service to the Springfield School district, um, there, the involvement thus far, you know, if they're volunteering or somehow, uh, being involved in the schools, understanding the oversight role of, of board governance and, and that relationship to the community. Um, yeah. And just, just sort of curious, are potential board members curious? And, and for me, one is the, the commitment

1:55:29 for the full term. Uh, because, uh, there's such a learning curve in board governance and the responsibilities, um, that I think it's, IM important that board experience is important, but also, uh, you know, carrying us through the entire process of finding the interim and then selecting the permanent and working with them as far as the vision aspect of moving forward, I think is important to me. So do any any candidates in no particular order, um, uh, jump out or have, um, provided you meaning any of the board members

1:56:15 with a direction? Um, for me, uh, Zach Bassett did because, um, for one, I know we kind of set the precedent when we appointed the acting superintendent. We made a decision that, uh, experience matters. And, um, I like the fact that he knows, um, what we're looking at as far as finding a, a sup superintendent. Um, that he knows exactly what it's like to be impacted personally by making tough decisions. Um, so yeah. Okay. Any others or, Um, I know Brody Wason from the SEF board, and I, um, think I liked his comments about respectful and thoughtful, um, contribution to the team.

1:57:00 Yeah, there were a few. Um, so I, you know, I also appreciate, you know, Zach's, um, prior experience being on the board and willing to, um, step up and serve again. And, you know, um, I think the way he approaches it would be good. I al I also felt like, um, Bob Bruce, um, experience with, you know, public service and variety of government agencies and interest in the, this was running was, um, also, um, struck me as Bob could be a good candidate as well.

1:57:45 Amber Docs, Matthew Brandt. He, he, again, this was a really hard choice for me. I have a few people written down and I didn't know how to, uh, pull them apart. So I started looking back in attendance and people I saw who attended ha have been attending these board meetings who have been participating is Matthew. Um, he also went many steps above and beyond. And after the riff had occurred, he pulled together outta thin air, just, uh, this website

1:58:32 that got a thousand people to sign it. He engaged with the community, he got the data to us. He got, um, not only the community voices, got staff voices, he reached out, he went above and beyond. And this was before even a campaign was next year is the campaign. We could not have foreseen that our other board member would've stepped away. He did this because he felt a commitment to serve our community. He felt our community was, um, needing options. And I love that he also came to the board and just, just started throwing options out there. And that's what we needed. And the moment, uh, we needed,

1:59:18 we needed someone who's, who's engaged. I also, uh, read that he, um, volunteers at his kids' school. I mean, you, you know what's going on. And that's really big to me. Um, so when we're as board members, when we're really into the school, we got our kids in there. We're really seeing things, how they're going, how, um, anyway, so that's, that's who, who I highly recommend us getting. 'cause I, I can tell he's gonna get himself up to speed if he's not already up to speed. It wouldn't surprise me if he's already looked over the budgets. Um, that's where, that's where I stand. Okay.

2:00:05 So any others or just, uh, Mr. Brandt? Uh, yeah. Um, I also was, there's so many, um, I enjoyed, I enjoy seeing where Emily Dawson goes, um, in her, in her career. But I, I like that she spoke about staff and students, families navigating that. Uh, Devin, he also, he's, they've shown they're very, uh, not they're, they're able to do their homework as well. They have been doing their homework as, as they spoke.

2:00:53 It made me very aware of where they're going with things. Um, Brody. Brody, sorry, Brody. Um, he also stood out to me. Okay. For myself, I was looking for people who would, um, not only had had shown prior commitment to the district, uh, but that would also bring maybe something different to the table, a perspective or an experience, uh, not currently reflected. So, um, I was interested in what, uh, Devin, uh, MCC court had to say.

2:01:38 And I think he brings a perspective of not only the higher education, uh, committee, also the work on the LCC bond oversight, I think is, is good financial experience. I think his experience as a pretty recent student and the fact that he has siblings currently in the schools also may be as reflective, uh, of the student perspective. And I, and I value that. Um, Bob Brew just has an incredible pedigree. I mean, he served in a variety of, uh, positions where he has shown experience in, in serving as the mediator and,

2:02:23 and enable to bring people together. He's got a tremendous financial background also. And then, uh, Matthew Brand, uh, bring sort of a different perspective as far as the creativity around, I mean, coming up with the, the spreadsheet to get up to speed. I mean, that's, that's impressive. The J curve, I don't know what it is, uh, but I know it's something, um, that's different and, and might bring that perspective of, of being in business. Um, dealing with customer service I think is also important. Um, so those would be the three candidates that I would bring for forward.

2:03:08 And, and all three were, uh, interested in pursuing the next step after the appointment. So if I'm doing a tally, I'm looking at, at Zach as having a couple, uh, Bob is having a couple. Devin, So what would be, uh, I mean, again, I, I agree with Amber. The quality of the responses and the passion around, uh,

2:03:53 really thinking about these questions was obvious. Uh, in a way, it's a great thing to have this opportunity to meet with so many, but it's also makes it a very tough decision, uh, because I, I see a lot of potential opportunities out there. So I had to sort of come back to, you know, their prior experience and, and, uh, you know, perspective of the Springfield district, Ken, thoughts? Yeah. Uh, you know, we supposed to, I, I, you know, I've said mine initially. One thought I did have is I would just hope that the people that chose to, um, put their names forward would continue to be involved in the, the districts. Uh, and, and I appreciate that. And so, yeah.

2:04:40 Um, ask you to stay with us. Yeah, I'm, I'm a little different. Um, I know the last time we were going to appoint someone, um, I said then that I, I didn't think it was a completely a hundred percent Democratic to place someone and then have them be in a comment for the next election. So I'm actually okay with, um, someone wanting to step in and help us, uh, rebuild trust. Um, I don't necessarily wanna try somebody new out at this point. I want, um, somebody that is gonna just, um, help smooth the waters and know what board governance is. Um, but yeah, I don't, I don't have a problem with them. Not a candidate not wanting to run for election later.

2:05:28 Okay. Amber, thoughts? Not right now. I'm gonna look through By my rough tally. Uh, have, uh, Zach, Bob, Devon, and Matt all receiving two mentions.

2:06:17 Uh, Emily and Brody is receiving one. I think Brody got two. I mentioned him and so did Amber. My thought would be maybe, uh, to bring the four candidates forward that have two, uh, suggestions and, uh, move that forward to the discussion, uh, in our regular meeting. But open to perspective on that to the idea we'd, we'd only consider those four for in the meeting this se this later this evening. Mm-hmm. Can you say those again? 'cause I wrote five. What did you say? Who are those four?

2:07:05 Uh, and again, correct me if I'm wrong, but I have, uh, two suggestions for Zach, two for Bob, two for Devon, and two for Matt, one H for Emily and Brody. I, I also mentioned Brody, so, and Amber mentioned Brody. Okay. So that's two. Um, maybe a way to, um, I, I know Nicole and I, I think we just mentioned two, you and Amber mentioned three kind of throws off the weighting of, of mm-hmm. How we're doing. If you guys were to narrow your list down to two,

2:07:52 that might help us, um, narrow the list further. Sure. Um, hmm. I could narrow this down to, um, Matthew, I can just keep it at Matthew. Well, can you mention, and Devon too, everybody's mentioned Matthew, Matthew and Devon. Sure. So there's no way I can have three, is that what you're saying? I, I am not, I was suggesting to narrow the list. I mean, it, it speaks to the quality, right? And, and everybody brings something different to the table

2:08:39 and valuable to the table. Um, man, that's, that's a really hard one. I think if I had to narrow it to two, I would go with Matthew and Bob Brew. So that would narrow the list down to, um, Matthew, Brody, Zach, and Bob that we, Well, no, 'cause she took, she only said Matthew, so then Brody wouldn't be on there. Oh, I, I guess Amber, you only did you,

2:09:24 you only listed Matthew, so mm-hmm. That's right. She mentioned, well, I mentioned yeah, Devin, but Devin and, and Matthew. Right? That's Oh, that's what I thought. Yeah. Oh, so yeah, so, And he's narrowed to Bob and Matthew. Yeah. So what I have is the four is Matthew, um, Brody, Zach, and Bob that we would consider for the, say again, Matthew, Brody, Zach, and Bob is who I see that each have, um, two, Well, now he two preferences. Yeah. It's, You mentioned Matt and Devin, correct? That's right. Okay. So that would be,

2:10:12 He's only Zach, Bob and Zach. Bob and Matt. Is that correct? Okay. And is that the process? We would like to then move that forward to discussion and a vote then in our regular meeting, those three names? That's fine with me. Do we need a motion? What's that? Do We need a motion? We can't. We, we can, we can lean in, In the, in the, before we do the discussion or during the discussion. Yeah, we'll do our actual final discussion and a vote to appoint in our regular meeting.

2:10:59 Okay. So just to restate then, uh, we'll move the following three names forward in no particular order. Uh, Zach Bassett and Robert Brew. And Matthew Brant. Okay. Okay. Well thank you so much. And again, thank you to the candidates. Um, if we add our druthers, we'd have a board of seventeens, so probably don't want that. But thank you so much and, and do stay involved. You know, one of the things that I really look for that's important is that community involvement in making our schools great.

2:11:44 So thank you. And this meeting is adjourned. So we're reconvening at seven. Well, no, uh, this one adjourns. 'cause it's a special meeting. Right. But then we have another meeting, so, okay, so it's six 10 and I'll adjourn this meeting. We will reconvene or open the other meeting at 7:00 PM Just from June.

2:12:36 Yeah. Give us thought. And that's my experience. That's okay. And that just my experience care. It feels like, you know, well, I rotate other things. I don't want to, particularly when you have say, brand new, but I like them to speak co saying Visibil. And even when we have very experienced people.

2:13:26 Yeah. First, yeah.